Hey guys, I hoped you guys like that quick update. That won't be standard. It's going to be roughly weekly. Between school, sports, and Archer, I don't have infinite time. Anywayyyyyy...Reviews!
Archer: Thank youuuu. I'm excited to see him grow too. I love you toooooo.
Sageofchaos: I hope to write more.
PinkyPi: Exactly. It's more powerful than Fa Jin, but not nearly on the same output level as OFA or AFO. I won't spoil too much, but it's one of the stronger quirks in 1-A. Like...top 5. Whatever your top 5, it's in there, in terms of overall power.
Sansman212: I'm glad I didn't disappoint. I really like this story so far, and I'm glad you agree. And yeah, Jason Todd was a bit of an influence as too Izuku's character. A broken kid from the streets, given a chance. And yes, he will be more...violent, when it comes to hero work. As for the girl in the beginning...you'll see. I did read through everything, and I think I fixed the ages. If not, let me know! I do appreciate the comment. And I'm glad you can't wait to read more. I'm ready to provide more.
As always, thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/liked/followed. The whole thing. I'm really enjoying writing this, and I intend to create a world around this story. It's gonna be fun to see. Anyway, onto the chapter! DMJ, out!
-DMJ-
"Izuku, the guests are here!" Kayama calls, as Izuku towels his hair off from his shower, letting out a long, low breath. His emerald green eyes bore back at him as he looked in the bathroom mirror. His hair is now a darker green than normal, and he sighs, sliding into his hoodie, not bothering with a shirt under it. This was a casual dinner, and he didn't care if some of his frame was hidden. He was also wearing straight-cut jeans, which just barely hid his calves, but did nothing for his thighs. He also quickly threw on a pair of socks. The wood floors were not warm.
It had been another 2 weeks since he and Kayama had figured stuff out. As it turns out, the man she wanted to talk to Izuku was out on urgent HSPC business, and therefore, was only able to sit down today. It was fine, it made sense to the teenager, who was quickly understanding how the hero world worked. Unless you're top 10, you don't refuse the HSPC. And even then, you need a really good excuse.
Walking out into the kitchen, he's mildly surprised to see two men, not just the one, as Kayama had said. The first man is dressed casually, in jeans and a T-shirt with the Nirvana logo, with long blond hair up in a man-bun. He's hugging Kayama, and she warmly returns the hug.
The second man is the exact opposite. Dressed in entirely black, with an odd silver scarf around his neck, his long black hair is unkempt and slightly greasy. He's currently petting Yonaka, who sits in his lap.
"Oh, this is Izuku! My new ward!" Kayama says, finally noticing the boy who stands there, studying the two guests
"Hey, little listener! Hizashi Yamada, nice to meet you!"
"Pleasure's mine. And the professional emo over there?" Izuku asks, shaking the blond's hand
"PFFFFTTTTTTTTT! He got you right on the mark, Sho!" Kayama chuckles, as the blond tries not to burst out laughing.
"...Hm. Shota Aizawa." The man says, rising to his full height, and sticking his hand out. As Izuku shakes his hand, the man's eyes flash red, for only a second. In that second, Izuku feels his quirk vanish for just a split second. It's like someone cut off the wire that connects him to that battery.
"...Hi, Eraserhead." Izuku drawls, and the man's eyebrows shoot up
"...You know who I am?"
"...Nope, that was a guess," Izuku admits, rubbing the back of his head a bit sheepishly.
"Hmph. Good guess. Yeah, I'm Eraserhead. And this i-"
"Oh, Present Mic, that's one's easy," Izuku says, and Yamada frowns
"Awwwwwww. How could you tell?"
"You called me 'little listener'." Izuku chuckles, and Yamada stares at him and then chuckles.
"Alright, you got me there, kid. How long did it take for you to guess that she's Midnight?" Yamada asks
"Longer than both of you," Izuku admits, and Yamada puts on a pouting face.
"Really? Shit..."
"Zashi, language." Aizawa drawls
"He's old enough!" Hizashi complains
"I mean, I am."
"No, you are still a child. 'Sides, Hizashi is a semi-functioning adult. He can handle himself." Aizawa says, and Izuku looks between the two men and then glances at their hands. Both of them have a simple black and gold ring
"That suddenly makes a lot more sense," Izuku mutters as he watches the two men interact
"What does?" Aizawa asks, narrowing his eyes
"Oh. You're both married and extremely gay." Izuku says simply, pointing at Aizawa's ring
"...Damn, kid, you are good." Aizawa grins
"So I'm right?"
"Yeah. Just hit 5 years a few months ago." Yamada smiles
"How did you figure that out, other than the ring?" Aizawa asks, clearly curious.
"The hickies that you're hiding under that scarf," Izuku says simply, and Aizawa blinks
"I don't have hickies under there."
"Oh. I thought that's why you wore it."
"No. It's part of my costume. Capture tape." Aizawa says, somehow moving his scarf to wrap around Izuku's arm, binding it tight to his forearm.
"Hm. Interesting." Izuku says, yanking his arm experimentally. The scarf doesn't even budge.
"Yes. Interesting indeed. So what's your quirk? Clearly an emitter or transformation of some kind."
"I call it 'Kinetic Battery'. It allows me to absorb impacts and the kinetic energy from said impacts, and then turn that into usable energy. However, like everything, the battery has a power cap. I go over that, or keep it at full for too long...let's just say bad things happen." Izuku mutters
"How bad of things?"
"...It's not pretty," Izuku mutters
"How 'not pretty' are we talking?" Kayama asks
"Uhm...like...skin lacerations all over my body. And muscle tears if it progresses."
"And beyond that?"
"I don't wanna find out," Izuku admits in response to Aizawa's question.
"Lethal?
"Most quirks that produce this level of power have lethal consequences. Clearly, I've never had them." Izuku says, gesturing to his body.
"Hm. Clearly."
"So...what's for dinner?"
"Izuku, you made something, right?" Kayama asks
"Uh, yeah. Sushi. Tuna, Salmon, some ahi. I got a whole spread." Izuku says, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a wooden cutting board, and pulling it out, setting the spread onto the counter. There are about 40 individually cut pieces of sushi, all of them surprisingly well made
"I thought you lived on the streets, kid," Hizashi says, his jaw dropping open
"I did. For a while." Izuku replies, his eyes narrowing
"Well, I mean, yeah, but like...how did you learn how to do this?" He asks
"Prison. And martial arts."
"Wait. You had the money for martial arts, but not a home?" Kayama asks, incredulous
"No. Martial arts were free."
"Who the hell is offering martial arts for free?"
"There are a few masters who are homeless. Izuku must've run into one of them." Aizawa replies simply, and Izuku glances at the man but says nothing more.
The rest of the dinner proceeded smoothly, with a comfortable conversation bouncing between the adults and Izuku. They talked about everything. From what Aizawa and Hizashi had been up to, to how they met, and a lot of other things. Izuku explained his story, which got Hzashi crying at one point, and Aizawa even looked mildly concerned. Izuku told them how he met Nezu, which got a small smirk from Aizawa, for some reason.
As the dinner finishes up, and Kayama and Hizashi move to do the dishes, Izuku grabs a melon soda for himself and a beer for Aizawa, who silently accepts the beverage, as they both go out onto the balcony, closing the door to give the illusion of separation from Kayama and Hizashi, who couldn't 'legally' hear this.
"So...you want an out from the HSPC if shit goes south?" Aizawa asks, not bothering with pleasantries.
"To put it lightly, yes. That, and Nezu."
"Hah...good luck running from Nezu. The rat has eyes everywhere."
"That's impossible, and we both know it. We both spend enough time on the streets that we can vanish from anyone we want. Thing is, once I'm on the HSPC's radar, it'll be harder to vanish. Same thing with Nezu." Izuku explains, and Aizawa sighs
"Shit, kid...you're asking something that Pro Heroes have trouble with."
"But not you." Izuku notes, and Aizawa goes silent
"..HSPC, yes. Nezu...sometimes. I have to do a lot in order for it to work. And even then, it only works for about a week."
"If you stay in the country."
"...Yes. If I stay in the country. But do you speak any other languages?"
"I'm conversational in English, Russian, and Czech."
"How the fuck..."
"I lived near the red-light district."
"Ah. On purpose?"
"Nah. Kinda just how it ended up. I was a couple of blocks away, and some of the girls lived not far from me. I would catch a lot of conversations with johns, pimps, and gangsters. Point being, I can speak my way around a lot of places. As such, if I needed to leave the country, I could." Izuku admits
"Hm. That makes things easier. You ever flown before?"
"...Really?"
"Hey, I didn't know. Maybe you went with your parents when you were younger."
"No. I didn't. Our family never had much money. Never took any trip we couldn't drive to." Izuku admits, shrugging.
"Hm. Okay. We'll find some time to get you on a plane. Just across the country, so you can feel what's it like. At least understand the process." Aizawa says
"Alright. What else do I need to do?"
"You need to learn to dip from a phone. Go off-grid entirely for however long you need."
"I can do that. Even when I had a phone, I never looked at it much. Couldn't charge it consistently."
"Got it. I assume you know your way around sketchy areas?"
"No shit."
"Hmph. Watch your mouth in U.A., kiddo. If I'm your homeroom teacher, that won't fly."
"Got it...anyway, you got anything else?"
"...Don't fake your death. It's too much work for not enough pay-off. People go looking when someone is dead. When you're not 'dead', it opens other options. More leads to track down."
"Wasn't planning on it." Izuku sighs, downing the rest of his soda and setting the bottle by his feet
"So...why are you doing this, kid?" Aizawa asks
"What do you mean? The chance to become a hero? Sounds good to me." Izuku shrugs
"Don't give me that sentimental bullshit. You're no true hero, kid. Midnight told me you were in prison for a reason."
"...If I tell you, you tell no one." Izuku growls, his voice level but warning
"I got it."
"That means Hizashi too."
"I know what it means."
"Good."
"...You gonna tell me?"
"20 accounts of assault with a quirk. Got 27 because I was tried a minor." Izuku sighs
"Damn kid. That bad?"
"Guys were trying to kill me. Simpin over some poor bitch who had beef with me."
"A girl had beef with a homeless kid?"
"I called her out. She took it personally."
"Mmmm. So self-defense?"
"Not really? They just threatened me, and I decked some poor fucker. And nobody wants to believe a street rat."
"She had money?"
"Enough to get a decent lawyer."
"Got it. So...why be a hero? You never answered."
"...I don't know."
"What do mean, you don't know?"
"I don't know. I want to be one. But I'm not sure why. None of the answers that come to me are...well, me, if that makes sense." Izuku says, waving his hands over the city
"A hero without conviction goes nowhere."
"So does one with too much."
"What do you mean?"
"If someone cannot change, they cannot grow. If they cannot grow, they cannot improve. As such...I need conviction. But I don't know. I'll find my reason as I grow."
"Hmph. Sure kid."
"You think I don't have what it takes?"
"I do. But you don't have what it takes to be the top scorer in the exam."
"You think so?"
"Yes," Aizawa says simply
"Hm. You wanna make a bet?"
"What kind?"
"You owe me 1,000 yen if I go top 10, 5,000 if I top 5, and 10,000 if I go to the top."
"...Deal kiddo. What happens if I win?"
"I go outside the top 10, I give you 10,000."
"Heh. I like your spirit kid. You got it. Deal?"
"Deal," Izuku says, shaking Aizawa's hand.
"You're gonna owe some yen, kid."
"When hell freezes over."