*Bows Even Harder Than Inasa Yoarashi* SORRY! I know it's been HELLA LONG since I updated this story, but I get more inspiration from the show than just the manga alone and I wanted to let the episodes build up a bit before I watched through them. BUT I AM REARING TO GO NOW!
*Coughs* and can I just say that although overhaul is a total bitch that needs to go down, Ssst. That boy is making me hot and bothered to write about in the worst way XD Tamaki too! SO FUCKING CUTE!
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Call Me... Deku
Chapter 54
"Have you thought about his suggestion, Toshinori?" Gran Torino asked as he looked at the blood-stained floor of Inko's apartment.
"Yes… Mirio does seem to be the perfect candidate to pass my powers on to."
The elder man sighed and closed his wrinkled eyes with tired frustration. He knew that tone all to well and wasn't pleased to hear it in such a desperate time. "Then why are you hesitating? Nighteye prophesized your death at the hands of a villain—a death that inconceivably gruesome. With the current state of the world and Deku gaining traction in his quest to further decimate our way of life, you must see how close that future is now. You must pass on One For All before—"
"I know what's at stake, Gran Torino." All Might interrupted as he kneeled. He ran his fingers across the saturated wood, imagining those frightening spears he'd seen AFO have ramming straight through Kamui Woods. "I just… I wanted to give this gift to someone who had been like me; someone who knew the hardships of wanting to do good and not having the potential to do it on their own."
"Mirio Togata struggled as a child; you'd know that if you'd taken the time to really listen to your former sidekick." The old man scolded. "His quirk was not an easy one to master and yet his never-ending enthusiasm and inner strength got him to where he is today. How is that so unlike you?"
"Because he still had a lot going for him! He was born with a quirk, no matter how unruly it was, and just look at him! He's big, strong… powerful in his own right even without the enhancement of permeation."
Gran Torino walked further into the apartment as All Might attempted to rationalize his seemingly staunch opposition to finding a successor, no matter how suitable they seemed to be. It seemed so long ago that he'd been questioning why on Earth Nana Shimura had given her power to him—a quirkless kid with nothing but ideas as big as his startlingly blue eyes.
Silence encompassed the small space as he zeroed in on a picture hanging on the wall. He looked at it closely and could see what All Might had missed that one fateful day when Izuku had grabbed onto his leg. Behind that partially forced smile was equal parts torment and hope… A mixture of broken and unbreakable will.
"This is what you see when you think of him, isn't it Toshinori?" Gran Tornio questioned, waiting for the man to step up beside him before he continued. "You see this child who despite all the failed hands he was dealt, kept smiling and hoping for a future where he was the one saving others from the same fate."
"… Yes."
The old man sighed again. If All Might hadn't turned Izuku away, would things have been different? It seemed foolish to believe that someone capable of causing such calamity could possibly be anything other than a villain no matter what happened. But Gran Torino couldn't deny that the edge of determination that smoldered in those fragile green eyes was haunting.
"You told Nana Shimura that you wanted to be a Symbol of Peace to the world… To give people hope when there wasn't any to be found. Tell me, is that still what you want?" he pushed, turning to gaze up at his protégé.
All Might stared at the picture for a moment longer, fists tightly squeezed at his sides. "Yes, it is… And I can't pass into the afterlife and face her—face all the previous users who came before me—unless I achieve that goal. I have to fix the ruination my mistake caused so that my successor doesn't have to… I have to save him first."
Gran Torino had argued over and over with All Might about the reality of who Izuku Midoriya was now. He was Deku, the newest successor to All For One as well as the current Public Enemy Number One to the entire world. "But those eyes…"
"All right, Toshinori…" he conceited. "If you truly believe this villain—this child—is redeemable, then I'll support you. Nana Shimura trusted in you and asked me to do the same; be sure not to misplace that faith."
Bakugo had snorted when three students had entered their classroom that morning—the 'Big Three' if he'd had to guess from their appearances alone. Mirio Togata, Tamaki Amajiki, and Nejire Hado… He wasn't impressed. They were the ones who were supposed to be the next hard hitters of the hero world? Ha, the thought made him laugh.
They'd have to beat Deku first.
But still, as he watched his fellow aspiring heroes ready themselves to fight Mirio, he couldn't deny that they were likely skilled even if they were a little… weird. Actually, the elder blonde's upbeat attitude really reminded him of All Might when he'd been in his prime even though he seemed far more cringey than the retired pro.
Despite his instinctual impulse to jump in and try his luck fighting Mirio as well, both he and Shinso sat back and let their over-confident classmates get their guts punched in. "Idiots…"
"Tsk. Don't act like you wouldn't have been doing the exact same thing just a few months ago, Katsuki." Shinso snorted beside him, rubbing the bridge of his nose as the last of his 'long-range' classmates went down.
"That's just it, eyebags. I would have done that months ago. Past tense. I'm not some dipshit right out of junior high anymore and they aren't either. I learned my lesson when my dumbass ran headfirst into battle with Dabi and got kidnapped."
"You sound like an old man…" Shinso chuckled. "Well then, Mr. Maturity, what would you do?"
Bakugo straightened up some and rolled his shoulders, smirking. "Oi, extras! He's got to be solid whenever he breaks your damn ribs in, hit his untouchable ass then!"
"Heh," Shinso smirked with an approving nod. "So, you noticed that too, huh, not bad. Did you see the way he seemed to jump into the ground right as his pants flew off? My bets on a phasing quirk and not teleportation."
The blonde nodded in agreement and pushed off the wall to head over to where their defeated classmates were slowly huddling for the Big Three's ending speech, not knowing that he and Shinso's conversation had been overheard.
~0.o.0~
Tamaki slowly lifted his head from the wall, though just enough to see who was talking calmly instead of low-key panicking over Mirio's incredibleness. He blinked at the two teens lounging almost lazily against the rock not far off from him, remembering both from the Sports festival—he and Mirio always watched the other year's broadcasts together once they'd recovered from their own.
The explosive blonde was a hard person to forget for sure; his explosions were loud and abrasive just like he was personality-wise. It was so different from Mirio, his sun, but their passion was on par. The other—Shinso he believed—was less noticeable… someone more like him.
How did it happen that people like them always ended up being near people like Bakugo and Mirio, he wondered? In any case, the moment he and Mirio made it back to the dorms and broke off from Hado, he brought up their conversation.
"I think they have a lot of potential…" he explained as Mirio eagerly listened to his short-winded speech.
"Oh?" the blonde laughed, grinning brightly. "What brought this on, Tamaki? You're usually so passive when it comes to other people!"
The quiet teen squirmed some under Mirio's gaze, hating that even after spending literal years with him, he couldn't not break out in a blush whenever the blonde so much as looked in his direction. Times like this when Mirio's attention wasn't even partially directed at something else made him so much more aware of how intense and penetrating those blue eyes were.
"Alright, don't tell me!" Mirio chuckled heartily, giving his best friend an affectionate pat on the head. "I trust your judgment, Tamaki! If you say they've got what it takes, then I'm all for it!"
"I was going to… uh… ask one to apply to Fatgum's internship program… Maybe you—"
"Of course! You're such a planner, Tamaki! Always thinking ahead with a heart of gold!" Mirio burst in, almost shaking the smaller teen happily. "I'll talk to Sir Nighteye about Bakugo! Hado had her eye on one or two girls in that group too, so, we'll all have little chicks to take under our wings! I bet—"
Tamaki smiled to himself as he watched the blonde take and run with his very minimal comment, finding his heart fluttering incessantly from the Sun that was Mirio. How lucky he was to have been picked out of the masses by such a kind, warm person.
That sentiment was the main reason he refused to offer his true feelings to Togata; he'd been lucky just to be noticed. The Sun shouldn't want anything to do with a shy, shadow crawler like him—he'd already received more than his fair share; It was enough just to watch and be warmed by those rays.
Todoroki stared at his sink as he brushed his teeth, his mind haunting him in every way it possibly could over the news he'd yet to fully absorb. How could he have been so selfish? So blind? He told himself it was obvious if he really analyzed the last few weeks… Toga was always on the front lines until recently—why would Deku have done that if it wasn't because he was protecting something too precious to risk?
Toya's unborn baby.
Todoroki spit harshly and rinsed his mouth, looking up at the mirror to ensure he'd gotten all of the toothpaste removed. Unfortunately, it allowed him to see his eyes and his mind was taken back further to the failed licensing exam. He'd been so confused when Inasa Yoarashi had glared at him so coldly…
"Son of Endeavor." "You and your father have the same eyes."
"NO!" he shouted, smashing his fist into his image to shatter the offending glass. A sharp needle prick stung into the side of his neck the moment his quirk began activating, but he could hardly feel it or the newly opened gashes on his knuckles. All that mattered was how badly it hurt to be thought of like him, like his hell flame wielding, monster of a father.
Even then, even with Shinso shouting at him to not let his pride and Inasa's words get to him, he'd shoved the safety and happiness of others aside. If Bakugo hadn't stepped in to help get Yo Shindo out of harm's way and scolded them, he might not have snapped out of his stupidity at all.
He'd put his own desire to better than Inasa ahead of what really mattered… Just like his father had done in his quest to best All Might. Now, he had a fragile new addition to his decimated family and no conceivable way to make up for the loss of its father—a good father who would have loved and cared for it regardless of everything else, just as Toya had done for him. Todoroki collapsed to his knees and held his head in his shaking hands, sobbing into the concrete floor with guilt.
~0.o.0~
"Oh my goodness! Izuku, do something!" Inko shrieked in worry, covering her mouth as tears began springing into her eyes.
Midoriya blinked at the screen she was looking at, a vein throbbing in his neck at the sight. Of course, the moment he showed his mother the camera room, Shoto would have to start having another break-down. "He's alright, mom… That collar he's wearing will keep him from causing too much damage."
"That's not the point!" Inko argued as she touched the screen gently. "He's hurting, 'Zuku! He's a child and he's hurting and I have to do something this time!"
Midoriya sighed in understanding and hugged his mother tightly, knowing how much her guilt over 'losing him' had devastated her life for the past two years. Todoroki was going through something so similar, yet unlike Inko, he wasn't going to get another chance to help the person he'd lost.
"I know, mom. Once he calms down a bit, I'll go talk to him… he's dangerous when he's upset like this though so everyone, even me, has to stay away or risk making it worse. I do have another plan though since it seems just being here isn't enough to keep his sanity in check anymore." Midoriya explained, gesturing for them to keep moving. Inko nodded and followed even though she kept her eyes glued to Todoroki's crumpled body until the door shut behind them.
"I've been thinking a lot about what will help Shoto recently… I know his ex-boyfriend would be a great comfort to him, but Shinso's still unsure of whether or not to side with the heroes and Shoto still isn't ready to reconcile his guilt over switching sides when it comes to their relationship… Actually, my Plan B will probably go a lot more smoothly with you here…"
"Really?" Inko squeaked, perking up immediately. "What can I do to help? I'll do anything you need, son."
"That scar he has… His mother did that to him when he was just a child because Shoto accidentally frightened her. From what I understand, all she saw was his face and it reminded her so much of her abusive husband that she lashed out and scalded him with boiling water."
Inko nearly tripped as Izuku spoke, stomach twisting with sickness at the very thought. What terrible nightmare must 'Mrs. Todoroki' have been put through to make her so afraid of Endeavor that she'd project him onto her youngest baby and do something so awful.
"Anyway, I did have a subordinate get information on her counseling files; she wants nothing more than to make things right with Shoto… I think given what's happened, they could both heal from spending time with one another but Mrs. Todoroki will need to be around someone who isn't, how do I put this, already unstable?"
"Oh, my baby Izuku! I'll do whatever I can to make her comfortable here and my nurses' license should still be valid even though I haven't worked in some time… I can—"
Midoriya smiled at his mother's enthusiasm, hoping Shoto would be alright soon.
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Thanks for reading even though I'm a totally awful person that doesn't update specifically! Leave me a review! :)
