"This is a follow up report on yesterday's incident at the U.A rescue training facility where hero course students were attacked by a group of villains" the news girl said as Izuku, Tsuyu and Mineta sat in front of the TV. After the attack their parents had been notified and in all the years he had been alive he had never seen such a wave of anger; parents furious that they had allowed villains to attack their children barely a week into the school year. Some had even threatened to pull their children out of the hero program entirely.
His own mother though had not been among them, only realizing what happened when the hospital began admitting his classmates and teachers. After that she had blown up his phone worse than Hiroshima with calls, asking what was going on and if he was okay. He had done his best to explain what had happened without adding to her worry and while she had accepted that to be a hero her son would be in danger neither had expected a fight like that so early. Moreover, the fact that she had more than one child under her roof to look after added to her anxiety.
Neither Tsuyu nor Mineta's parents came to pick them up, a thing Izuku knew was hurting the both of them and a large reason Mineta had decided to stay the night at his place. He wondered what kind of parent wouldn't care about something like this happening to their kid, than remembered he didn't need to.
His own father hadn't even so much as called after the blast and there was no way he wouldn't have heard about it. An explosion rocked the whole city and killed thousands and it still wasn't enough for him to care.
"According to police investigation the group; calling themselves the 'league of villains' were responsible for the attack and had hoped to ambush the symbol of peace who had become a teacher at the school earlier this year" she continued as the reason for them watching showed itself.
Popping up beside her was the recordings from the USJ attack from the security cameras, showing off several of the fights that had occurred.
"It doesn't make sense" Mineta huffed, throwing his hands in the air in resigned frustration. "They lost; why would the villains want to show themselves losing?"
Izuku was trying to puzzle that out as well. As far as anyone knew the videos had been released anonymously onto the internet and had been picked up by the news. They had of course not shown the more brutal parts of the footage but it was easy enough to find the full videos for those invested enough. It had been the second time he had been on camera and there was no shortage of talk about the "water girl" and the name they had taken to calling Mina… Oni.
"Maybe it's to show how weak they think the heroes are" Tsuyu chimed in, voicing the possible thoughts of the villains. "Like we might have failed but the fact that we were able to attack your future heroes in their own school proves that the hero's time is running out"
Izuku could see the logic in that; the very act alone regardless of the outcome being enough to shake an already crumbling trust in the heroes. But there were still things that didn't sit right with him, something that screamed there was more going on.
Why was wash there? How did he get there and why did he try and kill him after saving him?
"In total seventy-two villains have been arrested though the whereabouts of their leaders are currently unknown and only time will tell if they are to be brought to justice. Channel thirty-six, Mustafu News" were the final words of the news caster before Izuku turned off the TV.
"Hey I was still watching that" whined Mineta and Midoriya got off the couch rolling his neck.
"It'll be on later" reassured Tsu and everyone knew she was right. The news that had been drummed up by his fight with the reapers was like a candle in comparison to the roaring fire that was the attack; twenty-four hour news coverage, panel talks with pro heroes, articles and opinion pieces. It was no exaggeration that the attack mixed with blast and the gangs had turned Mustafu into the news story capital of all of Asia. And U.A was smack dab in the center of it all. It was why they had given us the rest of the week off, giving them a nice long four day weekend. Officially it was for the mental health of the students after such a traumatic event but in reality he could see that it was just to let the situation cool down and for them to try and formulate a proper response.
He did not envy them; the reporters would be out for blood and no matter what they said this would forever be a blackspot on the school's history.
Mineta shrugged his shoulders, reclining further into his seat as he crossed his arm. "Yeah but I wanted to see if they had any info on those brain guy's."
"Nomu" Tsuyu whispered, her eyes narrowing. "That's what their leader called the bird headed villain that Mina killed."
"Yeah they were weird. Even though they all had different quirks, they all looked too similar; exposed brains, dark skin and multiple quirks" he added, lifting a finger with each comparison.
"Or what looked like multiple quirks" she said, looking to Izuku with knowing eyes. The similarities were disturbing.
"You think the villains that attacked are in league with the First Sons?" Mineta asked; now looking to Izuku and Midoriya realizing he couldn't keep what he had seen to himself, having to relive the terrible thing he had done.
"When I drained her… I saw things" he admitted and he could feel the tension in the room rising by the second.
"Her?" Mineta repeated, making clear he wanted to know more.
Breathing between his teeth Izuku continued. "Her name was Mai Unagi I saw her meet a man in an alley. He was wearing a purple suit and a big puffy scarf."
"You can read people's memories!" Mineta interrupted, clearing shocked by the seemingly never ending abilities he had.
"I didn't know I could until I did it" he told him; it wasn't as though that had been his plan.
"I then saw a warehouse" he tried to continue, the doors to that place looming in his mind's eye.
"Could it be the same one that John was taken to" Tsu asked.
"It could have been, maybe… but that wasn't the last of it" he shuttered as he remembered her being strapped down into a chair.
"I saw a man with a hole in each of his hands. He gave her those quirks" He finished, feeling a phantom pressure press down on him; even as only a memory that man held such power.
"Do you think it was Kessler" Mineta questioned, eyes growing wider in caution.
"I don't think so" he told them honestly as the voice in the crater replayed in his mind. "It felt different"
Where the man with holes felt like you were drowning in fear, a feeling of helplessness so vivid you could think of nothing except your death. And that chuckle, that horrid awful thing that rung in her ears as her body was ripped apart and put back together. It was demonic; it was the only word that could even begin to describe it. But the voice he had heard in that Crater felt older, strong yet strangely tired. It was as if a sentient storm had been speaking to him, rumbling in your ears like thunder. Or like an old tree, with gnarled roots and leafless branches hanging over him.
"One felt like an ageless demon, the other felt like… an ancient storm." He tried his best to explain but even he could tell was not a good answer. Leaving the room in a new silence as the trio thought over what he had said.
"Did you see where the warehouse was" she asked, breaking the silence.
He nodded his head and she let out a deep sigh before saying something that left them both surprised.
"I need to go see my family"
Both boys looked to her confusion flashing across their faces until a wave of realization hit. They had all gotten out of the USJ by the skin of their teeth and if not for Shiozaki he would have lost his best friend. One wrong move or moment of hesitation would have been the end of them all; hell the very fact they had all survived at all was a miracle.
"We're obviously going to see if that warehouse is the same one John spoke of and hearing about what we might face, fighting those things again… we might not be so lucky next time so best to have few regrets" she whispered, shrugging her shoulders as she bit her lip anxiously.
"Are you sure? After what your parents…" Mineta asked sympathetically but Tsuyu nodded her head, both to him and to herself.
"I'm just gonna see my siblings" she told them. "Samidare and Satsuki should be having their lunch break soon."
Hearing that Midoriya had an idea and walked over to the table where his wallet was. He still had money from his time as a courier and he couldn't think of a better way to spend it.
"Here" he told her, pulling out the money and offering it to her with a soft smile. "By them some food they like, should be a good peace offering."
Tsuyu hesitated for a moment, her hand hanging in the air between her and the money, conflict hidden behind her eyes before finally accepting.
"Thankyou" she whispered softly, hugging and giving him and small kiss on the cheek as the two watched her go.
"I can literally feel my teeth rotting from the sweetness" Mineta quipped as he shot him wry look, having waiting long enough so only Izuku could hear.
"It's true though" Midoriya defended. "Remember when my mom sometimes would buy us fast food for lunch" he asked, reminded of the excitement of those surprises.
"Yeah and remember Bakugo blowing up our food sometimes" replied Mineta and Midoriya rolled his eyes at the memory, reminded of scattering burnt nuggets and fries across the classroom and the both of them having to clean it up.
"And I also remember when his favorite All Might card went mysteriously missing afterwards" said Midoriya, remembering how both he and Bakugo had gotten the same card on the same day, back when his attitude wasn't completely unbearable.
Mineta smiled fiendishly "I don't know what you're suggesting; I as a hero in training would never steal." He huffed, raising his hands and feigning innocence.
"He tore up half the classroom looking for It." replied Midoriya with a small grin; remembering the teachers having to call his mother to get him to stop. He couldn't lie, when he saw Mitsuki smack him upside the head it made him smile.
"And it was totally worth it."
The two laughed at that; reminiscing over their grade school days as Mineta suddenly looked at the time on his phone and cursed, slumping in his seat.
"What" Midoriya asked curiously?
"Shiozaki; I promised I would come with her to church" he answered and Midoriya couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of Mineta going to a church.
"She said that the massive tree and me getting healed was some sort of miracle" he continued and Izuku realized he hadn't told Mineta about their conversation with Moya. He then explained to him what Moya had told them and how they were both conduits.
"Whoa; so Shiozaki is a conduit too?" he asked and it seemed like it was the only thing it could be.
"Yeah and it seems Jiro, Mina and maybe Tokoyami are as well." he said remembering the footage from inside the storm zone and how the darkness enveloped the villain. Then again it could have just been dark shadow that had done it; he hadn't seen him use his quirk enough to know.
"Maybe this will get me out of church" Mineta smirked and Izuku was quick to pull the phone out of his hands.
"Hey" Mineta moaned before he told him that they couldn't tell anyone and that Moya could hear everything.
Mineta looked disappointed but until further notice the secret would have to stay with them. Handing the phone back however Mineta began typing something, though it wasn't a text to Shiozaki.
"B careful, U can't trust feds" the message read and a look of concern in the shorter boys eyes. Izuku nodded his head in agreement, while he did sympathize with the disappearance of her husband and all the pain that must be causing. He'd been having a growing feeling of unease about her; that she knew things that he didn't and given her position he was certainly correct on that.
At that thought he could almost see a light bulb go off inside his friends head.
"You should come with me" He suggested and he could only look at him confused.
"I've never been in a church. I wouldn't even know what to do" he protested.
"And you think I do?" questioned Mineta half-jokingly. "Come on man please, I'll die of boredom in there"
"More likely you'll burst into flames" Izuku chuckled before finally agreeing, but that didn't mean wasn't going to get some stuff done along the way.
Salty Banks Middle school
Tsuyu stood at the precipice of her old school, WcDonalds in hand as the large metal gate loomed above her. She supressed a chill that ran over her skin as the memories of this place flashed through her mind. She thought and hoped she'd never have to see this building again. But it was the only chance she had to see her siblings without the complication of her parents. Squeezing the paper bag lightly she stepped forward; they should just be finishing their fourth period class so they wouldn't have to rush to eat.
Walking through the main doors and looking out over all the cubby holes filled with shoes and backpacks she relived another memory in that moment. The boys and girls in her class would always make fun of her feet, stomping around to try and show how stupid they thought she looked.
Walking past and into the main office she saw the lady at the front desk.
"Hello Mrs. Kato" she announced the older woman turning her head as soon as she opened the door and having to put on her thick rimmed glasses to see her.
"I'm sorry, do I know you" the woman asked and Tsuyu was stunned for a moment; having to remind herself that her change had been quite drastic.
"It's me Mrs. Kato; Tsuyu Asui from class 2b" she told her and she could almost see the gears turning in her head before her eyes went wide.
"Oh my goodness it is you!" she exclaimed, getting up from her seat and walking around the desk to get a better look at her.
"What happened to you, you look so…"
"Normal" Tsuyu said cutting her off, not wanting to have another conversation about her appearance. "I'm just here to give my siblings their lunch"
Thankfully she wasn't pushy on the subject, simply nodding and going back around to call her siblings to the main office. She could only imagine what they were thinking right now and as the small pitter patter of steps coming down the hall Samidare was the first to open the door.
"Hey Samidare" she said, trying to sound as pleasant as possible as her younger brother stared at her from the doorway. Satsuki was next, pushing her little head under her brothers arm as her eyes went wide.
"Can you give us a few minutes" Tsuyu asked as the lunch bell rang.
"Alright dear, it's my lunch break anyway" she replied, moving to the back and opening a door, giving the Asui family one last look before she left.
"I got you two some food; it's your favorite" she said, extending her arm and offering the food to them. The two of them didn't move and she feared that this had all been for nothing, that what she had done had been too much and now they wanted nothing to do with her.
"I just want to talk… please" she told them, desperation beginning to grow in her throat as she got down on one knee so as to look her siblings in the eye, to show them that she wasn't here to try and hurt them; the memory of Samidare trying to shield their sister fresh in her mind.
"Then talk" Samidare barked, his earlier shock morphing into anger as his brow furrowed and lips pursed.
"What happened between me and dad" she tried to explain, hoping that she could find the words to show them that they didn't need to afraid of her. She had tried to think of those words with every step she had taken to the school.
But it became clear that Samidare had no intention of listening to her.
"What happened!" he said incredulously, his wide eyes beginning to fill with tears as he yelled at her, all the emotions of that day rushing out all at once.
"I saw you, I saw you hurt dad! Mom was screaming at you to let him go but you didn't!" he began to cry, tears in his eyes as his unfettered emotions flooded out like a waterfall.
"Dad had hit me first" she told him which only seemed to anger him more.
"Because you changed! That's what dad said, he said you hated us" he yelled and Tsuyu was immediately taken aback.
That made her blood boil in her veins; it taking every ounce of her control to not let her anger show itself. Not enough that her father would kick her out but now he slandered her to her own siblings. How low could that man sink?
"And now mom and dad are always yelling at each other; it's all your fault!"
"Do you truly believe that" she asked; had she not shown her love, had everything she had done for them be so easily forgotten.
Samidare said nothing and Satsuki looked like she was about to cry.
"All of this, I did for you" she swore, pointing first to herself than to them. "I did this so that I could become a hero and get us out of that place, away from dad!"
"You did it for your boyfriend. You love him more than us, that's why you changed" Samidare huffed, his voice shaky.
"That's not true" she exclaimed, her tears finally flowing but Samidare turned away, a look of betrayal and a furious sadness in his eyes.
"Leave us alone, go be with your boyfriend and go away" he finished, storming out of the office.
Tsuyu felt like she was falling, even though she could feel the floor beneath her feet, knew that she wasn't moving she was falling. Her entire world had been her siblings for so long and now…
The sound of soft sobs filled the empty room as she saw Satsuki begin to cry in earnest, her eyes turning to rivers as she rubbed her red, puffy eyes.
Tsuyu acted on instinct, reaching out and grabbing her sister in a tight hug, the little girl not fighting it in the slightest as she cried into her shoulder, her arms squeezing around her.
"I…I" she blubbered, snot and tears staining Tsuyu's shirt. Tsuyu shushed her, stroking her hair softly as she tried to calm her.
"I'm sorry" she managed to say.
"Don't say that, this isn't your fault" Tsuyu tried to counter by she shook her head.
"Yes it is. I wanted to see, if I had stayed in my room none of this…" she tried to say before she began to cough, struggling to breathe through her tears.
"I… just want things to… go back to normal" she gasped through sobbing hiccups.
"Please come home. I'll do all my chores and Samidare's too" she pleaded, which only made Tsuyu hold her tighter.
"Listen to me" she said, pulling slowly off of her to look her in the eye. "None of this is your fault, things were bad even before. I love you and no matter what I will never hate you or Samidare." She told her, whipping stray tears from her cheek.
"I changed so that I could become a big strong hero; so big and strong that I could take both of you away from all the yelling. A place where everything is good." she whispered softly continuing to hold her until it finally looked like the tears were beginning to stop.
"You promise" she asked innocently.
"Yes" she told her with a small, shaky smile. "Cross my heart and hope to die." She said; wiping a tear away as Satsuki slowly nodded her head.
"Now… let's go eat your food, I don't want you to get hungry" she offered and was greeted to the light rumbling of her sister's belly. An innocent noise that was much needed as the younger sister grew a shade of red and the eldest growing a wider smile.
Each taking a seat in a chair, her little hands worked quickly to open the bag and begin eating her fries.
"Tsuyu; are you really gonna be a big hero" she asked again.
"The biggest and the bestest" she promised. "And once everyone knows your big sister is a hero, everyone is gonna be your friend and you're gonna be invited to all the birthday's and slumber parties" she told her and she could see her big eyes light up at the thought.
In that moment Tsu decided that she would need to go home for something, something to remind of this moment and all the ones like it and something precious enough to return there.
The walk to Shiozaki's home took a little longer than it normally would have. Izuku had gotten back to searching for John's dead drops; using his radar pulse to scan the buildings as they passed. In total he had managed to find two more and each time had been a small challenge.
Unlike before, where the shadow of night could conceal his movements from prying eyes, he'd had no such protection. Luckily however the alleys provided a somewhat equal substitute and he was glad the ones he had chosen had not been filled with the dying like last time.
He'd refrained from listening to them right then and there, wishing for privacy when in the presence of such important information. What new messages John could have left, he didn't have the faintest clue but he hoped it would help narrow down where he had decided to hide.
"Alright, I think this is the place" Mineta announced as they stopped in front of a small apartment building. Red brick and only three stories it reminded him about the courier station of his old job.
"Hey Shio, we're here" chimed Mineta as he pressed the buzzer and made the final adjustments of his appearance. It was nearly a whole minute later until she answered.
"Oh hey Mineta I… I'm coming down" she said, her voice sounding…off.
Both looked to each other and turned toward the door waiting expectantly until after a few more minutes the door finally opened.
When she came out, Izuku had been surprised by what she was wearing. He'd had expected her regular clothes to be something a nun would wear; maybe a modest turtleneck or a dress.
Instead however what greeted them were a pair of grey sweatpants and a hoodie, the hood drawn over her head and pulled noticeable tight. There were bags under her bloodshot eyes looked like she'd barely slept since yesterday.
"Hey guys, let's get going" she beamed with a forced smile as she walked past them. Both looked to each other with concern as Shiozaki walked down the street, not waiting up for them. Having too ran after her the two fell in behind and a tense, uncertain tension hung in the air.
They both knew something was up with Shiozaki but the question was how to broach the subject without sounding nosy.
"Hey Shio…are you feeling alright" Mineta asked, being the one to finally work the resolve to ask.
"I'm fine" she said, not even trying to look Mineta in the eye. "I'm… just glad you're alive."
After that she returned to her silence and leaving them on closer to finding the truth. And they could tell were not going to get anything else out of her… at least for now.
It didn't take them long to get to their destination and they would have been blind to miss it. Sitting atop a small hill; perched like an eagle in it roost and gated with stone and iron was a massive church and just looking at it Izuku could tell it had come from an age long ago.
"Geez, just how old do you think this place is" Mineta whispered to Izuku and were both surprised when Shiozaki answered.
"About 500 years old" Shiozaki told them, pointing to the two carved stone angels standing vigil on either side of the old door; their faces shrouded by cloaks and clutching swords in granite fists. It certainly was striking but on closer inspection he saw a light cracked seem at the base of each.
"It had been built right before Tokugawa Shogunate began to persecute Christians. It was only thanks to the local Daimyo who had converted, that the church wasn't torn down. Instead, the head priest was drowned to show loyalty to the Shogun while the rest buried the statues and all other symbols of worship in the nearby hills." She explained.
"How do you know all that" Mineta asked as Shiozaki prepared to open the large wooden doors.
"It is good to remember that even the faithful must suffer and great shall their reward be" she droned; as if she had repeating that to herself for a while as she pushed the large wooden door open, the ancient hinges of the door groaning loudly.
The priest; who was in the middle of some sermon that Izuku didn't fully understand stopped for only a moment and the thirty or forty pairs of eyes of the other attendees looked back. Feeling a hint of embarrassment and in the sudden silence he could hear faint murmurings before the priest continued on and drew the people's attention back.
The three took a seat in the far back and though neither Izuku nor Mineta fully understood what they were talking about they did their best to play along, standing when others stood and kneeling when others did so. All the while he kept one eye on Shiozaki whose eyes grew more watery and breath heavier by the minute.
Eventually the service ended and as the crowd of mostly older people began to file out both boys were stuck with a girl who was clutching her prayer beads like it was a lifeline, her body literally shivering.
Izuku had had enough of this, something was beyond wrong and he wasn't going to wait anymore.
"Shio please, what happened" he whispered, not wanting to get any more attention than they already were.
Taking a shaky breath she wordlessly pulled back her hood and both were struck speechless for a moment as they saw the changes she'd had since the USJ, specifically her hair.
Her vines; once so vibrant and green seemed dull now and he thought he could see dots of brown and the vines themselves looked stiffer. But that wasn't the half of it as he noticed hair. Real, normal strands of light green hair poked out from between her vines like peach fuzz.
"Ever since that miracle… I…I can't" she tried to say, choking on her words, and taking short gasps of breath.
Both boys looked to each other with both knowing and shocked glances. When Tsuyu had become a conduit, her frog quirk didn't begin to fade until she started absorbing blast shards. Could it depend how intense they use their conduit powers; growing a massive tree and then healing Mineta would certainly qualify. Or could it be because she was a heteromorph; maybe the more drastic the change the longer it takes?
"Is…is it really that bad" Mineta blurted out and both watched as the vines slowly began to move, the vines trying to lift themselves over her head. Instead the vines barely got half way before one vine then another snapped like a twig and scattered to the ground.
"The Lord has given and taken from me… I can no longer be a hero." she croaked, slowly lowering the rest of her vines.
"I… I'm so sorry" Mineta gasped but Shiozaki could only shake her head slowly.
"Don't be. The Lord gave me a quirk to save people and I have… I just wish I could stay with you guys."
Mineta looked to him, pointing a hand at her with a look of desperation in his eyes. She was suffering and they had the information that could stop it but to do so… he would have to convince Moya.
"I need to make a call" he told them both and patting Shio gently on the shoulder, while looking around for a quiet place. In such an old church it did not take long, with small private chapel on the side.
"Did you hear that" he asked to his phone and less than five seconds later the voice of Moya came out.
"I did and you already know what I said." she said sounding none too pleased with having to repeat herself. He would need to play this smart; he had already technically crossed the line with telling Tsu and Mineta.
"Please Moya; you can trust Shio to keep quiet "he tried to argue.
"You've known her for a week" she shot back. "Don't claim to truly know her"
"I'm not saying we tell her about everything; just enough so that she doesn't think she's quirkless" he told her even though technically she would soon be.
"And I should agree to that why?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Because we were wrong about the blast shards and people are going to start asking questions anyway" he told her, they had thought that it was only the shards the induced the changes but if conduits that hadn't even touched the stuff began to change…
"If more people that had "two quirks" start seeing their original quirk getting replaced without explanation people are going to panic."
"Look my mother works at a local hospital. You can run a story about the appearance of conduits like your scientists said and I can tell her that she's one of them. I get to tell her and the public doesn't go insane" he finished and he thought he could hear someone talking to Moya on the other end about something but he couldn't tell what.
"Hmm that could work" she told him and Izuku could feel the hope in him rising. "And then when my superiors or those compromised agents find out the name "conduit" got out; what do you think will happen. Or perhaps when the governments of the world realize we have a new breed of power running around and decide they would like some for themselves." she railed and Izuku felt his hope crash into reality. "Let us handle the public and if you want to help your friend fine; but do not bring up any of what we have discussed, do I make myself clear."
"Yes… ma'am" he said through his teeth, biting his tongue to keep from saying how he really felt.
"Good; now then I have to get back to work" she said, glaring with her words as the call ended and Izuku stopped himself from punching the wall.
Running his hand through his hair he wracked his brain on how exactly was he supposed to explain this.
Moya closed her phone; rolling her eyes in barely restrained annoyance as she rubbed her forehead, trying to massage her headache away. The room she was in was dimly lit, leaving on the light that shined through the viewing screen that lay in front of her. Within were several doctors; each working on their pink skinned patient who lay strapped to her gurney.
"How much did it take to keep her under?" she asked the lone man with her, the man clutching her clipboard nervously.
"Quite a lot; we had to pump her with enough sedative to drop an elephant before she regained consciousness" the doctor admitted, swallowing hard as he continued. "W…we've managed to collect the necessary tissue samples you requested…though our team had trouble with the chest cavity, had to reach under the ribs instead of going through a…and we had some issue."
Moya raised her hand; she had watched the biopsy, her wounds closed so quick they required claps to keep the skin from knitting itself back together. Even now show watched as the doctors removed those very clamps and the skin stretched itself back over her as if it had a mind of its own and it wouldn't be long before it sealed itself shut without so much as a single stitch.
"Incredible" she marveled; but it was those very same qualities that, if she'd had it her way the little girl would have had organs and brain harvested completely. Her sudden death caused by complications with her new 'quirk'. Ah but such is the price of subtlety.
"Get her a clean gown and send her to her room. And have the remembrance team ready to do their job" she ordered as the surgeon quickly nodded his head and shuffled out. With her remembrancers they'd be able to implant the false memories of her time here, working their way into her brain and filling in the day and a half she'd remained unconscious and by the time she wakes up all she'd remember were kindly, considerate doctors and tests so boring she fell asleep.
Walking out of the chapel he was shocked to see a face he'd only seen on TV. There stand behind both his friends, wearing the blue suit was none other than Joseph Bertrand.
"Ah, here's your friend" the elderly man intoned, offering Izuku a hand shake which he accepted. "Pardon the curiosity but when I saw the state of Ms. Shiozaki I couldn't simply ignore it" he explained, his Japanese filtered through his deep southern accent.
"It's no problem, sir. I just never expected to see you here." Izuku said, reverting instantly to the lessons drilled into him about respecting your elders.
"It reminds me of a church in New Marais, looks to be just about as old too" he said with a smile. "Ah but I'm sure you don't hear an old man reminisce about his home."
"It's okay Mr. Bertrand" Shiozaki said, her tone telling him that this might not have been the first time she had met him.
"You're too kind and in truth I also wanted to congratulate you all. I saw you fight those villains on the news, even some pros from back home would have had trouble but you all came back in one piece. God must be keeping an eye on all of you."
That comment made Shio lower her gaze.
"Well I won't keep you. I hope you kids have a good day" he said, nodding his head as he walked off.
"You know Joseph Bertrand" he whispered to Shiozaki when he thought the old man was out of ear shot.
"He comes here nearly every day. He's a good man, gave 100,000 dollars to the church the first day I saw him."
That blew the young boys mind and he struggled to conceive of having so much money and to just give it away.
"So Midoriya how was the call" Mineta asked expectantly and Izuku thought about how he was going to explain this to Shio. He couldn't be straight forward but perhaps he could relate it to something. Suddenly the plan became clear in his mind.
"It went well…ah Shiozaki" he said, getting the girls attention.
"You know how Tsuyu looks different, like… not frog looking anymore" he asked. He knew that could be seen as a breach of trust to tell Shio but given the circumstances he hoped she would forgive him.
"Yeah, she said she got a second quirk from the blast and her frog quirk hurt when she transformed." She told him and Izuku had to fight from sounding surprised. She hadn't told him that she had created that lie, but it certainly wouldn't stop him from taking advantage.
"Well… her frog quirk wasn't a transformation quirk. She is or rather was a heteromorph" he told and he saw her eyes go wide in surprise. "She had two quirks in the beginning but suddenly her frog quirk was gone." He continued, trying to weave the truth with the lie.
"W-w-why would she lie about something like that" she stammered out.
"Sssshe's not the type of person who likes to be the center of attention, or being pitied. She thought if she told the truth people would feel sorry for her."
"She lost her original quirk…. so are you saying I might have a second quirk too" she said, practically gasping at the realization. "But what is my second quirk?"
"Try to remember back to when you summoned that giant tree, what were you feeling" Mineta asked and Shiozaki's brow scrunched up as she tried to think back.
"I-I don't know, everything was happening so fast. I just wanted the villains to stop" she admitted.
"I think we should test this outside" Mineta suggested and Shiozaki was quick to try and make herself presentable, wiping away her tears onto her sleeve. Shio; now with much more energy in her steps was the first out of the three out of the door.
Greeted to the scent of grass and the rustle of pine trees she looked around, searching no doubt for some sort of feeling. He'd never really understood how people with powers activated his quirk till her got one of his own.
"Try and grab onto that feeling you had at the USJ" he recommended as she stepped between the trees and lowered her head, her arms out slightly and fingers outstretched. For several moments it seemed nothing was happening and Midoriya began to worry. Until he began to notice that it was getting quieter as slowly the sound of rustling stopped but he still felt the breeze on his skin and both boys looked up to see the needles of the tree motionless, refusing the pull of the wind. They were so captured by the moment they almost didn't notice the grass as every blade that was pointing towards her in a ring.
Then they began to hear a creak than a grown and as the watched a branch of the tree began to stretch, slithering like a snake until it rested just in front of her. Opening her eyes, she took in a deep breath, as if she had forgotten to breathe throughout that whole display.
"I…felt everything; the grass, the trees. Nature at the tips of my fingers" she whispered, disbelief flooding her words as she laid a hand on the outstretched branch and they were given another surprise. As the skin of her fingers touched the bark it began to spread across her fingers, racing up her hand before she jerked it away with a frightened yelp.
Both boys rushed to her as the effect continued on but seemed to stop at her elbow. All three were wary, and despite Izuku's familiarity with his powers there were still too many unknowns as to just what a conduit was capable of. She though just continued stared at her hand and arm, slowing closing it and opening it the skin now looked like tree bark.
"So you can make your skin like bark, wonder if it's just as hard" Mineta wondered out loud. Shiozaki; infected with his curiosity smacked the wooden limb against the tree with three hard thwacks. Her lack of reaction being the only thing they needed to understand.
But when they looked at her palm they could see a large hole had developed, looking like the hole in a tree trunk.
"That feeling… focus it in your hand and point it towards that tree" Izuku advised an idea beginning to form in his head.
Silently she did as he asked and not even a five second later a burst of pine needles erupted from the hole in her palm and imbedded itself in the tree.
Mineta then was the one to walk over, pulling out a single needle with a small grunt of effort. "Wow" was all he could manage as he chuckled at it all.
"Bark armor, needle projectiles, plant manipulation" the powers listing themselves off inside Izuku's head and in that moment he'd wished he'd brought his notebook. Looking over he could see Shiozaki was crying again, though this time not out of grief as the bark skin began to slide beneath the surface, returning her skin to its normal appearance.
"Oh my God" she nearly squealed in delight before cupping her hand over her mouth over what she said; even then they could see the smile had not left her face. "Oh my goodness" she began to say over and over, rocking herself back and forth before jumping for joy.
Never before had they ever seen the normally composed girl be so excited and they couldn't blame her for an instant.
"So it looks like you're going to stick around" Mineta laughed, grinning from ear to ear as he handed the needle to Izuku. Immediately he could tell it was no normal needle, it felt heavier in his hand and its tip was razor sharp.
"This is wonderful, this is perfect, this is…" she said before gasping. "We need to tell the others!" she exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" Mineta inquired and Izuku was no less confused.
"The others; Jiro and especially Mina, who knows how they might be dealing with this." she exclaimed, her usual worry for others rearing itself with full force.
"Yeah but do any of us know where Jiro lives or where they took Mina" Mineta asked and Shiozaki brought a hand to her chin in thought.
"They said she was being taken to a villain hospital and if that's the case… then she would have been sent to purgatory." She thought aloud.
"Then I guess we have a plan" Mineta said looking to Izuku, silently asking if he was coming along.
Midoriya nodded his head, he didn't really have anything else to do and besides… what's the worst that could happen?