One For All: First Man!
"Hello." - Dialogue
"I am here!" - All Might/Special Character Speaking
"Detroit Smash!" - Special/Signature Move
What's happening?- Character Thinking
"Izuku!"- Phone call/Flashback Dialogue
Random Location – Random Time…– Time and Place
Chapter 7: Hisashi's U.A. Meeting! Izuku Talks to a Girl!?
AN: Yo ho ho! I'm back at it again with the new chapter of One For All: First Man (OFA:FM for short). This one definitely took much longer to get out, but I think the length makes up for it. This one is a bit of a hefty chapter with many different threads being sown here. I actually want to make longer chapters like this one in the future, but I hope I can put them out at a much faster pace than this.
Hope you enjoy it!
This is the list of songs that you should listen to to enhance the reading experience. Make sure you have them ready in a separate tab for easy access:
One Piece OST - After Eating, Grand Line part 1
One Piece OST - After Eating, Grand Line part 2
Late at Night – U.A. Principal's Office – Japan…
"Of course you make me meet with you before I could even see my family…"
I was really hoping that she wouldn't do this to me. I was hoping that the first people I see when I land would be my family. Not that I hate her, or anything, it's just that I haven't seen my family in seven years. Whatever she wanted, it had better be important.
The U.A. Principal's office was barely lit. All that was currently lighting this room was the moon. It was your typical office. The walls were littered with pictures of important landmark moments in the school's history, alumni that became some of the top Pro Heroes in the country, pictures of the school over the years, etc. The center of the room had this normal wooden desk that had all the usual items you'd have on a desk like pencils and pens. The strange thing was that this was normal-sized. The principal was not. There is one unusual set of things on the desk; it was a smaller desk. A mini version of the desk. It would normally be hard to believe, but when the principal of the school was like 85 cm (2' 9 ½") it became clear. What surrounded the room were shelves of books and documents that would typically be in an office like this.
A question may have popped up in your mind: why did this tiny principal have a regular desk? It's quite simple, really. It's for the secretary. She wasn't present for our meeting as it was just between me and my boss. Another question may have popped up: why were there no lights on? I had no idea. In fact, I decided to ask her about that.
"Oh, and by the way, why are the lights off, Nezu-chan?"
"I will get that right now for you. Also, please do not refer to me in that way. We may have known each other for years, but that does not mean you can just refer to me in such a casual manner." The lights finally flashed on and the blinds were closed. "There always needs to be certain levels of respect." The new lights finally allowed me to get a better look at her. I was still not used to what my boss looked like. It was something you would have to see to believe.
She was this odd hybrid of a rat, a dog, a bear, and whatever else kind of animal she was. As I said, it was something you had to see. She had these beady little black eyes that you would expect a mouse of some kind to have. She had white hair/fur that was marred by a, quite frankly, nasty scar over her right eye. It was a little odd, but when I looked closer, I saw that she had light amounts of makeup on her face. It was just lip gloss and small amounts of eye shadow. I always found it so weird that she wore makeup.
What she wore was a white dress shirt with a dark red tie around her neck. Over her dress shirt, she had a black double-breasted waistcoat and matching dress pants. The dress pants were quite wrinkled and were tucked into her large orange sneakers that had thick soles. You know, they remind me of Izuku's red shoes. Those were his favorite pair. To top it all off, she wore a cute little pink bow on the top of her head. I never really knew why she wore that bow, it looked a little bit childish in my opinion. I think she was older than me, but she never told me. It was something about 'never asking a woman her age' or whatever.
"Ah, please forgive me, Hisashi-san. I just wanted to speak with you in person regarding your mission."
"Right. So… what was so important that this couldn't be done over the phone before I left?"
"I want to tell you about who is taking over your mission."
"Really? That's it?"
"Well, this person who is taking over your mission is someone we had once thought was dead…"
Okay, this is getting real weird… Who do we- Wait! At this realization of who it could be, my eyes widened. The only person that came to my mind was one of my oldest friends at Real Heroes. He was my brother. Not someone I was blood-related to, but someone that was adopted like me by RH. Someone that all of us did think died 7 years ago. That was around the time I began my mission in America. It was the worst way to begin a mission like that.
"Nezu-san, i-is… is it… ?"
"Yes, Ochaken-san still lives." She then reached and made her way out of the room. This immediately confused me. She just told me my own brother was alive then left? Way too many odd things going on right now."If you want proof that he still lives, then take a look." She opened the door and called out to someone in the hallway. "You may enter!" Seeing her do this caused me to stand up and turned around to see what was happening.
Footsteps echoed across the hallway as a silhouette slowly came into my vision. They clacked against the ground, sounding like wooden blocks that hit the ground. As this person approached the lights of the office, it became clearer who it was. The more I could see the mystery person, the more I realized that this was the man himself. The one who had basically cheated death and still lives, in the flesh.
The first thing to notice was his getup. He wore these wooden geta sandals with no socks that were made with this brown wood. The main set piece of his clothes was a long-sleeved black and orange striped kimono where a dark red sash wrapped around the waist. On his hip was his sword. The cord wrap was a stark white that enveloped the dark red ray skin of the handle. The scabbard was a similar white cord wrap with a dark red hanging cord. On the scabbard written in golden characters was Kazoku (Family). That blade's name was the Musume no hogo-sha (The Daughter's Guardian).
The man himself was next to see. Wearing his kimono made him appear skinnier than he was. His outfit hid his well-earned muscular physique; though, it did not hide it entirely. The only visible part of his physique was his chest. The kimono showed a slight amount of it. His chiseled face held a long and jagged scar on his right cheek. On his upper lip was a somewhat unkempt mustache. His pointed chin had no facial hair. The familiar auburn eyes that looked right into my own were probably the thing that struck me the most. The matching auburn hair was tied back like that of a wandering ronin.
I was completely awestruck. This was my sworn brother. One of the guys I performed the Sakazuki ritual with. The man I thought was truly gone. When he had "died," I thought I lost all of my brothers. I thought I was alone. This was one of those times in my life when I was truly happy to be wrong.
"K-Ken…?" I apprehensively called out to him, still considering the possibility that this was all a dream. The last of my doubts were erased when I heard his smooth baritone voice.
"'Sup, little bro?" Of course, he would just casually greet me after making me think he was a dead man. A cocky smirk appeared on his face. "It's been a minute, huh?"
The Next Day in the Morning – Izuku's Apartment…
Well, last night was certainly interesting, to say the least. After I and my mom had reconciled, she made me my favorite food, katsudon. We ate dinner together and it was quite nice. We talked much more about my training and its purpose. It was then that my mother revealed that she also knew a small amount about One For All. She didn't know the name of All Might's Quirk and much of its history. All she knew was that it was a unique Quirk that could be passed down. This was what my dad was allowed to tell my mom. Now that she knew that I was getting involved in all of this, and who my trainer was she would be more willing to help me.
I woke up much later in the morning than I had since my training began. Maybe I still needed to rest after overexerting myself yesterday. Either way, I got up from my bed and got ready for the day. All I wore was a simple white T-shirt and black pants. Today was to be a day of rest. Maybe I should just spend the day with my mom. It had been some time since I spent a day with her.
Before I could go to my mom and present this idea to her, the smell of a delicious breakfast made its way to my room. The smell moved me to the kitchen where I saw her in her usual pink sweater with her apron on. She was making us some breakfast. It was a very American one: bacon, eggs, hash browns, sausage. She even had a carton of orange juice there ready to be poured into some glasses.
My mom seemed to be in a cheery mood as she smiled and hummed a little tune as she cooked her breakfast. It was great to see my mom in this state after the events of yesterday. It seemed that things were back to normal. In the back of my mind, however, I knew that the events from yesterday were a revelation of something. Something that I will need to deal with in the future, but for now, I was simply going to enjoy this day.
"Good morning, Mom," I greeted. My mom's humming suddenly stopped and I saw her turn to greet me.
"Good morning, Izuku! I'm just about done with breakfast. Sit down and we'll eat." Sit down and eat we certainly did.
Wow! This food is awesome! Her cooking, in my humble opinion, was unbeatable. No one could ever match her. It's great, but not really that healthy. It definitely isn't part of the diet. Eh, I guess today is a cheat day, then. Oh, well…
After we finished our breakfast, I gave thanks to my mom and asked her if we could spend some time together today. When I did, she got very excited and started to suggest a variety of things we could do like go to the movies, watch some TV together, go to the park, and so on. It was nice to be able to move on from yesterday. This planning was interrupted by a knocking on the door. My mom went to open the door and the person who appeared was… All Might!?
"Good morning, Inko-san. It has been a long time…" It was really her. She was clearly nervous about this meeting. Before she spoke again, there was a tense silence. It was almost as if years of tension found its way into the apartment. It felt like hours passed by as the two stood there in tension. I began to wonder if she would even speak again. I was proven wrong when she finally broke the silence. "I believe you wanted to speak to me, right? Let's talk. I think this was… long overdue." My mom's happy expression shifted suddenly to a solemn one. She understood the gravity of what they were going to discuss. It appeared that any plans we had needed to be canceled. My mom turned to me with a serious expression.
"Izuku. I need you to go out today. I and Nana-san must discuss some… private matters between us. I will let you know when you can come back, okay?" I understood immediately and nodded my head. This prompted me to go to my room and quickly grab some of my things.
As I was looking for my wallet in one of my drawers, I saw an old folded-up photo. My curiosity caught me, so I went and grabbed it. When I opened it up, I saw an old picture of me standing next to another boy hugging him with one arm. He appeared to be slightly older than me with short blonde hair. His black eyes exuded an authentic joy which was like what I seemingly had in this picture. His pearly whites were shown off as he smiled ear-to-ear. In fact, we were both smiling very widely. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt with matching pants and dark blue sneakers. He was hugging me back with one arm and gave a thumbs-up with the other. It greatly surprised me when I saw him, but the moment I looked at him, a whole host of memories flooded me; however, one stood out among them.
(Flashback to 8 years ago)
(Song: One Piece OST – After Eating, Grand Line part 1)
A blonde hair boy two years older than I placed a liter bottle of grape juice in the middle of the wooden stump that separated me and him. Two red sake cups were in front of each of us. As we both sat on the ground, I began looking closely at the boy in front of me in curiosity.
"Hey Big Bro, what are you doing?"
"Sakazuki ritual. It's so that we can become brothers!"
"Aren't we already brothers?"
"Yeah, but this will make it official."
"Ahhh, so that's why you asked Dad for those cups. Wait, aren't you supposed to use sake?"
"We are, but we can't. We aren't old enough to drink sake, so for now, we're gonna do this with this grape juice." He gave a big smile towards me. "When we're adults, we can do this with real sake."
"Okay!" I simply nodded and agreed with him. He opened the bottle of grape juice and began to pour out the liquid into the cups. Once each cup was filled he placed down the bottle and lifted his cup. This prompted me to do the same.
"Alright, Izuku. When we drink these cups, we'll be brothers."
"Okay, Big Bro Mashirao!" We slammed our cups together and drank.
(Flashback and song end)
"Wow… I can't believe I almost completely forgot about him. My own brother…" I thought out loud. This picture brought all of my memories with the man who I considered my older brother right back to me. Initially, it made me feel terrible because I had forgotten someone so close to me, but then I became glad. I found something that brought him back to my memory. I decided to keep this with me so that I couldn't forget him ever again. "I hope we can see each other soon, Big Bro."
My mother's impatient voice broke through my nostalgia run. "Izuku, sweetheart! Please hurry!"
"Okay, Mom!" This pushed me to find my wallet as quickly as possible. Luckily for me, I was able to find it in the bottom drawer. Once I grabbed it, I briskly walked out to the doorway and put my shoes on. My mom came up to me as I finished putting on my shoes.
"If anything happens, please call me immediately. I love you, Izuku." She gave me an affectionate peck on my cheek.
"Love you too, Mom." With that, I left and made my way onto the streets of Musutafu.
Later that Day – The Streets of Musutafu…
This was probably the first time I had to go out into the streets without a clear goal in mind. I always went out with some errand to do, or I was going somewhere. I never really just wandered the streets before. Wandering the streets gave off a feeling of peace; though there was something really wrong with it.
Everything was calm and business as usual for everybody, but homeless men were shriveled up in alleys, and the ones that weren't were being forcibly dragged by women about the city with lifeless stares on their faces. Not literally being dragged. It was more like they did not want to be there and wished they were somewhere else, but they didn't have a choice. This was normal… and it wasn't right. It was heartbreaking to be confronted with this sad reality as the common norm, but it wasn't enough to make me give up. As a matter of fact, it did the exact opposite. It only fueled my desire to help these men. This got me wondering about something…
You know? Why can't I figure out a way to help them out now? I'm sure there are some charities I could join to help them in smaller ways. I can only do this before I go to U.A. as I will be quite busy. Hmm… I actually had been thinking about this ever since I saw those protesters the first time. I was definitely considering joining those guys, but I didn't know who they were and if they did other types of activities. I should look into it very soon.
My mind wandered to the protesters themselves, particularly to that girl I kept seeing with them. I always wished that I could meet her and talk to her. She seemed so nice, so different from all the girls I knew. We could even talk about that group that she's with and get information about them. Maybe I could even have her help me join them.
Ah, who am I kidding? Even if I saw her, I probably wouldn't be able to get any words out. I was not experienced in talking to girls (Tacchan didn't count) because I was too busy being bullied by them to actually talk to them. I was pretty sure that I never even met a girl that was as nice as the one with sharp teeth. I would've liked to see her, at least. Oh, well… I lamented as I continued to wander around.
While wandering, I decided to go to the local convenience store and grab a snack or something. I guessed that I would figure out exactly what I would want by going there and looking. This was a sign that I truly had no clue what I was to do.
Once I arrived, I saw the wide variety of shelves with various items that you would expect from a convenience store. The store clerk was clearly bored out of her mind and didn't pay me any heed, so I began my search for something. It was boring looking for stuff, but that suddenly changed when I bumped into someone.
"Oh my goodness, I'm-" In the middle of my apology, I saw that it was a familiar girl. I was pretty sure that it was that protester girl I was looking for before. This time, she wore a black Crimson Riot T-shirt along with this unzipped red hoodie that slightly hung over her jeans. Over her shoulder was a small purse that probably held various things.
"Hey! You're that green-haired boy I saw the other day!" This shocked me a little bit. I was expecting to recognize her, not the other way around. She was once again showing off her sharp teeth in a wide smile. It seemed that she was happy to see me.
Wow, a girl smiling at me…Is this real? You would think that I wouldn't be surprised at this because this isn't the first time she smiled at me, but could you blame me for still acting this way? Think about this, the only girl in my life up to this point that ever genuinely smiled at me was my mom. Well, Tacchan used to smile at me, but that was long ago. It's to the point where I hardly remembered what her smile looks was certainly a nice change of pace.
Since this was the first time I got a closer look at her, I was able to see that she wore lip gloss, It was subtle, but thanks to the lighting of the store, I could see it glint. I could tell beforehand that she had red eyes, but when I had a better look, they were starkly red. It was quite surprising. I only realized that I was staring when she said something to me.
"Uhh, you okay?" Her face showed some mild concern as she noticed me staring at her. There was a mild blush that appeared on her face; though, I was too busy being embarrassed by the fact that I was staring at a, admittedly, cute girl to pay any mind to that.
"Huh? Oh, sorry…" I nervously chuckled and scratched the back of my head. A matching blush appeared on my face. She seemed to find that funny and giggled. "I got lost in thought…"
"It's alright, man. Say, it's pretty crazy that we'd meet here, huh?"
"Oh, uh, y-yeah…" My mind was racing and my heart pounded. I couldn't believe it! I was sorta talking to a girl that didn't hate my guts! This was extremely nerve-wracking. I could feel light amounts of sweat surface on my face as I tried speaking to her.
"What's your name," she asked. "Mine's Eiko Kirishima, by the way!" She casually extended her hand for a handshake. Her energy started to rub off on me and my body started to calm down a little.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya. It is a pleasure to meet you, Kirishima-san!" I stiffly bowed before shaking her hand. Her hand felt surprisingly rough and her grip matched. This clearly reminded me that I need to work on my own grip.
"Izuku Midoriya… nice name!" That was another first. A girl complimenting my name! Being forced out of the house was definitely a great thing for me.
"Eh, thank you… Y-You have a nice name too." She giggled once again. Normally, I would assume that a girl giggling around me was due to them making some mean joke behind my back and laughing at me. This time was different. Her giggling wasn't malicious in any sort of way. I still didn't really understand why she was giggling, but I didn't mind hearing it. Suddenly, I remembered something I wanted to ask.
"Oh, uh, by the way…" I paused a little too long which caused her to step in.
"Yes, Midoriya-kun?" She was calling me by my name! Now granted, she never heard my demeaning nickname before, but just hearing a girl my age say it was nice.
"Those guys you were protesting with, who were they?"
"Ah! Them. You know, I'm glad I get to meet you now 'cause I wanted to tell you about just that." She cleared her throat in preparation for some sort of explanation. "We are a non-profit organization called Real Heroes. Our purpose is to help men all across the world and to fight for their better treatment. Basically, we're a men's rights group!"
"That's amazing!" My eyes lit up in excitement. "What kind of stuff do you do in Real Heroes?"
"Let's see… We do political activism, protests, charity work, and stuff like that. A lot of what I do, besides protesting, is help run a men's shelter made by Real Heroes in our local area. We house all sorts of men there like homeless men, unemployed men, men running away from terrible homes, and orphaned boys."
"Wow… how many men do you have living there?"
"Quite a bit. It's a huge shelter."
"How'd you guys get the funding?"
"Fundraisers, philanthropists, donations, y'know? It may not seem like it, but there are a good number of women that want to help men, even Pro Heroes!" Hearing this was very good news. Growing up, I only thought that few women would willingly want to help us. I was quite happy to be wrong about that.
"Wow! Can I join?" She quickly nodded her head and gave a toothy grin. She was certainly happy to have one more member.
"Yes, you can! How about we go to the local RH office?" I nodded in excitement and we decided to leave, but before we left, she paid for two bottles of this cola. She offered it to me and I took it. It was one of those glass bottles that had those tough-to-remove bottle caps. It was a bit larger than the average bottle with a more exaggerated bottle shape. I took a look at the brand and it was a red label with white text that said "FRANKY'S SUPER COLA" in English. On the bottom was the katakana that transcribed the English text. I was a little confused as to how I was going to open this, but I did not need to be confused.
"Here." Kirishima-san's voice made my attention shift to her. She, oddly enough, had a bottle cap opener on her and gave it to me after she opened her bottle. She seemed to notice my confusion. With ease the bottle opened, and I kept the bottle cap to throw away whenever I found a trash can. I was curious about how she happened to have a cap opener on her, so I asked.
"That's 'cause I often have a bottle of Franky's on me."
"Really?"
"Well, yeah!" With that, I took a sip. I never had this cola before, but I really enjoyed it. It was a unique combination of different spices and sugary sweetness. It was of a much higher quality than your average soft drink you'd get.
"Wow, this is pretty good!"
"Yup! This is my favorite! I have a bunch more at home."
"I could see why, this stuff is much better than other soft drinks." She rapidly nodded in agreement. She was quite happy to share this with someone. This walk to the Real Heroes office was nice, to put it simply. I was enjoying a delicious cola and walking with a girl that didn't hate my guts! I would say that was a great day.
While we made our way to the office, I asked her a question, "So… You're going to U.A, right?" I needed to find out how going to U.A. and becoming a Hero might affect my work at Real Heroes.
"Yup. I'm gonna be a great Hero like my mom!"
"Sounds great." I wanted to ask which Hero her mom was, but I was more focused on my questioning. "When you start attending U.A., don't you think you'll get busy?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, so what happens to your work at Real Heroes?"
"Simple, really. They'll just have you focus on being a Hero! They even have some veteran Pros there that can help you out. You will still be a member." Perfect. This was exactly what I wanted to know.
"Thank you."
"No problem. Say, why'd you ask?" Oh man, I had to come up with something. I couldn't just say I was planning to attend U.A. with a Quirk. All Might said to keep that hidden until the day of the Entrance Exam.
C'mon… Hmm… Aha! I know what I can say…
"Ah, well I was just a little curious. I'm guessing that applies to when you get busy with any sort of work, right?"
"Kinda, yeah!" Well, that worked. It felt so weird having to keep all this so under wraps, but it was necessary. It did worry me a little that I was able to get away with that. I hope I can be more open about this whole thing soon.
"Great."
Noon – Real Heroes Musutafu Office…
After some time walking the streets, we finally arrived at the Real Heroes office. It was a plain-looking building with two stories. There was nothing really remarkable about the place. The only point of interest was the sign above the door that read "Real Heroes Office."
"Here it is! Let's sign you up," Kirishima-san said. We made our way inside the office. The office was pretty plain, too. It had several chairs that line up the walls in the reception area. The front desk had a door to the right that probably led into the main area. There was a woman who typing away at her computer sitting behind the front desk. She had black hair tied into a ponytail, thick-rimmed square glasses that reflected the screen, and formal office clothes. She noticed us entering the office and was slightly started.
"Ah!" Her glasses fell out of place from her nose and she rapidly adjusted them. "Oh, please excuse me… I-I didn't expect you to arrive today, Eiko-san. You have no assignments for today…" Her vision shifted to me and she became even more surprised. "Ah! Who is this…" She adjusted her glasses again and examined me. Eiko signaled for us to walk up to the desk. The closer we got to the desk the more shock appeared on the front desk lady's face.
"Well, Michiko-chan, this," she points to me "is our brand new member of Real Heroes! Well, not yet, but he will be. We just need to sign him up!" We finally arrived at the front desk and I was able to get a closer look at the lady. One of her most notable features was the freckles that dotted her cheeks, but they weren't in a pattern like mine. Her eyes were still obscured by her glasses.
"Wait," she gasped, "it can't be…" She then looked back and forth from the wall to my left and to me. This made me curious, so I turned left to see what she was comparing me to.
The wall had a golden plaque near the ceiling that stated boldly, "VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR." That was not really shocking, but who I found was on that wall very much was. There were rows of pictures that had the year at the bottom part of the frame. Several of these pictures were…
"Eeeeh!? Dad!?" Indeed it was. For multiple years in a row, a younger-looking version of my father appeared. It was surreal to look at those pictures for multiple reasons. For one, he had a striking resemblance to me, or, rather, I had a resemblance to him. Second, the fact that he was there in the first place! I mean, it really shouldn't be. It seemed so obvious that he would want to be a part of a group like this, but still.
"I knew you looked like Hisashi-san! So, you're his son then?"
"Uh… yeah…"
"Wow! I was wondering when you'd join up! Did your father tell you about us?" I turned my attention toward Michiko-san, I believed it was.
"Oh, well… no. I found out about them thanks to her," I said as I pointed to Kirishima-san. "You see, I saw her with other guys protesting, and today I met her in person. She told me about it and we walked here so I could become a member." I didn't hear a response from her so I wondered what was going on. I turned around and was met with a face of shock.
Huh. Does she recognize my dad too? My goodness, how many people know my dad? Seriously, I have to talk to him about this, I thought. Is she gonna say some-
"No Way! No wonder your name sounded familiar. You're Uncle Hisashi's son!" That response completely baffled me. What did she mean by "Uncle" Hisashi? Was she my secret cousin or something!? What was going on?
"That's so cool!" Her eyes were shining with excitement. It seemed that she did not catch on to my utter befuddlement at what she called my dad. "Father and son! Changing the world! So Manly!" I was too focused on her referring to my dad that way to notice her interesting choice of words. Since she had yet noticed my confusion, I decided to make it vocal.
"What!? What do you mean 'Uncle' Hisashi?" This was enough for her to finally notice how strange this was to me. Not only did she know my dad, but she also called him "Uncle." It was something I needed answers for.
"Oh! Sorry about that. You see, your dad was close to mine. They were brothers by the Sakazuki ritual. We're not cousins or anything."
"Ah, I see…" That was very clarifying. It also reminded me of what I and Big Bro Mashirao did all those years ago. "Wait… you said they 'were' close. Did something happen…?" I felt regret the moment I saw her excited face turn to a pained expression. Her demeanor became more somber. I could tell this meant that her father had passed away. I dug up a sensitive matter. "Oh… I'm sorry for your loss." She was able to return a sad smile.
"It's okay. He… passed a while ago." We stood there as the atmosphere became heavy with what I had brought up recently. None of us knew what to say next to get us out of this mood. After what felt like several minutes passed by, the Michiko-san cleared her throat and began to say something.
"Well, either way, it's fitting that you would join," Michiko-san said. She suddenly stood up. I think all of us were relieved when she spoke up. The atmosphere certainly felt lighter, although I could not help but feel this lingering heaviness. "Oh my! I am so sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Michiko Ueno. It's a pleasure to meet you…?"
"Izuku, Izuku Midoriya. It's a pleasure to meet you too," I answered as we both bowed.
"Ah, so that's you're name. Izuku. Do you mind if I refer to you as Izuku-san?" I shook my head. She then reached for a cabinet in the back and grabbed several sheets of paper. She placed them on a clipboard and handed them to me. "Here are your sign-in forms." Then she realized something as soon as I got the papers. "W-Wait! You need the signature of your legal guardian on them, as you are a minor, so I recommend you take the form home with you and get it signed there. I'm sure that you're father would sign in an instant."
"I understand. Is it possible for you to send these by mail?"
"Of course. Please write down your address on this piece of paper." She handed me this blank sheet of paper, and I immediately wrote down my address and gave it to her.
"Aw, man. I guess you can't join immediately… but, you can still meet some of the boys here, maybe! Who's inside today, Michiko-san?" Kirishima-san looked expectantly at Ueno-san.
"Just Denki-kun and Tenya-kun."
"Sweet! Come, on Mirdorya-kun!" She grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me through the door that led into the main office. "By the way, can I call Izukun?"
"Izukun?"
"Well, Izuku-kun is a bit of a tongue twister to say, so I just thought it would be easier to call you Izukun. Is that okay with you?" She gave me a concerned look. "I don't wanna make you feel uncomfortable." Her concern was touching, but I had no problem with it. To be quite honest, I actually kind of liked it. People were calling me by my name, and not some demeaning nickname. To reassure her of this, I nodded my head and gave her a confident smile. This seemed to satisfy her and returned a similar smile. "Great! Can you call me by my given name, then?"
"Of course… Eiko-chan." A sudden blush rushed to her cheeks. I wondered why my saying her name made her react like this, but I decided not to worry about it. It was probably nothing important. She suddenly shook her head and quickly turned away from me and started to head further inside, dragging me along.
"W-Well, c'mon!" I was moved into a hallway that had several doors to its left and right at different points. Some of them had plaques that had the name of a person and the position they held. They were the positions you would expect like a treasurer. Other doors led to places like the bathroom, electrical room, storage, etc. These were what you would expect in most offices. These typical and expected things were hardly what captured most of my attention. It was muffled and not that close, but I could hear music being blasted. As Kirishima-san led me down the hallway, the music became louder and clearer.
(Song: WILD ANTHEM – ANTHEM)
Whoa, what's this? It's pretty loud, but I kinda like this. It's… Japanese Heavy Metal, I think. It sounds pretty old, I thought. The music definitely raised my curiosity regarding these two guys. Are they the kind of people that would blast music when they can? Are they fans of this kind of music? My questions were answered when we arrived at a closed door where the music was coming from. The label on this door was "MEETING ROOM." I could hear a muffled scream come from the door.
"DENKI-KUN, MAY YOU PLEASE TURN DOWN THAT MUSIC! IT IS WAY TOO LOUD!" At that moment, we opened the door to see the scene before us.
The room itself was a normal meeting room. In the center was a wooden round table with wheeled office chairs surrounding it. In the back, there was a rolled-up projector screen and some potted plants to decorate the room. On the wall to the left, there was a large poster with a silhouette of a caped Hero flying through the air with text at the top saying, "REAL HEROES HELP MEN, TOO!" It seemed to me that the poster they had there was one they used as a part of their campaign. The wall on the right was blank.
A somewhat tall boy wearing thin-rimmed glasses was robotically chopping his arm towards another boy that was leaning back on his chair. The first boy's blue eyes were oddly square, similar to his square and pointed jaw. His short hair's color matched his eyes; they held a great sense of frustration and exasperation. He had a straight and somewhat stiff posture that reflected his manner of speech. The clothes he wore were also a reflection of his speech as it was a light blue polo shirt that had no wrinkles in it. Adorning his legs were a pair of dark-gray paints with a black belt, which matched his shoes, holding it in place. Currently, he was pointing to the other boy who was leaning back on his chair and placing his feet up on the table.
On the table close to the second boy, who was a black speaker with a lightning bolt design on the side. This was obviously where the music was coming from. The boy himself was nearly the opposite in appearance. His head of blonde and somewhat spiky hair certainly contrasted the first boy's hair, but something so interesting was that he had a lighting-bolt-shaped streak of black hair present in the front. His black leather jacket and matching pants and shoes gave off this punk-rocker look. With his jacket open, it revealed a plain white t-shirt. He had his eyes closed and nodded his head to the music, clearly enjoying the music.
As the first boy had just finished yelling at the second one, both of them noticed us enter the room. Then the music suddenly shut off.
(Song End.)
"Eiko-chan! It is good to see you, but may I ask what you are doing here? You do not have any duties today," the first boy said.
"Hey, Eiko-chan!" The second boy soon followed after.
"What's up, you two? I was ju-"
"Hey, who's that?" When the second boy interrupted Kirishima-san, the first boy became very irritated.
"Denki-Kun! It is extremely rude to interrupt someone as they are speaking!"
"Oh, my bad. Was just really curious. Doesn't he look familiar?" The first boy hummed in response. He stared at me with a look that I was beginning to become way too familiar with. It seemed nowadays that I always ended up being familiar to someone. Before I went through the same deal of me being eventually recognized as my dad's son, I decided to reveal that myself.
"If you are wondering, I am the son of Hisashi Midoriya. My name is Izuku Midoriya, it is nice to meet you."
The boy wearing glasses was the first to respond to my greeting. "I see, so you are related to Midoriya-san. Many of the older members speak very highly of him."
"Really?" I was not expecting to find out that my dad was kind of a celebrity within this group. I wondered why he never told me about any of this. Then I realized that maybe he wanted to tell me, but when I was older. I really need to have a conversation with him when he comes back.
"Yes, indeed. I would like to meet him someday. Anyway, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Tenya Iida." He respectfully bowed. I returned the gesture. "I hope you are okay with me calling you by your given name, as I do not wish to confuse you with your father."
"Of course." Next came up the other boy. Instead of bowing in a more traditional greeting, he stuck out his hand for a handshake.
"Yo, I'm Denki. Nice to meet ya!" I responded by giving him the handshake he was expecting. I was curious as to why he never mentioned his family name, so I decided to ask him. When I did, his demeanor changed dramatically to a very stern one.
"I don't have one," he stated seriously. This was something he did not want to talk about, so I decided not to bring this up again. Man, what was with me bringing up people's sensitive topics? Denki's demeanor returned to his relaxed state. "Don't worry, Izuku. I don't take offense. You're good."
"Uh, thank you." I was relieved he didn't take offense yet also felt surreal being referred to so casually. Eiko-chan spoke up after our introduction.
"Alright, boys! Now that we know names and are friendly with each other, let's give Izukun our numbers!"
Afternoon – Somewhere in a secluded area of the countryside far from Musutafu…
I turned to the dojo where I spent these past seven years training my mind and body. Seven years separated from the people I consider family. Seven years separated from my brother. So many days of waking up before the sun, gaining strength, and preparing myself for the tasks I will face soon.
An older man exited the dojo. Flowing gray hair highlighted his age to anyone who saw him. To emphasize his wise teacher look, an equally flowing and long gray beard went down to the center of his chest. He wore a black shirt underneath an orange gi. The gi had the kanji for Turtle in the front and back. An orange pair of pants and black shoes match with his gi. His hunched-over form moved towards me.
"So, the time has arrived…" he wistfully stated. He stroked his beard and gave an inquisitive hum. "Why do you believe you must leave now? You are not yet old enough."
"I understand that, master, but I feel that I need to go out into the world and gain the experience needed."
"Are you sure it is not because you wish to see your brother?"
"Well, that too. I feel like I need to be there for him now. Who knows how he's holding out with all those girls treating him like dirt, especially that Tatsuki girl he used to be friends with? I want to support him in every way I can."
"Do you believe you are ready?"
"Not fully, but I believe I can be. It's been too long since I have been gone from him."
"I see." He paused as if he was meticulously thinking through what he was saying. "I believe I have taught you everything I could."
"Really!? Oh, I apologize for my outburst." I quickly bowed in conjunction with the apology.
"It is quite alright, my student. You see, I do not have any more to teach you. That does not mean you do not have much to learn. As a matter of fact, you will always have something to learn. There are always stronger people than you in the world, so never stop training." He pointed upward with his right hand like he was about to lecture me. "Never forget these things: we must master the art of peace as well as the art of war. Move well, study well, play well, eat well, rest well – That is the Turtle School Way." Hearing him say those wise words gave me a burst of nostalgia. It was the first lesson I was taught when I began my training with him. It was also an important reminder. I took a deep bow in response to my master's teachings.
"Yes, master!"
"Heh. I am glad you still know how to show respect; however," he then took a deep bow towards me, leaving me greatly shocked, "I am no longer your master, so please, just call me Go-san." Even though he is correct, it would feel quite strange for me not to refer to this man as master, but I must respect his wishes.
(Song: One Piece OST – After Eating, Grand Line part 2)
"Yes, Go-san."
"Alright, go! Never forget what I have taught you!" I nodded in affirmation. With my duffel bag slung over my shoulder, I began the long trek to Musutafu. I decided to take one last look at the scenery around me. The sun was bright, shooting its rays on the beautiful plains that surrounded the dojo. In the distance were seas of trees that walled off the field of grass.
Whenever I looked at the sun, there was this uplifting feeling of hope. Hope for a better future for all men. The hope that we could finally be free from the horrible way we were treated for so long. Free from this despair that we would never be treated like people again. Free from all of it. The sun makes me feel that we can truly be free.
"Izuku… let's get stronger, together!"
(Song end)
AN: Wow what a chapter huh? First, I am making Mashirao Ojiro older here so he can be a sort of older brother for Izuku. Also, you can clearly see the One Piece inspiration here with the Sakazuki ritual thing going on here with several characters making them brothers.
Second, I am referencing Dragon Ball here with the Turtle School stuff and it won't stop there. I have plans for other Dragon Ball references to be made. The reason for this is because that series was an inspiration for how I will approach the action.
Third, Izuku has finally met the female rendition of Eijiro, or Eiko. It took me quite a while to get this to finally happen in a way that organically flowed with the rest of the story. Do not fret, there will be more meetings to come soon. He has also met with Tenya and Denki. I was contemplating whether or not to have them be girls, too, but I decided against it. I want Izuku to have more male friends as I feel that fits with what I'm going for in this story. I also think that a guy in these kinds of stories where they hang around many women needs guy friends.
Hope you liked the chapter! Remember to read this, review this, and criticize in a manner that a builder would do (constructively). Have a wonderful day!
Posted on 6/24/2023.