After taking a few deep breaths to warm up, Izuku then worked on his pitch and scales. Humming the tones that Kyouka had been working with him for the past couple of days. They had discovered that the lower the scale Izuku used when he breathed fire, the wider and looser the flames he produced. Like a Bunsen burner that hadn't been dialed in yet. The higher Izuku went on the scale, the more condensed and intense the fire became. While he still struggled to hit the highest tones for very long, he was still at the point where he had been able to shoot a blast of fire through a clay disk target. When that had happened, Mei had wondered if he could pierce metal. Like a blow torch. After a couple of tries Izuku was ready to give it another go.
Assuming Mei's cooling vest didn't freeze him solid, of course. The vest did cool him down, but it was like having a giant ice cube shoved into his lungs. Painful and left him numb and shivering.
With the steel target set up, and everyone now clear, Izuku got himself ready. Humming the tones to himself as he felt the heat in his chest start to build.
Bass: The lowest and darkest tone. A deep and rumbling sound, almost like a beastly dragon roar.
Baritone: Dramatic and rich. The sound of a hero, much like All Might as he called out "I am here!"
Countertenor: Otherworldly and strange. Almost unnatural, coming from Izuku's throat.
Tenor: Light and bright. A ringing call that brought images of love. Images of pink cheeks and warm auburn brown eyes
Tenor produced the sharpest flame, and was the hardest for Izuku to use for a full breath. But thanks to Kyouka's advice he was getting better. He can't sing but he was getting better at holding the tones.
His lungs filled, Izuku felt the all familiar heat spread over his chest and fill his throat. As the fire blasted out of his mouth and slammed into the metal, Izuku hit the tenor range. The green fire, went from a raging inferno to a condensed rocket blast. Izuku pushed, trying to hit the higher end of the tenor range. The green fire got smaller, taking on a hissing sound but hotter. As the fire got smaller, everyone could see the plate. The initial fire had covered the whole thing, turning the metal red, but as Izuku sharpened his breath, the area getting heated got even hotter. Turning orange, then yellow. Izuku could feel the vest kick in and begin to try and cool him down. He pushed, trying to fight against the cold. The metal glowing white now. Then the sudden kick of freezing cold drove the rest of the air out of his lungs and his fire began to flutter and burst free before sputtering out in a puff of smoke.
Hacking and coughing, Izuku stopped and bent over. Wincing as the cooling rods hissed and cried at the stress of cooling his body. Working overtime to fight against the heat he produced. The result left him wishing he could go back to the ice pool All Might always brought. At least that was warmer than this.
Teeth chattering, Izuku righted himself and looked to see if he had done it. There, smack dab in the middle of the inch thick metal, was a hole the size of a soda can.
"Well done, Young Midoriya!"
While Mei came over to check on the vest, Tenya walked over and clapped Izuku on the shoulder. "Well done indeed. It looks like you got the hang of what Jirou has been teaching you."
"Cl-cl-close enough I think. Still have to dial it in and it takes a lot to pull it off. I definitely need to be able to cool myself down after trying something that intense." Izuku stood back up and added with a smile, "But I wouldn't be where I am now without your help. Thank you, Jirou."
Kyouka wrapped an ear jack around her finger. "It's no big deal. It just seemed like I could give you a hand. Nothing major."
"Nonsense. Your talent with music let you solve an issue Midoriya was having instantly. You have an incredible talent as a teacher," Momo added.
Kyouka flushed and tugged at her lobes. "I mean…" She wasn't sure what to say to that.
All Might laughed, "It's alright to be happy when you're praised for a job well done, Young Jirou. You have helped Young Midoriya overcome a block in his training and opened a great many paths forward for him to take. Well done."
"Maybe I should give singing another try? Musical fire blasts could be fun," Izuku said while the group all winced, making him laugh. "Oh come on, I'm not that bad! Uraraka thought I was okay the other day."
Hitoshi shook his head. "Uraraka must have had ear plugs in when she was here the last time you actually tried to sing that Do Re Mi song."
Before Izuku could get off a retort, there came an explosion and crash. "Are you fucking kidding me?! Are you singing?!"
The group jumped as Katsuki burst through some trees and stomped towards them. Izuku gave a startled meep while Kyouka groaned. Mei, who was still fiddling with Izuku, looked over the boy's shoulder at the advancing blond firecracker. "Oh look, Mr. Small Dick Energy is here."
Everyone in the small clearing froze and looked at Mei. Izuku's eyes were as wide as saucers. "H-Hatsume!"
Mei let her head fall to the side as she looked at the shocked expressions around her. "What? Toga has been teaching me how to swear and said that Bakugou is the best target to get in some good practice. Was it not good?"
Katsuki glared daggers at Mei while Kyouka coughed into her hand. "Pretty damned accurate if you ask me."
Before Katsuki could decide who he was going to kill first, Eijirou, Mina, Denki and Hanta jumped through the clearing Katsuki had burned and quickly ran to put themselves between him and Izuku. Mina had her hands together as she apologized. "Sorry! I might have let it slip Jirou was helping you, Midoriya!"
"Start talking Deku! Right now!"
Instead of talking though, Izuku crossed his arms and stared Katsuki down. "Last I checked Kacchan, I don't owe you any explanation for how I'm training."
Both boys glared at each other, before Katsuki turned to look at Kyouka. "Lobes? What bullshit are you wasting this nerd's time on?"
"Up yours," Kyouka answered curtly, "you think I'm telling you anything after you come in here exploding like that? My ears are still ringing."
"Jirou!" Momo covered her mouth. "You shouldn't stoop to his level of foul language."
Rubbing her ringing ears, Kyouka shrugged. "My dad's a rock and roll musician. I bet I know words that would make even his foul ears turn red."
"Okay, everyone settle down," All Might moved in to keep everyone calm. "Young Jirou has been assisting Young Midoriya with some training ideas and techniques for his fire breathing. That is all."
Katsuki's brow twitched. "By singing?"
Izuku groaned, rubbing his head as he laid it out. "How I breathe affects my fire. Jirou has been teaching me different breathing exercises. Some of them help me take deeper breaths which means I can breathe fire for longer. And the singing," Izuku could see Katsuki's blood pressure rising, "is giving me better control of how my fire comes out. Lower tones make the fire behave differently than if I try higher tones." Izuku motioned towards the cooling metal plate. "What she's taught me, helped me do that."
Katsuki walked over to the metal and tapped his knuckles on it. Confirming it was what it seemed to be. "So you can punch a hole through some metal?"
Izuku tilted his head to the side. "Can you do that with your Quirk?"
Katsuki's eyes narrowed. He looked at his hands then at the plate. Then with a loud boom, exploded it away. Shredding it into pieces. "Don't fucking toy with me Deku. I don't have time for your games."
Izuku crossed his arms. "Then why are you here?"
Katsuki raised a hand and pointed right at Izuku. "I'm here to see if you've fallen behind me Deku. If all this traininghasn't been a waste of time."
"It hasn't."
"Really? Because all I ever hear from you recently is you struggling with your old man's Quirk." Katsuki almost smirked at the aggravated glare Izuku gave him when he called the Quirk that. "What about your Psychokinesis? You been slacking on that?"
"No. All Might's been making sure I practice that too."
Katsuki's raised, pointing hands turned up and opened. His fingers curled as his palm sparked and crackled. "Then prove it. Fight me."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
A new voice entered into the conversation/argument. Ochako rocketed out of some nearby trees from where she had been doing her own training. Himiko followed after her, keeping her eye on everything. Making sure she wasn't going to have to get involved.
"Uraraka? Shouldn't you be doing your own training?" Izuku asked, a little startled at how angrily she had come onto the scene.
"I heard this ja– jerk all the way at the other side of Ground Omega. Of course I'm coming over here. And as for you, go away! I'm not letting you pick a fight with Deku and get both of you in trouble!"
Tenya nodded vigorously. "I agree completely. As your class representative, I must remind you that fights between students are strictly forbidden. Both parties run the risk of detention or expulsion."
Katsuki growled in annoyance. "Not if a teacher supervises it." A few of the classmates did a double take. Katsuki rolled his eyes and motioned towards All Might. "It's his job to oversee us when we use our Quirks. And we've already used them in combat training. He can easily call this an extracurricular lesson between Deku and me."
All Might rubbed his chin. The fact that he wasn't outright denying the idea from Katsuki was alarming to Ochako. "No way. You don't get to bend the rules just so you can have your ego scratched!"
"Not asking you for your permission, Round Face. How about you shut the fuck up and let Deku decide on something for himself."
Before Ochako could tell Katsuki off, Izuku squared up on him instead. A move that got everyone's attention. All Might watched Izuku closely. Nodding when he saw Izuku come to an answer.
"All Might, let me fight Kacchan."
Everyone looked at Izuku, shocked that he was outright accepting the challenge.
"Deku, no!" Ochako rushed forward, putting herself between Izuku and Katsuki. "This is stupid. Don't lower yourself down to his level just because he's throwing a tantrum."
Katsuki snarled, "Watch what you say, Round Face."
Ochako turned to look at Katsuki, her eyes burning with utter disgust and hate. "You shut your mouth!"
"Enough. Before anyone does anything, Young Midoriya. Why do you want to accept Young Bakugou's challenge? He is right, as a teacher I can supervise a sparring match between students. But I'll only do this if I see a benefit for both of you."
Izuku looked at Ochako, then at All Might, before he faced Katsuki. "Because our exam is only two weeks away. And in order to even take the tests, I have to have proved that I've improved and gotten control of my Boric Pyre and have a better handle of my Psychokinesis. This is the perfect moment to see if I do."
"Deku, you don't have to prove anything to him!" Ochako pointed at Katsuki.
"But I do have to prove myself to All Might and Aizawa sensei. And I'll use Kacchan to do it. And if it gets him to shut up about how I've been training, that's just a bonus." Katsuki's eyebrows knitted together and everyone could hear his teeth grinding. But Izuku just kept talking. "Last time we fought in the sports festival, I won, but I had to destroy myself to win. If I can face Kacchan now, and notget utterly messed up, I'd say that was proof I've done what All Might and Aizawa sensei wanted. Wouldn't you say?"
All Might rubbed his chin. "It's a valid reason."
Ochako looked absolutely beside herself but before she could say anything All Might asked her, "Young Uraraka. Honestly speaking I was going to have Young Midoriya take part in a test soon against either the robots from the entrance exam or have him spar with Young Toogata to gauge him. Doing it this way instead serves the purpose he mentioned. As well as help keep the rivalry between the two settled."
Izuku nodded and Katsuki looked ready to go right then and there. "However," All Might added. "This is going to be a spar. Not a fight. So there will be some ground rules. You'll get to face each other for three minutes. Once the time is over, you stop. If either of you does anything afterwards, you'll learn that your homeroom teacher isn't the only one that can come up with creative punishments. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Got it."
Wth Izuku and Katsuki agreeing, All Might pulled out his phone and pulled up the timer. "I'd suggest everyone take a few good strides back. Don't want to get caught in the crossfire."
Immediately the rest of the group fell back. Except for Ochako, who was still standing between the two.
"Uraraka. Please. It's okay."
Ochako shook her head, "No Deku. It's not. I hate this."
Katsuki waved her off. "Go cry about it over on the sidelines."
Ochako whirled around. "Keep talking and it won't be Deku you're fighting."
Katsuki scoffed. "Not interested in fighting an overprotective crybaby."
"How about a bloodthirsty psychopath?" Himiko offered as she came over and pulled Ochako away. "Cause if you keep this up, I'm the one that's coming for your throat." With a hand on Ochako's shoulder, Himko finally got her to move. "Come on, this isn't a fight you're going to win today."
Katsuki glared Ochako down as she was led away. Izuku narrows his eyes at that. "Kacchan. Don't look at her like that. Understand?"
Katsuki turned his gaze back at Izuku. "Then she needs to stop getting in my way."
Izuku shook his head. "You're the one in her way, Kacchan. You better be careful when she decides to move you."
While everyone chewed on that idea, Izuku reached up and started taking off the large cooling vest around his chest and back. Katsuki raised an eyebrow when he saw frosttrickle down in small shards as they were broken free from Izuku's sweat top. "Hatsume, here, take this." Izuku floated the gear over to her and she took it.
"You sure?"
Izuku nodded, then took off the crest from his forehead and gave that to Mei as well. "Kacchan doesn't have any of his support gear. So this makes it a fair match. I don't want there to be any complaints from him after this."
Eijirou had a fist over his heart. "That's so manly."
Katsuki growled a warning at Eijirou but was ignored, so he looked back at Izuku. "You think I'd bitch about something stupid like that?"
"Oh, you totally would," Mina confirmed.
"Like a fucking baby," Himiko said with a frown.
Izuku then looked over at Mei and added, "Plus that vest doesn't really… work. I'm fighting against the cold more than my own heat."
Mei sighed. "Yeah I was afraid of that. Your body can handle heat pretty well, but direct cold? Not so much."
With that taken care of, and everyone a safe distance back, and behind All Might for good measure, All Might held up his hand to signal the start of the match. "Remember. This is your time limit. Now, get ready!"
Izuku and Katsuki got into their stances.
"Set!"
Katsuki's hands began to smoke and crackle with barely contained explosive power. Fresh puffs of ghostly smoke began to waff from Izuku's mouth as his green aura surrounded him. Topped off with his irises glowing to match.
All Might got ready to drop his hand and let the two go. Just before he did, Ochako pushed by him, put her hands up to her mouth and yelled out, "KICK HIS BUTT, DEKU!"
From her spot, even yards away, she saw Izuku smirk, and pop up a quick thumbs up.
All Might dropped his hand, "GO!"
Katsuki lept backwards and swung his hands up in front of himself. The small jump was enough that even with his palms pointed right at Izuku, they were also pointed at a downward angle. So when he unleashed an explosion, the blast rushed towards Izuku, but also rocketed him up into the air. Airborne, Katsuki watched as his attack quickly closed the gap between himself and Izuku. He expected to see the green shine of Izuku creating a barrier, like he had done the last time they had fought, but instead Izuku took in a deep breath, and roared out a green inferno. The explosive bang and orange fire from Katsuki's attack slammed into the rumbling roar and green flames of Izuku's. The fires swirled together, canceling each other out, before getting enveloped in a cloud of black smoke.
Neither Izuku or Katsuki stayed still after that. With his explosions propelling him forward, Katsuki charged forward, flying through the air at astounding speed. Swinging a hand out, while leaving another to keep propelling him on, Katsuki unleashed several quick shots at Izuku. The blasts were again blocked as Izuku blew out another roar, and a column of green fire enveloped the small shots. Izuku's attack missed Katsuki as he suddenly changed directions and rolled to the side, putting himself into a great position to blast Izuku's unprotected flank. Slamming both his hands together, Katsuki fired off a powerful blast that tore up the ground as it went.
Izuku swung a hand out, and focused. His aura flared brightly as he prepared to block the attack. The air shimmered and the explosion hit his barrier.
The moment it did, Katsuki rocketed through the smoke. He'd seen what happened when Izuku used his Quirk to block his explosions. It hurt him. The force would rattle his brain and the fire and heat would cook him where he stood. He'd be momentarily stunned. A sitting duck. Ripping through the smoke, Katsuki was ready to attack.
So was Izuku.
Katsuki only just got his hands up in time as a glowing chunk of tree hurtled at him. Katsuki exploded it into splinters and that pause in his momentum slowed him down for Izuku to blast him with a burst of fire. Rocketing backwards, Katsuki finally landed back on the ground, cursing as he patted off a few small fires on his sweats.
Katsuki eyed Izuku carefully. Noting that he wasn't scorched at all. The ground in front of him was burned. But not Izuku himself. Katsuki looked and studied, before he sneered and with a single hand, fired off another blast. As he attacked he watched Izuku carefully. Watched his explosions hit the barriers—
The fuck?
Then Izuku blew out a blast of fire, and hit the orange flames that passed through his defenses.
Fucking nerd.
Izuku smirked when he saw Katsuki looking at him after that last attack. No, not attack but test. It had taken only one test for Katsuki to figure out that Izuku wasn't using the same barrier trick from the sports festival. He hadn't been lying when he had told Katsuki he had been working on his Psychokinesis. He had been refining his moves. How he did things. How much power needed to be used to move something.
Izuku had applied the "work smarter, not harder" motto to his original Quirk. His barrier was no longer a single solid wall. He had changed it into a wall of layers. As one was pressed, it would give a little and hit the next, which would give a little. A coiled spring slowing down a force. Making the final impact less of a burden for Izuku.
And for the things that Izuku couldn't block. Energy like fire and heat. His Boric Pyre was perfect to burn them away. A few puffs and Izuku was left untouched.
"Not bad, huh, Kacchan?"
"Fuck you! Wipe that fucking smirk off your face!"
"Make me!"
Katsuki ground his teeth together. "Breaking that damned smart mouth you have now."
Izuku spread his arms out. "Big words from someone all the way over there!"
Katsuki took a step forward. "Going to beat your ass, Deku!"
Then Izuku glowed. "You want to fight? Fine!"
Katsuki braced, expecting to get yanked forward. Instead his feet were driven into the ground, locking him in place. Izuku launched himself forward and swung a haymaker into Katsuki's head. Katsuki grabbed ahold of Izuku's sweat top and pulled his head back. Izuku saw what was coming and mirrored Katsuki, grabbing onto the other boy and pulling his head back as well. They whipped their heads forward at the same time, and slammed their foreheads against one another with a loud crack!
The audience watching all winced.
"Go Izuku! Use that dense head of yours!" Himiko cheered.
"Do another head butt!" Mina encouraged.
"Crack his skull open, Deku!" A few heads turned to look at Ochako, who blinked. "Er, I mean… Don't crack your skull open, Deku!"
Hitoshi shook his head. "Smooth."
Tenya adjusted his glasses. "How much time do they have left?"
All Might showed the students his phone and Hanta whistled. "Wow, three minutes is not a lot of time–"
CRACK!
BOOM!
Everyone whipped their heads around just in time to see Izuku and Katsuki disengage with each other. Katsuki pushing his palm into Izuku's chest and blasting him away, and Izuku using his layered barrier like a battering ram, extending it out and launching Katsuki away. Izuku was sent into the dense brush of the forest, out of sight from everyone. Katsuki, who had been tumbling end over end from the push, used his quirk to slow himself down and land on his feet.
"Is all you fucking worked on that lame barrier of yours?! Is that it?! No new attacks?! Give me a fucking break Deku!"
Still hidden deep in the underbrush and trees of the training area, Izuku called back. "Do you have any idea how badly Uraraka would kick my butt if one of the first things I hadn't worked on was my barrier?!"
Katsuki could hear some snickering off to the side and rolled his eyes in annoyance. His next cutting remark was cut off however when the tree brush and ground in the area Izuku had landed began to glow. "Kacchan! Want to know something?!"
Cracks and snaps started echoing throughout the area as the trees were cracked open. Chunks pulled into the air. Branches snapped, trunks ripped out of the ground. Instead of pulling the trees out in one go, Izuku was taking them in parts. The ground around the roots was scooped up, letting him pull the stumps easily, and then he added rocks from the dirt for good measure. He pulled at everything around him until it was all floating up in the air in front of him and began to spread out. Forming a yards long hollow cylinder with Izuku in the middle and clearly visible. "You were wrong about me wasting my time with how I was training. And you're wrong about me only working on my barrier!"
Izuku spread his arms out, fingers curling as the glow around all the ammo he had just picked up began to shine even brighter. Katsuki scoffed. "Your Delaware Smash again? Seen that move already Deku! And you couldn't hit me with it last time!"
Izuku grinned like he had been taking lessons from Himiko. "Wrong again, Kacchan!"
Katsuki frowned and looked at the incoming attack. It was true, instead of a wall of debris like Izuku would make when he used the Delaware Smash, everything was around him in a cylinder. The setup was different. Then Izuku rotated his hands and the debris began to rotate. Faster and faster until the cylinder became a vortex whipping up the air inside like a bright green glowing tornado.
Katsuki got ready to counter, but then Izuku did one last thing. Opening his mouth, Izuku roared out a stream of fire, whipping his head up and around, and igniting the vortex. Turning into a swirling inferno. With a snap, Izuku closed his mouth, puffing out twin plumes of fire from his nose for good measure.
Katsuki's eyes widened before the narrowed and he sneered, "You copy cat fucker!"
He wasn't the only one noticing the immediate similarities to Izuku's new attack. Everyone else saw it too, and proceeded to take several long steps backwards.
Izuku just smiled, which just pissed Katsuki off even more. "You wanna copy my moves! Let me show you how that's supposed to look!"
Hands twisted out to his side, Katsuki fired off a blast after blast, until he rose into the air, a swirling mass of fire and smoke. Up in the air, he directed himself at Izuku and rushed forward, hands crackling with more and more explosions as his attack got larger and larger. Izuku dug his feet into the ground and sucked in a large breath, pulling from everything Kyouka had taught him about breathing with this diaphragm.
"PHOENIX–!"
"HOWITZER IMPACT!"
"–SMASH!"
Izuku screamed out a jet of fire right through the center of the fiery vortex as he launched his attack. The fires swirling and feeding off the heat and whipping air became a cyclone of mass destruction that slammed into the twisting tornado of Katsuku's explosions. The twin attacks ripped into each other. Green and orange mixed together, the twin vortices became one giant twister of fire and rocketed up into the sky, becoming a column of swirling flame before exploding and creating a smoke and dust mushroom cloud that rose up high enough that anyone on campus could see it.
As the fires on the ground cleared, the smoke blew away, and the dust settled, Katsuki and Izuku stood, a few feet apart. A little charred at the edges but neither hurt. Their attacks, equal in power, had canceled each other out. A fact that really seemed to annoy them both as they both quickly got ready to continue with their match. Katsuki pushed his hands behind him, ready to rocket forward and close the distance between the two. Behind Izuku, he began making layer after layer of barriers that were then pulled and stretched back. It was similar to how Izuku had used it to push Katsuki away before, but now to Katsuki and the group, they were reminded of a plunger from a pinball machine. And Izuku was the ball about to get launched.
Ochako blinked rapidly. Waaaaaaait. He's not about to–
"TIME!" All Might's booming voice ripped over the match, jolting both boys into a stupor. For a second, neither moved, still just looking at each other. Then the glow around Izuku faded and Katsuki lowered his hand. "Well done, both of you! A splendid match!"
"Dude, you guys almost burned down the whole forest!" Mina exclaimed
"I thought we were going to get blown away with that last attack of theirs. I was ready to tape myself down!"
"That Midoriya has developed his Quirks so rapidly is a test image to All Might's teaching and your experience, Jirou," Momo praised, making Kyouka play with her jacks and mumble a few embarrassed words.
"Izuku fucking rocks! Suck it, Baku Bitch!"
Katsuki snarled at his classmates. "Will you morons tone it down! I can't hear myself think over all this noise!"
Hisashi scratched his head. "Wait, we're the ones making too much noise? Are you serious?"
Ignoring them, Katsuki turned back to Izuku. "As for you, you're an idiot."
"I– huh?"
"Your fucking Phoenix shit move. Why in the fuck would you use a fire move and use the stuff you're going to throw that is fucking flammable?! Trees? Really?! Half the shit was ash before it even got close to me!"
Izuku nodded, making a small "Oh" at Katsuki's good point. Then walked past him.
"Oi! Deku, I'm not done with–" Izuku walked over to the ice filled kiddie pool that All Might always brought to their training. Reaching the pool, Izuku spread out his arms and flopped into the icy water. Sending up a splash and some steam as his heated body made the water hiss. Katsuki stared at Izuku as the boy sank into the water and groaned. "Fucking spaz."
"So are you done?" Ochako asked, arms crossed and looking ready for the boy to leave. Or make him leave. Either option worked.
Tenya adjusted his glasses as he spoke in a far less confrontational way. "I would say that exercise should have more than proved that Midoriya has not been slacking and is holding up his end of the bargain regarding your rivalry."
Mina looked at the steaming pool, a little worried at how long Izuku was choosing to stay in, but since All Might, Himiko and Ochako seemed unconcerned she just assumed this was normal. "Midoriya did use his Boric Pyre a lot, though. Not his other Quirk."
Katsuki growled as he started walking off. "Because Deku is a fucking nerd. So he knows the same tricks won't work on me again. If he used anything from our last matches I'd have destroyed him." Turning to look at his group Katsuki jerked his thumb back towards where they had come from. "Tell the nerd he passes. Today. I'm not waiting for him to come back up for…" When Katsuki trailed off, he got a few strange looks.
Then a new voice called out, "Amazing! Absolutely amazing! To watch you students on television is one thing, but to be so close I could feel that magnificent display of Quirk power. I must say U.A. has some incredible students in its school!"
Everyone turned as a lanky man with a heavily receding hairline walked up to them. Flanked by a person wearing a heavy bright blue hooded coat even in the summer heat. Hurrying to the balding man's side was a man with a mouse face and finally, bringing up the rear, was a man that most had only seen during the parent-teacher conference, Hisashi Midoriya.
"We're behind enemy lines now, gentlemen. We must exercise extreme caution."
"Yes, sir," came a quick and icy reply, which made the man who'd talked smile.
"Also," the man said as he took another step up the flight of stairs, finally reaching the top of them, "let's take a break. I don't think I've walked up so many steps since I was a small boy!" Rikiya groaned as he rubbed his poor legs.
Close to his side, Geten stopped and scanned the area around them. Face hidden by the heavy hooded coat, his eyes glowed as they looked at everything. They were in one of the beating hearts of the corrupt government. Where young minds were brainwashed into dogs of the state. He hadn't taken 'no' for an answer when he learned his leader was coming here. He had to be ready in case–
"You're getting out of shape, sir. You're spending too much time going to those fine dining restaurants."
Geten turned, ready to kill, but Rikiya laughed. "Right for the heart as always, Miyashita. You never hold back with me."
The mousy man smiled. "You're already balding sir. Don't add obesity to your image. Think of how our company will look."
Rikiya scratched at his large forehead. "Perhaps I should look into doing a few lessons with a trainer. It wouldn't do if I grew out of my suits."
"You should be more respectful, Miyashita," Geten said. You could practically see the frost on his words.
Miyashita froze and looked over at Geten. He had seen him perhaps a handful of times at the company, but always near the end of the day. He didn't work at Detnerat but he still seemed to have free range of the building. 'A friend of the family,' had been Rikiya's reply when Miyashita had inquired about the subject. 'He's very protective of me and likes to check up and make sure I'm in good health.' A strange answer, but they were talking about a CEO. They were strange by default. He supposed that's why the man had come with them.
"Now now, Geten. I happen to like the jokes. If you want respect, let Midoriya handle that end. He has it in spades."
"Th-thank you sir," the last of the four men said as he brought up the rear.
Miyashita looked at Hisashi. The man had been climbing the ladder quickly these last few weeks. To suddenly be transferred from a satellite site in the United States to the company's headquarters had made quite a few whispers within the management. Especially those that Hisashi was leaping over when it came to advancement. It's not that Hisashi hadn't been good at his job. But the suddenness and scale of the move he was making were just not normal.
Miyashita wondered, perhaps unfairly, if this had something to do with Hisashi's son. Someone many in the company hadn't even known about. The boy had won U.A.'s sports festival and seemed to have caught the eye of All Might. Perhaps Hisashi was a key to the current venture they were on. He did have a direct connection.
Speaking of which. "Before we go on, I still feel this is a… premature idea. Attempting to secure a contract with U.A. to develop hero support items for the students seems like we're putting the cart before the horse. We're still working on that commercial and we haven't even gone public with the move. With the general public or our shareholders."
"Who owns the most shares?" Rikiya asked with an almost devilish grin.
"You do."
"Then as a shareholder I held a vote with myself and decided that the CEO was making the right move trying to incorporate ourselves into U.A."
"That's crooked."
Rikiya laughed. "Harsh. Let's go with, I'm bending a few minor rules."
CEO's are not normal.
Rikiya gave his legs one last rub. "There we go. I think I'm good to keep going. I swear this place should have an escalator or something installed. Though maybe this is some form of twisted training for the students. This is a strange place after–"
BOOOOOOM!
Geten rushed to Rikiya's side. Getting ready to freeze any water in the area and attack the sudden threat but a hardgrip from Rikiya got him to stop. Miyashita stumbled back and Hisashi was forced to steady the mouse. "Wha, what was that?"
Hisashi didn't say anything as his eyes and full attention were drawn to a plume of green fire that reached up over some trees off in the distance. "...Green fire. Izuku?"
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
More explosions rang out as more green flashes, with ones that were bright orange ripped apart a section of forest.
"Your son? But it's after school hours," Miyashita checked his watch, "shouldn't all the students be gone?"
Geten scoffed. "Training more than likely."
Rikiya took his hand off Geten and looked at the same area Hisashi was focused on. It wasn't that far. "Gentlemen. I think I want to see this."
Izuku was almost sure that after weeks of getting dunked into icy water, that something in his body was broken. He hadn't even needed to jump in after his match with Katsuki but he had done so anyway. The dunks were becoming enjoyable. Perhaps he was starting to suffer Stockholm syndrome. Or maybe those brain scars were messing with him more than Recovery Girl thought they would. Though maybe he had done it this time to get away from Katsuki for a second. Was that petty? Was it wrong that even if he was giving him some advice, he just didn't want to hear it right then?
Especially after he and Ochako had had their talks about the whole rivalry thing. He had said it was a good thing, and that it meant things were changing. Was he being a hypocrite wanting to just ignore Katsuki? Deciding that whatever the answer was, he wasn't going to find it before he needed to take a breath, Izuku surfaced out of the pool and sat down, shaking his head side to side as his wet hair fell over his face. "So I felt that went pretty well."
"Er… Izuku."
Izuku grabbed the hem of his sweatshirt and began rinsing it out. "No headaches and my new barriers worked like a treat."
"Midoriya. You might want to…"
"It's too bad the time went out before I could show you what else I could do with it, Kacchan."
"OI! DEKU! SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN!"
Izuku stopped. "Huh?"
"Deku," Ochako's voice was strangely cold. "Your father's here."
Izuku went rigid Father's here? That couldn't be right, he thought. Reaching up, Izuku brushed the hair out of his eyes and finally got a good look around. He found his friends, classmates and All Might first, each one looking off to the side, away from him.
While most seemed neutral, Ochako had a glint in her eyes Izuku had never seen before. A cold anger that was startling. Katsuki looked like he was ready to vomit in anger. Turning to follow their gazes, Izuku felt his breath hitch in his throat.
Two of the men that were with them Izuku had no idea who they were. The next one, Izuku was only vaguely aware of as the CEO of Detnerat, the company his father worked at. Then he saw him, Izuku saw his father. A man he hadn't seen in person in years. The water he was soaked in suddenly felt much colder and wetter than it should.
Years of knowing how his father demanded best behavior around those he looked up to, having that drilled into his head made Izuku suddenly self conscious about how he looked. Soaking wet like a dog, his hair matted and his clothes charred in some places or riding up from his attempts to dry them. He was not making a good first impression.
Then a second, hotter, thought pushed through. Why in the hell did he give a damn about how he looked?
Before he could act on any of the thoughts going through his head, Hisashi did something Izuku had never expected. Something so foreign and alien that every thought and emotion came to an instant stop. Hisashi rushed forward, and wrapped Izuku into a hug.
"I can't believe it, Izuku. All that fire, your control, your power. I'm at a loss for words."
So was Izuku. As far back as he could remember, this was the first time his father had hugged him. At least since he had his Quirk diagnosed. It left him in such a confused state that his mind just defaulted to the first obvious thing. "I'm soaking wet."
Hisashi laughed, and pulled away while keeping his hands on Izuku's shoulders. Looking down at his soaking wet suit. "Ha ha, so you are, and I guess I am too."
"Do-does Mom know you're here?"
"Not yet. I only arrived this morning. It's been a rush to get ready today."
Looking Izuku over, Hisashi put a hand on his head and measured Izuku's height compared to himself. "You've grown. I thought you looked bigger when I watched you at the sports festival, but seeing it this close. You're growing into a fine young man." Hisashi noticed the way the wet sweats clung to Izuku's frame, and poked along his shoulders and arms. "And not just your height and Quirk." The muscle mass Hisashi felt was more than a little surprising. "I'm proud of you, son."
Izuku's mouth opened and closed. Proud? Did his father just say he was proud of him?
"And not just what you've done here. I know about that little girl you and your mother have started to foster." Hisashi saying that broke Izuku out of his daze.
"Wait? You know about Eri?!"
"Of course I know. Do you think I wouldn't know if a new addition was suddenly living with you?"
"Ahem," All Might cleared his throat, "I don't mean to interrupt, but this is an active training ground. The Quirks used here can be dangerous to civilians. May I ask, Mr. Midoriya, why you and your associates are here?" All Might got the feeling that he better get to the bottom of what was going on. One, because having people randomly stroll into U.A. campus was not normal, two, because of the openly hostile auras coming from a few of the students behind him.
Young Uraraka and Young Bakugou seem ready to tear this man apart.
It wasn't Hisashi who answered though. "I'm afraid that was my doing. Yotsubashi Rikiya, at your service," Rikiya said with a bow.
Back in the group of students, Mei suddenly squealed, "THE CEO OF DETNERAT IS HERE?!" Still carrying Izuku's support gear, Mei pushed past everyone to see if it really was Rikiya.
Rikiya laughed. "Ah, I see I have a fan. Actually, you wouldn't be the young woman that was on the phone call with Midoriya by any chance?" Mei vibrating with excitement was enough of an answer for the CEO.
Turning back to All Might, he extended a hand. "I apologize. Me and my associates are here on business. We have a meeting with your Principal Nezu. However as we were making our way, we happened to spot the signs of the young men's match. Midoriya noticed the green fire and assumed it belonged to his son. My curiosity got the better of me and I rushed to get a better view of the fight. Unfortunately for my colleagues, since they work for me, they had to follow," he added with a laugh.
All Might nodded. He vaguely recalled that some meeting was going to be taking place today, but hadn't cared about the details.
"Allow me to make some introductions, this is Miyashita, and this is Geten." After that quick introduction, Rikiya turned his attention towards Izuku and Katsuki. "And you two are the ones that had that explosive semi-finals match. To get to see a round two, even if it was only the tail end, was a sight to behold!"
Katsuki didn't seem to care for the praise while Izuku was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his father was here, so he defaulted to a polite, "Thank you, sir."
All Might could see how uncomfortable Izuku was. It was alarming in fact. "Well, if you do have a meeting, perhaps we should call it a day so the students can–"
"What's his deal?" Himiko asked as she moved to the front of the group. Her eye square on Geten, who was also staring her down. "He sure doesn't look like a company man."
Himiko's instincts were acting up. Someone had their eyes on her and it was obvious who. Whoever this Geten was, he was dangerous.
Out in the open, Himiko got a couple of reactions from the group. Hisashi eyed her carefully but without hostility. Miyashita looked around nervously while Geten seemed to be sizing her up. Rikiya just laughed and patted Geten on the shoulder. "You'll have to forgive Geten, Ms. Toga. He's my bodyguard. He tends to be a little cold to people." Rikiya then noticed the gear Mei was carrying. "And what exactly is all that? That's some mighty impressive looking support gear."
Mei smiled proudly. "These are the babies I made for Midoriya."
Rikiya blinked and looked down at the gear. "That you made? You're a student from the department of support then? And those are for Midoriya, you say?"
"I'm in charge of designing and creating all the support gear Midoriya will use in the field," Mei beamed.
"Not a company? You must be extremely talented." Mei smiled brightly. Getting praised by the man in charge of the number one general support item producers was definitely nice. "I have the utmost respect for the engineers and designers that work on support gear. The work they do for people can never be understated. It's one of the reasons I worked to become the CEO of Detnerat."
Mei just smiled happily. "Finally someone that gets us. A man of culture." Mei then sighed, "It's too bad you had to see one of my failed pieces. My cooling vest is a dud."
Rikiya rubbed his chin. "And what's wrong with it?" he asked, encouraging Mei to go on while he listened with a smile.
"This vest applies direct cold to try and regulate his body temperature, but Midoriya can get so hot so fast the vest is practically having to freeze him to work. And Midoriya doesn't have a Quirk to handle that kind of cold."
"Reducing the heat build up then?"
"Nope. To do that I'd have to tap into his lungs and Midoriya has already ruled out surgery to let me stick a couple of tubes into his lungs to pump cold air in. The problem is that cooling his lungs down might weaken his fire breath."
Izuku, even as he was trying to wrap his head around the days sudden turn, still shook his head at the idea. He was not letting Mei cut him open.
"So I think I'm going to dump any kind of cooling and instead look into extracting the heat out of Izuku. He has a crude method to do it by breathing out hot air. I'm gonna focus on that."
Rikiya nodded. "This, this right here is what I'm talking about. Perhaps you'd like to come work for me, miss?"
Mei laughed. "My heart belongs to hero support items, I'm afraid."
"Oh, well just between you, me, and your friends here, Detnerat is here because we want to offer our services to U.A. For the designing and creation of support items for the students."
Mei's eyes lit up. "You're jumping into the hero field?!"
"SIR?! Are you sure that's wise to say?" Miyashita fidgeted. "That's confidential information."
"Oh I'm sure it'll be fine. These are future heroes we're talking about here. They won't spread this around. And if they do, we can just sue them!" Rikiya laughed while the others looked a little nervous. "And besides, you can't fault me for being excited with not just the talent from Midoriya's son, but to meet such a talented engineer." Rikiya patted Mei on the shoulder. "I think I'm going to keep my eye on you, young lady."
"Well. It's been a long day and we should not keep you. I know that Principal Nezu isn't one for tardiness."
Soon the two groups began to go their separate ways. Izuku only became aware that Ochako and Himiko were leading him away from the training zone after a few seconds.
"Izuku," Hisashi called out. "This meeting may run long. You go ahead and head on home. I will meet you there."
Katsuki fought back a growl as he looked down at his phone. He had been waiting in the hallway for an ungodly amount of time, a few minutes, for Izuku and Ochako to finally leave All Might's office. Himiko had left not that long ago and now he just needed those last two to finally leave so he could talk to All Might.
If it was just Izuku, Katsuki might have gone ahead and stormed into the office. Might. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get the answers he wanted if he did it that way. So he'd just have to wait, something he hated doing, until the last of the distractions were gone. When the door finally slid open, Izuku and Ochako emerged, with All Might close behind. Izuku looked worn out. Today at least, Katsuki wouldn't hold that against him too much. Having to go home and deal with that shit of a father was something he was sure Izuku was not looking forward to. Katsuki rolled his eyes when he saw Ochako put her hand on his shoulder and say something uplifting to the nerd. Which seemed to work on some level.
Which was just pathetic. Izuku should be strong enough to pick himself up by now. He didn't need some girl doing it for him. Watching them walk away, and seeing Ochako try to hide how close she purposely walked besides Izuku was disgusting. They really were practically attached at the hip at this point. Which Katsuki was sure Ochako wished was literally in her case.
If those two spent that energy they wasted worrying about hiding their damned feelings into something productive like getting stronger, then maybe they wouldn't be such wastes of space. At least that damned nut job Himiko was open and didn't give a damn who knew she was in love with those damned nerds. Which was horrifically few.
Katsuki watched the two round the corner and disappear. Even at this distance, Katsuki saw the fire in Ochako's eyes. She was clearly not happy with the fact Hisashi was back in Izuku's life.
She's not happy about a lot of shit going on in Deku's life, now that Katsuki thought about it. He had seen those hate filled eyes directed at him on more than one occasion. Sooner or later, Katsuki thought, me and Round Face are going to throw down. That 'good girl' act of hers is crumbling. Fuck, I thought she was nuts after that damned nerd got his head caved in at the USJ. Now though? After whatever happened at Hosu City, she's gone off the deep end.
She was obsessed with keeping Izuku safe, that much was obvious to Katsuki. And she was training to deal with anythreat to her 'best friend.' That also included Katsuki. He chose not to think about how that feeling may have come about from how he was in Junior High. He instead focused on the fight he knew was coming his way.
Round Face better be ready to learn the hard way I'm not going to deal with her bullshit. She needs to grow up. Fucking hell, Deku did.
Still, there was time to deal with that later. Right now, Katsuki had bigger fish to fry. He was going to get answers from the big man himself. With the distractions gone, Katsuki stomped up to All Might's office and banged on the door.
"Wh- Who is it? One second please." There was some hurried shuffling and Katsuki thought he heard something hiss. Maybe All Might was cracking open a cold beer, and didn't want anyone seeing him drink on school grounds. The idea made Katsuki smirk.
The door to the office slid open and All might stuck his head out. "Yes hello? Oh? Young Bakugou. Can I help you with something?"
"Need to talk to you," Katsuki said. Though as he looked All Might over he swore the hero looked a little stressed out. which was strange. He only spent an hour with Izuku every evening as far as Katsuki knew. "Won't be long. Just wanted to ask you something."
All Might nodded. "Of course. Do you want to come in? I have some water heated for tea."
Katsuki glanced inside and saw a kettle was steaming. A few used cups were stacked on a table. Izuku, Ochako and Himiko's more than likely. "Here is fine. Like I said, won't be long."
"Then what can I help you with?"
"Why are you so interested in Deku?"
If All Might was taken aback by the question, he didn't show it. "I have an interest in all my students, Young Bakugou."
"Not interested in the 'not playing favorites card' you have saved for the rest of the class. I know you were training Deku before he even got out of Junior High. He told me himself."
"Yes, I'm aware that you… know about that. Very well, I'm interested in Young Midoriya because… I see a lot of myself in him when I was his age." All Might rubbed his chin. "Did he explain his actions with the villain incident?" Katsuki nodded his head, "Well in my youth I did something similar. Of course as a young reckless and… honestly stupid youth my actions almost got me killed. But it did catch the eye of a hero that took me under her wing. I suppose fate has a funny way of repeating itself."
Katsuki frowned. "Huh. But why the huge cover up? Was it really just so those two wouldn't have to be pestered with questions?"
All Might scratched his head. "Part of the reason, yes."
Katsuki arched an eyebrow. "Part? What about Deku's mom? She's still kept in the dark."
This time All Might looked away as he addressed that. "I have enemies, Young Bakugou… I've found that relying on a 'need to know' philosophy tends to keep people safe."
Katsuki thought about that, and decided it didn't make a lot of sense because, "You publicly said you wanted Deku to intern with you after the sports festival, though."
"I… did, yes. But he was in U.A. then. Not a fresh youth who couldn't use his own Quirk. By that point it was a teacher looking out for a student."
On the surface, All Might's reasoning and explanations were fine. But as he spoke Katsuki swore the tone in his voice sounded a lot like Izuku's. And he had known Izuku since they were kids. He had years to pick up when he wasn't being honest. Izuku may not have lied to him when they had talked, but he had held something back. Just like he was sure All Might was holding something back. Recalling the question and answer that had keyed him in on it before. 'And what about that Yagi guy that you three mentioned. He even came to see you, right? What's his deal?'
'As we said, he's a scout, and he does work at All Might's agency, but All Might brought him in after he met us first. He helped train us using All Might's plan and took over whenever All Might wasn't able to be around. He pretty much became the public face of our training since we didn't want to draw attention to it.'
"That guy, Yagi or whatever, any chance I can get the plans he wrote up for Deku when you were training him? They must be good if they got Deku from a scrawny nobody to be able to go toe to toe with me in such a short time. Might be worth my time to study them."
All Might laughed. "Ah yes! Mr. Yagi did a splendid job making those training regiments. If not for him I doubt we would have made as much progress as we did. My time as a hero made it all but impossible to get a plan down. But I'm afraid that plan is confidential. It was tailored for Young Midoriya and Young Uraraka. Your needs…" All Might paused as he thought up a good reason. "Well you're already on your way to becoming a great hero. I doubt you really need those old plans."
Katsuki shrugged, "I suppose so. Well fine, I got nothing else for you." Turning to leave Katsuki got a few steps before he was called out to.
"A moment, Young Bakugou. I have a question for you."
"Eh? About what?"
All Might straightened himself up and took a very serious tone. "Does Young Midoriya's father abuse him or his mother?"
Katsuki frowned and for a few seconds was quiet. An unusual state for him. Finally he turned to look at All Might. "I know he's never hit them. He's too much of a coward to risk that."
"So is that a no?"
Katsuki waved his hand dismissively. "He left for the states when Deku was four. I don't care enough to know how often he came back. But it wasn't often. Wasn't around enough to be a family beater."
Yeah, Deku didn't need his father to get his dose of bruises and lumps.
Katsuki damn near slapped himself when that stray thought crossed his mind. Instead of thinking about it he moved on. "Why ask me? Deku could tell you everything."
"I did ask him," All Might said, crossing his arms, "a few days after the parent-teacher conference I talked with him privately. I had noticed some… peculiar interactions between his mother and father and himself and his father."
"And he said what?"
"That it was his responsibility to handle it." All Might sighed. "Seeing the man and how… uncomfortable Young Midoriya was around him, while he seemingly was a doting father made me wonder about Young Midoriya's answer. And if he was going to… react if his father was indeed hitting him. Or Inko or now possibly Young Eri."
Katsuki frowned at that idea. While seeing the piece of shit splattered on a wall might not bother Katsuki he could see the problem. "That would be Deku's hero future over and done with."
"The problem is I don't have anything to go on. Not enough to act and it seems Young Midoriya is keen to keep this, 'in the family.' So to speak. As you have known the family the longest I had hoped for your insight."
"Does he hit them? No. But only because that might put at risk the one thing he does care about. His image. He's obsessed with being liked by his 'betters' and those under him better give him their adoration and respect. My old man had a great way to describe him actually. The old hag just calls him an abandoning piece of shit, and he is, but my old man was more… accurate. He's a charlatan. A fake through and through. A street vender selling snake oil or a pickpocket looking for an easy target. That's who Midoriya Hisashi is. So him acting all loving towards Deku, it's pretty fucking conveniant that his fucking boss was there to see it."
Deku says that All Might came up with the training he and Round Face did. All Might said it was that Yagi guy who made them. He fucking flipped the damned story.
Katsuki growled as he walked home. His theory that Izuku had been hiding something was now confirmed, and All Might was in on it. But what was it that they were hiding? Katsuki knew Izuku and Ochako were trained by All Might. That was supposed to be the big he had taken an interest in Izuku and immediately after, Ochako. They kept it a secret for a reason.
Deku said it was for privacy. Didn't want any favors or special treatment… Katsuki could believe that. At least that was part of the story. Izuku clearly had decided to fight to become a hero, and wasn't looking to have it handed to him. If he was, there was no way he would have beat him at the sports festival or have improved himself to face him today and fight evenly with Katsuki without letting himself get his shit kicked in to do it.
Then there's what All Might said. Keeping it a secret, even from Deku's mother… Again, there was no lie in that. All Might had been telling the truth too. He really had been worried about people finding out about him training Izuku. Worried for their safety. To prevent the possibility of anyone learning about what he was doing, All Might, Izuku and Ochako had worked together to keep their time a secret. Though anyone with eyes and a brain was figuring it out. Shouto knew and if Katsuki had to guess, Himiko knew too. Though odds are she knew more than Shouto or Katsuki. After Hosu City, she had been brought into the inner circle.
You don't make a team with someone you're keeping a secret from.
So, what was the big secret? What was so important that Izuku was willing to spill the beans about All Might after Katsuki had confronted him?
If I'm going to find out what the hell is going on, it's going to be from that damned nerd. Trying to get All Might to talk isn't an option. Round Face and Bun Bitch are too damned loyal to give up anything. No, Deku's the one that's going to tell me. Sooner or later he's going to slip up and I'll be there. Just have to keep picking up the pieces. If that damned nerd thinks he can keep something like this from me, he's got another thing coming.
The meeting with U.A. was over. At least this one. While no contracts had been written, the group from Detnerat had come away with the agreement that they would provide some examples of the kind of hero support gear they could make. Once they had that, the principal had agreed to allow them to be tested by students in their heroics lessons to see the quality of the work. A reasonable agreement and one that Rikiya was satisfied with. The idea that they would get a contract right off the bat was never really an option. The goal was to get Detnerat's, no, the Meta Liberation Army's foot in the door. And that had been achieved.
If Hisashi being Izuku's father was going to contribute anything, that still remained to be seen. He was going to be the main point of contact between Detnerat and U.A., so his usefulness was in the long term. Making sure that door stayed open and ensuring he had contact with his son while he trained to become a hero.
But that was for tomorrow. Right now, Hisashi had another mission. Finding a way home and beginning to repair the home he had left so that he could have contact with his son at home as well. Hisashi needed to be back in his son's life, and to do that he needed to ensure that his wife Inko didn't throw a wrench into things.
Glancing down at his phone, he clicked his tongue in annoyance at having to call a cab. At the very least, his car ride should be arriving soon.
"You're Midoriya Hisashi correct?"
Hisashi put his phone away and turned to see a lanky and disturbingly thin man come walking down the U.A. steps. He was wearing a suit that was so many sizes too big for his frame, it was a wonder it didn't slide off.
Looking the man over, Hisashi put his phone away. "I am. And you are?"
Why would someone like this be talking to me?
While Hisashi watched him, All Might returned the favor. Watched him using his years of being the number one hero. Watched him using eyes trained to spot any potential threat or danger. So much of his life he had spent on the lookout for those who would want to kill him without coming out into the open. He watched Hisashi carefully and in that short instant got an immediate read on the man.
Young Bakugou's description was dead on.
Hisashi was sizing him up alright. Judging him and trying to decide if he was worth anything. If he was a mark or a pass. All Might had seen those eyes so many times on the crooks who preyed on the weak. On those easily manipulated.
A charlatan.
What a precise answer. These kinds of people were obsessed with how they were looked at. And deplored confrontation. They were not the kind of people that used force to get what they wanted.
"Yes, allow me to introduce myself. I've been hoping to get this chance eventually. My name is Yagi Toshinori. I'm the scout and trainer that found your son and got him ready for the U.A. entrance exam."
All Might watched the judging come to a quick stop as recognition hit. When that happened, the charm came immediately. "Ah! Yes." Hisashi put out his hand. "I recognize the name. You also work for All Might himself, correct? So you're the man I have to thank for taking care of my son this past year. You have my thanks."
All Might took the hand and exchanged a firm handshake. "He's a fine young man. His potential is astounding. I almost consider it fate, our meeting."
"Oh, did you happen to find him at a gym by chance?" Hisashi said, with some level of amusement in his voice. Hoping it would hide the slight wince he had from the hand shake.
All Might tilted his head to the side. "No? Are you… not aware of the incident with the sludge villain over a year ago?"
"Sludge villain?"
There was no recognition from Hisashi at all. Which said a lot. Even if they were separated and he was living on the other side of the world, that Inko hadn't informed him of that, well it spoke volumes.
"A villain took a classmate of Young Midoriya's hostage. He was trying to steal his body and unfortunately the heroes on site were not capable of intervening. So your son rushed in," Hisashi's eyes went wide, "and rescued the boy."
"I was not aware of that, no… Izuku did something like that? What was the boy thinking?"
"A question you should ask him yourself perhaps."
"So afterwards you introduced yourself to my son and began training him?"
"Hmm, not immediately after. His mother grounded him."
Hisashi blinked then nodded his head sagely. "Yes. Yes, of course. Interfering with an incident like that, Izuku's lucky he didn't get in those professionals' way. They could have thrown him into a cell along with that villain. What a disgrace that would have been."
There was a short pause before All Might added, "He also could have died."
Hisashi flinched. "Ah. Yes. Yes, he could have, couldn't he… but he wasn't. And it seems that your training paid off. I'd be interested to hear just what you had my son do to achieve the power he has now."
"Oh, nothing complicated honestly, but if you want a full retelling you could always ask the boy's mother."
"Inko?"
"Yes. She was insistent on being kept up to date on his progress and exactly what kind of training I was putting Young Midoriya through. We ended up meeting regularly to go over things."
Hisashi laughed. "Was she? I hope she didn't cause too many issues."
"None whatsoever. In fact, I found her interest to be a welcomed one. She is a caring woman that wanted to be sure her son wasn't going to be hurt as he chased his dream. She…" All Might's tone took an edge. "Inko is a good and strong woman Mr. Midoriya. She cares deeply for her boy, and she deserves to be respected and treated well. I value the time and friendship I earned with her, and I hope that others in her life treat her with the same level of reverence."
All Might may have been in his shrunken form, but he still had years of being the number one hero to pull from as he let a little of her heroic aura leak out. The effect was immediate as Hisashi took an unconscious step back and a small amount of sweat began to drip from his forehead. "Er, yes. I…I agree. Inko is… a special woman for sure."
All Might nodded. "My spare time may be small now that I've returned to All Might's agency for work, but I still like to swing by to make sure Young Midoriya and Inko are doing well. They deserve to be happy, and I suppose I like to make sure they are. I'm fortunate too that All Might himself has begun training with the boy after his win at the sports festival. He helps keep me up to date."
That last line was the last thing All Might said and it was pretty clear his message was received. Hisashi was fighting to keep his smile up, but even a novice could see he was scared now. You don't turn white for no reason after all.
"You know, you were pretty cool today, Deku."
Izuku paused picking at his dinner to look up at Ochako in surprise. "I-I was?"
"Oh, definitely." Ochako said with a smile.
Izuku scratched his nose, a faint blush on his cheeks. "I, um, thank you. I'm a little surprised to hear you say that though. Since you kinda… um…"
"Really, really hated the idea of you giving Bakugou what he wanted."
Inko looked up from her meal. "What did Bakugou want?"
"A rematch from the sports festival," Ochako replied curtly.
Inko's eyes went wide. "Izuku, you got into a fight at school!"
Izuku waved his hands, denying the idea. "What? No. I didn't get into a fight."
Ochako waved her hand in a 'so so' manner. "You kinda did."
"It was a supervised sparring match, Mom. All Might was there and everything. It wasn't some after school brawl."
"Deku, Bakugou ran up to you and was like," Ochako puffed out her chest and held her hands and palms up in a way that mimicked Katsuki. Then in her best, most horrible impression said, "'Fight me, Deku!'"
Eri giggled at the impression while Deku winced and smirked. "Never let Kacchan hear you do that."
Inko shook her head. "Maybe I should give Mitsuki a call."
Now Izuku looked horrified. "Mom. Don't. If you value my life you won't do that."
The group at the table laughed at that. Izuku took a bite of his, hardly touched dinner, before looking back at Ochako. "So, um. How was I cool?"
"You fought Bakugou and didn't get a single nosebleed. And that new super move of yours was just awesome. I didn't like that you did fight him, but if you have to, you should at least make sure you win, Deku." Ochako flashed him a thumbs up.
The ringing of the phone stopped their conversation and Izuku held his breath. Inko got up from the table and went to pick it up, though it was pretty obvious that she wasn't looking forward to hearing who was on the line. Even if she was trying to hide it for Eri's sake. "Hello?... Oh, you're here at the building… Yes, the door is unlocked. See you in a bit, then." Inko hung up. "He just pulled into the parking lot. He's on his way up."
Izuku fought back a groan. This was it. His father was back and was coming here. The strangeness of their last meeting at school still hadn't sunk in. But he could chalk it up to a few things, if he really thought about it. His father's boss was present. So of course he was going to be on his best behavior. But best behavior didn't really cover everything. He didn't need to hug him. Or praise him like that. It was all so odd.
"You know, you can still get out of here Uraraka," Izuku offered. The idea, though, was immediately shot down.
"Already told you, Deku. I'm staying. Not going to leave you… leave you guys alone."
"I just don't want you to be uncomfortable, is all. Things seem to be… weird right now."
Inko nodded. "I'd say." She was still trying to figure out what was going on, after Izuku had told her about running into Hisashi at school.
"No one is chasing me away. You're stuck with me, remember," Ochako said with a smile.
Izuku blushed and then without thinking said, "If you want to get involved in the family drama, maybe I need to make you part of the family."
Ochako went red while Inko looked at her son in total shock, "I-Izuku?!"
"Hmm? What? What did I…" Izuku's brain finally caught up with his mouth. "Oh…OH!" In a puff of smoke, Izuku began to hurriedly try and explain away what he had just said as a joke. His explanation was more or less a jumble of words that didn't really help his case. It especially didn't help when he ended with. "And, and when I do propose, it won't be like that!"
"Wh-when y-you d-d-d-d-do?"
It was an amusing game for Inko to try and see which of the two was going to be the one to turn the reddest. At this point it was a dead heat and if the game was allowed to keep going Inko wondered if perhaps something incredible might happen. But sadly a knock on the door broke the spell and everyone turned back to normal.
Izuku took a breath when he heard the door open and footsteps echo into the room. And then, there he was. Hisashi entered the room. His eyes scanned everyone, pausing briefly at Ochako, before he walked over to Inko, shocking everyone, Inko included, by leaning over and giving her cheek a quick peck. "Inko, it's so good to see you again. I've missed you."
While Inko tried to figure out what that was about, Hisashi moved to Eri. Crouching down to eye level, he offered his hand towards her. Eri grabbed onto Izuku's sleeve and pushed herself into his side, shyly looking at this new person. Hisashi's smile didn't waver. "Well aren't you a shy one, but I guess I can't blame you. I've heard a lot about you Eri. You went through some truly horrible times didn't you. I hope you've been happy here though. Have my wife and son been good to you?"
Eri nodded but kept herself close to Izuku. Hisashi pulled his hand back, and didn't try to get closer to her, treating her like a stray and being careful how close he got. Not wanting to scare her. "I understand. I hope you'll come to trust me like you do them alright?"
Standing up, Hisashi looked over at Ochako. "I think you were with Izuku at U.A. when Mr. Yotsubashi and myself came, correct? I don't believe we've been introduced."
Ocahko almost, almost, replied with, 'I'm Uraraka Ochako you fucking jack off. Now get the fuck out of here before I throw you out, you abandonding shit stain of a human being.' However after quickly realizing that saying thatwould cause a truck load of problems, the main one being she didn't want Izuku to know she could swear like that, Ochako just went with a simple, "I'm Uraraka Ochako, sir."
Hisashi nodded, "Yes, yes that's the name. You came in third at the sports festival didn't you. Tied with Bakugou if I remember correctly. Your match with that… with Toga was something to see."
The unasked question hung in the air though for everyone to hear, 'Why are you here?' Izuku decided to be the one to answer it. "Uraraka has been with me since the day I started training. We trained together in fact. She moved to Aldera Junior High last year and lives in an apartment by herself. She's been my best friend since then. And we figured since we were already training all day together it wouldn't be a big deal if she would eat with us."
"Ah, I see. I suppose that does make sense. I suppose after a year of it, it's only natural she would still come over then." Hisashi nodded before bowing towards Ochako, which made her blink a few times in surprise. "Thank you for taking care of my son. That he's found such a strong friend is a great relief."
"I… yeah." Ochako wasn't sure how to respond.
Inko frowned. "So how long will you be staying? Izuku mentioned Detnerat is trying to do business with U.A. Though how that has anything to do with you…?"
Hisashi stood up proudly. "I've been promoted and now have the opportunity to work directly with Mr. Yotsubashi on this venture. And more besides if things go well. Which I am pleased to say they have. U.A. want us to create some prototypes for some students to trial. A promising first step. As my new position will deal with U.A., I will be working out of the company headquarters, so I have moved back to Japan. And I don't see myself leaving in the near or distant future."
"Y-you've moved back? As in, moving back here?" Izuku wasn't sure how he felt about that. His father leaving had left such a huge hurt in his heart. Him coming home was a good thing, wasn't it? Izuku wasn't so sure. In truth he was just too confused with everything to be able to come up with an answer. The way his father was acting was just so foreign. So odd.
So unnatural.
"Tot the country, yes. But I think it'd be best if I don't move back in here. I'm… aware that my prolonged absence has caused some…issues. I doubt suddenly moving in would do anything to fix that. While I've been gone, you… four have formed something special and to insert myself into that I think would be unwise. Small steps I think would be best, to make sure we… get to know each other again. So for the time being, I will be living in Deika City."
That name rang a few bells in Izuku's head. "Deika City… Detnerat has a satellite office there, right? It's also where you mentioned…"
Hisashi smiled brightly. "A dinner, yes. I'm glad you remembered that, Izuku. In fact, after seeing your match with Bakugou, Mr. Yotsubashi insisted we have it as soon as possible. This weekend in fact."
Inko's eyes went wide. "This weekend?"
Hiashi frowned. "Did you all have plans?"
"Well, no, but…"
"Ah, you're worried about having something appropriate to wear for it. Well don't you worry. Detnerat will be taking you to find dress wear for the occasion. At the company's expense too. You all will need something proper to wear. As it won't be just you Mr. Yotsubashi is entertaining. It seems that a few of his friends caught wind that he was hosting the winner of the first years' sports festival and the one that caught the eye of All Might himself. There are several powerful societal figures that want a chance to meet you, Izuku."
Izuku was both horrified at the idea, but also a tad excited. But mostly horrified. "S-societal figures?"
"Yes indeed. The executive director of Shoowaysha Publishing for starters. She has expressed a keen curiosity over you, or so I've been told. There's also the leader of the Hearts and Mind Party. A powerful politician and I believe even a board member of Feel Good, Inc. will be there as well."
Horrified. It was pure horror for Izuku now. Hisashi looked down at Eri. "And just in case you were wondering, Eri is of course welcomed to come as well. A company dinner like this will surely have a grand desert table a girl her age will enjoy."
Eri, despite still being nervous around the strange new man, couldn't help but drool a little at that idea. "Like candied apples?"
Hisashi raised an eyebrow. Ochako clarified, "Apples are her favorite snack."
"Oh, I'm sure word will get to the chefs to make sure there are plenty of different apple desserts for little Eri." Then Hisashi looked at Ochako. "I'm sure we could also open a seat for such a close friend as you, Uraraka. It's the least I can do after you've taken such good care of my son. Plus you're well known in your own right. As a podium finisher yourself, I'm sure the people at this dinner would like to meet you as well." Ochako chirped in surprise at that.
"You're never too young to start making connections after all. This is the perfect opportunity to meet some very, veryimportant people."
The hour was late, and Hisashi was calling another cab to take him to his apartment in Deika City. Overall he would say the day had been a successful one. He had to make a few emergency texts as he walked down the stairs though. He had opened the invitation without making sure it would even be approved. A risk, but his goal was to get himself into the good graces of his family. So if this girl was important to Izuku, it had made sense to bring her along. Excluding her might have led to issues. Fortunately Rikiya approved of the idea and the reason behind it. So he was in the clear.
Fortunately his son hadn't made it a habit of collecting more people off the street to add to his strange collection of friends. It was so strange, Izuku had good friends like Tenya and Shouto, people with breeding and class, but he also had this girl that came from some blue collar family in a failing construction business. So strange. What was the point?
Hisashi did count his fortunes that Himiko had not been brought up. Hisashi wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his composure if his son had wanted to bring that freak to dinner. Though apparently before Chitose's great blunder of trying to expose Himiko to the world, the girl did come over for dinner with Izuku when she could.
"Hisashi."
The sudden call from behind broke Hisashi out of his thoughts. Turning around, he was surprised to see Inko coming down the stairs after him. Looking at him carefully. Calculatingly. There was a fire in her eyes. Like he had seen at the parent-teacher conference.
"What are you doing?"
Hisahsi blinked before spreading his arms out. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
"I'm not going to let you use Izuku to help you advance your career, Hisashi. After everything you've done, I won't let you hurt him like that."
"A harsh accusation, Inko."
"Do you remember how you were when Izuku got his Quirk? You were acting exactly like this. Then you left. So don't stand there and try to lie to think I don't know when you're putting on a show?"
Hisashi frowned, and sighed. "Fine. Yes, I want to take advantage of Mr. Yotsubashi's interest in Izuku. The man is obsessed with Quirks. Almost like how Izuku is. So when he learned everything about Izuku and contacted me, of course I jumped at the chance. Izuku in a day has opened more doors for me than my ten years of work over in the states. I'm getting brought onto projects that I wouldn't know about until a shareholder meeting or even later. So yes, I am going to take full advantage of that. But," Hisashi cut off a very biting remark that Inko had at the ready, "I'm also trying to help Izuku. To help everyone in our family."
Inko narrowed her eyes. "Help us? How?"
"Izuku wants to become the number one hero. That is something he has always wanted, and now that he has All Might himself working with him, that dream may very well become a possibility. But All Might isn't just a hero. He runs his agency, Might Tower, that has hundreds if not thousands of people working for him. He is a CEO, even if he doesn't call himself that. Izuku needs to learn other skills and make other connections if he's going to achieve that kind of success. And he won't get those at school. Those are forged in the real world, and if he starts now, making the most of what he's done already, can you imagine where he'll be when he graduates?"
Inko hated how much that made sense. She also hated how well Hisashi was able to blend the truth with his truth. It was so hard to tell the difference when he got going.
"Do you think you've earned the right to be the one to help him?"
Hisashi frowned. "I'm his father."
"That's not what I asked."
"... I'm trying. Inko, you want this to be simple, fine. I'm trying. People can change, you know."
"So you're saying you were wrong?"
Hisashi's face soured. "I… I'm saying that I might have been… too much focussed on certain things."
Inko threw up her hands in disgust. "You can't even say you were wrong, Hisashi!"
"I'm trying to change, Inko. I've done it before, same as you.It's just not as easy for me. I'm not you after all."
Inko turned away. "I changed… We changed because we wanted something better. Something good. And we got it with Izuku. Then you left. You hurt the good thing we brought into this world."
"Then let me try and fix it. I'm not going to say I'm perfect. You want me to say I've made mistakes? I've made mistakes. But this, what I'm trying to do with Izuku and you isn't one of them."
Inko looked at Hisashi hard. "One reason. Give me one reason why I should let this happen. Why should I give you this chance to come back into our lives?"
Hisashi didn't say anything at first. He chewed on just how to answer that. Finally he thought back to years ago, a stormy night with a rainfall hard enough to wash away anything not anchored down. He recalled a shivering sorry excuse of a man climbing up to a young woman's apartment and weakly banging on the door. "Because a long long time ago, you gave me a chance Inko. And Izuku was born from that."
In an instant, Inko and Hisashi weren't at the apartment anymore, but far away. On a small island no one wanted to remember. A war weary Inko with a bag over her shoulder and Hisashi, drenched and beaten to hell, falling into her arms and begging her not to leave him.