15/06/2024

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The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 28 - Family and... Friends?

With Gigantomachia following behind him and Himiko at his side, Izuku felt relaxed. He was surprised by the feeling. It wasn't that he didn't trust the others, but he'd known both Himiko and Gigantomachia far longer, even if he'd only recently reconnected with Himiko and that made a difference.

They encountered Kurogiri before they found the Doctor.

"Can you transport us to Yakuni?" Izuku asked.

The misty man gave him a look.

"What?" Izuku demanded.

"You are leaving the others with the Doctor?" came the question.

Izuku gave Kurogiri a half smile. It questioned why the man was asking in the first place. The warper sighed and then gestured with one hand, making a disk for them to travel through.

"What was that about?" Himiko asked curiously.

Gigantomachia chuckled while Izuku heard Kurogiri sigh before he stepped through the misty disk into Yakuni's facility.

Himiko quickly followed, as did Gigantomachia. "The Doctor patched you up," Izuku told her. "But that's all, and-" he sighed. "There have been several things I have asked for, that he agreed to do, which he has not yet done. They will get done," Izuku defended the Doctor. "But it will not be to my timeline," he added.

The quirk copies he'd asked for, he needed them sooner, rather than later. Especially Hitoshi's and the regeneration quirk! The Doctor should have had spare regeneration quirks. They were part of many Nomu. Hopefully Yakuni would have a regeneration quirk.

"Oh," Himiko said before Izuku could tell she dismissed the issue.

He didn't need the way Gigantomachia was looking at him to know that this was something his father would have done. .

"Yakuni!" Izuku called.

"Over here!" came the immediate response.

Yakuni's set up was different than the Doctor's. He had many more small tanks, and to Izuku's practiced eye, they were in storage mode, rather than growth. He threaded his way through, leading Himiko to where Yakuni was. They emerged into a clearing of the tanks to find Yakuni directing a black Nomu. It was carrying a large empty glass tube and was carrying it towards what looked to be a base.

"Gently," Yakuni advised the Nomu and Izuku watched as it put the tubing down with a surprisingly soft tap. "Stand ready," Yakuni ordered the Nomu before turning to Izuku. "Hey Dragon and?" the young man paused, cocking his head slightly at Himiko.

"Himiko," Izuku introduced her.

"Ah, the young lady Overhaul viciously attacked."

It was almost funny to observe Himiko. She didn't know how to respond. Yakuni gave both her and Gigantomachia a nod. "So what's up?"

"A couple of things," Izuku replied. "Do you have any food here?" he asked, conscious that it had been a while since Himiko had eaten.

"There's some cup noodles," Yakuni told them, gesturing towards one of the walls. Izuku spotted a wall cupboard with a kettle on the bench beneath it. He now understood why Yakuni had eaten at the bar.

Izuku sighed. "There is better food at the bar," he told Himiko.

"Cup noodles are fine," she said, moving towards the cupboard.

"So, what else do you need?"

Izuku looked at Yakuni. He seemed unusually bright and cheerful. The young man had always been cheerful around him but this was forced. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

He watched as Yakuni closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "I will be," the young man replied, just as softly.

Izuku narrowed his eyes as he looked at his friend. "I took his quirk but I think I should have done more," he said.

"I'd say you should have used his quirk on him but without practice, it would have been a one time deal and that wouldn't have been enough," Yakuni told him.

Izuku snorted. "I can go after him again, if you want?" He offered. He'd never given Yakuni a scale but he felt that he owed him. He would go after the Yakuza again if Yakuni thought it would help him. Izuku shifted one hand to his shirt, and lifted it as he concentrated on forming a scale. He pulled it loose and held it out to Yakuni.

The young man still had his eyes closed. "There's no need. What you've done is justice," he said, opening his eyes.

Izuku watched as Yakuni focused on his hand. "What's that?"

"It's yours," Izuku said, waving the scale a little. "I don't want that to happen again, and if it provides some protection then that's for the best."

Yakuni reached out and took the scale. "Thank you," he whispered.

Izuku grinned. "I should have already given you one."

"It wouldn't have made a difference," Yakuni was quick to reassure him.

He sighed and let the issue go. If Yakuni needed more help then he'd have to ask for it, or seek it himself. Izuku would help him where he could but he couldn't do everything, though he was curious about one thing. "Why did you say it was justice?" he pressed.

"Overhaul didn't tell you?" Yakuni was incredulous.

He shook his head.

That actually got a chuckle out of the young man. "The moron believed quirks were a disease, and that's why he was making a bullet to remove them."

"But he couldn't possibly have believed he could shoot enough people to…" Izuku trailed off. There was no way the Yakuza could have shot enough people to make a difference to society.

"That's why he was-" Yakuni shook his head. "His aim was never to remove the world's quirks. Instead, he just wanted to blackmail people. He thought it would restore the supposed honour and power of the Yakuza," came the explanation.

Izuku frowned at the statement as he processed it. "So you'd get shot, and lose your quirk and then… what? Pay him for the antidote?"

"About that, yes," Yakuni confirmed the Shie Hassaikai's plan for him.

"That sounds like an incredibly quick way to get yourself a room in Tartarus," Izuku noted.

"That's why I say taking his quirk is justice. Overhaul might have believed that quirks were a disease but he was never prepared to give up his own," Yakuni told him. "And now… quirkless," he laughed. "He might very well be going to Tartarus but he'll forever be quirkless and that is the best gift you could have given me," he concluded.

"I wish I'd known sooner," Izuku said.

"The Doctor knew I was there."

"Yes, but he failed to imbue me with any sense of your actual conditions," Izuku commented. "So, I know I said this earlier, but I'll repeat it. You are not to do anything for him without clearing it with me first. I don't care how urgent it supposedly is," Izuku ordered forcefully.

"Nothing," Yakuni agreed.

Izuku huffed. "I'm going to have to talk to him," he muttered.

"Probably." The young man gave him a look. "Now, you didn't come here to raid my cup noodles, or to bitch about the Doctor," he said.

"True," Izuku acknowledged. He had a few things he wanted to talk to Yakuni about. "Did you have a chance to look for that transformation quirk?" he asked.

"That's just what I was doing," he said. "I've got the sample, but I don't have a full copy," Yakuni told him in a sad tone.

Izuku sighed. It was too much to ask for a copy to be here. But he had hoped.

"How long will it take to grow?" The question came from Himiko.

"A couple of months," Yakuni told her. "Dragon will have a handle on Eri's quirk before then," he added, trying to comfort her.

"I hope so," Izuku muttered.

"You will," Yakuni said with supreme confidence.

"Grow it anyway," Izuku ordered. If it was one thing he was really beginning to appreciate, was that having multiple plans was best. He'd interrupted one of his father's when he'd killed Tomura, but he could see how the plan could be applied to other people. The weak link was the quirk All For One, in that there was only one true copy of it. But that was a single plan of necessity. Where you had multiple options, Izuku could see it was best to take them all, in as much as you could.

"Will do," Yakuni agreed as he typed something into a tablet.

"What other quirks do you have?" Izuku asked.

"Lots!" came the immediate response, "but I thought Gigantomachia had them," Yakuni told him.

"'Machia?"

"They are with the Doctor," the large man rumbled.

"Okay," Izuku said. He should have expected that. Especially that the Doctor had not insisted he take them before coming here. The man was playing his own game and it did not align with his. "Before you tell me what you got me, do you have a copy of regeneration handy?"

Yakuni frowned at him, as if trying to work out why he'd asked the question. "Of course I do. It's one that goes into Nomu all the time. And it goes into all the High Ends," he added.

"I need one."

"The jars numbered 55," Yakuni said, gesturing towards a stack of smaller tubes. Izuku could see that they were stacked neatly and that they all had numbers on them. Yakuni probably had a master file somewhere that told him which quirk belonged to which number.

"Why do you want regeneration?" Himiko asked, as she came back, carrying one of the cup noodles.

"For you," Izuku told her. "I'm not going to let you be quirkless."

"But you-"

Izuku shook his head. "I'm not. And regeneration will take care of your wounds," he explained. "Do you want Overhaul's quirk until your one is ready?" He offered.

Yakuni laughed at that. "Take it!" He cheered, and then made a prayer sign, looking towards the ceiling. "And then may the fates offer a chance for you to show Kai!" he laughingly prayed.

Izuku moved to the tubes and looked at the numbers. There were a wide range but he quickly spotted a 55. He wondered how he could get it out since they were stacked so that they interlinked. "There's one here," he told Yakuni. "How do I get it out?"

"Is there two? My record's show there should be more than one but-"

"But?" Himiko prompted.

"The Doctor could have taken them," Yakuni told them with a huff. "I'll have to do a stock take," he announced. "I don't mind Durama taking them. That's why I'm making them!" he allowed, "but I'd kind of like it if he'd keep the records up to date."

At that, Izuku huffed. It sounded like it would be easier to- Oh, he didn't know but there was probably some metaphor that was appropriate. The Doctor wasn't that good at record keeping since he tended to keep most of his discoveries in his head. He did publish papers though but only when the data would be of benefit or was irrelevant to his father's plan.

Izuku kept looking and just as he was about to give up he spotted another 55. "There's another!" he announced happily. The number was blurry but he could see it through the glass and liquid in one of the tubes. "It's behind this one," he added, pointing.

"Excellent," Yakuni agreed. "Let me get them out," he then offered.

"How do you get them out?" Izuku asked. It didn't look like it would be easy.

"They are on a railing system," Yakuni explained. As he did the tubes began to move and Izuku could see some mechanism pulling them around. It didn't make sense to him but soon the two tubes marked 55 separated themselves from the others.

"What's the second one for?"

At the question, Yakuni reached out and flicked one finger against the glass tube the Nomu had been moving into position. "My very own attempt at a High End," he told them.

Izuku nodded. That made sense.

"Will you be around later? Durama usually got your dad to transfer quirks," Yakuni said.

That was news to him. "When will you need it?" Izuku asked curiously.

"Maybe tonight. I was going to see if introducing regeneration really early has any impacts. Durama said it didn't, so he usually waits until later." Yakuni shrugged. "I want to try for myself," he admitted.

"I should be," Izuku said as the two tubes marked 55 came to a rest in front of Yakuni. He'd been looking at them but Izuku now realised they were smaller than he'd seen previously. Yakuni saw the way he examined the tubes. "Once the material is grown-"

"You can say clone," Izuku interrupted.

"Okay," Yakuni said, not questioning his announcement. "Once the clone is grown, we can usually reduce the tube size for storage," he explained the small tubes, as he pushed one to the side.

"Himiko," Izuku turned to her. She'd been eating the cup noodles. "Do you want regeneration?" he asked. He thought it was a good idea but he wasn't going to insist she take it if she didn't want it.

"I'll get my quirk back?"

"One way or another," Izuku assured her. He was going to get her quirk back. It would just take some practice or some time. And then, Yakuni had suggested Himiko show the Yakuza she had his quirk but Izuku thought it would be more appropriate if Himiko showed off the fact she had her own quirk back. By now, Overhaul would know Izuku had taken his quirk and that would have an impact on him. But to truly break Kai, to punish him, showing Overhaul that even his quirk destroying bullets were a failure… That would be sweet justice.

Himiko grinned. "Gimme!" she ordered. "It will be kind of fun to change quirks!" she announced with a giggle. "I can pretend I'm you!"

"Me?" Izuku gasped.

"Yep! I can pretend I'm you, Izu! You can change the quirk you use, and I'll be doing that as well."

It was a bit of a stretch but if that thought made her happy then Izuku would go with it. "Are you ready?" He asked.

Himiko nodded.

Izuku reached out and grabbed one of the regeneration copies. The quirk felt familiar and he stopped it from spreading over him. He already had regeneration, he didn't need it again! Instead, he pushed it towards Himiko, being as gentle as possible as he introduced it to her. At least, that's what it felt like to him! It wasn't exactly what he was doing but it was complicated.

Himiko shivered and as Izuku watched with Dragon's Hoard, he could see the dull red of regeneration spread over her body. She hissed and reached up to touch her shoulder. Himiko pulled the hospital robe back and Izuku grinned to see that her wound was already healed. It wasn't completely healed but as he watched, the red welt faded and her skin went back to being creamy and smooth.

"See, all better!" he said.

"It's-" Himiko said and frowned as her attention turned inwards. "It's kind of odd," she told them.

"It is," Izuku agreed. "But it's a useful quirk," he said unnecessarily.

Himiko looked like she was missing something.

"No!" Izuku snapped as he realised what it was. "You aren't going to get to cut yourself to test it!" He scolded, realising that the robe she was dressed in wouldn't hide a knife, let alone carry it.

"But Izu!"

"No!" He repeated again.

"But I want to try it!" she objected.

"How much?" Izuku asked with a sigh. If she kept regeneration he couldn't monitor her all the time. She'd get a knife eventually.

"Just a little!"

"After you get a better meal," he told her.

Himiko frowned.

"Healing takes energy, and so I want you to get something better to eat than just cup noodles," Izuku insisted.

Himiko pouted. "Fine," she said, curling her upper lip in a pout so profound it almost touched her nose. It was a stupid expression and Izuku laughed.

That made Himiko smile and Izuku realised at least some of her expression had been to manipulate him. He huffed. "Do you want the Yakuza's quirk?" he asked.

"What does it do?" she asked.

"As far as I can tell, it lets me take things apart, and then put them back together," Izuku said. He gestured to the package of the cup noodles she'd finished, and used Caeli Imperium to bring it to him. Once it was in his hands, he held it up so that it was standing on one palm. Then he imagined the cup being crushed.

A moment later it crumpled in his hand but more than that, he could feel bits that made it up and with a frown he told them to separate. It was an odd feeling but as he watched he could feel the bits of the cup moving on his palm.

"Oh," Izuku said, looking at the process as he felt the quirk almost prompt him. It wanted him to make another decision. That was interesting. He'd always told quirks what to do but he'd never had one want him to give it more information once he'd decided to use it.

"What is it?"

"It's…" Izuku wasn't sure so he focused on the feeling. It was pretty simple in the end and Izuku decided to reassemble the cup.

In his hand, the individual bits mixed up again and the cup that had been destroyed reformed, exactly how it had been.

Himiko watched his demonstration with wide gold eyes.

"It's an interesting quirk," Izuku said. "It's actually a multipart quirk," he explained to everyone present. "The first bit allows you to take things apart, and you can leave it like that, or you can put things back together and the quirk kind of asks you if that's what you want it to do!" He added with a grin.

"You keep it," Himiko said.

"But-"

"You keep it," she repeated. "You looked so happy using it, Izu! And since I'm going to get my quirk back, I don't need it!"

Izuku felt a surge of gratitude towards Himiko that she'd just accepted that she would be getting her quirk back. It was one of those things he felt people would want to believe it but there would always be some doubt. Himiko's voice betrayed absolute confidence. It was kind of scary that she trusted him that much.

She was going to get her quirk back but some doubt would have been normal.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely."

"But you'll keep regeneration until then?" Izuku pressed. It was kind of silly. Himiko wouldn't thank him for being so protective of her. She'd probably stab him but right now he couldn't help it. He knew she was capable. He knew she'd made a choice but… He owed her.

"I'll keep regeneration until then," Himiko told him.

Izuku smiled. It made him feel better to know she had that quirk, though he would need another copy of it.

"I'm not getting it back," Yakuni muttered.

"Make five more," Izuku retorted.

Yakuni snorted, and that made them all laugh, and just for now, everything was okay.

-ted-

Izuku is going to get the quirks soon but Yakuni is a good foil for his plans and Izuku knows he can discuss things openly with him.

But for now Himiko has a regeneration quirk. I guess we will find out if it's possible to inflict so much self damage to die with a regeneration quirk? Not. Himiko is not that frivolous (IMO). She is going to test it though and if they get into combat, at least this one will help. I imagine being a knife fighter having a regen quirk would be of great benefit.

Discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!