Hey, it's me again! I must thank you all that have given me reviews of encouragement! Here is Chapter four, so enjoy!
It was more of a trail run, but Izuku's first goal when learning from yagi-sensei was a form of strongman training; the prize for doing so was One For All. Cleaning the illegal dump site that use to be a beach. Even cleaning the whole beach instead of just the designated area only took a single month. If he didn't have good health before then it probably would have taken him ten, but as he was in phenomenal condition it just got him to use a few muscles he didn't use as much.
While a little awkward, gaining One For All made a few problems. Namely, how to approach Inko with the fact her son gaining a quirk at age thirteen. While Toshinori wanted to make it sound like Izuku was a late bloomer, Anima reasoned that there were few people who gained one at his age and that while most would buy it, this was Izuku's mother. Izuku wondered if they could make it sound like they could disguise it as chi, but he was reminded that they had already told her how it functioned. Anima was pretty sure that out right telling her would have the least fallout in the long run, and they could omit some facts to keep the identity of All Might secret. Izuku And Toshinori had to admit that giving her a half truth was probably the safest choice compared to making her guess, so they told her that Izuku had impressed Toshinori to the point he decided to help train him.
"How does this explain Izuku gaining a quirk?" Inko inquired. Anima had always explained himself when her baby boy was involved, so she remained patient.
"Midoriya was given a stockpiling quirk with the ability to be passed from one person to another, adding the power accumulated by those who used it prior. I've been injured, so I can't use it anymore. Your son can." Toshinori told the half truth. While the embers of One For All remained, the quirk was technically no longer his. Watching her mull over these facts, she gave a nod.
"Alright then, if anything, I know you have the best intentions for Izuku. Anima-kun, Yagi-san, Thank you for telling me this. And yagi-san, while I don't personally know you, if Anima-kun trusts you, I'll trust you" the words stung as the two knew and hated they were hiding things from her. During the time Toshinori was having Inko ask him more questions for her son's sake, he coughed up a large amount of blood. Inko's expression turned from stern to worried almost instantly.
"Oh dear, what's wrong? Here, lie down while I get the kit." Inko set Toshinori down while she went to the corner of the room. Lifting the cushion on a foot stool revealed a large amount of medical supplies.
"Midoriya-san, I'm alright. This is the after effects of the of the injury."At Toshinori's words, Inko put the top of the foot rest back, but she maintained a worried gaze if he needed anything else. Toshinori looked at the similar way mother and child reacted at someone's injuries.
"Since when did you have medical supplies like that?" Anima questioned.
"Since Jesse-san helped me learn first aid. If Izuku wants to be a hero then I'll do anything I can to help, starting with the ability to tend to his wounds." Toshinori smiled at her words. While thinking 'That boy has the best support he could have', he honestly felt like he was butting into his student's seemingly perfect life. The trust that the martial artist and his wife shared with the Midoriya house was like his trust with Nana. Pushing the depressing thoughts away, the talk dissolved into chatter from how Inko could help Izuku with his diet to what was new on the TV. Toshinori found that jumping into the conversation was surprisingly easy.
After gaining the hero Recovery Girl for his first use of One for all, the four were once again at the beach that Izuku finished cleaning a week prior.
"Just clench your butt while shouting 'smash' with all your might!" the previous inheritor told the boy. Izuku took a loose stance and cocked his arm back. The punch was fast, and the temporary split in the ocean showed its power. Feeling the afterglow of using the power, he tried to throw his arms in the air in triumph only to find his arm hurting. Recovery girl was by his side just after he screamed in pain. His arm broke. Not just the bones, but muscles and skin tore as well. After giving a quick kiss to his arm, Recovery Girl stole his stamina to heal his arm. Toshinori walked up to his student.
"That was impressive, young Midoriya! That was a strong punch" He praised while Anima came up behind him.
"Your form was off. Technique is how you mitigate injury, no matter the power. Rule 3." It wasn't condemning, but his words were blunt. Izuku broke the rule of not trusting his training when given something different.
"How did it feel? The sensation, I mean. It's different for everyone." the haggard hero asked. While he wanted to argue with Anima, he knew the argument was valid.
"Like electricity, but not painful. It was a rush that went through me." with full use of his arms, Izuku wrote his notes down in the book Anima held for him. He recorded the sensation, the effect, and after asking the recovery quirk user, the damage it inflicted him.
"Good. Now to get your body use to the strain. Until then, let's see how much you can safely use." His frail teacher told him. Anima gave a small look at his fellow teacher and gave a simple question.
"You're an instinctual type, aren't you?" getting a confused grunt, he continued. "You learn by gut feeling." Getting a nod, Anima sighed.
"Izuku is an Intellectual type. He learns things by going into detail before he starts making it second nature."
"Does this mean I can't teach him?" Toshinori asked, nervous. Relief flooded him as Anima shook his head.
"No, but it will pose some problems. Being with Izuku for eight years, I can help you, but teaching and learning are different sides of the coin. You can learn faster, but teaching isn't the easiest thing for instinctual types." As Izuku was hearing his teachers talk, he let his mind wander about the feelings his quirk and chi had. His quirk felt like lightning; powerful, but uncontrolled. His chi was more akin to a fire; still dangerous, but soothing and calming. He sat in the lotus position and went into his inner mind. He always saw his chi as a comforting bonfire, and with his quirk now present, he saw a dazzling light made of nine interconnecting points. Activating One For All without moving, he felt the energy coursing through him. It spread through him in set paths while the power bled beyond the trail. He moved that power around, cutting off paths to let the other ones get more. He felt like an egg in a microwave. Too little power, nothing happened. Too much, and he'd break. Gently letting the energy subside, he opened his eyes to find his teachers looking at him.
"Looks like he's following rule three again." Anima Looked pleased.
"The heck is rule three?" Toshinori asked.
"Follow your instincts and training. It's why I got on his case with the hail marry. He knows not to cock the arm back, as it's wasteful as he loses speed and opens his guard. His stance wasn't the best either." the other teacher noted that rule, and to ask the other two later. It was sound advice, as what you know can help you find what you don't.
"Good rule." he told the martial artist.
"It's why I've been following it almost all my life" was the response. Recovery Girl looked as Toshinori and Anima talked while trying to help their mutual student. They acted like they've known each other for years when they didn't even know each other's names two months ago. The 'All Might' smile that he wore like a shield was nowhere to be found. The haggard man's smile was smaller, more sincere than his hero smile.
"If Midoriya-kun seems to be able to use his quirk without harm, then my work is done." She called to the three boys. They looked at each other before they all turned to her.
"Thank you, Recovery Girl!" the three spoke and bowed in unison, shocking her. Formal thanks weren't given to heroes often and here she was, retired, being given three at once.
"Don't mention it, boys. Call me if someone gets hurt again" she smiled as she walked to her car. 'Those boys will be fine if they have each other.' she thought as she left for home.
Pulling Izuku off the ground, Anima repeated himself.
"Try it again."
"Yes, Anima-sensei!" On his feet, Izuku utilized his chi to block the incoming fist against his stomach. The impact had a sharp, but soft sound like wood, instead of the normal smack. The green haired boy stumbled but stayed on his feet. There was a small red spot just above his navel, but it wouldn't even bruise like it would if he didn't use his chi. This was one of the ways Izuku was using the mystic art, reinforcement. By using his life force as a barrier, his body would become more durable along with having his physical abilities boosted. Reinforcing his joints made landing less painful while using the technique on his eyes made them able to pick up more details, and so on. If he got better at it, even what he was holding could be made stronger. It was one of four skills he was learning. His awareness chi was horrid, as while Anima could sense anything twenty-five meters around him, he could barely sense three feet in front of himself unless it had its own presence. What he excelled at was projecting his chi. When Anima or Jesse projected it felt like a pack of beasts was at his throat, even if they were far away. His aura was more protective one, as it comforted and warmed everyone, according to anyone he used it on.
"Stance, reinforce" the command was given, and Izuku braced for a strike at his sternum. The impact made the dull thud and low pain that told him it worked.
"That's enough for today. Train with combining your quirk and chi until I get the large bath ready." Izuku nodded and tried to regulate his chi. This was his fourth chi training; regulating his life force to control every involuntary body function from breathing and heart rate to blood pressure. Right now he was calming his body and dropping his temperature. While there was a lot more that chi could do, Anima wanted him to master the basics before moving on. Mixing chi and One For All was easy for reinforcement, but not for anything else. He could use 6% of his quirk's power safely; any higher and he'll cause damage to himself. While it didn't sound like much, it was more than enough to brace a heavy vehicle for a long while. After integrating his quirk and chi together, he still had to be careful. It was like mixing the image of the two powers: fire and lighting.
"It's ready, Izuku-san." Those three words filled the teen's heart with joy. Unlike his house, the Cacciatores had a bath big enough for a family. Rinsing off, he found that there was a set of clothes in the hamper. Thinking that Anima had gone in beforehand, Izuku opened the shoji door to find blond hair unlike the black of the werewolf.
"Yagi-sensei?" he inquired.
"Yeah, it's me, my boy. Anima was kind enough to let me join you two while he made something for the occasion." the hero's voice sounded so much more relaxed than it usually did. Anima and Jesse used herbs to ease soreness on occasion, and by the fragrance, they did it for Toshinori and him. Stepping into the bath, Izuku felt his muscles expand and loosen. His mind was getting fuzzy as his teacher broke the silence.
"You don't seem uncomfortable around me." Izuku looked straight at his second teacher.
"Why would I be?" he didn't know why he wouldn't. Although he was All Might, and he looked up to him immensely, he was still a person. Being jittery all the time would have made learning from him even harder than now.
"Most people would stare at these" he pointed to his large scar. The inheritor of One For All smiled.
"It's not the worst scar I've seen. The largest, but not the worst." before Toshinori could ask, the door slid open to reveal Anima with a boat tray in his hands filled with many snack foods and three pairs of chopsticks. Toshinori knew what Izuku meant. Anima had barely noticeable scars all over himself. There was a set of claw marks, a few old punctures here and there, and a straight line down his left thigh, along with many fainter ones. His largest and most prominent scar was the palm sized twisted starburst scar over his heart. Catching a glimpse of his back showed he had a matching one on his back. 'Worse scars indeed' he pondered. As Anima placed the boat of snacks in the water, he sank to his shoulders in the steaming water.
"Today, we celebrate. For the next few days, Izuku-san will only do basic exercises." The boy in question was shocked that Anima was telling him to slow down. The entrance exam was… a few days from now. Without noticing it, Izuku had gone to school, been tutored by Jesse, and worked out for several hours of quirk and martial arts training while keeping a steady diet for nine whole months. The exhaustion seemed to catch up to him as he melted into the water.
"Let's hope I pass. I still have the bet with Kaachan."
"Oh?" Anima perked up a little. "And what, pray tell, was this bet about?" his wolfish grin made Izuku turn sheepish.
"Whoever had a higher score on the entrance exam had the loser treat him to their favorite food. It was stupid, but he roped me in." the small grin he wore made the last sentence moot. His teachers smiled while the same thought coursed through their heads. 'Boys will be boys'.
"Who was your friendly rival, All Might-san?" The master martial artist teased.
"Tale for a tale?" he asked. After a nod, he continued. "Endeavor. He and I have butted heads over the smallest things. He's still at it, but he's calmed down after marrying." Izuku was in awe. The top two heroes were, and by the sound, still are, rivals like him and Katsuki. Toshinori glanced at Anima, and the wolf took a breath.
"Colter Wensfield. He and I had an odd relationship. He challenged me to a fight every other week or so, never won, by the way, then he and I would play games 'till the next day. He moved into government work while I went to be a hero and martial artist."
"What was his job, detective?" Toshinori asked. Anima laughed.
"God no, he'd die of boredom. He was an undercover cop for the Maggia. Drove their boss into a paranoid corner. He was actually glad the SWAT team came to get him, and he filed a stalker report. Sent me a picture of his face." Izuku snorted. He heard of some of Colt's antics, including the "unsanctioned art" under a bridge when he was a teenager. Knowing the other stories made for a clear image of how he did it. A hint here, a piece of evidence there, and he could get almost anyone paranoid.
Toshinori was having a harder time imagining a mob boss begging to be arrested. Talk evolved from there. Many hero stories were passed around while snacks were devoured. When they got out, Toshinori asked for the herbal remedy he used in the bath Anima gave him a small note. Izuku decided to spend the night, so a call to mom later and he crashed on the spare futon. In five days, he was going to enter UA for the Entrance Exam.
It's me again! While I was going to put the exam itself in here, I saw that I was nine pages in. I know what you're thinking, Chi is like haki from one piece. Well, sorta. The most basic form of chi is like Haki, but advanced forms are more magical. Izuku is more calm than canon for two reasons. One, read last author's notes; two, I can't write excited dialogue easily (makes me wonder why I decided on this anime series as a starting point). Next chapter UA! Which of the two will score more points? Till next time.