Ice Breakers and History Makers

Prologue (part 2): The Rising Star

Trigger Warning: mentions of parental abuse, alcoholism, drug use, a parent's death, and general abuse.

If these trigger you, skip the scene that's between the hashtags (from ### to ###) and read the Author's Note to know what you missed.

Izuku stood at the airport's entrance, zipping up his heavy coat to protect himself from the sting of the mid-winter cold. At 3 in the morning, the sky was still dark, a few stars sprinkled across the vast expanse of black. But the lights of the city and the bright cast of the almost full moon hid the true majesty of the universe from the human eye.

Unfortunately though, Izuku was too busy repeatedly checking the time to properly admire the sight.

All Might seemed to have noticed his unease, since his hand moved to rest on Izuku's shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about it, young Midoriya. I'm sure they'll be here on time." He said in his accented Japanese.

Why an American man could speak Japanese, Izuku didn't know. But he was glad, as the bilingual skater had helped him finetune his English skills for the journey to come.

"But, All Might-"

"Please, it's just Yagi now." All Might- No, Yagi chuckled.

That was going to take some getting used to.

"Y-yagi, the plane departs in an hour, we won't make it through the checkpoints before it takes off at this rate!" Izuku tightened his grip on his suitcase. "I'm such an idiot. How could I forget my skates of all things."

"Midoriya, my boy," Yagi sighed, smiling. "You're human, and you're making a big change in your life right now. It is more than normal to be nervous and forgetful."

Izuku sighed, relaxing his grip. Something about his new coach's voice was oddly inspiring.

There was silence after that for a few minutes.

Izuku tried to refrain from checking his phone, instead drifting off into thought.

He couldn't believe all that had happened in the short span of a month: he met his ice skating idol, was offered the once in a lifetime opportunity of becoming his student, practiced under his supervision for a week, booked a flight to Detroit, packed up his essential belongings, and was about to start a new chapter in his life.

Of course he would miss the serene streets of Musutafu, the beautiful culture of Japan, and his home rink Ingenium Skate. And most of all, he would miss his loving mother and supportive best friends Ochaco and Iida (Tenya. He was Tenya now).

But he was more than ready to finally make a name for himself in the world of figure skating, even if it meant temporarily leaving everything behind and moving to a foreign country.

"Izuku, there you are!" Ochaco's bubbly voice cut through the general silence of the night, shocking Izuku out of his thoughts.

"Seriously, Izuku, how did you forget something so important?" A stern voice followed. "You are 19, for goodness' sake!" Izuku cringed.

"Oh, Iida dear. Don't be too harsh on him." Inko chuckled. Izuku was more than a little surprised to see his mom again so soon.

He had last seen her half an hour prior, back at home, both sobbing intensely in the Midoriya fashion as it finally dawned on them that they probably wouldn't see each other again for many long months. After all, video calls weren't the same as physical proximity.

He had thought she'd stay home while his friends got him the skates since she couldn't drive, but he was thankful for the opportunity to see her one last time.