"I'm getting tired of waking up in hospitals." Izuku quipped to the empty room. Glancing carefully, he could tell that he had been put into a private room. Izuku paled, imagining the costs for the room and contemplated breaking the window. Before he could, a doctor entered to explain his injuries.
"You're free to leave whenever you like. Your exhaustion looked bad at first, but by tomorrow with enough rest that could fix itself. As for the room, it's being covered by a pro so feel free to go at your own pace." The doctor left not long after and Izuku was shocked that someone was paying for a private room for him. He gathered his things quietly and made his way to the door. As he wandered through the hospital, he found several of his friends at the desk on the first floor. From what he could see it was the group that went to retrieve Bakugo.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Izuku asked as he walked up to them. The group swiveled and looked at Izuku confused. Izuku let his head droop to the side exposing the series of scars he'd gotten along his face and neck recently. His classmates seemed to stare at the injuries for an uncomfortable amount of time before Izuku cleared his throat. "Well at the very least it's good to see you're all alright. How is Bakugo?"
The question jarred them back into reality. Kirishima was the first to respond "Bakugo is doing fine. His parents came and got him earlier in the day after the police questioned him." Izuku hummed at the information, letting the satisfaction sit. A small smile appeared on his face and Iida frowned in response. Izuku picked up on it immediately and made a gesture for the group to follow him, leading them back to his private room. Izuku closed the door softly before he sat down on the bed facing his friends.
"So how are all of you doing? I know last night was pretty rough." None of the group jumped to respond to Izuku's question. He figured it would happen, but after rescuing Bakugo, Izuku wanted to make sure they were all alright now.
"I had some trouble forgetting that guy, but I was glad I didn't misjudge you." Todoroki said after a time. "I was glad you were there." Izuku let a soft smile pass his lips but it was interrupted by Iida. He roughly grabbed him by the collar and Izuku's head lolled to the side.
"The ends don't justify the means, Midoriya! You could've died and these injuries are proof of it. You shouldn't have gone!" Izuku had been expecting this lecture for a while. Iida had been the most relieved by his initial statement, so it was only fitting that he get scolded now. "What would we have done if you had died, dumbass!" The cursing caught Izuku off guard and when he turned to look he was caught by a fist that sent him spiraling onto the ground. He rubbed his cheek, the punch stinging with each touch.
"To be fair, I definitely deserved that. But I did what I felt was right so I'll stand by that decision. If anybody asks everything was my doing so I'll take the punishment." Izuku's classmates were shocked as he dragged himself off the ground. "Thanks, for telling me how you really feel. Next time I'll do better to not get involved like that." Izuku stalked out of the room and down the hall, occasionally testing his cheek to see how tender it was. He made his way to the train station to head home. One thing he could feel freely was his own mortality. The injuries present adding to the sensation. He had almost died more times in the past few days than the entire rest of his life combined. The sensation was sickening and clouded his mind the entire train ride there.
When Izuku arrived he was greeted with the sight of his mother, Maki, and Benimaru waiting for him at the station. His mother ran up to him and cupped his injured cheek in her hand, tears ready to fall. Before Izuku could say anything though Benimaru and Maki had already begun pushing the two towards their house. The entire walk seemed to reek of awkwardness.
Izuku was even more surprised when he found himself sitting in front of his mother. She was putting bandages over the tattoos he usually covered. Due to the last few days they were all currently exposed. Thinking back, Izuku couldn't remember the last time she had done this for him. Her fingers moved carefully and gently wrapping each one before she made her way to the kitchen. "I'll be making lunch now; would you like to help?" The pair worked efficiently not needing much communication to complete the food. Izuku's mom prepped each ingredient while Izuku put them together and cooked them. It cut much of the cooking time in half, and they were enjoying dinner soon. "How are you feeling?"
"Lately, I've been feeling really weak." The answer surprised Izuku as he had not been expecting to answer so honestly. His mom looked at him as gently as she had the entire day and Izuku took that as a cue to continue. "It's just that this entire incident feels like my fault. If I had been stronger none of this needed to happen. I feel responsible for All Might having to retire."
"I don't know how long you're going to be here, but if that's how you feel you could always stay here for a while and work with Benimaru. You haven't trained there in years, right? He might be able to get you back on track. Once you heal, you should go see him." His mother advised. It was something he had considered but hearing it from another perspective made it a more solid plan. Izuku thanked his mother for the meal and cleaned the table before heading into town. This would most likely be his only free day. As he wandered through the city, he eventually found that the sun had started going down. His mind had been so hazy he ended up walking the entire day.
The next morning Izuku woke up at his usual time and stretched. His body felt the best it had since the start of the training camp. He took the time to make his mom a breakfast before he made his way to Benimaru and Maki's house. When he arrived he was surprised to see the two already awake and warming up.
'You're a little late. Make sure to stretch properly or you won't make a very good practice dummy." Maki teased. Izuku huffed as he began to warm up. He worked himself through his seven forms and stretched his muscles before he was ready. As Izuku approached he felt Benimaru's killing intent leak towards him and jumped back taking a stance. Benimaru immediately followed Izuku with a kick and was trying to apply pressure. From an outside perspective, the two looked perfectly matched. Each blow one attempted the other countered equally quickly.
"Iai Chop, First Form: Fire Moon," Normally Benimaru would not use these techniques in training, but he figured it would be okay against the current Izuku. Izuku used his foot to kick Benimaru's arm into the air and followed with a downward chop.
"Iai Chop, Form Five: Sunset," Benimaru blocked and the two separated. Neither looked to have lost a step from the exchange.
"Maki, can you tell the difference between our techniques?" Benimaru asked his daughter, leaving his stance. Maki shook her head and Benimaru turned to Izuku expectantly. Izuku also shook his head and Benimaru sighed. "The difference is I gave everything I had. And I don't believe it's the same for you."
"What the hell do you mean?" Izuku exclaimed. He had given that exchange everything he had. Maki also stared at her dad curiously.
"You gave it everything you could muster, but not everything you had. Right now I'm confident that your quirk is stronger than you allow it. The difference between us is that you worry about how your opponent can handle your attacks. Every blow is filtered taking into account your opponents strength. The reason I can tell is I don't feel the weight of your own life in your blows." Izuku stared for a moment and Benimaru continued. "You care about your enemies and allies more than enough, but your care for your own life lacks. Until it's put into the balance you don't fight at full potential. The you who fights me and the you who save people aren't equal in strength. As such I believe both of those pale in comparison to you who's been endangered. The way you fought that Bakugo kid in the finals showed me just how ferociously you can fight."
Maki had heard enough at this point. "Are you trying to tell me this idiot can't fight at full power until he's been hurt badly by somebody? That's idiotic what kind of dumbass ends up not being able to fight at full power." Izuku was quietly remembering his fight against All For One as she spoke. When he'd been blasted in the air, the world seemed to align for a moment. Similarly, every time he fought Bakugo he sealed all of his movements, but against the rest of the class he did not. Maki grabbed Izuku and picked him up, shaking him. "And then there's you! Are you stupid? Is your brain defective?" Izuku was getting shaken from side to side so violently that when he slipped free he flew to the opposite side of the training room.
"It's partially my fault. I allowed him to fight people when you two were younger that weren't ready for that stage. Since then you worked to bring your power completely under your control so that you wouldn't hurt anyone. Your mom told me something happened when your quirk awakened. That's why you left, right? To gain control over your quirk so you wouldn't hurt anyone." Beimaru stated, seeing right through Izuku.
"Yea, I called it combat experience, but I also learned how to use my flames in ways that won't burn." Izuku released his flames showing two flaming hands that extended towards Benimaru and Maki and reached out. Benimaru was especially shocked by the control of the flames.
"I can also tell that you're restrained because you can recreate Maki's quirk. There are very few flame attacks I can't replicate with my quirk. Maki's is one of them because it requires a degree of heat that I can't sustain. But you can recreate it when you try. Your flames are that much stronger." Izuku had a questioning look on his face. He had expected something different from training with Beni.
"So what can I do to get stronger?" Izuku asked after a moment in silence.
"You have to balance that feeling out. Training will make you stronger, but that will bring out your full potential. You can get stronger than me for sure." Izuku smiled at the compliment. Because he had been disarmed,he could not prepare for Benimaru's next strike that launched him outside of the training room. "Now come, I'll help you find that balance." Izuku smiled as the two took off into the distance. Maki sighed, staring at the gaping hole in the wall before getting the lunches and following in the direction the duo flew towards.
As Maki walked, she could tell that they were both fighting seriously. She came into a clearing surrounded by a rocky area and could already see them seriously fighting. The area was perfect for them because that's where the three of them used to train when they were younger. She set the lunches down in the shade and joined the ferocious exchange. Kicking her dad away and using her immense power to blow Izuku away. Izuku cracked his neck before rejoining the fray and the trio fought like that for hours only stopping once for a break. Later that evening, the trio made their way back to Izuku's house. Between Maki and Benimaru, Izuku was thoroughly exhausted and was passed out on Benimaru's shoulder for the trip.
When they arrived at the house, Maki knocked on the door. "Yes, just a moment," Inko called as she made her way to the door. She was concerned to see her son unconscious, but Benimaru gently placed Izuku in his room before sitting to speak with Inko.
'Sorry about all the trouble, he's much stronger than he was as a kid so I had to get rougher to train him," Inko shook her head at his response with a small smile on her face.
"That may be the case, but he was smiling so I know he enjoyed training with you two after so long." Maki and Benimaru left not long after they arrived to prepare for the next day. Izuku needed special high calorie meals to counteract his metabolism and they prepared those for the next couple of days and then they went to bed before repeating the process the next day. Each time Izuku arrived similarly bruised and unconscious, but Inko felt a peace from her son returning with a smile that put her at ease.
Four days later in the late afternoon Inko received a knock at her door. It was earlier than Izuku usually arrived, so she knew who it was. She opened the door and was greeted by Izuku's homeroom teacher and the former number one hero. "Thank you for having us," Aizawa and All Might called in unison.
``Yes , of course, please take a seat. I'll make some cups of tea." Aizawa and All Might sat looking around the house. They could see a case full of medals and trophies for Izuku. They also spotted several pictures of Izuku and his mother. They were surprised that this was the town that Izuku grew up in. Inko came after a time and sat down across from the pair.
"So what we're here to discuss is your son's continued enrollment at UA. We've had several incidents this year, and your son and his class have been at risk in many of these situations. As such UA is currently making moves to overhaul their security measures. We're committed to better ensuring the safety of all students at our school. We humbly ask you to allow us to continue instructing your son," Aizawa asked as he bowed his head to the woman. He hoped that this would be simple like most of the other students. But before Inko could respond, the door busted open with her son once again resting over Benimaru's shoulder.
"Actually I think I should join this conversation," Beni said as he followed the path back to Izuku's room and dropped him off before taking a seat across from the teachers. Maki made tea for herself and her dad as the discussion began in earnest.
"I don't know if I can entrust Izuku to UA any longer. It's a top-notch university, but I don't know if it can handle someone like him," All Might seemed displeased at the statement, but Aizawa was wondering what she meant. "He's a strong kid, before he's worried about his scars or injuries, he feels responsible for everything that happened." Both seemed to understand the implications of that.
"He's been training with me for days now with enough passion to kill. He comes home every day in that state." Aizawa seemed to be getting the picture of what was happening, but All Might was only growing more frustrated by the situation.
"With all due respect, I don't think another school could teach him to handle the pressures of being a hero as well as we can," Inko spoke up before he could finish.
"But can you honestly guarantee nothing will happen from here on out. If something happens to a student, then he'll blame himself no matter what. He'll run himself into the ground trying to prevent that so please," Inko seemed to be on the verge of tears. "He likes it at UA, he has a lot of friends now, he likes his teacher which is even rarer. But I'll pull him out today if you can't be truthful with me." At this point Izuku's door opened and he emerged with a yawn before looking at the tense room. He paused for a moment before smiling.
"Hey, Mr. Aizawa, what brings you all the way out here?" Aizawa examined Izuku carefully, noticing how roughly it looked like he'd been training recently. He stood for a moment before bowing at the waist and addressing the room.
"I believe that we can address the needs of your son and prepare him for the heroics world properly. I beg of you to leave him in our care as we re examine our security measures and improve them. We will be adding additional security to maintain the safety of students even off campus. We promise to protect your child more thoroughly then we have before." Aizawa stated. All Might also bowed to the family. Inko appeared relieved by the words, but Aizawa continued specifically addressing Izuku. "Soon we'll be working on special moves, but I have a few terms for you before you come back to school."
"What's going on Mr. Aizawa?" Izuku asked cautiously, not liking the look in his teacher's eyes.
"I need you to tell me all about your quirk. That way I can properly train you from here on out," Aizawa stated. Izuku thought over it for a moment before he sighed and began to take off his shirt. When he did, Aizawa noticed the large section of his torso that was covered in bandages for the first time. All Might was more distracted by Maki's presence and attempted to chastise Izuku, but Izuku continued and unwrapped both his torso and arm.
"For the most part, I have extreme pyrokinesis. I can create flames and manipulate flames as long as my will is strong enough. I can also manipulate the heat my flames create to attack as well as stop time. My control range is from about body temperature to time stop. In addition, I have 4 additional powers. The marks around my eyes are the first one. It allows me to create a range of heat that I can move and attack freely within. The second is on my arm. It allows me to create super strong flames and attack. The third is the one on my back. It affects my body but releases strong flames that I can use to attack. It's by far the strongest and works best during the day peeking at noon. And finally-"Izuku took a deep breath as scars covered his entire body. His killing intent seemed to flow out, but he dispelled it and the scars retreated quickly. "This one isn't hot to the touch, but I can release a ball of flames that can destroy anything it touches on contact. Is that enough Mr. Aizawa?"
Aizawa nodded as he typed some of the information into his phone. He looked at Izuku's mom and she seemed to understand nodding enthusiastically. "Then we'll be taking our leave soon. We'll be starting special move training ASAP, you were the last person we needed to get confirmation for. The security measures will be set by tomorrow so you can move back into the dorms whenever." Izuku nodded and the teachers left. Soon after Maki and Benimaru prepared to leave, but Izuku caught the two with a hug before heading off to his room for the night. The entire room was stunned, but allowed it after everything that happened.
The next morning Izuku had already prepared to leave for UA. His mother walked him to the station and before he got on the train she stopped him. "I want you to know that no matter what, I'm proud of you and the person you've become." Izuku smiled and hugged his mom before boarding the train. Maki decided to return as well. She had already boarded the train earlier and gestured for Izuku to join her. They arrived at UA early that afternoon and were greeted by all of Izuku's classmates and Mr. Aizawa. He also saw Hatsume arrive at about the same time.
"Now, Yaoyorozu, Hatsume, Midoriya, Shinmon, I've gathered most of the story at this time. Hatsume will be banned from the lab. Shinmon will be banned from all on campus facilities, and Yaoyorozu will be on house arrest. Midoriya you'll be on house arrest until you finish a 20,000-word essay. In the meantime, no training until it's completed. Your friends are counting on you." Some of the class tried to protest, but Aizawa erased everyone's quirks. "You should thank Midoriya that only his group is being punished. You'll all be under watch until I believe I can trust you though because some of you were also involved in this." The icy coldness of the words silenced any objections and Izuku made his way to his dorm where he started on his essay immediately. The topic assigned was a report on the current top-10 heroes and their major cases.
An Ectoplasm clone came to check on him infrequently to check on and report his progress. Izuku understood that the lack of training was also a sign to try and rebuild the trust that he'd used to go out and fight. With that and his friends bans, Izuku worked non-stop for the next three days before he dropped off the paper at Mr. Aizawa's room.
"I'm impressed you're already done. Good work. I'll review it in my free time for content until then we'll be in Gym Gamma training new techniques." Izuku changed into his hero costume and followed his teacher. He found Yaoyorozu also getting ready, and the group arrived to the class training their moves. "The purpose of this training is to find a unique way to use your quirk and develop an ultimate move that could guarantee victory in battle in a pinch. You don't need to worry as much, Midoriya, because many of your techniques count as special moves. The goal is to prepare for the provisional license exam and have you participate." Izuku and Yaoyorozu nodded before an Ectoplasm clone directed them to their own personal spots in the gym.
Izuku sat pondering the words from his teacher. 'A unique way to use my quirk huh?. I have the forms that Beni taught me and Maki's timeskip. Those will usually help me in most battles. But what my quirk has is unique control. Is there anything I could do with that?' Izuku continued to ponder the many things that he could try when he decided to watch the rest of the class. Every one of them was working hard. As he looked over them, he pondered even more. 'Something only I can do.'
"Do you have any ideas, Midoriya?" The Ectoplasm clone inquired. Izuku paused for a moment as he wondered something to himself. He then smiled.
"Could you get an extra clone for me? I have an idea I'd like to test." The clone complied, returning with three more. Izuku walked up to the first one and gathered heat. He then activated time skip and hit the clone. Once it was released, the clone went flying before splattering against the wall. The entire process took quite a bit of energy. "I think I'm going to focus on training to increase my flame reserves.
'Maki can use her timeskip for a maximum of 10 seconds, but she can use it several times. In order to make it more effective, I need to be able to use it more frequently.' Izuku thought to himself. With this idea in mind Izuku trained for the next week with the training camp method to expand his flames and improve his strength. In place of the rock monsters, varying groups of Ectoplasm clones attacked to test his defense.
On the 8th day Uraraka and Iida called Izuku. "We know that you know someone in the Support department. Do you think you can introduce us so that we can get improvements made to our costumes," Uraraka asked. Izuku nodded before gesturing for them to follow him. He led them through the halls of UA with efficiency having been to the room many times.
"I should warn you, the person I know is very eccentric, but she'll get you taken care of for sure." Uraraka and Iida exchanged a look. It wasn't often that Izuku referred to people as eccentric so they were cautious. As they closed in on the room, there was a rumbling and the door flew off its hinges towards Izuku. Iida and Uraraka ran forward to see if Izuku was unharmed. When the smoke cleared, they saw him holding up a girl with pink dreadlocks. "This person here is Mei Hatsume. She's a genius and I ask her for any upgrades I need. You'll be in good hands with her. Say hello, Hatsume. You've got customers." The girl in response waved at them before being stuffed under Izuku's arm and carried into the studio. Uraraka and Iida followed quickly behind. The two were shown all kinds of inventions and Izuku simply sat and smiled fondly at their interactions. When he wasn't looking, Hatsume came up to him and started poking and prodding at him.
"I think you got bigger." Hatsume said, taking out measuring tape. "The fabric is looking tight on you and might be restricting your movements. Strip and let me check your sizes," Izuku complied and allowed Hatsume to measure him before she threw an extra PE uniform to him and took his suit to be worked on. Uraraka and Iida were stunned at the sight as Izuku changed in front of them.
"Ah, sorry that was rude," Izuku apologized, realizing what he had done. Uraraka started spitting out gibberish and Iida simply chopped his arms as both were left to Hatsume's mercy.
Maki walked in not long after and sat next to Izuku. "What are you guys working on right now?" She asked as she watched Uraraka and Iida be tortured by Hatsume's inventions.
"We're working on special moves. I'm trying to think of something I can do besides just improving the stuff I already have." Izuku admitted enjoying watching the spectacle in front of him.
"Have you found anything unique you can do yet?" Maki asked. Izuku looked at her questioningly. "Well, all your techniques are copied from me and my dad. Granted you're the only one who can do both, but you should at least put your own twist on them."
The words spurred inspiration in Izuku and he hugged Maki tightly before taking off down the hallway. Maki stared after him for a moment before sighing and helping Iida out of the newest contraption he had been strapped into. Izuku burst into the gym with energy and asked Ectoplasm for a clone. They headed a bit farther back into the gym than normal and Izuku prepared his mind. He thought about what Maki had said and put the imagery into action. Separating the timeskip and his Iai Chops into different processes. When he attempted to attack, he lost control and blew up both himself and the Ectoplasm clone.
The smile on his face didn't seem like failure. For anyone watching his eyes and smile looked determined to turn the imaginary attack into reality. Izuku trained his flames and control whenever he could after that. His goal was to strengthen his flames so they took less effort, and to master his new technique.
