Slices of life.
__________________________________________________________________________________
After what felt like an eternity of mind-numbingly boring hours, Kuro, All Might, and Izuku finally stepped off the plane.
But the moment his feet touched the ground, Kuro was gone.
A purple blur shot across the airport runway as Kuro bolted away at full speed, barely holding himself together.
"BLARGH! I HATE PLANES!"[1]
The sounds of retching echoed in the distance as he disappeared behind a terminal.
Izuku, watching this with wide eyes, muttered, "...He can fly at Mach speeds but gets motion sickness on a plane?"
All Might sighed knowingly. "Yes, I've seen this before. It's because the plane moves significantly slower than he does, and his brain processes that conflicting information, causing motion sickness."
Izuku tilted his head. "So he got sick because… he was flying inside the plane?"
All Might nodded gravely. "Indeed."
There was a brief silence between them before Izuku chuckled helplessly. Even after all this time, Kuro still surprised him in the weirdest ways.
"How does he even function?"
...
As Izuku and All Might took in their surroundings, their gazes landed on I-Island itself.
A massive, futuristic city stretched before them—glimmering skyscrapers of glass and steel, floating platforms, and a maze of high-tech streets and walkways.
It looked less like a scientific research facility and more like a high-end theme park.
Izuku's eyes widened. "Wow… it's breathtaking. But… I didn't expect it to be so… casual?"
All Might chuckled. "That's because I-Island isn't just a place for research. The scientists and workers here live with their families, so it has all the necessities of a normal city—a daycare, a school, entertainment districts, shopping malls, and even amusement parks."
Izuku nodded, impressed.
"Actually…" All Might's voice grew slightly nostalgic. "A dear friend of mine helped design it this way."
Izuku noticed the distant look in All Might's eyes. He seemed lost in thought—almost melancholic.
"All Might?" Izuku asked, tilting his head.
All Might blinked, snapping out of it. "Ah, yes, Young Midoriya?"
Izuku was about to continue when a strange sight caught his eye.
Bouncing toward them at full speed was a blonde-haired girl with bright blue eyes, wearing a red shirt, glasses, and a huge grin—
On a pogo stick.
Izuku blinked. "...Who is that?"
Before he could even process what was happening, the girl launched herself off the pogo stick, flipping midair, and landed directly into All Might's arms.
"Uncle Might!" she beamed. "I'm so glad you got my message! I was afraid you wouldn't come!"
Izuku's brain short-circuited.
"…Uncle?"
All Might has family?!
Izuku's entire worldview shook. He had never once considered the possibility that All Might could have a sibling—which meant this girl had to be his niece?!
His mind was running a thousand miles per hour.
"Wait—does this mean All Might has a brother? And that brother has a daughter? But he's never mentioned any family before—"
Before his spiraling thoughts could consume him, All Might gently set the girl down and chuckled.
"Ah, I can see the gears turning in your head, Young Midoriya."
Izuku stiffened. "H-Huh?!"
All Might smiled. "Melissa isn't actually related to me. I simply consider her father a very dear friend of mine."
Melissa nodded cheerfully, turning to Izuku. "Ah, sorry! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Melissa Shield. And you are…?"
...
The moment he heard her last name, Izuku froze.
'Shield…'
It was a name that meant nothing to most people in Japan.
But to Izuku Midoriya, the self-proclaimed #1 All Might Fan—
It meant everything.
His eyes went wide.
"S-Shield?! As in… David Shield?!"
Melissa tilted her head. "Yep! That's my dad. Cool, right?"
Izuku's jaw practically hit the floor.
"David Shield?! THE David Shield?! All Might's first partner?! The genius scientist who developed some of the most advanced support gear in hero history?!
Izuku started muttering furiously, words tumbling out of his mouth at hyperspeed. "David Shield—he was All Might's partner during his time in America—his research on bio-enhancement theories revolutionized hero equipment—his paper on the limits of Quirk usage is still used in hero courses today—"
Melissa laughed, watching him in amusement. "Wow, you really know your stuff!"
Izuku clamped his mouth shut, blushing furiously. "S-Sorry! I just—"
Melissa grinned. "No, it's fine! It's nice to meet someone who appreciates my dad's work so much!"
...
While Izuku and Melissa continued talking, All Might suddenly checked his watch.
He sighed, knowing that he had other business to attend to.
"I hate to leave so soon, but I have urgent matters to take care of."
Melissa pouted playfully. "Aw, Uncle Might, you just got here!"
All Might chuckled, ruffling her hair. "I know, I know. But I trust you'll take good care of these two while I'm away."
He turned to Izuku. "Young Midoriya, I leave Young Tenshin in your hands. I doubt he'll be able to find his way around without you."
Izuku sighed. "Yeah… that sounds about right."
Melissa giggled. "Where is Kuro, anyway?"
As if on cue, in the distance, they heard a loud groan.
"Uggghhh… I hate planes…"
Melissa turned toward the sound and blinked. "…Did he just crawl out of the bushes?"
Izuku simply sighed again. "Yeah… that sounds about right too."
All Might laughed. "Well then! I'll be off!"
And with that, he left.
Izuku turned back to Melissa, who was still looking in Kuro's direction.
"So… what's his deal?"
Izuku rubbed his temples.
"How much time do you have?"
[1] Me getting rid of MC because I didn't wanna write scenes with him anymore. 😭😭