Wondering Eyes

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't know the rights to 'Boku no Hero Academia'. Please support the official release.

A/N: Expect characters to act and behave somewhat differently. Remember, different circumstances dictate different outcomes. I know most fans are kind decent people who love the show, the lore, and the world the writer has created. And you're all so much fun to interact with. Social Media aside.

While I'm playing most of the themes in this fic for laughs, there are somewhat serious underlying themes of loneliness, self-esteem, and sexuality… Especially that last part, remember it's rated (M) for a reason. Honestly, I wanted to take a premise that would so easily fit in either smut or something far dirtier than this, and give it some actual ramifications. Hence Izuku's Quirk, as you'll soon see.

But mostly, I wrote this because my brother and I had a great time brainstorming ideas. With that being said… Enjoy.

XXX

Izuku Midoriya was talking to a naked girl.

This was not uncommon; most people in his immediate vicinity had a tendency to appear without clothing when they entered his field of vision, if his lost his concentration for even a second. Though this was the first one to do so of her own volition with only the barest scrapes of fabric or modesty.

But still, he was actually talking to a girl!

Now that's not to say that anyone was consciously aware of their state of undress under the young Midoriya's gaze. In fact, to any random outsider looking in, it would've appeared as though a fully clothed individual had walked past, and the random shy green-haired cinnamon roll would spontaneously collapse into a blushing murmuring mess, unable to look their way.

"He's so shy." Some would say.

"He can't even talk without blushing."

"Never looks at anyone. Always staring at his shoes."

"What a loser."

If they only knew.

But Midoriya liked it better this way. Better to think he was shy than think he was a pervert, or worse. And he wasn't, at least as far as his family and BFF were concerned.

Despite his best attempts, and there had been allot of them, Midoriya couldn't fully control the unfortunate side effect of his power. His Quirk.

The power to literally see and identify weak points in any person, object, or idea… though that last one was more down to his exemplary intelligence.

But no Quirk came without some form backlash, or weakness, or limitation.

And his backlash made his social life a living nightmare. He'd glance someone passing by, same as anyone else would and not bat an eye, but if it were someone he needed to pay attention to, someone he had to focus on… then he had to concentrate to not let his Quirk slip, because if it did he'd have a minute, one minute at best before his Quirk activated and suddenly whoever stood before him would unknowingly bare all.

And when you can't look at someone without potentially violating their most basic rights of privacy… well that's the worst feeling in the world. It made him sick. Made him feel no better than a common criminal. How could he call himself a hero? And over the years it'd slowly consumed Izuku's life, branding him with an intense self-loathing that the rare few who knew of this backlash couldn't hope to understand, no matter how hard they tried.

"Hello~ Earth to Mr. String Bean."

Izuku snapped out of his daze as he stared dumbfounded at the naked girl standing before him. Their conversation had started out so well… at least until she'd turned him around by his shoulder and he'd realised he was talking to a very attractive girl.

Despite his best efforts, his concentration on keeping his Quirk at bay wasn't working. And if he focused and activated his Quirk in full then she'd appear as nothing more than a walking skeleton, or a living biology mannequin of flesh, organs, veins and arteries.

But this wasn't a life of death situation, his mind didn't need him to find a weakness, and forcing it was like clenching a muscle, he couldn't do it for long. Thus all he could do was gaze into her admittedly beautiful blue eyes, or look at her hair, and fight every natural instinct to look down. There'd be ample time to hate himself when he got home, somewhere no one could see his shame.

'Isn't life grand?' Midoriya pondered whilst doing his best to focus on her head and just her head.

As was the case throughout middle school, the girls had dubbed him 'The Pea Green Gentleman'. Because he always looked them in the eyes when they spoke to him. Not that he didn't try to do that anyway, but sometimes his focus seemed so fixated on staying on their faces that it put most off from actively speaking with him again outside of school mandated projects.

The girl in question wore only gloves and sneakers. And even those had faded away under his amazing gaze.

'Wondering Eyes.'

That had been the name he and his pal had come up with for his Quirk.

To think only moments after stepping onto the bus, the random girl had just run up and sat next to him like it was the easiest thing in the world and started talking his ear off. And despite the unfortunate nature of his abilities, he'd loved every minute of it.

She was so thrilled about being at UA and all the big name heroes they'd seen, she'd been especially upfront about hopefully meeting the '18 Plus Hero Midnight'. Her enthusiasm was contagious. She didn't even mind that the majority of his contributions to the conversation had been smiles and nods.

Delicate fingers snapped within inches of his face. Shaking the cobwebs from his already overheated brain, Izuku stammered and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh uhhh… s-sorry. W-What were we talking about?"

The girl sighed and ran a hand over her eyes, slightly brushing her unkempt raven fringe aside in the process. It didn't look like this girl had used a mirror to brush her hair. Perhaps she'd been in a rush? Understandable given where they were and what they both sought to achieve. Though the wild black untamed look did have a somewhat endearing, almost primal quality to it. Like this daring free spirit wouldn't be bound by society and their quote/unquote standards.

"I asked if you were alright. That tall dork with the glasses was really rude to you in the exam hall."

Izuku shamefully rubbed his arm and looked away, finding sudden interest in the linoleum squares that adorned the floor. He hadn't meant to cause any trouble, he was just so excited about seeing Present Mic in the flesh, before realising he'd lost concentration and buried his face in his notebook to avoid seeing his actual flesh. Not to mention all the amazing Quirks around him that he couldn't wait to write about.

Though he'd been so caught up in his passion he hadn't realised he was muttering to himself, as he was want to do.

Then that tall "dork" as the naked girl had described him, had stood up and called him out in the middle of the exam hall for being "Rude" and "Disrespectful" to all the other applicants. That alone had almost killed Izuku's joy at just being there, in UA, the place where All-Might himself had honed and perfected his craft.

Thankfully, his best friend came to his defence. Calling out the "dork" for not paying proper attention and being disrespectful to someone he knew nothing about.

It made Izuku truly thankful to have at least one person he could count on at an institution with such lofty expectations.

"O-oh it's alright. Really. I-It's my fault for talking to myself anyway. I was just… I-I'm just so happy to be here. A-and…"

The messy haired girl smirked and gently tapped Izuku's nose with an affectionate, "Boop."

"Sounds to me like he's the one with the massive stick up his butt." The girl grabbed his hands and giggled, ignorant or just not caring about the attention such behaviour garnered in a large crowd.

Any moment now the giant mechanical doors would open, and their proverbial trial by fire would begin. A written test was one thing, but literally forcing students without physical or destructive quirks to fight robots for a place in a school to master quirks, without any prior training since Quirk usage in public was illegal… Izuku didn't need his super vision to see the giant gaping holes in that logic.

Yet this girl was taking time from her mental prep just to check on him. It was as touching a gesture as the round-faced girl, as his pal had called her, between bouts of snickering at his babbling and blushing state, who'd rushed to use her Quirk to save him from falling flat on his face. When the round-faced girl had hurriedly rushed up close to him and placed a hand to his forehead to check his temperature, his face had been almost glowing. And Izuku would swear his friend had almost died of laughter. Though the round-faced girl hadn't the foggiest clue as to why.

Lapses in concentration like that were less common for Izuku in recent years, but then his social anxiety would flare up and all he could do was hide his face to spare himself, and others, the shame. Not that they knew, and hopefully, they never would.

"Forget about him. We're all lucky to be here. So let's kick ass and take names, and kick names and take ass."

The girl followed up her righteous cheer by slapping her butt with a very audible slap of palm on flesh.

All around various students glanced this way and that searching for the figure who'd made such a provocative noise.

And yet… no one was looking at the girl. The very obviously naked girl standing before him.

It couldn't have been his quirk, if she'd been wearing clothes and his Quirk was just looking through them there'd be… signs.

Like a piece of meat from the butcher shop wrapped in string, even once removed, or looked past in his case, the indent of the string in the meat would still remain. As was the case with all who fell under his gaze. Their clothes disappeared, but the constricting pressure of their clothes and undergarments remained. Compressing certain parts into odd shapes that made them difficult to look at… not that he wanted to.

But this girl didn't have that besides her gloves and shoes. She'd been wearing naught but those before his Quirk had kicked in. So either this girl had an incredibly distracting Quirk to make others believe her clothes had vanished, which he could see still being a very useful, yet controversial Quirk, to say the least. Or… she was naked. In a crowd of people, yet hardly anyone was looking at her, and the few that were just shot her weird looks of bewilderment and confusion. What was going on?!

"Ahehe~ You're really nice… uhhh."

"Oh, it's Toru. Toru Hagakure. Pleased to meet'cha." The girl smiled, offering her hand.

Izuku blushed and shook her hand, his sense of touch telling him that, indeed, she was in-fact still wearing her gloves.

"I-Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you, Hagakure. I hope w-we'll…"

"There you are, you disrespectful hooligan!"

The pairs impromptu handshake was interrupted by the untoward reprimand of a certain "dork", as Hagakure described him.

"First you openly mock the proud institution of which each and everyone of us dream to aspire. And now, now you dare to abscond with the all to valuable prep time of this… pair of clothes?"

"I-I… I'm sorry, I…" Izuku stammered, refusing to look at him. He was used to people going out of their way to pick on him, sometimes he'd even fooled himself into thinking he'd deserved it, but the difference between then and now was that this time, he didn't have his best friend to watch his back and send the bullies packing.

"Oh, your sorry?! Well I think you owe everyone here and this… outfit… an apology, to think a troublemaker like you believed they are worthy to walk the same great halls as…"

'Set of clothes? Outfit?' For a moment Izuku's Wondering Eyes flared, his usually green eyes turning a 'beautiful' shade of shimmering pink, as his family had described them. What did he mean by, 'Pair of Clothes?' He wondered, before the naked girl came to his rescue and captured his accusers attention.

"Hey! Just who do you think you are?!"

The "dork" was taken aback by the 'Pair of Clothes' rushing up and pointing an accusatory glove in his direction. Drawing the curious stares of those nearby.

"Umm… Well, I was merely…" He stammered, awkwardly rearranging his glasses.

"Oh, I know exactly what you were doing. You were insulting my new friend, you big blowhard!"

"W-What? How dare…"

"Oh, how dare I? How dare I?! How dare you? Ya big jerk!"

"J-jerk?" The dork stuttered, taking a step back, apparently unfamiliar with facing scorn from others.

"For your information, though it's none of your business, I wanted to talk to him. This is my new friend, and he's grateful just to be here, unlike you! So yeah… Big. Jerk!"

Izuku was floored. And incredibly moved. The only other people who'd ever stood up for him like this were both his mothers, his best friend… and a certain number one hero.

But this girl? She barely knew him. Yet she came to his aid and stood up for him, like a real hero. And that… that said more than words ever could.

"L-look, perhaps we've gotten off on the wrong foot, ehh, so to speak. My name is Tenya Iida, and I…"

"Just thought you'd march over and embarrass my friend? Huh?! Why don't you get lost, creep. Before I show you the art of invisible krav-maga!"

…

…

'Krav-maga? This girl knows martial arts?'

…

'Wait… Invisible?'

That word triggered Izuku's Wondering Eyes into action.

Like pieces of a puzzle, the world around him fell into place. No wonder his concentration didn't change anything. Plus the lack of constriction marks from clothing. Why nobody was looking at a naked girl. Her surprisingly pale complexion. The unkempt hair. The want of any semblance of embarrassment on the part of his new friend. Friend… he'd actually made a new friend.

A friend with an amazing Quirk.

She was Invisible!

She didn't need clothes.

'My Quirk must naturally counteract hers, and that means…'

No one could see her. Except for him.

And that thought alone… made Izuku blush an unseasonable shade of Christmas red.

"P-perhaps we should discuss this at a later date…" The dork said, suddenly acutely aware of the amount of judgemental looks coming his way. "Good luck with the exam… and uh… ahem… yes."

The dork, now known as Tenya Iida, rambled off, unsuccessfully attempting to fade into the crowd, their collective gaze following his every step. No one liked a bully, especially one who upset others in front of people like they were still in middle school.

"Phooey… what a douche. Are you… Hey… H-hey are you alright, Midoriya?"

Izuku didn't even realise he'd been crying until his new friend pointed it out.

"T-thank you, Hagakure. No one's really stood up for me like that before. At least, no one outside of my home. Y-You're a real hero."

The suddenly obviously invisible girl, silently 'awwed' and threw her arms around Izuku's neck, bringing him in for a hug. Unconventional perhaps, but ask anyone who knew him and they'd tell you, Izuku Midoriya was more often than not in desperate need of a hug.

Instinctively, Izuku's brain snapped in two as a real naked girl hugged him. His senses of smell and touch confirmed that, yes, this was really happening. Her hair smelled of lavender and forest flowers, and her back was so soft to the touch as he returned the hug… if it weren't for his extraordinary senses burning in overdrive, he'd swear he'd died and gone to heaven.

Pulling back slightly, Hagakure smirked as her eyes met Izuku's, taking in the bright redness of his cheeks. She'd had a feeling he was a bit of an introvert from the moment she'd introduced herself, and that stoked her inner flame hotter than any random yahoo who'd stopped to question a walking assortment of clothes sauntering down the street. She was sure all he needed was a shot of confidence.

Maybe she had a type? Who could say? But for now, why not milk this opportunity for all it was worth? Besides, he was kinda cute, and Toru loved cute things. Her expansive and expensive plushie collection was testament to that.

"What's the matter, Zuzu? Never been hugged by a naked girl before?" The invisible girl whispered in his ear, offering a sultry smirk before gently nibbling her bottom lip as she pushed her pert chest into Midoriya's surprisingly muscular front.

'Now just what could he be hiding under here?' She thought with a blush all her own.

Izuku blushed hard, if he lost any more blood on behalf of his increasingly flirty friend, he'd be dead before the final entrance exam even began. The spontaneous pet nickname alone made him smile from cheek to cheek, a feat deemed almost unobtainable beyond those within his most discriminatory circle of trusted friends and loved ones, of which there was only four… until now.

"N-No, not really, Hagakure..." His momentary happiness collapsed under a wave of shame as Izuku lamented how until this moment, he'd never actually done anything more than talk to a girl, and even that was a monumental task that none of the girls in class wanted to repeat.

Thanks to his Quirk he just didn't have the confidence to approach a girl, be charming, or ask a girl out. Not without spending every second after agonising second panicking that at any moment he'd slip up and make a fool out of himself. Or worse, she'd somehow find out about his Quirk's backlash and end his dream of being a hero before it'd even started.

And in the complex inner circles of school friends, a bad review from one spread to others like a plague in the dark ages. And much like a plague, the snide remarks and rumours got worse as they spread between each successive person.

A gentle breath blowing in his ear snapped Izuku from his spiral. Hagakure took a half step back but kept her hands on his shoulders. Perhaps she'd underestimated how much of an introvert her new friend really is.

"Zuzu… take a breath." The invisible girl said, rubbing his shoulder encouragingly.

Izuku complied; after a few shaky breathes he felt his nerves settle, for all the good it would do him.

"S-sorry Hagakure. I guess I'm just not used to…"

"Girl hugs?"

Izuku shook his head.

"Someone being this kind to me… I-It means allot."

From the stunned look on her face she hadn't been expecting that.

"Huh? Why not?! You seem like a nice guy."

That got a smile out of the green cinnamon roll, for all his self doubt he could still appreciate a compliment, rare as they were.

"I guess… m-my Quirk isn't all that impressive. A-And my moms are kinda worriers, plus my best friend can be a little, uhh, intense…" Izuku was silenced by another 'Boop' to his nose.

"No! No putting yourself down! Not today. Look around, where are we right now?" Izuku knew well enough that the naked girl didn't actually want an answer. "We're in UA, the top hero school in all of Japan. The place where heroes are born."

Hagakure skipped back and spun on her heels, throwing her arms into the air and cheering. Unknowingly, she awarded Izuku a full and complete view of the 'goods', and yet that was the last thing on his mind. Because she was right; despite everything he'd been through, the bullies, the rumours, the lack of friends… he was here. Ready to prove himself at the best hero school in the country. Only two people from his horrible Junior High had aced the practice exams to qualify, himself, and his explosive pal over in presumably another area of the test zone.

"Heck yeah!" Izuku cheered, with an uncharacteristically loud outburst.

Hagakure giggled, "'Heck?'… Izuku, you are just precious."

'Precious'.

The only other people to call him that in his life were his mothers, and occasionally their adult friends when he was a toddler.

"Hey, Zuzu?"

Hagakure bounced back over, Izuku staring every which way that wasn't below the neckline.

"Y-yeah?"

"What is your Quirk?"

Like the scratching of a polished vinyl under a dull needle, Izuku's heart skipped a beat, unfortunately not in a good way.

"Uhh~ well. You see…"

The naked girl stepped closer, cocking her head to one side, unaware that her new friend could see her eyes roaming across his figure. Izuku felt a not unpleasant tingle run up his spine, but such feelings were to be stomped out, he couldn't entertain the idea that someone might actually like what they see.

After all, he didn't. Not when he looked in the mirror, nor in the shower, not even during his ten long arduous months of physical hell to ready himself for All-Might's gift.

The gift he'd only gotten that day.

The one he had yet to so much as flex, let alone utilise in any actual physical combat.

Izuku hoped beyond all hope that his original quirk would suffice, but from the sound of things, it'd take allot more than smarts to fight giant, heavily armed, metal robots.

Besides, what could his Taekwando do against thick metal? He'd been told by all those close to him, few as they may be, to focus on what he 'could' do. But his dream was to be a hero. Not a tech guy whispering advice into people eyes from the safety of some air conditioned office building.

'How did the hero Eraserhead ever make it this far?' Izuku pondered, though most likely he'd never know, the Quirk cancelling hero had better things to do than make appearances for a few up-and-comers.

"M-my Quirk is kinda… two fold."

"Oh yeah? Like what."

In any other circumstance, a girl wanting to talk with him about Quirks would sent Izuku over the moon, but unfortunately one half of his Quirk came with an obligation… he couldn't tell anyone of it's origin.

And that meant he'd have to lie. To his friend, to his school, to those who might one day trust him with his life! And that coupled with the perverse backlash of his original Quirk, made him feel even worse about himself than he already did.

"W-well you see. My Quirk's kind of… skipped a generation."

Izuku ignored the ever present smile on his new friends face and she closed the gap between them even further; Mentally he resisted word for word the detailed excuse All-Might had planned out for him, and hoped beyond all hope that the school wouldn't follow up on any of this by contacting his former childhood physician.

"You see I got my Quirk, that I call 'Wondering Eyes' from my grandpa on my dads side, see he could light fires with his mind from far away just by looking at something… then 'woosh!'."

"Ahh, that's so boss."

"W-well, my grandma on his side had the ability to send vibrations through her feet and… I guess both their Quirks skipped a generation, because all my dad could do was breath fire. But me, I can literally see the weaknesses in any person, object, or idea before me. A-Also helps that I study allot… n-not that I'm boasting, I-I would never do that, b-but…"

Once again Hagakure 'booped' his nose, snickering all the while. He could only hope this wouldn't become their new standard greeting if… heaven be willing… they actually become classmates.

"You like to ramble, huh?"

"H-huh? Oh, uhh, s-sorry… I-I sorta do that, sometimes. I just get so excited talking about Quirks and discussing ideas that I kinda… lose myself."

The naked girl shrugged it off with a wave of her glove.

"Meh, just shows that you're dedicated. Heh, maybe when we're classmates you could be my study-buddy? I'll bet with a Quirk like your's you could be the ultimate rescue hero. Ohhh~ you could be a strategist. I play strategy games all the time… 'Gasp' We should totally play 'Risk' sometime."

Izuku blushed and ran a hand through his messy green hair. "I-I'd like that, Hagakure."

Feeling her inner flame light up at his blushing, the invisible girl smirked and ran her glove over his chest. For a guy that she'd, for a brief moment, thought of as 'plain'. Even through her gloves, she could feel he had a nice firm set of muscles under all that mother-loving sweetness.

"Or, maybe if you play your cards right you could be my… something-buddy… wink-wink."

Izuku couldn't make words.

Speech escaped him.

What was Japanese anyway?

If his face flowed any hotter, steam would be pouring out of his ears, if it wasn't already.

And Hagakure was loving every minute of it. How could such a cute, yet surprisingly buff, cinnamon roll not get compliments like this on a daily basis? He should be fighting off girls with a stick. But his composure spoke differently.

How long had it been since a girl, or really, anyone offered him a compliment?

How long had it been since he'd thought such good things about himself?

Whatever the case may be, that needed to change.

"Ugh~ So anyway, m-my grandpa on my birth mom's side could move heavy objects by flexing his muscles. My mom could move small objects with her mind. B-But somehow I got his incredible strength, just all throughout my body."

"Whoa! That's gotta be like, the one-two punch of Quirks. Zuzu, there's no way you can possibly fail this exam now. Your Quirk is incredible."

The spontaneous friends shared a laugh, despite the weight of guilt crushing down on Izuku's chest.

"W-well… there is one big, actually, massive backlash."

Hagakure stopped her cheering at that. Every Quirk had a backlash, that was the nature of the beast, so to speak. But whatever the drawback to his Quirk might be, she couldn't see it.

Her Quirk had the queen of drawbacks… no one would ever see her beyond a set of floating clothes. But his Quirk sounded unstoppable…

"Y-you see. I only got my Strength Quirk… today."

If Hagakure had been drinking, that day would've been the first recorded sighting of an invisible spit-take. Today, as in, today today? How had it taken someone with muscles and obvious know-how like this to realise he hand a secondary attribute to his Quirk?

Izuku stammered, trying to think of an excuse. The one All-Might had discussed with him hadn't gone beyond 'I found out I had it today.'

"Well, y-you see… I've been working out allot for a while, y-you know, for today. I w-was practicing my Taekwondo at sunrise, like I always do and I guess I got so pumped up about today I… punched the air… and ended up badly bruising my arm."

That last statement was not… untrue.

He had bruised his arm punching his fist into the air, he'd just been so excited to inherit his idols gift, and his best pal was there cheering him on and he'd… gotten caught up in the moment. Now his arm was bruised but mercifully still usable, and he had no idea just how he was supposed to use it without killing himself. If punching air caused bruising and a stinging pain for almost an hour, how would it fare against the likes of reinforced metal? Or a full on villain fight?

"M-My best friend took me straight to the doctor. Apparently the second half of my Quirk took till now to activate because…" Izuku took a shaky breath before continuing. "Because without the proper muscle and physicality… the strain of the Quirk on my body would've killed me."

"… Damn." The invisible girl muttered, spouting off the first thing to pop into her overheated brain. She was floored. Never had she ever heard of a Quirk so powerful it could kill the user. Quirks were as natural as breathing, but this guy, her new friend… one momentary loss of control and his body could… and Hagakure trembled at the thought… explode.

And it explained so much. No wonder he was nervous, about being here, about people getting too close, about someone potentially upsetting him and ruining his concentration. If it'd been her in his, admittedly quirky red boots, she would've been a nervous wreck.

Add to that an already self conscious psyche and you've got a recipe for disaster.

And the poor guy was going through this by himself?

Assumedly this 'friend' he kept bringing up wasn't here right now. Otherwise, given how he spoke so highly of them, they'd be here.

"I-it's not s-so bad." Izuku threw his hands up in defence, not that he needed it. "I just thought, maybe I could beat the exam with just the first half of my Quirk. You know? Find a weakness and use that against all the others."

It wasn't a bad plan, in fact his Quirk already gave him a leg up on the competition, without the added strength. But that did little to calm either his or her nerves at the thought of sending him out there in a mad rush to compete against the Quirk empowered masses.

"I… I can't even imagine. Zuzu… I don't wanna say this, b-but… should you even be competing if… if your Quirk could… break you?"

Hagakure wasn't wrong, at least she didn't believe so when she said she didn't think he should be completing. Not that she didn't think he could, hell, Midoriya would probably dominate the competition if he had a handle on his Quirk. But he didn't, and she didn't wanna see anything bad happen to a new friend, someone she'd just started to get to know.

Meanwhile Izuku, well he'd be lying if he said her comment didn't hurt. He was sure she only meant the best, given everything they talked about before, but the lack of understanding of him that'd followed him his entire life still rang true.

He wasn't weak. He wasn't a villain. And he wasn't helpless… as so many others had thought him to be.

He could fight.

He would fight!

And he would win!

Hagakure bit her tongue and offered a frantic apology, she hadn't meant to sound as callous as she had, but honestly the entire situation was new to her.

"Oh Zuzu, I'm so sorry. I-it's just… we've only just met and you seem like a really nice guy, and you're the only guy who's ever made an effort to look at where my face is…" She'd been particularly enchanted by that trait.

It was almost like he could see her.

"Hagakure-Chan. You don't have to explain. Y-you're the first person to take the time to talk to me, a complete stranger, in a long time. And that means the world to me." Luckily, from the invisible girl's perspective, Izuku looked her square in the eyes. "I just… it's always been my dream to be a hero. Like All-Might. Saving lives and protecting people with a smile on my face. Everyone seeing my smile and knowing everything's gonna be okay."

And it was a great dream.

A brilliant, incredible, amazing dream.

And to think all she had wanted from this school was the chance finally get noticed, as something more than a walking clothing rack.

Izuku… Zuzu… he had what so many pros needed.

He could see the bigger picture.

And suddenly the invisible girl felt infinitesimal more transparent than she already did. Zuzu felt lucky just to be here, and despite everything that could happen to him, he wanted to do this… to help people.

And what was she doing? Speeding through the written exam like the work she was doing didn't even matter.

Why was she here?

"Zuzu… promise me something! Please."

Izuku nervously swallowed a lump in his throat he hadn't realised he was holding. He'd only just made a friend and now there was a chance he'd done something to upset her, some fresh start this was turning out to be.

"O-okay Hagakure-Chan. Whatever you want."

At this point she didn't care about being formal, not that she ever had before given her attire, or lack there of. This right here, this boy, this green haired, baby faced, disproportionately muscular boy… he wasn't someone she wanted to lose. Yeah they'd only just met, but… something told her he needed a friend. If she was being honest with herself, they both did, especially now.

If anyone deserved to be here, it was him, and she'd do everything in her power to see his dream of being a hero with a smile come true.

"Zuzu… promise me that no matter what happens today. That we'll be friends from now on. Promise me."

"H-Hagakure…"

Izuku fought back the tears that threatened to breach the damn he'd tried and failed to hold back before. This was all going so smoothly… too smoothly, every instinct in his person was screaming at him this all this was too good to be true. That he didn't deserve this. That good things didn't happen to him. And yet, the past ten months had been a testament to the contrary.

And this girl. This gorgeous, upbeat, invisible girl… went out of her way to make sure he was okay, and wanted to be friends. He'd only had the one friend for so long he'd all but forgotten how to make friends. And now, even if somehow they didn't make it through, she still wanted to be his friend.

Izuku wiped his eyes and smiled at his friend. The same smile he would always wear, from now on, and throughout his heroic career.

And it all started right here. At UA, with a random act of kindness from an invisible girl.

"I-I promise, a-and thank you… Fifty-times! And lets both of us do our best. We'll make a fresh start here and now."

Hagakure beamed, and threw up her hands as she and her new friend high-five'd.

"Heck Yeah!" They cheered simultaneously. Uncaring of the attention it drew from the waiting crowd.

"… T-This is gonna be our new cheer isn't it?"

"You bet, Precious."

"OKAY START!"

The entirety of the waiting applicants in their group looked up at the watch tower over yonder. Up top stood the passionate flailing figure of Present Mic. Thankfully far away enough that Izuku's Quirk wouldn't ruin his image of the Pro Hero.

"WHAT'S WRONG? THERE ARE NO COUNTDOWNS IN REAL FIGHTS! GO GO, THE DIE HAS BEEN CAST, YOU KNOW!"

"Come on, Zuzu!"

Izuku barley had time to react as his invisible friend grabbed his hand and broke into a sprint, the other applicants were yards ahead of them, already charging headfirst into the exam.

"We've only just started… AND I'M ALREADY BEHIND!"

Beside him, Hagakure laughed between breaths as they ran with no clear goal in sight into the Intercity-themed training area. In any other circumstance, Izuku would've marvelled at the fact the UA had literally built a small city just for their entrance exams. Though this time he found his attention drawn to his partner. As she brushed her wind-swept shoulder length black hair behind her ear, Izuku found just the smallest sense of relief… at least he wouldn't have to face this alone.

"Hey Zuzu, I have an idea."

"I'm all… 'gasp' ears…"

"If the new strength side of your Quirk hurts you… Why not use your 'Wondering Eyes' to solve the problem… you know? Spot the weakness, and solve for X?"

…

…

And now Izuku felt like an idiot.

… An idiot with an amazing friend.

"Hagakure, that's… BRILLIANT!" Izuku grinned from cheek to cheek. All this time and he'd never once thought to use his Quirk… on himself!

It was so obvious; he'd been so focused on the potential and drawbacks of his new Quirk that he'd felt resigned to using his birth Quirk. When really it wasn't a matter of choosing between one or the other, they were both his Quirks now, within his body.

One tool.

One Izuku.

One Hero.

Sometimes it took an outsiders perspective to see what was right in front of his face.

A beautiful, stunning, scantily clad, blushing genius.

"Awww~ Well shucks… I am more than just a pretty face after all."

Behind them, a one-pointer robot smashed through one of the buildings and out into the street, the two newbie heroes seemingly locked in its sights.

"There's a One-Pointer!" Izuku shouted, his 'Wondering Eyes' flaring to life on instinct. One by one the robot's structural weaknesses, critical wiring close to the surface… and one big obvious 'Off-Button' right on its back, came to him as though he'd built the thing himself.

"Let's do our best!" Hagakure shouted, taking a fighting stance. Though Izuku's still active Eyes alerted him to the tremble in her stance. This entire exercise would prove to be more of hurdle for them than any of the others. He had to smile, if not for himself, then for her.

"And hey… Hagakure."

"Y-yeah?"

"You're so much more than a pretty face… after talking to you, I know you've got a big beautiful brain behind those sparkling blue eyes."

…

Flexing his fists, Izuku took a deep breath and exhaled; he just had to remember what All-Might said. He had to clench his buttocks. Check. And… what was the second thing he said?

…

'Oh heck, I'm gonna die… Charge!' Izuku mentally screamed. Both at the robot and himself, as he took off towards it in a mad sprint.

…

'Blue eyes?' Hagakure froze as those words caused her brain to stall.

…

And he always "tried" to look her in the eyes.

...

Because he 'could' look her in the eyes.

…

"YOU CAN SEE ME?!!"

XXX

A/N: An alternate title for this fic was 'Teasing Izuku-kun.' That should tell you all you need to know about where this fic started... Obviously I've added more to it since then, and flushed out the characters. Toru still doesn't get the 'Full Picture' of Izuku's power yet, but she will in time.

Yeah, I gave Midoriya 'One for All'. Originally I wasn't going to, but the more I thought about it, I wanted something more hands on for Izuku.

Also surprise, him and Bakugo are actually friends in this fic instead of Bully and Victim… cause I like Bakugo better this way.

As for Deku x Toru. One, I don't know if it's Toru or Tooru, but fanfic authors keep switching, so I'm just going with the former to save time. Two… It's cute, I don't see much of it, and it was just too damn funny to pass up.

And yes, I'm fully aware that Izuku feeling guilty does not make his invasions of privacy 'okay', trust me I'll handle it. I shouldn't have to say that, but some folks like to jump the gun and make assumptions these days. Believe me, all will be addressed in time.

Anywho please Read and Review: It keeps me motivated.