Chapter Text
A knock at her door wakes her up in the morning. “Izu, are you up? Tap twice for yes.” Izu stretches before tapping her side table twice. “Good. Zashi’s making breakfast, so come down when you’re ready. If you aren’t ready in the next ten minutes, I’ll come back to check on you.”
At the sound of her dad’s retreating footsteps, Izu moans a little, but does sit up. Looking around her room, Izu can’t help the small smile creeping up her face. She has a room. A room full of her favorite things. A room decorated for her by two people who love her. A room in a home of her own.
Getting out of bed, she grabs the first t-shirt she sees and a pair of joggers. It’s not until she’s downstairs and standing in front of her dad and uncle that she realizes the mistake she has made. Her body freezes as both men’s eyes land on her. And her bare arms. Her very scarred bare arms. Her arms that only her dad and Recovery Girl have seen.
“Hey, Kiddo! Cool shirt! I love that band!” Uncle Zashi smiles at her and goes back to plating breakfast.
She looks down at her shirt to see it’s for a band called Stare 281. She also likes the band, having listened to them a lot when she was younger. They were her mom’s favorite.
“You gonna join us?” She shakes out of her stupor at her dad’s voice. She nods and slowly makes her way to her place at the kotatsu. Her dad and uncle smile, watching her take a bite of natto before breaking into casual conversation.
“So, Izu, is there anything you’d like to do today? Sho has to go to the police station for a little bit, but then I thought we could all play some board games together or maybe watch the Hero News Network and you could do some analysis. Oh! Or we could work on your sign language! It’s completely up to you though!” She looks between the two men before gesturing to her uncle. She points at him and then her hair. “You want me to fix your hair?” She nods. His face breaks into the biggest grin. “I’d love to!”
While her dad and her clean up from breakfast, Uncle Zashi runs up the stairs returning a few minutes later with a small bag and a hairbrush. Her dad smiles and shoos her over to the living room where her uncle has her sit in front of him on the couch. He hands her a notebook and turns on the tv so she can take notes while he works. It turns out the bag had a special detangling spray in it that he uses to comb gently through her curly hair. The feeling of someone taking care of her hair is so relaxing, and it leaves her feeling warm inside.
She takes notes on Mount Lady and Kamui Woods while he works. The two heroes started off their careers being a little at odds, Mount Lady having stolen Kamui Woods’ take down, but they now work perfectly. She writes about the improvements she sees in the way they work together, and how Kamui Woods covers some of Mount Lady’s weaknesses and vice versa. She’s really enjoying herself when the feeling of fingers in her hair leaves.
“Wanna see how it looks?” She nods and Uncle Zashi smiles, handing her a small mirror. She takes it in hand and looks over the hairstyle he’d worked so hard on. He left a curly strand on either side of her face loose so it would frame her face. Then there is a french braid on each side leading to a high ponytail. He used a strand of hair to wrap the ponytail holder so it looked like her hair was tied with more hair. Overall, it made her feel pretty. She hasn’t felt pretty in a long time.
She turns to her uncle, smiling and signs, “Thank you, Z-A-S-H-I.”
He laughs. “You are so very welcome. And you don’t need to spell out Zashi when you want to talk to or about me. I have a special sign that I use as my name.” He proceeds to sign a Z with a flourish next to his mouth. “It’s called a sign name. Sho has one too.”
Her dad walks into the room at the sound of his name. “You know I hate my sign name.”
Again, her uncle laughs. He stage whispers to her, “A deaf, hard of hearing, or mute person has to give you a sign name, a regular hearing person can’t just make their own. I gave Sho his when we were still in school.”
“And it’s stupid.”
“It is not!” Uncle Zashi turns back to her and signs something like pulling whiskers and then the sign for friend.
Her dad sighs. “It literally means cat friend.”
“And that’s exactly what you are! You are my dearest cat friend!” Uncle Zashi laughs.
Izu looks between her two guardians and thinks for a moment. She pulls her notebook over and flips to a blank back page, writing something down quickly. What’s my sign name?
“You don’t have one yet, Sweetheart. Do you want to help me make one for you?”
She nods quickly, a smile firm on her face.
“Don’t let him make it into something crazy, okay, Izu? I need to go now. Have fun and I’ll be back soon.” Her dad gives her a light kiss on her forehead and heads out the door.
“Okay, now that the grump is gone, let’s make some decisions.
Smiling, Izu and her uncle come up with a special sign to represent her using the sign for green and the sign for rabbit. She wanted to be like her dad and use an animal sign for her name, so her uncle suggested the sign for rabbit since she’s like a sweet little bunny. They continue on, her uncle showing her different signs and the structure for forming sentences in sign and her repeating him. She catches on quickly, her hands gaining stability and grace as she gets more comfortable with the signs. By the time her dad returns a little over two hours later, she’s already gained quite the vocabulary.
“I’m back. How’s the signing coming along?”
Izu turns and smiles big at her dad. “Really good! Zashi taught me a lot! And I have a sign name now!” She proceeds to sign green bunny, smiling wider when her dad doesn’t hide his own grin.
“You sure have learned a lot. And that is a very cute sign name.” He comes over and joins them on the couch, taking the open seat on the other side of her. “Why don’t we practice holding a conversation in sign? Then you can work on your speed.”
She lights up and nods. Both men laugh and they all three begin their silent conversation, showing her new signs as they come up in the conversation. She catches on more quickly now that things have context and it isn’t too long before they are all able to actually hold a complex conversation.
Day one of suicide watch is a success.
—
Pulling the sleeves of her oversized hoodie down, Izu follows her guardians through the gates of the top hero school in the country. Both Uncle Zashi and her dad needed to go back to work today, but her suicide watch isn’t over yet so she’s forced to tag along. Not that she’s necessarily complaining. It is her dream school after all.
Walking across the campus to the front doors, Izu can’t help the way her nerves spike. She latches onto her dad’s sleeve causing him to slow to a stop. He turns to look at her, causing Uncle Zashi to look too. “What’s up, Kid?”
“Scared.” She signs one-handed.
His brow furrows. “What are you scared of?”
Instead of answering, she looks around at the students arriving and shrugs.
“Izu, look at me,” a hand is gently placed on her head and she turns to see her dad looking at her with soft eyes. “It’s okay to be nervous. How you feel is valid and understandable. But I promise you that you will not leave mine or Zashi’s sight at all today, so no one can mess with you.” Izu nods, but still feels a little uneasy. “Plus,” her dad smirks, “you’ll get to meet some new heroes…”
Izu’s eyes go wide. Why didn’t she consider that before? Of course heroes would be here since UA’s staff is entirely made up of heroes or people from the hero industry. And she will most likely get to meet some of them. She looks up at her dad who is smiling at her.
“You have two brand new notebooks in your backpack.” And then he turns and begins walking back towards the school, slightly dragging a stunned Izu behind him.
They make it to the teacher’s lounge without further incident, but the moment they walk in, Izu is overwhelmed. Thirteen is sitting at a table looking over some paperwork. Powerloader is talking to Vlad King and Ectoplasm in a corner. Snipe is sitting at a desk on a computer. And now Midnight is walking over to them. That’s six different heroes all in one room!
“Well it’s about time you two introduced me to this little nugget!” Midnight’s loud statement brings the other five heroes’ attention to Izu’s little family. So Izu does the only appropriate thing. She hides behind her dad. “Aw, she’s so shy! Eek! So cute!” Midnight squeals.
“Nem, calm down. You’re scaring her.” Izu’s dad rolls his eyes at his friend.
Midnight waves him off, “Hey there, Kitten. I’m Kayama Nemuri, but you can call me Auntie Nem! I’ve been best friends with your dad and uncle since high school.”
Izu peeks out from behind her dad, “Hello. Nice to meet you.”
Midnight smiles wider. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
Eventually Izu is introduced to the other heroes in the room and, through the use of both sign and writing, Izu is able to ask them questions about their fighting styles, various battles she saw on HeroTube, and her theories on how to cover potential weaknesses. She’s amazed by how open and honest the heroes in the room are, especially the mysterious Ectoplasm and the harsh-looking Vlad King. She manages to fill up half a notebook before her dad kneels down next to her and whispers, “Hey Sweetgirl, there’s someone else who wants to meet you before classes start.”
Surprised, Izu nods and waves goodbye to the other heroes in the room, following her dad out of the lounge and down the hall. There are students in the halls now, so Izu sticks close to her dad’s side, eyes constantly in motion as she takes in all the high schoolers and their quirks. Some of them must be hero students, right? Which means she is getting a first look at future heroes! The thought helps her relax a little as they continue their walk. Once they reach a set of double doors down a quieter hallway, her dad stops and turns to her. “Now, no taking over the world until you’re at least eighteen, okay?”
“What?”
Her dad just smiles in answer as the doors in front of them open on their own.
“Welcome to UA, Miss Midoriya! I’ve heard so much about you!” Nedzu, the principal of UA high school and one of the smartest beings in the world, stands on a very fancy desk, his paws clasped behind his back. “Please, have a seat. Tea?”
Izu looks from her dad to the rodent principal. Her dad just smiles and gently pulls her along into the room, the doors shutting behind them. He leads her over to a comfortable looking chair and helps her sit down before taking a seat next to her. Principal Nedzu pours her a cup of tea, which she accepts with a hesitant nod, then sits down at his desk. “Let’s start with proper introductions, shall we? I am Principal Nedzu and my quirk, High Specs, gives me a higher IQ than the average human.” He then gestures to Izu.
“I’m M-I-D-O-R-I-Y-A I-Z-U, and I’m quirkless.” She looks to her dad and he smiles, so she assumes that was an okay introduction.
“Hello, Miss Midoriya. As I’ve said, I’ve been told much about you and I have to say, you being quirkless just makes it all more fascinating. I understand you met some of my staff today?” She nods. “Tell me, were you able to do any analysis on them?”
“I’ve analyzed them all before today, but I was able to update my information and even gain new insights. Why?”
Nedzu smiles. “May I see your notebook? I would like to read your analysis for myself.”
Izu nods, slowly pulling out her notebook and handing it over. As he reads, she nervously tugs at her sleeves and pulls on her wrists which prompts her dad to place a hand over hers. She’s grateful for the distraction and takes his hand.
“My, what a wonderful mind you have!” Nedzu looks up and grins at her.
“Did you think I was exaggerating?” Izu’s dad asks, a smirk on his lips.
“I know you are not usually one for hyperbole, but human emotions can sometimes cloud judgment. I’m delighted to see that was not the case here!” He turns to look at Izu. “You have a better understanding of quirk theory than most third years in my school, not to mention your analytic skills are most impressive!”
Izu’s eyes grow wide. She shakes her hands and hastily signs, “It’s nothing! I’m sure anyone here could have done better! I’m really not as special as all of that.” She begins wringing her hands and looking between her dad and Nedzu.
Nedzu steps back up onto the desk and walks so he is standing directly in front of Izu. “I know the world can be a cruel place for those with minds like ours, but trust me when I say you are more special than you realize. I know kids with analysis quirks whose skills are not even close to the level you are at right now.”
Izu looks between her dad and the principal, chewing her bottom lip. What is she supposed to say to that? She’s not really that special, is she? She’s just a useless deku with creepy stalker notebooks. Right? But… Uncle Zashi and her dad both like her notebooks, and now the principal of UA is complimenting her work. What is she supposed to do with this information?
“I can see it will take time to convince you of your genius. But not to worry! If I have my way, and I usually do, we will have plenty of time to cultivate this skill and work on your confidence in it!” Nedzu turns to her dad. “Now, you have a class to get to. I assume you will be taking Miss Midoriya with you?”
“She’s not leaving my sight.”
“Good. Then I would like you,” he turns to face Izu once more, “to do a thorough analysis on each of Eraser’s remaining students in Class 1-A. I will expect at least one page on each student, but you may do more if you wish.” Izu nods, a little overwhelmed. “Good! Then you are both dismissed.”
—
As Nedzu watches the young girl disappear with his favorite student, he can’t help the manic grin that appears on his face. A new personal student to add to his collection. Now all he has to do is make sure she gets into the heroics course. What fun!
