Chapter 7: Action Figure

It was the moment the students had all been waiting for; the reason all of them wanted to go to UA (aside from the distance to home and its fame). The best part of Hero-training:

Hero Training 101!

Izuku had barely been able to sleep last night in anticipation for this class. Why? Oh no big reason, just the fact that THE MAN WHO HE AND HIS CLASSMATES WORSHIPPED TAUGHT IT!

It seemed like he wasn't alone in this regard; the red and white haired boy also had circles under his eyes and many of the students were breathing deeply in anticpation, or fixing up their attires.

"I AM HERE...!"

All the students sat on the edge of their seats, impatiently and eagerly awaiting...

"COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

There he was, in his Silver Age costume. All Might himself. The person who had told Izuku he could become a hero and who had helped our hero and his father find the plan that had gotten him this far.

"ALRIGHT NEWBIES! LETS JUMP RIGHT INTO IT! TODAY YOU BEGIN ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF HEROWORK...COMBAT TRAINING! GO PICK UP YOUR COSTUMES FROM YOUR LOCKERS AND MEET ME AT TRAINING BLOCK A; YES THAT IS INDEED WERE SOME OF YOU TOOK YOUR ACCEPTANCE TEST! NOW GO ON, GET!"

MHPM

Not even 10 minutes later, most of Class 1A stood at the ready...excpet for one.

"Is Izuku okay?" Ochako asked.

"He was the first to get his costume..." Ida pointed out. "One would think that..."

"Right here, sorry about that! Was just checking something!"

An elongated leg then stretched from the doorway, followed soon by another and then the rest of our hero.

Izuku had not had it in him to part with the costume his parents had given him on his first day; their support and encouragement meant the world to him...especially Inko's, since she had been around the most in Izuku's life until recently.

So when it had come time for the support course students to create his costume, he had merely dropped off the costume, offered some suggestions to be added and had faith in their work.

He was not disappointed in the least.

In contrast to the many colourful, armoured or skin-tight suits of his classmates, Izuku's costume was far simpler: It consisted a dark red hoodie with simularly colored pants and black wraparound goggles. The one change from the support staff, aside from the goggles' modifications, was a yellow belt that seemed to resemble two opposing triangles.

"SIMPLE WORKS BEST SOMETIMES!" All Might assured everyone before explaining the rules of training:

He would pair students up and set them against each other; one team acing as villains with a missile and the others has heroes out to stop them. The teams would be graded on how they acted during these battles, not only in terms of combative prowess but also strategy and planning.

The first match was Izuku and Mina against Ochako and Ida, with the latter acting as villains and the former as the heroes. The Speedster and Gravity controller were given 10 minutes to prepare before Izuku and Mina came in.

Mina, now wearing a domino mask and purple lepord skin one piece with boots and a feathered boa, used her acid to surf over the ground and even onto the walls. Izuku couldn't help but stare and admire her control over her Quirk.

'Never would've thought of using Acid like that...' He mused, being half tempted to turn his feet into rollerskates and follow in suit...before recalling how he was still not very co-oridnated.

"So, you got any plan Stretch?" Mina asked once they came to a stop. "All I really got is rushing them, and with Ida's speed that doesn't seem wise."

Izuku began to think, trying to use what he had observed about the other two students while also enlarging one of his ears to try and listen to anyplan they might've been making. Finding nothing, he turned his head up and pushed a button on his goggles.

"Izuku?" Mina asked. "Something wrong?"

"No, my Goggles have tracking of all kinds." Izuku explained as he spied a heat signature heading towards them. "Looks like Idas coming this way..Wait. No defiantly Ida. He can only go fast in a straight line and then has to stop if he wants to change directions; really needs to work around that."

Mina giggled at Izuku's overly analytical notes, partially to calm her own nerves.

"So he's leaving Ochako to guard the bomb?" She mused. "I'm guessing we'll have to split up to finish this quickly."

Mina was by no means battle hungry and didn't think herself as too vindictive, but she did know when and where to prioritize when it came to saving the day. She liked to think babysitting Gordon had helped in this regard and while she didn't want to fight Ochako, she knew that she didn't stand much of a chance against Ida.

"You go around the back and go after Ochako, She's on the top floor." Izuku reason. "I'll handle Ida."

Izuku smiled evilly...which freaked out everyone who saw it.

"..F-Freckles?" Mina asked.

"Yeah?"

"Never. Do that. Again." Mina begged, punctuating her words by poking her finger into his chest at each one.

"What? Smile?" Izuku asked.

"Well, at least not like that!" Mina said offhandedly, then she then realized her finger was sinking into Izuku. She pulled it out and his chest returned to normal.

"I could do this all day!" Mina beamed with a chuckle. "In fact, if we weren't in class, I would."

Izuku blushed somewhat at this.

"Mina, that tickles! And we're in the middle of..."

"NOT THAT THIS ISN'T ADORABLE, BUT YOU DO HAVE A TIME LIMIT." All Might pointed out. "WHICH I FORGOT TO MENTION. MY BAD. SORRY. YOU HAVE 8 MINUTES REMAINING."

The two teens jumped back and tried to act cool just before a familar screech filled their ears.

"Heroes!" Ida shouted as menacingly as he could (which wasn't too much). "You will not get past me!"

Izuku and Mina looked at each other and gave each other a nod. Izuku then wrapped an arm around Mina and flung her upwards, where she surfed on the roof and onto the next floor.

"What do you call that?" Izuku asked. "Cause it looks like my partner just did."

To his credit, Ida remained undeterred in spite of mentally berating himself. He moved to chase after Mina, but Izuku zipped in front of him and expanded, blocking the speedster's way and becoming a makeshift curtain.

Ida tried to power through but was sent flying back towards a wall, just barely catching himself. Izuku, after catching his breath, then turned to normal and entered a boxing stance, only for Ida to dash away and then race back to kick his faux-foe.

Izuku wrapped an arm around teh offending leg and swung his classmate away, but Ida managed to correct his trajectory and land a blow...which only made Izuku's face push backwards and then back to normal.,,with some shaking.

"Try and keep up, 'hero!'" Ida boasted. "All I have to keep is keep you busy!"

His confidence wavered slightly when his foe seemed amused by his actions and stopped the shaking.

"Shame that stretching isn't ALL I can do, villain!" Izuku smirked, suddenly turning into a red copy of Ida's costume and rushing the armoured boy, flipping him to the ground and speeding backwards.

'I forgot he could shape shift.' Ida weakly thought.

MHPM

"Um...did anyone else know he could do that?" Denki asked.

The assembled students shook their heads in shock.

"Again, Izuku's Quirk seems to be crazy strong." Tsuyu pointed out.

"What even IS his Quirk?" Momo asked.

'Stretching, some damage negation, shape-shifting and a good personality?' All Might used to himself. 'If I hadn't already met Mirio, I have a feeling this boy would've made a great host for One for All.'

The red and white haired boy's interest in Izuku peaked.

'He may be the strongest in our class after all.' He mused. 'Still my ice will bring him down.'

MHPM

While Izuku and Ida had exchanged blows, Mina and Ochako had had a more traditional, but nonetheless exicting fist fight. Mina had won, but for not lacking on Ochako's part:

The Gravity girl had refused to let Mina get too far and had used her Quirk to float herself and the bomb, forcing the pink haired girl to skate upwards. Ochako had also used her Quirk to make various garbage and rocks float, forming a sort of barrier and surprise attack that the alien girl had barely managed to dodge without too much damage.

But finally, with grinning faces on both girls' faces at the realization of how exciting their fight had been, Ochako's stamina had run out and she was forced to cancel her Quirk, sending her and the bomb falling to the ground. Mina had used her acid to cushion the bomb and then saved Ochako from falling.

"Good work, Ocho-chan." Mina smiled, getting a weak thumbs up. She then offered the girl some of her waterbottle, which was gratefully taken...just as she realized Mina was now touching the bomb.

"HERO TEAM WINS! AND WITHOUT A MINUTE TO LOSE NO LESS!"

Mina let out a hurrah before helping her friend to her feet just as Izuku bounced his way up while carrying Ida on his back.

"Great work!" The stretching boy beamed, getting a high five from the two girls.

"...I'm sorry." Ida and Ochako said to each other, then being shocked at such word. "Why are you...? You did...! I was the one who...! Okay knock that off!...Peter Piper picked a pick of Pickled Peppers!"

Mina couldn't help but squeal at the sight and Izuku found himself finding the scene adorable as well...

Then a 'beep' filled the ears off everyone.

And tehn another.

And clicking.

The students turned to see a horrifying sight: The bomb was armed and out to blow in five seconds.

Without a second thought, Izuku elongated his arms, wrapped one around Mina and the other around Ida and Ochako before spinning like a top and tossing them out of the building.

Three seconds remained. He'd never escape in time. And if this bomb was the same type he had read about in all those hero reports...the scale of the explosion could reach his classmates.

"YOUNG MIDORIYA!" All Might called out, racing towards the site as Izuku then did the stupidest thing he had ever done:

He jumped onto the bomb, covering it with his body, now stretched to a parachute like form.

The bomb then exploded, sending Izuku upwards and then back to the ground, barely still on his feet and wobbling. His body was aching in pain...the bomb HAD been as strong as he had feared!

But aside from soot in the room and his costume, there was no damage. So it was worth it. And with pride in what he had done, Izuku made his way towards the main room.

"YOUNG MIDORIYA, ARE YOU OKAY?"

A dazed Izuku, his stomach burned and he himself barely standing on two feet, burped up smoke

"Yeah...! Sure..." He responded, fumbling in his steps. "I-I'm fine All Might. Just...heartburn and...stars? Oh, there's a ducky, too..."

He then fell to the ground, a dazed look in his eyes.

"Izuku!" Mina called, rushing to her partner's side. "Speak to me! If you see a light, do NOT go toward it!"

She got nothing but a groan.

"Darn it freckles, just say something!" The pink skinned girl demanded as she pulled his head upwards, stretching his neck as her eyes glistening with tears. "I can't take another scare!"

"Mina?" Izuku, half awake and dazed asked before smiling sweetly. "You have...beautiful eyes..."

Mina's face took on a different hue and for once in her life, she was speechless...for about two seconds.

"HE'S LOST HIS MIND!" She shouted in fear and worry, a blush on her face as she dropped Izuku's head, which landed with a thud and 'ow!' She then picked her friend's head and cradled it until Recovery Girl came to take a better look at the boy.

Sadly for the Acid user, said blush didn't go unnoticed by Tooru, Tsuyu and Ochako.

"Ladies? Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Ochako started.

"I think so, but how will we get Jiro to sing a crummy Canadian pop song in the middle of the cafeteria?" Tooru asked.

The other girls looked at her in confusion. Tooru's invisible eyes went back and forth before a realization came to her.

"Oh! You mean...!"

"Yes. Those two." Tsuyu said.

From the corner of the room, the trio smiled evilly...well, maybe not evilly per say.

They had discovered a ship and were now determined to make it a reality by any means nessacary.

MHA

The lesson was cancelled in lieu of this. So, the kids had another early day.

Aside from some dizziness and the now missing chest of his costume, Izuku was fine.

"Great work out there today!"

Izuku paused at the unfamiliar voice, looking around for its source.

"Down here!"

Our hero looked down and saw...

It was a face.

Under his feet.

A smiling face with beady eyes.

"So, you're him, huh?" The face asked with a smile.

Izuku reacted as many would in his position, letting out a terrified scream and then leaping upwards, wrapping his arms around the branch of a nearby tree.

"WHO OR WHAT...?!"

"Oop! Sorry about that!" The face chuckled as it rose from the ground, revealing that is belonged to a blonde boy with a psyhique that made Izuku even more self-cousious. "Names Mirio Togata, pleased to meet you!"

He reached out to shake thd younger boy's hand...but Izuku was red and turned his head away.

"WHERE ARE YOUR PANTS?!" He called out in shock, his head turning into a megaphone as he shouted. "STRANGER DANGER! STRAN...!"

He then stopped and took a look at the young man and then recalled his name...

Mirio Togata.

Now Izuku remembered him; at the sports Festival of the previous year; the one whose clothes kept falling off and who had placed dead last in all of the events.

With a weak chuckle, he shook the older student's hand.

"Sorry about that.."

"Not a problem, it happens alot; forgot I wasn't in my costume." Togata assured him. "Anyways, I just heard about what happened and wanted to meet the hero of the day myself. Didn't mean to spook ya like that."

The two smiled somewhat less awkardly at each other before Mirio turned around.

"I gotta head over to my Agency, but rest assured; I got my eye on you, Izuku Midoriya! Go Beyond!"

The boy the vanished underground, only to pop back up in a costume and disappear again.

Izuku chuckled weakly, realizing he had just met his senpai...

(AN: NOT IN THAT MANNER! Get your heads out of the gutter!Besides, you saw the pairings! And I already have plans for Mirio's ship...altough that won't be until the movie...back to the story)

Someone for him to look up to as a stepping point a goal to reach; Mirio Togata.

With a smile and inwardly wondering if eccentric mannerism were picked up as you went through your years at UA, Izuku morphed into a spring and bounced towards home/

MHA

"My whole life flashed before my eyes...!" He reminisced at the dinner table that night, then frowned. "...It was very boring. And real depressing until the last bit."

There was no reason for the Midoriya parents to ponder about the depressing bit of their son's tale of his tale. They still had some resentment in themselves for taking so long to reaize the pain their son had gone through for so long...

So when he came home that day, Inko hugged the living daylights out of her baby boy, who had unsuccessfully tried to slither away but was subject to his mother's quirk until his father came home panting and sweating and demanded to know who he had to sue for putting his son in that position.

It had taken until dinner time for Izuku to calm his parents down, and they ahd ordered in before finally listening to their son's side of the story.

"What were the best parts?" Inko asked.

"This last year mostly." Izuku mused. "Dad coming back, finding out my power..."

He paused and smiled warmly.

"Meeting Mina."

His parents caught this, as did Izuku himself. Just before he could compose himself and offer some explanation that he prayed would convince his parents his reasons were not what they were thinking (even though they probably were)...

"MY BABY'S IN LOVE!" Inko cried happily as she and Hisashi cupped each other's hands and wept tears of joy.

"Oh! We are going to have such cute mixed grand-babies with busy hair!" Hisashi beamed, then shooting his son a stern look. "Don't screw this up for us, son!"

And with that, Izuku's appetite was gone. He left without a word while his parents daydreamed of their future grandchildren, turning on his computer to try and take his mind off what had happened with All Might videos.

It did not work.

Instead, the image of said ' cute mixed grand-babies with busy hair' kept coming into his head..and soon in his eyesight, as his fingers turned into mini-combinations of his and Mina's features.

'Huh. They would look pretty cute, actually...' He mused. '...I wonder...Ah, I'll save it for tomorrow.'

MHA

Meanwhile at the Ashido household. Mina found herself being hounded by her brothers. While she never got tired of little Gordon spending time with her, Naji, who had a free day from college had gone on to escort her everywhere she went.

Including the bathroom.

"For the last time, I'm alright!" Mina groaned from within the bathroom, knowing her older brother was outside. "No one was hurt, it was probably a mix-up and I'm fine! I don't need you to watch over me like I'm three again!"

"Well sorry!" Naji retorted. "But hearing that my baby sister nearly got blown up during what was supposed to be training has me on edge!"

"Not a baby!" Mina hollered. "Speaking of, could put on the TV to channel 14? Gordie's shows are about to start."

The young man took his baby brother, who was reaching for Mina, into the living room and did as his sister asked.

Naji and Mina were more akin to standard siblings; mostly due to the seven year gap between them. Naji had teased Mina growing up and she in turn had made fun of his geeky interests.

Still, Naji never forgot the day he skipped school to see his baby sister the day after she had been born. How the second he had seen her, he became filled with a warmth and protective instinct that never truly left him, even when Mina became a little monster of a munchkin and lost her worship of him.

So when he heard about the bomb going off, he had postponed any plans to make sure she was okay. Besides, he hadn't seen her in ages.

And she didn't want to see him! The nerve!

Naji then sat down with Gordon and found himself being filled with nostalgia as an episode he had seen as a kid appeared on TV just as his parents came in.

"How goes it, champ?" Maji asked his son, sitting down as his wife took her baby and kissed him before going to get started on dinner, while still making sure he could see his shows.

"Mina's okay." Naji sighed. "Refusing to talk about what happened, but..."

"Izu save Mina!" Gordon beamed happily.

This was news for Naji.

He was aware that Mina had made friends with some of her classmates and was under the impression she had made a best friend already, but he had never had a name to go with it.

"Izu?" He asked. "Who is Izu?"

And suddenly, an emotion came over Naji Ashido: A sense of protectiveness with a desire to hunt and interrogate.

"...Do I need to...?" HE started.

"No! Kami, no!" Nia frowned as she bounced Gordon.

"You didn't let me finish, ma!" Naji groaned.

"Didn't have to!" Nia humphed. "Izuku is a sweetheart and a cinnamon roll!"

Maji nodded before adding his own thoughts. "Besides, that's MY job! And I can't!"

"Why, cause his dad is your business partner?"

"No, because that boy literally doesn't have a bad bone in his body. That and Gordie likes him."

"Izu!" Gordon beamed.

Naji sighed and went to his room, passing Mina as he did.

"If Izuku hurts ya in any way, ya me know." He said.

Mina blushed and laughed at that before joining her parents and baby brother...she would then return to her room in embarrassment when Nia brought up Izuku's recurring habit of saving her.

MHA

Nezu tentatively took a sip of his tea as he racked his brain trying to solve this conundrum:

How did a REAL bomb manage to be snuck into UA?

Power Loader and the Support team and students were the first interrogated; a few times a bomb meant for the Graduating classes' finals had been mixed up with another; it was once in a blue moon however.

There was the fact that Power Loader had made no attempt to hide his dislike towards Izuku Midoriya; the boy who had deactivated a 0-Pointer and tossed at the way to a now formerly spotless beach, which had caused UA some bad publicity.

If only it was that easy.

Power Loader was still a Hero after all and while he had cooperated with his boss, made it clear that such a thought had and would never cross his way. Nezu had bought the man's understanding by giving him a raise; which considering how many explosions that one student, Hatsume he believed, had caused, was probably a good idea.

This left only one other option: Someone had broken into UA and placed the bomb there, likely with the intent of killing. The Mouse-Bear both thanked and cursed that All Might had chosen the teams randomlu

"Aizawa."

The dishevelled man nodded and reached for his phone.

"Hitoshi? Are you in the mood for some extra credit and shadowing?"

Read and Review, would ye kindly?

Thank you all for following, I vehemetly apologize for the delay.

For the longest time, the chapter was just not coming to me and I wanted to update before posting anymore of my newer story ideas, so here it is. Besides, I hope I have at least introduced a decent mystery into the story.

Next is the part EVERYONE is looking for; the USJ. How will a stretchy Izuku shape up against the likes of Tomura, Nomu and Kurogiri?

Find out next week!

Keep safe and warm.