"I consulted with Recovery Girl when I was coming up with your training regiment," All Might clarified.
"Oh. Okay, but what does that have to do with me being misdiagnosed?"
Recovery Girl tapped her cane a few times on the ground, "I think you were born with both Psychokinesis and fire breath. Or to put it a better way, your Quirk had both of these abilities at the start."
Izuku scratched his head, "But people can't have two Quirks…er… naturally I mean."
"Technically that's correct, but remember your classmate Todoroki. He can produce fire and ice. At a glance it looks like he has two Quirks but it's really one Quirk."
Fire from his father and ice from his mother, Izuku thought to himself.
"But I only had my Psychokinesis growing up."
"Quirks take time to fully develop and our understanding of them is still not an exact science. If you initially only showed signs of Psychokinesis and then got diagnosed that would be the only one you thought you had. After that, I doubt you ever tried to mimic your father's Quirk, and you also started to use your own Quirk less and less because of your bullying. All of these factors could have led to you completely suppressing your fire breath up until last night. One for All could have given that part of you a shot in the arm and forced it to activate."
Gran Torino rubbed his beard, "Back in the early days of Quirks, people thought that a person's Quirk was triggered when they were under a great amount of stress or in danger. There are documented cases of this too, though nowadays Quirks usually activate when people get to a certain age. But considering the situation you were in... Getting taken away like that..."
Izuku shuddered at the memory, "It wasn't just that. That Nomu was strangling Uraraka. It was killing her, and I couldn't do anything. I couldn't focus to use my Psychokinesis, and my body was shattered so I couldn't use One for All. All I could do was… scream at the thing."
"You were pushed to a point where the only thing you could do was act in a way that would trigger your fire breath."
Izuku sat and thought about it, "I don't think my father could have made as much fire as I did, though. One for All must have been boosting it."
"Perhaps. You used to think your Quirk was a more powerful version of your mother's. Even before our training, you used it against that Slime Villain in a way that was beyond what you thought you could. Perhaps this was another example of that, just with your fire. It's possible you have a more powerful version of both of their Quirks. We won't know until we start training this new ability of yours."
"I'd add that there are a few other things I've noticed about you that lends itself to this theory of mine. After spitting out so much fire, you were overheated and had multiple burns both outside and inside, but they weren't as bad as one would expect. Your body has some kind of resistance to heat and flame. And considering how you were still able to fight in the sports festival, even while facing Bakugou's explosions and Todoroki's fire, this resistance might have already been in play. Of course, you could also be too stubborn for your own good...but we'll get into that after we finish with this topic."
Izuku blinked at the rather chilly tone of Recovery Girl's voice at the end of that statement, Well that's foreboding.
"So what's your other theory then?" asked Gran Torino.
Recovery Girl sighed, "This one's a little more tricky. Midoriya's Quirk could have gone through an awakening."
All Might raised an eyebrow at that, "A Quirk Awakening is a rare occurrence."
"True, but considering what Midoriya just described, it does fit the documented cases. If certain catalysts are met, say a moment of extreme danger and helplessness, Quirks have been known to spontaneously evolve becoming stronger or even gaining aspects that they didn't have before."
Izuku frowned. He was aware of the phenomenon but he wasn't sure it fit, "but the two things don't really have anything to do with each other."
Recovery Girl nodded, "Your Quirk awakened in a way that gave you the ability to save Uraraka. I think you awakened your fire breath because you had the potential to have it."
"Eh?"
"Dominate and recessive genes. The genetics you got from your parents. Some will be dominant over others. This determines things like hair color. Eyes and the shape of your ears. Well, you also got the genes to have either Quirk. Your mother's Quirk became the dominant one, but you still carried the potential to breathe fire in your genes. When you went through your awakening, your Quirk awakened those recessive traits, and your Quirk developed the ability to breathe fire."
Izuku blinked a few times stunned, "Can Quirks do that? Be that selective?"
All Might tapped his chin, "Of the cases of Quirk Awakening I'm aware of, the person's Quirk changed in a way that suited the situation they were in. It's not always the case, but that's the overall trend."
"...Quirks are weird," Izuku said with a sigh. "So either my Quirk always had fire mixed into it, or it awakened and added that trait. I suppose those can work as good excuses."
Recovery Girl agreed, "I've also spoken with Principal Nezu on the subject. He'll inform the teachers on what they'll need to know. So you don't have to worry about that. He did say he has a name ready for it for the Quirk registry. Unless you have any objections to that."
"Just call it Fire Breath and be done with it," Gran Torino said with a wave of his hand, "No need to worry about that."
"Blech."
The three grownups all turned to look at Izuku. Surprised that such a childish sound came from him. Even Izuku seemed surprised that he voiced that opinion out loud, "Er…"
"I take it you have an opinion on that." All Might said with a chuckle.
Izuku rubbed his neck, embarrassed, "I mean… that's such a boring name."
"Ha ha ha!" All Might laughed while Recovery Girl shook her head muttering about a couple of silly children.
Gran Torino rolled his eyes, "Really kid? That's the only reason you can come up with?"
"Well… It's also the name my father uses." Izuku said while trying not to show his distaste too much, "But I think this is like with my Mom. While my Quirk is similar to hers, it's different enough that it got its own name. So the same should apply with my father."
"And what's so different about yours?"
"Mine is green." The looks he got for that answer made him stutter out a second reason, "AND! And mine is stronger."
"Fine, fine. Let's see what Principal Nezu was going to call it?" Recovery Girl said as she leafed through some papers, "Ah here we go. Boric Pyre."
"Boric?" All Might scratched his head at that, "Um, what's that?"
"Boric acid is a chemical that, when it's ignited, makes a green flame," Izuku answered matter-of-factly. He blinked at All Might's blank stare, "My favorite color is green. I kinda know everything about it."
All Might decided not to question that.
"Pyre, huh? Nezu has a dark sense of humor," Torino said. Recalling how Izuku almost immolated the Nomu that was carrying him away.
Izuku scratched his chin, "It sounds cool, though. Yeah, I like it."
"If that's settled, I think we should move on to how we're going to explain the other stuff that happened last night," Gran Torino said. "Unless we also want to go with the Quirk Awakening theory."
All Might shook his head, "I doubt we would be able to get away with that. The fire at least has some kind of logic behind it. No matter what theory you go with. Suddenly having super strength however… It would be best if we could come up with something that didn't go down the line of a new Quirk. That would put people too close to learning about One for All, I think."
"Actually, All Might," Izuku cut in, "I've been thinking about it, and I think I have an answer for that part."
"Oh? Let's hear it then."
"I could say that the strength is from a new super move I've been working on. A new way to apply my Quirk to my body. Tactile Psychokinesis."
"Isn't that supposed to be Tactile Telekinesis?" Gran Torino asked.
Izuku shook his head, "No. Psychokinesis sounds better than telekinesis. So it's Tactile Psychokinesis."
Gran Torino groaned. Covering his face with a hand, "I swear to god…"
"Anyway!" Izuku continued on. Being kind enough not to mention that Gran Torino wouldn't know anything about coolness since he wears an oversize yellow blanket as a cape, "I could say that I've been trying to figure out a way to better emulate All Might's moves. I already have my Delaware Smash, but I wanted to incorporate All Might's Smashes with my physical attacks. So I worked on a theory. What if I focused my Psychokinesis inside my body? Used my power to move my body. Normally, there are a couple of things that weaken my quirk: trying to use it on a person and distance. While using it on myself on the outside is still hard, if I keep the power inside I could say I've negated the distance issue to its absolute minimum."
All Might thought it over, "Technically Tactile Telekinesis,"Izuku grumbled Psychokinesis but was ignored, "is a power where a person uses their psychic powers through physical contact. It simulates things like flight, super strength and speed since it's still not their own muscles doing the work but their mind."
"Hmm, so you can explain One for All away as just a new way to use your own Quirk. Not a bad idea, kid."
"If that's the story we're going to go with, I'll let Nezu know as well." Recovery Girl said with a nod. "The last thing would be explaining how you were able to rip apart a whole street with your mind, but in this case I think we can chalk that up to simple hysterical strength."
Izuku didn't have any issue with that idea, "yeah, that could work. It's not that far from the truth really. I kinda just let loose at that point. Was more concerned with getting Stain away from my friends than anything else."
"Clearly," cCame Recovery Girl's icy reply. "Now that all the distractions are out of the way, we can talk about what's actually important."
"But, um, isn't coming up with plausible stories to explain…" Izuku trailed off when Recovery Girl glared at him. She then turned her icy stare at All Might and Gran Torino making sure that all three were giving her their undivided attention.
"Midoriya, I want you to look at something," Recovery Girl said as she pulled out a large envelope from the folder and opened it. Walking over to the medical light box, Recovery Girl took out a medical slide and stuck it onto the box, before turning on the light. Illuminating the photo that everyone recognized as an MRI of someone's brain. When Izuku saw his name at the bottom corner of the image, he suddenly didn't want to be in the room anymore.
"I'm going to guess you know what this is?" Recovery Girl asked.
Izuku nodded, "That's a scan of my brain… Can I have a copy? I'd like proof for Uraraka that I have…" A withering stare stopped Izuku's nervous joke dead in its tracks. It was quickly becoming obvious to everyone that Recovery Girl was not in the mood for games.
"This is a scan of your brain right after your entrance exam. Do you remember why I had to take this?"
Izuku shifted nervously in his seat, "Because I got a concussion after taking out the zero pointer."
"There was also the fact you were bleeding out of your nose like a leaking faucet, but you're right. Fortunately for you, I was able to fix you up just fine. This is a good, healthy-looking brain. No medical issues. You made a complete recovery from your concussion." Recovery Girl then added, "Do you remember what I told you when you were leaving?"
"That you didn't want to see me in your office again."
"Correct." Recovery Girl then pulled out another scan and slapped it besides the first, "These are scans of your brain after the USJ attack and when I had you come in for a checkup." Recovery Girl pointed to the first of the two, "Notice these dark areas, these indicate trauma that was still present even after my initial healing of you."
"My head did get a little smashed up that day." Izuku didn't like to think about that day all too much.
"Yes it did, you're lucky to be alive. Answer me honestly, how much of that day do you actually remember?"
Scratching his hair, Izuku thought back and frowned, "Most of it, I think. The start of the attack, but after I got out of the Ruin Zone… it's pretty foggy. I see images, but…" Izuku shrugged, "I know enough to know what happened to me at least."
"Memory loss is common with brain injuries like that. However, if you look at the second image," Recovery Girl motioned to the same areas where the dark spots had been in the first. They weren't there anymore, "You were able to heal on your own after I worked on you and returned back to normal."
Recovery Girl then pulled out two more scans and stuck them on and pointed at the first one, "You. Right after the Sports Festival. What do you see?"
"Um," Izuku frowned and shifted in his seat some more, "More dark spots." While not as bad as the scan after being hit by the Nomu, there were still plenty.
"That's right, and this time you did these to yourself. After you pushed yourself beyond your limits multiple times and hid the signs you were in trouble."
Not liking how angry Recovery Girl sounded, Izuku quickly looked to the next scan, which he guessed was the check up he had after the long weekend, "But look. The dark areas are gone So that means I healed up again. You fixed me up real good."
Recovery Girl stayed silent before she pulled out one last scan and put it up for everyone to see. Izuku blinked, not really sure what he was looking at.
"You were already getting treated by the local staff here for the trauma to your body by the time I arrived and worked on Toga. I used my Quirk on you before any MRI's could be run. God only knows what we would have seen, but I can take a very good guess. Especially after this last scan."
All Might frowned, "This would have been taken yesterday afternoon correct?"
"That's right. You'll take one again before you leave, but I don't imagine it'll change much. You were pretty much all healed up at that point. Besides some soreness and weakness in your limbs."
"Recovery Girl. What are those?" Izuku asked, pointing up at the last scan, "Was there something wrong with the machine or?"
Recovery Girl pointed to one of the few white marks on the scan. There were only a couple but against the rest of the image they stood out in sharp contrast, "You mean these? It's not a mistake with the image. These are cerebral scars."
The room got very quiet after that. Izuku stared at the scan in a daze only vaguely aware of what was around him. He felt dizzy, "Does this… does this have anything to do with those tests the doctors had me do yesterday?"
"Those were mortar and cognizant tests," Recovery Girl clarified.
"How bad is he hurt?"
"After studying the scans and from the results of the tests, the scarring appears superficial. However, I need to make this clear, you've caused damage to your brain that isn't ever going to fully heal. You were already beginning to hurt yourself by ignoring your body's own warning signs and overusing your Quirk. Now you have One for All added on top of it and the first time you used it, you hurt yourself in a way that is not going to heal! Scars don't heal."
"Recovery Girl, I'm sure that-"
"Oh, you don't get to say a word now. Not after the stunt you pulled." All Might stopped while Recovery Girl then looked at Gran Torino, "And that goes for you, too. The sheer recklessness the two of you committed staggers belief. What were you thinking, taking him to Hosu City?"
All Might straightened up as he spoke, "The Hero Commission requested I be in the city. It was supposed to be a quick stop. The ride to and from should have lasted longer than the actual stay. I figured Young Midoriya would get some good experience watching me work. I couldn't have known the city was going to be attacked."
"Also, the kid is way stronger than Toshinori was after he got One for All. The gap is crazy. If I knew how One for All was going to react to the kid, I would have moved us to the country to do this internship. Away from buildings and people," Gran Torino added. "A lot of crap happened last night that no one could have seen coming. We were going off what we knew from decades ago. And the kid wasn't exactly in a situation where he could try out his new Quirk safely."
Recovery Girl shook her head, "You two can't afford to make these kinds of mistakes. You both have a responsibility to do better. This boy needs you to do better. After everything he's done. After he's made all the wrong choices, you have to get this fixed."
Izuku's head snapped up and a deep frown crossed his face.
"I understand. Believe me, I understand. I'm just so grateful you've been here to help fix everything."
"That… may not be the case for much longer." All Might tilted his head to the side, confused by Recovery Girl's statement. "This pattern I'm seeing. It needs to stop. Midoriya gets himself hurt, and it's just assumed he'll be fine because I'm there to heal him… That's not something I'm comfortable with,Toshinori. He acts like his actions have no consequences because they haven't yet, because of me."
Gran Torino watched Recovery Girl carefully, "What exactly are you saying, Shuuzenji?"
"I'm saying that if you two can't get Midoriya to stop making these horrible, stupid decisions, then I might have to…" Recovery Girl looked pale at what she was about to say, "Then I'll have to ensure that there are consequences…. I won't heal him again."
"Shuuzenji!"
"Recovery Girl, please, that's too far!"
Recovery Girl hit her cane against the floor, "Then make sure it doesn't come to that! Do your jobs as teachers, as mentors and as people that knew Nana, for god's sake! This is her legacy you two are responsible for! And I can not continue to use my Quirk on someone that isn't learning to take care of themselves. If that means he has to heal without me, then that's what I'll be forced to do because I will not become part of that kind of self destructive cycle."
The three heroes were so caught up in their talk, they had neglected to notice that Izuku was still in the room with them, listening to everything. Izuku sat and listened to Recovery Girl until he couldn't stay silent any longer. His voice carried more frustration than he intended, but once he started, everything that had been built up came crashing out, "I haven't done anything wrong!"
Everyone stopped and turned to look at Izuku as he kept going. His eyes blazing, "Aizawa-sensei says I'm wrong. The Chief of Police says I'm wrong. Sir Nighteye says I'm wrong. Now you say I'm wrong, too. Tell me, tell me exactly what I've done wrong!"
"Young Midoriya, hold on a second," All Might was alarmed. He had never heard Izuku talk like this.
Recovery Girl was also startled but she recovered quickly, "Young man, do you really need me to tell you you were wrong to fight all those villains?"
Izuku's face twisted as his frustration morphed into anger, "WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?! If I did nothing, then Stain would have killed my friends. If I did nothing, then the League of Villains would have killed my friends. If I did nothing, then that slime villain would have killed Kacchan! Every time, either there was no one there to help or no one that would help. If you're telling me, if you all are telling me, that I should have done nothing...then I refuse to listen to you! If someone is in trouble, I won't stand by and do nothing! I can't! Heroes are supposed to save people! I refuse to do anything less than that!"
Izuku let himself go limp, falling into his chair as he breathed heavily. He had just let out a great deal of frustration and needed a chance to catch his breath. While Izuku did, All Might flinched hard. Aizawa's warning and reprimand ringing in his ears.
"Of all the irresponsible, asinine, and just plain stupid things you could have done. You didn't nip that behavior in the bud; no, you reinforced it. You, the greatest hero, told a young child, that, by your own admission, probably did not view himself as having much worth, that his reckless self-endangerment was heroic and then you rewarded him!?"
"Today was not an exception; it was part of a pattern."
Shit.
"I don't know."
It took everyone in the room a second to realize that Recovery Girl had spoken. Her voice was soft and perhaps for the first time in recent memory, she sounded her age, "I don't know what to tell you. All I know is that this is wrong. You are a child who shouldn't be forced to make these kinds of decisions. And if we are at the point where you have to… then something has gone horribly, terribly wrong… Midoriya," hearing his name, Izuku looked back up, "It's obvious you put others above yourself. You think of them first and foremost because saving lives is important to you. Because you know their lives are important. I understand that feeling. As a hero and a doctor saving others matters. But you have to remember something."
Izuku, while most of his frustration had been spent, he still had enough to answer with a tart, "What?"
"That you are important too. That there are others out there that view you the same way you view them. That see youas important."
"Here's to Tenya and Shouto. Two lucky bastards that get to go home while we are stuck here in this hospital with nothing to do," Himiko raised her juice box, filled with real juice, in a mock toast towards her friends. Her voice was dripping with so much sarcasm that it was a small wonder no one was washed away in the deluge.
Ochako smirked, "I'm leaving tomorrow. If Miruko was able to handle a little paper work I'd be gone today. She really needs to get organiz-" Himiko's juice box, after getting sucked dry, promptly smacked Ochako in the face, "Hey!"
"Traitors will be silent!"
After being the last of the group to finish his checkup, Izuku and co. had met up to have lunch. Midnight, sensing that being cooped up inside the hospital was making the kids antsy, was able to pull some strings and set up a small table out on the hospital's roof so the group could enjoy some nice weather while they ate and hung out. While she and Aizawa were on guard duty, they kept their distance so the group could enjoy themselves without the adults breathing down their necks.
"I'm glad you're going to be able to finish out your internship, Uraraka," Izuku said with a smile, "I think I'm going to be up here for another couple of days."
"Oof," Ochako winced in sympany, "Why's that?"
Izuku groaned, "Because Recovery Girl wants to make sureI'm all healed up. I think she's just punishing me or something."
Tenya's hand chopped through the air quickly as he spoke up, "Midoriya! Recovery Girl is an esteemed doctor and member of the U.A. staff. If she feels you require an extra day to rest to fully recover, then you would be wise to listen to her and not complain."
Izuku wasn't convinced. He was sure Recovery Girl was keeping him here just to make sure he couldn't go running off with All Might, who seemed to be in the doctor's dog house. Of course, he couldn't say this out loud, so he just shrugged and went back to his lunch.
Ochako elbowed him, "Hey, I'd say having to spend a couple of days here is getting off light after the stunt you pulled."
"Hey!" Izuku cried in shock, "You can't hold anything that happened last night against me since it technically never happened."
"It's also very hypocritical of you to use Midoriya's actions against him, Uraraka," Shouto said evenly, "Considering that after we got his text and put together what might be happening, you started running even faster."
"Eep!"
Himiko smirked, "You know, you're not as guilt free as you like to act, Ochako. You've run into just as many dangerous situations as Izuku has."
Izuku blinked a few times, "Hey…" as he started to think about that, "Hey! You're right!"
Ochako gulped at the sudden turn of events, "There is a huge difference! I ran into dangerous situations to pull this boy's butt out of the fire."
Izuku crossed his arms and pouted, "That's what I was doing with Iida!" Izuku then puffed up and pointed at himself, "I was worried he was getting into trouble so I went looking for him."
Shouto rubbed his chin, "How did you find Iida and Toga anyway? I can't imagine you were just running around at random."
Izuku's confidence vanished instantly and he deflated back down, humming to himself, "This is a really nice lunch Midnight-sensei was able to put together for us, don't you think?"
"Deeeekuuuuuu," Ochako narrowed her eyes at Izuku while the boy started to sweat.
Poking his fingers together, Izuku mumbled an answer. The group leaned forward while the glare and raised eyebrow form Ochako made it clear he wasn't going to get away with that kind of response, "I...went looking for Iida where I thought Stain would be."
Ochako glared at Izuku, who tried inching away from her, but Himiko scooted over from his other side and cut off his escape, "take your lumps, Hero," she said with a chuckle.
Desperate to change the topic and focus attention off himself, Izuku looked over at Tenya and focused on the first thing that stood out to him, "O,h Iida! How did your last check up go? I guess everything's fine since you're getting released. I was worried since you got stabbed. But the bandages are off your arms now."
Tenya stopped eating and looked down at his arm, "I have been cleared to go home, yes, but… I was informed of a complication." Everyone stopped and looked at him. Realizing he had caused a sudden drop in the mood, Tenya smiled and held up his hands, "It's nothing overly serious, so please don't worry like that. One of the stab wounds caused some ligament and nerve damage. As a result, I have a slight loss of dexterity and some numbness in my fingers." He flexed his hand a few times, "I was informed that the damage is reversible with some surgery, and that the procedure is not even invasive."
"Well, that's good at least," Ochako said with a sigh of relief, "So is there a reason you're not doing it here? Does your family want to use their own doctor or something?"
Tenya shook his head, "I've elected to wait to get the procedure." Tenya saw the confused looks on his friends faces and explained, "You see, I got this wound because I acted in a shameful manner. I was anything but heroic. As such, until I've made up for my mistakes and am sure I will not repeat them once I'm a hero, I'll keep this wound as a reminder to never waver from the path I've chosen as a hero. To be like my brother."
Izuku and Shouto looked at Tenya solemnly. Shouto unconsciously scratched at his scar on his face while Izuku tried very hard not to think of the white spots on his MRI. While neither boy looked ready to say anything about Tenya's decision, Himiko and Ochako both weren't of the same mind, "No offense but that makes no sense to me," Himiko said. "So to make up for being a bad hero, you're going to intentionally make it harder to become a good hero?"
Tenya blinked, "It's not as big a deal as you think it is. As I said, the effect is only a slight loss of feeling and use of my fingers."
"But it's still a handicap. I get you like to kick, but what if you have to use that hand and it being weak costs you?"
"I…"
Ochako cut in, "I agree with Toga. I get what you're trying to do, Iida. You made a mistake, and I bet everything getting pushed under the rug doesn't really sit right with you. So you're trying to come up with a way to punish yourself." Tenya shifted in his seat as Ochako practically hit the nail on the head. "Iida, if you want to make up for what you did, do it through your actions going forward. Not through inaction. Which is the only thing having a hurt hand will give you."
Tenya sat silently, pondering over what Ochako and Himiko had said. He had been so sure he was doing the right thing, but perhaps he needed to rethink his course of action. After all, he got into this mess because he had tried to handle everything himself and cut off his friends, "I will… talk with my family on the matter. I'm sure my brother would also have opinions on the subject."
Ochako and Himiko both seemed satisfied with that.
"So you're going back home then and not continuing to train with Manual?" Izuku asked.
"Manual suggested I take the rest of my internship and spend it with my family. Give my body and soul a chance to heal."
Himiko nodded with a hum of approval, "For a guy called the Normal Hero, he gives pretty good advice."
"He also offered to continue with Toga's internship if she wanted, though the teachers said it would be best that she remain under U.A.'s watch until things calm down. It shows he is a hero of good character to want to continue training you Toga."
Himiko waved Tenya off, "Yeah, yeah, he's one of the good ones. Hey, what about you Shouto? You going home or back to work?"
"I will be returning with my father to his agency. I wasn't injured during the fight, so there is no reason for my time to be cut short. Also," the group swore the air around them got a little chilly, "After getting dragged into the Stain cover up, I'm sure he will be in a rotten mood having to share credit with All Might. I want to be there to see that eat him up for myself."
Shouto's group of friends all stared at him and at the same time all thought the same thing.
Wow! Shouto is petty. That's awesome.
Damn Todoroki, you're fucking cold.
Note to self, Todoroki holds a grudge.
Such a strange thing for Todoroki to say.
Since everyone else had been talked about, save one, Himiko decided she wasn't waiting any longer to get some answers. So Himiko leaned forward, hands clasped together with her two pointer fingers held out, "So Izuku."
Izuku chirped at the sudden attention as everyone turned to look at him. Some unspoken agreement between everyone that it was time for some answers.
"I think I speak for everyone when I ask," Himiko paused for dramatic effect, "What in the holy fuck was up with you last night"
With the eyes of everyone now focused squarely on him, Izuku gathered up all the courage he could muster and shrugged, "Errr... I dunno."
When it looked like Ochako and Himiko were ready to jump him, Izuku quickly went over what he had discussed with Recovery Girl on the topic, and his side of the story to cover the rest. The two theories behind his new Boric Pyre, which got an excited clap from Himiko and a good natured ribbing from Ochako because she knew he picked that name because he thought it was cool. And he explained how he suddenly seemed like he had super strength. A discrete thumbs up from Ochako showed she had good opinions on how he had explained away One for All.
"I see, so you don't have two Quirks then like I do." Shouto said calmly, "I admit, I would have been a little upset if you had been holding back after everything that happened in our match."
Izuku laughed nervously, "Yeah. That would make me a pretty horrible hypocrite."
"Still, you need to work to get control of your fire. The amount of heat and flame you used was on par with myself and my father. You can't afford to not have control over that."
Izuku nodded solemnly, "I know. I don't want to accidentally hurt someone."
"Or yourself." Shouto added, "You need to figure out if your Quirk has a way to regulate your body temperature. If not, you should have Hatsume make something for you. Your fire could end up being more of a danger to yourself than others."
Tenya spoke up, "Do you have any advice on how to control and use fire that could help Midoriya, Todoroki? His Boric Pyre doesn't seem to have a lot or anything in common with his Psychokinesis. To try and learn a whole new Quirk like this, I'm worried he may fall behind in class if his concentration is on this and not also mastering his original Quirk like the rest of us are doing."
Izuku and Ochako both added learning to control One for All to the last of issues.
Shouto frowned, "Midoriya."
"Yeah?"
"You inherited your Quirk from your mother, correct? Or at least half of it?"
"...Yes?" Izuku suddenly didn't like where this conversation was about to go.
"Does that mean your father breathes fire?"
Izuku didn't answer and took a few bites from his lunch. Ochako answered for him, "He does."
"Then if that's the case, you should ask him ab-"
"No," Izuku said immediately.
"Midoriya you-" Shouto tried to start but Izuku cut him off.
"I said no!" Izuku spat out his words but his anger was quickly replaced with shock. Green tongues of flame burst from his mouth as he spat out his words, making him quickly cover his mouth with his hands. Slightly panicked and more than a little ashamed, Izuku picked up his drink and quickly drank it down to quench the flames in his mouth. Though the move was more symbolic as his Quirk had stopped the moment he had stopped yelling.
"Is everything alright over there?" Midnight was up and walking towards the group. She and Aizawa had been startled by the sudden burst of fire out of Izuku's mouth. Aizawa had his eyes trained on Izuku. Just in case.
Himiko waved her off, "We're fine. Stay over there and let us hang out," she paused and looked at Izuku slightly worried, "We're fine, right?"
Izuku nodded, "Yeah. Yeah it's fine."
Midnight waited a few more seconds before going back to Aizawa, and the group was again left to themselves. Izuku buried his face in his hands, "I really am going to have to call him, aren't I?"
Shouto nodded while he lifted his hand up and ignited a small burst of fire in his palm. The fire danced around as he spoke, "You're in the same situation I'm in, Midoriya. I don't think you hate your new fire like I hated mine for so long, but it's still connected to something painful. Even so, we both have a responsibility to master our fire. I chose to go to my father because he was the best person to help me. Who's the best person to help you learn how to control yours?"
Izuku couldn't argue the point, which really sucked. So with a grunt, Izuku leaned back in his chair and relented, "Okay. Okay. I'll call him… When I get home." Izuku noted the questioning looks he was getting from everyone and held up his hand in defense, "It'd been a really rough couple of days. Let me get through my internship or whatever is going to be left of it before I deal with my father, please."
Everyone agreed that was a fair compromise. Fortunately for Izuku, Himiko, knowing that dealing with sucky family sucks, decided to switch to a new topic, "You know, I met someone that could breathe fire. Guy was cool. He was like this freaky combo of a blue wolf and a snake," Himiko said as she rubbed her chin.
Izuku's eyes lit up, "Oh wow, that's an interesting combo for a mutation Quirk. And he could breathe fire?"
"Oh yeah, he was awesome. Unfortunately, he was with this group of douchebags that tried recruiting Mr. Stain to their cause. There was this one bitch that was just hanging on their leader. Total groupie energy. Like, come on woman, have some self respect. I mean, who just hangs onto a guy like that?"
Shouto looked at Himiko, then at Ochako. He wisely chose not to say anything.
"Oh? So they were a group of villains then?" Ochako said while Izuku listened curiously. Neither really paying attention to that last bit.
"Yeah. This guy saw himself as a king or some shit. Thought the world only belonged to the strong. He figured his world would be perfect for Mr. Stain and tried to get him to join forces. They actually talked a lot, but I ignored them and hung out with the cool guy. I could tell he was really strong, too. But yeah, he smoked these cigars and could do this really cool trick where he'd puff out some fire and light the cigar in his mouth."
Ochako glared at Izuku when she saw the wheels start to turn in his head, "You're not allowed to start smoking Deku."
"Oh come on, I'm not going to pick up an unhealthy habit like that," Izuku complained with an eye roll.
"So what happened to this group?" Tenya asked, "Are they still at large? They sound dangerous."
"Not sure. Mr. Stain passed on their offer, and we went our separate ways. Miss that big guy, he was like a big, fluffy death machine. But his leader and Mr. Stain must have come to some kind of understanding, though, since both our groups walked away amicably. That's not normally how it goes. Groups meet, hate something about the other, and then one or both die."
Himiko smiled at the fun memory before reaching for her food, "Oh hey, I just thought of something. Izuku, did Recovery Girl have a theory for why your glow went from green to red? That have anything to do with your new super move? What was it called again?"
"Tactile Psychokinesis"
Tenya rubbed his chin as a thought accrued to him, "Wait. Isn't the term supposed to be Tactile Tel-"
"Nope!" Izuku cut in.
Ochako rolled her eyes, "You just think your version sounds cooler."
"Well, it does."
"You are such a dork."
Izuku ignored her and turned his attention back to Himiko, "But to answer your question, I'm not sure. That was the first time I," Izuku finished in his head with 'used One for All' but said out loud, "I tried using the move. So I don't know if that's just how my Quirk will react to it being used that way."
"Technically, you were glowing red before you used the technique. It was like your normal aura when you use your Quirk, just the wrong color. When you then attacked Stain, it changed. You weren't glowing, really. It looked like your legs and arms were filled with energy. There were red streaks crossing over your skin," Tenya stated, remembering what he had seen.
"I wasn't… really worried about holding back when I attacked Stain first. Recovery Girl says it was probably something like hysterical strength. I was just pushing myself without worrying about the kickback. After that, I was moving on instinct. I just wanted to make Stain go away. So I filled myself up with my power and just...went after him."
Without worrying about the kickback huh, Ochako thought to herself bitterly, "Maybe you should be more careful in the future. Not a fan of you bleeding out of every hole in your head. Or your limbs turning into limp noodles."
"I agree, Midoriya," Tenya said seriously, in full class rep mode, "I can still recall how you looked after taking out that zero pointer. It was not pleasant. I feel like I should warn you to be more careful with your Quirks going forward. Obviously you should be careful with your new fire, but I'd also advise that you not use this new move again until you have mastered it. While incredibly powerful, the damage it did to your body was horrific. I say this as your friend and class representative. You are exceptionally lucky you suffered no permanent damage to yourself. I suppose that's a testament to your fortitude and the abilities of Recovery Girl."
Izuku choked down a bite of his food before quickly nodding his head, "Yup! Back to normal."
Tenya smiled in relief, "Excellent, though considering the extent and variety of your injuries, it makes sense that Recovery Girl is being careful before she releases you."
Ochako and Himiko glanced briefly at one another while Izuku went back to eating. Himiko with a raised eyebrow and Ochako with a slight frown. Both then eyed Izuku before they turned back to their own meals. While Tenya and Shouto may have missed it, they had seen the momentary panic in Izuku's eyes before he answered.
It was not long after that the group had finished their lunch and Tenya and Shouto stood ready to leave. As everyone began to say their goodbyes, Midnight walked over, "Before you two go, I think we have one last piece of business to finish."
The group glanced at each other then at her, finally noticing that Midnight had not walked over empty handed. In one hand, she had a small metal fire bucket, packed with newspaper, and whatever she had in her other hand she tossed over to Himiko.
Himiko caught the balled-up item and held it up after unrolling it. Her cut up hero mask flapped in the light breeze, "Wha?"
Midnight put down the bucket and plucked a lighter out of it, "Thought this might be a good time to do a little symbolic burning."
Himiko's jaw dropped, "Wait, you said my costume was too expensive to burn," When she noticed that her friends were giving her questioning looks she added, "I wanted to destroy my old costume. I designed it to look like Mr. Stain. And, well, can't exactly go on wearing it after this whole shit that went down... So I thought burning it would be a nice little symbolic gesture that I was past that part of my life. Or past wanting him in my life. Or some combo of the two."
While everyone took that in, Midnight tossed Himiko the lighter, "The rest of your costume will get recycled into whatever you design for your new one. But if you still want to burn something...Well, I don't think a single mask will be that big a deal."
"Okay you need to stop that," Himiko said as she took everything and started getting set up.
Midnight's head tilted to the side as she watched Himiko work, "Stop what?"
"Doing stuff that makes me like you," Himiko could feel the smile on Midnight's face even if she wasn't looking at the other women. Deciding she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of acknowledging it, she looked over at her friends, "So you all want to hang around for this?"
The chorus of yes's made Himiko smile brightly. Taking the lighter, she set the newspaper ablaze and, once it was going, she pocketed the lighter and held her mask over the growing fire, "Well, Mr. Stain. I guess this is it."
Over the next few seconds, Himiko held the mask over the fire. Startled to find that opening her hand and letting the mask fall into the fire was much harder than she expected. It should have been easy, but this mask represented a portion of her life she still took pride in, even if it was twisted. She had grown strong as the world around her tried to kill her. She had grown strong so that Stain would acknowledge her. And in a twisted, fucked up way, she had gotten her wish. Only the moment Stain had, he had also tried to kill her. He had taken her apart in their fight. Destroying everything that made her look like him. Cutting apart everything she covered herself in to be more like him. He had cut apart their bond so easily, and now she was ready to do the same thing. All she had to do was open her hand.
Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, then another. At her side, Izuku and Ochako stood next to her, offering her reassuring smiles while Tenya and Shouto besides them also stood with her. She had friends. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Midnight, who still had that annoying smile, and Aizawa as well. She had a really annoying family at U.A.
Before, she had fought tooth and nail with nothing to survive. Now, she would fight tooth and nail for everything to make sure they all survived.
Before, she had nothing. Now, she had everything. And with that thought giving her strength, she opened her hand and let the mask and her past burn away.