Author's Note: So I'm back! The two weeks are up, and I'm here to give you the double digit chapter! This is the first chapter of the second arc: "Into the Limelight". There's going to be some special chapters here in this arc, and I'm sure you can guess what might be coming after the end of chapter 9. But there's gonna be more as well that some people might not see coming. I'm excited to delve deeper into arc 2 with y'all.
Also, if you want to get into a place with other lovers of MHA, and specifically IzuJirou stuff, come on and join this Discord server that I'm on:
/eFtmT8cTbY
We're only kind of crazy, and not at all a cult... except, we also kind of are. Anyway, yeah, join that!
I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's cross-posted on Ao3 as well. Leave a review if you want to. I welcome the feedback! See you next week.
"Izuku…"
Izuku heard a voice… calling him. Beckoning. It was muffled, though, so it was hard to hear anything other than his name.
"Izuku…"
There it was again, clearer this time, but still only his name. Was this a dream? Who was calling him?
"Izuku!"
The voice was feminine and… so familiar. So… pretty. Then he picked up on a faint scent. Also familiar… Lavender?
"IZUKU!"
Izuku woke up as he was being shaken. His adrenaline immediately kicked in, and he jumped from where he was laying. A second passed, and he realized where he was. His room. His new room. And then he realized who else was in his room, namely everyone that had been in the warehouse last night. He immediately backed up straight into the corner and fell to the ground.
"So…" Inko started. "When did this happen?" She pointed at Izuku and then at Kyouka.
"Wh-What do you mean? When d-did what happen? There's n-nothing happening?" Izuku asked.
"Cut the shit, Izuku." Mei said with a huge grin. "You and Kyouka were ALL up on each other when your mom came in here."
Izuku sighed. He looked at Kyouka, who was standing next to his bed with a light blush gracing her features. He stepped towards her, and, with a much deeper blush than Kyouka on his face, grabbed her cheeks and kissed her. He pulled back, his blush still peppering his face. Izuku opened his eyes to see Kyouka almost frozen in place, her face glowing red.
"I-I-I-Izu…" She stuttered out. "Izuku, what the shit was that?" She glared at him.
"They already know, Kyo… They weren't going to leave until we told them."
"They'd have to leave eventually!" Kyouka pouted.
"No no, he's right, Kyouka." Mei said. "I was not going to leave until one of you broke. But it's about damn time."
"Well, it looks like one of them broke the other one." Hitoshi offered. Mei began to cackle.
"That's fantastic!" She said in between laughing.
"In any case." Izuku said. "Can you get out? I would like to get ready for the day." He was, of course, still scarlet-faced as he said this.
"Fine, fine, we'll leave. Come on, you two." Mei put her hands on the shoulders of Hitoshi and Fumikage. "Let's leave them alone. We have plenty of time after they're ready to tease them." And with that, the three of them left Izuku's room, leaving Inko and Kyouka still in the room with him.
"So, Izuku." Inko sat down on his bed. "It seems like you have a lot to tell me." She smiled at him and patted the bed next to her. Both Izuku and Kyouka sat down on the bed next to her.
"Where do you want to start, mom? I mean, aside from what we talked about last night?" Izuku asked.
"Well, the topic of the hour right now is the two of you. When did this happen?"
"A few nights ago… I wanted to talk to Izuku, and things just kind of escalated." Kyouka admitted.
"When you say escalated…?" Inko asked.
"We tried to make the other person uncomfortable with things that we did or said, but it didn't work, and then I guess we just kind of… got together?" Izuku explained.
Inko couldn't help but start laughing. "All these years, and that's how you two get together?"
"What do you mean by 'all these years'?" Izuku questioned.
"Izuku, honey. I love you. But you were not good at hiding the fact that you have had a crush on this girl for a long, long time." Inko explained. Kyouka began to giggle, but Inko started talking again. "You weren't that much better, you know. You may think that parents don't see things, but trust me, we do." Kyouka stopped giggling. "Speaking of, I'm sure they'd like to know." Inko took her phone out and took a picture of the two of them and sent it to Mika, explaining this new revelation. "This does clear up a few things for me as well." She continued.
"Like what?" Izuku asked.
"Well, I thought you and her had gotten together a few weeks ago. But that was in the time that was just before you 'left for America'." Inko said, using air quotes. Izuku flinched a little at that. "So I guess that you were actually planning for this, weren't you?"
"That was some of it. But... it was also because I didn't want to be home." Izuku admitted. The silence in the room after that was palpable. Finally, Inko spoke up. Her voice was quiet and remorseful.
"Did I do something? Do you not trust me?" She asked. Izuku's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that. Out of all of the things he expected, this was not it. His mom… blamed herself?
"You… You didn't do anything, mom."
"Then why? Why didn't you tell me?" Inko looked at Izuku. She was crying again. "It's obvious that the Jirou family knew about it. They covered for you leaving. You trusted them. I… I could have helped you, you know."
"Of course I trust you… I just… I didn't want you to worry about me." Izuku said quietly.
"Well of course I'm going to worry about you! I'm your mother! It's my job to worry about you." Her voice echoed through the small space.
"I thought you were going to stop me, okay?!" Izuku exclaimed, catching the other two in the room by surprise. "I knew you would worry, and I understand that's just going to happen, but… I thought you were going to stop me. And I don't know if I could have handled that. All I've wanted to do was help people. I wanted to be a hero… And the place that gave the option took it away. And then I was given another way to help people. I… I don't think I could have handled having that taken away from me as well."
They sat in silence again.
"I'm sorry, Izuku. You're right. I… I probably would have tried to stop you. But now..." Inko hesitated. "I don't think I can stop you now."
"It's definitely too late for me to stop, mom." Izuku agreed.
"I know. Which is why… I want to help. However I can." Inko said.
"I can't ask that of you. Not with how things are right now."
"And I can't sit around doing nothing while my son is out there risking his life as a vigilante." Inko retorted.
"I…" Izuku sighed. "You're not gonna take no for an answer, are you, mom?"
"Not at all, Izuku. Not at all." Inko smiled.
"Fine." Izuku acquiesced. "We'll figure out a way for you to help that we're both okay with. With that out of the way, can I finally get ready for the day?"
"Oh, right. Sorry, Izuku." Inko stood up and left his room, turning and looking back at Izuku once before she passed the curtain.
Izuku sighed and put his face into his hands. Kyouka put her arm around his shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. You did good, Izu."
Izuku rubbed his temples. "The day just started and I'm already exhausted." He groaned.
"Well," Kyouka started. She pulled her phone out. "It's currently 8:30, which means that there's plenty of day left for you to be not exhausted. So why don't you get ready, and then I'll get ready, and then we'll meet back out there and eat some super nutritious sugar-loaded cereal." Izuku chuckled. "How does that sound?"
"That sounds pretty good, Kyo." Izuku smiled at her.
"There, a smile. I gotta say, you're much cuter when you smile." Kyouka said, leaning in and giving him a quick peck on the cheek before getting up and walking towards the curtain. She turned around one last time before exiting. "So stop with that mopey shit, alright? Everything went fine. We finished the mission. And you have me. Things are looking up, yeah?" And with that, she left.
Izuku sighed and finally got ready for the day. He threw on a "shirt" shirt and changed into some black basketball shorts. He entered the main room to see Kyouka, true to her word, was working on downing a bowl full of off brand sugar-loaded cereal.
"Hey, lover boy is finally out!" Mei announced, raising her glass.
"Stuff it, Mei." Izuku responded.
"Oooooh, getting brave now! I like it. So tell me, Izuku. Have you kissed your girl yet?"
Before Izuku could answer, Kyouka's jacks came to life. One of them pressed itself firmly on Izuku's lips, and the other stabbed Mei's neck. "Izu, you have a right to remain silent. You don't have to tell her anything." Kyouka said. "And you, Mei. Why do you need to know about our personal lives? The answer shouldn't matter, should it?" Kyouka asked. When Mei didn't answer, she stabbed her again and narrowed her eyes. "Should. It?" She repeated again, but slower.
"N-no, Kyouka. It shouldn't." Mei said, raising her arms in surrender.
"Good." Kyouka retracted her jacks and went back to eating her cereal.
"Mei, I have a question for you." Fumikage said.
"Yes, Fumikage. Yes, anything but this conversation anymore. What is your question?"
"We performed our mission yesterday to take down this criminal for a deal, correct? Some… someone requested our aid in exchange for... I believe they said they would create encrypted communications, correct?"
"That is correct, yes."
"When will our benefactor hold true to their end of the bargain?" Fumikage asked.
"Y'know, that's a good question. I haven't heard anything from Prometheus yet today. I'm sure whenever they're ready, we'll get a message." Mei said.
"Wait, so let me get this straight." Inko started. "You are using someone else to make encrypted communication, and they only agreed to do it if you took down that villain last night?"
"Yep."
"Oh yeah."
"That's about right."
"Pretty much."
"Yes."
Inko sighed at the responses she had just received. "Can you trust this person?"
Almost as if on cue, Mei's computer dinged, indicating a notification of some kind. Due to both the topic at hand as well as the context of why Mei would receive a notification, everyone in the room immediately assumed that it was Prometheus. They were, in fact, correct in their assumption. The six of them walked to Mei's computer to see a message waiting from Prometheus.
"I'm very trustworthy, I'll have you know. Anyway, Meimei, I have some news for you."
"News?" Mei asked aloud.
"Yes. I have finished your encryption as you requested."
Mei sighed in relief. "Phew, the way that you phrased that made it seem like there was going to be bad news. Maybe on top of that news or maybe there would be no good news and only bad news. But I'm glad it's just good news, right?" She asked.
"Well, I finished it. I can set up the encryption server on your machine, or I can send an email that has the file where you can download it yourself. That's up to you, Meimei."
"You can install it yourself?" Mei asked.
"I may have remote access to your machine."
Izuku raised an eyebrow. "And you're SURE that we can trust them?"
"Okay, I'll admit that them having remote access to my machine is a bit concerning, but I'm still sure that they're trustworthy." Mei said, her voice wavering slightly. "So, Prometheus, if you have your remote access to my machine, you can go ahead and set up the server. You're going to need to tell us how to set up the comms through different devices." Mei said.
"I'm installing now. There's going to be a system reboot, and then I'll walk you through the steps of everything once that's done."
The system, true to Prometheus' word, had to reboot, and then the five of them, six if you count Inko, much to Izuku's chagrin, followed the directions to set up the encrypted server and connect all of their devices to it.
Only Mei really seemed to understand what was going on, but she explained it as simply as she could to the rest of them… After a good few hours at least.
Mei sighed, exhausted. "Who would have thought that just explaining how to set something up would take four hours? I get that there are five of you, and it takes a bit, but… wow are you technologically inept?"
"Oh, I'm sorry that we were going to study to become heroes instead of technological prowess." Kyouka said.
"I studied medicine." Inko added. "Well, nursing, but close enough."
"I've been wanting to branch out my studies to include biology…" Mei mused. Inko's eyes brightened at that statement.
"I could teach you what I know!" Inko offered enthusiastically.
Izuku sighed. Truth be told, the fact that his mother now had even one reason to stay worried him. It's not that he didn't love his mother that he wanted her as far away from this as possible. Far from it, actually. He didn't want to see her hurt or in trouble. If she stayed, there would be the possibility of it, and Izuku didn't want to think of what would happen if she did. He couldn't say anything, though. He couldn't take another conversation like that with her. Not today. So it seemed that he would just have to grin and bear it.
Deciding to change the subject, Izuku asked Mei, "Did Prometheus mention what it is that they did that got us an encrypted server?"
"I think she mentioned something about piggybacking off of the government, but rewriting over partitions that haven't been used in a long time? And then hiding things within so many different directories that call to each other, but unless you know where to look, it's gonna be close to impossible to figure out what each one does individually. I'm honestly surprised I didn't think of it, but I kind of ruled out government stuff when working on it on my own." Mei explained.
Izuku simply looked at her. "You mean our encrypted communications system is piggybacking off of the GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN?" He asked.
"Yep, that's what I was told." Mei replied. "Now are you gonna be pissy about it, or are we going to use this incredibly useful opportunity and utility that is presented before us?"
"We'll use them, but I'm getting more and more worried about whoever this Prometheus person is. I don't know if we can trust them really." Izuku said.
"To be fair, I'm not sure we're in a position to be turning away help." Hitoshi said.
"I know that you're right, Hitoshi, it just… doesn't sit well with me yet. We'll see in the future. If we want to work more with them, we can. But be careful about trusting them entirely."
"I can still hear what you're saying, by the way." Prometheus' message said. "If I wanted to rat you out, I would have done so immediately. Just think about that." And then the chat went offline.
"Let's hope you didn't piss them off, Izuku." Mei laughed.
"Yeah..." He sighed. He hoped that this person was trustworthy. But as new as they were, just starting out with very little assets or allies, he was honestly afraid to trust anyone outside of his small group of friends. Hell, even his mom was a stretch. He didn't want his mom anywhere near them during this. But life didn't always go as one wanted it. Especially not Izuku.
As lucky as Izuku was, and as much as he could make things change to suit what he needed or wanted, fate was a bitch sometimes.
And karma came knocking on one of their warehouse doors. Literally. A sudden knock at one of the side doors startled the group. Izuku quickly moved to the side of the door and slowly opened it, peeking out as he did. Standing right outside the door was a young girl, maybe a year or two younger than them with long, bright orange hair, a headset around her neck, and glasses.
"Hello… can we help you?" Izuku asked, opening up the door a bit wider so that he could stand in the doorway. He heard a few steps behind him as others moved to the door as well.
"Yeah, I think you can." The girl said. She pointed at herself with her thumb and spoke again. "You said you didn't know if you could trust me. So here I am. In the flesh."
Izuku was at a loss. "I'm sorry… Who are you?" He had no idea who this kid was or why she was there. And yet she spoke like he should know her? Confused was an understatement for how Izuku felt at that moment.
"Really… After all we've done for each other? And I thought you were smart enough to figure out who I am." She sighed. "I'm... Prometheus." She finally admitted, gesturing at herself nonchalantly.
"Hold up." Mei pulled the door open further. "YOU are Prometheus?"
"In the flesh, Meimei."
"How the hell did you get here so fast, kid?" Kyouka asked.
"I may have been in the area…"
"Yeah? And you just so happened to be messaging us just a few minutes prior?"
"Listen, I managed to get your encrypted messaging system by rerouting old governmental systems and overhauling the whole thing to make it so that it's usable by you lot. I can message from anywhere I want to." The girl explained.
"But did you?" Hitoshi asked.
The young girl said nothing for a few seconds. "We're getting off topic!" She sounded flustered. "The reason I'm here is to make it so you can trust me. I'm extending the proverbial olive branch in the form of showing what I actually look like to you." She explained.
"And why are you so adamant about us trusting you like this?" Izuku asked.
"Would you believe me if I said altruism?"
"Absolutely not." Izuku said, deadpaning.
"Fine. If you want the real reason, it's because I'm bored." She admitted.
"Bored?"
"Yeah, I'm bored! Life right now is boring. I want to see what happens if some people like you change things up. I mean, I agree with some of your motives anyway, but I want to see what changes." She shrugged.
"I…" Izuku started, but trailed off. If he was being honest with himself, he had no idea what to say. This girl who had been solely a mysterious online presence made her way to show who she really was after Izuku made it clear he didn't trust her. If being bored truly was the reason that she was willing to help them, Izuku couldn't fault her. Although her reasons for it weren't the same as theirs, she went out of her way to show herself in a display of trust, hoping to get trust in return. It would take some work, but he supposed he could work towards trusting her now. And it wasn't like they didn't need the help anyway. "Fine…" Izuku sighed. "For the show of good faith, I'll take back my distrust of you. But the minute that you do anything to endanger the people in this room…" Izuku gestures to the four other members and his mother. "I will see to it that you regret it."
"Sounds good to me! I don't have any plans to do that, so there should be no problem." The girl said.
Izuku then realized something. He still only knew her as "Prometheus" and not as anything else. It seemed that Kyouka realized the same thing, as she asked, "So what is your actual name?"
"I'm still going to go by Prometheus for now. I'm not too keen on my name being out there." She said.
"That's understandable." Mei nodded.
"Thanks, Meimei." She smiled and then sighed. "Well, this is all I wanted to do here. I'm going to get out of here before anyone else sees me. Bye, guys." And without another word, she turned around and waved as she left.
"That was… that was something." Hitoshi said as Izuku closed the door.
"You're telling me!" Mei shouted. "I was under the impression that Prometheus was some super smart covert ops intelligence agent guy. Not some little kid. But here we are. Reality can be stranger than fiction, I guess."
"You thought she was that, even though she calls you Meimei?" Kyouka asked, raising an eyebrow. Mei just shrugged and went back to her computer.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence between the group, Inko spoke. "I'm going to go out for a little bit. I'll be back later, alright? Don't wait too long for me. But I'll need a ride back to my car either tonight or tomorrow morning. Do you think you could do that, Mei?" Inko asked. "If not, I can just use the train."
"I can take you wherever, miss Inko!" Mei said, standing up from her chair almost immediately. "We can go right now to wherever you want to go."
"Then would now be good? I don't want to impose." Inko asked.
"Of course! Come with me; we'll head to the van." Mei grabbed the keys and guided Inko out of the warehouse.
A few quiet hours passed before Inko and Mei returned, but through the bay doors, this time. The door rose, and immediately entering into the room, Inko and Mei came in carrying a large box.
"Out of the way! Coming through!" Mei yelled.
"Mei, what the hell is this?!" Kyouka asked.
"Miss Inko decided that she wanted to get us a TV… and a couch…" Mei admitted.
"Mom, why?" Izuku asked.
"Well, I wanted to help, so I thought that you were missing a couch and a TV. So here they are. I wanted you to be able to watch the Sports Festival. If you're going to keep doing this, you need to see what kind of things that other kids your age can do." Inko said.
"To prepare if we ever fight against them." Izuku finished, nodding.
"That's pretty damn smart. Thanks, Miss Inko!" Kyouka said with a smile.
"Oh please, Kyouka. You're with my son. You can just call me Inko." Kyouka immediately blushed and nodded. She tried to speak, but she couldn't verbalize anything.
"Mom!" Izuku yelled.
"And then the couch is to be able to sit and watch so you don't always have to use the chairs at the table." Inko continued, ignoring Izuku's outburst.
"So yeah, can you help us?" Mei asked, straining as she held up the TV box.
"Of course, Mei!" Hitoshi jumped from his chair and took the side of the box that Mei was currently struggling with. Mei sighed in relief as the weight was taken from her.
"There's also the couch that we have in the van. If someone could get that, that would be great, thank you!" Mei said in a sing-song voice.
Izuku and Fumikage got up and brought in the couch, using Dark Shadow to help them to great effect. Once the TV and couch were set up along the empty wall of the warehouse, Inko sighed with a smile.
"I think it's time that I get back to my car now." Inko said. "Mei, if you could give me another ride, I would appreciate that."
"Of course, Miss Inko." Mei walked back to the van and started it. "I'll be back in a bit, you guys. A few hours. Should be dark by the time that I'm back."
"We'll be here. Be safe, Mei." Hitoshi said.
Inko hugged Izuku, with the latter returning the hug. "I'll be back in a few days. Be safe, okay, Izuku?"
"I'll try, mom. You be safe, too, okay?"
"I will, Izuku. I love you."
"I love you too, mom."
Inko squeezed Izuku one last time before joining Mei in the van. As the two drove off into the early afternoon, Izuku sat down on the red leather couch, and Kyouka joined him soon after, cuddling into his side.
Izuku took a deep breath as he wrapped his arm around Kyouka. A familiar scent washed through his nose, and he instantly felt a wave of calm as he looked down at the girl that was hugging him.
"Lavender…" He chuckled softly to himself as he closed his eyes and just enjoyed the moment.
Kyouka, though Izuku couldn't see her face, was blushing up a storm. Eventually, she closed her eyes too, enjoying her boyfriend's company.
