Preface
What's in a Quirk?
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/23477707.
Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア Boku no Hero Academia My Hero Academia Relationship: Midoriya Izuku & Original Female Character(s), Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori All Might, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako, Asui Tsuyu & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Tokoyami Fumikage Character: Midoriya Izuku, Original Female Character(s), Tsukauchi Naomasa, Aizawa Shouta Eraserhead, Yagi Toshinori All Might, Akaguro Chizome Stain, Nezu, Yamada Hizashi Present Mic, Uraraka Ochako, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia) Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku-centric, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has Multiple Quirks, Overpowered Midoriya Izuku, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku, Morally Grey Midoriya Izuku, Sadistic Midoriya Izuku, He's still good tho, He wants to help, But he's also chaotic, Canon-Typical Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, I'll update them as I post, Midoriya Izuku Has All for One Quirk, Midoriya Izuku has a sister, Protective Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku is Protective of His Sister, Touch Her and He'll Rip Your Arms off, Blood and Gore, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Child Abandonment, Homeless Midoriya Izuku, for a little while, Child Abuse, Smart Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku is a genius, U.A. is a University (My Hero Academia), Midoriya Izuku adopts Uraraka Ochako, as his sister, Midoriya Izuku and Uraraka Ochako are Siblings, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Past Rape/Non-con, It's described but it's not explicit, Bakugou isn't terrible, Bakugou is better than canon, Bakugou Katsuki Has One for All Quirk
Language: English
Series: Part 1 of What's in a Quirk Collections: Long Fics to Binge, Kylo's BNHA Recommendation Stories :D, Creative Chaos Discord Recs, Skelebooks (The Graveyard), Pthaloteal, Lex's Favorite BNHA Fics ٩()۶, great reads, You haven't lived if you haven't read this, The Best Fics I Have Had The Pleasure of Reading, T.S.S (This shit slaps), .Thoth's Luxury Library., Vigilante Deku (Kanekas), Worth It BNHA Fanfics Reading List - Ongoing, Leannic Recs, BHNA FICS FOR MY PACMAN BRAIN Stats: Published: 2020-04-04 Updated: 2022-04-17 Chapters: 50/? Words: 446059 What's in a Quirk?
by Dragoneel22
Summary
Quirks are everything. In the decades since their arrival, they've become so ingrained in society that having a quirk is equated with being human.
So, what happens when someone is quirkless? Are they viewed as less than those have one? Not fully deserving to be called human?
What happens when someone has more than one quirk, against the natural order of things? Are they viewed as monsters? Inhuman for an entirely different reason?
And, most importantly.
What happens when someone is born with a quirk that gives them the power to decide who falls into what category?
Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the work for more notes
Demon
The figure hummed to himself as he strolled across the rooftop, the noise lightly reverberating through the chilly air in a way that only a quirk could achieve. A somewhat cheerful tune that didn't belong in the part of town he was in.
Of course, if someone were to spare more than a glance at him, they would realize that almost nothing about the figure belonged anywhere near the run-down part of Musutafu that he was in.
He wore a crisp, clean, bloodred dress shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks. Over top of which was a black vest and tie. All of it was perfectly tailored to his body and looked to be quite expensive. On his hands were a pair of black leather gloves, ensuring that no skin was showing below the neck. Even his shoes, a pair of black combat boots, reinforced with steel at the heel and toe, looked much too clean and well-maintained for the area.
Then there was the mask he wore. It was a kitsune half-mask, covering his eyes and nose. Following the rest of his color scheme, it was mostly black with red accents under the eyes, along the bridge of the nose, and on the forehead. The metallic material it was made of gleamed in the moonlight as he walked along, still humming that same tune.
All of that, combined with his more notable physical features—a pair of pitch-black horns curling back over his head and a pair of equally dark, leathery wings—and he stood out quite a bit. Not to mention the fact that he was walking along a roof in the middle of the night in the first place.
Coming to the edge of the rooftop, he didn't even slow as he casually jumped over to the next one, the same way one might hop over a puddle on the sidewalk, his wings flaring ever so slightly to maintain his balance.
Normally, he wouldn't be moving so casually. He'd be flying, or at the very least walking at a pace that wasn't nearly so leisurely as he patrolled the rooftops and back alleys that saw far too much activity late at night. But right now he wasn't concerned with covering as much ground as possible. He had a specific prey planned for tonight, and knew exactly where they were. So, he knew that he had plenty of time to make his way there, where he would proceed to make a group of people extremely unhappy.
He had just reached the edge of that building, grinning at the thought of what he was going to do, and was about to jump again when he was broken from his thoughts by a scuffle in the alleyway beneath him. Crouching down, he peered over the edge to inspect the disturbance.
There were two men, one backed up against the wall of the building the figure was watching from, and the other a few feet away with a gun in his hand, pointed at the first. A mugging, most likely.
He strained his eyes a bit, focusing on the one with the gun, and information filled his mind.
Name: Sotan Okabe
Quirk: Spectrum
Mutative quirk that allows the user to change their eye color. Each color has a corresponding effect on their eyesight: Night vision, Thermal vision, Magnification, UV protection, and X-ray. The user's natural eye color corresponds with normal sight. Changes between colors are achieved through conscious activation, but require no focus or thought to maintain.
"Oh~." He said under his breath as he finished processing the information. "Isn't that interesting."
Without another thought, he stood back up, before stepping off the building into open space. He fell silently, his wings flaring out to slow his fall. He landed just to the side of the mugger, a few feet away, just loud enough to attract his attention; he didn't want to startle the man into shooting the other by accident.
"Who-?" Okabe started, turning towards the intruder, but he didn't get a chance to finish that question as the figure slammed into him.
One hand closed around the man's throat, lifting him into the air effortlessly, while the other gripped the hand holding the gun at the wrist, forcing it into the air, the bones inside creaking from the force he was using. He twisted the appendage around, forcing him to drop the gun once it became too painful.
He spared a glance at the first man, ensuring that he was unharmed, before turning back to Okabe.
Up close, the man looked like a mess. Greasy, unkempt hair, ragged clothes, and -God the smell. He had to fight the urge to wrinkle his nose as the stench hit him full force. It was as though he'd been rolling around in a dumpster for the last few years.
Then, slightly less obvious, was the sweaty, clammy skin and unnaturally dilated pupils.
'A junkie, then.' He figured. 'Obviously high on whatever his drug of choice is.'
The figure smirked at him, dropping his wrist. Drug addict or no, it didn't change what he'd been doing to the other man. Nor did it change what the figure was now going to do to him. "Now then, Sotan Okabe, why don't you come with me?"
He thoroughly enjoyed the look of panicked confusion that appeared on the criminal's face with the realization that a stranger—who currently was holding him in the air by the throat—knew his name. His eyes bulged outward and his mouth opened to speak, but with the hand around his throat just tight enough to prevent anything other than the shallowest breaths, he was left looking like a fish out of water.
The figure crouched down, spreading his wings. Keeping a firm grip on the criminal, he launched the two of them into the air. They rose higher with each beat until they were at the roof he had jumped down from. He threw Okabe onto the building, before lightly touching down a few short feet away.
"You know, Okabe." He began, walking forward as the criminal tried to scramble back. "You have such an interesting quirk. One that would've been quite useful for a hero. Or any number of professions really, with such a wide range of applications. It's a shame you had to resort to drugs and mugging innocent people." He slowly removed one of his gloves as he spoke, one finger at a time, revealing his hand.
Okabe had run out of room, his back hitting an air conditioning unit for the building they were on. He could only watch in fear as the figure continued to approach him, the smirk on his face promising nothing good.
"A true shame."
In a flash, the figure was crouched in front of Okabe, clamping the ungloved hand over his mouth, pinning him in place.
"Now, what I'm about to do to you is going to hurt, quite a bit, but I'd appreciate it if you could do your best not to scream." He said, his smirk growing even more malicious. "After all, this is really all your fault, isn't it? You had every opportunity to not threaten an innocent person like that."
Okabe's eyes screwed in confusion for a moment, before blowing open to the size of saucers. A ragged scream tore itself from his throat as his back arched off the roof and he gripped and clawed at the hand that held him down.
The figure just chuckled as Okabe screamed into his hand. He knew exactly what Okabe experiencing. It would feel as though his heart was being dug out of his chest with a rusty knife, and his eyes—the part of his body that his quirk was centered around—would feel like they were on fire.
He'd never experienced the pain for himself, obviously, but there were few quirks that he'd encountered that he'd researched as extensively as his own.
Before long—only a moment or two later—he could feel a heat being drawn out of the criminal and into his hand. It traveled down his arm and settled firmly in his chest.
He enjoyed the screams of the petty criminal beneath his hand; the sound was like music to his ears. He could've made it less painful for him—so, so much less; like the difference between pulling a splinter and ripping out a barbed arrowhead—but why do that when he could use it as an opportunity to thoroughly punish someone who'd done something wrong? And really, what crueler punishment was there? To experience pain so excruciating that it renders one unconscious, only for them to then wake up and realize that they could no longer use their quirk.
He released Okabe once he was done, the man collapsing in a pitiful heap, barely conscious. Reaching over, he placed a finger on the man's neck, making sure that he was still alive after going through that. He was pleased when he felt a pulse; he might enjoy punishing criminals, but he did not necessarily wish to kill them.
Standing up, he focused on the new heat in his chest. As he did, he felt it move up to his eyes, settling just behind them. He closed his eyes, still focusing on the heat. When he opened them, the world around him was suffused in blacks and blues, not much different from how it was before, until he looked down. The roof, and the roof of the surrounding buildings had a light green hue, still slightly warm from the day before. Glancing towards Okabe, he noticed that he could no longer make out any distinct features, just a human-shaped blob of red, orange, and yellow.
He blinked again, this time the world appeared almost as bright as if the sun had risen back into the sky, but washed in green.
Closing his eyes again, he pulled the heat back into his chest. When he opened them, the world was back to its normal darkness, barely illuminated by the moon above.
"Quite interesting indeed." He murmured, before looking down at his ungloved hand. He grimaced as he rubbed his fingers together; he could feel the filth he'd picked up just from touching Okabe. Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket—normally he would just wipe his hand on the fallen criminal, but clearly that wasn't an option right now—he wiped away the mixture of dirt, sweat, and grease. Satisfied that he no longer felt as though he'd been digging around a dumpster, he pocketed the handkerchief, before pulling his glove back on and covering his hand once more.
Digging a phone out of his pocket, he scrolled down to a familiar contact and brought it up to his ear. He waited for a few rings before hearing an obnoxious tone, followed by the automated voice informing him that the number was no longer in service.
He frowned at the device. "Hmph. Asshole."
"Did he change his number again?" A voice in his ear questioned.
A sigh. "Yes, he did. This is like, the fourth time in as many months. You'd think at some point this would start getting too inconvenient for him."
"Want me to find the new one?"
"Please do."
A few moments passed in silence, before, "Alright, I've got it. It's been added to your phone."
"Thanks." He replied, scrolling to find the new number, once again raising it to his ear as it started to ring.
This time, after a few moments, it was answered by a voice that sounded utterly exhausted. Not surprising, given that he was still awake at such a time.
"Detective Tsukauchi speaking. Who is this?"
"Tsukauchi!" He practically cheered. "Why did you change your phone number again? And without even telling me, no less. You know that's quite rude."
He smirked as he heard the detective let out a groan, along with the distinct sound of a forehead hitting a desk.
"Oni." Tsukauchi grumbled. "How exactly do you keep getting my number?"
"I'll let you in on a little secret, Tsukauchi." Oni said. "I'm actually God. That's how I do it."
"…I'm hanging up now."
"Wow. Rude. And after I went through all the trouble of getting you a present."
He heard a long-suffering sigh on the other side. "What did this one do?"
"It was just a mugging. Pretty cut and dry." He said, shrugging, even though there was no one to see it. "The aggressor is one Sotan Okabe. I've left him on a roof for you to come collect. I'll send you the location."
"Alright, fine." The detective responded. "And the victim?"
"He's fine, I think. There weren't any visible injuries. He was still in the alleyway when I grabbed Okabe. He might still be there if you get here quick enough."
Another sigh. "Okay. I'll send a patrol car to come pick him up. Goodbye, Oni."
"What? No 'thank you'? I went out of my way to pick this guy up for you, Tsukauchi."
"I'll say thank you if you decide to finally turn yourself in."
Oni laughed at that. "Hmm. That's actually kind of tempting, if only just to hear something resembling gratitude from you. But I think I'll pass for now; I've still got so much to do with myself."
"Oh yeah!" He added, before the other could hang up. "You might want to keep a few officers on standby. I'm going to have a few more presents for you later."
"You're going after a group tonight, aren't you?" Tsukauchi asked with a resigned tone.
"Yep~" He responded. "Drug traffickers. The boring, regular kind though, not Trigger."
"You know. You could just act like a normal citizen and report the location to the police, so that way we can handle it and you don't give me a mountain of paperwork to take care of."
"Sorry, but no such luck Tsukauchi. You and I both know that would take way too long to actually do much good. Now I, on the other hand, can go in with no notice and have it handled in less than an hour. Quick and easy."
"Tell you what, though." He said, cutting off Tsukauchi's response. "If it makes you feel better, I'll give you the address. Then you can see if Eraserhead is available to come play. That way you can credit him with taking down the criminals. Less paperwork for you if it's a hero that does it, right?"
"Fine." The other answered after a moment. "Send me the address and I'll pass it along. If only so he might be able to capture you and put you out of my misery."
Oni let out another laugh. "Sure thing Tsukauchi. I'll send the location in a few minutes." He said, before ending the call and sending the first address; the one for Okabe.
With that done, he pocketed his phone, shooting another glance at the fallen criminal. His smile fell as he turned away, continuing his walk where he'd been interrupted, hopping over to the next building.
He thought back to his conversation with the detective. Oni really did like Tsukauchi, even though the man would probably want nothing more than to put Oni behind bars. He was likely one of the most competent members of the police force, at least in Musutafu. And, as much as Oni probably annoyed him, Tsukauchi always took what he had to say seriously—years of working in such a relationship had earned him some form of trust from the man—and he always prioritized the safety of civilians and the apprehension of criminals over capturing him.
It was nice, especially considering that Oni was a vigilante and that most heroes and police officers would try to capture him on-sight.
The voice in his ear spoke up again, drawing him from his thoughts.
"You might want to pick up the pace. I'm watching the cameras and it looks like they're getting ready to move some product."
He let out a small sigh. And here he was thinking that he might be able to enjoy a leisurely stroll before putting a few drug dealers in the hospital. "Alright, I'm on it."
Oni spread his wings again, taking a few running steps before launching himself into the air. In just a few wing beats he was soaring over the city, the buildings beneath him passing at a much quicker pace. It wasn't long before the target location came into view.
An old warehouse, probably abandoned by whoever had originally owned it. Now being used by group of useless, petty criminals. He'd known about this location for a while, of course – there wasn't much criminal activity that occurred in this city that he didn't know about – but it wasn't a matter of simply dealing with them as soon as he found out. There needed to be a system with these things.
If he wanted to, Oni could go out and clear away most of the small-time criminal groups that he knew about in a single week. If he really pushed himself and worked during the day as well, then he could probably get it done in a day or two. But if he did that, then anyone that he couldn't get to in time would scatter like rats, only to start up again somewhere else, leaving him with no information as to their whereabouts or activities.
Doing it this way—slowly, only periodically taking a group in when he felt like it, or when they got too rowdy for his liking—he was able to keep an eye on everything and, more or less, control the tide of crime, all while gradually reducing their numbers over time.
And despite what he'd told Tsukauchi, he did actively feed information to the police, albeit anonymously; he didn't want them to know just how much he was aware of. Some of the more isolated groups, that didn't have much association with others—meaning no one would bat an eye if the police started investigating them—he'd leave to them.
He circled around the building a few times, checking for any guards that might be keeping an eye on the outside. He was slightly disappointed when he didn't see any at all. Even using the new quirk he'd acquired from Okabe, switching over to thermal vision, didn't reveal anyone. He could make out a few bright red signatures on the inside through windows on the roof, but no one outside.
Any apprehension he might've felt at going against a group of criminals, were it possible for such insects to spur any in the first place, would've just vanished entirely with that discovery. No group that was actually worth anything would fail to watch for enemies, especially if they were moving something like drugs. They'd have lookouts on or around the building or, even better, on the surrounding buildings. It was disappointing, especially since his ever-present ally in his ear had already confirmed that there were no cameras on the outside of the building.
Of course, it was possible that they had some other means to watch for people—a quirk maybe, or some camera or sensor that was miraculously hidden from his ally—but still, even the mere presence of guards worked to dissuade challengers. Granted, such sentries would've been useless against him—they wouldn't even be able to spot him unless he wanted them too—but they would've made for a bit of extra fun. It was a shame that he'd been denied the entertainment.
He touched down next to the building, in front of the massive loading doors. Pulling out his phone, he quickly sent the location of the warehouse to Tsukauchi, before stuffing it back in his pocket.
"How many inside?" He asked.
"Fourteen." Came the response.
He nodded. "Could you please keep an eye on Eraserhead?" He asked. "Let me know if he starts heading this way and, if he does, when he gets close."
"Will do. Be careful."
"Always."
He started forwards, moving towards the doors, humming a new tune. This one was decidedly less cheerful in nature as it echoed around him and his heart rate began to forcefully rise in response. As he walked, he began removing his gloves, then, once they were safely tucked into his pocket, rolling his sleeves up to sit neatly above his elbows. With his arms exposed, they started to change as he pulled on another quirk from his chest.
Scales appeared, just below his elbow, and traveled down his arm. When the scales reached his hands, the changes became more drastic; his fingers lengthened, bones cracked as they broke and reformed, and razor-sharp claws appeared out of the tips, adding a new level of danger to his hands.
As he stopped directly in front of the doors, he took a moment to take a deep breath, before a smile broke out on his face, one that was not friendly in any sense of the word.
Oni always enjoyed this part of a raid, or any fight really. The moment just before it all began, when he was seconds away from kicking down the door or throwing the first punch, with the unlucky criminals being none the wiser. In those seconds, he could feel his adrenaline spiking in anticipation for the coming fight. It was the calm before the storm, and he absolutely loved it.
With a single step forward, he thrust out his hand, stabbing through the giant, metal door. His arm, now covered in armor, wasn't even scratched by the torn metal. With next to no effort, he dragged his hand down to the ground, tearing a line through the door. He was starting to hear panicked voices from the inside.
He retracted the arm, before grabbing the door on either side of the new tear. With a loud screeching complaint from the metal, he dragged the two sides apart, creating an opening big enough for him to walk through.
When he did, he saw that what looked like everyone in the warehouse was now staring at him. It was exactly what he was going for. After all, what was the point in being a high-profile vigilante if he couldn't make high-profile entrances designed to scare the shit out of whoever he was going after?
Taking a look at all the criminals, he could see that he succeeded in a big way. They were all watching him with some mixture of fear, shock and panic. The sight of him tearing through a metal door effortlessly, combined with the grin on his face, which if anything had only become more dangerous, had very obviously achieved the desired effect.
He took another step forward, enjoying the way that several of them took a step back in response, before raising his arms out to his sides with a bit of flair.
"Good evening, petty criminals!" He began. "If I'm correct, and I always am, you've been using this warehouse as a base from which to distribute drugs to dealers in this part of the city. I've come here to put a stop to all this nonsense. I decided that I would take down a group of criminals tonight, and you all drew the short straw!"
"Now then." He said, clapping his hands together. "Without any further ado. Shall we get started?"
He took note of their fear increasing with every word.
Good. Let them be afraid.
His muscles tensed as he prepared to rush forwards, to plunge the entire warehouse into chaos—he'd be able to put a few of them down before they could realize what exactly was happening and try to respond to it—but one of them, standing a bit closer to him and either braver than the others, or more stupid, called out before he did.
"Wait!" she yelled. "You're Oni, right? The vigilante?"
He wasn't surprised that he'd been recognized; he wasn't exactly concerned about keeping his existence a secret after all. Besides, he knew that it was probably his reputation, more than his entrance, that had scared them; he had a penchant for targeting groups like this and taking them down, with no small amount of injuries to any who were involved. On top of that, he knew that there were rumors floating around the underground that some people who went up against him would mysteriously no longer be able to use their quirk.
He took it in stride, keeping his same smile in place as he addressed her. "I am indeed! I'm so glad to be recognized by a fan. What do you want? Trying to surrender?"
"You're an information broker, right?" she asked, ignoring the rest of what he said. Then after a nod in confirmation from Oni, she continued, "You make deals with people in exchange for knowledge? If we gave you something, would you be willing to leave us alone?"
She wasn't wrong per se; he was a sort of information broker in the underground. But he wasn't sure where she got the idea that he made deals for it. He usually just took from whoever had it and then sold it elsewhere.
Still, he made a show of considering it, bringing a hand up to his chin. "Hmm. I suppose I could. But then it would really depend on what sort of information you could give me."
He saw a small amount of relief in her face at what she perceived to be a small victory. She snapped her fingers at one of the others nearby and he ran off somewhere, likely to retrieve said information.
"We can give you names and locations of our clients and some of our suppliers."
"Well now. That certainly is tempting." he said. "If all of that is true, then I might just have to leave you be and let you go about your business."
A few moments later, and the other one was back, carrying what seemed to be a leather-bound journal. It was probably a ledger of sorts, a non-digital method for keeping track of the people they dealt with; most groups like this had one. He handed the book to her, and she immediately tossed it over to Oni.
He very nearly rolled his eyes at the sheer stupidity of just handing it all over to him like that, without even bothering to negotiate any further, but he kept up his interested expression as he skimmed through it. Some of it was stuff he already had, retrieved from other criminals he had targeted, but a good deal of it was new.
"Well, this certainly is a lot of useful information." He said, closing the book and tucking it into his back pocket.
Oni saw her very nearly sigh in relief at his statement. Several of the others weren't quite so skilled in hiding their reactions. He felt a rush of anticipation at how quickly their relief was about to change.
She even had a smile on her face as she spoke again. "So you'll leave us alone now, right? What we gave you is good?"
"No." He said. "No, I don't think I will."
He almost burst out laughing at how quickly all of their relieved expressions went right back to fearful and panicked.
"What do you mean!?" She yelled. "We had a deal! We gave you what you wanted! You said you would leave us alone if we did!"
That time he actually did start laughing—more of a deranged giggle than anything else. Her stupidity was just that amusing.
"I lied, you idiot. What, you think I wouldn't have found this journal anyway once I was done dealing with you?" He asked, cocking his head. "Besides, it would seem that there's some confusion surrounding my role as an information broker. I sell to other vigilantes and the occasional underground hero, and sometimes I'll throw the police a bone and give them something. But I have never, nor will I ever, make a deal with criminals. I take from them whatever I want, and they deal with it."
Oni saw the panic hit her full force as she realized that the situation was still going to lead to a fight.
Ignoring it, he took a moment to scan through them, looking at their quirks, but he didn't see any that interested him. Something that was slightly disappointing; these raids usually ended up being all-you-can-eat-buffets.
There were, as he expected, a few of them with gun quirks; three in total; and just as many with some form of blade quirk. Now, he wasn't one to profile quirks as villainous—he really had no room to talk in that department with what his own quirk was—but if someone were to ask him what he thought a villainous quirk was, the first things that would come to mind were gun and blade quirks. It was just so common to see them in the criminals he fought. He'd yet to meet a regular civilian with a gun quirk—though he was fairly certain there was at least one working as a police officer somewhere in Tokyo—and he'd encountered barely any with blade quirks.
Then there was a hair control quirk, two that were minor gigantification mutations, one that was made of stone, with an extra set of arms, one who had a transformative quirk that made his arms larger, and then one last one that had a weapon-proficiency quirk. The last one was the only one that seemed to have an actual weapon; a spear of some sort.
The woman in front of him had an animal-aspect mutation quirk, and the man standing right next to her, the one who had retrieved the journal, had a very minor strength enhancer.
Well, he shouldn't say that none of those were interesting, they all were in some way or another, but none interested him enough to take them for himself; especially not when he'd already stumbled upon a gem tonight.
He had no use for a gun quirk or another blade quirk, and he'd never let his hair grow long enough for the hair-control to be of any use, though he would admit that it might be good for attaining certain hairstyles. The gigantification and limb-growth quirks also wouldn't do him any good; he valued his clothes too highly to trade their destruction for any minor benefits those would provide. The extra limbs added by that mutative quirk might be nice, but again, he didn't want to destroy his clothes, and he didn't much care for how the stone skin looked, and why take a weapon proficiency quirk when he had no use for weapons?
The animal-aspect one wouldn't provide him anything that he didn't already have, and the same goes for the strength enhancer; he already had a few of those, and they were all stronger than this one.
He let out a small sigh. It was too bad that none of them had elemental quirks, or any of the rare, truly interesting ones that were hardly ever seen; like Nighteye's or Eraserhead's. He wished he could come across a criminal with quirks like theirs.
"Heads up." His ally spoke up. "Eraserhead has started moving towards you. You don't have long."
Speak of the devil. That was his cue; no more messing around.
Oni started walking forwards again. "Well then! As fun as it's been watching you all wet yourselves, I think it's about time to get this started. Don't you?"
Not giving them a chance to respond, he launched himself forward, straight at the one who had tried to negotiate with him. He grabbed her by the throat, much like he had with Okabe, and slammed her into the ground, her head bouncing on the concrete floor. She was out immediately, and he was pretty sure that he felt something break. Pivoting on one foot, he aimed a kick into the stomach of the other, sending the man flying across the room. That time, he was positive that he'd felt at least a few ribs snap from the impact.
"Two down, twelve to go." He counted off in his head as he watched the criminal ragdoll.
He stood back up, watching as everyone that was left caught up to what had just happened. Most of their expressions were shifting from fear, to anger, or in some cases, desperation.
Watching this happen, his grin became almost feral. While the calm before the storm was his favorite moment of a raid, this was a very close second; the moment when everything kicks off, when everyone involved knew that conflict was the only path forwards and the fight or flight instincts kicked in.
Now that everyone else was realizing this, things would be getting much more fun.
Before they could start retaliating, he pulled another quirk from his chest. It settled in his head, warming it in a way that only an intelligence quirk could.
With it in place, his brain was pushed to operate much faster than what should've been possible. The world around him slowed as he watched, giving him time to plan his path through the criminals.
He picked out the three with the gun quirks. Those would have to be dealt with first. He wasn't fast enough to dodge bullets, and he did not need any bullets holes in his clothes tonight; not when he was wearing his favorite vest. After them, he would take on the rest in whatever order they came to him.
He pushed another two quirks into his legs, sighing as he felt them settle.
Then, he moved.
The concrete floor beneath him cracked as he kicked off, aiming for the closest gun quirk. An elbow to the chest sent them flying and put them out of commission. The other two quickly followed in a similar fashion as he reached them.
"Five down, nine to go."
He was now standing in the rear of the group, the rest of them spinning to look at him as they realized what had just happened. Satisfied that he wasn't at any further risk from the gun quirks, he pulled back the quirk from his head, allowing the world to get back up to speed.
He wouldn't want this to get boring, now would he?
"Bastard!" One of the knife-quirks yelled at him, swinging a hand at him that had three blades extending from between the knuckles, reminiscent of a fictional superhero from before the appearance of quirks.
His own hand, covered in scales, flashed out, catching the blades. A quick squeeze, and the blades shattered, leaving the criminal screaming as they clutched at their hand. He delivered a punch to the side of their head while they were distracted by the pain, dropping them like a sack of potatoes.
'Six.'
At the sight of her comrades falling in quick succession, one of whom shrieking in pain before they fell, Hair-control seemed to lose her nerve. she made a break for the door, for the hole he had created when he entered. But just as she squeezed through—an instant before he would've rushed forwards to break her legs for trying to run—a mass of white cloth wrapped around her, pulling her out of sight. A moment later, a very tired-looking man entered through the same hole, yellow goggles in place and capture weapon at the ready.
'Seven.'
Oni dodged an incoming flurry of punches from one of the giants, before calling out. "Eraserhead! You came for me! I knew you would. You can never pass up an opportunity to play!"
Said hero growled in frustration as a few of the criminals turned to look at him; they hadn't known that he was there until Oni announced it, effectively ruining his advantage of surprise.
"Tsukauchi said that you were causing problems. Asked me to come babysit you." Eraserhead grunted, yanking the spear out of the hands of the one with the weapon-proficiency quirk. A quick punch to the face followed by another to the gut put the offending criminal down.
'Eight.'
Dodging another fist from the giant, Oni jumped up, grabbing the criminals head and delivering a headbutt that drove them into the ground.
'Nine.'
He moved over to Eraserhead's side of the fight, standing next to the hero as they faced towards the remainder of the group.
"Come on Aizawa, don't be like that. I know you just wanted an opportunity to beat the shit out of some petty criminals."
He heard a hiss escape the mouth of the hero, before red eyes locked onto him; a testament to his anger. His scaled arms changed back to normal under the stare.
"Don't use that fucking name, Oni!"
He feigned surprise in response to the hero's anger, bringing a hand up to his chest. "What? How come? That is your name, isn't it?"
"Because we are literally standing in front of a group of criminals, and because I try very hard to keep my identity secret,"
"Oh please." Oni responded, rolling his eyes. "None of these pathetic pieces of garbage would do anything. They can barely even handle trafficking drugs."
"And besides, if they did," He turned back to the group, smirk taking on a deadly edge, and dialing up his bloodlust until he could see them start to sweat under the pressure he was exerting, "I'd find them. And I'd strangle each and every one of them with their own entrails for trying to mess with my favorite hero." The air around them shook with the force of his words; a nice side effect of one of the quirks he liked to use.
He almost laughed at the expressions decorating their faces; they were all so scared, it was beautiful; and, judging from the smell, at least one of them had soiled themself.
"Whatever." Eraserhead snapped, turning back towards the criminals. "Let's just finish up the rest of them."
"Agreed." He responded, willing the transformation back into his arms.
Oni launched forward again, delivering a knee to the face of the other giant, before pivoting in air and throwing an axe kick down onto the head of one of the knife quirks.
'Eleven.'
Eraser, on the other hand, wrapped Giant-arms up with his capture weapon, erasing his quirk at the same time. He pulled the man closer, throwing a punch at the same time to devastating effect.
'Twelve.'
The final two—the one made of stone and the final knife-quirk—seemed hesitant to do anything, having just watched twelve of their comrades fall in just a few short minutes. Oni didn't give them much time to think about it however, charging towards the stone one, aiming a kick at their head. They were just quick enough to bring up both sets of arms to block it, but the force of it still launched them into a wall. He followed through, slamming a fist into their stomach and knocking them back into the wall with enough force to crack it. They didn't get back up from where they fell.
When he turned back around, Eraserhead was securing the last knife-quirk, now unconscious, in his capture weapon.
Oni let out a satisfied sigh. "Well now. That was quite fun, if I do say so myself."
Eraserhead didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, just moving over to one of the fallen criminals to check their injuries.
"Do you want to call Tsukauchi to let him know it's done, Eraser, or shall I?"
"I'll do it." Came the answer. "You just get out of here and stop bothering me."
"Oh? You don't want to try to capture me? Are you sure? We always have such fun when you do."
The hero let out his own sigh. "The last time I tried that, I had to replace my capture weapon, and I'd really prefer not to do that again so soon. These things take a while to break in, and I'm not willing to put in that kind of effort just for you."
"You keep telling yourself that. But I know that the real reason is because you heard me say that you're my favorite hero."
"...Just get out of here before I change my mind."
"Alrighty then." He said, turning to walk towards his improvised doorway, waving a hand over his shoulder. "Bye Eraserhead! See you tomorrow. Maybe."
He didn't hear a response as he stepped out into the night. Stepping away from the building, he pulled back the quirk from his hands, losing the scales and claws. He then quickly unrolled the sleeves of his shirt, and replaced his gloves, before launching into the air once more.
Oni swiftly rose above the rooftops, and continued higher, until he was level with some of the tallest towers, deeper in the city, and began his trip home. The route he took was not a direct one. He backtracked, circled around, landed on a few decoy buildings before taking off again, all to make sure that anyone who might be following him, was thrown off as much as possible.
He knew that he was probably being paranoid and overly cautious—there weren't exactly a lot of people that could track someone in air—but by now it was a habit he'd fallen into whenever he went out for the night, and he felt it was necessary to protect the location of his home. That was because in his home was the one thing he cared about more than anything else in the world. The one thing he would to any length to protect, even so far as to sacrifice his own wellbeing.
He'd tear the city apart before he let anyone get their hands on her.
It was nearly an hour after he left the warehouse when he finally arrived at his destination; one of the many towers that sat at the heart of his city. As he approached, he could see that the sun was starting to poke above the horizon. He touched down on a balcony on the top floor of the tower. It stretched almost the entire length of the building, with glass doors leading to a few rooms inside. He entered through one of them, into a decently-sized bedroom.
Oni let out a relieved sigh, letting his vigilante persona fade away and releasing the quirks he usually kept with it.
Home at last.
Reaching up to remove his mask, he made his way over to the connected bathroom. The mask was left with the rest of his clothes in a heap on the floor as he stepped into the shower, washing away the filth he'd accumulated during the night. A few minutes later, he stepped out, moving over to inspect his reflection in the mirror.
A pale face, clear of blemishes and adorned by a pair of deep, sapphire eyes, stared back at him. Close-cropped black hair decorated the top of his head, matching his horns.
He sighed, scrubbing at his face. He wasn't entirely pleased with this appearance if he was being honest—a bit too pale for his liking, and he would've preferred it if his eyes were red—but it worked for his vigilantism, so he was fine with it for now. No need to change it unnecessarily.
Looking back at the mirror, he pulled at another few quirks in his chest, and his features began to shift and change.
His black, ridged horns receded back into his head, where his hair went from black to dark green with pale blue roots, and went from short, to long and curly. His face shortened, becoming ever so slightly rounder. Freckles decorated his cheeks, and his skin darkened from an unhealthy pale to lightly tanned. His eyes shifted from blue to the same green as his hair. His wings changed from pitch black, to a green that was a few shades lighter than his hair and eyes.
With that done, he picked out another quirk—one of his oldest—this one drifting towards his legs when he activated it. He gripped the counter to keep his balance as the change took hold.
His legs morphed. Fusing and growing until they were larger around than his torso. They also grew longer, lengthening more and more until the now single appendage—a massive snake tail—was several times the length of his original body, coiling on the floor around him. Once it stopped, scales, a green as deep as his hair, appeared all along its length, beginning just beneath his navel.
At the same time, the warmth spread to his mouth. He felt his tongue lengthening and splitting at the tip. It was a weird sensation that he felt he would never get used to, no matter how many times he had experienced it.
He flicked the newly changed appendage out of his mouth, collecting the scents in the room; soaps from the shower, sweat from the discarded clothes on the floor; and even further beyond; food from the day before, rich with the spices and ingredients used, and a host of other, minute smells that permeated the apartment, identifying it as unmistakably his.
With these changes to his appearance, Oni, the infamous vigilante, disappeared. And in his place, was Izuku Etsumi.
The mask that Izuku was wearing. His is red instead of blue.
Deku
Chapter Summary
A look at the life of Izuku Etsumi.
Chapter Notes
Sorry if this chapter goes off on too many tangents. I probably went a little overboard explaining some things.
Also, at the beginning of the chapter I describe his home. If you want a way to better visualize it, I included a picture at the end of the chapter.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Sighing at the relief of being back in his right body, Izuku made his way back into the bedroom, scaly tail trailing behind him. He dropped his discarded vigilante outfit in the hamper as he passed it, making sure to extract the information ledger and his phone from the pockets. Donning a t-shirt that was very stylishly decorated with the word 'shirt' across the front, he left the room, the door sliding open automatically at his approach.
Traveling through a short hallway brought him to a large open space. Half of it was taken up by the living room while the other half was a connected kitchen. One entire wall was made up of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city with a balcony just on the other side.
He moved to the kitchen, opening the fridge to retrieve what he needed to start cooking breakfast, and grabbing a pan from a cabinet. In a few well-practiced moves, he had butter in the pan and had turned on the stove to start melting it.
Letting that sit a moment, he turned away, slithering out of the kitchen. He came to another short hallway with a door at the end, going through it when it opened at his approach, just as the other one had.
"Hey Gremlin." He called out in greeting as soon as he entered the dark room.
"Fucker." Came the response, gruff from exhaustion, from the woman hunched in front of a computer that was the only source of light; windows having been covered by curtains, blocking the light from the sunrise.
"C'mon." Izuku said, stopping behind her, poking at the back of her head. "Work-time's over. I'm cooking breakfast."
A small noise of complaint rose from her throat as she typed at the computer. "I still have stuff to do." She groaned. "This bullshit essay is due in, like, two days."
"Then that means you still have two days to work on it. So, come on. You need food, and sleep."
When she still didn't move, he tried again. "Come on." He pestered, poking her again. "I'll even help you with it later, just come eat some food."
He turned away after a second to exit the room, not waiting for a response; he had a pan on a hot stove to tend to. "Now hurry up and get out there before I have to come back and carry you out. Because you know I will. And if I have to, I'm opening those curtains too."
She let out a louder groan as he moved.
Back in the kitchen, he worked at preparing the rest of the ingredients. Pushing a speed quirk into his limbs made quick work of it. Before long, everything was cooking away while he worked on preparing some fruit to go along with it.
Just as he was getting the plates out, about thirty seconds away from going back to the room to carry its occupant out into the light, she appeared, bleary eyed and grumbling.
She had pale blue hair—the same as the roots of his—that reached down to her shoulders and eyes that were completely brown, lacking definable irises, and speckled with gold. Most notable, though, was the snake's tail that trailed behind her. It was almost identical to his own. The only differences being length—hers was a bit longer than his—and a slightly different pattern in the scales.
This was Reiko Etsumi, Izuku's older sister.
As the tired woman made her way over to the table, he deposited a plate full of food in front of her.
"I made omelets." He informed her as she blinked down at the plate, eyes unfocused. "Now eat up so you can get some sleep."
She grunted in reply, already working at the food. He grabbed his own plate and settled at the table. He didn't sit though, nor did his sister. They didn't even have chairs at the table. Their biology not only made sitting in chairs unnecessary—with their muscles designed to keep them 'standing' nearly all day long with no issues—but it also made it tedious to try to sit in them; their bodies were not meant to fold like that. At least not comfortably.
After a few moments of eating in silence, Rei spoke up.
"Good work tonight." She started. "Those assholes might've been incompetent, but they'd still been pouring drugs into the city for months now. And it's good that Eraserhead didn't try to capture you, not that it would've accomplished much."
He hummed in agreement. It had been really nice to find out that Eraserhead wasn't going to try anything after they finished up. He'd known the hero for the better part of five years—almost as long as he'd been a vigilante—and nearly every encounter they'd had ended with conflict. Only recently—in the past few months—was he finally starting to back off.
Maybe he was starting to decide that it just wasn't worth it to try anymore. In all the five years, Eraserhead had only once come close to actually capturing him. He'd been wrapped up and halfway to the police precinct before he finally got away. Not exactly his best day.
In his defense, it happened early in his vigilante career and he'd already been immobilized when Eraser arrived. Thanks to an asshole with a paralysis quirk that landed a lucky hit.
Or maybe Eraserhead had finally realized that he didn't need to take Oni down in the first place. Sure, his methods were rather violent, and he had some borderline sadistic tendencies when it came to dealing with the criminals he fought. But he felt like he did a pretty good job nonetheless. He saved people, punished those that deserved it, and all around lowered the crime rate in the areas of Musutafu he was active in—he actually had the statistical data to back that up, courtesy of some digging around on Rei's part—it just so happened that the method of fighting crime he was best at was literally fighting crime.
"I like him." He responded. "He's quite skilled. And it's cool that he essentially fights quirkless. Makes what he does seem more impactful. Plus, I really like his quirk. It's too bad he isn't a criminal or villain, or I would've taken it already."
"Ah" He said, snapping his fingers, "Don't forget. I can still give you that quirk from a few weeks ago if you want it."
His quirk, in addition to allowing him to take the quirks of others, also allowed him to give away the ones he had. It wasn't something he did very often though, as the more his quirk and its specifics remained a secret, the better. Taking the quirks of criminals could be covered up by blaming their inability to use them on the physical trauma he inflicted, but people suddenly gaining quirks would be much more suspicious.
In fact, he'd only actually used that part of his quirk twice in his entire life, the first time had been unintentional; he'd accidentally passed one along to a mugger, one that had actually been mugging him—that was years before he became a vigilante, so it wasn't like he'd had a reputation proceeding him to scare the mugger off—and thankfully he'd been able to take it right back with the other being none the wiser.
The second time had been when he gave Rei a strength quirk a few years ago.
It was during a more… uncertain… period of their lives—when their safety was anything but assured—and he wanted to make sure she could defend herself, should it ever become necessary and he wasn't around.
Not that she was in any way defenseless beforehand. Of course not. She might not have any real experience in a fight—at least compared to him—but her lower body was still that of a giant anaconda that measured in at fifty feet long and weighed several thousand pounds. She was more than capable of putting up a decent fight even without the added power of a strength quirk. But still, better safe than sorry.
She glanced up at him from her food for a moment, before returning to it. "That the color-changing one?"
He nodded. "Yep. Any part of the body, any color, for any length of time." He brought his hand up as he spoke, pulling at the quirk in question from where it was settled in his chest. The skin of his hand flashed blue for a moment, then snow white, then bright red, before settling back at his normal skin tone.
That had been a neat quirk to stumble upon, even though it wasn't overtly combat oriented. It allowed the user to, at will, change the color of any part of their body.
She eyed his hand, watching as it changed colors again. "Isn't that the one you use when you go out as Oni? To change your appearance?"
He shrugged, releasing the quirk. "I have been recently, but that's mostly been so I could experiment with it. I still have the minor shapeshifting quirk that I was using before, and that I still have to use to change my face. That one works well enough for what I need."
She gave her own shrug. "You keep it for now. S'not like I need it for anything."
"If you say so. But you know that if you change your mind, I won't hesitate to give it to you."
"I know." She responded, finishing up the last of her food just in time to let out a massive yawn.
Smirking, he moved over to collect her plate. "Now go get some sleep. I'll go get to work. I might see about starting to comb through the ledger those idiots gave me."
She grumbled as she moved away, towards another door in the large room. "Fuck you and your magical 'I don't need to sleep' quirk. Just in case no one's told you before, your quirks are bullshit."
"People have indeed told me that." He replied, still smirking. "Mostly you. You tell me that all the time."
"S'cause it's true." She mumbled, just as she passed through the doorway. The door slid closed behind her a few moments later as the last of her tail made it through.
"Goodnight!" He called out to the closed door. Then, quieter, "Or, morning. Whatever."
Turning to the sink, he got to work cleaning the dishes as he considered Rei's words. That particular quirk—which he lovingly called 'Insomnia'—was one of his favorites. Actually, of all the quirks he'd acquired, that one was easily ranked as number three – two places under the one that gave him his snake tail. It allowed him to survive without having to sleep at all; a true gem that he'd stumbled upon.
Well, technically, it didn't just allow the user to survive without sleep, it forced them to. They would still feel all the exhaustion that came along with never sleeping, they just wouldn't die from it.
That had been one of the few instances where he used his quirk on someone that wasn't a criminal. He'd happened to hear about the person struggling with it—they were having difficulty focusing on anything for longer than a few seconds and it was, in general, making their life difficult—and it caught his attention. As Oni, he'd snuck into their home in the middle of the night—it was really easy to sneak up on someone when they were as unfocused as this person had been—and took it from them; without causing them the same pain he normally would. They'd passed out as soon as he took it, immediately falling asleep. From what he'd heard, they stayed asleep for a full two weeks before waking up again.
At first, he'd been slightly concerned about the side effects that came with it—more curious than actually worried—but he'd amassed quite a few quirks over the years, and a few were perfect to counteract them.
The result? He could stay awake as long as he wanted to, with no side effects other than occasionally missing the feeling of falling asleep. But even that wasn't an actual problem.
He still could sleep if he wanted to—with the way his natural quirk worked and how it stored away the ones he took, it meant that all he'd have to do would be to deactivate the quirk in question—but why do that when there were so many other things he could do with his time?
Izuku finished up the last of the dishes he'd dirtied with breakfast and set it aside to dry, before moving off back towards his room. But instead of entering it, he went through the door directly opposite.
It was an office, like the one that he'd retrieved Rei from when he got home. Like hers, this one had a computer set up in the center, but unlike hers, he had the curtains drawn, revealing the floor-length windows and letting in the early morning light.
He settled himself in front of the computer, powering it up, and navigating to the website he needed. As soon as it opened up, he saw the screen filling with all the requests that had been sent in since the day before. Humming to himself, he picked out one of the oldest, and set to work.
It was a request for him to analyze a quirk. To pick apart its details and uses, figure out its limitations, and come up with ways to improve upon and train it. He considered it for a moment, mind racing to work it through, before beginning to record his thoughts.
His nights were spent patrolling the city as Oni, the wanted vigilante. But this was how he spent his days; as a professional quirk analyst, under the alias Deku.
It was something he truly enjoyed doing. Quirks were, by far, his favorite subject to study and discuss. Few things brought him more joy than picking apart every minute detail, usage, and weakness of a quirk.
Even his own. Especially his own. Every quirk he took, no matter how simple or how weak, he would spend hours practicing and pouring over every bit of it, until he understood it more intimately than even the person who originally had it. They were his gems, and he made them shine.
People from all walks of life sent him requests, and not all of them from Japan. All they had to do was send him as much information as possible about their quirk, and from there, he went to work.
There were those that wished to learn if there was more that they could do with their quirk, who maybe were under the impression that it was weak or useless. There were people with quirks that were difficult to manage, or otherwise made their life harder, seeking assistance in controlling or managing it so they could live their lives with a bit of normalcy. There were even students hoping to apply for hero schools, seeking ways to improve their chances.
Then, sometimes, there'd be a request from a more serious source. A quirk counseling office working with a troublesome quirk, the police or the government dealing with a new villain or troublemaking criminal—though they usually tried to disguise it as just another citizen seeking help—and even the occasional hero school looking to better train their future heroes.
Those requests had begun a bit more recently than the others, when he'd earned a degree in quirk training, roughly three years ago. He'd been analyzing quirks long before that but, legally, he wasn't allowed to take requests from those places without being certified to do so.
He was quite proud of the fact that even the illustrious Yuuei had sent him a few requests.
Very rarely, he'd even have a Pro Hero send him a request, usually looking for a way to boost their effectiveness and, subsequently, their ranking.
Once or twice, though, he'd had a villain try to have him pick apart the details of a hero's quirk, to aid them in their fight. Those particular ones, he made note of. Then the following night, Oni would visit them and analyze their quirk instead, after he'd taken it.
The biggest part of all of this was that, in addition to stimulating him intellectually and fulfilling his greatest passion, he got paid for all of it. It wasn't a particularly large sum per request, but add up the money he got from completing few hundred requests every week and it started adding up fairly quickly.
Once he'd established himself as an analyst and people started seeing the quality of his work, it wasn't long before he was finally making enough money to support himself.
And now, that money was what allowed him to live the sort of leisurely life he did. It payed for this penthouse that he and Rei lived in; specially modified in places to accommodate their quirks. The clothes that he wore out on his nightly adventures; expensive but letting him express a certain aesthetic that he enjoyed. It even payed for the classes that Rei was taking, that she worked on as she assisted him at night.
Really, he considered himself quite lucky.
A sudden chill sent a shiver across his body. It was March, and it was only just starting to warm up. A bit of cold air—remnant of the quickly ending winter season—must've seeped into the apartment.
Speaking of special modifications to the apartment…
He picked up a small remote sitting on his desk, clicking one of the buttons. A moment later, he let out a blissful sigh as he felt the tile floor beneath him begin to heat up.
The snake tail he so often wore made him more susceptible to colder temperatures. He wasn't truly cold blooded, but it did make it a bit harder to regulate his body temperature when it was cold. He'd take any additional heat where he could get it.
He soon finished off the first request of the day, sending it off and moving onto the next. This one was a bit different, however.
Instead of someone looking to have him assist with their quirk, it was someone looking for help with a paper for one of their college classes. He usually got a number of these too, in addition to the normal ones; students seeking someone to proofread a paper before submitting it. And, unlike the usual ones, he didn't get paid for any of these. That was on purpose; he saw no point in charging for something as simple as proofreading, especially when college students were usually already hurting for money.
He probably got more requests for paper-reviewing than for quirk analysis—what with people all over Japan coming to him—but a few speed quirks made quick work of all of them. Depending on how into the work he got, his fingers would literally start to blur as they danced across his keyboard.
In fact, it was probably the speed at which he answered requests, more than anything else, that had made his reputation spread the way it did, though the quality of his work no doubt contributed. He knew that there were rumors floating around that he actually had people working for him to field the mountains of requests he got.
It had gotten to the point that he had long since undercut a number of other independent quirk analysts. They simply couldn't match up to the sheer number of requests he was fulfilling, and they lost business because of it.
He probably should've felt at least somewhat bad about putting people out of business, but he didn't. Not in the slightest. He'd been fighting for survival for the majority of his life. This was practically the same, the only difference being that, for once, he was the one in the lead.
Izuku finished up the paper-review, moving on to one for another quirk. This one caught his eye almost immediately.
It was a hero school hopeful—a student seeking to take the Yuuei entrance exams in ten months—and their quirk was fascinating for how similar it was to his own. They could, with skin-to-skin contact, copy another person's quirk to use for themself. There was a time limit, and a limit to how many they could copy at once, but still. This was another person that could use someone else's quirk. Truly fascinating.
It was almost a shame that they weren't a criminal or villain. Almost. It would be quite interesting to see how that would interact with his own quirk.
Many quirks, when used at the same time as another, had their abilities combined to achieve greater effects. For instance; two of the strength quirks that he used most often. One granted strength by increasing muscle mass, the other, by condensing existing muscles to increase their output.
Separately, they weren't all too impressive, but combined?
Combined, they more than tripled his natural strength. And that was before his others were taken into account.
Maybe if he used this one at the same time as his natural quirk, it would allow him to truly copy, instead of taking? Giving him access to any and all quirks he came across. Or maybe make copies after he's already taken?
He shook his head, dispelling those thoughts. No point in thinking about any of that. Not when this person was very clearly on the path to become a hero.
He quickly started to write out his analysis, noting that the quirk likely only needed contact with someone's DNA, not just their skin, to allow them to copy. Assuming that were the case, they could have jewelry—rings would be the most efficient—made from select people's hair to give them access to certain quirks whenever they were needed. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of any ways to work past the limits to the number of quirks or the time to use them through training. But with the rings—constant access to quirks—he could effectively remove both.
He included in the analysis the name of a support company that he knew could make such equipment.
He also added that they should look into learning hand-to-hand combat. Having a quirk that directly relied upon someone else meant that they needed a way to fight that didn't; doubly important if they were looking to apply for a hero school. Not only would learning to fight increase their combat effectiveness, but it would also give them an effective method of putting their hands on their opponent to potentially copy their quirk.
He finished typing out his thoughts, adding in a few finer points here and there, and sent it off.
Shaking his head once more, to keep himself from thinking of such an interesting quirk, he moved on to the next request, adding another speed quirk to pick up the pace.
When Izuku finally finished with the last request in the queue, he saw that it had been a few hours; it was almost noon.
Rising from where he'd settled, he stretched to work the soreness from his body; a consequence of staying hunched like that for hours. Locking his computer, he made his way out of the room and across the hall, back to his bedroom. Time to get started on the rest of his day.
He picked out another shirt from his closet. One that was a bit better-looking than the plain t-shirt he already had on. He settled on a simple, light-gray dress shirt that he thought paired rather nicely with the green of his scales. It was specially tailored with slits across the back to allow it to fit comfortably around his wings. He also picked out a bag, which he slung across his chest, over his shoulder, to hold his phone and other items. The bag was necessitated by his inability to wear pants, thanks to his biology, and the resulting lack of pockets.
Now properly dressed, he made his way to the glass door leading to the balcony; the same one he had landed on earlier in the morning. Perching himself on the railing, he stretched his wings out, now much larger than before to accommodate his increased weight, and took off.
He didn't go far, just gliding down to the ground, to an alleyway leading off the main road. He preferred flying to the slow process of going down the building by tail—especially since his weight was a bit more than what the elevator could really handle—but still enjoyed traveling along the sidewalk to his destination, even if flying might be faster.
Once he touched down, he pulled a pair of headphones out his bag and slipped them on. A moment later, music started playing as he picked out his desired playlist, quickly drowning out the noises of the world. He grew a small smile as the old song poured into his ears; a classic from the early 21st century.
Personally, he didn't much care for recent music. Because, as with most everything else, the appearance of quirks had brought stagnation. Nearly everything made in the last century and a half really wasn't worth listening to. Even now, it was only just starting to pick back up. Instead, he liked to listen to stuff from before quirks. Namely the first few decades of the 21st century and a few choice songs from earlier.
Satisfied with the song he'd chosen, he exited the alley and set off down the road, humming along with the tune. It was a lighter one that echoed gently through the air, making those that could hear it break into small, content smiles as they passed him.
Before long, he reached the first stop in his outing; an outdoor café. He enjoyed coming here for lunch, they had excellent katsudon that even he hadn't been able to match, as skilled in cooking as he was after years of practice.
There was also the fact that this was one of the few places that he could eat at. Most restaurants didn't have the room to accommodate his lower half, unless they had outdoor seating or specially catered to those with size altering mutation quirks. It didn't bother him overly much though. If he really had a desire to eat somewhere else, he could just change his appearance around, like he did before he went out to pursue his vigilantism.
Situating himself at a table, after ordering his food, he pulled out his phone to check for any activity. Part of the same website that he used for his analysis requests—which Rei had set up and designed for him—was a sort of forum where people would contact him, sending him news articles about hero or villain activity, asking him to comment on it, asking him what he thought of certain recent events, or just in general asking his thoughts on whatever they wanted.
Quickly sorting through the activity, and responding to a few people as he went, he came to where someone had sent him a video of a hero's debut from earlier that morning, asking for his thoughts.
Interested—and mildly excited at the thought of a new hero making their appearance—he tapped on it, playing the video. He saw a news reporter providing active commentary on the fight. Behind her, he saw Kamui Woods, a relatively new Pro Hero that was rising through the rankings at an impressive pace; already sitting at twenty ninth as of the last released update to the rankings. The hero was fighting against someone who appeared to have a transformative quirk that gave him odd, almost shark-like physical features, but also increased his size to match that of the buildings around him. Maybe his appearance was just the result of a residual mutation left over from a parent?
It seemed like it would be a fairly easily victory for the new hero, despite the villain's size; Izuku had seen videos before displaying the strength of Kamui Woods' abilities. But just as he was about to restrain him, already calling out the name of his capture-oriented super move, a new hero entered into the frame, kicking the villain into a nearby building, partially crushing it and rendering him unconscious.
The newcomer, whom the reporter identified as Mt. Lady, then started making witty comments about her own body, striking a pose as groups of photographers took pictures. Afterwards, with the villain being restrained and loaded into a police van, the reporter praised the two heroes, and informed everyone that there were no casualties resulting from the fight, including the building that was partially crushed. The video stopped after that.
He sighed, setting his phone down as he processed what he had watched. For starters, the new hero, Mt. Lady, had butted into a fight unnecessarily just to score herself a flashy debut. The way she did so was quite careless as well; knocking the villain into the building, causing property damage and potentially putting civilians at risk, even though no one got hurt. She was very clearly attention-seeking, with the posing for photos before she even ensured that the criminal was properly secured.
She should've left him for Kamui Woods to handle—which he clearly could've—and just stood by to offer assistance had it become necessary.
That being said, she did have a quirk that was well-suited for heroics. Gigantification to that scale was incredibly powerful and extremely difficult for any but the most dangerous villains to counter. And while she had recklessly knocked the villain into the building, she was instinctively avoiding colliding her own body into other nearby buildings. She was at the very least able to manage her own size carefully in a city environment.
If she could get over her attention-seeking attitude, she would likely make a successful hero that would rise through the ranks fairly quickly.
He took a moment to type all of that out, posting it to the forum. Replies were almost immediately coming in as he set his phone back down. His food had arrived. With a quick 'thank you' to the server, and a flick of his tongue to taste the delicious sent that permeated the air, he dug in. He didn't pick his phone back up as he ate, choosing instead to enjoy the atmosphere as he ate in silence.
Soon enough, he was finishing up and paying, before continuing on to the next stop in his trip.
As he traveled, he watched the people he passed by, analyzing them. He tried to figure out their quirks as he went, without the use of his own and with just a few moments observing to work with. He would often challenge himself like this. He had to keep his skills sharp; his job was reliant upon them, after all.
Mutation quirks were easy enough to figure out. Most of them could be separated into one of three categories: animalistic, transmutative, or enhancing.
Animalistic were simple and fairly common. It gave the user some number of features that, usually, matched up to some existing animal; ears, eyes, claws, fur or scales, and a number of more complex traits. These usually also came with enhanced senses and physical capabilities, as well as, depending on how extensive the mutation, instincts that matched up to the animal they emulated. Even his own quirk—the snake mutation—gave him some instincts, though they only extended so far as to make him want to curl up on the nearest warm surface and soak in the sunlight.
Transmutative were usually more complex. They served to change the user's body in more visibly extensive ways. This usually presented in changes to their skin, turning it to stone or metal, or some other material. There were also instances in which they changed certain body parts; gun quirks were a good example of that. He had even seen a student walking down the road one day, that appeared to have a Lego piece in place of their head. He hadn't even seen a mouth or eyes. After that, he wasn't sure whether he should marvel at, or be scared of, the sheer randomness of quirks.
Enhancing mutation quirks were the simplest. These were the ones that granted extra limbs, increased body sizes, or increased strength or speed as well as other invisible quirks such as intelligence enhancers. There was a little bit of overlap between enhancing and transmutative mutation quirks—an extra set of arms could just as easily fall under transmutative as it did enhancing—but by that point it was all semantics, he was probably one of the only people that bothered classifying quirks that specifically.
Other quirks, transformation and emitters, were a bit harder to work out. For those he had to look at how they walked or behaved. How did they hold their hands? If they were held a bit away from the body it might be indicative of a hand-based emitter or a claw transformation. Gloves might indicate a touch-based quirk. Maybe they averted their eyes or kept their gaze at the ground as they walked. That may be the result of a sight-based quirk.
Every little thing was usually indicative of one's quirk in some small way. How their feet moved as they walked, the clothes they wore, how they reacted to other people, or how other people reacted to them, and even their confidence, or lack thereof, as they moved.
All of these things and more were what he was taking in as he moved down the street, working to discern their quirk as quickly as possible.
As Izuku arrived at his destination, he took a moment to look it over. The once trash-covered shores of the beach now gleamed with clear sand, and the number of people that visited it was growing, though it was still quite low due to the time of year; it was a weekday, and summer vacation wasn't for another few months.
He moved down from where he was standing, almost sighing in relief as he hit the sand, the built-up-warmth seeping in through his scales. Moving towards the waterline, he pulled an empty trash bag from the bag hanging at his waist. As he worked his way down the beach, he picked up any stray piece of trash he came across.
He may have cleaned the trash that had been piled across the beach, but there were still pieces that washed up from the water, having been carried from elsewhere by the currents, and although people had stopped dumping their trash here, the occasional visitor still left debris where they had been sitting. It didn't bother him. Compared to the initial cleanup, this little bit was nothing, and he had noticed where other people had started to pitch in as well to help keep the place clean, something that he appreciated immensely.
As he finished up, placing the partially filled bag into the dumpster, he moved over to his usual spot in the sand, before coiling overtop of himself, piling up his tail. He laid down over the improvised furniture with a content sigh, soaking in the heat both from the sun above and the sand below. He stretched his wings out above him, letting them soak in the heat too as they caught the constant, light breeze from the ocean.
This was part of his usual routine. Take analysis requests until close to noon, head out for lunch, usually at that same outdoor café, then head here to keep the beach clean and relax in the sand, sunning himself, then from there he would take care of any further errands before heading back home.
Usually, he would start to doze off as he basked in the heat, or read, or maybe interact with people on his forum, but this time he had a different activity in mind. Sorting through the quirks bundled in his chest, he pulled on the one he got the night before—Spectrum—settling it behind his eyes.
At the same time, he reached down into his bag, pulling out a small notebook. The cover read 'Quirk Registry'. Though it wouldn't appear that way to anyone that wasn't him. He'd put effort into encoding the notebook so that it would be gibberish to most. Its contents were too important to have anyone else be able to read them.
It was where he kept all his notes on the quirks he'd taken.
And this one was volume 12.
He opened to the next empty page, ready to record what he found.
He blinked, and his vision switched to the thermal he had made use of last night. However this time, with the sun blazing down and the sand around him soaking in all the heat, he couldn't see much beyond a blanket of white and yellow.
He blinked again, skipping past the night vision as he had no intention of blinding himself in the midday sun, and instead picking out a new one. When he opened his eyes, the world around him took on a subdued, darker quality. The sand around him wasn't quite as bright and, when he looked up, he found that he could look directly up at the sun without the slightest bit of discomfort; UV protection then, essentially really good sunglasses. He made a note of its strength in the notebook. He repeated the process, opening his eyes to reveal not much change from before. Everything still seemed slightly subdued, so what changed? He was about to move on to another one, planning to come back to that one later, when he glanced over to the side, at the nearest group of people.
He couldn't actually make out any details about them; their clothing, facial features, hair, or skin color. But what he could make out was their entire skeletal structure.
He glanced down at his hands, seeing the bones beneath the skin. Behind them, he could see the odd skeleton of his coiled-up tail.
X-ray vision. Quite interesting.
Moving on, he found that the next one provided little difference from his normal vision, except that his depth perception was off, to a major degree. It took him a moment, and a slight bit of nausea at the sudden change, to realize that his vision was actually being magnified. He couldn't tell by how much exactly, but he could clearly make out a cargo ship sitting on the horizon, miles out to sea. If he strained, he could just barely differentiate between shipping containers sitting on its deck. Quite powerful magnification then.
Closing his eyes once more, he could feel that there weren't any other changes to be found. Even still, despite the small number of variations, each one was incredibly useful in its own right. He could think of so many uses for each of them.
Well, admittedly less for the UV protection, but all the same.
His hand blurred as he began writing in his journal, recording every little detail he could think of regarding each of the changes to his vision. He noted how ineffective the thermal and night vision would be during the day—rather obvious but still important to understand—and how strong the magnification seemed to be.
Pulling the quirk back into his chest, he scrubbed at his eyes, rubbing away the sudden, subtle ache that was present. A limit then. It wasn't too surprising; forcing the eyes to mutate in order to change how they received light waves had to bring on some kind of strain, especially when done in quick succession like that. He'd have to experiment more in the future to see if that was a limit that could be removed, or otherwise alleviated.
'If I can't train the limit away, maybe I can find a quirk that can help?' He mused, staring out at the tiny dot off in the distance that he now knew was a cargo ship. 'Maybe a healing quirk of some kind?'
He would also experiment to see if he could alter any of the mutations further, maybe even combining their effects. X-ray and magnification, for one, would be incredibly useful. Maybe he could force a different change into each eye?
He made sure to take note of that particular limitation to the quirk, as well as the theories he wanted to test. The limits he could work on at any time, especially when he went out to work at night. But he would save the theories for when he came to the beach.
Stowing his notebook back into the bag after touching up the last of the notes, one of his quirks alerted him to someone approaching him from the side, pulling him from his thoughts. Turning to look at them, he took in their appearance.
It was a man. He was tall, easily standing over six feet, and that was without including the blonde hair that stuck out over his head, which probably added at least another foot. He was also extremely skinny, to the point of being gaunt and malnourished; his cheekbones were quite prominent, and his eyes were sunken into their sockets so far that, in the midday sun, they were hidden in shadow. His clothes hung loosely off his frame, clearly designed to fit someone much larger than him.
His eyes were trained on Izuku, and his feet were taking him on a direct path to him.
Based on his physical appearance, the man wasn't much of a threat, but that meant next to nothing in the world of quirks. Izuku strained his eyes once more, using an intelligence quirk he called 'Appraisal' to figure out what the man's was.
Name: Toshinori Yagi
Quirk: One For All
Emitter-type quirk that stockpiles the energy of its previous users in the form of strength, allowing the user to achieve enhanced physical capabilities.
Izuku quirked an eyebrow at that. A stockpiling quirk? Specifically, an energy stockpiler? Those were fairly rare. And this one stockpiled energy in the form of strength, which was doubly interesting. He himself had an energy stockpiling quirk—two actually—but he couldn't do anything with them, not directly at least. They only acted as a second source of stamina; recharging whenever he wasn't physically exerting himself.
And then there was the bit about it stockpiling energy of previous users. Was it a quirk that could be directly passed down to children, instead of them receiving a mutated version of it? That was the most likely scenario. Quirks acted almost the same as all other genes did when they're being passed down; either dominant or recessive. It's possible that this quirk mutated to be permanently dominant, to always pass down to the child in place of the other parent's quirk.
Before he could explore that line of thought any further, the man—Yagi—was stopping in front of him. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but for some reason he was hesitating. Izuku decided to take the initiative instead of waiting for him to gather his nerve, raising himself up off the ground so he was even with the newcomer.
"Good afternoon. May I help you?" he asked, as good a starting place as any. He would remain cordial until the man gave him a reason not to.
"Ah, yes." Yagi responds, still slightly hesitant for whatever reason. "I apologize for bothering you, but would you happen to be the one who cleaned this beach up?"
For the second time in just a few minutes, he quirked his eyebrow at Yagi. Why did he want to know that?
"I'm not the one who cleaned the beach." He lied. "But I do know them. Why do you ask?"
"I see." He looked slightly disappointed at that. "It's just that I saw you going around picking up trash, and I thought that you might've been the one to clean this place. I remember it from before it was a dump, and wanted to thank whoever it was that returned it to its former glory. I don't suppose you could give me the name of the person so I may thank them personally?"
Ah, so he just wanted to thank whoever cleaned the beach? Izuku supposed that made sense; the beach had been quite a mess, after all. But he felt like there was something else that the man was leaving out.
"Unfortunately, no, I can't." He responded. "I don't know who you are, and I doubt that person would appreciate me giving out their name to strangers."
"Oh! Of course! Of course!" Yagi said, waving his hands in front of him. "I understand. Please pass on my thanks to them, then."
He held out his hand. "I'm Toshinori Yagi, by the way."
Izuku reached out to take it. "Izuku Etsumi."
He took Yagi's hand, keeping a polite smile on his face. Underneath it, though, he was barely able to hold back a reaction at what he felt.
Usually, whenever he made direct physical contact with someone, he could feel their quirk. It felt like a flame sitting just beneath the skin, centered in their chest and wherever the quirk use is focused; like 'Spectrum' being focused behind the eyes.
But this man…
Not only was his quirk the single biggest flame Izuku had ever encountered in all the nearly fourteen years he'd been observing and taking quirks—like a raging bonfire compared to a candle and burning everywhere across his body—but it was also cut off in a way he didn't understand.
Whenever he felt someone's quirk, normally it would feel as though he was holding his hand at the edge of the flame, warming it and just waiting to plunge his hand into it to pull it into himself.
He didn't feel that with Yagi. It was as if there was a barrier keeping him just out of reach from the quirk. He knew immediately that, no matter what he did or how hard he tried, he would not be able to pull this one into himself.
And if that wasn't enough, the man's quirk felt almost segmented. Or maybe layered? If he didn't know any better—a sentiment he was slowly beginning to doubt—he would assume that Yagi had multiple quirks.
Yagi, thankfully, didn't seem to notice his reaction, walking away with a slight wave. "Well then, have a good day! Perhaps I shall see you around."
Izuku couldn't find it in himself to respond; still trying to process what exactly he had just experienced.
He glanced down at the hand he'd just used to shake Yagi's. Whatever the reason was, Yagi's quirk was simultaneously the single most powerful, and strangest quirk he'd ever encountered.
Yet, with that realization, he was left with an even greater question.
Just who the hell was Toshinori Yagi, to have a quirk such as that?
Toshinori contemplated the interaction he'd just had as he walked away from the strange young man.
He had been quite surprised when he visited the beach—just a few months ago—for the first time in years to find it almost completely cleaned and restored to its previous state.
He knew what kind of dump it had been reduced to; something that had greatly saddened him, and that he would've taken care of himself were his injury not so limiting on how he could spend his time. When it came down to whether he should use his time saving people and apprehending villains, or using it to clean an old beach, there was really only one choice.
So, when he had discovered that it had almost been returned to how it was in his memory, he wanted nothing more than to find whoever was behind it and thank them personally. He'd asked the local government and nearby public service organizations, thinking it was maybe one of them that had put together an effort, but was surprised to find that they were just as clueless as him.
He was even more shocked when he'd heard from a few local citizens that it was seemingly only a single person responsible.
Ever since then, he'd been coming to the beach whenever he could spare the time, attempting to catch wind of whoever had cleaned it, but never having any luck, even after the bulk of the cleanup had been completed.
He'd been hopeful, then, when during his visit on this day he'd spotted a young man with a truly fascinating mutation, traveling the length of the beach picking up stray trash. It was a little surprising to see someone of his age out doing something like that, especially during what he thought to be a school day, but there could be any number of explanations, so he didn't worry about it. He thought that maybe the young man was the one to do it, so Toshinori approached him to ask.
Once the young man had realized he was approaching him, and turned to watch, he gained an odd quality about him. Toshinori couldn't explain it, precisely, but it felt as though the young man was seeing through him, or maybe appraising some piece of him, instead of actually watching him. He would be lying if he said that it didn't unnerve him somewhat.
There were only two people that Toshinori had ever encountered that had that quality. One was the principal of Yuuei, Nezu; the chimera's analytical mind and inhuman stare seemingly able to pick apart every detail of one's life at just a glance. The other, was him. The one his predecessors had dedicated their lives to fight against, and who he had finally defeated all those years ago. That man seemed to stare straight through people, seeing only their quirk; what it was, how useful it could be, and whether or not he should take it for himself.
To see such a quality in this young man was shocking to say the least.
Toshinori was disappointed to find that it wasn't actually him who had cleaned the beach and that, once he found out that the young man knew, he wouldn't tell him who had. He supposed it was understandable though. To him, Toshinori was just some stranger, and with the appearance of his true form being what it was, not one that looked friendly. But he supposed that, at the very least, his thanks would be passed on to the correct person.
When he had gone to leave, finally giving his name and offering his hand to the other, he noticed yet another oddity to be added to the list. It was subtle, extremely so, but when Toshinori finally shook his hand, the young man—Izuku Etsumi—had been shocked for some reason. He could see it in his eyes; something in that moment had shaken him to his core.
Even stranger, though, was that on Toshinori's side of the interaction, as soon as his hand touched Etsumi's, One For All lurched inside his chest in a way he'd never felt before. It was almost as if the echoes of the previous holders of the quirk all collectively recoiled in shock.
He decided right then that he would be returning to the beach again to try to find Etsumi again. He was missing something, and he intended to figure out what it was.
There was definitely more than meets the eye when it came to Izuku Etsumi.
A random penthouse floor plan I found with google images.
Izuku's room is the upper left, his office is the one directly to the right.
His sister's room is the bottom left, and her office is the one in the middle, directly above the kitchen.
Also, Art!! Created by drawingterd!
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Errands
Chapter Summary
Izuku's day out is continued.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
After Yagi left, Izuku found himself unable to settle back down. The interaction he'd just had threw him off so much that he doubted he'd even be able to.
Less than five minutes of conversation with the man and a single handshake, and his mind had been sent racing by what he'd felt. He tried his best to just shake it off and relax back into the sand, to sink into the warmth and maybe try to doze off.
It didn't work.
He sighed, rubbing at his eyes to try to dispel the remaining soreness. It was doubtful that he'd even be able to sit down and experiment with another quirk, his mind was so preoccupied.
'Screw this.' He decided. 'There's no sense in sticking around here if I can't even relax. I might as well at least get something done.'
Unwinding himself from coils of his own tail, he stretched a bit of stiffness out of his body, before making his way away from the beach.
He would just have to get a head start on his errands. There was some stuff he'd been planning to do tomorrow, but it was early, might as well go ahead and take care of them.
He ran over the list in his head. He needed groceries for the next few days, a new stack of notebooks for analysis—both as Izuku and as Oni—plus the writing utensils that went with them, there were some clothes he needed to pick up from his drycleaner, and Rei had expressed interest in a new video game, so he would go ahead and pick that up for her.
Working out the route in his mental map—having a near perfect memory was so very useful sometimes—he set off.
Traveling down the road, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering back to Yagi. Such a powerful quirk; easily leagues beyond anything he'd seen thus far. He would think that someone with a quirk as powerful as that would pursue heroics, but he didn't recognize the man or his name.
It wasn't a requirement of any kind, of course, that someone with a strong quirk must go into heroics, but it was a fact that powerful, or otherwise flashy, quirks tended to gravitate towards that profession. So it was weird that he didn't recognize Yagi; based on what he'd felt, that man would have the potential to be the strongest hero in the world.
The possibility existed that maybe One For All had a major drawback that he wasn't aware of that had resulted in the man's appearance, keeping him from doing much of anything with it. Maybe the stockpiling portion of the quirk directly stole strength from the user, weakening them.
But… that didn't make any sense when he remembered the description of the quirk he'd gotten from 'Appraisal'. It had only said that it grants the user enhanced physical capabilities using energy from past users. It never mentioned anything about reducing the current user's strength.
He knew how 'Appraisal' worked. It provided him with information based solely on what the target knew about their own quirk. That's how he was able to learn the name of the quirk, and got such limited information on the quirk's details. It was essentially a specialized mind-reading quirk.
If One For All really did have a drawback like that, there's no way that it would've been left out; there had to be something else that was the cause.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He couldn't get that man or his damn powerhouse of a quirk out of his head.
He huffed in irritation, and picked up his pace towards his first stop.
About an hour later, and he was halfway through his list. He'd picked up the video game for Rei—Something about capturing and training mythical creatures? He wasn't too sure. He never really got into video games—and had it safely tucked into his bag. His clothes—several of his nicer shirts that he wore during the day, along with a few pairs of his Oni outfit—were carefully stored in bags and slung over his shoulder. He was now on his way to pick up his notebooks. He'd already used up his supply.
It was almost impressive, the sheer number that he went through on a regular basis. In addition to the analysis he did on his own quirk, he also filled notebooks on any interesting quirks he encountered during the day along with any heroes that managed to catch his eye. He essentially did the same thing he did as Deku, writing down everything he could think of, from their strengths and weaknesses, to theories on their potential. Not to mention the notes he kept on the criminals he encountered as Oni; their quirks and their activities.
It was quite fortunate that all of the work he did as Deku was already saved digitally on his computer. If it weren't, he would've ended up writing most, if not all, of those down too. By now he would've easily been able to fill a library with his observations.
The path he'd ended up taking to his destination led him through an underpass. It was one he normally wouldn't have gone through, or likely even noticed, but because of how he was addressing his errands, it was the quickest route that didn't involve flying.
He didn't pay much attention to his surroundings. Why bother? He knew that there was no one else around and he knew what direction to go.
Just as he was passing over a manhole cover—barely even recognized, as lost in thought as he was with some of the more memorable quirks he'd encountered—'Proximity' picked up something that made him pause, something that gave off an impression of sheer wrongness.
It picked up something small—two somethings—maybe rats? He gave a small, involuntary shudder. Whatever they were, they definitely weren't rats; they didn't move like them at all. It almost felt like they were floating through the air.
What's more, is that it felt like it was surrounded by something.
'Proximity' worked by detecting the electrical impulses given off by nerves in a living body; like those that sent the signal for a muscle to move. It was able to show him, roughly, what was around him and what they were doing.
But this… whatever it was, gave the impression of a giant blob of jello that had nerve endings sprinkled around in it. He didn't like it one bit.
Before he could consider what to do about it—if anything at all—a sudden surge of bloodlust and malice made that decision for him.
His body acted on instincts developed over years of being a vigilante, immediately pulling a strength quirk and thrusting his wings down with enough force to launch his body through the air, back from whatever the source of the feeling was.
He latched onto one of the bridge's support columns, high in the air, tail wrapping around it and securing him in place. Looking down on where he had just been standing, he saw that there was a mass of sludge filling the space he'd just occupied.
He sat there watching, with more curiosity than anything else, as the sludge seemed to move with a mind of its own. Was it a quirk? Or maybe whatever unnatural phenomena that had caused quirks to appear—assuming it was unnatural and not just a bizarre twist in humanity's evolutionary path—had decided to start animating random piles of sludge. Whatever it was, it fascinated him.
Then the smell hit him, and his face screwed in displeasure. 'Never mind. Not so fascinating anymore.'
Sewage. Raw sewage.
Part of the quirk that gave him his snake tail, also gave him the mutated tongue along with it. It allowed him to 'taste' the air as a normal snake could and, as a result, gave him an enhanced sense of smell.
Normally, he quite enjoyed being able to taste the air, especially when he cooked. But now he'd realized a previously unconsidered side effect of that: he was now tasting the sewage as well as smelling it. Not a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination.
He was trying to work past the stench clogging his throat when noticed something else force its way past the manhole cover. Something that only made his displeasure grow.
Now, having seen so many different quirks, all ranging in shape, size, abilities, and appearance, he really tried to keep an open mind when it came to how one looked. He preferred to look at a quirk's capabilities rather than its outward appearance.
But damn. There was only so much he could do.
He watched in continually growing disgust as a giant pair of eyes, along with a disproportionately large set of teeth, emerged from the manhole and settled in the sludge, floating in a horrid approximation of a human face.
The person, if it could even be called as such—even when he knew it was a quirk causing its appearance—had a body made almost entirely of liquid. In itself, having a liquid body would be a fairly useful quirk. But with its displeasing appearance—a murky green that, while probably not actually being sewage, seemed to have human waste floating through it where it had just crawled from the sewer—and even worse smell, it was one that even he found himself wanting no part of whatsoever.
An involuntary flick of his tongue made him grimace once more at the stench it pulled in. He pulled on 'Aroma' in an attempt to block it out with something more pleasant.
He wasn't going to use 'Appraisal' on them; he had no desire to learn what they were actually made of.
They were looking up at him, disgusting eyes floating through the sludge at they trained on him.
"A size-large invisibility cloak." Their voice warbled out through the air; liquid body having an odd effect on the words. "And one with an interesting quirk and impressive physical abilities too."
The overly-large, yellow teeth quirked in a gross imitation of a smile. "My lucky day. Just what I needed to get away from him."
"Now, get down here." They said as they started creeping along the ground in his direction. The look in their eyes grew even more twisted, and a wet, bubbly laugh echoed out. "Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a minute or two. It'll be over before you know it."
Izuku reeled at the implications of being referred to as an 'invisibility cloak.' If their quirk were anything but a liquid-body mutation, he would've assumed that they meant to take him as a hostage of some sort; a thought that, under different circumstances, would've made him laugh.
But since they were made of liquid, that choice of words implied that they meant to enter his body as a way to hide.
His face twisted in utter revulsion at the thought of such filth touching him, much less entering his body. 'I think the fuck not.'
He raised an arm—the one that wasn't still holding on to his clothes—and pulled on a quirk he didn't get many chances to use.
'Air Cannon.'
'You're lucky that my only electricity quirk is touch-based,' He thought as he pulled the arm back to throw a punch. 'Or I'd fry you like the disgusting insect you are.'
He threw the fist forwards, augmented by the strength quirks he had active, despite several meters separating the two of them.
A surge of wind, of pure pressure, roared forwards as it cleaved through the air. The being of sludge was torn apart on contact, splattering across nearly every surface of the underpass that had been behind it. He registered a look of surprise in their eyes just before they were flung away.
As he watched the bits of sludge settle all round the underpass, he felt a moment of doubt when he considered the fact that he might've just killed them. But that quickly disappeared as he saw the eyes—now sitting on opposite sides of the pass—still trained on him, if slightly unfocused.
He remained where he was, arm raised again and ready to throw another punch should it become necessary. Having a body made almost entirely of liquid, it should be nearly impossible to damage them through physical means alone. It was entirely possible that they could simply reform and try to attack him again.
When he saw that the sludge was remaining where it was, and not reforming as he would assume it was capable of, he relaxed, satisfied that it wouldn't be trying anything else.
He pulled 'Air Cannon' back to settle in his chest; he'd leave the others for now, but that one was easy to misfire with—it activated with nearly any movement he made and its output scaled exponentially with each strength quirk he added to it—so it was better off left tucked away until he needed it.
Watching the sludge for only a moment more, he spread his wings and took off into the air from the column; the ground was coated in a thin layer of the filth and he had no intention of getting any on himself, especially not when it was sapient.
He flew out from under the bridge and into the open air, glad to no longer have the disgusting stench of sewage burning at his nose.
Barely a minute after he left, the manhole cover exploded upwards, impacting the underside of the bridge as a large figure climbed out ready for a fight, only to find that his prey was already immobilized.
He was stunned, momentarily, before he leapt into action, speeding around the space and collecting as much of the villain as he could into the only thing he had available to contain them in; an empty soda bottle.
He sighed as he released his form, glad to not have to push his limit any further. It was curious that they were already in that state before he'd even arrived. But they'd been apprehended, and there were no other issues at the moment, so he let it go.
Humming to himself, he exited the underpass. He'd drop the villain off at the nearest police precinct before settling down for the rest of the day.
He didn't notice the bottle slip out of his pocket halfway to his destination…
Izuku hummed along with the music playing in his ears as he traveled down the road, another bag added to the growing pile in his hand as he made his way towards his last stop. He ran over the grocery list in his head as he moved. He'd found a new recipe he wanted to try, and it required certain ingredients that he didn't normally have on hand.
Eventually, he was pulled from his thoughts by a crowd of people in front of him, blocking the street. Sighing in minor frustration at yet another disturbance to his day, he pushed his way past them, working up to the front of the group. When he finally got there, he realized why there was such a holdup at this odd time of day. And really, what other reason would there be?
In the middle of the street, which was covered in flames and debris from where the nearby buildings had been damaged, was a massive villain.
And, of course, it just had to be the same revolting piece of filth he'd run into not even an hour before. Because why wouldn't this same villain appear to disrupt his day once again?
Getting over his initial frustration at seeing—and smelling—the villain again, he finally noticed the body that was thrashing around in the sludge. Blonde hair, what he thought were red eyes, and explosions—that explained the cause of the fires—made for a surprisingly familiar figure that Izuku honestly thought he had forgotten until that exact moment.
So the villain had a hostage then. Well, no. They were probably using him for exactly the same reason they'd tried to attack Izuku. They wanted to use their body as a puppet to hide away.
It was odd that they weren't already doing so. Maybe they needed to wait for the person to drown first? Whatever the reason, the heroes needed to act quick; they were very quickly running out of time.
Speaking of, he could see three heroes already on scene, that for some reason weren't doing anything. Kamui Woods, Death Arms, and Backdraft were all standing around, staring at the villain. At least Backdraft was keeping the civilians back. But did they not see that there was a person on the verge of drowning?
"Is there a reason that no one is doing anything?" He asked, intentionally loud. "They all see that he's drowning, right?"
Kamui Woods, eyes trained on the villain, yelled out as if he was answering his question. "Our quirks are ineffective in this situation! We have to wait for someone better suited to this villain!"
That actually left Izuku speechless for a moment. He didn't actually just say that, right? There were such obvious solutions right in front of their eyes. He could think of at least three just off the top of his head.
If all three of them worked together, they would have it handled in a matter of minutes.
He felt his irritation building up.
'He probably thinks that because of all the fires everywhere.' He thought to himself. 'But maybe I'm hallucinating, because I'm pretty sure I'm staring at Pro Hero Backdraft right now; whose specialty is putting out fires. Hell, he could douse Kamui and protect him for long enough to get the job done. But noo. Let's all wait for the innocent civilian to die first."
Another massive explosion detonated, surging from within the sludge. It threw more debris across the street and started even more small fires, the closest of which immediately being put out by backdraft.
'Incompetence.' He nearly snorted to himself. 'If they aren't going to do anything, then I will.'
He was almost tempted to charge forwards right then and there, just to show up the useless heroes. The only things that stopped him were his distaste at the thought of touching the villain to retrieve their victim, and his desire to not catch the attention of the many news cameras that were focused on the disturbance.
Having enough of this, he scanned the ground around him, spotting exactly what he needed; an innocuous piece of debris small enough to fit in his hand, sitting a few feet in front of him.
He couldn't directly interfere in the fight without causing more trouble than he was willing to go through, but if he just gave the situation a little nudge…
Humming a tune that sent involuntary shivers down the back of those close by, he used a quirk to discreetly pull the debris towards him with a series of small grabbing motions. Once it was in his hand, he looked over to the villain, picking out a precision quirk from the bundle in his chest and focusing on one of the floating eyes. At the same time, he drew his arm back, muscles bulging as he pulled on another strength quirk, straining at the sleeve of his shirt.
Without so much as a grunt, the rock was sent hurtling into the villain's eye. It impacted hard enough to almost eject it out of the sludge, and he could see it turn bloodshot almost instantly, even at the distance he was at.
With a screech that sent the people around him reeling, covering their ears, the villain recoiled hard enough to give the victim a much-needed breath. Glancing back towards the heroes, it was with not a small amount of irritation that he saw them looking back towards the crowd; searching for whoever threw the rock; instead of moving to fight the villain.
Holding back a growl of frustration, he turned back to the villain, who was quickly recovering, with another rock already in hand. He was in the process of pulling his arm back, targeting the other eye, when a loud, instantly recognizable laugh sounded out that made the crowd cheer in excitement.
"Have no fear citizens! It is okay now!" All Might said, landing on the street, immediately dropping into a stance and pulling his own arm back. "Why? Because I am here!"
He watched as the number one hero punched the air with enough force to splatter the villain with the shockwave alone—the same move he had used against them earlier, if quite a bit stronger—skillfully moving to retrieve the victim before he was sent flying. A few moments later, after the dust and sludge had begun to settle, he felt raindrops begin to fall from the sky, a result of the massive change in pressure. The weather itself had changed in the face of All Might's power. And not even his true strength, either. Just that which he casually threw around to subdue a subpar villain.
A thought popped into his mind that he couldn't help but smile at. This was the first time he'd ever seen All Might in the flesh. 'Appraisal' didn't work on pictures or through videos. This would be his one chance to finally discern the quirk of the number one hero, one of the most widely debated topics amongst quirk analysts.
Straining his eyes, the grin still present, he activated the quirk to solve the great mystery.
Before immediately recoiling in shock at what he found.
Name: Toshinori Yagi
Quirk: One For All
Emitter-type quirk that stockpiles the energy of its previous users in the form of strength, allowing the user to achieve enhanced physical capabilities.
His eyes widened in shock as he registered exactly what he was seeing. All Might, the current number one hero in the world and the definitive greatest hero in history was the same person that he'd met barely a few hours earlier at the beach. The malnourished, sickly-looking man he'd encountered, was somehow also this seven-foot-tall, six-hundred-pound hero in front of him.
Looking closer, he realized the clothes that All Might was wearing were the same as those that were hanging off of Yagi's body earlier. The hair too, was similar, as were the eyes; deep blue and shrouded in shadow.
His hand flew to his face, clamping over his mouth as his mind was sent racing.
For starters, that at least explained why Yagi—All Might—had the most powerful quirk he'd ever encountered; that seemed fitting for the number one hero to have such a quirk. It also explained why he didn't recognize the name Toshinori Yagi. All Might's true name had always been a fiercely guarded secret.
But that still didn't explain the drastic change in appearance. Nothing in the description provided by 'Appraisal' even hinted at any sort of transformative aspect either time he'd used it. In fact, it was specifically described as an emitter.
'An illusory quirk maybe?' He thought, 'No. That can't be it. Not only was that not mentioned by "Appraisal" but enhanced strength and illusions are entirely separate abilities.'
If it wasn't his quirk that caused the change in appearance, then it must be something else. But what?
He'd already established that it couldn't be the quirk, or even a miraculous second quirk; he would've felt something if that were the case, unless maybe it was simply overshadowed by One For All? He doubted that there was any sort of man-made method of transformation; no drug or steroid that he was aware of could achieve anything like that, and he regularly delved into the criminal underground to deal with people that would know of such a thing. But then, if it wasn't due to a quirk or some man-made method, what was it?
This was going to drive him crazy, he just knew it.
Looking around him, he saw that most of the crowd was dispersing. All Might had left, disappointing the gathered reporters, and with him went most of the bystanders. The heroes were still there, watching the police secure the villain, and likely giving their reports. And the victim was still off to the side being looked at by paramedics. Izuku saw that he was glancing over at him, an odd look in his eyes.
Izuku ignored him; he knew that there was next to no chance of being recognized. Not after going over a decade without seeing one another, and the drastic changes to his body. Glancing at the time on his phone, he almost cursed. He was going to be late. He would have to save this fucking headache for later.
He resumed his trip where he'd been interrupted, picking up the pace now that he realized he was short on time.
Within a few short minutes, that seemed too long to him, he had arrived at the grocery store he usually frequented. Recalling the list he'd put together, he hurried through the store, picking out the necessary items. With how late he was running, he was tempted to put this off until tomorrow, where he maybe wouldn't have two separate villain attacks to interrupt him and a world-class mystery to occupy his thoughts, but he needed a few of these items for dinner tonight, so he couldn't do that.
Of course, as luck would have it, the registers were backed up as well, setting him even further behind. It took several minutes to get to where he could pay, driving up his impatience even further; he'd be tapping his foot if he still had one.
Upon finally exiting the store, he glanced at his phone again, biting back another curse. Two more minutes and he'd be late. No time to waste then. Instead of heading down the road until he reached his building, he simply ducked into the nearest alley he could get to. Once hidden from sight, he unfurled his wings and launched himself into the air, sailing back home.
When he reached the building, he touched down onto the balcony that led into the combined kitchen and living room, on the opposite side of the building from the balcony he'd left from. Making his way inside, he hurried over to the kitchen. He worked to put everything away as quickly as possible, but was careful not to make too much noise; he didn't want to wake Rei. He left everything else—the clothes, books, and the game—on the table; he'd take care of those later.
With that done, he made his way back to his office, settling back in front of his computer. Unlocking it, he saw a notification already sitting on the screen; an invitation to an online messaging service. He clicked on it, taking him to the chat screen where, not even 5 full seconds later, a message popped up.
4:08 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Well then. A full eight and a half minutes late.'
-'Quite unusual for you.'
He huffed in equal parts amusement and annoyance. Amusement at his correspondent's near-immediate messaging and how they'd kept such close track of how late he was, and annoyance that he'd been late in the first place.
4:08 [Deku]-
-'Apologies. I found myself held up by events outside of my control while out attending to my errands'
4:09 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Oh? Those "events" wouldn't happen to be the villain incident I read about a moment ago would it?'
-'About a villain with a sludge-body mutation quirk that was apprehended by none other than All Might, so far from his normal patrol route.'
4:09 [Deku]-
-'No. It was something unrelated that delayed me. But I did hear about that incident. I saw a video of what transpired.'
He smirked as he typed out the lie. He knew that his correspondent would like nothing more than to work out the true identity of the quirk analyst 'Deku,' especially when Izuku already knew his identity. He had probably asked that question to see if he could pick Izuku out from the crowds shown on camera—which he knew he was, thankfully, not a part of, despite being right up front.
4:10 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'So, what did you think?'
4:10 [Deku]-
-'Of what?'
4:10 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'All of it.'
-'The villain, the victim, the heroes that were already on scene, All Might, and even the mystery civilian that seemingly had to step in to assist.'
-'I would love to know your thoughts on the matter.'
Izuku paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts before responding.
4:11 [Deku]-
-'Starting with the villain, I'd say it would be an incredibly useful quirk for heroics, were it not for the distasteful appearance and, judging by the reactions of the gathered civilians, the smell. Such a quirk, that makes the user near impervious to most physical forms of attack and gives such a useful way of subduing their targets, not to mention the mobility, would've—and did—make them hard to combat.'
He grimaced, remembering the stench that had all but clogged his throat.
The other didn't respond, clearly waiting for the rest of his input.
-'Then, with the victim. I'd guess that they were simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time. And their quirk—explosions or some kind of flame from the looks of it—only made things worse; adding to the confusion and making it more difficult for the heroes to handle.'
He knew it was explosions. He'd been there when that quirk first manifested after all…
Shaking his head, he continued. He had no desire to dwell on that part of his life.
-'As for why the villain took them in the first place. It seemed as though their goal was not to negotiate for anything or guarantee their safety as they fled, at least not in the normal sense. They didn't attempt to make any sort of demands and were clearly waiting for the victim to drown, which means their goal was either pure maliciousness or they needed the body for some reason. Depending on how much they could compact their liquid body, it's possible that they intended to use the victim's body as a puppet or a place to hide.'
Of course, he already knew why they did it, but he didn't want to reveal that he knew more than he was supposed to
-'The heroes that were already on scene, despite how competent they have shown themselves to be—Kamui Woods in particular—all dropped the ball with this incident. They all stood by while the victim almost drowned, on live television no less. While it is true that their quirks were not ideal for the situation, that doesn't matter in a situation such as this.'
-'Not only were there solutions to work past the quirk disadvantage—Backdraft could've used his quirk to dilute the villain or douse Kamui Woods to protect him from the flames while he dealt with the villain, or Kamui could've targeted the villain's eyes, likely their only weak point, while one of the others retrieved the victim—but they are heroes, which by definition means that they should be willing to risk their lives in order to protect the lives of ordinary citizens. And while one shouldn't necessarily expect them to die for the sake of a citizen, that is one of the risks that comes with heroism.'
-'In fairness to them, though, they did at the very least work to protect the civilians that had gathered to watch.'
-'It is extremely fortunate, both for the victim and the other heroes, that All Might arrived when he did. The victim likely would've died before too much longer, and then those heroes, and likely heroes as a whole, would have possibly faced some backlash for not only failing to save an innocent civilian, but standing by and doing nothing as it happened. And as such, with him stepping in, in a city so far from his agency's headquarters, it is unlikely that anyone will focus too much on their actions.'
-'As for the civilian that stepped in. I'd also say that it's fortunate for everyone involved that they did. The possibility exists that, if they hadn't, the victim would not have even survived long enough for All Might to save them.'
-'Their quirk seemed to either be a projectile or accuracy-based one going by how accurately they struck the villain's eye, but the distance between the crowd and the villain, combined with the speed at which the projectile was thrown, would suggest a strength enhancer. It is very likely that they have some combination of the two. A niche quirk but obviously not without its uses.'
He smirked to himself as he typed out that last bit.
4:16 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Interesting points all around.'
-'I came to the same conclusion as you as far as the villain's goal, it did seem that he was waiting for the victim to drown in order to use their body. But something like that shouldn't be necessary given the nature of their quirk and the durability and mobility it gives them. So, I figured that it was likely to hide from someone specific. Someone who could defeat and apprehend them.'
4:17 [Deku]-
-'All Might, then? I can't think of anyone off the top of my head that would've been in that area naturally and would be capable of defeating them, and All Might was obviously proven to be in the area.'
Come to think of it, didn't the filth mention something about hiding from someone when they tried to attack him?
4:17 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Yes. That is what I was thinking. It's possible that they already had an encounter with him, resulting in their very public actions.'
-'And regarding the mystery civilian, do you think that their use of their quirk should label them as a vigilante?'
"Ha. That person is most definitely a vigilante. But not for the reasons you're thinking of."
4:18 [Deku]-
-'No, I Don't.'
4:18 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Oh? Care to elaborate?'
4:18 [Deku]-
-'Well first off, how the law views and handles vigilantism is completely flawed to begin with. Much too black-and-white to be of any use. In the eyes of the law, any case of a person even defending themselves gets treated as vigilantism. Even simple public quirk usage is strongly frowned upon for how closely it comes to the definition of vigilantism.'
-'But as for this case specifically? I don't think they should be. Because, as I said, it is very likely that the victim would've died before All Might's arrival had they not acted. They intervened in the fight in a way that not only assisted in the saving of a victim and apprehension of a criminal, but did so without harm to anyone beyond the criminal. Additionally, there's no proof that a quirk was actually used, despite the low probability of the alternative being true. It is possible that it was simply skill and exemplary physical capabilities that allowed them to do what they did.'
4:20 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'I certainly agree with you as far as how ineffective the current vigilante laws are. Instances of potential vigilantism should really be treated on a case-by-case basis, especially given how widely the types of vigilantes can vary.'
-'There are those that, as you said, merely defend themselves. They shouldn't be treated as vigilantes. There are those that are vigilantes, but out of necessity, either because they are facing an issue that is not or cannot be solved by those who should be, or they simply do not have the means to become a proper hero. Then, there are the ones such as the vigilante, Oni, who protects the innocent and apprehends criminals and villains, but with what most would consider "excessive force." And finally, there are the ones such as the hero killer, Stain, who are one step away from being a villain and are vigilantes only in name.'
-'Currently, in the eyes of the law, all of the above cases are treated the same—with the exception of extenuating circumstances such as the suspect's actions resulting the death of another. In which case they are usually judged even more harshly—and it is a disgrace.'
4:22 [Deku]-
-'I agree wholeheartedly.'
4:22 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'But enough of such dismal topics.'
-'Shall we begin a new game of chess?'
-'What was the score again?'
4:23 [Deku]-
-'Yes, we should.'
-'And the score is currently 192 to 190. In my favor.'
Izuku smiled as they got into their usual game of chess. It was great, his correspondent was one of the only people he'd come across that could match up to him intellectually. As such, he valued the time he spent speaking with him or playing chess, or some other game of wits, against him.
Focusing his attention on the digital game board, he got to work picking apart his opponents moves; who was no doubt doing the same to him; he was determined to increase his score to 193.
Shortly after, the two had concluded their game—with no small amount of disappointment on his side of things due to the fact that he lost—he turned his computer completely off and made his way out of the room.
He could hear movement coming from Rei's room, his sister was likely getting ready for the day—or night, rather—ahead of her.
Moving into the kitchen, he went about getting out everything he needed. He addressed the cookbook on the counter—the official Lunch Rush cookbook, unfortunately unsigned, that included meals from all across the world—and got to work. He had found a new recipe for an American-style dish he wanted to try. It seemed simple enough, but he wanted to get it right. His hands blurred across the counter as he worked to prepare everything.
When he had a moment to step away from the stove, he moved to put everything away that he'd left out.
Meanwhile, Rei had entered into the room, tossing out a greeting before settling in the living room, in front of the TV.
As with the kitchen, they didn't have any normal furniture in the living room to sit on. Instead, they had several bean-bag chairs and a number of enormous pillows. They couldn't easily sit down, but they could certainly lay over top of soft, fluffy things. Besides, their tails worked pretty well in place of furniture.
Before long, the meal had been prepared, and the two had moved to the kitchen table. He was quite pleased with how the food had turned out, especially given that it was his first time with the particular meal.
A few minutes in and they finally got to talking.
"I got you that new game you were talking about." He started, reaching for the bag he'd left in the kitchen. "I think it's the right one. Or at least, that's what the guy at the store said."
Izuku had no clue what he was doing when it came to games. He could take down an army of drug dealers in minutes, pick apart quirks in seconds, was the most successful analyst in Asia, and had a college degree—multiple actually—when most others his age were still in school, and yet he was hopeless with that. He could handle digital strategy games such as chess, but beyond that was just a mess.
It wasn't that he hadn't tried them, he had—especially since Rei liked them—it was just that he never found any enjoyment when he did. But just because he didn't much care for them, didn't mean he wasn't going to get them for her.
Her eyes lit up as they landed on the case he'd removed from the bag. She abandoned her food in favor of rushing to his side of the table to practically snatch it out of his hand.
"Ah!" She exclaimed, inspecting the cover. "Fuck yes! I've been waiting for this to come out ever since they announced it."
She threw herself around his neck, wrapping him a hug that he reflexively returned. "Thank you!"
He smiled, rubbing between her shoulder blades. "I'm guessing this means that was the right one then. Good."
Rei laughed a bit at that, "Yes it's the right one. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Letting go of him, she straightened back up, looking back at the game. "I can't wait to get started on this. I've heard people say it's really good." She turned around and started moving towards her room.
"Hey!" Izuku called, prompting her to look back at him with a questioning look.
"Where do you think you're going?" He questioned, pointing back at her unfinished plate of food. "Eat your food first. Then play."
"Hmph." She pouted, overdramatically, but still moving back to her spot. "Such a spoilsport."
"Yes, yes." He replied. "Oh, what a monster am I. For delaying you five minutes to make sure you eat something. Because if I don't, I know you won't eat anything until I get back tomorrow morning."
"Like I said. Spoilsport."
Rei settled back into her spot, resuming her meal. After a minute, she spoke up again.
"Do you have any plans for how you're going to spend tonight?" She asked, likely looking for a way to occupy her mind.
He considered for a moment. "I'm thinking that I'll target another group, even though I already grabbed that one last night. These ones are Trigger dealers, so the less time they're allowed to run around, the better."
"Are you going to let Tsukauchi know again?"
He shook his head. "No, not until afterwards. Trigger dealers have a habit of juicing themselves when they feel threatened. I'd rather not put any police officers at risk, or Eraserhead, as skilled as he may be."
"Alright, but that means that you have to be careful too." She said, stabbing her fork at him for emphasis. "I like it when you stay alive."
"So do I. I like not being dead. And when am I not careful?"
She rolled her eyes at that. "Basically, whenever you fight. You're an adrenaline junky when it comes to that sort of stuff."
"Lies and slander." He rebutted, moving to gather her plate, which she'd emptied, and went to the sink. "I am the epitome of care and responsibility."
This time she actually snorted. "Are you forgetting about that time you handcuffed both of your arms behind your back, just to see if you could take down a group of quirk traffickers with just your legs?"
"Lies-!" He tried to cut in. But she was on a roll, and had no intention of stopping.
"Or what about that other time when you jumped, literally, into the middle of an underground fighting ring, trying to become their new champion, but instead ended up having to fight everyone there."
"Shut!" He yelled, flinging soapy water at her. She just laughed as she moved away, bringing up more embarrassing slipups.
"Oh. And let's not forget my personal favorite." She said, mischievous smile on her face. "The day you tried to stop a drug deal blindfolded. You not only failed to stop them, but you actually got immobilized by some asshole's paralysis quirk." She had to pause to stifle a laugh, struggling to finish her thought.
"I actually had to get Eraserhead to come save you. Then he tried to drag you off to the police precinct. I wish I had video to go with the lecture he gave you on the way. He sounded like such a disappointed da-" He cut her off with a bigger splash of water.
"You shut your trash mouth right now!" He yelled, trying to keep up the appearance of anger, but she could see the red glow to his cheeks, and the smile he was struggling to keep away.
"I deny that any of that ever happened!" He said, moving to dry off one of the plates.
"Do you really? Because I've got audio recordings of most of them if you want to he-"
"Anyways!" he cut in, interrupting her from calling out anymore totally fabricated instances of his recklessness.
"Anyways. So I had a few pretty interesting things happen today while I was out."
"Oh really?" She replied, amused by his change in topic and leaning against the table with a smirk. "Like what?"
"Well, I got attacked, for one."
Her eyes snapped to him, smirk fading as she scanned him for injuries. It returned when she found none.
She knew very well just how capable he was, but that didn't stop her from worrying.
"So who was the unfortunate idiot who pulled that stunt?"
"A living puddle of sewage."
At her lack of response, he glanced over her shoulder at her, and saw her look of confusion.
"Alright, technically, I don't think he was actually made out of sewage. But he was made of sludge, and certainly smelled like it; the stench was godawful."
She tilted her head at him. "Is that why you smell like apples?"
"Yeah. I activated 'Aroma' to try to offset it."
"What did you do to them?"
"Splattered them across the road." He replied with a shrug. "What else?"
"And that's not even the most interesting thing that happened today." He continued. "I may or may not have met All Might today and figured out his quirk."
He saw her eyes light up. Even though he was a vigilante, and what the two of them did was illegal, they still enjoyed heroes, and he was her favorite. "What is it?"
"It's called One For All," he responded, "I'm not sure why." People named their quirks any number of ways, after all.
"Basically, it seems to be an energy stockpiling quirk, that lets the user make use of the stockpiled energy as raw strength. But the kicker? Instead of being like other stockpile quirks that draw strength from the environment, or food, or some other similar source, it uses the energy drawn from past users of the quirk."
"Past users?" She questioned, brow furrowing as she turned those words over in her head.
"Exactly. My best guess, is that the quirk somehow modified itself to always be the dominant gene when everything is being passed down. So instead of the possibility of the child receiving a mutation of both parents' quirks, they always get this one which, by that logic, would make it stronger each time it's passed; taking strength from each user.
He sighed, thinking about the mystery he'd stumbled upon. "That's not even the strangest part about all of this."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I was out and about earlier, this man walked up to me; practically skin and bone and with his clothes hanging off of him. What he wanted isn't important, but when I used 'Appraisal' on him, it revealed him to be a Toshinori Yagi, and when I shook his hand, he had the single most powerful quirk I've ever come across—which I can't take, by the way, even if I wanted to. Something about it stops me."
"Then, later, I came across All Might fighting the same sludge villain that had attacked me earlier in the day, and decided to use 'Appraisal' on him."
He looked at her with a serious expression. "Want to take a guess at what it showed as his name?"
Her face displayed a brief moment of confusion, before lighting back up in shock and realization.
"It wasn't Toshinori Yagi, was it?"
"It was indeed."
"How is that even possible? I mean, with how you described his appearance, he seems too weak to do much of anything, let alone be the number one hero."
"And that, Rei, is the mystery I've been thinking over since this afternoon." He said, dragging his hands down his face. "It shouldn't be a quirk that causes it, and I very highly doubt that it's some man-made method, drug or otherwise. But there's obviously something that's allowing him to transform from a six-foot-tall twig that can't weigh more than a hundred pounds, to the seven-foot-tall, six-hundred-pound, absolute unit of a hero everyone knows and loves. I just can't figure it out."
He dragged a hand down his face again. "I love quirks, but sometimes they just make no fucking sense."
"You will." She reassured him, moving over to his side and putting an arm over his shoulders. "You always do. You're the smartest person I know, and I doubt there's anyone out there that's better than you at analyzing quirks."
He sighed, putting his own arm up around her shoulders. "I just hope that happens soon, because currently it's driving me crazy with how improbable it is."
"And thanks." He said, smiling at her. "You're pretty smart too."
She laughed. "Of course I am. You quite literally taught me just about everything I know."
He squeezed her a bit tighter. "You know you're my favorite sister, right?"
"I'm your only sister."
"Doesn't make it any less true." He said. "Now come on, there's still a few hours of daylight left. Let's watch some TV while you play your new game, then later I'll help you with your essay if you want.
With that, Rei sped off to her room to retrieve the handheld console that would play the game, while he settled himself in the living room. She joined him a minute later.
And that's how the two of them spent the rest of the day, curled up on the floor together. Rei going on about the game as she played, and Izuku listening on with a smile, barely paying attention to the TV.
Chapter End Notes
Later today, I will be posting a separate fic to go along with this one. It won't be another story, just a list of all the quirks that Izuku has shown thus far.
I wanted to keep that separate just to make it easier to update, which I will do after each new chapter here, so long as a new quirk actually appeared.
I hope you enjoyed!
Oni and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Night
Chapter Summary
Oni's night does not go as planned.
Chapter Notes
Who's ready for ten thousand words?
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The sun had finally set, and Izuku was preparing himself for his nightly venture.
First he changed, physically, back into Oni. His snake tail shrank back and split into human legs. His wings shrank slightly and changed in color. Facial features shifted and changed until they were no longer recognizable as 'Izuku's.' And his hair receded back into his head, turning pitch black as a pair of equally dark horns emerged.
Next, he got dressed into his usual outfit. Undershirt, then red dress shirt, tucked into black slacks that sat over his boots and were secured by a black belt with a silver buckle. Then came a pitch-black tie around his neck, followed by a matching button-down vest, and finally, his black leather gloves. To top it all off, he donned the metal kitsune mask, lined with foam and leather on the inside and secured with a simple strap buckled behind his head.
With the exception of the boots and the mask, everything was a fresh duplicate of the items he had worn the night before. He made sure to have plenty of copies of everything he liked to wear; what with the nature of his work being particularly risky to clothing.
As he stepped out onto the balcony, breathing in the cool night air, he picked out a few quirks from the bundle in his chest, pulling them up to stay for the night.
Two general strength and speed enhancers, two durability enhancers, and the newest addition to his collection, 'Spectrum.' He figured that he might as well get some live practice with it.
There were others that he picked out but didn't activate just yet, ready to be pulled to the surface at a moment's notice, such as his claw quirk, should they be needed.
These all combined with those that he normally kept active, whether he was Oni or Izuku. His intelligence quirks, energy stockpilers, 'Insomnia,' 'Proximity,' 'Appraisal,' two of his strength and speed quirks—one each—and a few other quirks that had a bit more specific activation requirements, but whose effects were greatly useful.
After spending years training and experimenting with his natural quirk, he knew what his limits were, and having all those quirks active at once was well within them.
He could still experience quirk exhaustion of course, but he'd found that it wasn't necessarily based around how many quirks he had, or how many he had active at a time. There weren't any drawbacks to simply having a quirk active, but when he used it, he needed to keep in mind the limits that came with it. He could have any number active at once, but however many there were, he had to be careful of the limits and exhaustion brought on by using them.
For example, the strength quirk he usually kept active relied upon the body's energy to enhance strength, rather than increasing muscle mass. Having it active didn't drain him so long as he wasn't exerting it.
If he had several active but wasn't using them, or at least not extensively, then it wasn't an issue. But if he was using them, the exhaustion would compound with their effects.
Additionally, regarding his own quirk, the only exhaustion he really experienced as a result of using it was from how fast he activated other quirks. It was based around how long he went between individual quirks, not how fast a single one activated—that was always instant.
As far as he knew, he could potentially have all of his quirks active at once, so long as he didn't try to do it too fast.
The quirks he always kept active were all relatively low drains on his stamina. Really, the biggest drain was 'Insomnia,' and even then it wasn't an issue.
Between his constant use of his quirks, and a select few of those, such as his energy stockpilers, he'd increased his limits quite a bit.
That was why he started the night by activating quirks. So that, if it became necessary, he'd be fresh to pull on as many quirks as he needed.
Finally prepared for the night ahead, he hopped up onto the balcony railing. Smirking, he leaned forwards, falling off the building. His wings flared out after a moment, catching the air as he glided into the night.
Oni frowned as he took in the scene in front of him. This was not how he thought tonight would go.
Right there in front of him, in some random, insignificant alleyway, was a corpse.
It wasn't just any corpse, either. It was a Pro Hero.
Tectonic, the Earthen Hero. A mid-level pro that could control rocks, going so far as to be able to tear up chunks of roads or buildings to use against villains.
He'd had his eyes on this hero for a while, and not only for their interesting quirk. For some time now, Tectonic had been stealing money using a fake charity. People would donate money and it would just go straight into his pocket.
Oni had considered paying him a visit, or maybe just simply exposing him, but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth it. The man was still a hero. He did his job and he did it well. Besides, the only people that he hurt with his little scam were the people that made the mistake of donating to him. If they were stupid enough to not thoroughly research a charity before giving it their money, then that was their fault. The benefits of keeping him around outweighed the crime.
Even if he had decided to intervene though, the man hadn't deserved this. To die alone in some dirty alley.
He moved closer, crouching next to the body and taking in the details to attempt to work out exactly what happened. The man wasn't in his hero outfit, and at this time of night—with the blood still fresh—he had probably been out drinking. The cause of death was obvious enough; the single stab wound directly through the heart. Aside from that though, there wasn't much to see. He could see a single long cut—really more of a scratch—along his cheek, but nothing else. He expected to see something that indicated a struggle; maybe pieces of disturbed earth from his quirk, more injuries, or even bruises on his hands or dirtied clothes; but there was nothing.
He knew how capable Tectonic was when it came to combat. Even drunk, the man would've been able to put up a fight. So to see the man dead with seemingly no struggle of any kind…
It didn't paint a pretty picture in the slightest.
Oni could think of a few people off the top of his head that might be able to pull something like this off, but to his knowledge, none of them were in his city. And, from that list, there were even fewer that would even have a reason to do something like this in the first place. It would've taken effort, which means they had real motive.
Really, going through the list and narrowing it down with what he knew—especially with the wounds the hero had—left him with only one real possibility. He put his head in his hands with a groan. If it was who he thought it was—and damn how he hoped it wasn't—then he wasn't ready for that headache at all.
"Phantom." He called out the nickname he and Rei had chosen for if he ever needed to address her while he was out as Oni. He thought the name was a bit boring, but it served its purpose.
He'd wanted her to take the name Medusa, but she thought it was a bit on the nose.
"What is it?" came the response.
"We have a problem. Potentially a major one."
"How bad?" She asked, tone taking on a more serious edge.
"There's a good chance that he is active in Musutafu."
"…Oh."
They had discussed the possibility of this situation enough for her to know immediately who he was talking about. That man was the only person he'd ever found that might actually present a true danger to him, even with his quirks. Or at least, the only one that was free. There were plenty of monsters locked up in Tartarus that he'd much rather avoid.
"Start looking for him please. The faster we get a handle on this, the better. He's already killed at least one since he got here, I'd like to make sure he doesn't get a second."
"I'm on it. What are you going to do?"
"For now, I'm going to try my best to find him so I can get him out of my city."
"Be careful."
"…Yeah."
He took out his phone. Before he started his search, he had to make a call that he more than likely wasn't going to enjoy.
He held the phone to his ear after choosing the contact, listening to it ring. He didn't have to wait long.
"Oni, what have you done now?" Tsukauchi complained as soon as the call connected, sounding as exhausted as ever. "I haven't even finished dealing with last night's mess. I wasn't able to credit Eraser for t-."
"Tsukauchi." He cut in, not wanting to have to listen to the lecture continue on.
His uncharacteristically serious tone succeeded in shutting the detective up. "Oni? What is it? What's wrong?"
"You need to send someone to my location. Now." He answered. "I found Tectonic. He's dead."
"You- what?" The detective floundered. "You-. You didn't kill him, did you?"
He scoffed. "Of course I didn't. I've not killed anyone in the entire time I've been a vigilante and, what? You think all of a sudden I'm just going to kill a Pro Hero out of nowhere? I know I'm not exactly a saint, but give me some credit, Tsukauchi. Shit."
"Right, right. Sorry. I'm just-." He sighed. "This is just a shock. We found another dead hero just last week. I don't like the trend that you finding another one indicates."
Oni just grunted in response. Damn, so there was already another one that he'd somehow missed. This was worse than he thought; If the other hero had been killed by the same person, then they'd already been in the city for at least a week without him noticing, maybe even longer.
"So, tell me what happened. How did he die?" The detective questioned. "And do you know who did it? Obviously they weren't there when you showed up. Otherwise you'd probably have dealt with them."
"From what I can tell, it was a single stab wound through the heart. And I'm not really seeing any signs of a struggle."
He sighed. "As far as who did it? I have an idea, but it is by no means a good one."
"Well? Who is it?"
"I'm not going to tell you right now. You'll have to wait until after I've confirmed it. If I told you, you'd no doubt have Eraser, or some other underground hero, out searching for them. And that's not a showdown I want to see happen."
"…Fine. I'll trust your judgement, Oni." The other responded after a moment. "If you think it's someone that bad. Just keep me posted and please be careful."
He hung up at that, before quickly sending his location. Sparing one last glance at the unfortunate hero, he spread his wings and took off, straight into the air. He wanted to get an aerial view to start planning his search.
He didn't make it very far.
Just as he reached the roof of one of the adjacent buildings, he felt something wrapping around his torso, pinning his arms to his body along with one of his wings, the other thankfully folding properly against his back.
An instant later, he was being flung through the air, slamming into the roof on his side, and unfortunately right on top of the wing that was pinned. He grit his teeth at the audible crack that rang through the air and the sharp pain that immediately bloomed from the appendage, sending stars across his vision.
"Are you okay!?" He heard Rei's voice in his ear. "What the hell was that noise!?"
Choosing to ignore her for the moment, he lifted his head, directing his attention to the person—he already knew who it was—who had decided to throw him into a building as a greeting. He saw the scowl—paired with red eyes and floating hair—decorating the usually apathetic face.
"Nice to see you too, Eraserhead." He said through gritted teeth, doing his best to work through the pain.
"Shut up!" The hero snapped, surprising him. He'd seen the hero annoyed before—his quirk was usually a good indicator of that, flaring with his mood—but he didn't think he'd ever seen him truly angry before. "What? Did you get tired of just fighting criminals? Decided that you'd start killing heroes?"
Dropping his head back to the ground with a groan, Oni wished his arms weren't pinned; he really wanted to hit something, or at least give Eraser the finger. He settled for an annoyed sigh instead.
"I didn't kill anyone, Eraser. As I was JUST explaining to Tsukauchi, not even two minutes ago, I found him like that."
"And why should I believe you? You're exactly the type of person to start a fight with someone just for kicks. And finding you next to the fresh corpse is pretty convincing evidence in my opinion."
Oni bit back a groan as an involuntary twitch brought a fresh wave of pain from his wing. This fucking night was really starting to get on his nerves, and he was only an hour into it.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because it's the fucking truth? You dumbass." He snapped, watching as the hero recoiled slightly at his words, not expecting the anger. He normally wouldn't be so crass—he made an effort to maintain his happy, carefree persona when he was out as Oni, even if he was fighting people and terrorizing criminals—but being accused of murder twice in five minutes, plus the possibility of a serial killer running around his city was putting a serious damper on his mood. Not to mention the pain that was radiating from his broken wing, which he was still laying on.
"Call Tsukauchi if you really want to." He said, practically growling with how strained his voice was. "But I've literally not killed a single person the entire time I've been a vigilante. I'm not about to start with a hero that I've got no reason to even dislike."
Not entirely true, but that wasn't important; he had reason enough to dislike Tectonic, but not enough to warrant his death.
"Not to mention, he was killed by a stab wound. I don't use weapons. I don't even own any for shit's sake."
Again, not entirely truthful. He did have a blade quirk. But it wasn't like Eraserhead knew that.
He saw the hero hesitate, before taking out his phone, causing him to growl in equal parts frustration and pain.
"Could you at least let me get up?" He questioned. "I can't exactly go anywhere. Your friendly greeting broke my wing and I'm about ninety percent sure it's a compound fracture. Y'know, the wing I'm lying on top of?" He heard Rei's panicked exclamation in his ear at his words.
The hero winced ever so slightly at that, and he felt the capture weapon loosen around him. He went to sit up, doing his best not to jostle the wing any more than necessary. He wasn't very successful, as the resulting burst in pain made his vision flash white and almost knocked the wind out of him.
He could hear Eraser talking to someone—presumably Tsukauchi—as he looked over at his injured wing, now splayed awkwardly across the ground next to him.
'Yep. Definitely compound.' He thought to himself as he inspected the injury.
Both the radius and ulna were broken; that part of the limb was bent in a very unnatural way. He could see where the two bones were poking through the skin, exposing themselves to the night air. This meant that there was a fair amount of blood dripping onto the roof beneath him; he could see where it was staining the capture weapon too.
'Great.' He thought with resignation. 'As if tonight hasn't been fan-fucking-tastic enough already. Now I'm going to have to wash blood out of my clothes too.'
At the very least it wouldn't stain; fortunately, his aesthetic just happened to be colors that couldn't really be stained by blood.
Just as he was contemplating how he would go about setting the bone back in place so he could start healing it, he noticed Eraser looking at him, phone now put away. The anger that had been present in his face just a minute ago had been replaced by something else. Guilt, if he wasn't mistaken; Eraser's emotions were normally hard to read, and right now he was preoccupied by the spike of pain driving into his mind.
After a moment of the two staring at each other, Oni threw his hands up in frustration, ignoring the flare in pain even that little bit of movement caused. "If you're not going to apologize, the least you could do is make yourself useful and help me set the bones back in place."
Eraserhead started towards him, phone still out and ready to dial someone. "Let me take you to the hospital so you can get that looked at."
Oni forced a single, harsh laugh from his throat. "No thank you. I don't need to go to a hospital. I can handle it."
"Kid, seriously. You need to go a hospital for that. That isn't something that can be fixed easily."
"Right, because you are obviously an expert in wing anatomy and biology." Oni responded, pouring as much sarcasm into those words as he could. "Of the two of us, which one actually has wings, and therefore would be more likely to know about this shit?"
He huffed in frustration when the other didn't move, slamming a fist down onto the roof just to dispel some of the pent-up energy. "Dammit! I don't need a fucking hospital, Eraser. What I needed, was to not be hurt in the first place! But apparently you decided to act without using your fucking brain first. Attacking me even though I would've stopped to talk to you anyway if I knew you were here!"
He slumped down where he was sitting. Damn, his wing was really hurting. Even the breeze brushing across the exposed muscle and flesh made it burn. And it hurt to even breathe. "I know what the fuck I'm doing Eraser. Are you going to help, or not?"
He hesitated for a moment, before walking towards Oni. "What do you need me to do?"
"Just, fuckin', grab the end of the wing and pull. It needs to fully extend so I can reset the bone."
The hero knelt on the ground and grabbed the wing, as instructed. Just that little bit of movement already hurt like hell.
"This is going to hurt." Eraser oh-so-helpfully informed him.
"Yeah, no shit." He snapped, shooting a glare at the hero. "I've got it covered, just start pulling when I tell you." He practically threw his gloves off, and started fumbling with his shirtsleeve buttons before deciding it was taking too long.
'Screw it.' He decided with a huff, before pulling on 'Demonic Claws.' The scales tore through his shirt as they traveled down his arms. Once that was done, he put his now claw-covered hand in his mouth, biting down on the knuckle. At the same time, he dropped the strength quirks he had in place; he didn't want to bite through his hand.
He took another moment to brace himself, before gesturing over at Eraserhead.
Immediately, his vision went white and this time, his breath was actually knocked out of him as the pain exploded in his wing. Through the pain, he pulled another quirk from his chest and tried his best to focus on it. He groaned past his hand as the fire in his limb flared even further, the broken bones popping back into place with a mighty 'crack!', before slumping in relief as the pain began to dissipate.
The quirk he'd used—and was still using—was a low-power healing one. It was useful of course, and he was glad to have it, but it wasn't nearly as good as he wished it was.
It wasn't too useful for fights, only the aftermath. It required conscious effort to activate, and would only work while he remained focused on it. Meaning it was difficult to use in the chaos that fights normally dissolved into.
Despite that, he liked it because it could heal just about any wound, new or old, over time. Scars would fade and disappear, and lost limbs would slowly return over the course of weeks or months. So, it really was useful, but at the same time, he'd been on the hunt for a better healing quirk for some time now. Self-healing quirks were so much rarer than those that healed others.
After a few moments, the pain finally lessened enough for him to draw breath again. He dropped his hand to the ground, panting as he tried to catch his breath and steady his heart. Glancing over at where the wing had been broken, he could see that looked as though it was healing properly. The bones were still visible where they had torn through the surrounding muscle and skin, but even as he was watching, the damaged flesh was knitting itself back together to cover it. The pain was fading away to a dull throb.
A glance at Eraserhead showed the hero staring on in almost-concealed interest and shock.
"I didn't know that enhanced healing was a part of your quirk." The hero said, a rare show of slight emotion in his voice.
"There's a lot you don't know about me." He responded, voice rough from the pain he'd just felt, and the resulting exhaustion.
'If only you knew what my quirk really was.' He thought to himself as he watched the wound heal. 'You'd probably try to break my wing all over again before you dragged me away.'
They lapsed into an awkward silence for a minute, Oni still on the ground, resisting the urge to shudder at the odd sensation of muscle squirming around beneath his skin as it healed, and Eraserhead, still with his wing in hand, staring at the ground.
"How long will it take to heal?"
"It'll be functional in a few minutes, so long as I keep from doing anything too strenuous, but it'll likely be sore for the rest of the night."
It was another few minutes before either spoke up again, then. "I'm sorry, Oni."
He looked over at the hero, who had finally stopped staring at the ground.
"For accusing you of killing them and for breaking your wing."
Oni let out a long sigh as he considered his response.
"Don't worry about it, Eraser. You had plenty of reason to suspect me; I'm not exactly someone who can be considered 'morally sound'. Besides, it's fine now." He said. "I apologize for my sour language."
"You don't have to apologize for that, kid. You were in pain, that's to be expected."
"All the same. I was already in a foul mood from observing the crime scene; if the culprit is who I think it is, then they are going to cause me no end of headaches."
"That's right. Tsukauchi said that you'd told him that you know who it is."
Oni shook his head. "I don't know for sure. I have a pretty good guess, but it is still just that; a guess. I really hope it isn't them. They're more trouble that they're worth."
He looked over at Eraser. "And before you ask, no, I won't tell you who it is."
"Why not? It'll help take them down quicker."
"No, it won't. It'll just make sure that you or some other hero encounters them that much faster. I don't want to see another hero killed by them."
He let out another sigh. "Let me put it this way. I'm not sure that even I could take them on and walk away unscathed. And you've seen me fight, you know what that says about them."
"Are they really that dangerous?" Eraser asked with a slight look of surprise.
"Yes. Their quirk, combined with their skillset, and sheer amount of damn willpower makes them incredibly so. If any one of those things were missing, they wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem. But as it stands, I would almost be tempted to say that it would take All Might, or at least a dedicated combination of heroes, to be able to take care of them."
"…Shit. So, what're you going to do?"
Oni got to his feet, Eraserhead following a moment later. He worked his wing around, testing it, and let out a satisfied hum when he found nothing wrong. At the same time, he pulled his strength quirks back out.
He turned back to the hero. "I'm going to go find them, and do whatever I can to get them out of this city."
He got a raised eyebrow in response. "Didn't you just say that you didn't think that you'd be able to handle them?"
"Yep~." He responded, popping the 'p'. Stepping back, he launched himself into the air; he made sure to launch with mostly just his legs, to take unnecessary strain off of his wing.
With that, he flew off into the night, already working up a plan for where to start looking.
He had just finished climbing through the air, settling himself so that he didn't have to do much more than glide, when Rei spoke up again. She'd been listening the entire time.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." He replied almost immediately.
"…" Rei didn't respond to that. It was clear that she didn't believe him and was waiting for the truth.
A sigh. "I mean, yeah, it hurt, both my wing and the two of them accusing me of killing the hero, especially after working with them for years now, but I've healed, and they both apologized, so it's fine."
"If you say so, but once this mess is taken care of, I expect you to take at least one night off to relax."
He managed a small laugh. "If this ends up being the kind of mess I'm expecting it to be, I'll take an entire week off."
"Good. We both know that you deserve it. Now be careful out there. I'll let you know if I find anything on my end."
"I will."
With that, he shifted direction, moving off towards the first area he wanted to check.
Shouta watched as Oni flew away into the night. A frown on his face as he considered the vigilante.
He still felt the guilt burning through him at what he'd done. Just as Oni said, once he saw him next to the fresh corpse of a hero, all reason and logic left his mind and he attacked. He was supposed to be a pro hero. More than that, he was supposed to be someone that taught future pro heroes. And yet he'd failed to even think before he acted.
He'd just felt so angry. So betrayed. That Oni had done something like that when Shouta had known him for so long.
Shouta had first met him about five years ago. He'd been young;—too young, way too fucking young—short and scrawny with a high-pitched voice. His clothes had been a tattered pair of sweatpants and a stained hoodie rather than the suits he now wore that each looked more expensive than Shouta's entire wardrobe. And his mask had looked like some shitty plastic one that could be found in just about any store.
But despite his appearance, and the fact that he seemed like he couldn't be any older than ten, he hit hard enough to send thugs flying and tended to move faster than Shouta could even follow. Not to mention that his quirk never seemed to be erased by Shouta, with the exception of his clawed hands.
Pair that with his chaotic tendencies and the fact that he seemed to thrive off of the fear he inspired in others, and it didn't take long before his goal to capture Oni had become just as much about saving the random petty thugs of the night, as it was about getting the fucking crazy child somewhere safe.
Eventually though, he'd stopped really trying to capture the vigilante. As much of a pain in his side as the kid was, and as much of a paperwork nightmare as he was for Tsukauchi, it quickly became evident that Oni could handle himself. Although it wasn't like Shouta could even do much to capture him in the first place. The closest he'd come was when Oni had somehow been paralyzed by some thug.
Oni's partner—whom he hadn't even been aware of until that moment—had called Shouta that night so he could go save him. Of course, he'd tried to take him in while he had the chance—as capable as Oni was, Shouta just wanted him off the streets where he could be killed—but he hadn't even gotten halfway there when Oni shred his capture gear and ran away.
Most of his attempts to capture the other either ended with Oni escaping, or with his capture gear getting damaged or stolen from him—strangely though, whenever the latter happened, it always turned back up at the precinct by the next night.
But Oni had never once actually fought Shouta. He would run and dodge, or destroy his gear if necessary, but he'd never once actually attacked.
Because of that, and because of the fact that, despite putting nearly every one of them in the hospital, he never killed any of the criminals he went against, Shouta had given up on trying to capture him. It simply wasn't worth his time. Underground heroes generally tended to be a bit more lenient when it came to vigilantes anyway. So long as they weren't killing people and were actually competent enough to not be a burden on them or the local law enforcement, it was too much of a hassle to do much about them. And although no one would ever admit to it, Shouta knew there were times when heroes or precincts would give tasks to a vigilante they were associated with, something on the wrong side of the law to handle a particular case or criminal, that would result in lost jobs or legal repercussions for them, but which was just a normal night for the vigilante.
Actually, after all the interactions they'd had and the fights they'd been in together, Shouta could almost say that he trusted Oni to a degree. Not that he would ever admit that out loud.
The kid still annoyed the hell out of him at times, and was more deserving of the title "Problem Child" than any of his students could ever be, but he'd had Shouta's back in enough fights to earn some amount of trust. And yeah, maybe part of it was the fact that the kid was very open about Shouta being his favorite hero.
Obviously he wasn't a hero for the recognition or rewards, but that didn't mean it didn't feel at least a little nice to hear something like that.
Sue him. He was human after all.
But that trust he'd formed had been what made him so angry when he found Oni tonight. He trusted the other enough to not do something like that, to not cross that line despite his chaotic—bordering on sadistic—tendencies. So to come to the conclusion that he'd killed someone…
He sighed. Now that he'd acted so rashly, he wouldn't be at all surprised if any trust the kid had in him was now damaged, if not gone completely.
He shook his head, dispelling those thoughts. He could worry about that later, when he wasn't on patrol. For now, he could hear sirens in the distance, most likely coming to pick up Tectonic's corpse. He'd worry about the kid later.
Oni was just about at his wit's end. He'd spent the last few hours flying over what was probably half of the city, scanning the streets, rooftops, and alleyways with his thermal and night vision, hoping to catch a glimpse of his suspect, but there was nothing.
Absolutely nothing. He hadn't even seen any of the normal criminals that usually prowled the streets, let alone the person he was searching for. Between Oni and his suspect, it was as if everyone instinctively knew that it was too dangerous to be out and about right now, and had stayed in whatever hole they called home.
He hadn't exactly expected it to be easy to find them, but it was annoying nonetheless. Every second that passed without finding them only made the situation worse. And they'd already been in the city for at least a week.
What's more, is that his wing was starting to throb again. He didn't think it would break again—he was confident he'd healed it enough to be safe from that—but it still hurt enough to be a constant presence in his mind; he'd probably accidentally left some hairline fractures or something similar, and flying around for the last several hours certainly didn't help.
He grimaced. This night was really starting to try his patience.
"Screw it." He declared to the empty sky.
"What?" Rei asked.
"Screw it." He repeated. "I'm not having any luck with this, and I'd rather not end the night without getting something done."
"Alright, so what's the plan?"
"Same as it was before. The Trigger dealers."
"You sure you want to deal with them after everything else tonight?"
"Yes, I am." He responded. "If anything, I want to do it more after what's happened. Like I said, I don't want to go home without getting something done. If nothing else, then this'll help relieve some stress."
"Okay. Go for it. I'll keep an eye on everything through the cameras as per usual."
"Alright."
He adjusted his course, directing himself to the location he'd found.
He hoped that this would help improve his mood. Maybe he'd find a new, interesting quirk? Or maybe the people there would, at the very least, give him an interesting fight.
A few minutes later, and he was circling over the building. Unlike the night before, it wasn't a warehouse.
He thought it was rather amusing that most groups like that found refuge in abandoned warehouses. He supposed it made sense, warehouses dotted the entire city. They were huge, numerous, and more often than not, abandoned. There were few better places for the run-of-the-mill criminals to set up shop.
This group, however, had chosen a much better location. A skyscraper that had been halted mid-construction for some reason or another; not an especially tall one but still obviously a tower. All of the floors were there, along with the proper support to keep it standing and most of the walls, but none of the windows were there, leaving it open to the night air and providing clear lines of sight all around; good for keeping a lookout. On top of that, being in a skyscraper like that meant that any invaders would have to work their way up level-by-level in order to reach everyone, assuming they didn't have wings. Much better than one single floor, or worse, one single, large room.
There was the obvious downside of having less routes for escape, but the increase in defensibility made up for it.
He could tell, just from those few points, that these criminals were more competent than the ones from yesterday. Not too surprising really; dealing Trigger was a few steps above the normal recreational drugs.
Switching to his thermal vision, he could make out several figures walking or standing along the edges of some of the floors, keeping an eye out for people. He even spotted a few on some of the adjacent buildings.
That caused a smile to grow on his face. These people would be much more fun to play with than the ones from yesterday.
He was about to move, to start with the sentries on adjacent buildings, when something incredibly wrong in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
Since he was still using thermal vision, he could see the faint glow from the rooftops where they'd been absorbing heat the day before. Most had faded to very faint green, where they'd cooled in the night air.
In one spot though, he saw a void. There was nothing at all. The darkest color he saw in anything else was a deep blue, indicating almost no real heat, but this one spot was a mass of pure black; a void in the world.
He could see that the shape was vaguely humanoid, but focusing too hard on it was starting to give him a headache. Switching over to night vision, he could see that there was nothing there. Or rather, it almost felt like there was something there, but he couldn't see it. It was almost as if he couldn't get his eyes to focus on that one spot. Switching back to thermal eased the strain a little, at least like this he could tell that there was something there.
His mind started racing as he circled through the air. Given the humanoid shape, it was likely that this was the result of a quirk. It couldn't be a normal invisibility quirk, otherwise thermal would have revealed them.
It also wasn't a matter of something being cold enough to not show up, either. It was something that was directly making it so he couldn't look at it. The only reason he could even perceive them at all was by observing the lack of presence with thermal. Then there was the headache from trying to force himself to focus on them.
"So, a mental quirk then?" He mused. "Those are always fun. Something that erases one's presence perhaps? Or forces others to ignore your presence?"
His smile grew even larger at the thought of such a quirk. "Let's find out."
He dropped through the air, aiming for the rooftop with the void.
A moment before hit the roof, he pulled on a quirk that created a cushion of air beneath him, slowing him just enough to make his landing silent.
The instant his feet touched down, he launched himself forwards, hands outstretched.
As soon as he was close enough, he swung his arms through the air; almost scooping for them. When he closed his arms over his chest, he grew even more confused; he didn't feel anything. He saw the void in front of him, within his arms, but felt no physical sensation of any kind that would indicate he'd caught someone. The only confirmation he had, was noticing that his arms wouldn't come all the way to his body; there was a resistance of some kind.
"Oho. So it completely erases any kind of presence, not just visual but physical as well. And auditory, I'd guess, given that I've not heard you react."
His smile dropped a fraction when he realized he wouldn't be able to take the quirk like this. If he couldn't feel them in any way, then there was no way to know if he was touching their skin directly. Plus, there was a chance that it was also capable of hiding itself from his own natural quirk as well; that would count as having a presence.
"Here's how this is going to work." He announced to the empty space in his arms. "I know you can hear me. Release your quirk, now, and I won't slowly crush you to death in my arms. And just in case you were wondering, right now I have about enough strength in my body to snap you in half." He squeezed just a bit tighter as he said that.
"Alright! Alright!" Suddenly, there was a struggling person in his arms. Switching back to his normal vision, he saw a seedy-looking man with greasy hair and sunken eyes.
His smile returned full force. "Wonderful. Thank you for your cooperation. It'd be a shame to lose out on such an interesting quirk.
"Wha-." His question was cut off by Oni's hand clamping over his mouth—and damn. He just realized that he'd left his gloves back on the roof with Eraser—Now that he was actually touching him, he could feel the quirk. He grabbed onto the warmth and pulled, gently this time, unlike how he had the night before. He saw the man wince slightly at the uncomfortable sensation as he pulled the quirk into his chest.
As much as he would've loved to watch the disgusting little man writhe and scream as he took the quirk, he had the other sentries to think about. He didn't want to give himself away just yet just to punish one person.
He let the man go, and almost immediately he was scrambling to get away from him.
Oni saw a confident smirk on the man's face, just for a moment, before it was replaced by confusion and a bit of fear. He saw the exact moment that the man realized he couldn't use his quirk; an involuntary shiver ran down his body as he tried to draw on the warmth that wasn't there anymore. He looked down at his hands, as if they held the answers.
"What?" He asked, more to himself.
"Ah, yes. Don't worry about that too much. I'm sure it'll come back eventually."
Just as the man was looking back up at him, Oni leapt forward once more. He clamped a hand over his face again, and an instant later his head impacted with the roof.
"Now then." Oni said, looking down at his own hands. "Let's see here."
He pulled on the newly acquired heat, feeling it spread across his body, and activated it once it had. As he did, a strange lightness suffused his limbs. It was strange. Extremely so. His body still definitely held the same amount of weight, but at the same time it felt inexplicably lighter.
Well, he wouldn't know if it worked until he tested it.
He took off back into the air, heading to the closest sentry. When he touched down behind them, they didn't even react. He moved closer, intentionally scuffing his feet across the surface of the roof in an attempt to get a reaction, and still nothing. Moving directly beside them, he reached out and poked the side of their face, cautious in case it was a trap. Aside from a brief moment to scratch at their cheek; as if sating an itch; they didn't react.
Somehow, his smile managed to grow even larger than before. "Oh. I am going to have so much fun with this one.
After a quick use of 'Appraisal' to determine that they didn't have anything useful for him, he dispatched them just as he had the other.
Pushing down his quickly rising excitement, he took off into the air, moving to deal with the rest of the outside sentries.
Once they were all taken care of, he flew up to the roof of the tower. Most of the criminals were moving about on the topmost floors, with a few others spread out below. He wanted to see how many he could deal with before they started panicking.
Finding the stairs to begin working downwards, he double checked the quirk to make sure it was still active, before starting forwards.
He saw a few people moving around, most not really doing much of anything while a few seemed to be inspecting containers full of what he assumed was trigger.
A quick scan showed no quirks of value. But honestly? He didn't really care. He'd stumbled across this absolute gem of a quirk. It was so incredibly useful; if he had to rank it amongst all his others, it would probably place in the top five, along with those such as 'Insomnia' and 'Appraisal'. If he didn't get anything else out of this venture, then it wouldn't bother him all that much.
Walking over to one of the criminals, he grabbed them by the throat and slammed them into the ground. Another, standing a few feet away, met a similar fate as he headbutted them, sending them flying.
By the time he dispatched a third, the others had started to realize that something was wrong. Three of them ran over to the fallen to check on them, and he moved to meet them. Two fell with a punch to the head, while the third was sent flying with a kick to the chest, slamming them into a support pillar.
Now the rest were panicking, seeing three more of their comrades go down for seemingly no reason. They were scrambling, a few were calling out at 'him' to show himself, and most were readying their quirks. And, much to his amusement, he saw a couple actually inject themselves with a dose of Trigger.
The party was really starting now.
He watched on as they scrambled around him, his excitement rising with each call and panicked shout. Another kick sent one flying that had wandered too close. A laugh managed to escape his throat when he watched the one that juiced themselves accidentally swat one of their comrades into a stack of crates.
He couldn't help it after that, seeing the petty criminals scramble around like a disturbed anthill while he watched, completely hidden right in the middle of it all was just too much. He started laughing. Giggles, at first, but soon he was letting out deep, nearly maniacal laughter at the panic and confusion.
He didn't notice the light feeling in his limbs slowly fading away the more his excitement rose. Nor did he notice the one person that managed to notice him in the confusion of everyone rushing around.
Oni didn't notice the man approaching him from behind slowly raising their arm. Even the internal alarms given off by 'Proximity' were drowned out in the haze.
Not until said arm was flying through the air at him.
Instincts developed over years of fighting and surviving in the harsher parts of the city, both as Oni and Izuku, had him reacting before he fully realized what was happening.
The fist passed harmlessly over his head as he dropped to the ground, already spinning to look at his attacker. His mind was racing, trying to figure out how they were even seeing him right now. But, unfortunately, he didn't have much opportunity as another punch was sent flying, forcing him back; closer to the others, he noticed distantly.
Sidestepping yet another punch, this time able to move closer to counter, he kicked at the back of their knees, sending them to the ground. He gripped at the back of their head, forcing them down the rest of the way as he slammed them into the ground.
He didn't get any time to think as, once more, his instincts yelled at him. He spun around, ready to assess whatever was coming and move to dodge or attack as needed.
It was one of the few who'd juiced themselves. He could see the veins bulging across their exposed skin and the pupils that had dilated so much that the irises weren't even visible.
His eyes widened as he saw the fist already inches from his head. Evidently, he'd misjudged how fast they were with trigger coursing through their body.
The impact sent him flying backwards as pain exploded across the side of his face.
Of course, he couldn't just fly across the room and land on the floor, could he? No. That would be far too easy, and this night was proving to be anything but.
Before he could even think to try to get his bearings as he flew through the air, he was crashing into one of the support columns. Headfirst.
The pain of the impact, along with the harsh landing, jarred through his entire body and knocked him out of the chaos-fueled haze he'd been in, leaving him to analyze what had just happened, ignoring the pain flaring across his face as he lay on the ground.
Obviously, he'd become visible again, but how? He knew it most likely wasn't because someone had seen through it. If he couldn't see through it with thermal vision, and couldn't hear, or even feel the person using the quirk, then it was unlikely that anyone else could either.
A brief check told him that the quirk was still present in him and active—he dropped it, no sense in focusing on it if it wasn't working—so it wasn't that. The only thing he could think of, was that maybe it was his lapse in focus. Maybe the effectiveness of the quirk was dependent on his mental state.
'Damn. I should've used "Appraisal" on him before taking it. I don't know any of the finer details of it yet.'
Well, that was a mystery for later. For now, he had to address the fact that he had been thrown into a concrete pillar.
He stood up off the ground, brushing the dirt of his clothes and cracking his neck. Rubbing at the side of his face that was hit, just below the edge of his mask, he looked up and saw that all of the criminals that were still standing were now staring at him. The one on trigger looked like they were barely restraining themselves from charging.
"Hm? Oh, don't mind me, I was just-." His voice died in his throat when he looked down the nose of his mask.
The nose was crumpled, noticeably so, as was the entire right side as far as he could tell. No doubt from where it had slammed into the pillar. He could also see where paint was scraped and chipped off. Bringing a hand up to feel it, he almost winced at the dented, crumpled metal.
He felt his frustration at all of tonight's events beginning to return where it'd been forgotten in the face of discovering a new quirk.
He didn't really care that he'd been hit. The pain was superficial, given that he could still see and speak, and it wasn't like he'd never been injured before. But his mask…
This, more than anything else, annoyed the hell out of him. This mask was one of his most treasured possessions. Despite the fact that he took it out every night where it could be damaged—or rather, it was because it was a treasured possession that he took it out at night; something such as the mask did not deserve to sit stored away somewhere.
He'd been using it for years without it getting damaged. And now, because of some petty junkie criminal—and himself, he would admit—it was damaged in such a way.
Just one more thing added to the pile.
He could handle being accused of murder; it sucked that the ones who had done it were just about the only two people he trusted outside of Rei, but it wasn't the end of the world.
Having his wing broken by his favorite hero? Again, it hurt that someone he trusted—and who he assumed at least tolerated him—had done it, but he could handle that as well, he supposed.
The possibility of a serial killer running around his city killing heroes? A massive headache, sure, but still manageable.
If he was being honest with himself, even the mask wasn't too big of an issue. It wasn't as if it couldn't be repaired; just take it to the right person with the right amount of money and it would be good as new.
The problem, however, was that all of this was happening to him in a single night. Any one of the problems he'd faced tonight, had they happened on their own, wouldn't have been a huge issue.
But no. Of course it all had to happen in the same night, one fucking thing after another.
He grit his teeth, grinding them together with the force of it. 'Fine. Time to stop playing nice.'
As he let go of everything that had been building up all night, he felt one of his quirks—rarely used with how specific its requirements were—begin to flare with it, accompanied by a definite surge of strength in his limbs and causing the throbbing pain in his face and wing to fade to background noise.
He took a step forward. To the criminals, it was as if the temperature in the room—open to the night air as it was—had just dropped several degrees and Oni had just grown by several feet with that one step.
"Y'know." He growled, the noise warbling through the air as the grip he had on 'Siren' began to waver. It sent sweat rolling down their backs. "I've been having a pretty shitty night tonight. But I was trying to move past that and ignore it, and I'd hoped that coming here to take care of you all would help."
He took another step forward. The criminals were now struggling to breathe in the face of his overwhelming presence.
"But now you've gone and fucked that up. You could have just rolled over and accepted that this was over, but you didn't. So, you know what? Fine."
He took a deep breath, lifting up his leg, before slamming it back down, cracking the floor beneath it.
"FUCK IT!"
Reaching into himself, he drew out a handful of quirks from his chest. Several strength quirks, and the speed quirks to match, each one falling into place in quick succession, burning like a bonfire under his skin. Lastly, he pulled out the quirk that filled his head, 'Quick Thinker,' and with it, the world slowed.
Then, he moved.
He launched towards the first criminal—the one on trigger that started this—with enough force to crack the floor with each step. As wired as they were on the drug, he saw their eyes tracking his movement and the fist they tried to send to intercept him. Stepping around to the inside of the wild swing, he caught the arm in a grip harsh enough to shatter the bones beneath. He swung the brute up and over his shoulder, sending them flying into the same pillar he had hit.
With them dealt with, he moved on to the next. Moments later, every person on the floor had either been slammed into the floor, thrown into a column, or punched hard enough to break bones and knock out instantly. None escaped without suffering a broken bone or two.
Then, once they were all incapacitated, he didn't waste time searching out the stairs that led down to the next level. The anger burning through his veins was too hot to allow for something like patience. Instead, he simply stomped his foot down, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the floor as a section fell down.
Once he touched down onto the floor, he moved again, going from criminal to criminal, each one appearing to move half as fast as they should be, and putting them down.
On and on he went, through each floor, searching out the criminals and dispatching them. He was only just barely thinking enough to make sure he didn't use too much force.
He didn't stop until he hit the ground floor, shouting out his frustration loud enough to hurt his throat, and slamming the final criminal into a wall hard enough to crack it.
He stood there panting, trying to catch his breath as the dust settled around him. The anger and adrenaline were beginning to fade away, taking the surge from the quirk with it and leaving him with heavy limbs and a throbbing face.
Once his heartbeat had begun to settle, he took a deep breath and pulled the quirk away that was slowing everything. With the world running at its proper speed, he began pulling away the quirks he'd brought out. With each one, the last remnants of frustration bled away, and was replaced by exhaustion.
"Feeling better?" He heard Rei ask softly. Right, he'd forgotten in the midst of all that, that she was watching.
A sigh. "No. Not really. Now I just feel shitty and tired."
"Then come home and rest. You deserve it, after all the shit that's happened tonight. I'll let Tsukauchi know to go clean everything up."
"Right. Thanks."
He took off into the air, rising until he was well above the surrounding buildings. Angling himself in the right direction, he started gliding back home, making only lazy attempts to circle back to throw off anyone that might be trailing him.
When he finally reached his balcony, he landed with a less-than-graceful thud, stumbling forwards ever so slightly.
Entering through the glass door he began shedding his clothes, now partially covered in dry blood, and his mask, the front and side of it now crumpled inwards and missing large chunks of its coloring.
He stumbled over to his bathroom and into his shower, turning the dial randomly, not bothering to pay enough attention to set it to a proper temperature. Thankfully, it was hot water that came out instead of cold.
When the blood and sweat were finally washed off of him, he moved over to the mirror as per his usual process, only about half awake at this point, and set about correcting his appearance. He didn't bother changing his face back; just taking care of his horns, hair, eyes, and wings. Half of his face was covered in mottled bruises, and he didn't think he had it in him to heal them tonight.
Once he was back to being Izuku Etsumi—mostly—he sluggishly made his way back into his room. He didn't have the energy to do much of anything right now; he'd exhausted himself with that stupid move, activating all those quirks at the same time after already having a long night.
He really didn't feel like doing anything.
Instead, he moved over to the pile of pillows and blankets in the corner of his room that made up his 'bed' and collapsed into it.
Sure, 'Insomnia' might make it so he didn't need to sleep in order to survive, and he might be able to counteract the exhaustion through energy stockpiling quirks, but exhaust those and he would feel it all the same.
He wanted to sleep.
So that's what he was going to do, coiling around himself, and wrapping up in a blanket as he settled in.
Suddenly, the floor beneath him started heating up, as it had in his office the day before. He sighed as he soaked in the heat. It had cost him a small fortune to have the system installed across most of his apartment, but damn was it worth it in moments like this.
He pulled 'Insomnia' back into his chest for the first time in months, and it wasn't long before the exhaustion fully took hold and he drifted off to sleep.
Rei watched from the door to his room as Izuku settled into the corner. She clicked the remote in her hand and watched him nearly melt in the resulting heat, falling asleep almost immediately after.
Even if the circumstances weren't ideal in the slightest, she was glad to see him relaxing after the night he'd had. It was probably the first time in months that he was actually sleeping; that 'Insomnia' quirk of his usually making it so he never slept.
He always pushed himself so hard, especially when it came to his vigilante work. She couldn't remember the last time he'd actually gone a night without going out as Oni to patrol the city.
She knew why he did it, of course. After everything the two of them had gone through growing up, up until just a few years ago, now that they were in a better place he was doing what he could to right the wrongs of the world.
Where no one had come to save them from the monsters in the world, he was doing his best to make sure that never happened to anyone else.
She shuddered at the unwanted memories that were drawn to the surface by that train of thought. Shaking her head, she flicked off the light to Izuku's room and made her way back towards her office. She had a few hours to get some more work done before she would get some sleep too.
Chapter End Notes
A few things:
1) With Izuku's limits, as far as his quirks. He can theoretically have as many quirks active as he wants. If he activates them too quickly though, that brings on exhaustion from his natural quirk.
Then, for each of the quirks he has active, he has to be aware of the limits that they bring; the same limits that the original owner of the quirk would have.
Each quirk drains his stamina separately, so the more he uses at once, the faster the drain.
He's trained both himself and his quirks to improve his limits a great deal.
2) With Aizawa's reaction. He's been dealing with Oni for a few years now. And despite knowing about Oni's chaotic-ness, he felt that he could trust him. So he over-reacted upon seeing Oni next to a dead hero, coming to the assumption that he killed them.
I hope you enjoyed!
Of Monsters and Men
Chapter Summary
Oni encounters his suspect.
Chapter Notes
Just so you know, this chapter contains some (minor?) blood/gore and referenced rape/non-con elements.
You have been warned.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Oni hummed to himself as he stared down at a derelict building.
It had been two weeks.
Two. Damn. Weeks.
And he'd had no luck finding his suspect.
Every night, he'd been out searching. Patrolling the city by air, scanning the streets and investigating any little disturbance he came across. And although it did have the unintended side-effect of making him stop more petty crimes than normal, it had all revealed nothing.
Rei had been searching in her own way as well. Combing through camera footage all across the city whenever she could, all while keeping an eye on police scanners and the Hero Commission's lines of communication; if anyone saw their suspect, she'd know about it.
Then, when he wasn't patrolling at night, he was using all his time—even going so far as to skip his trips to the beach—continuing Rei's search while she slept. But still, nothing.
Until today.
On a whim, Rei had looked into a report to the police—they were grasping at straws at this point—and found a complaint that someone was living in an abandoned building.
Now, this wasn't exactly an unusual occurrence; Musutafu was a fairly large city after all, so someone squatting in an old house wasn't really surprising. But when she investigated it, she'd also found that all cameras in the area had been destroyed, or otherwise deactivated. That was a bit more unusual. Combine it with the fact that the complaint also mentioned that the person was seen carrying weapons—specifically, blades—and it was enough to warrant an investigation the following night as Oni.
So that's where he found himself once the sun had fallen. He'd dressed in his vigilante outfit—thankfully, he'd found someone to repair his mask pretty quickly. Going patrolling those few days without it had made him feel off in a way really didn't enjoy—and had brought out more quirks than what was probably necessary. He had more enhancers out than he normally used, his claws had already been pulled from his chest and only needed to be activated, and his healing quirk sat right on the edge, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Once he was prepared, he headed to the location Rei had found.
He was standing on a roof, just across the street from the abandoned building; an old house that looked to be on its last legs, ready to collapse at any moment. As he considered the possible fight that was likely ahead of him, he pulled his wings in for the first time in what was probably years; they would do nothing but hinder him if it came to a fight. He scanned the house with 'Spectrum', and found nothing; thermal and x-ray had both revealed it to be empty.
He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that nobody was there.
If nothing else, he could at least investigate the house, maybe he'd learn whether or not it was actually his suspect that was living there.
Just as he was about to activate his newest quirk—the one from the Trigger dealer disaster, which he'd taken to calling 'Ghost'—he felt 'Proximity' ping something behind him.
His instincts screamed at him. He didn't think, he just moved.
His hand darted up—scales already flashing across it—as he spun around, catching the sword that had been swinging at his neck. As soon as it was in his grip, he squeezed, shattering it and sending razor-sharp shards of metal dropping to the ground. The blade was dropped, discarded, and another, seemingly pulled from thin air, was immediately thrust towards him. He jerked his body to the side, hard, to just barely avoid it.
Catching himself before he was completely thrown off balance, he shifted his weight, throwing a punch backed by more than one strength quirk.
His attacker danced out its path, spinning to send the knife slicing through the air towards him once more.
He caught it, destroying it just as he had the first one.
Before they had a chance to draw yet another blade, he pulled on another speed quirk, adding to those he'd already activated. With the resulting boost to his movements, he pushed forwards, throwing a series of punches that forced his attacker back.
Despite the speed he was utilizing, not a single one landed. They twisted and spun and ducked around each one.
When they neared the edge of the roof, he jumped, flipping in the air to drive his heel towards the attacker. They moved aside just in time to avoid the strike that sent small cracks spiderwebbing from the point of impact
The two then broke apart, backing several steps away to observe the other. the entire encounter had taken only a moment.
"Oni. The famous vigilante." His attacker started, barely even breathing heavy. "You're not too bad. It's good to see that the rumors were not exaggerated."
"I could say the same about you Stain… You are definitely just as ugly as the rumors say."
"Okay. Shit." He heard Rei in his ear. "Good luck, be careful."
Stain didn't respond to that. Instead looking over Oni's shoulder.
"I thought you had wings."
"I thought you had a nose."
The other vigilante sneered. Though it didn't look quite right without a nose. He was just baring his teeth.
"Enough. Why are you here, little vigilante?"
"Funny, that's actually what I wanted to ask you. Why are you in my city?"
"I am here, to accomplish my mission of clearing society of the filth of fake heroes."
"Yeah yeah yeah." Oni responded, waving his hand in front of him. "I'm well aware of your ridiculous vendetta against heroes. What I want to know is why you feel the need to do that here. In my city."
He shifted his weight, forcing an appearance of nonchalance, but still ready to move at a moment's notice. "Frankly, I don't particularly care what you normally do. Kill all the heroes you want, just do it somewhere else."
"And why should I do that?" Stain said, taking a step forward.
Suddenly, his presence—pure willpower and killing intent—burst forth, turning the air thick and making it harder to breathe.
"Are you so confident that you could defeat me? I would rather not fight you if I do not have to—you are similar to me, in that you punish those that do wrong—but if you try to stop me, I will not hesitate to cut you down."
Oni took a step forward as well, his own presence growing to match Stain's. Despite his wariness of the infamous Hero Killer, he was no pushover. "I'll admit, I don't really like my chances if I had to fight you; your quirk is a pain to deal with. But you're still going to leave Musutafu."
"Again. Why would I do that?"
"Because I'm going to motivate you, Stain. One word from me, and my location gets pinged to the local police and to the Hero Commission. Which means that every police officer and hero, big and small, in all of Japan is going to know exactly where to find Oni, the infamous vigilante. Which, coincidentally, also means that they'll know where to find you, and your little hideout over there."
He heard Rei in his ear. "Yep. It's ready. Just give me the word and I'll send it."
The two of them had come up with this in the two weeks they'd been searching. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that he could just convince Stain to leave, and he would much rather avoid a direct fight if he could. So, blackmailing him into leaving the city seemed like the best choice.
Stain's sneer grew larger, and his anger was almost palpable in the air. "And what's to stop me from killing you before they get here? And then going after the little friend that's been talking in your ear-."
Oni's fist impacted right where Stain had been standing, the force of it causing the building to tremor slightly. The vigilante had jumped out of the way just in time to avoid becoming a splatter on the roof.
Oni looked up at him, eyes shrouded in shadow.
"Stain." Oni's voice sounded out, shaking the air around them with the force of his anger. "I'm warning you now. If you even think those words ever again, there exists no force on this planet that could stop me from tearing you apart."
He glared at the other, doing his best to communicate just how serious he was. In that moment, he was prepared to draw on everything he had to destroy the man, his own life be damned.
"Now." He continued, taking a deep breath and attempting to compose himself. "You are going to leave my city. Tonight. Or your 'mission' will end here and now."
He heard a growl rumble from Stain's throat and noticed his hand tightening around the handle of one of his knives. "I cannot do that, little vigilante. My primary target is still walking the streets. He is the reason I ventured so far from my normal hunting grounds in the first place."
"Oh really?" He asked, feigning interest. "And what's this hero guilty of? Because the last one you killed was only committing charity fraud. Hardly enough to warrant death."
"Well?" He continued when Stain hesitated. "Did they jaywalk? Or maybe they stole someone's purse?"
"Oh! I Know! Maybe they littered the last time they were at the beach. I know that, personally, that one would annoy me just a little."
"Try child molestation." Stain bluntly stated, not showing any reaction to Oni's attitude.
Oni froze, blood running cold as something squirmed in his gut. He narrowed his eyes at the other.
"What did you just say?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"My target is a child predator." Stain said. "I've confirmed seven victims over the last four years. That is why I cannot-"
Oni barely heard the rest of whatever Stain had said, the sound of his voice fading into the background as his hearing was drowned out by the roaring in his ears. His vision quickly followed suit, fading to black as a memory overtook him. One that he would've given anything to not have to remember ever again.
Sweaty hands gripped his arms hard enough to bruise. Stubble scratched at his neck as a breathy voice whispered in his ear. The sickly-sweet words it spoke slithered into his mind, separating it from the rest of his body. He couldn't move, no matter how much he struggled. He couldn't even speak.
There was pain. So much pain. But he couldn't do anything. He couldn't even scream. Why couldn't he scream? Why couldn't he use his quirk?-
He clenched his jaw as the roaring in his ears got louder and the memory switched itself out for another. His heart was thundering in his chest. It felt as though it was trying its best tear itself out.
Harsh words echoed through the alleyway, heavily slurred almost to the point of being incomprehensible. He stared on in horror as the man's hand gripped in a familiar head of pale blue hair, the face it belonged to already bruised and bloody. The other hand was pulled back into a fist as he watched, frozen in place. It was decorated with flecks of blood from where it had already struck.
He finally jolted forwards as the hand came down again, almost moving in slow motion. His legs carried him to the pair as quickly as they could, as his hands stretched out towards them.-
A growl tore from his throat as he shook his head, forcing himself back into the present. He looked over at Stain, who was watching him with a curious look in his eyes.
Taking a step towards the other vigilante, with just barely enough self-control to not crack the roof with the force of it—when had he pulled out another strength quirk?—and pointing a clawed finger in his direction, he spoke.
"Who?" He barely recognized his own voice.
Stain had encountered a number of noteworthy individuals in the years since he had first undertaken his mission. Heroes, villains, petty criminals, and even vigilantes had all met their end by his hand and at the tips of his blades.
Among those, he had observed many characters. Fighters, cowards, rats, idiots, geniuses, and everything in between.
It's said by some that one's true character is revealed when faced with death. Stain knew that to be the truth, more so than most others.
Some of his victims would cry and beg and plead for him to spare them, or for a miracle that would never come to save them from their fate. Others would scream and spit, cursing his name or the name of his family—now long forgotten by all but him—until he finally silenced them. He never truly understood those types. What did they hope to achieve with their words? What was their plan if they succeeded in angering him?
Whatever the case, he never dwelled on it for too long; it was pointless to do so.
A few though—very few—would face their death with some shred of dignity. They would stare him down in silence. They knew that they would die, and that there was nothing to be done about it, so they held their tongue and didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing their fear. Not that he ever got any from that anyways, he only ever felt the slightest sense of achievement when he was able to remove one more false hero from the world.
This figure he had encountered tonight, however. Oni. Was an enigma.
His words were joking, but his tone and demeanor underneath were anything but. He wore confidence as a mask so easily that it was difficult for Stain to tell whether or not it was even a mask in the first place. And he went from serious to damn near feral in an instant.
It was difficult for Stain to get a fix on what exactly made him tick.
He'd heard of the vigilante before, of course. He made it his business to know all the major figures that prowled the underground of whatever city he ventured to. After all, if anyone were to be able to end his mission, it would most likely be one of them. And Oni was far from discreet in his activities.
He was ruthless, cunning, and powerful; a dangerous combination in anyone, let alone a vigilante, someone who actively showed through their daily activities that they were willing to disregard laws and regulations.
It had been slightly puzzling when he'd heard that, despite most of the people he faced landing in the hospital, he never killed anyone. But if he were being honest, he'd say that it was almost pleasant to see. Many of the vigilantes he'd come across, and subsequently ended, had been fools that carelessly threw their weight around, paying no heed as they ended criminals' lives. He'd often found that those particular ones had tried and failed to become heroes—for any number of reasons—and were now taking their anger out on others while acting under the guise of illegal heroics.
Action, without purpose to back it up, is just as harmful to society as the false heroes he so despised. So, to see one that showed purpose behind their actions—or at the very least did not show wanton, pointless action—was refreshing.
Or at least, it had been, before the vigilante had started tracking him down after he had dispatched his second target, the thief Tectonic.
Stain was far from stupid. He'd already known that this city was Oni's turf—there were rumors floating about that no single criminal existed in the city that the vigilante was not aware of—and one would have to be a fool to not notice the signs that Oni was on the hunt. Rumors spread fast throughout the underground, and he'd heard within hours of claiming his victim that the vigilante was much more active than usual.
So, he hadn't been surprised, then, when he came back from surveying his next target—he never moved against heroes without proper preparation, especially one as troublesome as this one—to find Oni watching the hovel he'd been using as shelter. It had only been a matter of time until they encountered each other.
It was mere moments after noticing the vigilante that he moved forward to strike, moving with a silence that came only with years of experience in life-or-death fights and moving through back alleys and darkness as he had.
It wasn't as if he necessarily wanted to kill the vigilante—though that did not slow his blade in the slightest. He was aiming to kill just as he would with any other—he simply wanted to perform a little test with his greeting.
If he succeeded in killing Oni, then he would know that the rumors surrounding him were overblown and there would be one less obstacle in his path. If he didn't, then at least he would know that Oni was worth speaking to in the first place.
He would admit that he was slightly surprised by the speed of the vigilante's reaction, and the ferocity of his counterattack. His sword had barely been a few feet from him—an instant before it would have struck his neck—when he spun around and caught it in his hand, shattering it. The two traded several more blows in the space of a moment, before backing off, studying each other.
In the following conversation with the vigilante, Stain found himself becoming increasingly frustrated with the other.
Oni was here to force Stain to leave the city, to end his hunt early. Something he'd never had to do before. And while Stain would normally have no qualms ending anyone who would stand in his way, Oni had come prepared.
On top of his combat ability—which Stain was able to gauge after trading just a few blows. Oni would be able to match him evenly, if only for a short time; He only needed one scratch after all—he had claimed to be able to send out his location to every troublesome hero in Japan. That was something that would surely end his hunt in this city. Stain wouldn't even be able to stop it. He felt certain that it would be the person on the other side of the device in his ear that did it.
That was another thing. Oni's reaction to Stain's idle threat towards whoever that person was had been much stronger than he would've assumed. It must be someone he was close to, whether that be an ally or something more. Whoever it was, they were close enough for Oni to disregard his apparent rule against killing. He could tell that the vigilante's threat had most certainly not been idle as his was; the bloodlust alone more than matched up to his own.
Then there was his reaction to Stain revealing the crimes of his target.
The child—for that's what Oni was. Dangerous though he was, extremely so, he was still likely half of Stain's own age—had reacted rather harshly, and just at the mere mention of the false hero's crimes. It was as if he'd been driven into a panic with words alone.
He briefly considered using that moment to strike. It may be cruel—he had a good guess as to the reason behind Oni's reaction—but he would allow nothing to stand between him and his mission.
Just as he was about to move though, his instincts—instincts that had saved him on more than one occasion—screamed at him and kept him firmly rooted in place.
He got the distinct impression from the vigilante that despite whatever he was going through in that moment, whatever he was seeing, he was just as, if not more dangerous than he was a minute ago.
He knew that he would not survive if he chose to attack Oni in that moment.
Finally—though it was barely more than a few seconds—Oni snapped himself back to reality. Fixing Stain with a look that held no end of darkness—a swirling mixture of pain, anger, and sadness—he stepped forward and demanded to know who his target was. The roof beneath them trembled with the force of his step, just as the air around them seemed to shake and shudder with his anger.
"Who?"
His voice had an odd, almost layered quality to it as it warbled through the air, just as it had a few minutes ago. Stain found himself wondering just what exactly his quirk was. It seemed to have so many aspects to it; the wings that weren't present at the moment, the horns and claws, the obviously enhanced strength, and now his odd voice.
"Alloy, The Metallic Hero." He responded, watching for Oni's reaction. He was curious to see where this would lead.
"He targets orphans. Children who have no one to care if they go missing." He explained. "He kidnaps them, then covers up his own trail by pretending to care and starting search parties for them. He's actually praised by the public for putting so much effort into looking for the unwanted children."
Stain grimaced as he spoke. He'd put down people that were guilty of any number of crimes. And while he did not do so out of anger or hatred for them—he was simply doing what needed to be done to clean the filth from the world—he could not help but despise those that purposely targeted children. There was a reason that he did not involve children in his hunt; Oni being one of the few exceptions.
Children should not be held accountable for the mistakes they made. They were meant to learn. They were meant to be protected while they could not protect themselves. But, not only was Oni on the threshold between child and adult—Stain wasn't quite sure exactly how old he was—he was also strong enough to fight for himself.
That, and he had put himself in the path of Stain's hunt.
Oni looked away from him ever so slightly—still keeping him within his line of sight—as he spoke, clearly not addressing Stain.
"Confirm everything he's saying." He said, voice rough, presumably to the ally in his ear.
Stain grimaced in frustration at the further delay just to confirm what he himself already knew to be true, but decided not to act on it just yet. The outcome of this new development was still unclear, and he wanted to see where it would lead before moving forward.
The next few minutes passed in silence, the two staring one another down as Oni's ally did whatever they needed to confirm his claims. As he watched, Oni's eyes seemed to occasionally lose focus, seemingly staring at something that wasn't there, before snapping back sharper than they were before.
Finally, he heard a small voice sound out, likely Oni's friend. He couldn't hear exactly what they said, but Oni's entire demeanor shifted almost imperceptibly. The shadows in his eyes, if possible, darkened even further as his will sharpened and focused entirely on Stain. Any lesser person would've found themselves locked in place under that stare.
In a quiet, deceptively calm voice, Oni spoke. "New plan, Stain. You're still going to get the fuck out of my city, but first, we're going to deal with this hero."
Stain quirked an eyebrow at the vigilante's words. "And here I thought you were firmly against killing anyone?"
"No." The other plainly said. "It's not that I have a problem with killing. I simply haven't come across anyone that has deserved to die by my hand. There's not much that someone could do that would warrant my acting as judge, jury, and executioner. The pain I cause is usually punishment enough."
"Besides," He continued. "I'm not the one who will doing the killing, you are."
Stain smirked; a twisted quirk of his mutilated face that never failed to set opponents on edge. Despite his confusion at Oni's reaction and his wariness of the other, he liked where this conversation was going.
"What did you have in mind, then?"
Oni was silent as he crouched on the edge of a building, watching the street where Alloy would supposedly be using on his way home.
The anger that had shrouded his mind since Stain revealed the hero's crimes, and that had only increased with Rei's confirmation, was still present, weighing him down. Anger at the hero, Alloy, for being such a despicable piece of shit, anger at the Hero Commission for not noticing or doing anything about them, and—most of all—anger at himself for not noticing that there was a damned pedophile working as a hero in his city.
There were very few things in this world that he could not tolerate. Harm coming to his sister, for one; he had been deathly serious when he'd told Stain that he'd tear him apart if he continued that line of thought. There was nothing he wouldn't do to ensure her safety. If it meant keeping her safe, he wouldn't hesitate to tear the city, and everyone in it, to shreds.
Drug dealers, thieves, murderers. He could tolerate those. He'd beat them down and make sure they were captured, sure, but those were not crimes that warranted death. It was a cruel world after all. He knew that firsthand.
Hell, even rapists. He might hurt them a bit more than he did others and, more often than not, take their quirk, but still, he didn't take it upon himself to kill them.
But pedophiles…
He grit his teeth a bit harder as a fresh surge of anger bloomed, tinting his vision red.
That was the one thing he despised more than anything else. The idea of someone hurting a child like that, scarring them in such a way, when they could do nothing to even defend themselves made his blood boil.
Though it had been years since the last time he'd… encountered… one—long before he even became a vigilante—he could still vividly recall the feeling of their blood as it splattered across his face, and as it dripped off his hands. His hatred had not diminished in the slightest.
His hands clenched on the lip of the building, hard enough to cause tiny cracks to start appearing, as he struggled to keep his anger and bloodlust under control. His body trembled with the restless energy that burned through him. 'Wrath' was sending wave after wave of pure adrenaline through him. The sound of his heart pounding in his ears was almost deafening.
He forced his limbs to still, if only a little. He couldn't afford to lose control. Not yet at least. Not until the target of said anger was within his grasp.
The plan to deal with the monster was simple enough; Stain had thoroughly researched them since arriving, noting his habits and daily routine. On his way back from the bar he frequented, Alloy would take this street, passing by the alleyway that was down to Oni's side. When he did, Oni would serve as a distraction while stain used the split second provided to paralyze him before he could use his quirk.
It was a transformative quirk, named Alloy—which is where he got his hero name—that allowed him to turn his body to metal. If allowed to use it, it could prove troublesome to Stain and his ability to paralyze him. Not that it mattered to Oni. All that meant was that-that plan would fail. He could just as easily use his quirks to tear the man apart.
One way or another, Alloy would die tonight.
A few more minutes passed in silence.
Finally, he watched as the man stumbled into view, clearly drunk. Oni felt one more surge of anger, of rage wash over him, before he forced it back down. He needed to focus. He was so close to being able to do something about his feelings. Just another few minutes.
Stepping off the building, he dropped towards the ground. His still-wingless body sliced through the air without a sound.
He landed directly in front of the hero, just a few feet away, not even bothering to pull on 'Cushion' to soften the landing. His legs, enhanced with more than one strength quirk, neatly absorbed the impact. He didn't leave so much as a mark on the sidewalk.
He saw the hero falter and stumble to a halt. Unfocused eyes flickered over him, seeing, but not fully comprehending what was in front of him. It took a moment, but eventually he saw the instant that a bit of recognition flashed over his features. Whether it was recognition of the person standing in front of him, or simply that there was someone there in the first place, didn't matter. In that same instant, Stain appeared behind the hero, almost materializing from the shadows, and brought a knife down on the unsuspecting victim.
"What the fuck!?" Came the slurred yelp, as he spun around. Oni saw metal flashing over the hero's skin as he reflexively brought out his quirk.
All too late, though. He watched as Stain brought the bloody knife to his mouth and licked at it with that disgusting tongue of his. The hero's body immediately stiffened and collapsed to the ground, face down. The only signs that they were even still alive were his breathing—quickly becoming panicked—and the metal which, surprisingly, had continued to spread and now covered his body, despite being paralyzed.
He noticed Stain sinking back into the shadows, content to watch and let Oni take over and do his part.
They had decided that it was Stain's job to immobilize their victim. But Oni…
It was his job to punish him.
He let a smile grow on his face, letting some of his anger slip through at the same time.
"Well now." He started, "Shojiro Tatsuno, otherwise known as the Pro Hero Alloy. I must say that it truly is a pleasure to see you tonight."
Oni stepped closer to the fallen hero, until he was standing directly over him. Nudging him with his foot, he flipped the man over onto his back so he could look up at him. "I see that your quirk still works, despite being paralyzed." He cocked his head, "An interesting thing to note. But don't worry, I won't let that get in the way of our fun."
"But first, let's get you out of sight. We wouldn't want to be interrupted by anyone, now would we?"
With those words he crouched down and gripped the man by the throat. A slight grunt of exertion, and the metal hero was sailing through the air, slamming into the building at the end of the alley. He followed with slow, measured steps a moment later.
Partway down the alley, he paused. "Phantom." He whispered, softly. "You might not want to listen to what happens next. It won't be pleasant."
He didn't hear her respond but didn't pursue it any further. If she wanted to listen, then she would; he wasn't going to stop her.
Closing his eyes, he rolled his head back, tilting to face the sky. Releasing a soft sigh, he let go, and let everything roar to the surface.
He staggered slightly, nearly falling forwards at the sheer force as of all of his anger, his rage, that had been burning through him poured into the alleyway. It filled the space, clogging the air, charging it with something akin to static. He heard the hero's breaths turn even more strangled as it reached him, nearly halting them altogether.
His eyes snapped open and trained on the immobilized hero. All the while, a crooked smile split his face.
Now.
Now, he could lose control.
He dimly noted that, behind him, Stain's hands were tightening around the handles of his blades. An automatic response to the pure malevolence he was facing, even if it wasn't directed at him.
He walked over to where the hero was collapsed on the ground, still conscious, based on the wide, frantic eyes watching him. "You know, I've heard such interesting things about you recently." He spoke softly, drawing closer. "Especially since, up until tonight, I was under the impression that you were a good man, and a decent hero."
Oni dropped into another crouch, right next to the hero. A hand grabbed onto the man's face, turning his head and forcing him to look at Oni as he spoke, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"So, imagine my surprise." He said, "When I find out that you're nothing but a low-life, piece of garbage pedophile, that has preyed upon no less than seven innocent children."
If it was possible, Alloy's eyes widened even more when his crimes were announced, as he realized just what this whole situation was about.
"Now. I could very easily use this information to ruin your life. Release it to the public and sit back and watch as the media—vultures that they are—drag you through the dirt and the public tears you apart. You'd be in prison for the rest of your life before the week is out. And then you'd be at the mercy of the other prisoners. Because no matter what crimes they may have committed, they will show no mercy towards a predator."
"And you're a hero. At least in profession. So there's a good chance that some of those same prisoners were put there by you. I'm sure they'd be absolutely delighted to see you again."
"I give it three days. Max. Before someone slits your throat and leaves you to drown in your own blood."
The hero was shaking now, as much as his paralyzed body could, as his fate was laid out in front of him.
Taking only a moment to enjoy the man's despair, Oni continued. "Of course, you won't have to worry about any of that. You won't be going to prison."
He saw a modicum of hope enter the wide eyes below him. Only for it to disappear with his next words.
"No. You're going to die, right here in this alleyway."
"P-Ple-!" The man tried to stutter out, before the hand that was holding his head slammed it back into the ground, cratering the asphalt. Part of Oni was glad that the hero's quirk was active; he would be much more resistant to Oni's treatment like this.
"Don't interrupt me." Oni commanded, voice turning sharp in an instant. "I didn't give you permission to speak."
The hero whimpered pathetically beneath his hand. Oni glared at him for a moment, daring them to test his already-nonexistent patience.
"Now. As I was saying. You're going to die tonight." He continued, undisturbed by the tears that were now falling from the hero. "But first. You and I are going to have some fun."
With those words, he changed positions, moving to sit on Alloy's chest and placing his hands—missing the claws he so frequently donned—on either side of the hero's face. He stared into the wide, panicked eyes that happened to be the only part of him that wasn't metal.
"I'm going to hurt you, Shojiro, so very much, until you beg me to kill you."
He ran a hand down the hero's face, almost caressing it as he spoke. "Now, normally, this doesn't work when someone's skin has been changed, like yours is now. But don't worry, there are ways around that."
Without any further prompting, he firmly grabbed the side of the man's face, before jamming his right thumb into his eye. Oni smiled at the blood that gushed up around it, and the scream that tore itself out of Alloy's throat, even as he clamped his other hand over the mouth it came from, cutting it off.
"Now now." Oni said, shushing him. "Don't start screaming just yet. We haven't even truly begun."
He leaned down further and whispered into his ear. "You know, after all the times I've done this to people through the years, I've found out that I can make it hurt so very much if I want it to. But I've never really known if it's possible to kill through the pain alone."
He paused, tightening his hand over the man's mouth as he tried to scream again. "But I'll tell you something. The two of us? We're going to figure that out tonight, together."
With that, he grabbed onto the source of warmth settled in the man's chest, currently spread across his body with the activation of his quirk. He took hold of it, and wrenched it loose. This time, when the screams came, he let them. Removing his hand to let them echo off the walls around them and into the night.
He took his time, removing the quirk as slowly and painfully as he possibly could. As he worked, the metal that covered the hero's body slowly withdrew, forcefully deactivated as his quirk was pulled from him. The man's head—the only part of him that could really move, if only a little—thrashed around as much as his crushing grip would allow. Every bit of movement only increased the pain as it inadvertently dug his finger into the man's eye socket.
Then, minutes later, when the quirk was completely separated and sat nestled in Oni's chest, he reversed the whole process. The quirk was pushed from him and back into its rightful owner. Though he hadn't had many chances to train that aspect of his quirk, Oni knew that it wasn't nearly as painful as when he took.
Leaning back down next to Alloy's face, enjoying the haggard breaths that dragged themselves from his mouth, Oni spoke.
"Was it worth it?" he whispered. "Taking away those poor children's innocence? Scarring them so profoundly when you are supposed to be a hero, someone for them to look up to, all while they could do nothing to defend themselves?"
Scowling, he dug his thumb a little deeper into the man's eye socket, eliciting a fresh scream.
"No amount of pain I could put you through would ever come close to making things right." His voice dropped a little lower, "But we can give it a fucking shot."
With that, he grabbed onto the quirk, starting the whole process over again.
By the time Oni got up off the man's chest, several rounds later, his screams were almost silent; his throat having been all but destroyed with how many there had been, and the force of them. The only noises that came from him were the soft sounds of small, shallow breaths.
Oni let out a sigh, flicking his hand to dislodge the blood and bits of eye that covered it. Oh, he felt so much better now that he'd done that. He could still feel the anger, but it no longer felt like it was burning him from the inside-out. The pounding in his ears was just starting to fade away as his racing heart began to settle.
He rubbed his clean hand over his chest, right above where the new quirk was nestled. It left a sour taste in his mouth, whether from how he'd just taken it or just from the knowledge of where the quirk came from.
Not that it really mattered. Taking it had been satisfying on its own, and it was immensely useful. Once he had a chance to take it for a test drive, rename it—no matter how much he begrudgingly liked its current name—and truly make it his, he'd no doubt feel better about it.
He hummed to himself, observing the very much still alive hero on the ground. "Interesting. So I can't actually kill someone like that. Good to know."
Stain reemerged from his hiding place, watching Oni with a wary look in his eyes. "What on Earth did you just do to him?"
Bending over to wipe the last of the blood off on Alloy's clothes, he responded. "That, Stain, is for me to know, criminals to experience, and you to never find out."
He turned to face the other. "Now. If I were you, I'd finish up here quickly. Those screams no doubt alerted everyone within a block or so. It won't be long before police are swarming."
Just as he said that, he heard sirens sounding off in the distance, proving his point.
"That's my cue." He said, pulling his wings back out, stretching them into the air once they were finally back in their rightful place.
He launched himself into the air, settling on the roof of one of the adjacent buildings, before turning to spare one last glance at the two figures below.
"Remember, Stain." He called down, voice still carrying remnants of the darkness that had been there minutes ago. "Once you're done here, you had better leave my city. Or you'll get to experience exactly what he just did. You have until tomorrow night."
Not waiting for a response, he took off once more, only landing again once the sirens had faded away behind him.
Oni sighed, he was ready to go home and put this whole mess behind him. But first, there was something else he needed to address.
Pulling out his phone, He maneuvered to the familiar contact. He took a moment to gather his story in his head, before starting the call.
"Oni." Came the voice of Tsukauchi. "What is it?"
"I found my suspect." He started, not wanting to waste time. "The one that killed Tectonic a few weeks ago."
He heard the detective stop whatever it was he was doing. "And? Who was it? What happened?"
"It was The Hero Killer, Stain." There was a soft exclamation on the other side. "I've chased him off. He won't be causing issues in this city again any time soon. However, there's been another victim. I couldn't stop him from killing Pro Hero Alloy."
He wasn't completely sure if Tsukauchi's quirk worked over telephone—he was fairly certain it didn't but better safe than sorry—so he purposefully worded his explanation in a way that technically wasn't a lie.
He really probably wouldn't have been able to bring himself to stop Stain from killing Alloy, had he even wanted to in the first place.
"Shit… Under normal circumstances, I'd be upset that they got away. But if it really was Stain… For now, I'm just glad that you came out of that safely, and that we won't have to deal with him anymore. And don't worry about Alloy, Oni. It's not your fault that you didn't get there in time."
He hummed in acknowledgement, glad that his half-truth seemed to work, before a thought went through his mind that made a smirk grow on his face. He'd been planning on doing this once he got home, but now… this would work much better.
"About that." He said, forcing a solemn mood through his voice. "You might want to investigate Alloy."
"What? Why?"
"Something that Stain was saying when I confronted him. The reason he targeted Alloy in the first place."
He paused for effect, taking a deep breath. "He claimed that Alloy was a predator. And that he's had several victims over the last few years.
"…Fuck me, that really complicates things." Came the response, surprising Oni. He'd obviously heard the detective curse before, but never so harshly.
"What are you going to do?"
"Well now that we've received a tip about his potential crimes—a hero's potential crimes—we can't not investigate it. Especially not when the crimes are so severe, and so closely tied to his death."
"Good luck. I hope you can dig up every piece of dirt on him there is." He responded. "As for me. Now that this mess has been settled, I'm going to take a week or two off to get some much-needed rest."
"Please take longer." Tsukauchi said. Then, when Oni started laughing, "No, seriously. Please take longer. At least give me a chance to completely catch up on the mountains of paperwork you've been giving me. You've been going crazy the past two weeks. I can hardly keep up with everything you've been sending me. Even that mess with the Trigger dealers has only just been completely cleaned up."
"I'll think about it Tsukauchi." He said. "I'd hate for you to actually be caught up for once. But we'll see."
He ended the call there, cutting off the detective's response.
Oni sighed, walking over to the edge of the roof. Hopefully, he'd be able to let the police and Hero Commission thoroughly investigate Alloy without intervening.
"You realize that means he considers you trustworthy, right?" Rei asked as he savored the breeze.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"If he's starting a formal investigation, that means that he believes the information came from a reliable source, and that he's ready to state as such to his precinct. Though he'll probably keep your name out of it."
Oni's eyes widened a bit at that revelation, and he felt his mood brighten a bit at the knowledge that Tsukauchi trusted him. It wasn't enough to erase anything that had happened tonight, but it did make him feel a bit better.
Just as he was about to take off into the air, he let out a yawn, surprising himself. He was starting to feel the first hints of exhaustion, left behind as the last remnants of adrenaline from 'Wrath' were fading away.
Oni sagged a little where he stood. He was ready to put this whole mess behind him and hopefully never think about it again.
That quirk really took a lot out of him. It was immensely powerful for in-the-moment situations—provided he could work up the anger to utilize it—but the drain he felt afterwards wore him down every time. And it didn't help that he'd been working harder than normal the past two weeks.
Spreading his wings, he launched back into the air, already heading towards his home. He was looking forward to taking the next week or so off. Maybe he'd try to catch up on some sleep.
A small smile appeared as he flew. That might be nice. It's been so long since he took any time off from being Oni.
Chapter End Notes
Let me just say, from the bottom of my heart, Yikes.
Hopefully I did well enough writing Stain's POV.
I hope you enjoyed!
Answers
Chapter Summary
Izuku's two-week break is over, and he decides to go out again.
Chapter Notes
Sorry about this update being a few hours late. This chapter has been kicking my ass with how hard it's been to write. I've only just finished writing it today, where normally I'd have a few days to edit it. So, sorry if this one isn't quite as good as the ones before it.
I might go back and edit some after posting, so don't be surprised if it changes a little bit. If I do, I'll add something in the end notes.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku's fingers raced across the keyboard as he polished up his most recent quirk analysis. An energy barrier quirk that, while not the most powerful, was incredibly useful and versatile.
He sent it along and moved on to the next, noticing a couple things right away.
The first was that this one didn't have any money attached with it, but that didn't matter all too much to him.
The way the payment worked was someone would send money with their request, and upon his completing it, it would be transferred to him. If, for whatever reason, he was unable to complete the request within the deadline, the money would not be transferred. He didn't really have to worry about that though; he hadn't missed a single request since he'd officially established himself as Deku. Under normal circumstances, he completed every one within twenty-four hours of receiving it, and the deadline was a full week.
It wasn't very often, but occasionally he would receive requests like this. Where the person would explain why they couldn't pay but still asked him to analyze their quirk. He usually saw those with people that struggled with their quirk on a daily basis. Those people were usually desperate for any help they could get.
He hardly ever batted an eye at those, though. He didn't particularly care if they couldn't pay. So long as the person wasn't a dick about it, he'd analyze them anyway, payment or no.
And why wouldn't he? The main reason he was doing this—aside from it being one of the highest-paying self-employed jobs one could get into if they were skilled enough—was because he genuinely enjoyed studying quirks. He wasn't going to just not analyze a quirk simply because they didn't pay him. It's wasn't like each request sucked away at his day or that he would lose out on others if he did it; with the amount he went through in a day, one or two more or less was hardly even noticed.
The next thing he noticed was the source of this request. It was another hero school hopeful with an interesting quirk, which just gave him even more reason to do it despite the lack of payment.
In all the years he'd been analyzing quirks, and the many more that he'd been taking them, he'd learn to expect the unexpected when it came to what they were capable of. They could be anything, from something as innocuous as enhanced healing or producing simple flames, to controlling the weather, to something world-shaking such as All Might's 'One For All.'
Even his own quirk. If he weren't the one wielding it, he wouldn't have been able to believe that-that type of power could even exist.
In particular though, he'd always had a special interest in those that could manipulate the world, or nature, in some way or another. Like Thirteen for example. Their quirk, 'Black hole,' while likely not actually based around gravity—more likely some form of uncontrollable suction or size-compression—was still interesting because it emulated something so powerful and out of reach.
Which was exactly why this quirk in particular was just as, if not more fascinating.
They could, with five-finger-contact, completely nullify gravity's effect on an object or person below a certain weight limit.
Gravity! The single unifying force across the universe, canceled out by a tiny human with a shiny genetic defect. Fuck, how he wished he could get his hands on that. The amount of fun he could have and chaos he would cause…
He shook his head, snapping himself out it. Back to the matter at hand.
It seemed like they were having some difficulty when it came to the side-effects of their quirk. Using it for too long, or on objects that were too heavy, was causing some extreme nausea, sometimes to a debilitating extent depending on how far they pushed it. And using it on themself would only get them to that point even quicker. They wanted to know if there was any way to work past their limits, as well as any other advice he could give them regarding their quirk.
He rubbed at his chin as he stared at the screen, considering their dilemma.
There were a number of reasons why one would experience nausea. Anything from food poisoning, to intestinal diseases, to mental disorders.
Thankfully, this case being the result of a quirk—and a very specific type of emitter quirk at that—narrowed down the possibilities considerably.
The most likely possibilities were either some form of chemical imbalance in the brain—similar to those in mental disorders—caused by whatever portion allowed them to exert a gravity-nullifying force on an object, or motion sickness.
'Actually.' He thought to himself, 'Now that I think about it. Motion sickness is much more likely. Experiencing zero-gravity is supposed to be one of the most motion-sickness-inducing things someone can go through. Isn't it something like, seventy percent of all astronaut candidates experience major issues with motion sickness when in training?'
The vestibular system—the organ responsible for the human body's sense of balance—was gravity-dependent. It was possible that maybe they experienced a fraction of the gravity-nullification they exert on objects. Just enough for it to affect their sense of balance and give them nausea. Simply seeing something in zero-gravity could be exacerbating the issue even further.
If that was the issue, then thankfully it had a very simple solution: use their quirk as much as physically possible.
If this was a case of extreme motion-sickness, then the best way to overcome it would be to subject themselves to the cause of the motion-sickness as often as they could in order to build up a tolerance. Anything and everything, from their backpack while they're at school, to small objects around the house anytime they're home, to on themselves when they try to sleep at night.
Especially the last one. If they could use their quirk on themselves as they slept, letting their body adjust to the lack of gravity at its most relaxed state, they would likely get used to it fairly quickly.
He recorded all of that in his analysis, listing all the ways they could use their quirk on a daily basis to improve upon their limitations.
As with the other Yueii Hopeful, he noted how useful it would be if they learned some form of martial arts to augment their quirk's capabilities; touch-based quirks could be integrated into nearly any style of combat to make them unpredictable, while also giving them an excuse to get up close to use it.
As a final thought, he included that it would be for the best if they avoided using nausea-relief medicine as much as possible. Not only would it inhibit their building up a resistance to the side-effects of their quirk, but it would also cause their body to build up an immunity to the medicine itself. Meaning they wouldn't be able to use it when they became a hero and came across a situation where they really needed it.
After reading back through it all, and finding nothing to revise, he sent it off.
Stretching his arms out above his head, he glanced at the time. He'd already been working for several hours. It was nearly time to head out for the day.
He'd been working his way through more requests than ever before recently. In the two weeks he'd taken off from going out as Oni—which had just ended the day before. Last night was his first back out—he'd all but confined himself in the apartment just to relax as much as possible and break up his normal routine. Because of that, he didn't have much to do aside from analyze, read, watch TV, and work to catch up on about four years of missed sleep. Actually, he'd probably spent most of the two weeks asleep on the balcony, sunning himself in the quickly-heating-up April sunlight.
Now though, it was time to return to his regular daily activities.
Picking out a plain-white button up from his closet, and donning a pair of classic, brown leather gloves along with his usual bag, he made his way to the balcony.
Perched on the railing, he sat for a minute, feeling the breeze on his face as he considered where to go. It was still a bit earlier than when he would normally go out. A bit too early to have lunch just yet. Maybe he'd just go to the beach first, and then get lunch? It had been a while since he'd gone to clean it.
His mind made up, he took off into the air, going up instead of gliding down to the road below; he'd decided to forgo the slower route today in order to have more time to sun himself. He climbed until he was far higher than the top of any tower, coming to a stop as he found an updraft to hang on. Turning towards the beach, now partially visible at this height, he started moving.
As he got closer, he could make out that the crowd was a little heavier than it had been the last time he was there. The weather had started to warm up and people were taking advantage of it.
Landing near his usual spot, wings fluttering a bit to cancel his momentum, blowing up some sand, he was delighted to see that the beach was as spotless as he'd last seen it. Someone else must've taken it upon themselves to pick up trash. That brought a smile to his face. He didn't mind picking up the trash. Not at all actually. He hadn't done the initial cleanup for recognition or anything, and by now the smaller, daily rounds were just a part of his routine, but seeing that someone else, or multiple people, had decided that they wanted the beach to remain clean as well felt nice.
Since he didn't have to do any cleaning, he settled into his spot, coiling over himself and already thinking about what quirk he wanted to pull on to start experimenting with.
He picked one out and focused on it, feeling the now-familiar light feeling wash across him.
He'd been practicing with 'Ghost' quite a bit while he'd been staying in the apartment.
So far as he could tell with the experimentation he'd done, whether or not he stayed invisible was dependent upon his mental state. If he lost focus, or experienced any particularly strong emotions, on any end of the spectrum, then the quirk would lose effectiveness very quickly. But if he could remain calm and level-headed while he used it, then he could do practically whatever he wanted without anyone noticing.
That included using some of his more noticeable quirks in public.
A small smirk appeared on his face as he held an arm out in front of him, the skin changing as another quirk was activated. As he watched, his arm became silvery and reflective, stopping just above his elbow, and nearly blinding him when it reflected the sunlight directly into his eyes. He had to pull on a strength quirk to keep it steady in the air when the change brought on a very noticeable increase in weight.
This was the quirk he'd taken that night, from the so-called hero Alloy, which had shared the same name.
When he first started using it, during his rare trips outside of the apartment—he already knew from throwing Alloy around that it increased the user's weight, and Izuku was already fairly heavy. He didn't want to collapse his apartment's floor—he'd discovered that the quirk wasn't as simple as he first thought.
It didn't just transform the user's body into metal, it transformed them into any metal. Any metal that one could get their hands on, they could turn into.
They wouldn't even have to be in contact with the metal in order to transform. The quirk could 'remember' what metal they last touched and copy that.
Just based on what he'd known about the hero, the quirk didn't have that ability. Which meant that either Alloy didn't know about it in the first place—which was unlikely, given how integral that aspect was to the quirk—or he was just really good at hiding it, only using metals that were fairly similar in appearance.
Either way, he'd been almost unnecessarily excited at the prospect. It almost made up for where the quirk came from.
Currently, his arm—bones and all as far as he'd been able to tell—were made of aluminum. In the process of testing, he just grabbed a piece of silverware from the apartment to test.
He was excited to try this one out at some point when he went out as Oni. The boosts to his abilities that it offered were astounding, almost across the board. It didn't provide much in the way of strength enhancement—just enough to allow the user to move normally while transformed—but it still allowed him to hit much harder. A piece of metal striking something was much more effective than a fist.
Its biggest boost came in the form of its defensive capabilities. Not only was metal, obviously, much more durable than human skin, it increased his weight so much that he'd likely be able to tank just about whatever was sent his way. Even with something as light as Aluminum. If he used it when he was Oni, he'd weigh nearly three times as much as normal.
If he got his hands on steel, titanium, or something like tungsten—one of the heaviest known metals—it would only get stronger.
And if he came across a situation where he needed to use the quirk while he was out as Izuku…
He could only imagine how much his weight would increase then.
He already weighed over three-thousand pounds with his tail and wings, and that would increase exponentially with each type of metal he used. If he found gold or tungsten-
He shook his head, forcing down the quickly rising surge of excitement that was coming from such thoughts. He didn't want to become visible again while his arm was still metal.
The only things the quirk wouldn't boost were his speed and his ability to fly. The increase in weight making both much more difficult. He might be able to use more enhancement quirks to meet the difference, but that might be more effort than it was worth.
For the most part, this quirk would be most useful if he were in a situation where tanking everything would be more efficient than how he normally did things.
Humming to himself, he closed his fist, listening to the satisfying clink as his fingers touched. He'd already found a new name for the quirk as well.
As cool as the old name had sounded, with his discovery of how the quirk worked, he needed to pick one that fit it a bit better. It could turn into any metal, not just alloys. A very specific distinction, but one that annoyed him nonetheless.
More than that, though, he didn't want to keep its original name because of where it came from.
So, after a frustratingly long time debating new names with himself, he'd come up with 'Metallum,' the Latin word for metal. It had been a tough decision between that and 'metallon,' the Greek word for metal. But he'd decided that the former sounded a bit cooler.
He still wasn't entirely content with the quirk. Thinking of the person who'd had it before him still left a sour taste in his mouth. But renaming it had been a step in the right direction.
Now he just needed an opportunity to start using it in the field, and he could really start to undo the wrongs attached to it.
In the meantime though. He could experiment with it to find its limits and potential.
The main thing he wanted to figure out, was whether or not he could 'store' metals. If he could turn into metals beyond the last one he'd touched, then its usefulness would increase so very much. He also wanted to know exactly how much he could control the transformation. He already had it down to where he could transform individual body parts, but what he really wanted was to change everything beneath the skin.
If he could achieve that level of control, then he'd potentially be able to utilize it when he was Izuku.
Reaching down, he opened his bag and pulled out a handful of trinkets. He'd gathered a few items made of different metals so he could experiment a bit easier.
Which is exactly what he was going to do. Placing a different metal in each hand, he got to work attempting to control the quirk's 'memory.'
Before long—about an hour later—he saw someone approaching in the corner of his eye, or at least heading in his direction; he was still invisible. Looking over, he saw All Might—in his scrawny form—walking towards him, looking around as if searching for something, or, more likely, someone.
Pulling 'Metallum' back into his chest, he reversed the change that was currently spread across the underside of his arms, before he dropped his focus on 'Ghost.' He could see the exact moment it stopped working, because Yagi's gaze snapped to him immediately. So he had been looking for something, then. Him.
Once again, despite knowing that nothing would come of it, he used 'Appraisal' on the man, frowning as the description ran through his head. He still couldn't fully wrap his head around that. Thankfully, he'd had the whole Stain debacle and his normal quirk analysis to distract him from the mystery over the weeks—wow, nearly a month—since he'd last seen him. But now, here he was, and it was fresh in his head again.
'Actually,' he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly at the approaching figure, 'depending on what he wants, if I play this right, I can get the answers to my questions.'
He adopted a friendly smile as the man drew closer, already raising himself up to match the man.
"Mister Yagi." He called out in greeting. "It's a surprise to see you here."
"Young Etsumi!" It's nice to see you too!" The man returned, a smile splitting his face that probably would've been blinding were he not so emaciated. "And please, drop the 'mister.' You're making me feel old. Just Yagi is fine."
"Alright. Just Yagi it is." Izuku responded, bowing his head slightly. "So then, Yagi, is there something you needed? You seemed to be looking for me."
"Ah, nothing in particular. I was just picking up some trash further down the beach when I saw you fly in earlier, and came over to say hello."
Izuku's eyebrows raised at that. "You were the one that's been cleaning the beach?"
"I am indeed. I noticed that you had disappeared for a while and didn't want the place to go back to being a dump."
'He's been watching for me.' Izuku noted, maintaining his friendly exterior. 'Why? Does he know that I know his secret? No… That can't be the reason. The only way he would know that is if he knew about "Appraisal." And if he knew about that, then I'd have bigger problems on my hands.'
"Well, thank you for that." Izuku said, genuinely, despite his inner turmoil and rising suspicion. "I appreciate someone else keeping the place clean in my absence. I had to deal with some personal matters that took far longer than I'd anticipated. And unfortunately, I was unable to come here to tend to the beach."
"Actually," He added, smile growing a bit at the sudden thought that sprouted. "Were you still curious about who cleaned this place initially?"
Yagi rubbed at the back of his neck. "Ha… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."
"I'll tell you." He said. "But only if you tell me something in return."
"Alright. What is it you wish to know?" Yagi responded, smile still present.
"Why exactly does All Might, the Symbol of Peace, look like this." He asked, gesturing at the man's scrawny figure.
The other's smile dropped instantly, replaced by shock and a bit of fear. "P-pardon?"
"You heard me. I asked why you are able to transform from this," Izuku gestured at him again, "to the All Might everyone knows."
Yagi sputtered for a moment, struggling to find his words which, even though he already knew, only further confirmed it. "Well, I- I'm not sure what you're talking about Young Man. You- You must have me confused with someone else."
"You know very well what I'm talking about." Izuku said, leveling a serious look at the man. "Just as I know that I don't have you confused with anyone."
He watched the hero in disguise sputter some more, struggling to come up with some sort of excuse, and sighed. "Relax, I've no intention of revealing your secret to anyone. I'm aware of the sort of panic that would result from such a revelation. Assuming anyone would actually believe me in the first place."
He saw Yagi relax ever so slightly at his words, just as a fair bit of confusion entered the man's eyes. "Come with me. We can discuss it over lunch. I know just the place."
Turning away from Yagi, he moved up towards the road. He noticed the man's footsteps just behind him a few moments later.
Before long, the two had arrived at the café he frequented, and were settling down at his usual table.
He glanced through the menu to check their specials for the day. All the while, he could feel Yagi's eyes trained on him.
A sigh, "I thought I told you to relax. I've no intention of doing anything."
Yagi spoke, no longer hindered by his surprise. "How did you know?"
"On the day we met," he started, "I also saw you apprehend the sludge villain."
He glanced up at the man, whose eyes were still focused on him. "You were wearing the exact same outfit. Which I had already noticed looked way too big for you. Your facial structure was similar, as were your eyes and hair."
Obviously, he had known just through his use of 'Appraisal,' but he couldn't exactly tell him that.
Shrugging, he added, "That and the fact that, even if I wasn't already sure, you just confirmed it for me."
He almost laughed at the hero's expression, somewhere between shocked and indignant. "Now, spill. What exactly is it that allows you to shift from a twig that, no offence, looks like he could be taken out by a stiff breeze, to the literal number one hero in the world?"
Yagi seemed to consider something for a moment before sighing, a defeated look on his face. He silently lifted up his shirt, exposing his left side.
Izuku almost spit out his drink, which had just been delivered by the server, instead he nearly choked as he swallowed it wrong.
The man's side looked like someone had taken a chainsaw to him. What the hell causes that sort of injury?
Doing his best not to cough a lung out, he voiced his question in the most eloquent way possible.
"What the fuck… is that!?"
Yagi glanced around, looking for anyone who might be listening in as he lowered his shirt. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone near them who might've caught sight at… whatever he'd just seen.
"An injury." Yagi started, somberly. "It's the reason I look like this. I lost most of my stomach and part of my left lung from the wound. And as a result," He gestured at himself, "I've slowly been wasting away.
"Of course!" Izuku exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead. It made perfect sense. "It's an injury. I've been thinking that you had some sort of transformation quirk, but it's really an enhancement quirk with so much energy that it's capable of sparing some of it for the sole purpose of reinforcing your body to handle the power, increasing your size. And you're so strong normally that a tiny dip in your abilities would barely be noticed."
"I- I suppose?" Yagi stuttered, clearly not expecting Izuku's sudden analysis. "I'm not entirely sure if that's how it works. But, because of this injury, my time as a hero is slowly fading away. I'm down to about three hours a day before the strain is too much."
"I see." Izuku said, taking in the fact that the number one hero was literally wasting away as he continued to save people. "I suppose you have been appearing less over the years. I'm not sure anyone has really noticed."
He nodded at the other. "A credit to your capabilities, then, that no one has noticed anything off about you, and that you're still working so hard despite the fact that you're wasting away because of it."
A small smile broke on Yagi's face. "Thank you, Young Etsumi. I don't want people to suffer just because of my shortcomings."
"Please," Izuku snorted, nearly rolling his eyes. "You could come out and retire tomorrow and the world would be just fine. There might be some panic, and there might be a slight surge in crime. But it'd be much better off than if you were to suddenly keel over in the middle of the day because of your injury."
"But regardless, that still leaves the question of who exactly is capable of damaging you to this extent." He continued, "It had to have been kept quiet. You've never had a public fight to that caliber."
"You're right. The whole thing was kept under wraps because of who it was and how strong they were. It wouldn't sit well with the public if they knew that there was a villain capable of standing up to, and even injuring, the Symbol of Peace."
Izuku frowned at that. Whoever it was must've been terrifying. Any villain with the ability to match up to and even injure All Might would be.
If he had enough time, he could probably amass enough quirks to do so himself—as it stood right now, he might be able to withstand a punch or two before he got sent flying, though 'Metallum' might be able to increase that—but for someone to be able to with only one quirk was nearly unthinkable.
It was weird that he couldn't recall anyone that might fit that description. He had a pretty good idea of all the big figures in the underground, but even he hadn't heard of anyone like that.
Instead, he ran through the incidents he could think of that would've been able to cover up what must've been a massive fight. There weren't but so many.
"Tokyo? About five years ago?" He asked after a moment. "There was a pretty big disaster there that the government labeled as a terrorist attack. It's the only incident I can think of that would've been big enough to hide a fight between you and whoever there is in this world that can stand up to you."
"You-. That's right." Yagi said, a bit of surprise present in his face. "That's where it happened. As for who…" his hand drifted down to his side, and his eyes went distant. "They're dead. I made sure of it."
"Wow." Izuku said, leaning back a little, looking up towards the sky. "Well, I guess that's one mystery solved then."
He looked back at the hero after a moment. "Well, I did say that I'd tell you, if you told me."
Yagi perked up at that, drawn back out from his memories.
Izuku smirked. "It was me. I'm the one that cleaned up the beach."
The other's mouth dropped open. "Wha- but you said it wasn't you!"
"I lied." He responded with a shrug, as if it were obvious. "Like I said then; you were a stranger asking about me out of the blue. And I had no reason to tell you the truth."
Yagi looked a bit disgruntled at that, apparently unapproving of his deception. "Alright then. Lying aside. Why did you clean it? Surely it can't have been easy all on your own?"
"Eh." He said. "It really wasn't hard. More time consuming than anything else. And as for why," he shrugged again, "I was bored, and I was able to help. I had nothing better to do anyway."
That wasn't the whole story, but it was truth enough for Yagi. He'd had a bigger reason to clean it all up, but that wasn't something that the other needed to know.
He'd had to deal with Dagobah quite a bit when he was younger. Much more than he would've liked to, and for reasons that he was glad he no longer needed to worry about. Now that he and Rei were in a much better place, he'd wanted to erase that part of their history.
"That's all?" Yagi asked. He seemed a bit surprised at his answer, but recovered quickly, a smile breaking out. "I must say Young Man, that is quite commendable! To take on such a large task simply because you could."
"In fact," he continued. "That's one of the defining traits of a hero! Doing something, helping, just because you can."
Izuku hummed in agreement. "I suppose that's mostly true." He mused. "Not all heroes are that selfless, but there is a noticeable difference when they are."
With the rise of heroics as a profession, it was inevitable that people would attempt it merely for the rewards it offered. That by no means made them a bad hero by default though. One can still be a good hero even if they're motivated by fame or other selfish goals.
It's part of why he found Stain's mission so ridiculous. That man had it in his head that one can only be a true hero if they are entirely selfless and perfect. He completely disregarded the fact that those that weren't, still did their job; stopping crime and keeping people safe.
If anything, those heroes were almost better than the 'true' ones when it came to that. The fact that they're in it for the fame and rewards could be relied on, because they could be trusted to do their best to receive more of said rewards.
"Take Endeavor for instance." He continued, "While I don't really have anything against him, he definitely seems like someone who's a hero for the rewards that come with it, rather than because he can. Unlike you."
"Comparing the two of you, because I feel that despite you having more outright power and the obvious advantage in a direct fight, both of you exhibit a similar amount of power when it comes to your day-to-day encounters. You both bring in roughly the same number of criminals, but so long as you remain a hero, you will always be number one with Endeavor chasing at your heels. The people will never rally around Endeavor the same as they do around you."
"Endeavor is powerful, fast, and efficient. And he has remarkable control over his quirk which, by its very nature, has the potential for a considerable amount of damage. If memory serves, I believe he's had only one case of destruction of property made against him in the past year. But he's never been one to provide hope to people as you do."
Izuku paused in his analysis of the hero as the server came back to take their orders. He went with the special for the day while Yagi only ordered some soup; evidently his injured stomach couldn't easily handle too much solid food.
"I suppose it's the difference between becoming a hero as your career and becoming one as a way of life." He continued once the server had left.
Yagi took a sip of his drink, watching him with curious eyes. "You certainly seem to have put a lot of thought into such topics. Do you maybe wish to become a hero yourself?"
"I do, actually." He answered without hesitation. "Well, maybe not one quite like you, or even Endeavor. I don't much care for the spotlight, and the rewards don't interest me that much. And I don't see myself as someone who can provide hope for people. If I become a hero, it'll just be to help who I can."
He planned on becoming an underground hero. What he'd said about not being a fan of the spotlight and not being interested in the rewards had been true, but a bigger part of it was that if he went underground, then he could do almost exactly what he did now, as Oni, only legally.
Underground heroes had fewer people overseeing them to allow greater freedom and secrecy in their work. He would have nearly free reign to do what he wanted. And then whenever he needed to do something that required a bit more force, or went a bit beyond what a hero could legally do, he could still go out as Oni to take care of it.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, Young Etsumi. As you were getting at a minute ago, the reason why one becomes a hero doesn't matter, so long as they do it to the best of their abilities. And your reasons are quite noble. To want to help people without recognition or reward is the mark of a true hero."
Izuku smiled as he nodded in agreement to the man's words. He generally wasn't one to doubt himself when it came to what he wanted. He knew what he wanted and he had plenty of reasons to justify it—not that he had anyone he needed to justify them to—but hearing the number one hero reassure him warmed his hearts in a way he hadn't expected.
The server returned with their food then, and they halted their conversation to dig in.
"So, I've been wanting to ask." Izuku started after a bit. "Why are you even in Musutafu to begin with? It's pretty far from your agency in Tokyo."
"Well, you see… Hmm…" Yagi paused, looking like he was considering his next words carefully.
Finally, he looked back up at Izuku. "I've already told you the secret of my injury," He murmured, almost to himself. "Perhaps I could tell you one more…"
"Whatever it is, you have my word that I'll keep it." He reassured. He had no intention of revealing any of the man's secrets to the world. Who knew what sort of repercussions would occur if they got into the hands of his enemies.
Yagi considered it a moment longer, before he seemed to reach a decision, his expression hardening with resolve. "I came here to seek a successor. And not just to my legacy." He added in.
He took a deep breath, before continuing. "Young Etsumi. If you would accept it, I would offer you my quirk."
Izuku felt his heart—both of them—skip a beat.
'What? What does he mean?' Izuku thought to himself as he struggled to maintain a neutral expression in spite of his frantic thoughts. 'Does he know about my quirk? How? More importantly, if he knows about my quirk, why did he even agree to talk to me in the first place?'
Through the chaos roiling in his mind, he managed to squeeze out a tiny "What?"
Yagi didn't seem to notice his internal panic, launching into an explanation. "My quirk… Is special. It is one that can be passed along, like a sacred flame, from wielder to wielder gathering strength with each one."
"It is called, One For All."
Izuku was starting to get his mind under control with the man's explanation.
'So that's what it meant by "past users."' He realized. 'It wasn't referring to direct genetic predecessors, but just people that passed the quirk on.'
He nearly sighed in relief. 'So he doesn't know about my quirk after all.'
Getting over his momentary panic, he focused on the quirk itself, matching Yagi's explanation to what 'Appraisal' had first told him. Out of everything else, it was weird that it could pass itself on in a way separate from genetics.
"So, it's one that can pass itself on to others?" He asked, mostly to himself, "It's odd that a quality like that would manifest alongside enhanced strength. I would almost be willing to say that it seems more like two quirks than just one, but then, there are a lot of weird quirks in the world. Maybe it has to do with energy, rather than normal enhancement? That would make sense if it were a stockpiling quirk instead of a regular enhancer." That bit matched up with that part Yagi had added at the end of his explanation. About the quirk gathering strength.
He didn't notice the look on Yagi's face as he made his analysis, sprinkling in some of what he already knew to help make the connections.
"I don't know of any heroes in the past that matched up to All Might's level of strength, so a stockpiling quirk that stockpiles energy maybe, from the past users, makes even more sense. If it were an energy-based quirk, that would also make it easier to believe that it can be passed on.
"T-that's exactly correct Etsumi." Yagi stuttered out, drawing Izuku from his thoughts. "I'm not too sure about the energy part of it but, as I said, it does stockpile strength from the past wielders."
He paused for a moment, then. "How exactly did you manage to work that out so well, and so quickly no less."
"My job relies on my ability to pick quirks apart." He replied with a partial truth. "Once I knew that it could be passed on, and once I knew the way it enhanced your strength, what with it also changing your form, it made more sense for it to be an energy quirk rather than a true strength one. And you said that it gathers strength. It's much more believable that it could pass on some form of energy rather than just a vague concept of pure strength."
"Outstanding…" Yagi softly exclaimed. "But wait, what do you mean your job?"
"Ah, right. You don't know." Izuku realized. "Well, since you explained your secret to me, it's only fair that I share with you a secret of my own."
"Oh, that's not necessary, Young Etsumi." Yagi responded, waving a hand in front of him. "You don't have to do anything like that."
"All the same, I would like to. A secret for a secret. Besides, you didn't exactly share yours with me willingly, at least the one regarding your form."
The other relented after a moment. "Alright, I shall keep this secret for you, whatever it is."
Izuku bowed slightly in acknowledgement. Then, "Have you ever heard of Deku?"
Yagi scratched at his head. "The name sounds familiar. Aren't they a quirk trainer of some sort? Why do you ask?"
He ignored the surge of giddy pride that started to rise at the thought of even All might himself knowing about his analyst persona, even if it was only vaguely.
"Close enough." He responded with a smirk. "I'm actually a quirk analyst. Though I am certified as a trainer as well."
He laughed internally as he watched Yagi's mouth drop open and his eyes widen in shock.
"W-what!?" He stuttered. "You're Deku?"
Izuku spread his arms outward a bit. "In the flesh."
"But, if memory serves, Deku has been around for years." Yagi continued. "You look as though you are still in school."
"You're not wrong." Izuku responded. "'Deku' has been around for roughly, oh, six years now. And I am only seventeen."
That was only partly true. His career as an established quirk analyst had started when he was eleven, but he'd been doing it unofficially for a few years before then.
"Then, how…?"
"I'm smart, that's how." He answered. "I finished school a few years early, and already had a passion for quirks. So why not start making money from it?"
Again. Only partially true. Part of it had been necessity, not just passion that led him into analysis as a profession.
"You mean that you graduated from high school before you were even eleven?" Yagi asked, clearly shocked.
"Yep. And I had a degree in quirk analysis as well; I needed to in order to officially accept paid requests."
Seeing Yagi speechless at the idea of a child earning a college degree at such a young age, he shrugged. "Like I said. I'm smart."
Multiple intelligence quirks all compounding onto each other tended to do that to a person.
"So, the reason you were able to work out the details of One For All…"
"It's because I'm actually certified to do so and have several years' experience in doing that sort of thing."
"Incredible…"
Yagi shook himself out of his daze after a moment. "Well, Young Etsumi. My offer still stands. If you accept it, I would have you inherit my quirk."
Izuku's face fell at the offer, and his eyes dropped to his plate. 'Right. That.'
It wasn't just a question of whether or not Izuku wanted the quirk. He did. So much that his blood nearly boiled.
Just the mere thought of acquiring such a powerful quirk, that he for whatever reason could not take by himself, made the collector in him twitch and burn.
But… It was also about whether he wanted the legacy that came with it. Yagi wasn't just looking for a successor to inherit his quirk, he also wanted someone to inherit the legacy of All Might, the Symbol of Peace. Izuku wasn't sure he could inherit that, or if he even wanted to try… Or if he even really deserved to in the first place.
Izuku held no delusions that he was a good person. Sure, he wanted to be a hero, and he went out as Oni to help people, but that wasn't enough to make up for who, or what, he was.
He'd hurt people, crippled them, even killed some. He took delight in fighting and terrifying criminals, to the extent that he could be considered cruel. Even his natural quirk, by its very nature, was evil. He took and took for himself and, despite his wanting to help, cared very little for those that weren't himself or Rei. Aizawa and Tsukauchi were probably the only two others that he cared for at all.
No. He didn't think he'd make a very worthy successor at all. That privilege belonged to someone better than him.
"I… Don't know." He finally answered.
He looked up at Yagi, whose smile had faded ever so slightly.
"I'm honored that you would offer your quirk to me, don't misunderstand." He continued, seeing the look on Yagi's face. "But I'm not sure if I could accept something like that."
"It's alright Etsumi." Yagi reassured, looking a bit disappointed, but not in him. "I offered, and it is absolutely, completely your choice whether or not you accept. You are under no obligation to do so."
"I appreciate you saying that." He responded. "I'm not saying no, but… Just let me think about it."
"Of course!" He said with a smile. "Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
Izuku nodded, then shifted himself away from the table, rising back up to his normal height. He would head home a bit earlier than he originally planned; he'd gotten the answers to his questions, but he'd also been given a lot to think about.
He pulled out his wallet, ignoring Yagi's protests as he dropped money on the table. As he did, a thought entered his mind that distracted him from the man's offer for a moment.
"I'll think about what you said. But in the meantime. Are you familiar with Nezu, the principal of Yueii?"
"I am." Yagi answered immediately, but with a slightly confused look on his face.
Izuku nodded. "If you happen to talk to him, could you please be sure not to reveal my identity as Deku to him? I know you already said you would keep that secret, but I just want to make sure you're extra careful around him."
"Of course, Young Etsumi. You have my word. But may I ask why you wish to keep it from him specifically?"
He smirked. "I've actually been in communication with him as Deku. I know that he wants to figure out my true identity, and I want to see how long I can keep it from him."
"I see…" Yagi responded, still slightly confused.
"By the way." Izuku continued. "Is he aware of any of your secrets? Your injury or your quirk?"
Yagi nodded. "He is one of the few."
"Excellent." He responded with a smile. "Then, do you mind if I reference those to him as Deku? I want to present theories to him about you that loosely resemble them and see if it's enough to give him an aneurysm."
"I suppose? So long as they are kept from those that don't already know them, I don't see why not? Though I don't see why you would want to do that to him."
Izuku waved a hand in front of him. "It's an expression, don't worry. I just want to see if I can render him speechless. I don't think that's ever happened to him and I want to see what happens."
"Alright?" Yagi responded. "As I said, so long as you're careful then I see no issue."
"Wonderful." He was already putting a plan together in his head for how he wanted to do it.
"We should do this again some time." He said. "This has been… enlightening. And there are more topics I would like to discuss with you."
"I think I would like that." Yagi responded. "Unfortunately, I can't do it but so often. Right now I only come down to Musutafu about once a week. But we could meet up then?"
"That works for me."
They exchanged phone numbers, before Izuku left the café, working his way down the road back towards his apartment. He had to hold in the unnecessary excitement at knowing that he had All Might's personal phone number. How many people could say such a thing?
He smiled. So far, not too bad for his first day back.
Yagi watched as Etsumi walked—or, slithered?—away from the café. He'd gotten some answers to his questions but, ultimately, he was just as confused as he was before.
For starters, he'd at least learned why the young man seemed to be analyzing him with every look. It was because he likely was.
That was a concept that Yagi was still struggling to wrap his head around. It was shocking enough to learn that Etsumi was the quirk analyst; Deku. He hadn't really been too aware of Deku before. He'd always been preoccupied with his hero work and had never really needed a trainer to help him get a handle on One For All. But he'd heard the name enough to know that they were fairly well known and, from what he could tell, quite skilled.
But then to also find out that he not only finished school, but also had a college degree at the age of eleven…
Just how smart was Etsumi?
The way he'd completely picked One For All apart in mere seconds, especially when Yagi had only told him that it could be passed along to a new user and gather strength along the way, was astounding to say the least.
He'd almost be willing to say that the young man was just as smart as Nezu.
An involuntary shiver traveled down his spine at the mere thought. Nezu was already terrifying enough, and the two of them were already in communication with one another?
He could only imagine what they could accomplish together.
The realization of just how smart Etsumi was, only further reinforced his decision to offer One For All to him.
He wasn't too sure what made him decide to do so in the first place. He'd only met the young man once before, and knew next to nothing about him, but he couldn't help but to feel that he was the right choice.
Just as it had felt like the echoes of the previous wielders had reacted when he first shook Etsumi's hand, it almost felt as it was them that was urging him to make the offer.
That, along with hearing his explanations for why he cleaned the beach and why he wanted to become a hero, had pushed him to make the offer. He could tell that Etsumi had what it takes to become a great hero.
He looked down at where Etsumi's number was displayed on his phone. He would honor his decision if he decided not to accept One For All, but maybe he could convince him the next time they met.
4:20 [Deku]-
-'So, I have a theory that I've been toying with for a few days that I'd like to run by you.'
4:21 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'And what might this theory be?'
He and Nezu had just wrapped up a game of chess; he was proud to say that his lead was being maintained with a score of 208 to 205. He'd been toying with his idea of messing with the animal, working out exactly how to do it, and he'd finally come up with something perfect.
4:21 [Deku]-
-'It's about All Might. And what his quirk might be.'
4:21 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Oh? That's one of, if not the, most widely debated subject in modern quirk theory. No one has been able to work it out thus far.'
-'Do go on.'
4:22 [Deku]-
-'Essentially, it all hinges on All Might having an energy-based quirk, rather than a simple strength enhancer.'
-'Most strength-based quirks can only get so strong. Because the body itself can only be pushed so far by a single enhancement quirk. Most strength quirks function by either increasing, or condensing, muscle mass. There are a rare few that enhance using the body's own natural energy, but those would not be able to push much further because of the limits of one's stamina.'
-'Therefore. I'm thinking that maybe All Might has a quirk that somehow stockpiles energy. Energy that can then be utilized as raw strength.'
-'Exploring that line of thought, though, has me wondering where he would be able to gather such extreme amounts of energy from in the first place. Looking at other stockpiling quirks, such as Fatgum, there is a limit to how much the human body can store in natural scenarios. So, unless All Might's quirk can store an essentially limitless amount of energy and he's been stockpiling his entire life, or he can take in energy beyond what the human body can produce, there must be something else at work.'
-'I'm wondering if maybe the former is the case. Maybe his quirk can store an effectively limitless amount of energy, and it's been gathering for a long time. Potentially even longer than his life alone.'
He saw Nezu start to type at that. The icon appeared and vanished several times in quick succession, before disappearing entirely. It seemed as though he wanted to wait to see where his 'theory' went.
A smirk split across his face. Oh, he was going to take it so much further.
4:26 [Deku]-
-'If his quirk truly does stockpile energy, it wouldn't be entirely unbelievable that said energy could be transferred between people. Perhaps if the quirk has a unique mutation that allows it to remain the dominant gene when being passed down from parent to child. If that were the case, and it's been in existence since the appearance of quirks, then it would have gathered up a massive amount by the time All Might manifested the quirk, explaining his nearly unbelievable strength.'
-'So, to summarize. I believe that All Might has an energy stockpiling quirk, that manifests itself in the form of raw strength. And that this quirk can be passed down from user to user, allowing each subsequent user to make use of a larger amount of energy than the last.'
He saw the icon appear again, this time staying for nearly a full minute before a message finally appeared.
4:28 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'That is certainly an interesting theory. I can see the logic behind it.'
-'Do you have any evidence to back it up?'
Izuku smirked again. He figured that's where Nezu would go. The rodent wanted to know if this was a product of pure speculation or if he actually had any physical proof.
He suspected that if he were to answer that he did, then Nezu would start trying much harder to find his identity. Whether that be just to find out who he was and how he'd found out, or to blackmail him into giving it up or swearing to secrecy.
He didn't want to press to far and push Nezu over the edge. Though he wasn't too sure what that edge would even be.
4:28 [Deku]-
-'Unfortunately, I don't. This theory is nothing but guesses based on observation.'
4:28 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'I see.'
-'Well. It is interesting nonetheless. I am excited to see if it goes anywhere.'
-'Do please let me know if you find anything to prove it.'
-'Now. I apologize, but I will have to cut this discussion short. There are matters that I must attend to that cannot wait.'
Izuku didn't get a chance to respond before Nezu disconnected.
If he had All Might's number, then he was probably already calling the hero to inform him that someone knew—or at least had guessed—the secret behind his quirk.
He couldn't help the small laugh that bubbled up at the thought of what was going through Nezu's mind.
Shaking his head, he moved away from the computer. He could hear Rei starting to move around. It was almost time for him to start cooking dinner, and he wanted to talk to her about what he'd discovered.
Especially the offer that Yagi had made. He still wasn't too sure what to think of it, let alone whether he should accept it.
Maybe she'd be able to help him sort it out.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Just so you know, there won't be an update next week. I've got some stuff going on that's going to limit how much time I have to write. So instead of rushing it, I'm just going to push chapter 7 back to Saturday, May 23.
Tradition
Chapter Summary
Izuku and Rei enjoy a day out together.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy! This chapter is almost completely fluff. And is a little shorter than normal.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku stretched his arms up over his head, a slight groan escaping his throat as his stiff muscles loosened. His wings mirrored the motion, extending up into the air. He got up from where he'd been stretched across the balcony that connected to his bedroom and the two offices, the last few feet of his tail dangling over the railing. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, signaling the start of the day.
He'd taken the night off from his vigilante work. Not because something had happened, as he had before, but because this was the one night a year that he always took off. Well, technically two nights. The night before and the night after today. Instead of dressing up and patrolling the city, he'd spent most of the night lounging across his balcony, enjoying the July heat as he read a book he'd been neglecting, while listening to soft music play from his phone. He'd found that 'Spectrum's night vision aspect was incredibly useful for reading in the dark.
Flicking his tongue out to taste the air, he picked up the barest hints of cooking food coming from inside the apartment. Rei must be starting her day.
She was currently on Summer break. Which meant that she was able to adjust her sleep schedule back to something that resembled a normal human's. Of course, this also meant that she wasn't awake to help him at night, but he was alright with it. She was happier during the breaks. It was usually about the only time she could go outside while it was light out.
Normally, he'd be in the kitchen right now instead of her, cooking up breakfast after a night of playing with criminals. But the same circumstances that had him taking the night off also had her preparing breakfast.
Actually, it wasn't just his vigilante work that he was taking a break from. This was the one day a year that he took a break from anything he normally did. No going to the beach, chatting or playing with Nezu, or any of the errands he normally took care of. He didn't even work on any analysis requests. He'd leave them all until the next day, where he'd pull on a few speed quirks, and maybe even 'Quick Thinker' to make up the difference.
Rolling his neck to work out the last bit of soreness, he made his way back inside his room, depositing the book and the pillow he'd taken out with him, before heading to the kitchen and living room. The scents he'd picked up outside hit him full force as soon as his bedroom door opened. His mouth started watering at the delicious smell.
Few things could beat fresh pancakes and bacon.
"Good morning Izuku!" Rei called from behind the stove, where he could see breakfast cooking away. "Good Timing! I was just about to come get you. I've got a plate ready for you on the table."
"Mmmm. Smells delicious. Thank you." He said, moving over to the table. "I could smell it from all the way outside."
She hummed in response, pleased with the praise, as she dipped out her own serving and shut off the stove. "So, how did you spend your night off?"
"Relaxing out on the balcony." He replied, digging in and savoring the taste. "Reading, mostly. But around one in the morning I went out flying for a bit."
"Did you go out to do anything?" She asked, depositing her plate on the table, and settling at her spot.
"Nope. Just flying. Enjoying the wind, and the view. I was probably up there for a couple hours, and I have no idea how high I ended up going."
He smiled as he spoke, recalling the sensation of wind blowing past him as he soared through the air. Flying was one of his favorite things to do. There was just so much freedom in it. When he was up there, a few thousand feet in the air, there was nothing but him. No one to deal with, no one to fight, nothing to do but enjoy the view.
In a world of constant distractions, it was almost liberating. It was too bad he didn't get many chances to fly strictly for the sake of flying. Sure, he flew around plenty either as Oni or Izuku to travel, but those instances were both too short and too low altitude to really enjoy.
Izuku pulled out of his thoughts to see Rei smiling at him across the table.
"That's good. You shouldn't be doing anything today except enjoying yourself."
"Well we're certainly off to a good start with this delicious breakfast you've prepared." He said, taking another bite. "Honestly, I doubt that I could've done any better."
Her smile seemed to grow even brighter at his words. "I'm glad you like it. I was a little nervous since it's not often that I cook. But it looks like I didn't have to worry."
He hummed in agreement through a mouthful of food, and the two fell into silence as they ate.
Izuku leaned back away from the table a bit as he emptied his plate again, finishing off his third and final helping. Rei scooped it up almost immediately, depositing it into the sink.
He sighed contentedly, closing his eyes. "Thank you for the meal, Rei. It was delicious."
Maybe it wasn't the fanciest or most complex meal he'd had. But it tasted good all the same, and it was cooked by his favorite person in the world, so as far as he was concerned it may as well have been served in a gourmet restaurant.
Instead of a response, he felt a pair of arms slide around his own from behind, enveloping him in a hug. At the same time, her chin came to rest on his shoulder. He leaned into the contact, bringing a hand up to pet at the top of her head.
"Happy Birthday, Izuku." She said quietly, voice nearly a whisper. "I love you."
He dropped his hand back down, opting instead to rest his cheek on her head.
"I love you too." He responded, almost as quiet. Her arms tightened a bit around him.
They stayed like that for a couple long minutes, just soaking in each other's presence.
There was no greater feeling for either of them, than when they were together in moments like this. Nothing brought them comfort quite like being with the other.
This was how it had always been. For various reasons, that both preferred not to dwell on, neither of them had any family outside of each other. No one else to rely on or to love them. For so very long, nearly as long as Izuku could remember, they'd only had each other to lean on. It had only ever been the two of them against the world.
And although it certainly hadn't been easy, he wouldn't trade it for anything. He couldn't imagine life without his sister.
After some time, Rei detached herself, rising back to her proper height.
"Alright!" She started, a smile decorating her face and excitement obvious in her voice. "Now that we've eaten, it's time to head out. I've got the whole day planned."
"I look forward to it."
"Good. Now go get dressed, so we can get started."
Izuku had a smile plastered on his face as he made his way back to his room. It remained in place as he picked out his clothes for the day. This was a tradition for them. Every year, on his birthday, they would follow this routine. He would avoid his normal workloads in favor of relaxing, she would treat him to breakfast, then the two of them would go on an outing planned entirely by Rei. Last year, in addition to treating him to lunch as she normally did, she'd taken him out to an aquarium, and to a seminar hosted by another well-known quirk analyst. This one from Germany. That in particular had excited him, since before that moment he'd had no idea that they were even in Japan.
They had talked for a couple hours about hereditary quirk development. How quirks shifted, changed, and combined from parents to child. It had been wonderfully insightful, and had given him an excellent opportunity to practice his German.
He loved every second of this tradition.
A minute later, and the two of them were making their way down the endless flight of stairs that led from the top floor to the ground. Soon enough, they were heading down the road to their first destination, led by Rei as Izuku had yet to be told what exactly they were doing.
As they traveled, they spoke to one another to pass the time. Rei went into detail explaining what she was learning in the online classes she attended while assisting him in his nightly ventures.
She was studying to become a lawyer. Specifically, she wanted to specialize in criminal law. Originally, she'd been studying computer programing, focusing on cyber security, but that ended up not working out.
It wasn't that she didn't understand it or wasn't any good at it, quite the opposite actually. She'd excelled. It was the reason that she was so good at what she did now as Phantom. No, she'd simply decided that she didn't enjoy it as much as she originally thought.
Her initial decision to make that her focus was based on necessity. Computer sciences and cyber defense were simultaneously some of the highest demand career fields and the easiest to study and get started in. She'd wanted to find a higher paying job to support the two of them. At the same time, she'd also wanted to do everything she could to help him in his early days as Oni.
But now that he had his job as Deku, and had become as skilled as he was as Oni, she no longer needed to worry about either, and had much more freedom to decide what she wanted to do. And she had chosen law.
He smiled as he listened to her ramble on about what she was learning. He wasn't going to pretend to understand most of it. He knew about as much as he needed to as a vigilante in order to understand which laws he was breaking at any given point, but beyond that it may as well have been a foreign language. It was clear that it made her happy though. She was obviously passionate about the subject, much more than she had been previously, and that was all he really needed to understand.
Izuku, on the other hand, kept them entertained by analyzing other pedestrians on the fly. Rei would point someone out, and in the thirty seconds or so that he had before they passed, he'd completely break down what their quirk was. This was met with a number of different emotions by the people in question. From confusion, to bewilderment, and in some cases annoyance as he deciphered a major aspect of their life at a glance.
This continued on until they reached their destination. Rei had just finished explaining the difference between degrees of murder—a fascinating topic to him since he'd only ever simply categorized people as "murderers"—when she took his arm to pull him to a stop.
Looking up, he saw that they were outside of the Musutafu Museum of History. A national museum dedicated to the entire history of Japan.
"Stop number one!" Rei announced. "The history museum. Because I know how much you love history, and because I know you've never been here before."
It was true. He did love history. Especially ancient history. It was fascinating to see how society and people developed throughout the centuries. To be able to see the history of an entire civilization through what was left behind. Art could tell stories, texts could paint pictures, and architecture could display memories.
In his spare time, he would occasionally pick out a different period in time and learn as much as he could about it. Personally, he'd always found eastern civilizations a bit more interesting to learn about. Maybe he was a little bit biased because of where he lived, but there was also just so much there.
Maybe in another life, one where he had a different quirk, or where he wasn't Deku, he might've become a historian.
Rei tugged at his arm again, drawing him from his thoughts. "Well?" She asked with a smile. "Let's get in there."
He grew a smile to match. "After you."
The two took their time working through the museum. As they did, Izuku ended up being something of a tour guide. Explaining a number of historical periods to Rei, and a few people that were listening not-too-discreetly some distance away, either too shy or too intimidated by his and Rei's appearance to approach them.
They worked their way through all the major periods in Japan's history, with Izuku narrating along the way. From the beginning of its history as an established farming civilization in the Yayoi period, to the introduction of one of its first major legal systems in the Asuka period, to the introduction of formal religion—technically Buddhism had been introduced first, but he personally considered that more of a philosophy than anything else—in the Muromachi period, to more recent developments like the isolationist period in the Edo period.
Then of course there were more recent events like the world wars, the disasters therein, and the rapid improvements of Japan's relations with the rest of the world soon afterwards.
When they got to the section covering history after the appearance of quirks, there was very little substance. Not really all that surprising. Aside from civil unrest and mountains of panicked legal and governmental reforms to compensate for the appearance of superpowers, practically nothing happened as far as developments. Arts, sciences, religion and philosophy. Everything ground to a standstill as Humanity collectively experienced a century-long panic attack.
If anything, humanity actually regressed. The first people to appear with quirks were shunned and hated. They hid their powers for fear of those that hated them for it. Crime rates rose through the roof, both in general with powered individuals taking advantage of their newfound strength and non-powered taking advantage of the chaos, and those specifically targeted against people with quirks; technically classified as hate crimes. There were even cases—many cases—of lynch mobs gathering together at times, adding to the mass confusion. It was as if every country simultaneously stepped back a few hundred years.
It wasn't until almost a century ago that humanity started to get its shit together. As the percentage of people with quirks continued to rise, and they weren't so outmatched in sheer numbers, hate crimes decreased as striking against one person held the possibility of many more joining in, all of whom possessing unknown powers. Things balanced out like this for a while, with governments still struggling to pass useful reforms and the percentage of quirked people slowly rising.
Then, with the popularization of heroes, things finally started to turn around. Quirks were beginning to be seen in a much better light as the newly established heroes set to work stopping crimes, both powered and not.
And while this did stabilize the once-heated relations amongst people, and set humanity back on the path to moving forward, the path it found was one centered almost solely around heroics. The arts—namely television, music, and literature—focused almost entirely around heroes. The greatest scientific advances to appear came about in an attempt to create better support gear. Even civil changes revolved around quirks and how they pertained to the struggle between heroes and villains.
Of course, there was nothing saying that this was necessarily a bad thing. It wasn't as if this was the first time Humanity got caught up on one thing, and one thing alone, for so long. It had happened several times with religion alone in a number of civilizations. How long this focus would last, and whether it would end up being a good thing for humanity or not, remained to be seen.
Finishing up their trip through the museum, which may or may not have ended with Izuku buying a tiny replica of a terracotta figurine to take home as a souvenir, they left the museum and continued on where they left off. This stretch of their journey found them having an in-depth conversation about the history of quirk laws. Izuku's contribution came from his in-depth knowledge of history, while Rei's came from her learning about such laws in school. Evidently those laws were some of the first that they discussed, what with the prevalence of vigilantes and the general public dislike of those laws.
They both agreed that quirk laws were mostly bullshit. Not that-that was an unheard of opinion or anything. They had mostly been the result of panicked government officials that were doing anything they could to simultaneously reduce the discordance of the general public and secure their continued position in a seat of power. As a result, there were a host of half-baked laws that essentially made it illegal to use one's quirk at all. Then, later, reforms were made to make an exception for heroes. Specific instances of people either needing to use their quirk for their livelihood, or because their quirk usage was involuntary, were handled on a case-by-case basis.
Technically, it was illegal for Izuku to even fly anywhere, or use innocuous quirks like 'Appraisal' because he didn't have any sort of certification or pass to allow him to do so. Actually, going by the exact meaning of the law, it was illegal for anyone to use their quirk at all in any scenario, even at home.
Not that-that would ever do anything to stop him. He broke more serious laws on a daily basis. He wasn't exactly bogged down with guilt.
Their journey took them through a public park, which supplied them with some lovely scenery as they mocked the incompetence of the people that made the laws, or those that had passed half-assed reforms.
It wasn't a stop in their trip, but Izuku found himself enjoying it all the same. Rei had planned their route so that they would pass through it on the way. It was a nice, peaceful break to the normal chaos of the city.
Eventually, when they did make to their next stop it was nearing noon. Which was convenient—or just careful planning on Rei's part—because it was the restaurant where they would be eating lunch. It was a massive building. At least three floors and stretching across most of the block. An ornate sign sitting above its massive doors read "Ukemochi no Gochisou."
He'd heard of this place. It was a well-known restaurant that boasted the ability to seat anyone, regardless of quirk limitations, size or otherwise.
Most of its seating space was taken up by private rooms to accommodate its guests. They had giant rooms for size quirks, or tiny ones for size reducing quirks, rooms that were resistant to extreme temperatures on both ends of the spectrum, sound proofed, water, electricity, and laser resistant. Any quirk imaginable that might keep someone from eating out, this restaurant had the ability to accommodate them.
And if they didn't, they guaranteed that they would within a week. He was pretty sure that they had a contract with Cementoss to assist with the construction or rearranging of rooms. There was also a rumor that Power Loader was involved as well. His status as a registered developer of support items supplying them with the technology they needed to accommodate people.
More than that, though. They were able to meet almost any dietary restrictions or needs necessitated by quirks. If someone needed more of a specific ingredient, or if it was important to have no amount of another anywhere near their food, this restaurant could handle it. Most restrictions were essentially just food allergies, just a bit more severe.
Dietary needs on the other hand, were usually a bit more important and had a more direct impact on one's life. A lot of quirks placed some additional need on a person in order to function. It might need more of a certain chemical in their food or drink, or to take in some other substance on a regular basis. His and Rei's, snake tail quirks required their body to produce more Keratin than a normal human in order to maintain their scales. That was a less-intrusive example, as it mostly just meant that they needed to consume a bit more protein. Other quirks could be much more demanding.
A fire quirk, depending on how it activated and what it used as fuel, might require the user to eat foods with more fats. Gun quirks would require the user to consume enough metal to produce the bullets they used. Growth or transformation quirks would require the user to simply consume a massive number of calories to fuel the changes. The list went on and on.
He was lucky that despite having accumulated a large collection of quirks, not many had extensive dietary needs. Most simply required energy to function, and he had his stockpile quirks for that.
And while their ability to accommodate anyone, regardless of quirk, was their main selling point, their food was also good enough to make them a five-star restaurant based on that alone.
In other words, it was the perfect place to take someone with a large mutation quirk for lunch on their birthday.
Because despite having the ability to shift his form to a normal human's to eat anywhere, that wasn't a good enough reason for him to do so. That quirk meant too much to him to do something like that. There was a reason it was one of the quirks he played off as his natural one. Really, if it weren't so conspicuous and easy to spot, he would probably keep it active when he went out as Oni.
Besides, this restaurant being the way it was meant that Rei could eat there too. And she couldn't turn the quirk on and off like it had a switch as he could.
It wasn't long before the two were being directed into their own room, almost perfectly sized for them to situate themselves at the table without being cramped. The staff had evidently been aware that they didn't need chairs, because there weren't any in the room, and the table was slightly higher than a normal one would be. Doubly impressive since it was barely even two minutes between their entering the building and getting to the room. Rei had made a reservation beforehand.
When the food came, with Izuku of course ordering Katsudon and Rei ordering Udon noodles, they found that it definitely matched up to the rest of the restaurant's reputation.
Izuku took one bite and nearly melted. It was probably the best thing he'd ever tasted. Rei evidently felt the same way about her food, judging by the expression on her face.
Now, he didn't mean to brag, but he felt that he'd become fairly skilled when it came to cooking. He'd been preparing his and Rei's meals nearly every day for years, and had gotten to the point where he could experiment and create his own dishes.
Despite that, he got the impression that any attempt he made would pale in comparison to the food he was eating right now.
But while it might be the best thing he'd ever eaten as far as taste, it still didn't top the breakfast from that morning in terms of how much he enjoyed the meal. That simple meal of bacon and eggs would likely remain his favorite for a while. At least until they did this all over again next year.
Partway through the meal, Rei spoke up.
"So." She started, swallowing a mouthful of food. "What's new in the world of quirks? Anything interesting come up?"
He knew that she was talking about his job as Deku. He thought for a moment before responding. "There was a metal quirk that came through the other day."
"Like that new one you took?"
"Similar, but with some key differences." He answered, taking another bite of his meal. "It seems to cover their entire body, where mine leaves the eyes unchanged. And it seems like it relies on a steady intake of iron to maintain its capabilities. Apparently, the durability of the metal can deteriorate rather harshly if they overuse it or don't intake enough. It also only lets them transform their body into one type of metal, unless they can consume different metals to change that."
"Interesting." She mused. "Do you know if they're trying for a hero school?"
"They didn't say. But they were directly asking for ways to make their quirk stronger, and there's only so many reasons why someone would ask for that. Especially when their quirk doesn't match any current heroes. So I wouldn't be surprised if they were."
The two quickly went off on the conversation, discussing the countless quirks he analyzed on a daily basis, and which ones stood out to him the most.
Eventually, they finished off the last of their lunch and were heading out the door, but not before Izuku left a sizeable tip on their table. And soon enough they were back outside and headed to their next destination.
After traveling for a bit, Izuku realized that they weren't too far from Dagobah. A moment after that realization, a thought ran through his head that put a smile on his face. He didn't really want to interrupt Rei's plans, especially since everything had been going so well thus far, but he felt like she would enjoy his idea.
"Hey." He said, pulling to a stop. "Are we on a tight deadline for the next stop?"
"Not really." She responded, confusion drawing at her expression. "We can get there whenever. Or if you have something that you'd like to do, we can do that instead. We're out to celebrate your birthday after all."
His smile widened. "Wonderful. There's something I want to show you. It shouldn't take but a few minutes."
With that, he turned to head straight for Dagobah, with Rei following close behind.
Just a few minutes away from his destination, Rei seemed to realize what they were headed towards. He noticed her expression tighten ever so slightly.
"Izuku. Why does it seem like we're heading towards-?"
"I know, I know. Just trust me." He reassured, draping an arm over her shoulder. "You'll see in a minute."
They continued on in silence. He could practically feel the tension and discomfort in Rei's body increasing by the minute. He knew that she didn't like the place, but that's also why he needed her to see it.
Finally, they rounded the final corner between them and the beach. Now it was just one final fence blocking their view.
The closer they got, the more he noticed Rei's discomfort making way to confusion. Despite the fence blocking their sightline to the ocean, it was still completely obvious to anyone that was familiar with the beach's previous state that the enormous mountains of garbage weren't there any more. Or at least that they weren't quite so towering.
Then they reached the entrance, with the entirety of the beach stretched out in front of them in all its glory, with its gleaming white sand and clear water, there were even crowds of people out enjoying themselves. He heard her breath catch in her throat. She was frozen, a look of complete bewilderment stuck on her face.
Several long moments later, and she managed to get out a small "What?"
"I cleaned the beach." He said.
She glanced at him, before returning her gaze to the beach, almost scanning it. "You- What?"
"About three years ago." He started. "I decided that I wanted to do something about it. It was a sore spot, both physically and in our lives, and I wanted to change that. I wanted to erase that part of our past."
Back when the two of them were younger, much younger, they'd been forced to live on the beach for a while. They didn't have the means to live anywhere else, and the city proper held too many dangers to be wary of.
It had not been pleasant. Not in the slightest. There had always been a constant horrid stench assaulting their senses, day in and day out. The constant breeze from the ocean made the colder months hell on them with their inherent minor weakness to such temperatures. All of that coupled with a constant hunger and it was easy to understand how unpleasant memories could hang around this place.
Those were the worst three years of their lives. For so many different reasons.
But once they were no longer in a position where they had to worry so much, and once he was able to, he'd started cleaning the beach bit by bit, to clear those memories away.
"You… Did all this?" She asked, still recovering from the shock. "How?"
"Slowly." Came his response. "There was an old dumpster nearby that I used. I would fill it up, then fly it over to the nearest proper dump to dispose of it, then come right back to do it again. It took me about a year to get all of the bigger stuff, then another couple months to comb through the sand to pick up all of the smaller pieces."
He watched her for a moment. Then, "So? What do you think?"
"It's beautiful." She whispered. "So different from what it used to look like."
He noticed tears gathering in her eyes, and squeezed his arm a bit tighter around her. That seemed to jolt her out of the almost trance she was in.
She sniffed, rubbing the tears out her eyes. "Now, look. I'm supposed to be treating you today. Not the other way around."
He smiled. "Yeah well. I felt like it was something you needed to see. Actually, I'm kind of surprised you never noticed that it was clean. It's been like this for a while."
She sniffed again. "I've always done my best to avoid it as much I could. I've never had any reason to get this close, and I've got a filter running on my computer that blocks out any mention of it."
"I see…" He said, smile dropping ever so slightly.
He'd known that she didn't care for the beach, but he never knew that she'd gone to such lengths to avoid thinking about it.
He supposed it made sense though. The way the two of them handled their past was a bit different.
Izuku accepted every bit of it without question. He rationalized it as all being deserved because of what he was. Every horrible thing and shitty situation he'd dealt with was because he was inherently evil and the world was punishing him for it. He knew and understood that, and was able to move on. He dealt with it, because he was supposed to, and then he worked to improve himself and his situation to earn something better.
But Rei had never deserved what life had dealt her. It had given her the worst hand it could, dragged her through the dirt, but there was never any reason for any of it. She'd dealt with so much shit, but she'd never been able to find an explanation for why. She wasn't able to accept it, the unfairness of it all. But she'd worked hard anyway to escape the unfair situation, and as soon as she could she'd shoved the past behind her to never look back.
He shook his head to disperse the somber thoughts, searching for a topic to direct their attention elsewhere.
"So, this is actually where I go most days when I head out."
"Really?" She asked, turning to look at him.
"Yep. Almost every day I come here to sun myself out on the sand and practice some of my quirks."
"You come here just to lay in the sand?"
"Oh, trust me. You have not lived until you've curled up on the hot sand. It's like the heated floors at home, except so much better."
She looked between him and the beach with a bit of doubt in her expression. But he could see the curiosity there too. He knew that she had the exact same instincts as him. The ones that made him want to curl up on the nearest warm thing and soak in its heat. They weren't particularly strong instincts, at least certainly not when compared to other mutation quirks, but they were constant, and insistent.
"Want to try it?" He asked. "I can attest that there is no better way to work off a stomach full of food than with a nap on a warm beach."
She still looked a little skeptical, but she relented. "Alright, let's do it."
They moved wordlessly down to the sand. He could tell the exact moment Rei reached the sand because he heard a slight gasp from behind him. There wasn't too much different in heat between the sand and the concrete sidewalks, but the sand just felt different. Part of it might've been how their weight made them sink into it slightly, or maybe that sand was softer than the sidewalk.
Whatever it was, he didn't particularly care. And it seemed as though Rei didn't either.
Soon, they had reached his normal area, and were coiling up next to each other.
"So, do you believe me now?" He asked, lounging across his tail.
She sighed from where she was laying across her own, mimicking him. "Alright. I believe you. This is pretty great."
She shifted a bit, relaxing even further. "You're telling me you come here and do this every day?"
He laughed softly, "Just about. I'm usually heading out of the apartment around noon. I go eat lunch at a nearby café, then come here for a few hours. Practice with some quirks, enjoy the sun, then continue on with the rest of my errands."
"I'm jealous." She said, eyes closed. "You get to do this all the time. I'm usually asleep right about now."
"Well, to be fair, I don't really sleep period. So I've got more free time anyway. And besides, that just means we'll have to make the most of it while you're still on break."
"You're right about that. I feel as though I've been missing out. And I'm pretty sure that this is better than what I originally had planned for the rest of the day."
"What did you have planned?" He asked.
"I was going to take you to the zoo. But this is turning out to be better, I think."
"Maybe." He shrugged. "But I would've enjoyed it all the same. It doesn't really matter what you plan, so long as I get to enjoy it with you."
A tired smile stretched across her face. "Maybe we could've made fun of the snakes at the zoo for not being half human."
He grew his own smile. "Cursed to live an existence of no limbs and no sapience."
He pulled his quirk journal from the bag at his hip. Ready to take notes. "Now take a nap or something. Enjoy the heat, we've got all day until sundown."
She mumbled something incoherent, already basically asleep. He hadn't realized how much she would enjoy the beach. She really had been missing out.
He was just flipping through his notebook to a new page when he paused. Frowning, he looked over to where Rei was stretched out. She was wearing short sleeves, and they obviously hadn't planned to be out on the beach, so they didn't have sunscreen. He didn't care as much if he got sunburn, his healing quirk dealt with it pretty quickly, but she didn't have that luxury. Glancing down the beach, he found the solution to the issue.
As quietly as he could, or at least as quietly as a giant snake could manage, he got up and made his way down to what he'd spotted.
A few short minutes later, and he was opening a giant umbrella, driving it into the sand. He positioned it so that she was completely settled in its shade.
Satisfied that she wouldn't be waking up a bright shade of red, he went back to flipping through his notebook, picking out a quirk to experiment with. Finally deciding on one, he pulled it from his chest and got to work.
It was nearly sundown by the time they got back to the apartment, the sky already awash in reds and pinks. They were at the beach much longer than he normally would be, but Rei had obviously enjoyed her first positive experience there.
"Alright." She announced. "Head back to your room or office for a few minutes. I've got to get the last part of the day ready."
He smiled as he complied. He already knew exactly what was going to happen, but that didn't stop it from being his favorite part of the day. Once he was in his room, he changed out of the mint green button-up he'd chosen for the day and into a loose t-shirt.
A few minutes later, and Rei came to retrieve him, pulling him into the living room to reveal the final part of the yearly tradition.
The floor was covered in pillows and blankets. Not too far from how it normally was with beanbags instead of proper furniture. There was a movie already set up on the tv. And there a few cartons of ice cream sitting on the coffee table.
Out of everything else, this would forever remain his favorite part of the birthday tradition. The two of them would curl up on the floor, wrapped up in blankets, and eat ice cream for dinner as they watched movie after movie.
They wasted no time getting settled in, wrapping up in blankets within seconds, and popping open the first cartons of ice cream. Not even bothering with bowls as they dug in. The movie was started soon after they got settled.
This wasn't just his favorite part of the tradition, but also the oldest.
When the two of them were younger, older than they were when they'd had to live on the beach, but not by much, they'd still been struggling financially. When it came to birthdays, they didn't exactly have the money for a huge celebration or even presents. Instead, they would make do with this. They would rent a couple of movies, usually old Disney movies, and eat ice cream for dinner as they watched.
For them, even this was a treat they rarely got to see. Getting to have ice cream at all was almost the same as an extravagant vacation, and watching those old movies was the best gift they could get.
And now, despite being in an infinitely better situation, they had carried this with them. Albeit with better, softer blankets, more ice cream, and a streaming service for the movies.
They still didn't really do physical presents though. Because they'd struggled so much, now that they weren't they tended to buy what they wanted when they wanted it. Where before they could only dream of having certain things, or had to save for weeks and months for the simplest things, they didn't want to experience that anymore.
Of course, this didn't stop Izuku from finding a few gifts for Rei when her birthday came around
The first movie cut off, and Rei was quick to put the next one on. They had already finished off all the ice cream that had been set out. They curled up closer as the next movie began to play, leaning on one another.
"Thank you, Rei." Izuku said quietly. "For always putting so much effort into making my birthday this enjoyable."
"You're welcome." She replied, wrapping an arm around him. "I know that you have plenty of reason to dislike your birthday. So I want to do my best cancel all of that out with good memories."
He hummed in acknowledgement, reaching his own arm up to wrap around her. "You do a very good job. This one was just as good, if not better, than last year's."
"I'm glad. You deserve it. You deserve to be happy."
He didn't respond, but hugged her a bit tighter as they settled to watch the movie.
Chapter End Notes
Hopefully you enjoyed my attempt at a chapter made almost entirely of fluff. I made it to offset the dumpster fire that chapter 8 will be.
Soon, it'll finally be time to get to canon events.
Also, the name of the restaurant "Ukemochi no Gochisou" means 'Ukemochi's Feast' according to Google translate. Ukemochi is a Japanese god of food.
Separation
Chapter Summary
The long-awaited backstory. Part 1.
Chapter Notes
So, I'm having to split this up into more than one chapter. Upon writing it, I realized that I underestimated just how big it would be. This chapter alone is already 10k words. So, in an effort to make it easier to read, and to give me more time to write it all out, it will be split into at least two chapters.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku hummed to himself as he played with his new All Might figurine, a documentary on the hero playing on the TV in front of him.
Normally he wouldn't be awake quite so late—the sun had already sunk below the horizon and he had school the next day—but his mom was letting him stay up a bit later tonight. It was a special occasion after all.
It was his birthday. He'd turned four years old.
The day had started with his mom waking him up nice and early and making him a big breakfast. And then taking him over to his best friend's house as soon as he was done eating and had gotten dressed. It was Sunday, so he didn't even have to go to school. When they got there, his Auntie Mitsuki greeted him with a hug and Kacchan immediately pulled him away to go play in the back yard.
They spent most of the morning like that. Playing in the yard, with Kacchan showing off his newly developed quirk and their parents watching from the house.
Around lunchtime, all of them left together to head to the park. They were meeting up with more of his friends to celebrate his birthday.
There was food, presents, cake, and all of his friends were playing games together. They, of course, played games of heroes and villains. And because it was his birthday, he was allowed to be the hero every time, with Kacchan at his side obviously. For all intents and purposes, this was the best day ever.
Then, once they were done there and everything was cleaned up, the group, consisting once more of just the Midoriyas and the Bakugous, went back to Izuku's house.
Once there, Kacchan revealed another present that he'd been waiting to give him. It was the All Might figurine. But not just any figurine. It was the newest one currently available. He'd been hoping to get it for his birthday, and his wish had been granted.
He'd been so happy! And it was only made better when Kacchan revealed his own, almost identical figurine. They'd spent the rest of the day playing with each other, running back and forth through the apartment as their mothers watched on. The best day ever had been made even better.
Speaking of his mom; she was with him. He was sitting in her lap and her arms were wrapped around him as they watched the TV together, although his focus was mostly on the toy in his hands and he was pretty sure his mom was asleep. Her head was slumped forward and her breathing had evened out.
An accidental slip of his clumsy child-sized hands, and the toy fell from his grasp to the carpet below. He tried to reach for it, but it was too far away. He could try to get up to get it, but then he might wake his mom up…
Grabbing onto her hand absentmindedly as he stared at the toy on the floor, he thought about how he'd be able to get it if he had his quirk. He should be getting it any day now! Everyone said that once you turned four, you got your quirk. And he wanted his to be just like his mom's.
Actually, maybe he already had his quirk, and he just hadn't realized it yet. Kacchan's had been noticeable as soon as it came in, but maybe his wasn't quite so visible. Especially if he had his mom's quirk.
Furrowing his brow, he thought about how she used hers. Didn't she normally do something with her hands?
He stared down at the toy and reached his free hand towards it. He was pretty sure she did something with her fingers.
He focused, wiggling his fingers like he was pretty sure she normally did. For a moment, his fingers felt kinda warm, and he was pretty sure he felt his mom move a little, but he ignored it, focusing even more.
He moved his fingers a little differently, like he was trying to grab the toy from a few feet away and-
There! He saw it wiggle. The toy moved.
Excited, and determined to see it again, he repeated what he'd just been doing. After a moment the toy, slowly but surely, drifted into the air towards his hand. Once it was within reach, he grabbed it gently, as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
It hit him a moment later.
It finally happened! He had his quirk! And it was just like his mom's! He was finally going to be able to be a hero with Kacchan!
"Mama!" He whisper-yelled at her, shaking her arm and practically vibrating with excitement. "Mama, wake up!"
"Mm? Izuku?" She questioned as she blearily opened her eyes. "What is it sweetie?"
"My quirk, Mama! I got my quirk!"
She blinked down at him in confusion, not fully comprehending what was happening.
"Watch!" He commanded, before dropping his toy on the floor again.
"Izuku!" She scolded, waking up a bit more. "That's your new toy. Don't throw it around."
She reached her hand out to pick it up with her quirk, before Izuku grabbed it to hold her back.
"Wait Mama! Watch!"
He turned to the toy on the floor. Reaching his hand out with an exaggerated look of concentration on his face, he started making tiny grabbing motions.
Inko's eyes widened, and she finally woke up fully as she saw the toy shake in place, before drifting wobbly up to Izuku's hand. Just inches before he could grab it, his concentration wavered, and it dropped back to the floor.
Undeterred, he turned back to look at her. "See Mama! I got my quirk!"
She hesitated only a moment before hugging him to her chest. "That's wonderful Izuku!"
The two broke into happy tears as they hugged each other tight. Not exactly an uncommon occurrence in the Midoriya household, but one made more intense by the situation.
There were few moments in a parent's life that elicited more pride than when their child manifested their quirk. And even further, it was made so much more special when a child ended up with a duplicate of one of the parents' quirks.
This was certainly the case for Inko, as she continued to almost crush her son into her chest, tears of happiness still falling from both of their eyes. She was absolutely delighted to see Izuku inherit her quirk.
Deep down, a part of her was glad he hadn't gotten Hisashi's. She would've loved him and celebrated just the same, of course. But she knew that it would've always hurt a little every time she saw the fire that she used to associate with her late husband. It had already been three years, but she was content to let his memory rest.
Eventually, the pair calmed back down, and Inko released Izuku from her death grip.
She looked down at him. "Do you think you can do it again? Try to pick it up?"
He nodded excitedly. "Yeah!" Before turning his attention back to the fallen toy.
Repeating the same process, he made tiny grabbing motions with his hand, and the toy floated into the air shakily. It wobbled through the air towards his hand before, just as it did last time, falling to the floor just before it came within his reach.
This time he pouted, staring down at the toy with frustration in his eyes. He'd done it just a few minutes ago. Why couldn't he do it now?
Inko noticed the frustration and laughed softly as she ruffled his hair. "Don't worry sweetie. You've only just gotten your quirk. It'll take time before you're used to it, just like everyone else."
He seemed to be reassured by that, his eyes lighting back up, just as a massive yawn escaped him.
Inko laughed quietly. "Now, let's get you into bed so you're nice and rested to show everyone your new quirk tomorrow."
"Okay!" He responded, frustration immediately forgotten.
Smiling at her son, she reached her own hand down to pick up the toy with her quirk, making the tiny gestures she was so accustomed to after years of use.
Only to pause when nothing happened.
Frowning slightly, she tried again. But still, nothing happened. And this time she shivered as she felt a definite chill run down the length of her body, starting right at her chest.
What was going on? She knew that she had used her quirk. The same way she'd been doing it for just under three decades. Trying once more yielded the same results.
She sat there, staring in confusion at her hand, with a sudden feeling of panic building up in her chest. Why couldn't she use her quirk? Was something wrong?
It wasn't like she was reliant on her quirk in any way. She didn't exactly use it very often, with as limiting as her weight limit was. There were even times where she would go days without even using it. But there was something truly chilling that came with the realization that she, for whatever reason, could not use her quirk.
She thought she could hear Izuku saying something. But she was too caught up in her own thoughts for it to register.
Why couldn't she use her quirk? Was she sick? Maybe she was sick. There were illnesses that messed with quirks, right?
She sat there for several long moments, staring silently down at her hand and rapidly spiraling into a panic, until she was broken out of the trance by a small tug at her arm.
"Mama?" Izuku asked, concern in his eyes as he stared up at her. "Are you okay?"
She opened her mouth to answer, to feed him some lie that 'she was just fine, and he had nothing to worry about.' When a sudden thought hit her and left an ice-cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Izuku hadn't just inherited her quirk.
He had taken it.
What other explanation was there for him having that quirk at the same time as her finding herself unable to use hers? She didn't know how it could be possible, but somehow Izuku had taken her quirk.
She lifted him up, doing her best to ignore the sudden ice-cold sensation running down her back, like someone had poured ice water on her, and set him on the floor. "Everything's fine sweetie. Now go get ready for bed." Her voice didn't sound normal even to herself.
Izuku hesitated, staring up at her with that same concern present in his eyes.
"Now." She said, with a slightly firmer tone that was rarely used, letting him know that she was serious.
As soon as he scurried from the room, she slumped back down onto the couch, staring at her hand.
Maybe she was mistaken? Maybe she still had her quirk, and it was just acting up?
She held her hand out towards the toy again, still laying in the same spot; forgotten by Izuku in his rush to run from the room. She tried again but got the same result: a motionless toy and that same cold, empty feeling in her chest.
Undeterred, but with that same panic beginning to return where it had been momentarily forgotten, she tried again.
And again, when the toy still refused to move.
She lost track of time as she sat there, making grabbing motions with her hand until her fingers ached and she was practically shivering from the cold.
Izuku had taken it. He'd taken her quirk. That was the only explanation.
She tried to push down the surge in fear that rose at such a thought, coupled with the mind-numbing panic of not being able to use her quirk. This was still her son. This was still Izuku. Him being able to take quirks doesn't mean anything.
'Doesn't it though?' Another part of her reasoned. 'His quirk is to take quirks from others. What is that but a villainous quirk? The only way he can use it by taking from others.'
She tried to shake the thought away. No. This is Izuku. She couldn't imagine a less-villainous person if she tried. He was only four years old for God's sake!
'Are you sure about that? Can you still think that, now that you know what his quirk is? What it can do? His age aside, he took my quirk without me even noticing, and without even knowing about it. Imagine what he could do if he learned how to use it. The chaos he could cause. What if he got his hands on Katsuki, or his classmates? What would happen if he got his hands on a hero, or even All Might himself?'
Her breath caught in her throat as that thought passed through her. She couldn't push back the fear any longer, it was bubbling up her throat, threatening to consume her entirely.
That wasn't her son. That was a villain waiting to happen.
She couldn't. She couldn't let him take anyone else's.
A final bit of doubt entered her mind. This was her son! She couldn't do anything to him. But she shook it away.
No. She knew what she needed to do.
Picking herself up off the couch, she made her way over to Izuku's room. Opening the door, she could see him under the covers, sound asleep with a peaceful expression on his face. Too peaceful for the face of a villain.
Making her way over to his bed, she looked down at him. Seeing that expression in his notherson notherson nothersonface, she felt a sliver of doubt. Her own face softened to match. She couldn't hurt him. She couldn't.
But just as quickly, that doubt was dashed away, and her features hardened right back to where they were.
No, she couldn't hurt him. But she knew what she could do to deal with the future villain.
Reaching down, she gently shook him awake, ignoring the itching, crawling sensation that sprouted at the contact with the thing that used to be her son.
When she saw him open his eyes, blinking up her in exhaustion, she put on the warmest smile she still could after realizing that her son was a villain in the making. "Izuku, Sweetie. I need you to come with me."
He hesitated, before slowly getting out from beneath the covers, exhaustion wearing him down, too tired to even question what was happening. His concern from before had seemingly been forgotten.
"Where are we going?"
She tried to smile a little bigger. "We're going to go out for a little late-night drive. Okay? You don't even have to worry about changing out of your pajamas."
"Okay." He replied, a small, sleepy smile on his face, not noticing that anything was amiss.
With that, she turned and made her way to the front door, Izuku following a few steps behind.
When she got to her car, she held open the back door for Izuku to climb in, before getting into the driver's seat.
Then, she drove. She didn't have a destination in mind, or even a direction. She just started driving, making up her route as she went. Eventually, they had made it deeper into the city, surrounded by the towers that stretched into the sky.
Finally, she found her destination. An alleyway, no different from the hundreds exactly like it that littered the city, but the one that would serve her purpose.
She pulled over to the curb, exiting the car once it was parked. Walking over to Izuku's door, she opened it, picking him up out of it and ignoring the slight confusion in his eyes, ignorant of what was happening.
She set him down in the mouth of the alleyway, kneeling down to look him in the face. "Now sweetie. I need you to stay right here, okay? I'll be right back, but I need you to wait here for me. Do you understand?"
He nodded. His four-year-old mind couldn't see what was happening, and he trusted her. Why wouldn't he? She was his mother.
"Whatever happens, I need you to avoid strangers, okay? Just stay here and stay hidden until I come back for you."
Another nod.
She tried to fake another smile, but found that she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to do it.
So, without another word, she stood back up and made her way back to the car. She didn't even glance at him as she climbed back in and drove away.
Now that the future villain had been taken care of, she needed to think of a story to explain his disappearance.
Izuku watched as his mom drove away, confused by what she was doing but too tired to think much about it.
He yawned, wrapping his arms around his middle as a breeze made him shiver. It was July, but the night air was still chilly. It didn't help that he was still in his pajamas.
He hadn't even had time to put on shoes before they'd left.
Izuku stood there and waited, just like his mom had told him to. She said that she would come right back. What was she doing? Maybe this was some sort of late-night birthday surprise she'd planned? That might be fun, but he was so tired.
He waited.
Whatever she was doing, he hoped that it wouldn't take too long. He was tired, and wanted to get back to his warm bed and All Might plushies.
Izuku wasn't sure how long it had been. He'd been standing there for a while, but his mom still hadn't come back for him.
He let out another yawn. He was tired, and wanted to go lie down, but his mom still hadn't come back. What if she got there, and he was sleeping somewhere? Then she might not be able to find him. She'd probably get worried. He didn't want that.
He waited…
Izuku was swaying in place, he could barely keep his eyes open. He was so very tired.
Eventually, he decided that he would sleep. It was only for a little bit, and his mom would be able to find him, right?
He moved a little further into the alleyway, over to the wall of one of the bordering buildings, settling down next to a dumpster. He leaned against it as he curled up. His mom should be able to find him here, he wasn't too hidden.
He let out a final yawn as his eyes drifted shut. Hopefully, it wouldn't take her too long to get back, he didn't want to be late for school tomorrow. He wanted to show all of his friends that he got his quirk. Especially Kacchan.
As he drifted off to sleep, a small smile appeared on his face as he imagined Kacchan's reaction.
Izuku sat up, blearily scrubbing at his eyes. He cracked them open, expecting to see his All Might toys and posters scattered around his room, and his mom waking him up with a smile. But instead, it looked like he was outside.
All he saw were the tall buildings around him and the dumpster he was curled up against, and all he heard were the loud noises of cars and people moving around just out of sight.
Where was he? Why was he outside?
He sat there for a minute, staring at his surroundings as he tried to figure out where he was and how he got there. He still wasn't fully awake.
That quickly changed though. His eyes snapped wide open and any scraps of tiredness were banished from his body as he remembered what had happened last night.
His mom had dropped him off, before driving away. She'd said that she would be right back, but that must not have happened if he was still here.
Or maybe…
Maybe she had come back, but she just hadn't been able to find him where he was.
Izuku felt a bolt of fear shoot up his spine at the thought. Should he have waited longer before going to sleep? Maybe she'd come back right after he fell asleep. He should've just listened to her and stayed still until she came back.
His breathing was speeding up, and he felt tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Was he missing? Is that what was happening? He'd heard his mom use that word a few times when she talked about someone not being able to find another person.
He tried to remember what else she told him. About what he was supposed to do if it ever happened to him. Wasn't he supposed to find a police officer? They could help his mom find him, right?
He stood up, and moved to walk forwards, to go towards the sounds of people just a short distance away. He wasn't too sure where to find a police officer, but one of the adults moving around should know. But before he even took one step, he froze. He remembered the last thing his mom said before she'd left. She told him to stay hidden and avoid strangers until she got back.
What if she hadn't come looking for him, and was still going to come back? He didn't want to disobey her and possibly make her mad.
Frozen in place, he struggled internally as he debated what to do. On the one hand, he might be missing, and he wanted to get home as soon as he could. On the other, he didn't want to make his mom mad by not listening to her. He'd already messed up once by not staying where she'd told him to.
Reaching a decision, he sat back down. He would listen to his mom and stay put. He just needed to stay where he was, and she would come back for him.
He brought his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them. He just needed to wait. She would come back for him. Everything would be okay. He wasn't missing.
…
Right?
Izuku wrapped his arms around his middle as his stomach let out another growl.
He'd been waiting there, curled up against the dumpster, almost all day, and he was starting to get hungry. He hadn't had anything to eat since dinner last night, and now he could see the shadows beginning to lengthen, or disappear altogether as the sun vanished behind buildings.
He clenched his eyes shut as hunger pinched at his stomach again, sending a wave of discomfort through him.
Tears pricked at his eyes, not for the first time today, as the feeling lingered a few seconds longer than it had before, gnawing at him. He wanted to go home. What was taking his mom so long to come back? She hadn't forgotten him, had she?
He shook his head in an attempt to disperse that thought. Of course she hadn't forgotten him. She was coming back. She'd come get him and take him home and then the two would have a nice big dinner.
Curling up tighter, he repeated that thought in his head over and over, doing his best to ignore the still-present hunger.
He stayed like that as the last bit of light faded away. At some point the growing hunger, mixed with the fear that maybe she wouldn't come back, turned his tears to quiet sobs. And as night finally took over, he fell asleep. Having cried himself to the point of exhaustion.
The next day was spent almost the same. The only differences separating the two days were him getting up to walk around in the small space hidden by the dumpster in order to stretch his legs, the ever-present hunger, which no longer faded away to give him any respite from the discomfort and that was now joined by a constant thirst, and the fear he felt, growing stronger by the minute. Several times, he very nearly started walking towards the noises just out of sight, if only to put a stop to the hunger. But still, he stayed hidden.
He fell asleep just the same. Nearly drowning in his fear and discomfort, until he finally tired himself out.
Izuku awoke to the sound of screaming, just a few feet in front of him. His eyes snapped open and his heart shot into his throat, immediately feeling like it would burst from his chest. Before he could begin to understand what was happening—he was just barely conscious enough to register that it was still dark out. That, combined with his confusion from waking up so harshly, meant that he could hardly see what was right in front of him—he felt a pair of hands close around his neck and lift him into the air, almost slamming him into the brick wall behind him.
Clawing at the assaulting hands, as his feet kicked uselessly at the empty air, he was finally able to make out what he was seeing. It was a man, his face mere inches from Izuku's own. Their appearance fit every meaning of the word 'scraggly.' Long, greasy hair fell in a matted heap around his shoulders, and an equally grimy beard plumed from his face in a wild mess. Every inch of him seemed to be covered in layers of dirt.
He was still screaming as his hands tightened around his throat. Izuku could hardly understand any of it though. Most of it was inarticulate noise, an insane babble rather than actual words. It wasn't helped by the fact that Izuku's ears were ringing from his impact with the wall. He thought he could make out the words "My turf!" but he couldn't be sure. But that wasn't what he was worried about. It barely even registered.
What was important, was the fact that he couldn't breathe. The hands had tightened around his throat to the point that he couldn't take in a breath. He couldn't even scream.
'A hero will come. A hero will save me.' He thought to himself desperately as he struggled in the man's grip. 'Heroes save everyone.'
But seconds passed, and the pain only increased as he grew more and more desperate for air. No one came for him. No one jumped in to rescue him from the hands that were choking the life out of him.
His clawing at the hands grew increasingly desperate the longer he went without breathing. It didn't achieve anything though. The man only yelled louder, and slammed him into the wall again.
Then, it reached a tipping point as the lack of oxygen started to cross the threshold into dangerous territory. His struggles began to weaken, his kicking legs halting altogether.
'Please.' He silently begged. Not even to anyone in particular. Just anyone who would listen. A hero, his mom, a random stranger, even the person that was choking him. 'Help…'
His vision started to fade around the edges, and his hands dropped to his sides. His thoughts were slowing to a halt.
But as his perception of the world around him started to disappear, something else became noticeable to him.
In the midst of the cold that had begun to overtake him, he felt a faint, but distinct warmth, just at the edge of his awareness. It prickled around his neck, right where the man's hands were located. He wasn't too sure what to make of it. His mind was much too sluggish to even think about it in the first place. In that moment, all he could comprehend any more was that he was cold, and he didn't want to be.
Reaching out, he grabbed ahold of the warmth. Just that simple action helped drive away the numbing cold, if only a little. With the last bit of strength he had, as his vision began to fade away completely, he pulled on it, dragging it within himself.
The next thing he knew, he felt something hard against his cheek. Cracking open an eye as his body automatically began heaving giant breaths, he noticed that he was lying on the ground. His vision was muted and dark. It was difficult to make out much of what was around him.
His attacker was a few feet away, sitting against the building opposite of the one Izuku had been held against. That was one of the few things he could notice. From the way he was sitting, it looked as though he'd fallen and scooted backwards until his back hit the wall. Izuku saw that the man's mouth was open like he was screaming, but he couldn't hear anything past the muffled ringing in his ears.
His attention was quickly dragged away from the man though, as he noticed something more pressing. His hand, which was lying a few inches in front of his face. The tips of his fingers were tinged blue, and had something poking out of them. They were shiny like metal, and looked pointy. He could see that his fingernails had turned the same color as the strange new appendages.
He pulled his hand closer, his movements sluggish, as his brain struggled to catch up with what he was seeing. As his hand moved, the appendages left small grooves in the ground as they scraped across it. A testament to their apparent sharpness. He also noticed that it seemed heavier than normal. But he couldn't tell for sure. His entire body felt heavy.
When it finally reached its destination right in front of his face, he stared at the strange new appendages. They were each a few inches in length, at least as long as his fingers.
He didn't get much chance to think about the new development, however. His vision started to fade to black once more, dragging him down with it.
Everything hurt when Izuku finally regained his senses. His arms and legs still felt heavy, and his fingers hurt. His back and his head ached from where he'd been slammed into the wall. And his chest hurt a bit as well, likely from the same thing.
Most of all though, was the pain in his neck. It throbbed in time with his heart, which had finally settled during his time unconscious. He made the mistake of moving a hand to try to rub at it. As soon as his fingers made contact, the dull pain exploded, sending him recoiling, only to gasp at the pain that came from that small movement.
Staying as still as possible, he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that color had completely returned. His vision was no longer darkened. The next, was that his fingers no longer held the strange appendages he remembered seeing.
His fingers had regained their normal color, including his fingernails, which no longer looked as though they were made of metal.
Finally, he noticed the figure that was slumped against the building across from him. He startled, ignoring the pain that bloomed. The man that had attacked him was still sitting in the same spot.
Izuku's heart was immediately sent racing again. He scrambled to get his hands and feet under himself, choking back a sob as he pushed himself off the ground. Turning away from the man, in a direction that led deeper into the alleyway, he took off running as fast as his legs could carry him, and as fast as the pain, flaring with the impact of every step he took, would allow him. He didn't spare another glance at the man. Had he done so, he would've noticed that he hadn't reacted to him at all. That he wasn't even conscious.
But he didn't. He just ran. He didn't want to get hurt like that again, and the easiest way he could think of was to get away from the man as fast as he could.
He didn't pay attention as he ran. His panic-stricken mind too muddled to think any further than his need to run away. He took turns randomly into other alleys, or crossed darkened, empty streets, not paying any attention to where he was going. Even the discomfort of his bare feet on the ground was pushed to the back of his mind.
There was no way for him to tell just how far he'd ran by the time he all but collapsed. The burning in his lungs and the throbbing pain that emanated from his throat with every breath forcing him to stop, before he dropped to his hands and knees. Crawling over to a nearby wall, he fell in a heap against it, curling up into a ball as he struggled to catch his breath.
As his breathing began to even out, and his heart settled in his chest, he held his hands up to study them. Now that his head wasn't so clouded in panic, he thought back to the strange appendages he'd seen on his fingers.
Or at least, he thought he saw them. For some reason they weren't there now.
Then, without warning, almost as if they were summoned by his thoughts, the objects in question sprouted from the tips of his fingers.
Recovering from the momentary shock from their sudden appearance, he stared at them in confusion, turning his hands back and forth. What were they? Did the man do something to him? Beyond trying to choke him?
Were they a quirk?
He almost shook his head at the thought, before the pain reminded him why that wasn't a good idea. They couldn't be a quirk, he already had his. Everybody knew that you couldn't have more than one quirk.
Unless…
He thought about the man. Izuku hadn't seen what his quirk was. Not that there had been much opportunity to do so.
It… It couldn't be his quirk… Could it?
One of the last things he could remember before he'd woken up on the ground was the feeling of pulling something. Maybe some kind of warmth? He moved a hand to rest on his chest, paying attention to where the blades were. He was pretty sure he could feel something there. Something that made him feel warmer than he thought he should've.
His eyes widened as he made the connection. Did… Did he take the man's quirk?
His mind immediately jumped to his mom. His quirk was exactly like hers, right down to the hand movements to activate it.
But what if it hadn't been his quirk?
He remembered how she'd been acting strange after he'd shown her his quirk. It looked like she had tried to use her quirk, but didn't for some reason. That's when she'd started staring at her hand and had a weird look on her face. And then there was her voice when she'd told him that she was fine. It hadn't sounded like her at all.
Tears pricked at his eyes. Did he steal her quirk?
Stealing was wrong, he knew that. His teachers had told them before that it was wrong to take things from other people without their permission. And Kacchan had said that only villains stole things.
If he took his mom's quirk, and then the man that had attacked him, didn't that make him a villain?
A choked sob bubbled up out of his throat. He didn't want to be a villain. He couldn't become a hero with Kacchan if he was a villain. Villains were the people that heroes fought. He didn't want to fight against Kacchan.
As his thoughts quickly began to spiral downwards with his realization, another thought made itself known.
Was that why his mom hadn't come back for him?
He knew that parents sometimes punished their children when they did something bad. His mom had told him that after she'd spanked him for repeating a word that Kacchan had taught him. But now he was a villain. And that's the worst thing someone can be. So did that mean that she was punishing him by not coming back?
His breath caught in his throat with the next thought that followed along.
Maybe she'd decided that he was too bad to even be punished, and had decided to get rid of him.
Maybe she was never coming back for him…
His building emotions—slowly rising and churning within him ever since he'd stopped running—surged with that realization, and finally overwhelmed him. He couldn't handle that thought.
The tears that had been sitting in the corners of his eyes finally started falling, now pouring down his face. Sobs sounded out into the alleyway; loud, and singing the despair that was consuming him. They only increased in volume when they made the pain in his throat flare up, which in turn continued to make things worse in a vicious cycle, until he was crying out in equal parts pain and sadness.
He curled in on himself as tight as he could manage, seeking to somehow hide himself away from what he was feeling. All while hoping desperately that he was dreaming, and that he would wake up from this nightmare to his mom's smile.
Reiko Etsumi huffed in annoyance as she threw the piece of food she'd been inspecting aside; It was too rotten to eat. Hardly any of it was left.
Struggling to keep her irritation in check, she went back to digging through the dumpster, hoping to find something that she might be able to eat. It had been just over three days since she'd last found something. And even then, it had only been about half of a cup of instant noodles.
She wasn't having much luck with this one, and she knew she had limited time to look. The insane asshole with the metal claws had claimed every dumpster within a couple blocks, and didn't take kindly to anyone going anywhere near them. She knew that from experience; those stupid claws hurt like hell. And even though it was a pretty wide area to cover, he somehow managed to appear whenever she tried to look for food.
Deciding to cut her losses, and not wanting to press her luck any more than she already had, she turned away from the dumpster, already working out the route to the next one she would try.
Grimacing, she clenched a hand at her belly, which had chosen that moment to announce its ever-present hunger to the world. Not for the first time, she cursed her quirk for making her need more food to survive. She had two stomachs, and both of them were constantly empty.
Also not for the first time—not even the first time today—she cursed her parents.
If only her father weren't such a piece of shit, and if only her mother weren't such a spineless little weasel, then maybe she wouldn't have to deal with this. Maybe she wouldn't have to fend for herself at ten years old. But as it stood, even with how hungry she was, she was still better off like this. At least now she didn't have to be a living punching bag every other day. Now the only time she had to worry about getting hurt were the times she accidentally lingered too long at a dumpster.
Reaching the edge of the alley, she poked her head out, scanning the street for signs of life. Satisfied that it was empty, she darted across, only relaxing once she was hidden in the shadows of the next alleyway.
She tried to be careful about being out in plain view. She didn't really think that either of her parents would come looking for her, but her father was an angry, drunk bastard and her mother was desperate to please him any way she could. Both of them were unpredictable in their own way, so she was careful all the same.
She was just turning into a smaller side-alley, about five minutes from her target, when she froze in her tracks. There was a noise, not very loud, but noticeable, coming from somewhere nearby.
Tilting her head, she listed for the noise, trying to identify it. It was faint, but sounded almost like… Crying?
Hesitating for a moment, she started moving in a new direction, ignoring her protesting stomachs. Whatever this was, she felt that it was more important than her hunger. She was always hungry, but this—whatever it was—was new.
It took her a while to locate the source of the noise. It kept fading out for minutes at a time, before coming back. She felt like she was being led on a wild goose chase as she investigated all the nearby alleyways. Finally though, it returned just as she turned to a new one. As she listened, she knew at once that the source was close by. She also knew now that it was definitely crying.
Soft, tiny sobs were echoing from the shadows. Moving closer, she saw that they were coming from a tiny heap lying against one of the buildings. Once she was close enough, she could see that it was a child. They were so small, probably no older than three or four years old. They were lying on their side, curled in on themselves, head tucked to their knees and arms wrapped around themselves so tight that she imagined it ought to be painful for them. She could also see where they were dressed in a pair of All Might pajamas. There were no shoes covering their tiny feet.
She shifted herself closer, leaning down so that her face was close to them.
"Hello?" She started softly.
Their reaction was immediate. Shooting up from where he—she could see that it was a little boy now—was lying, into a sitting position. His eyes were wide with fear, and even in the dark she could see how bloodshot they were. Her own eyes narrowed a bit in concern. They looked a bit too bloodshot to just be from crying; the sclera were mostly red. But it did look like he'd been crying for a while.
He scrambled away from her, keeping close to the wall. As he moved, she could see pain twisting in his expression alongside the fear. She tried to reach a hand out to him, staying as low as she could and hoping that her tail wasn't making her seem scary. Only to stop when he shook his head, letting out a small whimper as if the action caused him pain.
"Hey, hey." She said, pulling her hand back. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."
She tried to inch forwards, keeping her hands up in what she hoped was a non-threatening gesture.
"N-no." He croaked out, voice rough. "Don't touch me. I… I might steal it."
He broke into a fit of coughs as he said that, hands reaching up to grab at his throat. That only seemed to make things worse though, as she heard small sobs start to break through the coughs.
She frowned. Something was clearly going on with his throat. The symptoms seemed familiar to her, tugging at a memory she couldn't quite place. But she couldn't tell too much from where she was. She needed him to calm down first; right now he was acting more like a scared animal than anything else.
Rei watched on in concern as his coughing slowed to a stop, and he regained his composure. She had to keep herself from trying to approach him, and she continued to hold her hands in place, hoping to keep him calm.
"Are you okay?" She asked once his eyes were focused back on her.
He didn't reply, instead just appearing to close in on himself, bringing his knees to his chest. She could see one of his hands reaching back up at his neck again.
"What did you mean when you said you might steal it?" She asked. "Steal what?"
She knew right away that-that was the wrong thing to ask. His face immediately twisted in sadness. And even in the dark she could see the tears pouring from his eyes.
Before she could try to say anything to calm him down, she heard a whisper.
"I'm a villain."
That made her pause. She might not be the smartest person, but she was smart enough for only being ten years old. She had a pretty solid idea of what made someone a villain.
Villains were people that hurt or killed other people. Villains fought heroes and did bad things.
Villains were people that beat their own daughter.
So why was this kid, who looked about half her age or less, claiming to be a villain?
'One thing at a time.' She thought to herself, pushing off that question for the moment.
"Can you tell me your name?"
He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I-Izuku Midoriya."
Rei smiled at him. "Hi Izuku. My name's Reiko. Reiko Etsumi. You can call me Rei if you want."
Izuku didn't respond, just watching her with his shimmering, bloodshot eyes.
She discreetly inched just a little closer. "Now, can you tell me what you're doing out here all by yourself?"
A fresh wave of tears rolled down his face, which was quickly buried into his knees. She heard a small whimper escape his throat, and was already moving closer when she heard him speak.
"Mama doesn't want me any more…" He said. She could hear so much pain in those words. "She said that she was coming right back. But she hasn't."
So, he'd been abandoned, and had been on the streets for who knew how long. Rei felt her heart clench at that. She could sympathize with his situation. Granted, her being out on the streets was by choice, but she knew what it felt like to be unwanted.
She watched as he curled even tighter around himself. "It's because I'm a villain."
She frowned. "Izuku. Why do you think you're a villain?
Lifting his head, he brought his hands up in front of him, almost as if he was inspecting them. Then long, razor-sharp metal claws sprouted from the tips.
"I stole it…"
Her eyes widened as she stared down at the claws. She recognized them. Of course she did. She still had the partially healed wounds from her last encounter with them.
Izuku said that he stole it. Did that mean that he stole the insane asshole's quirk? She almost couldn't believe it, and certainly wouldn't have if she wasn't staring directly at the proof.
A quirk that could take other quirks…
Part of her felt like she should be scared of something like that. She'd never heard of someone being able to take a quirk from someone else. But in that moment, all she felt was a small sense of relief.
If Izuku had the asshole's quirk, that meant that she wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. She'd be able to search dumpsters to her heart's content. Or at least, until someone else came by to claim them. Nobody would be intimidated by a little girl. She wasn't big enough, strong enough, or mean enough to scare people off.
But for now at least, she might be able to eat properly for the first time in a couple weeks.
Her relief vanished a moment later when she realized that, in order for Izuku to have his quirk, he must have encountered the man at some point. Even without his quirk, he was a crazy, drugged out adult, and Izuku was a child. The only reason she didn't fear him anymore was because she outweighed him by a few hundred pounds and knew how to use her quirk to defend herself. Izuku probably didn't even weigh a hundred pounds. Any encounter between the two could not have ended well.
"Izuku." She started, startling him from where he'd been staring at the claws, which disappeared with his loss of focus. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?"
A hand was raised to his throat again, and she saw the smallest of nods. She'd been right; something had happened. Izuku must've strayed too close to a dumpster.
"Can you show me?"
He hesitated, probably torn between wanting help and his earlier aversion to being touched.
His wanting help evidently won out, as he dropped his hand and uncurled himself from where he was sitting, giving her a full view of his neck.
Her eyes widened as he did. In the little bit of light there was, she could make out the thick, mottled bruises that wrapped around his throat. She'd been right when she thought that she recognized the symptoms earlier.
He'd been strangled. Very nearly to death if she was right.
A few times, on her father's worst days, he would skip the usual beating and jump straight to choking her. Sometimes it would only last long enough for him to slam her against a wall or two, but other times it would last until she passed out.
She couldn't even do anything to stop him, even with her tail. That was because she'd inherited it from him. He had one of his own, which was bigger in every way. So the one advantage she might've had couldn't help her. He could decide to kill her one day, just keep his hands wrapped around her throat long after she'd passed out, and she'd be powerless to stop him.
On those days, she would wake up looking like Izuku did now, with red eyes, a heavily bruised neck that made it hurt to even breathe, and a rough voice that only served to annoy her parents more than normal.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much that could be done to fix any of that, other than avoiding talking and moving as much as possible.
She closed the last bit of distance between the two of them—he had his eyes shut tight and didn't notice her approaching—and placed a hand on his shoulder, careful to avoid touching too close to the bruises. His eyes snapped open at the contact, but before he could move away she pulled him closer and wrapped him in a hug.
"N-no!" He said as he struggled weakly in her arms. "I don't… I don't want to hurt you too…"
"You won't." She responded simply.
Sure, maybe she should be at least a little apprehensive, with him being able to take quirks. But he obviously hadn't wanted to take them, and still didn't want to. And sure, she'd only just met him a few minutes ago. If he'd been any quieter, she might not have even noticed that he was there.
But regardless of all of that, she knew what it was like to be hurt and unwanted and afraid. She knew from experience how much it hurt, and didn't want Izuku to be hurt any more than he had been already.
"I'm a villain." He all but sobbed into her shirt, even as his struggling halted.
"No. You aren't."
"B-but I stole their quirks. Kacchan said that only villains steal."
Rei had no idea who 'Kacchan' was. Probably a friend.
She grabbed him by the arms and pushed him away just enough so that she could look at him. "Did you mean to steal them?" She questioned.
A small shake of his head was the only answer he gave.
"Then you aren't a villain. It was an accident. You're a kid, and you didn't know how to use your quirk."
"But I hurt them." He said. "I hurt Mama…"
"Maybe." She responded, "But they hurt you too. Your mama left you all alone instead of helping you learn how to use your quirk. And that bad man attacked you. All you did was defend yourself. That doesn't make you a villain."
He seemed to struggle internally. Torn between wanting to believe her, and everything that had made him believe that he was a villain.
After a moment, she pulled him back in for an even tighter hug. That seemed to be the final push he needed. Unlike last time, he didn't fight it. Instead, he all but melted into the contact, wrapping his arms around her as the damn broke and he sobbed into her shirt.
"I want my Mama." He croaked between sobs.
Rei's only response to that was to hug him tighter. There was nothing she could say that could make something like that hurt any less.
The two stayed like that for a while. Izuku crying his heart out while Rei held him, whispering soft reassurances.
Eventually, everything caught up with him and he started to drift off in her arms. By the time he was finally asleep, and she was lifting him up to carry him, she could see the first bit of light brightening the sky.
At that point, she hesitated, considering what she should do next.
She was tempted to take him to the police. Taking him there would mean that he'd go back to his mother, but if she really did abandon him, then him going back wouldn't end well. At best, she'd simply abandon him again, but at worst she could end up like Rei's parents. Then he'd be stuck in that situation for who knew how long.
And she couldn't simply explain to the police that he'd been abandoned. Police and adults didn't listen to kids like her. She knew that from experience. She would tell someone, that person would talk to her parents, her parents would lie about it, then she'd go to sleep with more bruises than normal, and nothing would change.
There was also the fact that if she took him there, then they'd most likely try to take her back to her parents.
So no, taking him to the police wasn't an option.
She wasn't sure what else she could do. She couldn't think of anything else.
Suddenly, Izuku's stomach growling broke her from her thoughts. She realized, then, that she had no idea how long it had been since he was abandoned. He was probably starving.
That made her next step clear. For now, until she found somewhere better, she would take him back to the spot she'd been using as shelter. She had a small stash of food that she'd been planning on pulling from if she couldn't find anything tonight. She would share some of it with Izuku.
Shifting him around to make sure he was comfortable, she started off, weaving between buildings. She had to be careful crossing the streets now that the sun was starting to come up. People were starting to wake up to begin their day. Pretty soon, there would be too many people walking about for her to move unseen.
Luckily, she didn't encounter anyone, and was pretty sure that she'd gone unseen by the time she reached her block.
All of the buildings around her were broken and dilapidated. Most likely the result of a villain fight years ago. One that had yet to be cleaned up. The only inhabitants anywhere near were those like her, who just needed somewhere dry to sleep.
Rounding a corner, she came to a broken fire escape. The stairwells to the building had all collapsed, so this was the only way up. The first story of the fire escape had long since fallen away, but she was able to reach it thanks to her quirk.
She raised herself up, much like how a cobra would, up to the platform. The last few feet had her tail straining. A few weeks of almost not eating, following years of an already unhealthy diet, and she could see where her tail was deteriorating. That combined with Izuku's added weight, and for a moment she wasn't too sure if she would reach. But thankfully, she made it up without issue.
Once she was sure the fire escape wouldn't collapse on them, she began working her way up. She didn't go all the way to the top. As nice as it might be to have a good view of the sky, she didn't want to have to use up energy just climbing up. Besides, she wanted to make sure she was low enough to the ground that she could get out quickly if she needed to.
Coming to the correct floor, she climbed in through the window, into what had been her home since she ran away. It used to be a two bedroom apartment, but with all the rotting wood, dust covering just about everything, and carpet and furniture that stank of mildew, it was little more than a hole in the wall. But she didn't really care. It was dry and it was safe, so it was good enough for her.
Passing through the kitchen, she considered waking Izuku so he could eat something from her stash. Meager though it was, being made of a few bits of junk food and candy that wouldn't go bad for a while, some rotting food that probably wasn't edible anymore, and the few canned items she'd managed to steal from her old home, it was better than nothing. They could at least fill their bellies for a little while.
Looking down at him though, she found that she didn't want to wake him. He looked too peaceful. And she knew that the moment he woke up, he'd have to face the harsh reality of what had happened to him. Why not let him sleep a while longer?
She continued through until she entered what had once been the master bedroom. It was the driest, best smelling room in the apartment, which is why she'd chosen to use it as her sleeping area. Settling in the corner, she coiled around herself and Izuku, leaving the two of them comfortably in the middle.
Sparing one last glance at him, and shifting him around in her arms to hopefully make him more comfortable, she closed her eyes to go to sleep. She was leaned back against a section of her tail, Izuku was settled with his back to her chest, and she had her arms wrapped around his middle.
As she drifted off, she didn't notice the small smile on Izuku's face as he unconsciously snuggled against her; happy, at least momentarily, in his dreams.
Tsukauchi sighed as he leaned back in his chair, holding his fourth cup of coffee in his hand. Or was it his fifth?
Why did he seem to get all of the tiresome cases? Just because he had a lie-detector quirk, that didn't mean that he could solve a case any faster than another detective. He'd already had two more added to his pile tonight alone. The first was a missing person's report.
Or, missing child would be more accurate. A woman had called in to report her four-year-old son missing. Evidently, he'd gone missing the day before, but she'd decided to wait the twenty-four-hour grace period that was normally requested for missing persons. He thought it was a bit weird that she decided to wait, given how young her son was. That period usually applied to people that were older, because the possibility was always there that maybe the person had just decided to take off on their own for a bit. For a child though, someone who really didn't have a reason or the means to do that, it was best to work on it as soon as possible.
He rubbed his free hand down his face. That was something he'd have to bring up to her when he went to visit in the morning.
Sparing a glance down at the stack of papers on his desk, he grimaced.
'On second thought. Maybe I'll just have one of the junior officers handle the visit. Might give me a chance to whittle some of this down.'
The second case was about a homeless man they'd brought in. There had been some noise complaints earlier in the night, and when an officer went by the location to investigate, they'd found the man slumped against a building, unconscious. They'd brought him in without issue, but once he woke up, he was babbling immediately. Almost none of it was understandable, but they'd been able to make up a few words. The general message they got was something about someone on his 'turf' and then something about a quirk. Whether it was his own, or someone else's that he was talking about, they had no way to tell.
They'd run bloodwork on the man as a part of his processing. The results showed trace amounts of just about every drug they currently had to deal with on the streets. It was no wonder he was practically insane.
He'd also registered as quirkless, but honestly? There was so much other shit clogging and contaminating his blood, that it could have just as easily been their machines that were wrong.
He sighed again. Why on Earth he'd even gotten that case was beyond him, it was a pretty simple case of a drugged out homeless man creating a disturbance. They'd hold him overnight, then they'd release him to whatever life he had, and then life would continue for everyone.
Shaking his head, he sat back up in his chair. His break was over, time to get back to his own personal hell.
I used Lady Deathstrike from the movie X2 as a reference for the claw quirk. Izuku's are a bit shorter because he's still a child.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Rei, at the end of the chapter: "I've only known Izuku for ten minutes. But if anything happened to him, I'd kill everyone in the room and then myself."
Growth
Chapter Summary
The backstory continues, and we see Izuku and Rei grow.
Chapter Notes
There are quite a few time skips in this chapter, and there's a lot of information, but this with this chapter most of their backstory will have been revealed. Anything else will either be explained later or shown as a flash back where it best suites the story.
With the time skips, I tried to follow a pattern of one separating line for short skips (minutes or hours) and two separating lines for larger ones (weeks, months, or years)
Sorry for this one being a few hours late. I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Rei and Izuku held one another as they slept, wrapped in the warm confines of her tail. Their expressions were peaceful as they simultaneously experienced a rare moment free from the harshness of their reality. In their dreams, they could pretend, however briefly, that they'd never had to go through any of what put them in this situation. Izuku could still smile and play with Kacchan, and Rei had the loving family she'd been denied.
It had been nearly three weeks since the two met in that alleyway. Since Izuku's world had crumbled around him, and Rei had come along to pick up the pieces and take him home.
Luckily, those weeks had been some of the easiest that Rei had seen since she'd run away, despite now having a second mouth to feed. She'd been right when she figured that the disappearance of that man would mean that she could eat a little better. With no reason to fear for her safety, she was able to search and scavenge to her heart's content.
As a result, she'd been able to stave off the hunger almost entirely; something she hadn't even been able to experience when she was living with her parents. It was almost surreal, to not have that constant ache eating away at her. Izuku was kept fed as well. He'd been hesitant at first, and it took him a few attempts to stomach the discarded food, but hunger was a strong motivator.
On top of that, she'd been incredibly lucky to find a pair of shoes and a shirt for Izuku to wear. The shoes were a little big and the shirt looked more like a dress on him, and both were in a less than stellar condition after sitting in a dumpster, but it was better than nothing. He needed shoes; he was already lucky that he hadn't cut his feet on something already, and he needed something more than the All Might pajamas she'd found him in. She already knew that the winter months would be hell on both of them, so the more they prepared now, the better.
Aside from having better luck with the dumpsters, Rei would also admit that she was happier to have Izuku with her.
As horrible as his situation was, and sad as it made him—which was painfully clear to her—she was happy to no longer be alone. Having him around added some color to her bleak existence. He followed her everywhere she went—which was as much about his safety as it was about neither of them wanting to be alone—moving around their part of the city in search for food. He babbled almost constantly about whatever caught his interest, which was usually quirks. He would go on and on about any quirk he could think of, whether it was a hero's, a random person that they happened to see, or even hers, which was one he came back to more than once.
Oddly enough—but also understandably if she thought about it—he never talked about his own quirk, seemingly preferring to ignore it altogether. He had barely shown the claw quirk that she knew he had. And she didn't even know what the other quirk was. The one he'd apparently stolen from his mother. It was concerning, and she'd told him more than once that it wasn't an evil quirk, but she wasn't about to force him to do anything. She knew well enough about not wanting to relive certain memories.
It was almost like having a younger sibling. The one she'd always wanted and simultaneously hoped would never come. Because obviously she wanted a younger sibling. Someone to look up to her and someone for her to play with and teach things. But at the same time, she'd always hoped that her parents would never have another child. She didn't want anyone else to go through what she had.
But now she had Izuku, who would hopefully never have to deal with her parents and who was lucky, in his own way, to have gotten away from his own parent in time. And if she had her way, he would never be hurt again.
Rei shifted in her sleep, holding Izuku a bit tighter. Both of them sported small smiles as they slept on.
They were awoken from their sleep, rather abruptly, by a sudden vibration all around them, one that seemed to affect the entire building.
Both of them were fully awake almost immediately. Izuku clinging to Rei as she straightened up, thrown into action by whatever was happening.
'An earthquake?' Her mind automatically supplied. She'd felt them before, always shaking the house, but something about this felt different.
Just as she was about to move, to investigate or run, or to do something, the shaking stopped. Frozen in place, she waited, and listened, hoping that whatever had just happened would stay away. But, just as she was a split second from relaxing, and just as Izuku opened his mouth to speak, it returned.
The vibrating started back up again, only this time it felt like the entire world was shaking around them. At the same time, she noticed the noise that accompanied it this time. It was loud, blocking out just about everything else, and brought to mind the one time she'd seen a hero fight someone in person. She had watched the hero throw a villain through a wall.
This noise was just like that, only it sounded about a million times louder.
It was the sound of walls collapsing.
Fear clenched at her heart, her breath catching in her throat as her mind made the connection. Holding Izuku tight to her chest, she dashed from the room. As she moved, the shaking only increased. She could just barely hear the sharp crack of glass breaking over the cacophony of noise, all while bits of the ceiling started to fall all around them.
She reached the window just as a wall behind her exploded, sending debris flying across the room, some of it peppering her back. By the time she made it onto the fire escape, the shaking had paused again. She had just enough time to see the crowd of people in bright orange vests and hardhats standing in the street in the early morning light when it started back up.
Before she could try to make her way down to the ground, the fire escape began to shake and rattle beneath her. Already unstable enough under normal circumstances, the shaking and her added weight obviously weren't helping the situation. She grasped at the handrail, attempting to keep steady. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers when she felt it disconnect from the building and start to fall, and she heard Izuku cry out into her shirt.
Making a split-second decision as it toppled towards the ground, she threw herself forwards, all but flinging herself into open air, keeping her arms wrapped tight around Izuku as they fell.
They hit the ground with a mighty thud, her tail absorbing the impact far better than a normal pair of legs could. She still felt it, the pain rocketing through every inch of her tail at once, but had no time to think about it as the rest of the fire escape fell.
Rei tucked herself around Izuku as it crashed down around them, the heaps of iron throwing up dust as they landed. For a split second, she thought that they would get through it without anything hitting them. But just as that thought passed through her head, she felt an even greater pain drive through her, originating from her tail, making her cry out at the sheer intensity.
Looking back, she saw where a metal bar from somewhere on the structure had landed across the tip of her tail, backed by however many hundreds of pounds had fallen with it, cleanly severing the last several inches. She swallowed back the bile that rose into her throat at the sight.
It wasn't the pain that disturbed her so much; she was well accustomed to pain, as a result of her treatment at the hands of her father. But even still, despite having seen her own blood before, there was something so very disturbing about seeing herself mutilated in such a way.
She felt lightheaded.
Shaking her head in an attempt to clear the away the encroaching fog, and ignoring her heart thundering away in her chest, she looked down to check on Izuku, who she could feel trembling against her. His eyes were squeezed shut, and she could practically feel how terrified he was, but he at least seemed unharmed.
"Hey!" She heard a voice call out. Looking up, past the cloud of dust and the mangled pile of metal, she saw that several of the gathered people were looking over at her.
"You gotta get out of here!" One of them shouted. "It's not safe! We're taking the building down!"
He pointed up at the building she'd just fallen from. Following his hand, she could see chunks missing all up the side, where the fire escape had torn pieces off when it collapsed. She could also see where the building seemed to be visibly rocking, clearly unstable and ready to fall at a moment's notice.
A few of the people took a step towards them, clearly hesitant of the building's impending collapse. Rei responded by hugging Izuku tighter to herself and moving away from their approach. Already afraid and in pain, their actions did nothing but make her panic worse. She knew she couldn't trust them. Adults never did anything good. And now they were destroying the one place she'd finally felt almost safe.
Before any of them could take another step, she turned and darted away, moving into one of the nearby alleyways. Ignoring the pain radiating from her tail and the panic that was attempting to drown her, she ran.
Barely a few minutes later, she heard the resounding noise of the building collapsing. She had to choke back a sob at that, and resisted the urge to look back in that direction. Not only was that the first place she'd felt some form of safety since she ran away, but they hadn't even had time to take any of the food they'd stockpiled or the scant few possessions they'd found. It was all gone.
She attempted to push back the fog that once more threatened to take over. She needed to find somewhere for them to stop. Izuku was still clinging to her shirt, trembling and with his eyes shut, and had yet to say anything. On top of that, her entire body still ached from the landing and from the debris landing on her. And she was feeling like she was about to be sick. Not to mention her injury was still bleeding. She didn't even know where to start with that, but she needed to do something.
She had to force down another sob. Why had this happened to them?
By the time Rei finally stopped, the sun had risen high into the sky. She'd stumbled across a small courtyard sitting between a few buildings, almost completely enclosed by them. It wasn't ideal, with as exposed to the elements as it was, but it was hidden, and what few plants there were-were overgrown, meaning that it was likely abandoned or forgotten.
She moved to a corner, her movements sluggish as she slumped against the wall, her tail coiling around them. Setting Izuku down next to her—at some point he had fallen back asleep, exhaustion catching up to him as soon as the panic faded—she shifted to inspect the wound on the end of her tail. It was still lazily dripping blood, and every little thing, every movement or brush of air against it sent a fresh wave of fire through her.
Watching as blood dropped to the ground, she struggled to recall what she was supposed to do. Not many of the injuries she'd received before actually bled. They usually just left bruises. Wasn't she supposed to cover it with something to make it stop? That sounded right.
Deciding that-that was the best course of action, she removed the jacket she was wearing, fingers fumbling at the zipper, not fully obeying her. She did her best to wrap the garment around what was now the tip of her tail.
Once she was satisfied—though she had no way of knowing if she even did it correctly—she just sat there staring at it, swaying in place. Although her heart had long since calmed down, her head was still swimming. The fog that had been threatening to overtake her hadn't left, and now that she wasn't moving, she could feel herself losing the fight against it.
Her eyes drooped, the rest of her following suit. She all but collapsed next to where Izuku was sleeping, unconscious before she was even fully settled.
Izuku hummed to himself, a small smile decorating his face as he clung to Rei's arm. The pair were standing in line at an ice cream truck, waiting for their turn to step up.
It was Izuku's fifth birthday, and Rei had managed to scrounge up just enough money to get him a treat.
It had become much more difficult for the two of them to get by on the streets after their previous home was knocked down. For the better part of a year, they'd wandered the back streets and alleyways, trying to find some place they could stay. They hadn't been able to find anywhere for the longest time. Everywhere they tried either didn't provide enough protection from the elements or wasn't safe enough for two children to linger around.
On more than one occasion they'd been forced to run away from overly territorial homeless people that weren't willing to let anyone else near them. One such attack had even escalated to the point where Izuku had to take their quirk. That particular person had-had a strength quirk, and had taken Izuku by the arm. It felt like they would rip it clean off until he—nearly in a panic—grabbed onto the quirk and pulled it to himself.
Afterwards, once they were a safe distance away and had found somewhere to hunker down for a bit, he vomited up what little food there was in his stomach.
No matter how many times Rei told him otherwise, he couldn't help feeling like his quirk was bad. It stole from people, and it was the reason his mom didn't want him. And this time, he'd even used it on purpose to take the quirk.
What's more, is that he could still hear the screams of the most recent victim. He hadn't realized before how much it hurt people. He hadn't noticed it with his mom or the man that had attacked him. But this one…
This one had screamed. It had sounded like he was the one tearing their arm off, instead of the other way around.
It took a few days before he was able to sleep again. Haunted by those horrible screams every time he tried to close his eyes. And even once he could sleep, he was plagued by nightmares consisting of his mom screaming the exact same way. Screaming and crying and then leaving him behind just as she had.
Once he'd finally begun to recover though, and he had a chance to use the new quirk—mostly by accident as he hadn't yet figured out how to deactivate them—part of him felt excitement at what it allowed him to do. He had, with a single hand, pushed around a dumpster that he and Rei had been digging through. For a brief moment, he'd forgotten all about his problems as he felt the power at his fingertips. At least, until a minute later when he felt the surge of exhaustion that evidently accompanied the use of strength.
Eventually though, after months of searching and never staying in one place for more than a few days, the pair happened to come across Dagobah Municipal Beach. It was covered in garbage and made both of them gag as soon as the smell hit them, but it was exactly what they'd been searching for. There were plenty of larger pieces of scrap, even entire cars, for them to take shelter in or under, there were no end of places for them to hide if they needed to, and it looked like almost everyone else was avoiding the beach like the plague. No one seemed to want to even walk along the sidewalk that bordered it.
That had been almost a week ago. The two of them had found a small area in the dump, surrounded on all sides by large piles to block them from view, and that was almost clear of the common trash that literally covered the rest of the beach. They could actually see sand in that one small spot.
It would take them some time to get used to the smell, but there was a van there that actually completely fit Rei and her tail, meaning that they had somewhere they could sleep that was out of the rain. Hopefully, things would get better for them now that they didn't have to spend half of their time searching for somewhere to sleep when night came.
And now, the two were out in public in a meager attempt to celebrate Izuku's birthday.
He didn't really want to think about his birthday, given that his last one had been the last time he'd seen his mom or Kacchan, but he was with Rei, and he was getting ice cream, so he was okay with it. It had been so long since he'd had something as good as ice cream. He was excited! Hopefully they had chocolate.
Caught up in his thoughts, he didn't notice the people around them that were staring. Either the sight of two very raggedy children, or the smell, catching their attention. Some of them looked at them with pity or concern in their eyes, but others were judging, either of them or whatever had them living in such a condition.
He also didn't notice Rei glaring at each of them until they turned away.
The old lady in the truck eyed the two of them for a moment, something akin to concern in her face as she looked them over, but quickly adopted a warm smile as Izuku told her what he wanted.
A few minutes later and they were sitting in the shade of a nearby tree. Izuku happily eating away at the treat as Rei watched on with a smile. She hadn't found enough money for both of them to get something, but she didn't mind. It was Izuku's birthday, and he was clearly happy, something he'd been in desperate need of, so she was fine.
As caught up in the moment as they both were, neither noticed the man that had stopped to stare at them from across the street, or the way his eyes burned with anger as he did.
Neither noticed the massive snake's tail that took the place of his lower body as he turned to move away.
Izuku and Rei dug through a dumpster that sat between the ice cream truck and their new home, sitting in an alleyway just out of sight from the road. They might finally have a steady place to sleep at night, but they still had food to worry about, and they were always on the lookout for things they could use, such as clothing.
Izuku still had on the exact same clothes that Rei had found him in; the pair of, now raggedy, All Might pajamas; and the very few things she'd found for him. The shoes were starting to get small on him, and were beginning to fall apart besides. And Rei was still wearing the bloodstained jacket she'd been forced to use as a makeshift bandage.
In other words, they desperately needed anything they could find.
Rei lifted Izuku up out of the dumpster to set him on the ground. He carried the results of their search in his shirt; two pieces of fruit that were only a little mushy, and a now cold cup of fries. They were just about to get moving when a voice sounded out into the alleyway from somewhere behind them. Izuku didn't recognize it, but he watched as Rei immediately went still, the blood draining from her face.
"So. This is where you've been all this time?" The voice asked, slurring oddly towards the end.
Rei slowly turned around to face the stranger. Izuku peeked around her to look, his eyes widening at what he saw.
It was a man. A man that had a snake tail almost identical to Rei's. It had a different pattern along the scales, and was missing the couple of scars that decorated hers. Hers also ended in a slightly blunter tip and was many times smaller. But, despite the minor differences, the resemblance was there.
Speaking of Rei, he could see the way she'd begun to shake, ever so slightly. It didn't sit right with him whatsoever.
"Rei." He spoke up quietly, picking up on her distress. "Who's that?"
"Izuku." She responded, voice trembling and eyes staying locked on the newcomer. "You need to run. Run back home."
He didn't move, the fear in her voice making him hesitate.
"Aww. What's wrong sweetheart?" The man asked, the last word being spoken with venom. "Didn't you miss your dear old man? Your mother and I have certainly missed you."
"Run Izuku!"
He startled, surprised by the sudden shout, but finally did as she said. Turning away from the other two, he ran in the opposite direction. He thought he could hear Rei moving to follow him a moment later.
Halfway to the corner that would lead to the road, he heard Rei cry out behind him, making him freeze. It was followed barely a second later by a resounding smack that sounded through the alley.
Turning back, he saw the man holding Rei by her hair so that she was facing him. The entire left side of her face was beginning to turn red.
"Alright, you got me." They said. "I didn't actually miss you. In fact, I'd honestly forgotten that you even existed until recently."
He punctuated that with a slight shake of the hand that was gripped in her hair, making her cry out again.
"Rei!" He shouted out, taking a few steps closer. Who was this person? Why were they hurting her?
"Hm? Who's this then?" They said, finally acknowledging Izuku. "Did you find yourself a runt to take care of?"
Rei grunted in response, grasping at the hand that held her. "Leave him alone asshole!"
A scowl formed on his face almost immediately, and before either of them could react, his fist was impacting against Rei's face. A sickening crunch sounded out, and blood was instantly pouring from her nose.
"I can see that you've forgotten your manners since the last time I saw you." He said. "But it doesn't matter. Pretty soon you won't be my problem anymore."
He pulled Rei's face closer to his own. "You see, your mother and I have been getting pretty low on money recently. But, a friend of mine told me about the business he's been taking part in. Apparently, there are people out there that are willing to pay quite a bit for children, for any number of reasons."
A malicious smile stretched across his face. "I remember thinking to myself; if only a certain waste of space hadn't run off somewhere. Then I might be able to cash in on that. But then, just as I was trying to figure out what to do, I just so happen to find you."
"Now, I imagine most people wouldn't pay too much for you. A lot less for them to work with because of your quirk. But," He grabbed her face with his free hand. "You do still have a mouth, so you ought to be good for a little bit of cash. And who knows? Maybe there are some freaks out there who would pay more for someone like you."
His smile stretched even further. "And the best part of all this, is that my friend said that they have someone with a healing quirk to make sure that all of their merchandise is in good condition. Which means I get to have some fun with you first before you finally get to be useful."
Another fist was flying before he even finished speaking.
Izuku stood frozen, watching as the man hit Rei over and over again. He was breathing much too quickly. He had no idea what to do. Rei wasn't moving anymore, and the man was still hitting her.
He was scared, and confused. He didn't understand why any of this was happening. But, despite that, he felt something else making itself known, burning past the fear and confusion, filling his head. Something his five-year-old mind had not had many chances to experience.
For the first time in his life, Izuku felt anger.
Why was everyone always attacking them? Why was everyone always so mean? Rei was the only person that had been nice to him since his mom left, and now this man was hurting her. She hadn't even done anything to him.
He stepped closer. Part of him realized that he should be scared of the man, he was so much bigger than him, and he wasn't very strong. But another part of him realized that he didn't need to be big or strong. He had his own way to fight back.
"STOP IT!" He shouted, running over to the man. "Stop hurting her!"
The man barely glanced at him as he got closer. And once Izuku was close enough, he put his hands on the man's tail, trying, for the first time since discovering it, to use his quirk on purpose.
And of course, it picked that exact moment to not work.
"What do you want, runt?" They asked, finally looking down at him. "You want to end up like her or something?"
In a flash, the blood-covered hand that had just been hitting Rei was wrapped around Izuku's throat, lifting him into the air. It reminded him of the man that attacked him before he'd met Rei. Only this time he could still breathe.
"Well, if you want to be sold so badly, I won't say no to a little bit more money. There's probably quite a few sick fucks that would want a piece of you."
Izuku grabbed at the hand, struggling in the grip, before halting altogether. He didn't need to struggle; this was exactly what he needed.
Fixing the man with the fiercest glare he could manage—which admittedly wasn't much coming from a child as small as him—Izuku grabbed both hands onto the man's wrist, and squeezed.
Under normal circumstances, this would do just as little as Izuku's glare, but he had a strength quirk burning away beneath his skin. One that put him on par with, if not greater than, most adults.
Izuku heard a sickening 'crunch' from the man's arm as he squeezed. Almost immediately, he was screaming, dropping Rei as he tried to swing his unbroken fist at Izuku, clipping the side of his head. Izuku didn't let up. He reached for that now-familiar warmth in the man and pulled it into himself.
The man's screams grew louder as Izuku stole his quirk, the snake tail beneath them almost melting into him, shrinking away.
He let go, dropping Izuku to the ground as the rest of the tail disappeared, which also sent the man toppling. Izuku watched as he, still screaming, tried to stand, only to fail as his new legs collapsed beneath him, seemingly unused to functioning altogether.
He couldn't watch for long though, as he felt his own legs begin to change. They fused together, tearing through the legs of his pants to join together, all while growing longer and larger around. In moments, his legs had been replaced by an identical—albeit smaller—version of the tail that the man had just had moments ago.
Trying to stand yielded results similar to what the man was going through. The tail didn't move the same way as his legs. It just felt so much larger and more unwieldy than his legs.
A few minutes later, all while the man was still screaming a few feet away, he managed to figure out how to get the tail situated beneath him to try to stand. Right when he was about to attempt to move though, he heard Rei groan from where she was lying on the ground. Ignoring his attempts, he used his hands to half drag himself to her, rolling her onto her back so he could look at her.
Her face was a mess, covered in blood and quickly forming bruises. He could hear her breath barely rattling out of her lungs.
"Rei." He said as he shook her shoulder, willing her to open her eyes. "Rei please wake up. We need to go."
She didn't respond. He felt tears gathering in his eyes, anger forgotten now that the man had been dealt with and in the face of Rei's injuries.
He shook her a bit harder. She needed to wake up.
Hizashi hummed a tune as he walked down the street, patrolling the route he'd been assigned by his work study agency. They'd allowed him to patrol on his own, seeing as he was a third-year student and already had a fully functional hero license. At this point it was more about getting live experience while he was still in school than it was about learning anything.
He couldn't wait to graduate, so he could start his own agency. As much as he enjoyed working with Crimson Riot, and as much as he'd learned from the older hero, there were things he would definitely do differently. That, and he pushed the 'manliness' persona way too far sometimes, to the point where it irked Hizashi. And there wasn't much that actually annoyed him like that. It was just in his easygoing nature to not be bothered by much.
He was drawn out his thoughts by the slight crowd of people blocking his path on the sidewalk. They were all staring into an alleyway with matching looks of concern.
He quirked an eyebrow at the sight, and was about to speak up when one of them noticed him.
"Ah!" They exclaimed. "You! You're a hero, right?"
He snapped finger guns at the civilian in response. "Sure am, Listener! What seems to be the problem?" He glanced at the alleyway, where everyone's attention seemed to be focused. There didn't seem to be anything there, but maybe it was out of sight.
"There was screaming coming from down there!" The same person answered. "It's been going on for a few minutes now. I think it's a villain!"
"Not to worry! I'll go check it out." He responded. "In the meantime, please go about your business. We wouldn't want any of you getting caught up if something happens."
A few of them actually listened to that, turning to walk away with disappointed expressions. But most just stayed exactly where they were, acting like they didn't even hear him, which he knew was nearly physically impossible. If there was one thing he was aware of, it was how loud he was.
He sighed, turning to make his way down the alleyway. If they wanted to stay, there was nothing he could do to stop them. It wasn't like he could forcibly remove them.
Pausing by the corner of the alleyway, he took a deep breath, ready to use his quirk if need be. In one quick motion he rounded the corner, only to pause at what he saw, the deep breath he'd taken sputtering out of him. He took in several things at once, each one worse than the last.
The first thing he noted was that there were three people present; one adult and two children. Secondly, the two children had very similar quirks, some sort of snake mutation. The third, was that one of the two, the oldest as far as he could tell, was severely injured. Her face was a mess of blood and bruises, and she was being half-dragged by the younger.
The final thing he noticed, was that the adult wasn't wearing any pants, and although he was stumbling pretty heavily, it was clear that he was attempting to move after the children, shouting at them all the while.
"You little shit!" He shouted. "What the fuck did you do!? Give it back!"
Hizashi moved, dashing towards the man. He had no idea what the man was talking about, but he was clearly aggressive, most likely drunk, given his stumbling and the slight slur to his words, and was half naked trying to chase after children. None of that painted a pretty picture, especially since he most likely was the one that injured the elder sibling if the blood on his hand was anything to go by.
There wasn't time to attempt to deescalate the situation first. At best, the man was a crazy drunk that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with a pair of kids, one of whom being already injured. At worst, he was a pedophile who was in the middle of attacking the children and needed to be stopped before anything went further. Hizashi was willing to take the risk to avoid a worst-case scenario.
He couldn't use his quirk in the alley, not without risking harm to the children's hearing, but he hadn't made it through nearly three years at Yueii by relying on his quirk alone.
Once he'd reached the man, he dropped to the ground, sweeping his unsteady legs out from under him and sending him crashing. In one smooth motion he had his legs locked around the man's neck, holding one of his arms back in a way that put strain on the shoulder.
Once he was sure the man wouldn't be going anywhere, but still wary of whatever his quirk might be, Hizashi pulled a phone from his pocket with his free hand. It was a special phone he'd been provided specifically for heroics. It held a direct line to the police that was reserved for heroes, and many other functions besides. He quickly dialed that number, bringing it to his ear.
"Hero hotline. How may we be of assistance?" The voice on the other side greeted almost immediately.
"My name is Present Mic." He announced. "I've apprehended a criminal. For public nudity, suspected physical assault of a minor, and potential sexual assault of a minor. Please send a patrol car to my location to retrieve them."
Luckily, he didn't need to provide his location to them. A key feature of the phone was that it had a tracking function specifically for this sort of situation. As soon as he'd given his name, the person that answered would have tracked the phone.
"Received. An officer is en route to your location. Is anyone in need of medical attention?"
"The criminal has a suspected broken wrist." He answered, glancing at the man's mangled right hand. "As for the children," He glanced back at them-
They weren't there. Shit, they were gone.
"At least one child is injured, but they're both gone. I can't pursue without releasing the criminal."
"Copy that, sending an alert to all officers and heroes in the area. Please provide a description."
"Two children, one male one female. The boy is probably six and has green hair, the girl is probably ten and has light blue hair. They both have snake tail mutation quirks. And the girl has extensive bruising to the face."
"Received. An alert has been issued. Please stand by for an officer to retrieve the criminal."
Hizashi returned the phone to his pocket at that, adjusting his grip on the struggling man. He grimaced as he took another look around the alley, confirming that the children really were gone. As soon as the man was dealt with, he'd try to follow after them, if for no other reason than to get them medical attention.
He got the feeling that he just missed something really important. Or that something major had just slipped through his fingers.
Izuku was lying next to Rei, who was settled in the van back in their little sanctuary at the beach, doing his best to curl his new body up.
As soon as the two of them made it back, he'd promptly all but collapsed next to her, the strain from using the strength quirk to move her having utterly exhausted him.
Now it was a few hours later, and she still hadn't woken up. He hoped she would soon. He was worried about her.
He was just beginning to drift back to sleep when he heard it. Rei was shifting in her sleep. With a groan, she cracked an eye open, looking over at him.
"I- Izuku?" She started, the word difficult to understand because of her swollen face. He resisted the urge to hug her, not wanting to disturb her injuries any further than they already had been.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
She sat up, struggling the entire way. "I think so. I'll probably live."
After a few moments of Rei checking herself over in silence, Izuku spoke the question that had been on his mind.
"Who was that man?"
She paused at the question, either thinking the answer over or just pausing as it brought back memories of the event.
Rei touched a hand lightly to her face, bringing a wince of pain, before sighing. "That, was my father Izuku."
"That was your dad?" He asked, receiving a nod in response. "But he was hurting you. Why did he do that?"
She sighed again. "I… don't have a very good family, Izuku. That's why I was all alone before I met you. My family would hurt me sometimes, so I left them."
Her mouth was open to say something else, but then the rest of her memories of the even seemed to return, as she realized where she was.
"Actually, how did we get away from him?"
He shifted around nervously, before pointing at the tail that had replaced his legs. "I took his quirk."
Her eyes widened at the sight, as if she hadn't noticed it until that moment. Which was understandable. With the way the two were almost wrapped around each other, it was difficult to differentiate between the two.
"You…" She tried to speak as she stared at his tail.
"I'm sorry!" He blurted, tears already beginning to fall. "I shouldn't have taken it, but he kept hurting you and I didn't know how to make him stop and-"
His rambling was cut off as Rei wrapped him in a hug.
"Thank you…" She said, voice wobbly. A glance at her face showed that she had her own tears beginning to roll down her face.
Words could not describe how much utter relief Rei felt in that moment. She would always be afraid of her father, quirk or no; just the thought of him made her nervous and put her on edge. But now, despite that fear, she knew that he couldn't hurt her anymore. That weight that had been bearing down on her from the moment she was old enough to comprehend what her father was doing, had finally been lifted.
"You- You're not mad?"
"Of course not. You saved me Izuku."
She squeezed him tighter. "You're my hero."
That was all it took for Izuku to start crying for real. Hugging her back as the tears fell full force.
Once the sun was beginning to set, and the two had been able to calm down, Izuku realized something. Neither of them had good parents. Or at least, according to Rei; he still wasn't too sure what to think when it came to his mom. But either way, neither of them had any family. They didn't have anyone but each other.
"Hey Rei?" He started.
"Hm?" Came her response, cracking open an eye from where she'd been lying down.
He hesitated for a moment, before speaking what was on his mind. "Since neither of us have families, can we be family?"
She opened her other eye, sitting up to look at him. He watched her expression, nervous about her response, but after a moment her face lit up in a smile. As bright as she could manage at the moment.
"Of course we can!" She exclaimed. "We can be brother and sister! And you can even use my last name if you want."
"Really?" He asked, only to receive a nod in response "Okay!"
Rei scooped him up into a hug, ignoring the twinge of pain from her face, and he snuggled into the hold as she lowered them back into a lying position.
They both fell asleep shortly after with matching smiles, Rei's being especially bright as she held her younger brother, Izuku Etsumi.
Izuku shivered, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to preserve as much heat as he could. Rei sat huddled against him, not faring any better.
The winter months had rolled around again, and this time around was worse than the first they'd spent together. Neither of them could have predicted that winter on the beach would be so much worse than within the city. The constant wind blowing in from the ocean had turned ice cold, and was barely blocked at all by the debris that surrounded them.
Reaching his hands out, he lowered them towards a small pile of wood and paper that they'd gathered from the garbage around them. As he did, a series of small flames, like those produced by a cigarette lighter, sprouted across his fingers.
It took him a few attempts, between the wind blowing them out and him losing focus more than once, but eventually he was able to catch some of the smaller bits on fire. They both hastily held their hands out towards the growing flame, desperate to absorb any heat that they could from it.
Soon enough, with the two of them gradually feeding more fuel into the flame, they were able to stave off the worst of the shivering. They were practically coiled around the small fire, with it sitting in the middle of their tails.
That was the most recent quirk he'd taken, from a situation not unlike the ones that had gotten him his others. Someone had attacked, and he'd taken their quirk. It just so happened that this quirk was quite literally saving them right now. Neither were really sure if they were going to survive the winter until he acquired the quirk.
Sighing in momentary relief as the fire chased away the cold in their bones, they snuggled up closer to each other. They could only hope that this winter would be a short one.
Izuku struggled to catch his breath as he released the face of the man that had tried to grab Rei, his own attacker lying a few feet away. He didn't know who they were, or why they'd attacked. All he knew was that they had attacked, appearing out of nowhere and wielding knives.
The first had fallen as soon as Izuku laid a finger on them. He'd gotten better with his quirk as he got older—he was six years old already—and had even learned how to make it hurt less, so that they didn't scream so much. He took their quirk the instant he made contact, earning a cut along his arm for his trouble. The second fell when Izuku grabbed him from behind and threw him away from where he'd cornered Rei, strength quirk working wonders. He'd grabbed the man's face where he lay on the ground and took his quirk too.
He wasn't too sure what the quirks were, but his breaths now seemed much deeper than usual. He'd already had to get used to the snake tail giving him grater lung capacity—Rei had told him that it gave them a whole extra lung that was larger than both of their normal ones combined—but now each breath seemed even deeper, taking several long seconds to complete.
The other one wasn't so obvious, but he could feel it burning under his skin. He'd gotten better at feeling the quirks he took, and had even learned how to deactivate them when he didn't need to use them. He focused on it, and startled when, a moment later, the cut along his arm started to pull itself closed, cutting off the steady flow of blood that had been seeping from it. A healing quirk then.
Turning away from the fallen attacker, he moved back over to where Rei was still standing a few feet away. She put an arm around him as they moved away to continue their search for food.
At this point, the two of them had been attacked so many times for no reason at all that it hardly fazed them much anymore, especially since Izuku was getting to the point that he could deal with them with relative ease.
An eight-year-old Izuku walked down through the alleyway alone. Rei had turned fourteen recently, and had managed to get a job in a restaurant in an attempt to earn some money for the two of them. She'd even convinced a nearby gym to let them use the showers there so that she could wash away the stench of garbage.
Neither of them particularly liked the idea of him being left on his own as she went to work, he'd very rarely been apart from her since the day she found him, and he still felt uncomfortable in his own skin from the last time it had happened; that quirk almost felt suffocating as it sat in his throat. But it was for the best. She was earning money. Money that could be used for proper food or clothing. He could deal with a little discomfort in exchange.
He was pulled from his thoughts by movement off to his side, one of his newer quirks picking up the motion, making him pause. Looking over, he saw a man emerging from the shadows, studying him with an odd glint in his eyes.
"Hey kid." He started, a less-than-savory grin on his face. "What're you doing out here all on your own?"
Izuku stayed silent, watching impassively as the man approached.
"You look hungry. I've got some food if you want it. Nice and warm. It's just back this way," He pointed over his shoulder in the direction he'd come from. "I'll let you have some if you follow me."
Did the man think Izuku was an idiot? He must if he thought something like that could lure anyone anywhere.
"C'mon kid." They continued. "It's just back this w-"
Izuku didn't let him finish. Propelling himself forward with his now two strength quirks. He impacted the man's chest, sending him crashing to the ground, where the weight of Izuku's tail held him in place. He grabbed at the man's face, pulling on the familiar warmth as soon as he made contact.
As soon as the quirk was pulled into him, the man slumped to the ground, unconscious. But Izuku barely even registered that.
His mind was on fire as the new quirk settled in place. He'd had headaches before, but this felt so much worse as it burned through him, consuming his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying his best not to cry out.
After several minutes of standing in place, struggling to deal with the pain, it began to fade away. Once it had all but vanished, and he opened his eyes again, he almost gasped out loud at what was left after the pain.
It was like a switch had been flipped, and for the first time in his life he was actually seeing.
Intelligence quirks were, generally, the least understood of any other. There were so few people around that actually had one. And beyond that, they were always active from the moment of birth, meaning that there was no way to study the effect it had on someone.
There was a myth that sprung up in the early twenty-first century, that humans only had access to a very small portion of their brain. Now, that myth had been disproven fairly quickly, but there was another very similar line of thought that actually held some truth to it.
While Humans made regular use of every portion of their brain, that did not mean that they even came close to using it to its fullest potential. The human brain, if used to the fullest of its capabilities, had the potential to rival the greatest computers. But most of the time they couldn't. The countless connections and electrical signals that ran through the brain created a jumbled mess that was almost too complex for its own good. Memory was fallible, connections being lost constantly, and so much time was lost just trying to process information.
Intelligence quirks, though, served to remove those limitations. If there were a proper way to study them, people would realize that the quirks didn't outright increase intelligence, but merely performed very simple actions such as increasing the speed or accuracy of the electrical signals sent through the brain, or giving one perfect access to every memory their brain stored. They, in general, increased one's ability to think.
The biggest part of these quirks, however. And something that could never be discovered through normal means, was that each of these quirks typically compounded upon the preexisting mental capacity of the user. Meaning that the smarter a person already was, the greater the effect that an intelligence quirk would have.
So for someone like the man that attempted to lure Izuku, who was far below an average level of intelligence without the quirk, it raised them to the point of everyone else around them. But for Izuku…
As young as Izuku was, it had always been clear that he was above average. He'd learned to speak first, even before Kacchan, who was six months older. He'd learned to read first, before any of the other children his age. And despite his age, he'd always shown a greater level of comprehension than what was to be expected of him.
This quirk took that already above average level and propelled it upwards. It was as though he was blind before, and now he could see for the first time in his life.
For the longest time, Izuku just sat there, frozen as his thoughts raced at unprecedented speeds. There was so much, he barely knew what to do with any of it.
Everything, from the quirks he had in his chest, to the criminal that was lying beneath him, to the street below him. Every bit of raw data available to him was being received and processed all at once.
Eventually, his mind broached the subject of his and Rei's situation. In mere seconds, a plan had begun to form in his head. One that, while still imperfect—an increased capacity for thought could not fully compensate for an outright lack of knowledge about something after all—could potentially work to get them off the beach.
A smirk grew on his face. He knew what he needed to do.
He needed to become smarter. And he needed to get stronger.
Everything changed for the pair with Izuku's acquisition of the intelligence quirk. Everything that they needed to do became clear to him.
Not that things immediately changed or improved of course. Time was still needed to put everything into motion, but that was all that was needed. It was only a matter of time.
Rei continued to work her job at the restaurant, mostly clearing tables and cleaning dishes, bringing in a meager, but steady, supply of money. She even took on a second job as a shelf-stocker at a grocery store as soon as she could in order to bring in even more. She was working from before sunrise to after sunset, and was asleep almost as soon as she got home, but they were no longer eating garbage and were able to afford clean, properly fitting clothes.
Meanwhile, Izuku spent every single day at the nearest library. From the moment it opened, to the minute it closed, he was there pouring over every educational book he could get his hands on. Math, science, history. He read through each book he could, practically absorbing their contents.
After some time doing this, he learned about the existence of online education. He immediately began to burn his way through everything it offered, clearing weeks' worth of work in a matter of days. Within a year, he'd already worked his way up to a high school level.
At around the same time, they finally managed to secure an apartment to live in. Rei had been saving as much money as she could over the year, and the moment she turned fifteen—technically a legal adult by Japan's standards—she had used it to rent the cheapest apartment they could find.
Another year, soon after Izuku's tenth birthday, and he finished the last of the work he needed to complete high school, and moved on to the next level. By this point, with a decent place to sleep and proper food in their bellies, Rei was able to use what little time she had to start going through school as well, with Izuku walking her through everything.
While all of this was happening, Izuku was spending every second of free time he had either walking the streets under the guise of a weak, vulnerable child to lure in criminals that he could take quirks from, or looking into quirk analysis. Both yielded promising results as time passed. He slowly accumulated more and more quirks, gaining strength and experience all the while, and he began to grow quite skilled in his analysis.
It wasn't long before he figured out how to offer his services online, analyzing the quirks of anyone willing to pay him. Every little bit of money he earned eased the strain from Rei, if only slightly.
Eventually, a month or so after his eleventh birthday, he finally was able to register officially as an analyst, having acquired the necessary college degrees in quirk sciences and general analysis, and already beginning to work on a few more. His reputation quickly grew to the point that Rei was able to back down to only one job, then eventually not having to work at all, allowing her to focus solely on her education.
Around the same time, now that he had a few quirks that could serve to disguise his identity, he also decided to take to the streets as an actual vigilante. To actively pursue criminals rather than waiting for them to come to him.
He never stopped. Not for a moment. Every second of every day, if he wasn't sleeping, he was doing something to improve upon their situation. Educating himself or Rei, analyzing quirks to pay for everything, or fighting criminals and stealing quirks to grow stronger.
The world had done its best to beat the two of them down, but now he was turning the tide.
He never, ever stopped.
And he never, ever would.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Please feel free to ask questions if something in this chapter needs to be elaborated on. There's a lot of information that was put into this one.
Preparations
Chapter Summary
The entrance exams draw near, and Izuku is ready.
Chapter Notes
This is just a short transition chapter between all of the introductory stuff before to show off Izuku's character, and the beginning of UA. It's much shorter than a normal chapter, at less than half of the usual length, but it covers everything that I want it to. And after this, we'll start getting into canon events.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku sipped at the steaming mug of hot chocolate wrapped in his hands, enjoying its warmth as it suffused through him. His eyes closed as he savored its taste; just on the edge of being too sweet and with a hint of cinnamon. He sighed, his breath condensing in the cold air, another reason why this café was his go-to spot for lunch; they had the best hot chocolate.
He'd never been one for tea or coffee, not with 'Insomnia' keeping him awake, but hot chocolate was always a welcome treat, especially when the weather started turning colder, as it was now.
It was early February, right at the tail-end of the winter months. Despite this, he wasn't having too much issue. It was cold, yes, but not unbearably so. Not even for him. Even with his slight weakness to colder temperatures, he could handle it, so long as he didn't spend too long outside and the necessary steps were taken to aid him.
Being properly dressed, with a thick overcoat and scarf added to his usual outfit, and being properly fed made a huge difference between how he handled the cold now and how it used to nearly kill him when they lived on the streets. Not to mention that he had a warm home to return to at the end of the day. Plus, he had a quirk or two that could help if he got truly desperate.
And of course, if he happened to be in a position where he could sip on a warm beverage while he was out, then all the better.
As it stood though, he still went out less during this time of the year, preferring to mostly stay in his apartment when he wasn't out as Oni. The one thing he really did like about the colder months was that the days were much shorter, meaning that he spent much more time out and about when the sun went down. His snake tail might make him more susceptible to the cold, but as Oni he had no such reservations.
Otherwise, the only times he really left his apartment were to run errands or enjoy the occasional lunch at the café.
Speaking of, Yagi was sitting across the table, mimicking him as he sipped at a cup of tea.
The two of them had been meeting fairly regularly to enjoy lunch together, once a week, nearly every week since the day Izuku learned Yagi's secret. There were, of course, times where Yagi couldn't make it, called away for one reason or another to fulfill his duties as All Might, but they didn't detract from the times he could. And Izuku had noticed that the hero's absences were becoming more and more infrequent as the year wore on. By now it had been nearly two months since the last meeting he'd missed.
Izuku had noticed this, along with Yagi beginning to arrive earlier than him, and All Might appearing in the news around Musutafu much more often. And when he brought it up, the hero had revealed that Nezu had approached him about taking on a teaching position at Yueii, so he was slowly shifting his life to move everything from Tokyo, his resident city, to here.
Well, technically he hadn't revealed that outright, but when Izuku asked him about it, almost immediately he'd started sweating and stuttering through a half-baked explanation that was so obviously a lie. It had only taken Izuku staring at him with a deadpan expression to get him to reveal the truth. The man couldn't lie to save his life.
Yagi took another sip of his beverage, before speaking up.
"So, are you ready for the entrance exams in a couple weeks?" He asked.
"Of course." Came Izuku's response, his tone resolute. "Academically, there's very little that they could throw at me that I would struggle with, and I've still been studying a bit in preparation. And I'm not concerned about fighting the robots. I doubt they'll pose much of an issue."
His knowledge of the basic school subjects—math, science, history, reading/writing, etc.—was above the level of an advanced college course. He wasn't expecting Yueii to use anything quite that difficult—and certainly not more difficult—when most of its applicants were coming straight from high school. But all the same, he was going over a few things he wasn't as familiar with just to cover everything. This was his dream, and he wouldn't accept anything less than perfection from himself.
Beyond that, he was even less concerned about the physical portion of the exam. More than anything else, he knew his physical capabilities. Even relying solely on his enhancement quirks, he knew he wouldn't have any issue.
A look of confusion spread across Yagi's face. "You already know that the exam has participants fighting robots? How? I was under the impression that-that is a closely guarded secret."
Izuku smirked at the question. "It is, but my position as a professional quirk analyst and licensed quirk trainer grants me certain privileges. I have a bit of a deal with Nezu, where I act as a talent scout of sorts, picking out people with interesting quirks or who otherwise catch my eye and bringing them to his attention, and in exchange he's given me inside information about the exam to better advise potential applicants. Of course, I'm not allowed to actually tell anyone what the test entails, but it's not much of a challenge to provide decent advice anyway."
Yagi seemed partially stunned at his explanation. "A-and that's not considered cheating? You'd be going into the exam with prior knowledge about what you'll be facing."
"Not in a legal sense." Izuku explained; he'd already thoroughly looked into this to make sure that there wasn't any issue. "Nezu is allowed to share information regarding his entrance exams to anyone that has the proper qualifications, and I do. There isn't even any rule against him telling an applicant so long as they meet the requirements. But even if there was, there are only two people that know that Deku and I are the same person, and one of them is you."
He took a breath, pausing his explanation. "Of course, some people would still probably consider it amoral to have information that no one else does. But I have no such limitations. It's a leg-up that I've been given by pure circumstance, and I intend to use it to its fullest. It is very unlikely that anyone else ever has, or ever will be in the same position as me. And at the very least, I have earned my position as Deku, so it's not as if I've been given a handout."
One might think that Nezu, being the owner and principal of Yueii, would be able to share any information he so pleased about his school, but the entrance exams were one of the only things he couldn't.
With Yueii being a hero school, the Hero Commission had its hand in how they selected their students. Not so much as to decide the specifics, but enough to make sure that Nezu couldn't simply let anyone and everyone walk through the doors. They set guidelines on the academic requirements—though that extended only to list the bare minimum that must be included. After that, Nezu could add anything he pleased—and they set certain rules for the physical portions, that mostly pertained to setting minimum requirements and maintaining its secrecy. Nezu had the freedom to make applicants fight giant robots if he wanted to, but was limited in how far the information could be spread.
As far as Izuku was aware, he was the only one beyond the Yueii faculty, and current and former students that knew what to expect.
Actually, he wasn't sure what exactly kept everybody from leaking information. Faculty members could lose their jobs, students could lose their position as such, and former students, assuming they went on to be heroes, could face disciplinary action from the commission. But what stopped failed applicants from telling people? Even he could be faced with legal action if he were to tell anyone.
'Whatever.' He thought to himself with a slight shake of his head. 'It doesn't really matter. That's a mystery for another time.'
"I see." Yagi responded, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I can see the reasoning there. If there's nothing legally wrong with that, then it comes down to personal preference. And if that's how you view it, then no one can tell you otherwise."
Izuku shrugged. "It's not as if I'd really even need it. Even without knowing about the robots beforehand, I doubt that they would've given much trouble."
He took another sip of his beverage. "I don't see myself having much difficulty—if any at all—in the exams. I'll be attending Yueii soon enough, and then I'll be on my way to becoming a hero, and we can get to work finding you a successor."
Yagi nodded. "Yes. That is why I initially took on the teaching position, to search for someone. The sooner I find them, the better. It won't be long before my injury catches up to me and I lose control over One for All entirely. I'd like to still have time left when I pass it on, so that I can give them ample time to get it under control."
He looked at Izuku. "I will say that it is slightly disappointing that you don't want it, but you have made your decision, and I will respect that."
He seemed to think for a moment. "Actually, I wouldn't be able to do anything anyway unless you accepted it; just as One for All cannot be forcibly taken, it also cannot be forcibly given to anyone. The recipient must be fully willing to accept it."
Izuku nodded, a small smile on his face as he filed that bit of information away, all while ignoring the thought that rose unbidden at the man's words; that he would kill anyone who tried to force him to do anything as serious as that.
After a full week of thinking the offer over, Izuku had met up with Yagi for the second time to give him his answer. He didn't want that power.
He knew very well just how powerful he was already. He was by no means invincible, but as it stood, at his strongest, he likely already outclassed most pro heroes in terms of raw combat potential. And he was still only eighteen. He still had who-knew-how-many years left to take quirks, and would continue to grow stronger.
Not only did he not need that much of a boost, but it wouldn't really sit right with him if he took it. He'd achieved his strength through hard work. Each and every quirk he'd taken had been pushed and tested until he knew exactly how it worked, and then he used them in particular combinations to achieve the desired effect. It wouldn't feel right to suddenly gain a single power that would outclass all of his quirks, all of his work, by itself. No, he was content to grow steadily stronger at his own pace.
Then there was the issue of whether he would even make a decent successor to the greatest hero in history in the first place. Obviously, if he had the quirk he would use it for good—however good his vigilante work could be considered—but there were most likely others that could do better.
Izuku was far from the most heroic person. He had no interest in giving people hope, or inspiring them, or in serving as any sort of symbol or model for others to follow, and he didn't want to be in the spotlight. He just wanted to stay in the shadows, and do his best to make sure that people didn't suffer like he did. For every criminal he took down, from high-profile villains to lowlife drug dealers to corrupt heroes, that was one less person that could bring harm to someone else.
A quirk such as One for All should be given to someone who would stand in the spotlight. To someone who could stand as a symbol to others. Someone that others could look up to.
He had no idea who that person might be, but he knew with absolute certainty that it wasn't him.
But that was why, once he was attending Yueii, he would use his skills as Deku to assist Yagi in finding a successor. And then once they had, he was more than willing to help train them if he needed to. So long as it wasn't him wielding the power, he was happy.
"Hopefully it won't take us too long to find someone. There's no shortage of exemplary people in Yueii. Three years' worth of hero students, and plenty more regular students besides. One of them is bound to meet your expectations."
Izuku was just about to add something else, when a yawn worked its way through him. Damn, the cold was finally starting to catch up with him. He might only be half reptile, but that didn't stop him from slowing down in lower temperatures.
He rose up, followed a moment later by Yagi. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to cut this meeting short. The temperature is starting to wear on me, and I'd like to get back home. Besides, I still have to submit the last of my application paperwork."
"Of course!" Yagi responded immediately. "Not a problem! I was actually just about to suggest that myself."
The hero already knew of his weakness to the cold; this wasn't the first time they'd separated early because of it. Actually, they'd even had to leave early before because of Yagi. Just as the cold was unfavorable for Izuku's tail, the same was true for the other's wound; evidently it aggravated it quite a bit.
Izuku wrapped his coat tighter around himself. "Same time next week then?"
"Unfortunately no, I won't be able to come any time soon. With the exams approaching, Nezu has requested my assistance in preparing for them. Evidently, the next few weeks are going to be busy for everyone involved."
"Alright." Izuku responded. "Then the next time I see you will likely be after I've been accepted."
Yagi grew a smile at his confidence. "I look forward to celebrating it!"
With that, the two separated, heading off towards their homes.
Izuku sighed in audible relief as he entered the apartment from his balcony, the floor already heated to drive away the cold. Stripping off his jacket, scarf, and gloves, he exited his bedroom, crossing the hallway to his office. His computer booted up immediately once he was settled and he got to work on putting together the final bit of information that he needed to submit as a part of his application to Yueii, his quirk registration.
Until very recently, he hadn't had anything registered at all. In fact, the only reason it had been at all was because Yueii required it. It hadn't ever been required before, so there had been no reason to.
Had he attended an actual school at any point during his education, or if he didn't work for himself entirely online, then he would've had to earlier, but he hadn't, so he didn't.
Now though, each applicant to the hero school was required to send that in along with records of their education.
Not that it had been overly difficult though. He'd had the same visible quirks active as 'Izuku' for years now; the tail and the wings. All of the others that he kept active in his day-to-day life were invisible. And all that he'd had to do to get it registered was fill out an online form with a description of his 'quirk' and then wait for someone to process it.
According to his records, his quirk was now officially registered as a partial-body animal mutation quirk that also granted him enhanced physical capabilities. He'd chosen the name 'Naga,' after a mythological creature, present in several cultures, that shared his and Rei's appearances almost exactly; being half-snake, half-humanoid.
He'd had to wait a little longer, once his registration had been processed, for the official documentation to be sent back to him so that he could then send it to Yueii. They'd just sent it to him that day, so he set to work sorting that out on his computer and, before long, it was submitted and he was locked in to attend the entrance exams in three weeks' time.
He leaned back from his computer a bit, thinking the whole situation over.
Part of him—a significant part—was quite excited for it. He'd never really let go of his dream to become a hero, the one he'd had before he even got his quirk. Of course, the circumstances had changed since then, with him no longer having Bakugou by his side and no longer having any desire to be the greatest hero, but it didn't detract from his excitement in the least.
Izuku had been preparing for this for quite some time now. In the last six months, he'd started kicking everything into a higher gear to better prepare himself. He had picked up the pace when he went out as Oni, taking down more criminals than ever before. Every bit of combat he went through only increased his experience as a fighter, and fighting criminals, who could have any type of quirk and made a habit of fighting dirty, made sure that he was used to improvising and dealing with whatever came his way.
He'd even taken two new quirks that he was quite fond of, one of which had already been added to the collection he always kept active. The other wasn't quite subtle enough to have out as Izuku, but that didn't stop him from using it to terrorize people as Oni.
He'd also been taking on more requests than before. Part of that was because of the influx of hero school applicants looking for advice that he experienced every year, and part of it was him wanted to push himself to think and analyze faster than normal.
On top of that, just about any free time he had was being dedicated to studying as many subjects as he could, adding it all to the pool of knowledge that filled his head. He had access to the wealth of human knowledge through the internet, and was doing his best to absorb as much as he could before the exams came.
He stretched his arms above his head, a small smile forming on his face. He would be more than amply prepared by the time the exams came around. No one at Yueii would know what hit them.
Eventually, it was time for Izuku's daily discussion with Nezu. This would be the last time he would be able to until the exams had passed, and the results had been sorted out. Because just as Yagi would be busy with the preparations, Nezu would even more so, being the one who had to oversee it all.
They would have this chance for Izuku to give information about the people that had caught his eye, and then it would be a few weeks before they could discuss the outcome.
So that's what he did. He told Nezu about the more interesting quirks he'd seen, such as the copying quirk and the gravity nullification one, and the many others he'd seen since this same discussion a year before. He didn't know any names, as he didn't require anyone to give them, but all of the quirks were easily distinguishable, the rodent wouldn't have any issue figuring it out, if not from seeing them in use, then from the quirk registrations that everyone was required to submit.
They then went on to enjoy the last opportunity they would have for a game of chess for a while, with Izuku taking the win, adding it to his score.
Once it was time for both of them to get off, the sun had begun to sink into the horizon, and he could hear Rei moving around. He got up from where he was settled, and made his way into the kitchen to get to work preparing dinner.
Izuku sighed as he got up from his spot in the living room. The two of them had spent the last hour or so watching the tv together after eating dinner. But now, it was time for Rei to get back to work with her classes and for Oni to set out for the night. Rei was much less happy about it than he was.
Her finals were quickly approaching. She'd holed up in her office from nearly sundown to sun rise just about every day to study and it was starting to wear on her.
She still helped him when he went out though, despite her ridiculous workload. Actually, she'd very nearly thrown a textbook she was reading from at him when he suggested that she at least hold off from that. That was the last thing she wanted, because she needed something to take her mind off of studying every once in a while.
To return the favor, he made sure to help her as often as he could, both while at home and while he was in the middle of fighting people.
He had a near-perfect memory, it was easy enough to memorize studying points or flash cards or anything else he needed in order to help. He would recall them to quiz her while he was out and about. Anything to keep her from having to stare at a book or the computer screen all night long. And really, it was kind of fun for him at times. Watching criminals become confused as he listed off law codes or court rulings while he threw their friends around was something he wouldn't forget for a long time.
Balancing on the railing of his balcony, he looked out over the city. He took a deep breath, taking in the cold air, which had only gotten colder after then sun went down. For this part of the year he donned an overcoat on top of his usual outfit, similar to the one he'd worn out earlier but slightly shorter, stopping just above his knees so as to not hinder movement, and pitch black instead of tan.
It was much easier to maintain his body heat in this form, but damn if he didn't like the warmth his coat brought.
Spreading his arms out to the sides, and with a smile on his face, he tipped forwards, dropping towards the ground. After a moment, his wings extended, catching on the air, and propelling him upwards as he drove them down.
Time to get to work.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Sorry that this one is so short, but like I said, it's only purpose is to serve as a transition between the introduction and the main part of the story.
Next time, we finally get to the entrance exams.
Starting Line
Chapter Summary
The entrance exams begin.
Chapter Notes
Sorry for the wait. Work has been hitting me harder than normal lately.
Also, I'll be changing up the upload schedule from Saturdays to Sundays.
I hope you Enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku stared up at the massive building that stood before him, gleaming in the sun. It lay just on the other side of the equally impressive gate that served as the entrance to the Yueii campus, emblazoned with the school's insignia. The school was more impressive than he'd imagined.
He'd known what it looked like of course; he hadn't seen it in person before, but it was the most well-known educational establishment on the planet, there were plenty of pictures on the internet. But none of those pictures could've prepared for seeing it with his own eyes.
Four identical towers, each one fourteen stories tall—though as far as he could tell, each floor was taller than normal—with floor-to-ceiling windows making up its walls. Connecting bridges stretched between them, and one large single-story building sat at their bases, serving as their ground floor.
Combined with the utterly massive tract of land it sat on, completely fenced in and holding training grounds that no one outside of the school knew the specifics of, and the Yueii campus was likely the most extravagant piece of property in Japan.
Izuku moved through the gate, joining the steady stream of other applicants that were all heading towards the main building. He noticed a few curious glances get thrown his way as he moved. He stood out from the crowd around him, and not just because of his tail or wings.
Part of it was that most of the other applicants had come wearing winter versions of their high school uniform, as was required by Yueii, but he obviously didn't have such a uniform. Instead, he'd come wearing one of his nicer dress shirts—opting for a traditional white—with a black vest and tie, and with a slate gray overcoat and matching gloves. It wasn't too far off in appearance from an actual uniform, but it was enough to be noticeable.
His 'human' half was also point of interest, as he stood a foot or more above many of the others near him, just about six and a half feet tall, and because his musculature was noticeable even through the layers he had on. A result of the strength quirk he always kept simmering just beneath his skin.
That height could vary of course, depending on how high he raised himself off the ground, but right around there was what felt the most natural to him. And it wasn't like there weren't any other tall muscular people in the city, or even taking the entrance exam, but that, along with his visible quirks made him a bit more noticeable.
He ignored any attention thrown his way. It would do nothing to affect his goal.
As he drew closer to the building, moving past the fountain that sat right in front of it, he was hit with the realization where exactly he was, where exactly he was standing. He paused, craning his neck to stare up at it.
This was the school that most of the greatest heroes in Japan – and many in other parts of the world – had attended. This was where they learned how to be such great heroes. It sent a tiny thrill racing through his body.
A small smile appeared on his face.
This was it. Everything he'd ever done, every fight and struggle, every book in the library and online assignment, every college degree and every single analysis request he'd completed. Each and every one of his quirks, and every single criminal he had taken down. All of it had culminated in this one moment. Everything had led him to this.
He was here. He was finally taking his first real steps towards his dream. Finally, after years, he would have the chance to prove to himself, to Rei, and to every piece of shit that had ever hurt them, that he would not be stopped. That he would not stay down.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, savoring the moment, before opening them back up a few seconds later, the awe within them replaced with determination.
'Time to get started.' He thought to himself as he moved towards the main doors.
He barely made a few feet before one of the other applicants walking next to him tripped over their own feet, sending them toppling to the ground, almost directly into his path.
Without stopping, his hand darted out, latching onto the bag strapped to their back and stopping their fall. Just as quickly, he pulled them back to their feet, releasing them once he knew they were steady. As he continued past the applicant, he glanced over at them, taking in their appearance in a split second.
It was a girl. She stood nearly a foot shorter than him, had shoulder-length hair floating—seemingly literally—around her head, and had a faint blush on her cheeks, though that very easily could've been a result of the brisk morning air. She had a slightly confused expression on her face as she stood there, probably wondering why she didn't fall.
Skimming past that, Izuku immediately took note of her hands, that were still wrapped around the straps of her bag. On both of them, her forefinger was held away from the straps. He could make out tiny pads on the tips, not dissimilar to a cat's paw pads.
'Emitter-type.' His mind supplied. 'Touch-based, going by the pads on the tips of the fingers, that likely requires contact by all five fingers. Most likely allows for some form of manipulation over an object or person rather than true emission. Probably uncontrollable if she's holding a finger away.'
His eyes refocused on the doors as he concluded the impromptu analysis.
"Careful." He said as he moved away from where she was standing. "You don't want to fall before things even get started."
"Eh?" She responded. It was a few seconds later that she seemed to process what had happened. He was already working his way up the stairs when he heard her call out from behind him.
"Oh! Thank you!"
He waved a hand over his shoulder in response. A moment later, he pulled the door open, escaping the cold outside and sighing in minor relief as he came into contact with the heated air.
Signing in was a quick process; they had several desks lined up as soon as he entered the building, working their way through the mass of applicants at a steady pace. Not even five minutes after getting through the doors and he was already being directed to the room he'd be in for the written portion of the exams.
He'd be in his own room. Evidently, they had set aside a few rooms for size-altering quirks in order to keep everything else as efficient as possible. Having a few people on their own was much easier than cramming them into rooms with everyone else.
It wasn't long before he reached his destination. A brief pause to confirm the number on the door was all he waited before opening it. There was a single desk sitting in the center, a stack of papers already resting on it, and a teacher's desk against the far wall.
Izuku's attention, however, was immediately drawn to the yellow bundle of cloth lying across said desk, a pale face and a bit of messy black hair poking out of it. Their eyes were closed as if they were sleeping, but he could tell that they were actually awake and watching him. Their attention had focused entirely on him the moment he opened the door.
He almost smirked. He would recognize that exhausted face anywhere.
Closing the door behind him once the rest of his tail had made it inside, Izuku almost spoke up, before a sudden idea made itself known. This time, a small smirk did appear on his face.
"Hello Eraserhead." He greeted, face relaxing back into a neutral expression. "I was told you would be acting as my proctor for the test."
As soon as the name left his mouth, the hero's eyes snapped open. They trained on him with only the barest hint of surprise, before even that was covered up.
"Izuku Etsumi, I assume?" The hero drawled in a tired voice, eyes closing once more.
"That's correct."
The other sighed faintly. "Put any electronics you may have on my desk and then take a seat-" an eye opened halfway, glancing at his tail, before closing again, "-or whatever, at yours."
Izuku complied, placing his phone and a pair of earbuds on the desk, before settling down at his own. He removed his bag to set it underneath.
"I trust you're smart enough to have already familiarized yourself with the test's guidelines, so I don't have to read off the speech to you?"
"Yep." Izuku responded, giving his voice a bored edge to it to match Eraserhead's. "One hundred and fifty questions in three hours. Take my time, be careful, no cheating. Blah blah blah. All that fun stuff. Right?"
The hero managed a soft grunt. Izuku saw his arms moving around inside the bag, before a juice box appeared in front of their face. A moment later, an old-fashioned pocket watch followed, emitting a soft 'click' as he started the time.
"Begin." He announced with a slight grin. Punctuating it with a slurp from the snack at his face.
Izuku's expression morphed to match Eraserhead's as he flipped the stack of papers over and set to work, not oblivious of the eye that immediately cracked open to watch him.
Just over thirty minutes later, Izuku had finished the bulk of the questions and was moving on to the final ten. He'd been right when he assumed that Yueii wouldn't pull on anything overly difficult. Not that it was necessarily easy material—it was at a level that would be expected of a college entrance exam, if maybe a bit higher—he was just very familiar with all of it.
That, and maybe he had also pulled on a speed quirk to pick up the pace. He was already going to finish before everyone else, so why not take it to a ridiculous degree? Plus, it was amusing to see Eraserhead's expression as his hand blurred across the paper.
The test had focused primarily on math and sciences, being the largest subjects to cover, but had also included sections for reading, writing and history. History had been the smallest, to Izuku's slight disappointment, mostly focusing around the history of heroes. To his surprise though, it had also included a section for English comprehension. He hadn't considered that they would do anything with other languages; though he realized that he should have, since English had become something of a universal language for heroes. It would make sense that they teach the language. Any hero, regardless of their country of origin, was expected to know English so that they could always communicate with one another if needed.
Not that it mattered all that much to him. He'd started learning other languages some time ago in order to widen the range of countries he could accept analysis requests from. That section had been just as easy as the others.
Now that he had completed all of the regular questions, he paused for a moment in minor surprise at the sight of the ten remaining ones. They were all essay questions, and were very open-ended. Likely to encourage more thought from applicants since they didn't have definitive correct answers.
It wasn't the fact that they were essay questions that surprised him, though. It was the content of the questions themselves.
[Do you believe that current vigilante and quirk usage laws in Japan are effective enough as they are? Or do you believe that they should be changed? Please elaborate on your answer. If you believe they should be changed, provide examples on how exactly they should be. And if you believe that they shouldn't, provide reasons why.]
Izuku couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face at the sight of the question. This was one of the exact topics he and Nezu had discussed during one of their afternoon chats. Flipping through the rest revealed that all of them were like that. All of them had something to do with a discussion they'd had about the current state of heroics, hero laws, or something similar. He'd had no idea that the principal had done something like this.
Nezu most likely wasn't actually grading these questions. Not with how open-ended they were. If he had to guess, Izuku would say that he was using these as a judge of character. Not necessarily to rule anyone out as potential students, but to get a better idea of the mindset of those that passed.
Smile still present, he sped through the essay questions. If anything, these were easier than the rest of the test because he remembered exactly what he had told Nezu when they'd first had the conversations. He made sure to change things around ever so slightly though, so that they weren't carbon copies of his original thoughts.
Barely ten minutes later—a full forty minutes after the beginning of the three-hour-long test—he rose from his desk and set the packet in front of Eraserhead. The hero pulled the watch back out of the sleeping bag and clicked it, eyeing the time it displayed. If he was surprised by the speed at which Izuku completed it, he didn't show it. He just maneuvered both of his hands fully out of the bag to grab the test.
"Alright. You're free to go. Go occupy yourself in the main entrance until everyone else is finished. You'll get the results when Yueii sends everything else out in a few weeks."
"Okay." He responded, turning towards the door, making sure to grab his phone.
"Goodbye, Eraserhead." He said as he left the room, only to get silence in response. The hero was a man of few words when he was out on patrol, and it seemed like that was no less true in this situation.
Izuku followed the hero's instructions, returning to the main entrance where everyone had signed in. It was empty now that the tests were underway. Even the desks that were set up had been cleared away.
Picking out a corner that happened to have an air vent situated right above it, Izuku settled into it, enjoying the warm air blowing directly on him. As soon as he was comfortable, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Rei.
8:46 [Izuku]-
-'Just finished up with the written part of the exam. It was just as easy as I was expecting.'
8:47 [Rei]-
-'Not surprising. I doubt there's anything they could throw at you that would present a challenge.'
8:47 [Izuku]-
-'Maybe. It remains to be seen what they'll do once the school year starts.'
Normally, she wouldn't be awake at this time of day. But she'd finished up her exams the week before—passing them all with flying colors of course, much to her relief and to his delight—and was on break before the next year began. Though, even if she was still on her school sleep schedule, he was pretty sure she would've tried to be awake for this anyway.
-'Also, you'll never guess who my proctor was.'
8:48 [Rei]-
-'Who?'
8:48 [Izuku]-
-'Eraserhead, of all people.'
8:49 [Rei]-
-'I'll bet that was fun.'
8:49 [Izuku]-
-'Oh it was.'
-'If only you could've seen his face when I greeted him with his hero name. He almost showed emotion for a second.'
-'And then when I was actually taking the test, it almost happened again when he saw how fast I was answering the questions.'
8:50 [Rei]-
-'Nice.'
-'Please tell me you're going to give him shit tonight when you go out.'
8:51 [Izuku]-
-'Maybe not tonight. I feel like he's going to be called on to help sort through the results of the exam. And I don't want to be but so mean to him.'
-'But after the exams have passed, yes. I intend to be as much of a nuisance as physically possible.'
8:51 [Rei]-
-'Good. I can't wait to hear it.'
-'Maybe it's time to implement a camera into your outfit so I can watch as well.'
8:52 [Izuku]-
-'We'll see.'
-'We'd have to put it in the mask. That's the only way to do it without multiple cameras or some new accessory.'
Their conversation quickly devolved into working out the logistics of adding some sort of bodycam to his vigilante outfit. There were obviously benefits to it beyond giving Rei a front row seat to him annoying Eraserhead, so he would look into it. He'd probably take it to some underground business that would be able to make it happen.
Eventually his train of thought and their conversation was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps.
Looking up from his phone when he heard them enter the room—just on the edge of 'proximity's normal range—he was slightly surprised to see Present Mic staring down at him with a mildly shocked expression. Only slightly surprised though, as this was a school for heroics that happened to be taught almost solely by heroes.
"Hello there, Listener!" The hero greeted rather calmly for his usual persona, likely to avoid disturbing any nearby test-takers. "How come you aren't in your assigned room? Tests are meant to be going on right now."
"I've finished already." He responded simply.
Present Mic faltered. "Wait- What? You finished your test?" He looked down at a watch on his wrist. "It hasn't even been an hour?"
"I did indeed. And my proctor told me to come wait out here for everyone else to finish. You can ask him if you need to confirm. He's the tired one in the sleeping bag."
He saw a smile pull at the corner of the hero's mouth, pushing past the surprise. He knew who Izuku was talking about immediately.
"Alright then. If that's what he told you, then you're good to go. I'll go check in with him."
The hero shot finger guns at Izuku. "I'll see you at the orientation later. Good luck!"
Izuku waved at the man as he turned to walk away in the direction he came from, a smile appearing as he disappeared from view.
He wasn't entirely sure why, but Present Mic's hero persona was among his favorites out of any other. Something about how over the top the man was in his hero work was amusing to him. Maybe it was because it seemed entirely genuine.
Many heroes had facades that they put up when in the public eye to seem more appealing or to reassure people. It wasn't a bad thing in the slightest though, as it had little bearing on how well they performed. But then there were some heroes, like All Might, Present Mic, and a few others, who had such boisterous, positive attitudes that seemed completely genuine, and they were all the better for it.
His smile remained in place as his attention returned to the phone in his hand. He still had about two hours to burn.
Shouta was so fucking tired. He didn't have the energy or patience to deal with this.
It hadn't been enough that Etsumi had somehow known his hero name, or that he had burned through a three hour test in less than one, or that the kid's attention had been trained on him in an unnatural way from the moment he walked through the door. No, on top of all that, he just had to answer every single question on the test perfectly.
A hundred and forty questions in just about half an hour and they were all correct, even the English section. And he'd even shown full work for all the math-related ones.
It wasn't exactly unheard of for someone to do extremely well on the written exam. They'd had applicants come through before with intelligence quirks. But none of them had ever blown through it with that kind of speed. And Etsumi didn't even have an intelligence quirk. It was pretty obvious what his was.
And Shouta had been watching him the entire time. He was certain that the kid hadn't cheated.
He let out a groan as he tried to sink further into his sleeping bag. Here he'd thought that he might be able to get some sleep today. That's why he volunteered to watch over one of the single-applicant rooms in the first place; so he wouldn't be sucked into dealing with anything else. Watching over one applicant while they took a test should've allowed him to catch even a little sleep.
But now that he'd graded the test, he needed to take it to Nezu. Most tests were graded after the entire exam had concluded, but he felt like the rodent would want to know about this, and would likely want to go ahead and grade his portion.
The essay questions were all opinion-based, so he couldn't grade on correct answers. But apparently, he judged based on whether applicants could defend their answers and how well thought out they were. Shouta had looked through the questions himself, none of them required any special knowledge to dredge up some form of answer for them. The most difficult one was the first, which talked about vigilante laws, but everyone always has quirk usage laws preached at them from the moment they develop one. So even that one shouldn't be much of a stretch for even the most idiotic applicant.
He let out a sigh, cursing the fact that he had to get up. It was at times like this when he regretted becoming a teacher at Yueii.
Shifting his weight, he rolled off the side of the desk he'd been laying on since he got in that morning. He didn't even bother catching his fall, just letting the padding of the sleeping bag absorb it all.
As he begrudgingly worked his way of the warm depths of the cloth, he heard the door to the room open. He looked up just in time to see Hizashi stroll in, with that ever-present grin on his face.
"Hey Shouta!" The other greeted, quieter than he normally would be on account of the testing going on around them, but still much too loud for his liking. "I just ran into a listener in the main hall that said he already finished? And that you told him to wait out there for everyone else?"
He just huffed in response, rolling his sleeping bag up to carry it with him. "Yes, I told him to wait."
Picking up the test, that served as the most immediate source of his irritation, he moved to the door, ignoring Hizashi's attempt at a high-five as he passed. The other wasn't fazed, and followed after him as he left the room.
"Aren't applicants supposed to wait in their testing rooms until it's all over? Why send him out?"
Shouta was silent for a few moments as they walked, considering the kid in question. "There was something off about him. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it seemed almost familiar for some reason. I didn't want to deal with that for another two hours."
"Wow. Was he that scary?" Hizashi asked. Shouta didn't even have to look over at him to see the shit-eating grin on his face. "The mighty Shouta Aizawa sent a student into the hallway because he was unnerving?"
The grin, and the mocking tone, disappeared a moment later though. "But… I do kind of get what you mean. When I saw him, there was something familiar about him. I could've sworn that I've seen a quirk like that somewhere."
That time, Shouta did turn to look at the other, raising an eyebrow as he did. "It's not his quirk that seemed familiar, it was something else. From the moment he walked into the room, he was watching me in a way that made it seem like he knew everything there was to know about me. That, and everything about him practically screamed utter confidence in himself."
It wasn't exactly unusual for an applicant or student to be confident. Most were in some capacity just on account of making it to the entrance exams to begin with; reassured by either their intelligence or their quirk. But with Etsumi, just about every action and word spoke of the confidence he had in himself. It seemed to ooze from him to the point that it was palpable.
Whether that was actual warranted confidence in his abilities, or arrogance that just came from having a strong quirk or a slightly above average intelligence, remained to be seen. If Etsumi passed the exams, Shouta would make sure he made it into 1-A, so that he could determine which it was, and expel him if need be.
Deep down though, in his gut, part of him almost knew for sure already that it was completely warranted. Maybe it was his instincts as an underground hero, or just his experience as a teacher, but he could tell that Etsumi would be a dangerous opponent for anyone, in any sort of fight.
The two fell into silence as they continued towards their destination. Both drawn into their own thoughts about Izuku Etsumi.
Eventually, Hizashi noticed the stack of papers in Shouta's hand.
"Is that his test?" He asked. "How'd he do?"
Shouta just held it out to him in response. "See for yourself."
Hizashi started flipping through it as they walked, his expression drawing further up in surprise with each question that had been marked correct.
"This is impressive!" He said. "He did this all that quickly?"
"Ah! He even scored perfectly in the English section! Oh I hope he gets in now! It's been so long since I've had someone in my class that already knows the language!"
He passed the test back over to Shouta once he was done, just as they were reaching their destination.
Walking through the door, they entered the observation room for the practical portion of the exam. It was the largest room in the entire building, not counting the cafeteria or the auditorium. Three adjacent rooms, as well at the rooms that sat on the floor above them, had been combined to make up the space. It was full of tiered seats like a miniature auditorium, with computers at each of them, and the entire extra-large wall that would've been taken up by windows was instead covered by a multitude of screens, all of them cycling between footage from all of the test sites. Altogether, the room looked like a control room for a space organization.
There were a few teachers walking around the room, running last-minute checks while the applicants were still taking the written portion. Making their way up to the highest section of seating, they came to Nezu, who was overseeing everything, sipping at a cup of tea.
"Ah! Shouta and Hizashi! What brings you up here?"
He held out the test. "I thought you'd want to see this. He finished in about forty minutes."
He saw a small gleam in the principal's eyes as he said that, the simple statement already catching his attention. Nezu took the test and immediately started scanning through the questions, eyes darting through them faster than either of the heroes in front of him would've been able to manage. He only slowed down when he reached the essay section at the end.
A grin appeared on the principal's face as he finished, one that sent a small shiver down their backs. "This is marvelous. And you said that he completed this early?" He asked rhetorically. The gleam was back, and stronger than before.
A few keystrokes at the computer in front of him, and Nezu pulled up the information they had on Etsumi. "His registration makes no mention of increased intelligence being a part of his quirk. Which means that this is entirely natural."
The rodent was practically vibrating in his chair now. "Oh I can't wait to see how you do in the practical test, Izuku Etsumi. I do so hope I get a chance to meet you."
At the sound of the name, one of the other people in the room perked up. Shouta saw them head towards the group, recognizing the—still slightly shocking—scrawny form of All Might.
"Did you say Etsumi?" He asked once he was close.
"I did indeed." Nezu answered. "Why do you ask?"
"I know him." He explained. "Has something happened?"
"Not at all. We were just discussing how he got a perfect score on the test despite taking less than an hour to do so."
That brought a smile to All Might's—or Toshinori's—face. "Excellent. I knew he would do well."
Shouta's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the older hero. "How do you know him?"
If it was possible, his smile brightened even further. "I met him a little over a year ago. Where I discovered that he was the one that cleaned Dagobah beach. We've been meeting up for lunch every week since then."
Dagobah. The junkyard? Shouta thought he remembered seeing something about that being cleaned up. And All Might made it sound as though Etsumi had done it on his own. That would've been a fairly massive feat, assuming his memory of how bad the beach had gotten could be trusted. He wondered if there was a story behind him deciding to do that.
"Does he know who you are?" Nezu asked.
Toshinori rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. "Ah. Yes. He is aware of who I am. He happened to connect the dots between my two forms, so I explained it to him."
Nezu seemed to tense up for some reason, and Shouta watched as the two proceeded to have some sort of nonverbal conversation in the span of a second. Ending with Toshinori giving a small shake of his head.
The rodent relaxed back into his seat, and looked at the information displayed on his computer. "Interesting. Very interesting."
"Who are you, Izuku Etsumi?"
Shouta just raised an eyebrow, looking between the two of them. What the hell was that about? He shook his head, dispelling the thought. Whatever that was, he didn't have the energy to deal with it. He'd leave it between the rodent and the buffoon.
He moved away from the group, already unrolling his sleeping bag. Maybe now he'd actually be able to get some sleep before the practical portion.
The two hours passed quickly, and soon enough Izuku was working his way into Yueii's massive cafeteria for lunch, which was being provided to them. As he picked out a table tucked into a corner—all of them already had food set out for the applicants—he caught sight of Lunch Rush moving about, either checking up on people or setting out more food.
He felt a—probably unnecessary—surge of excitement at the sight. He'd known that the cook hero worked at Yueii, but for some reason it never occurred to him that they would be the one supplying the food today.
'Damn.' He thought to himself. 'If I'd thought about it, I would've brought my Lunch Rush cookbook to get it signed.'
It was a little disappointing that he'd missed the opportunity. He was a fan of the hero, and not just for the cookbook. But he decided that it didn't matter too much. He would just have to get the signature once he came back as a student.
Digging into the prepared meal, he passed the time by watching the people around him. There were a number of interesting quirks mixed into the crowd, a few of them he thought he recognized from requests he'd taken. Scanning through them, flipping between using 'Appraisal' and just simply analyzing, he noticed the girl he'd helped on the way into the building. She was looking at him, and upon realizing that he saw her, she got up and starting walking over to him. He watched as she moved, curious as to why she was approaching him.
By the time she got close to him, she had a smile plastered on her face. She stopped right next to the table.
"Hi! I'm Ochako Uraraka" She greeted enthusiastically, holding out a hand with the pinky deliberately held away.
Izuku took the proffered hand, shaking it. "Izuku Etsumi."
Uraraka's smile seemed to brighten. "Hi Etsumi! I just wanted to say thank you again for helping me this morning. I feel like it would've been bad luck to trip right before the exam."
He put on a polite smile of his own. "Don't worry about it. I just happened to be in a position to help."
"Still though. The exams are already stressful enough without anything else adding onto that. Like that written test we just took. That was pretty hard. I'm glad I studied as much as I did."
Izuku had to resist the urge to cock an eyebrow at her statement, the test wasn't hard at all. He pushed that thought from his mind though, and reminded himself that not everyone had intelligence quirks burning through their head. It was just as impressive for someone else to pass the written test on their own power as it was for him to get a perfect score.
"Well. This is Yueii. I would expect nothing less from them." He replied.
"Oh I know! This place is amazing! I didn't know it was so big! And all of the teachers and faculty are Pro Heroes! I don't think I've ever seen so many in person before."
Uraraka seemed to notice then that the rest of his table was empty, looking at the unoccupied spots.
"How come you're sitting way over here all alone?" She said, returning her gaze to him. "You can come sit over at my table if you want."
"Oh, no thank you." He replied, making sure to keep a friendly tone. "I'm quite comfortable right here."
This unplanned conversation was tiring enough as it was. He had no desire to join a group of unknown people who would no doubt try to drag him into their own conversations.
She just shrugged, unfazed. "Alright then! Suit yourself."
Turning away, she'd started off back in the direction she came from.
"Thanks again! And good luck on the rest of the exam!"
"You too." He called back.
Izuku considered Uraraka and the conversation he'd had with her as he watched her walk away. Did he just make a friend? Is that what just happened?
He didn't really think of himself as a lonely person. He knew that other people would probably think that he is, but he certainly didn't. He had Rei, his meetings with Yagi, his correspondence with Nezu, and whatever there was with Tsukauchi and Eraserhead. That was enough for him.
Maybe it was because he'd been homeless and fighting for his life for most of his childhood, or that he'd relied so much on and been so close to Rei, or just that he hadn't had a normal upbringing in general, but there had never been any real desire or opportunity to make friends. And now that he'd gone so long without any, he didn't really think he needed any.
But then… He could remember just how happy he'd been with Bakugou before his quirk came in. It might be nice to have friends again.
Izuku shook the thought from his head. He certainly wasn't at Yueii to make friends. If he had the time, he might think about it some more, but for now, he knew his goal and that was all that mattered.
After lunch, all the applicants had been herded into the auditorium and filed into their seats. He was directed to the very front, right at the end of the row so he wouldn't have to attempt to fit his bulk into a seat. They'd all been given pamphlets detailing the exam they would be faced with, along with a card assigning the exam site they would be in. His had a massive letter 'A' on it, designating site Alpha.
Looking over the pamphlet, he found it amusing how simultaneously helpful and utterly useless it was. It showed the silhouettes of each of the four robots and explained that they had point values assigned to them, but neglected to actually tell what those values were, or that the fourth robot would be unnecessarily enormous. Instead, it just explained the less important details, like how many applicants would be in each site, how they were expected to earn points, and a laundry list of safety warnings.
He suspected that Yueii was purposely withholding information in order to see how well the applicants could do when they didn't know everything.
The lights dimmed suddenly, the background noises and conversations quickly following.
'Then again. Maybe they'll explain it in the orientation.'
Present Mic stepped out onto the stage, the lights focusing on him as he did.
"HELLOO LISTENERS! AND WELCOME TO THE SHOW!" He yelled out in greeting, shocking most of the applicants with his volume and making Izuku's ears throb. "EVERYBODY SAY HEEEY!"
He held a hand to his ear, waiting for a response that apparently wasn't coming.
A thought entered Izuku's mind, bringing a smile to his face. 'Fuck it.'
He cupped his hands in front of his mouth. "HEY!" He shouted back, causing a few people around him to give him odd looks. He didn't pay them any attention; he didn't come here to care about what other people thought about him.
Present Mic shot finger guns in his direction. "THANK YOU, LISTENER!"
The screens behind the hero suddenly lit up, filling with information.
"NOW. I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH THE DETAILS OF THE PRACTICAL PART OF THIS ENTRANCE EXAM! LET'S GET STARTED!"
From there he did just that, explaining everything they needed to know, including the point values of the robots, throwing out Izuku's theory. He did note though, that they still didn't give any indication to the actual size of the zero-pointer. The thought of everyone scrambling once they realized it brought out a bit of his more chaotic side. It would be so fun to watch them panic.
Soon enough, the explanation was finishing. Present Mic sounded off with a yelled "PLUS ULTRA!" which Izuku reciprocated, earning more odd looks as everyone started to move towards the exit.
They were led out to the busses that would ferry them over. And Izuku was surprised to see that his bus had the last few seats removed just for him, so he could fit without issue.
He would be lying if he said it didn't warm his hearts just a little to see that. Yueii had been extremely accommodating thus far, with the single room, his spot for the orientation, and now this, and he wasn't even a student yet.
The busses started up as soon as everyone was seated. He let his eyes drift shut as the they took off, focusing on the hum of the engine. His thoughts went to the upcoming fight as they rode.
They were going to be fighting robots designed and built by Yueii. Not only did that mean that they could be equipped with any number of weapons or tools to make them more interesting, but they weren't living beings. Which meant that the applicants could go all out and show their capabilities when fighting them.
Which meant that he didn't need to hold back. Not like how he did any time he fought real people.
He pulled on a strength quirk as that thought passed through his mind, adding to the one that was already active. All the while, a smile began creeping onto his face.
This was going to be fun.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you Enjoyed! Next time, we finally get to see some more action.
Practical
Chapter Summary
The practical portion of the entrance exam.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Taking a deep breath, Izuku pulled another quirk from his chest—the last one he needed—adding to the inferno burning away beneath his skin. He felt his muscles bulge ever so slightly with the added strength.
He'd been slowly pulling on them through the bus ride over, and then in the few minutes they'd all been standing around outside of the testing site, adding them to the pile one by one. With the last one, he now had a grand total of four strength and speed quirks, and both of his durability quirks active. He was ready for the practical.
He clenched a fist in front of him, rolling his neck to loosen his muscles, taking satisfaction in the heat that flowed through them. The raw power that thrummed in his veins wasn't something he often got to enjoy, as his usual opponents were only ever humans. Enhanced humans, sure, but humans all the same. They were much too fragile to use any real strength against. Even at his normal level, he still had to make sure he didn't hit them too harshly or in the wrong spot, all to make sure that they didn't die on impact.
But now, his opponents were robots. Inanimate targets that needed to be shown no mercy whatsoever. He could punch, crush, and tear his way through them with no regard to how they ended up when he was done, because the whole point of the exam was to destroy them anyway. And if they were equipped to fight back, then all the better. That would just make things that much more interesting.
His hearts were starting to beat faster in anticipation. He was getting excited now.
As a final piece of preparation, he put in his wireless earbuds, appearing to the other applicants as if he were listening to music. He wasn't though, no matter what his appearance might suggest. It wasn't a great idea to cover up an entire sense like that during a fight. Outside of quirks and instincts, auditory cues were the most important, right along with sight.
No, as soon as they were in, and he pressed the discreet button on the side of one, they opened a direct line of communication to Rei, back in their apartment. It was a very similar, but less obvious version of what he used when he was out as Oni. With these, he'd be able to talk to her as he worked his way through the exam.
She'd also found a way to get into Yueii's systems and, subsequently, their cameras. He wasn't entirely sure he understood the process, even though she'd explained it to him, but all that really mattered to him was that she would essentially have a front row seat to the action.
Izuku directed his attention to the massive gates ahead of him, as he and the other applicants—most still preparing themselves for the fight ahead—waited for the announcement to start. Even after witnessing the impressive nature of Yueii's main building, he was still shocked by the sheer scale of the training facilities they had at their disposal.
He could see the tops of mock buildings poking up above the fence that surrounded the site. It must've been the size of about four city blocks, if not bigger. And there were seven sites in total. It was mind-boggling to think that Yueii essentially had an entire city in their back yard.
One of the benefits of having a hero like Cementoss working as a teacher he supposed. They could move mountains of building material with little effort, and then maintain it just as easily.
A bit of movement caught his eye, and his attention was drawn to a figure just ahead of him. It was the girl from earlier; Uraraka. She seemed to be preparing herself for the exam mentally.
He briefly considered going over to speak with her, but quickly dismissed the thought. There would be no benefit to doing so. He had no way of knowing whether or not she would even make it into the hero course, so why bother. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to her to interrupt her focus right before the exam began.
Izuku was drawn from his thoughts by 'Proximity.' It was picking up something directly behind him. Someone was moving straight for him. From what he could tell, they were reaching a hand out for his shoulder.
He ignored the brief twinge of panic that shot up his spine. And fought the urge to attack.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He announced. "Unless you want me to break your hand."
The figure behind him froze in place, arm still extended.
Turning around to face them, he was met with a tall, blue-haired boy. His arm was still reaching for him, and he had a shocked expression on his face. He seemed to be at a loss for words; either because of the threat or because Izuku had noticed him to begin with.
While he waited for the other to get himself together, Izuku strained his eyes, using 'Appraisal' on him.
Name: Tenya Iida
Quirk: Engine
Mutative-type quirk that gives the user car-like engines in their calves. Engines significantly boost the user's running speed and kicking power. Engines have multiple gears that increase output in stages.
As the description concluded, the other—Iida—seemed to finally catch up, snapping to a ramrod-straight posture.
"You!" He started, much louder than necessary, drawing the attention of several nearby applicants. "Why are you here!? Is it so you can make a mockery of such an honored establishment? Or are you here to distract those that wish to take this exam seriously?"
Izuku blinked in mild surprise. What on Earth was he talking about?
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, voicing said confusion.
Iida pushed his glasses up, before chopping the same hand through the air towards him.
"Your attire! It is extremely unfitting for any physical exam, let alone one hosted by Yueii! And you're wearing headphones! It's clear that you don't intend to take this seriously!"
Izuku glanced down at his clothes, an eyebrow raised. He was wearing pretty much the same thing he'd arrived in. He'd left his overcoat, tie, and gloves on the bus along with his bag. And was left with his button-up—which he'd rolled the sleeves up above his elbows—and his vest.
"Damn. This guy sounds like a hardass." Rei chimed in from where she was listening. "I wonder who pissed in his cereal this morning."
Izuku found himself wondering the same thing as his gaze returned to Iida. Sure, he wasn't wearing an athletic suit like most everyone else was, but what did it matter? He didn't wear athletic clothes, and had no interest in going out to buy any. His entire wardrobe consisted mainly of clothes almost exactly like what he was wearing, and a few more casual items for when he was hanging around the apartment.
Besides, if nothing else, he was more comfortable fighting like this than he would be wearing anything else.
"I'm sorry." He started. "But I fail to see the issue here. Why does it matter to you what I'm wearing?"
That seemed to do nothing but get the other even more riled up.
"Because you are disrespecting Yueii and, by extension, all of the great heroes that have ever passed through its gates by showing so little care for the exam! You should not have come here if weren't planning on taking this seriously!"
Izuku sighed. He was already tired of this exchange. He didn't come here to be accused of not caring about this. In fact, he was almost willing to put money down that he cared more than anyone else that had come to take the exam.
"Look here, smaller, less-likeable Ingenium." He began. That statement already drawing a shocked expression from the other. "Do me a favor, and worry about yourself first. Instead of focusing on what I choose to wear, maybe try to focus on getting points before I do. Because if you're not careful, there won't be any left for you when I'm done."
He jabbed a finger in the other's direction. "I came here to pass this exam, just like everyone else. The only difference is that when it all ends, I'm going to be the one standing on top."
"Besides." He added as he moved to turn away. "If you're so convinced that I'm not taking the exam seriously, then that should be good news for you. I'd be one less obstacle in your way."
He didn't bother waiting for Iida's reaction as he moved away, heading for the entrance to the site. A few snickers reached his ears from the people closest to them, obviously amused by the interaction. Rei evidently thought it was funny too; he could hear her in his ear.
"That was great." She said. "I hope you don't mind, I'm definitely saving that for later. I just wish that there was a good camera angle to see his expression."
Izuku just grunted in response. "How could someone so uptight be related to Ingenium?" He asked quietly. "That man rivals Present Mic with how upbeat and laid back he is."
Ingenium ranked among the most popular heroes in the country. He was extremely well-liked, and took his hero work far beyond simple apprehension of criminals. His charity work alone put most other heroes to shame. It was a stark contrast to the uptight robot he'd just spoken to.
"I have no idea." She responded. "But I like that bit you said about taking all the points. Is that what you're going for now?"
He paused right in front of the closed gate, and glanced down at his hands. Irritation bubbled in his chest. Iida's accusation that he didn't care had irked him more than he'd realized.
"Y'know what? Fuck it. I was already going to put effort into this to make sure I came out on top. But now?"
His hands clenched into fists as he pulled on one more strength quirk.
"Let's make it so it's not even close."
Just as he said that, the massive doors slid open, revealing the fake city. None of the robots were visible, but he knew that the site must be crawling with them.
The other applicants crowded forwards, clustering near the entrance as they awaited the signal to start. Izuku gathered his tail close, muscles tensing in preparation to move.
Minutes stretched on as they continued to wait. Long enough that many of the other applicants started to relax from their previous excitement. Very few had remained poised to move. From where he was positioned in the crowd, he could make out the forms of Uraraka and Iida both set in a runner's stance as they waited.
Izuku remained poised as well, ready to spring into action the second things got started. The more time that passed, the more the world around him began to fade into the background. His eyes were trained on the road ahead of him, until even the motions of other applicants in the corners of his eyes faded away. And his hearing was so focused on listening for the signal to start, that the only sound that was present in the world was that of his own heartbeats, steadily speeding up as the minutes passed. His body was already producing adrenaline in anticipation for the coming fight.
This was likely Yueii's goal; a bit of mind-play to throw people off towards the beginning. They wanted to separate those that were truly prepared from those that were either stupid, over-confident, or simply unprepared. They'd probably further accentuate that with a sudden start rather than a countd-
He was drawn from his thoughts by Present Mic's voice sounding out across the space.
"AAANND BEGINNNN!" He shouted, sounding just as loud as he had been in the auditorium, despite whatever distance that now separated him from everyone.
"WHAT'S THE MATTER!?" He continued when most of the applicants remained in place, looking at each other in confusion. "THERE'S NO COUNTDOWN IN REAL LIFE! THE CLOCK IS TICKING LISTENERS!"
They took that as their signal to start, finally surging forwards into the site.
A select few though, had already started moving.
Izuku had launched himself forwards the moment the first words had left the hero's mouth. Uraraka and Iida had followed barely a moment later, sprinting down the fake road. Iida's quirk fired as he ran, propelling him down the street at incredible speeds, but not quite fast enough to catch up to Izuku.
As the rest of the applicants poured in, they filtered out through the streets, many turning down side paths to hunt robots.
Izuku went straight down the main street, making a beeline for the center of the site. As he rounded one of the buildings, he caught site of a few robots. Four two-armed ones moving around on one wheel—not much larger than he was—and one quadrupedal with a scorpion-like tail. Four one-pointers and one two-pointer. They all turned towards him as he approached.
The one-pointers took off towards him, arms reeling back to strike him, while the two-pointer seemed to be circling around to his left, the tip of its tail trained on him.
'One-pointers are close quarters.' His mind supplied as they drew closer. 'Two-pointers are long-range. They're programmed to fight cohesively.'
A smirk appeared on his face. Oh, this was going to be fun.
He didn't slow down at all as he reached them. The first threw one of its metal fists at him. His own flew forwards to meet it.
His fist tore straight through the robot's, the arm crumpling and tearing off at the shoulder with the screeching complaint of shearing metal. His other fist followed an instant later, impacting its head, crushing it.
He dimly recognized that the metal felt weaker than it ought to. Yueii might've done that to make it easier for applicants to show what they could do, or make it easier for non-physical quirks. Or maybe it was because he had five strength quirks burning through him. Either way, the fight was far from over.
The second robot followed just after the first. He ducked under the incoming blow, weaving around it and skipping straight to the third. This one met a similar fate as the first, its head crumpling as he struck it. At the same time, his tail wrapped around the second one, restricting its movement.
As he moved to the final one-pointer, a light in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A quick glance showed that the two-pointer had stopped moving. The tip of its tail was glowing brighter as it pointed at him.
'A laser?' He thought. 'For disorientation, or for damage?'
He decided not to wait around to find out. Weaving around the final one-pointer's attacks, he shot his right arm out, impaling it into its torso. Without so much as a grunt of exertion, the robot was lifted over his head and, an instant later, was soaring through the air at the two-pointer. The two collided in a mess of metal limbs, destroying both.
With the rest dealt with, he spared a glance at the one wrapped in his tail. He could see, and feel, where it was struggling to move. A slight flex of his tail and the robot was crushed. The powerful muscles barely even strained to do so.
His smirk grew. He'd always wanted to do that; to just fucking crush something with his tail like that. What was the point in being half anaconda, if he couldn't crush things with his tail from time to time?
A crash from close by drew him from his thoughts. Another robot had broken through the wall of a nearby building. It rode on tank treads, had two arms that made up about half of its body, and had some form of multi-barreled weapon on its back. A three pointer then; a mix of long, and short-range combat.
It charged at him, much like the one-pointers had. But at the same time, he watched as the weapons on its back adjusted to aim at him.
He rushed forwards to meet it, already tensing in preparation for whatever projectile it was about to fire at him. He doubted that Yueii would use live ammunition in their entrance exam, but they had plenty of interesting alternatives to choose from.
Just as that thought passed through his mind, he saw the muzzle flashes, and felt something pepper across the front of his torso. A quick glance revealed that it had fired rubber bullets at him; barely felt through the durability quirk that toughened his skin.
Tanking through the hail of bullets, he ended the robot with a punch to its head, crushing it into the ground.
Looking up from its remains, he noticed the surge of applicants that had finally decided to take part in the exam. It had been less than thirty seconds since the start, and he had nine points. And the fun had only just begun.
Smirk still in place, he took off; he had more robots to fight.
Shouta watched from inside his sleeping bag—even though he was sitting up in a seat—as the practical exam went underway, as applicants destroyed the robots with a variety of quirks at their disposal.
"We've got a pretty good group this year." One of the other teachers announced. "I don't think we've ever had so many that reacted right off the bat like this."
Several of the main screens up on the wall were focused on a few such applicants. The few that hadn't hesitated when Hizashi announced the start. That was always an interesting aspect to observe; who hesitated, and for how long, and who charged forwards immediately. Regardless of quirk or potential, that at least showed who could remain focused in the minutes before the exam started, and who could react at the drop of a hat.
His own personal screen was trained on a blonde applicant in site Delta, one of the few who hadn't hesitated. The boy had very quickly worked his way to the center of the site and began taking apart the robots with ruthless efficiency, the explosion quirk he wielded serving to attract more robots with the noise. Shouta watched his movements and the control he displayed over his quirk.
It was obvious right away that he had a ridiculous degree of control over it. Every explosion was the perfect size for the situation. Shouta could see the tiny adjustments made every time the boy used it to maneuver himself, and he seemed to be aware of the destruction it caused to everything around him, not just the robots. Every blast sent shrapnel flying away from him, but they always went in a direction that was clear of applicants, and occasionally one that contained more robots.
Shouta was interested to see how the boy would do overall. Part of him hoped that he would end up in his class. Shouta had no way of judging his personality just yet. But based on his performance in combat, he seemed to have some potential.
A question from someone off to his side drew him from his thoughts.
"Toshinori. You said that you already knew Izuku Etsumi from before?"
That was Nemuri. She was staring up at one of the main screens with barely concealed shock. All Might was sitting next to her with a very similar expression. She must've been in the observation room when he and Hizashi had come up earlier.
"Y-yes. I did."
"Well did you know he was like that?"
Raising an eyebrow, Shouta directed his attention to the screen in question.
Etsumi was centered on the screen, and he saw immediately where the surprise came from.
The applicant was surrounded by the remains of who-knew-how-many robots – which in itself would not be surprising were it not for the fact that there were no other applicants anywhere near him—and was in the middle of fighting more.
Three one-pointers were wrapped up in his tail, all struggling to get loose. The decapitated head of what Shouta thought to be a three-pointer was gripped in his left hand, and his right was impaled into a two-pointer, lifting it up off the ground.
Apart from the rest of the odd scene, the fact that he was holding up a robot one-handed was impressive in itself; even with the weaker metal, those things weighed in the hundreds of pounds.
"N-no." Toshinori finally responded. "I had no idea. We've been meeting for lunch for months now, and at no point did he give the impression that he was so strong."
As he said that, the fight on-screen continued. A hail of rubber projectiles rained from somewhere off to the side. They peppered across his body, and Shouta could see where they clearly impacted across his face, but Etsumi barely reacted. Instead, he threw the severed head in his hand in the direction the bullets came from. An instant later, the live scoreboard that showed each applicant's points—which was another point of surprise as Etsumi's score was nearly double the person below him, the blonde that Shouta had been watching—added another three points to his total.
With that hand free, he jammed it into the two-pointer with his other one and, with no discernible effort, tore the robot almost neatly in half. At the same time, his tail tightened around the robots it held, crushing them and leaving nothing but scrap metal.
With the immediate threats dealt with, Etsumi took off once more, almost too fast for the cameras to keep track with, and quickly faced down the next group.
Shouta fought down a wave of exhaustion as he watched Etsumi ruthlessly tear into robot after robot, all with what he quickly realized was a manic smile on his face. He wasn't sure why he felt like that; he hadn't felt such exhaustion from the blonde one after all. There was just something about Etsumi that made Shouta want to curl up and fall into a coma.
That child was going to be in his class, and he would bring a massive fucking headache with him. Shouta could already feel it.
Because there was no question at this point that he would pass. He'd been the first to gain any points, quickly putting him at the top of the leaderboard, and he'd held on to that position for the entire exam thus far. Even if he stopped getting any points right that second, he'd still easily be in the top thirty-six, which was all the empty seats they had after accepting the recommendation students.
Shouta sighed, and returned his attention to his own screen, cycling through the other applicants to look for someone interesting.
Izuku let out a deep, booming laugh as he threw a three-pointer into group of three tightly packed one-pointers, destroying all of them, a smile on his face that had made even hardened criminals turn tail and flee.
"Soo, how's it going?" He heard Rei ask in his ear. "Sounds like your having quite a bit of fun."
"Oh yes." Izuku responded, eyes locking onto the next group of robots. He was on them in an instant, tearing into them. "They're just so… breakable. It's so satisfying to be able to hit something without worrying about harming it too much."
"Well, just so you know, you're currently sitting with the most points out of all the other applicants, by a fairly large amount. But only about half of the allotted time has passed so far. So you've got plenty of time to keep cutting loose."
His smile remained in place as he took off once more in search of robots. He had been fighting from the moment Present Mic gave the signal to start. After that first group, he'd been working his way through the faux city at a steady pace, taking apart any robot that made the mistake of getting too close.
For some reason, he hadn't seen many other applicants since the first surge he saw, and he was almost right in the center of the site. He figured that they were keeping their distance in an attempt to find robots that he hadn't destroyed, or were avoiding him entirely for the dangerous aura he was emitting.
Coming up on a side street, he heard sounds of fighting just out of sight. Rounding the corner, he took in the sight in an instant. Four robots—three one-pointers and a three-pointer—had surrounded an applicant, raining blows down on him. To his credit though, he seemed to be fending them off well enough. His skin had a rocky texture to it, and was obviously hardened to match going by how the metal of the robots was sparking off of him. All the same though, the robots had forced him on the defensive, it didn't look like he was able to counter.
Izuku didn't hesitate. Charging forwards, he weaved around the two closest, wrapping his tail around them as he focused on the third. A quick punch sent it flying into the wall behind it, putting it out of commission. The other two quickly met a similar fate as he crushed them in his tail, leaving only the three-pointer.
The other applicant didn't hesitate to take the opportunity that Izuku provided. He charged at the final robot, his stony skin ignoring the rubber bullets. Tanking a fist thrown by the robot, he threw a series of his own punches, each one crumpling the metal until a final one tore into it, halting its movements.
Huffing, the applicant looked over at Izuku. He heard a quiet "Manly," as he saw the remains of the one-pointers still wrapped in Izuku's tail.
"Thanks man!" He shouted. "Good luck with the rest!"
And with that, he turned to run away in search of more. Izuku quickly followed suit, turning in a different direction.
The exam quickly took on a pattern from there. Izuku would speed through the city until he found a robot, he'd destroy it, and then he would start back from square one. Occasionally, he would come across applicants in a similar situation as the last on he saw; struggling to handle a fight, either from being outnumbered or from exhaustion catching up to them. He'd step in to help those few that needed it, usually leaving one or two alive for them to deal with. After all, there was little point in helping them if he took the robots that they were already actively working for.
As the exam continued on, eventually he heard Rei chime in that there were about two minutes left. He took a deep breath as he moved, preparing to up the ante for the final stretch, when the entire exam site seemed to start shaking. It was as if there was an earthquake. He would've thought that were the case were it not for the sound of a collapsing building behind him.
Halting his movements, he turned to investigate the source of the commotion, only to be faced with a robot the size of the buildings around it.
Somehow, his smile seemed to grow in intensity. "Finally. It's about time they let the zero-pointers out to play."
As he watched it roll forwards, he dimly noticed that the other applicants were running from it, towards the entrance. One of them shouted at him to run as they passed. He ignored them, instead choosing to move towards it at a walking pace.
His hearts were picking up speed. Everything was in chaos.
"I want to fight it." He announced.
"What?" He heard Rei respond. "Wait, no. There's literally no point. Either get away from it or find some more points."
He ignored her advice, pausing to stare at the still-approaching robot.
"I'm going to fight it."
"Izuku, no!"
"Izuku yes!"
His wings flared out, driving downwards as they launched him into the air, augmented by the strength quirks he had active. He flew straight towards it.
It seemed to notice him, and one of its gargantuan fists pulled back to strike him out of the air. His own fist reeled back to mirror it, and he pulled 'Air Cannon' from his chest. Each wingbeat sent gusts of air towards the ground below, and propelled him towards the robot even faster with the addition of the quirk.
The two of them threw their fists forwards at the same time, colliding mid-air. Instantly, the metal hand crumpled inwards, and the strength quirks that burned through his limbs, combined with the newly added emitter, tore the entire arm from its body with a massive blast of air. It stumbled back—as much as a robot on massive tank treads could stumble—adjusting its balance with the sudden disappearance of a limb.
Izuku didn't stop, he flew straight at the giant's head. His body impacted the vertical face, denting the metal with his momentum. But instead of falling away, he stuck to surface, clinging to it like an insect; a result of one of his newer additions, one of the two he'd found in his preparations for the exams.
An instant later, he was raining blows down onto the head, tearing into the metal, ripping it apart between the strength of his punches and the violent bursts of air that resulted from them.
Mere seconds later, not even a full minute since the robot had first arrived, its movements halted completely. Its head was all but completely gone, and it sat frozen where it stood.
Huffing from the exertion, but still with a manic smile on his face, Izuku pulled 'Air Cannon' back into his chest, before dropping from where he was stuck, drifting down to the ground below. When he landed, he looked around at the applicants that had stopped fleeing to watch him take on the zero-pointer. He took satisfaction in the shocked expressions they were staring at him with. A satisfaction that only increased when he noticed that Iida was one of the ones watching him.
He was about to move forwards, to head in the direction of the gate and maybe take down a few more robots if he happened to encounter them, when he heard someone cry out from somewhere off to his side.
Moving towards it to investigate, he found Uraraka on the ground, her leg pinned by a piece of rubble that had fallen from a nearby building. He could see her trying to reach for the debris—to use her quirk, maybe?—but the way she was pinned made it all but impossible to reach it with all five fingers. She was face down and trying to bend backwards to reach it.
His hearts started to calm as he got closer, his expression morphing back to carefully neutral.
"Hold on a second." He called out to her. "I'll help you get out of there. Don't strain yourself more than you need to, or you might make it worse."
She looked over at him for a moment, before she seemed to register what he said. She lay back down, closing her eyes as he approached, either in pain or in exhaustion.
Stopping next to her, he reached a hand underneath the rubble that was pinning her, and lifted it into the air. She sighed in obvious relief as the weight was removed from her leg. Rolling over onto her back, she pushed herself away with her good leg. He tossed the debris away, moving over to where she'd collapsed onto the ground.
"Thank you." She huffed out, eyes still closed.
He hummed in acknowledgement, looking down at her leg. He could see where the rubble had torn her pant leg away beneath the knee, exposing her injury. Her ankle was a mess of torn skin and bruises.
Straining his eyes, he activated 'Spectrum.' Blinking, his vision became washed out and dim as he switched to x-ray. Looking down at her injury, he could see where her leg was definitely broken. Thankfully, it seemed to be a clean break. That was good; he knew from experience how much worse a break could be.
Part of him was surprised that she wasn't crying or yelling at what was definitely a painful injury. Most people would be. He suspected that she either had a higher pain tolerance, or—more likely—her body was still pumping adrenaline, dulling the pain.
Just as he was about to contemplate whether or not he should offer to carry her to the entrance, he heard Present Mic call out again.
"THAT'S IT FOLKS! THE EXAM IS OVER!" He announced. "PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE BUSES SO WE CAN GET YOU BACK TO THE MAIN BUILDING! IF YOU NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION, STAY WHERE YOU ARE, SOMEONE WILL COME TO YOU!"
Well, that answered that question at least. Looking in the direction of the entrance, he went over his points in his head as he waited for someone to retrieve Uraraka. If he was remembering correctly, and he was, then he had one hundred and forty-seven points.
His mental tally was confirmed a moment later when Rei spoke up.
"Good job out there. A hundred and forty-seven points. You're in first place by a decent amount. Second place goes to Katsuki Bakugou with eighty-six. That girl, Uraraka, is in third with fifty-four."
That brought a smile to Izuku's face. He knew that Bakugou would excel. And it seemed that Uraraka was capable on her own. Depending on how the two had done on the written portion, they'd both likely make it into the hero course.
Movement off to his side drew his attention away from Uraraka. He saw Recovery Girl making her way through the crowd of applicants, handing out her signature candies and healing a few of them with a quick kiss.
"Well then. What have we here?" She said as she approached the two of them. Uraraka opened here eyes to look at the old heroine.
"A piece of the building fell on my leg." Uraraka explained. "Etsumi helped get it off of me."
"Did he now?" She responded, sparing a glance up at him. "Well that was very nice of him. Now let's have a look at your leg, shall we?"
"It's broken." He informed her as she crouched next to Uraraka. "About two inches above the ankle as far as I can tell."
She hummed in acknowledgement. "Thank you, dearie." She said as she pressed a wrinkled hand around the injury to examine it, muttering a soft apology when the pressure caused Uraraka to cry out a bit.
One kiss later, and her leg was good back to normal, as if it hadn't been injured in the first place. She sat up, looking down at her leg with an expression that was equal parts bewildered and exhausted. The aftereffects of Recovery Girl's quirk had not been exaggerated it seemed. Her injury being healed, combined with the exhaustion she'd already been feeling because of the exam was taking its toll.
"There. Good as new." The heroine said, before looking up at Izuku. "Now. What about you, dearie? Any injuries that need to be looked at?"
"Nope." He responded. "My knuckles are a little scraped up. But that'll heal on its own in a few days anyway." That last attack against the zero-pointer had held just a bit more force than his durability quirk could handle. He wasn't concerned in the slightest; his healing quirk would have it cleaned up in no time at all.
"If that's what you want." She responded.
"Now, be a dear and carry her to the entrance for me." She said, gesturing at Uraraka. "From the looks of things, she's in no state to walk on her own. Once you're back in the main building, someone will take her to the infirmary so she can rest."
"Okay." He shrugged. Moving closer to Uraraka.
Reaching down, he offered a hand to her. She blinked up at it. It took her a moment before she finally registered what was happening, and she reached up to take it. She seemed to be barely conscious at this point.
Grasping it tightly in his, he hoisted her to her feet. Then, in one swift motion, he had her in his arms in a bridal carry. He started off towards the entrance to the site, ignoring Rei's teasing words in his ear, saying that she was already saving the video footage. A few minutes later, and they'd made it to the bus. She was asleep by the time they were on board and he was back in his spot on the bus. He'd settled her into what he assumed was her seat—going by the bag that was resting in it. The same one she'd been wearing earlier—propping her up against the window so she wouldn't fall.
As the bus carried the applicants back to the main building, he worked to adjust his clothes, and replace the items he'd taken off for the practical. Surprisingly, his shirt and vest had remained undamaged throughout everything. Though there was some staining from where the robots' internal fluids had splattered during the fight.
Soon enough, they were getting back off the bus. She was back in his arms as he dismounted, and he handed her off to a nearby faculty member, who placed her onto a gurney and carted her off.
After making sure he had everything he'd arrived with, and double checking that there was nothing more he needed to do before he left, he spread his wings and took off.
With that done, now he simply had to wait until Yueii sent the results out. He already knew how he'd done, but it would take a few weeks for it to be officially sent out to him. Until then, he would be back to his usual schedule while he waited.
The observation room was alight with a mix of voices as the exam came to a close. They were watching as the applicants were herded back onto the buses. Once they were gone, the faculty would get to work judging and determining the allocation of hero points.
There were multiple people discussing the very end of the exam; when they had released the zero-pointers. One of the larger screens was replaying the footage from site Alpha, showing Etsumi decimating what should've simply been an obstacle to avoid.
Part of him—the part that wasn't utterly exhausted at the mere prospect of having Etsumi as a student—was almost impressed by the kid's abilities. Not only was he smart enough to score perfectly on the written portion, but he clearly had raw strength in spades. And while he hadn't displayed any sort of martial arts training, Shouta could see evidence of fighting experience in his movements. The way he weaved between attacks and seemed to have complete situational awareness gave the impression of someone that wasn't a stranger to fights.
Maybe the kid had taken up some form of brawling or simple boxing. With the obvious strength he had, and the weight that seemed to follow every little movement, it would make sense to go for a style that revolved around raw power and speed rather than technique. Well, that and the fact that learning martial arts would probably be a bit difficult without feet. He wasn't too sure how that would work out.
Shouta closed his eyes as he leaned back into his seat, hoping to squeeze in a nap until they started judging. Whatever. He'd have plenty of time to figure the kid out once the new year began.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed! Next time, we finally get into the school year.
Apprehension
Chapter Summary
The school year begins, and Izuku hits the ground running (slithering?).
Chapter Notes
The real chapter 13 is here.
Thank you all so much for your support with the announcement last week. It was really nice to see everyone so supportive.
Also, with this chapter, we have reached 100 thousand words, and my master copy on Microsoft Word has reached 400 pages, AND this fic has reached over eleven thousand hits. I'm so happy seeing all of the continued support. The validation warms my cold, dead heart.
Anyways! I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku grimaced as he inspected his reflection in the bathroom mirror, or more specifically, the clothes he was wearing.
A white button-up, red tie, and gray jacket with green accents decorated his figure; the signature uniform of Yueii. It, along with two other identical copies, had been delivered to him earlier that day. It was the final bit of preparation before the school year began in two weeks. The results of the entrance exams had already come the week before.
He'd been equal parts annoyed and impressed when he found out that there was an entire points system that he hadn't been aware of. Impressed because Nezu had added a way to measure potential beyond just combat effectiveness, and had added a way for anyone to earn points regardless of whether their quirk was physical or not. But annoyed because he'd had no idea that these 'hero points' were even a thing to begin with. Nezu had given no indication whatsoever that there would be anything beyond the 'villain points.'
And the worst part was that he couldn't even complain about it to the rodent. At least not without giving away his identity. The tight-lipped nature of the exam details meant that the places he could get such information were few and far between. Limited to either being obtained through taking the exam, or from someone giving out information that had no right to.
Of course, in the end it wasn't much of an issue beyond the fact that he hadn't even considered it was a thing. Because it just added another sixty-two points to his total, bumping it up to two hundred and nine. He'd already come in first place; this simply increased his lead.
Delivered along with the results were the student handbook, a map of the school, the student ID that would allow him to pass through the security gate unhindered, and all other information that was needed before the year started. He'd already taken the liberty of memorizing every bit of it, from the layout of the building to every little rule.
That left him with the uniform which, overall, he was actually quite fond of. He was already a fan of fancier clothing, generally preferring them over normal articles, and he liked the color choices. Not to mention that it came as a sort of status symbol saying that he had made it into one of the top hero schools in the world.
There was only one problem with it.
The fit of the jacket was absolutely atrocious.
The sleeves were too long and too big around, and somehow they'd managed to simultaneously make the shoulders too narrow and the chest too broad. And it didn't sit well around his wings; much too tight, and noticeable with every little movement.
Okay. Maybe 'atrocious' was a bit of an overreaction; it was still wearable, and most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference when they looked at it. But that didn't change the fact that he didn't like it.
Maybe it was because his attention to detail tended to border on neurosis, or maybe it was because he'd been spoiled with custom-tailored clothing ever since he had the money to afford it. Whatever the case, it didn't change his very strong opinion that whoever was in charge of determining and distributing the uniform sizes should be fired.
Proper clothing was important to him. It was usually the first thing that people noticed when they looked at anyone; how they dressed. Clean versus dirty, expensive or average-looking, color choices, styles, whether or not they fit correctly. It was almost like setting a first impression before one even spoke.
Now, he wasn't one to judge others based on what they wore—at least not too much—but he had certain standards when it came to how he dressed when he left the apartment, even if it was to partake in less-than-legal activities.
Izuku hadn't had much choice in his clothing for a good portion of his life. Forced to scrape and scrounge for any scrap of fabric that could be worn to shield him from the elements, that period of time had been a mess of haphazard, dirty articles of all-too-ineffective clothes.
He had taken an enormous step in the right direction once Rei had started working and he'd started making money as Deku. The scraps had been traded out for properly fitting, clean clothing that were actually comfortable for the first time since he'd been abandoned. But, despite that, it wasn't quite enough for him. He'd wanted more.
Then, when his analysis really started to take off, and he was bringing in enough money for Rei to not have to work and for the two of them to live comfortably, he'd taken it one step further. He'd started working up a collection of clothes that were sharper, more expensive, and more often than not tailored to perfectly fit his figure. It was just one more thing to separate himself from his past.
He stretched his back, extending his arms out to the sides at the same time. His scowl deepened when he felt the uncomfortable tightness in the fabric. Nope. This would not do at all.
The uniform was quickly shed and put back into the bag that it had been delivered in. Moving back to his room, he placed it with the others. He would have to make a trip out to get them tailored. He'd take care of that tomorrow.
Actually, while he was at it, maybe he'd pick out a suit vest to go with it. He was already having to make a special trip, and a vest would make it look better; at least to him. And it wasn't against Yueii's rules to add anything extra to the uniform. They were really very lenient when it came to the uniform. Technically, it wasn't even a violation to not wear a tie. The only problem with that was that he would be cutting it close with the two weeks before the year started. He might have to pay a little more to expedite the process.
Pulling on a casual shirt, he made his way into the living area; it was about time to start making dinner. He saw Rei lounging in front of the tv with a book in hand. She glanced up at him as he settled close by, muttering a soft greeting.
A few minutes later and the food had been prepped and was cooking away on the stove. Once the smell of it had permeated the entire apartment, he noticed Rei getting up, coming over to the table.
"So." She started, setting her book down and resting her arms on the table. "Have you thought about how you're going to somehow still take care of all your normal responsibilities while also attending Yueii?"
"I have actually." He responded, leaving the food to sit and cook for a minute. "It shouldn't be but so hard to manage. My outings as Oni will be largely the same, as I normally leave after sunset and get back at or before sunrise. And most of the errands I handle can be taken care of on the way home from Yueii."
It was something he'd given bit of thought in the weeks leading up to the entrance exams, and now to the actual start of the year. Really, the only things that he did that he wouldn't be able to continue doing the same were his trips to the beach and his lunches with Yagi, but neither would be that big of a deal. The beach wasn't much of a concern to him now; after so long with it being clean, the already small amount of trash that had been washing up was starting to decline, and the visitors had been doing a pretty good job of keeping it clean on their own. And his lunches with Yagi could still continue at Yueii if the hero wanted to, which Izuku figured he would, so that they could discuss possible successors.
"It's my analysis work that will take the biggest hit." He continued. "I'll be at school during when I would normally take care of it. Which means that I'll have to squeeze it in elsewhere."
He paused for a moment to stir the food so it wouldn't burn.
"Even that shouldn't be too difficult though, especially if I use a few quirks to speed up the process. And if I really need to, I'll just take time away from going out as Oni. An hour or two won't make much difference."
Rei hummed in acknowledgement, moving to rest her head on her arms. "Do you think you're going to tell Nezu about your identity as Deku at some point?"
"Maybe." He admitted. "I might tell him at some point before graduation, so that I can openly help out my class. But I'll probably wait a bit to do so. I might not even tell him this year."
"Besides," Izuku shrugged, moving to retrieve some plates. "there's always a chance that he's already completely aware of who I am. There is a reason he's considered one of the smartest beings on the planet. And he's now had a chance to analyze me as Izuku, during the entrance exams. I don't doubt that I caught his attention with at least the written portion, if not the practical portion too. How often is it that someone gets a perfect score on that? And my answers to his essay questions, despite being altered a bit, line up with what I've told him in our chats."
He sighed. "For now though, I'm going to act as if he has no idea whatsoever. I've still got my age going for me; he's less likely to suspect that one of his students is a quirk analyst that's been around for a few years. But even if he does suspect me, he won't have any solid proof."
Rei shrugged. "Whatever you think is best. But what could he do if he knew? It's not like you're doing anything wrong."
"At this point, it's about the challenge." He responded. "He's been trying to figure out who I am for as long as we've been communicating with each other. And I can't imagine that he would've already figured out who I am and not gloat about it, especially not when I've known who he is for so long, so I want to maintain the secret for as long as I can."
Izuku was cut off when a timer on the stove dinged at him, indicating that the food was ready. He was quick to dish it out, preparing plates for both of them.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate. Putting off their conversation and simply enjoying each other's company as they savored the meal.
The final two weeks passed in a flash, and soon enough Izuku was in Yueii, standing before a giant floor-to-ceiling door emblazoned with '1-A' across its front. He took a deep breath as he stared at it, preparing himself for what lay on the other side.
He wasn't nervous per se. With as confident as he was in his strength and in his intelligence, nervousness wasn't something he often experienced. He just wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this. And not as far as the curriculum; he had a healthy understanding of what that would entail for the most part.
No. He was unsure because this would be his first time learning in an actual classroom, and his first time being in such close proximity with so many people—people the same age as him no less—for an extended period of time in well over a decade. The last time being just before his fourth birthday.
Deciding that nothing would be accomplished by just staring at the door, he moved closer. Straightening his uniform out, which thankfully fit properly now, much more like his usual clothes, he pulled it open, revealing the classroom that sat on the other side.
The teacher's podium stood to his right, and there were twenty desks spread out to his left, facing it.
Immediately, he took note of the room's occupants. There were four figures already seated around the room, which was a little surprising, considering how early he'd been; Almost an hour, but it was the first day. He wasn't going to not show up early.
Almost as surprising, was the fact that he recognized three of them.
Closest to him, sitting one row behind the front, was Bakugou. The blond was staring at him with an odd look on his face, as if he were trying to decipher some mystery. Izuku figured that his appearance probably triggered some memory. He doubted that Bakugou would actually remember him, but maybe he still had a vague impression of his childhood friend.
Then again. Bakugou was smart. That much had been obvious even when they were younger. Maybe he actually did fully remember Izuku, and was wondering why this newcomer looked so similar. After all, he did still have the same green hair and eyes and there were only so many people that had such distinctive features.
Izuku only spared the blond a moment's glance as he moved on to inspect the others. Bakugou returned his gaze to the front of the class, arms crossed over his chest and an unusually calm, almost thoughtful expression on his face; at least based off Izuku's memory of him.
In all the time he'd spent with Bakugou when they were young—however short that time had been—he didn't recall the blond ever really being quiet or calm. He was always yelling, or cursing, or firing off tiny explosions once his quirk came in. So seeing such a lack of those attributes now made it clear to Izuku that he'd missed out on some very crucial development at some point in Bakugou's life, something that had him displaying strength in silent skill rather than a loud, brash attitude.
But then, he'd missed out on a lot of things, and it was much too late to complain about it now.
Almost directly across the room from Bakugou, was the blue-haired robot he'd encountered during the entrance exam; Tenya Iida. Said student was already out of his seat and crossing the room towards Izuku by the time he noticed him.
He sighed internally, preparing himself to have to deal with this already.
"You!" He started, just as loud as before. And Izuku was debating whether he should try to maintain a friendly attitude or just open with telling him to screw off.
Before he could decide what to do though, Iida was stopping in front of him, surprising him by lowering himself in a slight bow.
"I would like to apologize for my disrespectful words on the day of the entrance exams!" He exclaimed. "It was wrong of me to accuse you of not caring about them! Especially when it seems as though you were taking them more seriously than any of us!"
He raised himself back up to look at Izuku. "You clearly saw that there was a hidden points system, and was able to act to make use of it! You saved that girl from the zero pointer while everyone else, myself included, was running away!"
Izuku blinked in surprise at the apology and the praise that was almost a complete one-eighty from the attitude displayed at the exam, before opening his mouth to respond.
"I actually had no idea that the 'hero points' were a thing." He admitted. "I didn't even know that Uraraka was there until afterwards. I just fought the zero-pointer because it seemed like it would be fun to do so."
Iida seemed slightly surprised by his admission, but quickly recovered.
"All the same. I was wrong for what I said. So, while I don't necessarily agree with your threatening to break my hand, I apologize for my words." He said, extending a hand towards Izuku. "My name is Tenya Iida. I hope we can become friends."
Izuku didn't hesitate to take the proffered hand.
"Izuku Etsumi." He said, ignoring the way Bakugou's eyes snapped to him as he did. "Apology accepted. I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you as well. Although, I was very serious about what I said. Don't try to grab at me like that again."
Iida faltered only a moment before smiling at him. A moment later, he was returning to his seat.
With that done, Izuku finally started moving further into the room. A brief glance around the room told him which desk was his; it was the only one without a chair. He was in Bakugou's row, in the rearmost spot. He'd be tucked into the corner.
As he moved, he directed his attention to the other two students. One was in the seat directly in front of his, and the other was in the seat next to it.
The student in the seat next to his was the other one that he recognized. Shouto Todoroki, son of Endeavor. The two-toned hair and noticeable scar made him easily recognizable, especially when he had—willingly or otherwise—accompanied Endeavor to a number of public events over the years.
Todoroki had barely even looked his way since he entered the room, instead keeping his neutral, almost bored expression trained on the front of the room.
'Superiority complex? Or closer to plain apathy?' He wondered.
The final student—the one he didn't recognize—was much more active in comparison. She stood up as he approached, already holding a hand out.
"Hello." She greeted. "My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. It's nice to meet you."
Ah. Maybe he didn't recognize her appearance, but that name was one he was familiar with. The Yaoyorozus were a were a big name in hero support technology. Theirs was one of the largest support companies in Japan, and boasted some of the greatest recent advancements seen in support gear. He didn't doubt that Momo was one of them; everything from the way she talked to her posture spoke of a refined upbringing.
She—along with Todoroki—was likely one of Yueii's few recommendation students, getting in by virtue of her name. Izuku was eager to see her in action at some point. The recommendation exams were supposed to be more difficult than the regular ones, on account of the level of skill they were expected to possess going into it.
He took her hand. "It's nice to meet you too."
He didn't bother giving his name again. She would've heard him introduce himself a few minutes before.
Taking the opportunity of the lull in conversation, he strained his eyes at her, activating 'Appraisal.'
Name: Momo Yaoyorozu
Quirk: Creation
Emitter-type that allows the user to create non-living objects by breaking down and converting lipid stores at a molecular level. Size, complexity, and materials are limited only by the user's lipid stores and knowledge of the molecular make up of the desired outcome.
Izuku's eyes widened a fraction as he took in the description. A quirk like that… The possibilities were as good as endless. And the things he could do with it… He had a near-perfect memory, and a sizeable store of energy that—if his speculations were correct—could be used in place of lipid stores.
In that moment, he was immensely glad that he'd decided to wear his gloves with his uniform. If he weren't, he wasn't entirely sure that he would've been able to stop himself from taking her quirk right then and there.
He forced his hand to release hers, and Momo dropped her arm back down to her side, directing her gaze at his uniform. She raised an eyebrow as she inspected it.
"Are you allowed to add items to your uniform?" She questioned. "Is it not against the rules?"
He spared a glance down at himself. As he had planned, he now had a vest to go along with it. It was a gray just slightly darker than the jacket, and had similar green accents. He had no doubt that was what she was referring to.
"So long as we don't deface the uniform in any way, we're allowed to add pretty much whatever we want to it. There's nothing in the rules forbidding it."
She still looked slightly skeptical, but relented, returning to her desk.
With all the necessary social interaction over with, Izuku finally settled at his desk. It was a good thing they'd put him in the corner. Here, he was able to pack the coils of his tail against the wall. If he were out in the middle somewhere, it'd quickly become a nuisance to whoever was around him.
Pulling a notebook out of his bag, and settling in to wait for everyone else to arrive, he got to work taking notes on the other people in the room. He'd bought a few new books for the purpose of analyzing his classmates. He had the opportunity to study several hero-grade quirks up close. And they were here for the express purpose of grooming those quirks to be used for heroics. He'd be able to do so much more than he normally could with his analysis. Quick glances as he passed by people, videos, and simple descriptions couldn't hold a candle to studying a quirk in person.
That, and he needed to familiarize himself with their quirks now, so that he wasn't caught off guard as he was with Momo's. The hero course of Yueii would have so many interesting quirks, and he wouldn't always have his gloves on to stop himself. Better to be prepared.
With a slight smirk on his face, he started with Bakugou. He was eager to see how much the blonde had changed over the years.
Students entered the room at a steady pace after that. Most entered quietly and quickly found their seats, all but ignoring everyone else in the room; though none of them were lucky enough to escape Iida's enthusiastic greeting. Some engaged one another in conversation. A few though, actually came up to Izuku to speak to him. Two, to be specific.
The first was the student he'd encountered in the practical exam; the one with the hardening quirk. He introduced himself as Ejirou Kirishima. Izuku realized almost immediately that Kirishima looked up to Crimson Riot. A hardening quirk, combined with red hair—he couldn't tell if it was dyed or natural—and such a focus on 'manliness' made him almost a mirror image of the old hero.
Kirishima thanked him again for his help during the exam, and talked about how it was nice that they ended up in the same class, before moving off to start up a conversation with someone else.
The second was Uraraka, who almost bounced over to him with how excited she seemed to be and greeted him with enough enthusiasm to rival Iida. She went off talking about how excited she was to be in the same class as him, and thanking him again for saving her during the exam.
He listened intently as she spoke, and responded where he needed to. Partway through the conversation though, he noticed something with 'Proximity.'
On the other side of the wall his desk was sitting against, in the hallway just outside of the classroom, he felt something moving along the floor. Low to the floor and long, it seemed like it—whatever it was—was moving like a caterpillar, inching its way across the floor.
It took him a moment to figure out what exactly it was, and when he did, it was already sitting in the doorway.
A smirk appeared on his face as he subtly raised himself to peek over his classmates' heads at the yellow sleeping bag on the floor. The tired eyes in the bundle of cloth scanned over the rest of the classroom, before landing on him. They stared at each other for a moment, studying one another in silence.
Eraserhead broke it off first with a huff, then moved to stand up. No one else had noticed him yet.
"If you're here to make friends, then you're in the wrong class." He said in a voice that sounded more exhausted than usual.
The conversations around the room halted immediately as everyone turned to stare at him.
He looked around at them for a moment. "Hmph. At least you all settle down quickly. That's good. Wasting time is irrational. But only one of you had the situational awareness to notice that I was here before I spoke. If you want to succeed here, I suggest you work on that."
No one had moved since he started speaking, all just staring at him in either surprise or confusion. Izuku resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the hero's antics.
"My name is Shouta Aizawa. I will be your homeroom teacher for however long you last here." He paused for a moment to shed his sleeping bag. Reaching behind the podium, he pulled out a box filled with clothing. "These are the gym uniforms. Take one and go change into it, then meet me out on the training fields. You have ten minutes. If you don't know where something is, either figure it out quickly or find someone who had the common sense to come prepared."
With that, he shuffled back out of the room, still halfway in his sleeping bag. Izuku took that as the signal to start moving. He grabbed out one of the uniforms after confirming the size, and moved out of the room. It wasn't until he was in the doorway that everyone else decided to start moving too, rushing to follow him since he obviously knew where he was going.
Not long after, they were standing in a group, looking out across a training field that looked worthy of the Olympics. Everything from a 1,500 meter track, to a long-jump pit, to what looked like a hammer throw pitch.
As the final student joined them, Aizawa spoke up.
"Right now, the rest of the classes are attending the beginning orientation." He started. "But that's a waste of time for anyone looking to become a hero. So instead of doing that, we're going to be getting an idea of your capabilities with a quirk apprehension test."
He paused as the students started murmuring to each other. Some questioning the skipping of the orientation and others complaining that they were taking a test on the first day.
Aizawa pulled something out of his pocket, making them all fall silent again.
"For whatever reason, we, as a society, still act as though everyone is equal. Instead of standardizing physical tests, and creating laws to support the diversity in quirks, we'd rather pretend that they don't exist for the majority of the population, while still flaunting heroes and measuring each other's worth by our quirks. We're going to work to undo that conditioning here at Yueii, and the first step to accomplish that is to ensure that you all have a clear understanding of your limitations."
"Etsumi." He called out "You came in first in the entrance exams, so you're going to be the example. What's the farthest you've thrown in the softball pitch?"
"I wouldn't know." Izuku responded. "I've never done it."
The hero seemed to pause at that. "Everyone is required to do the standard physical fitness tests at some point or another."
Izuku shrugged. "Online education. I've never stepped foot into an actual school before Yueii."
Aizawa narrowed his eyes at him ever so slightly, and he was left wondering if the hero had bothered to research his students at all. His school records had been submitted to Yueii along with his application. Everything except for his past college education was available to them.
"Even homeschooled students are required to do them. They go to a nearby school to get it done."
'Is it really homeschooling if you don't have a home?' Izuku thought to himself offhandedly , before shaking it away.
"That's a relatively new reform. They changed that about five years ago, I think. And I finished school before then. I didn't have to do anything like that."
The hero's expression didn't change with that. But he heard of few of the other students exclaim their surprise.
"You finished school that long ago!? How!?" One of them shouted out. A glance revealed a male with blonde hair, a black streak going through it in the shape of a lightning bolt.
He just shrugged again. "I'm smart. That's how."
Everyone went silent at that. Though he thought he heard at least one person murmur 'lucky' under their breath.
"Whatever." Aizawa said, calling the attention back to himself. "If you've never done it before, then it's that much more important that you do it now."
He tossed the object in his hand, a softball, over towards Izuku, who snatched it out of the air.
"Stand in the circle." Aizawa said, motioning to the circle marked in the dirt next to him. "And throw the ball as hard as you can."
Izuku complied, moving towards the hero.
"The point of this is to figure out your limits." Aizawa said as he got closer. "So don't hold back. Give it everything you have. I watched your performance in the entrance exams, and I expect to see equal effort here."
Izuku faltered ever so slightly at that, before continuing to move.
'Everything?' He thought, looking down at the ball in his hand. 'I was already going to try, but should I give it my all?'
It would be interesting to find his actual limits. He had a pretty good sense of what they were, but that related mostly to his capabilities in combat. He didn't have any specific measurements. Here, he had a chance to figure out the definitive extent of his abilities.
A smirk appeared on his face as he stopped in the circle, his fist tightening around the ball.
'Sure. Let's give it everything.'
Raising the ball in front of him, he pulled on every strength quirk that sat in his chest, reveling in the burning warmth that spread across his body and the feeling of his shirt straining. He knew that pulling so many at once would likely exhaust him later, but the point of this was to test his limits, right? What was the point of coming to Yueii, if he wasn't going to push himself?
He reeled his arm back, face drawing in concentration as his muscles tensed.
Then, with a grunt, he threw his hand forwards, putting all of his weight behind it. As his arm came down, and the ball was an instant from leaving his hand, he pulled on 'Air Cannon.' With the addition of that quirk, its power boosted exponentially with every strength quirk burning through him, the final flick of his wrist to send the ball flying was transformed from a simple movement to the pull of a trigger.
The ball exploded out of his hand with a massive blast of air, kicking up a cloud of dust around him. An instant later, he heard a resounding 'boom' echo around them as the ball broke the sound barrier, something that brought immense satisfaction.
Looking up, he watched it disappear into the sky, even pulling on the magnification aspect of 'Spectrum' to watch it for longer.
Turning back to face everyone else, he saw them watching him with obvious shock. Even Aizawa's eyes were slightly widened. A few moments later, a device beeped in Aizawa's hand. He inspected it for a moment, his expression revealing nothing, before lifting it to reveal what it showed.
'8.83km'
"As I said before." Aizawa said, turning to show everyone else, adding to their surprise. "It's important to know your limitations. That is the first step to improving yourself."
'Nine kilometers, huh? That should be about far enough. Direction should be pretty close too.' Izuku wondered, glancing up in the direction the ball had flown. 'I wonder if I could hit Tsukauchi's car from here if I used "Bullseye."
The other students grew visibly excited at his words. As it finally registered for them that they would be able to use their quirks to the extent their abilities. He heard one of them exclaim how much fun they thought it would be, and immediately the atmosphere changed. Aizawa's demeanor shifted from exhaustion to something more akin to when he was out patrolling, facing down a group of criminals. Something dark and menacing.
"You think this is meant to be fun?" He asked, his tone silencing all other conversation. "You're sorely mistaken if you think you're here to have fun. This is the hero course. You'll be worked to the bone every minute of the three years you'll be here."
No one spoke as they watched him, the feeling he was giving off silencing any argument before it was even made.
"As an added bit of motivation." He continued. "Since you think this is meant to be fun. Whoever comes in last place after this will be expelled immediately."
"And in case you think that this is unfair, or not allowed." He added, seeing the students start to complain. "Know that Yueii gives its teachers far more autonomy than any other school you've attended. I have the authority to expel any number of you, at any time, for any reason."
'What a drama queen.' Izuku thought, rolling his eyes as Aizawa finished his rant. He already knew that the hero had a habit of expelling his students. He'd learned that much from his interactions with him as Oni. The hero had probably just been waiting for someone to give him an excuse to threaten them with expulsion.
Unfortunately, he chose the wrong moment to do that, as Aizawa turned on him, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Do you have a problem with that Etsumi?"
Izuku met the stare dead on, not faltering under the danger that lay behind the man's eyes. "With the expulsion? Not at all. I think it's a good way to motivate us to try our best." He said. "It's your reasoning that I disagree with."
The hero said nothing, prompting Izuku to continue.
"For the first time ever, we are being given permission to use our quirks freely. Of course they're going to be excited. You talked about how society is flawed for how it treats quirks, but you punish people for being excited about that flaw being corrected. Which means that you either don't believe it, or you were planning to threaten us with expulsion from the beginning, and were just looking for a good excuse. And I'm inclined to believe the latter."
The other students were watching with wide eyes, stunned by how he spoke to the teacher. But Aizawa, on the other hand, was actually sporting a small smirk, all but hidden in his scarf.
"You seem quite confident in yourself Etsumi." The hero said, almost to himself. Then, "You're right, I was planning to do that from the beginning to motivate you. And just to prove how serious I am about it, here's one more bit of motivation."
Aizawa's smirk grew more dangerous as he spoke. "If you don't come in first place at the end of this, Etsumi, you'll be going home along with whoever comes last.
Izuku narrowed his eyes at the other, but he wasn't done.
"And I know that you aren't able to participate in some of the events because of your quirk. But before you get your hopes up, all of those will count as zeroes. Meaning that you will have to do even better to come out on top. The world doesn't coddle anyone, and Yueii certainly won't either."
'So that's how this is going to be?' Izuku thought to himself, as he continued to hold Aizawa's stare. 'You want to make sure that my confidence comes from more than just having a strong quirk. That I can back it up with my actions and not falter under pressure.'
The atmosphere grew more tense as the two stared each other down. The threat of expulsion didn't worry Izuku. He knew that he could come out on top. And even on the off chance that he didn't, he had a fallback plan. If he needed to, he could go straight to Nezu and use his identity as Deku as a bargaining chip to stay. He had a feeling that the rodent would more than pleased to learn his identity.
So no, expulsion didn't worry him. But this challenge. Aizawa calling him out right out of the gate… That was getting him fired up. The hero was telling him to prove that he belonged. And damn if he wasn't going to do just that.
'Alright, old man. Let's fucking do this.'
Izuku grew his own grin. "Challenge accepted."
"Good. He said, his face quickly becoming neutral again. "Now go back over with the others so we can continue with the tests."
Something about how quickly his mood turned and the atmosphere calmed down irked Izuku. He knew that the hero was an expert in hiding his emotions, but Izuku was already fired up with the challenge.
'Oh, I am going to give you so much shit when I go out as Oni tonight, Eraserhead. You have no fucking idea.'
As he rejoined the group, Uraraka appeared at his side, a concerned look on her face.
"What the heck was that Etsumi?" She almost whisper-shouted at him. "Why'd you challenge the teacher like that? He sounds serious about expelling us."
"Oh, he's definitely serious." He replied. "He probably wouldn't hesitate to expel all of us if we gave him a reason to. But I'm not worried. Part of me is almost excited for the challenge. Especially with the added danger of expulsion added on."
Her response was cut off when Aizawa called out again.
"Uraraka. You're up next."
She faltered for a moment, then he watched as her concerned expression faded away and her face set as a determined fire started to burn in her eyes. A small smile broke out on his face as he watched her start walking over to Aizawa. He didn't even know her quirk yet, but he knew that she would make it through the test without issue. That determination wouldn't allow anything less.
She strode up to the circle, taking the ball that Aizawa held out to her, one finger held carefully away. Izuku saw her take a deep breath, placing her fifth finger onto the ball. A slight pink glow overtook the object for an instant, before she pulled her arm back and lightly—almost gingerly—tossed it forwards.
He blinked in surprise when it didn't drop to the ground immediately, as he expected it to, but instead drifted through the air at a constant speed, up and away.
'It's not dropping at all.' He observed. 'It's continuing in the same direction it was initially sent. It's almost as if it isn't being affected by g-'
His eyes widened with the realization, and he strained them at her, using 'Appraisal' once more.
Name: Ochako Uraraka
Quirk: Zero Gravity
Emitter-type that allows the user to cancel the effects of gravity on objects with physical contact with all five fingers.
'You!' He exclaimed to himself. 'Gravity quirk! You made it into Yueii after all.'
He hadn't had a chance to use 'Appraisal' on her before now. She'd been the last one to get to the classroom and had started talking to him almost immediately. Now that he had, he studied her as everyone else continued to watch the ball fade into the distance.
She obviously had a decent handle on her quirk to have made it through the entrance exams. He had no idea of what her actual limits were when she submitted the request nearly a year before, but he couldn't wait to find out what they were now.
'I wonder if you took my advice about learning martial arts?' He thought, as Aizawa turned to show them all the infinity symbol that was displayed on the device.
His eyes widened at that. She had, with next to no effort and with no visible fatigue or other drawbacks, just sent an object into orbit. His hands twitched, itching to write or type what he was seeing. Questions and speculations were flooding his mind.
He had to physically restrain himself when she returned to the group, so that he didn't bombard her with questions the moment she did.
Izuku wanted desperately to know everything about her quirk, from her weight limits to her time limits, to whether or not she was able to use it on herself now without causing nausea. He pulled back though. As much as he wanted to know those things, he also wanted to watch and study the other applicants as they performed the tests. Questions could wait for later. He had an entire three years to study their quirks after all.
"On your marks!" The robot called out, as Izuku and Bakugou lined up for the fifty-meter dash.
"Get set!" Izuku's tail tensed beneath him, preparing to launch him forwards. Bakugou positioned his hands behind him, likely to propel himself with his explosions.
He didn't bother pulling on any additional quirks for this test. Were it much longer than it was, then he would've used his speed quirks, but as it was, he was relying on the strength in his tail to cover the distance.
"Go!"
Both students exploded from their starting positions, one of them literally. The powerful muscles of Izuku's tail, boosted as they were with a few quirks, launched him down the entire length, earning him a time of .91 seconds. And Bakugou's explosions had him following close behind, at three seconds even.
The blonde shot a glance at him before turning away to return to the group, Izuku following close behind.
It was interesting seeing the different ways that the students were applying their quirks to the situation. Some were relying simply on the enhancements they had, like Iida, and the girl with the frog mutation. Others had come up with more creative solutions. One girl with an acid quirk had removed her shoes and slid—almost skated—down the track, and the boy that couldn't decide if he was French or not propelled himself with a laser, not dissimilar to how Bakugou did it.
He was going to have a field day writing all of this down when he got home.
The long jump was incredibly simple. When it was his turn to step up, he simply unfolded his wings and launched himself into the air, well over the landing area for the track. After only a minute or two of flying, he returned to the ground to see that Aizawa had marked his score with an infinity.
A few minutes later, Uraraka achieved the same score when she simply floated over the landing area, choosing the exact right moment in her jump to keep her soaring forwards without rising too high into the air.
And a few minutes after that, Bakugou achieved the third highest score, behind the two of them, by launching himself through the air with his explosions, dwarfing everyone else's score.
Izuku stared down at the device in his hand. The one that would measure his grip strength. He tested it in his hand as he pulled another quirk from his chest.
'Hydraulic Press.'
A simple quirk, limited in its uses but incredibly useful in the right situation, and doubly so right now. It significantly augmented the force he could exert from his hands, amplifying his grip strength to a probably unnecessary degree.
He squeezed at the device in his hand, watching as the numbers went up. A few seconds later, and he found the limits of the machine, or at least the limits of what it could display, as it halted at 999kg. He didn't stop, tightening his grip until the metal began to groan in protest. Just before he reached his limits, the display screen began to glitch and malfunction, before the entire device all but exploded in a mess of sparks.
Upon seeing this, Aizawa just sighed, pulling out the device from earlier. He tapped at it a few times, before turning it to display his score. Apparently, he was able to see what the machine had recorded, even if the screen was limited in how high it could go.
1,523kg
Izuku found himself pleased with that number, as it was a little under three times the next person. A boy with a fascinating mutation quirk, that gave him extra limbs and allowed him to freely manipulate the appendages to form eyes, mouths, hands, and likely a number of other body parts.
As he waited for everyone else to finish with the grip strength test, he wondered to himself what sort of grip strength he had with his tail. He wished that he could test just how hard he could constrict something.
As the rest of the tests concluded, they all found themselves standing in front of a large screen. With a click of a button on Aizawa's part, the screen came to life and displayed their overall scores.
It was with not a small amount of satisfaction that Izuku saw his name at the top of the screen. It was almost close, with him not being able to perform in a few of the tests on account of his tail, but he had done it nonetheless.
Second place had been awarded to Bakugou, followed closely by Momo. Uraraka had taken seventh place. And in last, was a girl with an invisibility quirk, just barely beaten out by a short boy with purple balls instead of hair.
She was silent. He couldn't hear anything from her as some of the other applicants automatically moved to comfort her. A blink, and his vision changed to thermal as he pulled on 'Spectrum.' He saw that she was almost hunched over, holding her head in her hands.
"Oh. Right. I won't be expelling any of you today." Aizawa announced, sounding as tired as ever. "It was a ruse to draw out your full potential, and to see if you would take this seriously. All of you have at least displayed the bare minimum to remain in my class for another day."
He watched invisibility quirk—Tooru Hagakure, the scoreboard revealed—sag to the ground, relieved by the revelation that she would be allowed to stay.
They were given only a few moments to relax before Aizawa was speaking again.
"Alright. Time to move onto the next part of the test."
"What!?" Several of the students exclaimed in unison. "There's more!?"
"Yes." He replied, moving over to another part of the training field and gesturing for them to follow. "We've gotten a good idea of your quirks' limits. Now we need to see where you all are in terms of fighting ability. Fighting is arguably the cornerstone of heroics. Most of the time you won't succeed if you can't fight off the criminals."
He stopped next to a large square that had been marked out. "You all at least have enough skill to make it through the entrance exams, but you were allowed to use your quirks for that. You won't be here. I want to see what you can do without relying on your quirks so that we know what we need to teach you."
"Now." He said. "Kouda and Asui. You two are up first."
Izuku watched intently as the other students fought each other. It was interesting to see just how much skill each of them had brought with them. Some, like Kaminari, Mineta, Tokoyami, and Jirou seemed to have very little fighting experience beyond knowing how to throw a proper punch. Others, like Kirishima, Satou, and Shoji appeared to have experience, but it was focused more on boxing than actual martial arts.
A few seemed to have actual skill when they stepped up to fight. Like Todoroki, for one. Aizawa had called to start and in an instant he had put his opponent—the French one, Aoyama—on the ground. Uraraka was another. She'd judo-flipped her opponent right over the line just as quickly. Momo and Iida also displayed a proper knowledge of martial arts as they faced off against each other.
There were a few oddballs thrown in as well. Students that didn't seem to have much outright experience, but were able to compensate in other ways.
Acid quirk—Mina—displayed a sense balance and flexibility that spoke of dancing, or some similar activity. Allowing her to overcome Sero.
Bakugou had fought in a way that showed that he had a reliance on his quirk—not that most of the others were much better—but had quickly adapted around his opponent and had thrown them out of the ring.
Soon enough, it was Izuku's turn; he was the last one up. He moved into the ring, with Ojiro standing opposite of him. His eyes flitted across his opponent, taking in as much as they could.
The way he held himself from the moment he'd stepped into the ring bespoke a healthy knowledge of martial arts. And the way that Ojiro's own eyes were narrowed at him gave the impression that he had experience when it came to fighting, and was sizing him up.
Then there was the tail that trailed behind him, that had gone still in anticipation for the fight. Most of the students weren't allowed to use their quirks, but the few with simple mutation quirks, like Ojiro, Shoji, and Izuku were allowed to since they were an innate part of their bodies.
The tail was obviously muscular, and was long enough for the end of it to rest on Ojiro's shoulder. It would no doubt prove interesting to observe, as it added one more aspect to keep track of and would allow him to fight in a way that was completely unique.
Izuku didn't have much formal experience when it came to fighting. At least not in terms of taking classes and learning proper techniques. In the beginning, he hadn't had the money or time to sign up for anything, and by the time he did, he didn't need it.
His fighting 'style' revolved entirely around overwhelming his opponents with superior speed and power. He didn't need fancy techniques when he could simply strike someone before they even had a chance to react. That, coupled with the experience and instincts he'd accumulated through countless life-or-death fights, meant that he was just as dangerous as someone that had dedicated years to learning how to fight.
And if he ever needed to, he had an entire arsenal of quirks at his disposal to change his fighting style.
Ojiro dropped into a stance, proving his theory about the boy knowing some form of martial arts. Izuku just brought his hands together, cracking his knuckles.
Aizawa let out a very tired-sounding "Begin."
Immediately, Ojiro sprung forwards. He'd likely observed the strength that Izuku had displayed in the tests, and decided that striking first was the best move.
In an instant, he was in front of Izuku. He jumped up and aimed a spinning kick at his head. Izuku ducked under it, watching Ojiro as he dropped back to the ground.
That move alone spoke volumes about how experienced Ojiro was. The reaction time to begin moving so quickly, pulling off a jumping kick like that, and aiming it at his head no less. He was very confident in his abilities if he was opening with aiming that at the side of someone's head. Izuku knew from experience how dangerous that could be—to both parties—if done improperly.
Ojiro didn't falter, flowing smoothly into a series of jabs. Izuku neatly weaved around each one, remaining rooted in place, not giving an inch. He jumped up into another spinning kick, which Izuku dodged just the same, only to see the tail—previously unused—careening at his midsection. He was forced to duck even lower, this time moving around behind the other.
Ojiro upped the pressure after that, hitting, striking, and kicking at him in a steady stream of attacks, not letting up for a moment. Izuku was almost impressed by the silent ferocity in his movements. The entire time, Ojiro's face was almost impassive, eyes trained on Izuku, analyzing him.
Their fight—if it could be called that, with Ojiro doing all of the attacking—took them across the ring. Izuku had neatly dodged around everything that had been thrown at him. Ojiro had yet to land a single blow.
Eventually—still barely a minute into the fight—Aizawa called out to them.
"Etsumi. You have to actually fight back. This is meant to display your skill."
Immediately, Izuku's hands darted out, catching Ojiro where he'd been jumping at him again. One hand caught the tail, trapping it in place, and the other wrapped around his throat, suspending him in the air.
He looked over at Aizawa. "I know. But it doesn't do him any good if I end it too quickly. You wouldn't have a chance to see his skill."
Ojiro struggled in his grasp—though not for lack of oxygen. Izuku wasn't about to strangle his own classmate—grabbing at his arm. Somehow, he managed to maneuver his body to aim a kick at Izuku's head. His foot cracked across Izuku's jaw.
He didn't even react, just continuing to stare at Aizawa.
The hero sighed. "Stop playing around Etsumi."
He shrugged in response. Moving over to the edge of the ring, he gently dropped Ojiro just on the other side of the line. The boy stood there for a moment, massaging his neck. Izuku moved past him to stand with the rest of the students
"Good." Aizawa announced once they were all grouped back together. "Now I have an idea of where you all stand. Some of you are fairly skilled and don't need much beyond more experience, while some of you need to start from the bottom. Those of you that still need to learn. You'll have to work harder than everyone else to catch up to those that came prepared. I expect to see that as the year progresses."
With that, he turned away, already walking off. "That's it for today. Go get changed and then head home. If you need to, visit the infirmary before you leave."
Izuku hummed to himself as he did just that, heading off in the direction they arrived from. This year was turning out to be interesting already.
"Etsumi!" He heard a voice call out from behind him. "Wait up!"
Turning around where he was heading towards the main doors, he saw Uraraka rushing towards him. Iida was following close behind, spouting off something about not running in the hallway.
She was huffing as they reached him. "Man, you sure change fast."
"Anyways!" She started, recovering quickly. "We were wondering if you wanted to head to the station together. What train are you taking?"
Izuku cocked an eyebrow at her. He had never ridden a train in his life. Or if he had, he had no memory of it.
"I wasn't going to take a train." He responded. "I was just going to fly home."
He shuffled his wings as he spoke, drawing attention to them.
Iida frowned. "Is it not illegal to use your quirk in public? I was under the impression that-that law applied to flying as well."
Izuku bristled ever so slightly, subtle enough that the other two didn't notice.
"If anyone wants to stop me from flying, they are more than welcome to try." He replied, dark undertones evident in his voice. "They'd have to remove my wings to stop me, and I feel sorry for the person that would try."
"I- I see." Iida responded, seemingly shaken by the edge to his voice.
Uraraka was unfazed, but did look slightly disappointed when he said that he was just going to fly home.
Seeing her expression, he sighed. "If you would like to though, I wouldn't mind accompanying you two to the station. I need to pick up groceries on the way home anyway."
Uraraka's mood brightened instantly, her smile almost blinding as she started off, leading them to the doors.
Actually, now that he thought about it, this would be a perfect opportunity to ask Uraraka about her quirk. He hadn't had the chance to earlier, but now they had nothing else to do.
By the time they were walking through the main gate, Izuku already had his notebook out and had filled out half a page with the answers Uraraka was giving. She had been a little shocked initially with the sheer number of questions he'd asked about the specifics of her quirk, but had quickly recovered, happily answering them as they traveled.
The entire time. Izuku could feel Iida's eyes on him, studying him. He joined in on the conversation, his own curiosity dragging him in on occasion, but for the most part, he was silent as they walked.
At least, until Uraraka had answered all of Izuku's questions, and he moved on to the blue-haired boy.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed! I think this chapter does a good job of setting the tone for the beginning of UA.
Also, I don't think I've ever made it very clear, but in terms of body size and musculature, I've been imagining Izuku as built like Endeavor.
Sentience
Chapter Summary
Oni's out doing his best to irritate his favorite hero, and stumbles upon an interesting development.
Chapter Notes
Originally, part of this chapter was supposed to include the beginnings of the battle trial, but I ended up getting into it and suddenly it was 9k words and he wasn't back at UA. So, that just means that most/all of it will take place next time.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Heads up." Rei's voice sounded out in his ear. "He's almost on you. You've got less than a minute."
Oni didn't respond. Instead just dropping the unconscious body of the criminal he'd been holding, sending them collapsing to the ground. He shot a smile at the only other person that was still standing as his claws flashed back into place. One that promised nothing but pain. He watched them start to back away in response.
"What's the matter?" He asked, cocking his head. "You don't want to play? But you all were so very confident when I got here. What happened?"
He took a single step forwards, relishing the sheer panic that flashed across the other's face at the movement. "Did you lose your nerve?"
Their eyes darted around, looking at their fallen comrades. Probably hoping that someone would get up to help them. When none of them did, Oni watched the fear in their eyes skyrocket. He could practically taste it in the air. Oh what fun this night had turned out to be.
He'd chosen this location at random, deciding that he'd raise hell for this particular insignificant gang tonight. Once he'd torn through a wall to get in, and had gotten his fill of the arrogance they displayed simply because they had the advantage of numbers, he jumped in and threw the room into chaos. Their panic had been delicious, and the screams of the one he'd just dropped were practically still echoing through the building from where he took their quirk.
He was about to step closer, ready to terrify the unfortunate piece of garbage a bit more and enjoy their reaction, when he heard something behind him, in the direction of the hole he'd entered through.
'Ah. There he is.'
The hair on the back of his neck stood straight, and he could almost feel the displacement of the air as something rushed towards him.
Throwing himself to the side, he looked over at the mass of cloth that occupied the space he'd just been standing in. Following it back to its origin revealed a very irate insomniac hero.
Alighting back on his feet, Oni threw a smile at the man. One that was considerably more friendly than the one that had just been decorating his features a few moments ago.
"Hello again, Eraserhead!" He called out in greeting. "Fancy seeing you so soon after our last meeting. More than once in a night is pretty rare, isn't it?"
Oni could just about feel the man's irritation as he glared at him from under those goggles.
"What the fuck, Oni?" Eraserhead asked as his capture weapon returned to its place around his neck, and he stepped into the building. He looked seven different kinds of exhausted, which was exactly the goal Oni had been going for. "The hell has gotten into you tonight?"
"Whatever could you possibly mean?" He responded, feigning innocence. "I've just been doing what I normally do. Patrolling, apprehending criminals, and just generally being a nightmare for everyone around me."
"This is the fourth time tonight, Problem Child. You even opened with that exact same line about seeing me again. I thought you normally went weeks between takedowns like this."
He sighed. "And why do you have to call me every single time? Don't you usually like screwing with Tsukauchi?"
"I-" Oni started to reply, only to be interrupted by a door slamming off to the side. A glance over at where the criminal had been standing revealed empty space.
Now it was Oni's turn to sigh.
"Now look at what you've done." He huffed, gesturing over at the door. "I wasn't done playing with that yet! Now I'm going to have to chase them down across half the city. Because I'm pretty sure that they have a speed quirk that could give Ingenium a run for his money."
"Serves you right." Eraserhead responded. And wow, Oni wasn't aware that the hero could be that sort of petty. "Answer the question, Oni. What the fuck?"
Oni's smile was downright mischievous as he stared the hero down. This was what he got for being such a dramatic shit during the quirk apprehension test earlier in the day. As Izuku, a student, he couldn't do anything about it except prove Eraserhead wrong. But as Oni? As Oni, he controlled the situation. He could do just about whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted, and he could force Eraserhead to deal with it.
The hero made it so easy to do it, too. Every time Oni called, or sent a location, Eraser wouldn't hesitate to make a beeline for wherever it was, ready to kick down the door and go to town. Even after the second and third incidents tonight, the man still showed up as he always did. It was almost like he cared. That was part of the reason he was Oni's favorite hero.
And it wasn't like Oni was completely evil. He'd already cleared out all of the locations before Eraserhead had arrived. He only wanted to make the man run back and forth across the city to irritate him, not put him in any unnecessary risk.
"Alright, alright. You got me." He said, holding his hands up. "I woke up today with just, this undeniable urge to make your night miserable and thought, 'what better way to do that than to start messes on opposite sides of the city and call you to come clean them up?'"
He jumped out of the way as the hero's capture weapon lashed out at him again, laughing as he landed a few feet away. "Come on, Eraser. I thought you liked playing with me."
"Give it a rest, Oni." The hero growled. "Cut the shit and go home. I've got enough problem children to deal with already without you wasting my nights."
He made a show of considering it. "Oh. alright. I suppose I can call it a night."
"Tell you what." He continued. "I'll go retrieve the garbage, that you let go by the way, and then that'll be it for today. Sound good?"
The hero grumbled as he turned to start inspecting one of the fallen criminals.
"Nothing will ever be good with you, Oni. Not unless you plan to stop being a vigilante altogether and turn yourself in. But I doubt that you'll do that any time soon."
"A very astute observation. Why would I stop my work if it's the only time I get to chat with you?"
Eraser just stood to move on to the next criminal, decidedly ignoring him.
Oni shrugged. "Alright then. See you around Eraser! Enjoy your night. Or at least, what's left of it."
With that, he turned to his improvised entrance, laughing lightly at the hero's frustration. As he reached the hole in the wall, he heard Eraserhead mutter to himself 'Fucking problem children.' Then, even softer, 'God I need a fucking drink."
Once he was clear of the building, he launched himself into the sky. A moment later, he came to rest on the rooftop of the building he'd just exited.
"Phantom?" He prompted, knowing that he didn't have to say anything else.
"Directly east of you." She reported. "You were right, he definitely has some sort of speed quirk. He only got a few minute's head start on you and he's already covered a little over two miles. You'd better hurry if you want to get him before he leaves Musutafu."
Humming to himself, he turned in place, working out which way was east. Once he had it figured out, he walked over to the edge of the roof. He dropped into a crouch, resting his hands on the surface of building.
A smile split his features as he started pulling quirks from the bundle in his chest. As unfortunate as it was that they managed to slip away, he quite liked chases like this; classic games of cat and mouse. It had been so long since he'd had an opportunity to enjoy one. He wondered just how long they'd be able to hold out before he got his hands on them.
His smile widened, fueled by anticipation and his quickly rising excitement. Such a powerful quirk. To cover that sort of distance in such little time, even with as boosted with adrenaline as it no doubt was. He was ever so curious as to how it worked.
He couldn't wait to try it out for himself.
Soon enough, he had all the quirks he needed pulled out and ready, and the world had been all but drowned out by his heart thundering away in his chest.
"Let's begin, then."
The roof he was standing on cratered as he took off, launching through the air, his wings tucked firmly against his back. He soared through the air, clearing the adjacent building, and coming down on the one after.
The moment his feet touched down on the roof, was when the real fun started.
In the span of less than a second, his legs—boosted by probably too many quirks—were bent and tensed beneath him. He tilted forwards ever so slightly, before kicking off.
Cracks spiderwebbed from where he'd been standing as he took off, this time straight across the surface of the roof instead of into the air.
The world blurred around him as he moved, clearing buildings in single strides. The only time he broke his rhythm were when he came across a building that was taller than the others, causing him to either run around, jump over it, or on one occasion, cling to the side of it as he ran. He used one of his newer quirks 'Gecko' – the same one he'd used when he fought the zero-pointer in the entrance exams – to run across the vertical surface.
Most of the sounds of the city around him were lost to the wind that whistled in his ears. But it didn't do anything to drown out Rei's voice.
"Bear left a bit." She instructed, just over a minute into the chase. "You're closing in."
He did as she said, directing himself off to the left. A few seconds later, he launched himself into the air again. Pulling on 'Spectrum' and switching to thermal, he scanned the rooftops for his prey. His smile widened as he spotted the bright blob moving away from him in a blur. He wasn't sure where they thought they were heading, but they were doing so in a hurry. Touching down once more, he picked up the pace. They were already on the edge of what could be considered his 'territory' and he wanted to wrap it up before they ventured too far out of it.
His eyes zeroed in on the criminal, still highlighted in bright colors in the eyes of 'Spectrum' as he drew closer. They didn't notice him as he closed the distance between them, not even when they were separated by only a few feet. He waited until he was even with them, before turning to direct his smile in their direction.
"Wow." He drawled with mock admiration. "You're fast."
He savored the choked sound that they made. Smile remaining in place as he watched them stumble and come so very close to falling and crashing at what must've been upwards of sixty miles-per-hour. Unfortunately, he was denied that entertainment as they recovered and, surprisingly, managed to pick up the pace as they panicked and fought to get away from him.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" He called out at them as they pulled away.
"Good." He continued, more to himself. "I like a challenge. I like it when you think you can win. It makes it all the more satisfying when you fail."
Oni picked up the pace as well, moving to close the distance. There were so many things he could do to end the chase right then and there, even as simple as pulling on a few of his speed quirks that were as-of-yet untouched, but he wasn't going to. He wanted to savor this.
When they realized that they couldn't get rid of him with sheer speed, the criminal suddenly veered off to the side, dropping off the side of the building to the alleyway below, hoping instead to throw him off the trail that way. They turned and cut around corners, circling around and occasionally even taking the chase out onto the main road, much to the surprise of the few people that were out and about at the late hour.
This carried on for a few minutes, Oni lunging forwards every once in a while to claw or grab at them, just to remind them of his presence.
Eventually, the chase led them back onto the rooftops. Right about the time that Oni found himself growing tired of it.
He was about to make one final lunge, this time to end it all. They were jumping over an alleyway, a mere fraction of a second from when he would make his move, when a noise broke him from his borderline tunnel vision.
A scream, originating from the alley below.
A scream that sounded decidedly young.
Oni twisted in midair, his scaled hand plunging into the roof beneath him. It dug a trench into the building as he pulled to a stop. In one fluid motion, he was on his feet and pulling on 'Metallum.' The metal spreading across his body in an instant. He reached out and grabbed at the criminal he'd been chasing, despite them already being on the next roof. Ignoring the strain in his arm, he watched as they halted mid-stride and came flying back at him.
He caught them and, in the same motion, was slamming them into the roof. Pulling 'Metalum' and his claws back into his chest, he grabbed onto their quirk, pulling it into himself and clamping his hand over their mouth when they tried to scream.
Not paying much heed to them after that, he went to the edge of the roof that overlooked the alleyway.
Looking down below, he was met with the sight of four men standing in the mouth of the alleyway, laughing and joking with each other as they all but sauntered into it. Looking towards the other end, he noticed that it was a dead end, and the thermal vision that still sat in his eyes picked out the small figure huddled as far into the corner as they could go.
"Go on then!" One of the called out, smile obvious in his voice. "She's gone and trapped herself. You're up."
Dispelling his changed vision with a blink, he dropped off of the roof, landing directly in their path. He wasn't quite sure what the situation was, but he wasn't about to let it continue.
He watched their expressions go from smug and pleased, to confused, then right back to smug again when they noticed him. Taking advantage of the stare down, he strained his eyes at them.
'Tail mutation, tracking quirk, touch-based sedation, and a blade quirk.' He counted off as he read through the information supplied by 'Appraisal.' His eyes narrowed at the implications of that sort of quirk combination.
They were obviously after the child that was hiding off behind him. If their quirks were anything else, he would assume that it was just some random criminal act that he was interrupting. But the fact that they had a tracker and a sedation quirk, and that there were four of them all together, made it obvious that there was something more.
'Some form of human trafficking.' He guessed. 'Quirk trafficking? Or just regular human trafficking?'
He wouldn't know until he either beat the answers out of them, or went back to find out what quirk the child had, which could potentially clear everything up depending on what it was.
Either way, he needed to deal with them.
Speaking of. They were apparently growing tired of the silent stare down, as one of them—tail quirk. The leader maybe?—stepped forwards.
"The fuck do you want?" He asked, rather aggressively. "You tryin' to get in our way or something?"
Oni cocked an eyebrow at his attitude, before sighing lightly. Right, he wasn't in his usual hunting grounds right now. They didn't know to be afraid of him, or how utterly screwed they were right now. Even that last group he'd taken care of, despite their arrogance, had still showed a certain amount of wariness towards him.
And the way they spoke. It was almost as if they were expecting everyone to recognize and actively avoid them. Maybe they were in some bigger gang.
His eyes flitted across the four men, scanning them.
Ah. There it was. Each of them had a tiny triangular tattoo under their right eyes. Identifying marks for some group or another.
Yep. Almost definitely in a gang. It irked him just a bit that he didn't know for sure. He knew about every single group and gang in his city, and knew how to identify them. Here, he was in the dark.
Deciding to push that thought away, he answered the question.
"Well, yes." He responded with a smile. "I thought that was obvious enough when I literally landed in your path."
He leveled a glare at them, laughing internally as he watched the other three take a step back in response. The leader wasn't deterred, either strong enough to push past the instinctual fear that the others were feeling, or too stupid to feel it in the first place.
"Hah?" He questioned oh-so intelligently. "You tryin' to start a fight with us?"
Stupid it was, then. God, it was almost painful to watch. Or listen to. He was so tempted to dial up his bloodlust until the man was running away with his tail between his legs, literally. The only reason he didn't was because he didn't want to terrify the child behind him any more than they probably already were.
Oni was about to respond again, when he felt something on the edge of 'Proximity's range. A quick glance had a grin appearing on his face. Oh, now this was quite the interesting development.
He might not know the criminals in this area, but he knew this.
"Oh, no. Not at all." He replied. "I'm not here to fight you."
He pointed a finger up towards the roof. "But he is."
The criminals looked up at where he'd pointed, only to see a few wisps of darkness fading away into the night. Oni's attention was trained on the criminals' feet. Where the shadows were just a bit thicker than the darkness that surrounded them.
An instant later, a figure appeared, almost out of thin air, and kicked at the back of one of the assailants' knees.
He smiled at the fight that broke out. The criminals panicking and trying their best to defend themselves as the new arrival danced around them.
Knowing that the fight was as good as handled, he turned around, directing his attention towards the corner that he'd seen the child hiding in. There was a dumpster blocking his view, but he knew that they were still there.
Walking around the obstacle, he caught sight of them in the dim light provided by the streetlamps outside of the alley. It was a little girl. He could just make out a head of purple hair and what looked to be pajamas.
The sound of approaching footsteps had her pressing further into the corner, a scared whine escaping her throat. The sounds of fighting just a short distance away probably wasn't helping things.
He stopped in his tracks. Looking down at her, he considered how he should handle this. Obviously, he needed to tread lightly. He had no idea what her situation was or why she was out here to begin with. Best to handle it as delicately as possible.
Immediately, he was crouched down, hands moving to the back of his head to unclasp his mask.
Pulling a quirk from his chest, he felt his fingers tingle where they were touching the metal of his mask. An instant later, it started glowing, illuminating the area and chasing away the shadows.
"Hey there." He started softly, setting the mask off to the side and raising his hands in a placating manner. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. And those bad men are gone. They won't be doing anything to you ever again."
The girl's eyes stared out at him from where they were almost hidden with how tightly her knees were tucked to her chest. The fear was evident there.
He edged a little closer. "My name's Oni. Can you tell me y-"
His head snapped back as something impacted his face. There was an audible crack as whatever hit him broke his nose. Blood was running down his face immediately as he stayed where he was, still looking up towards the sky as he contemplated what the hell just happened.
'Telekinesis?' He wondered. 'No. That doesn't fit. Whatever hit me was solid and had definite warmth to it, like an actual body part. But I definitely didn't see her move. So, unless she's as fast as All Might…'
Looking back down at her, he blinked, changing his vision to thermal once more. He almost startled when he couldn't make her out. It wasn't that she didn't have any body heat, or that his quirk was malfunctioning. No, she was blocked out entirely by a figure standing in front of her.
Whatever it was, it was vaguely humanoid, though the arms and legs looked longer than normal. It seemed like it would be just a bit taller than she would be if she were standing.
'Another person?' He thought, mind racing. 'Doubtful. The altered body shape combined with invisibility doesn't make much sense. And 'Proximity' didn't even register them at all.'
His thoughts were cut off as he watched the mystery figure draw an arm back.
Eyes widening as the limb was thrown forwards, he caught it in his hand, surprised once more when he felt the sheer force behind it and the feeling of it in his hand. It felt like… fur?
"I'm not going to hurt you." He repeated, voice just as gentle, if a bit nasally with his nose being broken. "Either of you."
Her eyes widened at that, and she drew out her huddled position just a bit.
"You can see Kemono?" She questioned, voice shaky.
"Is that their name?" He asked, looking back up at the figure in question. Their head looked animalistic, not unlike a dog. As far as he could tell, their lips were drawn back in a silent snarl. They strained against him, trying to escape his grip. He released them, watching as they retreated closer to the girl.
"Are they your friend?"
She nodded at him, before looking up at the figure.
Wait. Looking?
She could see it too. That narrowed things down tremendously. Either she had some way to see invisible things too, like he could, or…
"Are they your quirk?"
Her gaze returned to him, and he could see the figure almost shuffle in place, as if it were ready to charge at him at a moment's notice. She nodded at him again, and his mind was sent racing.
'A sentient quirk!' He just about cheered mentally. Sentient quirks were among the rarest type. Before today, he'd only come across one in person, and another two with his analysis, and that was spanning several years. Now he'd met two in less than twenty-four hours. First with Tokoyami's 'Dark Shadow' and now this.
Oh, how he wished he could get lucky enough to come across a criminal with a sentient quirk. He wanted to study one hands-on.
And on the other hand. If she had a sentient quirk, then that made it all the more likely that this was a quirk trafficking incident.
Ignoring his own racing thoughts, he edged a bit closer.
"That's a very cool quirk you have." He said. "Kemono seems like he's a very good friend if he's willing to protect you like that."
"Now. Do you think you could tell me your name?" He questioned.
"I-Iona." She responded, drawing out her huddled position just a little bit more. "Iona Katayama."
"Got it." He heard Rei's voice in his ear. "I'll start looking into her."
"Iona." He repeated, smiling at her. "That's a very pretty name you've got."
He shuffled a little closer. He was just about within arm's reach. "Are you hurt anywhere, Iona?"
There weren't any visible injuries, but that wasn't saying much with how huddled up she was.
She shook her head, causing Oni to let out a tiny sigh in relief. That was good; this situation didn't need anything else complicating it.
"Now, can you tell me what the two of you are doing out here all by yourselves?"
Just like that, all the progress he'd made in getting her to calm down went out the window. Tears were trailing down her face almost immediately and she curled back up, burying her face against her knees and shaking with tiny sobs.
"Hey, hey, shh." He shushed, trying to get her to calm down. When she didn't respond, he got a little bit closer. He kept an eye on Kemono as he did. Just in case the quirk decided to attack him again.
The next few minutes were spent trying to get her to settle back down, to little success. She all but refused to draw back out of where she'd curled back up, lost as she was to whatever was tormenting her.
Watching her for a moment, it didn't look like he was going to be able to calm her down. Oni sighed lightly. He needed to get her somewhere safe, but in order to do that, he needed to know whether that safe place was her home, or if he was going to be taking her to a police station. And he needed her calm so he could determine that
As he considered his options, he reached a conclusion that he really didn't like. Part of him wished that Rei were here; comforting people was not his strong suit. She would have no issue handling this. But she wasn't, so his options were limited.
Deciding what he should do, and knowing that he was probably going to hate himself later for it, he pushed a bit of strength into 'Siren.' The quirk that was a constant presence in his throat.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke.
"Iona. Could you look up at me please?"
She complied after a moment, lifting her head up to stare at him. Her eyes were red, and her face was a mess of snot and tears. He knew that 'Siren' hadn't taken effect yet. Her attention had just been caught by the odd sound of his voice.
"You're going to be just fine." He continued. "You don't have to talk about that if you don't want to. And I'm going to make sure that no one hurts you. Do you understand?"
She nodded ever so slightly, sniffling as she rubbed at her face.
Good. Now he had her attention. On to the next step. Luckily, it shouldn't take too long to get there. She was young, scared and confused, and probably tired.
He held out a hand. "Would you like to see something pretty?"
Another nod.
Pulling on another quirk, he felt his hand grow a little warmer, and suddenly little sparks of light were fading into existence all over it.
He moved the appendage through the air, sparkles trailing after it. Wherever his hand went, they would hover for a moment, before drifting to the ground and disappearing.
It was one of his older quirks. Admittedly rather useless, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.
Watching her eyes, he could see that Iona was all but enraptured.
"What do you think?" He asked. "It's pretty, isn't it?"
"Yeah." She responded, eyes focused on the display.
He held out his other hand. "How about we get you up off the ground? I'll bet it's uncomfortable sitting down there against the wall."
She did so almost immediately, standing on shaky legs and taking his hand as she continued to stare at the sparkles.
Almost there, he could feel it, it was already starting to take effect.
"I'm going to take you somewhere safe." He said. "There are people there that can make sure that no one will ever hurt you. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
There! As she nodded again, he could feel a threshold being crossed. He pressed a bit harder at 'Siren', ignoring the disgust he felt as he watched Iona's face go blank.
'Siren' didn't work quite like most other mind control quirks, not that there were very many to begin with. He couldn't outright tell someone to do something and expect them to obey, at least not in the beginning. It all relied on using gentle persuasion to build a connection.
He could make suggestions, and work to manipulate what they were already thinking, subtly directing their thoughts to match his own. Every little bit served to establish a connection between himself and his target. The worse off that their mental state was, and the lesser their intelligence, the easier it was to pull off.
And if he did it enough, then eventually such a connection would be formed, unlocking the full potential of the quirk. When this happened, the target would enter into a trancelike state where he could control their every action.
To date, this was the only time he'd actually used that part of it. He hadn't even experimented with it. Everything he knew about that aspect of it had come from observing the original user.
"Okay Iona." He began, ready to get this over with. "Please tell me how old you are."
"Four." She replied immediately, voice monotone.
He nodded, a recent quirk manifestation made sense for quirk trafficking. Chances were that the doctor she'd gone to had been working for whatever gang had been trying to kidnap her.
"Very good. Now please tell me what happened. How did you get out here?"
"Kemono helped me get out of the big van. He hit one of the mean men and carried me out of it. He carried me here."
Okay. Getting closer.
"How did they get you into the van?" He asked, before changing his mind. "When's the first time you remember seeing them?"
"At home. I was eating dinner with Mommy and Daddy. They broke the door and came inside. Daddy was yelling at them and Mommy was trying to carry me away. But the mean men hurt them, and they fell down and didn't get up. Then one of them touched me and I fell asleep."
Shit. Shit!
"Go to sleep." He commanded, catching her when she immediately slumped to the side.
From what she'd described, her family had been attacked in their home, and there was a very real possibility that she'd watched her parents die.
He knew from experience that 'Siren' left a person's mind very much aware, even if their body was no longer under their control. They were essentially trapped, forced to watch what was going on around them as they were controlled like a puppet. He didn't want her to be stuck reliving that memory. Besides, he got what he needed.
Resting her on the ground, and feeling a small amount of relief when he realized that Kemono had vanished when she fell asleep, he let his head fall, resting his elbows on his knees. Part of him hated that quirk. Part of him really hated it. It served as a constant reminder of when it had been used on him, and of the person that had been wielding it. He didn't much care for the idea of using it on someone else.
But just as that made him hate it, it was for that very same reason that he kept it active all the time. It was a reminder of one of the myriad reasons that he did what he did. Of why he wanted to be a hero. To ensure that he helped as many people as possible; to prevent them from going through what he did.
Shaking his head, he pinched at the bridge of his nose, letting the resulting sharp pain drive such thoughts from his head.
He heard movement from behind him. The figure that had jumped in to fight the criminals moved closer from where they'd been watching.
"Oni-" They started, only to be cut off.
"Give me a second, Shadow."
Taking a deep breath, he jerked his nose to the side, snapping it back into place. The flow of blood increased as he pulled on his healing quirk, and slowed as heat flowed through his face. Less than a minute later, the pain had disappeared, and the bleeding had halted altogether.
With that done, he stood, turning to face the new arrival.
He was met with a man a bit taller than him. Most of his body was hidden away by a pitch-black cloak, reaching down to just past his knees. His face was obscured in darkness, the only thing visible—and simultaneously his most distinguishable feature—were his eyes, pure white and almost glowing in the dark.
This was Shadow. A vigilante.
He'd only ever met the man once before, and as such hadn't had much chance to learn anything about him, but he'd heard plenty of rumors surrounding him, and Rei had read up on all of the police reports that mentioned him.
Somewhere in his mid-thirties as far as anyone could tell, Shadow was a very serious, no-nonsense vigilante that did everything he could to keep his city safe. He was everything a person might want in a vigilante. He even settled things without causing unnecessary harm to the criminals. Not exactly Oni's cup of tea, but hey, to each their own. And at the end of the day, they both broke the law just by existing, so what did it matter?
His quirk was what had really caught Oni's attention, though. It was, in essence, shadow manipulation. He could control the shadows around him; moving them for intimidation or stealth, causing them to become semi-tangible in order to immobilize opponents, or even being able to travel between them. It was an incredibly complex and useful quirk that suited Shadow's style of fighting perfectly.
He plastered a small smile on his face. "Hello Shadow. It's nice to finally see you again."
The other vigilante grunted in response. "Oni. I'd ask what you're doing here, but the body you left on the rooftop speaks for itself."
"You noticed our little chase, did you?"
"The two of you ran across half the city, causing disturbances everywhere. I'd have to be blind not to notice that." He said, narrowing those white voids of his. "I hope you weren't planning on pulling some mess of yours into my city."
Oni waved a dismissive hand at the other. "Of course not. I just happened to be chasing someone that my local underground hero let get away, and ended up getting a little too into it."
"Besides." He continued, smirk growing. "It seems like the mess is already here."
He gestured over to the criminals that had been left in the mouth of the alley, now restrained. He also saw where Shadow had retrieved the one he'd chased here.
If the other vigilante was annoyed at his tone, he did a good job of hiding it.
"They're a new group." Shadow responded, ignoring the provocation. "Or at least, I only got wind of them recently. They're a relatively large group of quirk traffickers. I was actively investigating one of their locations when your little chase pulled me away."
"Sounds exciting." Oni said. "Do you know what they're calling themselves? Maybe it's a group that I chased out of Musutafu."
"The Triad."
"Oh?" Oni asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You're telling me that The Triad, one of the most infamous Asian crime syndicates from before the appearance of quirks, has resurfaced?"
"I don't think it's the same group. But at the very least, they're trying their best to imitate them. They're spread out across a good bit of Japan. Probably further."
"Hmm." Oni hummed as he considered that. He knew that they hadn't made an appearance in his city yet, but if they were as big as Shadow thought, then it could very well be a matter of time before they got confident enough to do so.
"Well then!" He said, clapping his hands together. "What do you say we do something about that?"
Shadow faltered. "You want to take them on?"
"Why not? Something needs to be done about them, one way or another. And besides, I've always wanted to fight an entire crime syndicate. They sound like such fun. And I imagine that it would be quite exciting."
Not waiting for a response, he bent down to pick up his still-glowing mask. A quick touch, and the light began fading away. A moment later and it was secured back in place.
"How do you do that?" Shadow asked. "That, and the sparkles I saw earlier. Some sort of chemical?"
"Oh, it's quite simple, really." Oni responded. "It's a neat trick I like to call, 'mind your business and stop asking questions before I break your legs.'"
The vigilante took a small step back, holding his hands up. Good. It seemed that he knew enough about him to be wary.
Other vigilantes generally couldn't be trusted, as they likely wouldn't hesitate to fight him if they felt that he violated their 'code' or whatever nonsense they followed. As such, it was always a good idea to make sure that they feared him at least a bit.
Satisfied, Oni knelt down to scoop up the sleeping form of Iona. Positioning her so that she was cradled snugly against his chest, he stood back up to face Shadow.
"What do you intend to do about her?" The man asked. "If I understand what she said, she doesn't have a home to take her back to."
"There's a detective that I'm in contact with back in Musutafu. He's well suited to handle cases like this. And I trust him. I'll let him take care of her."
"Now." He continued, making his way towards the mouth of the alley. "What exactly do you know about The Triad so far? You said that you were investigating them?"
"Not much, unfortunately." Came the response. "I only learned about them recently, and they've been difficult. I know that they're a large group, large enough to have a presence in most cities in Japan. And they're organized; they don't mess around when it comes to acquiring product. There's a reason that they've gone so long without me noticing them."
Oni had stopped next to the group of restrained criminals as the man continued his explanation, eyeing the one with the tail quirk. It was a decently long, black, leathery tail. Something that would pair nicely with his vigilante persona.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about gathering information on them." He said, kneeling down next to the criminal, careful to keep Iona secure in his arms. "I've got a friend that can hack into just about anything. They can look through police records and missing person's reports to get an idea of just how widespread they are."
"As for the more specific information." He continued, grabbing at the criminal's chin, lifting his head up. "I think you'll find that I'm very… effective… when it comes to information gathering."
As he said that, his hand latched over the man's mouth as he yanked his quirk from its place. His eyes shot open, thrust back into consciousness, and he thrashed against his restraints and Oni's hand as he pulled the quirk from him. Once he had it, the criminal sagged back down, looking about half-dead.
"You're talking about torture?" The other vigilante asked, sounding almost incredulous. Not surprising considering how serious the man seemed to be about following the laws. In every police report Rei had found, there was hardly any record of any injury more serious than the occasional broken bone, and those were always found with emergency first aid having already been performed.
Time to find out just how far his sense of morality went.
"Well, yes. I thought that was pretty obvious." Oni replied. Then, seeing the look on the mostly shadowed face, "Relax. I'm joking. Only as a last resort. I hardly ever do that to gather information anyway. Most of the pain I cause is purely for my own enjoyment. I usually get information from a group's records after I've already emptied a location out."
"So. What do you say?" He asked with a grin. "You have the inherent knowledge of your city, I have the firepower. If we work together, we should be able to handle this just fine."
Truthfully, it didn't really matter to Oni what the other vigilante decided to do. He'd already made up his mind that he was going to root them out and end them. Shadow could do whatever he liked, so long as he didn't get in the way.
Shadow was silent for several long seconds, before he finally seemed to come to a decision.
"Alright." He relented. "I'll work with you. I'm not sure how much I trust you, but I want these people out of my city, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that on my own."
"Excellent." Oni said, standing back up and continuing his path to the mouth of the alley.
"So, what do you think out first step should be?" Shadow asked as he followed.
"For now, we aren't going to do much of anything." He replied. "I'm going take Iona here to my detective, and you'll take care of handing them over to the police." He said, gesturing at the criminals.
"Tomorrow, though." He continued. "We'll start by taking care of that location you said you were investigating. We'll squeeze everything we can out of them, and then move on from there."
The vigilante seemed to consider his words for a moment, before nodding.
"Alright. I'll work on getting things ready on my end in the meantime." Shadow said, stopping before he got to the street.
"You do that." Oni dismissed, continuing on. He stopped in the middle of the road, shuffling his wings.
"Oh. And just so you're aware, Shadow." He called over his shoulder. "I don't do quiet, stealthy investigations. When I go after a group or location, I go in loud and proud and throw everything into chaos. So I do hope you'll be prepared to fight, because, if anything, I'm going to go harder with this than I usually would. The quicker these people are taken out of commission, the better."
Not waiting for the man to respond, he crouched down, stretching his wings out and tightening his grip on Iona. He launched the two of them into the air, climbing up higher than the buildings around them.
"Do you have her address?" He asked. "I need to confirm the status of her parents before I do anything else. Her recounting was unclear, and they had a person in their group with a sedation quirk."
"I do." Rei responded. "Head north. I'll send it to you."
They fell silent as he changed course, until Rei spoke up a few minutes later.
"You know that you helped her, right?" She asked, breaking the silence. "It isn't a bad thing that you used that quirk. You got her to calm down and were able to get the answers that you needed."
"I forced her to give answers that she obviously didn't want to give." He responded. "And then I made her relive the memory of her family getting hurt."
"You don't know that. You heard how vague her answer was. There's a chance that she doesn't understand what happened to them yet. And besides, even if she did, you put her to sleep right after. She'll probably think it was a dream when she wakes up."
"Maybe you're right." He relented after a moment. "But I still loathe the idea of taking anyone's freedom away like that, for any reason."
"I know. But you did what you had to do." She reassured softly. "And you didn't hurt her. You did it to help."
He didn't respond to that, and they fell into silence again.
Soon enough, he was touching down at the address that Rei had sent him. He found himself looking up at a small, unassuming single-story house, with a tidy lawn in front of it. True to Iona's words, the front door looked like it had been kicked open.
Looking down, he confirmed that she was still asleep. He already knew she was, she wouldn't wake up until he told her to, or naturally at some point once he dropped his hold on 'Siren,' but it didn't hurt to double check. If this turned out like he was suspecting it would, then she didn't need to be awake to see it.
Moving up to the entrance, he pushed the splintered door open and stepped inside. Everything was still illuminated. If it weren't for the state of the door, the faint smell of something burning, and the fact that he knew that something had happened, he would've thought that he stumbled into a perfectly normal home, and that he'd run into its inhabitants any second.
Working his way further in, he payed close attention to 'Proximity' keeping watch for anything moving around him. He came to an empty living room, the tv still on and playing some show he didn't recognize. Moving on, he found the door that led to the kitchen, and found himself staring at a sight that made him very glad that Iona was asleep.
The kitchen was in complete disarray. The table and two of the chairs were overturned, spilling food across the floor. A third chair was in pieces where it looked like it had been used as a makeshift weapon. A pot of something on the stove was smoking, the flame beneath it still going. It was a wonder that the house wasn't up in flames, or that there wasn't even a smoke alarm going off.
Then there were the bodies.
He'd been hoping, for her sake, that Iona's parents had only been hit by that sedation quirk. But now that he was here, it was clear as day that-that wasn't the case.
A man—her father, he would assume—was lying in a puddle of blood, the source of which being several stab wounds to his stomach. The mother didn't fare much better. Her lifeless eyes stared off into the distance, her head turned almost directly backwards; a broken neck.
Shifting Iona around in his arms, he managed to dig his gloves out of his pockets and pulled them on. Best not to leave any fingerprints at a murder scene. Moving over to the nearest body—that of the father—he knelt down next to it. He didn't have high hopes, as the man was pale and the blood on the floor had already begun to congeal, but he needed to be sure.
Checking for a pulse at the man's neck, and even hovering a hand over his mouth and nose to feel for breathing, and then repeating the same process with the mother, confirmed what he already knew. They were dead, and Iona Katayama was now an orphan.
Letting out a sigh, he stepped over to the stove, shutting off the rogue burner, before turning and heading for the exit without a second glance.
"They're dead." He announced, softly. "Call it in please, if you don't mind. They need to be taken care of."
"Right." Rei responded, just as soft. "You're taking her to Tsukauchi now, right?"
"Yeah." He said, stepping back out through the front door and pulling it shut behind him as best he could. "I probably don't have to, but this group, the Triad, already has its eyes on her. I'd feel better leaving her with someone I trust, rather than some random precinct. Especially since I know that they have no presence in Musutafu as of yet."
Checking once more that Iona was secure in his arms, he leapt back into the air, gliding off in the direction of his city.
Less than an hour later—he'd been flying a bit slower and lower to the ground to avoid subjecting her to freezing winds—he was landing in front of the police precinct that he'd made a point of never visiting before now.
Stepping through the door, he plastered a smile on his face, directing it at the lady sitting at the front desk. She was staring wide-eyed at him, shocked at the sight of a well-known vigilante walking straight into a police headquarters.
"If you could please call Detective Tsukauchi." He said, breaking her out of her shock. "Tell him his most favorite person in the world is here to see him."
Not taking her eyes off of him, she grabbed for a phone that sat in front of her, speaking quietly into it once it was next to her face.
Not even a minute later, one of the side doors burst open to reveal the detective he'd come to love causing issues for. He arrived flanked by what must've been half of the officers in the building, though they all had the common sense to stay back. He had no way of knowing whether that was a result of Tsukauchi's orders or his reputation proceeding him into the building.
Tsukauchi seemed to be the only one brave enough to actually step up to him.
"Oni?" He started, eyes wide. "Is that you?"
He was sure he must be quite the sight. Red and black dress clothes, a mask, blood covering most of the half of his face that wasn't hidden by it, and a sleeping child in his arms. It was made even better by the fact that this was the detective's first time seeing him in person.
"Hello Detective." He responded. "It is so very nice to finally meet you in person, after however many years of irritating you over the phone. I only wish it could've been under more pleasant circumstances."
Tsukauchi sighed, the shock wearing off already. "What've you gone and gotten yourself into now?"
"I've been playing with Eraserhead, mostly. But when a more troublesome criminal led me on a chase into the next city over, I stumbled upon this little one being chased by a capture team for a group of quirk traffickers."
Several pairs of eyes flickered between him and Iona as he delivered his explanation.
"Well if you look like that, I'd hate to see what you did to them." Tsukauchi said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.
"Oh, this?" He asked, gesturing at his bloodstained face. "That wasn't them. With how stupid they were, I'm surprised that they were able to walk and breathe at the same time."
"No. That was actually her." He continued, gesturing at the girl in his arms. "She's quite the fighter, or at least, her quirk is. It's not at all surprising that she was targeted."
"Who is she?"
"Iona Katayama." He answered. "Four years old."
"And the reason you brought her here? Instead of to the precinct in whatever city you ended up in?"
"Because her parents were killed when they first went after her." He replied, to Tsukauchi's obvious surprise. "And because the group is evidently big enough to have a presence across most of Japan. So I wanted someone I trust to take care of processing her. That, and this group hasn't made a move here yet. I'll be working in the next few days to make sure that it stays that way."
He watched as the detective's eyes hardened. There it was; that quality Oni enjoyed so much about him. Tsukauchi's surprise at the situation was shoved off to the side as his duty was pushed to the forefront. He stepped closer, holding his hands out to Iona.
Adjusting his hold on her, Oni handed her over to him. He dropped his hold on 'Siren' as he did, watching to see whether or not she would wake up immediately.
He was glad when she didn't, she would get to sleep a bit longer before learning what had become of her life.
"I'll take care of her." Tsukauchi said, holding her tight. "She'll be safe."
"See to it that she is, Detective." Oni responded as he turned back towards the doors. "She's dealt with enough shit already. She doesn't need to go through any more."
"Oni!" Tsukauchi called out at him. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that the other officers had started shuffling a bit closer, most of them with a hand on their gun. "As much as I appreciate you stopping her from being taken, as police officers, we can't exactly let a known vigilante just walk out of the precinct."
He cocked an eyebrow. "And as a senior officer in said precinct, it would be an example of poor leadership if you led all of these fine men into a situation that would get them hurt."
Dialing up his bloodlust, just enough to make sure they felt it, he continued. "I don't like the idea of hurting police officers. They go through enough trouble already in this villain-saturated world. But even more than that, I dislike the idea of being captured and forced to stop what I do. So, try to stop me, and I will do what I need to in order to defend myself."
Turning to face the door again, he waited a moment to see what their decision would be. He smiled when he heard nothing, and 'Proximity' picked up not one bit of movement.
"Smart choice."
As he pushed the door open, he paused once more to call out over his shoulder.
"By the way. I'd be careful with her when she wakes up. Her quirk is sentient, and won't hesitate to defend her."
A small laugh escaped his throat as he practically felt the detective's irritation behind him, closing the door behind him.
Soon enough, he was soaring through the air once more, back in the direction of the apartment. Off in the distance, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon.
This mess had taken longer to deal with than he would've liked. The plan had originally been to deal with that final location and then head home, but then that criminal had led him on an—admittedly enjoyable—chase across the city. And to be fair, had he not chased them he wouldn't have stumbled upon Iona, and by now she might've been taken to any number of facilities.
And dealing with this 'Triad' group was sure to be all sorts of fun. New criminals, new faces, new quirks, and all in a new, unfamiliar city.
He almost couldn't wait.
Chapter End Notes
Quirks, quirks everywhere. I think he ended up taking three separate quirks just in this chapter, and only one of them was in the original plan.
Oops.
I hope you enjoyed!
Battle
Chapter Summary
The Battle Trials.
Chapter Notes
Sorry for the late upload. I have been experiencing technical difficulties that prevented me from updating. But it is here! And it is almost 11k words!
In this chapter, I describe Izuku's hero costume. I will be including pictures at the end of the chapter. I recommend taking a look at them if you need to so that my description makes a bit more sense.
Also, in this fic, All Might is a slightly more competent teacher than in canon. The man is one of the older heroes and has a fair share of experience. I feel like that, combined with Nezu (and Izuku) helping him would mean that he does a better job.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku lounged back at his desk, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the empty teacher's podium. The other students had broken into conversation in the absence of their teacher.
It was the last class of the day, Foundational Heroics. The legendary class that set hero schools apart from ordinary educational establishments, and that Yueii was believed to do better than any other.
If he were being honest with himself, he'd say that he had high hopes for this class, because it was the only one that might teach him something he didn't already know, unlike the others that he'd attended today.
He'd assumed before that sitting in a class being lectured to about subjects he was already proficient in would be mind-numbingly boring. And it would seem that his expectations would not be shattered any time soon. The fact that all of the teachers were heroes was about the only thing that made it interesting, and that was a novelty that he felt would quickly lose its effect.
English with Present Mic and Modern Hero Art History with Midnight were the two most interesting classes by far, and even then, it wasn't much better.
He could already speak, read, and write English with ease, a fact that the voice hero had been ecstatic about, clearly already well aware of it because of his results in the entrance exam. Izuku had been used as an example for a good portion of the class period, demonstrating what proper English speech sounded like by having full conversations with the hero in the language. Though, Momo and Iida had both displayed a certain amount of knowledge and skill as well—albeit in slightly broken accents—and even Bakugou and Todoroki had answered questions correctly when prompted, though they didn't speak up to offer answers, so it was difficult to judge just how much they knew.
And history had always held a special interest for Izuku, so at the very least he got some enjoyment out of that. And he would admit that seeing the history of art where it applied to heroes was fascinating. It was something he hadn't spared much thought to in the past. Everything from artistic influence in hero costumes, to how certain heroes influenced art with their image. It was enough to stave off the boredom for a little while. At least until it was time for Ectoplasm to teach mathematics and he went right back to being glad that he physically couldn't fall asleep unless he wanted to.
So, yes. He was excited for this class. Hopeful that it would prove interesting.
Or at least, he would be. If there were a teacher here to teach it. They'd been sitting around for close to ten minutes and no one had shown up yet.
Quite a few of the conversations around him were speculating who it would be. All the other teachers had been well-known heroes, with the exception of Aizawa, and they all taught mundane subjects. So then who had Yueii chosen to teach them heroics?
Izuku already knew of course, considering he'd been having lunch with the man on a regular basis for some time now. Nezu had offered All Might the position as a way to urge him to retire, and to assist him in finding a successor.
He also knew that the man had been incredibly excited—albeit nervous at the same time—about teaching the next generation of heroes. Which left Izuku wondering why he was so late. Yagi could be a buffoon at times, but he wasn't one to be late. Or at least, he hadn't been in Izuku's experience.
Just as he had that thought though, the door slammed open, revealing the hero in all of his glory as he entered with a flair no one else could hope to match, much to the delight of the rest of the class. Izuku took note of the older, silver-age costume that the hero had chosen to wear just as one of the other students shouted out as such.
"Welcome to Foundational Hero Studies!" All Might started, voice booming in the small room, overpowering the students' shouts of excitement. "This class will be the base upon which we develop your skills as future heroes! Where we will forge you into the bright new generation of men and women who will serve as shining beacons of hope for people to look up to!"
"And to start that off…" He struck a pose, winding his arm back, before throwing it forwards, revealing a card with the word 'Battle' printed across it. "The battle trials!"
Izuku's eyes widened a fraction. Alright then. Ten seconds in and this class was already proving to be more interesting than the others. More fighting on the second day. He hoped that this was a trend that would persist through the year.
"But before we begin shaping you into the heroes of tomorrow, you must first look the part!"
A click of a button, and sections of one of the walls slid outwards, revealing numbered cases along their length.
"Your hero costumes!" All Might announced. "Provided by Yueii's own support course using the specifications you sent in with your applications!"
If the class had been excited with the appearance of the hero, now they were downright ecstatic. The revealing of their very own hero costumes was putting into perspective just how real all of this was.
"Now, go get changed! And then head down to Training Site Beta for the trial!"
"And remember!" All Might continued as most of the class scrambled to collect their respective cases, Izuku holding back to avoid getting in the way. "You are officially taking your first steps, which means that from now on, you all are already heroes!"
Izuku smiled as the man finished his speech, finally moving to grab his own case and moving for the door. He paused for a moment next to the hero as the last of the other students exited the room, the door swinging shut behind them. Immediately, steam billowed around All Might's body, dispersing a moment later to reveal the frail form of Yagi. The hero costume hung loose on his frame.
"What do you think?" Yagi asked, flashing a smile, which Izuku returned.
"So far, so good." He replied, turning towards the door. "Nice intro, by the way. It certainly got everyone fired up. Even I'm excited for what's to come."
He could practically feel Yagi's smile brighten as he exited the room, moving to catch up to his classmates as they made for the locker rooms.
Once there, tucked back into one of the corners, he quickly shed his uniform and stored it away in a locker. Opening the case he'd grabbed, he inspected its contents, grinning at the glint of metal.
He'd debated for some time whether or not he should go with his go-to uniform of dress clothes, maybe with a different selection of colors, but in the end, he'd settled on something new.
While his suits were still his favorite style of dress, and he was more than comfortable fighting in them, he recognized that this was his chance to experiment and wear something more fitting for a hero. And as he looked at his reflection as he donned the costume, piece by piece, he knew he'd made the right decision.
He started with a black, short sleeve undershirt. Made from some breathable, yet surprisingly durable-feeling material, it hugged his torso snugly, extending to just below where his skin transitioned to scales.
Overtop of it, he donned two pieces of a metal muscle cuirass. The front half fit so well that it felt as though it had been sculpted perfectly to his body, which it essentially had been, and the back half had openings to allow it to fit around his wings without issue. The openings were even lined with a soft fabric to prevent any sort of chafing. The two pieces were secured to each other by leather straps at his sides, ensuring that it hugged him tightly, and didn't shift with his movement.
On his shoulders, sat two identical pauldrons of the same metal as the chest piece. And along the bottom edge of the cuirass, a leather belt wrapped around his torso, flaring wider at his sides to provide an extra bit of protection. It had pouches attached to it to act as pockets.
Decorating the chest piece was a large relief image of a snake's head. Similar images decorated the pauldrons, though those stood out more and depicted a hissing snake, its fangs exaggerated for effect.
Izuku found himself impressed with the support department as he inspected the snake heads. The amount of detail in them was astounding; the one on his chest seemed to be staring at him, the eyes almost tracking him with how lifelike they were, and the ones on his shoulders looked as though they had been frozen mere inches away from sinking their fangs into something. Were it not for the metallic coloring of it all, they would've almost looked real.
His arms were bare from the tops of his biceps, where the undershirt's sleeves ended, down to halfway up his forearms, where his gloves began. The base of the gloves was a black, leather-like material. Stiff and durable, but still giving him a surprising amount of dexterity in his hands, despite how snugly they sat around them.
Down the length of the gloves, three pieces of metal stretched around his arms, covering from the edges to just below his wrists. Two more pieces covered the backs of his hands, and several sections covered his fingers. His knuckles, where his fingers met his hands, were covered by small indented pieces.
The most notable feature of the gauntlets that wrapped around his hands, was that the sections of metal that made them up consisted of multiple types. Around his forearms and on the backs of his hands, the metal was titanium. Aluminum wrapped around his fingers, and the small sections that covered his knuckles were all tungsten. The cuirass and pauldrons were all made of some form of steel alloy.
This was done for a very specific reason, and that was to accommodate 'Metallum.' He'd found that he couldn't store multiple metals with the quirk to use later, so the different metals on the gauntlets gave him options as far as what to choose, and parts of his arms being bare gave him an easy way to make use of them. That, and having metal lining his fists would add an extra bit of power to his punches. Having gloves to begin with was to ensure that he couldn't accidently use his quirk on anyone he did not wish to.
If ever he were to encounter something that he could not overcome with his enhancers alone, his first fallback would be to use that quirk, as he had learned some time ago how to limit the transformation to just below his skin. He had an entire arsenal of quirks at his disposal from which to choose from, but that one was among the simplest, while simultaneously yielding the most potent results. The drastic increase in his weight and durability, combined with the moderate boost in strength that it provided made it an ideal backup plan.
Of course, if it really came down to it, and his life was on the line, then he would resort to relying on Oni, but there were several steps he would take before he got to that point. Depending on the circumstances, that would mark a point of no return, as he would be revealing both his quirk and his identity as Oni to the world at the same time. It would mean the end of his enrollment at Yueii, and would probably be the end of 'Izuku' as well. He'd likely have to change his appearance around and essentially take on a new identity.
But something to that degree was unlikely, and not worth sparing much thought in speculation.
The final piece of his costume was a tiny, discreet earpiece that would allow him to communicate with Rei, or anyone really, provided they had a similar device. It was a carbon copy of the one he used at night.
It was a shame that she wouldn't be able to watch in on the fights today. He was always grateful to have her assisting from the background, but unfortunately, she was back on her normal school schedule of sleeping during the day and working at night. He wasn't about to wake her up out of nowhere for something as minor as this.
He'd also debated on whether or not he wanted to have a mask or helmet of some sort, even considering something that was similar to his Oni mask just to see Eraserhead's reaction, but eventually he decided against it. He had quirks to compensate for the protection that one might offer—there wasn't much that was better than a metal skull—and he was doubtful that there was any mask or helmet that could match up to him in terms of intimidation value. A creepy smile with the right amount of bloodlust in the air could work wonders.
Looking up from the mirror, he noticed that he was one of the only ones left in the locker room. Checking over all the different pieces and straps one last time to make sure everything was proper, he headed out to make his way to the training site.
Once he arrived, he caught site of the rest of his class grouped together in all their glory with their brand-new hero costumes.
A number of them had variations of simple spandex-like suits. Satou, Mina, Asui, Shoji, and Uraraka had all gone that route, likely going for simplicity since there wasn't much that a costume could do to augment their quirks. Though, he suspected that Mina's costume was at least acid-resistant, and there might be more to the arm and leg pieces that Uraraka was wearing than he could ascertain at glance.
A few went with something close to normal clothing. He wasn't quite sure why they would do that instead of going with something might be more useful for them, or at least something that was better suited to combat, but he wasn't in much of a position to criticize them as he had been close to doing the same thing.
Several had costumes that either served to reflect their quirks or at least looked more like a proper costume. Bakugou, for one, had a costume that very much reflected his quirk. And he suspected that the grenade-shaped gauntlets on his hands served a purpose beyond visual effect. Both Iida and Aoyama had gone a similar route to Izuku with their costumes. Both wore metal armor, though Iida's had a much more modern look to it and seemed to closely resemble his brother's, and Aoyama's had a great deal more flair than the other two. Sero had some sort of modern looking body armor, and Ojiro had gone with a martial arts Gi, which Izuku found himself approving of. It was simple in design and already proven to be a good choice for fighting.
Then there were a few that he found himself questioning the reasoning behind. None of them were outright bad in any way, but some of them were odd, like Todoroki's. He seemed to have encased the left half of his body in ice for some reason. Izuku couldn't quite tell if it was produced with his quirk, or if it was a synthetic material that was simply meant to look like ice. He suspected it had something to do with that being the flame half of his quirk. Maybe he had difficulty regulating that part of his quirk? 'Appraisal' hadn't mentioned anything about that, but he wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.
The short one, Mineta, had on a purple spandex suit, not unlike some of the others. But he also had some sort of pants that held the appearance of a diaper. He shook his head, moving onto the next classmate. It was odd, and he didn't see any real use for it, but he had no reason to question it if that was what Mineta decided to wear. Maybe there was some function to it that he couldn't see and that was meant to augment the boy's abilities.
Looking over at Hagakure, Izuku really hoped that the floating pair of gloves that gave away her position wasn't an indication that she didn't have a costume on at all. There were methods of creating hybrid fabrics using one's own DNA in order to function with their quirk. So, she should be able to have a suit made using such a material so that she could still utilize her invisibility.
Of course, there was the very real possibility that she was wearing such a costume, and that she had simply kept her gloves that way so that she was still partly visible in situations that required it.
Speaking of, Momo's costume seemed to border the rules regarding how much skin a hero's costume could leave exposed; a rule put in place and altered several times almost solely because of Midnight. It was probably to allow for her to use her quirk as much as possible without being restricted. He found himself wondering if that same hybrid material would also work with her quirk. She should certainly at least know about it, seeing as how it was her family's company that originally developed it.
He shook that thought away though. Once again, if that was what she wanted to wear as her hero costume, then he had no reason to question it.
Reaching the group, he came to a stop next to Uraraka. A smile broke out on her face once she noticed him.
"Your costume looks amazing, Etsumi!" She started. "I like the armor look!"
"Yeah dude!" Another voice called out, a glance in its direction revealed Kirishima. "It makes you look super manly!"
"Thank you." He replied with a grin. "Both of your costumes look good as well."
Looking closer at Uraraka's, he noticed the way her arm and leg pieces looked decidedly puffy. Those combined with the glass shield helmet she was wearing gave him the impression of an astronaut. With what her quirk was, maybe that was her intention?
Switching his gaze to Kirishima, he was once again immediately drawn to the conclusion that the boy idolized Crimson Riot. The costume he'd chosen was an obvious homage to the old hero. The mask, exposed chest, and the red cloak around his waist. Even the particularly rugged and torn look to the costume. All of it resembled the man.
"Are you a fan of that old hero, Crimson Riot?" He asked. "Your costume is fairly similar to his, and your personality matches up as well."
"That's exactly what I was going for!" Kirishima shouted excitedly after a moment. "He's so manly! And he's my inspiration for becoming a hero! So I based my costume off of his look! I'm glad you noticed!"
"I kinda wish I was more descriptive when I sent in my application. I hadn't intended for it to be so tight." Uraraka cut in, picking at the material.
"You can submit a request to change it, if you want." Izuku responded. "It wouldn't be difficult. Most students change their costumes several times before they graduate, and even Pro Heroes still change theirs occasionally to better suit their needs."
"In the meantime though, the way it currently is-is well suited for movement and combat; less to restrict motion and less for anyone to grab onto. You might find yourself liking it once you start using it."
Before she could respond, All Might cleared his throat up at the front of the group, drawing their attention.
"Welcome to Training Site Beta! We will be utilizing this site for your first lesson, the battle trials!"
"Now, for this particular lesson, we will be simulating indoor battles. Because while most heroics you see, on the news or otherwise, happens outside, these are usually random, uncoordinated acts of villainy. In reality, the true fights happen indoors, out of the public view. This is where the true villains lurk."
Izuku nodded along as the hero spoke. There was definitely logic to what All Might was saying. As Oni, the criminals that he encountered out on the streets or in alleyways were usually just random assholes that had no plan or reason for what they did beyond basic desperation or cruelty. Meanwhile, all of the groups and gangs he dealt with knew enough to hide themselves away in buildings. It was the difference between organized and unorganized crime.
"For this trial, you will be split into 'villain' and 'hero' groups to face off in randomized two-on-two battles! The 'villains' will be tasked with guarding a mock nuclear device that is set to detonate on a timer. And the 'heroes' must either defeat them or secure the device within the time limit."
Iida raised his hand into the air, cutting off the hero with a shouted question.
"Sir! How will these teams be decided?"
"By random lots of course!" All Might cheered.
"Is that really the best way to go about it?"
"Why, of course! In the world of heroics, you are quite often thrown into situations where you cannot choose who is fighting by your side. And you never get the opportunity to decide who you fight. As heroes, you fight whoever you must, with whoever you must, in order to protect people!"
He paused for a moment, waiting for anyone else to jump in with a question, before pulling out a box that Izuku assumed was filled with the lots that would be deciding everything.
"Now, let's get right to it! Step up so we can get this underway!"
A few minutes later and they had all been separated out, their teams displayed on a nearby screen.
A. Kouda & Kaminari
B. Ashido & Bakugou
C. Ojiro & Mineta
D. Satou & Shoji
E. Todoroki & Hagakure
F. Sero & Uraraka
G. Etsumi & Asui
H. Tokoyami & Yaoyorozu
I. Iida & Kirishima
J. Aoyama & Jirou
"With that decided, let's see who shall be fighting first!"
He drew out two more lots, announcing them to the class.
"First off is Group D as the villains versus Group C as the heroes! Villains, head to the designated building! You will have ten minutes to hide the device and prepare as much as you wish. Heroes, you will have that time to attempt to memorize the layout of the building and prepare your strategy! Everyone else, follow me to the observation room! Where we will watch and judge their performance!"
The four designated students split off as they made for the building that they would use, which was one of the ones closest to the entrance of the site. Everyone else followed the hero to another building a short distance away.
They all gathered into a room with one whole wall taken up by screens displaying camera feeds from the trial building. Once they were settled, All Might announced to the teams that their ten-minute preparation period had begun.
They watched as Shoji and Satou moved the mock bomb up to the top floor and settled in to wait for the heroes. Neither of them could do much more than that to prepare. Both were more well-suited to direct combat, though Shoji could at least hear when the heroes were approaching.
When the two heroes did finally make their way into the building, and located the room the villains had holed up in—with only minutes left on the clock—they met a wall in the shape of Satou and Shoji.
Satou's enhanced strength let him match up against Ojiro's martial skill, putting them on equal ground, while Shoji went after Mineta. The short student put up as much of a fight as he could, managing to stick a few of his orbs to the other, sticking two arms on one side together and making one other hand useless. But Shoji still had four arms to spare, and simply mutated another section of an arm and a hand to make up for the one that had been lost. Mineta was wrapped up in the capture tape after that without any more trouble.
From there, it was simply a matter of wearing Ojiro down. As skilled as the tailed student was, he was up against two veritable tanks that were both almost twice his size. They had him captured soon enough, and All Might announced the villains' victory.
After a short period to analyze the fight once the students had returned, the next two groups were sent out. Group A, Kouda and Kaminari as the villains and Group I, Iida and Kirishima as the heroes.
This match up wasn't much of a fight either. The villains didn't do much of anything to prepare. Kouda wasn't outspoken enough to try to suggest anything, and Kaminari didn't strike Izuku as the smartest person, so there wasn't much strategizing on his part either.
Iida used his quirk to speed through the building, locating the device barely a minute after All Might announced the start. And when Kirishima arrived, he charged Kaminari, letting his hardened skin take the brunt of the electric attack, while Iida dashed around Kouda to get to the bomb, earning a victory for the heroes.
Then it was time for Group H versus Group J. Tokoyami and Momo as the villains and Aoyama and Jirou as the heroes.
While the other two matches hadn't shown off much of a fight, this one didn't even have one to begin with. Momo used her quirk to barricade off the only entrance to the room they'd chosen. And while Jirou had located them easily enough, she couldn't do anything to get past the barricade. She tried unleashing her quirk on the room, but the villains were left unaffected due to noise-cancelling headphones created by Momo. Tokoyami didn't even get a chance to demonstrate his abilities, and Aoyama used his quirk only once, giving up immediately when a short blast did nothing to the door.
Izuku was once again struck by just how utterly useful Momo's quirk was. Provided she had ample time and lipids to prepare, she would very easily rank amongst the most potent students in the class.
"And next up, we have Group G as the villains, and Group E as the Heroes!" All Might announced as they finished analyzing the fight. "Both teams please make your way over to the trial building."
Izuku straightened up, a small smile decorating his face as he moved for the door. Finally, it was his turn to fight. And he'd been paired up against one of the heavy hitters. This was sure to be at least somewhat interesting.
The four students split apart once they reached the building. Todoroki and Hagakure remaining outside as Izuku and Asui entered. The mock bomb was waiting for them just inside.
Picking it up and settling it on his shoulder, he looked over at his partner.
"Your name is Asui, right?" He started. "Mine's Etsumi."
"Call me Tsuyu, kero." The girl responded, croaking like a frog.
Izuku nodded, slightly confused by her request but not questioning it. "Alright then, Tsuyu, we should probably move this up to the top floor. As far as I can tell, neither of our opponents can climb the outside of the building, at least not without us noticing, and the more time they waste, the better."
Tsuyu nodded along, and the two set off for the nearest set of stairs.
"What do you know about them?" She asked as they worked their way up.
"Hagakure is obvious enough." He responded. "Invisibility, likely through some sort of light refraction. She should still make noise though, unless she's had the foresight to request noise-reducing shoes as a part of her costume. If we pick a room with a single entrance, it'll make it a bit easier to watch for her."
"And Todoroki?"
"Todoroki is going to be the real challenge." He continued. "He's skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and his quirk is obviously powerful. He was able to get in on recommendation and score close to the top in the apprehension tests, and he hasn't even displayed his fire abilities yet."
"But despite that," He continued. "the biggest issue is going to be his ice, depending on how much control he has over it. I don't really do well in cold temperatures, and if he can create small glaciers with his quirk, then it might be a problem. Judging by how you appear to have a frog-based mutation, I'm guessing you don't much care for the cold either."
"That's right. It slows me down. And if it gets too bad, my body forcibly shuts down. Almost like hibernation, kero."
"Right. So it all comes down to how much control he has over it. In the apprehension test, he only displayed either large-scale, imprecise uses or smaller, more controlled uses. If we're lucky, he doesn't have much control the larger the scale of the attack. But we'd be better off preparing for the worst."
Izuku had been lucky so far in that he'd only ever had to go up against a cold-based elemental quirk once in his life, and that had been a fairly weak one that couldn't do but so much. He wasn't quite sure how he'd do against a stronger one, especially one to Todoroki's degree. He could withstand winter temperatures well enough for certain amounts of time, but he doubted that he would hold up as well against a quirk that could super cool the air around him.
On the other hand, Hagakure wouldn't be a problem for them. The rooms all looked small enough that 'Proximity' would be able to pick up on anyone entering them, and if he really felt like it, he could use 'Spectrum' for its thermal vision.
Soon enough, they reached the top floor, and started looking for a room to hole up in. It didn't take long to pick out a simple small room with only one way in.
"So what can you tell me about your quirk?" Izuku questioned. "It's an animal-based mutation, so I'd guess some degree of enhanced physical capabilities, probably centered around leg-strength given that it seems to be a frog mutation, and maybe even some enhanced senses as well."
"You're not far off, kero." She responded. "I'm a bit stronger than normal, especially with my legs so I can jump higher and kick harder. My eyesight is enhanced so I can see underwater. And I can breathe underwater for a while. I can climb walls, my tongue can extend up to around twenty meters, with full dexterity, and I can secrete an irritating mucus."
"What about you?" She asked as she finished her explanation.
"Well, the snake tail and the wings are obvious." He started, gesturing at the respective appendages in turn. "I can utilize my tail like a constrictor, wrapping around and crushing things. And it can cling to walls pretty well. I also have enhanced strength, speed, and durability."
Tsuyu nodded along as he explained, tongue hanging out in a way that he found amusing.
"Our best strategy would probably be to remain here and let them come to us." He continued. "Todoroki is an unknown variable, so it would be best if we are both here to face him, just in case. And if we're both watching for Hagakure, then we're that much more likely to catch her."
She just let out a simple 'Kero.' In agreement.
With their strategy worked out, all that was left was to wait for the preparation time to run out so that they could begin.
Once the preparation time had ticked down to five minutes left, with All Might announcing as such in their ears, Izuku brought up something he'd been curious about since he noticed that Tsuyu had an animal mutation.
"So, do you have any sort of instincts associated with your quirk?" He asked. "So far I've found that most people with animal mutations have them to some degree or another."
She nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes. They're not very strong, but if I see an insect, I'll occasionally get an urge to eat it, and they make me want to lay in the sun. And then when I look at you, my instincts make me want to run sometimes."
'Not totally surprising.' He thought. 'Instincts in prey animal mutations are usually pretty similar in that regard. The frog part of her sees a snake and automatically thinks "Run!" but-'
"Sometimes?" He questioned.
"My instincts tell me to run when I see your snake tail, kero." She responded. "But then I see your human half and it almost cancels it out. I think it would be worse if you had a snake head instead. I had a friend in high school that looked like that, and it took me a while to push past my instincts to talk to her."
'Interesting. Active conflict between animal instincts and human intellect, maybe? Part of it might be from familiarity with a similar quirk.'
"I see." He said. Then, "It's interesting to see just how deeply ingrained instincts are. I've always wondered how quirks managed to mimic animals so accurately that DNA matches up and instincts exclusive to particular animals are displayed in humans. My own instincts are relatively minor, just giving me the occasional urge to curl up in the sun, but even that might just be my own learned behavior as a result of my weakness to colder temperatures."
Tsuyu seemed to be drawn into her own thoughts with his words, a finger pulling at the corner of her mouth. They lapsed into silence, waiting for the time to run down.
Soon enough, they heard All Might yell "Begin!" over the earpieces, and Izuku steeled himself for the fight ahead of them.
Almost immediately though, he thought he could hear crackling in the distance, like glass cracking, and the air around him seemed to cool down just a bit. He was confused, until the sounds got closer and he realized exactly what was happening.
"Shit!" He cursed, reflexively trying to launch himself backwards as ice appeared in the doorway and covered the room in a flash.
Just moments after the start of the trial, the entire building was covered in a thin layer of ice. It felt like he'd just walked into an industrial freezer.
Izuku was shivering immediately, his breaths coming out in thick clouds. Looking back, he saw where the ice had creeped up onto his tail, all the way down its length. An experimental twitch of his muscles revealed that he was stuck for the moment. This wasn't very good; he could already feel himself getting sluggish.
A glance over at Tsuyu to see how she was holding up had him cursing again. The ice had encased her up past her knees. She was shivering, and her eyes were drooping shut. He watched as she tried to shake her head to snap out of it, but it didn't work, she seemed to be swaying in place. The ice was probably the only thing keeping her upright.
He shook his own head, working out a plan to deal with this. He had no idea at what point these temperatures would become dangerous for her, but he had no intention of finding out.
Sorting through his quirks, he pulled on a few strength enhancers, letting the resulting heat warm his limbs for a brief moment. He could already feel that he was losing sensation in his hands. Pulling on one more, he took an unnaturally deep breath, an ability granted by having a third, larger lung on account of his snake tail and another quirk he kept active at all times. He held it for a moment, before releasing it.
A cloud of steam billowed around him as the air heated by a quirk within him met the cold air around him. It filled the room, driving away some of the numbness from his limbs, if only for a moment. Tsuyu became marginally more cognizant as it passed over her, her eyes blinking halfway open.
It wasn't the best quirk to stave off the cold with, at least for himself, as the way it partially drew off of his own body heat meant that it yielded diminishing returns in this sort of situation.
'Note to self.' He thought. 'Find a criminal with a fucking temperature resistance quirk.'
Taking another deep breath, he tensed the muscles in his tail, tearing it loose from the ice that held him. He grimaced as he felt quite a few scales get yanked away by the ice.
Moving over to Tsuyu and ignoring how much worse it felt to move over the ice than to just remain where he was, he noticed that her brief return had already faded away again.
"Tsuyu. Can you hear me?" He questioned, nudging at a shoulder. He could just barely make out a faint "Kero." In response. What's more, is that now that he was closer, he could make out a faint blue tinge to her lips. The beginnings of frostbite.
"Shit." Izuku cursed again. "Just my luck that the two people that are weakest against the cold got put up against a walking glacier."
He needed to do something, and soon. With his healing quirk, he knew that he didn't need to worry about frostbite, but that meant nothing for her. She needed to be warmed up before anything irreversible happened. That, and he didn't know exactly how long it would take their opponents to find them.
After a moment, Izuku came up with a plan. Taking another deep breath, he let out another cloud of steam around them. Being closer to her this time, he watched as she became more alert.
"Tsuyu?" He questioned as she blinked up at him. "How're you holding up?"
"Tired." She responded with a croak.
"Yep. I figured." He said. At least she was conscious now. "Alright, hold on for a second. I'm going to get you out of the ice."
Without waiting for a response, he aimed a fist down at the floor beneath them. The impact shook the building ever so slightly, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the ice. The sound it made echoed around them.
He found himself grimacing. Great, now the others probably knew where they were.
One more hit and the ice around her legs had fallen away. She swayed precariously for a moment before he stabilized her with a hand on her shoulder.
Okay. She was out of the ice, but she likely couldn't stand on her own, and he couldn't just leave her on the floor when the others arrived, which was sure to be soon.
"Alright Tsuyu. I'm going to pick you up and put you on my back. Is that alright? We need to keep you off the floor and get you warmed up."
Her eyes were closed again, but he got a small nod in response. Nodding to himself, he picked her up from beneath her arms, lifting her up and gently swinging her around so that she was positioned on his back, nestled in the space between his wings. He guided her arms so that they were wrapped around his neck, ignoring the itching sensation he got from having someone so close at his back and right at the back of his neck. He could feel her shivering.
With that done, he moved over to the bomb, circling around it a few times to create a ring around it with his tail. The match was still on, and with as sluggish as he was, he didn't fully trust himself to be vigilant enough to notice Hagakure if she came after the bomb. This way, she'd have to climb over his tail before she reached it.
As he waited, listening for approaching opponents and watching with 'Proximity,' He pulled on another strength quirk, adding it to the heat that suffused him, driving away the cold just a little bit more. He let out a few more breaths of heated air too, in an attempt to keep Tsuyu's body temperature up.
Before long, he could make out the sound of a pair of feet crunching across the ice-covered halls, growing nearer. He only heard one, meaning that the two had either split up, or he was right about the sound-reducing shoes.
As they continued to approach the room, he let himself grow excited in anticipation for the fight. His heartrate increased, raising his body temperature that much more and reducing the cold in his arms to a dull, throbbing numbness. A blink, and 'Spectrum' shifted his vision, drowning his world in deep blues as he looked through a thermal filter.
Being in this situation, colder than he'd been since he was living on the beach, and with someone draped across his back, constantly egging at his fight or flight responses, was uncomfortable, sure. But that didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy the fight. And he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little curious about how this would turn out. He was far from the top of his game, and one of his opponents would continue to weaken him with every attack.
His hearts continued to pound away as he waited for whoever it was to reach him. Once they seemed to turn a corner in the hallway outside of the room—if the way the sounds changed in volume was any indication—his tail tensed beneath him, and he made sure Tsuyu's grip around his neck was tight.
"Hold on." He whispered over his shoulder. "The fun's about to start."
A few second later, he could feel someone just at the edge of 'Proximity's range. As soon as he felt that, confirming that there was only one person, he moved.
Launching himself forwards, he charged at the door. A casual swing of his fist and it was thrown from its hinges, embedded into the opposite wall and not even slowing him down. In an instant, he was in the hallway—one that was just as large as the ones in Yueii's main building—raising himself up so that his head almost brushed the ceiling and filling the entirety of the space with his shifting tail. One hand rested on the wall next to him to keep him steady.
The opponent facing him, staring up at him with slightly widened eyes, was Todoroki. Izuku couldn't quite tell if he was glad or not that this was his first obstacle. On one hand, Todoroki was very clearly the stronger of the two opponents, and the source of the cold that continued to plague Izuku and his partner. On the other, Hagakure was still unaccounted for, very possibly sneaking around and waiting for an opportunity to make a run at the bomb. At the very least, he wasn't seeing any sign of the invisible girl's heat signature, so he could focus on Todoroki for the moment.
As he stared down at the two-toned boy, watching as the surprise faded away and a hand was lifted in his direction, he drove all other thoughts from his mind. For now, all he needed to focus on was subduing Todoroki.
Izuku felt the temperature around him plummet, as ice exploded from the ground at Todoroki's feet. He threw a fist forwards to meet the incoming wave of ice, shattering it and showering the space in tiny crystals.
Deciding that waiting would only make things worse for him, Izuku took the initiative.
His fist impacted the ground where Todoroki was standing, the other student jumping back just in time. Another wave of ice exploded towards Izuku as he did, which was dispatched the same as the first.
Izuku didn't slow down, continuing to charge his opponent. Todoroki retreated on a wave of ice, much like he had in the fifty-meter dash the day before. He launched wave after wave of ice at Izuku, each one exploding as his fists met them.
Their chase led them on a winding path through most of the top floor, leaving a mess of ice and snow everywhere they went, or at least more than there already was. At some point, Izuku distantly heard All Might announce that half of the time had elapsed.
As their fight persisted through the building, to the point that they had almost circled back to the room he and Tsuyu had chosen, Izuku noticed something.
The waves of ice were ever so slowly decreasing in size. It wasn't very noticeable, but after having a few dozen launched at him in a few short minutes, he could see it. That, and he could see a thin layer of frost coating Todoroki's right side, like he was working to match his left.
It must've been the quirk exhaustion associated with using that half of his abilities. The massive initial attack combined with the fast-paced, smaller—yet still large enough to fill the hallway—attacks quickly bringing it on.
As the next small glacier was sent at him, instead of punching through it, Izuku skirted around it, low to the floor. He felt it clip the end of his tail, all but freezing it solid, but pushed through.
He saw the surprise in Todoroki's eyes as the boy noticed him, and a hand came up to throw another wave of ice, but he was too slow.
Izuku's fist impacted the ground at Todoroki's feet, but this time it was intentional. Cracks spiderwebbed, and a section of the hallway collapsed, sending the two-toned boy falling to the floor below.
Not waiting to see what his opponent would do, he sped back to the room they'd hidden the bomb in. Reaching up, he lifted Tsuyu up off of his back, setting her back on the floor in front of the device. Inspecting her, he could see that she was much more alert than she had been a few minutes ago, blinking up at him with her too-big eyes. Despite the cold that still seemed to suffuse his body, his exertion had still increased his core body heat to the point that there was steam rising up off of him. That must've warmed her back up.
"I'm going to continue going after Todoroki." He said. "Are you good to stay here and watch for Hagakure?"
"I'll be fine." She responded. "Thank you for warming me up, kero."
Izuku hesitated for a moment, before nodding. He turned to head back through the door. A glance down into the hole he'd created revealed nothing. Todoroki must've gone to find a path back up. Tilting his head and closing his eyes, he could just make out the sound of footfalls in the hallway beneath him.
Cracking his neck, a grin appeared on his face. Now that he didn't have Tsuyu around his neck, putting him on edge and making him focus on keeping her steady and safe from the attacks being thrown around, it was time to turn up the heat.
Descending through the hole, he twisted his body around so that the bottom of his tail rested against the ceiling, 'Gecko' ensuring that he stayed put. Once he was sure that the damaged ceiling wouldn't collapse under his weight, he took off.
As he raced through the hallway in the direction of the noise Todoroki was making, he found himself enjoying the novelty of traveling upside down across a ceiling, and vowed to try it again as soon as he was able. He quickly pushed past the slight unease he felt at having his orientation flipped, speeding down the hallway almost pressed flat against the ceiling. With normal legs, this probably would've taken some time to get used to, since he'd have to learn to always have one foot down at all times, but with a body that didn't need to raise at all in order to move? It was child's play. And to top it all off, he was all but completely silent as he moved.
Turning a corner, he found Todoroki sprinting towards a staircase. His grin widened as he picked up the pace. As he drew nearer, he let out another deep breath. The steam billowed across his body as he moved, warming him in preparation for the ice that would no doubt be thrown at him.
Todoroki didn't notice him until it was too late, his situational awareness limited in either his haste to return to the fight or because of the frost that still coated his right side.
At the last moment, Izuku twisted around so that his torso was the correct orientation. His hand wrapped around the boy's throat just as he was halfway up the stairs. Izuku slammed him against the wall next to them, careful of the force he put behind it, before continuing up the stairs, bringing them back onto the top floor.
Izuku was just about to open his mouth to say something, when Todoroki's hands latched onto his arm, and ice appeared down its length in an instant, encasing it.
He bit off a growl of pain and frustration as he turned and threw the boy down the hallway with as much dexterity as his frozen arm would allow.
Glancing down at the frozen limb as his opponent slowed to a stop and struggled to right himself, he grimaced as he took in the damage. The ice extended all the way from his wrist to his shoulder.
Where his hands had already been numb from the cold, now he couldn't feel his right arm at all. And the whole right side of his torso was tingling with numbness. The parts of his forearm that were visible had turned blue, and he could see that a section of his arm around his elbow was completely black where Todoroki's right hand happened to grab him. Great. Late-stage frostbite.
He attempted to flex his arm to dislodge the ice that was weighing him down, but found that the limb wouldn't respond. It would still rotate at the shoulder, but his elbow couldn't do anything. Grimacing, he lifted the arm as best he could, before smacking at it with his free hand. The ice was shattered and sent sprinkling to the floor. Rolling his shoulder to work some of the stiffness out, he found that while he could still move his wrist, he still couldn't move his elbow at all. Abso-fucking-lutely wonderful. A moment later, he pulled on his healing quirk, diverting some of his attention to start healing the dead flesh on his arm. It wouldn't be very quick since he could only halfway focus on it, and his ability to focus on much of anything was already being sapped by the cold, but it was better than nothing.
Directing his attention back to Todoroki, he shifted his balance, dropping his right arm to his side. He'd have to go left-handed for a bit.
Moving forwards, he shot a grin at his opponent. He could see where more frost had covered the boy after that move, and his shivering was more pronounced. It struck Izuku as odd that he hadn't used his fire side at all over the course of the fight. Maybe he knew that both of his opponents were weaker to the cold, but Izuku would think that he'd at least use it to thermoregulate.
Well, truthfully, it didn't matter one way or another to Izuku if Todoroki used his fire. Either he used it, and warmed up the area around him, giving Izuku as much of an advantage as him, or he didn't, and Izuku simply had to outlast him in the cold.
Were he in a better mood, and not dealing with frostbite in several parts of his body, he might taunt the other boy, but as it was, he was just looking to make sure that he and Tsuyu came out on top. So he just settled for the grin to hopefully throw the two-toned boy off. He wasn't surprised when it didn't seem to work.
His muscles tensed beneath him once more and, without warning, he was barreling down the hallway towards his opponent. The small waves of ice that were sent his way were swept aside, much weaker that the initial ones.
Apparently too tired to keep up his ice skating to get away, Todoroki settled for sidestepping Izuku's attack, surprising him just a bit with how quick the boy still was. A hand touched Izuku's shoulder, partially encasing him once again. He ignored it in favor of striking again, backhanding the two-toned boy into a wall.
Back and forth the two of them went, their fight taking them down the hallway. Izuku was mainly on the offensive, swiping and striking at his opponent. More holes were opened in the walls and floor around them as he continued his attack. Only a few attacks actually managed to land. He hadn't realized just how much the cold had affected him, slowing him down. The attack on his arm alone took a lot out of him. He was moving much more sluggishly than normal, and he only had one arm to attack with.
Todoroki, on the other hand, had been stuck on the defensive, forced to dodge around Izuku's attacks. Occasionally, he got the opportunity to strike back, covering Izuku in ice with simple touches. But with as weakened as Todoroki's attacks had gotten, Izuku merely brushed them off.
Shortly into part two of their fight, They heard All Might over the earpieces.
"Hagakure has been subdued by the villains! There are two minutes remaining."
Izuku saw the minute amount of shock that went through Todoroki at the announcement that he was now alone and was running out of time, and he took advantage of it.
Throughout the fight, traveling from one side of the building to the other and tearing through walls that got in the way, Todoroki had only ever been focused on Izuku's torso, dodging around the dangerous attacks.
He had failed to notice Izuku's tail.
Every opportunity that Izuku had, when they weren't actively traveling, he was playing out his attacks in a way that let him circle around his opponent. And now he could make use of that.
All at once, his tail closed in on Todoroki, wrapping around him before he had a chance to fully register it. Only his head and his right arm were visible above the coils of his tail.
The two-toned boy glared at him as he pressed his right hand down, ice immediately spreading from the limb to cover Izuku's tail. He grimaced as more frost crept across his right side in response.
Izuku grimaced right back, ignoring the burning cold sensation that was traveling along his tail. Less than two minutes left. It was down to who could withstand more. Who could handle the cold. Izuku with his natural weakness, or Todoroki with his dangerous frost buildup.
Would Izuku fall first, or would Todoroki?
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how he looked at it, Izuku didn't get to find out. 'Proximity' picked up on someone behind him, and by the time he was able to comprehend it, Tsuyu was racing past him. She jumped up onto the coils of his tail and wrapped a length of capture tape around Todoroki's neck, the only spot she could reach without risking his ice.
"Todoroki has been subdued by the villains!" All Might called out in their ears. "Villain team wins!"
Izuku let out a breath as he relaxed his tail, stretching it back out to inspect the damage. The majority of it was covered in a thin layer of ice, and it was practically throbbing with how numb it was.
Tsuyu, despite winning them the battle, didn't look great either. He could see that she was still shivering, and being in close proximity with the walking freezer was obviously having an adverse effect.
Todoroki, on the other hand, despite now looking like he was completely covered in ice and frost, stood up from where he'd fallen onto the floor without much issue, his expression had been schooled back into apathy. As soon as he was standing, steam billowed out from his left side, immediately bringing the temperature up several degrees around them. Izuku sighed in relief as it drove away the bone-deep chills that had taken over most of his body, and he saw Tsuyu nearly slump to the floor with the heat.
"Everybody please make your way over to the observation room." All Might spoke up. "I would like to review your trial before sending you off to the infirmary. Unless, of course, you wish to head there immediately."
The three of them complied without complaint, moving together to exit the building, Hagakure joining them partway down. Now that Izuku wasn't fighting, he was focusing most of his attention on his healing quirk. It was a good thing that All Might wanted them to review the fight before going to get looked at; he wanted to address the worst of the frostbite before he got to Recovery girl. The blue areas he wasn't overly concerned with, as uncomfortable as it was, they were still treatable and wouldn't cause much fuss. The area of blackened skin over his elbow, however, needed to be healed before he got to a medical professional that would know what they were looking at.
The skin in that area was all completely dead, and he still couldn't use his right elbow at all, meaning that the dead cells probably extended all the way through the joint. If he didn't have the healing quirk at his disposal, he would more than likely lose the arm. As it was, the quirk would preserve the arm if it needed to be until it could function once more.
He could pass plenty off under the guise of enhanced healing capabilities, but there was a very distinct difference between healing injuries faster than normal, and completely regenerating dead flesh. It would be like a normal person being unable to regrow lost limbs. Izuku could, and the longer he kept that a secret, the longer he could go with one less thing to explain.
The walk back to the observation room was silent. In the two days they'd all been attending the school, Todoroki had made it clear that he wasn't one for communicating, and Izuku and Tsuyu were content to enjoy the warmth that was still emanating from him.
That warmth cut out as soon as they opened the door to join the rest of the class, and they were met with their excited yells.
"That was awesome!"
"Dude, you tanked your way through all of Todoroki's attacks like they were nothing!"
"So manly!"
"You were sticking to the ceiling!"
"Did you see how quick Asui took out Hagakure?"
"Settle down!" All Might called out, cutting through the noise and sparing Izuku from having to think of a response. "Let's get to reviewing the fight so that you can make a visit to the infirmary."
The hero pressed a button on the control panel, and the screens all switched to replay the camera feeds, focused on the four students.
"Now, to start off. Let's review the hero team. Who can list off the things they did right, or wrong?"
Iida's hand flew into the air almost immediately.
"Todoroki froze the building to preemptively capture or weaken the villains without damaging the bomb!"
"Very good!" All Might responded. "When possible, it is always best to use whatever methods available to you in order to end conflicts before they have a chance to start! Excellent observation! Anything else?"
"He shouldn't have left his teammate behind when he entered."
"Yes! No matter how confident you are in your abilities, you should never disregard your teammates, especially when you don't fully know the capabilities of your opponents!"
"Hagakure didn't stay quiet when she was going after the bomb, allowing Asui to catch her."
"Indeed! Stealth is a very important part of heroics. And it is best to always assume that someone is watching or listening for you. Anything else?"
When no one else spoke up, he moved on.
"And what about the villains?"
"Etsumi helped Asui when Todoroki froze the building."
"Yes! It is always best to assist your team members to shore up their weaknesses."
"He left Asui with the bomb when he went after Todoroki so that she could watch for Hagakure."
"Very good! He made sure to leave the objective defended since he did not know the whereabouts of the second enemy, and at the same time, he pursued the enemy he did know of to prevent them from regrouping with their partner."
"Now, who do we think is deserving of MVP for this battle?"
"It's Etsumi, right?" Uraraka spoke up. "He freed himself and Asui when they got frozen and he kept Todoroki away from the bomb."
"I disagree." Momo cut in. "While that's true, he also caused all of the damage to the building, which is counterintuitive, considering it was his own 'hideout' that he was defending. Meanwhile, Asui subdued both of the heroes in the end, securing victory. I think she should be the MVP."
"You're missing the point." Izuku said, pulling attention towards himself.
"How so?" She asked, brow furrowed.
"While I don't disagree that Tsuyu should be MVP for subduing the heroes, you're mistaken in your analysis of the damage I caused to the building."
"The point of the exercise was not to protect the building." He continued when no one spoke up. "It was to protect a nuclear device set on a timer. Meaning that we were there to ensure that it went off. So long as the building remains standing until then, then it doesn't matter what other damage it took. It was a suicide mission."
The room fell silent with his words for a few moments, until All Might spoke again, cutting through it.
"Very astute observations on all sides!" He said. "Regarding the MVP, Young Asui seems to be the popular vote!"
"Now then, off to the infirmary, all three of you. You should have your injuries looked over by Recovery Girl."
The three students in question left the room from the way they came just a few minutes before. As they made their way to the main building, Izuku inspected his visible injuries and was pleased to see that the patch of dead flesh was good as new, and that the patches of blue on his arms were fading away. And the sluggishness and numbness that he'd been feeling since the start of the match had all but faded away by now.
Thinking back to his fight with Todoroki, he considered just how much of an effect the boy's ice had on him. As Oni, he didn't have too much reason to worry about it, because temperature didn't affect him any more than everyone else, but as Izuku, he could see it becoming a problem in the future, and not just in training with Todoroki. It was a weakness that needed to be eliminated.
He needed some sort of temperature resistance quirk. The sooner he got his hands on one, the sooner he could have that weakness compensated for, and he would become that much stronger.
Maybe he'd ask Rei to look into it tonight.
In the meantime, he still needed to see Recovery Girl. He wasn't worried about his own injuries anymore; the more serious ones had already begun to fade away, and everything else would be gone by the time he got home, but he wanted to make sure that Tsuyu was uninjured. He wasn't sure if he'd done well enough keeping her temperature up. Hopefully he had, and there wouldn't be any issues. He also wanted to get back to the training site before Uraraka and Bakugou's fight finished up. Theirs was the last one.
He wanted to see how much his old friend had grown, and just how strong his new one was.
Izuku's gauntlets. The three sections below the wrist and the two on the backs of the hand are titanium, the fingers are aluminum, and the knuckles are tungsten.
The cuirass. Instead of lions, he has snakes decorating his, in similar positions.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Friends
Chapter Summary
The final battle trial, and Izuku learns something about Uraraka.
Chapter Notes
Hey, did you all know that thunderstorms have a tendency to make you lose power? And that losing power is really bad when you're working on your computer?? And that writing for hours without saving once is a really big dumbass move???
If you didn't then allow me to tell you that it's, all true. And my sanity is slowly leaving me.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku hummed to himself as he made his way out of the infirmary, into the hallways that would lead him back outside. He moved at a decent clip through the halls, eager to get back to the training site before he missed too much of Uraraka and Bakugou's trial.
Tsuyu and Todoroki had remained in the infirmary on the orders of Recovery Girl, the damage they'd received being enough to warrant the old woman to order them to stay put. Luckily, all of the visible damage that Izuku had taken had been handled by his healing quirk by the time they arrived. He could still feel the cold—it hadn't quite faded from his extremities, despite the effects of Todoroki's heat—but after a quick check-over, Recovery Girl had let him go with a warning to remain uninjured and some hand warmers that he gladly stuffed into his gauntlets.
Once he was outside, he launched himself into the air in a flash, flying back in the direction of the site. As he flew, he was quite pleased to feel how comfortable his costume was around his wings. Despite how comfortable it had been when he initially put it on, he'd still been worried that it wouldn't last once he actually started flying. But once again he found himself impressed with whoever made it, because right now he didn't feel even the slightest bit of discomfort. Actually, if anything, it actually felt more comfortable than his regular clothing.
Soon enough, he was descending on the building where everyone was observing the fights. He didn't hear any explosions from any nearby buildings—they probably chose a different one after the mess that he made—so hopefully that meant that he wasn't too late. Deciding to forgo taking the front entrance, he came to a rest on the wall outside one of the windows on the top floor, maneuvering himself inside a moment later, his wings folded tight against his back once more.
When he made it back into the observation room, he could see that the trial was already underway. Everyone else was focused on the wall of screens, watching the students. It didn't look like there was any fighting taking place.
Once Izuku entered the room, Kirishima seemed to notice him, and was instantly approaching with a bright smile on his face.
"Etsumi! You're back!" He called, only slightly quieter than normal, and drawing everyone else's attention. "That was quick! Did Recovery Girl fix you up? And where's Asui and Todoroki?"
"My injuries were superficial." Izuku responded. "And the others are being looked at for the beginning stages of frostbite. Nothing serious."
He turned his attention to the screens before any more questions could be asked. "Have I missed anything?"
"Not really. They just started a few minutes ago. It was delayed a little because they're in a different building. Uraraka and Sero are the heroes and Bakugou and Ashido are the villains. They haven't found each other yet."
"Though it looks as though they are about to." All Might cut in. "So let's focus on the fight."
Looking at the cameras, Izuku could see where Mina was in a room with the mock bomb, on the floor just below the top. She seemed to be skating across the floor all around the bomb. Everywhere she went, the floor was covered in a slimy substance.
She could control the potency of the acids she produced. If he had to guess, he'd say that she was covering the floor in a low-acidity substance to increase her own mobility and inhibit her opponents. If the way she was skating around was any indication, she would have no issue moving in that sort of environment. Additionally, it probably had the added affect of intimidation. If the heroes knew that her quirk was to produce acid, then they would be wary of the floors. Though, if they were smart, they wouldn't be but so wary, as he couldn't see where the acid was having any reaction with the floors. If it were strong enough to pose an immediate threat, it would be visible.
Bakugou on the other hand, was patrolling the halls on the same floor. Looking for the heroes. Izuku noted that Bakugou wasn't moving to any other floors, despite having passed more than one staircase. It was possible that he knew that Uraraka could use her quirk to scale the building, and didn't want to stray too far from the bomb.
Izuku nodded along with his own inner thoughts. That was a smart move, Bakugou's team was on the defensive, he didn't need to search anyone out, just wait for his opponents to come to him. The longer the other team went without knowing where the bomb was, the better.
He took in as much detail as he could about Bakugou as he continued to patrol the halls. The boy seemed to practically radiate power, starting with the costume he wore, which Izuku would admit did well enough in the intimidation department.
Most hero costumes served as a sort of symbol for the hero that wore them, not really doing much else beyond their functions to augment a quirk, but a few served to intimidate to strike fear into any criminal that saw it, intentionally or otherwise. Endeavor was a prime example of that; the flames that wreathed him at all times bespoke the power that coursed below, and more often than not ended a fight before it even began.
Bakugou's costume followed this method as well. Loose cargo-style pants tucked into combat boots that extended up to just below his knees, with wicked looking knee pads attached to their tops. A tight-fitting tank top showed off the muscular build beneath, and a metal neck brace sat on his shoulders. A mask covered the top of his face, making it look as though his eyes were cast in shadows. Then, there were the oversized grenades strapped to his hands. Most of it was colored black, or a green so dark it may as well have been black, and had bloodred accents.
And it was clear that all of it was designed with fighting in mind. From the loose pants and tight tank top to optimize range of movement, to the knee pads, to the neck brace. Bakugou had obviously put time and effort into it. It was a costume that would at the very least make someone think twice when they saw it. Anything that hinted at explosions was something to be wary of.
Something about it tugged at a memory that he couldn't quite recall, something really early in his life. He shrugged it off, if it was important, he would remember eventually.
Beyond that, Bakugou moved in a way that at first might not seem unusual, but to someone who knew what they were looking at, was easy to spot. His strides were light, even, and measured, speaking of a sense of balance and movement that was likely ingrained by now. His shoulders were tense, but not overly so; ready to react but not nervous in any way. His fingers twitched down at his sides, ready to move and unleash the explosions that hid just beneath the surface. His eyes searched around him, but not frantically. Izuku could see the way his head tilted ever so slightly in one direction or another; he was relying on his hearing just as much as his eyesight.
To anyone that knew what they were looking at, and Izuku did, it would be clear as day that Bakugou was a warrior. Ready and able to fight at the drop of a hat, and with the raw power to do so.
Bakugou had always seemed strong—from the very limited time the two had spent together—whether that be in his willpower or in his unnaturally strong quirk, but this was on a whole other level. This was something that could've only been achieved by endless hard work and determination.
Izuku wasn't sure where that determination and drive would've come from—the two of them had said that they wanted to be the top heroes from the moment they could speak and comprehend that, but what child didn't spout off the exact same thing?—but it excited him. He could see that Bakugou was strong, and would be a challenging opponent for most people, and he'd yet to even witness the boy fight. And what's more, is that he'd had no clue until this moment. In the classroom, and even during the quirk apprehension test, Bakugou had given no indication of this strength. It wasn't until he was in a real fight that it showed itself.
A smile worked its way onto Izuku's face, somewhere between proud for his old friend and excited to see the extent of Bakugou's strength. He couldn't wait for the fight to start.
Speaking of, Sero was making his way up the staircase on the opposite side of the building from Bakugou. Creeping up onto the floor with his arms up, ready to unleash his quirk.
At the same time, Izuku watched as Uraraka came up a much closer set of stairs, albeit much differently. She floated through the air, weightless.
Her head peeked into view, and he saw the exact moment that she noticed Bakugou.
Pushing herself off from the railing, she drifted up to the ceiling. Izuku noticed the small movements she was making to control the direction she was facing. Her arm pieces touched the ceiling first and she seemed to stick in place. Some form of adhesive maybe? It would make sense to increase her mobility.
Once her feet touched down, she took a moment to gather herself before pushing off again, straight towards Bakugou.
She was completely silent as she moved, eyes focused on her opponent. As she drew closer, one hand stretched out towards him, while the other pulled a roll of capture tape from somewhere. Bakugou hadn't noticed her.
Just as she was within a few feet from him, nearly within arm's reach, and Izuku thought that she might be able to successfully sneak up on the blond, Bakugou reacted.
Izuku saw the split second where Bakugou's entire body tensed up, before an arm swung behind him, unleashing an explosion. It sent him forwards, increasing the distance between him and his opponent, and sent Uraraka flying backwards, untethered by gravity as she was.
He dimly recognized that someone in the observation room was praising the boy's reaction time.
Bakugou immediately dropped into a fighting stance as Uraraka pressed her hands together, yielding to gravity once more and dropping herself to the floor. She dropped into a stance of her own. It didn't look like she'd taken much damage from the explosion, though her hair did look a bit ruffled.
"Ashido." Bakugou said, addressing his partner, his voice broadcasted into the observation room. "Gravity Girl is here with me. Still no sign of the other one, so keep an eye out."
"Alright Bakugou!" She responded, still skating around the room. "Good luck!"
He didn't say anything more, instead focusing all of his attention on Uraraka, who was doing the exact same thing.
Izuku could practically feel the tension in the air, despite being several buildings away. He was practically vibrating in place in anticipation for the imminent fight.
On the one hand, there was Bakugou. Someone who was such a powerful, through-and-through fighter that it was basically advertised in every movement he made, and who had a powerful quirk to match. On the other, was Uraraka. Someone who had a quirk that could end just about any fight with a single touch, and had the martial arts skills to make proper use of it.
As the moments stretched on with the two staring each other down, Uraraka seemed to notice that she was on a time limit. Bakugou could afford to wait and run out the clock, but she couldn't.
She darted forwards, low to the ground and with one hand drawn back. Bakugou responded with another sweeping explosion, sending her back down the hallway. This time though, he didn't give her a chance to regain her bearings. More explosions propelled him through the air after her.
He was on her in an instant, slamming an explosive palm onto the ground, barely avoided by Uraraka as she rolled away. Bakugou followed through, throwing a punch as soon as she managed to get her feet under her, barely missing. She thrust a palm at him, which he batted out of the way with one of his gauntlets, only to falter an instant later when he saw the pink glow around it. Another blast sent him back to his starting position, and the two paused their fight as he observed his gauntlet.
He lifted his arm, testing the weight of it, or the lack thereof, before his gaze trained back on his opponent. Izuku could see the thoughts passing through Bakugou's head, shifting strategies upon learning the specific activation requirements for Uraraka's quirk.
Then, a moment later, a small smirk appeared on Bakugou's face, barely noticeable. He dropped back into his stance, small explosions popping at his palms in anticipation.
The fight began in earnest after that, and the extent of both students' skills were put on display. Uraraka, now having experienced Bakugou's explosions, grew more confident in her movements around him. She put just enough space between the two of them when she dodged in order to avoid the worst of the blasts. She pressed forwards as hard as she could, using every opportunity to reach for him to use her quirk, recognizing that in a battle of attrition, she was at a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, Bakugou actually became less aggressive. Not so much in his movements, for as hard as Uraraka pushed, he pushed back just as fiercely, but in his attacks themselves. He knew that he couldn't go in for a direct strike without putting himself in range of her quirk, so he resorted to larger indiscriminate attacks to keep her at a distance. He had the advantage of ranged attacks and greater mobility, and he was making use of that.
The fight took them across the building as the time ticked on. Along the way, chunks of the walls around them started coming loose and clouds of dust started forming as the exertion increased the amount of sweat Bakugou was producing, augmenting the strength of his explosions.
As it stretched on, and All Might had long since called the halfway point, the two students started to show signs of wear.
Uraraka's costume was burnt and torn in places, her arm pieces were almost scorched black with how many times they'd taken the brunt of an explosion, and her helmet had partially shattered, leaving pieces of the transparent material missing from its bottom edge.
Bakugou was faring better, but was not unaffected. His other gauntlet had gone weightless where he'd blocked another strike after Uraraka had managed to get through his explosions. And he had a cut just above his right eye that was actively bleeding, impairing his vision. Uraraka had gotten her hands on a piece of rubble and threw it at him when he went to unleash an explosion. The combination of the enhanced speed of the zero-gravity rubble and his momentarily obscured vision allowing her to score the hit.
Now they were back to staring each other down, both panting in their exertion. Their fight had paused right in a crossroads for the hallways.
Their focus was drawn away for a moment when All Might announced the capture of Sero, which surprised Izuku as well. He'd been so focused on the fight that he hadn't even noticed Ashido and Sero.
Uraraka didn't hesitate, charging in low to the ground in a mirror of the move she'd opened with. Only, when Bakugou went to send an explosion to ward her off, she rolled to the side at the last moment, earning a new burn to her side but maintaining her closed distance. She swung her feet around, seeking to sweep his legs out from under him. But before she could even make contact, the largest explosion yet went off right between them.
A huge cloud of dust filled the space, leaving Bakugou barely visible and Uraraka completely hidden. He quickly realized his mistake, cursing to himself as he shifted his stance, searching through the dust for her.
Uraraka appeared a moment later on a different camera entirely. She was floating through the air once more, kicking off the walls as she moved. With clear proficiency, she maneuvered her way out of the hallway they'd been in, and within moments was at the entrance to another that made up the crossroads. She paused for a moment, resting a hand on her stomach, and shaking her head.
Izuku watched as Bakugou, still searching for her, raised a hand to one of his gauntlets. With a quick motion, the entire structure shifted, partially spinning around his arm. When it clicked into place, a faint white glow emanated from a hole at the top of the lever. Izuku's eyes widened as the function of the gauntlets was revealed to him.
Uraraka pushed off the wall, shooting down the hallway, directly at Bakugou.
He paused, turning his head in her direction, either hearing some faint noise or being alerted by some sixth sense that was on full alert in the middle of a fight. He raised his gauntlet slightly in the same direction.
As she approached, an instant from reaching Bakugou, the dust shifted slightly, revealing her to him.
Bakugou didn't hesitate. He couldn't afford to. He dropped to the floor, just out Uraraka's reach as she passed directly over him. In that split second, Izuku watched as the gauntlet was thrust towards her and a pin on the side was yanked.
The screen erupted in pure white, blocking out everything else. Shifting his focus over to another screen, this one set at the end of a hallway, Izuku saw Uraraka—unharmed beyond the injuries she'd already sustained, but with her eyes shut tight—flailing in an attempt to right herself or to stop as she continued to fly down the hallway. Bakugou was already back on his feet and following closely behind, propelled into the air. A particularly large explosion launched her even faster down the hallway.
At the last second, she pressed her hands together, returning her gravity just as she impacted the wall. With how hard she hit it, it was a wonder they didn't all hear something break through the earpiece.
When she came to a rest on the floor, she was still for a few very long seconds that almost had All Might leaving the room to rush over, before they saw her shift. She tried to get her arms beneath her, finally succeeding after a couple failed attempts. Eventually, Uraraka managed to get to her feet, leaning against the wall as she stood on shaky legs.
"Two minutes remaining!" All Might announced, breaking the silence that had taken over after that last attack.
Uraraka hadn't moved any further, and was scrubbing at her eyes with her free hand. When she removed it, he could see her blinking as she tried to look around her, but it was clear she couldn't actually see.
'A flashbang?' He thought. 'That's very interesting. I had no idea he could alter his explosions to that degree.'
Bakugou had not moved since his attack, instead keeping his distance while Uraraka attempted to regain her bearings. Just as it looked like he was about to step forwards though, Izuku's attention was drawn to another screen as Ashido skated down the hallways. She rounded a corner and noticed Uraraka. Picking up the pace, Ashido sped over to the other girl, capture tape in hand.
Ashido came to a stop right next to Uraraka, before reaching out to grab an arm. However, the moment she did, Uraraka reacted. She couldn't see, and she likely couldn't hear, but once Ashido touched her, she found out where exactly her opponent was, and that they were within arm's reach.
A palm was thrust out, impacting Ashido in the center of her chest. The pink girl flew backwards, rising into the air and flailing as she suddenly found herself no longer tethered to the ground.
Pushing herself up off the wall, though still a bit wobbly, Uraraka shook her head once more, before squinting down the hallway in Bakugou's direction. Her vision must've returned to some degree. She took a few shaky steps in his direction, and he dropped into another stance, albeit much less wary than he had been previously.
She made it halfway down the hallway when All Might called the end of the match and the villains' victory. The instant he did, Uraraka fell to her knees, collapsing to the ground unconscious. At the same time, Ashido fell from where she was floating through the air.
Bakugou relaxed, standing up out of his stance. Walking over to Uraraka, and kneeling next to where she'd fallen, he flipped her over on her back. He stared down on her with some unreadable expression on his face.
It wasn't long before she was being carried away on a stretcher piloted by two tiny robots and the other three made their way back to the observation room.
As they analyzed the fight, watching replays of certain moments, Izuku found himself immensely impressed with Uraraka and Bakugou. The two of them were incredibly skilled, matching up to each other in hand-to-hand combat, and it was only the second day of their time at Yueii.
Izuku smiled. He couldn't wait to see how much they would grow between now and when they graduated in three years.
"Etsumi!" A voice yelled out. "Where are you going? The entrance is this way."
Turning around, Izuku saw Iida heading in his direction. They'd just exited the locker rooms after changing back into their uniforms. With the last class of the day over with, they were free to head home. But Izuku had a stop to make before that.
"I thought I'd visit Uraraka in the infirmary before I left." He responded, continuing on his way. "I wanted to make sure she was okay. That's something that friends are supposed to do, right?"
Okay, maybe he didn't need to ask that. Logically, he knew that it was acceptable, if not expected, for people to inquire after someone that had been injured. But it wasn't as if he's had many opportunities to do so in the past, so while he was perfectly aware that there were no official rules stopping him from checking on her, he had no idea if there was some social convention that dictated otherwise.
And he did hope that she was okay. She'd been nice to him so far. It would be a shame to see her get too injured.
He missed the look Iida gave him, eyebrows drawn tight in thought, before regaining his friendly exterior. "Alright! Then I shall join you. I too wish to make sure she's okay after her fight."
Izuku hummed to himself as they worked their way to the infirmary. When they pushed open the door, they found Uraraka lying in one of the beds with Recovery Girl fussing over her. She was staring up at the woman with the smallest amount of fear in her half-lidded eyes. He didn't see any sign of Tsuyu or Todoroki. They must've already left.
"I swear! That boy has no sense! Four students in the infirmary on their second day here! Two of them with frostbite and another covered in burns!" She shouted, all while wrapping bandages around one of Uraraka's arms.
Her gaze snapped over to the two of them as soon as they entered the room. "You two had better not be injured!"
Izuku found himself impressed by the fire the tiny, old woman possessed behind her glare.
He smiled. "Nope. We're fine. We just came to check on her." He said, gesturing at Uraraka.
"Well, if you ignore the first and second-degree burns, temporary blindness, nausea from quirk overuse, and hairline fractures to two of her ribs, she's just peachy!" Recovery Girl exclaimed, going back to wrapping another injury, her hands gentle despite the anger in her voice. "Honestly! Second day!" She continued, more to herself this time.
"So she's alright then?" Izuku asked.
"M' fine." Uraraka murmured from the bed. She seemed to only be half aware of what was going on, if that.
He got a sigh in response, partly from his question and partly because of Uraraka. "Yes. For the most part. I've healed the fractures and the blindness, and given her medicine for the nausea, but I can't do anything about the burns without her passing out. And she'll probably end up spending the night here with how exhausted she already is."
"Oh! What if we were to walk her home, ma'am?" Iida asked.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "If you really want to then I see no reason not to. Her injuries have been dressed and she's not at any risk for anything."
"Of course!" He responded enthusiastically. "I live not to far from her, so it's no trouble."
Both of them looked over at Izuku, who shrugged.
"Why not? I don't think I live that close, but I can fly, so it's not an issue."
She turned away at that, moving to gather up the supplies she'd been using to help Uraraka. "If that's what you want to do, then she's good to leave whenever. And I already told her, but since I doubt she'll remember much of what I'm saying, I want you two to remind her to come back here tomorrow so I can take another look at her bandages."
"Understood!" Iida responded, standing so straight, Izuku half expected him to salute.
Izuku moved over to Uraraka's bed and she looked up at him, her eyes seeming to take a moment to focus on him. He held at a hand. Blinking down at it for a few moments, and then letting out a yawn, she grabbed it, somehow subconsciously keeping a finger up to avoid using her quirk. Helping her to her feet, he secured an arm around her shoulder, making sure she wouldn't collapse under her own weight.
With that, the three of them made their way out of the infirmary, Izuku guiding Uraraka as she shuffled along, and Iida taking up the position on her other side.
Izuku was beginning to grow concerned.
He was still walking Uraraka home, though now without Iida as he had split off to head to his own house, apparently called back by his family. They were apparently getting close, and she was walking mostly under her own power now, the journey helping to wake her up.
The problem was that almost immediately after Iida left, and Uraraka started to lead Izuku closer to her home, the quality of the city around them seemed to drop with every step they took.
He wasn't really worried at first, as he thought the maybe she lived on the edge between the shitty parts of the city and the normal, slightly less shitty parts, but the further they went, the more their surroundings started to look like the areas he normally frequented as Oni. The areas that were barely patrolled by daytime heroes, and that saw a surge of crime when the sun set.
Granted, with how active he was at night, and with how many instances of crime he ended by sending the perpetrator to the hospital, the worst parts of his city didn't even compare to those of the surrounding cities. But all the same, it was concerning to see that Uraraka lived anywhere near here.
Then they came to a stop at an apartment building and his concern only grew. It was very clearly low quality, and he could even see where there were multiple windows broken out. This looked more like a criminal hideout that he would raid than somewhere people actually lived.
She led him inside without a word, and Izuku felt at least some relief when the interior was marginally better than what it looked like outside. But he still had a bad feeling.
After walking up a few flights of stairs—both of the elevators had 'out of order' signs hanging on them—she came to a stop in front of what he presumed was her door. She rummaged through her bag, searching for her keys. As she did, another door opened a short distance away, and out walked someone who's entire appearance practically screamed 'piece of shit druggie.' They spared a glance at him and Uraraka, eyeing the bag that she was looking through. Izuku could almost see the thoughts racing behind their heavily dilated eyes as they spotted a potential source of money handled by a less-than-aware person.
Izuku sent a glare at them, baring teeth that were momentarily sharpened and allowing his bloodlust to surge until it filled the hallway. They recoiled with a strangled "Eep!" and took off in the opposite direction, tripping over their own feet. Thankfully, Uraraka was still too out of it to notice anything. The bad feeling in his chest grew stronger.
After a few moments, she finally had her keys out and inserted into the door, unlocking it for them to enter.
'Please have a decent apartment. Please have a decent apartment.' Izuku found himself repeating internally as she led him inside.
Closing the door behind him once his tail had made it through, he held his breath as he went from the entry way into the house proper. He released it as he moved into what was meant to be the living room.
He'd expected it to be bad—as much as he'd hoped for her sake that he was wrong—but holy shit. The pit in his chest grew as his eyes trailed over everything, or rather, as they trailed over the room itself, because there was nothing in it.
The living room was devoid of any furniture whatsoever, and a glance into the small, connected kitchen revealed the same thing, nothing beyond a refrigerator and microwave. There weren't even any decorations on the walls, or anything that would make him think that someone lived here. Looking down the small hallway, he moved towards the doorway Uraraka had disappeared through.
'At least let her have a bed.' He pleaded, though to whom, he wasn't sure. Stopping in the doorway, he did indeed see a bed, only it consisted of just a simple mattress lying on the floor and a blanket draped over it. There was a small alarm clock sitting next to it, but no other furniture. No desk, dresser, nightstand, anything.
As he took in the fact that she lived in an apartment with no furniture, he recalled the analysis request he'd received almost a year ago, from Uraraka. It hadn't come with any payment, and she'd explained that she didn't have the money to do so. He hadn't spared it much thought then, but now? Now that he was standing here learning that it went so far beyond simply not being able to pay for a quirk analysis? Now his mind was racing.
His friend(?), his first one in over a decade, was living in an empty apartment. It was barely a step above some of the living situations he'd experienced growing up. Hardly even that because there was a definite chill in the air, and he couldn't hear the telltale humming of a heating system. Was she homeless? Squatting in this building because it was doubtful that anyone would care enough to check?
He shook his head. No, that was unlikely, the electricity was functional, so she at least had some way to pay rent and live here officially.
If not that though, then what? And along that same line of thought, where were her parents? Morbid though it may be, Izuku almost hoped she didn't have parents, because he couldn't imagine why parents would let their child live in this sort of situation.
"Uraraka." He started, drawing her attention from where she'd been kneeling on the floor, unpacking her bag. "You- I-. You live here?"
In that moment, with that question, all of her exhaustion seemed to vanish as she noticed that he was there with her, in the apartment that she'd likely intended to remain a secret.
"Ah! Etsumi! I- uh, I can explain!" She responded, her eyes going wide and a prominent red glow appearing on her face, waving her hands in front of her as she stood back up.
Immediately, she dissolved into a storm of muttered explanations, reassurances, and something about her parents. Izuku barely got a word out of it, enhanced intelligence be damned.
"Stop." He said, cutting of the flow of words. She looked up at him, red in the face and with the beginnings of embarrassed tears in her eyes. Izuku could understand the feeling. He'd never had anyone he interacted with regularly enough to be worried about their judgement, but he could definitely understand being embarrassed about one's living situation.
"Take a deep breath." He ordered. She complied, albeit shakily. "Relax, and start again. Where are your parents?"
"They live in the Mie Prefecture." Came her response, much calmer. "It's too far away to commute to Yueii and back every day, so they rented out an apartment for me to stay in while I attend."
"Alright. Next question." He gestured vaguely around himself. "There's no furniture in here."
Not really a question, but she understood nonetheless.
"My parents own a construction company that hasn't exactly been doing too well. Not for a long time. They couldn't afford to get a better apartment, one that was already furnished, and furniture is expensive. Even this apartment is a pretty big expenditure."
Izuku pushed past all of the obvious flaws in that line of thinking. Second-hand furniture, if you knew where to find it, was incredibly cheap, and even something cheap was better than nothing at all. He was about to say something, when she spoke up again, voice barely above a whisper.
"That's why I want to be a hero."
"What do you mean?"
Her head dropped. "I want to be a hero for the money."
This time, he saw tears actually begin to fall as she continued, the embarrassment of her living situation being discovered mixed with whatever new shame she was feeling driving her over the edge. "I know that's a terrible reason to do it, but they've been struggling for so long to support me, I just want to become a hero so I can give back and support them for once."
Izuku panicked for a split second upon seeing her tears. This was not something he was equipped to handle in any way. He was much more suited to hurting criminals than comforting anyone, thank you very much. Nonetheless, he pushed through it, and took a deep breath.
"That's not a terrible reason." He said, causing her to lift head to look at him, the question obvious in her eyes. "Selfishness is irrelevant when it comes to heroics."
"What do you mean?" She asked, wiping at her eyes.
"Let me ask you something. Do you intend to do the best you can as a hero? To save as many people as possible?"
"Y-yes." She responded. Then, shaking her head and with more resolve in her voice. "Yes, of course."
"Then the reason why you want to be a hero isn't important. So long as you do the best you can, no one can ever tell you that you're doing it for the wrong reason."
"Besides," He continued. "Even if you want to be a hero for the money, you are in no way selfish, because you want to be able to support your parents. That is, quite literally, the exact opposite of selfishness."
He could see the conflict behind her eyes as he spoke, and found himself wondering just how long she'd been holding in both her reasons for becoming a hero and her belief that she was selfish because of it.
"I guess that makes sense." She relented after a moment.
"Anyone with braincells to spare could tell you the exact same thing."
"Now." He said, looking around at the mostly empty room. "We need to figure something out with your living situation, because this isn't going to work for three years."
Her eyes widened again as she realized what he was saying, and her hands were waving in front of her again. "That's really not necessary, Etsumi. I'm just fine like this!"
He gave her a deadpan stare, cutting off anything else she was about to say.
"You have no furniture, no heating, and your bed is a mattress on the floor. That's not a healthy living situation. No matter how minimalist someone might be, there are certain bare minimums that must be met. Especially for a student."
He stared at her, not breaking eye contact. "Please believe me when I say that I know from experience just how shitty it is to live like this for any extended period of time."
"Yeah, but…" She trailed off, trying to come up with something else to say.
"Uraraka, do you have enough food to eat?" He asked. "Enough to eat three healthy meals a day?"
The way her shoulders drooped further was enough of an answer.
"I can help you." He said. "I won't force you to do anything, but one way or another, something needs to change."
She looked back up at him, and he took it as his cue to continue.
Taking a quick moment to plan out his words, he spoke. "Moving forwards, I see three options." He held up a finger, "First, we bring this up to Nezu, the principal of Yueii. There are programs in place with most schools in Japan to assist students with financial struggles, and with hero schools, the Hero Commission has a few similar programs of its own. It would be enough to get you everything you need for a suitable living environment."
He held up another finger, "Second, I give you the money you need directly, and you use it to buy everything yourself."
"Before you say anything," He continued when he saw her open her mouth to object. "I have money to spare. I could give you enough to get what you need, or even find somewhere better to stay than here."
Izuku held up a third finger, taking a deep breath as he considered one more time what he was about to say. "And third, you come live with me."
Immediately, her face was red for an entirely different reason.
"Wh- what do you mean 'live with you'!?"
"Exactly that." Izuku responded. "We have room to spare, and of the three options, it's both the easiest, and the quickest. If that's what you wanted, you could move there today."
Izuku wasn't completely sure why he was offering his home to her, especially when they hadn't known each other very long. As best he could figure, it was a combination of her being his first friend in so long, combined with him sympathizing with her. Either way, he didn't regret it, the offer was completely serious.
"You- why are you offering to do so much?" She asked, incredulous.
He sighed in response. Then, "We're friends, right?"
She nodded, "Of course! You helped me more than once at the entrance exams, and you've been super nice to me. We're friends."
He felt something warm in his chest—aside from his quirks—upon hearing her confirm that they were in fact friends.
"Yes well, I'm not exaggerating when I say that you're the first friend I've had in well over a decade." He said, ignoring the way her mouth dropped open at the statement. "And like I said a minute ago, I know from experience how terrible it is to live like this."
"And your parents? Are they okay with you offering a stranger a place to stay?"
"I don't live with my parents." He responded, a small smile on his face. "It's just myself and my older sister. And before you ask, yes, she's okay with it."
Well, she had no idea what he was offering, and they hadn't discussed anything like this before, but he knew that she would sympathize with Uraraka's situation.
He watched her think for several long seconds, considering her options. After a minute, her shoulders slumped forwards ever so slightly.
"It does suck to not have any furniture here." She said quietly, "Even at home we have a tv, and I have a desk to use."
"It wears you down after a while." Izuku said knowingly. "To have no comforts at all. Nothing to make a house into a home. If you go long enough like that, you start to feel like you're less than human."
She thought for another few seconds, before nodding. "Okay."
"Okay?"
She took a breath. "If you're serious, then I'll take your offer to live w-with you."
A bright smile appeared on his face, probably the brightest genuine smile he'd had in quite a while. "Excellent. Then, as I said, we can get you moved there today. You just need to gather up your belongings."
"Alright." She responded with a small smile of her own. "I'll get everything together."
Izuku nodded. "While you do that, I'm going to let my sister know."
With that, he left the room, working his way back into the barren living room.
He pulled out his phone to type out a message to Rei. She should be waking up pretty soon, if she hadn't already.
4:43 [Izuku]-
-'Just as a heads up, we have a new sister. I'll be bringing her home shortly.'
He waited several long seconds as the little notification popped up say that she'd read it, and for her to type out her response.
4:44 [Rei]-
-'Ok.'
-'It's only the second day of school. What happened?'
4:44 [Izuku]-
-'I found out that one of my classmates is living on her own, in a literally empty apartment, in one of the shittiest parts of the city.'
-'She doesn't even have enough to eat. I wasn't about to let that continue. Not with as nice as she's been to me.'
4:45 [Rei]-
-'Alrighty then. I can't argue with that. And if you're vouching for her, it's fine with me.'
-'Do you need me to do anything?'
4:45 [Izuku]-
-'Just make sure that my room and office are locked up, if you don't mind. I'd rather her not find out about either identity. I'll take care of hiding any evidence later.'
He just got a thumbs-up emoji as a response.
Just then, Uraraka came into the living room with her school bag on her back and a garbage bag in her hand that seemed to be filled with clothes. Izuku ignored the pain in his chest upon seeing that the entirety of her belongings that she'd brought to Musutafu could fit into two bags. He vowed to fix that as soon as he could.
"I'm ready." She said, stopping next to him. "What should I do about the mattress?"
"Leave it. Our spare room already has a bed in it, and it'd more hassle than it's worth to dispose of yours."
"Now, if you're sure you have everything, let's get out of here." He said, holding out a hand for the garbage bag, which she handed over.
The two left the apartment, leaving her key on the kitchen counter. Soon enough, they were back on the street. Once they were, he lowered himself closer to the ground.
"Hop on." He said.
"Eh?"
"We can either fly back, and be there in less than ten minutes, or we can walk and be there in over an hour. I'm fine with whatever you decide, but I know that I would much rather take the shorter option."
"A-alright." She responded. And a moment later, he had someone on his back for the second time in one day. The itching sensation was back as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was like someone was holding a knife to his throat. His body was telling him to throw her off and break something to defend himself, but he pushed that urge to the back of his mind.
"Hold on tight." He said as his wings stretched out.
Once he felt her grip tighten, he launched himself into the air, a bit gentler than he normally would. He ignored the way her grip turned into something closer to a chokehold with that motion. Within moments, they were soaring through the air, high above the buildings. Eventually, he heard the gasp that must've meant that she opened her eyes after the initial shock to look at their surroundings. He just barely heard her murmur "Woah" over the rushing wind.
Soon enough, he could see his apartment building in the distance. Once he drew close enough, he circled around it until he was on the living room side. Gliding down, he landed on the balcony, lowering himself again so that Uraraka could get off. He was glad to no longer have his instincts on edge.
Looking over, he saw that Uraraka was staring wide-eyed at the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one whole wall of the apartment.
He smiled, "It took us a while to get to this point, but this is our home. Let's go inside, there's someone you should meet."
Moving over to the door, he held it open for her, moving in right after. Once he was in, he saw that Rei was waiting for them in the kitchen. She had a bright, welcoming smile on her face as she moved over to Uraraka.
"Hi there!" She greeted. My name is Reiko Etsumi, but you can call me Rei. I'm Izuku's sister."
"Um, hi." Came Uraraka's response. "I'm Ochako Uraraka."
"It's nice to meet you Uraraka! Why don't I give you the grand tour and show you your room?"
"O-okay."
If it were possible, Rei's smile brightened even more, guiding Uraraka away to show her around, she took the garbage bag when Izuku offered it.
With that done, Izuku moved towards his own room. Dropping his stuff, he quickly changed out of his uniform and into a casual t-shirt. Now properly dressed, he made his way back into the kitchen, picking out the recipe he wanted to use for dinner, and mentally changing the amounts around to account for a third person.
He could hear Rei talking from the direction of the spare room, and hoped that Uraraka liked it. It was pretty bare, as there had been no reason to do much of anything with it beyond putting a bed in it for guests that they never expected to have, but he would try to fix that soon enough.
Humming to himself, he got to work preparing a meal that would be a suitable celebration for the unofficial addition of another member to their family.
Chapter End Notes
A few things:
Bakugou's costume is mostly the same as canon. The only differences are the lack of the black and orange explosive flare things that are behind his head in canon, and the fact that his gauntlets are a bit more complicated. He can switch between flashbangs and his normal explosions.
I know virtually nothing about acid, so take what I said about Ashido's acid with a grain of salt.
With the match up between Uraraka and Bakugou, both are stronger/more skilled than they are in canon, because of the age difference and because both have their own reasons for being stronger (ie. Uraraka and her analysis request to Deku). And in a close quarters, indoor fight between them, without the advantage of all the rubble in the stadium for her to use, I think that Bakugou would have the slight advantage.
I'm not 100% sure about Uraraka's living situation in canon, other than her family being tight on money and that being her motivation to be a hero, but I think it fits, and any discrepancies can be explained by the three year difference between canon and this fic.
I hope you enjoyed!
The Adventures of Oni and Shadow
Chapter Summary
It's time for Oni and Shadow to kick things off.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku's tongue stuck out between his teeth as he worked at the pair of pants in his scaled hands. The material was pulled taut as he maneuvered his hands around. One quick motion, and a clawed nail was poking through the material, creating a hole just beneath the waistband.
Dropping his claw quirk and pulling on the article, he inspected the placement of the new impromptu tailoring job in the mirror. Satisfied with his handiwork, he pulled on a quirk he'd stolen the day before. As he did, warmth spread down to his tailbone, and an instant later a tail sprouted through the new hole in his pants.
He reached a hand around behind himself to feel along its length, watching his reflection. It was almost pitch black and felt leathery beneath his fingers. It looked to be about as long as he was tall.
Letting it go, he watched as it floated in the space behind him. Focusing on it, he gave an experimental twitch to what he thought were the right muscles and was pleased when he saw it move in response. It wasn't perfect, and would take practice until he'd be able to move it with any sort of dexterity, but it was a start. It was a good thing he had his wings and snake tail; he already had experience dealing with an extra appendage that a human probably wasn't meant to have.
Satisfied for now, he exited the bathroom to finish getting dressed. He had an appointment with Shadow he intended to keep.
Halfway through tying his tie, Izuku heard a soft knock at the door, followed a moment later by an equally soft "It's Rei."
He paused, hands hovering over the cloth. That was definitely something that would take time to get used to; the need to identify themselves instead of just automatically knowing that it was the only other person that lived in the apartment.
Shrugging to himself and resuming where he'd paused, he called out in response. "Come in."
The door slid open immediately and she moved inside, maneuvering her tail in behind her quickly so that the door could close.
She stared at him for a few long moments as he adjusted his tie to where he wanted it, taking in a sight that she so rarely got to see. It wasn't often that she saw him as Oni. Partly because the vast majority of the time he spends as Oni is spent patrolling the city and because he leaves as soon as he becomes Oni and changes back as soon as he gets home.
Eventually, once he'd started staring at her in return, she spoke up.
"I wanted to talk to you about Uraraka." She asked. "What's the plan?"
He cocked an eyebrow. "The plan is exactly the same as what was discussed at dinner."
The three of them had-had a long conversation over dinner—reclining in the living room as they didn't have any proper chairs for Uraraka to use at the kitchen table. Something he'd need to correct before long—regarding the circumstances of her living with them.
Izuku had stressed more than once that it was entirely up to her how long she lived there. She could, at any point, choose to take one of the other options he'd given her—to go to Nezu for assistance or for Izuku to simply give her money—or if she wanted to, she was more than welcome to stay until graduation or longer.
He'd also emphasized that she wasn't just a guest there either, but just as much of a member of the household as he and Rei were. Uraraka had just as much free reign as either of them. Her room was hers, and hers alone; she had every right to invite them in or leave it locked to everyone but herself. She had access to any and all food and could eat whenever she desired, though he would continue to cook meals at the same times he always had. She even had access to the money he brought in.
He had no idea what her living situation was like with her parents, but he wanted to make sure that she knew that she wasn't limited, and that this was her home now.
Aside from that, Izuku had told her that he intended for either himself or Rei to take her out shopping to make sure she had a full wardrobe of clothing and had everything she wanted or needed for her room, from curtains, to bedding, to any decorations or furniture she could think of.
That last bit may have been a bit too much for her first night though, as she seemed somewhat dazed for the rest of the night, until she'd retired back to her room.
Rei huffed at him. "Not what I was talking about. I meant what's your plan as far as this." She gestured at him "And for 'Deku' as well."
"I want to keep Oni a secret from her for the foreseeable future." He responded, moving to retrieve his vest. "I can't think of any reason that I'd want her to know, and the fewer people that know about this, the better. Especially concerning people that have regular contact with Eraserhead. Though, obviously there's going to be some difficulty with that since my balcony is connected to hers and your office is right next to her room."
"It's a good thing that just about every non-glass surface in this apartment is built for soundproofing." He added as he buttoned up his vest.
"As far as Deku. That's a bit less of a concern, as there's nothing illegal about it, and the only real reason to not reveal it is my pride in keeping that secret for so long. She'll no doubt become suspicious in some way since I'll be in my office for hours at a time after we return from Yueii. If she decides to ask, I might just tell her the truth, since it's also my source of income and otherwise she might have another reason to be suspicious since you don't work and we don't have parents."
As he spoke, he sat down to put his boots on, lacing up the heavy black articles and pulling his pants legs down around them.
"So it sounds like, no matter what, everything will remain a secret until she asks about it or finds out herself." Rei concluded.
"That's basically it." He responded as he stood back up, bouncing lightly on his toes to test the fit of the boots. He rolled his shoulders, choosing that moment to also pull on his horn quirk, ignoring the slight itching sensation as they sprouted through his hair.
A smile found its way onto Rei's face as she watched this.
"Off to go help Shadow with his gang problem?"
He grinned, grabbing his gloves to don them. "Yep. I can't wait. Groups tend to be more dangerous the worse the crime is that they're committing, and the same is true the larger a group is. And this is a very large group of quirk traffickers, one of the worst types of organized crime out there."
"So what do you say?" He continued. "Are you ready to pick a fight with a crime syndicate?"
Rei gave a soft laugh at that. "I doubt I'll ever be ready for half the stuff you decide to do, but I'm always ready to help you however I can."
She reached out to him, cupping his cheek in one hand and letting the other rest in his hair, just at the base of one of his horns.
"Be careful." She said, her thumb caressing just next to his cheekbone.
His own hand came to rest on hers, and his smile softened. "Always."
With that, the two separated, and he went to where his mask sat on his dresser. Picking it up, he secured it to his head as he walked over to the sliding glass doors that would lead him to the balcony. Stepping outside, he hopped up onto the railing. He took a moment to stare up at the night sky, breathing in the chilled air that blew around him. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to begin slipping into the Oni persona, sorting through his quirks and picking out the ones he would need tonight.
With a smirk on his face, one that wasn't nearly as soft or friendly as the one he wore just moments ago, he tipped over the edge, flaring his wings and soaring off into the night.
"This is the place?" Oni questioned as he looked down at the building Shadow had led him to.
It looked like a rundown auto repair shop, and a small one at that. It had a larger section with two garage-style doors and another smaller one with normal doors that was probably smaller than his apartment.
"Don't let it's size fool you." Came Shadow's response. "It's basically just camouflage. There's a large underground system hidden directly underneath."
Oni's eyes widened ever so slightly at that. "Oh? Isn't that interesting. What else can you tell me?"
"I've been watching this place for about a week, and as far as I've been able to tell, this is a transit location. Other, larger facilities, whenever they transport people, pass them through locations like this on the way to the real destination. As far as I can tell, people usually end up sitting here for randomized amounts of time before moving out again. I'm guessing that it's to keep better track of who goes where, and to throw off anyone that might be trying to track specific shipments. Most transports are utility vans, but I've seen a semi-truck or two pass through."
"So what I'm hearing from all of that," Oni said, taking a step forwards and perching on the edge of the rooftop they were standing on, a grin appearing on his face. "Is that you found us the perfect location to start with. This place is bound to keep records of the origins and final destinations of every load of people that passes through."
"You're probably right." The other vigilante agreed. "But with an organization like this, I wouldn't be surprised if they destroy their records on a regular basis."
Oni shook his head. "In my experience, the bigger or more organized a group is, and the more successful they are, the more confident they become, to the point of arrogance. They'll have near-perfection from each of their members in terms of loyalty and performance. They might outstrip every other rival gang around them. They might even have their hands in a nearby police precinct or some minor local politician. But one thing they never do is destroy records. Usually, the more volatile said records are, the more likely they are to hoard them together into one spot."
"Besides, even if they do destroy their records, they'd still have to maintain them for a certain amount of time. If what you've discovered is correct, then they're handling constant deliveries of high-value product. Destroying anything pertaining to a delivery that hasn't been fulfilled is a recipe for disaster."
"I definitely can't argue with that logic." Shadow cut in.
"But I'd almost be willing to bet that whoever has been left in charge of this location has a safe or vault with a nice big book, or several, with everything for the past year or more. Something to ensure that he doesn't get killed by his higher-ups over someone else's screw up, or to serve as insurance for if he ever gets taken in. Handing over all of that information as a bargaining chip to save his sorry ass."
"Shall we go get it then?" Shadow asked.
Oni just hummed in response, before putting a finger to his ear.
"Phantom?" He asked. "How're things looking on your end?"
"Just about ready to go." Came her response. "I'm in the system. Currently working on the cameras. At the very least, I can confirm that this location does practically nothing digitally. Everything you're looking for would exist physically."
"All the better. That just makes things easier on us."
Reaching into his pocket, Oni pulled out a device that was identical to the one in his ear. He tossed it over to the other vigilante, who snatched it out of the air.
"So we can talk to each other." He explained as Shadow inspected the device. "And, more importantly, so Phantom can talk to us. Phantom is our eye in the sky. She sees just about everything, and will be watching through the cameras in there. If she tells you something, listen, because she'll be the only one able to see the entire picture."
Shadow nodded, wordlessly inserting the device into his ear.
"Hello Shadow." He heard Rei greet. "It's good to finally meet you."
He nodded again. "Likewise. I've been wondering who the brain is behind Oni's bullshit. I'm guessing that must be you."
"Now then." Oni said, ignoring Shadow's words and Rei's laughter. "Let's see what sort of fun we're going to start tonight out with."
His vision changed with a blink, and he looked down at the unassuming building. He spotted two people standing on the roof. A quick glance at the surrounding buildings revealed no one else.
Interesting. Smart enough to have lookouts, and to have them close together, and subtle enough to not have a veritable army watching over outside, so as to not draw too much attention.
"Alright." He announced. "Two exterior guards on the rooftop, with no others visible. Cameras?"
"A few exterior cameras, mainly focused on the entrances, but none on the roof. You're good to go."
He tilted his head over at the other vigilante with a smirk. "That's our cue."
With that, he launched himself towards the building, all but silent as he sliced through the air.
As he drew closer, he could just barely make out the shadows beneath one of the guards beginning to grow darker and writhe slightly. He adjusted his course to aim for the other.
With a pull on 'Cushion' to slow his fall, he twisted in air as he reached them, his boot connecting with their head before he even touched the rooftop. Looking over, he saw that Shadow had incapacitated his target just as quickly.
"That's step one down." He said, spotting a skylight and moving over to peer down through it. "What's the inside looking like, Phantom?"
"About ten opponents on the surface level." Rei started off. "They appear to be loading a transport van. Six victims in it, and a driver, who's one of the ten. The entrance to the first lower level is a staircase on the northwest side. From there, there's another staircase on the opposite side that connects all the lower levels, four in total. I'm seeing approximately forty opponents spread out through them. All of the victims seem to be in holding cells on the lowest level. I can't quite make out how many. Most of the cells are dark."
Oni nodded along as she explained. "Sounds simple enough."
He mulled over their options for a moment, committing her description to memory.
"Alright, here's the plan. Shadow. Your main objective is to take care of the victims. Disable the van when we get in there and then get to the others as quickly as possible. The last thing we want is for them to attempt to use the victims as leverage. I'll be handling the bulk of the fighting to cover you."
He saw Shadow raise an eyebrow at him. "You want to handle fifty-odd criminals with unknown quirks by yourself? What's your strategy?"
"Rather bold of you to presume I need any strategy other than 'throw the room into chaos and don't stop fighting until there's no one to fight.' I'm much more suited to direct combat than you are, Shadow, which is why we're doing it this way."
This time, Shadow's face twisted with something akin to disapproval. "That's hardly a strategy at all. With a group like this, you ought to have a thoroughly thought-out plan of action. It's bad enough that we don't know the exact layout of this place, we shouldn't make it worse by not planning."
Oni started laughing at the vigilante's words, low and quiet and carrying a sense of danger as it sounded out across the rooftop. Still laughing, he reached down and started undoing the laces of his boots, kicking them off a moment later. His socks quickly followed.
"Oh Shadow." He said, pulling on a quirk that had his teeth sharpening in his mouth, and baring them for the other vigilante to see, enjoying his reaction. "You understand so very little."
He pulled on one more, and felt his legs grow warm in response. The new warmth began at his waist and started to travel down his legs. As it did, he felt the odd sensation that usually accompanied his scaled claw quirk. Once it reached his ankles, he felt his bones shift and rearrange themselves, lengthening and changing. Moments later, where his feet had been, were two gross approximations of the appendages. His legs were completely covered in scales and decorated with razor sharp claws on the ends of his new toes. They were also digitigrade, raising his height by a good bit. Where before Shadow had been a few inches taller than him, Oni now reversed that, standing taller than Shadow.
"I live for close quarters fighting. More than you can ever know." Oni said, moving on to his arms, pulling off his gloves and rolling up his sleeves as Shadow watched on with a bewildered expression. "A good portion of my life, and certainly most, if not all, of my career as Oni has been defined by fighting. And at this point, I feel that it wouldn't be too out of line to say that I've become quite proficient at it."
"And in all of the fights that I've won, and in the very, very few that I've lost, one thing has made itself abundantly clear."
His claw quirk flashed across his arms for the second time that night, sprouting scales that matched those decorating his legs.
"The more chaotic and confusing a situation is, whatever the cause of that might be, the quicker your opponents descend into fear, panic, and desperation. It makes it harder for them to focus on you, makes it more difficult for them to plan farther ahead than their immediate next action, and makes them easier to predict and manipulate. In short, the more chaotic a situation, the easier it is to control to your whim."
"So that's why I said what I said, Shadow." Oni continued. "I don't need a specific strategy, because chaos is my strategy."
He stood up straight, flaring his wings behind him. "When I fight, I go in fast and with overwhelming force. And the moment a room is thrown into chaos, it becomes mine to command."
Oni could imagine how he looked in that moment. Standing close to seven feet tall; nearly gargantuan in comparison to average heights in Japan, with scales covering most of his exposed flesh. Razor-sharp claws decorating his hands and feet; which didn't look human in any sense. Razor-sharp teeth filling his mouth. Ridged horns sweeping over his head. A pitch-black tail that twitched in time with his growing excitement, and a massive set of leathery wings stretched out behind him that made him look that much larger.
He probably looked decidedly demonic, or draconic. Either one worked well enough for him.
Combine that with the dangerous excitement beginning to roll off of him in waves and he imagined that he appeared downright terrifying.
Good.
He wanted them to be afraid. Criminals in this city hadn't been allowed to experience true fear yet. Simply because they were lucky enough to exist just far enough away that Oni didn't pursue them. But he would be sure to rectify that. Starting here.
Taking a breath, he pulled from the bundle in his chest one more time, suffusing his limbs in the warmth of strength and speed quirks.
It likely wasn't exactly necessary for him to do this much, but this was his first encounter with this crime syndicate, that supposedly had a presence across the entire country. He didn't want to be caught off guard. And he'd use this as a benchmark of sorts, to set the standard for the rest of this endeavor.
He spared one last look over at Shadow, who was watching him with a visible amount of fear in his eyes. "Let's get this party started, shall we?"
Without waiting for a response, he took a step towards the skylight, fist rearing back. The night seemed to freeze as his fist hung in the air, dragging the fraction of a second out. Holding a breath in anticipation for the fight to kick off. It was the calm before the storm, and he relished it.
His fist struck the skylight, shattering it and sending glass raining to the floor below.
The criminals inside all froze to stare up at the window in varying degrees of shock or surprise. But by the time the first one was able to turn their eyes to it, Oni was gone.
On the other side of the room, one of Oni's hands wrapped around a criminal's throat, lifting them into the air. An instant later they were soaring across the room to collide with another, sending them both collapsing to the floor.
From there, he darted forwards, planting a knee into the chest of one who'd just managed to turn towards him. Another right next to them fell when he landed a fist to the side of their head.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Shadow coalescing out of the darkness close to the van. A flick of the other vigilante's wrist, and two knives embedded themselves into the van's tires. Another movement of his other hand, and the shadows inside the van started to twist and writhe before wrapping around the driver's neck, slamming his head into the door window with enough force to shatter it.
Satisfied that the victims in the van wouldn't be going anywhere soon, Oni returned all of his attention to the five remaining criminals. As expected, they all practically radiated fear as they looked at the intruder before them. He could just about feel the desperation in the air.
After another moment of staring each other down though, they seemed to gather their nerves. He watched their expressions harden and, as one, they charged at him, a grim determination in their eyes.
'Loyalty to the gang.' He thought to himself. 'They're prepared to put their lives on the line.'
His smile stretched wider as he watched their charge, quirks at the ready. A blade quirk, arms that seemed to be made of dirt, or mud, electricity, a drawn back fist where the arm it was attached to was condensing into itself like a spring, and claws; in that order from right to left. All close quarters, nothing concerning.
The floor beneath him cracked as he launched forwards to meet them. Faster than they could react, he was in front of Knife Quirk. He grabbed their arm, taking pleasure in the feeling of the bones shattering under his grip, and swung them around. He directed their hand, and the blade that was emerging from the center of its palm, into the shoulder of Mud Arms. He enjoyed the split second that their screams rang out before they cut off as he slammed them both into the ground. He grabbed Electric Quirk by the neck, lifting them into the air before slamming them down just like the other two.
By that point, Spring Arms had-had just enough time to stop and turn towards him. The fist was thrown at him, its speed boosted by the tension in the arm behind it. Oni caught it in his hand. He smiled at the offending criminal before he clamped down on their fist, crushing the bones. Just as they started to scream, he pulled them closer, bringing up a scaled foot at the same time to rest on their chest.
With a quick flex of his leg, Spring Arms was launched into Claw Quirk, and the two of them flew across the room, right into the rear doors of the van, denting them.
With the immediate threats dealt with, he looked up at Shadow, who was perched up in the rafters, watching the fight.
"What're you doing all the way up there?" He questioned. "All the fun's down here."
"With how you fight, I feel like it's better to stay out your way as much as possible. After less than a minute of watching you, it's clear that you hold up to your claim of being proficient in close quarters, and you have a tendency to throw people around."
"See?" Oni asked, spreading his arms out. "I know what I'm talking about, Shadow. You might be older than me by over a decade, but I have leagues more experience when it comes to fighting."
He was going to say something else when Rei spoke up, interrupting the conversation.
"You two need to move. Now. The rest of the building knows you're there. They're scrambling."
They complied immediately, heading for where she'd told them the staircase would be. It was secured behind a sturdy metal door, but it didn't stand a chance against Oni's boosted strength.
He'd gotten a taste of the fight now. Nothing would be able to get in his way to keep him from the rest.
As the remains of the door clattered along the ground where he'd thrown it behind him, he could make out the beginnings of shouting coming up the stairs. The stairwell was completely shrouded in darkness, but he could feel people moving around beneath him. It was like they'd disturbed an ant hill.
"And so, the real fun begins." He said quietly, almost to himself.
"Don't fall behind, Shadow." He said over his shoulder as they watched the doorway. "This is where the real fight starts. Stay close, provide support where you can, if you want. And do your best not to die."
Just as those words left his mouth, a figure launched themselves out of the darkness at them. Not even moving from where he was standing, Oni threw a leg up in a kick, connecting with the side of their head and sending them off to the side.
"Yes. Fight like your lives are on the line. It makes it all the more interesting."
Blinking the thermal vision back into his eyes once more, he darted forwards when it revealed the next criminal about to charge them. His hand clamped over their forehead, slamming them back into the wall behind them, and sending them collapsing to the floor.
Smartly, no one else tried to ambush them in the cramped space of the stairwell. They paused once they reached the bottom. Oni could feel a number of opponents on the other side of the door. He could feel his excitement growing exponentially at what was about to happen. He allowed his bloodlust to flare in response. It thickened the air around them, and he could see the shadows start to writhe around him as the other vigilante reacted to it.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forwards and kicked the door clean off its hinges. Before it even landed, he was in through the doorway, taking in the crowd around him. Smirking, he brought his hands together in front of him with every bit of force his augmented muscles could produce. The clap rang out through the room, only intensified by how small the space was. He could see where most of the criminals were recoiling from the harsh noise and took that opportunity to get things started in earnest.
He leapt at the nearest criminal, a deep booming laugh echoing from his chest as he closed in on them.
The next several minutes passed in a blur of screaming, broken bones, rushing wind as he darted around, and a number of superficial injuries—little more than paper cuts and bruises—as Oni and Shadow worked through the underground facility.
After the initial crowd that met them when the left the stairwell, the rest of the criminals were largely spread out, scrambling to respond to the intruders. Most of them fell before they even knew what was happening, with Oni taking them down as soon as they came into view. Occasionally they came across a larger group. When they did, Oni would charge them just the same, but he would usually find them immobilized by the shadows at their feet, holding them in place and making it that much easier to put them down.
As they passed through the first and second layers, their quick searches through the rooms revealed nothing of importance. Most of what they came across was storage space for food, clothing, or other miscellaneous supplies that didn't matter. Oni came to the conclusion that this facility must've been more than just a simple transit location. Maybe it served to process victims as well, given the number of medical examination rooms they also found. Despite those rooms though, they still didn't find anything of value beyond a scant few basic medical charts. Anywhere that might've had anything of value looked like it had been cleared out just before, which they likely had.
They were retrieving any records to be carried in before Oni or Shadow could get their hands on them. Whether their intent was to destroy, or to simply hoard and keep away from them, it was too early to tell.
When they reached the third layer, there was a noticeable increase in intensity. There were more criminals waiting for them at the stairs than there were on the first layer, and they all had a much more noticeable desperation in their eyes as they fought.
They all fell, just the same. And Oni reveled in their pain and panic.
This layer also had rooms filled with beds, as well as a small cafeteria. Residential space for the criminals. They still didn't find anything useful.
Finally, the two of them stood outside a decidedly more ornate looking door. It wasn't anything especially fancy, but compared to the bland concrete and steel that seemed to make up the rest of the facility, it was quite the difference. It wasn't hard to figure out that this would be where the boss was.
Rei confirmed his guess a moment later.
"There's one more on the other side of that door." She announced. "There's also two more on the layer beneath you with all the victims."
Oni hummed in response as he stepped closer to the door. Thrusting his hand forwards, his clawed fingers sunk into it. A quick tug, and the door pulled free and was tossed behind him.
He stepped into the room, only to freeze as his instincts reacted for him.
His hand darted up to catch the knife that had been thrown at him, closing around the blade just as it touched his chest. He could feel the tip poking through the material of his clothes, a hairsbreadth away from breaking skin and sinking into his heart.
The offending criminal was sitting at a desk at the end of the room, big, bald, and very angry. The desk was almost annoyingly large and there was an enormous landscape painting taking up half the wall behind him. Oni found himself looking forward to what he was about to do. This criminal very obviously had an overinflated sense of his own self-importance, as if he wasn't the boss of some random transit location.
He had an expression on his face that said that he'd very much like to stab Oni, but otherwise there was no indication that he'd thrown the knife.
"Shadow." He said, crushing the blade in his hand and tossing it away. "Be a dear and go take care of the two downstairs, and secure the victims. I think I need to have a chat with the boss."
The other vigilante didn't respond, but Oni heard his footsteps as he ran off.
"Now then." Oni started off, darting across the room faster than the eye could follow and perching on the desk. "Let's have some fun."
The criminal blinked in surprise for a moment at Oni's speed, before his expression hardened once more. In an instant, another knife materialized in his hand out of thin air and was thrust at Oni's head.
Oni's hand darted out once more. Only this time, instead of destroying the blade, he snatched it out of The man's grip. Then, in one deft movement, he spun it around and stabbed it through the back of his outstretched hand. Oni's smile stretched wider as the man bit back a scream, letting out little more than a grunt at the pain. Good. The ones with a high pain tolerance were always the most fun.
"Who the fuck are you!?" The criminal grunted out, cradling their bleeding hand.
"As cliché as it is to say." Oni responded. "I'm your worst nightmare."
He ignored Rei's quiet snickering in his ear and Shadow's annoyed sigh.
"I recently discovered the existence of your gang, The Triad, and have decided that you aren't allowed to exist anymore. I've come here, because you're the first one to fall, and because you're going to give us information about other locations."
"I'm not telling you shit!" The man all but roared in his face, before punching at him with their uninjured fist.
Oni let out a quiet laugh as he gently caught the offending hand by the wrist. "You misunderstand. I don't expect you to give me anything. It's painfully obvious that the obnoxiously large painting behind you is hiding a vault of some sort. I have a feeling that what we need is in there."
"No." Oni almost whispered. "What I expect from you is to scream for me."
Confusion flashed across the criminal's face for an instant, before Oni's grip tightened around his wrist, bending it back unnaturally far and snapping it. He still didn't scream, which Oni found equal parts exciting and disappointing. So he bent it in the opposite direction, eliciting more harsh crunches from the appendage and finally a deep guttural scream of pain.
"Ah~ there it is." Oni sing-songed. "It just took a little bit of work."
"Fuck you!"
Oni's other hand flashed out, impacting the criminal's nose and snapping his head back. When he lifted it again, blood was already starting to pour down his face.
"Now now. There's no need to be rude. We're just having a little fun."
He reached over and snatched up the other arm—the knife had since vanished, leaving the wound to bleed freely—the bones crunching just as the others had as he gripped it. More screams sounded out as the criminal lost the fight to retain his composure.
Oh how Oni wished he could take the man's quirk. Not necessarily for the quirk itself, manifesting knives was interesting, but not very useful to him. No, he just wanted to for the pure act of causing the man pain.
He was a criminal. More than that though, he was one that actively took part in and directed quirk trafficking, treating humans as cattle for their quirks. He deserved it more than anyone else Oni had fought tonight.
The only reason he didn't was because he wasn't sure if he really wanted to waste the time to do so. That, and he didn't want to put Shadow's sensibilities to the test by going that far. He could already just about feel the man's disapproval over what he was doing, and didn't want to push it farther than he needed to. No sense in breaking apart their partnership over a few minutes of entertainment.
Instead, he settled for lifting the criminal up by his broken arms. Standing up on the desk, he suspended the man up off the floor. Twisting in place, he brought a foot up to the man's ribs, kicking him off to the side. He dropped to the floor unconscious below where he'd hit the wall.
Hopping off the desk, he turned his attention to the massive painting. Blinking, his vision washed out as it switched to x-ray. He could see that there was definitely a vault door of sorts on the other side, but couldn't see anything past it. The metal was either thick enough to block it, or contained some amount of lead.
Pulling at one edge of the painting, it swung open on a hinge, revealing the door. He could see a keypad set into its center. Password protected then.
"Phantom. I don't suppose this door is something you can open from your end?" He asked as he inspected it.
A few moments passed as he waited for her answer. Then, "Doesn't look like it. Whatever sort of system it is, it's completely separate from the rest of the building. It probably has its own power source too."
He considered his options as he continued to stare at the door. Sorting through the quirks in his chest, he couldn't think of anything that would be able to get the door open. Well, he could if the door were iron, but it wasn't so that didn't change anything. That left him with two options, try to guess the correct code, which he had no interest in attempting—even if it were a simple four-digit code, which he greatly doubted, that was still ten thousand combinations—or he could attempt to brute force the door open.
Or… He could try to brute force something else?
Humming to himself, he exited the office, moving to an adjacent room. He kept x-ray going as he did, keeping an eye on the vault through the regular walls. He smiled as he laid a hand on the concrete wall that covered the metal of the vault.
Vault doors would always be the strongest part of the structure, as it was the only part that should be visible, and therefore the only part that people would attempt to force their way through. So if he went through one of the slightly weaker walls…
He clenched a fist in front of him as he pulled on 'Metallum,' the transformation moving over him and adding weight to his limbs. Once it was in place, he brought his fists together, enjoying the clang of metal that rang through the room. At the same time, he pulled on the rest of his strength quirks that had thus far gone untouched since the night began.
"Time to see who would win in a fight." He announced out loud. "Me, or a giant metal wall."
"What the fuck?" He heard shadow exclaim, all while Rei laughed in his ear.
"If it doesn't work, I just want you to know that I'll be letting Eraserhead know that you lost to a wall. Complete with full video proof."
"Challenge accepted." He said with a grin.
A moment later, the grin faded away as he concentrated on the task at hand.
Taking a deep breath, he took a step towards the wall, putting as much weight into it as he could, and threw a metal fist at the wall.
As soon as it made contact, the concrete immediately under his hand pulverized instantly, and massive cracks spiderwebbed across the rest of wall. He stepped back as the normal wall crumbled and fell away, revealing the metal beneath, nearly pristine except for the hand-shaped dent right in the center. the one that caved in the metal around it slightly.
He flexed his hand as he stood there, shaking away the very dull throbbing that came from punching a several-inches-thick wall of metal, metal fists or no.
Satisfied with his handiwork and emboldened by the fact that he managed to damage the wall, he began in earnest. He rained blow after blow against the thick wall, shaking the room and sending vibrations across the rest of the facility with the force of them.
Eventually—less than a full minute after he'd started—a particularly harsh strike had his fist embedding through the wall entirely. He grinned at the sight.
Pulling his hand back through, he brought his other one up. He gripped at either side of the small opening and braced himself.
With a low growl working its way out of his throat, he attempted to pull his hands apart. It didn't give for several long seconds, until a harsh screech sounded out, and his hands started to separate ever so slightly. Slowly but surely, and with continuous screeching from the abused metal that made him want to claw at his ears, his hands pulled apart, dragging the metal with them.
Another few minutes later, and he'd finally created a hole large enough to fit through. Stepping back from the wall, he inspected his work. A hole, almost three feet wide and continuing halfway up the wall, had been torn into the metal. It looked like a supercharged wild animal had mauled it, which really wasn't too far off.
"Just in case anyone was wondering." He said. "The answer to that question is me. I win."
Then, "If you've finished securing everything down there, Shadow, I'm about to find out if they've left us anything of value in this vault."
"I have." Came the response. "I've been going around checking up on the victims. I've got one more cell and then I'll rejoin you."
"Sounds good."
Oni stepped towards the impromptu entrance he'd created, careful to avoid catching his wings on the jagged edges as he went through. Once he had, he found himself in a large, rectangular room filled almost to the brim with filing cabinets and more than one safe. Most of them were spread haphazardly across the space. This must be where they took all of the records he and Shadow couldn't find. Surprisingly, he hadn't damaged anything in his attempt to breach the wall, aside from knocking a filing cabinet over on its side.
Righting it, he opened a drawer at random and skimmed through the papers held within. It seemed to be profiles of victims that had been transported through. Everything from information on their quirks to records of family members or anyone that might be related to them in some way or another. They even had notes of where they'd come from and where they were destined for. Unfortunately, the locations were all identified by numbers, not actual names or addresses.
Scanning through a few cabinets for the next several minutes didn't reveal much more than the sheer number of people that were shuffled through here on a regular basis. Eventually, he decided to try one of the safes. Compared to the trouble that the vault wall had given him, the minimal amount of effort it took to pry the safe door open was hardly even worth mentioning. In it, he finally found the leverage that he'd suspected the boss to have hidden away in case of a rainy day.
A master ledger, matching the identification numbers he'd seen in the victims' files to actual physical locations that he'd be able to track down. There were quite a few of them, retrieval locations, transit, processing, and even final buyer destinations.
He was equal parts pleased by what he'd stumbled upon—as it would make things easier moving forwards—and disgusted by just how wide-spread this operation was.
Just then, Shadow emerged from the hole he'd created, and scanned over the mess of files and documents.
"Quite the haul, huh?" Oni called from where he was sitting. "This ought to give us a good head start on taking down the rest."
"Have you found anything worthwhile?"
"Most of this stuff is just the records they've kept on the people that pass through here." He explained. "Useful, but not really what we need."
"This, however." He said, gesturing at the book in his hands. "Is very useful. It has a list of quite a few locations connected to this place. We'll be able to use this to select our next target."
"Alright. What's our next move then?"
"First, we're going to call in the police and let them come clean up the mess, including taking care of the victims downstairs. I'm not entirely convinced that the police in this city is trustworthy, who knows how far The Triad's reach is, but it'll at least interrupt their flow of deliveries. And no matter how thoroughly they might control things, they won't be able to take all of the victims back without raising some suspicion."
"We'll want to move on to the next location fairly soon. It usually isn't a very good idea to rush to get rid of a group, as they tend to pull back and start up again elsewhere. But the more we make them focus on us and dedicate time to hindering us, the less they'll be able to focus on normal operations. We need to push through and gather information as quickly as possible to learn the whereabouts of the higher-ups."
"But right this second, we need to figure out what to do with all of this." He said, gesturing around at the filing cabinets. "My first thought is to burn it all. We can't really carry it all out, and if we can clear it all out, then it's more likely to leave them in the dark as far as what we've found."
"I can take care of that." Shadow cut in.
"Oh? Do tell."
"It's similar to how I use shadows to move around. It's just a lot more tiring." He explained, moving to stand in the center of the room. "You'll want to not be in here when I do this. Unless you want to get taken."
Oni tucked the ledger under his arm, before moving over to one of the walls. Placing a foot on the vertical surface, his body shifted as he took another step, now parallel to the floor. A few steps more had him hanging from the ceiling.
"Or… Do that. I guess." Shadow said, before returning his attention to the task at hand.
Closing his eyes, he held his hands out to his sides, palms facing the floor. After a few long seconds of what looked to be intense concentration, the shadows in the room all coalesced together. They swirled around the space, and darkened until it was like staring into a void.
All at once, every loose item in the vault, every safe, filing cabinet, and sheet of paper, fell through the floor, disappearing into the lightless void.
Just as quickly as they'd arrived, the shadows faded away to reveal a completely clear floor. Shadow stood in place, panting in exertion. He looked about ready to collapse.
Oni dropped from the ceiling, righting himself as he fell and landing next to the other vigilante. He put a hand on the other's shoulder to steady him.
"That was a neat trick there." Oni said, genuinely impressed by the display, if maybe slightly dampened by how tired Shadow seemed to be. "Where'd you send it?"
Shadow took a few moments to catch his breath before answering. "I sent them back home. To the place I use as my vigilante 'hideout.' I'll be able to sort through it all later."
"Very nice." Oni responded. "Now then, I do believe that's everything we need to take care of here. Will you be accompanying me back to the surface, or are able to use the shadows to leave from here?"
"I can leave directly from here. I just need a minute to rest and I'll be good to go."
"Alrighty then. I'll see you around, Shadow."
"Wait. How should we get into contact for next time?" The other vigilante asked. "I doubt you want to keep meeting in that same alleyway every time we want to get something done."
"I've already taken care of that, Shadow." Rei's voice answered. "I've added Oni's phone number to your contact list, and vice versa. We shouldn't have any issue contacting one another."
"I-. alright." Shadow stuttered out. No doubt taken aback by her casual admission to hacking his phone, a dangerous situation for any vigilante that wasn't smart enough to have a separate phone dedicated to their illegal identity.
"Goodbye Shadow." He waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked away. "Let us know when you're ready to go so Phantom can call the police."
He didn't wait for a response before he took off back down the hallways, back to the staircase that would lead him up.
Soon enough, he was standing back on the roof of the building. He sighed as he released his grip on the quirk that had changed his legs, as well as the one that changed his hands, letting his bones shift back into place and letting the scales recede. Once his feet were feet again, he sat down to put his shoes back on.
As soon as the boots were tightly laced as they had been at the beginning of the night, he launched himself into the air.
A minute later, he heard Shadow announce that he was good to go, and Rei confirm that she was calling it in to the police. He also heard the distinct sound of Shadow removing the earpiece, followed by Rei saying that she also turned it off entirely.
"So what now?" Rei asked now that they were alone. "Do you have anything else planned for tonight?"
"I'm not sure." He responded. "I wasn't quite expecting that to go so quickly, it isn't even one o' clock yet. Maybe I'll just call it an early night and work through the analysis requests I missed by bringing Uraraka home."
"That sounds like a good idea." She said, a slight joking tone in her voice. "Let's leave it to one crime syndicate per night."
He laughed as he soared through the air. "Fair enough. I'll head home and take it easy."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, and Oni continued to fly home, content with the results of the night.
The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon, and Izuku was working away at the stove, cooking up breakfast. The smell had already permeated through the entire apartment.
He was in a good mood after the successful raid and then burning through a few dozen analysis requests.
Just as he was putting the finishing touches on the meal and was getting ready to retrieve the two others to eat, Rei entered the kitchen with Uraraka in tow. Both of them looked tired and grumpy for completely opposite reasons; lack of sleep and just having been woken up.
His good mood seemed to be infectious though, because with the help of a well-cooked meal, both of them were smiling as they worked at the food, curled up once more on the cushions in the living room.
As they finished up, Rei going off to her room to sleep, Uraraka going to get ready for school, and Izuku cleaning up the aftermath of breakfast, he found himself looking forward to the day, even with the boredom that most of the classes would bring.
Actually, he might have a way to help with that…
If you need a reference for what Oni's feet look like with that quirk. The top row of this picture is pretty much how I've been imagining them.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Just as a heads up, there will not be a chapter next week. The next update will be Sunday, August 23.
Shopping Spree
Chapter Summary
Rei and Uraraka get a chance to bond.
Chapter Notes
A slightly shorter filler chapter featuring Rei and Uraraka, as we move closer to the USJ.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Rei groaned as her alarm clock blared, throwing her back into the world of the living. She dragged her eyes open to glare at the infernal device that so rudely interrupted her rest, briefly considering throwing it out the window. She might've followed through with that urge if it didn't mean she'd be subjected to the unlawfully bright light of the morning sun.
A bone-rattling yawn escaped her as she pulled herself up to prop her elbows on the section of tail she'd chosen to use as a pillow. Her head dropped into her hands, scrubbing at her eyes, which were already trying to pull shut again, weighed down like a sack of bricks. Even then, she just barely caught herself drifting off again.
It wasn't normal for her to be so sluggish like this, even so soon after waking up—normally the sluggishness and exhaustion came right before she went to bed, after she'd spent all night bouncing between schoolwork and helping Izuku—but switching her sleep schedule around was taking a toll, as it usually did.
Rei was temporarily transitioning back to functioning during the day, on account of the newest addition to the apartment, Ochako Uraraka. It had been a few days since Izuku had brought her home, and after discussing the situation a bit further, Rei had volunteered to be the one to take Uraraka out shopping to make sure she had everything she needed. And now that it was the weekend, it was time to actually get to it.
She wanted the opportunity to get to know Uraraka; something she didn't have much chance to do with dinner and breakfast being just about the only times they saw each other. Izuku had brought her home with next to no warning, and had been so bold as to call her a 'new sister,' if in a joking manner. And while Rei had no issue with his decision—she trusted him and his judgement implicitly—she wanted to learn more about the person that had inspired that sort of reaction in him.
Izuku had explained the situation he'd found her in, and the fact that he'd sympathized with her, but it wasn't like that was the first time he'd ever encountered someone living in such terrible conditions. It was unfortunate, but they couldn't do much more than try to ensure those people didn't suffer any further at the hands of criminals and villains.
He'd also mentioned that he didn't want to leave Uraraka like that when she'd already been so nice to him. And coming from Izuku, Rei knew that those words likely meant more than someone simply showing him some small amount of kindness or displaying slightly above-average manners. No, something like that meant that he was seeing her as a friend. Something he hadn't been allowed to experience in so very long.
A combination of his and Rei's living situation growing up, the secretive nature of the majority of his life, and the lack of any real instances to interact with anyone his own age had prevented him from making any friends. Not to mention the self-hatred that Rei suspected he was still harboring over his quirk and his mother, that she'd tried to help him past as best she could, but that she could only do so much for.
And that was really what it all boiled down to for Rei. She wanted to get to know more about the person that was turning out to be the first friend Izuku'd had for as long as Rei had known him. Or at least one his own age; she'd heard tell of the relationship he had with All Might, but that didn't count in her eyes, not with the man being upwards of three times Izuku's age.
That and she wanted to make sure Uraraka didn't end up overwhelmed by what should hopefully be a simple shopping trip.
Izuku was the smartest person Rei knew, and she firmly believed that he was one of the smartest people on the planet, not to mention one of the strongest. But the same circumstances that had limited his opportunities for friendship had also limited his knowledge and awareness of the emotions of others. And while she wasn't much better off, she knew enough to not go too far.
Knowing Izuku, he'd either go overboard by buying just about everything he could find for Uraraka, overwhelming the poor girl who had so obviously come from a poorer background, or he'd still go overboard in his fixation on fashion and clothing, which wouldn't work for the same reason. Neither was ideal for her right now.
Well, Rei intended to buy a lot too, but she knew how she would go about it.
Letting out another yawn, Rei finally dragged herself into a standing position, taking a moment to stretch out before heading off towards her bathroom.
A few minutes later and she was freshly showered and dressed for the day, feeling considerably more alert. Just in time, too. She could already smell whatever Izuku was cooking for breakfast.
Opening the sliding door that led into the living room, her mouth started watering as the smell hit her full force. Moving through, a smile appeared on her face as she found the source. As always, Izuku was already hard at work preparing the meal. She watched as he all but danced around the kitchen, focused entirely on the food and hands blurring occasionally as he worked. The only thing that would make the scene better would be if he were wearing an apron; maybe she could get one for him when his birthday came around?
Uraraka was already at the table, still in her pajamas and sitting in a chair that Izuku had bought one day after school. She was slumped over, her head propped up on her hand, eyes barely open. She didn't seem to be much of a morning person.
"Come on over." Izuku called out, eyes darting over to her for just a moment before returning to the task at hand. "The food's just about ready."
Rei complied, smile still in place. "Good morning to you too."
She saw him grow a smirk of his own. "Good morning."
The moment she was settled at the table, Izuku deposited a steaming mug in front of her. She wrapped her hands around it, enjoying its warmth, and brought it up to her face to sniff at it. She almost sighed in pleasure as smell of fresh coffee hit her senses. It wasn't often that she needed it, but when she did, Izuku always seemed to know before she even left her room and had it ready for her. It was a wonder that she never even smelled it until it was right under her nose.
Across from her, another mug was set in front of Uraraka, the movement and the smell drawing the girl from her half-sleep.
Taking a sip from her coffee, Rei smiled at her. "Good morning Uraraka."
Taking a drink of her own, Uraraka's eyes seemed to struggle for a moment to focus on Rei, before she mumbled out a mostly intelligible "Morning." in response.
A few minutes later, and after a refill for both of them, Izuku was setting out plates full of food, settling down with his own a moment later. Uraraka was looking much more alert now that the caffeine was doing its part. The three of them sat in comfortable silence as they dug in. Rei savored the taste in every bite. Izuku's cooking was stellar as always.
"So, have you remembered to get your Lunch Rush cookbook signed yet?" She questioned after swallowing a bite.
Izuku froze at her words, fork halting halfway to his mouth as he stared at her.
"Shit." He almost whispered. "I forgot. How did I forget?"
His fork dropped back down to his plate, and Rei giggled at the completely lost expression on his face.
"Maybe you're just losing it in your old age." She suggested.
"You're older than I am." He retorted immediately. "But seriously. I have near-perfect memory. How did I manage to forget that? Especially when I wanted to get it signed so badly."
"The world may never know." Rei said. "But saying 'near-perfect' does imply that it isn't completely perfect. You're bound to have something slip through the cracks at some point."
He didn't seem to be listening, instead squinting down at his plate as he contemplated the non-issue.
Rei just rolled her eyes. "Whatever the case, just take the book in on Monday to get it signed. Don't stress yourself over something inconsequential."
Izuku pouted jokingly—she could see the upturn to his mouth—but complied, lifting his fork to continue working at his food.
"The two of you are heading out to go shopping today, right?" He asked after a moment. Rei knew that he already knew the answer to that. He was probably just trying to include Uraraka in the conversation.
Said girl, who up to that point had been watching the interaction with a look of amusement, spluttered at the question.
"Ah! Yes, that was the plan I think. But it's really not necessary for you to-."
"It is." Rei cut in before she could go any further. She didn't need Uraraka putting herself down. "At the very least, you need more clothes to wear. And I know that Izuku's planning on buying furniture for your room either way, so you're better off picking it out yourself so you'll at least end up with something you like."
Seeing the apprehension in Uraraka's expression, Rei continued.
"You're a part of this household now. Which means that you're our responsibility. We're going to take care of you and make sure you're comfortable. And part of that means making sure that plenty of clothes to pick from and having a room with more than just a bed."
"Okay…" Uraraka replied, turning her focus back to her food, her doubts silenced for the moment.
"So what are your plans for while we're gone?" Rei asked Izuku in an attempt to keep the conversation going.
"I've got some errands of my own I need to catch up on that I intend to use this weekend to take care of." He answered.
He was going to be getting ahead of schedule on his analysis work and digging through the information he and Shadow had been digging up on their nightly ventures. Rei was also pretty sure he'd mentioned wanting to get back into contact with Nezu again. The two still hadn't had a chance to talk since before the entrance exams.
She hummed in acknowledgement, and the three of them dropped back into silence as they finished their meal.
Some time later and Rei and Uraraka were at their first stop in the outdoor mall where they'd be doing most of their shopping. It was slow going, but the two of them were gradually filling the cart with clothes.
Slow going because it was taking a bit of work to convince Uraraka to not just pick out the cheapest items she could find, and to shop based on preference first. And even once she was at the point where she was pretending not to look at price tags, she would still put an item back when she thought the price was too high, even though it so very obviously piqued her interest. Rei settled for discreetly grabbing them once they moved on and adding them to the cart while Uraraka wasn't looking.
It wasn't long before they were laden down with bags full of everything she might need. Casual wear, pajamas, athletic wear, and even a few items that were a bit more formal, should she ever have need of something like that.
"Are we going to going to carry this all back to you- the apartment now?" Uraraka asked, looking slightly hopeful that they were done spending money on her.
"Don't worry." Rei responded with a smile as she pulled out her phone to send a message. "I've got it covered."
Barely five minutes later, the fluttering of giant wings overhead grabbed their attention, along with that of most of the people nearby. Looking up, they saw Izuku coming in for a landing, touching down right in front of them.
"Giant reptile delivery service. How may I be of assistance." He deadpanned as his wings folded against his back.
"Here you go~." Rei said with a smile as she handed off the bags in her arms, before motioning for Uraraka to do the same.
"Is this everything?" He asked once he had all the bags looped around his arms, not even fazed by the amount.
"For now."
"Alrighty then. I'll see you later."
With that, his wings stretched out once more, and he launched himself back into the air, drawing the attention of the people around them once more.
Smile still in place, Rei turned to Uraraka. "Ready for round two?"
She saw Uraraka practically sweatdrop in response.
Partway through the second load, when they were heading to a new store, they passed by a hero merchandise store. Something in the window caught Uraraka's attention, and she stopped to look at it. Coming to her side, Rei noticed a little Thirteen figurine on display.
"You like Thirteen?" She asked.
Uraraka nodded in response. "She's my favorite hero! It's not often that she has merch out. Most of the time it's all just All Might or one of the other bigger heroes."
"Not that there's anything wrong with All Might of course!" She backtracked. "He's number one and everyone says he's their favorite. But Thirteen is a rescue hero, and her quirk is space themed, like mine."
Rei hummed in agreement as they continued to look at the figurine. "Do you want to be a rescue hero?"
Uraraka nodded again. "I do. I'd rather focus on saving people than fighting villains. But I've still been learning how to use my quirk offensively. I know that it's unrealistic to expect to never fight."
"Smart." Rei said. "You never know when you'll need to put down the villain that's making you save people in the first place. Besides, your quirk is ideal for pacifying criminals. A single touch and they can't really do much to fight back. You wouldn't even have to really hurt anyone."
Uraraka smiled at her words.
After a few moments, Rei spoke up again.
"Do you want it?"
"Want what?" Uraraka asked.
"The figurine." Rei said, gesturing at it.
"Ah! No that's not-. We don't have to get it."
"That's not what I asked." Rei responded. "I asked if you wanted it. There's nothing wrong if you do, and you just said that it isn't often that she has merch available."
"I-." Uraraka seemed to struggle over what to say, before she visibly relented. "I do want it."
Good, she was at least starting to not fight being spoiled.
"Then let's go get you some hero merchandise." Rei said as she moved to the store entrance, Uraraka joining her a moment later. She didn't miss the small smile on the brunette's face as they entered.
By the time Izuku arrived to haul the second load home, there were a few bags full of as much Thirteen-related merchandise as they could find, with a choice few others mixed in. Uraraka's smile had brightened considerably.
Before long they were taking a break for lunch at the mall's food court, digging into their selections from the plethora of restaurants all around them. It was good, but it didn't hold a candle to Izuku's cooking. Even the leftovers of said cooking, which is normally what she had for 'lunch' in the middle of the night.
They were about halfway through the meal when Uraraka spoke up.
"So, if you don't mind me asking." The girl began, looking a bit nervous. "How are you able to pay for all of this? Or live in that apartment? Izuku mentioned before that you don't live with your parents. Do they send you money or something?"
Rei almost would've laughed at the notion of either or their parents sending them anything. Almost. Were the reality not so grim.
"Nope." She responded. "Our parents are… Let's just say that they aren't in the picture and haven't been for a very long while.
"Oh. Then how…"
"It's all Izuku."
A look of confusion plastered itself across Uraraka's face. "Izuku works? But he's attending Yueii?"
Rei sighed as she considered her answer. Luckily, she'd already talked to Izuku about this and gotten his approval for this sort of circumstance. He was okay with her telling the truth. It was better than lying to Uraraka about something so trivial.
"Have you ever heard of the quirk analyst, Deku?" She asked.
Uraraka nodded, still confused. Actually, Rei was pretty sure she remembered Izuku mentioning something about a gravity quirk a few months ago. Had that been Uraraka?
"That's Izuku." Rei continued. "He's Deku."
Uraraka's eyes widened to the point it was almost comical, and Rei very nearly started laughing at her shock.
"Wha- huh?" Uraraka spluttered like a fish out of water. "He's Deku? But that's-. He's the reason I got into Yueii!"
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
"I sent in a request a few months ago, because I knew that I was aiming for hero schools and wanted to know how to prepare. I wasn't really expecting anything back because I couldn't afford to send money with it, but he sent it back a few hours later and it had so much advice for me. Because of what he told me, I can use my quirk for so much longer, and on so much more, than I ever could before, including on myself. And I also started putting what little money I had into martial arts classes."
"Because of what he told me, I was able to get third place in the entrance exams, and managed to get into my dream school!"
"Well, firstly, don't give him all the credit." Rei said once the words had stopped spilling out of Uraraka's mouth. "He gave you the advice, but you still had to be the one to actually do something with it. You're the one unlocking your potential, he's just the one that showed you the path to take."
"And second, your quirk made an impression on him. He loves quirks, and goes through dozens within a day, but I still remember him gushing about yours over dinner that day."
Uraraka didn't seem to know what to say to that, blushing slightly at the praise and Rei's comment about Izuku, so she settled for moving on to something else.
"But wait." She said. The look of confusion was back. "I read somewhere that Deku has been active for nearly nine years now. How's that possible? Surely there has to be someone else?"
"No, it's just him." Rei answered. "And you're not wrong. Officially, he's been Deku since he was eleven years old. Unofficially, he's been analyzing quirks for a bit longer."
And there was the fish again.
"But how? Aren't there, like, classes or certifications you have to take for that sort of thing? And wouldn't he have still been in school then? Although, he's mentioned that he finished school really early."
"Correct again." Rei said. "He did finish school extremely early, and he got those degrees not long after."
She took a breath. Now for the part that she'd almost hoped that she wouldn't have to get into.
"Has Izuku told you, or at least hinted, that we know what it's like to live in less-than-ideal conditions?"
Uraraka nodded and Rei continued on.
"Well, that's the watered-down version. What he means is that the two of us were completely homeless for a good portion of our lives, and then lived in crappy apartments for a few more years before moving to where we are now."
She ignored Uraraka's look of shock as she spoke.
"From Izuku's fourth birthday, until just before his ninth, we were on the streets, and then until just before his fourteenth we were in the cheapest apartment we could find."
"So, when you said that your parents haven't been in the picture for a while…"
Rei nodded. "I meant that quite literally. And just in case you were going to ask, I have no intention of explaining exactly how we ended up like that. At least certainly not here and now."
"Okay. But how did you manage to get out of that?"
"It's all been because of Izuku. I got the first job I could find when I turned fourteen, and around the same time, when he was eight, Izuku realized just how smart he really was, and started educating himself. Within a year, he'd gotten himself to a high school level, and another year after that he was moving on to college-level courses. He had two college degrees just after his eleventh birthday, and just kept going from there. He went crazy with his analysis, to the point where he was burning through a few hundred in a single week, and it wasn't long before we were able to get by with that alone."
"Just how smart is he." Uraraka said after a moment of shocked silence, to which Rei let out a small laugh.
"Technically, I'm pretty sure his IQ can't be classified on a normal scale. There are tests out there that were built for people with intelligence quirks to use, which I'm fairly certain the official one was put together by your principal, Nezu, but I don't think he's taken it to find out."
He'd told her before that he had more than one intelligence quirk enhancing his mind, and she knew for a fact that those were among the ones that he never turned off. Part of her was curious about where his IQ would actually fall if he were to take the test.
"What the fuck." Uraraka whispered, only to slap her hands over her mouth at the profanity, her face already starting to turn red.
Rei let out a bigger laugh at that. "Right? Like, he was years younger than me, but he was the one teaching me and getting me through school."
She was about to say something else when an alarm sounded out somewhere off to their side. Looking over, she saw a small group of people rushing into a nearby jewelry store. The front windows were already shattered, which was likely what triggered the alarm.
As everyone around them rushed to get away or pull out their phones, either to record the commotion or report it to the police, Rei pulled out her own for a different reason. As she watched the robbery, she held her finger over a button on the screen, ready to tap it should the situation require it.
In essence, it was a panic button, similar to what most phones had if they needed to contact the police but couldn't speak. The only difference was that hers didn't connect her to the police. If pressed, it would send a signal directly to Izuku's phone.
Actually, there were two buttons on the screen. They both sent a signal to the same place, but would achieve two very different outcomes depending on which was pressed.
The first would have Izuku show up as quick as he could to make sure she didn't get hurt and focus on getting her away from whatever was happening.
The second was reserved for if she were in much more immediate danger. Pressing it would let Izuku know that whatever was happening had a decent chance of getting her hurt or killed, and would trigger a very specific response. Within a minute or so of pressing it, Oni would drop out of the sky in all his fury, and would do whatever was necessary to put a stop to whatever was happening as quickly as possible.
For a simple robbery, her finger hovered over the first one.
Thankfully, she hadn't been in a situation where she needed to use either, but it made both of them feel better knowing that she had the option. Despite being off the streets for as long as they had been, neither of them had really grown out of the fierce protectiveness they held for each other.
Uraraka glanced over at Rei, halfway out of her chair. "Shouldn't we get out of here?"
Rei's eyes didn't leave the jewelry store. "Not unless it escalates. They're here to rob a store. So long as no one does anything stupid, they'll have no reason to do anything else. And besides, with as many people as there are around here, it won't take long for police or heroes to show up."
Just she said that, they both heard a faint whistling noise, accompanied by an instantly recognizable laugh. Rei rolled her eyes and put her phone away, knowing that she wouldn't be needing it now.
All Might, in all his glory, landed right in front of the store, crouched to soften his landing. As he stood, the entire mall fell silent.
"It's all right now! I am here!" He said, voice booming through the space.
At the sound of his signature catchphrase, all of the people that had stuck around erupted into cheers. At the same time, the criminals all dropped whatever they were holding, surrendering themselves immediately. Were it any other hero, they might've fought back, but they were smarter than to try to go up against the number one hero.
It didn't take long after that for the police to arrive and restrain the criminals, with All Might standing over them to make sure they didn't try anything. Once they were being led away, the crowd surged forwards. They had somehow managed to restrain themselves while the criminals were still loose, but now that the danger was gone, they were restless and demanded his attention.
All Might took it in stride, smile remaining in place, if not brightening further, as the crowd pushed in on all sides. He did his best to placate them for a few moments, his voice lost in the cacophony, before he decided to put a stop to it.
"I'm sorry citizens, but I must be going now! Duty calls!"
That managed to get everyone to back off, however reluctantly, and he was able to breathe again.
Just as he was crouching down to launch himself back into the air, Uraraka stood up from her seat.
"Thank you, All Might!" She called, waving her hand at him.
The hero glanced over at the noise, and a split-second later recognition passed across his face. In a flash he was up and walking over to their table.
"Young Uraraka!" He greeted. "How wonderful to see you. And with-" He looked at Rei, eyes passing over her tail. "Young… Etsumi?"
She smiled. "Yes, but not the one you're used to. I'm Izuku's sister."
"I didn't know he had a sister." All Might said, still looking her over, before letting out a laugh, slightly quieter than usual. "The resemblance is certainly there."
Rei was about to respond when people started getting closer again.
"Whoops, looks like I really must be going now!" All Might said as he crouched once more. "I shall see you tomorrow for more hero training, Young Uraraka!"
Without another word, and just as the crowd was pressing in, he took off into the air.
With the hero gone, the people dispersed again, most eyeing Rei and Uraraka as they did, jealous or angry that they had the privilege to speak with the number one hero.
Once they were alone again, and things returned to some semblance of normal, Rei turned to Uraraka.
"Well then. Now that all of that mess is dealt with, what do you say we go get you some furniture."
"I would say that you don't have to, but I know that you'll still end up getting some anyway."
"That's the spirit!"
By the time they finished, the two of them had picked out a whole room's worth of furniture for Uraraka. They found a massive set of space-themed blackout curtains for the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one wall of the room, along with a matching bedspread. They also picked out a matching dresser and nightstand set, and a desk. All of it came in sets to be assembled later, and all of it had already been carried back to the apartment by Izuku.
Afterwards they went through and found a few more miscellaneous items to help decorate the room, like an area rug, a few posters—in addition to the ones they'd picked up in the hero merchandise store—a lamp, a fan, some books, and a few other smaller items.
Rei made a note to pick out a new phone and computer for Uraraka once they got home. She could probably find something that would suit the girl's needs while they were at the mall, but that might be a step too far for her right this moment. There was a difference between buying clothes and even a few pieces of furniture, and buying brand new electronic devices. She'd still buy them, but Uraraka wouldn't know about it until it was done.
The two of them made their way out of the mall, carrying the few bags they'd ended up getting after Izuku's last trip, and started on the path back to the apartment. In the distance, the sun was slowly beginning to sink towards the horizon. It wouldn't be too much longer before it set completely.
Rei found herself satisfied with how the day went. They'd accomplished everything they needed to and then some. Uraraka now had a full wardrobe and everything she needed to make sure she was comfortable while she attended Yueii. Rei now felt like she had a good grasp on what type of person Uraraka was; kind, almost to a fault, and humble, but with an underlying determination that made it clear to Rei why she'd been able to get into Yueii. It wasn't surprising that Izuku had taken a liking to her.
She hummed to herself as they made their way down the street, pulling her phone out to send a message to Izuku, letting him know that they were heading back, and giving him plenty of warning to hide anything incriminating.
She continued to hum as she put her phone away.
Rei had already known before, but after today, she was doubly sure; she didn't mind that Izuku had offered Uraraka a place to stay. She would even go so far as to say that she was glad he did.
Izuku stared down at the spread of papers scattered beneath him, brow creased as his eyes flickered between them. Swinging himself across the room, he dropped closer to one in particular so he could focus on what was written on it.
He was currently stuck to the ceiling of his office. 'Gecko' keeping his tail stuck to the surface to clear up floorspace and giving him freedom to move his torso over the mess below. He was in the process of sorting through all of the information he and Shadow had gathered over the past few nights. He'd spread it all out across the floor, matching it up with a mental image of a map of the city he'd found and memorized.
Raising a hand, he made a grabbing motion at a book lying on his desk, making it float over to him. Opening it up, he pulled out another piece of paper and set it in an empty spot on the floor.
He was working to figure out just how widespread The Triad was, and to map out everything that was associated with them. If he could work out patterns in their locations and facilities, he might be able to start working out where some of there leadership might be located.
He'd already started to pick up on a pattern with the processing facilities in relation to the locations that capture crews were based out of, and he'd even made a connection to a few adjacent cities. From the little information he had on the other cities, everything seemed to be based out of Shadow's, which was why there seemed to be such a high concentration in such close proximity, nothing anywhere else seemed to be nearly so widespread or as dug in. He hoped that meant that this was where the leadership was, and not that this just happened to be a good area for kidnapping people.
A buzz from his phone drew his attention away. It was Rei, letting him know that she and Uraraka were on their way back. That brought a smile to his face. It seemed like Rei was successful with everything she'd wanted to get for Uraraka, at least if the sheer volume of stuff he'd carried back was anything to go by. He hoped that Uraraka would be happy with everything. He wanted her to be comfortable.
His smile died as he took one last look at the spread of papers, superimposing the mental map over it once more before he would clean it all up. He picked out a few in particular, making a note to pass them along to Shadow. The other vigilante seemed to be restless, and wanted to try to make more progress outside of their nightly ventures. Izuku was fine with that; Shadow seemed competent enough to take care of himself.
He made another grabbing motion to lift up a random paper, it had information on a holding facility that bordered the city. It served a similar purpose to the first one they'd taken down, a waystation of sorts, only the shipments that passed through it all came from another city.
"Kamino." He muttered as he moved to gather everything up. "What's so special about you? To have The Triad resurrect within your borders."
"What are you hiding?"
Chapter End Notes
Uraraka: *Stops saying that they don't need to buy anything for her.*
Rei: "Yes. Accept my love. It is inevitable."
I hope you enjoyed!
Battle... Again
Chapter Summary
Class 1-A takes part in another training exercise.
Chapter Notes
So, as some of you might know, Whumptober is coming up soon. The prompts are supposed to be released September 1st. I intend to take part in it for the first time.
Because of this, I'm considering temporarily switching over to an every other week upload schedule.
It would give me plenty of time to write them all out so that they can be posted one per day in October (plus it would give me more time to write out the USJ, which is going to be big).
If I do end up switching over, it wouldn't be until after next chapter (chapter 20). And most, if not all, of the Whumptober prompts would take place in this fic's universe (canon to the story or otherwise), so you'd still be getting content for this fic.
Let me know what you think.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Are you ready to go?" Izuku asked Uraraka as he watched her enter the kitchen, bag in hand—a brand new bag from her and Rei's outing over the weekend—his own bag already slung over his shoulder.
"Yes!" She responded, slinging the bag across her back and joining him at the door to the balcony.
As he slid it open, exposing them to the chilled morning air, intensified as it was this high up, Rei called out at them from her spot in the living room, curled up in front of the tv.
"Have a good day, you two!"
"You too!" Uraraka called back, waving as Izuku shot his sister a small smile.
Once they'd made it onto the balcony, Izuku lowered himself closer to the floor and Uraraka wasted no time climbing up onto his back. As per usual, he had to ignore the crawling sensation that crept up his spine at having someone so close and touching him. Despite this being the routine since Uraraka had started living with him, he still hadn't quite gotten used to it.
Without a word, he took off into the air, angling himself towards Yueii once he was high enough.
After all the excitement on the day of the Foundational Heroics training exercise, both during and after school, everything had finally begun to steady into a pattern. In the mornings, after breakfast and after readying himself for school—which really only consisted of grabbing his bag, seeing as how he was already showered and dressed after being out all night as Oni—he would fly himself and Uraraka to Yueii. Once there, he would sit through a couple hours of boring classes until it was time for Foundational Heroics. And while there hadn't been any more big training exercises since that day, Yagi had been teaming up with Aizawa to begin teaching basic hand-to-hand combat to those that didn't already have experience, while those that did sparred against each other without quirks.
From there, he'd fly the two of them back home, fly back out alone to address any errands he needed to, then return once more to get to work on his analysis, occasionally even chatting with Nezu, depending on the day. After dinner, once the sun fell and everyone was asleep, he would head out as Oni. He'd patrol as he normally would until it was time to meet up with Shadow, then the two of them would rain hell on whatever unlucky Triad asset they decided on, then he'd end the night by lightly patrolling as he made his way back home, where he'd shower, get dressed, and sit down at his computer to work on his analysis until it was time to start it all again.
Aside from having to sit through his classes, it really wasn't too bad. Actually, it was almost enjoyable; he appreciated the structure of a rigid schedule. He was a fan of routine.
And even the classes weren't but so bad. Especially since he'd come up with the idea of taking his analysis with him to Yueii.
It wasn't quite the same as when he sat down at his computer to fulfill requests. When he did that, it was mostly only to think of ways that it could be improved, shore up weaknesses, point out different uses, and augment strengths. It was more training advice than it was true analysis.
But with this, he was looking at it more like he was looking at one of his own. Which meant that he was doing what he normally would, just considerably more in-depth. What's more, is that he was taking the time to break down, to the best of his ability, how the quirk even functioned in the first place. What did it do, specifically, in the user's body in order to work.
For example; his metal claw quirk, the second quirk he ever took. When it was active, his hands held a certain amount of metal in the hollows of his bones. Then when he brought the claws out, the metal focused at the tips of his fingers, extending outwards as blades, and remaining partway fused into his bones, ensuring stability.
'Spectrum' actually caused the rods and cones within his eyes to change and shift to perceive different types of light beyond the normal visible spectrum. Or changed the cornea itself if he were using simple magnification.
This is what he was doing with the quirks he had decided to analyze in class; picking them apart down to their roots. He wrote them all down with paper and pen, at a normal speed so as to not burn through them as he would at his computer. That and so he didn't draw attention during class. Like this, it looked as though he were simply taking notes. And so long as he payed any amount of attention to whatever was being taught, it was enough to answer any questions.
It didn't take them long to catch sight of the massive Yueii campus. The main building stood out like a shining beacon in the morning light.
The two of them drifted down towards the ground, angling towards the main gate. He made a point of touching down outside of the gate whenever he arrived. He wasn't sure how Nezu's security systems would react to someone flying over the border, or if it would even register him as a student, so he settled for traveling through the gate on the ground to avoid potential issues.
Of course, it seemed like he was going to run into issues either way. As the ground drew closer, he noticed the mob that was crowded around the gate, the noise already reaching them.
'Reporters." He thought to himself with a not small amount of disdain.
Izuku really didn't care much for reporters. The media outlets they worked for usually weren't completely beyond hope, as they could prove somewhat useful in certain situations—every source he looked at after the incident with Stain and Alloy had absolutely thrashed the former hero's reputation in less than a week—but reporters themselves were very rarely anything more than greedy scavengers, searching for the next scrap of information.
As he and Uraraka landed some distance away from the mob, the fluttering of his wings drew the attention of some of them, and they immediately made a bee-line straight at him.
He just sighed when he saw this, before raising himself up a few feet so that he and Uraraka sat well over the reporters' heads.
As soon as the reporters were on them, they were surrounded, and the vultures were shouting questions at them, each one striving to be the first to receive anything.
"Are you two in Yueii's hero course?"
"Is it true that All Might was brought in to teach?"
"Can you tell us what it's like having him as a teacher?"
"Why is she riding on your back? Are you siblings?"
"You were seen talking to All Might over the weekend. Is this because you're in his class?"
"Doesn't flying here break public quirk use laws?"
"Just ignore them." He said over his shoulder. "If you give them anything, then they'll demand more. And they'll twist everything you say until it fits whatever narrative they're pushing."
Izuku moved forwards, looking past the vultures. They all moved out of his way as he did, continuing to hound him from the sides. Obnoxious as they were, they were at least smart enough not to stand in the path of a several-thousand-pound snake.
He faltered, almost freezing entirely, when he felt one of them lay a hand on his tail, too light and remaining there too long to be anything but deliberate. As close as they all were, 'Proximity' wasn't able to give him any advanced notice to the intrusion. Looking down, he saw some random female reporter, almost completely indistinguishable in his eyes from the others crowding him, staring at his tail with curiosity in her eyes while her hand was still there. He fought back the sudden, violent urge to remove the offending appendage and throw her into one of the buildings across the street, choosing instead to pick up the pace towards the gate, his wings shuffling with his agitation.
As he did, his attention was caught by some of his classmates attempting to work their way through the crowd. He saw the floating uniform that revealed Hagakure, the invisible student slipping through the crowd easier than others. Bakugou and Tokoyami were moving through almost together, both of them shrugging off the reporters' attempts with expressions of absolute apathy. He also noticed Eraserhead standing at the gate, keeping the reporters at bay and doing his best to get the students through.
Then there was Iida.
Iida wasn't trying to get through the crowd. He was instead giving some long-winded answer to whatever question he'd been asked, no doubt going on about how much of an honor it was to attend Yueii.
The crowd parted for Izuku as he continued forwards, and he angled himself towards Iida.
"Iida." He called out calmly over the incessant shouted questions, extending a hand towards his classmate. "Take my hand."
Said student paused for a moment, looking over at him, before taking it, confusion clear on his face.
Without another word, Izuku lifted him into the air, over the reporters' heads as he moved.
"It's best not to give them anything, Iida." Izuku said. "They don't deserve anything from you. Especially not when there are plenty of proper channels they could go through to get information, ones that don't involve being desperate assholes that accost students."
That last bit was said a bit louder, intended more for the vultures around him. And maybe it was a bit harsher than it needed to be, but he was still irked that one of them had touched him, and that more of them were brushing up against him now that he was in the larger crowd. These were more unintentional with how tightly packed they were, but it was irritating all the same.
Judging by the reporter's response, they didn't much care for his jab at them.
"Hey! We have a right to know what's going on!"
"We deserve to know what All Might is doing!"
"Give us back the blue-haired one! At least he was answering our questions!"
Once he was finally through the gate, he deposited Iida back on the ground, next to Eraser. He lowered himself back towards the ground right after, allowing Uraraka to hop off.
"I appreciate the assistance, Etsumi!" Iida exclaimed. "But as future heroes, it benefits us to get used to the presence of the media!"
Izuku shrugged. "Maybe. But there'll be plenty of opportunity for that later. Besides, they aren't supposed to be here anyway. I'm pretty sure Nezu has threatened their stations with legal action in the past, but All Might being here must be enough incentive for them to ignore that."
"You're not wrong about that." Eraser cut in. "These parasites get to be beyond logical thinking as soon as anything about All Might is mentioned." He sighed. "Now get to class. I need to keep them out until the police can get here to escort them away."
They all nodded, turning to head down the path towards the main building. They barely made it a few feet when Izuku froze in place.
One of the reporters was being a bit braver, or stupider, than their colleagues. He could feel them moving forwards with 'Proximity.' Straight at the gate that was unofficially known as the 'Yueii Barrier.' The one that would slam shut the moment it detected someone unauthorized trying to pass through.
The one his tail had yet to make it through all the way. Over half of it was still on the other side.
He spun around, muscles tensing as he pulled his tail towards himself. Metal was spreading just under his skin, transforming bone and muscle as he pulled on 'Metallum,' ready to try to withstand the gate.
Just as the reporter was about to reach the point of no return, and Izuku was tensing in anticipation of the blow, Eraserhead seemed to materialize in front of them. The hero extended an arm, hitting them in the center of the chest and shoving them harshly back into the crowd.
The reporter—the same one that had touched him earlier, he noticed—looked up at the hero with shock in her eyes and, much smaller, some amount of triumph.
"What was that for!?" She shouted at him. "You can't just attack us for trying to get answers! We have a right to know!" She huffed as she stood back up. "Who are you, anyway!? You look too scruffy to be a teacher here!"
"First off," Aizawa responded, a surprising amount of fire burning in his eyes, even while the rest of his face remained impassive, "You all are trespassing here. Nezu has warned you all in the past, but you've decided not to listen, and the police are already on their way. Second, I have every right to attack you when your actions put students at risk. There are cameras here at the gate, meaning that Nezu already has your face. If I were you, I'd hope that he doesn't choose to press additional charges."
The hero turned to look at Izuku. "Etsumi, from now on, just land inside the gates. I'll talk to Nezu about it later."
He turned back to the crowd. "Go. Get to class."
Izuku stared at him for a moment with a quirked eyebrow, storing away the knowledge of how protective Eraserhead apparently was over his students, before shooting him a smirk.
"Alright. Much appreciated, Eraserhead."
With that, he turned to continue towards the building, rejoining the other students that had paused at the commotion. He let the metal beneath his skin fade away.
"What was that about?" Uraraka asked as they moved.
"Yueii's main gate has a sort of defense mechanism." Izuku answered. "When the sensors around it notice someone unauthorized attempting to pass through, it has a massive wall that will extend from the top and bottom of the gate, closing it off."
"So with your tail still in the gate, and the woman about to trigger this defense mechanism…" Iida said.
Izuku nodded. "I very easily could've been cut in half, depending on how strong the gate is. And since my quirk changes my biology, that would've cut through several organs that are fairly important to my continued survival."
Uraraka and Iida fell into silence at that, drawn into their own thoughts at the realization that he had apparently been pretty close to receiving a mortal wound.
Really, Izuku wasn't even sure if his meager healing quirk would be enough to keep him alive in that circumstance. His best option would likely be to attempt to deactivate the snake tail quirk to shift back, and hope that Yueii had the capability to keep him alive while he healed.
But whatever. It wasn't like he didn't put himself at risk every time he went out at night. He'd just have to make sure he's careful around the gate in the future, not that it would really be an issue anymore though.
Izuku followed the rest of the students out to the training site, everyone having donned their hero costumes.
They'd all gotten settled in the classroom for the last class of the day, only for All Might to arrive and announce that they would be conducting another training exercise, similar to the one on the second day, and ordering them to report to the training site.
They all gathered around All Might, just outside the entrance to the site.
"Welcome back, young students!" All Might greeted. "As I've already said, today you will be taking part in another training exercise. This one will be very similar to the first one, with a few key differences. First among them, you will be fighting outdoors, and with no objective to protect or retrieve."
"Like before, you will be separated into heroes and villains, but this time, the matches will be one villain versus a team of four heroes."
There were a few quiet murmurs from Izuku's classmates, mostly about how they hoped they didn't get stuck as the villain.
Seeing that there were no questions yet, All Might continued.
"The situation for this exercise is this: Heroes have gotten wind of a plan for someone to commit acts of villainy with a city. However, this attack could happen at any second and they have no idea where this villain is located. The heroes will be forming impromptu teams to search the city and subdue the villain before it is too late!"
"The heroes' objective is, of course, to subdue and capture the villain, and to keep damage to the environment as minimal as possible. While the villains' objective is to avoid capture for the duration of the exercise, defeat the heroes, or escape the testing site. And to make things more interesting, there are mannikins scattered across the site, simulating civilians. The villains will be judged positively the more damage they deal to the environment and these mock citizens. At the same time, the heroes will be judged for how much they limit destruction, or how much damage they fail to prevent."
"Sir!" Iida called out, as Izuku had been expecting to happen at some point. "Do these rules not put the heroes at an unfair disadvantage?"
"Precisely, Young Iida!" All Might responded. "This exercise serves to emphasize how unfair real life can be. As heroes, you will be weighed down by the expectations of society. You must constantly be doing your best to save as many as you can, limit destruction as much as possible, and subdue villainy as quickly and efficiently as possible. Villains do not have any of these expectations, and thus automatically have that advantage in any confrontation. You must be ready to act to overturn any situation into your favor. This is part of the reason that the heroes will be acting in groups of four. To balance the scales a bit for the exercise and to give you experience in working in groups."
"Not only is this exercise meant to show the unfairness of heroics," he continued, "but also to help give you a greater understanding of your quirks. You've already learned the basics of their physical limitations with Aizawa's apprehension test, and with the first training exercise you have begun to learn about the damage your quirks can deal to others. Now, with this test, you will begin to understand the destructive potential your quirks hold, which is extremely important for any hero to understand. Take me for instance, with my quirk, I could very easily knock down entire buildings during my fights. It was only after extensive training and experience that I learned to limit myself. Now, not all of you might have a great deal of destructive potential, but it is important nonetheless for you to see what your classmates can do and understand this lesson as much as them."
"Now for the groups!" He said. "We shall be deciding the hero teams the same way we did before. With random lots."
Cutting off any questions about it—Iida was already raising his hand again—he continued. "As for the villains, they have already been selected. They were purposely chosen beforehand because they possess the power, speed, destructive capabilities, or some combination therein to further exacerbate the unfair situation. And to keep things exciting, only I will know who belongs to what team until it is time for you to fight!"
Izuku smiled. Free reign to cause destruction, and a fight against four people at once? He hoped he would be chosen to play the villain; it sounded like such fun.
"To get us started off, we shall have Hagakure, Mineta, Yaoyorozu, and Jiro as the heroes. They will go up against Todoroki as the villain!"
Almost immediately, Izuku heard complaints from Hagakure and Mineta. Jiro looked almost as bothered by the selection, but was keeping silent about it, and Momo looked more thoughtful than anything else, though Izuku could still see some amount of apprehension in her eyes.
"Now then! The time limit is thirty minutes! You may go anywhere, so long as you remain in the confines of the site. The villain has ten minutes to get to where they want and perform any preparations they wish to. Everyone not participating in this round, follow me to the observation room! Due to the nature of the exercise, we will be set up outside of the site!"
Izuku followed the remaining students to a large tent set off to the side of the testing site. At the same time, Todoroki entered through the gates.
He considered the exercise as they all watched Todoroki make his way to the center of the site. Going by All Might's explanation of how the villains were chosen, he and Bakugou would likely end up in that role. Izuku knew the power he'd displayed thus far; It fit all of the criteria. And as far as quirks go, Bakugou had everyone beat in raw destructive power.
That left the fourth villain. No one else quite matched up to combination of power that Izuku, Bakugou, and Todoroki held, but there were other possibilities. Iida and Uraraka were capable in their own rights, as was Momo, but she'd already been chosen as a hero. Other than that, only Tokoyami and Ashido seemed to fit; one with a sentient shadow quirk and the other with acid.
His attention was drawn back to the screens as Todoroki finally made it to the exact center of the site. He stood there with his eyes closed, and extended his right hand out slightly, parallel to the ground. With a slight exhale—visible with the sudden condensation of his breath, a clear sign that the air temperature around him just plummeted—ice began to spread from his foot, creeping outwards in an expanding circle.
Izuku noticed that the ice was spreading much slower than it had been during his fight against him. Maybe it was an attempt to lessen the severity of the drawback, in anticipation for a potentially longer fight.
He suppressed a slight shiver thinking about the bone-deep cold he'd fought through when he'd gone up against Todoroki. Whatever role he would fill in this exercise, he was glad that he wouldn't be fighting Todoroki again just yet. Rei hadn't had much luck yet in locating a cold resistance quirk. There were a few floating around in the hands of civilians, but those were obviously off the table.
Speaking of his sister, it was a shame she wouldn't be able to watch the exercise. She was awake currently, still yet to switch back to her normal sleep schedule, but he hadn't known ahead of time that they would be having this exercise, and his phone was with his uniform back in the locker room. She would probably enjoy watching it, and it always made him feel better; having her voice in his ear when he was in a fight.
Actually… There was oneway he could contact her. It was rather simple, and was limiting in the level of communication it allowed, but all he had to do was let her know to connect to the earpiece he already had in.
It was a quirk he hadn't used—hadn't had much reason to—in a little over five years. 'Dinner Bell.'
He pulled it from his chest, feeling it settle once it was active. Once there, he used it, and heard a very distinctive high-pitched noise in his head. It was somewhere between a bell and a triangle; high in pitch and resonating ever so slightly. As he used it, he knew that Rei was hearing the exact same sound in her head.
It was a quirk that, for lack of a better word, linked him to another person. Giving him the ability to set off that noise in his head and theirs from anywhere, at any time. As far as he could tell, there was no range limit. There was, however, a limit on the number of people that could be linked. It only allowed him to link with one other person at a time.
He could only produce that one sound with it, and Rei couldn't make any sound in return, but what he could do was drag the sound out ever so slightly. Meaning that he could talk to her using Morse code. It wasn't much, and obviously didn't allow her to communicate back, but both of them had learned Morse code anyway; it was useful for him to be able to send her messages when he had no other way to communicate, like right now.
He sent two more basic noises through, ensuring that she was paying attention, before he started sending his message through.
Non-emergency. UA training site E camera.
He kept it as short as he could, in order to limit how much he was setting off that noise in her head. He also made sure to start it off in that way specifically. In the past, the only reason he would've used that quirk would be if they were separated and he absolutely had to contact her for one reason or another, usually an emergency. He didn't need her panicking.
Izuku waited a minute, before repeating the message. Halfway through it, the earpiece crackled to life, and her voice sounded out.
"Right, right. I got it. I'm here. You can stop with the chime in my head."
He let off one more chime as he halted the message, giving a small smile at her grunted "Fucker."
Faint sounds of her keyboard carried over the connection, and she spoke back up a few moments later.
"Alright. I'm in the cameras. It looks like you're having another exercise, which I'm guessing is why you called. Looks interesting. But if you don't mind, since I'm guessing you can't talk back to me wherever you are, I'm going to wait until you're up to give any sort of commentary. I've got something I want to wrap up before then."
That worked for him, especially since she was correct in that he couldn't speak, so he stayed silent. He focused his attention on the screens. All Might had announced the start of the fight, and the hero team wasted no time in charging in.
Todoroki won easily. It was barely even a fight.
In the heroes' defense, they had a fairly well-thought out plan, especially for one formulated on the fly. It just wasn't quite enough to overpower Todoroki.
They'd found him easily enough. Between Jiro's hearing, Hagakure scouting ahead with her invisibility, and the ever-increasing layer of ice on everything around him, they'd located him not long after the start.
From there, they'd separated. Jiro and Hagakure remained on the ground while Momo and Mineta circled around Todoroki to one of the buildings behind him, climbing up to the roof. Using her quirk, Momo created a cannon, pointing down at her opponent, then made use of Mineta's quirk in combination with a net she'd created in order to fashion a special piece of capture equipment. One probably meant to stick to Todoroki and then trap him against the ground.
The plan was even executed almost perfectly. At a signal from Momo, Jiro used her quirk to launch a blast of sound at him. It caught his attention and drew him to counter, and the moment he'd shifted to attack, Momo fired the net at him.
Unfortunately for the heroes, their plan didn't account for whatever training Todoroki had undergone, which had apparently prepared him for sudden attacks to his blind spots.
Despite the sound of the cannon being mostly covered up by Jiro's attack, and the net coming at him from above and behind, the attack that he'd been in the process of launching halted entirely and a small glacier exploded behind him, intercepting the net.
From there, it only continued to go down hill for the heroes. In a mirror of the move he'd used against Izuku, Todoroki froze the building that Momo and Mineta had set up on, immobilizing them to such an extent that All Might had immediately announced them as removed from the fight.
The other two fared only slightly better. Jiro's sonic attacks were managing to break apart the ice being thrown her, while Hagakure attempted to sneak around to ambush Todoroki. He caught her just as she was about to attempt to wrap him in capture tape, freezing her in place. After that, he easily overpowered Jiro once he no longer needed to conserve strength to deal with her other teammates.
Once the fight was over, the ice thawed by Todoroki and the heroes carted off to Recovery Girl for any frostbite, All Might announced the next match.
Bakugou as the villain, versus Iida, Aoyama, Satou, and Ojiro.
This fight went even quicker than the first. The heroes charged in with no plan beyond fighting and subduing Bakugou, despite that being the best possible scenario for the explosive teen. At the very least, they did make an attempt to fight together. But even then, they didn't last long. Iida and Ojiro managed to hold their own for a short bit because of their own experience, but Bakugou overpowered them both, walking away with barely a scratch.
The third match was probably the most interesting yet, both in the people selected and in the outcome.
Ashido was chosen as the villain, against Sero, Kouda, Kaminari, and Uraraka.
Just under fifteen minutes into the match, Ashido escaped the site. Her acid allowed her to skate across the site at impressive speeds. What's more, is that because her acid left a very obvious trail, she purposely circled around from the back of the site, occasionally doubling back, leaving the heroes to waste their time following it.
It wasn't until Uraraka, seemingly on a whim, turned back and headed for the main gate that the heroes made any headway. She used her quirk on herself to fly back through the mock city, reaching the gate at the same time as Ashido. She even managed to lay a hand on her opponent to send her floating through the air. But by some amount of luck on Ashido's part, Uraraka only got to her just as she passed through the gate, giving Ashido the victory.
Then, finally, it was Izuku's turn. After the students in the third match had gathered back in the tent, All Might announced the lineup that Izuku had been expecting for the final match.
Izuku as the villain, versus Tsuyu, Tokoyami, Shouji, and Kirishima.
As he entered through the gate to make his way into the site, he heard the earpiece crackle to life once more, and Rei spoke to him.
"You versus four classmates. What're you going to do?"
He hummed to himself as he moved, considering his answer. When he spoke, he did so in a way that would make it sound like he was thinking aloud. Despite Izuku not having a teammate in this exercise, All Might could still communicate with him in order to make announcements, meaning that he could also hear everything that Izuku said.
"I fully intend to turn this into an outright brawl for victory." He said, almost murmuring to himself. "Tsuyu, Kirishima, and Shouji are all primarily close-quarters fighters, albeit with their own unique styles; Tsuyu with agility and the potential to attack at range, Kirishima with his defense, and Shouji with his bulk and extra limbs, not to mention his sensory boost. Tokoyami is the only real unknown. From what I've seen, he's the least physically imposing of the four, but it seems like his quirk is more than enough to make up for it. I won't know his actual capabilities until the fight begins."
"Depending on what they decide to do, I'll want to deal with Tokoyami first, followed by Shouji, Tsuyu, then Kirishima. But then that's only based on how easily they can be overpowered. That'll most likely change when I see what they do."
"Well it's good to see that you have a plan." Rei responded. "Do you think they'll try to be smart about how they come at you?"
"They've seen me fight before in the first exercise, Tsuyu even had a front row seat." He said. "They know I can hold my own in a fight. They'll probably come to the conclusion that their best option is to ambush me in an attempt to subdue me before anything can really start. With how open this area is, I'm guessing that they'll try to circle around me."
He made it to the center of the site, right where Todoroki had been. Crossing his arms, he settled himself, looking off in the direction of the gate. A smile broke out on his face as he sat there, waiting for All Might to call the start of the match.
"I can't wait to see what they try to do."
Yagi gulped as he listened to Etsumi's thought process as the student made his way to wherever in the site he was headed. He'd known before how smart Etsumi was, and he very recently learned just how strong he was, but until this very moment, Yagi had not considered how terrifying those two attributes were when they were combined.
As the timer on the screen counted down to the start of the match—only about two minutes left—Yagi saw Etsumi's smile take on a darker edge. He couldn't quite describe it, but the sight gave him a slight chill down his spine. Then he heard the boy speak.
"Villains are judged on how much destruction they cause, right? I know that-that was probably meant to include things like cars and the mannikins, but I wonder just how overboard I should go with that?"
Yagi gulped again, but stayed silent. He had no idea what Etsumi was planning, but the heroes had yet to enter the site, and one of the goals of this exercise was to give them an understanding of what their quirks could do in an urban environment.
Suddenly, Etsumi raised a fist in front of him, seeming to flex the arm. A few moments later he abruptly turned to his side and threw the fist forwards, the action blurring out of view for a split second. The resultant shockwave that exploded outwards was reminiscent of Yagi's own attacks. It struck one of the buildings, and he watched in shock as massive chunk of the structure collapsed in on itself, bringing the rest of it down soon after.
"What the fuck!?" One of the other students shouted from behind Yagi—Kaminari, if he wasn't mistaken—clearly surprised by the show of strength. "Why the heck is he so strong!? He literally just knocked down a building! He didn't even fucking touch it!"
Yagi found himself agreeing with the sentiment, though not so much with the language used. Etsumi was full of surprises, from his identity as Deku to his mysterious strength. He was once again struck with slight disappointment that Etsumi had refused his offer of One for All.
He tensed ever so slightly when he saw Etsumi about to throw another punch, eyes trained on a different building.
"Are you done?" Rei asked in his ear, her voice some strange combination of amused and exasperated.
Izuku smiled as he looked around him, admiring the damage he'd caused, or at least as much as he could with all the dust in the air. It wasn't too bad—the buildings were fairly small after all—but he couldn't see much farther than the clearing he'd settled in.
He'd knocked down five of the mock buildings before All Might finally announced the start of the match and he decided not to go any further, lest his opponents be put at risk. He hadn't realized before how satisfying it was to not limit his strength and just cut loose like that.
Whenever he went out as Oni, he always had to be careful with the criminals he fought. Though he didn't show them any mercy, it was a balancing act to keep the force behind each one of his attacks right on the edge of being too much. It was nice to be able to experience something like this, however briefly.
"Yes. I think that'll do quite nicely." He responded. "And who knows, maybe with the dust they'll be more confident in their planning."
He blinked, switching over to thermal to be able to see through the dust. His grin widened when he caught sight of a single oddly shaped limb sticking out from around the corner of a building some distance in front of him. He couldn't quite make out if it had an ear or an eye in place of a hand, but either way, it meant that Shouji knew where he was.
He pretended not to notice as the four heroes made their way around the clearing, moving behind buildings to stay out of view as much as possible. It seemed like he wouldn't have to wait long for things to get started.
"Heads up." Rei announced a minute later. "They're now directly behind you. They're standing there watching you, it looks like they're coming up with a plan."
"Wait. Scratch that. They already have one. The big one is picking up Kirishima and Asui. It looks like he's about to throw them."
Izuku's grin turned feral as he kept his gaze forwards. He cracked his neck, and his wings shifted as he dropped his hands to his sides, flexing them in anticipation.
Time to get started.
"He knows they're there." Yagi heard Yaoyorozu from behind him. "He's known the entire time. They're about to walk into a trap."
Looking a bit closer, Yagi noticed what she'd seen. Etsumi's smile had turned into something frightening. He'd gone unnaturally still, his wings shuffling on his back and his hands clenching into fists and opening again were the only signs of movement. His entire body seemed to have tensed, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice, and that notice would be coming soon.
The fight would begin any second now.
The world around Izuku had gone silent as he focused solely on the four opponents behind him. His heartbeat was about the only thing he was hearing.
He felt the exact instant the heroes launched their plan. Right when Shouji started throwing his teammates. He knew even before Rei announced it to him. It wasn't even anything tangible that informed him, simply instincts that told him something was happening.
The moment the first opponent crossed 'Proximity's border, he reacted. Judging by the size of the person, Shouji had thrown Tsuyu first. Once she reached him, he had three seconds, max, until Kirishima would follow. And then another eight until Tokoyami, assuming he would be thrown as well.
Spinning around, he launched himself in their direction, aiming for Tsuyu first. He savored the surprise that appeared across her face in the split second before he reached her. His hand flashed out, closing around her neck. Following with her momentum so as to not snap her neck, he threw her behind him and up into the air, sending her in the same direction she'd been heading, just much higher than she intended.
As soon as she left his grip, Kirishima came sailing through the air at him. He was glad to see that the teen had already hardened himself with his quirk. That meant he didn't need to be nearly as careful.
Ducking beneath the fist that Kirishima attempted to throw when he saw that Izuku wasn't as unsuspecting as they thought, he brought his own fist to Kirishima's side, sending him flying off into one of the buildings he hadn't knocked down.
Keeping up his assault he charged straight at Shouji. The multi-armed student had barely enough time to bring all six up to guard before Izuku was slamming into him, knocking him back into a building.
Being the last one left, Tokoyami had more time to react to the sudden change in plans. Izuku caught the shadowy hands of Tokoyami's quirk when it rushed him, grappling with the beast as it roared at him. His smile remained in place as he pushed the quirk back; he was ecstatic. In terms of raw strength, Tokoyami's quirk more than matched up to most of the muscle brained, enhanced-strength brutes he'd encountered as Oni. It was a wonderful defiance of physics, as shadows had no reason to be tangible—though Shadow's… shadows were just as tangible at times so maybe he shouldn't be so surprised—and because it was exerting strength that Tokoyami didn't seem capable of providing a base for. With as hard as the quirk was resisting Izuku, Tokoyami would need to be just as strong in order to not immediately be pushed back, yet he wasn't.
"You are so very fascinating." Izuku said to the quirk, who's face was just inches away from his own. "I would love to study you up close at some point."
It faltered slightly at his words, losing its focus. Izuku took the opportunity to throw its hands to either side, before throwing a punch directly to the side of its head, hard enough to send it screaming as it retreated back within Tokoyami.
With the threat dealt with, Izuku approached the bird-headed student.
"Unless you have another meaningful way to fight back," he said, "I'm just going to wrap you in the capture tape. I've no interest in causing undue damage to an opponent that can't properly defend himself."
Tokoyami just huffed, before holding his hands up towards him, wrists together.
A moment later, All Might announced Tokoyami's removal from the fight.
At the same time, Shouji charged at him through a particularly dense cloud of dust. Izuku barely reacted, catching one of the thrown fists in his hand and tossing him off to the side again.
"You know." He said to Tokoyami. "You'd benefit quite a bit from learning martial arts, beyond what All Might and Aizawa have been teaching us. It would give you a way to fight back in situations like this."
Tokoyami nodded at him. "Perhaps. I have been considering it since the sparring matches on the first day. I've realized that I rely too heavily on Dark Shadow alone."
At least he knew that he was too reliant on his quirk. It was good to hear some self-awareness.
"I'm not too clear on how your quirk functions, but you might want to consider having Dark Shadow wrap around your body like a suit of armor, assuming that's even possible. It would augment your offensive and defensive capabilities all at once."
He turned away at that, leaving Tokoyami with a surprised expression, or at least as surprised as one could look with an avian head.
"Somehow I'm not at all surprised that you would give someone advice on how to improve themselves in the middle of a fight." Rei said in his head. "Oh. Also, look out."
Once again, Shouji came charging at him, this time with Kirishima coming from the opposite side.
Izuku sighed. "How many times are you going to repeat the same thing before you realize it won't work?"
He reached out and caught Kirishima's fist, before yanking him right into Shouji's path. The two collided, the larger teen unlucky enough to hit his head on Kirishima's hardened body, dropping unconscious immediately. Still holding onto Kirishima, Izuku pulled him closer, planting a fist into his hardened head. He dropped to the ground an instant later just as Shouji had, his rock-like skin already fading away. All Might announced that they were out a moment later.
"That just leaves Tsuyu." He said to no one in particular, turning to look in the direction he'd thrown her.
"Above you." Rei warned.
Sure enough, he felt her enter 'Proximity's range almost directly above him. Judging by the angle, she must've jumped at him from one of the buildings. It wasn't much better than what the other two had done, but at least she was doing it from an unexpected angle. And had she timed it just a bit better, she would've caught him while he was still dealing with them.
Looking up at her, he pulled on 'Quick Thinker,' slowing the world around him to a crawl. As she came down at him, a leg already extended to strike at him—the top of his shoulder most likely—he shifted to the side, moving out of her path. Pulling out the capture tape, he wrapped it around her ankle as it passed right next to his head.
He released his hold on the quirk, letting the world speed back up. Despite how close she'd been to the ground when he moved, Tsuyu reacted immediately to the changed landing zone. She twisted in air in the instant before she landed, putting her legs back beneath her, letting them absorb the force of the impact.
"Asui has been captured!" All might announced. "Etsumi wins!"
"Nice try." He said to Tsuyu as she stood back up. "Had you been just a little quicker, you could've landed a pretty solid hit while I was dealing with Shouji and Kirishima."
"I tried, kero." She responded. "I misjudged how long it would take to fall."
He shrugged. "Either way, it was a good attempt."
Looking down at the two fallen students, he sighed. "I suppose I should at least carry them to Recovery Girl. I am the one that put them there after all."
Yagi felt sweat running down his back as the match came to an end. Holy shit the kid was scary.
The fight between Etsumi and Todoroki the week before had been an impressive display of strength, but this was something else entirely. This was applying skill to that strength.
He'd timed it; in less than two minutes from the point that the heroes had launched their attack, Etsumi had completely taken them out. The way he moved and how he reacted spoke of years of experience in fighting, the type Yagi had really only ever seen in heroes. Maybe it had something to do with Etsumi being Deku, or with how smart he was in general, but he had no doubts whatsoever that Estumi was a force to be reckoned with.
He wasn't sure if he should be frightened or excited for how the kid would turn out after three years at Yueii.
Turning his attention back to the screen, he saw Etsumi sling the unconscious forms of Shouji and Kirishima over his shoulders. A smile crept onto Yagi's face as he watched Etsumi chat with Asui and Tokoyami as they moved towards the gate.
For now, he'd go with excited.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Just one more chapter and then it's time for the USJ.
The Calm
Chapter Summary
The class president is chosen, and the stage is set.
Chapter Notes
So this chapter is a bit shorter (actually I think it's the shortest one yet), but it mostly serves to show the class president and the setup for the USJ.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Alright everyone. Settle down." Eraserhead called out as soon as he stepped into the room, sleeping bag balled up under his arm. He looked more irritated than usual, likely because the reporters had been crowding the gate again, and this time one of them actually ended up setting off the gate.
"We have something important to take care of before your first class starts."
The class, already at their desks and mostly silent, halted any conversation at his words. They all stared at him, a slight apprehension in the air as they wondered what he would have them doing.
After the quirk apprehension test on the first day, he'd been pushing them every day since between his assistance in All Might's hero lessons and his own physical fitness exercises.
Despite that though, there hadn't been any more threats of expulsion after the first day, or at least none that were direct. He did warn them all that he was expecting them to give their all in his class. The threat there had been heavily implied.
"It's time to select your class president for the next year."
Most everyone around Izuku seemed to sigh in relief when they realized that Eraser didn't have something difficult or otherwise stressful for them to do. Some of them immediately stood up to declare that they should be chosen.
Eraserhead let them, disappearing behind the podium, presumably to sleep.
Izuku, on the other hand, was trying to figure out what exactly was happening. He had no idea what a 'class president' was. This was the first time he was hearing those words in that combination.
He supposed it was a consequence of never actually going to school, as none of his classmates seemed to be having the same issue. They all continued to shout and exclaim that they would be the best for the job.
From the words themselves, he figured that it was some sort of leadership position for a class. But for what purpose? There were already teachers to lead them, were there not?
It didn't make much sense to him, so he just settled himself further into the corner where his desk sat and resigned himself to researching the topic when he got home. Most of his classmates were vying for the job, so it wasn't likely that he would need to worry about it too much anyway.
The shouting continued until Iida's voice cut through the noise, suggesting that they take a vote to select the person who would act as class president. Surprisingly enough, most everyone went along with it, quieting down and returning to their seats while Iida tore up pieces of paper and passed them out to everyone. This left Izuku staring down at his, wondering what he should do.
If he was correct, and this was for a leadership position within the class, then obviously he should pick the person he felt would do the best job. An obvious candidate would be Iida. He had shown to be a stickler for rules, had good study habits as far as Izuku had seen; showing up early for class every day, taking diligent notes through lessons, and tackling all of their physical exercises with more enthusiasm than even Kirishima. Not to mention that he was the one to suggest the vote in the first place; he was clearly ready and able to take charge of a situation.
Other candidates included Momo and Tsuyu. Momo was obviously intelligent, proficient enough to get in through the recommendation exams, and had an analytical mind. And Tsuyu seemed like the sort of person to keep a level head no matter the situation.
Thinking it over for a minute, he wrote Iida's name down on the slip. Izuku knew more about him than he did the other two, and that made him the better option for an impromptu vote. The only other person he knew more about was Uraraka, and he felt that she likely wouldn't be the best fit. Nor did he think she actually wanted it in the first place. She hadn't been one of the ones to stand and shout when Eraser first made the announcement.
Soon enough, Iida was back to pick up all of the slips and dropped them on Eraser's desk for the hero to tally them up as an unbiased separate party.
Izuku was surprised to see that his name was one of the first to be written up with a vote next to it. He hadn't expected anyone to vote for him. That surprise quickly turned to concern, and then to some amount of dread as the count next to his name continued to rise. He stared at the board, with more exhaustion than anything else, when the tally ended, and his name held the highest number next to it.
"Well it looks like Etsumi is your class president." Eraserhead announced. "Coming in first with six votes. Iida is your vice president with three."
Izuku sighed internally. 'Of course it's me. Let's give the position to the one, single person in the class that doesn't even know what the fucking position is.'
Eraserhead immediately sunk back to the floor, already disappearing back into his sleeping bag. Izuku was glad that at least the hero wasn't going to make him go to the front of the class to speak or anything of the sort, it would take more effort than it was worth to uncurl from the corner, go all the way to the front of the room, then curl back up at his desk. Not to mention that he wouldn't have the faintest idea what to say.
Another sigh as a few of his classmates started congratulating him, none louder than Iida. 'Whatever. This might as well happen. I can't let something so trivial trip me up.'
A few classes later, and everyone was heading to lunch. Iida and Uraraka were walking alongside him.
Iida was going on about how much of an honor it was to be the vice president. Something about the legacy of the school and how they had been chosen to represent their class.
Actually, with all of his ranting and droning on about the subject, Izuku was starting to get an idea of what would be expected of him. From what he could tell so far, he was meant to essentially be a liaison between his classmates and the school, and to lead them in general. Informing them of any extracurricular activities or events, and then supervising at said events, for one. He'd still have to look into it once he got home though.
Iida was just getting into how his brother had apparently been class president at some point when he rounded a corner and walked straight into the wall of muscle that was All Might. Izuku, seeing the man coming ahead of time, stopped just in time, pulling Uraraka to a stop as well.
"Ah! Young Etsumi!" All Might exclaimed, waving off Iida's apologies with an ever-present smile and a pat on the shoulder. "Just the person I was looking for!"
Izuku raised an eyebrow at the man. "What can I do for you?"
"I was hoping we could speak for a moment before you went off to lunch." He said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the faculty lounge, Izuku assumed.
"Okay." Izuku responded.
He couldn't think of anything the man would want to talk to him about – actually, no. That was a lie. He could think of several things he might want to discuss with Izuku – but he figured that All Might probably just wanted to meet up with him like they used to. They hadn't had the opportunity to have lunch together since before the entrance exams.
He looked over at Uraraka and Iida. "I'll catch up to you shortly."
"Okay! We'll make sure to save you a spot!" Uraraka said, before leading Iida away.
A moment later, All Might was leading Izuku through the halls. They traveled in silence until, as expected, they reached the faculty lounge.
As soon as the door shut behind them, All Might immediately shrank into his smaller form, releasing a cloud of steam. He led Izuku over to a coffee table, sitting on a couch that sat in front of it while Izuku settled directly across from him. The two sat there in silence for a few short minutes, Yagi resting his chin on his hands, looking like he was lost in his thoughts. Izuku was curious about what had put the man in such a state, but was content to wait until he decided to speak.
"I wanted to talk to you about One for All." Yagi started, cutting through the silence.
"Anything specific, or just in general?" Izuku asked, the corners of his mouth drawing up into a grin. "Because it is an incredibly broad and fascinating topic."
"About potential successors." Yagi said, not drawing into Izuku's attempt to lighten the mood. "We're about a week in to this year. I was wondering if you've seen anyone yet that might be a good fit."
"There are a few." Izuku responded, growing more serious with the topic. "Three, to be exact."
Yagi gestured for him to continue.
"Bakugou, Kirishima, and Uraraka." He said. "But there are issues with each one."
"Bakugou is obviously skilled. The amount of fine control he has over his quirk is astounding, and it's clear that he has the sort of drive necessary to master an additional quirk. Not to mention that he might take to it relatively easily given that his own quirk is an emitter that functions in a similar manner. The only problem is that I have no idea if his personality would fit the role you wish to fill. I've not heard him speak more than a handful of words since school began. I know nothing about why he wants to be a hero or why he has the drive that's made him as strong as he is. But other than that, I feel as though he would make a decent successor."
"Uraraka is a potential candidate for similar reasons. Though her quirk doesn't require as much minute control as Bakugou's, she has a similar drive within her that's allowed her to push herself as far as she has, both in her quirk's limits and her learning martial arts. She would have what it takes to master One for All. Her issue, however, also lies in her personality. She would do great things with the quirk, but I feel as though her goals don't match up for what you're looking for. She wants to become a rescue-oriented hero. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that whoever you choose, you'd want them to eventually fill your role as the Symbol of Peace."
"I would be lying if I said that wasn't part of it." Yagi responded. "Whoever I choose, I'd support them in whatever they decide to do. But if I were looking at two completely identical candidates, and one had the goal of being the top hero and the other wanted to be a support or rescue hero, I'd likely choose the former."
"Exactly." Izuku nodded. "So while Uraraka would be able to handle the quirk and do great things with it, she doesn't have the goal of becoming the greatest hero. She wants to be a rescue hero in order to support herself and her family. Not to mention that I don't know if she'd be willing to accept the quirk when she's gotten so far under her own power."
"Then there's Kirishima. His quirk is a transformation-type which, if I'm correct in my speculation, has the potential to be improved with the addition of One for All. It could also help protect him from any potential backlash when he's learning it. His fighting style matches up closely to yours, closer to boxing than any sort of formal martial arts. He's very open about his desire to be a hero and his personality is easily the brightest in the class. I don't know for sure his reasons for becoming a hero, or his exact potential in terms of how easily he'd be able to master the quirk, but he's a good candidate nonetheless. Actually, because of how open he is, I'd almost be willing to say that he's the best of the three."
"I see." Yagi said after a few moments of silence. "I'll try to keep a closer eye on them in the future."
He sighed. "I'm sorry for having this conversation with you out of the blue like this. It's just been on my mind all day. An associate of mine, one who's aware of my injury and my quirk, has been pushing me to take on his suggestion for a successor and I'm hesitant to do so."
"Is this person's suggestion a worthy candidate?" Izuku asked.
"That's just it. They absolutely are. They're actually a third year here at Yueii. A young man by the name of Mirio Togata. His strength has earned him the title of one of the 'big three' here, and his personality would, and has, allow him to bring hope to whoever he saves."
Izuku quirked an eyebrow. "Then why not go with him? Instead of searching amongst the first years?"
Yagi sighed. "I don't know for sure. I don't want to say spite, but it might be exactly that. This associate of mine has been pushing me, ever since I got this injury," he brought a hand to his side, "to retire and pass my quirk along before it's lost. With how insistent he's been recently, it seems as though it's more about One for All than it is about me. That he simply wants to ensure that it carries on when I'm gone. And as much as I know he reveres me, I imagine that attitude has been passed along to Young Mirio. To the point that the young man likely wouldn't hesitate to accept any offer that comes from All Might himself."
As Izuku listened to Yagi's explanation, he found himself beginning to dislike whoever this 'associate' was—he had a few guesses as to their identity, but nothing certain yet—He could understand wanting to protect something as special as Yagi's quirk, but with what he was hearing, it sounded like they viewed Yagi as little more than the carrier of the quirk. Not to mention the fact that it sounded almost like they were grooming this Togata person to fit the role.
"If you don't want to, then don't." Izuku said, interrupting All Might, who looked at him questioningly.
"In the end, you're the one who will make the final decision. That's a given with how One for All is even passed along; completely willingly on both sides. If you have doubts about this associate or their suggestion, then all you have to do is say no and they have no right to say anything more about it."
"I suppose." Yagi said. "But I fear he may be right. I should find a successor soon."
"And you will. The year's only just begun. You have plenty of time to find someone. And when you do, I'll be here to help them."
Yagi leaned back on the couch, laying his head back. "I suppose you're right, Etsumi. And I do appreciate your words."
He sighed. "I've simply been thinking about this too much recently. It has been occupying my thoughts. I should focus on other things, such as my teaching duties."
The two lapsed into silence once more, until a minute later, when Yagi suddenly stood up.
"Well, I won't hold you up any longer! I'll let you return to your friends!" He said, a cheerful attitude forced back into his words.
Izuku rose up from where he'd settled. "Alright then. I'll see you later. I trust you'll have something interesting planned for us."
"Maybe not today. Today we will continue our combat lessons. But we do have something interesting planned for the near future that I think you all will enjoy!"
Izuku nodded to him as he moved to the door. "I look forward to it."
Izuku settled down next to Uraraka, a bright smile on his face. He was in a good mood after the more serious discussion with Yagi, and not just because he was about to eat gourmet-level Katsudon for lunch. He'd finally gotten his cookbook signed by the Chef Hero: Lunch Rush.
The hero had been somewhat surprised when Izuku showed him the book and made the request, but that had quickly made way for excitement as he all but snatched it from Izuku's hands to sign it. Evidently, it wasn't something that he experienced very often, given that most of his time was spent at Yueii, and the students weren't the type to get into that level of cooking. Since Izuku had come in a bit late, and there wasn't anyone in the line behind him, the two had actually discussed a few of the recipes within the book, both of them listing out their favorites. The conversation even ended with Lunch Rush offering to teach Izuku a few that had never made it into any book, that existed only with him.
His other classmates, consisting of Uraraka, Iida, Tsuyu, Tokoyami, and Ashido, noticed his mood as he settled down. He'd been a little surprised when Ashido started sitting with them, but he hadn't questioned it; she seemed to be trying to make friends with everyone in the class.
"What's got you so excited, Etsumi?" Ashido asked. "I don't think I've seen you this happy since school started."
He held up the cookbook in response, holding open the cover to reveal the signature on the inside.
"Finally got it signed." He said. "I've been wanting to for quite some time. It's fortunate that he happens to work here."
"Oh! Do you like to cook then, Etsumi?" Tsuyu asked.
Izuku ignored the stupidity in that question; would he get a cookbook signed if he didn't enjoy cooking? He was much too happy to even be privately snarky.
He nodded. "I do. I cook all the meals in my home, and have been doing so for a while, and I've found it quite relaxing. It's also satisfying to start something from scratch and end up with a delicious final product."
"You cook all the meals?" Iida asked. "That is quite admirable of you to take on that responsibility, so your parents don't have to!"
Izuku's smile dropped. Whoops, he was beginning to navigate into questionable territory. Uraraka was already aware of his and Rei's situation considering she lived with them—he could see where her smile had dropped some as well—but none of the others needed to know.
"Sure." He said, forcing the smile back into place. "Let's go with that."
"Anyways." Izuku said, looking to change the subject. "Can we talk about why I somehow ended up as class president? Who even voted for me? Because I know I didn't."
"Oh, I did." Uraraka responded.
"As did I!" Iida said.
"I did too." Tsuyu and Tokoyami said at the same time.
"I uh, actually voted for myself." Ashido said.
Well, that answered part of that question. He'd almost understood Uraraka voting for him, and maybe Iida; he was closest to the two of them after all. But what were the other two thinking? And who were the two that were missing?
"I'm actually inclined to believe that you're the most sensible one here." He said, gesturing at Ashido.
"What are you saying, Etsumi?" Iida questioned. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. You wouldn't have gotten so many votes if other people didn't think that as well."
Izuku just gave him a deadpan stare. "Are you all forgetting that I was homeschooled my entire life? I literally had no idea that a 'class president' was even a thing before today. I've absolutely no idea what I'm even supposed to do."
Iida faltered at that, but it didn't slow him down for long. He very quickly launched into what Izuku felt was about to be a lecture on the duties of a class president.
Before he could get more than a few words out, however, an alarm started blaring through the room, cutting him short. An automated voice screeched out 'Security breach level three! Please evacuate the building!'
The cafeteria was frozen for a full three seconds before everything erupted in chaos as everyone scrambled for the doors.
"Stop." Izuku ordered when he saw his classmates start to follow suit. "Stay in your seats."
"But there's been a security breach!" Uraraka exclaimed. "The intercom told us to evacuate!"
"It said level three." Izuku responded. "That just means that someone unauthorized has gotten past the gates. It doesn't necessarily mean anything else. I wouldn't be surprised if it's simply the reporters outside that decided to do something stupid."
"Besides." He said, gesturing at the clusterfuck that had been formed by the other panicking students trying to get out. "Do you really want to try your luck in all that? I, for one, am content to sit here and finish my lunch. If this breach is serious enough that they, whoever they are, make it here, then I will deal with it as it happens."
To his surprise, they actually listened to him, sitting back down as the alarm continued to blare and the students all crowded the doors.
"We should at least try to do something to calm the students down!" Iida said. "At this rate they're likely to hurt themselves!"
Izuku looked back over at the crowd. Quite a few of them were being sandwiched against the walls. Iida was probably right, it wouldn't do to have this mess go on for much longer. Who knew if someone was being trampled in the middle of all that.
Right then, he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out to see Rei messaging him.
"Just a second." He said, directing his attention to the device.
12:58 [Rei]-
-'Are you okay? I just saw that the Yueii security system has been breached.'
12:58 [Izuku]-
-'So far, so good. Haven't seen anything beyond students panicking. Are you able to tell what caused it?'
He waited a minute for her response as she, presumably, checked around.
1:00 [Rei]-
-'The front gate is gone. Looks like it was turned to dust. But it's all just the media standing out there, and it looks like the teachers are already handling it.'
1:00 [Izuku]-
-'Sounds about right. I'll update you if anything else happens. And if you can, please turn off the alarm. It's probably the loudest thing I've ever heard, and easily the most annoying.'
"Right then." Izuku said, putting his phone away and raising himself up from the table, several feet higher than normal. "You all might want to cover your ears."
He saw them all comply fairly quickly, though with looks of confusion.
Pulling on a strength quirk, he spread his arms out to his sides. Then, taking a deep breath, he brought his hands together as hard as he could with an immense clap.
The noise cracked through the room just as the alarm went silent, causing most of the panicking students to stop and cover their ears. With the room now completely silent, they all turned to look at him.
"If you all could kindly shut up and either evacuate calmly, like rational people, or sit back down, it would be much appreciated. There is no intruder, it's just the media being stupid. And the teachers are already handling it."
He looked around at all of them. "You all are students of Yueii. The least you can do is act like it."
With that, he lowered himself back down to the table and picked up his fork to continue working at his meal. He could hear the sound of the other students walking back to their own tables. After a moment, he looked up to see his classmates staring at him.
"Yes?" He said, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Did you need something?"
"That's your answer, Etsumi." Tsuyu said. "That's what a class president does. They lead and set an example."
He quirked an eyebrow at her words, before shrugging. "If you say so."
As he returned to his meal, his mind returned to Rei's message about the gate apparently being turned to dust. Something about that didn't sit right with him. He wasn't sure if it was that detail itself, or if it was something else about the situation.
Either way, he hoped the situation had been handled.
Oni stood on one of the many skyscrapers littered through the city. This one in particular was one of the tallest. His head was tilted back, looking up at the stars as he took in the breeze.
Something was wrong.
He didn't know what it was, or if it was even accurate to say 'wrong.' Maybe it would be more fitting to simply say that something felt off. Either way, something in the air was making him anxious and absolutely didn't like the feeling.
He hadn't quite noticed before, but the feeling had started in the Yueii cafeteria with the security breach. The thought about the gate being turned to dust had lingered, shifting and evolving until now his instincts were putting him on alert, even though everything else told him there was nothing around him.
This was part of the reason he'd come up to the tower, to confirm that he was as far away from everything else as he could be.
But despite that, coming all the way up here had actually made it worse. His skin crawled, and he didn't realize that he'd pulled on his claw quirk until his fingers were shifting and sprouting scales. He decided to leave them there for the moment, absentmindedly running scaled fingers against each other.
He took a deep breath, savoring the slight bite of the chilled air.
After a few minutes of standing in place, studying the stars and trying to calm himself, he finally realized what he was feeling. He'd experienced it so many times before, just not from this perspective.
It was the calm before the storm. The final moments of peace before the storm comes along to throw it all into chaos.
Normally, he is that storm. He is the one to disrupt the peace and bring fear and chaos and destruction to the criminals he fights. But now?
Right now, he's the one whose peace will be upturned. Or, at the very least, he isn't on the side bringing the chaos and was standing somewhere in the path of the storm.
He didn't like the feeling.
"Call Shadow." He said. "Let him know I won't be joining him tonight."
"Did something happen?" Rei asked.
He was silent for a few moments, before turning and walking to the edge of the building.
"Not yet."
He dropped off the building, drifting down towards one of the much smaller ones below. For now, he would limit his activities to Musutafu. He didn't want to stray too far from home.
Something was going to happen, something big, and it would happen soon.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
If you were wondering, the other two people that voted for Izuku were Momo and Bakugou. Momo has seen both his strength and his analytical mind and decided that he was the best bet, and Bakugou doesn't want/need the attention, and saw the same things.
As a reminder, for the foreseeable future, I will be switching over to an every other week upload schedule to give me time to work on the Whumptober prompts. The next chapter (the USJ!) will be uploaded September 20.
See you then!
The Storm
Chapter Summary
You already know what's about to happen.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku watched as the rest of his class got situated on the bus, led by a sulking Iida.
He'd happily delegated the responsibility of herding everyone aboard to the blue-haired boy upon seeing his enthusiasm regarding the situation, only to laugh quietly to himself when Iida realized that the layout of the bus wouldn't allow it. Part of him also wondered why Iida had thought it would work in the first place; this was the same bus that had ferried people around during the entrance exam after all.
Speaking of, Izuku was curled up in the back of the bus, just as he had been that day. He was resting his head on his arms, folded over the back of one of the seats in front of him, which was currently occupied by Uraraka. The one directly across the aisle held Tsuyu and Tokoyami.
As the bus took off, he shut his eyes, listening to the chatter in front of him and the hum of the vehicle below him as they headed towards whatever training Aizawa and Yagi had planned for them at an off-campus site. He still didn't know the extent of Yueii's facilities, so he had absolutely no idea what was waiting for them. The thought excited him, and he hoped that the exercise, whatever it was, would go smoothly.
Part of him couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't though.
The feeling of wrongness that had made itself known the day before hadn't disappeared yet. In fact, if anything it had only gotten worse; a sort of sinking feeling that made it feel like whatever was coming, was coming fast. He wished he could tell when it was coming, or that he at least he knew what was coming. If he knew what or when he was going to be fighting, it would likely eliminate most, if not all, of his nervousness regarding the situation. But he didn't know, so all he could do is sit and wait.
"Hey Etsumi." He heard Tsuyu say from the seat to his side, interrupting his thoughts.
He opened an eye to look over at her. "Yes, Tsuyu?"
"I tend to be a fairly blunt person." She said. "More often than not, I say what's on my mind."
"And what's on your mind right now? I assume there's something, otherwise you wouldn't have said that in the first place."
"Your quirk is sort of weird, isn't it?"
He opened his other eye and turned to look at her fully. And by now, Tokoyami and Uraraka were focused on them as well.
"I don't have any legs and I can fly, Tsuyu. You'll have to be more specific."
"Well that's just it. You have both a snake tail and wings." She said. "That's an odd combination to have, don't you think?"
"Yeah!" A new voice called out. Looking over, Izuku saw it was Kaminari. "And the insane strength too! How does that fit in with the rest of it?"
At this point, Izuku realized that the majority of the bus was now focused on the conversation. He sighed. He'd anticipated that this conversation would come up at some point; it was a rather odd combination of attributes after all. But luckily, he had the advantage of being leagues more knowledgeable about quirks than the rest of them combined. It was his job to know how this stuff worked. He'd long since thought of an explanation.
"Maybe." He said. "It might be odd, looking at all of it as my quirk. But you also have to take hereditary mutations into account."
"Heredi- what?" Kaminari asked. "What's that?"
"Hereditary mutations." Izuku repeated. "Mutations passed down to children as 'leftovers' from their parents' quirks."
Seeing several blank expressions staring back at him, Izuku continued, accepting the fact that he was apparently now teaching an impromptu lesson on quirk theory.
"Take mine and Tsuyu's green hair for example, or Iida's blue hair." He said, gesturing at each of them in turn. "Neither of those are natural hair colors. At some point, an ancestor would've had a quirk that resulted in the changed hair color, and then passed it along, until eventually it became a dominant trait. It's the same with Ashido's horns, Kirishima's sharp teeth, Kouda's rocky appearance, and Tokoyami's avian head. None of those have anything to do with their quirks, meaning that it's a residual mutation passed down from someone."
He saw a few of them nod in understanding as he spoke. The example with hair colors was the most widespread and easily identified evidence of hereditary mutations, and was actually what first sparked the theory.
"That's how it is for me." He continued. "Granted, I'm probably a bit more of an extreme case, but all the same. Technically speaking, my actual, freshly developed quirk is my strength. The tail is a leftover from my father, which my sister got as well, though she inherited it as her true quirk, and the wings come from some great-grandparent on my mother's side. I just got lucky in that they both manifested so strongly in me. Because of that, I consider all of it together to be my quirk."
He turned back to Tsuyu, quirking an eyebrow. "Make sense?"
Her gaze was pointed slightly downward, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she seemed to consider his explanation.
"I suppose so." She said, looking back up at him. "I never knew that 'hereditary mutations' were even a thing. But I guess it does make sense. Especially what you said about our hair color."
"To be fair, it's a relatively recent study. And a fairly obscure one at that." He said. "It only started about ten years ago, and only began breaking ground about seven years ago. It's all about studying how quirks change, combine, and mutate as they get passed down through generations."
"You seem to know quite a bit about quirks, Etsumi." Momo chimed in from her seat, towards the middle of the bus. "Is it a hobby of yours to learn about them?"
"Something like that." Izuku responded, a corner of his mouth upturning a bit at the massive understatement. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Uraraka mirror the expression. He considered telling them just how many degrees he had in subjects surrounding quirks, just to see their reactions, but decided against it for the time being. For now, they had no reason to believe that it was anything more than a hobby. He was fine leaving it like that.
"Are my corvid features really a result of these mutations?" Tokoyami said, mostly to himself, from his spot next to Tsuyu, running a hand across the glossy black feathers. "I've always believed they were a part of my quirk. That it was because of Dark Shadow."
"That might still be the case." Izuku said, drawing the boy from his thoughts. "I'll admit, I don't know enough about your quirk to say for sure whether your mutation is because of your quirk or an ancestor's. But if I'm correct, and I usually am when it comes to this sort of thing, you had an ancestor with a bird mutation quirk two or three generations ago. And Dark Shadow more than likely takes directly after your appearance, not the other way around."
At the mention of its name, the shadowy quirk in question appeared over Tokoyami's shoulder, its glowing eyes boring into Izuku's. It was much smaller than the last time he saw it, but it held the same inky black appearance.
After a moment of staring, it—floated? Stretched?—moved closer towards Izuku, eyes trained on him as if it were inspecting him. Curious, he held a hand out towards it, palm up, like he would with an animal.
As he watched it begin to inspect his hand instead, he found himself wondering about the quirk's intelligence. Obviously it held at least some degree by virtue of being sentient alone, but how much further did it go? It was smart enough to be able to act on its own accord—at least if Tokoyami's confused expression at the quirk's actions were anything to go by—and he was fairly certain he'd heard it speak before, or at the very least, he'd heard Tokoyami speak to it.
Apparently satisfied with whatever it saw, Dark Shadow grabbed his hand in both of its own. He dimly noticed that most everyone else had finally turned back to their own conversations, now it was only Tsuyu, Tokoyami, and Uraraka that were left watching this interaction.
After a moment of simply holding his hand, the quirk surprised him by flipping it over in its grip and placing it on their shadowy head.
Dark Shadow didn't stop there though, and Izuku's train of thought came to a screeching halt as the quirk began to move his hand back and forth over its head in a facsimile of…
Petting. It was petting itself using Izuku's hand.
As he watched, he heard Uraraka snickering in her seat and at the same time he heard something that sounded suspiciously like a squawk of indignation from Tokoyami. The boy tried, and failed, to call Dark Shadow back as discreetly as he could.
"Interesting." Izuku murmured once his thoughts caught back up, and not just because of the quirk's actions.
He hadn't noticed before, in the heat of the moment during his fight with Tokoyami, but Dark Shadow felt… odd.
The shadow was cold to the touch, and seemed to have no texture whatsoever, almost feeling like liquid on his hand, yet staying completely solid. More than that though, is that the air around the shadow was cold as well. It was almost as if it was drawing in the warmth from its surroundings. He could feel it in his hand; the longer he touched Dark Shadow, the colder his hand got. It was similar to how it had been in his fight with Todoroki, the heat slowly being sapped from his body as the fight wore on. But this time it was a much slower process, and instead of leaving him with a bone-deep chill, it was more akin to something soothing; relaxing rather than painful.
He finally moved his hand, running his fingers across the shadow's head, much to its delight it seemed. It pressed itself into his hand in response, looking quite pleased at the attention.
However, that seemed to be Tokoyami's limit, as the boy resorted to physically dragging Dark Shadow back to him with a muttered 'infernal beast!' He could hear the shadow snickering at Tokoyami's apparent embarrassment.
"Very interesting." Izuku murmured again, watching them for a moment, before returning his arm to its place on the back of Uraraka's seat and resting his head on it once more. He would chalk up Dark Shadow's odd behavior to it being a sentient quirk. They truly were fascinating, and so little was known about them.
Maybe sometime after whatever activity they were headed to, he could question the two of them.
Soon enough, the bus was coming to a stop next to a massive domed building. There was a lone figure waiting for them as they exited, their puffy white suit making them instantly recognizable, and not just to Izuku.
"It's Thirteen!" Uraraka whispered excitably from her spot next to him. "She specializes in rescue work! Especially when natural disasters are involved!"
He remembered Rei telling him how much Uraraka seemed to admire Thirteen. Their quirks were similar in theme, and Uraraka's costume held similarities—however small—to the hero's. And Uraraka's goal was to become a rescue hero. Being able to meet Thirteen in person was likely a sort of dream come true for her.
Izuku hummed in agreement as the class stopped in front of the hero, and Aizawa moved to stand next to her. He watched the two of them speak for a few moments—or at least, he watched Aizawa speak, Thirteen's costume meant that he couldn't see much beyond her eyes and arms emoting—It wasn't until he saw her hold up three fingers that he realized what they were discussing.
He had to resist the temptation to sigh out loud. Of course Yagi would use up his time limit before had a chance to teach. The buffoon suffered from tunnel vision when his hero work came into play; nothing would be able to pull him away, not even his job as a teacher. Though, admittedly, that was one of the things that made him such a great hero; that single-minded focus.
"Welcome everyone!" Thirteen called out once she and Aizawa had finished speaking. "To the Unforeseen Simulation Joint! A facility built for the sole purpose of preparing upcoming heroes at Yueii to handle disasters!"
His classmates were visibly excited at the introduction. The sight of the facility combined with the announcement of a new type of hands-on training getting them riled up.
"However, before we begin the training we have planned, there is something important I must discuss with you."
The students' excitement at the hero's greeting dulled somewhat as the atmosphere grew a bit more serious.
"I know that, since arriving at Yueii, Aizawa and All Might have been helping you cultivate a greater understanding of your quirks and what they can do. Part of why I'm here is to reinforce that. My own quirk, 'Black Hole,' is a powerful one that has enabled me to be as effective as I am as a rescue hero. But as useful as it is, it is equally deadly. It could be used to kill without much more than a thought. All it would take is a simple lapse in concentration and the victims I work to save would be reduced to atoms."
The mood plummeted even further at her words.
"In many ways, most of your quirks are just the same." She continued. "They could easily hurt, maim, or kill others without much thought."
"But! That is part of the reason you have come here today! To be able to train your quirks to ensure you have the control necessary to utilize them to save others! You should never forget the power that you wield and the risks it poses, but at the same time, that should not stop you from using them to their limits to be the best heroes you can be!"
The students cheered, their excitement restored as she turned to lead them towards the building. As they followed her, Izuku considered what she had said.
Thirteen was right, most of his classmates had quirks that could injure, or even kill, if used senselessly. Kaminari could electrocute people, Todoroki could freeze or burn them—though he'd still yet to see any actual flame from the boy—Uraraka could send them floating too high if she wasn't careful, Ashido had her acid, and Bakugou could produce literal explosions.
Humans were fragile. Unless they had quirks that could physically enhance their bodies, it didn't take much to break them. That was a big reason behind the mass of public quirk usage laws that bogged society down, and why there had been so much hatred and discrimination against the early quirked individuals. Before the laws, it was all too common for people to accidentally go too far and injure someone else to the point of disability or even death.
Then of course, there was Izuku.
While most everyone trained their quirk to some capacity, and needed to be aware of the risks they posed to themselves and to others, they only ever needed to be aware of one single quirk.
Izuku had over a hundred burning away within himself.
Granted, not all of the quirks he had were directly geared towards fighting—his healing quirk, 'Spectrum,' and 'Appraisal' being prime examples of that—but a good number of them were well equipped to do so. He constantly needed to be completely aware of what those quirks could do anytime he used them, and not just when he went out as Oni.
And it wasn't just about the enhanced strength. There were risks that came with that of course, but it went much further.
His claws for example—either of them, metal or scaled—presented a whole set of dangers on their own. One wrong move and he could slice or tear too deep to be nonlethal. With his strength behind them, it wouldn't take much effort at all to completely sever limbs. There was a reason he didn't actually use his claw quirk for anything beyond protecting his hands or, on occasion, tearing through walls or doors that got in his way.
He had an electricity quirk that could electrocute people if he wasn't careful. There was a voice quirk—similar to Present Mic's but much narrower in its uses—that could rupture eardrums. And as he'd demonstrated during the second training exercise, 'Air Cannon' could very easily knock entire buildings over, and that wasn't even with all of his strength quirks backing it up.
Even his snake tail presented its own risks. With it, he weighed over three thousand pounds, one careless move, and he could end up accidentally crushing someone beneath it.
He shook his head. That wasn't something he needed to worry about right now; there was a reason he was so thorough with the quirks he took, and that was part of it.
Instead, he trained his eyes on the massive doors that led into the dome, wondering what might lie on the other side as they began to slide open automatically at their approach.
There was a collective gasp from the class as the inside was revealed, and even Izuku felt his mouth drop open at the sight.
The place was massive, even by Yueii's standards.
He'd obviously suspected that it would be huge, given the size of the dome, but it seemed that Yueii was certainly keeping up with its theme of going above and beyond with everything.
The inside had been dug out, practically doubling the useable space inside. The main building of Yueii likely could've easily fit in the space more than once. It was big enough to house more than one mock city, similar in size to the ones that made up the main training sites.
"Fires, landslides, floods, storms, collapsed buildings, and mountainous accidents. This place is equipped to simulate any number of disasters and rescue scenarios for the purpose of training." Thirteen explained, pointing out each of the zones in turn.
"We'll be having you split up into groups of five." Aizawa jumped in. "Half of you will be with me, half will be with Thirteen. We'll take you around to each of the zones, where five of you will act as victims, and the other five will act as the heroes saving them."
"Now, for the first-" The rest of what he was saying was cut off, or rather, Izuku stopped paying attention as something in the air shifted.
Shouta halted his explanation as he felt something in the air; a feeling of malice somewhere behind him. At the same time, Etsumi caught his attention. The boy's entire demeanor changed all at once in a way that had him on edge immediately.
Just about every time Shouta had looked at him in the week since school had begun, Etsumi had always displayed a calm—if not laid-back—exterior. His eyes more often than not gave away the focus that lay hidden beneath, and to someone like Aizawa, it was clear that Etsumi was aware of everything going on around him at all times, but despite that, he always came off as relaxed, even when he was fighting. He always gave off an air of complete and utter confidence, something that Shouta had realized was entirely warranted.
Right now though, in the space of a second—quicker than that even—Shouta watched that shift. It was subtle, but at the same time so very obvious to anyone who knew what they were looking at.
His back straightened, muscles tensing as his fists clenched, and his eyes hardened, training on something behind Shouta. He went deathly still, the entirety of his being becoming laser-focused on whatever he was looking at. The air around him became loaded with a certain tension; not quite nervousness or anxiety, but rather more like a snake that was ready to strike. Which, given Etsumi's appearance, seemed like an apt description.
He was ready for a fight. That was becoming painfully clear, and Shouta was beginning to realize he'd been mistaken in an earlier analysis of his students.
Shouta had gone back and watched the camera footage for both of the training exercises All Might had put the class through. He wanted to get a good idea of where his students' skills lay so he could figure out what he needed to teach. It wasn't just about fighting—though that was an important part of it. The one-on-one fights had given him a good idea, but it didn't account for their quirks, or the myriad of other ways the exercises were different—but also about their confidence, strategizing, and performance under pressure.
And in those exercises, the student who stuck out most to him wasn't Etsumi, but Bakugou. Sure, Etsumi had put on a good show, what with his ability to tank through Todoroki's onslaught and his completely mopping the floor with his opponents in the second exercise—not to mention the fact that he displayed obvious fighting experience and was completely calm throughout it all—but Shouta had overall been more impressed with Bakugou. The sheer level of control over his quirk combined with the way he seemed to practically radiate pure skill made it clear that he had more potential than most of his past students combined.
His initial analysis of Bakugou was that he was a fighter through-and-through. Maybe a bit too reliant on his quirk, but the power, skill, and measured ferocity he displayed more than made up for that; the reliance could be solved through training. It was to the point that Shouta was almost, almost willing to say that Bakugou was one of the better fighters he'd seen; the boy could probably put up a decent fight against a number of pro heroes that Shouta was familiar with. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that it was only the second week yet; it wouldn't do to overestimate any of his students, no matter how promising they looked.
But now, looking at the changes in Etsumi that set even him on edge, Shouta was realizing how wrong he was. Etsumi wasn't even moving, but the atmosphere around him was so intense that Shouta could tell that the distance between him and Bakugou was astronomical. He had every bit of skill and intensity that the other boy had, he simply hadn't had a reason to display it.
It was that realization, more than anything else that made something squirm in Shouta's gut. Etsumi hadn't displayed anything like this in either of the exercises, yet now he was faced with something that had brought it on like an automatic response.
It sent a shock of absolute wrongness racing down Shouta's spine as he turned to identify the source of the shift in the air and the change in Etsumi.
Down at the bottom of the stairs in front of them, next to the fountain, a mass of what looked to be purple smoke had appeared and was expanding outward to form a solid wall. His stomach sank as he watched a figure step through the smoke, and he realized immediately what was happening; he could just about feel the pure malice radiating from the individual, despite the distance.
Not even a moment later, more people began to walk through the smoke, one after another. None of them gave off the same feeling as the first one—the leader, he would guess—but all the same, they were still obviously enemies.
In seconds, the courtyard was full of villains, all of them staring up at them with open hostility.
"Hey…" Shouta heard one of his students—Kirishima, maybe—say from behind him. "Are we getting started already? Is this part of the training?"
"Stay back!" He called over his shoulder. "Those are villains! And this is no longer training. This is real life."
Then, to Shouta's surprise, the smoke began to shrink and condense until it was in a roughly humanoid shape next to the leader and the hulking beast that dwarfed everyone else there.
"The schedule we grabbed said that All Might was meant to be here teaching the class. But it looks as though all we have is Thirteen and Eraserhead." The smoky individual said, making Shouta's stomach drop even further. Right away he knew that the break in that had set the alarms off the day before had been these people in front of him. Beneath that, was the realization that these villains knew who he was, and most likely what his quirk was. It was not a comforting thought in the slightest.
He wondered briefly why the alarms hadn't gone off. Even if they'd materialized right in the center, Nezu had installed so many sensors into every square foot of Yueii that they shouldn't even be able to stand there without them going off. He pushed that thought from his mind though; whatever the reason, it was clear that they weren't working, which meant that it was useless to dwell on it right now.
The leader reached up to scratch at his neck, and Shouta realized that they were covered in severed hands. Something told him that they weren't fake.
"We went through all the trouble to get here, and All Might doesn't even have the courtesy to show up." They said, gaze dropping away from the top of the stairs. "How rude."
He started muttering to himself, too quiet for Shouta to make out as he scratched at his neck. After a few moments though, the leader's eyes suddenly snapped back up to them.
"Hey, do you think he'll show up if we kill a few of his students?"
That was all Shouta needed to hear. Reaching for his goggles, he settled them into place over his eyes. Grabbing his capture weapon and feeling it begin to lift and writhe around him like an angry snake, he settled into a crouch, ready to launch himself down the stairs.
"Thirteen." He called. "Get the students out of here. Get to the bus and call for help. I'll slow them down."
Slow them down, not stop them.
Shouta was by no means an optimist. He held no delusions that he would walk away from this fight. The number alone was something that he would struggle with, and he really didn't care for the look of the three that sat right in the center of it all. But that didn't matter. He would delay them as long as he needed to make sure his students made it out safely, and he'd take down as many as he could in the meantime.
He launched forwards, ready to activate his quirk and get things started, when something caught his capture weapon, stopping him dead in his tracks.
Looking back, he watched as Etsumi set him back down at the top of the stairs.
"What do you think you're doing, Etsumi?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the student. "Go with your classmates and get to safety."
Etsumi didn't respond. He was staring down at the hoard of villains, that same hard look in his eyes as they flickered around.
"Sixty-seven villains in the main courtyard." He finally said. "Plus the three that look to be the leaders. It'll be a disadvantageous fight, but I know that won't stop you. Most have relatively minor quirks, nothing major to watch out for, and all of them are known criminals that have recently escaped from prison. The main three are the exception. They all feel more dangerous and I don't recognize any of them."
Etsumi released his grip on his capture weapon, instead setting a hand on Shouta's shoulder. It pressed down like a weight, hinting at the immense strength that sat beneath the surface. Etsumi finally turned to meet Shouta's eyes, and he got the impression,—not for the first time—that there was more to Etsumi than met the eye. "Watch out for the one that came through first." He said, voice dropping lower. "Watch out for his hands, specifically. Don't let him touch you with all five fingers. I get the impression that's how his quirk works."
Shouta stared at him for a moment, before nodding. He turned back towards the villains, shrugging off the hand.
"Get out of here, Etsumi."
And with that, he launched himself forwards once more.
Izuku was, in a word, irritated. For so many reasons.
He'd noticed the exact moment that the purple smoke appeared, opening what he would assume to be a portal of some sort, judging by how the villains had walked out of it. He'd felt the malice and bloodlust in the air before the first one even stepped through; he'd have to be an idiot not to. A moment later, the lights flickered and he heard his earpiece cut to static; some sort of localized EMP quirk most likely, or something similar.
He started analyzing them the instant they arrived, scanning through all of them with 'Appraisal,' which brought him to the second source of his irritation; the first being the fact that some villain had the gall to organize an attack against All Might that put students in the crossfire.
All of these villains, every single one of them—with the exception of the main three—were ones that he'd encountered as Oni and subsequently punished. Which meant that whoever had organized this, whether it be the one covered in hands, the smoky one, or some other figure behind the scenes, had purposely raided the prisons of Musutafu and broken out criminals that he'd worked to put there.
He sneered. It was borderline offensive.
And now Izuku watched as Eraserhead practically flew down the stairs, already canceling the quirks of the stupid villains that tried to hit him with ranged quirks.
He'd stopped Eraser in time to give him as much help as he could, which unfortunately had been limited to the numbers he would be facing and that he should avoid the disintegration quirk. It irritated him that he hadn't been able to give any more, like the quirks of the other two main villains; the smoky one and the beast that towered over everyone else present.
Izuku had tried to use 'Appraisal' on them but found that, for whatever reason, he couldn't. There were a few reasons he could think of that might explain that—if the smoky one was intangible, without a real body, then that might counter it, and the other one did look just about braindead—but it was the first time he'd ever encountered something like that. It was frustrating.
It wasn't as if he couldn't still work out their quirks either; the smoky one obviously could warp or teleport himself and others, and had at least some level of intangibility on top of that, and the beast was likely some sort of tank with an enhancement quirk. It just irked him that they escaped his attempt to find out more.
Then there was the fact that he'd had to see the hardened resolve in Eraser's eyes. The man was flinging himself into battle with every expectation that he would die, and his last thought before doing so was to ensure the safety of his students.
He didn't doubt Eraserhead's skill. In fact, he was probably one of the few people that had an intimate understanding of it. But even he knew that the hero stood no chance in this situation. He'd seen the hero fight outnumbered before—hell, he'd fought alongside him in most of those fights—but this was different, and both of them knew that.
It irritated him that he couldn't even dive in alongside Eraser to handle the villains. At least not without either disobeying and distracting the man or without revealing his identity as Oni. He was stuck watching as his favorite hero prepared himself for death.
He tore his eyes away from the fight at the center. Scanning across the zones he had a clear view of using the magnification offered by 'Spectrum'; he could see a few villains scattered across them.
"Etsumi!" He heard Uraraka's voice from beside him. "Let's go! We have to get out of here!"
The fear in her voice was apparent. It added another source of irritation to the growing list; these villains had no right to put that fear there.
He ignored her in favor of analyzing the situation further. If he couldn't join the fight, the least he could do is learn as much as he possibly could.
"I can see villains in the disaster zones." He said, mostly to himself, but loud enough that the others could hear if they were listening. They might need to know as well. "There don't seem to be many, but most probably aren't visible right this moment. I count about twenty in the landslide zone, which is the most open out of all of them. If that number is consistent across the other zones, that gives us about a hundred and ninety villains in total, give or take. Since they have a member that is clearly capable of moving large groups at once to multiple locations simultaneously, I'd guess that their intent is, or was, to separate us while the main group in the center dealt with All Might and the other teachers."
"Which means we need to g-" Uraraka was cut off as a new voice was introduced.
"Well then, you seem to have deduced our plan rather easily. You must be quite clever to make such deductions."
Looking back towards the rest of his class and the doors, he saw the smoky one floating in the air in front of them. As high strung as his mind was at the moment, geared for a fight he might yet participate in, he noticed right away the odd way they seemed to have positioned themselves. They were slightly off from directly in front of the door, and from directly in front of his class. They weren't well positioned to stop them from advancing, by blocking the doors or by fighting them. Actually, if he were to guess, he'd say that they'd practically planted themself right in front of Thirteen.
They were either exceptionally confident in their abilities, extremely un-skilled, resulting in their odd positioning—which he doubted given how accurate they'd been in transporting the villains—or they had done so for a very specific reason.
He turned himself to face them fully, starting to move closer in the same motion.
"Yes well, maybe you all are just morons." He finally said in response. "Maybe whoever you have behind the scenes that put this little plan together should be ashamed of themself for making it so a mere student could take it apart."
"Enough!" Thirteen shouted. "I won't let you harm the students!"
She raised her arm as she spoke, and Izuku noticed the way the smokey villain's glowing eyes seemed to flash in response, all but confirming his theory.
He launched forwards, appearing next to Thirteen in a flash. Just as she was opening the caps at the end of her fingers to unleash her quirk, Izuku closed a hand over hers, closing them again. He forced the limb back down to her side.
"Etsumi? What are you-"
"They wanted you to do that." He explained, cutting her off. "Their quirk is some form of portal or warping. It's possible that they intended to turn your quirk back on you."
He had no idea if that was possible with her quirk, but the villain had obviously wanted her to attack them, so better safe than sorry.
"The fight has only just begun." He continued, leaning closer and dropping his voice a bit lower. "Your quirk is a trump card of sorts, best to not lose you just yet to the one villain who may be able to counter you."
"Tch! Troublesome brat!" The villain growled, losing all traces of the politeness they'd displayed a moment before. "Clearly you must be dealt with first!"
Izuku tensed, baring his teeth as he prepared to counter whatever they would throw at him.
At the same time however, he saw Kirishima and Bakugou leap in to attack. An explosion rang out, and he saw Krisihima's skin harden in an instant, but they both simply passed straight through the smoke.
He was about to curse their stupidity for attacking someone who might as well be intangible, when he caught the glint of metal hidden just within the smoke and heard, barely audible, 'My my, that was close.'
"I'm afraid such simple attacks won't work on someone like m-"
His words cut off as Izuku appeared in front of them. With all the strength he could muster with the quirks he had active, he swept a hand through the smoke, pulling on 'Air Cannon' partway through the movement to blow away as much of it as he could. As he did, he saw the metal he'd caught a glimpse of a moment ago. With his other arm, already wound back, he threw a punch that smacked into the metal, launching it off to the side and taking the smoke with it.
"Let's go!" He shouted over his shoulder, already moving towards the door. He noticed that this time, they weren't opening automatically. Whatever had messed with the lights, sensors, and his earpiece had likely messed something up in the door as well. That didn't slow him down though as he nearly crashed into them, driving his hands between them and pulling them open.
Just before he was about to pass through them however, he felt the air shift behind them, and felt tangible anger wash over him.
"Insolence!" The warp villain shouted. "You won't escape!"
As he felt the smoke start to surge towards them, he turned and grabbed Iida, who he'd noticed running behind him, by the collar of his armor. Just as the other students start to fall away, and he felt himself start to fall as well, he wrenched Iida forwards, throwing him through the door.
"Go Iida! Run back to Yueii!" He shouted as the smoke washed over him and his vision went dark.
When his vision returned to him an instant later, he took in several things at once.
First: It was dark. Not quite as dark as the inky blackness of the smoky villain when they'd washed over him, but certainly not as bright as it had been before.
Second: He was wet. From the looks of things, he'd been sent to the Downpour Zone. It was pouring down rain, which was probably the reason it was so dark. He blinked, pulling on 'Spectrum' to switch to night vision, which brightened things considerably.
Third: He was falling. Apparently, the villain was a petty piece of shit and had warped him to the top of the dome in the Downpour Zone, evidently not noticing that he had wings.
Izuku flared them, slowing his descent as he fell through the air towards the miniature city below. As he fell, he considered the situation.
An unknown number of his classmates, possibly including Thirteen, had been warped away from the front door to who-knows-where. There were about two hundred villains scattered throughout the place with the goal of killing All Might and as many of the students as they could. Eraserhead was stuck fighting the largest group, which included the three heavy hitters. And to top it all off, no one at Yueii actually knew what was happening.
Hopefully he'd thrown Iida far enough to avoid the villain.
He would assume that everyone that got caught had been sent to somewhere else within the building. That would make it easier to keep track of them and ensure that the plan went uninterrupted. Glancing around him, he didn't see anyone else falling through the air. Either he was alone in here, or was the only one that had been dropped from the ceiling.
So, he was in the middle of the disaster zone, potentially alone, and with an unknown number of villains scattered about that wanted to kill him.
He touched down on the ground and a moment later, a smile broke out on his face.
Oh, this was perfect.
Obviously not so much the part about his classmates being scattered through the building, but the fact that he was.
Had the smoky villain not caught him and sent him here, he would've escaped and been forced to wait until other heroes arrived. But now?
His smile widened.
Now he'd been thrown back into the fight. Now he had the chance to join in and help put a stop to it himself, and would be completely justified the entire time.
Now he could begin to punish these fucking villains.
Looking around, he turned in the direction he remembered seeing the door that would lead him out of the downpour zone, and started moving towards it. He started pulling on quirks as he moved; he wanted to be prepared for whatever he ran into.
There were most likely villains in here with him somewhere, but unless he ran into them on his way out, they would have to wait for the heroes to come deal with them. He had a more important task at hand.
He didn't even make it halfway there when he heard a commotion. Stopping, and tilting his head in the direction he thought it came from, he listened.
Sure enough, there it was. There was fighting somewhere off to his side, just barely audible over the rain. Turning in that direction, he took off down the street.
If there was fighting, then it most likely involved a student, which was a problem. There were very few that he would feel alright with letting them fight alone. Two to be exact; Todoroki and Bakugou. One could end the fight before it even began, and the other would make easily identifiable sounds, meaning that it wasn't either of them.
After a minute of moving, he turned into what looked to be a small courtyard, and caught sight of the commotion.
The first thing he noticed was the writhing shadowy form of Dark Shadow, which he followed back to see Tokoyami, who had his back to Izuku. The quirk was doing its best to fight back the group of villains that had backed Tokoyami up against a fountain, to the point where he'd moved into the water. He counted seven in total.
Izuku frowned as he took in the situation. Something wasn't right. He recognized each of the villains in front of him, there was no reason that Dark Shadow shouldn't be tossing them aside like the garbage they were. But it was almost like the quirk was holding itself back, or was overly focused on protecting Tokoyami rather than fighting.
He saw a bright flash as fire burst from the hands of one of the villains. It was extinguished by the rain a moment later, but the damage had already been done. Dark Shadow screeched in response, and he saw the quirk shrink a bit, though it started to grow again almost immediately.
Ah. That was part of it at least. When he'd first used 'Appraisal' on Tokoyami, part of the description mentioned that Dark Shadow grew stronger in the dark and weaker in the light. It would seem that the brief flashes of fire were at least enough to help keep it at bay.
Looking a bit closer, he could just about make out a pained expression on the boy's face, even despite the fact that he was facing almost completely in the opposite direction. What's more, is that he could see the way that Tokoyami was holding a hand to his thigh, and seemed to be favoring that leg.
He felt his anger flare, the irritation that had been building up since the villains' arrival rushing back to the forefront, and he picked up the pace. The nerve, the absolute fucking insolence of these villains. When he'd encountered them as Oni, they'd been lucky in that he'd only incapacitated them. He very easily could've made it so that they would never walk again, or he could've stolen their quirks. But no, he'd been exceedingly nice by letting them keep full mobility and full function of their quirks. And yet this is what they do with that kindness? They take the first opportunity they can get to escape prison and use it to attack students?
It was infuriating.
Izuku reached the fountain, and raised himself up so he sat above it. Most of the villains were sitting just outside of Dark Shadow's reach, taunting the quirk, laughing and jeering at it, the others were inching closer, only to jump back as it swiped at them, screeching in frustration. None of them had noticed him yet; it must be darker than he realized.
He let his bloodlust surge, and watched them all freeze in place, Dark shadow included. As one, they all looked up at him, the fear evident in their expressions as they felt his overwhelming presence. He bared his teeth, sharpened by a quirk, and saw the exact moment that the villains realized that they had fucked up.
Surging forwards, he appeared in front of Dark Shadow and had a villain's head gripped in each hand before anyone could realize what was happening. He looked out over the remaining villains, enjoying the struggles of the ones in his hands.
He didn't even bother taking note of any of their quirks, too focused on punishing the garbage.
"What's wrong?" He asked, voice deathly quiet, just barely audible over the rain. "You all were so very confident just moments ago. It seemed like you had no problem attacking a student that you outnumbered seven-to-one."
Moving closer, he squeezed a bit tighter, savoring the screams as his grip became painful. A few moments later, they both went limp as they finally succumbed, and he dropped their unconscious bodies to the road below.
"Don't go and lose your nerve on my account."
He enjoyed the way they all backed away in fear.
Oh, how he would absolutely love to make them scream. He would hurt them and make them burn until they regretted every decision of their pitiful existences that had led to this moment. He would leave them broken in ways that would probably get him in trouble with law enforcement when they arrived, self-defense or no. The only reason he wouldn't, that he would show them some sliver of mercy, was because Tokoyami was watching him. The boy didn't need to see something like that; not when the situation was already bad enough.
Besides, there were bigger threats to deal with.
A blur of motion and the two closest villains were flying off to opposite ends of the courtyard. As he moved closer, the next two made the mistake of not getting away quick enough. His hand wrapped around the backs of their heads and brought them crashing together, knocking them out instantly. The final one shook in fear as he approached.
Right as he reached them, they thrust out a hand, already glowing in preparation for the fire that would burst out of it.
Izuku's hand darted out, grabbing theirs by the wrist and yanking it off to the side, just in time for the fire to explode into empty space. He heard hissing as the sudden heat evaporated the rain it came into contact with.
Staring down at the villain, he watched the fear in their eyes skyrocket as their mind caught up with what had probably been an involuntary response to their fear. They started to struggle in his grip, foregoing their quirk entirely.
Without any notice, he twisted his hand sharply to the side, snapping the villain's arm like a twig.
Just as they let out a scream, he brought his head down to impact theirs, headbutting them. Their scream cut of as more of a strangled, choking yelp as they went sprawling.
With the immediate threat dealt with, he took a few deep breaths, attempting to get his anger under control.
A few moments later, once he felt he had calmed down enough, he looked down at the unconscious villains scattered around. He took special note of their names and faces, vowing that if he ever encountered them again and had to put a stop to their criminal activities, he would not be nearly so kind. They had gotten lucky this time in that there was a witness to rein him in. Next time, they would realize that Oni would be far less merciful.
'Fucking idiots.' He sneered internally.
With his temper now back under control, he turned to look at Tokoyami. He and Dark Shadow were still frozen in place, staring at Izuku with wide eyes.
"Are you two alright?" He asked, moving in their direction.
Tokoyami stayed where he was, and now that Izuku had a proper view, he could see that Tokoyami's leg was definitely hurt; his hand was still pressed to it, and Izuku could still clearly see the pain in his expression. Dark Shadow, however, screeched at him and placed itself directly between Izuku and Tokoyami. It was still on edge, either from Tokoyami being hurt or from Izuku's display and very tangible anger, or both.
"Easy, Dark Shadow." He said, raising his hands placatingly. "The threat is gone. You're safe."
The quirk didn't listen. Instead, it let out another screech and charged him. He heard Tokoyami shout at it in an attempt to rein it in.
He met it head on, grappling with it as he had the last time they fought. It was much larger than it had been then, stronger, likely on account of its rage and the darkness around them, but Izuku had more quirks active than he did then. And despite the increase in power, Izuku could feel something off about Dark Shadow, the same thing he'd noticed before he stepped in, only now he knew for sure what it was; Tokoyami was holding it back.
As he held Dark Shadow at bay, Izuku wracked his mind for a way to calm the quirk down. He could subdue it if he needed to—it wouldn't exactly take much effort—but wanted to avoid that if it were possible; they still had to deal with an unknown number of villains. It would be better if he didn't leave Tokoyami defenseless.
Actually, Dark Shadow's behavior made him think back to when he'd encountered the little girl, Iona, and her sentient quirk. The invisible beast, Kemono, had acted in a very similar manner, lashing out in order to protect its user. He hoped that Dark Shadow was simply lashing out in the same way because of the injury that Tokoyami had suffered, and not because it perceived Izuku as the threat.
Feeling Dark Shadow about to pull away from him, he grabbed it by the wrists, trapping it in place. He had an idea of what might calm it down, but it relied on both it not seeing him as the threat, and it trusting him to some degree.
He released one of its wrists and the hand attached to it immediately wrapped around his neck, doing its best to crush his throat based on the feeling. Pulling it closer by the other wrist, he placed his free hand on Dark Shadow's head.
"You can stop now, Dark Shadow. Tokoyami is fine. I'm here to protect him." He said. "I won't let him get hurt anymore."
To Izuku's surprise, his words seemed to have an effect. Dark Shadow faltered ever so slightly for just a moment, glowing eyes widening as they stared at him. That moment was all that was needed though, as Tokoyami took the opportunity to wrest control back from the quirk. Before Dark Shadow could do much in response, it was being pulled back into Tokoyami.
Izuku sighed, reaching a hand up to massage at his neck. There wasn't any real damage, but it would definitely be sore later.
"Fuck me. I didn't think that was actually going to work."
He started moving towards Tokoyami, who was still in the fountain, leaning up against the centerpiece. As he did, a smirk grew on his face.
"I'm glad it did though. It would've been unfortunate if I'd had to subdue it before we could get out of here."
Reaching the fountain, he held a hand out to Tokoyami.
"Are you okay?" He asked. "What happened?"
Tokoyami took a shuddering breath, clearly shaken up by some part or another of what had just happened, before swallowing and taking the proffered hand. Izuku helped him out of the water, before settling him down on the edge of the fountain.
"I am now, thank you." He said. Then, "When that villain attacked us, they dropped me right on top of that group right there." He nodded at the fallen villains. "One of them attacked before I had a chance to do anything and Dark Shadow panicked. They backed me into the fountain, and then you showed up right after."
Izuku nodded along with the explanation, and made a silent promise to bury the warping villain if he got the opportunity.
"Let me see your leg." He said, gesturing down at the injury that Tokoyami was pressing his hand onto.
The other boy grimaced, but relented after a moment, removing his hand and then pulling back his cloak a second later, revealing the wound.
Right away, Izuku knew that it wasn't serious. A cut ran from the middle of his thigh down to just above his knee, curving ever so slightly to the outside of his leg. It was long, but didn't look too deep. However it was bleeding rather profusely, which needed to stop.
"It's not that bad." He said. "Nothing too serious. You should be able to function just fine, it'll just hurt like a bitch. I'll need to stop the bleeding though. Mind if I borrow part of your cloak?"
"Do what you must."
Izuku hummed to himself as he grabbed the cloak and tore a strip off of it. Once he had it in hand, he set to work wrapping the injury up. He obviously wasn't a doctor, but he knew enough to keep Tokoyami alive and functional until they could get to safety. He couldn't just be a vigilante without knowing at least basic first aid. He'd be a pretty poor excuse for one if he didn't know how to take care of the people he saved or, on occasion, the criminals he hurt a bit more than intended.
"So why were you holding Dark Shadow back?" He asked as he worked on the injury.
"What?"
"I could feel it." Izuku explained. "When it attacked me, it felt like I wasn't the only one he was struggling against. So, why were you holding it back when it could have very easily mopped the floor with those useless idiots?"
Tokoyami hesitated, and for a moment, they sat in silence as Izuku worked. It took a few seconds for him to muster up whatever he needed to in order to answer. Izuku let him. He wasn't about to press the issue when it was evidently serious enough for Tokoyami to put his own wellbeing at risk.
"I didn't want to lose control." Tokoyami finally said, quietly.
Izuku stayed silent, raising an eyebrow as a prompt to continue.
"It's already bad enough with how dark it is in here." He said, gesturing vaguely around them. "Dark Shadow grows in strength the darker it is. And with how they were already on-edge from the villains showing up, me getting hurt was the last straw."
He winced as Izuku tied off the makeshift bandage.
"I didn't want to let them run rampant, because if I had, they wouldn't have stopped until the villains were dead."
Izuku nodded in understanding. He hadn't realized before how much independence Dark Shadow had, or how easily it could wrestle control away from Tokoyami. That was something that would definitely need to be worked on in the future.
At the same time though, something needed to be done for the short-term. There was no room for mercy with these villains.
"As much as I understand the sentiment, Tokoyami, and as noble as it is," he said, "you need to realize that these villains will not spare you the same amount of thought or consideration. Right now, this is a fight for our survival, which means you need to be ready to defend yourself to the extent of your abilities."
"I'm not saying you need to want to kill them." He quickly reassured the other boy, cutting off his objections. "Or that you'll even have to kill them in the first place. I'm just saying you need to be prepared to face the possibility that doing so might be the only thing to ensure your own survival."
Tokoyami didn't respond, and Izuku didn't say anything else. He didn't want to push the matter too far; killing someone, even in self-defense, wasn't an easy line for anyone to cross. It certainly hadn't been for him. But then, it had been a long, long time since he had.
"You know." He said, attempting to change the subject. "In my experience, sentient quirks, more than anything else, want to keep their user safe. They will do anything and everything in their power in order to do so. This might be why you struggle to keep Dark Shadow under control in crucial moments like this. You want to try to reign them in in order to maintain control, thereby losing control in the same motion."
"What you should focus on in the future," he continued, "is trying to improve your relationship with them, and deepen both of your understandings about what the other wants. If Dark Shadow knows that you aren't going to try to suppress them in moments like this, then they might be less likely to take control from you in order to protect you in whatever way they see fit. And in turn, if you are able to work with them and not against them, then you would have more say, and more control in how they defend you."
Tokoyami furrowed his brow, looking off to the side as he considered Izuku's words.
"I-. I suppose that makes sense?" He said. "It is true that I was thinking more about making sure they didn't lose control than I was about how much they wanted to protect me."
"And there you go." Izuku said, smirk growing a bit. "Just by realizing that, you're already taking a step in the right direction."
Tokoyami was silent for another few moments, and Izuku decided it was time to get back on track.
"Right. We should probably get back out to the main building." He said. "I would very much like to make sure Eraserhead doesn't get himself killed."
Tokoyami nodded, drawn out of his thoughts about his quirk. "Does Yueii not know what's happening here?"
Izuku shook his head. "No, I don't think they do. One of the villains, or maybe something one of them did, affected the intruder alarms that are spread through the building, and the same thing is blocking communications out of here, meaning we currently have no way to contact anyone for h-"
He froze, mouth hanging open. Holy shit he was an idiot, how could he have possibly forgotten?
"Contact anyone for what?" Tokoyami questioned. "What's wrong?"
Izuku held a hand out to silence him. "Give me a second, I just thought of something."
Honestly, how the hell could he have forgotten about 'Dinner Bell?'
Pulling on the quirk, he sent through a series of quick chimes, just to make sure he had Rei's attention. He was pretty sure she'd been planning on getting some sleep during the day today so she could start adjusting back to a night schedule, so he needed to make sure she was awake. It was unfortunate that he was having to interrupt her rest, but he felt as though she'd be fine with it in the end, given the circumstances.
After a moment, he sent through one of the most recognizable messages in Morse code there was. The universal signal for a call for help: S.O.S. He repeated it a few times, before sending through the actual message.
USJ under attack. Villains.
Short and to the point, he repeated it twice. He trusted her to figure out the best course of option from there. He knew she was smart enough to contact either Tsukauchi or Yueii itself. Now he just needed to do his best to clean things up in the meantime.
Seeing Tokoyami's confused expression, he thought up a lie on the spot.
"Kaminari's quirk is electricity based." He said. "There's a chance he could use it to send a message of some sort to Yueii to get us some help."
Honestly, he very much doubted that Kaminari's quirk could be used in such a way, or if it could, that the boy was even adept enough to do so, but it was enough for Tokoyami.
"In the meantime, I tried to throw Iida out of the building before we got swallowed up. Assuming he got away, he should be making his way to Yueii to get us some help."
Tokoyami was about to say something, but Izuku held up a hand to stop him. He'd noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
"Looks like we have some more guests."
Turning to the side, he could make out the shapes of a new group of villains making their way into the courtyard. This time, there were ten of them.
"Can you stand?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of the new arrivals.
"I can." Came the reply. "But I wouldn't expect any sort of impressive agility from me anytime soon."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Izuku said, moving in front of the other boy. "Tell me, Tokoyami. Before today, have you ever been in a fight? And not a sparring or training match. But one where your life is on the line, where your opponent is fighting with the intention of taking your life."
"No, I have not."
Izuku nodded. "Well, I have, so do please stay behind me and let me do most of the fighting. Limit yourself to ranged attacks with Dark Shadow. Or take my advice from a few days ago and cover yourself with them. Protect yourself from any that might make it past me."
"I will. Good luck."
He smiled. Oh, he was already starting to enjoy fighting alongside Tokoyami. The other boy didn't argue with him, and immediately trusted Izuku to take the brunt of the fight. He moved forwards a bit, creating some distance between the two of them.
He brought his gauntlet-clad hands together, cracking his knuckles as he scanned over the villains, only to focus on two in particular.
Wait just a second. He recognized those quirks.
Well, he recognized their faces and names too, along with every other villain he's seen thus far, but that was less important.
Specifically, he recognized them both from the night he acquired 'Spectrum.'
Leading the group was an animal mutation quirk. The same one that had led the group he'd fought that night.
The other, a bit further back, was the weapon-mastery quirk. And in his hands, Izuku could make out the shape of-
"Oh my God. You've got to be joking." Izuku said mostly to himself, smiling at the approaching villains.
"You brought an honest-to-god Kusarigama with you? Seriously?"
He eyed the sickle and weighted chain in the villain's hands. Of course they just so happened to be carrying Izuku's absolute favorite weapon from all of Japanese history.
If it had been a question before, it certainly wasn't now. He was taking that quirk for himself. If for no other reason than because he wanted to play with the present this idiot had been kind enough to bring him.
He pulled his gauntlets off, dropping them to the ground as he waited for them to get closer.
A few moments later, the group stopped just a short distance away. They eyed him warily, eyes darting between him, Tokoyami, and their fallen comrades.
"Wonderful weather we're having, isn't it?" Izuku asked, gesturing around him.
"What did you do to Takeshi and the others!?" Animal mutation shouted at him.
Izuku raised an eyebrow at her. "Sorry? I don't think I know who that is. Though, if he's one of those idiots over there," he gestured over his shoulder, "I put him down because he was annoying me."
He put a hand to his chin, painting a thoughtful expression on his face. "You know, my temper was really stretched thin at the time, and I find it oh so difficult to limit my strength when I get to that point. So I really can't say for sure whether any of them are still alive right now."
He shrugged. "Oh well, they were all useless two-bit criminals anyway, so it's not like it really matters. And besides, most of them cried like such cowards until the very end, so were their lives really worth anything anyway?"
The lies rolled off his tongue easily. He knew that most of them were acquainted in some way or another from before they were put in jail. He was hoping that his words would upset them. Opponents that were angry or upset tended to make mistakes, and on top of that, he really wanted to make them suffer as much as he could, even if he couldn't go too far physically.
Judging by the expressions on the villains in front of him, he'd succeeded in a big way.
"Bastard!" Animal Mutation screamed, her expression one of true anger.
Surprisingly, none of them tried to charge at him. He would've expected at least one of them to lose themselves and make that mistake, but it would seem that they were at least slightly more skilled than he gave them credit for.
"Shigaraki said we could have fun with you brats." She continued. "Said we could do whatever we wanted, so long as we kept you busy while that monster of his killed All Might. But I think we'll just skip straight to killing both of y-"
Her words cut off with a strangled choke as Izuku's hand wrapped around her throat, cutting off her air supply. He lifted her up off the ground, holding her out in his left hand.
"Honestly, what is it with villains monologuing before they even know what they're up against?" He questioned, ignoring the shocked cries of the others as they caught up with what he'd done. "And being so stupid as to give away your plan like that? It's no wonder you all are barely even second-rate criminals."
It was too bad that her quirk was a mutation-type, otherwise he would've taken it right then. Unfortunately, the disappearance of the quite noticeable animal ears, claws, and tail she possessed couldn't be easily explained.
He smirked as he saw the weapon-mastery quirk swinging the weighted chain. Time to get things started, then.
The chain, much longer than any traditional Kusarigama, flew towards him, wrapping around the arm that was holding Animal Mutation. He laughed when he felt them try to yank his arm towards them, only for Izuku to stay rooted firmly in place.
"Oh. Thank you for that." He said. "It saves me the trouble of having to come all the way to you to pry it from your hands."
Grabbing the chain with his free hand, he instead yanked them forwards. They were not nearly as steady as Izuku was, and they'd made the mistake of keeping part of the chain wrapped around their own arm for easier carrying. Instead of just taking the weapon, he ended up with the villain as well, flying through the air at him.
Catching them around the throat, just as he had with Animal Mutation—who had since passed out—he was quick to take their quirk. He made sure to lessen the pain somewhat, so as to not freak Tokoyami out, but left just enough for them to cry out as much as they could with a hand around their neck.
Dropping the unconscious body of Animal Mutation, he extricated the rest of the kusarigama from the other, tossing them aside once he had.
With his hands free, he situated the weapon in his grip, the sickle and several lengths of chain in one hand, with the weighted end in the other.
He pulled on the new quirk, and immediately felt a change run through his body.
At once, his grip on the weapon adjusted minutely. Whereas moments before the weapon had felt clunky and out of place in his hands—which was understandable given that he'd very rarely ever actually held a weapon before, let alone one such as this—it now felt as though he'd been holding it all his life.
Letting the weighted end drop a bit, he started swinging it around experimentally. When he felt how naturally the movements came to him, he let out a small laugh, before gradually putting more and more strength into it. Within moments, the metal weight was a blur, kicking up wind and displacing the raindrops as it swung around him, and his smirk widened.
"Oh. I'm going to have so much fun with this."
Before anyone could react, the chain was shooting out towards one of the villains who, for whatever reason, had decided to wait and watch the display. It wrapped around their upper body, trapping their arms to their torso.
"I appreciate you waiting around so politely." He said. "But I think it's about time to get this over with, don't you?"
A swift pull, and they were flying towards him just as the original user of the quirk had been. He moved slightly out of the way, extending an arm to clothesline them as they reached him.
As the others finally started to get their heads out of their asses, he dropped the weapon from his grip, leaving it wrapped around the one he'd just dropped. He flexed his hands as they started to charge him.
He eyed the four closest to him. Strength, metallic fists, jet legs—not dissimilar to Iida, or that old hero, Gran Torino—and touch-based electricity.
The electricity was the biggest threat, considering that he was soaked to the bone from the constant rain. It sparked across their body, already reacting to the water around them.
Izuku charged them, a bit slower than his previous movements, so he could savor the fight.
Metal Fist reached him first, throwing a wild punch. He slipped past the extended limb, grabbing them by the wrist and throat, and threw them at Electricity. He smiled at the discharge of electricity into the air. It reminded him of the few times he'd seen Kaminari's quirk in action. When it cleared up, both were lying there, smoking and not moving.
Jet Leg reaching him next, jumping up into a spinning kick aimed at Izuku's head. He caught the offending limb in his hand, lifting them up to dangle them above the ground by their ankle.
"Goodness! You all are such a lively bunch, aren't you?" He asked, already swinging them around over his head as Strength drew closer. "Good! That makes it all the more fun for me!"
Izuku threw Jet Leg at Strength, and just as he did, they activated their quirk, sending them spinning uncontrollably as they sailed through the air.
Jet Leg's foot met with Strength's head at an impressive speed. The impact between the two dropped them both to the ground, unconscious.
"Now, look. You all really need to try your best not to take each other out. It takes away from my enjoyment if I don't get to fight some of you."
He moved closer to Strength, and was just bending over to take their quirk when something caught his eye.
One of the three remaining villains was growing rather rapidly. Literally growing. It made sense. He knew that their quirk was a transformation-based gigantification. Based on what he'd seen in the past, they should grow to just under twice their normal size-.
Izuku's eye's widened as they hit that point, yet continued to grow.
By the time they stopped, they were about eighteen feet tall, easily.
The sight excited him immensely. Gigantification less than twice normal size was nothing special. It was more common than most people realized, and wasn't much better than most strength enhancers. But this…
This was closer to three times normal size, maybe even more. It wasn't too big of a difference, and certainly wasn't to the level of people like Mt. Lady, but it was impressive all the same. Even something as minor as that could yield significant boosts to strength and overall abilities.
He wanted it.
'You've made a mistake, showing me what your quirk can do.' He thought, smile still in place. 'Because now it's mine.'
He spared a glance at the other two, taking note of their quirks. A blade and a jump-enhancer. Nothing to worry about.
"Tokoyami!" He called over his shoulder. "I'll let you handle these two." He gestured at the normal-sized villains. "I want that one."
"Knife quirk. Enhanced jumping." He called out, pointing at them in turn. He wasn't just going to leave Tokoyami to fight them without giving him the advantage.
Without another word, he launched himself through the air, latching onto the giant and wrapping his tail around their torso before they could react.
They staggered backwards, toppling into a building behind them as they struggled against him. He enjoyed their struggles as they attempted to pry his tail off of them.
"Shh. It's alright." He said. "It'll be over soon enough."
Before they could respond, he brought both of his hands up, smacking them into the villain's ears. They cried out in pain, this time losing their balance as they stumbled in a blind panic. Their head bounced as they landed. It didn't knock them unconscious, but they were clearly dazed. He ignored the slight discomfort of having them land on his tail.
Placing his hands on the sides of their head, he pulled on their quirk, once again limiting the pain as he did. They shrunk back down to their normal size as he pulled the quirk into himself. He was quick to get off of them as he did, so he didn't crush them beneath his tail.
Looking back over at where he'd left Tokoyami, he was just in time to see the boy swat the jump-enhancer quirk out of the air. The knife quirk was already on the ground.
He was immensely pleased to see that Tokoyami's upper body was wreathed in the shadowy form of Dark Shadow. The quirk's head acted like a helmet, leaving only the boy's eyes exposed, and its arms wrapped around, and acted as extensions of, the boy's own arms.
There were few situations that were better for improvement and growth than real fights.
It wasn't perfect, and he could think of a few ways to improve upon it, but it was an immense step in the right direction. That, and Tokoyami was actively working with Dark Shadow in the stressful situation, and was getting experience fighting real opponents. He couldn't wait to see what the boy could do with a little bit of proper training.
"Very good." He said, moving closer. "That's the way to do it."
Tokoyami looked down to inspect himself. Izuku could see where the undersides of his arms were exposed; another thing to address later.
"I must say. I didn't realize how versatile this would be." He said, before looking back up at Izuku. "Thank you for giving me that advice."
"No problem. Let's just be glad you were able to use it to protect yourself."
As he approached where he started from, he went around to a few of the villains, checking for a pulse in each of them. A few of them, Metal Arms and Strength specifically, were taken out indirectly, through admittedly risky means. He wanted to make sure he hadn't accidently killed them.
Satisfied that he hadn't, that they were all still alive to be carted back off to prison once this mess was cleaned up, he leaned over to pick up the discarded Kusarigama. He intended to keep it until it was taken from him.
He moved a bit closer to Tokoyami, stopping to pick his gauntlets up off the ground and slide them back onto his hands.
"Let's go." He said. "Now that-that's been taken care of, we should really get back out into the main building."
"Agreed." Tokoyami replied, still keeping Dark Shadow wrapped around him.
"This way." Izuku said, before turning towards where he'd been headed before coming across Tokoyami.
A few short minutes later, they reached the doors that led out of the Downpour Zone. They hadn't encountered any more villains on the way. Either they'd all been dealt with already, or they were simply spread out elsewhere. Whatever the case, the way forward was clear.
Moving closer to the doors, he thrust his hands between them and started pulling them apart. Somehow, they were a bit sturdier than the main doors, but he pried them apart all the same. With them open, he moved through, Tokoyami following just behind.
Once he was out of the rain, back outside, Izuku took the chance to inspect the courtyard to assess the situation.
The area had been thrown into chaos.
Bodies of the invading villains lay strewn across the entire space, either moaning in pain or unconscious. Only a stark few actually remained standing. Eraserhead had clearly made his presence known.
Glancing up to his left, towards the stairs that led from the main door, he didn't see anything that might suggest that any of his classmates or Thirteen were still there. He could only hope that some of them had been lucky enough to escape the warping villain.
He glanced over to his right to continue taking everything in—he had yet to see Eraser or any of the main three villains—only to freeze at what he saw, his breath catching in his throat.
The massive beast, one of the three main villains, was squatting over the broken and bloodied form of Eraserhead. It had the man's head in one hand, and one of his arms, clearly bent the wrong way, in the other.
He could tell that the man was, somehow, still conscious and very much alive. He could see Eraser's intact arm clawing at the ground ever so slightly, and the grimace on his face as he glared at someone further to Izuku's right, his eyes barely held open.
Izuku followed Eraser's eyes towards whatever he was glaring at. Only to see the leader—Tomura Shigaraki according to 'Appraisal'—standing at the edge of the flood zone, reaching his hands—hands that could disintegrate whatever they touched with all five fingers—down towards the two students that sat in the water, frozen in fear.
Two students that just so happened to be Uraraka and Tsuyu.
He saw the fear in their eyes as they stared up at Shigaraki. He saw the edges of the crazed smile that sat under the hand on Shigaraki's face. He saw the villain's hands mere inches away from their targets.
Izuku's vision went red.
A picture of a Kusarigama. For reference.
Chapter End Notes
Sorry for the cliff-hanger. I had originally planned to do a double upload, but I couldn't get chapter 22 written in time. It'll come out next time, on October 4.
Next time: Everything continues to go to shit.
I hope you enjoyed!
Path of Destruction
Chapter Summary
The U.S.J. invasion continues.
Chapter Notes
I think it's about time we saw Izuku fight all out, don't you?
Sorry about the lateness. I didn't forget, this was just a monster of a chapter that I spent most of today working on.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Fumikage wasn't quite sure what to make of Etsumi. Everything about him was confusing.
The boy with immense strength—almost to the point of being ridiculous—and heavily animalistic features that Fumikage may or may not have felt a certain kinship towards, had done almost nothing but surprise and puzzle him since the year began.
It had started at the quirk apprehension test on the first day, where Etsumi had surprised the entire class with his display of defiance towards Aizawa, not even being fazed at all by the direct threat of expulsion. Then he'd come in first place in every single event he'd participated in, with the notable exception of Uraraka throwing her softball into orbit.
After that already impressive showing, he'd gone even further by winning his fight against Ojiro with no discernable effort whatsoever.
If he were being completely honest with himself, Fumikage would say that Etsumi intimidated him after that. The combination of strength, confidence, intelligence, and the way he seemed to look through everyone rather than at them, made him seem like something other than human. An unstoppable, immutable force hidden behind the face of a man.
That opinion didn't change with All Might's training exercise, when Fumikage watched Etsumi go toe-to-toe with Todoroki, the son of Endeavor and one of the strongest people in their class. He'd completely tanked through being partially frozen more than once. And if Fumikage's assumptions were correct about Etsumi's serpentine features, it would not have been fun for him.
During all of this, Etsumi hadn't even displayed any sort of hostility when he fought. The only emotions he showed were either excitement, apathy, or, very briefly, minor concern when Asui had been frozen to the floor.
It didn't even change during the second exercise, at least not until the end. Etsumi had completely turned their sneak attack on its head, had dispatched Fumikage's teammates in the blink of an eye, and had even overpowered Dark Shadow.
But then Etsumi had complimented Dark Shadow and, rather politely, offered to simply tie Fumikage up instead of physically subduing him. On top of that, he'd even given Fumikage advice on how to improve his abilities, while he was still fighting the others no less.
After that, Fumikage had started to keep a closer eye on the other boy, even going so far as to join him and a few of the others at lunch.
Seeing Etsumi outside of the training scenarios, and outside of a fight, gave him a view of the intelligence and kindness that sat beneath the strength. He seemed to be able to give immediate, well-thought out answers to anything that was said to him, and gave out advice to just about everyone he spoke to in some way or another.
Then, on the bus to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, Etsumi had surprised him again with his interaction with Dark Shadow.
Dark Shadow took an immediate liking to Etsumi when they heard the boy refer to them by their name. It was a simple thing, but something that Fumikage rarely saw with those he interacted with on a regular basis. Most people simply saw Dark Shadow as 'Fumikage's quirk,' and only ever referred to them as such.
It wasn't as if they were necessarily wrong, but Dark Shadow was so much more than that. They lived within and were eternally attached to Fumikage, yes, and could even be controlled by him to an extent, but could otherwise act entirely independent of his wishes. They were even intelligent enough to have their own thoughts and opinions, and to voice them.
All the same though, the two of them had gotten used to people believing Dark Shadow was nothing more than a quirk. It was unfortunate, but there was little that could be done about it.
But then, Etsumi had not hesitated at all to actually acknowledge Dark Shadow. From the first time the two of them had spoken, Etsumi had referred to Dark Shadow by their name, acknowledging, at least on some level, that they were their own individual.
So, of course, Dark Shadow had to inspect Etsumi up close as soon as they got the chance. They'd gone right up to him and studied the proffered hand. The entire time, Fumikage could feel Dark Shadow's excitement and curiosity through whatever connected them.
Fumikage had been thoroughly surprised—and partially embarrassed if he were being honest—when Dark Shadow took Etsumi's hand and pressed themself into it. There were very few people in the past that Dark Shadow had allowed to touch them—not that there had ever really been many that were willing to in the first place—mostly reserved for his parents and his brother.
That surprise had turned to outright horror though, when Etsumi began petting Dark Shadow, to the point that Fumikage resorted to physically restraining the demon. No matter how pleased Dark Shadow was in that moment, it had very quickly become too much for Fumikage to handle.
Nobody aside from the two of them knew, but Fumikage was able to feel, to an extent, everything that Dark Shadow did. This meant that when Etsumi started petting Dark Shadow, it felt like there was a hand running across his own feathered head.
That was something that Fumikage was not equipped to handle in the slightest. He was severely inexperienced when it came to stuff like that. It wasn't as if he were lacking in physical contact or affection as far as he was aware; he was pretty close to his family after all. But at the same time, none of them were particularly outright with their emotions, choosing instead to express themselves through silent gestures.
It wasn't until after he'd pulled Dark Shadow back that he actually stopped to think about it. When he did, he was shocked by how good the sensation had felt, and even more so by the fact that he realized he'd enjoyed it.
Nope. Not something he was willing, or able, to get into. At least not right now. He brushed it off as just one more thing to add to the list of things about Etsumi that confused him.
Then the rescue training devolved into disaster, and Etsumi continued to surprise and confuse him.
Within the space of a few short minutes, he went from scared of Etsumi—a result of the anger he'd displayed against the villains, received by both Fumikage's own perspective, as well as Dark Shadow's—to thankful for his help in calming Dark Shadow and giving advice on how to better avoid losing control in the future, to somewhere between amused and concerned by his interactions with the second group of villains.
So, yes. Etsumi was a thoroughly confusing individual. There was so much more to him than what met the eye. Fumikage wasn't entirely sure what to think of him half the time.
Right now, however, he definitely did. There was no question in his mind whatsoever.
Right now, Fumikage was absolutely terrified.
He'd thought that Etsumi had been angry when he came to the rescue in the Downpour Zone. But that, the slight feeling of anxiety he'd experienced by looking at Etsumi, paled in comparison to this.
Etsumi's expression was one of pure, absolute rage. The feeling he gave off was so intense that Fumikage was struggling to breathe. It was such that he would've expected Dark Shadow to lose control right then and there at the open hostility, had they not been just as terrified as Fumikage. He could feel them almost trembling in fear within him.
And the rage wasn't even directed at him. He simply happened to be nearby.
Etsumi moved slightly closer to whatever he was looking at—Fumikage had still yet to even walk through the door—and something akin to a deep growl rumbled out of his throat.
Fumikage stumbled backwards, barely keeping his balance and still fighting to suck down a full breath. It was as if this wasn't even Etsumi anymore who was standing in front of him, but a beast. A monster that could reduce him to dust without so much as a second thought.
He fell backwards onto the ground, eyes plastered on Etsumi. Dimly, he wondered to himself what the other boy had seen that had caused this.
What could possibly exist in this world that was capable of igniting this sort of anger?
"What do you think you're doing?" Izuku's voice rang out over the courtyard, reverberating with 'Siren' as it reacted to his anger.
All at once, everything around him came to a screeching halt.
Eraser stopped his weak struggling against the beast, Shigaraki halted his advance, his hands mere inches away from Uraraka and Tsuyu, and even the few minor villains scattered about the area, standing or otherwise, froze in place.
At his words, Shigaraki turned to face him, hands dropping back down to his sides.
"And who are you supposed to be, then?" The villain asked. His voice raspy and monotone. "One of the brats?"
"He is one of All Might's students, Tomura." The voice of the warp villain cut in as it coalesced from nothingness next to Shigaraki. "I believe I heard one of his classmates calling him 'Etsumi.'"
"Etsumi, huh?" Shigaraki drawled, reaching up to scratch at his neck. "Why is he here? Didn't you send him off for the weaklings to handle?"
"I did. But this one is troublesome." Came the response. "He deduced our plan to divide the students within moments of us arriving, and from the looks of things, he has overpowered those that I put into the Downpour Zone with him."
Shigaraki huffed. "Useless pieces of trash. Can't even kill one little hero wannabe. What good are they?"
He looked over at the warping villain. "What about you, Kurogiri? Did you at least clean up your mess?"
"I have." The warping villain—Kurogiri apparently—responded. "I was able to catch up to the one that got away, and put him in one of the zones with the others. And Thirteen has been incapacitated. It took a bit longer than expected, on account of this one helping her, but in the end she still fell."
Izuku grimaced. So, Iida had failed to alert Yueii, and Thirteen was out of the fight, if she was even still alive. He adjusted the Kusarigama in his grip, grabbing the weight in one hand and the rest of it in his other.
"Well at least you aren't entirely useless. Maybe now we can still have some fun before we head back."
Shigaraki looked back at Izuku.
"Well, little hero." He said, spitting the word like it was a curse. "Are you going to try to stop us? Or maybe you're going to let me turn your precious little classmates to dust first?"
Izuku's grimace deepened as the villain made a motion as if to attack Uraraka and Tsuyu again. He grit his teeth as he physically felt his irritation growing worse, and as 'Wrath' began pumping adrenaline in response.
The slimy little shit had invaded his school, attacked his class, and injured his favorite hero, quite likely disabling him. And now he had the nerve to try to put his disgusting hands on Ochako, whom Izuku had welcomed into his home and who was as good as family by now, and Tsuyu, one of the very few people he had the privilege of calling his friends.
He was pretty sure he felt a tooth crack with how hard his jaw was clenched. In his hands, the weight separated from the chain that held it with a sharp snap. It was little more than a lump of deformed metal with how tight his grip was around it.
"Unacceptable."
Shigaraki froze once more, staring at Izuku.
"What did you just s-"
He didn't get a chance to finish that sentence as, in the blink of an eye, Izuku pulled his arm back and brought it forward with every bit of force he could muster.
He had four strength quirks and 'Wrath' burning away beneath his skin. That force was by no means insignificant.
The air cracked as the weight broke the sound barrier the moment it left his hand. The addition of 'Bullseye' ensured that the projectile would hit its intended target.
Now, most of the time he tried, he really tried, to avoid killing the people that he fought. Most of them hadn't done anything that would warrant such a harsh and permanent punishment. However, that being said, there were exceptions to that rule. Two, to be exact.
The first: Pedophiles. They deserved no mercy from anyone, and he would show them none. It wasn't often that he encountered one, but when he did, their screams would fill the night for hours.
The second: Fucking with his family.
The weight was on a direct course towards Shigaraki's head. The piece of shit wouldn't even have time to blink before his head was reduced to a cloud of red mist.
Izuku would do everything in his power to protect his sister and his friend. Anyone or anything that got in his way would be removed.
Before the weight could hit its target though, in the blink of an eye, the beast moved. Suddenly, it wasn't sitting on top of Eraser, holding him in its crushing grip. Instead, it was in front of Shigaraki, facing away from Izuku.
He watched as the weight dropped to the ground. Dropped, straight down, not bounce off of the beast, or deflect away as the momentum behind it would usually dictate. It was as if all the energy behind it had been canceled.
Narrowing his eyes, he looked up to study the beast up close.
'Distance between myself and Shigaraki is approximately thirty meters.' He thought. 'At the speed of sound, it would've taken less than point zero-nine seconds for it to reach the target. Distance between him and the beast is approximately fifteen meters. It would've had to have moved at-at least half the speed of sound; somewhere around one hundred-seventy-two meters per second. Quite possibly faster.
Not good.
When he first saw the beast, when the villains appeared in the courtyard, he'd assumed that it was an enhancer. A much stronger enhancer than usual maybe, but still cut-and-dry nonetheless. It had the size, the muscle-mass, and the general braindead disposition of most of the enhancers he usually ran into. Plus, the scars that littered its arms and torso gave him the impression of a brawler, or at least someone who was good at tanking hits.
The exposed brain and beak-like mouth were odd, but he chalked those up to being the result of an unusual mutation.
But seeing the beast move had him questioning that analysis. He'd assumed it was a strength enhancer, but with the speed at which it moved to shield Shigaraki—a speed that almost too fast for Izuku to catch—it had to be something else.
Enhanced strength and enhanced speed were two very separate things. Most people assumed they were all but the same—both being enhancers that boosted base physical attributes—but there were distinct differences between the two.
Strength quirks boosted muscle-mass, muscle density, or how much power one's muscles could exert, while speed quirks boosted how fast one could move. One could simulate the effects of the other—greater strength meant more power in each individual movement, allowing for more speed, and at the same time, more speed allowed one to put more momentum behind their strikes—but they were very different. Speed quirks more often than not also came with some inherent mutations that allowed the user to receive and interpret data from their senses, allowing them to move at their fastest without crashing into obstacles constantly. And strength quirks being focused on the muscles gave greater durability, along with raw power that couldn't be easily matched by other quirks.
All Might was one of the very few exceptions to this, with his boosted abilities coming from the massive stockpile of energy within him rather than any straightforward enhancement.
So to see this beast, with the power to snap Eraserhead like a toothpick, yet also with the reaction time and speed to get to Shigaraki in time to block the projectile, not to mention the odd behavior of the weight after it hit them…
It defied reason. And that set him on edge.
He heard raspy chuckling from behind the beast, and Shigaraki walked around it.
"So violent." He said. "Heroes seem to know nothing else. Just solve all of the world's problems with a punch."
He smiled. "That was pretty good. You must be pretty strong to do something like that. But unfortunately for you," he patted the arm of the beast, keeping one finger held up, "our trump card here is stronger."
His smile widened, and somehow took on an even more unhinged look. "I'd like for you to meet the Anti Symbol of Peace, Noumu."
At the sound of its name, the Noumu turned in place until it was facing Izuku, its dull, expressionless eyes locking onto his.
The moment their eyes met, Izuku felt all the air leave his lungs in one massive rush, like he'd gotten the wind knocked out of him. His blood ran cold, and his vision went hazy around the edges, taking on a gray tint. All the anger he'd felt, that had been burning through him just moments ago, drained away, leaving something he didn't quite recognize in its place, something sharp and cold.
His hearing began to fade out, leaving him with nothing but the pounding of his hearts in his ears.
His instincts screamed at him to move, to run, but when he tried to shift backwards to put distance between himself and the Noumu, he found that he couldn't move, his body wouldn't listen to him. He couldn't even look away from those lifeless eyes.
Less than a full second after making eye-contact, something in his chest seized, and he felt warmth flood into his limbs. It took him too long—long enough that he would've been embarrassed were this a normal situation—to realize that his body was reacting without his input in response to whatever he was feeling. It was pulling on quirks.
It took him even longer to get a handle on it, to force himself to stop before he activated every quirk he had stored away.
He felt sweat on his brow, but he was too distracted to even figure out why.
"Tokoyami you need to run." He said, forcing his mouth to move long enough to squeeze it out. It came out as little more than a whisper. "Run now. Back into the zone."
Izuku didn't know if Tokoyami listened to him, or if he'd even heard. He couldn't even turn around to check.
Every cell of his body was screaming at him that this Noumu was dangerous. Nothing he'd ever faced before, noone he'd ever faced, had ever warranted this much of a reaction.
Focusing within himself, he pulled on more quirks, much more controlled this time around. He opened the flood gates just a crack, letting the heat suffuse him as quirks were pulled from his chest.
He used the warmth to ground himself, allowing the one, single piece of control he had over himself to take the entirety of his focus, forcing himself out of the mist that seemed to have overtaken him.
After what felt like an eternity of trying to get himself back under control—which in reality was barely even two full seconds—he was finally able to suck down a breath.
It was like flipping a switch. All at once, his vision returned to normal, and his hearing came back to him. The haze that kept him from thinking straight, that kept him from being able to control himself, was swept away.
The only things that remained were the thundering of his hearts in his ears, and the cold, piercing sensation that refused to leave.
Izuku clenched his fists, taking comfort in the still-growing heat in his limbs.
He knew what it was now.
His mouth pulled into a grimace, baring his teeth.
This feeling.
His hearing began to fade out once more, but this time it wasn't his body reacting to the Noumu. It was him preparing for the fight. The calm before the storm as his body was flooded with adrenaline and his focus narrowed onto the threat.
The feeling was fear.
Pure. Primal. Unadulterated fear.
It had been so very long since he'd felt anything like it that he'd very nearly forgotten what it felt like altogether. Even then, it had never been this intense, this all-encompassing.
Maybe it was because he hadn't felt true fear in such a long time, or maybe it was simply the fact that it had never been so intense, but one thing was becoming very, very clear to him the more he thought about it.
The corners of his mouth upturned ever so slightly.
This fear? This all-encompassing feeling of absolute danger that had threatened to drown him just moments ago?
God. It was absolutely delicious.
Nothing had ever presented this much danger to him before, this much of a direct threat to his life. Nothing had ever presented this much of a fight before. The power hidden beneath the surface of the Noumu was enough to make his instincts panic enough that control over his body had been stripped from him in a way he'd never experienced before. And all it had done was look at him.
As the beating of his hearts continued to increase in tempo, and the world had all but faded away entirely, he clenched his fists once more, running a mental checklist of the quirks he was brining into this.
All of his strength quirks were currently active, something he'd never actually experienced before. And all of his speed quirks had risen to match. Durability, healing, 'Air Cannon', and a number of emitters—many of which that weren't even necessarily suited for fighting—that had been pulled up with the initial rush.
With that done, his entire body tensed, like a spring ready to snap.
The seconds stretched out longer and longer. By now, everything had faded away except for the enemy right in front of him.
The entire time, he still hadn't broken eye contact. Still hadn't moved from that spot.
"Noumu." Shigaraki said, his voice distant and somewhat muffled to Izuku's narrowed focus. "Kill him."
The spring snapped.
Izuku's fist met the Noumu's in the middle of the space with an explosive shockwave. The resultant blast of air—both from the impact itself and from 'Air Cannon' supplementing it—threw everyone and everything around them back.
Izuku cursed internally as he felt the pain travel down his arm. Just one punch, and it felt like the force behind it would break his arm. It might've already been fractured, he really couldn't tell.
As they both pulled back their other arm to throw another punch, he pulled on 'Metallum" as quickly as he could. The metal flashed across his bones in an instant, just in time for their fists to impact, creating another shockwave.
It still hurt, the force that traveled down his arm, but it wasn't as intense as the first one. At least now it didn't quite feel like his bones were fracturing.
The two became a blur as they continued their assault. Each thrown fist collided with another as they matched each other, punch-for-punch. It was almost too much for Izuku to keep up with—at this point he was relying upon instinct as much as he was his physical senses—but he did. The wind and shockwaves from the merciless assault whipped and tore at the surrounding area like a storm, preventing anyone from approaching, or even looking at them. Izuku was too focused on the Noumu to keep track of his surroundings.
Suddenly, with one last massive hit, the two broke apart.
Izuku backed away, putting several feet between him and his opponent. His chest was heaving, hearts thundering away, and his hands were shaking ever so slightly, either from the strain of the attacks, or the intense, chaotic energy that thrummed through his veins.
But he still had the same feral grin stretched across his face.
He started circling around the Noumu, raising himself up so that he stood taller than it and using the opportunity to take stock of his surroundings out of his peripheral vision.
Shigaraki and Kurogiri stood off back behind the Noumu, next to the fountain, still braced for the wind that had just been surging through the courtyard. Tsuyu and Ochako were still in the water, watching the fight along with another student that he hadn't noticed before; it looked like Mineta, maybe. And Eraser was still more or less where he'd been left by the Noumu. Izuku could just barely make out that the hero's eyes were cracked open and watching.
While he had a moment to spare, Izuku activated his healing quirk, almost immediately feeling the soreness in his arms begin to dissipate. It wouldn't be able to do much—just from the one encounter he could tell that the Noumu had more outright power than him—but hopefully it would help him keep up.
The Noumu had backed away a single step and regarded him with the same dead eyes, if maybe slightly more attentive now that it was acting under orders.
The tension in the air was palpable as they stared each other down. More than that, it was very quickly building up once more.
Izuku's fingers twitched just as he noticed the Noumu's muscles tensing, and the tension reached its peak.
The met each other once more, hands locking together as they grappled. Their arms shook with the sheer amount of force behind them, and the world around them seemed to tremble in kind.
Izuku snarled at the Noumu, whose face didn't even change in response, as he bore down, using his height and weight to his advantage.
But through the snarl, the corners of his mouth upturned once more. He had the Noumu trapped. Their hands were locked together in crushing grips, both trying their best to crush the bones of the other.
So long as the Noumu was focused on Izuku, and he had it locked down like this, it wouldn't be able to respond to anyone else.
Turning his head to the side as much as he could without breaking eye contact with the Noumu, he called out to his classmates.
"Tsuyu! Ochako!" He shouted. "Get Eraser and get out of here!"
It took a moment—likely a split second of hesitation—but he saw them running towards the fallen hero out of the corner of his eye. Ochako used her quirk on him so that she and Tsuyu could carry him away, Mineta following behind with an expression of pure terror on his face.
His grin widened as he managed to force the Noumu back a step. Now there was less that he needed to worry about. He hadn't been holding back at all for fear of catching them in the crossfire, but if he were the only one that the villains were focusing on, then that meant less people in harm's way.
The grin faltered, though, when he spotted Shigaraki move from his position at the fountain. He took off towards the students who were only halfway to the stairs. Izuku's face hardened again, teeth bared, as he felt the anger surge once more.
Changing tactics, he stopped pushing against the Noumu, ripping his hands out of its grip. The sudden lack of resistance sent it staggering forwards. It wasn't much—just a single step—but it was enough. Izuku ducked under its outstretched arms, weaving around to get behind it. At the same time his tail, now in a partial circle around the Noumu from his actions after they broke apart, closed in all at once.
His tail wrapped around the Noumu, crushing it with the force of an anaconda the size of a tree that's being enhanced by no less than seven strength quirks, trapping its arms to its sides.
Focusing his attention on Shigaraki, he wound his arm back, tensing the muscles within that were burning away like an inferno.
The villain, still mid-stride, turned to look at Izuku, the sudden bloodlust and intent drawing his focus.
With a grunt, Izuku threw his fist in Shigaraki's direction, 'Air Cannon' creating a massive shockwave that tore through the air. It caught the villain, sending him flying towards the Ruins Zone. Izuku noticed, with a small amount of satisfaction, that a few of the hands Shigaraki was wearing were knocked off as he disappeared into the trees that surrounded the zone.
With Shigaraki dealt with for the moment, Izuku spared a glance towards the stairs. Ochako and the others had reached them and were beginning to make their way towards the entrance.
His attention was forced back to the matter at hand, however, when he felt pain make itself known in his tail. Looking back at the Noumu, whose head and shoulders were still visible, he could see the beast struggling. Despite the strength he possessed, and the force he was applying to the grip, the Noumu was slowly but surely separating the coils of his tail. It felt like it was tearing through his scales and into his flesh.
Baring his teeth, Izuku moved closer, redoubling his efforts. He tensed his tail with as much force as he could muster, and watched as it tightened back around it.
"What are you made of?" He asked, almost snarling the words, as they continued their struggle against each other.
This was an ideal situation for him and his biology. He could probably exert more force through his tail's grip strength than he could in any other way, yet somehow the Noumu was still matching him.
The entirety of his focus had trained on the beast as it struggled. On keeping it contained. Reaching up, he pulled the gauntlet off of his left hand, before reaching his now bare hand towards it.
Izuku needed to end this. He had no idea why it was as strong as it was, why it felt like he was fighting All Might himself rather than some random villain, but he needed to put a stop to it. Something like this would not be easy, or even possible, for most people to withstand, and in a normal fight he wasn't even sure if he could subdue it.
But if he took its quirk, the source of the insane strength, then he wouldn't have to fight.
He reached towards it, fingers inches away from the exposed brain as the Noumu continued to struggle against him. He could almost feel the heat of its quirk emanating from it, without even touching it.
Then a hand closed around Izuku's arm, and on the membrane of his wing.
And Izuku screamed.
Ochako hadn't known Izuku long, but in the short time she had, she'd become convinced that he was the smartest, strongest, and probably the kindest person she'd ever met.
He'd saved her more than once during the entrance exams, though one instance was much more significant than the other. He'd impressed her and their classmates more than once with his strength and confidence. And his intelligence was evident just by watching and listening to him, not to mention that Ochako knew his secret regarding his persona 'Deku.'
But above all that, he had offered Ochako a place in his home after seeing where she was living, and had intended to live through her time at Yueii. He hadn't even hesitated, despite the two of them hardly knowing each other, and interacting a grand total of three or four times before that. Izuku spent his time and money on her, just to make sure she was healthy, happy, and comfortable.
And she was. Living in that penthouse, with fresh clothes and a gourmet-level meal for breakfast and dinner every day had her feeling probably the best she ever had.
She loved her parents, always had and always would. She was grateful for everything they'd done and sacrificed for her sake, and her reasons and goals for becoming a hero hadn't changed in the slightest. But she hadn't realized just how exhausting it was to live in that sort of financially tight situation, how much it had been wearing on her, or how much of a relief it would be to not have to follow every decision or desire with the question of if she could afford it.
She was happy, and free of the greatest stressor of her life. And living with Izuku and Rei, the way they all interacted and the dynamic between them, was like having the siblings she'd always wanted. Rei was the comforting older sister, who knew exactly what to say and do to make sure that Ochako was included in conversations and that she was comfortable, and who never failed to greet her with a smile and a question of how her day had been. And Izuku was the loving brother, who would joke around with her and make sure she ate enough, but who also gave off such a feeling of strength and calm, collected, immutable confidence, that she felt protected when they were together.
Maybe her opinions of them were mixing with the fantasy ideas of siblings she'd formulated, but they were true nonetheless.
It had barely even been two weeks since Izuku had brought her home, but Ochako still loved the both of them, and considered them both—at least privately—as her brother and sister.
That's why right now, in this moment as she helped Asui carry the broken form of their teacher up the stairs towards the entrance, when she heard the piercing scream behind her, the likes of which she never thought she'd hear from someone like Izuku and hoped to never hear again, her heart shattered.
There was so much utter pain in that scream.
She spun around so quickly that if Mister Aizawa wasn't weightless, he would've fallen.
Below them, in the courtyard, Ochako saw where Izuku had wrapped the big villain up in his tail. She also saw where the villain with the hands had grabbed Izuku's arm and left wing.
Her stomach sank, and her head went fuzzy for a moment when she saw him start to turn to dust.
Izuku's arm was brown and cracked, flaking away. Barely a second later his elbow, right where the villain was grabbing him, crumbled entirely. His hand and forearm dropped to the ground where it continued to fall apart. The same thing was happening to the thin skin of his wing, cracking apart and scattering into the air.
And he was still screaming.
Ochako's blood ran cold, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes as the villain backed away but Izuku's arm and wing continued to crack and crumble. It was traveling up towards his shoulder, and spreading across his wing.
"IZUKU!" She screamed, not caring that her voice cracked.
She was about to run to his side, either to try to help him—though she had no idea how she would go about doing that—or to protect him from the villains, when a hand grabbed her shoulder, stopping her before she could even take a step.
Her head whipped around to see Mister Aizawa, bleeding and wheezing in pain, and still floating. He'd grabbed onto her to flip himself around so that he could look down at the courtyard. As she watched, he seemed to force his eyes to open further as they flashed red and his hair began rising more than it already was.
Ochako's own eyes widened as she realized what was happening. She looked back down at Izuku to see that he wasn't crumbling apart anymore. It had stopped just before reaching his shoulder, and most of his wing still seemed to be intact.
A small sob worked its way out of her throat, and it felt like her legs would fail, before another hand grabbed her other shoulder.
She looked back to see Asui, the girl's face ashen and tears of her own gathered in her eyes.
"Let's go." She said, voice shaking, but otherwise calm. "We need to get out of here."
"But we have to help him!" Ochako tried to protest. "He's hurt!"
"There's nothing we can do against them, kero. Besides, he's not done fighting yet." She responded, pointing down at the courtyard.
Ochako turned to look once more, and felt a small surge of confidence when she realized that Asui was right.
Izuku was on fire.
His body burned, and it felt like his cells were being ripped apart, one by one. He was being torn to shreds from the inside.
It was all he felt; the fire that was actively consuming him. It blocked out everything else. He'd never experienced such pain before.
He'd been shot, stabbed, burned, shocked, strangled, hit and thrown around, and had his bones broken, amongst other things, over the course of his life.
All of that was nothing compared to this.
Through the pain, he felt his balance shift as weight disappeared from his left side. The fire trailed up his arm, and along his wing.
Izuku dimly recognized that this must be Shigaraki's quirk, 'Decay.' He had no idea how Shigaraki had gotten back so quickly, or how he'd failed to notice the villain getting close, and he didn't have the capacity or focus to try to figure it out. He couldn't even activate his healing quirk from where it had slipped from his grasp to try to stop the fire.
All at once, seconds or minutes or maybe even hours after the pain started, it halted altogether.
The sudden absence of the agony that had threatened to consume him left Izuku feeling lightheaded. He took a ragged breath, feeling it rattle into his lungs. Everything was muted, muffled in the aftermath of the fire.
His mind took a moment to catch back up, slowly regaining his faculties. Then he felt the Noumu struggling in his tail and it all snapped back to him at once. His surroundings came back, his hearing and vision clearing away to absolute clarity, and his sensation of touch coming back just the same, almost too strong. He registered that his left arm was all but completely gone, leaving a stinging, bleeding stump at his shoulder, and his wing felt like it had a ragged hole torn into the membrane. His throat burned as he breathed, likely injured when he'd screamed. And he could feel the wetness on his cheeks.
Shaking his head to clear it, he focused back on the matter at hand; there were still villains here, and he needed to stop them. One last shake and he allowed the anger, the rage to burn through him again as he focused on the source of the pain. Turning his head, he looked over at where Shigaraki was standing just a few feet away.
He growled, before spinning around to bring his arm up—his right one, as his left was otherwise unavailable—to smack the villain.
"Mother-FUCKER!" Izuku shouted as he backhanded Shigaraki away, taking a small bit of satisfaction in the way he wheezed in pain as he flew.
At the same time though, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he realized that the impact hadn't been nearly as strong as it should've been. For that matter, 'Air Cannon' hadn't even activated to create a shockwave.
Glancing up at the stairs, he found the reason why.
Eraser, floating over the stairs and still broken and bleeding, was glaring down at the courtyard with his red eyes, canceling everyone's quirks. He had a hand on Ochako's shoulder who, along with Tsuyu, was staring down at him with tears in her eyes.
Eraser's quirk must've also canceled out some of Izuku's.
Over their many interactions, Izuku had-had plenty of time to study how exactly the hero's quirk affected his own. Any quirks he had active that were emitter or transformation-types would be erased. This meant quirks like his claws, healing quirk, and his natural quirk. Any mutations he had active, like his wings, horns, or snake tail, wouldn't be erased as the moment they were active, they became ingrained in his body.
Under normal circumstances, 'Erasure' didn't present any issues. In learning how it worked, he'd been able to have a select few quirks picked out with the express purpose of augmenting him when he was with Eraser, just in case he needed to fight or flee from the hero. These were ones he almost always had active as Oni.
However, right now? When he'd pulled on so much more than those select few? When he was relying on them for a fight? It presented issues.
His strength quirks were a mixture of all three types of quirks. Some were mutations that condensed or increased his muscle mass, some were transformation-types that achieved the same effects, and some were emitters that used his store of energy to exert strength.
Only three of his seven were mutations.
And all but those three had been erased.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt the Noumu gaining ground.
Before he could do anything in response, the beast was wrenching the coils of his tail apart, freeing itself.
Now free, it threw a punch at him. He did his best to bring his own fist up to meet it. It just barely did, but without everything that had been augmenting him before, the impact knocked his fist back. The force with which it was thrown back made it feel like his arm was about to be wrenched off of his body, and he felt every bit of the impact in his bones.
Grunting in pain and with no free limb to counter the Noumu, he was left completely open.
One of the beast's massive hands closed around Izuku's torso in a crushing grip. Before he could do anything to stop it, a fist was sent crashing into his chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying back towards the Downpour Zone as the other hand released him.
The world spun around Izuku as he tried, and failed, to regain his bearing as he soared.
He hit the ground in a jarring impact. One that, had his lungs not already been empty, would've knocked the breath out of him. Thankfully he didn't roll, his tail making it so that he just hit the ground once and stopped.
Laying on his back, he tried to force air back into his lungs. It took several long seconds, but eventually he was able to suck in a massive breath. Several more seconds and his breathing had stabilized to the point of no longer being desperate.
He lay there for a moment—still gasping, right arm feeling like it was broken in at least three places and left arm gone entirely, and with his head ringing from the impact—and tried to collect himself.
Then, he started laughing.
It was quiet at first, barely audible, strangled with how much he was still struggling for air, but slowly increased in volume. In seconds it was back to a normal volume as he laughed to himself.
"Hah." He huffed, a grin on his face. "So that's what it is."
He forced his head up to look at the Noumu, who was staring at him from the same spot, having not even moved a step since it hit him.
His grin widened. "So that's how you're so strong."
When the Noumu hit him, it had been in the center of his breastplate. But as he flew out of its grip, for a moment, a single fraction of a second, their bare skin touched.
Out of all of his many quirks, the one he knew the most about and had the most experience and proficiency in using was his own natural quirk. He'd discovered and learned so many things about it over the years. For one: He didn't need to use his hands to take a quirk. Any direct contact would work. The second: Quirks had distinct feelings associated with them. They all felt like a source of heat within the body, but they all felt different. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to explain it at all if someone asked, but he could differentiate between them; that's how he picked his own out from the bundle in his chest.
With those two things, he'd also become quite proficient at taking quirks. He enjoyed the slow, methodical way of doing it, where he drew out a quirk over several agonizing seconds, for the effect it had on the criminals he used it on. But if he really wanted to, he could take quirks with little more than a brush of his fingers against someone else's as he walked down the street.
So with that single instant of contact between Izuku and the Noumu, he'd reached out with his quirk almost on instinct the moment he'd felt the warmth within the Noumu. It had pulled on the first source of warmth it could grab.
The first, because there was more than one.
As he felt his quirks surge back into place now that Eraser had finally blinked, he started laughing again.
He rolled over and rested his fist on the ground—the small action sending small cracks spiderwebbing from the spot—and lifted himself up, shaking with the effort.
Rolling his neck, he turned to face the Noumu. He tilted his head as he smiled at it. He could feel the Oni mindset surfacing. He knew that he was losing himself to it in the face of the constant adrenaline, anger, and pain that had been surging through him for the past several minutes. Taking advantage of this, he reactivated 'Wrath.' The quirk took his anger as fuel and converted it into raw strength.
And right now? He had anger in spades.
"Oh how I wish I could actually let go to fight you." He said, more to himself. "You're so much fun."
Raising his hand, he clenched it into a fist as he pulled on the newest quirk. He wasn't sure what it was—it had the feeling of a mutation-type, that much he could tell. Maybe a durability of some kind?—but it was sure to help. His body tingled as the quirk spread across it. At the same time, he re-activated his healing quirk to hopefully fix his right arm and stop the bleeding in the messy stump he had in place of his left.
"You know. You villains have a lot of nerve showing up here, threatening my classmates and friends, and my sister. And originally I was just planning on subduing you so that I could ensure their safety."
He started moving forwards, slowing moving towards the Noumu.
"But since you all seem so adamant to be as stubborn as possible, and want to act like the irritating insects you are, I've changed my mind. I'll humor you."
Raising his fist to his face, he made a show of pressing his hand to his jaw to crack his knuckles. In reality, he was doing it to touch the convenient little tungsten plates to his bare skin, letting it rewrite 'Metallum.'
"You want to play games, monster?"
He activated the quirk, and felt the dense metal flash across his body, changing everything except his skin. It took an extra bit of concentration to stop the transformation in the right place at his stump of an arm.
With the transformation complete, he stretched his arm towards the Noumu, letting it hang in front of him in a loose combat stance.
" Fine. Let's play games."
As one final step, he pulled on 'Quick Thinker,' enjoying the way the world slowed around him.
The ground beneath him shattered as he exploded forwards. In the blink of an eye, he and the Noumu were face-to-face once more.
The beast raised a fist to intercept him, and Izuku responded in kind. But when the punch was thrown, Izuku, making full use of 'Quick Thinker,' ducked below it and delivered his right into the Noumu's side.
He blinked in surprise as, this time, the Noumu was thrown back, straight into the fountain.
Looking between the beast, who had come to a stop some distance away, and his arm, in which he'd felt none of the impact in whatsoever, he laughed.
"So that's what that was. No wonder you seemed like such an immovable object. It's because you literally were."
The quirk he'd taken. It wasn't a durability quirk, at least not in the usual sense. It was a quirk that canceled out kinetic energy. Shock absorption, or maybe nullification, he couldn't quite tell just yet.
It didn't matter. One way or another, it would help.
The Noumu screeched at him, and their fists met in another earth-shattering impact. Izuku laughed again as he once again felt nothing in his arm from the hit.
Ducking beneath another punch, he drove his elbow into the beast's chest, sending it flying again and taking the split-second opportunity to grab another quirk from the inferno under its skin.
He chuckled as he pulled it into place, feeling it suffuse his body. This one he recognized. It was a speed quirk.
Instead of waiting for the Noumu to come back to him, he raced after it. When he caught up, it was already up and coming for him.
They clashed again, fists blurring as Izuku met every hit with his single arm, the new speed quirk working wonders.
Both landed hits as the seconds stretched out and the number of thrown punches entered into the low hundreds. Izuku's chest was aching even more than it had been with each hit—the shock-canceling quirk apparently only did do much, and the Noumu's raw strength had not changed. And while it prevented the worst of the damage, it still hurt—and he was driving the Noumu back with every hit he landed.
His head snapped backwards as it landed a solid hit directly to his face. He grinned as he looked back down at it, blood already running down his face.
"What a lovely punching bag you are." He said, continuing his onslaught. "You hit back, and never seem to break no matter how hard I hit you."
That was another thing. The Noumu must have a healing quirk somewhere in the inferno. Izuku could hear the beast's bones breaking under his assault, and yet the limbs never deformed in the slightest—for no matter how great one's willpower or strength was, if their bones were dust or breaking through the skin, the limb would become non-functional—and there wasn't any indication of pain.
The thought only excited Izuku, as he imagined getting his hands on it.
"Let's see how long we can keep this up."
Ochako gulped as she watched the fight in the courtyard between Izuku and the monster.
No, 'fight' didn't quite describe it. Not with each hit being strong enough to send wind to whip at her hair from this distance.
This was a clash, and not between humans, but between two titans.
Every hit shook the ground beneath them and every movement was a blur to her eyes as they traded blows.
Ochako had no idea how Izuku was still keeping up with the monster with only one arm, but she desperately hoped he could keep it up.
Her attention shifted to beneath her as Mister Aizawa groaned, attempting to shift himself to be able to see the fight. She stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, holding him down.
"Please stop moving." She said as he looked up at her with a glare, or maybe it was just his injuries making it look that way. "You'll only make your injuries worse."
They'd made it back to the top of the stairs to find some of the other students—consisting of Bakugou, Kirishima, Shouji, Kouda, Todoroki, and Hagakure—tending to Thirteen, who looked as though her entire back had been shredded. Ochako and Tsuyu had set Mister Aizawa down next to her so that they could attempt to tend to his wounds, maybe stop the bleeding until help could arrive.
And now they all found themselves in a horrible position where they were forced to watch and wait. Not all of the students were accounted for, likely still in whatever disaster zone they'd been sent to, and they had no idea whether the missing ones were hurt or fighting or just hiding until everything was settled. They also had no way of knowing if any help was on the way. If anyone at Yueii knew that they were under attack.
The only thing they could do was watch the clash down below and hope that Izuku could somehow keep it up, because all of them knew that they stood no chance against the monster that was going toe-to-toe with the strongest student in the class. Ochako didn't think that even Bakugou or Todoroki could stand against the sheer amount of power that was being displayed.
Ochako blinked, and something exploded behind her. Looking back, there was a cloud of smoke next to the door. A split second later and the monster emerged from within. The other students backed away, or dropped into combat stances, and Todoroki sent a wave of ice careening at it which it swatted away, just like Izuku had done when he faced the two-toned boy.
Looking down into the courtyard, she found it empty. There was no sign of Izuku.
A screech drew her attention back to the monster, and just as she looked back at it, a green shape dropped from the sky and there was another explosion of dust.
A laugh rang out, and a shockwave of air dissipated the dust in an instant.
It revealed Izuku and the monster struggling against each other, their fists pressed together where their punches met, visibly trembling from the effort.
The sight of him sent shivers down Ochako's spine.
His entire left side was drenched in blood from the mess of an injury at his shoulder, as was his face where it was pouring from his nose. His left wing was ragged and torn, missing a sizeable chunk of the thin skin stretched across it. The crazed expression on his face topped the whole image. His teeth were bared in a feral smile, with even his teeth red and bloodied, and his eyes looked almost crazy.
The monster hit Izuku with its other fist, right in the center of his chest. He barely even flinched, just continuing to smile at it.
It didn't stop there though, as it pulled its other fist away from Izuku's and started throwing more punches that shook the ground around them, each of them hitting Izuku's chest.
"That's it!" He shouted, catching one of the fists in his hand. "Keep fighting! Let's keep this interesting!"
Suddenly, he yanked on the hand he had trapped in his grip and delivered an earth-shaking headbutt that sent the monster staggering. Somehow, Izuku's smile seemed to widen.
His laugh rang out once more as he charged the monster and grabbed its arm. He swung it over its head and slammed it into the ground, before swinging it around and throwing it back towards the courtyard.
Izuku stretched his wings out, and Ochako got a full view of the ragged hole that the villain's quirk created. She felt her heart clench at the sight, and wondered how he'd be able to fly, or if he'd even be able to at all. It certainly didn't look like it.
A second later, he proved her wrong as he launched himself into the air after the monster. She could see that his injured wing was moving much quicker than the other to compensate.
Ochako gulped again as she looked back down at Mister Aizawa. She hoped that help would come soon. She had no idea how long Izuku could keep it up, but he had to be wearing down after the damage he'd taken.
Where were the heroes?
Izuku grunted as he crashed into the ground. The Noumu had gotten lucky and had thrown him into one of the zones. The Mountain Zone, maybe?
He forced himself back up, ignoring the soreness through his body, and the fog in his mind that was beginning to make itself known. As much experience as he had when it came to fighting, he had very little with long, drawn out fights. His normal opponents were generally fodder that went down in a single hit, but the Noumu was a walking punching bag, it was absorbing all the abuse he dished out.
As fun as this was, he was starting to feel the exhaustion catch up to him.
"Come on!" He shouted as it descended towards him from where it had jumped after him.
It was on him in an instant, delivering a blow that forced him partially into the ground as he blocked it. As the next punch came rocketing towards him, he just barely swiped it aside. Ducking below the next, he delivered three harsh blows in quick succession to its chest and sent it flying once more.
He took a moment to catch his breath, his chest heaving. Looking around at his surroundings, he spotted three figures standing off to the side.
No. Four figures.
Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Kaminari, and some random villain that had Kaminari by the back of his neck. He could see the villain's fingers crackling with electricity.
All of them were staring at him, with the exception of Kaminari. The electric student had a blank look on his face, as if he were completely oblivious to the situation.
Izuku narrowed his eyes at them, feeling another surge of irritation. Yet another useless villain that thought they could threaten his classmates.
He pulled on the quirk he'd taken from the Noumu at the main doors. Another speed quirk.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the villain, his face inches from theirs. He enjoyed the sheer panic that flashed across it. Their hand darted up—though to Izuku, with as many quirks as he had and as much adrenaline as was pumping through him, it might as well have been moving in slow motion—crackling with electricity.
He grabbed it, letting the electricity wash over him. He barely even felt it.
'"Metallum" reduces the effectiveness of electricity.' He thought. 'Good to know.'
Izuku let his smile flash back across his face before crushing the villain's hand in his own, pulverizing the bones within. Their scream cut off with a strangled choke as he wrapped a hand around their throat, and they dropped Kaminari.
"Oh, how easy it would be to snap you in half~." He whispered, before slamming them down with just enough force to crack the ground beneath.
With that dealt with, he looked out in the direction he'd sent the Noumu. A small chuckle worked its way out of his throat when he saw it already coming back for him, so much slower than it had been.
He moved closer so Kaminari and the others wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. For a second, it sounded like one of them might've been speaking, but he ignored it in favor of focusing on his opponent.
The Noumu launched itself with an earth-shattering jump to close the last bit of distance; it might be slower, but it was still every bit as strong. He caught its thrown fist in his hand. Before it could do anything else, he yanked it forwards and used the opportunity to wrap it in his tail once more.
"I do think it's about time we wrap this little game up." He said. "Don't you agree?"
Its only response was to screech at him.
"Well said!" He chuckled as he launched the two of them into the air, ignoring the beast's struggling, which was just as strong as the last time.
As they rose into the air, Izuku looked around for a suitable spot to end the fight. He needed somewhere out of sight. His eyes landed on the flood zone, and he cocked his head.
'That could work. I just hope it's not saltwater.'
As he flew over the water, he suddenly folded his wings against his back, letting himself fall with the Noumu still in his grip.
He hoped that the shock-canceling quirk did what he thought it did, otherwise the impact with the water was going to suck.
The Noumu gave one last screech, and Izuku took as deep a breath as he could, before they both hit the water and went under.
The impact still sucked. It stung everywhere, and he could feel a few places where it had stripped the skin entirely from his metal flesh and muscle beneath. And of course, it was salt water on top of that.
With 'Metallum' still active, they sunk like a rock, or a very big chunk of metal.
'Time for some on-the-fly experimentation.' He thought as he pulled on another quirk he'd grabbed not even an hour earlier.
As soon as it was active, he felt himself almost… swelling? It was an odd sensation, but the effects were obvious enough. He was able to watch as his body grew, at least in comparison to the Noumu. With nothing else to serve as a frame of reference since they were underwater, the only sign that he was actually growing was the fact that the Noumu seemed to be shrinking.
As he grew, he felt his armor become increasingly tight around his body. Damn. He'd thought that the quirk brought clothing along with it, based on the villain he'd taken it from, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
As it started to become painful, he took one of the fingers of his gauntlet between his teeth and ripped it off. With his hand free, he grabbed at the collar of his breastplate and tore it away, the straps at his sides giving away before the metal.
With that dealt with, he directed his attention back to the Noumu.
'Now. Let's take a proper look at what you're made of.' He thought, just as they came to rest at the bottom of the body of water.
With a grin on his face, he latched his hand onto the Noumu's head. His breath was almost completely knocked out of him at what he found.
The fire, the raging inferno just beneath the Noumu's skin…
It was comparable to All Might's.
He could distinctly feel seven quirks, burning away.
He'd already taken three quirks during their fight, which meant that, somehow, this beast had-had ten quirks shoved into its body.
Very dimly, somewhere beneath the excitement and fog that occupied his mind, he recognized something very disturbing about that discovery, but it was swept aside.
Izuku's smile went wider, and he grabbed onto all the quirks at once, and he wrenched. Them. Loose.
The rush of heat as he pulled them into himself almost knocked his breath out for a second time. All the same though, he could feel his lungs starting to burn. His increase in size must've also increased his need for oxygen. Dropping the gigantification and 'Metallum,' he glanced down at the Noumu, who had since stopped struggling. He unwrapped it from his tail, watching as it drifted down to rest on the ground.
It was dead. That much was obvious. He could feel it the moment he took the quirks from it. Either the shock of the transfer had killed it, or one of the quirks—the healing one maybe. He could feel one of those in the pile—had been keeping it alive in the first place.
With his body much lighter now, he launched himself towards the surface of the water, strength quirks allowing him to propel himself through the water with ease.
A moment later, he exploded out of the water. Before he could fall back down, he unfolded his wings, flying to the edge of the zone, where he'd first seen Ochako and Tsuyu. He dropped down to the ground with a heavy thud.
Taking a few deep breaths, he took stock of what he'd taken. Four strength quirks, two speed, and a healing quirk.
His smile widened with each one he examined. Somehow, with only four strength quirks to his seven, the Noumu had managed to match up to him and even surpass him at moments.
And now they were all his.
A laugh worked its way out of his throat as he stood there, sorting through the quirks again and again. It slowly increased in volume, until it was ringing out across the entire courtyard, loud and deep—and slightly deranged, he dimly recognized.
Suddenly, he grabbed onto the quirks and pulled on them, activating all seven at once. The resulting surge in power made it feel like he was on fire, in more ways than one. As his muscles bulged with the addition of the enhancers, he felt another sensation encompass all of his injuries, halting his laughter. They went hot, and in the case of his wing and left arm—or stump—they grew increasingly itchy.
As he watched, a mass of muscle, bright red and throbbing in time with his hearts, bulged from his shoulder. It seemed to build up for a moment, as the heat in his shoulder continued to grow, before bursting outwards. It grew into the shape of an arm and hand, and he felt bones shifting beneath the muscle, before the itchy sensation became nearly unbearable, and skin started to appear. In a few short seconds, his arm was restored to what it had been before being disintegrated. From what he could feel, his wing had undergone a similar process.
He lifted the arm, clenching a fist in front of him as he examined it.
A moment later, he threw his head back, and his laughter started again in full force.
This was wonderful! Not only had he acquired a set of quirks that had matched up to his full strength—in terms of sheer power alone—but he'd also gotten a healing quirk that was able to restore missing limbs in a matter of seconds.
He ignored the way his surroundings seemed to dim, and his mind grew increasingly fuzzy.
Because right at that moment, he spotted Shigaraki and Kurogiri standing by the Ruins Zone.
In a flash, he appeared before them, just a few feet away.
Shigaraki was mumbling and growling something under his breath as he scratched at his neck hard enough to draw blood. Kurogiri was glaring at Izuku with obvious hatred. Or at least as much hatred as one could express with no physical body and no features except for glowing eyes.
"Cheater!" Shigaraki said, barely above a normal volume, finally dropping his hands away from his neck. "How'd you manage to defeat our trump card!? How is your arm back after I destroyed it!? You were supposed to be a weak little brat that gets crushed beneath us as we killed All Might!"
"Well then you should've come here with more than a half-baked plan and a creature that's only slightly stronger than average." Izuku responded. "Honestly. Whoever planned this is an idiot."
"Shut up!" Shigaraki shouted, already charging at Izuku.
He watched the villain draw closer, his hands twitching in anticipation. He would let Shigaraki come to him, and once he was within range, he would snap the little shit in half.
He hadn't forgotten Shigaraki's attempt to hurt Ochako and Tsuyu. He was still going to kill the fucker.
Just as Shigaraki about to strike though, hands already outstretched, and Izuku was a split second from tearing the appendages off, Kurogiri's purple smoke washed over the villain without warning. Izuku realized an instant too late what was happening, and by the time he'd swiped his hand through it to brush it away, they had both disappeared and left a fresh batch of villains in their place.
Izuku growled, eyeing the new arrivals. He vaguely recognized them as the few that had survived Eraser's initial onslaught.
"Cowards!" He shouted out in outrage at the last wisps of smoke as they faded into the air. "Stay and die with some fucking dignity!"
One of the new ones charged at him, and his hand darted out, grabbing them by the neck and tossing them to the side.
The anger surged again, and the fog in his mind swelled, until it had all but overtaken him. He looked at the villains, but saw nothing more than objects in his way. He didn't even take note of their quirks, as he normally would.
They inched closer, and he leaned forwards, arms tensed at his sides to strike.
The first few charged at him, ignorant little insects that they were, and he screamed at them, conveying his anger in a single guttural roar.
The closest one raised their fist to strike at him, and he prepared to crush every bone in the useless limb, when every one of them suddenly flew backwards, as if struck.
He blinked, before turning to look at the newest arrival at the base of the stairs. They were big, and exuded a raw power that rivaled the Noumu. Behind them, at the top of the stairs, he just barely registered several more, though not nearly as strong.
"Fucking villains." He growled, turning to face them fully. "There's no end to you is there?"
The figure took a step forwards, raising their hands. "Young Et-."
Their fists met in an explosive shockwave, the other just barely raising their hand to meet him. He brought his other fist up, and they caught that one too. They grappled against each other, the other being forced back a step.
He broke away a moment later, backing up a few feet and raising a fist to strike again.
Just before he could though, the other raised their hands once more. "Wait, Young Etsumi!"
Izuku faltered, blinking at them. He recognized their voice.
Shaking his head, the fog cleared slightly, and he saw All Might standing there, wearing a dress shirt instead of his costume.
Behind him, Izuku could see that the other arrivals were more teachers from Yueii. And that most were frozen mid-step as they stared down at him. They looked like they'd been heading down to assist All Might.
"All… Might?" He asked, shaking his head once more.
The hero seemed to sigh, relaxing slightly. "Yes, Young Etsumi. It's me."
He stepped closer. "You can relax now, Etsumi. You have done well, protecting your classmates and teachers, but the fight is over."
Izuku took another glance around him. The courtyard was littered with fallen villains, the fountain destroyed, and craters and chunks of disturbed earth left over as scars from the fight.
He sighed, letting his shoulders droop. Reaching within himself, he pulled back his quirks, all of the strength and speed quirks he'd brought out for the fight, or acquired along the way, 'Metallum' and 'Quick Thinker,' his—now two—healing quirks.
One by one, he let them all settle back into his chest, until the only ones that remained were his obvious mutations, intelligence quirks, and 'Insomnia.'
He felt the fog encroach on him again, but this time it wasn't anger and adrenaline, but pure exhaustion.
Izuku swayed in place, before feeling a massive hand settle on his shoulder, stabilizing him.
"You did well. Let us handle things from here." He heard All Might say. His voice was muffled, almost as if he were far away.
Izuku drooped further, very quickly losing the energy and focus to even remain upright.
A moment later, he found himself being pulled into an embrace. He was slightly surprised when he didn't automatically recoil at the contact; his exhaustion must be overriding his usual distaste for touch. Taking advantage of it, he leaned into the contact.
He took comfort in it as the fog overtook him completely and everything faded away.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
A few small things about this chapter that are worth noting:
1. Aizawa doesn't get his head smashed against the ground the final time, the one that gives him the scar in canon. Izuku interrupted the situation before it could get there.
2. Thirteen got taken out in the same way as canon, it just took a bit longer to get there.
3. Kurogiri caught Iida and put him in the conflagration zone, so it took slightly longer for the heroes to arrive, even with Izuku telling Rei.
4. The quirks that Izuku got from the Noumu are as follows:
1) Shock Absorption
2) Speed Enhancer (with the elbow to the chest)
3) Speed Enhancer (with the headbutt near the front doors)
4) 2 Speed Enhancers, 4 Strength Enhancers, and Super Regeneration (while underwater)
5. With all the quirks he'd activated, the exhaustion from injuries and fighting, and from healing his wounds, he wore himself down severely, because of that, he very rapidly lost all focus beyond basic spatial awareness and identification of threats. The moment he dropped the quirks and let the anger and adrenaline fade, he crashed hard.
Recovery
Chapter Summary
The aftermath of the USJ invasion.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Rei was panicking. Her hearts were pounding away so hard that she could physically feel it, and her blood was running cold.
She'd just settled down to get some sleep when that chime went off in her head, from one of Izuku's quirks, instantly chasing away any tiredness she felt. It set her off immediately, working her into an adrenaline-fueled panic. Whenever Izuku used that quirk, it meant that something was going wrong. That there was an emergency and he needed her help. The last time he'd used it, when he was taking part in a training exercise, was a very rare exception to that rule.
She found herself hoping that she would hear him say that it wasn't an emergency, and that he just needed to contact her, even as the initial chime faded out and she heard his message come through.
S.O.S.
USJ under attack. Villains.
Rei would've thought that her hearts had stopped right then if they weren't thundering away so hard that it was almost painful.
Throwing off the blanket she'd been tucked under, she made for the door as quickly as she could, coming very close to charging straight through it when it almost took too long to open.
She made it across the apartment in seconds, reaching her office and nearly knocking her entire desk over in her haste to settle in front of it.
Her mind raced as her computer booted up, considering her options. Yueii needed to be alerted. Izuku presumably wouldn't resort to calling her unless he thought the threat was more than he could handle—which was a scary thought on its own—or if he and his class were isolated, with everyone else unaware. The police needed to know as well, between them and Yueii, they could have heroes and police headed there in a matter of minutes.
Her eyes narrowed as she waited. If she had to, she would find a way to have every hero in the country bearing down on the school.
As soon as her computer was up, she went through the, now familiar, motions of gaining entry into Yueii's network. She would make sure that everyone in the school knew what was happening. Already her hands were darting across the keyboard, putting things into motion.
Oh what a marvel modern technology was. Absolutely everything was connected to the internet.
She set the intruder alarms off as loud as they were physically capable of going, typing out a message to be played through them. As soon as that was done, she took over every device with a screen that was connected to the network and did the same thing, with the added effect of displaying a visible message.
By the time it was taking effect, she was already dialing Tsukauchi's number, voice changer up and running before the first number. Thankfully, with it being her number and not Oni's, the detective answered before the second ring. He didn't delete her number after every other call like he did with Oni. Because if she was the one calling, then that typically meant that shit had hit the fan and his help was needed.
"Phantom. What is it? What's-"
"Tsukauchi you need to get to Yueii." She interrupted. "It's been invaded by villains and is currently under attack."
She could already hear him scrambling from wherever he was with those words.
"What!? What do you mean!?"
"There's no time. Just get over there. Call Nezu to confirm if you have to, just do it after you've sent everyone you can. They need help."
"I'm on-" He ended the call before he could even get the words out.
With the right people warned, Rei started trying to access cameras or sensors—anything that would work—at the USJ, but found everything nonfunctional.
That didn't stop her from trying again though. She would keep doing everything she could until she knew that Izuku and Ochako were safe.
Yagi let out a sigh of relief as Etsumi slumped against him, already unconscious. He pulled the boy tight against his chest, one arm working to fold Etsumi's wings back into place as gently as he could. He knelt down, resting a hand on the back of Etsumi's head as he attempted to calm the thundering of his heart.
He ignored the throbbing in his hand as took in his surroundings. The USJ was in ruins.
Bodies of what he assumed were the invading villains littered the courtyard, unmoving. Hopefully they were just unconscious and not dead; they might be villains who had put his students at risk, but he certainly didn't want them to die. The courtyard itself looked as though it was the site of a catastrophe, riddled with craters and with chunks of ground torn up and displaced.
His hands tightened their grip on his unconscious student, his friend, though careful not to hurt.
There had been a fight here, a battle for survival, and he had missed it.
He, Yagi Toshinori, All Might, the number one hero and symbol of peace, had missed the fight, leaving his students and fellow teachers to fend for themselves when they needed him.
He grit his teeth, his trademark smile nowhere to be seen. If only he hadn't used up his time.
Yagi had gotten carried away on his way to Yueii that morning and used up his entire time limit before he even made it there. He just heard the first call for help mid-trip and couldn't resist it, the urge to rush to the rescue, nor any of the ones that came after.
He'd stopped in the teacher's lounge as soon as he arrived, hoping to recover enough to at least make an appearance at the USJ before the lesson ended. Just as he felt that he'd recovered enough, Principal Nezu had found him and started a long-winded conversation about teaching. One that Yagi suspected was solely to make him wait longer before forcing his transformation.
He'd been about to force his way out of the talk, having been growing increasingly impatient through it, when the school around them seemed to explode into chaos.
The intruder sirens all went off at once, screeching much like they had the day before. Only, instead of alerting them to a threat like it normally would, a horrifically distorted voice sounded out, announcing that the USJ had been invaded by villains and was under attack. At the same time, every screen in the room, including his and Nezu's phones, flashed and crackled with distorted static before the same message appeared across them and played from their speakers.
His heart had jumped into his throat, Nezu's expression matching his horror, and he'd been transformed and halfway through the door when Nezu told him—ordered him would be more accurate, with the tone of voice he'd used—to wait until the other teachers had been gathered. That they needed to address this carefully, and that barging in could put people at risk.
It had taken all of three minutes to have the teachers gathered into at a bus in front of the school—evidently every screen in the school had been affected—but it was still a painfully long time for Yagi, especially when he could've already made it to the USJ by then.
When they arrived, Yagi had transformed and was off the bus before it even came to a stop. He got there to see the doors pried open, and half of his class gathered just on the other side, looking after the mangled bodies of his colleagues and watching the courtyard down below them.
He reached the steps just in time to hear Etsumi scream, his voice so loud and full of anger that it was nearly unrecognizable; before that moment, Yagi had never seen the boy angry, or raise his voice more than just higher than a regular speaking voice.
In an instant, he had charged down the stairs to dispatch the offending villains, leaving them sprawling across the ground as he took in Etsumi's appearance. The boy was soaked to the bone and covered in blood, and he radiated such an intense bloodlust that it made even All Might hesitate. If only from the shock at seeing his friend and student display a killing intent that was second only to that fiend All For One.
When he'd turned to look at Yagi, Etsumi's eyes seemed to look right through him. There was no recognition in them at all, only anger.
Before Yagi could even get two words out, Etsumi was on him, throwing a punch that he just barely matched, followed an instant later by a second one.
Yagi was sent reeling at the sheer force behind them. He'd known Etsumi was strong, but this was on another level entirely. He very nearly lost his focus when he found himself getting pushed back. As surprised as he was by the unexpected strength and as weakened as he was by his suffocating time limit, he was still All Might; he was not one to be pushed back.
Then, as soon as he spoke, Yagi watched the anger and bloodlust fade away to recognition and confusion, watched as they bled away to leave only exhaustion.
As he held Etsumi against his chest, drawing comfort from the boy's slow, steady breaths, he found himself wondering what on Earth had happened. With as strong as Etsumi evidently was, what had happened to draw out this sort of reaction? What had he faced that put him in this condition?
The sound of footsteps behind him drew Yagi out of his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Yamada and Kayama—Present Mic and Midnight—running over towards him.
"Is he okay?" Yamada asked, panting from his trip down the stairs.
"I believe so." Yagi answered. "He seems to merely be exhausted. He collapsed as soon as he realized the fight was over."
"Poor kid." Kayama said, kneeling next to him. "Are you sure he's not hurt? He's covered in blood."
"I'm not sure. I didn't see any injuries, but I only had a few seconds to look him over."
"We'll take care of him." Yamada cut in, kneeling down and holding his arms out. "We'll check him over until Recovery Girl can get to him."
Yagi hesitated, not entirely willing to let go. Something in him wanted to keep Etsumi close.
"Toshinori." Kayama said, seeing his hesitation. "Half of the class is still unaccounted for. You're the fastest one here. We need you to find them and make sure they're safe."
He sighed; she was right, he couldn't let his emotions keep him from doing his duty as a hero and a teacher. Handing Etsumi over to Yamada, who lowered the boy gently to the ground, he stood up, rising to his full height. He needed to make sure the rest of his students were safe.
Turning his head, he picked out his destination, then the ground fractured beneath him as he took off.
Hizashi stared down at the student on the ground, whose head was resting on his folded legs. He and Nemuri had given Etsumi a once-over to make sure he didn't have any injuries to be worried about and, finding none, had switched to simply keeping an eye on him, making sure he was still breathing.
The fact that he seemed to have no injuries, despite the amount of blood on him, was slightly concerning, but so long as the kid wasn't hurt, everything else could be worried about later.
Hizashi's brow was creased as he stared, studying Etsumi's face. He once again found himself feeling like he recognized him. Something about this image—not only his face, but the fact that the kid was covered in blood—was familiar, like he'd seen it before. Then his eyes drifted down to Etsumi's tail, and it clicked.
"That's it!" He said with a small gasp.
"What?" Nemuri questioned, looking up at him. "What's it?"
He looked over at her. "I remember where I've seen him before."
She quirked an eyebrow. "He's your student, Hizashi. I sure hope you've seen him before."
"No, I mean before. Before the entrance exams, even."
He looked back down at Etsumi, finally drawing the connections.
"It was years ago. Back during our third year of Yueii. I was interning with Crimson Riot. I was patrolling, and came across a disturbance in an alleyway. When I went to check it out, I found a half-naked man screaming his head off with two kids not too far away, one of whom looked like they'd been beaten within an inch of their life."
Hizashi looked back up at her. "Both of the kids had giant snake tails instead of legs."
Her eyes widened a bit. "And you think that Etsumi was one of them?"
"I don't know about you, but I haven't seen very many quirks like this. The only times I have are with Etsumi, and with those two kids."
"What happened to them?"
"I have no idea. They slipped away while I was occupied with the man. I tried to look for them later, but didn't have any luck."
He sighed. "They were both so small, and the one looked half-dead. But if I'm right and Etsumi here was one of them, then hopefully the other ended up okay as well."
"I-."
"Izuku!" Hizashi heard a voice from the stairs yell out. Looking over revealed two of his students, Uraraka and Asui, running over.
"Is he okay!?"
"He's fine." Nemuri answered. "Just asleep."
"What are you listeners doing down here?" He asked. "You need to be up there getting checked over."
"We're fine." Uraraka answered, out of breath as she stopped right next to them. "But Izuku… He was hurt. His- his arm was… And he still fought that- that monster all by himself."
"His arm? What happened to his arm?" Nemuri asked, just as Hizashi asked "Monster?"
Uraraka, now kneeling next to Etsumi, shook her head as she grabbed his hand. Hizashi could see the tears in her eyes. Asui, who was still standing just behind her, spoke up in her place.
"The villains had someone with them who was as big as All Might." She said. "They called it 'Noumu' and said that it was the 'Anti Symbol of Peace.' Etsumi was fighting it, and was trying to subdue it, but the leader used his quirk on him."
"His-." She hesitated a moment, dry swallowing. "His arm was turned to dust. It was gone."
Hizashi's eyes widened at her words, and they snapped to Etsumi's arms, making sure that he and Nemuri hadn't missed something that obvious. They drifted over to his left, the side of him that was almost drenched in blood.
"How…" He started to ask, before Nemuri cut him off.
"What happened to the Noumu? And the leaders? Are they still here?"
Asui shook her head. "The two leaders got away right before you got here. One of them can make portals of some kind. And Etsumi took the Noumu into the water," she pointed over at the flood disaster zone, "They went under, and Etsumi came out a minute later. The Noumu didn't."
Hizashi gulped. To think that a student had been forced to kill because of Yueii's failure to keep them safe. And it sounded like he'd been seriously injured—the blood made more sense in that context—but he showed no sign of those injuries now. That left the question of what had happened to him. Had he healed?
He felt wind brush his face and looked up at the stairs to see All Might depositing students at the top, before vanishing again. He also saw a few other teachers making their way down to start securing the villains and to look for any others.
Among them was Recovery Girl, making a beeline for the student on the ground.
He sighed as she forced the other two students to the side. Gently lowering Etsumi's head to the ground, Hizashi stood up, joined a moment later by Nemuri. With Recovery Girl there to take over, they would join the rest of the teachers to make sure everyone was safe.
Ochako tapped her foot, trying to dispel the nervous energy that was buzzing away within her. Her hands were clasped in her lap, thumbs worrying at her skin.
She was sitting in Yueii's infirmary, next to the bed that they had settled Izuku's top half into, with Tsu—as she'd requested that Ochako call her—right beside her.
It had taken her and All Might together to manage to move Izuku from the USJ; with him being too heavy for anyone else, and too large and cumbersome for even All Might to carry on his own. She'd used her quirk on him, and All Might had maneuvered him onto the bus that had brought them there. When they got back to Yueii, Cementoss took down an entire wall to get him inside, and then combined three rooms together to be able to fit him.
It had worn her out, moving him there; she'd had no idea that Izuku weighed so much. Between that and the actual events of the invasion, she was utterly exhausted.
But at the same time, the nervous energy was keeping her awake.
Everyone else had been checked out already by Recovery Girl. Aside from Izuku, Mister Aizawa, and Thirteen, everyone was mostly uninjured. Tokoyami had a cut on his leg, Yaoyorozu, Jirou, and Kaminari were a bit bruised up, and Iida had apparently dislocated his arm when the smoke villain had caught him and put him in one of the zones.But otherwise everyone was fine, if a little shaken up.
Though, when Recovery Girl had arrived to look at Izuku, she'd declared that he was uninjured. It was, simultaneously, both confusing and not to Ochako. Confusing because she'd seen him loose his arm, and take so many Earth-shattering hits from the monster, the Noumu. How could anyone take all of that and not be hurt?
But at the same time, it wasn't confusing because she'd been watching him when he got out of the water. She'd watched as his arm grew back. It wouldn't be all that surprising to her if whatever had caused that had healed the rest of him too.
She had no idea how he'd been healed. Whether it was his own doing—if it had been him, then why didn't he do it before?—or someone else's, but she found that she really didn't care that much. All that really mattered to her was that he was okay. That he was safe.
They had also all been questioned by a detective that had arrived just after the teachers, who had introduced himself as Tsukauchi. He'd asked her to go over everything that had happened, especially when Izuku was fighting the monster and when he'd been healed.
For some reason, after she'd finished, he'd also asked her if she had seen anyone there with horns and wings, who might've been wearing a suit and a mask. She hadn't, and when she answered as much the detective had seemed slightly put-off and confused.
And now, cleaned up and changed back into her school uniform, she was waiting for Izuku to wake up.
Actually, no, it was almost the opposite, they were all waiting for him to actually sleep. She had thought that he was sleeping—he certainly seemed unconscious enough back at the USJ—but he was awake. Once they'd gotten him into the infirmary, and Recovery Girl had cleaned him up, finally getting rid of the blood that stained him, she'd gone to put a needle to his arm—Ochako wasn't entirely sure what for, but Recovery Girl was the doctor, not her—only for Izuku to swat it out of her hands. He'd dragged his eyes open, fixing Recovery Girl with a stare that was simultaneously hyper-focused and unseeing and uttered a simple "No needles," before his eyes drooped shut once more.
That drove Recovery Girl—and Ochako as well to a lesser degree—into something of a frenzy; Evidently she had believed he was asleep as well. She darted all around him, checking things and running tests that Ochako didn't understand, even pulling one of his eyes open and shining a light into it, which he made a half-hearted attempt to swat away. She tried twice more to stick him with a needle, both times to set up a bag of fluids next to him, and both times being rebuffed. The final attempt ended with a much more irritated Izuku threatening to leave, that she could either settle for examining him without needles, or not at all.
Recovery had agreed, albeit extremely reluctantly. She settled for demanding that he let himself sleep, so that his body could recover, but by then he'd already closed his eyes again and wasn't responding to anything.
Once everything had settled down, she'd made two calls. The first was to her parents, who had already received the news and were relieved to find her okay. She'd managed to convince them not to drop everything and rush to Yueii, but only under the condition that she have a video call with them later and tell them everything that had happened.
The second was to Rei.
When Ochako called her, she was already on her way to the school, having left as soon as she'd been alerted. She'd also seemed relieved when Ochako called, both that she was unhurt and that Izuku was okay as well, if utterly exhausted. Rei ended the call fairly quickly, leaving off with a promise to see them both soon.
She sighed, unclenching her hands and scrubbing at her eyes, holding them there for a few seconds afterwards.
She heard Tsu shuffle in the chair next to her, drawing her out of her thoughts.
"So… You and Etsumi seem pretty close." Tsu started off.
Ochako raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you've been calling him by his given name, and you called his parents earlier, or at least his guardian from the sound of it. And you two have been coming and going from Yueii together. I've seen the two of you flying in and out."
Ochako sighed again. "That was his sister that I called, not his parents. And we arrive and leave together because I've been living with them."
She wasn't entirely prepared to tell Tsu all about her previous living situation—nothing more than the basics—but she didn't have any issue talking about her current one. Rei and Izuku had both stressed before that it was only a secret if she wanted it to be, that she could tell whoever she wanted, so long as she wasn't actively handing the address out.
Her parents already knew, of course. Ochako had told them the day after the switch happened, which had resulted in a lengthy video call that involved both Rei and Izuku for most of that evening. They were wary at first, but the call had soothed their nerves, especially when Rei had convinced them that she and Izuku had the money and space to do so. That, and a promise for all of them to have similar conversations in the future had satisfied them for the time-being.
As for why she was referring to Izuku by his given name… She wasn't entirely sure. She already did so occasionally when they were at home, necessary in order to distinguish him from his sister, but up until today, she'd still been calling him Etsumi when they were alone or in public. Ochako didn't fully know why she'd made the switch, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to switch back. Calling him Izuku just seemed right to her.
Besides, if he didn't want her to, he would tell her later. For now, she would enjoy it.
This time it was Tsu's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You've been living with him? Why?"
"My parents live in a different city." She explained. "But money is… tight, so the place that we'd found for me to live while I'm going to Yueii wasn't exactly the best. Izuku found out and made the offer to live with him instead."
She looked over at Tsu. Despite the situation, and everything that had happened that day, the other girl had a small smile on her face.
"Etsumi does seem like the sort of person to do that." She said. "I was a little intimidated by him at first, because of his quirk and because of how strong he is, but he's actually really nice."
Ochako hummed in agreement, and they both sat in silence for a minute, before Tsu spoke up again.
"He saved us."
She turned to look at Ochako again, this time with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Back there, when we were in the water. Etsumi stopped the leader before he could get to us. His hands were so close. If Etsumi hadn't shown up, we would've been turned to dust."
Ochako shivered at the thought, and as that scream echoed through her head again, but Tsu wasn't done.
"And then the Noumu. None of us would've been able to do anything to stop it. Not with how fast and strong it was. It felt like it was as strong as All Might himself."
Ochako looked back over at Izuku, resting on his back on the infirmary bed, his wings framing him while his tail stretched out across the space that used to be the other two rooms.
Tsu was right. If it weren't for Izuku, she and Tsu and probably Mineta and everyone else would've been dead before any of the teachers could make it. She hadn't even been able to react when that man had been reaching for her.
She reached out to take his hand again, taking comfort in the warmth.
She would have to be stronger if she wanted to be the one to help him next time, assuming there even was a next time; and oh, how she hoped against hope that there wouldn't be. If she were stronger, then he wouldn't have to protect her, he wouldn't have to fight alone.
The minutes stretched out in silence as they sat there like that, waiting.
Eventually, Ochako heard a voice in the distance. The words were incomprehensible, but she recognized the speaker immediately.
Apparently Izuku did as well, because as soon as the voice sounded out, his entire body seemed to jerk. His hand clenched tight around hers, though not hard enough to be painful, and released it again as he dragged himself upright just in time for the door to burst open.
"Izuku!"
Rei did her best to keep her breathing under control as she made her way to Yueii. It took everything in her to keep her head as she traveled, everything going much too slow for her liking.
Had she been able to, she would've been out the door and headed to Yueii as soon as she warned them, but the more rational part of her prevailed. She needed to wait until the school actually called her about it before she could do anything. There would obviously be questions if she showed up before anyone had even been told.
Now though, now that they had told her, the desire to get to Izuku, to be at his side, had become a physical need. She needed to know that he was okay, that Ochako was okay. Nothing would get in her way.
Her nerves had settled somewhat when Ochako called her, assuring her that they were both okay, though there was still the fact that Izuku obviously wasn't able to make that call himself.
As the front gates came into view, she caught sight of the crowd of people surrounding them. Most looked like reporters, though others looked like they might've been parents or family members trying to get to their children. There was a line of police officers and heroes blocking their path. They obviously weren't messing around with security after the invasion.
As she neared the crowd, some of them spotted her, and immediately scrambled to get out of her way, pulling others with them. Something about either her appearance or the atmosphere around her made the crowd part like the Red Sea.
A good thing, too, as she'd had no plans to stop for any of them.
The police officers weren't quite so keen to move though, and it took one of the heroes—Present Mic, she noted—to pull them aside to let her in. She barely slowed down as she did, and he moved to catch up.
"Etsumi, I take it?" He asked from beside her.
"Yes."
"I figured. The tail makes it slightly obvious. Follow me, Izuku is in the infirmary."
She slowed down ever so slightly at that to allow him to take the lead. She wanted to get to Izuku, but she didn't know the way to him.
A few minutes later—that dragged on far too long for her liking—and they had entered a large room that was clearly the infirmary—if the sign above the door hadn't been a clear enough indicator—with doors lining it.
"Which one is his?" She questioned.
The hero pointed at one, and she was moving immediately, ignoring anything he might've said.
She burst through the door to see Izuku upright on a hospital bed, with Ochako and another girl sitting by his side.
"Izuku!"
He was in her arms in an instant—almost falling onto her with how tired he clearly was—and Rei felt the nerves and anxiety that had been wracking her since his call for help begin to melt away at his touch. He was okay. He was safe.
"Rei." He whispered from where his head was resting on her shoulder. "I'm okay. I'm here."
"I was so worried."
He didn't say anything in response, didn't have to. Neither of them were strangers to being at risk. This wasn't the first time that one of them had been in danger, and it almost certainly wouldn't be the last. They drew more than enough comfort from the embrace without having to speak.
Rei glanced over to where Ochako and the other girl were sitting, watching the exchange. She could see the worry in their eyes.
"Ochako." She said, reaching an arm out towards her in an unspoken invitation.
Ochako didn't hesitate, rushing over immediately to join the embrace, head resting on Rei's other shoulder. At this point, she was a part of their family, and Rei had been almost as worried about her as she had been about Izuku, if not just as much.
With the two most important people in her life safe and sound in her arms, Rei felt the last of the anxiety bleed away.
She let it drag on for several minutes, drawing as much comfort from it as she could, before pulling back slightly.
"You can sleep now Izuku. You'll be safe. I'm here."
She could practically feel how exhausted he was. Even with how little he actually slept, it was rare to see him like this, so devoid of energy. He was always alert, always paying attention, and barely ever showed any sign of exhaustion.
So for him to be this worn down was saying something. It was clear that it had been more than just a simple villain invasion. At this point, she knew that the only thing keeping him upright—aside from her—was his 'Insomnia' quirk.
He hummed softly in agreement, and she heard him speak, just barely audible even with how close she was.
"No needles. No blood."
She nodded. She knew why he was insisting that. Aside from the fact that he utterly despised anything that would take away the control he had over himself—which included medicine and drugs that might knock him out—all it would take is one blood test to expose his quirk.
"I know. Don't worry. I'll make sure."
Rei felt him nod ever so slightly against her, before his body sagged completely, resting all his weight on her. She caught him and lowered him back down on to the bed as gently as she could, Ochako having stepped back as soon as he dropped.
Settling down next to his bed, coiling her tail up beneath her, she let out a sigh.
Looking back over at Ochako, Rei extended her arm again, inviting the girl over. Once she was within arm's reach, Rei pulled her into another embrace, settling her on the tail that was coiled beneath them. Izuku was asleep now, which was what he needed, but Ochako was still here, and what she needed was comfort and support. So that's exactly what Rei would provide.
Izuku was floating.
He was just barely aware enough to know that he was sleeping, and that he had been for some time. He both felt time passing by at its usual pace and felt it passing in the unusual manner that could only ever be experienced while asleep.
It was surreal; to simultaneously be aware and unaware of himself. Maybe it had something to do with how exhausted he'd been. He'd certainly never slept for this long before. He wasn't exactly sure how long it had been, but he knew it had been some time; definitely more than a day.
He wasn't even dreaming, just riding the waves of nothingness as the world moved on around him, completely oblivious to anything that happened.
It was relaxing in a way that he didn't often get a chance to experience.
Eventually—it could've been mere hours or it could've been entire days—Izuku felt himself starting to draw closer to the surface, to rise up from the sea of nothingness. He let it happen; he knew that he had recovered a great deal, and that it was almost time to wake up. As comfortable as he was, he knew that it couldn't last forever.
So he let himself drift ever closer to the surface, enjoying the last fragments of rest that he could.
When Izuku finally woke up, it was without fanfare, or noise, or anything special at all. He simply opened his eyes, and became aware of his surroundings.
The first thing he did was run a mental checklist of his quirks, sorting through the heat and making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. He pulled on one of them experimentally—a strength quirk he usually kept active—and felt it settle into place with only the barest hints of soreness in his chest.
When he didn't feel anything else, he very carefully shifted himself so that he was sitting upright. It wasn't the most comfortable—with his tail being the way it was, it wasn't exactly convenient to be sitting back like this—but it was better than lying flat, especially with his wings.
Once he was settled, he started pulling on a few other quirks over the course of several minutes, drawing comfort from his usual ones being pulled back into place. He felt just a little tired by the end of it, but that didn't matter, because he felt like himself again. Having so few quirks active didn't sit right with him. It left him feeling cold and somewhat vulnerable, exposed.
With the warmth suffusing his body the way it was supposed to, he reached an arm out to the side and placed a gentle hand on Rei's head, which had come to rest on his bed at some point.
It was just the two of them in the room together. Ochako and Tsuyu were nowhere to be seen.
After a few minutes of simply soaking in her presence, Izuku started running his hand across her head, slowly rousing her from her sleep.
Soon enough she was sitting up, hair ruffled from her position and sleep heavy in her eyes. She blinked groggily at him a few times before she finally seemed to become aware of what was happening, her eyes widening once she had.
"Izuku!" She exclaimed softly, almost diving at him.
"I'm here, Rei." He said, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm back."
"Ochako told me what happened." She said, holding him tight. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"So am I. But there are things that happened that I need to talk to you about. Big things."
She pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes, her own widening slightly. "You mean…?"
She knew that he was talking about quirks.
He nodded. "Among other things. A lot happened. Some of it has dangerous implications. I'll go over it all as soon as we get home."
"Okay." She responded, going back to hugging him. "Once we're home. For now, I'm just glad to see you awake."
He hummed contentedly, and the two of them stayed like that for a time, until Izuku brought up the question he'd been meaning to ask as soon as he'd become aware of his surroundings.
"Where's Ochako? I seem to remember her and Tsuyu being here before I fell asleep."
"It's been three days, Izuku. I convinced her to go back home, and one of the heroes, Midnight, offered to escort her there; everyone is still on edge after the attack. And Tsuyu's parents picked her up not long after you fell asleep."
Izuku frowned. He wasn't too sure if he like the idea of a hero knowing where he lived. But it had been to ensure Ochako's safety, so he supposed he could live with it. Besides, it wasn't as if Yueii didn't already have his address on file somewhere.
Aside from that though; three days.
Three whole days he'd been asleep. He knew that he'd been drained after the fight had ended, but it must've been worse than he thought; even after the trigger incident all those months ago he'd only slept for the better part of a day, not even eighteen hours.
It warmed his heart, though, despite that, to know that Rei had been with him for that entire time.
"By the way." She continued. "You should prepare yourself. Once everyone realizes that you're awake, they'll want your account of what happened. They brought in Tsukauchi to take statements."
Well, shit.
Any other official or police officer, and he could've gotten away with lying outright, only having to keep close enough to the truth that it matched up to anything that anyone else might've seen, villains included.
But with Tsukauchi, things become exponentially more difficult. He would have to be incredibly careful with what he said, and stay away from absolutes and specifics as much as possible.
Even worse was the fact that Tsukauchi would no doubt ask about how he'd healed from the injuries that most of his class had no doubt seen.
Shit. He was going to have his work cut out for him.
"I'll deal with it." He ensured. "Don't worry. For now, they don't need to know that I'm awake. Until then, we can stay like this."
Rei seemed all too happy to comply, wrapping her arms even tighter around him, which he reciprocated. They settled into a comfortable silence, staying like that as the minutes stretched out, enjoying as much time as they could before someone realized that he was awake.
And if he pulled on 'Quick Thinker' to slow things down a bit as they sat there, to enjoy the moment just a bit longer and to work out exactly what he would say to Tsukauchi, hammering out any discrepancies or minor lies that would most likely be detected by his quirk, then no one needed to know but him.
Tsukauchi sipped on his coffee as he walked through the halls of Yueii once more, towards the infirmary. Izuku Etsumi had evidently woken up earlier that day, so he needed to get his statement.
Honestly, this is the one that he'd been waiting to get ever since he'd first started questioning the other students. Not only had Etsumi spent more time than anyone else in close proximity to the lead villains, and therefore was more likely to have pertinent information on them, but there were also a few interesting things that others had mentioned that Tsukauchi wanted a first-hand account of. Like how he'd managed to heal from reportedly having his arm and part of his wing disintegrated.
And whether or not he'd happened to see Oni there at all.
There were a few specific details that pointed towards the vigilante making an appearance in some capacity or another, but no one else had seen him.
For starters, Phantom was the one who had contacted him, and based on Nezu and Yagi's own accounts, she'd also been the one to alert them as well. In his experience, that mysterious figure that stood behind Oni never did anything unless it involved him. She'd contacted Tsukauchi a grand total of three times since he'd become aware of Oni—not including this particular instance—and Aizawa four times. Every single instance had involved Oni in some way, whether it be because the vigilante was in trouble, or otherwise needed their help with something big.
There was a reason that he never actually deleted her contact from his phone like he did with Oni's. If she was calling, then there was an important reason for it.
Beyond that though, nearly every villain there was one that had been taken down by the vigilante in the past, so he wouldn't be surprised if Oni had shown up to spite whoever had broken them out of prison. If he were really being honest with himself, Tsukauchi also would not put it past the vigilante to do something as crazy as go undercover in the group of villains just to interrupt their plans.
There were also several villains whose conditions lined up with some that Oni left behind after his fights. People who were unable to use their quirk, and who even tended to register as quirkless during a blood test.
There were a few theories floating around some of the precincts of Musutafu as to how or why that happened. The ones that Tsukauchi himself favored, or at least the ones that made the most sense to him, were that Oni was in possession of some form of weapon or drug that could completely nullify quirks down to their core, burying them so deep that it hardly even registered in the person's DNA anymore. That, or the possibility that it was due to the sheer trauma that he put them through.
That one didn't quite explain the DNA tests, but Tsukauchi had seen the aftermath of Oni's fights plenty of times. The vigilante was not gentle in the slightest, and he knew that there were other cases throughout the world—rare, but still there—of people being unable to use their quirks after going through some form of trauma, so he didn't dismiss the possibility.
All of the villains that were in this condition were in the same disaster zone that Etsumi had reportedly been sent to. So, unless Tsukauchi's theory about trauma was true, and Etsumi was strong enough to put them through something like that—which based on the other student's accounts, he definitely was—then he was the one who was most likely to see the vigilante, assuming he showed up at all.
There was also the body that they'd fished out of the flood zone, that had yielded similar results from a DNA test.
Not only had it registered as quirkless, but they had been able to distinguish DNA from several different individuals. Something that stumped everyone in that lab that conducted the test.
They couldn't explain the multiple-people part of it, but Tsukauchi personally believed that-that at least offered an explanation for the quirk part. Clearly something was off with either the test or the DNA itself, so he dismissed it for the moment in favor of dealing with everything else.
After a few minutes of walking, he found himself in the infirmary, just outside Etsumi's room. Dropping his now-empty coffee cup in a nearby trashcan, he pushed the door open.
"Hello Mister Etsumi! My name is Detective Tsukauchi. Is it alright if I speak with you?"
"Of course, Detective." Etsumi responded from his spot on the bed, a woman that looked quite similar—at least in regard to their quirks—settled by his side. Then, "I suppose you're here for my account of what happened at the USJ."
Tsukauchi nodded. "That I am. I just need you to tell me everything that happened, and then I have a few questions to ask afterwards, is that okay?"
"It is. Though I feel I should say, I was starting to lose myself towards the end of it to the exhaustion, so I apologize if my recounting is less than complete."
Tsukauchi's quirk registered the statement as truth, so he just smiled as he settled into a nearby chair. "That shouldn't be an issue. Just tell me everything you can remember."
"Now," he continued, pulling out his notepad, "Let's start from the beginning. When exactly did you notice the villains arriving?"
Etsumi didn't hesitate. "As soon as the portal formed in the courtyard."
"After I dealt with the villain that was threatening Yaoyorozu and the others, the Noumu was on its way back. I stopped it again, this time wrapping it in my tail, and flew it over to the flood zone."
"Right." Tsukauchi said. "That's one of the things I wanted to ask you. Why exactly did you go to the flood zone?"
"Because I needed to end the fight, Detective." Etsumi said. "It had been dragging on for too long, and by that point I could feel it wearing on me. I wouldn't have been able to last but so much longer."
Truth.
"And you're aware that, in doing so, the villain died?"
Etsumi's expression dropped ever so slightly. Tsukauchi felt bad about having to bring that up, and having to word it so bluntly, but his job was to make sure he had all of the answers. Bluntness was generally the best way to go about doing that.
"I am. But I don't regret it. The Noumu needed to be stopped, lest it pose a threat to the rest of my class. And I know that it likely wouldn't have stopped were it not for my actions."
Truth. All of it.
"I see." Tsukauchi said, making a note. "Don't worry, by the way. You will by no means be held accountable for that. It was in self-defense, and under extreme duress. No one whose words carry any weight will hold it against you."
"Alright then." He continued. "Getting close to the end. Now, several of your classmates mentioned that you seemed to heal from your injuries after you came out of the water. Do you have an explanation as to why? You don't have any sort of healing ability listed as part of your quirk."
Etsumi seemed to think for a moment. Then, "Have you ever heard of quirk awakenings, Detective?"
Tsukauchi's brow scrunched at the question. "I'm familiar with the concept, I believe. It's the theory that one's quirk can undergo a rapid change or 'evolution' as a result of an extremely traumatic or stressful situation, right?"
"You're spot on, Detective, though it's a bit more than just a theory, as there are a small number of cases where it's happened."
"I see. Why bring it up though?"
Etsumi sighed. "Because enhanced healing is a part of my quirk. It simply wasn't listed anywhere. I didn't feel the need to report it because it wasn't all that powerful, mostly just enhancing my base healing a bit."
Truth.
Tsukauchi's eyes widened. "And you think that it underwent an awakening during the invasion?"
"Well, I would certainly consider having an arm disintegrated a 'traumatic or stressful situation.' And I had to fight harder than I've ever fought before. The possibility exists that my body responded to all of that and pushed that part further to compensate."
Truth.
Tsukauchi nodded. The explanation was slightly outlandish—he'd never actually encountered an instance of a quirk awakening before, only really knowing about it because one the other detectives he tended to work with was well-versed in quirks and liked to discuss them with him—but his quirk didn't pick up any lies. And looking at it logically, it did make a certain amount of sense; he'd seen the aftermath of the fight after all. And he couldn't imagine the pain of having his arm turned to dust; all of the students that had been up by the doors had mentioned Etsumi's scream when it happened.
"Alright. So far everything lines up with what your classmates have said. Is there anything specific you can tell me about the lead villains?"
"The purple one was Kurogiri, and the other one was Tomura Shigaraki. I don't have any other names for them. Their quirks were some form of portal or teleportation and disintegration or decay, respectively. It seemed as though Shigaraki was the one in the lead, although Kurogiri seemed to be much more mature than him."
"Thank you. That's a good deal more than what we had before. Hopefully that'll help us in finding them."
"One last question for you, then I'll be out of your hair. At any point during the invasion, or your fight, did you see or encounter an individual with horns and wings? They would've been male, black hair, and would most likely have been wearing a kitsune mask and formal clothes."
Etsumi's head tilted in confusion. "I don't believe so? There were a few masks, and maybe one or two with horns, but no one like you described."
"Why do you ask? Should I have seen someone like that?"
"No, no." Tsukauchi answered. "Not at all. I was just making sure. There are some things in this that bear some similarities to other cases that I've worked on. Nothing to worry about."
Etsumi shrugged. "If you say so."
Tsukauchi stood, tucking his notepad back into his coat. "Thank you for your time, Etsumi. This has been a big help. I'll leave you alone now. I wish you a speedy recovery from all of this."
"You're very welcome detective." Etsumi responded with a smile on his face. "It's been a pleasure."
That final statement was the closest thing to a lie that his quirk had picked up through the entire conversation, almost registering as one before it finally decided on a truth. He didn't think much of it; he would almost be surprised if having to relive the entire invasion wasn't unpleasant.
With a final nod to both of them, Tsukauchi turned and made for the door, closing it gently behind him once he was through.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he made his way out of the infirmary. Everything that Etsumi said had checked out, but Tsukauchi wasn't entirely convinced that Oni hadn't been there. There was just too much evidence to the contrary for it all to be coincidence.
He sighed again. Maybe he could just ask the vigilante. It was a toss-up as to whether or not he'd give a straight answer, or that he he would even answer at all. But there was a chance, and this was going to bug him otherwise.
Why did Oni always have to be such a headache for him, even when it wasn't directly about him?
Izuku let out a sigh of relief as soon as Tsukauchi shut the door behind him.
The entire time he and the detective had been talking, he'd been holding his breath—not literally, of course, as he was talking—waiting for something to slip up somewhere and trigger the detective's quirk.
Luckily, Tsukauchi never asked anything too specific, and seemed to be satisfied with Izuku's, at times, broad retelling of what had happened.
That was one thing he'd noticed in the past about the detective, and that had become even more clear the more they'd spoken today; his quirk made him overconfident. It made him believe that no one could lie to him and get away with it. But by simply spouting half-truths and broad generalizations, one could get past it quite easily.
His hands twitched at how grossly misused the quirk was. If only the detective asked questions that couldn't be worked around, or that required specific answers that were definitive in their truthfulness, then he would be so much more effective.
But, all the same, he supposed that he should be grateful for the misuse, as it allowed him to get through the questioning without giving himself away.
That didn't mean he could relax, though. He had fooled Tsukauchi, and was therefore clear on the police's side of things, but that still left his classmates and teachers.
Aizawa was much smarter than Tsukauchi was, and was not nearly so easily fooled. Izuku had no idea what the man might've seen, or what he might recall from that once he was up and moving again. He needed to be ready to address any suspicion the man might have over his fight and his recovery.
Beyond all of that, though, was the thought that had been nagging at him ever since he'd come across it when he was preparing his story.
The Noumu. It had multiple quirks.
No one ever had more than one quirk naturally. That was a definitive, observable fact across the world. One could have a quirk that gave the impression of two on the outside, like Todoroki's, but it was only ever one.
Even if one stretched the imagination to its limits and considered the possibility that all of the Noumu's abilities—the strength, speed, shock nullification, and healing—were simply the result of one extraordinarily powerful enhancement quirk, similar to All Might's, there was one thing that could not be tricked by that, aside from a DNA test, and that was Izuku's quirk.
He could very clearly distinguish between them all, both when he'd taken them and right this very moment, as he sorted through them.
That left the question of how exactly it had ended up with so many.
Izuku's immediate first thought was of his own quirk, which could give quirks just as easily as it took. Unless there was some outrageous medical procedure that was somehow capable of altering a person by adding another quirk, that was the only option.
That thought sent a horrible chill down Izuku's spine. If that were the case, then that meant that there was someone else out there—most likely a villain—with another instance of Izuku's quirk.
His thoughts immediately turned to All Might, and the twisted, horrifying wound on his side. He hadn't revealed the identity of the villain responsible, but if it were someone with the same quirk, that would make up for the power difference he would expect from most confrontations between All Might and a villain.
That line of thought brought him to the question of what he was meant to do with that information. No one but him even knew that the Noumu had-had multiple quirks. And no one but him knew that there might be someone else out there with his quirk—not that anyone knew what his quirk was in the first place.
Going over that question in his head, he kept coming to the same conclusion, over and over.
He had no idea.
He had absolutely no clue what he was supposed to do about it. Or where he was even meant to start.
He was lost.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Speculation
Chapter Summary
Izuku goes out once more as Oni, now that the USJ has passed.
Chapter Notes
Eyyy. With this chapter we have surpassed 200k words. And my computer might be starting to hate me just a little because my master word document is 800 pages long.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Oni stood still as a statue; arms crossed over his chest as he stared down into an alleyway. The same one he'd been watching for the past hour now. He wore a small scowl on his face, and was ignoring the slight chill in the wind in favor of focusing on the loose feeling of 'Ghost' as it kept him hidden from view.
It had been two days since he'd woken up in Yueii's infirmary. Just long enough for him to recover fully, or at least as close as he could get before he grew too restless to sit around and wait any longer.
It wasn't just the desire to go out and patrol though, that made him so restless; it was the need to get answers. Answers that he found he desperately needed in the wake of the invasion.
Despite learning the names of the two leaders—Shigaraki and Kurogiri—he still didn't know near enough about them; not even their goal, or what their little group had chosen to name themselves. For there was no chance whatsoever that a group that was so bold as to invade the top hero school in the country didn't have a name.
He did have a decent enough guess at their goal though. What with their clear powerhouse, the Noumu, being so boldly labeled the 'Anti Symbol of Peace,' but he needed to be sure.
And though they could've come from any number of places with such a powerful teleportation quirk as their method of transportation, they were Japanese, which meant that—obviously—there was a decent chance that they were based in Japan. If that were the case, then his target tonight would know about them.
Oni was considered something of an information broker, though that label was really only given to him and passed along by the criminals he faced. Really, his 'brokering' mostly just extended to selling information to the occasional vigilante or underground hero. And his information primarily came from the people he took down.
Oni's target, on the other hand, was a true broker, and not just of information. He dealt with shadowy figures of all backgrounds and all occupations, buying and selling anything and everything from individual names to secrets that could land politicians or heroes in prison, to even drugs and specialty equipment that couldn't be found anywhere legal.
He was so deep into it that he no longer even needed physical protection to guarantee his safety. His protection came in the form of the leverage he held, and the organizations that regularly sought out his services—good, evil, or somewhere in between—that had the power to retaliate harshly against any offenders. Most wouldn't even dare to raise a fist in his direction when he had that level of power at his back.
But Oni wasn't most people.
Granted, most people wouldn't try to touch Oni either—including those same organizations—though for very different reasons. He didn't have the means to blackmail people or ruin lives by slipping the right bit of information to the right person. Nor did he have shadowy organizations at his back to scare threats away.
No. His own safety was assured by his reputation as a merciless combatant, and by the examples he'd made of those who had tried before.
Towards the beginning of his nightly work after he officially took the name 'Oni,'—not long after his eleventh birthday—and before he had really established himself and put a stranglehold around the criminals in his city, there had been one such organization that didn't take kindly to a lowly vigilante sticking his nose into their business.
They'd targeted him, actually putting a legitimate bounty on his head, that more than one shady individual and hitman took up. And for a while, he welcomed it. He enjoyed the challenge, the regular fights against opponents that had some level of skill and that were worth the air they breathed, and the quirks that he ended up with afterwards.
That is, until one of them had the brains to figure out where he went when the sun rose.
He'd been woken up in the middle of the day—as he didn't have 'Insomnia' just yet—by 'Proximity' alerting him to an intruder, and by Rei yelling for him.
By the end of the day, he and Rei had relocated to a new apartment—their old one now sufficiently ruined, what with criminals being aware of it and with blood splattered across a significant portion of it—and he had come up with a plan to avoid being followed home in the future; primarily the backwards route he took every night to get home, as well as a few contingencies in case that failed, one of which being Rei's panic button.
And by the end of that night? By the time the sun was rising once more?
By that point, everyone associated with that organization was being carted away to hospitals across the city, to be put behind bars as soon as they were healed. That was the moment that law enforcement actually started paying attention to him, concerned by the level of brutality displayed against so many in a single night.
Oni had even heard that the detective in charge of it all—not Tsukauchi just yet—lost their most recent meal when they found the organization's leader missing both of his arms.
That organization hadn't even been a particularly large or powerful one, especially when compared to ones such as The Triad, but nonetheless, after that night the message was clear: you didn't target Oni unless you were fully prepared to lose the ensuing war.
And as much as Oni was rumored to have an active knowledge on the entire criminal world of Musutafu, this person's web of knowledge extended across all of Japan, and maybe even some distance beyond.
Oni had never met him before, but was well aware of him, and knew that the man was just as aware of him in turn. Oni knew enough about him to know that this particular alleyway was one of his more heavily visited meeting spots.
In most cases it would be stupid—borderline idiotic, really—to have such a regular pattern that anyone could figure out where he was, especially when in the business of information and smuggling. But part of this person's status meant that he could do that with next to no risk. Besides, part of the reason he was so big in the underground was because he was easy to meet if you had the means and the money to do so.
Speaking of; Oni's eyes snapped to one end of the alley as his thermal vision from 'Spectrum' revealed two figures rounding a corner. They walked down the alley in relative silence, before coming to a stop almost directly beneath Oni.
He watched them for a few minutes as they whispered quietly to each other, clearly waiting on something—or someone, Oni knew—before he picked up someone coming from the opposite direction.
He walked with a strut. One that seemed to come from complete confidence that no one would ever attack them.
Oni narrowed his eyes as he watched. The strut was more than likely fabricated, a smokescreen, both to change any patterns of movement that might make him more recognizable and to make him seem that much more untouchable.
Otherwise, if he were actually that confident in his safety and the strength of his supporters, then it was confidence greatly misplaced.
He watched for several long minutes as the three individuals spoke. He didn't pay much attention to what was being said, not particularly caring in the first place. Eventually, he saw money being handed over by the two strangers, and a slip of paper being handed back by his target.
As soon as the money was pocketed, his target's hands flashed out and latched onto the duo's heads, before disappearing back into his pockets just as quickly. Then, without any sort of reaction from any of them at what had just happened, all three turned and started back the way they'd come from.
Despite never meeting him, or seeing him in person, Oni was almost certain that the man had an intelligence quirk of some sort. One that specifically affected the memories of others. He'd never had the opportunity to use 'Appraisal' on him, but there were patterns he'd observed that pointed towards that being the case. The fact that he dealt in information to begin with, and was so successful, was a large indicator on its own; the ability to affect the memories of those you dealt with would be invaluable when it came to protecting your true identity.
Disregarding the duo entirely, he trailed behind his target, walking silently across the rooftop.
As soon as he rounded the corner, definitely out of site of the others, even if they were to turn around to look, Oni watched the man's entire demeanor shift.
His strut vanished entirely, that and his slight slouch giving way to an almost ramrod-straight posture, and his hands were pulled from his pockets, straightening his jacket before pulling a pack of cigarettes from within. He slowed to a stop as he pulled one out.
A façade then. Interesting.
Oni stepped off the roof, slicing through the air in silence as he fell. He let 'Cushion' slow his momentum, before touching down a few feet to the man's side.
He let 'Ghost' slip away, and felt himself become noticeable again.
"Hello Giran." He greeted, forcing his mouth to upturn into a grin.
To the man's credit, he barely even reacted to Oni's sudden arrival. He took a long drag from his cigarette, blowing out a plume of smoke before turning to look at Oni.
"Hello Oni. What brings you all the way out here to Kamino? So far from your usual hunting grounds."
He let out a small laugh. "Funny you should ask that, Giran. You see, I very recently stumbled upon some very interesting news. About a very bold group of villains that took it upon themselves to invade Yueii itself."
"I found myself ever so intrigued, and knew that I just had to learn more. And I thought to myself, 'Who would be the best person to talk to about these newcomers? Who is the one, single person in all of Japan that would be more likely to know than anyone else?'"
Giran huffed in apparent amusement, blowing a plume of smoke right at Oni. "Well now. Normally that sort of information would set you back a few million, especially considering who you're talking about, these are some dangerous people after all, but I would be remiss if I didn't do my favorite vigilante a tiny favor just this once."
"You flatter me, Giran. Really, I'm touched. To think that someone like me would be your favorite. But I appreciate your willingness to do me such a favor."
Izuku sneered internally at the false friendliness, even as he maintained his grin. If Giran didn't hold such a precarious position, whose disappearance would throw the entirety of the Japanese underground out of balance, then Oni would've already broken him and left him for the police to clean up.
"Why of course, my friend! Now, what sort of information were you looking for?"
"I want to know what they're calling themselves, and what their goal is. You don't just break into Yueii unless you're hoping to achieve something big."
"And here I thought you were going to ask me where they are. I was almost certain you were going to try to go after them."
He paused, taking another drag from his cigarette. "They call themselves the League of Villains. Not exactly the most fearsome or creative of names, but it suits their needs. As for their goals? All I know is that they want to kill All Might. Beyond that, I haven't heard anything."
Giran was lying about the last part. Oni knew there was more to it than that, but he also wasn't going to press the issue but so much. He knew their name now, if he needed to, he could start doing his own research later.
"I don't need to know where they are just yet." He said. "And I know you wouldn't have told me anyway."
"Ah! You've seen straight through me." Giran said with a grin. "You're right though, there is a limit to my generosity, even towards my favorite vigilante."
"Now," he continued, dropping his cigarette to the ground and pressing his shoe down on it, "Was there anything else you needed? Surely that's not all you sought me out for, is it?"
"You're so right." Oni responded, finally dropping the false grin. "There was just one more thing."
His gloved hand flashed out, closing around Giran's neck in an instant and lifting him into the air. The man struggled for a few moments, gripping at Oni's arm. Oni clenched his hand just a bit tighter in warning and Giran seemed to understand, dropping his arms back down to his sides and looking at Oni expectantly as he struggled to breathe.
What a smart little weasel.
"I want you to pass on a message for me." Oni said. "Tell this 'League of Villains' that they need to watch themselves, and take care with who exactly they're involving in their fight."
"I couldn't care less what their actual goal is, and they're free to try to kill All Might as much as they want. But if they value their continued existence, they will leave the students of Yueii out of it."
"All Might is a grown man, and is the number one hero for a reason, but the students have nothing to do with that, and won't until they get their licenses."
He brought Giran a bit closer, keeping part of his focus on the man's hands in case he felt the need to try anything. "You know me, Giran. You know my reputation. But believe me when I say that you don't know the half of it. I could be so much worse if I wanted to, and so much worse besides if I really needed to."
They were face-to-face now, separated by mere inches. "Pass my message along. Tell them that if they refuse to leave Yueii and its students out of their little vendetta, I will personally see to it that they burn."
He squeezed a bit tighter, until Giran began to struggle again.
"Now, run along, Little Insect, and be a good messenger."
He tossed the man away, sending him tumbling down the alleyway. Before Giran could come to a stop, Oni had activated 'Ghost' once more and launched himself into the air. Perched back on the roof he'd dropped from, he watched the man scramble to his feet and look around for him almost frantically, reaching for the gun that was no doubt tucked away in his jacket.
After a few moments, seeing that Oni wasn't there anymore, Giran did his best to calm himself, running a hand through his hair while the other massaged his throat. He pulled out a phone as he took off at a brisk pace in the direction he'd been heading.
Oni didn't wait around long enough to listen in on the conversation; Giran would either pass along his message, or he wouldn't and Oni would have to burn someone to the ground. Either way, he'd accomplished what he intended to, which was to let this Giran know that he was watching this 'League of Villains' and was prepared to fight them if he needed to.
He was tempted to go after them anyway, if only because they were a group off villains that were dangerous enough to invade Yueii, but wasn't particularly interested in expending the effort it would take to track them down. He'd already repelled them in the USJ and stopped their plan in its tracks, and now he'd sent them a warning. Their next move would be the deciding factor. If they chose to stay in the shadows and never show their faces again, then there was less reason for him to care.
And who knows, maybe he'll have a particularly boring night at some point in the future and track them down anyway for the fun of it.
With Giran now out of sight, Oni dropped 'Ghost' once more, stretching his arms over his head and his wings out behind him as the feeling faded away. He let out a sigh as he settled back down. Now that-that matter had been addressed, it was time to have some fun.
He launched himself into the air, rising higher with each wingbeat as he put some distance between himself and that alleyway.
As he flew, he sorted through the quirks in his chest, picking out a few that had held his attention for the past two days. The ones he took from the Noumu.
He'd gotten a taste of them during the fight, but with most of his attention focused on keeping up with the beast, he didn't have the time to get more than a basic understanding of them. Granted, none of them were overly complicated. The strength and speed quirks were nearly identical to his own, with the exception of how powerful they were, and the healing quirk was fairly simple. The shock absorption was the one that he knew the least about.
That was his primary focus for the night, to understand them all a bit more.
Picking out a spot that would suit his needs, he let himself glide down towards it. He settled on a building, five stories up off the ground.
First up was the shock absorption.
From what he'd observed in the fight, he knew that it negated the effects of kinetic energy acting upon his—or whoever had it, the current user of the quirk—body. From what he could tell, all of the energy was directed straight through the body and out the other side.
So he knew the basic function of the quirk, but he hardly knew anything specific, and he didn't know its limits, just that they were fairly extensive judging from the amount of force he and the Noumu had been throwing around. He also didn't know for sure if it only affected the energy applied from an outside force—such as the Noumu's punches—or if it also affected the backlash of his actions.
Looking down at the ground below him, he pulled the quirk from his chest, feeling it settle into place.
He didn't have much doubt that the quirk would work at this height—assuming it worked this way at all—and that he could probably jump from much higher. But all the same, he had his durability quirks in place as well, and knew from experience that they would work at this height. Better to be sure than end up with broken legs.
Well, they would heal almost instantly anyway. But that wouldn't stop it from hurting.
He stepped off the edge, watching as the ground sped up to meet him and resisting the urge to spread his wings to slow himself.
When he hit the ground, he let his knees bend with the momentum, dropping to a crouch. He stayed there for a moment, waiting to see if everything was as it should be.
He stood up after a few moments, eyeing his legs as he did. He lifted one of them up, bending it at the knee and rolling his ankle experimentally. There wasn't any discomfort, so that was good. Even with his durability quirks, that fall would've hurt normally.
He narrowed his eyes down at his legs. There was something else, too. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he'd felt something at the exact moment he'd landed. It wasn't pain or discomfort, just something different.
A few short seconds later and he landed in that spot again, this time from a greater height. Just as with the first time, there wasn't any pain, but this time he focused on the new feeling.
It was almost like a tingling sensation traveling up from his feet, dissipating before it even reached his knees. It wasn't even the force one might feel when they stomp too hard or land from just a bit too high either. No, this almost felt like…
Oni's eyes widened. It almost felt like one of his energy stockpiling quirks. With those active, there was a constant, extremely faint buzzing beneath his skin. He didn't even notice it anymore, not after so long with them active, but this new sensation felt almost exactly the same, just a bit more noticeable in his legs.
"I wonder…" He muttered to himself. "Maybe my calling it 'Shock Absorption' was a bit more accurate than I originally thought."
At first, despite calling it that, he'd thought that it was really some form of shock displacement or direct nullification, but with what he was feeling, absorption might be more fitting.
"What's that?" Rei spoke up in his ear. "Are you experimenting with quirks?"
"Yes." He replied, somewhat absentmindedly. "I'm jumping off of buildings to test something."
"… I'm going to ignore that in favor of the less stressful part of what you just said. What are you trying to figure out?"
He considered his thoughts for a moment, taking off into the air to head to his next destination.
"I think that one of the new quirks, the shock absorption one, is working with the energy stockpilers to directly absorb some amount of the kinetic energy that it cancels out."
"So taking hits can basically recharge you now?"
"I believe so, yes. Though most likely not to any useful degree. I didn't notice it at all during the fight at the USJ, and those hits were carrying a significant amount of energy behind them. I only noticed it tonight because I was specifically focusing on the quirk alone."
"Still though, it's something else to recharge you."
He nodded, enjoying the wind blowing across him as he glided through the air.
"Very true. However small, it is still helpful. And besides, that isn't even the quirk's primary function, it's greatest benefit. It's the fact that it can withstand forces seemingly at the level of All Might himself. And from what I've gathered in the few minutes I've been testing it, it doesn't just work when I take hits, but also when I do something that would result in backlash, like when I hit something or land on the ground."
"What the actual fuck." She exclaimed. "You and these quirks that make you ridiculously strong. You were already smarter and stronger than everyone else, but now basically no one can hurt you. Not to mention the new healing quirk. It's bullshit, honestly."
He grinned, he could hear the smile in her voice.
"Hey. It's not my fault that there are so many criminals that are practically begging to have their quirk taken. Most of them have no clue how to use their quirk properly. I'm almost doing them a favor. Besides, it's also not my fault that those villains basically giftwrapped these quirks for me."
"Yeah, yeah. You with your excuses. Go terrorize some helpless criminal or something."
"I think I will, but later, for now I'm going to go jump off a skyscraper."
"Oh God dammit. You're going to give me an aneurysm with this shit. You know what? Do whatever. I'm going to go get a snack. I'll be back in a minute, don't get yourself killed in the meantime."
Oni's smile widened, pretending not to hear the barely concealed laugh on the other side. "Sure thing. I'll do my best, but I promise nothing."
Oni's smile was still in place—if anything it had only gotten wider—as he observed the cracks in the ground around him. His hands were held out in front of him, and his body felt like it was thrumming with energy, though whether it was from the fresh energy that had just rushed through him, or from the excitement of having just jumped off of the tallest building in Kamino and landing completely unharmed at the bottom was a mystery.
"Oh I feel like I'm going to have such fun with this." He said, clenching his fists.
"Now, time for the next piece."
Leaving 'Shock Absorption'—he'd decided that-that name was fitting enough for the quirk—where it was, he pulled on his new strength and speed quirks, the ones from the Noumu. He pulled them into place all at once, and waited for the subsequent drain to hit him.
A small laugh bubbled up from his throat as he felt it, and it was much less intense than he was expecting.
One of the most tiring things about his quirk, aside from some of the more strenuous drawbacks from the quirks that he had tucked away, was when he activated too many quirks at once. Something about his body changing to accommodate the quirks just chewed through his stamina, like he'd run across the city and back at a dead sprint.
But something that he'd noticed though, was that-that aspect of him could be trained and developed just as anything else could. He could already activate and deactivate quirks nearly instantly, and could take them from others just as fast, but when it came to pulling on more than one at a time, he always played it safe, never wanting to strain himself more than necessary.
With the very notable exception of the USJ invasion.
Before that day, the only occasion in recent memory that he'd pushed at his limit like that was during the Trigger dealer incident over a year ago, and even then it hadn't even come close to the USJ. There he'd gone past his limit and then kept going. He'd had to, in order to survive.
Though as much as it had exhausted him then, forcing him to sleep for three whole days, he could feel that his limits had increased. The fact that he'd just pulled on eight quirks at once—quirks that weren't exactly insignificant—and barely felt it was a testament to that fact.
Humming to himself, he sorted through locations for The Triad that he'd memorized.
He was still in Kamino, so why not have some fun while he's testing things out?
Picking out a suitable target on the other side of the city, he flexed his hands, dropping into a crouch.
"Let's have some fun."
"You going after The Triad tonight?" Rei questioned. "Do you want me to let Shadow know?"
"That's up to you." He replied. "You can invite him if you want, but something tells me that if I make enough noise, he'll show up anyway."
"Alright then, I'll call him if you decide you want his help. Have fun."
"I intend to."
The pavement beneath him cracked further as he launched himself.
He laughed out loud as he ran, even as he almost crashed into a building with how much the speed surprised him. It was faster than what his older speed quirks allowed, and there were more of those. The thought that so few simple little quirks had essentially doubled his physical capabilities sent thrills through him.
It wasn't even a full minute since he'd started running that he arrived at the location he'd picked out. That realization sent another small thrill through him; he'd just run nearly six kilometers in about fifty seconds.
He hummed to himself as he moved closer to the building, barely containing his excitement as he walked. As he did, he removed his gloves, tucking them away into a pocket before rolling his sleeves up to his elbows.
This particular location, which from the outside held the appearance of an innocuous three-story office building, housed reclamation teams. These were criminals that were tasked with retrieving or eliminating anyone who escaped The Triad's grip. Not only that, but these were also the people that would be sent to punish anyone who betrayed the organization, or to set people in line. They were the criminal organization equivalent of police, only generally much more dangerous and usually leaving bodies behind them.
His expression turned bit darker. This meant that just about everyone inside would be more dangerous than the usual. They were all specifically tasked with fighting.
This one, along with a few others, had been put towards the top of his list of priorities as soon as he'd found out about them. It wouldn't do much good to free victims if people like this were allowed to run around.
His ungloved fists clenched as he pulled on his claw quirk, feeling the sensation of scales forming down his arms.
He sighed, feeling his heart start to increase its tempo in anticipation.
"Oh I do hope you'll be as interesting as I expect."
With that, he launched himself through the air, aiming for one of the windows on the top floor.
He crashed through the glass, feeling the shards slice into his skin and then feeling his new healing quirk pull it back together an instant later. Rolling as he hit the floor, he jumped up to take a look at the room around him.
It was set up as one might expect, a cubicle farm shrouded in darkness at the late hour. A quick glance around him revealed nothing, and 'Proximity' wasn't showing anything either.
Not exactly surprising, given that it was the middle of the night and they probably left most of the building for whatever their cover was, but slightly disappointing nonetheless that he wasn't fighting anyone yet.
He sped around the floor, searching for any sign of the criminals, but found nothing. The floor below it was just as empty.
"Hm." He hummed as he got to the stairs that would lead down to the ground floor. "Oh Phantom. I do believe that there is more to this place underground. Would you mind finding the way down?"
She got to work just as he reached the ground floor. On a whim, before he set about searching, he activated 'Ghost' to hide himself. And as he went through, he found one, single person sitting at the front desk. A middle-aged man.
Oni watched him for a few moments as Rei worked, standing in front of the desk just feet from him. The man was most likely a criminal. Even if the cover business was entirely legal, and hired regular people, it was the middle of the night. There wouldn't be much reason for this to be the only employee present.
He was broken from his thoughts by a phone ringing on the desk. The man barely hesitated in picking it up. Oni couldn't hear what was said on the other side, but he got the information he needed from the man's side of the conversation.
"What do you want?" … "With the red hair?" … "Yeah that's him. He's the one." … "Yeah just bring him back here. Boss wants this one alive."
Oni snorted. Well, at least that sorted that out. He wrapped a hand around the back of the man's head as soon as the phone was hung up. The man was oblivious to the contact. With a quick jerk, Oni slammed his head into the desk, where he stayed, unconscious.
"Alright." Rei spoke up. "Give me a minute, I'm almost there."
He stared down at the unconscious man for a few moments, before curiosity got the better of him. Straining his eyes, he activated 'Appraisal.'
Name: Hoshiko Minami
Quirk: Hotbar
Emitter-Type that allows the user to 'store' up to ten items to be used later at their discretion.
"Oh~? How interesting."
He reached a hand back out towards the man—Hoshiko—pulling his claw quirk back as he did. Scooping the hand underneath Hoshiko's head, he lifted it up, his hand wrapped around the man's forehead.
"What fun this night is turning out to be."
Oni pulled the quirk into himself as quickly and painlessly as possible, not wanting to bother with punishing Hoshiko when there was still so much fun yet to be had.
Pulling the new addition up from his chest, he felt it settle around his hands. As he went to activate it, he could distinctly feel—almost inside himself?—ten different segments to the quirk. They were almost like pockets? It was odd; the feeling was definitely coming from inside his body, but it felt distinctly separate from him. Along with that, he somehow found himself able to distinguish that all but one of the segments were full.
Picking one out, he activated the quirk.
In the blink of an eye, he felt a weight in his hand. Looking down at it, he saw a keychain in his hand, complete with a set of keys.
"Interesting." He muttered, before activating the quirk again to reverse the effect, watching as the keys vanished instantly, without a trace or anything suggesting that they had been there at all.
Picking out another segment, he repeated the process and found a handgun settling into his grip.
"Huh. Always useful I suppose."
"Alright I got it." Rei spoke up again. "Northeast corner. There's a staircase hidden in a supply closet. It'll take you down past the normal basement layer and into the main area."
He stared down at his hands for another few seconds, storing the gun away and wondering what might be in the other slots. Now that he'd picked out and activated two of the slots already, he found that he could distinguish between them all. He could specifically pick out the two he'd already checked.
A moment later he lowered them, setting off towards the area Rei had pointed out and dropping 'Ghost' as he did.
His grin returned as he walked.
"Interesting indeed."
Oni took a deep breath as he reached the door at the bottom of the flight of stairs. This time, he could feel all of the people on the other side, spread out and doing whatever.
Taking a step, he kicked the door off its hinges, sending it clattering into the room.
The room was absolutely silent as he stepped into it, the stunned faces of the criminals scattered throughout it all turned towards him. He stopped a few steps in, forcing a confused expression onto his face as he looked around at them.
"Oh. Do I have the wrong place?" He asked. "I was told this was where the party was? And that there would be snacks?"
That seemed to break them out of their shock. His lips began to upturn once more as the shouting started up, the first few already charging at him.
"Alright fine. No party then." He said as he ducked around a fist, kicking its owner across the room. "But I want you to know that I fully intend to empty out your fridge as payment. I want the food I was promised."
His smile widened as more began to flood the room from elsewhere, adding to the chaos. This would absolutely be a party.
A laugh bubbled up from his throat as he charged in to meet them.
Oni stepped back as the criminal slid down the wall they'd just been slammed against, turning to look at the room. His eyes fell on the last one standing.
He licked at his lips; their fear was almost palpable.
Nonetheless, the criminal stepped towards him, raising a hand that transformed before his eyes. Within the span of a second, their entire arm below the elbow held the appearance of metal, and instead of a hand, their arm ended in a sharp spike.
Looking at it, and using 'Appraisal' to confirm that-that was all there was to it, Oni got an idea. There was something he wanted to test.
"You are exactly what I need right now." Oni said as he took a step forward. "Just what I've been looking for."
The criminal ignored him, charging straight at him despite having just watched what Oni did to their comrades. Oni didn't falter, continuing to walk towards them, even as they pulled their arm back to strike, right at the center of his chest as far as he could tell.
He watched as it sped towards him, slicing through the air. Right at the last second, Oni jerked his body to the side, and watched as the spike sunk into his chest, several inches off-target.
He ignored the urge to recoil away from it or to strike the criminal, even as he felt the spike grind against his collarbone.
"Izuku, what the fuck!?" He heard Rei exclaim in his ear. "What are you doing!?"
Oni also ignored the smug expression that had quickly replaced the criminals fear, choosing instead to observe the injury. He could see the smallest amount of blood attempting to leak out past the spike, and the skin around it seemed to be twitching, likely a result of the healing quirk attempting to close the wound.
"Ha! Is this all it took to take care of you!?" The criminal shouted. "And here I thought that you were strong!"
The criminal jerked his arm as he spoke, and that time Oni did wince as he felt something tear.
Grimacing, he grabbed onto the spike with a scaled hand, holding it still.
The criminal let out another laugh as he did. "Still trying to fight? After taking a hit like that?"
"Oh shut the fuck up you utter waste of space." Oni snapped. "I don't know if you were paying attention or not, but you're currently surrounded by your unconscious friends, all in various states of injury."
He pulled his free arm back, tightening his grip around the spike as he did.
The criminal tried to pull away, to take his arm back, only for it to not budge from Oni's hand.
"Wha-?" They tried to ask, before Oni cut them off.
He brought his arm forwards, striking his palm against the metal.
The weak material—some form of aluminum as far as he could tell—gave immediately under the force, shearing away with an awful screeching noise.
The noise was replaced by screaming as the criminal fell away, clutching at the mangled, bloody remains of their arm.
Oni took a swift step forwards and kicked them, sending them flying into the wall and silencing the screams.
"Dumbass." Oni muttered as he looked back down at the injury. With the criminal's weight no longer behind it, and with the weapon having a tapered structure, it was slowly being forced out of his body. The healing quirk was evidently strong enough to do that.
That was the whole point of letting himself get injured. He wanted the chance to see how it handled a relatively severe injury when he wasn't otherwise distracted or in a chaos-induced haze.
He was about to pull the spike out so that he could see the wound close up close, when he heard another voice sound out.
"Oni!"
"Hm?" He looked over at the door he'd come through, only to see a mass of shadows fading away across the floor. An instant later, Shadow was emerging from the ground directly in front of him.
"Oh. Hello Shadow." Oni greeted. "How's your evening going? Well, I hope?"
"Oni be quiet and let me take a look at that!" The other vigilante exclaimed, crouching slightly to get a better view. "It doesn't look like it punctured your lung, otherwise you'd already be coughing up blood, but it could still be dangerously close."
Oni smiled at the vigilante's fretting. Who knew that Shadow cared that much?
"Shadow." He said. "As touching as it is to know that you care so much about me, you need to calm down."
It really was touching to know that. Not like the fake kind of touched he'd displayed with Giran earlier in the night. It felt nice to know that he mattered enough to Shadow to warrant this sort of reaction.
"Oni you have a giant metal spike in your chest. You should not be this calm right now. I'm not even sure how you're still standing, this kind of injury should've had you on the ground."
"What, this little thing?" Oni asked, gesturing at the spike with his free hand, the other still gripped around it. "Give me a break. This hardly even qualifies as an injury."
Before Shadow could do anything to stop him, Oni pulled the spike from his chest in one swift movement. It sent a few drops of blood flying with it; considerably less than what would be expected from that sort of injury. Maybe the healing quirk did something to speed up coagulation of the blood?
He wiped the bloody spike on his shirt, cleaning it as Shadow continued to fret over him. Best not to leave too much of his DNA lying around.
"Shadow please. It's fine." He reassured. "Look, there isn't even a scratch there anymore.
Oni poked a finger at where the spike had been—and where there was still a hole in his shirt and his vest—showing that the flesh there was good as new.
"See? I'm fine."
Shadow took a step back. "What the hell? Since when can you heal like that, Oni? I didn't know you could do that."
"Since don't worry about it. Just know that pretty much any injury I get will heal exactly the same."
As he spoke, he knelt to the ground, handkerchief in hand, to wipe away the blood that had dropped to the floor.
The other vigilante let out huff. "Alright I guess. But shit, Oni. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Aren't you like, thirty?" Oni asked, standing back up and directing his attention to the spike in his hands, turning it over to look at it. "You're too young to be having a heart attack. You should think about taking better care of yourself."
"Really rich coming from the guy who was jumping off of buildings earlier tonight, and who just let himself get stabbed." Rei chimed in, a bit more bite to her voice than normal.
"You're the whole reason I'm going to have a heart attack, Oni." Shadow responded. "Somehow none of my normal vigilante work is as stressful as when I work with you. And I have no idea why."
"That's because you're smarter about it than I am." Oni said. "When I go out, I focus entirely on using direct, overwhelming force to get the job done, because that is what's best suited for my quirk. Your quirk is better suited for you to work from the shadows. Pun fully intended."
Oni pointed at the man with the spike. "I'm reckless like this because I can afford to be."
"Now, there's still stuff to do here. So if you intend to stay, and don't mind helping out, you could go around and make sure no one is too seriously injured and in need of medical attention."
Shadow huffed in mock annoyance, but complied all the same. "Alright, fine. I'll stay to help. If only to try to make sure you don't get yourself hurt again."
Oni hummed in acknowledgement as he continued to study the spike in his hands. It was odd.
For starters, it didn't transform back when it was separated from the criminal. With a lot of transformation types, when a limb that was changed separated from the body, it would change back immediately.
How he knew that was unimportant.
But then, there were two main types of transformation quirks in his experience. Those that required constant focus to maintain, such as his metal claw quirk, or 'Metallum,' and those that could be 'toggled.' Activated once to initiate the transformation, and then held until it was deactivated again, such as the claw quirk that currently suffused his hands.
Looking at the end of the spike that had been attached to the criminal's arm, he could see that all of flesh and muscle had been changed into metal, leaving only the bones in the center unaffected.
"What a weak quirk." He muttered to himself.
He wasn't usually one to belittle other quirks, usually able to find the smallest bit of value in it and expand it from there. But while this one was good enough in concept—transforming one's arm into a sharp spike was fairly simplistic but held decent combat potential if properly groomed—it was made so much weaker by the type of metal it was changed into. If it were steel or a steel alloy or, even better, titanium or something even more durable, then it would be so much better. But no, it was aluminum. Just pure aluminum as far as he could tell. It wasn't even structured in a way that would make it more durable.
It was no wonder that it sheered so easily when he hit it.
He sighed, storing the spike away with the new quirk. 'Sub-par tier quirk at best.'
Oni froze. Tiers. That thought sparked something inside him, which he latched onto.
"Ah. I just had the best idea for classifying quirks."
How had he never considered ranking quirks on a scale before? For that matter, how had he never though to attempt to classify beyond the basic emitter-transformation-mutation types?
"What the fuck." He whispered. "I'm going to have so much work to do when I get home."
He would have to go through all the quirks he's analyzed in the past, sort through every single one to get this figured out.
'I could rank them based on a number of qualities.' He thought to himself. 'Combat effectiveness, maneuverability, general usability and function. And I could classify them in so many ways. Not just in their function either, but in their actual activation conditions as well.'
Shit. Now he was getting excited for a whole other reason. He couldn't wait to explore the concept as soon as he was done here.
He shook his head, refocusing as he noticed Shadow heading back towards him.
"There's still two more levels below us." Oni said. "Shall we go have some fun?"
"Sure. Fun." Came the bland reply as they already started heading for the stairs.
"Oh don't be like that Shadow." He said, raising a fist in the vigilante's direction. "Don't act like you don't enjoy taking criminals down at least a little bit."
Shadow shook his head, sighing as he brought a hand up to rub at his forehead, even as his other tightened into a fist and raised to bump Oni's.
"You know." Shadow said as the two of them stepped through the door to the stairs. "I don't think I'll ever enjoy fighting, at least not as much as you do, though I doubt anyone could enjoy it more than you. But I will at least admit that it is at least more enjoyable to fight when you have someone watching your back."
Oni let out a laugh that echoed in the stairwell. "Well said. I couldn't agree more."
They reached the next level down a few moments later, and stopped in front of the door.
Oni let a smile creep onto his face. "Shall we?"
A rare grin appeared on Shadow's face as he responded. "I suppose so."
A moment later the door was sent flying as Oni kicked it, just as he had the one before.
"Then let's have some fun!"
Izuku leaned back a bit from his computer, hands on his head.
He'd returned relatively early from his outing, and had spent the last hour-or-so working on his quirk classification and ranking idea, now freshly showered and having already apologized to Rei for his particularly dangerous antics tonight. For despite her joking words through most of it and the confidence in his abilities that she always had, it still wasn't exactly pleasant for her to see him pull stuff like that, especially after he'd been injured at the USJ.
He sighed. The USJ has been on his mind a lot in the past two days. Particularly the Noumu. He couldn't stop returning to the fact that the beast had multiple quirks stuffed into it.
Even after mulling the possibilities over in his head for two straight days, he kept coming back to one in particular, every single time. It was the only path forward that he could see.
He needed to have a discussion with All Might.
If Izuku was correct, and the reason that the Noumu had all of those quirks was because there was someone else out there with his quirk, and that same person was the one who injured All Might, then the man needed to know. Someone like that was an immense danger to everyone.
Izuku himself could level buildings with next to no effort, and if he really went for it, he could likely erase a sizeable piece of Musutafu from the map before he met any significant resistance. And even then, he now had the quirks to match All Might in a fight.
If there was a villain out there with his quirk, they could very well be even stronger than that. And Izuku had only been taking quirks for just under fifteen years. Who knew how long this villain could've been taking quirks.
That wasn't all though.
Izuku didn't fully believe for a second that the League of Villains would actually heed his warning. There was a chance, obviously—Oni's name and reputation carried a serious amount of weight behind it—but someone that was bold enough to invade Yueii and attack All Might likely wouldn't be stopped by his warning alone, especially if that villain with his quirk was the one standing behind them.
There was a significant possibility that they would attack again. And given their failure on their first attempt, they would most likely prepare themselves to hit harder next time. Depending on what they did, Izuku might not be enough to deal with it alone, at least not without giving away his identity as Oni.
The rest of his class would have to be ready too. They would need to be prepared whether or not Izuku was enough.
Izuku sighed again as he considered what he was about to do, before steeling himself and leaning back towards his computer.
He opened the messaging service that he used on a regular basis, and typed up his message.
4:15 [Deku]-
-'Apologies for the odd hour. But I have an important question for you.'
The response was nearly instantaneous, not entirely surprising considering who it was.
4:16 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'No problem at all! Though I do admit I am rather curious as to what would have you contacting me at such a time.'
-'Ask away.'
4:16 [Deku]-
-'You've offered me a job a few times before. To work as Yueii's in-house trainer/analyst.'
4:16 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Indeed I have. Why do you bring it up? You were rather adamant with your refusals before.'
4:17 [Deku]-
-'Is the offer still valid?'
4:17 [MysteryBoxMammal]-
-'Oh. Well this is interesting indeed.'
Chapter End Notes
Credit for the 'Hotbar' quirk, as well as the quirk classification/ranking system when I actually start using it, goes 100% to my friend/co conspirator NotMasonPines.
I hope you enjoyed!
Revelations
Chapter Summary
Izuku has some very important discussions.
Chapter Notes
Hello everyone! Just to let you know, I now have a Discord. Feel free to stop by and take a look around!
Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Well done, students!" All Might bellowed, his voice echoing across the training field. "I am very impressed by your performance today! Now head off to the locker rooms to clean up and get changed!"
Izuku watched as the rest of Class 1-A trudged off the field in the direction of the main building, all of them exhausted and most sporting a fair number of bruises, but with satisfied smiles on their faces. Today was their first day back after the USJ, and it had been a sparring day, supervised by Aizawa—both arms sitting in slings and unable to do anything aside from giving advice—in addition to All Might. They had all been set against their other classmates to fight without quirks, rotating around every few minutes.
Some of them had questioned why they were training so soon after the incident, but Izuku saw the logic in it.
Right now, one of the best things that Yueii could do for them was to carry on as per usual, maintain a sense of normalcy for them to rely on. Starting off with relatively intense training would not only serve as a distraction, but could also begin working to assuage certain fears that they needed to be stronger.
This wasn't to say that Yueii was ignoring the incident altogether though. No, it had been made very clear to all of them that they were free to talk to any of the teachers at any time, or visit Yueii's in-house therapist; because no hero school that was worth anything didn't have some form of mental care on standby when they were essentially training soldiers.
In fact, already today almost every one of Izuku's teachers had specifically spoken to him after their class had ended to let him know that he could schedule a visit. Present Mic in particular seemed especially concerned that Izuku seek out help.
No doubt it was a result of his—admittedly somewhat embarrassing—loss of control that day, that most, if not all, of the teachers had gotten a full view of.
Their concern almost made Izuku feel bad for steadfastly refusing to visit Yueii's therapist, or any mental health specialist for that matter. Almost.
Izuku knew that he had his fair share of trauma hanging over his head, one thing after another piling up throughout his life, and there was no doubt in his mind that a great deal of it had left lasting effects. But for the most part, he was content with where he was. He was happy with his living situation, and with his status in life. He had his sister, Rei, and Ochako, who was close enough to a sister by this point. His work as Deku left him fulfilled intellectually, and his work as Oni physically. He got satisfaction from suppressing the crime in his city, and more often than not, each confrontation left him stronger than he was before.
So no, he had no intention of speaking to anyone to upend that peace. Not to mention the fact that to get anything done, he'd have to reveal much about himself that was best left hidden.
Now, normally these sparring days were interesting enough for Izuku, as he was content to watch how his classmates fought and make internal notes on how they could all be improved, even if he himself was limited to dodging and blocking his partner's attacks until it was time to subdue them. However, today he was far too distracted to even get much enjoyment out of that. He was too stuck in his own head to spare them much attention.
Now that everyone else was headed off the field, Izuku made his way over to where All Might and Aizawa were talking. Aizawa noticed him first, which pulled All Might's attention right after.
"Did you need something, Young Etsumi?" All Might asked, flashing a blinding smile.
Izuku wished that smile could cheer him up as it usually would.
"I do." He replied, not returning the smile. "I was hoping that I could speak with you in private after school?"
If All Might noticed his slightly subdued mood, he didn't show it.
"Of course! Shall we meet in the teacher's lounge?"
Izuku nodded. "That will work. Thank you."
Looking over at Aizawa, Izuku gave the man a slight nod, before turning to follow after his classmates.
Step one down. Too bad it was the easiest part of what he needed to do.
Izuku gripped his gloves between his hands as he waited for All Might to arrive, twisting the garments together with his anxiety.
It was a new feeling for him, this anxiety. Or at the very least, it was an old feeling, freshly dusted off and brought up to the surface. Either way, it wasn't something he was used to. He wasn't used to not being sure of himself.
He didn't like it.
For so long he'd gotten used to being completely certain of his actions. It was a very rare occurrence that he did something without being entirely confident in his decision.
But this…
This decision was one that he still wasn't sure of, despite mulling it over almost constantly since it had first come up. Despite how much he knew that it was necessary.
No matter from what direction he looked at it, he needed to have this conversation with All Might.
Even sorting through his quirks, trailing metaphorical hands through the fire in his chest, did nothing to calm his nerves as it normally would. It couldn't, not when they themselves were part of the issue.
A few short minutes later, that felt much too long to Izuku, All Might finally entered the teacher's lounge. He'd shrunk back down to his non-powered, skinny form, and had changed into properly fitting clothes.
The man's eyes locked onto Izuku immediately, and once again a blinding smile lit his features up,
"Ah, Young Etsumi!" He called, making his way over towards Izuku. "You had something you wished to discuss?"
"I did indeed." Izuku responded, nodding. "But first, follow me. This conversation requires a bit more privacy."
He turned without waiting for a response, heading for the conference room that was attached to the lounge. He'd looked into it, and the room was apparently entirely sound-proofed; a minor, but admittedly important security feature for such an important establishment.
Izuku had also asked Rei to ensure that the cameras within were turned off for the entirety of the conversation. She hadn't been happy about his decision to talk to All Might when he'd told her, but she saw the logic. She knew that this was the only option. The only thing she could do was stand behind him and support him as best she could, as she always had.
They entered the room, Yagi closing the door behind him. Izuku tried to ignore the way his hearts were beginning to pound a bit harder, his anxiety ramping up as he marched towards the inevitable.
"I take it this is about One For All?" Yagi questioned. "It's not strictly necessary for us to take such measures to discuss it here at Yueii. Though I do appreciate your devotion to maintaining its secrecy."
"Not quite." Izuku said, looking down at his hands, which were beginning to work at his gloves again.
He took a deep breath, before looking Yagi straight in the eye. No sense in delaying.
"The villain you fought all those years ago." He said. "The one that gave you your injury. I need you to tell me their name."
Yagi's smile evaporated instantly, and Izuku felt his chest clench ever so slightly at killing the man's good mood so harshly.
"Y-Young Etsumi." He stuttered out. "Why do you need to know such a thing? I-. I can appreciate an interest in history, but that man is-. He is no more. There is nothing to-."
"Yagi please." Izuku cut in, interrupting the man's rapidly spiraling dialogue. "Trust me. I need to know. It's important."
Yagi stared at him for a moment, before taking a breath. One that shuddered ever so slightly right at the end.
"All For One." He said, voice so somber it was as if he were announcing someone's death. "His name was All For One."
If there had been any doubt in Izuku's mind that there existed a villain somewhere in Japan that had the same quirk as him, it vanished with that statement.
With what he knew of Yagi's quirk, One For All, and what he'd suspected of the villain, the parallel was painfully obvious, and the connections between the two were almost laughably easy to draw.
One For All, and All For One.
One quirk to give power. To be passed along, handed down from user to user, giving all of itself to the next.
And the other to take and to steal. To hoard power for itself. To rip the very soul from someone and keep it for itself.
One good, and one evil.
It would make sense for one of the greatest quirks in existence to be in the possession of one of the purest people in the world. Just as it made sense for the most corrupt, vile quirk to be in the hands of the one who would oppose him.
"His quirk let him take and give quirks, didn't it?" Izuku asked, not noticing the rough quality to his voice.
"How-?" Yagi asked, clearing his throat. "How did you know that? Everything about that man is supposed to be classified."
"Because he isn't dead."
The silence in the room was almost painful as Izuku dropped that bomb on the poor man.
"He is still alive." Izuku continued. "I know that because the Noumu, the monster I fought in the USJ, had multiple quirks. Strength and speed, as well as an extremely powerful healing quirk and a shock-absorber. Based on that, and what the leader said, it was created specifically to fight you."
"How- ah." Yagi tried to ask, before swallowing past the apparent lump in his throat. "How do you know all of that? How do you know what quirks it had?"
Right. There it was. The question that Izuku had been dreading.
His heart thundered away in anticipation as he rolled up his sleeves. He didn't like it. This wasn't the sort of anticipation that preceded a fight, foretelling the sort of excitement he could only get from a conflict that put his life on the line. No, this was the sort of anticipation that came from knowing that he was at the point of no return, the dread of knowing that he could no longer go back, that his secret was about to exist beyond the confines of his mind.
He held up an arm, taking a deep breath and attempting to steel his nerves, before pulling on the quirks that he'd picked out specifically for this eventuality.
Immediately, thick brown fur sprouted from the skin of his arm, starting above the elbow, where his rolled-up shirtsleeve still covered, and making its way up his arm. As it did, the bones within groaned and audibly broke as the quirk reformed them, making them longer, and the muscles of his forearm twitched and squirmed beneath the skin, bulging as they grew and thickened, before being covered up an instant later by fur.
As the transformation reached his hand, he felt the bones break and shift as his forearm just had, growing longer, even as his nails and grew into claws and the skin on the palm of his hand became tougher and noticeably thicker.
Izuku watched Yagi as the transformation finished, revealing forearms that were almost twice as long as they were meant to be, covered in sleek brown fur, and hands and claws that could tear through flesh with next to no effort. They looked as though they belonged to a monster, which was fitting, given who they were attached to and the fact that Izuku had named the quirk 'Monster Arms.'
Yagi's eyes were wide, almost comically so, and his mouth was hanging open, but Izuku wasn't finished just yet.
Pulling on another quirk had small flames dancing on the tips of his fingers, and another after that had small arcs of electricity sparking around his hand. A final quirk and the brown of his fur faded to white, then to black, before settling on the same green as his hair.
He held his breath as he finished his demonstration, as he continued to watch Yagi. Where his hearts had been pounding in his chest just moments ago, now, as he waited for Yagi's reaction, it felt like they had gone still.
He trusted Yagi, really he did, but the secret of his quirk was one that he had never revealed to anyone before. The only two other people that knew were his mother—wherever she was—and Rei. And both had found out by accident. Yagi was the first person that he'd made a conscious decision to tell.
Izuku desperately hoped that his trust wasn't misplaced.
"I call it 'Soul Thief.'" Izuku said, breaking the silence as he looked down at his hands, sparking and smoking just a bit where the flames caught stray hairs that weren't lucky enough to be affected by the fire-immunity that protected his fingertips. "It lets me take quirks, use them, and give them away as I see fit."
'Soul Thief.' Rather morbid, and not technically the most accurate name, based on its functions, but it was what the quirk deserved. He originally thought of it for how the quirks felt within himself and others—small sources of heat, like a handful of flames sitting in his chest, larger or smaller depending on the strength of the quirk—and for the pain that others were subjected to, as if their very soul was being ripped from them.
It was a fitting name for such an evil quirk.
He dropped 'Ignite' and 'Taser,' the fire and electricity quirk respectively, leaving just his fur-covered arms.
"That's how I know that the Noumu had multiple quirks, and what they were specifically. Because I could feel them when I fought it, and because now I have them."
He looked back up at Yagi, dropping his hand down to his side, and saw that the man had closed his mouth. His face looked a bit green, and Izuku saw the slightest amount of fear in his eyes.
His heart dropped a bit at that. It hurt to see his friend afraid of him, of his quirk. Though at the same time, he couldn't blame the man. Yagi was coming to the realization that the person he'd revealed the secret of One For All to, the one he'd been consulting with on a regular basis regarding potential successors, held the same quirk as the single worst villain in history. His fear was understandable.
That didn't make it hurt any less though.
"Please believe me, Yagi, when I say that I have no connection whatsoever with that villain. I didn't know that he even existed before our conversation here, and I had no idea that there was another instance of my quirk until after the USJ."
He clenched his fists, probably too hard as he immediately found his new claws puncturing the skin of his palms. He felt his fur become wet with the blood that dripped from the wounds. Forcing himself to unclench them, he felt the skin twitch and knit itself back together an instant later.
"What I want more than anything is, and always has been, to become a hero." He said, eyes trailing to the floor.
Izuku needed Yagi to believe him. He may be a monster, a piece of shit that generally did more harm than good, and had a quirk that crippled people for life, but he wasn't a villain. He wanted to help. He wanted to do what he could to make sure that as few people as possible went through what he and Rei did. He wasn't-.
"I believe you." Yagi said, pulling Izuku from his quickly spiraling thoughts.
"You- What?" Izuku's eyes snapped back up to Yagi, inspecting the man's face.
"I believe you, Etsumi." Yagi repeated. "I don't think that you have any connection to that monster. And I believe you when you say that you want to become a hero."
Izuku let out a small sigh at the man's words. It wasn't much, but it helped soothe his nerves a bit. It was a start.
"Do you-. Is it alright if I ask some questions about your quirk?" Yagi asked.
"I can't say that I want to," Izuku replied, "but if it would make you feel better, then I'm willing to."
Yagi nodded, before grabbing one of the chairs that sat around the conference table, pulling it towards himself and all but collapsing into it with a huff. He looked down at the floor for several long seconds, seeming to collect his thoughts. Izuku took the opportunity to drop 'Monster Arms,' letting his arms return to normal
"You said that you have the Noumu's quirks?" He asked, looking back up at Izuku.
Izuku nodded. "Yes. Four separate strength enhancers, another four speed enhancers, one that displaced and absorbed kinetic energy, and an immensely powerful regeneration quirk."
Izuku pulled the handkerchief from his bag, wiping away the blood that remained on his hands.
"It's was almost perfectly designed to fight you." He said. "It had the strength and speed to match you, and the quirks to negate your attacks. I just barely held up against it, even after I started taking its quirks mid-fight."
"I don't doubt it." Yagi responded quietly. "That sounds like something he would do."
He paused then, for a moment. Likely to consider his next question.
"How- uh. How many quirks do you have?"
"Too many." Izuku said. Then, with a sigh, "Currently, I have one-hundred-twenty-six quirks."
Yagi broke into a coughing fit, hand going up to his mouth just quick enough to catch the blood that came up.
"T- That many?" He asked as soon as he'd recovered enough to do so. "How?"
Izuku grimaced. "I'd prefer it if you didn't ask that. My past is my own, and it'll stay that way for as long as I can manage. All I'll tell you is that my childhood was not the most pleasant. There were many times that I had to fight to survive, and what better way to do so than to take away your opponent's weapon?"
He had no intention of telling Yagi about his struggle to survive growing up, and he had even less intention of revealing his identity as Oni. There was a limit to how far he was willing to bare his identity at one time.
"I see…" Yagi muttered. "And if that's your quirk, then your tail…?"
"Correct. My tail is another quirk."
"Is there a reason why you've chosen to have it in place of legs?"
"There is, and its something that will remain a secret along with the specifics of my childhood. This tail is as much a part of me as my arms, or any other part of me, and by this point I've had it active more than my legs."
"I know you've met my sister." He continued. "So I know you probably want to know the story behind that, since the two quirks are obviously related, but that'll stay secret too. Though, just in case you were curious: yes, I do see her as my sister, as if we were actually related by birth."
Yagi nodded, once again turning to look down at the floor, leaving the room silent again.
"I won't ask you where you got the quirks you have, or how recently you acquired some of them." Yagi finally said after a minute. "But can you at least tell me that none of them came from innocent people? That you didn't use it to harm others purposefully?"
"I can." Izuku responded immediately. "There has been exactly one instance where I've used my quirk on someone who didn't necessarily deserve it, and that was a special circumstance, as their quirk was actively decreasing their quality of life."
It was a lie, but not by much. There was one other person. The very first time he'd used his quirk.
His mother might be a criminal in the eyes of the law for what she did, and Izuku's own feelings on her were conflicted to say the least, but he wasn't sure if he blamed her for wanting to be rid of him. For not wanting to raise a monster.
Yagi let out a sigh. "Well, this has been an… interesting conversation. Thank you, Etsumi, for bringing this to my attention. As much as I dread the fact that All For One is still alive, it is better that I know that now, rather than in the future when it is too late."
"You're welcome. That's the entire reason I wanted to have this discussion at all. I know firsthand how dangerous this quirk can be. In the hands of a villain, it would be devastating."
"Can-." Izuku continued, swallowing past the lump in his throat. "Can I trust you to keep my quirk a secret?"
Yagi took a breath, before smiling at him. It wasn't one of his blinding smiles that could just about brighten a room, and it was a bit shaky, but it was a smile nonetheless.
"Of course, Etsumi." He said. "You've put a lot of trust in me, revealing your quirk just to warn me about All For One, I will keep your secret to the best of my ability."
Izuku tried to release some of the tension in his body, and did his best to return the smile.
"Thank you, Yagi."
Izuku took a deep breath as soon as he was back in the hallway. He was glad to have that conversation over with. It was necessary, to inform Yagi that his greatest enemy was alive and active, but that didn't mean that he enjoyed it whatsoever. It made him uncomfortable to know that his secret—one of them, at least. His greatest secret—was out.
If nothing else, he could at least take solace in the fact that Yagi was probably the person he trusted the most with this sort of secret. That and the fact that what's done, is done. He could no longer do anything about it—short of killing Yagi of course, but that wasn't an option for a multitude of reasons, least of which being that Yagi was his friend—so the only thing left to do was to carry on and hope for the best.
Shaking his head, he turned to start making his way down the hallway towards his next stop, humming to himself in an attempt to settle his nerves. He wanted to be at his best for the upcoming conversation.
In hindsight, it might've been a mistake to plan to reveal two of his biggest secrets one after the other, but it was too late to do anything about it. At the very least, 'Deku' wasn't exactly a huge secret, just one that he'd been keeping for a while.
Hopefully this one would at least not take too long, as Ochako was waiting on him. He'd told her that he had matters to attend to after school, and that she may want to head back to the apartment on her own, but she'd just said that she didn't mind waiting. She was planning on exploring Yueii's library while she waited.
A few short minutes later he found himself outside the door to Nezu's office. He gave it a light knock and heard a cheerful sounding "Come in!" immediately after.
Opening the door revealed a rather impressive office. First and foremost was the enormous wooden desk directly in front of the door, intricately crafted and dominating the space. Next was the floor-length windows that made up the entire wall behind the desk, offering a commanding view of the entrance gate to Yueii that made Izuku slightly jealous, despite the view he had from his own office. Bookshelves lined the same wall that the door was on, filled with a wide variety of novels and textbooks alike. Another door sat on the left wall, likely leading to a bathroom or closet, and the wall opposite from that was entirely covered in a mixture of plaques, awards, and what looked to be photos of Yueii's graduating classes.
Sitting at the desk, almost dwarfed by it and wearing a pleasantly neutral expression, was Nezu.
"Ah, Etsumi!" He greeted, smiling as much as an animal could. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Did you need something?"
"Yes I did, Principal Nezu. I believe we had a meeting scheduled for this afternoon."
"Oh? Did we? I don't seem to recall ever scheduling one with you. Are you sure you aren't mistaken?"
"No, you did. You just aren't thinking of it just yet because you don't have a face to put to the name. But we do have a meeting scheduled."
He paused for a moment, staring into Nezu's eyes, before continuing.
"Mystery Box Mammal."
Nezu's eyes went wide, and he stood up in his chair, slapping a paw down on the desk.
"It was you!" He exclaimed. "I knew there was something different about you, but I couldn't place it for the life of me!"
"Yes. I was wondering if you were going to end up putting the pieces together." Izuku said with a small smirk. "I mean, 'Deku' is just a different meaning to the spelling of my name. And I didn't put but so much effort into disguising my answers during the entrance exam."
"I did think your answers were curious, but was too distracted by your exemplary scores in the rest of it in such a short time, and then by your performance in the practical portion. Plus, it never crossed my mind to consider that Deku could be the same age as my students."
"Well, in fairness, there aren't many who would suspect that one of the top quirk analysts in the world is actually an eighteen-year-old student at a hero school."
"Very true. But wait… You've been Deku since you were eleven years old?"
"Indeed I have. Just one more reason why those that are actually aware of 'Deku' wouldn't suspect that he earned several collegiate degrees by the time he turned twelve."
"A truly wonderful smokescreen." Nezu muttered, lowering himself back into his chair. "Disguised by the anonymity of an entirely online existence, and then even more so by your age. Even if someone were to find out that you were Deku, they wouldn't necessarily believe it."
"With several degrees under your belt by such a young age, and who-knows-how-many more since then, I would love to have more in-depth conversations than what online messaging can allow."
"It might interest you to know, then, that everything I've learned has been self-taught. From grade school up to doctorate-level."
"Oho? My, that is very interesting indeed."
Izuku smiled as he heard an almost inaudible laugh from Nezu. The dark, almost chaotic look in the rodent's eyes was amusing.
"Oh this is so very wonderful. To think, Deku himself has been right under my nose and I didn't even know it."
"Which brings us to the reason I chose to reveal myself in the first place." Izuku said. "Before you get too lost in your own fantasies."
Nezu shook his head, plastering the pleasant expression back on his face and disguising the darkness in his eyes. The transition was so quick that Izuku was almost impressed.
"Yes, of course." He said, voice cheerful again. "Your messages last night had turned towards the topic of your potential employment here at Yueii."
Izuku nodded, moving forwards and lowering himself closer to Nezu's level. "I've realized, in the aftermath of the USJ invasion, that the likelihood of the villains simply letting go and fading away is practically nonexistent. Especially given that these villains have the confidence, and the means, to invade Yueii of all places."
The atmosphere around Nezu grew serious as Izuku spoke.
"Yes. I had that thought as well." Nezu agreed. "Someone with the means to organize such an attack would not give up so easily after a single failed attempt."
"Precisely. So, if we know with almost complete certainty that our enemies will make another move in the future, and will likely be better prepared when that time comes, it would make sense for us to prepare as well."
"I am confident in my own abilities." Izuku continued. "I know my strength, and I know my limits. But the majority of the other hero students would be woefully unprepared. They were already unprepared this time around."
"I see. So that's why you have revealed yourself. You wish to train the students to better prepare them."
"Correct. I've already been analyzing their quirks, and I've been watching them train and fight, taking note of how they can be improved. I could have a full written report on what they should do to improve themselves printed out and ready to go tomorrow."
Nezu hummed to himself, paws steepled as he seemed to consider Izuku's words.
"I accept."
Izuku smirked. "Very good. I assume you have a plan already in mind for how we should go about this?"
"I do indeed." The rodent said, mirroring the smirk. "The sports festival is coming up in just over two weeks, and I fully intend for it to still take place, despite what some may think in the aftermath of the attack."
Izuku nodded. "Makes sense. Canceling or postponing the event would be a show of weakness. Admitting to the world that Yueii was hurt. If you continue as planned, you can use it as a show of strength."
"Exactly so. And if we have you training the students, as I have utmost confidence in your analytical abilities, and know that you are certified in quirk training as well, then we can show our enemies how much our strength can grow in a short amount of time."
"So," Nezu continued, "I would propose that we have you take over the foundational heroics class for the time being, focusing strictly on the improvement of their quirks and abilities, with All Might and Aizawa there to supervise and assist as necessary."
Izuku nodded again. "Sounds like a plan."
"Now, what about Class 1-B?" Nezu asked. "Do you wish to handle their training as well?"
"I certainly can. It would be easy enough to watch them for a class or two to get an idea of where their abilities lie. And it wouldn't exactly hurt me to take time away from my other classes to do so, I already know everything that they can teach me."
"If your classes are truly of no use, I'm sure we could find something else to occupy you. I, for one, would love to invite you up here for some proper discussions."
"I don't mind being in the classes themselves." Izuku responded. "Though not to say I wouldn't want to take up your invitation at some point. But I enjoy Class 1-A, and spending every class period away to do something else would do nothing but alienate me from them."
Izuku shook his head. "No, so long as I can have something else to occupy myself, then I have no issue remaining in the classes. For example, once my identity as Deku is revealed, if I could be allowed to pursue my analysis in class, that would be enough."
"I see. That certainly can be arranged. I will ensure that none of the teachers find issue with that, if you so choose to do that."
Izuku nodded. "Much appreciated."
"Now then. That simply leaves the question of how you should be compensated for your services. I could, of course, follow with your usual method of commissions, or if you prefer, I can offer you a proper salary, like the rest of my staff, especially if this arrangement were to continue in the long-term."
"I don't require much." Izuku said, waving a hand in front of him. "You can pay me however you see fit. In fact, if you wish, you don't even have to pay me for training 1-A. I like them, and have been waiting for an opportunity to improve them."
"Oh? That is very kind of you. What of Class 1-B?"
"Give me a chance to meet them first. If I find that I like them, I'll extend the same offer."
"I see." Nezu said. "Well, no matter what, I would like to compensate you for your services. Give me some time, I shall come up with something worthy of your work."
"Whatever you see fit to give me will be enough." Izuku said, before raising himself back up to his proper height. "Now then, one final thing. I would like to ask that you not reveal my identity to the teachers just yet. I'd like to wait until we begin training to make the reveal."
"Of course. That won't be a problem. May I ask why?"
Izuku shrugged. "Why not? I'd like to see everyone's reactions when it happens."
Nezu smirked at that. "Of course. Simple shock and awe. I can appreciate that."
"I knew you would. Now, unless you had any further questions for me, I believe Ochako is waiting for me down in the library."
"Not at all. You're free to go. I think we should plan on the training to begin the day after tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me." Izuku responded, turning towards the door. "I'll have everything ready by then."
"I look forward to it."
As Izuku shut the door behind him, he could've sworn he heard another quiet laugh from within. He smirked. He could understand the feeling; this was going to be fun.
The next day, Izuku was settled at his desk, waiting for homeroom to begin. He had a journal in one hand, reading through the notes he'd made for a training regiment for Class 1-A, and with the other, he absentmindedly rubbed at a spot on his arm.
He'd gone out to help Shadow again the night before, and a criminal had gotten in a lucky hit with some sort of toxic claw quirk. It had been healed immediately after, but the spot still itched.
He wasn't worried about whatever toxin they'd hit him with, as his new healing quirk was powerful enough to correct any damage it dealt. That, and he knew from experience that his older healing quirk worked very well against poisons. Whatever it was, it wouldn't leave any lasting damage, it seemed like it would just itch for a while, though even that was beginning to fade.
As the clock finally marked the start of the period, he watched Eraser emerge from behind the teacher's podium, his sleeping bag falling down around him. The class was already silent as he stood.
"Right, to start off, I have a few announcements to make. First off, is that the sports festival will be taking place in about two weeks."
Right away there was a small uproar as some of his classmates questioned why Yueii was still going forward with it, which Eraser was quick to shoot down.
"We're still doing this so that we can show the world that Yueii isn't weak. That it hasn't been fazed by the attack. We'll be going all-out in terms of security and hero-presence."
"Besides, this is too big of an opportunity for you all to miss out. This is your biggest chance to make yourselves known, to impress the pros that might want to take you on as interns. You'll only have three chances throughout your time at Yueii to make an impression, so I expect you to make the most of it."
Seeing that no one had any more questions, Eraser continued.
"We'll be using the next two weeks to prepare you for the event. We'll be pushing you to your limit every day, training you and your quirks to ensure that you are as prepared as possible. In fact, Nezu has informed us that he'll be bringing in Deku, the quirk analyst, to help."
Excited whispering broke out amongst the students at that, which wasn't too surprising; even if there weren't but one or two in the class that he'd analyzed, he was still very active with his work. He wouldn't be at all surprised if most of his classmates at least knew of someone that had requested his services.
At the same time, Ochako's head snapped around to look at him, her eyes wide and questioning. He gave a lazy wink in return and looked back to Eraser.
"From what Nezu's told us," He cut over the chatter, silencing it, "They'll be here tomorrow to get started, so be ready."
With that, Aizawa started pulling his sleeping bag up around himself, already lowering back down to the floor. "That's all. Do whatever you wish until your next class, just be quiet."
The rest of the short period passed fairly quickly. Izuku took the opportunity to work on his plan for the next day. So far, he was thinking of implementing an alternating schedule of training their quirks and sparring. Not just the regular sparring they'd been doing though, but full-speed fighting with quirks, against him.
It would be a trial by fire. He would push them to fight harder than they had before, and to think of ways to fight effectively with their quirks.
As it was nearing the time to head to the next class, Izuku perked up from his notebook. 'Proximity' was picking up a number of people gathering on the other side of the door. A blink of his eyes and his vision became muted. He looked over towards the door, and saw the skeletons of their visitors. All of them seemed to be wearing the same outfit, carrying bags on their backs, and none of them had any noticeably unfamiliar physical mutations.
Students then, most likely. Nothing to be concerned about.
Besides, Izuku knew that Aizawa was already aware of them. If he had no issue, then neither did Izuku.
His vision returned to normal as he went back to his book. He'd keep an eye on them, but otherwise he would let whatever was about to happen play out however it would.
A few short minutes later, and his classmates were starting to gather near the door, with him staying at his desk as he usually did in order to avoid crowding the door with his bulk.
The moment the door was opened, he heard Ochako's exclamation of "What the!?" as his classmates finally noticed the mob.
"What do you all want!?" She asked.
"Hey! You! 1-A!" He heard someone else call out, not wasting any time apparently. "I'm from 1-B! I heard you took down some villains, and wanted to hear it directly from you! You'd better not be a bunch of arrogant jerks like I've been hearing!"
Izuku frowned at that. It sounded like some of the other students were under the impression that 1-A was taking advantage of the fact that they were attacked, that they were enjoying some form of glory from it.
He narrowed his eyes towards the door. They did realize that the villains had outnumbered them nearly ten-to-one, right? And that all of them had come with intention to kill students?
"The metal idiot is mostly right." A new voice said. "We came here to see what you were made of. To see if you were really as impressive as you're made out to be."
"Honestly? I'm a bit underwhelmed."
The speaker ignored his classmates' exclamations of shock, carrying on with what was likely a preplanned monologue.
"You hero course students are all full of yourselves, despite the fact that none of you probably had to do any work to get in. You all got lucky, born with quirks that were perfectly suited to heroics, while people like me got left behind, to get whatever was left over."
Izuku shut his notebook, clenching it in his hand. He wanted to let this play out however it may without stepping in, but he was very quickly being pushed to the limits of his patience. There were few things he disliked more than people bitching and moaning about their own quirk without even putting in the slightest amount of effort to develop it.
Which, based on their words, this person had clearly not put in any effort. Not if they were spouting nonsense about the hero students being lucky enough to be born with powerful quirks.
"People like me got left in Yueii's other courses because our quirks couldn't make the cut for heroics. The entrance exams are too skewed in favor of those with physical quirks. But, depending on how we do in the sports festival, we may have the opportunity to move up to the hero course, which means that we have the chance to kick you back down."
"So consider this a declaration of war, hero students! If you aren't careful, you'll have the rug pulled out from under you."
Izuku slammed his notebook down onto the desk with a resounding boom, cutting off the monologue and leaving everyone in silence.
"Right. That's enough of that." Izuku muttered to himself as he rose up from his desk and moved towards the door. His classmates looked over at him, parting for him as he moved, clearing the way.
Once he reached the door, he grabbed Ochako's bag and picked her up, gently moving her to the side.
With full access to the mob outside the room, he placed himself in the doorway, raising himself high above everyone's heads and gripping the doorframe with enough force to crack it.
The person who he assumed to be the speaker stood at the front of the group. He had a head of wild purple hair and eyebags that came close to rivalling Eraser's.
He, and everyone else that had gathered, stared up at him in silence. The space was thick with anticipation for what was about to happen.
"Is there an actual reason you're here? Or was it just to accentuate how much of a waste of space you are?" Izuku asked, breaking the silence.
They all physically recoiled at his words. Though, Purple-hair recovered fairly quick, his expression very rapidly shifting to something just shy of rage.
"What did you just say?" He all but snarled.
"I asked if there was a reason you decided to come here. Because so far all I've heard is misinformation and you spouting your own insecurities."
"I-."
"Be quiet." Izuku said, cutting him off. "First off, your claim that no one in the hero course has had to work for what they have is so grossly incorrect that I'm honestly at a loss for how someone could possibly be so stupid. Yes, obviously some people might have it a bit easier than others because of their quirk, but everyone here had to work for it."
"Second, do you have any idea just how many applicants showed up on the day of the entrance exams, hoping to make it into the hero course?"
"I-. You-."
"Three-hundred and two applicants." Izuku said, ignoring purple-hair's expression. "That means just over three hundred applicants fighting for thirty-six positions in the hero course. Which means that a lot of people didn't make the cut, which includes a number of those with quirks suited for combat. Anyone that managed to get in, did so because they earned it."
"And as far as certain quirks not being suited for combat, you're right about that. There are a number of quirks that are either weak or useless altogether in a fight. But all that means is that you need to improve yourself in other ways. If your quirk isn't suited for that, why wouldn't your next move be to learn some form of hand-to-hand combat to give yourself an edge? Unless maybe you thought that you could become a hero and never have to fight anyone ever, in which case you're an idiot."
"If you were serious about getting into the hero course, you would've done everything you could to shore up your weaknesses. You could've contacted any official trainer and they would've provided you a step-by-step guide to prepare yourself for the exams if you really wanted one."
"I tried that." Purple-hair growled. "But it didn't work."
"Then you must've picked someone worthless."
"I sent a request to Deku himself, since he's supposed to be the best, but he never sent back anything."
Izuku's fingers dug into the wall where he was gripping the doorframe. There was no way he just said that, was there? As if Izuku didn't remember every single request he'd ever gotten? As if he didn't put effort into each and every one?
"No you didn't." Izuku said quietly, a dangerous undertone to his voice. "You most definitely did not send Deku anything."
"And how would you know? What gives you the right to say what I have and haven't done?"
Fuck it. It would seem as though he's doing this now instead of later, as he'd planned.
"Oh I think I have plenty of right to say what requests were, and were not, sent to me."
The hallway went deathly silent for a few moments, as everyone processed his words.
"What did you say?" Purple-hair asked, eyes going wide.
"You heard me perfectly well. I'm saying that I'm Deku. And I promise you that you never sent in anything. I remember every request I've ever gotten. Every single one. And not one of them was half-assed or overlooked. So if you really did send anything to anyone, it wasn't the real deal. And even that isn't likely with how hard I crack down on anyone trying to impersonate me."
He heard whispering coming from his classmates behind him, but ignored it in favor of leaning towards Purple-hair.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't try to insult my name like that just to cover up your own incompetence."
Izuku forcefully removed his hand from where it was partially embedded in the wall, flexing it to try to relieve some of the tension.
"And as for your little declaration of war?" He continued. "If you were smart, you wouldn't have said anything. You would've kept quiet, so that we wouldn't have even known you existed, and you would've come from behind to take us by surprise during the sports festival. But now that you've gone and made yourself known, what's to stop me from purposefully targeting you as soon as it starts? What's to stop me from ensuring that you never get close to the hero course?
Purple-hair narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "You wouldn't."
Izuku shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. You'll never know now, because you've made the mistake of putting yourself in the spotlight."
The boy stared at Izuku a moment longer, outrage clear on his face, before he turned to storm off, the other students clearing the way for him.
As he left, Izuku surveyed the rest of the students, looking to each of them.
"Now, did anyone else have anything they wanted to say? Or can we be allowed to go to our next class?"
"Wow." Another voice called out. "I'd been expecting 1-A to be arrogant, but this is on another level entirely."
Izuku looked over to the speaker to see another boy with short, blond hair.
"Clearly this is just one more example of why 1-B is superior in every way." He said, clearly flaunting for the sake of the crowd. "Much better than these arrogant 1-A bastards."
Izuku leveled a look at the boy, before snorting.
"Inferiority complex."
With that, he pushed out into the hallway, before turning to the wall that the door was on and climbing up the side with the aid of 'Gecko.' Ignoring the angry calls of the blond, Izuku made his way up onto the ceiling to head towards his next class.
Pulling out his phone, he sent a message to the number Nezu had seen fit to grant him.
8:38 [Deku]-
-'Just met 1-B outside of 1-A's homeroom. They won't be free.'
8:38 [Nezu]-
-:Thumbs-up:
-'I saw. Don't worry about it. I certainly don't blame you. I intend to have a word with Vlad and the general education teachers about their students' behavior.'
-'You definitely achieved your goal of shock and awe, though.'
8:38 [Deku]-
-'Not exactly how I'd planned it, but oh well. I think my words added to the shock value well enough.'
8:38 [Nezu]-
-'They certainly did. It was rather entertaining to watch.'
Izuku sighed as he tucked his phone away. What he said might've been harsh—he had no real intention of ruining that boy's chances to get into the hero course, but he needed to realize how out of line he was—but the other students had gone too far; there was a limit to how far even his patience could be pushed.
They'd come after his classmates, ignorant of what they'd just gone through and going so far as to call them arrogant. Then Purple-hair had taken it a step further by claiming that they didn't even deserve their positions in the hero course.
And sure, maybe there were some that didn't work as hard as others, or that had an easier time of things because of their quirk, but that did nothing to detract from the fact that they'd earned what they had.
It was made even worse by the fact that he hadn't even tried to improve himself, and yet he still claimed that others didn't work for it.
He sighed again as he lowered himself to the floor in front of his next class. Part of him really did hope that the boy could make it into the hero course. But if he wasn't willing to work, then Izuku would have no sympathy for him when he failed.
Toshinori stared blankly down at the phone in his hand. He'd gotten home a short while ago and had immediately slumped onto his couch. He hadn't moved, almost an hour later. He was stuck running over the developments of the day before. Stuck thinking about what Etsumi had told him.
He'd tried his best to carry on as usual throughout the day, but it weighed on him, and now he could barely think.
It was almost too much to take in. The fact that his nemesis, All For One, was still alive, and worse, that he was active once more.
Or the fact that the reason that Toshinori knew he was alive in the first place was because Etsumi, his friend and student, apparently had the same quirk.
And wasn't that a punch to the gut? That for so long, he'd been so very close to the quirk that had given the world so much trouble in years past.
He trusted Etsumi, truly he did. He didn't feel he was mistaken in sharing the secret of One For All, and he did believe that Etsumi wanted to be a hero. But right now, he couldn't quite work past the low-burning panic that came from knowing his nemesis was still alive. Or that his friend had such a quirk.
Toshinori placed a hand over his side, over the wound that man had given him. He felt the constant burn in his chest that came with every breath, and the metallic taste that sat permanently at the back of his throat.
He'd given it his all, at the prime of his power, and even still he'd ended up with such wounds. And now? Now the man that had given them to him was back?
Toshinori couldn't do it.
He just… couldn't.
He powered on the phone in his hand, maneuvering to a contact he hadn't touched in so long it would've gathered dust were it not electronic. A moment later, he brought the ringing phone to his ear.
It was answered barely two rings later, and a gruff voice greeted him.
"I trust you've got a good reason for calling me out of the blue after so long avoiding me, Toshi."
"Gran." He said. "I've got something to tell you. Something important has come up."
"Well? What is it? Spit it out already."
Toshinori took a breath.
"He is back."
The silence from the other side was almost deafening, until his teacher spoke up again, his tone much more serious.
"All For One? He isn't dead?"
"Correct. He's alive. He's the one behind the recent attack on Yueii."
"And… And that's not all."
Chapter End Notes
Wait whoops. That's not how people usually treat Shinsou.
I hope you enjoyed!
Analysis and Training
Chapter Summary
Oni lectures Shadow, and prepares to put 1-A through hell.
Chapter Notes
Forewarning: This chapter does dump a bit of information on you with the new quirk classification system. I've done my best to explain it in a way that's easy to understand, but I will also include another description at the end of the chapter to hopefully reinforce it.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Oni kicked the door open, very nearly sending it flying off its hinges.
He had a smile plastered on his face as he stepped into the tiny, unsuspecting building, eyeing the weapons that lined the wall. This was exactly what he needed after the day he'd had.
"Hello Oni." Someone greeted. "I thought I asked you to stop kicking my door."
Looking over at the owner of the voice, Oni saw a seedy little man sitting behind a clerk's desk. A rat's nest for hair, an upturned nose, and very nearly short enough for Oni to step on him.
"Good evening, Mayeda. It's good to see you too." He greeted. "And sorry about your door, I'm just excited is all."
"Well that's a fuckin' scary thought, isn't it?" Mayeda replied. "You get scary when you're excited. It usually means that people are about to get hurt."
Oni laughed. "You may have a point there. But that's not the case this time. I won't be hurting people, at least not until later. For now, I came to make use of your services."
Mayeda was an arms dealer. Specifically, he dealt in melee weapons and armor. On the surface, he ran an antique weapon shop, but underneath, he sold high-quality weapons and armor to anyone with the money to pay for it. He was technically a criminal, but Oni didn't care enough to do anything to him. Besides, Mayeda was the one who supplied his mask. He wasn't about to give that up.
The man shrugged. "Alright. What do you need this time? It looks like your mask is still in good condition, and from what I know, you aren't the type to use weapons."
"Actually, that's exactly why I'm here." He said. "I'm looking for weapons. Specifically, ancient-style weapons."
Mayeda quirked an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't question him.
"Alright, I suppose. Anything in particular that you're looking for?"
Oni hummed to himself as he looked around at the selection on the walls. "How about we start with a Kusarigama, if you have any. With the longest chain possible if you don't mind."
"Hm. I don't have any that are combat ready here, just shelf-quality. If you want one, you'll have to wait while I source it."
"Not a problem. I'd rather have something quality anyway."
The man nodded, pulling out a notepad. "Any particular chain length or style you were looking for?"
"The longer, the better." Oni responded. "Something in the area of twenty feet if you don't mind. Oh, and the more durable the metal you can have it made in, the better. Don't worry about the weight, I'll make it work. And don't worry about cost, either."
"Alright." He said, jotting something down. "Anything else?"
"A katana, a knife, with a straight edge a bit longer than normal if you can manage, and a more western sword. Like a bastard sword, if you have any."
Mayeda nodded again, already shuffling away. "Give me a minute."
A short wait, and the man was laying out the weapons on the counter.
"Is this what you were looking for?"
Oni picked up the knife first. It had a one straight cutting edge, with the other side left blunt and curving gently back down to the handle, which was a simple leather cord wrap. The whole thing was just under two feet long, just on the verge of being a short sword rather than a knife.
Oni pulled on the weapon mastery quirk, letting the knife shift in his grip until it settled into a familiar-feeling position. Twisting his wrist, he twirled the knife in his hand, watching as the tip spun through the air and come dangerously close to catching him more than once.
"A traditional Viking long seax." He said, halting the movements. "A wonderful choice."
He activated his newest quirk, for which he'd chosen to keep the old name 'Hotbar,' and smiled when he saw the blade vanish into thin air, before making it appear again an instant later.
"Perfect."
Setting it back on the counter, he reached for the katana next.
"Now, I assume you know that you can't just be swinging that one around willy-nilly right? Those things are fragile if you hit something wrong."
"Oh, trust me, that won't be a problem."
He held the sword in front of him, pulling on a speed quirk, and one other.
'Reinforce.'
It wasn't visible, but he felt the quirk take effect.
Just as he had with the knife, he let 'Weapon Mastery' guide his motions, spinning and twirling the weapon around him with such speed that it whistled as it sliced through the air. After a few moments of this, he activated 'Hotbar' again, only this time to pull something out.
The metal spike that had stabbed him through the chest two nights earlier appeared in his hand, still transformed. He tossed it into the air and, as it fell, delivered two quick slashes to it, dividing it into three pieces that clattered to the floor.
He held the blade up close, inspecting the edge for damage. His smile widened when he found none. 'Reinforce' had done its job, increasing the durability of the sword. It could do the same with most any small object, but its talents really shone through in situations like this.
He gestured at Mayeda with the blade, before laying it back down on the counter.
"See? Not a problem."
Mayeda just sighed. "Honestly at this point I'm not even surprised. Nothing ever makes sense when you're involved."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Oni said, picking up the last weapon, the western-style sword. He didn't swing this one around as he had the other two, just inspected along its length for a moment, before deciding he was satisfied with it.
"Yes. I think these will work out quite nicely."
"Alright." Mayeda nodded. "Anything else before I ring you up?"
Oni took a quick glance around the room, looking at the plethora of weapons that hung on the walls.
"No, I think that'll d-."
His words cut off in his throat as his eyes landed on a particular weapon, and his smile returned full force.
"That one." He said, pointing at it. "I want that one too."
Mayeda followed his gaze, then looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you sure? It's not exactly cheap."
Oni just nodded, to which Mayeda just shrugged and went to retrieve the weapon.
A moment later, Oni was staring down at the glaive that sat in his grip. Roughly six feet long and with wide blade at its tip that added another eighteen inches. Essentially just a fancy knife attached to a stick.
"So why the hell do you want a glaive?" Mayeda asked, watching him. "The other weapons I can almost understand, if you suddenly wanted to switch up how you fight. But that thing there doesn't even come close to being suited for a normal fight compared to most anything else."
Oni shrugged. "I get the feeling that it'll be fun. Next to the kusarigama, these are among my favorite weapons from history."
"Fun? Is that really all there is to it?"
Oni looked over at the man. "Mayeda. If you had the ability and the know-how to do whatever you wanted, and the money to afford it, wouldn't you?"
He sighed again. "I suppose you're not wrong. Now, I do hope you actually brought money for all of this. It ain't cheap, and I don't see any money on you. You know that I only take cash for these sorts of deals."
"Relax, Mayeda." Oni said, leaning the glaive up against the counter. "I've always paid you for your services. I don't plan to burn this bridge anytime soon. Anyway, I do have the money, you just haven't been paying close enough attention."
He held out a hand, and a duffel bag appeared in his grip with a quick pull of 'Hotbar.' Dropping it onto the counter with an audible thud, he opened it to reveal it full of money. Enjoying Mayeda's look of exhaustion that almost matched up to Eraser's—almost. Oni doubted that anyone could be as exasperated with him as Eraser—he counted out the necessary cash to pay for everything, including a down payment for the kusarigama.
In all, it wasn't cheap by any means. Five combat-ready ancient weapons, one of which being a special order, and the price rose pretty quickly. Not that it was a problem of course, being Deku afforded him the privilege of being able to spend money on such frivolous things. He had an entire stash of funds set aside specifically for anything he might want or need for his vigilante work.
It didn't take long for the money to be counted out, and the bag was deposited back where it came from. Picking up the weapons, one by one they were stored away in a slot of 'Hotbar,' along with the pieces of the arm-turned-metal spike he'd tested the katana on. All that remained was the glaive, which he picked up in one hand and went to do the same.
His brow furrowed down at the weapon as it remained in his grip. Trying again, he was met with the same result; the stubborn weapon refused to budge.
Actually, come to think of it, the rest of the items he'd stored with the quirk, and everything that had come with it when he took it, had all been objects that he could more or less fit in his hand. Maybe the glaive was simply too big?
Looking to his free hand, an idea made itself known, which he quickly put to the test. Placing his other hand on the weapon, he tried once more, and smiled as it vanished into thin air, occupying a free slot of the quirk.
He tried to reverse the action, pulling it back into a single hand, and was unsurprised when it didn't work. Then he focused on both of his hands at once. As soon as he activated the quirk once more, his hands seemed to move of their own accord, being drawn closer together. As soon as they reached their intended position, the glaive appeared between them, already settled into his grip.
"Interesting." He muttered. "Larger objects require two hands, and the quirk will automatically reposition your hands to pull it back out. I wonder if having more hands would continue to augment the effects?"
Shaking his head, he looked over to Mayeda, smiling as he waved his goodbye.
"Thank you, Mayeda." He said as he approached the door. "Your services never fail to disappoint. Shall I return in two weeks or so for the kusarigama?"
"Yeah, that should do it. My source is usually pretty quick with this stuff."
Oni nodded. "Alright. See you then."
The man grunted in affirmation as Oni exited the building, taking care to open the door with his hands this time.
Stepping out into the night once more, Oni looked down at his hands, mind returning to his newest quirk.
"Very interesting."
So far as he could tell, the quirk didn't actually store the objects anywhere on his person. Didn't shrink them or just remove them from his—and everyone else's—attention. No, from what he could gather, it was as if it truly removed the objects from normal existence. It stored them within its own space, in a pocket dimension.
That concept alone excited him to no end. This was a quirk that—assuming he was correct—altered spacetime to store mundane objects at the user's discretion. It was a quirk that disobeyed the laws of physics as humanity understood them.
Then again, quirks as a whole defied understanding in a number of ways, but that wouldn't stop him from being excited about this particular instance.
Since acquiring the quirk, he'd emptied out everything the previous user had been using it for. There were the keys and the gun he discovered right after taking it, then there were also a number of regular every-day items. A wallet, a knife, a cellphone, a sandwich bag of drugs, a lunchbox, and a bag of cat treats.
He'd taken the money from the wallet, discarded the drugs, the gun, and the phone by dropping them into the ocean—a distance from shore, of course—and gave the treats to the first stray cat he could find. Everything else had just been left in a dumpster, freeing up the quirk to use how he saw fit. Half of the slots were now filled after his shopping trip, between the money and the new weapons, with one more being taken up by the severed limb. He'd have to get rid of that at some point. Maybe he'd dump it into the ocean on his way home.
Dropping his hands and rolling his shoulders, his wings following the motion, he took a few more steps from the building, before crouching and launching himself into the air in one swift motion.
"What the hell are you even talking about, Oni?" Shadow asked as he tied a fallen criminal's hands together.
"I told you." Oni responded as he watched one go limp, his hand wrapped around their throat. "It's a new system for ranking and classifying quirks."
"And the reason your telling me is?"
"Because it's exciting!"
Oni heard a noncommittal grunt from Shadow's direction. "Sure. Whatever you say."
"It is!" Oni said, dropping the criminal. "Just think about it! For so long, everyone's been thinking about quirks as just transformation, mutation, and emitter. And while that's been good enough for the past hundred-and-fifty years or so that humanity's actually bothered to try to understand quirks, it's not the best way to do it."
Shadow sighed. "Why do I feel like I'm about to get a full lecture about this?"
"Because you are." Rei cut in. "Just go with it. He's going to tell you whether you like it or not. There's no point in resistance. Though, in fairness, it really is pretty interesting."
"Thank you, Phantom." Oni said gesturing to empty air. "See Shadow? Phantom knows what she's talking about. She thinks it's exciting."
"That's because I'm pretty sure you two are related, or dating, or something beyond just regular vigilante partners."
Another sigh, then, "Carry on, I suppose. Tell me about this new system of yours."
"Excellent!"
"So, to start off with, there are two main parts to this system. As I said before, it's used to both rank and classify a quirk, with the ranking part focusing on the overall power and usefulness of a quirk, and the classifying part being just that. The ranking half is the simplest, so I'll start with that one."
They started walking as he spoke, heading for a hallway that would—hopefully—lead to more opponents.
"There are seven ranks on the scale. 'A-Class' to 'F-Class' and then with 'S-Class' above it all. 'S' is where you would find the rare few quirks that are overwhelmingly powerful, such as All Might's, and 'F' is where you would find the equally rare quirks that aren't simply ineffective, but also directly harm the user. Everything else would fall somewhere in between. Most popular Pro Heroes would likely fall into 'A' and 'B-Class,' and then the majority of civilians would probably fall into 'C' and 'D.'"
"The scale itself is subjective, using loose subcategories such as combat potential, defensive capabilities, maneuverability, utility, and intel as its guidelines."
"What's the point in having a scale if you're just going to make it subjective?" Shadow asked.
"Because there is no single method of comparing every quirk equally." Oni responded. "You can compare the strength and speed output of enhancement quirks, or even the heat output of fire quirks, but then for every quirk you compare like that, there are a thousand more that wouldn't even apply. Besides, there's no way to measure the boost in intelligence that such quirks give, nor is there even a scale to begin with to measure the capabilities of most mental quirks. So, creating a singular, opinion-based scale to measure the overall effectiveness of a quirk is the only way to even come close to accurately comparing quirks. Or at least it's the only way I can think of."
Their conversation was interrupted as they came to a crossroads in the hallway, with a criminal charging at them from the side as soon as he saw them. Oni quirked an eyebrow at him as the criminal started shouting.
In an instant, Oni was behind him. He grabbed the collar of the man's shirt, yanking him to a stop. With his other hand, Oni grabbed the man's head, slamming it into the wall and letting him crumple to the floor.
"Anyways. As I was saying, the scale is loose and subjective, allowing it to be applied to all quirks."
"So, take Endeavor's quirk, Hellflame, for example. It has extreme combat potential, decent defensive capabilities, what with walls of flame being fairly useful for blocking off criminals' pathways and with it providing him with overall resistance to heat and fire, it also provides great maneuverability, and provides all the useful utility that comes with being able to generate fire. All of that together would put it strongly into the upper half of 'A-Class,' with strong arguments for 'S-Class.'"
Oni paused to peek through an open door as they passed, looking for anyone that might've somehow avoided 'Proximity.'
"By the way." Oni continued. "I would also put yours in 'A-Class' as well."
"I'm flattered." Shadow responded, with only the smallest hint of sarcasm. "Now what about the other half?"
"I'm glad you asked! Because that's where things get really interesting."
They paused again as they reached another crossroads, taking a moment to look down both directions before starting off again.
"It starts with how quirks are activated. Most quirks can be separated into two basic categories as far as how they are activated: Continuous and Trigger. Continuous-type quirks are those that must always meet whatever activation conditions they have in order to activate. This category might include quirks such as yours, where you need shadows to be present at all times in order to control them. Trigger-type quirks, on the other hand, are those that only require the activation conditions to be met at the time of activation, with continued use being governed by more specific limitations, such as stamina. Mine could fall into this category, the transformation aspect at least. So long as I'm meeting the 'requirements' at the time of activation, which there aren't really any, then I can maintain the transformation for as long as I so desire."
"Being so broad, however, those two categories aren't useful beyond basic understanding of a quirk, so I wouldn't really include them in an actual classification. Aside from that, there are a number of more detailed types of activation categories that quirks can be separated into, starting with three broad ones. There are focus-types, that require conscious effort to activate, like yours. Then there are passive types, such as mutations and most strength and speed enhancers, like the primary aspect of mine. And even automatic quirks, that activate as soon as its requirements are met, whether or not the user wants it to."
Satou's quirk, 'Sugar Rush' was a good example of the last category, though Oni wasn't about to say as much to Shadow. The boy's quirk took effect as soon as he ingested sugar, automatically increasing his strength. It was also a good example of the 'Continuous' category, as he needed to always have sugar in his system for his quirk to increase his strength.
"Adding in the more narrow categories, these can get quite specific." Oni continued. "Yours might only fall into the 'Focus' category, since you only need to be in the presence of shadows for it to work, but others might be 'Focus' and 'Visual,' requiring eye-contact to activate, or maybe 'Focus' and 'Proximity,' only working if the user is within a certain range of whatever their quirk affects. And then some might be even more complex than that, having both a 'Passive' element as well as a 'Focus' element. This is where my quirk would fall, with my strength and mutations being 'Passive,' and my transformation being 'Focus.'"
That was the explanation that he was using for his 'quirk' as Oni, not that he really needed one all that much. His enhanced physical capabilities, along with his horns, wings, and tail were all passive effects that were always active. His claws, on the other hand, were a transformation that required focus to trigger.
It was complicated system on the surface, but once it was boiled down it was an incredibly descriptive way to separate quirks. Focus, Passive, and Automatic served as the main categories for the classification, since every quirk that he'd observed to this point fell into one of them. Below that, there were subcategories that broke it down even further.
There was 'Contact,' that meant a quirk relied upon physical contact to function, like Ochako's. 'Proximity' meant that a quirk needed whatever it effected to be within a certain range, like his own quirk 'Proximity,' that shared the same name. 'Vocal' meant that a quirk was activated through the user's voice, like Present Mic, and 'Visual' was the same, but with eye-contact. There was 'Connection,' which relied upon a connection, forced or otherwise, between the user and a target, like with Stain or with 'Siren.' And lastly, there was 'Miscellaneous,' which was reserved for anything that didn't fall into any of the others.
"Holy shit, Oni. How much time have you spent on this?"
"Pretty much all of the past two days." Oni responded. "And that's only half of the classification part of this!"
"There's more? Do you even sleep?"
"Not usually! And of course there's more! Aside from classifying how a quirk is activated, you also have to define its functions. These categories are anything from 'Mutation,' to 'Enhancement,' to 'Transformation,' to 'Stockpile,' and then everything in between. This is the part that's really interesting, because it replaces the old system of transformation-mutation-or-emitter."
"Keeping with the previous examples, your quirk would fall into 'Kinesis,' for how you directly control the movement of shadows, 'Manipulation,' for how you can increase or decrease the sizes of shadows you control, as well as how you make them temporarily tangible, and 'Transportation,' for how you can move yourself and others through the shadows. Also, it could potentially also fall under 'Elemental,' depending on whether or not you consider shadows to be a fundamental aspect of the natural world, as most would with things like fire, water, or electricity."
There were twenty-four effect categories in total. As far as he'd been able to tell so far, every quirk fell into at least one of them.
"Interesting." Shadow said, sounding slightly less exasperated with the lecture. "And yours?"
"Mine would fall under 'Mutation,' 'Enhancement,' and 'Transformation,' for obvious reasons. Though an argument could be made that since I have wings as a part of my quirk, it would also fall under 'Transportation.' But personally, I think that category should be reserved for quirks such as yours, that can perform some degree of teleportation or warping, since those are separate effects, and not just the function of a limb granted by the quirk."
That was another part of the whole thing that was subjective, and that would likely lead to discussions when he actually started introducing the system to the world, which he fully intended to do at some point.
And as complex and detailed as it seemed on the surface, it actually had a relatively simple layout when it was applied to a quirk. When actually listed out—as if for a quirk analysis—it condensed everything down.
It started with the activation categories, one for every different aspect of a quirk. So someone like Oni, who had his physical enhancements along with a transformation, it would list out 'Passive' for the enhancements, and then 'Focus' for the transformation.
Then, following that, it would list out the quirk's effects the same way, a new list for each different aspect. 'Mutation' and 'Enhancement' for just that, and then 'Transformation' and 'Enhancement' for his claws.
Actually, since his understanding of how to classify quirks had changed, what if-
Oni's eyes widened, and he turned to look at Shadow, straining them as 'Appraisal' activated.
Name: Fumikage Mitsugu
Quirk: Shadow. Focus. Elemental/Kinesis/Manipulation/Transportation.
Allows the user to manipulate shadows, making them larger or smaller, making them solid, and allowing them to transport themselves or others through them.
Oni smiled. So he'd been correct. 'Appraisal' might take the information from the target's mind, but it would seem that the format in which the information was displayed came from him.
"Well. I will admit, Oni." Shadow said as the two of them approached a door at the end of the hallway. "That was more interesting than I anticipated. I didn't realize just how much thought you put into it."
Oni opened his mouth to reply when the door suddenly burst open, flying off its hinges and directly at him.
He didn't react as it slammed into him, letting 'Shock Absorption' do its job. But as it fell to the floor, he heard Shadow grunt, followed by something that sounded suspiciously like a body hitting the floor.
When his view of the hallway was cleared, he saw a criminal standing over Shadow. The vigilante didn't look too injured, it just seemed as though he'd been knocked on his ass. Though he was obviously injured enough to not be retaliating immediately.
Oni took a step forward and kicked the offending criminal off of him, sending them flying into a wall.
"Hey Shadow." Oni called, keeping his eyes trained on the criminal. "Look what I can do."
He raised his hand to reveal the knife that had just appeared there out of thin air, the Viking seax.
With a quick activation of 'Reinforce' and a small grunt, Oni darted forward and stabbed the blade straight through the criminal's shoulder and into the wall behind it.
He clamped his hand over their mouth to cut off their scream, before leaning down until they were face-to-face.
"Maybe next time you'll think twice before you go and do something so rude."
A quick jerk of his wrist and the criminal's head impacted the wall, making them go limp.
Turning away, he walked back to Shadow, kneeling and offering a hand down once he was close enough.
"You alright?"
Shadow sighed as he took Oni's hand, pulling himself up. "Yeah. Bastard kneed me right in the chest. Knocked the wind out of me."
Oni pulled him to his feet. As he did, the vigilante's hood fell, allowing Oni to catch a very rare view of Shadow's face.
The man was fairly average looking for the most part, with short black hair and features that didn't stand out in one way or the other. His eyes were the exception, being almost pure white. Pupils, iris, and sclera were all a murky, cloudy white. If Oni weren't already certain that the man could see, he would suspect that he was blind from the sight of his eyes alone.
Aside from that, there was a scar that stretched from just above his left eyebrow, down his face to just below his mouth. It curved inwards slightly towards the bottom, so that it split his lips.
And just like that, Shadow's face was hidden once more as he pulled his hood back up. Hidden behind a wall of darkness. Oni suspected that the man utilized his quirk to hide his features, pooling shadows within the hood to keep his face a secret.
With Shadow back on his feet, Oni walked back over to where he'd impaled the criminal, pulling the knife out of the wall in one swift movement. The criminal crumpled to the floor with nothing to hold them up.
"Well then." He said, flicking the blade to remove some of the blood. "What do you say we wrap this up?"
Shadow sighed again, rolling his shoulders. "Fine by me. Let's do it."
"So, how did you want to do this?" Eraser asked. "Did you need All Might or I to do anything? Nezu said to let you take the lead."
"I've got a plan in mind." Izuku responded. "The next two weeks will be equal parts sparring and individual quirk training. I'll be handling the sparring, and I've already got detailed analyses written out for them to follow, which I will help with as we go. All I'll need from you is to ensure that no one goes overboard or gets themselves too hurt."
He and the two teachers were standing in front of one of Yueii's training sites, which Nezu had reserved for Class 1-A for the entirety of the two-week period leading up to the sports festival. They were currently waiting for the rest of 1-A to arrive from the locker rooms.
Speaking of Nezu, the rodent was currently settled on Izuku's shoulder, sitting there without a care in the world as they waited.
Izuku had been skeptical when Nezu first asked if he could do so. He definitely wasn't a fan of most physical contact, especially when it came to prolonged contact around his neck or back. But he'd been pleasantly surprised when he didn't feel any of the usual anxiety or discomfort. Now he was left enjoying the sensation of the weight and warmth on his shoulder.
If he wasn't completely aware of Nezu's penchant for chaos and his absolute dislike of being treated as an animal, Izuku would almost be tempted to reach a hand up and pet the principal. Almost.
He resisted the urge.
"Alright." Eraser said. "We'll keep an eye out. Let us know if you need anything else."
Izuku quirked an eyebrow, turning partially to look at the hero. "I must say, Aizawa, you're taking this much calmer than I was anticipating. I mean, just yesterday morning I was your student, and now I'm leading the class in their training."
"For the record, you're still my student, Etsumi. But that aside, it would be illogical to react to something so minor. It's happened, and Nezu's vouched for you, so there's not much else to think about."
Izuku shrugged, turning back to face towards the main building. "Fair enough."
"Besides, I always knew there was something off about you. Something about your eyes, and the intelligence behind them, and the way you held yourself. At first, I thought that you were just one of the regular overconfident students that had an overinflated sense of his own abilities."
"Come on Aizawa, when have I ever done anything to give the impression that my confidence is anything but completely warranted?"
"You haven't really, it was mostly just intuition. But I make a point of expecting the worst from my students until they give me a reason to do otherwise."
Izuku let out a half-amused huff at that. "Set the bar low. Avoid disappointment."
Nezu hummed in agreement. "I must say, Etsumi, I am quite excited to see how this all plays out."
"As am I. It's not very often that I get to see the results of my analysis in person. I can't wait to see how they improve."
They fell into silence as they waited for the other students to arrive. It didn't take long. A few minutes later and they were gathered in front of the site.
Eraser took the lead once everyone was present. It was still his class after all.
"Alright everyone. As you've been told, you have two weeks to prepare for the sports festival, for which Nezu has brought in Deku, who is apparently Etsumi, to help. He'll be leading your heroics classes until then, so listen to what he says."
Eraser fell silent at that, clearly leaving the spotlight to Izuku. He waited a beat to see if Nezu had anything to add, before carrying on when it seemed that he didn't.
"Well then." Izuku started, moving forward. "Who's ready for the next two weeks to suck?"
His classmates just stared back at him with varying expressions, some of them looking back and forth between Izuku and Nezu. Most looked somewhat disbelieving, but a few, namely Todoroki and Bakugou, looked somewhere between unsurprised and apathetic. Ochako was the sole person that didn't hold either, instead only seeming excited for whatever was to come.
"Dude. I still can't believe that you're Deku." Kaminari said, a few others nodding in agreement.
"You all already knew that I was smart. Is it that much of a stretch to take it a bit further?"
"Yeah but still… You're Deku. The Deku. I remember when my old school hired you to help a few students with difficult quirks."
Izuku hummed to himself as he thought. Then, "The telepath and the telekinetic, right?"
He ignored Nezu's quiet, "Oh. I remember that incident."
That did seem to ring a bell. It wasn't very often that someone came to him for a quirk that was proving difficult to control, even less so that a school was the one to do so. If he was remembering the correct incident, it was a pair of siblings with a telepathy and a telekinesis quirk that had undergone a very sudden growth just over three years ago. The two of them had simultaneously given everyone in the school a migraine and broken every piece of glass in the building in one disastrous incident. The school had contacted him almost immediately to help them regain control so that they could return to school as quickly as possible.
Kaminari's eyes widened. "It really is you."
"Of course it is." Izuku said. "I'm not in the habit of lying about such things."
It would almost be funny, how ironic that statement was, were he not actively lying about several major aspects of his life every single day.
"How come you never told any of us?" This time it was Ashido that spoke up.
"Was there ever any reason to? It wasn't relevant to anything we've discussed up to this point, and I wanted to keep it a secret from Nezu for as long as possible, to see how long I could last. Besides, one of you did know."
"Wait, what?"
"Anyways! I think it's about time we got started."
With that, he reached into the bag at his waist—he was still in his normal uniform, even though the rest of 1-A had changed into their gym clothes—and pulled out a stack of papers. He gestured Iida over, and let the vice president begin distributing them to everyone.
"Now, each one of these contains a thorough analysis of each of your quirks. I went from the ground up, including everything from the functions of your quirks, to how they most likely function, to the ways you can go about improving them. In there is where you'll find your plans for the next two weeks."
He stopped talking once they all had their packets. He'd give them a few minutes to look them over before he got started.
"My my, Etsumi." Nezu said. "That's quite a bit you've given them. You've practically written each of them a small book. Did you do it all just since our discussion?"
"I typed it all up since then, but I've been putting the notes together since the first day here."
"Impressive all the same."
Really, a good deal of it was rather simple. The functions of the quirk were mostly a result of his theorizing and what he'd observed from them so far. Beyond that, even the recommendations he had for improving them were simple for a few of them.
Some of them primarily amounted to needing to improve their own base physical abilities or to have more practical experience with their quirks in combat, such as with Ojiro, Tsuyu, and Jiro. Others though, had more specific advice. Aoyama could stand to improve the amount of time he could maintain his navel laser, along with his accuracy and altering the power output. Ashido could work on controlling the potency of her acid, and would need practice with it in combat, both against opponents and while in close proximity to allies. Kaminari could improve how much electricity he could release before frying himself, as well as altering his output, specifically in controlling volts versus amps.
The list went on and on.
Part of him had wanted to go the extra step and include his new classification system in the analyses, but he ended up holding back from that.
As excited as he was about all of it, he wasn't about to start showing impressionable students where their quirks ranked amongst their peers. He suspected it wouldn't do much good for someone like Ojiro, Satou, or Aoyama to see that they had a 'C-Class' quirk when most of 1-A sat in 'A' or 'B,' or when Todoroki and Yaoyorozu both had 'S-Class' quirks.
Honestly, a quirk that powerful, that counteracted its own limitations, and another that could create nearly anything with next to no limits. Those were easy quirks to rank.
He'd also taken a look at his own quirk, 'Soul Thief.'
To start off with its activation requirements, it fell under 'Automatic' and 'Contact' for its ability to feel quirks whenever he came into contact with someone, and then 'Focus' and 'Contact' for when it took or gave quirks with physical contact, and then finally just 'Focus' for its ability to activate or deactivate the quirks that were taken.
With its effects, the aspect that allowed him to see other quirks fell under 'Information' and 'Meta.' Taking the quirks was 'Manipulation' and 'Meta.' And activating the stolen quirks fell under 'Manipulation,' 'Stockpile,' and 'Meta.'
'Meta' meant that a quirk had some sort of affect on other quirks, stealing them, in this case. 'Information' meant that it had something to do with gathering or processing information; seeing quirks in others. 'Manipulation' had to do with altering an aspect of whatever the quirk's target was, such as people, or shadows. And 'Stockpile' was just that. It meant that a quirk stockpiled something, whether it be food, energy, or quirks.
All of it boiled down to ensure that each and every quirk was described as accurately as possible.
Regarding his quirk's ranking, it was difficult to judge, and not just because it was his own.
On its own, it wasn't necessarily very powerful. It provided the barest amount of sensory information in whether or not a person had a quirk, along with roughly how strong it was and where it was focused. And then it could take quirks, dealing out intense amounts of pain as it did so. So, on its own it wasn't necessarily well suited for combat, not being very strong, or even useful in most areas.
However, once it had other quirks with it? Once its primary function had been utilized to steal and stockpile quirks? At that point it had the potential to be strong in every area, to match any level of power and perform any function needed.
For that reason alone, for its ability to be that powerful because of its primary function, he'd chosen to think of it as an 'S-Class' quirk.
A smirk appeared on his face as he thought about the new system. He couldn't wait to get home and start re-analyzing every single quirk he'd looked at in the past. It would keep him occupied for a week or two, at least.
And then at some point he'd have to talk to Nezu about it as well. The rodent would no doubt be ecstatic to hear about it, and Izuku would absolutely love to have a conversation about it with someone that matched up to him in terms of intelligence and understanding of the subject. Not to mention that he had the opportunity to officially publish something as Deku, and have it potentially become something that's commonly used, at least among other experts in the field.
But first-.
"Alright, now that everyone's had a chance to look things over, it's time to get started." He called.
Once everyone's attention was back on him, he continued. "For today, we're going to focus on individual quirk development. I'm going to walk each of you through what you ought to be working on and how you should go about doing so. But starting tomorrow, I'm going to pull some of you away each day for sparring."
"Don't we already spar with All Might and Mister Aizawa?" Jirou asked.
"Yes, you do. But this is going to be much different. This won't be slow, measured sparring with the intent of teaching you the proper way of doing things. This will be fast-paced, real fighting meant to improve your abilities as fast as possible."
"Not only that, but you'll have full reign of your quirks as well. Because as little experience as some of you have in fighting at all, you have even less when it comes to fighting with your quirks. That needs to be fixed, especially since some of you have quirks that are dangerous if not used properly in a fight."
Ashido, Kaminari, and Aoyama—Bakugou and Todoroki too, though it seemed that they had an extremely good grip on their quirks—all had quirks that presented more danger to others than most. Ashido's acid, Kaminari's extremely high output of electricity, and Aoyama's laser. He would need to ensure that they knew how to properly utilize their quirks.
"If that were the case, wouldn't it be unwise for us to spar against one another?" Another asked. Iida this time.
"It would be. Which is why you won't be sparring against each other. You'll all be fighting me."
He watched with a slight amount of satisfaction as they shifted around, murmuring to each other. It was an understandable reaction, as they'd all witnessed each of his fights since the start of Yueii, mainly the two training exercises and the USJ invasion.
"Each day, I will pick out a certain number of you, and we'll spend the entire class fighting. Don't worry though, I won't necessarily be fighting to win. My main objective is to ensure that you all develop your skills as much as possible before the sports festival."
"Now then!" He called with a clap of his hands. "With that, everyone go ahead and split up and head into the training site. Find somewhere where you're separated from everyone else and get to work. I'll start coming around in a few minutes to make sure you understand what you're supposed to be doing."
He watched as they all moved past him and the other teachers to head into the site, with the exception of Iida, who immediately took off at a run in the direction of the main building. He'd be doing a great deal of running over the next two weeks to increase his endurance. That, and he'd be using his higher gears as much as he could to hopefully improve that limitation as well.
Izuku was pleased to see that a few of them, not just Ochako, actually looked excited as they moved. Excited at the prospect of developing their quirks.
As the last one went through the gate, he turned to the two teachers.
"For the most part, none of them will be doing anything particularly dangerous on their own, with the exception of Tokoyami, who will be spending a great deal of time in total darkness to get used to Dark Shadow, and Hagakure, who I've tasked with sneaking around the other students. So if you want to, All Might, you're more than welcome to spend the class in the teacher's lounge or in the site's observation room to save up your time limit as much as possible."
"I appreciate the offer, Etsumi." All Might responded. "I might just take advantage of that in the next two weeks. For today though, I'd like to stick around to see what all you have planned."
Izuku nodded, before sparing a glance at the other two. "Well, with that, I'm going to go ahead and start going around to each of them."
He looked at Nezu, who was still settled on his shoulder. "Did you want to accompany me? Or did you have matters to take care of elsewhere?"
"Unfortunately, as much as I would like to accompany you for a firsthand look at everything, there are indeed things I must take care of."
He gestured at Izuku as he stood. "If you wouldn't mind."
Izuku held a hand up to his shoulder, holding it still for Nezu to step onto. Once the rodent made the switch, Izuku carefully lowered him to the ground.
"Have fun, Nezu." Izuku said. "At some point, I would like to have a discussion with you though. There are a few things I'd like to talk to you about, and then I also needed to talk to you as the class president about support equipment in the sports festival."
"Oh? What sort of support equipment?"
"The sort that would allow students to properly use their quirk." Izuku responded. "Ashido's costume is acid resistant, which come to think of it, she ought to be wearing that to these training sessions. Hagakure's lets her actually utilize her quirk at all, as does Aoyama's. Then I'm sure that a few in Class 1-B are the same way."
"Hm. I'll certainly have to take a look at that. We usually keep a fairly short leash on allowing support equipment into the sports festival unless a student has prepared it themself, and even then it's rather stringent, as it would provide an unfair advantage. But I see your point about some of them not being able to use their quirk at all."
"Really, with that it's mostly about Aoyama, so far as needing it. But with Ashido and Hagakure it's a matter of modesty. They're going to use their quirks one way or another, so it would be best to make sure they're allowed to do so without worry."
"Of course. I'm sure we can work something out."
"I'm sure you will." Izuku said as he turned towards the training site, Eraser following suite. "By the way, you should consider letting Inferiority Complex use his rings, though admittedly there's less of an argument there."
Nezu let out a small laugh at that. He knew very well who Izuku was referring to. "I will consider it."
Izuku nodded as he entered the site, ready to start supervising. He knew that Monoma most likely wouldn't be allowed to use the rings, but part of Izuku hoped that it he would be.
It would make things so much more interesting.
An explanation of the quirk classification system, straight from the hands of the mastermind behind it NotMasonPines:
General Quirk Notation:
The notation that's commonly used in the quirk registry and scientific experiments uses these categories and types to give a general overview of each quirk for categorization and potential comparisons to related quirks. For a quirk that has two separate aspects the general quirk notation formula goes like this: Quirk Name (Rank, base activation aspect A/requirement types aspect A, base activation aspect B/requirement types aspect B; effect types aspect A, effect types aspect B): Detailed description of the quirk's functions. If different aspects of a quirk have different activation types but the same effect types then the effect type is only shown once.
Activation Requirement types:
Quirks have two fundamental activation categories: continuous and trigger. A continuous activation category requires the quirk to constantly fulfil the set requirements. A trigger activation category only needs to fulfil the set requirements during the initial activation, after which the duration of the quirk depends on other factors, such as limits, outside forces etc. A quirk can have three base activation types, which usually have further requirement types. A quirk can have multiple functions which have different base activation types, but the base activation types are always separate for each function.
Focus type: Most basic of the three base activation types, needing conscious effort to activate the quirk, can have further requirements but doesn't always need them.
Passive type: One of the three fundamental activation categories, is always active, needs no further requirements.
Automatic type: One of the three base activation types, automatically triggers when requirements are met, even if the user doesn't wish for their quirk to activate at that moment, always needs further requirements.(edited)
Contact type: Activation requires contact with the thing their quirk works on.
Proximity type: Activation requires proximity to the thing their quirk works on.
Vocal type: Activation is done through the user's voice.
Visual type: Activation is done through the user's vision.
Connection type: Activation requires a connection to the target, digested genetic material, blood, the target's consent (willing or forced), copied motions etc.
Miscellaneous: Activation does not fit under the above requirement types.
Quirk Effect types:
What a quirk does can be categorized in several basic effect types, these basic effect types can be combined in a multitude of ways to give a better general description of what a specific quirk can do (a person can usually guess what a quirk can do just from the listed effect types).
Elemental type:
Quirk interacts with an element or elements (aspects of the natural world) in some way.
Generation type:
Quirk generates a type of energy or matter.
Absorption type:
Quirk absorbs a type of energy or matter, the absorbed thing can't be used and only released.
Manipulation type:
Quirk can change an aspect or aspects of the target.
Kinesis type:
Quirk can control and change the movement of a target.
Stockpile type:
Quirk absorbs a type of energy or matter which can be used internally or externally later on.
Enhancement type:
Quirk enhances an aspect or aspects of the target.
Debuff type:
Quirk downgrades an aspect or aspects of the target.
Utility type:
A more specific type of subtype (combination of main types) that makes specific useful actions/procedures easier to perform.
Protection type:
Quirk protects someone or something.
Transportation type:
Quirk allows for fast transportation through some process (usually teleportation/warping).
Transformation type:
Quirk allows for the changing of someone's form.
Sensory type:
Quirk deals with someone's senses in some way.
Illusion type:
Quirk conceals what's really happening in one way or another.
Summon type:
Quirk can summon a specific thing or things, unlike generation the generated things are usually the same thing and are transported to and from some sort of storage place.
Sapient type:
Quirk has some kind of aspect that allows it to be aware of the world, come to conclusions and learn over time.
Animal type:
Quirk deals with animals in some way.
Mutation type:
Quirk provides large permanent alterations to the user's body that only have passive functions.
Information type:
Quirk gathers and processes information in some way, requires inputs.
Mental type:
Quirk affects the mind, its effects aren't physical.
Empath type:
Quirk has something to do with emotions, not just seeing emotions (empathy).
Healing type:
Quirk allows for the healing of someone.
Energy type:
Quirk deals with energy in some way.
Meta type:
Quirk deals with other quirks in some way.
Some extra notes:
- A subtype of the Summon type is the Familiar type. The summon aspect here is either when the quirk first manifests if the familiar always stays summoned or when the user can summon the familiar from inside their body at will. Familiars do not have to be sapient but are sentient.
- An often occurring subtype is the Illusion type, this one usually consists of mental/manipulation and generation/manipulation effects.
- Quirks that make the target experience certain physical sensations as illusions are not sensory/manipulation types but mental/manipulation (illusion type) since the physical senses themselves aren't affected, only the way the brain interprets the signals.
Quirk ranking:
F-rank: Generally useless and actively harms the user or makes a normal life impossible (no known examples but e.g. a quirk that gives you cancer)
E-rank: Mediocre in all categories, basically useless (The 'I can change my head into a clothespin' dude from Izuku's middle school class)
D-rank: Scores mediocre to great in one category or would be a higher rank but has a severe drawback or makes a normal way of life impossible (Nine's Weather Control quirk, the original user's Insomnia in WiaQ)
C-rank: Scores mediocre to good in a few categories but mostly average (Ojiro's Tail, Sato's Sugar Rush)
B-rank: Scores good to great in multiple categories, powerful and usually versatile (Chiyo's Heal, Mineta's Pop-Off, Jirou's Earphone Jack, Kaminari's Electricity, most of the 1st year hero course students actually)
A-rank: Scores great to amazing in multiple categories, powerful and versatile (Uraraka's 0G, Bakugo's Explosion, Monoma's Copy, basically all the remaining 1st year hero course students that didn't have lower rankings)
S-rank: Scores amazing in a number of categories, extremely powerful and versatile (All current canon S-rank quirks are: One For All, All For One, Half-Hot Half-Cold, Creation, Whirlwind, Double, Overhaul, Rewind and Overclock with Dark Shadow as honorable mention)
Also, Fanart! From Kattrina123 and Drawingterd respectively:
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Full credit for the classification system, which was laid out at the end of the chapter, goes to my friend/coconspirator NotMasonPines.
My Discord. Feel free to come hang out!
Conqueror
Chapter Summary
Who wants to see a few of Izuku's quirks get revealed all at once?
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku smirked as he caught a flying foot in one hand, halting the kick that had just been aimed at his head. A split-second later he pulled his head back just in time to avoid a punch, snatching the offending hand out of the air as it passed just an inch from his nose. With a firm yank, he tossed the two opponents away from him, one off to his front and the other behind him.
"Ashido." He called. "I told you. You need to start utilizing your acid in melee combat. You could've thrown acid from your foot to make it harder for me to block."
"And Hagakure." He said, turning to look directly at her, despite the fact that, since she was wearing her costume, she was completely invisible. "You need to take more care to ensure that your movements are completely silent, and you should time your attacks a bit better to work with your allies."
Both girls groaned out loud from their positions on the ground, with Ashido speaking out.
"But controlling the potency on the fly is so hard." She complained. "It's even worse when I'm fighting. If I don't get it exactly right, then I could end up seriously hurting someone."
"That's exactly why you're practicing with me. Not only am I less likely to get hurt to begin with, but any damage won't be lasting. I'm the perfect test dummy. For the time being though, take an extra split-second to focus on the potency before you attack. You'll do that over and over until it becomes second nature to control it as you go. Force it down as low as you can make it to start off with if you have to. Even something like that in your enemy's eyes can make a huge difference."
Seeing the look of apprehension on her face, Izuku continued.
"Here. If it'll make you feel better, you can see for yourself. Come drip some of your acid on my h-."
Izuku's head jerked to the side just in time to avoid a hardened fist coming from behind.
Without skipping a beat, he grabbed the arm, before swinging its owner up into the air and slamming them down into the ground. The impact was strong enough to crack the pavement beneath.
It was a good thing that part of Izuku's training regimen for Kirishima involved him keeping his entire body hardened as much as possible. He could afford to be a bit harsher in his treatment.
"Trying to take you opponent by surprise while they're distracted." He remarked, rolling his shoulder. "Smart. But remember, you don't always have to go for the head. It's an effective target to deal significant damage, but it's also a riskier target that's harder to hit. There's nothing wrong with getting in a body shot, especially with your hardened punches."
Kirishima let out a small cough from his spot on the ground.
"Is there a reason you're hitting so hard? It's only sparring, right?" Kirishima asked. His tone made it sound like he was complaining, but the smile on his face gave away how he was really feeling. He was excited. Whether it was because of the sparring itself, the fact that he was able to use his quirk with no reservations, or the simple fact that they were training their quirks in the first place, was anyone's guess.
"You're right." Izuku responded. "This is just sparring. That's why you're still conscious right now. And the reason we're doing it like this is so that you can improve as much as physically possible in the two weeks we have until the sports festival. One of the best methods to do so is through direct experience. A trial by fire, so to speak."
Looking around himself, Izuku observed the states of the students he'd chosen to spar with today. Ashido, Hagakure, and Kirishima were still on the ground. They weren't necessarily hurt, just sore and exhausted. Tsuyu was a few feet away, also on the ground but sitting up and looking better than the first three. And finally, Yaoyorozu was the only one still on her feet. She was leaning on a staff she'd created and was nursing an already-forming bruise on her side.
This sparring might indeed seem harsh to most, but it wasn't as if he was simply beating his classmates senseless for no reason. No, he was actively giving them advice as they went, telling them how to correct their mistakes in order to avoid getting taken down as they had. And it went without saying that he was going quite easy on them.
And his method was working. That was the biggest reason he was doing it like this.
Today was only the second day of sparring—the third day since they had begun training—and already he was seeing some minor improvements from them. It wasn't anything spectacular—a split-second faster reaction time here, a better bout of teamwork there, a correct prediction of how he would react—but it was noticeable improvement nonetheless.
These five were among the ones who needed fighting experience more than the others. Ashido, as he'd said, needed to be able to utilize her acid in a fight, and Hagakure needed to learn to properly support her allies as best she could while remaining unseen. Kirishima simply needed to enhance his quirk, both in his reaction time in activating it and with the amount of time he could keep it active. Tsuyu had a mutation quirk, so the extent of her training was to enhance her base physical capabilities and get her more experience in a fight. Yaoyorozu, despite being the most skilled of the group, needed practice when it came to using her quirk in a fight. Beyond simply creating weapons to use, that is.
Hers was easily the most versatile of the group. If she were able to use it properly, she would have the potential to take on her four teammates in a fight and stand a decent chance at winning.
The problem, however, was in her nerves.
Maybe it came from the ridiculous amount of forethought and preparation that her quirk required, both in figuring out what she needed to create and then in remembering its composition, but there was a certain amount of apprehension in her actions. It wasn't much, but he saw her hesitate the slightest bit just before creating a tool or weapon to use.
She either needed to become proficient enough in her decision-making that such hesitation was not necessary to begin with, or learn to push past it and make the best of what she creates, even if it isn't the best for a given situation.
There wasn't much that could be done about that aside from drilling the apprehension out of her. Get her used to fast-paced situations enough that she doesn't hesitate. Make it so that she can't hesitate, until eventually she won't.
Seeing them all in various states of exhaustion, Izuku relaxed a bit.
"Alright. We're taking a break. I'm going to check on everyone else, then we'll get going again."
He ignored the collective sigh of relief as he turned to start heading towards the others. His group had set up in a corner of the training site, so as to put as much distance between themselves and the others as possible.
These five weren't the only students that needed more experience in a fight, nor were the only ones that he planned to spar with, they were simply the first ones he'd chosen. Really, with the exception of Yaoyorozu and Ashido, he could've chosen anyone from the class. The only reason those two in particular were singled out was because their training specifically would require a bit more time than most of the others.
Izuku would've liked nothing more than to spar against all nineteen at once, rather than splitting them up as he had, but as fun as it would be for him, it wouldn't be very helpful for them.
Not only would it be a waste of time for everyone to fight him at once—as with such a large group, there would be more of him incapacitating them than advising them—but not all of them even needed fighting experience, some only needed to improve their quirk.
Bakugou and Todoroki were prime examples of this, with Ochako being pretty close. Both had excellent experience, there wasn't but so much they could get out of sparring with him. He only had one day slated for the two of them.
Ochako was in something of a middle ground between the two groups. She definitely had quirkless combat down, but could probably stand to fight with her quirk more than she had. He was planning on pulling her away during the second week to spar with her. In the meantime, he had her constantly using her quirk on herself and on as much debris as possible, so as to increase both her tolerance and her limits.
At the same time, Todoroki was improving his fine control over his ice. He'd already displayed his outright power, but Izuku wanted to see how detailed he could get with the ice he produced.
Todoroki had been somewhat skeptical, in his own silent, apathetic way, that such training would be necessary, until Izuku tasked him with creating a perfect cube with his ice. It had taken three failed attempts before he realized that Izuku was right. Izuku had left him with a list of various shapes and structures to work on over the two weeks. If he performed as well as Izuku was hoping he would, then he'd be creating intricate ice sculptures by the time the festival arrived.
He also, at some point, wanted to talk to Todoroki about his apparent refusal to use his fire, but he was a bit hesitant to do so.
It didn't take a genius to figure that there must be a fairly significant reason why he didn't use it. Such a huge part of himself, and he was neglecting it outright. Something that big was most likely very personal in nature. Not only was Izuku woefully unsuited for that sort of conversation, he also had no interest in even attempting.
He hated to see such a powerful quirk misused, but at the same time, no one had any right to make that decision except for Todoroki. If the reason behind it was as personal as Izuku suspected, then he had no right to interfere. All he could do was help to improve Todoroki's ice as much as possible to make up the difference.
Then there was Bakugou, the one whom he knew the least about, both in personality and in his skills. He'd already seen that Bakugou seemed to be fairly proficient when it came to fighting, so instead of focusing on that, Izuku had him focusing on his quirk, just like Todoroki. He would be working on producing the largest explosions he was capable of, as often as he was able to. Izuku had also mentioned to him the possibility of using his explosions as a method of propulsion. After seeing how Bakugou had utilized his quirk during the quirk apprehension test on their first day, he wondered if the same method could be applied for temporary vertical propulsion as well.
All of the other students were working on various aspects of their quirk just the same.
Jirou was working on improving the strength of her jacks, repeatedly stabbing them into the walls of the building she was in. She was also fine-tuning her quirk for reconnaissance. He'd sent her to the top floor of on of the buildings close to the center of the site and tasked her with picking out which students were where and marking down their locations on a map.
Shoji was tasked with splitting his arms into as many separate limbs as he could and controlling them all simultaneously.
Sero was currently swinging his way through the mock city like a pre-quirk era fictional hero, improving his mobility and pushing the limit of how much tape he could produce at once.
Each of them had a specific method of training specially tailored for them. Then later on he would be pulling most of them away to spar with him.
Izuku paused on his way to start checking on students.
Actually. He might be able to bring some more into his sparring group today. Some that might could use it. That might help balance things out a bit. And these particular students could probably use it.
A smirk appeared on his face. This might make things a bit more fun.
Twenty minutes later, Izuku had checked in with everyone and was back with his group, this time with two new students to join in.
"Alright everyone." He called. "Break's over. Time to get back to it."
He was surprised—though very pleased—when he didn't hear any groaning or complaining as the original five got up off the ground. Instead, when he looked around at all of them, he saw—assumed, in Hagakure's case—only determination in their eyes. Determination to withstand his training and grow stronger because of it.
A smile broke out on his face when he saw this. He was getting excited in the face of such determination.
"Also, from now on, we'll have Ojiro and Mineta joining us as well. So any strategies you might have should adjust to include them."
"Before we begin." He continued, looking down at the shortest student. "Mineta. Your quirk. Toss me one."
Said student looked up at him in confusion. "What? But it'll stick to you?"
"I'm aware. I would still like to look at it."
Still looking at him with a curious expression, Mineta reached up and plucked a ball from his head, before tossing it to Izuku, who snatched it out of the air.
Bringing it closer to observe it, Izuku tried pulling his fingers away experimentally. As expected, they barely budged, limited to only as far as the ball was willing to flex. The same was true in the opposite direction, when he attempted to crush it.
He might only have two strength quirks active at the moment, but still, it was surprisingly resilient.
"Yaoyorozu. I don't suppose you could make a rag of some sort? I'd like to remove this without sticking my other hand to it."
"Of course." She replied, already handing one to him.
He took it, wrapping it around the ball and concealing the hand it was stuck to in one movement.
Using 'Metallum,' he transformed the palm of his hand. His skin might not be able to withstand what he was about to do, but if it was metal then there shouldn't be an issue.
With that done, he gripped at the covered ball with his free hand and tore it away in one swift movement, dropping 'Metallum' an instant later.
He checked out his hand as he tossed the ball off behind him, and was pleased when he didn't see any damage.
"Now then." He said, rolling his neck. "Now that-that's done, let's get started."
"Wait, we just got here." Ojiro said. "Don't we at least get a chance to make a plan before we start?"
"Nope. As you'll soon find out, this is as close to a real fight as we can get in a training situation. There won't be many times where you have an opportunity to strategize beforehand, so neither will you have any right now. Learn to plan on the fly."
"So what are you getting out of this?" Mineta asked, tone a bit annoyed. "If this is meant to be training, how is it helping you?"
He could understand where Mineta was coming from. The boy's scalp was already bleeding from repeatedly using his quirk, and now he was about to get into a decidedly one-sided fight.
"This is more for your benefit than it is mine." Izuku answered. "To get you as much fighting experience as possible before the festival. Besides, you've all seen me fight. Are you able to legitimately suggest that I am lacking in ability or experience?"
Mineta didn't answer that. None of them did.
"That being said, I do see your point." He continued. "It's not fair that I'm not challenging myself at all with this."
Looking around, he spotted the staff that Yaoyorozu had created earlier, now discarded on the ground. It was made of metal, it would work perfectly for what he needed.
"Kirishima. Would you mind tossing me that staff there next to you?"
"Uh, sure?" He said, already moving to do so. "Why do you need it?"
Izuku caught the staff out of the air, already pulling on 'Weapon Mastery.'
"Because while I am not lacking in experience when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, that is not so much the case when it comes to handheld weapons."
Letting his quirk guide him, he spun the staff in his hands, enjoying the way it hummed through the air, before letting it come to a stop against his back.
"I might as well use this opportunity to do something about that."
Izuku smirked as he saw the vaguely irritated looks the other students shot at Mineta, and the look of regret in his eyes.
"Now then, I suggest you get moving before I come to you."
He didn't even finish speaking before he was already on the move. He charged straight for Kirishima, swinging the staff around and cracking it across his arm, which Izuku was pleased to see was already raised and hardened to block. That didn't stop him from getting tossed to the side, however.
Immediately after, he leaned back to avoid a kick from Tsuyu, bringing the staff up a split-second later to smack the side of her knee, then again across her back, sending her rolling as soon as she hit the ground.
With her out of the way, he brought an arm up to block Ojiro's tail, simultaneously, swinging the staff to deflect Hagakure's fist that had been aimed at his stomach. Grabbing the tail, he swung Ojiro into Hagakure, sending them both to the ground.
Right at that moment, he heard a massive explosion off to his side. He looked over just in time for a cannonball to impact his side. It didn't hurt, not with 'Shock Absorption' doing its job. But although it didn't measure up to the Noumu, he still felt it.
"Excellent."
He felt his smirk growing, even as he rewarded Yaoyorozu with another bruise and disabled the cannon.
Izuku didn't get a moment to breathe as Kirishima was on him again. The boy was right in front of him, throwing a punch aimed at his face.
He brought the staff down across Kirishima's hardened face, sending him into the ground.
Just as he did though, he noticed something in his peripheral, too late to dodge.
Izuku turned to look just in time to get a face full of acid, blinding him. At the same time, he felt something hitting his left arm, sticking it to his torso before he could pull it away.
"Excellent!"
With one hand, now that the other was incapacitated, he cracked the staff across Ashido's wrist, deflecting her incoming punch before delivering a follow up hit to her ribs. Then, in the follow-through, he hit Mineta away from him, sending the boy flying based on what he could hear.
Before anyone else could make a move, he spread his wings, thrusting them downwards with enough force to send up dust. He didn't take off into the air, as it wouldn't be fair to most of them, he simply intended to halt the fight for a moment or two.
Giving his trapped arm an experimental tug, he found that, just like with his hand, he wasn't able to free it without something else being added to the mix.
He could also feel the flesh around the upper half of his face sizzling ever so slightly, ensuring that he wouldn't be opening his eyes for a few minutes. Ashido must've misjudged the potency by a bit.
Not that he was going to point that out of course, at least not yet. This was the first time she'd used her quirk offensively in a fight as far as he'd observed, he wasn't about to say something that might put her back to square one. Besides, it was barely giving him any discomfort, and any damage caused would be counteracted by his healing quirks.
With his smile still in place, he poured his focus into 'Proximity.'
He'd already had the quirk active—it was rare that he ever had it inactive—but now he simply focused on it a bit more than usual, as it had temporarily become his only method for seeing his opponents.
"Very good." He said. "Very good indeed."
He pulled on one more strength and speed quirk, feeling them settle into place.
He was down to one arm and no eyes; he needed a little something to level the playing field.
"Well?" He asked, seeing that none of them were moving. "What are you all waiting for?"
"Uh, shouldn't we take a break so you can get your arm free?" Kirishima asked. "And so you can get the acid out of your-."
His words cut off as Izuku's fist impacted his stomach, which was thankfully hardened to avoid most of the damage. Izuku didn't stop there though, as he picked Kirishima up by the neck and threw him at Ojiro, who was identifiable by his tail, even if Izuku couldn't currently distinguish anyone based on things such as facial features.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now. You would be mistaken if you assumed that I've never had to fight without my eyes or with only one arm."
He didn't specifically mention the USJ, but he knew that all of them were thinking of that day, when he'd had to fight under such a condition.
"Now then." He said with a smile. "As I said a minute ago. I suggest you get moving before I come to you."
"Are you excited Shadow?" Oni asked. "Because I'm excited."
It was the following night, and Oni and Shadow were together, as they almost always were nowadays.
The other vigilante sighed in response. "Yes, Oni. I suppose you could say I am somewhat excited. Though it is almost certainly for a different reason than why you are."
"Oh? Do tell."
"There's no doubt in my mind that the reason you're excited is because we're walking into a fight that's likely to give us more trouble than usual. Because you're an adrenaline junkie. My excitement, if it can even be called that, is because we're finally about to score a serious hit against the Triad."
The two vigilantes were walking up to the building that would be their target for the night.
It wasn't much different from any other location they might go after. It was a small and unassuming single-story brick building on the outside, and led to a much larger space below ground. There were, however, a few notable differences that Oni picked up on.
For starters, there weren't any windows, and there was only one single door. Only one entrance.
The utility of having other points of entry to serve as potential emergency exits was cancelled out by how small the building was. Any opponent that presented enough of a danger to necessitate an emergency exit would not be so stupid as to not surround the building.
The door itself seemed to be made of steel, and Oni could tell just from looking at it that it was at least as thick as the walls were.
And speaking of the walls, a brief check with 'Spectrum' revealed that they, along with the roof, were all reinforced with steel.
This wasn't so much a normal location, meant to facilitate the Triad's primary function of human and quirk trafficking, as it was a veritable fortress.
A fortress to protect the person Oni and Shadow were after tonight.
After some time of harassing the Triad, clearing out minor locations and freeing their victims almost every night, they'd finally decided it was time to target someone a bit higher up on the chain of command.
Shadow was right. Oni was absolutely excited for the fight that was to come.
Just looking at the effort put into not only making the location as secure as possible, but also making sure such security measures were hidden, painted a picture for what they could hope to encounter once they'd entered. Whoever was inside must be important, which either meant that-that person would be stronger than the usual fodder, or they had someone like that nearby to protect them.
Oh yes. He was absolutely excited.
Oni had already pulled on the quirk that changed his legs, making them scaled and digitigrade, just as he had pulled on his claw quirk. He also had the strength and speed quirks he'd pulled from the Noumu, putting him on the same level as it for this fight.
Because of the security they could observe, they didn't bother with attempting to be stealthy as they approached, instead simply walking towards it.
There wasn't anyone outside keeping watch, nor was there anyone nearby as far as any of them could tell. But while that would normally be a sign of incompetency, here it simply wasn't necessary. The strength of the building afforded them that privilege. That, and the fact that the sheer number of cameras and sensors surrounding the building was almost comparable to Yueii.
He'd asked Rei to turn them all off as they approached. It would give him and Shadow away, but no more than leaving them on would've. Besides, like this, the people inside would have no idea what was approaching, only that something was. With luck, that would drive them into something of a panic as they prepared.
They came to a stop as they reached the door, which looked more like a vault door than something that should be the entrance to the building.
"So what's the plan then, Oni?" Shadow asked. "Want to wrestle with this like you did that vault during our first raid?"
"Ha. Hardly." Oni responded. "If I really wanted to, and didn't care about the collateral damage, I would simply blow the entire building away to get at what lies beneath. But no, I've got a much simpler method in mind."
He brought a hand up to rest it on the door.
"You see, whoever made that vault decided to make it out of titanium of all things. A massive waste of money if you ask me, because something that big made entirely of titanium would've cost about as much of the rest of the facility. But these people were much more sensible."
He pulled on a quirk that was absolutely perfect for this situation, feeling it settle into place a moment later, focused primarily around his hands.
"I would back up a bit if I were you." He advised. "This is going to make a mess."
Once Shadow had backed up a suitable distance, Oni continued.
"You see, whoever made this door had it made out of steel. Which, aside from being much more cost efficient, means that it's an iron alloy, which works out perfectly for me."
He focused on the new quirk in his hands, activating it. As soon as he did, the entire door immediately rippled, before liquidizing.
It was as if it had been melted. The now-liquid door flowed to the ground with the consistency of syrup, spreading across the ground and clearing the way for them.
The metal wasn't even warm to the touch as it flowed over his scaled feet. It was still cool from the night air. It made for a very odd sensation.
The quirk didn't melt metal, at least not with heat, it simply temporarily liquidized it.
It was aptly named, 'Liquid Metal.'
Backing away from the mess, he shook his feet to hopefully rid himself of anything that had clung to him. It only took a few moments for the metal to solidify again, freezing in a misshapen puddle.
With that done, Shadow was at his side again.
"…Do I even want to know how you're able to do that?"
"The answer to that is the same as any other time you've asked such a question. Just don't worry about it. Let it be and live your life."
"The entire upper building is empty." Rei announced. "They're all down below, getting ready for you."
"Sounds like fun."
Oni was liking these people more and more every minute. In addition to everything else, they were also smart enough to pull back to prepare instead of rushing out to face an unknown number of assailants.
A smile stretched across his face as his heartbeat increased in tempo.
"Let's get started then."
He and Shadow navigated through the building easily enough. It didn't take them long to reach the stairs that led down to the main part of the facility, and soon enough they were standing outside the door that led from the stairwell to everything else.
Oni could feel all the other people on the other side. No one was moving, and they were all spread throughout the space.
They were ready.
Oni hummed to himself as he brought his hands together, cracking his knuckles. The door was just as big as the one that led into the building. Now, he could very easily just liquidize it as he had the other one, but he had a much better idea for how he wished to start things off.
"Phantom, is there anyone directly between the door and the far wall? Would anyone be in the way if someone were to, oh I don't know, kick the door off its hinges?"
"You should be clear. Doesn't look like anyone's in the way."
"Why would you want to do that?" Shadow asked. "Couldn't you just melt it like you did before?"
"Why of course I could, Shadow. But that simply isn't as fun as what I'm about to do."
He stepped up closer to the door, shuffling through his active quirks and relishing the way his heart pounded away in his chest.
"Besides, first impressions are important. What kind of person would I be if I didn't immediately convey how fucked they all are right from the beginning?"
With that, he took a firm step forwards and kicked the center of the door as hard as he could. The massive door, bent slightly at its middle, separated from the wall, actually taking some of it along. It buried itself into the wall on the other side of the room.
Motioning for Shadow to stay put for the moment, out of view, Oni strode into the room, looking around at all of its inhabitants.
There were quite a few, somewhere around twenty in total, with a decent range of quirks. And even better, hardly any of them looked scared.
Normally, in this sort of scenario, his opponents would look pretty close to soiling themselves by this point. But instead, most everyone present tonight was displaying some variation of grim determination or anger as they watched him.
'Good.' He thought. 'Resist while you can. Make this as fun as possible for me.'
"Hello there, everyone!" He called out in greeting. "My name is O-."
A gunshot rang out, cutting him off, the noise echoing throughout the room.
In the silence that followed, the criminals all watched as Oni worked his mouth around, then spat something down at the floor.
That something pinged like metal hitting concrete as it bounced across the floor. Those that were close enough saw that it was the deformed remains of a bullet that had impacted something.
Oni looked down at the floor, inspecting the tiny, crushed piece of metal that he'd nearly just unintentionally swallowed. 'Shock Absorption' had rendered it useless. He barely even felt any discomfort where it had hit him.
He looked up at the person who had fired it. They had their arm outstretched, and he could clearly see the hole in their palm that must serve as the barrel for a gun quirk. Aside from that, he could see that they had joined the small number of people in the room that were afraid of him, seeing how useless their quirk had been.
His smile reappeared as he looked at them.
"Okay, first of all, that was quite rude of you. I wasn't even done talking. And second-."
In the blink of an eye, he was face-to-face with the criminal, separated by mere inches. He watched the fear in their eyes skyrocket as they caught up with him.
Taking their forearm in his hand, he crushed it, rendering their quirk completely useless. Just as the scream began to escape their throat, he placed a foot on their chest and launched them into the wall, silencing it before it even started.
Oni laughed as everyone else finally realized what had happened and scrambled to react.
"Let's get this party started, shall we?"
Before anyone could do anything, he brought his hands together in a massive clap, unleashing a shockwave that made everyone's ears ring and sent the people closest to him flying.
Just as he rushed forwards to really start the fight, he spotted Shadow appearing from the shadow of one of the criminals.
Oni let out another laugh as the entire room descended into chaos.
"Well that was a nice way to start tonight off." Oni said, looking out across the fallen criminals spread throughout the room.
"Whatever you say, Oni." Shadow said as he knelt down to check on one of them.
Oni hummed to himself as he picked his way through the maze of bodies. Unfortunately, none of the ones they'd encountered in this first batch had anything that was worth taking. But the night was still young, and this location was supposed to be the biggest one they'd encountered so far.
Just as he was about to step over a particularly large mutation quirk, he felt something that made him freeze in place.
For the shortest instant, not even half a second, he'd felt… something, on the edge of his mind. In that split-second, it was almost as if his body had refused to move. He brought his hands up, inspecting them. It was such a short, insignificant thing, he almost wasn't sure anything had even happened at all. Maybe he'd simply hesitated for a moment for no other reason than pure random happenstance.
He shook his head. Either way, they still had more work to do. And if that really was something, then he'd soon find out.
It happened again as they encountered the next group. It was a smaller batch than the first, but consisted of arguably better quirks. He'd started things off almost exactly the same way, but as soon as he moved to begin dealing with the rest, he felt the mysterious sensation again. His movements had halted for a full second, and it felt as though something were pressing against his mind. And this time, he saw Shadow freeze up as well.
He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It wasn't mind control, he'd experienced that before, and this most certainly wasn't that.
It was almost as if he'd encountered something that was making some baser instinct in his mind freeze up in the face of it.
Whatever it was, he wasn't a fan. It was almost certainly the result of a quirk, and he would make sure to hurt whoever was responsible.
As he shook it off once more, he turned his focus back towards his current opponents, now enjoying himself a bit less than he had been.
It kept happening as the two vigilantes continued to make their way further into the facility. It started happening more frequently the further they got, to the point that once every few minutes the feeling would wash over them and make them freeze. What's more, is that the further they got, the more intense the feeling became.
Oni was lucky in that it already barely affected him, and that the more that it happened, the more frustrated he became, which in turn made it easier for him to brush it off.
Shadow, on the other hand, wasn't so fortunate. It wasn't by much, but each time the feeling came again, he would freeze up for a few seconds before he was able to push past it. And he was naturally a level-headed person, so he wasn't one to get frustrated nearly as easily as Oni.
It eventually got to the point that Shadow was barely able to assist in the fight. He was being forced to sit back as Oni went in. He wasn't nearly as durable as Oni was, and apparently he wasn't as resistant to whatever quirk this was that was making things so difficult for them. Shadow couldn't push through whatever it was to avoid injury in the middle of a fight, nor was he resistant enough to avoid injury to afford that much of a delay.
Oni growled as it happened again, forcing him to pause just long enough for one of his opponents to land a solid hit to his chest, until he pushed through an instant later to retaliate, breaking both of the criminal's arms in the process.
That was the worst part of this; the fact that none of the criminals around him were being affected by whatever was happening. More than that, they seemed to be specifically timing their attacks for those very moments. It was as if they not only knew what was happening, but were actively expecting and predicting it.
'I swear. I am going to remove their legs if this keeps up.'
He caught a kick that was aimed at him, breaking the criminal's ankle. An instant later, they were sailing through the air and into one of their comrades, impacting with enough force to break bones.
Barely even five full seconds after the last, the feeling washed over him again.
He grimaced. 'Fuck it. I'll remove your arms too.'
Three separate fights and twenty minutes later, and Oni was bordering on fully infuriated.
Oni and Shadow—the latter suffering from a migraine at this point—eventually found themselves at the end of a long hallway, lined with doorways.
By now the feeling was coming several times in a minute and felt more like a physical force pressing down on them than anything else.
Though, for the past few minutes, the feeling had stopped altogether, which was why Shadow had caught back up with Oni at all. It was a bit of a relief, not having his actions stuttering along like a video with poor internet connection, and not feeling as though a massive weight was pressing against both his mind and body at the same time.
Though, at the same time, the fact that he had yet to encounter the source gave him a sense of foreboding.
They had yet to actually come face-to-face with whoever was causing it. And since it was obviously getting stronger the closer they got, they'd yet to experience it at its strongest.
As the two worked their way down the hallway, checking the rooms as they went for criminals, Oni kept an eye out as best he could, both with 'Proximity' and 'Spectrum,' hoping to catch some sign of the one who'd been giving him so much trouble.
Oni froze in place—this time under his own volition—when they finally got far enough for 'Proximity' to pick up someone waiting just around the corner at the end of the hallway. He held an arm across Shadow's chest to stop him.
As if waiting for this cue, a man stepped into view.
He was enormous, bordering on what Oni would expect to see from a mutation quirk, almost the same size as All Might. Jet black hair, a hooked nose, and a jaw so defined and square-like it was almost funny.
Oni didn't hesitate to use 'Appraisal.'
Name: Asari Sho
Quirk: Conqueror. Passive, Focus. Mental/Enhancement/Manipulation. Mental/Enhancement/Manipulation.
Transforms the user's willpower into a physical force. The strength of this force is directly proportional to the strength of the user's willpower.
Passive use increases the weight behind the user's words, making other's more likely to listen.
Active use exerts the user's will upon others.
Oni smiled upon taking in the information provided.
'You!'
Before he could do much of anything, however, he noticed one of the man's—Asari's—fists opening, dropping something to the floor. He watched as that something, several somethings, clattered at the man's feet, realizing a second later that they were syringes. There was only thing that could mean
Trigger.
His eyes widened, darting back up to look at Asari. He saw something flash across the man's eyes as he thrust an arm out at him and Shadow. Immediately, he saw cracks appearing on every visible surface as something barreled straight for them.
In an instant, Oni grabbed the back of Shadow's collar and threw him as far back down the hallway as he could, before turning back towards Asari and bracing.
It hit him with all the force of a train, freezing him in place and almost pushing him backwards, all while weighing down on his mind so much that it felt as though he were drowning.
He couldn't move in the face of it, could barely even breathe. It wasn't so much the physical force itself that was keeping him from moving, however. If it were physical force alone then he would have no issue brushing it off and ending this. No, it was whatever the quirk was doing to his mind that kept him immobile. It was as if it froze his mind in place, keeping him from thinking properly, or controlling himself.
But, no matter how strong it might be, or how much it threatened to suffocate him, it could not blot him out entirely. He could still feel that he had some degree of control. Otherwise he would've been blown away as soon as it hit him.
With all the control over himself that he had at the moment, he started drawing on quirks.
First was 'Wrath.' Immediately it took in the frustration that had been building up and converted it into raw power. He felt the intensity of Asari's quirk drop as fresh strength burned through him.
Then came 'Metallum.' It flashed across his body, turning flesh and bone into pure tungsten. The floor beneath him cracked as his new weight settled on it, even as the force bearing down on him became that much more bearable with his hardened skin.
He took a step forward, pulling on 'Gecko' to keep his footing and ensure he wasn't pushed back.
Asari's eyes widened when he saw Oni take a step, pushing past his quirk.
Oni, on the other hand, started smiling once more as he took another step, pulling on more strength quirks as he did. With each one, his pace increased, quickening until he was walking down the hallway at a normal speed.
The quirk was still weighing down on him, rendering his mind nearly blank and making him feel as though he were walking with a mountain on his back. Each step took a colossal amount of effort, the floor beneath cracking with every one, but still he continued to walk.
The criminal was starting to visibly panic as he saw Oni resist his quirk. He redoubled his efforts, sending another wave of force down the hallway at him. It didn't achieve anything though. Oni merely brushed it off, continuing his steady pace towards the criminal.
As he came within twenty feet of the man, Oni watched as he reached into a pocket and pulled more syringes out. His eyes widened at the sight. Asari had already taken so much, enough to potentially be lethal, but now he intended to take more?
On top of that, Oni was only just withstanding the man's quirk as it was. If he took another dose of that size, what would he be capable in the short-lived blaze of glory before his body collapsed?
The world slowed to a crawl as Asari raised the syringes into the air, preparing to bring them down into his arm.
Seeing that, Oni dropped to all fours, sinking his clawed fingers into the floor.
With as much force as he could muster, and pushing through the quirk as much as he could at such close proximity, he launched himself forwards, closing the last few feet that separated them.
As he travelled through the air, he dropped his hold on 'Metallum' and the claw quirk, exposing his hands as they reached for the criminal.
The moment his skin came into contact with Asari, he tore the quirk from the man, bringing the oppressive force to an abrupt end.
As soon as he felt the weight lift from his mind, before he even touched the ground, he spun around in midair and planted his feet on Asari's chest, before sending the man flying into a wall, where he dropped to the floor.
Oni settled on his feet, panting from the exertion.
Shadow's voice appeared over his earpiece a moment later.
"It's stopped." He announced, oh-so helpfully. "Are you okay? Is it over?"
Oni let out a shaky breath. "Not quite, I'm afraid."
He looked down to where the syringes were sticking from his chest. Three of them, plungers fully depressed.
Reaching a hand up, he pulled them out, hand trembling slightly, and tossed them off to the side.
He saw Shadow appear at the end of the hallway. Even at this distance he could see blood running down the vigilante's face. Hopefully that was simply from the pressure of the man's quirk, and not a bad landing from where Oni had thrown him.
Before he could ask, the thought was burned from his mind as a wave of fire surged through his chest. He gasped at the sensation, and found himself on his knees an instant later, Shadow already rising from the darkness next to him.
The vigilante was crouched down next to him immediately.
"Oni! Are you okay? What's happening?" He asked, just as Rei's voice sounded out, asking the same thing.
"I-."
He gasped again, this time doubling over as another wave tore through him. He could feel Shadow's hand on his back.
"Trigger." He managed to say through clenched teeth. "Fucker was going to inject himself. Accidentally got me instead."
"Oh shit." He heard Rei whisper. She'd immediately grasped the severity of the situation.
Trigger was an incredibly dangerous drug that served to enhance a person's quirk. It was the result of an experiment to artificially strengthen quirks, which was deemed too dangerous to the user and immediately halted. And then, naturally, it appeared almost immediately in the underground drug trade.
In a normal situation, with a single dosage, on a target with a single quirk, it yielded significant results. Significant enough to turn the tide of most any fight.
But this was by no means a normal situation.
He'd just been injected with three doses at once. And he had one-hundred-twenty-seven quirks packed beneath his skin.
A pained grunt escaped his throat as he felt another fresh wave of fire, this one more intense than the last. He was doubled over so far that his head was touching the floor.
"Fuck." He cursed. "It burns."
He could feel it starting. His chest, right where his quirks were settled. It felt as though there was something boiling within him.
At the same time, he could feel energy begin to buzz through his body. It was as if lightning had begun to course through him, and it was growing more intense with each passing second.
"Oni. We need to get you to a hospital." Shadow said, voice concerned. "I've never seen someone take so much Trigger before, but a regular amount is dangerous on its own. We need to get you some help."
He tried to pick Oni up by the arm, only to be thrown back a few feet as Oni pushed him away. It was a testament to how much the Trigger was already doing. He'd tried to limit the strength behind the push as much as possible.
"No." He groaned, his breath quickening. "It's not-. Not safe."
He could feel his quirks raging within him. A veritable hurricane with how powerful and chaotic it felt.
Most of them might be inactive, but they were still there. They were still in his body and within reach of the drug as it coursed through him.
Even now, he could feel them. Each one blazed like an inferno compared to how they normally felt. They threatened to bubble up from their place, activating without his consent. He struggled to keep them contained within.
He could tell right away that it wasn't working. A few kept slipping through his fingers, activating and adding to the crazed energy coursing through him. It was like trying to hold water in his hands.
"What do you mean, Oni? You need help."
Oni smacked his head against the floor in frustration. Frustration that was only being further incensed by the fire burning through him.
"No. Not safe." He repeated. Then, between breaths. "Shadow. You… Need to run."
"What? No. I'm not just going to leave you here-."
His words cut off as a shockwave rocketed out from Oni, courtesy of his newest quirk, which had escaped its spot in his chest. It was shoved back into place an instant later.
He groaned. There wasn't any time for pointless arguing. He could feel the energy within him reaching a peak, and his quirks were becoming harder and harder to keep a grip on. He needed to do something. He needed some way to burn off the energy, and with the way his quirks were misbehaving, that would not be safe for anyone near him.
"I said..."
Oni lifted himself up off the ground, forcing himself to look up at Shadow.
"RUN!"
Oni couldn't be sure what the other vigilante saw, but whatever it was made him sink into his own shadow immediately, disappearing from view.
Oni dropped his head back to the floor as soon as he was gone.
"Oni." Rei said. "What's going-."
"Phantom." He groaned, cutting her off, only barely remembering to call her such instead of her real name, as Shadow still had his earpiece. "It burns. It burns. I can't hold it back. Can't control it."
"What do you need?" She asked, voice shaking the slightest bit. "What can I d-."
"Eraser." He managed to squeeze out. "Eraserhead. Tell him… Dagobah."
"Alright. I'm on it. Just hang in-." He stopped listening as the burning became too intense to spare any attention to anything else.
His breathing kept speeding up. At this point he was barely a step away from hyperventilating. Quirks were constantly slipping from his grip and up to the surface. He was struggling so much to keep them contained, pulling them back so fast that he could barely tell what ones were even active at this point. He thought he could still feel his wings and horns where they were supposed to be, and his feet still felt the same, so at least he had that.
This continued for several long seconds, each one stretching out as everything climbed towards a peak.
Eventually, he pulled himself up in a single swift movement, gasping for air as he recognized the exact moment he lost his grip on himself.
The world around him was deathly silent for a single instant. The only things that existed in that moment was the thundering of his heart and the fire coursing through him.
In that instant, before everything came crashing down, he recognized one of the quirks that had escaped his grip and settled on the surface. He knew immediately what was about to happen. And although he was the one about to do it, he knew that he could do nothing to stop it. The energy burning through him needed to be released.
As he felt the world begin to crash back down around him, he closed his eyes.
Then his mouth snapped open, and out came a screech that tore its way out of his throat, loud enough to send cracks spiderwebbing through the entire room.
Immediately, his hearing cut out. The quirk-induced noise he'd produced ruptured his eardrums and dropped the world into silence once more.
As soon as his breath ran out, he took the opportunity to yank the quirk back within him, but in its place, he felt his electricity quirk slip through his grip. It activated immediately, sending massive arcs of electricity from his hands to the floor beneath him.
He pulled that one back too, only for 'Ignite' to appear instead, setting his hands ablaze.
This wasn't going to work. No matter what he did, his quirks wouldn't listen to him, wouldn't stay where they were supposed to. He needed something more. Something better to burn away this chaotic, restless energy.
Forcing himself to his feet, pulling back a quirk that sent puffs of supercooled air from his mouth, he did his best to let just his enhancers slip through his grip to settle into place.
He felt a few others come through at the same time, but he couldn't be bothered to try to reign them in at the moment, he was too focused on his need to move.
The floor beneath him exploded as he took off, doing his best to control his speed, which was enhanced far further than he'd ever experienced. It took every bit of focus he had not to collide with walls as he moved, something that, because of his strength quirks, would've likely ended up with him burying himself into the wall and burying the entire underground facility under a couple hundred tons of rock.
Eventually—though in reality it was barely even half a second—he made it to the top of the staircase that had led himself and Shadow from the main building.
At this point, he halted any attempt to control how much strength or speed he was using, no longer needing to care about the risks.
Instead, he crouched down, feeling the storm of energy condense in his legs, and launched himself into the air.
The air around him cracked with a thunderous boom as he immediately broke the sound barrier, crashing straight through the roof of the building and rising higher than any of the surrounding ones.
A flap of his wings sent a storm of wind raging towards the ground as it propelled him higher. He kept climbing higher until his breath was coming out in white clouds—this time not due to a quirk—and it was taking noticeable effort to breathe.
When he felt he'd gone high enough, he pulled an arm back, feeling the energy condense just as it had when he'd jumped, and punched.
The resultant shockwave was larger than anything he'd seen All Might create, raging as it tore through the air. The recoil sent him flying backwards.
He repeated this process, not paying attention to how far he was flying, all while other quirks continued to slip through his grip, before getting pulled back in a constant cycle.
At some point, he dimly recognized his hearing returning as one of his healing quirks must've slipped out.
He lost track of time as he flew through the sky, however many thousands of feet in the air he was, doing his best to keep his quirks in check as he burned through the never-ending chaotic energy that burned through him.
Eventually, he realized that he needed to head towards Musutafu. Enough time had probably passed. Eraserhead would hopefully be at Dagobah by now. If Oni could get there, and Eraser could use his quirk on him, then that would at least take care of his restless quirks. Then it would simply be a matter of waiting out the storm of energy as the Trigger worked its way through his system.
Looking down towards the ground, he picked out what he hoped were landmarks, orienting himself based on them. Spinning back around, he let off another punch to propel himself through the air towards his city.
The flight, during which he broke the sound barrier a few more times, only took him a few minutes. Normally, at his top speed, it would take him somewhere between thirty minutes and an hour to fly from one city to the other.
It didn't take long to spot the beach. As soon as he was close enough, he pulled his wings in to let himself fall.
The wind whistled in his ears as he fell, likely already at terminal velocity.
He'd aimed for the water some distance from the shore, hoping to avoid a major collision with the ground or any of the nearby buildings. He made sure to yank 'Shock Absorption' into place, thankful for the first time that his quirks were currently boosted far beyond their normal capabilities. It should have no trouble taking such an impact.
As the water drew closer, he closed his eyes, holding his breath and bracing for the impact.
It still hurt, despite having 'Shock Absorption' active. The impact stung horrifically, and he suspected at least one of his ribs was broken.
He took a single moment to writhe in pain, both from the impact and from the Trigger still burning through him, as he started to sink beneath the surface of the water. Then, in an instant, he'd propelled himself towards the shore, and was crawling out of the water.
He stopped once he'd pulled himself far enough away from the water, panting as he continued to struggle to keep his quirks in check.
His breathing stuttered when he felt a tugging at his gut, and heard faint thunder booming above him.
'No.' He thought to himself as he struggled to pull his quirks back. 'No no no. Not that one.'
This one was among his more devastating quirks. Under the influence of Trigger, there was no telling what it would be capable of.
Then, all at once, the boiling beneath his skin came to an abrupt halt. His quirks were no longer raging away, trying to activate themselves, and the thunder overhead stopped immediately.
He collapsed to his side, curling into a ball.
The restless energy was still there, coursing through him, but without the struggle of keeping a handle on his quirks, the rush was manageable.
He sighed, the relief at not having to fight himself was extraordinary.
"Oni!"
Right. The reason why it had stopped.
Oni opened his eyes to see Eraser running towards him, hair floating and trailing behind him.
"Oh. Hello there, Eraser. What a pleasant surprise, meeting you here at a time like this."
"Oni. What's going on?" Eraser asked, dropping to the ground next to next to him. "Phantom called and said that you needed help. She specifically told me to use my quirk on you."
Right. Rei. He wondered why he hadn't heard her after his hearing had returned. Maybe him crashing through the building had broken or dislodged the earpiece. That or his flight over the city.
Oni sighed. He knew that he would have to answer the man's questions.
"Trigger." He said. "Some piece of shit was trying to juice himself, accidentally got me instead."
"Oni, you looked like you were in pain. I've never seen Trigger do that to someone."
"Well, have you ever seen what three doses at once looks like? Because that's what I got hit with."
Eraser's eyes widened at that.
"We should really get you to a hospital. One dose is bad enough. People have died from that alone, but three at once is unheard of."
Oni let out a quiet laugh at that. "Well, you see, I would've gone to the hospital already, but I was a bit preoccupied. I don't know if you've ever taken Trigger, but it's not just your quirk that it affects. It enhances it, yes, but it also gives you the energy to use the enhanced quirk. Multiply that by three and you get what amounts to the world's worst caffeine rush, as if you'd brewed your coffee with cocaine. If I'd gone to a hospital, I wouldn't have been able to guarantee that I wouldn't accidentally take the building down."
"Besides." He sighed, closing his eyes again. "If something as simple as a drug overdose were enough to kill me, I would've died a long time ago."
He didn't have to open his eyes to see the worried look on Eraser's face. He knew that the man was concerned. His last statement would not have helped matters.
He sighed again. "I know that you have questions, Eraser." He said. "And I might just answer them. But later, alright? Right now, I'd really rather just lie here and wait this out. Tonight has been rather trying."
He took Eraser's silence as agreement.
A few moments passed in silence. Then, "Thank you for showing up, Eraserhead. It means a lot that you did. This would've sucked to have to experience it full force for however long it will last."
Another few moments.
"Sure thing, kid."
Oni panted as he as he flew through the air, though for an entirely different reason than before.
Before, it had been from the sheer struggle of holding his quirks back, and withstanding the massive surge of energy. Now, however, it was almost the exact opposite. Now he struggled to maintain the effort it took to fly.
He and Eraser had waited out the rush there on the beach, with Eraser using his quirk as much as he physically could.
And now that the rush had ended, he was left feeling completely empty. Just as he had felt towards the end of the USJ invasion, only much, much worse.
He would've sighed in relief, were he capable of doing so, as his home came into view. He stretched his wings out, gliding as much as he could and expending as little effort as possible.
As soon as his feet touched down on the surface of the balcony that connected to the living room and kitchen, he collapsed, not even having the energy to land with any semblance of elegance.
Almost immediately, Rei was there, rushing through the door towards him. She picked him up as gently as possible, wrapping herself around him and settling him in the middle. She had her arms wrapped around his chest, with his head just beneath her chin.
"That… sucked." He breathed after a few long moments, breaking the silence.
She let out a soft laugh at that. Though he could tell just from that little bit that her voice was still shaky.
She opened her mouth to say something in response, but before she could get a word out-.
"Izuku?"
The two of them turned simultaneously to look at the source of the voice, Izuku lifting his head as much as he could.
Ochako stood there in the doorway, in her pajamas and staring at the two of them with an expression that sat somewhere firmly between confusion and concern.
Izuku dropped his head back down against Rei, staring up at the night sky.
"Fuck."
Chapter End Notes
Did you spot the blatant One Piece ripoff?
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Family
Chapter Summary
Izuku has a long conversation with Ochako about his identity. And Aizawa has some concerns.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"I-Izuku?" Ochako questioned, taking a hesitant step forward. "Is-. Is that you?"
Izuku sighed, closing his eyes. He felt Rei tighten her grip around his chest ever so slightly.
"Hello, Ochako." He responded. "Yes. It's me."
Izuku knew he still looked like Oni. His wings and horns were still in place, as were his digitigrade legs. Those features, combined with his outfit, mask, and his altered facial features, meant that he shouldn't be recognizable as Izuku. That didn't mean he could just explain this situation away, though.
After briefly considering his options for a moment or two, Izuku had concluded that lying to cover everything up would take far too much effort and would result in a far more convoluted situation than what would come from telling the truth.
Not only would he have to explain away his—Oni's—appearance at the apartment, but he'd also have to explain Rei's reaction, and how the two of them were interacting. Not to mention the fact that in order to sell the lie, he'd have to disappear, transform back into Izuku, and reappear to claim that he had somehow missed the commotion on the balcony. All while feeling like he wouldn't be able to pull a single quirk from his chest or even lift his arms.
No, the only viable option he had available to him was to tell Ochako the truth. And not simply for the difficulty that the alternative would bring, but also for the fact that she deserved it. She deserved to know what sort of person she was sharing a home with.
All Izuku could do was hope that she wouldn't hate him afterwards.
"I-. You-. How-?" She tried to stutter out, before taking a breath. "What's happening?"
"Would you believe me if I told you that you were still dreaming?" He asked with a small smile.
She silently shook her head. Her expression was still drawn up in confusion and concern.
"Hah. It was worth a shot, I suppose."
He let out another sigh. "Alright. I'll explain everything to you. But do you mind if we move inside first? Tonight has been… trying."
Ochako nodded slowly, and Izuku lightly tapped at Rei's arm, prompting her to release him.
Izuku placed his hands on the coils of her tail on either side of him, and made to lift himself up, only to gasp in pain as soon as he put any pressure on his torso. He collapsed back against Rei, though he'd barely even raised himself an inch.
"Izuku!" Both Rei and Ochako exclaimed simultaneously.
He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. It felt as though he'd been hit by a train, which wasn't too far from the truth.
His lack of response did not calm Rei in the slightest.
"What is it, Izuku? Where are you hurt?"
He gestured at his torso.
"Chest." Izuku grunted, bringing his hands up to fumble with the buttons of his vest.
He gave up after a few moments when his fingers refused to function properly, huffing in frustration.
Rei didn't wait for him to ask for help—as he was just about to—already moving to do it for him.
Moments later, she'd removed his tie and pulled open his shirt to reveal the damage beneath.
Izuku's torso was a mess of bruises. Just about every inch of exposed skin below his neck was covered in splotchy black and blue.
He heard Ochako gasp, just as Rei spoke up again.
"Izuku, what the fuck is this!? What happened?"
He let out a small laugh in response. "I hit the ocean going quite a bit faster than terminal velocity. I was in a hurry to get to the beach, and decided that I'd rather hit the water than risk hitting something on land. Even 'Shock Absorption,' boosted as it was, couldn't quite cut it."
"And how come you haven't healed it yet?"
He bit back a groan as he felt another twinge of pain. "Because right now, even pulling it up feels like it would be a struggle, let alone trying to heal anything."
She calmed down slightly at his explanation.
"Alright. I'll bring you inside so we can have this discussion, but you have to promise to at least try to heal it, okay?"
Izuku sighed in response. "Sure. Yeah, I'll try."
He had no doubt that he could manage to pull up a quirk to try to heal the damage, it was just that the mere thought of doing so already made him feel sore, let alone actually trying to heal anything.
He felt her press her forehead to the top of his head, and leaned into it as much as he could.
A moment passed like this, then, "Ochako, could you help me get him inside please?"
"S-Sure."
A few seconds later he watched as she pressed her fingers to his arm, and felt the very odd sensation of being weightless.
As gently as she could, Rei lifted him into the air and steered him towards the door to the apartment.
As he floated through the air, marveling at the feeling of not being affected by gravity, he remembered with a small amount of shock that this wasn't the first time that Ochako had used her quirk on him. He'd been barely conscious at the time, but she'd also used it on him after the USJ invasion. She'd made him weightless so that All Might could carry him around.
It didn't take long for them to get situated in the living room, with Izuku once again leaning up against Rei with her arms wrapped—much looser now that she knew of the injuries he had—around his chest. Once he was in place, Ochako released her quirk, and he felt the equally odd sensation of his weight returning to him.
True to his word, as soon as they were settled, Izuku pulled at his healing quirk—his first one, as he didn't think he had it in him to heal everything at once—grimacing a bit at the soreness in his chest as he did. It felt as if it were a muscle that he'd overworked nearly to the point of injury, and was now having to use once more.
With the quirk in place, he activated it, doing his best to limit it as much as possible. He felt the slightest bit of relief when it started working, even through the aching he felt at overexerting the muscle.
At the same time, he reached up to the back of his head and fumbled with the strap of his mask, somehow managing to get it undone after a moment. He dropped it off to the side, enjoying the feeling of cool air washing across his face.
The room sat in silence for several long seconds after he activated his healing quirk.
…
"So…" He began. "I suppose I should address the elephant in the room first?"
Ochako nodded from her spot a few feet away.
"Why do you look like that?"
"Well, there's a short answer and a long answer to that." He responded. "The short answer is that, in addition to being Izuku Etsumi and the analyst 'Deku,' I'm also a vigilante that goes by the name 'Oni.'"
Her eyebrows shot up at that. "You're a vigilante!? But… isn't that illegal?"
"Hah. It is very illegal. But looking at the crimes of those that I stop, I think mine are much milder by comparison."
"But… Why are you a vigilante when you're going to Yueii to be a hero?"
"Because I became one long before I seriously considered the possibility of becoming a hero. And even after I did, I knew that it would take too long to actually do so. I've been a vigilante for about seven years now. It'll be another nearly three years until I'm a hero. That's far too long for me to not do anything in the meantime."
Ochako's eyes widened. "Seven years!? But then… that-. You've been a vigilante since you were eleven!?"
"Well, a named vigilante, at least." Izuku responded. "Technically, when looking at when I actually started going out on purpose to find criminals, I've been a vigilante since I was eight."
That rendered her speechless, and she was left looking like a fish out of water. Were Izuku not so sore and exhausted, and were the situation not so serious, he would almost find it amusing.
Though, in fairness, the idea of someone so young becoming a vigilante would be quite the surprise for most anyone.
After a few moments of silence, with Izuku attempting to ignore the rising soreness in his chest from pushing the healing quirk, Ochako spoke up again.
"Alright. What, uh-. Why did you become a vigilante?"
Izuku sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he'd likely have to expose his entire identity for the sake of this explanation. "Rei has told you about our childhood being less than stellar, and we've alluded to it being pretty shitty."
It wasn't a question, but Ochako nodded along.
"Well, the reality is that it was so much worse than anything we've hinted at. There isn't much you can do to water down the reality of two homeless children struggling to survive on their own without essentially omitting the entire story altogether."
"…Can you tell me now?"
He sighed again, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. "Yes, I can. But before we get into that, I have to tell you about the other side of all of this."
Seeing Ochako's slight look of confusion, he continued. "I told you there was a short answer, and a long one about why I look like this. The fact that I'm a vigilante is the short one. That's the reason why I look like this right this second, but it doesn't answer why I'm able to look like this to begin with."
She didn't say anything to that, simply looking at him with an expectant expression.
Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, thinking long and hard about how he would go about doing this, and hoping all the while that Ochako wouldn't see him as he really was. This was the second time in too short a time period that he was revealing his secret to someone. The only difference was that this time, it was even less his decision than it had been previously. And for some reason, the thought of Ochako turning away and rejecting him afterwards hurt even more than the thought of Yagi doing so.
After a moment, he felt Rei press a hand to his cheek, and moved to place his own hand overtop. He was grateful for the silent support.
He took a deep breath. "The reason I am able to look like this, is because of my quirk. My natural quirk, that is."
"W-What do you mean, 'natural quirk'?"
"I mean that my snake tail and strength are not the quirk I was born with. My real quirk, the one I developed when I turned four, just like everyone else, gives me the ability to take quirks from other people, and then use them however I see fit."
Izuku made a point of not looking at Ochako, not watching her expression, even as he heard a small gasp from her direction.
"Your quirk. It can take quirks from other people?"
"Yes, it can." He responded, nodding slightly. Then, a bit softer, "It's the reason I ended up on the streets all those years ago."
"Hey." Rei cut in, placing a hand right over his face. "None of that. You know perfectly well that-that had nothing to do with you. It was all her. Besides, your quirk is the reason we survived at all."
Izuku hummed noncommittedly in response, even as her hand shifted to run through his hair, around his horns. He still didn't quite believe Rei, that none of it was his fault, but he wasn't about to say anything to refute it.
"Wait. What do you mean?" Ochako asked. "Who're you talking about?"
Izuku sighed again, taking a moment to relish the feeling of Rei's fingers carding through his hair.
"That would be my dear old mother." He answered, rather bluntly.
"What did she do?"
"Well, to start off with, my quirk developed on my fourth birthday. Or at least that's when we first learned of it, as my quirk is rather unnoticeable unless it's actually being used. And since I've told you what it does, you can probably guess how we figured it out."
Her eyes widened just a bit. "You took someone's quirk? That's how you found out?"
Izuku nodded. "Well, we didn't know that it was stolen at the time. My mother and I both just thought that I'd ended up with an exact copy of her quirk. At least until she went to try to use hers."
He took a moment to press a hand to his chest, testing his injuries. They still hurt.
"She, uh, didn't take it very well. She woke me up later that night, drove me into the city proper, and dropped me off in an alleyway. Then she drove off, and I haven't seen her since."
He looked up at Ochako after a moment, to see her holding a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were shimmering ever so slightly.
"She-. She just abandoned you? When you were only four years old?" She asked. Then, when he nodded, "What about Rei? Actually, wait. You said that the snake tail wasn't your quirk. So then how…? Are you two not actually brother and sister?"
"Maybe not by blood." Izuku responded immediately. "But we might as well be, with as long as we've been together. And we're certainly better family than our real ones ever were."
He took a deep breath, before continuing.
"Anyways, back to the story. Fast forward a few days of waiting around and mistakenly thinking that she would come back, and throw in a local homeless drug addict to very nearly strangle me to death, and I left that alley and wandered around for a bit. Wherever I finally ended up, Rei stumbled upon me not long after. She started looking after me from that point on."
As he spoke, he reached a hand up to where Rei's were still working through his hair. He placed it over hers, and tried to silently communicate as much appreciation as he could through the simple gesture.
She must've understood him, as a moment later she maneuvered her hand around to grasp his. He felt her thumb running across his knuckles.
"So then… Rei was already homeless?"
Izuku nodded, then, before Ochako could ask how she ended up like that, he looked up at Rei to ask a silent question. He knew how much she disliked even thinking about her old family, let alone speaking about them. If she didn't want him to tell Ochako, then he wouldn't.
Surprisingly though, she nodded at him, giving her approval.
"As bad as my mother was, Rei's family was worse. They were much more… physical… with their mistreatment. Eventually, she decided to take her chances out on the streets. It wasn't too long after that-that she ran into me."
"And before you ask, the snake tail that I usually have was originally her father's. He found us about a year after we met, and became violent pretty quickly. In the process of trying to stop him, I took his quirk."
"Woah." Ochako whispered. "How did you manage to survive by yourselves?"
A dry smile found its way onto Izuku face at her question.
"Finding food wasn't too much of a struggle. If you know where to look, you can find enough to eat, so long as you can get used to eating stuff that's cold, stale, and partially rotten. Shelter was a bit more difficult. We ended up moving around quite a bit before settling in the beach-turned-garbage-dump Dagobah."
"The worst part though," he continued, rubbing at a sudden itch on his chest, "was the danger from criminals, homeless people, and drug addicts. Those people are cruel and uncaring on a regular day. It doesn't matter to them if their victim is a Pro Hero or two half-starved homeless kids."
"Luckily though, I had one of the best defense mechanisms you can have; a way to take their quirk and immediately turn it back on them."
They fell into silence with those words, as Ochako considered what he'd said.
In the meantime, Izuku inspected his injuries.
Even in the few short minutes since he activated the healing quirk, he could feel the soreness in his chest growing worse and worse. It was healing his injuries, sure—he felt like he could probably stand up now with a manageable amount of pain—but it was very quickly reaching the point of not being worth it.
After giving it a few more seconds to do what it could, Izuku dropped the focus he'd been giving it to work, before letting it settle back in his chest. Putting it back into its spot didn't hurt nearly as much as pulling it up had.
A few more seconds, and Ochako spoke up again.
"So, your quirk… Or, your natural one, I guess?" She said. "How does it work?"
He quirked an eyebrow. Of all the reactions he'd been expecting, curiosity on how his quirk functioned hadn't really been one of them.
"When I make direct physical contact with someone, meaning skin-to-skin, I can feel a person's quirk. It feels almost like a small flame just beneath their skin. Depending on how strong the flame feels, I can roughly gauge how strong the quirk is. Then, from there, if I choose to take it, I simply…" he made a slight grabbing motion, "pull it into myself. And once I have it, I can use it as if it's my own, because at that point it becomes mine."
Ochako's eyebrows were slightly scrunched as she followed his explanation. then, "Does it hurt? When you take quirks, I mean."
He grimaced. "It can. I've learned to adjust how much pain someone feels, to the point where it will barely hurt at all. But sometimes it depends on what I'm taking. If it's a mutation, or if they're trying to use it as I'm taking it, then it has a tendency to hurt quite a bit more."
She nodded along as he spoke.
"How many do you have?"
He let out a small sigh. "Excluding my natural quirk, one-hundred-twenty-seven."
"That many!?" She exclaimed, before her eyes brightened. "What do they all do?"
His brow creased at the look in her eyes. It almost looked like excitement, but that surely couldn't be the case.
"If you're looking for an actual list, I have one, and can show you at some point. But most of them are different. A number of them are basic enhancers, such as strength, speed, durability, and intelligence. Some of them are transformation quirks, like claw quirks. Others are mutations, like my snake tail, my horns, and my wings. And then there are some with extremely diverse effects. I've got one that lets me emit whatever smell I wish, so long as I've already encountered it naturally. And then I have another that lets me create an extremely sweet substance from my hands, essentially an artificial sweetener."
"Wow." She whispered. "That's-. That's so…"
He held in his breath. This would be it; the moment where he learned exactly how Ochako felt about the whole situation. He didn't have high hopes. He just hoped that she would at least react how Yagi had. Some fear, maybe, but ultimately accepting it, accepting him for what he was. He hoped that she wouldn't hate him for it; he wasn't sure if he could handle something like th-."
"-Cool!"
He blinked, noticing how bright Ochako's expression had become.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Your quirk." She responded. "It's so cool! I've never heard of one that lets someone take other quirks before. But yours does, and you can use them too! It's no wonder you're so smart and strong!"
"You-. What?" He repeated, even as he felt Rei's hands rubbing at his shoulders. "You think my quirk… is cool?"
"Of course I do. Why? What did you think I would think of it?"
"Ha…" A small incredulous laugh bubbled up from his throat. "Based on past experience, I expected you to hate it, or at least be afraid of it."
Her smile shrank a bit at that, and her eyebrows scrunched together. "Why would I think that? How many people have you told?"
"Not including myself, you are the fourth person to know what my quirk is. My mother and Rei being two others, and then the final person will remain unnamed for now, since telling you would lead to me exposing some of their secrets, which I promised not to do."
"Oh." She said. "But why did you think I wouldn't like your quirk?"
Izuku was silent for a moment as he considered his answer. How best to explain that he saw himself as a monster, and that he didn't really expect her to be anything but afraid or angry. How should he go about explaining that his very first experiences with his quirk were stealing his mother's, which lead to him being abandoned on the street, and causing intense, debilitating pain to everyone he used it on for the longest time, to the point that he eventually couldn't see his quirk as anything but an evil thing that caused nothing but pain.
How could he possibly explain to her that he'd expected her to see it in the same light?
"Because of the three other people that knew before you, one saw it as the quirk of a monster and a villain, and dumped her son on the street because of it, and another was afraid of it, though admittedly it wasn't just because of my quirk."
"Only Rei didn't react negatively." He continued. "She didn't care what my quirk was. She still took care of me regardless."
"Oh." She repeated, before smiling at him again. "Well, now you can count me in the number that thinks the same way. I don't hate your quirk, and I'm not afraid of it. I think it's cool."
"Ah…"
Izuku had no words whatsoever for this situation.
He was used to Rei complimenting his quirk, trying to get him through his hatred of it. But despite that, he was woefully unprepared for someone else having a similar opinion of it.
Of all the ways that he'd been anticipating Ochako to react, happiness, excitement, and compliments were not among them.
He had no words to express how happy it made him to see that reaction.
A sniffle broke him out of his thoughts. It took him a split second to realize that it was him.
Shaking his head, he scrubbed at his face, before turning back to Ochako with a smile.
"Anyways. Now that we've got that out of the way, would you like to hear the rest of our story? About how we managed to survive on the street?"
She matched his smile, nodding her head and scooting a bit closer.
And so, Izuku spent the next few hours revealing what was essentially his and Rei's life story.
He explained it all from the beginning; how they had met, the first shabby home they'd lived in for a bit, then wandering around until they found the beach, Rei's father, the struggles they faced nearly every day. He even went into detail on his quirk, explaining how they survived because of it, how he'd taken his first intelligence quirk and, from there, had started educating himself. He explained how, in time, the two of them had eventually made it to the point that they could sleep in a proper home, wear clean clothes, and eat food that wasn't dug out of a dumpster.
Izuku told her about the moment that he'd decided to actually take on a name and a costume to go out and do his part to clean up the city, and how it hadn't taken long before Eraserhead was the one dealing with him on a regular basis, he told her about his establishing himself as 'Deku' and how he used that to pull himself and Rei into the life they were living now.
Ochako would interrupt every once in a while to ask questions, which he would answer without hesitation, and occasionally Rei would add in her own perspective on things.
Eventually, he got to the point where they'd started to enjoy their life, where they didn't struggle to wake up in the morning.
"And before too long," Izuku said, "we were able to move in here. Rei didn't need to work anymore, and I was making enough with my analysis that we could afford to do what we wanted with ourselves."
"That was when I was fourteen." He continued. "Not a whole lot has changed since them. Pretty much just take everything at that point and imagine it continuing to improve, and you get the general idea. I continued to go out and be a vigilante, constantly growing stronger and more efficient, I continued to educate myself further, which in turn helped to improve my analysis, and Rei continued tackling her own education, doing well enough that I would've almost suspected that I gave her an intelligence quirk by accident."
"Actually," he said, ignoring the hand that was now smushed across the side of his face, courtesy of Rei, "aren't you on track to finish this semester?"
"Yep~!" Rei exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. "With how I've been taking care of it, I'll have everything done by this summer."
He smiled. "As expected. You've been working so hard."
Her hand moved to the top of his head, fingers lightly scrubbing through his hair.
"Now then, since the lovely backstory has been told, I think we should both get some sleep before we have to head to school in a few hours."
"Wait." Ochako and Rei both said at the same time, with the former continuing. "You're not thinking of still going to Yueii are you?"
"Of course I am. I still have to supervise everyone's training, don't I?"
Izuku, no." Rei said. "You're still hurt. You should be resting, not going to school."
"I'll be fine." He insisted. "I've recovered enough by now that I should be able to shift back without too much issue. And once I'm there, I won't have to do anything aside from not fall asleep in class and supervise everyone when we get to our Heroics class. I definitely wouldn't be sparring."
Rei shut her eyes, taking a breath. "I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?"
Izuku shrugged. "You certainly might. But I hope that you don't try to. I want to go, if only to supervise the training."
She sighed, moving her hands to the side of his face. "Alright. Fine. If that's what you really want to do, then I won't try to stop you. But please take it easy. No sparring, or anything strenuous. And definitely no going out as Oni tomorrow night."
"Don't worry." He said with a grin. "I was planning on taking a small break from Oni anyway."
As gently as he could, Izuku removed himself from Rei's embrace. He got to his feet, ignoring the twinge of pain that came from his torso. His healing quirk must've done more than he'd thought.
"I'm going to go lie down for a bit." He said. Then, to Ochako. "I suggest you try to get some sleep yourself before we have to head out in the morning."
"Alright." She said, rising to her feet as well. "I'm not sure If I'll be able to, but I'll at least go lie down."
Then, before he could turn to head for his room, Ochako stepped forwards and gently wrapped her arms around his middle. He still had his digitigrade legs, which meant that he was about two feet taller than her; the top of her head barely came up to his chest
"Thank you for telling me about everything. I know you didn't really want to."
Izuku hesitated for a moment, before resting a hand on top of her head.
"It's fine. You have a right to know who exactly you're living with."
Her hold on him tightened slightly. "I'm glad you both ended up okay in the end."
A small smile appeared on his face. "As am I."
With that, Ochako released her hold on him and headed for her own room, leaving Rei and Izuku alone in the living room.
"I'm glad that all went as well as it did." Izuku said.
Rei had a smile of her own. "Did you really expect anything different from her?"
"Looking at it now? Not really. But then, it's always been better to expect less of people until they give you a reason not to."
"Maybe. But either way, I'm glad everything's okay."
"Now," she continued, rising up off the floor. "Go get some rest. And don't even think about coming out to cook breakfast later. I'll take care of that."
His smile widened. "Thank you, Rei. For everything."
She knew he was talking about more than just breakfast.
"You're welcome. And thank you. Now go rest."
Smile still in place, Izuku turned and headed for his room.
Izuku huffed as he and Ochako touched down in front of Yueii's main building. Lowering himself a bit closer to the ground to let Ochako off of his back, he tried his best to get his breathing under control. In his exhaustion, even the simple act of flying to the school had him breathing heavier than normal, his hearts pounding a bit harder.
Activating and deactivating the necessary quirks to shift his appearance back to normal had taken more effort than he'd anticipated
He ignored Ochako's concerned looks—he could tell she was trying to be discreet, but even as exhausted as he was it wasn't hard to see—as the two of them made their way inside.
Then, as they finally made it to the classroom, he ignored the looks of all of his classmates as he made his way to his desk.
Izuku knew that he looked like shit. He was visibly tired, had bags under his eyes for the first time since before he and Rei moved into the penthouse, and probably looked irritated, something that he knew was incredibly rare to see, especially from their point of view. Honestly, if he wasn't as tired and sore as he was, he would've been tempted to pull on his shapeshifting quirk to freshen his appearance up just a bit.
Combine all of that with the fact that he was the last one to come into class, when usually he was one of the first, and that Ochako looked as concerned as she was, and Izuku could understand why everyone was watching him. Though that didn't mean that the attention didn't irk him just the slightest bit.
Pulling a notebook from his bag, he pretended to focus on it, doing his best to ignore the looks of his classmates.
Izuku trailed behind his male classmates into the locker room, honestly feeling marginally better than he had at the start of the day.
For one, he didn't feel quite as tired or sore as he had. It wasn't a significant improvement by any means, he certainly wasn't about to start pulling on quirks again, but it was enough for him to notice, and that made him feel a little better. Then there was the fact that they were finally at the last class of the day, and it was one where Izuku could, for the most part, avoid everyone's concerned, or otherwise curious, stares.
It was their Heroics class, the one he'd temporarily taken over in order to train the rest of his class. He definitely wouldn't be sparring with anyone today, but he was perfectly capable of watching and giving advice. And if he was a touch slower in moving between everyone than normal, then no one should really be able to notice.
Moving back to his usual locker in a corner tucked away from everyone, he started the process of removing his uniform to get changed.
Just as he was about to pull the gym shirt on, he heard Kirishima speak up from behind him.
"Hey Etsumi! Are you doing alright today? You look like you're exhausted."
Izuku had to physically stop himself from startling a bit at the boy's words, biting back a small wave of frustration from not even knowing that he was there in the first place. The absence of 'Proximity' was making itself known.
His nearly startling at the words, combined with the frustration and his ever-present exhaustion, made it so that he didn't fully register Kirishima's words at first.
"Hmm?" Izuku hummed, turning around to look at him. Then, "Oh, right. Yes, I'm fine, just a bit tired."
"…?" He paused as he looked at Kirishima. The boy was no longer looking up at Izuku's face, but just slightly lower, with wide eyes. Behind him, Izuku could see a few other classmates staring just the same. Izuku followed their line of sight back to himself, which led right to his bruised torso.
Izuku sighed internally. 'Well shit.'
He pulled on the gym shirt before anyone could stare more than they already had.
"Etsumi…" Kirishima continued. "Are-. What was that? Are you okay?"
"I am just fine." Izuku responded, turning around to gather his stuff together to stuff it into the locker. "It is nothing that concerns any of you."
"But, those bruises… How did-. What happened?"
Izuku felt a sudden bolt of frustration shoot through him at the questions. He wasn't sure if it was anger at having his injuries discovered, or the fact that he'd been injured in the first place, or maybe the concern that Kirishima was showing, but something about the situation had Izuku more frustrated than he was expecting.
The locker door slammed shut with enough force to dent it, cutting off anything else that Kirishima might've wanted to ask.
"Did I stutter?" Izuku asked, slowly turning back around to face his classmates. "If I did, I'm terribly sorry for not speaking clearly the first time. Please, allow me to repeat myself."
He inched closer to Kirishima, towering nearly a foot over the boy. When he spoke again, his voice had dropped down to a whisper.
"I am fine. And anything you might've seen, is none. Of your. Concern. Is that understood?"
He watched Kirishima dry swallow, before giving a shaky nod.
"Excellent." Izuku said, voice raising back up to a normal volume. "Then I'd suggest you all finish getting changed so that we can get started. You all have a lot of work ahead of you."
With that, he made his way to the door, ignoring the eyes on his back as he pushed it open.
There goes his good mood.
There was something wrong with Etsumi.
Shouta could see that much. Compared to the normal display of strength and attentiveness that the boy tended to show, the difference was clear as day.
As soon as Etsumi had entered the classroom—very nearly coming in late, which was an odd occurrence on its own. Before today, the boy hardly arrived later than an hour early—Shouta could see exhaustion wearing at the boy's frame. The normal alert atmosphere he usually gave off, the one Shouta could feel trained on him most days as soon as he entered the same room as the boy, was nowhere to be seen, and Shouta could see bags under his eyes, another thing he'd yet to see before today.
Maybe Shouta would ask him at some point if he was okay.
As far as Shouta knew, Etsumi could be sick, or maybe just didn't get a good night's sleep. Coming into school exhausted wasn't necessarily cause for concern after all.
Shouta bundled up into his sleeping bag as the students settled in to quietly study or talk or whatever they wished to do during the homeroom period. For now, he would keep an eye on Etsumi. Then maybe later, come the end of the day, if Etsumi wasn't looking any better, he would ask.
Shouta rolled his shoulders as the bell rang across the mock city, signifying the end of the period. Now he could go take a nap somewhere.
He could've already left of course, like All Might, who had begun to take the opportunity to relax in the teacher's lounge, but he made a point of sticking around to keep an eye on everything.
Shouta had seen by now how competent Etsumi was when it came to supervising everyone's training—it was as if the boy had eyes all over the mock city, and seemed to know exactly when someone needed him—but part of him didn't want to miss anything. He was their teacher, he wasn't about to miss out on any training they did. It was the same reason he'd gone back and watched all of the footage for the battle trials; he needed to know where they all stood, so that he could know where they still needed to improve.
Well, that, and because he'd be lying if he said it wasn't just a little interesting, watching everything that Etsumi, 'Deku,' had lined up for everyone.
Just as all of his students were headed back to the locker room after a period full of harsh training, and he was about to head back to the main building himself, Shouta saw Iida heading directly for him, with Kirishima in tow.
"Did you two need something?" Shouta asked as they came to a stop in front of him.
Oddly, both of them looked over their shoulder towards the rest of the students before leaning just a bit closer.
"Yes sir, we did." Iida started. "It's about Etsumi. He's-. Well-."
"He's hurt." Kirishima cut in.
Shouta felt his blood run a little cold with that statement. He narrowed his eyes at the two boys.
"What do you mean, he's hurt?"
He watched Kirishima gulp. "In the locker room, when we were getting changed to come out here. I went to ask him if he was okay, because I saw that he's been really tired and sluggish all day. And when he turned around, his-, his entire chest and stomach were covered in bruises. Bad bruises too. It wasn't like maybe he accidentally got hit or something, because most of his front was black and blue."
Shouta's eyes widened, and he felt the cold sensation grow a bit worse. He looked over at Iida, who was wearing a serious expression.
"Iida, is this true?"
The blue haired boy nodded. "It is. I didn't get a very good look at it, but I did see bruising."
A number of things ran through Shouta's mind at that. Potential causes, reasons why Etsumi might be injured, realization that-that must've been why he seemed so off when he came into the classroom.
Above all else, though, was the question of what could possibly cause that sort of injury to Etsumi.
Not only was Etsumi the strongest student in Shouta's class and the one with far more fighting experience than any of the others, and a contender for the title of strongest student in Yueii, if Shouta's instincts were to be trusted, but he apparently had enhanced healing strong enough to even restore lost limbs.
So, what could've possibly both gotten close enough to Etsumi to injure him, and then once it had, to injure him severely enough that his healing couldn't cover it.
Maybe he would have to talk to Etsumi after all.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention." He said to the two students. "I'll handle it. Is there anything else you wished to tell me?"
"Yes, there is." Iida answered, though he looked a bit more hesitant than he had a few moments ago. "I… I believe Etsumi might not be safe at home. Or that he at least doesn't live in the best conditions."
And with that, Shouta felt something in his chest stutter.
"What led you to believe that?" He asked. "That is a very serious thing to suspect."
Iida nodded. "I know. Previously, I wouldn't have come to you about it, because I didn't believe it was strong enough evidence. But seeing him hurt today was the final piece."
He took a breath. "For starters, it seems as though he handles most of the chores and tasks for his home. The first day of school, when we were leaving, he mentioned that he needed to buy groceries. From the way he said it, I got the impression that he does so on a regular basis. And then a few days later, on the day that the alarms went off, he said that he does all of the cooking. I made a comment about it being commendable that he takes the strain of cooking away from his parents, and he gave a vague response, and very quickly changed the subject."
Shouta nodded along with Iida's explanation. On their own, the things he was talking about wouldn't necessarily mean anything. But in the context of a bigger issue, then they started to.
"Anything else?"
"Yes. On the day of the battle trial, after everything had ended and we were leaving for the day, Etsumi went to visit Uraraka in the infirmary. When I asked him about it, he asked me if that was something that friends were supposed to do. Again, the way he said it leads me to believe that he isn't accustomed to having friends, or maybe to social contact at all."
"The biggest thing, however, is that he seems to greatly dislike being touched. On the day of the entrance exams, I, at one point, came up behind him and made to grab his shoulder. Before I could, however, he warned me that, if I did, he would break every bone in my hand."
Shouta had noticed that as well. Not that specific instance of course, but Etsumi's aversion to touch.
It wasn't simply a matter of disliking it, either, as a germaphobe might.
No, Shouta had seen the way the boy acted. It wasn't that.
He saw it anytime someone moved behind Etsumi, or made a move like they were going to touch him. The boy's shoulders would tense ever so slightly, and if they weren't already, his arms would drop to his sides and his fists would clench, as if he were preparing to defend himself.
And if someone did end up touching Etsumi—outside of combat of course. When Etsumi was fighting, Shouta could hardly discern any sort of emotion from him, with the exception of occasional excitement—Shouta could almost see the boy's thought processes.
Shouta had only seen such an occasion about three times. That was how strong of a reaction Etsumi had.
The first was during All Might's first round of battle trials. During Etsumi's fight, Shouta had watched him put Asui on his back, and then watched the brief internal struggle immediately after.
It wasn't much, and the quality of it was reduced by being a recording, and with the way the cameras had been partially iced over, but Shouta had seen it in Etsumi's face and in his body language. It was clear that the boy was majorly uncomfortable having someone on his back, with their arms around his throat.
The second instance was on the day of the second round of battle trials, before any classes had even begun.
Shouta's vision had been obscured by the swarm of media vultures that were crowding the gate, but he'd been watching Etsumi navigate through them. He saw the instant that one of the vultures had laid a hand on the boy.
Etsumi had all but locked up in that moment, and his face communicated what he was feeling more clearly than Shouta had ever seen, even up to today. The boy had wanted to physically harm the vulture for touching him, though thankfully he'd refrained from doing so.
The third instance, which really was a few separate times rolled up together, was when Shouta had seen Etsumi let Uraraka climb up onto his back. He wasn't quite sure why the two of them had been arriving at and leaving the school like that, but then, it wasn't really his business what his students did when they weren't at school. So long as they continued to perform at their best, they could spend their time doing whatever they wished.
Either way, the first few times Shouta had observed it, Etsumi had gone through the same internal struggle that he had when he picked Asui up. He'd watched the discomfort flash across Etsumi's face.
It was only recently that-that reaction had started to improve. Etsumi was still uncomfortable every time it happened, but he seemed less so with every instance.
Despite that, though, it was clear to Shouta that Etsumi had a major dislike for physical contact. With the way he reacted to it—ready to defend himself, or to actually attack if he was touched—it was as if the boy had-had some very poor experiences with it.
Shouta hadn't thought too far into it before—after all, it wasn't as if he could assume very much because of an aversion to touch; intense though it may be, there was no real evidence of anything, and with how strong and capable the boy seemed to be, Shouta didn't see much reason to—but in the context of what Iida was suggesting, it painted a picture of a much more serious issue.
A whirlwind of thoughts raced through Shouta's mind with Iida's words. He gave his head a quick shake in an attempt to clear them away.
"I see. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." He said to the two students. "I'll handle it."
Both of them seemed to relax ever so slightly at his words.
"Now, both of you go get changed and head home. I'll make sure everything is taken care of."
They nodded, complying immediately.
Shouta sighed to himself as they walked away; this was already looking like a mess.
Abuse of any kind was a very serious thing to suspect, and was something that Yueii did not take lightly in the slightest. Just the mere thought that one of his students was going through something like that had his blood running cold.
In all the years that Shouta had been a teacher, there had been exactly two instances that had come to light of a student suffering from physical abuse. One case was because of the student's family, and the other because of the person that the student was in a relationship with.
In both cases, as soon as the abuse was discovered, Yueii had taken control of the situation almost immediately.
Having Recovery Girl and an in-house therapist employed and on call for emergencies, a staff made up of almost exclusively Pro Heroes, and Nezu to lead it all, made it incredibly easy to handle everything. With how much collective weight there was behind the name 'Yueii,' there was very little that could be done to stop them.
Those two situations were made even easier to handle by the fact that all of the students at Yueii were legal adults. The victims had been able to answer any questions they wanted to, accept any medical treatment, and all around handle the situation however they wished to, all without having to get anyone else involved to potentially complicate it.
That would also make it easier for Shouta to do what he needed to in order to sort this particular situation out.
For starters, he needed to confirm whether or not there was anything going on to begin with.
Despite how serious the situation was, or perhaps because of that, he needed confirmation before he did anything. It wouldn't do any good for him to go straight to Nezu with an accusation of abuse backed by nothing but Shouta's own observations and suspicions, and the fact that Etsumi supposedly came in injured today.
He needed to talk to Etsumi about it.
In a normal situation, directly confronting the victim—or potential victim—wasn't really the best way to go about handling it. There were a whole host of things that could go wrong, and it had the potential to do more harm than good.
But all he needed was a simple yes or no. He needed to know, one way or another, whether or not his student was safe.
If Etsumi was safe, then that would be that, and Shouta could see about addressing whatever had caused the boy's injuries.
But if Etsumi wasn't safe, and Shouta hoped that wasn't the case, then he could go to Nezu. The rodent would be able to handle it from there.
Shouta sighed again, turning towards the main building. He needed to find Etsumi before he left.
"Etsumi." Shouta called out, prompting the boy to look over at him. "Can I speak to you for a few minutes? In private?"
He'd caught up with Etsumi and Uraraka at the main doors. A minute later and they would've been gone.
Said student seemed to consider it for a moment, before sighing.
"Alright. I suppose so." He said, turning to heads towards Shouta, who started leading him towards an empty room.
Shouta didn't miss the way that Uraraka was watching Etsumi. She was concerned for some reason.
A minute later, and Shouta was closing the door behind him, with Etsumi already inside. The room was silent for a moment, until Etsumi spoke up.
"So, what was it you wished to discuss?"
Just as he had this morning, Shouta noticed how tired Etsumi seemed to be. He hadn't heard him speak before now, but he sounded like he was utterly exhausted.
"First, I wanted to ask if you were okay." Shouta started. "I've noticed that you've been off all day. And you look exhausted, which is mildly concerning since I've never seen you even remotely tired. That, and one of your classmates came to me and said that you seemed to be injured."
Etsumi sighed in response. "Of course they did." He muttered. "It was probably Kirishima."
He brought a hand up to rub at his face, before continuing. "Yes, I am fine. As you oh-so-helpfully pointed out, I am tired. I had a long night."
"…And the injuries?" Shouta asked after a moment, when it seemed like Etsumi wouldn't give that part of the answer.
"As I told Kirishima. Anything that anyone may, or may not, have seen, is no one's concern but my own. I can handle myself, and it won't be long before I'm recovered. I'll be sparring again tomorrow."
Shouta didn't say anything in response. He wanted to know what the cause of the injuries was, but it wasn't as if he could force Etsumi to answer.
He let out a small sigh. Onto the next matter then, the one that had prompted this conversation to begin with.
"I also wanted to talk to you about some other… concerns… that have been brought to my attention. But before that, you know that you can trust all the teachers and staff at Yueii, right?"
"Yes, I do. So far, Yueii has proven itself to be capable." Etsumi said after a moment, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly. "Now what is this about?"
"As I said, there have been concerning things brought to my attention."
Shouta sighed. No reason to beat around the bush.
"Etsumi." He continued. "Are you safe at home?"
This time, Etsumi really narrowed his eyes, and when he spoke, his voice had dropped nearly to a whisper
"What?" He asked. "What exactly are you asking me?"
"The things that were brought to my attention." Shouta explained. "They led me to suspect that you might be suffering from some form of abuse. I don't have any actual proof, so I wanted to speak with you to confirm before I actually did anything with the information. I wanted to ask you directly, if maybe there was a friend, or family member. Maybe your parents, or even an older sibling? If I remember correctly, I believe you live with your sist-."
Shouta's words cut off with a strangled choke as, in the blink of an eye, a hand closed around his throat and pinned him against a wall. It held him there, a few feet off the floor, tight enough that he couldn't breathe.
He opened his eyes, and had to fight back the urge to activate his quirk and retaliate when he saw Etsumi's face inches away from his own, an expression of pure anger written across it. He showed no signs of the exhaustion that had been plaguing him all day.
"If I were you." Etsumi said, voice almost silent and carrying unspoken threats. "I would measure my next words very carefully. You have no idea whatsoever what you're talking about. To even insinuate that she would-. After what she went through-."
He squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. Then, a moment later, he softened the pressure on Shouta's throat, allowing him to take a breath.
"If I didn't know that you only brought this up out of concern for one of your students, I would kill you right here and now. You know nothing about me, or about my family. You know nothing about what we have gone through. I would greatly appreciate it if you did not throw such baseless accusations around."
He took another deep breath, and the anger in his voice calmed somewhat, though Shouta could still hear it quite clearly.
"Now, I'm fairly certain I know who came to you with those 'concerns' you mentioned. Really, there's only one person I can think of that has been around me long enough to have seen much of anything, and who either wouldn't come to me about it first or who doesn't already know that my home is safe."
"Just so you're aware. I am completely safe at home. If anything there were even remotely a threat to myself or my family, I would've already killed it myself."
He dropped Shouta to the floor, almost immediately heading for the door. He stopped with a hand on the handle, glancing back over at Shouta.
"I know that you brought this up because you were concerned, and you wanted to make sure I was safe. On any other day, or for any other situation, I might even appreciate the gesture. But my patience is worn exceptionally thin at the moment, and your concern led to you accusing my sister, of all people, of doing something like that."
He took another breath. "Don't presume to speak to me after this unless you are prepared to apologize first."
"-Later though." He added, interrupting the apology that was about to leave Shouta's mouth. "Apologize when I've calmed down enough for it to mean anything."
Without another word, Etsumi yanked the door open and stormed back out into the hallway, leaving Shouta to massage his throat and reflect on what had just happened.
Izuku was still fuming when he met back up with Ochako.
The nerve. The absolute fucking gall for Eraser to make such an accusation, that Rei would even consider such a thing, as if both her and Izuku wouldn't rather die than hurt the other.
Any appreciation he might've felt from knowing that Eraser cared that much about him was completely overshadowed by the anger he felt. He knew that the hero probably hadn't meant anything by it, that he really did just want to make sure that Izuku was safe, but that didn't mean he would just forgive what had been said.
He hadn't been kidding about considering ending Eraser's life right then and there.
When Ochako saw him, she took one look at him and opened her mouth to ask the obvious question, only for Izuku to raise a hand to cut it off before she could even start to.
"Later." He said. "I'll explain it later. Let's just head home. The trip will give me a chance to cool my head a bit."
She nodded, closing her mouth and instead just walking over to him and nudging into his side.
He managed a small smile at her as they made their way outside.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed.
My Discord.
Life and Death
Chapter Summary
Izuku prepares himself for the upcoming sports festival.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku hummed softly to himself as he glided through the air, enjoying the cool wind on his face.
He was a few thousand feet above the ground, riding an updraft, enjoying the absolute solitude that came from being so high up as he waited until it was time to do what he needed to.
Part of that meant waiting for the city to fall asleep. For it to grow late enough for him to do what he'd planned with the discretion it required.
And part of that meant waiting until he worked up the nerve to do it.
He and Rei had been on the lookout for a quirk to help him shore up his weakness to cold temperatures. And now they had finally found one.
Ever since his fight against Todoroki, he knew that he would need something to ensure that he wouldn't be pushed so far in such a way ever again. It was a weak point, one that would forever pose a threat to him, at least so long as he planned on keeping 'Oni,' and subsequently his quirk, a secret.
Obviously, he could—and would if the situation ever necessitated it—simply deactivate his snake tail quirk to eliminate the threat, but he'd put far too much effort into maintaining his separate identities to expose them frivolously any time soon.
Besides, the sports festival was fast approaching, and if Yueii kept up with the pattern they'd set in previous years, there was a good chance that he would end up going against Todoroki in a head-to-head fight at some point. Izuku wanted to make sure that he was ready for that eventuality.
Everyone else was preparing for the sports festival, and as far as he could tell, they were giving their all to do so. It stood to reason that he should prepare as well. It just so happened that his methods were a bit more direct and sinister when compared to others. And they would probably be considered unfair if anyone that cared knew about it. Because he wasn't simply training his quirk, or training himself in hand-to-hand combat—though he was doing both of those things. He was hitting the Triad much harder than ever before as a way to prepare, and as a petty act of vengeance against the original user of 'Conqueror'—he was actively gaining a new ability to cancel out one of his biggest weaknesses.
Normally, he would have no issue at all taking the quirk and moving on to the next. But that was if it were coming from his usual source: a criminal.
That was why he was taking time to build up the nerve to take the quirk. This one didn't belong to a villain or criminal, but to a, by all accounts, innocent civilian. They weren't even struggling with it either, not like the original user of 'Insomnia' had been.
The only reason he'd even begun to consider taking the quirk in the first place was because the person it belonged to was on their death bed, in a very literal sense.
The woman, Noriko Amaya, was ninety-eight years old and in hospice care. Some light digging around on Rei's part revealed that she wasn't expected to live much longer than maybe a month, and that was being very generous.
Really, even that fact alone wouldn't have been enough to make such a decision. The tipping point was the fact that, in addition to being days from death, Amaya also had no surviving family. She hadn't had any visitors in so very long.
She was completely alone, on her deathbed, and her quality of life was essentially nonexistent.
The physical shock of losing her quirk would likely kill her.
The removal of something so integral to one's DNA would be a shock to anyone, it was merely a case of the shock not being great enough to have much impact on most people. Even purposefully causing as much pain as possible and drawing the process out as long as he could wasn't enough to kill a healthy adult. But Amaya was old. Old, frail, and tired. She was in no way capable of withstanding it.
He was able to reduce the shock to a certain degree—it usually went hand-in-hand with the amount of pain one experienced—but he couldn't eliminate it entirely.
Izuku did his best to rationalize what he was about to do as an act of mercy.
Because he wasn't about to simply show up at her side, steal her quirk, and leave. No. Not only was this the greatest thing he had ever stolen with his quirk—someone's life, along with their quirk—but she also deserved more respect than that.
She wasn't some piece of garbage criminal, to be punished and tossed to the side, but an innocent, who had lived her life to the fullest.
He would do his best to ensure that the process was as comfortable as possible.
Izuku sighed as he shifted his wings a bit, adjusting his course towards the hospital. It would be late enough by the time he arrived, and it would be better for him to dwell on it as little as possible.
He crossed his arms over his chest as he started flying a bit more actively. He was looking forward to what he had planned for later in the night far more than he was his current task.
It was another Triad location of course, but fighting and punishing those that deserved it was much more appealing to him than what he was about to do. Plus it gave him a reason to spend less time in Musutafu as Oni, in addition to the advantages it held in preparing him for the sports festival.
He was trying to avoid Eraserhead as much as possible, at least as Oni. Though, admittedly, it wasn't as if they really saw each other all that often unless Oni was trying to give the man grief, but now he was actively trying to avoid him, even though it had been a week and a half since the incident.
Izuku's feelings regarding Eraser were quite mixed at the moment. Some odd combination of shame and anger.
Once he'd had the chance to soothe his temper, and after sleeping for a solid twelve hours, Izuku realized just how out of line he'd been in that interaction.
Eraser had approached Izuku, concerned for his safety, and all he'd responded with was anger and threats. Sure, Eraser certainly could've approached the situation differently—Izuku had thought the man was smart enough to handle that sort of situation with a bit more delicacy—but had Izuku not been injured and more exhausted than he remembered being in recent memory, he would've realized that the man only confronted him out of concern, and he certainly wouldn't have reacted so harshly.
The next day, Izuku had sought out Eraser, with the intention of apologizing for his out-of-line behavior, with Eraser doing the same.
After he'd done so, Izuku reiterated, much calmer than before and with fewer threats against Eraser's life, that he was safe at home.
Despite their apologizing to each other, Izuku still wasn't entirely content with the situation. He was still upset—though admittedly less than before—at Eraser's implication, however indirect, that Rei might be abusing him. Eraser might not know their past, might not know that, because of their past, they would both rather die than hurt the other, but that didn't do much to lessen Izuku's anger. And at the same time, he could still feel the shame burning away within him at how he reacted to Eraser's—and Kirishima's—concern for his well-being.
Which left him where he was now. Shame and anger.
So, for the moment, with the immediate damage repaired as best as it could be, Izuku felt that the best way to proceed would be to simply avoid the problem for the time being.
Izuku shook his head, clearing away that train of thought. Now wasn't the time to dwell on that. For now, he would focus on the task at hand. He was approaching his destination anyway.
Izuku walked slowly down the dark, silent halls of the hospital, with 'Ghost' active to hide him from view.
Even if he weren't using that quirk though, no one would be able to recognize him. No one except for Amaya, at least.
He'd prepared himself for this similarly to how he would for an outing as Oni; deactivating his snake tail and changing his appearance. The only difference was that for this particular outing, he'd put on a different face. With a little help from his shapeshifting quirk, and a picture that Rei had found, Izuku had shifted and changed his body until he was practically identical to Amaya's late husband. His wings, tail, and horns were nowhere to be seen. As far as anyone would be able to tell, he had become one Shinji Amaya.
He intended to make this as comfortable and painless for her as possible, and if he did it right, she might just get to experience a bit of happiness and peace before it was over.
As he made his way through the hospital, it wasn't long before he'd reached the floor dedicated to long term care. Everything from non-infectious illnesses, to people that could not function because of their quirk, to elderly patients in hospice. He ignored most of the rooms he passed, already knowing exactly where he needed to go.
One such room that he passed had its door open. He could hear movement coming from inside; most likely a night-shift nurse doing her rounds to check on everyone.
He didn't slow down, but a quick glance as he passed revealed a vaguely human-shaped blob settled on the bed. As best as Izuku could guess without going back for a proper look and without using 'Appraisal,' the person, whoever they were, had a quirk that liquified their bones.
Izuku had no idea how someone would be able to survive like that, with no skeleton to hold them together, especially with their muscles likely being atrophied, or how their internal organs handled the strain. Maybe the quirk did something else to the user's bones to make them more durable?
He shook his head. That wasn't the point of his coming here tonight.
Maybe some time in the future he would come back to help the person he'd seen, along with some of the others that were here because of their quirk, but for now he had something else occupying his mind.
A few short minutes later and he was standing outside Amaya's door. With a quick glance at his reflection in the small window in the door to confirm his appearance, he pushed it open, stepping into the room.
The only noise in the space was Amaya's soft breathing, barely even audible.
The woman was skin and bone, and looked so frail that it seemed like the blanket she was under would be able to crush her at any moment. If it weren't for the heart monitor next to her, and the faint breathing he could just barely make out, he would've thought she was dead already.
Shutting the door, he took a deep breath, before dropping his hold on 'Ghost.'
Visible once more, he made his way over to the side of her bed, settling down on the edge. Reaching a hand out, he nudged her shoulder as gently as possible, attempting to rouse her from her sleep.
A few seconds later, her eyes cracked open, ever so slightly. She peered up at the ceiling above her, before glancing over at him. Her eyes widened a bit when she finally made out his face.
"Shin…ji?" She asked, voice hoarse, and little more than a whisper.
Izuku forced a soft smile onto his face. "Hello again, Noriko."
He shifted his hand up to her face, barely brushing against her cheek. "It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"
"Is it… Is it really you?" She asked, her voice a bit stronger, but shaky.
Izuku let out a small laugh, more a huff than anything, before properly settling his hand on her cheek.
"Yes. It's me." He said. "I'm sorry it took me so long."
Amaya's own hand lifted towards his, shakily laying overtop. "It's been far too long."
Her eyes drifted shut, and Izuku saw tears gathering. "I've missed you so much. It's been so lonely without you."
Amaya and her husband had been married for nearly half a century when he died. They'd had no children, and neither of them had any surviving family by that point. She'd been alone for nearly twenty years.
His other hand came up to gently wipe the tears away.
"I know, Noriko, I know. I left you here all by yourself, with no one to keep you company. I'm truly sorry for that, that you had to be alone, but that's why I've come to you now, to tell you that you don't have to be anymore."
Her eyes opened again, and this time they held much more clarity than before.
She looked up at him. "It's time, isn't it?"
Izuku nodded. "It is. You've survived for so long, and I'm so proud of you, but now it's time to come home."
He lowered himself towards her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. In the same motion, he pulled her quirk from her as quickly and gently as possible.
Raising back up, and looking at her once more, he could see where her eyes were already beginning to droop.
"It's time to let go."
As he looked into her eyes, he saw full awareness there. It was the understanding and clarity that came from standing at death's door and fully knowing that it was the end.
She brought her free hand up to where his was still against her cheek and took it in both of her own.
The she closed her eyes, and a final, drawn out sigh escaped her lips.
A second later, Izuku heard the heart monitor let out the dull, steady tone that signified the end.
Letting his forced smile fade away, Izuku pulled away, gently manipulating her arms so that they were settled on her chest.
He took a second to look down at her, as he pulled on his newest quirk and felt its heat settle into place.
Then he turned to the door, not glancing back as he moved to the door, pulling 'Ghost' back into place and stepping out into the hall, where he could see two nurses rushing towards the room, still some distance away.
By the time they made it, Izuku was on the roof of the building, looking up into the sky and focusing on the sensation of the wind on his skin.
He couldn't really discern a temperature from it anymore. Logically, he knew it was cold, as it was still only April, and because it had been cold earlier, but all he registered was that it was wind. Amaya's quirk was already hard at work.
Izuku wasn't quite sure how far the quirk could go, but in his and Rei's research of Amaya, they'd found pictures of her standing in snow wearing shorts and a t-shirt, while everyone else around her was bundled up as if they were in a blizzard. So even if it turned out that the quirk wasn't strong enough to protect against something quite as extreme as being frozen solid, it would still offer a significant boost.
Additionally, one of the quirk's most appealing features was that its protection went in the opposite direction as well. Not only did it increase one's resistance to colder temperatures, but it did the same with warmer temperatures as well.
He would be sure to remember Amaya every time the quirk did its job.
After a few minutes of silence, Rei's voice cut through it, soft as she spoke.
"Are you okay?"
Izuku closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"You know, I think I just might be."
He opened his eyes to look out over the city.
"I'll never be okay with the idea of taking quirks from innocent people, and the fact that my doing so was the final push that ended Amaya's life will likely stay with me for a while, but… it helps to know that I gave her some form of comfort in the end. She didn't have to die alone, and she got to see the face of the person she loved one more time. As far as I'll ever be able to know, she was at peace in her final moments."
Izuku wasn't sure if he would ever be content with his quirk and what it did to people, but in this one instance, he could at least take solace in the fact that he hadn't used it to make anyone suffer.
"Are you still planning on patrolling tonight?" She asked. "Or would you rather call it a night?"
He let out a small sight, before taking off into the air.
"I'll still go out tonight. But first, I need to head back home to change. I don't feel quite right with this body. The height is off, as is the arm span, and my face feels weird."
"Alright. I'll see you in a few minutes then."
Izuku hummed in confirmation as he turned in the right direction, heading towards the apartment.
Oni stretched his arms up over his head as he walked towards today's Triad base of choice. He didn't bother with any theatrics or playing around as he approached the entrance, simply pulling on his claw quirk.
Upon reaching the door, he simply sunk his clawed hand right into the center of it and yanked it off its hinges, tossing it behind him a moment later.
As he stepped through, looking around at the empty interior, he flexed his hand and a sword materialized in his grip. It was his katana.
"Still no word from Shadow?" He asked, making his way to where he knew the entrance to the rest of the base was, keeping a close eye on his surroundings with 'Proximity."
"Nothing so far." Came the response. "He's been completely silent."
Oni frowned at that. They hadn't seen Shadow or heard anything from him since the incident. And they'd tried a few times so far. He didn't respond to anything. Oni could only hope that the man was okay, and that he wasn't simply avoiding him because of what happened.
He liked Shadow. He was a good man, and a skilled ally, on par with Eraserhead in both aspects. Not to mention the fact that he willingly put up with Oni's antics. It would be a shame to lose out on that.
Some movement ahead of him, picked up by 'Proximity,' pulled him from his thoughts. He shook his head, he'd have to think about this later. Maybe he'd pay Shadow a visit, just to make sure he was okay.
Spinning the sword around in his grip, letting 'Weapon Mastery' guide his movements, Oni let a smile begin to form on his face as he approached the imminent fight.
The criminals came into view as he rounded a corner; three of them, all with mediocre quirks. As soon as he laid eyes on them, he launched himself forwards.
He was on them in an instant, sword flashing through the air. Before any of them had a chance to react, they were on the ground. Two of them had a severed Achilles tendon, and the third had a clean stab wound straight through his thigh, severing enough muscle and causing enough pain to send him to the floor.
A quick exertion with 'Conqueror' rendered all three unconscious before they could scream.
Oni had been focusing primarily on fighting with more specialized quirks in preparation for the sports festival. He already had years of experience under his belt when it came to direct hand-to-hand combat, so he would benefit far more from experimenting with his quirks and developing other forms of combat, such as with his newly acquired weapons.
He found himself enjoying it quite a bit.
There was—and always would be—a unique enjoyment that came from fighting someone and putting them down with his bare hands, but learning to fight with weapons, or fighting solely with a nonphysical quirk gave him a different form of enjoyment altogether.
On the other hand…
He frowned as he eyed the wounds he'd just dealt to the criminals, with blood already beginning to pool on the floor beneath them.
That was the other side of the coin. As much as he enjoyed learning to fight with weapons, blades tended to leave injuries that were more life-threatening than his usual.
Kneeling next to them, he brought a first-aid kit out from 'Hotbar' and set to work bandaging their wounds.
Blades were fun, but maybe he ought to consider looking into a blunt weapon as well…
Oni's smile returned full force as the occupants of the next room all noticed him at the same time, their expressions flickering through a number of emotions before settling on some combination of anger and determination.
There were six in total, with quite the mix of quirks. One had what looked to be ridges across the inside of her hands, that would sting a victim like a jellyfish. Another had long, segmented, chain-like blades hanging from his ears, that floated up around his head like Eraserhead's capture weapon. The third had fire blazing across his head in place of hair, while the fourth had steam coiling up from his bare arms. Number five had lights blazing on his fingertips, almost blinding Oni, and the last one had a quirk that made her tongue stretch out of her mouth, not unlike Tsuyu's.
Oni licked his lips as he took in their quirks, even as he blinked to shift his vision to the UV protection provided by 'Spectrum,' lessening the severity of the lights. Such interesting quirks. He wanted them.
He wanted all of them. He released his grip on his claw quirk, letting the scales recede.
Deadly Earrings and the Tsuyu knockoff moved first, charging him and lashing out with their quirks.
A low chuckle worked its way out of Oni's throat as he watched them move. He waited until they were almost on him. Then, when their attacks were a fraction of a second from landing, he moved.
The sword flashed through the air, catching the blades that were aimed directly at his head, and his free hand darted out, snatching the tongue out of the air.
A quick jerk of his wrist and the chains were thoroughly tangled around his sword, which he planted into the floor a moment later. Immediately after, he yanked on the tongue in his grip, sending the Tsuyu knockoff sailing through the air towards him.
Releasing her tongue, his hand latched onto her head once she was within reach. He ripped her quirk from her, and slammed her into the floor, taking her out of the fight.
He jumped backwards just as a barrage of steam surged towards him, with Fire Hair following just behind. Bringing his hands together, he brought out his glaive, spinning it in his hands as he charged his attacker. The blunt end of the weapon impacted Fire Head, but before he could drop to the floor, Oni had stored the weapon away and grabbed the back of the man's head, relishing the way the fire didn't even register.
A headbutt, and a swift yank on the man's quirk at the same time, and the criminal was flying away from Oni, head extinguished.
Oni raised a hand at the blast of steam that the criminal launched at him once again. A snap of his fingers, coupled with 'Air Cannon,' released a shockwave that scattered the steam. A second shockwave, this time from 'Conqueror' and much more targeted, slammed into the man, sending him toppling to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
Spinning in place, Oni pulled his knife from 'Hotbar,' throwing it at the approaching criminal, the one with the lights on his fingers.
With help from 'Bullseye,' the knife sank into the man's leg, slicing through muscle and breaking bone from the sound it produced. Another flex from 'Conqueror' silenced the man's screams before they began.
Before the final criminal—the pseudo-jellyfish quirk—could decide what to do, metal flashed across Oni's figure, and he made a grabbing motion at her. The criminal sailed towards him, arms flailing as she tried, and failed, to correct herself. As she reached him, Oni stepped to the side, sticking a metal arm out to catch her, clotheslining her and putting her into a full backflip before she hit the ground.
One last shockwave from 'Conqueror,' that sent cracks spiderwebbing across the floor at his feet, and the deadly earring quirk fell to the floor.
Oni rolled his shoulders as he took in the scene, the pathetic criminals scattered throughout the room.
"Excellent." He said to himself. "What a wonderful way to start this off."
He made his way over to the nearest criminal, the one with the lights, and knelt down to take his quirk.
Once he did, and just as he was extracting his knife from the man's leg, Oni felt movement behind him.
Immediately, he spun around and launched the knife in his hand at the newcomer. It sank into their leg in a mirror of the move he'd used on the man he just retrieved the knife from.
Oni's eyes widened as he finally realized what he was looking at.
It wasn't a newcomer that he'd just attacked. It was Steam Quirk.
The man was standing again. He was shaky, swaying in place, but he was standing nonetheless, and his eyes were trained on Oni.
Oni narrowed his eyes, the look in Steam Quirk's eyes was different than before. Not just in the sense of it displayed a different emotion, but as if he were a different person altogether.
He also wasn't falling, even though there was a blade in his leg that should've done enough damage to make him fall.
Oni didn't waste time. In an instant he was on his feet and charging the criminal. He aimed a kick at the man's uninjured leg, breaking it, before headbutting him hard enough to send him flying.
He remained in place, watching the criminal for any more signs of movement. When he didn't see any, he returned to what he'd been doing, moving over to the criminal with the jellyfish quirk.
A few minutes later, he had six new quirks added to his collection, and the injuries he'd dealt to Steam Quirk and the one with the lights had been bandaged, and he moved on.
Oni still wasn't quite sure how or why Steam Quirk had gotten back up. Maybe he simply hadn't put enough force into his attack?
For now, he'd chalk it up to that, to inexperience with 'Conqueror.'
Not even five minutes later, he spotted a lone criminal at the end of a hallway, who stared right back at him.
Just as Oni was about to charge forwards and take the newcomer on, and deal with the others that were likely just out of sight, something impacted the back of Oni's head, making him stumble a half step forward.
The attack, whatever it was, barely registered, as 'Shock Absorption' all but nullified it, but it still caught him off guard.
There wasn't anyone behind him, as far as he could tell, and nothing even hinted at anything being thrown at him.
Tilting his head, Oni looked back up at the criminal he'd spotted. They had a smirk on their face.
Oni narrowed his eyes, before heading towards them. He walked this time, instead of charging them. He had a theory he wanted to test.
Just as he expected, another strike came from directly behind him, almost perfectly opposite from the criminal. This time, having expected the blow, he didn't stumble, but he pulled to a stop nonetheless, turning to look behind him.
As soon as he did, he felt another blow. Once again, it seemed to come from directly behind him.
Smirking, he turned back towards the criminal.
"So that's what it is." He muttered. "Interesting."
A quick activation of 'Appraisal,' and the confirmation to his suspicion appeared.
Name: Soseki Murano
Quirk: Blindside. Focus. Kinesis.
Creates a concussive blast of air to impact the target from their blind spot.
Oni smiled as he took in the information. He'd figured it was something that specifically targeted a person's blind spot. What with how perfectly it had hit the back of his head each time.
He raised a hand in the criminals direction, ignoring the blows that were raining down on him from behind, that were quickly increasing in succession.
A shockwave careened down the hallway at the criminal, creating small cracks along the walls as it traveled. As soon as it hit its target, the criminal fell to their knees, collapsing to the ground a moment later.
Oni smiled as he made his way towards them. Another quirk to add to his collection. One that had the potential to be used outside his vigilante work, provided he was subtle enough when he did.
He froze in his tracks though, when he saw the criminal's body jerk, before shifting his arms beneath himself, picking himself up off the ground.
Oni narrowed his eyes at him. He should not have been able to get up.
And just like before, there was now a different look in the criminal's eyes. If Oni wasn't mistaken, it was exactly the same look as before.
Another use of 'Appraisal' had Oni's head tilting in confusion.
Name: So-ato--seki Mura--uga-no
Quirk: Blinds-ousness. Focus. Kines-tection.
-- - - -
This was something Oni had never seen before. Something was interfering with Appraisal.
There were a few explanations he could think of that might be the reason behind the interference, but none of them were likely.
He made his way towards the criminal, ignoring the resumed strikes to his back. Evidently, despite the interference to 'Appraisal,' the man's quirk still worked just fine.
As soon as he was close enough, Oni planted a foot in the man's chest, sending him flying into a wall.
As he had before, Oni watched over the fallen criminal to ensure that he wouldn't be getting back up.
Frowning, and thinking the situation over, Oni approached the fallen criminal to take his quirk, before turning to continue deeper into the building.
Something was definitely going on. Despite his inexperience with 'Conqueror,' Oni knew, without a doubt, that the two criminals had been down for the count. Something else was at play that made them get back up.
'This is dangerous.' He thought. 'Going against the unknown is dangerous.'
Unknown variables always made any situation more dangerous. Not knowing what to expect or what one was up against could lead to a situation becoming deadly faster than one could react.
'I shouldn't be here.'
Oni froze in his tracks.
A moment later, anger, white hot and nearly blotting out all thought, burned through him.
A shockwave from 'Conqueror' rocketed out of him, shattering the floor beneath him.
"Get out of my head." He all but whispered, rage and bloodlust carrying through his words.
Before the first word even finished leaving his mouth, Oni felt something disappear right from the edge of his mind. Something that he hadn't even noticed before it was gone.
Those thoughts hadn't been his own. He hadn't been able to distinguish them from his own internal voice, but he knew without a doubt that they hadn't originated from him.
He was alone in this fight. Which meant that he had no one to look out for other than himself. What reason did he have to care whether or not he was going up against something unknown? To him, unknown didn't mean dangerous, it meant walking into a fight where he didn't know everything, which more often than not meant a more interesting fight.
He was mildly confused and somewhat wary of whatever was happening, sure, but that by no means meant that he was worried, and it certainly didn't mean that he was scared.
That the thoughts hadn't originated from him left only one possibility. One that also served to explain the peculiar situation of criminals getting up after they'd been incapacitated.
"What was that?" Rei asked. "I was distracted. I didn't quite hear you."
Oni took a breath, pushing down the flare of anger he'd felt.
"Man." Oni said, forcing nonchalance into his voice. "All the criminals seem to be wearing red today for some reason."
Rei took a moment to respond. Oni could practically feel her hesitation.
"Maybe there's a party, and they all wanted to match."
Good, she understood the situation.
"Well to me it looks like shit."
The phrases they'd both said were codes. That much would be obvious to most people, but it had served its purpose to pass along the information he'd needed to.
Sure, it was a random and rather obvious code phrase, but in his defense, Oni had come up with it when he was ten. It was right when he'd started entertaining the idea of taking on a name for his vigilante work. And despite both his life and his enhanced intelligence coming together to force him to be more mature than any ten-year-old should ever be, the thought of having code words and phrases to use while he was out and about excited whatever childhood was still left in him at the time.
And childish or no, it still wouldn't necessarily be obvious what he was trying to communicate, especially since the color he'd specified could be changed to indicate something else.
What he said specifically though, was one of the more serious ones.
There was a mind control quirk at play.
That was the only explanation for the thoughts that had gone through his head. And it explained why the two criminals had stood back up.
Oni hated mind control quirks with a burning passion. Hated the way they ripped someone's free will away from them. It was for the same reason that he considered 'Siren' to be his least favorite quirk out of the now one-hundred-thirty-four quirks that sat bundled in his chest.
And now there was such a quirk at play here. And whoever was using it had not only forced their comrades to keep fighting after they had already fallen, but then they'd used it to try to control him?
Oni might feel nothing but disdain for criminals on the best of days—they made their own choices after all, they had the ability to not break the law and take advantage of innocent people—but he hated the thought of someone taking a person's free will even more.
Oni felt another surge of anger. Oh, he'd be sure to remove a body part or two by the time he was done.
The second part of the code communicated to Rei that the quirk at play had the ability to manipulate his thoughts, but not necessarily his body, and that he would be communicating his thoughts out loud moving forward.
…Perhaps some of the codes he'd created were too specific.
He was ten at the time, excited, and was far too smart for his own good. Sue him.
"I can't wait to break the legs of whoever is forcing their allies to continue fighting after they're injured to the point of incapacitation." Oni announced, before taking off once more in the direction he'd been headed in before.
He would likely end up taking their quirk as well. It didn't really matter how useful it ended up being. He was opposed to the idea of leaving a mind control quirk in the hands of a criminal.
Now that he knew what to look for, Oni felt that same presence brush up against his mind a few more times as he proceeded further into the building. Each time he felt it, a quick exertion of 'Conqueror' brushed it off. Though he got the feeling that he wouldn't even need to use the quirk to fend the presence off. It seemed that now that he was aware of it, it wouldn't be very effective against him.
Stepping into what he knew was the final room, Oni faced down the crowd of criminals.
The piece of shit with the mind control quirk was somewhere in the room.
Oni didn't waste any time. The presence of such a quirk had eliminated any enjoyment he might've gotten from such a fight. Now, he was only interested in finding them.
Focusing on the anger he'd been feeling, Oni stretched his arm out towards the crowd, even as the first few were beginning to move.
Each and every one of them fell as he released his pent-up anger in the form of a shockwave.
Under normal circumstances, he might've found the sight of all the criminals falling in sync amusing, or he might've at least felt disappointment at losing the opportunity to fight them all. Right now though, he only felt satisfaction—and admittedly the smallest amount of relief—that the piece of shit was incapacitated.
Just as he stepped forward though, preparing to use 'Appraisal' to sort through the quirks of the fallen criminals to pick out the mind control quirk, and to see if there were any others that were worth taking, one of the bodies began to move.
Just as all the others had, the man pushed himself up off the floor, a bit unsteady—though this one was far steadier than the others—and when he was finally standing upright, Oni saw the same look in his eyes.
"Not mind control?" Oni muttered to himself. "Something more, perhaps?"
Mind control would explain everyone else getting back up, but not the user himself.
Suddenly, the man started walking forwards, and Oni felt the same anger course through him once more. Anger at the man's existence, and at the fact that he had the nerve to stand back up, even if it was for a different reason than what Oni had initially suspected.
He stretched his hand out once more, only this time, instead of releasing a shockwave, he poured all of his focus into the quirk and spoke.
"Kneel."
The criminal's legs crumpled beneath them mid-step, sending them collapsing to their knees.
The irony and hypocrisy of using 'Conqueror' like a mind control quirk when the reason he was so angry was because of such quirks was not lost on him. Were the person he was using it on anything but a criminal, Oni would probably hate himself for it. But they were a criminal, so that line of thinking didn't apply.
Oni approached the kneeling man slowly, using 'Appraisal' as he did.
Name: Satoru Tsuga
Quirk: Remote Consciousness. Focus. Mental/Manipulation/Protection.
Allows the user to separate part of their consciousness and use it to influence or control people and objects. Can also use it to control themselves if the user falls unconscious.
"A segmented consciousness?" Oni muttered as he walked closer. "Truly segmented, or is it merely an extension? Likely truly segmented, given that they stood back up."
Whatever the case, Oni would have to experiment for himself later. Placing a hand on the man's forehead, he pulled the quirk from him. As soon as it was settled in his chest, the criminal fell to the floor, apparently finally truly incapacitated.
Oni took a moment to let his anger begin to fade away, before looking around at the rest of the group. Unfortunately, there was only one that he felt was worth taking.
As he moved to them, he made sure to step on the man's leg, changing his lower half to metal at just the right time. A resounding 'crack' echoed through the room as Oni broke the man's femur. Were he conscious, the man would've been screaming in excruciating pain.
It was almost too bad he was incapacitated.
A few minutes later, with the quirk taken, and anything of importance that he'd found as he traversed the building taken care of, he made his way back to the entrance, retracing his steps.
Despite some of the things that had happened, Oni felt that tonight had been quite exciting. Amaya and the mind control quirk that wasn't really a mind control quirk aside, he was ending the night with ten more quirks than he'd started it with. That, and at least the first fight or two had been fun. Even if his focus was elsewhere for the rest of them.
Having reached the ground level of the building, Oni headed for the door. The one he'd torn off its hinges. As he did, he sorted through his quirks, almost absentmindedly.
It was something he did so often that it barely even registered anymore. Simply trailing metaphorical hands through the heat in his chest, counting through them as best he could while not putting any focus into the task. At this point, it was almost nothing more than a mindless action to relieve tension and stress, similar to cracking one's knuckles or tapping on whatever one happened to be touching. It was something that brought comfort, knowing that everything was as it was supposed to be, and that everything was within his grasp should he need it.
Or at least it was until he hit one that made him freeze in place, one foot through the door.
The quirk he'd brushed a hand up against felt just the same as every other one in his chest. A small, flickering flame, ready for him to grab . Only, when he'd touched it, the quirk had reacted.
It went without saying, but usually quirks did not react when he focused on them. The only time anything changed about them was when he activated them, at which point their heat suffused his entire body.
But Oni had felt a distinct movement with this quirk. It had twitched when he felt it.
He knew instinctively, even without taking a second look, that the quirk in question was one of the new ones he'd taken tonight.
Specifically, it was the one that had been giving him trouble. 'Remote Consciousness.' The almost–mind–reading quirk.
Honestly, he had no idea what it meant, the fact that it moved on its own. It was something he'd never encountered before.
Taking a breath, he did the only thing that he could really do. He pulled on it.
It responded how his quirks always did—except for the fact that it twitched at his touch once more—it immediately suffused his body with heat, focusing primarily where the functions of the quirk were centered around. In this case, it was centered around his head.
As the quirk activated, he felt the presence press up against his mind once more, just as he had before, when it first appeared and manipulated his thoughts. Only, this time the presence felt much larger than before, and instead of feeling like something invasive, Oni almost felt some form of familiarity in it. Likely a result of the presence being from the quirk.
That sense of familiarity was the only thing that prevented Oni from attempting to forcefully eject the presence from his mind, just as he had done before. Instead, he focused on it, giving it his full attention.
'What are you-where am I?'
Oni froze, more so than he already had. Something was off. The second half of that train of thought hadn't originated from him. It was just like when he'd first discovered it. The thought had been communicated using his internal voice, but he hadn't been the one to think it.
He narrowed his eyes, not really looking at anything, as he continued to focus on the new presence in his mind.
Could it be?
'Where…? Where is my…? What is happening?'
Izuku did his best to keep his mind blank, only focusing on the strange new thoughts that were rising up in his mind unbidden.
He felt the presence turn its attention towards him.
'Who-? No. I know you. You're the one who I- I mean he- I mean…'
Oni continued to watch and wait. The thoughts seemed to be slowly becoming clearer and more developed. It was weird, experiencing them as if he was the one having them, but he pushed past that.
'But wait. Why am I here? Where's-? Why are you here?'
Suddenly, Oni felt a bolt of panic run through him, originating at the presence, and his eyes widened an instant later as he finally realized what was happening. Thought was one thing, but emotion was another matter altogether.
"Oh shit." He cursed. "No fucking way."
"What is it?" Rei asked. "Everything alright?"
"I'm not too sure what's happening, honestly. I'll let you know when I am."
He reached up to his earpiece. "I'm sorry Phantom, but I'm going to have to turn the communicator off for a few minutes."
"Don't worry." He added, cutting off whatever she was about to say. "It's nothing dangerous. It's just something that I need to figure out, and I need to be able to focus on it entirely."
"…Alright. Do what you have to."
He immediately switched the earpiece off.
With that done, he turned his attention to the presence once more.
"You aren't just a quirk, are you?" He asked. "You're sapient."
"Sapient?" The presence questioned. "I'm-. But I'm-. I thought that quirks were-."
Izuku felt pure confusion radiating from the presence, which was an odd feeling given that-that meant he was feeling confusion as well.
As he watched them work through their confusion, he was drawing some conclusions based on what he was seeing.
For starters, the quirk was clearly a sentient one, or technically 'sapient' would be the correct term. It was obviously thinking for itself, held memories—in some capacity—of its previous user, and it was experiencing emotion.
Memories on their own weren't indicative of anything, and basic thought could be simulated, as could emotion. But all three together left sapience as the only option.
Looking at the confusion it was currently experiencing—ignoring that which was likely simply a result of being in a new body—and thinking back to the description he'd gotten from the original user, Oni felt that he had an idea of what was happening.
There was a very good chance that the original user had grossly misunderstood the nature of his quirk. That he had been under the impression that it truly was only an extension of his own consciousness that he was utilizing. Something with enough personality to function without his direct input, but that was still just a quirk.
Oni could understand how such a belief could arise. If a sapient quirk had no way to physically manifest itself, and could only communicate through the user's—or other's, apparently—internal voice, then what evidence was there to give validation to its existence?
If the user had grown up thinking he merely had an overactive mind, or that the 'extension' of his mind was a vague copy of his own and nothing more, then there would be no proof whatsoever that the quirk is alive and sapient. Or worse, he could've actively suppressed the quirk, removing its ability to communicate.
Because even now, Oni knew without a doubt that he could suppress it if he wanted to, aside from simply deactivating it. Just as he had pushed the presence away before, he could do the same thing now; push it so far to the edge that it couldn't access enough of his brain to communicate, or experience anything.
Take that idea, and stretch it out across thirty-some years—assuming Oni had correctly guessed the man's age—and it was no surprise that the quirk, the presence, was reacting how it was.
"I'm… alive?" They asked. "Sapient? But I'm just… a quirk."
"No. You aren't." Oni said out loud, finally addressing them directly. "You are quirk, yes, but you are more than that at the same time. The very fact that you are having your own thoughts is proof enough of that.
Feeling such confusion from them as to the legitimacy of their own existence, Oni found himself wishing that he'd hurt the original user far more than he had. Unintentional or not, he had suppressed a sapient being for years. To the point that they weren't even aware that they were alive. He deserved more than a simple broken leg.
The only reason he didn't turn around to deliver a more suitable punishment, was because this new addition to his mind was far more important.
"Important… Am I…? If I'm alive… then what do I do? I've never… I don't think I've ever spoken this much."
Oni ignored the anger that flashed through him, and hoped that the presence didn't think it was directed at them.
"For now, the only thing you really need to know, is that you're free to do just about whatever you like. I can tell that you're seeing the world through my eyes, my senses. I can also tell that you're able to see my memories. And I'm fairly certain that the last person you were attached to blocked you off from all of that."
"I don't intend to do the same thing." He continued. "While you are in my head, I don't intend to prevent you from seeing the world, or from speaking."
This was his quirk now. Which meant that this being. This living, sapient being, was now his responsibility. Because he sure as shit wasn't going to return them to the original user.
"…Thank you." They said. Oni could tell it was just as much for his saying that he wouldn't suppress them as it was about his resolute refusal to return them.
"You're welcome. And I lied, just a little. There's one more thing we need to know. As I've said, you are alive. You're able to think and communicate for yourself. That means you need a name."
"A name?" They repeated. "But isn't it just 'Remote Consciousness?' That's all they ever referred to me as."
Oni shook his head, despite the fact that they couldn't actually see the action. "No. He called you that because he thought you were nothing but a quirk. I'm talking about a real name."
"A real name? But I'm-. I don't know what-."
Izuku hummed to himself—though technically it was no longer just to himself?—as he wracked his brain. They likely wouldn't be able to come up with one on their own, so why not help them out?
He sifted through all the unisex names he could think of. He felt it probably wasn't a good idea to ask the question of male or female just yet, assuming there would be an answer in the first place. Not when they'd only recently learned that they were alive at all.
"How about… Tamako? Yeah, Tamako. How's that sound to you?"
Technically speaking, 'Tamako' was a feminine name, but Oni felt it was fitting nonetheless.
"Tamako…" They said, seeming to test the sound of the name in their mouth, as much as one could do that without a mouth. "I think I like it."
"Excellent." Oni said with a smile, one that was much more pleasant than those that usually decorated his features.
'Hello Tamako. It's very nice to meet you. My name is Izuku Etsumi.' Izuku greeted mentally, mostly to avoid saying his real name out loud while dressed up as Oni.
"Hello Izuku." They greeted in return. "It's nice to meet you too."
Oni felt the tentative happiness that the presence—Tamako—was experiencing. If they had a physical body, they'd likely be smiling right now.
With that settled, at least for the moment, Oni reached up to turn the earpiece back on. Rei's voice sounded out almost immediately.
"Are you okay?" She asked. "What's going on?"
"Everything's fine," he reassured, "but, uh… I. I think we have a new sibling?"
Chapter End Notes
Credit for 'Tamako' the sapient quirk, goes to my partner in crime: NotMasonPines.
Credit for the liquid bones quirk in the hospital goes to Blood Melon.
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Festival
Chapter Summary
The students have prepared, and now it's finally time for the Sports Festival to begin.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Alright. Do you have everything you need?" Izuku asked Ochako, who had just exited her room.
"Yep!" She replied, an excited smile on her face. "I think so."
Izuku nodded, before turning to where Rei was situated at the kitchen table, still working on the breakfast he had prepared.
"We're heading out. We'll see you there in a bit."
"Alright." She responded with a small smile, exhaustion still obvious in her eyes from where she just woke up. "I'll try to catch up with you before it starts. But if I don't, have fun!"
Izuku grew a smile of his own. "Of course."
Then he reached a hand out to Ochako, which she took, allowing him to swing her up onto his back with practiced ease.
As the two of them exited the room out onto the balcony, Izuku felt Tamako's consciousness flicker away in the direction of Rei, most likely to give their own goodbye, before returning a moment later. Izuku could feel their contentment as they settled back into place.
Izuku launched into the air, rapidly rising above the building before turning towards Yueii. His smile grew as he considered the newest addition to their family and to the bundle of quirks in his chest.
Despite only being made aware of their own sapience a few short days before, Tamako had been growing at a truly astounding pace. The confusion and uncertainty they'd displayed at first was nowhere to be found, and if Izuku hadn't had a front row seat to their development, he almost wouldn't have been able to tell that they'd spent the last thirty years or so being suppressed. Almost.
Obviously, Tamako still had more growing to do. They mostly only spoke when spoken to and were at times hesitant to give their opinion. They were, for lack of a better description, a blank slate. But then, they'd only been allowed to speak for just under three days.
Izuku suspected that a significant factor towards the speed of Tamako's development—aside from actually being allowed to experience the world and being surrounded by Izuku, Rei, and Ochako, who had all accepted them immediately and actively engaged them in conversation—was his intelligence quirks.
Tamako was in Izuku's mind now, in his body. That meant that any quirks affecting him would affect Tamako as well. Izuku had five intelligence quirks—six if 'Quick Thinker' was included.—That was a lot for Tamako to work with.
And it wasn't simply a case of each intelligence quirk directly making him smarter. All but two of them had separate functions that, when combined, gave great benefits.
Two of them increased the speed at which his brain processed information, similar in effect to Nezu's 'High Spec.' These two allowed him to think faster and gave him greatly improved reaction times. 'Quick Thinker' operated on a similar principle. It also increased his brain's processing speed, but to the point that the world seemed to slow around him, which was why he didn't keep it active at all times as he did the others.
One of the remaining three improved his memory, almost to the point of having perfect recall. That meant that he remembered nearly everything that he experienced. Though he would still occasionally forget things.
Another actually technically wasn't an intelligence quirk at all, but it allowed the others to be used to their fullest potential, so he considered it one. It acted as a heat sink for his brain, cooling it and allowing it to keep up with his other quirks.
Humans already had a natural way to keep their brains cool—it was essentially an organic computer, sending millions of constant electrical signals. The amount of heat it generated was not insignificant—but with Izuku's brain operating far beyond what the human body was naturally equipped to handle, it needed something extra. This quirk provided that.
The final quirk yielded the greatest outright change. It mutated his brain to allow multiple signals to be sent simultaneously by each neuron. This essentially meant that a particular section of his brain was capable of focusing on more than one thing at any given moment. It was almost the same as having a second brain, perfectly layered over the first. Because of this, he was able to multitask at a level that most people wouldn't be capable of.
It wasn't simply a case of dividing his focus between two separate tasks at one time, but rather he could devote his full focus to those two tasks simultaneously. It was one of the reasons he was able to maintain quirks such as 'Metallum' or his weaker healing quirk in the middle of a fight, despite both of them requiring focus to maintain.
That quirk enabled Tamako to act as a fully independent consciousness rather than one that shared space with Izuku.
When Tamako was with another person, only one of them could 'speak' at a time, meaning only one could make use of the host's internal voice, which severely limited any conversation that might occur between them and resulted in a great deal of jumbled thoughts if they tried to think at the same time.
However, with Izuku, Tamako was able to think and speak entirely separate from him. They were able to exist independently, despite being housed within Izuku's mind.
It was for this reason that Izuku believed that Tamako was able to develop at such an impressive pace.
Whatever the case, Izuku was pleased to see Tamako so quickly breaking free of the shackles of their previous user.
'Remember, Tamako, once we get there, you're free to wander and do as you wish, but it is imperative that you avoid Tokoyami at all costs. I don't know the full nature of the bond he shares with Dark Shadow, but it's possible that they could discover you much more easily than other people. For all I know, it would even be possible for them to discover your connection to me.'
"Okay. I'll keep that in mind. Tokoyami is the one with the bird head, right?"
'Yep. That's the one. It also might be a good idea to avoid Nezu and Eraser as well. Nezu is intelligent. It's hard to tell what he might be able to feel and deduce if you make contact with him. Eraser isn't quite as important, but we do need to decide whether it's best for you to avoid him while I'm "Izuku" or while I'm "Oni." We'll encounter him enough both ways, and if he feels your presence with both then it might lead to some difficulties.'
"Avoid Nezu and Eraserhead. Got it."
'Very good.' Izuku communicated, a small smile on his face. 'Also, as we discussed before, once the festival actually begins, you'll be with Rei. I want to keep things fair, or at least as fair as they can be when I've got multiple quirks, and that means I can't have you there potentially helping me.'
"Okay." They responded easily. "I can't wait to watch you fight from the outside. I wasn't able to do so properly last time."
Izuku let out a small laugh. 'Well just so you know, it won't be exactly like you're expecting.'
He felt a momentary flash of confusion from Tamako, before continuing.
'The way I fight as Oni is very different from how I fight as Izuku.' He explained. 'When I fight as Oni, I'm aiming to hurt the enemy, to incapacitate them quickly, harshly, and definitively. I aim to punish them for their crimes, and that more often than not leads to them being sent to the hospital.'
'But when I fight as Izuku, so long as it's not against criminals and villains threatening myself or someone else, then I only fight as much as is necessary to win. So when I fight today, it won't be with the aim of outright hurting my opponents, only to incapacitate them enough to win the fight.'
Izuku could feel Tamako considering his explanation.
"I see. All the same though, I can't wait to watch you fight. And I can't wait to watch you win."
Izuku smiled at that. 'Don't count Ochako out just yet. She's been working hard, and there's no doubt in my mind that she'll go far.'
Izuku trailed his hands through the bundle of quirks in his chest, singling out Tamako. He bumped a hand against them and immediately felt the contentment rolling off of them in waves.
He couldn't wait for the festival either.
Soon enough, Izuku and Ochako arrived at Yueii, at the arena some distance from the main building, that served as the location of the annual sports festival.
The area in front of the arena was mostly empty as they touched down. There was no sign of the crowds that would soon fill the seats, but he could see a few people and robots—similar to those that helped Recovery Girl and that he had seen cleaning the main building—rushing around, likely handling final preparations. He could also see a few heroes walking around, likely the security for the event.
All of the participating students had been asked to arrive early, so that they would have plenty of time to prepare. It would still be a few hours before any spectators arrived. And keeping in line with their usual behavior, Izuku and Ochako had arrived even earlier.
Izuku didn't lower himself to the ground to let Ochako slide off his back once they landed, nor did she make any move to dismount. She stayed in place, nestled in between his wings as they moved towards the entrance of the arena.
Actually, if he wasn't mistaken, she might've started to doze off during the flight. It was a bit earlier than when they normally would've left the apartment after all.
He decided to leave her be for the moment. If she needed a few more minutes of sleep, and was settled enough to not fall, then so be it.
Just as they reached the entrance, and before they could go inside, Nezu appeared. He must've noticed their arrival.
"Ah, Etsumi, Miss Uraraka." He greeted. "As expected, you two have arrived early."
"Of course." Izuku responded, a bit quieter than usual for Ochako's sake. "I'm excited for the festival. I wouldn't simply arrive on time."
Nezu let out a small laugh, lowering his voice as he noticed Izuku's reason for being quiet. "I understand the feeling. Despite how many of these festivals I've watched, seeing my students give their all and show off their growth never fails to excite me."
They came to an intersection as they spoke.
"To the right, you'll find the waiting rooms, and the connected locker rooms, for each of the classes." Nezu explained. "To the left is the main entrance for spectators."
"You two are free to have a look around until your classmates arrive, or if you wish you can go straight to the waiting room. The choice is yours."
Izuku considered it for a moment, before speaking.
"Where is the VIP seating located?"
Nezu nodded, a look of understanding on his face. "Directly above the commentators booth." He answered. "A seat has been reserved for your sister, as you requested. Though it wasn't much trouble seeing as the only other people up there will be myself and All Might."
Izuku nodded. "All the same, it is appreciated."
For the past few years, Nezu had been sending Deku invitations to the sports festival, for seats in the VIP area. Obviously it had been an attempt to find his real identity, but since that was no longer necessary, Izuku had requested that a spot be reserved for Rei.
She had been wanting to watch the festival in person for some time now. Unfortunately, seating for people with size-altering quirks was some of the most expensive in the stadium. It got to the point that, even with the income through his analysis work, it would be a significant expenditure.
With Izuku and Ochako taking part in the festival, Rei's desire to see it in person was even greater than previous years. Izuku had been incredibly grateful that Nezu reserved the spot. And as expected, Rei had been extremely excited when Izuku told her.
"I'd like to see it, if you don't mind." Izuku said.
"Of course! Right this way."
Nezu turned and began walking down the left pathway. Izuku followed behind a moment later
The waiting room was silent. Everyone was changed into their gym uniforms, with the exception of Ashido and Hagakure, who had been allowed to wear their costumes to properly utilize their quirks. Ashido's had been limited to only the base part of the costume, the bodysuit. She didn't have her waistcoat or boots, instead wearing a simple pair of athletic shoes.
Along with their uniforms, all of the students had been given small metal bracelets to wear around their wrist. It was a piece of metal cord that linked to itself magnetically to create the loop. No one had explained why they had to wear it, only that it was a requirement.
There was a tension in the air as 1-A sat around the room, that looked more like a lounge than a waiting room, awaiting the signal to file out onto the field. A tension that had begun to rise as they heard the din of the spectators rise in volume as the stadium filled. Nobody spoke.
Though, despite the tension, Izuku knew that everyone was prepared. They had all been working hard for the past two weeks to prepare, and they all had shown significant improvements.
And they knew it too. They knew that they had given their all, that they had become stronger. They weren't nervous, at least not nearly as much as they could've been.
It wasn't arrogance, but confidence, though the line between the two was incredibly thin. Confidence in their abilities, and from the knowledge that they would be giving their all when they walked out onto the field.
Eventually, after a good deal of waiting, the tension rising to a peak, they heard an announcement sound out in the room to head out onto the field.
It didn't take long for them to get there, with Izuku following behind the rest as per usual. As soon as they stepped out into the sunlight, they all looked up to take in the sight of thousands of spectators cheering for them. Over the cacophony, Izuku could hear Present Mic announcing their arrival, followed by the other classes as they made their way onto the field.
As the others made their way out, Izuku looked up towards the commentator booth, and at the seating area above it. Blinking, he activated the magnification aspect of 'Spectrum.' With it, he could see Rei watching the field, with Nezu and Yagi settled a few seats away.
He tapped Ochako's shoulder to get her attention, before pointing up at where Rei was. She hadn't been awake when Nezu showed him the VIP area, nor were they able to meet up with Rei before everything got started.
Ochako, in response, waved up at the area Izuku was pointing at, and he could see Rei waving back. Nezu must've had some screens up there displaying the field, because without 'Spectrum' he could barely make her out.
Once all the classes were out and announced, Izuku noticed a stone pillar rising at the edge of the stadium interior, beneath the commentator booth. Midnight stood atop it.
When she spoke, her voice boomed out across the stadium, silencing most of the chatter from the spectators. She didn't bother with a greeting, instead getting right into it.
"To kick things off for this year's first year sports festival. Please welcome the first-year representative, Izuku Etsumi, to deliver our starting remarks!"
As she spoke, another, smaller, pillar rose from the ground directly in front of hers. It had a microphone already set up on it.
"Eh?" Izuku heard a few of his classmates express their shock.
"First-year representative? What's that?"
Izuku was already moving as he answered.
"It's the title given to whoever scores the highest in the entrance exams. They're always the one to give a speech at the start of the festival."
He had known for some time now that he was expected to deliver the speech. Even if someone hadn't told him—which Nezu happened to mention in passing in the middle of a conversation—he already had a good idea of what he was going to say.
The spectators cheered as he made his way to the podium, before falling silent as he climbed it.
Izuku settled himself in front of the microphone, a good bit of his tail hanging off of it. He took a moment to look around at the faces of the spectators, all trained on him. The entire arena was deathly silent as they waited for him to speak.
He took a deep breath, before speaking.
"One of the greatest problems we face today as a society, is the amount of stock we put into quirks, and the inherent judgement we put each other through because of them."
"Weak versus strong. Villainous versus heroic. Even so far as quirked versus quirkless. We judge each other and ourselves based on such flawed logic, and then we let those judgements shape who we become, when in reality our quirks should hold no more bearing on who we become than the rest of our character. We should not let the judgements of others decide who we are."
"Why should you care if someone else thinks that your quirk is villainous, or that it's absolutely perfect for heroics? Why should you care what anyone thinks of you? The only thing that matters is how you see yourself and what you wish to be. And if you don't like something about yourself, then change it. If you think you aren't smart enough, then study harder. If you think you aren't strong enough, then train harder. If you think your quirk isn't strong, then strengthen yourself in other ways."
He paused for a moment for effect, to let his words sink in.
"All Might himself is not the number one hero simply because of his quirk, but because of who he is as a person and because of how he chooses to inspire those around him. It is his character, his willpower, his heart, that makes him as great as he is."
"This problem persists to the point that there are those that believe that some people only get where they are because of their quirk. And while that certainly may be the case in certain places, there is one thing you can be absolutely certain of today."
He gestured out at all the gathered students.
"Everyone you see standing here on the field today has earned the right to do so. We have all worked hard to get where we are, and I know that a good number of us have put our hearts into preparing for this event, to ensure that the performance we give is the best we are capable of."
Izuku found the purple-haired student that had confronted 1-A. Shinsou, as Nezu had informed him. He looked the student in the eye as he spoke, even as the boy glared at him.
"I can't speak for everyone here, but I fully intend to put just as much effort into this festival. I intend to give it my all. And if you fail to do the same, you will find yourself falling short."
With that, Izuku turned from the microphone and made his way back towards his class. The stadium was silent for a few long moments, before it erupted in applause.
"That was pretty good." Tamako complimented. "Did you have that all planned out beforehand?"
'Nothing specific.' He answered. 'I knew the basics of what I wanted to say, but I mostly just went with the flow when I started.'
"Impressive. But was that last bit meant for the purple haired kid? You were staring right at them when you said it."
'Only if he interprets it as such. It was meant for everyone, but if he decides to take it personally, then that's his decision. I want to see if he's smart enough to move past it and just do his best to succeed.'
His classmates congratulated him as he made it back to them. They were barely audible over the noise.
"That was great, Izuku!" Ochako said once he was close enough. "I didn't even know you had to give a speech, but you were amazing!"
"Hell yeah!" Kirishima chimed in. "That was manly! I'm gonna give my all too, so you better watch out!"
Izuku smiled. "I look forward to it."
"A lovely speech to get things started!" Midnight called out, cutting through the noise once more. "With that, it's time to get into the reason you're all here today. It's time for the first event of today's festival!"
On every screen in the stadium, a giant lottery slot machine appeared, with a few different symbols depicted. A moment later, the wheels were spinning.
Izuku had a few ideas as to what the first event would be. In past years, it was almost always something to eliminate most of the competitors in a single go. This year, there were approximately one-hundred-sixty students taking part—everyone but the management classes—and if past years were a good pattern to draw from, they needed to narrow it down to sixteen before the third event.
After a few seconds of spinning, the wheels landed on a cartoonish picture of three people in a ring fighting.
"This year's first event is the battle royale!"
As she continued to speak, the pillar she stood on began to inch its way closer to the wall, as the smaller one disappeared entirely. Izuku narrowed his eyes as he watched.
"This event will be one giant free-for all between all of you!" She announced. "In your waiting rooms, you were all given bracelets to wear. They will be very important during this event. Your objective in this fight is to take bracelets from other people. So long as you have yours at the end, you'll be able to move on. The only catch is that you won't know how much time is left, so you better hang onto yours."
As the pillar merged with the wall, leaving only a small platform up off the ground, Izuku got a feeling in his stomach. It was the kind of impression he usually got when a fight was about to break out.
He leaned over to Ochako, careful to keep his voice down.
"Ochako, take my hand."
She didn't hesitate, grabbing his hand and letting him swing her up onto his back.
'Tamako. It's time. Go to Rei.'
"Got it."
Tamako's presence immediately disappeared from his mind, and he focused on Midnight.
"There are no rules in this event, aside from needing a bracelet in order to move along. Beyond that, you can do what you wish. Form teams, fight everyone, do what you need to to win."
"Hold on tight." Izuku whispered over his shoulder. Ochako's grip around his neck tightened in response.
"And without any further ado, begin!"
As Izuku expected, there wasn't going to be any setup before the event started. They wanted to throw the competitors into chaos.
He smirked. Luckily for him, chaos was where he thrived.
As the majority of the students stared up at Midnight in confusion, Izuku surged forwards, reaching the point directly beneath Midnight's platform in an instant.
He pulled on 'Air Cannon' as he moved, winding an arm back. Spinning around to face the students, he swung his arm out in front of him, releasing a massive rush of air that knocked most everyone back.
Everyone finally took that as the signal to move, as they got up off the ground and immediately started to fight the first person they saw.
Izuku let Ochako climb down off of his back as he watched the chaos. He looked over at her as she moved to stand next to him.
He had a smile on his face. "Shall we get started?"
She returned his smile full force. "Let's do it. I bet I can get more bracelets than you."
Izuku let out a laugh. "I'd like to see you try."
If Izuku was correct in his assumption, there wasn't a time limit for this event. If the point of this was to narrow down the number of competitors, then it would likely continue until the necessary number had been eliminated. Though if it continued long enough, they would likely end it and simply move on to the next event and let it thin out the numbers or take the number of bracelets one had into account.
Either way, Izuku had a fight to take part in.
With a wide smile on his face and a laugh working its way out of his throat, Izuku launched himself into the chaos.
"And with that, the first event has come to an end!"
Midnight's announcement sounded out across the stadium, all but freezing the remaining students in place.
Izuku smiled, barely even breathing hard as he eyed the bracelets on his arms.
It seemed that his earlier assumption was correct. There wasn't a strict time limit. The first event was meant to reduce the number of competitors.
Based on Izuku's internal count, the event had been going on for just over thirteen minutes before Midnight announced the end which, assuming he had counted correctly, was a very odd time to set.
"We now have forty students remaining!" She announced. "With most of them holding more than one bracelet. And in first place, we have Izuku Etsumi, with forty-one bracelets!"
Izuku smiled as a number of the other students looked at him with a number of emotions. He had directly removed a quarter of the total competition from the festival. Granted, most of them had been from the support and general education courses so they weren't necessarily experienced when it came to a fight, but it was still early in the festival, and most of the hero course had made it into the next stage, which meant the chances of him getting to have some real fun would only increase.
"All of you remaining will get a short break as we prepare for the next event, but first we have to determine what that event will be!"
She gestured at one of the screens and, as they had before, an image of a slot machine appeared, beginning to spin after a moment.
Since Izuku's assumption about the first event being a crowd thinner was correct, he didn't have many guesses as to what this one would be. In the past, there had been a quite impressive variety. In fact, he hadn't seen two events repeated in all the years he'd been watching. One year had the students shooting each other with paintballs, another had them riding on each other attempting to steal headbands, and one year even had them playing a massive trivia game.
The thought of an unknown event excited him, and he hoped that it would be something interesting.
The wheels came to a stop on a picture of two flags crossed over one another.
"The second event will be capture the flag!"
It seemed that Izuku would not be disappointed.
"With that decided, all of you that are moving on, please return to your waiting rooms while we prepare the arena! For all of you that were eliminated, better luck next year! You are free to head to the seating areas reserved for your class!"
She snapped her whip, signaling them all to start moving. Izuku watched the rest of his class begin to gravitate towards the door they had come from and followed them.
Not long after they settled back into the waiting room, most lounging across couches and chairs, a deep rumbling began to shake the room around them.
None of them knew what the cause might be, but it certainly served to build their anticipation for what was to come.
Moving back out onto the field, Izuku found that the word wasn't an accurate descriptor anymore. Where before the arena was mostly dirt with a ring of grass around the outside, now it was as if they had entered one of Yueii's training sites.
It was an entire mock city, almost identical to the ones they had used for the battle trials, albeit a bit smaller.
Izuku found himself wondering what the extent of Cementoss' powers were, because he was the only person Izuku was aware of that was able to do something like this. To be able to raise an entire small section of city in such a short time. If the hero didn't care about the structural stability of buildings in the city, he would be a force of nature in the modern world. As it was, he was still exceptionally powerful, but he dedicated his power more for construction than fighting.
As soon as the students were all back in the arena, into a sizeable courtyard right in the center, Midnight began speaking again.
"Now that we've changed the arena into something a bit more suitable for this event, it's time to go over the rules!"
"Before we get things started, you all will have to separate yourselves into teams. These teams can consist of whoever you wish, regardless of class, but there must be at least two, and no more than five people on a team. Once you all have teamed up, you will be given a flag, which you must defend from other teams."
"As with any game of capture the flag, the objective is to capture your opponents flags while defending your own. At the end of this event, the teams with the most flags will be able to move onto the third and final stage of this festival."
"Now, as you can all see, we have converted the arena into a more urban environment to make this second event a bit more interesting. Once you have your flag, you'll be able to spread out and pick a spot to keep your flag. You have access to anywhere and everywhere within the arena, including all of the buildings. However, keep in mind that once the event begins, you will be unable to move your flag, unless it is to return a stolen flag back to its place."
"Oh, one final thing before you all form your teams. The team of the first place competitor from the battle royale has already had their position picked out for them! For the duration of this event, their flag must stay right where you are, in the middle of the arena! Not only that, but they will also be starting this event with two flags, instead of one!"
Almost all the other students turned to look at Izuku as Midnight spoke. Not only would his team start with an additional flag, but they would be stuck right in the center of the arena. They would be vulnerable to attack from all sides.
He smiled—something that closely resembled one of his Oni smiles. Something that unnerved those that saw it—as he looked around at all the people looking at him like an easy target.
He hoped they thought that way.
The only ones that didn't look at him like that were the other students in 1-A. They had all seen him fight, and had all fought against him at least once. They knew why he was smiling, and why he wasn't fazed by the gazes trained on him.
With Midnight finished with her explanation, everyone began to spread out as they formed their teams.
Immediately, Ochako was at Izuku's side. Or rather, she'd already been standing there since they walked out of the waiting room, but simply moved a bit closer once everything started. He also spotted a few other members of 1-A gravitating towards him.
Within minutes of the process beginning, Izuku had filled his team. He had Ochako, Tsuyu, Tokoyami, and Ashido.
They had been the ones to reach him first out of the rest of 1-A, but also, for one reason or another, they were the ones that Izuku was the most knowledgeable about regarding their abilities. He knew their capabilities, and how they could work together.
The other members of class 1-A, with the exception of Kouda, who had given his bracelet to Shoji as soon as the battle royale had started, and who hadn't expressed much interest in fighting at all during the two weeks of preparation, separated to form their own groups.
Looking out across the other competitors, Izuku saw that 1-A and 1-B, being the classes that made up the majority, were mainly sticking to themselves. The only exceptions were the only student from the support course, a pink haired girl that seemed to be teaming up with Bakugou, and Shinsou, the only one from general education, who was surrounded by students from 1-B.
"So, what's the plan?" Ashido asked, the question directed at Izuku. Everyone in his group seemed to have automatically turned to him to lead.
"I'm going to stay here and guard the flags while the four of you go out and secure flags from other teams."
None of them questioned his plan, not after seeing him fight firsthand on multiple occasions and seeing his skill, but all of them except for Ochako did seem a bit skeptical. It was understandable, after all, their success in this event was being put on the line with his plan.
"Don't worry." He reassured them. "I know that with how out in the open we are, there's a risk of our flags being attacked, but that's actually what I'm counting on."
He smiled as he explained, with Ochako mimicking it with a slightly smaller one.
"Because of how exposed we are, how many teams do you think are going to flock to us immediately in order to take our flags? However many end up doing so, they're likely to bring as many people as they can, whether to overpower us or to deal with other teams with the same idea."
The others began to smile as well as they caught on to his reasoning.
"Since I'm the only one that will be staying here, the four of you will be free to target those teams. As almost a full team yourselves, you shouldn't have too much issue dealing with whatever they leave behind."
As he spoke, a staff member approached them with the two flags they would be defending as well as a set of earpieces that they would be able to use to communicate with one another.
Izuku looked at the flags, with their metal poles, and smiled to himself. Midnight had said that the flags couldn't move once they were set, but she never specified what sort of manner they needed to be displayed in.
Picking one up and weighing it in his hands, he moved over to the direct center of the courtyard. There was a crossroads of concrete pathways that went through the open area. Tightening his grip on the flag, he thrust it downwards, planting it into the concrete. Giving it an experimental tug, and finding that he was satisfied with it, he repeated the process with the second flag. A moment later, both were firmly secured in the ground. It certainly shouldn't be impossible for someone to retrieve them, especially with the variety of quirks he saw in some of the groups, but this would at least give them one more obstacle.
With that, Izuku coiled himself around the flags and settled as he watched the other teams begin to spread out.
"Alright." He said. "It's a good thing we have these earpieces, so we can keep in touch and so we can adjust our strategy on the fly, but until we get started I've got some ideas on how some of the other teams might handle things."
The other teams got one more glimpse of the unnerving smile on his face as they all went their separate ways to hide their flags.
"Begin!"
Midnight's voice rang out over the sound of cheering spectators. At the same time, Izuku spoke as well.
"Go."
Immediately, the other four members of his team set out towards one of the other buildings.
It wasn't one that they happened to see another team enter, just the opposite actually. It was one that Izuku hadn't noticed anyone approach. Their goal was to avoid other teams for the moment and get to the top to have a vantage point over the rest of the arena so they could watch for where everyone had set up.
Then, once they found another team, or once enough time had passed for the majority of the competitors to be away from their flags, they would start to move. Between Ochako making them all weightless and Tokoyami and Tsuyu both having ranged abilities to assist in mobility, they would be able to travel between buildings with ease.
"And they're off!" Present Mic's voice boomed through the arena, spectating the events of the game. "In a surprising move, most of Etsumi's team has taken off immediately, leaving him to defend the flags by himself!"
If it mattered, Izuku would be slightly annoyed by Present Mic broadcasting his team's actions to everyone else. But as it stood, he was almost glad. That announcement made it that much more likely that other teams would come rushing.
A minute or two passed in silence, before Izuku could hear fighting in the distance. He could make out the resounding boom of explosions, and immediately recognized one half of the conflict.
Another few minutes passed in silence. Or at least, as silent as things could be with the crowds cheering and Present Mic's voice sounding out and describing every little thing that happened. At the very least, it was silent in the sense that no one had come for him just yet.
It was slightly surprising, but not entirely unexpected. He had taken into account different scenarios where no one would come after him right away.
The two most likely situations were that the other teams were smart enough to not charge straight in, and were either pursuing other teams or biding their time before they actually got moving. Or, they were still coming for him, they were just doing so incredibly cautiously. They were planning.
Personally, Izuku was favoring the second situation a bit more, because the more time they spent planning, the more likely it was that his opponents consisted of more than one group, which meant-.
Izuku noticed something with 'Proximity,' just at the edge of his senses.
He began to smile as that something became several somethings, much more than a single team.
'Class 1-B.'
'Proximity' extended to just outside the courtyard he was in. Just far enough that he could feel them moving around just out of sight.
From the front, from the sides, and from behind. He could feel them moving around him in all directions.
"They're surrounding me." He muttered to himself. "Good."
Then, only slightly louder, he spoke to the rest of his team.
"Heads up, people are finally making moves against us. The opponents are most likely all 1-B, and if I'm correct, three of the four teams are here. They're working together, and there's a good chance that they placed their flags near one another."
He thought for a moment, thinking back to the specific groups he saw before everyone dispersed.
For the moment, he decided not to count the group with Shinsou as one of his attackers. If the boy was smart, he would do his best to avoid Izuku for as long as he could. He hadn't had a chance to observe much of Izuku's strength yet, but he should know that Izuku would have no issue removing him from the competition for no other reason than because he could.
Taking that into account, he picked out the ones that had most likely been tasked with guarding the 1-B flags. He couldn't know for sure, but he would assume that they had each left one team member, keeping the majority of their numbers to overwhelm the other teams.
"Kojiro Bondo, Kosei Tsubaraba, and Shihai Kuroiro." He said. "The ability to create glue similar to how Ashido creates acid, barriers made from solid air, and the ability to travel through shadows, respectively. They're the ones that'll most likely be guarding the flags. Be on the lookout."
"Ashido, you can use your acid to neutralize Bondo's glue. Tsubaraba's air barriers will most likely have to be dealt with through brute force, and Ochako will have to be the one to incapacitate Kuroiro. Prevent him from touching shadows. Tokoyami, watch out for him, as he can most likely use his quirk on Dark Shadow."
Hearing his team all give their affirmative, Izuku focused all of his attention on his opponents. He schooled his expression, training his gaze off into the distance, pretending as if he had no idea what they were up to.
He could feel them gathering into small groups, likely pairing up quirks that would work well together, or planning out the order in which they would conduct their attack.
The corner of Izuku's mouth twitched, attempting to curl up into a smile. He couldn't wait to see what they would attempt.
"Oh my, he is about to completely dismantle Class 1-B." Nezu said from Rei's side, causing her to turn her focus from the screens that had been displaying Izuku and his team.
"Look at him. He is completely aware that they're there. He knows that they're surrounding him."
Rei nodded in agreement. From their bird's eye view, she had seen the other students begin to surround him and she had seen the smile that had flashed across his face when he noticed, before he forced a neutral expression.
She knew Izuku, obviously. She had watched him grow up and had watched him develop as a fighter, both as Izuku and as Oni. She knew that he was aware of the other students, just as she knew that right about now he would be practically bursting with excitement and anticipation for the fight. She knew that it was likely taking everything he had to not abandon the flags and rush his opponents.
"There isn't a single hint of apprehension or nervousness, either. He is totally and completely prepared for whatever they might attempt. The others aren't experienced enough to know that they've already lost."
He let out a chuckle that reminded Rei of when Izuku really started to get into his Oni persona. "Oh I can't wait to see it all unfold."
Rei found herself smiling as well. It wasn't often that she got to see Izuku fight. She was excited, both to see how he would handle the situation and simply to see him fight in general.
Izuku rolled his head back to look at the sky, deliberately making it seem as though he wasn't focused on his surroundings at all.
The response was almost immediate. Almost every single opponent began to move a bit closer.
The tension in the air was rising as Izuku could almost physically feel the moment approaching. The moment that the fight would begin.
As he waited, he noticed one breaking away from the pack and beginning to creep closer. He had a hunch as to who it was, but he needed to confirm it. If he was correct, that would determine the direction his opponents would take.
Faking a yawn, Izuku turned his head in the direction of the one creeping closer. They froze as soon as his eyes passed over them, despite the fact that he couldn't actually see anyone there.
His hunch was spot on. Monoma, inferiority complex, was the starting point of the whole fight.
Izuku wasn't sure when Monoma had gotten his hands on Hagakure's quirk, but he was relying on it to get him close to the flags, obviously not aware that something as simple as invisibility meant nothing to Izuku.
He felt the flags shift a bit where they were settled in the coils of his tail, and realized what the boy was trying to do. He was borrowing the quirk of Reiko Yanagi, a minor form of telekinesis, to attempt to steal the flags from under Izuku's nose.
Izuku sighed, before grabbing the bottom of his shirt and tearing a sizeable strip from it. He wrapped the strip around his hand, covering as much skin as possible.
"Well then." He said, loud enough for all of his opponents to hear. "This has been quite fun, but I think it's about time we get things started, don't you?"
Before anyone could respond, Izuku spun around and delivered a punch to the side of Monoma's head, doing his best to ensure that their skin did not make contact. Before the boy could go flying, Izuku grabbed him by the neck and flung him in the direction of one of the other students—Yosetsu Awase, he now realized—sending them both tumbling.
There was a single moment of silence as everyone seemed to catch up to what had just happened, before everything exploded.
Vines burst from the ground all around him, wrapping around his arms and torso. At the same time, everyone else jumped out into the open.
Two opponents separated from the rest, charging directly at him. He recognized them as Sen Kaibara and Jurota Shishida, two quirks suited for close-quarters combat.
Izuku laughed as they approached, one from each side. He could feel the thorny vines tightening their hold on him—though the thorns didn't pierce his skin, not with his durability quirks active—ensuring that he was held in place. All the while, he could see the other students preparing their own attacks in case the current one failed.
They were wary of him. Good.
As the two attackers were pulling back fists to swing at him, he watched their quirks activate. Kaibara's arm began to rotate at a high enough speed to for it to blur, and Shishida increased in size and became considerably more beast-like in appearance.
He saw a flicker of triumph in their eyes for just a moment—though it was barely visible past their determination—and decided that he had waited long enough.
Just as they both swung a fist at him, one rotating at a dangerous speed and the other a few times larger than it should be and sporting razor-sharp claws, Izuku moved.
His hands darted out, meeting no resistance whatsoever from the vines and even tearing them in a few places. He caught the two attacks, halting them.
The beast-like arm trembled as it struggled to overcome his strength, and Izuku's hand latched onto Kaibara's fist with enough strength to cause the quirk to backfire and nearly send his torso spinning if he hadn't deactivated it in time.
He savored the shocked expressions on their faces, just for a moment, before countering.
Tightening his grip on their fists, Izuku yanked them closer, switching his grip to Kaibara's neck in one swift movement. Lifting the boy up off the ground, Izuku aimed a punch to the center of Shishida's chest, sending him flying. Spinning around, he threw Kaibara at Awase, who had just managed to stand back up. He was sent tumbling once more.
"Incredible!" Present Mic's voice sounded out. "Etsumi has completely seen through the sneak attack set up by the 1-B teams and now seems ready to face them all down after dispatching a number of them in quick succession! Though he might want to be careful. It looks like his opponents mean business!"
The rest of the opponents didn't waste time on shock, instead moving immediately into their next attack.
The ground beneath Izuku softened into something akin to jelly, and he immediately began to sink. At the same time, he noticed a few small items flying towards him at high speeds, before suddenly expanding, revealing several of the fake cars that had been spread through the mock city.
More vines burst from the ground to wrap around him, this time also pulling him further into the softened ground. One of the remaining students began to grow scales across his body before launching them at Izuku, while another spread her hands, sending a cloud of what seemed to be dust floating towards him.
Five attacks from six different students. Six different quirks that were worthy of and were being developed by Yueii's hero course.
Izuku could feel his excitement growing.
A pull on 'Quick Thinker' had the world slowing around him, giving him time to take stock of everything. In a few short seconds—from his perspective. Even quicker from everyone else's—he worked out his plan of attack.
With his smile still in place—if anything it had only grown wider—he took a deep breath, filling his lungs before beginning to hold his breath. Then, flexing his arms, he broke free from the vines that were actively trying to drag him into the softened ground.
At the same time, he rose his torso up off the ground. He had no idea how far down the softening quirk affected, but he had about fifty feet of tail to work with before it became a problem.
In the time it took him to do that, the fake cars reached him. He swatted them aside with ease, sending them crashing into the buildings that surrounded the courtyard.
He did nothing to defend against the scales that were assaulting him, instead letting them impact as 'Shock Absorption' did its job.
By now, the dust cloud, that he knew was composed of nothing but fungal spores, had reached him. Mushrooms began to sprout along his body, but he ignored it for the moment. Instead, he gripped as many vines in his hands as he could, yanking on them.
As he thought, they hadn't gone very deep into the ground to reach him, so they pulled up incredibly easily. Once they had, he yanked on them again, sending their source flying towards him.
She landed in his grip, his hand clamping over her face—including her mouth and nose—and cutting off her breathing. He did this partly to incapacitate her, as well as preventing her from breathing in the fungal spores that still floated in a cloud around him.
Bringing his free hand up, he pulled on 'Air Cannon,' before flicking towards Kinoko Komori, the source of the spores. A massive blast of air sent her flying, also serving to clear the air around him a bit.
He did the same to the source of the scales, incapacitating him.
"Izuku." He heard Ochako call out from the earpiece. "We found their flags. You were right, there are three of them together, and the people guarding them are the ones you mentioned. We've taken care of Bondo and Tsubaraba, but the last one is giving us trouble. They set up in a really dark room, and he keeps using Dark Shadow against us."
Izuku thought for a moment as he deflected a few more thrown cars, raising himself a bit higher off the ground to avoid sinking.
"What building are you in?" He asked, deciding to use up some of his oxygen. "What floor?"
"We're in the building directly beneath the commentator's booth. Third floor from the top."
Izuku got an idea as he watched another batch of cars float through the air.
"Is the area closest to the interior of the arena clear?"
She hesitated for a moment, likely confused as to why he was asking, before confirming that there was no one near that wall.
"Alright. Get ready for a distraction."
As the cars flew at him, he deflected all but the final one. That one he caught with both hands, spinning to face the building that the rest of his team was in.
He reeled an arm back, his hand gripping the back of the car. It wasn't nearly as heavy as a real one. Izuku suspected that most of the internals were missing.
With a small grunt, Izuku launched the car at the building, guiding its trajectory with 'Bullseye.'
He heard the crash through the earpiece, along with the exclamations of his teammates. Luckily, they were at least partially prepared for something thanks to his warning. A few short seconds later, he heard Ochako's voice again.
"Not exactly what I was expecting when you said distraction, but it worked. We have their flags, should we come back?"
"Yes. Get back here as quickly as you can. I'm almost finished up over here."
Raising his hands, he launched another blast of air at the two that had been throwing the cars at him. They were both sent flying. He repeated the process on the one that was softening the ground. The ground solidifying with Izuku partially submerged was enough of an indicator that the student was incapacitated.
With only two opponents left, Izuku spread his wings and, still with 'Air Cannon' active, thrust them downwards. The massive surge of air cleared away most of the spores that remained, with the rest being cleared with a few more wingbeats.
He took a deep breath as the air finally cleared, before looking towards the final two, who were already moving.
Izuku caught the horn that was flying at him, snatching it out of the air, and a quick swipe of his hand deflected the blade that was thrust at him. In the brief opening, he grabbed the student with the blade quirk, Togaru Kamakiri, by the neck and slammed him into the ground, before using the horn in his hand to deflect the other that was already darting through the air at him. One more blast of air incapacitated her.
There was as surge in the spectators' cheering as he wrapped up, and Present Mic's voice sounded out once more.
"Absolutely incredible! Despite being outnumbered twelve-to-one, Etsumi has completely repelled the attacking teams, and on the opposite side of the conflict, his team has captured their flags! Just how strong is he!?"
Looking around at the fallen students, Izuku relaxed just a bit. Looking down at himself, he noticed that he was practically covered in a blanket of mushrooms. It was a wonder his eyes hadn't been affected. In fact-
Izuku worked his mouth around, before opening it in disgust.
"There is a mushroom, in my mouth." He said to no one in particular. "I guess that's what I get for talking while in the middle of a swarm of spores."
Sticking a hand into his mouth, he gripped at the tiny mushroom that was stuck to the inside of his cheek and yanked it out. There was a pinch as it separated from his flesh, but when he inspected it there was no sign that it had taken any flesh or blood with it. The only thing left behind was a somewhat sour taste in his mouth.
As he waited for his team to return, he set to work prying the other mushrooms from his skin.
He managed to get about halfway down his torso before they arrived.
"We're back!" Ashido called, before catching sight of courtyard. "Woah, what happened here?"
"The three teams from 1-B whose flags you just retrieved." He answered. "They put up quite the fight."
"Are you okay?" Tsuyu asked. "You're covered in mushrooms, and you're partially buried."
"I'm fine." He reassured. "I haven't freed myself because I didn't want to uproot the flags before I was done dealing with them, and I didn't clear the spores away at first because I didn't want the other teams breathing them in."
He looked back down at himself. "I don't think they're really harmful, aside from some slight discomf-."
"And with that, the second event of this year's sports festival is over!"
Midnight's voice cut him off as she announced the end.
"We saw some exciting fights! And because of everything that went down, we have four teams remaining! These four teams will be the ones advancing to the third and final event!"
"In first place, with five flags, we have Team Etsumi! Next, tied for second with two flags each, we have Team Bakugou and Team Todoroki! Finally, coming in fourth place with one flag is team Shinsou!"
The crowd roared their approval as the teams were announced.
Izuku sighed. "Finally."
With a quick flex of his tail, Izuku all but shattered the ground beneath him, before working his tail up out of the hole.
"Those of you in need of medical attention, please make your way to the infirmary, or wait to be picked up. As for the rest of you, we will now be providing lunch during a short break while we prepare the arena for the final event."
"Speaking of, some of you might be wondering what this third event will be. But at this point, do we really even need to spin the wheel? You already know what it will be!"
She gestured up at one of the screens where a picture of a tournament bracket appeared.
"It's the one-on-one tournament, of course!"
The crowd managed to grow even louder at that, all but shaking the stadium.
As soon as she was finished, Izuku noticed staff members appearing from the edges of the arena, a number of them moving towards Izuku, likely to retrieve the fallen students of 1-B.
Izuku let out another sigh as he turned to make his way back out of the arena, the rest of his team following behind him. He continued to pick off mushrooms as he moved.
He had a smile on his face as he entered back into the waiting room, already turning to head for the infirmary to have the rest of the mushrooms removed. That had been an exciting fight. Easy, perhaps, but exciting nonetheless. The way the students had all worked together to attack him was nothing short of impressive, and moving to deal with all of them had been rather enjoyable.
All the same though. Regardless of how much fun that had been, he was looking forward to the final event even more.
There was no doubt in his mind that his fights in the tournament would be even more exciting.
Chapter End Notes
The teams that have progressed to the tournament are as follows:
-Izuku, Ochako, Tsuyu, Tokoyami, Ashido.
-Todoroki, Iida, Momo.
-Bakugou, Kirishima, Hatsume.
-Shinsou, Kendo, Tetsutetsu, Tokage, Shoda.
I hope you enjoyed!
By the way, I have written a few oneshots to go along with this fic. They are included in the 'What's in a Quirk' series. They are all written in a way that neither confirms or disproves their connection to canon. It is up to you, when you read it, to decide if you believe if it is canon to this fic or not.
My Discord.
Loss of Control
Chapter Summary
Onwards to the first round of the tournament. Hopefully you are as excited as I am for what's about to happen.
Chapter Notes
WARNING: Read the tags. There are two new ones ('Past Rape/Non-con' and 'It's described but it's not explicit'), and they are very significant. The section that they pertain to will be marked.*
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Ridiculous! Completely ridiculous!"
Izuku smirked as he watched the furious woman work.
"In my defense, they attacked me first. I was acting in self-defense."
"That's no reason to be so harsh!" Recovery girl yelled as she moved between students. "It's bad enough that you let yourself be covered in potentially toxic fungus, but not a single one of the 1-B students that you faced left the arena conscious!"
"Hey, at least I did what I could to stop them from being caught by the spores too."
"Is that meant to make up for the fact that Shishida has three broken ribs? Or that Monoma and Awase both have concussions? Or that some of Shiozaki's vines were nearly torn out at the roots?"
Izuku shrugged. "Not necessarily. But the fact that they are willingly participating in a competition hosted by a hero school does, at least in my eyes. I highly doubt anyone is walking into this ignorant to the fact that they could be injured. Besides, beyond that, the fact of the matter is I could've injured them much more than I did. I only did as much as was necessary to win."
"Hmph!" She grunted as she switched patients again, anger rolling off of her tiny frame. "Necessary. None of this," she gestured at the students spread through the room, "is necessary. There are plenty of other ways to have you all get the world's attention that don't involve pummeling one another."
Izuku stayed silent. She was certainly correct, there were other ways that Yueii could present its students, but there weren't any that would appeal to the public nearly as much. Besides, Izuku didn't particularly care one way or another. He didn't care so much about gaining anyone's attention. The festival had been exciting thus far, and that was good enough for him.
Recovery Girl looked over at him, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"You're free to go. There shouldn't be any adverse side effects from the fungus, especially not with how fast you seem to heal. But I expect you to come straight back here if you feel that anything is off. And I don't want to see anyone in here for the rest of the festival because of you!"
Izuku shrugged again, before turning towards the door. "No promises." He called out over his shoulder as he left the infirmary, ignoring her angry muttering behind him.
Ochako was waiting for him in the hallway, having gotten a once-over before quickly being discharged almost as soon as she arrived at the infirmary, not even needing to be healed. Her fight with the 1-B students had barely even resulted in any bruises.
"Everything okay?" She asked as the door closed behind him.
"Of course." Izuku replied, nodding. "There weren't any issues with the mushrooms. Evidently, they only really cause problems if they get inside someone. Though Recovery Girl isn't pleased with me at all for what I did to 1-B."
"But they attacked you first." She said with a grin. "Technically you were just acting in self-defense."
"That's what I said. But the injuries they had were still too severe for her liking."
He grinned. "Whatever, it's not like it matters, she's just angry that we have to fight one another at all. Shall we join our classmates and get some lunch?"
"Actually, I was thinking about heading back to the locker rooms to shower first. I'm all sweaty after those first two events, and some of Bondo's glue got on me when we fought him."
She picked at her clothes as she spoke, where parts of it were apparently stuck to her skin, and he could see the slight pinch of discomfort in her expression. Watching this, Izuku had an idea. One of his newer quirks was ideal for this exact situation.
"Actually, there might be something I can do to help with that."
She tilted her head at him as he gestured for her to come closer, but complied, stepping towards him. Izuku glanced around for any cameras in the hallway, and was glad to see none. As soon as she was close enough, Izuku reached a hand out and, ever so gently, tapped her on the nose, activating the new quirk at the same time.
The visible dirt on Ochako's body vanished instantly, leaving perfectly clean skin behind.
It was one of the quirks he acquired the same night he found Tamako. The last quirk he'd taken that night, which he'd taken to calling 'Shower in a can.'
It did almost exactly as the name implied. With a single touch, either to himself or to another person, all the dirt, grime, and sweat would be cleared from the body, leaving them perfectly clean.
He'd only had it for a few short days, but Izuku absolutely loved the quirk already. It would never quite be able to replace the feeling of a hot shower, but being able to be fresh and clean immediately after a fight, or any other strenuous activity, was an incredible novelty. And while it didn't have any effect on clothing, it could be used often enough that, at the very least, one's clothes wouldn't become soaked with sweat.
Being dirty wasn't something that bothered Izuku—by this point he was well accustomed to getting filthy doing whatever he was doing, being covered in dirt, sweat, and even blood wouldn't hinder him—but he certainly wouldn't pass up the ability to be clean at all times.
"Better?" He asked.
She looked down at her hands as a full-body shiver traveled through her.
"That felt really weird." She said, shaking her head. "But yeah, that does feel a lot better. Thanks!"
"Do you still want to change, or is that good enough for now?"
She thought for a moment before replying. "I think I'm good. I might still change before the third event, but for now that's good enough."
"Excellent. Then let's go join out classmates."
The two of them started off down the hallway, walking in silence as Izuku led the way to the cafeteria. After a minute, Ochako glanced up at him, before speaking.
"So, was that a new one?"
She didn't specify—and it was a good thing she didn't when they couldn't be sure who might be within earshot—but Izuku knew what she was asking.
"Yep. I came across it the same night I encountered the newest addition to the apartment. I'll explain it in a bit more detail later, once we get home.
Ochako hummed in confirmation as they continued on in silence, and Izuku found himself smiling.
He still wasn't entirely used to the fact that Ochako was now aware of his quirk, but he didn't regret telling her the truth that night. He hadn't realized just how nice it would be to have someone aside from Rei not only know about his quirk but also be interested in it or even like it, until he told Ochako and she did just that.
His smile grew. He liked it, the fact that he now had someone else that liked his quirk. It allowed him to indulge in the delusion that maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought it was.
It didn't take them long to reach their destination, the enormous cafeteria, already full of students and their families. Izuku spotted their classmates grouped together and led the way, cutting through the crowd as people—sensibly—made way for the three-thousand-pound half snake.
"Yo! Etsumi, Uraraka!" Kaminari yelled out. "Where were you two? We were looking all over for you!"
"In the infirmary." Izuku answered. "I was getting de-shroomed."
Most of them looked at him in confusion, with the exception of the other members of his team for capture the flag, who knew exactly what he meant. Actually, the three of them knew where Izuku and Ochako had gone, couldn't they have explained it to the others?
"One of my opponents was a 1-B student whose quirk lets her release fungal spores that cause mushrooms to sprout on whatever they land on."
"Ouch." Kirishima said, wincing. "That sounds like a hard quirk to go up against. But I'm guessing that she ended up in the infirmary with you?"
"Yep!" Ochako cut in. "Along with the other eleven 1-B students that attacked him at the same time."
"What!? Eleven!? So your team took on three other teams at once!?"
"Of course not!" Ashido said. "It was just Etsumi versus three teams at once. The rest of us went to take their flags."
"What the heck!? I mean, I know I shouldn't be surprised, we've all seen you fight before. But still. What the heck!?"
Izuku shrugged. "All I did was stand there. They came to me. Had they been smart, they could've just attacked me at range to force me to move away from the flags."
At that moment, Izuku perked up as he felt Tamako at the edge of his consciousness, quickly returning to their place in his mind.
"Izuku!" They called. "We're here!"
'Hello Tamako.' Izuku greeted, even as he was already turning in the direction he felt them arrive from. He immediately picked Rei out from the crowd as she made her way over to the group.
She smiled at him once she realized he had noticed her. He found himself reciprocating the gesture, a bright smile lighting up his face.
"Woah…" Someone whispered. "I don't think I've ever seen him smile like that."
"Are you surprised? Look who just showed up."
The rest of them turned their attention to Rei as she arrived at the table.
"You have a sister?" Kaminari asked. "How come you never told us?"
Izuku tilted his head. "Because, I didn't have to? Besides, I'm fairly certain that I have told you. Maybe you just weren't paying attention."
Kaminari squinted at him for a moment. "Y'know what? Fair enough."
"Anyways." Izuku said. "For those of you that don't know, this is my sister Reiko Etsumi."
He ignored the way Todoroki perked up and seemed to start paying attention to the conversation at that.
"Hello everyone." Rei greeted, waving. "You can call me Rei, if you want. Izuku's told me about all of you."
They were silent for a moment, before Ashido stood up and stuck her hand out. "Nice to meet you, Rei." She said with a smile. "My name's Mina Ashido."
"Ah right!" Rei said. "Acid quirk, right?"
"Yep~. That's me!"
With that, the ice was broken, with most of the other students introducing themselves once Ashido sat back down.
After the introductions, Izuku, Rei, and Ochako all went to get their food, which of course was being served by Lunch Rush. A few short minutes later they were back with the rest of 1-A to eat their meals. The bulk of the conversation that took place was a mix between each student recounting their fights in the first two events and questions directed at Rei, who took them all in stride.
Halfway through the allotted time they had for lunch, Present Mic's voice sounded out over the speakers, announcing that the bracket for the tournament had been decided, and that everyone should direct their attention to the nearest screen to see the matchups.
Sure enough, Izuku found one and looked over the pairings.
Match 1: Katsuki Bakugou vs. Nirengeki Shoda
Match 2: Tenya Iida vs. Mina Ashido
Match 3: Ejirou Kirishima vs. Mei Hatsume
Match 4: Itsuka Kendou vs. Setsuna Tokage
Match 5: Ochako Uraraka vs. Tsuyu Asui
Match 6: Momo Yaoyorozu vs. Fumikage Tokoyami
Match 7: Shouto Todoroki vs. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
Match 8: Hitoshi Shinsou vs. Izuku Etsumi
Izuku smiled to himself as he read through the list. He could tell immediately that they most likely weren't randomized, or if they were, then the crowd was exceptionally lucky for the show they were about to get.
Most of the pairings were a near perfect match for each other in terms of their abilities. Just based on his first speculations, none of them except for the first, seventh, and eighth should be very quick.
It was a bit unfortunate that Shinsou had ended up against Izuku so early in the event, but if he was as serious about getting into the hero course as he seemed to be, then he should still be able to put on a good showing for whoever would end up deciding the boy's fate.
With the matchups announced, and with the cafeteria buzzing with excitement for what was to come, Izuku returned to his food.
He was looking forward to the fights. Even though he'd spent the last two weeks helping his classmates prepare, and thus had a decent understanding of their capabilities, he wasn't able to pick out who would win most of the fights.
For the most anticipated event of the sports festival, the first few fights of the tournament didn't last very long, going against Izuku's expectations. Not that-that necessarily meant that they weren't exciting.
The match between Bakugou and Shoda could barely be considered a fight at all, which honestly had been exactly what Izuku was expecting. He wasn't doubting Shoda's capabilities, but in order for his quirk to work he had to actually hit his opponent, which Bakugou was far too skilled to allow.
With two explosions in rapid succession, the first to disorient and the second to actually attack, Shoda was blown from the ring in a matter of seconds, resulting in Bakugou's decisive victory.
The second matchup, between Ashido and Iida, had gone nearly as quickly. Both were capable fighters in their own right, with Iida perhaps being slightly more skilled, but it was simply a matter of their split-second decisions at the start of the fight that caused it to end so quickly.
In such a small space, with Ashido's acid and her method of using it being what it was, a drawn out fight would only put things in her favor, with the surface of the ring becoming increasingly slippery as time passed. Iida evidently recognized this and planned to end the fight as soon as it started. However, as fast as he was, the past two weeks of fighting nearly every day in preparation for the festival had greatly improved Ashido's reaction time and instincts. So the moment Midnight signaled the start of the fight, the ground at her feet was slick with her acid and she was darting to the side, with Iida passing through the space not even a full second later. He hit the patch of acid and went straight out of the ring, his speed working against him.
The third match, between Kirishima and a support course student, Mei Hatsume, was the longest yet. Kirishima was a sturdy opponent, something akin to a tank that could punch people, and evidently support course students were allowed to make use of whatever equipment they made for themselves. Between those two points, the fight lasted long enough to make up for the two before it, and certainly made it up to the audience, judging from their cheering.
Kirishima made exceptional use of his quirk, the improvements he had gained to his reaction time and the length of time he could keep it active shining through. Hatsume, on the other hand, utilized an impressive array of support equipment to devastating effect. A combination of gear to keep her mobile and out of Kirishima's path, and hard-hitting weapons to wear him down. In the end, that combination won her the fight. Just barely managing to push Kirishima out-of-bounds with a final last-ditch attack.
The fourth match, between Itsuka Kendou and Setsuna Tokage, two students from 1-B, lasted nearly as long and was almost as exciting as the third. Being two of the most skilled fighters in the other hero class—as far as Izuku could gauge—and both knowing how the other fought meant that neither would have an easy time of things. Tokage utilized her quirk to constantly pester Kendou from all angles, while Kendou used hers to protect her back with one hand while simultaneously swatting away several pieces of Tokage at a time.
In the end, the match was decided when a single stray piece of Tokage hit the ground just outside of the ring, a result of her exhaustion not letting her redirect it in time. Afterwards, both students ended up being carted off the field and towards the infirmary.
Finally, for the fifth match, was the one that Izuku had actually been excited to watch. It was the fight between Ochako and Tsuyu, his sister and his friend.
He couldn't say for sure who he thought the winner would be—both were incredibly capable in their own right, powerful fighters that were skilled in the use of their quirks—but he found that he wasn't particularly favoring one over the other.
Izuku smiled as he watched the two students walk out into the arena. Both had smiles on their faces and walked with confidence
"So, Etsumi." Ashido said as the two students made their way onto the ring, an odd quality to her voice. "What's the deal with you and Ochako?"
"Hm?" He grunted, not turning his attention away from the arena.
"Well you two have been coming and going from school together for a while now, with her riding on your back no less. Is there a story there?"
Izuku turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised. She had a smirk on her face.
"Not really." He responded. "She's living with my sister and I, and I was flying to Yueii anyway. It wouldn't make sense to not give her a lift."
"Wait, you mean to say that you two live together?" Ashido asked, faltering. She recovered quick enough though. "Damn. You work fast, Etsumi."
Izuku tilted his head. "I don't think I understand what you mean."
"Well, you just told us that one of your classmates is living with you, when we're barely a month from the start of the year."
"…Yes? And?" Izuku asked, confused. "She needed a place to stay, so we offered?"
"What? She needed a place to stay?"
Izuku nodded. "Yes, that's what I said. Her parents live in another city, and renting somewhere separate to live, not to mention paying for food and such, is expensive. So, since my sister and I have extra space, we offered to have her stay with us."
"Wait. That's it? That's the only reason she's living with you, and why the two of you are together all the time? There's nothing else going on?"
"Yes?" Izuku answered. "Wait, what did you think was going on?"
Ashido deflated just a bit, before smirking again. "I thought that maybe you two were, y'know, together."
Izuku shook his head. "Nope. Sorry. Nothing like that."
She pouted, before turning to look down at the ring. "Hmph. You're no fun. I was expecting you to at least get a little bit embarrassed. But not only are you smarter and stronger than all of us, apparently that stuff doesn't work on you."
Izuku followed suit, turning back to look at the ring, where Midnight was once again going over the rules for the two students.
"Well, maybe next time don't make assumptions about people with next to no information. Then you won't be disappointed."
With that over with, Izuku focused all of his attention on the fight, that had just begun, excited for the outcome.
In the end, it was an even closer fight than the two that came before it. The two were almost a perfect counter for each other. Tsuyu could utilize her tongue to attack from a distance and her powerful legs to maintain that distance, while Ochako's quirk made it so that Tsuyu couldn't be but so bold, as a single touch would end the fight.
The fight carried on for longer than the two that preceded it, and ended with Ochako finally landing a lucky hit that rendered Tsuyu weightless.
From the sound of their cheering, no one in the stands was disappointed with the fight in the slightest. Both had given everything and came within an arm's reach of victory, only for Ochako to just barely reach it first.
Afterwards, Izuku had left the stands to meet Ochako on her way back up, to congratulate her on her victory and to offer to use 'Shower in a can' again, both of which were accepted graciously.
They ran into Tsuyu just after, who, despite losing, didn't seem disappointed. She seemed to be content that she had done her best.
The three of them arrived back in the stands just in time to see the end of the sixth match, between Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu. Evidently, the two weeks of preparation had done Yaoyorozu some good—it had been good for both of them, with Tokoyami's relationship with Dark Shadow improving by leaps and bounds—as she utilized her quirk to create flashbangs to push Dark Shadow back almost as soon as the fight began. Then, with the sapient quirk out of the picture, the fight was reduced to almost purely hand-to-hand combat, which Yaoyorozu had the upper hand in, especially since she could still create weapons to use.
After the short break that followed, Todoroki and Tetsutetsu entered the ring for the seventh match, which also happened to be the quickest one yet, an impressive feat considering the first two.
Before the call to begin even fully left Midnight's mouth, a massive glacier erupted onto the ring, very nearly freezing Tetsutetsu solid.
"Well then, looks like I'm up." Izuku said as Todoroki began melting the ice, already rising to make his way towards the designated waiting room.
"Good luck!" Ochako cheered.
"Yeah! Good luck man!"
Izuku waved over his shoulder as he moved.
A quick trip through the interior of the stadium had him coming up on the waiting room. But the sound of voices around the corner had him halting in place.
"Bold of you to assume I give two shits what you think, Old Man."
Izuku tilted his head. That sounded like… Todoroki? But nothing that Izuku had seen from the boy had ever given the impression that he was capable of speaking with such venom.
"Shouto please." A second, almost hushed voice responded. "Just listen to me. This vendetta you have against me is only stunting your growth. If you keep going with it, especially after you graduate, you'll end up getting yourself killed."
Todoroki scoffed. "Don't pretend as if you care about that-."
"I do care. I care that your absolute refusal to use your fire is getting you hurt. I care that it'll end up getting yourself or others killed when you enter the world as a hero. Believe it or not, Shouto, I do care about your wellbeing."
"Oh, you do? You mean the same way you cared about Touya's? The way you cared about his wellbeing so much that he killed himself while trying to improve himself for you?"
The second voice was silent for a moment.
"I-. That's not-. That was-." They stuttered out, before giving up with a sigh. "That was a very long time ago, Shouto, and I've done everything I can to try to make up for it. It may not mean much to you, but I do care. Hopefully I'll be able to get you to see that one day."
The voice fell silent, and a few moments later Izuku heard heavy footsteps heading for the corner. Izuku watched as a huge, red haired man rounded it, barely sparing him a glance as he walked past.
He faltered for just a moment as he recognized the man. Endeavor was almost unrecognizable without his signature flaming hair and beard. And the voice he'd just heard from the man didn't match up at all with the authoritative, no-nonsense persona of the number two hero.
Looking away from the man, Izuku rounded the corner himself, coming face to face with the younger Todoroki. The boy was obviously angry, smoke rising from the left side of his body, while frost was spreading across the ground at his right foot. His gaze snapped to Izuku, who looked back with a raised eyebrow.
Izuku shrugged as he moved to pass Todoroki. "I'm not going to pretend to understand what I just heard. But you know, he does have a point. If you only rely on your ice, the chances of you or someone else getting hurt in the future go up."
He pulled on the temperature resistance quirk as the air around him dropped several degrees in response, and ignored the glare that was attempting to burn a hole in his head as he pushed through the door into the waiting room.
"Food for thought." He called out as the door shut.
He really didn't have any idea what was going on with that, so he wasn't going to make any assumptions. As far as he could definitively tell, Todoroki was rather upset with his father, likely over the fate of someone named 'Touya,' and was using that anger as a reason not to use his fire.
It hardly made any sense to Izuku, but then, he also didn't really care overly much, so he wasn't going to waste time thinking about it.
He settled down to relax for a few minutes before his fight, thoughts shifting from Todoroki to Shinsou. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the boy, but that was probably for the best.
Izuku wasn't a complete asshole. He wasn't trying to ruin Shinsou's chances of getting into the hero course, and didn't have any substantial reason to dislike him. Despite the relatively minor issues he had with the boy—namely his baseless hatred of those with seemingly powerful quirks and the apparent lack of effort he put into himself before complaining about others—Izuku still hoped that Shinsou would end up achieving his goal. It was for this reason that he didn't intend to follow the example of Todoroki and finish the fight the moment it began.
It was also for this reason that he hadn't—and wouldn't—use 'Appraisal' to learn Shinsou's quirk. He would give the boy a chance to put on a good show, and if that happened to include catching Izuku off guard with his quirk, then so be it. Even if he didn't know Shinsou's quirk, Izuku was confident in his ability to adapt and respond to whatever it might be.
A few minutes after settling down, an announcement sounded out through the room's speakers, telling him to report to the ring.
Izuku sighed as he raised himself back up, before moving to the door. He could hear the roar of the crowd growing louder as he moved down the hallway towards the light of the arena.
There must've been cameras in this particular hallway, because just a few moments before Izuku reached the exit, Present Mic's voice sounded out across the stadium.
"Personally folks, I think this is the fight I've been the most excited to see! Between the two competitors that I've been keeping my eyes on the most! On one side of the ring, we have the absolute powerhouse of class 1-A, who blew us away with his opening speech, and who seemed untouchable as he took on three whole teams singlehandedly during capture the flag, Izuku Etsumi!"
It was a credit to Present Mic's skill as a showman and an announcer that his announcement of Izuku's name lined up exactly with him emerging from the hallway.
"And on the other side, we have the wildcard of this years' festival! The one who has managed to slip just under the radar throughout everything so far, and who I feel has been hiding his true capabilities for the big showdown, Hitoshi Shinsou!"
Izuku met Shinsou's gaze across the ring as they both moved up onto it. The boy was already glaring at him.
As they both came to a stop, Midnight spoke up to go over the rules.
"I expect a good, clean fight from both of you." She said, loud enough for both of them to hear. "The fight will end when one of you submits, is incapacitated, or if any part of you leaves the ring."
The last part of that was mostly directed at Izuku. If any part of his tail happened to touch the ground outside of the ring, he would lose.
She looked over at Izuku. "Do you understand?"
"I do." He responded, cracking his neck.
She repeated the question for Shinsou, who only nodded in return, still glaring at Izuku.
Midnight nodded, before shouting out, "Begin!"
Izuku waited a moment before moving forward, Shinsou mirroring him a second later.
"I hope you don't think that I have anything against you." Izuku said. "I do hope that you end up making it into the hero course."
Shinsou snorted. "May the best man win, I guess?"
The corner of Izuku's mouth upturned, and he nodded. "Inde-."
Izuku felt a pressure of unbelievable scale press down on him as his response halted partway out of his mouth.
For a fraction of a second, Izuku thought that Tamako had returned to him, and had somehow disrupted him enough to impair his speech, but a quick attempt to continue speaking had him realizing that whatever the pressure was, it was preventing him from doing so. More than that, it was preventing him from moving at all. Tamako certainly wasn't capable of something like that, not when Izuku was still conscious.
A bolt of panic shot through Izuku with that realization. He tried to struggle against whatever was holding him, tried to exert any form of control over himself.
That little bit of panic multiplied tenfold when he realized he didn't have any. He couldn't move his body at all. Couldn't move his arms or tail, couldn't move his head or his mouth, couldn't even blink or control his breathing.
A bit belatedly, he tried to pull on his quirks. All of them, any of them at all to try to ground his mind back to his body, but none of them responded. He couldn't feel the comforting warmth of any of his quirks. It was as if he was completely empty.
At this point, his panic had escalated to the point that if his mind were at all still connected to his body, his breathing would be rapidly approaching the point of hyperventilation and his hearts would've been thundering away far too fast to be healthy.
'No.' He thought. 'No. No no. I can't move. Why can't I move? Why can't- my quirks?'
Izuku just barely recognized that Shinsou was moving closer, and that he was saying something. He saw it out of eyes that he no longer had the authority to even move or close, and heard it through ears that no longer belonged to him. But at the same time, he barely had the mental capacity to give it any thought, lost as he was in his rising panic.
The utter and absolute loss of control over himself, to the point that his body was reduced to little more than a puppet and he didn't even have access to his quirks, brought to mind a particular memory, one that he tried his best, each and every day, to bury.
Obviously Shinsou's quirk was some form of mind control. This wasn't the first time Izuku had encountered one like this. Nor was it the first time he'd experienced this sort of effect from one.
The other quirk like this that he'd encountered was currently in his possession. It was one of the many little sources of heat in his chest that he couldn't touch at the moment, despite how desperately he was reaching for it, for any of them.
That quirk was 'Siren.'
'Nonono please not again.' He begged as he heard faint whispering at the edge of his mind, and felt the phantom sensations of touch all across his body, like fingers trailing across his skin. His vision dimmed around the edges, growing darker, and for a moment, he thought he could just barely make out the side of a building in the corner of his eye. 'Please I can't go through that again.'
At the edge of his awareness, Shinsou's body was suddenly overlapped by another. One that had, quite literally, haunted Izuku's nightmares.
The phantom sensations suddenly turned into pain that exploded from his lower half, and his panic surged to new heights as a voice sounded out in his ear, as clear as it had been on the day he first heard it. Clear enough that the source of it could've been right next to him, but he couldn't know for sure because he couldn't move.
"Shhh." He hushed. "You'll be fine. Trust me."
'Nononono stop please.'
Izuku struggled frantically against the hold Shinsou's quirk had on him. He had to get out, had to escape. He couldn't let them touch him, not again, never again.
"I'll make you feel good."
'NO!'
Izuku wished he had a way to exert any form of control over himself. Something that he could use to ground his mind to his body, to use as a tether, as a foothold to wrest back control of himself.
'Why?' He suddenly thought. 'Why does this keep happening to me? Why do bad things keep happening to me no matter what I do?"
'What did I ever do to deserve this?'
Suddenly, as if a switch was flipped somewhere, all that panic, all that fear and sheer terror, every single bit of it, mutated and transformed into pure, primal anger.
Anger at the world for putting him through so much shit over the course of his life, anger at himself for being so foolish as to care about the fate of someone he didn't even know, anger at the fact that-that foolishness led to such a situation, anger at Shinsou for daring to rob Izuku of his self-control.
Above all else though, he felt anger at the original source of his fear, at the one who had scarred him in the first place, even if they were long dead by this point, and at the fact that he was being made to relive it all over again.
Izuku renewed his struggle against the shackles of Shinsou's quirk, only this time it was with a single-minded focus he'd been unable to attain while drowning in his own panic, and it was fueled by pure rage.
Izuku didn't care if Shinsou's quirk usually didn't allow people to break free from its hold, if such a thing was generally impossible once it had taken hold. Even if it was, that was only the case because it had yet to be used on Izuku. Impossibility was irrelevant to him right now. He would break free. And when he did, he would put an end to its source.
Time became meaningless to him as he struggled. It didn't matter how long it took, he would succeed. He fought against the pressure that weighed on his mind and that separated it from his body.
Finally, after an untold amount of time, Izuku broke free with one final push, the effort sending him falling forwards a bit as everything slotted back into place at once.
Finally back in his own body, finally free from the impromptu prison of his mind, and finally with access to everything he was supposed to once more.
His hands raised to his head as he remained in the same, slightly hunched position.
Then, once again with all the power of his quirks at his fingertips once more, he took all of the anger that burned through him and that had fueled his escape, and he let it explode forth.
Rei frowned as she looked down at the ring, and the two students in it. Specifically, she was looking at the zoomed-in image of Izuku on the screen in front of her.
"Izuku…?" She muttered.
His expression was blank, as if there was no emotion whatsoever. His eyes looked as though there were no thoughts going through his head. He looked… empty.
It unsettled her, more than just what seeing someone she cared about so lifeless would cause. The sight of Izuku like that was shaking her to her core, but she couldn't quite figure out why.
Tamako stirred in her mind, likely in response to her discomfort with the situation.
"What's wrong with Izuku?" They asked. "Why does he look like that?"
She ignored them, too caught up in her own thoughts, despite the rising concern she could feel from them. It tugged at a memory, made her feel as though she had seen him like that before. But she wasn't Izuku, she didn't have his basically perfect memory.
Then, out of nowhere, it hit her. She remembered when she last saw that expression on his face, and with that memory, her blood went cold.
"Nezu…" She started. "That boy down there, Shinsou. He doesn't happen to have a mind control quirk, does he?"
"Oh! You've got a good eye!" He responded. "Indeed he does. It's a quite interesting one, and one that I hope to see in the Hero course, provided he performs well enough today."
Rei barely heard the second part of what Nezu was saying. As soon as he confirmed her suspicion, she gasped as a wave of sheer terror washed over her, so potent that her eyes began to water and that her blood very well could've been frozen.
"Stop the fight." She whispered, her voice strained. Then, louder, "All Might. All Might you have to stop the fight right now. It's not safe."
This wasn't good. Not in the slightest. The last time Izuku looked like that had been the absolute worst day of his entire life, even when compared to the day his mother abandoned him. He'd never quite been the same afterwards.
"You don't have to worry." Nezu said. "I can assure you, Shinsou's quirk is perfectly safe. It doesn't cause any adverse effects-."
"No! You don't understand! You have to stop the fight so Izuku doesn't kill-!"
Rei's words stopped dead in her throat, choking her, as a wave of pure, malevolent bloodlust slammed into her. She could hear Nezu and All Might choking on their breath as well as she struggled to turn back towards the fight. The pressure from the feeling alone made her body not want to listen to her. She could almost see the air in the arena being distorted.
Down in the ring, she could see where Izuku had moved a bit from where he'd been frozen in place. He was hunched over, head held in his hands. Even from her spot in the stands, without the screen that magnified the ring, she could just about make out his body shaking. Though whether that was from whatever was going through his head or the rage he was feeling was impossible to tell.
As she watched, her gaze returning to her screen as she finally remembered it, Izuku lifted his head. His eyes seemed to be hidden in shadows, despite the fact that the sky was clear and the sun was blazing down on the arena. In fact, the whole stadium seemed to be darker than it had been a few short minutes ago.
Izuku's glare settled on Shinsou, his expression contorting into silent snarl. Shinsou, who only moments ago had been a mix of bitter anger and arrogance, looked to be frozen in fear, his complexion so pale that it was nearly ashen.
The pressure on the stadium managed to increase further as Izuku straightened himself up. Rei was barely able to suck down a breath.
'Tamako, you have to help him.' She thought. 'Please, you have to snap him out of it.'
She didn't get a response, but she felt Tamako leave her mind. She could only hope that they would be able to help Iz-.
Tamako slammed back into her mind almost immediately, with enough force to be painful. She could feel the terror pouring from them, which only further amplified her own, and when they spoke it almost sounded like they were out of breath, despite such a thing not being physically possible.
"I- I can't. I can't get through." they said, "He won't let me. He's too scared. I don't know what he's seeing, but whatever it is, he can't see past it."
Rei's panic only worsened with that, knowing that she didn't have a way to reach him. The last time he was like this, it had ended with a body count, followed by Izuku all but shutting down for seven straight months, and that had been with Rei at his side doing her best to pick up the pieces.
Then, Izuku started to move.
Rei felt lightheaded as he raised a hand towards Shinsou, the action almost in slow motion.
The pressure on the arena, that already threatened to crush her and everyone else in it, spiked. Rei's vision went hazy and she stopped breathing altogether. The pressure overpowered her senses until the only things that existed were the thundering of her hearts and the terror in her mind, both from her and from Tamako.
Suddenly, the pressure vanished altogether, leaving her feeling almost empty. She gasped, finally able to breath again, as her vision returned. Her head throbbed in time with her hearts as she looked down at Izuku, anxiety working its way in with her terror at what Izuku might've done.
When her vision cleared enough to make out the ring, she saw Izuku still standing where he had been moments ago, both arms down at his sides. Shinsou, on the other hand, was on the ground, unmoving.
A deafening silence suffused the entire stadium as everyone stared down at the two students, all wondering some combination of what had just happened and whether or not Shinsou was still alive.
Somehow, Midnight managed to recover relatively quickly, making her way to the ring—albeit on shaky legs—to check on Shinsou. The whole stadium seemed to hold a collective breath as she knelt down to make sure he was alive, though barely anyone felt any relief when she stood up and announced that he was unconscious, and that Izuku was the winner.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Izuku was turning away and heading for the path that led to the area beneath the stands. Rei directed her attention back to the screen as he moved, looking at the zoomed-in image of his face.
His expression was stoic, but Rei could see past it. She'd known him for nearly fifteen years. She'd seen him at his best and at his worst. She wouldn't be fooled by something like that.
Rei could see it in his eyes, in the tension in his jaw, in the way his hands were clenched at his sides.
Izuku was not okay. He was simultaneously not fully present and nearly drowning in whatever he was seeing. He was barely holding himself together.
As soon as he was out of sight, Rei raised herself up, wobbling a bit as she did, still unsteady from what had just happened. She took off towards the door with as much speed as she could manage.
"Young Etsumi, wait." All Might said before she could tear the door open. When she looked back, she could see him holding a bloodied rag to his mouth.
"What just happened… Is Izuku okay?"
Rei faltered just a bit. "Izuku… Let's just say he doesn't have a good history with mind control quirks."
And with that, she was through the door, doing her best to work out a path to him, leaving behind a silent Nezu and All Might in her wake.
'Tamako. Try to find him.' She said. 'Try to help him if you can. Let him know I'm on my way.'
"I'm on it." They said, before vanishing from her mind.
She all but threw herself down the first stairwell she found, working down them as fast as her lower half would allow.
'Don't worry Izuku. I'm coming.'
Izuku barely made it to the restroom in time.
The moment he was out of sight, he took off as fast as he could, the hallways blurring around him with the speed quirks he was utilizing. He entered the first restroom he saw, locking the door behind him and physically tearing the door off a stall before planting himself in front of a toilet just in time to puke his guts out, losing the lunch he just ate.
He went into a fit of coughing as he tried not to choke on his own vomit. His breathing was very rapidly becoming erratic.
'I'm fine. I'm okay.' He tried to reassure himself. 'He's not here. He can't hurt me. I'm strong now. He can't touch me.'
The phantom sensations were back, as a memory—the memory—flashed across his vision, which blurred as he found himself being pulled into it.
He shook his head, doing his best to fight it off. No… He didn't want to go back there. He didn't want to go back to that night.
Izuku heaved as his stomach threatened to empty itself again, and in that single moment of lapsed concentration, his vision faded, and he was forcibly thrust into his worst memory.
WARNING: This is the section where the two new tags come into play. Proceed with caution.*
Izuku was unbelievably hungry.
The past few weeks had been especially hard on him and Rei. Between the other homeless people that hogged every scrap of food for themselves, almost constant bad weather, and simple bad luck, they'd barely managed to find enough food to survive. The last two days in particular were especially bad, with the two of them finding nothing at all.
Eventually, it got to the point that Rei decided she was going to venture out a bit further than usual to look, outside of the relative safety of the few square blocks that made up their 'home' territory.
Because they were so desperate, and because she didn't know how safe it would be for them to leave the known area, she left Izuku behind to search a few alleyways by himself.
She was hesitant to do so—he was only six, after all—but they convinced themselves it was okay. The tiny area that she left him in was hidden from view from any major roads, and they hadn't encountered anyone else searching there before. Besides, he was proving to be capable enough when it came to defending himself. It should be okay to leave him alone for a few hours.
After Rei left him, Izuku busied himself walking from dumpster to dumpster, searching through their contents and ignoring the constant hunger pangs. He searched for what felt like hours, but only managed to find a single scrap that was barely even good enough to eat anymore.
Eventually, he got to the last spot, but was still empty handed. His stomach growled in complaint.
He eyed the end of the alleyway as he wrapped his arms around his middle. He knew some other places he could check, he and Rei had been around this area enough for him to know where to go. She had told him not to go anywhere else, but—his stomach rumbled again, bringing a fresh wave of discomfort—he was so hungry. They were both so hungry.
Rei could pretend all she wanted, but Izuku had noticed that she'd been giving him the little bit of food they found.
As that thought went through his head, he came to a decision. He crept to the entrance to the alley, peeking around the corner to check the street before darting across it as quickly as his short, undernourished legs would allow.
He didn't notice the pair of eyes watching him as he made it to the next alley.
Izuku spent the next few minutes searching through the new area, having only marginally more success than before, finding a single edible scrap that he stuffed into his pocket for Rei to have.
A noise off to Izuku's side had him freezing in place. A moment later, a second noise sounded out, one that he definitely recognized as footsteps, and he scrambled to hide behind the dumpster he'd been searching through, pressing himself into the pitch black shadow.
"Hello?" A voice called. "Little boy?"
The person, a man from the sound of the voice, fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"I know you're there. It's okay, you don't have to hide, I won't hurt you." They seemed to hesitate a moment. "You're hungry, right? I-. I brought some food for you."
Izuku stomach growled at the mention of food, and against his better judgement, and Rei's voice in his head telling him to stay still until the stranger left, he crept forward and peeked around the edge of his hiding spot.
The man smiled when he saw Izuku's head peeking out.
"Look." He said, gesturing at the bag in his hand. "I brought you some food. It's okay."
Izuku very nearly started drooling at the sight of it. He recognized the bag, and the colorful logo on the side. It was fast food. His stomach pinched painfully at the thought of the hot, delicious food that was only feet away from him. He could barely remember what it tasted like, but he definitely remembered that it was tasty, much more so than the scraps they had been pulling from the garbage.
Rei's voice in his head was still yelling at him to run away, but his stomach was much louder, and eventually won. He slowly crept out of his hiding spot and out into the open. He stepped closer to the man, stopping a few feet away. He wanted the food—wanted it more than anything else in the world right now—but just over two years on the street had given him a healthy distrust of other people, especially adults.
The man, apparently recognizing that Izuku was hesitant to get any closer, set the food down on the ground and backed a few feet away from it.
Eyeing him a few seconds longer to make sure he wasn't going to try anything, Izuku closed the rest of the distance between him in the food, tearing into the bag almost immediately.
"Are you okay?" The man asked, startling Izuku as he munched on a fry—even though he was so hungry it felt like his stomach was trying to eat him, Rei had taught him to always take his time with any food he got, that way it didn't go to waste—and nearly making him back away to his hiding spot again. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"
Izuku hesitated, finishing another fry before responding. "Rei told me I shouldn't talk to strangers."
The man nodded. "And that is very good advice indeed. Who's Rei? She sounds like a very smart person."
Izuku perked up slightly at the mention of her, as he thought about how she had agreed to be his family.
"She's my sister!" He said, a bit louder.
"Well she sounds like a very good sister if she's giving you advice like that. Where is she? How come someone as young as you isn't with her?"
Izuku's enthusiasm dimmed a bit at that question. "She's looking for food."
"I see." The man said. "It's unfortunate that you two have to scrounge around for stuff to eat."
Izuku didn't have anything to say to that, and instead occupied himself with another fry.
"But that stuff is good, right?" He asked. "It might not be the healthiest, but not much can beat simple fast food."
Izuku hummed in confirmation as he finished off a mouthful. "It's really good."
The man seemed to perk up, as if he had an idea. "Tell you what, if you'd like, the two of us can go get some more of that, that way Rei can have some too when you see her again. Would you like that?"
Izuku knew he should say no. He already had enough, and Rei's voice was telling him as much. He shouldn't press his luck any more than he already had.
But… He was still so hungry, and he wanted Rei to have something warm to eat too. It would be okay to get some food for her too, right?
After a few moments of hesitation, Izuku finally nodded. "Okay. Yes pl-."
The words halted in his throat, freezing in place as Izuku's mind started to feel heavy. He felt floaty, and for some reason he couldn't speak.
Suddenly, before Izuku could even work out what had just happened to him, the man was on him.
"Finally." The man breathed. "I thought that would take forever. It's a good thing you're so stupid, otherwise it would've taken even longer.
Hands traveled across his body as the man spoke, touching every bit of him they could reach, messing with his clothes before, a moment later, the man's mouth was on his neck.
This continued for several long too long. Too too too long minutes, Izuku beginning to panic more and more as he realized that he couldn't move, couldn't do anything to get away from the man or stop whatever was happening. He couldn't even use his quirks.
The man whispered a steady stream of platitudes in Izuku's ear, at least when his mouth wasn't otherwise occupied. A repeated mantra of 'You're okay. You're going to be fine.' 'You'll like it, trust me.' 'I'm going to make you feel good.'
Eventually, Izuku realized that none of his clothes were on him anymore, and that the man had begun to touch him elsewhere, doing things that Izuku didn't understand but got a feeling of absolute wrongness wrongwrongwrong please please stop I don't like itfrom. It made his skin crawl, and he wanted nothing more than to put his clothes back on or activate his snake tail quirk and curl up with Rei, but he couldn't do any of that. He could do nothing to stop what was happening.
After some time of this, Izuku felt something else touch him, and a moment later his entire world was consumed by pain. It was all-encompassing, and threatened to destroy him. Were he capable of even falling unconscious, he would have immediately, but unfortunately, it was as if something was forcing him to remain present, forcing him to experience every little bit of it.
Izuku's mind hazed over, lost to the pain and to the never-ending mantra of I don't like it I don't like it please stop please Rei save me.
Finally, after what felt like hours of pure, mind-bending, obliterating pain, Izuku heard something just at the edge of his awareness. He thought he might recognize it, but couldn't quite make out what it was through the haze his mind had found itself in.
He heard it again barely a minute later. Or was it an hour later? Either way, it was a bit louder this time, and Izuku really felt like he should recognize it. Evidently it was loud enough for the man to hear too, as he clamped a hand over Izuku's mouth and moved his own mouth disgustingly hot breath on his neck please please please stop please and whispered in a breathy voice, "Quiet now. Can't have anyone interrupting our fun, now can we?"
Before Izuku could fully comprehend what the man had said, however, the noise sounded out again. It shocked Izuku out of the haze he was in, enough for him to finally recognize what it was.
"IZUKU!"
"What the fuck!?" The man exclaimed, turning towards the intrusion, and just like that, the spell was broken.
A ragged, gasping breath tore its way into Izuku, turning into a pained scream partway through as he was thrust back into his body all at once.
He was immediately and intimately aware of how closely he was pressed up against the man's chest too close way too close please I don't like it, and before he was even fully cognizant that he had control over himself again, he was grasping for his quirk, his natural one. It was almost an automatic reaction, to draw on that one first to defend himself.
It relied on skin-to-skin contact, and there was already enough of that too much too much too much stop please.
He latched onto the man's quirk, before tearing it away with all his might. A pained yell sounded out from the man, and he recoiled back away from Izuku, as much as he could at least.
Barely even a second later, still before Izuku was fully aware of what he was doing, he lashed an arm out at the man, unknowingly pulling on his claw quirk at the same time.
His claws struck the man's neck and met with little resistance as they passed straight through, silencing him. Blood splattered across Izuku's face as the man's body went limp, falling lifelessly to the ground. The head separated with a sickening squelch, thudding against the ground as it fell.
Izuku fell back from the man, falling backwards onto the ground as they separated. As soon as his back landed, he rolled onto his side, ignoring the blinding pain that was still burning across his lower half, and vomited the meager contents of his stomach across the ground.
Rei was at his side almost immediately. Through blurred vision—oh, he must've started crying at some point—he could make out the panic and terror in her features. Tears were rolling down her face as she reached for him, hands shaking.
She hesitated to touch him, almost as if she was afraid that she might hurt him or break him if she did.
"Rei…" He croaked, reaching up at her.
That seemed to be the breaking point, as she finally touched him, scooping her hands beneath him and pulling him close.
The pain exploded through him again as he was moved, and very nearly emptied the non-existent contents of his stomach again. He heard Rei say something in his ear as the pain consumed him, and he was finally allowed to fall unconscious
This is the end of that section. Back to safety.
Izuku sucked in a ragged breath as he slammed back into himself, recoiling hard enough to actually slam into the wall behind him.
His hands went to the sides of his head, pressing down on his ears and grasping at his hair. He scrunched his eyes shut as he slid down the wall, before falling onto his side.
Phantom sensations from the memory he just relived danced across him. Hands on his body, joining a mouth to touch places that should never have been touched and that weren't even present with his snake tail, and that same mind-numbing pain that burned through him as he was violated.
He clamped a hand over his mouth, fighting the urge to vomit again.
Bits and pieces of the memory flashed across his vision again, and Izuku groaned in response.
"Please no." He groaned, almost inaudible. "Please not again."
"Please. I can't take it."
Chapter End Notes
Hey... so, remember back in Chapter 9 when I said that *most* of Izuku's backstory had been shown? Yeah, I probably should've mentioned, but one of the few bits that wasn't shown happens to be one of the most significant.
To that I say: whoops. My bad.
I hope you enjoyed!
Also, the winners of the first round are as follows:
Match 1: Katsuki Bakugou
Match 2: Mina Ashido
Match 3: Mei Hatsume
Match 4: Itsuka Kendou
Match 5: Ochako Uraraka
Match 6: Momo Yaoyorozu
Match 7: Shouto Todoroki
Match 8: Izuku Etsumi
Gone
Chapter Summary
Izuku's family seeks him out to give him the help he needs and deserves.
Chapter Notes
Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. For whatever reason, this one has fought me more than any other. I'm not sure why. I'm still not sure if I'm satisfied with how it turned out, but it's at least finished now, and it does what I want it to, which is to provide some comfort to counteract the hurt.
Aside from that though, I think we should make sure the boi gets the hug he so obviously needs.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Tamako tried to keep calm as they moved, flitting between people faster than one could blink. Despite the terror that had managed to shake them to the core of their being a few short minutes ago and the concern that they felt for Izuku, they tried to keep all of that pushed down as they focused on their task. Not only would anything they failed to keep down be felt by those that they came into contact with, but it was imperative that they succeed, and they couldn't let anything get in their way.
Tamako didn't fully understand the situation, but they had gotten flashes of Rei's memories through the panic and fear that both of them felt, and of the little they understood from their limited life experience, none of it was good. The surge of primal emotion they had felt from Izuku when Rei told Tamako to help him only made matters worse.
If Tamako had a physical body of their own, it would've shivered at the memory of trying to return to Izuku. As it was, the person they happened to jump to in that moment shivered for them.
They had snapped back to Izuku down in the ring almost instantly, expecting to enter into his mind in the odd joined-but-layered manner that they had come to associate with being with him, only to hit an impenetrable wall of rage and terror. Whatever had been going through his head was much too loud for Tamako to get past. More than that, it had felt like Izuku was vehemently rejecting the presence of anything foreign in his mind. Tamako hadn't even been able to get close enough to try to talk to him. It felt similar to when they first encountered Izuku, and had been subsequently cast out.
And now, Tamako was left searching. Not for Izuku, but for Rei.
Tamako had found Izuku immediately after Rei had told them to go. The nature of the way they were joined gave Tamako almost an intuitive sense of where Izuku was, and anytime they wished, they could jump back to him.
He was huddled in a restroom. Alone and very clearly still working through whatever was happening. Tamako had attempted once again to get to him, but could barely even make it far enough to speak to him. They had been able to get a glimpse of his senses and his thoughts, almost a snapshot of everything he was seeing, feeling, and thinking in that moment. That was the only reason they even knew where he was.
They were able to see enough to tell that he was in a restroom, and feel enough that he was experiencing pain that wasn't quite real. Mostly though, they saw a flash of memories that matched up with Rei's while painting a much worse picture and heard a constant mantra of 'nonono' from him. He didn't respond to anything Tamako tried to say.
So, as much as Tamako had wished to stay there and help Izuku, the only thing that they could do was get Rei and lead her to him.
But while they could get to Izuku immediately, the same could not be said for Rei. Tamako didn't know where she was, they only knew the approximate direction that they had jumped from when returning to Izuku. Now they had to jump through everyone in that direction to find her.
Tamako urged themself to move faster. They still didn't quite understand what was happening, but they knew that Izuku needed help. It hadn't been very long since they met and Tamako joined him, but they had come to like being with him quite a bit. It didn't sit right with them that he was alone and afraid.
Part of it was the simple fact that Izuku recognized them as their own being—something that even Tamako themself hadn't been able to see previously—and allowed them to explore their newfound self-awareness. But then there was also the fact that Tamako had access to Izuku's mind, and could see his thoughts.
They saw how fascinated and excited Izuku was about them as a quirk and as a—for all intents and purposes—new sapient being that had been introduced to the world. They saw the fondness Izuku held for Rei and Ochako, how much he cared about them. They saw how much Izuku cared about what he did every day, whether that be his analysis, his vigilantism, or even something as simple as cooking a meal.
Tamako saw almost everything. They probably had a clearer, less-filtered view of him than anyone else. And the few times they had gotten a glimpse at Izuku's—surprisingly negative—opinion of himself, Tamako found themself disagreeing wholeheartedly.
How could they see all of that and not like him?
Eventually, they found themself back in the room that Rei had been watching the fights from, the particular mind they landed in making them falter for a moment at the sheer speed of the thoughts that went through it. The speed and incredible volume of information almost matched up to Izuku. The only difference—also the only reason they faltered—was that Tamako wasn't partially separated from it as they were with Izuku.
They pushed past the short instant of surprise, quickly focusing back on their task. Using the room as a landmark of sorts, orienting themself with it, Tamako jumped away again, heading for where they thought Rei might be.
They would help Izuku, no matter what.
Rei cursed under her breath as she checked another room and found it empty.
She'd made it to the ground floor, around the area that she thought the tunnel led to, but she wasn't having any luck finding Izuku. Every room she checked was empty, and her frustration was quickly mounting with each successive failure.
She didn't like this. She needed to find him. He needed her help, and right now she was failing him.
As she checked yet another room, finding it empty, and just as she felt like she might tear up at the frustration, she felt Tamako enter her mind, going so fast that they almost disappeared again before they finally settled.
"I found him!" They announced, before Rei could ask. "He's in a restroom close by!"
She spun around immediately, frustration forgotten as she looked down the hallway in both directions. 'Which way?'
"Right." They answered.
Rei took off, cursing internally as she moved with as much speed as she could muster. This was the direction she had come from. She'd been going the wrong way entirely.
Following Tamako's guidance, it didn't take long to reach a pair of restroom doors that, as far as Rei could tell, were fairly close to the contestant waiting rooms. As they drew closer, she could see where one of the door handles looked crushed, as if someone had grabbed it with far too much force, leaving an impression of their hand.
She slammed into the door, barely slowing down as she attempted to throw it open, but didn't accomplish anything aside from smacking her forehead against it. She rubbed at her head, letting out another curse that only Tamako could hear.
Trying to open it again, a bit more sensibly this time, she found that it wouldn't budge. It was locked, or was otherwise stuck as a result of something Izuku—because there was no doubt in her mind that Izuku was on the other side of the door, even if Tamako hadn't been there to confirm, she would've known—had done to it.
"Izuku!" She called, smacking a palm on the door. "It's Rei. Can you open the door?"
She waited a few moments for a response. For him to open the door or at least say something, but there was nothing. It was unnerving, and had her anxiety rising with each passing second.
A sprinkling of fear was there as well, rapidly making itself known. Different from the fear she already felt from the situation, it was fear that she might know why he wasn't responding.
'Tamako.' Rei said. 'Can you get to him? Try to talk to him? Anything?'
"I tried." Came their reply. "He wouldn't listen, or couldn't hear me. Either way, he wasn't respond-."
'Try again.' She cut in, fear spiking as Tamako's answer lined up with her suspicion. 'Please.'
Tamako vanished without question, and Rei prayed that she wasn't right, that Izuku wasn't gone.
'Please Izuku.' She begged. 'Don't leave me again.'
A long—too long—minute of tense waiting and Tamako returned to her, and her fear and anxiety surged with their words.
"He still won't answer me. It's like he can't hear anything I say."
No no no. It was too similar.
"Izuku!" She yelled again, slamming her hand against the door even harder.
Breathing heavily, Rei grasped at the door handle and prepared to try to break the door open. She wasn't sure if the single weak strength quirk she had was enough for that, but she couldn't just stand there and do nothing. She needed to get to him.
Before she could do anything though, Tamako spoke up again.
"Rei. There's someone coming from your right."
Sparing the length of hallway to her right a single glance—just because there was someone coming didn't mean that she would stop trying to get to Izuku—she saw someone running towards her. It was someone she recognized immediately, despite never actually seeing him in person before. Izuku had talked about him plenty of times before, and his black outfit and the capture weapon around his neck was easily distinguishable.
The sight of Eraserhead coming towards her was enough to halt her incoming desperate attempt to open the door.
"Etsumi." He said, out of breath as he slowed his approach. He pointed at the door she was at. "Is he in there?"
"Yes. But he won't open the door. He isn't responding at all."
Eraser nodded, before raising his hands to fumble with a ring of keys that Rei hadn't noticed him carrying. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was doing and backed away from the door.
It didn't take Aizawa long to find the correct one, and once he did he had the door open in an instant, immediately shoving it open to get inside, with Rei following right behind.
She caught sight of Izuku as soon as she entered the room, and time seemed to freeze, as if she had that one quirk Izuku had: 'Quick Thinker.'
He was tucked into a corner, tail coiled haphazardly across the room, and even with the tip of one of his wings trapped under it. His hands were clamped to the sides of his head, and she could see where he must've torn at the collar of his shirt at some point. His eyes were trained on them, but she could tell with just a look that he wasn't present.
Rei felt relief flood her body when she saw that. When she saw that he was at least reacting in some way to what was going on. He wasn't completely nonresponsive.
She couldn't be sure what exactly he was seeing—though she had a pretty good guess—but it wasn't either of them. Following his gaze, she realized it was trained on Aizawa. The man, wisely, hadn't traveled more than a step or two into the room, but he happened to be closest. Whatever part of Izuku that was present had locked onto that fact.
Rei's eyes widened as she got a feeling, almost like a premonition, or maybe just a sixth sense regarding her brother. Something in Izuku's eyes changed, and before she could fully process it Rei was lunging forward and grabbing at Aizawa's capture weapon.
She yanked him back, and in the blink of an eye a blast of air exploded through the room. When Rei's eyes caught up with what just happened, she saw that Izuku had changed positions, no longer giving of the impression of someone that was panicking. His expression had hardened, and the air around him had changed.
He had moved forward, and his fist occupied the same space that Aizawa's head just had.
Rei gulped. Izuku had very rapidly gone from someone in the middle of a panic attack to someone prepared to defend himself from a perceived threat.
He still didn't seem like he was present, but some part of him was definitely aware of his surroundings and was clearly associating them with whatever was going through his head.
That thought alone, that Izuku was unconsciously trying to defend himself, was almost enough to scare Rei.
Izuku was the strongest person Rei knew, and was on the same level as, if not greater than, All Might himself. Usually his brilliant mind was the one in control, restricting that ridiculous strength to only what was necessary for the situation.
If he was utilizing that strength unconsciously, or worse, utilizing it to defend himself while most likely reliving the worst moment of his life, then there was a very good chance that-that strength would not be limited. Whatever part of Izuku that was in control would likely do whatever was necessary to ensure his safety from what he saw as a threat, just as he had done on that night. Actually, Rei was all but certain that the only reason she had succeeded in saving Aizawa was that Izuku's wing was still trapped under his tail.
The only reason Rei wasn't scared—it was a very close thing, but not quite—was because of how well she knew him.
Rei knew how much she meant to him, how much he cared about her. She knew how protective he was over her. She knew that, at the very core of Izuku's being, he would rather die than hurt her. And as much as she disliked that sentiment, as much as she wished it weren't the case, she would make use of it in this situation, and hope that it would be enough to at least snap him out of the daze he was in.
"Izuku." She said, as he lowered his arm and edged forward a bit. "Stop."
She moved as she spoke, positioning herself to better block his route to Aizawa, who was still his focus.
Immediately, Izuku's eyes snapped to her. At the same moment, he seemed to snap back into himself as some amount of awareness returned to his eyes.
"Rei…" He whispered, voice raspy, before his face contorted into a pained grimace and he fell forwards. Luckily, Rei was there to meet him, catching him.
Her arms wrapped around him almost automatically, just as his wrapped around her, trembling slightly.
"Rei." Izuku repeated. "It won't stop. They-. They won't go away… He won't go away."
Rei's heart broke at the defeat in his voice, the pain carried with each word, and at the realization that he was reliving that particular memory. He shouldn't have had any of that. He didn't deserve to have to go through what he did.
She shushed him, moving a hand to the back of his neck. "It's alright. You're alright. You're safe."
Her eyebrows scrunched up when he didn't react. She would've expected him to speak again, hug her a bit tighter, or maybe relax the slightest bit at the hand on his neck—as bad as he was right now, Rei could count on one single hand the number of times Izuku hadn't reacted positively to her doing something like that, even during similar situations—but he did none of those things. In fact, he didn't seem to be moving at all. Even the slight trembling she'd noticed wasn't there.
Rei's earlier anxiety was back when she realized that Izuku was utterly still, practically frozen. Even his breathing had started to even out.
He wasn't okay yet. It still might happen. He still might end up leaving her.
'Please, Izuku.' She begged again, hugging him tighter. 'Please stay with me. You're safe. You don't have to go.'
Izuku hated this.
Not just the terror that ran rampant through his mind, or the ghost sensations dancing across his body, or the flashes of vivid memories—though he hated those too of course. He despised both what he was feeling and the reason he was feeling it with every fiber of his being—but what his response to those things was.
Back when… it… took place, all those years ago, after the shock and adrenaline had faded away and he was left with a host of things in his head that he hadn't had the ability to understand, his response had been to shut down entirely. To block out everything in an attempt to cope with it, to feel some amount of safety from it.
The worst part of it was that he hardly retained any memories at all of that time period, despite the quirks that should've ensured otherwise.
He could recall the event itself of course, a short period afterward where he could barely eat or sleep because of everything that plagued his mind, then his next full memory was coming back to awareness and Rei telling him that he had been virtually nonresponsive for about seven months. The only memories in between were faded and incomplete, similar to what one might recall after waking up in the middle of the night and falling back asleep.
And now, even as Rei held him, even though her mere presence had partially broken him free from the stranglehold his memories had him in, he could feel the urge to do it again, to let everything fade away and hide from the world. Already his vision was blurred around the edges and he was starting to feel oddly detached from himself.
Izuku hated that-that was still his response. He could understand why he had done it originally: he was young and didn't understand any of it, and had no other way to experience any form of safety other than to hide from everything. But why now? Not only was he smarter and more mature—mature enough to understand and fully grasp what had happened—but he was so much stronger than he was back then.
He had an entire arsenal of powers beneath his skin. He had enough strength in his limbs to move at the speed of sound and topple buildings, and the ability to withstand blows even from All Might himself. He'd been fighting for most of his life and had accumulated enough combat experience to rival even some of the most seasoned heroes.
All that put together and he likely ranked among the most dangerous combatants in the world, and he would only continue to grow stronger. He should have no reason to hide away in order to feel safe. Even the source of his resurgent memories, Shinsou's quirk, hadn't been enough to fully incapacitate him. He managed to break free of its total control with time.
Izuku was safe. He had to be. There was no other alternative, not with the power at his disposal and Rei here with him
His hands shook as they gripped at Rei's shirt.
So then… Why…
Why did he feel unsafe? Even with how much he'd grown, everything he'd done and everything he'd become, why did it feel like he'd been reduced to the virtually powerless child in that alleyway all those years ago?
Why couldn't he just move past it?
Izuku continued to stare into the middle distance, even as he heard Rei whispering something in his ear and felt her resting a hand on the back of his neck. He couldn't quite shake the blurriness around the edges of his vision, or the urge to simply let go and let everything fade away.
It felt like he'd be trapped in this state forever, stuck between awareness and dissociation. Despite how much he wanted to—he did want to, right?—he just couldn't make the final push.
Eventually—seconds or minutes or hours later, he couldn't really tell at the moment. Apparently the partial dissociation that tempted him extended to his perception of time as well—that final push did come, and it came in the form of Tamako.
He felt the presence on the edge of his mind, and with it came a fresh bolt of panic shocking through him. He very nearly rejected them, ready to do anything he had to-to avoid someone else trying to take control, before he realized that this time the presence felt familiar.
Izuku blinked, his vision focusing somewhat. 'Tamako?'
He heard something that sounded like a sigh of relief from them, despite such a thing not being necessary, or even technically possible. "Thank goodness." They said. "I thought you were going to block me again."
Again? Izuku blinked once more, and the corners of his mouth downturned ever so slightly. Had he blocked Tamako out at some point?
"You did." They answered his unspoken question. "I tried to reach you earlier, but you couldn't hear me. I could barely reach you at all."
Oh. He hadn't even noticed. Had that been during his episode in the bathroom, before Rei showed up, or was it in the ring when it first started-?
Actually, never mind, he didn't want to know.
He knew everything he needed to. Which was that, despite how much he wished otherwise, he was still haunted by those memories, and was still weak to mind related quirks. However, he also knew that he was with Rei now, and Tamako. And he now could feel for sure that he wasn't about to dissociate again.
Izuku shook his head, before dropping it to rest on Rei's shoulder. The relief he felt at no longer almost falling into a self-created abyss was immense. And now, he just wanted to rest with his sister.
Rei very nearly let out a sigh of relief when she felt Izuku finally relax in her grip. He gave his head a slight shake, before pressing his forehead to her shoulder and letting out a shuddering breath.
"Rei…" He whispered.
She rubbed circles between his shoulder blades with her palm, relaxing a bit herself as she realized that the worst had passed. He'd finally broken free of whatever he'd been seeing, and the urge to dissociate that Rei knew he was experiencing.
Words couldn't accurately describe the relief she felt at knowing that he'd managed to work past it. She would never say as much to Izuku, as she didn't want him to experience any more guilt than he likely already did, but that time period where he had shut down, and especially when it first happened, had been the worst time of her life, even taking into consideration all the time before she had run away from home, and the day that her father found her again.
It happened completely out of nowhere, which was the worst part.
Immediately after the incident, when she had finally calmed down enough to begin to think properly, she carried him back to their hovel on the beach. It wasn't until later that she realized that she should've taken him to a doctor of some sort, but by that point Izuku had already healed himself with the healing quirk he acquired barely a month earlier—she would also learn much later that-that quirk was the only reason he survived at all. That sort of physical damage was far too much for even adults to handle most of the time, let alone a six-year-old child—and even if she had been in a proper state of mind to think of that, she hadn't had the faintest idea of where to even find one.
For the first day or so, Izuku was all but inconsolable. His young mind couldn't comprehend what had happened to him or why—even Rei could barely wrap her head around it, and she was already accustomed to the idea of an adult having so little regard for a child, their own child no-less, that they would hurt them in barely imaginable ways—and he couldn't find a way to properly cope with it.
Then, at some point during the night afterwards, when Rei had managed to fall into a restless sleep after calming Izuku down from a nightmare—he'd only managed to fall asleep to begin with after activating his snake tail quirk—it happened.
She had woken up to find him staring into the distance, his face expressionless.
At first, she simply thought that he had calmed down somewhat, until she tried to speak to him. Doing so had yielded no response, nor did nudging him, or yelling, or shaking him.
He was there, his eyes were open and he was breathing, so she could tell that he was alive, but he wouldn't react at all to anything around him.
Nothing that she had tried was enough to snap him out of it. No amount of yelling or shaking or begging him to come back had any effect other than to increase her fear that he might never wake up.
She had been sent into despair, thinking that her brother was all but dead, lost forever. The only reason she'd even survived that was the sliver of hope she had that maybe he would come back one day, and that she needed to take care of him until he did.
And Rei did. She took care of him for seven long months. It was hell to go out every day to find enough food to feed them both, and almost as bad was the fact that she had to leave him behind in the dump every time she did, but she couldn't exactly take him with her, and even if she could, the thought of him possibly getting hurt by someone when he couldn't defend himself was worse than the idea of leaving him.
For months, she persisted, doing everything she could to keep him healthy and to try to wake him up. During that time, Izuku was in a constant cycle of sleeping, occasionally being interrupted by nightmares, which were the only times that Rei saw even a hint of consciousness , and staring off into the distance. The only interruptions to that set pattern were when Rei managed to lead him out of the car that served as their shelter and into the sunlight.
It eventually got to the point where she had started to lose faith that he would wake up, and she found it harder to get up every morning.
Then, one day, he simply came back, as if waking up from a short nap, instead of a near-coma that had lasted months.
Rei had been huddled up in their decrepit-car-turned-home, doing her best to stomach the nearly rotten piece of fruit she'd found, with Izuku right next to her, bundled up in almost all the blankets they had and still staring off into space, when she felt him stir. She reacted immediately. She had been right next to him almost every second of the many months he'd been unresponsive, and she could almost count on both hands the number of times he'd moved on his own. Each time was either followed by, or the result of, a brief return to consciousness. When she turned to look at him, he had a dazed—dazed but present—look on his face, exhaustion obvious in his expression, and looked at her in confusion. His first words after all that time were to ask, voice hoarse from disuse, what had happened.
It was safe to say that-that particular incident was the most Rei had ever cried.
With Izuku awake again, their lives quickly returned to normal, or as close to normal as their lives could get. They did their best to survive, scavenging for food together, avoiding those that didn't care that they were children, and struggling to keep warm on the beach.
However, despite being exactly what they did before, there were a number of key differences that always served as a reminder that things could never quite go back to how they were.
For starters, Izuku essentially never left Rei's side. It wasn't very different from before the incident, but because of what happened, it had become more necessary than it ever was before. Izuku couldn't stand to be away from her. Any time he was for an extended period of time, he quickly began to panic.
There were also the nightmares that he endured most nights. Terrors that haunted him almost as soon as he closed his eyes. Terrors that, when he was subjected to them, would only ever be dispelled by Rei's presence. A fact that only served to intensify his dependence on her.
He also struggled to regain the strength he had lost. As hard as Rei had tried, she just couldn't do enough for him to remain as 'healthy' as he had been. She could, and did, do everything in her power to provide as much food as possible, but she could do virtually nothing when it came to Izuku getting exercise. So when he finally woke up, he was much skinnier than he ever was before.
Thankfully, that could be at least partly rectified as soon as he started to move again. And since he rarely left Rei's side, she was always within reach to assist him if necessary. Plus, it wasn't as if returning to his previous bodyweight was an unreachable goal. He was already malnourished and skinny before the incident.
The biggest issue though, came from his snake tail quirk, or rather, from a lack of it.
She could remember the first time he deactivated the snake tail quirk after the incident as vividly as if it had happened yesterday. It was about two weeks after he woke up and became aware again, and he went to change as was his normal routine before the incident, so Rei could lift him into a particularly tall dumpster to search for food. He'd been halfway through the process of transforming, leaning on Rei for support as his tail shrunk, when he went stock still, with even the transformation freezing partway through.
Rei could distinctly remember the few short seconds of deathly silence, where the world around them seemed to have gone completely still.
The silence was broken by Izuku's screams. The partial transformation reverted so quickly that Rei thought it might've been painful for him, and he was immediately lost in his own world, screaming bloody murder.
As far as Rei could tell, something about not having the tail reminded him of that day. As much as she wished that she didn't understand, she could see perfectly well how not having the tail, which altered their biology by completely changing the lower half of their bodies into something that only resembled human on the broadest of observations, would make him feel unsafe.
Whether that was the only reason, or there was something else that she didn't see, he didn't try to deactivate it again for another four months.
Afterwards, for the longest time, Rei kept a close eye on Izuku. Not to, in any way, restrict him or be overprotective, but to be on the lookout for even the slightest sign of a panic attack. Even after he got his first intelligence quirk and his mind was forcibly matured—more than it already had been—it still wasn't a very rare occurrence for him to get overwhelmed if he went too long without his snake tail, or after spending any prolonged length of time away from her, or after going too long in the presence of an adult, particularly an adult male. Whenever such a thing happened, her automatic response was to calm him down as quickly as possible—as much physical contact as possible was the best thing for that—and pray that he wouldn't end up leaving her again.
She squeezed him tighter. The whole situation might've been horrible, but they would get past it together, as they always had. For now, Rei was just happy that she still had her brother.
Ochako was breathless when she caught sight of Mister Aizawa standing in a hallway, looking into what she was pretty sure was a bathroom. Despite that, and the fact that she was still a bit tired from her fight with Tsu, she picked up the pace. She knew that this was what she was looking for. The sight of a snake tail trailing partially out into the hallway made that obvious enough.
She wasn't sure exactly what had happened. All she knew was that, whatever it was, it was bad.
She had already been a bit surprised at how long Izuku's match seemed to be going on. Part of her had expected it to be over as soon as it started, but instead, him and his opponent said something to each other and he went still, hunching forward slightly, with Shinsou continuing to speak.
This had gone on long enough for Ochako to start becoming concerned. It unnerved her, seeing Izuku so expressionless and empty. He was generally a stoic person, but he still displayed emotion. It was simply a matter of whether someone knew him well enough to see it.
Then, when it had gone on long enough that even some of the other students were beginning to comment on it, Ochako felt… something.
That something was intense and staticky and filled the air, seeming to weigh down on her enough that she found it difficult to breath. It made her skin tingle almost painfully, like an extreme case of pins and needles across her entire body.
Down in the ring, she distantly noticed that Izuku was moving again, looking up at Shinsou.
But instead of finally fighting, he just straightened himself up, and the something in the air intensified, making her vision go blurry around the edges and making her body not want to cooperate. She couldn't even look around her to see if anyone else was feeling it. It felt like there was something indescribably heavy hovering over her head, ready to crush her at a moment's notice.
It kept growing stronger with every second, until her vision blacked out almost entirely and she could barely breath. Then, suddenly, it was gone, as if it was never there in the first place. Once she managed to blink away the fuzziness in her vision and looked back at the ring in time just as Midnight was announcing Izuku's victory, she saw him already heading back to the tunnel with Shinsou on the ground.
Once again, she noticed that something was off. Something in his expression. She couldn't quite place it, but even though he looked calm on the outside, something about him was wrong.
She felt a bit of anxiety bubble up at the sight. It was like a feeling in her gut now. She had no idea what was going on, but for some reason she had a feeling that Izuku wasn't okay
As soon as Izuku was out of sight, she jumped up out of her seat. As best as she could at least. Whatever that feeling had been—that she was starting to realize had come from Izuku—it made her legs unsteady as she tried to stand.
Once she no longer felt like she would collapse, she took off, heading for the waiting room. If the feeling in her gut was correct, and something was wrong with Izuku, then he would most likely still be somewhere around there.
When she reached the bathroom, Ochako barely slowed as she charged straight past Mister Aizawa, entering the room. The first thing she noticed was Izuku and Rei in the middle of the room, holding one another. Just a glance told her that she was right, Izuku definitely wasn't okay. Just that single glance had her comparing the sight in front of her to the one that occurred barely two weeks before, on the night that Izuku told her his secret.
Ochako noticed the difference right away though. On that night, Izuku had been hurt and exhausted, but was otherwise okay, especially after he revealed his quirk and his background. Now though, he almost looked scared, and panicked.
She also noticed the way he startled ever so slightly at Ochako's entrance. That, just as much as everything else, confirmed that there was something wrong. Thankfully though, he seemed to relax when he saw that it was her.
She was at their side in an instant, reaching out but hesitant to actually touch Izuku. Something had happened, and that something was significant enough to put him in this state, looking afraid for the first time Ochako had seen him, and actually flinching at just her entrance into the room. She didn't want to make anything worse.
"What-. What happened?" She asked. "Are you okay?"
Izuku huffed, before putting on a small smirk that Ochako could tell was fake. "Mind control quirk." He said, voice a bit raspy. "Not exactly my favorite thing in the world.
Seeing the confused expression on her face, he continued. "Later, okay? I'll tell you, but not right now. I've already dealt with those memories enough for one day.
Then, he offered a hand out to her, pulling her close when she accepted it, joining them.
Ochako couldn't be sure how much time passed like that, but eventually Mister Aizawa spoke up, breaking her from her thoughts.
"Uraraka." He said. "Your match is up next. It begins in fifteen minutes, assuming you still wish to participate. If you don't, I'll let Present Mic and the others know, and they'll adjust as necessary."
Her refusal was on the tip of her tongue, an instant from being spoken, when one of Izuku's hands landed on her shoulder.
"Go." He said. "I'll be fine. There's no reason for you to withdraw."
Ochako still wasn't sure, but another look at the insistent look in Izuku's eyes, and her expression hardened in determination. Right, she wanted to do her best to announce her presence to the world and get another step closer to her goal. Izuku would be okay—there was no one better for him to be with than Rei, after all—so all she had to do now was focus on the fight so she could get back to him.
"Alright." She responded. "I'll go win, then I'll be right back."
She saw his grin—not faked this time—as she turned around, already walking towards the door.
"I'd say 'do your best,' but there wouldn't be any point. I already know you will."
She gave her own grin as she heard that.
Shouta's thoughts raced as he watched the scene in front of him, making sure to give them plenty of space. Once again, Izuku Etsumi had managed to surprise Shouta and change his opinion of him.
For starters, Shouta hadn't seen him like this before. He saw—barely conscious, but still saw—Etsumi being moved out of the USJ after the invasion, but there was a stark difference between injured or unconscious after a fight and being reduced to a state of panic that brought to Shouta's mind the words 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.'
He'd suspected that Etsumi had been subjected to abuse of some form or another, despite—or perhaps partially because of—the boy's harsh denial that anything was happening, but none of his suspicions lined up with what he had seen today.
He supposed that, at the very least, the silver lining to the situation and the confusion and questions it brought, was that Shouta realized how wrong he was about his initial suspicion of Etsumi being abused at home.
Etsumi's guardian was listed as Reiko Etsumi, who happened to be his sister and the only person he lived with—he'd heard from Nezu that Uraraka was apparently staying with the two of them when the principal wanted to update him on her address, but with no change to her personality and no visible reason to do otherwise, Shouta had not yet factored her into the equation—so when he first considered that the boy was experiencing abuse of some kind, Shouta's mind jumped, prematurely, to abuse at home from a guardian. But now, looking at the way the two of them plus Uraraka were interacting, and the way that Izuku's sister seemed to be the only thing holding him together, he discarded that theory altogether.
But all that did was leave him with more questions, as did the entire situation altogether.
Shouta remembered Etsumi implying during that discussion a few weeks earlier that his sister had been, if not directly abused herself, then at least exposed to it. Did that mean that a parent was the culprit, and that was why the two lived on their own? And then as far as Shouta could tell, Izuku's state of mind had been triggered by a mental quirk that dealt with brainwashing and mind control. The potential implications of that weren't something that Shouta particularly wanted to think about.
There were simply too many possibilities to sort through. He would have to think about it some other time.
Then there was Etsumi's initial response to his opponent's quirk.
Shouta had encountered bloodlust and murderous intent before. Not many people knew of it, or if they did that it was a real thing, but it was almost always something to be wary of.
The most common instances of it were in particularly savage criminals. Those that did what they did for no other reason than because they wanted to, who took pleasure in the suffering of others. It was as the name implied. Their intent and thirst for blood and violence could become intense enough for certain people to feel it. In those cases, the bloodlust they produced was barely enough to give a person goosebumps. For an experienced underground hero such as Eraserhead, it was barely registered at all.
Then, the much rarer cases were the type of people whose presence could be physically felt in the air around them. These people were more cruel or savage even amongst other monsters, and generally had the power or skill to match up to it. Shouta had heard stories before—mostly from the other underground heroes—about people like this, people like Stain, and monsters that resided in the depths of Tartarus, whose names didn't even show up in news stories because they were better left forgotten.
The lead villain from the USJ was as close to the second group as Shouta had ever encountered. That man's bloodlust had preceded him before he even stepped through the portal that day.
Of course, that wasn't to say that the existence of such a thing meant for sure that a person was evil or villainous. Oni was a prime example of that. The vigilante, who sat somewhere between the two groups, could send criminals running with a single look and at times gave off a bloodlust so intense that it could make someone feel as though there was a knife pressed to their neck.
Shouta didn't consider Oni evil—the kid was a walking headache at the best of times, but not evil—and he knew how much Oni did to help people in Musutafu, but he'd seen how the vigilante got sometimes, how he handled the criminals he went after. As much as Oni did to protect people, Shouta knew that he could be, and usually was, exceptionally cruel towards criminals and villains. Oni seemed to take joy from their fear and pain, and more often than not did things less efficiently just to drag out as much fear from them as possible.
But Etsumi skewed his entire perception of the concept. To have been able to give off such an intense murderous intent that Shouta could feel it in the announcers' booth, and for it to affect him enough that he'd started to have difficulty breathing… it was surprising, to say the least. He'd known that Etsumi was strong, that much was clear after the USJ, but Shouta had no idea that the boy was capable of such a thing.
What's more, is that as soon as Shouta felt the intent in the air, he'd been absolutely certain that Etsumi was going to kill Shinsou. It likely would've taken an absurd amount of self-control for him to simply render the other student unconscious—which was another matter entirely, the fact that not only was the bloodlust intense enough for Shouta to feel and be affected by it, but also strong enough to knock someone unconscious alone—and then leave the ring.
If Shouta wasn't so concerned for Etsumi, and right next to him, he would've sighed. Something that should've just been a simple one-on-one fight between two students has left him with more questions and things to think about than he knows what to do with.
At some point, Shouta felt his phone vibrate and checked it to see that Hizashi had messaged him to say that the next round of matches was beginning. Evidently there had been a short break to allow people time to recover from Etsumi's outburst.
He also asked for an update as to Etsumi's condition, which Shouta provided, explaining what had happened after he found Etsumi's sister, including the fact that Uraraka had shown up as well.
With his explanation sent, Shouta went back to silently observing. Despite the—ever growing—list of questions he had concerning his student and the headache he would likely have because of them later, he hoped that Etsumi would be able to recover soon. Already it seemed as though the presence of his sister and Uraraka had begun to help him significantly, likely helping to ground him or cancel out whatever feeling of danger he'd been experiencing, which was evidently intense enough to lash out at the first person who came within reach—one more question added to the list.
Now that Izuku had broken free from the urge to dissociate and was no longer being tormented by the constant memories and sensations across his body—now reduced to a barely noticeable cold, buzzing feeling in his hands, not unlike the pins and needles one felt when a body part fell asleep—he felt distinctly empty. He felt tired. Not physically, but mentally. He was drained.
He and Rei hadn't moved from their spot on the floor, still wrapped in each other's arms, though Ochako had since left as Eraser informed her that her match was coming up.
Izuku wanted to go out and watch her fight, but found that he really didn't want to get up just yet. He knew he would have to soon, but for now he wanted to take in as much comfort as possible from Rei.
So that's exactly what he did.
Eventually though, he heard a buzz from Eraser's direction who, Izuku had distantly recognized at some point, had been watching for some time. The man checked his phone, before speaking.
"Uraraka has won her fight against Yaoyorozu, and will be moving into the semifinals. Your fight with Todoroki is up next, but Present Mic needs to know whether or not you will be continuing. I don't know how up to it you're feeling at the moment, but it's supposed to start in fifteen minutes. If you don't wish to fight, I can let him know."
Izuku shook his head. "No."
"Are you sure, Izuku?" Rei asked, pulling away slightly to look him in the eye.
Izuku shook his head again. "I'm sure. I intend to continue. I feel tired, but right now the last thing I want to do is sit around and do nothing. I want a distraction, and focusing on the remainder of the festival will provide that for me."
He rose up to his normal height, taking Rei with him before releasing her from his hold, prompting her to do the same. He took a deep breath, giving Rei a quick smile, before looking Eraser in the eye.
"I'll fight."
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Ice, Fire, and Gravity
Chapter Summary
With the worst of his past now properly behind him once more, Izuku continues on with the sports festival.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Wait. You're still going to fight, Izuku?" Ochako asked when she caught sight of him.
"I am." He responded.
Izuku had left Rei and Eraser barely two minutes earlier after reassuring them both once more that he was fine, and after promising Rei that he would meet her after the fight. Then on the path to the contestant waiting room, he ran into Ochako, who was presumably on her way back to him after her own fight.
"But… Are you sure you're okay? You seemed pretty out of it. You're allowed to withdraw from the fights if you want to, y'know?"
A smile formed on Izuku's face, one that was only partly forced. He raised a hand and set it on the top of her head.
"Don't worry." He said. "I'm feeling much better. Besides, right now, a fight is just what I need to take my mind off what happened."
"If you say so…" She said, frowning. "Just don't go overboard, alright?"
"Of course."
"Now then." He said, a bit more cheerful, and activating 'Shower in a Can.' "In more pleasant news, I heard that you won your fight against Yaoyorozu?"
Ochako nodded, smiling. "Yep! It was a good fight. She did a pretty good job of using her quirk to force me to keep my distance. But once I got close enough to get a hand on the staff she likes to use, the weight disappearing was enough to throw her off balance so could get in and finish it."
"Excellent. I'll have to find a recording later to see for myself."
He lightly tapped his fingers on the top of Ochako's head, before dropping his arm back down to his side. "Now, it's time for me to see what Todoroki has to offer, then it'll be our turn."
"Good luck. I'll meet up with you after the fight, okay?"
Izuku nodded, before continuing on his path.
'Tamako. This time you're free to do whatever you want. Stay with me, or join Rei or Ochako to watch.'
"I'll stay with you." They responded. "I want to see you fight firsthand."
Izuku nodded again. He knew that there was more to it than that—he could feel it through their connection—but it didn't matter too much to him. He was glad to have their comforting presence in his mind.
A few short minutes of moving through the hallways brought him to the contestant waiting room, and to the entrance to the arena a short distance away. He stopped in mild surprise when he arrived. Just like right before his last fight, he found Endeavor just outside the room. Only, this time he was alone. Shouto was most likely on the opposite side of the stadium, waiting in his own room. Just like before, Endeavor's trademark flaming hair wasn't present, nor was the rest of his costume. He looked like a normal spectator.
"You." Endeavor started. "Etsumi, if I'm remembering correctly."
Izuku nodded. "Pro Hero Endeavor. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The hero was silent for a moment, some sort of internal struggle making itself known in his expression for a brief instant.
"I have a favor to ask of you." He finally said. "A request."
"Oh?" Izuku said, raising an eyebrow. "And what might this request be?"
Endeavor was silent for a few more moments, before speaking again.
"Help Shouto. Please."
Izuku didn't respond, keeping his eyebrow raised in a silent invitation for the hero to go on.
"From what I understand, you are incredibly intelligent, rivalling even Nezu." Endeavor said. "Surely you've noticed the way Shouto is limiting himself?"
Seeing Izuku nod, he continued. "And I'm sure you've realized the sort of harm that will cause in the future if he continues to do so? Not just to others as a result of it affecting his hero work, but also to his own health."
"I have." Izuku said. "There are the obvious problems that arise from a hero actively limiting himself, from innocent lives potentially being put at risk to practically showcasing a weakness that any villain with more than two braincells to rub together might pick up on. And I've seen him after a particularly strenuous fight. I've seen the way continuous use of his ice causes frost to collect on his right side, and how he begins presenting signs of frostbite."
Endeavor nodded along as Izuku spoke, his expression somewhere between grave and guilty.
"I made a horrible mistake, years ago, that all but tore my family apart. I've done everything I can since then to make up for it, but Shouto has never stopped blaming me for it. Then, at some point he somehow got it into his head that the fire half of his quirk is mine, and because of that he refuses to use it."
'So that's the reason why.' Izuku thought to himself. 'What an idiotic way of thinking.'
"I'm certainly somewhat glad to have that little mystery solved." Izuku said. "But why exactly are you telling me all of this?"
"Like I said. I have a request for you. No matter what I do, or what I try to say, he won't move past the hatred he has for me, even though it's hurting him. From what I've heard, you're Deku, and you're also one of his classmates and the class president. My hope is that he'll be more willing to listen to you."
Endeavor sighed. "At this point I've almost given up any hope that he might forgive me, but I don't want to see him continue to hurt himself because of my mistakes. So, please, will you help him?"
Izuku thought for a moment, before hearing the announcement for him and Todoroki to report to the arena. He spoke up as he moved towards the entrance.
"I have neither the power, nor the desire, to force him to do anything. If he wishes to continue to limit himself the way he has been, then no one but him has the right to change that. All I can do is talk to him, and attempt to convince him otherwise. Whether or not he chooses to listen is his decision, and his alone"
"That's all I ask." Endeavor said from behind him as he moved away.
Izuku considered the conversation he'd just had as he drew closer to the light at the end of the tunnel to the arena. He was curious about the rest of the story, what the 'mistake' was that Endeavor supposedly made, that was apparently significant enough to make his own child hate him. He was also slightly irked at Shouto's flawed way of thinking regarding his own quirk, the fact that he thought of his fire as Endeavor's. If that was truly his reason for not using his fire, then he was an idiot.
All the same though, despite the—frankly irritating—flawed belief, Izuku's firm decision to not force Shouto to do anything didn't change.
'Whatever.' Izuku thought as he exited out into the sunlight, ignoring Present Mic's announcement as he did. 'Whatever I end up doing, it'll have to wait until after the festival. For now, I want to see what Amaya's temperature resistance quirk can do while I do my best to punch Todoroki across the arena.'
He was dimly aware of the cheering of the spectators, and Present Mic egging them on, as he moved up onto the ring, with Todoroki stepping up at the same time. The boy stared Izuku down as he moved towards his starting point, his expression unreadable. Mist was already rising from his right side in anticipation.
Izuku smirked, rolling his shoulders as Midnight repeated the explanation of rules and winning conditions she'd been giving at the start of all the fights. He pulled on 'Air Cannon' and a few strength quirks, clenching and unclenching his fists as he waited for the signal to start.
A few moments of waiting later, the noise of the spectators fading into the background as he focused, she gave it.
Before the shouted 'Begin!' even fully left Midnight's mouth, a wave of ice was barreling across the ring towards Izuku. His smirk grew ever so slightly as he swiped an arm out in front of him, scattering the wave with a blast of air. Mist and ice crystals filled the air, and he knew that it must've dropped the temperature in the ring, but he didn't feel it.
Todoroki had no intention of halting his assault, and didn't waste any time sending another wave of ice, larger than the first. Izuku's smile continued to grow larger as he swept that one aside just as he had the first. Then, before Todoroki could send another, Izuku raised a hand towards him and launched a blast of air with a flick of his finger. Todoroki danced out of the way just in time, choosing to just watch Izuku once he came to a stop.
With the momentary break in their fight, not even a minute after it began, Izuku pulled his hand back, cracking his knuckles as he watched Todoroki.
"Hopefully you have something more impressive to show me." Izuku said. "Because if all you intend to do is use your ice to turn this into a battle of attrition, you're going to be disappointed."
He dropped his hands to his sides once more, flexing his fingers. "Do me a favor. Don't be so boring as to believe that will work."
All at once, the temperature in the arena plummeted. Izuku saw Midnight, as well as some of the closer spectators, begin to shiver simultaneously. He could even almost start to register the change in temperature himself.
With that serving as a secondary starting signal of sorts, the fight began in earnest.
A layer of ice coated the entire ring in an instant, even partially covering Izuku, before another massive wave was sent rocketing towards him.
"Yes." Izuku muttered, bringing his hands up. "Do your best to keep this interesting for as long as you can. I want to see how long you can manage."
Just before the wave of ice could reach him, Izuku brought his hands together in a clap, the shockwave dispersing the ice in a massive explosion of mist, snow and probably dangerous shards of ice.
Before his vision even fully cleared, Izuku found another wave rushing towards him, and pulled back a fist to intercept it.
"Let's see how long we can keep this up. Why not put on a show for the crowds?"
Izuku and Todoroki fell into a pattern as the fight progressed. Todoroki would launch an attack in the form of a wave, or waves, of ice, each one traveling nearly faster than the eye could follow. Izuku would respond by destroying the attacks with a wave of his hand, a flick of his fingers, or a lazy punch, each one producing a shockwave strong enough to stop the attack dead in its tracks. He would follow it with another, only a bit more targeted, to strike at Todoroki, who would avoid it and launch another attack of his own, repeating the cycle.
As this went on though, Izuku watched as a layer of frost crept up Todoroki's limbs with each successive attack. Each one was coming a little weaker, a little slower, and every time Izuku counter attacked, Todoroki was ever so slightly slower in avoiding it.
His own quirk was working against him, and time was not on his side.
However… Izuku noticed something else at the same time. Something wrong.
The fight wasn't anything particularly special, it wasn't challenging in any way, nor was it one where he even had to move from the position he'd started in. If anything, it was a far sight easier and calmer than the majority of his fights as Oni. Despite that fact though, he was beginning to breathe heavier than he would've expected, and his hearts were starting to pound away far faster than what the situation warranted.
What's more, is that he could feel a cold sensation beginning to form in his fingers. It wasn't cold from the tremendously powerful ice quirk that was being thrown around. Were that the case, were it strong enough to overpower the temperature resistance quirk, Izuku would feel it everywhere, not just in his hands. No, this was something else.
He knew exactly what it was, what the heavy breathing and increased heartrate and the cold and now pins-and-needles in his hands meant.
Izuku had put up a brave front for Rei and Ochako, but he knew he wasn't completely over the episode he'd had. He was past the point of being non-responsive and inconsolable, trapped in his own memories, but he was smart enough to know that he wouldn't be back at 100% immediately.
When he reached the realization that-that was what he was feeling, he noticed another wave of ice rushing towards him, much closer than it should've been. A hasty swipe of his hand brushed it aside.
He clenched his fists, attempting to dispel the cold he felt as he gave his head a quick shake, but it stayed, instead progressing to a full tingling sensation in his hands. He blinked, his attention returning to the fight just in time to notice another wave of ice getting much too close. When he swiped a hand out to clear it away, he felt a finger make contact with the ice, sending a thin layer of ice up his entire arm. He barely noticed though, too preoccupied with his slowly worsening condition.
'Shit.' He thought to himself. 'Why is this happening? Just get a fucking grip.'
"Izuku you have to calm down." Tamako said, cutting through Izuku's thoughts. "You're alright. It's just you and Todoroki here, no one else."
'I know.' Izuku responded. 'I know that I'm safe and that I-' His thoughts paused as he cleared away another attack that had gotten far too close. '-That I have no reason to be like this. That's why this is so frustrating. I can't do anything about it.'
By this point he was breathing so hard it was like he'd just ran a marathon, without the quirks that would normally make such a thing effortless. The pounding of his hearts was nearly painful, and the cold, tingling sensation had spread past his hands, making its way up his arms.
He was spiraling, and he had no idea how to stop it.
Two more waves of ice entered Izuku's field of vision, once again much later than they should've. One heading straight for him and the other swinging around to the right to hit his side.
The one to the side would hit him first, so he would deal with it first. He raised his right hand to his chest, preparing to backhand the ice away. Izuku thrust his hand out, but before his attack could go off—a fraction of a second before 'Air Cannon' would've activated and created a concussive shockwave to rip the wave of ice to shreds—something shocked through Izuku's body and he hesitated.
Izuku. Izuku, hesitated.
Izuku never hesitated, or if he did, it was purposeful, because an attack needed to be halted. He never hesitated unwillingly. But nonetheless, something had him freezing, had his arm stopping in place before it could destroy the incoming ice.
Even if he wasn't too focused on the fact that he'd hesitated to do anything about it, he likely wouldn't have had the time to launch another attack, not without more quirks being activated.
The ice hit him, encasing his partially outstretched arm along with half of his torso and the bottom half of his right wing, trapping him.
Before he could do anything to break free though, before he could even flex his arm to shatter the ice that held it, the second wave of ice reminded Izuku of its presence, hitting him right in his chest.
And everything froze.
"Izuku!"
Now, had this happened any earlier in the fight, had Izuku hesitated and gotten hit any earlier, there wouldn't have been any issue. He would've been frozen, and then in the next moment he would've broken free and continued on with the fight. No issue aside from his still-worsening condition.
But at this point in the fight, several minutes and dozens of attacks from him and his opponent into it, it was an issue.
Izuku doubted that Todoroki would ever admit it to anyone, but the effects that continuous use of his ice had on him, especially after an extended period of time, were debilitating. Just as with most everyone else when their body is subjected to the cold, he begins to slow down. Muscles slowly stop cooperating, senses dull, and cognitive functions decrease.
A combination of that, and any actual exhaustion Todoroki might be feeling, loosened the grip he had on his quirk, reducing the amount of control he had over it, which after his training before the festival was rather impressive.
Instead of the precise control he'd demonstrated throughout the fight thus far, coating the arena and sending controlled waves of ice that, upon contact, were meant to latch onto their target and trap them, this last attack sent straight down the middle of the ring carried nothing but power and raw intent. Intent to win combined with the frustration of not already incapacitated Izuku. It resulted in an incredibly narrow and focused attack. One that reached out towards Izuku as it traveled, with arms in the shape of long, pointed shards of ice.
Shards that hit Izuku in the chest.
His durability quirks were active, as was 'Shock Absorption.' So they were there to take the brunt of the attack, but the shards of ice moved with a tremendous amount of power contained behind tiny points of contact. There was only so much his quirks could do.
Izuku looked down at himself to take in the damage. There were a number that were halted before breaking skin, tearing through his shirt only to be stopped by the combination of quirks, then there were a few that managed to break through, but barely. Then, right in the center of his chest, the biggest spike of the bunch had punctured deeper than the others.
He cocked his head as he looked at it. "That would be my heart." He said. "And now there's a hole in it."
He wasn't concerned about the damage. He could already feel his damaged muscles and skin twitching as his healing quirk tried to do its job. No, he was much more interested in everything else the attack had done.
Izuku's head was clear. His breathing was slowing, his hearts—though one of them was currently almost torn in half, and he could feel it trying to beat against the spike that was currently stabbed through it—were beginning to calm, and the cold, tingling sensation in his arms had all but receded entirely.
"Ha." He breathed, before chuckling under his breath. "That was exactly what I needed."
The shock of the pain, along with the cold that he could actually feel past the temperature resistance quirk, had snapped him out of it.
His laughing increased in volume a bit. "Excellent!"
As the mist in the air—a result of the constant destruction of ice—began to clear away, Izuku heard some distant gasps from the crowd as they caught sight of him. Todoroki's eyes widened when he saw Izuku, and he stood up straight, right arm dropping from the pseudo fighting stance he usually utilized for his quirk.
"Call the fight." He said to Midnight. "He can't-."
"No." Izuku said, his voice carrying across the ring, despite not being raised.
He looked up at Todoroki and Midnight, who had already begun to raise the whip in her hand.
"The fight ends, when I say it ends." He said, before a smile broke out on his face. "And as of right now, it's only just begun."
Izuku pulled on another strength quirk, letting the heat of it warm his limbs. With a quick flex of his right arm, the ice trapping it shattered. Taking a deep breath, he brought both hands up to impact either side of the spike in his chest, breaking it with a sharp crack. Then he twisted his torso, snapping any of the smaller spikes that didn't get caught when he broke the big one, before pulling away.
His healing quirk was already hard at work, pushing out any ice that remained in him, while Izuku grasped at the biggest one, puling it out and resisting the urge to grimace at the sensation. The wound healed around the spike, neatly closing when he pulled it out and barely letting a single drop of blood spill.
Izuku's smile widened as he stretched his wings out, shattering the ice that clung to his right one.
He stared down Todoroki, raising the spike in his fist, which despite being buried in his chest moments ago was only decorated with a few flecks of blood.
"Now then." He said, clenching his fist, until the spike exploded in his hand, all the while pulling on a few speed quirks. "Let's begin again."
He didn't give Todoroki a chance to start things off. Before all the shards of ice from the spike even hit the ground, Izuku moved. He appeared at Todoroki's side, fist already pulled back.
Todoroki noticed him just in time, swinging an arm up to throw a small glacier at Izuku, while skating backwards on his ice to create distance. The glacier exploded before it could contact, and Izuku was moving again, chasing after Todoroki.
He purposefully kept his speed down as they moved, turning the fight into a mirror of how the first battle trial went, with Todoroki skating around, throwing waves of ice at Izuku as he gave chase. Eventually, as Todoroki launched a particularly large attack, Izuku turned it back up again, and darted to Todoroki's left side faster than he could notice, especially in his nearly frostbitten condition.
Izuku saw Todoroki's eyes widen when he noticed the outstretched hand inches away from his face, with the other pulled back in a fist. He froze, not reacting as Izuku threw the punch. Then, as Izuku's fist impacted with Todoroki's side, a massive plume of fire exploded out, enveloping Izuku as his punch threw Todoroki from the ring.
He didn't really pay much attention to Midnight's announcement that he won, too busy coughing as his healing quirk repaired his lungs. He'd accidentally inhaled when the fire hit him, and inhaling superheated air generally wasn't very good for a person's throat and lungs. At the same time, he blinked away the white in his vision. In addition to partially cooking his lungs, the fire must've seared his eyes just a bit.
Shaking away the last bit of disorientation, Izuku moved to the edge of the ring, dropping to the grass and making his may towards where Todoroki hadn't gotten up. He was okay—or at least as okay as he could be, with half of his body covered in frost and with whatever damage Izuku had just dealt to his ribs—just lying in the grass and staring at his left hand, which he was holding up above himself.
Todoroki looked up at him as he arrived and lowered himself a bit.
"You alright?" Izuku asked.
Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "Your shirt is on fire."
Sure enough, Izuku looked down to see small flames eating away at the frayed holes that the spikes had created.
He shrugged. "Eh. It happens."
Lowering a hand towards Todoroki, he repeated himself. "I'll ask again. Are you alright?"
Todoroki hesitated for a moment, before taking Izuku's hand and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.
"…You made me use my fire."
"So I noticed." Izuku responded, gesturing down at his shirt.
Todoroki didn't say anything at that, instead continuing to stare at his hand.
"You know, it's never good to suppress such a major part of yourself." Izuku said. "Obviously I can't tell you what to do or how to live your life, but no harm would come from using your fire to at least maintain your temperature in the middle of a fight. Quite the opposite actually."
Todoroki frowned, eyebrows scrunching up in thought. Without saying anything, he turned and started walking towards the tunnel he came from.
Izuku shrugged internally, before turning to do the same.
It hadn't been intentional, but he'd put Todoroki in a position where he felt that he had no choice but to use his fire. Hopefully, he would consider what Izuku said. It wasn't right, or healthy, to neglect such a significant part of himself.
He shook his head as he entered the tunnel, a small smirk decorating his features. Whatever the case, the fact that he won meant that he'd be going up against Ochako next.
He couldn't wait.
"Etsumi!"
"Are you alright?"
"I thought I was gonna die! That was so cool!"
"You just flexed your way out of Todoroki's ice!"
Most of 1-A rushed Izuku as soon as he returned to their spot in the stands. He probably should've expected it, but it still came as a bit of a surprise to have most of his classmates all but shouting at him the moment he arrived.
As soon as his fight against Todoroki had concluded, Izuku had found Ochako and Rei waiting for him near the contestant waiting room. After a few minutes of reassuring them both that he was fine—after his episode that came from his fight with Shinsou and after the injuries they saw him sustain during his fight with Todoroki—and simply enjoying their presence, he and Ochako had made their way back to the stands together.
He pushed past his classmates, cutting off their onslaught of questions and comments.
"I'm fine." He said. "A little bit frozen from Todoroki's ice but otherwise perfect."
"Yeah but that was so cool though!" Kaminari exclaimed. "It was just like the battle trial! You kept brushing off his attacks like they were nothing!"
"I'm glad it was entertaining." Izuku said, settling down in his spot just in time to see Midnight give the signal for Bakugou and Kendou to begin.
"Okay, but what happened down there during your other fight?" Yaoyorozu asked. "The one against that purple-haired kid, Shinsou. One second the two of you look like you're talking, then you freeze and hunch over for a few seconds, and then the next something happens that made it hard to breathe and made my body not want to cooperate."
Izuku frowned. "I've no idea what you're talking about."
He could see the thoughtful expression on her face without even looking over at her.
"But clearly something happened, right? You moved, that… whatever it was happened, then Shinsou fell to the ground, without you even touching him."
Izuku shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he just faked it, and fell over on purpose."
"But he- that doesn't." She huffed. "That doesn't explain what we felt though."
Izuku sighed, turning to look at her with a tired, deadpan expression. "If you don't already know what that was, then you don't need to. Most of the time, the only people that end up learning about that are either dangerous, experienced, or incredibly unlucky. As far as I'm aware, none of you fall into any of those categories. Now drop it."
A particularly large explosion drew Izuku's attention back to the arena, looking over just in time to see Kendou landing outside the ring and for Midnight to announce Bakugou as the winner.
"Well that took about as long as expected." He said, already raising himself up from where he'd settled, just as Present Mic was calling for him and Ochako to make their way to the waiting rooms.
He glanced over at Ochako, who was also already getting up.
"Shall we?"
She nodded, smiling. "Let's do it."
"Good luck, you two!" He heard Ashido call out behind them as they left their class' section.
Izuku and Ochako were mostly silent as they moved through the halls. Eventually, they reached the point where their paths split, leading off to their respective waiting rooms. They paused to look at each other before they separated.
"So…" Ochako started after a moment of thought. "You're not going to go easy on me, are you?"
"If by that you mean, 'am I going to refrain from knocking you out of the ring as soon as we start?', then yes, I will be going just a little easy on you."
Izuku continued when he saw her open her mouth to argue. "I want to make this fight as fair as possible. This festival is more about us showcasing our skills to the world than anything else. That's why I didn't end the last fight as soon as it started. You wouldn't benefit from the fight ending too quickly, which is why I'll be holding back a bit."
"That makes sense, I guess." Ochako responded. Izuku could hear in her tone that she was a bit dejected. "But I don't like that you'll be making things easy for me."
"Oh, I never said anything about making things easy for you." He said, grinning. "What I said was that I would be going easy on you, as in holding back to make things a bit more even. This'll still be a challenging fight, and if you bring anything less than your best, you'll find yourself overwhelmed."
Her smile was back instantly. "Okay, that sounds good. I just wanted to make sure it feels like a proper victory when I throw you out of the ring."
"Ha. I'd like to see you try." He said, before lowering his voice a bit. "And just to make things a bit more interesting. I'm going to avoid using a particular skill that would keep me stuck to the ground if you happen to get lucky enough to use your quirk on me."
"Whatever you say." She responded, turning to walk away. "Just make sure you don't regret that when you lose."
"And make sure you don't get upset when I brag about that particular limitation after I win."
With that, Izuku turned to head down his own hallway. His smile remained in place the whole way to his waiting room.
A few minutes later, the two of them made it out into the sunlight, having been called from their rooms by Present Mic. As he and Ochako moved up onto the ring, Izuku felt Tamako enter his mind, having left a few minutes ago to check in with Rei.
"Rei wanted me to let you know that we're both rooting for Ochako." They said immediately, not even letting him greet them first.
He smirked. 'Let her know that the support is appreciated. Tell her that if I win, she's in charge of treating us to dinner later.'
He felt their amusement as they left with a "Sure thing!", darting back in the direction of where he knew Rei was.
"I assume that by now you both know how this goes." Midnight said as they made their way towards their starting positions in the ring. "Don't fight dirty. The fight ends when one of you submits, exits the ring, or becomes unable to fight."
She looked between the two of them. "Understand?"
They both nodded, prompting her to raise her whip and announce "Begin!"
Ochako dropped into a stance, one foot forward, the other directly behind and angled to the side, and both of her arms partially outstretched, one a bit more than the other, with both palms almost parallel to the ground.
Izuku smirked as he saw this. Ochako had explained to him some time ago that after his advice to her as Deku, she had taken on martial arts training. Specifically, she focused on Aikido and Judo, two styles that were more geared towards self-defense than attacking, and which had a heavy focus on putting one's hands on the opponent.
After she'd told him that, Izuku had done some research to understand it all a bit better. He'd briefly considered learning a form of martial arts himself, but decided against it. It wasn't really necessary for him to do so. Nonetheless, he at least knew enough to recognize that Ochako would apparently be relying on Aikido for their fight, at least to start.
It—along with Judo, as both were somewhat similar—relied on redirecting the opponent's momentum, using it against them to throw them or grab them. Against an opponent like Izuku, who relied solely upon sheer force, it was almost ideal. Combined with the fact that a single touch from Ochako would end the fight, and it was even more devastating.
As Ochako waited in her stance—it seemed that she would wait for Izuku to make the first move. Another thing that worked in her favor—Izuku slowly made his way towards her, cracking his knuckles as he went.
Then, without warning, he darted forwards, coming to a stop right in front of her with a fist already drawn back. He threw it, pulling on 'Quick Thinker' at the same time, slowing down his perception of time to watch her reaction.
It came without hesitation. She moved to sidestep to the inside of the punch, one hand moving up to tap his outstretched arm while the other thrust towards his torso, seeking to hit him with all five fingertips.
He pulled his arm back, avoiding her hand, while his free hand darted out, grabbing at the wrist of the hand that was aiming for his torso. In a quick motion, he threw her arm back, throwing her off balance. He followed it with a punch aimed at her stomach. It landed, forcing her to double over, and the continued his assault by aiming a palm for the center of her chest, aiming to throw her out of the ring entirely.
Before it could hit though, her hand darted out to intercept, almost too quick for him to react in time. He pulled back just in time, distinctly feeling four fingers brush against his arm before he managed to retract it.
He backed away, putting distance between them as Ochako recovered, righting herself.
"Hm." He hummed, watching her. "Years of fighting experience and superior strength and speed, versus a dangerous combination of extensive martial arts training and a powerful quirk that can end a fight with a single touch. I wonder which will win."
Ochako dropped back into her stance, grinning at him. "Come on over here so I can show you."
His grin mirrored her own. "Good answer. Now, let's find out, shall we?"
With that, he darted back in to renew his assault.
Their fight carried on for some time, even longer than his fight with Todoroki had. It was a constant back and forth, with neither of them able to gain any ground. The combination of quirks Izuku had picked out put him on nearly equal footing with Ochako. Unless he pulled on more, they would remain locked in a stalemate, with him just fast enough to avoid her attacks, but not quite fast enough to land anything significant enough of his own without either putting himself at risk, or being willing to aim for hurting her rather than simply incapacitating, which he wasn't.
Or at least, they would've remained locked in a stalemate, were it not for one of the few ways they were still unequal.
Izuku had limited his strength and speed to be more manageable for Ochako, and obviously had not pulled on any of the quirks such as 'Air Cannon' that would've augmented his attacks. However, one of the few things he hadn't adjusted was his stamina. Not only was it a bit greater than normal as a result of his snake tail—it wasn't a huge increase, but it was enough to be noticeable—but he also had his energy stockpile quirks that ensured that he could keep going for far longer than most anyone else.
That was why, after several long minutes of constant back and forth where they—but especially Ochako—were pushing themselves to move as fast as possible, Izuku was starting to notice her movements slowing ever so slightly.
A couple of exchanges after he noticed that fact, one of her attacks—a palm thrust aimed at his chest—was much sloppier than she likely intended for it to be, and Izuku took advantage of it.
He grabbed at her wrist, yanking her up and swinging her around to throw her out of the ring. However, as soon as her feet left the ground, her other hand came up and, faster than he could let go, tapped against his own.
The effects were immediate. He felt the sensation of weightlessness wash over him, making him feel unnaturally light. A moment later he felt himself begin to rise into the air. Before he could leave the ground, however, he clenched the muscles along the underside of his tail, constricting it so that his scales could find just enough purchase to keep him momentarily rooted to the ground.
"Smart." He said, looking over at her where she was still held in his grip. "You knew you were getting tired, so you faked an opening to get me in a position where I couldn't avoid you."
"Yep!" She responded cheerfully. "Thanks for the win. Hopefully you don't regret holding back."
"Oh?" He said. "Did you forget where you are right now? And have you not noticed the fact that I'm still on the ground?"
Her smile dropped immediately, her eyes widening at the same time with her realization that he was right. Without hesitation, she brought a palm up to impact his jaw, but he ignored it.
Between his tail keeping him stuck to the ground for the moment, and the fact that he still had Ochako in his grip weighing him down, he had enough leverage to thrust his free hand down towards the ground, penetrating into the cement ring and digging in, anchoring himself. In the meantime, Ochako was doing her best to break free from his grip, even planting a kick to the back of his head, which was also ignored.
Now properly rooted to the ground, he flung Ochako off behind him, which was the direction he had the greatest amount of leverage to throw her in. Thankfully, it also happened to be where the closest edge of the arena was.
Izuku shifted around so he could watch, and this time his own eyes widened as he saw—and felt—Ochako grab on to the end of his tail, which had-had the least grip on the ground and therefore had been rising into the air since the moment he'd been rendered weightless. In his slowed down perception of time, he watched her spin in midair as she fell, twisting so that his tail was beneath her, ensuring that it would hit the ground first.
Dislodging his hand from the ground, he slammed both hands down against it, launching himself up into the air. With that momentum, he clenched his tail once again, bringing him and Ochako together faster than she brought his tail to the ground.
As soon as he was close enough, he took the end of his tail in one hand and grabbed Ochako by the back of the neck with the other. He pulled himself free, throwing her towards the ground, the force of it changing his momentum once more, sending him floating upwards. She hit the ground a moment later.
"Uraraka has been removed from the ring!" Midnight announced. "Etsumi wins!"
The crowd exploded, cheering at the announcement, at the conclusion of what had been a long and entertaining fight.
The instant she announced that, Izuku felt his weight return to him all at once. His wings opened on instinct, fluttering as he fell in an attempt to correct himself. As soon as he touched down, he made his way over to where Ochako was sitting on the ground.
She smiled up at him as he approached. "Nice one. I thought I got you when I finally managed to use my quirk on you, and then again when I tried to fall on your tail."
"You did very well." He responded. "You put a very good show of your skill, and then you took it one step further by very nearly beating me. It was an effort to take pride in, that's for sure."
Ochako fell back onto the ground with a muttered 'Oof.'
"Well, if nothing else." She said. "At least it was a fun fight."
"It was indeed. Now, are you injured?"
"I definitely have a few bruises, which Recovery Girl could probably fix in about a second, but I'm good enough to walk." She looked up at him, smirking. "Though, if you were to offer to carry me there, I wouldn't say no to that."
Izuku let out a quiet laugh, extending his hand out to her, which she took.
In a fluid, and at this point, practiced, motion, he lifted her up off the ground and swung her onto his back. Once she was settled, he set off towards the tunnel he'd come from.
He hummed to himself as they entered back into the stadium, the noise of the spectators fading into a dull roar with every foot they traveled. A minute or two later, once it had gotten quiet enough, he heard Ochako humming along with him.
Izuku had enjoyed himself in their fight. It wasn't the sort of enjoyment he got out of going all out against a truly powerful opponent, or that came from putting his own life at risk to punish criminals, but instead the sort of enjoyment that came from watching someone he cared about give their all and have a good time doing it.
And now, it was time to fight his old friend, and see firsthand just how far he'd come over the years since they last knew each other.
The results of the third round of the festival thus far:
Chapter End Notes
Izuku, looking down at the ice spike in his chest, having snapped out of his rapid downward spiral: "Oh, look at that. I've been impaled."
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Awards and Revelations
Chapter Summary
At last, the sports festival draws to a close.
Chapter Notes
A little bit of a shorter chapter, but with this, we've finally reached the end of the sports festival.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Etsumi!" Ashido called as soon as the entrance to their section of the stands came into view. She was waiting just outside for them. "Where've you been!? You're supposed to be down in the ring. Bakugou is already down there and Present Mic has called for you twice."
"I'm aware." Izuku responded. "I had more important things to do."
She tilted her head at that, her eyes flicking to where Ochako was on his back. "You haven't gone to the ring because you wanted to carry Uraraka back up here?"
"Exactly. They can wait a few minutes."
Moving into their section, Izuku lowered himself a bit to allow Ochako to slide off his back. As she did, Yaoyorozu spoke up.
"Etsumi. You might want to hurry up. If you don't show up soon, they might assume that you've forfeit and announce Bakugou as the winner."
"Relax." Izuku responded. "This is the final fight of the festival. The one that all the spectators have been looking forward to the most. They're not going to just deprive them of that over a few minutes of waiting."
Looking over at Ochako, who had settled herself back in her seat, he shot her a grin, which she reciprocated.
"Besides. Now I get to do this."
Ignoring the confused looks some of his classmates wore, Izuku moved to the edge of their section, looking down at the ring. As Ashido had told him, he could see Bakugou waiting for him. He could also see Midnight holding a hand up to her ear. It looked like she might be talking to someone.
As he watched the ring, Present Mic's voice sounded out.
"This is the final call for Izuku Etsumi to please report to the ring."
"You should hurry up and get down there, Ets-."
He didn't let them finish their sentence. Without a word, Izuku launched himself into the air, out over the stadium. He could hear exclamations from the spectators as they noticed him, pointing up at him and cheering.
As he descended towards the ground, he entered into a loose spiral, circling around the perimeter of the stadium. When he circled around to his side of the ring, he folded his wings and dropped the final thirty-or-so feet, landing hard enough to shake the ground.
"Well then folks," Present Mic called out over the cheering, "now that our missing fighter has turned up, we can get on with the fight you've all been waiting for!"
The cheering only increased in volume as he spoke.
"On one side of the ring, we have Izuku Etsumi, and on the other, Katsuki Bakugou! Both of these fighters have displayed skill and power that so far has been unmatched. They've both plowed their way through the competition, impressing us with their fighting prowess! But now, how will these two unmatched competitors handle facing one another!? Who will be the one to come out on top and declare himself the winner!? There's only one way to find out! Let's get this fight started!"
One more time, Midnight explained the rules to the two of them as they stared each other down, before asking them both if they were ready. Izuku stretched his arms up over his head, stretching his wings out at the same time as he responded. Bakugou stayed silent, just letting out a few preparatory tiny explosions to warm his hands up.
Izuku rolled his neck, letting the anticipation for what would no doubt be an interesting fight wash over him, drowning out the background noise.
"Begin!"
He started forwards, moving slowly towards Bakugou, and watching for the slightest indicator of motion.
"Who are you?"
Izuku stopped, freezing in place and raising an eyebrow at his opponent. "Pardon?"
"Who are you?" Bakugou repeated. "Who are you really?"
"I'm… pretty sure that I'm Izuku Etsumi. Have I not told you my name before?"
Bakugou scowled. "If that's who you are, then why do you look so similar?"
"Similar to whom?"
His scowl deepened. "Izuku Midoriya."
Izuku froze.
'Well… Shit.' He thought. 'I guess he does remember me. That's less than ideal.'
"What do you mean he remembers you?" Tamako asked. "Don't you two go to school together?"
'Long story.' Izuku replied. 'I'll fill you in later, or you can try to sift through my memories.'
"Who?" He asked.
"Don't play dumb. There are too many similarities for it to be a coincidence. So tell me who you really are."
Right, clearly he wasn't going to drop it. This wasn't good. Izuku needed to take charge of the situation and move things along. They needed to get the fight going, and one way or another, it would be better to save the discussion they would no doubt end up having for later.
Izuku grinned, having come to a decision. "Hmm. I wonder."
"Tell you what. If you can manage to beat me, and win this fight, I'll tell you who I really am. How's that sound?"
Instead of responding, Bakugou's hands resumed their constant popping. Izuku raised his own hands, cracking his knuckles. At the same time, now that they were actually going to fight, he let his awareness focus back on solely Bakugou, everything else fading out.
Bakugou crouched, the popping in his hands reaching a crescendo, before halting entirely. The resulting silence, only disturbed by the faint cheering of the crowds, pushed to the back of Izuku's awareness, stretched out for what seemed like minutes.
He watched as, almost in slow motion, Bakugou's hands rotated to face behind him, his arms extending in the same direction.
Two simultaneous explosions shook the ring as Bakugou propelled himself forward. As he had during the quirk apprehension test, he used a continuous string of explosions to close the distance in an instant. As soon as he got close enough, one arm drew back, as if to strike, while the other was wrapped around his chest. It was subtle, but Izuku noticed that hand rotate so that the palm faced towards the ground.
Izuku smirked as he watched. 'He's prepared to either attack or feint and redirect depending on what I do. Nice. Very nice.'
Izuku's hand darted out to grab at Bakugou's neck, and just as he expected, another explosion sounded out. The hand at his chest released an explosion that had him flying just over Izuku's outstretched arm. The change in momentum was such that Bakugou ended up just above and behind Izuku, with a clear shot of the back of his neck.
He spun around, bringing up a hand just in time to swipe Bakugou's away, redirecting the explosion. His other hand darted forwards once more, this time actually catching him by the neck. Izuku turned and flung Bakugou back in the direction he'd come from, though not before the other boy brought up both hands to plant two explosions against Izuku's arm.
Bakugou was back on him in an instant, having canceled out his momentum with more explosions. This time, he kept low to the ground, attempting to keep out of Izuku's reach as he raised another hand up. As soon as he got close enough, he released an enormous explosion. One that Izuku didn't bother to try to block or redirect.
As the smoke cleared, Bakugou backed away, creating distance as his hands started popping again, building up more sweat.
'He recognized that I'm fast enough to block him if I want to, and immediately changed tactics to get as close as he could while remaining out of reach. Smart.'
"Incredible!" Present Mic announced. "It barely took a few seconds, but they've both already traded blows! Bakugou's landed some pretty good hits, but Etsumi doesn't even look fazed! And I think by now we know, after seeing his other fights, that Etsumi hasn't gotten serious just yet. Let's see how he responds!"
Izuku grinned, reaching up for the collar of his shirt, that now had a sizeable hole burned into it from that last explosion. He tore it away, tossing it aside he started inching his way towards Bakugou.
"You're good." He said. "Definitely near the top of our year, if not further. Now, what do you say we get this started in earnest?"
Bakugou didn't say anything in response, just raising a crackling hand, clenching it in front of him.
Izuku's smile widened. "Good."
An instant later, Izuku's fist passed through the space Bakugou had just occupied. The other boy was already just barely sliding past the attack to deliver another explosion to Izuku's side, which he didn't bother blocking.
'He's using instinct and intuition to make up for a lack of speed.' Izuku thought. 'He's not fast enough to react properly, but he was able to correctly judge the moment that I would begin moving, as well as how I would attack, and used that to dodge and deliver his counterattack.'
"Oh, I do hope you intend to keep up this level of skill." Izuku said, his smile widening further. "Because now I'm starting to get excited."
Bakugou responded with a blinding flash of light from his palm, turning Izuku's vision white. Despite that, his hand darted up to intercept Bakugou's incoming attack, catching him by the wrist.
At this point, Izuku wasn't entirely sure whether it was sheer instinct, 'Proximity,' his other senses compensating, or, most likely, a combination thereof that allowed him to 'see' the attack, but it didn't matter. All that did was the fact that he was beginning to enjoy himself more and more with each passing second.
Before Bakugou could use his free hand to launch another attack, Izuku pulled him closer and headbutted him, releasing him just in time for him to go flying. An instant later, he heard the explosions that signaled that Bakugou had stopped his impromptu flight.
Shaking his head, Izuku blinked as his vision came back into focus. Once it had, he looked over at where Bakugou had settled.
Izuku watched as, instead of attempting to close the distance again, Bakugou took a different sort of stance. Raising his hands, he extended one palm outwards, toward Izuku. He closed the fingers of his other hand into a circle, before setting it against his outstretched palm.
"It looks like Bakugou's decided to try something new!" Present Mic called out. "Could he be trying to change tactics!?"
Izuku recognized what was happening immediately, his eyes widening in surprise even as his smile widened with his rising excitement at this new development.
"Look at you." He said. "Not even two months into our first year at Yueii and you already have a super move."
He cracked his neck, bringing his hands up to hang loosely in front of him. "Let's see what it does."
Bakugou grimaced, and Izuku saw a faint glow emanating from the palm of his hand.
With a sound like a crack of thunder, another explosion was released, this one traveling in a single direction rather than expanding outward like normal. Izuku's eyes widened as he saw the line of pure heat and pressure rocketing towards him almost faster than he could blink.
A hand darted up to intercept the attack, taking the brunt of the heat before, with a quick pull on 'Air Canon,' it was swept away altogether.
Looking over at Bakugou, Izuku saw him roll his shoulders, before taking the same stance once more.
"There we go." Izuku said, raising his hands to intercept the imminent attacks. "Let's have some fun with this."
The fight really got started after that. After a rapid fire barrage of that same attack, Bakugou had charged in immediately after to engage once more. It was a constant back and forth between the two of them, with Bakugou's sheer amount of skill serving to close the distance somewhat between himself and Izuku. It carried on for even longer than Izuku's fight against Ochako had.
Eventually, after a particularly brutal exchange of attacks, the two of them separated once more.
As the two of them stared each other down, Izuku felt something in the air shift, and knew that whatever happened next, it would be the end of the fight. As soon as he had that thought, without warning, Bakugou took off running towards Izuku. Only, this time he didn't propel himself with his explosions.
The reason why became clear enough after a moment. Once he had evidently closed the necessary distance, Bakugou slid to a stop, crouching down, before aiming his palms straight down and setting off two explosions massive enough to shatter the ground beneath him, launching himself straight into the air. After a few more successive explosions, he seemed to reach the desired height, twisting to point head-first at the ground as he began his descent.
"Bakugou has launched himself into the air! I wonder what he has planned! Could it be that he intends to finish this fight with one final attack!?"
Barely a second after beginning to fall back down, Izuku watched as Bakugou repositioned his hands. He released more explosions as he fell, spinning himself and creating a spiral of fire in the air behind him.
'Another super move, then.' Izuku thought. 'Bring it on.'
Time seemed to slow as Bakugou drew closer. His speed, both direct and rotational, increased with every explosion, which only intensified the veritable tornado of flame trailing behind him. Then, barely a second before impact, Izuku watched him extend his hand out, already glowing with the imminent explosion that would no doubt be the crux of the move, the explosion that was the attack.
At that moment, Izuku moved.
Having pulled on more speed quirks during the short few seconds it took Bakugou to fall, he moved almost faster than the eye could see. As the moment seemed to stretch out, and Bakugou's hand continued to grow brighter, Izuku moved around behind him, sending his own fist flying just as the glow in Bakugou's hand seemed to reach its peak, detonating in a massive flash.
At the same moment that the explosion was released, Izuku's fist impacted Bakugou's stomach.
The ring was consumed in fire and smoke, both from the final explosion and from those that had led up to it. It blocked everyone's view of the ring, but at the same moment, they saw a figure fly out of the smoke, soaring through the air to impact the wall that bordered the inside of the stadium.
As the smoke cleared, the entire stadium was silent, everyone waiting with bated breath to see who was left standing after such a massive attack. Soon enough, they got their answer. Everything cleared enough to make out Izuku still in the ring. Panting from the effort he'd put in and with his skin blackened in places, but still in the ring. A moment after everyone noticed him, they all saw that Bakugou was the one who had been knocked out of the ring, and who know lay at the base of the wall he'd hit.
"Bakugou has been removed from the ring!" Midnight's voice sounded out in the silence. "Ladies and gentlemen, Izuku Etsumi is this year's winner of the first-year sports festival!"
There was another moment of absolute silence, before the entire stadium exploded with noise.
Izuku panted, looking over at where Bakugou had landed. As he watched, the other boy started moving, picking himself up off the ground to sit up.
So he was okay then. That was good. Izuku had been just a bit concerned that he'd put too much into his last attack.
As he had with his other opponents—most of them anyway—Izuku made his way to where Bakugou had landed, extending a hand towards him once he was close enough, which was accepted. He hoisted the other boy up, who groaned as the action disturbed whatever bruises he had after their fight.
Izuku watched Bakugou as he collected himself, considering his words for a moment.
"Well, you didn't win, but I may as well tell you anyway."
Bakugou looked up at him, and Izuku could see the faintest amount of hope there. It almost made him feel bad for continuing.
"Who I really am… is Izuku Etsumi. I have no idea who Izuku Midoriya is."
Bakugou's expression fell. "Right." He muttered. "Guess I was wrong, then."
Once again, Izuku almost felt bad as he watched Bakugou turn away almost immediately and without another word, and start walking towards the tunnel he'd come from. Part of him wanted to tell the truth, to tell Bakugou who he really was, but there wouldn't be any benefit to doing so. As close as the two of them had been before he was abandoned, nearly fifteen years had passed since then. He knew next to nothing about the other boy. They were essentially complete strangers at this point. If he were to tell the truth, that would just be one more person that he'd have to trust with his secrets, and he had no desire to increase that number more than he absolutely needed to.
Shaking his head, Izuku turned towards his own tunnel, making his way back to the interior of the stadium.
With the fight concluded, the rest of the sports festival was quick to wrap up. It barely took a few minutes after Izuku and Bakugou had left the ring and gone to visit Recovery Girl for the ring to be transformed into a large podium, upon which to present the winners their medals.
When Midnight announced the beginning of the award ceremony, and introduced the presenter, who came crashing down out of the sky with his usual flair just after, Izuku was settled on the highest point of the podium, with most of his tail spilling onto the grass below. Bakugou stood to his right, having taken second place, and Ochako and Kendou shared the spot to his left, both ending in third place.
The third place, then second place medals were presented fairly quickly, each with a few words from All Might that weren't quite loud enough for Izuku to hear. Then, soon enough, the hero was standing before Izuku.
"Congratulations, Young Etsumi." He said. "I must say, I'm quite proud of you for what you have achieved today, for living up to your declaration during the opening remarks. Though, if I'm being honest with myself, I never really expected anything less. Nonetheless, you've earned this."
Izuku lowered his head a bit as All Might held the medal out, letting him set it around his neck. When he looked back up, All Might's smile had faded ever so slightly.
"I can't say I understand at all what happened during your fight with Young Shinsou, or what happened afterwards, but I do hope you're alright."
Izuku returned the smile. "Don't worry." He reassured him. "I'm fine now. It was nothing but a momentary setback."
All Might seemed to hesitate for a single second, before his smile brightened back to where it had been. "If you say so, then so be it. I'm glad you're alright."
Reaching up to the collar of his costume, All Might pressed a button on the small microphone that was clipped there, turning away from Izuku as he did.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" He shouted, his voice booming out across the stadium. "I give you the winners of the first-year sports festival!"
The cheer that sounded out was nearly explosive, shaking the entire stadium with the force of it.
All Might reached up to his collar once more, turning to face Izuku again. "Young Etsumi. Were I you, I would give some sort of acknowledgement of their cheers. I think you'll find that people eat that sort of stuff right up."
Izuku smirked. "Yeah. Might as well."
Looking around at the cheering spectators, Izuku waited a moment, before thrusting his fist into the air.
The response was another increase in the volume of the cheering. It was almost deafening.
"You see?" All Might said. "Barely any effort at all, and they all love it."
Izuku let out a small laugh, not even audible over the noise. Such a simple, tiny action, yet it all but drove them into a frenzy. How interesting.
"Etsumi. Can I talk to you?"
Izuku looked over from where he'd been moving towards the exit with Ochako, amongst the crowd of students, to see Bakugou standing a few feet away.
"I don't see why not. What did you want to talk about?"
Bakugou nodded, before glancing at Ochako. "Is it alright if we speak in private?"
Izuku raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. He turned to look at Ochako.
"Go on ahead and find Rei. I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."
She raised an eyebrow of her own at Bakugou, before shooting a smile at Izuku and turning to walk away.
Izuku looked back at Bakugou, gesturing for him to follow as he moved away, to somewhere a bit more private.
A few minutes later, they found themselves in a secluded hallway, away from the crowds of students and spectators making their way out of the stadium.
Izuku looked at Bakugou, who had a strange expression on his face. "So, you wanted to talk to me about something?"
Bakugou was silent for a moment, before speaking.
"I did. I wanted to… explain. Explain why I was asking those things earlier, during the fight."
Izuku remained silent, prompting Bakugou to continue.
A sigh. "I had a- a friend, a long time ago. Izuku Midoriya. He disappeared when we were four, and honestly by this point it's been so long that I likely wouldn't even remember what he looked like if it weren't for pictures my parents happen to have. But if I were to compare those pictures to you, it would feel like looking at an aged-up version of him. Between that, and the fact that you share a given name, I thought that maybe, there might be some small chance that you were him."
Izuku resisted the urge to sigh. 'I suppose that's my fault for never changing my appearance. Green eyes, green hair, and freckles make for a somewhat distinctive appearance.'
But, wait. Izuku narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. 'Disappeared.' Bakugou had said that his friend had 'disappeared.'
"This friend of yours." He said. "What happened to him?"
"No one knows for sure. Apparently, he vanished the night after his fourth birthday. His mother claimed to have not heard any sort of commotion, so the belief was that he ran away."
Izuku noticed the expression on Bakugou's face. "But you don't believe that, do you?"
Bakugou snorted. "Of course I don't. He was four. What reason could a four-year-old possibly have to run away?"
He shook his head. "No. I'm not sure whether it was a kidnapping, or something with his quirk, or maybe his mother has been lying to everyone, but I know he didn't just run away."
'That he didn't.' Izuku thought to himself.
He clenched a fist as an unexpected anger began to simmer within him.
Usually, his thoughts surrounding his mother and her abandoning him were mixed. Torn between anger at her for leaving him, sadness over the fact that she had given up on him immediately after seeing his quirk, and a deep self-hatred and resignation that stemmed from the belief that he had deserved what had happened.
He tried his best not to dwell on that last one most of the time.
Right now though, it was just anger. Because not only had she dumped him on the side of the road like an unwanted pet, but then she had gone around lying about it, saying that he had done it to himself. She didn't even have the decency to make up some lie about him being kidnapped.
He almost opened his mouth to ask Bakugou if he knew where she was, where she was living, but resisted the urge. If Izuku knew where he could find her, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't go looking for her.
No. Nothing would be achieved by the two of them seeing one another. Nothing good, at least. It would be best if the two of them simply never saw each other again, and if he continued on with his life.
"Do you happen to know what his quirk was?" Izuku asked.
Bakugou shook his head. "No. The last time I saw him was on his birthday, and he hadn't manifested it yet. That's why I thought it might've had something to do with his disappearance."
Izuku nodded. "Well, I'm sorry about your friend, and I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not him. The name Midoriya is unfamiliar to me, and I've had my quirk and this appearance since I was born."
Bakugou frowned. "It's fine. I knew it wasn't likely. But you just seemed so similar, not just in appearance, but in your intelligence and your fascination with quirks, that I had to explore the possibility, no matter how slim the chances were."
They both fell silent for a few moments, before Bakugou spoke up again.
"He's actually my motivation for becoming a hero."
Izuku's eyebrows shot up. "He is? How so?"
"Well, the two of us had always said we wanted to be heroes together, though it's not like every other child in the world doesn't say that at some point. But it's also because of the fact that he disappeared, and how unclear the details are. Obviously, I know that I couldn't have done anything at that point to prevent it, but if I become a hero, then I'll be able to. I'll be able to protect people like that, and I'd be able to investigate things myself."
Ah. So that was it. That was the motivating force that drove Bakugou to the level of power and skill he was at. Who could've guessed that Izuku's abandonment and disappearance would've ended up providing motivation for two different people to become heroes?
"Well." Izuku said. "If I understand your friend well enough from the little bit you've told me about him, I feel like he'd be proud of how far you've come. You're in Yueii of all places, well on the way to becoming a hero. It won't be long until you've achieved your goal.
Izuku wasn't lying. Knowing what his former friend's motivation was, and seeing how far it had taken him, what he'd done to work for his goal, he really was proud. It made him feel good inside, knowing just how much Bakugou cared about Izuku Midoriya.
Bakugou managed a stiff smile, muttering a 'thanks' before turning to walk away. As he did, and as Izuku did the same to go find Rei and Ochako, he found himself smiling.
It wasn't often that he thought about his original life, before he'd been abandoned, but when he did it was always followed by a longing for a life he knew he could never have again, and—a bit deeper down—a sadness that he'd probably been forgotten by everyone he'd known. But now he'd just learned that-that wasn't the case. Despite how long it had been, Bakugou, his best friend, hadn't forgotten. More than that, he still, even now, held on to some small hope that he would find Izuku Midoriya eventually.
That realization alone was very nearly enough to make up for what he'd gone through today. It was even almost enough for Izuku to want to tell Bakugou who he really is.
Almost. But not quite.
The figure sat frozen, staring at the television in front of them, which was displaying Yueii's first year sports festival. She was excited enough to watch it, Katsuki would be participating this year after all.
Or at least, she had been excited. Right up until the moment that the first-year representative was called up to give the beginning remarks.
She heard the hero announcer—she was pretty sure her name was Midnight—give the announcement "To kick things off for this year's sports festival. Please welcome the first-year representative, Izuku Etsumi, to deliver our starting remarks!" and nearly froze on the spot. That name drug up memories that were better left forgotten. But then, it wasn't the first time she heard that name after… it… happened, so she brushed off the feeling and forced a smile.
But then she saw the student who held the name, and this time she actually froze, her blood running cold.
Fluffy, curly green hair, green eyes, and freckles decorating his slightly round face.
It didn't matter that the face was much older than the last time she'd seen it. It didn't matter how long it had been or how old it might be, she would always remember that face.
She reached a hand up unconsciously to finger her own hair. Hair that matched the student's almost exactly.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her mind flashed back to that night. He was… He was still alive…
How was that even possible?
"Inko?" A voice off to her side sounded out. "Honey? Are you alright?"
Inko Akatani took in a slow, shuddering breath.
No. No she most certainly was not alright.
Sorahiko munched absentmindedly on a taiyaki as he watched the sports festival.
The actual events and results of the festival didn't interest him too much. In fact, normally he wouldn't even be watching it in the first place, unless he had the desire to see what sort of incompetence the newest generation of heroes would be bringing to the table. He only had eyes for the one Toshi had told him about over the phone a few weeks ago, the one that supposedly had a quirk that was nearly identical to his. To All For One's.
He didn't doubt that the kid did indeed have such a quirk—Toshi could be a fool at times, but he wouldn't make such a claim unless he was absolutely certain of it, and he claimed to have seen it with his own two eyes—but he wanted to see the kid for himself, to try to judge what kind of person he might be.
Right away, from the moment he first saw the kid, 'Izuku Etsumi,' he knew there was more than met the eye. Maybe it was simply the fact that the kid had a version of that quirk, and probably had who-knew-how-many quirks hidden away, but he also had a look to him that said he was the strongest and smartest person in the room, and that he knew it.
Over the course of the festival, Sorahiko watched as the kid utterly and definitively defeated his competition. He seemed to enjoy fighting, and the more challenging it was, the more entertaining he found it.
But then… that was it. Aside from the beginning remarks, that Sorahiko actually found himself agreeing with, and the slightly odd air the kid had about him, all he really saw was a kid enjoying himself as he took part in the sports festival, enjoying the chance to fight and having fun with his friends.
That is, until they got to the first round of final stage of the festival, which had only ever been a tournament in Sorahiko's experience.
Most of the fights passed fairly quickly, and he would—begrudgingly—admit that, if nothing else, this newer generation seemed to have a decent handle on their quirks. But then it was time for Etsumi's.
Now, Sorahiko wasn't exactly a stranger to mind control quirks. He knew what they looked like, he'd been around long enough to see a few in action, and even have them used against him on occasion, but he'd never once seen anyone react as harshly to one as Etsumi had.
He didn't have to be present to know that there had been bloodlust in the air. He could gauge that easily enough from the reactions of the spectators and the overly talkative announcer. It was even such that Sorahiko, for a moment, thought he might've felt a chill run down his spine when the camera managed to focus on Etsumi's face. But then, the heating and cooling in his apartment had gone far too long without maintenance, so it was hard to say for sure what the cause was.
It was easy to tell at just a glance that Etsumi was powerful—Sorahiko doubted that there could ever be an instance of that quirk that didn't end up becoming powerful—but the bloodlust he produced was a different matter entirely. One didn't acquire something like that through power alone, let alone have it be powerful enough to render someone unconscious through force of will alone. Something like that generally only came from a long and grim past, one filled to the brim with darkness, whether that be directed at, or because of, the person in question.
That single minute of footage of the festival gave Sorahiko more insight into, and questions about, Etsumi than everything else before it had.
Why he had such bloodlust—what he had done, or what had happened to him, to lead to such a thing—why he would react so strongly to something as simple as a mind control quirk, and if he reacted so strongly, why would he continue on afterwards?
Sorahiko frowned, reaching for another piece of taiyaki. Etsumi didn't really give the impression of being anywhere close to the monster that All For One was, but he still had more questions than he had answers.
He stared at the image of Etsumi standing on the podium, first place medal on display around his neck and fist held in the air in victory. There was so much more to the boy than met the eye.
Maybe it would be worth it to get a closer look at the kid.
Izuku hummed to himself he made his way home. He was taking the long way, walking along the street as people usually did it. He had Rei on one side, her arm intertwined with his, and Ochako on the other, with his arm draped over her shoulders. Tamako was drifting between the three of them, speaking where they had the desire to, but mostly just taking in the atmosphere of the three siblings—who were now their siblings as well—enjoying each other's presence.
Overall, he was quite pleased with how the festival had turned out. Obviously, there was the issue that had come up after his fight with Shinsou, and he would have to spend a while collecting his thoughts once the sun had set and he was alone, but aside from that, he'd enjoyed himself. There had been a number of entertaining fights, against most of class 1-B, then against Shouto, Ochako, and Bakugou, he'd gained some insight into why Shouto was limiting himself the way he was, and he'd learned something quite pleasant about his past.
And now, walking home with his sisters at his sides and his newest sibling occasionally drifting through his head, he was busy planning a celebration. Ochako had performed exceptionally, and he felt that coming in first place was worth some form of celebration.
Rei's birthday was still some time away, as was Ochako's, so he wouldn't be able to line it up with either of those occasions, and he'd have to be careful not to encroach on the plans he'd already set in place for them. Obviously, he would be putting much more effort into dinner on whatever day he chose for it, but that was a given. He'd have to think of something to go along with that.
Something else to think about. He'd have to spend some time planning.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Celebration and Relaxation
Chapter Summary
With the sports festival behind them, it's time for the Etsumi family to spend some time relaxing together.
Chapter Notes
As of today, this fic is officially a year old! I posted chapter one on April 4 of 2020, and I got lucky in that the anniversary fell on an upload day.
Thank you all so much for your support. This fic has been a lot of fun to write, and is the first piece of fiction that I've worked on that I've actually taken seriously. Every time I see that someone is enjoying it, I just get that much more motivation to work on it.
Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku hummed a soft tune to himself as he worked, hands moving between pans on the stove. He could hear Tamako in his head, humming along—in their own unique way—as they watched in on what he was doing. Aside from his humming and the sizzling of the cooking food, the apartment was completely silent as bright, morning sunlight streamed in through the windows.
A small smile decorated Izuku's features. It was such a peaceful morning. A wonderful way to start the day off.
Today was the second day after the conclusion of the sports festival. They'd been given the week off so that they could rest and so Yueii could hold festivals for the second and third years. Yesterday had been spent mostly just sitting around and relaxing—Izuku hadn't even gone out as Oni—but for today, Izuku had planned out a proper celebration for the completion of the festival.
The start to that was, of course, breakfast, homemade as always but this time with a bit more effort put into it. He would make sure that Rei and Ochako woke up to the smell of a freshly cooked meal.
Speaking of, it was almost time for the two of them to be getting up.
"I'll go get them." Tamako said as they noticed him realizing that, leaving as soon as Izuku acknowledged them.
Tamako—and by extension, Izuku—had discovered, completely by accident the night before much to Ochako's mild irritation, that they could jump to someone even if they were asleep and, going along with their ability to manipulate thoughts, had some measure of control over the person's dreams, including pulling them out of said dreams, waking them up.
A few minutes later, the door to Rei's room opened and she entered into the living room, with Ochako emerging from her own shortly after, both with the countenance of someone who had been woken up earlier than they would've liked.
By the time they made it to the table, Izuku was already setting out their plates. Already used to this routine by now, both of them picked up their respective utensils and got to work blearily eating their breakfast.
A few minutes of sitting in the sunlight and filling their bellies had both of them looking much more alert. It didn't take long for the early morning silence to be broken up by conversation.
"So, are you two ready for today?" Izuku asked, preparing his own plate.
"Mm. I certainly will be after a bit more of this." Ochako said, taking a bite.
A few more moments passed in silence, Izuku settling at the table and taking a few bites himself.
"I'm really excited for the beach." Ochako said, speaking up again. "It's been a while since I've been to one, and I've been wanting to see Dagobah ever since I found out that you're the one who cleaned it."
"I'm glad you're excited for it. Because our visit there will take up most of the second half of our day. There are very few better ways to relax, in my opinion, than sitting out in the sun on the beach."
The plan that Izuku had put together for today was pretty simple. They would start off by visiting a zoo on the outskirts of Tokyo, the same one that Rei had originally planned to take him to for his birthday the year before, then they'd head back to Musutafu for lunch at the café Izuku frequented, then they'd spend most, if not all, of their afternoon at Dagobah, before heading back home, where Izuku would cook dinner.
Simple, but then the whole point of it was just to celebrate their completing the festival, and to serve as a relaxing outing to help them unwind after it and the two weeks of near-constant preparation that led up to it.
"Is Tsuyu still planning on joining us?" He asked. In discussing the plan the day before, Ochako had asked if she could invite Tsuyu, which of course Izuku had no issue with.
"Yep! Her parents are fine with it. She should be meeting us at the train station."
Izuku nodded. "Very good."
The next several minutes passed in comfortable silence as the three of them enjoyed their breakfast. Eventually, Ochako and Rei both returned to their respective rooms to get ready for the day ahead while Izuku took care of the dishes. It didn't take them very long, and soon enough they were gathered at the entrance to the apartment, each with their own bag to carry their belongings.
"Ready to go?" He asked.
"Ready!" They both responded simultaneously, wearing matching smiles.
He returned the smile. "Then let's get going."
Being the beginning of May, the weather was perfect for the day they had planned. The sky was mostly clear, with just enough clouds in the sky to give them occasion shade. And the temperature was just right, not too far in either direction.
After making the long trek down the stairs from the top of their building to the ground floor, the three of them made their way to the nearest train station. The one that Izuku and Ochako would take to Yueii if they needed to rely on such a slow method of transportation. Once they arrived, it took only a few minutes of searching before they found Tsuyu.
"Ochako!" She greeted. "And… um, Etsumis?"
Izuku waved a hand in front of him. "Feel free to just call me Izuku."
"Likewise." Rei said. "I don't have any issue with you calling me Rei."
Tsuyu nodded, smiling. "Alright then. Izuku. Rei."
"I assume that Ochako has already filled you in on our plans for the day?" He asked.
She nodded again. "Yep. We're going to the zoo, then to lunch, and then to the beach."
"That's correct. Now, unless there's anything else we need to do, I'd suggest we find our train."
The train ride to the outskirts of Tokyo didn't take very long. Once they were out of Musutafu, with no other stops before theirs, the trip didn't even take half an hour. Then, another few more minutes of traveling by foot—or tail—and they were arriving at their destination.
They were quick to enter, with Izuku having bought their tickets online, and immediately set to wandering.
Somewhat surprisingly, the popularity of zoos had hardly declined at all after the appearance of quirks, despite the chaos that they brought to human society, and the sudden influx of other forms of entertainment after things began to stabilize.
This was because, with the emergence of quirks, the sorts of animals found in zoos began to change along with the humans that came to see them. Most zoos still provided sanctuary for animals that needed it of course, endangered species, injured and recovering animals, and a number of other similar cases, but the types of animals that needed that sort of care began to change.
Just as humans developed quirks, so too did a number of animals. But nature is far less forgiving than human society. Where some humans might be looked down upon for having a quirk that didn't conform to societal standards of useful or heroic quirks, quirked animals would struggle to survive at all if what they had wasn't directly conducive to their continued existence, or worse, actively made it more difficult.
Natural selection, survival of the fittest, was still a thing, even with the emergence of quirks. Of the small number of animals that actually developed quirks, many of them were simply a powered-up version of some adaptation or ability their particular species already had, something that would help them survive. This could be anything from enhanced senses to either locate prey or avoid predators, to enhanced physical abilities for similar reasons, to a plethora of other infinitely varied abilities. There were even accounts of a pack of wolves in Canada that had supposedly developed a simple form of telepathic quirks to communicate with one another.
However, if an animal had a quirk that impeded their struggle for survival, such as one that made it more difficult to avoid predators, or to find prey, then their chances of living long enough to pass that unhelpful quirk along plummeted.
It was this sort of animal that began to appear more and more in zoos; quirked animals that, left alone, were likely to die.
Of course, with a rise in quirked animals in zoos that had quirks that would be difficult to find and study in the wild for any significant length of time, there was also a rise in experiments on said animals. Experiments of questionable morality. There were a number of people and organizations that didn't want to pass up the chance to study these animals, study the nature of their quirks, and why they have them to begin with.
They saw a number of fascinating animals as they went through. There was a cheetah that could walk along vertical surfaces, and even upside down, very similar to Izuku's quirk 'Gecko.' Then a few minutes later they saw a tiger that could walk on water. It was sprawled across the fake pond in its enclosure when they saw it. There was a two-headed goat, an absolute giant of a horse, with eight legs instead of four, a rabbit that could turn completely invisible, a bear that was twice the size it was supposed to be, and a bird that was constantly shifting to look like other species. They even saw a monkey with telekinesis. That one was one of Izuku's personal favorites, if for no other reason than it was amusing to watch it continuously attempt to steal things from people that weren't paying enough attention. It had a small hoard of items that it had stolen. Izuku saw a few watches, and at least one phone.
Eventually, they made it to the reptile building, and Izuku and Rei found themselves going around and admiring all the animals they shared a partial biology with.
Partway through the building, the sound of Ochako giggling off to his side caught Izuku's attention. Turning in her direction, he saw her looking over at him and Rei.
"Hey! Hey look!" She said, through her laughter, pointing at one of the enclosures.
They moved closer, peeking in through the glass to see what she was pointing at. Izuku thought he saw a snake, which would make sense given that they were still in the reptile house.
"It's Izuku." She said, barely managing it through her giggles.
Rei immediately burst into laughter, but Izuku tilted his head, not sure what she was talking about.
That is, until he saw that it was a quirked snake. One that had a pair of leathery wings on its back, almost identical to Izuku's own. In fact, according to the informational sign, it was an anaconda too.
"Alright, look here, cheeky little shit." He said, smiling. "Talk all you want, but let's not forget that Koala we saw not even ten minutes ago that could make itself float. I took a picture if you want to see it again."
She narrowed her eyes, trying her best not to smile. "Hm. Fine. You win. Truce. For now."
With that, she turned and led Tsuyu away, already smiling widely again.
A few minutes later, Izuku and Rei both sat in front of a particularly large enclosure, watching as a snake lazily teleported its way from one end to the other.
"Fascinating." He said. "For something so complex to manifest in an animal."
Teleportation quirks were exceedingly rare. Izuku had only ever seen one other, and that was with Kurogiri. And this particular quirk was entirely different from his. Where Kurogiri had created smokey portals from his own body to transport people, this snake's version seemed to be a slow, gradual de-materialization and re-materialization. When it activated, a faint glow would appear at its head, before slowly traveling down its body. Where the glow passed, the snake almost seemed to disintegrate, only for it to reform wherever it was aiming. And despite how slow it was, it seemed to be effective enough, because almost every time it happened, it took Izuku and Rei several long seconds to locate it again. The process was almost unnoticeable, and produced no sound whatsoever as far as they could both tell.
It was incredibly interesting, and Izuku wished he could get his hands on the quirk to study for himself how it worked. But he didn't even know if it was possible for him to take quirks from animals.
Izuku opened his mouth to say something else, only to stop when he heard something off to his side, only just barely loud enough for him to hear.
"How come we have to treat people like that as if they're normal?"
"Beats me. We shouldn't have to though. They hardly even look human. We shouldn't have to pretend that they are."
Izuku frowned. He didn't like what he was hearing.
He knew right away what it was. Two people—at least two—that for whatever reason looked down on mutation quirks.
It was just a tiny bit surprising to hear something like that out in public. Most of the time, the only place that such a thing happened—whether it was directed at mutations or some other detail or quality that was easily looked down upon—was in isolated environments such as schools or, even more rarely, in a workplace. But even then, most of the time it would be immediately shut down by an authority figure that happened to notice it, assuming it's noticed in the first place.
Occasionally, there might be an instance of some form of discrimination or another out in public, but it was very rare for there to not be an immediate backlash from most of the people around them. Once humanity stabilized after the appearance of quirks, it became exceedingly rare to see any outright discrimination for most any group or demographic. Quirkless people were one of the very few groups that saw any dislike from other people, and even that was pretty rare, if only because the number of quirkless people in the world was slowly diminishing with each generation.
Either way, even though Izuku knew there was a decent chance that their words were at his and Rei's expense, he chose to ignore them. Until they happened to say something that was actually directed the two of them, he would continue to treat them as what they are: two idiots spouting ignorance. There was no need to cause a disturbance to the day he'd planned just for something like that.
Until then, he would simply do his best to enjoy the a-.
"Tsk. Disgusting. I can't believe people like that are allowed in here."
"I know, right? With quirks like that, they belong in the exhibits, not out here with the normal people."
"Yeah." They snickered. "They'd fit right in too, with those disgusting tails of theirs."
Izuku sighed. Alright. Now it was being directed at them. And now he had to say something. He wouldn't particularly care if they continued to spout their stupid opinions of mutation quirks. He wouldn't even care if their words were being directed at him, as there weren't many people whose opinions he valued, and those two weren't on that list. But that was not the case if their words were being directed at his sister, or at his friends.
He turned to look at them, making eye contact with one immediately, further proving that they were indeed talking about him and Rei. The man sneered at him, and he responded by smiling.
"I'm sorry." He said, loud enough to catch the attention of some of the people around them, including Ochako and Tsuyu. "I didn't quite here what you just said."
Izuku moved towards them, raising himself up a bit higher off the ground, and keeping the same smile on his face as he did. He stopped just a few short feet from them, towering over their heads.
He leaned down ever so slightly, lowering his voice just a bit as he spoke again. "Do you think you could repeat that for me?"
One of them looked away, seemingly uncomfortable now that he knew that Izuku had heard him, and now that Izuku was attracting other people's attention as well. The other, however, glared up at him. He opened his mouth to speak.
"Yeah! I said-." His words cut off as a third person came up behind him and slapped a hand across his mouth.
"Are you two fucking stupid?" The newcomer hissed. "Don't you know who this is? He's a hero student at Yueii. Y'know, the one that wiped the floor with everyone else in the sports festival? Were you seriously about to insult him to his face?"
Izuku saw the exact moment that realization flashed across the man's expression. How he hadn't recognized Izuku if he'd apparently watched the festival, especially if disliked mutation quirks that much, Izuku had no idea. Either way, seeing their realization, watching their eyes widen in shock, had Izuku letting out a single amused laugh.
He stared down at the trio, straining his eyes for a moment to use 'Appraisal' on them. When he saw their quirks, he almost let out another laugh.
"Hmm, telekinesis, but only while you're intoxicated." He said, gesturing at the coward, then turning his attention to the second one. "And then the ability to always know what time it is."
He relished their surprise and slight amount of fear when he 'guessed' exactly what their quirks were. Leaning down a bit further, he spoke again.
"I think that next time you want to go around and say such things where other people can hear you," Izuku said, "you might want to think about your own quirks first."
The third man grabbed the other two by the arm, yanking them away. Turning around, he pushed them, prompting them to keep moving. Looking back at Izuku, he bowed his head slightly.
"I'm terribly sorry for their behavior." He apologized.
Izuku returned the gesture, barely. "Thank you for reigning him in. It would've been quite a shame if he'd continued, and said something else to insult my sister or my friend."
The man paled, and he bowed his head again, before turning around and running to catch up to the other two.
Izuku turned to see Rei and the other two watching him.
"Well, that was… something." He said, before holding his arm out to Rei. "Shall we continue?"
She smiled at him, taking his proffered arm and linking her own with it. Together, they left the reptile building, moving onto the next area.
They spent the rest of the morning exploring the zoo, witnessing an astounding variety of quirked animals, and admiring them all.
They arrived at Izuku's usual café almost exactly at noon, settling at two outdoor tables. The owner was quick to come out and greet them, stating that it had been too long since she'd seen Izuku there, which was unfortunately true. With Yueii taking over his daily routine, it wasn't often that he had any time or reason to come here.
After making Izuku promise to come around to visit more often, she took their orders, bustling away to prepare their drinks.
"So Tsuyu." Rei started. "If you don't mind me asking, what sort of quirks do your parent's have? What kind of quirks combine to make a frog mutation like yours?"
"Actually, both of my parents have frog mutations as well kero. Though, technically, my dad's is closer to a toad than a frog."
"Huh. Interesting." Izuku said. "I'll admit, I was curious as well. But, unsurprisingly, it seems that frog, plus frog, equals another frog."
Tsuyu's mouth stretched into a smile. "You definitely aren't wrong about that. I have two younger siblings, and both of them have frog mutations as well."
"Interesting that such similar quirks would manifest across all of their children. Maybe one or both of your parents had ancestors with similar mutations."
"Hmm. They might. I'd have to ask them."
"But what about you two?" She asked, looking between him and Rei. "I think you might've said something about your tail coming from your father kero, but what about your mother?"
Izuku saw Rei freeze up ever so slightly at the question, mirrored an instant later by Ochako. Her expression became strained, her smile forced. But just as quick as it happened, she recovered, smiling just a bit too wide as she looked at Tsuyu.
"She had a quirk that let her change her hair color at will. That's actually why Izuku and I ended up with such different hair colors, because she could have any hair color, and passed them all along."
"Actually." Izuku said, looking to redirect the conversation. "Now that we're on this topic, I can't believe I haven't asked this before, but what about your parents, Ochako?"
"Hmm. My dad's lets him control how heavy he is. Sorta like mine, but it only works on him, and he can change it in either direction. My mom's is completely different. She has a minor cat transformation. She gets claws, some fur around her hands, a really good sense of balance, and even whiskers."
Izuku brought a hand to his chin, considering her words for a moment, before coming to a realization.
"Wait, are you telling us that those pads on the tips of your fingers, are actually paw pads?"
"I- uh. I guess? I've never really thought about it."
"I doubt that, just a little." Rei said. "And I'm sorry Ochako, but that's adorable. Like, obviously nothing has changed about you, but I don't think I'll be able to help thinking about that any time I see them now. I won't be able to help thinking about the fact that you have paw pads."
Ochako pouted, hiding her hands under the table, earning a laugh from Rei.
"One way or another though," Izuku said, smiling himself, "that's one of the really interesting things about quirks. The genetics of them and how they combine, change, and mutate from parent to child."
He gestured to Tsuyu. "On the one hand, we've got you and your family, Tsuyu. Two very similar amphibious mutations coming together to create even more very similar amphibious mutations, with only a small amount of variation. Then you've got people like myself and Rei where our appearance is similar enough, but what I got as a leftover mutation, she got as her actual quirk, and a mutation that was present about three generations ago manifested just as strong."
"Then, finally, we have people like Ochako." Izuku said, gesturing at her. "Two completely unrelated quirks merging together to create something new. Taking the weight manipulation of one quirk, combining it with a single tiny physical mutation from another, and making it a touch-based zero gravity quirk."
The conversation was interrupted by the owner returning with their drinks, which they all took a few seconds to sip from.
"Y'know, you talking about all this quirk stuff, and knowing so much about it makes so much more sense now that I know you're Deku."
"Well, it is my job to know this stuff. So you're not wrong in the slightest."
Suddenly, Rei snapped her fingers. "Ah! That's right. Wasn't that analyst guy that I took you to see the year before last talking about that sort of stuff?"
Izuku nodded. "Yep. The German. He's actually one of the leading experts on quirk genetics."
"Wait, Izuku." Tsuyu cut in. "Do you speak German?"
"Well, the man gave his entire presentation in English, not German. English tends to be the standard language for a number of things. But to answer your question, yes, I am indeed fluent in German. Actually, aside from Japanese, I can speak fluently in English, German, Spanish, and French. And I can hold basic conversations in Mandarin."
Seeing her surprised expression, Izuku shrugged. "It started with boredom. I was bored out of my mind one day a few years ago, and on a whim decided that I wanted to learn English. A few days later and I was already able to hold conversations and could start to read and write it with questionable proficiency."
He took another sip of his drink, before shrugging again. "I had far too much free time on my hands and a near-perfect memory. At some point it was bound to happen that I choose to learn something for no other reason than to alleviate boredom."
The conversation was once again interrupted by the owner returning. This time she brought their orders, surprising them all—with the exception of Izuku, who knew fully well just how quick she could be—with how fast their food was prepared.
After thanking the owner, they all dug in, savoring the delicious food. The conversation continued on—albeit at a much slower pace—between bites of food, devolving for several minutes to Ochako and Tsuyu asking him how to say certain things in all the languages he knew.
Between the conversation and each of them taking their time to enjoy their meal, it took them some time to finish up. Eventually, once they had, and Izuku had paid, he felt that it was time for them to move on, now that they had spent almost two hours enjoying the conversation and the atmosphere.
"Well then!" Izuku said, raising himself up from where he was settled. "That was quite a delicious meal. What do you all say we move on to our next stop?"
Seeing nods of confirmation from all three of them, Izuku turned and led them away from the café, turning in the direction of the beach.
The café was quite close to Dagobah. Within a few minutes of leaving, the wind blowing in from the ocean was hitting them, and they could hear the constant pounding of waves. Another few minutes of moving later, and the beach itself came into view. Nearly pure white sand and with a crowd of people enjoying it. Not quite enough for it to be unpleasantly crowded, but enough for Izuku to appreciate the fact that there were quite a few people that were enjoying the results of his effort.
A small smile appeared on Izuku's face as he took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the ocean. His tongue darted out of his mouth a second later, tasting the salt in the air. He'd never quite be able to get over the fact that this place, that once was a hellhole, full of garbage and smelling so bad that it seared one's nose and seemed to coat the inside of one's throat with every breath, was now a near-pristine beach.
Smile still in place, he led everyone down to the sand, letting out a small content sigh as his tail came into contact with it. He grabbed one of the umbrellas that was set out for public use as they passed the stand they were on. Going just a bit further, he came to a stop about halfway between the entrance and the water, driving the umbrella into the sand.
"And here we are." Izuku said, gathering his tail beneath him, coiling it up.
Rei let out a sigh as she settled into the sand next to him, positioning herself so that her top half was in the shade. She propped herself up on her elbows, laying across a section of her tail as they both usually did.
"Y'know, I still can't quite believe that you cleaned this whole place by yourself."
Tsuyu perked up from where she was laying out her stuff, also under the umbrella. "You're the one that cleaned Dagobah, Izuku?"
Izuku nodded. "I am. Why do you ask?"
"Because I remember my parents talking about it. They were really excited when they saw that this place was back to normal. Apparently, they used to spend a lot of time here when they were younger. I'm pretty sure it's also where they first met."
"That's nice." Izuku said, smiling softly. "I'm glad I was able to restore such a precious memory."
The sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the people around them dominated the atmosphere as Izuku and Rei relaxed, Ochako and Tsuyu taking a few moments to put on some sunscreen.
"Today's been pretty fun." Rei said, pulling a book from her bag. "Nice and relaxing."
"It has." He agreed. "A nice way to unwind after the festival."
Rei's smile softened, and she moved a little closer to bump her should against his. "All of you did so well. I'm proud of you."
"Hey Izuku!" Ochako called, prompting Izuku to turn his attention to her. "Tsu and I are going down to the water. Wanna come with?"
"Not right now." He replied with a smile. "I'm not much of a water person. I'm perfectly content to just sun myself up in the sand. Maybe later though."
"Alright then! C'mon Tsu!"
Izuku watched as they both took off towards the water. Partway down, he noticed Ochako tap herself and Tsuyu at the same time, followed by a familiar pink flash, barely noticeable in the sunlight. A moment later, Tsuyu grabbed onto her and kicked off into the air, sending them both flying out over the water.
He kept a close eye on them as they flew through the air, slowly rising higher as they did.
"This had better not be a trick to get me into the water with them by forcing me to go out and catch them." He muttered, getting a laugh from Rei.
Thankfully, just before he was about to get up, a few moments before their height over the water would've gotten to the point of being a bit concerning, he saw Ochako tap her hands together, sending them both falling. He continued watching as they hit the water, only looking away when they both resurfaced
After a while, Izuku raised himself up from where he'd been lounging across the coils of his tail. The sun was approaching the horizon, and it was about time for them to move on.
"Alright then!" He called, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's starting to get late. I suggest we start making our way back so we can get some dinner."
All three of them complied, getting up from their respective spots and stretching away the stiffness that comes from laying in one spot for hours.
Izuku rolled his shoulders, before looking over at Tsuyu.
"You're free to join us if you wish, Tsuyu." He said. "We have plenty for everyone."
She glanced down at her phone, checking the time, before shrugging.
"It's getting pretty close to the time I told my parents I'd be back, but they're pretty easygoing, so it shouldn't be an issue if I tell them you're offering to provide dinner. I'll let them know."
"Wonderful." He said. "Shall we get going then?"
By the time they made it back to their building, the sun had set far enough that everything was cast in shadow. They all filed in, with Izuku and Rei following behind Ochako and Tsuyu. Izuku was tempted to offer to simply fly everyone up to the apartment, but there wasn't any reason to do so, other than the stairwell all the way to the top floor being a minor inconvenience to him and Rei.
Despite that, it didn't take long for them to reach the entrance to their home, the door already open as Ochako had reached it first and let herself and Tsuyu in. Izuku let Rei move past him to enter first, following right behind her as she did.
Closing the door behind him, he moved a bit further inside to see Tsuyu standing next to the small kitchen area, looking around at everything.
"This place is impressive." She said, looking out at the city sprawled out below through the glass wall that led to the balcony. "I didn't know you lived somewhere like this Izuku."
He shrugged. "The work I do as 'Deku' and the income I get for it affords us certain luxuries, like this apartment and Rei's pursuit of higher education."
Raising a hand, he pointed off to the right, towards the small hallway that led to Rei's office and Ochako's room. "Now, if you go through the door on the left, there's a room with an attached bathroom. Feel free to make use of it."
She nodded, before heading off in that direction. As she did, Izuku moved to the kitchen, settling in the middle of the space, coiling his tail up. With Tsuyu gone, he was left alone. Rei and Ochako had both retreated to their respective rooms, likely to clean up after their day out.
Rubbing his hands together, Izuku activated 'Shower in a Can', cleaning himself instantly. He rolled up his sleeves, looking around at the kitchen. Now that most the day was behind them, it was time to move on to—in Izuku's opinion—the highlight of the day. Dinner. He had quite the meal planned out for tonight.
He certainly didn't slack when it came to making dinner on a normal day, not by any stretch of the imagination, but he would make it so that, after tonight's meal, it would look like that was the case. Tonight, he would prepare a veritable feast.
Cracking his knuckles, he pulled on a few speed quirks, before getting to work. In seconds, pans were pulled from cabinets, spices were set out to be used later, and a variety of meats and vegetables were on the counter and already being cut.
After a few minutes, a few pans already sizzling away on the stove, Rei re-emerged from her room, hair wet and wearing fresh clothes.
"Mm. You're going all-out tonight, aren't you?" She asked. "I could smell it before I even got out here."
"Yep." He responded, shooting her a quick smile. "It shouldn't take too long to get everything ready. Would you mind getting a movie started?"
"Sure thing." She replied, turning towards the small living area.
Dinner and a marathon of movies might be pretty close to Izuku and Rei's birthday tradition, but he felt that, after altering it slightly to replace an unhealthy amount of ice cream with a properly cooked meal, it would be a fitting end to the day. In his opinion, there was no better way.
Izuku returned his focus to the task at hand, as Rei picked out a movie, settling down on the floor once she had. As usual, she draped herself over a section of her tail.
It didn't take long for Ochako and Tsuyu to reappear as well after that. With barely any words, aside from a repeated comment about being able to smell the food, from Ochako and a bit of surprise on Tsuyu's part over the fact that he was cooking so much, the two of them followed Rei's example and got settled in front of the television. Ochako didn't hesitate to lean back against Rei's tail, grabbing a stray blanket and pulling it close, and Tsuyu, after a brief moment of consideration, sat down next to her, but didn't quite lean back. Izuku heard the movie start up a few moments later.
Soon enough, Izuku was finishing the last of the food, and was already filling a few plates. Turning the stove down to keep everything warm, Izuku carried the plates over to the others, who all accepted one with a quiet 'thank you.' A moment later, and he was returning with his own plate, settling down next to Rei, within the coils of his own tail.
Taking a bite of his food, Izuku smiled. Not necessarily because of the food—though he would be willing to say that it might be some of his best work yet—but at the quiet, comfortable atmosphere. Part of the reason he'd planned out everything today was to celebrate everyone's performance during the festival, but at the end of the day the point was for them to unwind and relax. And based on what Izuku was seeing, it would seem that he was successful.
Partway through the movie, having paused it at a slow point, Izuku got up, taking everyone's empty plates. He moved back to the kitchen, dropping them in the sink before turning everything off. Returning to his spot in the living area, he addressed Tsuyu, who he noticed had, at some point, joined Ochako in leaning back against Rei.
"Alright Tsuyu. It's gotten fairly late. What's the plan for you returning home? At this point I can either fly you home, or you can stay the night here."
"You don't have to do that, Izuku." She responded. "I'm fine to head home by myself."
"Nope. Sorry." He said. "It's late, and it'd be both quicker and safer for me to just carry you home. Or, like I said, you can always just stay here. We have plenty of room, and we'd be more than happy to have you. Whatever you decide is fine with me."
She seemed to think for a moment, before speaking again. "I'll ask my parents. If it's alright with them, and if you're sure, then I'll stay the night."
"Excellent. And of course I'm sure. I wouldn't have offered otherwise."
With that, they resumed the movie, and watched on in a content, comfortable silence. The only interruption to that came a few minutes later in the form of Tsuyu quietly announcing that her parents were fine with her staying the night.
Sometime during the third movie, Izuku looked around to see that the others were asleep. Ochako and Tsuyu were still leaned up against Rei's tail, and had at some point ended up sharing the same blanket.
Raising himself up, Izuku stretched his arms out over his head. Pulling on 'Ghost' so as to not disturb anyone, he extricated himself from where he'd ended up slightly tangled with Rei. Once he was free, he made his way towards his office. He didn't really feel like going out as Oni tonight, and he needed to catch up on the analysis work that had accumulated through the day.
Settling at his computer, he started it up and pulled up the first request he saw. He was pleased to see that he would be starting out with a fun one.
"Hm. An illusory quirk. Breath-based, and capable of creating both visual and auditory illusions. Interesting."
He settled in a bit further, smirking as he already began typing away. "Very interesting."
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed! Here's to another good year for What's in a Quirk!
My Discord.
Illusion
Chapter Summary
Another night out, featuring Oni and Tamako.
Chapter Notes
Double upload time.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Hello there Mayeda!" Oni greeted as he strode through the door. "Wonderful night tonight, isn't it?"
"Oni." Mayeda grunted from where he was leaning up against the counter, head propped up on one hand. "Thank you for using the door properly this time."
"Why of course, Mayeda! I'm nothing if not an upstanding, model citizen. I'm not going to disrespect someone's property like that. What kind of person do you take me for?"
"A vigilante that could tear this city to the ground if he really wanted to, and who knows that there's basically no one who can stop you." The man muttered.
Mayeda took a deep breath, before pushing himself up off of the counter. "Whatever. As it turns out, you've got some pretty good timing. That special order of yours came in last night."
"I had a feeling it'd be ready soon." Oni said. "I would've come by to check last night, but yesterday was my day off."
Mayeda huffed as he started walking away. "Since when do you take days off? What could be important enough for a demon like you to take a break from terrorizing criminals?"
"For your sake Mayeda, let's hope you never find out. Because if you did, I would not hesitate to start removing body parts."
The man just grunted in response, stopping at the door that led to wherever he stored everything.
"It's through here." He said, gesturing with his head. "It's too heavy for me to carry it."
"Oh~?" Oni said as he moved to follow. "Now doesn't that sound interesting."
The door led to a room maybe twice the size of the shop, filled to the brim with neatly stacked boxes of every size. Mayeda walked to the only one in the room that seemed out of place, set carelessly right next to another door that, presumably, led outside.
"Y'know. I'm really tempted to charge you extra for this." He said, groaning slightly as he knelt down in front of it. "If for no other reason than because I'm pretty sure I pulled something just trying to pick it up."
Oni grinned. He was starting to like this weapon already.
"That heavy, huh? Just what did your supplier do?"
"Fuck if I know." Mayeda replied as he pulled out a key to unlock the box. "All I know is that they were really excited to work on it. Not sure if they're a fan of yours, or if they were just excited about the prospect of making a weapon and not having to worry about the weight at all, but they went all out with it. They all but guaranteed that you've never used anything sharper or stronger than this, and said that you shouldn't even have to worry about damaging it. Ever."
Oni was getting more and more excited with every word he was hearing. He was itching to get his hands on it.
"Sounds exciting." He said, flexing his fingers. "Let's see if what they said holds up, shall we?"
"Have at it." Mayeda said, standing back up and stepping out of the way. Oni immediately stepped closer to take a look.
The kusarigama was pitch black, with a shiny, metallic sheen. It had gold inlayed into the handle. From where Oni was standing, it looked like an incredibly detailed design of thorns wrapping around the handle, all the way down its length.
The handle itself looked to be about the length of his forearm, from his elbow to his knuckles. The blade was just a bit shorter than that, curving out to one side. He couldn't tell how long the chain was, as it was coiled up in the box, only that it was far longer than any traditional kusarigama. The weight on the end of the chain took the form of a skull of some kind. A traditional Oni, if he was correct.
Oni smiled as he knelt down. It was beautiful. He didn't have much experience at all when it came to weapons, and even less with making weapons, but even he could tell that this particular weapon was a work of art.
He reached out, taking the main piece and the coiled-up chain in one hand and the weight in the other. He went to pick it up, only to stop, eyes wide, when he couldn't manage it. Oni, of all people, wasn't strong enough to pick it up. He only had one strength quirk active at the moment, but still. Everything he learned about this new weapon only further excited him.
Additional strength surged through his limbs as he pulled on a few more quirks, and with each one the strain on his arms lessened, until he was able to pick it up.
Standing up, he looked down at the weapon, smiling in absolute delight as his arms trembled ever so slightly from the effort of holding it. He could fix that of course—he had more strength quirks to spare—but it wasn't often at all that he needed to strain himself to do anything, he was fine with enjoying the novelty for a few seconds.
He shifted his grip from the weight to the chain it was attached to, before letting the weight drop to the floor. It landed with a dull thud, and a few tiny cracks spiderwebbed from the point of impact.
"Oh well this is just fantastic."
Mayeda grimaced, clearly not pleased about the damage to his floor.
"They had a lot of freedom in the material they used. Because this particular group has a specific set of quirks that lets them handle pretty much any material they want, and because they didn't have to worry about weight." He said. "They used grade five titanium alloy for most of it, and then the main piece and the weight have osmium cores."
"Now, normally that alone wouldn't make it nearly as heavy as it is. But one of the quirks they have access to lets them play around with stuff like the density of the material used, and from what they told me, they pushed that farther than they ever have with this one."
Oni hefted the weapon up, admiring the gold design going down the handle.
"Well, please convey my compliments to the chef." Oni said. "Because this is no longer a weapon to be used with skill and precision, but a tool of destruction."
"That's not even the best part." Mayeda continued. "When I said that they were excited to work on this, I mean they were really excited. They added a particular feature that most people would pay an arm and a leg for, assuming they even learned about it in the first place, for free."
"Oh~? There's more?"
"Yep. Take your gloves off and use your quirk, those claws of yours."
Oni complied, shifting the kusarigama around in his grip to pull his gloves off, dropping them to the floor, and then undoing the buttons on his sleeves. Then, keeping a close eye on the weapon, he pulled on his claw quirk.
His eyes widened once more as the weapon began to change. Starting where his hand gripped the handle, it transformed, taking on a scaled appearance down its length. The blade lengthened, becoming more jagged, and a sizeable spike appeared, emerging from the handle in the opposite direction. Down the chain, each link was sprouting spikes of their own, almost like thorns.
On the opposite end of the weapon, where his other hand held the chain just above the weight, the same change was taking effect. When it reached the weight, it actually increased in size, the skull design becoming sharper and more jagged.
"You're joking…" Oni whispered, taking in the weapon's new appearance. "This thing can manifest quirks?"
"Yep. Thanks to one of their quirks. It's not something they advertise very openly, but the few people that learn about it end up paying a small fortune for just a single weapon. Well, usually. Like I said, for whatever reason they aren't charging you for this particular addition."
Oni was already running the possibilities through his head. How many of his quirks might be compatible with something like this? If something like his claw quirk, a transformation, could manifest, then he would think that any elemental, or any other quirk with a similar effect, such as 'Air Cannon' should certainly be possible.
Deciding to test that theory, he pulled on his newest fire quirk, the flaming head one that he acquired on the same night he found Tamako. He felt heat bloom across his head as the flame burst into existence.
Immediately, the weapon in his hands underwent another change. Glowing lines appeared along the material, originating from where his hands were gripping it, taking the appearance of glowing cracks, and smoldering like embers. Small flames danced along the length of the blade as the change reached it, and the skull weight on the other end of the chain took on a similar appearance, with flames pouring from within.
Oni let out a small laugh. "I am going to have so much fun with this."
Mayeda just stared at the now-flaming weapon, looking far more exhausted than he already had.
"Y'know what? I don't even want to know why you're suddenly on fire." He said, turning to walk back the way they came. "Come back to the main room when you're done playing with that so you can pay the final balance."
Oni didn't react, instead just continuing to stare down at the kusarigama, mind racing with the possibilities.
"Oh yes. This is going to be so much fun."
"What do you think, Tamako? You ready to have some fun?" Oni asked as he walked towards what looked to be an abandoned restaurant. The windows were all boarded up, and everything was covered in a fair amount of graffiti.
"Ready when you are." They replied, practically radiating excitement. Oni could almost feel them smiling.
Rei hadn't adjusted her sleep schedule back after the festival, so it was just Oni and Tamako tonight. It wasn't an issue though. It wasn't like it was his first time going out without her watching over him, and he wasn't even leaving Musutafu tonight. Besides, with Tamako accompanying him, he still had someone watching his back.
Oni smiled in return. "Then let's get things started, shall we?"
His target for the night was some new group that had popped up in his city out of nowhere. From what he'd gathered so far, it seemed as though they were getting into dealing Trigger.
The reason he was jumping on this new group so quickly after their appearance, aside from the fact that they were introducing another source of Trigger to the Musutafu underground, was that they didn't seem to be associated with any preexisting group.
It was fairly uncommon for a group to have no ties whatsoever with anyone else. Most of them were either associated with, or offshoots of, another. So to see one sprout up out of nowhere raised a few red flags.
There was, of course, a chance that it was indeed completely new and not associated with anyone. Just a couple of entrepreneurial criminals looking to band together to achieve more than they could alone. But it was just as likely that this was someone from another city looking to expand their operations into his.
Though it wasn't as if it mattered much either way. Whichever one it was, he would crush them just the same. He would make them realize that it was a mistake to try that in his city.
Flexing his hands, he pulled his brand new kusarigama from its place in 'Hotbar.' This time, he also pulled on enough strength quirks to make it next to weightless in his hands. With them, he also picked out a few more quirks.
Once more, his claws flashed across his hands, and flames burst to life across his head and his horns. As the quirks were pulled into place, the same changes took hold of the weapon in his hands. Oni wasn't satisfied with just that though. With this new toy of his, tonight was a night to do a bit of exploring with his quirks.
Pulling on another of his newest, 'Steam', also from the night he found Tamako, had steam rising from his arms and his weapon alike. Surprisingly, it didn't have any effect on the fire that was dancing along the blade or pouring from the weight.
Following the same pattern, he pulled on the bladed earring quirk as well, 'Threaded Lobes.' With it active, he felt a pulling sensation at his ears, followed by a weight settling on his shoulders and hanging down in front of him. A quick flex of the newly activated quirk had the bladed appendages floating up and wrapping loosely around his neck like a scarf. Watching the weapon for changes revealed that this particular quirk didn't yield any. It was a tad disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. It was a mutation-type quirk after all, one that added something entirely new to the body.
His electricity quirk, 'Taser', came next, sending arcs of energy sparking across the metal.
Deciding that-that was enough for the moment, he stepped forward, loosening his grip on the chain as he did. Letting the weight drop just a bit, he started to spin it.
As it began to pick up speed, the terrifying momentum behind the weight causing it to sing through the air, the fire that poured from the skull motif traced a circle in the dark.
With the weight picking up speed, the anticipation for the fight ahead of him causing his heart to do the same, he pulled on one last quirk.
As 'Air Cannon' settled into place, the little bit of wind that was being kicked up from the spinning weight exploded into a full-blown gale.
Oni's grin stretched wider. "Time for a party!"
He took a step forward, planting his foot. Raising the spinning chain up over his head, he threw it forwards, letting the weight fly. It crashed into a wall—because why on Earth would he aim for a door when he could create a new entrance wherever he wished?—creating a rather sizeable hole.
Oni stepped closer to his new entrance, tightening his grip on his kusarigama. He spoke to Tamako as he stepped into the hole.
'Alright, when we get started, go off and do your best to cause as much chaos-.'
He blinked, and all of a sudden he was surrounded by light and noise.
'-as… you… can.'
'…What?'
Looking around him, he didn't see the ruined interior of an abandoned restaurant, trashed beyond all recognition. Instead, he saw a brightly lit, perfectly maintained—as if it was all brand-new—establishment.
More than that, there were people here. They filled the tables and booths, eating and chatting away without any care in the world for the masked vigilante that just burst through the wall, or that it was just after two in the morning for that matter.
Oni tilted his head, looking around at everything. He could see the people, could clearly make out their facial features, their clothing, and the food they were eating. He could hear the cacophony of noise that one would expect a restaurant to be filled with, from the clinking of utensils to the snippets of conversations, and even the harsh sizzling of the kitchen somewhere in the distance.
"What?" Oni asked again, out loud this time.
He and Rei had looked into this place not too long ago, and it was definitely a condemned building. It's appearance from the outside certainly matched up to that.
Looking over at a window, he saw that there was light pouring through it. Just on the other side was a bright, sunny day. Glancing back at the hole he'd made with his entry showed an almost pitch-black night.
Oni shook his head. Not only was it dark outside, but every window had been boarded up when he was outside, not to mention that there hadn't been any cars anywhere near the building.
'An illusion?' He wondered. 'Tamako, are you seeing this too?'
"I am." They responded. "But… this isn't… This doesn't seem right."
'It isn't. Something is definitely going on.'
He stepped closer to one of the booths, storing away his kusarigama and reaching a hand out towards one of the people that had yet to react to him. Before he could get within a foot of them though, they moved.
Where just moments before the seemingly normal man had been chatting away with the woman that sat across from him, now his face displayed pure anger, and the fork he held was darting towards Oni's outstretched hand.
Frowning, Oni reacted instantly, grabbing at the wayward utensil.
Only for a piercing pain to explode from his neck.
He doubled over immediately, grasping for the foreign object that he could feel was lodged in his neck, even as he started coughing up the blood that he could feel pouring into his throat.
"Izuku!"
'Yep. Definitely a fucking illusion.'
Feeling around, Oni finally found the handle of what was no doubt a knife, yanking it free a moment later. He coughed up the last bit of blood as he felt his skin stitch itself back together.
Glancing down at his hand, he couldn't see the offending knife, despite the fact that he could very clearly feel it in his grip.
'Total control of the senses.' He thought. 'That's what I'm dealing with. Making me see, hear, and smell this fake restaurant. But…'
His grip tightened on the knife.
'They either can't, or aren't, controlling my sense of touch.'
He could feel the knife in his grip, despite the fact that he couldn't see it. He could feel the blood on his skin and soaking through his shirt. Obviously, he'd been able to feel the moment it was stabbed into him. He was able to perceive, through touch, things that his opponents didn't want him to. Things that they were obviously capable of hiding from him in every other way.
And now that he was paying more attention to it, he noticed that 'Proximity' wasn't reacting to the 'people' around him, which made sense as they were all illusions.
Oni felt the handle of the knife deform in his hand as he tightened his grip around it, smirking as he looked around at the seemingly lively space.
"Whoever you are," Oni announced, "whatever you're here to do, you really should've finished me off with that one hit. Because now…"
His smirk widened, and he dialed up his bloodlust with it. He pulled his claw quirk back, exposing his hands.
"Now you won't have that chance again."
Oni took a deep breath, shutting his eyes, they weren't doing him much good right now anyway. All he had was his sense of touch, but so long as he had that, he could push through. He also pulled 'Proximity' back into his chest. If he wanted to, he could use that quirk as a second pair of eyes, but he was far too excited for that now. This situation, where he was getting tested by fighting enemies that he couldn't perceive in any meaningful way, was getting his heart pumping. It was for that same reason that he didn't pull on 'Metallum' to make himself next to impervious to whatever they might come at him with.
Moving forward, he had two options for how he could deal with this situation. The easier, and certainly quicker method would be to simply unleash a massive explosion of air with 'Air Cannon.' As he was right now, it wouldn't take much effort to simply knock the building down, which would more than likely incapacitate the criminals, including the one that created the illusion. The second, more entertaining option would be to slowly and methodically break free from the illusion, by breaking one criminal at a time until he found the correct one.
'Go.' He thought. 'There are definitely people here. See if you can jump to them. If you can, try to cause as much chaos as possible.'
"You'll be alright?"
'Of course. In fact, I think this'll be quite fun.'
Tamako vanished from his head without another word.
'Now.' Oni thought. 'Who's going to be the one to try first?'
He did his best to let everything around him, everything that he knew was an illusion, fade away to nothingness, focusing only on the sensation of air against his skin. There wasn't much he could do to ignore the smell of food all around him, but with each passing second, the sounds faded away, until there was nothing but his heartbeat pounding away
Several long moments passed like this, until for the briefest of seconds, he felt something in the air change, somewhere to his right. His hand darted out at the exact same moment that he felt a knife slip between his ribs.
Ignoring the pain that exploded from his side, he grabbed at where his instincts were guiding him to, grinning when he felt an arm in his grip. As soon as he felt that, he tore their quirk from them, despite not having the faintest idea what it might be.
For good measure, he also tightened his grip, his smile widening as he felt bones break and the pieces grind against one another just beneath the skin. It was almost too bad that the illusion was blocking out his hearing, without it, he couldn't enjoy the screaming.
"Anyone else?" He asked, spreading his arms out. "Come now. We've only just begun! Let's keep this party go-."
Before he could finish speaking, the same instinctual feeling that warned him last time flared up again. Oni jerked his head to the side just in time for something sharp to fly past his face, slicing into his cheek.
"Really?" He asked, licking at the little bit of blood that dripped down his face before his healing quirk healed the wound. "Was that a throwing knife? You don't even have the decency to attack me in a way that'll allow me to catch you and then break whatever I can get my hands on? How rude."
Getting a feeling in his gut that another knife would quickly be following the first, Oni made use of 'Threaded Lobes.' At his command, the chains lifted into the air, stretching out and looping around to loosely encircle his head and neck. They looped around enough to ensure that a knife wouldn't be able to make it through. He wasn't currently using his eyes anyway, so it didn't matter if he couldn't see.
As he expected, he felt another knife coming a moment later. It planted itself in his shoulder, bringing with it another source of piercing pain.
"Oh wow. That one felt pretty good. Maybe you should toss a few more my way and see if that does any better."
As he spoke, he poured a bit of focus into the steam quirk, feeling pressure build up in his arms. The knife in his shoulder, along with the one in his side, were slowly pushed out of him at the same time as the healing quirk worked.
As if waiting for his permission, he felt more knives flying at him. Several of them.
Oni's smile widened further, even as the knives started hitting him. With each attack he felt coming, through the disturbances in the air and his instincts, the feeling came sooner and sooner. It was improving as he fought, with each attack he took.
Eventually, he'd taken enough knives, and felt them coming, to get an idea of where they were being thrown from, and at the same time the pressure building in his arms reached its peak.
One hand darted out to catch a knife, while his other arm thrust towards where he thought the criminal was and released the pent-up steam. It exploded out of him, tearing through the air.
Suddenly, just as Oni was contemplating how to go about finding the next one—assuming he was even successful in hitting that one with his steam—everything around him shifted.
The smells of the restaurant vanished, along with the sounds, pushed to the back of his mind as they were. They were replaced by more than one ear-splitting scream and, beyond that, the sounds of a struggle. Through his closed eyes, Oni saw the bright light that surrounded him fade away to darkness.
Opening his eyes, and pulling the chains around his head back to their proper place, Oni took in the new scene around him.
The first thing he noticed was the criminal lying on the ground next to him, screaming his head off as he cradled his mangled arm. A quick exertion of 'Conqueror' silenced him. Next was the other criminal that was screaming at the top of her lungs, hands holding her face. Tilting his head, Oni could see where her exposed skin was covered in burns. Next to her were a few scattered throwing knives, oh-so-helpfully identifying her as the one that had filled him with knives.
Rolling his shoulders, a number of the offending knives that had found a new home in his torso clattered to the floor. Raising a hand, another shockwave from 'Conqueror' silenced her as well.
Which brought him to the next interesting sight.
Two criminals seemed to be fighting one another. One had his hands wrapped around the other's throat, while said other criminal tried to dislodge him. Oni noticed that the one that was being strangled had trails of colorful light coming from his fingers, tracing through the air.
Now, Oni could very well be mistaken, but seeing those trails of light gave him the impression of an illusion quirk.
One way or another, he smiled at the sight of the two criminals struggling against one another, recognizing the reason for it immediately.
'Fucking superb, you chaotic little conscience.'
Directing his attention to the only other criminal that was still standing, Oni surged towards them, clamping his hand over their mouth and lifting them into the air. Smiling at the fear in their eyes, and about to throw them through one of the boarded-up windows, Oni froze when something caught his attention.
On the face that was currently in his grip, just above his thumb, was a tiny triangular tattoo.
He scowled. The Triad.
Following through with what he was about to do, Oni threw the criminal off to the side, straight through the wood that covered the broken window, probably using more force than was strictly necessary. With them out of the way, he directed his attention towards the still-ongoing struggle.
Scowl still in place, Oni made his way over to them. "Come back." He announced as he moved. Almost immediately, Tamako returned to his place in Oni's head.
'Sorry about that.' Oni said. 'But I need the one with the illusion quirk to remain conscious.'
"Is everything okay?"
'That remains to be seen. We'll know in a few minutes.'
Darting forward, Oni planted a foot on the chest of the criminal that Tamako had been controlling, kicking them into the nearest wall. Before turning and latching a hand onto the remaining one's throat. He lifted the man up into the air, enjoying the way his feet kicked helplessly beneath him
"You." He said, pouring as much venom into his voice as possible. "Triad. Here's how this is going to work. I'm going to ask you questions, and you're going to answer them. Are we clear?"
The criminal didn't respond, choosing instead to simply stare Oni down.
"Just in case it wasn't explicitly clear," Oni said, giving the man's throat a warning squeeze, "that was a question. And this isn't a request. You will answer my questions."
"Fuck you!" They growled. "I'm not afraid of you! They kill people like me for saying anything!"
Oni shook his head. "First, the fact that you feel the need to say that at all implies that you actually are afraid of me on some level. And second, I think you'll find that I'm far worse than whoever you think would kill you. Because while they may end up doing that, I'm not nearly so nice."
"No. I won't kill you. I'll simply make you wish you were dead."
With that, he tore the man's quirk from him, as slowly as he possibly could. As expected, the man unleashed an earsplitting, throat-rending scream, thrashing in Oni's grip all the while.
It only lasted a few short seconds, but for the criminal, it no doubt must've seemed like hours, and when he spoke again, his voice was already hoarse.
"Fuck you." He said, much quieter than the first time around.
Oni let out a low laugh. "You seem to be under the impression that I can't keep doing this for as long as it takes. If you really want to, we can keep at this all night."
The man gulped, but remained silent.
"Well, if you insist."
Oni picked the man's quirk out from where it had settled in his chest, forcing it back into him. Just as he had before, he screamed with the action, fighting against Oni's hold on him. This time, Oni didn't let up until the quirk was safely back in his chest once more.
"Alright, alright!" The criminal shouted before Oni could even say anything, holding his hands up. "This was meant to be a trap for you. Someone's noticed you poking around and disrupting our work, so they set this up to try to deal with you."
"There." He said. "I told you. Now can you please let me go?"
"Oh you poor fool. We're nowhere even close to being done. I haven't even asked you any questions yet, what I did to you just now was nothing but a demonstration of why you should feel motivated to answer my questions. What you told me just now, while helpful, was of your own volition."
His smile widened, going even more sadistic as bloodlust practically poured from him.
"We've only just begun."
Oni sighed, dropping the throwing knife criminal, having taken an interesting narrow-focus telekinesis quirk from them.
'Well, that was fun.' He thought. 'At least until I found out who I was fighting.'
'Actually.' Oni thought, realizing something. 'How did you manage to get that criminal to attack the other one? That was fun to see.'
"He made it easy for me." Tamako responded. "He was already scared shitless because you showed up, and then because you were taking so many hits like they were nothing. All I had to do was give them the idea that it was their leader's fault that he was in that situation, that it was the leader's fault that he was at risk."
'Impressive.' He thought. 'That was a smart move. Good job.'
Tamako practically glowed at his praise, his very being humming in delight as Oni ran a metaphorical hand over the quirks in his chest.
Stepping back through the hole he'd created, he called the police to inform them of the mess that they needed to come clean up, launching himself into the air the moment he hung up. He flew some distance from the dilapidated building, coming to a stop on top of a tower.
Touching down, Oni set about pulling back some of the quirks he'd activated. The steam quirk, 'Taser', 'Threaded Lobes', 'Hothead', and 'Air Cannon' all settling back into place.
As he stood on the rooftop, he pulled on the illusion quirk he'd just taken a few times in quick succession. He was quite interested in how it functioned. Illusion quirks already had the potential to be exceptionally powerful, and were pretty closely regulated when they popped up, but one that could control so much could be extremely useful to him. In fact, if this particular quirk could affect the target's sense of touch at all, then it would be in contention for a spot as one of his most powerful quirks.
For now though, he'd have to start with just learning how to use it. He'd studied enough illusion quirks to know how they typically functioned. Most of them might vary in how the illusion is applied, whether that be through mental control, inhaled chemicals, or direct application of the illusion to the world around the target, as this one seemed to be, but he had yet to see one that didn't share the same method of creating the illusion to begin with.
Before the user could apply the illusion through their method of choice, they first needed to create a mental 'image' of the illusion, to then be carried out through the quirk.
The previous user of the quirk Izuku now held, for example, would've had to hold a scene of a restaurant in his head in order for Oni to see it. That meant that he would've had to imagine all the different appearances, sounds, and smells simultaneously.
Oni would save stuff like that for later. For now, he would stick with something simple.
Focusing on the newly acquired quirk, he pictured an image of grass in his head. As soon as the image was 'complete', light spilled out from his fingertips, pouring out across the rooftop. It spread out in every direction for several feet, but for some reason, it wouldn't take any shape.
"Huh. Color me impressed, random insignificant criminal number who-even-cares-any-more, you actually had some proficiency with a fairly complex quirk. Were you not a pathetic waste of space, I would almost be tempted to hold some small amount of respect for you."
Focusing a bit harder on the quirk, Oni gave it another try, watching more light spill out across the rooftop.
After a little while of practicing with it, Oni actually managed to use the quirk to create a rough approximation of grass across the roof. Nothing that would hold up to a close inspection, but something that almost looked good enough from where he was sitting. With a thought, he even added to the illusion by adding the smell of freshly cut grass to the air around him.
He admired the sight, and the complexity of the quirk that created it. He idly wondered if he could add the illusion of a bright, sunny day, or what it would even take to do something like that in the first place.
Oni was pulled from his musing by his phone buzzing in his pocket. A glance at the number that was calling him had him smirking. The illusion around him faded away as he raised the phone to his ear.
"Tsukauchi!" He called. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you actually calling me?"
A sigh. "Look, Oni, I wouldn't be calling you if I had any other option, alright?"
"Sure, sure. What seems to be the problem, officer?"
He could practically feel the man's exhaustion over the phone.
"We've got some villains, proper villains, not just some random idiots that're too full of themselves, causing issues. They're holed up in a concert hall, a full one. Turned it into a massive hostage situation."
Oni got a bit more serious upon hearing that. "I assume they're making demands? Otherwise, I assume we'd be having a different conversation right now."
"Of course they are, but nothing that we can give them. At least not without time. Time that they aren't giving us. They want everything within half an hour or they said they'll start killing people. And it would take us at least until morning to get them what they want."
"Now, normally, our go-to would be to pretend to get them what they want while we send Eraser or someone else to either secure the hostages or take the villains down, but Eraser is at least an hour away, and no one else can respond quick enough. Not to mention there are far too many civilians in the way to make either of our normal methods viable."
"Which is where I come in, I assume?" Oni asked, already standing back up.
"Unfortunately."
Another sigh. "Look. My superiors are gonna be on my ass for calling a vigilante of all people to help deal with this, but I've got no other options and this guy is telling the truth about killing people if he doesn't get what he wants. So, as much as I hate having to ask this, can I count on you to take care of this?"
Oni cracked his neck. "How many people and how many villains?"
"Nine villains." Came the response. "And it was a fairly small event. Maybe two hundred civilians, and some of them got away when the villains made themselves known."
"That's a lot of people to keep track of." Oni said. "You're absolutely sure that it's nine villains? If I get there expecting to be going against that many, and it turns out to be more when the fighting starts, then that could turn the situation in a deadly direction."
"Everything we've seen confirms that. And I'm fully aware of the risks, which is one of the reasons I'm calling you. Your chances of adapting to the situation and dealing with anything unforeseen are much greater than anyone else I can currently think of. Also, we're not too sure what quirks most of them have, but the leader seems to have a fairly powerful fire quirk."
"Alright." Oni said. "Send me the location. I'll handle it."
"Sending it now. And please hurry. Our thirty minutes runs out in about ten."
This time, it was Oni's turn to sigh. "Then maybe call me first next time."
Hanging up, he smirked, checking the message that came in from Tsukauchi at that same moment.
'You ready for your first hostage situation, Tamako?'
"Ready when you are. What's the plan?"
'Save the hostages, defeat the villains, probably break some bones while we're at it.'
"Hmm. Simple. I like it."
Oni crouched, pulling on the rest of his strength and speed quirks that had been lying in wait. Time was of the essence. He couldn't really afford to waste time or slack off for the sake of entertainment with this.
His smirk took on a darker edge to it. "Then let's get going."
But that didn't mean that he couldn't still enjoy what was about to happen.
He launched into the air with a deafening boom.
Jirou cursed her shitty luck as she tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible where she was huddled on the floor with some of the other concertgoers. Of course the first concert she had a chance to go to in months just had to be interrupted by villains. With this, and with the way that the trip to the USJ had turned out, she'd be lucky if her parents agreed to let her go anywhere else until after she graduated.
Glancing at the time displayed on her phone, she dry swallowed. Because of her quirk, she'd heard the conversation between the villain and the police detective on the phone. She'd heard him threaten to start killing people if he didn't get what he wanted within thirty minutes, and that was about twenty-three minutes ago.
She swallowed again, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants and doing her best to harden her resolve.
If nothing happened by the time the twenty-nine-minute mark came around, she would do something. She wouldn't just sit around while the villains started killing people. She couldn't. Least of all because she was one of the people that would be killed.
She was a student at Yueii, for shit's sake. Illegal or not, she'd do her best to stop them.
Jirou glanced down at her phone again. Twenty-four minutes. Six to go, five until she would make her move.
Suddenly, her enhanced hearing picked up a new sound. One that wasn't the nervous breathing of the other hostages around her, or the anxious, irritated mumbling of the villains, or the cacophony of noise that came from just outside the concert hall, no doubt from the countless police officers and heroes that probably surrounded the building.
No, this new sound was a faint whistling, and it came from… above?
She glanced upwards, into the night sky above the open roof of the concert hall. The whistling, it almost sounded familiar.
Out of nowhere, it hit her. The time or two that she'd seen All Might fall out of the sky, there had been a sound like that just before he did.
She felt a bit of hope spark through her. Was All Might coming to save them?
The whistling grew louder with each passing second, to the point that it was a wonder that the people around her didn't hear it.
Then the stage exploded.
Or maybe it'd be more accurate to say that it shattered? It was a cement stage, not unlike the ring that had been in the sports festival arena, constructed by Cementoss to go along with the coliseum-like appearance of the rest of the concert hall.
Either way, whoever had landed—as she couldn't see them just yet—had done so with so much force that she could hear the stage crack beneath them. Everyone seemed to be holding a collective breath as they waited for the dust to clear. The lead villain stared the dust cloud down, his throat glowing as he readied his quirk.
When the dust finally did clear, it didn't reveal All Might, as she had been expecting and hoping. Actually, seeing them, she wasn't quite sure whether to be disappointed or excited.
Disappointed because it wasn't All Might, or excited because despite that, she actually recognized who they were.
The newcomer wasn't even a hero, they were a vigilante. A vigilante by the name of Oni.
A few years ago, Jirou had gone through a phase where she was obsessed with vigilantes. The concept fascinated her, that there were people out there that wanted to help so much that they broke the law to do so. She'd wanted to learn everything she could about them.
Oni was one such vigilante she studied. An endeavor made much easier by the fact that Oni barely did anything to hide what he did. Most vigilantes, at least in Jirou's experience, attempted to stay discreet, hiding their movements and their fights, keeping as much as they could in the shadows. Oni did none of that. There were numerous videos of him showing up, ruthlessly tearing criminals apart, then disappearing again.
Seeing the expression on his face as the dust fully cleared, Jirou felt a shiver run down her back, and knew with absolute certainty that this outcome was almost better than if All Might himself had shown up. With her research, she was familiar with how Oni handled the criminals he fought. He was ruthless, borderline cruel, seemed to take a great amount of enjoyment in terrorizing them, and more often than not sent them to the hospital with the severity of the injuries he gave them
Her fear from moments ago all but forgotten, she raised her phone to record him.
"Hello hello, useless piles of garbage!" He greeted. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
"Oni!" The lead villain shouted. "What the hell do you want? What are you doing here?"
Oni tilted his head in apparent confusion, his face morphing into an expression that screamed 'are you stupid?'.
"You didn't seriously just ask that, did you? You're a villain, starting shit in my city. You've taken some two hundred-odd people hostage and you're making unreasonable demands to the police. Do you think I'm here for any other reason than to break your legs?"
He took a step forward, and despite the fact that Jiro wasn't anywhere close to him, he seemed to grow many times over just with that one small movement.
"Stop!" The villain shouted, holding a hand out. "Don't come any closer, or we'll start attacking the hostages!"
Terrified exclamations rippled through the crowd at those words, but Oni barely even reacted, just smiling at the villain.
"Oh will you now? And who exactly is 'we'?"
He seemed to flicker out of existence for a fraction of a second. When he reappeared, he had a person held in each hand, holding them both up in the air by their necks.
"Could it be these two, perhaps? Or maybe-"
He dropped them, flickering once more and reappearing with two more.
"-these two?"
"Or these?"
"Or how about them?"
Every time he spoke, it was with a different pair of villains held in his hands. The last two were thrown at the leader's feet when he reappeared.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Oni said, not looking the slightest bit apologetic. "Was that all of your allies? Whatever will you do now?"
The villain's only response was to take a deep breath, his throat glowing white-hot. With a shout that almost sounded like an animalistic roar, he released the fire that had built up.
Or at least he tried to.
All that came out was a tiny plume of fire as Oni appeared next to the villain and punched him in the throat. He doubled over, grasping at his throat and coughing out smoke and fire. Oni didn't give him any time to recover though, appearing behind him and planting a foot on his back, launching him, only to reappear again in his path and stick an arm out to clothesline him.
Without pausing, Oni raised a foot up before bringing it down on the villain's leg with a very audible 'snap'. Jiro noticed a number of people cringe at the noise, just as the man started screaming. Almost immediately, Oni was crouched next to him, latching a hand around the villain's mouth and slamming his head down onto the stage, silencing him.
He stood, brushing his hands together, glancing at the fallen villains, before looking up at all the hostages. When he did, his hands went up a bit, as if in confusion.
"Well?" He asked, apparently addressing all of them. "The fuck are you all still doing here?"
He made a shooing gesture with his hands. "Go. Get out of here. Be free. Go do whatever it is you do when you aren't being held hostage."
Everyone took that as their cue to get up and run all at once, screaming as they did so. Jirou stayed for as long as she could to watch Oni, before the crowds pushed her along with them towards the nearest exit.
"Oni why are you covered in blood?"
"Oh, don't worry about all of that, Detective." Oni said in response. "It's not related to this. I just got stabbed a few times earlier tonight. That's all."
Tsukauchi sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "You're going to give me a damn aneurysm one day Oni, I swear to God."
He shook his head. "Whatever. Maybe some other night. For now, thank you, Oni, for taking care of this. I really do appreciate you saving these people."
"Of course, Tsukauchi. I'm happy to help."
Oni turned to walk away from him, wings shifting on his back in preparation. "But just in case you're not aware, you owe me a favor now. And you'd better remember it, because I certainly will."
He heard one final sigh from Tsukauchi, one that seemed to convey all the regret of not just simply staying in bed instead of going into work, before he spread his wings and launched himself into the air with a laugh.
"Have fun cleaning this mess up!" He called down below him as he flew away.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Names
Chapter Summary
It's time for the school year to proceed now that the festival has wrapped up.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"So I see that you were pretty busy last night." Rei said, looking at something on her phone as she settled herself at the table.
"Busy enough." Izuku responded, setting her plate in front of her. "Why? Did you see something?"
She responded by holding her phone out towards him, letting him see what was being displayed.
INFAMOUS VIGILANTE "ONI" SAVES HOSTAGES, HOSPITALIZES NINE VILLAINS.
Written by: Chitose Kizuki, Shoowaysha Publishing
"Wow, that was fast. As always, the speed that those vultures can get a report out is as impressive as it is annoying."
"Wait. What happened?" Ochako asked, looking up from her food.
"I put a stop to a hostage situation last night." Izuku answered as Rei showed her the article. "It was a bit more public than my usual activities."
Pulling her phone back, Rei read from the article.
"A 'Deep Dope' concert nearly took a deadly turn when a group of villains stopped the show and took the band and a group of audience members hostage. The villains made a list of demands, leveraging the lives of their hostages. Despite the best efforts of the police, the demands couldn't be met, and they were faced with the impending outcome of nearly two hundred dead civilians on their hands. However, just before the time limit set by the villains elapsed, a local Musutafu vigilante that goes by the name 'Oni' dropped out of the sky and intervened. When confronted by the leader of the group of villains, Oni responded by boldly declaring that he would break the villain's legs for 'starting shit in his city.' The vigilante then, in a matter of seconds, incapacitated eight of the nine villains, leaving only the leader. Eye-witness accounts from the hostages report that Oni seemed to move 'as fast as All Might.' He then followed through with his declaration, incapacitating the leader before breaking their leg. Following the incapacitation of the villains, Oni released the hostages, prompting them to flee the scene. Fortunately, no one was killed, and the only injuries were minor, as a result of the hostages' panicked escape. It is still unknown exactly how the vigilante knew to appear, but it is rumored that a member of the Musutafu police force contacted him. These rumors have yet to be confirmed as the police have thus far declined to comment."
"Huh, I'm surprised they were so nice." Izuku said. "Most news outlets aren't. I would've expected them to call me a criminal or a menace to society at least once."
"Oh don't worry, there are a few that did. There's even one that called you a degenerate. But those people don't have much of a position to badmouth you on this, not when you've saved so many people. Really, the only things they can come up with is the fact that you're a vigilante at all, and maybe how far you went with the villain."
"Wait." Ochako cut in. "This just happened last night and you've already found all those reports?"
"Well, in fairness, it is a relatively significant event; there are a number of outlets covering it, including a few of the larger ones. But also, I have a few filters going on my phone and my computer. Anything that mentions 'Oni' that's accessible by the general public, along with a few things that aren't, is brought to my attention."
"Hah." Izuku said. "If they disliked what I did there, then they'd really hate me for what I did before I arrived. It makes what happened there look quite tame."
"Right, I was meaning to ask you about that." Rei said, scrolling through her phone for a moment, before turning it around to show an image that had been included with the article. It showed Oni looking up from the fallen lead villain.
"Why exactly are you covered in blood? And what put all those holes in your clothes?"
"Knives." He answered. "Quite a few of them. I might've gotten stabbed a few times."
He held his hands up when she raised an eyebrow at him. "Hey, it's not entirely my fault. They had an illusory quirk. I couldn't see or hear any of them. I had to let them come to me, and they just happened to choose to come at me with knives."
As those words left his mouth, he felt Tamako's presence vanish, and a moment later Rei's eyes were narrowing at him.
"Then how come Tamako's telling me that you didn't use 'Proximity' or 'Metallum' at all? You very easily could've fought with 'Proximity' alone. I've seen you do it."
"Betrayal." Izuku whispered, prompting a giggle from Ochako.
"Alright, you got me. I was excited at the prospect of fighting through an unknown number of attackers with unknown abilities until I managed to break the one that had me trapped in the illusion. And in all fairness, had it come to my attention that the quirk could manipulate touch as well, then I wouldn't have held back.
"Besides!" He continued before she could respond again. "I got some neat quirks out of it, so I feel like it was worth it."
"Hmm. I could point out the fact that you probably would've taken those quirks either way, but you have my interest. Proceed."
"Well, for starters." Izuku said, picking up his fork and tapping it twice with his index finger. He tossed it across the room, towards the living room. It flew for a moment, before halting in midair with a slight beckoning motion from the same index finger, it reversed its course a second later, making its way back to his hand.
"Isn't that just that quirk you already had?" Rei asked, tilting her head as she watched the fork move. "'Attraction,' right?"
"Close, but not quite. This is only half the fun."
With that, he stopped the beckoning motion, before repeating it in the opposite direction. At his prompting, the fork halted its motion and began moving away from him once more.
"Ah okay. I see. Minor telekinesis in both directions, not just towards you."
"Yep! And the fun part is how it's activated. Anything I tap twice with any of my fingers is affected, and I can have a different object assigned to each finger."
This was the quirk he'd taken from the criminal that decided to use him as a pin cushion. They were using it to retrieve the knives they threw. He'd chosen to call it 'Yo-Yo' given how it could move objects both towards and away from him. Each finger could have an object linked to it, but some of the really fun stuff came into play when more than one finger was used for a single target.
"And that's not all." He continued, before looking over at Ochako. "Would you mind assisting me with a demonstration really quick?"
"Uh, sure? What do I need to do?"
He beckoned her closer. "Just come here for a second."
When she complied, sliding out of her chair and moving next to him, he held out his hands and tapped her on the shoulders twice in quick succession, making contact with all ten fingers.
Her eyes widened as Izuku gestured with his hands and, a moment later, she was floating through the air away from him, rising slightly off the ground as if under the effects of her own quirk.
"Wah!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms out as she floated, causing herself to start spinning a bit. "This is really weird when I'm not the one doing it!"
Izuku let her float away for another few seconds as he and Rei both shared a quiet laugh at her expense, before reversing the hand gestures and bringing her back. Once she was within reach once more, he took her hand to re-orient her, before releasing his hold on the quirk. She had a smile on her face and seemed to be holding back a laugh of her own.
"I like that one!" She said. "What else did you get?"
"Alright, next on the list we have a transformation."
Pulling on the quirk in question, he felt the bones in his face begin to crack and warp, just as his hands did when he activated his claws. At the same time, his hair receded into his head and scales began to sprout at the base of his neck, which lengthened a bit, traveling upwards as the transformation continued.
In a few short seconds, his head had elongated, becoming something inhuman entirely.
"Oh! You finally got your hands on a dragon quirk?" Rei asked, leaning forwards to get a closer look.
"Yes." He responded, his voice coming out deeper, and much more gravely. "Now I'm one step closer to having the draconic motif complete for Oni."
"Woaah." Ochako exclaimed. "Does that mean you can breathe fire now too?"
"Not with this quirk, but would you like to take a wild guess at what quirk number three is?"
She smirked. "Is it a fire-breathing quirk?"
"That is correct. What would you like as your prize?"
"Let me feel the scales." She said, gesturing at his head.
"Go for it."
Stepping closer, Ochako reached a hand out, gently running her fingers down the side of his face. Unlike skin, the scales didn't yield, instead acting as a rigid, solid surface. Bringing her other hand up, she ran it over the top of his head.
As she did that, Izuku held his hands out over the table, palms facing down, pulling on the illusion quirk. "And finally, my personal favorite of the bunch."
He focused on the surface of the table as he activated the quirk, his face hardening in concentration. Just like when he'd been practicing with it the night before, light spilled from his fingertips, spreading across the table. After a few seconds, it began to take shape, slowly shifting until it looked as though the table was covered in grass. It still wasn't perfect—there were a few spots that looked a bit blurry, and where their plates were sitting on the table, the grass was sprouting directly through them instead of being crushed beneath—but it did look a bit better than his efforts the night before.
"Oh, is this the illusion quirk you mentioned?" Rei asked, lowering herself a bit to inspect the grass. Next to him, Ochako had turned her attention to the table as well, but had not pulled her hands away from his head to get any closer.
"Yep. This is the one that gave me so much trouble. Complete control over the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and taste. At first I thought it was just some sort of blanket illusion that affected anyone in its range, purely existing in the real world, but after thinking about it, I think it's actually some sort of broad mentally-based illusion. It'll affect the minds of anyone within its range. It's the only reason I can come up with that certain people could potentially be allowed to ignore the illusion. There must be a way for the user to exempt certain people."
"That's a pretty handy quirk. I imagine it can't be easy to do so much with it at once."
"Oh, it isn't. It's taking quite a bit of effort to maintain even this." He said, gesturing at the grassy table. "That is one thing I will say about the original user. They, at the very least, had a great deal of skill with it. Asshole had created an entire busy restaurant interior, complete with customers, food, and all the sounds and smells that come with it."
"Oh shit, that's actually pretty impressive. Though, now that you're the one that has it, I imagine that-that will soon look like child's play. I wouldn't be surprised if you managed to created an entire multi-story building with it eventually."
"Hm, we shall see."
They fell into a comfortable silence at that, Izuku and Rei observing the grass on the table as Ochako continued to run her hands across Izuku's head.
"Oh right, there was something else." Rei said after a few seconds. "There's been an incident with Stain."
Izuku made a face, or as much as he could with his head transformed. All he achieved was pulling his lips up in a small snarl. At the same time, the illusion faded away as he stopped concentrating on maintaining it. "He's not in Musutafu again, is he? And who's the victim?"
"No, this time it's out near Hosu. And there were two victims."
"Two? That's a bit out of character for him, isn't it?"
"It seems like the first victim was a smaller local hero named 'Jackal.' As far as I can tell, he was the intended target. The second was Ingenium."
Izuku let out a sigh. "Shit."
"Uh, wait." Ochako said, pulling her hands back, allowing Izuku to drop the transformation. "I have so many questions. Who is Stain, why is he attacking heroes, and why does it seem like him attacking Ingenium is more significant than just another hero?"
"Right, I suppose you wouldn't know." Izuku said, dropping his, once-again-human, head a bit and pinching at the bridge of his nose. "Stain's activities aren't really widely broadcasted. Most places don't want to bring a lot of attention to the fact that there's someone out there killing heroes."
He took a deep breath. "Right, starting from the top, Stain is a vigilante, but he's on the opposite end of the spectrum from Oni. Because while I do what I do to punish criminals and protect people, Stain primarily targets Pro Heroes. He follows a flawed way of thinking that heroes should essentially be perfect. Meaning that they should only ever do what they do out of pure selflessness, and should have basically no interest in the money or the fame. Anyone that doesn't fall into this narrow archetype is branded a 'false hero' in his eyes and is the reason for all of society's problems. He sees it as his mission to kill off these false heroes."
"As for why it's so bad that Ingenium was attacked, it's because of his identity."
He looked up at her. "Ingenium, currently the number sixteen hero in Japan. Also known as Tensei Iida."
Her eyes widened in realization, and Izuku looked back at Rei.
"Stain didn't kill him, did he?"
"Fortunately not." She responded, shaking her head. "The other one, Jackal, didn't survive, but it seems like Ingenium happened to come across the attack and attempted to intervene. He's in the hospital currently. His status hasn't been revealed yet."
"How do you think Iida is doing?" Ochako asked. "Our Iida. Tenya."
"No idea. I would imagine about as well as can be expected when a loved one is in the hospital."
She fell silent for a moment, before speaking up again. "Don't we have some kind of hero internships coming up? You don't think he'll try anything, do you?"
"He certainly might. At the very least, it wouldn't surprise me. People can go to great lengths for revenge, especially if it's for the sake of family. Personally, I know that if anyone were to hurt either of you, I'd probably tear them apart."
"What should we do?"
"I'm not very confident in my ability to provide any form of support or comfort to Iida, certainly not enough to prevent him from going after Stain, assuming that's what he intends to do. But there's something else I can do."
He sighed. "I suppose it is about time I got rid of Stain."
"You're going after him?" Rei asked. "Are you sure?"
Izuku nodded. "I am. I've never really cared much about what he does so long as he doesn't do it in my city, but I actually like Ingenium. And if there's a chance that Iida will go after him, then the best thing I can do is remove the threat altogether."
"Alright. Just be careful."
Izuku smiled at her. "You don't have to worry. This time will be quite different from when I last encountered him."
He held up his arms, pulling on 'Metallum.' "Not only am I several times faster than I was, but with this," He gestured at his arms, which were now steel down to the elbows, "I'm practically impossible to cut. And if it comes down to it, I'll have Tamako with me. If it becomes necessary, they can take control and get me out of there."
"In the meantime," he continued, "would you mind finding anything you can on his past attacks? If I'm gonna do this, might as well do it properly and see if I can't prevent his next attacks altogether. If we can try to work out a pattern, we can try to predict his next move."
"Sure thing. I'll start looking into it later today."
Izuku nodded, before moving to collect the empty plates on the table. Morbid conversations aside, it was time to clean up the mess left behind by breakfast so they could get on with their day.
The last few days of their short break passed in the blink of an eye. Ochako and Izuku passed the days by with no small amount of lounging around, even making a few returns to Dagobah to do so on the beach. Izuku tackled his analysis requests faster than they could come in, even when he slowed down a bit to walk Ochako through the process and show her how he did it. All the while, Rei slowly began shifting her sleeping schedule back around to where it was before, joining them when she could. At the same time, she was starting to put a bit more focus into her schoolwork as the semester started to ramp up in anticipation for the rapidly approaching final exams. When she had free time though, she was searching through police reports from across Japan, picking out anything that lined up with Stain's MO, which Izuku was taking some time out of his night to pour through. With what she found, he could start to piece together the barest outline of a pattern.
His nights as Oni were spent scouring Musutafu for any traces of The Triad. They'd already encroached into his city once, he intended to make sure that they didn't do so again.
But, soon enough, it was time for them to return to Yueii.
"Don't forget that I'm not flying home with you today." Ochako said as Izuku landed on the walkway leading to Yueii's main building. She stayed firmly on his back as he immediately set off towards it.
"Yep. You said that you were doing something with Tsuyu after school?"
"Mhm! We'll be going back to her house."
"Alright. Just let me know if you need me to come get you afterwards."
"I don't think I'll be over there late enough for that, but I will."
With that, the two of them fell into a comfortable silence as they made their way towards their classroom.
"Yo Jirou! I heard about what happened at that concert! Are you okay?"
That was Kirishima. As soon as he entered the room, he shouted out to her. Fortunately for her, he didn't attract much attention, as there wasn't much to attract. Aside from the two of them, it was just Ochako, Izuku, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Bakugou in the classroom. All of them either already knew what happened, didn't have much interest in it, or had the tact to simply sit and listen without jumping in on the conversation.
"I'm fine." She responded. "I don't think anyone was hurt, actually. Except for the villains of course."
"Oh yeah! I heard that a vigilante came in and saved the day. I wish I could've seen it happen; it sounds like it was badass!"
Jirou smirked. "Do you want to see it? I recorded the whole thing."
Izuku tilted his head a fraction, taking a closer look at them. Sure enough, Jirou was holding her phone out, and he could make out a picture of Oni on the screen.
"Hell yeah I want to see it!"
"Can I watch too?" Ochako cut in from her seat.
Jirou shrugged. "Sure, if you want to."
Izuku raised an eyebrow at Ochako as she got up out of her seat. She just smirked at him in response.
"What the heck? The video is barely even a minute long!"
"Shush. You don't have to shout that in my ear when I could hear you whisper that halfway across the building. And it's short because that's how long it took. Now shut up and watch."
She tapped on the video, and a moment later Izuku heard Oni's voice sounded out
"Hello hello, useless piles of garbage! I do hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
"Oni! What the hell do you want? What are you doing here?"
"You didn't seriously just ask that, did you? You're a villain, starting shit in my city. You've taken some two hundred-odd people hostage and you're making unreasonable demands to the police. Do you think I'm here for any reason than to break your legs?"
"Woah…" Kirishima stage whispered. "Badass."
"Stop! Don't come any closer, or we'll start attacking the hostages!"
"Oh will you now? And who exactly is 'we'?"
"Could it be these two, perhaps? Or maybe these two? Or these? Or how about them?"
"Holy shit! He's moving as fast as All Might!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that all of your allies? Whatever will you do now?"
Izuku heard the sound of a small scuffle, matching it up perfectly with his memory of that night, right up until he heard the villain's leg snapping, followed by his short-lived scream. He smirked as he mentally spoke the next few words, timing them perfectly.
"Well? The fuck are you all still doing here? Go. Get out of here. Be free. Go do whatever it is you do when you aren't being held hostage."
The sounds of a crowd of a few hundred people all simultaneously getting up and scrambling for the exit sounded out for a few short seconds before being cut off.
"That was intense! He didn't even give them a chance to fight back! Just 'Bam!' and all of them are taken down!"
"I know, right? Like, one second everyone's scared for their life, and the next there's a vigilante telling us to fuck off. It was just about enough to give us all whiplash."
"It's a good thing he came along though. It sounds like no one else could do anything. I hate to think about so many people dying just because of a few un-manly villains."
"Yeah. Definitely glad he got us out of there."
Huh, that was definitely something Izuku hadn't been expecting: appreciation for something that Oni did.
He knew that there were people out there that appreciated what he did. Just with the hostage situation alone, Izuku suspected there were another roughly two hundred people who felt that way, but this would be the first time he'd witnessed it in person from someone that he'd saved.
It was a nice thought. Enough to put a small smile on his face as they waited for the rest of their classmates to show up.
As soon as the bell rang to signal the start of the day, Aizawa trudged in through the door, not even bothering to greet them before he was speaking.
"Alright, listen up. Now that the sports festival is over with, it's time to start picking up the pace. The first step with that, is for you all to pick out your hero names."
Aizawa's eyes flashed red to silence the immediate exclamation from most of the class. More than hero costumes, hero names were one of the biggest parts of being a hero, and were certainly the most exciting.
"Now, usually it would be the job of the homeroom teacher to oversee and guide you as you decide on your hero names, but I don't feel like doing that, so Midnight will be joining us in a few minutes to do so in my place."
He pulled a stack of whiteboards and a box of markers up from behind the podium.
"One of you pass these out before she gets here. Do what she says, and listen to her advice. She's the Hero Art History teacher for a reason. She knows what she's talking about when it comes to this stuff."
With that, he sank to the floor, and a moment later he was scooting himself across the floor, fully wrapped up in his sleeping bag, until he was tucked into the corner of the room.
After a few minutes of almost absolute silence as they all waited for her to arrive, she burst into the room with enough flair to rival All Might.
"Hello students!" She greeted rather loudly. Izuku noticed the bundled-up sleeping bag in the corner roll over to face the wall. "It's time for you all to pick out some hero names! I see that you already have your whiteboards. What I want you to do is spend a few minutes coming up with ideas, then if you want, you can present them to your classmates later."
"Now, when you're brainstorming," she continued, "I want you to think about things like your quirk, any themes you might want to follow, and the sort of hero you want to be. Let those things guide you and help you come up with ideas."
"Now go forth, children, and create a name for yourself!"
As everyone directed their attention to the board on their desk, Izuku immediately wrote his epithet and name down. His hero name was something he'd dedicated quite a bit of thought to in the past, and something that he'd decided on well before he got to Yueii.
It seemed he wasn't the only one that had come prepared, either. Tsuyu, Bakugou, and Yaoyorozu were also fairly quick to write something down and sit back. For some reason or another, they didn't need much time to deliberate over their names. And now all that was left was to sit back and watch their classmates decide on theirs.
After a few minutes, once it seemed like everyone had written something down, Midnight decided that it was time for them to start presenting their ideas. Up first was Aoyama.
"The Shining Hero, Lumiere!"
"Very nice!" Midnight complimented. "It definitely suits your quirk!"
"Of course. Would you expect anything less?"
…
"The Ridley Hero, Alien Queen!"
"Hm. I'm not too sure about that one. I'm not certain, but there might be a risk of some copyright issues, plus it's a bit morbid."
Ashido looked a bit put out at Midnight's words, but Izuku spoke up, having seen a flaw in her reasoning.
"Copyright laws only apply for seventy years after the death of the creator. Both Daniel O'Bannon and Ridley Scott have been dead for well over a century, so there shouldn't be any issues on that front. And as for the name being morbid, there's a Pro Hero with the name 'Death Arms,' Ashido's idea certainly isn't any worse than that."
Midnight stared at Izuku for a moment, before shrugging. "Fair enough. Alien Queen it is!"
"Yes!" Ashido exclaimed, bouncing back to her seat. "Thanks Etsumi!"
…
"The Rainy Season Hero, Froppy."
…
"The Turbo Hero, Ingeniumu."
Izuku studied Iida as he stood up to present his idea. He rather liked the name, but he was focused more on the fact that Iida was decidedly less animated than he normally would be. It would seem that the situation regarding his brother was indeed affecting him. Not exactly surprising, but it was unfortunate to see nonetheless.
…
"The Zero Gravity Hero, Uravity!"
Izuku smiled as Ochako announced her name. It was a wonderful one, in his opinion, and suited her perfectly. It was definitely a name suited for a Pro Hero.
…
"The Martial Arts Hero, Tail End!"
…
"The Stun Gun Hero, Charge Bolt!"
…
"The Unbreakable Hero, Red Riot!"
…
"The Petting Hero, Anima."
…
"The Sweets Hero, Sweet Tooth."
…
"The Tentacle Hero, Strong Arm."
…
"The DJ Hero, Beatdown."
…
"The Taping Hero, Cellophane."
…
"The Jet Black Hero, Tsukuyomi."
…
"The Hot and Cold Hero, Flashpoint."
…
"The Unseen Hero, Miss Appear!"
…
"The Explosive Hero, Ground Zero."
As soon as those words left Bakugou's mouth, Izuku was struck by a memory that, until that very moment, he'd thought was lost.
It was a memory of him and Bakugou together before his fourth birthday. As per their usual, they'd been playing heroes and villains, with the two of them as the heroes of course. In the memory, he could very clearly make out the sound of Bakugou announcing himself as the hero 'Ground Zero.'
Now that he'd heard it again, Izuku realized that 'Ground Zero' was the name the two of them had come up with for Bakugou.
Once again, Izuku found himself feeling touched that Bakugou seemed to remember so much about him.
…
"The Fresh Picked Hero, Grape Juice."
…
"The Everything Hero, Creati."
…
Finally, it was Izuku's turn to go. Raising himself up from his desk, he made his way up to the front of the classroom. Positioning himself at the podium, he held up the board.
"The Mythical Hero, Ryujin."
"Hm. Interesting." Midnight said. "How'd you come up with it?"
"Well, my appearance lines up with a 'Naga,' a mythical creature found in a number of faiths, and 'Ryujin' is an ancient god of serpents and a patron god of Japan. I felt as though it was fitting."
"It is a pretty good name, but keep in mind that there might some religious types out there that might not like the fact that you're taking the name of a god."
Izuku shrugged. "If they have a problem with it, they can deal with it."
"In any case, well done!"
She looked out at the rest of the class as Izuku made his way back to his desk.
"Very well done, all of you! You all came up with some great names, and got through this much quicker than I was expecting. With that done, I'll be letting Aizawa take control again. I'll see you all again when it's time for my class!"
As soon as the door shut behind her, Aizawa pushed himself up off the floor, leaving the sleeping bag bundled up at his feet.
"Alright, now that-that's been sorted out, it's time to talk about Internships. As you were told in the weeks leading up to the festival, your performance there determined the sort of attention you garnered from Pro Heroes."
He picked up a stack of papers from behind the podium, before moving to the desks in the front row and beginning to pass some of them out. Each desk seemed to get a different number.
"These packets that I'm passing out are the invitations you've received from different heroes to join them as temporary interns. All of you performed admirably, and most of you received invitations. But for those of you that did not, Yueii has a deal with a few local agencies, some of which belonging to its own teachers, and will provide you with a selection to choose from."
As soon as the packets were all passed out, Aizawa immediately returned to his sleeping bag, bundling back up as he sank to the floor.
"You have the rest of class to sort through those. I don't particularly care who you pick, so long as you make a decision by the end of tomorrow. Yueii will need time to handle all the preparations, and then you'll be spending all of next week at your internship of choice."
Without any other words, he rolled over to face the wall, leaving the students to begin deciphering the stacks of papers on their desks.
Izuku eyed his stack. It seemed to be the largest in the room, though Bakugou's and Ochako's came pretty close. He made no move to look through it though. He'd already decided that he had no intention of participating in the internships. Instead, he settled in to watch his classmates as they sorted through their own.
After a few minutes, most of them seemed to have begun sorting the potential heroes. He could see where a few of them were directly sorting into rough piles of yeses and noes. A few of them even seemed to have narrowed it down to a few heroes. Yaoyorozu in particular, sitting at the desk directly in front of him, had been concentrating on a single invitation for some time.
"Figured out who you're going with?" Izuku asked, leaning forwards just a bit
She glanced back at him, then back at the piece of paper. "I believe so. I'm just trying to decide if she'll be the best fit."
"What do you think?" She asked, turning to show him the invitation. "Do you think Uwabami would be a good fit? I would like to try to improve my proficiency with public relations, and dealing with people in general, but I can't decide if she's the best hero for that. She's certainly in the spotlight quite a bit, but I can't shake the feeling that it wouldn't be what I'm looking for."
"That's because it wouldn't be." Izuku said. "What you said is correct, she's definitely in the spotlight a lot, but that's exactly why she wouldn't be a good choice for you. She uses her fame as a hero for the sake of advertising and exposure, but what you would need is a hero that deals a lot with public relations as it pertains to hero work."
"I see." She said, eyebrows scrunching up. "Who would you suggest then?"
"Depends on who sent you invitations. Do you happen to have Sir Nighteye?"
"I do indeed. One moment."
A few seconds of sorting later and she was holding out a piece of paper with Nighteye's information on it.
Izuku nodded. "That's who I would go with, were I you."
"Why's that? I didn't think he did much with that sort of thing."
"It's exactly because he's so proficient with public relations that you wouldn't hear much about it. He excels in playing on the relationship between heroes and the media and the public. Nighteye, and by extension, his agency, follows a strict model for the imaging of heroes. If you pay attention enough, you'll notice that it's an exceptionally rare occurrence that anyone can find anything negative to say about any sort of public appearances that he or his sidekicks take part in, whether that's in how they handle themselves, how they conduct interviews, or even their direct physical appearance."
"I see. I suppose that I ought to consider him over Uwabami then."
"I would, but in the end, it's up to you, and what you wish to do."
She nodded. "Thank you, Etsumi. Out of curiosity, have you chosen a hero to intern with?"
"In a sense." He responded. "I don't intend to participate in the internships at all."
Her eyes widened a bit at that. "Are you sure about that, Etsumi? This is an important opportunity for us to begin to establish a name for ourselves. You shouldn't pass up on it so easily."
"I'm aware, but I intend to pursue underground heroics. I've no desire for the spotlight, or any of the attention that comes with it. And if I ever happen to change my mind, I'll just start my own agency and build a reputation from the ground-up. I'll already have a solid foundation with my identity as Deku."
"That in itself is quite admirable." Yaoyorozu said. "I wish you the best of luck in pursuing that goal."
Izuku smiled at her. "Likewise."
Toshinori gulped as he waited outside of the 1-A classroom, watching for Etsumi to appear. His face was stretched into what he hoped was a passable approximation of his usual smile as he watched the other 1-A students leave, most all of them greeting him. He could feel a bead of sweat sliding down the side of his face. In his hands, he held a piece of paper. An internship invitation, now wrinkled as he worked it in his hands with his anxiety.
No matter how he worked through this inevitable discussion in his head, it didn't turn out well, but all the same, he needed to have it.
The invitation was from his old mentor, Gran Torino, who apparently now wanted to meet with Etsumi after Toshinori called him and after he watched the festival.
On the one hand, this was Gran Torino. Nothing was ever a request with the old man. It didn't matter that Toshinori was All Might, the number one hero in the world and the eighth holder of One For All, when Gran Torino told him to do something, he was expected to do it. And what he was expected to do now was pass along the internship invitation to Etsumi.
On the other hand, doing so would mean revealing to Etsumi that Toshinori betrayed his trust. That he had revealed the secret he'd been trusted with.
There were a scant few things in Toshinori's life that brought as much shame as that; the fact that he'd let his fear get the better of him and lead him to betray his friend and student. But it was for that very reason that he needed to have this conversation, more than even Gran Torino's invitation. Etsumi deserved to know the truth.
After what felt like several long minutes of waiting, he finally spotted Etsumi moving through the door, and he stepped closer.
"Ah, Etsumi!" He greeted, forcing his voice into a cheerful tone. "Would you mind accompanying me to the teacher's lounge? There's something I wish to discuss with you."
Etsumi raised an eyebrow. "Sure, why not?"
If he noticed that Toshinori was doing his best to fake everything about his appearance, he didn't mention it.
Toshinori nodded, gulping again, before turning to head towards the teacher's lounge.
It didn't take long for them to get there, and soon they were alone in the same conference room as before, where Etsumi had decided to reveal his secret. As soon as the door shut behind them, Toshinori dropped his hold on his All Might form, shrinking down to his usual skeletal appearance in a cloud of steam.
They stood in silence for a few moments as Toshinori gathered the courage to speak. Just as he was about to open his mouth to do so, however, Etsumi spoke up first.
"So is this about the candidates for One For All?" He asked. "Because if it is, I think I've finally narrowed it down to a single person."
That was enough to stun Toshinori, making him temporarily forget the anxiety that gnawed away at him. If anything, it lit a tiny spark of excitement in him, if only for a moment. Excitement that he might finally be getting close to having a successor to pass his quirk along to.
He had been searching on his own of course—he wasn't relying solely on Etsumi to find a suitable candidate—but he hadn't had any luck just yet. And of course, there was the student that Sasaki had recommended more times than he cared to count just since the start of the school year, but Toshinori was hesitant to even consider Young Mirio. He was hesitant to consider much of anything that Sasaki suggested, if only because of how their partnership had ended.
"You have? Who is it?"
"I think that Bakugou would be the best pick, at least out of the students in 1-A. I wasn't too sure at first if he would make a good successor, but I've recently had the chance to learn a bit about his motivations, why he wants to be a hero and what's been driving him to reach the level of skill he's achieved. After hearing him talk about it, I think he's the best choice."
"You're sure of this?" Toshinori asked.
"I am. I stand by what I said before, about Kirishima and Ochako both being decent candidates as well, but as it stands, I believe that Bakugou is the best choice."
"I see." He said, nodding. "I shall consider what you've said, and take a closer look at Young Bakugou in the near future. I might have to have a conversation with him soon."
"But…" And now the anxiety came crashing back, more intense than it had been before. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh? Then what is it?" Etsumi asked. His eyes darted to the wrinkled piece of paper in Toshinori's grip.
He took a deep breath, holding the paper out to Etsumi and forcing himself to release the grip he had on it.
"It's an internship invitation." He said. "I'm not sure if you've already chosen one, but this one came in for you a bit late. It's from my former mentor, Gran Torino."
"Gran Torino hasn't been active in any normal heroic activities in over a decade." Etsumi said as he took the paper, examining it. "Why would he want to have me as an intern?"
And there it was, the question that Toshinori had been dreading.
"Because of your quirk." He answered.
Etsumi went completely still, frozen. It didn't even look like he was breathing. The paper in his hands seemed to have been forgotten as he stared at Toshinori. The room went so quiet that a pin could drop in the next room over—which happened to be carpeted—and the two of them would likely be able to hear it.
The seconds stretched out, silence in the room threatening to suffocate Toshinori as he waited for Etsumi's response.
"I beg your pardon?" Etsumi finally spoke, his voice almost a whisper.
His anxiety threatened to burst forth.
"Etsumi, I'm sorry. I told Gran Torino about your quirk. That's why he extended an invitation."
Another few moments of silence as Etsumi seemed to struggle to process what he was hearing.
"You- what? Why?"
"I'm sorry." He repeated. "It was after you told me about your quirk and that All For One is still alive. I called him the next day. I just kept thinking about All For One and the fact that I failed to kill him, and it just kept circling around in my head over and over, and I couldn't help thinking about how-."
Toshinori swallowed, unable to finish his sentence.
"About how I'm the same as him." Etsumi said.
"What? No. Etsumi I-."
"You found out that your greatest enemy was still alive, and you couldn't help thinking about the copy of his quirk that was close to you every single day." He said. Toshinori could see the shock giving away to anger and hurt.
"You couldn't help but to see the same monster that you had fought and who had nearly killed you. And your response to that was to immediately break the trust I'd put in you."
"Etsumi-."
"I suppose I should've known better than to trust anyone with something like that. But then, that's what I get for thinking about others. I only told you because it was necessary to prove the existence of All For One, who I felt you deserved to know is still alive."
Toshinori couldn't muster up a response to that. Every word Etsumi said piled onto his shame one after another.
"Say, would you like to know just how many people I had told about my quirk before telling you?" Etsumi asked.
"How ma-?"
"Zero." He hissed. "Not a single fucking soul. The only two other people to know about my quirk found out by accident. But then the very first time I willingly tell someone else, it backfires."
"Etsumi…"
"No."
Etsumi stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head.
Turning away from Toshinori, Etsumi moved to the windows that made up an entire wall of the conference room. He tapped a hand to the glass, and a glowing outline of a square appeared an instant later. As soon as it did, he swiped his hand across it, and the glass inside the square seemed to disappear.
Without another word, Etsumi launched himself through the hole he'd created, massive wings coming down to carry him up into the air, out of the sightline offered by the window. A few seconds after he disappeared from view, Toshinori heard a faint 'boom' that rattled the windows. At the same time, the glass within the square flashed back into existence, the glowing outline disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared.
A moment later, he collapsed into the nearest chair, his legs unable to support his weight anymore.
What had he done? What had his own cowardice wrought?
Izuku tore through the air as he flew back home as fast as he could. It was a meager attempt to burn away some of the anger that seared through him.
He couldn't get over what Yagi had just told him. The man had given his secret away. And not only had he done so the very next day after Izuku told him, but he hadn't thought to tell Izuku until almost a month later.
He grit his teeth, picking up the pace.
When he finally arrived back at the apartment, he landed a bit harder than he intended to, shaking the balcony beneath him with the force of it. As it was though, he couldn't bring himself to care, just immediately heading for the door.
"Fuck!" He cursed as he pulled it open.
"Izuku?" Rei's voice sounded out. Looking up, he saw her settled at the table, clearly dressed for bed. She'd likely been preparing to get some sleep so she could wake back up when night came.
"What are you doing home so early? Is everything okay?"
"Not really, no. Things are pretty far from okay."
Her expression hardened as she must've realized how serious the situation was for him to be acting the way he was.
"What happened?" She asked, moving away from the table.
"I've just recently found out that, apparently, All Might told someone about my quirk."
Her eyes widened. "Who did he tell? And when?"
"Gran Torino. His old mentor, apparently. And evidently All Might told him the day after he and I had the discussion."
"Shit. Do you know if he told anyone else?"
Izuku grit his teeth, berating himself for not thinking about that.
"Dammit. I don't know. I didn't think to ask him. Fuck!"
"What should we do?"
"I don't even fucking know. Best case, we don't have to do anything. If we're lucky, All Might hasn't told anyone else, and Gran Torino isn't the type to go around blabbing about this sort of thing. Worst case would involve relocation at a minimum, if not reforging our entire identities. I can't imagine that the Hero Commission would be thrilled to know about my quirk, especially if this All For One guy was as big of a threat and as widely known as I suspect he was."
"Alright, okay, uh. Let's see…"
This was new territory for them. Growing up, they'd made a habit of not trusting anyone but each other, so they never had the misfortune to have someone betray them. Both of them had been betrayed by their families, but that was a different kind of trust to begin with. That was a very basic, instinctual trust. The kind that made one believe that someone wouldn't beat them on an almost daily basis or abandon them to die. This was the first time one of them had voluntarily chosen to trust someone other than each other, and it had backfired.
"Alright, well, we probably aren't in any immediate danger, right? I feel like if anything serious were to happen, it wouldn't have started with All Might telling you that he told someone almost a month ago. So let's start off by taking a deep breath, and thinking in the short term, okay?" Rei said, taking Izuku by the shoulders. "What do you need right this moment? What do you need to feel better? In order to get a level head to start to think this through?"
Izuku complied, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He went silent for a moment, attempting to steady his racing mind. At the same time, he also did his best to figure out just what exactly he needed at the moment. What was the dominating emotion running rampant through him and what was the best method for dealing with it?
Right now, his head was a storm, a whirlwind of anger, betrayal, hurt, frustration, and sadness all pounding against his mind. All Might, Toshinori, someone who he'd seen as a friend, had broken his trust, and in doing so had potentially put his life in jeopardy. He might have to uproot his and Rei's life, fleeing from the first home that they'd truly been happy in, and dropping everything they'd built, from Izuku's hero career that hadn't even started yet to hero's education that she'd worked so hard for. Not to mention what might happen to Ochako if he and Rei couldn't stay.
What could he do? Where could he even begin?
After a few long moments, his mind and hearts steadying incrementally with each passing one, he opened his eyes.
The strongest emotion within him was anger. Anger at being betrayed by the closest thing he'd had to a friend since becoming Izuku Etsumi, who had revealed his secret after the very first time he'd ever chosen to willingly reveal it.
"Right now…" He said, looking up at her. "Right now I want to hurt someone."
As soon as the sun began to fall below the horizon, Oni set out, Rei having convinced him to stay put until it was dark outside. As much as he disliked having to wait and let his anger fester, it gave him plenty of time to pick out a suitable target to serve as an outlet for it.
Oni strode towards the seemingly abandoned building, sinking his hands into the door as soon as he was close enough and tearing it off its hinges. Stepping through the now open door, he hesitated.
He looked down at his hands examining the new holes in his gloves from plunging his hands straight through a steel door. For the briefest of moments, he considered removing them and bringing out his claws, as he usually would.
"No." He whispered, clenching his fists. "No quirks. No strength, no speed. Just me, and whoever's in front of me. I want to feel their bones breaking and I want it to be a result of my own natural power, nothing else."
Dropping his hands back down to his sides, he continued forward. As he moved, he pulled back everything but the bare essentials. His intelligence quirks, his energy stockpilers, 'Insomnia,' and the ones that gave him his appearance as Oni. He even pulled back his super regeneration, leaving only his older healing quirk.
After a moment of thought, he pulled one of his quirks back out, activating it long enough to grab his mask and store it away in a pocket space.
No advantages, not even the meager advantage of a mask protecting his face.
He moved through the first room, towards the first path forwards that he spotted.
Just before he reached the doorway that he'd set his sights on, a man appeared in it, a look of confusion on his face, likely due to the sound of Oni ripping a steel door off its hinges, which had probably been audible to a number of people in the building.
Oni didn't slow his pace as he approached the newcomer, even as his eyes trained on him and he asked a question that Oni didn't bother listening to. The man's expression transitioned from confused to angry when he didn't respond, but he didn't have any time to do anything else.
As soon as he was close enough, Oni's fist was impacting the side of the man's face, sending him stumbling backwards a few steps.
It wasn't nearly as strong as when it was backed by a few strength enhancers, but the sting in his hand and the fact that he could hit the criminal even more before he was incapacitated more than made up for that.
"Mother fu-!" The man started to shout, regaining his balance, before being cut off by another hit.
This time Oni didn't even give the man the luxury of trying to catch himself. He caught the man by the collar of his shirt before he could stumble, and used it to drag him closer so he could land another punch against his jaw, this one resulting in a resounding crack and dropping him to the floor like a marionette with its strings cut.
Clenching his fist, relishing the heat that emanated from it, Oni tilted his head as he heard footsteps approaching. Bending down, he grabbed at a chair that sat at a desk right next to him. Picking it up by the leg, he immediately turned, bringing it up over his head just in time to bring it down over the head of the criminal rushing into the room. As they fell to their hands and knees, Oni took a step and cracked his foot across the side of their head, sending them sprawling.
Adjusting his balance after the kick, Oni leaned back just in time to avoid a punch from another newcomer. He grabbed her wrist, using it as leverage as he aimed his elbow at her nose. It broke quite audibly.
She backed away, holding her face, and cursing him. Because of that, she didn't see Oni following after her, and she didn't see the punch aimed at her throat. She went from holding her face to holding her neck rather quickly.
She kept trying to back away, swinging a wild fist at Oni. He avoided it, stepping closer to plant a fist in her stomach, causing her to double over, where he ended it with a knee to her temple.
Before he could move, something hit the back of Oni's head. He stumbled forwards, earning a kick to the side when he didn't recover fast enough. Before they could land another though, Oni caught the next kick in both hands. He quickly adjusted his grip before wrenching the foot to the side, twisting it in the same motion, resulting in horrendous snapping noises from both the knee and the ankle, as well as the foot bending in a direction that it was never meant to.
As the offending criminal began to fall back, Oni caught him first, latching his hand around the man's head and speeding up his fall, slamming his head against the floor.
Oni straightened himself up, breathing slightly heavily. With the last criminal out of the way, Oni had a moment to tune into his surroundings. Just as he could before, he could make out the sounds of people moving towards him. Only this time it sounded like there were significantly more.
"Good." He muttered, bringing his hands together to crack his knuckles. "More."
Picking out what he felt were the closest noises, he set off towards them.
He would break every single person in this building, and hopefully by the time he was finished, some of the anger that burned through him would be extinguished.
Oni panted, struggling to catch his breath and waiting for his heart to calm its thundering pace.
He was lying spreadeagle on the cold floor of the building he'd invaded. Around him were the broken, bloody, unconscious bodies of the unlucky criminals that had found themselves in his path.
Every bit of him ached. His fists, knuckles bloody where his skin had split and at least two fingers broken from how many punches he'd thrown. His gloves lay forgotten somewhere along the path he'd taken, eventually reduced to tatters in the face of his assault. He was covered in countless cuts and bruises, and he was pretty sure that the twinge he was feeling from his side anytime he moved indicated at least a bruised rib, if not cracked. His face and neck were drenched in blood, mostly from the cut over his eye, his broken nose, and his split lip.
He turned his head to the side and spit out a mouthful of blood. His tongue ran over the empty spot in his mouth where one of his teeth had been knocked out.
"Feeling any better?" Rei asked.
"Exceptionally." He responded. "That was definitely what I needed to take care of my temper. I think now I'll be able to come at this situation with something akin to a level head once I get back home."
He honestly did feel a great deal better after taking his anger out on the unfortunate criminals he'd picked out. With his head considerably clearer than it had been, he could start to see his path through the situation that All Might had put him in. For starters, Rei was correct, they most likely weren't in any immediate danger. If this were a worst-case scenario, it wouldn't have been preceded by All Might admitting his mistake, it would've been with heroes and police knocking down his door.
For now, he would proceed carefully. Internships were next week. Izuku could pay Gran Torino a visit, to see if he could get a good impression of what sort of man he was. Not only that, but he could find out the reason that Gran Torino had extended the invitation in the first place.
"That's good. But before you head home, an alert was just sent out to all the police and heroes in the area. A child has been reported missing."
Oni let out a long sigh. "Alright. Send me the information, I'll get on it."
Taking a deep breath, Oni pulled on his super regeneration quirk, clenching his teeth at the wave of fire that coursed through his body as it addressed all of his injuries simultaneously. His nose snapped back into place, a replacement tooth grew in faster than any tooth was meant to, his broken fingers crunched as they were set and healed, and his side grew almost unbearably hot as it healed whatever had been done to his rib. All the little places where his skin had broken itched terribly as it stitched itself back together.
Just as quickly as it started, the heat was fading away, leaving him feeling normal once more, save for the blood that still covered him.
Sitting up, he pulled on 'Shower in a Can,' activating it as he ran his hands down his face. All the blood vanished in an instant, leaving him perfectly clean. The same couldn't be said for his clothes, as there were a great many holes littering them, and they were still damp with the blood of both himself and the criminals, but that was a minor annoyance. At least now he mostly felt clean.
He began pulling on the quirks he'd deactivated when he arrived as he stood, rolling his shoulders as their familiar heat surged through him.
Retrieving his phone from his pocket, and frowning at the crack that ran down the middle of the screen, he looked over the details of the alert that had been sent out.
Oni hummed to himself as he made his way back towards the entrance, pulling his mask back out as he moved and re-securing it to his head.
"Hey, speaking of lost children." He said. "You don't happen to know the status of that little girl I stumbled upon just after the school year began, Iona, do you?"
"Not off the top of my head, why?"
"Just curious."
Stepping back out into the cool night air, Oni spread his wings, stretching them out a bit, before launching himself up into the air.
"Remind me to ask Tsukauchi about her at some point."
Chapter End Notes
Credit for the 'Yo-Yo' quirk, as well as Izuku's hero epithet and Jirou's hero name, goes to my friend and co-conspirator, NotMasonPines.
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Internships
Chapter Summary
The internships begin.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The train station was abuzz with activity. Partly because it was early on a Monday morning, right in the middle of the rush of morning commuters, but also because everyone's attention was being drawn to the group of Yueii students standing in the middle of the crowd. The easily recognizable uniforms and the faces that had just been displayed on nation television for the sports festival made them easy to pick out.
Thankfully, no one attempted to approach them. Aizawa's presence combined with the commuters' need to get wherever they were going prevented that. Though, that didn't stop a few from shouting out in greeting or to congratulate some of them for their performance in the festival.
"Alright." Aizawa said, loud enough to be heard over the cacophony around them. "You've all got your costumes, and you all know where you're going, so this is where we part ways. Now, I expect you all to be on your best behavior for the next week. You're not just representing yourselves during your internships, but Yueii as well. Anything you do reflects back on the school, so do everyone a favor and make sure we only hear good things."
With that heartwarming farewell, Aizawa turned to walk away, slipping through the crowd and practically vanishing into it as soon as he did.
They all stood there watching where he'd disappeared for a few seconds, when Ashido chose to make the first move.
"Alrighty then! I think my train leaves pretty soon, so I'm gonna get going."
"I'm coming too!" Kirishima said. "I'm on the same train."
"Same here." Jirou added on.
The three of them peeled off from the group, walking away in what was presumably the direction of their train.
"Bye everyone!" Ashido called over her shoulder, waving at them. "Have fun!"
"Bye Ashido!" Ochako called back, along with a few others.
The three of them leaving seemed to be the signal that everyone else needed, as they all began grouping together and heading off towards their own trains, calling out their farewells as they did. It didn't take long for most of the class to disperse, and soon enough it was just Izuku, Ochako, Tsuyu, and Iida left.
"Which train are you taking, Ochako?" Tsuyu asked, glancing down at her ticket.
"I'm not taking one, I've got something better than a train." She responded, reaching up to tap Izuku's arm.
"Oh yeah, that makes sense. That's how you got here to begin with."
Giving a small wave, Tsuyu turned to walk away. "I'm off. Talk to you later."
"Bye Tsu! Have fun with Selkie!"
With Tsuyu gone, disappearing into the crowd, Izuku nudged Ochako's shoulder, before motioning towards their only remaining classmate, who was staring down at his ticket.
She nodded, a determined look in her eyes, before walking towards him.
"Iida." She called, right as he was moving to step away. He stopped, turning to look at her.
"Yes, Uraraka? Did you need something?"
"Be careful at your internships, alright?" She said. "Don't do anything crazy."
Iida stared at her for a moment, before plastering on a smile that even Izuku could tell was faked. "Of course! I'll be alright! You've got nothing to worry about."
Without even saying goodbye, Iida turned and marched away, pushing through the crowd. Izuku noticed the ticket being crushed in his grip.
Ochako sighed, returning to Izuku. "That didn't do anything, did it? He's still going to go after that Stain guy, isn't he?"
Izuku nodded. "Most likely. The sort of anger he's probably feeling isn't something that can be so easily resolved. The only thing we can do is hope that he never gets the chance to meet Stain."
He sighed, before giving Ochako a small smile and extending his hand out to her, his other reaching for the case that held her hero costume. "Shall we get going then?"
"Yep! Let's go!" She said, returning the smile and taking his hand, letting him swing her onto his back. Once she was secure, and he her hero costume in his grip, he turned and started off towards the exit. The crowd of commuters wisely made way for him.
The situation with Iida was rather unfortunate. Ingenium, his brother, had been attacked and hospitalized, and even though the hero was expected to make a full recovery—it was a close thing, and even though he'll be able to retain full use of his legs, the doctors claimed it would be months, if not longer, before he recovered fully—it didn't seem like Iida could shake the anger he felt. He wanted Stain to pay for hurting his family.
Izuku could certainly understand the feeling. If someone were to hurt his family, he would make them pay, no matter if the damage was permanent or not. He would make them understand the true meaning of pain.
However, despite him understanding why Iida would do what he was no doubt planning on doing, the difference was that Izuku could actually do it. He not only had the means to fight and punish whoever he might target, but also to hide his identity while he did so. Iida had no such means to hide his identity, and even though he was a hero student with a decently powerful quirk, that meant very little when his opponent was Stain. Even Izuku had reason enough to be wary of Stain, though he had much less reason compared to the last time the two of them encountered one another, and he had a number of quirks to negate the risk.
It was a fortunate thing then, that Izuku was planning to dedicate his immediate future towards finding Stain and ending his crusade. He could do nothing to stop Iida, but he could certainly remove the source of his anger from the equation altogether.
Izuku frowned as they emerged back out into the sunlight. He just hoped he could get to Stain faster than Iida.
He gave his head a small shake. There would be time to think about that later. For now he had more important things to do, chief among them being getting Ochako to her internship.
Spreading his wings, he launched the two of them into the air, catching the attention of everyone around them.
Nearly an hour of flying later and the two of them were approaching their destination: The city of Koshigaya, on the eastern side of the Saitama prefecture, just north of Tokyo. As soon as Izuku spotted the office of the hero that Ochako had chosen to intern with, he opened his wings to glide gently to the ground. It was a relatively small building, but then the hero wasn't one to take on sidekicks or really work with others much at all. It was only three stories tall, and from what he'd heard, the entire top floor was used as a gym for the hero. The first and second floors were dedicated to all the normal employees that handled the office work.
No sooner had he touched down than he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. An instant later he felt something directly above him with 'Proximity,' something that was rather quickly getting closer.
Izuku's hand darted out and latched onto someone's ankle, even as 'Shock Absorption' cancelled out the impact. Before the attacker could respond, he turned away, bringing them up over his head, and flung them through the air in front of him. They twisted around mid-flight, correcting themself so that they landed on their feet. Izuku was slightly surprised as he saw just who had attacked him, though admittedly it was a bit less surprising considering whose office they were next to. He felt Ochako drop to the ground and back away as he watched the attacker.
Almost as soon as her feet were under her, the attacker launched towards him. Izuku brought his hand up just in time to catch the kick that was aimed at his chest, the impact stinging his palm just a bit, even with 'Shock Absorption.' He pushed her back, sending her flying, where she once again corrected herself in midair to land on her feet.
"That's some impressive reaction time you've got there, kid, and with the strength to match." Miruko said, still crouched where she had slid to a stop, a wide smile on her face. "You seem like a lot of fun. It's too bad you didn't accept the invitation as well."
Izuku wasn't paying her much mind now that he knew she wasn't actually attacking him. It was more likely that she'd just wanted to test either him or Ochako. Instead, he turned away, moving to where Ochako had retreated.
"Have fun dealing with that." He said, reaching up to pat at the top of her head.
"I'm not even really sure what that was." She said, a slightly apprehensive look on her face.
"That was a friendly greeting, as far as I'm concerned." Miruko said, walking towards them. "I wanted to make sure that I didn't make a mistake by inviting you."
She stopped a few feet away, looking at Izuku. "It didn't quite do what I wanted it to, but at least I know what kind of fun you are. With how easily you defended yourself, from a sudden attack from above no less, part of me almost wants to fight you for real, if only to see which one of us would come out on top."
"If we were to fight for real, I would hope that you'd move faster than you just did, because the moment I get my hands on you, the fight would be over."
He directed his attention back to Ochako, holding out her hero costume and giving her head one last pat. "Call me if you need anything."
Moving away from them, he created some distance so he could open his wings to fly away. Even though he couldn't see her anymore, he could practically feel the excitement radiating from Miruko at what he'd said. He smirked, it seemed that she was a bit of an adrenaline junkie as well.
As soon as he was far enough away, he spread his wings and took off once more. As he rose into the air, he could just make out Miruko speaking below him.
"Alright, what do you say we head inside and see what you're made of?"
Izuku flapped his wings, cancelling out his momentum as he touched down on his balcony. As soon as he was settled and his wings were folded against his back, he slid open the door, moving into his room.
Once inside, he set about shedding his uniform. With everything properly stored away in his closet, he moved on to the bathroom, settling himself in front of the mirror.
Leaning on the sink to steady himself, he pulled his tail back, ignoring the odd sensation of the limb shrinking and eventually splitting in two. After a few seconds, he stood back up, wiggling his toes in an attempt to dispel the feeling. Leaning a bit closer to the mirror, he pulled on his shapeshifting quirk, mentally running through the possible changes that would suite his needs.
Starting with the basics, his skin darkened just a bit, taking on the appearance of a healthy tan, his freckles disappeared, and his face lengthened a touch, his jawline firming up and his ears shrinking ever so slightly. His nose widened, as did his mouth, and his eyes spread apart just enough to be noticeable, also taking on a more pronounced slant. His irises went from an emerald green to an almost golden brown. His hair lengthened, his curls straightening out to take on a more spiked appearance, not dissimilar to Kirishima and Bakugou. With a thought, the green bled out of his hair, replaced by a stark pale blue.
Turning his attention towards his torso, his musculature shrank away. Not enough to affect how his clothes would fit, but enough that he would look a little bit different at a glance. The shapeshifting quirk wasn't capable of changing much about the rest of his body anyway, with most of its ability being centered around his head.
He didn't change his height. He merely needed to change his appearance; he didn't want to have to buy new clothes for this. He was the same height that he was whenever he changed into Oni, and that would work for what he needed.
Looking back up at his face, he turned his head in either direction, inspecting his new appearance. He found that he liked it, even if it was only a temporary thing. This face, especially with his hair color, made him look like he was related to Rei by blood.
With that taken care of, he walked back to his room, moving to his closet once more. The clothes he picked out were close to the outfit he wore as Oni—the pants and boots were actually the same—but with a white button-up instead of red, and no vest. As soon as he was dressed, and his costume was safely stored within 'Hotbar', he left his room, walking out into the living room where Rei was waiting for him. She was staying up a few extra hours for him.
"Ready to go?" She asked, rising up from where she had settled in front of the tv.
"I believe so." Izuku responded, walking up to her. "We'll know soon enough whether or not that's actually the case."
"You'll be fine. You're the strongest, smartest person I know. No matter what happens, I know you'll pull through."
"I certainly hope you're right."
She smiled, bringing a hand up to his head, carding her fingers through his new hair.
"I kinda like the look you chose. Especially the hair. Though I may be a bit biased."
Izuku returned the smile, leaning into the contact a bit.
With today being the start of the internships, that meant that today was the day he'd be paying Gran Torino a visit and hopefully getting a good idea of what sort of man he was. The week that had passed since Yagi's confession that he'd revealed Izuku's quirk had been filled with no small amount of anxiety, and even though nothing had happened yet, he and Rei had still taken steps to ensure that they would be prepared for the possibility.
They'd gone through and overhauled the security in the apartment and in both of their computers. No one approached the building—on the ground or in the air—without being noticed by a few cameras, and if anything about either of their names or the address of their apartment was mentioned anywhere public on the internet, or passed through the Musutafu police department or local hero networks, they would be able to know.
Rei already had her 'panic button' on her phone in case she was ever faced with an emergency, but she also added a similar thing to Izuku's phone. Something he could use to let her know if anything went south. Ochako's phone was similarly altered.
Speaking of Ochako, Izuku and Rei had made the decision to not inform her of what had happened just yet. As anxious as the situation made Izuku—made both of them—the more logical side of him knew that the more time passed with nothing happened, the lower the chances were of anything happening at all. Whether or not anything would actually come to pass, they would tell Ochako later. For now, he didn't want her distracted during her internship.
Beyond that, now that he'd had a week to look at things with a level head, he knew that the situation most likely wasn't as dire as he originally thought.
For starters, as infuriated as it made him to know that Yagi betrayed his trust the way he did, he was confident that, at the very least, his secret hadn't been widely spread. Something as big as his quirk, especially considering the fact that there was an infamous criminal with another instance of it, would've either made it into hero networks that he and Rei have access to or it would've reached his ears as Oni. Since neither had happened, it either hadn't gone much further than Gran Torino, or if it had, it was being kept under tight wraps.
There was also the fact that Yagi had told him at all.
The thing that he and Rei dreaded the most was the government or the Hero Public Safety Commission—assuming his secret made it that far—deciding that the best course of action was to attack and attempt to detain or kill him. That, more than anything else, would have the biggest impact on the life they'd built. But Yagi telling him meant that there either wasn't going to be an attack—or that it hadn't been decided yet—or that if there was, at the very least, he wouldn't be a part of it.
Given his extraordinary increase in power because of his fight with the Noumu, and the other quirks he had at his disposal, Izuku was more than confident in his ability to fight All Might and have a decent chance at winning. However, a fight against All Might and a specially selected team of heroes, who would most likely all be in the top ranks could very well be beyond his abilities.
With All Might not in the picture though, the number of additional heroes that would need to be gathered to pose as much of a threat would be significant, to say nothing of the amount of noise that would be created in doing so.
So, looking at things logically, the chances of anything significant happening, especially any time soon, were fairly low.
All the same, being as prepared as they were helped to put their minds at ease. And he was still planning on meeting Gran Torino. He wanted to know more about the only other person that he knew for sure was aware of his quirk.
Rei's hand trailed through his hair, coming down to rest on the side of his face. His own hand came up to settle on top of it.
"I thought you might like it. I find that I quite enjoy it myself. Maybe I should try to find more occasions in the future to revisit it."
The two of them fell silent, taking a few seconds to simply bask in each other's company. There was no greater relief to any sort of anxiety they might feel than simply being together. Soon enough though, they had to break apart.
"Alright, you should probably get going." Rei said, pulling her hand back. "You don't want to be late."
"Right." He said, nodding.
Turning away, he made his way back towards his room. "Make sure you get some sleep. I'll contact you if anything significant happens."
"I will. Good luck."
Stepping back into his room, he made for the door that led to his balcony, pausing just long enough to grab his mask and store it away with 'Hotbar.' Once he was outside, he didn't waste any time in launching himself into the air. Rising up above the building, he angled himself northwest to head for the small city that Gran Torino evidently lived in.
Soon enough, he found himself looking down on the city in question, high enough in the air that he was beginning to have difficultly breathing and that even people with magnification quirks might have difficulty seeing him. Picking out where he thought Gran Torino's home might be, Izuku pulled his wings back, falling through the air as soon as they weren't there to support him. As he fell, he also pulled on 'Ghost', vanishing from view as he felt the peculiar light, airy feeling wash over him.
The wind tore at him as he sliced through the air, likely already falling at terminal velocity. His arms were crossed as he watched the ground grow closer, aiming for the building he'd picked out, or more accurately, the alleyway across the street from it.
Once he felt as though he'd fallen far enough, he activated 'Cushion' and immediately felt himself begin to slow as the air thickened beneath him. It slowed him down significantly by the time he reached the ground, at which point 'Shock Absorption' took over and negated the rest of his momentum without even a twinge of discomfort in his knees.
He held 'Ghost' in place as he stepped towards the entrance to the alleyway, looking across the street at the decrepit building that the address pointed him towards. It was quite worn down, and seemed to be a few years overdue for maintenance, but then, he knew nothing about the hero, or even if this was his actual home, or just the place he'd chosen specifically for this situation.
One way or another, nothing would be achieved by standing around staring at it.
Walking up to the building, he could feel someone inside with 'Proximity' once he got close enough. Instead of going for the front door, he instead went around to the side. Pulling on 'Gecko', Izuku stepped onto the wall of the building, walking up the side once he had his balance.
He moved up until he was level with a second-story window—the person he could feel inside was on the first floor—before crouching down and pulling on a quirk he'd taken to calling 'Window.'
Reaching out, Izuku tapped on the wall right next to the window. When he did, a glowing outline of a rectangle appeared on the surface, roughly the size of a door. Swiping his hand across the glowing shape, the material within it vanished, leaving a gaping hole into the building. He pulled himself inside, deactivating the quirk as soon as he was through, letting the wall return to its previous state.
Remaining in place, he set to work taking in as much information as he could about the building. He was here to gather information before he officially met Gran Torino, and that started with picking up any clues the location had to offer.
It was almost deathly silent. The only thing he could hear was the muffled sound of what was most likely a television. Just from what he saw here, in what looked to be a spare bedroom, the place wasn't abandoned. The air around him was still, but it wasn't stale, as if not many people lived here. The surfaces were somewhat dusty, but not at a level that he would expect from an abandoned building, more akin to someone neglecting to clean as much as they should.
As far as he could see, the inside of the building didn't match the exterior in the slightest. Where from the outside it had looked like it was one strong gust of wind from collapsing, from the inside it looked almost perfectly maintained.
Stepping up to the door that led into the room, Izuku used 'Window' again, not wanting to risk making any noise with a squeaky door. Moving through the hole created by his quirk, into the hallway, he studied his surroundings once more. Finding them to be largely the same as the room he'd just left—if not better—he set off in the direction of a set of stairs he could see.
Upon reaching the ground floor, Izuku finally found the reason he'd come: Gran Torino.
Or at least, he assumed that's who it was. The little old man sitting on a couch watching a show that Izuku didn't recognize looked almost nothing like the most recent picture of the hero that could be found anywhere on the internet, which was over a decade old. The only reason he even thought the man was Torino at all was the fact that he was wearing a costume that exactly matched the picture.
Thankfully, he had a way to know for sure.
Name: Sorahiko Torino
Quirk: Jet. Focus. Elemental/Enhancement/Utility/Transportation
Allows the user to expel the air in their lungs through jets in their feet at great speeds.
Well, it was definitely Gran Torino he was looking at. The only way he knew of that 'Appraisal' could be mistaken was if the target truly believed that they were someone they weren't. So unless this was actually some random person that was extremely dedicated to mimicking the old hero, and happened to have an almost identical quirk, then the grumpy-looking old man munching on a plate of taiyaki was the man he came to see.
"He looks like a senile old man." Tamako commented.
'No.' Izuku responded as he leaned a bit closer to inspect the man, who was completely unaware that there was someone standing a few short feet away from him. 'He might look it, but he isn't.'
On the surface, Tamako was correct, Torino didn't look like much: a short, feeble old man that probably wouldn't even come up to Izuku's waist and who had a cane sitting on the couch next to him. He munched on sweets like they were popcorn and would occasionally grumble something under his breath, likely in response to the show he was watching, too quiet and too incoherent for Izuku to make out.
Izuku could see past all of that though.
For a good part of his life, he'd jumped from risky situation to risky situation, where not being able to read someone to see if they were dangerous or just another helpless victim trying to survive put one at a disadvantage. Something like that could—and nearly did, several times—get one killed.
So, looking past the feeble old man that was long past the prime of his life, past the short stature, cane, and poor diet, Izuku saw an experienced, dangerous former hero. Despite his apparent age, Torino's hands didn't shake, nor were they lacking in dexterity when he reached for his snacks or the remote at his side. His wrinkled skin didn't hang off his bones, nor did he look frail. Instead, Izuku saw hints of a musculature that was no doubt the result of years of hero work. In his eyes, trained on the television in front of him, Izuku saw a sharp intelligence and a dark, critically scanning look that bespoke a clear mind and a wealth of experience in analyzing his surroundings.
When the man jumped off of the couch, forcing Izuku to step to the side when he started walking towards the kitchen with his empty plate, he didn't even reach for the cane that had sat next to him. Izuku saw no stiffness in his movements, nor was he unsteady as he walked. Instead, Izuku saw in his gait and in the way he held himself further evidence of his time as a hero. Even now, in—presumably—his own home, in the daylight, Torino was ready to react at a moment's notice.
Izuku watched as the man stopped in front of the kitchen counter, taking a deep breath before launching himself just high enough to land on top of it. Clearly, his quirk was still fully functional as well. Izuku had no doubt that if Torino's quirk could function at anywhere near the same capacity that it had when he was in his prime, he would make for a potentially dangerous opponent.
Crossing his arms, Izuku continued to watch Torino as he grabbed what looked to be sausages out of the freezer, tossing them on a plate and putting it in the microwave. None of what he was seeing was exactly a surprise—he and Rei had found out that even though Torino hadn't been involved in any public heroics in decades, he had an incredible number of criminal and villain arrests attributed to him by the Yamanashi police precinct, so he was still very much an active hero, despite his age—but now that he'd seen it all in person, he had a much better idea of what he was looking at.
Checking the time on his phone, Izuku saw that it was nearing the time he was meant to actually meet with the old man.
During the past week, the only time he'd spoken to Yagi was to let him know that he would be meeting Torino on the day that the internships started, at noon.
He'd decided that while he wanted to see Torino in-person, he had no interest in finding out what the old hero's idea of an internship was, nor the official documentation saying that-that's where he would be for the week. As it stood, 'Izuku Etsumi' had no reason to be anywhere near Torino, and the only people that knew he would be there at all ought to be Yagi and Torino himself.
Turning back towards the stairs, Izuku left Torino where he was heating up his plate of sausages. Now that he had a better idea of what he was walking into, it was time to get to the point of his coming here. He made his way back to the spare room he'd come through, using 'Window' get through the door, then again to get back outside. Dropping to the ground, he circled around the building, coming to a stop at the front door.
Taking a breath, he dropped his hold on 'Ghost', reaching a hand up at the same time to knock on the door.
As soon as his fist came into contact with it, it opened, surprising him. It swung inwards with next to no resistance whatsoever.
Izuku stared at it for a moment, before taking a cautious look inside. The sight of Torino lying on the floor with a broken plate and a sizeable red splatter beneath him caught his eye immediately. He felt a spark of concern flash through his mind, before it was vanished when he took a breath and identified the smell that hung in the air, that hadn't been there just a few short minutes ago.
"Is he okay?" Tamako asked, radiating a bit of concern in Izuku's stead.
'He is.' Izuku responded, frowning. 'I know you're still new to interpreting more than sight and sound from the people you're with, but that smell in the air is ketchup. If that were blood on the floor, we'd be able to tell from the smell alone.'
Izuku found it unlikely that this was anything other than Torino attempting to trick him. There wasn't anything anywhere near where he was lying to trip over, and he had already seen that the man wasn't unsteady at all when he moved. And if that weren't enough to go off of, the obscene amount of ketchup splattered across the floor was. Izuku could think of no other reasonable explanation as to why there would be what seemed to be an entire bottle's worth of ketchup on the floor.
Beyond that, Izuku could see the man's back rising and falling beneath his cape, and based on what he was feeling with 'Proximity', the man's muscles were tensed, not limp, as someone in his position would likely be, lying spreadeagle on the floor.
Izuku took a few steps inside, pushing his confusion and curiosity to the back of his mind and instead just staring down at the man with a deadpan expression.
"Old man, I know fully well that you aren't injured, just as I know the reason you extended an invitation to me. If you could please get up so we get this meeting over with, I would appreciate it."
A few seconds passed in silence, interrupted only by the sounds of whatever show Torino had been watching, with Izuku continuing to stare down at the man.
Then, without warning, Torino exploded up off the ground, the jets on his feet propelling him as he bounced around the room.
It seemed that Izuku's earlier assessment of the man was accurate, not only was Torino nowhere near the feeble old man that his age might suggest, but he was still fully capable of acting as a hero, and then some. He was fast, not fast enough for Izuku to not be able to track his movements, but fast enough that most people Izuku knew of would have difficulty keeping up, including his classmates. He was almost a blur as he launched himself around the room.
Watching the man move the way he was, Izuku felt his heart sink just a bit. He'd come here hoping to see Gran Torino in person and hopefully get a feel for what sort of man he was, and whether or not he would be a threat, whether that be physically or to the secret of Izuku's quirk. And despite the fact that he hadn't discounted the possibility of their meeting leading to conflict, especially after spying on the man, he'd been hoping that it wouldn't. He had no interest in fighting the old hero for no reason.
Sighing in resignation, Izuku paid closer attention to Torino's movements, tracking him through the air, mostly with 'Proximity' and attempting to gauge when he would transition from trying to disorient Izuku with his movements to attacking.
As he watched, the pinball movements continuing long enough for Izuku to start to analyze them, he began to see a slight pattern to them. As the number of movements stretched into the dozens, Izuku noticed that, every once in a while, Torino would speed past almost close enough for his cape to whip at Izuku's face. The direction from which he would do so appeared to be random—from the front, then from his right, passing in front of him, then from the same direction passing behind him this time, back, left, front, left again, on and on—but every time he did, a few movements later, he would pause for the briefest of moments behind Izuku, off to the right and near the ceiling.
Either the man was intending to actually attack from that direction once he felt that Izuku was sufficiently disoriented—which he would have no way to judge, since Izuku had been staring straight ahead since Torino started moving—or he suspected that Izuku was skilled enough to track him and notice the pattern, in which case he would likely attack from a different direction once the pattern was broken. Either way, Izuku would be ready for h-.
There, behind him, off to his left. Torino's launch was directed straight at him instead of angled to pass by him.
Waiting until the last possible second in order to deprive Torino of a chance to redirect mid-flight, Izuku's hand darted out behind him, catching the man by the neck. Before he could do anything to try to break free, Izuku threw him into the wall in front of him, hard enough to leave a dent in the surface. Torino slid to the ground, gasping in a way that told Izuku that the air had been knocked out of him, which meant that he'd be unable to use his quirk for a few seconds.
Staring at the man struggling to take in a breath, Izuku felt his heart sink a bit further. He hadn't wanted to fight Torino. He'd been prepared to, obviously. If it became necessary in order to protect his family, he was prepared to do a number of unspeakable things, but that didn't mean that he didn't wish that he could avoid conflict if such a path were possible. He took no enjoyment from the thought of fighting heroes.
Why did it have to come to something like this?
"I didn't ask to be like this, you know."
Torino managed to suck in a breath, before looking up at Izuku.
"I didn't ask to be born with this quirk, to have it complicate my life, and to have it be so notorious that I can't reveal it to anyone without risking being feared or hated because of it."
His voice was quiet. Calm. He wasn't angry. No, he was past the anger at this point. Now it was the sadness and the exhaustion that made him speak. Sadness and exhaustion at what the very idea of his quirk seemed to bring out of people when they discovered it: the anger, or fear, or hatred. For he truly did not ask for such a quirk. And he wished more than anything else that he could be allowed to exist with it without having to constantly be wary of what might happen to him and his family should its existence ever be discovered.
"I am fully aware of the sort of person I am." He continued. "I know that I'm a monster. A piece of trash with a quirk that may as well rip someone's very soul from them every time it's used. But I try. I try my hardest to deserve something more than the shit hand I've been dealt. I try to help."
"Easy kid." Torino wheezed as he pushed himself up from the floor, cutting Izuku off. "I'm not out to get you or anything. I just wanted to see what sorta reaction you'd have."
Izuku huffed. "You couldn't gauge what kind of person I am from a conversation?"
"Sure I could, in fact I still intend to, but some things are best judged through spontaneous action. Besides, trying to kick the crap outta you gives me a chance to work these old bones, and I will admit that you're pretty good for a brat. Maybe the next generation of heroes ain't gonna be so bad."
"You could try to attack me for as long as you want, you wouldn't be able to land a single hit."
"Hmph. If only I was twenty years younger, then I could teach you a proper lesson for mouthing off to your elders."
"Whatever you say." Izuku said. "Now, I assume this conversation is going to go somewhere meaningful at some point?"
Torino grunted. "Toshi said that you didn't react too well when he told you that I know."
"Does that surprise you? Did he also tell you that he's the first person I've willingly shared my secret with?"
"No, I can't say that really surprises me." Torino said, scratching at his chin. "I don't imagine there are very many people who'd be real happy about a secret like that getting blabbed."
Izuku nodded. "That's the only reason I'm here right now, because I wanted to see what kind of person you are, and whether you were the type to spread the secret further."
"And what would you have done if I were the type?"
Izuku shrugged. "Depends on the situation. At the very least I would be that much more prepared for whatever would come. But I value the safety of my family above all else, and there is very little I wouldn't consider in order to ensure that the life we've built remains undisturbed."
Torino grunted again, and Izuku got the feeling that he understood what Izuku was saying. Then, after a few moments of silence, he spoke up again.
"You know, Toshi can be a bonehead about a great many things, number one hero or not, but you should know that he isn't the type to go about breaking people's trust willy nilly."
"And in this instance?" Izuku asked. "Was there a special reason for it?"
"Fear can do a lot of things to a man, even someone like Toshi." He answered.
They fell into silence once more as Izuku considered Torino's words. He could certainly understand fear clouding someone's judgement, but he couldn't move past the thought that it was Yagi's fear of him that led him to do what he did.
"Has Toshi told you about his quirk and All For One yet?" Torino asked, breaking the silence.
"I know what his quirk is, and he told me that All For One is the villain that injured him a few years ago. But I'm guessing there's a bit more than that?"
Torino nodded. "Quite a bit more, yeah."
He turned to walk over to his couch, rolling his shoulders. "C'mon, you'll probably want to sit down for this, it's a long story."
"I'll stand, if it's all the same to you." Izuku said, following him.
"Suit yourself, but I'm gonna sit. My little welcoming party really did a number on my back."
He jumped up onto the couch, sitting down and taking a moment to get settled, groaning in apparent relief when he found the right spot.
"Now then, starting at the beginning, towards the very beginning of quirks, there were two brothers."
Gran Torino proceeded to walk Izuku through a story that seemed to come straight out of a work of fiction, about the villain All For One and his brother who, through All For One's actions, became the beginning of Yagi's quirk, One For All. He talked about the constant cycle of One For All being passed down to a new successor, said successor facing off against All For One, failing, and the quirk being passed on once more to someone new. According to him, Yagi was the eighth holder of the quirk, and his predecessor, the seventh holder and the person who mentored him, gave her life in an attempt to end All For One.
He ended the story by talking about how Yagi had fought against All For One himself a few years ago, and had thought the villain dead.
"So think about it from his point of view." Torino said upon wrapping the story up. "In the span of a few minutes, he was told that the single greatest villain to ever live, the one that had left him crippled and had taken his mentor from him, wasn't dead, as he believed, but was alive and well and ready to start screwing with stuff again. And on top of that, he learned that there exist other people with the same quirk that caused him so much pain. He wouldn't necessarily be afraid of you, but with everything else churning around in his head, the fear would've overridden his common sense long enough for him to spill everything to me, one of the very few people that knows about what he went through."
Izuku frowned as he considered everything he'd just learned, this story that had been kept hidden from the vast majority of people for so many years. What Torino said made sense. Izuku could imagine how that sort of fear would twist one's mind. He wasn't quite sure if the knowledge he now had was enough for him to forgive Yagi, but it least gave him a better look at things.
"I see." He said. "Thank you for telling me all of that. It's given me a lot to think about."
"No problem kid. Just don't be too harsh on Toshi. He's a bonehead, but his heart's always been in the right spot."
Izuku stood there for a moment longer, before nodding, and turning to make his way towards the door.
"By the way. You don't have to worry about me spilling anything kid, I've held onto Toshi's secrets for this long, I can keep a few more until I finally kick the bucket."
Izuku paused, looking back at him. He thought for a moment, then, "Do you know if he told anyone else?"
"I don't know for sure. The only person I can think of that he might've told would be his old sidekick, Nighteye. The three of us worked pretty closely when Toshi was gunning for All For One last time. And you don't have to worry about him either, in case you were wondering. He might be an uppity brat, but he knows how to keep a secret."
Izuku nodded, continuing towards the door, shutting it once he was through.
This had given him a lot to think about indeed. Not only was Yagi's quirk much more convoluted than he originally thought, but apparently the villain that had orchestrated the USJ attack was intertwined into the whole thing. It was a great deal more than he'd been expecting.
At the very least, he'd achieved what he'd set out to do today. After meeting Gran Torino and conversing with him for as long as he did, Izuku was confident that the old man wasn't the sort of person that would spill his secret. It wasn't ideal that he knew it at all, but Izuku still felt a little better about it.
He still wasn't sure whether or not he would be able to forgive Yagi, given what he now knew. He'd have to put some thought into it.
Thankfully, he had an entire week to mull it over.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Devastation
Chapter Summary
The meat of the internship arc.
Chapter Notes
Who's ready for 15k words?
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
5:01 [Ochako]-
-'It was amazing! She was so fast! I could barely keep track of her!'
-'No matter how many times we sparred, it was basically no contest every time.'
-'I managed to get my hand on her once to use my quirk, but then she just started bouncing around the room like a pinball!'
5:02 [Izuku]-
-'Next time, you could try deactivating your quirk when she goes to attack. It might throw her off-balance just long enough to land a hit.'
-'It sounds like your internship has been eventful thus far, though.'
5:02 [Ochako]-
-'Oh yeah! That's a good idea! I'll have to try that, assuming I can even get a chance to use my quirk again.'
-'And it has! Aside from the sparring, we've been going out at night to patrol. Somehow she's even faster when she's fighting criminals! (I think she must've been going easy on me)'
-'I even got to take down a criminal on my own! We found a guy trying to mug someone, and Miruko told me to go stop him. He tried to attack me, but he was so slow compared to her. I made him float up into the air, and then Miruko caught him on the roof and held him over the edge until the police came to get him!'
Izuku grinned at his phone. Ochako's excitement was almost palpable even through text.
5:03 [Izuku]-
-'Excellent! That's wonderful to hear!'
-'Your quirk is almost ideal for situations like that. One touch and you can subdue nearly anyone, freeing you up to either move on to the next opponent or tend to any victims.'
-'In fact, something that you could consider for the future is having the support department add some form of grappling hook or other securing line to your costume. You could use it to make sure people don't fly too far away.'
5:03 [Ochako]-
-'Oooh that's a good idea! I'll have to ask about that when the internships are over.'
-'If it's a grappling hook, and if it's long enough, maybe I can make myself weightless and use it to jump between buildings.'
5:03 [Izuku]-
-'You certainly could. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard for you to figure out how to do it. At the very least you wouldn't have to worry about falling.'
5:04 [Ochako]-
-'Now I can't wait to try it.'
-'But enough about me. How's your week been going?'
5:04 [Izuku]-
-'Well enough thus far. I can't really complain.'
-'No luck just yet with the search that we've discussed, but I think I'm making progress.'
-'Other than that, I've been having a lot of fun. I'll be sure to tell you about everything when your internship ends.'
5:04 [Ochako]-
-'Sounds like a plan!'
-'Whoops. Got to go. Miruko wants me for something.'
5:04 [Izuku]-
-'Have fun.'
5:04 [Ochako]-
-' :) '
Izuku locked his phone, a smile on his face as he thought about the conversation. He was glad that Ochako seemed to be having so much fun with her internship with Miruko.
She already knew about Oni, so he could—and would—tell her about what he'd been doing when he got the chance to, but he wasn't about to start having that conversation through text. No need to leave that sort of evidence on either of their phones.
Still smiling, he leaned back on his hands, looking up to watch the sun, which was beginning to inch towards the horizon. He was currently sitting cross-legged up on the side of a building. He had legs at the moment because he'd already changed into Oni and was about to start moving on a group of criminals he'd located. He would've started a bit ago—it wasn't dark yet, but the location was active, and he was willing to change up his routine since he had nothing else to do—but Ochako had texted him right before he was about to start, and he saw no reason to make her wait for the sake of a few pieces of trash.
Izuku sighed, standing up. He'd made the criminals wait long enough; it was time to break a few bones. Now standing parallel to the ground, he looked down at the building almost directly below him that was to be the target of his efforts tonight.
Humming a soft tune, Izuku activated 'Hotbar', pulling a small duffel bag from thin air. The phone in his hand—the one he used as 'Izuku'—was tucked into one of the pockets and the bag disappeared just as fast as it had appeared. He rolled his neck, cracking it, then reached up to adjust the mask on his face, tightening the strap at the back of his head.
Taking a deep breath, Oni crouched slightly. He let a grin stretch across his face as scales sprouted along his forearms and his fingers elongated with the activation of his claw quirk. His now-clawed fingers sank into the surface of the building as his excitement began to rise.
'Are you ready to have some fun?'
He could feel Tamako quickly becoming just as excited for what was about to happen.
"Always. Let's do it."
Feeling his smile widen, Oni pushed off from the building, letting gravity take hold once more. He twisted as he fell, orienting himself so that he was falling face-first towards the tiny auto repair shop below. He made slight adjustments as he moved—wings and a tail were so incredibly useful for making such adjustments—aiming for the skylight nestled in the center of the roof, through which he'd already observed a few figures walking around while he'd been texting Ochako.
Twisting around again at the last second, he slammed feet-first into the glass, before impacting the cement floor an instant later, landing in a crouch. 'Shock Absorption' worked its magic, nullifying the impact to the point that he didn't even feel it, and his regeneration quirk had already closed up the numerous miniscule cuts he'd earned by smashing through glass.
Rising from his crouch, Oni looked up to see a few criminals staring at him, incredulous looks on their faces. There were eight of them, and he'd already confirmed that there weren't any more in the rest of the building.
"Hello hello, everyone!" Oni called.
"Who-?"
"Please." He said, raising a hand. "Let's skip all the useless introductions and baseless threats, and instead just skip right to the fun part."
Oni raised both of his hands up to eye-level, showing his scaled forearms that were emitting a fair amount of steam into the air. He'd pulled on 'Steam' and had been building up that which it had been named for since before he stopped to text Ochako, and now it was time to put it to good use.
Sweeping his arms out around him, steam billowed out from them. Not in a pressurized blast he might use to attack someone, but with more than enough force to very rapidly fill the room. Within seconds the steam was thick enough to all but completely hinder everyone's vision. Oni couldn't see more than a scant few inches in front of his face.
'Let's have some fun with this.' Oni thought, closing his eyes and putting a bit more focus into 'Proximity.'
As the group of criminals devolved into something of a panic, Oni stepped back, moving in almost absolute silence. He circled around them, observing as they tried to make sense of the situation, and waiting for the right moment to strike. As he moved, steam continuously poured from his arms, ensuring that the air wouldn't be clearing any time soon.
One of the criminals started to inadvertently separate from the rest, head whipping back and forth as he tried to locate Oni, or any of his comrades, and Oni chose that moment to move in. In an instant, Oni was behind him, hands raised up to the man's head. With a quick, concentrated exertion from 'Conqueror', the man collapsed instantly, with Oni catching him before he could hit the floor. He was quietly deposited on the floor some distance away, hopefully far enough that one of the others wouldn't trip over him and spoil Oni's fun.
Moving back towards the group, he slipped right into the middle of it.
'One down, seven to go.'
The second to fall did so in almost the exact same way. In their confusion, they drifted too far from the rest, and fell immediately as Oni came for them. The third though, was in the middle of the rest. Oni weaved through the group and grabbed him, allowing him to make a bit of noise before silencing him with 'Conqueror'. The perfect amount of noise to have the remaining five notice and make a beeline for where they thought it had come from. This meant that all five were colliding with one another, and very nearly lashed out in their blind panic.
Oni watched—or as much as using 'Proximity' could be considered watching, really it was more akin to feeling, but then he could visualize what he felt around him, so it was close enough to say that he was watching—this happen with a smile on his face, before pulling on another quirk.
'Ventriloquist'
As the quirk activated, Oni focused on the wall on the opposite side of the room from him, before speaking.
"Wow, you all are really bad at this." His voice sounded out through the steam, originating from the spot he'd focused on, his own mouth silent as it moved. "I would've thought that you all would display just the slightest bit of competence, but here we are."
The effect was immediate. Before he was even done speaking, all five turned and headed straight for where they thought his voice had come from. As they moved, so did Oni. He appeared behind them, extending his hands and hitting the two rearmost criminals with 'Conqueror,' dropping them.
"Honestly." His voice sounded out again, this time from somewhere off to the criminals' left. "Look at you all, running around like chickens with your heads cut off."
As they stumbled blindly through the steam—Oni would've thought that they would maybe look for the exit by this point, or that they would've maybe noticed their decreasing numbers, but then, it wasn't like they were the smartest bunch of people. Their decision to pursue such low, meaningless crime could attest to that—Oni pulled on one of his newer quirks, one that he'd acquired the same night as 'Steam.' He felt a new weight grow in the back of his throat as it activated.
"Oh, by the way. You might want to take a headcount at some point. Is it just me, or are there fewer of you than there were when we started?"
His new, greatly lengthened tongue darted out of his mouth at the exact moment that the criminals seemed to finally catch up, and their panic skyrocketed. It was a bit odd aiming something like the tongue based solely off the input from 'Proximity', but he didn't have years of experience in experimenting with quirks and their combinations for nothing. Between his skill and maybe the slightest bit of luck, the organ wrapped around the neck of one of his unfortunate victims. He ignored the salty, grimy, disgusting taste that hit him as soon as he hit them, which only worsened when their natural reaction led them to grab at the thing wrapped around their throat.
With a swift jerk of his new tongue, the criminal was sent flying back towards him. Oni unraveled his tongue as the man flew, and as soon as he was close enough, Oni twisted, raising a foot and planting into his chest, abruptly changing the direction of the man's flight.
He grimaced at the lingering taste on his tongue, already pulling on 'Shower in a Can' to clean himself off. Right, probably not the best idea to use that particular quirk on random trash like this, he had no idea where they'd been. Luckily, 'Shower in a Can' removed whatever microscopic remnants on his tongue that were the source of the lingering taste.
He felt kind of bad for Tsuyu, her tongue was one of her primary methods of fighting. She likely had to deal with the same thing.
Actually, there might be a way for him to make it work, and now that the thought had crossed his mind, he couldn't just not experiment.
With a swift pull on 'Metallum,' steel flashed across his body, including his new tongue. As soon as it was transformed, it lashed out once more at the two remaining criminals, once again latching around a neck.
'Hm. Interesting.' He thought. 'Sense of taste is greatly decreased like this. Not exactly a huge surprise, but interesting nonetheless.'
"Doesn't change the fact that you're licking criminals." Tamako added.
'I'm aware. I was simply attempting to avoid that particular thought. Besides, despite the horrifying truth of what I'm actually doing right now, the fact that I am means that I can do this.'
Oni's clawed hand came up, arcing with electricity. Latching onto his tongue sent those arcs racing down the organ, which was now a much more effective conductor. Between his body being made of metal—which he'd already found out greatly decreased the risk of electricity to his body during the USJ fiasco—and the already slightly increased immunity that 'Taser' provided, he felt nothing more than a slight tingling sensation as the electricity raced towards the decidedly non-metal person that he was connected to.
He took a moment to enjoy their screaming, before pulling them back just as he'd done with the last one. This time, he ended it with a metal arm to the chest, clotheslining them.
'One left.'
With only one remaining, Oni pulled back 'Steam,' ceasing the endless cloud of it pouring from his arms. 'Metallum' went with it, returning his flesh to normal. Then with a follow-up pull on 'Air Cannon' and a few quick sweeping motions with his arms, a great deal of the steam was cleared away or swept aside, greatly clearing both his and the criminal's vision.
"You!" She shouted as soon as she saw him. "What are you doing here!? What do you want!?"
Oni looked around, feigning confusion.
"Was… Is it not obvious?" He asked, frowning. "I'm sorry, I thought that it was pretty clear."
He moved, appearing directly in front of her face faster than she could blink.
"I'm here to punish the useless trash that decided that crime was the best recourse for their own terrible decisions and failed lives."
She swung at him wildly, and he moved just as fast as before to sidestep it. He grabbed the outstretched limb, and was slightly surprised to feel fur of some kind, even through the muted sense of touch as a result of his claws and even though he could see nothing that even resembled fur.
He strained his eyes at her, activating 'Appraisal.'
Name: Warabi Shimizu
Quirk: Invisi-fur. Passive. Enhancement, Utility, Illusion, Animal, Mutation.
The user is covered in a thick coat of fur that is invisible to the eye.
'Fascinating.' Oni thought. For a moment, he felt the slightest urge to take it for himself, but decided against doing so. There wasn't any use to it, not with his temperature resistance quirk, and he wouldn't even be able to see the fur. There was no actual or aesthetical use for him.
Oni grinned at the woman. It wasn't friendly, and she flinched, trying to pull away.
"Whoops." He said, snapping her forearm with a quick jerk of his wrist. An even faster exertion of 'Conqueror' silenced her before her scream could leave her throat.
Oni looked out across the room as the woman collapsed to the floor, at the criminals he'd left scattered about. All things considered, this was one of his tamer victories—though could it really be considered a 'victory' if there was never any chance for failure?—over half of them had been left without injury, and really the ones that were injured were injured superficially. Sure, just moments ago he'd snapped the woman's arm like a twig, but treating a break like that wasn't anything close to a challenge for modern-day medical technology—which was one of the few scientific studies that hadn't stagnated completely with quirks, even if that was mostly just because it was necessary to learn how to treat damage caused by quirks—and quirks. The one that was most likely to be more seriously injured was the one he'd shocked, and even then, it wasn't as if 'Taser' really packed much of a punch.
Turning away, he headed for a door that led outside, disregarding the skylight he'd entered through. He didn't slow down to open it, instead simply walking through the glass. The miniscule cuts he got healed even faster than the ones he'd received a few minutes ago.
Stepping out into the daylight—which was a slightly odd sensation. A bit of a novelty, as it wasn't often at all that he did anything as Oni before the sun went down—he pulled out his phone, dialing the number for the nearest police precinct. With Rei still asleep, it was up to him to make sure someone came to clean up the mess he'd made.
A pleasant voice answered after barely two rings. "Hosu police precinct, Ryou speaking."
"Hello." He greeted, false cheer in his voice as he picked at a piece of his clothing. With all the steam that had been in the air, his clothes were a bit damp now. "I am currently standing outside of…" he glanced up at the sign that sat over the door he'd just walked through "Ushihama Garage. I'd like to report a crime."
"A crime?"
"Yes, that's what I said." Oni responded, grinning. He knew that she was asking because she was essentially a secretary for the precinct, and not an emergency services dispatcher, which is who most people would be calling if they needed to report a crime, but it was fun to mess with her, even if it was over something miniscule.
"A-alright then. What is the nature of your emergency?" She asked, clearly confused. Maybe she was new.
"Well, you see, I've just killed a few people."
"…" The line was silent for several long seconds. Oni could hear her breathing on the other end. "I'm sorry, what? You… killed… someone?"
"Yep. Eight people, in fact."
He almost laughed at the silence as the woman struggled to decide how to respond. Apparently Oni had broken her with a few short sentences.
"Alright then. I just figured I ought to tell you. I imagine you'll want to have some officers come by."
"Mhm, yeah." She mumbled. "Thank you…"
"You're very welcome. Have a nice day."
He hung up, cutting off her response of 'Mhm. You too."
Oni raised his arms up over his head, stretching himself out. Now that he'd wrapped up such a pleasant start to his evening, it was about time he moved on to more important matters. He had a sword wielding, psychopathic, maybe-vigilante-maybe-serial killer to catch.
Spreading his wings, he launched himself into the air, quickly rising above the surrounding buildings.
Looking through everything he and Rei could find on Stain and his movements in the past had revealed something of a pattern. It wasn't much of one—barely even qualified as one actually—but it was a pattern nonetheless. It didn't help them figure out who the next target would be, or where it would happen, but it did have them coming to the conclusion that there would even be another attack, as well as a very loose approximate when.
Whenever Stain got started in a city, he always went after multiple heroes. He never only went after one. That wouldn't shine enough light on the other so-called 'corrupt' heroes in the area. The fewest targets he'd ever gone after, from the information that they could confirm was Stain's handiwork at least, was three, and that was when he'd tried to make a mess of Oni's city.
That number would've been lower, had Oni not found out the crimes of the third and final target, but that wasn't important.
The point was, Stain wouldn't stop after just attacking the hero he'd targeted when Ingenium had attempted to step in. He was far too driven to follow through with his mission to do something like that.
As for the when, over the years that Stain had been active, it seemed like he put a little bit of effort into randomizing the times of his appearances, but there were two rather strict guidelines he followed. The first was obvious enough: He only ever moved at night. Fewer potential witnesses that way, not to mention the other obvious advantages of fighting and moving at night. And the second: Once he arrived at a city and hit his first target, he never waited more than a week to strike again. From the night he hit a target, before the week was up, he would move on to the next, and the timer would reset. With Ingenium and the other hero being attacked around the time of the festival, and another—some smaller hero that Oni didn't immediately recognize, whose only crime would be maybe putting a bit too much focus into his appearance in the public eye—in the week before the start of the internships, another target would be due to be attacked before the internships were over.
As for who might be attacked, that was quite a bit harder to nail down. As with every other decently sized city in Japan, there were hundreds of heroes in Hosu. He could—and did—try to determine any potential crimes that they had committed, but Stain was just as likely to attack someone because they were too flashy, had too much merchandise, or hesitated just a moment too long when saving someone. There was no reasonable—or even remotely reliable—method to determine who Stain's next target might be. Oni's only option was to patrol the entire city from sundown to sunup, every day, hoping to find Stain before Iida did.
He figured that starting around Manual's—the hero that Iida had chosen to intern with, most likely for the sole purpose of trying to find Stain—patrol route and expanding out from there would be a good enough place to begin. And with sunset rapidly approaching, it was almost time for their patrol to begin. He'd actually spotted the two of them both nights as he followed his own patrol. Today was the third day of the internships, and thus was the third night of his patrol.
Oni was approaching this search for Stain much quieter than he had in Musutafu. That time, it had been more urgent, he'd needed Stain out of his city as soon as possible, and he was fully willing to kick up a storm in doing so. But now, his primary concern was to keep Iida safe, he wasn't as concerned with stopping an attack altogether, only with finding Stain. He mostly kept to the sky, scanning the streets below with several of the changes in vision that 'Spectrum' gave him access to. More often than not he kept 'Ghost' active as he flew, all the better to ensure that he wasn't seen.
He was nearing Manual's agency, a relatively small, fairly inconspicuous building. It wasn't flashy at all. Where a number of heroes with their own agencies would have the name of said agency plastered across the outside of the building, this one was indistinguishable from the multitude of normal office buildings around it.
He was at the point where he would stop flapping his wings, and simply let momentum carry him the rest of the way as he drifted closer to the ground, when a purple portal spawned into existence directly in front of him.
Oni twisted out of the way, drawing his wings in close. Another opened in his path as he fell, and in the blink of an eye 'Air Cannon' was pulled to the surface and he was using a blast of air to redirect himself. He dove for the nearest building, much more willing to continue this with only two dimensions in play. Not to mention he was multitudes faster when his feet were on the ground. He had to dart out of the way one more time when a portal spawned on the roof where he would've landed.
Once his feet where firmly beneath him, and his wings were outstretched just in case that happened to change, he watched the air around him. Kurogiri likely wouldn't just give up after a few failed attempts. If he was here for Oni, then it was for a specific reason.
"Kurogiri." Oni said, turning towards where he felt the… man? Creature?... appear. All that was there was a pair of glowing eyes in a purple cloud. "I must say, you've picked an odd time and place to die."
"I did not come here to fight." Kurogiri responded. "I came to extend an invitation."
Oni raised an eyebrow. "And you couldn't open with that? From my perspective it certainly seemed less like an invitation and more like you were trying to capture me."
"Forgive me. My leader is simply anxious to speak with you."
"And what does he want to talk about?"
"I would prefer to leave that to him to explain."
Oni considered it for a moment. It would be interesting, at the very least, to get a closer look at the ones that were trying to stir up trouble. It seemed that they didn't listen to the warning he'd sent through Giran, not that he'd actually expected them to. Actually, that could very well be the purpose of this meeting.
He tilted his head. "And if I go, you realize that if I don't like what I hear, I'm not above putting you down? All of you?"
"We are well aware of how dangerous you are. That is part of the reason my leader would like to speak with you."
Overconfidence, maybe. Or maybe simply confidence in either their ability to convince him of… whatever they wanted to talk about, or their ability to fend him off.
Either way, he was curious.
"Alright then." He said, drawing his wings back in and gesturing with a hand. "Let's get on with it."
Darkness immediately washed over him, and he had to resist the urge to move out of the way. He felt the sensation of falling, before the darkness cleared and his feet hit the ground.
Blinking, he took in his surroundings, seeing that he was in a bar of some sort. His eyes landed on one of the occupants.
"Ah. Hello Stain. Fancy meeting you here."
Stain nodded at him. "Oni."
"Good. You're both finally here." A raspy voice said. Oni looked over to see Shigaraki emerging from a doorway that presumably led deeper into the bar.
"Hello Shigaraki." Oni said, leaning back against a wall. "Hello Kurogiri." He nodded, once the man had formed—fully, this time—behind the bar. "And hello, mystery person watching from the computer."
The computer monitor was blank, but he could feel something coming from it, and it was an ominous feeling indeed. Someone was definitely watching through it.
"Oni…" Shigaraki said, fingers twitching. "How do you know our names?"
"Please." Oni scoffed. "You think I wouldn't look into the people that were bold enough to attack Yueii? Especially when it was done with such piss-poor execution?"
"You-! Hng." Shigaraki rasped, hand coming up to scratch at his neck, while the other twitched in Oni's direction. Oni met the obvious anger and desire to kill with a smirk. His own fists were tightening. He still had yet to decide whether tonight would end with him killing everyone in the room, Stain included.
"Enough." Stain said, cutting through the tension in the air. "Tell me why you saw fit to interrupt my work, lest I decide to purge you as well."
Shigaraki grumbled to himself for a moment, before relaxing a bit, sitting back against one of the bar stools.
"I have a proposal for you two." He said. "I want you to join us."
Oni blinked. Shigaraki couldn't be that blunt, could he?
"Maybe you ought to start off with telling us who you are?" He said. "Just a suggestion."
Shigaraki sneered. "We are the League of Villains."
Oni resisted the urge to sigh. Either Shigaraki was an idiot, or this was his first time trying his hand at anything remotely diplomatic.
"I see." Stain said. "So you are the one that's been stirring up so much trouble. And you want to add the two of us to your little group."
"Yep. You two are great. Even if you are annoying." That last sentence was accompanied by a barely hidden glare in Oni's direction. "You've been putting heroes in their place." He said, pointing at Stain. Then, pointing at Oni, "And you must have a twisted mind to match up to ours, with how you break the people you fight."
Oni raised an eyebrow at the man, as Stain asked, "What's your goal, exactly?"
"To start, we want to kill All Might. Then, after that, we want to go around and destroy anything and everything that isn't to our liking."
He held up a stack of pictures. "For example, these brats. The ones that got in our way."
Oni recognized a picture of himself, as 'Izuku,' obviously, most likely taken during the second event in the sports festival. If he had to guess, it was just before he was about to lay waste to 1-B.
Despite that, Oni almost smiled as Shigaraki spoke. That was the wrong thing to say to someone like Stain. The man might be a psychopath with twisted views on society and how to fix it, but he despised wanton violence. Oni could practically feel Stain's mood plummet.
"Clearly, it was a mistake for me to be interested in any of this." He said. "You all are the sort of people I despise the most. Your goal amounts to what is essentially the tantrum of a petulant child. Violence without reason, without direction, is worse, immeasurably so, than even false heroes."
"Yes, I must say that I'm not a fan of such things either." Oni added. "As much as I may enjoy tormenting the targets of my vigilantism, I don't do what I do without reason."
Ignoring Shigaraki's obviously worsening mood, Oni turned to Stain.
"Say, Stendhal, do you remember the last time we ran into each other?"
"I do. Why?"
Oni smiled. "How would you feel about a repeat performance?"
He saw realization pass over Stain's face, and the man's expression darkened imperceptibly. Good, he was on board.
Oni's expression darkened in kind as he let himself focus on certain things, things that brought him to anger. The attack on the USJ, Shigaraki threatening his classmates, daring to so much as raise a hand in the direction of his sister. It stirred up that same rage inside of him, and he welcomed it.
The tension in the room began to rise as Oni and Stain watched each other, silently counting down to when they would kick things off. It didn't matter that they had only worked together once, and were, for all intents and purposes, enemies. They were both monsters in their own right, both predators amongst the blights against the world that were their prey, and so they did not need to communicate to be in sync.
Oni's smile darkened considerably as he let everything build up, his skin almost buzzing with the rage as it fed into 'Wrath.'
Then, without warning, he let it all out, both of them did.
Their bloodlust. Their killing intent. Their pure willpower. Whatever one chose to call it, it all exploded forth, filling the tiny room. The air thickened, and for most anyone else aside from the two of them, it became almost impossible to breathe. The room seemed to darken, and Oni could almost see sparks in the air where their wills clashed.
Then, by some silent signal, Oni and Stain both turned towards Shigaraki, and directed it all at him.
He pushed back away from the bar, falling to his knees. He scraped at the floor, disintegrating parts of it in the process. He tried to push himself to his feet, but he couldn't seem to get his body to cooperate.
Oni saw Stain drawing one of his knives, and let his claw quirk flash down his arms. The two of them moved at the same time, again by some silent signal. Stain went for Shigaraki, while Oni went for Kurogiri.
Before the man could respond, Oni was next to him, driving his clawed fingers into the metal brace around his 'neck.' At the same time, Oni heard a grunt of pain from Shigaraki.
"Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn't do that if I were you." Oni whispered, ice in his voice, as he saw some of the smoke attempt to twist and form a swirling portal. "If you so much as try to create a portal, I'll tear you apart and we'll all get to see just what part of you was left in this little box."
"Bastards…" Shigaraki wheezed, barely audible over the pressure in the room.
"Weak." Stain said. "You are all weak. You have no creed, no will. It is the duty of those that are strong to purge those such as you. It is the way of this world. I shall be the one to carry that out."
"Kurogiri… Send them back."
The metal under Oni's hands creaked as he dug a bit deeper into it.
"Remember what I said." He whispered.
"Now die." Stain said, and Oni could feel him raising a knife into the air.
"I must insist that you reconsider." A new voice sounded out, and with it came another explosion of bloodlust.
Oni moved, darting back and landing crouched on the wall farthest from the voice, teeth bared at the source. In the corner of his eye, he could see that Stain had backed off as well.
The air in the room darkened further with the intervention of the previously silent watcher, and this time there were sparks. The monitor buzzed and sparked, its blank white screen turning to static intermittently.
This. This was the true leader of the League of Villains. Oni held no doubt whatsoever that this was the villain that All Might had told him about. This was All For One.
Oni's claws dug into the wall, new strength surging in his limbs as an automatic response to the new presence. The air around him seemed to vibrate and hum as if electrified as the power of 'Conqueror' joined the mess.
The entirety of his focus was trained on the monitor, and a shockwave tore through the air towards it, almost unbidden, even as the voice sounded out once more.
"Kurogiri."
Oni's vision went dark once more, and when it cleared, he was back on the same rooftop he'd been on before he left.
He kept an eye on his surroundings for several minutes, waiting for something to come. With how on-edge he was with what had just happened, he doubted that even someone with 'Ghost' could sneak up on him. After several long minutes though, he sighed, letting some of the tension bleed out of him.
So, that had just happened. He'd just indirectly met the greatest villain ever.
With the villain's willpower alone, Oni could see, clear as day, that he was easily the most dangerous person he had ever met. It wasn't really a surprise, but it was an interesting thing to have happen, to have the thought that something or someone was, without question, the greatest something. It was almost like a moment of clarity.
Experiencing that firsthand, Oni could begin to understand the abject fear that All Might had apparently felt at just the realization that the villain was alive.
As for Oni… He wouldn't quite call it fear—there weren't many, if any, physical things that he feared anymore—but he could very well see that the man was a threat. He couldn't clearly see if he would win in a fight against someone like that. The presence alone was colossal and dangerous, not to mention any actual strengths, or quirks, that he happened to have.
Oni was confident in his ability to fight, even when it came to someone like All Might, but something like this made him hesitate just a bit.
His brow creased as he considered the potential situation. Perhaps it would be a good idea for him to look at his quirks and really put together which would grant him the greatest, most effective boost, with the fewest drawbacks. He already did that to a degree, theorizing how certain quirks might interact, like 'Taser,' 'Metallum,' and the tongue quirk, and he already had a few groupings in mind that he relied on a great deal—primarily the ones he used as Oni—but he hadn't actually picked out what his 'strongest' combination might be. The closest he'd come thus far is when he'd pulled on a great deal to match up to the Noumu.
Oni sighed again. Several new developments, the least of which being the confirmation that Stain was indeed active in Hosu.
He almost launched into the air, to fly off and try to locate the man, but held himself back. Just because he was now certain that Stain was active didn't mean that his search tonight would go any differently. He would tackle it as he had the past two nights. For now, he would wait the few minutes it would take for Rei to wake up and get her day started. He wanted to go over the developments with her.
Moving over to the edge of the building, he looked down at the street below, a small frown on his face as he thought.
A few short minutes later, after reaching the conclusion that he wouldn't be telling Yagi about his meeting All For One, because doing so would mean having to reveal his identity as Oni, a dull 'boom' sounded out through the air.
Looking up, Oni saw a column of smoke beginning to rise into the sky, an orange glow appearing at its base, standing out against the darkening landscape. A second boom sounded out immediately after.
Alright. Maybe he wouldn't wait for Rei.
He frowned as another explosion rang out. Another fire, another column of smoke.
Tightening his fists, Oni pulled on his scaled leg quirk, feeling the transformation take hold immediately, tearing through his boots. No time to dawdle right now. As he watched the fires in the distance, he pulled on one more quirk, that he rarely had an opportunity to make use of. It would help with the fires. He closed his eyes as the warmth of the quirk filled him. Raising his hands out in front of him, palms facing towards the sky, he activated it.
There was a tugging sensation in his gut, and he felt the very air around him tremble, felt the microscopic water vapor in the air heed his instructions, moving away to leave dry air around him. The natural urge with the quirk was to concentrate the effects of its power directly over his head, but with a bit of focus, he directed it over the area where the fires were. He didn't have to worry about being too precise, the effects were quite widespread.
The tugging at his gut increased, and he felt the tell-tale sensation of electricity arcing between his outstretched fingers. Wind brushed against him, warm wind, as the quirk forced huge swathes of air to cool. Tension built in the air around him, similar to how it had in the bar, but this time it wasn't because of monsters exercising their will, but of nature itself acting. And it acted in response to Oni's will.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Oni's eyes snapped open.
'Tempest.'
His hands clenched into fists, and lightning flashed through the sky. What had once been a clear sky, darkening with the sun touching the horizon, was now an almost pitch-black mess of clouds. It wasn't terribly wide, but it was a massively tall column. He could feel it trembling, waiting to release.
Oni lowered his hands, and the clouds obeyed, letting loose the water it had built up.
Crouching, Oni tensed his legs, before launching himself forwards. He cleared several buildings before his wings snapped open to carry him further. Partway through, he dove into the curtain of rain, almost immediately being soaked to the bone. It didn't even take him a minute to reach the commotion, and flying over it all, he felt adrenaline hum in his veins at what he saw.
Creatures, bodies mutilated and scarred, all of them with their brains exposed.
Noumu.
There were three of them, and they were terrorizing the citizens. He could already see bodies scattered throughout the intersection they seemed to have appeared in. A few of them wore costumes that could only indicate a hero.
Not wasting any time, Oni dove towards the ground, not bothering to close his wings, instead using them to propel him faster than gravity could. He pulled them back in the last moment, twisting so that he landed on his feet. The asphalt cracked beneath him as he did.
Focusing his attention on the Noumu, he pulled on another quirk, 'Captivate' and immediately theirs snapped to him. He smirked as they seemingly forgot about the people fleeing from them.
"Look at you." He whispered, barely even audible to himself over the downpour. "Someone's decided to send me some giftwrapped quirks. How so very nice of them."
Warmth flooded his limbs. Any of his enhancers that hadn't been activated in response to All For One, were being pulled on now. Reaching up to his mask, he pulled it loose, storing it away with 'Hotbar.' In its place, he pulled on his new draconic transformation, simply named 'Drake.'
As his head shifted, his bones breaking and reshaping, his smile shifted with it, becoming a silent snarl as his muscle structure changed.
This was going to be interesting. The last time he'd faced off against a Noumu—the only time he'd faced off against one—it had felt strong enough to go up against All Might. He didn't get the same feeling of anticipation or fear from these, though that could be attributed to any number of things. It could be the fact that the USJ Noumu had made him considerably stronger, the fact that he'd already faced off against one, and therefore had an idea of what to expect, or simply because of his encounter with All For One setting him on edge already.
No matter the case. He wasn't nervous, staring down the Noumu. Anticipation was making his heart begin to thunder in his chest, was making his hearing begin to fade out, and was making the sensation of rain against his skin start to disappear into the background, but he wasn't afraid. Granted, if they were as much fun as he was hoping, as strong as he was hoping, and oh how he hoped they were, he might have his hands full.
No. Despite what he was facing, despite what their presence meant, he was excited. Excited at the prospect of such a fun fight.
"Oh, I hope you all are as much fun as I'm hoping you are." He said, voice pitched lower and a bit garbled with his transformation.
The three beasts stared him down. There was one that looked similar enough to the one from the USJ, beyond simply the exposed brain. Tall—almost twice Oni's height—and broad, with a deep purple-black skin that seemed to almost be bursting with how much muscle was packed beneath. It didn't have any eyes, but didn't seem to have any issue with knowing where Oni was.
'Oh~. Is that an extrasensory quirk? I can't wait to try it out.'
The second had considerably lighter skin. It was much skinnier than the first, though Oni still got the impression of a huge amount of power in its limbs, and it had an extra pair of eyes.
'Not exactly my style, but I wouldn't be opposed to giving that a shot.'
The third gave Oni the impression of being the weakest of the trio. It was smaller than the other two, and had huge leathery wings similar to Oni's.
As he stared them down, Oni saw a few heroes break through the chaos of the retreating crowd and begin to gather around the clearing. He couldn't let them get involved. 'Captivate' could draw someone's attention away from almost anything, but he wasn't quite sure how someone under its effect might react when they were attacked by someone else. At best they would ignore it, and continue targeting him, but at worst, the fight could very quickly get away from him.
A familiar flash of hair caught his attention, and he glanced over to see Todoroki included in the crowd of heroes.
'Shit. This isn't ideal. I didn't realize he was interning here as well.'
For the moment, the heroes seemed to be monitoring the situation, likely trying to determine what Oni's place in everything was.
He wouldn't let them decide on a plan of action. Hopefully they would decide to back off when they saw that he had things under control.
Taking a deep breath, Oni took a step forward and roared, something made possible by the transformation. The Noumus responded in kind.
The ground beneath him shattered, and in the blink of an eye his feet were planted in the chest of the big Noumu, flinging it back. It disappeared through the wall of a nearby building. Oni wasn't particularly concerned. Even if it went out of sight, so long as the path back to him wasn't too long or overly complicated, it would come for him, as demanded by 'Captivate.'
As he twisted in midair to touch back down, the other two Noumu came at him from either side. He caught their fists, latching on, and as soon as his feet were on the ground, he launched himself into the air, carrying them along. Once he'd reached the right height a moment later, he twisted, throwing one down, quickly followed by the other. Pulling on 'Air Cannon' for a moment, he launched himself back towards them. The smallest one—the one with wings—was quick to get out of the way, but the other wasn't so lucky, and Oni's scaled foot stomped down on its arm, shearing the limb clean off.
Bending down to grab at its remaining arm, he swung it up and over to hit the first Noumu, who had just made it back. They collided with a sickening 'crunch'—though he couldn't tell where it originated from—and were both sent flying a short distance away.
Reaching down once more, Oni dug his hands into the road and pulled up a chunk of the asphalt. Turning, he focused on the winged Noumu, launching his projectile at it. It tried to evade, but even though the rock didn't hit the base of its wing like he'd been aiming for, one of its arms was still torn off.
Spinning around, he caught the fist of the big Noumu. He was about to see what he could do about relieving this one of one of its arms as well, when 'Proximity' picked something up from beneath him. Oni jumped up, yanking at the arm in his hand to better drive his foot into the Noumu's chest once more, sending it flying yet again and tearing its arm loose in the process.
Oni touched down again just in time for a fourth Noumu to burst out of the ground, too-many hands reaching for him. He brought the severed arm up to hit it under the chin, before stepping closer to deliver a punch to its torso, sending it away. As it did, he trapped it with 'Captivate,' ensuring that it would stay with the other three. In the split-second he had, he saw that this one had the same purple-black skin as the big one, along with an extra pair of arms, spikes along its back, and what looked to be a scorpion tail.
Dropping the arm, Oni ducked, letting a kick from the pale Noumu pass over him. As soon as it did, he jumped up into the air, twisting to lash out with a kick of his own, directly at its head. The force of it drove the Noumu into the ground.
Alright. Maybe they weren't as strong as the one from the USJ—quite a bit weaker actually—but maybe this could still turn out to be interesting.
He spun around once more to catch another punch from the big one, before bringing his other hand up to catch its other fist, the one attached to an arm that had definitely been torn off moments ago, as evidenced by the severed arm that was still lying where Oni had dropped it.
'Another regeneration quirk? That ought to spice things up.'
Oni threw his hands out to his sides, forcing the Noumu's arms away from him. He bladed his hand, darting close to drive it through the Noumu's stomach. Using that as leverage, and grabbing for one of its arms, he swung it around, throwing into the same building it first went into when he started things off. If it could heal from virtually anything, then he could play a bit rougher with it.
The pale Noumu was up again, and as it moved, Oni could see where its arm was almost completely reformed. Another healing quirk, but less powerful.
It opened its mouth, and a tongue darted out, quickly expanding to reveal a net-like structure. Oni stepped around it faster than it could react, moving to its head. Grabbing at its neck with one hand, he took the tongue in his other and tore it loose. Tossing the organ away, he lifted the Noumu up by its neck, before slamming it back down into the ground, into the same spot it had just risen from.
His head darted to the side, avoiding the stinger that was aimed at it. Oni caught the end of the tail, its chitinous armor cracking under the force. Yanking the tail forwards, he moved out of the way as the Noumu followed. He didn't let go, swinging the beast around, before up into the air, and down onto the pale one. Before it could recover, he brought it up again, slamming it down on his other side, before repeating the process once more. As the big one emerged from the building again, charging for him. Oni swung the tailed Noumu around to slam into the big one's chest, throwing it away yet again.
'That's what you get for not having a shock absorption quirk.'
Pulling back his claws, keeping a hold on the tail, which his fingers had broken through, now digging into the flesh beneath the armor, Oni felt around for the Noumu's quirks. Picking out what he thought was the right one, he pulled it out. With that done, he tossed the Noumu in the direction of the big one.
Oni activated the new quirk, hoping that he wasn't about to grow a scorpion tail.
Thankfully, he'd chosen correctly, as he felt discomfort and heat shoot up his spine and coalesce in his sides, just under his arms.
Grabbing at the collar of his shirt, he tore it away, leaving it to fall to the ground instead of storing it away. No sense in showing more than he was about to.
As with other mutation and transformation quirks, he felt his bones grinding against one another as it changed him. His spine in particular felt like it was creaking. His muscles twitched and burned as they grew and split, creating new connections. He could feel his sides bulging, under his arms, not dissimilar to when he'd had to regrow an arm in the USJ.
As the heat continued to grow, Oni felt something snap into place in his back, even as the skin and muscles along his torso felt decidedly stretched for a moment, before that too was corrected.
"Aha." He almost moaned. "That would be a new vertebra forming."
Finally, as a culmination of everything happening, two new limbs burst forth from his sides. He could feel them immediately. They felt unnaturally warm, and almost raw. He examined them as the heat in his body faded away.
His—now four—arms knocked against one another as he brought them up in front of him. The new limbs were identical to the originals, as far as he could tell. It was a bit of an odd sensation, having two new limbs to control, but it wasn't as if he didn't have experience adapting to a shifting body structure, regularly adding or losing extra body parts. Just about every day he went from having a snake tail to having legs and an actual tail. This wouldn't be any more difficult.
Already he was beginning to grow used to the new additions as he moved them around, working his fingers. He could already tell that it was much easier to have both arms on one side perform the same action.
As this was happening, the Noumu had regrouped and now stood some distance away, observing him, barely restraining themselves from charging in. It was the closest thing to intelligence he'd seen them display thus far.
The one with the scorpion tail still had its extra arms, and more than that, they looked to still be functional. He tilted his head at that. Was its DNA so utterly fucked that even if it lost the quirk that gave it the extra body part, it could still compensate and control said body part?
Before he could begin to come up with an answer, his earpiece—which had stayed in place when his head transformed. That was something he and Rei had tested the day after he'd gotten the quirk, to ensure that it would—buzzed to life.
"Izuku." Rei said, sounding a bit out of breath. "What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing much, just growing some new body parts. What's going on with you?"
As he spoke, the Noumu had apparently decided that they'd waited long enough. The pale one, apparently the fastest, surged forward, lunging at him, all limbs present once more. Oni's lips pulled back into the closest approximation of a smile he could manage, scales and claws flashing across all four of his arms at once. A pleasant surprise, finding out that his claws worked with his new limbs, but not one that distracted him.
He caught the Noumu's arms in two of his own, immediately planting a foot into its chest, kicking it away while keeping its arms for himself.
"Izuku I'm watching the news right now. What's happening? What are those creatures?"
"Remember the monster that I told you about? The one from the USJ?" He asked, darting past the big Noumu's lunge, jumping into the air once he was behind it to aim a kick at the back of its head. "These are basically the same thing. Noumu. Things that used to be human, with too many quirks."
The tailed one charged at him last. He stopped its lunge, catching all four of its fists with all of his own. He twisted, spinning it around.
"Does that mean that the League of Villains is responsible for what's happening?"
"I would imagine so." He answered, swinging the tailed Noumu around, before sending it flying straight towards the pale one, which had been attempting to get up without the use of its arms.
"What's the status of the rest of the city?" He asked, tearing another chunk of the road up to attack the winged Noumu, this time punching a hole in one of its wings. "Is this isolated or is there more?"
"You've got the bulk of it with you, but there are others. Two more Noumu, and then something else. I'm not sure if it's too quick for the cameras, or just really good at hiding, but there's something that's attacking people that I can't keep track of."
Oni jumped past the big Noumu's attack to deliver a punch with both of his right arms, caving its chest in and sending it flying back. He followed it, getting around behind it before it could land and repeating his attack from behind, reversing its momentum and sending it hurtling towards the other two.
"What's the status of the other two?"
"Both are fighting heroes. One of them is fighting Endeavor. He and his sidekicks seem to have it under control."
Oni delivered a knee to the tailed Noumu's head. Knocking it back with another double-punch, he caught it by the tail before it could get very far. He swung it up over his head as he'd done a few minutes ago, slamming it back down into the ground. Before it could recover, he stepped up and onto its tail. Using the leverage, he tore the second half of the limb away.
"And the other?"
"Currently being engaged by Miruko."
Oni's eyes widened as he kicked the—formerly—tailed Noumu back. "Miruko's here? What about Uravity?"
"She's there as well, though it looks like she's just helping with rescue and evacuation. Miruko seems to have it pretty well handled."
Oni frowned, as much as his new musculature allowed him to. Miruko was one of the more capable heroes when it came to combat, but he still didn't like the idea of Ochako being near a fight with a Noumu.
"Keep an eye on them. Let me know if anything goes south."
"Will do. I'll also keep an eye out for any developments for the mystery villain."
"Thanks." He said, right as he noticed the Noumu recovering.
Oni snarled, crouching slightly, muscles tensed. He could, and absolutely would abandon the heroes around him if he needed to in order to ensure Ochako's safety.
In the meantime though…
Oni's claws vanished, scales disappearing as he deactivated the quirk.
No more games. It was time to start cleaning things up.
As it had before, the pale Noumu was first to charge him. Its arms still hadn't reformed past its elbows, but that wasn't stopping it. Taking a step forward, Oni drove his hand through its chest and out the other side. As its muscles twitched around his arm, trying to repair, he took hold of the quirks he could feel burning through it, seven of them, and pulled them all out. It went limp immediately, and when he withdrew his arm, it collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Before the big one could even reach him, he darted forward, leaving a small crater in his wake. It couldn't react fast enough, and in the blink of an eye his feet were planted on its shoulders, all twenty fingers digging into the exposed brain. He repeated the process, grabbing the five quirks he felt and pulling them loose. It ragdolled as he pushed off, sent flying one last time.
The ground next to him rumbled, and the four-armed Noumu exploded out. Before it could even begin to reach towards him though, Oni's right hands latched onto its face and throat, and it was stopped in its tracks. He pulled six new quirks into his chest.
Oni directed his attention to the remaining Noumu, the winged one, which had for the most part stayed out of the fight, despite not being able to pull its focus away. Before it could react to him, he exploded forwards, launching straight towards it without even using his wings. It tried to avoid him, but one of his hands caught a wing, and he used that leverage to swing himself up onto its back, where the claws on his feet sank into its flesh to anchor him.
Grabbing each wing with two hands, he pulled on them and its quirks at the same time. He gained four more quirks, and the wings tore free, and they started falling. Unlatching his claws, he spread his wings, pulling away from it.
"Which way to Miruko's Noumu?" He asked.
"North-northwest, just under a kilometer out."
Oni dropped to the nearest roof top, taking off running as soon as he had his footing.
Barely a few seconds after he set off, three or four blocks from where his fight had taken place, he saw a small glacier emerge from an alley several buildings ahead of him.
"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this." He grumbled. He already had a pretty good idea of what he was about to find.
Coming to a stop at the edge of the roof, looking down into the alley, his suspicion was confirmed. The space was littered with broken chunks of ice, with even more stretching along the sides of the buildings. On one end of the alley was Todoroki, a fallen Iida, and Pro Hero Native. On the other, was Stain.
"Miruko just finished off her Noumu. And it looks like Endeavor will be wrapping up soon as well."
Oni's lips pulled back in an almost-grin, even as he saw Stain move. He was darting across the space towards the others. Todoroki had an arm raised, which Oni could see was covered in frost.
Before Stain could make it halfway, and before Todoroki could launch his counterattack, Oni appeared, his foot connecting with the back of Stain's head. The man was sent flying, bouncing off of one of the buildings.
"Hello all." Oni said once he landed, more towards the non-psychopaths than Stain.
"Ha. Looking good down there, Stain." He said, stepping closer. "Tell me, how's the asphalt taste? Good, I assume."
"Oni." The man growled, picking himself up. "What are you doing here?"
"You really feel the need to ask that after I just kicked you into a building? Really, I thought you were smarter than that."
Oni crossed his arms, all four of them, which definitely did not take him a split second to figure out before he accomplished it.
"I'm here because I finally decided to put a stop to your nonsense, Stain."
"Nonsense…" He repeated, anger skyrocketing, his bloodlust quickly following. "I am purging this world of fake heroes."
"Yes, nonsense. Your ideals are flawed, Stendhal. You have a set of nearly unrealistic standards that you expect every hero to match up to. I mean, what reason could you possibly have to want to purge Native of all people? He's not overly flashy, seems to do his job well enough, and hasn't committed any crimes."
"He is not a true hero." Stain hissed. "He, like so many others, pursue heroics only for the money that can be gained from it."
"You act as though that's a problem." Oni said. "I don't know if you've realized this, but with how widespread quirks are, and how they grow stronger with each generation, heroics is becoming an increasingly achievable career path. Of course people are going to get into it because it pays well if you happen to be good enough at it. Which, again, I don't know if you know this or not, but that's how most jobs are. Typically, the better you do, the better you get paid. So long as they still do the best they can, what does it matter if their reason for pursuing heroics is because they want to be well paid and live a comfortable life?"
"You… You do not understand… I thought that you might, we both seek to cleanse this world, but it seems that you must become a target of my mission as well."
"Oh please. Don't compare the two of us. I don't have any delusions about trying to 'cleanse the world' or anything like that. I just do what I do because each criminal taken down is one less person that can cause someone else pain. I punish those that deserve it, but I generally follow actual societal laws as the guideline, and I don't go around killing those that break the law."
"Enough…" Stain said, bloodlust spilling forth as he picked up his fallen sword. "I will not allow you to stand in my way."
Oni let out a laugh. "It's funny that you think you have a choice, that you have any way whatsoever to prevent me from stopping you."
Stain raised his sword. "I've put down stronger foes than you."
Oni shook his head. "No, you really haven't."
Oni moved, appearing behind Stain faster than anyone could track. The man reacted a bit faster than the others, swinging his sword back without the slightest bit of hesitation, but by the time Stain turned around to look at him, Oni was already back in his original position.
"You've no idea just how outclassed you are, Stendhal. I could end you faster than you have any hope of reacting."
Stain grimaced. "Just one cut, and you would be over."
"Hm, one cut you say?" Oni said. "Here, let me help you with that."
With a thought, Oni's knife appeared in his hand. He raised it to one of his other hands, laying the edge against his palm. He ignored the slight sting as he dragged it across his hand. Compared to everything else he'd been through, it barely even registered. The cut was already closed before he even fully pulled the knife away, there wasn't so much as a speck of blood to be seen on the knife or on his hand. The weapon disappeared as fast as it had arrived, vanishing into thin air.
"Huh. That's weird." Oni said. "Are you sure just one cut will manage it?"
"Enough! Enough playing ar-!" Stain's shout cut off as Oni's fist connected with the side of his face. Stain's quirk was pulled free the moment it connected, and the man was sent crashing into the same building.
"Dumbass." Oni muttered, picking up Stain's sword from where it had fallen, again.
He walked over to where Stain lay, the sword adjusting in his grip with the help of 'Weapon Mastery.' Humming to himself, he placed a scaled foot on Stain's leg, applying enough pressure that he heard the bone break within. Then, for good measure, he positioned the sword over what he thought was the right spot, before plunging it into the limb.
"What are you doing?" Todoroki asked from off to Oni's side. He hadn't moved since Oni intervened.
"Cutting a few muscles. That's all. Nothing that can't be treated eventually, but enough that he ought not be able to move when he regains consciousness, which he most likely will fairly soon. He's not weak enough to let a simple blow to the head keep him down for long."
"Ah! I almost forgot!" He exclaimed, glancing up from what he was doing. "How are you three? Any significant injuries?"
Todoroki eyed him warily, likely suspicious of the person he saw wiping the floor with several Noumu, who just so happened to arrive to save them from Stain. "Nothing immediately life threatening. These two are both paralyzed, and Ingeniumu is losing a bit of blood."
Oni nodded, moving to continue his task on Stain's other leg. "You should use your ice to seal his injuries. Help should arrive soon enough to prevent any damage from the cold, and it'll help to keep the swelling down. Just make sure you don't freeze any veins, if the cut is that severe. Keep it on the surface."
Todoroki eyed him for another few seconds, before complying, kneeling next to Iida.
"Who are you?" Iida asked, wincing as Todoroki place his hand over what must've been the injury.
"My name is Oni!" He answered with a bit of flair. "Infamous vigilante, 'protector,' so to speak, of Musutafu, long-standing headache for Eraserhead."
"You know Eraserhead?"
"Oh of course! We're best friends!"
Neither of them responded to that.
Oni took a few steps closer. "What about you, Native? You alive over there?"
"Uh, I think so. My only injury is a cut along my arm, and I'm slowly starting to get feeling back in my toes."
"That's good. Couldn't have him take out another hero that didn't deserve it."
"Uh, yeah. Thanks for that, by the way."
"Not a problem. I just happened to be passing by, literally, when the walking glacier over here gave away what was happening here."
"Oh…" The hero said, apparently just starting to realize how close he and the others had been to dying. "That's good… But, uh. What about the rest of the city? I heard about a lot of fighting going on before he ambushed me."
Oni pulled his lips back in an attempt to smile. And Stain had thought it was a good idea to try to purge Native. Even injured and still unable to move, he was asking after the state of the city he worked in.
"Everything should be pretty close to being under control. Most of the threats have been dealt with, and there are a number of high-ranking heroes in the area that should be able to handle anything else that comes up."
Before Native could respond to that, all the shadows in the alleyway suddenly began to shift and pulse. Oni's smile widened.
"Ah! Shadow! You've finally decided to arrive! A bit late though, I'm afraid."
"Oh, Shadow's there?" Rei said. "Say hi to him for me. It's been a while."
He turned to where he could feel the new presence in the alley. "It's been far too long my fr-."
The words died in his throat as his eyes caught up to 'Proximity.'
It was another Noumu. Yet another with purple-black skin. It was halfway between the size of the pale one and the big one from his earlier fight, just slightly taller than Oni.
It was Shadow.
He could see it. There wasn't a doubt in his mind. The shadows all writhed around him, his eyes were a cloudy white, he even had the same scar trailing down his face, in addition to the number that decorated the rest of him, as what seemed to be the norm for Noumu. The tattered remnants of his cloak hung around his shoulders.
"Shadow…?"
The man- Noumu stepped backwards into a particularly thick patch of shadows, and vanished from sight. He didn't sink into them as he would when he used them to teleport around, but seemed to go invisible as soon as the shadows passed over him. Even 'Proximity' was having trouble keeping track.
Then a fist appeared from the shadows next to Oni, hitting him. He vanished again before Oni turned back to look.
No… It couldn't have happened to Shadow, could it? The man was far too skilled to get captured. He had a guaranteed method of escape no matter where he was.
Another fist appeared from the shadows, hitting him from behind. It was gone again by the time he turned around.
Why had it even happened in the first place? It wasn't like Shadow was one to really stir up trouble, like Oni was. All he wanted was to do what he could to protect his part of the city.
Another hit.
Unless… It couldn't be their escapades against The Triad, could it?
Another.
Of course. The wide-scale quirk trafficking. Picking out powerful quirks from the darker areas in the city. Of course it would be related to All For One. It was stupid of him to not make that connection the moment he knew about the villain.
His hand flashed up, catching the fist that appeared from the shadows. Another came up to catch the next. He turned to face the empty darkness that the arms led to, before slowly stepping back, pulling him from the shadows. As he did, Shadow's mutilated face came into view. It retained a far more human appearance than the others had, aside from the exposed brain. It hurt to see such an expression of utter fury on the face of someone that had never so much as displayed even the slightest bit of anger.
"Oh, Shadow…" He said, his free hands coming up to the man's face, while the other two kept Shadow's under control. "Oh, you poor man. I'm so sorry. I should've known. I should've gone looking for you, instead of assuming you were just running off to tackle things on your own. I would've come for you."
The thing that used to be Shadow continued struggling in his hands, trying to wrench itself loose.
Oni was torn as to what he should do. Obviously, he couldn't let Shadow continue to rampage around the city. He couldn't be left alive, not when practically no method of containment would keep him secure. Oni could easily crush the man's skull between his hands, end it quickly and definitively. But Shadow didn't deserve that sort of messy end. He was also loathe to take the man's quirk, or quirks. He didn't want to do that to a friend.
All the same though, that would be the cleanest end that Oni could grant the man. And if nothing else, it would allow Oni to preserve Shadow's memory in his own special way.
His mind made up, Oni tightened his grip on Shadow's head.
"I'm sorry." He whispered again, closing his eyes. Grabbing onto the quirks, he pulled them as quickly and smoothly as he could, all four of them. They settled into his chest as Shadow ceased his struggling, going limp in Oni's arms.
Oni lowered him to the ground, setting him down as gently as he could, before falling back, legs no longer quite able to support him. He swallowed back the rising heat in his throat.
The rain seemed to fall heavier around him as he sat there, staring at the mutilated corpse of his friend.
"I'm sorry." Tamako said, radiating as much sadness as Oni felt. "I saw him through your memories. He seemed like a good person."
'He was. You would've liked him.'
"It wasn't your fault." Rei said, sounding a bit choked up. No doubt she was able to infer well enough what had happened, or she found a camera somewhere close enough to see.
Oni didn't quite agree with her. It certainly was his fault. He'd dragged Shadow into his fight against The Triad. He'd dragged the man along with his gung-ho method of dealing with crime, instead of approaching with any degree of subtlety. He'd assumed everything was alright when Shadow failed to meet up or communicate with him at all. If nothing else, it was as much his fault as it was whoever had actually captured him and turned him into a monster.
A sudden thought had him pulling on a quirk. He couldn't let the authorities take Shadow's body. No doubt they would cut him up, dissect him in an attempt to figure out just what he was.
No, he couldn't let anything of the sort tarnish Shadow's memory. Any information they needed could just as easily come from the other Noumu corpses.
Closing his eyes, and putting his focus into 'Tempest,' he willed the thunderclouds over his head to disperse. The rain dissipated after a few short seconds, revealing a clear night sky.
Heat bloomed in his chest as he activated the other quirk. Real heat, not the almost-heat that he felt from his quirks, or even the heat of increased muscle activity that he felt when his enhancers activated. It was a heat that came from fire.
His neck began to emit a soft orange glow as he climbed to his feet, slowly building in intensity.
When it reached his limit, and he pushed it just a bit further for the burn, he let it loose. Bright white flames spilled from his mouth, washing the alley in its pure light. Flesh and muscle, even enhanced as they were from the quirks forced into him, bubbled away, falling from the body, before burning away completely from the heat, bone quickly followed, cracking and crumbling.
In a few short minutes, with several more breaths that had his throat feeling sore and dry by the end of it, all that remained of his friend and former partner, was a pile of white ash with a few scattered chunks of bone.
He knelt down, ignoring the partially melted asphalt that he set his knee in. Setting a hand in the ash, he activated 'Hotbar,' pulling in that which was immediately touching his hand. Seeing that it vanished from sight, he drug his hand through the ash, continually activating the quirk to pull in more. It took a few passes through, with his other hands joining in, but eventually he had as much as he could pull away, all that remained being the little bit that mixed in with the molten asphalt.
Oni closed his eyes again. He would be sure to do something meaningful with Shadow's remains. He would spread them somewhere, rather than leave them in some random alleyway in Hosu.
Footsteps sounded out in the distance, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Iida!" Someone shouted. "We saw the flames! Are you alright?"
"Flashpoint! Why'd you run away?"
The trio he'd saved, who up to that point had been silently watching him, turned to the party that was rushing towards them.
Oni sighed, standing back up. They were safe, and all the threats had been dealt with. It was time for him to take his leave.
The ground cracked slightly under his feet as he launched himself into the air, disappearing into the darkness.
Oni took a deep breath as he walked up the side of the hospital. The night had passed, and the sun was beginning to peek at the horizon. In the meantime, he'd freshened himself up a bit since leaving the heroes to clean up the mess that was Stain. He'd pulled back his scaled legs and replaced his socks and boots, and he'd pulled back his extra arms so he could put a shirt back on. He hadn't even needed to go home to do so. The same pack that he'd stored his 'Izuku' phone in—which upon retrieving the pack he saw it had a location ping from Iida—also had a number of things he might find useful as Oni, including, but not limited to, an extra change of clothes. His pants, though, were still the same pair, and as such were slightly tattered, and he'd decided to keep his head transformation active for a bit longer, if for no other reason than for how much easier it made it to control his facial expressions.
Crouching, he peeked in through the window that Iida and Todoroki were sharing. From what he'd seen in the alley, Todoroki's injuries were superficial—though something like that meant nothing against someone with Stain's quirk—amounting to little more than a few cuts and scrapes. Iida's though, had seemed a bit more severe. Oni wanted to check in on them to see how they were doing. That, and he had a good idea of the sort of discussions that would be taking place, and he wanted to be present for them.
Reaching out, Oni pulled open the already partially opened window, maneuvering his way inside. Both students' eyes were on him immediately.
"You!" Iida exclaimed, wincing slightly as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "What're you doing here?"
He almost made as if to get up out of bed, but apparently decided against it. Oni could see frost spreading around where Todoroki's fingers touched the bed though.
"I came to see how you two were doing, of course!" Oni said, forcing a cheerful tone. "It's not every day that you run into someone like Stain, now is it?"
As he spoke, he turned and set a foot against the wall, lifting himself up and adjusting his balance to walk up the side, before repeating the process to transition to the ceiling.
"What are you doing?" Todoroki asked, staring up at him.
"Getting comfortable while I wait for the inevitable storm that's coming for you." Oni said, sitting down on the ceiling, before shifting back, lying down with his hands behind his head and his feet crossed.
"I think he meant, why are you on the ceiling?"
"Oh, that's because I get the feeling that it'll give Eraser a migraine the moment he sees me. And that's an opportunity I can't pass up."
A few minutes passed in silence, with the two students staring at Oni almost the entire time.
"Are you the same Oni that saved out classmate a few days ago?" Todoroki asked.
Oni opened an eye to look down at him. "I save a lot of people. You'll have to be more specific."
"At a concert."
"Ah yes. That was indeed me, unless of course there was another concert-turned-hostage-situation since then that I'm not aware of."
A few more minutes went by before, "Thank you."
Oni looked down at Todoroki again, who continued. "Thank you for saving us. I doubt I would've been able to hold out much longer against Stain."
"Not a problem." Oni said, shrugging. "Like I said earlier, I just happened to be passing through the area, noticed you by chance. Couldn't just let it be, now could I? Besides, it was very heroic of you two to jump in and try to save Native like that. Had you two not intervened, I likely wouldn't have made it in time, or perhaps I wouldn't have even noticed in the first place."
Oni noticed the way Iida's head lowered in guilt at his words. Good, at least he felt guilty for needlessly pursuing Stain. And at least he had come to his senses soon enough to send a call for help.
The room fell into silence once more as they waited for the people that Oni felt certain were coming. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for long. He heard the cacophony of footsteps as they approached, and subtly shifted himself to get a better view of the door.
The heroes burst through all at once, with what looked to be a police detective—or maybe the chief?—trailing after them. Manual and Fly came through first, heading straight for their respective intern. As expected, Eraser was there too, though he stayed back with the detective.
"Hello Eraser! What a surprise to see you here!"
Oni watched in amusement as Eraser's expression fell—further than was his normal resting expression—the moment his words left his mouth.
"Oni." He said, turning towards him. "What are y-."
His words cut off as he looked up at Oni. They stared at each other for a few moments, and Oni could practically feel Eraser's desire to curl up in a corner.
A sigh. "So many questions. I doubt I even want to know the answers to most of them."
He pinched at the bridge of his nose. "First, why are you here? Second, why are you on the ceiling? And Third, why do you have a lizard head?"
Oni's lips pulled back in his version of a grin. "First, I came here to make sure your students here were okay, and because I knew I would run into you. Second, I'm up here because it's simply the most comfortable spot in the room. And third, it's a dragon head. And don't worry about it. When's the last time anything about me made sense?"
Eraser pinched at the bridge of his nose even harder, and mumbled something about 'needing more coffee to deal with this bullshit.' At the same time, the maybe-chief, who had a dog head, stepped forward.
"Excuse me. As… interesting," he glanced up as Oni as he said that, "as this conversation is, there is something important that must be discussed. Regarding punitive action to be taken towards the two of you." He said, gesturing at Iida and Todoroki.
Todoroki made as if to say something in response, with Iida just sinking further into his bed, when Oni spoke up.
"Nope. No you don't."
"Oni…" Eraser sighed.
"Nono, hear me out Eraser. Believe it or not, I did come here for a legitimate reason."
He looked over at the maybe-chief. "I assume the 'punitive action' you're referring to is in regard to Iida and Todoroki's actions against Stain, which would technically qualify as vigilantism?"
The man—dog?—stared at him for a few moments, before nodding. "They engaged in heroic activity with the use of their quirks outside of the purview of their internships."
"No, they didn't. They were both completely in the right with what they did, both morally and in the eyes of the law."
The room was silent for a few moments as they all waited for him to explain. Eventually, Eraser sighed. "Care to explain, Problem Child?"
"I'm so glad you asked, Eraser! Well, you see, at the time the attack on Hosu started, both Fly and Manual were on patrol with their respective interns."
He looked over at the heroes. "Am I correct?"
They both nodded.
"So, they were already out, and permitted to act as a hero in a limited capacity. And then everything went to shit with the appearance of the monsters all over the city."
He looked down at Eraser and the maybe-chief. "Now, I don't know about you, but that's certainly something that I would consider to be an 'emergency situation,' wouldn't you?"
The dog nodded after a moment, and Eraser just continued to stare on, looking every moment like he needed coffee even more.
"So, given that they already had limited permission to act as a hero, and they were in the middle of an emergency situation, their actions to rescue a hero, which inadvertently resulted in them defending themselves from a dangerous criminal, are completely justified. I would think that you'd be faced with a bit of challenge to find anyone whose opinion held any weight that would disagree."
Oni shrugged. "But, what would I know. I'm just a simple vigilante. If it really is that big of a deal, just put the blame on me and credit me for Stain's defeat. What's one more crime added to the pile?"
The maybe-chief glowered, as much as someone with his facial structure could do so. "I was going to get to that eventually." He said, sounding put-out. "The point was to try to scare them to dissuade any further actions such as this."
"Well then, I'm glad I spoke out. It wouldn't do to discourage basic heroic instincts."
The dog sighed. "Well, as he said. I mainly came here to tell you that, in the end, you wouldn't be facing any disciplinary action, that the vigilante 'Oni' would be credited for the capture of Stain, and that because of that, no one would be told of your actions last night. Though I did also come to warn you against acting as a hero without permission before you have your license. The law takes such matters seriously, and it would be a shame to see any or your careers ended before they even begin."
"He's right, you know." Oni added. "Remember children, vigilantism is bad."
"Oni…" Eraser sighed. "Must you stay here and continue to cause problems?"
Alright, alright. Fair enough." Oni said, moving to stand up, still on the ceiling. "That's pretty much all I came here to do anyway."
He reoriented himself to walk down the wall, before reaching the floor, taking pleasure in the way the other occupants tried to follow him and make sense of his orientation as he kept switching it. Both of the pro heroes—excluding Eraser—looked slightly green.
Stepping over to the window, he maneuvered through it, launching himself into the air as soon as he was out and had room to extend his wings.
Oni sat on the edge of the roof just opposite the hospital, his head finally reverted to normal, displaying every bit of the emotion he felt as he stared down at his hands. He could still feel the ash on his skin, could still feel where it sat in the pocket of his quirk.
Eventually, after some time of him sitting there, thinking of nothing, he heard a door open somewhere behind him. He knew who was walking towards him without looking.
"Hello Eraser." Oni greeted when the man stopped a bit behind him.
"Oni."
Silence stretched out for a few moments, before, "I know they were both your students. I hope that none of the others that happened to be in Hosu were injured."
"They're all fine. Iida was the only one with any sort of significant injury."
"That's good." Oni said, nodding. He rubbed his fingers against his palms.
Silence stretched out once more, drawing out into minutes this time.
"Oni-."
"I lost a friend today, Eraser." Oni said, silencing him. "At least, I assume we were friends. We'd certainly fought together enough times, and he put up with my shit."
Eraser went still behind him. "What happened?"
"One of the, ah, the creatures in Hosu. He was one of them. He had a few distinguishing features, and a pretty recognizable quirk. Made it easy to tell."
"What did you do?" Eraser asked, stepping closer.
"What else could I do? I put a stop to the mindless rampage he'd been forced into. I put a stop to him. His quirk wouldn't have allowed for him to be arrested. There wouldn't have been any secure place to put him."
Eraser was at his side, within arm's reach.
"I didn't have a choice. There wasn't any other way, certainly no other way that was immediately available to me."
"I'm sorry, kid."
They went silent for a minute, before Oni spoke up again.
"This is the first time I've lost someone, especially someone with this sort of significance. Probably doesn't help that he was one of the first actual friends I'd had in a long time."
He swallowed back the lump in his throat. "You would've liked him, Eraser. You both had pretty similar 'no-nonsense' attitudes, and he approached his vigilantism with a seriousness and focus that I think would match up to how you approach your hero work. Even his fighting style was fairly similar to yours. But most of all, he really cared about keeping people safe. The people we were going up against… Even though he knew that he was going into a fight completely outmatched, that never stopped him, it was too important to him that he save the people that needed it."
"He sounds like a good person." Eraser responded, voice soft.
"He really was…" Oni sighed.
Another pause. "Who was it that you two were fighting? They must've been somewhat significant."
Oni shook his head. "Nope, sorry Eraser. Not gonna tell you. I don't intend to involve anyone else. These people have ties with some extremely dangerous groups. The kind that one should not engage lightly."
"You could bring this to the attention of the police force, get their help."
"Can't do that either. Some of those ties extend into places such as the police. And like I said, the fewer people involved, the better."
Taking a deep breath, Oni stood up on the barrier that bordered the edge of the roof.
"Last night was something of a wake-up call. Both in how dangerous these people are, and in how seriously I'm going to have to approach them moving forward. I can't involve anyone else. Not without having to worry for their safety."
"And what about you, kid? What about your own safety?"
Oni shook his head once more, and a hand raised to wipe at the wetness in his eyes. "You have no idea the sort of effort it would take to kill me. No, I'm not the one that needs to fear for my well-being."
His expression darkened, his fists clenching. "It is them, who shall come to fear for theirs."
He tipped forwards, falling off the edge, before flaring his wings, driving them downwards to propel himself into the air.
Chapter End Notes
Whoops. My bad about Shadow.
Also, 26 quirks in one go. That's a new record.
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Retribution and Mourning
Chapter Summary
The aftermath of Shadow's death.
Chapter Notes
Sorry for missing last week's chapter. Some personal stuff came up, and I was unable to do much writing. To make up for it, have a longer chapter, as well as a double upload.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"What do you think?" Oni asked the empty night air.
"I think he'd like it. It's peaceful." Rei responded.
He hummed in agreement, looking out over the view. The moon was bright up in the sky, illuminating it.
Oni was a few miles east of Japan, flying out over the ocean. He was far enough to do what he needed to do, but close enough that he could still easily make out the glow of Musutafu in the distance. Up here, a few hundred feet above the water, it was serene, beautiful. The only sound was that of the wind in his ears, the constant gusts almost enough for him to simply extend his wings and hang in place, barely needing to flap them. The ocean beneath him, reflecting the light of the moon, stretched out into darkness, and he was far enough away from the light pollution of the city to make out stars in the sky above.
Rei was right. It was peaceful.
The fact that he'd used 'Tempest' to ensure a completely clear sky was neither here nor there. The night was perfect. Perfect for what he'd come all this way to do.
Perfect for Shadow.
The weight of Shadow's ashes felt like lead in his hands, molten lead, still hot from the heat of his flames. It had felt like that since he'd swept it all up barely twenty-four hours ago.
Oni knew absolutely nothing about what beliefs or traditions Shadow had subscribed to, what burial customs his family had followed in the past. It wasn't as if he could find out, either, even if Shadow had any living family. So, in lieu of a proper burial, the next best thing that Oni could offer him was a sea burial, spreading his ashes to be swept up by the ocean.
Holding his arms out in front of him, Oni activated 'Hotbar,' picking out the correct pocket. At his command, ash billowed from his palms, catching immediately on the wind. He flapped his wings as the ash poured out, moving back slightly to avoid the cloud. His hands fell back to his sides as the last of it appeared, and he watched it all drift and flow with the wind before disappearing into the darkness.
"You know…" Rei started after a few moments. "Most of the time, this is the part where people will say a few words in remembrance."
Oni bowed his head, thinking. The corners of his mouth quirked up after a moment, and he shook his head. No.
He had no words left. No more words, no more tears, no more pleasant thoughts. He had nothing left to offer Shadow but a peaceful place to rest and a promise that his death would not go unpunished.
His faint smile faded away as he watched the last traces of ash vanish into the night.
"Goodbye, my friend." Oni whispered.
Tucking his wings close, he dropped like a rock through the air. He twisted as he fell, turning to face the rapidly approaching water. He watched as the surface of the ocean drew closer with every second, quickly eating away at the several hundred feet he'd climbed on his way here. At the last possible second, Oni unfurled his wings. They caught him, immediately halting his descent and sending him gliding forwards as his hands skimmed the water, before he pulled back up into the air once more, maneuvering towards land as he did.
Spotting Musutafu, Oni angled himself further north, towards Tokyo, or rather, the small cluster of city that was Kamino, sitting along its outskirts. It didn't take him long to reach land, and once he had, and once he'd oriented himself with the streets below, he angled towards his destination.
A few short minutes of flying later and he was touching down in front of an unassuming little house tucked between a few decrepit buildings, nestled in a run-down corner of Kamino. It was only a single story, and from the outside it looked as though it had been abandoned. The paint was faded, shingles were missing, and there was a mass of vines dominating a whole side of the house.
Stepping up to the front door, the stairs creaking with each step, he tapped a hand against it, creating his own opening. He blinked in mild surprise as he stepped through. The interior of the house was vastly different from the exterior. Everything was clean and well-kept, aside from a faint layer of dust covering everything. The paint on the walls looked almost freshly done, the furniture looked brand new, and when he flipped a switch on the wall, the lights came on, despite the fact that, to the best of his knowledge, this area was supposed to be disconnected from the power grid. Taking a peek through the rest of the house revealed much of the same. Were it not for the dust, the lack of any pictures or other personal items, and the fact that he knew better, he would assume that someone lived here.
Moving through the house, he found the door leading down to the basement. Stepping down the stairs, Oni found himself surprised once more. The space beneath the house was at least twice as large as the rest of the house, if not larger. Most of the space was open and empty, but there was evidence everywhere that this part of the house was much more used than the rest. A whole quarter of the room was taken up by gym equipment, all of it well used, while another quarter was a mess of papers and filing cabinets. The walls of that area were covered in maps, papers, and red string. It looked like one massive conspiracy board. In an adjacent corner there was a huge, well-worn desk with another mess of papers and a laptop laid out on top of it. In the final corner of the room was a small bed, along with a table covered with an arsenal of small weapons. All manner of knives, batons, and even a few staves that looked as thought they probably collapsed down to a smaller size. Draped over the side of the table was a pitch-black hooded jacket. One that was instantly recognizable.
This was Shadow's home.
Oni knew from him and Rei digging around—something made easy once Oni had discovered the man's real name—that Shadow didn't have any family, didn't have a life outside of his vigilante work. The man was completely dedicated to protecting his city. The two of them had also discovered the reason why. The reason why he didn't have any family and why he'd been so dedicated.
It was because he'd had a family at one point.
It was a classic story—sad, but classic all the same—of tragedy driving someone to do what they felt was necessary, of Shadow having an ordinary life, with a wife and a child on the way, before it was all taken from him during a villain attack. Oni and Rei hadn't been able to find many specific details on what exactly happened after that, but a little more than a year after the incident, Shadow made his first appearance. He'd taken the pain of a lost family and used it to fuel his drive to protect his city.
If Oni was correct, and he was fairly certain that he was, this house was the one that Shadow had lived in before the incident. He'd maintained the little slice of his old life, likely the only thing that remained to connect him to that life.
Oni spared a glance over at the mess of papers in the corner, the culmination of a few weeks of work. Of fighting The Triad and investigating them. He recognized most of it, as it matched up to the mental conspiracy board he'd been developing, but there were a few things he noticed that didn't match up. It was most likely a result of Shadow going off on his own.
Turning away, he walked over to the desk, taking a look at the mess spread across it. A few newer documents; shipping information for victims, locations of sources and destinations. A lot of it matched up to what was posted up on the wall in the other corner, but there was something different about this bunch. Oni tilted his head, moving around to stand directly behind the desk. The papers were covered in notes and scribbles, individual locations circled, with words scribbled next to them to reference yet another location, which only repeated the process.
Wait… There as a pattern to the notes. Shadow had been working out a pattern in the movement of victims, one that was set entirely out from the norm.
As far as Oni could decipher with a glance, Shadow had noticed certain individuals being picked out from normal shipments, replaced by others to maintain the same number being moved, then pinballed around the city, sometimes even moving to another, before ending up at a seemingly random destination. It didn't seem to happen often, barely enough to even be noticeable, but while the in-between destinations always seemed to be randomized, both in location and the number of stops, they all had the same end.
It seemed relatively obvious, looking at the end result, but this wasn't something that would've been easy to pick out, and certainly wasn't something that Oni had noticed in his own investigation. Shadow must've poured through the tracking details for each and every victim that had been recorded to even notice the pattern, let alone actually sort it out. And that wasn't even taking into account the fact that not every location that they'd hit had maintained their records the same way. Naturally, some had been better about it, and some had been worse. The smart ones barely held any records at all, or kept them tightly organized, only keeping what was recent and relevant, while the stupid ones kept everything.
Mixed in with the mess was an open notebook. Scribbled across the page, was what looked to be a list of Shadow's theories as to what the location was. He'd listed everything from a laboratory to experiment on the quirks to a facility to try to create more powerful quirks through breeding. It seemed like the theory he'd favored the most was an auction house of sorts, a place to sell off the most valuable quirks.
Oni's eyebrows scrunched as he trailed down the list, his own theories sprouting up as his train of thought traveled down the path Shadow had started. They all seemed probable, and were all equally sinister in nature, befitting the nature of The Triad, but none of them really fit. There was something missing, or maybe he was missing somethi-.
His eyes widened. No, it wasn't any of them. None of his or Shadow's guesses were right.
Those ideas all made sense if one was thinking of The Triad as simply a malicious criminal group working for its own benefit, as Shadow most likely had been and as Oni had been until he realized his mistake, but they weren't just that. Oni knew something Shadow hadn't, the missing piece.
The Triad was tied to All For One.
Of course! It made sense. All For One was supposedly a criminal mastermind, with ties all across Japan's underground. With his quirk being what it was, a quirk trafficking operation would be a literal all-you-can-eat buffet. Powerful, or otherwise interesting quirks taken from across the country. All For One could take his pick and have them delivered straight to him.
"Look at you go…" Oni said with a smirk. "You weren't just on the path to finding a high-priority location, you found a link to the head of it all."
Oni leaned forwards, committing all of the information in front of him to memory.
"I wonder if you know, All For One, that despite all of your supposed power, all of your influence, a simple little vigilante was well on the path to unraveling it all."
Oni frowned. Of course, there was a decent chance that this discovery was the change in circumstances that led to Shadow's fate. He wouldn't be surprised if Shadow had found the location and immediately acted on it. That certainly seemed more likely than some random criminal getting the better of Shadow, and Shadow was absolutely the kind of person that would act immediately if he thought that the location was anything close to what he'd theorized. The man certainly took a much more careful approach to his vigilante work than Oni did, but if he thought that people were at risk, then all bets were off.
"You're not supposed to charge right into the enemy base, dumbass." He said, sighing. "That was supposed to be my job. You should've called me. I would've been there in a heartbeat to watch your back."
His frown deepened. Surely it was simply a case of Shadow being impatient and wanting to rush in to save people, right? It couldn't be that Shadow hadn't trusted Oni to watch his back, could it? The last time the two of them had seen each other was when Oni had been dosed with Trigger, the night he took 'Conqueror.' Shadow hadn't contacted him or Rei at all after that. Maybe that incident had scared the man off?
"I can practically hear you thinking." Rei spoke up, cutting off his train of thought. "Stop that. Whatever negative thing you're thinking about, it's not true."
Oni let out a breath. She was right. For all he knew, Shadow hadn't even gone after the location at all. Maybe something else had happened, and maybe it happened right after the Trigger incident. It wouldn't do to jump to conclusions when he knew nothing.
His eyes swept across the desk. Even if Shadow had gone after the location and hadn't called him in, at the very least, he'd provided Oni with the means to avenge him. He would use the information here to push his fight against The Triad further, faster. Though… he would have to investigate further before he actually made a move on the location. Even if this wasn't likely to be the actual base of All For One—which he suspected was the case. If All For One was having quirks transported directly to him, instead of to a proxy location, especially when he had a teleporter on hand, then he wasn't nearly as threatening as he'd been made out to be—it was still somewhere that was likely closely associated with him. Oni wanted to be careful with this.
As he thought, Oni's eyes drifted to the other items that littered the desk. The papers and the laptop took up most of the space, but there were a few more personal objects as well. A full face mask, pitch-black of course, that would leave only one's eyes uncovered, sat on a corner. Most likely an early accessory to Shadow's costume. Next to it was a small, framed picture. It showed Shadow, obviously younger and missing the scar that ran down his face, and a woman with black hair and soft eyes. He didn't have to guess at her identity, he recognized her from where he and Rei had dug into Shadow's past. The woman was his wife.
The last item on the desk, on the opposite corner, was another framed photo. It showed-
Oni blinked. It showed him. It was a picture of Oni, with Shadow just behind him.
He recognized the photo. It was taken during one of their earlier excursions. Oni had pickpocketed Shadow's phone from him, mostly to cause mischief, but also so Rei could worm her way into it which, coincidentally, was how he even found this house to begin with. Before he'd returned the phone, he took the picture, capturing the exact moment that Shadow noticed Oni had his phone.
And Shadow had, for some unknown reason, gone through the effort of having that picture printed out and framed it.
Oni reached out, grabbing the frame. He brought it closer, studying the picture within.
He'd been doubtful that Shadow had considered him a friend, what with how much Oni annoyed the man, but he'd apparently liked Oni enough to do something like this. It wasn't as if there was much reason to do so otherwise.
"Huh." He whispered, voice wet. "Imagine that."
Maybe Shadow not calling for help really was something other than mistrust of Oni.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by a signal from 'Proximity.' There were two people approaching the entrance to the house. The picture frame was dropped back onto the desk immediately as his expression hardened. In an instant, he had pulled on 'Ghost' and was back up the stairs to the basement. He waited by the door, listening. He could just barely make out a conversation as the two mystery people approached.
"-have yet to explain why I'm being dragged along to do this." A voice said.
"Because I fucked up!" Another responded. "I was supposed to do this like, three weeks ago, but I forgot, and now the boss is on my ass about it."
"So I'm here because you're a shithead that doesn't know how to properly follow orders?"
They were coming up the stairs now. Oni could hear them creaking as the two strangers approached the door.
"Shut up! I don't wanna get killed over this stupid shit. Just help me out so we can be done. You'll make this go quicker."
Oni heard a sigh. "I don't wanna get killed either. Better you than me, cause at least I know how to do something when I'm told to do it."
One of them was grabbing at the door handle, despite the fact that it was locked.
"C'mon. This'll be easy. Just get us in, we sort through everything to see if anything's worth taking, then we burn the place down. Won't even take us an hour."
Oni's fists clenched, his vision taking on a red tint as he registered those words, the other person's response being drowned out by the thundering of his heartbeat in his ears. The Triad. Of course they would come here. It wasn't enough that they'd ruined the lives of so many people, or brought about the end of an innocent man's life, a man that sought only to help as much as he could. Now they had to strip away the last trace of that man's existence.
Not if Oni had anything to say about it. And he did. He had so very much to say about it.
He heard the lock click, and took a step forward. Not waiting for them to open the door, he swung it open, dropping his hold on 'Ghost' as he did. He took in the appearances of the two men who had been speaking, their faces displaying shock at his sudden appearance, before his hands darted out to latch onto their heads. A quick pulse with 'Conqueror' followed an instant later, dropping them.
Eyeing their prone forms lying on the front porch, Oni bent down to pick up what looked to be a can of gasoline. Taking a step, he flung the can at the nearest building, with enough force for it to burst on contact. Turning back to the two men, Oni clenched his fists again, trying and failing to stop them from shaking. Reaching down, he took them both by the neck, lifting them up and carrying them into the house and down into the basement. He tossed the two men to the floor, and was already bringing a foot down towards one of their knees before he stopped himself.
No. He needed to contain himself. It wouldn't do for him to let his temper get the best of him. He needn't rush this, not before he even had a chance to figure out what this was, what he even planned to do.
It was fortunate that Shadow had kept some rope here. It was much more convenient to tie the criminals up rather than simply break their legs to keep them from running, no matter how much he wanted to.
Oh, he would like nothing more than to reach out and pulverize their bones to dust in his hands, to simply crush the skulls of the two unconscious men. With the strength that boiled beneath his skin, it would be like carving his fingers through jello. His fingers twitched with the urge. He wanted recompense for his friend's life, wanted to make someone pay.
He swallowed back the rage that threatened to boil over, taking a deep breath and willing himself to calm down, if only a little. He would make them pay in time, all of them, The Triad, All For One, the League of Villains. All of them would get what they deserved eventually, but there was a time and a place for that. For now, he would use the insects lying at his feet. He would instill fear in them and wring all the information he could out of them, and then he would proceed from there.
For now, he just needed to tie them up and wait for them to wake back up.
With the trembling in his limbs stilled for the moment, he got to work.
Oni noticed immediately when one of the men began to stir. He was watching silently, hidden with 'Ghost,' as the man slowly woke up. By the time he was opening his eyes to take in his surroundings, before he'd even noticed that his arms and legs were bound, the second man had begun to wake up as well.
It had taken less than an hour for them to recover, and Oni had used that time to come up with a plan of action. He would use these two men to get information, and that started with ensuring that they were properly afraid of him. That started with him waiting for the right moment to reveal himself.
He very easily could've, and had certainly wanted to snap them out of their sleep by breaking a bone or two, and just wring the information out of them by abusing their quirks with his own, but that wouldn't be as effective. It also wouldn't be nearly as satisfying. Causing pain was easy, laughably so. He could cause tremendous amounts of pain without even getting terribly creative. But he wanted to do more than simply hurt them, he wanted to punish them.
And so, he waited for the two men to come to their senses. Once they had, enough so that they were beginning to struggle against the ropes that bound them, Oni dropped his hold on 'Ghost,' reappearing directly in front of them. They went still immediately, looking up at him. He crouched down so that his eyes were level with theirs.
"Hello there." He said, voice soft. "Do you know who I am?"
They both nodded. He could see fear in their eyes already. He was speaking softly, but the air around him trembled with his words. His expression was gentle, but fire blazed behind his eyes.
"Good. Because I know who you are."
Oni pointed at one of the two men. "Yoshiaki Kobe, lockpicking quirk." His finger moved to the other. "And Razan Wakuni, oil slick quirk."
He took note of the increase in fear as he spoke their names and quirks.
"The two of you work as low-level members of The Triad, barely more than common thugs. You were tasked with coming here tonight to destroy anything and everything pertaining to The Triad here, now that Shadow is out of the way. Am I correct so far?"
The two men nodded again.
Oni smirked slightly, looking down at his hands. He was silent for several long seconds, before speaking once more.
"You know, anger is such a funny emotion." He started. "It can be triggered by the tiniest, most random, trivial things. Anything from the death of a friend, or loved one, to something as insignificant as something being said to you in an off-putting tone. The sources for anger are nearly infinite, and that's before you even take into account the variations that come from no two people seeing things the same way."
"Now, the triggers for anger aside, the effect that it has on someone is much more interesting. In most cases, it triggers parts of the body's fight-or-flight response, in this case fight. Adrenaline is released, and heart rate and blood pressure increase, bringing along an increase in strength, though the actual increase varies between situations. And most notably, when the anger is intense enough, it begins to reduce higher brain function and cognitive ability. Now, specifically this is just a further extension of fight-or-flight, it's removing psychological limitations to allow you to remove a perceived threat, but in the context of humanity mostly moving beyond the original need for that, it just means lessened self-control, self-preservation, and decision making. Actions that previously would've been unthinkable are suddenly increasingly acceptable in the face of anger."
"Take me, for example." Oni said, gesturing at himself. "You might not know it, weak, fragile insects that you are, but when someone has increased strength to the degree that I do, just about any action one takes can be immensely dangerous to others. If someone like you were to grip someone else's hand a bit too tight, nothing happens. Maybe if the person is a bit stronger themself, then the other might be uncomfortable for a moment. But if someone like me accidentally grips too tight, suddenly all the bones in that person's hand are shattered irreparably. It's like that with just about everything that I do. I'm not paying attention and accidentally swing my arm out and hit someone? That person is lucky if I don't break a few bones, or worse, hit a soft fleshy part of their body and gore them. I don't pay attention and step on someone's foot with even a little bit of force? That person can't walk for a few months because every bone in their foot is broken."
"And it's even worse when I fight." He continued, sweeping his hands out lightly to his sides, noticing the two men following the movement, not even bothering to conceal the way that they flinched away. "With every single movement, I need to constantly control the exact amount of force I'm putting into it. I can't punch too hard or grab too roughly, otherwise bones shatter like glass and skin tears like paper."
Oni reached down to the floor at his feet, picking up a weight that he'd picked from Shadow's homemade gym. A solid steel weight that apparently weighed fifty pounds, despite the fact that it felt no heavier than a coin in his hand. He held up the weight between his thumb and index finger, almost daintily.
"For example, observe."
Bringing up his other hand, he extended his index finger, pressing it against the face of the weight. With next to no effort, he pushed his finger straight through the steel and out the other side. Pulling his finger back out, he grabbed the side of the weight and tore it in two, tossing the two pieces to his sides.
"If that's what I can do to steel, imagine what would happen to people if I'm not careful. You two have no idea how much effort I put into not killing every single criminal I fight. It's all I can do to make sure they end up in a hospital bed rather than a body bag. Because despite how harsh I am, I have very rarely ever wanted to kill a criminal that I've fought. It is an extremely rare occurrence that I find someone's crimes severe enough to warrant their death. In fact, I can count the number of times that's happened on one single hand."
"But then, when I'm angry… When I'm angry it only gets worse. Like I said, in the right situation, anger reduces one's self-control and self-preservation. So If I happen to fight angry, not only does it become harder to control my strength, I also struggle with my morals, with my determination to not kill when I fight. It becomes so tempting to push a bit harder, a bit further, and simply put them out of my misery."
Oni looked down at his hands again, falling silent for a moment.
"The reason why I'm telling you all of this… is so you appreciate the weight behind my words," he looked back up, staring directly into their eyes, "when I say that I am extraordinarily angry, and would like nothing more than to end you two right here and now."
Oni ceased any and all effort he'd put into concealing his anger, his rage. 'Siren' and 'Conqueror' reacted, causing the air to tremble around him and his words to reverberate. He could feel his bloodlust seeping into the air, making it feel thick and sending static across his skin. The air around him smelled of ozone.
He reached out, taking the two men by the neck and lifting them up over his head.
"The Triad has taken something precious from me, and you two came here to erase the last trace of his existence. That is not a safe place for you to stand. Right now, it is taking every fiber of my being to not tear you two in half. So if you value your continued existence, if you have any desire to remain in one piece and not be splattered across the floor, you will tell me everything you possibly can, starting with where I can find your boss."
The two men struggled in his grip as he lowered them a bit, bringing them closer until all three of them were face-to-face. Their fear was palpable. Their faces were deathly pale and clammy, and tears were gathering in their eyes.
Oni paid those details no mind though, dropping the two men to the floor, looking down at them as scales appeared down his arms
"Speak quickly. You'll find that my patience today might as well be nonexistent, and if you delay too long, I'll start removing body parts."
The world around Oni was silent as he walked towards his target. Or, rather, he simply could not hear past the dull roaring in his ears. The air around him felt charged with power, pins and needles dancing along his skin as the cool air brushed against it. The ground broke beneath him as he walked, hairline cracks spiderwebbing with every step he took.
He barely paused as he reached the entrance to the building, his hands darting out to sink into the steel door as soon as he was close enough. The metal crumbled as Oni dug his fingers into it. It tore away from the wall with no resistance whatsoever and was tossed behind him as he made his way into the building. His footsteps echoed as he entered, along with the faint sound of concrete cracking.
Pausing for a moment, he reached for every enhancer that sat within him, pulling them to the surface. Fire surged to life across his body in response, muscle fibers condensing, even as new muscle mass grew beneath his skin. And as the heat and the power surged through his limbs, he once again noticed a faint smell of ozone in the air. He paid it no mind though. Whatever it was, it was inconsequential. If he remembered, he would think about it later. Moving past it, he pulled on 'Quick Thinker,' slowing the world around him.
Taking a deep breath, he used 'Proximity' to take stock of the building, taking note of every sign of life it detected. As he memorized where they all were, his lips pulled back, baring his teeth in a silent snarl. The red-hot rage that had been building up inside of him ever since the two insects—now lying unconscious but mostly uninjured in front of the nearest police precinct—had showed up at Shadow's house was beginning to reach a tipping point.
As it boiled away inside of him, matching up to the fire of his quirks in sheer intensity, he took a step.
And vanished.
The floor beneath him exploded as he moved, the integrity of the concrete not able to withstand the force of him pushing off. With every step he took, broken pieces and dust filled the air behind him.
As he neared the closest life sign, Oni barely slowed, simply pushing against the man's chest as soon as he was within reach. The gentle—compared to the rest of his movements—action sent the man flying back with enough force to crack the wall behind him. By the time he even impacted though, Oni had already moved on and delivered the same attack to the room's three other occupants. As he traveled through the building, every criminal that Oni came across met a similar fate. He pushed them into a wall, or threw them into one another, or simply lifted them with a tiny action that imparted enough force to throw them into the ceiling.
There were eighteen people in the building, spread across two floors and a basement. Nineteen, counting the boss. Oni dispatched all eighteen before anyone had a chance to respond, and in the blink of an eye he tore straight through the door that led to the boss. The man didn't have time to react to Oni's arrival before an arm was torn off and he was being slammed into a wall.
In total, less than six whole seconds had passed since Oni began moving.
"Hello there." Oni said, dropping 'Quick Thinker' for a moment. "My name's Oni, and you're going to answer my questions if you don't want to lose anymore limbs."
His hand was already clamped over the man's mouth, muffling his screaming. His other hand went to the ragged, bloody stump, claws sinking into the exposed flesh.
"Now then. Let's begin, shall we?"
Oni repeated the process, using the information provided by the one armed—now also one legged—man to target a location that was a little bit higher up on the food chain. And once there, he pried information out of the person that ran the place, using them to move forward.
He repeated the process again, and again.
And again.
The Triad had taken Shadow from him. He wanted to send a clear message to all of them, to All For One and to the organization at a whole. That their actions would not go unpunished. That Oni had been playing nice before, but no longer.
He would end them all for killing his friend.
Oni paused outside the seventh location of the night. His vision was soaked in red, and his hands were shaking so fiercely that he could no longer force them to still. His anger had only worsened as the night progressed, filling him with a restless, malevolent energy that threatened to consume him. It only grew worse with every criminal he incapacitated, every boss questioned and tossed to the side. It was all he could do to not kill every single one that fell into his reach.
His heart was thundering away in his chest, and his breathing had long since gone ragged. He wanted more. More criminals to break, more Triad locations to tear to the ground. He wanted more criminals to punish.
He wanted more. He wanted-.
"Izuku." Tamako's voice sounded out, cutting through Oni's thoughts.
"Izuku, that's enough. You've done enough. You don't need to keep going."
Oni blinked hard, the red in his vision fading away with the action.
"You're not thinking straight. You're only doing this because you're angry. You can't even keep your hands still."
He looked down at his hands. They were still trembling. Clenching his fists, claws clicking against scales, he tried to force them to go still, but it didn't work. They wouldn't listen to him.
"Please, you've done enough. Let's just go home."
Oni sighed. "Maybe you're right." He murmured. "I've already done a lot. And it's not like I can disassemble the entire organization in a single night."
The anger and the restless energy was still there. It still burned through his body along with the strength from his enhancers, but Tamako had pulled him from the haze and the bloodlust, had put him back in control of himself.
Turning away from his hands, Oni looked up at the building he'd been about to enter. Taking a few steps towards it, he laid his shaking hand against the wall. Putting a little bit of weight behind it, cracks appeared around his hand, before suddenly exploding across the entire wall, collapsing it. Even the trembling of his muscles, as enhanced as they were, exerted a terrible amount of force.
"I really should call it a night." He said. "I'm in no shape to fight if I can't even control my own body. Not if I don't want to kill anyone I touch."
Shouting sounded out from inside the building. Most likely some of the criminal inhabitants noticing that he had practically disintegrated a wall. Extending the same arm, he focused on 'Conqueror,' pouring into it all of the rage that had building up through the night. He could feel pressure building up within him as he focused, feeling almost like the beginnings of a headache.
One last thing to settle, then he'd call it a night.
As the first criminal entered the room that the now fallen wall had bordered, Oni released the pressure that had been building up with 'Conqueror.' A shockwave, big enough to encompass the entire building, rocketed out away from him, tearing through the air. It threw the criminal back, rendering them unconscious before they even hit the one following behind them. He watched with 'Proximity' as, in less than a second, the shockwave dropped every criminal in the building.
Letting out another sigh, Oni sagged a bit. Some of the anger was beginning to bleed out of him, leaving a cold sensation in his fingers. Turning away from the building, he set off in the opposite direction, dropping a few enhancers as he did, further adding to the cold feeling. Once he'd put a bit of distance between him and the building, he launched himself up into the air. He'd regained enough control over himself and his enhanced strength had diminished to the point that he didn't damage the ground at all when he did.
By the time he'd returned to Shadow's home, he was significantly calmer. The anger had all but completely faded away, and he was almost back to how he was before The Triad had showed up earlier in the night.
Traveling down to the basement, he let out another sigh as he fell back onto the concrete floor, ignoring the slight twinge of discomfort that came from his wings at the action.
He was done fighting for the night, but there were still things he needed to address. Specifically, those things were his quirks. It was still only the day after his fight with the Noumu, he'd still yet to sort through the quirks he'd taken.
Scrubbing at his eyes, he felt through the bundle in his chest, feeling for the newest additions.
Twenty-six. There were twenty-six new quirks. That was the largest number he'd ever taken in such a short period. Aside from the slight excitement—dampened a bit due to Shadow—he felt at the prospect of so many new gems to analyze and polish, he was also glad to know that there didn't seem to be any adverse effects to taking so much at once.
Lifting his hands up above him, pulling his claws back as he did, he set to work identifying the new quirks. Eleven of them were easy. Six new strength enhancers and five new speed enhancers. They felt almost exactly the same as all the others he'd taken over the years. As far as he could tell without actually putting it to the test, these new ones didn't feel quite as potent as those that the USJ Noumu had, but they still felt stronger than what he might stumble upon with a normal criminal.
Aside from them, there were also two new healing quirks. One felt just as strong as the one from the USJ, while the other felt slightly less powerful. Either way, the more healing quirks he had, the better. He had no idea if multiple of the same type would compound on each other and result in faster healing, or maybe just more healing at one time? If nothing else, he now had multiple for redundancy, or maybe he could consider giving one to Rei or Ochako.
His brow furrowed. Something to think about.
Thirteen quirks down, Thirteen to go.
There were a few others that he either knew what they were, or they felt similar enough that he could match them up to physical characteristics that he saw in the Noumus. The winged one had—unsurprisingly—a wing quirk that felt almost identical to his own, along with bird-like talons in place of feet that gave of a feeling that was similar to his digitigrade leg quirk. The tailed Noumu had a multi-armed quirk that he'd already tested out, as well as the scorpion tail, which he was tempted to test out. Were it not for the fact that he was comfortable on the ground and already had a tail, he would have. Then, of course, there was Stain's quirk, 'Blood Curdle' and Shadow's.
Nineteen down. Seven to go. Time to start experimenting with what was left.
Pulling on the first of the bunch, activating it, Oni felt the bones in his face begin to break and shift. In his forehead, he could feel fragments of bone grating against one another as they made way for something. Along with them, the skin in that area was twitching. He resisted the urge to scratch at it as it itched, not unlike how he felt when his healing quirks stitched his skin back together. A few moments later, he felt something new in his forehead, and opened his eyes.
His second pair of eyes.
Oni's field of view was considerably larger with the new organs, extended up and to the sides. He rolled them around experimentally, testing their range, and found that he could move them independently of his original pair.
"That's fairly useful." He said, looking in two different directions at once.
"What is?" Rei asked.
"A second pair of eyes."
"Wait… Why do you have two pairs of eyes?"
"The fight last night. A gift from one of the Noumu."
"Ah, sorting through the new quirks, I guess?"
"Mhm. So far, so good. I'll let you know if I stumble upon anything interesting."
Leaving the eyes in place for now—he was still enjoying the novelty of looking in multiple directions simultaneously—he moved on to the next quirk.
When he pulled it into place, there wasn't any noticeable change. It wasn't entirely surprising; the quirk felt similar to his two stockpile quirks, so he hadn't been expecting anything exciting, but it did feel a bit different. It didn't feel like a normal energy stockpiler. He wasn't entirely sure what it was meant to collect and store, but he felt that it wasn't going to be the same as his others. He'd been hoping to get at least a slight hint of what it was when he activated it, but no such luck. He'd have to either experiment at some point to figure it out, or just leave it active until he happened to stumble upon whatever it was.
Whichever he ended up doing, for the moment he would leave it active while he continued to sort through his new quirks.
Pulling on the next one had his tongue twitching and shifting in his mouth. It felt similar to the tongue quirk he already had. As he stuck the now-elongated organ out of his mouth, he remembered how the white Noumu had changed its tongue into something resembling a net. Focusing on that mental image, he watched as his tongue, now extending a few feet above him, split apart. It was fascinating to watch, there was no discomfort whatsoever as it split, and he could control both ends of it with prehensile precision. Even as it continued, with both of the new tips each splitting apart again, not only could he exert the same level of fine control over every new tip as they appeared, but he felt no strain on the base of his tongue as it grew, becoming heavier.
As he watched his tongue grow and morph in the air, he thought about whether or not he'd be able to make use of this with his snake tail. That quirk gave him a tongue with the same function as a snake's tongue, allowing him to smell with it. If he used this quirk along with it, he would likely be able to collect a significantly larger amount of scents simultaneously.
After a few more moments of watching the spectacle, he pulled his tongue back, watching as the all the separate tips joined back together as if they had never split apart to begin with.
The next one had a similar feel to his horn quirk, giving him the impression of something that would add a new body part or other similar physical feature. Pulling on it, Oni felt a warmth travel down his spine, from the base of his neck down to his tailbone, followed by a twitching in the skin along the area.
He sat up, getting the feeling that he knew what was about to happen. He quickly pulled the quirk back, before moving to unbutton his vest, and then his shirt. In a few moments, he was shirtless, and his wings had been pulled back. With that done, he pulled on the quirk again, once more feeling the heat down his back. After a moment, the skin along his spine seemed to stiffen, even as it continued to twitch. As the twitching continued to increase in intensity, a new heat made itself known at certain points all down his spine, evenly spaced out as far as he could tell. Then, all at once, it all stopped, fading away quicker than it had appeared.
Reaching up, he explored around the back of his neck. He paused when his finger hit something that felt like the scales that came with his claws. Just a bit further down, his hand was stopped by a bony protrusion. About an inch long and maybe as big around as his index finger.
'Ah, right. The Noumu that was digging around underground had spikes along its back.' He thought, feeling further down his back and finding more protrusions.
With the scales, and how thick his skin seemed to be underneath them, along with the spikes, maybe this was a quirk that was meant to protect the user's spine? Along his spine, he couldn't feel where he was touching with how thick the scales were, and when he nudged a spike, he didn't feel any hint of tugging, as he would expect to with such an addition.
Twisting around, he found that, despite how much the quirk added, his movement was barely hindered at all. Whatever it actually was—he wouldn't be able to know for sure until he got home and could look in the mirror—it wasn't nearly as unyielding as he thought it would be.
Leaving the quirk in place, he moved on. This one almost reminded him of 'Ghost.' When he pulled on it though, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Looking down at his hands revealed that he hadn't disappeared from view.
Actually, wait. Below his arm, where it casted a shadow across his leg, something was off. His, normally, black pants were more gray where the shadow hit them. Almost as if the color had faded out. Running his other hand through the shadow experimentally revealed the same effect. Where the shadow touched his skin, it looked as though the color was being leeched out.
He tilted his head as he observed that, brow furrowed as he tried to match up what he was seeing to the different quirks he'd seen displayed by the Noumu. As far as he remembered, none of them had displayed anything like this. Unless-.
Oni's eyes widened as realization hit him. One of them had displayed this, he just hadn't recognized it as a separate quirk. Shadow had shown this.
Where he'd thought Shadow had been disappearing because of his quirk, moving through the shadows, maybe he'd actually just been blending into them? Maybe the quirk let the user blend into shadows? It would make sense. Right now, the lights in the basement were on, so any shadows cast wouldn't be very dark, but last night the shadows had been nearly pitch-black. If the quirk was what he thought, then it would fit that Shadow was blending in so well that he might as well have been invisible.
At the thought of Shadow, Oni's mood took a dip away from the excitement he was feeling going through his new quirks. Because of Shadow's fate, and because of the fact that Shadow would've absolutely loved this quirk under better circumstances. It meshed unbelievably well with his original one.
Sighing, he pulled the quirk back into his chest, deciding to move on to the next in an attempt to not dwell on Shadow.
The only discernible change brought by the next quirk was the tips of his fingers hardening, changing into something resembling claws. Unlike his claw quirks though, where his fingers retained their shape, and the claws themselves mutated from his fingernails, this time, it was his fingers themselves that became the claws. This one wasn't too hard to determine, as he'd seen its effects up close. The Noumu that had come from underground. This was most likely the quirk that let it do so. If he wanted to, Oni was fairly certain that he could dig straight into the ground and move through it as easy as if it were swimming.
Pulling the quirk back, and making a note to test it out at some point, he finally came to the final one of the group. Going off of what he'd seen, he had a decent idea of what this one would be. It gave off a similar feeling as 'Proximity.'
Knowing what it was didn't stop him from gasping in shock as the world around him exploded as soon as he activated it though.
Well, technically, nothing around him exploded, or was even affected in any way. The only thing that changed was how he perceived the world around him.
He could see everything.
Sitting where he was, in the basement of a house, he could see everything from the house above him, to the building next door, and even the building four down from that one.
More than that though, was that he wasn't just seeing blurry shapes or vague impressions of objects. No, he could see everything. All color had drained away from the world to leave nothing but black, gray, and light blue, but he could make out the detail on the etched sink faucet in the bathroom in the house above him, and he could make out the same level of detail in the discarded syringes in the bedroom on the second floor of the house three down from Shadow's.
"Holy shit!" He exclaimed, his focus darting all around his now greatly expanded range of sight.
"What is it?" Rei asked. "Something fun?"
"Magnetoreception." He answered, distractedly. "Or maybe electrolocation? Some combination of the two? Whichever it is, it's currently allowing me to see everything within a range of about one-hundred-fifty meters with precise detail."
"Holy shit." She agreed. "So, you can see through walls now?"
"It's not just seeing through walls. Not only can I see past them, but I can also see both sides of the wall in the same amount of detail. Everything within range, I'm able to get a three-hundred-sixty-degree view of, as if it were right in front of my eyes."
There were a few things that he couldn't see. Spots where all he saw was a pitch-black shape. He suspected that it most likely lead that was causing that. If he was correct in what this quirk was—though he still wasn't sure—then it would make sense. Beyond that, past the approximate one-hundred-fifty meters, everything became blurry very quickly. Even close to the edges certain things started to become indistinct.
"Good lord that's powerful. So, not only are you on par with, if not stronger than, All Might, but you can also see basically everything around you with practically no limits?"
"Pretty much, yeah." He answered, still distracted.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Your quirks are bullshit sometimes."
"Y'know, I don't disagree."
A smile appeared on Oni's face as he continued to explore every bit of his new range of sight.
He lost track of how long he sat there, but at some point, every bit of his focus—much greater than most people could even dream of because of the one intelligence quirk that layered his mind—was dedicated to the new quirk. He was taking in everything, scanning through multiple houses at once.
It was official, he was definitely keeping this quirk as one that he had active at all times. Being able to see anything in precise detail with next to no limits was too good to pass up.
He shook his head, returning his focus to the basement once more. He pulled the quirk back a moment later. He would keep it active eventually, but for the moment he didn't want to be distracted as he checked on one final thing.
Despite already knowing what it was, Oni wanted to check on Shadow's quirk. Wanted to know what it felt like.
Pulling on it, Oni immediately became hyperaware of his own shadow. He could feel it, as though it were an extension of his body. He knew exactly where it sat beneath him without even having to look.
Focusing on it, he pictured it moving, just as when he saw Shadow doing it. The man could make every shadow in a room twist and writhe without so much as a gesture. In response to his efforts, Oni saw the edges of his shadow twitch and grow a bit, shifting like a glitching screen. He tilted his head at it. It wasn't much, but this was his first time dealing with this sort of specialty quirk, he would simply have to practice with it. He glanced up at the bright lights illuminating the basement. Maybe it would be easier if his shadow was more defined?
Pushing that thought aside, there was something was bothered him a little bit regarding the quirk. He could feel his shadow, and he had a vague idea of how to control it, but he had no idea whatsoever how to move between shadows like he'd seen Shadow do. The teleportation aspect of the quirk was something that would no doubt be immensely useful, and was extremely fascinating besides. He would have to experiment with the quirk to see if he could figure out how to trigger it. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long.
Oni made a note to look into that a bit closer sometime later. For now though, it was about time to head home. He'd spent longer than he'd realized going after The Triad, and by now it wouldn't be much longer until the sun was coming up. Rising to his feet, he raised his hands up over his head, stretching out. Rolling his shoulders, he noticed the slightly stiff feeling of the scales along his back. It still didn't do much to hinder his movement, but it was definitely noticeable when he moved.
Reaching down to retrieve his shirt and vest, both articles vanished from sight with a thought. Taking one last look at the basement, he made his way towards the stairs. Just before he started making his way back up, he reached out to flip the switch to turn off the lights in the room, only to immediately stumble to his knees in shock.
It was almost overwhelming. He could feel it all, every inch of shadow in the entire house.
It wasn't quite the same as the sensory quirk he'd tried out just a few minutes before, he couldn't use it to see, not even in a vague sense like with 'Proximity,' nor could he make out much in the way of details. He couldn't even specifically distinguish the house above him, he could just feel that there was darkness there.
There was one point though, where this quirk outclassed the sensory one to an extreme degree, and that was in range. He could feel the darkness for miles.
He knew right away that he wouldn't be able to control it so far away, he probably could barely control anything outside of the house, but he could feel it.
That feeling was limited to simply knowing that there was darkness. Aside from feeling as though he was connected to the shadows for miles and feeling a vague sense of movement somewhere off to his right—likely someone moving around that just happened to be close enough for him to catch—there was no sensory input at all.
He realized, as his mind caught up to the sensation of suddenly being connected to so much, that this was probably why the basement had been so brightly lit. Before he'd turned the lights off, Oni could only feel his own shadow. Shadow had likely done this so that he wasn't constantly being assaulted by his quirk. Though, if such a method worked, then that most likely meant that the quirk could only feel connected shadows. Oni's shadow was now touching the shadows created by the unlit house, which in turn was touching the shadow cast by the Earth itself.
Shit. That meant that the seemingly limitless expanse of shadow that Oni now felt connected to actually encompassed half of the planet.
Now he realized how Shadow had noticed him that night, chasing the criminal with a speed quirk across the city. If Oni could, within minutes of activating the quirk and moments of connecting to the sea of shadows, feel the vaguest of movement maybe a few hundred meters away, then someone like Shadow, who'd had the quirk his whole life, could probably distinguish movements across the entire city, if not further.
Wait. Now that he thought about it, and was able to experience more than being connected to just his own shadow, Oni was starting to get an inkling of how the teleportation aspect worked.
Before, with his shadow being as small and light as it had been, he hadn't been able to do more than make it move the smallest bit. But it would make sense if, like the quirk that made him blend in with his shadow, the darker it was, the stronger the effects. Feeling the shadows around him, now pitch-black, he got the feeling that he could control it with as much freedom as he did his own limbs.
More than that though, feeling the darkness against his hands, Oni got the impression that he could almost… join?... with the shadows. Or maybe sink into them? Swim through them?
He'd never experienced such a thing before, so he had no accurate way to describe it. But intuition told him that this was the teleportation he'd been wondering about.
Whatever the case, and whatever the feeling actually was, he felt like giving it a test.
Changing his eyesight to night vision with a blink, he looked over to the corner of the basement, the one filled with gym equipment, just a few short feet away. Specifically, he focused on the corner itself. There was a few feet of clear space there.
Oni had never gotten the chance to use a teleportation quirk before, and the only time he'd experienced one was at the hands of Kurogiri, so he didn't know, specifically, what it was like to control one. But every instance of such a quirk that he'd ever studied—they were rare, but out of billions of people across the planet throughout the years, a few had cropped up—referenced needing to identify the target destination, whether that be visibly, mentally, or through something a bit more specific, like coordinates. In this case, Oni was directly identifying his target visibly and, by extension, mentally.
With that done, he acted on the feeling he'd gotten, and let himself sink into the shadows. It felt almost like sinking into slightly cold water as it swallowed him up. Like he was being submerged.
The instant that the shadows covered his head, and he'd completely sunk into it, he felt himself moving, and barely even a second later, he rose from the shadows in the corner he'd been focusing on.
Raising his hands up to look at them, he didn't find anything out of place.
"So, visual confirmation works." He murmured. "But what about solely mental?"
If the quirk could use just mental identifying the destination, and he suspected it did, given how he'd seen Shadow use it, then it would be well suited for him. The quirks affecting his mind allowed him to almost perfectly recall everything that he had ever experienced, even something as simple as all the faces he passed while he was out doing his errands or the exact details of a room he even vaguely paid attention to.
This meant that he could picture, in fairly precise detail, the living room that Shadow's front door had led to.
Picturing that room in his head, Oni repeated the process of 'sinking' into the shadows. This time, even though the distance was a bit greater, the travel time didn't feel any different before he emerged onto the wooden floor.
So, mental identification did indeed work, then. That was very good to know.
Oni smiled. This was going to be so much fun.
Eventually, Oni finally managed to land himself in his apartment. It took him five tries to get there, the first two tries landing him in separate parts of Tokyo, with the second scaring the absolute shit out of a poor nighttime commuter as he somehow transported himself into a—mostly—empty train car. The third and fourth tries both landed him in the same – thankfully empty – apartment on the outskirts of Musutafu.
Once he figured out how the teleportation worked, it started to get easier to control where he ended up. So long as he had a pretty good idea of where his destination was in reference to his starting position as well as a good mental image of where he wanted to end up—made much easier by the fact that his memory was nearly perfect and he could picture just about every nook and cranny of the apartment—then he would be able to get there. If he was missing either one of those things, and he wasn't trying to get somewhere that he could directly see, then the quirk seemed to send him somewhere random. He hadn't quite figured out how it determined where he ended up, or if it was truly random, but he'd only just figured out how to use this aspect barely an hour ago.
And of course, there was the condition that he'd theorized earlier. Both his starting point and his destination needed to be linked by shadows. This meant that, at night, his range was ridiculous, but during the day he'd be severely limited. The quirk was almost perfect for a nighttime vigilante.
Putting the quirk to the test one more time just to make sure he had a handle on it, he sank into the shadows once more, emerging in Shadow's house, before reversing the process. When he saw that he was in his room, as he'd intended, he fell backwards, landing spreadeagle on his back, something made possible by the fact that the spike quirk had long since been pulled back.
He let out a quiet laugh. This would be immensely useful going forward. From now on, this would be how he started his nights as Oni, by using this quirk to quietly slip from the apartment to anywhere he wished.
Shadow had been caught. Oni had no idea if it had happened because the man had started a fight and lost, or if he'd been taken from his home, or if something else happened. Whatever the case, he'd decided that he needed to take extra steps to conceal his movements. Obviously The Triad and All For One were looking to stop anyone from interfering, as evidenced by Shadow's death and the—rather sub-par—attempt at Oni that had been made with the illusion quirk. Now more than ever, he needed to ensure that his connection to his apartment was kept secret.
Shadow had given him the tool he needed to make sure that happened.
Pushing that thought to the side, he instead considered how powerful the quirk was, taking him from Shadow's home to here in the blink of an eye. He let out another quiet laugh as he thought.
"So it turns out that Shadow's quirk is ridiculously useful."
"What do you mean?"
"You know how he could use it to teleport around?"
"…yeah?"
"Do me a favor and check my phone's GPS."
"…Wait, you're here?"
He heard movement through the earpiece, and felt Rei moving in sync with it with 'Proximity.' A moment later and she was through the door to his bedroom. Her eyes snapped to him as soon as she entered. She rushed over to him, not even questioning his additional set of eyes.
"You didn't just teleport here, did you?"
He smiled up at here from his spot on the floor. "There were a few misfires, but yes, I did indeed."
"So now, on top of everything else, now you can teleport basically wherever you want?"
"There are some conditions and limitations with it, but essentially, yes."
She sighed, smiling down at him. "Again. Your quirks. Are bullshit."
"Ha. Trust me, I know."
Oni held a hand up to her in a silent request. She reached out and took it, pulling him up to his feet.
He sighed. "I'll tell you all about it, and all the other new ones, over breakfast. But for now, go wrap up what you need to wrap up. I'm going to get cleaned up, then I'll get cooking."
She huffed. "Alright. I was just wrapping up an assignment anyway."
He emerged from the bathroom a few short minutes later, freshly cleaned and with a snake tail once more. Moving into his room, he flopped down onto the pile of blankets and pillows that made up his mostly unused bed. As he lay there, waiting until it was time to start working on breakfast, he let his mind wander.
He thought about Shadow, about how unfortunate it was that he wouldn't be able to fight alongside the man anymore, and about the anger that still lingered because of The Triad and the hand that they had in Shadow's death. He even thought back to the night he'd run into Shadow a few weeks ago, the meeting that had sparked their crusade against The Triad.
He'd been chasing a runaway criminal, enjoying the thrill of the hunt, when he stumbled upon those few Triad thugs. They'd been chasing the little girl, Iona, into an alley.
That thought pulled him away from Shadow entirely. Iona… He wondered what had happened to her. Hopefully she was okay.
Actually, he might be able to find out.
Activating 'Hotbar,' and pulling out his phone, he maneuvered to Tsukauchi's number, lifting it to his ear once he'd initiated the call. It was answered on the second ring.
"Oni." The man greeted. "You're not making a mess for me to clean up, are you?"
"Well, I was making a mess. But don't worry, that's the Kamino precinct's problem, not yours."
He heard a sigh. "Whatever, I'll take it. What do you want?"
"Do you remember the child I brought in a few weeks ago? A girl named Iona?"
"I think so, why?"
"You wouldn't happen to know her status, would you? Where she is and how she's been doing?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Curiosity, mostly." He answered, shrugging even though the man couldn't see it.
At the man's silence, Oni rolled his eyes. "I found her cornered in an alley by quirk traffickers, Tsukauchi, and found her parents murdered when I tried to take her home. Sue me for being a little bit curious as to whether or not she's been holding up."
Another sigh. "As far as I'm aware, she's currently residing at the Central Musutafu Orphanage. I've no idea what her status is beyond that."
Oni hummed. "Alright. Thank you, Tsukauchi. That was all I needed."
"Sure thing, Oni. Now stay out of trouble please."
He smirked. "Now where would the fun in that be?"
He ended the call before the detective could respond.
His arm flopped down to the floor as he considered what Tsukauchi had said, Iona was in an orphanage. He'd figured that would be the case, at least in the beginning, but he had been hopeful that she would have family somewhere to take her in, or that she at least wouldn't have to be there for too long. It was unfortunate to hear that she was still there.
He stared up at the ceiling, thinking.
That wouldn't do at all.
Chapter End Notes
Alternate title: How many times can I say 'shadow' in a single chapter?
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Hide and Seek
Chapter Summary
The return to UA after the conclusion of the internships.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The rest of the internship week passed extremely quickly, and much calmer compared to what had been happening.
The day after he sought retribution against The Triad, Izuku spent most of his time simply growing used to the sensory quirk he'd gotten. As he worked on his analysis for the day, he dedicated focus towards observing the cacophony that took place in the building and on the street beneath him. He wanted to get used to being able to see everything around him as quickly as possible.
The quirk, simply called 'All Sight,' seemed to actually be a combination of electrolocation—a method of sensory reception seen in certain species of marine life, detecting motion through the distortions in electrical fields—and magnetoreception—the detection of magnetic fields, found primarily in birds.
Just based on the level of detail he could perceive, he would've guessed that the quirk was solely electroreception, albeit an immensely empowered version of it. But rather than his body producing the electrical field, and detecting motion through it, the quirk instead allowed him to perceive the movement of electrons through objects. That theory would explain the precise level of detail he could see.
The only issue was in how he received the input. Air was a terrible conductor. Comparatively, electrons moved much easier and much farther in water. If what he had was true electrolocation, then he likely wouldn't even be able to see his entire office in detail, let alone a significant chunk of the building he lived in. Even in water he wouldn't be able to see that far.
This was where he thought the magnetoreception might come in. It was possible that the quirk somehow allowed him to perceive magnetic fields in some way, and that, somehow, that allowed him to perceive the movement of electrons.
Izuku wasn't sure. He'd likely have to do much more research before he fully understood. That was simply the best theory he'd come to after a few hours of thinking about it in the background as he worked.
He had a decent understanding of physics and biology—he had to, in order to understand how quirks functioned—but there were still certain things that were beyond him, at least for the moment.
Whatever the case, no matter how it worked, the important part was that it did. For the moment, he would simply enjoy himself and his newly unrestricted vision.
Aside from enjoying himself at home, he took a short break from his vigilante work. Or, at least, he took a break from pursuing The Triad. As Oni, he decided to take it easy and spend a few nights staying in Musutafu. He limited himself to simply patrolling around the city—'All Sight' working wonders for him—and spent most of his time acclimating to Shadow's quirk which, despite how fitting the name 'Shadow' was for it, he'd decided to rename as 'Sciakinesis.' Scia came from the Greek 'skia,' which meant shadow. He thought it fit, if only for how literal it was.
Over the three nights—Friday night and the weekend—that he had before the return to Yueii, Oni barely physically moved at all. Almost all of the traveling he did was purely through the use of 'Sciakinesis.' In order to practice with the quirk, he spent all of his time teleporting from rooftop to rooftop. And since he had kept 'All Sight' active, he discovered something fantastic: seeing his destination through 'All Sight' counted as visually identifying it. This meant that, so long as it was sufficiently dark, and his shadow was linked to his destination, he had a definite range of approximately one-hundred-fifty meters in which he could teleport with pinpoint accuracy. He could see a criminal doing something and immediately appear next to them with no physical exertion and no sound. Were he not concerned with keeping his having multiple quirks a secret, he would've made use of the quirk combo to teleport right next to Eraserhead. He saw the man a few times along the edge of his vision. But unfortunately, 'Sciakinesis' was a bit too far from what he'd already displayed. Showing several different, but mostly similar, physical features was one thing, but adding the ability to control shadows and teleport through them to that was a bit much. For the most part, everything that he'd shown thus far could be explained away—not that he would ever actually need to explain it—as a considerably complex quirk with both mutation and transformation aspects.
The one bit of actual movement he performed as Oni over the weekend was when he put the digging quirk to the test. As he'd suspected, the claw-like hands it gave him allowed him dig into the ground with ease. Combined with his enhanced strength and he could practically swim through the Earth. And while traveling through the ground wasn't exactly his style, simply having the ability available to him was quite useful, especially since 'All Sight' allowed him to see where he was going perfectly.
And though he'd kept his new stockpile quirk active, he'd yet to identify what exactly its purpose was. It obviously wasn't stockpiling energy or stamina, nor did it seem to stockpile anything physical such as food. Whatever it stored, he obviously hadn't come into contact with it just yet.
On Friday evening, with the internships officially over, Izuku headed back out to Miruko's agency to pick Ochako up. Thankfully, he wasn't attacked on sight like he had been before, though such a thing would've achieved even less this time around. With the extra enhancers he'd grabbed, it would just be that much easier to overpower her. Though, admittedly, he found the idea of limiting himself to match up evenly with her somewhat exciting. He could see in her eyes—both when he'd first seen her and she'd attacked him, and when he saw her again as she saw Ochako off—that she felt the same. She wanted to fight him as well.
As he flew her home, drifting calmly through the air, high over the skyscrapers below, Ochako recapped her entire week to him, detailing everything she had done and everything Miruko had put her through. He didn't mention the fact that most of what she told him had already been communicated through text. He was content to hear it all a second time, and he certainly wasn't willing to interrupt her excitement.
Once he'd gotten her home and had cooked a meal fit to celebrate her completing the internship, he'd filled her in on his week as they ate. He told her about his meeting with Gran Torino, and subsequently the situation with Yagi, his involvement in the Hosu incident, and all the new quirks he'd gained from it. He'd even told her about Shadow. She hadn't heard much about him before that point, with the last time Oni saw him being the same night he told Ochako everything. All she knew was what little he had told her, that Shadow was a vigilante that he'd been working with.
This time though, he told her everything. He told her that Shadow had been his friend, that they'd been fighting quirk traffickers together, and that-that fight had resulted in Shadow's death, that he'd been deformed and mutated into the same type of monster that had attacked them at the USJ and that Izuku had been forced to kill him.
It had brought the mood down, but Izuku wanted to tell her about Shadow, to make sure that he was known by more than just him and Rei, and Ochako was happy to learn about him. To know what he had been fighting.
To cheer things back up again, Izuku demonstrated some of his new quirks. He showed the extra arms and extra eyes, and even deactivated his snake tail to show the talons he'd gotten from the winged Noumu and the scorpion tail. She particularly liked 'Sciakinesis' and 'All Sight,' as he turned the lights out and demonstrated his new ability to teleport and showed off his new visual prowess by describing things that he saw in the apartments below them.
After that, most of the weekend had been spent relaxing. The two of them went out to the beach both days, and filled much of the rest of the time watching movies. It was unfortunate that Rei wasn't able to join them. Most of her time awake was being spent preparing for her final exams, and she needed all the sleep she could get.
In fact, these were her final final exams. If she passed these, she will have completed her college education.
Izuku already had a celebration planned for when—when not if—she passed. And a proper feast was only the beginning.
Soon enough though, it was Monday morning. Time for them to return to Yueii.
The trip there went by as quick as ever, with the two of them touching down in the grass in front of the main building after a short flight. As per the usual, they were among to first to make it to the classroom, along with Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Iida, and Bakugou. As had been the case before the internships, Iida was much more subdued than his usual boisterous attitude. Though, at the very least, he did turn and greet the two of them as they entered, so Izuku took that as a good sign. None of the rest of the room's occupants were really ones to strike up a conversation about the events of the previous week, except for perhaps Yaoyorozu, but she was absorbed in a book, and didn't seem to have even noticed their entrance.
As the rest of their classmates trickled in though, the conversations started up. Most everyone was, of course, talking about their internship experience. They were sharing work that their hero had them doing or training that they participated in, or even occasionally patrols or fights that they assisted with.
Eventually, Eraser entered the room, bringing all conversation to a screeching halt. He moved to stand behind his podium, observing them all silently for a few moments before opening his mouth to speak.
"Congratulations on successfully completing your first internships." He started. "Yueii didn't receive any complaints or other poor remarks concerning your performance and behavior, and we even got a few compliments back for some of you. Good job."
"Now, this was your first look into the world of heroics from the heroes' side of things, so hopefully you made good use of your time and learned everything you could. Later on, you'll have the opportunity to take part in more long-term internships, so hopefully this has given you a good idea of the sort of hero or agency you wish to work with, whether it be the same one you were with this time or one that would better suit your future."
"And now that these internships have concluded, it's time to start looking towards the next milestone."
He ignored the collective groan that arose at the prospect of more work.
"In just over a month, you'll be taking your final exams."
His eyes flashed red as an even louder groan sounded out.
"These tests will be much harder than those that you took for the entrance exams, so be prepared. This is the heroics course. We have no intention of pulling any punches or coddling you."
"However, Yueii is offering something to incentivize you. For those of you that pass your exams, the school will be hosting a summer camp retreat to reward you."
Immediately, the general mood in the room went from dreading the upcoming tests to excited for the reward that was being dangled in front of them. Izuku had no doubt that the 'reward' would most likely be some further form of training. It would be right up both Nezu and Eraser's alley to present something like a 'summer camp retreat' only for it to be something that would hurt more than the exams themselves.
With his announcement finished, Eraser immediately sank to the floor to curl up in his sleeping bag. Taking that as their cue to continue their conversations, the class immediately set about discussing what Eraser had just said. Most of them talked about the retreat, like where it would take place and what they would be allowed to do there, while a few discussed the exams that he had warned them about.
Leaning back away from his desk a bit, Izuku found himself wondering the same thing. The written portion of the exam wasn't much of a mystery. It would most likely be a case of each class holding its own test. Just as he didn't need to worry about the entrance exam, he doubted that he would have any reason to worry this time around either.
The physical portion of the exam however… That was much harder to discern. Izuku doubted that it would be anything that he and the rest of the class had seen before. If the point was to really test them, then not only would it be something that challenged them physically, but it would also most likely challenge them mentally in some way. Perhaps it would test their teamwork, or their problem-solving abilities.
Maybe some sort of rescue scenario? Simulating an ongoing disaster scenario? Balancing physical testing by fighting off whatever is simulating the disaster, most likely villains, along with the teamwork aspect of rescuing people from said disaster?
Izuku tilted his head. That was certainly a possibility. However, there were far too many other possibilities for him to put much stock in that one. He wouldn't know exactly what was in store for him and the rest of the class until it was revealed to them.
Pushing the thought aside for the time being, Izuku focused on the rest of the conversations filling the room. Everyone had their own speculations, both on what the retreat would be and what the exams would consist of.
After a while, the conversations were interrupted by the bell signaling the end of their homeroom.
The rest of the day passed smoothly, and soon enough Izuku and the rest of 1-A found themselves standing outside of one of the mock cities, already dressed in their hero costumes.
"Welcome back, children!" All Might called out, standing in front of the group. "I hope you all enjoyed your internships this past week. Now that you're back, it's time to get back into the swing of things. And what better way to start off than with a training exercise?"
The class buzzed with excitement with his announcement, despite the fact that they had all known what was going to happen from the moment that they were told to change into their costumes and report to the mock city.
"In light of the disaster that took place in Hosu last week, this training exercise will focus on search and rescue. As a hero, though we all hope otherwise, it is inevitable that you will one day have to assist in the aftermath of a disaster. Whether that be extreme weather, villains, or something else besides, you will be called upon to minimize damage or to rescue civilians. Depending on the type and the severity of the disaster, you will need to know how best to synchronize your efforts with others that have been called to help. More often than not, the most important thing to know and to pay attention to is the established chain of command in such a disaster. In organized search and rescue efforts, the numerous heroes, rescue personnel, and other volunteers don't simply operate on their own, otherwise it wouldn't be considered 'organized' at all. More often than not, there will be a person, or group of people, directing the operation as a whole, with a number of other people handling the more precise directions."
"Now, while we won't be simulating anything nearly so large or in-depth, we will at least be giving you a taste of such things today, with a focus on teamwork and the 'search' aspect of search and rescue. To start off, you all will be split into four groups of five, with the groups' members decided by me. For the exercise, each group will have a chance to act as the search and rescue party, while the remaining fifteen will play the part of the civilians in need of rescue. Now, as for the groups."
All Might pulled a notecard from his belt, clearing his throat before beginning to read off names.
"The first group will consist of Kouda, Satou, Iida, Hagakure, and Ojiro. The second will consist of Jirou, Uraraka, Aoyama, Sero, and Kaminari. For the third, Shoji, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Bakugou, and Ashido. Lastly, the final group will be Etsumi, Asui, Mineta, Tokoyami, and Kirishima."
"Each group must select a leader, who will then direct them to search for the 'civilians' spread throughout the mock city. As you find them, you must escort them to the center of the city, where the 'base of operations' will be set up. You have thirty minutes to find all fifteen, and you are expected to use the quirks in your group to your advantage. The quicker you find everyone, the better, as all four groups will be competing against one another. The group to find their civilians the fastest, wins!"
"Group One will be the first to go, everyone else will have five minutes to enter the city and find somewhere to hide. And your five minutes begins now!"
With that, the majority of the class ran into the mock city, with the exception of the five students assigned to Group One. Izuku followed behind at a slightly slower pace, watching their progression with 'All Sight.' As he moved, he wondered if All Might realized that this exercise was essentially just Hide and Seek. The civilians were literally hiding themselves from the heroes, who had a time limit to come find them.
Shaking his head, Izuku sped up a bit, picking out a spot on the roof of a building standing near the center of the mock city, close enough that he would be able to see most of what happened. If he was going to be sitting around for a bit, might as well do so in a spot where he could sun himself. Besides, it wasn't as if the civilians were being judged based on where they hid. It wasn't like they necessarily needed to make things more difficult for the heroes.
Spreading his wings, Izuku took off into the air, turning towards the building he'd chosen. A few moments later, he was touching down. He wasted no time coiling his tail, lounging overtop of it as soon as it was. He spread his wings to either side, laying them flat across the surface of the roof to soak in as much heat as possible.
A few minutes later, Izuku heard All Might's voice sound out across the mock city.
"Group One may enter the city. Your thirty minutes begins now!"
Izuku watched as the first group entered the city, just at the edge of his vision. Naturally, it seemed as though Iida had taken the lead. Despite his dampened mood as a result of his brother's hospitalization and his attempt to fight Stain, he'd stepped up to take charge. He watched as Iida spoke to the others, before speeding off towards the far side of the city. As soon as he was gone, Izuku saw birds begin to gather around Kouda, along with a group of mice. He bent down to say something to the gathered animals, before they all scattered, likely to search for civilians.
That was another thing Izuku had noticed, all three of the students who were best suited for searching were on different teams. Group One had Kouda, who could use animals to search, Group Two had Jirou, who would be able to put her enhanced hearing to good use, and Group Three had Shoji, who could do the same. Izuku's group was technically at a disadvantage, with the quirks that they had, at least before Izuku's were taken into account.
Each group also had at least one quirk that provided some form of increased mobility. Iida, Ochako, Todoroki and Bakugou, and then Izuku himself. All Might had divided the teams to ensure a good balance between sensory and mobility.
As Izuku watched, Animals began returning to Kouda, who then began directing the rest of the group towards certain buildings. As they all split up to search, he stayed outside to continue to direct. Iida was the only one who didn't come to him for directions, making use of his enhanced speed to make quick work of the buildings farthest away from the group.
Izuku supposed that method made sense. Iida could search buildings faster than Kouda could receive information from his animals, so splitting off to cover more ground, while the rest of the group was directed by Kouda was a decent decision. There were flaws to the logic, such as Iida potentially missing people that an animal wouldn't, but for the sake of the exercise and the people in the group, it would work.
He noticed a bird hovering over him for a minute, before turning to fly back to Kouda, who relayed the information to the first member of the group to return, who happened to be Hagakure. He tracked her progress as she made her way towards him, already rising up from his relaxed position by the time she emerged onto the roof, out of breath.
"Really?" She huffed out between breaths. "You had to come up to the roof? You couldn't pick somewhere easier to get to, like the ground floor?"
Izuku shrugged. "It's comfortable up here. And if it's any consolation, I'll be doing the same thing to the other two groups."
"I guess…" She grumbled. "Can you please go to the 'base of operations' or whatever he called it?"
"Sure thing." He said, spreading his wings. "Good luck finding the others."
Making his way to the edge of the roof, Izuku let himself fall, his wings catching on the wind and allowing him to drift to the ground, right next to the tent that All Might was sitting in, watching everyone through cameras spread across the city. Jirou, Tsuyu, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero were already there waiting.
As the exercise went on, more of his classmates trickled from all around the city. Kouda's method of searching, combined with Iida's, was proving to be quite effective. Multiple pairs of eyes sped up the process by quite a bit. Despite that, however, by the thirty minute mark, they had yet to find everyone. Ochako, Bakugou, and Ashido had all still been missing when All Might called time.
Izuku had seen Ochako using her quirk to float near the ceiling in her building of choice. It was one that Iida had searched. He'd passed directly underneath her, not noticing her at all before he moved on. Bakugou had been waiting on the top floor of a building along the outskirts. Iida's team simply hadn't made it to that building before time had run out. And Ashido had simply been lounging in a middle floor of a nearby building. He wasn't too sure how she hadn't been found. He'd even watched some of Kouda's mice pass on that floor.
All of this was brought up to Iida's group as All Might reviewed their performance. Their strategy, while effective, wasn't as effective as it could've been, nor was it quite fast enough. Though, admittedly, there wasn't but so much they could do about it with only five people.
Up next was Group Two, who was instructed to leave the site while all the civilians hid again. Izuku chose a roof again, though on a different building. He settled down to watch the rest of his classmates spread out across the city, before All Might once again called the start of the exercise.
This time around, the group of heroes, with Jirou taking the lead, moved a bit more efficiently. For one, Jirou didn't need to wait for input from another source in order to locate people. Her hearing was greatly enhanced on its own, and when she plugged her jack into a building, the effect was only further increased. She was able to point out where most people were once she was in range, and then she could plug into a building for a final sweep.
Izuku was found quicker by this group than he had been by Iida's. He saw Jirou point up to the roof he was relaxing on, followed by Ochako activating her quirk and kicking off into the air to make a beeline for him.
"Hello Ochako." He greeted with a smirk, looking over to where her head had appeared over the edge of the building.
"Found you." She said with a giggle, smiling over at him.
"Indeed you did." He said, getting up. "I suppose I'll make my way back down."
"Yep! See ya later!"
With that, she disappeared back behind the edge of the building and he saw her darting back towards the ground. Ochako would definitely be a significant boost to her teams ability to retrieve people. Iida might be fast, but even he couldn't quite compete with the ability to fly straight up to whatever floor the civilian was on.
Once again, Izuku fell from the roof, drifting down to the center of the city to await the end of the exercise. This time, there were quite a few more students waiting by the time he got there.
Jirou's group ended up finding everyone with about four minutes to spare, thanks largely in part to Ochako's effort. All Might was quick to praise them for how efficiently they moved as a team, with Ochako taking most of the civilians on higher floors while the others handled floors that were easier to reach by foot. Really, the main reason they performed so well, despite their teamwork and despite Ochako's proficiency, was because of Jirou's quirk. For this sort of specific situation, it was simply on a different level compared to Kouda's.
For the third and final time, Izuku flew himself up to a roof to await the third group. This time, Shouji was leading, with his sensory quirk doing what it could to locate the civilians. Yaoyorozu helped, making some form of listening device. Ashido, Bakugou, and Todoroki all had quirks that enhanced their mobility, allowing them to race through the buildings to retrieve the people they located.
Despite their seemingly impressive efficiency, this time around, Izuku wasn't discovered until the very end of the exercise, with All Might calling time just as Todoroki made it to the roof. At the very least, Izuku was the only one that they didn't find. Everyone else had already been gathered in the center of the city.
Finally, once All Might had finished his review of the group's performance, it was Izuku's turn. As the groups before them had, they left the mock city to allow the rest of the students to hide.
"So, obviously Etsumi's the leader, right?" Kirishima asked as soon as they were out.
"Works for me, kero." Tsuyu said, shrugging.
"Same here." Mineta chimed in.
"I see no reason to disagree." Tokoyami agreed.
"Alright then." Izuku said. "If that's what you all want, then it's fine by me. Though it's not like it matters all that much, we're going to find them all no matter who's in charge."
"Do we even have a way to find them?" Mineta asked. "I don't think any of us can hear like Jirou or Shoji, and I know that I at least can't control animals."
"I'm part snake." Izuku replied simply, flicking his forked tongue out of his mouth. "You think I can't find a few warm-blooded creatures?"
Izuku didn't even need to find most of them, he'd never lost the ones that had remained within range of 'All Sight.' He knew exactly where eight of the fifteen civilians were. The others would be revealed as he got close enough.
His group didn't do much in the way of talking or planning as they waited for All Might to signal the start of the exercise. They didn't need to.
Once they finally did get the signal to start, and moved back into the mock city, Izuku got to work immediately.
"There's one hiding in that building there." He said, pointing to one of the closest ones to them. He could see Aoyama… posing? "They're on the fifth floor, northeast corner. It's all you Tsuyu."
She nodded, immediately peeling away from the group and running towards the indicated building.
"One there." He said, pointing at another. This time it was Kouda. "Ground floor, also northeast corner. Mineta."
Just like Tsuyu, he split off as soon as Izuku told him, heading for the building.
"Tokoyami, there are two in that one." He continued. Todoroki and Sero. "Third floor, southwest corner and sixth floor, northwest corner. After you get them, there's one in the building just past it, top floor, southeast." The third person was Shoji.
"Kirishima, there's one in that building there. Second floor, southwest."
Yaoyorozu this time. She seemed to be toying with some sort of trinket that she'd most likely created with her quirk.
Moving further into the city, Izuku was starting to find some of the few that had been outside of his range. Four of the missing seven had been located.
As soon as his teammates returned to him, Tsuyu and Mineta much quicker both because they'd been the first two sent and because of how easily they could reach their civilians, with Tsuyu climbing straight up the wall, he directed them back out again. Tsuyu was sent after Hagakure—he tried to subtly give just a bit more direction to locate her seeing as she was invisible—and Mineta was sent after Bakugou.
As he waited for the other two to return, he set his sights on two civilians that he would retrieve himself. He spread his wings, bunching his tail up beneath him at the same time. Then, driving his wings down, Izuku launched himself through the air towards Jirou and Kaminari. Landing on the side of the building a few moments later, and sticking to it with 'Gecko,' he made his way to the seventh floor, towards the room that he knew they were both hiding in. Maneuvering to the window almost directly beside them, he tapped on the glass, making them jump.
"Found you." He called through the window, before letting himself fall away from the building to fly back to where he'd started from, leaving the two of them to see themselves to the center of the city.
Tokoyami and Kirishima were both waiting for him. He directed them both to the two nearest civilians, Ashido and Ojiro. Only three remaining.
As soon as Tsuyu made it back to him, Izuku pointed her in the direction of Satou and Iida, who were hiding in adjacent buildings. Then, with only one civilian remaining, Izuku launched himself into the air once more. He made his way to the top floor of one of the buildings that was farthest from the center. It was one of the few that didn't have any glass in its windows, allowing him to go right in. Making his way over to the room he knew Ochako was hiding in, he poked his head through the door.
"Found you." He announced, smiling.
"Indeed you did." She said, mimicking him.
He held a hand out to her. "You're the last one. Would you care for a ride back?"
"Sure!" She answered, wasting no time hopping up onto his back.
A minute later, and the two of them were landing in the center of the mock city, just as Tsuyu was arriving with the civilians Izuku had sent her after.
"Outstanding work!" All Might called. "A total time of fourteen minutes and thirty-six seconds! Truly wonderful! I believe that means that Etsumi's team is the winner of this exercise!"
He turned to the rest of the class. "All of you did well! Regardless of your performance, hopefully now you feel a bit more familiar with search and rescue, and how such operations would be performed. In the future, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to experience larger-scale efforts as we hold bigger exercises. As I said, the point of this one was purely to introduce you to the concept of having to search for victims."
"We'll start by going more in-depth into the processes these operations usually involve, tomorrow. For now though, you've all performed admirably! Go get changed, then you're free to go!"
Izuku turned to follow the rest of his class as they all made their way out of the mock city and towards the main building.
Once he'd changed back into his uniform, and had been cleaned thanks to 'Shower in a can,' not that there had been much to clean in the first place, Izuku scanned through the building to find All Might. He needed to talk to the man.
Thanks to 'All Sight,' Izuku found him rather easily. He was in his office, in his 'Yagi' form, sifting through papers at his desk.
Letting the quirk guide him, Izuku made his way towards Yagi, texting Ochako as he went to let her know that he would be a few minutes. After a few short minutes, Izuku was knocking on the man's door.
"Enter." He called, prompting Izuku to open the door. When he did, he caught the sight of Yagi's expression morphing to surprise.
"Etsumi." He said, still surprised. "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to talk to you." Izuku replied.
"A-ah. And what about?"
"I visited Gran Torino last week, spoke to him."
"Right. He'd said that you had stopped by. He'd wanted to know why you didn't look anything like how you did at the sports festival."
Izuku nodded. "In hindsight, the disguise might not have been totally necessary, but it had been a precaution. That aside, Gran Torino told me everything. He told me the full story behind your quirk and All For One. Told me about all the past holders and their fight against him, and told me about your fight against him."
"Etsumi, I-."
Izuku held up a hand, cutting him off. "It's alright. While I'm not quite sure if it's enough to make me forgive. At the very least, I understand why you did what you did. I can see things from your point of view, and how you likely felt. So… it's alright. I can move on."
"R-right. Well… I'm glad that you feel that way."
Izuku nodded. "As am I. I apologize for reacting the way I did. I should have heard you out before jumping to conclusions."
"Oh, it's quite alright, Etsumi." Yagi reassured, waving his hands in front of him. "You're not at fault here. I am for telling your secret in the first place, and then for waiting so long to tell you."
"All the same, I still apologize for my actions."
The two of them were left staring at each other for a few moments, before Izuku decided to try to break the tension.
"Have you given my suggestion any thought?" He asked. "Do you think that Bakugou would be a good fit?"
He was successful.
"Ah, yes. I have. I'm still giving the matter some thought, but I believe you might be right that Bakugou would be the best suited out of the rest of your classmates."
"That's good." Izuku said. "Let me know if you decide to tell him. I'd still like to provide assistance in getting him used to the quirk."
"Of course!" Yagi said with a smile. "I'll let you know!"
"Very good. Thank you." Izuku said, nodding as he reached for the door handle. Opening the door, he escaped out into the hallway.
He was glad to have that issue resolved. Both he and Yagi had messed up. It was good to put the whole thing behind him.
Izuku's shoulders sagged as he let out a sigh, before he forced himself to perk back up a moment later. Shaking his head, he turned to head towards the nearest set of stairs.
He had one last stop to make.
Izuku reached a hand out to knock on the door in front of him, the noise echoing through the quiet hallway.
"Come in!" The voice inside called out.
Opening the door, Izuku entered the office. Nezu was already standing up on his desk and holding out a cup of tea.
"Ah, Etsumi." He greeted, as if he hadn't been aware the moment Izuku had started heading in his direction. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Izuku watched him for a moment as he sipped at the tea he'd been given. He didn't much care for it. He wasn't really one to drink tea, or coffee for that matter. Given the option, he would much rather stick to hot chocolate.
"I have a question for you." He answered. "And a request, depending on your answer."
"Oh?" He questioned, returning to his chair. "And what might this question be?"
"As the principal of Yueii, how far does your influence extend into the government? Particularly Child Welfare and matters of orphanages and foster homes?"
"Hmm." Nezu hummed, narrowing his eyes at Izuku. "I suppose it would depend on what one was looking to do with that influence. After all, there is only so much that can be affected in such places by one such as me."
"Let's say that, hypothetically, I was to put in an application to become a foster guardian. Would it be within your abilities to push that application through the processes a bit faster than it normally would? Not bypassing any of the required checks or steps, of course."
He could practically see the gears spinning behind Nezu's eyes as he considered Izuku's every word, possibilities racing through his mind as to why Izuku would ask for such a thing.
"Such a thing would not be beyond my capabilities." He answered. "Bureaucratic feet-dragging is one of the easiest things to bypass."
Nezu stared at Izuku for a few moments. "Could it be that perhaps you or your elder sister wish to adopt someone specific? And that you wish to do so as quickly as possible? Ah, hypothetically, of course."
Izuku smirked at the rodent, who reciprocated the expression as much as his inhuman face allowed. There was no reason whatsoever for the two of them to be so vague when talking to one another. Maybe it was simply a natural reaction on both of their parts. He and Nezu had been in communication with one another for years, and now that Nezu knew that he was Deku, perhaps he was simply enjoying talking to someone that resided on the same level as him. Izuku could understand the feeling.
"Hypothetically," Izuku responded, "We certainly may have our eyes on someone specific, whose circumstances we are familiar with, which, as you said, would be the reason for our wanting to speed the process along."
"Ah, well in that case, I certainly can provide assistance. Should this hypothetical scenario ever become a bit more substantial, all you would need to do is send me the application you wish to speed along, and I will see to it that it is."
Izuku nodded at him. "I appreciate it. I'll be sure to send it should such a scenario come to pass."
Rising up from where he'd settled for the short conversation, Izuku turned towards the door. He could feel—and see—Nezu's gaze boring into the back of his head, as he pulled it open to head back into the hallway.
As he traveled down the hallway towards the stairs that would lead back down, Izuku allowed himself a small smile. He was one step closer to solving the issue with Iona.
Not much longer now, especially not with Nezu providing assistance.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Marbles
Chapter Summary
Oni experiments with a few quirks, taking out a few unfortunate criminals along the way.
Chapter Notes
Sorry about the delay on this chapter, and if it seems a bit lackluster, writer's block hit me like a truck, and I only just got over it today.
Not much happens in this one, it's just another in-between chapter before we start advancing the plot.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Oni took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of ozone that permeated the air. The pungent electrical smell stung at the back of his throat as it went down. He ignored that as he pondered the circumstances of the scent being present at all.
It was an interesting situation, fascinating really. He'd been studying quirks, especially his own, for the majority of his life, but this was the first time he'd seen this. Not the fact that there was a smell to begin with, of course. Strange smells in and of themselves were a common occurrence when it came to the infinite variability of quirks. But, to date, he had yet to hear about an ozone smell resulting from anything but particularly powerful electricity quirks.
With his testing, Oni had discovered what triggered the smell, but that wasn't the part that fascinated him. The trigger for the smell was simply the conditions that needed to be met for it to occur—which in Oni's case, wasn't exactly hard to figure out. With his quirk being what it was, something new happening was most likely going to be because of a new quirk that he'd taken—but it didn't explain what actually caused the smell. It was only half of the equation. He had discovered the when but he'd yet to figure out the why.
Oni would love to simply brush it under the simple explanation of his strength and speed enhancers causing the smell—because that had been the trigger for the last time he'd noticed it. When he'd entered the first Triad base of the night, and had pulled on all of his enhancers at once—but that explanation was already disproven by the first time the smell had appeared, when he interrogated the unfortunate insects in Shadow's basement. That time, the main independent variable was his rather potent anger, which meant that 'Wrath' most likely played some sort of role.
The common point between the two instances, the trigger for the smell, was his increased strength, the first time because of 'Wrath' boosting him, then the second because of his enhancers. There was a chance that somehow it was simply 'Wrath' both times, as he had been just as angry the second time, but he felt it was more likely that it was his strength causing it.
The question of course, was why. What was it about his enhanced strength that led to an ozone smell? He had a few ideas, but they all seemed equally outlandish to his still-insufficient knowledge of how the human body worked. He had a working knowledge to assist in his analysis, but he hadn't—yet—pursued any degree in human biology.
He had two main theories. The first was that, in response to his greatly boosted output, his body had somehow adapted to carry more oxygen through his blood in the form of O3—ozone—molecules instead of the usual O2. That would explain the smell, as the conversion from O2 to O3 would most likely take place either while the oxygen in his lungs were being absorbed into his blood, or just before. If that were the case, then there would be some leftover ozone that slipped out when he exhaled.
However, this theory left the question of how his body would manage such a drastic change without the use of another quirk. It would require an entire extra biological process added to an already countless number of complex processes. Not to mention the number of changes that would need to occur for the ozone to not be toxic to him. It already wasn't truly harmful to him due to his oldest healing quirk—he knew for a fact that-that quirk could handle most toxins, airborne, ingested, or injected—but if his body were to change one of its most significant processes in such a way, it most likely wouldn't do so unless it also changed to make sure that it wouldn't kill itself with the new process. Whatever that new process was would also have to be something that changed as his strength was boosted, because he'd already tested a few times that the smell wasn't present once he deactivated his quirks.
There was also the fact that he couldn't see anything of the sort with 'All Sight.' The quirk gave him the ability to see within his own body, and at a nearly microscopic level. If he so wished, he could see the hollows of his bones, follow his veins trailing through his body, and even observe the contents of his stomach. He could use the quirk to inspect the insides of his lungs and could make out the individual alveolae. Despite that, he couldn't see any new structures that might be responsible for rearranging oxygen atoms. Either they weren't there, his knowledge of the human body was too limited to make them out, or they were simply smaller than he was capable of seeing.
His other theory, which he favored just a bit more, was that the capabilities of his muscles and his nervous system were being boosted to the point that the energy coursing through his flesh and the electrical signals traveling through his body, which had been enhanced to make such capabilities possible in the first place, had begun to become noticeable from the outside.
One of the most common occurrences of ozone is in the presence of electricity that has interacted with oxygen. Whenever an electrical charge is present in the sort of conditions that allows it to arc through the air, the ozone smell usually isn't far behind. Even with static charges, if it was strong enough then it could be smelled there as well.
With this theory, Oni thought that the amount of electricity coursing through his body had increased to the point of it acting like a static charge across his skin.
He wasn't sure if it was even possible for the human body to do something like that, but that was the theory that he was going to stick with until such time as he had the knowledge necessary to either prove or disprove it. He was even more supportive of the theory given how, when he activated his enhancers to experiment, a slight tingling sensation raced across his skin, feeling not unlike a lessened version of the pins and needles one would feel when a limb falls asleep. It was barely noticeable, especially once he focused on almost anything else, but it was there.
He sighed. Maybe he would have to consider pursuing that degree sooner, rather than later…
Shaking his head, Oni dropped his hold on a number of his enhancers, returning to something closer to normal for him. He shook away the slight buzzing in his limbs, shifting his focus to the surrounding area, visible to him through 'All Sight.' Glancing around, there wasn't any obvious criminal activity taking place for him to deal with, at least not as far as he could see. There looked to be someone doing drugs in the back seat of their car, tucked back in an alleyway about three buildings away, but Oni didn't intend to do anything about it. He didn't really care if someone was making poor life choices, so long as they didn't make their problems everyone else's, attacking people for drug money or simply taking out their inadequacies on others.
Looks like he would have to go elsewhere to find someone to have fun with.
Reaching up, he removed his mask, quickly storing it away, before moving on to his shirt and vest, doing the same to them. Then, after pulling on a few quirks, his bones audibly crunched as his body began to shift and change. His head elongated, sprouting scales and an extra set of eyes, his torso stretched out a bit, making room for the extra set of arms that grew from his sides which, along with his originals, grew scales as his fingers became claws, and his back twitched and spasmed before growing scales and spikes along his spine. His legs were already digitigrade and scaled, that quirk pulled on before he even left the apartment.
Looking down at his scaled hands, his field of vision much larger with the addition of an extra pair of eyes, Oni thought about how many quirks he had that followed a similar aesthetic. Lower arms and hands, legs, head and neck, and along his back. Most of his body was now covered in scales. All he needed now was a quirk that could cover what was left. That, and maybe another tail quirk that fit the draconic look a bit better.
Stretching all four arms out over his head, with his wings mirroring the motion, Oni made his way over to the edge of the rooftop that he'd chosen for his experiments: a random, slightly run-down building in a shitty part of Musutafu. Jumping off the side, he brought his wings down to drive himself up into the air.
A few minutes of flying later, soaring through the night, Oni was landing in front of his target for the night. It wasn't anything special, just a group of small-time thugs selling drugs in the nearby area, but he would end them all the same. Because these were the sorts of people he had issue with; not the ones making poor decisions and destroying their bodies with drugs, but the ones supplying those drugs in the first place.
'What do you think?' He thought. 'Do I go in through the shadows, or do I tunnel underground and come up under their feet?'
"Hmm." Tamako started, mimicking a humming noise. "Shadows. Appearing out of nowhere will scare them more than coming out of the ground."
Oni smirked, as much as his new facial structure allowed. 'Shadows it is.'
Focusing on 'Sciakinesis,' which was already active from when he'd used it to leave the apartment, he aligned the shadows that he could sense within the building with what he could see with 'All Sight,' searching for a suitable place to enter. There were seven criminals spread throughout the building, with most of them in well-lit areas, but there was one that just happened to be standing next to a window, close enough for their shadow to touch the darkness outside. Oni's smirk widened as he focused on them. The man was completely oblivious, absently lighting a cigarette as he stared at a television.
Activating the quirk, he sank into the ground, moving through the darkness to rise up out of the shadow at the criminal's feet, just behind the man.
Smirk still present, Oni leaned forward, positioning his head just over the man's shoulder.
"So, what're you watching?" He asked, causing the criminal to jump straight into the air with a strangled yelp, he spun around to look at Oni, practically falling over in his rush to back away, until his back hit a wall.
Oni tilted his head, biting back a laugh. He could practically see the criminal's fight or flight instincts kicking in. So much fear in the man's expression. "Come now, don't be like that. I'm curious. Is there anything good on?"
Maybe it was Oni's words that served as a trigger, or maybe it was simply a realization that running wasn't an option, but whatever the case, the man's expression hardened a fraction as he lifted his hands, fingers glinting ever so slightly in the fluorescent lighting. Studying them, Oni could see that they had flattened into blades, their tips sharpened to a fine point.
"Ooh." Oni exclaimed in faked interest. "I've not seen a blade quirk like that before. How interest-."
His words cut off as all four of his hands darted up to snatch the blades out of the air where they had been launched at him, straight at his chest. The remaining ones that didn't end up in his grip bounced off of his scaled arms to clatter to the ground. Lowering his hands, Oni could see where the man's own were now devoid of fingers.
"Even better." He said, dropping the caught blades as he stepped closer. "More than just a simple transformation."
Before the man could do anything to stop him, Oni had a hand gripped around his neck and was lifting him off the ground.
He found himself the tiniest bit surprised as the criminal's hands came up to grip at the arm holding him up, sporting a full set of bladed fingers. The blades uselessly scraped across his scales, not even leaving a scratch.
"So, you're able to grow them back almost instantly after you attack." He said, noting that the blades that had been launched at him were still on the floor behind him, excluding the possibility that they had simply been somehow retrieved. "So very interesting. Such a shame that you turned out to be such a waste of space."
He was almost tempted to take the quirk for himself. Almost, but not quite. If the speed at which the blades had been launched was the fastest they could go, then Oni was faster by a wide margin. He already had his other claw quirk, which was as good as most other blade quirks. If he wanted to stab someone that badly, he could simply close the distance himself. And even if he didn't feel like putting in the effort it would take to do that, he had a number of sharp instruments stored away that he could throw instead, all varying in style so he could even choose in which cultural flavor he wished to hurt someone.
Oni turned, bringing the criminal around and slamming him into a wall, before dropping him to the floor. Not bothering to spare the man another glance, he turned to make his way to the door, humming to himself as he headed for where the rest of the criminals were. He could see that the nearest one had noticed the thud of their comrade hitting the wall.
He ignored the woman as she rounded the corner and began shouting at him, not even paying enough attention to notice what she was saying. He did, however, notice the way that the five remaining criminals began to stir at the noise she was making.
Darting forward, Oni was inches away from her faster than she could react. He took note of the feathers sprouting across her face and arms—no wings though. A shame, as he would love to find a feathered wing quirk at some point—before gripping the side of her head and throwing her through a closed door she happened to be standing next to.
He turned around just as another one rounded a corner on the opposite end of the hallway. It was a man this time, with flames dancing all along his arms.
"Who are you!?" He shouted. "What do you want!?"
Oni ignored him, tilting his head as he started off towards the man.
"That's a neat fire quirk you've got there. It'd be a shame if it just didn't work when you wake up in the hospital a week from now."
"Stop! Stay away!" The man shouted, raising his hands. The fire surrounding them surged, increasing in intensity and stretching out to flicker across his shoulders.
"Make me." Oni said, enjoying the terror that was blooming in the criminal's expression. "If you don't want me to break your legs, you had better do something to stop me."
The fire grew once more, in time with the criminal's rising fear. Oni thought he could almost feel the rise in temperature through his temperature resistance quirk.
"There we go. Fight like you mean it. Fight like your life depends on it."
No sooner had those words left his mouth than a wave of fire exploded from the criminal, filling the hallway as it surged towards Oni. He raised his arms out to his sides, ready to let it wash over him. When it did though, he didn't feel the almost-heat as the flames licking at his skin tried to overpower his resistance. Instead, he did feel actual heat, but not in the way he would expect from flame. It wasn't burning him or melting his flesh, it wasn't even uncomfortable in any way. No, it felt almost as if the heat was being drawn into him. The sensation was almost similar to how it felt to steal a quirk, when he drew the tiny source of heat into himself. The difference was that this—whatever this was—only felt skin deep. The heat wasn't being drawn into the core of his being like a quirk would be.
His mind was racing as the flames continued to fill the hallway and as the heat continued to be drawn into him. Now he could almost feel a pressure of some sort starting to build up. His first thought was that the quirk might be more than a simple fire one, but that was quickly brushed aside as he immediately used 'Appraisal' on the man who, while not visible to Oni's eyes through the flame, was still very much visible to 'All Sight.' Thankfully the two quirks were compatible—something that he had yet to test before this very moment—as details about the man and his quirk filled Oni's head. It revealed that the quirk was indeed nothing but a simple fire quirk, or at least that if there were any unique aspects, the man wasn't aware of them.
His mind next went to his own quirks, because if it wasn't the criminal's quirk causing this phenomenon, then that was the only possibility remaining. Considering the quirks he'd taken since the last time he was engulfed in flame brought him to the quirk that he'd yet to find the function of. Initially, he'd known just from the feeling of the quirk that it was a stockpiler, he just wasn't sure what it was meant to stockpile. And now, here he was, with fire seemingly being pulled into and—if the still mounting pressure was any indicator—stored within him in some way, either the flame itself or just heat.
Abruptly, the flames surging through the hallway vanished, leaving charred stone and metal behind, and leaving Oni's pants mostly burnt away. The criminal stared at Oni in equal parts shock and fear, backing away as the fire on his arms sputtered out. Oni ignored him though, instead smirking as he looked down at his hands. He could feel the heat still sitting within himself. It churned beneath the surface, just under his skin, just waiting to be released. Now it was simply a matter of how to go about doing that. Whenever he took a new quirk, especially ones such as this, that had an initial condition that needed to be met before it could be used, it was like gaining a new limb or a new group of muscles and attempting to learn how to move it from scratch.
Thankfully, he had a lot of experience with that.
Disregarding the fire quirk for a moment, Oni turned back towards where the feathered woman had appeared. Criminal number four was approaching, and based on what he could see with 'All Sight,' the man had either a mutation or a transformation that changed his skin. It looked unnaturally smooth—to the point of being glassy—and was faceted.
As the criminal appeared, Oni took a brief instant to marvel at the man's appearance. He'd been expecting a quirk similar to Kirishima's: some form of hardening, maybe into a more smooth-cut stone or perhaps even metal. What he saw though, was a man that looked to be made out of a solid chunk of gemstone. He was a deep red, and covered in countless smooth facets. Oni could see that his entire body, all the way down to his bones and organs, had been changed into the same material.
Pushing past the slight surprise, Oni raised a hand towards the new arrival, taking a moment to confirm that there wasn't anyone following.
"Hello there, perfect test subject." He said, before pulling at the new muscle.
Just as it had not even a full minute earlier, fire surged forth to fill the hallway, this time coming from Oni's outstretched arm. It didn't seem to have the same amount of power as the original blast, nor did it seem to be as hot, but all the same he watched as the new criminal was engulfed. The man panicked, falling backwards as he attempted to escape the flame. As Oni felt the pressure begin to fall, he cut off the surge of fire, before darting towards the fallen criminal. Before the flame had even fully cleared away, he was at the criminal with a foot planted on his shoulder. Putting a bit of weight into it, he slammed the man down with enough force to crack the floor beneath. Looking closely, he could see a few hairline fractures in the man's shoulder, right where Oni's foot was.
'Weak material, or simply softened by the heat?' He wondered, as the effects of the man's quirk began to fade away as he was rendered unconscious, gemstone turning back into skin. 'Whatever the case, I'll be able to figure that out later.'
Pulling his claw quirk back, Oni reached down to pick the man up, taking the quirk with a quick pull before tossing the man down the hallway where he'd come from, away from the heated stone floor that was glowing slightly red in some places. Oni took great pleasure in punishing criminals, and the man was definitely a criminal, but the punishment had already been dealt, and something like that had the potential to be fatal.
In the blink of an eye, Oni was back at the opposite end of the hallway, latching a hand onto the throat of the criminal with the fire quirk and lifting him into the air. A strangled shout worked its way out of the man's throat, even as both of his hands came up, wreathed in flame. Oni's vision went white as the fire engulfed his head, but he ignored it as he tore the man's quirk from him, eliciting another strangled shout from the man as his legs kicked uselessly at the open air. The flames sputtered, before vanishing all together as the quirk was pulled into his chest.
Pulling the man a bit closer, Oni threw him back against a wall, watching as he dropped to the floor unconscious.
Checking to see where the remaining three criminals were, and seeing that they had chosen to hole up in a room together rather than come for him, Oni took a moment to think.
The mystery stockpiler worked with fire, allowing him to stockpile it and release it later. Or rather, it worked with at least fire. The possibility existed that the quirk could take in more than just that.
Oni's reason for considering such a possibility, aside from the fact that he was learning the quirk completely from scratch, was because of where he'd taken it. Had he stolen it from a random criminal, then he would be more inclined to think that it was a fire stockpiler, but he didn't, he'd taken it from a Noumu.
He knew next to nothing about All For One, including how the ancient villain operated or thought, but he felt comfortable assuming that when giving quirks to biological superweapons, the villain would most likely choose ones that gave a clear advantage. So unless the Noumu that Oni had taken the quirk from was meant specifically to combat Endeavor—which might not be completely impossible, as Endeavor had been present in Hosu—then there was a chance that there was more to the quirk than simply absorbing fire. Of course, if that were the case then there was the question of what else exactly the quirk could function with. Following along with the idea of the quirk having a wide range of functions, was it elemental quirks that it stockpiled? Or maybe emitter quirks in general?
Taking another look at the remaining criminals, he saw that one of them had an acid quirk, similar to Ashido's, though the details of this one made no mention of being able to exert precise control over the potency. They would be useful in helping him figure out some of the details.
In thinking about his quirks, he was brought back around to the equal parts embarrassing and surprising realization that he hadn't thought to test to see if 'Appraisal' was compatible with 'All Sight.' It was only his most useful vision-based quirk, and he failed to test it with the quirk that boosted his vision to a ridiculous degree.
He sighed. Whatever, he would blame it on the amount of time that had passed since he'd gotten 'All Sight.' It had only been about five days, and part of that had been taken up with him being inordinately angry. He could make up for it by analyzing the combination.
First and foremost was 'Appraisal's activation requirements. He had assumed up until now that 'Appraisal' was activated through direct visual contact, but since he now knew that 'Appraisal' and 'All Sight' were indeed compatible, that meant that he had assumed incorrectly.
Looking a bit closer at what was needed for the quirk to activate, perhaps it wasn't the visual contact itself that was required, but instead some way to definitively identify a target for the quirk's effects. If his assumptions this time around were correct, the reason for that was because 'Appraisal' was a specialized telepathy quirk, looking within the target for relevant information pertaining to their name and their quirk. The quirk needed a precise location for the target in reference to the user.
Under normal circumstances—meaning with a person that didn't have multiple quirks enhancing them—direct line-of-sight would be the best way to achieve this, since none of the other senses would be nearly sensitive enough to do so. But with the introduction of 'All Sight' to the equation, came an alternate method of identifying a target.
'All Sight' provided a level of sensory input that far surpassed normal eyesight, not just in that he could see in every direction around himself, for hundreds of meters, but also because he could see at a nearly microscopic level. That level of detail was the same looking inside himself and when looking at something a hundred meters away.
Since he could use 'All Sight' to identify a target with the same level of precision as he could with his eyes, that meant that 'Appraisal' could make use of that sensory input to activate.
Oni shook his head, dispelling his thoughts and the rising excitement that he could feel at the realization of how 'Appraisal' really worked. He pulled his claws back into place with a sigh. 'At some point I ought to spend some time doing nothing but brainstorming theories for quirk combinations. I don't think I'm missing anything too obvious, but then I missed this one, so who's to say.'
Mapping out the quickest path to the remaining criminals, he set off. A short minute of walking later and he came to the room that they had decided to take shelter in. He almost let out a laugh when he saw that they had barricaded the door with furniture, as if that would help them. It was unfortunate that there weren't any shadows connecting to the interior of the room, otherwise he would take great joy in popping up under their feet.
He rolled his shoulders as he took a few steps to the side, facing the room. This way was almost better anyway. Almost.
With a feral grin stretching across his face, he pulled on another strength quirk, squared his shoulders, and stepped directly through the wall. He heard the shocked shouts of the criminals through the dust as he stepped into the room, bits and pieces of rubble falling to the floor. He waited for the room to clear just a bit, he wanted to savor their fear as they watched each other fall, and he couldn't do that if they couldn't see.
As soon as the dust cleared, two of the criminals, a man with a quirk that let him produce glass marbles from his hands and a woman with the acid quirk, attacked him simultaneously, not wasting any time with words.
Upon contact with the acid, he could feel that it was fairly potent, as his skin immediately began to sizzle and burn rather fiercely. He could feel his healing quirk work to counteract it, at least until he felt something similar to when he'd been exposed to the fire. After a moment or two of burning, he felt the acid being drawn into him, with the liquid visibly disappearing as it happened.
His smile widened, even as more acid was hitting him. This clarified three very important details of the quirk. Firstly, that it did work on a number of emitter quirks, not just fire or elemental ones, and secondly, that the quirk could stockpile more than one at a time. When he'd released the stockpiled fire, he'd kept just a bit, and then had gotten a bit more from the criminal's final attack. He had wanted to test to see if he could hold onto what had been stockpiled for any amount of time, and now it had proved something just as useful. At some point, he would have to test to see if he could pick and choose what he could release, or if he simply had to release everything he had stockpiled.
Finally, it also proved that he wasn't immune to whatever was hitting him. He hadn't felt the fire because he had a quirk to ensure such a thing, but he had no such quirk when it came to acid.
Oni's hands darted out, catching a few marbles that had been thrown at him. He wasn't too sure why the criminal thought that throwing handfuls of tiny glass marbles was anywhere close to a proper attack, but then, this was a small group of petty drug dealers, it wasn't as if he should expect to see much potential here. Working them around in his grip, he held a marble between the thumb and middle fingers of his top pair of hands. Making use of 'Bullseye,' he launched them with a flick of his fingers, first at the marble quirk, then at the acid quirk. They hit the heads of the two criminals with a dull thud, dropping them like a couple of marionettes with their strings cut.
As the last of the acid on his skin was absorbed, Oni turned to look at the final criminal. He had seen with 'Appraisal' that this one had an intelligence booster, but now that he was looking the man in the eyes, he could see just how potent it was. He could see a certain light in the man's eyes, a spark, hinting at the intelligence that lay within. It probably wasn't something that reached anywhere near Nezu's level, but would definitely set him apart from most average people.
"Look at you." Oni said. "So much smarter than the rest of these insects. You could've used that intelligence to do whatever you wanted. Why on Earth would you become a criminal? And not even a good criminal, for that matter, a petty little drug dealer in a shit corner of Musutafu."
The criminal sneered. "You wouldn't understand."
Oni snorted. "In what way? Do you think I'm simply not smart enough to understand your shitty life decisions or do you mean to say that I wouldn't understand because I've not gone through the same circumstances?"
"Both." The man growled, grabbing a knife from his waistband. "You don't know what I've had to do, and you wouldn't understand."
This time, Oni actually barked out a laugh. He could feel a bit of irritation begin to bubble up at the man's response. "Then allow me to apologize, because it seems that I have greatly overestimated your intelligence."
Darting forward faster than the man could react, Oni latched a hand around his throat, keeping pressure off of his windpipe. Another grabbed the man's empty hand and a third grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the knife, twisting it until the weapon fell to the floor.
Lifting the man into the air, Oni brought him close, until only inches separated them.
"Don't pretend for one second that you're the only person that's had a hard time, and stop using the shit that's happened to you as an excuse to turn around and make other people's lives harder. There are plenty of people who built themselves up and escaped their terrible circumstances, the difference is that you just couldn't cut it, and now you want to blame the world for your own inadequacies. I was deprived of my childhood, and instead of using that as an excuse to give up and take my anger out on innocent people, I worked to earn something better."
He jerked the criminal's wrists to the side, snapping them audibly, eliciting a pained scream.
"Pathetic." Oni said, sneering. He pulled his claws back as he watched the pain in the criminal's expression, before smirking. "Have fun being average."
With that, he took hold of the man's quirk and wrenched it free. The man's screams doubled in intensity. He took a few moments longer than was strictly necessary as he pulled the quirk free, enjoying the way that the man struggled against his grip. Then, finally, once the quirk was settled in his chest, he pulled the man to him, headbutting him, and let him fall to the floor.
He sighed as he watched the insect flop to the floor, shaking his head before turning away. Stepping towards the other two fallen criminals, he knelt down and pressed a hand to the woman's forehead, pulling her acid quirk free. An acid quirk could potentially be useful, especially if he happened to discover that the potency of the acid could be manipulated.
With his new quirk in place, Oni straightened up, cracking his knuckles. Humming to himself, he stepped back through the hole he'd made, working his way back to the window he'd entered through.
Partway through the building, he heard a groan from his earpiece, followed shortly by an exasperated 'Fuck.'
"What's going on?" He asked. "Having lots of fun?"
"Ugh, not even close. I've been studying like crazy for my exams. I don't think I've looked away from my notes in like, five hours. I need a distraction."
"I'm all ears if you want to talk." He responded. "If not then I would suggest getting a snack and taking a break out on the balcony. I think we still have some instant hot chocolate you could fix up."
"I'll probably take your advice here in a few minutes. But for now I just want to think about something other than the countless court cases that shaped societal quirk laws."
He heard what sounded like Rei slapping her hands to her face. "So what's the plan with the little girl, Iona? I know you've been thinking about her recently. Are you thinking about trying to take her in?"
"If that's something that you're alright with." He said. "I've mostly just been exploring options so far, seeing what is and isn't possible. I was planning on talking to you and Ochako once you were through with your exams, to see if you were both okay with it and, if you were, to put together a plan."
"You know I'll support pretty much anything you decide. I know you won't do anything serious without thinking through every possible angle."
Oni hummed. "All the same. Something like this involves both of you."
He heard her yawn. "Yep. Well, for the sake of conversation, what's your plan? Knowing you, you probably already have something cooking up."
"For now, I'm just exploring the possibility of registering as a foster home, then seeing if we can either foster or adopt Iona."
"Alrighty. The only two potential issues I can think of off the top of my head are space in the apartment and making sure our schedules could work around hers, because adding a child as young as her would be a significant change. Although, once I'm through with my exams, I can always shift my sleep schedule around so that I'm awake during the day. And the plan has always been to get a job that's mostly online, so I would be here most of the time."
"Right. That was my biggest concern, and even then I don't foresee any major complications. Once an adjustment period has passed, which would require someone to be present at home at all times, we would need to establish her educational situation, if it isn't already. I'm not sure if she's attending preschool or elementary school, or even how old she is at this point. Transportation to and from school shouldn't be a problem. I'll most likely be able to handle both, barring any special circumstances from Yueii. One of us will need to be available most of the time throughout the day to accommodate any emergency or otherwise abnormal situations, which would mostly end up falling to you, though if it came down to it, I imagine there wouldn't be much issue with my leaving Yueii to handle something if I needed to."
Oni took a moment once he reached the window to travel through the shadows back to where he started from.
"Space won't be any issue." He continued, now walking away from the building. "I don't mind moving my office into my bedroom. It's not like I use it for sleeping anyway. I would just have to set the office up as a bedroom. And with that, money won't be a concern either. Taking her in would hardly affect our finances at all, and if I really needed to, I could go further with my analysis work."
Rei huffed. "See? You have thought about it. You practically have a whole plan laid out."
"Yeah. Fair enough."
"Mhm." She hummed. Then, after a moment. "I'm fine with whatever you decide to do. Although, granted, right now my brain feels like it's about to melt, so there's a chance I'm overlooking something. We can talk about this again after my exams have finished up."
"Yep. Sounds good."
"Good." She said with another yawn. "Now, I'm gonna go get a snack, sit outside, and pretend that I live in a world where I never even considered pursing law."
"If you give me a second, I can fix you something so you don't have to worry about it."
He was already picturing the kitchen of the apartment as he spoke, reaching out with 'Sciakinesis' and sinking into the darkness at his feet as soon as he had it.
"Don't worry about it. I'll get it."
"Too late, loser." He said, emerging from the shadows. "I'm already here. Your desire to not bother me is no match for my ability to teleport here from anywhere on this half of the planet."
He heard the sound of her office door opening. "Fucker." She whispered, voice echoing slightly as he heard it both through his earpiece and from down the hallway that led to her office. "You're lucky that Ochako's asleep or I'd call you a number of more colorful names."
"You say that like it's going to stop me from making you hot chocolate and ice cream."
She grumbled as she came around the corner, though he could see that she was trying to hold back a smile.
"Fine. You win. But you'd better make yourself some as well. You've already wrapped up your vigilante work for the night, right?"
"Mhm. Indeed I have."
"Exactly. So fix some for yourself then come relax with me."
"Sure thing. I'll tell you all about the stuff I discovered today about some of my quirks."
The next day passed by normally, and when it was time to eat lunch, Izuku made a point to eat with Yagi. It had been far too long since the two of them had simply sat down to talk. So, instead of heading for the cafeteria with the rest of his class, he headed for the teacher's lounge where, thanks to 'All Sight,' he knew that Yagi was handling some form of paperwork.
"So, I've been meaning to ask," Izuku started partway through the meal, glancing up from his food, "has Gran Torino always been like that?"
Yagi turned to look at him. "If you mean crotchety and mildly terrifying, then yes, he has."
"Well, sort of. But mostly I mean has he always been the type of person to start a fight out of nowhere. When I went to visit him, the first thing he did was start a fight to get a feel for what sort of person I am."
"Ah, yes. That too. That definitely isn't something new. He was very fond of skipping any sort of conversation and jumping straight into whatever training he'd decided on, which more often than not was just sparring. I can't tell you how many times I lost my lunch when he attacked me out of nowhere to, quote, 'force me to be prepared for surprise attacks.' Did he pretend to be senile before he attacked?"
"No, but he did pretend to be dead, by lying in a puddle of ketchup, of all things. As if I don't know what blood smells like, or that I don't know how to tell if someone's dead or not."
"Of course. That was another trick he used a few times to catch me off guard. It shouldn't have worked as much as it did. Even after I got my quirk, I was never any match for him for the longest time."
Izuku let out a small, amused huff at the image of the tiny old man knocking someone of Yagi's size on his ass.
"That's right, he wasn't just a mentor, was he? He mentioned that he actually taught here for a year, specifically so he could have more control over your training."
Yagi nodded. "And what a painful year that was. I think just about every time I ended up in Shuzenji's office was because of him. To this day I still don't think she's forgiven either of us for that fact."
"I feel like Torino might be one of the few people that could give Recovery Girl a run for her money in terms of pure stubbornness."
"I think you might be right. It's one area where I will never surpass him. That woman terrifies me more than any villain."
"Honestly, I wouldn't put it past her to be able to talk down just about any villain. Just a few words and she could probably have them feeling ashamed of themselves."
Yagi laughed. "There's actually a video out there of her doing exactly that. It wasn't a major incident, just some young thug making a poor attempt to rob a bank that Shuzenji happened to be in. He was in tears by the time the police arrived."
Izuku smirked at the image. "I'll have to see if I can't find that. I can only imagine what she must've looked like, lecturing the poor criminal."
"Strangely enough, not as fierce as she does when she lectures a student about not getting hurt."
The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence as they continued to eat. Izuku found that he had missed this. The two of them hadn't had many opportunities to just sit and talk like this since before the year at Yueii had started. Especially now with the issue of his secret being dealt with and behind them, he was glad that they had this opportunity.
A few minutes of eating later, and Izuku remembered something.
"Oh right, there was something else that I've been thinking about." Izuku said, looking up at Yagi. "Being a top hero agency, I'm sure that Might Tower has its own in-house legal team, right?"
"It does." Yagi responded. "Actually, I believe that it's one of the largest departments. Why do you ask?"
Izuku nodded. "So, my sister has been pursuing a degree in law for the past few years, and is about to finish up her final year in a few days. I was hoping to put together a gift to properly celebrate the occasion. If you would be willing, do you think you could put in a good word of recommendation to them if she chooses to apply there?"
Yagi smiled. "I could do far more than that. I've found that, between being the head of the agency and the number one hero, whenever 'All Might' says or suggests anything, it tends to happen. So as long as she has the necessary qualifications, I'm pretty sure I could just tell my legal department to hire her, and they would. Actually, if this is something you wished to present as a gift, I could see about having them write up an official letter, denoting her acceptance. There wouldn't even be an interview, just the checks to make sure there wouldn't be any legal liability in hiring her."
Izuku returned the smile. "I would greatly appreciate it, and I know she would too. You're her favorite hero. Even if she decides that she wants to go with somewhere else, she would still appreciate the gesture."
"Then all the more reason to do it, if it's helping a fan!"
With that, the two of them returned to their meals. Izuku did so with a smile on his face as he imagined Rei's reaction to being told that she had an easy ticket to be a part of All Might's legal team. If Yagi could secure that, then the first half of the celebration would be set.
Then it would simply be a matter of sourcing the second half.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
The Torch
Chapter Summary
All Might has a discussion with Bakugou, and the fate of One For All is finally decided.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Katsuki's mind raced as he trailed behind the massive figure of All Might, ignoring the students that were still stopping to gawk despite the fact that the man had been teaching at Yueii for about two months already. He had barely made it into the building on his way to class when All Might had pulled him aside and asked to speak with him in private. He hadn't even been told what they would be speaking about.
His first thought was that he was in trouble, that maybe he'd broken some rule or another, but he was almost certain that he hadn't. Nothing came to mind, and even if he had, it was more likely that Aizawa or Nezu would be the one to bring it up. Maybe All Might wanted to talk about Katsuki's performance during the heroics classes? Or maybe it was about his internship with Endeavor?
Thankfully, Katsuki didn't have to dwell on it for long, because soon enough he was being led into the teacher's lounge, and then into a connected conference room.
"Have a seat." All Might said, pulling out the seat closest to the door.
Katsuki did as directed, taking a seat in the proffered chair as All Might did the same in the chair at the head of the table. The man laced his fingers together, working a thumb over the other, as if he was nervous about something. It was an odd sight to behold, and one that clashed both with the man's size and with the feeling of strength and confidence he always seemed to give off. His trademark smile had almost faded entirely. That alone had Katsuki's mind racing even more.
The room was silent for a few long moments as he waited for All Might to speak. But when he didn't, and when Katsuki could no longer stand his own anxiety about the situation, he took the initiative.
"So… What did you want to talk about?"
All Might looked up at him. After a moment, he shook his head, seeming to be snapping himself out of something, before shifting around in his seat and clearing his throat. His smile was still missing, but his confidence had returned.
"Right. Young Bakugou. I wanted to have a conversation with you, about, well, you."
"About me?"
All Might nodded. "Indeed."
Some of Katsuki's confusion and anxiety must've shown on his face, because the man quickly added on. "Ah, not to worry. It's nothing too serious. You certainly aren't in any trouble or anything, I just wanted to ask you a few questions."
Katsuki relaxed a bit at that, though he still wondered what All Might would want to ask him. Even if he said it wasn't very important, it was obviously still important enough to warrant asking them in private.
"Alright then. What did you want to ask?"
All Might nodded again. "Once you've finished up your time here at Yueii, once you've graduated and have been released into the world, what sort of hero are you looking to become?"
Katsuki tilted his head. "You mean like do I want to be a spotlight hero or go underground?"
"Not exactly. Spotlight heroes, underground heroes, rescue heroes, those are all types of heroes, yes, but they pertain more to the functions that a hero might perform. What I mean is, when you're a hero, what do you intend to stand for? What is it that you wish to represent?"
When Katsuki remained silent, head still tilted, he continued.
"Whether it's conscious or not, almost every Pro Hero, and almost everyone who, at any point, tries to become a hero, has something specific driving them, a reason for becoming a hero. For some, it may be something as simple as obtaining money or fame or wanting to protect those that cannot protect themselves. For others it may go deeper than that."
"Take me for example." He said, gesturing at himself. "I want to protect people, but I also want to be the sort of hero to inspire hope with nothing more than my presence. I wanted to become someone that, no matter how bleak a situation might be, as soon as someone sees me, they think that everything will be okay."
"Myself aside, I know that Aizawa has similar motivations, albeit a bit less grandiose. He simply wants to be the sort of hero that does everything he can to help. Present Mic, through his popularity, both as a hero and as a radio host, has become someone who tries to inspire those whose quirks are destructive or difficult to control. Midnight has done something similar. I know that she seeks to inspire those whose quirks might not be as visibly heroic, or that might even be called villainous."
"Everyone has something, but no one goal is any better or worse than another. I know plenty of heroes whose only motivations is the money and recognition, yet who work just as hard as anyone else."
"So, Young Bakugou. What kind of hero do you wish to be? What motivates you?"
Katsuki looked down at the table as he considered the question. What kind of here did he want to be?
He knew exactly what motivated him. That wasn't even a question by this point.
A picture from his father's photo album, now framed and sitting on Katsuki's desk, flashed across his mind. It showed him and Izuku, at Izuku's fourth birthday party, side by side with an arm slung across each other's shoulders, and with a small explosion blooming from Katsuki's free hand.
The shock that he'd felt when his parents told him that Izuku was missing. The anger he'd felt when the police officer had come to his house, and he overheard the man tell his parents that it was decided that Izuku had run away. The frustration and helplessness when nobody would listen to him, because of course Izuku, a four-year-old wouldn't have fucking run away, and when everyone, even Izuku's own mother, just gave up far too soon.
Had All Might's question only been that, what motivated him to become a hero, he could've answered without hesitation.
Even now, nearly fifteen years after it happened, it still had Katsuki's fists clenching, his palms sizzling.
But despite his concrete motivation, and the determination that always followed those thoughts, determination to become the best, to become the strongest, for Izuku's sake, he'd never put much thought into what specifically he wanted to become a hero to do.
There were the obvious things of course. Not necessarily things that he would become a hero to do, but that would simply come as perks to the title: The ability to protect the things and people he cared about, being able to act with near impunity when it came to protecting them, not to mention the ability to scare off any potential threats through his reputation alone. Beyond that though…
Whenever he thought about Izuku, and about why he wanted to be a hero, the thought that always came first was that if he were to become a hero, then he'd be able to make sure that whatever happened to Izuku wouldn't happen to anyone else. Or that at the very least, he would have the freedom to investigate it and find out what happened, and hopefully put a stop to it.
So then… putting that into the context of All Might's question…
"I want… to keep people safe." He finally said, considering his words carefully. "I want people to know that they're safe when I'm around. I want them to feel that way because the villains are too scared to do anything. I want to make sure that the villains and criminals know that they won't get away with hurting people. And if they do, I want to make sure that people don't give up on finding them and making things right."
When Katsuki finished speaking, he looked back up at All Might to see that he had a small smile on his face.
"A symbol of safety." He whispered, almost to himself. Then, louder, "That is quite the admirable goal to strive towards, and quite the tall order. One, I feel, that has some specific reasoning behind it. Do you mind if I ask what has led you to this?"
"An old friend." Katsuki answered immediately. "He disappeared when we were both very young, under mysterious circumstances. No one would listen to me when I told them that he didn't just run away. No one would do anything about it. Obviously, I couldn't have done much else about it with how young I was, but if I become a hero, then there will be very little that anyone could do to stop me from asking questions and pushing further."
"I see…" All Might said, smile gone once more. "I'm sorry to hear that such a thing happened. It's truly a black mark on both heroes and the police that your friend was never found. Though, it is nice to see that not only do you hold such admirable goals for yourself, but that they also come from such a sincere place. Oftentimes, experiencing tragedy early on in life can push one to greater heights than what would've been possible otherwise."
All Might paused, letting something of a somber silence fill the room, as he seemed to consider something. Then, after a short few seconds, his smile was back.
"I've no doubt that you'll be able to reach your goals someday, Young Bakugou. Though, if you're willing to listen to me ramble on a bit more, I may have something that would help you reach them sooner."
Katsuki scrunched his eyebrows at the man. "What do you mean?"
"Before I say anything else, I need you to promise that nothing you're about to see and nothing that we discuss will ever leave this room. Can you do that?"
"I-. Sure?" He responded, still confused.
"Right then." All Might said with a small sigh. "First things first."
Before Katsuki could even begin to wonder what was about to happen, All Might exploded, disappearing in a cloud of steam.
He blinked at the spot where All Might had been sitting, at a complete loss for words. He had no idea what had just happened, or if he was supposed to do something. Was All Might okay? Was he even still here? Should he go find another teacher?
By the time Katsuki was starting to get over his shock, and was about to get up to at least be sure of whether or not All Might was even still in the room, the steam had begun to clear away. As it did, it revealed something that had Katsuki bluescreening again.
In the chair that All Might, the number one hero, who could probably snap Katsuki in half with a single hand, and who weighed so much that it was a minor shock that any chair could even support his weight, had just occupied a few moments ago, now sat a twig of a man.
Everything about him practically screamed 'frail and sickly,' from his sunken eyes and gaunt face, to his stick-like limbs, to the way his breath rattled in his chest. He looked as if a stiff breeze would take him out of commission. In just about every way imaginable, this new figure was the polar opposite of the imposing figure of All Might.
Except for the hero costume hanging off his thin frame, which was the exact same one that All Might had been wearing.
"What the fuck?" Katsuki asked, still not quite over his shock as he stared, wide eyed at the man. "What the fuck is this?"
"This," the man said, gesturing down at himself, "is the real me, Young Bakugou."
Somehow, Katsuki's eyes managed to widen even further. "All Might? You- but you're-. What? Why is this-?" His mouth snapped shut, and he took a breath, before trying again. "What exactly is happening?"
Instead of speaking, the skeleton claiming to be All Might simply lifted the top half of the much-too-large hero costume, exposing his torso. Or at least, what was left of it. A massive, jagged scar marred a significant portion of his left side.
Katsuki found that he couldn't form any words as he stared at the remnants of what had to have been a horrific injury.
"Years ago, I was involved in a fight against an incredibly dangerous villain." All Might(?) said. "I managed to injure him, enough to incapacitate him, but in return he gave me this."
He lowered his shirt, hiding the injury, something that Katsuki found himself grateful for.
"My left lung, my stomach, and parts of my digestive tract were all critically injured that day, to the point where a significant portion of each needed to be removed entirely. Between that, and the aftereffects of the surgeries and treatments that saved me, I've been slowly wasting away ever since. I've been reduced to this, and I have to put in effort just to look like my old self."
As if to accentuate that fact, the man suddenly went into a coughing fit, flecks of red flying from his mouth before his hand came up to cover it. By the time it subsided, and he was struggling to get his breathing under control, his palm was coated in blood, and he had pulled a handkerchief from somewhere to clean it up.
Katsuki was glad that he was sitting down, because between seeing the injury, hearing All Might explain what had happened to him, and then seeing the number one hero cough up blood, he felt a sense of vertigo, like the world beneath his feet had been thrown off its axis. Had he been standing when All Might showed him, he definitely wouldn't have been right now.
"What's worse is that, because of this, my time as 'All Might' has been slowly fading away. By now, I can only maintain that form for about three hours a day before the strain gets to be too much."
Katsuki swallowed, his mouth feeling incredibly dry all of a sudden, and he tried not to think about All Might struggling just to keep up his appearance, let alone fighting crime like that.
"Why, uh-." He swallowed again. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"I'm telling you because this injury, and my situation, are the reason I'm teaching at Yueii this year. I've come here to search for a successor, and not just for my legacy."
All Might took a deep breath. "And now for the second part of my secret. Young Bakugou, if you accept, I would choose you to receive my quirk."
Katsuki faltered yet again, blinking at the frail man, who looked like he'd just invited someone out to lunch, instead of dropping… whatever the hell that bombshell was.
"To receive your-. Does that-? Are you implying that you can just… give away your quirk?"
"I'd like to think of it more as passing it along, but to answer your question, yes. My quirk, One For All, can indeed be given to another. It was given to me, many years ago, and now it is time for me to pass it to someone else. It is my hope that you will be that someone."
Katsuki wasn't sure if he could handle anymore shocks today. To not only find out that All Might was apparently severely injured by a single villain, and now struggles to be a hero, but also that his quirk had supposedly been given to him, and that he could give it to someone else.
Amidst all the questions that raged in his mind—who was it that gave All Might the quirk that put him at the pinnacle of heroics? If his quirk had been given to him, then what was his original quirk? What sort of villain could cause such an injury to the strongest man in the world?—the only one that he could make himself voice was-.
"Why me?"
"Why have I chosen you to be my successor?"
Katsuki managed a small nod.
"Well, for starters, you show a considerable amount of skill and potential. You even already match up to a few third years that I've seen in action. Based on your performance up until now alone, I'd feel confident in saying that you could very well become a top ten hero. But, just as important as that, if not moreso, is the conversation we've been having. Your goals in becoming a hero, and your motivation for reaching for them. I can tell that you will become a great hero, someone who will stand as a pillar for society."
Katsuki could barely even acknowledge the praise he was receiving. He was still struggling to wrap his head around what he was being offered.
"What about Iz-. What about Etsumi?" He asked. "Or Todoroki? The two of them are just as skilled as I am, better, in Etsumi's case. He's the strongest in our class."
"Todoroki still has yet to even fully realize his own power, if my understanding is correct. As skilled as he might be, he's hamstringing himself by ignoring half of his quirk. Granting him more power would only continue to hinder him. And that aside, I don't have the faintest idea what his motivations might be for becoming a hero. For all I know, he may only be pursuing heroics so as to follow in his father's footsteps. And as for Etsumi. He was the one who suggested that I talk to you." All Might said. "He and I met close to this time last year, and he deduced my quirk on his own. When I happened to bring up the subject of receiving my quirk, he steadfastly denied, but offered to help me look for someone suitable."
Katsuki wasn't sure how to feel about this. He knew that he should feel some degree of happiness or satisfaction that All Might, of all people, thought that he was worthy of something so important, but at the same time, was Katsuki truly worthy of such a thing?
He tried to counter those thoughts with the argument that, even if there might be people that were more deserving, All Might had made the decision to come to him. He'd chosen to reveal such a critical secret and offer such an amazing power to him. He wouldn't have done that if he weren't certain in his decision, right?"
Aside from trying to reassure himself, he also tried to distract himself from such thoughts by looking at the benefits of receiving such a quirk.
There were, of course, the upsides to gaining such a thing, that were hard to ignore. If it worked the way he thought it would, and he ended up receiving the strength, speed, and other physical boosts that All Might had, then he'd be able to do so much more as a hero. His quirk, and the work he'd put into it, already gave him somewhat significant offensive capabilities, but being able to move at close to the speed of sound and punch hard enough to change the weather would take things to another level entirely.
His fists clenched beneath the table. If he had that sort of power, he would be able to protect so much more than he ever could with his power alone. No villain would be able to stand up to him.
"And if I were to accept, and you… and you passed your quirk on to me, what would happen to you?"
"My strength would begin to fade away, slowly, over time. As you become more accustomed to the power, my grip on it would begin to loosen. Eventually, I would become just a regular person."
"How long would it take?"
"If we're lucky, I would be able to hold on in some capacity until you graduate."
"So, not even three years."
"Such is the way of things." All Might said with a small smile. "The thought of having so little time left doesn't bother me. I've known for a while that I'm on borrowed time. Even if I didn't pass my quirk along, I wouldn't have much longer than three years before my time limit fades completely. We would just be in a worse-off situation because there wouldn't be a rising hero ready to take over."
The two of them went silent, and Katsuki was running through everything in his head. He weighed his options, and what each would mean if he chose it. Before long, he found that he'd reached a decision. Before he could open his mouth to speak though, All Might beat him to it.
"Now, before this conversation goes too much further, there is something else that you need to be told, something else you should know before you make the decision."
All Might took another deep breath. "The villain that I fought all those years ago, that gave me my injury, is still alive. I thought I had killed him that day, but recent events have made me realize that he's still alive, and that he is beginning to act again."
"What kind of villain could put up so much of a fight against you?" Katsuki asked. "Who is he?"
"His name is All For One, and he is a terrible and ancient villain. His quirk is one that lets him take the quirks of others, use them for himself, and give them away if he so chooses. He is almost as old as quirks themselves, and before our fight, he practically ran all of the Japanese underground. Each one of my predecessors fought against him, and each of them failed, and fell, until my fight with him. He may have grievously injured me, and he may have survived, but I dealt plenty of blows myself."
Katsuki chose to push past the revelation that there was a villain that could apparently steal quirks from people, and the thought of how terrible that would be in the wrong hands. Instead, he just backtracked to the fact that this villain, All For One, and All Might, or rather, the holders of his quirk, One For All, seemed to have some sort of vendetta against each other.
"So, you're telling me that if I accept your quirk, I would end up having to fight against him as well?"
All Might nodded. "The chances of that being the case are exceptionally high. I highly doubt that he would ever put a stop to his evil ways, and it is almost a fact of life that the two strongest forces on opposing sides will inevitably clash. More than that, though, is that he would target you for no other reason than to end One For All. As it stands, it is our… it is one of our greatest weapons against him."
Katsuki turned his gaze down towards the table, carefully considering All Might's words. The man was offering him what was probably the single strongest quirk on the planet. But if he accepted it, then it would come with the side-effect of having the greatest villain in history wanting him dead.
But then… it wasn't as if that wasn't already going to be the case. If All For One was really as terrible as All Might made him out to be, then he wouldn't ignore Katsuki simply because he didn't have One For All, especially not if Katsuki became a hero. One way or another, there was a good chance that they would clash anyway.
"If he's a villain," Katsuki started, slowly, "then, as a hero, I would end up fighting him eventually anyway."
He looked back up at All Might. "The only thing that would change by having your quirk would be that I'd have a better chance against him. I would have a better chance at defeating him."
All Might stared at him for a moment, wide-eyed, before a bright smile bloomed across his face, a paltry thing compared to the smile everyone knew, but that somehow felt more genuine.
"That is some excellent resolve, Young Bakugou! To learn of such a terrible threat, and not shy away in the slightest. I was already sure of it before, but now I'm only more certain, you'll truly end up being among the best."
He seemed to sober up for a moment. "Of course, you certainly don't have to make a decision right now, or even today. You can take as long as you need, I just wanted to speak with you, and present the option to-."
"Yes." Katsuki said, cutting off All Might's words.
He took a deep breath. "Yes. I accept."
"Excellent!" All Might said, exploding back into his muscular form, his trademark smile blooming across his face in full force as he stood up out of his chair. Reaching up to his head, he pulled a strand of hair loose, before offering it out to Katsuki.
"Now, eat this!"
Izuku's hand blurred as he wrote in his notebook, describing the details of 'All Sight' and how it combined with 'Appraisal.' He made a special note about how the combination led him to believe that other similarly precise sensory quirks would be able to work with 'Appraisal' as well.
Normally, he would leave transcribing his analysis of his own quirks for when he was at home, leaving his normal analysis to keep him occupied during class, but he recently decided to forgo that extra bit of precaution.
Even if someone were to see what he was writing, or somehow get their hands on his notebook, which he wasn't about to allow, they wouldn't be able to make sense of anything. The amount of time that he'd put into developing a method of encryption was such that most people would call him obsessive for it. Rei certainly had.
For starters, he did all of his writing using the English alphabet. This was partly to reduce the number of people that would even be able to begin deciphering it, and partly because he'd been teaching himself English when he started writing his analysis, and thought that it would be good practice.
Then, he used a monoalphabetic cypher to scramble the English alphabet, shifting everything around in no set pattern. It was by no means unbreakable, but it was enough to give pause to anyone that attempted to read it. And the best part about it wasn't even that he randomly scrambled the letters, it was that the cypher changed every day. Each new day where he sat down to write out any analysis on his quirks, he would reshuffle the cypher. The chances that any two entries, across his entire collection of notebooks, used the same cypher were astronomically low. He could use a different combination every single day, and the sun would go supernova before he had to repeat any. On top of that, the cypher that each entry used wasn't written anywhere. The only place they existed was in his own memories. If anyone wanted to decipher his analysis, they would have to start from scratch with every single entry.
It was probably unnecessarily complex, but he had fun doing it.
Wrapping up the entry on 'All Sight,' he snapped the notebook shut. Picking it up, he slid it into his bag, under the pretext of storing it away. The moment it was out of sight though, he activated 'Hotbar' to ensure it was properly hidden. In return, he slid another notebook that was actually in his bag, one that went along with his 'Deku' analysis. He had a few requests that he would work on while he waited for class to start. He was at his desk, waiting for the rest of his classmates to arrive.
Almost as soon as he opened the notebook to its next empty page, Bakugou appeared in the doorway. He looked almost nauseated, like he'd eaten something distasteful for breakfast. He had a contemplative expression on his face as he moved to his desk.
So far, Bakugou had very rarely shown anything through his blank expression. The closest he got was when he happened to look a bit more focused than normal during a training exercise, or when he'd looked frustrated and defeated after the sports festival, where he'd revealed that he remembered Izuku. So, seeing him thrown off now was a bit unusual. It wasn't too hard to guess what the reason for that was though.
Excluding him being sick, or actually eating something bad for breakfast, the most likely possibility was that Yagi had chosen to speak with him. Seeing what All Might, the number one hero, had been reduced to would probably be enough to make most anyone feel a bit sick and confused.
Whatever the case, Bakugou seemed to be doing a decent enough job of pushing through it, as most everything was wiped from his expression before he even made it to his desk.
Soon enough, everyone had made it into the classroom, and Aizawa emerged from behind his podium, not even bothering to shed his sleeping bag.
"No special announcements for today." He started without preamble. "So I'll just remind you that your final exams are coming. I would suggest preparing yourselves sooner rather than later. Feel free to get started right now while you wait for your next class."
Without another word, he sank back to the ground, leaving the class to do as they pleased. The room was soon filled with the noise of shuffling papers and muted conversations as Izuku settled back in to return to his analysis work.
Just as he was getting into a rhythm though, he was interrupted by someone approaching him from the side. He pulled his notebook back, moving back himself just a bit, just in time to avoid Ashido flopping across his desk.
"…Is there a reason you're on my desk?" He asked, not impolitely.
"Etsumi, you gotta help me!" She whined. "I'm not ready for these exams at all!"
"You… You have a month to study for them."
"Still though! My grades aren't good to begin with, and I don't even know where to start!"
"So… What do you want me to do about that?"
"You're the class president, and you're like, the smartest person in our class! Can't you tutor me or something?"
Izuku blinked. "I mean, I suppose I could. But-."
"Oh! Me too!" Kaminari cut in, shouting from his desk. "Can you tutor me as well? Please? I could use some help as well."
"I-."
Izuku could barely get a word out before a chorus of 'me too's and 'can you tutor me as well's sounded out through the room. Apparently most of his class wanted or needed help as well.
"I, uh." Now he was simply at a loss for words.
It wasn't a matter of ability. He supposed that if it came down to it, he could tutor them. He'd managed to teach Rei all the way through high school level material, and himself all the way through college. His doubt instead came from the fact that it was most of his classmates asking it of him at the same time. He'd never been in such a situation before, was this something that happened?
He glanced over at Ochako, hoping that doing so would give him some clue as to how he should proceed, only to find her with an excited smile on her face.
"Oh! That's a great idea!" She exclaimed. "We should invite them all over! We can have a big study session to make sure everyone's ready!"
Izuku closed his eyes. That hadn't helped at all.
He'd be lying if he said he really wanted to help them all out by tutoring them. But, at the same time, he also saw no real reason not to.
Letting out a sigh, Izuku resigned himself to the responsibility that he'd been handed.
"Alright, fine." He said, earning a sigh of relief from a few of his classmates and a cheer from a few others. "I suppose I can help. But if we're doing this at my apartment, then you'll have to wait at least a week. My sister is preparing for her own exams and doesn't need you all distracting her. If you can't wait that long, then find somewhere else for us to go."
His classmates looked around at each other, before turning back to him.
"That should work out." Ashido said.
"Alright then. Now, can I have my desk back?"
"Sure thing!" She said, getting to her feet and heading back to her desk. "Thanks Etsumi!"
Izuku ignored her, opening his notebook once more to hopefully get some work done.
The rest of the day passed by smoothly, until their heroics lesson of the day wrapped up and Yagi pulled Izuku aside to tell him about the meeting he'd had with Bakugou earlier in the day, confirming what Izuku had suspected. He also told Izuku what the result of that conversation had been, that Bakugou had accepted the quirk.
Which was why Izuku found himself in one of Yueii's training gyms after the day had ended, along with Bakugou and Yagi. Once his conversation with Yagi had concluded, Izuku took Ochako home, so that he wouldn't have to worry about inconveniencing her as he assisted with what was about to happen.
"Alright." Yagi said. "You received One For All this morning. By now it should've had time to acclimate to your body. Now, all that's left is to see if you're able to tap into it."
"Okay." Bakugou responded, nodding. He glanced over at where Izuku was coiled up. "But why is Etsumi here?"
"For the same reason that I was allowed to direct our class' training leading up to the sports festival." Izuku answered. "Because I'm certified to do this sort of thing. Also, because I made the offer to help once someone was found to receive the quirk."
"Speaking of," he continued, looking over at Yagi, "before we begin, I know you've said that Recovery Girl knows about One For All, but does Aizawa know?"
Yagi shook his head. "No. I've not told him."
"I figured as much. Though, if I were you, I would consider telling him, seeing as how one of his students has inherited something that will result in a drastic change to his abilities. Plus, it would mean one more person to oversee training, only this time with the added benefit of a quirk that could turn One For All off at any time."
"But that aside," he said, changing the subject, directing his attention towards Bakugou, "we need to determine whether or not you're able to access it just yet."
He looked back over at Yagi. "You have all the experience when it comes to One For All. How did you learn to use it?"
"Hmm. I might not be the best example. It always came naturally to me. The only thing I ever had to do was reach for it, and it was there."
Izuku sighed at the complete lack of insight from the man who had held the quirk for nearly fifty years.
"Right. From scratch, then." He said, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. "Let's see… It's an energy-based quirk. How best to analogize it?"
Energy quirks, particularly energy quirks that allowed users to make direct use of the stockpile, were incredibly rare. Most energy quirks, like the two that Izuku had, merely served to supplement his stamina. The closest quirks he had to One For All in terms of how it functioned were his newest stockpiler and 'Soul Thief.' So, for the moment, he would use them as his guideline.
"Alright, first things first." He finally said, looking back down at Bakugou. "You've been given a new quirk. That's basically the same as if you were to grow a completely new limb. You won't be able to control it at first. Before you can, you have to learn where the muscles are, and what mental switch you have to flip in order to make them listen to you. For an energy-based quirk, you should be able to feel something new inside of you. Most likely, this'll either present as a little bit of pressure in your muscles, something just waiting to be released, or as something in your chest, maybe a little bit of heat. Do you feel any of that?"
Bakugou's face drew up in concentration for a few long moments.
"I think… I think it's the second one. I don't know what it is, but it feels like there's… something… right about here."
He pointed to a spot right in the center of his torso, just below the sternum.
"It… almost feels like water. I don't think it's warm. I can't quite tell if it feels hot or cold, all I can feel is that it's big. It's almost like there's an ocean inside of me."
Izuku tilted his head at the analogy. There must be an astronomical amount of energy stockpiled within the quirk for it to feel like something of that magnitude, or at least for Bakugou to interpret it as such. Aside from that, the fact that he was able to come up with his own visualization for it at all meant that he would likely have an easier time of accessing it.
"Alright. Now we know that you do indeed have it, now it's just a matter of making use of it."
"Following along with the analogy that you came up with, that One For All is an ocean within you, can you reach out to it at all? Can you step into the water?"
Instead of answering, Bakugou closed his eyes, his eyebrows scrunching up even further as he focused. Several long minutes passed in silence as he tried to tap into the power, but at no point did Izuku see any frustration in his expression. The only thing there was focus and determination to succeed.
It took a while—Izuku could see that Yagi wanted to say something, but he was content to see what Bakugou would accomplish—but eventually he succeeded. Izuku could tell the instant it happened. Every inch of exposed skin suddenly took on a red tint, and Bakugou gasped. At the same time, out of nowhere, lightning exploded into existence around him, wreathing his body. It was orange in color and crackled across him in a cascade of light.
"Excellent work, Young Bakugou!" Yagi exclaimed. "Do you think you can move like that?"
Izuku's eyes went wide at the man's words.
"No!" He shouted. "Don't move! Not a single muscle!"
"Etsumi?" Yagi questioned. But Izuku ignored him as he rose from his spot, moving closer to where Bakugou still stood, lightning still arcing across him.
"Alright, now that you've taken hold of it, I want you to release it. Let go of it."
Thankfully, Bakugou didn't question him, simply closing his eyes once more. He let out a breath as the lightning slowly faded out of existence a moment later. As soon as it was all gone, he fell backwards onto the ground. Leaning back on his hands, with his head tilted up towards the ceiling, he panted like he had just run a marathon.
"Is everything alright, Etsumi?" Yagi asked.
"I believe so." He answered. "Bakugou. How're you feeling?"
"Thirsty." Came the reply, between breaths. "And sore. Like I just exercised every muscle in my body at the same time."
"Not exactly surprising." Izuku said, reaching into the bag at his hip and pulling a water bottle from a pocket in 'Hotbar,' before tossing it over to Bakugou. "If I'm correct in guessing at what I saw, what you just did was tap into everything available to you at the same time. You went to one hundred percent immediately, and your body wasn't prepared for that at all. Had you moved, the force behind even a small movement could very well have torn muscles and broken bones. You've only just gotten the quirk. Your body hasn't had much time to get used to it."
"However, you doing that was necessary. Now you ought to have a pretty good idea of what it feels like to activate it, right?"
Bakugou finished draining the water he'd been given, tossing the now-empty bottle aside. "I think so. I think I remember what it felt like."
"Good, because you're going to do it again. Only this time, instead of drawing on everything at once, I want you to try to pull on the smallest amount you possibly can. Do you think you can do that?"
Bakugou dry swallowed, his breathing back under control. "I think we're about to find out."
With that, he quickly rose to his feet, and closed his eyes once more. Unlike last time though, it wasn't even a minute before the lightning was back, albeit significantly less intense than it was before.
Izuku found himself smiling at the sheer potential that his old friend possessed. Bakugou held such a drive within himself that he took obtaining a new quirk—an exceptionally powerful quirk at that—in stride. The determination and focus that allowed him to become as strong as he had only further aided him as he tore through the process of deciphering One For All.
Oh, what the two of them could've accomplished together had they not been separated…
"Alright." Izuku started once Bakugou opened his eyes. "Is that the lowest amount you can draw on?"
"I-. I think so." Bakugou answered, voice slightly strained.
"Does it hurt at all?"
"Not really. It's just-. It's just taking some focus to keep everything steady. It's like trying to tense your entire body at the same time, and-. And then keep it there. It keeps wanting to go stronger."
Izuku nodded. "Okay. That ought to become easier with practice. Ease of focus and control usually do. Now, do you think you can move like this?"
With a grimace, Bakugou slowly lifted a foot, leaning forward as he took a very controlled and deliberate step. His movements were jerky, like his leg kept wanting to move faster than it should and then he kept overcorrecting to stop it. Eventually though, he'd taken the step, which was quickly followed by another, and then another, again and again until he was walking the length of the gym. With every step, his movements became ever so slightly more fluid. Either his grasp on the quirk was growing that much stronger with each one, or the repetitive act of walking was being just that, repetitive and easy to do with little to no focus.
"It seems like you're starting to get the hang of it. Do you think you can start to increase the pace a bit?"
Bakugou didn't respond, but immediately complied, speeding up into a light jog. Once again, his movements seemed a bit unsteady as he tried to both cope with the boost to his abilities and keep the boost active and under control, but, once again, after a few minutes he seemed to be adjusting to the higher speed. He ran all the way to the opposite end of the gym before turning around to return. As he did, Izuku noticed him pick up the pace once more.
Izuku couldn't help himself. He found himself smiling again as Bakugou's innate skill and potential were made apparent by the speed at which he improved.
His smile faltered though, when he noticed the lightning surrounding Bakugou's legs surge mid-stride.
Immediately, Izuku was moving, flying through the air to intercept Bakugou, who'd unintentionally launched himself with a step that seemed to have been made much stronger than intended with an accidental slip of One For All. He caught Bakugou around the middle, landing back on the ground an instant later. By the time he set Bakugou down, the lightning had already faded away, leaving him with a pained expression.
"How badly did you hurt your leg?" Izuku asked, despite the fact that he was already checking with 'All Sight.'
"Not too bad, I think. I'm pretty sure my ankle's just sprained."
That lined up with what Izuku was seeing. He couldn't find any signs that the bones were damaged, though the muscles around the lower half of his leg seemed to be inflamed, especially at his ankle.
"That's probably enough for today, right Etsumi?" All Might asked, moving to kneel next to Bakugou.
"Agreed." Izuku responded, nodding. "You've already learned how to activate the quirk, limit the output, and have gotten a good start on functioning while its active. That's plenty of progress for one day."
Bakugou sighed, slumping a bit, before nodding in agreement. "What's next?"
"For now, you should pay Recovery Girl a visit so she can take a look at your ankle, and so she can give you a once-over to make sure that nothing else it injured. But as far as One For All, for the time being, all you need to worry about is being able to use it while moving around. Your goal should be to get to the point where you're able to keep it active all the time throughout the day, with next to no impact on what you do. This'll help you grow accustomed to keeping the quirk active, but also with regulating your strength and how you apply it to everyday items. If you can do that, then it won't be long before you're able to fight with it."
Bakugou nodded. "If how today went is any indication, then I'll get there in no time."
Izuku smirked. "I don't doubt it. I look forward to seeing that."
"I can handle taking him to Recovery Girl, Etsumi," Yagi said, buffing up into his muscular form, "if you wanted to head home."
Izuku shrugged. "Works for me."
"Good work today, Bakugou." Izuku said as he turned towards the door, sparing Bakugou another glance. "See you tomorrow."
With that, he set off towards the exit. As soon as he made it outside, barely a minute later, he was launching himself into the air. Aiming himself towards the city proper, he took off in the direction of the apartment, ready to relax at home before he went out as Oni for the night.
Well, first things first. He had a foster guardian application that he needed to send to Nezu.
Chapter End Notes
I know that OFA had quite a bit of focus in this chapter, despite me saying before that it wouldn't be very important to the fic, but I stand by that. Beyond this point, the only importance that I can see OFA having, is in providing a reason for Izuku and Bakugou to start interacting a bit more regularly.
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Trauma and Recovery
Chapter Summary
The final exams and the study session to prepare for them draw nearer.
Chapter Notes
Sorry for the delay to this chapter. A combination of writer's block, procrastination, and being sick all this past week has made working on it difficult. But I've finally managed to get it finished. Chapter 45 will be following shortly to maintain the proper amount of new chapters.
Thank you for your patience.
Also, in this chapter I reference an amount of money using the Japanese currency Yen, and at first it may seem like more than it actually is. Just as a reminder, it takes about 110 Yen to equal 1 US Dollar. So a million Yen isn't even ten thousand dollars (it's about 9k).
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Why me?" Oni asked the air as he strolled down the street.
"Because you're the smartest one in the class," Rei answered, "and they all look up to you for that, among other things."
"I mean… I guess. But still, when it comes to the subjects that the exams will cover, I'm not the only person who's proficient, and there are certainly others who're friendlier and more personable than I am. Why not ask one of them for help?"
"I told you. They look up to you. You're the fastest, strongest, and smartest one out of all of them, you're the class president, and despite other people maybe being more social, you are plenty friendly. And consider the fact that you've already helped them all when you were getting ready for the sports festival. Of course they're going to think that you'll be able to help them again."
Oni grumbled a bit under his breath. He saw the logic in her words, he himself had already considered those points, but that didn't make him any more comfortable with the situation. It wasn't even the case that he didn't want to tutor his classmates, he just didn't fully understand why they had come to him.
He supposed that it was simply a result of his upbringing. He'd spent so long with Rei as his only company, rarely even speaking to anyone else, and definitely no one his own age, that even after over two months of attending Yueii, he still wasn't used to a normal social setting. He still wasn't familiar with the social conventions that came with actually having peers.
"At least you're not alone." Tamako said. "It's not like I understand any of that either. We can learn together."
'Probably a mistake, to be honest.' Oni replied. 'The world is so much simpler when you don't have to socialize with other people.'
"Probably… But maybe your classmates, in addition to looking up to you, like Rei said, also see you as a friend? From what I've seen, friends ask one another for help, right?"
'Sounds about right. Familiarity and closeness with a particular person leading one to be more comfortable when admitting a weakness and seeking help to correct it. Most people wouldn't ask strangers, or even acquaintances for help with anything less than immediately drastic.'
"Yeah, there you go. They probably see you as a friend."
Oni let out a breath. 'Yeah well, the mystery of why they would ask me aside, I have to figure out how I'm going to tutor them. It's not like I'm teaching a subject from scratch. I have to figure out what exactly they need help with and teach a patchwork of multiple subjects. Not to mention, if they're coming to the apartment for it, I also have to figure out what I'm going to feed them.'
"You have to feed them? Is that also a part of friends asking for help?"
'No, that has to do with having guests in your home. I think. And besides, based on the number of them that were asking, I'm going to have eleven people to tutor, twelve if you include Ochako to the count. That's likely to take a few hours. It would make sense to feed th-.'
Their conversation was interrupted by movement in the alleyway Oni was passing.
There was a man approaching him. Oni had seen him a few minutes ago, sitting in the alley, covered in his own filth and staring at a wall, and had dismissed him as homeless. Apparently, he wasn't just homeless, but homeless and desperate enough to attack lone strangers, if the gun in his hand and the expression on his face was anything to judge by.
Oni stopped, a small smirk appearing on his face, before he forced a neutral expression, cracking his neck as he did. He also pulled on 'Metallum,' discreetly transforming everything beneath the skin to steel as he turned to look at the approaching mugger. A quick strain of his eyes and 'Appraisal' had information filling his mind.
Name: Yosai Kanagi
Quirk: Feedback. Passive. Focus. Utility/Information/Mental.
Allows the user to receive and interpret radio waves. The user must 'tune' themself to specific frequencies, and can do so at will.
"You." The man, Kanagi, said, already raising the gun. "Gimme your wallet."
Oni tilted his head. The man's mind must be pretty scrambled if he was approaching Oni like that. Maybe if he looked like a regular citizen, though it wasn't as if there would be many of those wandering the streets at midnight, then Oni wouldn't be surprised that the man would try to mug him. But Oni didn't look like a regular citizen in the slightest. His clothing looked—and was—more expensive than what the man's life was currently worth, and he was wearing a mask. Masks and eccentric clothing in present-day society were fairly indicative of heroes, villains, and vigilantes—all people who generally knew how to fight—and were usually a signal to not mess with that person unless you belonged to one of those groups yourself or were looking to be hurt, or even killed.
Granted, the expensive clothing could very well be the reason that the man had decided to rob him, and perhaps the gun made him overconfident. His confidence obviously didn't come from his quirk.
"Look at you…" Oni said. "You're quite brave, aren't you? Either that or you have no idea who I am."
"Shut up and give me your wallet, dumbass. Unless you wanna be full of holes."
Oni smirked. "Well, unfortunately, I don't have a wallet." He raised a hand and activated 'Hotbar,' extracting the bag in which he carried some of his Oni funds. He unzipped it to show the bundles of bills sitting within. "But perhaps this'll work for you?"
The man's eyes widened at the sight, and Oni half expected him to start drooling. The bag held a few million Yen. It was a jackpot for most people, and for a homeless man who was most likely addicted to at least one illicit substance, it was a veritable pot of gold.
He took a step forward, extending his free hand towards the bag.
"Give it."
"You want it?" Oni asked, smirk widening and taking on a dangerous edge as he let out a bit of bloodlust. He held the bag out. "Go ahead. Take it from me."
The man hesitated for a split-second, likely noticing, at least on some level, the danger he was in, but his desire to have the bag of cash to himself won out, and he stepped closer.
As he waited for the man to willingly come within arm's reach, so he could break something, probably starting with the hand holding the gun, Oni noticed a figure in the air behind him, just at the edge of his vision. He resisted the urge to groan at the sight, and settled for hoping that he would simply pass by without noticing what was happening.
That thought was quickly followed by a second urge to groan as, sure enough, the figure saw them, and proceeded to change his course. Some heroes were far too willing to stick their noses into anything that looked even marginally suspicious, especially new heroes.
Kanagi's gun was within reach now. Just another step, and Oni would break every bone in that hand.
As soon as that step was taken, however, and an instant before Oni was about to move, a voice rang out.
"What's going on over here?" The hero shouted, as he swooped down out of the sky just a short distance away. His voice carried with it all the Authority that came with being a hero that intervened in every situation that crossed their path. The sort of voice that made one sound like one of the 'righteous do-gooders' in every other hero-based television show that had come into creation since the emergence of Pro Heroes. Hearing that sort of voice from anyone but All Might—because of course All Might had that voice, he was very nearly the culmination of every 'perfect hero' stereotype in existence—was equal parts strange and amusing.
Were it not for the fact that the owner of that voice was interrupting his fun, Oni likely would've laughed at it. Instead, he rolled his eyes, partly at the interruption, and partly because the hero had gone and wasted his element of surprise instead of making use of his practically silent movement to go for the gun first. In the next instant Oni's free hand darted for the gun that had been swung around to point at the unexpected arrival.
The crack of the firearm sounded out in the night as it went off into the palm of his hand. His skin stung as the bullet pierced through, but the steel flesh underneath stopped it from going further, and 'Shock Absorption' had the now useless bit of metal dropping to the ground instead of ricocheting back at the mugger.
"Now now." Oni said, ripping the gun out of the man's grip. "Let's not play with weapons. Someone could get hurt."
A quick re-activation of 'Hotbar' had both the gun and the bag vanishing from sight as he stored them away. The hand that had been holding the gun darted out once more to close around Kanagi's neck, lifting the man into the air. As he did, his other hand gripped the man's forearm and snapped it with a quick clench. Kanagi shouted out, but was silenced as Oni's grip around his throat tightened just enough to cut off his air.
"Hey! What're you doing?" The hero shouted, coming a bit closer. "Put him down!"
"Excuse you." Oni returned. "I am defending myself from a mugger. He threatened me with a deadly weapon. It's only right that I break his arm in return, right?"
Looking over at the hero, Oni activated 'Appraisal' once more.
Name: Asuka Suou
Quirk: Flight. Focus. Utility/Transportation.
Allows the user to fly.
'Most likely achieved through a specialized form of telekinesis.' Oni found himself theorizing. 'The only thing it can move is him.'
"It's too bad that he's a hero. If he were a criminal, you could take it."
'Tell me about it. I would love to have a flight quirk like that. Much more discreet than wings.'
Oni had already had that thought when he first saw the hero's debut, as he usually did when he found an interesting quirk that wasn't in the hands of a criminal or villain.
This particular hero, Suou, was relatively new, having only been around for just over a year-and-a-half. Oni had paid a bit closer attention to him, not only for his quirk, but also because of his career, and the decision he'd made regarding it. Almost immediately after graduating from Ketsubutsu, he had gone to work at Endeavor's agency as an intern. Not a bad decision, as the number of successful heroes that major agencies such as that produced was fairly high. Recently though, Suou had decided to split away from the agency to become an underground hero.
That typically wasn't the direction most heroes tried to go. Though, it wasn't as if very many people pursued underground heroics. Most every underground hero started off as such, as being in the public eye in any capacity just made their job harder. Going from the spotlight to underground wouldn't do anyone any favors. But Oni supposed that, at the very least, such a quirk would be fairly effective in underground heroics. Greatly enhanced movement ability, which was almost completely silent. Combine that with the advantages it could provide in combat, from being able to create his own momentum to even being able to flee much easier if that became necessary, and it could almost be considered an ideal quirk for it.
"Wait a minute…" Suou said. "I recognize you… You're that vigilante, Oni, aren't you?"
"Oh, look at that." Oni said. "He has the power of recognition."
Turning his attention back to Kanagi for a brief moment, he cut off the man's struggles with a quick exertion of 'Conqueror,' loosening his grip to allow the man to breathe.
"What did you do to him!?" Suou shouted. The sight of Kanagi going limp in Oni's grip didn't seem to sit well with him.
"Relax, he's only unconscious. Don't worry, I'll drop him off at a police station."
"No you won't." Suou said, taking another step closer. "I can't just let you go free. You're a vigilante. That means that I have to stop you."
Oni rolled his eyes again, letting out a small laugh. "How amazingly noble of you, stopping the terrible vigilante."
"Please," he said, leveling a look at the hero, "don't let your naivete force you into a fight you can't win. You're much better off leaving me to heroes like Eraserhead. At least he's smart enough to know he can't fight me."
He extended a hand out towards the hero, and for added measure, for a brief moment, he exerted a bit of force with 'Conqueror,' letting some bloodlust flow with it. Suou's reaction was immediate, leaping back to put distance between himself and Oni. His face had gone pale, and the single instant of intent had sweat beading up on his face.
Oni laughed again. "Yep, not a fight you can win. As I said, just leave me to the heroes that know what they're doing. You're better off focusing your attention on people like Kanagi here."
As he said that, Oni tossed the unconscious man towards Suou who, after only an instant of hesitation, leapt into the air to catch him. The second that Kanagi was no longer in his grip, Oni sank into the shadows at his feet, and reappeared on a rooftop a few buildings away. Repeating the process a few times had him on the other side of the city, close enough to the coast that he could see the ocean.
Oni sighed. "Well, that was fun."
"Are you messing with a hero?" Rei asked. "Who was it?"
"A hero by the name of 'Spitfire,' despite not having a fire related quirk. Formerly a sidekick with Endeavor's agency and just recently making a switch over to underground heroics. And I wasn't messing with him too much. All I did was give him a little scare to dissuade him from trying to pursue me."
He moved over to the edge of the roof, sitting down on the barrier and spinning around so his legs dangled over the edge.
"Part of me does think that it's too bad he isn't a villain. I don't exactly want more running around, but I would love a quirk like that."
"Should I keep an eye out for flight quirks?" Rei asked. "As an early birthday present?"
"Please do."
He hummed to himself for a few moments as he thought about the quirk.
"I wonder how far a quirk like that could be pushed?" He wondered aloud. "Obviously there's going to be a limit somewhere to the acceleration and speed you can attain, but would that limit come because of the quirk or because of what the human body can physically withstand? Presumably, the user of such a quirk would have developed a more durable body in order to withstand higher forces, but again, what would be the limiting factor?"
"Oh, and speaking of gifts, I hope you didn't think I was just going to let you take your exams without having gifts prepared for when you finished."
"I definitely didn't think that." Rei said. "I just figured that you were waiting for the results to come back."
Rei had finished up her exams two nights ago, four of them, spread out across four stress-filled nights. She had been incredibly anxious throughout the entire ordeal, to the point that Izuku had taken those four nights off from his vigilante work to provide support in the form of reassurances before each one and food and a movie afterwards. And now that she was done with them, she was riding a high comprised of equal parts relief and anxiety. Relief at finally having gotten her exams over with, and anxiety—unwarranted anxiety, in Izuku's opinion—over how she did. Despite Izuku's reassurances that she no doubt performed admirably however, her nerves would not be soothed until she received proof of that, which thankfully would be coming soon enough.
Apparently, since her classes, and her exams, were entirely online, her results were supposed to be sent back fairly quickly. Actually, according to Rei, she was supposed to start getting them at any time starting tonight.
As soon as those results came back, and she could see that she passed each one with flying colors, he would drop whatever he happened to be doing and return home to congratulate her. He would still be setting up a proper celebration for her, but he intended to present her with the gifts he'd prepared for her as soon as possible to reward her.
Oni reached up to pull his mask off, setting it on the roof behind him. At the same time, his wings receded into his back as he pulled the quirk back into his chest. Spinning in place, he stretched his legs out across the roof barrier, laying back a second later.
He let out a small sigh as he looked out at the water. "If you were to find a flight quirk, that would give me something to do at least. Otherwise I'll have to go find some random group of criminals to torment for a few minutes. I'd much rather cause an upset by breaking into a prison or something."
"I'll see what I can do." She said. Oni could hear the smile in her voice.
"You wouldn't just sneak in?"
'Well, no, I probably would end up sneaking in. It wouldn't be smart to cause a huge commotion to break in and steal a quirk, that would attract too much attention. But once I've taken the quirk, then I'd probably show myself elsewhere to cause a stir. You could even help me. We could see if you could manage to get some of the prisoners riled up.'
"I probably could. I've managed to make criminals fight their own comrades. Prisoners shouldn't be any more difficult, right?"
'We won't know until we put it to the test.' He replied with a smirk.
Actually, talking to Tamako was giving Oni an idea. Maybe there was something he could do tonight. He wouldn't like it, but it might be a good idea, nonetheless.
He mulled it over for a few minutes as he lay there, watching the ocean. He kept that part of his mind hidden from Tamako, not wanting to reveal what he was considering until he was sure he actually wanted to go through with it.
As a quirk, Tamako was incredibly versatile. In addition to being a separate being, and all the benefits that came with that, they allowed for silent, undetectable communication between people, given that they were close enough to one another, they could spy and gather information by just sitting within someone's mind, and they could even manipulate someone's thoughts. But their greatest ability was that they could outright control someone if there was nothing to stop them. Anyone unconscious or that simply didn't reject Tamako could be controlled.
Though, as useful as it could be to control someone, not many people would willingly give up control, especially not in a fight, where such an ability would provide a significant benefit, and waiting for an opponent to be rendered unconscious wasn't the most reliable method.
Because of that, the greatest use for the ability to control someone wouldn't be to control others in a fight, but to control the user in the event that they could no longer fight.
Oni had already witnessed this ability the night that he found Tamako. After incapacitating the original user, Tamako, though probably not fully aware of what they were doing, as they weren't yet aware that they were anything other than an extension of the user, had taken control in an attempt to continue fighting.
That was what Oni was currently considering. He had, almost constantly with him, a back up plan in case he was, for whatever reason, incapacitated. Granted, it would have to be a somewhat extraordinary circumstance to lead to that. There wasn't very much that could pose a threat to him. He was on the same level as All Might when it came to combat, and was only getting stronger as time went on. Even if something were to damage him, he now had multiple regeneration quirks. And outside of a fight, especially now that he had 'All Sight,' he was usually fairly vigilant of his surroundings.
All the same though, regardless of how unlikely of an event it was for him to be incapacitated, it would be a waste to not have a backup plan. If nothing else, probably the most likely out of any scenario, if he were to encounter a mind control quirk, specifically one that functioned like 'Siren' or like Shinsou's, that separated the target's mind from their body, Tamako would hopefully be able to defend against it. Not to mention that having Tamako take control of him would hopefully help him keep his head if he encountered such a quirk again.
Whatever the case, the problem was that the two of them had not yet thought to put that to the test, to have Tamako take control of Izuku. There was a very specific reason that Izuku hadn't even considered such a thing until now, despite the fact that he'd known since the day he found Tamako that they possessed the ability to.
Unfortunately, that very reason also happened to be one of the reasons that he was considering it now. With the numerous potential benefits that were made possible by Tamako, it would be a waste to not make use of those benefits, nor would it be wise to consider that without first knowing whether or not he could even handle having someone else in control of his body. Because if past experiences were anything to go off of, he absolutely could not.
Oni bit at his lip, running the idea through his head one last time, before steeling himself.
"Actually." He started, slowly. "There might be something I can do, if you can't find anything."
"Really? What's that?"
He was silent for a moment, before answering. "Tamako, I'm not sure how much you remember from before, but on the night I found you, I witnessed you controlling the original user after he had been rendered unconscious."
"I think I remember that. Most everything before waking up in your head is pretty blurry, but I know I can control people if they're unconscious, or if they happen to not kick me out. Why do you ask?"
"I was thinking that we could give that a try."
"Woah, are you sure?" Rei asked, her voice suddenly going deathly serious. "Izuku, you know you don't respond very well to stuff like that."
"I know. That's part of the reason I'm considering this. As of right now, mind control quirks are probably one of my greatest weaknesses, if not the greatest. If I can try to get used to it in a controlled environment, then maybe I won't react so harshly the next time it happens somewhere not so controlled. Besides, if something like that happens, Tamako may be able to take control, instead of whoever is attacking. It would be better if they had practice doing so."
"I.. suppose that makes sense. But…" She sighed. "I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not glad that you're working to improve something about yourself. I'm actually really proud of you for wanting to do this. I just want to make sure that you're certain you want to."
"I'd be lying if I said I really want to, but I know that I should, for several reasons, and I'm willing to at least give it a shot to see if I can manage it."
"Alright… Just promise me you won't push yourself too far."
He smiled softly. "Don't worry, I won't. Despite how much I let myself get injured, I care about myself at least a little bit."
"If you say so." She said. "Where are you doing this? Did you want to come home? Try it somewhere comfortable?"
He shook his head. "No. As much as I would like to, it might not be the best idea. I'm not too sure how I'll end up reacting, so it would probably be best to do this in an open space away from the stuff I care about."
The 'and the people I care about' went unsaid, but was understood nonetheless.
Izuku trusted Tamako. After spending as long as he had with the quirk in his head growing and developing as their own being, of course he did. In fact, he hoped that-that fact would help to ease him through this. But no matter how much he might trust them, it wouldn't change the fact that he absolutely despised the idea of not being in control of himself, of being robbed of his free will. The very thought of such a thing dredged up horrible feelings of weakness and emptiness, and memories better left forgotten.
Nonetheless… He would at least give this idea a try. He would be remiss if he did not at least do that, even if the idea already had his heart beating a bit too fast to be comfortable.
"Alright…" Oni said, forcing his voice to remain steady, an act betrayed only by a slight wobble in the breath he took immediately after. 'What do you say, Tamako? Want to give it a shot?'
"Are you sure you want to do this, Izuku? We don't have to if you're uncomfortable."
Oni nodded. The concern that both Rei and Tamako were showing warmed his heart a bit, and bolstered his confidence. 'I'm sure. It's one of your abilities, and if we can make sure that you're able to properly utilize it, then you'll become the ultimate backup plan for me. If ever I end up unconscious or incapacitated, then it'll be up to you to handle things.'
He took another breath, this one a bit steadier as he forced his body to relax.
'The concept of someone else having control of me isn't going to be any less appalling to me unless I do something about it. Better to get it over with now than run into a situation later that makes me wish I had done it sooner.'
"Alright. If you say so… Just let me know when you're ready."
Oni closed his eyes, taking another moment to steel himself.
'Do it.'
Immediately, Oni felt his arms begin to move without his input, a very slight tingling sensation spreading through his limbs as Tamako took control.
The very next instant, Oni blanched, tearing control over his body from Tamako's grip and cutting off the connection with such intensity that he had almost pulled the quirk back into his chest before catching himself. He gasped, sucking down a breath as he sat straight up, hands coming up to clutch at his chest.
It had only been for the briefest of moments, not even a full second, but the sensation of someone other than himself willing his body to move had a familiar icy terror welling up like an automatic response. It had his stomach squirming and disgust rising in his throat.
"Izuku!" Rei and Tamako both exclaimed, perfectly in sync. They spoke at the same time to voice their concern.
"Is everything okay? What happened?"
"Are you okay Izuku?"
"Izuku!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-."
"No." Oni gasped. They both went silent.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, gritting his teeth as he pushed past the terror threatening to cloud his mind.
"I'm fine." He forced out. "Let's try again."
"What? Izuku no. You don't have to force it if you can't do it yet."
"Yeah Izuku. You don't have to do this."
"Yes." He said. "I do."
More than anything else, more than the fear that clung to the edges of his mind or the disgust that lingered in the back of his throat, he felt frustrated. Frustrated that he continued to be so affected by this. He didn't want to be. He wanted to be able to simply brush it off. He had virtually nothing to fear, in general and especially in this situation specifically. He trusted Tamako, and as his actions a few moments ago could attest to, he could regain control with nothing more than a thought. Why couldn't he just deal with it for a few measly seconds?
No. This might've just been a somewhat spur-of-the-moment idea to both take up some time and improve himself, but now that he had started, he had to see it through.
He had to do this. He needed to.
'Let's try again.' He said after a few moments of composing himself.
Tamako didn't respond. He could feel their concern and hesitation.
'Tamako, please. I need to get over this sooner or later. I'd prefer sooner.'
"…Okay… Alright. If you say so. Just tell me when you're ready."
Oni nodded, and after another second to take a deep breath, he gave the signal.
Once more, he felt his limbs begin to move of their own accord as Tamako took control, that same faint tingling sensation making itself known. This time though, he managed to hold back his gut reaction of yanking control away from them. He suppressed the urge, ignoring and pushing past the terror and the memories.
Once Tamako realized that he wasn't going to kick them out, they took it further than simply moving his arms. They shifted his body to spin in place, setting his feet down on the surface of the roof, then used his legs to stand up off of the roof barrier, wobbling a bit as they did, both from the slight lack of familiarity when it came to controlling a human and because of a slight lapse in concentration on Oni's part that very nearly had him stopping them.
Now that he was experiencing this for longer than a split-second, Oni had the opportunity to push past the terror and observe what it was like, despite the colossal amount of willpower it took to do so. Holding back his instinct to defend himself and remove that which was controlling him took almost all of his focus. It was like holding in a breath when he could feel his lungs beginning to burn, or holding in a sneeze, or resisting the urge to scratch at an itch. It was like all three of those things, only infinitely worse.
Despite that, he did his best to take note of what he was feeling—physically, at least—so that he could attempt to analyze it later.
Aside from the tingling sensation traveling through his limbs, there was also a slight sense of vertigo, most likely due to his body moving, but not through his input. Some subconscious part of him recognized that what he was seeing was not matching up to what he was doing.
His sense of touch was still registering, feeling the impact of his feet on the surface of the roof as Tamako began to take a few steps, and the breeze cooling the sweat on his forehead. He could also still feel his quirks bundled away in his chest, their comforting warmth still present. It was likely due to the fact that his mind hadn't been completely separated from his body, that he was simply holding back from giving his own input, but the realization brought him a bit of comfort, as did the fact that he could feel all of Tamako's thoughts and intentions.
Most of the time, Tamako kept themself somewhat segmented from Izuku, just enough so that he wasn't hearing their thoughts at all times. In turn, Izuku kept their connection a bit segmented from his end as well, so that they wouldn't be hearing him at all times either, though not to the point that Tamako couldn't access his senses. This had actually been a suggestion on Izuku's part, in the hope that Tamako would have a chance to develop into their own being without the constant influence of Izuku's thoughts.
Now though, Oni could hear every thought that passed through Tamako's consciousness, and as such could feel everything they intended to do. He knew what they would do, what movements they would make with his body, before it happened.
That simple realization, along with the fact that he could take back control at any point, provided a significant comfort to Oni. He clung to them as he continued to resist the urge to struggle.
Tamako walked all across the rooftop, carrying on for what felt like an hour to Oni, but which in reality was only about a minute-and-a-half. He managed to hold himself together for that long, until the effort required to do so had mounted to the point that he likely would've been shaking if he were the one controlling his body.
Tamako was standing in the center of the roof when Oni knew he couldn't hold on any longer.
'Alright stop.' He commanded, even his internal voice strained with the effort.
Immediately, Tamako receded, drawing back from him and returning to their place in his head. Oni, his sense of balance off-kilter with how quickly he'd been put back in control, collapsed to his knees, then to all-fours. Where just a moment ago his body had been breathing normally, with a steady heartbeat, in the space of just a few short moments, his heart was thundering uncomfortably in his chest and he was a step away from hyperventilating.
"Are you okay?" Rei asked, once again at the same time as Tamako, as they asked, "How are you feeling?"
As Oni struggled to get his breathing under control, fighting against the terror and memories that still clung to his mind, he reached for his quirks. Between one second and the next, he pulled on twenty-eight separate quirks, all enhancers, and activated 'Metallum' to turn his flesh to steel once more. Fire surged through his limbs with the quirks, and their boost to his body had his fingers cleaving through the stone of the rooftop as he clenched his fists. The fire made him feel safe, and as such brought comfort. In this state, disregarding his being on the edge of a panic attack, he could go toe-to-toe with All Might himself.
Loosing the desire to even remain somewhat upright, he let himself fall over on his side, his arms coming up to cover his chest as he gripped at his shoulders.
Oni closed his eyes, dry swallowing before forcing himself to take long, deep breaths. He could practically feel Rei's anxiety through the earpiece, and he could actually feel Tamako's anxiety.
"I'm-. I'm alright." He said between breaths. "I'm-."
He let out a shuddering breath, and the metal flesh of his shoulders groaned in protest as his grip tightened. Any further, and he'd probably end up tearing away a chunk or two.
Oni might've been able to push past the fear and memories long enough to not struggle against Tamako, but that didn't mean that they weren't still present. He needed to make sure he didn't lose himself within them. Focusing on the heat of his quirks helped with that, the fire providing a distraction as he counted through and catalogued them.
Eventually, he was able to start getting himself under control. Using the warmth of his quirks to ground himself, he managed to persist and focus until the memories were no longer quite so insistent and the terror no longer threatened to consume him. He let out a sigh, and the vice-like grip on his shoulders, that had his metal flesh creaking, relented.
After a few more seconds, he rolled over onto his back, his arms still crossed over his chest. He opened his eyes, staring up at the sky, and after a few more seconds, his breathing still harsh but finally beginning to settle, he smiled.
It was a lopsided grin, a bit wobbly, but genuine nonetheless.
"I'm good." He said, letting out a sigh. "I'm good."
Remnants of the terror, and flashes of memories still lingered, but they couldn't compare to the satisfaction he felt.
He did it. It might've sucked in a big way, it might've taken every ounce of his willpower to hold on as long as he had, and it still had him essentially incapacitated by the time it was over with, but he still succeeded. He had experienced someone taking control of his body, and he had kept himself from drowning in the panic.
It wasn't as if he had gotten over anything, not even close. He'd been on the edge of completely terrified the entire time, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he had survived a bit of time—granted, it was an extremely short bit of time—not in control of himself, and hadn't been reduced to a shell of himself, controlled only by instinct, or even worse, an empty husk, not controlled by anything.
Tamako's relief at his words was palpable, though there was still an undercurrent of concern beneath it, and he could still just about feel Rei's anxiety.
"I'm good, Rei. I'm here."
There was an audible sigh of relief. "I'll believe that once you're home and I can see for myself."
"Yeah." He said. "I don't think I want to do anything more tonight anyway. Give me a sec, I'll be right there."
Closing his eyes, he reached for his quirks, deactivating all the ones he had just pulled on and letting them return to their spot in his chest. In the same moment, he deactivated 'Metallum' as well. Ignoring the exhaustion he was beginning to feel from pulling on, and then releasing, so many quirks at once, that which probably wasn't helped by the stress he'd just put himself through, he focused on 'Sciakinesis,' visualizing his destination. A moment later, he sank into the darkness around him, reappearing in the apartment.
Almost immediately, Oni was being yanked up off the floor and pulled into a crushing hug.
He smiled. "See? Told you I'm fine."
As he said that, he felt Tamako vanish from his head, presumably to go to Rei. He wasn't sure what they said to her, but whatever it was had her grip around him tightening.
"I'm so sure." Rei said. Then, after a breath, "I stand by what I said, I'm proud of you for trying to improve a part of yourself and work through stuff, but please don't scare me like that."
His arms came up to wrap around her, reciprocating the hug. "Sorry. Once I started, I felt like I needed to see it through."
"I know." She said, rubbing small circles into his back, right between his shoulder blades. "I know. Just… next time, let me help."
"…Alright. I promise. No more impromptu trauma recovery sessions. I'll be sure to schedule them in advance from now on."
That got a small huff out of her. She moved a hand up to the back of his neck, giving him a small squeeze.
"Thank you. Now, do you think you're good enough to be moving around?"
"Yep. My hands are still a little shaky, but I ought to be fine."
She moved her hands to his shoulders, pushing him back a bit until she was holding him at arm's length. "Good. Go get cleaned up so we can relax and watch some movies until morning."
Oni smirked. "Sure thing. Be right back."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he slipped out of her hands and into the shadows at his feet, reemerging in his own room, where he set about transitioning back to Izuku. He showered, despite having the ability to clean himself instantly with 'Shower in a Can,' because he felt that, after what he had put himself through, a proper shower was necessary. He set aside the outfit he'd been wearing to be taken to the drycleaners, and in the process realized that he left his mask on that rooftop. By this point, he'd already shifted his quirks around until he was Izuku again, but 'Ghost' ensured that he was completely hidden when he slipped through the shadows to retrieve it. Within a few short minutes he was exiting his bedroom, freshly cleaned and dressed in a comfortable t-shirt. Rei had already gotten situated in the living room, with a movie ready to play.
He settled down next to Rei, both of them laying across their tails. Rei pressed into his side, and Izuku stretched out his wings to cover the two of them like a blanket.
The two of them stayed like that for a good while, just soaking in each other's presence, watching movie after movie. It was nice. Relaxing.
Well, Izuku always enjoyed spending time with Rei. Out of everything, that was probably his favorite thing to do, even when considering his analysis and his vigilante work. But now, after the night he'd had, it was especially pleasant.
The only interruption to their night came a few hours in, when Rei's phone dinged with a notification. Izuku didn't pay it any attention, barely even noticing it at all, at least until Rei was making a sound like a squealing tire in his ear and pushing his wing away so she could get up.
"Holy Shit!" She exclaimed, practically shouting.
"My thoughts exactly." Izuku responded. "What happened?"
"I passed! I passed my exams!"
"That's wonderful!" Izuku said, rising up off the floor, movie already forgotten. "You already got back the results for all four, then?"
"Yep! They sent them all at once."
Rei was practically vibrating with excitement. Izuku smiled, pulling her into a hug.
"This is terrific news, Rei." He said. "I'm really proud of you."
"Also," he continued, "it's fortunate that Ochako decided to spend the night with Tsuyu. Because you definitely would've woken her up with that."
"Hey." She said, pulling back from him a bit so she could look at him. "I couldn't help it. I'm excited."
"As you absolutely should be. But on the topic of excitement, we can't forget about your gifts. I did say I would give them to you when you got your results."
"Give me just a moment." Izuku said, separating from Rei.
Backing away, he pulled his t-shirt off, and quickly pulled on the multi-arm quirk, sprouting an additional pair of arms a moment later. With them in place, he activated 'Hotbar,' reaching for the pocket he had stored her presents in. As soon as he did, a box appeared in his hands, big enough that Oni would most likely fit in it.
Following what he'd learned when he'd bought his weapons, shortly after acquiring the quirk, if he used more hands, he could store larger items. This held true when the number of hands used was more than what a person would typically possess.
Using the multi-arm quirk had also increased the number of pockets—doubled it to twenty, actually—but that wasn't a permanent change. Those extra pockets would only exist for as long as he had the additional set of arms. If he stored anything in those pockets, then deactivated the multi-arm quirk, whatever he stored would immediately be expelled back into the world.
The box had a large manila envelope taped to the top, which Izuku carefully removed once he set it down.
"Woah." Rei said, looking at the size of the box. "What's in it?"
"Open it and find out."
With a smile on her face, she did just that. She opened the box to reveal that it was filled to the brim with a mass of fabric the same shade of pale blue as her hair. Reaching in, she grabbed at a bit of it and lifted it up.
"It's really soft." She said. "What is it?"
"That," he replied, "is about four-hundred square feet of fabric."
Her eyes widened. "Wait, you're telling me this is all one single piece?"
"It is indeed."
That prompted Rei to start pulling the item out of the box, stretching it out across the floor, where it reached from one end of the room to the other.
"I had to go through a support company that works more for civilians than heroes," Izuku explained as Rei examined it, "but that is essentially a giant sweater for your tail."
"Oh shit, really?"
"Yep. I bought one for myself to test it out. It's a bit tricky to get into it at first, but it's quite comfortable, and the fabric was durable enough to withstand my weight when I tried to move around."
"Wait." She said, picking up an end of the piece that she'd finally found. "Is this a cord coming out of this?"
"Oh right, that's the best part. The whole thing is basically a giant heated blanket as well."
Her eyes widened again. "Holy shit… You realize that I'm basically never going to end up taking this off, right?"
"Trust me, I know. The one that I got for myself has the same function."
"How do you put this on?" She asked. "I think I'd like to go ahead and give it a try."
"Before you do, I would recommend taking a look at your second gift." Izuku said, holding out the folder. "There's a chance that you'll like it even more."
With a tiny bit of reluctance, Rei put down the mass of fabric that she was about to try to figure out how to get into. She returned to him to take the proffered envelope. Opening it revealed a small stack of papers, the topmost of which adorned with the giant, flashy insignia of Might Tower.
"What is this…?" Rei murmured, flipping to the next page to see a letter addressed to her.
"Miss Reiko Etsumi." She read. "We are pleased to inform you that, upon the request of All Might, owner and primary hero of Might Tower, a position on the Might Tower Legal Defense Team has been created and reserved… for… you…"
Suddenly, she blanched, holding the papers away at arm's length.
"Izuku." She said, looking over at him. "Is this what I think it is?"
Izuku smirked. "Well, I'm not entirely sure what you think that is, but what those papers are, is basically All Might's legal team saying they'll hire you if you want them too. All you have to do is send them all the proper forms and whatnot, and you'll be good to g-."
His words cut off as Rei slammed into him, wrapping him into an even tighter hug than earlier.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! How did you even get this?"
"I'm friends with the owner of the agency. All I had to do was ask him for a favor."
She gave a small laugh. "Right. For a second I forgot that you see All Might basically every day."
He smiled. "I know that he's your favorite hero, and I figured that you might like a basically guaranteed job position once you were done with school. And obviously, there's nothing saying that you have to go with this. You're free to look for a job with any firm or agency you want. And if the one you want doesn't hire you, we can always just have Oni persuade them to."
Rei let out another small laugh. "Don't worry, you won't need to do that. If I can actually manage to get in with All Might's team, I'll be happy."
She sighed. "Thank you, Izuku. Seriously. This means a lot."
"You're very welcome. I ended up with my dream job, it's only fair that you get yours as well."
The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence with that, sitting there embraced for a few long seconds, before Rei spoke up once more.
"By the way, how exactly do you put the blanket sweater thing on?"
Izuku laughed. "You put it on almost like a shirt. You pull it on over your head, ball up the fabric around your waist, and then you have to pull it down the length of your tail, the entire way."
"Here, let me go get mine and I'll show you. Then we can get back to watching the movie."
Chapter End Notes
Sorry if certain parts of the chapter feel forced or seem rushed. They certainly did to me. But I suppose that's a side-effect of pushing through writer's block.
I hope you enjoyed!
Study
Chapter Summary
Class 1-A's planned study session to prepare them for their exams.
Chapter Notes
Alternate chapter title: Izuku is smart.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku blinked at the small crowd of students standing at his door.
"By my count, when we last spoke about this," he said, "there were to be eleven of us present today, thirteen if Ochako and I are included in that count. How exactly did that turn into all twenty? And without me being informed of this change?"
It was the morning following Rei's announcement that she had passed her exams, and all of 1-A, with the exception of Ochako and Tsuyu, who had showed up together earlier in the morning and were now watching him from the kitchen, were standing outside his front door. Out of all of them, only Iida and Yaoyorozu looked even the slightest bit ashamed.
He sighed. Screw it. It wasn't as if the change in numbers actually bothered him. He was more curious than anything else.
"Whatever." He said, backing away from the door a bit. "It's not like it matters. Come on in."
Izuku ignored the soft exclamations he heard from a few of his classmates as they entered and got a look at his apartment. Most of them, at least.
"Woah… You really live here, Etsumi?" Mineta asked.
"No." Sero responded, sarcasm heavy in his voice. "Obviously, he rented this place out just for today."
"I can't believe you and Uraraka live in a place like this." Ashido said. "It's like a penthouse!"
"It is a penthouse." Yaoyorozu corrected, beating Izuku to it. "This apartment takes up the entire top floor of the building."
Izuku shut the door once they all made it inside, before moving over towards the kitchen table, where they had all gathered.
"Alright," Izuku began, "before we get started, I suppose I should give a tour."
He gestured over towards the hallway that led to Ochako's room and Rei's office. "The hallway that was to your right as you entered leads to two rooms. On the right is Ochako's room. Whether or not any of you are allowed in there is up to her, and her alone. To the left is my sister Rei's office. Inside that office is an attached bathroom. That is the bathroom that you all are to use while you're here."
"That bathroom also connects to another office." He continued, turning to gesture at the short hallway that led to his room and office. "That one is mine, and you won't enter it. Nor will you enter the room on the other side of that hallway, or the room that you see connected to the living room. You're free to go out onto the balconies, if you want, just know that they connect to rooms that I've just mentioned are off-limits. And I'm trusting you all to not do anything stupid on a balcony eighty-three floors off the ground."
"My sister is currently on a nocturnal sleep schedule, and as such is currently sleeping. All the rooms are soundproofed, so you don't have to worry too much, but all the same, it would be appreciated if you do not go overboard, as she's liable to throw you off the building should you disrupt her sleep."
He looked around at all of them. "Any questions before we get started?"
"Yes." Yaoyorozu said, raising a hand. "How did you wish to go about this? Should we figure out what everyone needs help with, and then put together a plan based on that?"
"I was just about to get to that. I've taught from scratch before, but I don't have much experience in tutoring. So, I was going to suggest exactly what you just did: put together an actual list of what needs to be taught, then go from there."
"For a lack of a better way to do it," he continued, "we might as well go by order of class seat number. So, Aoyama, what do you need help with?"
The boy looked a bit startled, obviously not expecting to be called out. He blinked at Izuku, hesitating a moment before answering.
"Ah, well. I'm afraid I haven't quite been grasping Ectoplasm's latest lessons on logarithmic functions."
"Actually, I don't really understand those either." Kaminari jumped in.
Izuku heard Satou and Hagakure agree with him, and noted it down as something to work on.
"Anything else?"
"…I could also use some help with my English."
Izuku nodded. "Alright. We'll work on that. Now then, Ashido? What about you?"
Izuku went down the list, asking each classmate what they needed assistance with. Some of them, such as Ashido and Kaminari, needed help with more than the others, with Kaminari answering 'everything' to Izuku's question at first. Others like Kouda and Tokoyami were somewhat comfortable, but lacking in a few areas, Then Yaoyorozu, Iida, Bakugou, and Todoroki didn't seem to be lacking in any subject, which made Izuku curious as to why they showed up in the first place. Iida he could understand, as the boy probably showed up because of some imagined duty as class vice president, and Yaoyorozu most likely showed up to assist with the tutoring. But Bakugou and Todoroki barely interacted with anyone. Based on what he knew of them thus far, neither had much reason to show up.
Either way, slowly but surely, Izuku put together a full list of what needed to be addressed as he spoke to each student.
For the most part, Mathematics seemed to be the area where the most struggled, so that's where Izuku chose to get started. He had everyone move over to the living room, where they all spread out and made use of the numerous beanbag chairs and giant pillows laying about. Once everyone was settled, Izuku set about attempting to teach them.
In the end, he knew that tutoring wouldn't be very different from directly teaching a subject from start to finish. He knew the material backwards and forwards, all he had to do was explain specific concepts. Most of his classmates grasped what he was teaching easily enough. For many of them it wasn't the case that they were truly having difficulties, but just hadn't understood at the time when it was initially taught and then weren't able to close the gaps with their own studying. For those students, all that was needed was simply a fresh explanation and the occasional demonstration. For others, he needed to go a bit further, walking them through specific steps of certain concepts. For the few that were having an especially difficult time, such as Kaminari, Aoyama, and Ashido, some of the other students paired up with them to provide additional help, namely Yaoyorozu, Iida, and, to Izuku's slight surprise, Bakugou.
With mathematics being the largest problem area, by the time they had wrapped it up, three hours had already passed—interspersed with a few short breaks, obviously—putting them close to noon, close enough that Izuku decided it was time to take a break for lunch.
"Alright, that's enough for now." He announced. "It seems like everyone's got a pretty good grasp on everything. This is as good a time as any to take a longer break while I work on getting lunch together."
"Oh, thank God." Kaminari said when Izuku told everyone. "Any more and my brain would've started melting."
"As if there's anything there to melt." Jirou responded, standing up from her spot.
"Hey! After all that-that we just went through, there's at least something there. I actually kinda understand some of this stuff now."
"You're free to get up and move around." Izuku said. "Just remember where I said you can and cannot go. You're also welcome to the tv if you want."
Izuku wasn't overly worried about having his classmates wander the apartment, even if he didn't fully trust some of them not to snoop where they weren't supposed to. The doors leading to rooms that were off-limits were all locked, and anything that he didn't want to be seen, such as his Oni outfits, were all hidden. Plus, he could see everything in the apartment with 'All Sight,' and would be able to see anyone snooping before they could even make it into a room.
With his classmates getting up from their spots, some of them stretching to work out some stiffness, Izuku moved over to the kitchen to get started on the cooking. He took a few moments to retrieve everything he would need. He needed to adjust everything to compensate for more people than he'd originally expected, but luckily, he had plenty of food.
As he worked, his classmates dispersed. Several stayed in the living room to watch tv, while a few found their way out onto the balcony. Ochako disappeared into her room along with Tsuyu, Hagakure, and Ashido.
Within a few short minutes the smell of the food began to permeate the apartment. As it did, a few students—Yaoyorozu, Shouji, and Satou—began gravitating towards him.
"I didn't know you could cook, Etsumi." Satou said, looking at what Izuku was working on. "And from the smell alone, it seems like you really know what you're doing."
Izuku nodded. "I enjoy cooking. It's relaxing. And it's satisfying to test a final product, especially when I've created it from scratch."
"Oh, tell me about it. I feel the same way whenever I've made a particularly good cake. I especially like experimenting with new recipes."
Izuku's eyebrows raised a bit. "You cook too?"
"Yep! Mostly desserts. I got into it because of my quirk."
"Right." Izuku said, leaning back from the food to let it sit for a few moments. "That makes sense. Your quirk relies on sugar. I imagine that you're practically immune to any negative effects it would have. You'd be able to eat as much as you wanted. I'm almost the exact opposite, in both respects actually. I can cook meals, but I don't tend to do much with desserts, and my increased size requires me to consume a greater number of calories to maintain it. It would take a bit of effort for me to actually overeat, and that's before taking into consideration the further increase because of my enhanced strength and speed."
"That's fascinating." Yaoyorozu said. "My quirk also requires me to eat quite a bit, and with how quickly I use lipids to create things, it causes my fat tissues to be incredibly dense to increase the amount I can store up. It's pretty hard for me to overeat as well, especially now that I'm attending Yueii, and our training is making me use my quirk all the time."
"Huh, so that's what it is. I figured that there was something more to your quirk, with you being able to create things that ought to require more mass than a normal human body should have available. At first, I guessed that maybe the objects you created simply had lowered densities, therefore requiring less mass, but that theory didn't seem to fit quite right."
"Actually, that's partially true. With how precisely I'm able to control the makeup of what I create, I can also manipulate the internal structure. Anything solid, especially solid metal, that I can create with an internal honeycomb structure, or something similar to reduce weight and the mass required, while maintaining as much durability as possible, I will."
Izuku hummed. "And I'm guessing that through that same method, you could even manipulate the density of an object outright?"
"That depends on the materials involved." She answered. "For the most part, so long as a material isn't what it is because of its density, like coal and diamond both being pure carbon just with different densities, then I can freely manipulate it. Though even with some materials like that, I can still change it to a degree. And obviously, the more complex an object and the more constituent materials, the less worthwhile it is to do that. The benefits from saving mass and weight are cancelled out by the time and focus it takes to apply those benefits to every piece of an object. Not to mention that the slight drop in durability would only make it easier for the object to be destroyed, which might require me to recreate it, which would defeat the purpose."
"I see… Your quirk is truly fascinating. Definitely one of, if not the most versatile quirk I've come across."
Hearing how much utter control Yaoyorozu's quirk gave her over the matter she manipulated and shaped only reinforced what Izuku already knew: that her quirk was one of the few S-Class quirks that he had encountered. The sheer versatility, the number of possibilities that such versatility afforded, and the combat potential that Yaoyorozu had shown it to possess put it a step, or several, above a great many other quirks. It was the sort of quirk Izuku would very much like to possess. The things he could do with the power to create whatever he wanted…
"I'm not going to pretend to fully understand most of what just happened," Satou said, interrupting Izuku's thoughts, "but going back to the cooking part, if you ever wanted to get better at cooking desserts, I'd be more than happy to help out. Maybe in return you could help me out with regular food."
Izuku nodded as he directed his attention back to the food. "Perhaps. I'll let you know if such a day ever comes."
He didn't want to appear rude. He did appreciate the sentiment of Satou offering to help. But if Izuku wanted to be more proficient, it would be a simple matter for him to learn on his own. He knew how to follow a recipe, and experimenting with a given recipe was an easy thing to do once the basics were understood.
The other students talked amongst themselves as he diverted his attention to the cooking, and with just another minute or two of work, everything was set to simply sit on heat and cook for a few minutes. With that done, Izuku leaned back a bit and pulled out his phone to occupy himself while he waited.
"Wait, what are you reading, Etsumi?" Yaoyorozu asked when she happened to look over. "That doesn't look like Japanese. It almost looks like… English? But it looks like gibberish."
"It's Dutch." He responded, not looking up. "And what I'm reading is an article published by a Doctor Juliette Konijnenbeld. It's about the ever-increasing apparent strength of quirks with each new generation."
"You know how to speak Dutch?"
He shook his head. "No, not completely, I've only just recently decided to start teaching myself another language, and still have a bit to go before I get to that point. I can hold a conversation though, and reading a language is generally easier than speaking. I've found that reading, or just consuming any media, in another language is one of the best ways to learn said language."
"Did you say another language?" Shouji asked. "You're clearly already fluent in English. Just how many languages do you know?"
"This'll make six. Seven, if you include Japanese."
"Woah… That's incredible. Which ones do you know?"
"Japanese and English, obviously, and then German, French, Spanish, and Mandarin."
"I wish I could learn languages that easily." Kirishima said, walking over from the living room, followed closely by Kaminari. "I can barely even learn English."
"In fairness, English is one of the hardest languages to learn, especially when your native language is an Asian one. The opposite is also true, for English speakers, Asian languages are among the hardest to learn."
"I enjoy learning new languages." He continued. "Aside from the obvious advantage of being able to communicate with more people, it's interesting to be able to learn about a culture through their own language. And as I'm discovering with Dutch and English, it's fun to see the similarities between two languages that had similar origins."
"Oh! Do you know a lot of Dutch yet? Can you say anything?" Kaminari asked.
Izuku tilted his head a bit at the boy, before speaking.
"Ik zou mijzelf tien talen aan kunnen leren in de tijd dat het jou zou duren om er een te leren."
"Cool… What did you say?"
"I said it's almost time for lunch." Izuku lied, ending the conversation and turning his attention back to the food. "Another five minutes or so, and everything will be ready."
Sure enough, five minutes later, Izuku had the students who were with him going to gather everyone else up, and within another ten minutes, everyone had a plate full of food and had spread back out to eat. Izuku, Ochako, and Tsuyu had claimed spots at the kitchen table, with Yaoyorozu and Iida finding enough space to join them.
"So, Etsumi." Iida began, a few minutes into the meal. "You've mentioned before that you completed school incredibly early. Years ago, by this point. Does that mean that you've already pursued, or have begun to pursue higher education? Or is Yueii it?"
Izuku nodded. "Indeed, I have. Initially, it was necessary in order to officially become 'Deku,' but since then, I have also pursued some purely for my own enjoyment."
"You make it sound like you have multiple degrees." Yaoyorozu said.
"That's because I do. I actually needed two to register as a quirk analyst."
"…Just how early did you finish school, to already have those?"
"Oh right, I never have told any of you specifically, have I?"
He took a bite of his food, savoring the taste for a moment, before continuing. "I completed everything for my high school education about two months after my tenth birthday."
"So early!" Iida exclaimed. "And the degrees? How long did it take you to complete those?"
"It wasn't anything remarkable." Izuku answered. "I was only going for the bare minimum at the time. Both were just associate degrees. I had both of them wrapped up about a month after my eleventh birthday."
Iida's eyes widened, and Yaoyorozu spoke back up. "Wait… If you had those two completed so quickly… How many do you currently possess?"
"Let's see… The first two were in Quirk Biology, to understand how quirks function, and Quirk Analysis. Since then, I've built upon the first to the point that it is now a master's degree. The second is now a doctorate in Quirk Analysis. Beyond that, I've also acquired a master's degree in Quirk Genetics, Biology, and in World History. I was working on a doctorate for World History, but I've put that on hold for the time being while I attend Yueii. Though, unless the second semester comes with a drastic increase to our workload, I'll most likely keep working on it."
"Five high-level degrees… And technically you're 'Doctor' Etsumi…"
Izuku shrugged. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm smart. And I've never felt any desire to use that title. That's not why I pursued furthering that bit of my education. It was all just so I could ensure that I was as proficient as possible for my work as 'Deku.'"
Iida shook his head. "No. With how much you've done, you're more than just smart, you're some kind of genius."
Izuku shrugged again, taking another bite of his food. "Semantics. Both are correct. There's no need to distinguish between the two."
The matter of his own intelligence was something that Izuku had considered before, and found himself returning to whenever he happened to acquire a new intelligence quirk. Because almost every new quirk affected him in a new and unique way, bringing something new to increase the effectiveness of his brain.
All but two of his six intelligence quirks—he didn't count 'Quick Thinker,' as he didn't keep that one active at all times like he did the others—had different functions, with one of which providing no outright change to his brain other than to ensure that it did not overheat. Two increased the processing speed of his brain, one gave him his almost perfect recall, and 'Parallel Mind' layered his mind several times over to allow him to think and focus on multiple things at a time, and even made it possible to give more than one-hundred percent of his focus to a given thought. And on top of those, the newest quirk added to the count was one that somehow increased the size of his brain.
That was a discovery only made possible because 'All Sight' allowed him to see inside his own body. The day after he'd acquired the quirk, he'd activated it and noticed offhandedly as a change took place within his head. That had been immediately followed by an intense sensation of vertigo as he attempted to focus on the change.
'All Sight' allowing him to see both the interior and exterior of an object, from every angle all at once, meant that he was able to observe both the interior and exterior of his skull simultaneously, which presented a problem as the two did not match up as they were meant to. The volume of the inside of his skull had very obviously not been the same as what the exterior appearance of his head suggested it should be. He was observing something that was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, but he was doing so from both sides at once, which was something that his brain, which he'd also noticed was larger than it had any right to be, couldn't handle.
To make matters worse, the feeling of vertigo, and the realization of what the source of that vertigo was, had been followed by a desire to take a closer look to inspect the phenomenon, which only made it worse. It had continued in a vicious cycle until he'd been forced to deactivate 'All Sight' altogether lest he lose his lunch.
After giving himself some time to reorient and get over the vertigo, he'd given it another try. The sight still had him feeling nauseated, but luckily it hadn't been enough to keep him from exploring the new development, from sating his curiosity and excitement. Because of course he'd been excited, there was a pocket dimension in his skull!
Quirks had a habit of challenging what humanity thought was possible based on its understanding of the laws of the universe. Just two short centuries ago, no one would've thought it possible for a human to possess the ability to level a building through raw strength alone, or sweat nitroglycerin, or render something weightless with nothing more than a touch. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed his analysis so much. Just about every single day since the existence of quirks had become known there was something new to challenge established scientific knowledge.
However, this was something else entirely.
Out of the great multitude of interesting and amazing quirks in the world, the ones that caught his attention the most, even more than sapient quirks, were those that manipulated space, or that at least appeared to. Quirks like 'Hotbar' that seemed to create a pocket dimension that only he had access to. Just the idea that in the course of the millions of years of evolution that Humanity had undergone, it had somehow led to them possessing a biological function that had the ability to control an aspect of the universe.
The realization that the new quirk seemed to have created a pocket dimension to allow for his brain to be larger had led to even more excitement when he considered just what sort of effect the increased brain mass would have.
There was a small bit of confusion as well, as despite his brain being larger and seemingly structured differently, he noticed no change to how he felt or how he thought, but he decided to leave that matter for later, and just focus on his excitement for the time being.
Based on what knowledge he held in regard to neurobiology—he wasn't an expert yet, but all in good time—when it came to organisms, or at least humans, evolving larger brains, the benefits it brought to intelligence came in the form of greater brain mass bringing an increased number of neurons, which allowed more information to be processed, while also lowering how densely packed the neurons were, which resulted in fewer connections between those neurons and therefore allowed for more efficient processing of said information. If his assumptions about how the quirk functioned were correct—which unfortunately he was unable to check, as 'All Sight' couldn't quite see down to the microscopic level—then with the increase in brain mass, his brain now had either more neurons, or it had the same number, and they had simply been spread across the increased space.
He had, of course, wondered in the past just how much his quirks had enhanced him, how intelligent he was with their affects, both in comparison to himself without said affects and in comparison to other people. However, he had never followed that train of thought very far. The task of determining a method to compare himself to others was not one that he felt any interest in pursuing. Just coming up with an average to compare against was already practically impossible with the existence of intelligence quirks skewing the data. And as far as comparing his enhanced self versus his baseline self, that wasn't likely to happen for a completely separate reason: He didn't want to.
Sure, it would be a simple matter to deactivate his quirks in order to make the comparison, but he had never deactivated a single one, not from the moment he'd taken and activated the first one, the one that opened his eyes and enabled him to drag himself and Rei out of poverty, and he likely never would. They made him who he was. He had grown up with them altering his mind, his brain developing while under their influence. He was constantly taking in every single bit of information that his senses collected, and had nearly perfect recall of all of it. That was how he had grown up, with his mind constantly in overdrive, analyzing every bit of his surroundings every waking moment.
He had no interest in learning what he would be like if that influence was removed from his mind, what would remain if he was reduced to normal brain function.
Izuku knew he was smart. That much was blatantly obvious to him, what with how he had dragged himself through a full twelve years' worth of grade school and then some all before he was even twelve years old. For now, that was enough for him.
"Your analysis work seems to be really important to you, huh?" Yaoyorozu said, pulling him from his thoughts. He gave his head a slight shake, before taking another bite of his food.
She had no idea. His work as 'Deku' was what paid for the very penthouse they were all sitting in, and the food they were all eating. And above all of that, it was the reason that he and Rei were even alive. He wasn't going to tell them any of that, of course, but saying that it was important to him would be a significant understatement.
"It is." He said instead. "Quirks fascinate me, and being an analyst gives me the opportunity to constantly learn about and explore new quirks every day. I remember every single request that I've ever received, and it's truly interesting to see both the variety, and how many are similar to one another."
"You remember all of them?" Iida asked, obviously becoming more shocked as the conversation went on. "Surely that's not possible, right? I mean, if you've been Deku for as long as you say, then by now you must've received a rather large number of-."
"Including the requests I completed this morning, I have received and fulfilled four-hundred-and one-thousand, six-hundred-eighty-two in total. If we had a month, I could list out all the quirks, and if we had a year, I could recite to you the analysis I wrote for each of them, word for word."
Granted, that number wasn't entirely true, as it counted all the requests he'd ever received, and not just those that came once he'd officially become Deku, but it wasn't as if they would know the difference.
In response to their shocked expressions—even Ochako, whom he had actually demonstrated his work to, showing her how quickly he could work through a single request, looked surprised at the number he'd given—he shrugged again. "Consider how fast you've seen me move, and think about how that would translate to typing at a computer. Paired with how quickly I'm able to process information, and I can look at a request, analyze the given quirk, and then type out that analysis out in the space of about a hundred seconds."
There was also 'Parallel Mind' to factor into that, which meant that he could effectively analyze several quirks at once. When he settled down to start his analysis work, he'd found that it went much faster if he read all the requests that he needed to handle first, then began the process of analyzing them, before typing it out as he completed them. The discovery of that method had sped things up considerably.
"And in case it's my saying that I could recite it all to you that surprised you, Ochako and Tsuyu already know this, but I've not yet told anyone else in our class: I have nearly perfect recall of my memories. And when I say nearly perfect, I do mean very nearly perfect. I could recite to you every single word the two of you have spoken in my presence since I met you."
"I-… I actually don't really know how to respond to that." Yaoyorozu said. "So, I think I'm going to attempt to change the subject, if that's alright with you?"
Izuku gestured noncommittally in her direction. "Go for it."
She nodded. "Okay, right. Going back to our conversation earlier, about what you were reading. You said that it was an article about quirks getting stronger. I happen to know a little bit about the subject because my high school tutors taught me some advanced quirk sciences so that I would be ahead of the curve no matter what Yueii ended up teaching, though it's probably nothing compared to you. Does that article have anything to do with the quirk singularity theory?"
Izuku snorted the moment the name left her mouth, then when she gave him a confused look, he explained.
"Sorry. To answer your question, yes, the two theories are related in that they have to do with quirks increasing in strength as time goes by. However, the way you worded your question implies that they both stand on equal ground, when in reality, it's a stretch to even call the quirk singularity concept a theory at all."
"You don't agree with it?"
He shook his head. "No. I most certainly don't. In fact, I'm of the opinion that people who do agree with it, at least those who are fully educated in quirk sciences, as it would be unfair to expect most people to know what they're looking at, are the modern-day equivalent of flat earthers."
She scrunched her brow. "I know that it was a bit controversial when it was first published, but I didn't know that it was considered that bad."
"It is. There's a reason that the man who presented it was practically laughed off of the academic stage until he dropped off the face of the Earth. He presented a lot of the data about how quirks seem to be growing more powerful at what he perceived as a dangerous and unsustainable rate with each generation, which if you look at only that, then his idea, that one day humans would not be able to handle the excessively powerful quirks they possess, losing control of them and bringing about some form of doomsday, almost makes sense. But what he seemed to not take into account, and what certain people such as Doctor Konijnenbeld do, is that as quirks increase in power, humans are evolving right alongside them to be able to handle that power. The baseline capabilities of the human body, everything from general strength and speed, to durability, to even metabolism, and the presence of specific adaptations that people develop to protect themselves from their own quirk.
"Just think about us." He continued. "Meaning our class. Think about the physical punishment we go through on a regular basis. We might think nothing of it with how we're used to our bodies, but do you think a normal human from two centuries ago would be able to handle an explosion from Bakugou at close range without being severely injured to the point of hospitalization? Or that they'd be able to handle a kick from you, Iida? Or from you, Tsuyu? Given the sort of force that you two have to be putting out, there's no way it would be possible, and yet we see it happen almost every day."
"And on the other side of things, think about the sort of punishment your own bodies would be subjected to when you produce that amount of force. When you jump over two stories into the air, or when you run at the speed of a car. Without the adaptations your bodies developed to be able to handle your quirk, that kind of exertion would shred your muscles the moment you attempted it. It's the same concept with Bakugou being able to handle his own explosions, or Present Mic not being deaf, despite his quirk."
"The point that the opposing theories make is that those two things together would enable humans to handle the increasingly powerful quirks."
"So, taking that bit of data into account in conjunction with the fact that quirks are growing more powerful, the theories being presented that actually hold weight state that what's more likely to happen is that the growth of quirks will follow something akin to a logarithmic growth curve. There is a sharp increase in power now, but eventually, as both quirks and the adaptations of the human body begin to reach the limits of what flesh can accomplish, the curve will flatten out."
"Also. Another thing, in regard to the idiocy of the man that first presented the singularity concept. He must have forgotten about the existence of natural selection entirely. Because if humanity truly did end up developing quirks that they could not handle, what would most likely happen is that those people with quirks that are too strong for their own body would die off, and natural selection would come into play, ensuring that the survivors, those with a quirk that wasn't too strong, would be the ones to survive and reproduce, creating a new generation that is more likely to be able to withstand. The ever-rising power of quirks would be curbed back and forced to stabilize via the power of evolution and survival of the fittest."
"Huh…" Yaoyorozu said. "That actually makes a lot of sense. I was never very knowledgeable with the singularity theory aside from knowing the basic concept, but to my limited knowledge of the subject, that theory seems more believable."
"You obviously know a lot about this stuff, Etsumi." Iida said. "And for good reason based on what you've told us about your education. Have you published anything yourself?"
Izuku shook his head. "I haven't. At least not yet. As much as I may understand the subject, my area of expertise is in analyzing quirks, not the science behind them. I have my own ideas that are in the subject I'm an expert in, but nothing that I've felt like making known as of yet. All in good time though."
"Now then!" Izuku said after a few moments of silence as the conversation ended, rising up from the table with his now-empty plate in hand. "I feel as though it's about time to resume the studying."
The four other students that had been eating with him followed his lead, and he had evidently spoken loud enough for the rest of the class to hear him, as they all almost immediately gravitated towards the kitchen to drop off their plates. He didn't do anything to clean up his mess from cooking, and he left the pile of plates in the sink once everyone had added theirs to it. He would leave the cleaning for once everything was done.
Finally, with everyone gathering back un the living room, returning to their spots, it was time to get back to the reason they were there.
Following mathematics as the second biggest problem area was English. Present Mic was an excellent teacher, as far as Izuku could tell, but as he had stated before lunch, English was one of the hardest languages to learn, especially when your native language is an Asian one. So it wasn't surprising that a number of his classmates were struggling a bit.
With the short amount of time that they had been learning, they weren't at the point where they would be expected to speak or read fluently, which was fortunate for everyone that wasn't Izuku, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Iida, and Bakugou, with the latter four possessing an impressive understanding of the language, but what they were expected to know were basic greetings and certain simple phrases and questions, along with the correct spellings for all associated words and the basic sentence structure.
For the most part, the majority of the class wasn't having many issues with speaking the language. Their accents were as bad as one would expect from someone just starting to learn a language, but with only a few exceptions, they could all say what they were supposed to be able to say, and they all understood what they said. The issues came primarily in writing those same words and phrases. When it came to writing in both languages, that was where the greatest differences between the two languages emerged, from the difference in writing orientation to the shift from the complexity of multiple alphabets, one of which containing thousands of characters, to the comparatively simple singular alphabet of only twenty-six characters. There was a reason that most of their English class thus far had been dedicated to working out the basics of how to write.
Unsurprisingly, most of the issues that his classmates were having were in spelling words correctly. Learning what order the words were supposed to go in was comparatively easier than actually spelling them. though some of the students still needed help with that as well. Thankfully, when it came to spelling, the easiest way to learn was simply through repetition. Izuku took the time to go through everything, starting from the beginning with the alphabet and then walking them through how to spell the words they needed to know. And as he moved on to more specific issues and questions, he periodically returned to the spelling, calling on a random student to attempt it. By the time they were close to reaching the last of the problems for the subject, it seemed as though there had been some slight improvement in their overall spelling ability, though part of that very well could've been a result of short-term memory helping them to spell rather than a true understanding, but that was also something that the students could all practice easily enough at home, especially since he had confirmed that everyone understood the core concepts.
In all, going over English took them nearly as long as it had taken them to cover mathematics.
Following English came Physics, Modern Hero Art History, and finally Modern Literature, with each subject presenting less issues overall than the last. The further they all went, the less students there were that needed assistance. Despite that though, and despite the fact that Izuku told the ones who no longer needed assistance that they could leave if they wished, no one did. Everyone had decided to stay until the study session had been completed and everyone was prepared.
Eventually, as the study session came to a close, with it taking more time in total than a day actually attending Yueii, it was with nearly everyone feeling more confident than anxious about the upcoming exams. A few of the students couldn't quite get to that point, but despite that, they were still leaving with a new understanding of the issues that they had come with, and were now confident and comfortable enough to at least continue to study those areas on their own, which they were likely to do until the day of the exams, which would take place in just under a week.
After a while, his classmates slowly found their way out of the apartment, with Izuku hearing more thanks than he cared to count as they left. Once the apartment was empty once more, the only people that remained were Izuku, Ochako, Tsuyu, who evidently would be staying for the rest of the day and potentially through the night, and Rei, who had yet to wake up.
With everyone gone, Izuku immediately began cleaning the mess that had been left behind, starting with the dishes from lunch. He intended to have everything proper before Rei got up, because if she did, and there was still a mess, she would no doubt try to help, and there was no need for her to do anything of the sort.
Thankfully though, that ended up not being a concern, as with a bit of enhancement from his quirks, he had everything tidied up within a few short minutes and had retreated to his office, with Ochako and Tsuyu already having gone to Ochako's room after he told them that they didn't need to help clean.
As soon as the door to his office shut, he pushed both the study session and the nonissue that was the upcoming exams to the back of his mind, and focused on the matter at hand.
The paperwork he had submitted with Nezu's assistance to be registered as a foster residence had gone through, completing one more step, with the next being an interview that both he and Rei needed to sit through with a social worker to determine both whether they were fit to be foster guardians and whether the apartment was a safe enough and otherwise proper environment to be a foster home.
They had already scheduled the interview, and there was no doubt in either of their minds that they would pass it without issue. The only thing left to do was ensure that the apartment was ready as well. In terms of safety, it already was. In terms of how safe it was for a child, it was just as safe as any other apartment. The only thing that set it apart was the balcony that ran almost all the way around it and the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up most of the exterior walls. The doors leading out to the balconies could all be locked, using the same electronic locks as all of the interior doors, ensuring that a child wouldn't be able to open them, and the glass that the windows were made of was all bulletproof. He doubted that even Iona's quirk would be able to break it, let alone her.
Aside from safety, it was fairly spacious, with his, Rei's, and Ochako's bedrooms all still being in close proximity to what would be Iona's. Izuku had put a not-insignificant amount of money into ensuring that the apartment was equipped with a number of comfort-features, from the automatic sliding interior doors, to the heating and cooling system, which after some of the shit apartments he and Rei had lived in that never seemed to be able to maintain a comfortable temperature, he had made sure was perfect, and the heated floors that covered the entire floorspace of the apartment, including the balconies. There was nothing that was necessary for a high quality of life that was missing from the apartment.
Nothing but the very notable exception that was a proper bedroom for Iona.
The room was there, but at the moment, it still contained his computer and the bookshelf full of notebooks that contained analysis on all the quirks that weren't either ones he was being paid to analyze or his own, all the interesting quirks he happened to stumble upon in public. It was still missing a few very important things, such as a bed, a dresser, and all the other pieces of furniture that actually made it a bedroom.
With the rest of today, and potentially into tomorrow after school, he would be correcting that issue. His computer and his notebooks would all be moved over to his bedroom, and he and Rei would be making trips out to a few stores together so they could get furniture to fill the room.
"Alright then." Izuku said to himself. "Let's get started."
As he spoke, he lifted a hand up to the nearest bookshelf, activating 'Hotbar' as his hand brushed against one of the notebooks, storing it away. He moved on, repeating the process. The books all vanished as he trailed his hand along them, making the job of transporting them between rooms easier.
As he worked, a small smile found its way onto his face with the excitement that he felt.
Once again, he was another step closer to being able to help Iona.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
The Interview
Chapter Summary
The final exams are underway, and Izuku and Rei have their interview.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Sounds of relief filled the room as Ectoplasm announced the end of the time allotted for the exam, dismissing them from the class and from Yueii entirely. Most of Izuku's classmates wasted no time in gathering their belongings and heading for the door. The few that weren't in such a hurry, including Izuku, who took a moment to tuck his notebook into his bag, followed behind a few moments later.
The mathematics exam that they had just finished marked the end of the second day of exams. Yesterday had been reserved for English and Modern Literature, the exam for Modern Hero Art History had been held today before Mathematics, which left physics and Heroics to finish things off tomorrow.
So far, as per his expectations, Izuku hadn't had any issue with the exams. The material that they covered was certainly a bit more advanced than what the entrance exam had contained, but not by much. He wasn't entirely sure how the rest of his class was faring, with the exception of Ochako, who had told him that with a few exceptions, she was able to answer everything with relative ease, but so far he'd had a few of them mention that the tests were easier than they had been expecting.
He supposed that-that meant the study session had been somewhat successful. Or at least that some of his classmates were attributing their success to it.
Whatever the case, the second day of exams had concluded, and now Izuku had to do something that made him feel some measure of nervousness where the exams had failed to do so.
Today was the day that he and Rei had scheduled to have the interview with the social worker in order to determine both whether the two of them were fit to be foster guardians and whether the apartment was a suitable environment for such a thing.
Well, nervousness might not be the most accurate word. He wasn't worried about the possibility of failing the interview, as the chances of that happening were incredibly slim. He and Rei had already spent a not-insignificant amount of time going over every possible direction the interview could go in and any questions that might be asked of them, ensuring that they were both prepared for anything. And Izuku had taken great care to ensure that the apartment was prepared for any amount of scrutiny the social worker might bring, including converting his office into a bedroom and hiding away everything related to his vigilante work within 'Hotbar.'
He was, however, excited that he might soon be adding another person to his family. Any anxiety he actually felt, which wasn't much, was simply a result of him hoping that he would do a good job of providing enough care to Iona. That mixture of excitement and slight anxiety brought a small smile to his face as he moved through the hallways, as he was beginning to realize it had a tendency to do.
As per their usual, Ochako found her way to Izuku's side as he made his way towards the exit.
"So today's the day, huh?" She started. "Are you nervous?"
"Not particularly." He answered. "Assuming they don't ask anything completely unexpected, we shouldn't have any problems. And they would have to ask something really unexpected for us to not be prepared for it."
Okay, so maybe Izuku's tendency to overanalyze and overprepare combined with Rei's tendency to support whatever he did caused them to go a bit overboard with the preparations. But so long as it meant that the two of them would make it through the interview without issue, then he wouldn't worry about it.
"That's good. Maybe soon you'll be able to adopt that little girl you told me about."
"Mhm."
Glancing over and seeing the excited grin on Ochako's face, he raised a hand and placed it on her head, ruffling her hair just a bit as the corners of his own mouth curved upwards to match.
When Rei and Izuku had discussed the possibility of adopting Iona with Ochako, before Izuku had even submitted the paperwork to be registered as a foster guardian, she had surprised them both with how excited she was at the idea. Evidently, she'd always wanted a younger sibling, but her family's financial situation made that impossible. So, naturally, the prospect of finally having the chance to have someone that she could act as an elder sibling for had her seeming more excited that Rei and Izuku combined.
It made sense though, Ochako being more excited. Izuku's excitement came primarily from being able to spare someone from living the same sort of life he and Rei had: completely alone and lacking anyone to care for them and protect them from the world. Iona had lost her parents, in a different manner than Izuku and Rei had, sure, but one that was just as, if not more traumatizing. She was completely alone, as indicated by her now living in an orphanage, and to top it all off there was a chance that she was still a potential target of The Triad.
Izuku had the opportunity to alleviate some of that. And the fact that he was getting closer to doing so was what had him excited.
Rei's excitement no doubt came at least partially via association, as a result of Izuku's. Though, mostly, Izuku imagined it was because she was getting the opportunity to expand her family and be surrounded by more people that she could love and who would love her back, something she had been denied for most of her life.
For Ochako, on the other hand, her wanting a younger sibling most likely wasn't as deep of a desire as Izuku and Rei's reasons for being excited. It wasn't something that had shaped her as a person, but was something that she had directly wanted and wished for-for a good part of her life. It was something that had more directly occupied her thoughts rather than influencing her as a defining character trait. As such, when that desire was fulfilled, it brought her more outright excitement.
"You said that you were planning to spend the afternoon with Tsuyu, right?" Izuku asked, dropping his hand back down to his side.
"Yep! We're gonna be heading over to her house. I'll be back in time for dinner."
Izuku nodded. "Alright. Just let me know if anything changes, or if you want me to come pick you up afterwards."
"Sure thing!"
With that, she turned away just as they exited the building, moving over towards where Tsuyu was waiting for her.
"Bye Izuku!" She called, waving over her shoulder. "I'd say good luck but I know you don't need it."
Izuku waved after her for a moment, before spreading his wings and launching himself into the air. Once he was high enough, he directed himself towards the apartment and set off.
With Izuku's overanalyzing nature and Rei generally only ever encouraging him, directly or indirectly, to go further, and the two of them feeding off of each other, as soon as they had scheduled the meeting Rei had dug around to find out the identity of the social worker that would be conducting it. And once they knew their name, the two of them made a point of learning as much about them as possible.
The social worker was a man by the name of Tomeo Inai. Thirty-seven years of age, married for sixteen, with three children, fourteen, twelve, and eight years old, the youngest being adopted. His quirk was named 'Second Mouth,' and gave him a mutation in the form of an extra mouth on his right hand, that could eat, breath, and speak. He had been working as a social worker for just over ten years.
It was essentially stalking, and some of the methods they had made use of were illegal, but the more information they had, the better. Anything they could use to their advantage to ensure that they succeeded would be helpful. Little bits of information like how Inai grew up in an abusive home, which likely had some impact on him becoming a social worker, and which would likely make him more sympathetic towards Izuku and Rei, who went through a similar situation, and therefore more likely to support them wanting to do something to help.
Regarding Izuku and Rei's official story, in the eyes of the law, Izuku had always been an Etsumi. Rei had long since gone through and manipulated and forged all the legal documentation to ensure that-that was what anyone looking would find. As far as anyone would ever be able to tell, especially with her father locked away in a mental institution and her mother having dropped off the face of the Earth entirely not long after it happened, she'd always had a little brother named Izuku.
If it were to come up in the interview, the two of them had already decided what they would and would not reveal of the more specific details of their lives. Obviously, nothing about Izuku's actual reason for being on the streets, or his quirk, would be told, nor would the specifics of the majority of the hardships they experienced at the hands of other people, homeless, criminal, or otherwise evil enough to harm children. They would leave everything as generalized as possible. If it became necessary, they would explain that they lived on the streets for a while after running away from their abusive parents, which Rei was willing to explain if necessary, though she would do so in as little detail as possible. Beyond watering down the reality of their situation though, they would keep it fairly close to the truth. They would explain that after a while living like that, Izuku had begun to educate himself while Rei worked, that as a result of their combined efforts, they managed to forcibly improve their lives to the point that they were at now.
Obviously, this would mean revealing that he was Deku, but he'd already revealed that he was a quirk analyst as a part of the initial paperwork he submitted, which had required him to describe his employment. Anyone with half a brain would be able to work out that he was Deku looking at the information he'd provided.
He didn't mind revealing a little bit about himself—and neither did Rei, for that matter—if it ensured that he would be successfully make it a step closer to his goal.
Rei greeted him as he arrived back home, entering into the living room from the door that led to the balcony. She had switched back to a normal sleep schedule so she could take part in the interview, and assuming they got through it without issue, she would maintain that normal schedule.
There were still a number of specifics that would need to be worked out if and when they would finally manage to adopt Iona regarding their schedules and routines, but they both figured that it would be easier if she was awake during the day. With Izuku always awake and able to address anything that should happen to occur at night, it would be best if they were both awake and able to take care of anything that might come up during the day. Plus, with Rei transitioning from school to a job—she had chosen to pursue the opportunity offered by All Might—she would need to be awake during the day anyway.
Of course, that meant that she wouldn't be able to provide the same amount of assistance as Phantom when he went out as Oni, but that wouldn't be an issue. He had already decided that he would ease up on the amount of time he spent out each night, compensating for that with increased effort in that shorter time of course, so that he would end up spending more time at home. And besides, Rei would still be able to help him for a bit before she would need to sleep.
And in the end, Izuku's plan had already been to eventually halt his vigilantism. That's why he was even attending Yueii, so he could help people legally, saving his illegal methods for if a bit more force or violence ever became necessary.
With how early Yueii had dismissed its students because of the exams, it was still an appropriate time for lunch when he got home, and there was enough time before the interview for him to fix something for himself and Rei to eat. Nothing too complicated, just some ramen, but certainly good enough for lunch, especially since it was still cooked from scratch. Izuku had briefly considered cooking something a bit more complex and offering some to Inai, but decided against doing so.
They were mostly silent as they ate, simply enjoying each other's company while they waited for Inai to arrive. There was nothing for them to discuss at the moment. They were already completely prepared for the interview, all that was left was to wait.
Eventually, after the two of them had finished eating and Izuku had cleaned up, the man did arrive. Rei noticed him first, as his entering the building sent an alert to her phone, where she proceeded to watch him through the cameras in the building's lobby as he entered the elevator. Izuku noticed him a few moments after that with 'All Sight,' watching as the elevator neared and eventually stopped at their floor.
The moment Inai was close enough for Izuku to see him, Tamako jumped to the man. As a part of their preparation for the interview, Izuku had asked Tamako to switch over to and watch Inai from the inside. They would keep an eye out for anything even remotely suspicious, and would report to Izuku if they noticed anything, including if Inai thought that Izuku and Rei were unsuitable or that they might not become foster guardians. If that were to happen, Izuku would have to consider resorting to an alternative method.
As the man stepped out of the elevator, Izuku rose from the table to wait by the front door. He watched as the man stopped in front of it, standing a scant few feet away, and checked something on his phone, before finally reaching a hand up to knock.
Izuku tilted his head a bit, counting out an appropriate delay, before opening the door.
"Good afternoon!" The man greeted cheerfully, with an almost blinding smile. "Are you Izuku Etsumi?"
Izuku nodded, his mouth curling up into a smaller, but no less friendly smile. "Indeed I am. May I ask who you are?"
"Of course!" Came the response, along with an extended hand, his left one, leaving the one with the mouth at his side. "My name is Tomeo Inai. I'm the one who's been assigned to your case, the application to become a foster guardian."
Izuku took the proffered hand, shaking it before backing away slightly and gesturing into the apartment. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, come in."
Izuku might find speaking with other people exhausting most of the time—assuming he wasn't close to them, he could spend hours talking to Rei and Ochako—and he might not fully understand social etiquette, but he knew how to talk to people. It wasn't hard, all one had to do was speak clearly, politely, and with confidence. And if one also knew what they were going to say before they said—which Izuku had made a habit of doing long ago, his enhanced thought processing speed allowing him to do so—and could add in a bit of charisma, which Izuku knew how to do after being Oni for as long as he had, then it wouldn't matter if that person wasn't social, because they would be able trick everyone into thinking that they were.
Izuku gestured to Rei, who had risen from her spot at the table, as Inai entered the apartment. "This is my sister, Reiko Etsumi."
"Please, call me Rei." She greeted, reaching out to shake his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." The man said, still with that blinding smile. He gestured at the only chair set at the table, the one normally reserved for Ochako. "May I?"
"Please do." Izuku answered as he and Rei settled back down at the table, directly across from Inai.
"Thank you for agreeing to hold this interview in your home." Inai said as he got settled. "It does speed things up a bit if we're able to confirm the suitability of the home in the same meeting as the interview."
"Of course. Anything we can do to make things easier for you. So, where would you like to begin?"
Inai folded his hands together on the table in front of him. "Right. I suppose we might as well start with the most pressing question we have for you. After we looked through the paperwork you submitted, which we found no issue with, by the way, we ran background checks on both of you. They both came back completely clean in regards to criminal records or anything else suspicious, so there were no concerns on that front. However, in the process, we noticed something else that did raise a concern, actually it was really the only concern we had."
"As we were looking through all the records for you and your family, everything checked out properly through around your," he gestured at Izuku, "fourth birthday, and around your," this time he gestured at Rei, "tenth. However we noticed a bit of a gap starting somewhere around that time where there is no new or updated documentation or records for either of you. That gap extends until about four years later when Izuku has documentation marking his completion of the course-material equivalent of Grade One education, with the grades after following closely behind at a rate never before recorded, at least in Japan. And at the same time, we found documentation showing that Rei was hired to work at a restaurant."
"This, the apparent disappearance of two children for a few years, raised some slight concerns, and we were wondering if you would be willing and able to fill us in on anything you might know about this. We have our own theories, as this follows certain patterns that we've seen before, but we would like to avoid jumping to incorrect conclusions."
Izuku resisted the urge to sigh. Addressing their life story right from the start. Not unexpected in the slightest, but it was a bit unfortunate that they had to get into this already. He glanced over at Rei, silently letting her know that she was up.
She shifted, leaning forward a bit. "I imagine that your theories are correct, as there aren't but so many explanations for the gap in records you explained, with very few of them good."
She paused for a few seconds, though it was mostly for Inai's benefit, to add to the story. "Our parents were abusive."
Inai looked down at his hands. "I see… I suspected as much. I'm sorry."
He looked back up at them a moment later. "I'm guessing that around the time that I mentioned, you ended up running away? And that-that was the reason for there being no record of either of you for so long?"
"That's correct."
He nodded. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but would you be willing to talk about it? Both the nature of the abuse and what took place during the gap?"
"I'd prefer not to talk too much about it." Rei said. "The basics of it are that they were abusive, exclusively verbal for a time, until our father eventually crossed the line and became physical. Eventually I made the decision for us to run away."
"Oh yes, of course!" Inai said, raising his hands up in front of him. "You don't have to go into detail at all if you don't want to. Forgive me, my reason for asking that of you was just so that we could understand the circumstances as much as possible."
"It's no issue." Rei said, reassuring him. "I would simply rather that remain in the past. And we're still willing to fill in the missing details of what happened after. I imagine that would be a bit more important to you anyway."
"Please do. I would greatly appreciate it."
Izuku leaned forward. It was his turn again.
"We were homeless for those four years, and for a short time beyond that." He explained. "For much of that time we were simply trying to survive, because as you can probably imagine, it's not exactly easy for two children to survive on the streets. Eventually, Rei found a job in an attempt to improve our situation. Around the same time, I discovered that I have an aptitude for learning, and began making use of a public library to pursue my education. Not too long after that, we were able to move into the cheapest apartment we could find. And from that point on, our lives took on something of an upward curve. We continued to work to better ourselves and our situation until…" he gestured around himself, "we ended up here."
"I see… How did you manage to survive that long? Though there haven't been many, I've not heard of a single instance of a child, or children, living on the streets ending well."
"A combination of luck, and being just intimidating enough, despite being children, to ward off most who would be a threat to us."
Inai's eyebrows scrunched up. "You scared people away?"
"Consider our mutations." Izuku said, gesturing down at his tail, as his wings shifted on his back. "The two of us weigh in at several thousand pounds each. Even as young as we were, we weighed more than anyone who didn't have a similarly extensive mutation, and our tails could exert more force than anyone that didn't have a strength quirk. Assuming no other quirks or weapons were involved, the two of us would have the upper hand in almost any potential confrontation. All we would have to do was get on top of someone, or wrap around them with our tails, and it was over. Taking into account the enhanced strength that I also have, and we were able to defend ourselves."
Inai nodded. "That makes sense. I saw a nature documentary recently about Anacondas, that showed how they crush their prey. Applying that to a human-sized version… I can see how people would be too scared to try anything. And I recognize you from the sports festival. Even if your strength was much less as a child, it doesn't surprise me to hear that you would've been able to defend yourself."
"Though, if you don't mind me asking," he continued, "why, after running away, didn't you attempt to go to the police for help?"
"Because we were children." Rei answered. "We didn't exactly have the best judgement at the time. We didn't want to risk being returned to our parents. And with the two of them being pretty much the only adults that we ever had any exposure to, they didn't exactly instill in us a huge amount of trust in adults.
"Right. I figured that would be the case. I've seen far too many cases that bear similarities to yours, and in a great deal of them, it's always heroes and police that are finding the children in question instead of them seeking out help, because they don't think that the heroes and police can be trusted."
He paused for a moment, before speaking again. "I apologize for jumping right to the hardest part of this interview. As I said, it was simply the biggest question we had for the two of you, and I felt it would be best to get it out of the way."
That made sense to Izuku. The whole purpose of the background check that had revealed the issue in the first place was to ensure that he and Rei had no criminal records, and that they had not engaged in anything that would make them unsuitable to be foster guardians. A four-year gap in their records and documentation, even with the two of them being as young as they were, was four years where it was impossible to confirm what they had or had not been involved in.
"On that note though, let's move on to some easier questions, shall we?" Inai asked, attempting to lead the interview onward.
"To start us off: the reason you submitted the application, though given the explanation the two of you have just given me, I feel as though I now know the answer to this. There are a number of reasons why someone might want to attempt to foster or adopt, some benevolent, others not so much. What prompted the two of you to make the decision?"
"Because we want to help." Izuku answered, almost immediately. "As we've just explained, we know what it's like to struggle through life, to not have the love and support of parents. We fought our way up from nothing, and now that we are where we are, now that we have the ability to do so, we want to be able to help prevent anyone we can from going through what we did, even if it's only one person."
Inai had a small smile on his face as Izuku finished speaking.
"I'm glad to hear that-that's the reason." He said. "I've heard a number of different responses to that question, from only wanting the financial assistance that we offer, to wanting to start a family. Nothing makes me happy quite like hearing that someone wants to foster for no other reason than to help, and give a home to someone that needs one."
He gave his head a small shake. "But in an effort to not get off-topic, onto the next question. Based on the income records you sent in with your application, it seems as though you should have no issue with affording to take care of a child. The documentation described your job as being a 'Quirk Analyst.' Would you mind going into a bit of detail about what all that entails?"
"Of course." Izuku answered. "I'd be happy to."
"Most analysts will follow a similar pattern in how they operate. There might be some deviation between them, especially when comparing teams of analysts working as a company against freelance analysts, but most of the time they're fairly similar. Some way or another, most will receive quirks to analyze, whether that be through contracts that they hold with official organizations, such as training facilities, police and military academies, and even hero schools, or through individual requests through a website. How much information an analyst requires in order to complete a request varies from person to person. Some prefer to see the quirk in-person, while others might request a video, and some need nothing more than a written description. Whatever the case, when they have what they need, they'll usually write out everything they can come up with from the information they were provided. This includes things such as how a quirk functions, potential uses or methods of using it, and ways to improve upon it. Then that analysis is sent back to the person that requested it."
"Now, the way I do it follows this pattern. I work on my own, so I have a website where people will send in requests along with any and all information they can send. I don't require any certain type of information, but I make it clear that the more I'm sent, the more in-depth my analysis will be. I write out exactly what I just mentioned, making sure to include things such as training facilities and publicly accessible support companies that they can look into if it's applicable to the request, and I send it back. The way the payment is set up for mine, is that when they send in their request, they include the money along with it, then when I send the analysis back to them, that money is then transferred to me."
"Fascinating." Inai said. "I never knew what all quirk analysis involved. But, wait. I saw your income information. You make as much as you do as a freelance analyst? I figured that you worked with a company of some sort."
"Nope. I do indeed work alone. I find myself having to make this revelation increasingly often as time goes by, but I actually do my analysis work under the pseudonym Deku."
"Ah, I see. No wonder you make so much. You aren't just an analyst, but the most well-known analyst in Japan."
"Indeed. My job as Deku was a key part in the two of us getting to where we are. It has afforded us the ability to live a comfortable lifestyle and for Rei to pursue her education and for me to pursue mine. And over the years, I have stockpiled enough money that should something happen that halts that income, this comfortable lifestyle would be able to persist for some time."
"Actually, you mentioning your education brings us to the next topic I'd like to discuss: the matter of time and your schedules. Your application listed that you're currently attending Yueii, and even if it hadn't, as I said, I recognized you from the sports festival. Between your analysis work, and attending Yueii, and with Rei pursuing her own higher education, would you be able to handle the time requirements that come with fostering a child?"
"I don't foresee us having any difficulty on that front. With the increased movement speed that my quirk grants me, I'm able to handle all of my analysis work within the space of about two hours, give or take a few minutes. And the only affect that attending Yueii has on my schedule is just the time that I'm required to be at the school. The workload poses no challenge to me, and I generally have any work done before I leave alongside everyone else. And if it ever becomes necessary to alter my schedule to accommodate a child, I could most likely do so without issue. I'm friends with Nezu as a result of being Deku, so he would probably be willing to assist me with that."
"And regarding Rei's education." Izuku continued. "She has actually completed her final year since we submitted the application."
Rei nodded along. "Yep. I've graduated, and once the summer's over, I'll begin working for the legal team at Might Tower. Though with that I'll primarily be working from home, so I'll be available here most of the time to handle anything that comes up."
"Very good. You two definitely seem to have considered things thoroughly. That's good to see. Though, while we're on the topic of your education and careers, have you considered the risks that come with pursuing heroics? There aren't too many Pro Heroes with families, because not only do they put their lives on the line but because their families would be at risk as well."
"I have considered it." Izuku said. "And I've decided that I would still like to foster."
Izuku knew the sort of statistics that surrounded heroes with families. They weren't exactly pleasant to look at, between the number of families left missing a member because of the death of a hero and the number of heroes that have had their family taken from them because some villains saw an easy target. He'd already experienced something of the risks associated with heroics just through his vigilantism. It wasn't nearly to the same extent though, as it was easy to separate his identity as Izuku from his identity as Oni and got easier all the time with the quirks he acquired, from being able to completely change his appearance to, more recently, being able to move from his apartment to nearly anywhere in the city without leaving any physical trace. Not to mention Oni's reputation of being extraordinarily violent, sending nearly everyone he faced to the hospital, and even further than that, for those that knew enough about him, the promise of an immediate and an even-more-violent-than-usual retribution against anyone that dared to attempt to track him back to his home.
As an actual hero though, it would be considerably harder to deal with such things, unless he chose to reveal his true quirk so that he could make use of his entire arsenal as he could as Oni, which wasn't likely to happen. He couldn't even do what All Might did and hide his identity, as his snake tail would be fairly recognizable. His primary method of warding off any potential threats would likely end up being overwhelming strength; being strong enough to scare people away from even targeting his family. Of course, even if there was anyone foolish enough to target them, there likely wouldn't be a second, because his response to such a thing would be exactly the same as both Izuku the hero and Oni the vigilante. The only difference would be that the aftermath of his hero identity's retribution would be much more public.
"It likely wouldn't have been obvious during the sports festival," Izuku continued, "but my physical capabilities are comparable to All Might himself. That combined with the enhanced healing factor that comes as a part of my quirk means that it would be incredibly difficult to kill me, or even injure me for longer than a few seconds. And as far as any potential threats to my family… Well, I would say that I feel sorry for anyone who might threaten them, but then I'd be lying to you. And though it's likely impossible to ensure that they are completely protected at all time, we have taken measures to ensure that they are protected as much as possible."
He gestured around himself. "Though it may appear perfectly normal, this apartment is nearly a bunker. The windows are bulletproof, and each of the doors contain pneumatic deadbolts. We have access to the buildings security cameras, among other things, and knew the moment that you walked in through the doors. Furthermore, Rei and Ochako's phones both contain a custom-built program that acts as a panic button of sorts. When pressed, emergency services are notified and a notification is sent to my own phone, containing the location."
"Once again, I am impressed by the amount of thought and consideration you seem to have put into this. May I ask what led to you making some of those decisions? I definitely see the value of doing that for when you become a Pro Hero, but why put some of these measures in place so early?"
"A mixture of paranoia leftover from our time living on the streets and a desire to ensure that we are kept safe after the invasion at Yueii's USJ."
"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that. The news said that there was a class of students involved, but that Yueii hadn't released any names. I'm guessing that your class was the one they were talking about?"
"That's correct. We were there when the villain invaded, and had to deal with them. Afterwards, we decided to take measures to ensure our safety just in case any villains decided to target us specifically, and outside of Yueii property."
"That makes sense. Were I in your position, I'd probably want to do the same."
"Now, going back to something you said. You mentioned an 'Ochako.' The application you sent in mentioned a third person currently living here. Are they the same person?"
Izuku nodded. "She is. She's one of my classmates at Yueii. Her family lives in another city, too far to commute back and forth every day, and they struggle just a bit financially, so they couldn't afford to have her stay in a decent apartment while she attends. So I extended an offer for her to stay here, at least until we graduate."
"Since that would mean that she'd be living here when you two choose to adopt, where does she stand in this? In terms of her opinion and mentality and what role, if any, she would play."
"Oh, she's almost more excited than either of us at the idea." Izuku answered. "She's rather excited at the prospect of having someone she can act as an older sibling to, which would be the role she'd play. Obviously Rei and I are prepared to handle any and all expectations and responsibilities that come with fostering, but having a third person here, whom both of us know to be responsible and reliable, will likely be quite helpful."
"I see." Inai said, nodding. "That makes sense. Based on just my own experiences, it'll be good for you to have another adult in the home that you can rely on."
He paused for a moment, before nodding again. "I think that covers everything that we wanted to address." He said. "It wasn't a terribly long interview, but my purpose in coming here was mostly just to get a feel for what kind of people you both are, and to address the single concern we had with your past. Aside from that, and taking a look around your home to make sure everything is in order, this interview was almost nothing more than a formality; the two of you had basically already passed before I even came here."
At both Izuku and Rei's looks of slight surprise, he continued. "Along with the application paperwork you sent in, we also received reference letters from Nezu, the principal of Yueii, and surprisingly, All Might himself, on the same day. In them, they testified to both of your characters, and what sort of people they found you two to be. And Nezu explained in some length that he believed that you two would make excellent foster guardians."
"Now, obviously we wouldn't simply approve an application on the opinion of someone else alone, we pride ourselves far too much on our performance and the care we take to ensure that the children that have become our responsibility are kept safe to do anything like that. That being said, however, Nezu's word carries quite a bit of weight in a great many areas, and it goes without saying that All Might's does as well. These letters have, and will tilt opinions in your favor quite considerably when it comes to the final decision of whether you two are fit to be foster guardians."
Izuku was slightly surprised to hear that Nezu had sent in such a letter, and that he had evidently praised both him and Rei to such a degree. He was even more surprised to hear that All Might had evidently done the same. Nezu must've had him do it, though knowing the rodent, Izuku wouldn't be at all surprised if he didn't know what exactly he was writing it for, especially since Inai only mentioned Nezu's letter specifically talking about his and Rei's potential as foster guardians.
He supposed he ought to be thankful though, as it seemed like that letter had greatly increased their chances of success. Maybe he would finally tell Nezu about his quirk classification system as a show of thanks. He knew that Nezu would absolutely love to discuss something like that.
"With that said, unless the two of you have any questions for me, would it be alright if I take a look around your home?"
Izuku smiled. "Be my guest."
Inai looking around the apartment took longer than the actual interview, but not by much. He was mostly just looking for anything that might pose any danger to a child, and Izuku had already checked everything rather thoroughly. The only things left that even remotely qualified as dangerous were the oven and stove, and the electrical outlets scattered through the apartment. Even the balconies, which Inai had thought to be the greatest risk, presented basically no danger at all with the sturdiness of the glass and the electric locks that a child like Iona wouldn't be able to work.
He avoided taking more than a short look at the three occupied bedrooms, not wanting to invade their privacy, but did spend longer in the bedroom that used to be Izuku's office than he did in any other room. He saw no issue with it though, and determined it to be suitable, both in safety and in its quality as a bedroom.
Izuku and Rei had furnished the room as much as they could, which unfortunately wasn't very much. They had included all the necessities, such as a bed and other pieces of furniture, but they didn't want to go too far in decorating it without Iona present. They would leave more specific things for later.
Once Inai was satisfied, he left just as quickly as he arrived, and with a promise to see that the rest of their application be judged as quickly as possible, so that they would get the results as soon as they could. According to him, they'd be hearing back within days.
Izuku and Rei were excited to say the least. Excited that it seemed as if they would finally be able to follow through with their plan to adopt Iona. The two of them spent much of the afternoon discussing plans for how they would proceed, including when they would move forward with actually attempting to adopt. Obviously, the sooner it happened, the better, but there were things they needed to take into account. For starters, even if they were fairly confident that they would be approved as foster guardians, they didn't know exactly how long it would take for that to happen. There was also Yueii to think about. Even if the workload was essentially nonexistent, he still needed to be present for a good chunk of the day. If and when they would be able to bring Iona home, if Izuku could help it, he would like to be able to be present as much as possible in the initial days, and preferably weeks.
So, largely just for that reason, Izuku and Rei planned to take action the day after Yueii let out for the summer, in just over two weeks. Though obviously they would see about contacting the orphanage much sooner than that, to see what steps would need to be taken in order to take the final step and actually adopt.
Their conversation lasted into the early evening, until it was time fort Izuku to begin cooking dinner. Not longer after he got started, Ochako returned, keeping true to what she had said. They informed her of what had transpired as soon as she entered the apartment, and as expected, she shared their excitement, immediately asking what they would be doing next and rekindling the discussion that had already gone on for hours.
After going over everything in length once again, bringing Ochako up to speed as they ate, and after the sun had set, Izuku set his sights on something else that needed to be address, though which still related to Iona.
Or rather, Oni set his sights on it.
Something that had slipped his mind since the night he had rescued her, is that Iona could potentially still be a target of The Triad. She had a sentient, maybe even entirely sapient quirk. For an organization of quirk traffickers, something like that would be quite the prize. He knew that she was still safe at the orphanage where she'd been living, as he and Rei had been keeping an eye on the place recently, mostly to keep track of whether or not Iona had already been adopted. Izuku suspected that between the orphanage being almost directly in the center of Musutafu, which remained entirely clear of The Triad through Oni's efforts, and the havoc that Oni had wrought throughout so many of their locations, she likely wasn't as much of a primary target. Though whether that was because they were busy attempting to repair the damage Oni had caused or because they didn't want to risk him going any further was anyone's guess.
He couldn't recall seeing her or her quirk mentioned in any of the records he had retrieved and memorized, aside from the one that had initially marked her for capture. And while that further reassured him that she might not actually be a target, it wasn't a guarantee, nor would he treat it as such until he knew that The Triad no longer existed. Though while that likely wouldn't happen for a while, he could certainly do what he could to further reassure himself.
Oni took a deep breath as he stood on the balcony, enjoying the cool breeze as it caught in his wings.
Ever since the night he'd lost control of himself, Oni had taken a bit of a break in going after The Triad. By now, they might've even lulled themselves into a false sense of security, thinking that he was done with them.
Oni's face split into a rather unfriendly grin, and the air around him shivered as he pulled on his quirks. He would show them how mistaken they were. He had just over two weeks until he might be able to bring Iona home. He would raze as many locations as he could get his hands on in that time, all to guarantee her safety.
For if all went according to plan, she would soon be a part of his family, and he would not allow anyone to lay a hand on his family.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Clash
Chapter Summary
Time for the second half of the midterm exams. Teachers versus students.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The remaining two written exams passed without issue. They presented no more difficulty than the ones that came before them, and soon enough Izuku and his classmates were receiving both their grades and their placements in the class's academic ratings.
As per his expectations, Izuku received both perfect scores on all of his exams and first place in the ranking. He was followed by Bakugou, Yaoyorozu, and Iida, with Ochako ranking as fifth in the class, much to her delight, as she didn't think she would place so high.
In fact, that surprise seemed to be a somewhat common trend for much of the class. Many of them had performed better than they originally expected. Even Ashido and Kaminari, who despite placing in nineteenth and twentieth respectively in the class rankings, had achieved scores on their exams that were worth admiration. Enough for Aizawa to even praise them for it.
And with the written exams over and done with, and the stress that came with them gone, the week that separated them from the practical portion of their exams passed quickly, and with considerably more excitement than what the written ones had brought. They hadn't been told anything of what the practical exam would consist of—all they had been told was that it would take place over two days—but most of the class believed that it would revolve around fighting the same robots that they had faced in the entrance exams.
Izuku agreed with them in part. He too suspected that the exam would be some sort of fight or another. There weren't exactly very many alternatives; pretty much everything practical they had done thus far with Yueii had either been, or been related to, fighting. There had certainly been other lessons spread throughout the year, from rescue, to strategy, to even stealth, but even with those lessons, they'd had far more that had to do with fighting. It was understandable, of course. Most of what a hero did, and the most important part to be thoroughly prepared for, was fighting criminals and villains. Rescuing civilians and inspiring hope and feelings of safety were all well and good, and were certainly important aspects of being a hero, but they were nearly meaningless if a hero couldn't first put a stop to whatever had made those things necessary in the first place. So it made sense that, being in the heroics course of the one of the top hero schools in the country, the main thing that would be focused on would be that the students know how to fight as effectively as possible.
However, though he agreed with his classmates in that the practical exam would involve a fight, he felt that they were mistaken when it came to what they would be fighting. He didn't think that Nezu would settle with simply allowing them to fight a few robots.
With how proficient 1-A had shown themselves to be and with Yueii's tendency to push them, not to mention the constant underlying threat of villain attacks that had existed since the USJ invasion, they were going to be challenged in some way. The robots were far too easy of a fight for that to happen.
Even discounting how Izuku had torn through them like paper, the rest of 1-A had dealt with them far too easily for the robots to even be considered enough of a threat to be their opponents. That was evidenced simply by the fact that they were attending Yueii in the first place. They had been pitted against hundreds of other applicants, all fighting the same robots, and they had all performed well enough against them to be accepted into the heroics course. Even taking into consideration that Nezu and the support department could most likely vastly increase the difficulty of the robots, they still probably wouldn't be good enough. No, their opponent, whoever or whatever it might be, would have to present much more of a threat.
Taking the possibility of the entrance exam robots out of the question, the only remaining possibilities were each other—students fighting students—or some other living opponent.
Izuku wouldn't put it past Nezu to pit students against one another for their exam, whether it be the students of 1-A facing off against each other or 1-A going against 1-B. Facing against their own classmates would certainly present more of a challenge than robots, especially if the passing of some was dependent on the failure of others. However, he didn't think that–that was what would happen.
For starters, the teachers had already seen the students fight against one another, both in the numerous training exercises and mock fights they'd participated in through their heroics classes and during the sports festival. And aside from that, if their intention was to judge how proficient each student had become, the best way to do that was to pit them against something that could serve as a standard, which other students would do a poor job of doing for a number of reasons, least of which because of the gap in ability that was present between some of the students. Hagakure, Sero, Mineta, and Kirishima against someone like Bakugou, for example. Even disallowing the usage of quirks would not put any of those matchups on even footing.
In that sense, robots would be perfect, as each one would behave exactly the same and according to parameters set by the ones judging the exam. But something that would perform that role even better, or rather, someone who could, would be someone who both already knew how to fight to a Pro Hero's and Yueii's standards and who could adjust themself and how they fought to suit any particular student.
There were, of course, several people that could potentially fit that description, all of whom were Pro Heroes, but Izuku suspected that the actual opponents of the exams would be their own teachers.
It made sense. What better way to determine how far the students had come than to have the teachers themselves fight them? And not only would each teacher be aware of their own abilities and be able to use that awareness to properly judge the students, but knowing the students, and likely knowing what weak points they may have, meant that specific teachers could be put against specific students to introduce challenges beyond simply fighting. Putting someone like Kaminari or Ashido against a teacher like Eraser, for example, would be especially challenging, as the two of them had a much heavier reliance on their quirks in combat rather than their hands. Someone like Ochako facing off against him would simply result in the two of them being a bit more even footing, as hand-to-hand combat was her strong point, with her quirk merely serving to augment her skill. Though even her proficiency probably wouldn't be enough to quite cover the gap created by many more years of experience that Eraser had.
Conversely, putting someone like Ochako, who was strong in close quarters fighting, against Midnight, would require her to think of an alternative method of fighting, as she wouldn't even be able to get close enough to use her hands without falling victim to Midnight's quirk.
Either way, whether he was right or not, they would all know for sure soon enough. Today was the day that the exam would start, and Izuku was making his way towards the training field where Eraser had held his quirk apprehension test, with the rest of his class following close behind, all of them dressed in their hero costumes.
Izuku was fairly confident in his theory though, which only turned into certainty as the training field came within range of 'All Sight,' and he saw a group of teachers standing there, apparently waiting for the class to arrive. Nearby was a giant tent filled with infirmary beds, medical equipment, and what looked to be a copy of the control centers that the class would typically gather in to watch a training session. Recovery Girl was also in the tent, sitting in a corner and looking like she was asleep.
Of the teachers that were waiting for them, Izuku could see Present Mic, Midnight, Ectoplasm, Cementoss, Thirteen, Power Loader, Snipe, and Eraser, with Nezu standing on his shoulder. All of their teachers plus a few more were there. The only one missing was All Might, who wasn't anywhere within view of 'All Sight.'
Assuming Izuku was correct in that the teachers would be their opponents, and that All Might would be participating, that would make ten teachers for twenty students. Would they each have two separate fights then? Or would the students simply be paired up?
Both options made sense. The exam would apparently be taking place over two days, lending credence to the possibility of each teacher fighting twice, but it also made just as much sense to have two students facing off against one teacher. Because despite how proficient Izuku's class may be, with about three or four exceptions, one of which being himself, most of his class wouldn't be able to go against most of the teachers in a direct one-on-one and succeed.
Izuku's theories ran through his mind as he and his class made their way to the field, until eventually they stood before the gathered teachers. Eraser, standing at the front of the group of teachers and with the principal on his shoulder, took a step forward and addressed them.
"As you're all aware, we'll be starting the practical portion of your exams today. Now, you all performed admirably on your written tests, but it's important for you to remember that you can fail this portion just the same. So keep that, and the summer camp retreat that we told you about, in mind as we get started."
"Oh yeah!" Ashido said. "I can't believe I almost forgot about that! This is gonna be so much fun! I can't wait!"
Izuku caught a flash of barely contained mirth—or was that sadism? Both maybe?—in Nezu's eyes at Ashido's words. Something about what she'd just said was incorrect, either the idea that the summer camp would be nothing but a reward, which Izuku still doubted, or the implication that the practical exam would be no obstacle for her to get there. Whichever it was, Nezu couldn't wait to drop the bomb that would correct her.
"Yes indeed!" The rodent exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "This shall be quite fun!"
Ah there it is. Looks like it would be the latter option; the exam would be harder—probably much harder—that most of the students were expecting. Izuku was still holding out for the summer camp retreat not being a retreat at all though.
"Allow me to explain the details of your exam. We've intentionally refrained from providing you with any details until now, so as to prevent you from doing anything specific to prepare for what is to come. For despite this being an exam, it is just as much a chance for us to understand where you all stand, and see what we can do to help you continue to improve."
"Now, despite our withholding information, you all have no doubt come up with your own ideas and theories about what is to come." His eyes flashed over at Izuku at that, whose mouth quirked up in a small grin, which was reciprocated almost imperceptibly for a fraction of a second. Izuku's grin grew a bit with that. Nezu knew that Izuku knew—or at least had a fairly good idea—of what would happen. "I imagine that you all have probably heard a few rumors from your upperclassmen and are under the impression that you will be facing off against robots once again, as most of you did during the entrance exams."
There was that flash of sadism again. The rodent was enjoying this. Izuku could understand, even now, after what should've been a blatant warning to the contrary, some of his classmates still thought that their exam would consist of robots. A number of them still gave off the sort of confidence that came from thinking that they knew what was coming. The others, the ones smart enough or observant enough to notice, narrowed their eyes in suspicion at the principal.
"But I'm afraid that's not what we'll be doing!" Nezu exclaimed, clearly enjoying the way that the few mistaken students froze with the realization that the exam was going to be something unexpected. "Instead of robots, your opponents for this exam will be us!"
The slight apprehension that had been present immediately gave way to anxiety and fear with Nezu's words. What had only moments ago seemed like an easily surmountable obstacle was now a mountain in front of them as they realized why all of the teachers were actually standing in front of them.
"We will be pairing you off into groups of two." Nezu continued. "And each group will face off against a pair of two teachers."
Izuku finally felt a bit of surprise of his own at that. He'd suspected that they'd be fighting teachers, and that they might be grouped up to do so, but he would admit that he hadn't been expecting their opponents to be two teachers.
He smiled. This was becoming interesting.
"Both the student and teacher groups have already been determined. And before you worry too much about things, all of the teachers will be fitted with weights to serve as a handicap to make things a bit easier on you."
Yaoyorozu, one of the few that hadn't openly reacted to the reveal, raised a hand. "Excuse me, but given that there will be ten groups of students, but there are only nine teachers here right now, does that mean that the tenth is-?"
"Oh yes indeed, Miss Yaoyorozu." Nezu answered, interrupting her in his own excitement. For two groups, one of their opponents will be…"
At that moment, likely the result of Nezu's planning to get the timing right, All Might's trademark laugh sounded out. Izuku looked up as the man finally entered into the range of 'All Sight,' tracking him until he landed with a thud in front of the group of teachers.
"Now then…" All Might said, obviously trying—and succeeding, based on the reactions of some of Izuku's classmates—to come off as intimidating. He was enjoying this as well. "Shall we begin?"
The reason that the exam would be taking place over two days was so that the teachers would only have to fight once per day. With five pairs of teachers to ten pairs of students, the teachers were going to end up having to fight twice. And with the handicaps they were fighting with, it would be better for the quality of their second fight if they were able to recuperate beforehand.
To add to the fun—mostly Nezu's, Izuku imagined, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't finding this all just a bit exciting as well—only the matchups for the first day had been announced. Both the student pairs and the teachers that they would be fighting against for the second day had been deliberately withheld so that they were all caught just as off guard as the ones fighting today.
The groups that would be fighting today were Todoroki and Kaminari versus Eraser and All Might, Ojiro and Sero versus Ectoplasm and Nezu, Iida and Mineta versus Cementoss and Power Loader, Kirishima and Satou versus Thirteen and Present Mic, and Ochako and Tsuyu versus Midnight and Snipe.
All of the students who would be fighting today had already been led to nearby waiting busses along with the teacher pair they would be going against. And all the remaining students had been led to the observation area within the tent to watch.
Along with the handicap weights that all of the teachers would be wearing, Nezu had explained that in order for the students to pass, both students in a group had to, within thirty minutes, either escape whatever training site they were in, fully incapacitate a teacher, or incapacitate them with the capture tape they had been provided and keep them captured for five minutes—or for the remaining duration of the exam, if less than five minutes remained—preventing the other teacher from rescuing them.
Nezu was the only exception to the handicap, as all four weights that a single teacher would be wearing weighed more in total than he did. That and he wasn't planning on actually physically fighting anyone. He had informed them all, with a smile that had a few of Izuku's classmates taking involuntary steps backwards, that he would gladly surrender to anyone that could survive long enough to find him.
Nezu's—successful—attempts at scaring his classmates aside, Izuku was interested in the matchups.
Todoroki was one of the powerhouses of their class. It made sense that he'd be matched against the powerhouse teacher All Might, and Eraser, who could take Todoroki's power out of the equation. And Kaminari, who similarly relied greatly on his quirk, would have to think of some other way to fight. However, with All Might's situation being what it was, and with Eraser being aware of that, the two teachers' ability to fight together was all but nonexistent. They wouldn't be able to act together without risking All Might's quirk being deactivated, which he wouldn't risk at all. So if Todoroki and Kaminari were smart, they would do their best to keep the fight on Eraser, because with the limits of Eraser's quirk and the power that both of their quirks held, provided they could actually use them, meant that he was their best shot. No amount of effort on their part was likely to have much effect on All Might.
Ojiro was a fighter who would have to face against an endless group of enemies, and Sero's specialty with his quirk was in restraining enemies, which wouldn't be very effective when most of his enemies could be recalled in an instant only to reappear just as quickly, unrestrained. The two of them would have to find a way around that while dealing with whatever Nezu would throw at them, which depending on how much he had done to prepare the training site, could be quite a bit. Anything from traps spread through the area to making use of the entrance exam robots that had been discounted. Between Nezu's mind and the resources at Yueii's disposal, he had the potential to present more of a threat than any of the teachers except for All Might.
Iida would have to be careful about using his quirk, not just because of his two opponents, but also because of his ally. Both teachers could make the entire area unstable and almost impossible to safely traverse, while any usage of Mineta's quirk could potentially create a trap just waiting to catch Iida.
Kirishima would be facing against two enemies that could attack without actually making physical contact with him, rendering his quirk nearly useless. And both he and Satou would find it difficult to get within melee range of either teacher. Though, if Kirishima's hardening also transformed his eardrums, and to the extent that it reduced his sense of hearing, and if they both realized that, as powerful as Thirteen's quirk was, she wouldn't actually use it directly on either of them, then they could win with relative ease.
And finally, Ochako would have to find a way around both Midnight and Snipe keeping her at a distance and preventing her from using her quirk on either of them, which would most likely count as fully incapacitating them. And likewise, Tsuyu would have difficulty reaching either, though she did have a slight advantage in that her tongue might be long enough to reach Midnight through her quirk, though that would simply lead to Somnambulist being ingested after being stuck to her tongue rather than inhaled, which Izuku imagined would have the same end result.
All five groups could quite easily fail their exam, but Izuku could also see ways for them all to win. It would be up to them to find a solution themselves.
As the Izuku and the rest of the spectators all settled in to wait for the fights to start, he realized that he already had a decent idea of who he would be fighting. Because really, there weren't a lot of options, not if their goal was to present a challenge.
He couldn't say with any sort of certainty which of the remaining students he would be paired with, but he was fairly sure that he would be matched up against All Might and Nezu.
All Might was an obvious choice. In terms of the raw power that Izuku had displayed thus far, All Might was the only choice to counter it. Eraser was a contender as well of course. His quirk wouldn't have much affect on Izuku now that he had a good number of mutative strength quirks that couldn't be erased, but it wasn't as if he knew that. But even if his strength could be erased, Eraser would have to hope that he could finish a fight with Izuku quick enough for that to matter, because with his speed, he could retaliate in the time it would take Eraser to blink.
As far as who All Might could be paired with, that was a bit harder to figure, but not by much.
There weren't many teachers whose quirks would have any impact in a fight with Izuku. The strength that Izuku could throw around, and the resulting blasts of air that he'd showcased before meant that Cementoss and Midnight were discounted. He'd already shown that he could fight against groups with minimal effort, and more combatants couldn't easily close the gap created by raw physical ability, so not Ectoplasm. Izuku's pain tolerance, which was likely much greater than the teachers, combined with his healing ability, meant that he could simply endure and then later heal from any damage that Snipe or Present Mic could dish out. He could fly, which meant that Power Loader wouldn't be of any use. Eraser was discounted, if not for the reasons that All Might was Izuku's greatest counter then because of the fact that his quirk would work to counter All Might's. And Nezu would know that Izuku was smart enough to see Thirteen's obvious weakness.
Which left only the rodent himself. Depending on what resources he would make use of for this exam, he was the most likely choice to pair with All Might.
And after all, what better matchup for Izuku was there than the hero who could match his strength and the hero who could match his intelligence?
Izuku smiled at the thought of being able to fight the two of them, because there was the chance that it might be an actual fight.
Most fights, simply by nature of the abilities at his disposal, had a tendency to be boring. He could, of course, make a fight more fun by limiting himself, or by focusing on an effect of the fight such as causing fear in his opponents rather than the fight itself, both of which he did nearly every night as Oni, but neither of those things really compared to the exhilaration of a real fight.
In order for a fight to be truly fun, there needed to be some sort of risk of failure. That's why fighting the Noumu in the USJ had been so fun, even if he'd been experiencing a great deal of anger at the time due to actions of the villains. It was because the Noumu's abilities matched up so evenly to his. Had he gotten careless, or had he failed to take its quirks when he did, he very easily could've been beaten, and yet, anger aside, that fight had been fun. He wasn't having fun in spite of the danger, he was having fun because of the danger, because his life was on the line and because he needed to give everything he could afford to in order to win.
Now, granted, had Izuku been giving everything from the beginning, had he been fighting as Oni and had he aimed for taking the Noumu's quirks as quickly as he could, the fight likely would've ended sooner and much easier, but that wasn't the point. The point was that, due to the circumstances, that fight had been a true, enjoyable fight.
And now, even if he'd acquired enough quirks to make his physical capabilities comparable to, if not greater than All Might, and even if there was a chance that he was smarter than Nezu, the two of them working together had the possibility to present a greater challenge than anything else in this situation might. The stakes weren't nearly as high, and he felt that the odds were still in his favor when it came down to it, but he still felt some excitement at the mere possibility of a challenge.
Through his growing excitement, Izuku noticed activity on the screens before him. The five fights had begun, and the participants of each were beginning to move. He gave his head a small shake, forcing his smile back as he focused on them.
He still had to wait a day anyway. It wouldn't do to get overexcited.
The fights all proved to be at least somewhat interesting to watch, with some reaching conclusions that met his expectations and others that didn't. Three of the matchups ended with the student teams winning, with the other two obviously ending in failure.
As per his expectations, Ochako and Tsuyu found a way around Midnight and Snipe. Their initial plan was to ambush the two teachers at the exit point, with Ochako sending debris floating over their heads and dropping it down on them. Thankfully, the exam took place within one of the mock cities, so Ochako had plenty of objects to use her quirk on. The plan failed almost immediately though, when Snipe caught sight of them before the first piece could even reach its destination. That led to a chase between the two groups, with the two teachers chasing Ochako and Tsuyu through the streets. Midnight forewent her usual strategy of moving slowly to allow her quirk to build up into a larger cloud around her in favor of a more direct approach of using her whip to stay on the attack. Meanwhile, anytime Snipe had an angle, he would rain down a constant hail of bullets.
Izuku could tell immediately that Snipe's handicap must've been that he was required to miss a certain number of shots between every hit, because there was no way he would miss as many as he was in a real fight. He could tell that the hero wasn't using real bullets though, as there were hits. Most likely rubber bullets, which Izuku could attest, from personal experience, didn't hurt nearly as much as actually being shot, though the two students were most likely already covered in bruises from just the first few minutes of the fight.
It took a few minutes of this, of the two of them running between buildings and attempting to avoid both Midnight's quirk and a near constant rain of bullet fire from Snipe, for them to come up with a plan to shift things into their favor.
The first thing they did was stop running abruptly, catching the closely pursuing Midnight off guard. Tsuyu immediately turned to engage her while Ochako used her quirk on everything close to her, raising up a field of debris. Tsuyu could only manage to force Midnight back rather than subdue her since Snipe was backing her up and a cloud was beginning to build up around her, but that was all she needed to do, because Ochako's debris field was enough to change the dynamic of the fight. It blocked Snipe's sightline, meaning that he couldn't attack without shifting locations first, and forced Midnight back from her aggressive chase, making her switch to her usual tactic of a slow pursuit while covering the area in her quirk.
This started a much slower chase between the two groups. The debris around them prevented Snipe from attacking, forcing him to waste time circling around to a more favorable angle, taking him out of the fight for short periods of time. Meanwhile, Ochako and Tsuyu were forced to continuously move away from Midnight to avoid the cloud of smoke, with Ochako making use of a number of grappling hooks that she had recently requested be added to her costume to keep much of the field of debris moving with her.
She attempted to slow Midnight's approach even further by sending objects floating above and dropping them back down at the right moment. It didn't work in catching Midnight off guard, but it did require her to proceed with more caution, watching the sky to predict where objects would fall.
The ability to pick out a single object her quirk was affecting and return weight to only that one was something that Ochako had learned relatively recently. Izuku had brought the idea up to her one night during dinner, and in her excitement she had immediately set about trying to accomplish that. She'd been successful after a few days of trying of course, she was too skilled to allow for anything less. She could, through focus, pick out individual objects she was using her quirk on, and return the weight of only those objects. The process took a great deal of focus, and much more effort than the usual wide-spread deactivation, but it increased the potential of her quirk considerably.
Though, while Ochako's idea of trying to slow Midnight down was working, it would most likely lead to her being exhausted before long. Izuku could already see the beginning signs of nausea beginning to appear in her expression.
Thankfully, with Snipe and Midnight occupied as they were with Ochako's quirk, that opened up the perfect opportunity for Tsuyu to act.
Snipe had spent the majority of the fight a good distance away from the other three participants. His usual method of fighting was to maintain distance from his opponents and pepper them with gunfire until they were incapacitated. This wasn't the best tactic for the exam, with how much the urban environment limited his vision and being unable to do any real damage to his opponents, but he couldn't afford to stay close to the fight, especially once Midnight switched to her own usual tactic. So, with Ochako's debris shield blocking off his line of sight, he was forced to circle around buildings in an attempt to attack, only to be forced to move again after a few shots. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as time was on his side and as the students couldn't get close enough to Midnight to capture her while he wasn't looking. However, he'd made a mistake in his movements.
Had Snipe been smart about it, he would've moved to a spot where he had a shot, and waited for either of the students to make a move to attack before attacking himself, instead of simply attacking the moment he had line of sight. So, the two students knew the moment he'd gotten into position by the hail of bullets that would come for them.
And even worse than that, Snipe made no attempt to randomize his movements, or to even keep circling around in the same direction. His initial position had been following directly behind Midnight at distance, firing from behind her whenever he could. As soon as Ochako had her shield, he circled clockwise around them for a better position, and then as soon as she shifted her shield, he went right back to where he was initially. And he repeated that pattern every time he needed to move, to the point that Ochako and Tsuyu knew where he would be moving to the moment his attacks halted.
Now, this very well could've been purposeful on his part, an attempt to make the exam just a bit easier on the students. But whether or not it was, it led to them winning.
As soon as they noticed the pattern, rather than moving the shield preemptively to block the bullets before they could even be fired, Ochako and Tsuyu came up with a plan. During one break in Snipe's attack, Ochako sent up more debris into the air than before, while also grabbing more to pull along with her, obstructing Midnight's view of them as much as possible. Then, the moment Snipe attacked again, and was forced to move again, Ochako dropped everything she had sent above Midnight, causing a bigger distraction and giving Tsuyu an opening to jump away and latch onto nearby building without Midnight seeing.
Moving as quickly as she could, Tsuyu moved along the sides of buildings to where Snipe would show up. She didn't attack him as soon as he showed up though. From the first trap they had tried to lay, she knew that he would be able to see her before she could get to him. So she waited until Ochako moved her shield again, and he went to move back to his other position. Then, as soon as his back was turned and his focus was down, she dropped down from her spot halfway up the building and had her tongue around him, holding his arms to his torso, before he could react.
She quickly wrapped her capture tape around him, and then from that point it was simply a matter of carrying him further from where Ochako and Midnight were, so that time would run out before Midnight could have any chance of rescuing him.
The fight was quick to resolve after that. The moment that it was announced that Snipe had been captured, Ochako dropped everything she'd been carrying with her and used her quirk on herself, jumping out of Midnight's reach and using one of her grappling hooks, despite having barely trained to use them in such a way, to grab the side of a building to prevent herself from floating too far away. Midnight took the opportunity to attempt to get to Snipe, but the exam ended before she could even get close, resulting in Ochako and Tsuyu's victory.
The other exams, despite being somewhat interesting, were nowhere near as entertaining.
Unsurprisingly, Todoroki and Kaminari didn't manage to succeed against Eraser and All Might. They had come close for a few moments, actually managing to incapacitate Eraser—though even that was the result of a chance mis-timed blink allowing Todoroki to freeze him long enough to wrap him in capture tape—but All Might had shown up in the next moment to free him, before returning to the exit point a second later. The whole fight started over again from there, and that time, Eraser didn't make the same mistake, effortlessly incapacitating both of them.
Also unsurprisingly, Ojiro and Sero lost against Ectoplasm and Nezu. The nearly endless onslaught of clones, which was supplemented by an even more endless onslaught of robots—Nezu evidently was making use of the entrance exam robots that everyone originally thought they would be fighting—proved to be too much for them. They certainly put up a good fight, and had they acted quicker, there were opportunities where they could've gone after the real Ectoplasm, but in the end they lost, in the second longest exam after Ochako and Tsuyu's.
Kirishima and Satou managed to win against Present Mic and Thirteen. Evidently, Kirishima's hardening did indeed work to reduce the effectiveness of Present Mic's attacks. Either that or he was good at simply enduring the pain. The two teachers had separated so they could both use their quirks without putting the other at risk. Kirishima and Satou were apparently smart enough to realize that they simply had to get close to Thirteen and the fight would be over, as Satou did exactly that, incapacitating her with capture tape, while Kirishima did his best to keep Present Mic from getting to her. His ears were bleeding by the end, but he managed to succeed, earning them a win.
Finally, just a little bit surprisingly, Iida and Mineta won against Power Loader and Cementoss. Taking place in an urban environment, Cementoss had completely dominated and controlled the fight, leaving the two students nothing to do except attempt to run, with Iida carrying the much slower Mineta. Their situation was made even worse by Power Loader constantly making the ground unstable around them. More than once, they were nearly caught in a pitfall.
It wasn't until, completely by chance, Mineta happened to attack and hit Power Loader with his quirk while the hero was briefly exposed after creating one such pitfall, that they were presented with a chance to actually win. Taking advantage of Power Loader being stuck for a moment, acting as quick as they could, Iida brought Mineta closer so he could cover the hero with his quirk as much as Cementoss would allow, before running again.
Thankfully for them, since Power Loader was incapacitated with Mineta's quirk instead of the capture tape, and was therefore stuck to the group in a way that neither he nor Cementoss could resolve, they managed to win.
With four students failing, and six passing, the first day of the practical exams had concluded. Once all the teachers and students had made it back to the observation tent, and had received and medical attention they needed from an only slightly irritated Recovery Girl, they were all dismissed.
With everyone changed back into their uniforms and heading out of the building, Izuku and Ochako invited Tsuyu over for dinner, to celebrate her and Ochako passing. She declined, saying that her parents had already made plans to celebrate. Izuku and Ochako didn't falter though, and simply made plans to invite her over the next day, once Izuku had passed his own exam.
Tsuyu already having plans did nothing to stop them though. They both still returned to the apartment in high spirits, and along with Rei, they celebrated Ochako's success over a special meal that Izuku put more effort into than usual.
And when night came, Oni went about his vigilantism with a bit more enthusiasm than usual, his excitement for what the next day would bring bleeding over into the excitement he sought out at night. He wasn't sure who the Hosu equivalent of Tsukauchi was, but he left a considerable mess for them by the time he was finished. Their prisons would be receiving quite the influx of criminals. He also ended up taking two new quirks to add to his ever–growing collection.
When morning came again, Izuku was ready to get to Yueii to get things started.
Just as they had the day before, Izuku and his classmates changed into their hero costumes as soon as the day started, and made for the training field. And just as they were the day before, the teachers were all waiting for them. The only difference, aside from a bit less enthusiasm from his class, especially from those who had failed their exams the day before, was that All Might simply emerged from the observation tent as they approached, instead of making his entrance by falling out of the sky.
"Greetings once again, students!" Nezu called out from his spot on Aizawa's shoulder. "Now that half of you have made it through your exams, it's time to see how the rest of you fare! No surprises this time, unfortunately, so today we'll just get straight to announcing the groups."
Izuku doubted the 'no surprises' part of that. Nezu saying that he had no surprises planned was like Oni saying that he wasn't planning on sending anyone to the hospital on a given night. It was certainly possible, but the alternative was much more likely. Whatever the case, Izuku chose to not focus on that. The teachers that he would be fighting was much more interesting anyway.
"Shouji and Jirou will be facing off against Midnight and Snipe." Nezu started. "Yaoyorozu and Ashido will fight Cementoss and Aizawa. Kouda and Hagakure against Present Mic and Thirteen. Aoyama and Tokoyami against Power Loader and Ectoplasm."
"And finally," he said, looking at Izuku, who was already smirking as his theory was proven to be correct, "Etsumi and Bakugou will be facing off against All Might and myself."
"Oof." Izuku heard one of his classmates say. "All Might and Principal Nezu. Good luck you two."
Izuku didn't react. His smile only grew as he felt the anticipation that he usually experienced before a fun fight make itself known.
"Oh, nope. Never mind. We've already lost him." Someone else said.
"Now then!" Nezu continued. "Let's not delay in getting these exams started! Best of luck to all of you!"
Izuku's fists clenched, and he looked over at Bakugou who, even through his usual apathetic expression, seemed to be just a bit apprehensive about their matchup.
"Come on Bakugou." Izuku said, moving towards him, and towards the busses that sat past him. "Let's have some fun."
"So, is this the part where we fear for our lives?" Kirishima asked as the remainder of the class gathered in front of the screens that would be displaying the fights. "Because Etsumi looked waay too excited that he's going to be fighting both Nezu and All Might. The way he was smiling was actually kind of scary."
Ochako had a smile of her own as she watched Izuku and Bakugou moving towards their training site. "Think of it from his point of view." She said, attracting the attention of her classmates. "You all know how strong he is, and all of you have fought him before. Do you think any of the other teachers would stand a chance? He's just excited that he might actually have a challenge."
Kirishima scratched the side of his head. "That's… a good point, actually. I don't know if any of the other teachers would be able to beat him. Maybe Snipe if he were allowed to use real bullets? Though at this point I wouldn't even be surprised if Etsumi turned out to be bulletproof."
Ochako's smile took on a more amused edge at Kirishima's words. She knew that Izuku could become bulletproof if he wanted to. She also knew that none of the teachers would stand a chance against him. Granted, part of that was simply the faith she had in him, but last night, over dinner, Izuku had explained in detail how easily he could counter all of the teachers.
"Actually, are we even sure that All Might and Principal Nezu will be enough to beat him?" Mineta chimed in. "Etsumi's crazy–strong, and I don't know if we've ever really seen him go all–out."
"C'mon man, this is All Might." Kaminari countered. "The strongest man in the world, with the smartest person in the world backing him up."
Conversations broke out amongst several of the students as they added their own two cents to the discussion, but after a few moments, Todoroki, of all people, spoke up, silencing them all.
"But are we certain that Etsumi is neither of those things? It's possible that he is both the strongest and the smartest person in the world."
The room went completely silent at that, and a second later they all turned to look at the screen showing Izuku and Bakugou as the announcement to begin sounded out.
"I don't suppose you have a plan for how we're going to do this?" Bakugou asked as he and Izuku made their way towards the center of the mock city. "We ought to have something figured out before the fight starts."
"The fight has already begun." Izuku replied. "It started the moment we stepped through the gate."
Izuku was probably letting himself get a bit too excited for the fight, but whether or not that was the case, or if this was going to be as much fun as he'd been expecting it to be, he'd allowed his anticipation to grow to the point that he was already hypersensitive to his surroundings. Though, granted, that wasn't much of a step up from how he usually was. With 'All Sight,' and with how his intelligence quirks forced him to operate in such a way that nearly every single bit of sensory input was taken in and analyzed in some way in the back of his mind, he was already almost constantly aware of his surroundings, but with his body subconsciously preparing for a fight, everything non-essential was falling away to make room for only what was necessary for the fight. Things like his sense of smell and touch, even his hearing to an extent. They all fell to the wayside as he focused on just his two senses of vision.
And with those senses—mostly 'All Sight'—he saw what lay around him and Bakugou, waiting for the signal to begin.
The ground floors of all the buildings within the mock city were completely filled with robots. And below them, there were several areas underground that looked like massive elevators, holding even more robots.
For the most part, the robots looked quite similar to those that were present at the entrance exam—he recognized the designs of each of the three tiers present amongst them, the single–wheeled–two–armed one–pointer, the four–legged two–pointer, and the three–pointer with tank treads, two arms, and guns on its back. Looking closer, though, he could see things that set them apart from their predecessors.
First and foremost, all of the metal looked significantly stronger. The entrance exam robots had felt almost hollow when he'd torn into them, but these ones looked exceptionally more solid, the metal considerably thicker. In places, they resembled the armored doors he so regularly encountered when terrorizing The Triad.
Beyond that, each and every one was filled to the brim with tools and weapons that had not been present in the entrance exam robots. He could make out what seemed to be gun barrels in each and every one, not just the ones that resembled three–pointers, and not even in obvious spots like the massive guns on their backs, but hidden in innocuous places like hands and heads and even placed to fire between plates of armor on the torso. Those guns seemed to hold everything from some kind of liquid to rolls of cables to what he figured were rubber bullets—since he doubted that Nezu would make use of actual ammunition—though he wouldn't be surprised if there was something off about them.
These were robots built to put up a fight. Not like the papier mâché versions he'd fought before.
They looked ever so fun.
"What do you mean?" Bakugou asked.
Izuku hummed to himself, considering his answer.
"Say, Nezu." He asked aloud after a moment. "The spectators won't be hearing anything will they? They're limited to only watching?"
Immediately the rodent's voice sounded out from a speaker somewhere off to their right. "Of course, Etsumi. You're free to discuss whatever you wish."
Izuku could hear the smile in his voice. He was enjoying this. But, nonetheless, Izuku was glad that Nezu had understood what he'd been asking. He and Bakugou were free to mention One For All in their planning, since everyone involved in the fight knew of its existence.
"Right." Izuku said. "The two of us are both capable of exerting a tremendous amount of power and relying almost solely on hand–to–hand combat. I expect that Nezu intends to make use of the robots we saw him use yesterday to limit that as much as possible. Expect them to have methods of limiting our movements and debilitating our senses. For you specifically, I would imagine he has a way to take your explosions out of the equation. Keep an eye out for any liquids they might spray, as they'll probably be meant to mix with your sweat and nullify its explosive properties."
"Oho! Right you are on all accounts, Etsumi!" Nezu's voice sounded out from a different direction. "As impressive as always! Now all that remains to be seen is whether or not you can do anything about it!"
At his side, Bakugou brought his hands together, cracking his knuckles. In the blink of an eye, he was wreathed in orange lightning.
Izuku mirrored him, bringing his own hands together. At the same time, he pulled on his strength quirks, all of them. With their activation, his muscles bulged beneath his skin, and the smell of ozone filled the air. He relished the warmth that surged through his limbs, and the sheer power that followed it.
"So manly…" Kirishima whispered, causing Ochako to let out a quiet laugh as she continued to watch.
"You do have a plan, right?" Bakugou asked.
"Oh, Nezu and I could sit around trying to out–plan each other all day long without actually getting anywhere which is why we won't be making use of one. For this we will simply make use of something that he cannot plan around: brute force."
Noticing that Bakugou was about to speak, Izuku continued. "If that's not enough for you, then just remember this: do not focus too much on the robots. Remember that they are not our opponent, All Might and Nezu are. Keep One For All active at all times, don't let yourself get swarmed, keep yourself moving, and try your best to capture one of the two, or escape to the exit if you can't."
"And what about you?"
"Basically the same rules, with one tiny difference."
"And what's that?"
"I intend to have fun with this, so I'll be ignoring most of them."
Before Bakugou could say anything else, a buzzer sounded throughout the mock city, announcing the start of the exam.
Izuku smirked as he turned towards where his opponent was immediately making a move. He raised a hand towards Bakugou as he watched All Might raise a fist on the other side of the city. With a flick of his wrist against Bakugou's shoulder, Izuku sent him flying off to the side.
"Go that way." He said. "All Might is mine."
He watched as All Might threw a punch, and the following surge of air tore its way across the city. It didn't knock any buildings down, but he saw almost every piece of glass between them shatter
A smile stretched across Izuku's face as focused entirely on the incoming fight right in front of him, everything else falling away. Raising his hands, he brought them together with as much force as he could just as the surge reached him, activating 'Air Cannon' at the last second for an extra push. The shockwave he produced canceled out All Might's, leaving nothing but a massive cloud of dust to fill the area.
Before the dust could even begin to settle, Izuku's tail coiled and tensed beneath him, as he watched, waiting for All Might to make his next move.
The instant that All Might made to start moving towards him, Izuku exploded forwards, the ground beneath him pulverized with the force. All Might noticed his approach at the last second, raising his hands to intercept. They impacted with enough force to shake the ground around them, hands locking as they pushed against each other.
"Coming to fight me directly, hero?" All Might asked, clearly playing a 'villainous' persona. "Are you sure that's the best move for you and your teammate? With your speed you probably could've made it close to the exit before I could catch you."
"Oh please." Izuku responded, bearing down on him and forcing him back a step. "Why would I do something like that? There's no need to rush things, we've got half an hour to play. Besides, if I was that concerned with winning, I'd go find Nezu in his little underground bunker."
Nezu was deep underground at the moment, sitting in a room at the very edge of 'All Sight's range, almost directly below Izuku. He hoped that him knowing where the rodent was, despite having no immediately obvious way to know, would make the unshakable Nezu falter just the slightest bit. Not for any advantage of course, merely to add to his own enjoyment.
He couldn't tell whether or not it worked, but it at least got some response out of Nezu. A response in the form of a swarm of robots bursting forth from the nearest buildings.
Izuku laughed as he forced All Might's arms to the side, then thrusting his own arms forwards an instant later, striking him in the chest and sending him flying into a building, just in time to address the robots that now surrounded him.
The swarm charged at him from all sides, many of them revealing the weapons that Izuku had seen before and leveling them at him. He let them come. He wanted Nezu to throw everything at him, only to show that it was pointless. It was too bad that he wouldn't be able to see Nezu's face when it happened.
All at once, the swarm attacked. Metal cables shot forth, wrapping around him and pinning his arms and wings to his body, liquid sprayed across his face, blinding him, stinging his eyes, and aggravating his lungs in a way that felt suspiciously similar to pepper spray, and rubber bullets and metal pellets pelted him from all sides.
Izuku flexed his arms, testing his restraints. If it were possible, his smile stretched even further when the metal groaned and complained with only a slight bit of effort.
"I do hope you have something more impressive in your arsenal than steel cables." He taunted. "Otherwise, you won't be able to get very fa-"
His words cut off as electricity surged through the cables, causing his muscles to seize. He could feel it filling up his newest stockpiler, the new power thrumming through his flesh in a different way than the original shock.
"Not to worry!" Nezu's cheerful voice sounded out. "I think you'll find that I have plenty of tools available to me!"
Now this was starting to get fun. If Nezu was willing to go so far as to pepper spray and shock one of his students, then his ruthlessness combined with All Might's power might actually present a challenge. The electricity did hurt just a bit, as it was one of the few things he didn't currently possess a quirk to automatically guard against—maybe that was something he ought to look into at some point in the near future? He did already have such a quirk for temperature-based harm—but it wasn't as if pain was something to get in the way of his fun.
With a quick pull on 'Metallum', metal flashed across Izuku's body, just under the skin. Immediately, the pain and the seizing lessened, though the electricity arcing across his skin still hurt. Just as he was deciding what to do next in order to mess with Nezu, he noticed All Might finally returning to the fight, his voice sounding out through the mock city.
"Carolina…"
"Oho. Interesting choice. Let's hope you're putting your back into this one."
"Smash!"
The blow struck Izuku's chest, and he felt the impact travel through his body, even with 'Shock Absorption' doing its job. It sent him flying backwards—not as far as he had launched All Might due to much of the force being cancelled out, but even that much was impressive in its own right—pulling the robots—who had not ceased their shocking—that had him restrained along with him.
He landed on his back, the impact sending the slightest twinge of pain through his restrained wings.
Izuku coughed, smiling up at the sky. "Astounding. I was hoping that this would end up being fun, and it seems that I won't be disappointed."
He lifted his head to look at All Might and the swarm of robots, though his eyes were still squeezed shut. "I actually felt that."
Lifting himself up off the ground, he grinned at the man. "Let's see what else you've got in store."
"Holy shit!" Kaminari exclaimed. "Did he just completely tank an attack from All Might!?"
"See? I told you." Mineta responded. "Crazy strong."
Izuku flexed, snapping the cables that held his arms down. Reaching up, he grabbed at the stray cable that had wrapped around his neck, trying and failing to restrict his breathing, and tore it loose. With it in hand, he yanked the robot on the other end towards him, throwing a punch as soon as it came within range, tearing straight through the reinforced metal and disabling it.
As the remains fell to the ground, Izuku raised his hands to scrub at his eyes. They were practically swollen shut at this point, and his face and throat felt like they were on fire, which he had personal experience with. More interesting than the pain itself, was the fact that his healing quirks had not addressed it. They were probably only able to handle actual physical injuries, and this was just a case of something irritating his flesh, not actually injuring him. It was like the difference between being injured and being poisoned. Though even if they did work on something like this, it wouldn't accomplish anything because whatever had been sprayed in his face was still there. That part of the issue was easily addressed though, just not right this moment. He would use 'Shower in a Can' as soon as he had a chance to do so without it being obvious.
Despite that, Izuku focused on his original healing quirk. It was nowhere near as quick as his more recent additions, but it was considerably more thorough. It could heal scar tissue, and over the years he'd found that it even worked in sync with some of his body's natural functions, such as his immune system and his body's ability to filter out toxins. Izuku had gotten food poisoning, and been actually poisoned, a number of times in the past, and his healing quirk kept him alive when he likely should've died. It might not be effective now, but it was much more likely to work than his newer quirks.
Taking advantage of his apparent distraction, two robots charged at him, one from either side, raising metal fists to swing at him. He let them. Their attacks landed on the sides of his head, but unlike All Might's hit, they couldn't do anything against his shock absorption. His hands darted out, latching onto their heads, his fingers gouging into the metal. Before they could do anything, he brought their heads together, pancaking them. He threw the disabled robots into the swarm, taking out a few more.
"I do hope that you weren't under the incorrect assumption that I need my eyes to fight you." Izuku said, pulling the last of the stray cables off of his body. "Honestly, I'd be tempted to claw my own eyes out just to prove a point if it weren't for the students watching."
He rolled his shoulders, and rolled his neck to crack it, before grinning at All Might. "Well then. I suppose that could be considered a warmup."
An almost lazy swing of his arm, with 'Air Cannon' added on for good measure, sent most of the robots to his right flying backwards into the building they emerged from.
"Sorry Nezu, but you might want to save your robots for Bakugou. I don't think they'll be of much help to you here. Not with this next bit at least."
Without warning, Izuku dashed towards All Might, throwing a punch that the man just barely intercepted at the last second with a punch of his own, the impact sending a shockwave exploding through the area, throwing the rest of the robots back. He felt the force of the impact surging through his arm, threatening to overwhelm his shock absorption, and he loved it. A second punch quickly followed, once again intercepted at the last second.
Izuku bore down on All Might, leaning in closer as they struggled against each other.
"Let's up the ante a bit, shall we?"
He broke apart the struggle, backing away for a moment, before attacking again. His hands blurred as he threw punch after punch, each and every one being countered by All Might. Every thrown fist collided with another with an explosive shockwave in a near-exact match of Izuku's fight with the Noumu in the USJ. The mock city rumbled around them in response to the power being displayed. Each and every hit carried so much force behind it that Izuku could actually feel his shock absorption being overwhelmed bit by bit, to the point that if his bones and muscles weren't currently solid titanium, he'd be forced to rely on his healing quirks to let him keep up. Once again, he found himself amazed by the fact that so much power, and the ability to withstand it all, came from just a single quirk. Granted, it was a quirk that spanned generations, but a single quirk nonetheless.
After several long seconds and several hundred thrown punches, Izuku decided to start increasing the tempo. At the moment, he was fighting at close to the level of the Noumu, and All Might seemed to be keeping up just fine, but he could push things further, and with how rarely he had the opportunity to come anywhere close to exerting himself, he intended to.
With that decision, every new hit came just a touch faster and with even more force behind it. He pushed it further and further, until the cumulative power of sixteen strength quirks and seventeen speed quirks was going head–to–head with the single most powerful quirk in the world.
Izuku could now see stress fractures forming throughout the metal of his arms, being healed as quickly as they appeared, and with each hit, the shockwaves surging through the mock city grew stronger, until cracks began to form along the bases of the buildings closest to them.
He could also see where All Might was beginning to struggle to keep up with him. Slowly, ever so slowly, All Might was being forced back.
Deciding to change things up, Izuku abruptly pulled back for a fraction of a second, disrupting what had been a constant, yet gradually increasing tempo, and throwing All Might off. The man didn't stumble—he was the number one hero, and one of the strongest people on the planet, he did not stumble from such a simple trick—but he was thrown off-balance for just long enough for Izuku to take advantage of.
Planting a punch in the center of the man's chest Izuku sent him flying backwards once again, into the same building, which this time collapsed on top of him.
Taking a moment while the swarm of robots—which had been waiting a close as they could manage to—surged towards him once more, Izuku looked down at his hands, which were trembling slightly. The resultant forces of his attacks meeting All Might's still sung through his flesh.
He clenched his fists, relishing the slight soreness in his forearms, even as it rapidly vanished as his shock absorption and healing caught back up.
"Truly astounding." He whispered, before rushing forwards to meet the robots, not giving them the chance to attack again.
They didn't stand a chance against him. They might be considerably stronger and more durable than their counterparts in the entrance exams—and had these been the robots he'd fought, he might've found himself facing something of a challenge—but so was he. He tore through them just the same; their thickened and reinforced metal bodies still collapsed and sheared and tore apart in the face of his assault. He didn't even give them the satisfaction of acting like their weapons had any effect on him. Every swing of his arms snapped their metal cables, and those that still managed to wrap around some part of him simply got dragged behind him, their constant shocking doing nothing more than providing a slight annoyance. Hundreds, if not thousands, of rubber bullets and metal pellets pelted him from all angles, not even doing enough damage to leave bruises with his shock absorption negating it all. Adhesives hit him, trying to restrict his movements, only to be ignored entirely, and all manner of attacks meant to inflict some form of damage were brushed off; enormous plumes of fire, blasts of supercooled air, explosions, heavier projectiles, even sonic attacks, which actually came the closest out of everything to causing him pain.
It was only after noticing a slight sizzling sensation on his skin—acid, which was very quickly absorbed by his stockpiler—that Izuku realized why Nezu was attacking so ruthlessly. It was because the rodent knew that Izuku could take it. He was only attacking with things that he'd seen Izuku withstand. Aside from possessing a healing factor capable of restoring lost limbs, Izuku had already fought against each of these things.
Kaminari's electricity, Todoroki's fire and ice, Bakugou's explosions, Jirou's sonic attacks, Mineta's adhesive attacks, Ashido's acid, Izuku had already shown that he could withstand it all.
"How interesting." Izuku said, not pausing in his shredding through the robots. "Making use of methods of attack that you know I can survive. You're pushing as far as you know for certain that you can."
He grinned, pulverizing a whole group with a swipe of his hand. "That alone won't be enough though. If you have something to control the severity of these attacks, I would recommend that you turn it as high as you can go. Otherwise it won't be as satisfying to brush them off."
"Ah, hold that thought though." He said, swiping away the surrounding robots with another massive shockwave, assisted by 'Air Cannon.' All Might was finally beginning to emerge from the ruins of the building that had collapsed on top of him. Izuku turned to face him.
At that same moment, a massive explosion shook the mock city, pulling away some of Izuku's attention.
He saw Bakugou, mostly unharmed aside from a collection of bruises, small cuts, and some singed hair, making his way towards him. He was bouncing between the walls of buildings to avoid the robots below, partially using his enhanced strength, and partially his explosions.
He made it to Izuku just as he was gearing up for round two against All Might, who was just beginning to make a move. Kicking off from the nearest building hard enough to leave cracks, and with a boost from his explosions, Bakugou intercepted All Might, launching a punch of his own at the man. It didn't land, nor would it have done much if it did, but it did make him halt his advance, bringing up an arm to block the attack. All Might countered an instant later, bringing his other hand up to smack Bakugou away, launching him directly at Izuku, who raised an arm to catch him.
"Spoilsport." Izuku said, setting Bakugou down. "Don't interrupt my fight, it was just about to get good again."
"Etsumi…" Bakugou huffed, out of breath. "Can you please take this seriously? There are too many of them. The whole site is completely packed with these robots."
His orange lightning had vanished. Either All Might's attack had broken his focus, and his hold on the quirk, or he was simply exhausted already and taking the opportunity for a short break.
"Rude." Izuku responded. "I am taking this seriously, but there's no reason I shouldn't be able to have a bit of fun with this as well. And besides, I did tell you not to focus too much on the robots."
A few robots surged forwards before Bakugou could respond. Izuku raised a hand towards them, with Bakugou mimicking the action beside him. Flicking his fingers at them sent a focused blast of air at them, while an enormous explosion tore through them, the heat severe enough that Izuku felt it ever so slightly through his temperature resistance quirk, and the remains of the robots hit by it were left glowing red and orange.
"Can you please just focus on passing the exam?" Bakugou asked, grabbing at the wrist of the hand that he'd just used to attack. Looking closer, Izuku could see a hairline fracture. Either he'd briefly gone beyond his limit with One For All at some point, or his boosted natural quirk had been a bit too much for his own natural resistances to it.
Izuku sighed. "Fine, I suppose I'll at least help you get to the exit before going back to my fun."
"Are you quite sure you should be discussing your plan right in front of the ene-?"
All Might's words cut off as Izuku moved without warning, planting another punch to his chest just barely too fast for him to catch and sending him flying once more, this time into the building just behind the one that had collapsed. This one collapsed as well.
Putting his hand on the shoulder of a distracted Bakugou, Izuku moved him slightly to the side, before raising a fist. Pulling on 'Air Cannon' again, he threw a punch that sent a shockwave barreling through the mock city, a stronger version of All Might's opening attack, as it had the first two buildings in its path collapsing to the ground.
"The exit's that way." He said, pointing in the direction he'd just punched. "Shall we?"
Bakugou just nodded, wincing slightly as he rolled his injured wrist, small explosions popping along his palm. In an instant, he was wreathed in orange lightning once more.
Taking the lead, Izuku dashed forwards, batting away entire groups of robots at a time with each swipe of his arm. Bakugou kept pace just behind him, taking advantage of the path that Izuku was clearing and keeping the few robots that caught up away with his explosions.
They reached the exit gate in no time, cutting through the swarm of robots to find a number of unique ones guarding it. They were bigger than the others—though nowhere near the size of the zero–pointer—and looked a bit tougher.
Izuku, having already noticed them before they were even visible to the eye—which he still couldn't use, his eyes were still swollen shut—charged them immediately, interested to see if they would put up a better fight than the rest. Blading his hand, he impaled it into the chest of the nearest one, and the one directly behind it. They did feel ever so slightly tougher than the others.
Throwing them aside, he went for the next one, pulverizing its head just as Bakugou soared past him with another huge explosion, clearing the gate. Right at that moment, Izuku saw All Might heading for him, and cleared away the rest of the surrounding robots with a blast of air as he turned to face him.
"Now then. Where were we?"
Suddenly, right then, a buzzer sounded out from around him, followed by an automated-sounding voice.
"Katsuki Bakugou and Izuku Etsumi have escaped the testing site and passed their exam!"
Izuku blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
Looking around at the ground, littered with the scraps of robots as it was, Izuku saw where the tip of his tail was sitting right in the gate.
"Huh…"
Realizing that his fun had been cut short, Izuku grimaced slightly.
"Tch. Damn."
Taking a deep breath, Izuku rolled his neck, before letting it out slowly, letting his adrenaline rush begin to fade with it.
He sighed. "Oh well. Nothing I can do about it, and the outcome would've been the same either way."
Besides, he could do a little bit to make up for it by terrorizing criminals later, so at least he had that.
Giving his head a slight shake, he turned and moved towards Bakugou, who was kneeling on the ground a short distance past the gate. He extended a hand towards him once he was close enough.
"How hurt are you? Aside from your wrist."
"Nothing too bad." Bakugou responded, still out of breath. He accepted the proffered hand, letting Izuku pull him to his feet. "My right ankle's a bit sore where I overdid that jump to get to All Might just a little bit, but other than that, nothing serious."
"Good. You've already improved considerably, given how you maintained it through the fight. Just keep it up and you'll be a match for All Might soon enough."
Speaking of, All Might approached the pair, laughing as he did, and subtly massaging his wrist, disguising the action by taking off his weights a moment later.
"An impressive showing from both of you!" He exclaimed. "I must really be getting old. I was barely able to keep up with you at all, Young Etsumi!"
"I only wish we could've gone a bit longer." Izuku said. "It was just starting to get fun."
All Might let out another boisterous laugh. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the same, just a little. I don't remember the last time I had to fight so seriously."
That was definitely a lie, and the way All Might's hand drifted up to his side gave it away. Izuku didn't say anything about it though, instead just grinning.
"You have my number. I'd be more than happy to pick up where we left off whenever you want."
"Ha! Tempting, Etsumi, very tempting. But with Yueii ending for the summer soon, I'm afraid I'll likely be spending most of my time focusing on hero work."
Izuku shrugged. "Suit yourself. You know where to find me if you change your mind."
"Now then." He continued, bringing a hand up to wipe at his face. "Let's get back so I can get this shit off of my face. Because right now it hurts to breathe."
The rest of the matchups for the day didn't seem nearly as interesting now that Izuku had gone through his own.
Aoyama and Tokoyami succeeded against Power Loader and Ectoplasm. It was mostly because of sheer luck, with Tokoyami happening to fall into a pit trap, and the resulting darkness boosting Dark Shadow just enough to overpower Power Loader when he'd come to finish him off. Kouda and Hagakure won against Present Mic and Thirteen when Kouda took advantage of Present Mic's, apparently paralyzing, fear of insects. Thirteen didn't even get a chance to try to rescue him, as the shock rendered him unconscious, which meant that he was considered fully incapacitated. Yaoyorozu and Ashido managed to win against Eraser and Cementoss, with Yaoyorozu making a number of flashbangs that blinded Eraser just long enough for them to capture him. Then, instead of trying to keep the captured Eraser away from Cementoss, they focused on keeping Cementoss away from Eraser, engaging him directly and not giving him a chance to rescue. Jirou and Shouji were the only pair to fail, losing to Midnight and Snipe. Between a constant hail of bullet fire and the spread of Midnight's quirk, there wasn't much that the students could do in response.
In the end, the class concluded their exams with only six failing, much to their disappointment as they believed that they wouldn't be able to attend the 'reward' summer camp. Thankfully for them though, once everything was over and everyone was gathered back at the observation tent, Eraser revealed that everyone would still be able to attend, though that those who failed would still have to undergo remedial classes, which only further reinforced Izuku's theory that the summer camp wasn't going to be a reward at all.
When everyone was dismissed, for the day and for the summer, until they met again for the summer camp, this time, Tsuyu traveled with Izuku and Ochako back to the apartment. The three of them, along with Rei, ended the day with a dinner to celebrate their passing the exams and the completion of the first leg of their paths to becoming heroes.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Adoption
Chapter Summary
Izuku and Rei's plan finally comes to a head.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku took a long sip from his drink, sighing as he savored the taste. He tilted his head back, basking in the heat of the sunlight and enjoying the smell of food in the air.
"It's been far too long since we've done this." He said, straightening back up after a few moments.
"Indeed it has." Yagi responded, holding his own drink. "Not that it could really be helped, with most of our time being taken up by our responsibilities to Yueii."
He took a sip from his drink. "Now that Yueii has let out for the Summer though, we'll have much more time for this."
"Maybe not for long though." Tamako commented. "Depending on how tomorrow goes."
The corner of Izuku's mouth upturned at their words. 'We shall see.'
"Ah, that reminds me." Yagi continued. "I had a question regarding your quirk, if you're comfortable discussing it here."
Izuku tilted his head, thinking. He was a bit apprehensive to discuss it out in public as they were, but they were alone. Excluding the occasional car driving down the road next to them, and the person walking along the sidewalk a few hundred feet away—who Izuku confirmed with a quick use of 'Appraisal' didn't have a quirk that would allow them to know what he and Yagi said—the only person nearby was the woman who owned the café they were currently at, who was currently inside, busying herself with tidying up the kitchen. He also didn't see any listening devices or cameras, though that wasn't necessarily a guarantee. Even though he could devote multiple peoples' worth of focus to scanning his surroundings with 'All Sight,' it wouldn't do to consider himself infallible.
"Hm. I wouldn't mind discussing it here, but first, can I see your phone for a moment?"
"Oh, uh, sure?" Yagi said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and holding it out. "What for?"
Izuku reached out to take it, pulling his own phone out at the same time. With a quick activation of 'Hotbar,' both vanished from sight.
"This is definitely just a result of my paranoia, but…"
Pulling on another quirk, Izuku rubbed his hands together, causing sparks to jump from them. After a few seconds, he separated them a few inches, and the air around him and Yagi seemed to pulse. The lights in the building they were sitting in front of flickered. He held his hands in place, a faint tingling sensation dancing through them and into his arms.
Seeing the confusion in Yagi's expression, Izuku explained.
"Low-power, continuous electromagnetic pulses." He said. "Not enough to permanently damage anything, but it will ensure that nothing within about a hundred feet will work quite right while it's going. Nothing that would be able to listen to or record us will be able to. The only reason I put our phones away is because they were so close to the source."
"I see…" Yagi said, leaning a bit closer to look at Izuku's hands, which would occasionally spark. "I take it this is one of your quirks?"
Feeling a bit more comfortable now that the already–low possibility of anyone listening had been reduced even further, Izuku smirked.
"Indeed it is. Number eighty–three. Very creatively named 'EMP.'"
"Fascinating… May I ask where, or who, you got it from?"
Izuku's smirk fell. "No you may not. I'm willing to talk about my quirk, but that is one question that I will not answer."
Yagi nodded. "Of course. I'll stick to what I originally intended to ask then."
He straightened back up. "When we fought, it felt as though the hits I landed were barely doing anything. Now, it's one thing when someone of a similar strength directly opposes it, as you did a number of times, but with my first hit for instance, you barely moved at all, when based on past experience it should've been enough to send you flying. Do you have a quirk that would've caused that?"
Izuku nodded. "I do. Granted there are a few things that could be taken into account for the fight as a whole. Like you said, I'm able to exert an amount of power that is comparable to you. But in addition to that, my weight is measured in thousands of pounds, especially during the fight, since every non–visible part of me was titanium," he looked down to his hands as he spoke, drawing Yagi's attention to where the flesh of his fingers was slowly becoming shiny and metallic, "and I have a few quirks that increase the general durability of my body. Not to mention the fact that I have three separate regeneration quirks that heal damage to my body almost instantly. But the biggest reason is that I have a quirk that I call 'Shock Absorption.' As the name would imply, it absorbs kinetic energy that is applied to my body and cancels it out to rather significant degree."
"Actually," he continued, "I believe it's one that I've already told you about, though maybe not in detail. When I first revealed my quirk to you, I told you of the quirks I had taken from the Noumu at the USJ. This 'Shock Absorption' was one of them."
"Ah, yes. I think I remember that." Yagi said, looking up from Izuku's hands. "So then the reason why it felt like I was hardly doing anything to you, is because I actually wasn't."
Izuku nodded, his hands returning to normal, though still occasionally sparking and crackling.
"Indeed. At least at first. There are limits to how much force it can absorb at once. It can handle a handful of punches from you within the span of a few seconds, but repeated hits will eventually begin to overwhelm it more and more until it has a chance to 'reset' so to speak. Though it still greatly reduced the amount of force behind your hits, and pretty much anything less than you wouldn't be able to do much of anything."
"Amazing… You could get hit by a speeding vehicle and feel nothing."
"Oh, you've no idea just how useful this quirk is." Izuku said, smirking. "I've tested it, I can drop from the top of a skyscraper and feel nothing but a slight rush of absorbed energy, buzzing through my legs."
Yagi leaned back in his chair, a slightly incredulous look on his face.
"You know, I've never considered just how useful it would be to have a quirk such as yours. So many normal quirks already hold the potential to be so very useful on their own, so, the question of how they're obtained aside, to have the ability to make use of so many is an astounding concept. Your potential is practically limitless, and not just when it comes to fighting, but with anything that would be achievable with a quirk."
A small smile found its way onto Izuku's face. Ah, there was that warm feeling in his chest that seemed to show up whenever he found someone enjoying the idea of his quirk.
"It's amazing just how varied quirks tend to be." Izuku said, smiling down at his hands. "I myself have a decent variety, from interesting mutations like an avian head, canine head, and more than one horn quirk, to one that lets me produce an extremely sweet liquid from my fingers and another that allows me to handle molten metal with my bare hands. And that doesn't even come close to the variety I've seen in my analysis work. I've seen hundreds of thousands of quirks, ranging from mundane physical enhancers to those which, even in the context of superpowers, belong in the realm of science–fiction."
"I've seen a few like that over the years." Yagi remarked. "There are so many quirks that aren't necessarily 'heroic' that seem beyond explanation."
"It's too bad that most of society's focus is on quirks involved with heroics, on those which are most useful for fighting. I mean sure, my 'Shock Absorption' is powerful and the concept is mildly interesting, and on its own would already rank among some of the more powerful hero quirks, but I also have a quirk that has the ability to change an objects color by directly altering how it absorbs and reflects light. That's infinitely more interesting than the ability to absorb kinetic energy. And again, that's only looking at ones that I have. There are so many more out there in the world."
"Take sapient quirks, for example. Sentient and sapient quirks create an entire new consciousness, and that's in addition to whatever other effects it might have. I would consider that to be more interesting than just about every hero quirk out there. Creating a whole new consciousness is far more interesting than being able to create and manipulate fire or punch something really hard, or even quirks like Ectoplasm's."
Izuku felt Tamako's pleasure and contentment at his words, practically glowing at the praise. He trailed a mental hand through the bundle of quirks in his chest, finding the one linked to them. A contented hum filled Izuku's mind at the perceived contact, bringing a smile to his face as Tamako's happiness made it through the link between them.
"Sapient quirks are those like Young Tokoyami's, correct?" Yagi asked. Then, when Izuku nodded, "I certainly agree with you on that. I haven't seen very many of them, but they've all fascinated me. I once met a well–renowned creator of hero support equipment in Spain who had a sapient quirk. It was an exact copy of them, right down to how they spoke and acted."
Izuku thought he might know who Yagi was speaking of. Not by name, but he'd had an analysis request come through just over seven years ago for a quirk that matched the description.
"I have one." Izuku remarked. "You could meet them if you'd like."
Yagi looked around, for anyone that might be nearby. "You don't mean here, do you? I know we're discussing your quirk, but it might be suspicious if someone appears-."
Yagi's words cut off before he could finish voicing his concern, and before Izuku could even ask Tamako if they wanted to introduce themself. They had jumped right over to Yagi unprompted.
Izuku watched with a smile on his face as Yagi's eyes went a bit unfocused, staring off into the distance as he was no doubt distracted by a conversation going on in his head.
After a minute, Yagi shook his head, with Tamako returning to Izuku's at the same time.
"I like him." They said. "He's nice."
'He is.' Izuku agreed.
"Incredible." Yagi remarked. "Such an interesting way of speaking, using my own voice. Thank you, Etsumi, for allowing me to meet them."
"You're welcome."
"Though, if you don't mind me asking, how do you handle having them in your head all the time? When they spoke, their voice seemed to occupy my entire mind. Surely they aren't just silent all the time?"
"Not at all." Izuku responded. "In fact, they tend to speak to me more than I speak to other people. And naturally, the answer to your question is that I have another quirk to make things easier."
He leaned a bit closer, setting his hands on the table, still held apart and sparking.
"One of my quirks, which I've named 'Parallel Mind', changes my brain in such a way that my mind is almost layered. It allows for neurons to send multiple signals simultaneously. Put a bit simpler, where most people can generally only carry on one coherent line of thought at a time, I can carry on multiple simultaneously. It's like having several minds in my head, all able to think independently. I simply have Tamako inhabit one of these layered minds, which means that we can think and speak separately from each other, and that I can separate the two of us a bit so that we aren't privy to every single thought the other has."
"That's-. That's amazing!" Yagi exclaimed, keeping his voice down. "So then, does that mean that you can multitask? If you're able to think about more than one thing at a time, does that mean you can focus on more than one thing as well?"
"You're exactly right." Izuku answered. "Most of the time I make use of that ability in conjunction with a particularly powerful sensory quirk to keep an eye on my surroundings. If I were to get my hands on a telekinesis quirk, I would be able to do far more at one time than what having just two arms allows for."
"Amazing…" Yagi said. "As I said. Infinite potential. You've only just entered the prime of your life and you're already so powerful and widely skilled. I don't know if it's due to a quirk or not, but… He has been alive for well over a century by now. Imagine the heights you could reach if you were to live that long."
Izuku smiled again. The idea of living an extended life like that hadn't crossed his mind before. He wasn't sure if it was one he wanted to dedicate much thought to, either, lest he get too excited and actively start hunting down a quirk that would allow for it.
"It is quite fun sometimes, having this quirk. It hasn't always been, but I do greatly enjoy the ability to hold other quirks and increase my own potential with them."
"Now, did you have any other questions for me? My fingers are beginning to go numb."
"Ah! No, that was it. I was just curious about that one thing."
Izuku nodded, before pulling 'EMP' back into his chest, abruptly cutting off the slight distortions in the air around him, and the flickering of the lights that they caused. He clenched his hands, working his fingers around to dispel the numbness that had started to creep into them.
With a quick activation of 'Hotbar,' his and Yagi's phones appeared back in his hands. He returned Yagi's to him. The two of them then lapsed into silence with the break in conversation. Izuku took the chance to savor the atmosphere as he sipped away at his drink.
"There was something else I wished to discuss with you." Yagi spoke up after a minute. "Though, not about your quirk."
"And what might that be?"
"I've recently received two invitations to the I-Expo, taking place at I-Island, and I plan to attend it. I was wondering if you would like to go as well."
"Ah right, that is coming up soon, isn't it?" Izuku remarked. "I'd almost forgotten."
He paused for a moment to navigate through his phone to his email inbox.
"Not to take anything away from your offer, which I do appreciate by the way," Izuku held his phone out to Yagi to show the email he had been sent, inviting him to the same event, "but I've been sent an invitation as well."
"I see. I'm guessing it's due to you being Deku?" Yagi asked.
Izuku nodded. "Yep. They send me two invitations every year. I've yet to actually attend though, partly to keep my identity a secret and partly because Rei is not fond of airplanes, and I haven't seen much reason to go without her. So I usually just pass my invitations along to Nezu, though I'm not sure if he's gone himself or not."
With I-Island essentially being the quirk science capital of the world, there were, obviously, a significant number of scientists dealing with every aspect of the subject. The primary focus, and the most widely known piece, was the research and development of support equipment for both heroes and civilians, but the artificial island housed so much more than just that. If a branch of scientific study could be applied in any way to the study of quirks, then it had a place on I-Island. Everything from geneticists studying the combination and evolution of quirks through bloodlines to whole teams formed by a host of different branch specialists dedicated to explaining how quirks functioned and how those functions could be achieved by a human body.
Izuku had been invited to attend the annual I-Expo by virtue of his analysis work alone. Part of him suspected though that the real reason was so that his identity could be revealed, as he'd heard rumors—nothing concrete of course, all from second or third–hand sources—that if his identity were publicly known, he may be offered an official place on the island to pursue his analysis in a more focused manner. He'd yet to pursue the rumors any further though, and likely wouldn't any time in the foreseeable future, because he was content right where he was, and because accepting a place there would mean that he couldn't become a hero or pursue his vigilante work. Not to mention the fact that Rei didn't like airplanes—it wasn't the height, otherwise they wouldn't be living on the top floor of their building, it was just something about the plane itself. Even she couldn't fully explain it—and he wasn't about to move anywhere if Rei wouldn't be there with him.
"Although…" Izuku continued, tilting his head. "If you'd be willing, I might have an idea. Rei most likely still won't want to go, but Ochako might. I could always give my invitations to her and Tsuyu to use, and use your second invitation myself. Or some combination therein that allows all four of us to go."
I-Island's I-Expo consisted of two parts. The first, which was the primary purpose of the event, while also the one least known by the public, was the gathering of scientific minds from across the world for what was probably the greatest instance of multi-national collaboration in history. Thousands of scientists and researchers come together to both share knowledge and conduct research free from any jurisdiction aside from I-Island's own. The second part, which was the much more well-known of the two, preempted the first. It consisted of an even more massive gathering of people. Vendors, businesses, entertainers, scientific expos—both associated with I-Island's own researchers and not—and anyone else looking to profit and who could afford a space at the Expo all gathered for the event. It was a weeklong festival leading up to the main event and served to provide a talent pool to observe, in the form of the scientific expos that weren't associated with I-Island, provide free advertising of support equipment to all of the heroes that were invited to attend, and bring entertainment to the countless scientists and their families that lived on the island. There was also the money they got from allowing the hordes of vendors and even greater hordes of tourists to gather, but it likely paled in comparison to the funding received from the numerous multinational hero support companies based on the artificial island.
The weeklong festival would conclude with a massive reception party available only to specially invited guests, giving heads of support companies and other important guests a chance to meet with the invited heroes and other guests.
From what Izuku had seen in the past, the festival portion of the I-Expo was supposed to be fairly impressive, and quite enjoyable. Ochako would probably want to go if he made the offer, and assuming she didn't bring it up herself, she would probably also want Tsuyu to go as well when he mentioned it. Going to the I-Expo would serve as a decent vacation before the supposed 'summer camp retreat' held by Yueii.
"That sounds like a great idea!" Yagi said. "And however you wish to make use of the invitations is fine by me. I was going to go regardless of your answer, so I can visit an old friend, and I hadn't planned on offering it to anyone else."
"Excellent." Izuku said with a smile, pushing past the slight happiness he felt upon hearing that Yagi had apparently only considered inviting him. "I'll still have to ask Ochako and Tsuyu if they want to go, and I can't actually guarantee my own attendance just yet, as I have something coming up that may very well occupy most, if not all of my time, but assuming everything works out it'll be the four of us going together."
Izuku could almost guarantee that Ochako and Tsuyu would want to go, so that wasn't an issue, but he and Rei had scheduled to make a trip out to the Central Musutafu Orphanage tomorrow, and assuming all went well, there would be a new member added to their family. Something that could be extensively prepared for, but which was difficult to factor into plans. The only reason he didn't immediately dismiss the idea of going to I-Island in favor of staying at home with Rei and—hopefully—Iona was because he found the prospect of going with Yagi, Ochako, and Tsuyu enjoyable, and because depending on the time of day, he could return to the apartment from I-Island almost instantly.
It was something that he would have to discuss with Rei and Ochako once he got home. The possible presence of Iona and the tasks and responsibilities that would bring aside, there were a number of things that would need to be done before leaving for I-Island, which would take place in just over a week. He and Ochako would have to ensure that they were prepared for both the trip to I-Island—the beginnings of an idea were already starting to form under the focus of one of Izuku's parallel minds, with Tamako already observing. An idea that would require quite the expenditure to acquire close to an entire wardrobe's worth of clothes and some experimentation with a few of his quirks—and Yueii's summer camp, and he would need to plan and prepare for his absence. He would have to ensure that everything would be set for Rei and Iona while he's gone, and he would have to put a bit more effort into his vigilante work to make up for the break.
"Sounds like a plan!" Yagi said with a smile. "But, it sounds like whatever you have planned is quite important. May I ask what it is?"
Izuku smirked. "You're certainly not wrong. It's something that I've been planning for and working towards for some time now. Should everything work out as I hope it will, then I'll tell you all about it the next time we meet."
Reaching for his drink, he took one final sip. "Speaking of, now that we've finished eating, I might as well return home so I can go ahead and ask Ochako about I-Island."
"Of course!" Yagi said. Then, "It was nice to have lunch together again. We'll have to make sure to do this again soon."
"Definitely." Izuku agreed, before turning away.
"I suspect I'll have an answer for you by the end of the day as to whether or not Ochako will be going to I-Island. I'll let you know about myself and Tsuyu as soon as I know.
With that, he spread his wings, before launching himself into the air.
As Izuku had suspected, Ochako was thrilled about the idea of going to I-Island, and as soon as he'd mentioned his and Yagi's loose plan of making use of all four invitations, she'd asked about Tsuyu, not even giving him a chance to do so himself. When he confirmed that Tsuyu could indeed come along if she wanted to, Ochako rushed off to call her, leaving Izuku and Rei alone in the living room.
Izuku turned to look at her next to him, seeing her smiling in the direction that Ochako ran off.
"I didn't give Yagi a definite answer as to my own attendance." He said, drawing her attention. "Just in case tomorrow goes the way we want it to, I didn't want to promise away a week or more of my time that may be better spent here, especially not without discussing it with you first, and especially with Yueii's summer camp also coming up soon."
Rei looked at him for a moment, thinking, before her smile softened. "If you want to go, then you should. You know you'd enjoy it, and Ochako would love it if you went."
Izuku returned her smile. Rei was a saint. Though, it wasn't as if that was news to him.
"My concern wasn't so much about whether or not I want to go, but about the fact that I'd be leaving you here to watch Iona by yourself. This is something that we've been planning and preparing for-for some time now. To almost immediately dump all the responsibility on you on account of something so short-notice doesn't seem fair at all."
"I appreciate your concern, but I should be fine. Remember,"—she smirked at him—"it won't be the first time I've had to take care of someone her age. And compared to back then, I think it ought to be much easier now."
She gestured at the apartment around them as she spoke.
Izuku huffed out a small laugh. "Fair point."
"Besides," she continued, "didn't you say that Shadow's quirk lets you reach about halfway across the planet?"
Izuku nodded, smirking at the fact that she was having the same thought that he had. "Yep. Assuming it's night wherever I am and wherever I want to go, and so long as I meet the other requirements."
"There you go. Just come back if it turns out that you need to."
"If it makes you feel better though," she interrupted before he could respond, "just hold off on giving All Might your answer for a few days. Wait to see how everything feels before deciding."
"Alright." Izuku responded after a moment. "I'll do that then."
Rei smiled at him, before coming closer to lean against him, pressing their sides together. He tilted his head to rest on top of hers just as Ochako re-emerged from her room, with an excited expression that told Izuku that Tsuyu would be going to I-Island.
The sun was out and shining, with just enough clouds in the sky to provide occasional shade. The temperature was perfect—Izuku had deactivated his temperature resistance quirk so he could feel the heat of the sidewalk on his tail—and they were close enough to the coast that Izuku could just barely smell the ocean.
All in all, today seemed just about perfect. An ideal day for what Izuku and Rei had planned.
Izuku might've used 'Tempest' early in the morning to help make it that way, but no one needed to know that.
Today was the day. The day Izuku and Rei had scheduled to visit the Central Musutafu Orphanage.
This was the closest to nervous Izuku had been about something non-threatening to either his life or his identity in quite some time.
Thankfully, the orphanage wasn't located too far away from the apartment. The two of them were able to travel by foot—by tail—so as to be able to enjoy the nice day, with only a short train ride being necessary to ensure that they could both avoid leaving the apartment extremely early and be on-time for their morning appointment.
Their destination was easily recognizable as they approached. Aside from the fact that the two of them wouldn't have gone this long without knowing exactly where it was and what it looked like, Izuku had also visited the location before, partly to find out if Iona was still there, but also to make sure he wouldn't have to take a look as Oni. He'd passed by not long after he first had the thought to help Iona.
On the outside, the building had a very pleasant appearance. The red brick building was very tidy, and had a small plot of land dressed to match, most of it hidden by a tall, equally red brick wall. It put most of the surrounding area—which was already fairly decent, Central Musutafu was likely the best part of the city—to shame.
Even with its outer appearance being as nice as it was, Izuku had still passed by for a closer look or two at the inside, just to make sure it matched the outer appearance. It wasn't as if it was likely that anything outright illegal would be taking place inside, not in this part of the city, and certainly not with the stranglehold Oni had on Musutafu's underground, but all the same. Izuku had heard certain horror stories about orphanages before, and didn't much like the idea of Iona being a part of them.
Thankfully though, based on what he'd seen on not one, but two separate trips out to look, there was nothing of the sort taking place there. The inside of the building was just as pleasant as the outside, and as far as he could see—while doing his best not to invade anyone's privacy, he would save that for if it became necessary to do so as Oni—there was nothing to worry about. All of the children, including Iona, seemed happy enough—as happy as Izuku suspected they could be in an orphanage—and none of the staff and caretakers gave off any bad feelings, which was later confirmed by Rei once Izuku returned home with all of their names for thorough background checks.
Because of how thoroughly the two of them had looked into the orphanage, and because of what they were there to do, Izuku and Rei were able to approach the building with light consciences and cheerful, if focused, mindsets.
The gate that sealed away the enclosed yard opened almost as soon as they stopped in front of it. Izuku could see a woman—whom he knew to be one En Kotake from his earlier visits—sitting at a desk in the building's front room, watching a few small screens. He couldn't see what the screens were displaying, but there was a button located directly in front of them that conveniently had a label with the words 'Front Gate.'
Moving through the now–open gate, the two of them made towards the front door. When they reached it, it didn't open on its own like the gate, but as Izuku reached for the handle, he saw Kotake push another button at her desk and heard a faint buzzer and a click within the door, before he pulled it open.
"Good morning!" Kotake greeted cheerfully, a smile lighting up her face.
"Good morning." Izuku responded, returning the smile. "Izuku and Reiko Etsumi, here to see Miss Kimura?"
"Yep! She's been informed. She'll be with you shortly."
Almost as soon as she said that, the woman in question appeared through a set of doors off to Izuku's right. She was relatively tall, standing at about the same height as Eraserhead, with slightly tanned skin and curly, light pink hair, not dissimilar to Ashido's.
Masami Kimura. Thirty-seven years old, unmarried, and adoptive mother to a thirteen-year-old boy. She was the head of the orphanage, and had been for close to a decade. Her quirk was named 'Lie Detector,' and was a more limited version of Tsukauchi's quirk. Hers only worked with direct yes or no questions. As with everything else, Izuku and Rei had made plans regarding the quirk.
Kimura approached the two of them with a warm smile on her face. "Good morning! The Etsumis, I presume?"
"Yep! That's us." Rei responded, reaching out to shake the woman's hand.
"Excellent! If you'd please follow me, we'll go ahead and get started."
Turning away, Kimura led them towards the door she just emerged from, and down a hallway towards an office that Izuku assumed was hers, based on the nameplate sitting on the desk that said as much.
A few short moments later, they entered the office and were settled around said desk.
"Alrighty then." Kimura started. "I'll try to keep this somewhat brief, so we can move on to the good part. I've been updated on everything you submitted and went through to be certified as foster guardians, and I'm friends with Inai, the social worker who interviewed you in your home. I trust his judgement. In addition to that, the double and triple checks I had done on your background checks through two separate sources both came back identically clean, not to mention the personal references from both Nezu and All Might. All that remains is for me to ask you some questions myself, if you don't mind. I have a lie detection quirk, and I find that it's ever so helpful during these interviews."
"Of course." Izuku said. "Ask away."
Kimura nodded, then suddenly her expression hardened, becoming a great deal more serious in the space of a heartbeat.
"First thing's first. My quirk relies on yes or no responses from those I use it on. If you answer dishonestly, I will know. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Izuku responded, with Rei mirroring him a moment later.
Kimura stared at them both intently for a moment before continuing. "I have Inai's notes on your responses to all of his questions. To the best of your knowledge, was everything you told him true?"
"Yes." The two of them responded almost immediately, with Izuku's answer coming just a touch faster.
In their planning upon learning that Kimura had a lie detector quirk, that was one of the potential questions they considered. Luckily, everything they said during that interview was close enough to the truth. Between a good deal of their answers actually being true and most everything else being vague enough to register as true, they shouldn't have any issue. The closest thing to a lie either of them told was some of Rei's wording implying that Izuku had been with her from the start, before she ran away from home. Izuku doubted that-that would trigger Kimura's quirk, but even if Rei got caught with that one, it had an easy fix. Izuku would simply have to tell the truth about how he ended up on the streets, and say that he'd simply been uncomfortable sharing that with Inai, which wasn't a lie by any means.
Izuku's slight—very slight—worry was dispelled a second later though as Kimura nodded.
"Thank you. Next question. During the four-year gap that comes up in your background checks, that Inai informed you of and inquired about, did you knowingly engage in any criminal activity?"
"No." They answered.
That was an easy one. That was before Izuku had even begun going out as Oni. He'd wandered about in order to lure criminals into attacking a seemingly defenseless child, but he considered everything that occurred after they took the bait as self-defense. And lie detectors typically had a fatal flaw in that so long as the target believed they were telling the truth, then what they said registered as such, and Izuku believed that he'd done nothing wrong during those years.
Kimura nodded again. "Did you knowingly associate with any criminals, or any criminal groups or organizations?"
"No." They repeated.
Kimura nodded for a third time. "Very good. Moving on. If you end up adopting a child, do you have any intention whatsoever of harming, abusing, or otherwise neglecting said child?"
"No."
"Do you have any intention whatsoever of involving said child in any form of illegal activity?"
"No."
"Do you have any intention whatsoever of involving said child in anything that might cause them any form of harm, be it physical, mental, or emotional harm?"
"No."
"Do you intend to do anything other than raise said child to the best of your ability?"
"No."
"Will you raise said child to the best of your ability?"
"Yes."
"Will you provide food, clothing, shelter, and everything else necessary for the child's healthy life?"
"Yes."
"Can you provide food, clothing, shelter, and everything else necessary for the child's healthy life?"
"Yes."
"Will you do everything in your power to protect said child from harm, be it physical, mental, or emotional harm?"
"Yes."
"Will you love and care for said child?"
"Yes."
"Very good." Kimura said. "Just two more questions. First, to the extent of your knowledge, have all of your answers to my questions been truthful?"
"Yes."
"To the extent of your knowledge, have you made any attempts to deceive me or otherwise subvert my quirk?"
Izuku forced himself not to react. What a truly masterful stroke. This was someone who knew how to use a lie detector quirk. Even if someone was smart enough to circumvent her quirk, she knew how to cover up that weakness. It was brilliant. And it immediately made Izuku realize that he'd underestimated her.
He focused even harder on keeping himself from smiling, it was ever so rare that he met someone who was capable of such a thing.
Looking at her now, Izuku could see the intelligence that sat behind her eyes. She'd covered it up well with her warm countenance—or maybe simply allowed it to be covered up, as nothing about her warm and friendly attitude seemed fake in any way—but behind that was someone who was fiercely intelligent, and even more fiercely protective of the children in her care.
Hopefully, Izuku believing that he'd not engaged in any criminal activity when he was younger, and him actively knowing that such a thing was a weakness of truth quirks would not cause him to trigger her quirk. Just to be safe, he forced that thought to clear from his mind and focused entirely on the belief that he'd done nothing wrong, hoping—without actively thinking about it—to circumvent her attempt to derail any circumvention.
"No."
Kimura stared at the two of them for a moment, eyes darting between them, before nodding.
And just like a switch being flipped, her face lit back up, and all of her seriousness vanished behind a warm smile.
"Sorry for going all serious there." She said. "I have to ask those questions any time someone comes here looking to adopt. The safety and wellbeing of the children here is my top priority. And people are less likely to lie if I'm a bit more serious."
Izuku suspected that there was more to it than just that, but it was no longer of any concern.
"Not a problem." Izuku said. "It's nice to see that you're so invested in this. I've heard horror stories surrounding orphanages and the foster system in general, so this is reassuring."
"Oh, absolutely. I've heard the same stories. In fact, that's one of the reasons I take my job so seriously, to make sure this orphanage is set apart."
She smiled. "But enough about that. Let's move onto something more pleasant."
Reaching into a drawer, she pulled out a binder and set it in front of Izuku and Rei, opening it to reveal a page with a picture of a child, and information relating to them.
"We currently house forty-seven children here, ranging from three to fourteen years old. This binder contains information on all of them, including both an overview from their primary caretaker and a short letter from the child, provided that they know how to read and write and that they wanted to write one. If you'd like, you can take a look through here to see if any catch your eye, or if you'd rather, I can take you around to meet some of the children face-to-face, though not all of our children are here at the moment."
Reaching out, Izuku picked up the stack of papers within the binder and started flipping through them. From someone else's perspective it probably looked like he was doing it absently, but he stopped it right on the page dedicated to Iona, which he'd noticed in the stack the moment Kimura had reached for the binder.
In the picture, she didn't look much different from when he'd last seen her. Light purple hair, like lavender, and eyes that were a very deep royal purple. Ever so slightly tanned skin, with a handful of freckles decorating her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, which he hadn't noticed before.
She looked cleaner than she had before, likely because she'd been briefly kidnapped and then chased through an alleyway. And the fact that her face held a small smile instead of a look of terror was an added bonus.
Next to the picture was a bit of information, some of which Izuku already knew from he and Rei looking into her.
Name: Iona Kateyama
Age: Four years old
Birthday: March 28, 2157
Height: 3' 1"
Weight: 30lbs
Quirk: Imaginary Friend
Quirk Description: 'Imaginary Friend' seems to have mutated Iona's brain to create a separate consciousness (This is purely speculation at the moment. There are a number of ways for a sentient/sapient quirk to exist separately from the user's mind yet inhabit the same brain, this is merely my current theory based on the available information. I have scheduled a date with Iona's parents for her to undergo both CT and fMRI scans to further explore this). This new consciousness seems to be sentient, if not fully sapient and, according to Iona, is capable of communicating with her using both coherent (mental) speech and emotional impressions. In addition, this consciousness can also, both at its own desire and Iona's, manifest a physical form for itself. This physical form is invisible (to the naked eye) to everyone but Iona herself. Iona describes this physical form as being about a foot taller than herself (she was shown a wall marked with measurements and asked to point out how tall it was), and being mostly humanoid in appearance (she described it as standing on two legs, and with arms that look 'really long', leading me to believe that its body may be closer in appearance to an ape than a human). She also described it as having the head of a dog, and being covered in long, brown fur.
This extra consciousness, which Iona has taken to calling 'Kemono' is able to use its manifested body to affect the world. It seems to have a strength roughly equivalent to an adult male, and is able to pick up and hold Iona. This manifested body still has mass and weight (with a weight that is disproportionate to its size, weighing more than twice what Iona does, despite only being approximately a foot taller). It can be touched by others, produces a noticeable heat, and can produce sound through its actions (though seemingly not directly. It can produce sound by hitting or moving objects, but it does not seem capable of producing any noise from its own body).
It is unknown at this time whether or not 'Kemono' will grow in size and strength alongside Iona. It is possible that this will be the case, and that with time it might be able to eventually produce sound on its own or even potentially speak.
*Note: Upon viewing the results of the CT and fMRI scans, I can confirm that Iona's brain has indeed been mutated by her quirk. Not only that, but looking at the images I've received, I would be willing to say that her quirk, "Kemono", has the potential to achieve a level of intelligence equivalent to a human.
The structure of her brain is almost entirely unique. That word doesn't hold very much weight with the existence of quirks, what with nearly everyone having some form of mutation present in their brain to allow for the function of their quirk, but where most everyone else might have a single, tiny new area present, or have a preexisting area slightly mutated, Iona's brain is truly unique in its structure. This shouldn't be a cause for concern. As far as we (myself and the doctors who took the scans) can figure, she's not missing anything, nor is anything lacking or underdeveloped. Though I will say that the only reason I said 'as far as we can figure' is because not only is almost nothing in her brain is where we would expect it to be, she also has far more sections to her brain than we would expect. Almost twice as many which, given her quirk, makes sense. If our initial theory is correct, Iona essentially has two brains in her head, one for her and one for her quirk.
Since her skull is of a normal size, this initially led us to believe that the sections to her brain (though we had a difficult time speculating which part belonged to which mind. She'll need to undergo additional scans if we want to have a chance of determining that) might be smaller than they ought to be and therefor that she might suffer because of it, but while they were indeed smaller, we noticed that the density of her braincells was beyond anything we've seen before. So not only will she most likely not suffer any detriments to her mental capacity, I would go so far as to say that she might even have a greater capacity for mental function than normal (non-mentally-enhanced) individuals.
I've recommended for Iona to undergo a full battery of brain scans (not only to fully study/understand the structure of her brain, but also to confirm whether or not anything is lacking or missing), should her and her parents be willing. If they choose to do so, I'll be contacting I-Islands Center for Neurological Quirk Study. If they're as interested in this as I am, and I suspect they would be, they'll likely offer to fly her and her parents to the island to have the scans done there. As far as I'm aware, they have scanning technology far more precise than most hospitals could dream of having.
Izuku read through it all in an instant. He'd already learned when her birthday was and what her quirk was called, but it was interesting to see a description of her quirk by, presumably, the doctor in charge of her appointment after it manifested.
The analyst in him felt a little giddy reading about the discovery her doctor had made regarding her brain. Not only were sapient quirks already incredibly fascinating, but this added in a whole new aspect to it. Based on what he was reading, not only was Iona's brain entirely unique—which was a hard thing to achieve in the world of quirks—but she also had the potential to be smarter than most other people.
Though, seeing the description, and thinking about who wrote it brought him back down. It reminded him that the Triad had to have learned about her from somewhere, and it was quite likely that-that somewhere was the doctors' office she'd gone to. A doctor, or doctors, handling initial quirk manifestations would be an excellent source of intel for a quirk trafficking group.
He filed that thought away for later, vowing to take a close look at her doctor, and committed the quirk description to memory, before moving on to the section below it. It looked like the overview of her that Kimura had mentioned, written by one of the people staffing the orphanage.
Iona Kateyama is a sweet, incredibly well-behaved child. She tends to be quiet and mild-mannered, and favors quieter, usually solitary activities, but will still occasionally join in with the more active games and activities if prompted by the other children. She particularly favors drawing and other forms of art, and when she interacts with the other children, it is most common to see her and the other child (or children) engaging in some kind of art.
Iona generally seems to prefer being alone to being with other children, but if other children approach to interact with her, she does, without issue. She has even befriended a few of the children that are close to her age. When she does interact with the other children, she always seems to retain her kind, mild-mannered attitude. I've never once seen her act anywhere close to bossy or anything even approaching mean. I've also never seen her even involved in any argument or altercation with another child (such instances are relatively common among children and are always handled if they progress past a certain point, but more often than not we give the children a chance to work anything out amongst themselves before we get involved).
As with most other children, she enjoys heroes, and favors Miruko over most others. When asked, she'll most likely say that it's because of Miruko's "Fluffy ears" and the way she hops around like a bunny.
Going along with that (and possibly influencing who her favorite hero is), Iona adores small animals, as most children her age do. During a recent trip to a petting zoo, she was particularly fond of the bunnies they had.
She shows an aptitude for learning, with our in-house tutors (the majority of the children in our care attend public school, but in certain circumstances, such as a young-enough child coming under our care in the middle of their school year, where the change in location would mean a change in their location of learning, we have in-house tutors complete the remainder of their schooling for the year) noting that she is above average, especially in the subjects of reading and writing. When she isn't drawing, she enjoys reading with either myself or another staff member (or, in one instance, an older child in the orphanage). Iona is very rapidly approaching the point of being able to read and write entirely on her own.
Iona was orphaned earlier in the year, shortly after her fourth birthday, when a home invasion resulted in the death of her parents. According to what the police told us when she was first brought to us, she witnessed the tragedy. Understandably, this seems to have led to a slight predisposition towards sadness, and is believed to be part of the reason she prefers to be alone most of the time. For a few days after she was brought to us, she was (again, understandably) nearly inconsolable over the loss of her parents, and was prone to bouts of crying. Eventually though, she began to calm down as she started to process what had happened (she showed a truly remarkable level of maturity when our in-house psychologist explained to her the reality of what happened), that her parents were gone. We'll still occasionally find her crying, and are quick to comfort her, but it is becoming increasingly infrequent as time goes on.
Despite this, we always make sure (and I recommend that any potential adoptive parents also make sure) that she never goes too long on her own, alone with her thoughts. Despite her apparent emotional maturity, comfort goes a long way towards helping someone (especially someone of her age) recover.
(It should be noted, however, that a possibly more significant reason for her preference towards being alone is that she's never truly alone. Her sapient quirk ensures that she always has someone to talk to, and between that and the fact that it's her own quirk, she would generally rather be alone to talk to just her quirk than talk to other children.)
In addition to that predisposition towards sadness, Iona also occasionally suffers from nightmares relating to the night she was orphaned. They aren't severe enough to cause much concern, nor do they happen too frequently, but when they do happen, she will seek out either myself or one of the other staff members, and we will take her back to her room and stay with her until she falls back to sleep. So far, there has not been an instance where she's woken back up after going back to sleep. However, a change in surroundings, as with a potential adoption, may cause a change in either the severity or frequency, if not both, so potential adoptive parents are advised to be prepared to assist her. Since she's come to us, we've discovered that if one of us stays with her as she falls asleep initially, especially if we do something to help her fall asleep, such as reading to her, she's less likely to have nightmares.
Iona also suffers from a slight, yet noticeable, anxiety when it's time for dinner (only during dinner. During breakfast and lunch, there's no discernible anxiety). The home invasion that took the lives of her parents took place as they were about to eat dinner. During her first few days here, Iona wasn't able to eat in the dining room, as she was too busy watching the doorways. It wasn't until we took her to another room that she was able to calm down enough to eat. Though after a few days, she was able to eat in the dining room with one of us helping her, then a few more days after that she was close enough to eating normally. She is currently able to eat normally, but we still see her keeping an eye on the doorways. As with the nightmares, it is possible that a change in surroundings may lead to a slight worsening of this anxiety.
Aside from those minor non-issues, Iona is a completely normal, healthy child, who behaves as a child her age ought to, if perhaps generally more well-behaved than others. Our in-house psychologist believes that the tragedy she experienced won't have any major impact on her development and growth, so long as she is provided with a necessary amount of love and care. She would be a blessing to any who might want to adopt her.
As with the information above it, Izuku instantly committed the overview to memory and put a few parallel minds to work contemplating the consequences of Iona witnessing her parents' murder that the overview noted, and how best to address them. He then moved on to the much shorter letter written in wobbly script that indicated—as Kimura had said—that Iona was the one to write it.
Hello,
My name is Iona Kateyama. I am four years old. My favorite color is purlpurple (like my hair) and my favorite hero is MikMirkoMiruko. She has really fluffy ears and a really fluffy tail and she hops all over the place and shes really strong! I really like to draw and paint (Miss Sueno says Im getting really good!) and I also really like to read. My quirk is called majimajimaginery friend and it made Kemono (my best friend). Kemono is bigger than me and a lot stronger. He has a face like a puppy and lots of really really soft fur. Nobody else can see him (i promicpromise hes real) but he talks to me in my head.
Sometimes I get sad bekbecaus my mommy and daddy got hurt by the bad peeppeople. Miss Sueno told me that theyr dead and that means theyr gone fourforever. I dont like thinking about that becaus it makes me feel really sad and makes my tummy feel weerweird (I really really miss them a lot). Mr Sano says that its ok to feel sad tho. He says that I sholshould try to think happy thathouhthoughts when it happens. I lisen to him and try (Kemono tries to help). When I get sad I try to think about Miruko and how her ears look really fluffy and how she always looks really strong even if she gets hurt. Sometimes it works.
I really like living here. All of the adults are really nice (speespeshespecially Miss Sueno) and so are the kids. Kado and Yui like to draw with me sometimes. Kados quirk lets him shoot really pretty litelights from his fingers (like fire works) and Yuis quirk lets her move things with her mind.
Sinseer Sincerely,
Iona
Before Izuku even finished reading, he was already working out what exactly would have to be done to arrange a meeting between Iona and Miruko. Miruko seemed to be a bit of an adrenaline junkie like him, and had expressed an interest in fighting him when he'd dropped Ochako off at her office for the internship. Maybe he could make something happen with that? If he could manage to establish something that set him apart from the civilian masses, then she would be more receptive to his request. And even though Miruko tended to interact with fans a bit less than other major heroes, there wasn't a spotlight hero out there that would refuse to interact with a child fan.
Once again, Izuku committed everything he read to memory. Once he had—a full second after flipping to Iona's page—he looked back up at Kimura.
"I feel like it might be better to meet with the children face-to-face."
If he didn't have 'All Sight,' Izuku would've put on an act of looking through the binder with Rei, before ultimately landing on and expressing an interest in Iona, but he did have it, which meant that he'd been aware that Iona was in the building before he and Rei had even made it to the front gate. She was currently in what looked to be a living room, sitting alone—aside from a woman who Izuku assumed to be a caretaker, quietly reading—as the overview indicated, surrounded by a mess of paper and pencils. The living room was conveniently located quite close to Komura's office, and was likely to be the first stop when Komura would lead Izuku and Rei around.
"Of course!" Kimura said. "We usually recommend that potential adopters go that route. Actually interacting with a child face-to-face is likely to give you a better impression of them than reading about them."
She stood up, prompting Izuku and Rei to raise themselves back up from where they'd been settled. "Let's go introduce you to some of the children, see if we can't form any connections."
Walking around the desk, she led them back through the door they'd entered from, and into the hallway she'd led them down.
"Since most of our children have begun their Summer breaks, we've started to arrange little trips for them, which is why not all of them are here right now. Things like going to the zoo, or to the movies, or to the beach since it was cleaned up. Anything we can do to make their Summers a bit more fun and instill as much of a sense of normalcy as we can."
"You must have quite a bit of funding available to you if you're able to do so much for them, especially with so many children under your care." Rei said.
Kimura nodded as she walked. "We receive regular donations from Endeavor's hero agency. It's what allows us to maintain our facilities at the level they're at, and provide as much care as possible for the children. It occasionally gets a bit tight when we treat them to trips and other special events, but we want to do everything we can to make sure that they don't go through any more than they already have."
Izuku filed that away for later. Once he got home, he would make an anonymous donation to the orphanage. They clearly deserved it, and not only for the fact that they'd clearly been taking good care of Iona. It was obvious that Kimura, and the orphanage as a whole, cared deeply for the children in her care.
In fact, maybe Izuku would talk to Yagi about it, get him to make a donation as All Might. He knew that Might Tower had a net worth well into the billions, and that the hero agency regularly made significant donations to a number of organizations. Maybe he could convince Yagi to put a bit of focus into orphanages, assuming he wasn't already.
Kimura led Izuku and Rei through the hallway, and through the front lobby they had initially entered. As he had predicted, it looked as though their first destination would be the living room where Iona still sat. Now that they were getting closer, Izuku could hear faint music playing.
They entered the room a few moments later. The caretaker reading in the corner noticed them, setting her book down and standing to approach them. Iona remained where she was, laying on a huge, plush rug in the middle of the room, focusing steadfastly on her drawing.
"Hi!" The caretaker greeted, keeping her voice down. "I'm Anii Sueno. You must be the Etsumis."
"Yep!" Rei responded, lowering her voice to match. "Rei and Izuku."
"Sorry to intrude on your reading," Kimura said, "but I'm taking the Etsumis around to visit some of the children. Is it alright if we introduce them to Iona?"
"Of course! Come on in!"
Leaning a bit closer, she added, "If you want an easy way to get her to talk to you, start off by either asking her about what she's drawing or talking about Miruko."
With that, she turned around, walking over to Iona. Izuku and Rei followed behind her a moment later, with Kimura coming behind them.
"Iona." Sueno said, kneeling down next to her. "We have some guests here who would like to meet you."
Iona looked up from her drawing, first glancing at Rei, before meeting Izuku's eyes. Izuku smiled at her. It was nice to see her in person after so long, and that he was able to do so when she wasn't either terrified or completely devoid of emotion under the control of a quirk.
"This is Izuku and Rei Etsumi." Sueno introduced, pointing to both of them in turn. "They're brother and sister."
"H-Hello." She greeted, pushing herself up into a sitting position.
"Hello there." Izuku responded, lowering himself down closer to her level. "My name's Izuku. Whatcha working on there?"
Iona looked away from him, down at her drawing.
"I-It's a drawing." She answered. "Of a kit-, Kitsoo-."
"Kitsune." Sueno provided.
"Yeah. A kit-su-ne. This one isn't done yet though."
Twisting around, she grabbed one of the papers, before turning back and holding it up for him to see.
It took all of Izuku's focus—a truly considerable amount—to keep a neutral face and stop himself from reacting. Despite the fact that it was a crude child's drawing, it was obvious what it was.
It was a drawing of Oni. He could make out his red and black dress clothes, his mask—which made up his entire head instead of just partially covering his face. Likely the reason she called him a kitsune—his horns and wings. There was no one else it could be, unless Iona just happened to imagine up someone who looked just like him.
Izuku swallowed back a sudden lump in his throat, before speaking, forcing his voice to remain light.
"That's a very nice drawing. Is that someone you know?"
"Uh huh! He saved me from the bad people, just like a hero!"
Izuku tensed his entire body, struggling to keep from showing any outward reaction. He felt something warm in his chest, something that definitely wasn't his quirks.
Up until now, Izuku's primary motivation for adopting Iona was that he wanted to help. He was partly familiar with her and her situation, having saved her from the Triad and empathizing with her as he knew what it was like to grow up without parents. He'd also already dedicated himself to helping people in general, trying to stop situations such as hers before they had a chance to happen, but hers was the first situation he'd considered helping directly. He could help, and wanted to, and so he would.
He had completely dedicated himself to that—and so had Rei for that matter—completely and utterly prepared to put the necessary time, effort, and resources into not only getting to the point where he could adopt her as soon as possible, but also ensuring that she had a good life once he had.
But now, in this moment, staring down at her drawing of his alter-ego, and past that at her face adorned with her big deep–purple eyes and small smile, and hearing her praise that vigilante alter-ego with her sweet, childish voice and call him a hero… He knew that he would do absolutely anything for her.
This too-precious child was too-sweet and too-adorable and she would definitely be going home with him and Rei, and he would do anything for her.
He vaguely noticed Tamako darting from his mind in Rei's direction, and a split second later she was nudging his shoulder.
"Well I'm very glad he did that." He finally said, voice just the slightest bit unsteady.
Rei joined in at that, rescuing him. She lowered herself down to the same level, leaning in to look at the picture.
"That looks really good, Iona. Do you think you could show me some of the other drawings you've made?"
As she took over, Izuku backed away slightly, taking a moment to compose himself.
As he tried to focus on anything other than Iona's—sweet, too–sweet—face, he noticed Kimura off to his side, a few feet away, smiling at him. She motioned for him to come closer, backing away from where Iona was rapidly becoming more animated in showing Rei her drawings. He followed.
"It's happened already, hasn't it?" She asked, once they'd returned to the doorway they'd entered through.
"What's that?" He responded, managing to force his voice back to normal.
"The connection." She gestured at nothing. "The… spark. The moment you looked at her and thought 'this is my child.'"
"I-." Izuku looked back towards Iona and Rei. Iona now had a huge smile adorning her face as she showed Rei her drawings. The warm feeling in his chest grew as he watched.
"I… think you might be right." He said.
Kimura's smile widened at that. "If you think you're ready, we can get started on filling out some paperwork. Either you or your sister are welcome to stay here with Iona while the other comes with me. I only need one of you at a time."
"I'll go ahead and get it started." Izuku answered, smiling at where Iona now had Rei working on a drawing with her.
"Excellent." She said, then raising her voice just a bit, she called out "Anii."
Sueno looked up from where she'd been watching Iona and Rei, having backed away a bit once they'd started interacting. Kimura nodded at her, and she must've understood, because her face split into a wide smile.
"Now, if you'll follow me back to my office, we can get started. There's quite a bit to get through."
Izuku turned to follow her, a smile on his face as he kept an eye on Iona and Rei, even as he and Kimura made it back to the office.
The process of going through and completing all of the necessary paperwork was a long one, made to feel even longer by Izuku's mounting feeling of excitement over being on the edge of finally completing what he'd set out to do. It wasn't often that he found himself feeling impatient, but he certainly had felt that sitting in Kimura's office.
Then, when he'd finished everything that he could, he and Kimura returned to the living room to find Iona draped across a piece of Rei's tail, the two of them completely surrounded by a mess of strewn papers, most of them covered in drawings. He and Rei switched places, and all of a sudden Iona was using his tail like a table, laying out all the drawings along its length, showing him everything that she and Rei had worked on.
Thankfully, Izuku managed to remain composed as she did that, and even when she asked him to draw with her—he'd decided to draw Miruko, much to Iona's delight. He'd never really done much drawing before aside from some idle attempts at sketching a few times when he'd found himself truly bored, but he must've done a good enough job, as she recognized the hero—though he very nearly lost that composure when he glanced at the paper she was focused on and saw that she was drawing a picture of him, recognizable by his tail and green hair. He'd had to—very subtly—break his own finger in order to contain himself, the short instant of slight pain before his healing quirks fixed it snapping him out of it long enough to force himself to calm down.
It was probably a good thing that Sueno had been sitting there watching the two of them draw—she'd already gone to pack up Iona's belongings while Izuku was working on paperwork, and spent the rest of the time simply sitting off to the side, watching Iona interact with Rei, and then Izuku, with a smile on her face—otherwise he might've ended up showing off one of his quirks as he drew. It was a very niche quirk that allowed him to perfectly reproduce images from memory onto surfaces such as paper. Though, even with her there, he came quite close to activating the quirk anyway. Part of him—a part deep in the background, one of his parallel minds that wasn't focused entirely on Iona—was shocked at how ready he was to completely disregard his greatest secret just to do something that might amuse her. Not to say that-that realization made him any less likely to do that. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he would end up having to explain to her why he was able to do what he did, which not only was a conversation that he wanted to wait just a little bit to have, but was also something that would've interrupted the fun she was having drawing her pictures while lying across his tail like she'd been doing with Rei.
In the middle of all of this, Iona drawing picture after picture and Izuku doing the same, but dedicating most of his focus to either Iona or to keeping himself composed, part of him noticed her quirk manifest next to them. It popped into existence next to where Iona was laying on his tail, stood there staring at him for a moment, before disappearing before he could bring himself to really focus on it. It didn't appear again while they sat there drawing, waiting for Rei to return. It must've been satisfied with what it saw, assuming that was even its purpose for appearing at all.
Luckily—or maybe unluckily—Rei's turn with the paperwork took considerably less time, and it wasn't much longer after she'd wrapped everything up that they were all standing outside in the orphanage's front lawn. Izuku and Rei waited side by side on the front path, while Iona, Sueno, and Kimura stood by the front door, saying their goodbyes.
Sueno wrapped Iona in a tight hug, and Kimura knelt down and put a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. The two of them whispered their goodbyes to her. Izuku could hear, but purposefully ignored it, giving them their privacy.
A few moments later, the two women stood up, and Iona turned towards Izuku and Rei, eyes slightly tearful.
"Ready to go, Iona?" Rei asked, holding a hand out to her.
Iona nodded, walking forwards and taking it. Once she had, Rei turned towards the gate, and the street beyond it, guiding her along. Izuku lifted the suitcase holding most of Iona's belongings up onto his shoulder, the bag holding the rest already slung over the same shoulder. As they made their way towards the street, he saw Iona look over her shoulder at Kimura and Sueno, waving at them with her free hand, until they turned onto the sidewalk and the brick wall blocked her view.
The walk back to the apartment, and the short train ride in the middle, were uneventful. Izuku led the way, making use of a steady, continuous exertion of 'Conqueror' to… persuade… the pedestrians on the sidewalk to cross to the other side of the street. Nothing dangerous of course, just a gentle imposing of his will upon theirs to make sure his—and more importantly Rei and Iona's—path home was unhindered. The return trip was just a bit slower than the initial, on account of Iona not being able to quite keep up with Rei and Izuku's normal speed, at least until Iona started to get tired and Rei lifted her up onto her shoulders.
Eventually though, just past midday and at an almost perfect time for lunch, they made it back to their building. As they approached, Izuku could hear Rei whisper behind him, "Here we are. We live all the way at the top." Izuku paused just outside, almost right in front of the doors, looking up at the balcony connecting to their living room. A smile appeared on his face as he got an idea.
He looked back at Rei and Iona, both of whom were already looking at him, likely wondering why he'd stopped.
"Hey Iona." He said. "Have you ever flown before?"
He saw Rei's eyebrows raise, before she looked up towards the top of the building, at least as much as she could without tipping her head back too far and pushing Iona off her shoulders. She looked back down at him a moment later and he watched her expression, smiling a bit wider when she nodded, giving her approval.
Iona tilted her head at him. "No?" She answered, sounding confused.
Then her eyes flicked to Izuku's wings, and he watched them widen adorably as she gasped.
"Can you fly!?"
"Sure can." He answered, amused that she was just now realizing that. "Would you like me to give you a ride up to the apartment?"
She looked up, and her smile faltered a little bit as she must've registered how high up it was, but it returned full force a moment later as she looked back down at him. "Yeah!"
"I'm surprised she agreed." Tamako commented. "Maybe she isn't afraid of heights?"
'Or she hasn't yet had a chance to develop a fear of heights.' Izuku responded.
Lowering the suitcase from his shoulder and setting it on the ground, Izuku reached out towards Rei, who was already leaning towards him. He picked Iona up off of her shoulders, and maneuvered her around so that she was tucked against his chest, in a mirror of the night he first met her. Once she was in place, practically vibrating with excitement, Izuku reached down with his free hand to retrieve the suitcase, only to find that Rei had already grabbed it and lifted it up onto her own shoulder. She grinned at him, and he returned the gesture, moving his free arm to hold Iona more securely.
"I'll see you up there in a few minutes." She said.
Izuku nodded, then directed his attention to Iona, "I'm going to start flying. I've got you, and I won't let you fall. If you get scared just close your eyes and I'll let you know when we're done. Okay?"
She nodded, and Izuku spread his wings. He launched the two of them into the air as gently as he could manage. She went rigid almost immediately, holding a fistful of his shirt in a death grip in both hands, though her eyes were still open—wide open, like she was forcing herself to not close them—and she still had a smile on her face. Izuku gave her shoulder a small squeeze in response.
Even rising slower than normal in order to make the flight as steady as possible, it still barely even took a minute to reach the top floor. The entire time, Iona, still stiff as a board, kept her eyes open to look around. It wasn't until he was firmly settled on the balcony that the tension left her body.
'Could you go let Ochako know we're here?' He asked. She was currently in her room, and that was as much as he noticed before he pulled his focus away, wanting to respect her privacy.
"I'm on it." Tamako responded, before vanishing.
Izuku used one of his hands to gently work Iona's out of the death grips they were still in. Once she'd released his shirt, he lowered her to the floor. He lowered himself down to her level a moment later, settling a hand on top of her head.
"What do you think?" He asked. "Did you like flying?"
"Yeah!" She answered, "We were up so high! And everyone on the ground was so small! Do you get to fly a lot?"
Izuku smiled at her enthusiasm, and at the fact that she thought that was high—technically it was, especially for her, as she likely hadn't even been in a skyscraper before—he couldn't wait to take her properly flying one day, eventually. He'd flown at such heights in the past that allowed him to see the curvature of the Earth, and that had made it difficult for even him to breathe. And while he wouldn't be taking Iona up to those sorts of heights any time soon, if ever, there was a certain thrill in flying over the highest buildings in the city that he hoped to be able to share with her one day. Even the sort of casual flight that took him and Ochako to and from Yueii was exciting in its own right, and would certainly be to someone like Iona who had no experience with such things.
"Yep." He answered. "I get to fly whenever I want. And before Summer started, I was flying almost every day with Ochako to go to school."
Iona tilted her head at him. "Who's Ochako?"
"Ochako is my other sister. She lives here too. Would you like to meet her? She's really nice, and she has a quirk that can make you float."
"Okay." Iona said, nodding.
It was good timing, because just as she answered, Ochako made it to the door to the balcony, waiting on the other side to watch Izuku and Iona. Izuku motioned for her to come out, and she didn't waste any time in doing so.
"Hello there!" She greeted, crouching down a few feet away. "My name's Ochako. What's yours?"
"U-um. Iona." She answered. Then, glancing between Izuku—or more accurately, Izuku's tail—and Ochako, "Are you really brother and sister?"
"That's right! It's a little bit different from normal brothers and sisters though. We're not from the same family, but we decided to be family."
Iona tilted her head at that, likely not fully understanding. Izuku was about to add on to Ochako's explanation and hopefully clarify things, when he noticed Kemono appear out of thin air next to her, looking at Ochako.
He turned his head to look at the quirk, despite the fact that didn't need to. It noticed the movement, turning to look at him. It flinched back when it met his eyes, and almost immediately swung an arm at him. He caught the arm by the wrist, holding it steady, and found himself slightly surprised by the amount of strength it possessed.
"Easy, Kemono." He said, drawing Iona and Ochako's attention. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Iona gasped. "Kemono! Don't be mean! He's nice!"
The quirk vanished as quickly as it appeared, and suddenly Iona was looking up at Izuku with tears in her eyes.
"Did he hurt you? I'm sorry!"
For a brief instant, Izuku wasn't sure if he ought to be happy that she was showing concern—as it implied an understanding of not only what her quirk was capable of but also of right and wrong, even in the context of someone else's actions—concerned himself at the fact that she was upset, or if he should be worried that, even with them welling up with tears, he still found her too-big eyes to be absolutely adorable.
In the end he decided that a bit of both of the first two was good, and that he would leave the third bit for later consideration, and gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's alright." He said. I'm not hurt."
Iona just sniffed, still looking up at him. Then, a moment later, "Kemono says he's sorry too. He didn't mean to do it. He just got surprised when you looked at him."
"Well then there's nothing to worry about." Izuku said, reaching out ruffle her hair. "It was an accident, and he's sorry, so everything's okay."
Even if Kemono had somehow managed to hurt him, he still wouldn't have cared. At this point it would take more—far more—than bodily harm to bring him anywhere even remotely close to being upset.
"Everything's alright, and I'm not mad. Okay?"
Iona nodded. Then, barely a second later, she was tilting her head at him, tears and concern all but forgotten. "Wait. You can see Kemono? How come?"
"I have very special eyes." Izuku answered, not missing a beat. "They let me see lots of things."
He fully intended to tell her about his quirks at some point, but that would undoubtedly end up being a long explanation, and there were more important things to do right now.
"Say." He continued. "Would you like Ochako to show you your room while I make us some lunch? She helped Rei and I put it together."
And just like that, her confusion was forgotten.
"Yeah!" She answered excitedly, her face lighting up. She was practically bouncing.
Ochako went right along with it, holding her hand out.
"Come on! Let's go see it!"
Iona took her hand with no hesitation whatsoever, bringing a smile to Izuku's face, and the two of them all but ran inside, Ochako leading the way towards Iona's new bedroom.
His smile remained in place as he made his way inside and to the kitchen, beginning to gather everything he needed to make lunch.
Just as he finished setting everything out, Rei opened the front door, entering into the apartment. Izuku smiled at her, and she returned the expression.
"How'd it go?" She asked, setting Iona's suitcase down.
"It went well. She seemed to enjoy it."
Seeing her glance around the room, likely looking for Iona, he continued. "Ochako's already met her. She's currently showing Iona her room while I make lunch."
Rei hummed in response, moving over to Izuku. When she got close enough, she wrapped her arms around him, leaning against him, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"We finally did it." She said. "We finally adopted her."
Izuku tilted his head, letting it rest on top of hers. "Yes we did. And now it's up to us to make sure she gets the life she was meant to have."
He smiled as he watched Iona and Ochako interact. Ochako was currently using her quirk to make Iona float, holding her hands to make sure she didn't float too far away.
"I don't think that'll be much of a challenge though."
That afternoon was spent by Izuku, Rei, and Ochako doing everything they could to make sure Iona was happy and that she felt as welcome and comfortable in the apartment as possible.
Once Izuku had finished preparing lunch—after filling Rei in on everything that he'd read about Iona, and that she hadn't had a chance to—and had sent Tamako to retrieve them, Ochako led Iona out of her room, pulling her through the air as she giggled up a storm. They all ate, and then they settled in the living room to watch a movie, with Iona and Ochako laying together, using Izuku and Rei's tails as furniture. Even Kemono showed back up, standing a short distance away and appearing nervous at first—as nervous as one could appear with a dog–like face—until some slight prompting from Izuku had him doing the same, laying curled up amongst the coils of tails.
One movie turned into two, and then into three, and then suddenly it was time for Izuku to cook dinner. He got everything started as the fourth movie began.
Moving about the kitchen, preparing everything he would need, Izuku kept part of his attention on Iona. He remembered what the overview had mentioned about her experiencing anxiety around dinner time. Sure enough, even with the movie to distract her, she looked over her shoulder almost as soon as he started cooking. It was subtle at first, with just a quick glance, but as Izuku continued, she started to look more frequently, and for longer periods of time.
By the time Izuku had finished, and Ochako was leading her to the table, he saw that Iona could barely take her eyes off the door. More than that, he could even see signs that she was becoming more and more distressed as she was lifted into a chair at the table, despite Ochako attempting to calm her down.
Seeing her fidgeting hands and quickening breath had Izuku diverting some of his focus to the hallway outside the apartment, even if he knew her fear was unwarranted—not that she knew that.
When he set everyone's food out, she nearly devolved into a full panic attack—Kemono appeared next to her, nervously shuffling, like he couldn't decide whether to stay with her or go to the door—and he decided that he needed to put a stop to it.
Moving around the table, he placed himself between her and the door, all but forcing her attention onto him. For good measure, he activated 'Captivate,' ensuring that she was focused on him and not the door. Lowering himself down to her level, he looked her in the eyes, which were blown wide open and beginning to well up with tears.
"You're okay, Iona." He said, taking her hands in his. "You're safe. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. None of us will."
She didn't visibly react, so he continued, changing tactics.
"Hey, did you know that Ochako's training to be a hero?" He asked. "She goes to Yueii to train with heroes like Present Mic and All Might."
"Yeah!" Ochako chimed in. "I'll keep you safe from the villains!"
"And I'll let you in on a little secret." He said, lowering his voice. "She's even trained with Miruko herself."
That got a reaction out of her. She jolted ever so subtly in her chair, and her breath hitched.
"S-she has?" She asked, voice wobbly.
Izuku nodded. "She sure has! Miruko taught her how to be super strong. She'll be able to keep you safe no matter what."
The mention of her favorite hero seemed to work a bit better than Izuku had expected it to. It wasn't by much, but he noticed her calm down ever so slightly. Her breathing settled just a bit, and her hands began to release from where she'd clenched them.
"Tell you what." He said. "Would you like to go to your room with Ochako, so she can help you eat and keep you safe, while Rei and I watch the door out here?"
Her face twisted, and her bottom lip began to tremble. She nodded.
"Alrighty then. Let's do that."
Reaching out, Izuku lifted Iona up into his arms, her own wrapping around his neck immediately. As he rose back up, Ochako was already standing with her and Iona's plates in her hands. She followed behind him as he carried Iona to her room. As he moved, he noticed Kemono watching him—or Iona, more accurately—before turning to face the door, apparently deciding to watch it for her.
Reaching her room, Izuku deposited Iona at the child–sized desk he and Rei had gotten for her. She had two tiny tear tracks trailing down her face. She stared up at him with her big deep–purple eyes, which looked bigger with the film of tears. As Ochako pulled a stool from a corner of the room and pulled it closer, Izuku reached a hand out and settled it on Iona's head. His other hand came up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
"The two of you eat in here for now. Once you're done, or if you feel like it, come back out into the living room and we'll finish watching the movie, alright?"
She nodded silently, and he smiled at her.
"Don't worry." He said, ruffling her hair. "We'll keep you safe. Those bad men won't do anything to you so long as we're here."
Seeing her nod again, Izuku looked at Ochako just as she was setting the two plates down on the desk. She nodded up at him as well, and he smirked at the resolute look in her eyes.
'Stay with them please." He said. "Let me know if anything happens.'
"Will do." Tamako responded. Izuku could feel the determination radiating from them.
With a final glance and one last pat to Iona's head, Izuku turned to leave the room, returning to Rei's side at the table a few moments later.
"How is she?" Rei asked.
"Upset, but I think she'll be able to eat. Hopefully between Ochako reassuring her and the door being out of sight she'll calm down."
Already, as soon as he said that, he could see Ochako managing to coax Iona into eating a bite of food. He smirked. The two of them had bonded practically the moment they met.
Rei smiled at him. "You're really good with her you know. I was almost surprised by how well you handled that. You reminded me of myself for a second there."
Izuku huffed out a small laugh. "Yeah, you were always really good with that sort of thing."
Rei watched him for a moment, her smile softening. "You loved her the instant you saw her today, didn't you?"
He let out another small laugh. "I think it was pretty close to that actually. The moment she held up the picture of Oni and called him a hero, I just got this warm feeling in my chest, and I knew that no matter what it might be, I would do absolutely anything for her."
"She had you wrapped around her finger right from the beginning, huh?"
"You have no idea." He responded. "When you were filling out your part of the paperwork, and I was drawing with her, I came really close to activating and revealing a quirk, even though Sueno was right there next to us, simply because I thought it might amuse her. In that moment I didn't even care that I would be revealing my quirk. All that mattered was that Iona might like it."
Rei laughed. "I'm not sure if I should be amused or concerned that she already has you wrapped around her finger to such a degree."
Izuku shrugged. "For now, let's just go with amused. Though concern probably isn't unwarranted. Even thinking about the consequences of revealing my quirk, they don't compare to the thought of Iona's amusement at seeing some of the quirks I have."
He smiled at her, and shrugged again. "Who knows. For now let's just go with amused, until we have a reason not to be."
"Fair enough."
Iona was eventually able to eat, with Ochako helping her. By the time the two of them emerged from her room—Iona holding Ochako's hand—she'd calmed back down, and even sported a small smile. Izuku and Rei greeted her with a pat to her head and a hug respectively, and the four of them—five including Kemono, who left his post at the front door as soon as she left her room—returned to the living room to finish watching the movie.
Once it was over, Iona finally got a chance to unpack her belongings, assisted by both Ochako and Rei as Izuku cleaned up the dishes left by dinner. By the time they had finished, it was time for those who needed sleep to get ready for it.
Iona went first, with the rest of them waiting until they knew she was good to go before separating to get ready themselves. Though in Izuku's case he was simply going to his room to wait. He would still be going out as Oni, but he wouldn't be leaving until he knew that Iona was asleep.
He watched as Rei returned to Iona's room to sit with her until she fell asleep, following the advice of Sueno's overview. He would've been the one to do it, but Rei won the game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Izuku smiled as he watched them together. Iona wrapped up in her blankets, and Rei leaning on the bed next to her, running a gentle hand through her hair as she drifted off.
When Rei left Iona's room and entered his, he'd already changed into Oni, dressed in his usual red and black outfit, with his appearance and visible quirks changed to match, and his mask held in his hand.
"She's asleep." Rei said, voice lowered. Then, "Not too bad for a first day."
Oni nodded. "A small hiccup or two, but aside from those, I agree. I think today went really well."
She came closer, smiling as she reached a hand out to trace along one of his horns. "How long will you be out tonight, in case she has a nightmare?"
"I'll be leaving Tamako with her." He answered, leaning into the contact. "The moment she wakes up, they'll return to me and I'll come back immediately."
"Alright then." Rei said, moving her hand down to his cheek. "Have fun."
He smirked. "Of course."
Oni let out a deep, guttural laugh, the harsh noise echoing through the hallways of the Triad base he'd chosen to torment tonight. One of them at least.
Dropping the two criminals he'd just been holding in the air, he charged forwards towards the rest of the group present in the room.
He ducked underneath a thrown punch, bringing his palm up to strike them in the chest, sending them flying into the wall behind them. He caught another thrown fist in his hand, crushing the bones within with a quick squeeze, before dropping them with an even quicker exertion of 'Conqueror.' A third criminal swiped at him with claws that looked like scissors, while a fourth swung a baseball bat at him.
Metal flashed across his scaled hands, and he caught the claws in them, shattering them a moment later and eliciting a harsh scream from the person they were attached to. He let the baseball bat hit him across the back of his head. 'Shock absorption' ensured it did nothing to him, but it was left vibrating so harshly that the criminal was forced to drop it. Placing a foot in the center of Scissor-Claws' chest, he kicked them away into the same wall as the first criminal, before bending over to pick the baseball bat up. Twisting around, he brought it down on the final criminal's leg hard enough to shatter both it and the bone within, leaving shards of wood behind, embedded in the flesh. Both they and Scissor-Claws, who was still screaming on the other side of the room, were silenced with an exertion of 'Conqueror.'
Oni took a quick moment to smile at his handiwork, before darting away towards a door, scouting out his path as he did. The next room had only a single person in it, but it led to a group of ten, who ought to be such fun to play with.
Barely slowing as he entered the room and approached the lone criminal, Oni brought up a still–metal fist and swung it forwards for a hit that would have the man unconscious before he even hit the wall behind him.
Only for the man's head to be clear out of the path of his fist almost as soon as he started to throw it.
Skidding to a halt right next to the man, not missing a beat, Oni pulled his extended arm back with the intent to hit him with his elbow, now also coated in metal. Only for the man's head to once again be out of the path as soon as he threw it.
Oni's eyes narrowed, and his mind raced to analyze the situation, even as he twisted to bring a leg up in a way that the man wouldn't be able to dodge unless the explanation for his dodging the first two blows was a speed quirk. He pulled on 'Quick Thinker' as he moved, slowing the world to a crawl and giving him even more time to analyze.
Before he'd even fully shifted his weight to even begin to lift his foot, the man was already leaning back. Comparing the speed at which the man was moving to how quickly Oni figured his kick would be completed assuming he didn't speed it up, the man would be out of its path completely before Oni's foot reached him.
Forming a new theory, Oni changed tactics, switching his shift in balance to launch himself backwards, landing on the wall behind him and sticking to it with a pull on 'Gecko.'
Staring the criminal down, he pulled on the tongue extension quirk he'd acquired the same night he'd found Tamako. As soon as the change took hold, and he'd coated his new tongue in metal, he struck again, keeping it simple with nothing but his tongue darting out at the man at a speed that would be difficult for most to follow.
Or at least, he intended to.
The moment, the exact instant he'd thought to put his plan into motion, and his tongue had just barely begun to move, not even leaving his mouth yet, the man moved. He twisted to the side, in a way that would've definitely dodged Oni's attack.
'He's predicting what I'm going to do.' Oni thought.
The man had clearly known, to some degree, what Oni would do, despite having—presumably—no way of knowing that Izuku's tongue had changed.
'Is it mind reading? Or something else entirely?'
If it was mind reading, then that might explain how the man knew to move. Read a target's thoughts to know what they're going to do as soon as they do, then dodge it.
Oni smiled as he thought of a great way to put that to the test.
All of his parallel minds, every single layer of his mind that could focus on something separate, went to work. Each and every one came up with several different plans to attack the criminal standing in front of him. From straight and simple charging forward, to a series of feints, not unlike the move Gran Torino had pulled during their meeting, to pulling on a new quirk or combination of quirks. The plans all filled his mind, and each one held the full focus of his mind.
After a few seconds of no reaction from the man—potentially indicating that it wasn't a mind reading quirk at play, or at the very least indicating that the man was very experienced and could remain composed—Izuku took it a step further and began putting intent into some of those plans. The separate parallel minds all began to focus on their plans with intent to follow through with them.
As soon as he did that, the criminal's eyes widened, and he moved, but it was an awkward, stilted movement, like he was trying to do two or more things at the same time, or in this case, dodge multiple incoming attacks at once.
'So you don't read a target's mind. You read their intent.'
"How fascinating." Oni said. "Though, I wonder. How well can your quirk compensate for the speed of your opponent? If they were to move too fast for you to react to them, what would you do?"
Oni crouched down on the wall, tensing his legs in preparation and forming a number of new plans, intending to actually make use of a few of them to push this man to his limits. He was a split–second away from launching himself forwards to begin when he felt Tamako dart into his mind, freezing him in place.
"She's having a nightmare." They said. "If she isn't already awake, she will be soon."
Before they were even finished speaking, Izuku had pulled on a few more enhancers, his muscles burning with their power.
The wall beneath him shattered, and he had a hand on the back of the criminal's head, ripping his quirk from him and throwing him into the hole in the wall he's just created.
Pushing 'Conqueror' almost to its limit, he let out a shockwave that tore through the building, shattering every piece of glass and every light inside, and instantly dropping every last criminal he'd yet to reach.
Before they even hit the ground, Izuku was falling backwards and sinking into the newly created shadows, emerging an instant later from the shadows in his room.
Grabbing handfuls of his clothes, he activated 'Hotbar' to store them away without wasting time with taking them off, sorting through his quirks to restore his appearance at the same time. A quick activation of 'Shower in a Can' had him cleaned of the slight bit of blood and grime that had built up since the night began.
As he worked, he saw that Iona was indeed awake. She was out of bed, holding one of the stuffed animals she'd brought from the orphanage, and was reaching out towards her door, which opened automatically once she drew close enough.
Izuku's tail finished growing, and he was pulling on one of the more casual shirts he wore around the apartment, just as Iona knocked on his door.
Waiting a few short seconds, to give the appearance of waking up at her knock and not being made aware the moment she woke up, Izuku took a deep breath, releasing the excitement he'd just had a few moments ago because of the criminal, and the sense of urgency Tamako's arrival had caused.
Once he was suitably calmed, Izuku moved towards the door, forcing his expression into a gentle one, that was maybe slightly tired looking having just woken up.
His door opened automatically at his approach, as Iona's had done for her. They worked on a timed schedule, set up by Rei of course. During the day, they would open automatically at an approach from either side, unless they were specifically locked, but at night, they would only open automatically at an approach from inside the room, remaining closed if someone approached from the outside.
He looked down at Iona as his door opened to reveal her, and she looked back up at him with a slightly nervous expression. Her hands fidgeted with the animal they held.
"Iona?" He said. "What's wrong?"
"U-um. I had a nightmare."
His hearts hurt just a little bit at how small her voice was. Brushing past that though, he lowered himself down closer to her level.
"I'm so sorry that happened. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"
She shook her head.
"Is there anything you'd like me to do?"
Her fidgeting increased slightly in intensity. "U-um. Can I-? Is it okay if I sleep with you?"
"Of course, Iona. You're more than welcome to."
"Here." He reached for her, and she lifted her arms up to him, letting him scoop her up off her feet. Once again, her arms wrapped around his neck as he held her.
Turning around, he moved towards the mess of pillows and blankets that made up his—mostly unused—bed. Coiling his tail overtop of itself, he settled himself and Iona into the center of it, ignoring the slight twinge of discomfort as he laid back onto his wings, and pulling a blanket from off to the side to cover both of them.
Neither of them spoke as they settled in. Izuku simply watched and listened for any further signs of nervousness or distress from Iona, feeling relief when, a few short minutes after lying down, her breathing began to slow to a steady rhythm, indicating that she'd managed to fall back asleep.
Izuku remained there as she slept, silent and as still as he could manage, simply watching over her, all thoughts and excitement from his vigilante work forgotten in the face of something much more important.
As she slept, and as Izuku watched over her, he diverted a small amount of his focus towards the quirk he'd just stolen, pulling it from its new place in his chest.
Immediately, he felt a new form of input entering his mind, a new… feeling.
The closest thing he could compare it to was the input of some of his less usual sensory quirks. Like the new extension to his senses offered by 'Proximity,' or 'Sciakinesis,' or even by 'All Sight.' A new form of sensory input.
Focusing on the new input he was feeling, he realized after a moment that the source of the input was following back from his focus on Iona. The new feeling was coming from her.
Pulling just a bit of focus away from focusing directly on Iona, he set to work attempting to decipher what this new feeling was.
It didn't seem to be related to movement as far as he could tell, as aside from the tiny rise-and-fall motions of her breathing, she wasn't moving at all, and his intuition told him that wasn't the case.
Focusing directly on the feeling itself, he noticed that it almost felt like a few different feelings, all coming from Iona.
His eyes widened a bit when he realized that-that was exactly the case. This wasn't sensory input that his mind was interpreting as feelings, these were feelings that the quirk felt from Iona. These were emotions that he was receiving.
With that knowledge in hand, Izuku tried to decipher the specific emotions the quirk was feeling from Iona, assuming that was truly what it was.
There were a few distinct feelings that he could discern. The most prominent was something that felt almost… sticky? Not physically sticky, but the sort of sticky when one's words got caught in their throat, like when one is-.
Sadness. That feeling was sadness.
That made sense. As much as he didn't like the fact that sadness was Iona's currently most prominent emotion, she'd lost her parents just a few months ago, and she'd just recently woken up from a nightmare. It was understandable.
Underneath the sadness, there was something that felt incredibly calm and smooth, like silk, or calm water. Maybe this one was contentment? Or maybe relaxation? She was currently asleep, so it would make sense. Especially since… yes, he could feel that emotion growing more prominent as the seconds passed.
Directing a bit of focus towards Rei and Ochako, and marveling at the input he got from them as soon as he did, he felt similar things from them, that same calm emotion was the most prominent one from both of them, supporting his theory.
Just beyond that contentment, there was a light warmth that Izuku almost immediately associated with happiness. Something that brought a smile to his face as he realized that Iona was able to feel happiness here.
Everything else he felt from her was too small or too indistinct for him to properly feel and discern, just a small kaleidoscope of emotion slowly shifting beneath the surface.
Izuku found himself smiling as he considered this quirk. He still had no idea how the criminal had been using it to read Oni's intent—maybe it was simply him being so experienced with reading emotion that he was able to pick out the minute changes in it to predict movements?—but at the very least, at its basest level, it was an empath quirk. That was an incredibly useful quirk, that he couldn't wait to show off to Rei in the morning.
Still smiling to himself, Izuku settled in for the night, watching the gentle shifting of Iona's emotions.
The entire night passed like this, with Izuku not moving a single muscle, ignoring the soreness in his limbs or his muscles when it came. He would remain still for as long as Iona slept, silently watching over her.
He would be ready when she awoke.
Chapter End Notes
Iona: *Holds up a picture of Oni, and calls him a hero.*
Izuku, internally sobbing: "I would die for you."
Also, did anyone notice part two of the One Piece ripoff?
I hope you enjoyed!
My Discord.
Flight
Chapter Summary
Oni makes a trip to acquire a new quirk.
Chapter Notes
Sorry for the delay.
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Oni whistled as he walked, though he was the only one physically capable of hearing it, cloaked with 'Ghost' as he was.
Cells lined the hallway he was walking down, and many more besides filled the rest of the prison. He was only somewhat focusing on the count he was taking in the background, but he'd already counted over a thousand since he'd arrived. Thankfully though, he already knew exactly where he needed to go.
Rei had worked her magic and found an incarcerated criminal with a flight quirk, passing the information to him so he could claim it for himself. It was a bit of a flight from Musutafu, even at the speeds he could reach, being in the Kagoshima prefecture almost 600 miles away, but it was well worth it for the quirk he'd be taking.
Based on what he'd gathered from the quirk description written up by the police before they'd been apprehended and the even older one written by the criminal's doctor, as well as the video footage Rei had managed to dig up relating to their crimes, it wasn't just any old generic flight quirk.
Firstly, most flight quirks took the form of wing mutations or transformations. In the grand scheme of things, wing quirks were incredibly common compared to other types of flight quirks. And then even when a quirk manifested that achieved flight through some means other than wings, that means was usually some form of wind or air manipulation. In fact, Oni was pretty sure that there was a fairly powerful air manipulation quirk floating around one of Japan's hero schools. He remembered receiving an analysis request for such a quirk about a year before he'd started at Yueii that had mentioned pursuing heroics. He'd included the idea of using it to achieve flight into the analysis he sent back.
But this flight quirk which he intended to take tonight fell into neither category, making it exceptionally rare. It didn't rely on any mutations or transformations, wings or otherwise, and it didn't function by manipulating air, or even any other outside discernible matter or force such as gravity, like Ochako's quirk did.
Based on everything the doctors could determine, the quirk functioned by allowing the user to freely manipulate their own movement through physical space. Though 'physical space' was more likely to be something determined by the user rather than any sort of abstract concept like the universe itself. It was most likely the case that—assuming that's how the quirk worked—the user didn't actually need to consciously identify any sort of 'physical space,' they simply unconsciously identified the Earth as such. And Izuku felt that 'controlling one's own movement' likely meant controlling momentum. The user could increase their upwards momentum until it was greater than the downward momentum imparted upon them by gravity, and then could further control it to move laterally.
Simply put, all of that—assuming it was all correct. Oni would know soon enough—meant that it was a remarkably versatile quirk that came close to rivalling some of Oni's most useful, including those such as 'All Sight,' albeit for different reasons.
It was a transportation-based quirk which afforded the user the ability to move through the air—or through presumably anything, provided it was something that could be moved through in the first place—however they wished, in a way that was likely almost completely silent, relied upon nothing but the user themself, and which was likely hardly limited in any reasonable way—again, assuming Oni was correct in his initial hypothesis.
Oni grinned to himself. It was a quirk that had captured his interest the moment Rei had told him about it, and it was one he wanted so very much to put to the test.
His fingers twitched, itching to tear the quirk from the flesh of its current user.
Said criminal, who had been wasting the potential of said quirk for far too long, was currently fast asleep. Oni was already close enough that his newest quirk, which he'd taken to calling 'Observation,' was picking up the steady stream of contentment and calm that came from sleep. A calm that knew nothing of what was coming to disrupt it.
Oni's hands clenched, and his impatience got the better of him. In an instant his muscles were surging with strength, and he was pushing off—just barely sparing the focus to make sure he limited himself enough so as to not damage the floor—appearing in front of the cell he was after in the blink of an eye.
His grin widened, his expression darkening underneath his mask as he looked down at the sleeping criminal. The insect had no idea what was coming for them.
Oni's impatience, coupled with his rapidly rising desire to make this random, insignificant criminal suffer, had his hands rising to grip at the metal bars that separated them, ready to pull them apart so he could step through and fulfill that desire. He stopped himself at the last second though, the metal creaking slightly in protest, and his grip leaving shallow indents. He shouldn't do anything to create a scene. That wasn't why he was here.
He was about to leave someone quirkless, something which Tsukauchi and the police had no doubt noticed him doing after some of his fights, and which wasn't exactly a widespread phenomenon with a great many explanations. Better to leave as few signs as possible that he'd been here, which was part of the reason that he would go cause some mayhem back in Musutafu—or perhaps Kamino. His sadistic urges were better spent on The Triad than the few petty criminals stupid enough to do anything in his city—just to give him something of an alibi. At least one other than the fact that Kagoshima was almost as far away from his usual hunting grounds as one could go without leaving Japan.
Closing his eyes, taking a deep breath and holding it for a few seconds, Oni forced his urges down, calming himself.
Opening his eyes again, Oni trained them on the criminal. Sinking into the shadows at his feet, he reemerged an instant later next to them. Reaching down, he poked their arm, pulling the quirk from them in a quick, painless motion. The quirk settled neatly into Oni's chest, nestled snugly with all the others.
Not sparing the now–quirkless criminal another glance, lest his urges rise up again, Oni sank into the shadows once more, rising up outside of the cell, already walking back the way he came.
Now that he could feel the new source of heat in his chest, Oni longed to pull on it, to let that heat diffuse through him and put it to the test. He wanted to experience the power for himself, and he wanted to test its limits so that he might understand how it worked.
Once again feeling impatient, Oni prepared to sink into the shadows, ready to skip the trip out of the prison and the even longer trip all the way back to his city. He was a split second away from doing so when something caught his attention.
For Oni, prisons were practically all-you-can-eat buffets. So many quirks, all belonging to the only demographic that he allowed himself to take from. He'd been trying to ignore it, the literal smorgasbord of quirks around him, as he came to do what he intended to, lest he give into temptation and indulge himself, no doubt leaving behind a mess of quirkless criminals that would attract far more attention than a single isolated case, but he couldn't help but to glance around just in case he stumbled upon one he truly felt that he needed. Up to this moment, he'd been doing well enough, pushing past the temptation to simply rush around and take every quirk he could get his hands on, but then he saw one that struck at something he was very rapidly realizing was a weakness of his.
It wasn't a quirk that was in any way powerful or even particularly useful, despite how interesting it appeared to be at a glance, but it was one that immediately struck him as something that Iona might enjoy.
Name: Kadiri Mitsugi
Quirk: Florist. Passive. Automatic. Focus. Generation/Mutation.
Replaces the user's hair with flowers. Flowers change rapidly in response to the user's emotions, with different flowers corresponding to different emotions. Also allows the user to consciously grow flowers anywhere on their body.
In an instant, Oni redirected his focus and the shadows at his feet and was emerging from the darkness next to the criminal. Just as quickly, he reached down and snatched the quirk from them, utilizing a quick pulse of 'Conqueror' to keep them silent when the action caused them to stir, his haste and excitement making for sloppy work.
After taking a quick moment to savor the feeling of another new quirk settling in his chest, Oni once again prepared to sink into the shadows to travel back to Musutafu. He almost stopped again when another quirk caught his attention, but he quickly pushed that thought from his mind before the idea to take it could even fully form. An instant later he was rising back up from the shadows, hundreds of miles away, back in Musutafu.
Taking a deep breath, savoring the cool night air, Oni stepped over to the edge of the rooftop he'd chosen as his destination, settling down with his legs dangling over the side. Feeling for the newest additions to his collection, he chose the more important of the two to test first. As he pulled on it, he could feel the hair on his head begin to recede. He watched with 'All Sight' as a bed of flowers grew in to replace it. It roughly followed the hairline he'd had a few moments ago and grew in thick enough to not show any skin, and looking at all of them made Oni realize that he knew practically nothing about flowers. He couldn't identify a single one that had sprouted on his head.
Pushing that thought to the side for the moment, and vowing to do some research once he got home, he moved on to the other side of the quirk, the part that supposedly allowed the user to consciously grow flowers.
He might not know much about flowers, but that didn't mean he knew nothing. He could picture a few in his head, which, with his memory being the way it was, meant that he could picture them in perfect detail. If he was correct in assuming how this quirk worked, then that was all that he needed.
Generally, quirks that manifested or created something to the user's wishes simply required some form of understanding of the physical characteristics of what the user wanted to create. One of his quirks, 'Aroma,' which allowed him to produce any scent he wished, required him to imagine the scent he wanted to create, though he wasn't sure to what degree that quirk should be compared to others since he was fairly certain it was entirely mentally based. Another quirk, 'Parrot,' a voice mimicry quirk, required him to 'picture' or recall the voice he wished to mimic. His shapeshifting quirk simply required him to picture what he wished to look like.
There were exceptions and variations to this rule of course. Some quirks required a much greater understanding of what the user wanted to create. Yaoyorozu's 'Creation' was a prime example of that, as it required her to know the exact molecular makeup of the object she wished to create.
If Oni had to guess, this new quirk, 'Florist'—he might just keep the same name, as it did fit quite well—sat somewhere between the two ends of the spectrum. Obviously it didn't require an exact knowledge, or even a general understanding, to create flowers on its own. It had already created some that he couldn't remember ever seeing before. So either he had seem them all before and just couldn't remember, or perhaps the quirk contained some form of storage for the knowledge of the flowers, and he'd taken that too, just as, when he'd taken 'Hotbar,' it had come with all the objects the original user had stored away in it.
The exact reason aside, somehow this quirk managed to create flowers without Oni consciously possessing any understanding of their appearance or physical makeup. Since it already fulfilled any broader requirements on its own, to consciously manifest flowers, Oni felt that all that was needed was enough of an understanding to be able to distinguish what exactly he wished to create.
With that in mind, Oni removed his gloves and extended a hand, picturing one of the few types of flowers he could actually recall. An instant later, just as he'd hoped, a bright pink and white Cherry Blossom grew from the center of his palm, bringing a smile to his face.
Emboldened by his success, and excited now that he had an understanding of how the quirk functioned, he took it a step further. In another instant, every inch of exposed skin on both of his hands was completely covered in Cherry Blossoms. His smile widened.
It was a slightly odd sensation, both the flowers growing from his hand and them remaining attached once they had. A light pinch—not enough to be painful, even considering his skewed pain tolerance—and then the weight tugging ever so slightly at his skin where the stems attached to his palm. Beyond that, he could almost… feel… the flowers, as a part of himself. It was exceptionally odd. He wasn't receiving any sensory input from them, at least as far as he could tell, but he was just faintly aware of them functioning as living organisms, taking in carbon dioxide and photosynthesizing with what little light was available, and even taking nutrients from his body. He wasn't sure if that was a result of the quirk itself or if it was something else about the myriad of quirks in his body that was causing it, but it was interesting nonetheless.
Also rather interesting, was the fact that the flowers all looked exactly the same. It wasn't a case of them all just being the same species of flower and therefore sharing a similar appearance, they were all completely identical to the flower he had imagined in his attempt to use the quirk.
"Excellent," he said, "so many things to test."
He smiled, even as he pulled on his fire quirk, wreathing his hands in flame and burning away the flowers. All that he needed now was to do some research so that he'd be able to recall more than a handful of flowers, then he'd be able to start testing the limits of the quirk.
His gut–instinct had been right. Iona would love this quirk when he-.
Oni's smile fell, brow scrunching up as his hands dropped back to his sides. When he… what?
When he showed it to her? Gave it to her? Which had he intended when he took the quirk?
The fact that his immediate answer to that question wasn't "Show it to her," and that he hadn't even disregarded the latter as an option at all was somewhat shocking to him. Even more so was the fact that he still wasn't sure.
Did he want to give her this quirk? Could he? Should he? Obviously, he knew that he physically could give it, and he didn't doubt that she would like it, but there was more to consider than just that.
In nearly fifteen years of having 'Soul Thief,' he'd only purposely given one quirk, and that was a strength enhancer he'd given to Rei back when they were still living on the streets, so as to ensure that she could better protect herself when he wasn't around. Beyond that, he'd hardly ever even thought about giving quirks to anyone. It wasn't that he'd outright decided not to, it was simply that the thought of giving away pieces of his collection was so foreign to him, and that for the majority of his life he'd only had one person he was even willing to consider giving them to, that the idea so rarely even entered his mind. The only times it had-had been in passing, casually considering giving an interesting quirk or two to Rei.
Oni looked down at his hands, still covered in a fine layer of ash leftover from the flowers. He pulled on and activated 'Shower in a Can,' watching the ash vanish in the blink of an eye as he thought.
No doubt the reason for his thinking like that was, at least in part, greed. It was an inherent aspect of his quirk after all, and was how it had been used for over a decade. Stealing quirks from others and hoarding them for the strength they offered. Some part of him was hesitant to give quirks to anyone, even someone like Rei, the one to whom he owed his life, and who was the most important person in his life—or at least was the most important. Iona's presence in his life made that question a bit more difficult—simply because they were his.
A bigger part of him though, saw the logic in at least entertaining the idea. He had so many quirks that would benefit those around him. He had three regeneration quirks, two more than he expressly needed. The presence of just one made nearly any physical damage meaningless and made one nearly impossible to injure, let alone kill. Ochako especially would benefit from such a quirk. There would be the matter of explaining why her injuries suddenly heal so quickly, but the benefit of saving her from anything potentially life–threatening outweighed that issue.
More than just out of necessity though, as he very recently just discovered, he was also willing to give quirks simply for the sake of enjoyment. Most of the passing thoughts he'd entertained about giving quirks to Rei over the years had been for a similar reason, but this was the furthest he'd ever taken such a thought, and without even consciously thinking about it in the first place. What's more is that he'd even taken the quirk with the express intention of potentially giving it to someone else, again, without even consciously thinking it.
However, even though he now knew that he was willing to consider giving quirks to other people, there were risks to consider. Risks that he did not fully understand.
In the past, what little he thought about giving quirks, he didn't associate any risk with the action aside from losing out on whatever power he was giving away. But that was before he learned that there was another iteration of his quirk in existence, that resided in the hands of a villain. That was before he'd encountered the Noumu.
Hulking monstrosities mutated almost beyond the point of being recognizable as human and practically bursting at the seams with quirks. They were the only example he'd encountered of any sort of potential risk that came with giving too many quirks. And even then, there was still far too much that he didn't know.
On one hand, he could see the logic connecting a body holding too many quirks to the end result of a Noumu. A quirk was, at the most basic level, a genetic mutation. Now, such mutations weren't necessarily a bad thing, as that's essentially what evolution was, a series of countless mutations altering organisms generation after generation to increase survivability in some way. Quirks might be a bit different in that there was no clear evolutionary reason for their appearance, but all the current leading theories as to the origin of quirks painted them in the same light.
However, start adding more mutations to the DNA, without the benefit of developing a fresh body around said mutated DNA, and it wouldn't be surprising if issues started to present themselves.
Then on top of that there was also the mental strain to consider. Most, if not all, quirks came with an added alteration to the user's brain, an added section or a change to a preexisting one that allowed for control of the quirk, in the same way the brain allowed for control, conscious or otherwise, of everything else in the body. Oni was unsure as to how giving a quirk actually affected the target, whether or not it actually facilitated a change in the target's brain to that end, but if it didn't, then some preexisting part of the target's brain would be forced to pick up the strain of an additional quirk.
With both of those issues combined, Oni could see how too many quirks could reduce a person to a braindead, mutated monstrosity.
Granted, all he knew about the Noumu was simply what he'd observed from the final products, which was to say: hardly anything at all.
The only things he knew was what they had been reduced to, and the fact that they possessed multiple quirks. He knew nothing about the process that led to that. There could be any number of things that came into play, especially with how widespread All For One's influence was supposed to be. There was nothing to say that all that had happened was the villain giving them quirks.
Maybe the subjects had been experimented on beforehand? The Noumu were clearly meant to be some form of weapon, so it would make sense if there was more that went into the process than simply giving them quirks. And if there was something more, then that would provide some reason as to why the Noumu all share such similar appearances rather than just being horrible amalgamations of whatever quirks were stuffed into them.
Actually, that was another thing. In over a decade of fighting and taking quirks, Oni had never encountered a healing quirk as strong as the regeneration that most of the Noumu had possessed, nor had he encountered physical enhancers anywhere near as strong. How was it that there were so many just lying about that almost every single Noumu he'd encountered thus far was packed full of them?
Oni shook his head, dismissing that train of thought. All For One was supposed to be over a century old, and he'd already learned of the connection between him and The Triad. It shouldn't be too surprising that with so much time and such a wide selection pool of quirks—one that wasn't limited by criminal status no less—All For One had found such a selection.
Going back to the possibility of experimentation, there were so many things that could have an impact on what the Noumu had ended up as. Biological manipulation, to strengthen the bodies or to enhance the quirks, mental manipulation-.
Actually, that was an interesting thought. How much of the Noumu's appearance and mental state had been accidental and not a direct goal? The Noumu were almost certainly all but entirely braindead, but based on what he'd seen of the one in the USJ, there was still enough in their heads to allow them to follow orders. And their appearance might be horrible, but they were tools to be used by a villain, so who's to say that wasn't the point? Who's to say that All For One hadn't intended for them to become terrifying monstrosities devoid of free will?
Then, on the other hand, disregarding the possibility of biological experimentation playing a significant role in the creation of a Noumu, there was almost certainly variation when it came to giving quirks. Variation based on how complex or powerful a quirk was, how well it matched up to a preexisting quirk or to a natural bodily function and how much stress it induced because of those things.
The strength quirk he'd given Rei, for instance. It was remarkably simple, even when compared to some of the other strength quirks he'd accumulated. All it did was allow the user's muscles to exert more force—strengthening the muscle fibers at the same time to allow for such a thing—at the expense of a bit more stamina. It couldn't be toggled on or off, it was always active, and required the user to learn how to better regulate how much strength they put into their actions. In terms of how much strain it might put on a body, Rei's body, it would put almost none at all, assuming his understanding of how everything worked wasn't flawed. It would induce minimal changes to the body itself and likely wouldn't even require any addition section in the brain.
Compared to that, a more complex quirk such as Bakugou's, or Yaoyorozu's, or most of his other classmates, would put quite a bit more strain on the body. They changed the body to allow for an entirely new function, and therefore would likely put a much greater amount of stress on a body that hadn't developed to handle such a quirk.
Actually, that presented a whole new set of issues. Bakugou and Yaoyorozu's bodies both contained adaptations to handle the stress induced by their quirks. Bakugou's flesh and bones, at least around his arms and hands, were likely much stronger than anyone else that didn't possess a similar quirk, so as to handle his explosions, and Yaoyorozu had told him about how her fat cells were much denser than a normal person's. If their quirks were to be given to someone else, would those adaptations transfer as well? Were they part of the DNA that dictated the quirk itself, or were they technically separate mutations developed by the body to support the quirk?
Oni brought his hands up to his face, heaving a sigh. For as much effort he put into understanding the quirks he took and as much pride as he took in his ability to use them far better than their original owners ever could, there was still so very much he didn't know about his own quirk.
He dragged his hands down his face. Hell, he didn't even know how similar his quirk was to All For One's. For all he knew they could have the same apparent functions but operate completely differently.
He let himself fall backwards, ignoring the slight twinge of discomfort when his wings hit the surface of the roof.
Staring up at the night sky, he let out a smaller sigh. Maybe it was time to start looking into that side of his quirk. But where to even begin though? Any route he took would inevitably involve giving quirks to other people. And there were so many variables to consider…
Oni closed his eyes. And he still hadn't come up with an answer to the question that had led to this train—trainwreck—of thought. If he found out that there would be no detrimental effects, would he be giving this new quirk to Iona?
Oni's face scrunched up after a few seconds of thought.
"Fuck it. There's a metric shit–ton of work to be done before that day comes. No sense in worrying so much about it right now."
Sitting up, then rising to stand on the edge of the roof, Oni smiled to himself.
"There's something a bit more urgent to think about anyway."
There was still his original goal for tonight to take care of. The quirk he'd traveled to the prison for in the first place.
Sorting through the heat in his chest, he picked and pulled on a few, preparing himself. The flowers blooming on his head detached and fell away, making room for his hair to regrow, and his wings receded into his back, leaving a slight empty feeling with their absence. He made sure that his durability quirks were in place as he pulled on the focus of tonight's efforts, relishing the slight heat that spread through his body with its activation.
'Hmm.' Oni thought, tilting his head, observing his own body as the quirk settled. 'No obvious changes to how anything feels, which means no obvious evidence as to how the quirk is actually activated.'
This was a quirk that—presumably—solely affected the user, elicited no changes to the user's appearance, makeup, or physical state, only imparting kinetic energy either onto or through the body, and had no defined activation requirements. Chances were that the activation 'trigger' was entirely mental. Some form of thought that controlled this unseen body part.
In essence—once again, assuming his understanding of how the quirk functioned wasn't flawed—this quirk likely wasn't dissimilar to 'Florist' in how it was activated. All that was needed was an understanding of what the user wished to achieve, what they wished to happen.
In this specific case, the simplest way to achieve such an understanding was likely for the user to imagine themself moving through the air in whatever direction they desired.
Oni smirked, so if he were to simply picture himself mov-.
His thoughts cut off as an explosion cracked through the air and he was slammed face–first into the adjacent building, with enough force to send him through the wall and into the building itself.
Oni groaned, shaking his head to dispel the ringing in his ears. He coughed, sending a mouthful of blood splattering onto the floor.
"Well… that was fun." He wheezed, before coughing up more blood.
All of his ribs were broken, along with his nose, his right arm, and his left leg. There were also a few fractures in his skull and in a couple of his vertebrae, and a number of tears and ruptures in his muscles and internal organs. Thankfully though, his regeneration quirks were already hard at work. He could feel the heat burning through him as he healed, the pain of the injuries already starting to fade away. Though he would still most likely be spitting up blood for the rest of the night.
With a slight groan, Oni pushed himself over to lie on his back.
So… A few important discoveries about this new quirk have been made.
First, and arguably the most important: He was correct in how the quirk was activated. It could indeed be activated through the user visualizing how they wanted to move. So that was good.
Next, this visualization method was incredibly sensitive. He'd just pictured himself flying forward a bit and had put himself through a wall. He would have to do some experimenting to fine tune it a bit, hopefully enough to not repeat the mistake.
Next, the quirk was capable of great speeds and a tremendous rate of acceleration. Acceleration that was nearly instantaneous. He'd moved so fast that even he hadn't been able to notice before he was flying through a wall. No doubt the explosion he'd heard was him briefly breaking the sound barrier. More than that, he'd gone so fast that his impact with the brick wall had overpowered his shock absorption, which could withstand a hit from All Might, as well as the three durability quirks he had active at the moment.
Finally, this quirk either had no limits, or something about him—his natural quirk, the numerous quirks strengthening his body, or something else entirely—had raised its limits to a ridiculous level. He had accelerated to the speed of sound almost instantly. Too fast for him to notice. That fact alone made this already–powerful, already–immensely–useful quirk so much more so.
It was surprising too, to find out that this quirk allowed for such extreme movement. The probability of finding such an exceptional variant of an already rare form of quirk aside, the fact that it was so exceptional at all was fascinating.
Normal humans, with their mushy, fragile little bodies, were not meant to, or even nearly equipped to handle extreme forces. Even with as enhanced as Oni was, the forces exerted upon his body by the rapid acceleration had left his organs in tatters, a deadly injury for anyone not possessing a healing quirk. Any lesser human would've been as good as dead before they even hit the building.
So the fact that the quirk wasn't limited to what a human body could withstand was interesting. It made Oni curious as to what sort of adaptations its former user must've possessed to protect them. It would have to be an impressive mixture of physical enhancements to handle the stress of extreme speeds and mental enhancements to be able to process the world when utilizing that speed. Or perhaps there were limits, just not on the quirk itself—obviously the quirk itself had limits somewhere, but they obviously were somewhere beyond the point of ridiculousness—but on the user. Maybe it was a case of subconscious limitations. The body itself prevented the user from utilizing the quirk for more than the user could handle, in the same way that the body prevents one from using the full strength their muscles are capable of exerting, so as to prevent them from tearing their muscles to shreds.
Oni's body did not develop with the quirk in its possession, so he did not possess such subconscious limits, hence the extreme speed that nearly splattered him against a wall.
A smile stretched across his face. Oh, he loved this quirk so much already, and he hadn't even learned how to use it correctly.
Feeling that his healing quirks had finished stitching him back together, he pulled himself up into a seated position, brushing off his now tattered clothes. Reaching up, he removed his mask. His smile faded a bit as he took in the damage that it had taken with the impact, before he tucked it away within 'Hotbar,' shrugging to himself. If he managed to figure out this new quirk, then he would consider his damaged mask a fair trade.
Hauling himself up onto his feet, he rolled his shoulders, working a bit of stiffness out of them. Had he known the quirk was going to be so strong—strong enough to overwhelm both his durability and his shock absorption—he would've used 'Metallum' to at least strengthen his bones.
Granted, for whatever reason he'd decided to move laterally instead of doing the smart thing and just trying to go up, but whatever. He could overlook his own stupidity. With Rei no longer watching over him at night, there was no one around to judge him but himself.
A quick pull on a flame quirk had fire burning away the blood he'd coughed up, erasing the obvious trace of his DNA from the floor of what looked to be an office building. Then, sinking into the shadows, Oni reemerged back where he'd been standing before sending himself through a wall. Activating 'Hotbar,' he pulled his 'Oni' bag from its space within. Reaching into it, he grabbed at a piece of aluminum he'd tucked into it, letting it overwrite 'Metallum.' He activated the quirk as he tucked the bag away, metal flashing across his body.
"Now then…" He said. "Let's see if I can do a bit better this time."
Deciding to go upwards this time around, he focused on the quirk, dedicating a bit more to it this time around, trying to be a bit more careful with how he visualized himself moving.
After a few moments, he felt something akin to the weightlessness induced by Ochako's quirk, and his feet lifted up off of the surface of the roof. It was an odd sensation. He could definitely still feel the effects of gravity, unlike when under the effects of Ochako's quirk, it simply wasn't enough to keep him tethered to the ground.
A small, giddy laugh escaped him. Partly at his success, partly at the odd weightless sensation that enveloped him as he continued to rise, now a few feet in the air, and partly at the idea of another quirk messing with the modern understanding of the laws of physics.
Still rising, he began to wobble ever so slightly, surprising himself. It felt almost as if he was off balance. Such a thing shouldn't be possible, given the fact that one couldn't really be off balance when being balanced in the first place required gravity, not to mention his experience with moving in three dimensions and dealing with shifting perspective, which ought to be keeping him from experiencing any form of difficulty moving in any abnormal fashion.
Then again, how this quirk functioned was clearly unique, with how it left him feeling both weighted and weightless at the same time. Plus, this was his first time experiencing this quirk. He didn't have years' worth of adjusting to it to help him.
Holding his arms out instinctively as he started to lean, he found himself moving to the side, in the direction he was leaning, surprising him a bit. Was this some form of subconscious effect on the movement of the quirk? Trying to straighten himself out had him overcorrecting and leaning in the opposite direction, with his movement through the air following suit.
Putting a bit more focus into the quirk, he visualized himself stopping. Immediately his movement halted, both vertical and lateral, leaving him hovering over the roof at an angle. Instead of correcting that and straightening himself up, he decided to take it a step further. Visualizing it in his head, he leaned further, tipping until he was parallel with the roof, and then until he was completely upside down.
Another example of the strange weightless–not–weightless phenomenon, he could feel the blood rushing to his head.
Feeling a bit more comfortable with the quirk and moving around with it, he decided to try out two different types of movement simultaneously. With a thought, he began to spin so that his feet were facing the building he'd sent himself through, at the same time beginning to drift towards it. After a few moments, and perhaps a correction or two to his orientation, his feet touched the side of the building.
Once his feet were firmly on the vertical surface, he experimented a bit with moving his body under his own power, crouching at first, and then taking a few steps.
He was amazed at how normal it felt. It was like he was standing on the ground normally, with nothing but gravity holding him down. It was a bit light, sure, almost like he was standing on the moon, but that was simply because he'd been moving himself so slowly.
But this confirmed something else about the quirk. When it did move him, the movement wasn't absolute. If another force acted upon his body, then it would still move him.
He hummed to himself, smiling. "Now then. Let's try something a bit more fun."
Now that he felt as though he was starting to get a handle on the quirk, he was ready to try to use it for what it was meant for.
Floating away from the building and flipping himself around so that he was right side up, he started rising higher, gaining a bit of speed. It didn't take him long to make it high above the city.
Looking out over his city, he turned towards the coast. Ignoring the temptation to simply keep flying higher, until he could barely breathe and he could see the curvature of the Earth, and then even farther, beyond what the thinning atmosphere would allow his wings to achieve, he leaned forwards a bit, and moved himself in that direction. The wind whipped past him as he let himself gain speed, the lights below him passing by quicker and quicker until it was suddenly replaced by water.
Oni flew out over the ocean for a minute, putting distance between himself and the city, before a wide smile stretched across his face.
He pulled on 'Quick Thinker,' slowing the world around him to a crawl.
'Let's see what you can do.' He thought. 'No more holding you back.'
With that thought, he no longer put any effort into trying to control his speed.
Thanks to the effects of 'Quick Thinker,' he was able to feel the quirk working, to see what he wasn't able to the first time. It wasn't much, and it was still nearly too fast for him to process, but it was enough.
Simultaneously, he felt a pressure on his body pushing him in the direction he was moving, and he felt his internals being pushed back as he began to accelerate. Then he caught up with what was happening, and exploded forwards.
Just like the first time, there was an almost instant sonic boom as he reached the speed of sound, only unlike the first time, since he continued to travel over the speed of sound, he didn't hear it. The only reason he knew at all that he'd reached that point was the cone of pressurized air around him.
The wind tore at him as he rocketed forwards, the ocean beneath him blurring and Musutafu behind him shrinking into a cluster of lights.
An almost manic laugh escaped him as he flew, enjoying the open space over the ocean that allowed him to out the quirk to the test. After a minute or two of simply relishing the raw speed the quirk possessed—and he knew almost instinctively that this wasn't the limit, not even close—he started to mix in some other motions, spinning and rolling and turning through the air, maneuvering with far more dexterity than his wings were capable of. After a bit, he found himself heading north, following the coast away from Musutafu, and even past Tokyo, drifting back towards land as he did.
Passing by a few more cities, now close enough to make out individual buildings, he didn't stop until he reached one that was a bit bigger. Sendai, maybe?
Deciding to continue to put both his and the quirk's limits to the test, he visualized himself coming to a dead stop, not bothering to slow down at all.
He halted in midair immediately, the world around him exploding as his sonic boom finally got a chance to catch up to him. His hearing cut out as the immense blast of sound and even greater blast of pressurized air ruptured his eardrums, even though they were metal, then it faded back into a dull ringing in his ears as his healing quirks went to work. Aside from that, he was immensely glad that he'd used 'Metallum' to make everything metal, because otherwise he likely would've turned his internal organs into soup with that stop. Thankfully though, all of his organs were still intact.
Breathing a bit heavier than normal, he looked down at his hands to find them shaking from the exhilaration. He clenched them, his smile so wide that it was nearly painful.
He absolutely loved this quirk.
Taking a deep breath, he brought a hand up to massage the side of his head as the ringing in his ears started to fade away. He tilted himself back to stare at the night sky, assessing a few things he'd gleamed from his flight.
He squeezed his eyes shut, blinking them a few times to relieve a slight dryness.
"Slight issue with the air drying my eyes out," he muttered, "but not as bad as I was expecting considering my speed and how long I was flying. It would still be nice to find a way to alleviate that though… Potential solutions range from finding a quirk to counter it—perhaps an air manipulation, or maybe I can find something really niche like a moisture retention—to simply having lenses installed in the eye holes of my mask, to essentially act as a pair of goggles. If at all possible, I would prefer the former, as that would mean that I wouldn't be relying on anything outside of my own abilities, but the latter would be useful in the meantime. Besides, an extra little bit of protection around the eyes wouldn't hurt."
He idly began tilting himself further back as he spoke, slowly spinning until he was parallel with the ocean far beneath him, and then going further.
"There's also the matter of the speed of sound being nowhere near the limit of this quirk."
He'd felt it when he was flying around. He could absolutely push the quirk further. It might be a new function to his body that he was getting used to, but he'd already become familiar enough with it to know that he hadn't been pushing or straining to attain the speed that he had. All that he had done was simply not put any effort into keeping his movements slow.
Oni looked up at the sky as he righted himself, taking a minute to rest and think, and to simply enjoy the night sky, and push past the burning excitement that was rising up at the thought that the speed of sound wasn't just within the quirk's abilities, but its baseline. Instead, he tried to focus on how easy he had found it to maneuver in other directions once he had gotten up to speed.
The obvious advantages of such a high-speed method of transportation aside, the sheer potential for maneuvering that it offered were tremendous. He could already move quite fast while on the ground, but take that speed—or something faster—and factor in a third dimension of movement and it sent his combat potential through the roof.
There was also the fact that the movement required nothing but a thought to set in motion. No buildup or physical exertion needed.
He tilted his head as a sudden idea came to him, before looking down at his hands. He could move his body with a thought, but could he move parts of his body with a thought? Nothing that he had seen thus far would indicate that he couldn't.
Deciding to put it to the test, he focused on his right arm, letting it go limp as he visualized it raising. To Oni's slight surprise, and much greater delight, it responded, doing just that. It rose up in front of him, with only the slightest pressure on the limb—that of gravity trying to pull it back down and that of whatever about the quirk was resisting it—to indicate that it was moving at all.
His wrist and hand remained limp, which excited him further, because it implied that he could take this even further.
Controlling his arm to bring his hand closer to his face, he poured more focus into the quirk, extending its control to the rest of his arm as he visualized his hand and fingers moving. He smirked as his hand obeyed, closing into a fist. It was such an odd sensation, his fist clenching without any of the muscles within doing the same.
Reversing the motion, he opened his fist, forcing his fingers to flex.
He stopped though, losing focus on his arm entirely, when his index and middle fingers were abruptly yanked loose, flying away for a few feet before dropping down towards the ocean.
"Ow." Oni said, though it was more out of disappointment than pain, as his regeneration quirks had already replaced the missing fingers. He activated 'Attraction,' pulling the severed ones back to him before they could drop out of sight. No sense in leaving DNA lying around, or at least any more than there already was.
He thought about what happened as he stared at the still-metal fingers, leaking blood that was still very much not-metal. He must've moved them faster than they could handle, even made of metal as they were. That tiny slipup served as yet another example of the raw power this quirk possessed. Aluminum didn't have the greatest tensile strength compared to other metals he regularly used, and it was possible that it was made a bit weaker by being dynamic and flexible, essentially just flesh that carried the properties of metal—or was it metal that carried the properties of flesh?—but it was still metal, so to be able to pull it apart in such a way would take an amount of force that wasn't exactly insignificant.
Tucking the severed fingers into a pocket in 'Hotbar,' Oni's thoughts turned away from the sheer power of the quirk and back towards the significant degree of utility offered by its unique form of activation. He hadn't realized it when he'd first had the idea, but being able to use the quirk to move his body in a way that wasn't dependent upon his muscles and that allowed for a level of precision that matched what he was already capable of—once he'd practiced a bit more with it of course—meant that he now had a failsafe to fall back on should he ever be physically incapacitated while remaining conscious.
It was only a partial solution, since relying on a quirk didn't account for situations where his mind was cut off from his quirks, but it meant that normal forms of immobilization would no longer work on him. And besides, he still had Tamako, who both served as another failsafe and who was still helping him overcome his instinctual reaction of blind panic in the face of mind control.
A smile spread across Oni's face, and he released his focus on the quirk, immediately dropping towards the ocean as he allowed gravity to do its job.
As tempted as he was to continue testing this new quirk, particularly whether or not it would still work underwater, there were still things that needed to be done tonight. Specifically, he had a number of criminals to punish, to give himself an alibi that placed him across the country from the incarcerated criminals he took the two quirks from.
As he fell, he twisted around, without the aid of the flight quirk, so that he was parallel to the ocean's surface, facing the direction he needed to go.
A few seconds before he would've hit the water, he reactivated the quirk. His smile widened almost painfully when he exploded forwards, the quirk once again almost instantly accelerating him to the speed of sound.
He relished it, both the thought that such a powerful quirk was now a part of his collection, and the sensation sensations he was experiencing that served to reflect that power. The wind whipping at him, roaring in his ears and tearing at his clothes and making it difficult to hold his eyes open. The vibrations racing through his body, particularly around his knees, where the cone of condensed air wrapped around him. The sight of the ocean racing beneath him, and the disturbed water trailing in his wake, mimicking the cone around him.
He loved this quirk. And now it was time to take it a step—or a few—further.
'Now that I know what you can do when I'm not holding you back,' he thought, 'let's see what you when I actually start pushing you.'
It was time to go faster.
At his mental signal, the forces acting upon his body increased. The force of the quirk pushing him forwards and the opposing force of air resistance trying to hold him back. The cone of air around him began to stretch backwards ever so slightly, narrowing with his increasing speed.
He laughed, the action sounding weak and muted with the roaring in his ears and the wind whipping past him making it slightly difficult to breathe.
'Faster.' He thought, pushing the quirk further. It responded, and the ocean began to blur beneath him.
'Faster!'
He was finally beginning to feel strain from the quirk. A pressure in his forehead, and just behind his eyes, slight but slowly mounting as he continued to push it. He ignored the discomfort as he pushed himself into another burst of speed, this one threatening to rip the air from his lungs.
He knew that ignoring the early signs of quirk overuse was a bad idea, especially since the quirk in question was responsible for hurtling him through the air at some indeterminate, yet supersonic velocity, but he was too absorbed in his own excitement and the adrenaline of the moment to care. This quirk was fucking exhilarating.
"More!'
And just like that, he was pulled from his adrenaline-induced frenzy in an instant. Though, not because the strain had worsened, but because of an interesting phenomenon that was making itself known.
His clothes, a bit frayed from his impact with the building earlier, were burning. That last increase in speed had caused flames to break out across his body.
Now faced with something more interesting than the immediate excitement offered by traveling at supersonic speeds, he forced himself to calm down, hitting the brakes—so to speak—and bringing himself to an abrupt halt.
As it had last time, the shockwave that had been trailing behind him ruptured his eardrums as it caught up with him, but he paid it no mind as he observed the flames that were still eating at his clothes.
Pulling on one of his fire quirks, he cancelled out the flames with a thought, leaving blackened fabric behind.
"Huh… Interesting." He said, before smiling. The flames themselves weren't anything to be concerned about. Between his temperature resistance and his currently being made of metal, his clothes were the only thing that had been hurt. What was something to be concerned about, or rather, something to be extremely fucking excited about, was the fact that there was only one thing that could've caused the flames.
He'd been traveling so fast that the compression of air in front of him began to generate heat. Heat that was intense enough to ignite fabric. It was similar to how spacecraft re-entering the Earth's atmosphere seemed to catch fire as they fell, though that was a much more extreme example, and in that case the fire wasn't really fire, but superheated plasma, but it was the same principle.
Oni's outfit was primarily made of linen, which wasn't exactly the most flame-resistant fabric available, but it still had an ignition point of roughly 450 degrees Fahrenheit. So in order to catch fire in the way he just had, assuming his understanding wasn't flawed and his math was correct, it would mean that he'd have to have been traveling close to 700 meters per second. Just over twice the speed of sound.
Oni was practically vibrating at the thought. Mach 2! That surpassed the record for the fastest non-mechanically assisted speed achieved by a human, previously held by All Might. And he'd only just barely begun to use this quirk. How fast would he be able to go after training and mastering it?
After a moment, he started to laugh, low and quiet at first, but quickly rising in volume until it was echoing out across the water, sounding nearly maniacal.
So much raw power under his control, and so much potential for it, so much that it might be able to do that he so very much wanted to test. Would this quirk allow him to 'fly' to the bottom of the ocean? His enhanced body would likely be able to handle the intense pressures, especially with 'Metallum,' so he saw no reason why it wouldn't. Would it allow him to fly right out of the atmosphere and into the vacuum of space? Would it allow him to keep going? Aside from the lack of oxygen, would there be anything to stop him?
So much to do, so many things to test, so much raw potential.
But no time to do anything about it right now.
Oni shut his eyes, taking a deep breath as he forced himself to calm down. There would be plenty of time to hurt himself trying to visit the bottom of the ocean or the upper atmosphere later. For now, he had criminals to hurt.
Opening his eyes, he turned towards where Kamino ought to be, before exploding forwards. He smiled as a shockwave shook the world behind him.
Oh, he was going to have so much fun with this…
Behold... Fanart!
Courtesy of LividlyVivid.
Courtesy of DrawingTerd.
Chapter End Notes
I hope you enjoyed!
Mall Encounter
Chapter Summary
A few revelations are made, and Izuku sees a familiar face.
Chapter Notes
I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku raised his arms up over his head, stretching and relieving the little bit of stiffness that had built up over the last few hours. His wings followed the motion, at least as far as they could before the tips hit the walls of his bedroom.
He'd just wrapped up his last analysis request of the day; a unique and highly specific form of telekinesis that seemed to only work on copper and copper alloys. Now it was time for him to get moving. He could feel the steady streams of contentment that 'Observation' was picking up from the other members of the apartment begin to fade away, replaced by the soft kaleidoscope of emotion that typically came with wakefulness.
Rising up from his desk, he moved over to the glass wall that connected to the balcony, taking a few moments to bask in the morning sunlight. Then, already dressed for the day from when he'd returned from his night out as Oni, he made his way to the door, which slid open at his approach.
As he passed by the door that led to Iona's room, he smiled as he glanced in with 'All Sight' and saw her curled up against Kemono, both of them wrapped up in a blanket.
Moving into the kitchen, Izuku set about gathering up everything he would need to start preparing breakfast. He had everything set out and was just turning on the stove when he felt the stream of emotion from Ochako change abruptly, signaling a sudden awakening. Shifting his focus with 'All Sight,' he saw her sitting up and reaching for the alarm clock that was likely the culprit. Seeing that, he picked up the pace, moving a bit quicker to prepare the food.
A few minutes later, Izuku hummed quietly to himself as he moved through the kitchen. The smell of breakfast filled the apartment, helping its occupants to wake up.
Ochako had already gotten up and made her way to the kitchen, and was sitting at the table, her head propped up on an arm as she tried to keep herself from falling back asleep. Despite her efforts, her eyes were still beginning to drift shut.
Before she could dose off though, Izuku leaned over the table to set a plate of food in front of her, with just a touch more force than was necessary. The resulting thunk of ceramic on wood and the smell of the food right under her nose roused her from her almost-sleep.
"Good morning." He said with a smile, already turning back to prepare another plate.
"Mhm… Mornin'." She mumbled in response, already picking up her fork to dig in.
Another minute and Izuku had three more plates set out, just in time as Rei, who had since woken up and gone to retrieve Iona, emerged into the living room, carrying her. Iona had her arms around Rei's neck, and looked to barely be awake.
Rei smiled at him as she sat Iona at the table, settling in next to her and holding her upright, slowly urging her to wake up.
A few minutes later and the three of them were faring much better. Ochako was almost completely alert, Iona was able to remain upright under her own power and had started eating, and Rei—who had already been the most alert of the three—was following her example, savoring the food Izuku had prepared.
Izuku joined them at the table, and for several long minutes they simply ate in silence, enjoying the food and the comfort of each other's company.
Before too long though, Izuku—having determined that everyone was awake enough to engage in conversation—spoke up.
"Do you know how many of the others are supposed to be there today?" He asked Ochako.
"As far as I know, it should be just about everyone. I think Todoroki and Bakugou are the only two that haven't given an answer."
With Yueii's summer camp coming up, as well as the trip to I-Island—which evidently a few other members of 1-A were planning to attend as well—some of their classmates had put together a plan to meet up and do all of the shopping that needed to be done in preparation for both events. As well as eat lunch together, and likely whatever else they felt like.
Izuku didn't see much appeal in meeting with everyone else just to complete a few errands, but the idea seemed to excite Ochako, and the two of them did still need to go out to do just that. Besides, it would provide an opportunity for him and Rei to take Iona out, both to spend time with her somewhere that wasn't the apartment, and to give her a chance to pick out decorations for her room, and likely more toys and other such things than she would know what to do with.
That trip happened to be scheduled for today. The timing of that worked out fairly well. Aside from the fact that they were just a short few days away from the I-Island trip, Izuku had also put in an order for a number of clothing items especially for that trip, something that he'd paid quite a bit to have expedited so it would be ready in time, and which was due to be picked up today. More than that, the store that he'd ordered from: the one he frequented as Oni for those particular outfits, happened to be located in the same shopping center that they would be going to today.
Currently, the plan was to leave in a few hours, and arrive at the shopping center in time for lunch. Said shopping center wasn't even that far of a trip from the apartment. They'd be able to travel there on foot and make it in a reasonable amount of time.
Izuku nodded. "Makes sense. Those two have the least amount of association with anyone else in the class. Does anyone even know if either of them are going to I-Island?"
"Kirishima is pretty sure that Bakugou is going, but I don't think anyone knows anything about Todoroki."
Aside from Izuku, Ochako, and Tsuyu, the classmates that were evidently going to I-Island were: Iida and Yaoyorozu, who got tickets to the expo and the gala afterwards by virtue of their families, with Momo bringing Jirou and Ashido along with her, Kirishima, Sero, Satou, Hagakure, Shoji, Kouda, Tokoyami, Aoyama, and Ojiro, who bought regular tickets to the expo, but not the gala, and Kaminari and Mineta, who managed to get a temporary job at the expo, granting them admittance.
Actually, with the possible exceptions of Bakugou and Todoroki, everyone in their class would be attending.
Well, except for Izuku. Technically 'Izuku' wouldn't be attending at all.
Rei looked up from her food. "How long does the I-Island trip last again?"
"Including the day we leave, eight days, with us getting back on the ninth." Izuku answered. "The tickets we have grant us early access to the Expo, so we'll get there a day before everything starts. The Expo itself lasts for a week, with the reception party taking place on the evening of the last day. Then we'll be traveling back the day after that."
Rei squinted for a moment, thinking, before smiling at him. "Back just in time for your birthday then. Good."
Izuku grinned at her. "Yep, just in time."
"What's I-Island?" Iona asked, looking up from her food.
"I-Island," Izuku answered almost immediately, smiling down at her "is a really big city out in the middle of the ocean. A bunch of really smart people work there. They do all sorts of stuff like learning about quirks and making costumes for heroes."
"In fact," he continued, "I'm pretty sure that the people there make Miruko's costumes for her."
"Really?" She asked, eyes widening, her early-morning exhaustion all but forgotten. "Can I go too?"
"Maybe not this time." He said, reaching out and ruffling her hair. "But don't worry. Next time I go I'll take you along with me."
That seemed to be good enough for her, as she responded with an excited "Okay!"
From there they fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the food and one another's company as the other three slowly woke up fully. Soon enough, Izuku was collecting everyone's plates and started the process of cleaning everything up.
As he did, Ochako got up from the table, taking Iona with her. They were heading to Iona's room so Ochako could help her pick out an outfit for the shopping trip. Rei remained at the table, watching him.
"Four days in and you're already planning trips for her?" She teased after a minute.
He grinned. "Of course. She'll like it. And evidently her doctor recommended that she go there at some point anyway so that they could take a closer look at her brain, so if we can manage to confirm her health while we're there, then all the better."
"Oh and don't tell her yet," he continued, "but I'm fairly certain I can also arrange an actual meeting between her and Miruko at some point."
Rei's eyebrows raised. "Oh? How's that?"
"I met Miruko when I took Ochako to her internship. She attacked out of the blue when we arrived, and I fended her off. Before I left, she expressed an interest in actually fighting me. She came across as a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to arrange something like that in exchange for meeting Iona."
"An adrenaline junkie, huh? The two of you ought to get along quite well then."
"Ha. Maybe. Depends on how much of a fight she can put up. In terms of close-quarters-combat and raw strength output, she's supposed to be second only to All Might, at least in Japan. And actually, she might be greater than him in certain aspects, since his superior physical capabilities have led to him relying more on simply overwhelming his opponents than actual skilled combat, unlike Miruko, who excels in just that."
"Isn't that how you fight as well though? Just brute force your opponents?"
"For the most part, yeah. But with the majority of my fights putting me against multiple combatants, and with my habit of letting the enemies make a move before retaliating, unlike All Might, who more often than not incapacitates his opponents before they can do anything, I have a fair bit of experience moving around and dealing with my enemies' attacks rather than simply overpowering them. This, combined with my general fighting experience and outright speed, means that I can respond to just about any sort of combat skill or style an opponent could use against me. And if it doesn't, I am nothing if not adaptable."
Before Rei could respond, Iona and Ochako returned to the living room, interrupting their conversation. The two of them had picked out a lime green shirt and pink pants for her to wear. They ignored Izuku and Rei, instead settling down in front of the tv. Izuku, having finished cleaning up, turned to watch them. He smiled as Ochako lifted Iona into her lap.
It had only been a few days since Izuku and Rei had adopted her, but things were going almost perfectly. Certainly as well as he'd hoped, if not better. She was getting along with all three of them exceedingly well. She actively interacted with everyone, and was happy more often than not, which Izuku was able to confirm with certainty thanks to 'Observation.' She still wasn't quite able to eat dinner in the kitchen with them, and she'd been woken up by a nightmare again last night, but both situations were improving. They could get her to eat while in the living room, so long as either Izuku or Rei was the one helping her, so that their tail could block Iona from seeing the kitchen and the door that led to it from the outside. And the simple fact that she wasn't having nightmares every night was enough of an indication that she would be able to get through it.
Even Kemono, Iona's quirk, was warming up to them. He couldn't quite interact with them in most conventional ways, lacking the ability to speak and only being visible to Iona and Izuku, but he was still doing so in his own way. More often than not he was physically manifested, rather than staying within Iona, and would either sit a short distance from everyone, watchful but relaxed, or would be sitting on or against one of them, particularly Rei and Izuku, as he'd apparently taken a liking to laying on their tails.
Last night, after Iona had come to him after being woken up by a nightmare, and had fallen back asleep in his arms, Izuku had noticed Kemono curled up within the coils of his tail.
Izuku's smile faltered for a short instant as a thought entered his mind, one that been doing so on and off since he and Rei had first brought Iona home, before returning.
"I think I'm going to tell her." He said, quietly.
He looked over at Rei, who had turned to look at him. "Iona. I think I'm going to tell her about my quirk."
Her eyes widened. "Whoa, are you sure?" She asked, voice hushed.
"Not really. But it's something I need to do at some point. She'll find out eventually, just like Ochako did. Better that it happens now deliberately, when I can control the situation and explain it under my terms, rather than later accidentally."
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "And besides, despite the apprehension that I feel at the prospect, part of me does want to do this."
He was nervous, sure, and this was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but despite that, this was something he both wanted and needed to do. Logic aside, Iona was now essentially his child. He wanted her to know about him and his quirk, and not just because there were a number that he wanted to show off to her. Maybe it was the result of some form of parental instinct that he was unaware of. Some sort of desire to be loved by one's child. Whether that was the case, or he was simply making connections that weren't there to quantify his desire to follow through with this, didn't change the fact that he would be, despite how much his nerves made him not want to.
He knew that there was a chance that she would react negatively, that she would respond with fear, which was where most of his apprehension was coming from—he loved her, had claimed her as a member of his family, had brought her into his home, and had already decided that he would do anything to make sure she got the chance to grow up happy. He didn't much like the thought of her being afraid of him—but the advantage was his. Iona was young, which meant that she was highly suggestible. Children her age generally believed and understood what they were told, especially if it came from an adult, and even more so if said adult was a parent or parental figure. Combine that with the fact that he could choose how he explained things to her, and had the ability to monitor both her thoughts and emotions to gauge her reactions, meant that he could reveal his quirk in a way that would not invoke fear.
Rei looked at him with concern. "Well… so long as you've thought it out, and you're sure. Just… be careful, alright?"
His smile became more genuine at her words. "Don't worry. I will."
"When are you going to tell her?"
"Today. Probably before we head out to meet up with everyone."
Rei nodded. "Alright. How do you want to do this? Do you want either myself or Ochako to be there, or would you rather be alone with her?"
"Alone." He answered. "I'll take her into either my room or hers."
"Okay." She said, before moving closer and wrapping him in a hug. "Good luck. I hope everything goes well."
He reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her, even as he kept his eyes on Ochako and Iona. "Me too."
As soon as the show that Ochako and Iona were watching was over, Izuku and Rei moved. Rei called Ochako away, to explain what was about to happen, leaving Iona alone in the living room. Izuku approached her barely a minute later.
"Hey Iona." He called, grabbing her attention. "I've got something cool to show you. Wanna see?"
She looked up at him with her too-big eyes, full of childlike excitement and curiosity. "Okay!"
Gesturing for her to follow him, he led her back to his room, leaving hers for her to retreat to if the worst outcome of this conversation came to pass, and she ended up running from him in fear.
With the door closing behind her, he lowered himself down to her level and held out his hands like they were cupped around something.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yeah!"
Taking a deep breath, he opened his hands, holding them palm-up to show the flowers that completely covered them, courtesy of 'Florist.'
Iona gasped, and her eyes went almost comically wide. "Wooaah. They're so pretty!"
He smiled at her reaction. "That's not all." He said. "Watch."
Focusing on the flowers blooming across his hands, he pulled on and activated 'Lightbulb.' A few seconds later, they began to glow.
Were it possible, Iona's eyes would've widened further. As it was, her mouth had dropped open, and she reached out to grab at one of his hands, pulling it closer so she could look at the glowing flowers.
"They're so pretty!" She repeated, before looking up at him. "How'd you do that?"
"You wanna know?" He asked, as more flowers sprouted, the effect starting to climb up his wrists.
She nodded. "Yeah!"
"Well…" He drawled. "It's a secret. But if you promise not to tell anyone else, then I suppose I can tell you."
She was nodding almost frantically before the words had even fully left his mouth.
"I won't tell! I promise!"
"Alright then." He said, leaning closer and lowering his voice. "I actually have more than one quirk."
Iona tilted her head at that, and Izuku—who had already been watching her emotions with 'Observation'—could feel the confusion mixing in with the excitement she'd just been displaying.
"But I thought that everyone only has one quirk?"
"That's true." Izuku said, nodding. "Everyone is born with only one quirk. But the quirk that I was born with is special."
"You see," he continued, "my quirk lets me take quirks from other people."
He was relieved when the stream of confusion didn't give way to fear or anything like it. She was still just curious and trying to understand.
"But… isn't taking things wrong?"
Izuku nodded. "Most of the time it is, but it depends on why you're taking it, and who you're taking it from."
He thought for a moment, before continuing. "You know how bad people, like the villains on tv, get in trouble with the police, and get taken to jail so they can't do bad things anymore?"
"Uh huh."
"That's kinda like what I do." Izuku said. "I take quirks away from bad people. That way they can't use them to hurt anyone else."
Iona's eyes widened a little bit, and Izuku felt a bit of excitement work its way back through the confusion.
"So you're kinda like a hero?"
Izuku's hearts clenched at that, and he smiled at her. "Almost. I go around and save people, and I punish the villains."
"In fact," he continued, lowering his voice a bit, "I even have a costume. Would you like to see it?"
She gasped at that. "Yeah!"
"Alright, close your eyes for me. And no peeking, okay? Kemono too."
She nodded immediately, before slapping her hands over her eyes.
Izuku smiled, even as he pulled on the quirks needed to change his face to Oni, using 'Florist' at the same time to pull back the flowers that decorated his hands. It was done within seconds, horns sprouting from his head and hair changing in length and color. The only thing he didn't change was the presence of his snake tail; he'd leave that in place for now. With that done, he pulled a black vest—he was already wearing a red button-up—from within 'Hotbar' and donned his mask.
"Alright." He said after a moment, his voice altered. "You can look now."
Iona moved her hands away from her eyes to look at him, and immediately gasped at the sight. This time, Izuku chuckled at her expression.
"You-! You're the-! The hero that saved me!"
His hearts warmed at her calling Oni, calling him a hero.
"Yep! That's right. I'm the one who found you that night, and stopped the bad men from hurting you.
Iona was practically vibrating in place, her hands absently reaching for him, making little grabbing motions.
He bent down and scooped her into his arms, and she reached up to touch his mask.
"I go out almost every night to help people like you, and stop the villains."
She didn't react to that, too preoccupied with his appearance. She pulled his head forward by the mask, and reached up to touch one of his horns.
"Those are the kind of people that I take quirks from." He said. "Bad people, who try to hurt others."
She reacted to that though. Pulling her hands back, she looked up at him.
"So… you only take from bad people?"
Izuku nodded. "That's right. Only bad people."
She seemed to think for a moment—the thoughtful expression on her face was adorable—before smiling. "Okay!"
He almost laughed at how easily she accepted it. Shifting her around in his arms, he set her down, before reaching up to take off his mask. He held it out to her, and she grabbed it and immediately held it up to her face. Izuku wished he could take a picture to show Rei.
As she looked up at him through the mask, she seemed to just notice that his face had changed. And just like that her focus shifted again.
"How come your face looks different? Is that because of…" she paused to look around, before lowering her voice to a whisper that probably would've been audible through his door if it wasn't soundproof. "Is that because of a quirk too?"
"That's right." He responded, using the same quirks to revert the changes to his face. Her eyes widened once more as his face changed, horns receding into his head and hair lengthening and changing color. Her hands lowered from where they were holding the mask to her face.
"Wooah." She whispered, reaching out to him again. He lowered himself to her level, and she reached out to pat at his once-again-curly hair where his horns just were, confirming that they were really gone.
"How many quirks do you have?"
"Oh, lots and lots." He answered. "They let me do all sorts of things. They make me as strong and as fast as All Might, they let me fly, and breathe fire. They even let me see through walls and control the weather."
"Woah!" She exclaimed again. "That's so cool!"
Izuku felt the last of his anxiety, which had been slowly fading away as the conversation wore on, disappear with her reaction. Not once during his explanation had her emotions shown even the slightest bit of fear.
"You really think so?" He asked, smiling.
"Yeah! People are only supposed to have one quirk, but you have lots! And they make you really strong!"
She gasped, as if she had a sudden realization. "You might even be as strong as Miruko!"
Izuku wasn't quite sure if he'd be able to handle her being so adorable for much longer. Smiling at her, he reached out and set his hand on her head, ruffling her hair and pulling her into his arms.
"I wish I had a quirk like yours." She said, voice partially muffled.
And oh-.
If Izuku didn't have the ability to check with 'All Sight,' he would've thought that both of his hearts had burst right then and there.
He swallowed back a sudden lump of emotion in his throat. This child… She would be the end of him. So innocent, so openly honest about liking the part of him that for so long had been the part that he hated the most. If it hadn't been a certainty before, it most definitely was now; he would do absolutely anything for her.
She could ask him for the world, and he would present it to her on a silver platter.
But… that thought gave way to another. He looked at Iona and knew with absolute certainty that he would do anything and everything in his power to ensure that she could grow up happy, healthy, and loved. He knew with certainty that he would sooner tear out his own heart than let anything happen to her. As far as he knew, this was a common sentiment among parents—though perhaps his was stronger, or more intense, if for no other reason than because he was capable of doing so much more for her than most—so then… Why hadn't his mother felt the same?
Iona could stab him in the heart right at this very moment, could declare that she hated him and wanted nothing more to do with him, and he knew that his determination to provide for her and protect her would not falter in the slightest. Hell, she could even do to him what he had done to his mother and it wouldn't change a thing. So where was the disconnect? What was the independent variable?
Of the six people that knew of his quirk, she was the only one to not at least accept it. Even Yagi, though he had more reason than anyone to dislike it, and though he had revealed the secret to Gran Torino in a moment of fear-induced weakness, had accepted it, and had even displayed curiosity and interest in it. She was the odd one out. Granted, of the six, she'd been the only one for whom the revelation had come in the form of him taking her quirk, but it had been without pain, and the result of an accident.
So, if she was the only one to dislike it thus far, despite knowing him far better than anyone else had at the moment of learning about it, and had reacted so harshly that she either ignored or completely discarded the parental instincts that Izuku was fairly certain that most parents possessed, enough to even go so far as to try to—however indirectly—kill him. Wouldn't that mean-?
If she was the outlier in so much of this, if so much evidence pointed to her reaction being the one that was strange…
That would mean that the fault for what happened to him lay entirely with her, wouldn't it?
Izuku's head felt slightly fuzzy, and his vision was a bit blurry. He vaguely recognized Tamako darting away from his mind.
Iona shifting slightly in his arms snapped him back into focus. Blinking his eyes, he realized that the blurriness was the result of tears. Activating 'Shower in a Can' had them drying instantly.
Moving a hand up to Iona's head, he ruffled her hair again.
After a moment, he noticed Kemono appear a few feet away, looking at the two of them.
Smiling, Izuku extended a hand towards him in a silent invitation, which was accepted immediately. He scrubbed his hand across Kemono's furry head before pulling him into the hug as well.
After a minute of this—which Izuku may or may not have pulled on 'Quick Thinker' to extend so that he might savor it just a bit longer—he separated from them.
"Would you like to see some of the other quirks that I have?
Excitement was once again Iona's predominant emotion as she responded with an enthusiastic "Yeah!"
Smiling at her reaction, Izuku picked out the one that he felt she'd enjoy the most.
Then, without warning, he transformed into a cat.
He was pretty sure that, sound proofing or no, Rei and Ochako heard her excited squeal.
Izuku hummed to himself as he moved down the sidewalk. Rei was at his side, the two of them parting the crowd of pedestrians like the Red Sea, Ochako and Tsuyu were walking just ahead, and Iona was sitting on his shoulders, fingers buried in his hair. They were currently on their way to meet up with the rest of 1-A at the mall.
The day was perfect for something like this, both in terms of weather and in general. Izuku was on cloud nine at the moment after revealing his quirk to Iona—both the relief at her reacting with excitement, enthusiasm, and curiosity rather than fear, and the excitement he'd felt at showing off so many of his quirks to her had him almost giddy—and had pulled on 'Tempest' to make the weather match his mood.
As the mall came into view, Izuku noticed a few of their classmates standing outside, likely waiting for everyone to show up. Specifically, he saw Ashido, Hagakure, Kaminari, Shoji, and Kouda.
Once they were close enough for Ochako and Tsuyu to notice them, they picked up the pace to meet up with them. Izuku, Rei, and Iona caught up a minute later.
Before Izuku could even get a greeting out, Ashido cut him off.
"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, moving towards him. "Etsumi! Who is that!?"
She stopped just a few short feet away, staring up at Iona with wide eyes. "She's so cute! Is she your little sister?"
"Hello to you too, Ashido." He greeted. "This here is Iona. And she isn't my sister. Technically she's my daughter. We adopted her a few days ago."
That stunned her into silence. Now she was staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open. Kaminari and Hagakure mimicked her shock behind her, and even Shouji and Kouda displayed a bit of emotion at that.
It took her a few moments to recover, but once she did-.
"Your DAUGHTER!?" She all but screamed, attracting the attention of the surrounding pedestrians.
"Yes." He answered. "Please lower your voice."
He reached up to Iona as he spoke, settling his hand on her back. She'd been handling Ashido's attention surprisingly well, but he'd felt apprehension and the slightest bit of fear manifest at the scream and the attention from everyone around them.
Thankfully, Ashido listened to him, and the pedestrians were too busy with their own lives to spare much more than a glance once they realized nothing was happening.
"What the heck, Etsumi?" Ashido asked, much quieter this time. "We haven't even finished out first year at Yueii, and you adopted a kid?"
"That's what I just said, yes."
"Why?"
"Because I could. And because I wanted to. What other reason do I need?"
Before she could get a chance to say anything else, Izuku patted Iona on the back.
"Iona, this is Ashido. She's going to Yueii to become a hero just like Ochako and I."
"H-hello." Iona greeted, lifting a hand to wave. "I like your eyes. They're pretty."
Ashido made an odd squeaking noise, clenching a hand over her chest.
"So adorable." She whispered. Then, looking back to Izuku. "I can't believe you adopted someone so cute and didn't even tell me!"
"I'm telling you right now."
She narrowed her eyes at him, but he started moving towards the mall again before she could respond.
"Come on." He said, gesturing for her and the others to follow him. "Obviously you all have lots of questions. If you're going to harass me, it might as well be while we're eating lunch."
They all complied, trailing behind him as he led them into the mall and to a restaurant with outdoor seating able to accommodate his and Rei's tails. Soon enough, they were seated around a few tables, and the other students got a chance to fawn over Iona. Most of it was done by Ashido and Hagakure, who did their best to keep her for themselves, but even the other three had their attention completely captured by her. Izuku even saw Shouji and Kouda entertaining her with their quirks. Shouji was splitting his arms apart and morphing them for her amusement, and Kouda used his to call nearby birds to him, convincing them that Iona wasn't a threat, and to perch themselves in her hair.
Izuku was pleasantly surprised, and quite pleased to see how well Iona was handling their attention. Considering the fact that they were all strangers, and that her first meeting with one of them had slightly scared her, he thought that it would've taken a bit longer for her to warm up to them. He imagined it was at least partly due to the friendly dispositions of Hagakure and Ashido in particular, and the fact that they were fawning over her. Then there was also Iona's interest in everyone's quirks. With how much she enjoyed seeing them, and with how curious she was, Izuku was beginning to suspect that him revealing all—or at least most—of his to her earlier in the day had fostered some sort of fascination with quirks.
Even Kemono made an appearance to interact with the students. Particularly with Hagakure, likely due to the similarities they shared. He was limited in how much he could actually interact with them, but it wasn't long before Hagakure was fawning over him as well, fascinated both with his invisibility and how he was covered in incredibly fluffy fur.
The students' interacting with Iona only died down once their food arrived. Instead they took the chance to bombard Izuku with questions.
As they ate, and as Izuku did his best to satisfy their curiosity, more of their classmates began to arrive in the mall. Some made their way over to the same restaurant that Izuku and the others had chosen, sitting at nearby tables—which caused a repeating cycle as each new arrival noticed Iona—and some ended up eating elsewhere.
Once they finished eating lunch, and the few remaining students arrived, everyone split into groups to start shopping. Izuku, obviously, stayed with Rei, Iona, Ochako, and Tsuyu.
They made their way around to a few different stores to pick out what they needed for the two trips, which actually wasn't very much. Izuku already had plenty of clothes and, thanks to her shopping trip with Rei earlier in the year, so did Ochako. They mostly only needed the suitcases to carry everything, and perhaps a few toiletry items.
Izuku had already picked up the only clothes he'd needed to get today; a set of outfits that he needed for I-Island, and the plan that he'd been putting together for the trip. He now carried it all draped across his arm, and would try them on once he got home, as he needed legs to do so.
For the most part, the majority of the shopping that Izuku—and Rei—did was to treat Iona. They hadn't yet taken her shopping for clothes and decorations for her room, and so were taking this opportunity to do just that. Between all of the stores they visited, they accumulated a number of bags stuffed full of everything from clothes, to posters, to hero merch, to even toys. By the time they'd gotten everything for her that they wanted, they were carrying enough to make Izuku decide to start making subtle use of 'Hotbar,' tucking away a bag at a time every few minutes, until it was a much more manageable amount.
Soon enough, they'd nearly finished up. They only had another stop or two before they'd be ready to head home.
They were moving towards one such stop, with Iona still on Izuku's shoulders and Rei by his side, and Ochako and Tsuyu walking ahead, when a voice sounded out from behind them.
"Izuku?"
Izuku froze in place immediately, surprising Rei, who stopped a moment later upon noticing, looking back at both him and the person behind. Ochako and Tsuyu stopped a few seconds later.
"Izuku?" Rei said, looking at him in confusion and concern, glancing again at the person behind him.
He didn't want to turn to look. He recognized that voice. He knew who it belonged to. And even if he didn't, even if his enhanced mind would let him forget it after all this time, he could never forget the face of the one it came from, the face that had abruptly captured all of his attention, and that had him questioning how he'd missed its approach.
"Wait…" Tamako said. "Isn't that…?"
Izuku dry-swallowed, and forced himself to move.
"Ochako." He said, voice a bit strained. "You and Tsuyu still need to find dresses for I-Island, right?"
"Yeah." She responded, nodded. "Izuku, what's-?"
Izuku cut her off. "Why don't you two go on ahead to do that." Then, reaching up to pick Iona up off of his shoulders, he continued. "Iona, how about you go with them. Help them pick out something pretty. If you do a good job, you can pick one out for yourself as well."
"Okay!" Iona said excitedly, running over to them and taking Ochako's hand.
Ochako was looking at him with confusion and concern, but she turned to walk away as he gestured for her to go.
As they disappeared into the crowd, Izuku took a deep breath, preparing himself. He definitely was not ready for something like this.
Then, forcing his expression into what he hoped was a friendly smile, Izuku turned around to look at Inko Midoriya, his mother.
She'd hardly changed at all since the last time he'd seen her, aside from perhaps being just a bit heavier, and from a slight bit of visible aging.
"Hello." He greeted. "Sorry, did you need something?"
He was not prepared for something like this. He'd never thought that he'd ever see her again. In fact, a significant part of him had actively hoped that he wouldn't. For so long his thoughts and emotions surrounding her were and incomprehensible storm flip-flopping between sadness, self-hatred, disappointment, and outright anger. The scant few times he'd thought about this scenario, he could never be sure of how he would react or what he would do.
And now here he was, with Inko standing just a few feet away, and he still didn't know. His best bet was to pretend as though he didn't know her, and try to end the exchange as quickly as possible and beat a hasty retreat.
"I-Izuku." She stammered out. "It's- it's me. I'm-. I-."
As she tried to stumble through whatever she wanted to say, Rei continued to glance between her and Izuku. He could practically see the gears turning in her head.
Then, without warning, he felt the stream of emotion from Rei go from a mix of confusion and concern, to a quick flash of realization, and then to a wave of pure rage, something that shocked Izuku far more than even Inko's appearance.
"You!" She hissed, expression twisting to match the fiery anger that Izuku felt from her.
She lunged at Inko, hands outstretched, only to halt in place as Izuku grabbed her by the shoulder to hold her back. At the same time he had to force Tamako to return to him, as they had chosen that moment to try to jump to Inko.
Rei's head whipped around to look at him. Her eyes were wild.
"Izuku!? Let me go! Don't you know who-"
"Reiko." Izuku said, cutting her off, his tone and the look in his eyes making her go silent. He gave his head a small shake, and she pulled back, her expression evening out somewhat.
Pulling her back so that she was behind him, he looked back to Inko, trying to smile.
"Sorry about that. Now, did you need something? Because if not, we still have a bit of shopping to do, and I'd like to get back to it."
"I-Izuku, please. I'm-. I'm your mother. I've been wanting to see you after I realized-. After I saw you in the sports festival. I wanted to tell you that-. That I'm sorry-."
Izuku's eyes widened, and the storm of emotion within him, that had been present whenever he'd thought of her over the last almost fifteen years, finally settled on one emotion in particular.
In the blink of an eye, all of his enhancers were yanked into place. His hand was halfway to her throat before he caught himself, just barely refraining from crushing her.
His fist clenched hard enough to fracture the bones in his fingers as it returned to his side. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Sorry?" He whispered. "You dumped me on the side of the road like an unwanted pet and you're sorry?"
His anger was not eased in the slightest by the fact that he actually felt genuine regret and sadness from her. No, somehow that only made it worse.
"Do you have any idea what I had to go through just to survive? Do you have any idea how hard it is for a child to survive being homeless in a city?"
"I-Izuku, I-."
"Hard enough that you almost got what you wanted." He continued, cutting her off. "I very nearly died, so many times. Had it not been for a mixture of my quirk and sheer luck, I would've been dead by the third day. Strangled to death in that very alleyway."
"And even after I just barely managed to get away from that, had I not been found by the woman behind me, my sister, who is an absolute saint by the way, I wouldn't have survived the week. She is the closest thing to a mother that I have, because she is the one who ended up raising me when you couldn't cut it. Maybe try apologizing to her for making her do your job."
Inko was speechless, stuck staring at him with her mouth hanging open. He could feel her sadness and regret growing more intense. That, in turn, only served to intensify his own anger, though maybe that was simply due to her continued presence.
He huffed. His anger was making it difficult to think.
"I mean, what did you think was going to happen here?" He asked. "Did you think that you'd just come up to me after nearly fifteen years, interrupt me spending time with my family to beg for forgiveness, and then- what? Expect me to get all emotional that I finally get to see my long-lost mother again? Did you maybe expect things to go back to the way they were before, mother-and-son, as if I'd be anything even close to happy to see you?"
"N-no, but-."
"But nothing." Izuku hissed. "You have no reason to speak to me. If you seek forgiveness, try speaking to Rei, or maybe go to the police and confess your crimes, hell, pick a god and pray if you have to, just don't expect any from me."
"You have no reason to speak to me." He repeated, leaning in closer and dropping his voice even lower. "You no longer have any place in my life. You made certain of that all those years ago. You've lost the right to approach me, or to even view me as your son. You've lost the right to be part of my family, and you've lost the right to even interact with the little girl that would've been your adopted granddaughter."
Inko's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, a new voice called out from behind Izuku, interrupting the exchange.
"Auntie Inko?"
In an instant, Izuku leaned back away from Inko and forced the anger from his expression as much as he could.
Bakugou stopped next to Izuku, looking between him, Inko, and Rei, whose face was still displaying more anger than Izuku had ever seen from her before.
"Ah, Bakugou." Izuku said, with a smile that he could tell was strained. "You know this woman?"
"Yeah, she's an old family friend." He answered. "Inko Midoriya."
"Oh, that explains it." Izuku said. "I think she might've made the same mistake you did regarding my identity."
Bakugou's expression darkened a fraction, and he looked at Inko.
"Auntie." He said, voice slightly strained. "Our Izuku's gone. You should know that."
"Ka-Katsuki." Inko stuttered. "Please. I'm-. I'm not wrong. This is Izuku, his quir-."
A sudden, very targeted exertion with 'Conqueror' cut her off, and had her dropping to the ground, unconscious.
"Oh dear." Izuku said, not an ounce of emotion in his voice, as Bakugou rushed to her side to check on her. "Is she dead?"
"She's fine." Bakugou said. "Or, she's alive at least. I'm not sure why she just passed out like that."
He pulled his phone out as he spoke, already dialing the emergency number.
"Well, it seems as though you have this under control." Izuku said, turning around. "So I think we'll go catch up to Ochako and the others."
Without sparing another glance at Bakugou or Inko, Izuku set off towards the store that Ochako, Tsuyu, and Iona had found themselves in, with Rei following just behind him.
She caught up to him a moment later, bumping up against his shoulder.
"You okay?" She asked.
"Mostly." He answered. Then, seeing her looking at him—her expression still seemed rather irate—he continued. "I am. I mean, I'm angry, unbelievably so, but I'll be good in a few minutes. I'll put everything off until tonight, when some very unfortunate criminals will have to deal with Oni blowing off some steam."
Rei reached up to rest a hand on his back.
"It's just…" He sighed. "Where does she get off trying to apologize after all this time? As if any apology could make up for leaving your own child for dead."
She started rubbing circles between his shoulder blades. "Maybe both of us should take a minute to cool our heads before we meet up with the others." She suggested. "I don't think I've ever actually been this angry."
He sighed again. "Good idea. Probably best to not let Iona see us like this."
With that, the two of them moved off to the side, to a spot next to a store entrance where they could get out of the way of the crowds, and simply take a few minutes to breathe, and relax, and take comfort in each other's presence. Izuku kept an eye on Ochako, Tsuyu, and Iona. Once they had found their dresses, Izuku and Rei would move again. Until then, they would take this chance to get their tempers under control.
Oni strode towards his first targeted location of the night, moving with purpose, and with enough weight in each step to send tiny cracks spiderwebbing across the ground as he walked.
Fourteen people spread across two floors. No quirks to be wary of, and two that he intended to take. At a glance, there didn't seem to be a single modicum of skill in the group.
As he neared the building, he ignored the door several feet to his left, instead aiming for the brick wall. He didn't slow as he reached it, and it exploded as he walked straight through, hand already wrapping around the neck of the man who was standing on the other side.
As everyone in the building reacted to the noise, he threw the criminal in his grip further into the room, right into another man. The two collided with enough force to render both unconscious.
Oni cracked his neck as the remaining twelve criminals began to gravitate towards him, the two others that were already in the room already heading straight for him, from opposite sides. One carried a knife, while the other's fists were wreathed in fire.
As they ran at him, he focused on them with 'Observation,' letting most of the world around him fade away.
Visions filled his head. As he'd already expected, he saw the knife being stabbed towards his chest, and a flaming punch thrown sloppily towards his head.
Waiting just a moment, he stepped to the side just as both of them attacked exactly as he'd seen. As he did, he watched the panic appear on both of their faces for a split second as they realized that they were both in the path of the other's attack.
Reaching out, he grabbed ahold of both of their wrists, shattering the bones beneath, before yanking the two of them together, careful to ensure that their attacks did not land. Their heads impacted with a dull thud, and a follow-up exertion with 'Conqueror' had them going limp.
Letting them fall, he stepped over their bodies towards where the next criminals would be appearing from.
The moment the first one appeared in the doorway, Oni darted forwards, with enough force to crack the ground beneath him. His hand latched onto their head, slamming it into the doorframe an instant later.
The other three scrambled to stop once they noticed him, but he didn't give them a chance to. One found their head slammed into a wall just like the first, and the second two were both grabbed and lifted by the neck, before being slammed into the ground.
He stepped over the fallen bodies as he continued onwards. six to go.
Moving through another door and into a hallway brought him face-to-face with all six. Among them were the two quirks he would be leaving with; a halo quirk, and a mutation that granted a thick, scaled tail.
The other four quirks were either useless, ugly, or uninteresting, so he wouldn't even spare them any attention.
One of the criminals said something, but he ignored it as he continued to walk towards them. After a moment, they gave up on whatever they were trying to say, and all six charged at him.
In the blink of an eye, he'd sank into the shadows and reappeared behind them all. In the time it took them to notice that he was gone, he'd grabbed ahold of the arms of two of them, crushing the bones in his grip, before grabbing their heads and bringing them together, cutting off their screaming.
Then, as the remaining four finally reacted, he stepped forward and planted a foot in the chest of one of them, sending the criminal flying down the hallway. His hand latched around the head of another and brought them close enough for him to headbutt, dropping them.
The final two were the ones in temporary possession of his new quirks. He caught both by the neck, pulling their quirks from them simultaneously in a swift yank that had both screaming. A quick exertion of 'Conqueror' had them shutting up, before he dropped them to the floor.
Oni took a deep breath as he felt the new additions settle into his chest. He tried to savor the sensation for a moment, tried to ignore the frustration that still bubbled away within him.
He sighed a second later, frowning as he looked around at the criminals sprawled across the floor. Nope, this wasn't working. His frustration hadn't abated in the slightest. He needed something more substantial, more challenging.
Shaking his head, he sank into the shadows, appearing outside the building an instant later. Maybe he should try the next one without any enhancers. Give the petty insects the slightest chance to hit him, and give himself a chance to push his body without the risk of killing anyone with a wayward flick of his wrist.
A few hours later, Oni stood on the edge of a roof, doing his best to enjoy the cool night air.
He looked down at his hands, bruised and bloody from hours of constant fighting and countless punches thrown. He hadn't yet pulled his regeneration quirks back to heal them, or the other numerous bruises and miniscule cuts that littered his body. He was still trying to savor the novelty of a somewhat challenging fight.
He wasn't feeling much better than he had been at the start of the night. In fact, if anything, he felt worse.
Sure, beating a ridiculous number of criminals senseless all night long had served to relieve the burning frustration he'd been feeling, and there had been a few moments where a fight had been almost exhilarating, but the lack of frustration just freed his mind to dwell on other things, and the minimal excitement hadn't been enough to outweigh it.
His frustration had mostly been a result of Inko appearing before him in the first place, and her belief—or at least his perception as such—that an apology could even begin to make up for what she'd done, and for what he'd gone through because of it.
Beyond that, once he'd spent a night exerting himself, dealing and receiving pain to clear it away, he was left feeling shitty, and guilty of all things.
Guilty because, despite his almost-realization after his discussion with Iona that Inko was the one at fault, not him, she was still his mother, and had come to him to apologize, feeling legitimate grief and regret, he had completely shut down her attempt to do so. He'd responded with anger, and very nearly with violence.
He knew that he'd had every right to react in such a way after what she'd done to him, but something about her being his mother, and about his refusal to even consider that apology had him feeling guilty.
He would need to talk to Rei in the morning, if for no other reason than to have his logic repeated back to him by someone else, to try to convince him that he had no reason to feel guilty.
And then all throughout the night, he'd slowly been feeling shittier, because—once again, despite his recent revelation—as he continued to pummel criminals, beat them senseless, leave them bloody and broken, he kept returning to his long-held belief that he'd deserved what had happened to him, that she'd abandoned him because he was a monster.
As he spent hours breaking bones and battering flesh, tearing quirks from their owners, he couldn't stop himself from thinking that-that was what he was: a monster that stole, and ruined, and crippled with every touch. He couldn't stop those thoughts even as he continued to move from hideout to hideout to keep doing just that. He couldn't stop himself from thinking that with each broken criminal and new quirk tucked away into his chest, he was proving his mother right, providing justification for what she'd done.
The result was that now, finally giving up on the futile endeavor to improve his mood by breaking petty criminals, all of the doubts, grief, and self-hatred that he'd been harboring since that day were all at the forefront of his mind, returning to him in full force.
Rolling his neck and taking a deep breath, Oni tilted his head back to look up at the night sky as his visitor finally made it to the roof, having watched him climb the stairs for the last few minutes.
"Hello Eraser." He greeted dryly. "How are you doing this wonderful night."
"Oni." Eraserhead responded. "What's going on with you tonight? You've been causing messes all across the city. There's been such a huge influx of criminals to process that I'm pretty sure Tsukauchi is tempted to start actively calling for your arrest again."
"If he thinks that's bad, then he definitely wouldn't envy the precincts in Hosu and Kamino. I left a much bigger mess for them to clean up."
Partway through the night he'd had to make a sudden jump over to that part of the country just so he wouldn't run out of criminals to fight. It'd had the added bonus of providing him opponents that were ever so slightly more challenging. Members of The Triad were a small step above the insects that made their home in Musutafu.
"Did someone piss you off?" Eraser asked. "You're usually much more low-key than this."
"I just needed to blow off some steam. Today was… frustrating, to say the least."
Oni turned to face Eraser as he spoke, and the man startled ever so slightly at his appearance. Oni wasn't particularly surprised. He knew he was probably quite the sight at the moment.
A significant portion of his clothing had been reduced to torn and burnt tatters hanging off his body, enough that he'd been forced to activate his scaled legs quirk to preserve his modesty. He was absolutely covered in bruises and cuts, and he was splattered with blood, both his and others'. Partway through the night, he'd taken his mask off, and in doing so had earned himself a broken nose not long after. On top of all of that, his right horn was broken off about halfway down, a result of a lucky hit from a particularly uppity member of The Triad, and the most significant injury he'd sustained.
"Must've been quite a bit more than frustrating." Eraser said, inching forward as he looked Oni up and down. "What exactly happened? What made you do… this," he gestured at Oni," to yourself?"
"Familial issues." Oni answered. "Trauma that I've been trying to bury and ignore for the past fifteen-ish years was suddenly dragged back to the surface by the one who caused it."
"And don't worry about the injuries." He continued. "They're barely even superficial. Just the result of me trying to find a challenging fight so I could blow off some steam."
As he spoke, he pulled his regenerators back into place, and immediately heat suffused his body as they went to work. Bruises faded away, cuts stitched themselves shut with a slight itching sensation, his nose snapped back into place with an audible crack, and his broken horn abruptly fell away to make room for a new one to grow in its place.
In mere seconds, he was completely healed, with just the blood and the tattered clothes remaining as evidence that anything had been wrong in the first place.
Eraser stared, wide-eyed at Oni as his injuries disappeared. He could practically see the questions on the tip of the man's tongue, but Eraser shook his head, evidently deciding to follow his other train of thought.
"Are you… okay?" He asked. "Is-. Is it anything you want to talk about?"
Some of the tension in Oni's chest, and the unpleasant thoughts and emotions in his head abated somewhat at the concern in Eraser's voice, which was mirrored by the stream of emotion picked up by 'Observation.'
Oni closed his eyes. Fuck, he was so tired. After the night he'd had, he was exhausted, much more emotionally rather than physically, but either way it was almost enough to make him miss the sensation of sleep.
He opened his eyes to look at Eraser, the concern written in his expression, and then through him to look at the concern that he was feeling.
Fuck it, might as well.
"It's nothing too exciting." He said, looking off into the distance. "My mother abandoned me and left me for dead in the middle of an alleyway on my fourth birthday."
He ignored the way that Eraser blanched at the sudden revelation.
"As you can imagine, that can leave quite the mess in a child's mind. Abandonment issues, separation anxiety, self-hatred, depression, all that fun stuff. Add to the mix all the other bullshit psychoses you end up with when said child then has to survive on the streets amidst criminal insects and other homeless, and you get quite the volatile mix."
He glanced back to Eraser. "There's a reason that my nightly actions toe the line and, more often than not, cross the line into sadism. All of that bullshit had to have an outlet somewhere."
Oni looked away again, continuing, even as Eraser opened his mouth to try to say something.
"Anyway, I've worked pretty hard over the last fifteen-or-so years to bury all of that and move on with my life. And I think I've done a pretty good job of it, if I do say so myself. I'm in a good place in life, physically, financially, and most of the time, mentally."
He sighed. "But today I ended up running into my mother, after years. And instead of the disdain or disappointment or even outright hatred that I'd been expecting, that I'd convinced myself she must've felt in order to do what she did, instead she showed up with grief and regret, and an apology of all things."
Oni huffed out a small laugh. Just the thought of it was sparking up frustration again.
"Can you believe that, Eraser? An apology. She just walked up to me out of the blue and tried to apologize, as if it could do anything to make up for fifteen years of suffering and almost dying and- and growing up without the love and support of a parent and- and-. FUCK!"
He turned and kicked at the lip around the edge of the roof as his anger burned through him once more. Without his enhancers present, or even his shock absorber, the impact broke all of his toes, and fractured his foot, injuries which were healed in an instant.
Oni's legs suddenly gave out beneath him, forcing him to catch himself on the same lip he'd just kicked as his knees buckled.
He waved Eraser off as the man stepped closer out of concern, just shifting himself into a seated position, leaning up against the lip. He leaned his head back to stare up at the sky. His momentary anger was already bleeding away after his outburst.
"As you can probably imagine," he said, "I didn't react too well to it. I was angry, and only just barely managed to stop myself from resorting to violence."
He knew he probably shouldn't be telling Eraser any of this, and he knew that, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even consider it, but right now he didn't care. He just… didn't. He was tired, and hurt, and confused. By this point the words were just spilling out of him.
"That's a perfectly valid response." Eraser said, kneeling down a few feet away. "After what she did, that's more than reasonable. You're not obligated to accept any apology."
"I'm aware. I can see the logic, and I know that, to a degree, my response was justified. But despite that logic, now, of all the possible things to be feeling, I feel guilty. Guilty that I completely disregarded my own mother's attempt to apologize for what she's done."
Eraser remained silent at that. His concern hadn't faltered through Oni's explanation. Rather, it had actually intensified to the point that it practically radiated off the man. There was also a slight bit of confusion that seemed to indicate that he didn't know what to say.
"Even worse than that though, is that when I sought out my usual outlet for anger and frustration, fighting criminals, I just ended up feeling shitty. Every bone I broke, every criminal I rendered unconscious, every useless insect I left to be dragged off to a hospital just seemed to justify what she did. The same justification that I've held on to for the last fifteen years: that she did what she did because I'm a monster. That-."
"Oni no!" Eraser interrupted, startling him.
He looked at the man, surprised, both by the outburst and by the fact he'd actually raised his voice.
"You're not a monster, Oni. Not even close. Not then, and certainly not now. I don't know the specifics of what happened between you and your mother, but if she abandoned you in such a way, and especially at such an age, no matter what you might've done, that makes her the monster, not you. And as for now, you're right in that your actions tend to toe the line of sadism and unnecessary force, but that doesn't make you a monster. You help far too much for that to be the case. Tsukauchi might groan and complain every time you give him extra work, but I've heard him talk about how much the crime rate in Musutafu has dropped since you became active. If you can singlehandedly drop the crime rate of an entire city without killing the criminals you target, then you're not a monster."
Eraser had such an earnest expression as he spoke, and Oni could feel in his emotions just how much the man meant what he said. He smirked as he laid his head back again.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Eraser. Really, I do. But if it were simply a matter of logic and justifying myself with my own actions, I would've dropped this train of thought years ago. But this is a belief that's been sitting and festering in my mind since about three days after the incident that caused it."
He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes. "That's part of the reason I'm so frustrated with all of this. I know I shouldn't think like this. I'm in a better situation now than I ever have been, surrounded by more people that love me than ever before, I even have a child of my own. But now, just because my mother decided to show back up after fifteen years, these dangerous thoughts are being dragged back to the forefront despite all of that."
"You… You have a child?" Eraser asked, both his expression and his emotions morphing to display sheer bewilderment.
"Ah, shit." Oni cursed, realizing what he'd said.
He sighed. "Sorry Eraser, but it looks like that's where I'm going to have to call it. Thanks for the impromptu therapy session, but it looks like it's time for me to go."
Without giving Eraser a chance to say anything else, Oni moved. He pulled back all the quirks he'd deactivated for the sake of a challenging fight in an instant. Then, placing his hands on the lip behind him, he used his flight quirk to flip himself up and over the edge of the building, dropping over the side. The instant he was out of Eraser's sight, he vanished into the shadows, reappearing halfway across the city.
Taking a seat on the edge of the new building, he looked out over the beach that it sat next to.
Well, that had been an interesting conversation.
On the one hand, he'd revealed more to Eraserhead than he'd ever considered revealing before, even accidentally letting slip that he had a child. He knew that-that would come back to bite him in the ass at some point.
On the other hand though… He did feel a bit better after that conversation. Whether it was Eraser's reassurances, backed by such genuine emotion, or simply a matter of Oni voicing his issues to someone, he felt better than he had all night.
He sighed, sinking into the shadows once more, this time emerging in his bedroom. He would talk to Rei once she woke up. Hopefully repeating the process, voicing his thoughts, and inevitably receiving countless reassurances in return, would yield the same results. Though either way he had no doubt that talking to Rei would make him feel better.
Cracking his neck, he pulled on the quirks he needed to change his appearance. For now though, he would at least try to focus on his analysis to keep his thoughts occupied until she was awake.
Chapter End Notes
Rei and Tamako, realizing that the woman standing in front of them is the one who abandoned Izuku, and the one responsible for one of his greatest traumas: "Hope ur ready to catch these hands. This ass-whooping is fifteen years overdue."
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