This one is only about 1200 words next one is gonna be longer it'll be out tomorrow
— Chapter 4 training shadows and meeting light part 2
The next day dawned crisp and clear, sunlight spilling over the sea like molten gold. The air still carried the chill of dawn, but Izuku and Nerissa were already there — waiting, stretching, ready.
All Might stood a short distance away, arms crossed, watching as the waves rolled against the shore. Good, he thought, pleased. They came early.
Izuku rubbed at his wrist nervously, still not quite used to this new rhythm in his life. His shadows had been quiet that morning, but he could feel them — resting, humming faintly beneath his skin like coiled energy.
Nerissa, on the other hand, was radiant in the sunlight. Her hair shimmered faintly where the inner blue caught the light, and her warm pink eyes practically sparkled with anticipation.
"All right," All Might called, his voice booming across the empty beach. "Today isn't about brute strength! It's about control — understanding what your power wants to do, and teaching it what you want it to do instead!". "Young Midoriya you shall go first" announced all Might in his normal boisterous tone.
He motioned for him to begin.
Izuku stepped forward first, taking a deep breath. The shadows beneath him rippled in response, flowing outward like smoke meeting the wind. At his command, they began to move — wrapping around his arm, stretching across the sand like living ink.
He grimaced, focusing. "Come on… steady…"
The tendrils steadied, forming vague shapes, outlines of something humanoid but it looks like it would take more time for them to solidify.
"Not bad, young Midoriya!" All Might encouraged. "You're learning to shape them, not just unleash them!"
Izuku nodded, sweat starting to form. The shadows quivered, eager, almost restless. Then—
Nerissa stepped forward.
"I guess it's my turn," she said, smiling faintly. She raised her hand, palm open, and a soft glow bloomed in her palm — light so pure it felt alive.
The warmth spread outward, golden and bright, and for a heartbeat the whole beach seemed to shimmer.
Then the light touched the shadow.
Izuku's eyes widened. The moment her light brushed against his shadows, the air shifted. His shadow pulsed, recoiling — not in pain, but in confusion. The light bent oddly around it, flickering.
Both teens froze.
"Uh…" Nerissa blinked. "Did I just—"
Before she could finish, the shadow lashed out instinctively, like a startled animal. Izuku yelped, reeling back. She instinctively flared her light in response, reacting defensively.
All Might moved instantly, his voice sharp but calm. "Enough!"
The command hit the air like a shockwave, and both quirks stilled — the shadow shrinking back to Izuku's feet, the light fading from Nerissa's hand.
They stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"S-sorry!" Izuku stammered. "I didn't mean to—"
"No, it was me!" Nerissa said quickly, waving her hands. "I pushed too much energy into it! I didn't think it'd—"
All Might chuckled softly, easing the tension. "That's enough apologies from both of you. What we just saw was… fascinating." He stepped closer, looking between them. "Your powers don't reject each other — they react. That's not opposition, it's polarity. Shadow and light — two sides of the same balance."
Izuku frowned, still shaken. "So… we can't use them together?"
"Not yet," All Might corrected. "For now, think of it as a warning: both of you must master your individual quirks before you try to merge them. But once you do…" His grin widened, bright and knowing. "You might just show hero society a new form of balance between quirks that are fundamentally opposite."
Nerissa smiled, eyes gleaming again. "Sounds like a challenge."
Izuku managed a shaky grin. "Yeah. I'll… take that challenge."
All Might laughed, the sound proud and loud. "That's the spirit! Now, let's focus on your stamina using your powers next — the sea won't clean itself, you know!"
As the day went on, they worked side by side — hauling debris, shaping quirk control, laughing when things went wrong. And though both tried to ignore it, every time their powers came close, the air between them hummed with something neither could yet name.
By sunset, the beach looked cleaner, and both of them looked exhausted — but happy.
All Might stood watching them from afar, hands on his hips. They'll need time, he thought, but together… they might just balance each other perfectly.
—Later that evening—
The sun bled into the horizon, turning the water to copper. The gulls had gone quiet, and the only sounds left were waves and the soft scrape of plastic bags being tied shut. The last of the debris sat in neat piles behind them—proof of how hard they'd worked.
Izuku dropped onto a piece of driftwood with a groan. "I can't believe how heavy saltwater-logged trash gets."
Nerissa laughed, brushing a stray strand of blue-black hair from her face. Sweat glistened on her shoulders, catching the fading light. "You'd think saving the world would burn fewer calories."
He managed a small grin. "At least we didn't blow anything up today."
She tilted her head. "Yet."
That earned a weak laugh from him, the kind that hid nerves. His mind kept replaying the earlier clash—light and shadow sparking like static. It felt alive… like something underneath us wanted to connect and couldn't.
Nerissa noticed the far-off look in his eyes. "You're thinking about what happened, huh?"
He nodded. "Yeah. When our quirks touched, it was like they… didn't know how to act. Not hostile or anything just—off."
She leaned back on her hands, watching the ocean. "Maybe they're like us. Still figuring out what they're supposed to be."
That thought settled between them, quiet and oddly comforting.
All Might's distant voice carried on the wind, calling out that he'd be heading off but would check on their progress tomorrow. When his silhouette disappeared behind the boardwalk, the world felt smaller—simpler.
Nerissa drew her knees up. "So, what do you actually want out of all this, Izuku? I mean, besides the obvious 'be a hero.'"
He hesitated. He'd asked himself that a hundred times but never said it aloud. "I… I want to help people without scaring them. When the shadows move, they look—wrong. Even I'm afraid sometimes." He stared at his hands, flexing them as if expecting darkness to seep through his fingers. "If I can control it, maybe I can make something, shape something, that protects instead of hurts."
She listened without interrupting, then said softly, "That's a good reason."
He glanced at her. "What about you? You said yesterday people kept telling you to stick to healing."
Her smile dimmed just a little. "Yeah. Everyone thinks my light should only heal things. But that's only part of them so I think, sometimes you have to fight to keep people safe enough to heal them. I'm tired of being told where my limits are."
Izuku considered that. "So you're fighting expectations."
"And gravity." She stretched out, falling back into the sand with a sigh. "Mostly expectations, though."
The moment hung warm and calm. The sea breeze tugged at her hair, fanning the blue underlayers like a halo, and Izuku found himself thinking that she didn't look like someone who was meant to stand behind others. She looked like someone who could walk beside them.
"You know," she said, eyes still on the sky, "our powers didn't really clash today. They just… pushed each other. Like they didn't know what to do."
Izuku smiled faintly. "Guess we'll have to work on that so we can handle them."
"See you Tomorrow, then?"
"Tomorrow."
They sat there until the light faded completely, two silhouettes framed by the tide—shadow and light—each reflecting something the other was missing.