Where was Himiko?
For the past weeks that was all he could think about. He had talked to her former neighbors pretending to be a worried classmate, but none of them knew her name and most of them had never even seen her face. After that he had gone to the school where she had gotten her uniform, but no one called Himiko Toga had ever studied there. As a last-ditch effort, he had combed through the Quirk registry for shape-shifting Quirks to no avail.
Himiko might have as well been a ghost. How was he supposed to find someone who officially didn't exist? What did he even know about Himiko? Next to nothing. If he'd used just a little of the time he had been staring at her rear to get to know her better, he wouldn't be in this mess.
"Quit daydreaming, pipsqueak!"
A kick in the back knocked Izuku's face into the punching bag he had been working over. Mr. Oguro crossed his arms and looked at him under his brow.
"This is painful to look at. Have you been listening to a word I've said, pipsqueak? When you hit the bag, hit it like it owes you money."
Izuku hadn't believe there could be a man as big as All Might in his powered-up form before he'd met him. The craziest part was that as far as he knew Mr. Oguro didn't even have a Quirk. He still wasn't a man to be taken lightly. His knuckles were flat and callused and there was a large gash starting at his jawline and ending between his eyes.
After Aizawa-sensei had returned to school heavily bandaged Izuku had asked him where he had learned to fight the way he did. One for All was too dangerous to use lightly and before he mastered it, he needed something else to fall back on. To his surprise Aizawa-sensei had been nothing but supportive and told him where he could learn to throw a punch in time for the U.A tournament if he had the nerve for it. Following Aizawa-sensei's directions had led him to Mr. Oguro's boxing gym, The Demon's Den.
A fitting name. If someone had told Izuku he'd miss the time cleaning the beach he'd have laughed. After meeting Mr. Oguro he wasn't laughing anymore.
Mr. Oguro placed his hand on the bag and then gave it a smack that almost ripped the bag off its metal chain. Mr. Oguro's punches sounded like small explosions.
"That's how you throw a punch, pipsqueak. Don't just use your hands. It must have your whole body behind it or you'll just hurt yourself. Try again." Mr. Oguro said.
Izuku took a boxing stance and started beating the bag like it owed him money throwing in some kicks for a good measure. He kept the pace up for as long as he could before he fell on his knees grasping for breath.
Mr. Oguro managed to fit more disappointment to a single head shake than Aizawa-sensei into a ten-minute roast.
"Good God in heaven. What did I do to Aizawa to deserve this?"
"… sorry."
"Don't you apologize to me, you little pipsqueak. If I give you shit, you take it and then throw it back in my face when I'm not looking." Mr. Oguro said.
Izuku was quiet for a while.
"…I've been meaning to ask. How… how did you and Aizawa-sensei meet?"
Mr. Oguro gave him a wolfish grin.
"We beat the shit out of a villain together. That is how real men bond, pipsqueak."
Izuku almost swallowed his own tongue.
"You were a hero?! Without a Quirk?!"
"Not officially, but I didn't let that stop me." Mr. Oguro said.
"… you were a…" Izuku looked around to make sure there were no witnesses in the gym: "A vigilante? That… it's against the law."
"Only if you get caught."
"You… are you still doing it?"
Mr. Oguro looked at him for a long time and then laughed.
"Of course not. That would be against the law."
Mr. Oguro looked at the still swinging bag and then at Izuku.
"I think you're the kind of guy who needs to do it to learn it. Praise your gods that you have me in your corner for I've got you covered. Today you'll be sparring."
Izuku looked horrified at Mr. Oguro's bulging muscles which got another laugh out of him.
"Not with me I'd break you with a hard stare. Your opponent will be a bit closer to your weight class."
The door opened.
"Speak of the devil." Mr. Oguro said.
A plain looking young man with a long-distance runner's physique and a cheap suit walked in.
"Kouichi. You kept us waiting." Mr. Oguro said.
"Some of us have actual jobs to hold on to." Kouichi said.
"How could some job be more important than this? Izuku Midoriya meet Kouichi Haimawari."
Haimawari? Where has he heard that name? Was it…
"I know you!" Izuku said unable to control his excitement.
Kouichi brightened up.
"You do?"
"Yeah. You were the vigilante Hauler."
A small part of Kouichi died.
"Crawler. My codename was Crawler."
Izuku looked at Kouichi uncertain.
"… you sure?"
"Yes! Why is it so hard to remember?!"
Mr. Oguro laughed and slapped Kouichi in the back almost sending him off his feet.
"Trust me, pipsqueak. This guy is the best. A real hardcore badass. Or he was until he married Kazuho and got domesticated."
"I didn't… I work for Ingenium!" Kouichi said.
"As an accountant." Mr. Oguro said.
"It's an important part of heroics!"
Izuku was stunned silent. It was so weird seeing this from the other side.
Kouichi sighed and then smiled like a man who knew he shouldn't be enjoying this, but couldn't help himself.
"Let's do this. I have to pick up my daughter from daycare in two hours."
Kouichi changed his suit for gym wear and they went to a sparring room with a padded floor. Suddenly Kouichi dropped on all fours and his gaze grew sharp.
"You ready, Izuku?"
"… yes."
Mr. Oguro leaned against a wall and crossed his arms.
"Pin Kouichi down if you can. If you need extra incentive just imagine him banging your girlfriend."
"… what?"
Kouichi activated his Quirk and suddenly Izuku was fighting a bullet. A vicious elbow strike in the knees threw Izuku on the ground. Kouichi kicked himself off a wall to gain even more speed and Izuku barely had enough time to get up when he was thrown off again.
"What are you doing?! Don't just stand there! Fight!" Mr. Oguro said.
Fighting wasn't going to do much good against Kouichi. He was too fast. He had to recognize the pattern and predict where Kouichi was going to strike next. Izuku went on the defensive and watched. Speed was a double-edged sword. An opponent could not hope to keep up with Kouichi, but in return Kouichi could barely keep up with himself. When you moved that quick you had to keep your strategies simple and hope it was enough overpower the opposition.
There, Izuku thought.
Without looking Izuku did a back kick. It was clumsy and weak, but Kouichi's own momentum should be enough to knock him out.
"Not bad." Kouichi said.
Suddenly Kouichi wasn't limited to just dashing on the floor and had gone airborne.
"Since you're finally putting up a fight, I'll do the same." Kouichi said.
When Kouichi's attacks could come from any direction the one-sided fight turned completely hopeless. The best Izuku could do was graze him before getting knocked down again and again. Mr. Oguro finally put a stop to the fight before he had to dig Izuku a shallow grave in the backyard.
"That's more like it, pipsqueak. We'll make a fighter out of you yet." Mr. Oguro said.
Kouichi wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Why didn't you use your Quirk?"
"… I can't control it." Izuku said.
"You were a late bloomer too?" Kouichi said.
Mr. Oguro smirked like mom and excused himself. Kouichi looked after him annoyed.
"Why does that old man have to do everything in such a roundabout way?" Kouichi said and then gave him a tired smile: "When did yours awaken?"
"… half a year ago."
"Not too bad. I didn't fully access mine until college. I could fly already as a toddler and that naturally freaked mom the hell out. She forced me to suppress it. I… wasn't too happy when I figured it out, but then I saw my own daughter float and suddenly it all made sense. Dangerous ability for a kid. Why did you suppress yours?"
"… I… it's…"
"Sorry. Personal question. No need to answer."
"How… did you learn to use it?" Izuku said.
Kouichi rubbed his head embarrassed.
"I wish I could explain it, but all Quirks are unique beasts. I mean… how do you explain someone how to run? Just keep trying until something clicks and then you feel really stupid because you didn't figure it out sooner. Sorry that I can't be more help."
"No. It was a… big help. Thanks for today."
"You're welcome, Midoriya."
Izuku jogged home and kept his eyes peeled for the pro-heroes watching his house. After Tomura U.A had assigned him and mom a 24/7 honorary guard. Tomura had struck him as a guy who held grudges. Izuku was more grateful than he could say. Tomura didn't worry him half as much as Stain. Even All Might had pitched in and seemed to actually handle more shifts than anyone else.
When he got home, mom was working out with the help of an exercise video.
"Welcome back, honey. Dinner will be running a bit late." Mom said without taking her eyes off the screen.
"No problem." Izuku said.
What was up with mom lately? She hadn't just started exercising but had also adopted parts of Izuku's diet. Getting into U.A must have been more of a blessing than he realized. His crushed dream had hurt mom too. Maybe now they both could try and be happy.
Izuku took a shower and checked his phone for new messages. Why couldn't Himiko just call him? Even once? Or send a message to let him know she was okay? Had something happened to her? Maybe Tomura had gone after her. Then again Tomura was definitely the type to gloat about it.
Why hadn't Tomura said anything about Himiko? He had enjoyed tormenting Izuku so why not use such an obvious target?
Izuku sighed and pulled out Bakugou's apology letter from his drawer.
Izuku
What I did to you was fucked. You don't have to forgive me, and I don't want you to. I hurt you because I thought it was funny and you're right to hate me for it. Heroes don't act like that. All Might made it very clear. If anybody tries to fuck with you, I'll fuck them up in return.
Bakugou
Bakugou had surprisingly nice handwriting. Still, it didn't make him feel much better. An apology couldn't change the past. Izuku would have traded a hundred apologies from Bakugou for five minutes with Himiko.
There was another reason he wanted to see Himiko for which he was less than proud of. After Himiko had disappeared his dick had turned into the most spoiled, whiny brat anyone could imagine.
I wanna see Himiko! I wanna! I wanna! I wanna! Where is Himiko?! Make her appear here! Now!
He would never be able to look Mount Lady or Midnight-sensei the same way again. Or Asui. Once he'd even caught himself staring at Todoroki's backside.
Oh God! I'm turning into Mineta, Izuku thought.
Things couldn't go on like this. He had to find a way to contact Himiko. But how?
Izuku looked at Bakugou's letter. Now there was an idea.
When he got to school the next day Asui and Tokoyami were waiting him. After saving Asui from Tomura, she had managed to convince at least one of their classmates that he wasn't a walking timebomb.
"Asui. Tokoyami. Morning." Izuku said while sitting down.
"I told you to call me Tsu." Asui said.
"… sorry." Izuku said.
Bakugou hadn't arrived yet. Nor had Kirishima. Or Mineta. Again.
"Does anyone know what happened to Mineta? He hasn't come to class in three days." Izuku said.
"You haven't heard?" Asui said while poking her chin.
"… heard what?"
"Mineta has lost his appetite for heroics." Tokoyami said.
"We got teleported on a sinking boat and I had to leave him behind to get help." Asui said.
"It must have been a traumatizing experience. To be surrounded by such vile scum." Tokoyami said.
"… I see."
Bakugou walked into the classroom with Kirishima. Even with his eye prosthetic Bakugou was still using an eyepatch like it was an accessory.
"… sorry. I need to talk to Bakugou. Hey! Bakugou. Can… we talk?"
Bakugou glanced him and sighed.
"Fine."
Kirishima slapped Bakugou's back.
"Don't worry, honey. I'll keep your seat warm."
"Don't call me that, you fucker!" Bakugou raged and let sparks fly.
Kirishima just laughed.
"Whatever you say, sweetheart."
Izuku knew better than to say anything and followed Bakugou into the hallway. The mandatory counselling hadn't done much to fix Bakugou's attitude but at least he didn't look ready to blow Izuku's head off. That was… an improvement. Right?
"What do you want, Deku?"
"… I need a favor." Izuku said and pulled out Bakugou's apology letter: "And you'll do it if you meant even a word you said here. You owe me."
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