23/04/2022

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The Emperor's Dragon
Fledgling 66

Huge news!

Izuku looked down at his phone. The text was from Inasa and given the context he was surprised. Inasa was usually much more calm

News? He texted back after putting down his pen. This was far more interesting than his English homework.

Shadowcrawler agreed to sponsor me!

It took Izuku a moment to remember who Shadowcrawler was. Obviously with a name like that, he or she was a hero but then he remembered that Inasa had caught a pickpocket at one of the quirk use days and Shadowcrawler had been there.

He gave his phone a half smile. Inasa was a friend. A good friend but the other teen was firmly of the view that the world was good. He didn't know Izuku's true position, or what had happened beyond what he'd told him. Izuku's lips quirked. His dad wouldn't even call Inasa a friend. He was an acquaintance. Either way, the knowledge that the other teen was going to be sponsored into heroics didn't cause him much concern.

You are graduating a year early? Izuku focused on the important question.

No, silly! He's going to work with me next year and then sponsor!

He could tell Inasa was excited.

That's fantastic, Izuku told his friend. Though is Shadowcrawler's quirk a good match for yours? He tried to recall the hero. He didn't think their quirk was something that would complement Inasa's and therefore allow the hero to understand the types of challenges the other teen had.

Not really, Inasa admitted. But he can help out in a general sense and he's assigned one of his sidekicks to work with me on general fitness and fighting forms.

Izuku gave his phone a smile. It sounded like Shadowcrawler knew his limitations and was going to do his best by Inasa anyway. That was good to know. A lot of heroes wouldn't even think they were incapable of anything. Which sidekick? He still didn't remember a lot about Shadowcrawler, but that wasn't the point. He could look him up.

You won't know him! He's new, just graduated but it's Spinner, the Tracking Hero.

Inasa was right, Izuku had never heard of him.

He's really good. He can stick to anything and uses a sword!

So will you be able to train hard? Izuku asked.

Physically, yeah, Inasa agreed. But it's easy to get away from him if I use my quirk, he added.

Izuku nodded. Inasa could simply fly away and it didn't sound like Spinner would be able to follow.

Though Magneteé is tough anyway! She usually wacks me out of the sky if I try to fly away!

He did a very quick search for Magneteé and the first information that came up was that her Agency had an alliance with Shadowcrawlers. She was a career hero, ranked consistently in the mid 300s. She seemed to do a mix of rescue and patrol heroics which probably meant her stats weren't too bad.

How does she do that? Izuku asked curiously.

Her quirk is magnetism, Inasa wrote back. Of people! She's only got a limited range, but she's pretty good at making it feel larger. She made Spinner fly at me once with his sword. That was terrifying!

Izuku laughed. He couldn't really see it but having anyone flying at you with a sword would be scary.

Practice hard! I want you to dissipate the trails you make, he added.

… I'm still working on that, Inasa replied and Izuku could tell he really didn't want to admit that.

You'll get it, Izuku reassured his friend. While he worked with Kurogiri to control his quirks, he'd found that even just practicing with Gigantomachia physical fighting techniques helped to hone his control. So even if Inasa couldn't really practice with his quirk that much against Spinner, Magneteé or Shadowcrawler, the physical practice would help. Do you know where you want to apply? It was a year early but he kind of thought he knew where Inasa would say. While there were lots of hero schools, there was really only one everyone wanted to go to.

UA. Inasa confirmed his suspicions. Where do you want to go to High School?

That was an interesting question. He didn't want to go to a Hero School but something that offered a more broad range of education. The problem was… UA wasn't just the best Hero High School in the country, it was the best High School. All their courses were considered the best, though Tokyo High School was competitive for leading people into pure business based University degrees.

So that meant, in one way, he did want to go to UA, but into their management course. Except…

The heroes knew about him, and there was absolutely no way he was going to be used against his dad again.

I don't know, he sent back to Inasa. UA has a good management course so maybe I'll see you there, he added though he thought Tokyo High School might be a safer alternative.

I will need you to be my manager (≧▽≦), Inasa sent.

Izuku smiled. We'll see ^ω^.

-ted-

"The confidentiality agreement is quite reasonable," Shunin said. "And if you don't feel that they've told you the truth, or provided the full record, then there is scope to challenge it," he informed her.

Inko nodded, listening but not really hearing the words. She gave him a small smile. "I don't want to accept it," Inko told her lawyer.

Shunin looked surprised but he covered it quickly and had the good taste not to look resigned. He wasn't Reikokuna's principal lawyer for nothing.

"I want my case to be public," Inko explained. "I don't want others to go through this."

"I'm aware of that," Shunin replied sympathetically, "but it's a reasonably minor case," he added.

"I'm aware of that," Inko returned. "Which is exactly why I want it public." She sighed. She'd thought about this for a while, coming up with the arguments as to why the case should be continued. Shunin really shouldn't care, so long as he was getting paid but Reikokuna had a reputation and he was aware of that. He probably didn't want to have it tarnished and she could appreciate that. "People need to know that even small issues should be taken seriously. They tend to think that their problem isn't that large, and they shouldn't make waves when that's not the case. It might seem like a small issue but to them, it can be the world."

She shook her head. "If you take out the fact that the case is about my son, or about any child, then all I'm asking about is a minor operational decision. Heroes need to be accountable to the public," Inko added.

Shunin took a deep breath as he nodded, acknowledging her points. "Your case isn't minor though," he cautioned her. "Anything involving a minor is by definition a major case. And there are factors against you, which make me believe you will not get the publicity you want."

Inko cocked her head slightly, indicating he should explain. At least he was taking her seriously and was willing to discuss the options. That meant she could convince him. That's all that had to happen.

"The HPSC heavied your previous lawyers," he said, holding up one hand. "Not that we'll ever be able to prove that. If I thought we could for an instant, I'd be pursuing that too," he said frankly. "Currently the HPSC is attempting to pull Reikokuna off the case." He gave her a vicious smile. "Not that we are listening," he assured her. "But it's an example. They do not want your case public and even without their rather heavy handed tactics, I don't think your case has the public appeal to truly capture attention."

"It's about my son," Inko objected.

"And usually a case about a child would get a lot of media attention," Shunin agreed. "In this case," he sighed and Inko knew he was going to say something she wasn't going to like. "The public won't be sympathetic to you because your boy is quirkless, and your husband was a villain."

He shook his head slightly. "You will get some support, yes, but the majority will think you are a stupid woman for marrying a villain. They also won't care about a quirkless child." He snorted. "You'll actually get some people who will think it's good that someone, a villain, is taking care of your son because it means Izuku isn't being a burden on the public purse."

"But, can't they be-" Inko fished for the right term. "Downgraded?" She settled on.

"I can't suppress those truths because they are public knowledge. The HPSC has said publicly that All Might was in Tsu to fight Toxic Chainsaw while he met with one of his lieutenants, Hisashi Riji, your husband. The fact that Izuku is quirkless will eventually come out too. And-" Shunin paused.

"And?" Inko prompted.

He sighed. "There's too many irregularities in your case."

"Well, can't they be used to show the HPSC is not being transparent?" Inko asked.

The lawyer shook his head. "They just aren't big enough. The HPSC would explain them away as clerical errors, a mistake, someone without the proper training or clearance looking at your case, a lack of information, a mis-categorisation… there's a thousand little excuses which all sound completely understandable." He looked her square in the eyes, his cat like eyes serious.

"You will get some sympathy," he gestured with one yellow hand towards the wall and the world that was beyond it. "There are conspiracy theorists who will jump on your case, and I know there is something more going on here but you aren't going to get the outcome you want," he told her pointedly.

"And what outcome do you believe I'm after?" Inko asked a little defensively.

"Something impossible. The rerunning of those operations," he answered her softly. Shunin shook his head. "They don't know where your son is," he told her sharply. "They only knew at that time, five years ago and the most likely explanation to come, even with the confidentiality agreement, is that one of the heroes made a bad call. Or there were watchers on your son which meant they couldn't go for him until your husband and Toxic Chainsaw had been dealt with. The Commission was unaware that your husband's allies would be so possessive of your son."

The proposed explanations were reasonable. They were realistic. Inko felt every word in her heart and she couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes. "I just want Izuku," she lamented as a tear escaped.

Shunin nodded sympathetically. "I know," he said gently. "And he's out there," he gave the extra encouragement. "But blowing the lid on something else, isn't going to help you," he continued categorically. "Infact, it might hurt your chances," he said with a slight note of speculation entering his tone.

"What do you mean?" Inko asked as she daubed her eyes with a tissue. They had been a constant in her handbag for years.

He thought for a few moments, worrying one lip with his teeth, before answering. "There's something they want to hide," he told her matter of factly. "Even if it's just that a hero made a bad call, you can probably use the fact that you've agreed to stay quiet to leverage for assistance the next time there is a lead on your son. Or you could get the HPSC to provide therapy for him, or something." He cocked his head slightly as he made the suggestions, obviously trying to make them sound more palatable to her.

"As hard as it is, you have to take the long view. And while smearing the Commission is good, your case has too many irregularities and will quickly blow over, or be dismissed, or worse, turned against you, so that you seem to be the unreasonable one." He nodded when he said the last.

Inko unfortunately could see how that could happen too. She would be painted as a desperate woman who had no life beyond her son. That was the truth. Her life revolved about searching for Izuku in any way that seemed like it had a chance. She'd got to Tsu herself looking at Middle Schools but that hadn't done any good and now… Normal people, those who didn't understand what it meant to have a missing family member, couldn't begin to grasp her pain. They didn't understand. The Commission wouldn't have to try hard to make her seem insane.

But… She had to have this case public. If she didn't score something against the Commission or against All Might's agency she'd never see Izuku again. "What about focusing on the Agency then?" Inko asked.

"The Agency?" Shunin queried.

"All Might's agency," Inko clarified. "They ran the operation," she reminded him.

She was thankful that the lawyer didn't just dismiss the question but felt her stomach fall when he shook his head slightly.

"Even worse," he made the conclusion in two words. "All Might is insanely popular, so anything brought against his Agency would have to be accompanied by overwhelming proof."

"Popularity shouldn't be a protection," Inko observed plainly.

Shunin nodded once. "I deal with reality," he said. "Even if the decision turned out to have come from his agency, I guarantee you it wasn't made by him."

"How can you be so sure?"

"His operation was Toxic Chainsaw, not one of the peripheral ones. He'd be aware they were being run but not what was fully happening with them," her lawyer explained. "Shifting your case to All Might's agency at this stage would do more damage than good. Only the most absolute fringe of society would offer any support, those with the most rabid of theories."

Inko trembled. "I just want Izuku," she repeated.

"I understand, and I want to give you the best opportunity to see your son again," Shunin told her.

Mentally Inko shrieked. No, he didn't. He didn't know. He didn't know that the case had to be public for her to see Izuku again. That her case had to become public but… His arguments against it were also persuasive and even if she paid Reikokuna to go forward with it, there was no guarantee that anything would happen. Or they could give it to a junior member or…

Her head hurt. "It has to go public," she heard herself say.

Shunin huffed softly. "I'll see what I can do to get the Commission to throw in disciplinary action against the hero who made the call," he said. "If that's what happened," he added as an afterthought but the statement confirmed what he, at least, thought had happened. "And I won't tell the Commission we are going to agree to the terms until the last second."

She'd never agreed to those terms. She couldn't, not when Izuku was on the line but Inko couldn't bring herself to nod or object. Her head was pounding except this time she felt it when that thing reached out to take control and managed to grab at it. No! Inko screamed internally. She was not going to let it ruin her chances, her real chances.

Taking her case public might let her see Izuku but that was on Hisashi's terms. That was on a villain's terms and for all that he said he didn't lie to her, there was no proof that he would keep his word. And… She wasn't a villain. She couldn't do his bidding.

The thing yelled at her and Inko clamped her jaw shut. She could do no more. She swallowed against the sick feeling that enveloped her.

"Inko, are you alright?" Shunin asked carefully.

Inko forced herself to nod. "I just don't feel well," she managed to say. If it wasn't about the case, about Izuku then she could speak more easily.

"I'll let you know how I go," Shunin told her.

That brought the thing back but she managed to keep it contained. Inko focused on how sick she felt because it was better than letting it win and if she thought about Izuku it would. "Thank you," Inko said as she rose. "I'd better go take care of this headache."

"Take care, Inko," Shunin said as she left his office.

Inko gave no response. She couldn't. It was all she could do to hold the not her in check as tears streamed down her face.

What had she done?

-ted-

Poor Inko a dose of reality is not always nice but Shunin is a good lawyer and would be remiss if he did not tell her these truths.

As for Inasa... he's on the recommendation path and while it's not a major hero recommending him, it's a hero. (I don't think we ever found out who recommended him). Oh yeah... and a few of the canon LOV have switched sides...

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out.

-ted-

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