Chapter 5: Thou shalt spread thy wings
Summary:
Just hours earlier, Izuku nearly jumped off a roof. Now, he actually does. But this time, he has wings, and where before he would have fallen, from now on he will soar. AKA Izuku takes a swan dive off a roof.
Also, a mysterious figure is looking for something. Something that is not quite theirs.
Notes:
Salutations, comrades!
This chapter sees Izuku doing something I would absolutely love to do - flying! And with no risk of death! How glorious. I am living through Izuku in this fic, in case you couldn't tell.
But wait, is that trouble brewing? What do they want?
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The world looked tiny from their vantage point. After having applied their invisibility and other features that allowed them to be completely imperceivable, Izuku and Kimiko had teleported to the very top of the tallest skyscraper. It was hardly one of the tallest in the world, but it was still numbingly high.
The sun had only just set, meaning the sky was still a little bit blue and orange but the city was already alive with lights everywhere. The neon ones were Izuku's favourite.
Standing so high felt liberating. It served as another reminder that Izuku had changed so much in no time at all. After all, who had the power to simply stand among the clouds like this? Not even most heroes could do what he had done just by thinking about it. It was wild.
Looking back at his wings again, he decided to make them the perfect size for speed and agility, and he changed the colours to burnt orange at the base, orange for the main part and yellow and white for the tips. They looked like a sunset now, which pleased him. He made sure his two smaller wings were in place as well. He was curious how it would feel like to fly with them, after all.
Turning his attention, the streets below, he surprisingly didn't feel any vertigo. Having wings probably helped with that, he reasoned. That, and the fact that he basically couldn't die anyway. Even if his human body were damaged, he could just undo it, maybe even turn back time if it helped with his cover of still being human.
"How come I know all these things? Like being able to manipulate time?" he asked the fox standing flying next to him at eye level. "I mean, I could have come to that conclusion before, but now it's just coming so naturally to me. Does that make sense?"
Kimiko decided to fly up a little higher and ruffle his hair a little with one of her paws. It was cute.
"It does. You are in your divine form right now, Izu. You technically still have the same knowledge and capabilities as when you're human, but the way you think is hard-wired slightly differently. Instincts and intuition are a bit different."
Izuku hummed in response. "That makes sense, actually. Guess being in my god form helps understand stuff like that a little easier."
"Exactly! You got it."
"You know," Izuku said, "It's so ironic. Just earlier today I was thinking about throwing myself off a roof, and now I'm actually about to do it. And yet the circumstances couldn't be more different."
"Fate has a twisted sense of humour, you know," she teased.
They laughed. It felt good.
"Now then," Kimiko continued, flying just a little bit higher. "How about we do this thing?"
Izuku grinned and walked to the edge of the roof. It was go-time.
"Let's do it!"
"Woo!"
And with that, they jumped. Or, more specifically, Kimiko dive-bombed her descent whereas Izuku took a swan dive. Fate had a twisted sense of humour, but so did he, and he was living for it.
The wind howled as they fell towards the streets below. Plummeting at such speeds face-first would send most people panicking, but not these two. Their wings were twitching in anticipation, waiting for the perfect moment to open them and soar.
And that they did.
Just before reaching the ground and the masses walking around, angelic wings unfurled and carried their owners upwards with a strong flap or two.
The two of them flapped their wings in sync, gaining altitude and speed as they weaved through the different buildings of Musutafu with ease. They were fast, but with no one able to perceive them in any possible way, they had nothing to worry about.
Left, right, right again. Their wings carried them forwards with startling speed. At one point, they shot straight through the closest skyscraper, amused at how nobody even knew they were there. They carried on flying, not once slowing down, the illuminated streets quickly becoming a challenging maze to fly through.
The wind howled past their ears, their hearts pumping with adrenaline as their wings beat at incredible speeds, not once slowing down. The speed was too addicting for that. Who knew flying could be so much fun? And the speed! Why would anyone want to go slow when they could go fast?
Flying straight down a central alleyway, Kimiko and Izuku were neck and neck. They briefly made eye contact, grinning as they did so. The fox's wings were a pink blur over her back, which nicely complemented the predominantly orange colour that was Izuku's wings. Having two sets of wings instead of one felt great, he realised. It made it easier to conquer those sharp turns, and he felt as if speed came easier to him. He could have been imagining it, though, but it didn't matter. Whether he had two wings or twenty; he loved them. He loved his wings so, so much.
Finally, they went up. Higher and higher they went until they reached the few clouds on what was otherwise a clear night sky. Without a second thought, they went over to a smaller cloud and sat down on it as if it wasn't made of just water. It was ridiculously soft.
"Man, that was exactly what I needed," Izuku sighed with a grin on his face as he laid down on the cloud, his wings fully stretched out underneath him, the colours now changing to blue and white to match the night sky as they hugged his body. "I can't wait to do that again."
Kimiko laid down on Izuku's chest like the secret cat she was. "That was so much fun! You're a natural at this."
Reaching his hand up to her face, Izuku gently scratched the top of her head, taking care not to touch her antlers. "You know what? I think I might be," he laughed. "And you're becoming more cat-like by the hour."
Kimiko took that comment in stride and started purring, which prompted him to start scratching her underneath her chin and then behind one of her ears. They stayed like that for a while as their minds and bodies slowly relaxed after the rush that flying brought.
Izuku thought about flying and how natural it felt. He liked the addition of the new wings. He couldn't tell if it helped with flying, really, but he liked the way they looked. It made his angelic appearance more unique. Maybe he'll add even more wings next time. Or was that just overkill?
Shaking her head, Kimiko spoke up. "We have about ten minutes before your mum finishes cooking, so we should head back now."
"Yeah, okay, thanks," Izuku replied. He wasn't sleepy per se, but the lack of adrenaline and the long day he'd had were starting to catch up with him.
In the blink of an eye, they were back in Izuku's room. The mirror was long gone, and Izuku quickly made himself human again. It was weird being in a different body again, and he kind of missed his long hair and the feeling of his wings on his back, but he was glad to be himself again. He didn't want to stray too far from his humanity, after all. At least not anytime soon, anyway.
"I kind of want to grow out my hair now," he mentioned to the now wingless fox who was back on the bed. "Oh, wait, I have an idea."
He snapped his fingers for the extra effect as his hair grew to the same length as in his other form. He made sure to keep the same qualities as his original human hair, so the hair looked less kempt and curlier than in his divine form. His hair had always been impossible to deal with, he mused.
He grabbed his hairbrush from the dresser and ran through his hair with it, simultaneously sitting down to look at himself in the medium-sized mirror. He liked his hair this way. It was different, but in a good way. It had a lot more styling potential now, and if he added some flowers then children would be sure to find him more approachable, he thought. Geez, he really thought about being a hero all the time, didn't he?
Putting the hairbrush back down on the dresser, his hair poofed back to what it was before. He turned to Kimiko who was watching him with interest.
"You looked so pretty!" she stated.
Izuku blushed. "Thanks! I think I'm gonna let it grow out naturally now. It's so fun being able to see what it might look like in the future."
Looking at himself in the mirror again to have a look at his current hairdo, he frowned when he realised he was still wearing his uniform. It made him think of two things. First, he needed to change. He went to grab a hoodie he had lying around, only to realise it was All Might-themed. As was the rest of his room. Ew. That really had to change.
He snapped his fingers and with a flash, every single All Might-themed item was stored under his bed in boxes. He would figure out what to do with it another day. Maybe sell everything?
Now that his room was much barer, he frowned at the lack of decoration, but was satisfied with the idea of not having that quirkist man's face staring down at him from every possible angle. He would find some new heroes to buy merch from soon enough. He then went to grab a plain yellow hoodie and shorts, before changing his clothes with a snap of his fingers. Oh yeah, he could get used to this.
"You can also just conjure up any clothes you can think of, you know," Kimiko spoke up. "Although maybe don't go for Gucci and Prada anytime soon. Too suspicious."
Izuku snorted. "Thanks for the tip."
"It's what I do."
With his look sorted, Izuku decided to head to the dinner table, seeing as the food would be ready in a few minutes. He was about to open the door before he realised that he should probably fetch something for Kimiko, but he didn't know what she would want.
"Hey, uh, Kimi? What do you want to eat?"
"Oh, I can eat whatever. Arctic foxes usually eat meat, but I'm happy to eat anything, really. There are some berries in your fridge, I can eat those tonight."
"Alright."
With that he finally made his way over to the kitchen, where his mother was plating up some curry and rice. She noticed her son walking in with a genuine smile on his face, which made her heart leap for joy. Maybe his new friend would be good for him.
"Hey, Mum?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"Can I give Kimiko some berries for dinner tonight? I'll make sure to buy her some food tomorrow."
"Foxes eat berries?"
"Yeah, sometimes."
"Okay then," she agreed. She supposed he knew better than she did.
With her permission, he went and grabbed a shallow bowl and placed the berries into it, before he followed Inko into the dining area. She placed their bowls in front of their respective seats and he placed Kimiko's next to the table on the floor.
Thanks! she told him mentally.
And so, they ate in peace. Izuku wanted to talk to his mum about everything, but he knew he never could. It made him sad, but he tried to stay optimistic. After all, he could finally overcome his quirkless status and fulfil his dream! That would make her happy, right?
He finally had the means to create his own happiness. He was going to save people, earn a decent living, and be able to protect his family from literally any threat possible.
With that thought in mind, he created a barrier around his mother's person. It wouldn't stop her from being kidnapped or anything like that, but he would know. He would always know. And in the meantime, she was now immune to pretty much anything – guns, knives, quirks, you name it.
It brought him some peace of mind. His mother was safe now, thanks to him, and he was going to work hard to make her happy, too. The poor woman worked too much and worried so much he was surprised she didn't have grey hairs yet. Or maybe she did, and he just never noticed.
While they continued to eat in relative silence – Kimiko was a somewhat noisy eater, it seemed – his mind finally wandered to the rest of his family. Not that he really had any, but there was one person whom he hadn't seen for a long time. Hisashi Midoriya, his father.
He knew the man worked overseas and paid his mother a monthly sum, but that was about the gist of it. His mother had always been adamant that they still loved each other and that he would come home soon, but he had his doubts. He decided to investigate it for himself at some point. No need to make Mum suspicious.
Izuku was going to be very busy from now, wasn't he?
-x-
In another corner of the world, a person made their way into a mansion that stood at the top of a cliff, overlooking a storm raging over the Atlantic coast. The complex stood vacant, its owners currently staying in a resort somewhere in the Caribbean.
The person, clad in black clothing from head to toe, took out a small case from their small rucksack. Swiftly grabbing the first and fourth item, they started picking the lock to one of the back entrances. It took a minute before the lock clicked. Placing the two items back in their proper positions and gingerly closing the case, they opened the door and closed it behind them.
The lights stayed off as the intruder placed their goggles in front of their eyes. They switched on with a quiet hum, and faint green lights enabled them to see their surroundings. They looked towards one of the hidden security cameras which they knew would be playing a loop for the next hour.
They snuck their way through the kitchen and the dining room and finally arrived at the door they had been looking for. It didn't look like much; in fact, it was made to look like a bookcase. It was almost boring, considering what it hid from the world.
Inspecting the various book and artifacts on the shelves, the stranger reached for a miniature globe to his left and a book on wine to his right. Removing them from their positions, he finally pushed a knob near the top shelf. With that, the bookshelf swung open just enough for them to open it completely and walk down the steps that greeted them.
They silently descended down in the darkness until they found themselves in a relatively barren room. The walls, ceiling and floor were a stark white, and in the middle was an operating table made of metal and covered in crimson-coloured straps. The stench of blood intruded their nose.
On the left and right side of the room were various pieces of lab equipment as well as an array of unmarked chemicals in vials, as well as more blood. The intruder stared at the scene in front of him for a moment, taking a moment to sigh at what they saw. That moment didn't last long, however, as they made their way around the cold operating table to the computer set up at the back of the room.
A simple-looking, plain black drive stick emerged from another pocket, and they placed it in one of the corresponding slots. The computer remained offline, but a red, blinking light on the stick indicated that it was working on something.
"Come on," the intruder cursed under their breath.
A few moments later, the red light turned green and stopped flashing. Not wasting even a single second, they hastily pulled it out and pocketed the stick once more, making sure to zip the pocket closed.
The mysterious person disappeared up the stairs and returned the bookshelf to its original, undisturbed position. Fleeing the living quarters through the back door and closing it gently yet quickly, they sprinted silently down alongside the cliff where an unassuming car was parked. Unlocking the door with the click of a button, they climbed inside the car and started the ignition.
As they drove down towards the main road with the headlights still turned off and the engine as silent as the night, they looked at the drive stick that they held in their hand through the holes in their mask.
"One step closer."
Notes:
Hope you liked this chapter! It's mostly filler, but I simply had to have Izuku put his wings to good use. The poor boy deserves some fun before starting his new god job! Also, I simply *had* to make him take a swan dive off the roof. Come on, it's comedy gold. The universe has a twisted sense of humour and I am making good use of it. I like to think it's a symbolic way to bid adieu to his previous life and welcome his new one. He was basically reborn, after all.
I'm also very excited to slowly tease you with an actual antagonist, but they won't make their official entrance just yet. Do you think they have the power to stand up against a god? What on Earth could they have stolen?
See you in the comments or until next week! Next week will be a big one - with some help, Izuku comes up with an idea for his quirk. It comes with a new home too, what a perk!
Peace out.
-Curious Cat