06/12/2022

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The Emperor's Dragon
Emergence 31 - Offers

"Mitei!" The scream was almost deafening when Izuku walked into class on the Monday after the Sports Festival. He looked at those who yelled. It was most of the class. They were all looking at him.

"Good morning," he said.

"Mitei," Zellia said, her tone was coloured with exasperation.

"What?" he frowned, looking around. Everyone was staring at him and it almost appeared as if he was the last person to arrive today. With his response a couple of his classmates almost seemed as if they wanted to hit their foreheads on their desks.

"Mitei," Zellia was even more exasperated this time but she still didn't explain.

Thankfully Korei did. "You give a performance like that at the Sports Festival and all you have to say is Good Morning?" he asked pointedly.

The question gave him some context. Were they really that surprised by it? The answer was self-evident. Izuku shrugged. "Yes," he said as he moved to his desk.

"Mitei," Te sounded despairing. "No Management student has ever gotten to the Tournament round, let alone entered."

"I can't have been the first one to enter," he objected.

"Well no. Technically when UA first opened, all students had to participate, so Management students entered then but even so, none ever got to the tournament round," his friends told him. There was vigorous nodding from others in the class.

He thought about it for a few moments. Others could have gotten there, with the right team for the second round of course. Izuku shrugged. "I think a couple of you could have gotten into the second round, at least. Then depending on your team you could have made it to the tournament round," he said.

That brought dead silence to his class.

"How?" Korei eventually demanded.

"Damienu could have jumped over most of the obstacles in the first round," Izuku said, looking at the other boy. Damienu Bulusilu had a minor spring quirk that let him gather energy to jump. He'd never really shown it so Izuku wasn't sure how strong it was but with the way the boy was shaking his head, he guessed it wasn't that strong.

"No way," he replied. "I could only have made those jumps if I really charged up," he added.

Izuku sighed. "Luca then could have done it," he said, shifting targets. The girl had sticky hands and feet. He thought she could hold her own weight but nothing more.

She shook her head. "No way, Chui! I'm afraid of heights."

He sighed. "Without that though, you could have easily made it over those ropes," he said.

"Yeah, maybe," Luca admitted.

Izuku grinned as his glass groaned. "I think some of you could have done it," he said again. "But I know you didn't want to, and that's okay. Everyone seems to forget that not everyone wants to be a hero," he explained.

"Well, do you?" Zellia asked.

"Do what?" Izuku asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Want to be a hero," she pressed.

He frowned at her. "No way," he said.

"Then why'd you do so good?" someone yelled.

He shrugged. "I promised Mei I'd try to help her get through," he told his class.

"Isn't Mei the one with a company already?" Sakura asked in that soft way she had of speaking. It didn't sound demanding, but it really was.

He wasn't aware that had done the rounds but he wasn't entirely surprised that his classmates knew. It was the type of information management students thrived on. Apparently, Mei already having her own business was something to be surprised at.

"She still needs the recognition from other companies to sell her inventions," he pointed out.

That seemed to appease Sakura who nodded.

He was thankful that Mei hadn't told anyone he was the other owner of her company and that if anyone had looked up the company details, then they didn't list him. It would be annoying to be dealing with that too. "And Hitoshi-" at the name he paused, thinking.

"Hitoshi?" Korei prompted after a moment.

Izuku sighed. "I don't think Hitoshi wants to be a hero," he said slowly. "But the entrance exam is skewed against people with quirks like his, so he wanted to show that he could have done it."

"Not without you," someone said, just loud enough to be heard.

"No, he could have done it without me," Izuku said firmly. The upset he'd managed to convince himself to let go came back. "He would have done it differently, and if Midnight hadn't been so eager to call the match in Endeavor's son's favor then he would have gotten through another round," he added. There was more venom in his voice than he meant and Izuku again found himself being stared at.

"Mitei, you think Midnight got it wrong?" Zellia asked, almost breathless.

He took a deep breath, pushing away the annoyance he'd felt at Midnight again. Nothing could be done about the results now and he hadn't expected anything more. "I believe she was slightly premature in calling the match," he said clearly. He might push aside his annoyance but he wasn't going to pretend it didn't exist.

"That's a very interesting statement, Mr Chui," the response came from the front of the room.

"Ms Kanri!" Most of the class gasped in horror, as if they were expecting him to be punished at any moment.

"It's simply what I believe," Izuku replied, turning in his seat to face his home room teacher.

"Perhaps you'd like to enlighten us as to why you believe you are more experienced than a professional hero," she instructed testily.

He wasn't sure what was causing that but he recognised the trap in her instruction, he just had to be careful with his reply phrasing otherwise she'd cut him off before he said everything he needed to. "I do have a better understanding of how Hitoshi's quirk works," he told his class.

Ms Kanri didn't look convinced. She had probably been expecting him to admit he wasn't more experienced, at which point she would have interrupted. "And you believe that his quirk would have allowed him to defeat Endeavor's son?"

"I believe the match would have been a draw," Izuku said. "Midnight gave him no opportunity to attempt to free himself," he pointed out.

"The previous student, a heroic course student, could not free themselves," Te said softly, as if to explain to him that Hitoshi wouldn't get free.

"The previous student didn't have Hitoshi's quirk," Izuku told them but then shrugged. Hitoshi wouldn't thank him for putting his quirk on display like this and Midnight was not going to admit her mistake, so there was no point in discussing it. "It's done and dusted now," he said, inwardly smiling at the reference to Tomura. He knew what the other teen would have done. "So there is little point in speculation," he added, looking back at Ms Kanri.

She didn't look completely pleased but she did look relieved that he wasn't going to argue further. She stared at him for a few moments before apparently coming to a decision. "We will be discussing the excitement from the Sports Festival during our next management classes. The focus will not be on the results, or the unexpected entries, but rather on what we believe the public saw from the heroics students and how best to manage and market the traits they displayed."

Izuku couldn't help but suppress a smile at that. Marketing the First Year Winner, when he was presented on the podium tied to a stake, was going to be challenging. But he supposed that was what marketing teams were for. They would have to acknowledge the truth and then probably come up with some bullshit that he didn't want to be there because he didn't feel he deserved the victory or something like that. That student was not going to be easy to market and Izuku almost felt sorry for whoever he picked for work experience. He hoped they wouldn't take the kid's arrogance but…

You could never be sure with heroes. And that was the entire problem.

-ted-

"First, what is this?" Mei held up her tablet. A document was on display.

It was just the two of them today at lunch. Ochaco had something on with 1B, it was some sort of training after the Sports Festival and Hitoshi was… Actually, Izuku didn't know but his friend had said it wasn't anything to worry about.

He took the tablet from her and browsed through it. It was a short email with lots of documents attached. He read the email.

… the majority share of JBQC, formerly owned by Hisashi Riji, to be sold to Mie Enterprises for…

Izuku felt his eyes widen and he grabbed his phone. A moment later he was scrolling through his mail. He clicked on one which indicated it had attachments and ran his eyes over the text.

"I got it as well."

"It's a joke, right? Your dad wouldn't do that, would he?"

Izuku picked up her tablet again and kept reading. His dad wouldn't do that would he or… He remembered helping his father pick out a new name. The document said that Hisashi Riji was the owner of JBQC and that wasn't the case. Not any more. It was Fukahi Desuwa so this had to be something to do with moving his assets around. His dad had said his lawyer would take care of it but maybe they couldn't do everything.

"It's not a joke," he said softly. "I had JBQC help me set up Mie Enterprises and…" He shook his head. "I don't know what this is about," he managed to say truthfully. He didn't know what it was about, not really. He could speculate but that's all it was.

"First… your dad isn't dying, is he?" Mei was usually rather tactless with her questions but this was soft and worried.

"No," Izuku said instantly and then bit his lip as he tried to think of an explanation. "I think he's just restarting," he said slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"I think he's restarting," Izuku repeated. "He's probably got a new company to interest him and didn't need JBQC any more," he added.

"That would fit with the terms," Mei agreed slowly.

"I haven't gotten up to them," Izuku admitted.

"They basically say that Mi Enterprises has taken over all of Hisashi Riji's assets but that if we want to sell the decision has to come from you, as the majority holder."

Izuku nodded. "Do you want to sell?" he asked.

Mei looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Hell no!"

He looked at her curiously. Her denial was vehement.

Mei gave him a grin. "There's a provision in there for me to get research funding, that increases the more years we own JBQC! It starts at 66 million yen a year and goes up!"

"Oh," Izuku murmured before he grinned. "Well, I guess we should sign some paperwork to become the new majority owners of JBQC," he said with a chuckle.

Mei nodded and laughed. "Oh First," she sighed. "You are too good to me."

He gave her a look. "Only because you are good to me."

They laughed again and somehow Izuku knew this would be their secret.

-ted-

"I got one!"

"You got what?" Ochaco asked. Mei had practically screamed the sentence the moment they'd entered her lab for lunch.

"A work experience offer!" She replied,

Izuku smiled. He'd gotten here earlier and Mei had told him she had news but refused to tell him what it was until the others arrived. Because of that though, he saw the slight flinch Hitoshi gave when Mei made her announcement. It wasn't a sad flinch either.

"What did you get offered?" Mei practically demanded of Ochaco.

"No, no, no," Ochaco objected. "It's normal for Hero students to get offers. Who offered you a place?" she asked. "I want all the details!"

"I didn't think support students got offered work experience places?" Hitoshi asked.

"It's not normal," Izuku replied on Mei's behalf. "But it's not unheard of. Management students don't get offered them," he added, pre-empting any question of if he'd been offered a work experience position. "It's not worked into our curriculum at all!" he added.

Hitoshi nodded but that didn't distract Izuku from the fact that he probably had some news too. "So where are you going? Who are you working with?" Ochaco demanded again.

Mei looked insanely happy. "I got offered a couple," she admitted. "But I've picked Tissu," she told them.

"Who's Tissu?" Hitoshi asked before Izuku could.

Mei grinned at them. "Think about the top heroes," she instructed. "Their costumes, specifically. All Might, Endeavor, Mirko, even Best Jeanist and Hawkes, what do their costumes all have in common?"

They all thought about that for a few moments, knowing that Mei wouldn't say unless they'd tried to come up with an answer. All Might, Endeavor and Mirko had skin tight costumes though Endeavor had some armor. Best Jeanist and Hawkes costumes weren't as close fitting but they did have bodysuits under them. Izuku thought he knew where Mei was going with this.

"There's nothing similar about their costumes," Ochaco replied.

"All Might's and Endeavor's are similar," Hitoshi corrected.

Mei looked at him. "First?" she prompted.

"Tissu make the fabrics?" he suggested.

"We have a winner!" Mei cried. "Tissu make the fabrics for their costumes. They make the best fabrics! All Might and Endeavor are in skin tight costumes but they are better armored than most. Those fabrics are-" she actually shivered at the thought.

Izuku laughed. "They aren't going to show the work experience kid how to make them," he told her.

Mei looked offended while Ochaco and Hitoshi laughed. "Who said anything about show?" Mei asked finally with a grin.

Izuku made a production of shaking his head, even as he grinned at her. They might not show her how to make some of the super fabrics they made but by the end of the week… she'd know, or at least have a lot more hints.

"Wait, what do you mean, Tissu make the fabrics?" Hitoshi asked.

Mei gestured at Izuku. "You explain First," she said.

"The top heroes don't wear body suits," he said. "Well they do, but they are usually made from micro or even nanofiber cloth that is stronger than armor. Those guys aren't out there wearing lycra! And Ochaco, even as a First year, I'm pretty sure your hero costume has some protection," he said looking at his oldest friend.

She looked thoughtful. "I think so," she admitted.

"I'd hope so," Izuku replied. "As you get better, that protection is going to get better," he added before snorting. "Which is kinda silly. You need the good protection at first but-"

"But?" Hitoshi asked on Ochaco's behalf.

"New heroes can't afford it," he replied. "It's why they become sidekicks of larger agencies, who can afford to invest in a better costume," he explained.

"That makes sense," Ochaco nodded.

"So how many offers did you get?" Mei asked.

Ochaco smiled. "More than a few," she replied.

"More than a few?"

"All right, I didn't have to pick from the list of places they had incase people didn't get offers," she laughed. "I picked Gunhead's agency."

Izuku immediately ran through what he knew of that hero. It wasn't much. Which meant that he - Izuku was fairly sure Gunhead was a he - couldn't have done that much. Oh, Izuku was sure Gunhead was a perfectly serviceable hero and compared to others his stats couldn't be that bad, which was why he didn't know him. Except- "Doesn't Gunhead run a combat agency?"

Ochaco nodded. "I want to be a rescue hero, but I want to be versatile. I don't want to be stuck not being able to rescue someone if there's a villain around," she explained.

They nodded. "You'll do fine," Mei reassured her.

"You will," Izuku agreed, noticing that Hitoshi was being quiet.

She smiled and seemed reassured and with the reveal of who was going where for work experience, they applied themselves to their lunch. After all, afternoon classes didn't stop just because they hadn't eaten.

-ted-

"So who gave you an offer?" Izuku whispered to Hitoshi as they walked down the corridor. Usually they'd have split up after lunch, with Hitoshi going back to the General Studies tower to prepare for PE and him going back to the Management area but today Izuku was going the long way around.

Hitoshi gave him a startled look.

Izuku just looked back. It told his friend that he'd known him a long time and knew when he was trying to hide things.

A small smile appeared on Hitoshi's face. "An underground hero," he admitted. "It's not hero work experience because I'm not in the heroic's course, but they offered to help me get in shape and be a mentor."

"To get you into the heroic's course?" Izuku asked. He didn't point out that he would have gotten Hitoshi into shape if his friend had just asked.

"To at least let me know what it will be like."

Izuku gave Hitoshi a look. His purple haired friend knew what it meant. Hitoshi had said he didn't want to be a hero yet he'd apparently accepted this offer.

"I know," Hitoshi said, slightly defensively. "I just-" he looked confused. "I don't know what I want to do. I do want to show that those with less than flashy quirks can make it but…"

"You won't be doing that as an underground hero," Izuku pointed out.

"I know," Hitoshi agreed. "But I'd know that I had made it as a hero and…" He shook his head.

Izuku had a flash of intuition. "And you could potentially become a teacher later and people would know you'd made it as a hero?" He asked shrewdly.

"Something like that," his friend agreed.

Izuku swallowed. He wasn't going to pretend this didn't hurt but if it was what Hitoshi really wanted then… His friend knew what the world was like… His friend wouldn't let the Commission hurt him and would probably help when it come time to change things but… He couldn't be sure. Not completely.

"Well," Izuku said slowly, "same deal with you as Ochaco?" he offered.

"Deal?" Hitoshi sounded confused.

"Revolutionary hero," he reminded his friend.

Hitoshi actually laughed. "There's no other way," he agreed. "And... " he gave Izuku a look.

"And?" Izuku prompted.

Hitoshi gave him a knowing smile. It was one of those expressions that said he was sure of something Izuku himself didn't know. "When you decide you want to change everything, I'll be there to help."

Izuku gave him a look. "You make it sound like-" he didn't finish.

"Like?"

"Like I'm going to break the law, or something," he finished.

For a moment Hitoshi said nothing before he cocked his head slightly as they kept walking. "I think you'll do what it takes," he said finally.

"I think we'll do it together," Izuku said after a moment of thought.

Hitoshi smiled, and while Izuku still felt disappointed in his friend, he knew Hitoshi's choice wouldn't change anything between them. And unlike Ochaco, Hitoshi knew what the world was like. He'd know when the time had come for change and… Hitoshi would be his man on the inside, like Dad had Gargoyle.

He had to trust that. He would trust that.

It would be enough.

-ted-

So quite a few important things happened here. Izuku confirmed that his teacher is an unimaginative git. AFO is playing at things by 'selling' JBQC... and everyone got a work experience offer(s). Thankfully, they aren't all going to Hosu because that would make that city pretty crowded.

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all!

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!