This is the first chapter for my Emerald Furnace stuff of the year, and I'm feeling pumped! Though I also feel like I'm behind on other things, as I love reading comments from you all, I've fallen behind in returning that courtesy to writing out comments, even with stuff from last year. Hopefully, that'll change over the week as I plan to leave more than a few comments on stories that I follow.

This chapter was really fun to write on its own, as most of it has nothing to do with canon events, similar to those early chapters where I just took the anime script and tossed it. It gives me more freedom to explore and have these characters just…well, experience things, you know?

Chapter 45: The Burning Snake of Recovery

When the two returned from their little conversation, there was a noticeable shift in Iida. He didn't seem nearly as closed off as before, but neither would say why. Iida only stated that Midoriya managed to get through to him. At the same time, Midoriya avoided answering any question by stuffing his face, abusing his quirk's hearty fuel requirement even when Tokage pressed for answers.

Their school day was typical after that, aside from continued talk of who students would intern with for their week away from school; Midoriya spent it going back and forth on his choices while he put Endeavour's offer in the pile which he would consider, even if the man gave him a bad vibe, he still had plenty more. Ryukyu's offer also went into that pile. Still, with so many, he would probably need to spend the afternoon deciding on which names just to eliminate, as while it made him incredibly giddy to have so many, he also could think that most wouldn't be able to teach him much.

It wasn't an idea he liked, but offers like those just reminded him of how his old middle school did nothing to curb Bakugo's behavior because they banked on him becoming famous so they would gain some fame by association.

He still didn't know what Ryukyu had done or was doing, but last he heard, his middle school had temporarily closed for an internal investigation; the news was vague.

However, as much as he hated the thought, he would need to consider such suspicions and realities as he even had offers from pros whose seemed incredible niches, operated in specific fields of hero work, or had quirks that seemed to clash with his. However, he could see the benefit of operating with someone who used ice. So, like Endeavour, the Frost agency would also need to be considered.

Midoriya had just started packing to head on when Awase opened the classroom door…to see Iida already waiting for them when the day ended.

"Dude, you here for something?" He asked, drawing attention from others.

"Yes, is Midoriya still in class?" Iida looked around before his gaze landed on Midoriya, who approached the two.

"Right here, you got here fast," Midoriya replied, as the bell only rang a minute ago, with Vlad leaving moments prior. Iida didn't respond, not with words anyway, as he grabbed Midoriya like a cat before tucking him under his arm. "Oh?"

"We shouldn't waste time." Iida turned and rushed out the door, breaking school rules about running in the halls and using his quirk to do so, leaving smoke and confusion in his wake as other students walking through the halls jumped out of the way or yelled at him to watch it.

"…Did…did Iida just kidnap Midoriya?" Tetsutetsu asked, just to be sure that he wasn't seeing things.

"I think he did…should we be worried?" Tsunotori asked as Iida looked like a man on a mission. Midoriya didn't seem to fight being carried off like a football.

"Somehow, as strange as that was. I'm pretty sure we're good to act like it's normal." Tokage replied, suspecting it had something to do with what Midoriya said to Iida, which he refused to share.

Shūzenji Chiyo hummed the theme to an old show she watched growing up, one she was sure that even the staff wouldn't be able to place if she sang the entire thing, word for word. She was in a good mood as there wasn't a single incident that required a student to spend time in her office.

Oh, she enjoyed her job and wouldn't be doing it long into her golden years if she didn't. Still, she wished that students weren't so reckless or that Nezu and the other hero course teachers weren't so blasé about classes and training. However, she knew they could only be so careless because she was on the payroll.

But with the festival having ended last week, hero students, even those in the third year, will mainly be focused on their offers, while support students, the second most injury-prone students, should be working on upgrades and new designs. Well, some of them, those who made it far enough in the festival to really test their gear, should be working on upgrades and new designs. Of course, there were always exceptions to this. Still, she had worked with the U.A. long enough to be reasonably sure of her estimations.

'Looks like I'll be able to handle a couple rounds at the local hospital and get home before 6. I could use some rest.' She thought to herself as she finished work and got off her chair to head for the door.

Right as there was a quick, hard knock at it.

'Of course, there is always something.' Recovery Girl sighed, as it was just her luck that with literal minutes left in the school day, someone found some way to hurt themselves. "Come in, " she stated, with the door opening to Iida carrying…Midoriya?

"Greetings, Recovery Girl. We hope we didn't intrude on anything." Iida greeted her.

"Afternoon, Recovery Girl. How is your day?" Midoriya did the same, waving even as he continued to be carried.

"No, I was about to head out. And my day was calm, Midoriya; now, is there a reason Iida is carrying you like a ball?" Recovery Girl asked, mildly curious but all that surprised; she had seen weirder in her time at U.A.

"He was eager to get here," Midoriya replied as Iida finally put him down, looking a little bashful now that he had time to think about his actions. It was a miracle that a teacher hadn't seen or stopped him on the way here.

"Because?" Recovery Girl asked, to which the two gave her a summary of their plans and Midoriya's offer. Recovery Girl nodded as she listened to it. "I see. You offered aide to Tensei and wished for my opinion." She assumed that was why they came to see her.

"We…I wanted to know if it was possible, as I can't deny that Midoriya has extraordinary healing abilities, but aside from when he helped Uraraka with a sprained leg…well, that is nothing compared to my brother's injuries." Iida explained, as no matter how hopeful he was, he needed some proof, someone with better knowledge than to confirm that this wasn't just some exercise in futility; he couldn't put his mother through that…he couldn't go through that.

Recovery Girl thought about it. While she hadn't seen Midoriya do anything particularly impressive, at least when he wasn't healing himself, she had seen the report that came with his entrance to the school, as Ryukyu had been thorough with the things the boy had been tested in. A few of those tests had been on healing others and how his flames could possibly do this.

"Might as well be a different game. I can vouch for Midoriya's claims that his quirk has the potential. However, I don't think he's ever used it on someone with such delicate nerve damage." She didn't confirm it, but she couldn't deny it

either.

"This is part of why we came; we wanted you to accompany us to the hospital, as it would have been easier to explain things if you had been with us," Midoriya asked. Even if this was Iida's brother, they couldn't just walk into the hospital and do this; they'd probably be thrown out.

"And because it would be illegal if you did use your quirk like that, I hope you two remembered that part," she asked the two, both going silent as Midoriya looked out the window and not at her while Iida found her table particularly interesting. The woman sighed, feeling that the unimpressed look Koharu was sending them meant she wasn't alone in her mild disappointment with the two.

'The youth, always so quick to act without thinking.' She thought as she grabbed her cane. "Very well, I was already going to swing by some hospitals; I can divert to where Tensei is being treated."

Hearing her response, the two responded positively. Midoriya flashed a big smile while Iida nearly teared up, bowing low to her. "Thank you, Recovery Girl. Excuse me while I call my mother to explain things." He quickly stepped out, pulling out his phone to make the call.

Recovery Girl waited to ensure that Iida wasn't about to pop back in before she turned to the student. "This was your idea, Midoriya?" She asked as it seemed pretty…bizarre, as the boy hadn't offered to use his quirk on others yet, not even All Might, despite knowing of his injury. For him to change, his behavior seemed…fishy to her.

"Iida wasn't handling things well, so I thought I should help," Midoriya replied. Still, she only frowned harder at that, opening an eye to better see him.

"That is a noble thought, but please remember that the best you can do sometimes is just be there. There will be times when your quirk just isn't enough." She stated, her gaze telling of many times when she was in that same spot, especially in her younger years when she was much too reckless, just like them. His quirk might be more potent than hers, but it wasn't a 'can-do-it-all' either.

The faster he understood that, the better, as it would save him and others' heartache down the line, especially if he thought, 'Oh, someone's sad because a loved one is hurt; I can just heal them.'

"I…I'll try and remember that," Midoriya replied, though she could tell that he didn't quite internalize it. It was sad, but perhaps this was one of those lessons that just had to be learned through experience, as painful as that would be.

Iida returned shortly after. "My mother's on board. She'll meet us there."

"I see, this is highly…unusual." The doctor replied that after Recovery Girl had explained things to them, Their nurses and Iida's parents were with them, and his father arrived with his mother. The latter looked at Midoriya with great suspicion, though the boy tried not to hold it against him.

"I can vouch for his abilities, but if you want to see the reports, I can send them to you." Recovery Girl offered, but the man shook his head.

"No need, I trust you wouldn't so easily throw your support behind someone without credible reason." He replied that one thing that most medical professionals valued was credibility. They were taught from their first year of medical school never to make wild or false statements that couldn't be backed up.

This was especially true when recommending a doctor or treatment. While experimental research and drugs were, by their nature, experimental, as the middle-aged doctor recalled his professional telling him, it helped to think of yourself in the shoes of the patient when recommending things. So Recovery Girl wouldn't just recommend some first-year with absolutely new medical training for nothing.

Though what did it say about him? Did he trust that being cooked alive could genuinely help him? Or was he putting that much faith in Recovery Girl's words?

The lad didn't seem too bad, a bit meek, but that was to be expected. The snake wrapped around him also gave off delinquent vibes, though the boy's eyes said anything but. They were honest types, filled with a genuine desire to help with no hint of deceit; this wasn't someone who was just arrogant; their eyes never looked like that.

Deciding that, yes, this was one of those times when logic didn't matter and he would let himself be cooked alive, he added something: "And if I might speak freely, I wouldn't be against seeing my patient walk again."

"So, it's true then?" Recovery Girl frowned as she heard from Tenya his brother was crippled, but the boy didn't know the details, and she had only heard rumors.

The doctor nodded, grim-faced, as he pulled out Tensei's records and reviewed them with Recovery Girl and Midoriya. "I'm afraid so; Stain's blade completely Tensei's spinal cord between the L2 and 3 vertebrate. As a result, he only has the most basic bodily functions below his waist, with any movement being excluded."

"Excuse me," Midoriya interrupted, as this was flying right over his head. They hardly touched up on most of this in middle school, keeping to more; well, he wouldn't call it basic, but it was undoubtedly anywhere near as complicated as the diagram put it. "Don't nerves regrow like everything else?"

"If this wasn't his spinal cord, then I would say yes; though there is always some sort of lingering damage, the body is quite adept at repairing itself, giving time and nutrients. But the spinal cord is a special case where only minor damage can heal, anything more and the body just…can't." The doctor sighed, as that fact, along with the fact brain cells didn't regenerate when damaged by injury or disease had stumped scientists and medical professionals for centuries.

They had been researching drugs, stem cells, or using quirks to solve it, but nothing concrete. Thus, humanity remained at a point where someone as mighty as their Symbol of peace could find themselves in a wheelchair or mentally diminished should they get hit in the back or head a bit too hard.

"So a basic healing quirk won't work?" Midoriya asked as they walked down the corridor towards Tensei's room. The rest followed behind them but kept silent.

"That's correct. Most healing quirks supercharge the healing process, but they can't repair damage that naturally can't. Of course, there have been cases where people can regenerate things like lost organs and limbs, but we have no case of that being applicable to others." The doctor explained that Midoriya had thought about that.

"So trying to heal his spine wouldn't work…" He indeed fell into that group that could repair just about anything. He's undoubtedly steamed, friend, if not incinerated his brain plenty of times. He never felt a thing or acted differently from it.

But this wasn't brain surgery; it was something…easier, for him at least. And if the damage was just to his back, well, he glanced toward Koharu and had his answer. "I can work with that. I'll just have to find a means to reconnect the two parts of his damaged spine. Think of it like welding." He snapped his fingers, a smile on his face.

"I find that comparison worrisome, " the doctor replied, looking towards Recovery Girl, who, while amused, didn't back down even as the others had their doubts visible on their faces. Still, they had come this far, so they might as well try and see it through. Reaching Tensei's room, they quietly opened the door, Tenya's mother asking to be the first one in.

"Tensei?" she called out. Tensei, a man Midoriya had only seen in the news saving lives, looked up from his hospital bed. He still had some bandages here and there, but he looked a lot healthier than he thought he would; then again, he had been in the hospital for a few days.

"Oh, Mother, I thought visiting hours were over," Tensei called back. He was happy to see his mother but also confused, more so when she wasn't alone, as if it wasn't just his brother and father but his doctor, a couple of the nurses, and someone he didn't recognize. Going by their uniform, they had to be a friend of Tenya's from school.

"They are, but this is a special case, Mr. Iida." His doctor noted that Tensei had noticed the smallest person there.

"Oh, this is a lot of people and Recovery Girl. Good evening; it's been a while. I hope Tenya here doesn't end up in your care often." He greeted her with a smile despite the situation, as he could remember how annoyed she would get with reckless students.

Recovery Girl smiled as she recalled those days and the type of student Tensei was. "Lucky for me, his class only has a few repeat cases, and he's not one of them. However, before you ask, I'm not here to try and heal you, you know my quirk limitations."

Tensei thought about that, though he doubted that she had found some means past that. If she's not here to heal him…why was she here? "Then…are you to…?"

Recovery Girl patted Midoriya's side, but the boy hardly kept his fanboying in. "I'm escorting this young man who might be able to do what I can't." That set him off as the bow rushed the bedridden man, his eyes practically flashing as steam shot out his nose and ears like an excited kettle.

"Hello, Ingenium. It's a pleasure to meet you. I heard that you work with vigilantes to save more people and help them get hero licenses when you believe their desire to help is genuine. I was amazed at that, as so many people just write them off or call them villains and-" Tensei wasn't the only one caught off guard by this, as while three of those present were pros and had their fair share of excited fan interactions, Midoriya hadn't gone this hard on someone in a while.

Tensei wondered how the boy could say all that in a single breath. His face was red from a lack of oxygen, but Midoriya didn't even notice. The former hero couldn't help himself as he chuckled. "I'm not Ingenium anymore, young man. That would be the fellow standing next to you." He directed his gaze towards his brother, who looked away but returned his gaze with a air of determination.

"If all goes as planned, brother, I would only prove to be holding the title for your rightful return," Tenya stated. However, Tensei wasn't sure about that and was not in his condition. Maybe his classmate could do something by some miracle, but to the degree he could return to hero work? Doubtful, though, even if it was just enough, that would allow him to walk, even with a cane, and he would be grateful.

As if Midoriya could hear his doubts, he puffed up his chest, his face returning to normal now that he had taken the time to breathe. "My quirk has healing powers to it, though they don't work like Recovery Girls so they should work with you."

"Healing?" Didn't they exhaust all their options? Was that why they were willing to bring in a student?

"Yup! I'll set you alight, and you'll be reborn as good as new! I already spoke with your doctors, and they think it's worth a shot," Midoriya chirped, unbothered by the oddity of his statement, unlike the rest, who looked put off by how casually he admitted to wanting to burn someone.

But he got a hold of himself. He recalled what he and his therapist had talked about. He couldn't be reckless with this or only think about how he would take it. He had to consider others who didn't see things like he did.

He sat at Tensei's bedside, looking the man in the eye. "But I want to hear it from you. I don't want to do something you don't want. So if you say no, I'll step out, and you hear from me again." He told him, not caring for how Tenya looked, stunned that Midoriya would just say such a thing. He had promised to try but wouldn't force Tensei into it. Not when the man was able to consider things for himself.

The Iidas looked worried about that, while their eldest son thought it over as it sounded insane, but…he had seen weirder, including a cat that could take over a bus and go on a rampage in ways only a frightened stray could. Besides, he trusted that his brother wouldn't have invited Midoriya in if he didn't have faith and that Recovery Girl wouldn't be as emotionally compromised as his brother.

"And you believe setting me…on fire…will help?" Tensei asked.

Midoriya nodded, gesturing to the snake snuggly wrapped around his shoulders. "It helps me. It even helped my friend here when she was attacked by a weasel. She's a snake, and her spine was messed up by it, but after I burned her, she was good as new…if a little annoyed with me." She glanced at him, rolling her eyes as she recalled that 'fun' incident.

When Tensei looked towards Tenya, his brother coughed into his hand. "I haven't seen him use it on a serpent, but he did use it during our entrance exam on a girl who became my classmate; I've told you about her, Uraraka." Yes, he recalled the story about that. His brother had been mildly uncomfortable with how rude he had been; he hoped he had since apologized.

Considering his options, Tensei made his choice. "Well, if you all have faith in the kid, I might we well give it a shot. So should I be moved from the bed or…?"

"We can-!" Recovery Girl eyed Midoriya, which gave him pause. "I don't need to set your entire body on fire. It's just damage to a small area of your spine. If we turn you over, and the doctors point out where I'm aiming, I can handle things from there."

The nurses took that as their queue to step forward, helping Tensei shift in his bed so that he lay on his stomach, the man pulling his shirt up enough to expose his back where the wound was, still wrapped up. Midoriya suggested that they cut it, so the doctor agreed, carefully snipping away at his bandages and exposing his back where a thin but blatantly visible stab wound remained.

"I've marked the area with a medical marker." The doctor said he was putting the marker away and leaving a circle where the affected area was. Midoriya thanked him and stepped forward, inspecting the wound with a creased brow and frown. He had never seen an injury like this, but it looked far too clean to be accidental. Did Stain want to paralyze him? Why? Heck, why was he going around maiming and killing heroes to begin with?

"You can feel this, right?" Midoriya asked.

"Nothing." Tensei sighed, as he was still getting used to that.

"That makes sense because I wasn't touching you," Midoriya told him, only then pressing his fingers into his legs, starting from his heels all the up to his thighs. Yet, the man made no response to acknowledge it. "But since you didn't make a sound now, I can see for myself."

"Was that really necessary?" The patriarch of the Iida family asked, crossing his arms as Midoriya turned back to him, a little embarrassed.

"It helps when I have a way to visualize the injury; that way, I can better focus on fixing it. You can't really get that from reports." He explained before he turned back to his patient. He took a deep, slow breath through his nose, and when he breathed it out of his mouth, it came out as a heated breath. Repeating it, it was then steam, followed by smoke and, lastly, bright emerald flames.

Midoriya repeated this several times, as he hadn't had much time to practice getting the temperature right. Glancing to the side, he eyes one of the nurses after nearly forgetting something.

"He'll need something to bite." The nurse quickly grabbed something. He didn't know what it was, but he assumed that hospitals just had stuff like that. With it secured in Tensei's mouth, Midoriya got to work. Leaning forward, he laid a kiss on Tensei's back, right in the middle of the circle.

At the point of contact, a stream of fire came out, burning through skin, blood, and muscle till he reached the spinal cord. Tensei let out a muffled scream at that, biting into the thick leather strap as it felt pain unlike anything he ever felt before.

Hearing him, the nurses and Iida's mother were moving forward, but Koharu turned and loudly hissed at them to keep back. They shouldn't interrupt her human, especially when he was going out of his way to lower the flames' temperature to lessen the pain.

Mercifully, the pain faded after the first few seconds as Tensei felt…weird, for lack of a better word. He knew flames were still bathing his wound, but it didn't feel like that. More like…warm water now. Eventually, Midoriya pulled back, his lips nearly burned off but rapidly regenerating as he eyed up his work.

That tiny spot on Tensei's back was pitch black, burned all the way through…at least, that's what it looked like. Midoriya smiled as he stepped back. "And we're done; the burn should fade in around an hour at most, but the effects should kick in well before that."

"Amazing, such heat should have, but I can see his flesh is still present if badly burned. What did you just do?" The doctor asked as the nurses fretted over their patient, checking his readings and vitals for anything of concern.

"I took the longer route than just welding his nerves, but instead, I fried away the old ones and replaced them with new cells. Completely undamaged." Midoriya explained that he typically did what Recovery Girl and other healers did; he only used his vast stamina reserves to force the body to regenerate at a super-accelerated pace, as he learned during his time with Ryukyu.

But seeing how the doctor was sure that wouldn't work with the spinal cord, he went the route he used on himself, building new cells from the energy within his fire.

"Doctor…" Tensei started, the man having spat out the leather strap and looking close to tears. I…I can feel my toes. Are my toes wiggling?" The entire room turned to his feet, where they saw that three of his toes were wiggling about.

"Yes, are you doing that?" the doctor asked, and Tensei's mother started tearing up while her husband looked on in disbelief and awe.

"Yup, how about now?" The movements stopped, scaring them into thinking it was just a momentary spark.

"No, it's stopped, " the doctor replied, only for Tensei to start laughing, tears in his eyes.

"That was me too!" he yelled as he kept doing it, moving from leg to leg and toe to toe; with some effort, he was wiggling all of them, the effort growing lighter with each passing second as Midoriya smiled at him.

"Give it a few minutes; getting used to entirely new cells is necessary. It can come off as that moment right before you learn to walk, so when you try to stand, ensure you have someone there to catch you." He explained that falling flat on your face wasn't pretty because you still think your new legs belong to a newborn with no muscle control or strength.

"Thank you!" Iida's mother grabbed him up in a hug, the tiny woman displaying near superhuman strength as she crushed Midoriya in her arms, the boy finding it hard to breathe as she sobbed, Tensei joining him, trapping Midoriya who started blushing and yapping to be let go before he passed out.

"You…you did us a great service, I don't even know when we'll begin to repay you!" Tenya cried, crushing Midoriya more as he felt the air leaving his body.

"I just did what heroes are supposed to!" He managed to get out, the two finally showing mercy and letting him down, where he took lungfuls of air; now that he wasn't in danger of passing out, he gave them both a happy smile. "Heroes help people…so I helped. Pretty simply, if you think about it."

Later, he sat with Recovery Girl, texting his mother about his location and updates. However, he kept details vague for the Iida family's privacy. He didn't think his mother would ever tell the press, but as that one show said, 'Why spread secrets when you don't need to?'.

Inside Tensei's room, they left the doctor, who was now joined by several others to deal with their patient. The people of medicine were perplexed but equally awestruck as they ran test after test. Still, all came back showing healthy nerve activity. A fact easily seen with the naked eye as not even 20 minutes after Midoriya burned him, and Tensei was reporting no issues, already walking around the place too, even though his mother insisted on helping her son who was beyond the moon in excitement, more then she had seen in her son in years.

"It's a lot faster than last time. When I healed Koharu, she was still out for 2 whole days." He told them when asked how he could heal so fast, his best guess being that Tensei's wound wasn't as severe as Koharu had been, and because he was getting better at this.

Whelp, it was not like they'd let him check that by burning other patients, and it wasn't like he asked as Recovery Girl led him out to give the doctors space.

"That was quite the showing, Midoriya. If he's truly back to full health, it seems that he won't be able to retire for medical reasons for a good many more years." Recovery Girl complimented Midoriya as he hummed, a smile stretching across his face.

"He looked really happy…I wanted to pay back some of the kindness shown to me. It was a nice feeling." Midoriya replied. He was used to a warm feeling in his chest; that was his norm, but this was different, but in a good way. It felt like when he made friends or spent time with Hado-sempai.

Recovery Girl saw his look and couldn't help but let out an elderly chuckle. She had seen that look on plenty of young, enthusiastic heroes and heroines when they saved their first civilian. On the faces of interns who might have helped save a patient's life when the doctors were too busy during a crisis.

She was sure that once upon a time, she had that very same look. That pushed her to tell him something that her mentor told her. "You never quite get used to that feeling in your heart when you save someone. Even if they don't thank you for it, you know you did good, and that's enough." She passed over that little piece of wisdom. "Though I do have one question."

"What would that be?"

"Why did you kiss his back? I don't recall you needing to do that," Recovery Girl asked. She was the only one present who knew the full details, so while she had been confused, she didn't make anything of it, and the rest didn't either.

"I wanted a means to focus my flames since it was such a small spot that needed reconstruction and replacement." Midoriya tapped his chin before looking over to her. "Was that wrong?" She gave him that granny smile of hers, the one that seemed to promise cookies and hugs without a word as she told him no, there was no issue at all.

However, she did see someone approaching and decided to give the two some space. "Well, I think I'll go speak with the hospital administrators. While I'm here, I might as well see if I can't help a few patients." She got up from her chair and walked away past the approaching patriarch of the Iida family.

Midoriya rose to meet the man, bowing as he did. "Good evening, Mr. Iida," Midoriya spoke, having come to suspect that the eldest Iida male was where his youngest took from the most as he had the same facial structure. However, he didn't wear glasses and had some wrinkles and age lines that Tenya wouldn't have for another 2 decades.

Midoriya knew that Ingenium, or at least Tensei, took on the mantle around eight years ago from his father. Yet, the man before him still looked as studied and sturdy as ever. Retirement seemed like no excuse to slack off in terms of keeping in shape, as the man was almost as tall and bulky as his eldest. With that stern face and no-nonsense gaze, Midoriya could say that he was slightly intimidating.

All that faded as the man sighed, his gaze losing that edge as he looked…tired, no-relieved. Like a significant burden had been taken off his shoulders. "Greetings, you're Midoriya Izuku, correct? I recall you from the Sports festival." He spoke, even his voice lost that edge from before.

"That's right, sir." The man waved off his response, taking the seat Recovery Girl vacated and inviting Midoriya to return to his.

"You don't need to be so formal, especially after you have done great service to my family. My eldest has always been responsible and perceptive, and while he tried to act like this wasn't as horrific as it was…well, I changed that man's diapers and could tell just how devastated he's been since he woke up and learned of his new…well, temporary state." He explained as he brought his hands together, recalling his boy's look, that desperation for it to be a nightmare.

He was grateful his youngest hadn't seen that look.

It was rare that the patriarch of the Iida family felt his age, but now? Now, he really did feel like he was hitting 59 that year. The grief of learning his son was attacked, the stress that came from handling the family business and the media, the rage at some of the more invasive or downright insulting questions, and the confusion of trying to figure out why his son? Why was his boy attacked by that fiend, Stain?

"We Iida's have been heroes since my father, and that meant always rushing headlong into danger to save lives, but it also made her incredibly active people, to have been robbed of that at such a young age...I shudder to think what would have befallen my son if he wasn't able to adapt and accept it." Getting up, he turned to Midoriya and bowed low to him.

He felt no shame, no disgust. Instead, he felt a heavy sense of relief and gratitude towards the young boy. "That is a gift that I can't ever repay to you, though that means I won't try; this I swear on the Iida name."

Midoriya turned bright red at the man's actions, trying to get him to stop before someone saw them. It was embarrassing enough to have an adult like him thank him; it was even more so when he recalled that this was a retired hero who inspired the man who inspired Iida.

"I-I didn't do it because I wanted to be thanked." He told him, only for the man to crack a chuckle, slowly getting up from his bow.

"Yes, I heard. But that doesn't mean that you should get nothing for it. Know that if you ever need it, you only need to ask, and the Iida family will aid you in whatever endeavors you face." Midoriya didn't need to be from wealth to know just how serious the Iida patriarch was, as offering such a boon was akin to a noble house of the Edo period offering one.

However, where many would have gone to places where they could benefit from such favor from a politically connected, socially powerful, and wealthy family, Midoriya's mind went to the place it always did.

"That might end up just being more hero work; as a kid, I wanted to be the kind of hero All Might is, the kind that could save someone with a smile." He told him, as he could only imagine the sort of help he could request in a crisis, they could even perhaps help him better design his costume; it did need a refit thanks to his quirk's new form. "Now, I want to be the kind of hero Ryukyu is, someone that can bring hope…even to someone that feels like there is none. So if you think I might ask for your help in a fight, that isn't likely."

To that, the man laughed harder, as he wasn't sure about him, his son spoke highly of him, and his performance during the festival had been impressive, if a little concerning. But to have such a response, he was sure that Tenya was right about him. "That, by boy, is a lesson that I spent my entire life teaching my sons. Hero work isn't just about defeating villains. What we represent isn't just victory, order, or justice. That's for fighters, judges, and police."

Wiping the tear from his eye, the man felt 20 years younger. "We represent hope, the best of humanity, and show that even in the darkest moments, those qualities can shine through. It's a lesson I fear many heroes these days have forgotten. They've grown soft with All Might around, but I remember the early days when he was just building himself up; he didn't do it alone and never tried to hide that."

Those were the days, he recalled. He and All Might were around the same age, though he had graduated from U.A. before the future Symbol of Peace was even a hero. Things back then… weren't anywhere near as peaceful or safe as they were now, and he did truly appreciate that change for the better, All Might had been…even now, it was hard to describe just what he brought to the table, how he didn't just master the game, but threw it out and created a brand new one.

They had rallied behind him, newbies and veterans alike, pushing back against the darkness, the despair, and the violence. They exorcised, inspiring people to believe that heroes would be there when they were in danger, that homes and lives wouldn't be destroyed by some rampaging villain or terrorist the next week.

He let a longing, worried sigh. "But…so many of those great men and women have since retired, and those that came after…"He shook his head to dispel those thoughts. "Well, I'm just glad that you're different. If you want to be like Ryukyu, you're already well on your way."

This chapter ran long, so I had to cut it, though I'm pretty happy with it. An entire thing dedicated to Midoriya healing Tensei, which you can imagine, will have some ripple effects down the road, the first of which is the question of what does Tenya do now? His brother was still attacked-yeah, but he's better now.

I needed to remind myself regularly that this Midoriya, unlike his villain version, hasn't really changed his normal appearance. So, the scenes had to be changed, or else it would be incredibly confusing; maybe I'll change that in the future, as who says this hero version of Emerald Furnace can't also get a makeover? Do you have any suggestions on who would do it, and how?

The next chapter will be out on Jaunaury 28th but if you want to read it early, well the link is at the bottom for my p a t reon.

Special thanks to my Patrons(s):

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