Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! So, this chapter is nearly double the length of the last two chapters, and that was after I split it into two...and that's after I cut some of the chapter off. I went back and added some details and reworked some elements of the scene and it just kinda happened, so I hope you enjoy the longer chapter! I know no maid/butler things are really happening quite yet, but some of that will start forming in chapter 5.

I'll cut it off here before I start rambling, so I hope y'all enjoy the chapter...it's a rough one!


When Izumi woke up, she couldn't apologize enough to the hospital staff for injuring a few of them, but they seemed to take it in stride and apologized themselves for escalating the situation. It was clear that Izumi's quirk had changed some things about her and the poor girl wasn't quite used to it yet…not to mention the way her mother's death was affecting her. The girl was in pretty poor spirits, but Momo and her favorite butler were there to at least distract her from the agony she felt about losing her mother. Strangely, Izumi found quite an unusual amount of comfort in Momo, but it just felt good to have someone care about them.

Looking on at the positives, she learned the names of her guests, but didn't recognize Momo's family name; that gave Taiki some reassurance in Izumi's genuine nature. With some assurances in place, Taiki called the heads of the family, informing them that Izumi had finally woken up and some more sensitive matters could be discussed when they arrive. Once he was finished with that bit of nasty business, he returned to the room to check on young Izumi and his young Mistress. Sitting next to Izumi was a small matryoshka doll that was made in Izumi's image, adorable chibi dragon features and all.

"Woah, that's an amazing quirk, Yaoyorozu," Izumi's voice, while excited, was void of her usual energy when it came to quirks, her mother's death being ever present in her mind. Her smile wasn't as shining as it had been, but it was a small start on the road to recovery for the young dragon, "I can't think of a quirk that's more versatile than that," her voice immediately sped up as she went into one of her iconic mutterstorms, "I mean, you're quirk is essentially the ultimate counter to pretty much anything, as long as you possess the skill to properly use whatever you make. With prep time and creativity, you'd become unstoppable, if you continue to improve your mind. Wait, but she said she could create nonliving things, but the doll is made of wood. Does that mean she can make formerly living things or is something about wood special? Could she be able to create rope made of hair or maybe wool if it was clothing? She could do a lot of good if she made medicine…what if she could make new metals and stuff from comic books?"

Momo couldn't help but think her little mutterstorm was quite adorable, as if her brain was working faster than her mouth could. She was able to pick up some of what she was saying and found herself blushing from how she was complimented. Sure, a lot of people gushed over her quirk, saying things about how lucky she is to have such an OP quirk, that she could break the economy, that being a genius suits this quirk quite well. However, no one talks about the hours of study she does to properly use her quirk, the bruises and cuts she received from martial training to be able to use any weapon she could make, and they only talked about the practical application of her quirk if they wanted something out of it…this was like a breath of fresh air after drowning for so long and that made her smile wider than it had ever been.

Taiki was able to understand more of Izumi's mutterstorm and found it surprising that this child was able to show that level of understanding and intelligence about a quirk. Hell, none of the quirk tutors that Momo's learned under have brought up some of the questions regarding the mechanics of her quirk like Izumi just did. Taiki could feel it in his bones; this girl just might be destined for greatness…but for now, she was a child in pain and without a family.

Taiki, like before, politely coughs to regain the attention of the muttering girl, causing her to blush and look away in shame after she realized what she had done, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

The apology confused both Momo and Taiki, who looked at each other with clear concern. Taiki in particular noticed that Izumi shrunk in on herself, as if she was making herself smaller, less of a threat…it was a sign of potential abuse. More puzzle pieces fell into place about this girl, remembering that she had just manifested her quirk, meaning that she'd been living as a quirkless child for around 4 or 5 years now. Taiki was aware of the horrifying statistics about the quirkless and the abuse they tended to suffer…had Izumi suffered so greatly before all this? Shaking off those thoughts for the moment, he needed to support this young girl, reassure her, and take care of business.

"Young Miss, apologies aren't necessary for your marvelous insights into the young Mistress' quirk. You've brought up a few aspects of her quirk that have never been brought up before, so we thank you for addressing it so casually. Your intelligence regarding quirks has beaten some of the quirk tutors Mistress Momo has been in the tutelage of."

Taiki's comforting words seemed to have the opposite effect on Izumi, who fidgets in her bed with a look of panic clear on her face. She shakes her head and tries to take attention away from the praise, "N-n-no, I, i-it's just something d-dumb I d-do, sometimes. I-I just g-got lucky or s-s-something."

That sealed it for Taiki. The girl was generally pretty skittish, but she reacted as if she was doused in cold water whenever she got complimented and tried to downplay any of her accomplishments. He certainly hoped that whatever abuse she had suffered didn't come from home, but it wasn't a pretty prospect either way. Taiki was, once more, going to comfort the young girl, but his Mistress beat him to it.

"It's not dumb, Izumi. You're really smart!" Momo's smile became just as bright as Izumi's usual smile. The warmth of it was gentle and kind, enveloping Izumi like one of her mom's hugs after a tough day. Any protest Izumi was going to give died in her throat from Momo's reassurances and that warm smile of hers…no one ever smiled at her like that.

"...Okay, Yaoyorozu, Mr. Matsumurai…thank you," she managed to say, looking down at her lap with the smallest of smiles on her face, cheeks tinted a happy red from such direct compliments. It felt…nice, especially from Momo.

"Call me Momo, Izumi; I think saving my life grants you that and I want to be friends! You seem to be rather kind and I want to get to know you better, if you'll have me!" Momo's brightness, somehow, gets even more radiant as a look of hope crosses her face.

Taiki nods in agreement, "Yes, we'd rather you be comfortable around us, if you'd allow it. You don't need to use our last names when addressing us."

Once more, something inside of Izumi is soothed by everything about Momo, finding the ability to resist crumbling with every passing second she basks in her adorable radiance, her lack of self-worth never standing a chance against this primal force of all that is wholesome. She can't help but smile softly as she shyly averts her gaze, "O-Oh, well, s-sure, Yao, er, M-Momo. T-That sounds r-really nice…I-I'd l-love to be f-f-friends…and t-thank you, Mr. T-Taiki."

Both children smile wide at the prospect of obtaining another friend that seemed to truly care about them. A comfortable silence took over the room as the children were basking in their thoughts and warm feelings, so Taiki spoke up once more.

"Well, I'm glad to see you two are getting along so well. However, I must continue with a bit of business. Mistress Momo's parents will be here in an hour to meet and present their thanks to you, something that you very much deserve and I will hear no objections about it."

Izumi nearly paled from the last part, wondering if this butler had some sort of telepathy quirk…meaning that he might hear her thoughts right now! Before Izumi's thoughts could spiral into full blown anxiety, Taiki continued, "Furthermore, I haven't seen anyone come visit you and was wondering if you needed to call anyone to inform them that you are alright and are staying in a hospital."

Taiki left the prompt more open-ended, not wanting to bring up the possibility of a late or absent father.

Regardless of the care, Izumi deflates slightly and silently sighs softly, "O-Oh, well, I-I should probably call the Bakugous, Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru…they're my m-mom's best friends. Kacchan will come along with them…he's my friend. Their number is XXX-XXX-XXXX"

Both Taiki and Momo noticed the hesitancy around this 'Kacchan' and calling him her friend. Internally, Izumi wasn't quite sure if she wanted Kacchan to come; while he's amazing and cool, she doesn't think she can take any of his verbal tirades at the moment. She doesn't think he would do it in front of his parents, but there was a distinct possibility of them being left alone together…but he'd understand this time, right?

Regardless of Izumi's internal conflict, Taiki nods and pulls out his phone again, entering in the number, "I'll call them and speak to them privately before letting them talk to you, if that's alright, young Miss."

Izumi gave the okay and Taiki gives a polite bow before stepping out to deliver some good news to the Bakugous. He hopes that they've already been informed about Inko's death; delivering the news of someone's death was something he really doesn't need to deal with again. He gives a silent sigh before pressing call, mentally preparing himself for the worst of it.

"Mitsuki Bakugou speaking," her voice is rough despite the air of professionalism, sorrow being hidden just under the surface. Perhaps she already knew of her best friend's death, but Taiki couldn't be certain.

"Hello Mrs. Bakugou, I am Taiki Matsumura and I'm calling in regards to Izumi Midoriya. She…" at the name drop, Taiki was caught off from the sound of deep thumps and clattering coming from the speaker of his phone, Mitsuki presumably knocking something over and/or dropping her phone…the panicked cussing was a good indicator.

"Fuck, yes, hello Mr. Matsumura, sorry…just…fuck, please tell me it's good news, is she okay?" Mitsuki was barely put together these past few days. She hadn't heard from Inko after some stupid big bad villain takedown and had gotten worried enough to check through proper channels about people who died during the tragic event. She found her best friend's name, but was comforted by the fact that she didn't see her little niece's name on there. It was a gloomy week in their household, mourning a close friend but having to put off the funeral in case Izumi was okay…they were still digging bodies out after all, some people survived miraculously long…she just hoped Izumi was one of them. Mitsuki wasn't the praying kind of woman, but she begged to any divine entity that would listen to ensure Izumi's safety.

Taiki mentally scolded himself for not leading the conversation better, making this woman's anxiety spike unnecessarily, even if he was cut off, "Yes, she is fine, Mrs. Bakugou. She's at Tokyo General resting up from some injuries she received and she'll have virtually no complications from her injuries."

Mitsuki sighs with relief, joy flooding her system for the first time in a week and it felt so good to finally have this off her shoulders, "Oh thank whatever entity lil Izu has that's watching over her. We could use some good news right about now…does she know about her mom?"

It was Taiki's turn to audibly sigh for a multitude of reasons; he doesn't have to deliver bad news, but the notion of that child being parentless is one that doesn't sit well in his stomach, "Unfortunately, yes, she does, so at least the worst of that is over. There was, however, a bit of an incident involving that news that I think you should be made aware of. Young Midoriya has a quirk, a rather potent draconic quirk, and it seems to have an effect on her behavior, her negative emotions in particular. When she…learned about her mother's sacrifice, she was obviously distraught, but her sorrow quickly turned into rage and grief. It was enough for some of the hospital staff to step in to try to restrain and sedate her, but some wild panic in her took over, essentially letting her toss them around the room…toss fully grown adults around like they were toy balls. Thankfully, no one was gravely injured, but I must advise caution in doing anything that could further unbalance the young Miss. She certainly doesn't need any more heartache."

The line was silent for a short while, Taiki assuming that she was processing the whole story, as it was quite a bit to take in. Mitsuki, despite the situation, was just happy to hear she was okay. She'd need to be on Katsuki's ass about being polite to Izumi while they visit, but that could be managed.

"Shit…fuck, that's a lot to unpack…Inky sacrificed herself for someone?"

"Yes,. According to Izumi, Ms. Midoriya pushed her quirk to the limit and beyond to pull some falling rubble away from her. I fear that she might develop survivor's guilt, but I hope she will have a good support system to help her through this," Taiki explains, not relishing in being the one to reveal that little tidbit of information.

Mitsuki audibly groans from the reveal-, already feeling too overwhelmed for this shit, "As if she needed anything more to deal with…at least she got the consolation prize of a quirk out of this whole shitty fucking ordeal…And thanks for the heads up about that, I'll make sure no one harms another hair on that head of hers…Is she awake right now? Is she up to talk? I just need to make sure she's alright. Either way, I'm bringing my family to visit her as soon as we're done with this call."

"Yes, she's awake currently and she'd love to hear from you. I just wanted to ask a few questions about who else I might need to call and I didn't want to bring it up with the current state of young Midoriya's mental health. Would you mind answering a question or two?"

Mitsuki sighs and groans roughly, roughling her messy hair as more unpleasant memories were brought up…she really hated remembering when Inky was heartbroken and crying, "If you're asking about that deadbeat jackass Inko once called a husband, he fucked off to America and wants nothing to do with little Izu because she's quirkless. Inko was an only child and both of her parents died before lil Izu was born. I don't know how to contact anyone on Izumi's father's side of the family, but I haven't really heard anything about them in years. So no, it looks like it's just my family that'd need to know about her."

Taiki doesn't bristle from how rough and vulgar Mitsuki is, especially with the hell she's probably gone through in the past week. Taiki nods to himself as he takes in the information, finding himself similarly disgruntled about Izumi's father, even if he wouldn't use the same vocabulary to describe a man like him.

"I see, but I am just glad the young Miss has someone else to rely on."

That 'someone else' piqued Mitsuki's interest, wondering if someone that she didn't know about had gotten her niece's attention…now that she thought about it, the stiff on the call with her doesn't sound like a typical hospital worker, especially not one just having gone through a week of swamped work from one of the more bloody days in Japan's history. He sounds like some posh private school director for rich kids.

Her voice comes out a little more hostile than she meant to, "What do you mean by 'someone else'?"

Taiki can only smile from the tone she takes, finding it wonderful that this woman seemed defensive of young Izumi, even if this woman did seem like she could be a bit of a handful at times, "Well, that's another story I should probably explain as well. When Izumi unlocked her quirk, it was to save myself and the family I work for from an errant piece of concrete that had been flung our way; we were in the middle of that nasty villain attack. She managed to hurt herself pretty severely with that stunt, but the family I work for, the Yaoyorozus, made sure she got the best care she could receive. She just woke up today, but she's been bonding with the Yaoyorozus' daughter, Momo, for a good part of the day. The young Mistress seems to be rather attached to young Izumi and they are becoming quite fast friends."

The name drop alone was enough to give Mitsuki heart palpitations, as she easily recognized the family name. The Yaoyorozus had their hands in just about everything when it came to Japanese commerce, tech, and finance…and somehow, timid little Izu had manifested a dragon quirk, kicked the crap out of some concrete chunk, heroically saved one of the most wealthy and influential families in all of fucking Japan, and easily befriended their heiress…what kind of entity did lil Izu have watching over her and was that entity looking for a sugar baby?

"Well…shit, damn, that's…wow, yeah, I'm going to need to sit back down and just take all of…that shit in. What in the hell did Inky's little rugrat get herself into?"

Taiki couldn't help but chuckle, acknowledging some of the absurdity, but pushes the conversation along, "Yes, well, the young Miss would love to hear from you. I need to walk back to her room, but that should give you enough time for your head to stop spinning," Taiki introduced a bit of light humor into the interaction, earning a short snort from Mitsuki and some grumbles that only made him laugh softly.

With that Taiki returns to the room and puts the phone on speaker, as Izumi's arms were in casts and not exactly the most mobile. "You're on speaker phone now Mrs. Bakugou; young Midoriya's arms are in casts so this is easier for her. Mistress Momo and I will be stepping out so you two may have some privacy. Mistress Momo, if you could please join me."

Momo pouts slightly from having to abruptly leave, but does so. She gives a small wave and a smile towards Izumi, "Bye Izumi, we'll be back soon."

Izumi finds herself feeling quite sad and a bit empty with Momo and Taiki having to leave, even if it's just for a short while. However, she's quite excited to be able to talk to her Auntie Mitsuki.

"H-Hello?" was all Izumi could say at first, some anxiety finding her as she tested the waters of the conversation.

Mitsuki can't help but smile at hearing Inko's brat's voice, feeling relief bubble up from deep inside her, "Hey there, lil Izu. I heard you got into some shit and got yourself a little fucked up by bein reckless or some shit. How're you feeling?"

Izumi couldn't help but smile, all too used to the way Mitsuki talks, finding it comforting to have a little bit of normalcy back into her life, "I'm okay, Auntie. I'm just a little hurt, but Mr. Taiki said the doctors did a good job of making me feel better…I kinda got hurt pretty bad."

Mitsuki can't help but snicker, "Yeah, flying chunks of concrete will do that to reckless idiots who get in their way, but you're the bitch who lived it because you just happened to get some badass quirk."

Izumi giggles from the way Mitsuki described her tomfoolery, "Oh, well, y-yeah…I look a little different now."

Mitsuki's curiosity piqued from that little tidbit of info, "Oh? Matsumura mentioned you have a dragon quirk now. I bet you look pretty badass; tell me you got some kick ass horns and all that!"

Izumi brightens quite considerably, as getting to talk about quirks was always the highlight of her day. Mitsuki was one of the few people who'd listen to her ramblings about quirks without complaint, something Izumi very much appreciated. The combo of both getting to talk with her favorite aunt and getting to talk about quirks was enough to pull up the girl's mood.

"Oh, well, yeah. I have black horns, but I have some other traits too. I have a tail, slitted eyes, and some patches of scales. Mr. Taiki mentioned that I had wings, claws, and sharp teeth, but those parts of it didn't stick around…I can probably turn them off and on if I get more control of my quirk. I also got super strong and quick too!"

"Well damn, you sound like you look badass, but I guess I'll have to come see ya myself. Ya mind if we all come visit? It's been a rough week for all of us, I'm sure you could use some support right about now, if you don't mind dumb aunt hugs," Mitsuki's voice gets oddly subdued as she reminds herself about her best friend's sudden death and the mood in the conversation drops.

Izumi's smile immediately vanishes, the memory of her mother eating away at her as she struggles to not tear up, feeling that stupid, overwhelming lump in her throat, "I-I'd like to see you Auntie, so yeah, that's fine…a-are you okay?"

Damn that Izumi, always looking out for others over herself. Mitsuki wipes away the tears and puts on a brave face, despite Izumi not being able to see her, "I feel like shit, kiddo, but this ain't about me you selfless fucking brat. I should be asking you that!"

Izumi is taken a little off guard by Mitsuki's reversal, the emotions around her mother feeling a bit too raw. She grimaces and looks down at her lap, her voice becoming almost too quiet for Mitsuki to hear, "I'm about the same…I…I just…I'm really going to miss her, Auntie, and I know you all will too."

Trying and failing to keep her tears in, Mitsuki takes a calming breath as her makeup starts to run down her cheeks, "Yeah well, you're allowed to feel like shit, kiddo. We all feel like shit and we'll all make it through this together. We held off on any funeral for your mom, but we'll take care of all that and be with you every step of the way…just…fuck," Mitsuki takes a quiet breath, failing to stop the tears that fall from her face, but keeping it together for the little girl on the other end of the call, "Just, sit tight alright? We'll be there soon."

Feeling her own tears begin to fall, Izumi struggles to keep it together, "Yeah,, o-okay Auntie…It'll be good to see you."

Mitsuki smiles softly with hints of bitterness, feeling glad that Inko's brat could take some comfort in her, "It'll be good to see you too, lil Izu. See ya soon."

Izumi lets her head lean back against the pillow as she sighs roughly, still struggling to hold in her emotions when she hears Mitsuki's voice turn up to her usual abrasive yell, "Oi, Masaru, shitty brat! Lil Izu is okay and we're going to see her in the hospital. Get your shit together before I come get it for you! …oh, shit, this thing's still on."

The end call tone plays and Izumi can help but start to chuckle, which slowly morphs into a deep belly laugh, and finally blooms into a full blown hysterical laugh. There was really no one else like Auntie Mitsuki. All of Izumi's emotions just came pouring out through laughter, feeling overwhelmed as she couldn't exactly stop, but it felt so good to finally laugh like this, to get everything out.

When Taiki and Momo returned, Izumi had finally managed to calm down and was in slightly better spirits after having a talk with her favorite Auntie. Her spirits were even higher now that her first friend in so many years was back next to her and willing to talk to her…it was an odd feeling. She was used to the more silent sneers, the open disdain, and some of the physical violence from those who particularly hated her. Seeing Momo so excited to just talk with her was making her heart sing in the most comforting of ways…she finally has a friend that actually values her!

That's when her thoughts turn to Kacchan, her 'best friend' from when they were in diapers. They'd been a constant in each other's lives, but it wasn't always bad; Izumi has more vague memories of feelings of being around Kacchan, when he wasn't such an abusive friend. Izumi wasn't sure how to feel about these feelings of irritation that were bubbling up from thinking about her friendship with Kacchan…everything had been fine…right? Then why did being friends with Momo feel so different? Why was she dreading Kacchan coming to visit her? She didn't want to feel like nothing, she wasn't ready to deal with that yet, but she couldn't exactly say no to his visit. She'd just have to put on a brave face and hope that he was in a good mood, which was a bit of a longshot.

"Izumi, are you feeling alright? You zoned out there for a moment," Momo asks curiously, noticing that the girl had slowly gone silent.

"O-Oh, y-y-yeah, Yao, er, Momo. I-I'm a-alright…just thinkin a-about my quirk!" Izumi struggles to find an appropriate lie, not wanting to burden her new friend with her own issues that have plagued her for half her life. She wasn't ready to share that part of herself.

Momo knew that she was lying, as Izumi wasn't a particularly good liar; she didn't want to put any pressure on her, considering the circumstances of her mental health and the freshness of their friendship, so she simply went with the new topic of discussion.

"Ah, yes, your quirk is quite marvelous. Just the capability for flight and the tail make it quite versatile and well suited for martial arts. I'm assuming your strength will increase as you mature, so I think it would be well suited to hero work."

"H-H-Hero work?!" Izumi looks rather stunned from the assessment, her self-confidence being lower than dirt, part of her subconscious not realizing that she has a quirk now, that she wasn't shitty ol' quirkless Deku anymore. She was quite taken aback, as this was the first person that had said Izumi could be a pro hero…hell, Momo already called her a hero for saving her family's life, something that still made her head spin.

Momo simply tilts her head curiously at Izumi's apparent self-doubt, "O-Of course. You're already my hero. Do you not want to become a hero when you get older?"

That seems to light a bit of a fire under young Izumi, her need to help others and her determination pushing her forward and strangely contrasting with her low self-esteem, "I-I'd like that more than anything!" she says a little louder than intended before her voice gets quieter and she looks down at her lap. "I…I want to be like All Might…I want to be able to save everyone, to be able to put them at ease with my smile, just like he does…"

Izumi waits for the hammer to drop, for rejection to come flying in her face, to be called a stupid, worthless, quirkles de…

Those thoughts were instantly banished from Momo's jovial tone and words of support, "Oh, he is quite inspiring, isn't he? Oh I certainly know you'll be just as good a hero as he is, you already are in my eyes!"

Izumi's head shoots up to look at Momo, finding no lies evident in the radiant look that's on her face, her eyes practically sparkling. Izumi's heart swells as she begins to tear up and whimper, failing to keep her emotions in check as those tears start to free fall. Momo believes in her, truly believes in her; no one had ever believed in her like she did, not even her own mother. More than that, Momo already sees her as the ultimate hero, which was absurd to Izumi…even if she put her life and limb on the line to save the Yaoyorozus.

To Momo, it was a no brainer; The symbol of peace was truly one of the greatest heroes of all time, but Izumi had personally saved her and her family, nearly dying to do so and not hesitating to jump into the fray…all while thinking she was powerless. Izumi was also only nine! To her, Izumi was her hero and her one true friend, putting her well above All Might in her mind!

Seeing Izumi's tears begin to fall, Momo begins to panic a small bit, not meaning to make the poor girl cry. Momo scrambles to pull the girl into a gentle hug, whispering gentle apologies and comforting the girl as best she could. Izumi would cling back to the warm hug, but her arms were in these damnable casts, so she'd have to just settle for leaning into the welcomed physical contact, letting her tears and sobs flow freely.

After Izumi calms down, Momo gently wipes the tears away from Izumi's cheeks as Izumi mutters a quiet, "Thank you", continuing to lean into any contact she could get from her newest friend. Her touch was something she craved so deeply, finding it to be deeply soothing and comforting…she'd question why she found it to be so comforting, but she was mentally exhausted and just wanted to enjoy it while she could. Momo eventually let go when Izumi had calmed down some, returning to her seat and leaving Izumi deeply craving more comfort.

Momo continues the conversation, moving on to more safe topics to learn about her newest friend, "So, you've told me about All Might, but what other heroes do you like?"

Izumi's eyes were practically smiling at getting to talk about her favorite heroes, but it was so hard to narrow them all down! Izumi could probably name almost every hero in the top 500 and quite a few underground heroes. It was a shame that the underground heroes couldn't get proper recognition for their work and a lot of them dealt with the nastier bits of hero work on a more frequent basis. There were quite a few rescue oriented heroes that came to mind and not a lot of their exploits were as clippable as some of the more combat oriented heroes, but their work was just as crucial! While she could probably spend the entire week talking about what heroes she liked, there were quite a few standouts in her mind, even if they weren't All Might.

"Hmmm, there're a lot of good heroes that come to mind, so it's really hard narrowing that down. I really like Recovery Girl; she's saved so many lives over her career and her years of service as a hero are among some of the longest in Japan's history," Izumi's smile gains a small hint of bittersweetness as she brings up the next hero, "I also really like Eraserhead, but he doesn't get a whole lot of recognition because he's an underground hero…his quirk also really interested me because I'm quirkless, or, well, was quirkless. His quirk cancels out other quirks, so he pretty much fights quirkless. It kinda gave me hope that I could do the same, ya know?."

Momo couldn't help but smile back at Izumi, as her knowledge of heroes seemed quite astounding. She was a bit saddened by Izumi's former quirkless situation and what she might've dealt with, but it seemed like even Izumi hadn't seen a quirkless hero before…which was a bit of a depressing notion, seeing as Izumi desperately wanted to be a hero and possessed the spirit of one.

"I must admit, Recovery Girl is quite the hero, but I have never heard of Eraserhead. His quirk seems quite useful though, it disarms an opponent and, depending on how it's turned on, can take them quite off guard."

Izumi nods eagerly, some of her earlier brightness returning in full force, "Oh, I think Eraserhead's quirk works through his eyes; I've seen him use eye drops after he took down a villain and he has a weird set of goggles…I think he kept his quirk on for a long time too; I think his hair floats when he uses it, so it was around like thirty seconds? I didn't see him often and there's not too much out there about him, so I don't really know how exactly his quirk works…but he has this cool support item that looks like a long scarf and it's super tough. He uses it to restrain villains and to help get around and stuff!"

Momo gives a thoughtful nod before responding, "He does sound like quite the interesting hero. His quirk being made hard to discern is probably a boon to him in the underground. It makes it hard to recognize and plan against, so it's probably by design."

"Mhm, the details of his quirk were a bit harder to figure out compared to some other underground heroes I've seen or read about," Izumi breaks her thoughts, finding herself a bit curious about Momo's favorite heroes, as well as if she wants to become a hero herself, "Hey, Momo, who are your favorite heroes?"

Momo ponders for a few moments, looking up and tilting her head slightly, in a way that Izumi couldn't help but think was cute, "Hmmmm, well, All Might is quite the obvious answer, as there's no one else like him. Besides him…I enjoy Mr. Principal, Nezu. His strategies are quite sound and he does quite a bit of good work at U.A. in raising up the next generation of heroes. He also released a book with Lunch Rush about how to make perfect cups of tea and both Taiki and I learned quite a bit from it."

Izumi had heard quite a bit about Nezu as he was quite the interesting case of a quirked animal, becoming a champion for his own rights and the rights of others who were seen as less than. He was quite the beacon for quirkless people too, but that wasn't really talked about a whole lot online…at least not in typical hero discussion boards. There was also some information about him being some sort of eldritch entity, but that just seemed rather absurd.

"Oh, yeah, Mr. Principal is pretty cool, I hope he's still the principal there if I get to attend U.A.. Speaking of U.A., do you want to be a pro hero too, Momo?"

Momo had always been told that her quirk would be perfect for pro hero work, but was generally never asked if she wanted to become one. Everyone just assumed she was going to take over her parents' company when they were ready to retire, even Momo herself thought that. It was the most realistic thing for her as well, as making it as a renowned pro hero was close to impossible…only a small percentage of people ever got to stand at the top of Japan's pro hero scene…but the image of Izumi's strong back filled her mind, pushing bravely against the stone that had threatened to end her life. She could see Izumi's feet sliding against the ground, harshly kicking up dust. She could see Izumi's wings beating quickly, helping her fight against the force of that damnable concrete. She could see Izumi's muscles bulge and flex with newfound power, betting her life that she could protect her and her family.

How could she not be drawn to that allure?

Like a siren's call changed the course of sailors, Izumi's actions had made her reconsider for the first time in her life. Did she want more from her life? Did she want to help people as a hero? Could she already help people as the head of a corporation? Her quirk could do so much for people…Izumi thought that she could make medicine, a blessing for people dealing with poverty, natural disasters and villain attacks. She could be a shining beacon for all of Japan…but if that didn't work out, she could always fall back on running her parents' company.

Did she truly want to become a hero?

Momo was…unsure, with new thoughts filling her head, "I'm…not quite sure, Izumi," this caused Taiki to perk up a bit, taking an interest in his young Mistress' hesitance, "Helping people who need it does sound appealing, but I'm not sure how best I could do something like that. I'll be helping a lot of people when I take over my parents' business, but I've never thought about doing something other than that before…"

Momo was becoming a little timid, some insecurities peeking through her usual self-assured demeanor. Taiki was about to speak up, to reassure her as any good butler would do, but it would seem that, once more, he would be beaten to the punch.

"Oh, well, you still have a lot of time to figure that out Momo," Izumi gives a simple, reassuring smile, one that resonates deeply for the heiress, "I guess you can just keep an open mind and you'll be able to tell what'll make you the happiest, but I think you'll be amazing in anything you do because you're super awesome!"

Momo was left speechless as a deep blush overtook her face, bringing up her hands to hide her cheeks while looking away from her hero. Not only had her new friend saved her entire world, she had changed it so easily and encouraged her in ways that only her immediate family had…she couldn't help but fluster from how vulnerable she felt and how good it felt to trust her new friend with all of it, even if it was a little embarrassing…especially with Taiki failing to cover his chuckles.

For around the next half hour, Momo and Izumi continued to idly chat, enjoying the conversation's rhythm as the time flew by quicker than they realized. All too soon, the three in the hospital room heard a knock on the door, followed by two familiar figures passing the threshold: Daichi and Asami Yaoyorozu, the heads of the Yaoyorozu family. The pair of them looked so much better than when Izumi first saw them; they were no longer caked in dust, they're clothes were pressed and hole free, and they wore polite smiles that were genuinely warm.

As they stepped in, they noticed their daughter's smile being quite a bit more vibrant than her usual practiced polite smile. It would seem Taiki's assessment of the pair's blossoming friendship was quite accurate. Not only had this young dragon girl saved all of their lives, but their daughter seemed to bloom brilliantly while in Izumi's presence. This would be added to the seemingly growing list of things to be thankful for because of this draconic child.

Daichi is a man of lithe and tall stature, standing well above six feet tall, and has a clean shaven face with short black hair, black eyes and sharp features. This rather handsome man radiates a calm power, assured by his years of experience.

Asami is on the taller side as well, possesses a curvaceous figure, and has flowing, silky, long, black hair. Her black eyes hold a bit of natural mischief in them and her smile is as radiant as her daughter's. Together, the husband and wife duo looked like quite the well dressed power couple, ready to take on the entire world and win.

"Welcome, Master Daichi, Mistress Asami. It is wonderful to see you again," Taichi politely stands up and bows, his voice gaining the attention of the pair of children.

"Oh, hello Mother, Father. How was your day?" Momo asks, acting as if she just didn't ditch a week of school.

"Hello Taichi, it's good to see you too," Daichi gives a polite nod to his butler before addressing his daughter, "Hello, Princess. Our day was no different than usual, but we managed to step away from it for the time being."

Asami greets Taiki in the same manner, a gentle smile on her face that turns slightly playful when she looks towards her daughter, "Hi, sweetie. Our day was just fine; I'm just glad your little rebellious faze hasn't made you averse to caring about your parents."

Taiki couldn't help but chuckle again, trying and failing to cover his mouth. Momo had the decency to blush and act bashful to her mother's playful rib, knowing that she probably wouldn't be living this down any time soon. Izumi herself hadn't known what to expect of the Yaoyorozus, as it was evident that they came from an elite class. However, she was happy to see that they shared a good degree of warmth and casualness to the usual formalities they may possess.

Breaking the slight pause in conversation, Asami looks towards her family's savior and gives a deep bow, showing her utmost respect for the girl, "You, young Midoriya, have saved myself and the most important people in my life and I cannot thank you enough for your selfless actions."

Daichi went to bow in the same way his wife had, letting her continue while Izumi was freaking the fuck out at being put on a pedestal again, "I cannot thank you enough; we will forever be in your debt."

Izumi, who was becoming a bigger ball of anxiety the more they stayed bowed, finally managed to find her voice somewhat, "P-P-Please p-pick up y-your heads. I-I…i-it's fine r-really. Mr. Taiki t-told me you b-brought in some d-doctors for m-my treatment…s-s-so can w-we consider y-your debt p-paid for?"

The Yaoyorozu matriarch and patriarch picked up their heads and gave each other a look, having a silent conversation before Daichi seemed to relent, his wife's smile becoming a bit more playful, "Absolutely not, young Midoriya! We still owe you very much and calling in doctors was simply the right thing to do. You saved all of our futures and I intend to make sure you feel how much you're appreciated, unless it makes you too uncomfortable, but you deserve all of this and much more for your selfless actions, even if they were quite reckless."

Izumi was about to protest more, but Momo's hand found its way to Izumi's casted hand, instantly gaining the young dragon's attention, "I would probably be better if you didn't resist too much when my mother is like this, Izumi. Father will make sure she doesn't go overboard, but she always gets what she wants when she sets her mind to it."

Momo's warm smile and friendly gesture obliterates Izumi's anxiety, letting any protests die in her throat…even if she wasn't entirely comfortable with getting paid for her stint of recklessness. Part of her still didn't believe she deserved this praise, but she couldn't say no to her newest friend. Izumi gives a shy okay while averting her gaze and both of her parents take a bit of interest in that particular interaction.

"Oh, how rude of us, we forget to properly introduce ourselves. I'm Daichi Yaoyorozu and this is my wife, Asami Yaoyorozu. It's a pleasure to finally meet our savior," Daichi and his wife give a short bow, giving their proper introduction to the young girl.

"And, apparently, a great friend of our daughter. I didn't realize you two would be on a first name basis so soon. You both are just two peas in a pod, aren't you?" The Yaoyorozu matriarch takes the opportunity to coo and tease the pair, both of them acting quite bashful all of a sudden. The blushes on their faces look way too adorable!

Momo has a sudden realization that, while she gave Izumi permission to use her first name, she had not gotten permission to address Izumi in the same way. She experiences a bit of mild internal panic, but was broken off by Izumi addressing her parents.

"O-Oh, y-yes, well, your daughter i-is very nice Mr. and Mrs. Y-Yaoyorozu. I-I enjoy t-talking with her a l-lot; I'm proud to call her my f-friend and I want to get to know her m-more…Oh! Ah, I-I'm Izumi M-Midoriya, it's w-wonderful to f-finally meet you. T-Thank you f-for h-helping to t-take care of m-my injuries." Izumi's shy smile manages to win the hearts of the head Yaoyorozus, knowing that this kind of smile is something that needs to be fiercely protected.

Momo barely manages to hide her blush from how Izumi just complimented her, putting her previous anxiety to bed and just enjoying the fact that she has a new friend now…a genuine friend, someone who didn't use her for her status or her parents' money.

Asami speaks up once more, "Oh, of course, but please, address us all by our first names. I think we're well past such formalities."

Izumi gives a shy nod, "O-Okay, Mrs. A-Asami, f-feel free t-to use mine too, then…if you want to, that is.."

"Of course! Now, tell me, Izumi, how are you feeling? Is there anything you need from us?"

Izumi couldn't help but smile a little bit when she saw the way Asami was fussing over her…it really reminded her of her late mother, a bittersweet feeling of joy washing over her, "I-I'm okay, Mrs. Asami…j-just a l-little pain, but I-I'm okay," Izumi thinks for a second before she feels her stomach gurgle, the sensation of deep hunger being a bit of a surprise to her. Izumi just ate a little over an hour ago, so why was she still so hungry? Maybe spending some time in a coma had messed some stuff up?

Izumi continues, "Er, w-well, I-I'm still a-a bit h-hungry; maybe someone could talk to the nurse for m-me about getting some more food?"

Without a second thought, Taiki immediately gets up and gives a short bow, "I'll handle it, young Miss. Please let me know if you need anything else."

With that Taiki leaves to go get Izumi food and the calm before the storm settles in, The conversation stays rather light as the Yaoyorozus and Taiki get to know Izumi and vice versa. Izumi starts to slowly open up to the family, her anxious stuttering greatly lessening with every passing interaction. Izumi also needed more than one additional meal, eating an additional six in the time they conversed, which was quite odd to the young girl…maybe it was something quirk related? Momo mentioned an element of her quirk working in a similar way, as her food was her fuel for her quirk to work. Did Izumi's quirk require food as fuel too? Or was this something more related to her draconic nature? Either way, those would be questions she'd get to have fun answering later.

In the midst of a pleasant conversation, the door to her hospital room slams open, giving the poor dragon girl a fright. Taiki's entire body tenses from force of habit, ready to jump into the fray on any unannounced intruder, but he relaxes when he sees the relief on a blonde woman's face. Said blonde woman was accompanied by a more meek brown haired man and an angry faced blonde child. It was easy enough to put two and two together and guess that these were the Bakugous. Mitsuki in particular looked like hell; the deep bags under her eyes, partially obscured by her makeup, showed that she hadn't slept well in quite a bit. Her husband was in a similar state, but her son seemed mostly free from the sleep deprivation that plagued the adult Bakugous.

Without addressing the others in the room, Mitsuki rushes in like an Izumi seeking missile, stopping just right next to her bed before gently enveloping the girl in a hug, careful to mind any injuries that the girl may have, "Damn, brat, you look like shit."

While Taiki wasn't bothered by the intrusion and vulgarity, the Yaoyorozus were a bit off-put by it to a certain degree, but recognized the love behind Mitsuki's actions. Masaru entered the room with a bow and apologized for her wife, introducing his family and sighing with relief at finally being able to put eyes on Izumi. Izumi really did look like hell, but she wasn't the picture of complete misery that he'd expected her to be…most likely due to the Yaoyorozus, something that Mitsuki will be profusely thanking them for.

Katsuki was another story. Having to take time out of his busy evening to go visit the useless Deku was a pain in the ass already, but now he had to deal with stupid strangers when he wanted to be left the hell alone. Not only that, but his Mom and Dad had been so distraught over Inko's death, so learning that she sacrificed herself for her stupid, worthless brat only made his anger spike.

It should've been Izumi that died, not Auntie Inko.

To top it all off, stupid Izumi got a stupid quirk, as if to stupidly challenge his supremacy. It didn't matter though, quirk or no quirk, she was still an annoying useless Deku that was stupid enough to get her own mother killed.

Izumi couldn't help but chuckle softly from Mitsuki's gently overwhelming hug, "Hey Auntie. Y-Yeah…s-sorry."

Mitsuki pulls back from the hug to take a better look at Izumi, giving the girl her usual wild smile as she roughly nudges one of her horns to be a little annoying, "But damn, you really do look badass, ya gonna start hoarding gold?"

This time Masaru is the one to speak up, having to gently cover for and guide his wife to act polite, "Honey, I think it'd be good if we properly introduced ourselves before you started harassing her…but it is really good to see that you're okay Izumi," Masaru's smile was calm as it usually was, but there was quite a bit of relief in his eyes.

Izumi gave a smile to her uncle as Mitsuki rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah, I was getting to it. Family always comes first and I ain't waiting a second in making sure my fearsome little draconic niece right here is alright," she banters back to her husband, earning a bit of understanding from the Yaoyorozus.

They all manage to introduce themselves except for Katsuki, who received a smack in the back of the head and a stern scolding before Mitsuki introduced him as 'her rebellious little grump' and earned a growl from said grump for her trouble.

Taiki immediately didn't like the boy and the rest of the Yaoyorozus weren't far off from that opinion. This boy was far too aggressive and disrespectful towards his own parents. Taiki in particular remembered the hesitancy Izumi had shown in mentioning young Katsuki, wondering if he was one of the people that had ground the timidness into Izumi. His theory was further propped up when he saw the child glaring at Izumi, who hadn't quite noticed his gaze yet.

If his guess was correct, then this might be the worst case for Izumi. With seemingly no relatives to live with, that would fall onto the Bakugous and she'd be in the same house as her tormentor, which was quite unacceptable. It was either that or foster care, which was certainly not an option for the amount of poor caregivers there were in the system. No, Izumi earned more than that, to just be thrown away into a system that truly had no care for her. If need be, Taiki would be willing to take the young dragon in himself, even if it was a big decision.

With introductions out of the way, Taiki wanted to test the waters and test Katsuki to see if his theory was true. The child had been largely silent, as if holding on to everything he wanted to say, putting it under a poor facade of indifference. Taiki needed to let him put his guard down, but there were too many adults in the room for that to happen..

"If I might make a suggestion. If you want to get the details out of the way and spend time with young Izumi here after, it might be better to talk about some of the more adult details of this situation away from the children, as I'm sure you both have some questions you want answered. The Yaoyorozus still have commitments after this hospital visit, so it would be prudent to make sure all questions can be answered without worry for time. I'll look after them in the meantime if that would be the course of action you wish to proceed with."

Mitsuki thinks for a moment before looking over to Izumi and back towards the Yaoyorozus, "As much as I want to spend time with Izumi, we shouldn't inconvenience you like that," she gives a soft sigh, cursing herself for being a responsible adult, "That sounds fine for us, what about you all?"

The Yaoyorozus agree as well, so both families bid their children and Izumi goodbye, for the moment, before stepping out to discuss the situation. Taiki got through step one, now step two was to make himself scarce and hope that whatever this child says doesn't hurt Izumi too badly…he'd apologize later if necessary, but this was something that he needed to be sure of, for Izumi's sake.

Taiki makes a show of checking on Momo's water bottle, seeing that it was mostly empty and enacting the next part of his plan, "Mistress Momo, it seems like you're almost out of water and we have a new guest. I'll go fetch some water, I'll only be away for a moment. Please get along with the young Mister here."

With that, Taiki checks his watch and sniffs twice, grabbing Momo's attention as she looks at her butler with curiosity. That signal meant that he'd be close by and keeping an ear/eye out, but why would he be keeping an eye on them like that? Was there something wrong with Katsuki? Sure, his mom seemed a bit crass, but she showed a fierce love…and Katsuki proved that he wasn't in the best mood at the moment. Wait, Izumi had been a bit hesitant about Katsuki, despite the cutesy name she had for him. Was Taiki expecting some sort of confrontation? If he was, why was he leaving and not staying to deter it? Momo had so many more questions about the situation, feeling her anxiety spike when her butler started to leave.

The tension in the room between the childhood friends was palpable and Momo didn't know how to tackle it…especially when Katsuki started openly glaring at Izumi. Izumi flinched and looked away from the stare, making herself look smaller and giving a greeting to him, "H-H-hey, Kacchan."

"Shut the fuck up, dumb bitch," Katsuki's voice comes out gruff and more abrasive than Mitsuki's had…there was clearly no love in his voice, only venom.

While Momo was completely taken aback, too stunned to say anything. Izumi was starting to panic; Katsuki was clearly not in a good mood and didn't seem to be holding much back at the moment. She could only offer a frightful 'sorry', in hopes of appeasing him, but that only seemed to make him grow bolder, angrier.

His voice started to rise with anger, feeling his hands pop menacingly with his explosive quirk, "Sorry Sorry?! You should be sorry, you worthless piece of shit. You really don't know how not to drag others down with your useless ass."

Izumi was starting to tear up, not daring to look at her 'best friend'. She couldn't deal with this, not now, not after such an emotionally taxing day, not after losing her mother. Momo was the one to bristle from the insult, feeling her own anger outweigh any sort of shock or awkwardness she felt from the conversation, "You are quite vulgar, so I ask that you not refer to her in such a manner. We're in a public space and Izumi doesn't need this particular brand of unwarranted vitriol from you."

Izumi…Izumi was shocked, flabbergasted, befuddled, amazed, and so many other words that she couldn't properly define; someone was standing up for her and standing up to Kacchan…to Kacchan! No one had ever done either of those things, not to mention both at the same time. Izumi's head jerked to look over at Momo, her tear filled eyes shining in both amazement and worry, not wanting things to get out of hand.

Katsuki wasn't fazed by the warning, he only got angrier because someone was standing up for the useless waste of space…no one ever stood up for that bitch and for good reason. She was probably the rich bitch's charity case or something stupid. It didn't matter why she was standing up for Deku, what mattered was she was standing up to him…to him! Future U.A, valedictorian, future number one hero, and the only person that will ever surpass All Might!

"And you're a prissy bitch who's sticking their fat nose into something that ain't their fucking business. Step off, high class, you don't know Deku like I do, she's a-" Katsuki was practically growling, but it felt like a kitten's mewling when compared to the deep, primal growling that sent shivers down both his and Momo's spine.

Izumi's eyes were shining with rage, not anger…anger was a child's toy. This was rage, something all consuming, something primal, something to be properly feared. A deep sneer was plastered on her face, looking so out of place on the usually meek girl. Patches of green scales were growing more and more on her skin as her claws started growing to a razor sharp point. Her teeth morphed, changing into rougher points, exposed by the sheer hate in her sneer. Other than that, a sound of cloth was heard as two green scaled draconic wings tore through the back of her hospital gown, completing her menacing look…She looked like she was a word away from leaping out and slashing at Katsuki's throat and that was enough to make Katsuki take a step back, feeling sweat run down his forehead from something in him telling him to run!

"Don't you ever talk to her like that, Katsuki," Izumi manages to growl out, uncharacteristic anger rearing its head once more, catching Momo off guard. Thankfully, she had already seen something like this once before and didn't want a repeat of what happened, so she took a chance and reached her hand out to Izumi's casted one, grasping it gently and instantly gaining the girl's attention. Momo's look shows quite a bit of concern, enough for the young dragon to pause and gently squeeze her hand back, a sad apologetic smile adorning her face.

Unfortunately, Katsuki regains enough mental ground to foolishly push ahead, never wanting to back down from anything, especially Deku. More than that, he's angry, angry enough to lash out at anyone in his way.

Sparks crackle to life in Katsuki's hands as he begins stalking towards Izumi, "Think you're so fucking tough now, Deku? Huh!? Just because you got a quirk, doesn't mean you're less of a useless bitch, but if you wanna step up…"

Momo cut off Katsuki, standing in his way despite the fear in her heart. More than the fear, anger blossomed on her face at the prospect of this…this…this little jerk hurting her new friend and the possibility of something similar having happened in the past. "You're not going to touch her, ruffian. Step back, now."

Momo's brave front only seemed to enrage Katsuki, but it was inspiring for Izumi. Izumi found strength in her new friend's actions, but found her thoughts turning to panic…this was Katsuki after all, he didn't care who he needed to crush, he'd destroy everything in his way…especially if he was pissed off.

"Move, bitch," Katsuki growled, roughly shoving Momo and sending her clattering into a cart, hitting her head and a pained yelp escaping her lips.

Katsuki pressed the Momo button; he shouldn't'a did that.

Rage.

Rage that was all consuming, rage that was emboldening, rage that was vindictive…rage flowed through Izumi, stronger than anything she had ever felt before. Someone had just hurt her friend, her friend, and that was simply unacceptable. Izumi felt it surge from deep within her, crackling to life with a deafening roar that threatened to consume all. Her face was set in a deep sneer as she bared her fangs, as she felt strength crackle to life in every single one of her muscles. She had no hope of reasoning with this all-consuming feeling, no hope of controlling it…so it could only be let loose on the thing, the cretin who dared to harm what was hers.

Izumi's claws and teeth grew sharper, ready to rend flesh from bone and she let out a primal roar, dangerously flexing her muscles and causing the casts on her arm to break apart. She didn't even feel the pained protests of her body, only wanting to bring harm to that damnable blackguard she had once called her best friend.

Taiki had been listening the entire time, trying to find the perfect moment to intervene, but wanting to see how much young Katsuki would reveal…he had waited a moment too long, as he stepped in after Momo had been shoved by the young man, wanting to diffuse the situation…and possibly strangle that boy for daring to use physical violence against his young Mistress. Taiki cursed his own delayed actions that led to the young Mistress getting hurt, but he froze in place, feeling the potent killing intent that was roiling around the young dragon. Taiki had felt killing intent many times in his life, had been in numerous life or death scenarios in his youth; while Izumi's didn't stack up to those, it was potent enough to get him to hesitate once more, taken aback by the sheer wrath that Izumi was radiating.

The dragon was ready to kill.

"That's my friend!" Izumi ripped the sheets off her body and gave the most bone-chilling roar her body could muster. The windows in her room shook dangerously as her frenzied roar carried through the entire hospital, causing Katsuki's ears to ring from the sheer volume. Izumi surged forward, cocking her fist back and unloading it towards Katsuki's nose. Katsuki was barely able to react, putting his hands up to guard, but quickly found it overwhelmed. The power in her punch simply went through, causing his arms to crash against his face and breaking his nose. The followthrough sent him sprawling back, slamming him against the wall and putting a sizable indent into it. Katsuki needs to thank his lucky stars for his quirk working the way it does; his body was made to withstand the backlash of the strongest of his explosions, meaning that his natural toughness came from his quirk. While Katsuki is still young and his explosions weren't at his limit, it still came with some natural fortification that would grow as he did. He could take quite a bit of punishment and that simply was the only reason why his life wasn't in danger from that punch.

Another primal roar escapes her lips as she rushes to meet the collapsing form of her 'best friend', ready to deliver more punishment to the fool who dared to hurt her dear friend. She lost herself in the rage, though luck seemed to be on Katsuki's side, as she hadn't used her razor sharp claws to deliver her divine vengeance.

Katsuki had never been hit this hard before, his head was spinning as he felt pain crackle to life from his bloodied nose. It was most certainly broken and dripping out blood a little too fast for his liking. He couldn't tell if the bones in his forearms were broken, but he doubted they'd stand up to many more punches like that. What the hell happened to Deku for her to be able to punch like this? Oh, right, her dumb quirk that she so spectacularly got. Beyond that, when the hell did that useless Deku grow a spine? While she had a tendency to show foolish bravery when Katsuki was picking on others, she'd always folded when it came to herself. Whenever she did try to get in the way, she would fold all too easily…so what the fuck hell was up with that punch? It's like she was trying to take his head off! This was the first time Deku had ever tried to hit him!

Regardless of her quirk status, Katsuki refused to ever be beaten, especially by some shitty little pebble in his perfect backstory. He managed to push himself back up onto wobbly feet, just as Izumi surged right in front of him, ready to deliver more of those staggering strikes.

The first one and second cracked against his guard, battering his head and further disorienting him before she delivered an absolute bomb to his stomach. The air was driven out of Katsuki's lungs and parts of his dinner came up with it, hunching over from the sheer force that was driven into his stomach.

Katsuki was going to pay. He'd never hurt Momo again. He'd never insult her again. He'd never hurt anyone ever again! He was never going to harm Izumi ever again. Izumi grabbed and threw Katsuki clear across the room, making him crash into medical equipment and crumple to the floor, a newly formed gash on his forehead. His consciousness was barely there, pain blurring existence for the young man as he struggled to breathe.

It was in this moment that Taiki found his footing, stepping into young Izumi's path, but she wasn't stopping, "Young Izumi, please temper the rage you're feeling, I'm angry too, but you need to…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, as Izumi pushed him roughly out of the way, sending him clattering to the floor…but it didn't hold her usual brand of strength in it. Even with primal rage pouring through her veins, she was able to hold back her strength from hurting Taiki.

Izumi was preparing to surge forward again, but it was Momo's voice that once again broke through the indomitable rage that fueled her, "Izumi, stop! I'm okay!"

Almost instantly, the tightening muscles in Izumi's legs relaxed, causing Izumi to look over at her newest friend with a look that contrasted her previously rageful sneer…looking quite a bit softer. Momo was standing up, driving herself forward from the anxiety that was roiling in her stomach. She had seen the savagery that Katsuki had earned, but was scared Izumi was going to take it too far…she had hurt people while in a similar state before, but there was little holding her back this time…all that primal savagery was being directed at a single point, focused on a single person and Momo was not about to let Katsuki's debilitating injury or worse weigh on Izumi's mind.

Izumi lowered her arms as she took in her newest friend, feeling the rage slowly drain and relief take over her face. Momo didn't look too hurt, she'd probably just have a bump and bruise on her head, but she seemed okay. With just four simple words, Momo had tamed and calmed the wild dragon girl…even if she wanted to watch her kick Katsuki's shit in.

Izumi simply walked over to her and drew her into a hug, her wings protectively wrapping around the pair of them. Momo squeaks in surprise from the gesture, but eagerly leans into the gentle contact, finding quite a bit of warmth and comfort in her newest friend…Izumi had protected her, gotten angry for her. It hurt her to see Izumi so angry, but it was nice to have a friend that showed she cared…a rarity for the young heiress and something she refuses to let go of.

The touching moment is brought to a crash by the collapsed blonde, who audibly clicks his tongue in annoyance. He could barely push himself up without pain exploding from his everything, his breathing ragged and uneven. This humiliation would not stand and he'd make sure that he'd hurt the dumb nerd one way or another; she just needed to know how much of a fuck up she was. He just needed to hurt her for taking away his favorite Aunt in the whole wide world!

"You're a disgrace, Deku. If you had done anything like this for Auntie, she wouldn't be dead right now and it's your fucking fault! You should be dead right now, not her!"

Momo could feel the tension return to Izumi's body as the hug became more desperate, feeling a wetness begin to form on her shoulder. The pained sobs came next before turning into a full blown episode. Izumi was clutching onto Momo for dear life as she cried her little heart out, knowing that what Katsuki said was true. She was always a burden for her mother.

Nurses and security came rushing into the room moments later, having been alerted to the situation by the sounds of roars and crashing, but Taiki directs them to the young man and explains that he was the aggressor here. Katsuki only ranted and raved in response as he barely held onto consciousness, but was forced to accept medical treatment and escorted out of the room. Taiki cursed himself for his failure to act swiftly, knowing that this would further scar young Izumi, but Momo was already putting the pieces of the broken dragon girl back together, holding her and whispering comforting words to her, trying to push away all of the guilt she felt for her mother's death.

Taiki shot off a text to his employers, partially informing them of the situation and calling them back to the room, not looking forward to dealing with this whole situation…but at least he had been right and he had saved Izumi the trauma of living with her abuser. However, this is the mess that he created, so he's willing to clean it up; he's willing to take in Izumi, if the Yaoyorozus are willing, as Taiki lives in the Yaoyorozu estate. While that is quite the big decision to make, he's comforted by how well his young Mistress and the young Miss get along, something that could be quite the boon for Momo. Either way, he wasn't exactly looking forward to the next conversation.


Emotional Damage! It's super effective! Poor Izumi can't catch a break, but at least things are out in the open now and they can get better as a result of all this. Haha, Aldera's going to burn to the fucking ground :) As a side note, I've been working on a one shot based on idea in the prompt channel of the Jaded discord server: Izuku is a youtuber that does quirk analysis and gains quite a bit of notoriety. I'll probably be posting it sometime during the week, or in the next coming couple of days if I hit my stride with it. Anyways, that's I have for y'all for now. So, as always, stay hydrated my readers! See y'all next time!