Chapter 8: Rest and Revelation
Izuku let the story sink in. Apparently, the rumors about a Quirk thief and an immortal villain and a secret king of Japan's underworld were true. And they were all the same person.
The most startling thing was One for All's origins. It turned out that it was a fusion of two Quirks, the Stockpiling Quirk forced onto Yoichi by All for One, and his natural, invisible Quirk that allowed him to transfer it to other people willingly. Izuku considered the implications of that.
Does that mean the original holder of the Stockpile Quirk is in here, too? Izuku asked.
"No," Yoichi responded. "We don't know the full mechanics of this, since only my brother and ourselves can interact with the vestiges of Quirk owners, but it appears that when two Quirks merge, the dominant vestige takes full control. When Stockpile became One for All, it fully became mine."
So you wouldn't have been subject to the advanced aging that Hikage-ji-san suffered, Izuku responded.
"I probably wasn't going to reach forty anyway, thanks to my medical issues," Yoichi said in a surprisingly joking manner. Then he turned serious, "Sorry. I'd gotten used to gallows humor since I was young. Don't follow my example."
I understand, Izuku said. Between his mom, Ochako, Momo, Tsu, and the rest of his classmates expressing how worried they were about him, he knew that he couldn't throw himself into danger like that again. Even Mei, when she heard about the attack, called him to say she was worried about him.
He thought about something else. If the stockpile holds copies of the Quirks of the people who held it, does that mean that All for One, the Quirk, is in there too?
"No. We have a connection to Mugen himself, but it seems that when All Might injured him, he suppressed that so that we would think he was dead. He's still biding his time before he reveals himself," Yoichi responded. "But he was careful about guarding his Quirk. He would have been careful to ensure that any Quirk that could copy or absorb All for One would be kept away from his own Quirk. It was one of the reasons he never had kids. He wouldn't share this power. The primary reason he's desperate to have One for All is that he hasn't been able to take it in the past."
Izuku let this sink in, then he had a thought. But, what about other Quirks?
"What do you mean?" Yoichi asked.
He was careful to keep Stockpile from absorbing All for One, Izuku clarified. Was he equally careful to keep it from absorbing other Quirks. Like, for example, a Quirk that allowed its user to form bonds with people?
There was a long pause.
"Huh," Yoichi finally said, dumbfounded.
"Seriously?!" Daigoro yelled out, "That's the reason?!"
"It makes sense," Hikage said. "The Stockpile ate another Quirk, and, similar to our own Quirks, it didn't present itself in a One for All user until it reached singularity. And because it had an extra Quirk fueling it, the Quirk hit the singularity before we had predicted."
"And when the Stockpile merged, it erased the vestige of the Bond Quirk's original owner," Yoichi murmured. "Damn. It really is a simple explanation."
"Too bad they got erased, we'd know more about this power," Nana said.
Speaking of, Izuku asked, you all tried to give me your Quirks, but only Nana-kaa-san succeeded. Was it because of Occhan's bond? Could I use Blackwhip now that Tsu-chan's bonded through Daigoro-ji-san?
"Yes and no," En contributed.
"I tried giving you Blackwhip after the bond formed," Daigoro clarified. "It still didn't work, but it felt like I got further along than I did beforehand."
"It seems that there's more to it than just that," Yoichi said. "If the powers you could use were limited by your bonds, you couldn't have accessed One for All's strength. While you could use our additional quirks after acclimating to One for All, it seems that having a bond through a past user makes that easier."
"I think that the bonds also have different strengths," Nana added. "Like, you and Ochako have been bonded the longest and it's grown really strong. Meanwhile, you only just bonded with Tsuyu, so maybe the stronger bond let the Quirk transfer?"
"There's a number of factors at play here," Hikage summarized.
Izuku exhaled. Now that he had some answers, some if not all, he felt the exhaustion set in. Guys? I'm going to sleep. We'll talk in the morning.
"Good night, Izuku," Yoichi said fondly.
Oh, and for the record, before I head over to see Yaomomo, I'm looking you guys up. I don't want to be blindsided by any more secret family members, Izuku grumbled.
"So thankful I was an orphan who got adopted," En said smugly.
Stepfamily counts, Izuku countered before fading off into slumber.
"Well, this has been a bust so far," Izuku muttered. Two and Three were uncooperative as usual, and so far, searching for Yoichi, Hikage, Daigoro, and En's names all came up with no useful information.
His mom knocked on his door, "What are you doing, sweetie?"
"Researching the past users," Izuku said as Inko entered the room. "One of the villains had Yoichi-jii-san's last name. He's probably not an actual relation, but I've wanted to find out about the others' families just in case there were some other secrets waiting in the wings."
Inko gasped when he said that someone shared the first user's last name, "Did you find anything?"
"No information on Yoichi-jii-san. Almost nothing on Hikage-ji-san. Daigoro-ji-san had the most info about his Hero career, but he didn't have any surviving family. En-nii-san had a few hits, but he didn't know his biological family and there's not much info on his adoptive one. I'm about to search for Nana-kaa-san's now, which should be the easiest, since I know the name of her son: Kotaro Shimura," Izuku explained.
"Well, let's see what we find," Inko said hopefully. Izuku nodded and clicked the search engine.
In twenty minutes, they wished they hadn't.
It took some searching to find the correct person, but when they did, the first thing they found was a news article from fifteen years ago stating that Kotaro and his entire family was dead.
Further articles seemed to state that the case had gone cold. In a single day, Kotaro, his wife, his parents-in-law, his children, even his dog were killed in gruesome fashion, their bodies reduced to an unrecognizable slurry. The age of the children made it worse. His daughter, Hana, was only six, while his son, Tenko, was five.
Both mother and son held each other and wept. In his head, Izuku could hear Nana's wailing and feel the other vestiges, each and every of them comforting her. He wished he could join them, but for now, he and his mother were there, holding onto each other.
It took some time for them to calm down and prepare to visit the Yaoyorozu estate. Momo had extended the offer not only to her classmates but to their families, knowing they wouldn't want to let the hero students out of their sight after such a traumatic experience. Izuku was the first to enter the bathroom and take a shower.
As he bathed, suddenly, everything clicked for Izuku.
The bodies were reduced to bloody dust. There was no way they could truly confirm that all of the family members were there, could they? Tenko Shimura was five at the time, a bit late, but still within the timeframe for a Quirk to manifest. He would be twenty years old by now, the right age for the manchild he encountered yesterday. Nana found his temper tantrum familiar… Did it remind her of one of Kotaro's?
"Tomura Shigaraki is Tenko Shimura…" Izuku deduced with mounting horror, and the further wails of Nana.
Izuku almost canceled, with the magnitude of that revelation filling up his brain like a cloud of smoke in a poorly ventilated room. However, when he reached for his phone, he was hit by the feeling of disappointment that Ochako, Momo, Tsu, and Mei would feel if he did so. He didn't want to make them feel that way, so he decided to persevere.
Wait, Mei was coming too? That was an interesting way to find out.
He had to tell All Might, but this couldn't be discussed over text message. He just sent the message that the two of them needed to talk face-to-face the next day they were at school.
As he got dressed, he found himself being drawn to a certain outfit, his bonds providing him with information that this is what would make him look the best. He was wearing a nice button-down green shirt and a pair of black jeans.
"Certainly looks better than the T-shirt that says 'dress shirt'," Yoichi said.
"You have a bad sense of humor," En said plainly.
I got the feeling Momo would have liked it , Izuku said in his defense.
"Momo has a bad sense of humor," En clarified. Nana gave a sad chuckle at that one.
It wasn't long before both Izuku and Inko were sent a text informing them their ride was here. They walked outside to find a stretch limousine.
"... What?" Inko asked quizzically.
"Right, forgot to tell you, Yaomomo's RICH rich," Izuku scratched the back of his head.
The chauffeur opened the door to the back of the limo, at which point, they were greeted by a familiar face nestled in between two unfamiliar ones.
"Izu-kun?"
"Occhan?" Both of their faces looked shocked at the development.
The older gentleman, who was looking somewhat uncomfortable at first, gave a stern look at the young man entering the car, "So you're the young man who's been spending so much time with my daughter."
"Daddy!" Ochako cried out in annoyance.
"Taiyou!" her mother cried out at the same time, in the same tone.
Ochako's father continued to stare down Izuku, before his mouth quirked up into a smile, and he started to giggle, "I'm sorry, I've always wanted to try the overprotective dad thing for my little girl, but it's hard when the guy punched a skyscraper in half to save her. My name is Taiyou Uraraka. It's a pleasure to meet you both."
"Hoshi Uraraka," her mother said, and both bowed slightly, "Thank you so much for taking care of Ochako while she's here at U.A."
Inko teared up somewhat, "We should be thanking you, she's delightful!"
Both Izuku and Ochako began to blush so hard their faces were ready to bruise.
"But, as her father, I'm obliged to let you know that if you hurt my baby girl, I'll be forced to string you up, super-Quirk or no super-Quirk," Taiyou said jokingly.
"Daddy!" Ochako said indignantly, "Two nights ago, one of Izuku's trainers visited and told us the story of how he dove into a fight with a Villain, before he could even use his Quirk, to save his childhood bully . If he hurts me, it'll be by accident!"
Taiyou blinked, "Wait, really?" When Inko nodded, with a proud smile on her face, Taiyou said, "Okay, let's change the subject. I know that the bride's family often pays for the wedding, but we'll need to scrimp and save for a few years before we can do it properly, unless you're willing to let 'em elope..."
Izuku and Ochako's souls chose to leave their bodies at that moment.
The Yaoyorozu estate was quite imposing. It was second only to U.A.'s campus in terms of size. And it was a close second.
When they left the limo, Taiyou Uraraka looked around, utterly gobsmacked, and muttered, "The Yaoyorozu girl is your good friend, right?"
Ochako merely nodded.
"Well, polygamy's legal in Japan ever since the MLA uprising. Maybe you could get a throuple wedding?"
"LET'S GO SEE OUR FRIENDS!" Izuku and Ochako said in unison as they stiffly walked towards the house, away from that awkward conversation. Luckily, Hoshi Uraraka smacked her husband on the back of the head.
"Oh god, that was embarrassing," Ochako said under her breath as they approached the door, which an honest-to-god butler opened for the two as they entered. "At least-"
"Nope," Izuku interrupted. "No one's tempting fate today."
"Midoriya-kun!" The unmistakable, and quite loud voice of Tenya Iida could easily be heard in the hall's acoustics. "An unknown visitor has been spreading slanderous accusations that the two of you were fornicating in the school!"
"Never mind, looks like it's happening anyway," Izuku said, shaking his head. "Iida-kun, I'm assuming you've been talking to Mei?"
"Hatsume Mei, yes, that was her name. Although, she was quite rude not to refer to me by my own name, instead referring to me as Mufflers, which-"
"Iida-kun, two things. First, Mei is a Support student who refers to her inventions as babies. So if she said that she and I were 'making babies', she's referring to crafting my support gear based on my input. Second, she's a brilliant inventor, but she's lacking in the social graces. It's really difficult for her to remember most peoples' names. She's only remembered my name, Occhan's, and Yaomomo's so far. It's not ideal, but it's not malicious," Izuku explained.
Iida nodded, but his feathers still seemed ruffled, "Be that as it may, I find it very-"
"Man, Tenya, you need to relax," a taller version of Tenya, without glasses and with engines on his arms instead of his legs, interrupted. "I've known my fair share of out-there support people. It's fine," he looked at the newcomers. "So you must be Midoriya and Uraraka. Tenya's told me a lot about you!"
"Oh my god the Turbo Hero Ingenium knows me," Izuku said, vibrating in excitement and pulling out a notebook seemingly from nowhere, "May I have your autograph please?"
Tensei Iida laughed, "Of course, man. Anything for one of my little brother's friends…" he looked at the page, and realized it was an entry on him. "Is this… wow. If you weren't on the road to becoming a top hero yourself, I'd be hiring you for analysis."
"Izuku!" out of nowhere, Mei shot forward and glomped him, "How did my babies work yesterday? Any misfires?"
Tenya was flabbergasted at the impropriety, while Ochako, used to Mei's antics, and Tensei, who was amused by his little brother's reaction, giggled.
Izuku got a sense that Mei had been worried that her babies might have failed him at an inopportune time and put him in danger. He smiled widely, "They were perfect. I got startled at one point, but your respirator kept me from giving us away. I pushed myself a bit past my limits and the compression sleeves kept the fractures minimal. And I managed to unlock flight, and the Iron Soles did wonders against the winged villain I fought."
Mei's face exploded in joy, "My first satisfied customer!" she said with pride.
"You have another," Ochako said. "The boots were fantastic!"
"Perfect! So I can boast one hundred percent satisfaction!" Mei cheered, "Now, Izuku, give me your notes on your classmates so I can increase the sample size."
"Not without their consent," Izuku said wearily.
"Dangit, I'll have to convince 'em myself!" She turned around.
"Wait, don't- aaaand she's gone," Izuku said, calling after her as she went to talk to others in 1-A.
As Momo approached him, wearing a blue dress and leggings, Izuku wondered how his life got to the point where he not only had friends, but was friends with several gorgeous women.
"Luck, primarily," En quipped.
Shut it, Izuku thought as he walked up to Momo, "Thank you for inviting us, Yaomomo. Your home is lovely."
She gave a wonderful smile, "You're quite welcome, Izu-kun. It's so nice to finally have friends over!"
Izuku looked a little sad at that, "I know that feeling well."
Momo looked at him with concern, "How are you faring after the attack yesterday?"
"I want to say I'm fine, but I know that sounds flippant," Izuku said cautiously. "I know you were worried about me, and I don't want you to think I'm dismissing your concerns. Like, I was really scared at the moment, and I feel like I'm dealing with it so far? I'll let you know if that changes."
Momo seemed to examine him as he said that. "I want to dispute that, but I can tell you're sincere. That's odd. I mean, we were forced to fight for our lives, and I never expected we'd be attacked at school."
Izuku blinked, "Ah."
Momo tilted her head, "What is it?"
Izuku blushed at how adorable she looked just then, "Well, it wasn't on the same scale, but I have faced a villain before. And I'm used to not feeling safe at school. So I guess it's not as big of a shock to me as it is to everyone else."
Momo's eyes widened, "Wait, how…?"
"Kids were cruel, and the teachers came in three categories: Ignore it, subtly encourage it, or actively encourage it," Izuku said flatly.
Momo's expression darkened, "What was the name of your former school district again?"
"Err, Nezu told me he has a team investigating it," Izuku said, sweat forming in response.
Momo instantly perked up, "Oh good, so they won't be around for much longer."
Izuku blinked, but was interrupted as one of Setsuna's floating hands grabbed his shirt, the other tapping Momo's shoulder, and the two were dragged off for another conversation.
"Izu-chan," Tsuyu intercepted Izuku while he was having a seat and a drink of water.
"Hey, Tsu-chan," Izuku responded. The bond was making it easier to call her that. Not quite the same as genuine confidence, but he'll take what he could get.
"There are two things I want to talk about, ribbit," Tsuyu said. "First, I realized that I never actually thanked you for saving me. Ribbit, I suppose it was implied when we hugged, but I wanted to make sure I said it outright."
"You don't need to, but I'm really glad you felt that way, Tsu-chan," Izuku smiled widely.
"Indeed, ribbit. The second thing is that I've been having some weird insights lately and I wondered what it was. It started happening after I heard this weird thumping and a click back at the USJ. I was hoping you could tell me about it," Tsuyu's expression barely changed, but Izuku could tell she was a little concerned about it. Not too much, she trusted him (that was still a weird feeling to know implicitly), but she was concerned.
"Yeah, it's an aspect of my Quirk that I don't have control over. It forms a bond between me and someone else after that sound happens. It increases empathy, and lets everyone who's been bonded know relevant information about a person. So far, I've bonded with four people. You, Occhan, Yaomomo, and Mei-chan from Support," Izuku explained.
Tsuyu put her finger to her chin, "That explains why I got some information on them as well, ribbit. Are the information dumps random?"
"As far as I can tell, no," Izuku replied. "It only works when communicating with that person or if you're thinking about that person and want to do something for them."
"So that's why I had conflicting information when I was deciding what to wear today, ribbit," Tsuyu tilted her head. "Do you know why it happened?"
"No, but I'm glad you mentioned that you heard the click, too," Izuku said, his notebook appearing in his hands. "The others didn't mention it. Do you know of anything special that was going on when you heard it?"
"Oh, that's when I started crushing on you."
Izuku started to choke on his own breath as Tsuyu stated it bluntly. "W-w-w-w-w-"
Tsuyu cut him off, "Huh, you really don't believe it. You seriously think it'd be impossible for a girl to like you like that." Again, her tone and expression were the same, but Izuku knew that she was really sad at that.
"I mean, I was, I didn't," Izuku didn't know where to begin. The foundations of his world were being shaken apart.
"Makes sense, ribbit. You were considered Quirkless and you were surrounded by jerks. Same kinds of jerks who bullied and ignored me, ribbit. Kind of wish I'd met you before U.A.," Tsuyu said, now with righteous anger on his behalf.
"I was a different person back then," Izuku said with a sad smile. "Not just because I have a Quirk now. I wasn't the person I am now."
"Ribbit, I think you're less different than you believe you are, ribbit. But we're getting off topic. I didn't realize it at the time, but later I realized I was crushing on you after the USJ," Tsuyu said, absolutely bluntly. "I mean, you were quite a catch before. You've got a cute face and a nice body, and you're very sweet, ribbit. After saving me, I was having some feelings towards you, but when I caught you and dragged you away from that Nomu, I realized that I liked having you close to me, ribbit. Then I heard that thump-click noise."
Izuku looked absolutely flabbergasted at the nonchalant way she described that.
"Look, Izu-chan, I'm not good at subtle communication, ribbit. My mutations make my tone and facial expressions unreadable most of the time. If I'm not absolutely blunt, people will make up their own hidden meanings to what I say even if I never intended it. Ribbit, kinda like Yui-chan, except I didn't go quiet in response," Tsuyu explained.
Izuku could only weakly nod.
"So, I can tell I've dropped a bombshell on you, ribbit, and I'm sorry. I was hoping to introduce you to my parents and siblings. They want to meet you, ribbit, but you'll need some time to compose yourself. See you soon, Izu-chan."
And with that, she walked off, seemingly happier.
When he realized she was wearing a really cute sundress, and the information came that she chose it specifically for him, he suddenly realized that, holy shit, this was real.
Katsuki Bakugou grumbled as he burst into the cafe. He could see where his classmates had gathered. He stomped over, looking utterly pissed that they'd called him.
Neito Monoma gave him his trademark smug grin, "Ah, so the firecracker had deigned to give us 'extras' his time, has he?"
"Still makes him better than the Ice Prince," Yosetsu Awase grumbled.
"You're the one who invited me, Copycat. You're just lucky I didn't have anything better to do," Bakugou snapped back. Because, honestly, he didn't. He'd caught up with his studies, and he didn't want to risk going out to train his Quirk. He felt like he was being watched, so he had to be careful with what he did.
"Well, that's everyone who we can expect to be here, then," Monoma said, as he clasped his hands together. "Gentlemen, we have a problem. As we speak, the potential of Class 1-B is being overlooked in favor of the unworthy glory hogs of 1-A. We cannot let this travesty stand."
"Oui, mon frère," Yuga Aoyama said with a glint in his eyes and sparks shining around him. "We must allow ourselves to shine brighter than ever in these trying times."
"I wish I was there!" Togaru Kamakiri snarled. "I'd have slashed up those villains the second I had a chance."
"Dude, they got attacked by villains," Sen Kaibara replied disbelievingly. "Like, actual, not-joking-around villains. That's nothing you should be jealous of."
Bakugou scoffed, "Tch. If Deku and the rest of those losers could take 'em, they have to be some of the weakest shits out there."
Letting out a long sigh, Mashirao Ojiro flicked his massive tail and muttered, "Someday we're gonna have to learn who this 'Deku' person Bakugou's obsessed with is."
"Got something to say to my face, Monkeyman?!" Bakugou shouted in response.
"ENOUGH!" Jurota Shishida roared, before clearing his throat, adjusting his glasses, and saying, in a much calmer tone, "Pardon me. Monoma-kun, for the sake of debate, let us assume that we agree with your thesis that the increased media attention on our sister class is both a problem and one that we are capable of resolving. What do you propose as the intended solution?"
"Very well, Vice Rep," Monoma nodded. "It would be uncouth of us to simply attempt to pick fights the way those ruffians did. Our next possible opportunity to usurp their position is at the Sports Festival."
Now, the mood among the students began to improve, at least somewhat.
"Hell yeah!" Kosei Tsuburaba cheered. "We'll get to show the world what we're made of!"
Juzo Honenuki looked thoughtful, "Well, we'd have been trying to show off for potential internships at the Sports Festival anyway. How does this change anything?"
"Firstly, while I am loath to admit it, we can benefit from our counterparts' arrogance," Monoma said, somehow devoid of any irony. "With the news of the USJ attack, more eyes will be on our year for the Sports Festival. Most ignore the first year events, but now everyone will be looking for the false idols that are 1-A."
"So we can use that extra attention to flip the script," Rikido Sato contemplated.
"Precisely!" Monoma clapped his hands together. "As we prepare, there are two things we must do. The first is to observe our opponents so that we may be better prepared to crush them. The second is to develop potential strategies so that we can progress as a class to the final rounds."
Bakugou let out a growl, "If you extras think I'm gonna let you ride my coattails to try and score yourselves some glory, you can kiss my ass."
Monoma's teeth were grinding at Bakugou's use of the term extras. Hiryu Rin, however, was the one to respond. "Please. If we wanted to do that, we'd go for Todoroki. Since he's, you know, the actual top student in our class? And at least he knows how to shut his mouth."
"The fuck did you just say to me, Skin Peeler?" Bakugou got up, his chair clattering behind him.
"Also, he's smart enough to be able to learn our names," Rin responded, utterly unimpressed.
"You extras don't deserve names!" Bakugou raged.
"Bakugou-kun, please don't do anything that would get us kicked out of here," came the pleading voice of Nirengeki Shoda.
Bakugou held in a growl, but returned to his seat, "You can leave me out of your plans. You losers can eat my dust in the Sports Festival. And I came to U.A. to get away from creepy stalkers, not become them."
"Yeah, Bakugou and I got in trouble the last time we tried to visit 1-A," came the lisping voice of Minoru Mineta.
Bakugou was instantly so angry that he felt like a blood vessel might burst.
"Oh? Is that so?" Monoma grinned, apparently getting more satisfaction out of Bakugou's misfortune than any possible attempt to thwart 1-A.
"Yeah," Mineta said morosely. "Truly, he is a man of culture as well. On the first day, I went to hopefully glimpse the bountiful treasures that were placed so tantalizingly close to us, but found that they'd left early that day. Bakugou had been there as well. And the very next day, Kan-sensei and Principal Nezu told us that if we tried to go near 1-A or any of its students outside of a scheduled classroom event again, they would drop our grades by three letters."
Mineta began to weep. Bakugou didn't know which was worse, the extras who looked disgusted or those who seemed to sympathize. "Dude, I wasn't there to be a pervert. I was there trying to get answers from Deku."
Monoma scoffed, clearly neither believing him nor caring about his reasons, "Well, if the two of you cannot be counted on for reconnaissance, that's too bad. However, I have come across one person we must watch out for. The U.A. rumor mill has been hard at work, in spite of the media blackout on naming minors and our teachers attempting to cover it up…
"One of 1-A's students was apparently the one to snag the credit for the victory at the USJ. He was the one who caught their leader stealing information on campus, and was given authority to alert the faculty in case of emergencies! He then forewarned them before the villains' blockades were in place. He even took down a villain that was giving All Might trouble! Others had their taste of glory, but this one, this one had stolen the show."
Monoma looked out to his classmates, "My brothers, our biggest possible threat is Izuku Midoriya."
And suddenly, Bakugou was so enraged it almost looped back to calm.
"What was that about Deku?" Bakugou said icily.
Everyone blinked in shock.
"Wait, 1-A's Representative Midoriya is Deku?" Shoda said, flabbergasted. "He got first in the entrance exam! He beat All Might's record. Why would you call him useless?"
"Because he is! For fifteen years, he was nothing but a worthless, Quirkless thing trailing along at my heels like some creepy stalker, and then all of a sudden, he turns out to have been lying this whole time just to laugh at me behind my back!" Bakugou ranted.
Shishida blinked, "That seems out of character. Admittedly, Shoda and I only encountered him briefly when meeting him and his Vice Representative Yaoyorozu to establish our classes, but he did not seem duplicitous. The argument could be made that he was overly zealous in questioning us about our Quirks, but overall he seemed amicable."
"Well, if he was good at lying, it's not like you'd be able to tell," Hanta Sero offered.
"Great, he's a super strong guy in a class full of hotties. I bet he's already got a harem," Mineta mourned.
"Why would anyone pretend to be Quirkless?" Mezo Shoji interjected, hoping to interrupt Mineta's train of thought. "There's nothing to gain from it."
"I don't understand why that shitty nerd did what he did!" Bakugou growled. "All I know is the day after we got our results, he showed up in class with some bullshit story about how he couldn't use his Quirk before then! So either he was pretending just to rob me of my victory at the last minute or he cheated somehow and I don't care what it is!"
Monoma sighed, "I had the slightest bit of hope since you knew him beforehand, but apparently, you are delusional as well as uncooperative."
"YOU SON OF A-"
Bakugou was interrupted by the staff telling 1-B to leave the premises.
David Shield blinked at the incoming call. He was used to late nights, but not so much a phone call. As soon as he realized who it was, however, he was delighted. He'd heard about the attack at U.A. that All Might was involved in, and he'd sent a worried text, hoping he was okay.
"Toshi!" David said happily. "It's good to hear from you!"
"It's been too long, old friend," All Might said warmly. It hurt David's heart to hear just how tired his friend sounded.
"It has. We could do with a visit. Melissa's been asking about you," David said.
"I wish I was less busy with work. Transitioning to a teaching role is harder than I expected," All Might admitted sheepishly.
"Yeah, I know that struggle myself," David chuckled sympathetically.
"Listen, David. I need your help," All Might asked.
"What is it, Toshi?" David said, tone serious as he became worried. "I'll do anything. What happened?"
"I have a son now," All Might said simply.
That completely derailed David's train of thought, "Wait, when were you planning on telling me you were dating!"
"No, it's not like that!" All Might shouted. "I sort of accidentally adopted him."
David was utterly shocked, "What."
"Or, well, it might be more accurate to say that he adopted me."
"I'm going to need some more info on this, Toshi," David said, feeling a headache coming on.
And thus All Might gave a truncated summary of how he met Izuku, ending on how the young man helped save the day during the USJ incident. "I need help because I don't know how to be a father to someone. How do I let young Midoriya know I'm proud of him without undermining the fact that he's not concerned with his own safety?"
David laughed, "I felt the same thing when Melissa managed to create a plasma cutter unsupervised the first time. I wanted to punish and congratulate her in the same breath. I'd say, try to encourage what he did right and discourage what he did wrong."
"Well, that fits what I told him yesterday," All Might smiled. "I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain for more advice."
"Not at all. The boy must really mean a lot to you," David said happily.
"He's my successor, Dave," All Might said simply. As David gasped, All Might continued, "His quirk is similar to mine. He has the right instincts and the drive to succeed and be the best possible hero. I know he'll surpass me one day, and I can't wait for that to happen. I don't have to worry about the future anymore. I see his smile and I know that everything's going to be all right."
David was taken aback, "That's… wow, Toshi. That's a lot to take in. You're saying that as though it's the end of an era."
"It is. My hero career is coming to an end, Dave. It'll happen sooner rather than later. I've made peace with that, and look forward to ushering in the next generation of heroes," All Might said warmly.
David stared ahead, and said, "Well, I can't wait to see you at the next I-Expo. Neither can Melissa. Be sure to bring your boy along."
"Of course! He'll be thrilled to meet you! Perhaps I'll have him join in on a call with you beforehand?" All Might suggested.
"Sounds great. I might invite Melissa, too. She always wants to hear from her Uncle Might, and she could use a new friend," David grinned.
"Sounds like a plan. Talk to you later, Dave," All Might hung up.
David looked around at his lab. He thought of the device currently locked up. He thought about the plans he'd put into motion already.
Finally, he sighed, "I need to fix this."