Takoba Municipal Beach Park-December 24th, 201X

"It seems you've had quite an eventful year, Young Midoriya."

Izuku dodged a quick strike aimed at his cheek, quickly closing the distance and sending two fingers towards his opponent's eyes.

He was evaded and kneed in the side.

"Unf!"

His opponent turned so that the boy was behind him, grabbed his arm and a handful of his jacket, his faithful green stajun, and executed a perfect shoulder toss.

Shit!

For most, the technique would send them sprawling across the sand. Most people weren't Izuku Midoriya.

After being thrown, Izuku righted himself in mid-air to land on his feet. He slid back and took up his fighting stance... before promptly plopping down onto his behind, his legs shaky and weak after a whole hour of continuous sparring.

"Yeah, what can I say? I'm an eventful guy."

"That makes no sense."

"You make no sense."

"Very mature."

"I'm a child. What's your excuse?"

"I'm rather mature, thank you very much."

"Ok, Mr. 'I use my own voice for my ringtone, but I'm totally not a narcissist, I swear, Young Midoriya!'"

"Will you let that go? That was months ago!"

"Hmph! Not on your life, sensei."

Toshinori sighed and plopped down next to his pupil. They'd been at it for long enough.

He was starting to feel tired too, especially since he had already used up his three hours of "All Might Time".

Villainy only seemed to increase around the holidays, reaching its peak on Christmas Eve, and as All Might, mixed up in interviews and holiday specials, he had to work at 200% just to keep up with the hullabaloo, he hardly had enough time to eat his bento that day.

Even so, his final training session of the year was something he was looking forward to.

The young man he had been training was already gifted when they began in April, and he'd only improved by leaps and bounds since then.

Izuku was no genius, but he was impressive by his own merits.

Speed, reflexes, cunning tactics( even if some of them bordered on brutal and vicious on occasion), a heroic spirit, and a kind heart.

He was a full package.

An amazing one-of-a-kind marvel mold, to be shaped into something amazing.

One that Toshinori had almost let pass him by.

He chose to rectify that by putting 1000% into mentoring the boy… and maybe trying to convince him to take One-For-All just a bit earlier.

It never worked, but it was always worth a shot.

That aside, "So, why don't you tell me all about what happened this year? I'm interested after hearing a few things at the station. Most specifically something having to do with a baby, a kidnapping ring, and a… chicken cult?"

"Ah, well that's a pretty long story. But I guess I should start off by saying that I was minding my own business that day..."

The depowered hero snorted.

"I really was! Anyway, I was minding my own business on a normal day in Kamurocho…"

Kamurocho, Tokyo- May 1st

Izuku Midoriya walked through the Champion District in Kamurocho.

He hadn't been there before and he hadn't planned on going any time in the future, but he had work to do.

Being Shun Akiyama's part-time gofer took the greenette all around Kamurocho, whether it be to the luxurious Kamurocho Hills to check in on an old client or to the old Pocket Race Stadium to "have fun like a kid should", where he was needed he went.

It was the first day of the month, Collections Day.

Even though Akiyama said that he could take the week off for Golden Week, Izuku didn't feel like taking a break. Yagi-sensei was busy appearing as All Might for all of the holidays that week and that didn't leave too much time in his schedule.

They would continue the week after and All Might would continue teaching Izuku what exactly inheriting his quirk would entail, but even still, Izuku wanted to keep busy until then.

And keeping busy that day meant going to a bar called "Earth Angel" and helping the mama there, while Akiyama went around on collections.

Easy work. He'd helped at Akiyama's club, Elise, before and that was hectic, so a small bar in the middle of the day would be a pretty simple gig.

One issue, though.

Izuku was lost.

Would be great if this place wasn't a maze.

He'd gotten turned around three different times, running into a puking daytime drinker, a smoking and stressed salaryman, and a jogging old lady, who gave him some candies and sent him on his way.

Shellac, Drama Queen… Ah! Earth Angel, finally.

Knock! Knock!

A light, yet husky voice called from inside, "We're closed."

"I'm here from Sky Finance. Akiyama-san sent me to help out."

"Oh! Come in then, the door's unlocked." The door creaked slightly as he opened it. "Akiyama-san said you'd be-"

Smash!

The okama behind the bar stopped what she said completely, as she dropped the glass she was cleaning and stared at Izuku.

"U-um, Miss?"

She stepped around the counter and stared intently at the ponytailed boy.

"Inko… chan?"

Huh?

"Wh-what? How do you know my mom?"

"Your… mom?" The okama mama's eyes widened before they welled up with tears.

She smiled a big watery smile and said, to herself more than anything, "She's okay, oh thank god, she's okay."

"Um, excuse me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, young man" She blinked her tears away, but the smile stayed right where it was, "It's just, I used to know your mother and I've been worried… oh, please come in, have a seat, let's talk."

Around half an hour later…

"So little Inko's a professor now?"

"Yep."

"Huh, who would've thought that filching that book on philosophy would do so much for her? And to think that she's been less than an hour away from here too."

Yeah, it's almost like some hack author for a story decided to cut out an entire series of interactions that should have occurred four years ago, because he wanted to rush into the next arc.

Earth Angel's Mama, Ako as she told Izuku to call her, had composed herself after a few more minutes of sputtering and staring at Izuku in disbelief.

After she shot off a quick text, she put Izuku to work, having him carry crates from the back, mop the floor, and wash dishes, all the while grilling him on what his mother had been up to for the past 30 years since she had seen her.

Or at least as much he could tell her, seeing as he was only 14 himself.

"Just take that last crate to the back and I'll let you off for today, honey."

"Hai."

Creeeak!

"You really need to grease these hinges, Ako."

"I'll get around to it."

"You said that the last time I was here and that was two weeks ago."

"Well if it means so much to you, why don't you grease them, Yuya?"

Yuya? Why does that sound familiar?

"Because that's what you want me to do, and I refuse to enable you. Anyway, what was so important that I needed to rush here on my… day… off…?"

The black-haired man's words slowed and then stopped completely as he took note of the green-haired teen who had just walked in from the back room.

"Uh… yo?"

"Inko-chan?"

"Not exactly."

Twenty Minutes Later…

"And now here I am, talking to you."

"That's… a lot."

"You're tellin' me."

"To think you two were here five years ago at the heart of that mess at the Millenium Tower, no less."

"Yeah, and to think that you knew Uncle Kaz and Haruka, too. Really is a small world we live in."

"Ain't that the truth?"

A brief period of silence loomed over the bar's three occupants.

It was only accompanied by the sound of Ako sweeping the floor.

Izuku was starting to feel a bit awkward and so he got ready to make conversation.

"So… you like ja-?"

Sunao ni I LOVE YOU! Todokeyou?

Kitto YOU LOVE ME! Tsutawaru sa?

Kimi ni niau GLASS no kutsu wo sagas-

Oh, thank god.

Upon hearing his ringtone, Izuku shoved his hand into his pocket and pressed the answer button on the screen, shooting a sheepish look towards Yuya and Ako, and was ushered to the backroom by the woman in the bar.

He didn't even need to see the caller ID to know who it was, there was only one man who could've had such perfect timing.

"Yo. What's up, chief?"

Izuku was leaving the Champion District.

Akiyama had told him that if he was finished with whatever Ako had him doing, he should head back to the office for lunch, oh, and to pick up some Kalbi Deluxe Bentos from Kanrai for lunch.

On the moneylender's dime, of course.

He always loved getting lunch in Kamurocho, especially when someone else was paying for it.

Too bad I'm fucking LOST AGAIN!

He had gotten turned around once more in the maze of iniquity.

He usually wasn't so bad at navigating, but everything in the Champion's District looked the same to him.

Maybe I should ask Ako-san or Yuya-san to show me the way out. Well, I'd have to see if I can find the bar agai-

"Wahhh! Wahhh!"

The grenette was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of a shrill cry coming from… somewhere.

His ponytail whipped around as he searched his surroundings for the source of the sound before his gaze landed on a pair of buildings just to his left.

He'd heard the sound before, he heard it a lot when he had stayed in Okinawa for a few days several years ago.

He walked up to a narrow nook between the two buildings, the bottom of which was covered by cardboard, newspaper bundles, and other trash, and kneeled down.

There's no way… right?

He peeled away the final layer and was greeted with the sight of a wriggling infant, swathed in blankets.

"Nani?"

He reached in and grabbed the bundled child, which ceased its cries in favor of staring at the newcomer, and stared dumbfounded.

Someone actually left a baby here.

He lightly prodded the part of the blanket where the baby's stomach should be and recoiled slightly when the tiny bundle giggled and squirmed, before beginning to gurgle and reach for the teen's hair.

As the tiny tot pulled on his ponytail(which had, at some point, ended up resting on his shoulder) Izuku muttered.

"Honestly, who would drop a kid here? I mean, it coulda been worse. I've heard about 'coin-locker babies' and that sucks, but a 'bar-nook baby' doesn't sound all that much better..."

He felt a sharp tug pull his head down and to the side.

"Ow!"

His attention was suddenly pulled down towards the little bundle of joy in his arms.

"Right, I should probably see if I can get you to a police sta-"

"Munancho, young man!"

Izuku jumped almost five feet in the air, "AHH!"

He whipped around to see two strange men in white robes staring and smiling at him.

Substories 4

A Cult Classic

"Wahhhh! Wahhhh!"

"Ah, crap. Sorry, little guy. Shhhhhh. Shhhhh. It's okay. It's okay. Here ya go." He rocked the crying baby and rubbed soothing circles into its back( a little trick he had learned when watching over Haruto), eventually calming it down enough to be able to look back at the strange, still smiling, men.

The hell did that guy just say to me?

"Um, 'Moon Nacho' to you too." One of the men twitched, "Can I help you?"

One of the men, the taller of the two, stepped forward, "Why yes, young man, you can."

His smile grew even wider, and Izuku's stomach churned slightly.

"You see, we belong to the Order of Munan Chohept Onast. And we have- "

Sounds familiar. Don't remember why, though.

"-and so, we would ask that you hand us that child in your arms, so that we may be on our way."

Izuku blinked.

"Huh?"

"The child. We would like you to hand it to us so that we may return it to its mother."

They wanted him to hand over the kid?

His stomach began to churn again. Something deep in his heart of hearts was screaming at him to not do that.

Izuku shifted the child, who had started to drift off to sleep, into a position that allowed him to snuggle it to his chest with one arm while he slid his off hand into his pocket, pinching a small pellet and rolling it about slightly before giving his response.

"Right… I'd really rather not do that."

"Oh? And why not, might I ask?"

"Oh, well you see, I want to get this little guy to a police station so that they can handle it. If you guys wanna come along, that'd be fine. I'm sure they'd be glad to help you get the kid back to its mom."

He noticed the tall man twitch once more, and saw his friend stiffen behind him, their smiles growing a bit tighter.

It was subtle. If you weren't looking for it, it didn't happen.

But for Izuku, who at this point had closed his left eye and focused subtly on both men with his right, they might as well have been stomping their feet and blowing steam out of their ears.

The taller man started, "Young man, I assure you-"

"Yeah, I'm gonna stop ya right there. Ya see, you can assure all ya want. Doesn't change the fact that I'm bringin' this kid to the cops." He pulled his hand from his pocket, putting his pinkie in his ear and picking at imaginary wax. "Like I said, you can come with if ya want. If yer tellin' the truth, I'm sure the kind folks on the force'd be much obliged to have you give 'em a hand in findin' this kid's mom."

At this point, he'd gone full Kansai. The accent always seemed to slip out when things got as tense as they did.

Hook.

He could hear the harsh scrape of teeth grinding, he pulled his finger from his ear and kept his hand held up, tilting his head to the side slightly as flashed the men a smile of his own.

"Though judgin' by the look on yer faces, I'm willing to bet ten billion yen that the line you were gonna feed me was a crock'a shit. So tell me,"

Line.

"You… little-"

SINKER!

Crack!

With a flick of his wrist, a bright flash blinded the two men right in front of Izuku, who had taken off into a sprint, child held close to his chest.

He turned the corner and saw…

The way out was right there? Dammit!

Deciding to slap himself later for getting lost and caught up in something incredibly shady, Izuku ran down the alleyway and found himself on North Senryo Street.

Back on familiar territory, he knew exactly where he needed to go, and he didn't stop until he got there.

New Serena- Several Minutes Later

"And that's why we're here."

Pat!Pat!Pat!Pat!Pat!Pat!Pat!Pat!

"...So should I order you a grey suit now or later?"

"I couldn't ask you to do that, Mariko-san. Just put it on Chief's tab, he's got enough to cover it."

"Could you not talk about me like I'm not here?'

"Oh, Chief. You were so useless in the corner there that I hardly even noticed you." "Burp"

"Whoa! That was a big one, little guy. Guess you're not hungry anymore, huh?"

The full and sleepy baby did not respond.

"Okay look, I'm not gonna say I'm not useless when it comes to kids, but you've gotta level with me here. You came tearing in like a bat outta hell. You can't just chest pass a baby at me and then expect to just go along with it. That's a lot of responsibility."

"I just told you to hold him while I went to grab some diapers…"

"You barreled into the office, shoved him into my hands saying, 'Here, hold this!', and then ran off quicker than you came in. I hardly even had enough time to realize I was holding a screaming infant before Mariko-san came up to see what the commotion was."

"... So anyways-"

"You're really just gonna ignore the fact that you're in the wrong?"

"Those guys, the Order of Munan Chotast, they sound familiar to either of you?"

Akiyama sighed, "If I remember correctly, the Order of Munan Chohept Onast, was a cult back in the 80s in Osaka. They've been moving around for years since, but apparently, the police busted a huge sect in Onomichi a few years back."

"Oh yeah, that's why the name sounded so familiar. It was all over the news around then. What was that headline again? Um… Oh! 'Cruel Cult Cons Senior Citizens!'"

"Yeah, but I guess they missed a few if they're cropping up around here. Wonder what they could want with that kid though…"

Izuku looked down at the baby that was fighting off sleep in his arms.

"Yeah, they were pretty insistent. I get the feeling that if I hadn't used that Flash Seed that Mei gave me, things woulda gotten physical. I would've won if it did, of course, but I'd rather not get into a scrap with this little guy in my arms. Regardless, I wanna know just what they had planned for him. And what they did with his mom. Thought he mighta just been abandoned, but after seein' those two freaks, I'm almost certain it's a lot deeper than that."

The moneylender hummed.

"Well, I guess what we need now is information. And in Kamurocho, there's one place where you can get just about all the information you need."

Izuku was confused for a moment before he understood where his boss was taking this line of thought.

"You don't mean…"

Akiyama nodded and grinned, "That's right. We've gotta pay a visit to the Florist of Sai."

Baby Number 12473: Flash Pellet- A marble-sized ball that emits a loud crack and a bright flash when it hits a surface with enough force.