10/07/2021

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strangeR dangeR what you are interested in is the focus of the next part of the fic.

The Emperor's Dragon
Nestling 59

Is your dad okay?

Izuku looked at the text from Hitoshi. He wanted to say yes, but that wasn't true. No. He's still in hospital, he replied.

Is he going to be okay?

The follow up question was pointed. Izuku could imagine the look Hitoshi would be giving him. He swallowed hard. The Doctor assured him that his dad was alive because of him, that his dad would now be able to recover in other ways but… He was still injured. He was still weak. Izuku didn't like that. The Doctor had told him that his dad would need to undergo rehabilitation but that hadn't yet happened.

He sighed as he looked back at Hitoshi's question. No. There was no way to really change the facts. Quality of life has been impacted, he added before pressing send. It was a phrase he'd heard Kurogiri use.

That was the truth. His dad assured him that most things would be back to normal, Izuku knew it was not going to ever be the same. They couldn't. Not with the scars. Society didn't like quirkless people. Society didn't like people with weak quirks and society did not like disabled people. He'd seen it at school.

I'm so sorry, Izuku. Is there anything I can do to help?

Izuku smiled. He knew Hitoshi actually meant it and he felt better about the conversation he'd had with Kurogiri. Maybe some of his friends would come around. When you get here, that will help, he typed but before he could press send, Histoshi sent him another message.

I already got rid of my All Might merchandise.

That made him feel ridiculously happy. His friend knew his dad was injured in All Might's 'fight' with Toxic Chainsaw but that was all he knew. He didn't know that it was All Might who had attacked his dad. He didn't know that All Might was a symbol of everything that was wrong with current society but he still supported him. Izuku clicked send on his original message and then typed a new one. Thank you.

I'll be there soon, Histoshi replied to his first. It will be in late December.

Izuku felt his eyes widen at the information. He'd known they were moving but he'd never had a date. Technically he still didn't have a date but a month was a beginning. Yay, he typed the message back. There really wasn't much else he could say to that.

Catch you later, Hitoshi replied.

Izuku smiled weakly. At least Hitoshi didn't tell him that everything would be okay. His friend knew that it wouldn't and the acceptance of that reality was a comfort to him. Later.

Maybe things would work out.

-ted-

"Commissioner, let me make one thing very clear to you. Hawein, Mori and Nishimura have been dealing with high end clients since the dawn of quirks and we are very familiar with the law. You have no claim on Hisashi Riji's estate." Watanabe gave the Hero Public Safety Commissioner a bland look as he delivered the news. He could already tell that Soukan was not dismayed and internally he readied more arguments. Dealing with the Government was painful at times.

"Hisashi Riji was killed in the altercation between All Might and Toxic Chainsaw," Soukan said almost idly. "However, his death revealed certain irregularities in his business dealings."

Watanabe was silent. He raised one eyebrow slightly to indicate his question. Hawein, Mori and Nishimura were estate lawyers. They did not do corporate law. They did not do contract law. They did not do criminal law. They occasionally did family law, mostly in the manner of prenuptial agreements but their main focus was on inheritance and in overseeing the terms of the last will and testament of their clients. As such, Hisashi Riji could have been caught bribing the Prime Minister, or openly sleeping with prostitutes, but it was not their concern. None of those scandals invalidated his will.

Commissioner Soukan met silence with silence and eventually Watanabe sighed. "The Registration Office is not usually so slow to inform us of a client's demise," he said matter of factly. "I will have to enquire with them for the Death Certificate."

"Officially, Hisashi Riji is missing," Soukan told him.

Watanabe almost chuckled at that. If officially Hisashi Riji was missing then that could mean many things but what it meant for them was that they had no obligation to see to his will and most definitely no obligation to hand anything over to the Government. He remained silent. They'd seen this play before by various Government branches. Soon, the 'discrepancies' Commissioner Soukan had mentioned would become a scandal and everyone would say what a pity it was that Hisashi Riji was dead and thus couldn't face the consequences of his actions. Then the Government would demand payment for the victims.

Except it didn't work like that. For the victims to get payment, there had to be a court order, and a death certificate. And if Hisashi was officially missing…

Well, Watanabe would admit to some curiosity about what that officially missing excuse was covering but he'd learn more when the scandal hit. Government branches had no originality.

"If Hisashi is missing, then there is no work for us," Watanabe announced.

"Hisashi is dead," Soukan corrected.

Watanabe steepled his fingers in front of him as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table edge. "Commissioner, my company can only act upon receipt of an official Death Certificate. Only then, are we legally obligated to officiate over his last will and testament."

"It would be best for all concerned if you went along with the Commission's request," Soukan told him.

Watanabe gave him a flat stare. "No, Commissioner, it would not be." Off the top of his head he could name five Estate Law Firms for whom it had not been best to go along with the government's requests. Two were Japanese and three were foreign but the principle remained the same. There were no doubt other firms as well but the cases weren't as large.

"It would be best for you to-"

Watanabe unlinked his fingers and held up one hand to say stop. "It would not be," he said firmly. "Hawein, Mori and Nishimura uphold the law, not some governmental branch's interpretation of it. When you have a court order, then we will, of course, comply with that, but not before. As far as Hawein, Mori and Nishimura are concerned, Hisashi Riji is a valued client, and if he is missing, we will be hoping that he is found, safe and well, as soon as possible."

For a moment it looked as if the Commissioner would still attempt to argue but Watanabe saw the moment he decided to try another tactic. Internally he sighed, and made a note to speak to several other firms so that they could present a united front to the courts. And of course, he would be contacting Hisashi. Or at least his estate.

In the event he was missing, they had more say than the government, especially the Hero Public Safety Commission, no matter what scandal Hisashi's name was attached to.

-ted-

Izuku watched from the door to the classroom. His hair was light brown and his eyes were green. They'd decided that just changing his hair colour should be enough in case anyone was watching. But if anything happened, Izuku was to call Kurogiri immediately. His teacher hadn't commented, and he'd managed to avoid the other kids. Instead, he was now looking at Ochaco. She was sitting by herself and looking down at her lunch and picking at it with her chopsticks.

He frowned. She shouldn't be alone. Why wasn't anyone sitting with her?

He sighed and moved forward. Ochaco was his friend. She would understand when he explained. Izuku kept telling himself that. She would understand. She was his friend. And if he couldn't convince her, then he could get other evidence from Kurogiri.

Izuku pulled a chair around and sat facing his friend. She looked up at him and for a moment, her face was full of hope. Then it fell again.

"Ochaco?" Izuku asked. "What's wrong?"

Her head flew up. "Izuku?"

He nodded and then grinned. "It's just hair dye," he answered her question before she asked, pulling on one of his curls.

Ochaco lunged over the table and embraced him. "Little Dragon!"

Izuku wasn't sure what to say. "I'm here," he told her as Ochaco released him.

"I was so worried! Is your dad okay?"

"No," he answered shortly. He'd told Ochaco this over text.

She looked at her desk. "I'm so sorry, Little Dragon." He could see the way her lips quivered, as if she was holding back tears.

"It's not your fault," he told her. "It's the heroes."

At that, Ochaco's brown eyes widened and flew to his face.

Izuku looked back at her with a steely gaze. "It is," he insisted.

"But the heroes were fighting Toxic Chainsaw," she objected.

He sighed. "The first duty of any Hero is to protect civilians," Izuku said. He watched as Ochaco nodded. She understood that but… He could also see she was reluctant to accept it.

"It's the villain's fault," she said finally.

He wanted to counter that. He wanted to tell her that Toxic Chainsaw wasn't even there but he knew he couldn't. "Perhaps, but the heroes should have been more careful," he told her.

"Definitely," Ochaco agreed. "But are you okay? Is your dad healing?"

"Dad's going to need medical attention for the rest of his life," Izuku told her.

"Oh no!" Ochaco whispered, tears forming in her eyes, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault," Izuku repeated.

She nodded and looked at him sadly. "I got your homework," Ochaco changed the subject.

The green haired boy felt frustrated at that but he let it go. Kurogiri had told him he'd have to take things slowly with his friends. They wouldn't understand, not immediately anyway. "Thank you. The teachers said I can catch up over the next few months," he added.

"That's great!" She was happy for him.

He gave her a weak smile. The fact that Ochaco was happy for him actually made him feel happy as well. It was infectious.

"How are you?" He asked her pointedly, giving a glance around the classroom to indicate his real question.

"I'm okay!" Ochaco replied, brown hair bobbing as she nodded.

Izuku gave her a skeptical look. "I was watching before I came in," he said. "You were alone." Ochaco was his friend. She shouldn't be alone.

"Yes… well..." Her lips quivered.

"What is it?"

This time she did cry. Izuku moved before he knew what he was doing. He got up from the chair and hugged Ochaco, patting her back.

"I was lonely!" she said.

Oh… Oh… He looked around the classroom. The other kids were looking at them, some with pity and some challengingly. Izuku noted down who was who. Was it because they still thought of him as a sympathiser? They shouldn't be taking that out on Ochaco! They knew that.

"I'm sorry," Izuku said.

"It's not your fault!" Ochaco said, quoting his words back at him.

That got a chuckle out of him and for no reason, Izuku felt hope for the future. He released his hug with Ochaco pulled back slightly. "We should eat," she said, again changing the subject.

He nodded as he sat back down, ignoring the other kids. He pulled out the bento Kurogiri had given him this morning.

Ochaco smiled at him, wiping her eyes. Izuku grinned. "If something happens again, you won't be lonely," he told her as they began eating.

"What do you mean?"

His grin got wider. "I've told you about Hitoshi?" he asked rhetorically.

She nodded anyway.

"He's moving here."

Brown eyes widened. "When?"

Hitoshi hadn't actually told him. He'd only told him December but Izuku knew that would mean in the holidays. That made the most sense. "Around your birthday!"

She actually squealed softly.

"I hope you'll like each other."

"Little Dragon! He's your friend. I'm sure I'll like him," Ochaco told him.

"I hope so!"

She smiled at him and Izuku nodded. Maybe things would work out.

-ted-

How are you, Himiko? Izuku sent the text as he lay on his bed. He hadn't heard from his friend for a while. He hoped she was fine.

I'm okay, came the response almost immediately. How are you doing?

I'm okay too, he replied to her question.

And your dad?

Dad is… Izuku paused with the reply. He'd told Hitoshi and Ochaco how his dad was, and it was getting repetitive. He's healed as much as he can, he changed his reply. But he is going to need more medical attention.

That's not good. The news has gone quiet. They haven't mentioned any casualties or injuries beyond All Might's.

Izuku read the message. He hadn't been following the news but he looked back at Himiko's messages. She'd given him that one about how All Might was meant to keep people safe. He knew what Tomura had said to that. All Might didn't keep people safe, he kept his reputation safe and the HPSC wouldn't let his reputation be tarnished by injuries. Not for their perfect hero.

There were a lot of them. Some of my dad's employees were killed.

I know. They said it earlier and then stopped reporting. Himiko sent him the message. I wish I could help, came the second message.

It made Izuku feel warm. He should have spoken to his friends before he began worrying about them. The fact that you know the news is hiding things is enough, he sent back.

He got the impression that Himiko was giggling at that. I never trust the news, Izu-kun, she replied. I know what people think of me, what they think of you. I know that they don't really think, came the extra text.

Izuku felt tears come to his eyes at that. He'd only really recently seen it but it was nice that Himiko also saw it. He thought Hitoshi saw the edges of the implications but Ochaco didn't. He had to be patient with her. Kurogiri had told him that, and then promised to find some more examples of heroes putting civilians in danger.

Oh, I have a picture for you, Himiko sent him another message and it was followed up by a picture.

His eyes widened when he saw it. The photo was of Himiko and it had been taken with her in front of a mirror. She was in her uniform but on a sturdy string around her neck, was the scale he'd sent to her.

It's pretty! The green really reminds me of you.

It looks good! Izuku sent back, and then he thought he should give more of an explanation. I got more than one and I've given them to people I trust. Dad, you and a few friends.

So if I see someone with one, they know you? Himiko asked.

Yes, Izuku sent back. Originally he'd just want to practice with the quirk and to give something of himself to his friends.

Then I will treasure it more! Himiko replied.

For a moment, Izuku closed his eyes and allowed himself to pretend nothing had changed. He thought about it hard. For a moment, all his friends went to the same school. Himiko was their senior, and his dad went to work each day. They had lunch together every day and there was nothing wrong with the world. It made him feel good but it was only an illusion.

I can't do anything for your dad, but here's a question for you 'what do you say to people who think blood is disgusting?'

Izuku opened his eyes to look at the text. He recognised that Himiko was sending him a joke and he felt a bit guilty for not finding any more blood jokes for her. He'd have to do something about that. He read the question. What did you say to people who thought blood was disgusting? There were lots of them after all and quite a few of them went to school with Himiko.

I don't know, he sent back.

You're full of it!

That actually got a laugh out of him. It made him relax. Good one! he texted, still chuckling. Thank you.

You're welcome, Izu.

Izuku closed his eyes again. He didn't pretend this time, he just let himself feel the satisfaction of knowing that his friend was with him. It was a powerful feeling and he revelled in it before he slipped off to sleep with a smile on his face.

-ted-

Introducing someone every villain needs - a lawyer! This is AFO's estate lawyer because he doesn't keep ahold of his assets just by his ability to kill the opposition. :D That helps, but so does the lawyer!

And Izuku gets to catch up with all his friends and get's back to school. Believe me there's been a lot of bribery behind the scenes to ensure that no one is going to blab to Tsukauchi but it's important for Izuku to go back to school. Not for the lessons in maths or language, but because seeing and understanding the way people behave is going to be very, very important in his future.

-ted-

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