UA SECURITY PART 1
"Ah, Izuku Midoriya." Izuku froze as he heard the voice calling for him from behind. He turned around, finding Hiryu Rin and Sen Kaibara walking together. He was accompanied by Jiro today, who raised an eyebrow but didn't seem particularly worried. "Good to see you in good health."
"Good morning, Rin." He replied with a nod. While the heir of the Seiryu wasn't a close friend, they knew each other well enough. Izuku was also terrified at the prospect of him coming up to him and saying the bet was over. In hindsight, neither of them had placed an end for the bet on who would recruit more people for their criminal family, and Izuku couldn't tell if it was a mistake on his part or if he planned to, so to speak, quit while he was ahead.
"So, how is recruitment going?"
Izuku smiled, "I have a new addition to my group." He said, trying to sound casual. Judging by Jiro's look, he didn't.
"I see, I see. Quite the result already. Then again, I wouldn't expect nothing less from such a cunning heir. It seems everything is playing by your design."
It was? Izuku was fairly sure that the last time anything had gone by his design was… Oh god he couldn't even remember. "What do you mean?"
"Please Midoriya, there is no need for you to pretend you don't understand. Why, of course your first week at UA was successful. First, I hear it's thanks to you that we now have mister Gran Torino to train us too. A wise decision, given he was once All Might's mentor, as he told us. Clearly, you saw a deficiency in All Might's teaching and decided to nudge him in the right direction." The Chinese teen nodded, "Very smart. You thought that your classmates were not going to be up to the Clan's standards, and so decided to intervene."
"Ah…" Really, Izuku had been fighting Pony and All Might had heard a completely different thing from what they were actually talking about.
"Then, the day after we made the bet, you made yourself Class Representative, or President. A good way to place yourself as a leader among your peers. At the same time, you voted for Himiko as your Vice-Representative, thus not offending your main allies. Once again, a wise move."
Izuku really wanted just to emulate All Might.
"Then you used said authority so that your cousins proposal, this 'Prom', would be more likely green lit. I still don't know exactly the objective for you, but I am sure there is one. Why otherwise would just the two members of the Clan agree to it first?"
'Because I had no reason to say no…' Izuku thought.
"And then, the USJ! The League of Villain, from which your very bride to be comes from, attacks your class, and yet they fail miserably. I wondered why, but then realized: of course, this was staged."
"Eh?!" Izuku and Jiro both shouted, though Hiryu's grin just grew more.
"My my, no need to be so surprised when it's so blatantly obvious. You and Tomura Shigaraki worked in accord to organize a fake attack, all so any idea that you would be connected to the criminal underworld would be moved away from you and your class. At the same time, this made you known to the members of the League, so you are now safe from them accidentally attacking you in future operations." He nodded, just as they crossed UA's gate, "Truly, a master stroke, Midoriya. I give you my most sincere congratulations for such moves. And that comes on top of you also training with Gunhead and your cousin Yo Shindo."
"Wait, how do you know that?"
"Please, Midoriya, allow me to keep at least some secrets. Otherwise I will be no match for you." Hiryu said with a shrewd smile, "I'm sure you have more plans, but I don't intend to get in your way, trust me."
'I mean that is very easy because there are no plans, but alright.' He thought, though he didn't say anything. Frankly, he didn't know where to start with dismantling Hiryu's notion about Izuku being a master criminal. If he said he hadn't planned anything, would the guy even believe him? He sounded very convinced about his mastermind theory, and worst a denial would probably just make him think Izuku was trying to weasel his way out of him 'reading his plans too well'.
"I… Suppose… Not?" Izuku tried, and Hiryu laughed.
"Ah, my friend, no need to sound so nervous. I won't go telling anyone your secrets. As for our little bet, take your time." He shook his hand. "Well, it was good talking with you. Have a good day."
Sen bowed his head, and then the two both walked away.
For a long moment, no one said anything, then Jiro turned toward him with a shit-eating grin.
"Don't say anything." Izuku warned.
"You know, you should really tell him about One for All."
"What?! No, I shouldn't!"
"But I want to hear more about your masterplan!" Jiro fake whined.
"There is no master plan!"
"That's what you would say if there was a master plan and you didn't plan to tell us!" She said.
"It's also what I would say if there wasn't a master plan! Also, why did it get upgraded to 'master' plan?"
"Well, the boss of the Clan can't have regular plans. They have to be master plans." She nodded like that meant anything, and Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Please, just… don't continue with this."
"I was just going to say..." She replied, grin growing wider.
"Don't-"
"Sasuga, Izuku-sama." She replied.
Izuku shouted in his hands.
-x-
"You think he is right?" Yoichi asked. Every other Vestige turned to stare at him.
"What?" Nana asked, "About the masterplan?"
"Yeah, that." Yoichi nodded.
"Yoichi, we have literally access to his thoughts." En pointed out, "We can't be fooled by Izuku. We know he doesn't have a masterplan."
"… But what if that's part of the plan-"
"Finish that sentence and I will Float you however high I can go in here and then let go." Nana replied.
"That wouldn't kill me."
"No but I'm sure it won't be funny either."
Mh. True enough. Yoichi glanced at the Second and Third, and they both shook their head. "Alright, I get it. All that time dealing with my brother has probably had the unintended effect of making me see complicated plots behind everything."
-x-
Izuku sat down at his desk, waving at Himiko. 'The girl I like.' His brain very unhelpfully supplied, making him turn around to hide his bright red face. The truth was, Izuku still hadn't spoke to anyone about the fact his crush might not just be a crush.
But who could he ask? His classmates all thought he was dating Himiko, Masuchan would just say something like 'Bro, you are literally already dating' – which wasn't true, at least not in the way Izuku maybe possibly perhaps wanted the relation to develop – and All Might had already admitted lacking experience in the subject. He also couldn't ask his cousins, since they would tell their fathers and make the alliance a lot less useful.
Unfortunately, his attempt with his mother hadn't gone that well.
-x-
"Say mom, if I, hypothetically, just a what if, liked a girl more than just as a friend-" His mom squealed excitedly, before all but tackling him in the process of hugging her son.
"Oh my gosh! Izuku, are you really going there?! Does she know?! Have you told her?! Is there a grandchild in the oven?!"
"I- What- No!" He tried to wiggle himself free of the bear hug to no avail, "It was… just a hypothetical."
"Ah." His mom coughed in her hand, letting him go, "Uhm, well, don't worry dear, you are an attractive young man that is certain to catch anyone's interest. I'm sure if you ask any girl out she will say yes." She paused, "Is it Himiko?"
Izuku had quickly ran away.
-x-
Yeah in hindsight, asking his mom had been a bad idea. He had managed to convince her it was just a question for the future. Maybe. Hopefully.
His dad was also out of the picture, because Izuku would rather die than give his old man the satisfaction of knowing he had fallen hook, line and sinker for his plot. Nope, his dad would never find out.
'Man, it's really messed up I don't have anyone to talk with on this…' He thought, and then a mummy walked into the room.
"Good morning class." Aizawa said, ignoring the stares at his current condition. For a moment, Izuku felt like his Professor's eyes scanned the class with a weary expression, before he took a deep breath. "I have some news for today-"
"Professor, can we address the elephant in the room first?" Kaminari asked after raising his hand.
"Yes, I am covered in bandages. I assure you that, safe for a broken nose, broken skull and a broken arm, most of them will be gone in a few days." Aizawa replied matter-of-factly, Kaminari lowering his hand. The teacher sighed, like he hadn't just listed enough fractures to make most people unable to talk without flinching. "Now, regarding the news. First of all, I think most of you know, but the Sport Festival is in two weeks."
The class cheered, though Izuku noticed a few people, primarily Himiko, Masutaro and Mineta, weren't reacting as strongly.
"U-Uhm…" Mineta raised his hand, "Is it safe to hold the Sport Festival with what happened last week?"
"It will be." Aizawa said, "Leaving aside the fact that we have to hold the Sport Festival, otherwise every sponsor will turn on us and many of the future training experiences we have programmed for you can't happen appropriately, but we also have to show that we Heroes won't be shaken by Villains. Since no one died, it's not in poor taste either, so we couldn't even use that excuse to cancel it." He muttered something that sounded dangerously like 'god I wish'.
Everyone pretended to not hear it. The Professor had saved their lives – for some of them quite literally – he was allowed to sulk a bit.
"Anyway," The man continued, "We are going to reinforce security for this year. Along with the general plans to reinforce UA, which are going to be kept secret to anyone except Nedzu, Power Loader and the HPSC workers sent to help with them, the Festival itself will see heightened police security. Principal Nedzu has also said that…" He frowned reading the paper, "That 'this year's Sport Festival' will be appropriately special, wink wink' and then there is an emoji of a winking rat." He showed them the document.
"I think that's a dog." Yaoyorozu chimed in.
"Isn't that a bear?" Uraraka replied.
"I'm fairly sure it's just the principal." Pony concluded.
"I hate my job sometimes…" Aizawa tossed the paper aside. If anyone saw Izuku stand up, pick it from the floor and pocket it just because it was signed by Nedzu, muttering 'a fine addition to my collection', no one commented on it. Aizawa meanwhile pulled out another one, "Next, we are going to welcome a new member of staff in a few days. The name is…" His eyes went wide, "What the hell Nedzu."
"Sir?"
"One second." He went through the whole thing, and then took a deep, deep breath, slumping down on the chair.
"Are you-"
"I am not okay, no. I will have some words with Nedzu later today. I'm sure other members of the faculty will too. Except Snipe, he is probably simping right now."
-x-
"She is innocent!" Snipe shot in the air, overjoyed.
"Errr, professor Snipe…" Manga Fukidashi, one of his 1-D General Course students, pointed at the ceiling.
Snipe looked up, blinking as he stared at the holes in the ceiling. "If anyone asks, those were already there. Understood?" The class nodded, "Good guys. Anyway, our next member of staff is…"
-x-
"Lady Nagant?!" A good portion of the class shouted.
"Isn't she in jail for killing another Hero?!"
"Are you sure you read the name right?!"
"Is she still hot?!" Mineta's question was answered by Tsuyu's tongue mercilessly slapping him.
"Apparently not. Her name is Kaina Tsutsumi, it's impossible to get confused. I won't answer that." His eyes bore into Mineta with enough intensity to make the already diminutive student shrink further behind his desk. "Moving on…"
"Are we seriously just going to move on?! What is she even teaching."
"Nothing. She is joining the faculty as Head of Security."
"Do we have security?" Sero frowned, "I was under the impression this school's security was the teaching staff and a bunch of robots."
"That's security. This is Security."
"Sir I can't hear capitalization."
"… Either way, she is going to be in charge of looking after the school when everyone else is not here, and make sure the buildings that are not in use are not being occupied by 'a little bitch that lucked out and got an EMP Quirk'… wow Nedzu very mature." He coughed, "Make sure to not disturb her, alright? Good. Now, for our final communication, I'm told to inform all of you that Hound Dog, the student counsellor, is a therapist. He can help you if anyone is having problem with the events of the USJ or school life at large. He might look scary, but he is probably the best one to talk with if you are having any problem with life in high school.
Izuku and everyone else nodded.
-x-
"Oh thank god, I'm alive!" Yamada Hizashi touched his face, before groaning as he stood back up, "Ouch, yeah, I'm alive, it hurts…"
"Come here dear…" Recovery girl kissed the grown man on the cheek, allowing him to stand back up.
"Why did I agree to this?" He mumbled.
"You didn't, Yamada." Aizawa pointed out, "You decided to follow me, blurted out you wanted to see Gran Torino get punched, and he immediately said he was feeling back pains and needed a substitute, dragging you in. So to summarize, you asked for it."
Present Mic grumbled something, for once managing to be unintelligible.
"Well Young Midoriya, that was good progress." All Might declared.
"Th-Thank you All Might!"
"Don't fill his head with just compliments, you big oaf!" Gran Torino checked Izuku's arm, "Uhm… So, you have learned how to control your strength output, right?"
Izuku nodded, "Yes sir!"
"How?"
"Ah… Uhm, my family…" He looked at All Might, then realized a moment later All Might didn't know about his family because… Well because Izuku had never managed to tell him, much to his shame. He sighed, "My family has ways for me to train. I explained my situation and they contacted someone to help me train."
"Who?" Aizawa asked, curiosity clear.
"Gunhead." He replied.
"How…" Aizawa started, but All Might stopped him.
"Aizawa, not now." He leaned closer to whisper something to the man's hear, and Aizawa grimaced for a moment before nodding.
"Very well. Either way, it's not a bad idea. You did a good thing finding one more teacher."
"And how did you train, if you had no control?" Recovery Girl asked.
"Ah, they had other Healing Quirks on site." Izuku replied, promptly getting a glare from the elderly nurse, "A-and since I got to train with someone whose Quirk is based on regulating the output of power, I guess it kind of clicked in place fast!"
Recovery Girl didn't look entirely convinced, keeping her eyes on him.
Gran Torino nodded, "Good, good, though I see he hasn't caught onto your other problem-"
"Uhm, actually he did, but he said that just telling me wouldn't help me learn anything." Izuku replied, and Gran Torino laughed.
"Ah! Good to hear!" He paused, "What did he say?"
"That I should consider what other strength-Quirk users do that I'm not doing."
"Good, he is tackling the same issue. I really need to talk to this guy sometimes." Gran Torino seemed appreciative, and Izuku sighed in relief. Then a question came to mind.
"Sooo, can you tell me…"
"No. You need to figure it out yourself. Now go back to punching your English teacher."
Present Mic sobbed.
"Actually, Gran Torino, before I forget, could you give me a few minutes with Young Midoriya? I need to say a few things to him. I wanted to stop him at lunch, but he was with Young Shimura and I didn't want to disturb them."
Izuku went bright red. Gran Torino muttered something about 'hormonal teenagers', and Aizawa reflexively pinched the bridge of his nose before wincing realizing that the nose was, in fact, still broken. "I-I…"
"No need to worry, Young Midoriya, let's go. You will be back to punching Present Mic in no time." All Might accompanied him outside, ignoring or not earing Present Mic's wail, no one following.
"Can I help you All Might?" Izuku asked, concerned, "Is this about the training? Or maybe the Sports Festival?"
"No, no… Well, I wanted to talk to you about the Festival, but seeing the effort you are putting into your training, it feels superfluous to do that. It's your big chance to tell the world 'I am here', and I can see you realize that."
Izuku nodded. He knew he was the heir of the Number One, and as his heir he would definitely have to do his best to stand out.
"Good. No, what I wanted to do was thank you." He paused, noticing Izuku's expression, and laughed even as some blood sputtered out. "You are making such a surprised face, Young Midoriya."
"Well, I just don't really know why." He replied.
"Ah, I understand. Well you see, do you remember a conversation we had on Dagobah Beach a few months ago?" Izuku looked at All Might in confusion, because, well, he remembered several hundreds of conversations with him. All Might seemed to realize that a moment later, as he coughed in his fist. "The one about the HPSC assassin." He clarified.
"Oh, right! Yeah, uhm, sorry about that, guess it was just a conspiracy theory-" The look on All Might's face made Izuku's words die on his lips, "Oh my god."
"Yes, that accurately summarizes it. Now, I can't tell you who they were…"
"Lady Nagant."
It was All Might's turn to stare at him wideyed. "How?"
"We literally got a communication this morning saying she was going to move to UA as she has been found not guilty. It wasn't hard to put together." Izuku replied, trying to not sound panicked, "Can you tell me more?"
"I'm afraid not much. What I can tell you, since you put this together fast, is that Kaina Tsutsumi was the victim, in the grand scheme of things. That's why, when me and Nedzu found out, we agreed that she didn't deserve to die in Tartarus." He grimaced, "I just figured you should know that it's thanks to you if she is getting a second chance of being someone people won't remember as just a murderer."
Izuku nodded, feeling a bit conflicted. She was an assassin, but All Might made it sound like that wasn't the full story. It probably wasn't, and his mentor clearly was complimenting him. "Uhm, I didn't do much…"
"You decided to ask me, the Number One Hero, a question like that. It's something not a lot of people would have dared to, honestly. If you didn't, Kaina Tsutsumi would still be locked in jail. While I'm not saying it's entirely your merit – or mine. I think Nedzu is the one that deserves most of the credit here – you heard about an injustice and didn't stay quiet. That too is the mark of a good Hero."
Izuku nodded. He wasn't sure if All Might was completely honest or honest but playing it up a bit to impart that lesson but either way Izuku would mind those words dearly. "Thank you All Might." He said with a smile.
"No problem, young man. Now let's go." He grinned in a friendly way, free of maliciousness, "I think Present Mic will be rested enough to go for a few more rounds."
Izuku was fairly sure he heard a sorrowful cry from inside the gym.
-x-
"I'm home!" Izuku said, entering his house.
"Oh hello Izuku! Good, you can come with me, immediately?! Thank you very much!" Hisashi all but kidnapped his son, dragging him away. Part of Izuku would have fought to get free, and he was fairly sure that even with his small of control over One for All he could easily overpower his dad. Then again, he had never been grabbed by his father and shoved directly into a car, so something must have been going on.
"What is this?" Izuku asked.
"Emergency meeting of the whole Clan." Hisashi replied, "We are already late, but I wanted you to come with me."
"Why?! You never invited me to an emergency meeting of the Clan before."
"Because there hasn't been one in ten years, Izuku." His father replied, and Izuku gulped. Ok, so maybe this was a little more serious than usual. Kuraudo seemed to agree, given that his usual calm demeanor was gone, the driver now tapping his fingers on the wheel every time they saw a red light.
The car reached the same hotel where they had met for the family dinner months prior, and Hisashi accompanied his son inside, where they found Cow Lady, Pony and a very impatient Nene. "Finally!" The old woman snapped at Hisashi, "Where were you?!"
"It's good to see you tooooooooo…" He shouted as she grabbed his ear and pulled.
"Listen here Hisashi, you know how important this is, so you better not fuck this up." She let go, then pointed to Izuku, "What are those clothes."
"My school uniform? Dad kind of grabbed me out of nowhere and I couldn't change."
"Tch. Well, at least it's formal enough to pass. Pony, you are his bodyguard." Pony slid next to Izuku as the elevator opened, and Izuku leaned closer to the girl.
"What's happening?" He asked in a whisper.
"I don't know. I told my mom about Nagant and she flipped, called Nene and now we are here." Pony replied, and Izuku's eyes widened. Again about Nagant?
The elevator stopped at Nene's room, where he found, sitting around a noticeably shorter table, Isana, Maguma and a computer with David Shield's face on it, likely a video call from his lab on I-Island. Nene sat down and Hisashi took his place at one end on of the table, opposite to Izuku.
"Why is your son here, Hisashi?" Isana asked. Hisashi raised an eyebrow at the half-masked man, and he quickly raised both hands, "What I mean is, what made you bring him here? You always seemed… concerned about involving him."
"Izuku goes at UA. He deserves to know this much." Hisashi said, before coughing, "Also, I want him to confirm this. Is it true that Kaina Tsutsumi will be head of security at UA?"
"Yes, they told us earlier today…" Izuku raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Because Kaina Tsutsumi is my daughter from my second marriage." Nene replied, flicking her finger open to light her cigarette, "Which means, she knows the family."
"She knows us?"
"She never met you." Hisashi quickly said, "But she knows Hisashi Midoriya, and it won't be hard for her to put two and two together. Not when you are also a good friend of Jiro and Pony, whose mothers she met before."
"That's the least of our concerns." Isana pointed out, "Kaina knows us. She never spoke about us before, first probably because she held the family close enough and then, I assume, because she hated the government enough. But we have no idea what Kaina might do now. For all we know, she might out us all to Nedzu out of gratitude for freeing her. I doubt she has much sympathy for the family that let her to the wolves."
"She was the one that told us she would be a Hero and have nothing to do with the Clan…" David started, but Isana raised a hand.
"Yes, and then she ended up as an assassin. Funny how that goes. Either way, the point remains that she knows all of us." He took a moment to look at everyone, "I propose we murder her immediately."
Izuku stood still. Pony's breath caught in her throat, and he was thankful for that. Slowly, his eyes moved to the others. Maguma wasn't looking at him, but instead seemed to be thinking. David Shield had gone pale too. Nene's cigarette had slipped from her finger. And his dad… He just looked at Isana.
"With all due respect Isana, I don't think that's a good move." He finally said, "Kaina has never betrayed us-"
"And you don't know what she might do now. It's a matter of fact that none of us has seen her in years. She never liked the Clan, and now she owes the Heroes."
"You can't be serious, Isana."
"I call for a vote."
"Don't you just 'I call for a vote' on your cousin's life!"
Maguma shook his head, "Cous went too far, Hisashi. I don't like killing people, just roughing them up, but she is too dangerous. I don't like this, but I vote with Isana. My daughter goes at UA too, it's too dangerous to let them meet."
"I vote against." Nene shouted.
"I-" David started, but Isana pointed to him.
"Don't try, cousin. You don't get a say in the Japanese administration."
David grimaced, and everyone turned to Hisashi. Including Izuku. 'Please dad… Please…'
Hisashi glanced at Izuku. "I vote against too." He said, "And as head of the Clan, my vote is worth two."
"Which puts at us two against two." Isana said, glancing at Nene, "She is also part of the American administration, not the Japanese one. The fact she was born here, unlike David, means nothing."
Hisashi and Isana stared at each other, and Izuku noticed then how tense the room was. Every single bodyguard in the room was ready to jump in, even he could tell. He glanced at Pony, who gulped. Izuku looked at his father, who was glancing at him and sweating. Clearly, he hadn't expected things to turn south so fast.
What could Izuku do? What should he do? What-
"I vote against!" He shouted, slamming both hands on the table.
The room fell dead silent, and everyone turned towards him. His father's eyes were wide open. "What?"
"I…" He looked around. Nene was looking at him with a curious gaze. David, from the screen, had an expecting look on his face. Isana was livid, while Maguma looked… confused, more than anything. "As the heir of the Clan… I vote against."
"You don't have a vote." Isana pointed out, "You are the heir, yes. That doesn't mean you have the authority for that."
Izuku grimaced, then glanced at his father, "But my father can give it to me. He should, actually, given all the work I'm doing at UA." He added.
"Really?" Maguma chuckled, "And what might you be doing at UA?"
Izuku thought, and his conversations with Hiryu rushed back. 'Oh god I can't believe I'm doing this…' He thought, but All Might's words that morning, the comment on him having saved people with words… Well, he was going to do it again, and consciously this time. No, not this time. He had to do what he had done at the USJ, just more politely. All he needed to do were three simple things.
Try to follow Hiryu's logic, use his talent to flood people with words, and talk out of his ass.
"When I joined UA, I started working on a plan to recruit my classmates to the Clan and strengthen both my position in the underground and as a Hero. For this very reason I started by making friends with Hiryu Rin, the son of the Seiryu Triad. We entered a friendly contest that would push us both toward recruiting more and more people, and at the same time gives me the opportunity of knowing my classmates for the future. I have already recruited Tsuyu Asui, one of said classmates, and plan to make a move soon for more to join. By making myself Class Representative, I have also placed myself in a position of authority, and Melissa and Hana both have helped me already set up another long term goal of mine. If you ask Pony, she will also confirm I'm building a circle of friends around me. However, I need a way into the faculty, which is why…"
He paused, and gave a look that he hoped looked meaningful instead of desperate, "Which is why months ago I suggest to All Might'sssss assistant," He caught his slip of the tongue at the last second, "and mentioned that I heard about an HPSC Assassin that was imprisoned and connected to the family." 'Something I had completely forgot until just now, but please buy it.' "It was actually Yo that suggested it, you will remember that dinner we had together. Thanks to that, and their need to do good, I knew they would get her out." 'This is a dumb lie and they will catch it. Think of something to make them agree.' "After all, they are too good to not help someone in trouble."
The room went silent, completely stunned by the torrent of words.
Then Pony started to clap. "Amazing boss! As expected of the heir of the Green Valley Clan!"
"P-Pony, is that true?" Her mother asked, without removing her eyes from Izuku. Pony nodded excitedly.
"It is mom! Izuku told me all about his secret goals!"
'Well that's true.' Izuku thought, before nodding. "Pony and Jiro both know my long term goals with UA. I'm sure Melissa and Hana could help too, if I had an official role. But I need Kaina Tsutsumi. That's why I ask to be given a vote."
Isana stared at him, and he could tell he was thinking something. He could just hope that something was 'Damn, this kid is smart' and not 'This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard'.
Before he could speak, however, Maguma snorted. "Alright. Yeah. Hisashi, give him that role. Your son should take active part in running the Clan anyway, and you heard him, he has plans for Kaina."
"Why are you just believing that?!" Isana hissed.
"Well, he is the one that loses the most out of the whole family, since every friend he has is apparently in league with the Clan or from that school. So he wouldn't lie. Right Izuku?"
"R-Right." Izuku nodded. Uuuuh, maybe he was putting on the line a lot for a person he had never met and that used to murder people for the government. 'But I can't just let people die if I can prevent it. That's not what a Hero would do!'
Isana grimaced, turning to Hisashi, "You know I'm right."
"Maybe." Hisashi looked to Izuku, "Are you sure about this son? While I don't doubt your plan," He said with a look that said he knew Izuku and Pony were trying to bullshitting them all, "Getting a role in the Clan means you will be a lot more involved. I was hoping you wouldn't have to for a long time."
Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was it, right? If he said yes, there was no more pretending that the Clan was just an inconvenience on the side. He would be involved. He would have to be a member, probably for life.
He was just fifteen, dammit!
But if he didn't, someone would die.
Someone he didn't know. Was it worth it?
-x-
The car drove away from the hotel, and for a while no one spoke, his dad just staring at him.
"So." He finally said, "Why did you do that?"
"I had to save her dad!"
"Why? You don't know Kaina. I do, Isana does, Maguma does. And while I voted against, they are right that she might put you in danger. She could just recognize you and say 'Oh, that's Hisashi's son, the Clan's heir' and you are out of the school. So why-"
"Because it's what a Hero would do." He answered, "Because I want to save people."
His father hummed, nodding. "I see."
The car continued silently for a bit. "You know Izuku." His father said, "For what is worth… I am proud of you."
Izuku nodded. He wanted to ask another question. He wanted to know if his father had ever said yes to killing someone. Or if one day he expected him to say yes.
He decided not to ask.
(XX)
Bit of a heavier end than usual? Maybe, but that's why this is crack taken seriously and not just pure crack, and is also a romcom, which means sometimes more serious tones are fair game. I think it's what makes them so enjoyable to read.
Either way yeah, Nagant coming back was bound to make the Clan go ballistic, this is the estranged family member/hired assassin, now massively indebted to one of the smartest creatures alive.
The whole mastermind routine is really fun. It was more of an experiment when I first planned it but it's working nicely. At least, my beta reader seems to massively enjoy it, hope you all do too.
Still no Full Cowling. I'm sure Izuku will manage. At least he isn't breaking his arm anymore.
Also, good girl Pony, helping her boss in the time of need.
See you!