My False Love Academia

by DarkenRaichu

Izuku Midoriya has had a day with a lot of ups and downs: almost killed by a Sludge Villain, saved by All Might, All Might crushed his dream, had to try and save Kacchan, and now All Might wants to pass his Quirk to him. Even with his father coming home from his job to take him out and meet someone from another company and his daughter, there isn't much more that can happen, right?

20. Chapter 18: Accidental Advisors

Izuku sighed, walking down the corridor to leave class. "Again Pony, I'm really sorry…"

"Hush. What's done is done, and you understood your mistake. We are going to work on putting you up to speed, boss." She replied, nodding, "We also need to figure out how to win the challenge…"

Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose, "And here I hoped we didn't have to…"

"Don't be ridiculous, boss." Kyoka replied, "We can't have the Green Valley Clan lose in a challenge like this in Japan." She paused, "Why are you pouting, Himiko?"

"I'm not pouting." The girl replied, scoffing. Masutaro chuckled.

"She is angry because you two didn't tell her anything all day. She was worried something else was going on." He explained.

"What kind of something-" Pony went bright red, "No! Nonononono, I would never do something like that!"

Izuku raised an eyebrow, "I don't get it, but it was just me being an idiot."

Himiko nodded, "Yeah, I guess I got worried for nothing. Anyway, what's the plan now?"

"Well, Pony and Jiro are going to come home with me so they can start explaining the Clan's structure." Izuku replied, "Was supposed to be just Pony, but…"

"But I can give a Japan perspective." Jiro replied.

"Can we come too?" Masutaro asked.

"Nope. We are allies, but until Izuku and Himiko get married, we can't have you know everything about our business."

Izuku and Himiko both blushed. It was easy to forget at times, but they were supposed to marry eventually, to avoid that gang war that would destroy Japan.

"Boooring." Masutaro, replied. "Well, I… Are those Bakugo and All Might?"

Izuku looked at the gate of UA, and sure enough, right there were Bakugo and All Might. The blonde teen seemed to be shouting – as usual.

"What are they saying?" Izuku asked.

"I think All Might is telling him something or other about his pride, since he seemed to be wounded after your match where he got tricked so easily." Jiro explained, and then Kacchan shouted again, "Yup, he didn't like the idea."

"Mh…" Izuku couldn't help but think All Might was really going at it the wrong way. Kacchan liked to be pitied even less than he liked to be beaten.

"Deku!" His thoughts were stopped by Kacchan turning toward him the moment they got close enough to be within earshot.

"Hi Kacchan!" He said, waving his hand.

"Deku!" Kacchan rushed toward him, and Izuku yelped.

"Kacchan?!"

"You still haven't told me where that Quirk of yours came from you nerd! You think it was funny to hide it from me?! Where you saying that you were better than me even without using it?!"

"Oh boy…" Masutaro muttered.

"It must be nice to be the center of the universe." Jiro commented.

"That's so dumb though." Pony pointed out.

"What did you just say?!" Kacchan asked, turning to the other three.

"I-I mean, why would he hide his Quirk?"

"That's my line!" Bakugo grabbed Izuku and shook him, "Where the fuck did you hide that Quirk."

"K-Kacchan, I… My Quirk just came up during the Entrance Exam! Maybe because of stress, or training, I don't know…"

"Young Bakugo." All Might put a hand on his shoulder, "I assure you, Young Midoriya is telling the truth. He never showed a Quirk until the Entrance Exam."

Bakugo snarled. "Whatever. Just know this doesn't change anything, Deku." He said, turning around. "And you too, bitch."

"Have a good night asshole." Himiko replied, showing him a middle finger. Bakugo snarled and walked away.

"Ahem, I should reprimend you for that, young Shimura." All Might said, "You should try and have a good relation with your classmates."

"I think that ship sailed All Might." Shimura replied. Masutaro nodded then looked at the clock.

"Oh shit, the train. We have to go Himiko! See you Izukun! Bye girls! Good evening All Might!" He waved at him and Himiko did the same, before they rushed off.

All Might shook his head. "Kids…" He turned to the three, and looked from Izuku, to Pony, and then to Jiro, "So… Can I borrow you two for a moment?" He asked, looking at Pony and Izuku.

"I… Sure?" Izuku raised an eyebrow, but All Might shook his head. Jiro nodded, and walked further away, reaching the gate, which seemed to satisfy the Pro. He shiftily looked around, and Izuku felt himself grow a bit nervous. Why was he acting like that?

"So… It seems you know, Young Tsunotori." All Might said with a sigh, before looking at Izuku, "Young Midoriya, I know I hadn't quite expressed the fact One for All should be a secret, but I hoped you would be less willing to share its existence."

Izuku froze, and saw Tsunotori raise an eyebrow in confusion. Why was All Might saying that?! Pony didn't know! No one did! He had thought about telling Kacchan earlier, but with everyone around the idea had left his mind immediately! "All Might…"

"No Young Midoriya, look, I understand that the fact you are the Heir of the Number One Hero is hard to keep bottled up…" He somehow managed to ignore Pony's eyes going wide and her gasping, "But you have to understand, revealing the truth of One for All is a danger, even if you do so only to close friends."

"I know." Izuku said, his mind racing wildly. Why did All Might think Pony knew?! 'Heir of the Number One, he said it like that, what does it mean?' He gasped, and remembered what had happened earlier that day, while him and Pony were fighting.

"Uhm, All Might, I don't really…" She started, but Izuku covered her mouth.

"D-Don't lie Pony, you know I inherited One for All from All Might!" He said, "I-I hoped I would be able to tell you on my own time." He said, looking at All Might but directing it at Pony, "B-But it seems you found out on your own from our talk during training!"

"Well, she did talk about you being the Heir. What else could she be referring to?"

Pony's eyes went wide, as understanding dawned on her too. She freed her mouth, "Ah, right, of course, that's what I'm talking about!"

Izuku hated to lie, but at this point it was a fact that being the Heir of a Yakuza clan wasn't his own secret anymore. If he told All Might and the Pro took it the wrong way, Pony would also end up being involved, and who knew if Jiro would be suspected too of being involved with the Yakuza? 'And they might also find out about Himiko and Masuchan…'

All Might nodded, "I appreciate your attempt to protect Izuku, but it's not necessary. I'm not angry at him. Does anyone else know, Young Midoriya?"

"Uhm… No?"

"Good. If it makes you feel better, there are five people that know about One for All, so you aren't the only one that couldn't keep it under wraps." He laughed, before putting a hand on his shoulder, "Just remember to only share it when it's absolutely needed."

Izuku nodded.

"Very well." All Might smiled again, "Ah, and, uh, I have taken into consideration what you said during the test. I haven't been the best teacher, admittedly, so I will contact someone to get you to train. Is that alright?"

Izuku wanted to say 'No, it's not alright, I was shittalking my dad, not you' but… Well it probably wouldn't hurt to find a trainer. "Thank you All Might! And, uhm, I just want to say, I might have exaggerated a bit! You have been really helpful in training me!"

"Don't worry, Young Midoriya, I'm not offended. You expressed your concerns and I completely understood them." He glanced at the clock, "Well, time spares no one and you two undoubtably have a train to catch. Goodbye, students!" And with that, he rushed off.

Izuku sighed in relief, then turned to Pony, who was just staring at him. "I can explain?" He said.

"You better explain, boss!" She replied, basically dragging him to the gate… Only to find Jiro with her Earphone Jack pointed toward them, eyes wide.

"You were spying on us?!" Izuku asked.

"I'm your bodyguard, it's my job to make sure you are safe." She replied, "But never mind that!" She pointed both jacks at him, "What is this all about?"

Izuku laughed awkwardly, "Uhm… Surprise?"

-x-

The ride back to Izuku's apartment was an awkward affair, because he was trying to figure out how to explain One for All to the two. Of course superhearing had to be the Quirk of one of his bodyguards…

All he managed to do was convince them to not talk about it in the open, which Kyoka agreed to swiftly saying that if she could hear All Might, there was always the chance someone else would overhear them. Pony also agreed, though Izuku could tell from her look that she was very curious.

Izuku entered the apartment, to find both his mom and dad missing. That seemed odd, until he noticed a post-it on the fridge. 'Hello Izuku, it's the anniversary of the day me and your mom first met, so I took her out for a dinner. She left you the dinner ready. Love, Dad."

Izuku sighed in relief. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about his parent overhearing too. The three walked to the living room and sat down, Izuku on a chair and Kyoka and Pony on the sofa.

For a long minute, no one said anything, before Izuku gulped and turned to them both. "Soooo… I suppose I need to explain."

"Yes/Yes!" Both girls said, and Izuku nodded.

"Alright. Just so you know, this stays between us. You don't tell my dad, you don't tell your parents, you don't tell friends." He paused, "You also don't tell Himiko and Masuchan."

"Wow. Must be a big secret."

"It is." Izuku replied, and then explained everything about All Might and One for All. He left out the stuff about All Might's injury – it wasn't his secret to share – but aside from that he gave them a good run down of how he got the Quirk of the Number One Hero.

"And uhm, today Pony called me the heir, and I guess that for All Might meant something else. That's it really." He concluded, "I guess he got worried and wanted to confront us as soon as possible, since he did it in an open area."

"Which ended up with me being involved with this secret." Jiro sighed, "Why do I have super hearing of all things? I could have stayed ignorant."

"Uhm, I have a question." Pony raised her hand, "Does All Might know about…" She gestured to herself and Kyoka, "You know…"

"Oh. No, he doesn't know about the Clan. I wanted to tell him, but I never got the chance, and then telling the secret would have also been a problem for you two, so I stayed quiet."

Jiro and Pony looked at each other. Then at him.

And then, slowly, started to clap.

"Amazing boss." Kyoka said, "You managed to swindle the Number One to give you his Quirk."

"Never thought you had it in you." Pony added.

"I-I wasn't trying to!" He defended weakly.

"Does it matter?" Jiro smiled, "With this, I don't know if you realize how big the Green Valley Clan can become. If our boss is also the next Number One…"

Izuku looked down, his hands closing on his knees. "I…"

"Alright, enough." Pony replied, "The boss isn't the Number One yet, and jokes aside I doubt he is happy about lying to All Might."

"Yeah, I'm not." Izuku sighed, "Anyway, we were here to talk about something else, right?"

"Of course!" Pony nodded, "It's time for you to learn how the Green Valley Clan works!" She pulled out a piece of paper. "So, you already know the Green Valley Clan is active in both the US and Japan, right?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's start from there. So, the Clan is lead by your father." She drew a circle with Hisashi written inside, "And under him are his four Advisors, which are currently his extended family. It wasn't always like this, but it became more convenient to run it this way." She drew four more circles under his father's. Nene and David Shield on the right side marked as US, and Maguma and Isana on the left side as Japan. "Each pair controls one of the two sides. Nene and David administer America, while Maguma and Isana deal with Japan."

Izuku nodded. He knew at least that.

"So, that takes us to how the Clan makes money. Pay attention now. First of all, you have the usual business. Protection is the main one. The Clan has a territory in both countries, and the people in that territory pay a protection fee for us to keep them safe."

"What if they don't?" Izuku asked.

"Then they don't have protection. Any thief can decide to waltz in, rob their store, and the police will be…" She struggled to find the word, "Less interested into investigating the case."

"You control the Police?"

"Eh, it's pretty much the same." Jiro said, "It's less controlling and more having an understanding. They know that the racket exists, but trying to break it down is far more dangerous and expensive for them than letting it be. Also, the Clan is never violent when it comes to making people pay. If you don't, we aren't going to burn down your store. That would make us far too noticeable."

Izuku tried to digest that. "So why does anyone pay?"

"Well, how do you think a thief knows which stores don't have protection?" Jiro shrugged, "It's the Clan that tells them 'rob this store and not that one', and most people want to be on the 'not that one' list."

Izuku clenched his mouth shut. Oh boy, this was really not going to be a fun conversation...

"Also the Clan then gets a portion of the money stolen." Pony concluded, "So, just imagine that over the territory controlled by the Clan, and you can see why it's a good basis for a criminal syndicate."

"It's only a basis though." Jiro pointed out, "That money is then cleaned through various shell companies that provide services. Pubs are pretty good for that, but it can be pretty much everything, from construction materials to support gear."

"Right, like investing into I-Island." Izuku did his best to just nod. Alright, that was bad, but still nothing horrible. "Anything else?"

"Oh, a lot of stuff actually. The second business is the Hero Signatures business, which you already know." Pony replied.

"Right. Why do Heroes do that?"

"Well, look at it like this. You are a mid-level Hero with no great skills, that has just graduated from Hero School. All you have is a Hero License, but for one reason or another, you can't find employment. Maybe every agency looking for Sidekicks has no need for your Quirk, maybe the ones that do don't pay nearly enough to make it worthwhile. And opening an Agency of your own takes money you don't have. What do you do then?"

"I try to find a part-time job while doing patrols. If I get famous, my salary as a Pro will allow me to become independent in a few years." Izuku replied, "Or I can do it like Miruko. She did professional MMA fighting while starting her business, and then…"

"Alright, alright, jeez. First, Miruko was hot enough she skyrocketed in popularity in like, five days, you aren't there yet boss. Second, I have to say, if all Heroes were like you the business wouldn't exist at all." Jiro sighed, "But no, some of the people in that situation do neither of those things. They panic and ask favors. They ask money to start the agency, and that's where they become indebted."

"Why not ask a bank?"

"Banks don't like to borrow money to non-established Pros. Hero business is based equally on fame and skills, and a lot of people never achieve either, basically only making enough money to keep the Agency running." She explained.

"Yup. It's even worse in America actually." Pony added, "Over there, especially in the big cities, there are so many Heroes that it's just hard to find crime that's big enough to make you famous. Which is also another reason why Heroes turn to the Green Valley Clan. We are more than happy to give them money to patrol our territory and ensure the people that pay protection are… well, protected."

'Should I point out she just used we?'

"Also, we can point them to another group. If a criminal organization starts encroaching on our territory, we can just inform our Heroes, and they will gladly wipe them out. We get rid of an opponent, the Heroes gain fame for crushing a dangerous syndicate, and the city is safer than it would be if we started an all-out gang war. Everyone is happy, right?"

-x-

The Hero Killer froze.

"What is it?" Kurogiri asked, cleaning a glass.

"Someone just praised a corrupt system." Stain replied, sighing.

"That happens all the time." Kurogiri pointed out.

Stain made to reply when Dabi entered the bar from the rooms, and took a long look at him. "Uh. What is Stain doing here?"

"Kurogiri makes good drinks." The man replied, "I might not work for your boss, but I'm not giving up on those."

Dabi shrugged and left through the door at the front. Stain took another sip of water. He certainly wasn't here to see how his students were doing. That would have been absurd.

-x-

Izuku sighed, "Alright. Alright, let's just assume that's ok. It's not, but I digress. Is that all?"

"Oh no." Jiro replied, and Izuku groaned, "We still haven't touched on the main money-making stuff, like the drugs, support gear and the guns."

"Did you just say drugs and guns?"

"Now now, before you go insane." Pony raised a hand, "When we say drugs, we mean Trigger. That's super common in the US. They say it's the pot of the Age of Quirk over there. There are even movements to legalize it."

"That's still illegal!"

"Well duh, that's why the Green Valley Clan sells it." Jiro explained, "See, a lot of the stuff we do in Japan is importing from the US. We manufacture the stuff overseas and then have it carted to Japan, where it's sold at double or triple the price it would fetch over there."

"Ugh… I don't suppose you know where it's manufactured." He asked, dreaming of making a beautiful call to the American Police. It wasn't like selling off a facility would put him in danger..."

"Officially we don't." Pony explained, "it's a big secret only the upper echelons and the people that work in them. Technically, a lot of it is produced quietly in various shell companies too. But the main theory inside the Clan is that they are made on I-Island."

Izuku sighed. Yep, there went his idyllic image of I-Island too. What a fun day.

-x-

"We are back!" Himiko called as she entered the bar. It was odd to think that she had gotten so used to her new home, but nonetheless she had. Kurogiri behind the counter, this or that Noumu sitting at a table alone to play security, Dabi with either a drink or some water depending on the hour of the day, or Compress sitting there talking with Kurogiri. Even Tomura showed up from time to time, to sit down with some portable console and drink something different from the collection of energy drinks he kept in his room.

Today, Tomura was there, which likely meant Compress was busy somewhere with All for One. Her 'father' seemed to have taken a liking for Mustard's 'dad', since he was the one that accompanied the Symbol of Evil more often to his meetings with the Doctor. As for Dabi, who knew what that guy was doing.

She sat down with a sigh. Today, Stain was there too. She waved at him – a wave he returned with a small movement of his hand – and then Mustard sat next to her, waving at Stain too, though more energetically. Toga chuckled with herself. Honestly, if they had met in other circumstances, she felt she could have liked Stain as much as Mustard did. He was definitely ragged and bloody enough. But maybe because she had met him after Iz- after she got adopted and started to be fed commonly, she had never felt her usual urge to eat his blood.

"Uh, right." She realized, "What should I do with this?" She raised the syringe. She had completely forgotten about the vial of Shoto's blood she had recovered during their match.

"I don't know, drink it?"

"I guess?" She pointed the syringe toward her mouth and pressed, tasting the red fluid. "Good enough." She decided.

"Good. Homework now." Mustard pulled out the first UA homework they had gotten.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes you do." Kurogiri replied from behind the counter, "You have to do well in school."

"Why though?"

"Because you are supposed to want to stay at UA." Kurogiri replied.

"Alright." Mustard sighed too, opening the first one, "So, first we should start with Hero History, right? The Vigilante era and all that."

"A blessed time period where heroism was pure." Stain commented.

Tomura scoffed, "Just a bunch of Hero wannabes."

"Alright, let's not do that until the room is cleared." He decided, pulling out math instead. For a while, they worked in silence, only broken by the sound of someone drinking, of Tomura playing his videogame obnoxiously loud, and by Kurogiri moving this or that bottle to check if dust had settled on them and move it away, or to give Stain a refill of water or alcoholics.

Until Himiko groaned. "Ugh, I hate math so much!" She shouted.

"It's Izuku's favorite subject that doesn't have to do with heroism." Mustard pointed out. Himiko scoffed.

"I know! I don't get it! Numbers aren't supposed to do this!" She showed him the equation she was working on, "And why are there letters in the middle of my set of numbers?!"

"I thought you had gotten better at it."

"I did. That doesn't mean I like it." She sighed. If she could turn into Izuku, she bet it would be easier, but she was hesitant at drinking his blood for some reason. Maybe she was afraid she wouldn't stop once she started… No, that would have meant things. It was more that she didn't want Izuku to be scared of her. They were friends after all.

Then a lightbulb went on in her head. "Todoroki is smart, right?"

"He is, why?" Mustard started, but a moment later he was looking at Todoroki, though still dressed as Himiko had been. "Why did you turn into Todoroki?"

"Well, if he is this smart, some of it should rub on me while I'm him." She replied.

"If you say so…" Mustard said, shaking his head and going back to his own work.

Himiko scoffed. Of course this would work. She became the people whose blood she drunk, she would also gain Todoroki's brains. She wasn't at all doing this just because Todoroki was hot - and cold - without the whole baggage that came from turning into Iz- into her hot friends. "Let's see…"

At that moment the door opened, and Dabi waltzed in. "Hello everyone." He said tiredly, walking by.

"Hey." Said Mustard.

"Good afternoon, mister Dabi." Kurogiri replied.

Tomura scoffed.

"Hi." Said Shoto Todoroki.

Dabi passed by their table, then froze and took a double-take, staring at Himiko-as-Shoto.

Then he screamed.

The large, bulky Noumu, perhaps confused, started screaming too.

"What the fuck?" Tomura said, raising his eyes from the console, before turning to the Noumu, "Shut the fuck up!" The Noumu slammed its mouth shut, then he pointed to Dabi, "You too."

"Why is a Todoroki here!" He tried to use his arms to cover his face, which was pretty dumb considering said arms were basically as unique as the face, "Oh god, I don't have regrowth, do I?" He turned toward the mirror behind Kurogiri, checking the root of his hair.

"Dabi-" Mustard started, before the man turned around and pointed at Himiko with his index finger.

"What the fuck Shoto, since when can you leave the house and come all the way to Yokohama?" He asked, true concern in his voice.

"Uuuuh…"

"Fuck, I don't even have a speech ready for this. My dance number isn't even complete yet-" He stilled when a glass hit him in the head, "Ouch!" He turned toward Stain, "Why did you do that?!"

"That's Himiko." Stain laconically answered.

Dabi stared at him, eyes wide like a fish, before slowly turning toward Himiko. "What?"

She stood up, to show she was wearing a skirt. "It's me." She explained, "Unless you suppose Todoroki has taken to wearing skirts."

"God, this is an image I will never be able to erase from my brain-" He coughed, "I mean, alright, good, nice. I knew, of course."

"You have something to share?" Mustard asked, "Like how you know Todoroki so well you called him Shoto?"

"Or the fact you screamed like a bitch when you saw him?" Tomura replied.

Himiko sighed, "Please don't use the word bitch around me Tomura, it's getting annoying." She said. If tomorrow Bakugo was still calling her that...

"Make me bitch." He replied with a smug grin. Himiko pondered if her dad would be particularly mad if he came back to find Tomura with a knife jammed in his throat. Frankly, he would probably shrug and say 'Alright, I'll find you another brother'. Uhm…

"I don't have shit to explain," Dabi answered, before walking out of the room at a suspiciously high speed.

For a moment no one said anything.

Then Mustard spoke. "Wanna bet on the big secret?"

"A thousand yen says childhood rival." Tomura instantly said.

"He is like, five years older. Maybe more." Himiko pointed out.

"And? You can be the sworn rival of someone younger. Nothing weird with that."

"Alright. Mh… I'm gonna go for 'sworn enemy of the father'." Mustard decided.

"I agree and join the bet on it. The man is completely burnt, that's either an encounter with Endeavor or his Quirks seriously sucking." Stain said. The others looked at him, "What? I come around often enough to bet."

"Why can't you just join us if you come around so often?" Tomura asked. "You'd be a high-level NP- I mean, a decent addition to our rost- group."

"I won't be tied to a criminal organization whose second-highest-ranking member is a manchild that spends all his days playing videogames." Stain replied. Tomura scoffed.

"Those are mighty words for someone in dusting distance."

"Oh, and let's not forget you talk like an internet board even outside the internet. Truly I can't imagine why anyone would refuse to follow you."

Himiko thought for a moment, ignoring the two. What would prompt that reaction to Shoto Todoroki in particular? Sure, father rivalry might explain it, but that seemed more personal. He had even called him Shoto. So… "I bet on… lost brother." She decided.

"Really?" Mustard asked, "That sounds like a manga plot. One that gets dragged around for like two hundred chapters before the author reveals it shocking no one because the fandom had figured it out on day one."

"Manga are for losers anyway." Tomura replied rather randomly, though Himiko supposed her older brother though 'unpleasant' was the hottest personality.

"I can hear you playing Senran Kagura: Estival Versus The Next Gen over there." Mustard replied, and everyone went quiet enough to hear, from Tomura's console, the tell-tale laughter of videogame girls that were most likely wearing skimpier clothes than they should.

"This is an incredibly compelling game, I'll have you know." He coughed in his fist, "And don't ride the high horse, I hear the high pitch girl voices that come from your room."

"Those are anime or Vtubers!" Mustard shouted, "And you want to talk about hearing embarrassing things? I live next to you, and you keep forgetting that! Or you think I can't hear the kind of animation you watch late at night?"

"Well, that's my cue for leaving." Stain replied.

"Take me with you Master Stain." Toga pleaded.

"Sorry kid. You are on your own." The man replied closing the door behind himself.

Toga sighed, as the two went deeper than they had to into their discussion, to places where she frankly didn't want them to go. With a sigh, she went back to her homework.

Kurogiri sighed. As the Noumu Kurogiri, he was a servant of Tomura Shigaraki, so he felt compelled to side with him. On the other hand, Oboro Shirakumo thought this was a good chance for him to interact with people that weren't 2D. So, he let him be.

Also, he wasn't paid to stop friendly squabbles.

Technically he wasn't paid at all, but still…

-x-

"And that's all from the economics side. Any questions?" Pony asked, smiling. Her and Jiro had done, in her opinion, a very good job at going into details about the money-making aspects of the Green Valley Clan. Her mom had explained a lot, and Jiro apparently knew even more about the Japanese side of things. After giving him an overview, they had explained through examples, mentioning a few heroes connected to the Green Valley Clan on both sides of the Ocean and describing a few transfers they were aware of in detail. Surprisingly, Jiro knew a lot about the smuggling operations in Japan, mentioning her uncle was very happy to explain to her that side. Who to bribe to get the weapons through, who to sell them too… all the jazz.

Izuku didn't seem to appreciate it all though, considering he was holding his hands together in front of his face, slowly and rhythmically hitting himself in the forehead. After a tense moment, he slowly nodded, "No, no. I got it. So. What about other criminal organizations. Should I know about them?"

"Of course! I'm so glad you asked!" She nodded, man, Izuku was really into this. "Alright, let me see… Jiro, you probably know more about this, right?"

"I suppose. My uncle always tells me about his 'colleagues'. He mostly does that to say they are all idiots and the Clan should just beat them all up, but still…"

"Charming." Izuku said, "I bet your cousins also agree to that."

"I don't know. One is almost always on the phone and the other is more busy making puns."

Izuku felt that sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place said familiarity, so he shook it off. He had to focus on not doing something he might regret later.

"So, first of all, to understand the Japanese underground, you have to understand the difference between the three kinds of criminal organizations: Old Families, New Gangs and Foreign Groups."

"I feel like the distinction is rather obvious…"

Jiro snorted, "Yeah it's easy to figure out. So, first are the Old Families, like the Green Valley Clan. Here in Japan there are actually only seven Old Families left worth something."

"That small a number?"

"Yes. The Yakuza didn't really fare well post-Quirks. All that's left is seven syndicates that more or less control either a different region of Japan or small spots all over it. For example, the Green Valley Clan's main territory is mostly Chubu and Kanto, while the Shie Hassaikai controls various disjointed territories in the big cities." She shrugged, "Most of the others are New Gangs, that formed during or after the dark age of Quirks. Toga's dad is the leader of one of those groups, as was the Abegawa Tenchu Kai, a smaller Yakuza gang that a Vigilante wiped out a few years ago." Jiro grimaced, "That was a bad time for us, since the Abegawa Tenchu Kai had close relations with the Green Valley Clan. If the Vigilante hadn't disappeared, I think the Clan would have hunted him down."

"How did the Vigilante fight? Out of curiosity."

"Oh, swords, I think. Why?"

Izuku nodded. He had a feeling he knew who that was. Nice job master Stendhal. Izuku didn't approve of the murder, but he did approve of destroying Yakuza gangs. "And then there are the Foreign Groups, which are…"

"Anyone that comes solely from outside of Japan, like Hiryu Rin's Triad family, the Seiryu. Those are small here, but can grow in power if the gangs don't watch out for them. That's why it's important you win this bet. If you lose, the Seiryu might take it as a sign the Green Valley Clan's grip is slipping, and that…"

"… Means war, either with the Seiryu or with people that think we are weaker when they hear about it."

"Yep! Or well, at least a couple of skirmishes until people realize that the Heir isn't the Clan. But I'm so glad you understand what an idiotic bet that was, I feel like I don't quite make it sink in enough that you took the worst decision you could possibly take."

"No I get it."

"It was a terrible, terrible idea."

"I got it."

"In fact you could even say it was pure-"

"-So, to avoid starting a gang war, now I also have to win this bet." Izuku said, stopping her from going on. He didn't want to know what other insult could come out of her mouth.

"What do you mean, 'also'?"

"...Nevermind that. How do we do this?" He replied.

"Well, we need to start testing the grounds." Jiro replied, "The Seiryu heir is right, there are definitely other criminals in 1-A and 1-B. We just need to find them."

For the second time that day, he wondered if he could give himself a concussion by hitting his head against the wall and forget everything he had just learned. The fact it had happened twice on the second day of UA didn't bode well for his Hero school career. By the end, he was going to be either brain-damaged or amnesiac. Maybe both.

He really wished he could do something about what he had just found out. Not destroy the Green Valley Clan – he knew now that doing that would just put his family and friends in danger, besides separating him from Himiko. And Masuchan, of course. – but… there was something else he could have done.

If only he was stronger and didn't break his bones with every use of his Quirk…

Pity a solution for that wouldn't just appear out of nowhere. It wasn't like All Might would just find the perfect teacher for him in one attempt.

-x-

"So." Sorahiko Torino, the Pro Hero known – or well, unknown really – as Gran Torino said, sitting down in Nedzu's office, a few meters away from a fidgeting All Might in skeletal form.

"So." Nedzu replied. The two stared at each other. "Nice to see they give fossils a day off at the museum." Nedzu finally said.

"And unfortunately, it seems the petting zoo has not yet learned to lock the cages properly." Sorahiko replied.

"Am I a rat, a bear, or a dog?"

"I don't know. Who are you anyway?"

"I'm the Principal!"

The two stared at each other for another long moment and then laughed, the elderly with booming laughter no one would have expected from the short, apparently fragile old man and the second with an acute squeaking sound that was very much in line with the expectations someone would have had from the supposed rodent. "Dammit Nedzu, you never change." Sorahiko finally replied.

"And neither does my savior." Nedzu replied.

"It was Nana that broke down the door to that lab."

"And it was you who opened that cage." Nedzu replied with a smile, "Don't be shy, I have to largely thank you if I didn't get transferred from an underground lab to a government one."

"That was fifty years ago."

"Almost to the day, actually!"

"I always assumed you were older than me by a lot, principal Nedzu." All Might admitted.

"A bit, but not as much as you'd think." He replied with that enigmatic smile Sorahiko knew all too well, "So, what brings you here?"

"It's the kid. This one over here is finding it harder than expected to teach him beyond shouting 'Smash!' and wants me to help." He shook his head, "Seems my old bones are not yet ready for retirement."

Really, in the privacy of his mind, Sorahiko was rather proud of his past student. It took a lot of effort to swallow pride and ask for help, and it took some balls to call back someone that terrified you, even if through respect. Still, he wasn't about to throw all those compliments at All Might. His past student was already used to being lauded by ninety-nine percent of Japan, let him keep Toshinori's head down to Earth.

"I have to admit, this comes as a surprise. However, it's not impossible to do. Would you like to join us as a teaching assistant for the First Years? It would be a good excuse to let you take Midoriya aside for private lessons, and if you can give my students some pointers, it would be appreciated."

"Just like that?" Sorahiko asked.

"I have… another ongoing project between me and the HPSC. Something All Might brought to my attention a few months back. I'm sure they won't have much against an old Hero deciding to spend his last few years doing his old teaching job if they think it will keep my attention away from said matter." Nedzu replied, before grinning, "It won't fo course."

"Last few years? I bet I will dance on your grave." Gran Torino replied.

"I'm afraid if you do that I will have a hard time paying back said bet," Nedzu said. And the two started laughing again.

All Might shivered from head to toes. What had he just brought upon the First Years?

(xx)

An old, grumpy Clint Eastwood reference, that's what All Might. May the heavens have mercy of them, because Sorahiko Torino has none.

Izuku learns how the clan works, and... well, it's about what people would expect. Guns, drugs, protection rackets... The usual. Superheroes are a good extra.

And meanwhile Himiko is enjoying her home time. What a day.

Man, Izuku could really do with less authority on him. Sure is lucky no event is coming up where he might gain more...