03/09/2024

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are the greatest!

The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 48 - Unpaid Debts

Sozonushi sat across the desk as one of the Doctors who'd been on Ochaco's case from the beginning read a report. His wife, Tamiko was with their daughter. Yesterday, he'd have been impatient to join her, today, he could be more patient. He wanted to go see her, and he had earlier but… she was awake, and that was all that mattered. He could talk to the Doctor now because then they'd stop pestering him.

The woman sighed and ran one hand through her hair. It was a riot of colour that shifted between the strands. Her quirk gave her rainbow hair, and it really was that. Her name was Suzu Niji and she'd always been nice.

"Is there something?" Sozonushi asked.

"That's the problem," she told him. "There is no reason Ochaco should have woken up. There was no warning for it, no sign that she was coming out of the coma."

"Should there have been?"

Suzu nodded. "There definitely should have been," she said, though Sozonushi could hear the regret in her voice. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear but we should have picked up some change before it occurred."

"But she's awake, isn't that a good thing?" Sozonushi asked.

Suzu looked uncomfortable. "It is, but-" she shook her head. "Without knowing why Ochaco woke up, I can't guarantee that she won't suffer a relapse."

He felt cold at the statement. "Is that what all the tests are for?" Since Ochaco had woken up, the hospital had been running tests. Blood tests, comprehension tests, physical tests… just about every test he thought they could do. They'd even put her through an MRI. It was that report Suzu was reading.

"They are all positive for now but-" Suzu gave him a sad look. "I want you to know the reality of the situation."

Sozonushi nodded. "You have always done that, and I am thankful but-"

"You don't care," she finished his sentence.

"I don't care," he confirmed. "Ochaco is awake. That's all we've been praying for. And she doesn't seem any the worse for wear," he said. He'd seen that his daughter was lucid and beyond her waking up, that's all that they wanted to happen.

They had their daughter back. Nothing else was really important.

Before Suzu could answer, there was a knock on the door. Suzu looked at him and Sozonushi realised she was asking for his permission. He gave a nod. "Come," she called.

The door opened and another Doctor came in. The man was young and he handed a tablet to Suzu. She touched the screen and read it.

Sozonushi saw her eyes fly open. "What is this?" she demanded of the other Doctor who hadn't left.

The male Doctor gave him a look, obviously wondering if it was safe to speak.

"Sozonushi is Ochaco's father," Suzu snapped.

He looked chastised and gave a single nod. "Her quirk has changed," he said.

"I read that, Tayori. What exactly do you mean?" Suzu growled the question.

"Her quirk has changed," the now identified Tayori said again. "During the tests we asked Ochaco to activate it, and it wouldn't but then-" he paused, and again looked at Sozonushi.

He felt cold at the information. What did it mean that Ochaco's quirk had changed?

"If it didn't activate, we just have to give it another day or so," Suzu shook her head, as if dismissing the problem. "It's not unheard of for quirks to be dormant for a little while after a patient comes out of a coma. It's one of the reasons we put people into coma's in the first place."

Tayori shook his head. "That's not it. And it hasn't mutated," he said. "It's changed."

"Explain," Suzu demanded before Sozonushi could say anything.

"It hasn't mutated," the Doctor repeated. "It's changed. When it wouldn't activate, we just thought it was because it was dormant," he explained. "Then we noticed something odd. When we were taking blood, the wounds healed."

Suzu gave him a look.

"I know," Tayori said. "Those wounds are small but there wasn't even any bruising and the actual puncture disappeared."

"So what do you think is happening?" She asked slowly.

Doctor Tayori bit his lower lip. Sozonushi didn't know what to think and he swallowed hard. What was going on? What did Ochaco think? What did this mean? "I think she has a completely different quirk," he said softly. "Something to do with healing."

Doctor Suzu was silent for a few moments as she thought before she huffed. "Send a message to the heroes," she instructed the young man.

Sozonushi didn't know what was going on but Tayori seemed to. "You don't think he-" the Doctor didn't finish the sentence.

"That's exactly what I think," Suzu told him.

"You think what?" Sozonushi interrupted. This was his daughter they were talking about!

Doctor Niji turned back to him and gave him an almost melancholy smile. "Your daughter was attacked for being a villain sympathiser," she said. Sozonushi knew that. It was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. Ochaco had been training to be a hero, though she had been expelled and had promised him and her mother a full explanation when she got back to Tsu.

She hadn't made it.

"That's what the Police said," he agreed but his tone made it clear he dismissed their beliefs.

"Well, Ochaco is on record as being friends with Izuku Midoriya," Suzu continued.

"You mean Izuku Chui?" Sozonushi corrected. Ochaco had been friends with Izuku for years! Even when he moved away, he'd written to her and then when he'd moved back they had remained fast friends.

"Izuku Chui," the Doctor agreed. "You know what happened at UA. I believe that Izuku-"

"What happened at UA?" Sozonushi interrupted. He had no idea what the Doctor was talking about.

"Oh surely yo-"

Niji waved Tayori to silence before she sighed. "It was just before Ochaco was attacked. In fact, I think it was the day she was expelled. Her friend, Izuku, attacked and took the quirks of several students," Doctor Suzu told him.

Sozonushi frowned. He had the feeling he should know where the Doctor was going with her explanation but he didn't. Now that he thought about it, he knew there'd been something going on but with Ochaco being attacked it really wasn't anything he considered important. "And-?" he prompted.

"It was revealed that Izuku's quirk allows him to take other people's quirks, and then give them back."

Sozonushi still didn't see how that connected to his little girl. Izuku had never done that to Ochaco… he was pretty sure he'd remember if she said something like that. Which meant that Izuku chose when to use his quirk… like they all did.

"The heroes actually had a watch on Ochaco, when she was first brought in. They thought they could capture Izuku if he visited her," Suzu gave him another aspect of the story.

It didn't make everything clear but Sozonushi wasn't a fool. Things fell into place for him with that extra information. "So you are saying that Izuku visited Ochaco, and did something to her quirk?" he asked.

"It seems to be one of the most likely explanations for the change in her quirk," Doctor Niji admitted.

Sozonushi sat back in the chair. It did fit. Suzu had told him there should have been warning that Ochaco was coming out of the coma, but there wasn't. If Izuku had come and given her some sort of healing quirk then… Ochaco was healed, and Izuku obviously hadn't given her quirk back. He probably didn't want to give it back until he was sure his friend was fine.

He felt a smile stretch over his features. It had been a long time since he smiled. He hadn't had reason to. "If that's the case, and Izuku gave my little Ochaco a healing quirk, then I owe him my thanks," he told the Doctors.

Tayori gasped.

Suzu was more controlled. She gave him another sad smile. "I understand that but-" She shook her head. The rainbow effect moved between her strands of hair. "This is only going to reinforce for others that your daughter is a villain sympathiser."

"So?" Sozonushi demanded bluntly. "From where I'm sitting, Izuku has done more for Ochaco than any hero ever has," he growled. "She was attacked by a vigilante, who I know is still incarcerated but hasn't been charged. And I saw the charges that were levelled at the others." He shook his head. The charges had been ridiculous. Not even a slap on the wrist. That had hurt. Sitting there, holding his daughter's hand, when they weren't sure if she was going to pull through hearing the Police tell them that they had charged those responsible but knowing that, they really didn't need to bother since the charges were so weak.

He'd then learned that the perpetrators had been targeted in their holding cells. Someone had taken them. A villain. Izuku they'd told him. He hadn't cared. Frankly if Izuku punished them then that was good.

"And if Izuku has now given my Ochaco a healing quirk, then it's obvious he still cares for her, and frankly that's better than the heroes," he said.

Suzu's grimace showed she understood his points.

"Sir, you can't possibly think that!" Tayori objected.

He gave the other Doctor a look. "What are they gonna do? Attack her? They've already done that!" Sozonushi spat. He'd never thought much about heroics. Heroes were needed by other people, not those like him who just went about their business. When Ochaco had applied for UA's Heroic's Course, he'd thought about them a lot more. He'd thought about what quirks meant and how they could be used.

"But Izuku is a villain! His quirk is ba-"

"A potential god send," Sozonushi interrupted before the Doctor could finish. Thankfully Suzu seemed to understand where he was coming from. "Imagine if Izuku was here, with that healing quirk. Now imagine what he could do if he could give it to everyone in this hospital?" He asked pointedly. Sozonushi had no idea of the efficacy of the healing quirk Izuku had apparently given his daughter. That wasn't the point.

"What about the person he took it off?" Tayori countered.

Sozonushi shrugged. "If people accepted Izuku, then I'm sure he'd give it back. They could work together here," he said, knowing it would never happen.

"It is an interesting thought," Suzu broke in before Tayori could say anything more. "However, we don't need to tell you that it is not a popular thought," she continued.

Sozonushi nodded, and sighed. If this got out, his daughter would… she'd never escape the tag of being a villain lover, and he knew his girl… that would hurt her a lot. Expulsion from UA must have hurt but at least she'd had friends to comfort her. "I know and I know that Izuku killed that poor lady up in Niigata," he said before he could be accused of being idealistic. "And everyone calls him a villain, but he's done right by us."

Doctor Suzu Niji nodded her understanding. "Thankfully, we don't need to announce that her quirk has been changed," she said brightly. "We will need to tell the authorities that Ochaco has woken up. They will want to question her about what happened. And I will need to tell some people that her quirk has been changed but since we don't know how it happened, that is all we will report."

"Suzu!" Tayori objected.

"We don't know how it happened," she pointed out to her colleague. "Do you have any proof it was Izuku?" she asked firmly.

A flash of chagrin passed over Tayori's features before he sighed. "No but-"

Suzu shook her head. "There is no but. It's not our job to speculate on how events occurred. That's the job of law enforcement," she reminded him.

Sozonushi nodded his agreement.

"As for you, Mr Uraraka-"

He held up his hands before the Doctor could continue. "I'm not stupid," Sozonushi said. "I'm not about to go out there, and tell people that I think Izuku's done more for us than heroes," he said matter of factly, gesturing vaguely towards the window. "I know what he is, and I know-" He sighed… "I'm not going to deny that I wish things could be better," he concluded.

"We all wish that," Suzu agreed, but he could hear her relief that he was going to be sensible about it. "I will run over the test results with you and-" it was her turn to sigh. "I know what I said, but if the test results are good, and nothing happens then, there's no reason we can't release Ochaco, very soon."

"How soon?" Sozonushi couldn't help the question.

"A couple of days, at most," Suzu replied. "Her test results are phenomenal but we will want to monitor her."

He bit the inside of his lip. Izuku was a villain but… If he'd given his daughter a healing quirk so strong that she was recovering so well…

The Uraraka's were in his debt and nothing anyone said would ever change that.

-ted-

"What is the matter, Juzo?" Aurora Flare demanded as she came into the office.

Juzo Honenuki looked up with a start. She strode over to him, and glared, hands on hips and Juzo knew he wasn't going to get away with some random excuse. He wouldn't have gotten away with one anyway. Aurora Flare was the hero who had recommended him for UA. She'd spent hours getting him up to speed. She knew him too well to just let him say something lame and then leave it.

He sighed.

"What is it?" She demanded again. "I can see that you have not got the expense claims processed, so what is stopping that?"

Deliberately Juzo picked up the claims he was meant to be annotating and put them back in the 'to do' pile. "It's-" he said and then stopped. "It's hard to explain," he admitted.

"So simplify it," Aurora Flare demanded.

She was a pretty straight forward hero and insisted that nothing was ever so complicated that it couldn't be understood if you just took the time. And had the right explanation. She was prepared to admit that some people just couldn't tell you anything comprehensible no matter how hard they tried. "You are in Class 1X, so you should be able to explain."

Aurora had been unexpectedly happy when he'd told her he was moving classes at UA. He knew what that meant. No matter how Nezu tried to say it wasn't, there was a belief that those in 1X had been picked for something. Though no one knew what. There were of course the other, upper year extra classes to take into consideration too. Aurora hadn't pretended to know what was going on. She'd admitted she had no idea, but insisted it would become clear with time and maintained the belief that 1X was the better class.

"We were doing a practical exercise," Juzo explained. "Aizawa's apprentice was involved."

"Oh! I've heard about him," Aurora said brightly. "So what happened?"

"It wasn't until afterwards, at dinner, he got into a fight with Jiro," Juzo continued. "He was saying that he had no experience in vigilantism, which was his role in the scenario but Kaminari did."

It took Aurora a moment to understand and she chuckled. "Yeah, and?" she prompted.

"It was what happened after. A couple of the other students were talking and they said if they'd done what we did then they would have been expelled. And then Hitoshi explained why he thought Izuku took those quirks," Juzo finished with a shudder. If he hadn't had his internship with Aurora he probably would have gone to the challenge and then… He had faith that he wouldn't have made a difference to the outcome.

"Okay, so what? You are feeling sympathy for the villain?" she asked pointedly.

"What? No!" He was appalled at the suggestion before he sighed. "I'm feeling more sympathy for Ochaco."

"Ah, the girl who got expelled."

Juzo nodded.

Aurora took an audible breath and snagged a chair from another desk, dragging it over as she sat down. "Yeah, I understand that," she allowed. "She didn't do much."

"Most of the class knew about the rescue mission, but only Ochaco was expelled," he said.

"I don't know everything," Aurora told him. "If that's the case, then was something else about Ochaco that was the reason she was expelled."

"But what? And why didn-" He didn't know how to ask.

"Why didnn?" Aurora asked, dragging out the 'n' to emphasise the fact he hadn't finished his question.

"Why didn't Kaminari get punished more? Why didn't we all get punished more?" Juzo demanded.

At that Aurora was silent but he could tell it wasn't simply silence because she didn't know, it was silence because she was thinking. "You were meant to be," Aurora said softly. "As your mentor, and because you were a recommendation student, I was consulted," she admitted.

This was the first Juzo had heard of it.

"There was meant to be more punishment," Aurora told him.

He was both surprised and not surprised to hear that. It made him feel slightly better but at the same time it just confirmed what the other student had said. They had gotten special treatment. He didn't know what to feel about that. He didn't want special treatment. Most people would say that getting into UA as a recommendation student was already getting special treatment but he had worked hard for that. It wasn't easy to get into UA as a regular student, and while most thought recommendation was an easier method, they had no idea of the sheer amount of work it took.

"So, why wasn't it given?" Juzo asked.

At the question Aurora sighed, and gave him an almost disbelieving look. "After Izuku took their quirks..?" She asked him, as if the answer should be obvious.

Juzo huffed. "No one wanted to go through with it," he finished for her.

"Yeah," Aurora agreed. "Right or wrong, no one wanted to be seen to be punishing them more. You just got lucky," she told him.

Yeah, he definitely had gotten lucky.

Aurora gave him a few moments for the information to sink in before she slammed one hand on the desk. Juzo jumped.

"So you got lucky. You can't rely on luck," she reminded him, "which means you'd better get those expense claims annotated. I know UA will tell you it's all about the fighting, but if a hero can't fill out their paperwork, then it doesn't matter how good they are they won't get fed!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Juzo agreed and pulled out the claims again. Aurora got up and pushed the chair back to the desk she'd grabbed it from as he read the first one…

He kept his attention fixed on the claim but Juzo really couldn't tell what it said.

He had a lot to think about.

-ted-

This probably happened a bit faster than people thought it would but Ochaco was asleep for a while and now she's not.

With Juzo, I wanted to make it clear there really should have been more punishment. They just got lucky - or unlucky depending on how you think of it.

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!