Ore no Yakuza Academia
by: Yidkirkin
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
SPOILERS
"The reason I smile... is to stave off the overwhelming pressure and fear I feel." All Might said heavily, and no matter how hard it was to see it Izuku couldn't tear his eyes away from the massive expanse of scar tissue marring his idol's torso. "A Pro should always be ready to risk his life. Without power, can one become a Hero? No, I should think not."
"Ah..."
"If you desire to help people, becoming a Police Officer is always an option." All Might told him while he wobbled to his feet –Izuku nodded in response, but was dazed like he'd been woken up suddenly from a midday nap, his vision quickly blurring. "Those Villain Custody Officers are often mocked but... that too is admirable work! ...it's not wrong to dream. However... you need to be realistic, kid."
The door to the roof slammed shut, and a minute later Izuku hiccupped and sank to the floor, tears overflowing and letting out great, heaving gasps in the ensuing silence.
He stayed there for however long it took him to calm himself back down, then slowly made his way off of the roof and down the stairwell to street level. He walked several blocks away from the building to try and see where he was, and when he'd figured out the way back home he paused so he could take his burned notebook out of his backpack.
You need to be realistic.
Even as a third-year, he still can't face reality.
It's time to start thinking seriously about your futures!
Izuku wiped at his nose and wanted to break out into tears again.
'Even... the best of the best said it... Don't cry! You knew already, right?! This is reality...' His notebook crinkled as he clutched it to his chest –he had the sudden urge to throw it away. 'It's because I knew... that I tried so damned hard... so hard not to see. To ignore reality. Yeah.'
Izuku heard an explosion and looked across the street at a milling crowd, and he almost walked over to join them and see which Hero was attracting so much buzz. He had just seen All Might, so was it Endeavour? Or maybe Kamui Woods was making an appearance; he was gaining more popularity after all, and he frequented this area more so than others. He took a step, but he bumped into the guardrail and jolted.
'I'm so used to gawking...' He looked down and away, and kept going.
/
"Deku-kun, the ball's coming your way!"
Izuku grinned and ran backwards, raising his hands up in the air to hit the 'training ball' back and over to Uraraka. She passed it over to Iida who held onto it for a few seconds and then threw it gently in Izuku's direction –and as expected, it sped up very quickly towards the clouds and then plummeted down at breakneck speed straight at Izuku.
"Don't let it get too light this time, Uraraka-san!" Izuku called as he tossed the ball over to her again, wincing as she had to jump back to catch the turbo-charged ball before it went past.
It was the rare occasion where the Heroics Department was mingling with the other three for a joint Phys Ed class, and the entirety of their extensive sports field was covered in clumps of first year students passing a training ball between them. Each class still generally kept to their own cliques and such –the Sports Festival hadn't done all that much to encourage them to interact after all –but there were a few exceptions to the trend. Most of the General Education kids were willing to lump with the Management kids for the sake of convenience, and some of the wilder Support kids had tinkered with their training balls and drawn a larger group around that was only getting crazier as time went by.
Izuku was glad for a few quiet weeks of class after the entire debacle that he'd been involved in over Placement Week. He, Uraraka and Iida had stuck to themselves for this exercise, keeping away from the more excitable of their yearmates as best they could and alternating smoothly between a ball that was super fast, super light or super dense depending on who had held it last. They were content to let the others have their 'battle to the brink of manliness' or whatever Kirishima had been yelling about, and in fact were quite glad that the two or more Quirk loaded balls weren't anywhere near them.
"Careful of your fingers, Iida-kun!" Uraraka reminded after receiving the super dense ball from Izuku –the first time he had charged it he hadn't known how One for All would affect it and so Iida had tried to catch a ball that had gone from being like a volleyball to being nearly as hard as a rock. Luckily his quick reflexes weren't limited to his legs and he had avoided broken fingers, but it was better to be reminded than slip up and get injured.
"They are definitely getting... rowdy over there..." Iida pointed over at the biggest group after passing the ball to Izuku. Apparently a minor speed Quirk had fused with Kaminari's lightning and now the two people after them had to deal with a speeding, electrocuting training ball being sent after them.
"I'm glad we're staying over here." Izuku said as he paused to watch –the next combo was from a Gen. Ed. Kid with spines and Hatsume's 'Zoom', which might not sound like much but apparently the training ball had chosen to interpret it as a 'never miss the target' Quirk.
"Bakugou-san and Kirishima-kun's training ball is also pretty rowdy." Uraraka said, walking over to Izuku and Iida when neither passed her the ball after a minute. Their eyes followed Sero as he ran away from the hardened, perpetually exploding training ball sent flying his way by a worked up Bakugou.
"Now all we've got to worry about is keeping Hagakure-san and Todoroki-kun's Quirks from combining!"
The three looked over as one to the 'floating' gym uniform of their invisible classmate, who was thankfully not in the same group as Todoroki, instead playing pass with Satou, Kouta and Ojiro.
"Yeah, we can deal with ours just fine, no need to mess it up." Izuku tossed the ball in the air and caught it as Uraraka and Iida got back into position –it was so strange that One for All had turned it hard as rock but still as light as any volleyball. "Okay, Iida-kun, I'm going to pass to you this time!"
"Hey, watch out!"
Izuku didn't turn around very quickly, thinking that the warning had been for someone else –instead he leisurely looked up only to see a training ball heading directly towards him, smoking and spitting sparks all the while. A glance to where he presumed it had come from revealed a worried looking Hatsume (never a good sign) and Yaoyorozu, who had been the one to toss it.
It tapped his forehead in his distraction and didn't seem to harm him right away, indeed it rolled off of his nose and fell straight into his hands, and he caught it on reflex, not even thinking about what Quirks were stored in it until–
"Midoriya-kun, drop it! It's acting weird!"
Suddenly the atmosphere of the previously carefree sports field shifted, but Izuku's fingers stayed curled around the ball even when he tried to will them to let go. He wondered idly if it had absorbed Kaminari's Quirk to be sending off so many sparks, and then he went as taught as a yanked string and he screamed. It felt like he was being torn in two, forced through a tube and stretched from all ends, all at the same time; the feeling faded quickly after a few seconds, but when he regained his vision he could see that it hadn't gone unnoticed by the horrified looks on his classmates faces and the teachers running over.
"What is that?!"
Izuku's knees buckled, and when the world went black around him he didn't even feel Uraraka catching him before he hit the ground.
Vvv
Murmurs and the soft sound of music on a radio were what Izuku heard as he swam back to consciousness after what seemed to him like days asleep. The second thing he noticed was the lack of the sadly familiar feeling of bandages anywhere on his body, and the second thing was that he was still in his Phys Ed uniform underneath the sheets.
"...hello?" He tried calling, shifting his body and not finding any injuries right away, though his voice was raspier than it had been in a while.
The murmuring stopped and Izuku managed to pry his eyes open in time to see the curtains pull back and Recovery Girl appear from behind them, an unpowered All Might coming in on her tail. The retired Hero was as unaffected as usual, but All Might immediately set to fussing with his blankets, an incredibly worried expression on his face as he grabbed a cup of water off of the bedside table.
"Midoriya, my boy, I'm glad you're awake." He said quietly, helping Izuku to sit up and drink the water and then easing him back down again. "Do you feel pain anywhere at all, Midoriya? Even a headache, or perhaps numbness?"
"N-No, I feel fine actually." Izuku glanced at Recovery Girl who was waiting patiently at the foot of the bed. "What happened? All I remember is catching that training ball and then passing out after... did I get electrocuted or something?"
All Might twitched and Recovery Girl shook her head. "It would've been easier if you had. You saw some of the Support Dept students tinkering with the training tools, right?"
"Yeah... me, Iida-kun and Uraraka-san were staying out of it until I caught that one."
Recovery Girl nodded firmly. "And a good decision that was, though it didn't do much to avoid this. They fiddled with that one you caught a little too much, so it started to malfunction after absorbing four Quirks in a row." She started to list things off on her fingers. "Kanakizawa's 'Stability', Saotome's 'Attraction', Rokuda's 'HammerSpace', and Suoh's 'Else-Vision'."
"Those are... eclectic..." Izuku mumbled, trying to recall any specifics about them since he wasn't familiar with any –but all he could remember was that Kanakizawa was from General, Saotome was from Heroics and could only pull things towards him that he could see, Rokuda was in Support and Suoh was in Management.
"Yes, and what came of the malfunction could also be called... eclectic, I suppose." All Might said, hesitating slightly. "My boy, I'm afraid that this incident resulted in something that we... well... we aren't particularly sure what to do about it."
"...'resulted in something'?" Izuku parroted, confused. He thought about the Quirks involved again; Attraction could be associated with the phrase, but the other three were too mysterious to really say one way or the other. Had they combined in some other way that no one could have predicted and 'resulted in something' from that? Izuku was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear the soft 'click' from the other side of the partition, but then he saw All Might tense slightly and the curtain behind him was drawn back a few centimetres.
"Don't move." A voice said, the owner hidden from Izuku's sight by virtue of All Might standing directly between them. "Where am I?"
"...U.A. High School. There was an accident involving the students' Quirks." All Might replied, cautious and as still as a statue. "This is Recovery Girl's Infirmary. She and a student of the school are the only ones here, directly in front of me."
The voice didn't respond right away, but Izuku heard the creak of bed springs and then saw a head of hair closely coloured to his own appear from behind the curtain, just beyond All Might's shoulder.
"Go between them and then turn around." The man ordered, and All Might complied. Once he moved Izuku could actually see who it was that was standing there –but his brain promptly short-circuited when he did.
"What the hell?" The familiar stranger blurted, keeping the gun in his hand pointed steadily at All Might but gesturing at Izuku with his free hand. "All Might? And is he the Quirk accident here or somethin'?"
"Ah, so you do know me... and, no, he's involved, but you are the one here who was directly affected by it." All Might said, Recovery Girl making a sound of agreement; Izuku couldn't stop staring.
The stranger didn't just have a similar hair colour to him; it was as if Izuku himself was standing there, aged several years. The differences were clear –this man was inches taller and broader than Izuku was, and had styled his slightly shorter hair so that only a partial fringe fell onto his forehead. He was wearing dark grey slacks, a grey suit coat and a black dress shirt, with a gold chain around his neck and shiny black shoes on his feet. But what drew Izuku's stare more than the gun in his possession was the scar than sliced through the corner of the man's mouth and traveled down the side of his neck.
"Your name wouldn't happen to be Midoriya Izuku, would it?" All Might tried, the stranger not having spoken in a minute.
"...if it is?" He shot back, glaring fiercely.
"Then I may have a theory as to what happened." All Might raised his hands peacefully, sunken eyes remaining locked with the stranger's. "If you would stow your weapon, we can sit and figure this out without violence or tensions running high."
The man raised an eyebrow sceptically, but then he sighed and kneeled down to his rolled up pant leg where an empty gun holster was strapped close to his ankle. He hesitated removing the gun from its position, but a minute passed and he fiddled with it, putting the safety on and then strapping it back in and rising to his full height.
"I am Midoriya Izuku," He said, nodding in lieu of a bow. "And I suspect that he is as well."
"You would be correct." All Might relaxed slightly. "I am, as you've guessed, All Might. I mentioned that an incident brought you here."
"An 'accident', as you said." The other Midoriya said, moving so he was sitting tensely on the empty hospital bed. "Explain, please."
"The Phys Ed class where young Midoriya previously was, had been using 'training balls'. They absorb an impression of a Quirk and are affected by it for a short time, like Invisibility making the ball either fully or partially invisible." The other Midoriya nodded to show he understood. "There was a modified, malfunctioning ball among the rest. It absorbed four Quirks –Stability, Attraction, HammerSpace, and Else-Vision, and then it fell straight to young Midoriya."
For the first time, the not-stranger looked at Izuku and actually focused on him, something about his gaze feeling like he was examining Izuku's innermost thoughts. "...you're training to be a Hero? You're... fifteen?" He questioned, and Izuku nodded.
"...none of those Quirks were time travel. What's 'Else-Vision'?" Older Midoriya continued after a moment, his stare tearing off of Izuku and back to All Might.
"Astute! Else-Vision allows it's user to see glimpses of different people's lives. The owner has told me that it isn't limited to this time or even this world; he has even seen one where I myself am the most horrid Villain imaginable!" All Might said it loudly, but he didn't appear comfortable with the thought. "I suspect that the HammerSpace and Else-Vision located this you through what sounded from onlookers like a portal, and the Attraction pulled you through while the Stability may have prevented you from being... adversely affected."
All Might let that statement sit for a minute, and then Older Midoriya said, "You said that you, 'aren't sure what to do about it'."
"That was before you awoke, of course. You not being some mindless blank slate has made that statement slightly moot." All Might laid a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Of course, anything said is all speculation. HammerSpace only pulls what already exists, Else-Vision doesn't typically reveal more than brief glimpses into other lives. Stability is supposed to only affect the owner, and Attraction has been proven to only work on what the user can see."
"So it seems that while the one-in-a-million chance of my being pulled here happened, there's no way to know for how long I'll stay or 'not be affected'." The Other Midoriya concluded –he was taking all of this a lot more calmly than Izuku would have if their situations had been reversed. "Well, I guess it's safe to say that I'll be missed for a while on the other side, thankfully there wasn't anything I was particularly busy with right now or I'd be worried. Can I assume that U.A. will take responsibility for this blunder and accommodate me while I'm here?"
"I'm sure of it, and if not then I will." All Might assured him. "Of course, there will probably be a few questions and such before deciding on the next course of action."
"Of course." Older Midoriya looked again straight at Izuku, a look halfway between curious and apprehensive passing over his face. "If Boku-kun could come along, I have a few questions of my own."
"B-Boku-kun?" Izuku sputtered; face blotching red at the almost mocking smirk his elder counterpart threw his way.
"No way I'm calling my own damn self 'Midoriya' or 'Izuku-kun'. I've switched to 'ore' since I was your age anyhow, so it's an easy way to differentiate*." He shrugged. "I'm assuming you'll find it awkward to call me 'Midoriya' or 'Izuku-san' too, so call me what you like." The newly christened 'Ore' checked the clock on the wall and then fiddled with his wristwatch. "'Young Midoriya' is even more of a pain."
"And are you fine with coming along, my boy?" All Might asked, looking partly amused. "You may refuse if you like."
"N-No, I'll come, All Might."
The Hero nodded decisively and went to answer the sharp knock that sounded at the door to the Infirmary just then –the unmistakable voice of Principal Nedzu following, asking if they had worked anything out.
Izuku nervously chanced a look at... Ore's face, and almost burst out laughing at the expression his older self was wearing –he was staring at the Principal with his mouth slightly agape and his eyes narrowed, like he was attempting to determine if he was actually seeing a bipedal mouse with a scar talking to All Might.
Izuku wondered what sort of future/world Ore had come from, with his scars and professional dress, the gun and –Izuku snuck a glance down at Ore's left hand just to confirm –his two missing pinkie joints. He couldn't be older than thirty at the very most; had he been captured or tortured by Villains? Was he a Hero, or maybe worked with the Police?
"Midoriya-san, it is good to meet you even under these circumstances." The Principal greeted Ore politely, extending a paw that he shook after a moment of staring. "We'll be moving to my office for our talk. If you have any reason to, feel free to refuse to answer –this isn't an interrogation."
"I'll think of it as an interview, then. I'll be in your care." Ore answered formally, bowing after letting Nedzu's paw fall away. Once again his eyes went to Izuku after a second of quiet. "Why don't we give Boku-kun a minute to change back into his regular uniform? You can tell me a bit about U.A."
Nedzu agreed easily, for which Izuku was thankful –now that he had the time to notice, there was a sure 'singed' smell to his gym clothes that reminded him more of burnt flesh than he liked. He stripped and pulled his uniform back on in record time, still not getting his tie right even after so many months of wearing it; Ore snorted when he saw it a minute later.
"I'd almost forgotten how hopeless I was with ties." He explained absently at the questioning looks –Izuku had noticed the lack of a tie despite the rest of him being clad in nearly a full suit, and he wondered again what sort of job he had that he could get away without one.
All Might brought up the rear as Nedzu situated himself in between Izuku and Ore, and it looked to be after school hours with how quiet and still everything was while they made their way through the halls to Nedzu's office. The Principal made short conversation with Ore, pointing at certain classrooms or telling him little facts about the school's structure or history as they moved along.
When they made it to his office Nedzu busied himself with tea, and Ore took one couch while Izuku and All Might sat on the one opposite. Now that they had stopped walking, Izuku couldn't help that his gaze was drawn again to Ore's hand and the single remaining joint of the smallest finger.
"You're a first year?" Ore asked out of nowhere –when Izuku looked up his older self was staring straight at him, having noticed where he'd been looking.
"Ah... yes, we're a few weeks past the Sports Festival." Izuku told him a little awkwardly. "You know I'm fifteen, so how old are you, Ore-san?"
The Older Midoriya blinked as if surprised, then grinned and huffed out a laugh. "Well I did say you could call me as you like. I'm twenty-five, ten years older than you."
"You seemed as if you weren't sure whether young Midoriya attended the Heroics Department." All Might said as Nedzu set down a tray laden with cups of steaming tea and sugar and cream. "Did you not attend?"
"...I didn't. That would be one difference between us." Ore confirmed –when he shifted forward to set his hands on his knees his shirt collar shifted over and Izuku caught a glimpse of part of a tattoo. "Does Boku-kun still want to be like All Might?"
"Y-Yes, of course I do!"
"Hm..." He looked to Nedzu. "What sort of things do you want to ask me?"
"We wanted to see who you were in relation to Midoriya-kun, and then we'll decide what you'd like to do... in the meantime." Ore's jaw tensed slightly, but he nodded in agreement. "Well then, you said you're twenty five, what do you do for a living?"
Ore's mouth twitched into an amused smirk –Izuku might have said it was his older self's default expression with how often it happened –and he looked to be trying not to laugh outright.
"Well, I'm working for a group known as the Gotouda." He began, waiting a split second for reactions that never came. "Their heir has designated me as his saiko-komon*, but depending on how things go I might shift into being his wakagashira* if he can't settle on someone he trusts."
Nedzu didn't say anything as he sipped his tea leisurely, but All Might had jumped a foot the minute that Ore had uttered 'saiko-komon' and then turned white at 'wakagashira'.
"A-A Y-Y-Yakuza?!" Izuku whisper-shrieked, hoping that he had simply misunderstood the phrasing.
"Right on the head, Boku-kun, going on... five or six years now, officially at least." Ore said easily, pulling his sleeve up a couple of inches to show the three of them the tattoo that presumably extended down to his wrist from his collarbone. "I had an encounter when I was young, before I met the Gotouda-kai heir, with you, All Might. You discouraged me from becoming a Hero due to the danger, and soon after I met my boss. After several years of friendship he asked me if I would become his saiko-komon when he took over from his father."
"That's..." Izuku's head was spinning. "I-I had that meeting with All Might, too, a year and a half ago?" Ore thought for a moment and then confirmed that it was the same one. "I didn't meet anyone new though! I tried to rescue Kacchan from a Villain, and afterwards All Might found me and told me he'd... misjudged me."
All Might looked away, ears red in shame; Ore chuckled and shook his head.
"One little encounter, huh?" He covered his tattoo again. "Oh, but don't worry, I don't hate all Heroes like some Yakuza. It's just a difference in viewpoints to me."
/
Izuku walked purposefully away from the crowd –his head felt heavy, and the explosion that had caught his attention reminded him of Kacchan –and so within minutes he had left the chatter of the onlookers behind him. He was nearby the older housing district he passed through on the way back from school, so he ignored the sudden burst of noise and wind from the commotion he had left behind so that he could get home without regretting his decision.
It was nearing five o'clock now, but aside from the occasional salaryman heading home from work the streets were practically deserted –it was odd enough for Izuku to note even in his distress, and he wondered idly if there was a delay at the train station or something similar. He flipped through his notebook as he walked, still legible despite the charring and water damage. There was still the urge to throw it away –get rid of the evidence of his borderline obsession –but every time he passed a waste bin his fingers unwittingly tightened and in the end he went on still clutching it to his chest.
'Y'know, I couldn't do anything when that slime Villain attacked me.' He thought, feeling exhausted now that his emotions had muffled themselves a little. 'Maybe it was better that All Might set me straight...? I might have over-estimated myself in the future and gotten really hurt.'
He stopped at the rail crossing while the bullet train sped by and took a minute to stow away his book, feeling his mood lighten slightly. 'He was only worried for my wellbeing. Maybe a more... realistic future would be best... maybe there's another way to...'
The train passed, and as the crossing gate rose up to let him pass Izuku looked across the tracks. A dozen or more feet past the crossing there was a teenager from Hama Mid who was being restrained and surrounded by two others, and as Izuku stared they moved back and dragged him into an alley, out of sight.
'...be like him.'
Izuku slipped his bag from his shoulders and rummaged around for his umbrella while striding forward, zipping up the pocket and peeking around the corner to try and see what was going on further down. At first he couldn't tell, but then his eyes adjusted to the shadows and he saw the teen being restrained was reeling from a punch to his temple and spat blood onto the ground – and without knowing exactly what he was doing Izuku's legs sprung into action. He ran full throttle down the alley, and brought the dense part of his umbrella down onto the nearest attacker's head.
That action took their attention off of their victim, and while the first boy was stumbling and shaking the spots from his eyes Izuku flung his bag at the other two and swung his umbrella again. It struck the already injured one in the forehead and sent him to the ground, and Izuku had a split second to feel triumphant before the other attacker moved and sent a hard kick straight to Izuku's stomach.
Izuku fell to the ground and tried to block his face so that the other teen's boot couldn't strike him in the eyes or nose and potentially give him brain damage. There was a pause when someone squawked in pain, and then Izuku's hair was seized and he was wrenched up to his feet to receive a punch to the face that sent him into the wall of the alley. He braced himself for more, but when he looked he only saw the one he had tried to save standing before him, all three of his attackers lying on the ground and groaning.
"Fuck, I got blood on my shirt." The teen mumbled angrily, kicking the nearest boy in the gut and wiping more off of his chin with the sleeve of said shirt. His eyes were sharp as they surveyed the situation in the alley, and after a few moments his gaze settled on Izuku.
"Ah... are you o-okay?" Izuku asked, wincing at the pain that shot through his nose when he spoke, feeling dizzy and unsteady on his feet.
"Am I –what the fuck?" The teen blurted, glaring at Izuku. He was sort of plain looking besides his eyes that were a bright, golden brown; he had short black hair with bangs over his forehead, an angular chin and was taller than Izuku by a few inches. His Hama Mid uniform was similar to Izuku's except that it was black instead of dark blue, and his shirt which he was sure had been deep red only a second ago was now an ugly green-orange mottle. "You're the one I should be asking that, fool! Look at yourself!"
"Er, sorry..." Izuku mumbled; he gingerly wiped at his throbbing nose and his sleeve came back streaked with red. "Oh, my nose..."
"Great, I'm indebted to a moron." The other boy said callously –but he backed up and began gathering up his and Izuku's bags right away. When he had slung both over his one shoulder he stooped down to grab Izuku's arm, and he hauled Izuku fully to his feet, supporting him easily.
"C'mon, tell me where you live and I'll get us there!" He spat it into Izuku's ear much too loudly and shook Izuku so hard it made him groan from the sudden nausea. "What's your name anyway?!"
"Uh, turn left here." Izuku told him first off, head spinning a bit as he was jostled. "I-I'm Midoriya Izuku."
It was quiet for a long while except for the other boy's footsteps and Izuku's warbling directions that led them directly to the front gate of Izuku's apartment complex. Only once Izuku's bag and misshapen umbrella had been thrust into his hands did the other teen pause –and ultimately bowed shortly to Izuku, glaring fiercely all the while his shirt turned a bright magenta.
"I'm Gotouda Aki." He said, his shoulders hunched. "Thanks."
/
*'boku' and 'ore' are both common ways to say 'I' and the like – 'Boku no' Hero Academia becomes 'My' Hero Academia. Izuku switched to ore when he felt he grew out of boku.
*saiko-komon is basically a Yakuza advisor, but also refers to the one in charge of the lawyers and accountants.
*wakagashira in this sense would be the 'first lieutenant', a 'regional boss' directly under the oyabun 'big/main boss'. A wakagashira makes sure the oyabun's orders are carried out.