The Pariah
A tall and built young man sat in an interrogation room. He was in his teens wearing an orange prison uniform with the sleeves rolled up showing multiple scars up and down his arms.
As the door opened, he didn't even look up. Not even at the sound of heels clicking on the floor, or when the person sat in the chair across from him.
"I'm so very sorry, Izuku-kun." He still didn't look up, but he twitched at the apology. "I tried so hard to fight for you, even losing my job, but it still took so long to get your name cleared."
This was enough to get his attention, as he slowly rose his head to look at the woman. It was Nemuri Kayama, and she was tearful. "What?"
She managed a smile. "You're name has been cleared. Damn near every news outlet already proclaimed as much, and the real traitor was arrested. I'm sorry it took so long for you to get justice."
"You don't have to shoulder any of the blame, Kayama-sensei. You were one of the very few who believed me. I always thought it weird that Detective Tsukauchi didn't interview me at any point, seeing how a couple questions answered in front of him would easily prove my innocence."
"Who's that?" Nemuri asked.
"He's one of All Might's friends. His quirk is lie detector. He could tell whenever someone lies."
"Kami, I hate that man! All he had to do was call the one man who could have prevented all of this with one conversation!" Kayama ranted.
He shrugged indifferently. "Nothing to be done about that now."
"Well, let's get you out of here."
Izuku was sitting in the office of the Prime Minister. He was confused on why she would want to meet. As he pondered on the possible reasons for his presence here the door opened and the most important woman in the country entered.
She was an older woman with crow's feet by her cold eyes. Her black hair had silver streaks, and it was tied into a perfect bun, not a strand out of place. She wore a navy skirt suit with a white skirt.
He stood as she entered and bowed. She walked up to him and straightened him up. Once they locked eyes, her gaze grew considerably warmer. "Hello, Izuku."
Izuku blinked in confusion. "You know me?"
"I am your paternal grandmother. But due to the fact that I am also the Prime Minister, I am almost always busy. It's why I only sent birthday cards with money every year instead of being present. However, this year is quite different, wasn't it?"
Izuku lowered his head back down. She gestured for him to sit, and she sat next to him.
"I didn't know of your incarceration until a week ago when I questioned why your mother didn't give me our annual call to talk about how much you've grown. I tried calling her, but she never responded. It was only until voicing my concern that one of my assistants told me of her murder." She leaned forward. "I truly apologize for your loss. Inko Midoriya was an outstanding woman who my son was lucky to marry."
"Thanks." Izuku whispered.
She nodded. "Learning of her death led me to ask how you were taking the news, only to be told by the same assistant that you were sent to Tartarus, without a trial, over circumstantial evidence. That opened up a can of worms where it's been discovered that you aren't the only one to suffer that fate. I sent my best infiltrators into the HPSC and they returned with a disturbing report. They're basically acting as a shadow government, disregarding the actual government that has the power to disband them." She scowled. She leaned back and crossed her arms. "Corruption runs rife and unchecked, and too many have suffered under them."
It was silent for a minute before Izuku broke it. "So where do I go from here? I don't have a home anymore, and I don't trust anyone but Kayama-san, but she has her own worries. There's also no way that I'm going to my father." Izuku spat that word out.
"You do know your father loves you, right?" He scoffed lightly. "I'm serious. It's because of that love that he stayed away." Izuku now looked curious. "Your father grew up in an extremely abusive home. My ex-husband was a monster who brutalized the both of us until a hero took notice and arrested him. Hisashi-kun was initially jubilant at the thought of being a father when Inko-chan told him of her pregnancy, but the thought of him becoming his father made its way into his mind. It kept him up at night for your mother's entire pregnancy and when he held you, he cried very hard at the thought that he might harm you due to how he was raised. Your mother knew of is fears and they had a frank and emotional discussion. He went to work overseas while she stayed here to raise you and sent him ample pictures."
Izuku was slack jawed. "I thought… actually, I don't know what I thought."
"I understand, Izuku-kun."
It was silent for a moment before he spoke up again. "I still want to be a hero, but I can't work under the Hero Commission, not with how it is now."
"You could always make your own agency."
"Wouldn't that place me under HPSC control?"
"Not if you register with the government." She smiled. She saw his confused look and explained. "The HPSC itself is a hero agency registered by the government. Close to a century ago, there were countless hero agencies, but over the years, the HPSC managed to absorb other agencies under their umbrella, or the other agencies shut down in mysterious circumstances. Nowadays, people forget that they could make their own agency completely divorced from the HPSC. All the current agencies are basically extensions of the HPSC."
"So I can make my own?" Izuku wonders to himself.
"Yes, dear, you can. Though, I would wait a couple years before opening, just so I could have time to gut the HPSC."
"Then, I guess I'll do some training in the meantime."
"By yourself? Why?"
"I'm quirkless, baa-chan. 11 years of life at the bottom of the barrel where I was just the null freak, then less than a year where I lived out my greatest dream of being a hero, having friends, and even a girlfriend, only for everything to be taken away. I need to train to become a better hero than all those who betrayed me."
She was silent for a long beat. "I know of some veterans of the the Quirk Wars who would be willing to train you, if you accept. They live in a mountain surrounded by a forest. They're without a doubt the strongest people in the nation. If you can convince them to train you, they would give you as much training as you can take, and beyond."
"How do you know they'll accept me?"
"Because I can see your determination. Sure, your reasoning for you wanting to be a hero is motivated by spite more than anything else, it's still strong enough to drive you forward. I'm sure they'll respect that."
Deciding to trust his grandmother, he agreed.
He looked at the steps, took a deep breath, and climbed. He jogged up the steps at a moderate pace. When he finally made it to the top, he saw a man sitting at the opposite side of a courtyard that had weapon racks on each side. From the small glance he was able to take, the man had a long, white beard, long eyebrows, and long hair both also white. His hair was tied.
He kept his head down as he walked forward, then stopped at steps the man was sitting on. He placed his bag down, then sat in seiza in front of the man, never looking up.
The old man stayed silent for a long time before before speaking in Mandarin. "Why are you here?"
"I wish to learn and grow to be something more than a worm before an eagle." Izuku replied in the same language calmly. He learned it years ago when he was studying the notes of the scientist who first studied quirks.
"Your Mandarin is passable. Can you speak Cantonese?"
"Yes, sifu." Izuku replied in Cantonese.
"Ho? What a surprise! A colonizer willing and able to learn and speak a language not his own." He stated mockingly. Izuku said nothing as the old man laughed in a derisive manner. This mockery is extremely tame compared to what he endured since he was declared quirkless. "Ho? You've finally arrived, Silver Fang. You've kept this mighty eagle waiting."
Izuku was confused for a split second until he heard jovial laughter getting closer at a sedate pace.
"Pai Mei, old friend. I apologize for making you wait. Retsu and I needed to take our monthly trip to get groceries." Another old, but strong voice replied.
"Ah, yes. Hello again, Shodaime Kenpachi." Pai Mei greeted politely.
The polite tone was incredibly confusing to Izuku, but he figured the two people approaching must be strong enough to receive such respect from the prideful man in front of him.
"Now now. You know that I've relinquished the title of Kenpachi for over a century now." The woman's soft voice spoke up. "And who are you, young man?"
A dainty hand was placed on Izuku's back, and he finally raised his head. "My name is Izuku Midoriya, and I've come for training."
"Training, you say?" Silver Fang asked. "What would you do with such training?"
Izuku turned and looked at the well built old man directly in his eyes, blue eyes meeting green. "I will be the first quirkless hero in Japan. For too long, we've been at the bottom, but my goal is to be a beacon of light in the festering darkness."
Bang look at the determination of the young man before him, and was mightily impressed. Retsu gave a small kind smile, but he could tell that his dear sister was just as impressed. He glanced at Pai Mei, and saw the old man stroke his beard thoughtfully with an eyebrow raised. This is the most acknowledgement that his old friend has given since they first met.
"If you're convictions are so strong, then I'd be a fool to deny you." Bang decided.
"As an official disciple, it's time you chose which martial discipline you wish to master. My sister and I have several different martial arts styles we can teach, and I'm sure Pai Mei could be convinced to part some knowledge of his own. You may choose Karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Judo, Wing Chun, Kenjutsu, and Bojutsu. Or you can train under my personal style, Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist."
"Can I take more than one?"
"Yes, you can."
To the shock of the siblings, Izuku decided on not just two when he said more than one, but practically all of them. Choosing to learn Karate, Water Fist, Wing Chun, Muay Thai, and Kenjutsu.
Since that first day, Izuku has been on a steady incline. Taking every moment he could, he would drill the lessons, forms, moves, and philosophies of the numerous martial arts he was learning. Not a single day went by that he didn't do any martial arts training, many of the disciplines ran back to back usually twice a week.
Monday and Wednesday were Karate for an hour and then Taekwondo. Tuesday and Thursday were all Kung Fu. Wednesday and Friday he trained in Muay thai and Wing Chun. Saturdays he would train alone and just use the equipment, sometimes in the training hall dubbed The Bone Breaking Factory. It's a building on the east side of the compound. It's full of machines, obstacles and contraptions specifically designed to train the body in the most intense ways imaginable. Sunday he would go to his personal training spot in the woods by a flowing river. There he could spend all day practicing his martial arts and meditating. Just the serenity and seclusion of this area made it really easy to focus and calm his mind. Pai Mei would join him at times when he meditated.
Whenever Izuku pushed pass his limits, Retsu would heal him back to full health. This made his muscles stronger at an increased rate, and allowing him to train harder for longer.
Izuku was currently sitting in the main house with his two masters having some tea and relaxing after a long day of training. He was 21 years old, and it's been five years since he became an official disciple under Bang and his sister Unohana Retsu.
Izuku taking a sip of tea looked at Retsu. "Sensei, I know you said as far as my disciplines go there's nothing else to learn but do you think there is anything i'm still missing?"
Retsu took in her student's words, actually surprised this question came up and the fact that it took so long. "Izuku-kun, admittedly I'm surprised we're even having this conversation, especially considering how long we've been training together. At this point if there's anything you're missing, it would be your own style."
"My own style?"
"Yes, Your own style. Despite the fact that you've mastered several martial arts you still don't have your own style. You tend to use your disciplines interchangeably when you should invent a style suited for you that incorporates everything you've learned."
Izuku thinks back to all the training he's done for the past five years and ponders what his style could be. "It sounds pretty hard."
"No. It's actually really easy." She bluntly refuted before taking a sip of tea.
"Wait really?" The man asked, shocked.
"Yes." Bang spoke up. "With all that you've been learning from day one, inventing your own style would have been so laughably simple. It's frustrating you haven't done it by now."
"I see. I'll get to it immediately." Izuku stood to do just that.
Just as the masters said, the training to create his own style was incredibly easy and training and sparring with the masters made it even easier. It only took him a week, but he now has his own fighting style that incorporates all his disciplines.
"Let's fight." Bang said with a pleasant smile.
"What?!" Izuku said, slightly horrified.
"Relax Izuku-kun. I wont be going all out but I want you to. The best way to master a new style is by fighting seriously, not just light sparring." He said in a calm reassuring tone.
The master and student took their respective stances, staring at each other for a moment and it began. Izuku rushed toward his master and threw a series of punches at him, but the master caught and blocked every blow.
Catching one of Izuku's punches with his flat palm, Bang used Izuku's momentum to bring him closer then bringing his other arm to his student's waist, he flips Izuku over his shoulder tossing him into the air.
Izuku spins in the air to correct himself, bending his knees when he lands, looking forward where his master should be, only to be met with a knee to the forehead sending him flipping a good distance away. He gains his footing and jumps into the air, looking down he scans the ground for his master, finding him standing in the same place he kneed him.
Landing, Izuku charges the master again using a combo of kicks but Bang blocks his side kick, tossing it to the side before sweeping Izuku's balancing leg making him hit the ground hard. Izuku flips back up, going after Bang with a series of fast, powerful blows which the master dodges or deflects, speeding up his assault Izuku gets closer and closer to the master, in one circular motion izuku launches a hard punch to his teacher's chest. Putting his left hand behind his right, Bang catches it, tossing his hand up, leaving Izuku open for two flying front kicks to the chin bringing him off the ground. In that same motion, Bang spins in the air and connects a flying side kick to Izuku's gut sending him back and knocking the air out of him.
Izuku was nowhere near tired nor done. Standing back up, he rushed his sensei again. He gets close, closer than Bang had let him get before, throwing a right punch that is deflected than a left that gets blocked. Izuku connects a quick kick to Bang's shin that clearly stuns him. He takes this moment to finally strikeback, grabbing his masters head to pull him into a flying knee.
Bang slips his head out Izuku's hold, dodging the knee, but flips, locking his feet on Izuku's head and flips again, driving Izuku's head into the ground.
"Your doing good, keep it up young one." Bang complimented.
Bang briefly wondered if he went too far until Izuku rose from the ground, still determined. They went back to trading blows. Not only were Izuku's attacks strong and fast to begin with but they seemed to be getting stronger and faster. With their difference in skill dodging or deflecting his student's attacks wasn't too difficult a task but Bang was finding blocking them undesirable.
Izuku throws a chop that gets deflected, the master spins and connects a reverse elbow to the back of his student's head sending him towards the ground once again. Izuku flips forward and comes back again with a flurry of punches that get deflected, ending it with an elbow strike that gets caught. He was just barely able to use a back flip to dodge the high front kick that was coming for his face.
Calming his mind, and though it wasn't perfect, Izuku attempted to slip into mushin. His master, noticing the change in his student also initiated the technique, slowly inching towards each other with their eyes locked, once within range of each other they attacked at once.
It was a blur of punches, blocks, counters and dodging at such a close range that any untrained spectators would be mesmerized and mistake this for a serious fight. Going at this for over a minute, the speed and power of his attacks as well his reaction times increasing, Izuku decided to experiment. He opened his inner eye at the same time his as mushin was activated.
He was able to see the full range of his master and honed in on his rhythm, speed and technique and even his breathing. Izuku found reading and predicting his master's moves easier. Stopping a right punch with a flat palm and dodging a left, he catches a right chop then hooking his master's elbow, spinning and pulling on his gi. He goes for a slam but to his shock he only sees a shirt. Sensing the incoming strike he was just able to jump out of the way of his master's incoming kick from above.
The two get back into stance, Bang rushing first with Izuku just barely able to block and dodge his strikes. He gets a hand on both his master's wrist but before he could do anything, he takes a kick to the chin, forcing him to let go and sending him in the air. Izuku flips to correct and comes at the master again.
"Stop." Bang calmly ordered with an opened palm. Izuku had to take a couple breaths to relax and deactivate the two techniques he was using. "I think it's safe to declare you a Master. What's the name of the style you've chosen?"
"I-I'm a Master? Already?! But I've only studied under you and Retsu-sensei for five years!" Izuku was in disbelief.
"This is true, however, thanks to your dedication, and Retsu-chan's constant healing, your body developed muscle memory at an accelerated rate, helping you master the different martial styles incredibly quickly. Not to mention, you are a very smart boy. We only needed to tell you something once and you've got it down. At times, you've even done the next step intuitively without us telling you what to do next. Now that you've mastered your very own style, you have earned the title of Master. What is the name of the style you've created?"
Izuku took a moment to think about the amalgamation of techniques he used, and came up with a name. "Adaptive Fist."
Bang smiled then bowed. "Then I greet you, Izuku Midoriya, Master of the Adaptive Fist."
Izuku bowed back, tears in his eyes.
Izuku sat on a bench at a park, just basking in the fact that he was now a registered hero, he just needed to send a portrait picture of himself in costume, then he'll get his license.
He involuntarily thought back to his former classmates. They should be beginning their careers as full fledged heroes like him. They graduated from UA, then spent three years as sidekicks, now working as either Independent Heroes, like Mirko, or making their own agencies under the HPSC.
His heart no longer clenched in pain, nor did he feel any anger towards those that turned their backs on him. At most, those memories caused mild annoyance, nothing more visceral.
He forgave them, but he'd never trust them again.
He received hundreds of millions of American currency as an inheritance due to his father's death. He felt bad, because he didn't feel anything at the news of his death. The man was a stranger to him. He did comfort his grandmother as she cried, but he was unaffected. He was thankful for the money, however, because he was able to buy a decently sized building in the bad part of Japan.
As he pondered what furniture to add to his newly purchased home, he whipped his head to the androgynous person who appeared next to him. His training prevented him from being surprised like that, but this person literally appeared out of nowhere. Izuku was on guard, because even sitting next to him, Izuku couldn't sense his presence.
"I don't think anyone has done this before, so it'll be a good experiment. Here's the Essence of the Crafter, buddy. A gift from your local ROB." Izuku couldn't even move as the being next to him raised it's hand, and a mist like substance entered through his nose.
He coughed at the unexpected feeling, then he felt gears turning in head. Different blueprints and ideas flooded his mind and suddenly cleaning his multistory building and placing security around it seemed a lot easier.