Good evening all!

Sorry for the late update, been jumping back and forth between different jobs, so it kinda left me a little more exhausted then normal, plus with the colder weather coming in, it's made it very difficult to breathe.

Asthma fucking sucks btw.

So, 4 more days until Endwalker (at least if you pre-purchased, which I did :3) and it may be a little while until the next chapter to come out because well.. I'll be playing Endwalker and learning how Sage and Reaper work.

So apologies in advance about that.

Anyway! onto the reviews:

Silvanium: I did! I did do that! ┬─┬ノ( º w ºノ) and yea, it was kinda obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people were confused about where "Deku" came from X_X.

SuperShadic2002: Glad this fic was able to rekindle some playtime with the old games, and as for how "Deku" freed himself, take a look back at the second round Sports Festival fight between Shinso and Izuku... :3

fallendemon248: Sorry it both infuriates you and makes you happy with my writing style XD but as much as I would love to see any of the Scions to pop back up, sadly it's never going to happen outside of "flashbacks". And as for Summoner and Samurai?...

Soon ¬‿¬

the metaphysical god of heroes: Oh trust me, I wanna punch in Felendial's face as well! Not just because he's a crazy-ass Ascian, but because he's using that douchebag's face! But I have established that this story takes place FAR after the events of Shadowbringers, and at some point will be addressing how long since then... with the help of a certain character.

barrytrey0430: You'd think so, but Deku is far more complex than just "his evil half", it's his "dark self", basically all those times where Izuku acted out of character? Yea, that was his inner Deku speaking.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Hero Academia and Final Fantasy XIV, they belong to their copyright holders.

Chapter 45

He dun goofed

Izuku wondered how he ended up here.

Well, he knew how he ended up here; he took a train across town away from his comfy bed at UA, where his adorably cute daughter and his mother were no doubt doing something fun, trying to occupy themselves so as not to worry about himself or the others.

After all, what was a week away from UA to work at an agency under the tutelage of a Pro Hero? The internships weren't going to be as intensive as the work placements that Aizawa had told them about during homeroom, but more of "sinking your teeth" into the industry.

The somewhat hidden smirk of the underground hero had sent a collective chill up everyone's spine after he said that.

As Izuku had walked up to where his internship was going to be, he wasn't expecting much, at least a decently sized building with a small attachment with a Gym or something to train his quirk in relative privacy.

Instead, he got a somewhat dilapidated apartment building with a tiny little lawn off to the side. Was he sure that he was given the correct address? Was this one of Nezu's 'tricks' again?

At the thought of the "rat", so lovingly called by Aizawa when he too had been a part of the Moogle King's schemes, Izuku began to climb up the rickety old stairs and began to replay the conversation that led him here.

"So… I hear you chose an interesting alias for your hero name, Mr. Midoriya," Nezu spoke suddenly before lifting his cup of tea to his lips while the aforementioned student looked up from today's analysis project.

Izuku chuckled gently, rubbing the back of his head as he smirked at the dean, "Y-Yea… I don't understand what it means, but it was thanks to Eri that it's now my hero name."

"Indeed? Fascinating." Nezu said as he placed his teacup onto the saucer and brought his small paws up and together as he was staring at the boy now, "And to think someone so young would even think of such a name."

Izuku looked down to the small laptop in front of him on the small desk put into the corner of the office for Izuku to work in peace when it came time for his lessons with the 'depowered' Moogle King. Eventually, he looked up from the statistics and figures across the screen to look back at the dean, who had still not moved after putting down the cup as if he was waiting for Izuku to speak up.

"Eri didn't come up with the name."

"Oh?"

"No… she was told by 'Her' to suggest the name… It came from Hydaelyn."

Izuku could feel the temperature drop within the room for a few moments as the very air around him seemed to still due to the reaction of what he just told the white-furred creature. A cold bead of sweat ran down the side of his head as Izuku kept staring at the dean, who was just not moving. Hell, it was hard to see if he was even breathing.

Just as quickly as it happened, the drop suddenly disappeared as Nezu perked his head up from his paws and was flashing him that ever-present smile of his, "Well, that is certainly a surprise from her. Not that she wouldn't take an interest in your daily affairs, my boy, being a Warrior of Light, but to suggest such a name."

"I-is there a problem with it?"

"Problem?" Nezu tilted his head, in an innocent and naive-like look that didn't fit the ordinarily serious creature, "No problem at all, it is merely just a name from the past I was sure would be forgotten to time… but it seems like our Lady has other plans."

Now, that had set Izuku off, given how Nezu liked to play mind games and not fully explain some of the more dangerous aspects of his 'blessing' in the past. Quickly getting up from his desk with a worried expression as well as sporting an uncharacteristic frown on his brow before storming over to the larger one that was being used by Nezu, "What do you mean 'forgotten to time'? Is having the name dangerous? Is it going to put people's lives in danger? Is it putting targets back on those I love and care fo-"

Nezu raised a paw quickly to silence the boy who had suddenly just begun to list off demanding questions to him for the very first time. The look that was adorned on Izuku's face had given the dean pause as he never would have expected such a thing to cross the boy's face.

"Relax, Mr. Midoriya… it is simply an 'old' name. Hence my surprise, but tell me, are you feeling alright? I noticed you seemed more distracted today than normal, as well as a little paler. Should I get Krile to come take a look at you?"

Taking a few deep breaths, a small exercise that was taught to him by Hound Dog during their sessions together, Izuku sat down in one of the chairs that were across from Nezu and visibly relaxed, "S-Sorry about that, sir. But, no, I am fine now... "

"You sure? It would be best to not have you get sick before the internships start." Nezu said as he pushed himself off of his much larger chair to walk around his desk and stare up at his pupil; though the smile was still present, there was a strange sort of "worried" look to it.

"Y-yes, just been a little bogged down with so many of the choices given to me." Izuku chuckled weakly, sitting himself up in his seat as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet full of folded up pieces of paper from his notes, handing them over to Nezu for him to open and look at, "And a few people in my class did ask for help in trying to figure out where they should go as well."

"Ah yes, it would make sense they would seek out your advice to further improve themselves. After all, your analytical mind has vastly improved upon their own quirks and thought processes when it comes to their gear. But I don't think you're telling me the entire truth, are you, Mr. Midoriya?" Nezu said with a gleam in his eye, staring hard at the boy who was nervously sweating for a few moments before sighing heavily and hanging his head down as the dean was able to realize that he wasn't telling him everything.

"It's… two things actually that have me kinda worried."

"Oh? Well, I'm here to listen and give advice as best I can; you are my pupil as well as the Warrior of Light."

Izuku slowly looked towards the dean, whose hands were behind his back and patiently waiting for the boy to speak, "Well, the first thing is that I'm worried about Ten- erm… Iida. He's been… well, acting off since the news of Ingenium hit the public eye."

"Ah yes, the incident with the Hero Killer," Nezu said and nodded solemnly; it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for pro heroes to get injured or even killed while on the clock. However, Nezu knew that students with strong feelings or connections to those heroes would often lash out, which was fundamental human nature to him, but they would need to be closely monitored so that they wouldn't get themselves killed in some half-fast revenge plot.

Nezu kept his eyes trained on Izuku, "And you are worried that young Iida would seek out the hero killer? Perhaps to avenge his brother?"

"I-I mean, I don't think so? But at the same time, from how Iida talked about his brother during lunch breaks, he talked about him like I tend to talk about All Might. So I don't know what is going through his mind right now." Izuku said with a gentle sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers, as if feeling a headache coming on, "That and I found out that he's chosen an agency over in Hosu for his internship, where it's likely Stain will be."

Nezu raised a non-existent eyebrow at this, acting inquisitive, yet the dean already knew of the young speedster's choice for the internship, "Oh? And how did you find out about his choice? I have a feeling that Mr. Iida wouldn't divulge his true motivations that easily."

Izuku chuckled softly, scratching his cheek with a tiny blush, "Well, he did mention who he was going to be interning under to Eri when she was asking around the classroom earlier today. And being the hero buff-"

"Nerd."

"BUFF, that I am, he told her that he was going to have his internship with Manual, who's based in Hosu." Izuku said with a tinge of grumpiness towards the dean who was snickering at the exchange just now, "Plus, this data I've been working on here has been about all the known hero killer victims and where they happened, correct?"

Izuku could hear the low chuckling coming from the dean as he went back up to his rather large chair and clambered back up onto it, turning his body to face his student, Nezu placed his hands on the armrest, "I can't hide anything from you when it comes to hero analysis, can I? Yes, today's project was about using the logistics of previously collected data to predict the movements of villains or rogue vigilantes."

"Rogue vigilantes?"

"Indeed, while most of the media and general populace would believe that all vigilantes are just brutes that thumb their nose at the regulations set by the HPSC, there are those that work undercover to get into places that normal heroes wouldn't be able to or deal with threats in a way that would paint a negative light upon Hero Society in general. They work more similarly to underground heroes like your homeroom teacher, but the only real difference is that they are unlicensed and have more liberties in what they can do, but also don't have the protection that the HPSC offers should things go wrong."

Izuku gently nodded his head at this, understanding what the dean was telling him and the implications of having basically wild cards in play. Nezu smiled as he continued to speak, "Stain was one such vigilante, though his actions were never approved and he would always kill the villains he hunted down. At some point, though, he dropped his 'hero' moniker and took on his current name and started to take down heroes instead."

"Now, while we could only guess as to WHY he is doing this, tell me, my boy." Nezu said with a knowing tone of voice that he already knew the answer, "From the list of names that you have seen, are there any notable similarities to them?"

Izuku looked back at his data, his eyes scanning the various names of the heroes killed, and started to click on the different hero profiles and read quickly. After a few moments, he blinked, looking back towards the dean, "These are all heroes that had some sort of crime that came to light after their death…."

"Correct, and tell me, is there one noticeable 'glitch' in his modus operandi?"

"That would be…." Izuku began to ponder, going over the list of names until his eyes shot open and looked at Nezu, "Ingenium… he was trying to stop Stain from killing the Pro Hero Minotauros who had been attacked. But he was taken down, only to be left paralyzed while Minotauros was killed."

"Actually, he was already dead when Ingenium had made it to the scene, but Ingenium thought he would be fast enough to at least apprehend Stain. A noble goal and normally a good decision under the right circumstances." Nezu said in a somber tone that caused Izuku to keep gazing upon the dean in sadness, "But somehow Stain was able to catch him, and the rest is history."

"Do…" Izuku began to speak, looking down at his own desk as if to gather his thoughts for a few moments before continuing, "Do you think Tenya would go after Stain?"

Nezu's pitch-black eyes looked glossed over as he was staring back at Izuku's pure emeralds before giving his reply in the most expression tone of voice that anyone would have heard coming out of the small dean, "In all honesty, Mr. Midoriya, I have found that the humans, not just in Eorzea, but also here on Earth are very spiteful and vengeful creatures when push comes to shove."

"Will Mr. Iida seek out his own justice on the villain that destroyed his brother? Possibly."

"Will he kill Stain? That is also a possibility, though I would think he is smarter than that." Nezu said with his smile, slowly shifting into a blank line.

"T-Then there has to be something I can do! I can't let Tenya go and get himself hurt or worse because of some 'vengeance'." Izuku suddenly stood up, nearly sending his desk chair to the ground with a determined look.

Nezu's smile returned as he leaned back in his own chair, paws brought up close to his muzzle once again, "Then what I would suggest you do, Midoriya, is to talk to Iida. Let him know that you are worried about him, and if he needs to, he can talk to you about it."

"Do not confront him about this supposed plan of him chasing Stain; that would only further push himself away from you and your peers. Just tell him that you are willing to listen to any issues he is going through as his friend."

Nezu smirked as he slowly began to pull open the small packet of names that Izuku had decided on for his internship, "And before you go and do that, let's have a look and see who you would like to intern for…."

Izuku pulled his chair back to sit back down, watching with curiosity at the way that the dean was going through them and the small dean's body trembling to hold back some of the cackles of the few names he chose.

That suddenly stopped when Nezu got to one application, moving the papers down to stare hard at the green-haired student who began to fidget, "Uwabami? Really, Mr. Midoriya?"

"I-I have my reasons!" Izuku sputtered out as Nezu began to collect all the papers up, still staring hard at the boy to continue, "W-Well, first of all, She's a well-established rescue hero, and getting some insight and practice during said missions would be new for me to learn. Second, while she is also well known for her public image in commercials and social events, and while the lessons I have had with you and Toshinori improved some of my social skills, though when I go pro, I will have to be better accustomed to the spotlight, which she could help out with."

Nezu sat quietly and silently after Izuku began to list the two reasons he would consider going to Uwabami's agency. However, the gaze and stares of the dean seemed more intense now, causing Izuku to sweat a little and begin to look worried.

Eventually, Izuku hung his head down and spoke softly, "... also because Momo is applying for the agency as well, and I don't want Uwabami to exploit her."

The smile returned on Nezu as he cackled at revealing the actual reason why the snake woman's agency was even a blip on his radar. Before Izuku could even refute anything or even talk, he watched as the dean quickly opened what he assumed to be a large desk drawer and placed the stack of papers down into it. The green-haired boy didn't know what the small being was doing until he heard the sounds of a paper shredder echo out from behind the desk, causing him to freak out until the dean interrupted him.

"While those are excellent reasons, sadly, this is going to be one of those times that you won't have any choice as to whom you will be with during the internships." Nezu said as he opened up another draw on the opposite side to pull out a small envelope and slide it across the desk towards Izuku, "With you now possessing One for All, despite its lack of any real effect on your body due to your blessing, both myself and All Might think it would be best if you were trained by someone who not only has both excellent conditioning skills but also having trained with people carrying One for All."

Izuku raised an eyebrow as he took the envelope, opened it, and pulled out the, shockingly, two internship applications. He looked to the dean, who waved his hand to read over the names presented to him.

"So, I'll have two mentors during the week?"

"Indeed, both are excellent teachers, as well as one of them personally training All Might in his youth."

Izuku's eyes shot open at that revelation, gazing back down to the first paper and not being surprised by whose name was on it. Placing it behind the following application, Izuku's brow furrowed, and he looked up at the dean with confusion plastered all over his face, "Who is 'Gran Torino'?"

'Who was Gran Torino?' indeed.

Izuku sighed as he gently knocked on the door with the numbers that matched the single piece of paper that he held in his hand. A sigh gently escaped his lips as he was already not looking forward to whatever would come from this, but his thoughts had been shifted once again towards Tenya and how he had tried to get the class president to at least throughout the previous week talk with him.

It was clear to everyone that Tenya was acting odd, though he would often reassure them that he was fine and leave the conversation. It had taken Izuku a few times to just get Tenya to acknowledge that everyone in the class was willing to listen to him if he needed to vent or just to even talk. The blue-haired speedster simply smiled, an actual one this time, and thanked Izuku for offering the support, and if he needed it, he would seek him out.

Sadly, Tenya did not seek him out.

It was then that Izuku realized that the door still had not been opened yet, putting his thoughts off of Iida for the moment and knocked a little louder this time and called out, "Hello? Mr. Torino? I'm here for the internship you offered me?"

As he knocked on the door after another few moments of silence, it slowly creaked open to nothing but empty darkness inside of the small, rundown apartment. Izuku frowned gently as he set his hero costume briefcase and soft green duffle bag down by the door and slowly entered the home, taking his time to walk in and be on the lookout for anything.

As he crept into the room, he turned a corner to see a rather grotesque sight. There was an older-looking man that was wearing what could be called a silver-era costume, lying in, what appeared to be, his blood that was a deep red in color, and as Izuku's eyes scanned the body, he could see the prone man's chest was not moving.

Quickly dashing into the home, a brilliant flash of light filled the darkened abyss that was the apartment to reveal Izuku was now donning his White Mage garb, moving himself to be kneeling beside the fallen man while he held the bright end of his staff over the body and began to talk to himself in a rather loud and familiar way to how he used to back before UA, "Shit!Shit!Shit! Um… 'Esuna'? No, no, that only treats ailments! 'Raise'? It will take too long to cast, and I don't even know if it will work if the time limit has passed! Ok!Ok!'Regen'firsttoclosethewoundandthen-"

But as Izuku was mumbling out his course of action, the older man suddenly sprung up, shouting as loud as he could, while also catching Izuku off guard to scream out as well, dropping his staff with a loud clang to the ground.

"I'M ALIVE!/AAAAAH! HE'S ALIVE?!"

As both men took a second to gather their thoughts, the elder began to cackle loudly, pulling himself up, and began to speak, "I must have knocked myself out while I was carrying this plate of sausages covered in ketchup."

Izuku blinked for a moment as the older man continued to cackle and began to wipe the ketchup off of his yellow and white hero costume, the green-eyed teenager seeing the mentioned sausages laying by the man's foot where he could see part of the cape covered in the red condiment as well.

Izuku was knocked out of his stare when the older man suddenly poked his side, "Who are you?"

"O-oh! I-I'm Izuku Midoriya from UA. I'm here for m-my internship, sir."

Izuku watched as the much shorter man blinked once, twice, then three times before his old lips made a placating smile, "Eh? Toshinori?"

"U-Um, no, I'm not Mr. Yagi, sir."

"Who are you then?"

Izuku just stared at the man now, wholly baffled and perplexed that this was, or could be, All Might's former teacher. He knew that the man would be on in his years, but he didn't realize that Gran Torino could be that far gone.

Picking up his staff and reverting into his everyday casual attire, Izukuu reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone, contact Toshinori and ask about the man's declining health. However, two sudden gusts of wind caught his attention (and nearly made him drop his phone), and Izuku turned his head towards where the elder was.

The boy's eyes widened to see the rather severe look donned on the man's face as he had somehow retrieved his costume case and duffle bag,, the latter which was launched into a nearby couch with the older man squatting down over the currently open briefcase and seemed to be inspecting his costume and gear.

"Pfeh, So this is that fancy 'Magitek' the rat and Krilly mentioned over the phone," Torino said while lifting up what looked like a somewhat stylized looking gauntlet and carefully looking it over, "Mmn, not bad… But why do you need these gizmo's when you can just sparkle and wear all those different getups? I swear, kids these days care too much about looks than they do practicality."

"A-actually, that's not true, sir," Izuku spoke up, causing Torino to look away from the gauntlet and to the standing student, "While I do have many different garbs, they are for the various different kits I use… T-the one I was just in? It's more for healing wounds and channeling my powers and such. However, it wouldn't work as well if I was wearing the heavier plated armor for my 'Paladin' kit."

Gran Torino simply stared at him for a few moments before holding out the gauntlet in front of him, "and these? If you can switch between these... 'kits', you called them? Bah, what I'm asking is why do you need these fancy magitek gizmo's when you are a walking armory?"

Izuku's bewildered face slowly morphed into something expressionless, his head tilted down to try and hide his eyes, but the old hero could clearly see the hurt within them, "... How much did Nezu tell you about my 'quirk'?"

As if to sense the seriousness within the teenager's voice, Gran Torino laid the gauntlet back into the case before sighing heavily, slowly rising to his feet and waddled along towards the couch, slightly jumping up to sit down before looking up at the boy, "Sit down, boy… and to answer your question, I got the general poop explained to me." He sighed heavily as he shook his head and was looking down as well, "To think my dear friend's legacy is gone now... "

"I… I don't think it's gone, a-at least in the way you think it is." Izuku said, sitting himself down beside the man, who looked up at the teenager in confusion, "From what I've been able to come up with, One for All basically… 'merged' with my blessing, becoming something more while also not fully going away. I can still 'feel' it at times, but only when it's in the heat of battle, and I can feel the limitless power it's cultivated over the generations begin to rise up and boil over."

"And the gizmos?"

"Well, there are times where my kits are kinda… well… overkill or just a hindrance in certain scenarios." Izuku chuckled lightly while Torino huffed an acknowledgment at that, especially as he had been watching the sports festival this year and seen the chaos this child had done, "So, with the help of one of my friends… At least I think we are friends? It's always hard to tell with Mei at times…."

"The point, boy?" Gran looked at him with a frown and hard stare that screamed 'get to the point', causing Izuku to chuckle in embarrassment.

"R-right… sorry… With her help, we were able to craft some support gear for me when I'm not in a kit; that way, I can have something to fall back on should I be too tired to switch to a kit. They are powered by crystals that are filled with aether anyway, so it's not like I'd need to charge them to power up until it's needed."

"So, you'd be basically fighting them quirkless then?" asked the old man, who tilted his head in confusion when Izuku flinched, "What? Why did you flinch all of a sudden?"

"Well… I've been quirkless all my life, and even though Momo, Mina, Tsuyu and Kyoka as well as the teachers at UA try and help me… 'quirkless' still causes me to flinch at times, especially when directed at me or I'm the subject in general," Izuku said somberly once again, his hands brought together with a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Gran Torino looked over the boy with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me guess, a trained response?"

Izuku nodded his head gently, "Doesn't help I was the 'quirkless loser that still wanted to be a hero.'. Other kids would beat me, teachers would either ignore it or even encourage the bullying at times, no one believed I could be a hero either…" Izuku leaned back into the couch, his eyes staring at the ceiling, "Heck, even All Might said I couldn't be one at first."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Izuku's eyes shot open with a cold bead of sweat slid down his brow and cheek before turning his head towards the old mentor of the number one hero with a grating motion that would make Cementoss blush. Izuku could see the boiling rage that was lying beneath the wrinkled skin of the retired pro hero as Gran Torino stared at the boy with a glossy, yet vacant look in his eyes, "He said what?"

Izuku watched as Torino pushed himself off the couch and slowly walked over towards his telephone, a rather retro rotary one that Izuku would look at later as he scrambled up after the clearly enraged old-timer, "W-wait! He apologized and still does to this day and I've already forgiven him! Please don't be upset Gran Torino, sir!"

Before he could begin to dial the number of the now doomed All Might, Gran Torino slowly turned his head back to eye the boy who was clearly trying to defend the future dead man, "Tell me, with absolute truth boy… Why did he tell you that you couldn't be a hero?"

The raging iris of the wizened pro caught Izuku off guard, so much so that he blurted out the next thing that came to mind, "ItwasbecauseIcouldn'tbeaherowithoutaquirk!"

Silence fell in the room until the receiver of the phone clattered against the base, before falling to the floor. Izuku could see the pure shock of what Torino had made out of his rather quick response, the teenager watched the elder's body begin to vibrate in rage before suddenly screaming out, "YOU QUIRKLESS OAF!"

Gran Torino sighed heavily after releasing all his anger in that shout, grumbling slamming his fist against the table that had the phone base resting on it, "Telling a kid who couldn't be a hero without a quirk when you didn't have one in the first place!"

There was a sudden chill in the room now as Gran Torino froze suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as he could feel the presence of danger lurking close to him. Slowly turning to the side, he could see his new intern give him a rather bright smile, but he could tell it was not one of happiness. No, there was a strange sort of darkness hidden under that boyish smile as Izuku kept smiling at his new mentor, "I'm sorry… but what do you mean All Might was quirkless?"

[Meanwhile back at UA]

For the first time in six years, All Might shuddered in absolute terror, moreso than when he last fought All for One. Which confused the skeletal number one hero.

What's more, why did he have a feeling that a week from now he would need to hide behind both Inko and Eri?