Izuku sat on the deck alone. The dorm had mostly returned to a semblance of normal, but Izuku couldn't shake the anger still simmering within him so he decided it would be best to calm down outside. It was frustrating; being mad. He didn't want to be out here, he wanted to be inside with his friends and girlfriends talking about Heroes, but he didn't want to expose them to this. There…was someone who could probably make him feel better without even realizing it. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Toshi.
"My boy! I've missed you!" Toshi greeted, immediately making Izuku smile.
"You saw me in class today," Izuku said, laughter in his voice.
"I know, I know, I suppose I just miss the time before U.A. when I got to see you one-on-one more," Toshi admitted.
Great. Now he was going to cry.
"I miss that too," Izuku said, trying not to sniffle. "How've you been? I didn't see you during Golden Week. What did you do?"
"Ah…" Toshi trailed off, immediately making Izuku sit straighter. "There were a few remote towns that were taken over by Villains on Trigger. They completely overwhelmed the local Heroes, if the town was lucky enough to even have one stationed there. It …wasn't pretty. Probably why the media hasn't covered it…All Might arriving too late again and again…" Toshi trailed off, his voice sounding emotionally exhausted.
"Shouldn't the police be doing a better job investigating the drug? It's been around since the Naruhata incident, what ten years ago? More? Shouldn't there be a task force or something?" Izuku asked, frankly pissed that Toshi felt the need to shoulder this alone.
"Truthfully?" Toshi asked with a sigh. "Naomasa is the exception to the police force, not the rule. Most are content to let Heroes deal with problems as they crop up."
It was an unfortunate truth that was a symptom of a much larger problem; All Might had become a victim of his own success. The belief that All Might was a natural-born Hero that could solve any and all problems led to the public assuming that really was the case and that it would always be that way. The problem is, All Might was one man and he was getting too old to bear the weight of Japan's peace. He may have started out in hopes of becoming a symbol of peace, but that's not all he became. He became Japan's pillar of peace, or more accurately, its crutch.
"Toshi," Izuku said, a bit of steel entering his voice. "You can't do everything. You can't blame yourself, please. I wish I already had my license so I could help you, I don't like the idea of you pushing yourself so hard."
"Worrying over All Might? HaHa!" Toshi tried to reassure. "I'm alright, my boy."
"What about your time limit?" Izuku pressed.
"It's getting shorter every day…it's been three years since I transferred OFA. I've tried to keep its embers alive, careful of how much I use, but I fear I don't have much longer with One For All. I wanted to hold out until you graduated, but with the drastic increase in Trigger incidents, I'm not sure how much longer I can put off my retirement."
"Toshi…you're more of a father to me than mine ever was," Izuku finally admitted for the first time. "If you need to retire before I graduate, then please do. I couldn't bear it if something happened."
The other end of the line went quiet enough that Izuku checked to see if the call had dropped.
"My boy…you have no idea how much that means to this old man, you're the son I wish I had," Toshi finally said, voice thick with emotions. "I'll seriously think about retiring, I promise."
Choking back tears now, Izuku said with a wet laugh, "Melissa will be jealous. I still want to meet her and David, by the way."
Toshi laughed in the way that could make anyone smile. "We can find out if I can get them off I-island, or you there."
Izuku coughed, trying to clear the tightness there. "But seriously, thank you for considering retirement and…everything. I love you, Toshi. I'll see you tomorrow."
Sniffling, Toshi said, "I love you too, my boy."
Wiping his eyes free of tears, Izuku hung up and stared out at the evening sky. He sat there thinking, lost in his own mind until someone sat next to him.
Mirio clapped a hand on Izuku's shoulder, smiling brightly as always. Izuku hadn't even realized Mirio was still at the 1-A dorms.
"You look like you need to blow off some steam!" He said, misinterpreting Izuku being lost in thought and emotion for still being upset.
Izuku smiled at Mirio, Yuki's uncle, Nejire's brother of choice and in turn his.
"I do still owe you a spar."
Mirio's eyes sparkled.
Six kisses for good luck and thirty minutes later, Izuku was standing in the same mock city he'd been in for the entrance exams and wearing his Hero suit. The only difference from his entrance exam was that instead of killer robots, the city streets were sparsely populated by abandoned cars. At the far end of the street, Mirio was wearing his Hero suit as well and bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking like this was the happiest moment of his life.
Izuku had been content to take the spar to a standard gym, but then others caught wind and wanted to watch. Apparently, when the first and third year winners of the Sports Festival had a spar it was considered a big deal because those who wanted to watch told their friends, who then told their friends, and soon even the faculty had caught wind. Instead of shutting it down, Nezu had opened up a mock city for the spar and told them to "Go nuts". With the city's cameras and drones feeding video to the dorms and who knows where else he couldn't be sure how many people were watching.
Izuku had a plan, he knew everything there was to know about Mirio's hit-and-run fighting style that relied on nearby walls, floors, and even ceilings thanks to Nejire and watching him in the Sports Festival. Mirio's Quirk originally allowed him to become permeable to all things, now, after its evolution, he could make anything he touched permeable as well.
"Don't hold back!" Mirio yelled to be heard, far away as he was.
"Same to you!" Izuku replied.
Nezu's tinny voice sounded through unseen speakers.
"Commence."
Izuku did the sensible thing and shot straight up into the air with Float, a sonic boom shattering all the windows of the nearby buildings. By the time Blackwhip had formed over his skin into a thin second layer of muscle tissue, Mirio was nowhere to be seen. With Black Cowl at fifty percent, Izuku's strength, speed, durability, and cognition increased by at least fiftyfold. Viridian energy crackled over black muscle fibers as Izuku awaited Mirio's opening move.
Seconds passed and Izuku began to wonder how long Mirio could go without oxygen in his lungs. According to Nejire, Mirio's Quirk made him entirely permeable, which meant oxygen and light passed directly through him. With no oxygen in his lungs or light hitting his eyes, Mirio had to have absolute confidence in his abilities. What would happ-
Something grabbed his leg.
Izuku had enough time between heartbeats to wonder why Danger Sense hadn't triggered before the light left his eyes and the oxygen left his lungs. The sense of falling became his entire world-no, there was something else. An aura of confidence wrapped in amusement was directly below him.
The next thing he knew, he was ascending. Light blinded him as he shot out from the ground and into the air.
"POWERRRR!"
Time slowed as Danger Sense triggered a moment before a fist connected with his jaw and despite his immense durability, it had him seeing spots. The incredible momentum Mirio had gained from exiting the ground compensating for his lack of Quirk increased strength.
Blackwhip flailed out in every direction as Izuku tumbled through the air, forcing Mirio to retreat from the unpredictable attacks. Righting himself and shaking his head, Izuku regained his composure. Without thought, Black Cowl expanded. It was already covering everything from the neck down, but it now snaked up to the base of his jaw and unseen through his hair all the way to his hairline to reinforce his neck and jaw. Blackwhip's limited sentience, ball of instinct as it was, knew that his head was a weak point and compensated accordingly.
Smiling at his Quirk, Izuku scanned the city below him. Searching not only with his eyes this time. This time, he searched with Empathy for that ball of confidence.
There!
It was a vague location, but It was moving through a tall building to his right at speed. Mirio's confidence was flaring like a beacon as he moved faster than it was physically possible from floor to floor. Izuku had a theory, if Mirio's Quirk was so difficult to use then that confidence was paramount. What would happen if…
With Empathy, Izuku twisted that unerring confidence in on itself until it became crippling self-doubt. The moment he did, Mirio stopped moving.
Not wasting an opportunity, Izuku flew at the building, heedless of things like concrete and glass. The face of the building exploded inwards with a punch, walls crumbled, and glass gave as Izuku sped towards the aura of doubt at the building's center. Mirio's surprised face came into view on a stairwell, his foot stuck partway through the stairs.
"UH OH," Mirio exclaimed, his glowing smile still in place despite his fabricated doubt.
Izuku's fist passed through Mirio's jaw a moment before Mirio fell through the stairs. Mrio's mastery of his Quirk made it nearly impossible to land a solid hit, there was only one way to get around it. He couldn't let up, couldn't give him a moment to breathe. Literally.
"Oh no you don't!" Izuku said knowing Mirio couldn't hear him.
Turning his path of destruction downwards, metal screamed each time Izuku ripped through a flight of stairs. Mirio poked his tongue out as Izuku gave chase. Mirio gained speed, using his Quirk to slingshot himself through objects faster and faster toward the ground. Izuku managed to stay right on him despite the speed, forcing Mirio to stay permeable. Ripping through another flight of stairs, Izuku was greeted with the split-second image of Mirio falling through the ground level. In a vain attempt to follow, Izuku stomped the ground at near supersonic speed, making the concrete floor crater and spiderweb, the building itself groaning in protest. Mirio had escaped, his aura of doubt vaguely outside. The face of the building's ground floor entrance exploded into the street as Izuku exited.
Powdered concrete and glass littered the street, covering the fire hydrant, the stop light, and parked cars. Flying upwards to lay his trap again, Izuku watched in fascination as the building began to collapse in on itself.
"Woah," Izuku said, stunned.
Focusing, Izuku switched to infrared as he searched the city below. With a thought, Smokescreen exploded out in a rolling black cloud that obscured several city blocks. He could practically hear the boos of the people watching. Locking in on the aura of crippling doubt, Izuku tried to find a heat signature. With cold objects being gray, they tended to meld together, making it hard to make out what they were. He could just make out the street light, the fire hydrant, and the parked-where'd the truck go?
Time slowed as Danger Sense triggered, the time dilation scaling with the danger. Suddenly, a truck exited the ground like a ghost, grill first. Despite time being slowed to a near crawl, the truck was moving FAST. The box truck came straight at him like it was a space shuttle trying to exit the atmosphere, blowing his smokescreen away as it rocketed upwards. Way, way, way too fast to dodge, Izuku punched as it met him in the air. Metal sheared around his fist, the truck's weight and momentum keeping it going. The engine block ripped apart around his arm just before the interior of the cab struck Izuku full in the face. The multi-ton box truck ripped apart around him even as its impact launched him higher into the sky. Spinning end over end and bleeding from where jagged metal had cut him from chin to brow, Izuku hung onto consciousness.
Danger Sense gripped his sprawling attention and yanked it to a fist coming right at his face. Izuku's uncontrolled momentum halted abruptly with the use of Float and Izuku used the tried and true defense used in bare-knuckle boxing; a headbutt. Tucking his chin just in time, Mirio's fist collided with Izuku's forehead. The reinforcements Blackwhip had made to his neck and chin made the move all the more effective.
"Yeowch!" Mirio exclaimed, waving his hand around.
Smiling with teeth pinkened from the blood of his already healed wound, Izuku laughed.
"Gotcha!"
With Mirio caught out in the open sky this time, Izuku enacted his plan. Blackwhip exploded out from his body, abandoning the defense Black Cowl provided in favor of overwhelming offense. Hundreds of tendrils made of pure energy scythed through the air at Mirio again and again, giving the man no chance to drop his permeation long enough to breathe. Without even a breath to hold, Mirio's brain had seconds of consciousness left. Mirio was in freefall now, with only open air between him and the ground. Izuku kept pace, Blackwhip completely off its leash. Mirio's eyes would occasionally gain focus for a split second to assess his situation before being forced into permeability again, growing more desperate each time. Izuku could feel the ball of self-doubt become stained by animal fear as he grew more desperate for air.
They finally reached the ground seconds later, but Mirio hadn't lost consciousness yet. Landing in a crouch hard enough that the cars along the street jumped nearly a foot, Izuku's legs coiled beneath him as he zeroed in on Mirio's aura traveling under the street. A little way up the street, a head of golden hair was emerging. The asphalt of the street peeled back as Izuku shot toward Mirio's location. Mirio's chest exited the street and he gasped for air right as a fist collided with his solar plexus. The air he'd so greedily sucked in was forced out before it could even diffuse within his lungs. Mirio slammed into the side of a white van, the metal denting in enough to hold his body as the van rocked onto two wheels. When the van settled, so did Mirio.
Izuku was staring out at the pink horizon and the setting sun when Miro snorted awake, his eyes blinking out of sync.
"What happen-did I lose? Are we on top of a building? What a view!" Mirio exclaimed, shaking his head and pushing himself onto an elbow, then into a seated position.
Izuku dangled his feet off the edge of the building, laughing slightly at how fast Mirio went from unconscious to his usual self.
"Ya, how are you feeling?"
Mirio patted himself down, counted his fingers and toes, and patted his stomach while rubbing his head.
"Everything seems good! Though, I was pretty sure you broke my hand with that headbutt."
Izuku chuckled guiltily. "I also fractured your sternum with that last punch. I'm pretty sure I was able to heal the breaks, but you should probably talk to Recovery Girl, just in case."
"What a spar!" Mirio cheered, disregarding Izuku's suggestion. "The way you messed with my emotions! The way you wouldn't let me catch my breath! Did Nejire tell you that flyers were my weakness? So hard to catch! And the way you shrugged off that truck!"
Izuku ran a finger along the scar that ran from his chin, up his cheek, and through his brow, all the way to his hairline, narrowly missing his eye. It was already smoothing out and fading away, it would be gone in a few hours at this rate.
"That thing was moving so fast that I couldn't even think of dodging, how did you make it go so fast!?"
Mirio slapped his knee like it was the funniest thing. "I found out that the more mass I pull into something, the faster it will exit! It's also why my foot got stuck in those stairs, not enough mass to push it one way or the other." Mirio looked around, his smile turning to confusion. "Why are we on top of a building?"
Izuku let out a breath. "Besides the great view? I wanted to ask you something. The internship invitation from Nighteye, did you read it?" When Mirio shook his head 'no', Izuku continued. "It's missing his signature at the bottom. It's invalid without it and I can't picture Sir Nighteye forgetting something like that. Any idea why he'd do that?"
Mirio hummed in thought, scratching his chin as he did so.
"Maybe he wants to make sure you're funny first, before taking you on? Having a sense of humor is a requirement to work at his agency after all!"
Izuku leaned back from the edge, resting his weight on his palms.
"I don't think it's that simple," Izuku admitted, thinking that it had something to do with his falling out with All Might.
Mirio looked at him for a long moment before speaking.
"What do you mean?" Miro asked, his expression open and genuine. His emotions were hopeful and curious. Mirio knew something was up and wanted Izuku to open up, but wasn't pressing.
Izuku really looked at Mirio. This man had come into Nejire's life when she'd been alone in the world after aging out of the foster system and leaving her group home. He, along with Tamaki, had quickly become Nejire's brother. Once Yuki came along, they had helped Nejire navigate being a mother while she mourned her relationship with YuYu without a second thought. This man was Nejire's family, and in turn, Izuku's.
"Sir?" Izuku seemed to ask nobody at all.
"Who are you talkin-" Mirio began to ask.
"Yes, Cub?" Nezu asked, his voice crackling from a flickering digital billboard.
Mirio shuddered, but didn't otherwise react.
"Are the cameras still on?" Izuku asked, unphased by Nezu's…eccentricities.
"Not to worry! All the feeds, aside from mine, have been cut since the fight ended," Nezu chirped in amusement.
Breathing in through his nose, Izuku looked Mirio in the eyes, his own dancing with arcs of energy.
"I want to tell you a story about two brothers…"
One story later, Izuku watched Mirio try to come up with the right words.
"So…" Mirio began tentatively. "Putting aside my many, many questions, you think Nighteye's invitation has something to do with your connection with All Might? And you want to be sure before you put him down as your final decision for internships?"
Izuku only nodded, there was little chance it was unrelated and Nighteye simply wanted him to intern there.
"Then let's go ask him! Right now!" Mirio exclaimed, shooting to his feet and offering Izuku a hand up.
A train ride later, Izuku and Mirio stood in an office. Behind his desk, Sir Nighteye steepled his fingers as he examined Izuku with a critical gaze over the rim of his glasses. Sir Nighteye was taller than Izuku had imagined, at 6'7" he was even taller than Izuku's 6'6". He wasn't just tall, he was gangly, his spider-like limbs appearing too long. Nighteye's stillness only added to the effect, like the office was a spiderweb and one wrong move would ring the dinner bell.
"You may leave us, Mirio." The man finally said, breaking the silence after five long minutes.
Izuku stepped closer, the sudden movement causing Sir Nighteye's intense gaze to snap to him.
"If it's all the same, I'd prefer him to stay. He knows all about One For All if that has something to do with it," Izuku said, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin. He would not be intimidated by this man.
Nighteye's yellow eyes went round, snapping to Mirio for a split second before returning to him and narrowing.
"You are here for my stamp," It wasn't a question.
"I want to know why you didn't provide it," Izuku countered.
Nighteye stood to his full height, a spider ready to consume. He walked on long limbs from behind his desk to stand before Izuku, his eyes now wholly purple and an odd pattern.
"Because you must earn it," Nighteye said, producing a personalized stamp that would do for a signature. "Take it from me and you'll have earned it. My Quirk allows me to see the future of anyone I meet eyes with. The futures I see cannot be changed and I see you walking away without a stamp. How will you achieve the impossible?"
A future only he could see, but was powerless to stop? The very idea made no sense. Why even use the Quirk if nothing could be changed? If it was true, Nighteye was essentially fighting Quirkless.
Green lightning crackled over Izuku's skin, empowering every cell of his body. His eyes overflowed with lightning as he met Nighteye's equally unsettling gaze.
"Look into my eyes. You tell me."
Izuku stepped closer and imagined something he would never do, more than that, he willed himself to believe he would go through with it; he envisioned letting Blackwhip off its leash with the sole instruction of retrieving the stamp at any cost. He imagined Blackwhip ripping through the entire building, heedless of lives and infrastructure. At his thoughts, Blackwhip began to unfurl, hundreds of tendrils waving about in silent warning.
Sir Nighteye recoiled .
"Mirio is the only one worthy of inheriting One For All," Nighteye bit out in disgust.
Izuku's Quirks shut down with a thought.
"That's the real reason you wanted me here, isn't it?" Izuku asked, sure of it.
"Sir, is that true?" Mirio, who had been silent until now, asked.
"All Might made a mistake, Mirio. When I saw you at your first Sports Festival, you reminded me so much of him. I've trained you to be his heir, I've molded you in his image. You are the one to replace the Symbol of Peace!" Nighteye proclaimed, genuinely believing every word, according to Empathy.
"That's why you asked for me directly? Not because you believed in me, but because I reminded you of All Might?" Mirio asked, his voice steeped in hurt.
When Nighteye didn't answer, Izuku placed a hand on Mirio's shoulder and gently squeezed.
"I think I'll go with my original pick; Ryukyu. Let's go, Mirio."