It's time for Chapter 3 and a bit more of Project Velocity is revealed. We get to meet the man that started it all and is the reason Kaina and Inko were trained to be pro heroes. We see what he's been up to over the last year and what he's had to do to keep Project Velocity alive. Will he see Izuku as a another Lady Nagant or will he see Izuku as opportunity to become something new.
As always I do not own any rights to MY HERO ACADEMIA or any of their character.
With that let's go off with a bang.
Depending on what point you looked at Fumiko Mareo's career, you could easily call it a complete success or an utter failure. Before he submitted the idea of Project Velocity, 16 years ago he was a simple low-end Hero Pbulic safety commission worker, It was a simple 9 to 5 job, that let Mareo in a bit of luxury, yet he never felt he was truly accomplishing anything. Which lead to the birth of Project Velocity, a program to find young teenagers with powerful quirks and train them to become better pro heroes. After months of debating the program was green light and Mareo was promoted to Head Director.
After the program started Mareo's luck didn't slow down. Within two months the first trainees were found. A pair of sisters. The older one had the ability to form a powerful rifle out of her elbow and the younger sister had a weak form of telekinesis. In the beginning, Project Velocity was going to reject the younger sister, but a deal was made with the older sister, as she would only join the program if her younger sister was allowed to train alongside her.
It was long that Mareo was grateful he took the deal, as the months of training back, before sister progressed faster than previously expected. All due to the sister pushing each other to their limits and becoming better. By the time the young sister was a senior in high school, they were on the level of many top pro heroes. One perfected long-range encounters while the other became the nation's top closes quarters fighter, and together there was no challenger, no opponent they couldn't fight against and win.
Yet not everything could last forever.
Though the younger sister happily trained alongside her sister, Mareo noticed she didn't have the same drive to become a pro hero as her older sister. So when she eventually met a charming man, she quickly got married and left the life of a hero. Mareo would admit the wedding was beautiful, but the HPSC wasn't too happy about losing a valuable asset. Luckily for Mareo, the older sister step up in her career and become a well-known hero. Her success in the billboard and media proved Project Velocity was a success.
Then the older just had to go and ruin everything, by killing the head of the HPSC. When Mareo received the call that Lady Nagant had killed the president of the HPSC, he knew he had to protect his program had any cost. He worked tirelessly the following week, then stood in front of the board of the HPSC. The worth of Project Velocity was brought into question and whether the success achieved was worth the end results.
Mareo fought hard to keep the program alive and under his command. In the end, Project Velocity was kept alive, but Mareo had to hand over most of his control to the board of the HPSC. and a deal was made that MAreo would only be kept on if he find a suitable replacement for Lady Nagant within the month. Luckily fate was in Mareo's favor and only six months later he was about to find a kid that was about to save over 50 people.
He began to immediately train the kid and his quirk and within six months the kid was on track to be the perfect replacement for Lady Nagant. He was excess in all aspects of his training and exceed every test given to him by the HPSC board. He did so enough that The new president of the HPSC stated that like the previous trainees of Project Velocity, Takami was growing faster than expected.
At Takami's year test, he blew all of his records out of the water. So much that Mareo thanked his superiors before telling a member of his team to buy Takami a gift to keep him in high spirits. Mareo then drove home to celebrate his newfound success. As soon as he got home ordered his favorite take out and as he waited for the food to arrive he searched his drink rack and found a bottle of Karuizawa Samurai 1-10.
Returning to his dining room just as the food arrived Mareo was about to sit down and enjoy the success of his life's work. Or he planned to if it was not for his phone ringing. Groaning, he stood up from the table and walked up to his couch from his suit jacket. Fishing his phone out Mareo saw that it was an unknown number.
"Damn it, Henkito this better not be you. That's your seventh phone in the past four months." Mareo said because who else would have his phone but their contact not be saved. He walked back to the table, and then answered the phone, "What is it, Henkito?'
"Good to hear that you haven't fired Henkito yet." a voice came through. A voice that was the start of his downfall. A voice that he honestly didn't think he would hear ever again nor did he really want to.
"Hold on, if I'm going to talk with you then I'm going to need a drink first." Mareo said as he put the phone on the table and he popped the cork on his drink. After pouring a small bit of alcohol and drinking it Mareo looked back at the phone, "Alright who is this?"
"I thought that's what the drink was for, Mareo sir." Inko said, her voice taking a light-hearted tone.
"Inko Midoriya, as I live and breathe. What could possibly possess you to call me after what you and your sister did to Project Velocity." Mareo said as he poured himself another glass.
It was a few moments before Inko spoke again. When she did it was soft and controlled, "Sir I did not call you to air out any grievance, but I know my sister and I didn't always show our appreciation for what you did for us. Me leaving the program at such a crucial time was wrong to do and what my sister did by killing those other heroes."
Mareo shook his head as he had to remember the lie the HPSC had created for the media. Mareo and his team had worked hard and fast to cover that mess up, yet from the way Inko spoke she knew that wasn't the truth. Mareo found that strange but if she knew the truth then why would be calling, she would never trust the HPSC again if she knew the truth.
"Well thank you for that. So what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" Mareo asked now his curiosity piqued by this. He needed to know if Inko knew the truth behind Project Velocity. If she knew, then no matter how well Takami did on his test, if Inko released that information then Mareo could end up in Tartarus alongside Kaina.
"Sir the day my sister got arrested she called me." Mareo began to panic as there had been no information of Lady Nagant making a call as the HPSC chased her down. Perhaps Inko knew the truth, "I was the last one she talked to before she was captured. Sir, the way she spoke, it sounded like she was being framed for killing those pro heroes. In her final words to me she told me that we trusted the wrong person and now I believe that same person might try to hunt me and my family down."
"I thought we had trained you to protect yourself in this situation and your husband is in America right now." Mareo said, still trying to figure out if Inko knew the truth. It was clear she didn't believe the story told to the media, but she didn't know the actual story. Apparently, Kaina didn't reveal any of that information.
Mareo heard Inko take a deep breath and then say "Sir, Kaina had a son." Mareo almost choked on his own tongue. Kaina had a child, yet she was never married and how did she hide it from the media, let alone Maro and his team, "She did her best to hide it from everyone, including the HPSC. In the end, knowing her job won't allow her to be a proper mom, she gave her son to Hisashi and me to raise. He gained his quirk today and honestly, I don't know how to train him. To teach him how to use my sister's quirk without bringing up our past, I can't do that. I need help and you and Project Velocity are the only people I know that can do so."
Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was wanting to make up for past mistakes, to prove that the first trainees of Project Velocity were not such a big failure as the HPSC council thought they were. Mareo absorbed all this new information, Inko didn't know the truth and because of that she still trusted Project Velocity. Kaina had a son who had the same quirk as her, meaning it would just be if not more powerful. If Mareo could train this kid to be a hero then along with Takami, the HPSC would have two well-trained heroes on their payroll.
"Well Mrs. Midoriya it sounds like your family has many secrets it's kept, but your position sounds troublesome. And though there has been rough terrain between us in the past, what kind of servant would I be to this nation if I turned you and your son away." Mareo said, pouring a third drink. He grabbed it as he stood up from the table and began to pace the room.
"Thank you Mareo Sir." Inko said.
"I'll inform the HPSC council of our conversation and inform you when a time has been set apart for you and …" Mareo said as he swirled the alcohol in the glass.
"Izuku Midoriya." Inko said.
"Izuku to come into the faculty. Oh and Mrs. Midoriya, will there be any baggage this time?" Mareo said as he remembered Kaina's demean that despite Inko's quirk not becoming powerful, Kaina would only train in Project Velocity if her sister could join her. It had taken many long nights for Mareo to decide on the deal.
"To keep Izuku from learning of his past, he has not been informed of Kaina being his mother. He has always been registered as a Midoriya and I would like to keep it that way. That is all I ask for." Inko said.
"I understand. Your sister might have been framed for her misdoing, but to save your son from the public eye I will grant that request. No one will be informed of your son's actual parents." Mareo said as he raised his drink as if giving a toast. Takemi had kept the program alive, but it was going to be Izuku that showed the nation of Japan the success of Project Velocity.
"Good night Mareo and thank you." Inko said.
"Good Night Mrs Midoriya." Mareo said then ended the call as he downed the rest of his drink. The day was glorious but it was at night when true victory was achieved. Mareo knew he couldn't let his opportunity waste away so he needed to work fast. Switching over to contacts, Mareo pulled up Henkito's number and called it.
After the third ring, the call connected and Henkito opened with, "Good evening Sir, what do you need?"
"Henkito, how would you feel about working some overtime?" Mareo asked as he focused on getting everything ready. The timing of this was critical, he need everything ready for when he stood in front of the HPSC council. They would find out about his team training Izuku and if they feared the pasting repeat, then Mareo would most certainly be kicked from the program. And then control would go to someone else, something Mareo couldn't let happen.
"On what Sir?" Henkito asked.
"Making Project Velocity what it was alway meant to be." Mareo said with the plan of no longer allowing his career to be a laughing stock.
And that's chapter 3. Inko reconnects with Mareo and asks for help training her son, out of fear that someone is hunting her family. Mareo greedily accepted, but know there is still much work to get done if everything is to go smoothly.
Next chapter Izuku is brought in and evaluated if he's fit for the project, then Mareo has to convince the HPSC council that over see Project Velocity that training Izuku will not end in a repeat of history.
Next time: Past Promises Made Again.
Review and tell me what you think.