Chapter 16: Interlude three: How Midoriya Inko got her groove back
Midoriya Inko loathed and loved fire.
The physical concept? It brought her happiness once, sparking out of a man who pulled her in with words of grandeur, but that love disappeared when said man decided parenting wasn't for him.
There was a kind of fire she did like, though. The one that burned within. She saw it in all sorts of people, from Heroes on the news who didn't want to give up just yet, to the old man who lived in the apartment next to theirs that never really gave in to being an old coot.
The fire she loved the most, of course, even if it was a little biased, was the one that burnt within her Izuku.
Izuku burned so brightly. Sometimes so much that it hurt. His desire to learn, to help others, to simply be.
Oh, how the world seemed to determine to put out that fire. But it never did.
She couldn't deny something within her was secretly hoping the same. That her son wouldn't be crushed. She tried to let him down slowly, lowering that fire into a flame on a campfire rather than a furnace.
But he never did. It kept burning, no matter how many people tried to stop it.
So, when someone offered the opportunity to take that furnace fire and turn it into a blazing inferno…
What is a mother to do but to give her son the opportunity to prosper?
~---INTERLUDE THREE - MIDORIYA INKO---~
[The first time she met Nedzu was, undeniably, a fearful meeting. The man's presence, like all Heroes did, shot fear through her, made her think that something was oh so wrong. It was an almost euphoric feeling when that fear was substituted with hope, at the end of the day.
The second time she meets Nedzu, the circumstances are a little different, and, in her opinion, quite a decent degree more pleasant.]
Inko slid her door open, curious as to who would visit her. Certain, Achem, revelations, had led to her sending a rather politely, in her opinion at least, worded letter to Mitsuki which was essentially a really verbose way of saying 'I really don't want to talk to you at the moment, maybe once I've come to terms with the fact that your son was terrible to mine we can perhaps try again', which meant that she wasn't exactly getting visitors.
(It never really bothered her, though. She had Izuku, and her knitting, and her sewing, and her books about science. It wasn't the life of wonder she wanted as a teenager, but it was the life she had, and all in all she didn't feel all too bad about it. The loss of her friend hurt less than she expected, in the end. Mitsuki was important to her, sure, and she was optimistic that maybe one day, she could rebuild that friendship, but on the ladder of priorities…)
When she had to look down to see the person that had rung her doorbell, she became nervous.
"O-oh. Hello, Nedzu-san. Were you looking for Izuku? I'm sorry, but he's not here today… "
Nedzu shook his head, smiling. "Hello to you, Midoriya-san. Not to worry! I was not, in fact, looking for your son. I was hoping to speak to you!"
Inko did her best not to look nervous, doing her darndest not to cower at the Hero in front of her who she certainly had a height advantage against. "Why me, Nedzu-san? Is… is something wrong with Izuku's education!?"
Nedzu quickly raised a hand. "Oh, nothing of the sort, Midoriya-san! This isn't any sort of business meeting!"
She stilled, then. She looked at the Hero, raising an eyebrow. "What is it then, Nedzu-San?"
The mammal chittered lightly. "There is this wonderful looking Café that opened up near U.A recently, and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me there? All of my staff are busy, so I am left without someone to go with!"
"EH?"
The Café the two of them arrived at was rather homely, if Inko was being honest, but it didn't help her nerves.
Nedzu had driven her himself, which was certainly a surprise. Nedzu's car, on the surface, looked rather dinky, but it had extensive internal modifications in order to allow the mammal to drive it. It wouldn't be strange, considering most car manufacturers did make custom seats for those with strange quirks, if not for the fact that Nedzu had evidently modified the thing himself.
Shaking her head out of confused thoughts, she followed Nedzu inside as the Hero brought her to a fairly isolated corner. The Café was built into a rather old building, but it's internal appearance reminded her of old pre quirk stories she was fond of, with gentle browns and pastel reds fulling the scene.
"Ah, the wonders of human social practices! I can walk into a place like this, and people won't even bother looking at me directly out of fear of the look being returned!"
Inko remained silent, sliding into a chair opposite her companion, who smiled.
"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of ordering meals and drinks for the both of us ahead of time. While there is merit to the standard restauranting experience, my presence tends to unnerve civilians for various reasons."
Inko's eyes quickly widened when she realised that she was probably supposed to respond to that. "Ah, right. That's perfectly fine!"
Nedzu smiled again, then, his thin tail wagging slightly. "Excellent! Now then… I'm not quite sure what topics interest you, but I did notice during my visit that you have plenty of books in your home! Have any of them been of note recently?"
Oh.
Inko kept her face neutral, albeit still probably a little nervous looking, but internally, she came to a rather abrupt realisation she probably should have had a little while earlier.
Nedzu, the High Specs Hero and principal of U.A… was trying to make friends. With her.
Thinking logically, being an animal, a Hero, and a principal of the country's most famous and infamous Hero school was a recipe for a rather busy life.
Which meant that Nedzu was using up some of his limited free time in a bid to have someone to talk to outside of work.
It certainly helped deescalate her stress, at least.
So, she takes a deep breath, and simply… talks.
"W-well, there was this study I had been reading about recently…"
(By the time she goes home, she can happily say she successfully made a friend. She has another tea meeting scheduled for the same time next week. She can scarcely believe it)
[Meeting Yagi Toshinori causes perhaps the greatest whiplash Inko had ever experienced, even more so than Nedzu.
Because that's All Might. The number one Hero, the one on the posters, Izuku's idol and, to some degree, her worst nightmare. The one thing that might just tear her son from her no matter how hard she tried. But… at the same time, despite her illogical fear of the concept of the Hero… he's also just kind of a guy.]
Inko was fairly confident it would be a good idea to just kind of stop opening her door.
After all, if she didn't, she would be less likely to find the number one Hero in front of her in a shoddy disguise.
"Oh my god."
The large man chuckled, smiling gently in clothes that were a little bit stretched over him. "I do get that response a lot. Hello! You are Midoriya-shonen's mother, correct? It is a pleasure to meet you."
Instead of whatever polite response she was formulating in her head, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"How on earth did you make here without getting noticed?"
Thankfully, All Might seemed unbothered, simply chuckling. "In the age of quirks, you would be surprised how effective a large hat, some sunglasses, and a slouch does to hide one's identity!"
She smiled, then. He certainly wasn't wrong, and her Hero-based anxiety had gone done after meeting Nedzu, but it was instead replaced with her 'meeting literally anyone' anxiety, which is a close second, but she couldn't exactly show that in front of Izuku's idol.
"Well, A-all Might-san, may I ask why you are visiting then?"
The man in front of him smiled lightly again, fiddling with his hands... nervously? "Please, call me Yagi Toshinori. I trust your son, so I may as well extend the courtesy to you as well, no? As for my reason for being here, well… I wanted to check on Midoriya-shonen, if that's alright?"
Inko shook her head, doing her best not to baulk, remembering that her son had, in fact, apparently made an impression on the man. "Sorry, All - Yagi-san, right -, but Izuku isn't home for another few hours."
Yagi (Not All Might, at least right now. Think about it that way!) scratched his neck, chuckling... definitely nervous. "Right, heh-heh. I probably should have checked beforehand, but I wanted to surprise the boy a little!"
She shook her head, still a little star struck, but it became easier when she realised that, like Nedzu before him, All Might was really just… a guy.
(And also the guy who got Nedzu's attention on her son. That meant she basically owed him the world. Darn it.)
"Right… can I help you to a cup of tea before you leave, Yagi-san?"
The man flinched slightly, shaking his head. "I would love to, Midoriya-san, but I'm afraid I cannot. My diet is… limited."
She raised an eyebrow at that. Remaining silent, Yagi continued. "I have a rather nasty stomach injury, so I usually stick to cold drinks…"
And wasn't that a thought. The number one Hero had something that was usually considered a fairly major disability, and no one knew. She had the feeling she had just become privy to some rather exclusive knowledge. "I see… I suppose that means…"
While Yagi sighed quietly, Inko took a deep breath. Nedzu and Izuku had both helped her do her best to regain some confidence. Now she would just have to execute on it.
"That I'll have to find some food and drinks you can drink!"
"Eh?"
"As a pro, you're always running around, burning calories! There's got to be something you're eating to keep those calories up! Now, come inside. I don't want to explain to the neighbours about why the number one Hero is outside my door."
Yagi nodded, face still confused, as he walked in behind her. She quickly moved inside, not giving him a moment to object.
Moving to the kitchen as the Hero sat on her couch, Inko grinned, pumping a fist. She was nailing this interacting with Heroes thing! And all it took was stuffing her anxiety into a corner! But that was future Inko's problem to make FUTURE future Inko's problem!
(Inko did manage to get along well enough with Yagi, and she insisted on having the man come over more often, even if only to see Izuku, especially since she managed to find a few meals that didn't aggravate the poor Hero's stomach. This did eventually lead to her seeing the man deflate by accident, which was… traumatic, but it also meant she could prod him about his weight, so win win!)
[At this point, Inko is half convinced that the best course of action would be to grab Izuku by the arms and tell him outright not to be a Hero. Sure, there's that whole 'you could die at any time thing and then I'd be all alone' part, but she's not thinking about that right now.
Really, do none of these people know how to properly take care of themselves?]
Aizawa Shouta was, thankfully, set to arrive with far more warning then the last two Heroes Inko had formally met. Izuku had spent extra time at U.A with his teacher in preparation for the upcoming entrance exams, and the man had offered to drive him home on his own way back to his apartment.
Izuku had not so subtly slipped her a message encouraging her to cook a little extra food for the man. Inko had trusted the judgement of her son, shrugged, and made an extra-large portion of dinner.
Eventually, the man of the hour did arrive.
Inko opened the door to let her son in with a small smile, looking to the fabled "Aizawa-sensei" (Eraserhead, a Hero Izuku had always admired, and one Inko had respect for, considering that he was an Underground Hero).
The man was wearing casual clothes, but it was hard to tell, considering 'black shirt, slacks, and a white scarf' had a very close resemblance to the man's actual Hero outfit. "Good evening, Midoriya-san."
Inko smiled, nodding to him and looking to her son. "It is good to finally meet you, Aizawa-san. Izuku, could you go set out plates for dinner?"
While Izuku nodded and ran inside with a smile, while she turned to the tired looking man in front of her. (Izuku was right, the man looked criminally underweight, irresponsible for a Hero…)
Inko looked to the man, who was standing rather awkwardly. "Thank you for taking my son home, Aizawa-san. I'm aware he can get a bit… distracted."
The man shook his head, huffing. "Definitely. Nedzu has that kind of effect on people as well, though. My apartment isn't all that far from here, either, so I don't mind if I need to drop him off more in the future."
Inko nodded, bowing slightly at the man. "Nonetheless, I'm still grateful! You'll stay for dinner, won't you, Aizawa-san?"
The teacher shook his head, nodding. "I wouldn't want to impose, Midoriya-san. Your son has made it home, and…"
"You wouldn't be a trouble at all! I even cooked extra food for tonight!"
The man stepped back, scratching the back of his neck. "Oh. I couldn't…"
Izuku returned to the front door, frowning. "I don't think you ate lunch today, sensei! Besides, Mom's cooking is really good!"
(Izuku was an even more skilled harnesser of the Shimura pout then she ever was, new surname be damned.)
It definitely seemed to work on Aizawa, considering that the man simply sighed, before beginning to take off his shoes. "Alright… I suppose I can stay for a little bit."
Inko smiled, moving to let the man in. "Excellent! Now, Aizawa-san, you're going to be teaching my son next year, no? Would you like some embarrassing stories for blackmail?"
"Mom, no!"
Inko would have more guests as time passed.
Izuku began to bring home friends. She got that promotion at her job that she was hoping for.
Her baby boy was almost torn away from her on a day that should have been of no note. And yet…
She steeled herself. Izuku continued going to U.A, continued to thrive. More friends were brought over, more lessons were learned.
Sitting in a quiet sports festival booth, her friend (and wasn't that a miracle. The last time she had a friend other than Mitsuki or Masaru was…) having left, she quietly spun a pen around her hand. Using Attraction as of late had felt like pulling at a dull muscle, but Izuku had encouraged her to try and get into the habit of using it again.
(She feels less guilty now. Now that her child has overcome that thorn in their side. That perhaps it's not her fault that Izuku suffered. Perhaps, instead, it was that of the world)
She smiled to herself, listening to the faint hum of her son prattling on over the speakers. If he could be doing so well after years of struggle…
She would never be running around beating up criminals, sure, but was it all that bad of an idea for her to get a little more spry?
(Somewhere inside her, a small bit of burning kindling begins to spark. It will never be a massive bonfire, too much of itself having been given up, but perhaps it could grow to something even a little bigger.)
Chapter 17: The Greatest Break Period. Of All Time (Hey, over there! The Plot!)
"Blllleeeeeeghhhhh. The weekend was long, but not long enough!"
"I suppose so, but we should be grateful for any period of rest we have. U.A never said it wasn't going to work us to the bone."
"Mashirao, you're supposed to be comforting me, not using logic!"
Izuku chuckled quietly at the banter of his friends, stretching tired muscles. Considering he didn't participate in the festival himself, he was sure to get in some extra exercise over the provided break. For the first time in a while, Togaru didn't join him, instead spending the weekend lounging with his mother, but he wasn't all that bothered.
A moment later, Aizawa-sensei slid the door open, walking over to the podium as his students greeted him.
"Good morning. I hope you all used the rest time to recuperate; things are going to get busy again quickly. Ojiro, your injuries were the most exacerbated of the class. How are you feeling?"
Izuku looked to his friend, sitting dead centre in the classroom. The boy scratched his neck, before smiling slightly.
"Itchy."
As the class breathed a sigh of relief, Aizawa-Sensei snorted slightly. "I suppose that's about as good as you can be. Remember to go to Recovery Girl this afternoon to insure you're recovering properly."
"Yes, sensei."
Their teacher nodded, before quickly pulling out twelve sheets of paper from under the podium.
"OH, NO!"
"On to the next matter… your internship offers have been compiled."
"OH, YEAH!"
Aizawa-sensei continued as Tsu began to distribute the sheets. "Some of you will have gotten more offers than others, but all of you did receive offers; The community of Twilight Heroes in Musutafu and beyond may not say it out loud, but they're always excited to get more people in their ranks."
Izuku took his own list. It was, as usual for U.A, emblazoned with a fancy seal.
"I'd recommend going over those offers as a group during lunch. You'll all have to put your offers through Midoriya anyhow, so save time and do them all at once. Pick logically, alright? This isn't an opportunity you should waste."
"Yes, sensei!"
Aizawa-sensei smiled slightly before looking back down to the podium. "Now then, as for the rest of homeroom…"
~---INTERNSHIPS: WHO AND WHERE---~
The class, as had become standard, were gathered around in a rough circle in the place they preferred to go to eat their lunch, each holding their lists.
"Well, who's gonna open theirs up first?"
While most of the class looked nervous, Izuku simply shrugged, opening up his own sheet. He was fairly certain that…
"Yeah. That was about what I expected…"
Instead of the standard list of offers, Izuku's own page simply consisted of a single smiley face.
While his classmates laughed lightly at his suffering, Izuku sighed. "I suppose that means I'll need to go ask Nedzu-Sensei."
Tooru shrugged from her position on his left, as she and most of Izuku's classmates moved to open their own pages. "That just means you can help us with our offers, Midori! Speaking of – HUH?"
All eyes turned to Tooru, who was dead still. Mashirao looked over the paper in Tooru's hands, eyes widening. "Huh. I suppose that was a reasonable reaction. She's number seven at the moment, if memory serves."
"YOU GOT AN OFFER FROM MIRUKO?"
While the class properly exploded in excitement, Tooru seemed to regain her senses, looking to the page in front of her. "Huh… should I take it? She's really highly ranked…"
Izuku raised a hand to his chin in contemplation. "Miruko is a spotlight Hero… but she's also known to be up there in terms of secrecy regarding her personal life, and she often goes on missions off camera. On top of that, her fighting style would be well suited to you… I think you should go for it, Tooru!"
Tooru was silent again, but she nodded with her whole body, determined. "Alright! I'll except the offer!"
The class cheered at that, returning to looking at their own offers.
"Hmm... that one seems interesting." "Mmh!" "That's in the middle of nowhere... but..."
Sen took the opportunity to sigh dramatically. "Aw man. Now all my offers seem way less cool. Hey, Izuku! Who the hell is 'Gran Torino'?!"
"Oh! That's-"
Toshinori did his best not to groan as he sat nervously in the private room. In the chair opposite him, Sasaki sat, arms crossed. The look on his face indicated that this conversation was not off to a good start.
"So… you're telling me you have no plans to pass on One for All whatsoever?"
He nodded, keeping his face neutral. "Yes. While I am sure there are plenty of viable candidates, the risks, both mental and physical, to inheriting my quirk override any possible benefits of passing it down."
"I have presented a perfect candidate, and yet you won't-"
"Mirio is a perfectly respectable boy, Sasaki." - Toshinori politely ignored the flinch of his… former… friend, continuing. - "But he will be a perfectly sufficient hero without a second quirk. What if One for All results in his death? What will you do then?"
Sir Nighteye's eyes were set, eyebrows crossed. "The Symbol of Peace must-"
Toshinori huffed, tired. He had wanted to repair the gap that had formed between them in order to have his old friend's assistance, but the man had to be stubborn. (Of course, so was he. It was why they worked so while as a team… until they didn't.)
"Must what? Bumble around, claiming he was maintaining peace, when he was really just forcing people into the shadows to strike while he wasn't looking? Let xenophobia and madness fester, out of sight and out of mind? Face the facts, Sasaki. The Symbol of Peace worked to pull our country out of chaos and inspire an era of hope, and I'm proud of what I managed to accomplish, but it will not keep it that way. It's not sustainable past my own life. I know this now."
It hurt to say, honestly. But it was the truth, although said far more brutally than I really needed to. The symbol worked, but it had problems... I had to get through to him.
Nighteye remained quiet, eyes wide open, fists clenched. "I…"
"Unfortunately, Sir Nighteye, I don't believe the choice is yours either way."
Both Toshinori and Nighteye turned to face the door, where two new arrivals stood.
Midoriya's face was disconcertingly blank, With Nedzu on his metaphorical tail, remaining quiet past his initial remark.
Midoriya flinched lightly at the look sent to him by Nighteye, but he stood tall. "Next time, Yagi-sensei, lock the door behind you. It's fortunate none of the students with hearing quirks had any reason to be in the teacher's area."
Nighteye stiffened. "You. How much do you know?"
Midoriya did something he had not yet seen from the boy, sending a glare towards the Hero. "More than you, somehow. One for All isn't your quirk, Sir Nighteye. If Yagi-Sensei decided he didn't wish to pass it on, you should accept that and move on."
Locking the door (Damnit, Toshinori, pay attention to these things!) Midoriya walked forward, looking Sir Nighteye in the eyes. Embers of panic already began to line his face. "B-besides, even if you did have that choice, I believe you lost it when you left All Might. When was that? Five years ago? Right around when Yagi... All Might was injured?"
Nighteye moved back in his chair, returning the glare, although it was a hesitant one, already crumbling. "You don't understand what happened then."
"I probably don't", Midoriya agreed. "But I can guess. You used your quirk after All Might fought All for One, notably becoming more nebulous as you look further into the future, predicating some kind of wild death, and instead of supporting your friend until then, perhaps trying to change his fate by slowly decreasing the work he did, o-or at least being by his side until his death… you left him, sending him into a… spiral of grief, that he's only gotten out of recently?"
Following what could only be described as Midoriya's rant, the room fell into silence. Looking quietly to his old friend, Toshinori found him in silent contemplation, face tinged with anger and… guilt.
The silence continued for a while longer, but when Midoriya seemed to be beginning to panic, adrenaline leaving him, Nedzu cleared his throat. "I believe it would be best for you to leave, Sir Nighteye. Any conversations you were to be having today are no longer relevant. After all, I do not think my student will be that interested in interning under you any longer."
Sasaki was at least quick to do the math, and he flinched again, face looking guilty as he looked to Midoriya. He stood up, patting down his pants. "I think you are correct."
The Hero seemed to decide that the best thing to say would be nothing at all. Nedzu shook his head lightly as the man reached the door. "Oh, Sir Nighteye? One last thing. Do take the time to reflect on some things, please? With internships coming up, I must be very careful about who gains the right to have our students for internships and work studies, up to those in their third year here."
Sasaki got the message. "I see. Have… a good day, Toshinori, Midoriya, Nedzu."
The door closed behind his old friend, and all of Toshinori's energy left him in a long, dull sigh.
Nedzu sighed, leading the rather panicked Midoriya (the poor boy always was like this after speaking up to authority…) to sit down where Sasaki previously sat, shaking his head quietly. "I'd like to apologize, Yagi-kun. I had intended for Sir Nighteye to visit U.A in order to be introduced to Midoriya. I did not foresee him choosing to be… confrontational."
Yagi shook his head, reining in his composure. He was upset, sure, but as a teacher, his student was more important. "Sir Nighteye has always been… boisterous. What can I do to help?"
"Right now? I know that Sekijiro-kun has a tub of ice cream in the teacher's lounge freezer. We can deal with him being upset over the loss of it later."
"Right!"
Nedzu wouldn't deny that he had told a little bit of a white lie. He had fully expected Sasaki Mirai to confront All Might. It was something that needed to happen. The man wouldn't listen to reason, Nedzu would tell him to leave, and he would stew, hopefully seeing reason soon enough that he could be used in the coming conflicts. Was it cowardly and impolite? Perhaps, but the part of his D.N.A that came from marsupials always got a kick out of it, and it got the job done.
Unfortunately, he had missed a step, and hadn't accounted for Midoriya-kun.
(Internally, he slapped himself. He'd need to not be a hypocrite and get more sleep. He was old, but not that old. He couldn't afford to be forgetting variables at the moment.)
He knew Midoriya would show up to discuss internships with him, but he had only anticipated him coming at a later period, his classmates apparently making their internship choices faster than he had expected. Thus, coming across Midoriya, using his own taught lessons of spying, listening in on the conversation between the two Heroes, he had no choice but to simply stand with him until the boy inevitably charged in to defend Yagi's honour.
It had worked, rather forcefully making Nighteye face the facts, but now he had to comfort a panicked Midoriya.
(The 'protect everyone I care about' instinct was strong in him, but the 'if I speak out against authority I am going to die' instinct was equally and oh so deeply ingrained. Hound Dog had been focused on addressing the traumas of the U.S.J, and he only had so many sessions with each student… he was going to need to find Midoriya a dedicated therapist, wasn't he? He could do a lot, sure, but he thought differently enough from humans that any effort to address those traumas himself would likely cause more harm than good. If only the old therapist he had used for Shouta hadn't shuffled off…)
Ah, but that was beside the point. He wasn't human, but that didn't stop him from at least knowing to comfort his student.
Thankfully, while he had been on his phone outside, both ensuring that Nighteye successfully left U.A and freeing Midoriya from his next period (English. It wasn't like the loss of a single period would be a catastrophe, and one of Midoriya's friends could certainly write him down some notes.), Yagi had successfully brought the boy down from a panic attack. The two were now eating ice cream and discussing the analysis on the first year B class Midoriya had been doing recently.
"There's this boy who can manipulate the cells in his arms -kind of like how Best Jeanist does it with fibres, I think- and he uses it to shift his hands into weapons and tools! There's so much potential there…"
Yagi nodded as the boy ate another scoop of ice cream. He had already added its replacement to U.A's next bulk food order. If they were lucky, Vlad wouldn't even notice.
"That's a quirk that would require a lot of training… he would certainly be a master at picking locks!"
The pair turned to face him as he walked in. Yagi smiled, flashing a small thumbs up at him, while Midoriya frowned slightly, looking downwards. "Sorry about that, Nedzu-sensei…"
Nedzu shook his head, smiling cheerily. "You have nothing to apologize for, Midoriya-kun! What you had said was roughly similar to my own planned statements, anyhow."
Midoriya's eyes widened somewhat, the rims wetness's seceding. "O-oh. But Sir Nighteye…"
"Is an excellent Hero, but I'm fairly confident whatever he could teach you, I could teach you better, no?"
At that, Midoriya's eyes widened. "You mean…?"
Nedzu grinned. Quick on the uptake, like usual. "Of course. While there are limits to what I can teach you in our lessons, at least without breaking the law, the context of an internship will allow me to greatly accelerate your curriculum!"
While Midoriya's eyes seemed to shine in excitement, Yagi stiffened. "What was that part about breaking the law?"
"Oh, none of your concern, Yagi! How about it, Midoriya-kun?"
The green haired boy nodded. "Of course, Nedzu-Sensei! That would be incredible!"
Nedzu chittered. "Excellent! Now, how about you finish that treat while I make some calls to clean my schedule? I've freed you of the next period, so we can discuss our plans for what we will accomplish!"
Yagi looked to him, nervous. "And what would that be, Nedzu?"
He couldn't deny he smirked slightly, exposing typically hidden teeth.
"You worry too much, Yagi-kun! Why, we'll simply be getting Midoriya-kun his provisional Support Hero licence, of course!"
"EH?"
"Huh."
Yousetsu wasn't entirely proud to admit that he was pretty much hiding behind Tsu as they arrived at the support labs.
Thankfully, Tsu was either oblivious or polite enough not to mention it, instead crouching down to look at the metal door that was fairly thoroughly removed from its hinges.
"That's not supposed to be like that, Kero."
If only Sen was here! Then he could actually hide behind someone! "No shit..."
Coughing and wiping away smoke, Power Loader stepped forward. "I really hope Ecto has some extra vodka… Hero students. You here to get or ask for?"
"Get for me, ask for Tsu, Thanks. Does this happen often, Power Loader-Sensei?"
"Only every couple of years whenever I get a problem child… who do you need?"
"Uhm… Pink Hair?"
Power Loader looked like he aged three years, sighing. "Welp, your funeral… HATSUME! YOU'VE GOT A PICKUP!"
"FINALLY!"
Yousetsu was met with the almost impossibly rapid arrival of a surge of pink.
Hatsume looked the pair up and down, grin wild on her face. "Oh, it's you! Where's my co-presenter? I thought you three were a package deal."
He sighed, following the already moving Hatsume. "We get that a lot. Sen's sick."
"Aw, man. I wanted to soup up his costume too, but Power Loader keeps insisting on things like 'permission' or whatever!"
"Yeah, how dare he intercede on your creativity!"
"You get me!"
That was sarcasm, but the support student either didn't know or didn't care. Looking back, Yousetsu spotted Tsu sneaking off to find a slightly saner person to get her ocean gear from.
Coward. A smart coward, but still a coward.
"And here we are!"
Well, at least sourcing your stuff from the crazy one got it done quickly.
Yousetsu found himself in front of a rather messy workstation, littered with cloth, metal, and wires. In the middle, however, sat an open case, clean and pristine.
he grinned sharply as he looked over his new costume. "Hell yeah…"
"Like you asked, it's properly built for stealth with all the changes you asked for! Darkened the colours, added steel toes to the boots, and I swapped out those weird ass leg boxes for a proper utility belt."
Yousetsu smirked, taking a hold of the fabric. It was a dark brown colour, much closer to black than the previous brown he had used. Hatsume nodded. "I had to get help from a third year for that. Can't sew to save my life. The weaving is supposedly super durable, especially around the arms and the neck brace!"
"Hell yeah…"
Pushing the fabric aside, he admired the new protection he had asked for. It was a lot less solid than his chest plate and shoulder pads, but he needed the agility over the bulk. It resembled a Kevlar vest, more than anything, a dull grey colour. It'd be easier to slip into too, at least, and it had pockets!
(most importantly, of course, it wouldn't be hell to breathe in like the last one!)
Hatsume seemed to notice his satisfaction, as she quickly folded the clothes back up, sliding them and the vest back into its briefcase (Surprisingly compact, considering the boots and belt followed suit), before pulling out a second one.
"Now for the fun part! I've gone above and beyond!"
Oh dear.
She cracked open the briefcase, smirking as she pulled out two items… being rather large gauntlets.
"Oy, oy. What did you do here, Hatsume?"
The pink haired girl grinned as she held up a gauntlet. The wrist area was encased in what pretty much resembled a giant hunk of metal. "There's this third year working on a project for one of the 1-A kids… Gravity Girl, I think. It's not gone far past the sketches phase, but I took a look, and I couldn't help but want to make a similar baby of my own! Well, first of all, you need to use your hands all the time, so they're extra reinforced. Second of all…"
Following that, she slipped the gauntlet on with a small click. She gestured to a wall, on which sat a chunk of wood, covered in holes. She pumped her arm, causing another click, before pointing at the piece of wood. Pressing a button on the device. Instantly-
*SHLINK* *THUD*
A hook shot out of the metal area, embedding itself in the wood.
"WOAH!"
Yousetsu's eyes probably would of fallen out of his head if that was a thing that could happen. "Is that a grappling hook!?"
Hatsume shook her head, but the grin didn't leave her face. "Sadly, no, at least not in that way. The initial design was meant to be, but unlike Gravity girl, I couldn't design it in a way that wouldn't destroy a normal person's measly arm bones. Nonetheless, I think you'll enjoy the 'Segmented Hatsume Object Extractor Baby' better!"
Yousetsu could think of a better name then the S.H.O.E Baby considering that it was a gauntlet, but that was for later.
Holding down the button again, the hook pulled back, quickly dragging the object back with it, the girl's arm snapping back with it, but with a minimal enough force that she recovered quickly. "Trip up bad guys, get stuff to use your quirk on, et cetera! Time it right and you can use it like whips or even your teach's capture weapon! Whaddya think?"
Yousetsu couldn't help but match the girl's excitement. It'd take practice, but that's what internships were for, no?
"Mei-san…I owe you at least two fancy dinners."
The girl grinned, packing the costume up into its cases. "It's my job! If you really want to repay me, be sure to scream the name of Hatsume Industries to your mentor, deal?"
"I don't think I have much of a choice at this point, but you bet!"
Hatsume simply nodded, smiled, and sped off to who knows were.
As he took the cases (almost creepily light, as expected) Power loader walked over, smiling slightly. "Thanks for dealing with Hatsume's whims, Awase. She's a bright girl, but… she struggles."
Awase nodded. "I get it. Tsu, Sen, and I were always seen as the weird people with no social skills. Pay or forward, or something, I dunno."
The teacher smiled. "Good. And get your spinning friend around if you can, alright? I think Hatsume's genuinely trying to make friends with the guy, which is a start."
"You got it, Sensei!"
Stepping out of the room and pulling open his phone while he waited for Tsu, he wondered. He would eventually have to pay off all those fancy dinners, didn't he?
U.A had got to have at least one cooking club, right?
Standard chaos notwithstanding, the Musutafu police precinct was remarkably peaceful. Looking around as he walked through, Shouta simply found the staff going about their tasks, filing, reporting, or in one particularly strange case, wrangling three cats. Shouta would have loved to join him, but unfortunately, duty called, or whatever.
You just about couldn't tell that something rather important was happening today, and that was probably by design.
He himself had been told little when Nedzu sent him to represent U.A and the principal himself, bar 'you were going to find out eventually', and 'your quirk's skills may make your involvement vital' because of course he didn't. His only saving grace was that Nedzu would at least be joining over call, meaning he could mostly shut up and listen rather than talk.
A little bit of meandering later, he finally made his way to the meeting room.
Sliding open the door with a sigh, he looked into the room. It was standard affair for a meeting room, but the present members were more fanciful. He nodded to Yagi, who had arrived there a little while before he had. The man, buffed up, nodded in return. Next to him sat an old man he recognised as Gran Torino, but only because of the offer he sent to one his students. The man grunted, but elsewise did not respond to his arrival.
Famed detective Naomasa Tsukauchi was a surprise. The two didn't interact often, but he was all reliable.
Other than that, there were various Heroes strewn about the room. Ms. Joke smiled and waved next to a brooding Rock Lock. The Pussycats were out of uniform, but they all sat in a group at the edge. Selkie and Enigma (She had gone independent from Iidaten a few years back, hadn't she?) sat as a pair, whispering. Cottus and Shakespeare, Two Twilights he had worked with in the past, bickering as usual, Mr Brave and Gunhead trying to quiet them down, a shockingly civil looking Miruko- wait a second-
"Ah, Eraserhead. You are the last to arrive, and right on time, too. Please sit."
Tsukauchi's voice was tired but polite. Shouta nodded, walking in, giving a further look at the rather motley group of Heroes that were gathered, quickly doing the necessary mental math.
"Pray tell… why are the upcoming mentors of my students all gathered here today?"
Nedzu, represented by a laptop through which his office could be seen, thankfully answered. "Well, Aizawa, it is unfortunate, but this case is irreparably tied to your class after the events at the U.S.J. We believed it best that all of the children's mentors could be informed of what we know in case they are targeted again."
Shouta slouched into his chair, sighing again. "So, this is about the League."
"Correct!"
Chatter burst out of the present Heroes, but it was quickly cleared by a cleared throat from Tsukauchi. The man seemed demure, but he had enough of a reputation that his word was practically law, at least amongst the mostly low down Heroes here.
"Now, I understand that we are taking time out of your preparations for arriving students, but we felt it best to be prepared. The league has gone dark since the attack, but there is active movement in the underground at the moment. We cannot deny there is a risk of the students being targeted again, no matter how low of a risk it is."
Miruko, patience already draining quickly, thumped her foot against the ground. "All right. Make it quick, then. If I'm gonna teach a brat, I'm gonna do it properly, so if some phoney ass Villains think they can mess with them again they'll have another thing coming!"
"Aye, they'll have to get through both the ocean and me!" Selkie chittered from the seat next to Miruko's, smile sharp.
The detective nodded. "Correct. Now then, to establish our bases… We're going to have to let you all in on a rather large secret. It's been kept secret, perhaps longer than it should have been, but it felt necessary in order to keep the peace in our society. How many of you are familiar with the name… All for One?"
Considering there was little reaction from anyone in the room, bar one of painful recognition from both All Might and the man next to him, Shouta had a feeling this was going to be a long meeting.
(Later, Shouta would wish that the meeting was even longer. Irrational as that thought was, considering that he pretty much learnt everything there was to know, but... perhaps if he had been even the tiniest bit more prepared… then maybe, just maybe, he would be able to stop what was coming before it happened. But he doesn't know that yet.)
Izuku stood nervously alongside his teacher as his classmates gathered around the Train Station, all carrying their bags and their costumes. They all ranged from somewhere along the line of nervous to excited. In order to boost their anonymity, they were all dressed in casual clothes rather than their uniforms, which made them into a rather strange looking bunch.
(They were about as early as they could get. Aizawa-sensei had said it was so that they could make it to their internships faster, but Izuku was pretty sure it was because it meant they'd be long gone before the A or B classes got here. A few of them had begun forming the tiniest of connections with Izuku's classmates, but it was… strained. That was a project for later Izuku, though)
"Did you all correctly pack your bags? The moment you step on those trains you won't be coming back for a week."
"Yes, sensei!"
Awase grinned. "Aw, man, I'm so excited! This is gonna be great!"
"Hear here!" "Let us do our best." "When we get back, I'll kick all of your asses!"
Izuku winced slightly at that last one, but Togaru meant it in a way that was far more endearing than it sounded. Probably.
Their Sensei nodded. "Good. Do U.A proud... and mind your manners."
There were a few faces in the crowd, namely Hitoshi, Tooru, and Awase, who winced, but elsewise everybody gave out a determined cheer.
"Good. You're all dismissed."
A moment later, the crowd dispersed, all heading in the direction of various trains. He felt the sorriest for Kyouka, though, who was seemingly walking as slowly as possible, enjoying cell phone signal for the last few moments she still had it.
Aizawa-Sensei simply shrugged. Jirou's train was set to leave a while later, and the area in Nagoya she was set to ride towards was a little out of the way.
"Alright, Midoriya. Let's get back to U.A. I've got twelve hours before I need to get to Tokyo, and I intend to sleep for half of them."
Izuku nodded, picking up his own bag again. He was going to be staying with Nedzu for the duration of the internship, although home wasn't far, so he didn't need to pack all that much since he would be visiting home a few times during the week. The revelation that he had no idea where Nedzu lived was one for later, though. He had a distinct feeling it was somewhere in U.A, but bar that, he had no clue.
As the pair returned to the car Aizawa-sensei had used to get to the station (one from U.A, his teacher too much of a cheapskate logical spender to buy his own), Izuku looked to their teacher. "Why are you going to Tokyo, Sensei? I figured you would want to spend the time without us resting."
(Internally, Izuku cheered. Nedzu-sensei had told him to take every victory he could, and that was a complete, self-prompted statement to an authority figure with no stuttering! Sure, it was Aizawa-sensei, but that wasn't important. Every victory counted for something!)
Aizawa-sensei sighed. "I have been recruited to deal with a… problem. Investigations are tertiary for now, so as to not rouse attention, so my stealth skills are required. We're starting small; there's an orphanage that's presented a decent number of red flags, so it's set as our next target."
"Oh, does that mean you're taking part in the probably All for One case, sensei?"
Izuku would later realise how lucky he was that they hadn't started the car already, because his teacher stilled. The man turned to look at him with a bone-tired face. "And why exactly do you know of that, Midoriya?"
Izuku flushed under the stare of his teacher. "O-oh. I wasn't sure if they would tell you or not. I was with All Might when the initial revelation of the League of Villains' benefactor was theorised. I'm not on the case at all because I don't have any licencing though!"
All was silent for a moment as Aizawa continued to stare at him. Until a moment later…
Where he promptly slammed his head into the car wheel.
(Shouta would later argue that the car made no noise. No, the honking was the embodiment of the frustration welling within his very soul. Or something.)
Chapter 18: It's time to meet your elders (Only one of them is senile)
OSAKA:
If Tooru wasn't given an address in the documentation her mentor had sent her, she would have almost believed that she was walking into an old house. The building, upon closer inspection, probably was a home at some point. With the windows blacked out and various fake objects strewn about the entrance, it was just about possible to tell that the building had been repurposed, but it was still miles more subtle than most Hero agencies.
Well, it was logical, at least. You couldn't predict how long the Hero would take to find you if you didn't know where they came from.
She stood on the street, looking at the door. It was unlocked and wide open. "Hmm…"
Right, if you were infamously known as the most brash Hero in the top one hundred…
She slipped into the nearby alley and out of her casual clothes, grateful that she had worn her Hero uniform underneath. The thin clothing didn't do all that much in terms of protection, but it helped her feel more secure.
Slowly putting her bag to the side, out of view, she waltzed in.
The area she arrived in was open. Most of the internal walls had been teared down. She spotted a kitchen, a gym, and various other necessities. She spotted a staircase, betting that it would lead up to the Hero's bedroom. Speaking of…
Miruko was braced, scowling, next to the door, just out of sight. Well, two could play at that game.
The crotch shot was… unviable, unfortunately, so she went for the next best option.
Eye poke!
Before the Hero could react to the gusting wind, she was tumbling back, rubbing her eyes.
"Gah!"
"Woo! Take that!"
Miruko let out a stream of profanities, but eventually stood up, rubbing her eyes. She looked to the empty spot where Tooru stood, silently glaring…
Before letting out a harsh bark of laughter.
"Hah! I like your style, kid! I wasn't going to let you work with me if you didn't have something to prove, but it looks like I made the right choice."
"Thanks! I learnt that one from Midori!"
The Rabbit Hero snorted. "That's the support brat?"
"Yep! And he's ours, so you can't take him!"
"Good. Hold on to what's yours. Now…"
Miruko entered a battle stance, seemingly unbothered to be fighting in the middle of what was functionally her home. "You gonna back up that bravado, kit?"
Tooru entered her own stance, quickly pulling her bag into the room and shutting the door behind her. "You bet!"
And thus, training began.
~---INTERNSHIPS: MAKING AN ENTRANCE---~
KANAGAWA:
Ah, Trains. So nice and convenient, yet hell on earth for your neck muscles.
Stretching his stiff back and shoulders, Yousetsu waltzed through the sub-urban streets, taking in the few sights the area had to offer.
The brochure he had read on the train had pointed him in the direction of the towns biggest landmark, and it was between him and his address, so he figured he'd at least peek, especially since he could see the place all the way from the train station.
(The mini-Asui's would want some kind of souvenir, wouldn't they?)
Arriving at a park area, Yousetsu was able to look ahead, spying the area in front of him.
The "Kanagawa Forest" was certainly dense, at least, considering it sat in the middle of an urban area.
Taking a step back, he eyed the trees closely. The oak trees towered over the rest of the area by a wide margin, covered in evergreen leaves. Their branches were curved upwards and split often, forming weird, if not rather pretty, fractal shapes.
"Huh. That… certainly is a forest."
"You're curious about the trees?"
Yousetsu looked over to the voice who had responded to him.
The lady had a rather ethereal aura, standing with a faint smile on her face. She had sleek brown hair, tinged with blond highlights. More notably, she was cradling a young boy, who looked at him with large, friendly eyes, if not tinged with a grumpy expression, as was typical for babies.
"I suppose I am. Work internship, so this is my first time here. The travel brochure didn't really say much other than 'it's a cool and big forest in the middle of a city', which was fairly obvious…"
The woman nodded, adjusting the boy in her arms. "Three Decades ago, not long before I was born, there was a rather disastrous attack here. A Villain who could manipulate lava sent this area into chaos. All Might hadn't been active for all that long at that time, and his influence… took a while to reach places like here."
Lava… looking at the ground, he couldn't tell.
"Doesn't look like there was an attack of such a magnitude here, doesn't it?"
Yousetsu flushed, raising his hands. "Oh, no, not that I was doubting you or anything, it's just-"
The woman laughed airily. "I'm just messing with you. You see, when the attack began, a young girl, only four, awakened her quirk. It was a real powerful one at that. When the Villain sent out his initial burst of lava, these trees… reacted, growing to large heights to shield the populace, forming spiralling branches faster than ever imaginable… the Villain was defeated in minutes, and while many people were de-homed by the forest, there was only one casualty."
Yousetsu had a feeling he got where the woman's story was going.
"Such a violent quirk awakening in such a young body… the girl was dead before the next sunrise."
"Oh…"
"After that… the tree simply kept growing until it ended up like this. The tree's branches lose the quirked properties if they are tampered with, so scientists could never fully determine why it ended up this way. But… we who live here have always thought it was a good way of honouring the young girl's memory, and its good money from the tourism, so we never bothered to try cut it down. The Shiozaki's moved after the chaos, but they still visit on occasion to check on this place as the group who technically own it by right. They're good people."
The woman joined Yousetsu in silence as he contemplated the words the lady was saying.
(Quirks grow more powerful each generation. If someone so young could shatter logic by sheer force of will, could someone like him... ah, no point in dwelling on it.)
Yousetsu folded his hands into his pockets, looking up at the fractal trees and their many branches. "I suppose if someone had to die… it's good that she was appreciated in death. Or something. I've never been one for philosophy."
The woman laughed airily again. "I suppose that's as good of a conclusion to reach as any, Awase-kun."
Yousetsu snapped around, turning to face the lady, who smiled. "You know who I am?"
"Yes. My husband has been looking forward to meeting you. Come along, now."
Connecting the dots, Yousetsu followed after the quickly walking lady, eyes wide.
Yousetsu was not nervous. Any attempts to claim otherwise were either lies or mad ravings. Definitely.
Rock Lock stood at the door to the small home that the woman had led him to. Thankfully, it matched the address he was sent. It was rather homely looking, although it also looked new, various boxes strewn about.
(Ah, right, baby. That would explain it.)
"You're back. And you… found Awase."
The woman nodded, smiling. "Ah-huh. He was admiring the forest on the way here."
The Hero nodded. "And what do you think of him?"
"It's not like there was much time to get to know him, but he seems good enough. I think he'll take things seriously."
A vote of confidence… probably? Hopefully?
The man nodded, smiling faintly, before grabbing a hold of his son. A moment later, he turned to Yousetsu, and his face was set again. "Alright, Constructi-Man, come inside."
He followed the Hero inside, looking around. The home was less chaotic than the outside. He spotted plenty of photos from across the lives of both occupants.
"Why do you think I picked you, Awase?"
He shrugged. "Because we have similar quirks?"
Sitting down on a couch, the man snorted. "I suppose that is a reason. I'll be stereotypically vague here and respond with a question. Why did you give up in the second round of the fest?"
Thankfully, Yousetsu had an answer to that. "Oh, I would have been totally boned in the third round."
The man raised an eyebrow, presumably at his lack of hesitation, and Yousetsu shrugged. "Why do you think I'm on the twilight course? I can't fight for shit without my gear, and it wasn't like there was much to weld on a flat arena. I showed my stuff in round one and two, and let my buds show their stuff in the third round. Not much more too it."
It seemed to be the right answer, as the man smiled slightly for a moment. "Good. Time for the lightning round. You up for it?"
Yousetsu braced, nodding.
"Trolley problem."
"Weld the train."
"What's the best way to disable someone in an urgent situation?"
"Weld their feet to their shoes and their shoes to the floor."
"What's the worst thing you think you've done?"
"I broke like half of the bones of one of the guys who attacked us at the U.S.J?"
The man stopped, before laughing. "And how did you do that, kid?"
"… Really big water fist?"
Rock Lock snorted. "That'll do. I'm not too interested in teaching someone who isn't willing to do what needs to be done. You pass."
Yousetsu whooped, much to the small child's excitement. "Hell yeah!"
"First and foremost, though… lunch."
"Eh?"
Rock Lock nodded. "Just because you've passed doesn't mean I'm gonna be running you ragged. Unlike the opinion most folks seem to have, kids your age shouldn't be running around beating people up. So, your internship is gonna be a little different."
Yousetsu nodded, and the man continued.
"You'll be staying with my family, for one. Locking you in some lonely agency would be cruel. I've always had the opinion that the number one Hero schools forget to teach kids is how to have a proper work life balance. We'll patrol a little, sure, but I'll mostly be training your quirk. And when we're not doing that… do you know how to cook?"
Yousetsu shook his head. "It's something I wanna learn, but right now… not in the slightest."
"That was about what I expected. Me and Aikana will be running you through the basics, then."
Yousetsu couldn't deny that it wasn't what he expected out of the Hero, but it was all… reasonable. Maybe it would put him behind the physical fighters in his class, but that was always going to be the case, so…
"Alright, Rock Lock-sensei! I'm under your tutelage!"
"Sheesh, kid, no need to be dramatic. Call me Takagi when we're in here, since we're off the clock. Now, what are your allergies?"
Shizuoka:
Hitoshi wasn't hoping to start this internship with a stare down, but such was life.
The boy in front of him was around his own height, at least, so he didn't have to crane his neck to look the student right in the eyes.
The boy was quiet, seemingly waiting for him to make the first move-
"Idiot goes eh?"
"Eh?"
Instantly, the boy froze up. Hitoshi smirked, walking forward and flicking the boy on the nose, breaking his control.
The boy was shocked for a moment before he laughed. "Huh. Maybe you're not as bad as the rest of those assholes from U.A."
Hitoshi snorted. "Ah, yes, U.A Assholes. Because I, twilight student notably going to your teacher for an internship, obviously look like I'm going to be amongst that group."
The boy turned around, fake smile twitching. "So, you're just a normal asshole then."
"Yep. Now are you going to take me to your teacher or what?"
The boy (whose name, according to the text his mentor had sent him, was 'Shindou-kun', apparently) began to walk through the halls of Ketsubutsu.
Where U.A went vertical, Ketsubutsu went wide. Quite literally built into the city itself, the various faculties of the school were dotted between homes and businesses like a university.
"Fortunately, I get to leave after this…"
Hitoshi probably wasn't meant to hear that quip, but he did, smirking. The only reason he was able to intern here was because Ketsubutsu's own second years had their own work studies at the same time U.A first years had their internships. Not that he was going to look a gift horse in the mouth, though.
Eventually, Hitoshi found inside a rather large building, being the central area of Ketsubutsu where the main Hero course classes were. After leading him to 2-2's classroom, Shindo was quick to disappear, but Hitoshi wasn't complaining about that.
Hitoshi moved to knock on the door, but it was quick to slide open.
"Yeah, Mini-Zawa's here!"
Ms. Joke was certainly… a presence. While she wasn't in her Hero costume, her casual clothes were equally bright. A bright yellow shirt, Stripy Red and Green cardigan and bright blue pants was definitely the combination of clothes of all time.
Hitoshi bowed stiffly at the cheerful lady. "Ms. Joke. Please take care of me."
At that, his mentor… laughed? "Oh, you are just like Aizawa! No need to be formal, Shinsou! Until we're on the field, I'm Joke or Fukukado. Now, let's sit!"
The classroom setup reminded him a little of his own back at U.A, being shrunken down to fit a smaller group. Except this time, it was even smaller, sporting just eight seats. Sitting himself down on a desk pretty much at random, he looked to his mentor, who did the same. "Now, Shinsou, you should know that as part of my preparation to look after you, I got pretty much everything relevant you've done at U.A on tape. And I gotta say…"
Here we go…
"I'm impressed!"
Oh. He'll take that, honestly. He raised an eyebrow, and Fukukado continued.
"you've got a lot of control of your quirk, sure, but I'm more impressed by your physical technique."
Hitoshi was confused by that. "My… physical technique? My 'beat people to death with sticks' technique?"
"Exactly! Despite how it looks, you're a bit of a natural. According to Aizawa's notes, you picked the technique up out of necessity at the start of the year due to a lack of other options during the entrance exam. It's almost identical to my own fighting style, really."
Huh. Was that why Sensei had sent him here?
"I can see the cogs turning in your brain, Lil' man. Now, let me ask you something. Your quirk. What's the best way to get someone to respond to it?"
He shrugged. "Mostly anger or confusion. Anything that fogs the mind."
"Correct! Your quirk is similar to mine, in that fashion. Overwhelm the senses and then catch them up. For me, I get them to laugh, while for you, you just need to get them to respond. And what's the best way to overwhelm someone?"
Hitoshi's eyes widened. "To get in their faces… Oh."
"There we go!"
Ms. Joke leaned forward, smiling. "Now, Slackjaw. You've got those batons… but how would you like something a little cooler?"
YAMANASHI:
Great. The old man was playing dead.
Coming to someone who had trained the bloody symbol of peace (While Sen's impression of All Might had softened as the man had taught them lessons, he was still the number one Hero. Big softie, sure. Terrible at quoting memes? Definitely. Absolutely bat shit terrifying under the context of being a bad guy? More than anything, he'd bet. He saw it in action, after all, at the U.S.J.) had been an exciting prospect, but being pulled aside by Yagi-Sensei beforehand had given him a bit of dread.
[
"Now, Kaibara-kun, I must warn you… Gran Torino has come out of retirement only quite recently when it comes to teaching. I can assure you, he's excellent at it, but you should expect some… bizarreness. It's something akin to a hazing ritual, if you will. But once he gets going…"
]
Well, there's only one way to fight fire, and that was with more fire. Waltzing up to the 'corpse', he put on his best dramatic voice, although he kept the deadness intact.
"Ohhhh noooo, my mentor has diiiiieeeeed. Quick, I better harvest his bone marrow so it doesn't go to waaaasssssste!"
At least the Hero was quick to leap out of the way when Sen began to spin his arms.
"Sheesh, Kid! That's your first response?!"
Kaibara smirked. "Well, it got you up, didn't it?"
The old man laughed. "I get what Toshinori sees in you brats, then."
Toshinori? Ah, that was probably All Might's name. That meant All Might was bragging about their class specifically. Wasn't that… something.
Gran Torino patted himself off, grabbing a cloth to wipe the spilled 'blood'. "Alright, kid. I'll tell you now that I'm a little rusty, but don't expect me to go easy on you."
Sen nodded. "I need to keep up with my classmates. I wouldn't want anything less."
(What Kaibara didn't know was that no matter what he said, he wouldn't be seeing Gran Torino's worst. That was reserved for One for All, and since that wasn't around, he could afford to slow down a little.)
"Good. I'll be teaching you three things while you're here."
Torino raised a finger, pointing towards a pile of papers on the table. "The first is that you'll be learning how to do that. More importantly, though, you'll be learning how to do it in the most efficient, and by that I mean laziest, way possible."
"Learning to dodge paperwork. That sounds helpful."
"Trust me, brat, if you get to my age, you appreciate the time not wasted on things like that. The second, is of course, better training for that quirk of yours. You've turned the thing into a good skill, but you can always make it better. You'll be bounding off walls like nothing else."
That was a confident statement, but supposedly the man had the rep to back it up, if Midoriya was to be believed.
"The third, and final point…"
Before Torino finished, he leapt up with his quirk, dashing towards Sen, who managed to just barely jump out of the way.
"Hey, what the hell?"
Gran Torino smirked, thumping his cane against the ground twice. "Is how to fight dirty. That round you had against the fire and ice kid? I saw something there."
"The round I lost?"
"The round where you came closer to beating the brat than anyone else. I saw that spark of ferocity there. Lemme guess, you were copying the bug boy who got in second?"
Sen nodded, still braced for another attack, and the old man continued to grin. "Then that kid has the right idea. You've got a lot of potential for intimidation, kid. I'm gonna teach you to use it."
The old Hero quickly began to jump around the room, bounding between walls until Sen couldn't keep track.
"If you haven't learned how to make you foes shit their pants on command by the end of this week, I'll consider myself a failure! Now, are you gonna help yourself get there or am I gonna have to do all the work myself?"
Sen swore under his breath, but he was grinning. The Hero would definitely give him what he wanted. "Bloody hell… fine! Come at me, then!"
Sen spun up his arms, and the first round of training began with two furious shouts.
MUSUTAFU:
Izuku was dropped back off at U.A with little fanfare. Although the ride was rather nerve-wracking thanks to the mostly silent Aizawa-Sensei, he had ended it off with a reassuring shoulder pat and a small smile.
["I'm not mad at you, Midoriya. But I will be having a talk with Nedzu later. Just make the most of your internship, alright?"]
Izuku made his way through U.A with practiced ease. The Hero course tower was a lot less densely filled, with most of the first-year Hero students and a decent number of second and third year students away on internships and work studies. The other pillars still functioned as normal, but with Nedzu's office between Heroics and Management, he managed to dodge the most intense crowds.
(This time, he had chosen not to take the more… illicit route. Variety is the spice of life, and all that.)
Coming to Nedzu's offices, the door to his more boring one slid open. He smiled, walking inside.
"Ah, there you are, Midoriya-kun! Come inside!"
Izuku walked into the office, spotting his teacher with a brewed cup of tea. He did not, however, expect the second guest.
The boy, who had previously been sitting at a chair in front of Nedzu, stood up, bowing at an almost ninety-degree angle. A moment later, he returned to his straight up position, offering a hand.
"Greetings! You are Midoriya-san, yes? It is a pleasure to meet you!"
The boy was certainly… boisterous, if anything. Izuku returned the handshake with a nervous smile. "Y-yes! And you're Iida-san, right?"
The boy nodded. "Correct! I have heard rumours of your analysis abilities, especially after the sports festival! You were one of the commentators, no?"
Izuku nodded. "Mmh-hm. It was how I recognised you. You did very well!"
"I would have preferred to get further… but the third round is still an achievement!"
Nedzu took the chance to clear his throat. "Now that introductions are out of the way… You and Iida-kun will be working together for the majority of this week, so it's a good thing you are getting along. Now, Iida-kun, would you mind if I spoke to Midoriya-kun for a little bit? Midnight will be waiting for you in your homeroom."
Iida nodded, smiling. "Alright, Sensei! It was good to meet you, Midoriya, and I look forward to working with you this week!"
With that, the boy quickly sped out of the room.
(Izuku was quick to notice that none of the boy's smiles seemed to meet his eyes.)
Closing the door behind him, Izuku shrugged, moving to his standard seat.
Before he even prompted his question, Nedzu thankfully explained.
"I'm sure you are aware of the most recent incident regarding Ingenium, yes?"
Izuku nodded. Stain maiming Ingenium had gone wild on the news. Ingenium had always been one of the Heroes never seen as anything but pure, but he had supposedly caught the killer unawares, forcing the Villain's hand.
(Many people had spoken highly of the Hero Killer's ideology, but Izuku had never really understood it. If a Hero was so unsubtle about their crimes that Stain could find out about them, they were as good as dead anyhow, and Stain mostly targeted Heroes that weren't even all that terrible. After all, even if you save people for the money, you still save people. As far as Izuku was concerned, the man was just a serial killer with a poorly justified excuse. Throw him at Endeavour and maybe then they could talk.)
"Consider that the incident undoubtedly had a rather profound effect on the younger Iida's mental health, Midnight exercised her right to reject an internship application."
At that, Nedzu pulled out the boy's internship form. One that went to Hosu, the last place Stain had been seen. Izuku frowned, but to some degree understood.
"It was a rather unfortunate confrontation, but it had to happen. Iida has been talking to various therapists, but in order to ensure that he doesn't do anything rash, he is spending his internship time with his teacher, and, by proxy, the two of us."
"So, what does that mean for the plan of this week, sensei?"
Nedzu shrugged. "Not much, and what it does change will perhaps be beneficial! Iida will be joining you for the physical portions of the training we are doing, will occasionally pop in during lessons to gain more experience, and will be joining us for lunch and dinner! He'll also be joining us on Friday, if only as a spectator."
Right. That was the… stressful part.
[
"My what?"
Nedzu chittered. "That was about the reaction I suspected. How much do you know about the Hero licencing system?"
Izuku shrugged. "It's kept under wraps to a pretty high degree online… but as far as I know, to act as a Hero, you require a Hero licence, which dictates your Heroics path as well as allows you to act as a Hero, awarded by completing a Hero course curriculum. If you want to act as a Hero before you finish the curriculum, you can take one of the biannual provisional licence exams, or if you don't want to or can't complete Hero school, you can take the annual public Heroic quirk use exams for certification that way, but that one is for adults."
While Yagi-sensei balked at his knowledge (was that more than he was supposed to know, or more than he was expected to know? He could never tell!) Nedzu nodded. "That was all correct! However, there are… other options. Aside from the personal exams, there is one more path, Namely for us non-field Heroes."
At that, Izuku was quick to pull out a notebook. More Hero lore!
"You see, while you can register as a Support Hero while taking the regular licencing exam, which is what someone like Sir Nighteye or Ragdoll would do, many of us do not have the fighting skill necessary to pass. Recovery Girl can't exactly beat up criminals, can she? That's why we have Support Hero licences!"
Yagi-san nodded. "They sound similar, but it's an important distinction."
"Most Support Heroes, and by my prediction yourself, will acquire both, and police may often seek to earn the latter. The standard Hero licence allows for patrols, investigations, and deploying on missions, while a Support licence allows for you to assist other Heroes, grants access to government and police documents, provide radio support, and to use your quirk to help others outside of a combative context. If we can get you the provisional form of that…"
"The resources I'll have access too will be… incredible!"
"And conveniently enough… the next exam for them is on the Friday of our internship week!"
]
"I can tell you now that you needn't worry about this, Midoriya-kun. I'm confident in your success. And even if you failed, there would always be the next time."
Izuku shook himself out of his thoughts. Right. All he could do was prepare.
"Right, sensei! Where do we start?"
At that, Izuku's mentor moved to his computer, smiling. "I'm happy you asked, Midoriya-kun!"
He turned the computer monitor so that it was facing the side, allowing both him and Izuku to see.
On it, lay a simple picture of a businessman.
The man had shock red eyes and bushy white hair. The image was a candid shot, taken without the man's notice.
Izuku couldn't tell what exactly it was, but… something about the image unnerved him.
"This picture was taken by drone. If someone human had taken it… they would be dead."
Izuku nodded. "Who… is he?"
"That, Midoriya-kun… is All For One."
Oh. Oh.
"He doesn't look like much, does he? So… human."
"Someone who could cause so much harm… but he still has a beating heart. Pumping lungs."
Nedzu grinned, relishing in the solidarity he undoubtedly was feeling. "I think you understand me. Everyone can be a Hero, but equally so… anyone could be a Villain. A man like this, he could have been the greatest Hero of all time, no? but he chose not to be."
Nedzu closed the image, revealing his computer background. A candid shot of U.A, to Izuku's complete un-surprise.
"Unfortunately for you and me both, that man, whether alive or dead, is a little out of your ballpark."
Izuku nodded, face grim.
"But… he is one of many."
Nedzu smiled, crossing his arms.
"By the end of your time in U.A, my boy, I hope to have taught you the skill to tear people like that to shreds. This week shall be your introductory course. Are you ready?"
Izuku was silent for a moment, considering.
A moment later, he clenched his fist, nodding.
"Yes, Nedzu-sensei!"
"Excellent. Now, our first lesson will be on the different crimes and motivations. Sorting it alphabetically, Arsonists…"
SOMEWHERE IN HOSU:
As loath as Stain is to admit it… he is surrounded.
Maiming Ingenium hadn't been by choice. He was an example of a great Hero… but if was captured, he would not be able to continue the purging of the false Heroes.
T̶h̷e̴ ̴He̸r̷o̸ ̴k̶i̸l̴l̸e̶r̵ ̵c̸a̶n̴n̶o̸t̵ ̵d̷i̵e̶.̴
He stalked through Hosu, finally reaching back to the apartment he was hiding out in. He took a few heaving breaths as he slowly removed most of the knives from his person. Someone was after him.
In the last week alone, he had been hunted by assassins, Villains, police and Heroes alike.
n̶o̷t̴ ̸u̶n̸t̷i̷l̵ ̸t̷h̸e̶ ̷h̵u̵n̴t̵ ̶i̴s̴ ̵d̸o̷n̵e.
He knew any attempt to leave Hosu would be equally futile. Heroes patrolled every exit. Even if he did manage to escape… the next time he killed a Hero, they would be on him again.
a̷n̸d̶ ̸i̵t̵ ̴w̵a̸s̴n̴'t̴ ̵l̸i̶k̸e̶ ̵h̶e̷ ̴c̷o̴u̶l̷d̷ ̵s̸t̴o̸p̸.
*PHWUM*
Stain's musings were interrupted by a strange purple mist appearing within his home. He quickly grabbed as many knives as he could, glaring as the mist shaped itself into a… man?
(That was one of the ones that attacked a Hero school, no? What do they want with him?)
The man stood calmly as he looked to the Hero Killer. Next to him, the mist expanded, forming a gate of mist through which he could see nothing but knew likely led to another location. "Hero Killer Stain. We of the League of Villains wish to converse with you. Please, come."
Stain felt he didn't have much of a choice, but that wasn't important.
"Fine. Do make it quick. My work must continue."
Besides… these would be good allies to have, if their ideals were pure. A portal quirk would be a benefit without compare.
t̶h̸e̷ ̵He̴r̴o̶ ̴k̷i̶l̷l̴e̶r̵ ̷w̵i̶ll not die. No matter how much the world tries to stop him.