26/11/2024
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are the greatest!
The Emperor's Dragon
Dragon 72 - Thankful For Normality
Izuku sat on Ochaco's bed as his friends talked. He let the sound wash over him. It was nice and he felt relaxed. He was content just to listen as they spoke about normal things, but he knew he wasn't the only one who knew things had changed. It couldn't be completely normal when Ochaco was no longer in UA… when he was no longer there.
But it was nice… not to pretend, because they weren't pretending that things were normal but just to be able to chat without having to focus on larger issues. Mei had lots of ideas for babies and was working with a couple of companies to bring them to life. She was also looking out for Hitoshi and was making him a new costume now, one that included a voice modulator so that he could make himself sound like anyone! That was going to be so useful for him.
Hitoshi was training with Aizawa and had participated in several hero class activities, even if he was still officially enrolled in General Studies.
"What's this new class they made?" Ochaco asked.
Izuku was interested in that. He hadn't been paying attention to UA so this was new information.
Hitoshi snorted. Izuku recognised it as the sound he made when he was going to be cynical. "With the students losing their quirks, UA had to do something to divert attention, so they came up with some sort of inter-school training."
"They invited people from every hero school in the country," Mei elaborated.
Izuku said nothing but he was listening attentively. Hitoshi might call it some joint training session and to the public it probably was that. To him it sounded like an activity to give All Might a chance to assess young heroes and find a successor.
"Has anyone stood out?" Ochaco asked. Izuku was thankful. He wanted to know but… while his friends had accepted him turning villain, they probably wouldn't understand his desire to have All Might's quirk. He had to take it slow. That's why he hadn't mentioned the…
They had to know he'd killed the Principal of his school in Niigata, right? The heroes had spread that around… Hadn't they?
He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not yet. Instead Izuku stretched his senses… He couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary, so he didn't think Ochaco, Mei or Hitoshi had told the heroes he'd be here. That … That shouldn't make him feel relieved. That should be normal! He shouldn't doubt them!
"They kicked out a whole bunch of them initially," Hitoshi shrugged. "And made some extra classes. There's class 1X, 2X and Y and 3X, Y and Z. I don't think anyone has reall-" Hitoshi stopped, and he cocked his head slightly. "Wait," he murmured before looking at Izuku.
"I met Inasa," Hitoshi announced.
"You did?" Izuku was surprised. He hadn't thought about Inasa for a while. The last time he had, it was with sadness because he didn't believe Inasa would understand what he was doing. When they had met up for quirk use days, they'd focused on flying and having fun, not talking about the way the world was.
"I did," Hitoshi confirmed.
"Is he doing well?" Izuku asked.
The purple haired teen nodded.
"Why haven't we heard about Inasa?" Ochaco half demanded, though her tone was playful.
Izuku adopted an apologetic look. "I only met up with him for quirk use days," he explained. "So, I didn't talk to him all the time. Not like I did with Mei," he explained.
Ochaco laughed at his serious explanation, and he knew she hadn't really wanted it.
"He's in class 1X," Hitoshi told him. "His whirlwind is a pain in the behind."
Izuku chuckled at that. "Is he still picking up debris when low to the ground?"
The question took Hitoshi by surprise, and he thought about it for a few moments. "Actually, yeah, he is."
"Use it to track him," Izuku advised.
Hitoshi nodded and chuckled.
"Hey! I'm on your side," Izuku told him. Hitoshi was on his side, so he was on Hitoshi's side. That was that.
"Is All Might teaching them all?" Ocahco asked. There was history with the question. Izuku could hear it in her tone. So could the others.
"He is," Hitoshi confirmed.
"What brought that on?" Mei asked, looking at Ochaco.
The brown-haired girl sighed. "It doesn't matter now, but it was always a bone of contention between 1A and 1B. Monoma used to bitch about it all the time and he even did the math. All Might was supposed to teach 1A and 1B equally, but he ended up at more of 1A's classes."
They took a moment to absorb that. "That was sort of good though," Izuku said slowly. "Given what happened with 1A."
"Yeah, I know but-" Ochaco shrugged.
"It's not right that he showed such favouritism that it was measurable," Izuku agreed with what she didn't say. "Is he still showing favouritism?" He asked curiously, looking at Hitoshi.
"I'm not in the hero classes all the time but-" Hitoshi thought about the question for a few moments. "Maybe a little," he said slowly. "I don't know what his teaching schedule is but… He does seem to be paying more attention to the new first year class. Or he's always been there for the classes I attended," Hitoshi finished with the qualification.
Izuku nodded slowly but Hitoshi's information was interesting. If All Might was paying attention to one of the first-year classes then it stood to reason that his successor was in that class. They could already have One For All. He'd have to see if he could get a visual on All Might at some point in the future to confirm that.
For the moment he was focused on getting his father out of Tartarus, but he couldn't forget the big picture, which involved changing society and getting One For All back.
Ochaco looked sad at the news. "You are going to be a great hero, Hitoshi."
The teen looked at her. "Revolutionary!" Hitoshi confirmed for her.
"Revolutionary," Ochaco smiled but it didn't quite cover her pain.
"What are your parents working on now?" Izuku asked, in an attempt to change the topic. Mei probably could have spoken about her latest invention, but the baby would probably have some use in heroics.
"A dual use building. The bottom is a shopping centre, with offices above, before a middle rise with apartments," Ochaco was grateful for the distraction.
"That's… big," Izuku settled on.
She grinned at him. "And it's union," Ochaco added.
"What does that mean?" Hitoshi asked.
Mei gave a snort of laughter. "It depends which side you are on," she muttered.
"In this case," Ochaco broke in before anyone could say anything else, "it means that while I can help my parents, I can't do too much. Unless I'm a registered apprentice, the union doesn't look kindly on teenagers working on site. So," she turned to Izuku, "I will be looking for a new high school too," she added.
"Good," Izuku said firmly. It really was good. Just because UA had expelled Ochaco, that didn't mean she should neglect her education. And just because he'd left… The same could be said. He'd have to put some time aside for study. He could probably get something done in the mornings.
Talking about business had reminded him of something Janee Pieruce had said. Once the HPSC realised they couldn't win the patent case against Mei, they would probably move against Mi Enterprises or JBQC and Izuku wasn't going to allow that.
"Actually, Hitoshi, Ochaco, could you two act as witnesses?"
That caused a frown. "Witnesses?" Ochaco asked.
He gave them a wry smile. "One thing they never tell you about villainy, is that you need cash," Izuku chuckled.
There was silence for a few moments. "You need cash?" Hitoshi asked.
Izuku shook his head. "I need to keep my cash," he corrected. "So, Mei, can I loan you my stake in Mi Enterprise?" he asked, turning to the Support Student, who so far had said nothing.
"Loan?" Mei asked, suspiciously.
"Yeah, loan. If I own it, they'll take it, so it has to go to you. I'd give it to Ochaco but-" he looked at his oldest friend and gave her a wan look. If it became known she'd taken over his share of a company, there would be more morons who took it as evidence she was a villain lover. He could deal with them but…
"I get it," Ochaco told him.
"People are morons," Mei muttered. "But I'll take it."
"Thank you." Izuku was relieved. "You guys are witnesses that it's a loan, not a gift, though…" he shrugged.
"If anyone asks, you divested it," Hitoshi said.
"Well, I didn't want Mei to lose it all," Izuku said, affecting a fake air of innocence. The ladies chuckled.
Ochaco turned back to her desk and pulled out a notebook. She handed it, with a pen, to Izuku. "For the contract."
It took a few moments for him to write something. Essentially it was him divesting his share of Mi Enterprises to Mei. There was no caveat on it. That was all verbal and while Hitoshi and Ochaco would sign this document, what they were signing was their witness to the verbal caveats.
"I will always be the highest bidder, Mei," Izuku told her. "And the HPSC is not going to get control of your babies," he added firmly.
Mei met his eyes for a few moments, and then nodded. She reached out and grabbed the pen to sign her name next to his.
"Well, Ochaco," Hitoshi said as he took the notebook and pen. "How does it feel to know that your bedroom is going to be a pivotal location for history?" he asked as he looked down at the page, flicking his eyes over the information before he signed.
"Pivotal point?" Ochaco asked.
"Pivotal point," Hitoshi confirmed as he offered her the notebook back. "History isn't changed in one event. One can be a pivot, but there are events leading up to change. This… is going to be one of the changes, or at least one of the points that will lead to the change, and you are in the thick of it."
Ochaco laughed as she took her notebook back, but Izuku could tell she didn't quite believe it. "I should probably tidy," she informed them, and signed her name before she ripped out the page and offered it to Izuku.
He shook his head. "Give it to Mei," he told her. "And Mei, give it to Shunin," he added. "He'll get it to the right people."
"You know Shunin?" Mei asked.
"Who's Shunin?" Ochaco asked, offering the paper to Mei, who took it carefully.
"He's a lawyer for my dad's company."
"My company," Mei corrected.
"Mei's company," Izuku accepted with a grin. "I've never met him," Izuku told her. "But I know him by reputation," he explained.
"He doesn't like the HPSC," Mei noted.
"I know," Izuku said.
"Useful," Ochaco murmured.
"It is a bit," Izuku agreed and then looked down at his phone. He sighed.
"Time to go?" Hitoshi asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Izuku told them. "And you guys have got places to be, as well, don't you?"
Hitoshi groaned.
"Practice makes perfect," Izuku laughed.
"Unfortunately," he agreed, as Izuku tapped a message to Kurogiri.
Ochaco stood and opened her arms. "Group hug!" she announced.
Mei jumped up and hugged her. Both Hitoshi and Izuku were slower but joined the hug. For Izuku it felt… It felt good. And for a moment he just let himself relax.
But then Kurogiri's warp gate opened and Izuku knew it was time for him to go.
He pulled back, which broke up the others. "We will talk again," Izuku promised.
"Just infrequently," Hitoshi said.
He nodded. "And Ochaco, you are going to be okay!"
She gave him a suspicious look. "Because you arranged something?"
Izuku knew the trap with the statement and shook his head vigorously. She didn't want charity. "Because you are intelligent, resilient and amazing! I don't have to do anything for you to be okay, because I know that it is going to be okay."
With that, he smiled at them all and walked backwards through Kurogiri.
It had been nice to see everyone and this time they hadn't asked any difficult questions.
Next time would be a different matter.
-ted-
Kai examined the cells under the microscope. It was proving harder than he believed to recreate the serum. He had known he used Overhaul in some parts of the process but that was simply because it was easier and cheaper to use Overhaul then. Mostly cheaper but he had thought the process could be easily duplicated.
Except… He'd tried it several times now and the serum just wasn't right.
His minders were getting angsty too, though they were being careful not to show it, he knew they were under pressure to deliver results and therefore, he was under pressure to deliver those results. Usually, he wouldn't care but… The obvious use for his creation was against that snot nosed Dragon and he wanted to see that.
He took a deep breath and looked again. They had assured him that the cells were from Eri, though he hadn't been allowed to see her. And while one lot of cells looked like any other, there had to be something different.
Kai flicked the slide to the next one. There was nothing different about Eri's blood… so maybe there was something else? Something in her quirk factor.
Most people thought of quirk factor as this magical thing that you couldn't measure or see. It was a hypothetical thing which allowed quirks to exist and explained the differences between the quirked and quirkless. It was nothing like that. There was nothing magical or hypothetical about quirk factor. It was a biological substance, and you could, if you knew what you were doing, extract it. By itself, it didn't tell you much about the quirk and if you were a moron, and injected it into yourself, as some quirkless people had, then all you were doing was introducing a foreign body into your blood stream. You weren't going to get a quirk.
But you could, if you knew what you were looking for, see differences in quirks from the quirk factor. Kai hadn't made a study of it, no one had, but he knew that when he looked at his quirk factor, and Eri's he could tell the difference.
He focused on the slide and blinked, lifting his head slightly before dropping back down to look at the slide again. Kai let his eyes wander over what he was seeing, identifying each part of the quirk factor… But while he was trying to be careful and methodical, he could see everything he needed to see.
This wasn't Eri's quirk factor. He didn't know whose it was… but it was not hers.
Kai pushed back from the microscope and looked around the small lab. He was never alone and he had no access to the chemicals, except for very small amounts of colouring. The HPSC was paranoid. But he could ask for what he needed. So, they were at least generous with resources that way. And all the work he did was filmed, and visible from a larger lab beyond a glass wall. He could see them, and they could see him, but they could only interact via a microphone.
"Where did this blood come from?" Kai demanded, pointing towards the latest batch.
"The girl," came the slightly tinny response from the intercom.
"No, it doesn't," he snapped, getting annoyed.
"Yes, it does," came the response, and Kai watched as one of the scientists on the other side of the glass got up from their work and came towards him. "The blood was collected from her at her latest checkup," came the additional information.
Kai shook his head and reached for the test tube of quirk factor he'd extracted. "This is not her's," he told the scientist.
"How do you mean?" the woman asked, and actually sounded interested in how he knew that.
"Blood is just blood," Kai told her, "but everyone's quirk factor is slightly different. I know her's. This isn't it," he explained with exaggerated patience.
"That is her blood," the woman repeated.
"This is not her quirk-" Kai snarled… and then froze.
The woman picked up on the reaction. "What is it?"
"Not her quirk," Kai repeated. That fucking brat Dragon was meant to have a copy of his father's quirk, and he knew that Dragon had found Eri. The HPSC had told him they had her in custody… "What is her quirk?" Kai demanded, fixing the woman with a stare.
She frowned and cocked her head slightly. "Some sort of barrier thing," she told him.
"Mother fucker!" He growled before he threw the test tube to the ground. It was worthless. The glass shattered and the small amount of liquid puddled. It wasn't enough.
He grabbed the separated blood and threw that to the ground. It was all worthless!
That brat! That absolute fucking brat!
Kai slammed his hands on the desk. The microscope jumped with the force of the blow but the table held.
"Kai!" The woman yelled.
He didn't hear. He didn't care. He slammed his hands on the desk again. This time the microscope jumped again and the slides in it came loose. None of this mattered!
"Kai!" The woman yelled again.
This time there was an alarm and the light in the room changed. The white crispness went to a sharp flashing red. That got his attention. "Argh!" Kai screamed as gas poured into the room. This was the other reason that he wasn't working with the others.
It was just sleeping gas but…
"The fucker!" he yelled, as he breathed in the gas. It was fast acting stuff, and Kai slumped to the ground. "The absolute bastard."
Everything went black.
-ted-
So Izuku has divested the assets so that they can't be nicked. Or at least the piece of paper will confuse the issue in court and allow time to grab the assets and liquidate them :D
And Kai has just found out how badly things have not gone his way. His only value was his knowledge and that's no longer applicable because he knew how to do it with one quirk and if the HPSC then have to develop quirk erasing bullets from another quirk, they are most likely better off giving the job to a scientist they actually trust.
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!