Six Years Later
I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting my school uniform for the first time.
Today was my first day at Aldera Junior High. The blazer fit well, tailored to accommodate my broader shoulders. Six years of training with Dad, and more recently at the gym with Izuku, had changed my physique considerably. I wasn't bulky like some of the hero students you saw on TV, but I was lean and strong.
At twelve years old, I was taller than most of my peers. Five foot six and still growing. My ice-white hair was longer now, hanging down past my ears. I'd considered cutting it shorter for school, but decided against it. It had become part of my identity.
"Kori! Hio's awake and asking for you!" Mom called from downstairs.
I smiled. My little brother.
Hio was six years old, he was a ball of energy wrapped in a small body with our father's dark hair and our mother's eyes.
Flashback - Six Years Ago
I was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework when my parents called me into the living room. They sat on the couch together, hands clasped, looking nervous but excited.
"Kori, we have something to tell you," Mom said.
"Are we getting another dog?"
Dad laughed. "Not quite. You're going to be a big brother."
The words took a moment to process.
"You're pregnant?" I asked.
"Three months along," Mom confirmed, placing a hand on her still-flat stomach. "We wanted to wait until we were sure before telling you. The baby should arrive in about six months."
"That's amazing," I said. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"
"Not yet. We'll find out in a few weeks." Dad looked at my face. "How do you feel about it?"
"Happy but a little nervous, what if I'm bad at being a big brother?"
"You'll be great," Mom assured me. "You're responsible, caring, protective, everything a good older brother needs to be."
Over the next six months, I watched Mom's belly grow, felt the baby kick when she let me put my hand on her stomach, and helped Dad set up the nursery, painting the walls a soft yellow that worked for either gender.
When they found out it was a boy, we spent weeks debating names.
"Something strong," Dad said. "Something that means something."
"Hio," Mom suggested finally. "It means 'sun' or 'sunlight.'
Hio, it was.
Flashback - The Birth
I was at Izuku's apartment when Dad called. Mom had gone into labor, and they were at the hospital.
Izuku's mom drove me there immediately, sensing my nervous energy.
The waiting room felt eternal. Hours were ticking by while doctors and nurses moved in and out of the delivery room.
Finally, Dad emerged, looking exhausted but radiantly happy.
"You have a brother," he said. "Come meet him."
Mom was in bed, tired but smiling, holding a tiny bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.
"Kori, meet Hio," she said softly.
I approached carefully, staring at the smallest human I'd ever seen. Tiny hands, closed eyes, a dusting of dark hair on his head.
"He's so small," I whispered.
"You were this small once, too."
"Can I hold him?"
Mom showed me how to support his head, cradle his body, and keep him close and warm.
Hio's weight in my arms was almost nothing.
His eyes opened slightly, "Hi, Hio," I said quietly. "I'm your big brother, I'm going to protect you. Always."
And I meant it with every fiber of my being.
The memory faded as I headed downstairs.
Hio was in the kitchen, sitting at the table in his pajamas, dark hair sticking up in every direction. He grinned when he saw me.
"Kori! First day of big kid school!"
"Junior high," I corrected, ruffling his hair. "Not that big."
"Super big! You're gonna fight villains and save people!"
"That's hero school. I'm just going to junior high to learn normal stuff."
"Boring." He made a face. "When I go to hero school, I'm gonna be the best. Better than everyone."
Typical little kids' confidence, though in Hio's case, he might have the power to back it up.
His quirk had manifested last year at age five, right on schedule. We'd been at the park when someone was smoking, and he'd started manipulating the flames like they were extensions of his hands. But unlike most fire quirks that generated flames from the user's body, Hio needed an existing fire source to work with.
The limitation was significant; without fire nearby, his quirk was useless, but give him a lit match, though, and he could turn it into an inferno.
He could also absorb fire into his body, storing it temporarily before releasing it. The more fire he absorbed, the more powerful his attacks, but there was a limit as too much at once would overwhelm him, causing pain and potentially hurt him.
It reminded me of Pyro from Marvel.
Mom was in the kitchen making breakfast, looking harried. Six years of raising two boys, had given her patience beyond measure.
"Hio, eat your breakfast. Kori, make sure you have everything for school. Your father already left for work, but he said good luck on your first day."
I grabbed toast and eggs, eating quickly. Hio was telling some elaborate story about a dream he'd had involving dragons and explosions.
"And then the dragon breathed fire, but I absorbed it all and shot it back, and he was like 'whoa, you're so strong' and made me the dragon king!"
"Sounds epic," I said, entertained.
"It was! When my quirk gets stronger, I'm gonna fight real dragons!"
"Pretty sure dragons aren't real, buddy."
"They could be. In another country or something."
Mom smiled at his enthusiasm. "Finish your eggs, dragon king. You have daycare in an hour."
After breakfast, I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
"Kori, wait!" Hio ran over and hugged my legs. "Good luck at big kid school! Don't let anyone be mean to you!"
"I won't. You be good for Mom, okay?"
"Okay!"
I ruffled his hair one more time, then left.
The walk to Aldera took twenty minutes. Izuku was waiting at our usual meeting spot, the corner near the convenience store. He'd grown over the years. Not as tall as me, of course, but he was Five foot one, maybe five foot two.
He'd filled out from the gym training. Lean muscle on his arms and shoulders with defined abs that he was quietly proud of, even though he'd never admit it out loud.
We'd started training together a year ago when we were both eleven. Dad supervised, taught us proper form, and made sure we didn't hurt ourselves. The gym became a second home, a place where we pushed each other to be better.
"Ready?" Izuku asked, grinning.
"As I'll ever be."
We walked together, talking about nothing important. The new hero rankings that had just been released. A quirk analysis video that Izuku had watched last night.
"How's Hio doing?" Izuku asked.
"Energetic as always. Told me I should fight dragons at school today."
"Sounds like him. His quirk getting stronger?"
"Yeah. Last week, he absorbed fire from our fireplace and shot it across the room. Nearly set the curtains on fire. Mom was not happy."
Izuku laughed. "Fire and ice quirks in one house. Your parents must have their hands full."
"You have no idea."
We turned the corner and Aldera Junior High came into view. The building was bigger than the elementary school had been.
"Here we go," Izuku muttered.
We joined the crowd, filtering into the building, checking the class rosters posted in the main hallway.
Class 1-A: Midoriya Izuku, Takeda Kori.
I scanned the rest of the roster. Thirty students total, some names I recognized from elementary school, and some I didn't.
Bakugo Katsuki.
Of course.
Izuku saw the name at the same time I did. His expression tightened slightly.
"It'll be fine," I said. "He's calmed down over the years."
"Calmed down from actively violent to just verbally aggressive. Such an improvement."
"Hey, progress is progress."
Bakugo had indeed changed over the past six years. Not out of any moral revelation, but because he'd learned that bullying Izuku didn't work when I was around.
Every time he tried, I shut him down. Ice walls between him and his target. Ice tripping him up. Once, an ice clone had grabbed his wrist mid-explosion and held until he calmed down.
He'd eventually given up on Izuku, deciding the effort wasn't worth the constant interference.
But he hadn't stopped being an entitled bully at heart; he just redirected his energy to me.
Bakugo saw me as a rival now. Someone to surpass, to defeat, to prove himself against. He trained obsessively, pushing his quirk and body to their limits, all in pursuit of becoming stronger than me.
It was completely one-sided. I didn't care about rivalries or competitions and didn't feel the need to prove I was better than anyone.
But Bakugo's determination had made him more formidable; his explosions were stronger now, although that didn't mean jack shit when going up against me.
The classroom was on the second floor. We found our assigned seats with Izuku near the middle, me by the window.
Classic protagonist position, I thought with some amusement.
Students filtered in, some I recognized. The girl with the plant quirk from elementary school. The kid who could change his eye color and a few others whose names I couldn't quite remember.
Bakugo entered last, walking with his signature aggressive confidence. His eyes swept the room, landed on me, and narrowed slightly.
He took his seat without saying anything.
The morning passed in a blur of introductions and administrative procedures. Homeroom teacher explaining school rules, class schedules, and expectations.
At lunch, Izuku and I found a quiet spot in the cafeteria.
"Same as elementary school so far," Izuku observed, eating his lunch. "Teachers telling us to work hard and follow rules."
"Give it time. Once actual classes start, it'll get more interesting."
"You mean harder."
"That too."
After lunch, we had our first hero studies class. Basic quirk theory, hero history, famous battles and rescue operations.
The teacher, a young woman named Didi-sensei, asked everyone to introduce themselves and their quirks.
One by one, students stood and shared.
When it was Izuku's turn, he stood calmly.
"Midoriya Izuku. I'm quirkless."
A few students murmured, with some looked surprised.
"But I'm planning to apply to U.A.'s hero course anyway," Izuku continued. "There are more ways to be a hero than having a powerful quirk."
Bakugo snorted from his seat. "Good luck with that, Deku. They don't accept quirkless losers."
"That's enough, Bakugo-kun," Didi-sensei said. "Everyone deserves respect regardless of their quirk status."
Bakugo scowled but shut up.
Izuku sat down, face calm despite the comment. Six years ago, that kind of remark would have destroyed him; now, he barely reacted.
When it was my turn, I stood.
"Takeda Kori. My quirk is Ice Manipulation."
I raised my hand.
CRACK-SHHHHHH
An ice sculpture formed on my desk. A perfect miniature replica of the school building, complete with windows and doors and architectural details, it was the most beautiful thing in the world if I do say so myself, but that might be a little bit of glaze.
The class leaned forward, staring.
"That's amazing detail," Didi-sensei said. "Very precise control."
"Thank you."
I dissolved the sculpture.
SHHHHHH
It collapsed back into frost and mist.
Bakugo was glaring at me now with that competitive fire in his eyes that he's had for years.
Right on schedule.
The rest of the day passed normally. Classes, teachers, students finding their rhythms. Nothing particularly exciting.
School ended at three. Izuku and I walked partway home together, discussing the day, comparing notes on teachers and classmates.
"Didi-sensei seems good," Izuku said. "Actually cares about hero studies instead of just going through the motions."
"Yeah, and she shut down Bakugo pretty quickly. That's promising."
We reached the point where our routes split. Izuku heading east toward his apartment, me heading west toward my house.
"See you tomorrow," he said.
"See you."
We went our separate ways.
I walked through the familiar streets of my neighborhood, mind wandering. First day of junior high completed successfully with no drama or incidents.
THUD-THUD-THUD
The sound caught my attention. It sounded like someone hitting something repeatedly.
I turned the corner and saw the scene.
A small park, empty this time of day. A homeless man is sitting against a tree, surrounded by scattered belongings and three high school students in delinquent-style uniforms, kicking him repeatedly
"Disgusting old man," one of them spat. "Sleeping in our park, this is our territory bitch."
THUD
A kick to the ribs.
The homeless man barely reacted. Just sat there, completely nonchalant, like being assaulted was mildly inconvenient at worst.
I started forward, ice forming around my hands.
But before I could intervene, a small figure darted past me.
A kid, quite young too, maybe six or seven, running straight at the delinquents.
"Stop it!" the kid shouted. "Leave him alone!"
The delinquents turned, surprised.
"The hell?" one of them said. "Get lost, brat. This doesn't concern you."
"You're being mean! Bullies! Stop hurting him!"
The lead delinquent's expression darkened. "You got a death wish, kid?"
He raised his hand.
Electricity sparked around his fingers. The kid froze, suddenly realizing the danger. I moved forward, ice spreading up my arms, ready to create a barrier between the kid and the electrical attack.
But the homeless man was faster.
One moment he was sitting against the tree, seemingly defenseless.
The next, he was on his feet, moving with speed that didn't match his apparent age or condition.
His hand lashed out in a claw-like strike.
THWACK
The first delinquent dropped like a puppet with cut strings, unconscious before he hit the ground.
The other two barely had time to react before the homeless man struck again. Some kind of kung fu style, strikes targeting nerve clusters and pressure points with accuracy.
THWACK-THWACK
Both delinquents collapsed within seconds.
Eagle Claw Kung Fu, my mind supplied, recognizing the technique from martial arts videos I'd watched with Dad. A traditional Chinese style focusing on gripping, striking, and pressure point attacks.
The homeless man straightened, dusting off his ragged clothes as he'd just finished a light workout instead of taking down three attackers.
He looked at the kid. "You should be more careful. Courage is admirable, but recklessness gets you killed."
His voice was rough, but it sounded like he was wise. Not what I expected from someone living in a park.
Then he turned and looked directly at me.
And I got my first clear view of his face.
Long white hair, wispy and flowing down past his shoulders. A long white beard that reached his chest. What the fuck he looked exactly like Pai Mei from Kill Bill. Is the universe playing tricks on me by adding random characters to MHA.
"You were about to intervene," he said, studying me with those eyes. "Ice quirk, based on what I saw forming around your hands. Protective instinct activated immediately upon seeing injustice, hmmm, you have a good moral foundation."
I nodded slowly, not sure what to say.
He walked closer, "What's your name, boy?"
"Takeda Kori."
"Kori. Ice." He smiled slightly, showing yellowed but straight teeth. "Fitting. And you're what, twelve years old? Thirteen?"
"Twelve. Just started junior high today."
"Ah. First day." His eyes gleamed with what might have been amusement. "How did it go?"
"Normal."
"Until you encountered a homeless man being assaulted in a park and witnessed him dismantle three attackers with kung fu."
"Yeah...That part was less normal."
He laughed roughly. "I imagine so."
He gestured at the unconscious delinquents. "These three will wake up in about ten minutes with splitting headaches and no memory of the last five minutes. Pressure point strikes do that when applied correctly. You should probably leave before they come around and start asking questions."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine. This isn't my first encounter with local toughs. Won't be my last, either."
The kid who'd tried to help was staring at the homeless man with wide-eyed awe.
"That was so cool! You're like a hero! Bang bang bang and they all fell down!"
"Not a hero. Just an old man who knows how to defend himself."
He started gathering his scattered belongings, preparing to leave the park before the delinquents regained consciousness.
I watched him, mind racing. A homeless man with master-level kung fu skills, living rough but clearly educated and self-aware, while looking exactly like a legendary martial artist from a movie.
This wasn't random; this was definitely something awarded by the gods of this universe.
"Wait," I called as he started to walk away. "Who are you?"
He paused, looked back over his shoulder.
Then he smiled. A knowing smile that said he understood something I didn't yet.
"Just a wanderer," he said. "A man who goes where the wind takes him."
"That's not an answer."
"No. But it's the only one you're getting today." He adjusted the worn bag over his shoulder. "We'll meet again, Kori. I suspect our paths will cross quite soon. When they do, perhaps you'll be ready to hear the real answer."
"Ready for what?"
"To learn. To grow. To become something more than you currently are." His smile widened slightly. "You have potential, boy. Raw talent waiting to be refined. The question is whether you're willing to put in the work to develop it."
"I train every day, with my father and at the gym."
"Physical training. Quirk development. Yes, I'm sure you do." He turned to face me fully. "But there's more to being strong than muscles and special powers. True strength comes from discipline. From understanding. From mastering not just your body, but your mind and spirit as well."
He started walking away again.
"When we meet next," he called without looking back, "bring an open mind and a willing heart. That's all I require from potential students."
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A/N: Sorry for the lackluster last arc. I originally planned to only make it 3 chapters, but I felt like a proper murder mystery would have taken longer, but it backfired, and I've learn my lesson, but I also appreciate all the criticism I've gotten, and I also appreciate all the support I've gotten I remember when I used to read webnovel fanfic back in like 2020 or 2021 and thinking that It would be crazy if I ever even gotten to the top 200, and now were rank 119 which is crazy to me, hopefully one day we'll become number one and more people can get to know and appericate Iceman.
700 powerstones: Incomplete
900 powerstones: Incomplete
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You can read up to 10 advanced chapters on Patreon at patreon.com/keyblast, and thank you to all my Patreon members as well. I appreciate y'all for the support. It helps me keep pumping out daily chapters without feeling unmotivated or burning out.