"Midoriya Izuku… I like you!" Yoshihara Mari was confessing to Izuku for the fourteenth time behind the school.
"I'm sorry, Yoshihara-san… I don't have any feelings for you is all," Izuku smiled as he tried to back away.
"Come on, Izuku-chan! What's wrong with me? What do I have to do to make you like me?" She asked, stepping closer and closer to Izuku.
"I-I don't know!" Izuku said as he tried to back away from her.
"What's your type, Izuku?" Mari asked.
"I don't know!" Izuku replied, backing further away. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled, causing the awkwardness of the situation to escalate.
"Are you hungry? I still have some ramen left in my lunchbox," she said as she took her backpack off and rummaged through it, looking for it.
"That's not necessary, Yoshihara-san," Izuku said, waving off her concern with a timid smile. "Besides, I only eat protein-rich food, so I might disrupt my diet if I eat that…" Izuku said the last part almost under his breath, not expecting her to catch on, but if her wide eyes were of any indication, she did.
"Are you a body-builder or something?" She asked, curiously as she skipped towards the green-haired teen, tapping on his stomach before he could react. "Wow, solid!" She exclaimed. "Can I see?"
"Most certainly not!" Izuku flushed as he prepared to leave.
'You're no fun, Deku! You built this awesome body ripping your muscles to shreds all the time, and now that you're ripped, you don't want to show off? Let me handle this,' Kuzui said as he prepared to take control, much to Izuku's absolute rejection.
'NO!' Izuku ground out firmly.
"Aww, you're no fun," said both Mari and Kuzui at the same time, much to Izuku's momentary confusion.
Izuku turned around to leave before Mari called him out again. "Aren't you going to ask what I see in you?"
"Not interested," Izuku said as he continued to walk.
"What about the other one? What do you call him…Kuzui?"
The green-haired teen stopped.
Mari smirked at him.
"Good bye!" She said as she took off, or she would have, if it wasn't for Izuku who instinctively froze her shoes to the ground. Izuku walked back to her still form and began asking her questions.
"H-"
"How did I know?" Mari asked. "My quirk allows me to read minds. You seem to have two. That's really interesting. Is it the spirit of your still-born twin brother? Has it always been like this? Or… are you just crazy?" She asked.
Izuku didn't know how to handle the situation. For one, she held a secret which he really didn't want to go public. He also couldn't just kill her, though that did cross Kuzui's mind. For now, he should just follow her demands.
"What do you want? Is it money?" The teen asked with no small amount of anger.
"No…" She said, solemnly. "Look… I really like you… you're really cool. What couldn't I see in you?" She asked. Izuku snorted.
"I've been getting that a lot."
"No, really… I know the… other one also had a hand in what you said that day, but that was still really cool. You've been bullied by your class for so long, and once they finally got around to accept you, you rejected them and got them all to fear you… I just thought… that was really cool, you know? Look, I'm not gonna spill your secret or anything, whether you date me or not. I just want you to know that I understand you." She looked at him with big eyes. The teenaged boy was stunned by the praise.
"…Good bye, Mari-san," Izuku said, releasing his hold over her and walking away. Mari stood there, gazing at the back of the boy who rejected her.
"He called me by my given name."
PLUS – ULTRA
Izuku looked himself in the mirror, admiring his figure. With only his underwear on, he was able to assess every inch of his body, and he liked what he saw.
Height-wise, he had only grown within an expected, if not slightly accelerated rate, considering his working out. Figure-wise, there was nary even a layer of fat to obstruct his sinewy, aesthetic muscles. His abs were cut like diamonds, with even a fourth pair visible above his pelvis. His pecs had also gone through a transformation, and he still couldn't forget the few days were he could barely move his arms, having to rely on the kinetic portion of his quirk for everyday purposes.
His arms were nothing to sneeze at either. His shoulders seemed to have gotten wider by at least an inch on both sides, but even then, they weren't glaring, but a nice balance between utility and aestheticism.
He looked to his left, on his bed. His suit was laid across. A pearl-white shirt and a black suit vest, suit jacket with golden cuff links and pants and a dark green tie.
Izuku wore the ensemble and admired himself once more in the mirror, appreciating how the suit hugged his figure, but not so much that it was tight. It gave him a respectable air, and only then did he notice the sheer contrast of how he viewed himself versus how he did the same exact thing only several months ago.
It had been three months since he had received his quirk, and only two weeks since he battled Bakugou Katsuki. Izuku wasn't proud of what happened at the beach. He couldn't. He crossed an ethical boundary which disqualified him from ever being able to feel like a hero.
His path was something much less noble, but all the more necessary.
A war hero.
From downstairs, he could hear his mother calling his name. "Izuku! Are you ready?"
Pulling his tie tighter, Izuku flashed a smile on the mirror and admired himself one last time. "Coming down!"
As he descended his staircase, his phone rung and Izuku had to stifle a groan. He didn't even have to look at who called, just answering the phone.
"Yes, Yamaichi-san?" Izuku rolled his eyes.
"You are doing your community a huge disfavor! If you don't represent us in the class action suit, your esteemed former neighbours will never be able to claim the full amount due!"
Izuku rubbed his face.
'Let me handle this,' Kuzui intoned, and Izuku couldn't help but smile. 'All yours!'
Izuku's expression shifted into that of a bloodthirsty attourney. "Alright, listen. I'm done dealing with you. Insurance already reimbursed everyone, and the block had already compensated all the tenants. A class action suit at this point is an act of supreme greed-"
"What they were paid will never equal the damage to their-"
"I didn't finish talking!" Kuzui roared into the cellphone. "It's an act of greed, and miss me with that shit! I'm not touching your shitfest of a Judicial S and M bachelor party with a ten mile pole. Do not call me again. I won't budge on this."
Yamaichi sighed before hanging up, and Izuku couldn't help but smile. "Already two weeks into our life-changing decision and our ethics are still being put to the test."
Izuku stuffed his phone into his pocket and once he finished descending the stairs, he beheld his mother, wearing a dark-green short dress with a black purse.
"You look so handsome, son!" Inko gushed, hugging her son who hugged back.
"Alright now," Inko stepped back from the hug. "Let's get going, shall we?"
Right outside, on the driveway, a limousine provided by Hana TV waited. The chauffeur stood next to an open door and smiled at them genially. Inko entered first, and then Izuku.
Inside, an agent waited. She was beautiful, dressed in a short work dress, a clipboard tucked in her arms and a pen resting on her ear.
"Good evening, Midoriyas. My name is Nijima Haru." She smiled. Both Midoriyas nodded. "A rundown for tonight's schedule is as follows. Five minutes of your introduction, then a segment of your achievements so far lasting for another five minutes, and finally, the meat of the whole interview. Basically, Mizuha-Chan, you know her, the interviewer, will be picking your brain based on various different topics. This will go on for about forty-five minutes. Please don't worry about it if you're not that talkative. Mizuha-Chan will make it work. I swear, that woman's quirk must be making people super-comfortable!"
Izuku nodded. "What are the questions?"
Haru wagged her index finger. "That's a surprise. We at Hana TV like to keep our interviews 150% authentic, meaning no talking points and regurgitated arguments. We want honest opinions coming from major personalities such as yourself, and towards that end, we'll try not to give you much time to consider our questions."
Izuku nodded. "Journalistic integrity. I can get behind that," he smiled.
"As expected of a budding hero!" Haru smiled. A table rose between Haru and the Midoriyas, revealing a multitude of different alcohols and appetizers such as breadsticks, cheeseballs and things Izuku couldn't even name. "Enjoy yourselves."
Both Midoriyas distanced themselves from the bottles of wine and enjoyed some of the appetizers provided, chatting excitedly between each other.
The limousine, after half an hour, pulled over into the parking space of the TV Studio, and the Midoriyas were escorted into the building and through the winding hallways until they were lead through a door.
Behind the rows of seats where spectators sat was a carpeted ground with a mahogany desk and a revolving chair behind the desk. Adjacent to the desk was a one-man couch with a sleek design oozing of corporate modernism.
Behind the desk, on the revolving chair was Ikebana Mizuha, the host of the Hana TV Interview Hour, applying some make-up with her team. The moment she spotted Izuku, she waved at him, grinning genially.
Izuku hugged his mother once more before approaching Mizuha. The spectators spotted Izuku and began to whisper among themselves excitedly.
"Please, have a seat!" Mizuha said. Izuku nodded and took the couch next to the desk. "Make-up?" Mizuha offered playfully. Izuku waved his hand.
"No thanks," Izuku chuckled.
"Now, we're going to be on air in about a minute. Full disclosure, it's a live feed, so be careful to not utter any profanity. We're on prime-time after all! And don't be afraid to drop some hard-to-swallow truths. While the audience dig platitudes, we could go for someone more original. Think you can do that? Be original?"
Izuku nodded. "Original. I can do that."
"Great," Mizuha nodded. "There'll be one commercial break approaching the middle of the interview, and I'm sure Haru-chan filled you in on the other deets."
Izuku nodded. "Haru-ch-uh-san, no wait, Nijima-san did inform me about the layout of the interview." Mizuha could only laugh at Izuku's blatant slip-up.
"Make sure not to choke like that while we're on air. Oh, but it's fine if you still do. It's beyond adorable!"
"We're on in five," the camera man announced. Mizuha's make-up team finally dispersed after laying on the finishing touches. "Four, three, two…"
Mizuha spun around her revolving chair before slamming her hands down on her desk, glaring ominously at the camera. "The world is full of dangers…" The light in the room was dim, with only a single spotlight trained at Mizuha.
Smoke filled the room, causing Izuku to raise both eyebrows. "Villains, earthquakes, tsunamis and fires. While the lauded heroes of our world do their best to protect us, some of us do slip through the gaps between the fingers of Heroism's large clutch. But even then, we can still be saved. By the likes of someone very special…"
The smoke cleared, and Mizuha grinned widely. "Today, we have an exceptionally special guest with us! He is the hero that saved all the tenants in an apartment fire that occurred three months ago in the Orudera area! You know him as the Orudera Spirit Of Fire Boy! Welcoming Midoriya Izuku!"
The smoke finally cleared and Mizuha gestured at Izuku sitting awkwardly on the couch, his feet still shrouded in smoke.
"Thank you for having me, Ikebana-san," Izuku bowed his head.
Mizuha nodded. "Please call me Mizuha. I'm not my mother, after all! I'm only eighteen!" The crowd of spectators behind the cameras began to laugh.
Izuku raised an eyebrow before murmuring: "I highly doubt that."
"So, Izuku-san, did you know that you are the most elusive celebrity in Japan at the moment?"
"Really?" Izuku asked. Mizuha nodded.
"So far, people only know your name, your school and where you live, but that can't be all that there is to you? Tell us, Izuku. Who are you?"
Izuku was completely blank.
'Fuck this, I'm taking over.'
Before Izuku could resist the sudden possession, his mouth began to move. "That's an awfully philosophical question, isn't it? Who are any of us, really, when it all comes down to it?"
A few chuckles came out of the crowd at that. Mizuha nodded her head.
"What really interests you? What do you usually do with your time and what kind of hero do you wish to be in the future? And finally, and here's the real cherry on top, tell us what your quirk does!"
Izuku regained possession and thought for a second before beginning.
"If I were to tell you, promise you won't sleep." The crowd laughed wildly at that. Mizuha raised an eyebrow in challenge.
"You're the nerdy kind, huh, Izuku-san?"
Izuku nodded. "Guilty as charged."
Mizuha smirked. "I won't sleep so go ahead. Tell me."
"Hero analysis," Izuku took a deep breath before spilling the beans. "Really, all I've ever loved to do since I was a child was analyzing heroes and their quirks. Everything from visiting recent hero/villain clash sites to gather forensic data to determine how powerful a hero or villain's attack power stands at to memorizing All Might quotes as though his every word is my personal bible, because they are."
Mizuha nodded excitedly. "Already so eager to delve into heroics, are you?"
Izuku nodded. "Since my quirk activated really late, and there was a trigger related to it which I never thought to use, I grew up nominally quirkless."
A good explanation, and one that wasn't so far-fetched. Izuku had been able to successfully use that excuse to explain to the Quirk Registry Office and his peers why the onset of his quirk was late, by explaining that it was always there, but he had no way to activate it.
Mizuha raised an eyebrow in confusion. "A trigger related to your quirk? Can't say that isn't an uncommon tale, isn't it? Many people go their whole lives thinking they are quirkless because they haven't met the right prerequisites. People who can manipulate seawater, but grow up in a landlocked country or blind people whose quirk is x-ray vision. You are quite lucky that you found your trigger at this time, being able to enroll in a hero course, now."
Izuku smiled. "That's the plan."
"Now that we've established that Izuku-chan is the cutest nerd in the history of the entire world, let's take a small walk down memory lane, shall we?"
On the desk was a drawer with a clicker, which Mizuha removed and pressed a button. The light in the room fell and a large tv screen behind them showed a phone camera video of a burning building.
Izuku ran into the apartment, and then the clip skipped to Izuku running out of the building with 17 people in air bubbles, and that was around the point where he fell unconscious.
But the video didn't lie. Even when unconscious, Izuku directed his palms at the building and sucked in all the fire, extinguishing the apartment block, allowing firemen to enter, but only then was he able to fall on the ground, now truly unconscious.
Izuku's mind was blown. "I can't believe I did that after falling unconscious…"
Mizuha's eyes widened. "You were unconscious?"
"I can't remember anything after leaving the apartment building."
"Regardless, your actions not only saved the seventeen tenants you carried outside, but an additional fifty six tenants that were still inside! All by yourself at that!"
Izuku sucked in a breath. He never really watched the video passed the point where he passed out, always thinking that was the end of it, even if the video still had a minute more of content. He wasn't particularly vain, either, to analyze a video of himself that closely, but that was quite the mistake in retrospect.
"Now, for the moment of truth. What is your quirk?"
Izuku opened his palm, and a glowing orb shot out of it, hovering over the palm of his hand. "This here is a ball of thermal energy. It can be repurposed into kinetic energy, and back again. I can store it in my body or I can push it out and cause an explosion. I can absorb more energy from other sources as shown in the video, and I can release the same amount of energy. Dynakinesis, or the ability to manipulate energy is the scientific term for it, but I gave it a pet name. Esper."
At the last word, the crowd began to 'whoo' softly.
Mizuha gape, forming an 'o' with her mouth. "That sounds incredibly badass!"
Izuku scratched the nape of his neck sheepishly. "Oh, wow, I really thought I'd get laughed at for saying that."
"That's an amazing quirk! Perfect for Rescue Heroism and possibly even Combat Heroism!"
Izuku nodded. "I guess that's true."
But that wasn't his path.
"But then, those bubbles you made…"
"I applied kinetic energy to air and had it surround the people I was saving. There was a fire so there wasn't a shortage of energy for me to use."
A risky move on Izuku's part. Spilling the beans of how his quirk worked in a TV interview was bound to land him some trouble in the future, but that didn't matter. It wasn't about keeping a low profile and taking the enemy by surprise.
It was something much more subtle. All Might did it all the time, Endeavor, well, endeavored to achieve the same effect, and every other hero could only imitate him.
Creating a symbol. If everyone knew about him, he was no longer just a human, but an image of what they wanted him to be.
If Bakugou was the symbol of Japanese Peace, then Izuku was sure to be Japan's Flaming Sword that could protect the nation from any external threat.
"Rescure Hero, Combat Hero, Infiltration Hero, there are so many ways to use your power!" Mizuha gushed. "But there's only one path for you! Tell me. What hero are you going to become?"
Izuku steeled his resolve before speaking. "Every Hero should be like All Might. Selfless, merciful, gracious and unyielding. Every Hero should embody these qualities, and being a hero should never be something motivated by something as trivial as fame or money to be spent on pointless pursuits of hedonism."
The crowd was silent, but Izuku continued.
"A Hero should be like All Might, and I am not like him."
The crowd gasped, and his mother shook her head in denial, but Izuku disregarded it.
"I'm not completely selfless, or merciful for that matter. I'm somewhat gracious, but I am unyielding. I can't be a hero in the traditional sense of the word, but I can be of use, still, even with my bastardized moral value set."
The crowd, the audience at home, and even Mizuha was listening raptly.
"With this quirk, I can be of use, but I will not tarnish the Hero Association more than it already is. I am planning on joining Shiketsu High School, and my ambition is to become a War Hero, effectively a soldier for the Imperial Japanese Army."
Another bout of gasps struck the room, and even Mizuha widened her eyes in surprise.
"War Heroism?" She asked. "Wow, that's… wow. Surely, you know how… deadly a vocation it is, right?"
Izuku grinned. "I am fully aware, but I don't really care how dangerous it is. I've always wanted to become a hero, and that's how close I'm going to get while still retaining respect for myself. Unlike some, and I should not name names, I have a conscience." Izuku grinned wickedly.
The crowd laughed, and Mizuha chuckled somewhat uneasily.
"Well, I have faith that you'll be able to weather anything that comes your way. You'll still be protecting everyone that's living in our country, and you deserve all kinds of praise, Izuku-san!"
Izuku waved his hand dismissively. "It's the least I can do, living in this country after all."
The interview continued as Mizuha asked questions about his favorite heroes, playing clips about them on the screen, and playing some games like 'guess the Quirk-type' where a random ability would show up and Izuku would dissect it with his perception.
Finally, Mizuha asked a question which really gave Izuku pause. Surprisingly, or not, it was a personal question.
"What did your friends think about the sudden arrival of your quirk?" Mizuha asked, and Izuku was about to answer before realizing one fatal fact.
He had no friends. Moreover, the people who were supposed to be his friends became completely fake.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku decided to be honest.
"Just when I got my quirk, I wasn't really that familiar with my classmates," Izuku replied. Vague enough to suggest that he does have friends, but didn't perhaps because of a move or whatever. Izuku prayed that she wouldn't pry, but Mizuha's journalistic streak surged full force.
"Oh, so you moved in recently, or…?"
'It's time to drop some truth,' Kuzui voiced. 'Let me handle this. You've done well, but it's time to say what you're actually thinking.'
Mizuha, not receiving a reply, pressed harder. "How did people treat you after you received your quirk?"
'Trust me.'
'No cussing?' Izuku asked.
'Wouldn't dream of it,' Kuzui replied, smirking. Izuku squinted, and Kuzui resurfaced.
With an annoyed frown, Izuku crossed one leg and opened up.
"Full disclosure, then?" Kuzui asked. Mizuha nodded, slightly concerned.
Just as Izuku opened his mouth, Mizuha held up a hand. "We'll return to the interview after these messages. Everybody give it up for Midoriya Izuku!"
An applause rang and Mizuha scooted her revolving chair closely to Izuku. "Hey, Izuku-chan. I just want you to know that you have an opportunity. You have a platform all to yourself where you can say whatever you want, and you must use this opportunity."
Izuku nodded. "I will."
"Don't be afraid to say anything. Whatever you say, remember that those people deserve the shaming."
Izuku nodded. At this point, it became predictable that Izuku would talk about getting bullied like every major personality has experienced in their lifetime.
His mother was there in the front row of the audience seats waving at him. Izuku waved back, flashing a smile.
After a few minutes, Mizuha smiled at the camera. "We are back for the Hana TV Interview with Midoriya Izuku!"
A round of applause rang, and Izuku began from where he left off after a short pause.
"Your turn, Izuku-san," Mizuha smiled.
"Alright," Kuzui continued. "First, let's establish how people treated me prior to my quirk awakening. I was a punching bag. I was a tool, and I had no friends. That's right, I had 0 friends that could congratulate me or whatever. All I had were, and here's the kicker, bullies. See, the thing about being among the 20% of the Quirkless population in a world where four out of five people can kill you without even trying is that you become a target."
The crowd gasped, and Mizuha's eyes widened. There was a hunger in her eyes, and Kuzui was determined to s ate it.
"I could go on and on about platitudes, spewing clichés like 'kids can be cruel' or whatever, but I will respect my audience enough to know that they already know that. What I do want all my 'fans' or whatever you call yourselves to take in is that if I didn't have a quirk, you would be fine treating me like a second-class citizen without even batting an eyelid. Truthfully, I've stayed up for nights wondering if anyone of you deserve me. I've been treated like a sack of garbage by my class for a good ten years, and that wouldn't have changed if I didn't find my Quirk."
Izuku then grinned. "But as I thought about it all, that if anyone else was in my position, they would leave the world to suffer, I began to realize one simple truth, and it made me feel great. I am not other people. I am myself, and I shouldn't measure my capacity to do good on school bullies. I am better than that."
"But yeah," Izuku waved his hand dismissively. "You wanted to know how my class treated me once I got my quirk. After a long period of suicidal thoughts prior to my quirk manifesting, I was treated ambivalently because none of my classmates were murderers, just mean-spirited. When I finally found my quirk and after I saved my mother, they seemed to love me. Even my biggest bully wanted to make friends after I showed him that I wasn't just a quirkless 'idiot' as he would like to have it."
Another pregnant pause rang loudly, and Izuku left it at that for a few more seconds before continuing.
"I want every single one of you watching this interview to stop being mean to people for no reason. Stop being such a bad person just because someone is different from you! Stop bullying the quirkless kid because he can't protect his country, even though he really wants to. He's already killing himself, knowing that he can't do anything, but when you add the stress of bullying, he might really kill himself! You have no idea what your words do to the people that are offended by them. You have no idea, so unless you want the blood of an innocent teenager in your hands, stop it!"
Mizuha paused for a moment. "Wow… you have no idea how powerful that was."
Izuku remained silent. "It had to be said."
"I'm really sorry, but we're running out of time. This has been Midoriya Izuku, future War Hero and activist! Good night, Japan!"
The crowd didn't clap. They were still stunned. Izuku looked up to find his mother, also stunned, tears threatening to gush out of her eyes.
Once the cameras stopped rolling, Izuku approached her first.
"Why didn't you tell me you felt this way?"
Izuku sighed. "I didn't want to worry you."
"Worry me?!" Inko shouted. "Why should that matter when you are feeling this way?! You've never worried me even once in your life, and now you were afraid to share what you felt inside?! Why would you do this to yourself?!" She hugged him closely, and Izuku's eyes began to mist as well.
There was a big lump in Izuku's throat, making it difficult for him to say something, but Izuku didn't want to remain quiet. "I'm sorry…"
"I've failed you! I was too far removed from you to see what bothered you, but this…"
An errand boy approached the Midoriyas. "You were invited for an executive dinner by the Hana TV Board."
Inko shook her head at him. "We're just going home, now."
Izuku followed her wordlessly to the Limo that was still waiting for them.
Inko's sadness had settled into a righteous anger. "Give me their names, Izuku."
Izuku sighed. He had taken a step back to view the issue on both perspectives, and he knew how his mother was feeling. She was killing herself over not being able to do anything. She feels completely powerless, just like Izuku used to feel, but on an even more depressing level.
Inko wanted names so she could comfort herself over the fact that she is doing something. It was the least Izuku could do after risking Inko's eternal sorrow by going through the Quirk operation.
"Yubi Arako, Tsubasa Sakurai and… Bakugou Katsuki."
Inko actually gasped at the last one. "K-Kacchan?"
Izuku almost felt like lashing out at hearing that disgusting pet name. "We stopped being friends years ago. Truth is… I haven't had a real friend since nursery, and ever since he developed his quirk, I've been an outcast."
Izuku paused for a moment before smiling. "But I always knew I could find love in you, mom. I love you for always having been there for me. You did enough, and I cannot begrudge you at all for what you've done until now. Please…" Izuku's tears finally began to fall. "Don't cry for my sake."
Inko dragged him into a full-on hug, and none of them let go for an indeterminate amount of time. Izuku relished the warmth and love that her mother provided while Inko burned with the passion of a scorned mother. She wasn't done. Not by a long shot.