Back to the Gamer fic, in the last episode, Izuku found a way that he could bring back his mentor to tip-top shape. The only problem? He would first need to die…Well, let's get on with it!
"Young man, I trust you with my life. Let's do this!" *Thwack! The number one skeleton was smacked over the head by his doctor. Again.
"You reckless moron! Don't just agree to die so easily! I trust Midoriya-kun as well but you should at least hear the specifics before agreeing." Recovery Girl reprimanded the number one hero before turning to her student. "Now, can you please explain this Resurrection power that you've come across? The specific wording will help."
"It's a one-time thing. At least for now, it allows me to revive anyone who has died in the last century that didn't die from old age. The target is revived to its prime state, all diseases and poisons are cured, and any wounds or missing body parts are closed and grown back. The whole process takes about an hour of concentration. That's about it." I explained, quoting the description of the Resurrection spell.
"...I suggest that we wait until such drastic measures become necessary before trying it. As of right now, Toshinori is in no real danger and based on your description this ability wouldn't restore One for All anyways. It is not a natural part of his body so if anything it may treat it as a 'disease' to cure." The elderly hero made a good point, it would become an issue of wording, and I wasn't sure who would decide on the ruling. Or whether they would be on our side.
"A fair enough recommendation. While I'd love to fix this broken body, I suppose it would be best to keep using it until I succumb to something the regular way. Or at least until it becomes so useless that I can no longer help others." It was…Odd how the veteran hero could be so cavalier about his mortality.
'I guess that he's had these kinds of thoughts for a while now. Older heroes, in general, have a very real sense of their mortality, so it makes sense.' All Might had been fighting crime and All for One for four decades now. Whether it was age or injury his time was coming one way or another. So when his successor offered him a path to a healthy body it made sense that he'd accept it so easily.
"We'd need some preparation for it anyway. By the way, what was that surprise that you mentioned? Something about an island vacation." I asked, my mentor, grinned and paused for dramatic effect…"What?"
The next day, Might private yet
"Nice yet, though wouldn't it be faster for us to just run here?" I asked as we flew towards I-Island. "We can fly and are way faster than this jet." I elaborated while taking a sip of my fizzy drink. Apparently, hyper durability didn't prevent your ears from popping from altitude changes.
"We could, but the moment we arrive we'd probably be swarmed by the paparazzi and I'd be way too exhausted after the run to keep my form up all day. Besides, we can take the time we have on the plane to relax and plan out the day!" Fair point, I had forgotten some of the downsides of being famous.
"If you want I can distract them while you sneak away in your skeleton form. You don't really need to be seen in public until the actual I-expo starts right?" While still nowhere near as famous as my mentor, I still had my fair share of fans. I could use that to keep a few eyes off of Toshinori while he rested for the party.
"Tempting, very tempting young Midoriya. But no, even if I technically have no obligations to fulfill, I still should keep up appearances as the number one hero while I still can. That being said, I'll take you up on your offer to help lighten my load. Have you come up with an autograph style?" The greatest hero asked his student who sweatdropped.
No. I had not.
1 hour and many signatures later
"I-I had no idea that it would be that bad. Even with the crowd splitting their attention we almost got run over, and the expo isn't even open to the public yet!" Just imagining what the crowd would be like in a couple of days made me sweat. 'At least nobody tried to kiss me, All Might has it rough.'
"Apologies young Midoriya, I didn't think we'd be stopped for so long. If anything our combined presence might have made it worse. We're in terrible danger of being late." That got me to perk up, late for what? "That's right! I forgot to mention that I wanted to drop by an old friend of mine. Sorry to spring it on you but do you mind coming along?" A friend of All Might? Sure, I was game.
"Sure, I just have one question. Are they aware of One for All? Or should I keep quiet about it." All Might flinched, all but confirming the latter. "I see. I just wanted to make sure…Pogo stick?" The non-sequitur made All Might pause and look in the same direction as me. A young blonde woman with a pogo stick was jumping toward them. Did she just say uncle Might?
Well, clearly they knew each other since she power glomped All Might who caught her with ease. "It's been so long uncle Might! I'm so glad you could come." She said happily, laughing along with the mountain of a man that commented on how much she grew.
"I didn't know you had a niece sensei. It's nice to meet you, I'm Midoriya Izuku. Melissa-san was it?" I introduced myself, offering a hand to the girl who used it to safely jump off All Might's shoulders.
"Uncle Might's successor, it's an honor to meet you. And please, just Melissa is fine, any friend of uncle Might's is a friend of the Shields. He's my honorary uncle, by the way, I'm sure he's told you about my dad by now." All Might had not, he was even sweating over the fact that he had never talked about David or his family with me. Lucky for him, I was a hero nerd and could pretend that he did.
"A little here and there. Sensei and I haven't known each other for more than a year and it's been a busy one. I heard bits and pieces about him but I'm glad that I get to meet you both properly. By the way, was that a nanotech pogo stick? Or was it some kind of very realistic hard light construct?" I changed the subject and thankfully Melissa didn't question it.
"You noticed! Come on, we can walk and talk. My dad is about to get off work and if we move now we can catch him before he leaves." She got excited at the prospect of talking shop with her uncle's successor. Especially when she got an eye of the various gadgets that I had. Though I had to clarify that they were more 'quirk' based than anything.
"That's right, I heard that your quirk was rather extreme. Ultimate adaptation, such a powerful ability. I'd almost call what you can do magic, but then again the same would go for a lot of quirks." She joked… *Nervous internal laughter
Thankfully, All Might was there as well. He jumped in from time to time to change the conversation or subtly move things away from my quirk and towards more normal topics. Like if any other U.A students would be here. A question that I was happy to answer.
"I know that Momo-chan is coming and she gave her two extra expo tickets to Ibara-chan and Pony-chan. I gave my plus one to Ochako-chan. I also know a few of my other classmates are coming too, but I'm not sure how many of them got invites. Todoroki-kun probably did, and maybe Iida-kun too since they're from famous hero families." I recalled with perfect clarity, thankful for my boosted memory.
"Todoroki and Iida. Those are the family names of Endeavor and…Ingenium right? You have some famous names in your class, Izuku. Though I guess you're pretty high up there too." I got a good laugh out of that, a genuine one rather than it being nervous.
"I guess, I'm still not used to it, to be honest. Just a year ago I was just the bullied quirkless kid and now I'm All Might's apprentice and a U.A student. It's been a wild ride and I'm still adjusting to it." A choked noise threw me out of my thoughts. Oh right, that wasn't very well known. I gave her an abridged version of my earlier years for context.
"I-I would have never guessed. That explains why you seem so down to Earth though. You've been in both worlds, if we met while we were younger I probably would have been jealous beyond words. I used to dream of being a pro hero but gave up on the traditional path since I was quirkless." It was Melissa's turn to tell her life story.
"Instead, I decided to follow in my dad's footsteps, studying at the academy and developing my own support gear. That way I could be a hero in my own way, by using science to help the pros and make life better for everyone." Her story struck me speechless, this girl had found her own path. In a way that many would call more realistic than the blind determination that I had growing up.
It was inspiring and reassuring. Seeing that if I hadn't gotten so lucky with One for All or the Gamer I still had a path available to me had I thought of it. Silence reigned for a short while as they approached David Shield's place of work, eventually, we reached it and were met by the squirmy-fingered scientist himself and his partner Samuel Abraham.
"T-Toshi- All Might." David caught himself before saying his best friend's real name. Remembering that Sam was there and that Toshinori preferred to keep his name a secret from most. Thankfully not many noticed the near slip since All Might's entrance was…Boisterous was a good word for it.
Seeing the two best friends reunite and laugh with each other was a heartwarming sight. "Young Midoriya, let me introduce you to someone incredible. I'm sure you've heard of him, David Shield, my old partner in stopping crime!" The giant man patted his partner on the back towards me.
"The legendary scientist that made your costumes among other amazing technologies. Last I heard you even won a Nobel quirk prize, it's an honor to meet you, sir." I complimented and extended my hand which he gladly took.
"No no, Sir was the other sidekick. But in all seriousness the honor is all mine, I couldn't believe it when I heard that All Might was getting a legitimate apprentice. A successor to the mantle of the Symbol of Peace. But after seeing what you did during the sports festival, call me a believer." I blushed a bit at the praise but knew what he meant. Before I came along the closest hero to All Might was Endeavor…Yeah, back when I was quirkless I didn't think All Might having a true successor was possible either.
Well, some promising American heroes came close in terms of power. But none of them had the sheer presence that Toshinori did. Let alone his decades of experience and global influence. The top of the hero world was a lonely place until just recently.
"I'm trying my best, still, I don't plan to hog the limelight on my own. I have plenty of classmates with amazing potential, the hero world's future is going to be a bright one, with or without me. In no small part to scientists like you and Melissa, of course." I try to be humble, making sure to highlight that this wasn't a one-man show by any means. They seemed to appreciate that.
The good mood was interrupted somewhat by a cough from All Might. And to my surprise, I wasn't the only one that knew what it meant. "Hey, Melissa, why don't you show this young man around the island while All Might and I catch up. You should head on out too Sam, you earned a break." He suggested in an attempt to leave him and All Might alone.
'So he knows about the skinny form. I'll play along for now.' I thought before doing just that. "That sounds like a great idea, this place is huge and even as fast as I am I'll need a native to help me see everything. Let's go, we might even find some of my classmates!" I urged Melissa to follow which she did with only a little confusion.
"U-uh, sure. We can start with the main support item exhibit and grab some lunch from the cafe before continuing." She made a quick plan while trying to keep up with me. Those two locations also sounded like the most likely places to find my classmates.
"Look, it's Izuku Midoriya!" "Hey hey, can I have an autograph?!" "We found him again, quick get the camera before-" I grab Melissa and jump out of the growing crowd of people in a burst of speed. Startling her enough that she let out a scream of shock that soon turned into excitement.
"Sorry about that, I thought they gave up after jumping All Might and I the first time. This might just be our safest way to travel, can you point me towards that exhibit you mentioned?" That knocked the blonde out of her adrenaline high and she did as asked, pointing at a building with a cylindrical glass entrance.
I wasn't surprised to see that I-Island's technological marvels lived up to the hype. "Ok that deep-diving suit is awesome and all, but why the aquatic angel theme?" He wouldn't question why each one had an aquatic or research-based use. Artificial island of super scientists, go figure.
"Looks like you're having fun, Deku-kun. It didn't take you long to find another beauty to talk to. Hi, I'm Uraraka Ochako or the reverse in the rest. Right, Pony-chan?" We turned to see Ochako, Pony, and Momo standing behind us, with various degrees of amusement.
"Guess I was right, hey girls. This is Melissa, my new friend who's showing me around the expo. Melissa, these are my classmates and girlfriends, Ochako, Pony Tsunotori, and Momo Yaoyorozu." The information shocked Melissa before she remembered that little tidbit from the rumors surrounding All Might's successor.
"I-I heard these kinds of relationships existed but I never thought I'd see one for myself. Though I guess it makes sense." Objectively speaking her new friend was quite the catch in more ways than one. And from the looks of it, his rosy-cheeked girlfriend was surprisingly eager to share the bounty.
Shaking herself back into the conversation Melissa introduced herself properly. "It's nice to meet you, my dad and uncle Might are really good friends which is how I met Izuku here. I hope we can all get along. How about we grab some tea at the cafe? We can get to know each other better over snacks!" She offered, which the hero students unanimously agreed to.
Minutes and a few crazy stories later
"And that's more or less how my finals went. I know I shouldn't say this, but I was a little disappointed." I mean come on, they were the four of the highest-ranked heroes in Japan. I knew it was a little unfair but was a decent challenge too much to ask?
Sure Endeavor damaged me slightly. But that hardly counted as challenging when I could just heal in minutes.
"...Ok, I was already convinced earlier but this is just ridiculous. How are you still just a student? Don't they have some kind of accelerated course for hero prodigies or something?" There was, but I still needed to get my provisional license to start it. The other methods were…A lot shadier, so I didn't consider them.
"Thanks for waiting." Hmm, I knew that voice.
"Kaminari-san, right? And Mineta-san, what are you two doing here?" I asked the two class B members who were apparently trying their hand at being waiters. Which already gave me a pretty good idea of why and how they were on the island.
"The island needed extra staff so we signed up to work. We get some extra pocket cash and free entry onto the island, and we're allowed to explore the expo on our break. It's a pretty sweet deal!" Mineta explained, pretty much confirming my thoughts. Though we all knew that they had an ulterior motive.
"Plus there's a chance that we get to have some passionate encounters with- There's one right here!" Mineta shouted when he noticed Melissa, getting Kaminari's attention. "Yo Midoriya-san, who's the blonde bombshell? Introduce us, come on don't be greedy you already have four ladies in waiting." They switched to a whisper, trying and failing to appeal to me for some reason.
Not like anything I said would make a difference. From the whispering I could hear coming from the girls, Melissa was already being given the 411 on the two perverted hero students. "If you're going to work on I-Island then you're going to do it right! I refuse to let you two give anything but the best impression of U.A students!"
And there went Iida, zooming into the conversation and chewing out the class B students. "Hello to you all, my family was invited to the expo but they were busy. So it's just me, I've been trying my best to keep these two in line. Along with that explosive rapscallion." *Boom! "That's probably him."
"Probably, I've been around Kacchan for long enough to recognize his explosions even from this distance." I sigh and finish my drink. Might as well see what all the noise is about. I'm just glad that our relationship status has gone into the positive end of neutral in the last few months. Now I can walk up to the guy and not immediately get charged and yelled at. Progress.
Being the fastest of us I ran ahead to get a look at what was going on. "A timed robot fighting course. Interesting." It looked like the explosive boy was just finished with his turn, finishing the course in an impressive 15 seconds. Earning him first place among the other challengers. Ah, looks like he noticed me.
"Deku…Just get it over with and beat my score. Just know that I'll beat you, no matter how long it takes." That's…Wow. Even with our relationship being somewhat mended I never expected this kind of admittance of inferiority from Kacchan. That being said-
"No thanks, It wouldn't be fair with the kind of quirks I have. Besides, I'm not the only one you need to worry about beating." He looks confused before I point towards the field he just left. A sudden chill in the air was the only warning of what would happen.
The sound of ice clinking and moving at high speed flooded the general area before being drowned out by cheers and the announcer's cry of "14 seconds! Incredible!" Todoroki had just barely surpassed Kacchan's score…This would not end well.
'This is going to be a long day.'
Little did I know that would be one hell of an understaThat'st.
That's all for now folks. The chapter got a bit long, which tends to happen with things involving I-Island. Unlike the main series, the movie doesn't have as many convenient breakpoints to use as chapter endings so I'm mostly winging it here.
Oh well, I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm just glad I managed to finish this chapter before the month was over. I'm going back to college this June so my time will be shortened even further. Wish me luck, until next time!