As it turned out the only day available for his finals was Thursday, so he'd have to take them then unless he wanted to spend money on another semester, Izuku had all of two days to prepare himself, something he cried about to his mom at dinner. His mom tried her best to comfort him, but she was crying too hard about him being a genius to properly form the words.
Izuku tried his best to power through it though probably spent a little too much time reviewing his study materials when he was in Kouchi, some of his more observant students had unfortunately picked up on his tension and he had to stop them from going on a witch hunt, the embarrassment of the whole thing at least distracted him for the day.
Taking his finals was marginally less stressful this time around. A bored teen was at the front desk just ran his papers through and tossed him a map of the college campus, an overall much more pleasant interaction compared to the first time around.
The woman overseeing the exam was a breath of fresh air even if Izuku couldn't understand everything she was saying. Unfortunately, Izuku didn't finish in the top fifty percent, but he skirted the edge of passing and went home with two papers for his mom to frame.
Due to the short notice, his mom couldn't get time off to celebrate with him or with the Bakugous since they were on a business trip and Izuku returned home to an empty apartment... Well empty wasn't the right word as Izuku found a store-bought box of cupcakes with a caramel-scented Eraserhead-themed mug on top of it.
If Izuku had to physically restrain himself from going over to the Bakugous' and hugging Kacchan to death... Well, then he'd just tell the neighbors their pipe sprang a leak again, he cried enough over the gift for it to be believable.
After riding out the wave of heart-wrenching emotion, Izuku carefully put Kacchan's mug away and sat down at his desk to go over his emails, checking the progress of his work-related projects like the offer he put on the building in Yaizu.
He was halfway through typing a reply to the realtor when he got a phone call, Izuku recognized the ringtone and answered right away "Доброе утро, Юрий-сан." Izuku greeted, Yuri-San chuckled back "Your pronunciation is getting better ребёнок."Yuri-San replied "I'm glad to hear it, but isn't it a bit early? You usually call after I finish work for the day?" Izuku inquired, Yuri-San wasn't one for randomly calling.
"Одна заячья душа told me you've finished college." Yuri-San explained and Izuku huffed bemused "Right, Umeko-Chan's brother is studying at the same college." Izuku commented "I wanted to personally congratulate you Мидория, few people can make it through college twice ребёнок." Yuri-San further elaborated making Izuku's face a touch red from his praise.
"W-well it wasn't that hard Юрий-сан, I probably only graduated so early because I had so much experience from teaching in the red lights." Izuku said brushing it off "Perhaps, I'm sure your mother is proud of you either way Мидория." Yuri-San conceded, Izuku thought back to the encouraging voicemail his mom had left him before she left for work.
"Yeah, she's been over the moon about it. She definitely would have taken the day off to celebrate with me if she had more notice." Izuku told him, knowing his mom she'll also insist on making him Katsudon for dinner and get him a present on the way home, he was unable to stop himself from smiling when he thought about it.
"Was she not able to get today off?" Yuri-San innocently inquired, Izuku scratched his cheek suddenly feeling bashful "Well you see, Юрий-сан... I might not have been paying attention to my courses, and only figured out I was going to graduate last Tuesday." He explained the last sentence coming out faster than Izuku wanted it to, Izuku heard Yuri-San hum back "I see дитя, what time would she be getting off work?" the man asked.
"Either 20:00 or 20:30 tonight, Mom works Twelve-hour shifts at Musutafu General." Izuku answered wondering what Yuri-San was planning "In that case... Would you like to meet me at Eros?" Yuri-San offered and Izuku blinked stunned "I guess I could do that." Izuku muttered unsure why Yuri-San wanted to meet up at the man's nightclub, not that he would mind the man's company.
"Good, I have a present for you ребёнок and I'd prefer to give it to you in person." Yuri-San told him and instantly Izuku felt himself fall at ease because that was a rather benign reason to meet and believable considering their odd relationship... Though Izuku was curious what kind of gift Yuri-San would have for him "Okay, I can be at Eros in, oh... Say an hour?" Izuku said glancing at the time "Я буду ждать, дитя." Yuri-San promised.
Izuku said his goodbyes and then went to get himself ready, planning on going to work after meeting Yuri-San.
The first thing Izuku noticed when he was walking up to the building was that Eros looked different during the day, especially without the neon lights illuminating it. The second was Valentine waiting outside by the door presumably for him, Izuku waved to the stoic man and Valentine just motioned to the door with his head. Going inside Eros was pretty dead other than the staff cleaning up and restocking the bar.
Izuku didn't dottle going up the stairs and to Yuri-San's private booth where the man was indeed waiting for him nursing a drink of some kind "Здравствйте, Юрий-сан." Izuku greeted slipping into the booth and sitting near Yuri-San, he received a soft smile in return "Hello дитя, it must have been a long walk. Would you like something? Maliki wouldn't mind whipping something up for you." Yuri-San offered.
Maybe it said something about Izuku's progress in accepting help since he was considering taking Yuri-San up on that... Or maybe it was because he skipped breakfast because of his anxiety over the finals. It could go either way if Izuku was being honest with himself.
"Maybe something small would be nice, just a burger or two." Izuku reluctantly admitted and Yuri-San nodded cellphone already in hand and texting away "So... " Izuku said unable to feel anything less than childish as he kicked his legs back and forth "Могу ли я получить свой подарок сейчас?" Izuku asked, hoping he remembered the right conjunctions.
Yuri huffed out a cloud of condensation "Eager are we ребёнок?" Yuri-San asked somehow coming off as teasing by only raising an eyebrow, Izuku ducked his head bashfully and rubbed the back of his neck "It's fine дитя." Yuri-San assured grabbing a piece of paper from his vest pocket and offered it to Izuku "Держи." Yuri-San told him, curious Izuku took the paper and unfolded it to read it.
Izuku blinked "Юрий-сан... Is this the deed to the Migiwaya hotel?" He questioned staring at the paper as if the answer wasn't in front of him in black and white "Yes, I know you've been trying to find yourself properties in the districts, such a thing can be difficult when you don't have much money, so I thought I'd give you a leg up." Yuri-San explained and Izuku balked at how causal Yuri-San was about giving away a ¥67 million business.
"Юрий-сан, I-I can't accept this." Izuku replied worried and concerned about this counting as some kind of bribe or "officially" having ties to the Russian mob "I assure you Мидория, this gift is 100% legitimate. No dirty money, criminal ties, or strings attached." Yuri-San told him "But... " Izuku wanted to protest but Yuri-San held up his hand.
"I still have a civilian identity and fully legal businesses in my name. One doesn't live as long as I have without dabbling in various things, some of which have been profitable." Yuri-San firmly informed him and Izuku sighed shaking his head. Staring at the deed resigned but not ungrateful, the Migiwaya hotel would be a great cornerstone for him in Yaizu.
"Fine, but I'll only accept this on one condition," Izuku told the man, Yuri-San tilted his head silently imploring Izuku to continue "If you tell me about your quirk, I'll take the Migiwaya hotel." Izuku elaborated and Yuri-San huffed out another cloud of condensation "Deal дитя." Yuri-San responded with the equivalent of a grin on his face giving Izuku the distinct feeling he hadn't won anything.
Izuku put his face in his hands and groaned "Normal people don't have to argue about giving away multi-million property for free... " Izuku grumbled "Normal people are boring." Yuri-San replied far too stone-faced for how mischievous he was being right now, Izuku may have kicked Yuri-San's leg in retaliation and only got a frigid foot in return.
Yuri-San leaned his head back with a soft hum "I suppose how my quirk works is a fair place to begin, yes? Or would its name be better?" Yuri-San questioned, Izuku huffed annoyed as he leaned back "I would like to know what your quirk is called." Izuku confessed his arms crossed, it had been bugging him he didn't know much about Yuri-San's quirk outside of it being ice-related and maybe touch-based.
Yuri-San watched Izuku's childishness with fond amusement and began to explain "It has had a few names over the years, changing as I discovered more about it. The name that was finally settled on is Cryogenic Preservation." The name alone made Izuku perk up.
"'Cryogenic Preservation'? Cryogenic makes sense for an ice quirk but preservation? Preservation of what? Does that mean you can keep your ice around for a long time? I still have that marble you made me so maybe... Is that why your chill lingers on everything you touch? Can you make regular ice last longer than normal?-" Izuku said launching into over a thousand questions, his mind running wild with just the name alone.
Yuri-San's airy chuckle made Izuku slap a hand over his mouth wondering if he was embarrassed enough to choke out a cloud of condensation himself from how hot his face felt "You're correct ребёнок, one of the things I can do is make cold things last longer, regardless of wheither or not I make it with my quirk... Though anything made from my quirk naturally lasts much longer." Yuri-San answered.
Izuku suspected that might be the case after leaving the marble Yuri-San made out for a week, Izuku tried to speed up the melting process with a microwave which had done nothing even when on the highest setting for ten minutes, the marble was even still sitting on his desk as cold as ever.
"To put what my quirk does in very simple mechanics, I can passively absorb or actively draw the cold out of anything around me and then manipulate it however I see fit, whether physically or just temperature-wise." Yuri-San explained making a ball of ice the size of an eight ball in the palm of his hand.
"The preservation aspect is for two reasons, the first is what I create with my quirk can last for far longer than scientifically possible according to the laws of energy conversion, the only exceptions being fire quirks can speed up the melting process, or when I re-absorb what I created." Yuri-San told Izuku as he demonstrated the absorption part by making the Ice ball disappear again.
Yuri-San paused, staring at his hand morosely before continuing "The second is because of a... Side effect from stockpiling all of that cold. My quirk generates far too much cold naturally in addition to what I absorb and if I let it build up too much it will "leak" out onto whatever is physically touching me." Yuri-San said his tone having an odd pitch Izuku hadn't previously heard from the man but Yuri-San continued before he could ask about it.
"Even with regular use of my quirk causes me to passively release a temperature difference strong enough it can be felt in the air around me, which in combination with my body being suited for housing an ice quirk has effectively put me in a perpetual and self-sustaining cryogenic stasis."
Izuku paused his mind carefully digesting the information, his heart suddenly sinking as the implications started to sink "Is... Is that what you mean when you say, "When one has been around as long as I have" and why you look so... " Izuku timidly asked trailing off as uncertainty filled him "Young?" Yuri-San finished for the greenette and Izuku nodded unable to find his voice.
Yuri-San sighed releasing a large thick cloud of condensation "Yes дитя, by the time I was fifteen my quirk had built enough power to slow my aging down to an almost non-existent level. The only reason I look as old as I do now is from overusing my quirk to the point, I didn't have enough strength left for the loop to keep working temporary." Yuri-San answered avoiding Izuku's wide eyes.
Izuku's mouth opened as questions swirled in his mind. How old was Yuri-San truly? Had he ever married before his wife? Was Anya-San his only child? Why was someone so strong and mature bothering to entertain someone as immature as him? Was Yuri-San there for the raise of All For One? Is that why Yuri-San knew so much about All For One? Did that mean Yuri-San had to fight for the right to be called a human being? How many of the Quirk wars has he lived through? What did Yuri-San truly feel about quirkless people?
However, not one word left his lips and Izuku just stared at the man.
How his hands were ever so subtlety trembling, the hints of frost climbing across the booth and the plastic glass Yuri-San was holding, the way his breath was coming out in clouds, and most importantly the fact that Yuri-San wasn't fully there from the distant look in his eyes.
Instead, Izuku took a deep breath to steady his nerves as he, perhaps very foolishly, moved to sit right beside Yuri-San and despite the almost painful chill Izuku felt just from where their legs were touching, Izuku hugged Yuri-San from the side even if his frost-covered hands couldn't reach each other.
Yuri-San sharply inhaled, and his body went rigid as soon as Izuku did "Я рад, что мне удалось познакомиться с вами, Юрий." Izuku said forcing himself to not sputter despite how badly his body was shaking, the tears rolling down his face painfully freezing on his cheeks, one of Yuri-San's arms hesitantly wound up around Izuku with his hand buried in Izuku's curls.
"Я тоже рад, что познакомился с тобой, Идзуку." Yuri-San said back, his voice twisted up with emotion and perhaps the extreme cold was starting to get to him, but Izuku thought the chills rattling his bones weren't as intense now.
Доброе утро, Юрий-сан. Good morning, Yuri-San.
ребёок/дитя little one
Одна заячья душа One rabbit soul
Мидория Midoriya
Юрий-сан Yuri-San
Я буду ждать дитя. I'll be waiting little one.
Здравствуйте, Юрий-сан. Hi, Yuri-San.
Могу ли я получить свой подарок сейчас? Can I have my gift now?
Держи. Here.
Я рад, что мне удалось познакомиться с вами, Юрий. I'm glad I got to meet you, Yuri.
Я тоже рад, что познакомился с тобой, Идзуку. I, too, am glad to have met you Izuku.