Authors note:
Speaking: "…"
Thinking: '…'
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Asahi's POV
At the Daigo Household
Three Hours Earlier
The phoenix man had just finished putting his daughter to bed when he noticed Inko standing on the balcony with something in her hand. Grabbing a blanket, he approached her and draped it over her shoulders.
"You're playing with that lighter again. What's on your mind?" the mostly white-haired man asked, watching his wife flick an old black lighter with an engraving of a blue king-of-hearts card on and off, staring at the flame.
"Whenever you do that, something's bothering you," he added in a concerned tone.
"Really, am I? Well, I guess it's an old habit. I just can't shake the feeling that Izuku's hiding something from me, call it a mother's intuition," Inko said, watching the flame flicker in the wind.
"I think you're reading too much into it. He's a seventeen-year-old with a girlfriend. Of course, he's hiding some secrets he doesn't want his mom to know. He's smarter than I assume all kids his age, so I'm sure he's fine. Give your son some credit," the orange-eyed aura user reassured her, putting an arm over her shoulder.
"A seventeen-year-old with combat experience greater than most pro heroes. But maybe you're right, and I'm just overthinking it," she said, closing the lighter and giving Asahi a kiss.
"I'm going to bed," she added before heading to their bedroom.
"Good night, honey. I'll be there in just a second," the phoenix man said. As she walked away, he thought, ‚A mother's instinct is sharp, but I'm sorry, Inko, I don't think it's good for me to tell you.'
Once he was sure she was asleep, Asahi coughed a small amount of blood into his hand.
"That blasted demon... even after being sealed for more than three millennia, still causing me this much trouble. I'll have to visit Ceres one of these days to get healed," he muttered. Using his aura, he burned the blood from his hand before glancing at a message on his phone.
"Your package will be delayed for one week due to unforeseen circumstances. We hope this doesn't cause any problems. Your Lamborghini team."
He sighed. "Looks like you'll have to wait another week to get your own car, Izuku," he said before heading to the bedroom.
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The Next Morning
Izuku's Room
Slowly opening his eyes, Izuku found the sleeping form of his white-haired girlfriend resting her head on his chest. Not wanting to wake her, he carefully maneuvered out of her grasp and stood up without alerting her. A quick glance at the clock on his bedside table showed it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon.
Walking quietly out of the room, he headed to the kitchen to get himself some late breakfast. However, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed a wrapped present on the kitchen table. A note attached to it read:
"Happy Birthday, son. —Dad"
"Since when did Asahi start referring to himself as my dad? Oh well, let's see what he got me," Izuku muttered to himself before opening the present. Inside, he found two items: a black sphere the size of a tennis ball and a strange earpiece. Intrigued by the gift his stepfather had sent, he put on the earpiece and examined the marble.
The marble began glowing with red lines and transformed into a glass, changing both color and material. "Wait, this couldn't be... or could it?" Izuku wondered, testing a theory. He instructed the glass to transform into a fork, and to his surprise, it turned black with red lights before morphing into the silver metal fork he had envisioned.
After testing several other forms, all of which worked, he concluded, "Well, I'll be damned. He finished the nanotech before us. Thanks, old man." Izuku continued experimenting with his stepfather's gift, impressed by its capabilities.
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The Next Day
Unknown Location
All members of the Eight Rings sat around a rectangular table in their civilian clothing, with Katsuki and Izuku occupying the seats of honor. The room was dimly lit by the orange glow of an otherworldly chandelier flower hanging from the rounded wooden ceiling.
Starting the meeting, Izuku spoke: "As you all know, our mission as the Eight Rings is to maintain the peace All Might and the other heroes spent their entire careers building.
"Over the last year, that problem has been mostly resolved, so aside from the occasional mission, phase one of the operation is complete. Which is why we're starting phase two: preparing the next generation. Specifically, we'll help All Might's successor reach their full potential. To that end, I've applied to be a biology professor at U.A. High School. Thanks to Hitoshi, we've confirmed the new One for All wielder will attend U.A., and, well... All Might is a terrible teacher."
A few chuckles spread around the table as Izuku continued, "Originally, I planned to let him train his own successor, but given the current situation, that won't be enough."
"So, I'm guessing that means you want Satoru, Shoto, and me to attend U.A. as well, to support him as classmates?" Hitoshi asked tiredly.
"Not exactly. I want Shoto to be his direct classmate in Class 1-A. Satoru will join the other hero course in Class 1-B. As for you, Hitoshi, I'd like you to attend the hero course at Shiketsu High. That way, we can monitor activity at both top hero schools," Izuku explained.
"Why do I have to go to Shiketsu?" Hitoshi grumbled.
"Because Shoto already has a letter of recommendation from his father. It would be suspicious for him to refuse it and go to Shiketsu instead. As for Satoru, I couldn't convince him to leave my side. If you can persuade him to trade with you, that's fine too," Izuku said, gesturing to the white-haired butler seated on his right, who was glaring daggers at Hitoshi.
"Shiketsu is fine!" Hitoshi relented immediately.
"Don't worry. In terms of actual learning, neither school will teach you anything you don't already know. Their main value for you is covering hero laws and regulations, so you're not missing out on anything," Izuku reassured him.
"I guess you're right," the sleepy teen conceded, slumping onto the desk.
"Now, Kacchan, you'll also be joining me at U.A. as a teacher. We have an appointment with Principal Nezu next week to finalize the details."
"Why do I have to teach a bunch of wannabe heroes? I didn't even apply for a job there!" Katsuki protested, slamming his fist on the table.
"Because Asahi and Principal Nezu are good friends. When I reached out, he insisted on hiring us both after hearing about our teaching skills at TUQS. So, like it or not, you're coming with me," Izuku explained smugly.
"But won't that risk exposing us as vigilantes?" Katsuki argued.
"Not at all. We can deploy Dragon and Panther without being present. If anything, it'll confuse anyone trying to investigate us further," Izuku reasoned, grinning at Katsuki's grumbling.
"What was that?" Izuku asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I said fine. But you'd better not ask anything else of me in the near future," Katsuki muttered reluctantly.
"Good. Now, onto the final agenda for today. As you know, Kacchan and I recently reached the 75th floor of Aincrad. For now, we're stuck there. The entire floor is a massive library, and we found some intriguing information there. Kacchan, if you would?"
Katsuki pulled out a leather-bound book and opened it to a section labeled The Clash of Crimson Fire.
"This book discusses the creation of Aincrad. There's a chapter mentioning a confrontation between someone named Ignathar and another entity whose name is blacked out. The librarian said it's always been that way, and even my powers can't restore the missing text, since it's too ancient."
"That name, Ignathar... does it sound familiar to anyone?" Katsuki asked knowingly.
"That's the name Hawks mentioned during our battle. He could be a member of the Aegis, or even their leader," Satoru speculated.
"Exactly. From now on, the Eight Rings will have an additional goal: uncovering Aincrad's true history and its connection to our world. And, of course, figuring out what the Aegis bastards are planning," Katsuki declared, earning unanimous agreement from the group.
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Authors note:
For anyone who's read this far in the story, please for the love of god, write a comment with some of your opinions and reactions. It's boring being an author and not getting any feedback or constructive criticism, please 🙏🏻 I promise I'll write back to every single comment that's posted