Here I am with the next chapter! I know, later than anticipated but better late than never.
Enjoy!
The Night was quiet. Peaceful, serene, a time where most people would be asleep.
Note the word "Most".
Sometimes it was hard to sleep depending on the case.
Such as the case for one Izuku Midoriya as she laid in bed on her back.
Unable to sleep after all that happened throughout the day.
Could anyone blame her?
You would feel the same way were the roles reversed, wouldn't you?
These new powers, the origin behind them, meeting several pro heroes and a police detective who volunteered to assist her, Unwittingly discovering that she had more sides to her now in terms of persona, Blurting out the one dark secret that she never intended to tell anyone but did so in coming to tearful terms that if she didn't then the pain she kept inside would never go away, that she didn't have to be alone anymore and knowing she had so much support and people there to help her and willing to do so of their volition, admitted to her mentor that she saw him as a father and learning that he saw her as his daughter in return, and spending the evening with her mother and allowing the girls to get to know her and grow use to shifting sides knowing this will be a constant from now on.
Yeah, that's a lot to take in.
Though honestly, at least lying on her bed was better than pacing back and forth in her bedroom to the point of exhaustion, she didn't want to wake mom up.
Speaking of whom, She was very grateful that her mother wasn't bothered by the fact that she had MP, far from it in fact, she adored each of the girls, already loving them as she loved her.
"You are and always will be my daughter, whether you are yourself or have new sides to you, my love for you, all of you, will never change, no matter what."
Her mother told her, which in turn not only filled her with relief but also caused her to tear up as, in response, mom held her close as she hugged her, letting her quietly weep on her shoulder as she could feel her mom tear up too. And from within she could feel that Momoko, Miyako and Kaoru felt the same way.
That's right, their originals had families of their own, and these copies of them didn't but had memories of them. She could only imagine that it might seem a bit confusing and maybe even hurtful to them.
So them now having a actual mom who loved them as their originals families did was a huge weight off their shoulders.
She couldn't help but giggle recalling Momoko's excitement at the prospect of making cupcakes with her as her eyes lit up like fireworks.
Glad that Miyako enjoyed the clean up with mom, though she warned her that she sometimes goes overboard but thankfully mom was able to get it through to her.
Very amused at seeing Kaoru cheer on as they all chose to watch a few movies, one includes watching an old movie from the pre-quirk era, which was from the MCU, even if some parts unsettled her mom a bit she nonetheless enjoyed watching it with her.
Yes, It's to be noted that she's still perfectly aware of everything that's going on even if either of the girls are in control, and the same is true in reverse.
As well as the fact that as herself outside of uniform the shifting between them is more instantaneous, while in uniform on the other hand she actually had to touch the compact in order to switch between forms and each side of all of them, which took a couple of seconds compared to the former.
Though there was no escaping the giggling and the gushing of the girls as Mom was showing them her baby photos and photos of when she was a kid, she was blushing so bad on the inside that she wondered if she would actually explode from embarrassment.
That probably might be more true for Bakugo if that ever happens. Hypothetically speaking.
Still, even after bidding her mom good night after everything, she still couldn't sleep.
There were still one other thing that was buzzing in her mind.
And that was when she was brought into the principal's office with her mentor to speak to the principal.
Earlier that afternoon, UA High school
Words alone could never describe seeing the school itself with her own eyes, not only was it bigger then the photos taken for it but it was a real marvel to bear witness to, She didn't think she would be here until the day the exam, just standing at the gates felt like it was a nostalgic dream.
It took Toshinori gently guiding her through the gate and into the building, able to pass through thanks to him already having a card to get through the security gate as well as a visitor's pass in case of an emergency, so that they wouldn't delay their meeting with the principal.
He had to assure her that everything was all right as the child was apologizing profusely for dawdling, telling her that He had the exact same reaction as she did The first time he ever came to UA back when he was her age.
Had he not been given directions by the brochure he had memorized ages ago they would've gotten lost.
On their way there, it had hit her to ask him if it was alright seeing him like this, Toshinori assured her that he along with a small handful of others (who she would meet later) knew of his duel identity and about his quirk, so it was fine. Much to her relief.
Soon enough they were at the principals office as the principal himself greeted them before welcoming them inside, offering them a seat and some tea which they both accepted.
During introductions Izuku had to really grit her teeth to keep from going into fan girl mode, though her reaction was very obvious to both her mentor and the hybrid as they smiled in amusement.
"So, from what I've been told over the phone, a strange phenomenon occurred on the beach you were cleaning and training on just as you two were planning to stop for lunch, resulting in this transformation we see now. Am I right?" Nezu stated more then asked, speaking like he knew the truth already.
If rumors were anything to go by then he must've already went to looking into the matter before they got here.
"That's right," Toshinori confirmed, "We haven't a clue on how this happened or even why."
"Indeed, I do not blame you for that." The hybrid told him as he pulled out his tablet from a side pocket from one side of the couch he was on as he pulled up the video in question That showed what had happened earlier before they arrived, showing it to them to confirm that he believed them, "And you need not worry, I've already taken care of uploading a little bug to the camera that spotted you both so you do not have to worry about any unwanted attention stumbling on to this whether by accident or intentionally."
The child and man nodded, internally relieved that that would be one less thing to deal with in future.
"A curious conundrum we have. It'll be very interesting to dissect this case and see where it leads." Nezu mused before sipping his tea.
'Why do I have a funny feeling that when he said "dissect" It gave off a rather... disturbing vibe to it?' Izuku thought to herself in concern as while she was successful in not showing her shutter on the outside, there was no way she could hide the shutter she felt on the inside.
Nezu was an enigma in his own right, yet it was kind of hard to get any more information out of him outside of the bare minimum of what the media was able to find, and trying to hunt down the information herself was no easy feat. He was just about as elusive as, if not more than, any underground hero she had knowledge of. He was smart as he was mysterious.
Like a good number of heroes she knew there were many rumors and stories centered around the principal but it was hard to tell for most people which was true and which wasn't, she was among the few that was able to decipher which ones were fabricated (or outright completely exaggerated) and which ones were actually true but there was still a handful of things that she was still pondering on.
And you can forget about trying to get anything out of him on what he did in his civilian life outside of just being one of the most respected heroes out there and being a principal of this school, because then It's about as equivalent to finding a grain of salt on a beach, too difficult to describe.
Not completely impossible If you look at it from one angle but absolutely difficult In nearly every way to say the least.
"Your mentor told me that you believe that these powers are not of this world but are from another." This brought her out of her thoughts as she turned to the principal, about to answer him, only to instead yelp in shock and slight fear as she saw that he had her latest quirk analysis notebook (That still had burn marks on it from when Bakugo used his quirk on it that day months ago) in his paws as he then complimented her on her thoughts as she had once again been muttering under her breath without meaning to while keeping his attention on the notes in her book.
When had he snatched it from her backpack and starting reading it? She had no time to pounder as she, in hasty fear, tried to get it back only for him to leap out of his seat In a blink of an eye.
Unable to stop herself she ended up crashing face first into the other couch rather roughly where he was sitting as she could feel him land next to her head gracefully as she looked up to see him, ignoring her sore nose as he was already flipping through another page in her notebook.
She could see his eyes twinkling as his smile grew the more he read.
But didn't say anything as he was waiting for her reply, pretending as if he hadn't just leapt in order to avoid her snatching a notebook out of his paws.
Shakenly she responded, "Y-y-Yes, I.." She took a deep breath before calming her voice enough to stop her stuttering as she continued, "...I Just... had this instinctual like feeling that these powers are more than what they seem... and that they came from somewhere beyond our world as we know it... but .. I don't really understand why I feel that, I just... I just do..."
The principal nodded, attention still directed at the notes in his paws but was nonetheless listening with intent if his twitching ears are any indication.
End of flashback
She still felt her bones rattling from when she reacted to the principal snooping into her notebook And yet the principal didn't even look phased by any means.
Then he started to compliment her on her notes, showing interest in her quirk analysis and even speaking with pride which made a warm feeling bloom in her chest.
Nobody besides her mentor and her mother have ever complimented her on her notes, let alone praised her for her intelligence in this manner. Showing real admiration for it.
It was new but it felt ...nice.
It took her everything to not burst into tears right in front of him as she thanked him, slowly getting back up, with Toshinori's help, onto her seat as she lightly massaged her nose.
Toshinori himself, while startled by her sudden reaction, couldn't help but shutter at what the principal was thinking in his mind, and at the same time was glad to see his protege being able to experience being commended for her knowledge by someone as respected as the principal.
Of course she didn't know why he shuttered at the principal, and she had a feeling that it wasn't because of the room temperature, but she'd have to ask later.
They went into a discussion on bringing in Eraserhead to assist in training these powers so they wouldn't chance there being an accident to happen, since he's the most skilled in that department next to Cementoss and Ectoplasm, it would be wise to ask him for help.
She supposed it came with a territory given that he's been an underground hero and a high school teacher for years.
But then she frowned when she recalled when she had asked them how they knew each other on an academic level as she got confused on a few things they were talking about after agreeing to bring in the Erasure Hero.
What she got was answers that were equal parts shocking, exciting... but soon after sad.
Flashback, Principal's office
"Well..." Her mentor said hesitantly before he signed, flashing her a small smile as he continued, "I wasn't planning on telling you until after the results of the exam came in, but given the circumstances its perhaps better that you know now then later... as of this upcoming school year, I'm going to be joining the UA staff as a fellow hero course teacher."
Izuku blinked once, then twice, before her eyes immediately widened as she felt her jaw dropped in shock.
"...What...?" She asked weakly in disbelief.
Did she hear that right?
She wasn't hallucinating was she?
"Believe it or not, I've actually been planning on this for some time, but haven't gotten down to the proceedings of it until only recently this year. Also, what better way to ensure I can continue with your training with ease than to become an official member of the staff of my old stomping grounds?" The last part Toshinori told her as he chuckled a bit, Amused at her reaction as she eventually picked her jaw back up and slapped herself on her cheek bone, Only enough to sting a little, trying to make sure that she wasn't dreaming and only confirming that she wasn't.
"Are you serious?" She asked for clarification.
"Very much so," He told her, "As I've said, It's something I've been planning for some time. Though I'm still working on proceedings in getting a lot of paperwork done ahead of time so I won't have to worry about it later on after the exams are over as well as getting an official license to teach. Which is why there have been some days where I wasn't able to be there to continue helping in your training and had to ask you to continue on your own but making sure to not go overboard."
That did make sense, When you think about it there were things that her hero had to do besides taking care of his official hero duties, he too had other matters he needed to take care of in his civilian life much like every other hero that she knew of.
But still knowing that All Might, the number one hero, her hero and mentor (and father figure), Was planning to become a member of the staff of the very school he graduated from decades ago so he could continue to train her?
It was almost too unbelievable to... well, believe.
When she thought about it, it made sense that It would be easier for him to continue helping her get stronger and how to be a hero if he were a member of the staff, could still be close to her and help if needed outside of teaching in the hero course beside the homeroom teacher (She may not know who the homeroom teacher is yet but she was pretty sure that the two of them were going to be co-teaching).
It was exciting at the mere prospect of it.
But...
She frowned a bit as she asked him the words She would soon regret asking, "But... being a school teacher can be very time-consuming not to mention it's a huge responsibility, and next to you being the top number one hero, it would be a hard tasked to juggle with it wouldn't it?"
Toshinori frowned in return, but was more sad yet firm as he said, "It would be if not for the circumstances... You see Young Midoriya... I'm... I'm actually thinking about retiring, and have been for a while."
If she were holding a glass cup undoubtedly she would have dropped it and did nothing to stop it from shattering on the floor at what she had just been told as from her perspective the world just went completely silent.
The very thing she never thought she would ever hear him say...
'He's... retiring?' She thought to herself, petrified by shock But then thought constructively to try and remedy that, 'I mean it makes sense that heroes eventually retire for one reason of another, and it's different for each case. Though it's somewhat rare to see older heroes still going at it even if they were in the 80's or so, a good handful of people would usually prefer or try to keep going until they choose to hang their cowls (so to speak) when they're either in their 50's or mid 60's. If pro's were to retire earlier then that then it usually is because of outside forces going on in their civilian lives or they got so badly hurt to the point that they have to for the sake of their health and on going future, But again the case would be different depending on the situation for either one. But...'
She casted her head down as a bigger frown formed on her face.
'I know that he got badly hurt years ago... I mean with a bad injury like that, next to it being the cause mainly of him losing his time and his hero form, it makes sense that he would have to eventually be put to pasture and look into a retirement plan. I mean let's not forget that he's... He's human... Just like me... Just like everybody else... Even he gets hurt, even he needs to take a break every now and then... Even he has his worries too...'
She was only half aware that her eyes were starting to weld up with tears but she did nothing to stop it.
'... Even he has to retire eventually... It's the truth... If he keeps going then he could... well, eventually it wouldn't end well... hence why he was looking for a successor in the first place... not just because he wants to pass down his power to them to help them achieve their dream... but... If the flames he still has in him died before he can transfer it then.. the quirk itself would die inside of him... and... He's well aware that he wouldn't be able to help people much in his state of retirement, he would very well feel like he was missing a piece of himself that he was forced to put on a shelf, If he were to retire then he would want it to be in a way that he would still be able to help even if on a smaller scale, hence why he's becoming a teacher at UA... For him it's a win-win both in making sure he could stay close to help with my training until I graduate and he would be able to settle into his new job completely once... his time is up... but...'
She could already feel the tears dropping down on her knees, but again she did nothing to stop them, as her shoulders were trembling, hands gripping the helm of her skirt as The more she thought about it the more saddening it was...
'...But... But ... it's... scary... knowing that he will retire... I know that he ... I ... the mere thought of it... it's .. it's just... too unbelievable... it's frightening... I mean why wouldn't I feel this way? ... I've grown up looking up to All Might all my life... I know he would have to... I know... but... i-i-I Don't want to sound selfish... I just... I-!'
She was snapped out of her thoughts when a pair of firm but gentle hands were placed on her shoulders, she didn't need to look up to know that it was the Number one hero himself as he spoke, "Young Midoriya, please calm down, you'll go into a panic attack at this point. Take a few deep breaths, can you do that for me?"
She... She was close to having a panic attack? She didn't even notice, but... his voice was filled with worry but still held reassurance, allowing her to take a moment and follow his instructions carefully.
As she did so she finally noticed how tense her body felt, that she had been badly clenching her hands so tightly around the skirt she was gripping to the point that her hands started to really hurt and, from an outsiders perspective, it almost looked like she was going to tear it up.
That everything else around her had felt numb for a while, like she couldn't hear anything else but a blaring noise, yet somehow she was still able to hear her Mentor a clear as day (She would, later on that night, attribute it to her gaining super hearing too).
Eventually she was able to breathe properly after what felt like hours, when really it was a few minutes, as she let go of her skirt as she started to slowly clench and unclench her hands to do away with the soreness in them as she started to breath heavier from some bit of exhaustion from there, Not enough to make her completely worn out but definitely enough to need to collect herself.
She felt his right hand gently wiping the tears away as she looked back up to face him.
He gave her a look that spoke of reassurance yet it had a bit of sadness, in his eyes a defeated look yet in his smile it despite having some sadness what was more visible was that of comfort as he spoke, "I knew telling you would leave you shaken, but I didn't think this would happen. I was afraid you would faint from not giving your mouth a rest mid-panic attack."
This made her look down again, embarrassed and ashamed, at having gone off in a muttering spree without meaning to (again), but it wasn't long before she felt that same hand gently cup her right cheek bone and had her look back up at him in the eyes as he told her in a firm yet still gentle manner:
"Young Midoriya, Please don't be ashamed, and you have no need to feel embarrassed either. You have every right to feel rather upset and even sad about this, because even though you understand why I've made my choice, that doesn't change the fact that you still have every right to feel disheartened. It's okay to not feel okay sometimes, and even to admit it even if it might be hard, Especially given the fact that "All Might" has been part of your life for as long as you can remember, so it's understandable why the very thought of retirement would be rather jarring and even scary. Honestly it scares me too, And a part of me doesn't really want to retire yet, but I know that eventually I'm going to have to, not just because of how much time I have left with my quirk but also because of my health, I neglected it so badly because I wanted to try to be there for the people, to give them peace, to let them know everything was all right for as long as I possibly could regardless of how my condition was, being a stubborn fool and not heeding my friends warning and even making them upset in the process... Especially One in particular... I still feel ashamed of it... Though I really don't know which is scarier, the thought of retiring in general or the fact that if I leave then crime will spike up again and cause unease to rise in the public..."
All this he said with a small frown as Izuku was processing what he said as he paused briefly, It made sense really, the thought of retiring can be scary for anybody Hero or even a normal civilian, Even if it wasn't at times it still more often than not feel daunting and even like You're letting go apart of yourself forever that you've grown accustomed to and couldn't think of ever parting with.
And he ... he knows...
And it's not an easy thing to accept.
Let alone decide in general.
It never is for anyone.
While she knew that for some people who choose to retire sometimes it is because they really hated their job and want something even better or because They are more than satisfied with their work and how much they've done and feel like it's time to pass the torch to another worthy individual, while for others ... Well, it didn't need to be explained again.
It was then that Her Mentor gave her a smile, one of comfort and of firm hope, as he then told her:
"For a while I was looking for a successor, someone I could pass my quirk to, I didn't know what to expect beyond just training to not only help them have a strong body to be able to hold the quirk but also be able to train to use it... But then I met you. A young girl who wore her heart on her sleeve, always willing to help others no matter how much it may hurt her in the end, willing to brave everything despite the apparent fear that's present, willing to give as much as she could no matter how much it may require of her, determined to become a hero despite the unfair circumstances that have been laid out for her since childhood, whom I spent time with, from the beach clean up, to making plans and adjustments that would to beneficial, to the times chatting about heroics or everyday things, getting to know the other as individuals beyond our respective endeavoring goals, It all made me feel a warmth I've long forgotten due to my stubborn loneliness... You made me actually look forward to what the next day brings, made everyday worthwhile in more ways than I could describe, brightening up my downness of days, reminding me to look forward and see that light that we're striding towards, reminded me that there was more to heroics then what's on the surface... gave me a reason, reminding me more, how to smile and to really look forward to what the future would bring for us. When I look at you, I see a young Heroine in the making, ready to take on the world no matter what may come, To shine a new light for the future for heroes and civilians both."
At That point she felt tears running down her cheeks again but like before he gently wiped them away, this time with both of his hands, as a bubbling warmth rose in her as he continued, "Sure, retiring is going to sting, might be hard to adjust to, And things might get a bit grim for a while after, but the fact that I have a successor like you who will one day bring an even brighter light then I ever had, And in knowing that even if I may retire I'll still be able to help even in a smaller way and even after I've finished training you, I can safely say that I have no regrets in the choices I've made up til this point, and I very much look forward to what tomorrow and there after will bring for all of us."
End of flashback
Izuku recalled tearing up again but this time in understanding as she knew what he was conveying to her, she felt so warm in seeing that he had full confidence that she will succeed, that things will be all right even if things might get a little rocky, though it surprised her to see that he had a defeated look on his face in that way, she could see nonetheless in his eyes that he had accepted decisions that he had made known to her, and content in his choice in choosing her to become a hero like him, one in her own right one day.
She recalled then after, of her nodding as she understood, Before he gently pulled her closer to him as he let her sob on his right shoulder to let her get it out of her system before, after a few minutes, They returned back to their seats as The principal made the call to Eraserhead to come, knowing that he'd be the best one to bring in to help in her understanding these new powers.
And the rest of his history.
It was still hard to believe that everything that happened only just happened within the span of nearly a day, though to her It felt like it happened for much longer.
And there was still much more to unravel.
And not just her powers mind you.
Meeting those who were in the know of One for all, learning about the origin behind these powers and their personas, knowing that she basically had a part of each of the girls in her (And briefly wondering if she may someday be able to actually contact the originals, given everything that's happened it seemed like a possibility but for now it was too soon to tell), planning a new training schedule because of all that transpired today... and confessing how bad things have been for her because of her quirklessness.
She honestly never meant to spill the beans about it, a part of her still felt like she shouldn't have said something... But another part of her, along with the others, knew that it had to be made known or something bad would happen later, knowing that if this wasn't addressed then things would only get worse.
Trauma was a cruel mistress, and The sooner it was confronted the better.
Her mother had profusely apologized to her for never knowing what was going on and told her that she didn't have to apologize because she didn't do anything wrong (Even though she knew that she technically did for never telling her mother in the first place), every mother worries, it was unavoidable, but they worry because they love their children, herself included, while she understood her reason why she didn't want to tell her anything she made it perfectly clear to her daughter that it was more important to tell somebody what was going on and have this addressed then To let it fester even more... And lead to the unthinkable.
Even though she would never plan to do something like that to her mother and she couldn't bear to leave her mother all alone, she knew that it was still a possibility.
Her mother told her that she had spoken with the others and they're planning to have her see a therapist, One who wasn't biased nor would treat her like garbage because of her past and state of being. In fact, Nezu Was the one who would be providing them the person who would help her through this.
Though she won't know who she will be seeing to help her cope, understand and come to terms and peace with things until her first appointment (In his words he said because he wanted it to be a surprise), which would be next week.
She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, besides knowing that she wasn't going to be in school for a while.
'Which would be an absolute break from you know who.' She heard Kaoru tell her in her mind as she silently nodded.
She still shudders at what the explosion boy would do to her if she were to come back to school the very next day with these new powers and personalities.
'Considering how things are, it would be pretty impossible to hide all three of us from him.' Bubble pointed out next.
She had a good point.
For their current predicament, it could probably be described as a sort of puberty, but only in the more emotional sense rather than in the physical in a sense.
With Momoko, Miyako and Kaoru, Even if she is still herself, the three of them make it so that she's much more expressive with her other emotions outside of the norm.
If She showed up at school like this... Well...
Bakugo would either explode (as always, literally and figuratively), violently demand answers out of her or believe that she had been hiding her "Quirk" from him for all this time and viciously accuse her of looking down on him as if she were the bad guy instead.
Maybe all three? Most likely. Common to them all? He will ruin her.
'Not if we have anything to say about it!' Momoko declared in her mind as she could hear and feel her determination and as well her anger towards the explosion boy.
Still in general... she didn't want to meet him again anytime soon, and can hopefully avoid it for as long as possible.
Hopefully.
FINALLY!!!!!
Sorry for the super long delay, I was busy IRL, I had a lot of reading that I needed to catch up on, that and I was suffering from a bad case of writer's block in between sessions of my story writing, therefore delaying the completion of this along with the other.
Hopefully I won't have anymore inconveniences to come at this point afterwards.
The next chapter is coming very soon so stay tuned my dear readers (just need to do a final thorough spell check on it).
As always please tell me what you think in the reviews And I hope all of you have a lovely day, until next time, TTFN!