7

12:06 PM, Monday

At Aldera, Izuku had a long, nice table completely to himself, carefully avoided by every student. It was peaceful yet painfully empty at times, the bright blue seats going unfilled while people squished into the other tables.

It was as if Izuku was simultaneously at the middle of the social ladder and at the very bottom. He got along quite well with his classmates and other students but because of his conflict with Katsuki, no one was really friends with him for fear of becoming a target too. 

And sitting near Izuku at lunch was seen as a friend-thing, unfortunately.

Despite the student body's fears, Katsuki never went after any other hero hopefuls, even the ones with 'weak' quirks like the guy who bragged about his extendable eyeballs.

He went after Izuku because he actually trying as hard as Katsuki was, pushing his body and quirk as hard as possible for the far-off U.A Exam, and learning hand-to-hand combat. The only other actually going for the hero course. And Katsuki couldn't accept that, especially from someone with a 'weak quirk.'

The first few months at Aldera, Katsuki was constantly looking for a confrontation with him. Izuku remembered abandoning the cafeteria out of necessity and spending his lunch alone on top of the roof every day.

Aldera Junior High's rooftop was small, boring, and didn't offer much of a view. It was always left unlocked, but you would rarely ever find anyone up there. It was perfect for Izuku-a nice, quiet spot. He'd press his back against the wall and munch on the bento in his lap, watching glimpses of the field below through the roof's fence.

Katsuki never truly stopped going after Izuku, but as they got older his attacks got rarer and rarer until Izuku felt safe enough to eat in the cafeteria uninterrupted-still alone, but sitting at a table instead of a hard rooftop. And since then, Izuku hadn't been up there once.

So today, as Izuku followed Katsuki up to the very rooftop that he used to escape from him in the past and confronted him over the very same rooftop he associated with peace, Izuku couldn't help but feel a deep sense of irony. 

He'd wanted to search for Nono, to talk to his new friend(and also ask a dozen questions about her quirk). Unfortunately, today was the day Katsuki finally broke his strange silence and dragged him away, claiming they needed to talk. Izuku had been so shocked that he just let it happen. 

They did need to talk if Izuku was being honest, but Katsuki being the one to say it? Incredible.

And that's how he ended up on the school roof with the same blonde he'd fought months before, the awkward silence between them painfully tangible. Katsuki was glaring hard at the ground(better it than Izuku, at least). His hands clenched and unclenched in a slow rhythm, but there wasn't a hint of sweet nitroglycerin in the cold air. 

Meanwhile, Izuku watched Katsuki warily, not moving an inch as he scanned his eyes across the boy in front of him. 

This new, quiet Katsuki was alien, unreadable. None of Izuku's memories were helpful here. Was this some kind of nonverbal message? Was he gathering his thoughts, or was Izuku supposed to say something first?

Izuku counted out 45 seconds before Katsuki suddenly muttered a curse under his breath and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his black school uniform. His red eyes finally looked up into Izuku's green ones.

"Before." Katsuki started, his voice low and deliberate like he was picking every word with uncharacteristic care. "You called me a villain." 

Izuku winced, his perfect memory bringing that angry moment back to the front of his mind. "...Yeah. I went way too far-"

"You were right." Katsuki cut him off, and Izuku's jaw dropped. 

"You were right."

"You were right."

Was he...dreaming?

"Close your dumbass mouth, nerd. I fought and hurt a civilian with my quirk. That's exactly the kinda thing a shitty villain would do, isn't it?"

"I-I mean..."

"It is. No matter what all those teachers say, All Might definitely doesn't go around blasting teenagers."

Katsuki saw the world so purely, Izuku couldn't help but think. Strong and weak, hero and villain, winner and loser. 

"I'm not some shitty villain who uses his quirk like that," Katsuki stated, firm. "I'm going to be the Number One Hero."

"Okay." Izuku knew he would. "Are you going to keep attacking me?"

"Are you still trying to be a hero?" Katsuki countered.

"Always," Izuku answered without a hint of hesitation.

Instead of getting angry, Katsuki just nodded. "Yeah. I'll fight you without using Explosion, though."

"...But didn't you lose to me even with your quirk?"

Katsuki glared at him fiercely but didn't deny it. "For now, you're...better at hand-to-hand combat than I am, shitty nerd. I'm just going to have to train even harder." 

His face was determined.

Izuku still didn't understand.

"But why do you want to fight me, anyway? Why did you do any of this in the first place, Katsuki? You don't want to be friends with me, sure. But-"

"Your quirk is remembering things, right? That's a pathetic quirk for a hero. You'll never be able to fight villains who can destroy streets with just a blast or match blows with All Might. Someone-someone needed to show you that you're too weak to be a hero."

A bitter feeling rose up from the depths of Izuku's stomach. "So you had to play the villain, then? For nearly a decade? That's stupid. You declared me too weak, so you needed to show me that out of...concern?"

Katsuki scowled. "No, pride. You never fought back, not fucking once, until now. You always ran away. Someone with a weak quirk, who won't fight back, becoming a pro hero like I was? Impossi-"

"Of course, I ran away! I never wanted to fight you!"

"You think a villain is going to care-"

"Exactly! You aren't a villain!" Izuku shouted back. "I'll become a hero, and capture villains without hesitation. But I'm not going to fight a future hero for no reason. And guess what, every hero isn't All Might! Most of them aren't super powerful. Heroes with 'weaker' abilities can still be good heroes-in fact, it's great that we have versatility and quirks like Sir Nighteye's Foresight that can help in other ways."

"The Wild Wild Pussycats-" Izuku was on a rant now, but he couldn't stop. "-specialize in mountain rescue. Two of them don't have combat quirks-Mandalay and Ragdoll essentially fight quirkless. But their quirks are incredibly useful to saving lives. You're smart, Katsuki, so why are you acting like a one-dimensional, quirkist dumbass?"

Katsuki stared silently, red eyes narrowing. Izuku met his gaze, willing his knees not to shake. He meant every word he said, but fuck - he just called the scariest person he knew a dumbass.

A long, heavy minute passed before Katsuki scoffed. 

"Guess you finally grew a backbone, nerd."

He brushed past Izuku, stepping back into the school and closing the door shut.

Izuku could only stare blankly after him as the loud blonde's footsteps faded away and the rooftop turned silent once more.

Huh?

5:13 PM, Monday

Izuku plopped down next to Yagi for a much-needed break, his arms and back aching. More sand fell into his poor shoes at the motion, but well, Izuku had stopped caring about that months ago.

His brain flashed back through that conversation with Katsuki for the fourth time. It'd felt good, really good, to finally get to say those things to him. But as the hours passed, Izuku only felt more tense, wired up, like he was missing something. 

He still didn't understand Katsuki.

Yagi acknowledged him with a small smile before looking back at his work. Izuku would have thought it'd be more comfortable to do write on a desk or a chair, but the man seemed to be perfectly at peace curled into the beach just like this, papers supported on his knee with the breeze sweeping through his blonde hair. 

Come to think of it, Izuku and Uraraka still knew almost nothing about Yagi except that he was severely injured and knew a lot about the hero business. Oh, and he could throw a strong punch despite being built like a stick.

It was probably very weird for two middle-schoolers to befriend some old guy they knew nothing about, but Izuku and Uraraka weren't exactly normal students(The fact that said girl was currently carrying an entire fridge across the beach only supported this point). And Yagi was kind, thoughtful, and not very suspicious.

But with that said, if Yagi was going to spend this much time with them and never talk about himself, Izuku should really start asking questions.

"What're you, uh, working on, Yagi-san?"

Yagi glanced up. He wasn't exactly hiding what he was writing, but it was just out of Izuku's view. "Hmm? Ah, just some paperwork, Young Midoriya. It's very boring stuff."

"For what?" Izuku asked.

"Work. I've held a desk job at a hero agency for the past few years, you see."

Well, that explained why he knew so much about heroes. "That's pretty cool. Which agency do you work at?"

"Might Tower," Yagi said casually.

Izuku blinked.

"Wait, you work for All Might? That's-that's amazing!"

"It's not that big of a deal, really. I just file forms and write reports for him-small things like that."

"B-But you work at Might Tower! That giant skyscraper! Wait, does that mean you've met him?"

Yagi's face scrunched up for some reason. "...I have, yes."

"What's he like?" Izuku pressed, eagerly.

"Well, uh, how do I put this. All Might is exactly the same as you would imagine. He's bold, loud, and tries to make everyone feel safe. He's also very, very busy."

"I guess that makes sense-All Might seems like someone who would do his best to live up to his hero persona, even in the office." Izuku paused. "I really can't imagine him behind a desk, though..." 

Yagi chuckled. "Most people probably wouldn't place the image of their Symbol of Peace with doing desk work, huh?"

Izuku thought of Katsuki, and how he saw All Might as the standard for heroes, representing victory itself with his power. All Might always winning was amazing, for sure, but All Might wasn't amazing just because he always won.

"Yeah, he spends practically all of his time in the spotlight capturing villains everywhere. I remember seeing him on TV a few months back, when he fought Muscular-ha, of course, I remember-and even now, I re-watch his old fights a lot. The way he literally is the 'Symbol of Peace' and can calm people down just by being there is incredible."

Yagi tilted his head. "I knew All Might was your favorite hero, but I was certainly expecting you to talk about his strength, or maybe even the speeches..."

"Oh, no, his speeches are terrible," Izuku cut in bluntly, and Yagi nearly coughed up a lung. "You're not one of the people who writes those things, right? I don't want to offend you, or anything..."

"No, no, All Might prepares his speeches himself. I was just surprised to hear you say that."

Izuku laughed lightly. "His messages are all great, but he fumbles words a lot and generally just isn't...made for public speaking. He tries, though, and that's what really matters. Maybe it's just the fact that I've seen all of them a dozen times, but I think most people ignore his small flaws like that because he's, well, All Might. They should realize he's still a person too, you know?"

Yagi had completely stopped writing now, his powerful blue eyes fixed on Izuku. "Yeah. I do."

"But his catchphrase, though-" Izuku's face twisted into his All Might impression; sharp features, shadowed eyes, and a gritted smile completely jarring on a teenager's face. Yagi flinched back, startled. "'Never fear, because I am here!'" 

Izuku's face went back to normal. "-is absolutely perfect. Simple and to the point, but it's so powerful!"

"...Young Midoriya, how-how in the world did you do that?"

"Don't worry about it."

"I'm very much wo-"

"Hey! Izuku-kun!" Uraraka yelled out from the other side of the beach, a heap of garbage outlined in pink and floating above her. "Are you gonna help out, or are you gonna just talk to the old man all day?"

Yagi sputtered indignantly as Izuku stood up with a small chuckle, brushing the sand off his pants. 

"Be right there!"

12:33 PM, Tuesday

Izuku had a new quirk to analyze. And such a cool one, too!

"Does that mean you're always conscious, even while you're asleep?" Izuku asked, his pencil furiously jotting down notes. "Are you constantly vivid dreaming, then? Or do you not dream at all, since your sleeping mind is focused on your quirk?" 

Nono blinked slowly, her spoon paused in front of her mouth, the barrage of questions washing over her. "Midoriya, do you...eat lunch? You've been analyzing my quirk for nearly twenty minutes. I don't mind, but it's not even that interesting-"

Izuku gasped, insulted. "Take that back, right now!"

"I'm-I'm sorry?"

"Apology accepted. Now please, answer the question..."

4:13 PM, Friday

Property of Izuku Midoriya, 14 years old.

Quirk Name: Feline.

User: Nono Seika.

Ability: Emitter. While asleep, the user goes into a dream-like state that lets them get proper rest while still keeping them conscious enough to retain memories and activate the quirk. When activated, The user can possess any cat in a huge radius around them, allowing them to sense what the cat is sensing as well as see their memories. In addition, the user can compel a cat's actions if close enough.

Observed Use: Nono often uses Feline to check up on all the stray cats around Musutafu. Once, she found a specific cat's location from extremely far away and then sent another cat to lead people to him. 

Possible Applications: Incredible potential for information gathering simply by checking the memory of every stray cat and their paths throughout the city to learn what they've seen. Cats can also serve as discreet scouts since people are much less likely to care about a wandering cat than a wandering human. Can possibly send cats to attack from range, but Nono being woken up will remove the effect-overall low combat value. And obviously, this would risk the mentioned cats.

Drawbacks: Needs to be asleep to activate the quirk which can be a hard activation condition depending on the scenario. Nono has mentioned that she can get headaches if she stays connected to a specific cat for hours on end or overuses the control part of her ability. These headaches could possibly force her awake, canceling her quirk.

Additional Notes: Nono can fall asleep instantly. This is possibly because of Feline; a constant state of drowsiness for ease of use. Nono seems to spend the most time connected to Mercury(shown on the corresponding page) in comparison to her other cats. Despite predictions, Nono does not seem to exhibit any other cat-related abilities...

The analysis overflowed onto the next page in an organized jumble of information, going into a theoretical and scientific explanation that was a little shaky, as reasonings for mental quirks usually were.

The page after was a detailed illustration of Nono's face, grey eyes staring blankly as usual. He captured her features as accurately as possible with his quirk, to the point where the drawing was nearly a photo. Resting on top of her blue hair was a yawning Mercury, his silver fur gleaming in the lighting. 

"Izuku-kun..." Uraraka began as she squinted down at the notebook in her hands. She sat cross-legged on the beach across from him, her face steadily growing more worried as she read.

"Hmm?"

The subject of his newest analysis was currently asleep nearby, soundlessly snoring on the sand without a hint of discomfort. It probably wasn't very interesting to watch Izuku and Uraraka lug around trash-

"...Are you stalking this girl?" Uraraka sent a quick glance at the sleeping Nono before looking back at Izuku's face.

"What? No!"

"Then why do you have a whole two pages of notes on her? We met Nono barely a week ago!"

"Oh, yeah, I'd usually have more info by now," Izuku admitted. "I'm more used to analyzing heroes..."

"More info-" Uraraka sighed. "Sometimes, I forget how much you love quirks. How'd you learn so much about her quirk, though?"

"Oh, she told me. I just asked her a few questions about Feline, and she didn't mind answering. Though I owe her some cat food, now."

Uraraka hummed, low. "She definitely needs it, with all of those stray cats. I've been wondering how she affords to take care of them..."

"I wouldn't ask," Yagi said, suddenly next to them. Uraraka jumped to her feet, startled. "You said Young Nono lived at a shrine, correct? If I were you, I would not poke at her situation until she tells you herself."

"You're going to give me a heart attack, you sneaky skeleton," Uraraka muttered. 

"It'll be a long time till you teenagers need to worry about that." Yagi chuckled lightly. Uraraka rolled her eyes.

"By the way, Yagi-san. After we take Nono-san home, do you mind coming over for dinner with us tonight?" Izuku asked.

Yagi blinked. "I-really? Sure, if your mother doesn't mind..."

"She's been wanting to meet you, actually!" 

"Oh. Has she?" He sounded worried.

Uraraka pounded her fist into her palm in sudden realization. "Wait! You're stomach's super injured, right?"

Yagi was used to her bluntness by now. "It is, yes. Why?"

"I'll text Inko-san and ask her what she's making, so make sure to tell me if you can't eat anything."

"Young Uraraka, you don't need to go through the trouble-"

"I wasn't asking, Yagi-san."

"...Alright."

6:32 PM, Sunday

Naomasa stared at his old friend, barely believing his own ears and quirk.

"You're training kids?! " 

Toshinori rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. He sat next to Naomasa's desk, the blonde a familiar enough sight in the precinct now to not draw any glances. "Yeah. And in my true form, too. It just kind of...happened."

"How..."

"I found the two of them cleaning Dagobah Beach by themselves. Yeah, that one. They said it was for muscle training, and 'well, why not?' I have free time now, because-" Toshinori gestured at his stomach. "-so I offered to cart the garbage with my truck."

That...sounded like exactly the sort of thing his friend would do on impulse.

"And they simply accepted the help from a random, possibly dangerous man?" Naomasa couldn't help but ask.

"I asked about that, actually, and Young Uraraka just said 'Yagi-san, no offense, but if you tried to carry this fridge you'd probably die.'" 

Ouch.

"I bet no one's ever said that to the Symbol of Peace before," Naomasa muttered. 

Toshinori chuckled, a small smile on his face. "Definitely not, no! They're good, determined kids."

The blonde leaned back into his chair at the memory, hollowed features growing more relaxed. His true form's smile was just as warm as his hero form's, yet more tangible, real. 

"This sounds like a good thing for you, Toshi. Though..." Naomasa lowered his voice. "Is this about your quirk?"

"No. I've been helping them with their muscle development and their hand-to-hand combat. They're going for the U.A Exam. But I'm not training them for that yet, though neither of them would be bad successors." Toshinori paused. "I still haven't looked at Mirai's choice, now that I think about it..."

Naomasa fixed him with a practiced look. "You're going to have to check that out eventually, you know. The two of you can't keep avoiding each other forever."

"Naomasa-"

"Toshi." Naomasa cut in gently. "You need to get in touch with him."

Toshinori sighed. "I know, I know. But it's just been so long. What if he doesn't want to see me?"

"I doubt that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And either way, you'll never know if you don't try."

Toshinori didn't respond, but Naomasa could tell he was thinking about it.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. I have a new anonymous informant. One that I feel you'd find quite interesting."

"Hmm?"

"They hacked directly into our intercom without a trace, and their first tip was that urgent warning about Muscular." Naomasa watched Toshinori's face flash with realization, remembering that fight. How much damage would that villain have caused if they hadn't been given that message? "They call themselves 'Prophet', and say their quirk lets them see the future."

Toshinori's eyes widened. "A foresight quirk, like Mirai. That's a very bold claim..."

"But a true one, apparently. Not only does Lie Detector affirm it, but their record speaks for itself-every case they've predicted over the past few weeks has come through exactly. So I can't help but be incredibly curious who they are."

"You're going to ask Mirai for help, aren't you?" Toshinori realized.

Naomasa shrugged. 

"Who better to find someone who can see the future...than someone who can see the future?"

Notes:

Writing Katsuki is hard, not gonna lie. I'm still not sure I managed to get what I wanted across right, but I think it'll get easier the more I write him.

Also, I just find it hilarious that Izuku would totally gush about All Might to Toshinori not knowing he was gushing about All Might to All Might. And Toshinori would just sit there awkwardly, not knowing what to say about himself.

Speaking of which, what kind of restricted diet is Toshinori on with his stomach so injured? That must be terrible to live with...