Midoriya Residence- Musutafu, Tokyo- 200X
"I don't get it."
Majima smiled at the five year old sat across the couch from him and paused the movie that they were watching.
"What don't you get, Izu-chan?"
"Well, why did Hiro-san jump in front of him? Wasn't he the bad guy?"
"Ah, that. Well, it's complicated, but I think because it was the right thing to do."
"Whaddya mean? He's the bad guy, and he hurt a lot of people. Wouldn't the right thing be to let him die?"
Majima sighed fondly, muttering under his breath about 'kids' and 'black and white'.
"Yeah, but you saw how he was doing the right thing at the end, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, if he could do the right thing there, who's to say he couldn't do the right thing again?"
It wasn't Majima who spoke up this time. The voice was decidedly female and came from behind them, in the doorway of the living room.
Izuku turned his head and beamed, "Mom!"
"Tadaima."
She was dressed in her usual attire, a cardigan and skirt combo, with the added addition of a pair of reading glasses. Under her arm, she held a folder, likely filled with student's papers that needed grading.
"Okaeri!"
"Yo."
The older greenette smiled and walked over to the couch, lifting up the small boy and taking his spot, before plopping him down on her lap and giving the top of his head a light peck.
Izuku leaned back into her and got comfortable, as she sat her folder on the arm of the couch and ran her fingers through his hair.
"What did you mean mom? About the bad guy doing the right thing again? Wouldn't that make him, I dunno, not the bad guy?"
"Well, think about it this way. Do you think people are born bad?"
"Mm-mm."
"Well, then how did they become bad?"
"Well, in the movie, people did bad things to the bad guy and he got really mad and sad and started doing bad things to other people."
"So, what if something good happens to him? Maybe he could be good."
"I didn't think about that. But, why did Hiro-san have to jump in front of him? His mom and his grandpa are waiting for him. Doesn't he wanna get back to them?"
"Well, yes. But, it was the right thing to do. A hero saves people. And at that moment, he saw someone who needed saving, so he saved him."
"Hmmmmm..."
Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, putting a hand to his chin and puffing out his chubby, freckled cheeks, straining his mind and thinking really hard about what his mother said.
The overwhelming cuteness of it made Inko wish that she had chosen to take her phone out of her purse, which sat on the shelf near the genkan, when she came in. But the sight of Majima holding out his own phone and giving her a thumbs up made her smile.
New wallpaper GET!
She really needed to stop watching Izuku play Hisashi's old games.
Izuku finished up his brief period of concentrated thinking and nodded firmly.
"Okay, I think I get it. If a hero can't help someone who really needs it, how can he save everyone? Right?"
"That's right, Izu. Good job!"
Leave it to the Hero Ethics professor to explain the themes behind a kid's movie, and have it actually stick.
"Wow, well when I'm a hero, I'll be the kind of hero that saves everyone! Just you wait!"
He started laughing in a manner similar to a famous blonde superhero, his mother and uncle joining in, filling the apartment with laughter.
All the while, the Arakure Quest movie sat paused and forgotten in the background.
?- 201X
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Izuku's eyes opened to bright, blinding light.
Ah! Too bright. Way too bright.
He squeezed them shut again and waited for a few more moments to open them, listening to the beeping sound once again.
Where was he?
He felt something in his arm. It didn't hurt, but he knew it was there. Almost like someone was constantly pinching him.
He smelled the overwhelming scent of pine and bleach, the aroma of flowers, and a dash of antiseptic.
Okay, let's see where I am now.
Cracking open his eyes, bit-by-bit, he looked up to the ceiling.
Plain white, not quite as bright as before.
Turning his head to his left, he saw a heart rate monitor and an IV drip, the tube leading into his arm.
The latter certainly explained the pinching feeling in his arm.
He didn't know what would happen if he took that out, so he left it alone.
To his immediate right, he saw a side table next to his head. He couldn't see what was on it.
Further away, next to the wall, was an empty chair.
Ok, so he was left alone.
Izuku took a breath and his brain went into overdrive.
Okay, let's review.
I was on a rooftop, I had just fought Jiji with Taijiji. We won and then Kurosawa pulled a gun on us.
"Fine, change of plans. You all get to die right now. Starting with the damned Midoriya."
And then...
BANG!
He fired…
The boy blinked.
Wait no, that's not right…
BANG!
The gun was shot out of his hand and he fell.
"Yeah, I don't think so."
Akatani, he showed up just in time to shoot the gun out of Kurosawa's hand…
Izuku thought a little harder, realizing that that wasn't quite right.
No, Akatani showed up, but he didn't fire that shot.
BANG!
"Yeah, I don't think so."
Akatani was there for sure, but he showed up with two other people, one leaning on the other and one of them fired the shot.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Then, he shot the guys that Kurosawa brought with him.
They started talking after that, but I didn't pay attention to what they said. I was walking over to my mom.
And while I was doing that, I saw one of guys who got shot… aiming at…
Akatani.
"NO!"
I ran at him to stop him and-
BANG!
BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!
His breathing hitched and his heart raced as he remembered what happened after that.
He was shot.
He took the shot for Akatani, right in his lung.
According to the book he got from Shiro all those years ago, he should've choked on his blood and died.
Yet, here he was.
Maybe this is-
SLAM!
And suddenly, in the doorway in front of him, stood an out-of-breath Inko Midoriya.
They locked eyes and within the matter of half an instant, holding the younger greenette tightly and peppering the young boy's face with kisses before he could he even react.
Izuku, for his part, just held her back tightly and let her do what she was doing.
And if he cried just a little bit, that was nobody's business but his own.
It took a few minutes(realistically over half an hour) but the reunited mother and son were finally calm again.
"Mom, how am I still alive?"
"What?"
"I got shot. Didn't I? I should be dead."
"Hon, don't say that."
"It's the truth. So how?"
Inko sighed, reaching into one of the pockets of her skirt and pulling out a small, familiar object and pressing into Izuku's hand.
"My lighter?"
"Yep, it was inside the inner pocket of your jacket. When you got hit, it took the bullet for you."
"Good thing I went home to get it, then."
"Yeah, real good thing."
Bzzzzt!
Inko reached back into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone, checking the message that she had just received and typing out a reply.
Wait. Her cellphone?
"Mom?"
She didn't even look up from her phone.
"Yes, Izu?"
"You got your phone back?"
"I did."
"I thought Akatani took it?"
"He did, but when I woke up, it was back in my pocket."
She finished her reply and snapped her phone shut, slipping it back into her pocket.
"Speaking of Akatani, where is he? And Jiji, and Taijiji? They were pretty hurt too."
Inko hesitated for a moment, before clearing her throat and answering him.
"Well, Goro-nii's out for the moment. He had to make a few statements to the police and they're grilling him at the station currently."
Well, he seems like he's okay at least.
"Saejima-san and Akatani-kun, however-" I'm sorry. Akatani-kun? "-turned themselves in to the police."
Well Taijiji, I understand, he did kinda break outta prison to get here, but Akatani?
"Huh, well then. Did Akatani say anything before they took him?"
"He did actually, he said to make sure you checked your phone. I'll give it to you in a bit, your uncle has it. You should get some rest, though."
Okay, guess I'll be doing that later.
"Okay, one more thing though."
Inko smiled again, "Yes?"
"Why am I here?"
Smile gone. "Pardon?"
"Well, I didn't get shot, right? My lighter did. I feel fine, so why am I in the hospital?"
Concern. "Izuku, baby, you have three minor concussions."
"Really, where'd the third one come from?"
"That's the one that landed you in that bed!"
Three Days Later…
"So, you're pleading guilty?"
"That's right."
"Why?"
"Feel like it."
"Stop being a dick."
"Alright, alright. Guess it couldn't hurt to tell ya."
Izuku couldn't see him, but he was sure the man had a shit-eating grin on his face on the other end of the line.
"I wanted to make a change in my life. The Omi ain't quite been a barrel of monkeys it was years ago, with my oyaji around. I've been lookin' to leave for awhile now. Take my boys and just get the hell outta the yakuza."
His voice was decidedly sobered.
"This was the perfect opportunity, and I'm sorry ya had to get caught up in it."
"What do you mean? Weren't you told to kidnap the two of us?"
"I was. But I was also told to take you both straight to Kamurocho."
Really? "Well, why didn't you?" Not that I'm complaining.
"It was a social experiment."
"What?"
"You reminded me of this dumb kid I knew a long time ago. That kid wanted to be a hero too. He lived in almost the same circumstances as you, had all of the same choices, picked the wrong answer every time."
"What happened to him?"
The line went quiet for a moment.
"...He died."
"I'm sorry."
"Nah, don't be. It was a long time ago anyway. Thanks for carin' though."
Akatani's voice seemed genuine, it felt nice.
"I wanted to see how you, someone so much like that kid, handled all the pressure. See if you'd crumble like he did. To see if you could really become a hero in this world."
"To show you that you can't be a hero."
"And congratulations, you passed! And it's because of that, that I'm doing this."
"What do you mean?"
"The world's moving on, kid. It's time the Yamikumo Clan does too. This is just the first step. I held onto the Yakuza because I was stuck in a past where I was just a bit happier than I am now. Well, I've decided that I'm doing that anymore. I've recently heard from a wise man that we should move forward, without looking behind. So that's what I'm gonna do."
"That's 'Senbonzakura'."
"Yeah, I've been really into Vocaloid lately, I really think it's gonna take off. Worldwide tours, arenas sold out, that kinda stuff."
"Right…" He liked Vocaloid well enough, he didn't quite think it would become a global phenomenon like Akatani was so sure of.
"Right, my time's almost up, but that brings me to my next point. Before I came to help ya, I ended up transferring half of the stocks that I owned to you. They'reyourresponsibiltynowokaygottabye!"
"Wait, what?! Akatani, hold up-!"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Well, crap.
Slide!
The door slid open, and there stood Akiyama and Tsukauchi, the latter with a laptop under his arm.
They both nodded at the boy and pulled a chair up to his bed, which he had been instructed by his mother not to leave, unless he had to go to the bathroom.
"Yo, what's up guys?"
Tsukauchi was the first to answer, "Well, we're just here to see how you're doing. And well, in my case, I've got a few things to talk to you about before I get going."
"Yeah, I guess things would be buzzing in Division Four after all of that."
"Yeah… that's one of things I need to talk to you about."
"Huh? Everything alright?"
"Well, yeah, it's just that... I'm being transferred out of Division Four. Effective immediately."
"WHAT!? Why!?"
"Well, in the span of two days, my charge has left my custody, assaulted a police officer, found himself back in my custody only to not be returned to the station but spirited away to Shizuoka, where he then proceeded to fight a whole yakuza family under my watch. If that weren't enough, the straw that broke the camel's back was when the chief heard that not only was I back in Tokyo, I was in Kamurocho and my charge was currently in the hospital with several concussions. Truth be told, I should've been facing immediate dismissal and possible jail time, but Date-san put in a good word for me."
"I'm… sorry, Tsukauchi-san. Really, I should've never-."
"Don't even finish that sentence, Midoriya-kun. It was my choice, and if someone gave me a chance to go back and change it, I'd do it all again." His eyes flashed gold.
A lifetime ago, Izuku would've bursted into tears after hearing such a heartfelt statement. But as he was then, tired and content, he offered Tsukauchi a simple 'thanks' and a smile.
"Oh, right! There's something else you need to see. Have you been on Yootube since you got in?"
"Mm-mm. I don't have my computer here and my phone doesn't play video. I can play a mean game of Snake, though."
Tsukauchi set the laptop on Izuku's lap, there was already a video queued up.
"Right, well take a look at this, will ya?"
He pressed 'Play' and the video began. And he recognized exactly where it was filmed.
"Stop there, brat!"
"We've got you now!"
"Holy shit, those are actual yakuza chasing that kid?"
"Are you even sure that's a kid, man? You saw him on that bridge! Maybe he's just another really short yakuza?"
"I dunno, man…"
"Whoever wants to die first, step right up!"
"Okay, maybe they recruit really young."
And there stood a small figure surrounded by over thirty men.
Moments later, he had taken down two of them before being knocked away.
"Woah! We should probably get outta here. This fight seems like it's over."
"Ah!"
"Hehehehehehehahaha!"
And there the figure stood, cackling, covered in mud and blood and illuminated by the moonlight.
All with a big, toothy smile smile on his face.
The rest of the video was standard fare. He threatened the Yamikumo Clan members, they attacked him, he kicked some of their asses, threatened them again, and they ran.
And the video cut there.
Izuku turned to Tsukauchi, "People were there? They saw me? Us?"
"Just a couple punks with a smartphone. No one's ID'd us, but you've been making waves."
He clicked into another tab and Izuku was bombarded with memes, speculation threads, and short clips all taken from the video he'd just watched.
And among them all, one thing remained predominant.
"Mad Dog of Shizuoka?"
"Well, yeah, the way you fought in that video was insane. Almost like a 'Mad Dog'. It was ferocious. And a lot of people saw the statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the background and everyone knows about the castle park in Shizuoka. So the name's kind of stuck."
"Well, I don't mind that. I kinda like it."
Mad Dog of Shizuoka, sounds like a videogame boss or something.
Tsukauchi stood up, grabbing his laptop as he did, "Well, I should get going. They moved me to the Vigilante Division in Naruhata and apparently they're a bit short on hands, dealing with this guy called, The Hauler or something. Apparently he's got a crew with him. Oh, and so you're not caught off guard, my boss is coming in to see you and touch base."
He walked over to the door and slid it open.
"Take care of yourself, Midoriya-kun."
"Tsukauchi-san."
The man turned his head.
"Call me Izuku. That's what friends do, y'know?" Izuku gave him a wide, toothy smile.
Tsukauchi was taken aback for a moment, but then he smiled back, just as wide, "Yeah, you're right. So, take care of yourself, Izuku-kun."
"And you too, Masa-chan."
Tsukauchi twitched, but he just let it slide.
And with the slide of the door once more, Tsukauchi was gone, leaving only Akiyama and Izuku in the room.
Oh, right!
Izuku turned to the moneylender with a smile full of dubious intent. The latter raised an eyebrow.
"Ne, Akiyama-san…"
"Yeah?"
"You're good with money, right?"
"Well, it's kinda my business, so I'd like to think so."
The dubious intent increased dramatically.
"So how good would you say you are at… Day Trading?"
"Well, I'm pretty good there too. Why? You've got some stocks you want me to manage?"
"Well, yeah."
"Well, that's not exactly a service Sky Finance provides, but you're a good kid. I'm certain we could come to an agreement." He said this with a grin.
And Izuku grinned back.
And it was after that day, that Sky Finance hired its first, only, and youngest part-timer.
The Next Day…
Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!Munch!
"Goro, you really shouldn't be sneaking this stuff in for him."
"Now yer sayin' that, Mi-chan, but I wonder where that box of Doryaki in the trash came from."
"Hm, so do I."
Mirei and Majima sat chatting by Izuku's bedside while the ten-year old inhaled the bowl of Katsudon that his uncle had brought him.
He'd had nothing but hospital food up until then, so when his aunt and uncle had shown up with Doryaki and Katsudon, respectively, he was in heaven.
Just as he finished his meal, his mother slid the door open, laptop in hand.
She smiled at the chatting, joking couple and set the laptop down on her son's lap.
On the screen, smiling at the boy and waving, was Hisashi Midoriya.
Izuku's grin grew exponentially.
Minutes Later...
"I see... Kurosawa, huh? Yeah, he was a slimy prick back then too. No love lost between us."
Izuku had just finished telling him about the adventure he had just had, with Inko, Majima, and Mirei(who Hisashi had been incredibly surprised to see) chiming in to fill in the gaps.
"Yeah... Dad?"
"What is it, Dekiru?"
"I think it's time you told me about Grandpa Musashi."
Hisashi froze, eyes wide, and the other three room occupants shifted uncomfortably.
"W-what was that, Dekiru?"
"It's time you told me about Grandpa. Every time I would ask, you would clam up. You know Kurosawa, he definitely knew you, and I'm in the dark about it. Now I find out from some old bastard who wanted me dead that he was a yakuza and you're refusing to tell me anything and it's stupid and unfair-"
"Izuku, that's enough!" Inko chided.
Izuku stared on.
Hisashi kept his silence. After a few more beats of silence, he spoke up.
"Alright."
"Hisashi…"
"It's fine, Inko. He's right. It's not fair for me to keep this from him. Nii-san."
"Yeah, Hi-chan?"
"I'm gonna need you to fill in some of the gaps, I know your memory isn't the best, but would ya mind helping me out?"
"Of course."
Hisashi took a deep breath before slapping his cheeks and breathing out.
"Okay, so around twenty-someodd years ago, I was playing in a park near my dad's office when I happened to see this one guy with a bowl-cut littering there. So I went over to him to give him a piece of my mind…"
Many Minutes Later…
"... about a week later, he sent us off to Shizuoka. We went to school there, made some friends, graduated and moved to Tokyo for college. About eight years later, you were born. Ten years after that, here we are."
"That's… a lot."
"Yeah."
"Aren't we supposed to be the normal family?"
"You've met your uncle, where exactly does 'normal' factor in?"
"Good point."
"Hey, what the hell, you two?"
"You've gotta admit Goro, they've got a point."
"Yeah, and that jacket isn't doing you any favors, Goro-nii."
"You got me this!"
"Well yeah, but-"
Knock!Knock!Knock!
Whatever Inko had been about to retort with was soon cut off by the sound of a knock at the door.
"Pardon the intrusion woof!"
Woof?
Slide!
And in walked a dog wearing a suit.
Okay, that's slightly diminishing.
It would be more appropriate to say that a bipedal dog man walked into the room.
In the world of quirks, this was normal, Izuku however…
Seriously. Woof?
The dog man bowed and spoke, "Once again, pardon the intrusion. My name is Kenji Tsuragamae, I'm currently Musutafu's chief of police, but I'll be making the move to Hosu soon."
He's transferring too?
"I've come to apologize on behalf of my subordinate, Tsukauchi."
"That's really not necessary, Tsuragamae-san." Inko responded.
"No, it is. If I may be perfectly candid arf!, I'd like to say that young Midoriya-kun did a wonderful job when faced with the odds that he faced, both here and in Shizuoka."
Wow, thanks, but did you actually say arf? Are you a dog man or a man dog? Why has there never been a comic series about this?
"-great feat, especially for a quirkless child."
"Ah, actually, about that Tsuragamae-san…"
"Hm, did I say something wrong?"
"Well, not quite, it's just… I think I may have awakened my quirk."
And the shock was present throughout the whole room, if the resounding 'HUH?' were any indication.
Locking eyes with his on-screen father, he sent the man a few hands signals.
Fingers in an 'L' shape.
Thumb over index, middle, and ring finger with pinky up.
Finally, thumb curled under all other fingers.
Luckily, Hisashi had taken JSL as an undergrad.
He was actually the one that taught Izuku, stating that sometimes heroes would have to talk to people who either couldn't talk or hear.
Hisashi just nodded.
"Excuse me, Tsuragamae-san?"
The chief snapped to attention and Izuku turned the screen so that it faced the dog man.
"Hi there. I'm Hisashi Midoriya, Izuku's father, and I'm actually the head researcher here on I-Island for Quirk Theory and Development, as it so happens, I may actually have a working theory on why my son's quirk is appearing so late."
Tsuragamae's eyes perked up, Izuku guessed that that was a sign of the chief displaying interest.
"Please, I'd be glad to hear it woof!"
"Gladly, so my theory is-"
Izuku tuned out here, as his father went into a ten minute explanation about the properties of the 'Quirk gene' and adrenaline, high stress activation, and even the possibilities of the threat of a near death experience triggering something something something.
Izuku was just glad that Tsukauchi wasn't around, while he and his father lied like dogs.
No pun intended.
After Hisashi finished his (totally bogus) theory, Tsuragamae remained quiet for a moment, tapping his foot on the tile floor.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
"Well, it certainly seems plausible and you all wouldn't have any reason to lie about this…"
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
"Well then, I suppose that I can get the paperwork filled out and have you registered. It's the least I could do after my department failed you."
Okay, feeling slightly guilty now. Too deep now, though. This lie goes to the grave.
Tsuragamae was already halfway out the door when he turned back.
"Ah, before I go. Do you have a name for it? Based on what it does?"
A name, huh? What would be a good-
Izuku grinned as the perfect name came to mind.
"Yeah." He looked the dog man right in the eyes, "I wanna call it… 'Heat'."
A few minutes after Tsuragamae left, Hisashi hung up, and Izuku listened as Mirei spoke to Majima.
"Alright, so I'm going to catch the first train back and say goodbye to Yuki-chan and everyone at Dyna-Chair. After that, when I get back to Musutafu, I remember the way to the building, but I wouldn't mind having a certain someone… meet me at the station and show me the way."
"Wait, you're coming visit us again, Baba?"
Mirei giggled, "Not quite. Seeing as Haruka's debut was the final show that I decided to manage, I've suddenly found myself with quite a bit of free time on my hands. So, I figure that a change of scenery would be nice. Especially if it moves me closer to my old friend" she smiled at Inko, who smiled back and nodded, "my spoilable nephew" she teasingly pinched Izuku's cheek, "and my darling husband." Majima looked at her with an indecipherable look in his eye, though if forced to describe it, Izuku would say it reminded him of the way that his dad looked at his mom.
As happy as he was to hear the news, there was still something on his mind.
"Hey, guys?"
They all turned to face him.
"Where's Kiryu-san and Haruka-neechan?"
They all looked at each other and hesitated.
His uncle was the one who spoke up, "Ya may wanna lay back for this one, Izu-chan…"
Izuku didn't like the sound of that.
Three Years Later…
Ryukyu Boulevard, Okinawa-Afternoon
"Dakara [please], [GET UP MY BABY]"
A thirteen year old Izuku sighed as he walked down the street.
The music on his phone blared through his earbuds, as made his way to Ryukyu Station on the cold day.
The plane ride over felt longer than it ever had before.
The taxi ride to Ryukyu even longer.
It might've been because no one was there to meet him, unlike before.
Alternatively, it could've been because he was there for a different reason than he was usually.
Maybe it was just the fact that it was winter, early January made most things seem to drag.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed again.
He had already known it was too long.
Even in the ponytail that he had it in, it reached down to his mid-back and bounced.
According to his mom, his uncle had worn his hair in the same style. Izuku just wasn't sure if it fit him personally.
Vrrrrr!
Oh, a message. I had my phone off during the ride here, so I should probably check and see if someone messaged me then too.
Pulling his phone out of the pocket of his stajun, now complete with bullet-hole, he tapped out of his music app and checked his messenger app.
Oh, one from Mom and Mirei-baba. They asked if I got here okay. I'll just send a quick 'yeah'.
Got one here from Mei-chan. She wants me to bring back some scrap from one of the shops in the mall. Alright, guess I can do that.
Oh hey, Akiyama-san sent me my pay. 'Try and have a good time', he says. Yeah, I can try, Akiyama-san.
"[Excuse me, young man?]"
Huh? He took his eyes off of his phone and turned around.
He was met with the sight of a foreigner, a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Huh?"
"[Can you tell me how to get to the station?]"
Okay, that was definitely english. My english isn't the best, but the sentence is pretty simple.
"Ahem. [The station is just down this road, I am on my way there now. Follow me, please.]"
Okay, that should be passable. English is my second best subject in school, so I couldn't have been that bad.
The foreigner's eyes lit up, "[Thank You!]"
Okay. I did good.
"[You are welcome.]"
Izuku gestured for the man to follow him, and continued down the street.
It didn't take too long, and soon as they reached the station, the foreigner cheered and reached into his pocket, pulling out a 10,000 Yen note and attempting to hand it to Izuku, who quickly attempted to refuse.
"[I want you to have this.]"
"Ah! I can't accept this, I was just doing the right thing!" In his panic, Izuku had forgotten to speak english.
"[Please, take it, I have to catch this next train. Bye now!]" With that, he pressed the note into Izuku's hand and took off, hopping onto a train just before its doors closed.
Izuku looked down at the note in his hand, and pocketed with a sigh.
Man, foreigners are weird. But, helping 'em's what we do. Right, Kiryu-san?
Morning Glory Orphanage-Evening
It's almost amazing how this place, despite being bulldozed, rebuilt, and standing for over half a decade after that, still looks exactly the same as it did when I was four.
"Arf! Arf! Arf!"
Except for this little guy of course.
Approaching quickly from a small doghouse to the left of the yard, came a small Shiba Inu.
Izuku crouched down as it approached, grounding himself and waiting for impact.
Slam!
Lick!Lick!Lick!Lick!Lick!
As soon as the dog slammed into his body, Izuku grabbed him and was soon assaulted by a flurry of wet kisses.
"Ahaha, it's good to see you too, Mame."
Izuku had met the dog years ago, when he was just a pup.
They had met during Izuku's second visit to Okinawa. He had come back to find a rebuilt Morning Glory, Kiryu with a healing stab wound, and Izumi playing with a little pup.
They had hit it off immediately.
"Mame? What's wrong? What are you barking at?"
In the doorway of Morning Glory, there stood a teenage girl wearing a red hoodie and jeans, with her hair styled into a ponytail, a much shorter one than Izuku's own.
And when she noticed the freckled, ponytailed boy holding her dog in the yard, she froze.
Izuku smiled, "How ya been, Izumi-chan?"
No other words needed be said after that.
Izumi ran straight at the boy and caught him in a bone crushing hug. Luckily, he had put Mame down and stood up before she reached him.
She squeezed his back, grabbing fistfuls of his jacket, and rubbed her face into his chest.
Wow, she's shorter than me now.
"Izumi, everything alright out here?"
And again at the door, stood a glasses-wearing boy in a short-sleeved plaid hoodie, a pig-tailed girl in a green striped shirt, and another, older girl in a long-sleeved pink and white shirt.
And they too froze at the sight of the person that Izumi was hugging.
"Hey guys."
And he was soon set upon by Eri, Shiro, and Riona.
Soon after that, the greenette found himself caught in a crushing group hug courtesy of his longtime friends from Morning Glory Orphanage.
Riona was the first to speak up, "Where have you been for the past three years? We missed you!"
Izuku didn't have a chance to answer as Shiro quickly asked his own question, "Yeah, and why couldn't you pick up the phone? We've all tried calling a hundred times each."
Izuku was again stopped from answering, this time by Eri, "What're you even doing here? I'm not complaining, but you'd usually show up during the summer."
Izuku waited to answer, looking down at Izumi, who had decided to stop rubbing her face into his jacket and lay there quietly.
"Alright, so in order: I'm sorry guys, I missed you too. I started a summer job three years ago and I've been busy working there during my summers. Next, I actually got a new phone a couple years ago. Unfortunately, I kept forgetting to tell you guys the new number, so that's entirely my fault. And the third, I just wanted to visit you guys before winter break ended, I'll only be here for a day or two."
They seemed content after that, and so they stood there in silence for a moment.
Until Izuku broke it, "So… as happy as I am to see you guys, I do also wanna get outta the cold. So could we maybe head inside?"
After entering the building, Izuku soon found himself trapped in a headlock.
"Ngh! Hello to you too, Taichi."
The aspiring wrestler had only gotten bigger and stronger in the three years that he hadn't seen the boy.
"Hey there, stranger. You gettin' soft there, Izuku? When you were younger, you could've broken outta this no problem."
"Yeah, I still can. I'm just lettin' ya hold me like this. It's not polite to toss your host afterall."
"Heh, right. Good to see you haven't changed that much, Izuku."
Taichi let the younger boy go and they walked further in, where Izuku soon found Koji and Mitsuo.
The former was reading a manga, while the latter was tossing a baseball up and down.
If it weren't for the fact that the two of them looked older, Izuku would've sworn that he'd never left.
And the minute they noticed him, they were on him just like everyone before them.
But before they could get the chance to grill him, yet another familiar face appeared out of the kitchen.
"Alright, guys. Dinner's almost done, do you mind-"
And again, this person was stopped at the sight of Izuku.
"Izuku-kun?"
"Yo, Ayako-neechan."
Her reaction compared to everyone else's was the most restrained.
She didn't come running at him, simply walking over and wrapping her arms around him.
And squeezing very hard.
He could hear her say, under her breath, "He's actually here."
He just wrapped his arms around her and squeezed back gently, saying without words, 'I'm actually here.'
After a moment of silence, she released him from the embrace, and led him by the arm to the door of the bedroom that all of the kids shared.
She stood back when they arrived at the door, and nodded at Izuku.
Izuku took that as a sign to go in.
Knock! Knock!
"Pardon the intrusion."
Slide!
And when he opened the door, he saw two people, one of them holding a small bundle.
The other, he recognized instantly. White hoodie, red shirt, black hair tied in a ponytail. The last time he had actually seen her was when she was on TV, performing for hundreds of thousands of people at the Japan Dome.
And from the looks of it, she seemed to recognize him as well.
"Izu-kun?"
"Hey, Haruka-neechan. Been a while, huh?"
Haruka got up from her spot and walked over to Izuku, soon finding herself wrapped in a tight embrace.
"Don't disappear like that again, neechan. You had Mirei-baba, and Mom, and Akiyama-san, and Mariko-san, and-and me… we were all worried…"
He could feel Haruka return his hug, laying a hand on his head and running her fingers through his hair.
"I'm sorry, Izuku. It won't happen again."
That was enough for him. He just stayed there for a few more moments before letting go.
And when he did, he looked behind Haruka to see that the figure behind Haruka was a man. A good looking guy, with dark, slicked back hair and a slim build, who was staring at the pair with slight confusion.
"Neechan, who's this?"
"Oh, right! I forgot to introduce you two." She kept her eyes on Izuku, gesturing behind her, "Izu-kun, this is Yuta-kun." Turning to face Yuta, she gestured back towards Izuku, "Yuta-kun, this is Izuku."
The bundle in Yuta's arms began to squirm.
"Oh! And how could I forget him?" Haruka walked over and retrieved the bundle from the dark haired man, bringing it over to Izuku.
"This is Haruto. My son."
I'm sorry, your what?
"My son, Izu-kun. With Yuta."
Oh, he had said that out loud. He hadn't done that in a while.
More importantly, SON?
Izuku was careful not to verbalize what he was thinking. Simply giving Haruka a smile and an 'excuse me', before walking over to Yuta and crouching in front of him.
He didn't say anything; just looked him dead in the eyes and stared.
Stare.
"Um, can I help you?"
Stare…
"H-Haruka, what's going on?"
STARE!
"..." The man was sweating bullets.
Izuku simply closed and nodded, saying one word.
"Acceptable."
He then proceeded to go and fawn over the baby in Haruka's arms.
Leaving Yuta to ponder what the hell just happened to him until everyone was called for dinner.
Morning Glory Orphanage- Nighttime
After dinner, while everyone washed up and went to bed, Izuku and Haruka sat on the steps outside.
"So, Izu-kun. Are you doing okay?"
"I'm doin' fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, if you've been speaking to Akiyama-san or even your uncle, then…"
"Yeah, I know what happened to Kiryu-san."
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Okay."
And they sat in silence for a while, staring up at the stars. Izuku sighed.
"That's really unfair."
"I didn't do a thing."
The grenette pouted.
Haruka smiled back.
Sighing again, Izuku said, "I came here… for closure."
Haruka kept quiet.
"I almost couldn't believe he was gone, y'know? All the things I wanted him to teach me, everything that we would do, it's all gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye. I didn't wanna believe it. In a way, I still don't. I keep expecting him to come walkin' down that street, cigarette in his mouth." He could feel his nails digging into his palms, feeling blood roll down his nails. He hadn't even noticed that he had balled his fists, let alone balled them so tightly.
Haruka didn't say anything for a moment, simply grabbing his hands and unballing his fists, before reaching into her pocket and retrieving a handkerchief.
She wiped the blood off of his hands and blew on the little cuts on his palms.
That done, she put handkerchief back in her pocket and stood up, Izuku's hand still in her's.
It wasn't a long walk, the room that she was bringing Izuku to was right there after all.
"This is…"
"Go on. It's not locked."
Izuku reached out a hand to the door, stopping just before he touched it.
He tried to move his hand forward, but it didn't move.
He tried again. No result.
Again. Nothing.
Instead, it just stayed halted a few inches away from the door, trembling.
And then, he could feel a soft palm and slender fingers wrap around his wrist.
He didn't need to look to see who it was.
His hand was moving forward then, touching the door, grasping it, and pushing it to the side.
Slide!
And there they were.
Kiryu's room.
Izuku had never been in. Haruka gave him a gentle shove, and he stepped in for the first time.
It would be hard to describe the room.
The best description that Izuku could give would be, 'Kiryu-san in room form'.
It was small, but there was so much in it.
So many odds and ends accumulated from a lifetime of adventure.
So many different books and magazines.
So many pictures and mementos, including a stack of what looked to be Hostess Business Cards.
And three pictures stood out the most.
One, a woman in a business suit with her hair styled into a messy updo smiling at the camera. Haruka's gaze lingered on this picture longer than it did the others.
Two, a group photo of everyone at Morning Glory, including Izuku and Mame. The last time he could remember everyone being together.
And three, a picture of a seven year old Izuku holding onto a fish that was half his size. The first time Kiryu had taken him fishing, he caught a Mahi-mahi. That was that night's dinner. Kiryu looked so proud...
Izuku could feel himself tearing up, he blinked the tears away and instead walked over to something else that he had found interesting.
An old, beaten up bat.
There was nothing really special about it, but compared to everything else in the room which was so well kept, the bat seemed incredibly out-of-place.
"Uncle Kaz got that from Majima-san."
"Really?"
"Yeah, when he stalked him for a month. Uncle Kaz beat him again, and he left that behind. I actually heard him say it was the best part of his year. You can take it if you want."
"I… don't know if I should."
"You should, it's technically yours anyway. Uncle Kaz said he was gonna give it to you when you came for the summer, along with a few books that I'll be packing for you."
"Oh, um, okay."
He stood in silence.
Everywhere he looked, he could see him. He could smell his cigarette smoke. Hear him humming an old rock song.
And he stood in that room, he finally understood. He was never coming back.
Kiryu-san, his Uncle Kaz, was never coming back.
He felt the tears prick his eyes. He couldn't blink them away this time.
He felt arms wrapping around him again and heard a soft voice in his ear.
"Uncle Kaz always said that a kid who walked through that door up front was part of this family. So the minute you walked through that door nine years ago, you became the youngest member of our family. And a family… is always there to catch you when you think you'll fall. So come on, just let yourself fall. I'm here. I'll catch you."
And at that moment, Izuku fell. He felt the tears streaming down his face, as his body wracked with sobs and he cried into the night.
Two Days Later…
"Are you sure you have to go so soon, Izuku-kun?"
"Yeah, I've gotta catch my flight or else I won't make it back to Tokyo for the start of the semester."
"Honestly, it feels like yesterday that you were just four years old and hiding behind Haruka's leg. How is it that you're already in Middle School?"
"Careful, Ayako-neechan. You're almost sounding like a mom there. We've already got one of those in this house."
"Hmph. Alright, I'll let you go, but don't you wanna see Haruto walk first?"
"Ngh! Damn, I do. Alright, I can spare a minute or two."
Izuku adjusted his bag, his new-old baseball bat hung on the side, and walked after Ayako to where all of the other residents of Morning Glory were watching Haruto take his first steps.
Thud!
Correction: Where all of the other residents of Morning Glory were watching Haruto fall and encouraging him to try again.
Izuku stood next to Yuta, who was crouched down with a video camera, saying, "C'mon, just one more time. You can do it."
The baby rose back on wobbly feet.
"C'mon, Haru-chan!"
"Come to us, Haruto!"
Izuku and Yuta, respectively, egged the child on .
"You can do it, Haruto!" Haruka called out to the boy.
He stood straight, took a step…
Thud!
And fell again.
"Ah! So close." Koji said.
Izuku kneeled down, "C'mon, Haru-chan! Don't give up there. Your Uncle Izu believes in you!"
Haruto stood again, and took another step.
"All right!"
"That's it, Haruto!"
And then, Haruto turned his head and saw something outside. He reached towards it with a smile and a gurgle, and Izuku and Haruka looked to see what it was.
But there was nothing.
Just the wall and the oceanline behind it.
Izuku looked for a little longer, before he felt a small weight bump into him.
Looking down, he saw a smiling Haruto and was enamored.
Naha Airport- An Hour Later...
Izuku knew that this visit would be his last for a long while.
He had gotten what came for, though.
He had gotten his closure.
But something still felt wrong.
It wasn't just closure he wanted.
He wanted to say 'goodbye'.
He wanted to say 'thank you'.
He wanted to keep his promise.
He wanted to-
Huh?
At this moment, he saw the familiar back of a tall man wearing white shoes and a grey suit, with the popped collar of a red shirt peeking out.
It could only be-
"Kiryu-san."
The man's back was quickly receding, moving into a crowd.
Izuku gave chase, he wouldn't let him get away.
"Kiryu-san!"
The man kept his pace, weaving through the crowd with ease.
It took everything that Izuku had to follow him through.
"Kiryu-san!"
Please, don't go yet. There's something I still need to say!
The man was about to enter a terminal.
Please, don't go. Please, come back. Please-
"UNCLE KAZ!"
The man stopped long enough for Izuku to catch up.
He skidded to a stop just a few feet behind him.
The man turned around and Izuku felt his heart stop.
It was him. It was Kiryu. In the flesh.
All of a sudden, his heart hurt all over again.
But that didn't stop him from saying what he needed to say.
"Thank you, Uncle Kaz. Thank you."
He bowed deeply, feeling the weight of the books and the bat on his back.
He stayed in that position, waiting for the man across from him to say something. Anything.
Izuku then felt a strong hand grip his shoulder, it was a familiar feeling and he knew exactly whose it was.
"Izuku…"
The greenette looked up at the dragon, the man was smiling.
"If you wanna thank me. Become the world's greatest hero, like I know you can. And have a good time doing it."
Izuku could feel his eyes tearing up again, but he fought through it with an unsteady smile, "I will, I promise."
Two Days Later…
Aldera Junior High- Musutafu, Japan
Izuku walked down the sidewalk with his earbuds in again, the drums of the song he was starting helped him think.
He wanted to do what Kiryu said, but he didn't know exactly how to do that.
Have fun while trying to be a hero?
It almost seemed like an oxymoron.
Then again, there were heroes like Miruko and Ms. Joke, who very clearly loved doing what they do.
One person who always seemed like a hero to him, while also fun, was his uncle.
Maybe… that's my place to start.
But even if he started acting like his uncle, he'd still feel like there was a missing piece...
Bump!
He had bumped into someone.
Rolling eyes fall...
"Ah, my bad."
"Watch where you're going, Ponytail!"
Okay, apparently this asshole's gonna be pissy.
"I said 'my bad'."
"Yeah? Well that ain't- wait a minute… Deku?"
As Izuku whipped around, he took note of the aggressor's ash blonde hair and red eyes.
He only knew two people with features like that, and only one of them was male.
Ruling dies out...
The ponytailed greenette could feel the final piece of the puzzle clicking into place as he looked the blonde right in the eye with a straight face.
"Yo…"
He grinned toothily.
"Kacchan!"
END
Alternative Title: Oni Ga Shiku 0
I'll be taking a break from Mad Dog of Shizuoka for now, but stayed tuned for Rise of Yamikumo.