Smiling as he saw Tenko-nii making his way out of the compound where he had been fighting against the main forces of the Shie Hassaikai – maybe even Kai Chisaki himself, though Izuku didn't quite know how he felt about that – alongside Uncle Toshi and the rest of the Pro Heroes who had broken up one of what Izuku could only hope was the last remnant of the yakuza that could actually be a threat to anyone, Izuku sighed happily as his big brother came over to hug him.
"Come on, Zu-chan, let's get head back, and then we can have lunch together."
"Right," he said, sighing in relief as the pair of them began making their way back to the transports that had brought all of them to the Yakuza compound in the first place.
He'd been assigned to help the Police and some of the local Pros round up the stragglers, since with both Dad and Uncle Toshi working together, their main forces probably weren't going to need any more help. As he and Tenko-nii climbed back into the transport that had brought the pair of them to the Yakuza compound in the first place, Izuku allowed himself to relax for the first time in what felt like entirely too long, smiling softly as he settled in next to his big brother.
/Dad, are you doing all right?/ he asked, even though he knew that Dad was one of the last people likely to be hurt when facing off with a bunch of Yakuza remnants like this.
/I'm fine, Izuku,/ Dad said, and Izuku could practically see the gentle, amused smile on his father's face; it seemed like things had gone better than even he'd expected. /In fact, I think I've found something interesting./
/One of those Yakuza guys had that good a Quirk?/ he asked, knowing that there were few things that could excite Dad that much aside from a good Quirk; at least in this kind of situation, anyway.
/More than a few of them, Izuku,/ Dad said, his pleasure and self-satisfaction coming through clearly over the link the pair of them presently shared.
"Sensei came out ahead in this, eh Zu-chan?" Tenko-nii asked, chuckling softly and ruffling his hair as he leaned in closer.
"That's what it sounds like, Tenko-nii," he said, tucking his head under Tenko-nii's chin as the transport they were riding in set off back to Uncle Mirai's Agency at last.
~MHA~
Chuckling softly as he continued on his way out of the Yakuza compound, Hisashi turned at the sound of Toshi-kun making his own way through the concrete corridors of the underground extensions that had been built to aid in the movements of this particular Yakuza remnant. Smiling as he found himself closing ranks with Izuku's favorite uncle – the man who carried not only the last remnants of Shiro's spirit, but also the spirits of all of those who had been given the Quirk that he and Shiro had birthed together; those who had imprinted some essence of themselves and their Quirks within the depths of One For All – Hisashi chuckled softly.
"Managing well, Uncle Might?" he asked, as the pair of them fell into step with one another on their way out of the underground levels of the compound that they had just completed their successful raid of.
Toshi-kun laughed, though in a rather less boisterous manner, considering that the pair of them were presently alone in the wide hallways and tall-ceilinged corridors of the former Hassaikai compound; if nothing else, it was a rather interesting place. Though of little use, considering the fact that it had been revealed to nearly the whole of Japan.
"I'm just glad things have turned out so well," Toshi-kun said, turning to smile gently at him as the pair of them continued on their way up and out of the underground tunnels where the Shie Hassaikai had gone to ground for such a long time. "I heard that Fatgum managed to rescue young Niseko from one of the Hassaikai's transports, so I'm sure that young Eri will be relieved to hear that, at least."
"You still seem troubled by something," he said, narrowing his eyes as he caught sight of the expression that Toshi-kun was hiding behind his smile; it was something that Nana-chan had encouraged, yes, but it was also something that Hisashi could remember Shiro doing on more than a few occasions.
His sweet, long-departed little brother hadn't wished to trouble the children that he'd fallen into the role of caretaker for, while Hisashi and those who had pledged their services to him worked to make a place for themselves and those others who had gained Quirks in a world that had begun as Quirkless.
Toshi-kun sighed softly, coming to a halt so that the pair of them would be able to speak candidly, without the risk of damaging the image of the Symbol of Peace. "Young Eri hasn't smiled a single time, not even once, since Izuku brought her back to Sir's Agency. It doesn't bode well for how she was treated," Toshi-kun said, chewing on his lower lip for a long moment. "I'd been hoping that I might be able to help her to recover from whatever Overhaul was doing to her; him and the rest of them, depending on what he was actually doing. But… I don't know; the more I tried to reach out to her, the more she seemed to pull away."
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Hisashi found himself recalling those times – few as they ultimately had been, fortunately or unfortunately depending on what particular side of the argument one was on – when he would find children in possession of Quirks who had been discarded and abused by the Quirkless society around them. Naturally, Shiro had been furious when he'd gotten word of such things, and so his kindly little brother was far more apt to overlook certain things that Hisashi and his forces were called upon to do under those circumstances.
Smiling softly as he and Toshi-kun parted company for the moment, Hisashi found himself looking forward to meeting up with Izuku and Tenko-chan once again.
~MHA~
Finding out just how much of an interest Sensei's adopted daughter – the girl with the fascinating Mutation Quirk; a Quirk that he'd made a copy of every time he was given uncontested access to the girl when Sensei brought her in for her annual checkups – had in the fields of biology and Quirk-biology in particular was more than a little interesting, and so Dr. Garaki had begun inviting the girl to Jakku hospital, so that he might be able to determine just how far such an interest would carry her. The interest that she had in space and astronomy had led the girl to offer him an ice-core from one of Jupiter's moons.
Of course, that promise rather hinged on humanity – or at least some small part of it – making their way beyond the orbit of Earth once more; fascinating as he would have otherwise found the prospect of studying previously unknown life forms, Garaki was hardly going to consider the girl's offer as anything more than the idle fantasy of the girl's, considering her own interests.
The sound of his communication console alerting him to Sensei's attempting to contact him, and with a brief reassurance to the girl – Garaki was almost fully prepared to name her his successor, but considering her close relation to Sensei, he knew that he would have to consult with his oldest friend before he could do anything of the sort – that she could return to her studies, Garaki made his way over to the console that he had had set up within the private section of his laboratory.
"It's good to hear from you again, Sensei," he said, smiling as he once again found himself in contact with the man he had followed ever since the pair of them had had the good fortune to meet. "Have you completed that operation of yours?"
"Yes," Sensei said, the serene smile that had first drawn him to the man present once again upon his Buddha-like face. "It seems as though the Quirkless boy that Kai-kun was so interested in is a child of a pair of Rikiya-kun's associates," Sensei said, seeming to be contemplating some matter or other of import; something aside from the appearance of such a rare specimen as the Quirkless boy he'd mentioned a moment ago. "It also seems as though one or more of Kai-kun's associates was serving him in the hope of having their own Quirks removed, so it seems as though the pair of us will be having more patients rather soon."
Humming softly in thought, Garaki nodded. "Yes, it seems so," looking over his right shoulder for a moment, back to where the girl that Sensei had taken into his home was studying the textbooks that he had given her. "We'll need to make time to meet with the pair of them, in order to determine just how we might address their particular situations."
"Of course, Ujiko," Sensei said, still smiling softly. "Though, it seems as though you have something else on your mind."
"Yes," he said, finding a smile of his own curving his mouth. "Until now, I wasn't aware of just how agile a mind that girl of yours possessed, but it seems as though my long hunt for a successor of my own might very well have come to an end."
"Oh?" Sensei asked, an interested expression overtaking his ageless face. "I wasn't aware that Bombalurina-chan had interests in that area. Though I am pleased to hear that the pair of you are getting along so well. Are you planning to pass your Quirk along to her, as well?"
"I've been toying with the idea," he admitted, knowing that the fact that he was in possession of a copy of his own Quirk, after he'd passed along the original to Sensei himself couldn't truly be discussed anywhere but in person, or in a pinch over the most secure lines that could be arranged. "However, I will at least be taking the time to educate her properly, before I begin making any plans in that direction, of course."
"Of course," Sensei said, nodding as he glanced over Garaki's own right shoulder, as though he would be able to see the girl himself if he peered long enough. "I trust that the pair of you are getting along, Ujiko?"
"I have found myself enjoying her company, Sensei," Garaki said, smiling back at his oldest friend. "The girl has quite an agile mind; it makes for rather good company, truly."
After the pair of them had finished exchanging pleasantries for the day, with Sensei informing him that the Quirkless boy – the cast-off descendant of one of Re-Destro's followers; a rather interesting specimen, considering his age and origin – and the pair of former Yakuza members who wished to be rid of their Quirks, would be coming in for a consultation with him as soon as certain matters could be cleared up, Garaki turned back to his meeting with Sensei's little girl with a certain sense of anticipation.
/What did Papa want from you, Doctor?/
"I'm going to be working with some of those who were involved with the Shie Hassaikai," he said, settling back down at the desk he had had set up for the girl, once it had become fully clear that she was the successor that he had been searching for. "However, all of that is for later. For the moment, however, let's continue with your lessons."
~MHA~
Laughing as one of the kittens in the café they were eating at started climbing into his lap, Izuku looked over as he heard Tenko-nii chuckling, as well. The only thing really missing was Dad, and since he'd already been in contact with the man, he knew that Dad was going to be busy for just a little bit longer, while he got Niseko-chan and those other guys from the Yakuza settled in with Dr. Ujiko. Izuku couldn't help wondering what was going to happen to Niseko-chan, especially considering that Niseko-chan had said that he'd originally lived in Deika city.
Deika city, or at least the people who lived there, wasn't really known for being kind to Quirkless people.
Chewing idly on one of the pork bits from his bowl of katsudon – which he hadn't even needed to order, since this café had been founded by Aizawa-sensei, Mic-sensei, and their friend Shirakumo-san, who worked as the Pro Hero Loud Cloud – Izuku turned as the sound of the door's chime went off, smiling as he saw Dad making his way in. He wasn't in the Pro Hero uniform that he had taken to calling his work clothes, since for the moment he was off-duty, and this of all places was where Pro Heroes like Dad could get some time off from all of the people who would have otherwise been all over them. This place had been designed as a shelter for Pros, so that they could get at least some rest.
It'd been named Cloud Haven, but Izuku didn't think Mic-sensei or Shirakumo-san would ever let him forget that he'd called it Aizawa-san's Kitty Place when he was just a little kid.
As their small family – minus Uncle Toshi, of course, since he was still hard at work the way he usually was – all settled down for lunch together, Izuku found that he could quite get his mind off of Niseko-chan. Knowing how rare Quirkless people, especially Quirkless people his age – not to mention the fact that he'd been born in Deika city, which had to be why he was abandoned in the first place; the Meta Liberation Front really were the worst – were in the world they all lived in, he wondered if there was anything he'd be able to do for Niseko-chan, himself.
He knew that Niseko-chan had to be lonely, considering the way that he'd been tossed aside by his own family; as he, Dad, and the rest of his family all had some of the desserts offered by the café, Izuku promised himself that he wouldn't leave Niseko-chan alone the way his original family had.
~MHA~
When he'd finally been able to make his way back to where young Eri and young Niseko had been put up while they recovered from what Kai Chisaki had done to them – young Niseko recovering from being forcibly immobilized and treated like a doll by the Villain, and young Eri recovering from whatever unspeakable horrors that Chisaki had done to her during the time he'd had her in his possession – Toshinori sighed. He still hadn't managed to find a way to make young Eri happy enough to smile, though he did think she was enjoying the room that had once been Izuku's, back when Toshinori's adopted nephew had been staying with him, Sir Nighteye, and the rest of the Sidekicks that came and went during the course of their careers.
He was glad to know that there was at least something that young Eri could enjoy, even if she couldn't seem to bring herself to smile.
Young Niseko, on the other hand, seemed to be determined to stay beside young Eri as much as he could, and when Toshinori had asked him about that, the heroic little Quirkless boy had explained that Chisaki's efforts to keep him away from young Eri had only made him all the more determined to befriend her and make her happy. Toshinori had been pleased to hear that; really, it was just one more way that young Niseko reminded Toshinori of himself, and he wondered if young Niseko would be interested in the kind of instruction that Toshinori himself had undergone, or if he'd simply bonded so deeply with young Eri because of their shared circumstances. He also wondered just what it was that Dr. Ujiko wanted with young Niseko; he'd never known quite what to make of the man, since while it was true that the man had been Hisashi's friend for longer than Toshinori had been alive, but there was just something about the doctor that Toshinori couldn't figure out.
It might be just the kind of person he was, since Hisashi was either his age or older and he didn't act anything like Dr. Ujiko; it was just something that Toshinori found himself thinking about, those times when the subject of Dr. Ujiko would come up. Still, the fact that there were two others coming along with young Niseko made him feel at least a bit better about that. He was still going to accompany young Niseko to Dr. Ujiko's laboratory, of course, but all of that would be for later.
The two men who Dr. Ujiko was going to be examining, in addition to having Quirks that they wished to be rid of, had been a part of the Yakuza; even if they had been reluctant about it, they had still thrown in with Overhaul and would have to be judged for that.
~MHA~
When they all made it back to U.A., after everything that had happened with the Shie Hassaikai, Izuku chuckled as Tenko-nii ruffled up his hair. It was still kind of strange, thinking back over how short a time it had actually taken for the operation he, Dad, Tenko-nii, and some of their classmates had been a part of to conclude. Sure, it'd felt a lot longer than it actually had been, but he was still glad to have it all over with. Turning at the sight of Kacchan making his way out of the building and away from the campus, Izuku hurried to meet up with him.
"Hey, Kacchan," he called, grinning at his old friend as he saw Tenko-nii continuing into U.A. out of the corner of his left eye. "You're heading off to that remedial course after all? I thought you weren't interested in working on your non-existent people skills," he said, grinning at Kacchan as the pair of them fell into step with each other.
"Purple Pieman managed to fail," Kacchan said, turning a grin on him as the pair of them came into sight of the bus that was presumably meant to take him to wherever the remedial courses were being held. "I want to rub his nose in it, just a little," his old friend continued, giving him a sidelong grin. "Besides, I have to admit I am a little curious about what's going to be happening there."
Humming softly in thought, Izuku stopped just outside the bus. Uncle Toshi and Mic-sensei were waiting, presumably for Kacchan to arrive, but both of them smiled at him when he made his own way up to the bus where the pair of them were standing.
"Hey, did you come to give your lil' bro' moral support?" Mic-sensei asked, grinning widely as he made his way over to where Izuku was standing, just to the left of Kacchan.
"Hey, thanks Zuzu!" Kacchan said, wrapping his left arm around his neck and pulling him toward the bus before Izuku could get in so much as a word to the contrary.
Grumbling at his old friend as the pair of them made their way onto the bus – or rather as Kacchan marched him up onto the bus, then pulled him down into the seat next to him – Izuku turned the most annoyed look he could muster up on his old friend.
"I'm pretty sure that this technically counts as kidnapping," he grumbled, settling down into the seat next to where Kacchan was sitting, folding his arms as the bus lurched into motion, carrying its small contingent of passengers to whatever testing center had been set up for the supplementary testing Kacchan and whoever else were going to be taking the test that'd been set up for those who hadn't quite made the cut during the Provisional License Exam.
~MHA~
When he and the nerd had made it to the testing area, Katsuki tucked his hands into his pockets after he'd given Zuzu another shove to get him moving. He didn't quite know who else was actually going to be stuck doing this, rather than just going because they wanted to find out just what the hell was going to be covered. Both to satisfy his own morbid curiosity, and to ride Purple Pieman for screwing up by being such a stiff-necked dumbass.
Raising an eyebrow as he caught sight of Icyhot's friend Big McLargehuge, Katsuki wondered just what in the hell his angle was; he hadn't screwed up the way Purple Pieman had, but there was still the chance that Big McLargehuge had come for the same reason that he'd dragged Zuzu along for: moral support, and to have someone to complain about annoying things to. Still, as the four of them all met up in the hallway, Katsuki found himself confronted with yet another of those Shiketsu students that'd shown up during the Provisional License Exam.
As they all made their way down the hallway and into whatever classroom they were going to be working in, doing whatever they were going to be doing to earn their Provisional Licenses – or in his case, because he was curious about what everyone else was going to be doing during the course of this remedial class – Katsuki found himself more than a little amused to find out just how much of an airhead the girl tagging along with them to the class was. She also looked like she was trying to flirt with Zuzu, though it really seemed to be more because of whose kid he was, rather than anything about the nerd himself.
That wasn't great, but it also kind of sounded like Airhead was trying to get to know Zuzu for who he was, so that was at least good.
Their group had soon made it into the classroom, and Katsuki soon found himself lined up with all of the rest of the kids who'd ended up in this remedial class, while Zuzu made his way up into the stands to sit with Uncle 'Sashi and All Might, who'd both come to watch.
~MHA~
When he and Eri – Niseko was glad to know her name, after all that the both of them had gone through while Chisaki-san had had them captive in those underground bases of his – had been taken to the lab run by a doctor Ujiko, Niseko found himself wondering what was going to happen to him. The only doctors that he'd met up with before had been back in Deika, and none of them had seemed to like him once they'd found out what was wrong with him. Having Eri with him might help, since she at least seemed to have the kind of Quirk that everyone in Deika would have liked.
He didn't really know why she didn't seem to like it herself, though.
Turning at the sound of someone making their way into the room where the pair of them were waiting, Niseko found himself facing another doctor. This one was bald, with a pair of big, bottle-green goggles over a bushy, gray mustache. Niseko wondered what the goggles were for, but it would probably have been rude to ask him about that kind of thing. No one else had seemed really happy to have Niseko asking them about those kinds of things.
No one else had enjoyed having him ask them about what they did, or the things they were interested in; not once they found out that he was Quirkless, anyway.
"Come along, little ones, let's get the pair of you settled," the doctor – Niseko wondered if this was Dr. Ujiko, but it probably would have been rude to ask about that kind of thing, too – said, taking his and Eri's hands and leading them deeper into the laboratory.
"Yes, sir," he said, following along quietly.
People seemed to honestly like him better when he did that.
~MHA~
It was certainly a contrast to Sensei's wonderfully curious daughter, the pair of near-silent children that followed in his wake, Garaki found himself reflecting. Niseko Sezu, who had come to them from out of Deika city and was more than likely to be related to one if not more of the upper-echelons of Rikiya Yotsubashi's Meta Liberation Front, given how quickly the boy had been disposed off once his nature had been discovered. It was plain to see that no one there took the danger of Quirk Singularity seriously.
Or at least not as seriously as they should have, considering the fact that none of them had been willing to keep the young Sezu around for the stabilizing effect his Quirklessnes would have provided to the next generation.
As he examined the pair of them, Garaki found himself taking rather more meticulous notes than he otherwise would have, since this could quite easily be used as an opportunity to aid in advancing the knowledge of Sensei's clever daughter. And so, as he spoke to the girl named Eri about the Quirk that Kai Chisaki had been so interested in – clearly one of those nigh-uncontrollable Quirks that had developed, though it seemed as though this one had been a mutation rather than a recombinant Quirk, as in the case of Sensei's daughter – Garaki found himself considering the question that the young Sezu had seemed so particularly interested in pursuing. It seemed that Sensei, in particular the abilities granted to him by his own Quirk All For One, had become something of a legend among the people of Deika city.
Something like his old friend had once been, back during the time when Quirks had first begun to emerge in the world.
Sensei had informed him that he and his family had been invited to Deika by Yotsubashi himself, seemingly in celebration of the fact that Sensei had chosen to reveal himself to the world at large. Something of himself, at least, given that he had not chosen to reveal either the name of Hisashi Shigaraki, or the face of the Immortal Shepherd. As Garaki himself had done, even down to changing the name that people knew him under.
Kyuudai Garaki – Daruma Ujiko – could fully understand Sensei's desire to only allow those he held close to his heart to know the totality of his being.
Returning his attention to the children he had been working with, Garaki found himself more than a little pleased to see that the pair of them had been so well-behaved while he had been working; truly, even little Izuku would have been asking him all sorts of questions about what he was doing, so to have Eri and little Sezu sitting quietly while he was working was a pleasant change. And so, Garaki picked up the cup filled with lollypops that he had originally been given to him by Sensei himself, dolling a pair of them out to Eri and little Sezu.