First Step Forward
Mako looked at himself in his bedroom mirror, Ok Mako. First day back to school. he thought to himself as he made some small adjustments to his uniform. His tie was straightened, It's fine, you're just gonna go to class, keep your head down. And keep to yourself. he thought as he adjusted his hair coming it back with his hand. And Izuku even told you that everyone in class knows that I didn't have anything to do with d…..him. he thought. When he looked himself over, he smiled at himself, …..today is going to suck. he acknowledged.
It had been about two weeks since him and his dad fought one another, he had seen Izuku, Uraraka, and Iida a few days ago while he was still recovering. Recovery Girl actually dropped by the day before to do a final check up on him to see if he was sore or still hurting anywhere. After getting a clean bill of health from the school nurse, he was told that he was allowed to start attending school again.
And that news made his heart sink into his stomach, the news had been non-stop with reports on the fight and what it means for the world. The public only knew as much as the Public Safety Commission allowed them to believe, which was that Omni Man was a sleeper agent for his race of alien beings and that he was designated to take over the planet. And that Mako stood up to and against his dad, personally Mako was just fine with it all being that. He didn't want people to know all the horrible things that he said.
Walking out of his room, Mako adjusted the earpiece that Cecil had given him, it was similar to the ones that UA had used during the Faux Villain exercise, only this one had an unlimited battery life. "Hey mom, you need a lift to work? I'm heading for school." he offered as he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen area where his mom was at the dining room table with her laptop out with a number of files around her.
She looked over at him, "I'm fine sweetie. I'm…..we'll until things calm down, I think it's better if I just work from home for a while." she explained. Mako felt a pang of guilt ring through him, "I got you a lunch made though for your first day back, it's on the counter." she said, giving her son a small smile which Mako mirrored back before grabbing the paper bag off the counter.
"Thanks mom." he replied gratefully before walking to the balcony, "I'll be home after school unless Cecil calls." he told her before taking off from the deck and into the sky.
It didn't take long for Mako to arrive at school, when he did however, he once again saw a group of reporters at the gate of UA. Groaning to himself, Mako descended down and landed behind the school, quick enough to not be noticed by the reporters. Stopping above the ground, the air beneath him pushed out from under him before fully touching down on the ground. Mako took a deep breath, "Of course the press are here." he said to himself, pulling his phone out of his pocket he saw that he had another five minutes before class started. Normally he would already be inside the classroom talking with his friends, but the thought of passing through the crowd of students made him nervous.
"Ah! I see you arrived Young Metuki!" a chipper voice exclaimed, Mako turned his head to the sound of the voice, "Down here." he looked down to see the principal smiling at him welcomingly. He raised his paw up welcomingly, "I'm happy to see one of my students return after so long." he greeted warmly. Mako smiled a little at the principal's enthusiasm, he had only met Nezu once but he seemed nice…..well as far as he could tell on an animal.
"Mr. Nezu, hi…..um, sorry I landed back here I just…" his head towards the school in the direction of the front entrance.
The principal hummed, "No need to explain yourself. However I' hate for you to be late to class on your first day back, come along then." he said as he walked along with the young Viltrumite to the back door of the school. Entering the building, he was relieved to see no students outside of classes in the halls. As they walked through the school, the principal watched the young man walk beside him, his mind drifting back to the meeting that he and the other teachers had the day before.
Flashback: U.A. Conference Room
The Teachers of U.A. sat around a long oval table, each of them looking down at the medical report that Recovery Girl had given them, "I must admit I'm surprised that Mako Metuki is returning so soon." The Homeroom teacher for Class 2-B, Vlad King admitted. "When we first received the report of his injuries, Recovery Girl estimated it would take a few more weeks with her quirk to heal him." he said, turning to the school nurse who nodded as well.
"It would appear that young Mako's biology allows him to heal his wounds at an accelerated rate. No doubt another 'perk' from his father." she concluded. She turned her head to the seat beside her, "Speaking of resting, why you're up and about I have no idea. You should get some more rest before returning to teaching Aizawa." she said to the other hero course teacher.
Aizawa was covered in bandages, his arms were wrapped up in large cast that covered his hands and forearms completely. His face was also wrapped up as well with his hair and eyes being the only things visible, he looked over at her through his bandages, "I'm cleared by the hospital to attend as long as I don't do anything strenuous. It'd be a waste of my time to stand by at home just waiting to recover." he reasoned. Present Mic, sitting across from the teacher sighed as he muttered something about missing the point. "And right now my main concern is Mako." he said, looking down at the report.
"While he's recovered from the fight physically, it's his emotional and psychological state I'm worried bout." the R rated Heroine Midnight said with concern. Her blue yes looked over to Aizawa, "His father must have been counting on using the shock of his son discovering all of this at once as his best chance to win him over to his side." she reasoned as she looked back down at the report, the students had recounted what Omni Man had said to his son in the best detail that they could. And what she read made her sick to her stomach, "To say nothing of the trauma of having your own father beat you near death like this."
Aizawa nodded, "Not to mention what the news has been going on with non-stop. There's some talk of him secretly colluding with his father." he said.
Present Mic gawked at him, "Say what?!" he barked out.
"Apparently their reasoning is that he gave into his father's demands, and that's why Omni Man left." he explained the reasoning. "And frankly it's hard to dispute the claims without evidence. The GDA have the footage but they haven't sent any to us yet." he explained with a hint of spite in his tone before turning to All Might. The symbol of peace's skeletal form frowned as he held the report in his hands, "Which leads to the other problem with all of this, Cecil recruiting him."
Nezu nodded, "I understand your misgivings about the arrangement Aizawa, however Mako made the choice himself to agree to the offer."
"Mako is sixteen and still in school, and not to mention in a compromised state of mind right now. It's manipulation." he argued.
All Might's lips pursed together, "While that may be, I'm more concerned about the public." he began. "They're angry, rightfully so, but without Nolan captured that Blame falls unjustly onto his son. Him working with the GDA could be the only way to prove that he's not on the side of his father." he reasoned to the other teachers.
Cementos cupped his chin, "I suppose that could very well be the case. However what I found to be concerning is what the Safety Commission suggested while Mako was still recovering." he said, causing the other teachers in the room to collectively grimace. Part of the report contained what was an order to have Mako studied for any weaknesses that could be exploited for an eventual invasion of his people. "It makes me wonder what would have happened if Mako refused to cooperate with Cecil and the GDA."
All Might frowned at the implications of what the cement user was saying, "Do you believe they would have harmed Mako?" he asked bluntly.
Nezu folded his paws in front of his mouth, "I wouldn't put it past them with the justification of defending the world as their reasoning." he said knowingly. The principal's scar over his eye giving off a slight phantom pain, "Regardless, Young Mako will need our support in this trying time, we need to be a guiding force like with all our young hero course students. However we also must take care of his mental well being as well." he added.
Midnight looked over to Aizawa, "I'll talk to him but we can't order him to, he needs to feel no pressure to seek out help." she explained to his homeroom teacher.
Aizawa nodded, "In the meantime, I'll try and use some of my time with the press, assure the public that Young Mako isn't a threat." he added as well. The least he could do for his student was try and alleviate this wrongful superstition around him.
Nezu nodded, "Then we all agree, Mako must feel welcome at this school."
Now
Nezu now saw that they had their work cut out for them, Mako made his way towards his homeroom at a snail's pace. Careful as not to be seen by anyone, as they approached the door to Class 1-A, the principal saw the student swallow nervously. "Mr. Metuki, if I may?" he began, the Viltrumite turning his head to him curiously. "I just want you to know that the U.A. Faculty is here for you, if you need anything at all, feel free to ask." he said before bowing his head. "We failed to protect you during the USJ and after, you shouldn't have been put in the position you were. But despite that, you acted in a way befitting of a true hero, and for that I thank you for what you've done." he said, bowing to the student who was taken aback by the gesture.
The teen was stunned by the principal, it was the first time anyone had actually thanked him for doing what he had done. "I…thank you Principal Nezu…." he said, not sure what else he even could respond with. The principal nodded before walking down the hall, leaving Mako with the door to his class, taking a deep breath he readied himself. Come on Mako. If you can handle your dad beating your ass across the planet, you can handle your classmates. he thought to himself as he grabbed the door handle and opened it.
Slipping inside the room, the entire class stopped what they were doing and turned to him, Oh shit bad idea, BAD IDEA. he said, instantly regretting his decision. "Um…..Hi?"
"MAKO!" the entire class seemed to cheer before he was swarmed by everyone, all but pinning him against the door.
"Dude that was amazing! I mean you just-you stood up and-" Kirishima said, trying to quantify what he was saying before shaking his head in disbelief, "That was the manliest thing I've ever seen!" he finally said as Mina pushed him aside, more concern in her eyes then excitement.
"Are you ok? The last time we saw you, you got punched through the building…..again…." she said, trailing off as she recalled that wasn't the first time he had been knocked through the dome of the USJ.
Shojis arms lifted above the crowd, one forming a mouth while the other formed an eye to look at him, "We saw on the news that the fight took you all the way to the other side of the world." he explained.
Kaminari gave him a nervous look, "You ok man?" he asked.
Mako felt overwhelmed, and everyone swarming him at once was not helping, "Everyone!" Momo said loudly, causing them all to stop and turn to her, "I understand you all have questions but Mako just walked in the door. We should all give him a moment before we ask him anything, and that's if he's willing to talk about it." she said sternly to everyone. The group collectively winced at their error, each of them muttering an apology to Mako.
The teen breathed out in relief as the others parted and let him walk over to his desk beside Izuku, his friend giving him a look of pity. "Thanks….I uh…..I'm not really sure I want to get into….well….detail about things." he said truthfully to the others who didn't take their eyes off him. His classmates l nodded understandingly with a few verbal confirmations, "Thanks…I just…..this is…."
Tsu shook her head, "You don't need to talk about anything you don't want to. Kero." she croaked supportively.
Mineta leaned up from his seat, "Speak for yourself! I want to know how he already looks good as new!" he said, earning a slap upside the head from the frog girl's tongue.
"Oh, well I apparently just heal fast…..I was…I was pretty messed up but I just needed some minor surgery to make sure everything was going to heal alright." he explained, his hand going to his chest as he recalled how sore it was to breathe for a time. "But I'm fine now." he assured.
Iida nodded, "That's good to hear, you seemed still hurt when we went to visit you." he said observantly.
He looked across the class, "Yeah. Do you guys know about….well, my arrangement?" he asked, Cecil said that he could clear it with the school. So he assumed that he wouldn't need to keep it secret from his classmates since they would naturally ask why he had to leave.
Sero nodded, "Yeah! You're a GDA agent now! That's super cool dude!" he praised.
Jiro tilted her head, "I'm kind of curious why you'd even bother to still go to school though? I mean a lot of Pros would kill to get a job like that." she asked. Mako frowned, that was something he didn't consider, he had basically skipped ahead to the point where some heroes strived to get to. However he shook those thoughts aside, No. I earned this, and if I didn't then I'm going to. he thought before answering, "I still got a lot to learn. If I just dropped out of school now and later I don't work for the GDA? I'm kind of screwed." he reasoned.
Sato scratched his head, "I guess that makes sense." he admitted.
"So what's been going on here? I just finished my schoolwork last night but Izuku and the others didn't have a ton of time to fill me in on everything." he asked.
Mina shrugged, "Not much honestly, Thirteen is going to be ok and is going to reschedule our rescue exercise. But we haven't seen Aizawa since-" she began before the door opened. The entire class gawked at the sight of Aizawa in the doorway, his head and arms still wrapped in bandages like a mummy.
"Good morning." he greeted to the class as he approached his desk.
Iida raised a hand, "Glad to see you doing well Sensei!" he greeted.
Behind him, Uraraka looked at their teacher in disbelief, "You call that doing well?" she asked.
Mako winced slightly, I mean I know I was messed up from the fight but man at least I got out sooner. he thought on a positive note.
"My well being isn't important. And your next challenge is coming up." he said, making Mako's stomach drop for a moment. "The U.A. Sports festival is approaching." he explained, causing the class along with Mako to let out a collective sigh of relief.
Jiro however looked somewhat uncomfortable, "Hold on, are we sure we should be doing this? I mean we just had a villain attack and…" she trailed off as she glanced at Mako. "…and stuff." she finished.
Oh yeah, not to mention the possibility of my dad or another Viltrumite coming to Earth. Mako thought dryly. Allen had assured him that even with how his dad could traverse space, the fact that he had to hold his breath severely limited the distance he could cover while flying. Not to mention the fact that his father abandoned his post made Allen think that he might not even go to Viltrum. But still, there was a threat there, and it wasn't like he could ignore it.
"I understand why you're worried. But the sports festival is a way to demonstrate that U.A.'s crisis management protocols are sound…that's the thinking apparently." he said honestly. Mako frowned, the security protocols didn't stop a villain from infiltrating the school or attacking the USJ. "However we're also beefing up security compared to last year's, there'll be five times the police presence, and hundreds of pro heroes in attendance. And besides this is the greatest opportunity for you students that you'll get, it's not an event that'll be easily cancelled."
Mako looked down with a forlorn smile, he and Izuku watched the sports festival every year at his house. They'd get snacks, order some food, and watch the students of U.A. compete to get the top spot. It was almost like those old sport movies how everyone would watch people play sports without quirks, Competing in the festival….can't believe that never crossed my mind. he thought.
"Naturally, you'll gain experience and popularity if your picked up by a big-name pro. However time is limited, as you'll only be able to compete in your three years here." he explained.
Mako hummed, Experience…he thought to himself.
Thankfully for Mako, things progressed smoothly for him into fourth period of the day before lunch. The rest of the class showed various degrees of excitement over the prospect of the sports festival. "I'm gonna do my best!" Uraraka declared with an unexpectedly intense energy. Mako stood next to Izuku in surprise as they watched their friend turn on her heel to her other classmates and declare, "I said I'm gonna do my best!" she said with just as much intensity.
Mako leaned over to his friend, "Any idea what's up with that?" he asked, Uraraka was one of the more relaxed people in the class. Seeing her like this was like someone flicked a switch in her brain, Izuku shook his head just as shocked as his friend. Making their way out of the classroom with his trio of friends, Mako saw Bakugo look at him out the corner of his eye. Usually this would be accompanied by a sneer or dismissive look, but instead when he turned the blonde simply turned away to Kirishima. Huh….well I'll take what I can get. he thought as they walked down the stairs.
"Hey um…Uraraka, can I ask you something?" he asked his female friend, who nodded, "Um…why did you come to U.A. to be a hero?" he asked, causing his friend to turn ridged as they reached the lower floor. The three others noticed her change in demeanor and stopped as she nervous laughed.
"I…well…..if you must know….it's….well…..I'm kind of…..broke." she said nervously.
Izuku blinked, "Wait, for money?!" he asked in perplexing.
She rubbed the back of her head, "I mean If you want to cut to the chase then yeah." she admitted before raising her hand and shaking it embarrassingly to her friends, "I'm sorry it being such a petty reason! And it's really embarrassing considering why you guys want to be heroes." she admitted, her face blushing.
"Not at all! You're trying to look out for your well being, there's nothing wrong with that." Iida dismissed with his arms chopping up for emphasis.'
Mako nodded, "Yeah I mean it's a profession, getting paid is part of why people try to be pros in the first place. I mean you've seen my place." he reasoned with a small smile, finding it somewhat endearing that Uraraka wanted to do this for such a normal reason.
The brunette's hands brushed through her hair uncomfortably, "Don't mention it to anyone else please?" she asked, "My family has a construction company but business hasn't been the best lately." she explained embarrassingly.
Iida and Izuku cupped their chins thoughtfully, "Construction huh?" Iida hummed.
"I bet you could bring down a lot of costs if you were allowed to use your quirk to help move heavy machinery." Izuku assumed.
Uraraka pointed at them excitedly, "I know right?! That's what I said to my dad when I was little kid!" she exclaimed, glad that someone else saw the potential just sitting there on the table. Her head tilted to the side as a thoughtful expression crossed her face, "But…" she trailed off. "My ma and pa want me to think of myself first. Which is sweet and all but….I want to be a hero so that I'll make enough money so they have easier lives." she explained simply.
Iida clapped his hands together in praise while Mako's thoughts went inward, it didn't sound selfish at all to him. He wanted to do the same for his mom after all she's gone through after all. "Young Midroiya! Is here!" the group of friends all shot up at attention at Al Might's booming voice, the teacher leaning out from around the corner. "Ah! Young Mako as well! Perfect!" he noticed.
The students were all surprised by their teacher's sudden appearance but Izuku was the first to speak, "All Might? What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Lunch." He replied simply before raising a small packed lunch, "Wanna eat with me?"
Normally, Mako would laugh just like Uraraka was, but he did feel his lips twitch at the very least. "And Young Mako." he said as he walked over and approached the young man. He looked up to see All Might lift a hand and lay it down on his shoulder. "Thank you for what you did. You showed courage where few would." he praised, Mako looked down with a frown. "I understand that this might be a challenging time for you, and if you wish to talk with someone, Midnight has offered her ear to bend should you ever need anything." he offered.
Mako looked up at him, "I…..thanks All Might." he said gratefully.
All Might nodded, and as the symbol of peace walked off, Izuku turned back and gave him a supportive smile that he didn't return. As they walked off, Mako and his friends made their way towards the lunch room, Mako's own packed lunch in hand, "Wonder why All Might invited Deku to eat with him?" Uraraka asked cruirously.
Iida raised a stiff hand, "It could be that he wishes to discuss Midoriya's quirk?" he guessed as they reached the cafeteria, "Asui said it herself, they have similar powers." he reasoned.
"Yeah I guess that….huh?" Uraraka began until she noticed something, it was dead quiet in the cafeteria. Turning away from Iida, she saw that everyone was looking at their direction….or more specifically, right at Mako. The Viltrumite swallowed nervously, this was exactly what he was afraid of but even worse, everyone in the entire school knew. His eyes scanned the room for an empty seat and saw a booth where he could sit, walking away from Iida and Uraraka to spare them the stares as well, he made his way over and sat down.
He could hear the people behind his seat shuffle away, across the room, the other members of class 1-A watched all this unfold in disbelief. "Seriously?" Kirishima asked in a whisper to Shoji, Mina, and Tooru who he sat with.
"I can't believe that they let him back here." Kirishima turned to the voice and saw a few students huddled together looking at Mako. "I know! I mean you saw what he and his dad did! They should kick him out!" one said.
Kirishima slid his seat out, but Mina's hand on his shoulder stopped him, he looked at her in disbelief, "Seriously?! I mean those guys can't just talk about him like that!" he hissed.
Mina's face was scrunched up, "I know but you can't just start something over it either!" she whispered back.
"He's a total freak, I mean he's not even human." another student whispered. A few tables away, Jiro wished she had plugged her earphone jacks into something before starting to eat with Momo. "I mean his dad got away! What kind of guy in the hero course would let that happen?"
"Look at him, he's totally fine too! I bet he just made a deal or something."
Mako tried to focus on his lunch, his mom had packed his favorite, Grilled Cheese, "They should have locked him up and thrown away the key." tater tots, "Should we get a teacher? I mean I don't feel safe with that guy here." a small ice cream sandwich, "Guy shouldn't even be breathing, let alone walking around."
…..screw this. Mako decided, abruptly standing up, the entire cafeteria froze as he marched his way out the room as the head chief, Lunch Rush, walked out from behind the counter where he was serving the students. Before he could stop him, Mako brushed past him out of the cafeteria.
The lunch hero turned to the room as a whole, "In this room, I do not tolerate harassment of any kind. I understand all of you are nervous but that gives you all NO excuse whatsoever to talk about another student in such a way." he said harshly.
"But Lunch Rush-!"
"No! He is allowed to eat here just as much as any of you are. and if this happens again? There will be no specials for anyone for the next day! Understood?" he asked loudly. The students mumbled out some form of agreement, thought the extent of which they took it seriously varied.
Mako meanwhile landed on top of the school's roof, his bag beside him as he ate his food, his eyes red as he tried his best not to shed tears. I should have just done this to begin with. he thought to himself, Man what was I even thinking? That everyone was just going to be ok with me after what my dad did? he asked himself as he took a bite of his food. As he ate his lunch, the fear of going back inside and having to deal with that again made him loose his appetite. Screw this. he decided as he tapped the communicator in his ear, "Cecil? You there?" he asked.
"Mako? Yeah, what is it?" Cecil asked from the other end of the line.
The teen's head bowed in embarrassment, "Look uh…is there anything you need me to do? Like anything at all? I don't care how big or small it is." he asked, trying his hardest to not sound desperate for a way out of school for the rest of the day.
He heard Cecil sigh from the other end, "No kid….sorry." he said, "I know first day back must be rough and all-"
"Don't….don't sweat it Cecil, I understand I was just checking in…sorry to bother you." he interrupted before hanging up. Well that's a new level of humiliating. he thought as he ran his hands back through his hair. When's a supervillain when I need one? he asked himself as he gathered up his lunch bag and crumpled it up. Flying off the roof and down to the window of the empty class room he slipped out of. He tossed the bag in the wastebin of the room as he walked out into the hall.
"Mako?" the teen jumped at the voice and turned to see Midnight with a tray of food in her hands, "Isn't it your lunch period? What are you doing out here in the hall?" she asked.
Midnight, commonly known as the 'R-rated heroine', gotten that name from her provocative clothing, mainly a skintight white body suit with a black corset and stockings she wore over them. Along with the handcuffs hanging off each of her wrists like bracelets, when Izuku first saw her Mako nearly asked if he needed to go see the nurse with how red his face was. However the heroine wasn't exposing her attractive assets, she instead looked at him with concern, "I….um….just finished eating." he said, not completely lying but not telling the full story either.
The heroine looked at him with concern, and he felt himself deflate, "I….I just couldn't eat there…with everyone talking." he admitted.
The teacher's body tensed but her expression was calm, "I see…would you like to talk about it?" she asked.
Mako remembered what All Might said to him before lunch, how she offered to talk to him if he needed it. Obviously it was some sort of counseling thing, "I…I don't know, I don't want to ruin your lunch." he said, looking down at the tray of food she had.
"Oh nonsense, I can eat while we talk." she said welcomingly with a warm smile. Mako looked at her unsurely, "We don't need to talk if you don't want to, but I also don't think you want to be completely alone." she reasoned.
Mako sighed, "I…..ok….." he agreed before following her down the hall.
The two soon arrived in a conference room with a small table between the two couches which they both sat on respectively, "Sorry again for interrupting your lunch." he apologized as Midnight ate a spoonful of pudding.
She shook her head, "Don't be, I'd just be at my desk in the office looking over schoolwork if you hadn't shown up." she said dismissively. Her head dropped a little, "You kids will be surprised just how much paperwork you need to do for hero work." she said depressingly. Mako recalled his mom at home with her stacks of paperwork she needed to get done, she had also been responsible for most of her dad's paperwork with the GDA but she didn't really cover much of the heroics stuff, the GDA took care of that.
"So what was your lunch today?" she asked casually.
"Grilled Cheese, tater tots, and ice cream sandwich." he answered, the teacher stopping mid-bite for her face to scrunch up. "What?" he asked.
"That doesn't sound remotely healthy for you." she replied simply.
Mako snorted, the last thing he would expect someone like Midnight to say would be something….motherly. "Yeah well….fitness isn't much of a problem for me I guess." he said.
"You can't live among these frail things, you'll live for THOUSANDS of years." his father's words echoed in his head.
Midnight noticed the shift in the student's demeanor, "I suppose not…." she said. Mako closed his eyes and let out air through his nose, waiting for her to follow up with a question. However when it never came, he looked up and saw that she continued to eat, noticing his confusion, she swallowed before explaining, "I told you Mako, we don't have to talk about anything your not comfortable with." she reiterated.
The Vilturmite craned his head back and rubbed his neck, "That's kind of the problem, I don't….I don't know what I'm comfortable with." he admitted.
The teacher slowly nodded in understanding, "So you're not sure what's acceptable for you to talk about? Or are you not sure if you should?" she asked.
His lips pressed together firmly, his eyes darting away unsurely, "I…..I don't even know if I should call him my 'dad' anymore." he admitted. "I mean he lied about….everything. About caring for my mom, about who he was, and all that he did…..he's a monster…and…" he trailed off. He glanced back at Midnight, he thought she would be urging him to go on, but instead he saw that she was patiently waiting for him. "…..when I was nine. I wasn't allowed to play with the other kids at school because I didn't have any powers. I didn't cry about it or anything, but my mom could tell I was upset."
Midnight smiled a little, "That's something most parents can do."
"And then my dad comes home that night, he asks me how my day was. I tell him it was fine, but he just looks at me and says, 'Mako…you know you can tell me anything? Right?' and then I just tell him about what happened…..you know what he did?" he asked Midnight, who shook her head. "That night he took me flying, it was the first time we ever did that. I was so excited and by the time I got home? I was just buzzing." he said, a phantom smile crossing his face as he remembered. "I crashed and he put me to bed…and I got a hundred memories like that. Of him….being my dad…..but now…..I can't even think of those without remembering what he did to me." he said, recalling the sight of his father's fists slamming down onto him in the mountainside.
Midnight pushed her tray aside, "Mako that's completely natural. For all your life he was that man, those feelings of trust? Of love? Those aren't easy to separate from someone who did something so wrong." she explained sympathetically. Mako's hands locked together in front of him, his fingers knitting together, "I don't think anyone should expect you to separate your feelings on him right away. It can take people time to do so, you need to set your own pace for recovering." she told him.
He scoffed, "I got time for it." he said sarcastically.
Midnight frowned sadly, "Ah….yes, your father mentioned your lifespan…."
Mako nodded, "I mean…god I don't even think I can imagine living that long…or how I can even be friends with people when…." he thought of Izuku, his best friend laying in bed old and withered while he didn't look much older than he did right now.
Midnight was quiet for a moment before speaking, "You may not know this, but there are some quirks that elongate people's lifespans drastically. There's one in the United States whose over 250 years old." she explained to him, making Mako's eyes widening. "Just because your father reacted a certain way to his lifespan, doesn't mean it's the only way Mako." she told him
Mako once again looked down, it wasn't just Izuku he had to wonder about, what about someone he grew close to? Someone he cared about? He didn't want to become like how his dad saw his mother, like some sort of pet….that was just wrong. "Mako, I'm sorry but your next class starts soon. But I'd be fine talking with you more later." she said hopefully.
Mako looked up at her, "I….thanks Ms. Midnight, I think…..I don't think I can talk much more today. But….soon?" he asked. She nodded immediately, "Thank you."
Mako really wished that things could have gone back to normal towards the end of the day…..he really wished they would.
But when a gigantic crowd of students blocked off the hall of the classroom, Mako feared the worst, Oh god is this a lynch mob?! he thought as he tried to shrink into his seat as Uraraka gawked at the number of people at the door.
"What's going on here?!" Mineta asked as Bakugo walked past him with his hands stuffed into his pocket.
"Isn't it obvious? They're scouting out the competition small-fry." he said as he walked past the shocked grape haired boy. "We're the class who survived a villain attack. Makes sense they'd want a look before the school festival." he rationalized. Mako looked up from his desk and breathed out a sigh of relief. "NOW MOVE OUTTA THE WAY YOU SIDE CHARACTERS!" He yelled at the crowd.
Mako and Izuku both facepalmed at their classmate's behavior, "It's his world, we're just living in it." Mako said sarcastically.
"While it's true we came to get a look at you, but you sure are modest." A sarcastic voice said from the crowd. Mako lowered his hand and saw a student he didn't recognize with wild purple hair with bags under his eyes. "Are all the students in Class 1-A like this? Gotta say, I'm kind of disappointed if that's the case." he said, causing Bakugo's entire body to stiffen in anger while Mako and Izuku's jaws dropped.
"…..I am….so glad….I came to school today to see this." Mako said.
"Those of us who didn't make the hero course are stuck in general studies and other tracks. But depending on how well students do in the sports festival? They might consider transferring us to the hero course." he said, shocking the class with the information. "And as I understand, the opposite is also possible." he added, the entire class swallowing as they recalled Aizawa's threat of expulsion on the first day of school. "For a general studies student like me? Consider this a declaration of war. This will be the perfect chance to knock you down a peg." he challenged before walking off into the crowd.
Mako stood from his seat and looked at Izuku, "You think it's gonna be like this every year?" he asked.
"Wait! He's not going to compete is he?" one of the students asked, pointing to Mako who turned to the crowd.
"Why the hell should he be allowed to! It's his fault for everything!" another student exclaimed. Izuku's expression became shell shocked at what he heard, he looked back at his friend whose lips where pursed together and his eyes were downcast. "Freak shouldn't even be here at the school!"
Izuku turned to the crowd of students, this was just like middle school for them only a hundred times worse…..back then, Mako would always dispute or dismiss whatever was tossed their way insult wise. But this was completely different, they were blaming him for something he almost died trying to stop! "Hey! That's not true!" he exclaimed, Mako and the other students turning to him in shock, "I-I-I know what happened is horrible, but I was there! Mako was trying to save people, he stood up to his dad. And-and….if you weren't there, then you have no right to judge him!" he sputtered out.
Mako stared at his friend in disbelief, "Izuku…"
Mina leaned over to Tsu, "Woah…the little church mouse roars." she said, the frog girl nodding in agreement.
"He's right!" Kirishima chimed in, "The guy risked his life for us, for everyone, so if you got a problem with Mako? You got one with me!" he declared as he stepped in front of Mako.
Iida stepped to the door as well, "While we don't know everything about what transpired that day, we know without a shadow of a doubt that Mako is no more to blame for what happened that day than any of us." he defended. Jiro crossed her arms as she and Momo stood as well, Mako looked around at everyone in bafflement, soon Most of Class 1-A stood between him and the crowd of people outside their room.
"Your blocking the halls." a familiar voice to the class said outside, causing all the students outside to turn and see Aizawa, wrapped in bandages stalking down the hall. "Move." he said, his eyes glowing beneath his bandages as his hair shot up, scaring the students into dispersing in the blink of an eye. The teacher looked inside his classroom to see that most of his students were scared stiff of him, "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the USJ incident has attracted the attention of the rest of the school." he said before shuffling past the classroom.
Izuku breathed out before turning his head back to Mako, he gave him a smile. But he didn't give in back, instead he simply walked past him and everyone else, a hopeless expression carved onto his face. "I don't know how long I can take this." he said aloud as he walked out of the class.
"Mako…" Izuku began before his friend walked out without another word.
While he appreciated what his friends had done, it didn't change what those other students thought. In fact it didn't really change much at all, they were still going to hate him. All they knew now was that his classmates stood by him, I was right….today sucked. he thought as he continued out the rear door of the school he entered from before taking off into the sky.
Mako had taken a scenic route home, trying to give himself some time to recover from the whole day he had. He had considered flying by I-Island to visit Melissa, but dismissed the idea once he messaged her and she replied that she was going to be busy and apologized. But he just replied that it was fine, he wasn't going to bother her just because his day was awful. God what I wouldn't give for something to just distract me from all this crap today. he thought as he landed on the deck of his home.
Looking over the railing he saw there were still people gathered at the entrance of the apartment building, "Would it be wrong of me to get some eggs and drop it on all of them?" he asked himself as he walked to his home. "Hey mom, sorry I'm late I just-" he began before he could hear sobbing. Looking up he saw his mom on the ground in front of the table! "MOM!" he exclaimed, tossing his bag across the room and zooming over to her side, "A-Are you hurt?!" he asked as he lifted his mom up by her shoulders gently as he could.
When she sat upright, he saw the tears streaming down her face, "Ugh, oh Mako….I was making dinner and…..I was making dinner for three…" she sniffled. Mako looked up to the table and saw she had set out three plates with a bottle of wine. Mako felt his heart ache, the problems of his day seeming tiny compared to his mom's. "I…I forgot he was gone…" she sobbed, tears coming out once more.
"Oh mom…it's ok, I'm here….I'm here." he said, wrapping his arms around her as she continued to sob.
"Wh-why did you have to fight him Mako….why did you have to drive him away?"
Mako's eyes snapped open, that sentence was like a dagger to his heart, his eyes began to water but he shut them tight, refusing to let himself get upset. "…..come on mom….lets get you to bed." he urged. Gently helping his mom to her feet as she hiccupped between sobs. Leading her up the stairs to her room, she wobbled along the way but her son was there to make sure she didn't fall. Reaching her room, he pulled the covers down and helped her into bed before throwing them over her, his mother curling around the blankets. "I'll…..I love you mom." he said as he stood from the bed and walked to the door and turning off the light, shutting it behind him.
His back hit the door and he slid down to the floor, his hands covering his face.
He sat there for a few moments, gathering himself until he finally stood up, he sighed before floating over the railing and landing in the kitchen, gather up the plates and glasses he put them in the dishwasher before going to the bottle of wine and placing it back in the cupboard where the others were.
Retrieving his backpack, he floated up to his room and closed the door behind him before changing into his more casual clothing and crashing on his bed. Hey god? It's me, Mako. Anything else you want to throw at me today? How about an asteroid from Viltrum that everyone will blame me for? Huh? You got one of those? No? he thought sarcastically. His phone chimed and he groaned, "Great, now what?" he asked himself before pulling it out and seeing a message from Izuku.
[Izuku: Hey, U want to talk?]
Mako set his phone against his chest, out of everyone in the entire world, there was no one he trusted more than Izuku…..and if he couldn't talk to him? There was no one.
[Mako: Know somewhere we can meet?]
[Izuku: Degobah Beach. Remember? Where I trained?]
Mako sat up in his bed and reached into his bag for some paper and a pencil before he wrote out a message for his mom.
'Hey mom, it's Mako. I just want you to know I went to go talk with Izuku, if I'm not back by the time you read this I'll be back soon. I love you.'
Exiting his room, he walked over to his mom's and slipped the paper so just the top of it peeked out from the outside. Throwing his shoes on, he stepped out onto the deck of his home once again and shot up into the sky before taking off towards the coast, flying through the clouds and high above the sprawling city below him. Within twenty minutes he was at the beach….or he thought he was, "I thought you said Degobah beach, this place is….clean." he noted as he descended down from the sky.
When he had been here months ago, Izuku had set about cleaning a section of the beach up, but there was no….way….that….
Mako turned his head from side to side, "Wait a second, you mean this is actually-" he began, his friend nodding. "And you-" he asked, pointing at his friend, who simply nodded again. Mako looked out to the sea, not a spec of garbage to be seen. "Holy shit….that's the second most amazing thing I've seen this week." he admitted, recalling the White Room that Cecil had shown him.
Izuku's face flushed as he pressed his fingers together, "Oh! Um….thanks Mako." he said gratefully.
His friend turned back to him, "Yeah….um…speaking of thanks….earlier when you spoke up that…that meant a lot man." he said gratefully.
Izuku looked up from his hands with a timid smile, "Really?" he asked, "It's just that….earlier you said…." he asked, recalling how downtrodden his friend seemed earlier.
Mako looked down at the sand, "Look I apricate it but…..it's not going to change anything. I mean those people are still going to hate me." he said sadly.
Izuku's brow creased, "They don't-I mean….they're scared Mako and…." he began.
"I know I don't blame them for that but as far as they're concerned? My dad tried to take over the world and just ran away after killing thousands of people…" he replied bluntly. Izuku frowned, "…..this might be the worst day of school I've ever had." he admitted before sitting down in the sand. Izuku walked over and took a seat beside him, the two looking out into the ocean.
Silence hung in the air until Mako took a deep breath, "I….I talked with Midnight today." he admitted, "It helped, talking to someone and….it didn't solve all my problems but…I figure if I can't talk to my best friend who can I talk to?" he asked. He looked over at Izuku out the corner of his eye and found his friend smiling at him, he looked back ahead, "Izuku…..I'm going to live for a long time…..and I don't know how to deal with it." he admitted.
His friend's mouth became a thin line, "Yeah….I know…." he answered. "Are you scared?" he asked.
Mako shook his head, "No….scared isn't right….it's more just…anxious I guess." he admitted. He turned his head directly to his friend, "I mean…what's the point of having people in my life if I'm just…" he trailed off as he turned back towards the sea.
The green haired inheritor tucked his knees in and rested his chin on them, "I mean…I think the point is to be happy." he replied. Mako looked at him, "I mean you might live longer, sure, but that doesn't really change anything. Just because something will eventually happen doesn't mean you need to always think about it." he reasoned. "I mean…eventually Earth won't even be here anymore. Are you worried about that?" he asked.
Mako shook his head, "Then I think it's like that, you shouldn't worry about it until you have to….and…..I'll always be your friend Mako…..always." he affirmed, giving his friend a smile. Mako felt his throat tighten as wetness gathered in his eyes, shocking Izuku by the sight, "Mako-" he began. He didn't think he had ever seen Mako cry, he would poke fun of him being a crybaby with how much he did but Mako?
"I…I miss him….." he admitted quietly. "God how….how screwed up is that? I miss him, after everything he's done I…." he covered his face with his hand as Izuku reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "God….you know what my mom asked me? She asked me why I had to fight him and drive him off….." he said, Izuku felt like he had been punched in the gut by the revelation. "And I don't….I've been telling myself the same thing…because I miss him…"
Izuku opened his mouth and closed it, what could he possibly say? Mako wiped the tears out of his eyes, "And today! If you thought the end was bad? You should have been there at lunch….I just….left." he told, his hands balling into fists. "God I wanted to….Part of me wanted to knock those people's heads off! I just….." he shook his head.
"They're wrong Mako." Izuku insisted, "Give it some time, after you start helping people? They'll see that you're a hero!" he encouraged.
He shook his head, "Maybe eventually but….that sports festival is in two weeks. And we're going to have to compete against other students in a stadium filled to the brim with pros! And you know what they're going to do when they see me? The same exact thing that happened today." he argued.
Izuku blinked in surprise, "Mako….what are you saying?" he asked.
"I'm saying screw that. I'm skipping this stupid sports festival."
AN: So….yeah this chapter is the two in the one-two emotional gut punch.
There's not really any action in this chapter obviously, to be honest I'm a little actioned out after the double dose of fights with Omni man, All Might, Mako, and the Nomu. But don't worry! There'll be some coming up soon! Also I can't tell you guys how excited I am to be progressing, especially for people who are just fans of the show and don't know what's coming yet!
And Kali's obviously going through as much as if not more than Mako, I mean the man she knew and loved for over 20 years not only was a mass murder, but saw her as nothing more than a pet.
Now then, onto reviews!
Maelstrom Resurrected: Well you kinda got your answer here so….yay!
S3rp3nte: Oh we got way worse things to come, just wait. And the guardians I have in mind are actually from the Invicible Universe comic. And seriously did people miss that Robot was in this already?
D3lph0xL0v3r: I'll admit when I was writing that part out I thought the same thing, and yeah Nolan becomes one of the most developed characters in the entire invicible series.
For'Sleepy: I don't want to go too much into it, but I will just say that viltrumites value power in all forms. Not just physical, but what they bring to the table as something that's subjugated to them. And I put it pretty clear before but I'll say it again, you can't steal Viltrumite power. It's got to do with genetics. I mean you can't take it from a viltrumite or anything.
Austin: See we're never really clear on what the cutoff was for the culling, I'd assume children are given a pass. And in terms of other superheroes? Omni man and Viltrumites get trounced by other species, easy. I mean Goku can blow up hald a galaxy if he wanted and superman has a much more wide array of strength and powers.
KingBanna: Exactly, the line I used is ripped straight from the comic. And, no spoilers, but you'll see why it's phrased like that. It's not something that can be stolen, it can be only GIVEN.
Ezequiel Monster: Buddy you've sent this message like….three times and it's kind of answered by the story now. Sorry I don't know what else to say.
Sarcasm Sag 626: Thanks! But there are only eight episodes in season 1, not ten. Still I'm glad you enjoyed it, I feel like this is the aftermath expanded, like we see more of the fallout from what happened but it's more of how Mako deals with everything. And I also wanted Kali to not be alone, in the comic she doesn't really have any friends outside of Art so I felt that giving her some people to lean on would be good for her.
And Mako's somewhat hesitant to get involved with Melissa understandably, part of it is explored here, Mako's kind of immortal, and the only relationship he can compare it to is the one his mom and dad had which….turned sour.
Cecil is a really cool character in invicible and I can't wait for more of him in the show. Though Empathetic isn't a word I'd use to describe him, he's more just kind of a realist.
Guest 2: I don't know, I mean his entire thing is getting someone riled up to try and hit them so he can copy their quirk…but actually that might be why he's nice to Mako since he's got nothing to steal.
Iskandar Svengali: Yeah the Nomu thing I'm actually really proud of. And David is more just surpised that there was something designed to kill his friend.
Guest: Hoenstly I don't know? I've never had a story taken down due to rating, but then again I've never gotten like ultra detailed with gore. And if your afraid of it getting taken down here? Cross post it on Ao3 like I do with this one.