27/08/2022

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The Emperor's Dragon
Emergence 2

Hey Mei, did your school do Career selection early, like mine? Izuku sent the question to the teen in Kyoto.

He wished he could send it to Himiko, since she was a year above him but when they'd had to transfer his phone details after the Heroes found them her number had been corrupted and he hadn't been able to contact her since then. He hoped she didn't think he'd abandoned her.

He'd ask Inasa as well but… He already knew the other teen was being sponsored into a hero course, so it really didn't matter if they'd done career selection. And it wasn't like whatever you put down now had any real impact. It all depended on your entrance exam scores as to what High School you got into. He just didn't know why everyone wanted to be a hero?

Yes.

It was terrible.

Everyone said they wanted to be a hero, Mei sent back to him.

Izuku smiled at her reaction. I really wish schools would tell students the stats about becoming a hero, he replied.

Definitely, First, she replied. But the way the TV goes on, and everything else, it makes it seem as if everyone is a Hero.

Only one in a thousand, he sent back.

And most of them completely unknown.

Izuku chuckled. He knew what she was implying. Most kids had delusions of being a hero like All Might. Well known, popular and famous.

Most heroes were like Exodus. He was ranked 803, which actually meant he was more well known than most heroes. So perhaps, Izuku should say they were like Cascade. She was a recent graduate from sidekick to hero in Hokkaido. No one had heard of her. She wasn't an underground hero, but she certainly wasn't going to be famous.

Why do people want to be heroes? He sent the question but he wasn't really expecting an answer.

Fame

Money

Popularity

Stupid preconceptions

Stupidity

Social expectation

Wanting to help people

Pick one

Mei wrote back quickly, sending a message with each of her answers. Don't pick the last one. Not many want to do it for that reason.

Except that's the reason you should be a hero, Izuku sent back.

Yeah, but people focus on the pay and popularity. If they really want to help people then they become underground heroes.

It was a surprisingly serious answer for his friend. She was usually much more flippant. Well… not flippant, but focused on creating her inventions.

What did you put down? I know the choice isn't set in stone but what did you put down? He asked. He was curious because he knew Mei would not have put down Hero.

Support specialist, came her reply.

Even though he was somewhat expecting it, Izuku still felt hurt by the answer.

Why was everything related to heroics?

Most of my babies are going to be best as support items, Mei explained without prompting. If I want to sell them, then I'm going to have to be a support specialist, she told him.

Izuku sighed. It made sense, even if he didn't like it. And besides, he'd get profit from everything she sold. That would be good.

What High School did you nominate?

UA. They have the best support course.

He nodded at the answer, aware that she wouldn't see the gesture. Of course, my business partner has to go to the best school, he sent back. He'd seen her babies. He still had some of them, and while they worked, they weren't always reliable. Except for the one thing he owned outright from her. That worked perfectly. He paid for it to be tested beyond everything else.

What did you put down?

He looked at her question. He wanted to be able to say that he was going to support his dad but… He just wasn't sure.

His dad had said he needed to work out his doubts, and up until Dad had said that, Izuku would have said he didn't have doubts. But the instant his dad had said it, he'd felt them crowd him. It had been easier when he knew what was expected and now… he didn't know what he wanted to do.

He thought he wanted to follow his dad but… He wasn't sure.

Researcher, Izuku replied. But I really don't know, he added.

You'll be good at anything, First, Mei reassured him.

It felt nice in a way that she could reassure him, but she'd only ever met him once and then only briefly. They'd talked lots over messages but how much of him did she really know? He pushed that away. Mei was a friend. She knew enough, and if she didn't know something, it was because he'd chosen not to tell her, so it wasn't her fault if she didn't know.

What did Space Girl and Control Freak put down?

Those were Mei's joke names for Ochaco and Hitoshi based on their quirks. She'd promised to make them support gear regardless of what they did, the same way as she made him gear when he really wanted it. The first thing she'd ever made for him, just for him and not his dad, a sunlight suit was awesome. It was a vest he could wear under his clothes and it released light like sunlight directly onto his skin. With Solar Force he then converted it to energy. It wasn't as good as an energy stockpile quirk but it was useful. Solar Force gave him a boost, enough to take the edge of tiredness but it wasn't a full energy replacement quirk.

Rescue hero and- Izuku stopped typing. Hitoshi actually hadn't said what he put down. I'm not sure, he admitted to Mei.

So Control Freak did that stealth thing where he participates but doesn't tell you?

Izuku could hear the laugh in her voice. Hitoshi was good at keeping information to himself when he wanted. It wasn't that he wouldn't tell you, it was just he didn't share unless you outright asked him. I'll ask him tomorrow, Izuku sent back.

She'll be a good rescue hero, Mei told him.

He wasn't sure what he felt at that. Ochaco will be a great hero, he told her. He meant it. His friend would be a great hero. She was bright and outgoing, exactly what people needed to see if they were going to be rescued. She would be calm under pressure and he just knew her quirk would be so useful! You didn't even have to think about it to come up with uses! Not like you had to with some heroes. Ochaco would be able to step out from day one and be useful in the field.

But… But… it felt like she was betraying him.

At least, that's what Izuku wanted to say. He knew that wasn't the truth.

She'll still be your friend, Mei said. And we can give her an exclusive contract if you want, she added.

He smiled at that. Mei was almost always thinking of business. It was kind of charming. Let's see how she goes first. It's a long way to the end of the year.

And it's hard to get into a hero course.

She will, Izuku sent back. He already knew if Ochaco truly wanted to be a hero, she'd get into the course. She wasn't afraid of hard work.

There was no response from Mei for a few minutes before his phone beeped again.

I'll let you brood, First.

Remember, it's not the end of the world.

It's just the start of a new one.

He looked at the messages and smiled. It was Mei's way of trying to make him feel better.

I'll remember that, he sent back and then put away his phone. He had a lot of thinking to do.

-ted-

Izuku rested his head on his pillow. As expected, Inasa had said that he was going to try out for a Hero course, but the other teen had indicated that he might be getting sponsored.

That was like Setsuna. Except Inasa would be a much better candidate.

It was odd. Inasa said outright that he was going to be a hero and Izuku didn't feel any anxiety about that.

Ochaco said it and he was… he was almost sick with worry. She would be a great hero. He knew it.

But… He didn't want her to get hurt. He could work with Mei to ensure that Ochaco had the best equipment in the industry and that would help but Izuku realised he wasn't concerned about that type of hurt.

He poked at the feeling for a bit. He really wasn't afraid of her getting physically hurt.

Izuku got up. Just lying there wasn't going to help. He put on some training clothes and went down to the training room. Now that he was older he could go there by himself but he did have to be careful about practicing. He needed to do something now to help him think. He hauled one of the punching bags into position. It was a huge, heavy thing that a normal man would struggle to move. For Izuku it was rather light, courtesy of the strength quirks he had received previously. He didn't even think about activating them anymore. He simply used them when he needed.

It was like most of his quirks, except for new ones. When he needed to use them, he didn't think about it. Instead he thought about what he wanted to happen, and it did. Becoming so comfortable with his quirks had caused some issues. If he vaguely thought he wanted bright red hair, his hair was liable to change to that colour but thankfully he didn't usually think about his hair colour, except on his way to and from school. Then it was always to make sure the colour was different.

Once the punching bag was hung, Izuku got a pair of gloves out. They were form fitting and acted like wrapping but were much quicker to get on and off. Under the gloves, Izuku focused on forming scales. They'd be shattered by the end of his session but they would protect his hands. He turned back to the bag with his hands covered and spent a moment concentrating on making sure none of his quirks were active. He didn't need kilo for this, or strength. He just wanted to beat the proverbial out of the bag while he thought.

An hour and a half later, Izuku stood before the now very well worn punching bag. His gloves were in tatters. The scales he'd created to protect his fingers were powder, he was gasping for breath and sweat was running down his body.

And he was still no closer to working out his feelings.

-ted-

Every time Izuku took out his phone to message friends, there was a thread of messages he rushed past. They were marked with a little red 'no thru' sign to indicate that they hadn't been sent. They couldn't be sent yet because he didn't know Himiko's number.

He didn't think about her as much as he had but… Just disappearing on her would always be a regret and he hoped one day he could explain what had happened to her. That's why he kept messaging her, even though she couldn't get them.

He wasn't messaging anything profound, just jokes. Some were pretty corny and a lot were about vampires but… that was the way it was. Himiko liked them anyway. It was time for a new one though since it was her birthday.

Izuku thought about it for a few moments… Maybe just a simple statement this time… That would do it. He didn't want to add another vampire joke to the list.

Is it true that people with type o blood make more mistakes when they type? He posed the question.

He wondered if Himiko knew his blood type? That would make it funnier if she did.

Izuku looked at the message for a few moments, and ran his eyes up the page at the other messages he'd sent before he resolutely closed his phone. One day he'd get her number again and if she didn't want to hear from him… He'd just have to accept that.

-ted-

'Talk to him, please.'

Ochaco's voice echoed in Hitoshi's ears as he walked to the library to meet with Izuku. The normally cheerful girl had pulled him aside earlier in the day and had asked him to speak with Izuku. It was obvious to them both that he was upset but while they'd asked, Izuku hadn't told them what was wrong.

Ochaco was sure that it was because she'd put down that she wanted to be a hero for career counselling. Hitoshi wasn't so sure but she insisted and then concocted something she had to go home for early today, leaving him alone with Izuku at their normal, after school chat.

"Hey Izuku," Hitoshi said, seeing that the other teen was already waiting for him.

Izuku smiled. It was one of those bright happy smiles that Hitoshi both liked and feared. How was Izuku awake enough to deliver a smile like that? How was he that happy? He moved and sat on the other side of the table.

"Ochaco had that thing," he reminded his friend.

"I know," Izuku nodded, indicating he hadn't forgotten.

Hitoshi sighed heavily. "What wrong, Izuku? And please don't tell me that nothing is. You've been upset for the last week or so," he said blandly. If he had more time he would have dragged Izuku to that cat cafe that was on his way home. It would be amusing to see Izuku attempt to resist all the fluffy, kitteny goodness. And even if it didn't solve his friend's problem, Izuku would at least be relaxed by it.

"It's nothing," Izuku said, holding up one hand so that he didn't object. "It's nothing important at least."

He huffed. "It is important enough to be bothering you."

"And it shouldn't be. Not this much," Izuku said and Hitoshi could tell he was frustrated as well.

"But it is," Hitoshi told him.

"It is," Izuku admitted with his own huff.

"Want to tell me about it?"

Izuku was silent and Hitoshi wondered if this was all going to be for nothing before he saw his friend nod. "It's Ochaco," he admitted. "I don't… No, that's not it," he muttered softly. "I…"

"Is it about her wanting to be a hero?" Hitoshi asked, interrupting Izuku's muttering before he really got going.

"Yes. No," Izuku growled at himself, frustrated at his answer.

"Do you not want her to be one?" Hitoshi asked.

"I don't want her to get hurt," Izuku said in a rush.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want her to get hurt," Izuku repeated.

"She wants to be a rescue hero," Hitoshi pointed out. There were three main types of hero. Support, Rescue and Patrol. Well, those were the three if you didn't include underground heroes but a lot of people forgot about them. Of those three types, Patrol Heroes, those who openly fought villains in the street had the highest injury rate. Support heroes were usually fine, unless they got caught up in something and Rescue heroes placed somewhere in the middle. Even then, their injuries were usually not from confrontation with a villain but from overwork, or an accident in the situations they worked in.

Izuku knew all those stats. He was the one who'd given them to him.

"I know. I'm not afraid she's going to be physically hurt," Izuku said. He looked over at Hitoshi. "You get it. You know the system reports only good things about Heroes. That's what I'm afraid of. I don't want her to get hurt by the system."

Hitoshi looked at Izuku sadly. "Ochaco knows the system," he reminded Izuku. "You've shown her how it works," he said.

He was a bit surprised when Izuku shook his head. "She knows but she doesn't really believe it," he countered.

At that, Hitoshi couldn't really argue, since he thought it was the truth as well. He sighed again. "You can't change what she wants to do," he reminded Izuku.

"I know!" Izuku told him. It explained why Izuku was so frustrated. He wanted to change it but he knew he couldn't.

"So why don't you tell her why you are upset?" Hitoshi suggested.

"She'll laugh it off," Izuku retorted.

Hitoshi shook his head, hardly believing he had to remind Izuku of this. "Have you ever known Ochaco to laugh at someone?" he asked seriously.

At that, at least Izuku had the good grace to look a bit sheepish. "No," he admitted quietly.

"Then tell her! You can't change what she wants to do but you can at least make sure she knows why you are upset. And you can make sure that if what you fear does happen, you will still be there for her," Hitoshi said in a rush. Next time, he was telling them to get a room!

"You aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"Ochaco asked me not to let it go," Hitoshi said. He was not going to get the blame entirely.

At that, Izuku laughed and it felt as if a weight had lifted. "I'll talk to her," he promised.

Hitoshi smiled. It was not one of the blindingly bright smiles Izuku could give. It was his own, quietly pleased smile. Izuku caught it and nodded and the two of them sighed.

Things were so complicated at times.

"Have you done the homework for chemistry?" Hitoshi asked, shifting the subject.

Izuku grinned and everything was back to normal.

-ted-

Well, Izuku's feelings about Ochaco being a hero aren't going to be resolved and the doubts he feels about what his father wants him to do will linger but he will get through the last year of Middle School and then... on to High School... That is coming.

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out.

-ted-

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