Chapter 25

As we returned from lunch I saw that Deku was in the classroom. What had that nerd been doing this whole time? At that, did he even eat anything? Now that I think about it, I didn't spot him at all in the lunchroom. Not to mention I still haven't gotten over the fact that all the teachers today kept telling him sorry for something. When I get the chance, I'm going to ask him.

The training class was mainly going over some protocols for emergency evacuations. Which wasn't much. But we had to pay close attention because we might be tested on this next week. Knowing sensei, we would have to be ready for just about anything. So, I tried my best to take notes, but I zoned out here and there. It was so boring. I'll just order the latest edition of Hero Protocols and study it over the weekend.

While I'm at it, I should also get some study guides for the other classes. Like I always did. Especially with how slow and dull everything was. That way, I can put more energy into things that really matter. I'm just glad I'm ahead of my studies to where I was ready for all the pop quizzes this morning.

Once class was over, I decided to try to confront Deku. But he avoided me and tried to tell me he didn't want to talk. This is not how this is going to go down. I'm going to make him tell me. Maybe he wasn't going to tell me with all these extras around. So, I decided to try to catch him by the shoe lockers.

When he finally showed himself, I stood before him. "Kacchan—"

"No. You're going to talk one way or another." Deku shook his head as I watched him get his sneakers. I'll allow him to at least change shoes before I make him speak to me.

"I said I didn't want to talk about it." No. I was not having it. I grabbed his shoulders and made him face me. Then I pushed him against the lockers. He looked at me but didn't say anything. But it didn't help that my breathing picked up as I looked at him. It wasn't fair. He had that face again. The one where he looked serious. Not to mention his voice was just as deep as yesterday. This wasn't fair.

I tried to stay focused. "Deku." Before I could say anything else, he pushed me. HE PUSHED ME! It was a surprise, but I won't let him see that. I had to keep my composure as I tried to get him to talk. So, I tripped him as he was almost out of my reach. I pinned him with my foot, and he looked up at me. He looked mad, and it gave me goosebumps. Damn it! I'm getting distracted. "Why won't you talk?"

"It's not that big of a deal." I don't believe him. But before I could say anything, he punched my ankle. Which made me jump back and land on my butt. Wow, that hurt. I had to bite back the smile that tried to form. Why am I getting so distracted today? I watched as Deku took a few steps before looking over his shoulders at me. "If you still want to know, I'll tell you after the fact." What did that mean?

As I got back up, I watched Deku leave. Besides being in disbelief at what just happened, I strangely was feeling giddy. The punch to the ankle was more surprising than hurting. But it was the fact that Deku pushed me that had me giddy. It was confusing, and I had to push these feelings down. Maybe when I get home, I'll think about them before I fully try to forget about them.

Before I was even passed the school main gates, the extras caught up to me. Shitty hair draped his left arm over my shoulders and started to chat away. "So, what type of music are you into?" It went like this all the way to the station. I never could over the fact that they took a different train than me, but still insisted on being on the same platform until I left. It was so annoying. And it didn't help my mood when I didn't see Deku once while on the way home. Did he take a different route to avoid me? So annoying. What was he hiding?

…

Once I got off the bus and walked to the base, I started to feel nervous. Besides being excited, I tried to figure out what Sydney just texted me. Something about plans changing about my proper introduction today. As I got to the guard station, I took one more deep breath. Knocking on the window, the guard looks up. "Id." I gave him my student ID. He gave it one look over before grabbing his radio. "Med Ward, come in"

It soon became a back-and-forth on the radio. Something about where is "the kid" supposed to go. Most of what I could understand was that they weren't sure if "the kid" should go to the main ward or straight to the exam ward. As the back and forth continued, the gates started to open. I looked over, and I saw Mr. Jones walking over to me. That's when the radio conversation ended.

I watched as Mr. Jones stood in front of me, looking at something in a binder. "Midoriya Izuku, follow me." With that, I followed him. Instead of making a right like last time, we walked straight up to the crossroads. Then we made a left and past one large building. At that, I noticed in big, bold letters that a large building had "Recovery Ward" on it.

The next building was the "Exam Ward." That was the building that Mr. Jones walked into. I wondered what was going on. We then walked into a side office that had those doctor's office chairs. And if I was correct, there lay a neatly folded hospital gown on said chair. Mr. Jones then closed the door before walking over to the nearby computer. I just stood by the hospital chair.

"I'll cut to the chase, Midoriya Izuku. We were able to retrieve your medical records sooner than we thought."

"How did you get that?"

Mr. Jones looked away from the computer for just a moment. But in that moment, I was struck with fear and regrated asking. "I didn't say you can speak. And that's confidential." He then went back to looking at the computer. "Because of what we saw, it brought up some complications. We see here that your mother has a gravitational-type quirk. Whereas your father has some form of fire quirk." He then started to click a few keys before looking at me. "Even though you were diagnosed as not having a quirk. Something doesn't add up." That's when someone knocked at the door. "Come in."

This tall woman then entered the room. She had a doctor's coat and a stethoscope around her neck. But what I couldn't stop staring at her blue skin, with black patches around her eyes and neck. She even had web fingers. And she wore her long red and yellow hair in a loose ponytail. My mind kept racing on trying to figure out if she was some type of amphibian. I've seen amphibian quirks characteristics before, but I don't think I've seen one with such color markings. Not even Asui features had this range. Or was this person a reptile? I don't see scales, though.

"Midoriya!" I quickly snapped my head to look at Mr. Jones. I watched as he sighed before shaking his head. "Her quirk mutation is that of a poison dart frog. Once everything is done, if you ask nicely, I'm sure Dr. Clarke wouldn't mind answering any questions you have. Ms. Smith informed me about your obsession with analyzing quirks and their behaviors. But I need you to focus on the current task."

"Yes, Mr. Jones." Dr. Clarke giggled before stepping over to Mr. Jones. She then faced me and bowed. I bowed back.

"I will be your radiologist today. Typically, I would have seen you after passing the introduction course. But due to your circumstance, we had to cut a few corners."

"What circumstance?"

Dr. Clarke smiled before looking at Mr. Jones. "That's what we will be getting to the bottom of today." With that, they left after introducing to me to change into the hospital gown. I soon had to take all matters of x-rays and blood work. They even had to do this weird thing with my back. I think they called it a spinal tap. Or was it something to do with a certain type of x-ray? I wasn't too sure about any of this. But I do know that after I got my blood drawn I was given a food break before dealing with a few loud machines. I think one was called a MIR.

As I sat in the doctor's office, enjoying a steamy meat bun, Mr. Jones walked in. "Good news and bad news." I watched as he sat back by the computer. "The good news is that we'll be able to get your test results by tomorrow. Bad news." He folded his arms and legs as he sat back in the chair. "You have more issues than we thought. Did you know you have a badly healed shattered shoulder blade?" I shook my head. "Based on two of your x-rays, we can conclude that whatever medical treatment you had in the past was highly malpractice."

"What does mean about me now?"

Mr. Jones clicked a few keys on the keyboard. "We have a lot of work to do with you. But based on what we can see, at the moment, many can be corrected." That's when Dr. Clarke came into the room. I noticed she held a folder before giving it to Mr. Jones. I watched as he flipped through some pages and then set it on the desk. "Usually, Dr. Clarke or I would go over our findings with you. But since it's getting late, we will discuss this first thing in the morning. Now." He stood up and handed me back my clothes. "Get dressed, so I can show you to your temporary quarters. And meet your training partner."

Once I was dressed, I followed Mr. Jones out of the exam ward. We started heading towards the gym but just came upon building 260. From the outside, it looked like just any warehouse. But on the inside wasn't what I would expect. We walked down this long hall until we came to a door that said "Suit 18."

Mr. Jones knocked on the door, and who answered was somewhat strange. I could only assume male, but the way they only were wearing a pair of camo pants and no shirt. He had red wavey hair that was tied into a high ponytail. I even noticed that he also had freckles all over his face and shoulders. As I took more note of his features, I happened to see he had similar chest scars to Micky. Could he be just like Micky?

"Midoriya!" I quickly blinked and looked over to Mr. Jones. He was at least not looking at me. "This your training partner, Meyer Eric." I looked back to Meyer and saw he was leaning against the doorframe. He seemed to be bored while staring at Mr. Jones. "With that, goodnight." Mr. Jones just walked off.

I looked back at Meyer in time to see him roll his eyes. "Come on in." He stepped to the side, and I walked in. Inside there was a small sitting area and a door on each wall. "Let's try to re-introduce ourselves." I turned back and saw that Meyer had closed the door and folded his arms. "You can call me Eric. I know it's proper to refer to people by their last name. But please don't. Just call me Eric. Do you want me to call you Midoriya or your first name?"

What did I want? Never thought I had a choice before. The only person who ever called me by my first name is my mom. And Kacchan before he started calling me Deku. So, what should I do? Well, if he's allowing me to call him by his first name, I guess I can do the same. I bowed my head. "You can call me, Izuku." I rose back up. "It's my first name."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Izuku." Eric smiled as he held out his hand. I garbed and shook it.

…

Once I got home, I was somewhat surprised to see that the old hag was there. I could only assume that she didn't have to worry about a deadline or anything. But I was confused that I didn't see the old man. I felt nervous as I tried to walk past her to the stairs. Just when I thought I was clear, she spoke up. "Come here, brat." Taking a deep breath, I turned around and walked over to where she sat on the couch. "How was school?"

"It was fine. We had a pop quiz for every subject. Besides, where's the old man?"

The old hag didn't even look up from her magazine as she replied. "He's in the den, on a virtual meeting. All because we took the rest of the week off from going to the office doesn't mean we stopped working. Be grateful, you spoiled brat. For after your tantrum the other day, I strongly suggested we take back our out-of-office days. But your old man insisted on keeping our word." That's when she put down her magazine and walked over to the coat closet.

I then watched as the old hag pulled out a few boxes. Even a few bags. "What's all that?"

The old hag brought everything in front of me and placed it by my feet. "Those were supposed to be your birthday gifts from me and your father. I was going to throw them away. But I'll make you a deal." I looked up at her before looking back at the boxes and bags. "You can pick two now and get a few more after the sports festival. But will only get the rest after your scores from all the pop quizzes come in. Do you understand me, brat?"

"Yes, old hag."

That's when I felt a sharp smack behind my head. "That's not how you address me, young man."

Taking a deep breath, I straightened my back and looked the old hag in the eyes. "Yes, mom." She then smiled and allowed me to pick from the gifts. I decided to take one of the smaller boxes and the largest bag. With that, I started making my way to my room. As I passed the den on the way to the stairs, I could hear the old man's meeting. Something about the hem was the wrong color. I shook my head as I got to the first step.

Once in my room, I locked my door. I tossed my book bag on my bed before going over to my desk. If I knew my parents, the smallest box was always a new game. Which I was right. It was the latest version of Guitar Hero. Maybe I could invite shitty hair to play with me. Wow. That was a strange feeling and thought. Never would have thought of asking someone to play video games with me. The last time I did was so long ago and with Deku. But after whatever happened during fourth grade, we didn't hang out much. I still wish I knew what happened.

When I opened the large bag, I couldn't stop smiling. It was a pair of new black joggers with orange stripes going down the side. I know for a fact that dad must have gotten this for me. After all, whenever I thought about my hero costume growing up, I would always ask him for his opinions. Since he was a fashion designer. He even helped me make prototypes and some of my favorite hoodies. If I wasn't trying to be a hero, I would have followed my old man's field of work.

I took off my school pants and tried on my new joggers. As I looked in the mirror, I noticed it was loose in areas I didn't like. But nothing a few stitch work can't solve. I also saw that the cores were orange. The old man really had an eye for detail. Maybe I should wear this tomorrow when I go hang with those extras from class.

Just the thought of showing off my joggers got me even more excited. I then went about trying to put an outfit together. I needed to give these pants some justice. As I went through all my shirts, I was disappointed to see I had nothing that matched. Unless… What if one of the other gifts had a shirt and boots to go with my new joggers? Damn it. I let out a sigh. There was no way I would get past the old hag to find out if I was right.

Just as I was giving up and started to take off my joggers, someone knocked on my door. "Katsuki?" It was the old man. I opened my door and saw him standing there, with his hands behind his back.

"What you want, old man?"

I watched as he used one of his hands to wave in front of his face. "I heard from your mom that she allowed you to pick from your gifts." He then looked over his shoulders towards the stairs before revealing he was holding a bag. "I may have sneaked you another one of your gifts. Seeing how you picked out one of my gifts." He then looked down, and his smile grew. "Seems like they fit nicely. But if you want some help adjusting them, we can after dinner." He then handed me the bag and left.

"Thank you." The old man didn't turn around as he waved his arm. I locked my door again and looked inside the bag. It turned out to be a short-sleeved black shirt, with a few orange stitching. The stitching had made x's along the hem of the shirt. They were on both sleeves and the bottom hem. It really did match my new joggers. That's when I had a thought. Did the old man make this?

I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Most of my clothes growing up were designed by my parents. But some of my favorites were made by the old man. Not to mention the clothes he helped me modify to my liking. The old hag mainly worked on designing accessories and some of the fabric graphics.

I looked myself over one more time in the mirror in my new clothes. It made me wonder if I had an extra pair of orange shoelaces to switch out the black ones my favorite boots currently had. Or I could look through some of my folks' storage closet of old projects. The old man always lets me go in there to get extra fabrics and such. With that in mind, I changed into my house clothes and went down to eat dinner with the folks.