"We can talk in my back room," Hatsume said, still smiling at Izuku. Izuku smiled back. "Follow me, and be careful not to knock over any of my babies. I have a lot of works in progress through here, and I don't have the time to start them over."
Izuku quickly nodded his agreement, but following Hatsume ended up being more difficult than he had expected. The room she lead them through was a maze of tables and stacked equipment, half built tech spread out over every available surface. Hatsume danced through the stacks with ease, leaving Izuku and Aizawa to trail after her, trying to copy the path she had taken through the disarray.
The attempt was doomed from the start, but somehow Izuku made it from one end of the room to the other without destroying anything. He could count that as a win, at least.
Hatsume's office ended up being only marginally less cluttered than the rest of her shop, and she hurried to move papers out of the two chairs in front of her low sitting metal desk before taking her own chair, spinning in it as she sat.
"Sit! Sit!" Hatsume said, leaning forward on her elbows as she looked between the pro hero and his student. "Let me see what I have to work with today." Her eyes seemed to glow a brighter green, and Izuku shifted under her stare, his eyes cutting to his mentor to see how he was reacting to the excited gleam in Hatsume's eyes.
Aizawa had slid down in his seat already, his scarves coming up to cover his mouth. When he spoke his words were muffled. "Is this really necessary, Hatsume? I told you all the details you needed to know when I made this appointment."
"Spoil sport," she responded. "I wanted to see what made the reclusive Aizawa Shouta accept a student on his own. In all the years I've known you, you've brought a student here a grand total of zero times. Excuse me for being curious as to what made little Hero-kun over here special."
"Hatsume-san's quirk allows her to see the general state of a person's physical condition," Aizawa explained, tugging on his goggles. "Although why she thinks I would choose a student based on that alone, I have no idea."
"I had to check anyway," Hatsume protested. "You know that." Her next words were directed back to Izuku. "Everyone thought I was going to end up a doctor with a quirk like mine, but inventing has always been my passion. People never understood how the two things were related."
Her eyes cut to Aizawa before sliding back to Izuku, a slow smile growing at the corner of her mouth. "Can to take a guess at why?"
Thrown by the sudden question, Izuku bit his lip. "Some of the support items heroes use could do more harm than good if they aren't in the right physical shape to handle them? So by using your quirk you can determine what kind of restrictions need to be put in place? There are a lot of safety protocols in place around the kinds of things heroes are allowed to use, but-for example- if a certain support item put added stress on the user's back it wouldn't be good to give that item to someone who would be more likely to suffer the effects from it. Is that right?"
Hatsume clapped, pointing a finger at Izuku. "Right in one. It also gives me a little information on a person's quirk-basically whether they have one or not." Her eyes narrowed on Aizawa. "You didn't mention that your student was quirkless, Aizawa-san."
Izuku should have been used to that reaction by now, but he had grown used to the way that Aizawa didn't treat him any differently because of his lack of quirk. There were no pitying looks from the hero, no comments about how unfortunate his situation was if he wanted to become a pro. Even Present Mic had reacted to the news as if it were no big deal.
"You didn't ask, and I didn't think the information was necessary to share at that moment."
"Of course it's necessary information!"
He should have known, should have prepared himself for this kind of reaction again. Aizawa had warned him when he first started training him that the comments targeting his quirkless status would only intensify when he got accepted to Yuuei, and yet Izuku had already grown so used to his mentor's casual indifference to the situation that Hatsume's offhand comment stung more than it would have a few weeks before.
"This makes this an even higher priority, you idiot."
Izuku's mental rambling faltered. She-she wasn't going to refuse to help him? And had she just called Aizawa and idiot? He didn't know which one was more baffling.
"Oh, I knew this was going to be an exciting request the moment you called, but this makes it even better." Hatsume's grin turned sharp as she leaned back in her chair, eyes gleaming. "I can see why you would come to me then." She had pulled out a pad and pen, chewing in the end as she continued. "What kind of self defence are you teaching him? I'll need to know to best match the items to his style."
"A mix of aikido, jujutsu, and boxing. I've also got him started with escrima."
Hatsume hummed, her attention focused on the paper in front of her. The switch from her gentle teasing to serious inventor had happened in a moment, although Izuku could still see the excited glint in her eyes as she scribbled down her notes.
"And have you given any thought to what exactly you want, Hero-kun? There will be some limitations on what I can give you since you aren't officially in a school's hero training course yet, but we can always talk about things for later. You're getting in on recommendations, right?"
"Yes," Izuku answered, almost choking on the word. He still couldn't believe that that was happening, either. While he and Aizawa still hadn't discussed the finer details of what recommendations really meant-his teacher saying they needed to focus on making sure he had the skills to back the support up- it still seemed too good to be true.
"Paperwork turned in and approved?"
Aizawa levelled her with a glare.
"Right," Hatsume said around her pen. "Dumb question. This makes things easier. There are still some stuff I'm sure you're going to need that I can't give you until you start at Yuuei-restrictions on items that could cause lasting harm and all that- but being on the track to get in on recommendations opens up a few other options for us. Did you have anything in mind?"
"Well," Izuku started hesitantly. "I've been reading some old comics from before quirks manifested, and there were some heroes that didn't have powers…"
"Did I mention that I like this kid?" Hatsume asked, pointing at Izuku again with the end of her pen. "Because I like this kid. You would get along great with my daughter, Hero-kun. She loves taking inspiration from whatever scraps of those series she can get her hands on. What did you have in mind?"
"I know that this is just fiction, so a lot of it isn't feasible, but something that I noticed was that most of them had a belt of some kind? To give themselves more options during different situations they needed to have everything close at hand. I thought that would be something I would eventually end up needed. Especially since I won't always be able to just carry my escrima rods around."
"Good start," Hatsume said, her pen back on her paper. "I would have suggested something like that if you hadn't. Since you don't have a quirk giving you items that can be used in multiple situations is key. Give you as many options as possible. What else?
Izuku's eyes cut to Aizawa.
"Go ahead, kid. I know you've thought about this."
"Would you be able to add an electric charge to the rods?"
Hatsume hummed again. "That's definitely doable, but unfortunately falls under the category of things I can't give you until your first year starts. I like the way you think though. I'll make a note to have that ready for you, sounds good?"
Nodding absentmindedly, Izuku ran through all of the heroes he had read about and what he knew about how support items worked. With the restrictions Hatsume had described, the simpler his requests the better. What could he ask for that he wouldn't have to wait to learn how to use?
"Are minor explosives included in that category?" He asked.
Aizawa coughed, and Izuku turned to look at him, but his face was still tucked under his scarf.
Grinning, Hatsume spun in her chair. "Depends on the strength of the explosives and what you're using it for."
"Nothing huge, just something I could use as a distraction? Set off by either contact or remotely?" There would be times when Izuku wouldn't be able to get the information he needed about someone's quirk quickly enough, times when he wasn't going to be prepared for the situation he had run into. Especially at the beginning. Having a way to buy himself more time or get away would be essential, not to mention all the ways they would be useful in an actual fight.
Years of being around Bakugou had taught him how impactful even a small explosion could be.
"That..would actually be okay. I can up the strength later if you needed it, but I can give you some of both kinds to practice with for now so you can get a feel for how they work. I can give you some smoke pellets too. Some similar effects, but less noise and less damage."
"Those were actually one my list too," Izuku admitted, and then hesitated.
"Go ahead, Midoriya." Aizawa sighed. "You won't know if it's allowed until you ask."
"Yes, go ahead, little Hero-kun," Hatsume echoed. "If you aren't sure about it, then that must mean it's good!"
"A grappling gun?" He asked, his voice breaking on the last word.
"A grappling gun," Hatsume repeated."
Izuku rushed to explain. "Well, I was just thinking that since I don't have a quirk, mobility is going important, and this would be one way to improve my options. I'm getting faster, but for someone whose quirk enhances their speed that's not going to matter. If I needed to get from one location to another, this could make a difference, and it's not really a gun so it should be allowed right? I could also use it to pull things towards me? Like say we were fighting in that warehouse again, I could have used it to pull some of those boxes down and-" He cut himself off, realizing that he had been rambling again, and ducked his head.
"Fight in a warehouse?"
"It's a long story," Aizawa said. "But he does have a point about the support item. Would that be something he would be allowed now?"
Izuku's head jerked up at Aizawa's response. It had seemed so comic book-esque that Izuku hadn't been sure about asking for it, but Aizawa had taken his explanation seriously.
"Normally, no, but this is one of those things that would be allowed since he's getting in on recommendations," Hatsume explained. "Since the gun itself can be powered by compressed air, as long as the hero mentoring him is present when he uses it there's not a problem. You aren't planning on leaving him alone with it, are you, Aizawa-san?"
Aizawa didn't dignify her question with a response. "Go on, Midoriya."
In the end, Izuku described a few more ideas he had to Hatsume, and she sent them off with the promise that she would get in touch as soon as she finished getting everything together. "It'll be about a week, maybe a little longer. Don't hesitate to call me again if you get any more ideas, Hero-kun. Like I said, I like the way you think."
"Thank you for your help today, Hatsume-san," Aizawa said as he stepped out the door.
"Always a please, Aizawa-san. I'll have to make sure Mei is here next time you stop by." Hatsume's grin promised trouble. "She would love to talk shop with someone who's just as inventive as she is, even if their areas of expertise differ slightly."
"Bye, Hatsume-san! Thank you!"
"Thank you, Hero-kun," Hatsume responded with a wink. "You've given me the most fun I've had on a project in a while."
Embarrassment, Bakugou thought, was a stupid fucking emotion that he never wanted to feel again for the rest of his life.
He had gone to his meeting with Aizawa expecting to come out of it with a promise to be trained by the pro hero, and instead he had been humiliated on every possible level. Compared to Deku, beaten in a fight, had his future as a hero put in question. Every single word out of the hero's mouth had been a blow as painful as any of the physical blows he had been dealt.
Bakugou had left the warehouse at the pro hero's dismissal without a fight, without a single word in response, and he couldn't even find it in himself to be angry about it, the fury that always simmered beneath the surface suffocating under the weight of his mortification. The fact that he couldn't get angry made him want to be more angry, and the cycle continued.
Think about what he had used his power for, Aizawa had said. There's more to be a hero than their quirk.
What the hell kind of advice was that? The only thing he had used his strength for was to show everyone what they already knew-Bakugou Katsuki was a force to be reckoned with. He was the best, and he had made sure that everyone had know it. There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with that, right?
And Deku...Aizawa's face at the nicknamed flashed to Bakugou's mind. The pro hadn't liked that name, that much had been clear, but Bakugou had called him that for years, ever since his quirk manifested and the other boy's didn't. Surely, if there had been something wrong with the name someone would have said something about it years ago. How many people had heard that nickname and not commented on it? And yet one glacial look from Aizawa Shouta had a fragment of doubt curling in the pit of his stomach.
Doubt was just as bad as fucking embarrassment, but the feeling refused to fade.
People underestimated him all the time because of his anger, his volume, but Bakugou wasn't stupid. When he couldn't shake free from the hold Aizawa's words had on him, he decided he would find out why. Why had he reacted to his accusations that why? Why had he given up the fight? Why had what Aizawa said resonated with him in such a way?
Aizawa had wanted Bakugou to think about what he had done, what it meant to be a hero, and that was exactly what he planned to do. He didn't need some hero to give him the answers. He was Bakugou Katsuki. He would find his own answers.
Principal Nedzu like to think of himself as a reasonable person. He had to be to keep a school as complex as Yuuei running efficiently. Putting that many teens with powers together in one place, adding the stress of normal school, more difficult classes, and practical hero training all in one place, and it was a recipe for disaster, a bomb always seconds from going off. He managed problems by stopping them from becoming problems in the first place.
When he got the call that one of his teachers had been specifically targeted by a pair of villains he had been a little concerned but not truly worried. His teachers were all pros. They could handle themselves in rough situations, and Aizawa was smart enough not to go into something he couldn't handle. The fact that Aizawa's student, a middle schooler Nedzu hadn't even known existed, had been taken too-that part had been the troubling bit.
Nedzu understood why Aizawa hadn't mentioned it. The hero liked to keep his privacy, and there was no rule stating that he had to report that he had been training a student as long as that student planned to enter an official course, but the fact that Nedzu hadn't known about it still bothered him. Hearing that the child was quirkless had only deepened that worry, and he had had every intention of requesting that the lessons be put to an end.
And then Midoriya Izuku had opened his mouth, and everything changed.
A quirkless hero.
The idea that would have seemed ridiculous only moments before sounded less so when explained in the rambling words of Aizawa's student, and Nedzu found himself agreeing to letting the lessons continue, offering to let the boy in on recommendations. There was something about Midoriya that Nedzu couldn't quite put to words, something in the determined set to his eyes as he casually mentioned finding Aizawa's home on his own that made Nedzu want him to succeed at the impossible.
Nedzu kept control of the school by stopping problems before they became them, before they could upset the fragile balance that kept Yuuei at the top. By letting Midoriya Izuku continue down the path he had started on, would Nedzu be ending a problem or creating one? Instincts had told him to give Midoriya the chance, but logic told him that things would never be that simple.
A test, that was what Aizawa's young charge needed. An opportunity to prove himself to the principal before the demonstration. Looking at the files spread across his desk, Nedzu smiled. Yes, a test was definitely in order, and he knew just the thing.
AN:To everyone who asked in the comments, yes that was definitely a Nightwing reference! He's one of my favorite comic book characters, and I'll be making more references to him, as well as other characters, in later chapters.
Next Week: Dinner at the Midoriya house and the start of Nedzu's test
Thank you to everyone who commented! I really enjoy reading what you think!