8

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up in a strange place. He blinked and looked around, noticing quickly just how tired he felt. He was in a hospital bed of sorts, in what looked like a nurse's office. Katsuki was asleep in a chair next to the bed, and no light was coming in through the window. He had been asleep for a while; glancing at the clock overhead told him it was past seven.

He stretched, feeling the tightness in his back. He thought that was strange until he remembered what he had done that day. He had thrown himself in front of that zero-pointer to save that beautiful woman. Originally, he had planned to flee like Present Mic suggested, but then he heard her scream in pain. After looking back and seeing her trapped beneath rubble with the robot closing in, the rest seemed to have been out of his control.

An uncontrollable desire to save had overwhelmed him and his body moved on its own. There was nothing that would have stopped him from saving that girl. What happened to himself had been entirely irrelevant.

He had rapidly grown his wings and beat them as hard as he could, streaking towards the nice girl like a missle. He remembered losing his wings and fortifying his back and right leg, then planting himself and pulling every bit of power that he could muster into his right arm. He had manifested the closest thing to a full draconic arm that he had ever managed in his life, and had reached up with it to intercept the zero-pointer. The robot's fist had come down and he had thrown every last shred of strength he possessed into stopping it.

And he succeeded, at least for a little while. He remembered turning back to the girl and begging her to run away. He didn't hear a response but she got this determined look in her eye that would have probably been really attractive if his arm wasn't in danger of being crushed like a stepped-on soda can at the time.

He recalled his body failing. His arm had begun to buckle and he'd felt something in his spine start to give way, even with the fortification from a partial transformation. Then a chunk of concrete, moving faster than it had any right to, had shot past him. He'd watched as the chunk flew like a bullet into the robot's chest and then seemingly detonated on impact.

His last memories were turning back and seeing the woman safe. It was obviously the girl that had done that; she was clearly powerful. With the roaring voice in his head screaming at him to protect gone, his ravaged body failed him, and the next thing he knew, he'd woken up here.

He sighed, content that he had accurately reconstructed the event. Analysis is always important. He managed to sit up, causing enough noise that he apparently alerted his caretaker. The curtain around his bed opened, revealing a short, old woman with a kind smile.

"Recovery Girl…" Izuku's voice was filled with awe. "So cool…"

"Yes, yes, Sonny." Recovery Girl laughed slightly. "You took a big risk out there today."

Izuku recoiled a bit at the scolding. "I know, but I couldn't help it. It's like I wasn't in control of my body."

"Hmm." She huffed at his cheap explanation. "You overused your quirk and pushed your body too hard. You're fortunate that your quirk is what it is; it renders you almost immune to ligament damage."

She pointed her cane at him. "That is not an invitation to do that again! Too many times and you will still have permanent damage to other parts of your body. You know as well as I do that broken bones and torn muscles remain. Scar tissue will do you no favors!"

Katsuki had woken up at her outburst and shook his head slightly.

"Oh good, you're awake." She smiled at the blonde. "He's alright to go home now that he's woken up."

She turned back to Izuku. "No using your quirk for at least a day. Your body needs to rest." Finally, she turned and left the boys alone.

The two were silent for a moment before Katsuki spoke. "What the hell did you do, Izuku?"

"Remember that pretty girl from out front?"

Katsuki groaned. "Yeah, she was in here, too." Katsuki saw Izuku's eyes grow wide. "She's gone now! Calm down, damn. She left about an hour ago. I don't think she even knew you were here."

Izuku sighed and calmed down. "Well… she was about to be crushed by the zero-pointer, and my body sort of just… moved to protect her. I managed to get there just in time to stop the robot's fist with a major arm transformation." He flexed his right arm, which was also sore from Recovery Girl's quirk.

"So you almost paralyzed yourself? You idiot."

"How did you kno-"

"I overheard Recovery Girl talking to your mom on the phone. Cracked vertebrae in your spine. Much more and you might not be walking anymore." Katsuki pointed an accusing finger at his friend. "You had to have known that those robots weren't programmed to kill."

Katsuki leaned back in the chair, throwing his arms wide. "It probably would've just stopped before it hit her. You nearly killed yourself for nothing."

"I couldn't have been sure! Besides, I wasn't thinking about that!" Izuku defended himself. "I was only thinking about saving her…"

"Since when do you not think? I could see overthinking, but not thinking?"

"I… don't know. It's like I said; my body just moved."

Katsuki sighed. "Fine. Come on, get up. Our folks are waiting back home. Your dad had to basically restrain Auntie to keep her from rushing here herself. It took Recovery Girl personally telling her that you were fine to stop her."

"Yeah, alright." Izuku leaned over and stood up out of bed. He changed into a UA gym uniform the school provided to replace his destroyed clothing and then headed for the station. He fell asleep on the train, something he almost never did. He was exhausted.

What a day.

The boys got to Izuku's house at nearly eight. Once the others were able to pry Inko off of her son, they had a small party to celebrate the completion of the exam. Izuku was exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open, let alone celebrate, but told the story of his exam anyway. He left out the more gruesome parts, including the part about him not knowing why he ran forward. His father seemed immensely proud, but Izuku was still perceptive enough in his exhausted state to tell that his father was holding something back.

What that something was became clear the next day. Izuku woke up late, having slept in to recover his strength. He ate his breakfast that his mother made and found his father sitting on the porch, watching the waves out the window as he often did.

Izuku decided to attack the problem at its source. "Want to go out to the rocks?"

His father looked at him with slight surprise, then a proud, knowing smile. He nodded and finished his coffee in a single gulp.

They walked along the beach as they often did. Hisashi knew that these would be the memories he cherished most when he was old and gray. Izuku was his pride and joy, and these quiet moments didn't come often enough.

After a while, the two Midoriya men found their way to the rocks where they often sat. Izuku remembered many important father-son talks on them, such as the one after his father lost his arm six years ago. The places where they always sat had been worn slightly smooth from use.

"I'm proud of you, Izuku." Hisashi was staring stoically out over the waves. He took a deep smell of the sea air. It was almost a ritual for him.

"Thanks, Dad." Izuku knew that this was just to start the conversation. He wouldn't have wanted to come out here for simple encouragement.

"You've taken the first step. You're gonna go to UA and you're gonna do great things."

"The results won't be here for a week, we don't know that I got in."

Hisashi looked at his son with a raised eyebrow and a sarcastic smirk. "We both know you're getting in."

A moment passed before his smile fell and he sighed. "Son, I need you to be honest with me. Why did you run out and throw yourself under that robot?"

Izuku looked down for a bit. "I felt this… uncontrollable desire to save her. I didn't even think, I just acted. The only thing that mattered was protecting her."

"Could you describe the 'desire'? How it felt to you?"

"Hmm…" Izuku scratched his chin. "It was sort of like a voice shouting in my head. It screamed at me to save and protect her. The only things that seemed to exist were the girl and the deafening cacophony in my head. Like I said, I didn't think about it, I just... did ."

His father smiled weakly. "I figured as much. Which confirms two things that I suspected. First, you're going to be a damn good hero one day, and secondly, your quirk is maturing."

"...I thought that's what it had been doing?" Izuku was slightly nervous.

"Well yes, it has been... Let me explain." Hisashi straightened himself out and held up his hand.

"We've noticed that there are four distinct 'stages' of our family quirk that correspond to the levels of our development. They correspond mostly to natural human development. What we call 'Wyrmling' was your childhood. The very basics of the quirk and a few, mostly harmless, oddities." Hisashi smiled, reminiscing about his son's childhood. He put a finger up.

"The next is what we call the 'Young' stage. This is your adolescence. That was when your instincts started kicking in. I'm sure I don't have to remind you about the struggles you went though. You handled it well, and again, I'm proud of you for that." He put a second finger up.

Hisashi looked at his son very seriously. "What you described to me, that undeniable command in your head? That's the sign that you've reached the 'Adult' stage." He put a third finger up, then dropped his hand.

Izuku looked curious. His father continued his explanation. "Everything I've done to help you in your life, all of the guidance and support your mother and I have given you… it was all leading up to this. This is what we were preparing you for. Everything before this was just a warm up."

"So when you said that I couldn't just suppress them and I had to find a way to let them out, it's because you were preparing me for that …" The gravity of the situation was dawning on Izuku. "Those things I felt before… what I thought were real instincts, they were barely echoes."

"Exactly." Hisashi put his one arm on his son's shoulder like he often did. His son leaned into the contact. "So, what I'm saying is this: Everything before was just practice. What comes next is the real thing. I never told you this before because this isn't the type of thing you tell a child." His tone let his son know just how serious he was.

"But you're an adult now, and your quirk agrees with me. I won't be around to guide you like I have been now that you'll be living on UA campus, and as you train and grow, your instincts will only grow in strength."

"You're smarter than I am son, you're smarter than your mother is, which is saying something." This elicited a short, knowing chuckle from both of them. "You have a strong will and an indomitable drive to be a hero, so I know you can do this, but heed my words." Hisashi took a steadying breath, preparing for what he would say next.

"You have to figure this out, or you will fall."

Izuku and his father sat there in grim silence for several minutes. The only sound came from the waves crashing lazily against the beach. Izuku blinked back a few tears, but none fell.

He met his father's eyes after a minute with a look of determination. "I won't let this stop me. Nothing will change what my heart desires."

Hisashi smiled. "Oh, I know. That's why I said you're going to make a damn good hero." His son looked at him slightly confused, emotion still plain on his face. "Your first instinct in that situation, and I use instinct literally, is to rush in and save that girl... regardless of the consequences to yourself. That spirit of self-sacrifice is one of the most noble things in our profession."

He pointed to the space where his left arm used to be and grinned. "I might be a bit biased."

Izuku laughed a little, and then his father continued. "Let me be honest with you here, son. I doubt that that instinct was an entirely natural one. A lack of self-preservation is not a common quality in dragons, especially not chromatic ones. Which tells me that you, on your very first go , bent that instinct to your will. You took a natural reaction and made it your own.

"A natural reaction? What do you mean? From everything you've told me about chromatics, I don't think that saving someone would be in their repertoire."

"What is the common factor between all dragons, Izuku? Beyond scales and wings, of course."

Izuku thought for a moment. "You told me we all have degrees of greed in us. But that it can be managed and if we find goo-"

Hisashi held up his hand. "Yes, that. Now, one of the many reasons that I'm proud to call you my son is that you've shown an impressive lack of that. At least in the general sense. But think about it, what have you always coveted? What have you always wanted?"

Izuku thought again. "...My hero merchandise? I don't see how-"

"No, not that." Hisashi interrupted him again. "Son, how are you so smart when it comes to everything but so naive when it comes to yourself? Come on, think! The only time you ever attacked another human being, what was it about?"

Realization dawned on the green dragon's face. "...People? Friends? Is that what you're getting at?"

"Yeah, yeah I am." Hisashi laughed, his arm thrown wide. "A dragon that hoards people, who would have ever thought?" His laughter quickly stopped. "My guess is that the natural reaction of your quirk was to covet that person because you saw some value in them. Your willpower and drive to be a hero then twisted that reaction into an overwhelming desire to protect, even at the cost of your own body and life."

Hisashi paused for a second with a slightly fearful expression on his face. "Don't tell your mother I'm praising you for that," he added quickly. After his son nodded, he returned to his lecture.

"So here's the next question: What made that person someone you wanted to protect?"

Izuku thought for a small moment, and then started blushing furiously.

His father stared at him dumbly for a second, then began laughing uproariously. "My boy really is becoming a man! So, she was pretty, huh?"

"...the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I couldn't even speak the first time I saw her."

"That sounds a lot like how I was the first time I saw your mother."

Izuku looked up, blush leaving his face somewhat. "Really?"

"Yep. I dropped the wine I was holding and nearly spilled it all over my suit. Your mother pulled it away with her quirk, so it spilled all over her." Hisashi leaned back a bit, laughing at the memory.

"My sister thinks it has something to do with our quirk, that it knows a good person when it sees one, but I don't like to think that. I think that I was just lucky, and that your mother is an amazing woman that any man would want."

Izuku laughed awkwardly, then stopped as a thought struck him. "So, what if that person wasn't someone I… thought was pretty? I can't be a hero if I have to know a person to protect them."

"Izuku, do you think I always have an instinct telling me yes or no when I do hero work?"

"No… I guess not."

"It wasn't your instinct that made you go save that girl, but it… hmm. Actually, Izuku, tell me about the transformation you used."

"Oh! Uh, okay." Izuku held up his right arm. "Well, it was bigger than anything I'd ever done before. Way bigger. Uh, I would try to show you, but Recovery Girl said I'm not allowed to use my quirk today."

"How big?"

"I would say about two meters long? It knocked me off balance pretty badly when I made it."

"Wow, that is way bigger than anything you've done before." Hisashi was impressed. "My point is that it wasn't your quirk that made you want to save that girl, it was you . However, your instinct helped to push you further. You were working in sync with your quirk, instead of struggling against it."

"That's another reason why it's important to bend your instincts to your will. You don't need your instincts to be a hero, you didn't need them to tell you to save that girl, but you needed them to save her like you did. You need them to be at your best. You're always at your strongest when your body, mind, heart and quirk are working in unison."

Hisashi looked proud, if a little somber. "I don't want you to get the idea in your head that you're going to be subjected to your instincts all the time. As I have to keep reminding your uncle, we are not actually dragons, Izuku." He rolled his eyes slightly. "You will be free of them most of the time, especially when you're younger. As you grow older and stronger, they will be stronger, but you will have learned to manage them better by then."

"I thought you said I was an adult now?" Izuku's mind was reeling from all this new information, and his father kept confusing him.

"Well, yes, you are. But your quirk isn't done growing. I was honestly surprised that you had a powerful reaction like that so soon. I was planning on having this talk with you after the test, to prepare you for what was to come. I didn't want to distract you before then."

Hisashi sighed, then continued. "That worked out well, didn't it?" He looked frustrated with himself. "Anyway, quirks don't change overnight like that. I wasn't expecting you to have a powerful impulse like that for months. You likely only had this reaction due to the extreme situation you were placed in. Don't think that this is going to be a daily thing, not yet, at least."

"So you're saying that I will be able to save people and be a hero even with these instincts?"

"When have I ever said differently?" He placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "You have time to figure this out, son. But the real test comes when you have your next reaction like you did yesterday. And then the next. And then the next. It will never stop, so you can't afford to, either. You have time, but you can't waste time."

"You said my instincts will grow as my quirk grows, and by going to UA, where my quirk will be trained and strengthened rapidly…"

"Exactly."

"...You've given me a lot to think about." Izuku sighed. "I suppose I won't know until it happens, yeah?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Hisashi stood up, followed by his son. "There's nothing to do but try your hardest. Work with what you have and do what you can. You're the first chromatic to ever do something like this. Nobody knows what will happen."

"If anyone can do it," he said, looking Izuku in the eyes, "it's you."

They walked back towards the house in a thoughtful silence. Usually they talked constantly, but today, there was too much on Izuku's mind for him to even mutter like normally. Then, a thought struck him.

"Dad, you said that there are four stages of our quirk? You only mentioned three."

"Right, well," Hisashi said, holding his hand out, "the fourth stage is one that is called 'Ancient'. It has nothing to do with age really, just how powerful the quirk is. An exceptionally powerful dragon exhibits size, strength and abilities that the rest of us can't match."

He held up two fingers. "There have only ever been two dragons that I know of that have made it to the Ancient stage. Silverlight, the very first of us, my great-grandfather, and…" He let out a long, regretful sigh. "And Terrorflame. But you'll never have to worry about any of that. My uncle is locked up tight in Tartarus."

The next week an envelope came, stamped with the official seal of UA. Inko and Hisashi were nearly as excited as their son was, but they understood when he wanted to open it in private. He went into his room and cleared off his computer desk. He made a single claw on his hand and quickly sliced it open.

Inside was a letter and a small metal disk. He looked the disk over, then placed it on the desk. It kicked to life, the image of President Nezu appeared and congratulated him for passing the written exam with a near-perfect score.

"And in the case of the practical exam, we are happy to inform you that you also passed. Izuku Midoriya, you earned 57 Villain Points and 40 Rescue Points for actions beyond the scope of the exam, for a total of 97 points. Welcome to UA!"

He had counted five more points than that, but he supposed that he may have miscounted during the heat of the moment. Regardless, he got in. That's what mattered, right?

Izuku saw the great scoreboard on screen and quickly scanned it over. He saw his own score sitting third on the list. He looked up to see… "Oh no." In second place, 'Katsuki Bakugou: 78 Villain Points and 20 Rescue Points'. He had lost their bet by a single point.

Then he looked up to see who got first. Someone named 'Ochako Uraraka' managed to beat them both out with 54 Villain Points and 45 Rescue Points for a total score of 99 points.

"Wow. I wonder if she's in my class... I wonder if Kacchan is in my class." He turned to the paper letter and saw that he was in Class 1-A. A simple set of instructions gave him his move-in date and noted his teacher was one 'Shouta Aizawa'. Izuku wondered which pro hero that was, but he guessed he would find out in time.

His parents were proud of him for getting third place, but his dad teased him for missing first by three points. "Maybe you shouldn't have been staring at that girl the whole time, then!"

"Dad, I wasn't!"

"Oh, my baby is becoming a man!"

"Mom, not you too!"

The next two months seemed to fly by. Before he knew it, Izuku had finished high school and was preparing to move in to his dorm at UA. Heights Alliance was the name of the building, according to his information packet, and it would be the place where he would live for the next four years of his life.

Izuku and Katsuki were the first ones to arrive at the dorm, being locals and all. They had unloaded in front of the building and bid their parents farewell. Inko was crying, of course, but the other five managed to get her to leave eventually, although Izuku didn't try very hard. Once they left, it was just the boys standing in front of the building with their giant stacks of boxes.

Well, Izuku's giant stack of boxes. Katsuki packed rather light and only had the bare minimum, but Izuku had several more boxes than most sane people would ever bring to a dorm.

"Did you seriously have to bring all of that junk?"

"It's not junk, Kacchan, they're part of my prized collection! I feel better knowing that it's close."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. Izuku had brought about 5 boxes absolutely filled with hero merchandise. He had action figures, posters, comics and more in addition to the clothes, books and furniture he brought with him.

They made their way up to their pre-assigned dorm rooms. Izuku had room 202, while Katsuki had room 403. The rooms were unlocked and rather bare, with a set of keys on the simple table in the room. Izuku pocketed the keys and set to work. This was going to take him a while, to say the least.

As with everything, the boys competed to see who could haul the most boxes up to their room at a time. Izuku wound up winning, barely. He had Katsuki beat slightly in the strength department usually, but Katsuki had him beat in other ways. They were roughly equal, but in no way were they copies of each other.

While he unpacked his massive collection, he got to thinking. Things were going to be different here. He didn't have the slew of rumors that followed him throughout his public school career. This could be a fresh start. He could just be himself and finally no longer be that one weird kid with horns.

Was he excited, or was he nervous? He was used to being the smartest kid in the class, and that likely wouldn't be the case anymore. He was partnered with 19 of the top students in the whole country, after all. He was used to being the tallest kid in his class, and that probably wouldn't be the case either, especially if that one girl is in his class.

The girl with the beautiful eyes and that gorgeous hair and her cute nose and that blush on- Izuku shook his head, he was getting off track. Maybe he didn't want her in his class, especially if he couldn't get over how distracted she made him. His quirk gave him an edge in many departments, and he valued his intellect as another weapon, but she had made him shut down just by talking to him.

He wasn't upset at the prospect of not being the smartest, or the strongest or the tallest student anymore. If anything, he was excited, he did his best when he was challenged. That's why he and Katsuki worked so well together. Katsuki always wanted to compete, and Izuku excelled when he was pushed.

So yeah, he was excited, but he was also nervous. There's no telling what would happen tomorrow, or the next day, or the next four years of his life. He knew one thing: He would do his best to meet every day with a smile on his face and in his heart. Nothing could change the desires of his heart, like All Might said... and dammit, he wanted to be a hero.

Izuku placed a figurine of All Might on one of the shelves he had installed and grew a content smile.

"I wonder if any other students will have horns?"