Chapter Text
Midoriya Izuku yawned, raising a hand in front of his mouth to partially stifle it as he moved towards the coffee maker at the back corner of the counter. He topped it up, filled it with grounds, and clicked the start button.
While the slow dripping of his coffee sounded he packed his backpack with everything he needed for the day, making sure to tuck his laptop in alongside his current notebooks. His movements were the process of years of practice, and as he poured his coffee into a travel mug, black like he liked it, and grabbed an apple on the way out the door, he couldn’t help but think about what life would have been like if he hadn’t made it into his program.
He arrived at the bus station within two minutes of the bus’s arrival and the ride was short and succinct. He stepped off at his destination, moving quickly towards the building.
Through the door, down the stairs, around the corner and there. He waved a hand in front of the sensor and the door opened, allowing him through as it beeped its recognition at his scan.
“Good morning Nakamura-kun,” Izuku greeted his classmate as he dropped his backpack at the door and pulled his lab coat on before he entered any more. “Any results from the protein synthesis yet?”
“Ah, Midoriya-kun! Perfect timing!” Nakamura said excitedly, waving Izuku over. “Look at this!”
Izuku rolled his eyes, by now used to the antics of his friend. He leaned over the microscope that Nakamura stood by, reaching out to steady the focus.
He blinked slowly, examining it closer.
Glancing up at Nakamura’s excited expression, he couldn’t help but mirror it. He grinned.
“No way.”
“Yes way,” Nakamura said, almost yelling now. “Midoriya-kun, we did it. We finally did it.”
Izuku was grinning in full now, excited laughter beginning to spill out of him. “I can’t believe we managed to grow a cell structure that perfectly mimics Kamui Wood’s special attack move.”
“I know, right? Anyway, what were you asking earlier?” Nakamura asked, leaning back to look at the centrifuge he was prepping.
“Ah, the protein synthesis.”
“Oh…” Nakamura frowned, but didn’t look back over. “Nothing yet. Doesn’t want to cooperate.”
Izuku sighed. “Figures. Because why would something work out for me?”
Nakamura sniggered. “That’s the spirit.”
The door to the lab beeped, alerting them to visitors. Izuku frowned, standing. He tucked the gloves he was about to put on back into his pocket. They didn’t usually get many people downstairs in their lab, especially not this early. It was a result of the lab being reserved for their research, and people’s general avoidance of Izuku’s quirklessness. A sorry fact, but one he was used to by now. At least in this program he could do some good.
A harried woman rushed through the door, pointing right at Izuku, her expression turning up in disdain. Izuku resisted the urge to snort as Yanagi-san exited as swiftly as she was able. The woman still believed that quirklessness was a disease, even though she worked in and around scientists every day. She was honestly a scientific miracle in herself with that lack of understanding.
Midoriya would admit that, in rigorous scientific testing, he tried coughing next to her to see what would happen. Him and Nakamura had laughed about the results of that particular hypothesis for weeks after, and Midoriya still had a hard time looking the woman in the eyes.
Two men had followed her in and Izuku found himself stiffening with excitement while dread simultaneously pooled in his stomach.
“Midoriya Izuku,” the first man spoke. “My name is-“
“Eraserhead,” Izuku blurted before the man could finish, and before he could curb his own volatile mouth. He winced inwardly. “Sorry sir, old habit.” He bowed stiffly. He glanced at the other man. “And Lemillion!” His brain was firing a mile a minute as he tried to correlate why two pro-heroes, even a retired one, were in his lab.
“Wow,” Lemillion said, leaning in towards Izuku. His unsettling blue eyes were taking in everything around him even as he spoke to Izuku. “What a lab you have here, Midoriya-kun.”
“What can I,” Izuku cleared his throat as it came out a little pitchy. “What can I help you with? May I ask why you’re here?”
Eraserhead raised a singular eyebrow. “We heard that you are one of the leaders in advancing quirk science. And we need your help.”
Izuku blinked in surprise. “What.”
“I said that-“
“No, I heard what you said, I just can’t believe it. There’s so many other amazing quirk scientists, so many people I’ve learned from. I’m just barely in my doctorate, I work with so many other people, I’m still learning. Why don’t you ask my-”
“Listen Midoriya-san,” Eraserhead said firmly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do you keep up with hero news?”
Izuku chewed at the inside of his cheek. How was he supposed to answer that? Yeah, I used to want to be a hero before everyone told me to give up on my dreams and die, of course I still follow the news. It’s not like I can get away from it. “Yeah, a little,” he settled on after a moment.
“Midoriya-kun is the biggest hero nerd I know,” Nakamura interrupted and Izuku closed his eyes briefly. Helpful, Sakasi-kun.
“Maybe a little more than a little.”
“Well there’s something we haven’t put on the news yet. My old students are getting injured. We managed to keep it out of the hands of the press, but there’s only so much time we have with pros pulled out of the limelight before someone notices.” Eraserhead said.
Izuku frowned. “What is it?” He asked despite himself. Or maybe because of himself. He never really did learn to keep his mouth closed when he should.
Lemillion glanced at Eraserhead, who nodded. “There’s a drug in circulation,” Lemillion said. “It disables someone’s quirk for an unknown amount of time.”
“Recovery Girl has been working on it and she can’t make sense of it from a medical perspective. So we came here.” Eraserhead added. “We can’t make you do anything, but you would be a great help to the heroes if you would aid us.”
Izuku had to hold back a snort. Of course now, once he’d finally come to terms with the direction of his life, did the heroes suddenly need him. It was what he’d dreamed of in his early undergrad, something he’d quickly given up on. And now here he was.
He sighed. “Of course I’ll help,” he said slowly. “When do you need me?”
Lemillion grinned. “Now?”
“And what am I expecting here?”
“As in?” Eraserhead prompted and Izuku cleared his throat a little.
“Like will I have a lab? What equipment do I have access to? What funding? Will I be on my own or will I have people working with me? What heroes have been affected?” Izuku forced himself to slow down before he became too impertinent. “I have very little information and I’m gonna need a lot more before I can start. That’s all.”
“You’ll get all that, and more. You’ll see once we arrive. The Hero Commission is funding the project, they’re eager to keep this below the radar and take credit if things work out. And you’ll be working at Yuuei in order for us to be able to help you. There are dormitories there for guests and teachers, you’ll be staying with us there along with some of the pros that you are helping with.”
Lemillion stepped in before Izuku could ask anything. “We start today if you can.”
“Uh…” Izuku turned to look at Nakamura, who just gave him a thumbs up and mouthed “oh my god” to him. Izuku huffed a fond breath of exasperation. He was going to miss Nakamura if he didn't get to work with him anymore. He didn’t have many friends due to his quirklessness, but he had met Nakamura in his third year of his undergrad and they had instantly become close. He couldn’t just leave him. “Can… can Nakamura-kun help me? We’ve been partners for so long the lab wouldn’t feel right without him.”
“Of course,” Eraserhead interjected before Nakamura could even say anything. “Two minds are better than one.”
Izuku breathed out a sigh of relief. He turned to grin at Nakamura, whose jaw was practically on the floor in astonishment.
“Please give us addresses and pack your things. We’ll send pros to escort you to Yuuei to begin. Thank you for your compliance.” Eraserhead said, bowing partially at the waist and followed shortly by Lemillion. After taking the papers with Izuku and Nakamura’s addresses the two pro heroes left. Izuku and Nakamura stood in silence for a brief moment before both exploding with excitement.
“We got funding!” Nakamura shouted.
“And a lab? Fully equipped, knowing Yuuei!” Izuku shouted back.
“And pro heroes?”
“That was Eraserhead and Lemillion!”
“Lemillion is my favourite!”
“Permeation, the applications of that could be amazing. I wonder if he would be willing to let us take samples, I would really like to know how his cells interact with his surroundings.” Izuku mused. “Does he phase through everything? What’s the trigger? I wonder, if you -”
“I’m gonna stop you there before you go full blown analysis mode.” Nakamura raised his hand, a knowing smile on his face.
Izuku took a deep breath. “Yeah, we should start packing I guess. Close up our projects here and save stuff.”
Nakmura nodded. “I still can’t believe this is happening,” he said softly. “This is going to be amazing.”
“I hope so,” Izuku answered as he began to shuffle his notes into order. “I really hope so.”
And so Izuku was waiting for his hero escort in front of his apartment building. His essentials were packed and on the step in his suitcase and his carry-on and backpack were stuffed with his personal research supplies, including his latest analysis notebook and his scrapbooks for theory planning and research building. He had his favourite pens, a book for if he happened to have spare time, and a photo of his mom tucked into the book. He shouldered the bag a bit more, shuffling his feet.
A sleek black car pulled up to the sidewalk and Izuku straightened, wondering who his escort would be. The door opened.
A woman stepped out, her brown hair cut in a stylish bob. She grinned at him over the top of the car, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her pink and black bomber jacket as she came around the vehicle.
“Midoriya Izuku?” She asked. Izuku nodded. “My name is Uraraka Ochako, but you might know me as-”
“Uravity? I am a huge fan!” Izuku blurted, unable to resist. “Your fights in the Yuuei Sports Festivals were so amazing, and your application of your quirk is amazing! Although, I do wonder if you could increase the gravity as well and use that to power up your fighting, and fighting with extremely heavy objects turned weightless would certainly add power to your fighting style if nausea wasn’t an issue.”
Uraraka laughed and Izuku flushed. Dammit, he thought to himself. Really thought I kicked that habit in my first year.
“You have very interesting ideas Midoriya-san,” she said brightly. “I’m excited to maybe get to spend more time with you! The circumstances are unfortunate, but I guess I didn’t really think of any of that. I’m not a very offensive fighter.”
“True, your style is perfectly suited for rescue, but I’ve seen you throw a punch and you certainly know how.”
Uraraka’s grin widened and Izuku felt himself relaxing a bit. “Either way, I’m your escort. Whenever you’re ready to go, I am too.”
“Just gotta grab my stuff!” Izuku spun, grabbing his suitcase and stepping down to meet Uraraka where she was popping open the trunk. He tossed his stuff into the vehicle and shut it firmly. He turned one last glance towards his little apartment complex before he shouldered his backpack and slid into the passenger seat beside Uraraka.
He was sitting beside a pro hero. This was the third pro he had met today. And he was going to meet more.
He caught his face in his hands, exhaling shakily.
“You okay?” Uraraka asked, glancing over at him.
“Good,” Izuku said, muffled through his palms. “Just been a bit of an overwhelming day, you know?”
“Ah,” she answered easily. “That makes sense. If you need some time to adjust then take it. We’re adults, we can wait.” She wrinkled her nose. “Well, most of us.”
Izuku laughed. “What does that mean?” He said, lifting his head.
“Well one of the pros who got hit by the quirk-erasing bullets is quite bad tempered, more so after losing his quirk. You’ll meet him soon enough, and for that I am very sorry.”
Izuku rolled his eyes. “I’m sure I’ve dealt with worse.” He said honestly, double checking his backpack for something to do with his hands. It wasn’t like things could get much worse for him. He was a quirkless student just barely managing to get through life. At this point, he could only go up and he was already on his way there since Eraserhead and Lemillion stepped into his lab.
Of course, karma loved to prove him wrong.
He stepped out of the vehicle and locked eyes with the one person he had hoped he’d never have to see face to face again.
“Uraraka-sama?” He asked calmly.
“Just Uraraka is fine.” She corrected gently. “Yeah?”
“Float me into the sun please?”
She sputtered a laugh before catching a glimpse of his expression. “Oh,” she said. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.” Or I’m about to be.
Because the pro hero Dynamight stood in front of him, arms crossed, feet planted apart, just like they had been all those years ago. His spiky blonde hair and blazing eyes hadn’t changed in the slightest, and neither had his voice when he spoke. It was a blast back to his middle school years, and Izuku did not appreciate the reminder.
“Deku,” he snarled, beginning his march towards Izuku. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Kacchan, listen,” Izuku sighed, but he could feel his heart rate picking up.
“Wait,” Uraraka said slowly from where she was beginning to place herself between them, arm halted midway in her reach to halt Bakugou’s path. “Kacchan?”
“Hey nerd,” Bakugou sneered as Izuku took a cautious step back. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m working, Kacchan.” Izuku said softly. “I got hired for a project at Yuuei with the Hero Commission.”
“Someone like you? What could you do?” Now Bakugou was starting to get angry. He stormed forwards, pushing past Uraraka and grabbing a hold of Izuku’s collar, pushing him back against the car. Izuku saw the reflexive twitch of Bakugou’s hand and he paused, realizing something.
Nothing had happened.
Bakugou wasn’t stupid, and neither was Izuku. They both knew that Bakugou wouldn’t hurt him, not here, not in front of his coworker. But every time Bakugou got mad his palms sparked. It was a fact of life. The sky is blue, fire is hot, Izuku is quirkless, and Bakugou explodes when he’s angry.
“No way,” Izuku mumbled, beginning to laugh even as his hands came up in front of his face defensively. It had been years and the reflex was still hammered into his being. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Bakugou’s face screwed up in confusion and anger as Izuku’s laughter grew into hysterics and he clutched at Bakugou’s arm like it was the only thing holding him up. He didn’t want to test the theory.
“Spit it out nerd,” Bakugou hissed, pulling forwards and slamming Izuku back roughly.
“You lost your quirk,” Izuku wheezed, half from laughter and half from the force of the shove. “You lost your quirk and you need me to get it back for you.”
The grip on his collar loosened and Izuku wobbled but remained upright. He didn’t even care. He was too busy laughing at the irony.
Bakugou pitched back a step as Izuku took one forward. “How does it feel to be quirkless, Kacchan? Huh? How does it feel to be powerless?”
“Midoriya-san?” Uraraka asked, her voice soft. He had gotten used to her rather brash nature on the way over and the change startled him back into himself a little. He leaned back, straightening his shirt from where Bakugou’s tight knuckled grip had wrinkled it.
“I’m sorry,” he said, directing his apology to her. “Can you show me to the lab? I’d like to start getting set up before Nakamura-kun arrives.”
Her hesitancy was clear, but as she glanced between Izuku’s shaking hands and Bakugou’s incensed look she nodded at him. “This way, I’ll take you there.”
He ducked away from Bakugou, following Uraraka into the building. The whole walk she kept shooting Izuku strange glances, but Izuku was not in the mood to answer questions. He just wanted to retreat to the safety of his lab, regardless of how new it was. A lab is a lab, and anywhere he can do research is instantly a safe place. He ignored the looks he was getting from students in the school as well. He was used to the judgement by now. It still bothered him but at least it faded into the background now.
Uraraka opened up a door, holding it open and allowing him to walk into the lab first. He stepped through and when he looked up he felt his stomach drop in excitement. He cleared his throat.
“Thank you Uraraka,” he said, forcing his voice to stay even. “I appreciate you walking me here.”
“Of course,” she said amicably, although Izuku could tell she still wanted to ask about the whole Bakugou situation. But she didn’t, instead choosing to say, “Someone else will drop by later on to show you and your friend to your rooms. I’m sorry you’re both getting swapped between so many pros, it’s a tight schedule with a bunch of us out of commission. But if you need anything, the staff or faculty can help you if you catch any of them in the hallway.”
“Perfect. I’ll just get started here then.” He smiled, genuinely this time. His excitement to check out all of the equipment in the lab was steadily growing.
“Don’t work too hard,” Uraraka joked and Izuku laughed.
“Impossible,” chimed Nakamura from where he had just opened the door. “Midoriya-kun doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘chill.’”
“Rude, first off,” Izuku said, already relaxing with his friend’s presence. “Second, fair.”
Nakamura laughed as he shrugged off his backpack onto a chair. His eyes wandered around the room, and he pushed his black curls further up his forehead as if he needed to see the lab better to fully take it in. Izuku didn’t disagree.
“Ochako,” a new voice greeted and Izuku couldn’t help the way his jaw dropped at the entry of the pro hero who escorted Nakamura.
“Holy shit,” he whispered to Nakamura. “We are going to run so many experiments, right? Just to get to talk to them more?”
The striking heterochromatic eyes of the pro hero Shouto turned to him then. He nodded stiffly at Izuku, who bowed in greeting, partially to show respect, and partially to hide his oncoming blush. Nakamura laughed under his breath, kicking Izuku in the shoe to let him know that he noticed, and he knew.
This only made Izuku’s flush worse, but he had to move on.
“Todoroki-san, Uraraka-san, I hope you will continue to help us with our research,” Izuku said, almost breathlessly. He had gotten to see so many pros today, and apparently he hadn’t grown out of that phase. That was something he was going to come back to later, but not now. Not in front of some of his favourite pros, and pros his age too!
Todoroki was visibly confused, but Uraraka grinned. “Of course! If it helps our classmates, we’ll be happy to assist!”
“What for?” Todoroki asked, and Izuku searched for an answer that wasn’t based mostly off of his own desire to learn about all of the former hell class’s quirks. So many of them had made it to be ranked on the charts.
Nakamura stepped in smoothly, the godsend. “When working with biological elements such as quirks it's good to have references of how things should be working to compare to the test material. That way we can see what is not behaving in the capacity it should be, while also learning a bit more for our own research on quirk evolution,” he ended with a small grin. “I’m a biochemist, Midoriya-kun is a geneticist.”
Izuku shrugged. “Hey, as long as I never have to take another o-chem class again, I’m good.”
Nakamura pulled a face. “It is interesting, you have to admit.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Izuku grinned. “But I do not miss my undergrad.”
“So what got you interested in quirk science?” Uraraka asked curiously. Todoroki kind of looked like he wanted to escape, but Uraraka’s gaze was travelling all through the lab. Izuku made a side note to explain some things to her during experiments if she wanted.
“Just love science,” Nakamura shrugged.
The two heroes looked over at Izuku.
“I actually wanted to be a hero when I was younger.” He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I love quirks and the science that goes along with them, so it was kind of just a perfect fit for me.”
“Didn’t want to be a hero as you got older?” Uraraka asked, and Izuku winced. Of course that would be the next question.
“Just didn’t work out,” he said vaguely while Nakamura shot Izuku a sympathetic, knowing look. “Anyway, we should probably get started. Thanks for getting us here, and we look forward to seeing you later!”
“Of course!” Uraraka exclaimed while Todoroki inclined his head politely. They both waved while they left, one significantly more excitedly than the other, and then it was just Nakamura and Izuku alone in the lab.
They stood in silence for a minute before Nakamura whistled lowly. “I’ve never seen a fancier bunsen burner in my life.”
“Right?” Izuku could barely contain his excitement, and then they were both scrambling around the massive lab, exploring drawers and cabinets and equipment on the desks. “This place has the most high tech equipment I’ve ever seen!”
“It’s so clean!” Nakamura laughed in agreement. “And look! No more stashing food in with the specimens!”
Izuku grinned as he saw the kitchen refrigerator next to the larger lab one.
“I’m glad that our facility is to your approval,” a soft voice said, and Izuku whirled, trying to find the source of the voice. “It was built recently for this exact purpose, so everything here is very new.”
Izuku finally managed to spot the source of the voice.
“Principal Nezu!” He nearly shouted.
Nezu merely blinked. “It’s me! The mouse? The bear? Doesn’t matter, I’m the principal of Yuuei! I am pleased to meet your acquaintances, Midoriya-kun, Nakamura-kun.”
Izuku bowed. “Thank you for having us,” he said, still reeling over the fact that he was talking to the Principal Nezu, one of the smartest… creatures, he guessed? Couldn’t really say people. Organisms maybe? Regardless, Izuku was a little in awe to be talking to Nezu.
“Thank you,” Nezu said smoothly, his black eyes glinting. Izuku couldn’t decipher any emotion in them, and he found himself a little frightened. He had heard rumours of the things that had happened to Nezu, and he figured Nezu himself wasn’t too keen to have scientists - especially quirk scientists - working so closely. “For coming in to help us. I know dropping your research couldn’t have been easy, but it is greatly appreciated in the hero community.”
“Of course,” Nakamura said. “Anything we can do to help.”
“Indeed. Is there anything you need?”
Izuku frowned. “Actually, I’d love to get started today,” he said. “Is there any way we could get at least one of the affected to come into the lab so we can begin?”
“I can send in someone,” Nezu said. “I believe I saw Dynamight outside-”
“No!” Izuku nearly shouted, waving his hands frantically. He fought to steady his breathing, to reign in his wild emotions. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore Nakamra’s shocked expression. “My apologies. Is there anyone else you can send? I would rather start with someone with a less volatile… quirk.” He finished lamely. Personality, more like.
“Of course,” Nezu said pleasantly, but Izuku could see the curiosity in those bottomless black eyes. He was really going to get freaked out by him, he just knew it. “I’ll find someone else. They’ll be here in a little, and I’ll leave you to get set up.”
Izuku just nodded while Nakamura thanked the principal. When Nezu was gone Nakamura turned to Izuku, eyebrows raised.
“What was that?” He asked. “I mean, I’ve seen you freak out before, and that wasn’t really it. What’s wrong? All he did was mention Dynamight and then you flipped.”
Izuku sighed. “You remember me telling you about my middle school years, right?”
Nakamura grimaced. “Yeah, I remember. Kind of hard to forget something that brutal.”
Izuku could relate. Even if his body wasn’t littered with scars, more than someone his age should have, he wouldn’t be able to forget it. After all, it wasn’t every day you got suicide baited. For Izuku it was at most every other day. That tended to stick with you, regardless of how much he wished that wasn’t true.
“Well, my classmate… the worst one?” He waited until Nakamura nodded. “His name was Kacchan. I know I’ve mentioned him before. But that’s just what I called him. We grew up together, were nearly inseparable, my mom said.” Izuku couldn’t quite hold back the bitter laugh that fought its way up his throat. “Well his full name is Katsuki. Bakugou Katsuki.”
Nakamura’s jaw dropped. “Your childhood best friend was the pro hero Dynamight? And you never told me?”
“Childhood friend until my quirk didn’t come in. Kacchan was - is - obsessed with being the strongest. I didn’t fit that, so I was no longer someone he wanted around. Which wouldn’t have been bad, if he hadn’t begun practicing with his quirk. It’s shockingly easy to hide the fact that you’re using a quirkless kid as a punching bag and test dummy.” Izuku shrugged, feigning the nonchalance he couldn’t quite feel as the words left him, leaving him with a sour taste in his mouth. It had been so long since he had last seen Bakugou. He had forgotten how much thinking of him hurt. “And I didn’t want to advertise that. Despite his whole personality, Kacchan is an amazing hero. I didn’t want a middle school grudge ruin that, no matter how bad it might have been.
Nakamura scoffed, but before he could respond a small knock came on the door and the pair turned towards the sound.
“Principal Nezu sent me here,” the newcomer announced softly, eyes trained on the floor. “My name is-”
“No way,” Izuku said, half full of excitement and half of disappointment. “You are one of my favourite heroes of all time!”
The man froze, looking vaguely nauseous as he finished his sentence. “...Tamaki Amajiki.”
Izuku fought back his enthusiasm, remembering the time he had first seen the hero Suneater in action. It had been a couple years back, but he remembered it as clear as day. Suneater had quickly risen in his favourite heroes ranks when he had saved an entire bus of civilians from a villain whose quirk could warp metal. Suneater had taken him out swiftly, and then had been promptly overwhelmed by the crowd of thankful transit riders. It was the first time Izuku had ever seen a hero be anything but enthusiastic in response to the public. Suneater had looked quite afraid, and Izuku honestly couldn’t help but relate to the anxious energy Suneater had been giving off.
“Welcome Tamaki-sama,” Izuku said warmly. “My name is Midoriya Izuku, and this is Nakamura Sazae.” Nakamura waved, his hand low at his hip. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, although I’m very sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
Tamaki lifted his head, and Izuku noticed how he still wasn’t really looking at either of them, his gaze flicking between the floor and the exit. “Bad things happen as a hero. I accepted everything when I applied to Yuuei. It’s… nice to meet you as well.”
“Well if you’d like to get started so you can leave,” Tamaki flushed slightly at Izuku’s words, clearly not expecting to be seen through quite so easily, or at least quite so loudly, “we can start with the basics. How your quirk works, how you activate it, and any important triggers with using it and when you stop, that sort of thing.”
He pulled out his notebook and sat down at a table, gesturing for Tamaki to take the other seat. The hero sat down slowly, but relaxed slightly when Izuku kept his gaze trained on his notebook.
Nakamura laughed a little at Izuku and Tamaki looked up sharply. “Midoriya-kun,” Nakamura said, taking his own seat at the table after he managed to finally dig up his own notebook as well as hunt down his elusive pen. “If I didn’t know better, I would think your quirk is notebook summoning.”
Izuku stuck his nose up in the air with a fake sniff. “Just because you’re not prepared doesn’t mean no one else is Nakamura-kun.”
A small smile quirked the corners of Tamaki’s lips, and Izuku smiled at him. “Whenever you’re ready, Tamaki-sama.”
“No need to be so formal with me,” Tamaki said. “I’m not that much older than either of you, and I don’t care as much for formalities.” Nakamura nodded, but Izuku doubted either of them was actually going to drop the suffix. “Well, my quirk is called Manifest. It allows me to, well, manifest the appearances and attributes of anything I’ve eaten. I can manifest multiple things at once, but I can’t manifest something if I haven’t eaten it recently. The ability disappears once I’ve digested the food.”
Izuku nodded, his hand flying across his paper. “So hypothetically if you ate oyakodon, you could manifest wings?”
Tamaki nodded.
“And what triggers the manifestation?”
“Only me thinking about what aspect I want to form in what proportion I want, provided that I’ve eaten the required food.”
“Do you have a specific amount of time the food has to be eaten in order for you to manifest it?” Nakamura asked.
Tamaki frowned slightly. “No, only that I’ve swallowed it.”
“And how long till it manifests once you think about it?”
“Almost instantaneously. Fast enough for me to react with my quirk to villains, even if they catch me by surprise, though of course I’m usually involved in the fight before my quirk has fully caught up.”
Nakamura looked over at Izuku. “To the second activation time. Pretty fast. Must be incredible replication and translation.”
Izuku nodded, tapping his pen against his chin. “That’s what I would assume too. Makes sense.”
Tamaki’s eyebrows drew together in confusion and he leaned forwards slightly. Apparently even his desire to leave couldn’t overcome his curiosity. “What are you talking about?”
Izuku turned to him with a grin. “We’re agreeing on the biological basis of your quirk. In short, yours depends on your DNA.”
“Doesn’t everyones?” Tamaki’s head tilted slightly. “Aren’t quirks genetically connected?”
“Well yes, but yours is slightly different,” Nakamura said, his feet beginning to swing like they always did when he was getting invested in an explanation or experiment. Izuku could always feel his own excitement building when he could hear Nakamura’s toes tapping at the metal cupboards they sat in front of back at their old lab. It always meant they were getting close to something, or at the very least were about to have an exciting discussion. “You see, everyone’s quirk is carried down and mutated through genetics and therefore DNA, you’re right about that, but some people’s quirks rely on their coding in order to produce certain things-”
“Take Midnight, for example,” Izuku jumped in. “Her body creates a certain chemical, although I’ve never actually figured out what it is through just observation, which frustrates me to no end,” he glanced up to see Tamaki’s confused expression and Nakamura holding back laughter, as he always did when Izuku started mumbling. “Anyway,” Izuku coughed. “Your body doesn’t produce chemicals, or it does, but not in relation with your quirk. Your DNA instead reads and copies the DNA from the food you eat and that new RNA strand introduces itself into your DNA, becoming part of you. Except since that new piece of genetic information is brand new and foreign, your body can’t continue to build it in you on its own-”
“Hence why you can only manifest things until it’s digested, because then boom, no more templates to read and follow. That’s why despite things like cooked chicken wings having no feathers doesn’t affect the wings you form, because it's all in the DNA.”
“And when you manifest certain things, your body is taking that new genetic information and mass producing cells and proteins with the new genetic code that was just taken from the food you ate. It turns it into a new part of you, at least until it runs out of code to translate the necessary proteins from.”
“Then your ability to manifest vanishes along with the food you’ve digested, until the process is able to start again from you eating more and introducing new coding once again to your system.” Nakamura finished, a vaguely smug expression on his face. He grinned at Izuku, and Izuku was swept with a flood of relief that threatened to send him toppling off his chair. At least something in all of this was normal. He didn't know where he would be if Nakamura wasn’t with him.
“Huh,” Tamaki said finally. “You guys got all that from… five questions?”
“Well, and a lot of experience and hard earned research from past years,” Izuku said nervously, his hand rising unconsciously to the back of his neck.
“He’s a little modest,” Nakamura said. “We were the top students in the department in our undergrad,” he said with a laugh, kicking Izuku gently in the shin. “And didn’t do half bad in our master’s programs either.”
“I’ve been here for the last five minutes and I didn’t catch any of that.” Izuku spun in his chair to see Lemillion in the doorway. “Science really was not my forte in school, was it?”
“Toogata, your only specialty in school was losing your pants,” Tamaki muttered and Izuku choked back a laugh as Lemillion grinned. Nakamura didn’t even bother trying to hide his laugh. He took three long strides into the room, draping his arms over Tamaki’s shoulders from behind. Izuku didn’t miss the way the tension bled almost instantly out of Tamaki’s body as he leaned back into Lemillion.
“Thanks,” Lemillion said wryly. “I’m glad your true feelings have made an appearance tonight. Anyway, I don’t think I ever actually introduced myself properly. Mirio Toogata, pleased to formally make your acquaintance Midoriya-san, Nakamura-san.”
The pair of them nodded their greeting, turning politely back to their notes while Mirio spoke in a low voice to Tamaki. Tamaki tilted his head up slightly when he responded, speaking in the same soft tones, his hand coming up to grip Mirio’s forearm where his arms were now crossed over Tamaki's chest. Tamaki nodded once.
“Is there anything else you need for the night?” He asked politely. “Aizawa-sensei is coming to guide you to your rooms shortly.”
“One quick thing,” Nakamura said. “If we could just take a quick DNA sample. Then we won’t need to get you back in here as long as all goes according to plan. We should have enough information for a good start, and we can start comparing your DNA to other quirks with the same style of creation for reference.”
“We just need something like a cheek swab or some hair or something. It’s not very much and won’t take long.” Izuku added.
“Of course,” Tamaki nodded, and Izuku set about finding the proper things. He beckoned for Tamaki to swing his chair around and, after washing his hands and pulling on a pair of gloves, swabbed the inside of Tamaki’s cheek multiple times, setting each cotton swab into its own container.
“Perfect,” Izuku said and Tamaki blinked.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.” Izuku smiled. “Thanks for entertaining our theories and helping us start out so early. It must have been quite sudden, and we appreciate the early start.”
“Of course. And also,” Tamaki paused from where he was beginning to follow Mirio out the door. A small smile graced his face. “I liked your theories, even if I didn’t understand much of it. I would be interested if you wanted to keep me updated.” Mirio’s grin behind him was nearly blinding. “If you don't mind me dropping by sometimes. I don’t have much else to do these days.”
It was a sobering thought. “Of course we’d love to have you drop by,” Izuku said with as much quiet enthusiasm as he could muster. The enthusiasm wasn’t hard of course. Suneater was one of his favourite heroes, and even cooler in person. The quiet however, was a bit more of a struggle as he didn’t want to overwhelm the man with his excitement. “You’re as much a part of this experiment as we are, so whether it’s checking up on us or just visiting, feel free to drop in whenever.. It’s always nice to have an extra set of hands and an open mind to bounce ideas off of.”
“And you’re fun to be around,” Nakamura added from where he was sticking the newly labelled swabs into the fridge.
“And that,” Izuku grinned.
Tamaki’s smile grew, even just a little. “I look forward to it.”
“Have a good night!” Mirio said as they left, mouthing a silent ‘thank you’ to the pair as they left.
In the now silent lab, Izuku sighed. “I can’t imagine what it must be like, not being able to do your work and help people. I’m glad I was born quirkless at least, rather than losing my quirk that late in life.”
Nakamura nodded in agreement. He rubbed his wrist where Izuku knew his own quirk lay dormant. “We’ll just have to do our best to help them all as soon as possible then, right?”
“Right.”
The door creaked open as Izuku was zipping up his backpack, revealing a tired looking Eraserhead. He lifted his hand minutely in greeting.
“If you’re finished for the night I can take you to your rooms.” Eraserhead said. “You are being housed with the staff because we don’t know how long this project will last. We collectively decided that rather than you being alone in the guest wing you could live with the staff and therefore have an opportunity to make friends.”
Nakamura stifled a laugh behind his fist, turning it into a cough. Izuku had to agree. Eraserhead sounded like he was pulling out his teeth saying words like ‘we collectively decided’ and ‘friends.’
Izuku couldn’t fight back the smile that slipped past as he spoke, a teasing note entering his tone as he double checked his backpack to avoid eye contact. “Don’t worry, anything would have been fine Eraserhead-sama, but we appreciate the opportunity. It will help if we are able to ask you all questions about your quirks without having to interrupt your classes and hero work as well.”
Eraserhead narrowed his eyes, a single eyebrow rising at Izuku. “Of course,” He said simply. “If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the staff. As well,” he turned, beckoning them out the door. “No need to be so stuffy. Just Aizawa is fine.”
“Alright Aizawa-san.”
“Just Aizawa.”
“Sorry Aizawa-san.”
Aizawa sighed, shrugging his shoulders up so half his face disappeared into his capture weapon when he looked over his shoulder at Izuku. His gaze flicked back to the silently laughing Nakamura behind Izuku.
“You two are going to be trouble, aren’t you?” He asked blandly.
“I have no idea what you mean,” Nakamura said innocently, reining in the giggles that shook his shoulders. “We are here to do research.”
Aizawa turned back. “You have the same look that Yamada gets when he says he’s just ‘doing his radio stuff’ before he starts a gossip column on his talk show.”
Izuku shrugged at Nakamura as they walked through the door into the teacher’s residence building. Aizawa held the door for them and remained outside the room, which Izuku didn’t actually expect yet made too much sense when they were instantly bombarded by a loud man in a warm looking green cardigan that matched his eyes. His blonde hair was pulled up into a low bun at the back of his head.
“Hey there listeners, how did the trip go?” The man didn’t even look like he was shouting yet his voice carried with an insane amount of strength.
“Uh, good?” Izuku said, a little taken aback at the enthusiasm.
“The lab is nice.” Nakamura added in support from where he remained slightly behind Izuku. Coward.
“Yamada,” Aizawa said softly and the man jolted, eyes widening before he laughed.
“Right, my apologies. Yamada Hizashi, pleased to meet you. I forgot that while we were informed of you guys, you don’t quite know us.”
“Nice to meet you Yamada-sama.” Izuku said.
“Wow, a charmer,” a new voice chimed in. Izuku blinked at the appearance of another new teacher. “My name is Kayama Nemuri, and you don’t need to be so uptight,” she laughed, pushing her familiar looking red rimmed glasses up on her head as she set down the assignments she was marking. She stuck the pen into her dark hair, which was pulled back into an effortlessly elegant messy bun. “Don’t feel that you need to address us quite so formally. You’re going to be living here with us, and you’re helping us all out quite a bit.”
“Of course,” Nakamura said. “We should also introduce ourselves properly. My name is Nakamura Sazae, this is my lab partner Midoriya Izuku. Thank you for having us.”
Izuku echoed the sentiment distractedly, his brain still attempting to process the familiarity of all the people. All of a sudden it clicked and he snapped his fingers.
Nakamura looked over to him in amusement and the two teachers exchanged a glance. “Got it, Midoriya-kun?” Nakamura asked.
“Yes, thanks.”
“Got what?” Yamada asked, and Izuku flushed a little.
“It was bothering me about how familiar you both looked. It took me a little to get there, but I did.” An elegantly quirked eyebrow from Kayama was the only prompt he received. “You’re Present Mic and Midnight.” Izuku said. “That’s all.”
Yamada blinked before a massive grin spread across his face. “That’s the fastest anyone has ever identified me outside of my hero costume!” He exclaimed.
“I wouldn’t have thought so, given your decibel level,” Aizawa muttered from where he was laying on the couch, eyes already closed.
“You’d be surprised how sneaky I actually am, Aizawa,” Yamada shot back, only to be shut down again.
“You wouldn’t know subtlety if it bit you on the ass,” Aizawa answered flatly, and Kayama dissolved into laughter.
“Sorry about the two of them,” she winked conspiratorially. “You know how it gets.”
“Sure,” Izuku said, and Nakamura elbowed him in the side. “It’s not like it’s a problem, Nakamura-kun and I can get the same way.”
“Well I’m sure you’ll get to meet the other teachers soon anyway,” Kayama said. “Speaking of… Yagi-san, come over here!”
Izuku’s stomach dropped as he saw the emaciated man in front of him. The last time he had seen him had been his last year of middle school, right after Izuku had discovered that the skeletal figure in front of him right now was actually All Might, his favourite childhood hero. Izuku could only feel dread, cold and heavy in his gut. If anyone in the room noticed the change in his posture they didn’t comment on it. Izuku faintly heard Nakamura introducing them, All Might responding in kind, but none of their words registered until All Might- no, it was Yagi in this form, Izuku couldn't slip, he had no idea how many people knew- turned to him.
“Are you alright, young man?” He asked and Izuku found himself wishing that Uraraka had actually floated him in the sun in the hours prior.
“Sorry,” Izuku said quickly, folding his shaking hands in front of him. “It’s been a really long day. It’s very nice to meet you, Yagi-sama.”
Izuku bowed to excuse himself, quickly saying good night to Nakamura and the others before turning to leave. He was met with Aizawa’s flat stare. Izuku jumped, taking an abrupt step backwards. Aizawa’s eyes narrowed slightly before he spoke.
“I’ll show you your room,” he simply said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and beginning to walk away without even checking to see if Izuku happened to be following. He was, of course, but it was still strange.
Aizawa pointed out the bathrooms on the way by, the shared kitchen, and the other lounge area, designated for quiet study and work. He jabbed his thumb in the direction of Nakamura’s room before stopping at the last room in the hall, sinking against the wall by the door. “This is where you’ll be staying.”
“Thank you,” Izuku said, looking forward to the peace and quiet of his room. But solace was going to be delayed today it seemed, as Aizawa didn’t turn to leave. Izuku took a deep breath in… out. “Is there anything I can do for you?” He asked as politely as he could manage, and he thought he saw the corner of Aizawa’s lips twitch up in the beginnings of a smile.
“No,” he said slowly. “Just thinking. Have a good night,” he added as he pushed off the wall with his elbow and sauntered down the hall.
Izuku watched him go incredulously before rolling his eyes and entering his room. It was decently large, quite spacious for a dormitory system, although Izuku assumed that was due to the fact that it was a teacher’s dormitory, as well as Yuuei’s massive budget.
His bags were already there, which was a relief. Izuku barely had the energy to unpack, he couldn’t imagine having to carry everything up to his room. The beds were fully made with sheets and blankets, and Izuku, filled with the heaviness of the day, barely managed to shuck off his clothes and pull on a pair of athletic shorts before sinking into the bed. The soft blankets welcomed him and the dark of the room enveloped him and his thoughts.
It had been a very long time since he had seen Bakugou last. Nine years, in fact, and Izuku wished it would have been longer. And then, to add insult to injury, he would be staying in the same building as the man who told him that his dreams of being a hero were for nothing. Not to mention leaving him on a roof afterwards.
Why did whatever powers existing in the universe hate him? Why did it have to be Kacchan that lost his quirk? Izuku felt dread seep into his bones at the thought of trying to get Bakugou to cooperate for long enough to run the proper tests. At having Bakugou in his lab, in his safe space, a violent presence from his youth. Izuku snorted to himself. He was an adult now, he could handle it. Like an adult.