Quirks and magic

Chapter 28: Acquaintances of 1-A

"I wish you were here to see his face light up when the U.A school uniform arrived!" Inko whispered excitedly into the phone pressed against her ear. "Izuku looked as if he'd received a brand new All Might figurine!"

"Oh, I'm sure!" The jaded voice of her husband, Hisashi, responded through the line with a chuckle. "I haven't forgotten what the look of wonder and excitement looks like on our son. In fact, it's practically engrained in my memory!"

Inko was pacing up and down the hall of their apartment erratically as she waited for Izuku to finish dressing and emerge from his room. She could hardly believe the last month and some change that's passed since the U.A Entrance Exam! Her baby boy had finished up his junior high work with no further issues (related to either schoolwork or magic) and was now transitioning into one of the most prestigious high schools the entire country had to offer!

The door to Izuku's room suddenly slid open and out stepped said boy, tugging at his U.A tie unconvincingly and looking himself over with a constant, critical gaze, as if he was unsure he'd put the uniform on properly. Inko, however, seemed convinced, judging by her cries of joy anyway.

"Oh my goodness, you look so dashingly handsome!" Inko cried to Izuku as the phone trembled in her hand. "Hisashi, if only you could see him now! Our little Izuku all grownup and actually attending U.A!"

Izuku appeared quite flustered with his mother showering him with praise, but the boy soon became pale and stiff as a board once he realized that she was on the phone. All embarrassment suddenly flew out the window as Izuku briskly walked past his mother, slinging his backpack over his shoulders and making his way to the door as quickly as possible.

"W-well, I better get going Mom!" Izuku said a little too forcefully. "I wouldn't want to be late for the opening ceremony, right?"

"Izuku, wait!" Inko called out to her son, smiling tautly as Izuku slowed to an uncomfortable halt. "It's...your father on the phone. Won't you talk with him for a moment before you head off to U.A?"

Izuku said and did nothing in response, his body not moving an inch besides the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed. Without turning toward his mother, Izuku slowly stretched out his hand to accept the phone.

"...Hello?" Izuku asked quietly as he pressed the phone against his ear.

"Izuku, my little champ!" Hisashi spoke excitedly to his son, though the exhaustion and fatigue from what had to have been his long work hours continued to bleed through into his voice. "You must be the most excited young man in all of Japan right now, actually attending the most esteemed Hero Course in the nation!"

"Yeah, it'll be great," Izuku responded flatly. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Well, uh...good! Good, I'm glad you're excited for it!" Hisashi stammered, drained from both overtime and a dwindling sense of confidence in sustaining this conversation. "I just wanted you to know that, er, even though you may be a late bloomer when it comes to your Quirk, it won't stop you from becoming a Hero! Just remember to never stop working hard!"

"You mean like you?" Izuku replied with a bit more bite than he was probably aiming for.

"Um, yeah, I suppose like myself..." Hisashi said, sighing in defeat.

"I'm going to be late for school, Dad," Izuku said, not-so-subtly indicating that he wanted this talk to end already.

"Sure, sure, I'd hate to make you late for your first day...hand the phone back to your mother, will you? And Izuku," Hisashi called for his son right as the boy pulled the phone away from his head. "I'm proud of you, son."