I don't own a thing
"speech"
'thought'
'Tenno thinking'
emphasis/sounds/other such things
---
After discarding his ruined outfit, Izuku mindlessly stumbled home, now that the adrenaline of the fight had disappeared, his body begun to grow weak from the injuries and stress.
On his path he passed by storefronts displaying TVs that played the news about the events that had transpired earlier, the news anchor was talking about the Pro Hero Nova Maxima being attacked by an unknown villain hiding their identity while he and two others were chasing another villain responsible for setting multiple buildings and vehicles on fire and robbing a local pawn shop.
Izuku barely payed it any mind, continuing to stumble back home ignoring his pain, his mind blank. The moment he entered his home, he headed straight to his room, closed the door and didn't make it a few steps before he collapsed on the floor coughing up a bit of blood as he choked back a sob.
'Izuku, I need you to focus on your injuries and meditate, it will be okay, you need rest Izuku-'
"It's not the injuries that hurt sensei." Izuku choked out with a sob followed by a spittle of blood.
'Izuku please don't speak, it will be okay just take slow shallow breaths, your lungs are too damag-'
"Its not about the injur-!" Izuku began to shout only to be cut off by a coughing fit, droplets of blood mixing with the spittle.
'Izuku, I know you are in a lot of pain right now-' Izuku opened his mouth to respond but Tenno cut him off 'both literal and figurative, I know that you need to talk and get it all out of your system. I get it, I do. But please Izuku, if you continue trying to do it verbally, you will damage yourself worse.' At this point tears were streaming down Izuku's face, his body curled into a ball on the floor.
'I'm here kid, and I'm listening, so spill your heart out.' Another sob escaped Izuku's lips before he pulled himself together.
'Sensei, All my life I have done nothing but idolize heroes, they meant everything to me. I and the whole world had treated them as paragons of good,' his face contorted to a picture of rage, 'and yet today, I had borne witness to a hero actively risking harm to civilians just so he could raise his popularity rank by capturing a villain,' his blooded lips pulled back in a snarl.
'He was supposed to be a hero! A hero, who should do everything in their power to save people! And yet!' his fist struck the floor, a crack echoed out into the apartment, a fist shaped dent marred the floorboards, 'And yet he actively put them to harm! How many were injured in the fires! How many could've died to his recklessness if I hadn't stopped him? How many?!' this time he pushed himself up away from the floor and leaned his back onto the wall, staring up in rage.
Closing his eyes, he took a shallow breath and held it in, Izuku took that moment to think, meanwhile Tenno listened silently as Izuku poured out his heart.
'Nova Maxima number 218th ranked hero. One of the others there was his sidekick, and the other was the 201st ranked hero TentaRunner, I recognize them now. Nova Maxima had been in the top 200 a year ago and had dropped down the ranking recently, since then he had been more and more active in an attempt to get back to the top 200s.
What about the other heroes that were there! What were they doing? What were they doing when one of their own was actively harming civilians? Just following behind, chasing after the same villain, instead of putting out fires that their ally created. Making zero attempts to reign him in!
Instead they were trying to be the first to hunt down the villain to raise their own ranking. They turned a civil duty into a race to who would get imaginary points on a meaningless scale.
For what? Some popularity poll?! The hero public safety commission, the media… They were complicit, instead when I intervened to save the civilians they labeled me a villain, they were blaming the villain with no fire quirk for the fires that were caused by the hero. They buried the hero's villainous acts and blamed it on others. it's their fault. They are the ones turning a civil duty into a competition!' With each passing moment, Izuku became more and more riled up, in his aggravated state he forgot to take care when breathing, instead his breath came fast and sharp.
'Izuku!'
'The three Heroes there, the HPSC, they are all complicit. And how many others are out there! Treating civilian casualties as a statistic! How many others are out there abusing the people with a title that the same people granted them?! HOW MANY-' Izuku couldn't finish the thought as he erupted into a coughing fit, blood and spit splattering the floor.
'IZUKU!' thankfully it didn't last long but it was due to the cough exacerbating the damaged lungs causing the pain to knock Izuku out
Tenno could attempt to wake Izuku up, but he instead chose to let Izuku rest and possible calm his mind, deciding to guide Izuku's subconscious into meditation to assist in his recovery but due to Izuku's mental state and the roundabout way it was being done, it would only be partially as effective.
All that noise had alerted Inko, causing her to look into Izuku's room asking if he was alright, only to freak out when she witnessed his condition. When she went to pick him up, Izuku woke up and started bawling his eyes out, mumbling something about heroes.
Inko, in her worry, picked him up and brought him to his bed after which she rushed around for a first aid kit and a phone, and yet before she could get far something stopped her.
Looking back, Izuku's hand had grabbed her, halting her rush. Inko, stopping in her tracks, turned to Izuku and asked what was wrong, only for Izuku to wipe his blooded mouth with the back of his hand and tell her about the reason he looked as bad as hid did, as well as the hero that he had the misfortune of meeting.
"Oh my baby," Right as he finished with his retelling of the day's events, Inko broke out into tears and crushed Izuku into a tender hug, "That must have been so hard on you, I know how much you love and respect heroes," she leaned back from the hug so she could stare into Izuku's eyes, as her tear filled eyes turned sharp, "but you need to know this, the world isn't fair, it isn't just. Neither is it all black and white, no one is truly pure evil or pure good, the world exists in infinite shades of grays. Sometimes those, that the people have labeled as villains, might help those in need, other times, the ones labeled as heroes, might commit crimes."
Two pairs of emerald eyes gazed into each other, one older than the other, both filled with hurt, "This is a lesson that everyone has to learn eventually and I am sorry, soso sorry that this was how you learnt it. But it is still a lesson that everyone eventually learns.
Just because someone is labeled as a Pro Hero doesn't mean they are actual Heroes, and it's the same with ones labeled as villain, its our actions that define us, not a some words on a piece of plastic, or newspaper." Saying so she gazed at the various All Might posters on the walls, Izuku's eyes following hers. "There are countless bad people out there, doing harm to others for selfish reasons, and then there are countless Heroes, who risk their lives for the sake of others," she tuned back to Izuku, brushing a tear from his cheek, "and you, my precious little hero, I've known you all your life, I've watched you fight and struggle for others, for your ideals, I've seen you get hurt for them, and it hurt me as well, seeing your pain."
Izuku couldn't help but feel shame at the illegal acts he had committed thinking his mother didn't know about them, he wanted to look away in shame but Inko pulled him back in into another hug.
"and yet, no matter how much it hurts you when your ideals are rejected, I know that for you that pain is only fuel, fuel that you use for your ideals. I know that hurt is outweighed hundredfold by seeing your ideals, your conviction, be proven right whenever you help someone, no matter how mundane or how taxing the task was for you. I can't help but be proud of the man you have become. so Izuku, there are great many real Heroes out in the world doing their best, and even if you don't yet have a license you are still a Hero to me and many others." Inko barely finished the sentence before the floodgates opened.
'… Thankfully I'm not the only responsible adult around, I'd probably say something like "think about what All Might would do" or something like that, phew.' Tenno silently commented to himself as the mother-son duo hugged and bawled their eyes out.
---
After that stressful event, Izuku spent a few days recuperating, hanging out with his mom watching shows (non hero related), medicating and meditating to let his lungs recover.
Now about a week later, Izuku stands at the frequented Dagobah beach, as he takes a deep breath with his freshly healed lungs, attempting to reawaken and examine the technique developed in the fire. Izuku and Tenno had a lengthy discussion, dissecting the event and coming up with theories on what had happened in that moment and how to recreate it.
Currently he was trying to get his blood boiling all on his own without needing a conflagration boiling the air he breathed.
Taking as deep a breath as he could in a single breath and then following it with multiple small gulps of air to fill up his lungs, he held it until his lungs protested, afterwards Izuku focused on his heart forcing it to increase his blood pressure and heartbeat to an extreme level to the point where his whole chest ached, the area behind his ribs becoming uncomfortably tight and hot.
As this happened, his skin took on a slight reddish hue, his blood vessels enlarged and contorted like serpents as his own blood boiled within his body. Once he'd stabilized the effect, he swung his arm at the air with all his strength, a light gust of wind following in its wake.
At first look it looked like the only effect this technique had was the increase strength and speed, but the true effect of this technique was shown in the ripple of heat distorted air left behind by his swing.
Unclenching his fist, a flash of steam erupted from his palm and fingers as his body shook from the continued use of the technique.
Finally letting out a breath and swallowing some fresh oxygen, Izuku's body wobbled as a wave of vertigo overwhelmed him, causing him do drop down on the sandy beach and rest.
Exhausted, lightheaded and with an aching chest, Izuku sprawled on the sand like a corpse, and yet bubbling laughter escaped his lips.
Rising his exhausted hand into the air in front of him, he clenched his fist, a giddy smile marring his face. He had been strong before and taking swift steps to becoming stronger, but this? This was a whole leap towards real power, real power he could use for the sake of others.
Because, while there are great many bad people in the world, there are just as many who have the desire to help those in need but not the power, now with this great power and the desire to help? Izuku has an equally great responsibly.
---
AN: this shit was difficult. Gimme a chapter with fighting and martial experimentation and I'll craft and give you a diamond within seconds, give me a chapter about emotions and I'll give you my best attempt in the maximum allotted time, which is just a pile of dung wrapped around a lump of coal T^T.
until someone mentioned Izuku being distraught about having to fight a hero and a villainous one at that, I legit didn't think about it, the original chapter was gonna be all about the physical recovery of and training instead of emotional recovery (skull face emoji, wilted rose emoji, grave stone emoji)
The technique displayed in this chapter is an original, [Erupting volcano burning claw] its based off of the martial arts shown in One Punch Man, if the name wasn't obvious, at later stages it will basically turn his fingers into budget light sabers, no Ki or plasma or fire, just normal heat and lost blood due to it boiling and steaming out of his body. So it's a rare technique that he will use sparingly.
I genuinely wasn't thinking about Total Concentration Breathing when I first made it years ago(yes, years) but now that people have mentioned it, I realise I could use elements from it into the martial art making it more versatile.
Anyway like comment all that jazz, tell me what you thought of the chapter, Yay or Nay.
~ Expect next chapter possibly around October 30-31st ~
~~ its gonna be a busy month for me ~~
If you like my work and have the ability, please support me on Ko Fi (/rottensarcophagus) or Patreon (/RottenSarcophagus)