"We should play a board game!" Patrick suggests cheerily, sitting cross-legged in Izuku's sitting room. He's wearing board shorts and a brightly colored t-shirt written in English, it looked like a restaurant advertisement.
"We are not playing a board game," Taketsu interjects, leaning back against the couch on the floor. "I'd wipe the floor with all of you and Korudo would probably throw a fit." Her black hair is pulled into a tail and she has on navy blue capris with a loose white blouse.
"I don't care either way," Shinsou says quietly, looking a bit uncomfortable ever since he'd arrived in plain t-shirt with a button up shirt over top and jeans. He'd mostly sat quietly to himself while Korudo glared at him.
"I wouldn't lose," Korudo pouts, breaking his glaring contest with Shinsou to turn it on Taketsu who didn't seem bothered. He's wearing khaki pants with a cotton collared shirt and is sitting on his knees beside Izuku.
"I don't really have any board games anyway. It's been just me and mom for a while so all we have are puzzles and a few video games." Izuku says, trying to keep the peace.
He was trying to give his mom a good impression of his friends. She's in her room working at her sewing machine but she'd still be able to hear them if they all started arguing. This was his fault really, he should have known his friends would be out of sorts with Shinsou here. "How about a movie, what does everyone like?" Izuku suggests.
"Comedy!" Patrick shouts.
"Romance," Taketsu grins.
"Sci-fi," Shinsou shrugs.
"Action," Korudo nods.
The five of them look at each other and pretty soon they're all laughing, even Shinsou was chucking. It wasn't even that funny but they were all laughing anyway. It's a good feeling, Izuku could get used to this sort of thing. Once they quiet down, Taketsu sighs and stretches out her long legs.
"Okay so I guess a movie is out, maybe we can just talk. It's only a week into school; I feel like I hardly know you guys." She looks around, settling on Izuku. "Let's start with you, what made you invite us all over. Don't get me wrong, I'm having a great time, I'm just curious." Her eyes deliberately slide over to Shinsou and back to him.
"I don't know, I thought it might be fun," Izuku says. "Shinsou and I talked yesterday at school and we realized that we had a lot in common so I thought he might want to hang out with us."
"I was guilted into coming. Also you promised you'd help me train, that's the only reason I'm here," Shinsou says shyly.
"Well I'm glad you did," Patrick smiles. "My dad's out of town this week and next and it's sooooooo boring at the house all by myself. Plus I'm looking forward to getting to know this wild guy. I was surprised to hear Midoriya invited you but I'm glad you've joined the group." He says as he throws an arm over Shinsou's shoulder and pulls him close. Shinsou looks very uncomfortable and slips from the hold.
"Even though he left you that terrible note on your desk?" Korudo mutters. Taketsu gives him a little kick with her leg as the whole conversation drops off. Izuku panics and looks at Shinsou who is glaring heartily at Korudo. Izuku should have known Korudo would be protective. He did this too soon, he should have tried to integrate them on neutral ground at school, maybe-
"Let me say this once so everyone is aware," Shinshou says quietly as he turns to look Izuku dead in the eye. "I didn't write you that note. I don't care that you're quirkless, you're annoying either way." A knot Izuku hadn't known had been there loosens in his chest. He'd already forgiven Shinsou for the note but this makes it so much better.
"But in the gym, Nakadai called out your lie when you tried to deny it," Korudo says stubbornly.
"I said 'why would you think I did that', that prick was right, it was a lie. Of course I knew why everyone thought that, but no one ever bothered to ask me if I actually did it." The silence becomes painful and Shinsou stands up. "Look, I appreciate the invite, Midoriya, but maybe this was a bad idea. I'll see you Monday."
"No wait," Korudo says before Izuku has the chance. "You're right, I judged you without getting to know you and I'm sorry for that. But you're Midoriya's guest, the same as we are. Please sit down, I'd uh like to start over, if we can." Shinsou frowns but gently sets himself back down on the floor.
Korudo sighs and turns to Patrick, "I can't believe your parents let you stay alone for two weeks," he continues as if nothing had happened. "I would love to have the house to myself but at least one of my parents is home at all times."
"What about your mom, Patrick? I must admit I'm a little curious about her," Taketsu said biting her nail. "You mentioned the first day that you moved to Japan because of your dad so I'm assuming your mother is American."
"She was," Patrick smiles again but this time it's small and sad. "She died four years ago. Ovarian cancer, it got diagnosed late and by then there wasn't much they could do." He gives a half-hearted shrug and leans forward so he's looking at the floor. "My folks split up a long time ago, too dedicated to their work to pick up and move halfway across the world. I hardly ever saw my dad until she died, then I was shipped off to Japan to live with him."
"Oh Patrick, I'm so sorry," Taketsu says with her heart in her eyes as she leans forward to put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories, we can change the subject."
"Nah, it's okay, it's been a couple of years and besides, if I don't talk about her then she really is gone." Patrick's eyes softened. "We lived in San Francisco; it's this big city in California. She ran a restaurant, about two or three blocks from the Bay. Mom kept everyone in line and made sure the customers happy. She was always so spirited, tried to talk to everyone and ask how they were doing. Her enthusiasm for helping people is maybe why I kinda wanna be a hero."
"She sounds like a great mother," Korudo says quietly. "I'm sure you miss her a lot."
"Yeah," Patrick nods before his smile brightens up again. "But Dad and I are getting along fine. His job has him travelling a lot but I can tell he's trying. It's not perfect but we're getting there."
"I'm sorry," Shinsou says quietly. "I lost my parents when I was young. Just because it was years ago doesn't make it hurt any less. I'm glad to hear you and your father are getting along; my uncle doesn't really want to deal with me." He smiles shyly at Patrick, "but you know she still lives on in you. As long as you remember her, she's not completely gone."
"Yeah, I know man, thanks," Patrick says in a hushed voice, giving Shinsou a one-armed shoulder hug. This time Shinsou looks a lot less uncomfortable than the first time Patrick had touched him. The five of them spend the next minute or so in quiet, companionable silence.
"So what's it like in America, do you miss it?" Izuku questions, trying to restart the conversation.
"Yeah, I miss it every day. I mean I spent the first decade of my life there so it's kind of hard not to. But Japan is great, it's different but it's got this energy about it that I love. Plus you guys have, like, the best heroes." Patrick snorts and rolls his eyes, "But man it was rough when I first got here. Tokyo is nothing like San Fran plus I couldn't speak the language at all. It took me like, a month, just to figure out how to ask where the bathroom was."
They all chuckled at that and that helped to loosen the atmosphere. Izuku glances at Patrick out of the corner of his eye, he suspects the other boy did that on purpose. He may be loud and bit overeager but he was always pretty sensitive to other people. It was one of his best qualities in Izuku's opinion.
"Alright, now that I've unloaded my tragic backstory, let's hear from..." Patrick beat against his leg like a pounding drum. "Our beautiful and talented assistant class representative, Akane Taketsu, tell me more about your badass quirk and why you didn't apply for the hero course. That pro hero, Blood King, has the same ability. No offense to anyone here but she's probably got the best shot. She was so cool the other day, threatening that jerk with her blood spears." Patrick says, reenacting Taketsu's showdown.
"I couldn't see much of what happened but it did seem very impressive, I'd like to hear more as well." Shinsou adds as he adjusts his position so he was sitting more comfortably.
"Stop it guys," Taketsu mutters but there's a bright blush on her cheeks. "Honestly, it looks a lot more impressive than it is. Blood King has a much more stable version of the quirk than I do." She says, taking a second to bite at the skin on her thumb causing a small dot of blood to appear. With her other hand, she pulls out a small stream and plays with it lazily in the air, twirling it around and forming little shapes.
"Blood makes up about 7% of your body weight so I have between 4.5 and 5.5 liters of blood depending on water weight. That may seem like a lot but you actually need that blood to survive and, unlike Blood King, I can't reuse any blood I take out. The more blood I use, the more likely I am to go into shock." It was almost hypnotizing watching her twist and shape the tiny red droplets.
"So what's the upper limit you can use?" Patrick asks, reaching out to touch it but Taketsu pulls it away and begins teasing him with it.
"When you donate blood you typically give about half a liter, it's about that point you might start to feel dizzy and a bit weak. That's probably about how much I lost when we dealt with that awful hero kid in the cafeteria but that's pretty easy to recover from. Anything more than 1.5-2 liters requires a blood transfusion."
"That doesn't sound safe, not just from the blood loss but also the risk of infection and, no offense, but the build-up of scar tissue as well," Korudo says with a grim expression as he gestures to Taketsu's hands. Izuku has caught glimpses of them before but really looking at her palms now he can see that they were covered in small and large scars.
With the sleeves of her blouse bunched up a little, he could make out one large one across her left wrist. As if noticing him watching, she puts her arm down and covers the mark. "You've mentioned that you're considering hero work too. I don't want to be discouraging but, I'm a bit worried," Korudo continues.
"You and me both," Taketsu says softly almost to herself. "When I was little, I wanted to be just like the heroes on TV; strong and confident and capable of saving people. But I got a reality check and realized that I'd have to be crazy to keep trying." She smiles shyly at Izuku, "You got me inspired again, Midoriya. You're more disadvantaged than all of us but here you are, still actively working towards your goal. It made me want to try again."
"I believe in you, Taketsu," Izuku smiles. "You were so amazing standing up to Kacchan the other day. I think you have the strength to be a hero; you just need to know how to make your quirk work for you."
"I still think it's too dangerous," Korudo frowns only to have Patrick push him over.
"Life is dangerous Korudo, you're just upset 'cause you're totally freaked out by blood." Patrick ignores Korudo's frantic denials to give Taketsu a thumbs up.
"I think you should go for it. You'll never know if you can do it if you don't try. Have you thought of your hero name yet? You should be something like a-a," Patrick's eyes furrow in thought. "Crap, how do you say vampire again?" He asks, holding his pointer fingers in front of his mouth like fangs. Taketsu and Izuku burst into laughter at Patrick's impression.
"I am not a vampire," Taketsu says in-between giggles even as she contradicted herself by putting the blood drop she'd been playing around with in her mouth. "Ick iron, I need some more lemonade. Be right back." She says, pulling herself up to fill up her glass from the pitcher sitting on the counter. "What about you Shinsou, I don't know much about your quirk."
"It's pretty simple. I can brainwash anyone who answers me into doing just about anything," Shinsou says steadily. "The only drawback that I've been able to find is that using my quirk for any length tires me out."
"Ah, that makes sense," Izuku mutters to himself thinking of how he'd gotten trapped under Shinsou's power both times directly after he'd answered the boy. "Is there a limit to how many people you can control at once? How long are you able to control them for? What can you make them do? Depending on your limitations, that could be an invaluable quirk for hero work as you can deescalate fights just by getting the villain to respond to-" There's a light thunk of glass on his head making him stop his thinking.
"Don't mind him, he's always like that," Taketsu says with an affectionate eye roll as she sits back on the ground with her refilled glass. "Please continue, Shinsou, this is very interesting."
"I've wanted to be a hero for as long as I can remember, there was something about seeing those people saving lives that made me want to do the same." Shinsou begins slowly. "I don't quite know the full extent of my powers yet. I really don't use it all that much because it scares people, makes them afraid to talk to me." He pauses and looks at his hands.
"I know I can do bad things with this kind of quirk and it's easy and tempting to make people do what I want. But I'm trying to do this right, I want to use this power to help people and make a difference. I took entrance exam for Heroics but that really isn't set up for quirks like mine. I figured I could use the Sports Festival to get the right people's attention and move forward with my goal."
"Yeah that exam was ridiculous," Korudo with an understanding look in his eyes. "I took it too but thermoregulation is about as useful at destroying robots as brainwashing. I can see how your quirk can be useful but you'll need to be a little more physical training if you really want to make an impression."
"Yeah, I know, I've been training on my own a bit but Midoriya gave me an earful the other day about my techniques so he said he was gonna show me a few things." Shinsou turns to Izuku with a thoughtful, slightly mischievous look. "Since we're asking questions, what drives a quirkless kid to shoot for the best hero program in the country."
"O-oh it's really not that interesting," Izuku says weakly, trying to think of a cooler explanation than 'I became obsessed with trying to be a great hero like All Might'. There's a reason they were sitting out here in the living room and not in his room with the plethora of hero merchandise.
"Come on man, this is prime comic book material. The shy, powerless kid fights against the odds and become a superhero," Patrick beams, leaning forward attentively. "You mentioned you're a fan of All Might but like, who isn't?"
"Y-yeah," Izuku stutters. "I just liked how amazing he was, how he could smile in the face of anything to put the people he's saving at ease." He looks down at his hands and smiles shyly. "That's the kind of hero I want to be. I know I can't do a lot but I figured the world could use a hero who could do the little things. Also I want to change the way the hero industry is shaped. Maybe if people see a quirkless hero out there, I can stop some of the discrimination."
"That's a good dream," Taketsu says. "I think the world could use a few more heroes like you. I bet All Might himself would be proud to work alongside you," she adds with a warm smile. Izuku's brain shuts down a little not just because of the outrageously generous compliment but because sometimes he forgets that Taketsu is a girl, a very pretty girl, and sometimes it just slaps him in the face and makes him awkward and hyperaware.
"Bwah," Izuku responds intelligently and decides to try again. "Thanks," he finally manages to squeak out after a few seconds of clearing his throat.
"It really is inspiring," Korudo says from next to him. "My parents are always breathing down my neck to join the family business. In a way, part of my desire to be a hero is to break out of that mold they're trying to put me in." He smiles and gives Izuku a side glance, "but your selflessness and your desire to help people, even people like that 1-A bully, really shows how great a difference there is between us. Even without a quirk, you've got your brain and martial arts and I can very slowly alter my body temperature."
"Hey, I think you've got a great quirk," Izuku says earnestly because all quirks are great in their own way. "I think there's a lot of things you could do with it. You'd be great as a rescue hero like Thirteen."
"Midoriya's right!" Patrick says leaning forward. "Yeah we give you grief for it but it's a pretty versatile quirk, I personally think you'd be good in a kitchen, you'd be a one man refrigerator and heater!"
"I'm not going to be a chef," Korudo says with a stubborn set to his brow. "I need to find my own path, whether it's Heroics or elsewhere."
"And we'll be here to support you along the way," Taketsu says with a soft smile before it turns sharp. "If all else fails, you and Patrick could always go into business together to serve as part-time utilities, a thermostat and a lightbulb." Patrick, predictably, starts cracking up while Korudo tries to pout, unsuccessful at hiding his smile.
"Why do I put up with you again?" Korudo asks with a dramatic sigh.
"Because we give you the pushback you need in order to better yourself and to teach you how to react to friendly teasing?" Taketsu offers.
"What?" Patrick shrieks. "I thought we only liked him for his body," he continues, giving Korudo a leering look. Korudo himself looks vaguely horrified as he scoots as far away from Patrick as he could get. "Oh relax, I'm just messing with you. You need to learn to chill."
"It's hard when I'm surrounded by a quirkless optimist, a mind controller, a girl who's probably going to bleed to death one of these days and an American." Korudo huffs which, of course, gets them all laughing again. They talk like that for several more hours, going from serious to silly topics and everything in between.
Izuku couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so relaxed among people his age. He certainly can't remember the last time his gut ached from laughing so hard. By the time they left, it was dark, they were all full from a delicious homemade dinner and each feeling infinitely more happy and connected than they had when they arrived. They all were a mess, but they were a big mess together.
XxX
Aizawa Shouta is sitting in his apartment with a half cold cup of coffee, thinking about his latest batch of first years. There are a couple of things bothering him and he's still deciding what to do about it. One problem is the number of kids. Shouta is adamant about not taking any students who haven't earned the right to be there and that philosophy has now come to bite him in the ass.
19 students in total, an awkward, uneven number. It makes activities a pain to plan and subtly throws off the whole class dynamic. He'd thought about throwing out one of the students to even things up, he's certainly had no qualms about that in the past. But even Mineta, the one he's come closest to expelling, has showed some small measure of promise so it wouldn't feel right. Which of course puts him back at square one.
Shouta flips through some of the class profiles and comes across another one of his headaches. Bakugou Katsuki has been a menace from day one. He's seen it a million times, a kid with a flashy quirk is told their whole life that they were special only to come to Yuuei and realize just how small they were.
Bakugou has performed violently and without restraint in class activities and looks like he's about as interested in trying to get along with his classmates as Shouta was in bi-weekly karaoke night.
The boy destroyed a building in the battle trial the second day and apparently also picked a fight with a couple of Gen Ed students in the cafeteria not long after. Shouta had the expulsion form on his desk that afternoon, thinking that Bakugou was too unstable to train but a small part of him reasoned that what the boy needed was guidance not punishment.
In the end, Shouta has given himself a deadline. The Sports Festival would be upon them before they knew it. The other departments, Gen Ed mostly but sometimes Business and Support, would send in applications to transfer. Most of the teachers were aware of the open spot in 1-A and would certainly encourage their promising students to make their mark at the Festival.
If there was a kid who he deemed worthy enough to transfer over, that would give him an even 20 students and he'd leave it at that. But if no one in particular stood out then one of the current students would have to go. Mineta was the obvious choice with his lecherous nature but if Bakugou continued to be a disruptive influence, he might find himself out with nothing but his pride.
A glance at the clock tells him that it's getting late. He needs to eat something before he begins his normal nightly rounds. The class profiles are left in a heap on his work desk as he gets ready for his patrol. He'll need to continue going over them later, making training adjustments for the students not to mention finishing plans for the USJ field trip next week.
Shouta sighs, teaching really was a chore sometimes, he wonders often why he bothers. The thought of Bakugou one day growing into a strong, respectful hero reminds him why.
XxX
"So," Tsukauchi says as he chews around his pizza, "how did it go?"
"Fine, fine, it was just great," Toshinori answers as he pours some extra parmesan cheese onto his pizza. They never seem to put enough cheese on, even when he asks for extra. He allows himself to be pleasantly distracted by this inane line of thought to avoid elaborating on his friend's inquiry.
"Great huh?" The policeman says with obvious sarcasm in his voice as he gives Toshinori as glance that says he knows what the hero is up to. Toshinori frowns, whatever was he thinking befriending a detective of all people. "Not a very warm introduction for the kid who might end up as your successor." The man blinks innocently and goes back to his pizza. "Unless of course you don't think he's the right one."
"No, no, it's not that. It's just," Toshinori sighs and sets the cheese down. He thinks he went a little overboard with it anyway but he'll never admit that to Tsukauchi. "Togata Mirio is a wonderful young man. He's brave and kind and spirited and has this warm energy that makes other people happier to be around him." He picks up his pizza, piled high with extra cheese. "He'd truly be a worthy successor to One For All."
"I'm sensing a but in there," Tsukauchi notes quietly. Toshinori's quiet munching is probably all the answer the other man will ever need. "Look, I have nothing but respect for your former sidekick, but you can't let him bully you into a decision you don't feel comfortable with."
"No but that's the thing," Toshinori interjects. "I need a successor, Tsukauchi and I need one sooner rather than later. I can just barely stay as All Might for 3 hours and between that and now trying to teach, I can't... I just can't." He clenches his fists and hates how weak they are. These hands used to topple mountains, tear down monsters and now he's just skin and bones and regrets. He can't even bring himself to admit to one of his closest friends how close he feels to dying every day, how he almost welcomes it.
"Young Togata is everything I could possibly want. I would be a fool to ignore his potential and all the good he could do with One For All. Nighteye is right, some perfect kid isn't going to come up to me and announce themselves. I need to stop being so particular and just, decide." He continues with a huff, setting down his food, feeling too agitated to eat now.
"Do you want to tell me how the meeting went?" Tsukauchi asks, setting his own pizza down and folding his fingers together across his knees. "Maybe talking it out will help you sort what you're feeling?"
"It went fine!" Toshinori says, running his hand through his messy tangle of hair. "Nighteye has the young man employed at his agency. I stopped by and pretended to be an old associate of his. Nighteye made his excuses and Young Togata and I spoke for almost twenty minutes before I or well, All Might, got a call to stop that lizard villain in downtown Kyoto. We talked about his life, his time at Yuuei, his work with Nighteye and his plans for the future." He sighs and covers his eyes with his hand, rubbing at them wearily.
"He sounds like a nice kid," Tsukauchi coaches softly, "so what is it?"
Toshinori leans his back against the couch in his friend's apartment. He thinks of Nana, who had saved him from the brink of death. He thinks of the struggles and the suffering he endured in an attempt to be worthy of her trust. He thinks of her body, broken after her last battle with All for One and how alone he felt with a power he didn't understand.
"It didn't feel real," Toshinori hears himself whispering. "It felt like I was an actor in a play, walking through a part I hadn't rehearsed. Nighteye means well, he really does, but I don't think he understands that all of his analyzing and twisting of circumstance takes away something... something important."
"Hmm, I think I understand," Tsukauchi says in a way that indicates he really doesn't, at least not in the way Toshinori means. "So what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to wait a little longer. I'll keep an eye on Young Togata, see if I can try and work past the phony feeling of our first meeting. There's also plenty of other students at Yuuei worth looking at. I've had a few classes with some of the hero students and any one of them would be worthy, I'm sure."
"Ok, I trust you to know what is best for you and for your power. I'm just worried about you, All Might is really putting a strain on your health and I never thought Yuuei was right for you in the first place. But I'm trusting you," Tsukauchi leans forward slightly, setting his hand on the table and grabbing Toshinori's gaze. "And I want you to trust me. Let me, let all of us, help you. We'll find your successor, don't worry."
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Tsukauchi," Toshinori answers distractedly as he looks away from his friend and towards the open window. The problem wouldn't be solved tonight and probably not tomorrow either but Toshninori would find that boy or girl one of these days. He could feel it in his practically non-existent gut that the one he was looking for was out there, waiting.
He doesn't know how long it will take to find them but he's sure that when he sees them, he'll know it immediately.
Across town, Izuku is hunched over his English assignment, muttering to himself as he works through the awkward phrasing. He's thinking about texting Patrick for some advice when he sneezes once, twice, three times into his sleeve. He shakes his head to clear the dizzying sensation. Someone must be talking about him somewhere. With a shrug, he goes back to his work.
Hey! So this is the last real development chapter, from this point on things will move much more quickly. It's kind of slow: Izuku and his 1-C friends just hanging out, having fun and learning about each other, Aizawa contemplating his problem class and Toshinori discussing the subject of his successor with Tsukauchi. And what about that 1-A field trip coming up? Golly I guess you'll have to keep reading.