"Where to start?" Izuku asked aloud, words instantly lost to the rushing winds so high up.
Would he go for City Three, the hub of biological study, and likely where he would end up taking Iona some time in the future? Or maybe he would check out City Two, see what sort of non-support equipment tech was being developed? Or maybe he should go right for the big prize; City One, the central tower, likely where the most important labs, and all the best toys were tucked away.
Or perhaps he would just meander about, wander without a specific destination in mind.
He rolled the possibilities around in his mind. He had an entire week to play, so it wasn't as if he had to be too picky about it,
Making up his mind, he grinned, before dropping his hold on his flight quirk, immediately plummeting back towards the island.
With how dark it was—the sun had dipped down below the horizon, even at this height, and the moon was hidden behind the clouds—he was nearly completely invisible, 'Shadow Blend' doing its job. Despite that, he pulled on 'Ghost' as he fell, rendering him absolutely undetectable.
The instant he'd dropped far enough for his chosen destination to come within range of 'All Sight,' he slipped into the darkness, reappearing a few hundred feet lower. Refocusing on his flight quirk, he came to a stop right next to the central tower, hovering next to a large, floor-to-ceiling window.
Now that he was closer, he could see through the entire tower. All of the labs, offices, interesting areas, fun toys, and, even more fun, the areas that 'All Sight' could not see into. A few areas of dense nothingness, likely some sort of secure vaults.
He still wasn't too sure what he would end up doing here; as much as he liked to precisely plan out his movements, a little bit of spontaneity now and again was fun. He'd likely end up sticking his nose where it didn't belong and trespass and mess with things that were likely extremely confidential, but what else should he get into?
Catching sight of a lab with a lone person still working, Izuku smiled. That might work.
Letting out a small laugh, he slipped into the darkness once more, feeling out the path of shadows that would lead him to the lone man, already pulling out the quirks he would want to make use of.
An instant later, he was rising from the shadows in the corner of the lab. Another second, and the quirk he'd pulled on had him shrinking, sprouting fur. Once the process was complete, he shook himself down, before padding his way towards the man across the room, now a large, rather fluffy cat.
As he moved, he changed the color of his fur around to make it pitch black. He didn't need to change his eyes. They were still the cloudy white he'd chosen when the night began and would work quite nicely.
Still concealed by 'Ghost,' he hopped up onto the desk that the man was standing at, padding right over to him. He was leaning over a mess of papers, looking incredibly tired. Even better.
Moving closer, Izuku sat down right on top of the papers, amused by the complete lack of reaction from the man. Reaching for his illusion quirk, he pulled it into place, and started focusing on what he wanted to create. Then, one last thing to prepare, he used 'Appraisal' to learn the man's name: Harumi Kamata.
Preparations complete, he dropped his hold on Ghost, returning to visibility.
It took a second for Kamata to notice the appearance of a giant cat sitting right in front of his face, but when he did, it was with a massive spike of fear, felt with 'Observation,' and a strangled shriek as he all but threw himself backwards. His back hit the wall, just a few feet away. He stared at Izuku with wide eyes, fear radiating off of him and heart pounding away, but as the seconds stretched out, there was just the slightest bit of curiosity bleeding through the fear.
"What the-?" He started, leaning forward ever so slightly. "Wha- how did you get in here?"
Once his brain finally managed to catch up and he got himself under control, the fear was becoming curiosity much quicker. Were Izuku capable of smiling at the moment, he would have. He was far too quick to relax. And he didn't even notice the light in the room slowly fading away as Izuku poured focus into the illusion.
"Hey there." Kamata said, finally stepping away from the wall, holding a hand out towards Izuku. "Where'd you come from?"
Just before his hand could touch Izuku's head, Izuku opened his mouth, and used the illusion quirk to create sound.
"Harumi Kamata." A deep, booming voice sounded out through the room, originating at Izuku.
Kamata yelped, leaping back away from Izuku.
"Why do you not repent, Harumi?" The voice asked.
"Wh- what?"
"We see you, Harumi." Now the voice was layered, sounding like there were multiple speakers. Izuku added to the illusion. At his direction, eyes, dozens, hundreds of eyes, sprouted on every surface in the room, including Izuku himself. They all turned to look at Kamata.
"We watch you. We know you. We know what you've done. What you try to forget. We see the guilt that hangs over you, yet you do not repent."
Izuku felt as the curiosity evaporated, going past fear and turning into abject terror.
"Repent, Harumi. You are judged, but it is not yet final. Repent, and you may yet find salvation."
Illusory flames burst to life around Izuku, consuming him, before spreading around the rest of the room in an instant, filling it, casting the room in a harsh, shifting light. Izuku pulled on his gigantification quirk, rapidly growing larger.
"REPENT!" The voices shouted, shaking the room with the force of it.
"Okay okay I'm sorry!" Kamata screamed, now on the floor, cowering. "I'll fix it! I'll give him his money! Please!"
All at once, Izuku halted the show. The fire and eyes and the darkness that had been covering the lights in the ceiling vanished into nothingness, Izuku pulled back the gigantification quirk, shrinking back to normal size, and as an added bonus, he changed the color of his fur again, reversing it from black to pure white.
Kamata didn't notice, still cowering, now in tears.
Izuku hopped down onto the floor, silently padding over to him. Once he was right next to the man, he let out a loud—yet much quieter than the voices had been—meow.
Kamata flinched, before looking up. Sheer relief poured off of him as he noticed that the flames were gone. Though there was a small spike of terror when he noticed Izuku standing in front of him.
Izuku meowed again, before beginning to purr. It was always odd when the slight animalistic instincts brought on by the quirk had him purring involuntarily. It was even weirder to do it on purpose, when there was nothing to warrant it.
Izuku bumped his head into Kamata's shoulder, turning to rub up against him. He laughed to himself as the terror gave way to sheer confusion.
Then, using his flight quirk, he lifted into the air, flipping upside down in time for his feet to hit the ceiling. As soon as he was steady, he trotted over towards the nearest shadowed area, sinking into them as soon as he hit it.
He emerged in an adjacent room, waiting just enough to cloak himself with 'Ghost' again, before slipping through the shadows to emerge in a hallway. Settling back on his haunches, tail wrapped around him, he lifted into the air, before picking a direction and floating away.
As he moved, he focused on the illusion quirk again. Sparks trailed through the air after him, then a rainbow as he changed his mind, then flowers, falling through the air in his wake to rest on the floor.
He wasn't too sure where he was going with all of this, but he'd decided that he would be starting out the night by messing with the researchers in the tower. And the longer this went on, the more fun he was having with it.
Besides, if nothing else, this would be good practice with the illusion quirk.
He paused, coming to a stop next to a room with a small group of researchers going about their business.
Concentrating, he willed the entire room to take on the appearance of gold. Every surface, solid gold.
Well, that's what he'd intended. The final result was more of an ugly yellow.
He focused harder, ignoring the mix of panic and confusion coming from the room's occupants. The room shifted again. The yellow darkened a bit, and became a bit more reflective. That one was difficult to do, and was rather poorly executed as a result. He wasn't actually making anything in the room reflective, but was having to mimic the reflections on every single surface.
On second thought, that wasn't something he'd be able to do. Aside from the fact that such a widespread application of extremely minute details was just a bit beyond his current level of proficiency, it wouldn't work quite right even if it wasn't. Multiple people in the room meant multiple possible points of view from which to base the reflections.
Nope. Discarding that idea, he whited the room out, literally. The researchers now seemed to be in a vast, pure white void. Much easier.
Turning away, Izuku continued down the hallway, leaving the room like that. There didn't appear to be anything dangerous in there for them to blunder into, so there was minimal risk.
Liking the result of that last attempt, he started applying it the hallway as he floated through. As he moved, a pure white, empty void followed him, consuming everything.
Another room that he passed, containing another group of people, received the opposite treatment, becoming a pure black void.
A sudden thought had him wishing that he was proficient enough for huge applications. He wondered how people might react if the central tower just seemed to vanish entirely.
He knew it would be a while before he could manage something like that, though. Already his head was starting to hurt with the effort to maintain what he'd already created.
He grinned internally as he flew, pushing aside his discomfort, still expanding the void behind him. Maybe eventually. For now he would stick with the small uses to mess with people.
Slipping through the shadows, skipping a few dozen floors, Izuku appeared in the middle of a room that was nearly filled to the brim with people.
By now, the tower employees had realized that someone or something was in the tower that wasn't supposed to be, and was terrorizing people. Izuku felt that 'mildly inconvenience' was a better descriptor, but at that point it was semantics.
The people in the room he'd jumped into were currently holding a meeting, discussing what was happening, what specifically was behind it, and what their response should be. He emerged from the shadows just in time to hear someone suggest that it might be some widespread leak of a hallucinogenic chemical agent. Interesting. That meant that such a thing was present somewhere in the tower, and enough of it to make such a widespread leak a possibility. Maybe he could take a look.
For now though, he looked out over the small crowd, taking in the mixture of emotions, from fear to confusion to annoyance, and wondered what he should do to bring his tower escapades to a close.
Screw it. He'd just wing it, and see what happened.
To start, he focused on the illusion quirk and began darkening the room, ever so slightly. They already had the lights low, which is what had allowed him to emerge right in the middle of everything, in order to have something projected up on the wall. He just furthered it, slowly blacking out everything but the projection.
He grinned internally when no one noticed as the room became a pitch-black void.
Next, he started slowly reducing the volume of everything in the room, voices, shuffling, the hum of the projector and the rush of air in the vents. This was much more difficult than blacking out the room, and was something he only became aware of earlier in the night, but it was something he'd been quite excited to discover.
This time, the people took notice. As their voices slowly faded away to nothing, panic spiked. They noticed that there was no sound, which quickly led to the realization that the room had changed. Now he needed to work quickly. It wouldn't be long before they started fumbling for the door, and there was nothing he could do to stop that without either damaging the door or restraining them, neither of which was something he wanted to do.
With a thought, he expanded the void to encompass the people themselves, consuming them and rendering them essentially invisible, and to cover the projection, covering the last bit of light left. Immediately after, he dropped his hold on 'Ghost,' wrapping himself in an illusion at the same time.
He appeared, with two extra heads, two extra tails, pale yellow-gold fur, and covered in eyes, in the middle of the room, glowing exceptionally brightly.
He couldn't hear their reactions, but he could feel their terror spike, and saw a number of them recoil at his sudden appearance, falling out of their chairs.
"Be not afraid." A multilayered voice called out, deep and booming. And with a hint of quiet bell chimes woven in.
Their terror spiked again.
"You have been chosen to bear witness… to the apocalypse."
He willed himself to glow brighter, and for a few free-floating eyes to start appearing in the air around him.
"Be warned. In the coming months, Humanity will face many trials. Many will not survive."
Just for the fun of it, he made the eyes catch on fire.
"The first trial shall take place on the first full moon after the summer solstice, marked on your calendars as July six, two-thousand two… hundred…"
The voice paused, and he felt some confusion from the people.
"Shit… This is the wrong century." The voice said, quieter, much less booming.
The void shifted to pure white in an instant, the floating, flaming eyes vanished, and Izuku stopped glowing.
"Hmm. Carry on, humans. Nothing to worry about. There's definitely no apocalypse on your horizon."
The rest of the illusions covering Izuku faded away, leaving him as a regular, if golden and floating, cat.
"So… bye."
With that, he dropped his hold on every illusion he'd created in the tower, and sank into the shadows, re-emerging back outside, already flying away.
That was fun, and the illusion quirk was so useful. If only he was more proficient with it.
Actually, maybe that's what he would do with the rest of his night. He'd been considering doing some silent snooping around some of the goodies tucked away in the tower, but maybe he'd go have some more fun with illusions instead.
Mind made up, he sped up towards his next destination, trailing rainbows behind him.
Toshinori stretched his arms over his head, careful not to exacerbate his injury. Yawning, he climbed out of bed, making for the door that would lead out to the rest of the hotel suite.
He rubbed his eyes as he stepped through, before freezing in place as his hand dropped and he caught sight of the living room.
It… There was a storm? In the room?
Dark thunderclouds rolled across the ceiling, occasionally flashing with lightning, and letting out quiet rumbling thunder that just barely shook the windows. Rain fell from the clouds in a miniature torrential downpour, soaking everything in the room.
In the center of it all, were… two housecats, one black, one white. They were floating, facing each other. And they were completely dry, despite the rain that poured all around them.
"Uhh. What?" Toshinori questioned. Maybe he was still dreaming?
At the sound of his voice, the room cleared in the blink of an eye. The clouds, the lightning, the rain, all vanished as if it had never been there to begin with.
"Good morning, Yagi." A voice sounded out through the room. It sounded like…
"Young Etsumi?"
The two cats, still floating, turned to face him.
"Young… Etsumis?"
"Not quite. This is just practice."
The white cat vanished without a trace just as everything else had. Then, Toshinori watched as the remaining one shifted and transformed faster than he could react, leaving Etsumi floating in midair an instant later, with the same appearance he'd had last night. Then his face and hair shifted around, until he looked like 'Jinsei' again.
"Practice?" Toshinori asked as Etsumi lowered himself to the floor.
"One of my quirks, one of my favorites actually, as of tonight, is one that allows me to create illusions."
He raised a hand, and Toshinori watched, amazed, as angry, dark thunderclouds seemed to spill out of his palm, spitting lightning and rumbling with thunder.
"And that's all just an illusion?"
"Yep!" Etsumi answered, raising his other hand and passing it straight through with no effect. "This is just me messing with light and sound to make the clouds and thunder. The quirk can create illusions that affect all senses except for touch. It'd be great if it was all five, because I could do so much more with something like that, but I do the best with what I have."
Etsumi spread his arms and Toshinori watched in amazement as the entire room transformed. Grass sprouted across the floor, the walls and ceilings disappeared to show a blue sky as far as the eye could see, and trees in the distance. He even noticed birds flying through the air above them, singing. All of the furniture—minus that which was hanging on the walls and ceiling—was still in place.
"I haven't used it all that much since acquiring it, but after the fun I had with it last night, I find myself growing rather fond of it."
"What kind of fun?"
"Nothing much. Just messed around a bit with some researchers I found. No one harmed, nothing damaged."
"And you being a cat?"
Etsumi grinned. "Just part of the fun. Being messed with by a human is one thing, but being messed around with by an animal? It just adds to the chaos."
The illusion around them changed, fluffy, white clouds spilling across the sky, and a small stream carving its way through the ground a short distance away.
Toshinori watched Etsumi focus on the illusion, a small, joyful smile on his face, and found himself smiling as well. He seemed to have so much fun when it came to his quirks.
Giving his head a small shake, Toshinori turned to head towards where the kitchen bar was still jutting out of the grassy plains, refrigerator a few feet away.
"So what's on today's agenda?" He asked as he fumbled around, trying to locate breakfast.
The illusions vanished with a wave of Etsumi's hand. "I think I'll probably end up meeting up with Ochako and the others again. Probably continue wandering about the Expo, see if there's any fun to be had. The active exhibits were fun, so maybe we'll check those out again, see if they change up at all from day-to-day."
"You're welcome to join us." He added, looking over at Toshinori. "Unless you have plans with David Shield."
"Not until this afternoon. He's supposed to be bringing All Might to visit some of the Island's higher ups. But I'm free until then."
Etsumi nodded. "Then you are welcome to join us if you'd like."
Toshinori smiled. "I think I'd like that."
After breakfast, and maybe a bit more practice with the illusion quirk as he waited for the agreed-upon meetup time to come, Izuku and Yagi left to meet up with Ochako, Tsuyu, Jirou, Yaoyorozu, and Melissa.
Yagi's sudden addition to the group didn't raise any issues with anyone. Melissa was obviously ecstatic to have a chance to show her 'Uncle Toshi' around the island, and the other four were already familiar with his skinny form from seeing him around Yueii and from the plane ride over.
Their first stop on this leg of the tour was very nearly an amusement park. It was a huge complex dedicated to the showcasing of the most exciting non-support gear tech developed on the island. Everything from floating vehicles, to the localized gravity manipulation which was what he'd seen yesterday controlling the water, making it free float through the air, to holograms, which, after last night, Izuku found much less impressive than before.
Most of the attractions were interactable, allowing guests to play around with some of the most advanced technology in the world. Izuku had to work very hard to resist the temptation to find a way to break everything. Even harder was resisting the temptation to use his illusion quirk to mess with the employee overseeing the hologram exhibit.
By the time they'd made it through the complex, most of the morning had passed, and it was almost time to get lunch. As they started heading for the nearest area with food, they heard an explosion from off in the distance, just as they had the day before. And, just like then, it seemed to come from the area with the active exhibits.
Getting the feeling that this time around things would be a bit more interesting, he convinced the rest of the group to head in that direction before they went looking for food.
Once they were close enough, Izuku could see the source of the explosion, confirming that his guess had been correct. It wasn't at the 'villain attack course' that they'd gone to first last time, but at one of the exhibits that Izuku hadn't tried, because at the time it had been one of the less interesting ones.
It was a simple arena, with a large square platform in the middle. Almost exactly like the arena that the sports festival had been held in, just set into the ground so that the top of the stadium seating sat flush with the ground. The exhibit was a guest-vs-guest fight. Izuku wasn't quite sure how I-Island sorted out the legal liabilities of guests getting hurt, but then he didn't really care. Law was Rei's area of interest. It was the fighting that caught his attention.
Yesterday, he'd passed the arena by because none of the other guests nearby seemed as though they'd give a good fight, with the only ones being his classmates. But this time, however…
They made it to the edge of the arena, looking down at the ring in the center, revealing Bakugou, who was standing in the center of the ring, an announcer right next to him.
"Incredible!" The announcer exclaimed. "This newcomer has settled yet another fight almost instantly! He showed up out of nowhere and is completely cleaning up the competition! But of course, this isn't the first time he's done this! If he looks familiar to some of you out there, that's because he's one of Yueii's own heroic students and made a similar appearance at the sports festival! I wonder, is there anyone out there who can stand up to one of Yueii's finest?"
"Interesting…" Izuku said.
"You're gonna go fight him, aren't you?" Ochako asked, seeing through him.
"Yes. I think I will."
"Are you sure?" Jirou asked. "I know you're fast, and pretty strong, but we know this guy. He's in our class."
"Barring Etsumi, Bakugou's likely the strongest in our class." Yaoyorozu added.
"All you're doing is making me want to fight him more." Izuku said as he stepped closer.
He turned to look at Yagi, who was watching with a mix of concern and curiosity. "A good test, don't you think?"
A flash of confusion, and then realization from Yagi, followed by a mixture of happiness and excitement.
Izuku grinned, turning back to the arena. He'd be using this as an opportunity to see how Bakugou was doing with One For All. Though, that was more of a happy side-effect than the reason he was doing this. It was for the sake of a decent fight. And if Bakugou wasn't using it from the get-go, then Izuku would make him.
"Do we have any brave challengers willing to test their skills against a future hero?"
Izuku focused on his illusion quirk, before answering.
"I'll fight him." His voice boomed out from several points all around the arena. The announcer, along with the crowd of people scattered about watching, tried to find the source.
In response to their confusion, Izuku took off with his flight quirk, arcing smoothly through the air towards the ring. He touched down gently a few feet from Bakugou and the announcer, who took his arrival in stride.
"Alright! Looks like we've got ourselves a new challenger, with what looks to be a flight quirk and some interesting mutations! How will he fare against our current champion I wonder?"
Then, quieter, so her voice wouldn't be projected, "You're sure you want to do this? You're aware that you might get hurt?"
Izuku nodded. "Of course. It wouldn't be fun otherwise."
The announcer nodded, before looking at Bakugou. "And you're okay with fighting him?"
Bakugou stared at Izuku for a moment, giving off a small amount of confusion and, even smaller, excitement, both dwarfed by an even calmness. He nodded.
"Excellent!" The announcer called out. "Both fighters, please proceed to your starting positions!"
Izuku and Bakugou turned away and started walking towards opposite ends of the ring, the announcer continuing to speak as they did.
"Standard rules apply to this fight. Winner is determined by removal from the ring, knockout, or submission. Keep the fight clean. Obviously no killing your opponent."
They looked between Izuku and Bakugou as they came to a stop. "Understood?"
Reaching up, Izuku set a hand on his chest, activating 'Hotbar.' His gloves, shirt, and vest vanished as they were tucked away, leaving him shirtless and revealing his furred arms. Dirt, grime, and stains from destroying robots he could clean without effort, but burns and actual damage would be much more difficult and time-consuming to deal with. He would just have to accept the risk of his pants possibly getting damaged.
"Ready." He responded, as Bakugou nodded.
Izuku lowered himself into a ready stance. This time around, he was fighting with legs instead of his tail. Unguligrade legs, sure, but still legs. And he wasn't limited to his 'Izuku' quirks. He'd be able to play around more than when they'd fought at the sports festival.
He'd gained a number of quirks, and had grown a good deal stronger, but then so too had Bakugou.
Izuku smiled, forcing it into something that looked cheerful rather than dangerous, as Bakugou lowered himself in kind, hands crackling at his sides.
How best to play this? Would he charge in immediately? Aggressive right from the get-go? Or would he wait for Bakugou to move first, and let him lead the fight?
The world around him faded away, his focus narrowing down to just him and Bakugou. Background noises became distant, until all he heard was his own breathing and heartbeat, and he only distantly noticed that the announcer had moved out of the ring.
Ah, he knew what he'd do. He'd be the one to start things off, but nowhere near as aggressively as he could. He'd pull back just enough to give Bakugou some wiggle room, just barely enough that he ought to be able to respond without using One For All. He'd wait to see what Bakugou would do, whether he would do what he could with just his own natural abilities, or if he'd choose to up the ante on his own.
"Go!"
Izuku exploded forwards. But, measured, restrained. He launched himself through the air—without the aid of his flight quirk—his trajectory perfectly executed to intercept Bakugou, who hadn't reacted, but he was moving so slow compared to his usual speed that he almost felt like he was moving in slow motion, without even pulling on 'Quick Thinker.'
His attack was blatantly choreographed as well. An arm pulled back as he soared through the air, ready to swing as soon as he was in range.
His smile widened, threatening to become something more wild, as he watched Bakugou. His eyes were tracking Izuku through the air. Izuku could practically see his thoughts, planning a response.
Then, an instant before reaching him, Izuku saw that response flash through his mind, and this time he failed to keep his smile pleasant.
Bakugou shifted his weight to the side, swinging an open palm towards Izuku, already igniting an explosion that would boost his forward momentum to send him careening right past Bakugou and out of the ring.
Izuku adjusted his own momentum with the flight quirk, following Bakugou's shift. He saw Bakugou's eyes widen, before immediately reacting to the change.
Bakugou dove to the side, rolling away just as Izuku landed, slamming a fist down with enough force to shake the ring.
Before he'd even stood back up, he saw Bakugou's next move. Apparently he'd decided that he wouldn't let Izuku dictate the flow of the fight. Maybe he'd seen through Izuku's restraint? Or maybe he just didn't like how Izuku had moved through the air.
Bakugou came up from behind him, swinging another open palm towards his back. Izuku was up and dipping past the attack in the blink of an eye. Faster than Bakugou could react, Izuku moved behind him, grabbing his shoulder and throwing him to the other end of the ring.
"Oh my." Izuku said, smile pleasant again, as Bakugou rolled to a stop, picking himself back up immediately. "I'm afraid you'll have to be much faster than that to catch me off guard."
He lowered himself again. "If you don't, then you'll be thrown out of the ring before this has a chance to get interesting."
Bakugou narrowed his eyes, and Izuku could practically feel him thinking. Considering.
Then, orange-gold lightning burst into existence around him, crackling across his body.
"Excellent. Now then, shall we get start-." Bakugou was moving before he finished.
Bakugou crossed the ring in an instant, jumping at the last second, spinning around to aim a kick at his head.
Izuku ducked under it, and Bakugou soared straight past him. He immediately corrected himself, setting off an explosion that reversed his momentum, sending him back towards Izuku to attempt another kick.
This time Izuku caught Bakugou's foot before it could hit him, spinning around and tossing him back across the ring.
Again, an immediate correction. Izuku's smile widened when Bakugou was charging back at him once more barely a second later.
Finally, Izuku charged forth to meet him. He closed the distance in an instant, meeting Bakugou in the middle of the ring. He threw a punch that matched up to the speed Bakugou was displaying, and barely held back a laugh when it was sidestepped with ease, and countered with an explosion to his chest, larger, more intense than normal. Ignoring it, Izuku spun around to backhand Bakugou, only to get hit with another explosion—this one a bit bigger—as his attack was easily dodged.
Izuku's smile was damn near painful at this point. The speed and power being displayed by Bakugou wasn't exactly impressive by Izuku and Yagi's standards, but he'd adapted to the quirk so well. He was using it in a fight with incredible proficiency, and in combination with his natural quirk. Already at this level he was a force to be reckoned with, certainly a step above most heroes, but once he had it entirely under his control…
When that day comes, he might just be able to give Izuku a proper fight. His sheer skill and determination, combined with the outright power of that quirk… there was no other option.
Bakugou hit him with another explosion. Izuku ignored this one as well, stepping through it, hand darting out to latch around Bakugou's neck. Paying no mind to Bakugou's instant reaction—the biggest explosion yet, right to his face—he brought his other hand up to slam right into his chest, sending him back across the ring. Bakugou only just barely stopped himself from falling out with a perfectly timed explosion.
Izuku let out a booming laugh, already walking towards him again. "Very good! Now try again."
Bakugou stared at him, hand rubbing at his chest, making no move to come meet him.
"I yield." He said, surprising Izuku, stopping him in his tracks.
"And there you have it!" The announcer called out immediately. "Our newcomer is the winner! After a short, yet incredibly intense match, our previous champion has made the decision to withdraw!"
Izuku just stared with wide eyes, before letting out a sigh that was only partly one of annoyance. The adrenaline and excitement started bleeding away with it.
He took a second to stand there and collect himself, biting back the annoyance and frustration of having a fun fight taken from him.
"Spoilsport." He said after a moment, walking over to Bakugou.
Bakugou's eyes narrowed at him. "Nothing I was doing even fazed you. And you were still holding back. I wouldn't have been able to win without risking major injuries, and I'm not willing to put that much effort into a little fight like this."
Izuku grimaced lightly. "Fair enough. No point in getting hurt for nothing. But it's still a shame we couldn't continue. Things were just starting to get interesting."
Bakugou didn't respond, just continuing to watch him. Then, "Who are you? Aside from All Might, there's only one person I know who's as strong as you. There can't be that many people who're that strong."
"I'm actually a friend of his." Izuku said. "Of Izuku's."
He smiled at the way Bakugou's eyes widened just a bit; one of the most significant reactions he's seen from him.
"My name's Jinsei." He greeted, offering his hand. "Pleased to meet you."
Bakugou didn't say anything as he took Izuku's hand.
"I actually came here with some people you might recognize." He said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, up towards where Ochako and the others were watching them. They waved when they saw Bakugou.
Izuku turned towards them, waving his hand in a beckoning motion as he did. "We were about to go looking for something to eat when we found you here. You should join us."
Without waiting for a response, Izuku lifted back into the air, about to head back up to them, when he was stopped by the announcer.
"Wait, are you not going to stay? You won, so you get to keep going if you want."
Izuku shook his head. "Nope. This exhibit has lost its appeal."
With that, he flew back up to the top of the arena.
"That was an interesting fight." Yagi said as he touched back down.
"It was impressive." Yaoyorozu added, eyeing where he'd been hit by Bakugou's explosions, leaving unmarred flesh and a bit of soot and ash. "You are… very durable, aren't you?"
"You could say that, yes." Izuku said, rubbing his hands together and activating 'Shower In A Can,' cleaning away the filth, delighting in the surprise he felt from the others when it vanished. "It would take a considerable force to injure me."
He brushed a hand across his pants, activating 'Laundromat' to clean them, only to frown at the singed material that remained around the waist. Unfortunate.
"Do you think we should ask Bakugou if he wants to get lunch with us?" Tsuyu asked.
"Looks like he's already decided to." Izuku said, gesturing behind him, where Bakugou was climbing the steps up from the ring, heading towards them.
Izuku pulled his clothes from where he'd stored them, redressing as they waited for Bakugou to reach them.
"Hey Bakugou!" Ochako greeted, smile bright, chorused by the other classmates. "It's great that we finally caught up with you."
Bakugou just nodded, before looking over at Yagi.
"That was an impressive showing, Young Bakugou!" Yagi said in lieu of a greeting. "Incredible proficiency, and restraint. Truly impressive."
Bakugou's face remained blank as he nodded again, but Izuku could feel the happiness he felt at the praise.
"We were just about to go get some lunch." Jirou said. "Wanna come?"
"Sure."
Izuku, now fully dressed once more, nodded with a smile. "Then let's go find something to eat."
He turned to Melissa. "Know anywhere good?"
In the end, they found more than just a place to eat. Melissa led them to a restaurant with a sprawling area of outdoor seating, and by the time they'd gotten their food and found somewhere to sit, they'd stumbled upon Kaminari, Mineta, Ashido, and Hagakure. The former two were working at the restaurant, while the latter two were attending with general admittance tickets, and just happened to stop there at the same time.
Naturally, it caused a bit of a commotion, as two of the most excitable people in their class found themselves surrounded by most of the classmates that they usually spent time with. But eventually they got their food—having decided to join them for lunch—and they all settled in to eat.
"So, you said that your name is Jinsei?" Ashido asked partway through the meal.
Izuku nodded. "I did indeed."
"Is that a family name or a given name?"
He shrugged. "Pick one. It's the only name I use."
Ashido tilted her head at his answer. "And how do you know Uraraka?"
"I'm friends with Izuku, and through him have become more familiar with her."
Ashido's eyes widened a fraction, and he felt something like fascination from her, and maybe a sort of giddy happiness.
"Izuku?" She asked. "Etsumi? Our classmate?"
He nodded. "Unless there's another Izuku Etsumi with a snake tail and wings."
"You're friends with him?"
"That's what I said, yes."
"And how close are you?"
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Close enough, I suppose. I probably know him better than just about anyone."
That giddy happiness spiked, and Ashido looked like she could barely contain herself.
"So what's our next move once we're done here?" Yaoyorozu asked, interrupting Ashido's interrogation.
"Unfortunately, I will have to leave." Yagi said. "I have to go meet Dave."
"That's okay!" Melissa said, smiling. "We have plenty of time for me to show you around. Tell him I said hi, okay?"
Yagi nodded, smiling. "Of course."
Melissa turned to the rest of them. "If all of you are up for it, we can go check out the I-Expo market after this. It's like any other public market or shopping center, except a lot bigger, and with some of I-Island's technology thrown in."
"Sounds good to me." Izuku said, looking around at everyone else for confirmation. They all nodded.
"Excellent."
Their group was just starting to walk away when Ashido and Hagakure pulled Ochako to a stop, pulling her away from everyone else.
"Ashido what-?"
"Are Jinsei and Etsumi dating?" Ashido rushed out, interrupting her.
Ochako just blinked, her entire brain coming to a screeching halt at those words.
"I-. Huh?"
She gave her head a small shake. "Are Izuku and Jinsei…?"
"Dating." Hagakure said. "Are they dating?"
Ochako gave her head another shake. "I don't-. Why do you ask?"
"Well for starters, Jinsei refers to Etsumi by his given name, and apparently is with him enough to refer to you by yours. I know he's not dating you, because you've got that thing going on with Tsu."
Ochako felt her face go beet red. "W-what are you talking about?"
Ashido just waved her hand, disregarding her. "Not important right now. Not what we're here to talk about. Now, there's also the fact that he said that he probably knows Etsumi better than anyone else. Jinsei looks like he's probably about the same age as us. And then there's how they look."
"How they look?" Ochako asked, having recovered a bit.
"C'mon Uraraka. You might have eyes for Tsu, but I know you're not blind. Jinsei is drop-dead gorgeous. And Etsumi isn't exactly someone to scoff at. If his personality were a bit less… stoic and mysterious, Etsumi would absolutely be my type. And I wasthinking about going after Jinsei if this thing between him and Etsumi hadn't come up. And then to top it all off, both of them are crazy powerful. They're probably the only ones who can handle each other."
She and Hagakure both leaned in closer. "Now spill! What's the situation between them?"
Ochako just blinked, she was still trying to recover from this. This entire conversation was scrambling her brain. Ashido… she and Hagakure actually thought that Izuku was dating his own alter-ego? How could she even convince them otherwise without giving him away?
A sudden thought popped into her head, and she had to hold back a smile. Should she even try to convince them otherwise? Thinking about it, this situation was hilarious. Rei would absolutely think so, and Izuku would either be completely indifferent or would find it funny as well.
So, no need to convince them. But what if she led them on instead?
She put on her best attempt at an anxious smile. "I'm not really supposed to talk about it…"
The two of them practically squealed. Ashido grabbed her by the shoulders. "Fuck that, you have to tell us everything!"
"Later." Ochako said, pulling free, and wearing a smile that was much more genuine. "When Jirou isn't around to hear us."
And also so she had time to work out what she would say, and maybe get some help…
After being forced to promise that she would indeed tell them, the three of them moved to catch up with the group. She let the other two go on ahead just a bit, giving her a chance to pull out her phone.
12:36 [Ochako]-
-'I need your help with something.'
-'How good are you with editing pictures?'
The reply was almost immediate.
12:36 [Rei]-
-'I dabble. Why?'
12:37 [Ochako]-
-'Do you think you could make a fake picture of Izuku and Jinsei together?'
-'Ashido and Hagakure think that Izuku and Jinsei are dating, and I want to egg them on.'
12:37 [Rei]-
-'…'
-'I'm out with Iona right now. We'll be back within the hour, and as soon as we are, I'll get to work. You'll have it soon.'
-'How many do you need?'
12:38 [Ochako]-
-'As many as you feel like making.'
12:38 [Rei]-
-':Thumbs Up:'
-'I'm on it.'
Ochako smiled as she put her phone away and moved to catch up to the others. This was going to be great.
Rei was in on it with her now. That was essentially permission to keep on going. Not to mention that with her help, she'd be able to take this so much further.
Now then, what to say?
Izuku walked out of his temporary room with a smile so wide it was almost painful.
Even just over a video call, Iona was just too adorable. He'd held on to everything she'd said, every relayed detail of her day. And even if he didn't have his near-perfect memory, he still would've remembered every single word.
He couldn't wait to see her again in person. Her and Rei both, and Tamako as well. This was the first time he'd ever gone so long without Rei, and he was finding that he didn't much care for it, didn't much care for being separated from any of them. It was almost enough to make him regret coming.
But, no. He might not like being away from them, but he was having fun here. And besides, because of the fun he'd had last night, and that which he would probably end up having tonight, he now had something to show all three of them once he returned home. Iona in particular would probably enjoy his illusion quirk.
His smile hadn't diminished at all by the time he made it to the living room, where Yagi was once again reading, this time not wearing All Might pajamas.
"Why so happy?" Yagi asked. "Are you going out to mess with people again?"
"I am. But that's not what has me so happy. I just got off the phone with my sister and newly adopted daughter."
Yagi choked, bringing a hand up as he coughed up blood. Izuku moved to give him a handful of napkins as the coughing persisted, which Yagi took, with a flash of gratefulness appearing through the shock.
It took a few long seconds for him to recover, but once he did, he looked at Izuku with wide eyes.
"Did you say daughter?"
Izuku nodded. "I did. Adopted her about a week ago, the day after you and I last met for lunch, actually."
"You adopted a child? Wh-." Yagi cleared his throat, wiping at his mouth. "May I ask why? It's unusual to say the least, for one as young as you to do something like that."
Izuku shrugged. "I wanted to, and I was able to. That's usually the reasoning for most of what I do. However, if you're looking for a more meaningful answer, to be assured that it wasn't merely a whim, I was already familiar with her previously and I empathized with her situation, so I wanted to do what I could to help. And even though it's only been about a week, I don't regret that decision."
Yagi nodded, settling back into his chair somewhat shakily. "I see. Apologies, that just caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting something like that."
Izuku waved the apology off. "Don't worry about it."
"Actually," he continued, "you helped us adopt her much quicker than it normally would've taken."
Yagi's head tilted. "I did?"
Izuku nodded. "Do you remember the reference letter that Nezu had you write for myself and Rei?"
Yagi's brow scrunched. "I believe so?"
"Well, the reason for that was to speed up the adoption process. Between Nezu's efforts, and then the weight carried by reference letters from Nezu and All Might himself, that process was sped up quite a bit indeed."
"I see. So that's what that was for. I didn't think much of it when Nezu asked me to write it."
He looked up at Izuku. "You said a daughter, right?" Then, when Izuku nodded. "What's her name?"
Izuku smiled. Partly at Yagi getting over his surprise and wanting to know more, and partly because now he had a chance to talk about Iona to someone who did not previously know about her.
"Iona." He answered. Then, before Yagi could respond. "Would you like to see some pictures?"
Yagi smiled. "Sure. I'd love to."
Izuku nodded, already walking over and pulling out his phone. "Fair warning though. I have already accumulated a great number of pictures over the past week. If you don't stop me, I can and will spend all night showing you all of them."
"Noted." Yagi said.
"Oh, and by the way," Izuku added, "you're her godfather."
Izuku stepped back as Yagi choked up another mouthful of blood.
Izuku was flying through the air, towards his target destination for the night, laughing to himself as he recalled his conversation with Yagi, and the man's reactions.
The decision to make Yagi Iona's godfather hadn't been a huge deal. It had simply popped into his head one night, supported by the facts that the man had helped him and Rei to adopt her in the first place, that he was Izuku's friend—one of his only friends, and technically the first one he'd had in years—and that he and Rei didn't exactly know anyone else who'd be worthy of the title. There was Ochako, but she was already family anyway. Rei had readily agreed with the idea, as she couldn't think of any reason not to, and because the appeal of having All Might be so closely related to Iona was too good to pass up.
A sudden thought interrupted his amusement, and had him coming to a stop in midair, pulling his phone from where it was tucked within 'Hotbar,' and then opening the messenger that he only ever used when he couldn't get to his computer, such as right now.
Speaking of godparents…
7:48 [Deku]-
-'I just realized, I never thanked you for your assistance in speeding up the process of my sister and I being registered as foster parents.'
-'I greatly appreciate your help. Especially since we have already adopted a child.'
As per his usual, Nezu's response was immediate, despite the sudden and odd timing of his message.
7:48 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'No thanks necessary! I was glad to help such an old acquaintance!'
-'And I'm very glad to hear that my assistance has yielded such a favorable outcome!'
-'If you don't mind my curiosity, might I inquire about the child you've chosen to adopt?'
7:49 [Deku]-
-'NewFavoritePerson.jpg'
-'Her name's Iona.'
7:49 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'How adorable!'
-'She seems to be a very lovely child. I hope I have an opportunity to meet her some day!'
7:50 [Deku]-
-'I would hope you'd get a chance to meet her. It'd be a bit odd for a godparent to never meet their godchild.'
Izuku laughed as he watched Nezu try and fail to type a response several times. He wasn't close enough to confirm with 'Observation,' but he could feel the rodent's shock.
7:52 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Ah.'
-'Unexpected to say the least, but certainly not unwelcome.'
-'I'm honored. And I shall endeavor to fulfill this new role to the best of my ability.'
-'If there is anything you require of me in pursuit of this, you need only inform me.'
7:52 [Deku]-
-'Well, if I could be allowed to bring her with me to Yueii's planned summer camp, I would be grateful.'
7:52 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Done. I will see to it that arrangements are made.'
7:53 [Deku]-
-'Much appreciated.'
-'PerfectionPersonified.jpg'
-'For recompense.'
-'I'll be sure to tell her all about her new godparent. I imagine she'll be rather excited to meet you.'
Once again he could see Nezu start and stop typing several times in rapid succession, before finally managing to reply.
7:54 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Of course! I'm glad to be of assistance!'
-'Now, apologies for the abrupt end to this conversation, but I must be going. It is late, and I have work to attend to in the morning. Good night.'
Izuku smiled as Nezu went offline before he even had a chance to respond. It was rare to see him so flustered. In fact, Izuku doubted that the rodent had ever been so flustered before.
He gave a small, wistful sigh as he tucked his phone away. If only he had a way to see Nezu's face, and a way to record it.
Izuku returned his attention back to the task at hand. Now then, time to have some fun.