30th of December
"Mother, please. I insist, take it."
"Izuku it's too much! How did you even get all this money?!"
Inko pushed the envelope back towards her son with worried eyes.
"Mother, trust me. My job is fine and I can afford to give you and Ichika this."
He took his mothers hands and placed the hefty envelope back into her palms.
"Use it to pay for Ichika's school and the initial payment for UA. The rest is for you to use as you see fit."
Inko looked down to the 10 million yen in her hands and looked back to her son.
"How?"
Izuku smiled and hugged his mother, trying his best to reassure her.
"My job is a secret Ma, I'm sorry but you'll just have to trust me."
She held her son and sighed shakily.
"It better not be anything horrible!"
Izuku gritted his teeth and rested his head against hers.
"It's not."
...11th of February, 11:46 AM
The sun was out today, beaming down on the earth with its menacing yet warm gaze. Midoriya Izuku was one of many enjoying the warmth of the sun. After such a cold winter, it was nice to be able to bask in its glow once more. He was sat in the passenger seat of a car with the window down clearly enjoying the weather. The driver, however, was slightly annoyed at his boss, as he has been forced to drive him to the Todou Mansion. He pulled too many favours out of his boss and is now paying the price for it. They were both clad in their suits. Izuku wearing his normal all-black suit with a white shirt and a green tie, whilst Uta was clad in a red suit and a shirt with no tie.
They drove for around two hours, following the single road that was in the middle of a plain field.
It has been almost two months since Izuku saw his family in Musutafu. The memory of them only seems to brighten his mood. Ichika didn't cry when he left this time and he felt a swell of pride in his chest at that fact. His baby sister is suddenly growing up. He didn't know if he should be happy or sad.
"Boss...We're here."
Izuku opened his eyes to see the checkpoint up ahead and sat up in his seat, pulling onto the seatbelt to give him more room to manoeuvre himself.
"Look chipper Uta, don't want them watching your ass all day do you?"
Uta sighed and straightened his back. He unconsciously gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.
"No sir."
Uta slowed the car down in front of the checkpoint, where a group of yakuza came over to inspect them. One yakuza walked up to Izuku's window and bowed upon the sight of him.
"Good to see you, sir, please. Go on ahead. The chairman is waiting for you."
Izuku nodded and waved his hand in thanks.
"Good day lads."
The yakuza motioned for the others to raise the barrier and Uta slowly passed through nervously. As soon as he got past the initial checkpoint he went back up to speed and let go of the breath he was unconsciously holding in. Izuku laughed at his subordinate who was visibly tensed up, since he was new blood it isn't unusual for him to be scared.
"What are you so tensed about?"
He hit Uta's shoulder playfully causing the car to swerve slightly.
"Sir?! Please!"
Uta quickly pulled the car back onto the road and tried to calm his beating heart. He glared at Izuku, like he had drawn something on his face. His boss, in return just laughed harder.
"Stop being so nervous then, they're not going to tear you apart!"
"I know! They'll do worse! I at least want to spend some of the money I get before I die."
Izuku pulled the handle on the side of the chair, making it go all the way down.
"And what would you spend it on?"
"I'll probably go around the city and have some fun. Wanna join boss?"
Izuku shook his head and looked back out of the window, staring at the sky.
"Nah it's not my type of thing, Uta."
Uta eyed his boss in the corner of his eye and shook his head. His boss had power and wealth, yet he doesn't seem to do anything with it. All the boss seems to do is concern himself with his family and the Yakuza, never spending much time on himself. Izuku closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, taking in the purity of the area around him.
"Sir?"
Izuku responded but didn't open his eyes.
"What is it?"
"You never seem to enjoy yourself with your money, sir... So I was wondering, why don't you take a break soon?"
Izukuopened his eyes and looked to Uta with a smile.
"You want me. To take a break?"
Uta fidgeted in his seat and nodded.
"It's just that... The others worry that you're pushing yourself too much sir. Brother Gears says that you haven't taken a break in over 900 days or something."
Izuku sighed and pulled out his phone to check the time and tapped the first social media app he saw.
"I had a few days off during Christmas, I feel like that's enough."
Uta scoffed and made a right turn into the compound to see the mansion up ahead. The gates were heavily armoured and had guards patrolling almost every corner.
"An ACTUAL break sir. Go out to eat dinner with your girl or something."
Izuku stopped scrolling through random posts and grinned at Uta.
"Uta, you just reminded me to do something."
"Wait? You have a girl, sir?"
Izuku pulled the handle on the chair, making the chair shoot back up straight. He tapped his contacts on his phone and touched the one right at the top, typing in his message with vigour.
"Not exactly."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
'You in the city?'
He placed his phone back in his pocket only to hear it ping, she must be on a break from patrolling.
'I am, is something up?'
'How about I treat you to that dinner we talked about over Christmas?'
'Sure, come to my penthouse at 6.'
'Yes ma'am'
Izuku looked up just in time for Uta to pull up near the entrance of the main mansion.
"I'll wait for you up ahead sir."
Izuku checked to see if his sister's cufflinks were still on and smiled when he saw that they glimmered in the light of the sun.
"Thank you, Uta. I'll treat you to a drink sometime."
Izuku got out of the car and Uta sighed, already bored. He looked around him and pulled off to find a proper place to park. He really should have brought someone else along. He caught a shimmer in the corner of the eye and looked to the passenger seat. His boss's lighter was there, forgotten.
"Fuck."
\ /
Midoriya Izuku now stood outside the gates of the Todou clan mansion, he was suddenly hit with a blast of nostalgia and he frowned at the grand luxurious building. It was an old traditional Japanese mansion, stationed next to the river where the water flowed within it. The river lead upwards to the forest that surrounded the whole compound, giving them the privacy they needed. He fished into his pockets for a cigarette and fumbled around his suit, looking for his lighter. After rifling through every pocket only to find nothing, he groaned out loud and was about to throw his cigarette away until he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. He turned around to see a short bearded man holding up his lighter to him. Izuku bowed slightly and used his lighter to light his cigarette and took a couple puffs.
"Ishida san. Thank you."
The short bearded man known as Ishida Cho is the patriarch of the Mizu-ki family. Ishida controls some ports around Japan and oversees what the Yakuza imports and exports. He isn't exactly a fighter himself but he had the intelligence to make up for it. Izuku looked over Ishida's shoulder to see a brown-haired woman in a red Japanese kimono trailing behind him. She bowed to Izuku in a sign of respect and stood by Ishida's side.
"Midoriya sama."
"Hello, Nina chan."
Nina was Ishida's bodyguard. An ex-assassin from China who relocated to Japan to hide. Ishida took her in when she had no other choice and looked after her, Izuku sees their relationship almost like father and daughter. Now if only Ishida wasn't so comically short.
Ishida put his lighter away in his pocket and looked to the gates with Izuku.
"I can still remember when he brought you in. A kid with nothing to fear. Heh. What a monster you became."
Izuku chuckled and flexed his shoulders slightly as they got stiff from the car ride.
"You're giving me too much of an ego boost here. If I recall you're the one that pulled in five billion yen in four years."
Ishida laughed loudly and patted Izuku on the back with a bit of force.
"You're a good kid! Now come! I'm sure the chairman and the rest is waiting for us!"
They walked through the gates to see Yakuza almost covering every inch of the main grounds. They were on full alert, making sure that they were all safe from any possible angle. Izuku walked through to the front door and, as he made a turn inside, bumped into someone.
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there!"
Izuku looked at them properly. It was a little girl, no older than four or five. They had snow-white hair and a small horn protruding from their head. Izuku got down on one knee to get to the child's height and reached out to her.
"Hey, you ok?"
The child stepped back from him and looked to the ground, clearly embarrassed and scared. Ishida caught up to Izuku and looked to the child and shook his head.
"What is a child doing in a place like this?"
"That child is under my protection."
Izuku looked up to see a man in old fashioned robes with slicked back long grey hair. The leader of Shie Hassaikai, a very old and traditional group but strong nonetheless. They were currently the weakest group out of the six under the Todou clan but their secrecy is also their best strength. In the past, Shie Hassaikai were the strongest, controlling most of Japan using force. However, the rise of the Heroes brought their inevitable fall from grace. Once upon a time they boasted 200,000 men and has now they have been culled to a measly 6,000 in comparison. Shie Hassaikai is run on a specific code and morals. Their leader believed that quirks were a plague and truly wants to be rid of them for good.
The little girl notices him and runs to him hugging his knee whilst the man rests his hand on her head to comfort her. There was uncertainty in the child's eyes and a great fear within. Izuku didn't like this one bit, he felt nauseous from the look in her eye. Despite his feelings, he stood back up and reached out to the man in front of him, offering a handshake. The man smiled at Izuku and shook his hand, his grip firm and strong.
"It's good to see you well Kai san, there was talk of your health deteriorating a few months ago."
The man laughed and placed both of his hands on the little one's shoulders below him.
"It's been hard, but the good doctor has my complete faith."
Izuku looked back to the girl, who was now watching them converse curiously. He noticed her bright red eyes and remembered briefly meeting another woman. This one only older and was pregnant the last time he saw her. A lightbulb flicked on his head that he wished never did. He felt disgusted and slightly guilty, even if he doesn't have anything to do with the situation.
"Kai san. This is your daughters child?"
He nodded in affirmation and sighed.
"You have a good eye Midoriya. That stupid daughter of mine has disowned the child. Claims that she is cursed."
Izuku's eyes flickered to the little horn on her head.
"Because of her horn?"
"No. Her husband disappeared."
Ishida raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Disappeared?"
Kai nodded with a grim look on his face.
"Completely vanished out of thin air. His clothes were on the ground that showed where he was standing."
Izuku looked to the girl who was now fidgeting, not understanding the true gravity of the situation.
"Her quirk?"
He nodded and patted the child's head.
"Eri here seems to have an extremely dangerous power. So I intend on looking after her to protect her from any wrongdoers that will abuse it."
"Eri huh."
Izuku smiled at Eri and she only looked away from him in embarrassment.
"Nice to meet you Eri chan, hopefully we can be good friends in the future!"
Izuku stretched his arm out to indicate a handshake and Eri, she hesitated but after a little push from Kai, took his hand. Izuku's smile grew wider and he crouched down to the girl once more.
"You know I have a little sister myself, maybe in the future you guys can be good friends."
Eri's eyes shone slightly at the mention of meeting new people and she looked up to see Kai nod his head.
"You can trust this man Eri; he is a mighty and trustworthy man."
Eri studied Izuku's face, taking in his bright green eyes.
"...Okay."
"Sirs?"
They all turned to see a suited Yakuza stood by waiting for their attention.
"The meeting starts soon, the chairman demands you all to be present before he arrives."
Izuku nodded and waved him off.
"We understand."
The Yakuza bowed in respect and Izuku finished off the rest of his cigarette. Ishida and Nina were already making their way to the meeting room and Kai followed them along with Eri who was glancing back at him. Izuku motioned for her to keep going with a smile on his face and threw away his cigarette butt in the bin. He trailed after the rest of them and walked into the meeting doors.
There were seven small sofa chairs in total within the room. One chair being at the far end of the room which is for the chairman, who is yet to arrive. The other six chairs are for the Patriarch's, three on either side of the Chairman's left and right. The Patriarchs are members of the Yakuza that are recognised to be capable and powerful leaders. The chairs were evenly spaced out, giving them ample room to put their subordinates in-between if they wished. The room was decorated minimally, save for the samurai armour that was placed on all corners of the room and the swords behind the main chair.
All of them were occupied save for two and Izuku made his way to sit down in next to the chairman's left. As he passed by Kai he noticed a person stood behind him keeping an eye on Eri. They looked to Izuku and nodded to him.
"Midoriya..."
He was probably the same age as Izuku, or younger. He had brown coloured hair and bright golden eyes. He was always sporting a mask and gloves due to his mysophobia. He was taken in by Kai at an extremely young age similar to him. This made it easier for them to communicate as they were almost brought up in the Yakuza the same way.
As Izuku passed by he smiled at Eri and then to the young boy.
"Chisaki, good to see you. Take care of the old man would you?"
He only nodded and kept up his watch.
As Izuku sat down, the Patriarch opposite Izuku stared at him with a scowl on their face.
"Dragon of Todou..."
Izuku stood his ground and stared back, not being intimidated by the older man.
"Tsunoda san... Good to see you."
Tsunoda was a hulk of a man. His eyebrows were directed downwards naturally, making him look like he was constantly in a state of anger. His hair was slicked back but was considerably shorter than Kai's. The most notable features about him was the bull piercing and the fact that he wore a golden tie in a white suit. The Tsunoda family was outshined by the sudden rise of the Midoriya family and they hate that fact. They took pride in calling themselves warriors of the Todou clan, but ever since Midoriya's family came into the picture. Their reputation dropped to a speck of what they used to be. Izuku pushed his luck and smiled at him mockingly.
"I hope things are going well in Osaka."
Tsunoda gripped his chairs handles tightly, activating his quirk out of rage. His skin suddenly turned to a shade of red, almost as if the blood within his body wanted to burst out. The chair handles broke underneath his tight grip and he growled at Izuku. He stood quickly, making everyone in the room aware of their dispute.
"You know better than anyone what you have done to us!"
He pointed at Izuku with a red face and huffed out a breath in a burst of fury, Izuku kept up his taunting smile and rested his leg on his knee nonchalantly.
"It's a dog eat dog world. If you aren't expecting to be eaten then I'm afraid you'll just get taken down."
"You fucking-!"
"Take your seat Tsunoda."
They all turned to the entrance to see the chairman stood with his guards. They all stood up in unison and bowed as he passed them to get to his chair. Izuku looked up as the chairman passed by him to see Tsunoda having a slight panic attack. He smirked at his small victory and quickly hid his amusement as they all sat down. The chairman was an ex-hitman, a feared man by the name of Otake Naoya. He was enjoying the semi-retired life until the Fourth chairman was put in prison for five years. Until the Fourth gets out of prison he will be in his place as a replacement. This doesn't mean the Patriach's feared their Chairman any less, if anything Otake was a far more intimidating figure.
The chairman took his time scanning the faces of every one of his subordinates within the room and sighed.
"Unfortunately, we are missing Patriarch Akuma as he is still under the watch of multiple hero agencies. So we will continue without his guidance. Now then, let the meeting begin. Ishida, care to tell us all why you have called us all here today?"
Ishida bowed within his chair and cleared his throat.
"There have been multiple confirmed cases about a villain organisation rising from the shadows. I wanted to bring this news to the rest of the Yakuza and figure out a means of dealing with them before it is too late."
The chairman nodded in approval and Tsunoda looked to the chairman to speak his share.
"I suggest we form a mutually beneficial relationship with them. With their help, we can finally take full control of Japan and rule the overworld!"
Tsunoda finished by hitting the chair handle which was already wrecked from his earlier actions.
Kai shook his head and gritted his teeth, the chairman seemed to notice and looked to the leader of Shie Hassaikai.
"You object to this?"
Kai nodded and looked Tsunoda in the eye.
"They are villains Tsunoda. People who use their quirks for the sake of it. They kill and steal on their own terms. What part of that is suitable to Yakuza? What will happen to our morals? Our code?"
Izuku rested his leg on his knee and noticed how Chisaki clenched his fists. He kept his eye on him but as usual, he was still unreadable.
"We are a chivalrous organisation. We must not forget our roots and we must not stray too far from that path. If we ever join with these people, villains or not. We will cease to be the Yakuza our ancestors have worked so hard to build."
Ishida sat up and turned to Kai with a frown on his face.
"You must admit Kai, the old ways are dying out. The Yakuza you came from are becoming history. If we are to survive within this age we must adapt brother. I agree that working with villains is a far shout but surely we should change our outlook on how we grow."
Kai was visibly straining, he was a firm believer of the old ways and was incredibly stubborn about it. Izuku felt bad for the old man and looked away to see Patriarch Enomoto speak up. He was half-pig and half-man with an enormous belly. He rubbed his snout and voiced his opinion.
"Then we take them out, simple. We deal with the competition so we can stay at the top."
Ishida turned to them and sighed.
"But why must we stay at the top? There are positive things about staying hidden to gain our strength. We can let them have the spotlight, and after the heroes sweep them out from under their feet. We can be the ones to clean house."
Tsunoda stood up and pointed at Ishida, his rage visible on his face.
"You want us to hide in the shadows like cowards?! You call yourself a Yakuza and yet you have a woman protecting your meaningless life."
Nina flicked a dagger out of her wrist making it fall into her palm comfortably at the insult and Ishida raised his hand to stop her from lashing back.
"Tsunoda, this is all for the Yakuza's survival. If I recall, your house almost got demolished by Midoriya's spotlight and yet here you are. You spent the last couple years in the shadows discovering your strength brother. Am I wrong?"
Tsunoda's fists were clenched tight and Izuku was ready to jump from his seat just in case anyone tries anything. After a short staring contest, Tsunoda sat back down and seethed silently. Izuku relaxed into his chair and noticed that the Chairman's gaze was fixated on him.
"And what of your thoughts, Dragon?"
Izuku looked to the chairman and put his leg down to sit up straight.
"Personally, I want nothing to do with the villains. If we can avoid any conflict with them all together then that would be the best option. Like brother Ishida said, the heroes will eventually deal with them. When they do, we must not be affiliated with them or else we run the risk of being taken down among them."
Enomoto scoffed at him, saliva flying from his mouth as he spoke.
"You think we will go down without a fight?"
Izuku looked at him with a bored expression on his face.
"We can definitely fight, but we would be going into a war we already lost."
Kai turned to the Chairman.
"Our brother is right, with our forces as they are now we wouldn't be able to deal with the Heroes. Especially if they have that monster All Might."
The Chairman looked out to them once more.
"Then it is decided, the Todou clan will have nothing to do with the villains. If they try to establish an alliance with us, we turn them away. If they attack us, and only if, then we strike back. We will have another meeting on this matter if the situation arises. Any objections?"
Nobody moved or made a sound, the only thing audible was the running water of the river outside.
"Then this meeting is adjourned."
The chairman rose from his seat and everyone else stood up to bow to him. After the Chairman has left the room, Tsunoda bumped into Izuku on purpose making him lose his footing. The taller man snickered and left the room without any more comments. Izuku shook his head in annoyance and made his way over towards the Shie Hassaikai and crouched down to Eri.
"If that scary man over there causes you any problems..."
Izuku pointed at Chisaki.
"You tell me alright? I'll save you from him."
He winked at her and Eri's lips twisted up and down, as if she forgot how to smile. He ruffled her head and waved goodbye to her.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it will come back someday. See ya Eri chan!"
He got up from his crouched position and shook Kai's hand one last time before going on their separate ways.
"You've got friends nearby."
Kai bowed in respect.
"You as well."
With one last look at Eri, he approached Chisaki and eyed him carefully.
"You keep her safe Chisaki."
He merely nodded and grabbed a hold of Eri's arm forcefully and followed his adoptive father out through the door. Izuku bit his lip out of anxiousness and decided that he suddenly needed a break.
\ /
Ryuko's penthouse was huge. Her living room was moderately sized and didn't really have anything special about it, apart from the amazing view over the city of course. The space around her was mainly used up by her bedroom which sported a king-sized bed as well as multiple shelves and a walk-in wardrobe. She wouldn't admit it herself but she was a hoarder, and she loved shiny objects. Her shelves were stacked with all sorts of books and shiny items that she slowly collected over the years of being a pro hero. The best part about her home however was the landing pad the association kindly created for her.
There was a landing pad by her balcony specifically tailored for her Dragon form, meaning she can just come and go as she pleases. The security systems were the same ones used at Tartarus and there were no other buildings tall enough to spy in on her home. She felt safe here. But it was far too big for one person.
Her TV was being used as an impromptu speaker, playing calming instrumental music. Ryuko was sat with her legs on the sofa, and her laptop resting on her knees. She tapped away at the keyboard, trying to finish the report of the drug bust she helped with approximately twenty hours ago. She reached out to the cup that was on the glass table next to her and groaned when she realised she was out of coffee. She changed the lighting in her room with a push of a button on a remote and it changed to a soft warm hue of yellow. She put her laptop onto the glass table and laid down on the sofa. She covered her eyes with her arm and sighed for the nth time.
There was a sudden knock on her door and she sat up and inspected what she wore first, just to make sure she doesn't embarrass herself. She was wearing a comfortable white t-shirt and the jeans she helped to produce as well as her classic green headband. After deciding that it was okay, she made her way to the front door and unlocked it. She firstly called out to them before opening the door.
"Who is it?"
"Your biggest fan!"
Ryuko opened the door to see Midoriya Izuku stood leaning against the door frame. He gave her his signature grin and she couldn't help but smirk back at him.
"Yo Ryuko chan!"
"Izuku!"
Ryuko moved in to hug him and Izuku did the same too. They held each other and swayed for a bit until Ryuko recoiled back slightly and covered her nose with her right hand.
"Izuku, you stink of smoke."
He laughed and shook his head, he pushed a plastic bag towards her.
"Sorry geez, I'll drown out the smell with something else."
Ryuko took the bag and inspected the goods within, she counted up to six beers and pouted at him.
"Only enough to get a slight buzz..."
He winked at her and smiled.
"Good thing we're going out then aren't we?"
Ryuko laughed and lead him inside her home. Izuku took off his suit jacket and placed it against the sofa's armrest whilst Ryuko grabbed two cans of beers out of the bag. She placed the rest of the beers inside her fridge to keep them cool and made her way to Izuku who has already made himself comfortable on her sofa.
"Has work been hard since we last met?"
Ryuko passed him one of the beers and he gave her a quiet thanks, he popped his can open and took a large swig of alcohol. She sat down next to him and flipped the laptop around so it was facing him.
"It's been busy, but not too hard. My last case was probably the hardest one since then."
Ryuko popped open her can and was about to take her own sip until Izuku stopped her. She had a slight scowl on her face which just seemed to amuse him.
"You've been drinking coffee, you sure that's a good idea?"
Izuku pointed to the empty cup on the table next to them. Ryuko rolled her eyes at him and rested her back against the sofa, unintentionally puffing out her chest.
"It's just for one day, don't worry."
Izuku looked away quickly and focused his attention on her written report to get rid of any intruding thoughts. Ryuko sighed happily, relishing the feeling of alcohol entering her system.
"I missed this."
Izuku chuckled and raised his can to hers.
"Me too."
Ryuko tapped her can against his and they both drank at the same time. Izuku decided to take his alcohol slowly whilst she just downed the entire lot in seconds. Izuku sat in silence watching his old friend in half bewilderment and half amusement.
"I didn't realise your last case was THAT hard."
Ryuko laughed and stood up to get another can from the fridge, the empty can on the glass table and forgotten.
"Troublesome enough to give me a migraine that's for sure."
Izuku glanced at the abilities list and one specifically caught his eye.
"Ability to hugeify anything they touch..."
Ryuko sat back down with two cans and placed one down next to the laptop as a backup.
"That's the one."
Izuku scrolled through the pictures that were taken in combat, observing her dragon form and what seemed to be a huge rhino-like man in a grapple. He laughed at the images of her overpowering the Rhino and smiled at her.
"Powerful as ever huh."
Ryuko hid her blush under her drink and looked away.
"Whatever, so where do you wanna go?"
Izuku turned his attention back to her and looked deep in thought.
"...Ramen?"
Ryuko laughed at him and Izuku smiled.
"We had that last time! And the time before!"
Izuku gawked at her in surprise.
"We did?"
Ryuko laughed again, making Izuku feel embarrassed. She wiped the tear that came to her eye and grinned at him.
"How about sushi? I know a place nearby."
"You been to it before?"
"Nope, passed by it a few times on my patrols. Looks promising and definitely has alcohol."
Izuku raised his can of beer in approval.
"Then I ain't complaining. Come on get dressed, it's my treat tonight."
\ /
The night came by quickly and the temperature dropped exponentially. Ryuko rubbed her cold hands together and sighed. Watching in slight fascination as she observed her breath turn into vapour. Izuku, who was walking next to her, nudged her teasingly with his shoulder and she looked up to him. He was almost a full head taller than her and she still wonders how he suddenly got such a big growth spurt over the years. During their hero course, he was tiny. Now he almost towers over her.
"You're already a dragon in case you forgot?"
She scoffed at him in amusement.
"I might be a dragon but unfortunately I can't breathe fire."
"A shame indeed, but you're badass enough as it is."
Ryuko smiled at his compliment and nudged him with her hip playfully.
"What about you? Heat mode was it? Quite the spectacle if I remember correctly."
Izuku smiled at her and shook his head.
"Nothing too special, I just get a bit of a boost."
Ryuko looked at him in disbelief.
"A bit?! I have complete faith that you can hold your own against All Might if you kept up your training."
Izuku looked up to the night sky and grinned.
"I wouldn't mind a spar with him..."
She smirked at that and smoothed down her trenchcoat with her hand. She wore her hero costume underneath just in case. She was taught to expect the unexpected after all. They made it to the sushi restaurant with no problems and found it to be filled with a few people already, most notably couples. Izuku turned to Ryuko and whispered in her ear.
"Well don't we just fit right in?"
Ryuko blushed at the comment and quickly moved forward to get assigned a seat by their waiter. Izuku smirked at her embarrassment and followed by closely. The waiter assigned them to a couple table next to the window and pulled out both chairs for them. After they both sat down the waiter pulled out his pen and notebook and smiled at them.
"What would you both like to drink?"
Izuku looked to Ryuko who was sat opposite him and raised his eyebrow at her.
"What you feeling?"
Ryuko looked down to the menu in her hands and pointed to an item.
"How about wine?"
Izuku nodded and the waiter wrote down the item Ryuko pointed to.
"I will go get your drinks, please take your time in deciding your food."
The waiter bowed to them and Izuku took this opportunity to look around the restaurant, taking it in slowly. It was styled minimalistic and almost everything was symmetric. They used warm soft lights which gave a yellow colour. Giving the restaurant a gentle and homely presence. It was established under a hotel and was quite open in the middle where you can sit on the stools and watch the chefs handcraft the sushi.
"Nice place you chose."
Ryuko rested her head on her hand and leaned in towards the table.
"I hope the food is good, it looked really promising from the outside."
Izuku looked behind Ryuko to see a few people looking over to their table. He grinned and leaned forwards towards her.
"You've got fans here as well."
Ryuko sighed and covered her face with her hands.
"I wanted to avoid this... Sorry."
Izuku sat back in his chair and relaxed.
"Don't worry about it, it doesn't bother me if they keep their distance."
Izuku looked back to his menu and Ryuko did the same.
"So, what are you in the mood for tonight?"
Ryuko eyed him at that statement and Izuku looked up at her, confused. A small blush was situated on her cheeks. Ryuko quickly looked away and turned back to her menu making Izuku wonder what the little episode meant. The waiter came back to their table with a bottle of red wine and filled their glasses up to halfway. They then placed their orders of food, both of them deciding to share multiple sushi platters. After the waiter left with their order in hand, Ryuko raised her glass to him and Izuku grinned at her.
"Gonna down this one as well?"
Ryuko laughed and shook her head. Izuku clinked their glasses together and they both took a small sip of the wine.
"I'll calm down so you can catch up to my level."
He accepted the small challenge with raised brows.
"You won't be waiting long I assure you."
\ /
"My sister will be going to UA."
"UA? The hero course I'm assuming."
Izuku nodded as he chewed his food, he swallowed it and pointed at Ryuko with his chopsticks.
"There's no stopping her, she's just about as stubborn as you are."
Ryuko's eye twitched at the comment and she kicked Izuku's shin under the table with her foot. Izuku winced in pain making her grin in her small victory.
"Save your sass for someone who won't fight back."
Izuku grinned back at her.
"The fight's the fun part."
Ryuko rolled her eyes at him and brought the topic back before things got out of hand.
"You mentioned your sister was quirkless before. How well do you think she will fare?"
Izuku put his chopsticks down and picked up his glass of wine, swirling it before answering.
"It's hard not to believe in her. It's always been her dream."
He drank the rest of the wine in his cup and Ryuko reached for the bottle to pour more into it. He gave her a thanks and sipped it lightly before putting it down.
"You aren't worried that she's going to be doing something dangerous?"
Izuku looked up and met Ryuko's gaze, he held it for a while until he broke away and looked out the window. He watched as the people wandered by and as the cars drove past with a grim look on his face. Ryuko placed her chopsticks down and rested her head on her hand.
"She will be a hero, one way or another."
Ryuko smiled tenderly at him and took a sip of her wine with her free hand.
"Seems like your sister already has a big fan."
Izuku laughed and nodded.
"From day one."
They finished their food and Izuku paid for their meal as he promised. They decided to get to Ryuko's apartment as soon as possible as the temperature outside was seemingly close to freezing. Ryuko held her body close with her arms and snarled at Izuku who seemed to be completely fine with the weather.
"I'm already cold-blooded as it is, I don't want my blood freezing inside my veins!"
Izuku shrugged and smirked at her, finding her suffering semi-amusing.
"My quirks pretty useful in these kinds of situations."
His body started to leak an aura of green and Ryuko tackled him in a hug. Izuku almost fell from the force but kept them both upright with quick reflexes.
"Ryuko?!"
She held onto him tighter and hid her face in his chest, out of embarrassment or trying to stay warm, Izuku doesn't know.
"Just... Just a little bit. It's freezing out here."
Izuku held her close with his arms and snickered. Ryuko sighed happily, enjoying being so close to him and basking in the warmth his quirk provided.
"What if someone sees us?"
Ryuko bit her lip at the thought.
"I wouldn't mind that..."
Ryuko spoke into his clothes, making it hard for Izuku to hear.
"What?"
"I said I could clear it up. It's fine."
Izuku grinned and picked her up princess style.
"Izuku?!"
"I got a better idea."
Izuku's aura suddenly grew brighter and he jumped at an incredible speed into the air with her in his arms, giving her no time to prepare herself or scream. He directed himself towards the side of a building and bounced off it like a spring. Ryuko had her arms around his neck in a death grip, hoping to God that he doesn't accidentally drop her. After many jumps and twists, Izuku stopped nearby her home in a desolate area of the city and tried to catch his breath, he hasn't had much of a workout since Christmas. He looked down to see that Ryuko was still clinging onto his neck and he slowly let her down. She growled at him and hit his chest half-heartedly multiple times.
"A warning!? Anything would be helpful!"
"Okay! Okay! Ow! Sorry!"
Ryuko huffed and stepped back. She looked around her to try and find the building she lived in. After finding her tower she bit her lip and wondered if she could be bothered to take the elevator or not. Izuku noticed her thinking face and tapped her shoulder.
"I propose a challenge."
She turned around to see Izuku patting off his suit. He gave her his signature grin and she bit her lip at the sight of it.
"What do you propose?"
"A race."
Izuku pointed upwards to her penthouse.
"Last one to get there pays for the next meal."
Ryuko looked back to her penthouse and smiled.
"Challenge accepted. But on one condition."
Ryuko began taking off her trench coat and Izuku, being the gentleman that he was, looked away on instinct. She was wearing her hero outfit, apart from the claw that was usually situated on her headband. She looked around to see if there was ample room for her to transform and concluded that it would be enough.
"You get to hold my coat."
Izuku scoffed at her.
"Trying to weigh me down?"
She winked at him and stepped back a few times, creating some distance between them.
"Wouldn't dream of it."
She began her transformation and Izuku watched on in fascination. Her entire body changed suddenly, the soft and pale skin she once had turned into sturdy scales. Wings sprouted from her back and what once used to be hands now turned into monstrous claws. Once her transformation finished, Izuku whistled and clapped softly.
"Never gets old."
Ryuko didn't know if it was possible to blush in her dragon form, she just hopes there was nothing noticeable on her face.
"Waiting on you now."
Izuku took his position next to her and prompted his quirk to activate. It enveloped his entire body and came off of it almost like smoke. A great heat surrounded him and Ryuko could feel it from where she stood. She prepared herself by facing towards the sky, settling herself for lift-off.
"So... Who's counting down?"
Izuku stretched his legs and grinned at her. He gripped the trench coat firmly in his hands and got into a position to jump.
"I'll give you the honour."
Ryuko stretched her wings and nodded.
"Then we go on one."
"Three, two...One!"
Ryuko blasted off the ground with such force that Izuku needed to keep his arms up to stop him from falling backwards from the force of her wings. He smirked at the cheap trick she pulled and prepared himself for a big jump.
"Heh... Bitch!"
He jumped off towards her penthouse and couldn't help himself from laughing as he did. It's been too long since he had let himself go wild, Ryuko seemed to enjoy herself as well. She was flying radically, doing barrel rolls and doing flips. She was taunting him and he knew it. He jumped from tower to tower, slowly gaining height to get to the penthouse as quick as he could. Ryuko focused now and steadily gained altitude to reach the landing pad.
He jumped off the tower that was opposite hers and found that he didn't put enough power into it. He only just managed to grab onto the ledge of the roof with his free hand and sighed in relief. He pulled himself up to the landing pad and stood up looking around for Ryuko. He turned around to see a shadow of a dragon in the sky flying towards him turning smaller and smaller, until he saw a human figure flying towards him.
"Oh fuck!"
He ran across the landing pad and threw the trench coat on the ground to get ready to catch her. He stretched out his arms, activated his quirk, and enveloped her body as she crashed into him. They rolled across to the middle of the pad and Izuku groaned in pain. He was on the bottom whilst Ryuko was being held by him safely in his arms. She sat up and laughed at Izuku, who was still winded from her sudden attack. She was straddling him and he was suddenly all too aware of that fact. Trying to hide his excitement (and embarrassment) from her by looking away and focusing on the horizon. He cut off his quirk and propped himself up with his elbows as best as he could.
"I...Win...!"
Ryuko nodded and stood up offering him a hand to help him stand.
"Don't get cocky, I let you win."
Izuku took her hand and stood on unsteady legs.
"Oh don't be jealous, there's always a next time."
He winked at her and picked up the trench coat that was on the floor. Ryuko waited for him and opened the security door to her penthouse. As soon as she stepped inside her home, she stretched her arms above her head and sighed happily. Feeling far better now that she was indoors. Izuku placed her trench coat down on the sofa before making his way to her fridge and grabbing the last few cans of beer. He raised a beer to show Ryuko who was still on the sofa.
"Want one?"
Ryuko shook her head and sat down on the sofa.
"I should go to sleep soon, I need to be at the agency early tomorrow."
Izuku popped open his can of beer and sat down next to her taking a sip as he did so.
"Oh yeah, you're looking after a first-year from UA aren't you?"
She nodded and turned on her TV, switching channels until something caught her eye.
"Work-study. Training, patrols, reports... The whole lot."
Izuku sighed and rested his head on the armrest of the sofa.
"Now that you say that, I have some work to do around Tokyo tomorrow as well."
"So we'll both be busy for a while?"
Izuku nodded.
"It seems so."
Ryuko looked dead tired, the alcohol and caffeine mix must be starting to affect her body.
"I'll leave you to it then."
He downed the rest of the beer quickly and stood up from the sofa.
"You're leaving?"
Ryuko looked miserable when he stood up and Izuku nodded.
"I'm afraid so, you're gonna need your rest."
He walked over to her door and Ryuko followed by closely. He fumbled within his pockets to check if he lost anything and was relieved to find that everything was still on his person. Ryuko hugged him from behind and circled his waist with her arms. Izuku pulled his head back to rest it on top of hers and smiled.
"Message me when you're free and we'll do this again sometime."
He could feel Ryuko nod against his back and he opened her door. Once he stepped outside he looked at his friend one last time before leaving.
"See ya, Ryuko chan."
Her smile was sad and distant.
"Bye Izuku. If you ever need a place to stay come by ok?"
"Will do!"
Ryuko watched him walk down the hallway and get into one of the elevators. Only when he was out of sight did she close her door and head off to get ready for bed.
\ /
...Many months later...
It was just like what Bakugo said. It's like not like she accomplished anything, or changed anything. But even after everything that has happened. She was glad. She can now see the realistic future on the other side. There was no need for her to dream about becoming some hero she can never be. All of a sudden, a muscular man with bright blonde hair ran in front of her and stopped with such speed that the dust from the ground picked up behind him.
"I am here!"
Ichika jumped in surprise and waved her arms in shock.
"A-All Might?! Why are you here? You were surrounded by reporters just now..."
Ichika looked around her to see if anyone was trailing after the hero, to see nobody around. All Might placed his hands on his hips and laughed joyfully.
"Getting away from them was a piece of cake. Why?! Because I am All Migh-"
He struck a pose and before he could finish what he said, suddenly changed forms and coughed out blood violently. Ichika screamed in horror and All Might waved her off. After his small coughing fit, he turned to Ichika and looked at her with a serious air around him.
"Young girl. I come with thanks, a correction, and a suggestion."
Ichika looked up to him in surprise and All Might continued.
"If you hadn't been there... If you hadn't told me about your life..."
He clenched his right hand into a fist and raised it up to his face.
"...I would've turned into a guy in a bodysuit who was all talk. Thank you."
Ichika shook her head in disbelief and gripped her bag tightly.
"That can't be... It was my fault in the first place!"
She looked to the ground dejectedly.
"I-I got in the way of your work, and I said all those impertinent things even though I'm quirkless..."
"That's right."
All Might nodded and Ichika met his gaze.
"It was because it was none other than the timid Quirkless you at the scene that I was able to act."
Ichika gasped at his words and All Might carried on.
"Top heroes have stories about them from their school days. Most of their stories have one thing in common: Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think."
Ichika's eyes began to grow blurry from tears and she looked to the ground once more, trying to find comfort there. She clenched her fists and did her best to hold them back, trying to hide her weakness from her Idol. All of a sudden she remembered her mother's words from all those years ago.
"I'm sorry Ichika! I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"
Ichika couldn't stand the pain welling inside her chest and fell to her knees trying to hold it in. She remembered her brother's words to her at Christmas all those months ago.
"You will be a hero, Ichika."
All Might stood up straight and nodded solemnly.
"That was true for you, too, wasn't it?"
She wanted to scream, it hurt so bad.
"Yeah..."
She clutched her chest and bent over in agony. The winds picked up, blowing All Might's hair from his face and carried the cherry blossom leaves through the air. The setting sun illuminated his figure, making him look taller and more intimidating than he already was.
"You can become a hero."
Ichika wept, All Might's words destroying what doubt she had left. Dreams can become a reality and she thanked her brother silently, for always believing in her.
