All For Some

Chapter 26: To the USJ

Izuku stepped out of the warp gate in front of his father and the large Nomu. Izuku looked up at the creature and gulped, remembering Tomura's mention of broken bones.

"To improve you must face opponents above your current level that force you to surpass your limits, to go beyond, as the heroes at UA like to say," his father said, "especially if you are going to skip training sessions. You don't even need rest days to recover."

"I know," Izuku said and looked at the Nomu again. "Seems it has recovered too."

The Nomu had regenerated the red marks left from Izuku's attacks two days before, its skin was back to its normal dark colour.

"It finished regenerating late last evening. The doctor believes that the sheer heat and vibration of your attack caused some deeper damage and charring that hindered the regeneration even below the surface. There were even some chemical traces that could link to your Venomous Nails quirk, an intriguing discovery."

"At least I didn't leave any permanent damage and it could still fight."

"The Nomu doesn't feel much, so it was still able to move, but a human with regenerative abilities would likely suffer too much pain to effectively use the partially regenerated limbs. You might possess an exceptional counter to regenerative quirks son. Of course, you should also take this as a warning to not rely on your regeneration abilities too much. Every quirk has its counter."

"Even One For All?" Izuku asked.

"Of course. The current power of the quirk might be overwhelming, but in the end what the quirk provides is raw physical ability since All Might didn't have a quirk of his own. This Nomu was designed to counter physical impacts. On the other hand, absorption does little against your or Tomura's quirks, which is why you were able to injure it. You should always know how you match with your enemy."

"Right," Izuku rubbed his chin, falling deep in thought. "It's not just about power, but what kind of match you are for your opponent, like challenging Kirishima in boxing compared to a running contest."

"The difference being that most people only have one or a few styles of using their individual quirks and physical abilities, only a few types of situations where they are a strong match to their enemies. You can and should build up your quirks in such way as to be an undefeatable match to everyone at all times. Speaking of which, have you considered what quirk you will have next?"

"If you mean at USJ, yes," Izuku responded. "The league doesn't have many options actually, but this one person has a quirk called shoulder mounted jets. From what I gathered he has mostly used it to get away with small crimes like purse snatching street fights and some gang activity he hasn't talked much about. Not sure why he is in the league, but he doesn't seem to be looking for any change in the society."

"And you think his quirk would serve your needs."

"It is the most mobility enhancing quirk in the league and would also let me fly. I think that would give anyone an advantage over those who can't do it in most situations, at least outside," Izuku said. "It might be difficult to balance and control, but I am already helping Tenya train similar issues with his quirk."

"As long as you do the most difficult training away from them. Flight quirks are often dangerous to their users, at least in the phase where they haven't yet learned to use them well, and we don't want your friends to see your bones healing right after a crash."

"No, and it would be embarrassing to fly through the wall after telling Tenya not to do that."

"Your agility has developed at an exceptional rate since we began your training. You will certainly master use of such a quirk as well... but not by skipping training. Nomu."