Chapter 5: More than a Servant

"Well, this is as dire as you described." Yasumura stated as he took in the scene before him. Yaoyorozu sat, kneeling over to a sprawled-out Ojiro. Both were suited up with bo staves at their side.

Mashirao chuckled but then groaned in pain. "That's gonna leave a mark, huh?"

Momo looked at her boyfriend's forehead with concern. She then proceeded to produce an ice pack from the skin of her left arm. After twisting it, she applied it to the boy's head. "Yeah, it's already swelling up."

"It was a pretty good strike to my noggin."

"I'm so sorry!"

Ojiro waved dismissively. "I want to learn, so we can't half-ass this. I'm happy you put your all into this rather than holding back for my sake."

Makoto, now carrying both bo staves, approached the couple as they spoke. He gave them a moment before clearing his throat. "We can save this talk for later. Let's focus on what went wrong here."

Ojiro got onto his knees, keeping one hand on his forehead with the ice pack, and Yaoyorozu sat to his right. The latter asked, "So what exactly is the problem?"

"I am happy to report that it is neither your lack of teaching skills, Yaoyorozu-dono, nor your inability to learn Ojiro-san."

Mashirao looked puzzled as he asked, "So what could it be then?"

The butler swiftly brought the end of a bo staff to rest on top of the boy's head before answering, "It's simply the style I taught the young master is not compatible with your fighting style. I taught her a form that strictly uses the weapon in offense and defense. I know you want to learn this to have a defensive option against opponents who can harm even your sturdy tail and extend your reach from multiple angles. However, you still wish to incorporate your hands, feet, and tail during the attack. That part is what is throwing you off. Hence why your last assault against Yaoyorozu-dono left you wide open to her downward thrust to your head." He then moved the weapon back and turned to walk to some cases set to the side of the gym.

"Were done already?" Momo seemed confused that there would not be more to this.

"Yes. I'll explain once I have put these away."

Mashirao sighed. "Well, I am glad to hear this wasn't working out because I sucked at this."

"Me too. Though I still wonder if we can move forward or not."

"We will find out soon enough." Ojiro flipped the bag over before reapplying it to his head. Was this hard to make?"

"The ice pack? No. The reusable kind just requires ammonium nitrate and water. You make them separately, then break the seal to start the reaction. Technically, I could make one with them together, but the cold sensation as I create it isn't pleasant at all." Yaoyorozu then produced a hand towel from the skin of her cleavage and handed it to her boyfriend. "If the cold becomes too much, place this between your skin and the cold pack. Also, at maximum, use the pack for 20 minutes. Any more will slow your blood flow or damage your skin."

"Uh r-right." Mashirao then stared at the cloth with his free hand with a slight blush upon his cheeks.

By now, Makoto had returned. His eyebrow was raised as he looked at the scene before him, but he shrugged it off. "We are ending the lesson for now because we cannot proceed until I do a bit of research of my own." He looked at Ojiro and asked, "Muay Thai was it?" Said boy nodded. " I already have ideas in mind, but I want to cross-check them with my predecessor. He might have a solution for this. I might be a weapon master, but Yamaji-sensei blended weapons with various fighting styles that I was still very far from achieving at a young age."

Mashirao stood up. "Your predecessor? So the former head butler of Yaoyororzu estate?" He recalled Momo mentioning that Makoto had received the promotion last year during their first term but nothing more.

"The very one. Yamaji-sensei is very much retired, but I have his contact information. I feel he would be more than happy to help here." Intrigued, Yasumura asked, "Are you aware of my past?"

Yaoyororzu was quick to stand and say, "Just small things. Nothing too personal."

"Hmm. So, like Midoriya-san, you have yet to tell Ojiro-san." The couple gave confused looks at one another, but Makoto spoke once more before they could say anything. "While you two were out on your walk, I ran into Midoriya-san when I arrived at your dorm. He led me up to your room, Yaoyorozu-dono, and we chatted briefly." He then looked down at his red gloves. "These came up. This surprised me since it meant that the young master had kept my past a secret. But that boy, not knowing, pales in comparison to Ojiro-san, who is being kept in the dark."

Momo sighed before hanging her head. "Makoto, I know you're immensely proud of it, but it's still hard for me to talk about it."

The head butler haltingly got on his knees and bowed. "Y-Your right, Yaoyorozu-dono, I am being incredibly selfish! I won't bring it up again!"

"Come now, you are overreacting as always." The girl offered a hand to the kneeled man, who happily took it. Once he was standing up straight again she stated, "At this point Mashirao might as well know. Though if you could tell it yourself, I would appreciate it. I was quite young back then so I don't remember all the finer details." She then turned to Mashirao and took his free hand. "Let's head to the bleachers. This is going to take some time."

Ojiro gulped but let his girlfriend guide him over without protest.

Yasumura followed but stayed standing as the couple sat down. His face looked conflicted, and he took a deep breath before starting. "I grew up in an abusive household. We should leave it at that. Anyway, I ran away from there when I was fifteen. Once, I felt I could live on my own. Though that was a fool's hope, the years that followed were not kind to me. Starvation was a constant threat. I tried hard manual labor jobs where I could, but they didn't last long as I hopped from one place to another. Never really had a roof over my head. There was, however, one person who showed me some kindness."

The butler's hardened demeanor softened as he explained. "I had a particularly long lull between jobs when I was eighteen. To pass the time to fight off the hunger, I tended to wander around. I happened upon a man being roughed up by two thugs. I usually don't interfere, but the one who was taking the beating was wearing a chef's outfit. It wasn't bad people fighting bad people; it was just a regular civilian needing help. I intervened and got pretty messed up myself, but they eventually fled the scene once security showed up. I passed out before I knew what happened next. Once I was conscious, I was in the presence of Ueda-sama. A cook for a private school for young children. Very well off young children. Like Yaoyororzu-dono."

Mashirao turned to his girlfriend. 'What kind of school was this?"

"A Yōchien (kindergarten). I could have attended as early as three, but my mother didn't enroll me until my quirk manifested. She was quite content with just home school until I was six, but once she saw my early mastery over Creation, she was overwhelmed. Mother felt I was an unparalleled genius and that I needed to hone my intellect as early as possible. I met Makoto when I was five." Momo looked back to the butler. He took the hint and continued his tale.

"Ueda-sama was simply taking trash to the dumpster that day when he jumped. He felt indebted and provided food at his own expense when the times got rough for me over the next year. I tried not to take advantage of his hospitality, but I caved anytime the hunger got the best of me, which was more often than I am proud of.

One day, I came to search for a meal, but as I approached, I saw a cloud of black smoke rising in the distance. To my horror, the school had caught fire. I felt compelled to help, considering the kindness that had been offered to me. I rushed in to see students and faculty trying to flee. I met up with Ueda-sama in the chaos, and he told me in a panic that there was still a class stuck upstairs.

Makoto paused to raise his right hand. He then used his other hand to remove the red glove, revealing his burnt, misshapen appendage that hid beneath. "The door to the classroom was on fire and locked, preventing the children and their teacher's escape. Even after kicking it open, part of the roof had collapsed and was blocking their exit. So I did what was needed for them to survive." He then placed back the glove.

Ojiro stood up and asked, "Where was this security during all this? And why was the door locked?"

Yaoyorozu reached over and grabbed her boyfriend's wrist before solemnly responding, "A villain had broken in and was trying to take hostages. Our teacher locked the door to prevent his entry as per protocol. Even though the villain was eventually subdued, his quirk allowed him to produce flames, and he ignited the school during the struggle."

Mashirao sat down slowly and held his girlfriend's hand before saying, "I see. But how did that lead you to working for Momo's family?"

"My act of bravery inspired her father. Even before knowing who I was, he paid for my immediate medical care. By the time Yaoyorozu-sama met me at the hospital, Ueda-sama had already explained my situation to him. He offered me the job of working at the estate, and I accepted the offer without hesitation.

At first I just did menial work as I recovered, but eventually I was asked to study under the former head butler of the estate, Kazuhiro Yamaji. He had already served the previous generation of the estate for 20 years and was transferred to the current one upon their marriage. Head butler for the family also makes you head of security, and Yamaji-sensei was more than enough for the task. However, at this point, Yamaji-sensei was already in his late 60s and was looking for a successor. He wanted to see if I could be that person. It took over a decade, but I met his expectations.

"That was very generous of your dad." Ojiro's experience with his girlfriend's father had been quite limited. He was having a hard time picturing the man being so honorable, considering his cowardly nature. Perhaps there was more to him after all.

"Father always believed in helping others at their lowest. All of our current staff are examples of that. Yuki-san's farm was foreclosed, and her parents were friends of my father's family. Ozama-san had been fired from one of the other neighbors and had been blacklisted due to their influence but father knew they had just overworked her. Sakurai-san was well, but he was fired, which was more due to his own behavior that you saw first hand. However, he was friends with Ueda-san and was able to contact my father about getting him a job. Both my parents were blown away by his skill and were more than happy to deal with his shortcomings."

Yasumura cleared his throat loudly. "That was more due to Yamaji-sensei's tolerance than anything."

Mashirao thought this explained why the atmosphere between them was so tense once Makoto took over as the head butler.

Momo sighed. "Anyways, as Makoto trained under Yamaji-san, his other job was to be at my beck and call. Mother made that order. However, because of how competitive schooling was, I didn't make many friends once I entered higher academics, so I instead relied on Makoto. He helped me study, began to teach me bōjutsu once I was twelve at my request, was willing to stand up for me against my mother, and was always willing to listen to what I had to say."

Makoto took a step forward and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "For the first time in my life, I felt I had a higher purpose than just to survive. I felt proud to be a candidate for the head butler, but that pales in comparison to spending my time with Yaoyorozu-dono."

It still left her pretty clueless about the outside world, but I guess that's asking too much, Mashirao mused. "I can see why you see him as a brother-like figure now."

The girl beamed and nodded. "My father wasn't the only one inspired by his heroics that day. It's what drove me on the path to become a hero."

"Wait really!?"

"It's why he is so happy to brag about his past."

Makoto took a step back and smiled while raising both his hands. "Guilty as charged." He then bowed. "Though, as Yaoyorozu-dono stated, it was traumatic for the family. I should be more thoughtful about revealing such information freely."

Momo's eyebrow raised. "Speaking of which, how much did you tell Izuku-kun exactly?"

The head butler rose back up and placed a hand on his chin. "I showed him my burns and simply stated I received them when saving your life. Nothing more."

"That's fine. Though knowing him, he will be even more curious now."

Mashirao put down his ice pack and chuckled before stating, "Yeah, hard to keep him still with only partial knowledge of a subject. I guess we'll have to tell him at some point."

"Perhaps, but I would rather keep that for later. Even just listening to Makoto say it has me tired."

"Sorry, you are right." As much as she looked okay, Ojiro didn't want to open any old wounds at the moment. However, it did ponder if it was something they could talk about later in a more private setting.

Yaoyorozu stood up. "I am going to change. Wait until I get back before you do the same, Mashirao. I don't want to leave our guest alone."

"Uh, sure." The boy wondered why she wanted to do it this way. Yasumura was a grown man; he could stay alone for a couple of minutes as they both changed.

Momo left the bleachers and passed her butler, but as she did, she turned and gave her boyfriend a wink.

Mashirao tilted his head at this, but Makoto blocked the student's view of the girl. Both stared at each other awkwardly until the sound of the door closing to the girl's locker room could be heard. Then the man spoke up. "Seems she wants us to talk alone."

"I guess so."

Yasumura took a seat to Ojiro's right before letting out a sigh. "I wonder if she thinks I don't approve of you as her boyfriend."

"You, uh, are okay with me, though, right?" This was not how Mashirao thought this conversation would start, and he hoped it didn't head south quickly.

"Yaoyorozu-dono is happy. Then that is fine enough for me."

"Sounds like you think she could still do better."

"Perhaps, but that's not what she wants. And I think that is for the best."

Ojiro was taken aback, but then, considering all of Yaoyorozu's other crushes, it started to make sense. "So you are okay that she is interested in nobody like me over those hot shots she crushed on before."

"In a sense. However, you are not a nobody. If anyone was, those previous boys were." Yasumura turned to the boy before crossing his arms. "Being normal doesn't make you without worth. If anything, those brats acting as they did with all that privilege makes them the worthless ones."

Mashirao was embarrassed at this mountain of praise. He took a moment to clear his throat. "Now you sound like Momo."

"It's good she says the same as I. It's the truth." The butler then extended a hand. "And I hope you two continue to support one another. This hero's work will put you both through the wringer for years to come." Ojiro shook the hand a few times before Yasumura took his other hand and clasped it over their handshake. "However, if you ever jeopardize that, you will answer with me."

Mashirao could feel a chill form on his neck and shoulder but bit his lip and continued to shake as he stated, "Don't worry. I'll work hard not to disappoint either of you."

With a gentle smirk, Makoto said, "Now that's the courage of a hero. I look forward to seeing what you two will become."

Yet again, another quirk chapter to write! Just two weeks this time!

Yasumura's backstory has been mostly consistent since his conception. The only things that changed were the implantation of the cook and the previous head butler. The names are split this time between MHA and One Punch Man. Ueda is from Lunch Rush's VA, Keisuke Ueda. Yamaji is from Bang's VA, Kazuhiro Yamaji. I am glad I finally got to tell it. This won't be his final appearance!

If you have read the Iichako chapters, then you know the next few chapters will cover the final arcs of the series. Chapter six will focus on the ramifications of the Paranormal Liberation War Arc. Chapter seven will have Mashirao meet up with Momo's mother. Finally, chapter eight will focus on the aftermath of the Final War arc. After that, we return to more regular stuff as we look at stuff in the next two years of school.

Next, I am finally publishing the next side ship short story fic, focusing on KodaJiro! Once its first chapter is published, I will return to Cubicity for its 50th chapter!