Izuku IV

It had been an hour since the detective had explained everything. He couldn't go into too much detail, as they were interrupted when another officer needed to speak to him. What was revealed, however, disturbed Izuku greatly.

Firstly, he had a Quirk. That part wasn't a bad thing at all. It was amazing! Somehow it finally manifested during his struggle for survival. In any other circumstances he'd be ecstatic. But secondly, his Quirk had killed the sludge villain. Izuku's Quirk, the mechanics of which were still unknown, had burned away too much sludge for the villain to heal or reform, with his eyes and mouth totally incinerated. Thirdly, that technically made Izuku a murderer, even if it was in self-defense and unintended. He was technically under arrest with the investigation still underway. There would need to be a trial too.

The police said it would be easy. The judge will just need a few statements before ruling me innocent by reason of self-defense. They said at most I might have to pay a fine for unintended unlicensed violent quirk usage.

The detective had acted like they shouldn't be too worried. Like it would all be handled quickly. His mother had pushed however.

"Then why is there even going to be a trial?" she had asked.

The detective had hesitated. "Well, the victim's family wants an investigation. They're making accusations of willful murder."

"What?! How could they accuse Izuku of that?!" Inko had shouted.

"Please remain calm, ma'am. She's claiming that Izuku had willfully left his Quirk unregistered and chose to use excessive force, resulting in her son's death. But it's unprovable. A conspiracy theory that won't stand in court, I can assure you. They cannot prove Izuku was aware of his Quirk, and given the life or death situation he was in, the courts will likely deem it a permissible level of force to save himself."

While that had somewhat calmed Inko, Izuku was fixated on one part of what the detective had said.

"Her son's death…"

I killed someone's son. He was a villain but… But even villains have mothers. Have family and friends. Maybe I was justified, but that doesn't change that a mother has lost her child because of me…

It was a lot to process. He'd been driven to suicide, regretted it, been held hostage, nearly killed, Katsuki had run in to save him, he had manifested a quirk, and he had killed someone. Any one of those would have left him contemplating and muttering about it for a week. Instead he had experienced all of them in a matter of minutes from his perspective, and he was silent. It was impossible to really wrap his mind around it all.

After a few minutes, the detective came back to the room. His mother had continued speaking with the man, and Izuku just sat in his bed, staring at the wall.

"If I may, Mrs. Midoriya, I need to speak with Izuku alone about a few aspects of the case. Do you mind?" Detective Kuroiwa then said.

That got Izuku's attention. He turned to look at Kuroiwa, as confused as his mother.

"Why?" Inko asked, her tone protective and firm. That shocked Izuku too. His mother was rarely so assertive. Not unless she was really on edge.

"I just wanted to ask him a few things about what happened. Not an official statement just yet. But it can be easier to speak about events like this when it's one-on-one."

Kuroiwa had a point. Izuku didn't know if he wanted to relive anything that had happened. If he needed to, speaking to one person sounded easier. "It's OK, mom," he heard himself say. "I'll be alright." That didn't seem to really calm her, but Inko eventually nodded and left the room, likely to pace outside until the detective was done.

The chair his mother had occupied was quickly filled by Detective Kuroiwa. The man gave a small smile, but it had a touch of worry to it that made Izuku nervous. The man had entered carrying a paper bag, and he had set it in his lap. Pulling a pocketbook and pen from inside his jacket, he cleared his throat.

"So, Midoriya, can you tell me how the villain got a hold of you?"

Izuku frowned a little. "I… uhm… Well I didn't really see where he came from. He grabbed me suddenly and then everything else started pretty quickly after that." He didn't know why he lied about falling from the building. In a way he wasn't sure if it mattered, and he felt too uncomfortable to bring it up.

"I see…" the detective said, and made a note. "So the villain didn't chase you or pursue you?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "He grabbed me and said something about a… meat suit."

Kuroiwa nodded. "Yes we had rumors on that. Nothing confirmed, but we believe he had evaded capture before by taking… hosts."

"That's what I thought. He said later that he was going to take Ka… uh, the other boy and kill me."

"Do you know that boy?"

Izuku shrugged. "We grew up together. Our moms are friends." He then recalled something. "I think the villain was going to use me as a hostage at first, but he kept trying to get into my body subtly. I think he was going to surrender and then make me do something or kill me to cause a distraction later."

Kuroiwa paused at that. He wrote down something on the paper but grinned as he did. "That's a pretty sharp intuition you have. Ever consider a career in police work?"

Izuku chuckled, feeling more at ease. "I uhm… Well I guess it isn't something I thought about. I was actually going to apply to UA."

"Ah, General Studies? Or is it Support? A sharp eye like yours would probably do well in that capacity."

He looked down at his lap, feeling shy. "U-u-hm, n-no actually. I was gonna apply for the Hero Course."

"Hero Course? But you only just… Huh." The man leaned back in the chair, and smiled wider. "Well that's something. I guess now you might have an even better chance at that."

The detective's words made him smile. He was right! He actually had a Quirk now. Maybe he could go pursue his dream…

I need to control it first… Whatever it is, it can be lethal. But once I do...

But his moment of cheer shattered as the detective sighed. "Just to get back on topic… Can you tell me why you were on the roof of that building, son? I know you don't live there."

No words left his mouth. He wasn't sure how to answer. "How did you know I was on top of the roof?"

Kuroiwa chewed on his cheek for a second. "Well… We only have one recording from the very start of the incident. A young lady had seen the villain earlier and used her phone to try and document him when she saw him again. The camera died before she could capture everything, and half of the footage is the ground as she ran. But she did get a shot of the villain grabbing you before she hid. Grabbing you from mid-air."

When Izuku didn't respond, he continued. "After seeing that, I had a couple officers investigate the building. And on the roof, they found these." He reached into the paper bag in his lap and removed Izuku's red shoes, which were still sealed in a plastic ziplock marked "EVIDENCE".

They know… They know everything. They're gonna tell my mom and she's going to freak out and then she'll probably go and murder Katsuki and we'll have another trial for her and she's going to go to prison and-

"Whoa, whoa. Relax, son. It's OK," Kuroiwa said. Izuku cringed. He must have started muttering.

He sighed. "Did… Did you read my note?"

"No note. Probably blew off in the wind. It happens, decently frequently. Strong winds on high buildings like that, so one little piece of paper can get carried away even if it's put under a shoe."

"What?" He asked, incredulous. That didn't make any sense. He didn't put his note on one piece of paper. "But that's…" Izuku's brow furrowed. The detective didn't seem to notice.

"We also found your backpack. Hospital has it now, you'll get it when you leave unless you need to get something out of it now. In which case, just ask the nurse for it."

The paperbag was set down, and he laid Izuku's shoes at the foot of the bed. "I figured you may not want your mother to know. That's pretty common. While I should just tell her, I'll let you do that when you're ready. It'll come out at the trial anyways, so you should let her know beforehand. But, son, there is something that will need to happen as a result."

What does that mean?

"To keep it simple, we have procedure for any incident that involves an attempted suicide. You will need to report to counseling for at least six months, semi-weekly. At the end of those six months, the court mandate will lift if your therapist determines you aren't high risk. Now I took a glance at what we have on your family in the system, and I believe you'll qualify for this to be covered by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's Mental Wellness for Youth program with most therapists."

I guess that isn't so bad…

"I guess I'll have to tell my mom before I start attending therapy. Kind of hard to hide what happened if the courts are making me go."

Kuroiwa chewed his cheek again. "…Not necessarily. There's a little more to it all. Two things in fact. First of all, this was clearly a traumatic event. Even without what happened prior to the attack, being involved in a villain attack, as a minor, means we'd require a month of weekly sessions with an annual follow-up. And in cases where a minor causes the death of someone else, even their assailant, we require six months of weekly sessions. In this case, we'll be rolling it all into one mandate of ten months of semiweekly sessions. You're free to tell your mother it's for the trauma of the incident for now."

It could be worse… I probably need it.

"I… Thank you, Detective Kuroiwa. You… You said you should tell my mom. Why aren't you?"

The man shrugged. "I understand your situation. Probably more than you realize. It isn't strictly required for the case, and I'm not under legal obligation to disclose all the details to her."

Biting his lip, Izuku leaned back on his bed. The top had been angled up by his mother after he woke, so he could sit up properly. "You said that there were two things. What's the second?"

"The second has to do with the trial and your Quirk. We'll need to get an expert testimony as to whether or not you likely had it prior to this incident. You are an incredibly late bloomer, after all. You might even have the record."

"How would that work?"

"Pretty simple. A specialist will examine you, help you figure out the fundamentals of your quirk. They'll assess the likelihood, based on your proficiency with the ability, that you knew how to use your Quirk before the villain attacked you. And yes, they'd be able to tell if you were just faking not having any experience or skill."

"I see… Guess I'm gonna have to see a lot of people. A therapist for the… Well what happened before the attack. And someone for the incident itself. And probably a lawyer. And then this specialist."

No time to really train or study for the UA Entrance Exam…

Another nod of the head from Kuroiwa before he spoke again. This time, however, he seemed happier to interject further. "Well you will have to speak to an attorney. But while you'll have full choice over who your therapist is, we'll try to find you one that will assist you with everything. And… I do know someone. Younger, but brilliant. He has a clinic for people with Quirks that are difficult to control. He'll actually be the person we'll call in for the expert testimony, so he could handle that as well. An all-in-one package, if you will. The only caveat is that his clinic is private, and not a full affiliate of the Mental Wellness for Youth program."

Izuku shook his head. "I don't think we could afford it then."

"We'd still subsidize, as he is partially government backed. Why don't you meet him? If you don't even like him, we'll find someone else, and if you do like him but can't work out a payment plan, he can offer recommendations of other doctors."

It felt odd how… strongly Kuroiwa was pushing this. Especially when he had said earlier that he believed that Izuku's family would qualify for free sessions with anyone else. Still, it wouldn't hurt to meet this doctor. He was going to be the specialist for the trial anyways.

"Sure…"

"His name is Yonagawa. I'll inform your mother of the absolute basics, and provide her with his clinic's address for after you've been discharged." Kuroiwa sounded positive and cheerful as he said that, and it made Izuku more confident.

Two more days passed before Izuku was allowed to leave the hospital. The handcuff was removed when Kuroiwa departed, but he had sustained second and third degree burns on his hands, forearms and face. One of the doctors had a Quirk to produce a salve that could heal him, but it had taken another 24 hours before his bandages could be removed. Then the nurses and doctors had wanted to keep him overnight to check on his condition.

At last, however, he was free. His school had exempt him from needing to attend until after the new year. Rather than put it off, while he did spend a day at home with his mother doting on him, Izuku chose to visit the clinic the following day.

His mother had driven him, curious about the man who would be counseling him herself. She still believed it was only for the trauma Izuku had experienced with the sludge villain, as well as strengthening their case in court. He almost told her what happened on the roof the previous day, but she had seemed so stressed already. It had been a nice day overall too, and he would have hated to ruin it.

The clinic was a little out of town, where the urban gave way to the suburban and even the countryside. As they approached what appeared to be a large, high fenced estate, they needed to drive up to a gate and call to be let in. Inko had provided their names and received no reply before the gate opened with the blair of a buzzer.

Then they drove through a winding, two-laned road, weaving through trees and bushes, before they pulled up to a rather bland building. It was a simple two-story facility, looking on the exterior like a generic government building. The windows were little pale blue rectangles, and the walls were unpainted concrete. Izuku had half-expected a mansion.

There was a sign in the grass that read: YONAGAWA CLINIC FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND META ABILITY RESEARCH

A covered parking lot was next to the building, but it was almost entirely empty. The only vehicles belonged to the facility, being a few vans and a bus, all painted white. Inko frowned. "This is the place Detective Kuroiwa recommended?"

"Yeah it does seem a little…"

"Shoddy?"

"Yeah…"

Exiting the car, they walked towards the main doors, but quite suddenly they opened on their own. The green-haired pair stepped inside and found that the interior was nothing like the exterior. It reminded Izuku of a hotel or resort, with comforting artwork and nice carpets and plants strewn about. A man stood in the middle of the room, next to an empty high-end wheelchair.

He was tall and very tan, with curly black hair he had pulled into a bun. Thin glasses rested on his nose and he wore a simple pale grey suit with a dark red tie. Rather than a suit coat over his vest, it was a lab coat, and he leaned heavily on a long black cane.

"Welcome!" he said, "You must be the Midoriyas. I am Dr. Junji Yonagawa. Welcome to the clinic. I've been quite excited to meet you." He had a calm demeanor, and seemed to exude wisdom far beyond his age. His cadence was slow, and his word choice was casual, with a slight, subtle Western accent.

Inko gave him a polite smile and Izuku mimicked her. As they approached, he realized the doors had not been opened automatically. Standing behind each door were tall, pale women in teal medical scrubs. What was most surprising was that they were both utterly, entirely identical.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, doctor," Inko said, extending her hand.

Dr. Yonogawa switched his cane to his other hand and leaned the other way so he could shake. As he did, Izuku saw the top of the cane. It was a smooth clear orb, with a red helix shape inside of it. "Oh the pleasure is mine! I hope you didn't have too much trouble finding the place." He glanced up at the women by the door. "Thank you, Renchi. That will be all, I'll take it from here." Both women nodded, before closing the doors and walking out of the room.

Weird… He only referred to one person but they both nodded.

The doctor looked at him then, and leaned down, using his cane for balance. "Now you must be young Izuku. Hopefully you and I will get to know each other real well." Yonagawa stood up. "C'mon, let's get you a basic tour and I can answer some of your questions. It's a bit of a long walk around this place, so I'm going to hedge my bets against my knees." The man walked to the wheelchair and dropped into it, planting his feet on footrests and laying his cane across his lap.

Inko was a little caught off-guard but nodded. "S-sure!" she said, not realizing they'd be shown the facility so quickly.

Using an analog stick, Yonagawa began moving his wheelchair around. "I figured I might as well let you see this place. It's my pride and joy," he said, as he led them out of the main room towards a long hallway. "Ya see, I began studying Quirks at a young age. It's my passion. Trying to learn how they work, what they do, how they could be applied, all of that. I thought about being an analyst for a big Hero Agency once. But I realized I wanted to help people heal, not help some hero climb up the ranks with my advice," he said.

It felt like a sales pitch, and Izuku and his mother shared a bemused look as they followed him. "Ah," the doctor said, "Here is one of our relaxation rooms." They had stopped in front of one of the few doors in the hallway. He waved his wrist in front of a panel and the door slid open, revealing a large room drenched in sunlight. It had a wall of glass on the far side, and was full of hammocks and long couches to rest, each with a side table. The window-wall revealed that just on the other side of the building was a garden and a fountain, and the paved paths outside seemed to wind into the trees.

Both Midoriyas went wide-eyed. The room itself was nearly as big as their home. "We like to call this one the Sun Room. There's a Moon Room a floor up, for those that like the dark better. Sealed in the day, but the ceiling opens up to see the sky at night," Yonagawa remarked.

Before they could look for too much longer, he reversed out of the room, and took them further down the hallway, turning at the corner. "Over here are our gyms. Weight lifting there, cardio over there, and that is our… well our boxing ring. Entirely safe, only for recreation. But as I was saying, I wanted to heal people. And people whose Quirks get out of control, well, they often have a lot of trauma. So I decided to start focusing on psychology and psychiatry on top of my research."

"So that's why this clinic would be for Izuku's therapy and the evaluation for the trial?" Inko asked.

"Exactly! I, or I guess my staff and I, we study quirks and help people master them, so it won't be hard for us to prove if Izuku is just a late, late, late bloomer or not." He shifted his gaze to Izuku. "But you'll also get therapy for all the trauma you've gone through, with me personally." The way he spoke, it was clear he knew the entirety of the situation. Including that Izuku wanted to keep his suicide attempt a secret for now.

They walked toward a door at the end of the hallway, and with a flash of his wrist to the door's sensor, Yonagawa opened it again. It was to the outside, with a ramp that allowed his wheelchair to roll down. They were around the corner from the garden area seen from the Sun Room. A small table was nearby, which had an umbrella and several seats around it. "This the First Garden. An area for tea here, the gardens itself, and a fountain we keep on while it's warm."

"Are there a lot of patients here?" Izuku asked, noting that he'd yet to see anyone else.

"Not presently," the doctor admitted. "We get people intermittently. Some a few weeks, some a few months, others a few years. We were at around 20 patients consistently here a few months ago, but many of them were in the final stages of their treatments. They only come by for routine exams now. Currently we only have three other patients you'll see regularly. You'll probably get to know them during group therapy if nothing else."

"How does your therapy typically go?" Inko took the chance to ask as they moved through the gardens.

"Well everyone is different. For Izuku, we'll probably start with one to two hour sessions. Twice a week, but ninety minute group therapies are done on Fridays. Optional, of course, and all after school. We'll probably dedicate two to three days a week to studying your Quirk. Hour sessions, probably, at least to start. We have labs in the basement level for that. Things'll get more flexible as we get a better understanding and once I have enough for my formal statement, it'll be up to you, Izuku, to decide how much time you'll want to dedicate to developing your Quirk."

He sounds like he really means it. It's almost too good to be true. Free training, scheduling that opens up over time. Training… Wait… Just how far could I go here?

"When you say develop my Quirk, what do you mean?"

Yonogawa laughed. "Well, like I've been saying, that's up to you! Some people just want to get their quirk under control so they can lead normal, average lives. Others want to be able to do useful things with their ability, maybe use it to find a career. And then some want to do more than that. I've had a few people come in here who went on to become Pro-Heroes. Ever heard of the Radiation Hero, Nega? Or the Mechanical Hero, Automoto? They're not trailblazing on the leaderboard, but they save lives every day and they started out here, barely able to control their abilities."

That's amazing. He's trained actual heroes before! Or at least got them ready to become students for hero schools. Even if I can't get into UA right now, I could take a gap year to train and study. People have done it before! Or at least I've heard.

Heading towards the fountain, Yonagawa gestured to metal signs near each paved pathway. "This path leads to the Second Garden, Third Gardenc and the Glade, which is a nice open field in the trees. While this path leads to our orchard and the greenhouse. And the rest of the grounds are open to explore as well." Izuku looked around as the doctor spoke. He noticed that the trees all had been carefully pruned. They were tall, and no branches existed that anyone of average height could reach to climb.

I guess they… Well I wonder if something had to happen before they took that precaution.

It wasn't like he could judge. That made him glance up, and he noticed both a high fence and a small net that went around much of the roof of the two-story building, which he now realized was roughly U-shaped.

"Dr. Yonogawa, this is a lovely facility we've seen so far," Inko began.

"Thanks. We work hard to keep it well-maintained."

"Yes, well, uhm… I did want to ask you about the cost of coming to this clinic."

The doctor stopped his wheelchair, having been guiding them across the garden to the other wing of the building. "Oh yes, that." He sounded like it was a footnote to him. "Well, Mrs. Midoriya, to be honest? Izuku fascinates me. Of course our focus will be on his mental health. He's gone through a lot. But having a chance to study someone whose Quirk manifested so late in life? And so powerfully all at once? Well, for me, that's payment enough."

Inko furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Is asking that question a family trait? I mean what I said!" Yonagawa said with a chuckle. "I'm aware that you'd only have costs subsidized by one of the Ministry's programs. But say I gave you a discount, so its all covered by the subsidy. The program would probably disqualify you rather that pay. Plus you know the government. Even if they kept you on the program, they're always hiding fees and surcharges. You misfile one form or forget one little thing, and they'll weasel their way out of paying you a dime. So I'll just make it easier. If Izuku is willing to have me treat him, this will all be free of charge."

Yonagawa laughed again, and it was so carefree. Izuku and his mother were floored. They'd only seen a fraction of the facility, and it was amazing! And it had to be expensive, especially with so few current patients. Inko stuttered as she tried to find words.

"Buh… Wah… I mean… Uhm… Thuh… Wah…"

The doctor waved his free hand. "Please, don't act like I'm being too generous. I'll want to write a paper on him, so I'll need your consent for that. So let's call that the payment! But why don't you mull it over, hm? We'll continue the tour, maybe head to the second floor. Our dorms are quite nice!"

That got Izuku's attention. "Dorms?"

"Well, yes. My patients are required to stay here at the clinic. We can address needs whenever required that way, and have consistent monitoring of your Quirk as you learn to control it."

"We weren't told about that," Inko said, sounding far less certain now.

"Not all clinics require it. Even this clinic doesn't in many circumstances. But for Izuku's case? I do," he said with a shrug. "It isn't a prison sentence. Izuku will be driven to his current school, and we'll help him with his studies too. And he'll be free to go out when he likes, so long as he returns and has a chaperone or a parent with him. You, Mrs. Midoriya, will be free to visit whenever you like, even daily if you so choose."

The two looked at one another. Inko was clearly on the fence. She didn't want her boy to live away. Not after nearly losing him. But it was an incredible offer. Not just a means for getting therapy out of the way, but for developing his Quirk and even getting into UA. Izuku took a deep breath.

"We can't refuse," he said, speaking directly to his mother. "This is… I need to go to therapy anyways but this a chance to learn about and train my Quirk. Maybe my only chance." He didn't have to finish the train of thought. If he didn't take this opportunity, he'd probably never become a Hero.

Tears were bubbling in his mother's eyes as she turned to the young doctor. "We… we'll do it," she said finally, looking defeated.

Dr. Yonagawa seemed unperturbed. "Excellent! You'll see, this will be wonderful for all of us. Why don't we continue the tour? You can think about it a bit more too. Afterwards we can start drawing up paperwork." He extended a hand to Izuku. "Young man, welcome to the Clinic."

[A/N]: And here is the Clinic! Alongside UA, this will be a recurring setting where Izuku will meet and interact with some of the core cast of this story. At this point I have to wonder if I shouldn't start describing this as a slow burn fic... But not to worry! Next chapter, Izuku will meet a few of the other patients, and we'll FINALLY dive into what exactly his Quirk is. I meant to get to that point much sooner, but sometimes stories get a mind of their own, and there's been a lot to setup. The next chapter will hopefully be out much sooner too, hopefully by this weekend.

I'd love to hear what people think his Quirk might be!