Izuku's eyes widened in shock and surprise as Ryukyu made such a loud and pleading declaration, essentially revealing the source of his powers to everyone on the boat. For a moment he panicked, unsure as to how to react, but thankfully, All Might covered for him.
"Tatsuma… Young Midoriya's powers do not extend that far, he is only capable of healing, not resurrection."
Ryukyu was about to shout back a retort, she had seen Izuku extract Tusk's Shadow after all, but then she looked into All Might's eyes and saw a stern request buried within them. Almost immediately she understood her mistake, whatever this boy's power was, he was doing his best to hide it and by exposing it, she decreased the chances that he would actually help her.
"Why don't we go get you some coffee, you've been on your feet for some time now." Attention shifted from Ryukyu's odd outburst and Izuku's appearance, to All Might's less than muscular form.
"Is that really All Might?"
"What happened?"
"Is this the reason he didn't show up for this Raid?"
All of these questions and more assailed the minds of the lesser Ranks, distracting them from the fact that Izuku had disappeared from sight, following close behind All Might with Stealth. Dabi apparently had a similar idea and followed suit.
After the captain of the Destroyer had given them a private soundproof room reserved for top government officials, Izuku sighed and let go of his Stealth, eliciting a small squeak from Ryukyu and no reaction from Dabi or All Might.
"Do the others just have a really good poker face or is she just really jumpy right now?"
"Sorry," He apologized, "But I don't really want the nature of my army to become public knowledge at this time."
"N-No it would be my place to apologize now… but…"
"But you still want me to bring back the six that died," Izuku finished as he shook his head, "Are you aware that most of my Summons are not capable of speech and that all of them are merely copies of the original, not the original?"
Ryukyu nodded slowly, "I figured as much."
"Then… why bring them back?" Izuku, while still very much interested in bringing those six S-Rank Heroes into his army, was not about to disgrace their bodies and take what was essentially their soul for himself. He had been unsure of his decision to not take human Shadows before, but after seeing Byung-Gyu's reaction to his Extraction being canceled, that being one of bliss, Izuku was certain. Taking the Shadow of a human was like denying them peaceful rest and forcing them to be his slaves.
Ryukyu's answer was shockingly simple, "Because the world needs them. The world needs as many powerful Heroes as it can get its hands on." She sighed wringing her hands out, "Before we left for Jeju, all the Heroes wrote up their wills just in case. On all of the Top Ten's, except for Endeavor, there was a simple request. "Find a proper heir to replace me, so that the world does not know fear."" Ryukyu nodded as Izuku began to understand her heartfelt request, "I still intend to find replacements for the Top Ten, but… those six, nothing would make them happier than the ability to continue serving as protectors."
Remembering just what the second Ranked Top Ten member had planned to do, Izuku asked Ryukyu if she had been aware of Endeavor's scheming. By the way her eyes widened and her heart began speeding up, Izuku could tell she was filled with rage, "Is that my Sense Stat? I'm not just able to sense people, but their emotions too?"
"That bastard!" Ryukyu's fist clenched and a part of the table they were sitting at broke under her pressure. "It appears… that I owe you an even bigger debt for saving Miruko from his schemes."
One of Izuku's eyebrows raised, "Oh? Are her and Miruko close?"
Dabi scoffed, "Tch, I'm still not a fan of you kid… but if you messed up my old man's plans… then I guess we're a little closer to being even."
"So… this is your honest request?" Izuku asked. Had Ryukyu been knowledgeable about Endeavor's plans, he would've refused to Extract the six Shadows on principle alone. But if she was innocent and truly wished for it… then.
"Yes, please." She bowed her head a little lower and Izuku nodded.
"Very well."
The upper deck of the battleship had been completely cleared, only Ryukyu, Dabi, All Might, Izuku, and the six dead Heroes remained. Actually, there was one more, Edgeshot, who Ryukyu had told of Izuku's powers before he had agreed to Extract their Shadows.
Before anything could get started, however, a figure appeared next to Izuku as if he was moving around via teleportation. Instead, it was just the fastest Nomu alive.
Beru kneeled, "My Liege, the small human has been delivered by Esil and the other humans are currently taking care of her."
Izuku rested a hand on Beru's shoulder, "You've done excellently, but I have one more task for you before you can rest."
"Anything my Liege!"
"Please inform Esil that I wish for her to reside in the girl's Shadow until further notice. Eri has some sort of enhancement power, we can't be too careful when it comes to her protection."
"It is as you say my Liege. I will depart at once." Beru left much in the same way he had appeared, shocking the surrounding Heroes.
"That… thing… is your Summon?"
"Yes. I'm sorry if he disturbed you." Beru's aura may have grown quite a bit, but it was still unmistakable as the abomination that had torn apart Ryukyu's team members.
"I-It's alright."
Izuku stepped forwards, the body bags of all the Heroes opened up. Some resided without much of their body, none had their heads intact.
Ryukyu wanted to tear her eyes away, but she could not ignore even a second of the process.
"I will begin… Arise."
Without fail, all six Shadows emerged from their respective hosts on the first try, as if they were attempting to prove Ryukyu right. These six weren't done yet, they weren't ready to give up the fight that easily.
[Shadow Human Lv. 12 Elite-Knight Grade.]
[Shadow Human Lv. 12 Elite-Knight Grade.]
[Shadow Human Lv. 12 Elite-Knight Grade.]
[Shadow Human Lv. 12 Elite-Knight Grade.]
[Shadow Human Lv. 12 Elite-Knight Grade.]
[Shadow Human Lv. 12 Elite-Knight Grade.]
"They came out as Elite-Knights even though they were weaker than one of my Elite-Knights. I wasn't even given the option of using the Seraph's Ashes on them, so does that mean this is a reaction of my Shadow Extraction Skill reaching Lv. 2?"
[What would you like to name your new Soldiers?]
Izuku went by, one-by-one, assigning them the same names they had in life. Hawks, Best Jeanist, Yoroi Musha, Gang Orca, Crust, and Fat Gum.
"Stand," He commanded, calling them to their feet, "Can any of you speak?" It was a far fetched question, it seemed that so far only Commander or General Grades could speak by default, but Esil existence proved that it wasn't an impossibility for another Grade to speak.
But, just as Izuku expected, all six shook their heads in unison and he turned back to Ryukyu.
"Have you changed your mind? I can dispel them at any time."
Her face was frozen in an expression of shock, but that quickly morphed back to relief at the carefree smiles she saw on her comrades' faces, she had indeed made the right choice. Hawks even offered her a small wave, and at that moment a single tear leaked down her face, "No… thank you… you have done more for me and for them then anyone would've ever thought possible."
Just like that, Izuku had obtained six more beings of great power to stand among his other generals.
At the same time Korea was holding a funeral to commemorate the passing of their fallen Heroes, that of Min Byung-Gyu and a dozen or so who had perished onboard the Destroyers from the Nomu, Japan was doing the same.
Hundreds if not thousands had gathered to see off the six Top Ten who perished on the island, living on in Izuku's Shadow. One of the main people missing, however, was Endeavor. Izuku wasn't sure what had happened to him, but All Might assured him that both the Agency Association and the government would come down hard on Endeavor and the government official he had been working with. The news of such a betrayal to both the Koreans and two of his own people had yet to reach the public.
In total, fifty-two of Japan's Heroes had perished, and twenty civilians had lost their lives from the Nomu that Beru did his best to catch up to.
Mirio Togata was among those counted, though truthfully, no one had been completely certain as to what happened to him.
All Might, after watching back the video recorded from the cameraman, similarly concluded that he wasn't sure. While it was apparently possible for Rulers to perish, just as Monarchs could, it seemed unlikely that Aeic, The Largest Fragment of Brilliant Light could be killed with a simple artifact, even if it was a result of the Monarch's work.
Of course, perhaps most interesting of all, Izuku was suddenly receiving attention that was reserved only for celebrities of the highest status.
Dozens of news networks contacted him at once, asking for interviews, he turned them all down, but that didn't stop them from reporting on him.
'Izuku Midoriya, Japan's newest Heroic calamity…'
'Upon further research, it appears that he is barely sixteen years old…'
'Still pursuing his studies at UA, the school continues to reinforce the belief that if you want to be a Hero, go there…'
There were hundreds of reports like that on the news, on the internet and there were even more forums discussing him.
'I'm glad he saved everyone he could, but that amount of Summons isn't natural, doesn't matter what Quirk or what Skills he has, it just defies all reason.'
'If he had this much power, why wasn't he involved in the Raid, wasn't his upperclassman part of it?'
'Do you think he's single?'
Izuku shook his head as he realized just how many comments there were about his love life.
The service had ended quite some time ago and Izuku was retreating to his motorcycle after conversing with All Might for a moment. He could've easily run home, Quicksilver carrying him far faster than any motor vehicle, but he didn't want to ruin this nice suit he had bought with his sweat.
The day Izuku returned, he had deposited Beru's core at one of the many high-end auction houses. Within the hour, it had sold for an exorbitant price, nearly 100 million yen.
A/N: Around 900k in USD.
Adding on to his quickly growing monetary value, Izuku began to realize he could be considered far more than wealthy. He hadn't just sold Beru's core, but a few of his old weapons and leftover materials from the Heavenly Palace. He could buy anything he wanted now. With his mother awake, his monetary troubles thrown into the wind, and his power far surpassing that of most S-Ranks in the country, Izuku felt like he had reached the pinnacle of his desires. By now, going back to school sounded like a ridiculous thing to do.
"What should I do? Mom will probably want me to go back to UA, and I can't exactly disagree with that sentiment, dropping out of high school sounds too disgraceful to me… even if the goal of that school is to turn me into what I am now." Izuku smiled, "These are some pretty lame concerns compared to what my week has been like. Oh well…" Looking down at the time on his phone Izuku realized that his mother was scheduled to be discharged about an hour from now and Sakura would be there visiting with her, "Guess that's my next destination."
He climbed onto his motorcycle, no helmet secured on his head, after all, even if a car slammed into him head on, it'd be more prudent to worry about the car, not Izuku. But before he could start up the machine and head off, a voice stopped him.
"Excuse me? Izuku Midoriya?!"
Izuku had half a mind to ride away regardless, the pleas of the approaching man sounded all too much like the reporters that continued to hound him. But then, the man's appearance stopped him. He was dressed in rather formal clothing, befitting of a governmental agent.
"I'm Ensign Matsuo, with the Japanese Navy."
"The Navy? What do they want with me?"
Izuku dutifully shook the man's hand.
"This is in regards to the girl you rescued from Jeju, Eri… Sir," He added on, likely feeling weird about calling a sixteen-year-old "Sir."
"Is she okay?" Izuku had heard nothing from Esil, so it was unlikely that something had happened, but he had to be sure.
"She's… physically well. Due to her immense potential and… well… to be frank, lack of family to, she's being watched over on one of our Naval bases." The man combed his hand through his hair, "Well, the true issue is her psyche. She's being treated by our best doctors, but even then, the girl refuses to sleep and she barely eats. It's starting to wear on her quite a lot. The doctor's are fearing that… we're worried about her to say the least."
Izuku scratched at his cheek awkwardly, "Well… um… excuse me for saying this but… what can I do about it?"
"Every now and again, some of the hallways can get a bit rowdy and it scares the girl. One of those times, a shadowy angel left her room and slammed one of the guys against a wall, threatening him if he didn't quiet down."
Izuku couldn't help but let out a chuckle at Esil's natural motherly instincts. He had instructed her to keep her safe from any physical threats, so her actions were almost certainly her own, "She um… she didn't hurt anyone did she?"
"A few bruises, but nothing serious. That thing is one of your Summons, correct, Sir?"
Izuku nodded, "I put her there to protect Eri."
"That's a relief to hear, because she's been the only thing comforting the girl. Whenever your Summon shows up, Eri actually manages to get an hour or so of sleep and sometimes, she'll even eat. We asked her why she only does it with the angel around and she told us because she knows the monsters won't get her while your Shadow is around."
Izuku's heart beat out of rhythm for just one moment as the depressing reality of that belief sunk in. She was so terrified that it took the aura of a Shadow that surpassed S-Rank to comfort her.
"Well then, I can instruct my Summon to stay out with her as much as possible."
Matsuo nodded, "That… is one solution, Sir."
Izuku tilted his head, "What's the other?"
"We would like to ask you and your family to take in this girl." Izuku's eyes widened as the man bowed low to him, "Please Sir! It is no good for the moral of our men to know they can do nothing as they watch this girl waste away, so please save her!"
The next day, Izuku went back to school. He was still mulling over the request Matsuo had given him, so in the meantime, he had instructed Esil to remain out at all times and act as motherly as she could. Just the fact that Esil refused to disappear was enough to allow Eri to get a full night's sleep for the first time.
In the meantime, he had his hands full with his return to education. Yaoyorozu treated him about the same as always, although after explaining the situation he'd gone through, she seemed even more bold and insisted on holding hands as they walked through the hallways.
The rest of the school, on the other hand, was not nearly as inviting. Some of his classmates still treated him the same, having known him before for a bit of time, although there was always some sort of tension when talking to them. While before he had been a powerhouse even among his peers, now he was basically a god with an army at his disposal. Of course, not everyone was as disturbed as some.
Bakugo went on to treat him as he normally did, shouting about how he would kill him and all that. Most would probably be annoyed by this lack of change in the bully, but Izuku found it almost reassuring. Just because he had changed didn't mean everyone else would.
Mina, Kaminari, Mineta, Todoroki, Jiro and a few others, much to his shock, only seemed to grow friendlier towards him. He didn't think much of Jiro, Kaminari or Mina's reaction as they were generally all really nice to begin with. Mineta at first, like others, appeared to be frightened by him, but as Izuku quickly learned, his remarks about his strength were merely banter between peers.
Todoroki surprised him the most, forcing him to come up with a few theories. The most likely of which was that Dabi had informed his younger brother of what Izuku had done to mess with his father's plans and if Todoroki was anything like his older brother, he hated his father. So the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Of course, there was also the possibility that Todoroki held no ill will towards his father and was merely relieved that Izuku had saved him.
Regardless of why they were comfortable around him, Izuku welcomed it. This was exactly what he'd been looking for, something a bit more normal that reminded him he was still human.
"You're gonna be a dad?!" Mina asked just a tad too loudly as the rest of the lunch room stared at Izuku like he was some sort of alien.
"What?! No! I mean… I'm not sure… not right now." Izuku shook his head, "Besides my current apartment is way too small to accommodate a little girl."
"So just get a bigger apartment," Kaminari suggested like it was the simplest explanation in the world, which is because it was. "I mean, with your strength, getting that much money shouldn't be that hard right?" He was right, Izuku already had more than enough money to buy a mansion.
"Great idea dofus," Jiro said, punching his arm, "It completely ignores the fact that he's sixteen and still in high school. Who in his position would want a kid?"
Mina hesitantly raised her hand and when greeted with a few surprised looks from Iida and Todoroki she explained, "Oh come on! Who doesn't want a kid?! A little bundle of joy running around your house!"
"I concur that a child is indeed a blessing," Iida said, "But one must not underestimate the effort and care that is needed to raise one. It would be irresponsible of Midoriya to accept responsibility for this child when he is away at school for most of the day and taking care of Gates or homework in his spare time."
Izuku tilted his head awkwardly, "Actually, that wouldn't be a huge problem. Eri's already become really attached to one of my Summons, Esil. She takes care of most of Eri's needs already at the base and since she's one of two of my Summons who are able to talk, it makes her a perfect stand in for a mother." When he noticed some of the odd glances he was getting in response to suggesting that a Summon raise a child, he changed the subject, "Anyways, it'd be weird for me to move into a place just me and her. My mom won't ever leave that apartment," He refused to explain why, "And my sister's school is right there, so unless I moved into a smaller place, myself and a little girl would be too few people for a home."
"Then have Yaoyorozu move in with you," Kaminari once again suggested out of the blue, receiving another punch from Jiro, "Ow! Will you quit that?! They're already dating, it kinda makes sense! OW!"
"And did you ever consider the fact that they didn't want to move that fast in their relationship? Don't try to pressure someone into that."
"Sorry mom," Kaminari responded, receiving another punch, "Alright that's it! Stop punching me!" Jiro went to throw one last punch for good measure, but Kaminari had actually been goading her into it and just as her fist made contact, he turned his electric powers up to minimal charge, shocking her in return.
As those two continued to bicker, Izuku and Yaoyorozu were exchanging curious glances, as if gauging what the other thought about Kaminari's idea. Their silent exchange went something like this.
"What do you think?"
"I've been wanting to get a new place for a while now."
"Kaminari didn't pressure you did he?"
"I'm fine with moving in together, but a child…"
"Esil is doing a good job as a mother… nanny."
"Do you really want to put the growth of a child in the hands of a Summon? Granted it's your Summon, but still."
"My mother could visit every now and again. Or… I could drop out of school?"
"What?!" Yaoyorozu accidentally blurted out loud, startling the table and herself with just how in depth their silent conversation had become.
"I'm serious," Izuku said to Yaoyorozu as they began walking home from school, "It hadn't even been a possibility in my mind the other day, but now with Eri in need, I feel like dropping out is the right choice."
Yaoyorozu bit her lip, "With the strength you've reached, I don't doubt you're making more than enough to support three people, but I just wanted to make sure this is what you want to do, not something you feel like you have to do."
Izuku smiled, "I get to live a luxurious life at home with an adopted daughter and my girlfriend and don't have to worry about school. What's not to love about that?" Yaoyorozu couldn't help but smile at that. "Before now, I didn't think I'd have any reason to drop out and my mom wanted me to stay, so I figured I'd just go along with it, but now I've got a real purpose behind it."
"Then I'm going to do the same!" Yaoyorozu declared, giving Izuku's hand a squeeze as his eyes bulged out.
"What?! Why?!"
"Well, as a Hero of your current status, school has kinda become irrelevant. It's designed to help people handle their Quirks and get them scouted into high ranking Agencies, but if you've got a direct line to All Might himself, then forget joining an Agency, let's create our own!"
"About that…" Izuku said, nervously looking down, "We can't… not yet. I talked to All Might at the funeral about this. He said he could waive something simple like the necessary amount of Heroes needed for a Raid since my Shadows were so strong, but he simply couldn't allow a minor to undertake the running of an Agency. He said it had to be someone eighteen or up, it was something the rest of the people in charge wouldn't budge on."
"So then… let's just hire someone."
Izuku shook his head, "It's not that simple. We need someone who is an S-Rank or someone has an Agency License. Basically everyone who meets those requirements already have an Agency of their own, or they're part of a substantial Agency and they're not likely to give that sort of thing up for two kids."
"Then I guess we just have to wait until we're eighteen."
"Yeah," Izuku said sighing, "Well… we've got all these plans, but it's probably to sleep on them for a few days before we decide for certain. Esil is certain she can handle Eri for a few more days.
Yaoyorozu agreed as they came to the point where they had to head opposite directions, she planted a small kiss on his lips as her goodbye and headed off, her long hair waving behind her as Izuku sighed once more. Although this time, he sighed as his heart melted. For some reason though, he could've sworn he felt some sort of emanation of jealousy from his Shadow.
"W-Was that Beru… or Igris… or all of them?"
Izuku shrugged and shook his head with a smile, completely unaware that at his school, someone with the face of Ochako Uraraka was placing plastic explosives all over the school's structures.
"I'm home!" Izuku called out as he walked through the door, setting down his bag on the couch and strolling into the kitchen for a snack, his jaw slightly slackening when he saw who was there waiting for him.
His mother was holding a cup of coffee, Sakura was sipping on lemonade, and Miruko lifted her tea in greeting, "Hey!"
Thank you all for reading and for the continued support! With this chapter I believe we have reached 100k words! And just the other day, we hit 1k favorites on , so thanks for that! Anyways, as you may have been able to tell, this chapter was a bit all over the place, as I wasn't totally sure what I wanted to do with it. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed! As a warning, it is entirely possible that I don't release a chapter tomorrow or the day after, as school work is going to keep me pretty busy this weekend! Anyways, see you next time!
