Author's Note: This chapter is a little lackluster, Amigos, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
6: Quirky Crush
The day of the outing had not gone the way that Isshin Yaoyorozu had planned. In truth, he would say that the day had literally gone to shit. And it was in no small part thanks to his daughter acting out again. Still, the situation was more than salvageable. Endeavor had been impressed by his daughter's actions during the incident.
Despite his son's baseless accusations, his daughter had endeared herself to the No.2 Hero greatly, even seeming to be proud of her. She had also given their family name a great boost in popularity as her face was now plastered all over the morning's papers, and news channels alongside the two boys and man that had helped during the traffic accident.
The following day saw him swamped with calls from rival companies asking how the girl was doing after her collapse, and offering promising business deals should the girl become a Pro Hero. [These business deals would much more agreeable if they didn't depend on her becoming a Heroine,] he mused as he hung up his phone after speaking with one of his rival companies.
True, his under the table dealings would be slightly more difficult should the girl turn Pro, but they wouldn't be impossible. But her time as a Professional Heroine would lessen the time needed to produce an heir for the Yaoyorozu family. [Though,] he sighed as he remembered visiting the hospital soon after her collapse, [If she sees had dangerous overusing her Quirk is, then perhaps she will give up this dream of hers?]
Momo Yaoyorozu had fainted due to her Quirk using her lipids to create medical supplies for the wounded. Doing so had caused her glucose levels to plummet, shutting down her body as it fell into a hypoglycemic coma. To add to the insult of his daughter falling ill because of her recklessness, an absolute urchin of a boy had laid hands on her and carried her to one of the ambulances. It was absolutely outrageous!
Had he not been in public he would admonished the boy for daring to touch his daughter, however, he couldn't show his less favorable side to the press. He would lose the image he had built up for himself since his Quirk manifested.
A knock came from the door of his home office, "Sir?" It was one of the servants, "Your three-thirty appointment is here."
He gave a nod, "Send him in."
A few minutes later the door was opened by one of the servants permitting a rather round man to enter the room. He was dressed rather finely in a black suit and fedora hat with a yellow tie around his neck which matched the odd gear-shaped goggle-like glasses on his face. He tipped his hat to him as he was halfway across the room, "Good to see you again, Isshin," the man said in a jovial tone, "How go your business ventures?"
Isshin nodded in return, "Very well, in fact, old friend," he said while the man sat down in the chair in front of his desk, "But I'm glad that you could take the time out of your busy schedule to humor my request."
"Not at all," the man smiled, "Think of this as a housecall, if you wish," his smile became impossibly wide, "After all, did you not request my aid with something not so long ago?"
If his words bothered the entrepreneur, he didn't show it. Instead, the man just smirked, "Indeed, and I still thank you for your help in that venture, even if the final product wasn't exactly what we desired." He said with a small chuckle, "I actually called you here to see if you would be interested in something that recently came to my attention."
"Oho?" The rotund man smirked, "It's rare that you find something that might interest someone like myself, Isshin, old as I am," he chuckled, "But, given that you are not one for flights of whimsy, I'd like to believe you might have found something truly interesting."
He gave a short nod, "As you know, I've had ties with one of the last remaining yakuza groups left in Japan," he started while the man gave him a look of befuddlement, "Yes, I know that they're a dying breed, this cell possibly being the last of its kind, yet the young leader has been a most lucrative business partner when it comes to...shall we say...special products?"
"A Trigger dealer, eh?" The man guessed with a laugh, "I see now why it's been on the rise on the streets," he said with glee, "I'm glad it's you that I have to thank for the added business when those fools eventually overdose and need my particular skills to stay alive." He laced his fingers together, "But I feel that this yakuza group is offering more than just Quirk enhancement drugs, or else you wouldn't feel the need to have me come here in person."
Isshin nodded pleasantly, "Right again, my old friend," he said, "The young leader came to me not long ago with something that I think could solve many problems for both of us," he continued and leaned forward, "A drug that is capable of erasing a person's Quirk."
The man's glasses flashed, revealing narrowed eyes behind them, "Oh? Truly something that I've never heard of," the man said with his ever present grin, "Do go on."
"I don't know much," Isshin told him with a sigh, "The enzyme he uses for the drug is...harvested from a child, you see," he leaned back feeling slightly sick to his stomach, "And Chisaki's Quirk allows him to harvest as much as he needs without killing the child...not permanently, at least."
"That's not Kai Chisaki, is it?" The man asked with interest.
Isshin nodded, "You know him?"
"Know of him," the man corrected, "His Quirk has been an interest of mine ever since it popped up on the radar," he explained, "And you know very well how much a rare and unique Quirk means to me and my research, no?"
"Which is why I decided to come to you with this situation," Isshin explained with a nod, "I do not like this man, Doctor Garaki," he shook his head disdainfully, "In truth, I despise him. His predecessor was far better to deal with than he is." He made a dismissive gesture, "Bah, I don't want to bore you with the details, but this new drug seems like something worth investing in, provided," he gave the man a look, "That you think you can perfect the drug into making the effects permanent."
The now named Garaki chuckled deeply, "Ah, now we come to the meat of the conversation," he said, sitting back to lace his fingers together, "I won't lie and say that this doesn't interest me, Mr. Yaoyorozu, but there are risks that involve myself and my benefactor. Though, in this case, I believe the potential payoff may be worth it."
"I think it will be, old friend," Isshin said, "As you know, if a drug like that existed, then there would be a need for a cure of a sorts for those that have been affected by the drug."
"And I would have the chance to harvest from the source of the drug," Garaki smiled, "And from Chisaki himself, whose Quirk could be just as valuable as this child's seems to be."
Isshin spread his hands out widely, "And I, as the supporter of your hospital, would gain significant profits when your people miraculously find the cure for this horrible drug." He smiled just as widely, "So what do you say, Doctor?"
Garaki chuckled and held out his hand, "I say that a deal with the devil is never without rewards." He chuckled as Isshin reached out and sealed the deal.
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Dagobah Municipal Beach/Illegal Dumping Ground...
Toshinori was watching his two students with a keen eye as the two of them continued cleaning the beach and returning it to its former glory. It had been a few days since the incident involving the car pileup had happened, and it had seen a change in one of the boys.
Izuku Midoriya was a boy that wore his heat on his sleeve no matter the situation. There were two things that Toshinori was certain of. The first was that the encounter had left its mark on the boy. When he had taken the boys home after the incident, he spent an hour with the families to make certain that they were all well taken care of. Izuku had spent a long time in the bathroom and, when his aunt had checked on him, it was to find him furiously scrubbing his hands. "The blood won't come off." Was his answer when they questioned him.
It was a familiar scene that the blond man had dealt with when concerning new Heroes when they finally got their hands dirty. It had taken some doing, but they had managed to calm him down and convince him that there was no longer any blood on his hands.
The second was something much less easy to deal with: Toshinori was quite certain that whatever was occupying the boy's mind at the moment had everything to do with the third member of their rescue work. "Ah, to be young," Toshinori muttered with amusement as the boys finished loading his truck. He checked his watch and saw that it was close to their allotted quitting time. "Alright, boys, let's drop this load off and call it a day!"
Izuku and Katsuki all but collapsed when they heard his call which caused him to laugh, "Ah, am I working you boys too hard?" He teased as the two of them groaned, Katsuki mustering up the energy to flip him the bird. "Well, why don't I treat you two to dinner? I think you've earned that much at least."
"No burgers or pizzas this time," the ashen blond groaned, "I want hot wings!"
Izuku groaned right next to him, "You can have the hot wings, I'll take barbecue." The boy said as he staggered to his feet.
Toshinori smiled as that started up another argument between the two while they loaded up into his truck. Izuku being the smaller of the two was in the middle while the blond took up the window seat. Both of them were already beginning to show progress, Izuku more than his friend since Katsuki was always training in some way. And while Izuku's former routine kept him decently fit, he was still a bit of a beanpole. Still, progress was progress.
"Izuku, my boy," Toshinori said as he started the truck and began the drive, "Is there something troubling you?" He asked, deciding to broche the subject of the boy's behavior of late. "I've noticed that you're been thinking quite a bit lately, more than usual I mean."
Izuku looked at him, and blushed, all but confirming the man's suspicions.
Katsuki was the one that gave him the final blow, "He's been hung up on that ponytailed girl since she passed out on us." The blond boy said, earning a glare from his friend, "Oh don't give me that fucking look, Nerd, you know it's true!"
Toshinori just laughed while the boy fumed. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Young Midoriya," the man said as the boy just continued to blush, "She was quite a lovely young woman."
"It's not that," the boy frowned with a shake of his head, "I'm worried about her." He admitted with a little embarrassment, "Mom works at the hospital she was taken to, and she says that she still hasn't woken up."
"They haven't woken her up because she overused her Quirk," Toshinori pointed out before gesturing to himself, "You don't want her to end up looking like me, do you?" He asked with a small chuckle. Toshinori, as was said before, was a tall, skeletal thin man with black sclera, a clear sign that he had used his Quirk beyond his body's capabilities, whatever the Quirk was: Izuku hadn't gotten around to asking about it, yet. "They'll wake her up when they think she's had ample rest and recovered enough. Some of the best doctors that have Healing-type Quirks work at that same hospital after all."
Izuku nodded, "I guess so." He sighed while the blond man came up with an idea.
"Why don't we drop by for a visit after we eat?" He proposed, making the boy look up at him, "I'm being serious, Young Midoriya. If you want to, we can go see how she's doing."
Izuku then gave a grin and nodded, almost throwing his glasses off.
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Shizuoka Hospital: Recovery Ward...
Momo opened her eyes slowly, her head pounding as though she had overslept. "What...?" She mumbled, her mouth feeling dry as she looked around the room she was in, clearly not her own given that it appeared to be a hospital room. Then she began to remember what had happened: the accident, helping the wounded with her Quirk and overusing it to the point that she had passed out.
She laid back against the pillow with a groan, "Oh, Father is going to kill me for this," she said, not knowing how she would explain herself. The heiress of the Yaoyorozu family covered in street grime and blood as she passed out in the street from Quirk exhaustion? He would probably lock her in her room and throw away the key!
She was interrupted from her thoughts as the door to her room came open, revealing a rather petite nurse with chin-length green hair tied up in a bun behind her head. She smiled warmly at the girl as she came into the room, "I'm so glad to see you awake, Dear," she said pleasantly whilst she began to check the girl's vitals and the IV running to her arm, "I have some standard questions I need to ask," she said, "May I have your name and date of birth?"
"I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, and I was born on the twenty third of September of the year 2XXX." She said with a small smile, "And the last thing I remember was passing out after helping with a vehicle pileup."
The nurse smiled at her, looking familiar for some reason, "Good, there doesn't seem to be any defects with your memory," she said, "You were in a hypoglycemic coma for two days," the news surprised her greatly, "There's no need to worry, my dear, your sclera haven't been damaged due to overusing your Quirk, but it was very close Miss Yaoyorozu."
Momo worried her lip, thankful that she had avoided such a thing, or else her father would be even more furious with her. "Has...has my father...?" She trailed off quietly.
The nurse smiled, "I doubt that you have to worry," she said as if reading her mind, "You've been labeled as quite the young Heroine, my dear." She sat on the edge of her bed, "The news hasn't stopped talking about the beautiful young woman that worked herself nearly to death in the middle of a car crash." Momo's cheeks began to heat up a little, "And several of the people involved in that crash have asked about you, wishing you well." She gestured to the table beside her bed where several slightly wilted vases of flowers were sitting.
The sight made her feel a rush of happiness.
"I don't believe anyone could feel displeased with you right now, Dear." The nurse said before she rose and went about tidying up the room and helping her to sit up.
[You don't know my father,] the girl thought sadly. As if reading her mind again, the nurse reached over and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. A gesture that she appreciated.
Another knock came to the door, and a familiar head of blond hair poked inside. "Ah, my my my, you've woken up!" Toshinori Yagi said with obvious delight as he stepped into the room while a figure darted in behind him with a yelp.
The nurse chuckled, "Izuku, Dear, we can see you back there," she said as a trembling mop of green/black hair quivered behind the tall blond.
Momo was delighted as the same boy she had observed at U.A., and almost met at the beach stepped tentatively out from behind the man, holding a bouquet of daffodils, her favorite flower.
Even compared to the ruby-quartz of his glasses, she could see his cheeks were a near blinding shade of red while he was trembling like a phone set to blond man seemed to take pity on the boy, and stepped forward. "We were all quite worried about you, my dear." Toshinori said with a smile, "Poor Izuku here nearly had a heart attack when he caught you and carried you over to the ambulance."
Izuku almost stepped on the man's foot, but Toshinori was expecting it and sidestepped it before he could connect. "Oh, um..." the girl's blush returned to a slightly darker shade, "Thank you...for helping me..." she mumbled.
"Yo-you're we-welc-c-come," the boy stammered out nervously: Momo found it cute, surprisingly. He stepped forward stiffly, and offered her the bouquet. "Ah-I-um th-these are for-for you!"
Momo took the flowers and gave them an appreciative smell. "They're beautiful," she breathed out, "I can't wait to press one of them." She said fondly as she thought about adding one of her favorite flowers to her pressed collection.
The nurse, the boy's mother, apparently, giggled and turned to leave, "I need to have the staff notify your father," she said, giving a subtle glance at the blond, "Izuku, dear, would you keep her company while I do that?"
"Uh - ?" The boy gulped as Toshinori followed his mother out of the room, giving him a thumbs-up as he went.
Momo giggled at their little play at matchmaking. [If only it were that simple for me,] she thought sadly. While she thought that the boy was exceedingly cute, she knew that her father would never approve of her even entertaining the idea of dating someone that he didn't choose for her himself. [Still, though,] she smiled slightly, [It would be nice if we could be friends when we go to U.A. together.]
"So," the girl started timidly, "Your name is Izuku?"
Izuku gave a small nod, "I-yeah-I'm...Izuku Midoriya." He bowed his head politely.
"And I'm Momo," the girl smiled at him over her flowers, "Momo Yaoyorozu. It's very nice to meet you, Midoriya."
Outside the room stood Katsuki with his hands jammed into his pockets, a slight smirk on his face. "Damned idiot."
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"I'm quite disappointed that the meeting did not go as planned," Isshin Yaoyorozu said to his daughter a few days later as they were on their way home just after she was discharged from the hospital. The man looked down his nose at the girl sitting across from him, "And I want an explanation on how you conducted yourself, young lady. You blatantly ignored me when I called out to you the day of the crash, and your insubordination is obviously unacceptable."
Momo kept her face blank, clutching a slightly withered daffodil in her hand, "Truthfully, Father," the girl said, "When it all happened, all I remember about it was my body moving on its own." She told him, her father raising his brow at her, "I just moved. I didn't want to ignore you, I just couldn't hear you. It was like a roaring in my ears the entire time."
"Adrenaline, most likely," her father reasoned, "Very well, you are forgiven, considering your heroics added to our family's fame," he said before a deep frown came to his face, "Now let us speak of the Todoroki boy and his accusations toward us."
Momo nodded, "I don't think I've ever felt more insulted in all of my life," she admitted, remembering how the boy had asked if her family had staged the entire scene out like a play.
Her father was nodding in understanding, "I know how you feel, my dear," he responded darkly, "The boy has fallen in my graces, and I attempted to have the engagement broken off," her eyes showed the barest hint of emotion as she heard him say that, however, she squashed them down as the man waved his hand in dismissal, "However, the boy's father doubled the money promised upon your marriage, so I could not refuse him," he said, not noticing the girl's eyes saden. "He has also insisted that the boy make an apology to you through some form of night out." He said as the limousine began to slow, "In essence, he has arranged for the two of you to go on a date."
Momo adopted her most dignified pose, "I'm not sure I can resist the urge to slap him," she relented honestly, "It's one thing to be paranoid, but to think that we would sink so low as to staging such a horrendous accident - "
"Yes, yes, I know, but you must remain patient," her father said, "Remember, this is just as much for your benefit as it is the family's."
Momo gave her father her best closed-eye smile, "I know, Father, and I will do my level best to remain civil with him," she promised, tongue in cheek, before leaning on her hand as she looked out the window, "But it will take restraint. He will most likely attempt to rile me again."
"Indeed, but Endeavor has ensured that he will not attempt to shame our family name again," the man said with a chuckle, "The boy's defiance has cost him quite a bit."
Momo's eyes narrowed as he spoke, [Endeavor must've beaten him,] she surmised as she remained quiet. Her distaste for the Todoroki family as a whole was growing by the day. [How is he planning to treat me if I'm to enter into this family?]
Her father must have caught something in her face as the man leaned forward, "Endeavor will not lay a hand on you, daughter of mine," he promised her, "We both need you hale and healthy to produce our families' heirs, and if he harms you in any way, shape or form, I have all that I need to destroy him."
Momo nodded, pleased by that at the very least, "As you say, Father."
"Good, now, onto something a tad more enjoyable," he said as the girl looked at him, "As you will still be attending U.A. under not only Endeavor's endorsements, but also All Might's as well - "
"All Might?!" Momo blurted out in shock, causing the man slight amusement, "Forgive me, Father, but when and how did that happen?!"
The man chuckled, "That man, the blond fellow that was helping with the accident, was actually All Might's top agent for his company," he said, "And not a day later I received a call from Nezu stating that All Might had signed on your recommendation forms under Toshinori Yagi's suggestion."
[Toshinori was at the hospital the other day,] the girl mused happily, [But it didn't look like he's given Izuku the visor.] The thought saddened her slightly that she hadn't gotten to see how the boy would look with the piece of Support Gear on, but perhaps...
She shook her head, taking the happiness that she could get. With All Might endorsing her as well, there was no way that her father could revoke her entry into U.A. because now the eyes of the world and the Heroic Society would be on her to see what she could accomplish. It wasn't every day that someone was recommended to U.A. under the endorsement of the top two Heroes of the country, and the No.1 ranking Hero of the world at that.
[I'll have my freedom,] she thought smilingly as they pulled into their driveway. [I can finally get away from this place and live!]
エックスメン
After meeting Momo Yaoyorozu, the days counting down to the U.A. entrance exams flew by as Izuku and Katsuki continued their training and cleaning of the beach. One month before the exams took place, Izuku was given a visor that Toshinori said was from someone special in their R&D department at Might Towers. Izuku loved the gift immediately, and was allowed to practice with his Quirk and allow himself to grow accustomed to how he could fire off his Optic Blast with the press of a button.
Then, after ten long months of absolute hell, the boys finished cleaning the beach with only days to spare. Toshinori arrived one morning to their little training ground to find them both standing up on top of the last remaining pile of garbage with their hands raised in All Might's signature victory pose, shouting at the top of their lungs.
They had not only cleaned the designated stretch of the beach he had laid out for them, but beyond it as well. They had gone beyond and become Plus Ultra.
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Author's Note: Sorry this chapter isn't as good as what I've put out before, Amigos, but I've been dealing with some hard stuff. Still, if you liked the chapter then leave a Review. Adios Amigos!