Wow, it has been awhile. But I'm back with this fic, and I'm not quitting. So I hope you enjoy the next chapter. Big thanks to Searchsnake00103 for beta reading this, and as always, if you can guess the song title, then feel free to do so.
Chapter 3: Feel Invincible
Two months after meeting Todoroki - and gaining something of a friend - Izuku was still hard at work cleaning Dagobah beach, much to the wonder of those that passed by. Izuku had steadily been putting on more muscle mass, though he was still relatively skinny, and his confidence continued to grow in small amounts, mainly thanks to Josuke and their chats.
'I guess it helps that I haven't been back to school since then.' Izuku thought as he moved a small microwave onto the cart attached to his bike. His parents had forbidden him from returning, going so far as to pull him from the school entirely. Izuku had initially refused, but several stern talkings from his parents, as well as Josuke and his mom and grandpa, had convinced the young man that school was probably the worst place for him right now.
Sighing, Izuku got onto his bike and began to peddle towards the dump. On the way there, he thought of what his parents were planning on doing. And what they thought he didn't know. So lost in thought he failed to notice another kid, around his age, walking towards him with his head down, until it was too late.
Izuku's bike collided with the stranger, who had just enough time to cross his arms over his head. Izuku himself was sent flying from the bike, landing on the path, small scraps forming on his arms, hands, and legs.
Groaning in pain, Izuku shook his head carefully and looked up. The bike, miraculously, was relatively unharmed, with only some of the trash being thrown out due to the collision. The other boy had been pushed back a litte, his arms still crossed in front of his face. Now that Izuku was focused, he could see that the boy's arms had spiky protrusions that seemed somewhat similar to armor.
'Wow…' Izuku thought as he stared at the boy's Quirk with awe. Said boy turned around and Izuku was able to get a good look at him. He had long black hair that came down his neck and ears, while stopping just before his eyes, which were red and full of concern. The boy quickly moved over to Izuku and reached down, holding out a hand.
"Hey man, you ok? I'm really sorry about that, I-I should have been paying attention to where I was going." The boy said as Izuku grasped his hand, ignoring the irritation from the small cuts on his palms.
"I-I'm fine. Ju-Just some small scratches. I'd asked if you're ok, but your Quirk seems to have helped you."
The boy pulled Izuku to his feet and nodded, blushing a little and averting his eyes. "Yea...but it's not good for much else."
Izuku looked at the boy, confusion written across his face. "What do you mean? It seems like it's pretty helpful and powerful."
The boy's laugh came across as dry and sardonic. "My Quirk is a mid-level Hardening Quirk. All it really does is make me tougher, and give me a small boost in strength. It's not a flashy Quirk, and it's also not the most powerful thing in the world."
"That doesn't matter!" Izuku said, his passion for Quirks coming out, writing excitement all over his face. "Your Quirk is amazing all on its own! You can be a literal invincible shield, protecting others from harm! I mean...you can keep people safe...that's what a Hero does right."
The black haired boy stared at Izuku, his mouth hanging open for a time before it closed as the kid's face fell down onto his chest, his shoulder's shaking. For a minute, Izuku was worried that he had said something wrong to offend the stranger, before the individual's chuckle reached Izuku's ears.
When the boy brought his head back up, Izuku could see that he was smiling - while also trying to hide some pooling tears - before wrapping Izuku in a tight hug, squeezing the green haired boy.
"HAHAHA! THANK YOU SO MUCH MAN!" The boy continued to hug Midoriya, gripping him tighter and tighter, causing said boy to turn blue and frantically tapping on his huggers body.
Finally noticing the lack of oxygen that his victim was getting, the black haired boy released Izuku, who fell on the ground and began to suck in grateful gasps of air. "You...are welcome...oh god." Izuku wheezed out, standing on shaky legs.
"Hehehe, sorry about that." The black-haired boy said, scratching the back of his head, before extending his hand. "It's just...well not everyone believes my Quirk is flashy enough to be a Hero. I'm Kirishima by the way. Eijiro Kirishima."
"Izuku Midoriya." Izuku said, shaking his hand. "And do-don't let what others say bother you. You have an amazing gift that's got gre-great potential. Yo-you just need to believe and work hard, an-and you'll find out in the best way."
Laughing, Kirishima nodded and helped Midoriya retrieve the stray bits of trash, exchanged numbers with the boy, then excused himself. Izuku smiled as he waved goodbye to Kirishima before peddling on his way.
'That's two new friends in the past couple of months. Huh, maybe my luck is starting to turn around.'
While Izuku was talking with Kirishima, Inko and Hisashi Midoriya were meeting someone for the first time as well. The two sat inside the office of Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi of the Musutafu Police. Detective Tsukauchi had been contacted by an old acquaintance - one Ryohei Higashkita - and asked to meet with the couple. Having some free time, Tsukauchi agreed, thinking this would be something simple, maybe even getting one of them a job at the station.
Oh how he wished it was something as simple as that.
Instead, Tsukauchi sat there and heard tale after tale of the couple's son being abused and bullied within his school, all due to the fact that he was Quirkless. He heard stories about the boy's uniform being ruined, forcing Inko and her son to fix it, how he would come home with cuts and bruises that in no way came from typical roughhousing, how the boy would ask for new school supplies every week or so, lying to his parents that he had lost them, and finally how the situation got so bad that the boy attempted to kill himself. First by leaping off the school roof, then by slitting his wrists.
And the worst part for Tsukauchi, for the entire time Hisashi and Inko talked, he didn't get any hint of a lie from the two. Which meant one of two things. One, was that they were so totally convinced of their own lie that they believed it to be the truth. This was a technique often used by abusers and sociopaths - which Tsukauchi believed that neither of the Midoriya's were. The second, and most probable reason, was that they were telling the truth.
After their story was finished, Tsukauchi sat back and sighed, turning off the tape recorder that he had used in lieu of notes. "I'm sorry to hear all of this, and I would like to assure you that I have every intention of bringing the school to justice."
"There seems to be a 'but' missing from that." Hisashi Midoriya said, his eyes narrowing as he held his crying wife's hand.
"Yes. The problem is, despite your testimony and most likely your son's...it'll be you three taking on an entire school, along with nearly every child there. That's a massive pool from which one can pull money from, whereas you two don't have that availability."
"Even then," Tsukauchi said, cutting off Hisashi's attempt to speak "you would need evidence, and right now the only evidence you have...is me and my Quirk. If everything you said about this school, the teachers, staff, and its students is indeed as you see it, then they'll delete all the evidence - video, audio, etc. - in order to provide you all with no hard evidence. Again, that just leaves me with my Quirk. Which can be heavily disputed in a court."
"Finally, your biggest problem comes from the courts themselves. In Japan, there is no jury of peers, and as such, it is one prosecutor vs. the defense attorney, all in an attempt to convince a single judge that the defendant is guilty or innocent. There is no way we can rely on the emotional aspects - such as your son's suicide attempt - as the courts are relient on logic and evidence. We need hard evidence."
The Midoriya's processed everything the detective said, a growing feeling of despair rising within them. Tsukauchi looked down, upset that he couldn't provide any more aid…
"No."
Only to snap his head up when Inko Midoriya spoke up. The man's eyes were filled with sorrow and anger, but behind all that, there lay something else. A determination shone in them, a resolve that shocked the detective and caused her husband to smile.
"We are not letting something like this stop us from achieving the justice our son deserves. We will see this through to the end, we will make sure those who hurt our son face the justice of the legal system, and we will succeed." The mother stood, her husband following suit, both looking the detective in the eye. "Can we continue to count on your support detective?"
Smiling, the detective leapt to his feet, his hand extended, excitedly shaking Hisashi's and Inko's. "Of course! The two of you...It's been a while since I've seen resolve like yours, and even then it's usually from Heroes. Then again, parents are heroes in their own right. You can expect my full cooperation with this fight. In fact, I have some friends in high places, and maybe they'll lend a hand!"
The Midoriya's smiled, thanked the detective, and left. Sitting down, Tsukauchi plucked his phone from his pocket and pressed the speed dial button. He knew just the Hero to call.
Cut! I know this is short, but it's setting up for a much longer chapter that'll happen next. The prologue is still going on, but on the plus side, it's half-way done now. Three more chapters of the prologue. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around for this long, and again, a big thanks to Searchsnake00103 for beta reading this chapter.
Before anyone asks any questions about my description of the Japanese legal system, I based it off of the Ace Attorney games, which I read were supposed to be a criticism of the Japanese legal system. I'm not sure if I nailed it all, but that's that.
TheSaintsFollower, signing out.