Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Toshinori's Choice
Chapter thirty-six: The Yaoyorozu-Mineta friendship plan, part one
It had been two years.
Roughly two years since the last of the major villainous threats to Japanese hero society had been swept up, wholly and for good. Toshinori Yagi, the former Symbol of Peace otherwise known as All Might, was enjoying his life of having retired from pro hero work. Though retired from that work, he still was a teacher at UA High School, although he was pure instructor. He got better at the teaching gig over the years; he was finding it hard to find his footing at first.
He was also bogged down by the memories of the alternate timeline he remembers, a timeline where him being a bad father to his step-son Izuku led the green haired boy down the path of evil. Said path led to Japan falling to the forces of Dabi, and necessitated Toshinori having his present self from that time sent back in time to when he and Inko were getting back from their honeymoon after they got married.
The extra time not only helped Toshinori set things up to prevent as much of the bad stuff from the alternate timeline as possible, but it gave him a second chance to be a good father figure to Izuku, even making him the successor to One For All. Given what all good Toshinori had seen come from his trying to be a good father figure to Izuku, the former Symbol of Peace was all the more assured that being good to Izuku, fostering his heroic potential, was the key to lasting peace.
Right now, Toshinori was doing some paperwork in the teacher office room at UA when the door opened and Izuku came in, followed by his girlfriend Ochaco Uraraka. In the two years since all of the big villain groups had been bested, Izuku hit a bit of a growth spurt; Toshinori wondered if it was related to One For All, but Recovery Girl after examining Izuku confirmed that his quirk had nothing to do with Izuku now tying for the spot of tallest student in his class.
Izuku also let his hair grow a bit long, giving him a hairstyle that Hizashi Yamada, aka Present Mic, said is called the 'barbarian longhair' style. Izuku wasn't the only boy in his class, who are all now in Class 3-A, who took hairstyle cues from Conan of Cimmeria; off the top of Toshinori's head, the only boys in Izuku's class who DIDN'T grow their hair out that long that Toshinori can remember are Ojiro, Shoji, Tenya, Tokoyami, and Mineta. Toshinori didn't know why barbarian longhair was now a rather popular hairstyle among boys, but he dismissed it as a current fashion trend among youth.
Izuku wasn't the only student in his class to have gone through a drastic change; Ochaco who stood next to Izuku was now as slender as any other girl in the same class as her and Izuku. This time two years ago, Ochaco was very obese; an incident during a gift exchange during Christmas in Izuku's first year at UA inspired Ochaco to lose weight. A combination of dieting, exercising, a lapband procedure done by Recovery Girl, and use of a special weight loss supplement invented by Recovery Girl got Ochaco down to the slender shape she was now in.
"Ah, Izuku my boy," Toshinori greeted, "Is there something that I can help you with?"
"Me and Ochaco's homeroom teacher had to separate Ashido, Hagakure, and Jiro from Mineta because they're they were getting on his case again," Izuku explained, his expression and Ochaco's expression showing that they were both a tad annoyed.
Arching a wry eyebrow, Toshinori said, "Seriously?"
"I can understand why, given how Mineta was on the first day of our first year," Ochaco said, "And he still technically has said habits. But he's significantly more toned down now, and he's in better control of his habits, he hasn't flaunted them openly in a while." Folding her arms over her chest, Ochaco went on, "Honestly, I wish that they'd stop harping on Mineta."
The former Symbol of Peace was a bit concerned to hear what Izuku and Ochaco were saying. Yes, Mineta was... rather bold... on the first day of his first year at UA. It's part of what got Mineta kicked out of UA by Aizawa. But Mineta after he was reinstated as a UA student had been able to keep a lid on everything, his behavior had been much improved. Ochaco had a point how, by this point, all of the harping on Mineta was getting old.
"I... guess that the girls were just that bothered by it?" Toshinori said, sounding like he was guessing, grasping at straws, to try and find some defense for the girls.
"If by being bothered you mean Jiro's being an ultra-prude who had riled Ashido and Hagakure up against Mineta, then yeah," Ochaco remarked, her tone and expression a bit dry, "Seriously, it's like as far as Jiro is concerned, once an actively vile pervert, always an actively vile pervert."
"So Young Jiro is the ringleader here," Toshinori said.
Ochaco nodded once in confirmation. "At this point, we're not sure what if anything is capable of making Jiro see that Mineta not only has changed but did so for the better. And said change is of Mineta's own volition, it's not because he's scared of Satsuki and Samidare beating him up if they think he bothered Tsuyu or me."
Toshinori nodded in understanding; around this time two years ago, the heroes were able to bring home Tsuyu's younger siblings, Satsuki and Samidare. Due to the recklessness of Endeavor, the Asui parents were killed in an accident early during Izuku's first year as a UA student. This caused the younger Asui siblings to run away, not turning up until they were both revealed to have been experimented on by the now late All For One, both of them being strong enough to wipe out whole scores of seasoned pro heroes each.
Luckily, the heroes were able to calm them down, largely in part to Tsuyu's efforts and the care she had for her little siblings. As things stand right now, Nezu is working out plans on how to shape the younger Asui siblings up into pro heroes, even though Samidare as the oldest of the two younger Asui siblings is still a few years away from reaching high school level. The last that Toshinori heard anything about them, Satsuki and Samidare are both doing fine.
They're also fiercely protective of their family, that being Tsuyu and the Urarakas. Their love for what family they have is what drove them to do what they did before the heroes were able to calm them both down. "You think that I may be able to talk some sense into the girls?" Toshinori half asked half offered, "You know, get them to leave Mineta alone?"
"You can try, dad," Izuku said, "I won't stop you. But I'm doubting anything you do will work."
"Tenya has estimated that there is a ninety-one point six percent chance that Jiro will never be convinced that Mineta is no longer the actively and openly vile pervert he was back on the first day of our first year here," Ochaco said. Toshinori sighed, said he'll try to think of something. Izuku and Ochaco both thanked Toshinori for his time before going off to where the rest of their class was doing some training in a gym on campus to hone their quirks.
The training that Izuku and Ochaco mentioned reminded Toshinori of just how far Izuku and his peers have come since they were in Class 1-A. Now as Class 3-A, Izuku and his peers are better than ever, and they will soon hit the scene as officially licenced pro heroes. That is a dream that the former Symbol of Peace would like to see come true.
It is a good dream.
Later at a gym on UA grounds, Izuku and his classmates were training, working out and working on their quirks, to hone their edges to the finest degree. As they worked out, they were being supervised by Aizawa, Hizashi, and Nemuri. Although no longer their homeroom teacher as he watches over 1-A, Aizawa still had some degree of influence over Izuku and the others who are now in Class 3-A.
As the three teachers watched the students work out and train, Hizashi pointed to where Ochaco was working out next to Izuku. "Hey Sho, I've always been curious about something involving Uraraka over there," Hizashi began.
"What is it?" Aizawa replied.
"How come," Hizashi began, "Back when Uraraka was a first year student, where she was still super fat, you didn't give her the boot from UA? I mean, I figured that you would have deemed her unfit for hero training due to said weight."
"I thought that her weight was connected to her quirk somehow," Aizawa explained, "It wouldn't have been the first time someone's quirk and weight were connected, with Fat Gum being a prime example. Also, she showed amazing and fine control and use of her quirk, using it to let her keep up with the rest of her class despite her weight back then."
"Wait, you thought that Uraraka's weight back then was connected to her quirk?" Nemuri asked, "Why? You should have known otherwise given that her quirk and what it does was listed in the student file on Uraraka that you got."
"I never read any student files that I get," Aizawa said, "I want to avoid building bias, so I skip reading those files to build up my own opinions on my students."
"Wait a minute Sho," Hizashi said, "You NEVER read the student files you get?"
Arching a wry eyebrow, the underground hero said, "In all of my time thus far as a UA teacher, I've read a grand total of ONE student file. The one that Nezu gave me on Midoriya when he was a first year student. And that's because he's All Might's son, so Nezu handed me the student file on Midoriya directly and sat there to watch me to make sure I read it."
Nemuri face palmed. "This explains SO MUCH of what all you've done since you started at UA as a teacher. Shouta, you're supposed to read the student files, and from what you said about Nezu sitting there to watch you to make sure you read the student file on Midoriya, I'm getting the sinking feeling that Nezu usually lets you get away with skipping reading student files."
"The reason he sat there to make sure I read the student file on Midoriya, like I said, is because Midoriya is All Might's son which makes him a special case," explained the underground hero, "Nezu as far as I'm aware has no idea that I've never read another student file. So if you guys can keep this little fact to yourselves, that'd be grand."
Sighing, Nemuri said, "Promise you'll start reading student files from now on, Shouta. Seriously, those files contain vital info about students you're responsible for. You might make a major mistake due to not knowing certain things about certain students that you should know if you read the files."
"Well no harm has come from Sho skipping silent reading so far," Hizashi said, "And I think he can avoid further harm if he starts doing his silent reading now." Looking back to where Izuku and Ochaco were working out, Ochaco took a brief break to drink from a water bottle. "Doesn't seeing them here make you miss having them as your students, Sho?" Hizashi asked.
Aizawa was about to speak up, but got cut off when a chorus of female voices shouting out, followed by a few male voices shouting out with one of said male voices being Mineta's, cut off the underground hero. "...There's some parts I do miss about it," Aizawa said as he and the others went to go check things out, "And some that I'm glad I'm no longer around as the homeroom teacher for."
When the three teachers got to the scene of the argument, they saw that Jiro, Mina, and Hagakure with Yaoyorozu standing behind them were confronting Ojiro, Sato, and Shoji who had Mineta behind them. But it was clear the girls were aiming their clearly visible ire at the grape haired boy. "What got you girls' undies in a bunch this time?!" Hizashi demanded, getting all of the students there to turn and look at the teachers.
Pointing an accusing finger at Mineta, Jiro practically snarled, "Mineta put his hands on Yaoyorozu's butt, senseis!"
"Wait, seriously?" Aizawa said, "I thought he got over openly indulging in his habits long ago."
"I did, Aizawa-sensei," Mineta said, "The only reason I had my hands on Yaoyorozu's butt is because she fell on me by accident and I was trying to push her off of me." The boys with Mineta all nodded in confirmation.
"It's... actually true, senseis," Yaoyorozu said, "I've been trying to explain to the girls here that I stumbled backwards and accidentally pushed Mineta against a wall with my back to him. He was simply trying to push me off when I had him pinned to the wall for a moment."
"But why your butt?!" Hagakure said, "Why not push against your back?"
Mineta, with a dry look, said, "I actually tried reaching for her back to push against, but given her height compared to mine, I couldn't reach high enough to push against Yaoyorozu's back. I was also leaning back a bit when I was pushed up against the wall and not standing straight."
Looking to the girls, Yaoyorozu said with a firm look on her face, "And you girls are overlooking how Mineta to his credit immediately tried apologizing to me after I was able to get up off from pushing him against the wall when I fell backwards."
"We can review footage just to be sure," Aizawa said, "But from the sounds of it this really is just an unlucky incident and no harm was actually meant."
As the teachers talked with the students in the argument, Izuku and Ochaco came over, having heard a commotion and seeing what happened when looking in the direction of said commotion. "What's going on here?" Izuku asked.
"An unfortunate incident where Yaoyorozu fell backwards and pushed Mineta into a wall where he was pinned for a moment, prompting him to push her off," Shoji explained, "But because he pushed against her butt as it was the highest he could reach, Ashido, Hagakure, and Jiro are trying to tear into him while under the pretense that Mineta is back to his old ways."
Folding his arms over his chest, Sato added, "It was also obvious that Mineta couldn't even tell it was Yaoyorozu until after he pushed her off. For all he could have known, Mineta could of had his hands on the butt of someone else, maybe even one of the guys."
Giving the girls aside from Yaoyorozu a dry look, Ochaco said, "You girls really need to relax. Trust me, we'll know it if Mineta really ever does resume his old ways."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Aizawa said, "How does your homeroom teacher in 3-A deal with you guys? I had to pull some miracle work back when I had you when you were first years."
The UA teachers checked the security footage later and confirmed that it really was an accident, Yaoyorozu really did stumble backwards and ended up pushing Mineta into a wall, keeping him pinned there until he pushed her off. They also were able to see it that Mineta acted in something of a panic, they could tell he wasn't deliberately reaching for Yaoyorozu's rear.
"Yeah, some of the girls need to settle down," Sekijiro said as he and Ryo were reviewing things with Aizawa, Hizashi, Nemuri, and Toshinori.
Turning to look at Sekijiro, Hizashi said, "Since we saw how some of Sho's old students are doing, mind telling us how your old students from the same year are doing? If you know, that is."
"Oh, they're all in top shape," Sekijiro said, "It's still amazing how Asui's little brother was able to fix the crippling injuries some of the boys suffered." The Blood Hero had a point; some of the male students that Sekijiro had when Izuku was a first year student were dealt crippling injuries that, if left as is, would have necessitated them being dropped from the hero course because the nature of the injuries would make them being pro heroes impractical.
However, Tsuyu's little brother Samidare was able to restore all of them to flawless form; he first used his Overhaul quirk on a boy to instantly disassemble the boy in question, then just as quickly reassemble him in perfect form. This process, although a bit on the messy and violent side, not only healed the boys of their crippling injuries, but it also undid all other manner of damage they had. This allowed the injured boys to stay in the hero course.
Looking back to the security footage that proved Mineta wasn't trying to be a perv, Hizashi said, "You know, it's funny how far Mineta has come. I never would have guessed it that the little dude would make such a turn around."
"Some of the girls that Shouta used to have as students defiantly refuse to believe it," Nemuri said with the driest of tones and expressions.
Holding a hand to his chin, Aizawa said, "It's obvious that he doesn't wanna throw away the second chance that he got. Mineta, back when I expelled him from UA a few years ago, was reportedly kicked out of his family's house over it, and only his uncle who similarly is a black sheep in their family was willing to take him in. Said uncle is also very wealthy and influential, who was able to use some connections to get Mineta accepted back into UA."
"So that's how it happened," Ryo said, "I never got the story until now." A few of the others all nodded in agreement to show that they were similarly as surprised to learn how Mineta got back into UA as a student in the hero course.
"To Mineta's credit, he HAS shown he's deserving of the second chance," Aizawa said, "At least as far as I'm concerned."
"What do you think it'll take to convince the girls still grilling Mineta over old material that he really has settled down?" Toshinori asked.
Shrugging, the underground hero replied, "No clue. It'll take a miracle at this point for Mineta to convince even the most hardline of the naysayers against him that he really has changed his ways for the better."
"So it'll take a miracle for Jiro to be convinced," Hizashi said, drawing a nod from Aizawa. "But what sort of miracle will it take? How big does it have to b-"
"Attention everyone," Nezu's voice called out over the intercom system, "I need the following staff members to report to the meeting room for an emergency meeting.' Nezu then listed a number of the UA staff members, including Aizawa and everyone with him. Seeing that duty was calling, all of the persons there left to go see Nezu.
Once everyone was assembled for the meeting, Nezu immediately got down to business. "Everyone, I was just given a request by the head of the HPSC," Nezu began.
"Ah yes, Mera's the new HPSC head," Nemuri said, "It's still funny how all of what's left of the HPSC is still a part of Japan's government, and said part is heavily monitored to ensure past corruption won't pop back up."
"The heads of the Japanese government blame the past corruption of the HPSC for, among other things, Endeavor-gate," Snipe said, "Can you blame them for still keeping a tight leash? Although I did hear that Mera has earned some degree of trust because of how willing he is to work with others outside the HPSC and also how willing he is to let us heroes call shots in important work related to pro heroism."
"And this time is another instance where President Mera of the HPSC is letting the pro heroes of Japan call shots in how to handle certain work," Nezu said, "According to President Mera, there has been reports of a resurgence in activity out of Cornucopia's Company."
The UA teachers at the meeting all tensed up out of alarm. Even Aizawa, usually tired, fully perked up instantly and was at full attention. "What is the report about?"
"It just lists a number of smaller, privately owned businesses being harassed for protection money out of thugs identifying themselves as members of Cornucopia's Company," Nezu said, "Nothing too big." Looking to the staff meeting, Nezu went on, "But we need to help with chasing down what all leads there are to find Cornucopia themselves and end the threat their villainous gang poses once and for all."
"The last time I heard of any activity out of Cornucopia's Company," Cementoss remarked, "A fair number of their members were killed in a skirmish against Dabi's Crew. This was a few months before Asui's little siblings turned on Dabi and the others."
Looking like he knew what Cementoss was on about, Ectoplasm said, "Oh yeah. I also heard about that skirmish between Cornucopia's Company and Dabi's Crew. Out of the twenty members of Cornucopia's Company involved, only two survived because they fled. Reportedly they fled out of sheer fright because Felgrand was fielded against them. Considering that Felgrand was reported to have killed fifteen of the men who didn't flee while Spinner killed the other three, I can see why the two survivors fled."
Toshinori arched a wry eyebrow. "Asui's little brother killed fifteen men?"
"Including all four of the elite thugs that were members of Cornucopia's Company at the time," Nezu confirmed, "Each one of them with a theme related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, either by their quirk, their personality, or in the case of the one with the death theme, a very high kill count."
"You think Asui's little brother may be able to help us by providing details?" Nemuri asked, "I mean, he may remember a detail or two that could help with building a case."
"Young Asui and her little siblings are the adopted children of the Uraraka family," Toshinori said, "So we'll need to speak with the Urarakas and get their consent to ask Young Samidare for details."
...
It was to the good fortune of the UA teachers that Ochaco's parents were still nothing but grateful and friendly towards Toshinori, given that it was him giving their founding company back then his thumbs up that got them revitalized and led to them having a virtual monopoly in the field that their business is in, leading the Urarakas to eventually become the wealthiest family in Japan. All that Toshinori, who brought Aizawa and Hizashi along, had to do was pop over to the Uraraka mansion for a visit and ask the Urarakas if they could get a few details from Samidare.
The sole brother in the family, now twelve, didn't look much different from how he did this time two years ago. He was a bit taller, his hair was longer ("Another boy looking to sport the barbarian longhair style," Hizashi remarked), and that was about it. Samidare was also slender; out of him, Satsuki, Tsuyu, and Ochaco, Samidare is proportionally the thinnest sibling, although it's not enough to warrant Samidare needing to gain some weight.
Toshinori got down to business. "Eraserhead, Present Mic, and I were hoping you can give us what all details you remember from when you were in a skirmish against members of Cornucopia's Company," Toshinori said to the sole brother of the family, "We need anything and everything that can help us build a case to let us pursue Cornucopia themselves, Young Samidare."
"Ah yes," Samidare began, "I do remember that fight. Dabi, who I was friends with at the time, led me and a few of the others in his Crew to a warehouse that looked like it could be of use to us. It was there we got into an altercation with twenty members of Cornucopia's Company, at least that's the name of the gang that our enemies provided us with."
"We got it that you... that you killed fifteen of the twenty members of Cornucopia's Company who showed up," Hizashi said.
"They were active, hostile threats to folks who, at the time, were friends and allies of mine," Samidare explained, "And they were also villains."
"Did any of them say anything that struck you as odd or interesting?" Aizawa asked.
Samidare looked like he was straining to remember something for a moment before he spoke up. "I do remember one of the four elite thugs I vanquished saying something. It was that Ryumaru fellow whose quirk let him transform into an eastern style dragon."
"Ryumaru Okami," Toshinori said, "He was one of Cornucopia's Apocalyptic Four, being the one who represented death due to having a much higher kill count than any three other members of the gang combined."
The sole brother nodded in the affirmative. "He's the only elite thug I vanquished in close quarters combat, I vanquished the other three with ranged attacks before any of them could have even gotten close. I even looted a kanabo from Ryumaru that he brought to the fight after I slew him, I still have that kanabo. Will you be needing it?"
Looking mildly curious, Toshinori said, "It may help, yes. We'll let you know if we'll be needing it for whatever reason." Gesturing to Samidare, the former Symbol of Peace went on, "Now what is it that you remember Ryumaru saying, Young Samidare?"
"He said something about how Cornucopia won't be happy with what all thugs at that fight were killed," Samidare began, "How it'll take a slight hit from the pocketbook that Cornucopia supposedly took from some rich guy that was shamed all over the country in order to get replacements for all of the slain thugs."
Aizawa's eyes widened a bit at the last part that Samidare said. "Rich guy who was shamed all over the country..." Aizawa began. Turning to look at the other teachers, the underground hero said, "...I think that Cornucopia may be the party behind that's the disappearance of the Yaoyorozu fortune a couple of years back."
Turning to look at Samidare, Hizashi asked, "You think that Cornucopia is the party who stole most of the Yaoyorozu family's wealth while Ryoga was being shamed in the news following the reveal his company was engaging in insider trading?"
Shrugging, Samidare replied, "I have no clue about all of that. But it does seem like a sound theory."
"Can you remember anything else at all about the skirmish against that group from Cornucopia's Company?" Toshinori asked.
After thinking for a moment, Samidare said, "...All that I can remember aside from what I've already given you is how I heard Cornucopia's thugs refer to Cornucopia with male specific pronouns, so I'm guessing that Cornucopia is a man. Does that help?"
"Considering how we had no idea of Cornucopia's gender until now, yes that detail does help," Aizawa replied, "Now we know that we're looking for a male suspect." The UA teachers got up to leave, with Aizawa saying, "If it turns out we will be needing the kanabo that you had looted from Ryumaru, we'll come by to collect it."
"I'll move it to my dad's home office," Samidare said, "In case you guys come by to grab it while I'm at school or somewhere else not here." The teachers nodded in thanks and proceeded to take off, but Samidare stopped them and insisted they each take one of the big iced cookies that one of the staff members working for the Uraraka family made. According to Samidare, it simply wouldn't do if they being guests never got any refreshments from him who's the host.
...
"So we've got Cornucopia's gender as male," Hizashi said as he and the others drove back to UA, "And a working theory that Cornucopia is behind the vanishing of the Yaoyorozu fortune."
"The thing is, however," Aizawa began as Hizashi took a bite out of his (Hizashi's) cookie, "How are we going to prove it? Assuming we're able to find Cornucopia, that is."
"This is going to be quite the challenge, gentlemen," Toshinori said, "And I fear it may not be the pro heroes alone who are challenged. Students still at UA may also be tested by the madness of that vile, slippery bastard Cornucopia. He's nowhere near as slippery as All For One had been, but he's still seeming to be the type to hide and keep to the shadows."
Shrugging, Aizawa said, "Well if UA students ARE dragged into the conflict against Cornucopia, I think that your son and his yearmates in 3-A and 3-B can handle it. The lot of them are much better than they were this time two years ago, with a few even able to keep up with licenced, seasoned pro heroes already."
Toshinori nodded in agreement; Izuku and the others in 3-A and 3-B make up the best year of hero course students that UA had seen in ages. If any group of UA students can take the challenge that is being posed by Cornucopia's Company, then it'd be Izuku and the others in his year of UA's hero course. All of them have great heroic potential, Izuku especially so. And no, Toshinori is NOT letting him being Izuku's dad color his opinion that way.
...Okay, maybe a little.
END, CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Author's notes;
This chapter is the beginning of the final arc of this story. It features a two year time skip from around the point of Izuku's first Christmas at UA, and as of the story's current setting Izuku's third and final Christmas at UA is approaching. This is meant to show Izuku and his peers at their best before graduation and becoming pro heroes.
The time skip has been planned since the beginning of this story, and it's meant to try to give as much of a break to Mineta's character as possible. I was also able to tack in Ochaco losing all of her excess weight and now being as thin as the other girls in class with her, as per request, but Ochaco and her turn around isn't the main focus of this arc.
Mineta's the star here, and like I said he's gonna get a break. I know some folks out there are tired of Mineta being ragged on for his pervertedness, and even I agree that at this point it's getting rather tiresome. Mineta still has his interests and habits mind you, but he's able to keep them back and not openly flaunt them. This arc will help display that.
You'll see what I mean over the next few chapters as the heroes combat the new threat that's known only as Cornucopia. Take care.