Chapter 5: Knock me down, and I'll simply get back up stronger than ever
"Promise me something, Izuku."
Pulling himself slightly away from the woman's comforting embrace, Tony tilted his head to meet Inko's gaze, confusion on his face.
She hiccupped, keeping her grip onto him as her forest green eyes shimmer beneath a pool of crystal blue tears.
"Promise me," her breath came in a whisper, an undercurrent of emotions she was trying desperately to keep at bay. "That if something is truly bothering you, that you'll tell me. That you won't be afraid anymore to keep everything to yourself again. Don't—"
Here she took another gasp of breath, a fresh wave of tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Don't let it eat you up inside. Know that I will always be there to support you no matter what happens, and even if things go bad, know that I will try my absolute best to be the best mom I could possibly be for you." Beneath his fingers, her body shook silently with tremors. "Promise me that, Izuku. Please."
Tony felt like he couldn't breathe.
In a different life, his mother had been the exact same. Hoping that he would change his bad boy behavior and tumultuous relationship with his father.
He never had a chance to show her how much he truly loved her.
Swallowing, Tony gave Inko—his mother—a hesitant nod of his head.
"I promise."
"Will you be alright, sweetie?" Inko asked for what must have been the tenth time since the two of them had left their apartment building.
The weather today was a balmy 20 degree Celsius, the wind light and pleasant on his face as Tony stared up at the cloudless sky.
"Yeah…I'll be fine," he finally answered after the silence stretched on for too long. He managed to smile as he met her concerned gaze. "You don't have to worry about little old me."
Inko pressed her lips together, obviously not convinced but relented anyway with a low sigh.
"If you say so, sweetie…"
They continue to walk the now familiar path to the bus stop a few blocks away from their apartment. It was Friday and Tony had spent most of the week searching more about the world he had awoken to and preparing for the Yueei Entrance Exam—he already had it set in his mind to apply when he came of age regardless of whether or not he successfully passed.
He planned to show Japan, and the world at large, what a quirkless person could really do.
The bus came a minute earlier than its designated time, and they boarded together and grabbed a seat all the way at the back. As the scenery gradually shifted from closed boarded up shops to corporate brand coffee stores with special items based on famous Pro Heroes, Tony finally addressed the purple giant elephant in the room.
"I'm sure the principal just wants to make sure everything is alright," he started, gaining Inko's undivided attention as she turned to look at him. "If there wasn't a reason, then I would be pretty pissed that I had to come all this way to school on a Friday ."
She chuckled; a light airy tune that had Tony do a mental dance in his head.
"True," Inko admitted with a shake of her own head. "Not to mention taking time out of my work to accompany you to say the least. But you might as well get all that homework and assignments you had missed for the week."
Neither of them said the real reason why no one had sent it to him all this time.
Eventually they reached the stop for the elementary school and stepped off after letting an elderly couple with curved golden horns sporting out of their backs in first. The courtyard was empty with school currently in session since it was midday, which Tony was more than grateful for. It meant less eyes on him as his mother and him made their way inside and into the staffing room where the secretary told them to wait on uncomfortable plastic seats meant for children.
Ten minutes later and the principal welcomed them into his office with a genial smile on his face, offering the two some refreshments before getting right down to business.
"I must thank you once again Ms. Midoriya and Midoriya for taking the time to meet with me today." His large eyebrows waggled for a moment and tiny blue eyes peered out from all the whiteness. "I pray that your wound has healed?"
Tony shifted a little in his seat, mindful to not aggravate the burn scar on his right shoulder anymore than what was necessary.
"Somewhat better," Tony answered in an earnest tone. "Wounds may heal eventually—" and here he placed a hand onto his chest where his heart was, wobbling the bottom of his lips to really send his message across. "But it would take a long time before this could heal as well."
Sitting beside him, Inko hummed a sound of approval from the back of her throat, eyes glistening a little as she directed her soft gaze back onto him.
The principal nodded; expression somber at the reminder of what had transpired on Monday with Bakugo.
"That I agree, my boy. That, I agree."
With that out of the way, the man pulled out a stack of folders beneath his desk, setting them aside in front of him. Tony eyed the contents of it with a healthy dose of suspicion.
The principal let out a small chuckle, no doubt having seen the look despite his eyes being covered back again by his brows.
"This," tapping at the folders, "is a list of recommendations for therapy that I had the secretary and the school nurse gather up for Midoriya. They are all very affordable and have a sliding pay scale when it comes to payments based on your income. Many of them are geared towards children…especially those without a quirk."
The principal then paused, giving Tony and Inko ample time to process the information.
Chancing a quirk glance, Tony found the woman, his mother, with an unreadable expression, lips pressed firmly into a firm thin line across her face as she stared at the stack of folders.
"Thank you, Principal Sasaki," Inko finally said after a moment of solemn silence. Her voice was uncharacteristically tight, and Tony briefly wondered if she was disappointed that things had to go so badly for her son for his bullying to be finally taken seriously enough by the administration. "We appreciate it and will use your sources thoroughly."
"You are most welcome."
The principal turned his head over to Tony and he gave the man a low dip of his head, murmuring his thanks as well.
He brought out another stack of folders, this one twice as tall and thicker too.
"I also took the liberty of asking all of your teachers to send me the homework and assignments for this week and next. Since we only just started this semester, there isn't too much work." The principal pushed it forward toward Tony. "But if you need any additional time, do let me know and I can arrange it."
Tony doesn't move to take it.
He hated being handed things.
"That won't be necessary," crossing his arms instead. "I can handle it."
White brows shot up high, and the principal stared at him with wide blue eyes, clearly taken aback by the curtness of his voice.
"I—I see…" he stuttered before clearing his throat, undoubtedly trying to gain control of the situation again. He steepled his fingers together on the top of his desk as he regarded Tony in a new light, a hint of a sparkle within the depths of his eyes. "That's good to hear then."
He continued the conversation with how Bakugo would not be allowed to interact with Tony from now on throughout the school year as part of his punishment. If he so much as stepped out of line, he would automatically be expelled—a suitable leash to keep the Porcupine brat in check.
The boy wouldn't want to jeopardize his chances of getting into a proper hero school.
By the time they were done, Tony was more than ready to head back home and sleep. Both he and Inko bow to the principal once more before making their way out of the school building and into the afternoon sunlight.
"Well, that went alright," Inko said as they walked to the bus stop. Few people were out on the streets at this time, so they had ample space to sit at the waiting benches. She folded her legs together, clutching the tiny red purse on her lap as she looked around with a sharp frown.
The neighborhood the elementary school was in wasn't as rough as the apartment they currently resided in but being overly cautious seemed to be the norm for her.
"I'm just glad Bakugo won't be bothering you ever again," she continued.
"Yeah…"
Tony readjusted the straps of his yellow backpack on his shoulders.
He was glad he had brought it with him for the trip as he could carry all the homework and papers that were given to him by the principal. Leaning back on the beach, he sighed briefly to himself glad that the worst had passed over them without any major issues.
"Still sucks. It took me being injured for them to take it seriously enough."
Inko hummed in agreement, a ripple of anger passing over her expression.
They stayed like this for a couple of minutes, each lost in their own thoughts until Inko decided to break the silence with a question.
"Would you like to get some Katsudon, Izuku?"
Tony blinked, brain processing the question for a short moment.
He hadn't eaten much since they had left home, and his stomach growled in response before he could open his mouth, causing Inko to giggle into her hand, barely suppressing the tiny smile that had blossomed over her lips.
Face flushed; Tony shrugged with his good shoulder.
"Well…you already know my answer."
Taking a bite out of the crispy breaded chicken, Tony nearly moaned in delight as the flavor and spices exploded in his mouth. Swallowing after chewing the piece for a few times, he bit onto another bigger piece, savoring the taste for longer this time around.
Sitting across from him, Inko's lips twitched into a somewhat semblance of an amused smile.
"Good, right?" she asked, scooping some white rice into her mouth.
Tony swallowed after a long moment.
"Freaking amazing. My compliments to the chef."
They were in a restaurant somewhere in downtown Musutafu, near Inko's place of work and a hot spot for hungry salary workers and tourists alike looking to find hidden gems within the small city.
Sandwiched between a low-ranking hero agency and a tiny public library, the restaurant Inko had taken him to was traditional in every sense of the way, with wooden panels decorated with oil paintings depicting various wintry landscapes throughout Japan and low seating tables. It offered a variety of dishes, most prominently the Donburi items like Gyūdon, Butadon and of course, Katsudon .
Chuckling, Inko took a sip of her green tea.
"I'm glad to hear that, sweetie."
A few distances away from them, a television bolted down onto one of the walls was currently broadcasting the local news of the hour. The latest top story was a terrible train derailment on one of the express lines to Chiba caused by a villain who had used their quirk to escape police pursuit.
Casualties have not yet been posted, but the heroes on the scene including one Best Jeanist, the current number four hero in Japan, have been seen present in aiding relief to the victims and support to the Chiba police department, with most of the spotlight and camera focus heavily zoomed onto their heroic activities.
As Tony watched, chewing on a piece of Katsudon thoughtfully, he pondered more on the ambiguous relationship between Pro Heroes and law enforcements.
Law enforcements were technically heroes in their own rights; a police officer's duty was to protect and serve its citizens, while firefighters threw their life on the line to rescue those trapped in a dangerous fiery situation and EMTs bring valuable resources to keep victims stable as they transport them to a nearby hospital.
Each profession has their own special role to play, all important cogs to a well-oiled machine, and yet somehow over time, pro heroes have thrown a sizable hard wrench into the equation, disrupting the entire processing line with all their apparent flashiness and quirks.
Tony frowned.
It wasn't like that back in his previous world.
Despite their innate differences, the Avengers worked seamlessly (for the most part) together with the law enforcement when it came down to missions. S.H.I.E.L.D., the special American governmental counterterrorism and central intelligence agency run by a hardass only known as Nick Fury, had been the reason why the Avengers had come to be, and had a cornucopia of capable agents who knew precisely how to deal with threats nationally or existentially.
Such a symbiotic relationship doesn't seem to be apparent in Japan.
They finish their lunch thirty minutes later and after paying for the meal (not before mentioning to their waiter to inform the chef of Tony's compliments), they head outside, pausing briefly to enjoy the setting sunlight on their faces after spending time indoors.
"Would you like to get some ice cream?" Inko asked.
If Tony was suspicious of all the requests he didn't show it in his face, simply nodding his affirmation as he followed her down the street. She weaved herself expertly amongst the crowd, taking the time to ensure her son was right beside her as they headed inside a forty-story commercial building where the ice cream parlor they were going to was located on the fifth floor.
Life size cutout cardboards of high-ranking heroes such as Endeavor, Best Jeanist, and even Gang Orca lined the front entrance to the store. A quick glance revealed a promotion of new flavors inspired by said heroes with a special discount for any students who happened to be enrolled in a hero school.
Joining the rather long line of eager customers, Tony took a look around him.
Quirks were truly something extraordinary.
The person in front of them had medium sized transparent wings like a butterfly on their back while the couple behind them had nothing noticeable save for glowing orange eyes and shark-like teeth. Even the person manning the ice cream station had the ends of each of his arms shaped into curly tentacles, allowing the man to be able to scoop up multiple ice creams at the same time with relative ease.
"Do you know what you want?"
Inko's voice brought his attention back onto her as she strained her gaze at the overhead menu listing out all the delectable items for potential customers to order off from.
"I'm thinking of something sweet like cookies and cream," she continued.
Tony raised his head, taking in the menu as well.
Sweets weren't his go-to food, though having an overactive daughter with a taste for expensive white Belgium chocolate had certainly changed that for a bit.
"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I think I'll ask the staff for their recommendations."
Soon enough, it was their turn to order, and Inko asked for a small cup of cookies and cream with a bit of rainbow sprinkles and whip cream as topping. The man happily obliged, and after he completed the task, turned to face Tony.
"And what about you, little dude?"
Glancing down at the rows and rows of ice cream flavors, Tony shrugged his shoulders.
"I honestly don't know. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Oh yeah! " There was a twinkle in the man's brown eyes as he gestured over to the first row of flavors. "All of these contain this month's newest sensation— A Taste of Heroics. Each flavor is based on a pro-hero and their special moves. Like this one—" pointing at a practically full container of deep red and orange swirl sorbet, "is based on Endeavor and his Flashfire Fist attack."
Out of all the flavors, that one barely had any scoop marks on it.
"It's super spicy though, so it's not really a popular choice for most..."
Made sense, Tony couldn't imagine wanting to eat something hot with his cold dessert.
Sounded like a complete oxymoron.
His eyes drifted over to the last one, halfway done and colored a vibrant purple swirl with hints of silver in it.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing at it.
"Oh, that's based on Edgeshot and one of his special moves— Fishhook Snag," the staff answered brightly. "Dark and mysterious just like the hero himself, they say no lick ever tastes the same twice."
Ah, so a mystery flavor then, Tony surmised dryly.
"I'll take a small cup of that, please."
Once they finished paying, they found seating near the back of the shop next to a trio set of indoor windows that allowed them access to the rest of the shoppers going about their day. People watching was one of his favorite activities to do with Pepper before the BLIP had happened, sometimes making small bets to see how long it would take for someone to recognize him first without his red and golden suit of armor.
"I'm surprised you didn't get the All Might flavor," Inko said, absent-mindedly stirring away at her ice-cream with a spoon. A pensive look suddenly overcame her as she leveled an odd piercing sort of gaze onto Tony, causing him to briefly freeze in response like a deer caught in the headlights. "You always like him."
Shit .
Tony swallowed the ice-cream bite with an audible loud gulp.
The Izuku Midoriya of this life loved the famous number one hero of Japan. It was shown through the copious number of posters in his bedroom and the action figure toys that occupied every inch of space on the bookshelf and study desk in their tiny apartment.
Twisting his gaze away, Tony hurried to explain his reasoning for what his mother had considered a 'strange decision'.
"I still do. I just wanted to try something new today."
Once again there was that long pause as Inko stared at him, lips pressed together as if preventing her from something more as she slowly tilted her head carefully to regard his answer. Keeping his expression perfectly blank, Tony met her piercing gaze head on like his whole life depended on it.
He cannot allow her to know the truth. At least, not until he was certain that there was no way for him to return to his previous life.
"Okay," she finally said, returning her attention back onto her ice-cream.
Tony blinked, obviously expecting more from his mother's response but chose not to press forward in the end. Any further questioning would only lead Inko to be suspicious of him more than she already was.
He remembered her words:
"Promise me, Izuku."
I'm sorry, Tony frowned into his own ice cream cup as he took another bite. I will tell you everything soon enough.
Fortunately, the rest of the day quickly passed on without any notable events.
They stopped to get some groceries on the way at a nearby marketplace in preparation for the weekend and encountered some police activity on the opposite side of the street. Whatever had happened had resulted in a storefront being collapsed with items and what looked to be blue sparkling feathers strewn all about on the sidewalk.
Several of the officers were clustered at the end corner of the block, chatting amongst themselves while a few feet away, a woman, which Tony could only presume was a hero based on the extravagant blue fairy costume that she wore, surveyed the scene with sharp round eyes.
Behind the yellow caution tapes, a small crowd had already gathered, though most of them were currently making their leave now that the situation seemed to be under control by the authorities.
"Ah, man," Tony heard one of those people say with glee as they passed him and Inko, turning to their companion. "Can you believe how awesome Bluebelle was? She took that villain down with just a wave of her quirk."
"Yeah!" The companion's dark spiky forearms were waving up and down in excitement. "She might go up a rank or two thanks to this."
As the pair continued gushing over said Pro Hero, Tony resisted scowling at them.
Heroism wasn't meant for entertainment and yet the world today had centered a large portion of their media and revenue on the dramatizations of heroes and their heroic activities. Everything had to be recorded lest the hero wanted to increase their rankings, and that meant that those with a flashy, overwhelming quirk were noticed way more often than those who fought with their brains and support gears.
Limelight heroes were what the media often referred to them as.
How terrible.
Once they got home and put away the groceries, Tony turned around to bid Inko a good night, thanking her once again for the meal and dessert.
"Of course, sweetie." Inko's smile was small but completely genuine as maternal warmth blossomed over her face like a rainbow after a rainy day. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself today."
She trailed off and Tony waited patiently for her to continue, noticing the sudden difficulty she was having with getting the next set of words to pass through her lips.
"And Izuku…"
Inko took a steely breath.
"I know things have been rough for you ever since your… diagnosis but know that I intend to fully support you in whatever profession you endeavor to become. You can be a hero."
There was a sheen of wetness in her forest green eyes as their gazes met once again.
"I have complete faith that you can do it."
She approached him with slow but measured footsteps and pressed a soft kiss onto his temple.
"Good night, sweetie," then continued to make her way down the hallway and into her bedroom.
Tony watched her retreating figure, mind blank as the words echoed in his head. Slowly, he reached up to lightly touch the spot that she had kissed him, still feeling the pleasant warmth tingle his skin.
"I will," Tony said, voice quiet but filled with determination.
That he could promise her with.
The moment Tony entered the classroom, all conversations stopped abruptly as everyone turned to look at him.
Stifling a sigh, he muttered a quiet good morning beneath his breath as he made his way to his designated seat. Everyone in his path parted slightly, eyes wide as if they couldn't believe his arrival. There were no lily flowers or marks left on his desk, and a quirk inspection of the space underneath revealed nothing suspicious as well. Placing his bag on the hook at the side of the desk, Tony impatiently waited for class to start.
It was Monday morning and he had returned to school expecting things to change. Undoubtedly news had spread about his fight with Bakugo by now, and based on the way people were whispering to each other while still staring at him, meant they had formed their opinions on the matter.
The only respite was that Porcupine wouldn't be back for another two weeks, so that was a bonus. Even better, his lackeys seemed to have gotten the memo to not mess with him at all as well, and thus could only glare at him from afar.
Quiet footsteps suddenly approached his desk and Tony turned his gaze to the left to find another boy standing beside him. He had nothing remarkable in his appearance save for a pair of brown cat ears that poke out from his dark curly brown hair.
"Can I help you?"
The cat boy flinched, one of his ears flickering from side to side before he gathered the courage to speak.
"Uhm…" The boy shifted nervously on his feet. "Did you finally get your quirk or something?"
Tony blinked.
"Come again?"
Not the answer he was expecting, the cat boy stuttered briefly, his fluffy brown ears rearing back. "I mean, everyone in school had heard about how you punched Bakugo in the face hard enough to even break his nose in half, and it's kinda impossible to believe you could have done that without a quirk."
A few murmurs of agreement rippled across the classroom and Tony repressed the urge to scowl.
Taking a moment to calm his mind, Tony slowly shook his head.
"I still don't have a quirk," he answered, and the cat boy looked oddly disappointed at his admission, "But I wasn't about to let Porcupine continue to bully me for the remainder of the year. He's a bully, simple as that. And the fact that the school had allowed him to continue with his antics for so long is pretty despicable if you ask me."
He met the dark eyes of the boy who had dared to ask him such a question, almost imagining for a moment that it was Izuku standing in his place.
"So, I'm not going to stand for that any longer. No one should. Whether you have powers or not shouldn't prevent you from being a proper human being."
Silence enveloped the room the moment he finished, and his classmates glanced at one another nervously as if unsure how to respond to his little improv speech.
Before anyone could, however, the door slid open and in strolled their homeroom teacher, already having a face of disdain so early in the morning.
Immediately, the students rushed into their seats and the man leveled them all a look, sweeping his gaze across the room. His eyes met Tony's for only a second, but it was enough that Tony could decipher the shock that flashed over his face before looking away.
"I see that you all have chosen to arrive on time today for once," the homeroom teacher drawled, not even bothering to take attendance. Pretty much everyone was present for the class save for one noticeable desk a few rows in front of Tony's. "Then it means we can get started on today's news. I expect you all to pay close attention to this as I will not be repeating myself."
Tony wondered if it was a jab at his words last week but filed the thought away for a later time.
The rest of the day passed on soon enough, and once the bell rang for Lunch, Tony was one of the first to stand up, stretching out his poor cramped muscles from sitting in one position for so long.
Their English teacher had left with a murmur of goodbye and a reminder that they had onto Wednesday to turn in their school assignments.
Tony had long since finished it (it helped that he had retained his multilingual skills from his previous life) and the surprised look that had appeared on the teacher's face when Tony was one of the few to hand it in on time was worth the late night he had spent completing everything at the last minute.
Sue him—he had more important things to consider than fifth grade grammar lessons.
As before, Inko had prepared his lunch for today and Tony made his way with the bento box in his hand only to be stopped by the homeroom appearing dramatically at the doorway.
"Midoriya," his voice carried easily across the room, effectively silencing any conversation.
Tony's right eye twitched as all attention was thrust directly onto him.
"Yes, Sensei…?" he finally said after a tense Mexican standoff had passed between them.
A grimace formed around the corners of the man's thin lips as he regarded Tony with an upturn of his long pointy nose. "There is something that I must discuss with you before you head for lunch."
Not elaborating further, he then turned his sharp gaze onto the rest of the room.
"Might I remind you all that lunchtime had started about five minutes ago? Shouldn't you all have left about now?" His tone took on a delightful tune as he crossed his lanky arms. "Unless…you all would like to spend time writing a five-page essay on why you must always listen to your teachers?"
That got everyone up and rushing out the door, and within the span of a couple of seconds, the room was emptied out completely.
Satisfied, the man made his way over to his desk, sending an expectant glance at Tony to follow.
Once seated, the homeroom teacher explained his reason for keeping Tony from enjoying his lunchroom.
"I am sure you are aware by now that starting from this point onward, Mr. Bakugo would not be allowed to speak with you in this classroom or facilities. That includes any group work activities, and you are to immediately inform one of the staff if he tried again to… harm you in any way as possible." It was clear as day that the man had low opinions on him but was willing to set aside his dislike to ensure Tony's safety. "You are also allowed to eat your lunch here if need be."
Tony nodded, understanding the pittance of respite being offered to him.
"And what about the punishment?"
The homeroom teacher slowly blinked, as if trying to comprehend the idea that Tony was still interested in doing the classroom chores. Tony waited, crossing one leg over the other as the man rebooted his brain.
He could be patient.
"You mean—"
"Yes," Tony confirmed. "I figured since I was oh so late last week for homeroom class, that I should still do my part of the deal."
He bit back a smile at the trickle of guilt that rippled across the homeroom teacher's face.
"I see…" His lips twist unpleasantly, like he had swallowed something sour. "That won't be necessary, Midoriya. Principal Sasaki had informed me that such a punishment was…archaic for an esteemed academic institute such as our school."
Tony rested his chin on the palm of his hand.
"Is that so?"
How sweet.
"Quite." The homeroom teacher cleared his throat, obviously not wanting to discuss the subject any further. "Anyway, that will be all."
He turned his body away, grabbing some sheets of paper out from his briefcase and Tony knew a clear dismissal when he saw one.
Standing out from his seat, Tony started to head for the door only to stop halfway across the room.
"I just want to know something, Sensei."
Tony turned around. The homeroom teacher peered up, not at all too pleased to find him still here.
Tough luck.
"Do you seriously dislike me so much because I don't have a quirk?"
A loaded question, but he had to know.
The man said nothing at first, only exhaling out a sigh through the nostrils of his long-pointed nose. He placed his red pen down and laced his fingers together on top of the papers he had been grading.
"Perhaps," and Tony was a bit taken aback at the strange honesty. "But it's simply more than just that, Midoriya."
The homeroom teacher was a tall lanky man, and he seemed to exude his impressive height even while seated.
"If one did not consider your null status as part of the equation, then one would see nothing but the exemplary skills you have managed to accomplish when it came to your academic work. You are one of my top students, non-disruptive in class…save for your excessive muttering at the worst of times, and extremely hard-working."
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"But?"
Here the homeroom teacher pinched the bridge of his elongated nose, eyes shut closed for a brief moment.
" But, if you had wanted to pursue a career in something suitable like a doctor or a scientist, I would have gladly given you a personal recommendation."
His eyes opened back, and the frostiness and rage embodied in them was a sure sight to behold.
"But you had no interest in any of that. Oh no. You wanted to be a hero . A profession that already has a mortality rate of 45% and that is already considering those with a quirk."
The homeroom teacher viciously shook his head as if the very thought of someone like Izuku becoming a hero was ridiculous enough to even consider thinking about.
"I have little faith that you, as a quirkless student, would have any chance of successfully passing the rigorous coursework of a hero school, and obtaining a license. And even if you do manage to graduate, you would be killed the moment a villain decides to use their quirk on you when they find out you have no means to defend yourself or others without a quirk of your own."
He leveled his cold gaze onto Tony, and the static image of his father—Howard Stark—took his place.
"That is why I dislike you, Midoriya. There is no shame in settling down for mediocrity. Not everyone can be a hero, nor should everyone become one too."
Silence permeated the room as soon as the words left his homeroom teacher's lips, heavy and charged with a concurrent of energy that buzzed within Tony's chest.
A fire had been lit.
"I see," he finally said after processing everything the homeroom teacher had said to him. It was quite a lot, he admitted, but well worth it as he finally figured out something essential that Izuku had probably wanted to know his entire life. "And I thank you for that." If the homeroom teacher was surprised by the admission, he didn't show it. "But I also want to let you know that you're wrong for believing that."
The face of Howard Stark frowned deeply in response.
"I want to be a hero, and having a quirk or not shouldn't prevent me from becoming one."
Tony strode purposefully back over to the homeroom teacher's desk, placing both of his hands down firmly onto the table as he leaned in closely enough till he was nose to pointed nose with the man.
Surprisingly, the homeroom teacher stood his ground, which Tony gave him props for.
"And someday I will most certainly become one. So, I hope you will be there sitting on the sidelines to watch me reach for the stars and beyond."
They both stared each other down, neither yielding till the homeroom teacher huffed out a grunt, finally ceding defeat, the static image of Howard Stark fading away in the background.
Victory had never tasted so sweet inside his mouth.
Tony woke up to the sound of yelling.
An all-too-common occurrence in this part of his neighborhood on a Saturday morning.
What was weird however was that it was seemingly coming from inside the apartment instead of outside, and Tony rubbed his sleepy crusted eyes in confusion, gaze drifting over to the door of his bedroom.
Whoever it was, they were loud .
The yelling stopped for one blissful moment, then he heard the all too familiar sound of a smack and a shrill voice accompanying said action.
"At least say Good Morning, you damn brat!"
Tony's eyes grew wide.
Praying that it wasn't who he thought it would was, Tony hurried out of his bed, opening the door as he barreled his way down the hallway so fast that his socks made an audible sharp squeak against the faux wooden floor as he came right to a stop by the entrance to the joint living/kitchen unit.
All at once, several heads swiveled their gazes onto him, but Tony's eyes were solely on the Porcupine who was standing by the television with his arms crossed and a sour expression. A red mark was visible on his right cheek. Once their eyes made direct contact, his face soured some more, and Porcupine quickly averted his gaze down to the floor.
At least his nose was doing better, the number of gauzes and bandages were greatly reduced compared to two weeks ago, and it looked slightly less crooked from a certain angle.
Sitting on the nearby couch were Bakugo's parents, who looked equally surprised to see him up so early. A quick glance at the clock revealed that the time was currently 7 in the morning.
Way too damn early to deal with something like this.
"Morning, sweetie," Inko said from her place by the kitchen stove. The coffee machine churned happily in the background as she gripped her mug with a little more force than necessary, her knuckles stark white in contrast to her normally pink skin tone. "Did we wake you up?"
Not trusting himself to speak properly, Tony simply shook his head.
"Good to see that you're alright, Izuku," Porcupine's mother, Mitsuki, interjected, smoothing out the snarl on her face into something resembling a sort of weirdly small grin. It seemed she was as unused to smiling as she was scowling. "We just came over to drop off a small gift for you and your mother. As an apology of sorts."
It was only now that Tony realized the extremely large basket of assorted fruits and snacks resting on the low coffee table.
There were neatly sliced pieces of melon, cherries, strawberries, and even a whole ass Pineapple with foreign sounding chocolate bars and chips that Tony could see poking out from the plastic intricate wrapping.
It looked expensive.
A small gift my ass, Tony smirked.
The soft sounds of footsteps cladded in slippers cautiously approaching him jarred Tony back to the present, and he found Mitsuki standing before him, her facial expression, the perfect picture of long-term regret and disgruntledness, abashed undoubtedly by her son's growing attitude problems.
Meeting her dark red eyes, the very color of oxygenated blood, Tony was a bit taken aback by how much Porcupine highly resembled her features right down to the same shade of hair color.
It was eerily close.
"I know it won't be enough to make up for the years of abuse that my brat had given to you, but I want to let you know from the bottom of my heart that I am deeply sorry."
She bowed her head low, her scowl returning back to its rightful place on her face.
"Katsuki had always been raised as such a pompous brat who had gotten his head swollen from one too many praises from his teachers and peers for his quirk."
Said son growled lowly at the insult, but Mitsuki resolutely ignored him.
"I don't think he has ever eaten a piece of humble pie in his entire life. It's my fault, really. I should have taught him better to control his anger. But mark my words, that shit ain't gonna fly ever again."
She said that last part with a head tilted toward her son, shooting him a stern glare that promised untold punishments if he didn't keep his mouth shut.
Porcupine, unsurprisingly, remained silent.
The sound of another pair of footsteps drew Tony's attention then onto Bakugo's father, who bowed respectfully at him once he reached them.
"I am so sorry too as well, Izuku."
His voice was oddly soft and gentle compared to the brash tone used by both his wife and son.
"Katsuki is our responsibility, and it is our duties and responsibilities as his parents to correct our son's unruly behavior before someone gets hurt. We were unfortunate to not stop him from hurting you seriously, but we will make sure to not let that happen again."
His head rose, and a level of steel and fiery determination shone brightly within his once kind warm honey brown eyes.
"We will endeavor to ensure that Katsuki will become a better, kinder person in the future."
Honestly, Tony simply felt sorry for them.
As a former parent he understood immensely the ups-and-downs that came with raising a child, especially one as chaotic and uncontrollable as Bakugo.
Could things change?
Sure, there was always a small possibility that Porcupine could actually become a decent human being at some point in his life.
But as of right now, Tony simply wanted him as far away as possible from Izuku and himself.
Tearing his gaze away from Bakugo's parents, Tony moved it right onto Inko, who had been silently watching the conversation from afar.
Her expression hadn't changed much since, still looking quite tired and done with life in general. But when she noticed his stare, Inko gave him a reassuring smile, the edges strained around the corners of her mouth, but it was still something.
"Don't you have something to say, Katsuki ?" Mitsuki suddenly spoke out, breaking the strange tension that had fallen in the room. "Maybe something that your ex-best friend should hear?"
Porcupine flinched once the attention was on him again, fiddling with a heart shaped stress ball that Tony hadn't noticed was in his hands before.
After a long and excruciatingly tense minute, he mumbled something low enough that Tony nearly missed it.
"'M sorry…"
"And?"
Another flinch, the boy biting back a snarl.
"And you're not a Deku…"
Humming, Tony registered the ( admittedly ) half-ass apology with a vague shrug of his shoulder. He could honestly care less.
"I'm sure you're sorry," he began, taking the time to formulate the words in his head without letting his judgment get to him, "but it really means jackshit if you don't back it up with some actions."
Porcupine's dark red eyes had popped comically wide at the unexpected curse once again, and Tony swore he heard a strangled gasp come out from one of the parents. Most likely the father.
"As I said before you decided to maim me for life and leave an everlasting scar on my right shoulder: "I'm not the same person that I was before the spring break. I'm not a Deku.""
He paused deliberately, watching as the blond boy furrowed his brows in apparent confusion as if he couldn't quite comprehend as to why that was.
With a bright smile, Tony continued, determination cladding his voice for all to hear:
"I'm Midoriya Izuku and I will become a hero."
Chapter 6: Old friends in new places
Life had, oddly enough, gotten substantially better since his fateful encounter with Porcupine and his parents.
True to their words, Bakugo had not bothered him in class save beyond a few weird looks or a light scoff beneath his breath whenever they passed by, which Tony didn't mind at all nor paid any particular attention to. The rest of their classmates had also apparently reached some sort of a collective decision on who they should side with in the end and had been tentatively interacting with Tony from time to time.
It wasn't like they were completely friends, but it was a far cry from the early days of a younger Izuku eating all by his lonesome.
His witty charms had been slowly, but steadily eroding up people's previous misconceptions of himself, and by the time the first semester of school had finished, he had a small group of people who orbited around his social circle like satellites.
"Any plans for Summer Break?" the cat boy, unironically named Neko, had asked as the final bell rang to signify the end of school.
Japan's educational schedule was vastly different from what Tony was accustomed to back in America, and it took him some considerable seconds to formulate an answer as he gathered up all of his belongings back into his yellow backpack.
"Not really," he finally admitted.
One of Neko's brown cat ears flickered.
"Seriously ?" the boy asked, clearly surprised by the admission. "I would think you would have a whole itinerary planned out already."
Tony bit back a smile. Gosh, it was honestly so adorable how much these kids sort of looked up to him.
One of the satellites, a girl named Megumi with extremely thick black rectangular glasses and twine braided dark blue pigtails, entered their conversation with a spring in her steps.
"I'm going with my parents to visit my grandparents in Saitama," she exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "We're gonna see some of the Shrines and museums there."
" Oh, that sounds like fun!" Neko said, his brown cat tail swishing back and forth.
"Nice," Tony agreed.
He had not yet visited any place beyond his home city of Musutafu, but he was itching to get some traveling mileage once he scourged up enough money.
They continued to discuss more of their plans for the summer as they made their way out of the school and into the courtyard, joined by several additional satellites who hovered around Tony's all-encompassing alluring presence.
"I'm throwing a pool party," one of them announced.
Tony never quite got his name but associated the blond hair and elf ears as miniature Legolas from the Lord of the Rings films. It also helped that the blond boy could produce infinite amounts of exploding homing arrows at a whim.
Miniature Legolas procured a set of envelopes decorated with embroidered lettering from his messenger bag and began to delegate them out to everyone around him.
"All of you are invited."
Tony was slightly surprised to find himself receiving one as well and nodded his thanks.
Based on the memories of a younger Midoriya Izuku, this would be the first time in almost a decade that he had been personally invited to a party without any parental interventions.
A quick buzz from his phone in his pockets reminded Tony of his next objective, and he waved goodbye to all of his peers, promising to contact them every now and then for the Summer. On the way out of the courtyard, he spotted Porcupine walking in the opposite direction, surprisingly not surrounded by his usual lackeys this time around.
The two made brief eye contact, and the creases surrounding Bakugo's temple deepened significantly.
Breaking contact first, Tony kept his gaze forward as he continued on his path to greatness, not even bothering to look back at his once former best friend.
The past remained steadfastly behind him.
The Takoba Municipal Beach Park was a sight for sore eyes.
What was once a beautiful coastline hotspot had been reduced to nothing more than a junkyard for people to put their trash and unwanted goods, ruining whatever beauty it had.
However, Tony simply saw it as a paradise.
Taking the steps down onto the sandy beach littered with scraps of metal and broken glass bottles, Tony had never felt any more at home. Procuring a set of thick yellow gloves from backpack, he set about searching through the wreckage, carefully putting aside anything he deemed useful into a pile behind him. He worked diligently, taking his sweet time assessing every piece in his hand with the eyes of an expert technician.
The afternoon sun bore at the back of skin as he worked, sweat dripping down his temple as he took a moment to chug down a bottle of water. Admiring the view of the sparkling clear blue water several feet away, Tony mused on his luck on stumbling such a treasure trove during one of his afternoons walks about the city in an effort to get acquainted with his new surroundings.
Takoba beach park was located in a terribly bad neighborhood.
One where crimes were rampant enough that even most Pro Heroes were less inclined to patrol the area. Police presence was an all-too-common sight, and even now Tony spotted a pair of police officers patrolling the streets above him. By now, they were quite familiar with his presence here on the beach, though they would sometimes comment on the peculiarity of his interest in the junk littering the sparkling yellow sand.
And for anyone who was daring (and stupid) enough to try and rob a poor little kid like himself, they would quickly find themselves on the bad end of a well-aimed punch to the solar plexus.
Satisfied with today's findings, Tony packed the scraps into a loose tote bag. He would need to eventually purchase a wagon or something of similar usage if he wanted to carry anything heavier than a circuit board.
A gleam of metal caught his eye on the way out, and Tony pried out a 20th century Roomba still with its proper packings and encased in Styrofoam.
Tony grinned.
Jackpot.
Bundling up the product in his arms, Tony finally walked up the stairs to the streets above. He had already informed Inko that he would be arriving home late, so she wouldn't worry heedlessly for his safety. The path to the nearest metro was a good couple of streets away, and Tony minded his surroundings, taking special note of the boarded-up stores and homeless street bums sleeping on wet cardboard boxes. He imagined that this place was once a populated community, but once the beach had become a designated dumping ground, tourism quickly died, and businesses moved their revenues elsewhere to more profitable districts.
Even Pro-Heroes avoided the area like the plague.
Tossing a 100-yen coin into the empty can of a street bum with noticeable doglike heteromorphic features, Tony resolved to get the Takoba beach cleaned up to the best of his ability. If the beach was accessible again to the general public, tourism would rise, which in turn would drive interest from investors looking to invest in a potentially new market.
Of course, something must also be done with the rampant crimes and homelessness that permeated the deeper, seedier parts of the district, also known as Dagobah district, but it wouldn't be so easy as simply shuttling the homeless around to another part of the neighborhood to be all but forgotten about.
Lost in thought, Tony hadn't noticed he had wandered into an alleyway until the very last second, stumbling onto what he presumed was a drug exchange between two very shady looking people.
" Oi, what's this?" the first drawled out, blinking his beady black eyes down at Tony.
He was a giant of man, easily reaching the height of seven feet, possibly more. His arms were thick like tree trunks and packed with muscles, the ends of each of his fingers jagged like claws. "What do we have here?"
"Lookssss like a kid to me?" said the second one, a heteromorph with a reptilian-like head. Other than that, there was nothing else remarkable about him.
Swearing beneath his breath, Tony took a cautious step back and offered the two men his best charming smile.
"Don't mind me fellas," Tony replied, slowly inching his way back to the entrance. "I'm just a little kid trying to find his way back home to his mommy before it gets dark."
Meanwhile, he mentally assessed the situation before him. He could probably take down the snake dude with a couple of quick jabs to the chest, but the muscular man might be a problem.
Slitting his narrowish yellow eyes, the reptilian man took a step forward, forked tongue flickering out briefly from his mouth.
"We'll sssssee if that isssss true."
Cocking his tiny head from side to side, the muscular man suddenly eyed the Roomba cradled in Tony's arms with interest.
"What's that you go there, kid?" gesturing over at the machinery. "Some new fancy equipment or something?"
"Lookssss expensive," commented the other.
"I mean…I guess?" Tony shrugged, unsure if Roomba in this universe was considered an expensive home item or not. "But unless you want to steal some poor elementary school kid's science project, then I suggest you not bother."
The two men obviously took offense at that, and the tall one took a giant step forward, halving the distance between them in a matter of seconds to loom over Tony.
"You're so sure about that, uh, brat ?" He cracked his fingers, the muscles within his biceps budging grotesquely with throbbing veins that popped through his pale skin. "Why don't we find out, eh?"
Tony scowled, preparing for an evitable fight.
Just my luck…
"Oh ! There you are."
And just like the angels above, a knight in shining white armor appeared from behind him. It was a boy around his age, with short blond hair swept to the front around a slightly chubby oval face. He was lean and well-built, with dark almond eyes that stared at Tony worriedly as the boy briskly made his way over.
"I was looking for you," his savior said, a small delicate smile around his lips as he gripped tightly onto Tony's shoulder. The one with the burn mark but Tony scarcely made a sound of hurt. The boy squeezed, a gesture of reassurance as he continued to maintain strong eye contact. "It's getting late, you know. Don't want your parents getting worried now do we?"
Tony slowly nodded his head, relaxing his stiff taunt position beneath the boy's confident presence.
"Sorry about that," the blond boy chirped, directing his attention onto the pair of men who were staring at the newcomer with nothing but suspicion. The smile took on a sharp edge as he placed himself protectively in front of Tony. "My friend here gets pretty scattered brain easily."
"For sure," Tony finally chimed in, laughing light-heartedly. "Must be my quirk acting up again."
A big fat lie, but no one needed to know the whole truth.
"So…" once the laughter had died down, "We'll be on our way now."
His savior began to nudge Tony towards the exit, only to be stopped by a low growl emitting out in front of them. The taller man had moved, narrowing his black beady eyes at the two boys.
"Don't be so sure about that, brats."
Without any warning, the man lunged, one jagged hand growing three times wider in size as he closed in on Tony and the other boy with frightening speed for a man of his massive stature.
Barely having time to think let alone even breath, Tony could only watch in horror as the palm of the man's outstretched hand reached his face, barely grazing his cheek before something pale and furry struck the man off course. The attack made direct contact, sending said person flying toward a nearby garbage bin where he hit his noggin with a resounding solid crack.
In an instant, the man was out cold.
Blinking a few times as his lungs finally came back online, Tony followed the direction of the unconscious man over to the thing that had struck him down like a smooth criminal.
It was a tail.
A goddamn tail that had been conveniently hidden behind the blond boy before they were accosted.
"Seriously?" his savior huffed out, shifting his position to a familiar martial art stance as his tail flickered ominously from his rear. "You guys just couldn't leave us well alone?"
Tony was in love.
He caught movement from the corner of his eyes; the reptilian man who had been previously stunned by his companion's defeat, had decided to go on the offense, stretching his neck from afar with a jaw stretched wide open. Two tiny white fangs dripping with something like poison were clearly visible in his mouth.
"Duck!"
The blond boy listened, narrowly avoiding the Roomba that Tony had tossed like he had seen Captain America done plenty of times during their missions with his shield. It landed soundly onto the snake man's mouth, potentially breaking one of his fangs as he was tossed back a few feet away from them.
Still got it. A wide and victorious grin had spread across Tony's face. Eat your heart out, Capsicle.
He had no time to celebrate though as the other boy had grabbed onto his wrist, tugging Tony back toward the entrance of the alleyway for safety.
"Come on!" he urged, "We should go before they wake up."
Tony allowed himself to be dragged only to stop his feet partially near the end, suddenly remembering the Roomba he had left behind.
"Give me a sec."
He hurried over to the reptilian man who was thankfully out cold, with no broken fang in sight, which was good news since Tony didn't really want to seriously disfigure the guy. Prying the Roomba out from the man's slimy mouth, Tony took a quick second to assess the damage before returning back to his savior. He reached out to grip the other boy's hand.
"Now, we can go."
His savior only arched one of his thin brows as they briskly made their way out from the alleyway, leading Tony down to another street where there were more police hopefully present to report the two men for trying to attack them.
"Is that a… Roomba ?" the blond tail boy finally had asked, sending said machinery a second long glance.
Grinning brightly, Tony answered, voice all chippy like he was about to sell the boy a product of a lifetime, "Couldn't leave home without it."
The boy tried desperately to hide his snort only to fail spectacularly. The snort quickly morphed into laughter and the two were soon giggling like preteen school girls as they continued to walk hand in hand with the afternoon sun on their backs.
Ojiro Mashiro was the name of his knight in shining white armor.
He was around the same age as Tony, living somewhere in Tokyo with his mother, grandmother and baby little sister named Akasuki. His tail, long and hairless save for the very tip flanked by strands of blonde, happened to be his quirk, one that he didn't seem too particularly eager to discuss at length despite how insanely good he was with it.
Apparently, Ojiro also loved Martial Arts, practically living and breathing it every day in a Dojo that happened to be located near the Takoba Municipal Beach Park and was more than excited to find out that Tony himself had some experience with that particular fighting style, insisting that he also join the Dojo as a student which Tony readily accepted.
Hardworking, calm, and with a profound sense of duty and dignity, Ojiro was every bit the heart and soul of his dearest best friend, Rhodey, and Tony couldn't be happier to have met Ojiro Mashiro in this newfound life of his.
" Platypus ," Tony accidentally said one day when they were out by the beach sorting through the endless piles of rubbish and debris. "Come check this out."
After convincing his newest best friend to join him on an excursion to the junkyard at Dagobah Beach in an effort to clean out the whole mess, Ojiro had found an additional way to utilize the ample space to also help hone in his martial arts skills. Creating makeshift punching bags with the broken-down machinery, and using his giant tail to break down the objects apart into easily sizable pieces to carry and then place into their respective dumping bins for proper disposal.
Overall, Ojiro had thought of the cleanup as a noble cause and had been assisting Tony ever since.
So, when his best friend didn't appear automatically by his side a few moments later, Tony looked up from the pile of garbage he had been sorting through, a screwdriver in one of his hands. Ojiro was staring him down with an odd sort of expression, brows furrowed, and lips heavily pursed in deep thought.
"Ojiro?"
The boy quickly shook his head.
"Sorry," apologizing as he made his way over, navigating through the shaky terrain with an ease of a seasoned pro. Once he arrived, he bent down low at Tony's current height level, turning his attention onto the radiator Tony had been meticulously dismantling for a good part of an hour. "What did you want to show me?"
Narrowing his eyes, Tony wiped the oil stains on his gloves onto a nearby towel. One of the many things Ojiro had in common with Rhodey was (unfortunately for him) their sheer stubbornness in not admitting something was wrong until Tony pried it out from them with his bare hands.
He had to handle this delicately lest he struck a nerve and caused his best friend to double down.
"Nothing important at the moment," tossing the towel to the side.
Now facing the other boy, Tony carefully schooled his expression into something gentle and reassuring as to not spook his friend.
"Mind telling me what that was all about?"
At Ojiro's visible confusion, Tony explained his reasoning for the question.
"I called for you, and you kinda zoned out on me for a moment there."
The creases between Ojiro's brows suddenly deepened, and his tail swished back and forth behind him, telegraphing his growing anxiety unbeknownst to himself.
"Oh."
Clearly, his friend wasn't about to give him an answer, so Tony moved onto plan B.
"Look, I didn't mean any offense for calling you Platypus," he said softly, averting his gaze to the gentle waves of the ocean only a short distance away from them. "I meant it as a term of endearment since you remind me so much of a dear old friend. Someone I cherish till the end of time." An image of a smirking Rhodey appeared briefly in his head, and Tony couldn't stop himself from smiling. "I love him like a brother, and whenever I see you…I just think of how much you two would have gotten along swingingly."
Remembering bits and pieces of his previous life was never easy.
"So, if you would like me to not call you that, all you need to do is let me know and I won't ever do it again."
Ojiro was silent, not showing any visible response to the words save for another swish of his tail.
Eventually he spoke, breaking the silence of the crashing of oceanic waves and squeak of seagulls with the quiet somber tone of his deep voice.
"For a long time, people had referred to me as something other than Ojiro," he began, directing his attention onto Tony and Tony made sure to maintain strong eye contact, knowing that his best friend would appreciate the silent gesture. "I'm sure you know how people like me are treated in society. Heteromorphs is the current favored political term used to describe someone not quite human without demeaning them. But before all of that, before quirks were seen as the norm, demeaning words such as freaks, mutants, or even abominations, were used in the same way to demote us versus the rest of society."
Tony remained silent but had twisted his features in displeasure.
If being quirkless was considered a sin, being a heteromorphic was on whole another level of Dante's Inferno.
Openly treated either with fear or contempt, those with clearly visible mutant-like features were often viewed as inhuman with lower chances of gaining suitable future prospects in terms of their career or relationships compared to their more human counterparts.
At least Tony could pretend he had a quirk.
Someone like Ojiro, whose only heteromorphic trait was his giant furless tail would have a hard time finding potential jobs who weren't discriminatory against mutants (however illegal and unconstitutional that it was).
Even in the hero rankings, those with dominant heteromorphic traits such as Gang Orca or Ryukyu were mostly seen in a different sort of light and scrutinized harshly by the media.
Hell, as of recently, Gang Orca had even been nominated as fourth place in a highly popular teen magazine that was ranking Pro Heroes who happened to look like villains (unsurprisingly, Endeavor got second place).
Addressing said disparities had been such a difficult endeavor, one that had no clear-cut victories or much overwhelming support by politicians.
Ojiro blinked, and Tony caught a glistening tear appearing at the corner of one of his eyes.
"People had called me many things," he continued, breathing lightly accelerating as if he was back reliving in those horrible past memories, "Monkey was a popular one. Tailboy or Kangaroo was another, or even Plain Old Boring Ojiro ." That one was said so viciously that even the furry end of his tail had bristled like an enraged cat. "I'm just never seen as Ojiro Mashiro."
He rubbed his eyes.
"So, you can imagine my shock to hear you calling me Platypus out of the blue. I didn't know what to think."
Shaking his head, Ojiro clenched his hands as his gaze turned to the sandy ground.
"I thought that you wouldn't be like most people. That you would be different."
Tony reached over to hug his best friend.
They remain embraced like this for a very long moment, Tony pointedly ignoring the small hiccups emanating out from the young boy, and the wet stains on his t-shirt.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "If I had known, I wouldn't have said it."
Another hiccup, and Ojiro gradually shook his head once again.
"It's fine. I didn't expect you to know."
"Still."
Tony pulled away briefly, using his thumb to gently wipe away the tear stains, a light blush erupting over Ojiro's face from the simple kind gesture.
"I should have. After all, I know what it's like to be called names too."
Ojiro was well aware of his quirkless status.
It was one of the reasons they had bonded so quickly, as Ojiro's mother had no quirk of her own save for a tiny vestigial tail that was only there for cosmetic purposes.
Closing his eyes once more again, Ojiro leaned his head against the curvature of Tony's right shoulder, his breathing evening out to a steady quiet lull that synced in time with the arrival of crashing waves.
"That's true, Midoriya."
They decided to take a short break right afterwards, and using their combined merger pool of money, were able to purchase a couple of chicken sandwiches and sweets from a nearby local 7/11. The poor teen cashier manning the front had taken absolute pity on them and had given them some day-old pork buns for free alongside with their food.
Together, they eat their lunch on top of the staircase leading down to the beach, admiring their work so far as they eat. Much still needed to be done, but already there was a noticeable size of garbage removed from the beach and into the nearest dumpster bins. Tony estimated that it would take more than a year or so to completely clean the beach with just him and Ojiro alone.
Maybe they should spread the word and get more people on board to help them out.
Lost in thought on envisioning a machine to break down metal into efficient energy, he hadn't noticed his friend nudging him lightly on the shoulder.
"Midoriya?"
Tony turned to face his friend, swallowing a bite of his chicken sandwich.
"What's up?"
The nearly hairless tail behind Ojiro's back swished in response, and his best friend chewed on the bottom of his lips.
"I…"
Then shook his head as if not wanting to continue finishing that sentence.
"Do you also want to be a hero?" he asked instead.
Out of all the things they had talked about throughout their time together, heroics was surprisingly not one of them. Whether it was because of Tony's quirklessness or Ojiro's lack of interest to discuss his own quirk, the topic never really came up in their conversations.
Odd, now that Tony thought more about it, given how many kids his age would talk about the Pro Heroes in Japan like they were the second coming of Jesus.
Taking his time drinking his iced green tea, Tony stared past the beach and to the horizon where the setting sun was ablaze in a glory of red and orange. He remembered his past life as Iron Man, all the glitz and fame he had in the beginning before he started to see the repercussions of his actions. All the deaths he had witnessed, all the destruction his inventions had caused to millions, how humanity had almost sunk into an apocalypse right after the BLIP had happened.
And yet, humanity remained steadfastly resilient.
He saw people from all walks of life come together to support one another through the difficult five year period, saw the world cheer as he and the rest of the Avengers defeated Thanos once and for all.
A grin warmed its way across his face as Tony answered the question with a resolute, "Yes, I do want to become a hero."
When he turned to face his friend again, Ojiro's dark eyes had widened for a fraction more than usual, his tail twitching in response to his declaration for a lifetime of heroism.
"So, do I," he responded back, quiet but certain of the possibility in the way that he spoke. The corners of his lips drooped ever so slightly as Ojiro then released a soft sigh into the air. "But according to most of my classmates, my quirk isn't something useful for heroics or rescue. It's nothing flashy compared to other people's quirk, and some consider the fact that having a tail as my only quirk is lame…"
"That's not true even in the slightest bit."
His best friend blinked, unable to come up with a proper response to that so Tony continued with speaking, listing out his reasoning as to why Ojiro's quirk was anything but useless.
"For one," using his fingers to list them all out one at a time, "you saved me with just your tail alone. Many people would expect a person to fight with only their fists or feet, but never a god-damn tail."
That earned him a tiny squeak from Ojiro and Tony resisted celebrating with a grin.
"Two, you took it upon yourself to help me out even though we were complete strangers at the time. How many people can say that they're willing to help and actually mean it?"
The wrinkles between Ojiro's brows grew in contemplation.
"And three–" Here, Tony really smiled, giving his best friend a wink as well. "You can't say you're not a hero when I already think you are one for saving me."
A light blush darkened Ojiro's pale skin tone as he swiftly averted his gaze away in embarrassment.
"I…"
He coughed.
"I see."
Once he gathered his composure back again, Ojiro returned his attention back over to Tony, a hesitant but small smile gracing part of his features.
"Thank you," he said with clear open honesty, his tail curling around Tony's frame as an unspoken gesture of his appreciation. "No one had ever said anything like that to me before…"
"Well, that's their loss."
Chuckling, Ojiro seemed inclined to agree for once.
They remained together in companionable silence, enjoying the rest of their food and tossing some of the leftovers over to a pack of seagulls that had been steadily eyeing them for some time now, ready to swoop in.
Declaring that it was finally time to leave as it was getting pretty late, Tony walked Ojiro to the nearest train station that would take him back home to Tokyo. He didn't mind the added waiting time as they sat next to each other on a bench beside a sleeping overworked salaryman.
"Midoriya–"
"Izuku," Tony interrupted, aiming a friendly grin toward his friend, hoping to not come off as rude for cutting off whatever he was about to say. "I would prefer it if all my friends called me Izuku from now on."
Blinking, Ojiro slowly curled his tail into a question mark.
"Okay," he said, then paused as if trying to process the whole idea of calling someone he had only known for a little while by their first name. Japan had certain protocols and etiquette when it came to addressing someone of a certain status, older or younger, and Tony was quite honestly too tired to bother with all the semantics of it at times. "I think you can still call me Ojiro for now."
A synthesized male voice suddenly spoke out from above, alerting them that the train for Tokyo will be arriving shortly and Ojiro stood up from his seat, stuffing his hands into the front of his pockets.
As the train began to make its approach to the station, his friend abruptly turned around and pulled Tony into a bone-crushing hug, his huge tail wrapping around them both like an adorable cuddly anaconda.
"Oh," Tony said, voice slightly muffled into Ojiro's jacket that smelled like green tea, body spray and sweat.
He could get used to this.
"Thank you," Ojiro said again, before pulling away. There was a smile on his face, brighter and more precious than before that it could rival any precious metal in the world. Even outranking Vibranium. "And I also don't mind you calling me Platypus as well…Izuku-kun ."
Matching his best friend's smile, Tony pulled him back into another big hug just as the train doors opened up to let out its weary passengers and make room for new ones.
"Sounds good to me, Platypus ."
The Musutafu Central Library was in dire need of an extreme overhaul.
Books from God knows where lined the dusty shelves, arranged in no particular order as Tony scanned for any potential rare finds to include in his cart. He was currently in the Technology and Computer section, though that was more of a nominally title than the entire truth.
Hardly anything published past the last decade or so existed within these bookshelves and Tony was at his wits end trying to find anything substantial. The books he already had in his cart were alright, but he wanted to be absolutely sure that his next big project won't run into any issues.
Fed up by this point, and vowing to write a strongly worded letter to his local councilman for better resources for children in low-income neighborhoods, Tony made his way over to the front desk.
"That sure is a lot of books," the librarian, a middle aged woman with swirling pink hazel hair, commented almost absentmindedly as she scanned his stuff one by one with a scanner. "Aiming to be a software developer or something?"
"Maybe," Tony answered with a shrug while giving her a deceptively innocent grin. "Preferably, I would like to get a cushy job as a hacker of some sorts, you know? Cracking through highly secured governmental computers and storing all of my money in an off-shore bank in Switzerland. Really depends on how I feel today."
He had remembered the immense joy that he had when he had easily broken through the Pentagon's firewall back in high school on a triple doggy dare. The horrified expression on his father's face when the FBI had come knocking on their front door was absolutely priceless to witness firsthand.
Flabbergasted, the librarian quickly scanned the rest of his books without another word.
It was halfway through the Summer Break that Tony was finally able to complete the first of his many many projects.
Booting up the machinery, he waited as the battery light grew from red to green, a small single beep indicating that it was up and running. The Roomba, now converted into a part cleaning machine, part house security, let out a whirl of excitement as it zipped through Tony's bedroom. It had been given a fresh new coat of paint, with the top surface painted a deep brown. Feeling extra devious, he had included a pair of googly eyes and thick cardboard cutout of a unibrow.
"Hello," the Roomba, chirped from a hidden speaker as it made its way back over to him, "What is my purpose?"
Beaming with satisfaction, Tony said in a jovial voice, "Your purpose is to clean shit up, and take out any unwanted trash."
The Roomba beeped twice, indicating that it understood its new objective. It began to sweep the floor, a dustpan and brush appearing out within its tiny body as it cleaned up the tiny scraps of paper and empty soda cans that Tony had strategically placed all around his room to test the full capabilities of the Roomba.
It successfully completed its current goal in a matter of minutes (actually six and a half as Tony had used a stopper to keep track of the time), and zoomed its way back over to him, eagerly awaiting for its next set of directions.
Giving it a friendly pat on its head, Tony shook his head, having none at the moment for it.
"That's it for now. Good job…"
Tony's grin widened as he settled on a suitable name for the machinery.
"GOOMBA. "
Later that day, he made sure to introduce Inko to the wonders of owning a fully operated non remote controlled Roomba.
He completed his next project near the end of Summer Break, just as Fall began to settle over the city of Musutafu, chilling the air, and shifting the once vibrant colors of the trees into an array of red, orange and dull brown.
Tony had holed himself for the better part of each day in the study room, spending long hours with an achingly bad sitting posture, as he wrote hundreds and hundreds of intricate (and very complex) strings of codes into a Machine Learning Model he had found for free somewhere off the internet.
No way was he about to pay over a thousand yen a month for some ripoff Chat GPT site.
It was the last weekend before school started again, and Tony was once again back in the study room typing away the last few sets of codes onto the Model. The weather outside was a balmy 25 degrees Celsius and the heat generated by the monitors overworking themselves silly was contributing to rising temperature inside the room to the point where Inko had allowed him to use the central air conditioning for a little bit as to not overheat.
Cooled and refreshed from a nice glass of ice-cold green tea (courtesy of Inko), Tony reviewed his work one more time before clicking the enter button to process the entire sequences of codes.
It took some time, more than an hour or so, and Tony spent it by checking on the rest of his projects, occasionally going back to the software program to ensure that everything was going well. His online friend, Mindjack2000 hasn't been online for quite some time since they had last spoken and he was genuinely worried that something terrible had happened to them.
Sending another unread message asking if they were alright, Tony scrolled through the list of his online friends. Most of them were either offline or playing a game as was indicated on their status, and Tony messaged a few of the list here and there that were open to chat.
One of them responded back almost immediately.
MudMan : Yo @AllMightJR ! How are you?
With a wide grin, Tony answered his friend with a series of text explaining his latest project to the enthusiasm of his online friend. Mudman, only known by his aliases and very cute avatar of a giant gray and white bear plushie called Totoro, was another constant companion Tony had found on a random hero forum for the Wild Wild Pussycats of all places.
Said person was greatly interested in becoming one, and had been steadily training himself to take not only the general Yueei Hero Entrance Exam but also its Recommendation Exam as well–a particularly difficult set of exams for those who wanted a direct and early access for one of the coveted hero courses' seats in Yueei High.
Like the general exam, anything pertaining to the Recommendation one was also shrouded deep in mystery.
Wishing Mudman the best of luck, Tony hoped for a chance to meet said online friend in person someday when it came time to enter High School. The idea of trying out the Recommendation exam was extremely tempting, but Tony was unsure on how to proceed on the first main requirement: a sponsorship by either a registered Pro Hero or an Academic Institute of high social standing.
There were only so few people in the world today who would take a chance upon a poor quirkless kid like himself.
By the time they had finished their lively conversation, the Machine Learning Model was ready and Tony bid his friend a goodbye before checking it out.
He grabbed the headphones, breathing in deeply as he adjusted it over his ears.
With the mic leveled to his mouth, Tony asked, a"Hello?" into the plastic foam and waited.
Moments passed, tentative and slow, and Tony stirred restless in his seat, waiting for some sort of response back.
Just as he was about ready to give up and go back to the drawing board, another voice, one that was unmistakably British and male, emanated out to him from the speakers of the computer.
"Good evening, Sir," the voice answered, and Tony nearly cried.
He couldn't believe it.
"Hey."
Teardrops formed around the edges of his eyes, but Tony was too overwhelmed by emotions to even notice it. He reached out to touch the computer screen, warm and positively beaming with life beneath the pads of his fingertips.
"Nice to see you again, J.A.R.V.I.S. "
He smiled.
My dear old friend.