The Amazing Deku
Disclaimer: I don't own Spider-Man or My Hero Academia.
Zirnitra: The day has come for a new chapter of The Amazing Deku. And I'm getting sick and tired of having to reput those damn underlines in the titles! What's up with that?!
Anyway, this chapter we end the old arc by taking a moment to pause. To step away from the action and delve into his friends and family. Better that way. Gotta take a breather somehow, and what better way than by world building?
Chapter 13: Coming Clean
Distraught. Disappointment. Disdain.
These are the emotions flowing through Momo Yaoyorozu's mind as she walks down the streets. Due to some news that she came across she's mildly displeased, which is actually a huge understatement. These words are just the collection of surface layer describing her feelings about that.
So out of it is the girl that she doesn't notice the stuff she trips over as she makes her pace for the nearest bus stop. Even when it picks her up, takes her along, and drops her off, she still keeps her attention on it.
The first boy who became her friend was kissing an older woman. But, it's through the mask so that should be okay! He had no other friends before they met, he clearly does not know how to act around girls, so that must have been his first kiss. Not that it was! She didn't touch his lips through that mask so it doesn't count; thank god she put in the filter!
'Wait, why am I thinking so hard about this?' Her head finally stops fuming as she realizes her overreaction. 'He's my friend. Izuku should be able to kiss whoever he wants. It shouldn't bother me!'
Thinking further she pats her head with both hands. "It's none of my business!"
"What business?" The intelligent girl comes out of her thoughts finally when she hears a familiar voice addressing her. Looking up she notes her mother standing at the top of the steps. Apparently, she has walked all the way from the bus stop to her front gate, unlocked the gate and entered her mausoleum of a home, all while thinking about Izuku kissing Mount Lady. How that happened is something she'll have to wonder later.
"Mother…" Right now she needs to come up with a good enough lie. "I was just thinking of something…in school today!"
"I see…" The eldest Yaoyorozu comes down the steps reaching her, wearing a stylish azure suit with a business skirt. Unlike most suits, she wears a matching cyan shirt and buttons everything tightly, and unlike Momo who likes to tie her hair into ponytails whenever she's out, her midnight locks are wrapped in a bun. Her onyx eyes peer from underneath the bangs over her forehead as she steps down, her heels clicking on the carpet of the staircase. She would almost look exactly like Momo if not for her nose and the signs of age on her face.
"It's good that you're here at this time," The mother approaches her daughter, who stops as soon as her sentence ends. "We've received a visit from Wing Tech."
"Wing Tech?" With a gesture of her head, she points over at the living room not far from their position, where a man sits awaiting them. He's an aged man with black hair showing signs of gray, dressed in a standard business suit save for the green handkerchief and tie he wears.
"He wants to talk to you."
Momo nervously steps over, taking a seat in front of the man as her mother stands behind. The man speaks, "Greetings young lady."
Seeing him, she thinks further seeing him. She then gasps. "Wait, I know you! You're that criminal Koku Hatsume!"
The man flinches at that, letting her know she's right. He doesn't look too keen on that accusation. "I don't do that anymore." He then fixes his posture before coughing to clear his throat. "Yes, I used to be the Vulture, a villain who stole items and turned them into weapons years ago. But, I've paid my debt to society and now I run Wing Tech. It's a support company that manufactures the items and gears UA High buys."
"I see… and, you need me because…" Koku hands her a cobalt notebook which she takes.
"This here is all the notes we've gathered on Oscillite and its atomic structure. We would like for you to study this and produce some more of this metal."
The girl looks at the notebook and then back at Koku. "You want me to make more of it?"
"Don't be surprised daughter. Aside from heroism, the Yaoyorozu family creates items for support companies. How else did we build up this fortune?" she tells her.
The girl looks over at her guest. "Now, just send the night studying the metal and when you're ready, create it."
"I don't know…" Momo sighs with uncertainty. "Can't you do it?"
"It's best if you do. It will give you a chance to better understand complicated metals like these." The mother then leans in, her eyes showing a blatant disapproval. "And, you can stop thinking about that Quirkless boy Izuku Midoriya."
These words prompt Momo to turn around quickly, eyes widened at her statement. "What?"
"I took some time looking into that guest who came to visit you after USJ…" She then speaks aloud glaring down upon her. "Momo, you were raised to ignore all useless things. You who have the perfect blend of me and your father's Quirk will far outshine your siblings and surpass even All Might; so you wasting your time falling in love with a boy who worthlessly tried and failed to become a hero will never amount to anything."
The distraught rich girl looks down at her hands, clenching them tightly as she reaches out to take the notebook. With it in hand, she gets up and walks away heading for her room. While in ascent, she hears Hatsume and her mother talking, saying things along the lines of 'she's still young,' and 'I probably shouldn't have heard all that.'
Upstairs in her bedroom, which looks as big as a dining hall in the average household, the confused peach girl lies back on her queen sized bed staring at the notebook. She sighs tossing it aside for the moment.
Unable to focus on the task at hand, she looks at her phone checking that photo again. This prompts more thoughts to flow through her head; if Izuku is going to become this frivolous then maybe reacting like this will be pointless after all. How does she really feel about him anyway?
"Izuku… am I jealous of Mount Lady? Do I have feelings for you? I've only known you for half a year, and you're still a bit of a mystery… I…"
Her head shakes from side to side before she delivers a loud groan grabbing the notebook. She needs to put that aside until this weekend. And this vibrating metal is the perfect distraction. If only it could keep her from obsession.
Elsewhere…
"Will be heading home now. Hopefully, I'll beat you there." Inko Midoriya walks along the streets heading for her home apartment, putting away her phone after receiving a text from Izuku. As she steps, feet crunching on uneven gravel, she notes something passing by over her head. Raising her head she gets a look at the shadow and sees the black and green talk of the town Spider-Man.
Seeing him gracefully swing through the skies like God's acrobat dancing on clouds is a rare sight for her to see. Even though she adamantly disagrees with his actions, there is a mystery about him that affects her deeply. These reasons haunt her even to this day.
Ever since he spoke to her back when she dropped her wallet, she's often thought back to him whenever her time wasn't spent on her son, work, or this new diet she's been trying. Even thinking about her precious child makes her thinks about Spider-Man; his voice sounded just like Izuku but filtered. Despite knowing he can't, she can't help but think that.
Though she snaps out of this thought process when she notices the spider swinging in the direction of her apartment. No, it's just a coincidence, she believes.
Inko enters the complex and then her apartment. With a sigh at the day finally ending, she kicks off her shoes and adjusts her satchel before heading into the kitchen.
And that's when she sees it, a sight that causes her lungs to clench up and makes the woman drop onto her behind screaming. Spider-Man is on her ceiling eating yogurt.
"AHH!"
"AHH!" he shouts back, dropping down onto his head like he lost concentration.
"Get away! I knew you were just a criminal!" She scuttles away backward, eyes never leaving the vigilante who broke into her home. "Please don't hurt me!"
"Wait, mom, calm down!"
"I don't have much money…"
"I don't want your money-"
"And I'm not very appealing."
"Mom, please stop-"
"All I have is..." Wait. Mom?!
As if he could hear her thoughts, the vigilante places a hand onto his face and pulls off the mask, revealing his true face to her. Low and behold, it's her son Izuku. "Hi…"
Caught off guard by this sudden revelation she backs away in shock. The realization of her situation becomes apparent as her eyes widen and her jaw drops. No more secrets.
Izuku is Spider-Man. Her son, the boy she dubbed Quirkless and blamed on herself, is actually the vigilante that she met not so long ago.
"Izuku… you're... you have a Quirk?!" That's the first thing she can process out of her mouth.
"Yes mom, I have a Quirk now."
So many questions. "HOW?!"
"Well, you know…" He mumbles a bit, but unlike where he murmurs ideas to be jotted down, he seems to be looking for answers. This continues for about half a minute before he stops. "No, I don't want to lie to you any more than I already have… I got bit by a spider and its powers passed onto me."
"What?!" That's the truth behind his sudden power gain? She was expecting him to say something along the lines of a sudden development that was medically possible. But this is nothing more than science fiction! "How did a spider give you a Quirk?"
Izuku looks dumbfounded, confused yet dumbfounded. She recognizes that he was telling the truth, but it seems he can't even explain himself. That means even HE doesn't fully understand how he got those powers. That worries her even more.
"I really wish I could answer that… I really do. But, this is all I can say," he says to her, walking over to extend a hand for her to lift up with. "Personally, I think it got a Quirk of its own and used it to give me one. The principal of UA is an animal so it's not too far-fetched a theory."
She can't accept that now. Not yet. So she stands up on her own effect. Bridging her eyebrows together she says, "Izuku, you are Spider-Man. That's why you've been staying out late, getting to class late, making me worry this whole time."
"…yes. I really didn't want you to find out this way."
Her hands grip tightly. "How did you want me to find out? When I walk in on you with your mask off? Until I find you sprawled on your bed bleeding from the bullets some thug put into you? Or maybe when you're arrested and your face appears on television?!" She then moves quickly to him grabbing his costume's sleeves. "Why are you a vigilante in the first place?! You said you wanted to be a hero!"
Izuku turns to the side, his mother spotting the shame in his eyes. "Look at your mother," she demands, and thankfully he complies.
"I did want to, and I still do. Remember the day of the Entrance Exams?"
"Yes…" She then thinks back, remembering the headline events that took place; there was a villain attack that caused a car accident where one fell over a bridge. They were saved by a person with webs coming out of his wrists, the first sighting of Spider-Man. It all makes sense now.
"I could have left and made it in time, but I stayed behind to be a hero. Because they needed my help. If I didn't, that little girl could have died."
"But Izuku… you're a vigilante. You're a criminal the police are well aware of; should you keep this up you'll be hunted, and you'll ruin your future!"
"That's not true anymore!" Now he becomes excited. "I met All Might, and he gave me an opportunity to become a hero! I don't have to stay a vigilante." The sparkle in his eyes disperse as he continues with: "But I need you to help me. I need your approval so I can take this Dual Admission and become a hero."
Inko delivers a slight gasp. She looks down at her son's costume and then him. With a fastened mouth the plump mother stares at her son, before releasing him. She steps back looking at him, before saying, "Izuku, you became a criminal to play hero like a hobby, and kept this secret from me this entire time. I don't know if I can trust you to be careful."
"But mom-"
"We're done talking about this!" She steps away quickly, liquid dropping down as she makes her way to her bedroom. Slamming the door behind her, she sighs leaning against the door. This is just too much for her to put up with.
She needs sleep.
Elsewhere…
Mandalay sits in her bedroom laying back on her queen size before checking her phone. Before she could answer a notification there's a knock on her door. 'Kota?'
"Can you not do that anymore?" asks a young voice from the other side.
"Come in," she says, and in steps a little boy age five. Standing at the same height as Mineta – sadly for him – he stares at the older woman wielding her blanket over her leathery frame. "Kota. How was school?"
"It's kindergarten," he mutters, glancing up at her face. "Why are you dressed in that?"
"Eh? You can see it?!" She looks down her body and spots her foot poking out from the covers. 'Damn it. I guess I could lie to him.'
"You're broadcasting your thoughts again."
"Dang it!" She shuffles herself before lying back down. "Look, it's just my job."
"Using your Quirk to be a hero again?" She sighs narrowing her eyes, noting the unpleasant tone in his throat.
"Kota…" Her phone rings at that moment. Holding a finger to the boy she answers the call. "Hello?"
"You don't have to do me any favors." The boy steps outside, leaving her to whatever conversation she'll be having. On the other side of the door, the five-year-old makes his way to his bedroom, eyes twitching with resistance.
…
The following morning, Izuku steps out from his room dressed for school. Glancing around he notices his mother is up and getting ready to leave. He needs to talk to her now; maybe she's calmed down a bit.
"Mom, wait!"
Inko turns around to her running son, who to her shock is right in front of her now. "Izuku…"
"Mom, I really want to become a hero. I don't want to stop trying either."
"Izuku, I've spent some time thinking about it… I don't think I can just so easily change my mind." "And besides, you had such high hopes on helping others using science."
"I'm not giving that up either. That's how I made my synthetic webbing."
"Wait, your webs aren't organic?"
"No, they're not– why does everyone keep thinking that? And it's biogeni-"
"Izuku!" She lowers her head, which he takes as a good sign that he's weakening her defenses. He just needs a breach. "If you really believe in yourself and want to prove to me that you can, then let me speak to him."
"Huh?"
"I want to speak with All Might. If he can convince me, then I'll…" There's a beat. "I'll consider it."
"R-Really?!" he stutters, eyes widen with shrunken pupils as his cheeks stretch up into a crescent.
"Yes." She then opens the door heading out. "He'll provide all the answers I need." With that, Inko closes the door behind. Before poking her head back in to say, "Oh, I made you a fruit salad for breakfast. You're on the go now lately after all."
"Th-Thanks mom." Now that she's gone, he goes to the fridge quickly to grab his breakfast. Thinking on his situation further, a sparkle of hope enters Izuku's heart as he realizes she's speaking to All Might. Surely if anyone can convince her he can be a great hero, it would be his idol and the main inspiration he wished to be a hero.
"I guess I can call that a win." Now he just needs to figure out how to contact him. He didn't exactly leave his number.
Exiting his house wondering how he'll be able to contact All Might, Izuku dashes at full speed for school. Maybe a little downtime can give him an idea, but then again this is school.
Finally, on time, he passes through the gate heading into its compound.
…
Physical education comes around today at 1 pm, with the students sitting in the gymnasium watching on a plasma screen tv All Might talking to them all.
"Delivering this helpful challenge, I AM HERE!" he shouts, laughing in the locker room he's in on screen as the words 'All Might's Fitness Challenge' appear in font below. "Whether you're in the classroom or not, you must always give 110 percent!"
Thinking about it, Izuku notices that he's done a lot of these PSAs. "…so I leave you in the hands of your teacher!" He then delivers a thumbs up before the screen turns off.
"Thank you, All Might," says the green-skinned rage monster as he calmly turns to the class. "Now I'm sure none of you are getting scouted by heroes, but it's required to show these regardless. So…" He blows the whistle, and they're off doing their workouts.
Performing sit-ups, the students all moderately pair up to help one another holding their legs down. Izuku is paired with a guy with long fingernails, and despite feeling them dig into his ankles he continues to perform perfectly.
"Remember to hold your hands behind your head when you're doing it, or else the repetition doesn't count," says the gym teacher as he passes by students. One look at Izuku and he says, "Looking good, Midoriya," before moving on.
The teen with the nails says, "Yeah, you're surprisingly fit for a nerd Midoriya. How come you couldn't pass like Bakugo?"
"I never made it in time," he says to him as he ascends to his knees.
"Oh. I guess that makes sense. Wish you weren't the only one…" He then looks aside with a scowl. "Giga failed the exam and hasn't been the same ever since. Now he hangs out with a bad crowd."
Izuku stops when he hears that. "Crowd?"
"Let's just say he smokes more than he used to," he replies, before looking back in the corners of his mind. "Things just haven't been the same since we became freshmen…"
"What happened to him?"
"Got sent to Tama Juvie," he tells him, surprising the arachnid hero.
"Tama?" At this point now Izuku is getting up and leaning on his knees. "Wait, you mean they sent him to the juvenile detention center for out of line kids?!"
"Yeah… Kinda feel sorry for him."
As his long nail classmate goes down for his sit-ups, Izuku looks around holding his legs down as he thinks about what else has been going on with his surroundings. Has he really been so focused on doing whatever a spider can that he forgot to be Izuku? He should get back to connecting with his friends sometimes.
Later…
"Speaking of friends," Izuku says to himself as he sits in his club room finishing a new batch of web fluid. He's been doing it faster now to make sure his companions never catch him doing this.
But now he has another problem to look into, his current best friend Momo. Ever since yesterday, she hasn't been answering his texts. He knows she's okay because she checks her phone which gives that response where his message was read. She hasn't made any reply, and that's what's worrying him.
Kicking aside his thoughts of worry he hides away his stuff and cleans his area just before his club can drop on in. Unfortunately, that isn't what he got. Instead, he notes Shimura stalking inside giving him the look that he always sees him wearing.
The sophomore walks forth touching the fragile stuff around him. "Shimura?"
"Hey. Didn't think you'd be here. Oh, who am I kidding?" His sentence is followed with a laugh, as he waves off the words he spoke like smoke in the air. That off-handed movement knocks aside a beaker filled with white grains inside.
"Ah-" Izuku reaches out for it, quickly grabbing the beaker before it could smash. "Don't do that. Sodium phosphide is dangerous, especially combined with water!"
"I wish I knew enough to care," he says back. "Anyway, I've been looking for you. Got a new game playing over there."
"I'm doing this now senpai. Just come back later," he says, hoping he would take the hint. Then again, does he really see Shimura as a friend? He kinda just forces himself into his daily endeavors, like a dog when it sees its master with teriyaki.
Izuku checks the door and sees his class coming in, led by class rep Hitomi. "Midoriya again. And you…"
He flinches at that, noticing the dark look in her eyes when she gazes upon the sophomore with cyan crayoned hair. "Haven't I told you to stay away from me?"
He gives out a spit. "What are you a cop?" The guy makes a rude exit, leaving behind a middle finger. "Whatever."
"I hate that guy so much…" Hitomi speaks, turning an eye to Izuku before grabbing his shoulders hastily. "What happened? What did he do?"
The freckled boy pushes her off with the restraint of ease, before asking, "What's wrong with Shimura?"
"Tenko Shimura is nothing more than a problem child, the kind of guy who drags you down to the bottom with him," she tells him, her voice speaking with an air of knowledge. "What was he doing here?"
"We know each other."
"Midoriya, stay away from him. You're already at risk from your constant absences; don't make your life as a student worse by associating with that guy."
This doesn't convince him to do so. Instead, the boy now wants to know more about how exactly does she know him. Did he do something to her? Or was she just overreacting as she's wont when it comes to ethics? Regardless of what he's done, he isn't going to abandon someone who wants to spend time with him. He could use all the friends he's got, for anyone's a step up from Kacchan.
If he dealt with him for too long he'd have to break his nose. 'Wait.'
Once that thought processes in his mind he flinches in shock. 'Why did I think that?'
…
Once the club ends, the green and black vigilante walks out the gates of his high school and spots a surprising sight in front of him.
"All Might?!"
"Where?!" shouts the deflated Symbol of Peace. His fellow classmates around him look in their general direction. In a frequency only they could hear, Toshinori Yagi says, "Repeat after me; just say your eyes were playing tricks on you."
"Oh, right. Sorry; I guess my eyes were playing tricks on me!" he says suddenly, causing his associates to agree and go their separate ways. He completely forgot about his secret identity the moment he popped up in front of his school's doorstep.
So almost immediately, he apologizes as they walk down the streets. Though afterward he starts to guess what could be the cause of this visit and realizes that All Might probably wants to confirm how his mother has taken the news. That is where he tells him the truth.
"Hmm… so your mother wants to talk to me personally…" he says, repeating the gist of what Izuku explained. "I guess I can spare some time."
"What about your limit?"
"Well, after USJ it's been reduced to two hours. So even my teaching schedule has been adjusted accordingly. That's why I have so much free time."
The two come to a crossroad. "Then…"
"Tomorrow at 9." The adult takes the left path crossing the street. "I'll see you then."
"Okay! Thanks uh…"
"Yagi. Toshinori Yagi." Hearing those words as he passes on, the emerald spider smiles with a beating heart as tears start forming in his eyes. The Symbol of Peace just told him his real name.
"Yagi…"
Alternate Scene -
Izuku climbs up the side of the complex, before opening his bedroom window. He then sneaks in gracefully and slides the door down, his gregarious action new compared to his usual movements. He drops down and removes his mask sighing.
'I guess I'll just talk to Mom calmly. She can be reasonable when she needs to be.' Those thoughts disappear when the following words explode from behind him.
"WHAT THE FU-"
Zirnitra: My thoughts exactly.
Ambros: Next chapter, the two adults Inko and Yagi sit down to have some tea and a friendly little chat. Izuku and Momo meet up as well on that date. Unfortunately, we won't be putting out another chapter until the end of August.
Zirnitra: IF he survives the month in Death Valley. So, here's a little sneak peek at the future of this arc.
"Well, Izuku has always liked heroes. Even when he found out about being Quirkless, he never gave up. I always blamed myself for being unable to pursue his dream, and Hisashi only made things worse."
"Hisashi?"
"Izuku's father, my ex. He left us as soon as he heard Izuku was Quirkless, abandoned. Like he expected more and was disappointed. We've never seen each other since. I don't even know if he's alive."
"He just left you?" ... "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't bring it up anymore. But, thanks for telling me a bit about the young boy."
"Why do you want him to do this? I often felt guilty for him being denied his dream, but whenever I think about him being a hero… it scares me." ... "I know about USJ, and the Villain Alliance. This is the first time criminals have assaulted a hero school, because of you. Am I right?" ... "If they're going to kill you, they'll do whatever it takes to… I've already lost someone who meant so much to me. I don't want to lose him too. I don't want him to be a hero anymore."