One quick phone call to let Himiko know things were okay. Then one explanation / retelling later…
"I can not believe that America's number one hero is freaking fifteen," Ochako rubbed her brow as she finished absorbing everything.
"To be fair, I'm turning sixteen pretty soon."
"You know that's not helping right?" Ochako asked with a pained smirk.
Izuku laughed before turning back to Melissa. "At least this explains why your podcasts and your let's play streams on Force don't seem so cringy. It makes sense you actually know how social media works."
Melissa blinked. "Wait? Are you one of my Star Spangled Bannermen?"
"Stars up!" Izuku said with a smile, repeating the silly catch phrase she had for her followers.
Ochako looked totally lost, so Izuku explained, "Melissa as Star and Stripe does podcasts where she talks about being a hero and some of the strange cases she's had to work. She also has a gaming channel on Force Streaming. I'm subscribed to them. Her current play through of Frum Softwares Dragon Souls is hilarious."
And just like that, the smile on Melissa's face is gone. "We don't discuss that game."
"She died in the first trap."
"Silence!"
Izuku ignored the threatening glare and turned back to Ochako. "Some people think that her mastery of social media really helped boost her popularity so quickly."
Melissa looked a little smug. "And the agency people thought I was crazy."
While Ochako wasn't sure she was going to debate that, she noticed that Izuku seemed to have moved on to thinking about something else, since he was giving her a funny look.
"What?"
Izuku was scratching his head as something just clicked in his head. "Wait, how'd you even find me Uraraka? We're like on the other side of the island."
"Oh, that was easy," Ochako tapped her visor before taking it off so she could show Izuku the inside. "See that little blip on the GPS map?"
Izuku squinted. "Um, yeah I do." It kinda looked like a chibi version of his old mask now that he got a look at it. There was another blip that flashed over it, a pink planet with a little ring.
"There's a tracking device in your hero costume that Hatsume uses to get her readings on you. I asked her to fiddle with my visor's software so I'd be able to track it too."
Izuku blinked. "… Yeah, Hatsume is going to turn that feature off when we get home."
After reassuring Melissa that her secret was safe with them, Izuku even going so far as to claim he was excellent at keeping secrets—sending Ochako into a whirlwind of sputters and coughs—the pair noticed that it was starting to get late. Melissa said she knew of a great little burger place that the three could eat at, and even offered to go grab her father and All Might if the two were free, so they could all have a bite together. She reassured the pair that by the time they sat down, she'd have recovered enough to shrink down and have a bite to eat.
Before Izuku and Ochako left, Melissa had a question for Izuku. "If you don't mind. Do you know what Uncle Might means when he said you remind him of himself? I was just curious if there was anything specific that caught his eye you were aware of."
Izuku shared a quick glance with Ochako, Melissa noting that there was something unsaid between them that pretty much confirmed they knew what she was asking about, but perhaps it wasn't something that was supposed to be shared.
Melissa might have thought it was strange if she had time to think about it, but Izuku turned and answered her before that. "Just a little over a year ago, All Might saved my life. A friend of mine got attacked by a villain. He was holding him hostage and trying to take over his body. There were heroes on site there but none of them were able to help. The villain's body was made out of sludge, so they couldn't do anything and not risk my friend getting hurt."
Melissa winced. That was a hero's worst nightmare. Being in a situation where the best or only thing you could do was wait for someone that could handle the situation.
"I was in the crowd, and when I saw who the villain had taken hostage and that none of the heroes were able to do anything… well. I sorta ran in."
Melissa's face was initially unreadable before her eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped. "You did what?!"
Izuku continued to recount the incident and how All Might was the one to save him and his friend. Melissa was still in shock. Granted she had done something similar, but that was after she had been receiving hero training. To run into a situation like that, with nothing, was absolutely insane.
Ochako agreed completely, making Izuku chuckle nervously. He then went on to explain that at the time, someone from All Might's agency had been in the crowd and, after witnessing the incident, offered to train both Izuku and Ochako to help them get ready for U.A.'s entrance exam.
"Someone from Uncle Might's agency was there? Who?"
"Mr. Yagi," Izuku answered. He then explained that while training them, Mr. Yagi had been sending All Might updates on their progress, so he was already familiar with them by the time they started attending U.A.
"Mr. Yagi?"
Izuku blinked, while behind him, Ochako held her breath. It suddenly dawned on the pair that Melissa, out of everyone they've told this story to, might be able to see through it. She had grown up with All Might as her uncle. Just because she called him 'Uncle Might' didn't mean she wouldn't know his actual name.
"Arg, this is annoying. I've been to his agency before and that name sounds super familiar. Ugh, this is the worst." While Melissa scratched her head trying to recall the person, Izuku and Ochako sighed at dodging that bullet.
"You have a picture?" Izuku nodded and fished out his phone, showing her a picture he, Ochako and All Might, shrunken down, had taken early on in their training, after a rather rough day. All Might looked smug while Izuku and Ochako looked ready to fall asleep on their feet. Melissa examined the picture before shaking her head. "Nah, not who I was thinking of."
After making sure Izuku and Ochako knew how to get to the burger place, Melissa waved goodbye to the pair and let them know she'd have her father and All Might with her in about thirty minutes or so if she could separate the two. If they were already getting into trouble, well, dinner was going to be just the three of them. Plus, she reassured them that the time spent telling her story and finding her father would mean she'd have some time built back up for a quick bite to eat.
Taking a moment, Melissa sat back down and reflected on the currently growing list of surprises she was dealing with today. First and foremost was apparently that she'd just made two trustworthy friends after meeting them just today. After not having any, she wasn't sure if that was allowed, but the way the two had reassured her that they were friends made it pretty clear they thought that was how it worked. So Melissa was rolling with it gladly.
Of course Izuku and Ochako could just be weird, which would make them just accepting that she was Star and Stripe make more sense. That fact and that she actually told them everything, or close enough, were two other surprises she was still wrapping her head around. It just made no sense that they just go from shock to, 'oh wow that's cool.'"
Then there was the fact that apparently her uncle had been scouting Izuku and Ochako for waaay longer than the two realized. She thanked her training by the government that she hadn't fallen out of her seat when Izuku name dropped Mr. Yagi, or had screamed when she saw that photo. Uncle Might, what are you up to?
Melissa knew about her Uncle's condition. He didn't know that she knew. Neither did her father or mother. They seemed to forget that she was a Shield. She wasn't an idiot. She was only just beginning her Quirk training when All Might had come to visit, and to have a 'checkup.'
All Might always had 'checkups' when he came to visit now. So obviously, one day, Melissa got curious. And one night, she saw what she wasn't supposed to see. What the world could never see. The effects of still healing surgeries and treatments that saved her Uncle's life but left him…
It was a haunting scene for her. But she remembered the smile he always wore, to help others feel better. So she made sure she always wore one too. Her Uncle would always see her smile, and know everything was going to be okay.
Shaking her head from the old memory, Melissa sat and really thought about why Izuku. Why did All Might pick him? Getting to her computer, she did some quick searches and ended up finding the news report of the attack, along with cell phone video. It was pretty much exactly how Izuku had described it. There was even footage of Ochako trying to chase after him. Melissa wasn't surprised at all. It was all here, just like he said.
At least All Might was consistent with how he handled situations like this. After he had learned what she had done, his first words were, 'That's incredible!' Oh boy did Melissa's mom rip him a new one.
Still, while she could understand some of what was going on, Melissa felt like there was something missing from this story. Rubbing her chin, she kept thinking about it as she pulled out an oversized hoodie and 'stealthily' made her way to her father's lab to let them know about dinner.
Melissa hummed to herself as she walked through her father's private lab. She hadn't found the pair in his public workshop so she checked in here. This was where the 'checkups' took place. Inside of the lab was a device that Melissa herself was very familiar with. It was a pod that could perform a full body scan and get readings on a person's health and vitals, as well as their Quirk factor. She has used this device and similar ones like it while training and during her career, recording her growth and putting a number on just how powerful she was getting.
Melissa looked over the pod, and the computer used with it. She noted that it looked like it had been recently used. Which meant, Uncle Might must have had another of his checkups.
Melissa typed away at the keyboard, bringing up the most recent scans, but was met with a password protection message. She huffed out a breath and pressed a finger against the keyboard, but avoided touching any of the keys. 「The keyboard will reenter the last password typed.」
The keys started clicking away immediately, and soon the protection message was gone. Humming Melissa clicked on the last readout, and almost swallowed her tongue. "What the hell?!"
The numbers she was seeing, they couldn't be right. True, she knew All Might was on a steady decline, knew that what was done to his body was making it harder and harder for him to continue to be the symbol of peace, but none of that explained what she was seeing on the screen. A sudden and horrifically near vertical drop in readings, almost leaving All Might with a Quirk factor number a quarter of his last check.
Melissa began running background checks on the test readings. Perhaps there was an error in the machine, perhaps it hadn't been calibrated properly before the test was run. Because there was no way this drastic change could happen in just a matter of a couple of months. But despite what she knew had to be an error on the machine, she couldn't find anything wrong. Which meant these readings were accurate and Melissa thought she was going to throw up.
Her eyes followed the chart. The initial readings during All Might's golden years. Then the moment of his injury, which started a dramatic first drop. Then followed the next six years of a modest, but unwavering decline in All Might's numbers. Then, several months back, the second noticeable drop, which coincided with the assault on the USJ. Melissa had read the report that the Department of Heroics had been provided by the Hero Public Safety Commission. Or better yet, she had read between the lines. All Might, despite being victorious and repelling the assault, had taken some damage, with reports saying the fight had been especially brutal. The strain of such a battle clearly had affected All Might, so the drop made sense.
But this new one? There was zero explanation. None. Nothing had happened in the time frame that could make this fucking dramatic drop make sense.
Melissa brought up a calendar and tried to see if she could narrow down any potential event, and the only close thing that was a major newsworthy event her Uncle was involved in was the U.A. sports festival and the Hosu City incident. Melissa frowned and looked at the two events carefully. There was something itching at the back of her brain.
"Midoriya."
Thinking about it, at the same time this dramatic change in All Might took place, some changes happened to Izuku. A Quirk awakening and apparently a new method to use his original Quirk. In his matches in the tournament, Izuku didn't have any kind of enhanced strength. And this was also when All Might had openly taken Izuku under his wing with the internship. A coincidence? Maybe. Nothing about any of what she'd just laid out was some damning smoking gun.
Clearly her Uncle had plans for Izuku, but there wasn't anything here to say what those could be or if they were in any way connected to the drop in Quirk numbers.
Closing the computer and making sure everything was back to how she found it, Melissa made her way to her father's private office, where she was pretty sure the two would be right now. As she did, she had her phone out and was continuing to try and scratch the itch in her head. Nothing, absolutely nothing that happened at the sports festival gave her anything. So she shifted her focus to Hosu City, and the report that the Department of Heroics had been given by the Hero Public Safety Commission when Japan briefed its allies over the capture of the wanted hero killer and the League of Villains attack.
For the most part, it was all standard stuff. Reassurances that the villain organization was of no real threat. A lot of hand waving and boring crap that would make most people roll their eyes at the bureaucracy at work. But Melissa was a scientist, like her father, as well as a pro hero. She read dry boring shit all the time. Dissertations, theses, stuff that would put people to sleep, Melissa read them all the time, and was able to pick out bits and pieces that were the relevant parts.
That also meant she could pick out things that didn't fit too. Which this official report had in spades. Buried between the lines, were little inconsistencies. The portions about the Nomu attack were more or less reliable. She could smell how hard the Hero Public Safety Commission was trying to underplay the threat the monsters were, but aside from that, the report was accurate.
The stuff surrounding Stain's apprehension however… Wow, this smells of coverup.
At a glance everything was fine. Heck, even if someone was giving the report an actual review, they probably wouldn't see anything wrong. But under Melissa's critical eye, yeah things didn't add up. Of course, to even assume there was something going on, you'd need to think that All Might, a substantial source of information in the report, would be willing to lie, and Melissa was well aware he was. So she had that going for her too.
Not everything was off in the report of course. The horrific injuries sustained by the U.A. students for instance were tragically accurate. Multiple stab wounds, cuts, a complete through and through impalement and the loss of sight in an eye.
Then she got a look at Izuku's injuries, and she had to take a second to look away from the photographs documenting his many injuries. It was hard to think about that smiling, hero loving, Quirk obsessed and gentle boy looking so mutilated. But Melissa turned back to continue her investigation and her eyes lingered on Izuku's right arm. The description of the wound, which wasn't near a strong enough word for the damage done to his appendage, reminded Melissa of what happened to her, the first time she had used her Quirk to enhance her strength.
This is pretty much exactly as they described it.
She tapped her phone, humming to herself as she moved on and looked over crime scene photos. And it was here that she realized that things weren't adding up. According to the report, All Might and Endeavor had apprehended the hero killer. The scene was wrecked enough that a person would look at it and say that it looked like something All Might could do. But Melissa knew better. Could? Yes. The way things were torn up, at least the main road, looked like it was done with a huge impact force, like say a punch from All Might. But would All Might have done this? No chance.
Uncle Might has way too much experience and control to have left this kind of collateral damage. Stain's Quirk is a paralysis type. He doesn't have any kind of enhanced strength or durability, so Uncle Might wouldn't have used this amount of force. It's disproportionate to the threat. This was done by someone really pissed off… or someone that didn't have control…
Melissa thought back to Izuku, and that messed up arm of his.
Sucking in a breath, Melissa, once she was sure she was in a safe zone of her father's private office, shrunk down and walked up to the main door. "Papa? Uncle Might? You two aren't getting into trouble are you?" Still, even if the area was one of the 'safe' zones for her, it never hurt to be a little extra cautious. Something she had just learned not that long ago today when it came to her secret.
There was some coughing from the other side, which she gave a second to calm down before she opened the door to find her father and All Might, muscled up and smiling, sitting at a table with a small bottle of whiskey between them. "Ah Melissa. Welcome back… where are Young Midoriya and Young Uraraka?"
Closing the door behind her, Melissa looked between the two and David gave her a nod. She let her transformation go and popped back up to full size. "I sent them on ahead to grab us some seats at Dex's Diner. Thought I'd grab you two so we could all grab a burger for dinner."Melissa looked at All Might. "You think you can go?"
The unasked question being if he physically could go. She wasn't sure what his time limit was now, but given how he looked after they had left earlier, she could guess it wasn't long. She saw the quick questioning glance from her father towards All Might, but the hero waved him off. "Oh, I think I can swing a quick bite no worries. Though afterwards me and your father are going to spend the rest of the evening catching up before I crash for the night… I think the jet lag is starting to get to me so it'll be an early evening."
"In that case, I'll put these away," David said as he grabbed two suspiciously empty glasses and the bottle, "and my phone and we can go have a bite."
While David was out of the room, putting the stuff away, All Might was looking out the windows of the office, admiring the city below. With his attention distracted, Melissa figured if she was going to try something, now would be the time.
With a mental command, she let the one order she always had active on her body fade. The one she used to give herself the strength and durability that so many compared to All Might. With it gone she, as quietly as she could, walked up and gave All Might a pat on the shoulder before going to take a seat while she waited for her father. Walking over she whispered, 「Toshinori Yagi's body will recover from the injuries dropping his Quirk factor.」 Melissa paused and after she was sure All Might hadn't heard her added, 「Toshinori Yagi's Quirk will revert back to normal.」
She immediately felt a repulsion from the attempt from her first command, the distinct feel of the command being rejected. The simple reason being that her Quirk was not strong enough to manifest the command she wanted.
Melissa wasn't completely surprised by this, even though she was still disappointed. Ever since she had found out about her uncle's injuries and degrading body, she had tried multiple times to use her Quirk to boost his healing or revert his body back to a healthy state. But sadly, New Order didn't have that power. Melissa was pretty sure the fact that All Might was missing internal organs was a key reason the commands never worked. Plus the fact that his body had already 'healed' from the incident. Still, it didn't mean she wasn't going to keep trying.
But she didn't have time to focus on that, because she was instead left wondering why she didn't feel anything from her second command. Either she'd feel the rejection of it not working, or feel the command stick and know something was happening. Instead, she felt nothing. Which meant she had gotten her wording wrong on the command, or what she was trying to gain command over wasn't there. Which was very confusing for her, because she was very good at getting her wording right for New Order. So that left her wondering, What is going on with Uncle Might's Quirk?
"Sooo, is it my imagination, or does everything here look like it's dripping with grease?" Ochako asked cautiously as she looked at the burger place they had decided they were going to be eating at. It resembled an ancient retro look that Americans romanticized permanently into pop culture bible. Black and white tile floors, bright red and chrome seats and booths, and random car parts along the walls. How such a look could be adapted into an alfresco type cafe was a testament to American dedication to their own branding.
"I think that's how you know it's going to be good," Izuku observed as he watched a group of people walk by, plates full of burgers that looked like they would melt and fall apart if not for the mystical power of a toasted bun, and enough fries that it could pass as a mountain.
Izuku glanced down at his phone. It had been about thirty minutes since they had left Melissa to come here, and he was still trying to wrap his head around everything he had learned. "Hey… Uraraka."
"Yeah?"
"How're you doing?"
Ochako laughed. "I'll say this, you sure have a habit of taking me places and seeing things I wasn't expecting when I wake up in the morning."
Izuku chuckled in return. "At least I'm not making your life boring."
"Ha ha ha, yeah…" Ochako sighed. "The one thing I have trouble imagining is how she has to live two separate lives. And how both just seem so…"
"Lonely," Izuku finished.
"Yeah…"
"Grew up not really having anyone… except for Kacchan." Izuku smirked at the annoyed look that crossed Ochako's face. "So seeing someone so… so nice not having anyone she can confide in just seems so wrong. Or even just spend some time doing nothing with."
"I guess that's just a sacrifice she was willing to make to follow her dreams."
Izuku crossed his arms. "Well, she shouldn't have to."
Ochako caught the tone change in Izuku's voice. It usually meant he was thinking of and about to do something. "Deku?"
"I was thinking of… sharing our group number with her. It'd be a long distance kind of thing but… she'd have people she could talk to."
"Bringing her into the Dekusquad, huh?" Ochako tapped her chin as she thought about that. "I think that would be really sweet honestly."
"Then I'll ask her about it after we eat."
The two went back to waiting patiently until Izuku suddenly asked. "Do you think I should tell her about…"
"I AM HERE FOR A BURGER!"
When a crowd immediately began to gather around the cafe, All Might made sure to let the people know that he was here to have a quick bite with his students before leaving. He politely asked the adoring people of I-Island to hold back their questions and requests for autographs until tomorrow, when he would be more than happy to do some interviews.
And people generally did as he asked. While a crowd did gather to catch a glimpse of the meal, they stayed back at a respectable pace, out of respect for the hero, and the fact that several security bots were making a barrier between them and the cafe.
The five were all seated, and took the chance to look over a small paper menu to see what they wanted.
"So how was Melissa's tour around the island?" David said. "Let me guess, she made sure to visit the hero support item pavilion, right?"
"Papa! You make it sound like that's the only thing I care abo—"
"Yup."
"It was like watching a pinball ball bouncing all over the place," Izuku and Ochako cut in. Melissa shot them dirty looks while David and All Might chuckled. Soon after they all had what they wanted circled on the menu, All Might got up and tapped Izuku on the shoulder to come with him.
"Might as well put that Psychokinesis to good use while we're here." Izuku just rolled his eyes at being made the group's waiter, and trudged alongside All Might to put in their order. "Cough, hack." All Might put a hand over his mouth and winced, while Izuku looked up at him in alarm. Glancing around, he hurried to bring himself and All Might around the back of the cafe, into a small alley where they could be out of sight momentarily.
"All Might, are you alright?!" Izuku asked worriedly.
All Might shrunk down but waved Izuku off. "Calm down, Young Midoriya. I only coughed up a little blood."
"But what about your time limit? I don't want you to decrease it anymore than it already is."
All Might gave Izuku a steady look. "Young Midoriya, I'm not going to hurt myself having a quick bite. I hadn't even reached my time limit earlier and I've been relaxing since we separated. I'm fine…"
"You are?"
All Might sighed. "David wanted to run some tests. See just how my condition had deteriorated since we'd last spoken. It more or less confirmed what I already knew… Hey, I don't like that forlorn look you got. Cut it out."
Izuku sighed. "Sorry. I just can't help but feel responsible. I mean if it wasn't for me you wouldn't—"
Wack!
"Ow!" Izuku rubbed his head after All Might thumped him.
"Not going down that road. Even if I still had my Quirk, it wouldn't change anything. In fact, it'd be worse. It'd be stuck inside a body that couldn't handle the power. And we know how that ends up." Izuku winced, since he was very aware. "Young Midoriya, I've put my trust in you and the future you're going to bring. So focus on that, and stop fretting over every little thing in the present. And stop treating me like I'm fragile. I'm not that old."
Izuku nodded. "Okay."
"Good. Now," All Might looked down at himself, "I'm going to find a private washroom to freshen up and clean off some of this blood. You handle the order, alright?"
Izuku flashed a thumbs up. "Sure, leave it to me."
All Might buffed up and took off to find a private place to clean up, leaving Izuku alone in the alley, looking off where All Might had run off to. "I'm sorry All Might, I guess I'm never going to get used to the fact that I'm still the cause of this. Even if this was the plan."
"And what exactly does that mean?"
Izuku just about jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice behind him. Whirling around, eye wide, he saw Melissa, white steam wafting around her body as she looked right at him. And she did not look happy. Having seen her Uncle coughing, she had excused herself to see what was going on.
And overheard everything.
"Meli… um, Sta…"
Wait what should I be calling her right no—
"ACK!"
Izuku gasped as Melissa covered the ground between them in an instant and with one hand pressed into Izuku back against a wall. Stunned more than hurt, Izuku looked up at her in shock, while she looked down at him, eyes narrowed and looking pissed. "What did you do to my Uncle?"
This is what she said. But what she said in her head, what was fueling her anger and fear, was much more primal and in some ways put Izuku in a much more precarious position than he could ever realize. Because in Melissa's head, she wasn't asking Izuku what he had done to her uncle. No, it was something else.
What did you do to my father?
Melissa was a Shield.
Melissa wasn't dumb.
Growing up, daughter of a scientist and inventor who specialized in creating support items to help heroes save the world, meant she was really good at noticing things. Whenever something even remotely bad happened to her, no matter how small, it seemed like All Might came to see her.
Once she broke her arm falling off a swing set, All Might flew out to see her that same day, showing up just as the doctors were done setting the arm and healing it. When she had learned she wasn't like other children, that she was Quirkless, All Might came to see her. When she found out the doctor had been wrong and her Quirk did manifest, in an explosive way, All Might came to see her. When confronted with the idea that she had to be a hero, All Might came to see her. He always came to see her.
There were so many times she'd catch little bits of All Might talking with David and Zuri. Asking how her grades were going. Asking if she was having fun at school. Were there any bullies? Friends? Was she interested in boys? Girls?
When she had had her first period, All Might was suddenly showing up for a visit, with bags of dried fruit and a how-to-guide looking absolutely frantic.
All Might was her uncle, but he didn't act like how one would expect an uncle to act.
Then there were her parents. She loved her Mama and Papa. But even with them she noticed strange things that didn't add up. Her mother had the most beautiful curly black hair that she would wear in afros, box braids, crochet braids or dreadlocks. Looks that Melissa wished she could copy, but unlike her Mama, she had straight blonde hair. Then there was the fact that her mother's dark complexion was the complete opposite of her fair skin and her eyes were so dark brown, they could pass as black. Her father may have blue eyes, like her, but his hair was brown.
These were things that she noticed but didn't think much of. Mama was Mama and Papa was Papa. But then she got older, and during her hero training, started to look at the world a little more skeptically. Blond hair, fair skin, blue eyes, and a Quirk that was outrageously strong. It was hard for someone that looked at the world skeptically to ignore.
So one day, during one of her Uncle Might's visits and 'checkups' as he was getting prepared to apparently become a teacher in the near future, or at least expressing an interest, she snuck into her father's lab. Because during that visit there had been a villain attack in the city, and All Might got a few cuts, so it was easy to find a discarded bandage. Easy to run a paternity test using the lab's equipment. It wasn't easy to look at the screen as the results popped up, showing a near one hundred percent match for paternity.
It took Melissa a few days to come to terms with this. Her parents and All Might wondered if she was feeling sick, and she went with that. Plus, just a little exhaustion added in made them agree, she just needed some rest. Through those few days, Melissa had to decide how she wanted to handle this. What this revelation meant. She was All Might's biological daughter. That opened up a lot of can of worms. She was raised by David and Zuri, with documentation she was their daughter. Heck, there were photos of her mother while she was pregnant. So all three were in on a huge cover up and had done something to get official records either doctored or forged.
It was a lot to take in. Why go through all this trouble? Why give her away? A lot of why's but during the last day, before All Might was going to return to Japan, ultimately Melissa came to a decision. How's and why's didn't matter. Her Papa loved her, her Mama loved her and her Uncle Might loved her. Or else this whole thing never would have happened. Maybe they were trying to protect her, or maybe All Might was afraid of something. All of that, it just didn't matter. Whatever they did, for whatever reason, it was for her.
So when she came out of her room, to wish her Uncle good luck as he was getting ready to head back to Japan, she came out with a new look. Her hair was drawn back and stylized into eight hair tufts. To show him her dedication to peace, and to say, perhaps not in words, the effect he had on her. To show his legacy lived on through her.
She never said anything about what she'd learned. There was no need. Her family was perfect.
A year later, her uncle met Izuku. A year after that, he was a teacher at U.A. and was openly taking Izuku under his wing. And during this time, her uncle's Quirk factor was dropping faster than should be possible. Like it was fading away. Even with his deteriorating body, this shouldn't be possible. But now, Melissa had a common denominator through all of it that might, might, finally give her some answers.
Izuku.
He knew things he shouldn't and had something to do with everything. So Melissa was going to get answers, one way or another.
So Melissa laid it out. And she watched Izuku's eyes go wide. She knew about All Might's body, she knew about his Quirk becoming weaker. And now, she knew that he knew, and in his own words, "'I just can't help but feel responsible. I mean if it wasn't for me you wouldn't' what? What exactly is going on here, Midoriya?"
Izuku was stunned. Things had just come undone so fast his brain was trying to catch up. His mouth auto piloted and defaulted to what normally worked as a delaying tactic. "I don't know what—"
"Midoriya." Melissa's voice was low, but there was a rumble in it that got Izuku's attention. And the fact that the giant hand pressing into his chest was starting to apply pressure. "Don't you even try to lie to me. I heard you both talking."
Oh… crud.
"And I know you know about Uncle Might's condition."
Wait… wait she knows too?! That means… oh my gosh that means!
Melissa saw the recognition dawning in Izuku's eyes and nodded. "I know about his injury. And I know about him not being able to use his Quirk like he used to. And now I know that you know. You seem to know a lot. You seem to be responsible for a lot." She paused and Izuku felt a little pressure come off his chest. "Even though Uncle Might said you shouldn't feel that way."
"Melissa…" Izuku reached up and laid a hand on her wrist, not trying to remove her hand, but trying to give some kind of comfort. She was mad, but she was also worried about All Might. "It's… a complicated situation."
Melissa frowned. "Then sum it up. Convince me right here and now that you haven't done something that's put my Uncle's life in mortal danger. Because if some villain found out about his condition and you played a role in that…"
This wasn't how Izuku wanted this to happen. Before he had been interrupted by All Might earlier, he was going to ask Ochako if she thought telling Melissa about everything would have been the right thing to do. All Might had said he didn't want her involved, but now Izuku was looking at a pissed off Pro Hero. Someone that had just opened up about their own secrets to him.
So on what ground did he have to hide anything from her?
"Do you know how All Might got hurt?" Izuku asked.
Melissa frowned. "All for One." A name she had heard spoken in hushed whispers between her father and All Might. A name that was listed as a 'crime lord' in official documents, the rest was so heavily redacted, the sheets were just black paper.
Izuku waited for her to continue, but her just listing the name meant she wasn't aware of the whole picture. "There's… a lot to that name. But he was All Might's greatest enemy. Responsible for causing him a lot of pain. Killing people he cared for. The main reason for this was because he was after All Might's Quirk."
"After his…"
"All for One steals Quirks. And he's been after that one for a very long time. See… All Might's Quirk is special." Izuku paused, making sure Melissa was paying attention. "It's called One for All, and it's been around for hundreds of years."
The explanation was quick, and very abridged. Izuku didn't want to take so much time to worry anyone at the table. But he covered everything he felt needed to be covered so Melissa had a good idea what the story was, and his involvement in it.
"'I've put my trust in you and the future you're going to bring,'" Melissa repeated the words she had heard All Might say. Now with context, they held a whole new weight to them. "Holy crap."
Izuku, now off the wall, wasn't sure if he should say anything. He was just making sure she was absorbing the information.
"We should get those burgers ordered."
Izuku blanched. "Wait… are you sure? I mean I know we don't want to raise suspicions or anything but…"
Then Melissa started to laugh, she was crying but she was still laughing. Not some boisterous bellow, but a melancholic, accepting laugh. "I don't need to think about it. Whatever the rest of the story is, I'll want to hear it, but what's done is done. That Quirk, you have it now. Just promise me one thing. Will you look out for him once… once he can't be the symbol of peace anymore? That day is… getting pretty close now."
"Of course," Izuku answered genuinely and with conviction.
"Then there isn't anything left that needs to be said…"She then scratched her neck as she shrunk back down. "Well… maybe an 'I'm sorry.'"
Izuku bowed deeply. "I'm sorry that you had to find out like this. And that All Might is—"
"Whoa whoa whoa! I meant from me!" Melissa waved her hands and pushed Izuku back upright. "For the whole wall slamming thing."
"Oh!" Izuku blinked. "Um, it's fine."
"You sure? I was coming on pretty scary."
"You have not seen Uraraka when someone takes her last piece of mochi."
The two laughed as they hurried into the cafe to place their dinner order so that no one would be suspicious over Izuku taking so long.
Ochako dabbed at her hair, drying it with a towel. "So what are you going to tell All Might?"
Izuku, sitting on the large bed facing away from the shower even though the opaque glass had offered complete privacy for Ochako while she had showered and changed, shrugged. "Not sure yet. We couldn't decide which of us should be the one to tell him."
"And me?"
"Oh, I flat out told Melissa I wasn't going to be able to keep this a secret from you."
"Because we're so close or because you're scared of me?" Ochako asked as she sat down next to Izuku, now changed into her sleepwear, a large comfy shirt and some gym shorts.
Izuku tapped his chin. He was also similarly dressed for bed. "Yes."
Ochako rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. "Heck of a day, huh?"
"No kidding."
"Wonder what tomorrow is going to be like?" Izuku squeaked at that, and Ochako chuckled. "Well come on. I'm sleepy."
When she saw Izuku's eyes glance towards the floor, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bed. "Oh, get on your side and stop worrying about things. We went over this already. Plus," Ochako motioned to the line of pillows that the two had set up right down the middle, "we got our little impenetrable wall of Jericho here."
Izuku nodded and slipped in under the giant fluffy covers while Ochako did the same. She cooed happily at how nice the bed felt. "Oh, I wish I could take these home with me."
Laying his head on his pillow, Izuku chuckled. "Where would you try to hide it? You've already filled your bag with all the soaps, shampoos and conditioners from the bathroom."
"I did not!"
Izuku rolled over to look at Ochako, ready to tease her, saying he'd be more than happy to check her luggage to prove himself right, but stopped when he saw her. Her head was lying on her pillow too, looking at him with pink cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes that made him pause and catch his breath. There was something so unbelievably calming seeing her like that.
His tease long forgotten, Izuku licked his lips. "Uraraka."
The change in tone made Ochako blink. "Yeah?"
"I can't wait until tomorrow."
Ochako, her pink cheeks getting a little hot, smiled. "Yeah. I can't wait either."