Like the once great pop singer of her time, Miley Cyrus, had once said: Monday came at Tony fast like a wrecking ball.
Grumbling expletives not suited for minors beneath his breath, Tony finished putting on the last of his uniform, leaving the black and gray overcoat that all Musutafu Central Elementary students have to wear partially opened to reveal the white shirt blouse beneath it.
It wasn't a bad outfit all things considered. A bit too monochromatic for his liking though.
Checking himself at the mirror one last time, Tony took stock of his appearance. His hair had undergone a slight upgrade, having managed to comb through all the knots and trimmed the dead ends all by himself last night. He would still need to visit a barber to get it exactly the way that he wanted it to be but seeing that he was still currently a eleven-year-old with little money to his name, that would have to be done sometime later in the future.
Which meant he might have to find a part-time job.
His uniform had been meticulously ironed, not a wrinkle or loose stray thread in sight, and Tony prided himself on having tied his bowtie within a couple of a second, his hands going through the familiar motion as his mind wandered about on other such important topics such as how was he going to survive his (technically) first day back in elementary school.
The look of surprise he had received from Inko when she stepped in to remind him of his breakfast was well worth the awkwardness of having to explain how he was able to do it without her help.
It was a good thing that the Internet also existed in this world as well.
Satisfied for now, Tony swooped down low to grab at his large yellow bag filled to the brim with an assortment of books, textbooks and writing utensils that would help him navigate through the more tedious parts of his classes. It was a darn shame that Japan could be so technology advanced and yet still remain somewhat stuck in the stone ages with their love for fax machines, landline phones and beepers.
One of the first things he planned to buy when he got some sort of income was a freaking laptop.
He found Inko in the kitchen, staring at a coffee machine that was currently spurting out hot air instead of the rich delicious coffee that he desperately needed to get through the early morning. Muttering something quietly to herself, she pressed a button and watched with a growing frown as the machine made a low whining noise in response.
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah!"
Inko jumped nearly a foot off the ground. Clutching a hand to her chest, she whirled around to face him, nearly smacking him with a pan that had been quickly levitated to her with the other hand.
"Izuku, sweetie," she said through a rush of choked air once she saw him, "You nearly scared me!"
An apologetic look crossed over Tony's face as he bowed his head in shame.
"I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention."
He would have to be extra careful around her; given the state of the neighborhood they resided in, Tony had a weird feeling that break-ins were a common daily occurrence in the apartment complex. He made a mental note to add in a built-in security system on his already growing list of things he planned to do once he found a part-time job.
The frown and fear quickly melted away like sunlight onto a rainy dark cloud, and Inko gave him a tender smile that was only slightly strained around the edges of her cheeks and did little to alleviate the wrinkles creased around her brows.
"It's alright, sweetie," she insisted, placing the pan back into its proper place. "Just…next time let me know when you're here." At his promise, Inko continued, eyes directed now onto the coffee machine in front of them. "As for your question, this thing has been giving me nothing but grief all morning. I thought Mr. Watanabe had fixed it, but–"
She gave the thing a disappointed sigh like it had personally offended her and her ancestors.
"Apparently not."
Tony glanced over at the machine, mind racing with possible solutions.
"I can take a look at it, if you want," the words came out before he could stop himself.
Inko stuttered, evergreen forest eyes widening in what he interpreted as a mixture of surprise and slight apprehension at his request before narrowing down a little in suspicion. He had seen that sort of look before, though in this case, he assumed the woman hadn't meant to not mistrust her son's own words.
"I saw some stuff on the Internet," Tony said in hopes that it would reduce some of the skepticism lurking just beneath her facial features. "I've been thinking of dabbling into engineering as a profession."
Inko blinked. Very slowly.
"You…don't want to be a hero anymore?"
Oh.
Internally, Tony cringed to himself, realizing that he might have made a grave mistake.
At least it explained all the All Might posters.
But from what he could infer from Izuku's own admission of being quirkless, the probability of him actually becoming a hero was already slim to none.
After all, the last time he had checked, Japan currently had no quirkless heroes in their roster.
"I mean…"
Bringing a hand up to nervously rub the back of his neck, Tony tried to think of a suitable response.
"I still want to be one, but I figured it's good to have options, you know?"
There wasn't any law that said he couldn't build himself a hero suit.
For some reason, Inko stared at him long enough for it to grow slightly uncomfortable before shifting her gaze onto the clock hung up above the television screen in their tiny joint kitchen/living room space.
"Okay," she said, tone devoid of any emotion he could decipher, "We still have some time before your classes start anyway. Breakfast is on the table, and you know where the tool kit is right?"
Tony thought of the most likely place one would store it.
"In the closet?"
She nodded, turning away to make her leave.
"I'll go and get ready then."
After she went into her room down the hall, Tony let out a quiet sigh of relief.
That was a close one.
He wiped the sweat off his brows. Now that he knew for certain that Bean-sprout had wanted to be a hero all his life despite not being blessed with superpowers was all the more reason Tony had decided it might be in his best interest to make another suit of armor.
He found the tool kit after a bit of searching, and pried the coffee machine apart, noting all the criss crossed wires and bolts screwed in the wrong way. It was laughably easy how quickly he had finished fixing it all back together, his hands going through the repetitive motions as a smile grew a little on his face like a sunflower finding a way to blossom inside a desolate wasteland.
Just like old times.
By the time Inko had returned, dressed in a black loose blouse paired with a black skirt that reached past her knees, Tony had just finished eating the last of his breakfast, stuffing the remaining of his toast and jam into his mouth.
She paused as she was smoothing out the ends of her uniform, taking in the still steaming cup of coffee awaiting for her at her place at the table. Forest green eyes widened in a comical manner as she rushed over to Tony's with hurried footsteps that were cladded in a pair of bunny slippers.
"Oh, sweetie!" she exclaimed, glancing back and forth at Tony and the cup of coffee with her mouth hanging down low, "You actually got it working again!"
Grinning, Tony drowned the rest of his milk.
"Yep, just figured it was a couple of parts that needed some reworking." He moved his hand past the cup and patted the fully operating coffee machine that he had placed beside it. "Now this bad boy can fix all your coffee urges in a matter of seconds."
Of course, he failed to mention that he already had two cups of black coffee himself to stay awake for the long morning.
Blinking, Inko let out a soft giggle as she shook her head fondly at him.
"My sweet, smart, little Izuku," she cooed, and Tony would be lying if he didn't say that the praise had him preening a little, the tips of his ears flushed a bright red.
Trying to not show the full effect of her words, Tony aimed what he hoped could be interpreted as a casual shrug at the woman.
"It's nothing," he insisted with a tiny bit more force than necessary. "But if there is anything else that you think that needs fixing, then I'm happy to help."
She stared for a beat longer than normal, then seemed to have decided not to press any further, moving instead to take her seat beside him.
"Of course," she said, taking a small sip of her coffee and let out a surprise yet content sigh that it was to her liking (Tony had taken a guess based on Inko's personality, and had added a couple of spoonfuls of sugar and a good splash of hazelnut creamer and almond milk). "We should hurry though, otherwise we might miss the 7:01 bus."
They talk as she scoffed down her breakfast; the discussion was mainly more on the goings and comings of their fellow apartment residents, such as who was getting married or having another baby. The Tanakas from two doors down had experienced a terrible break-in that had left the matriarchy with a severe concussion that would take some time to heal. Inko expressed her desire to invest in a better home security system that fueled Tony's determination to create one himself for them to use sometime in the future.
He had already seen the number of locks and bolts that made up their front door.
It wasn't normal.
Eventually they got ready to leave, Tony stuffing his feet into a pair of well-maintained but obviously worn past Nike Air Force shoes dyed a deep red with black laces and thick white soles at the bottom. He could tell it had been a pricy purchase given how the rest of the shoes placed on the racks were nowhere near the same quality or brand as the ones on his feet.
Outside, the air was chilly but not to the point of being unbearable. The streets are semi barren with a couple of people also dressed in their business clothes or school uniform heading to their respective destinations as they stare at their phones or talk with their friends. So far no one had looked completely abnormal. Save for a High Schooler whose head resembled that of a King Cobra snake, their slit eyes shaded an eerie yellowish green, Tony had expected to see a wide array of characters that would put the Hulk to shame on his way to school.
Then again, Tony had seen his fair share of unusual people in his previous life: from a talking raccoon that spoke in a snarky Brooklyn accent, to a blue-skinned woman who was made with more metal and wires than blood and bones.
So, maybe he had sort of expected something along those lines.
The 7:01 bus came well on time by a minute, and the two boarded after a pair of Junior High Schoolers with bunny ears poking at the top of their heads. Japan's metro system was much better than what Tony had experienced back in LA and New York and used the window seat he had managed to grab in the nick of time with Inko as a way to gain better access to the world around his neighborhood.
A concrete jungle lined with family style restaurants and big-name brand stores such as Uniqlo and Muji lined the streets on both sides of the bus complete with a Starbucks and a Family Mart camped every other block. They stopped briefly three bus stops away, and a woman dressed in light blue scrubs entered and took a seat across from them. Tiny purple spikes cover every inch of her skin, most centered around her face and neck. When they made eye contact, the spikes puffed up in indignance and Tony quickly averted his gaze away.
Eventually they came to their stop, the large white and gray building that was Musutafu Central Elementary School was a sight for sore eyes with the only greenery in view being the semi spacious courtyard that housed a couple of cherry blossom trees and half dead shrubs.
"You'll be okay, sweetie?" Inko asked as she took another glance over at him once they exited the bus. "I don't see Katsuki-kun anywhere. Maybe he's inside already?"
Tony doesn't respond, too busy staring at one of the students whose neck is long and bendy like a giraffe.
I wonder if she has to bend her head every time she walks past through a door, Tony wondered as the student entered the courtyard with her friends.
"Izuku?"
Shit.
Tony glanced back up at the woman to find Inko staring down at him, a worried frown on her face.
"Sorry about that," he quickly said before she could open up her mouth, "I was just distracted, that's all."
How could he not stop and stare at all the fascinating things that capture his attention?
Inko pressed her lips together, a hint of doubt appearing in her expression as she tucked a loose strand of green hair away from her eyes to behind her ear.
"Okay," she relented, shrugging her shoulders. "School is about to start soon." And, as if on cue, a bell rang out throughout the courtyard, sending dozens of gray and black uniformed students clamoring up the steps in a rush to enter the building. "I will be working late today, so let me know when you are planning to head home or maybe staying over at Katsuki-kun's place."
The last part was worded almost like she was hoping that he might choose the latter option and Tony did his best to not show any visible reactions, only giving Inko his best dazzling smile. He remembered Katsuki—the blond spiky haired kid who was loud and obnoxious as was his God given quirk, Explosion.
And also apparently absolutely hated Izuku's guts.
"Of course, I'll inform you of my plans."
Another stare, this time longer than a full minute before Inko slowly nodded her head back in response.
"Okay…."
She reached over and pinched his cheek, eliciting a small yelp from Tony.
"Have fun in school, sweetie!"
He watched her head the opposite way, heading to her work in some insurance office for villain incidents somewhere in downtown Musutafu before turning to the direction of the school. As he headed up the stairs, a strange feeling stirred within his stomach like he drank a bottle of hot sauce for breakfast. Was it nervousness about starting school again?
Or was it something else entirely different?
His feet somehow had guided him through the hallway, up another flight of steps and up to the front of a wooden door with a plaque above reading: [GRADE 6]-Classroom A. Stifling a heavy sigh, Tony swallowed down the lump lodged inside the back of his throat.
Great, he grumbled to himself as he slid the door open and found more than a dozen or so faces peering back at him as he stepped through, and shut it closed behind him, I'm late.
"Midoriya Izuku," a tired irritating voice like nails over a chalkboard drawled up at the front, and Tony directed his gaze onto a tall man that he presumed was the homeroom teacher for his class.
He was not only tall, but sported a long pointy nose that did little to hide the sneer he was currently giving to Tony, with his greasy chestnut orange hair slicked back with the front ends parted to the side of his face.
"Is there a reason as to why you have decided to come into my classroom three minutes late?"
Snickers rippled across the classroom, but Tony pointedly ignored it. It would take more than a couple of snide comments to get underneath his skin of iron and metal.
The teacher arched an unimpressed brow, clearly waiting for his response, and Tony decided right then and there to let loose a little and have a bit of fun at the man's own expense.
"I'm so sorry, Sensei," overly exaggerating the proper title for his homeroom. More snickers erupted, and the man's sneer deepened. "But I just couldn't help but enjoy the scenery today. Have you taken a look outside the window? Not that I expect a man of your caliber to have time to do anything but grade papers and harass students, you know."
By now the homeroom teacher's brows were currently way up high above his wrinkly spotted forehead.
"Is that so…" he said, right eye twitching a little. "Then we can discuss more about your tardiness during Lunch hour."
Some of the students let out a couple of "oohs!" at his possible detention, but Tony knew when he had won a battle, and took the words as a final dismissal, weaving his way through the chaotic mess of students and strewn backpacks to find his desk several rows away from the front of the room and beside a set of clear windows that overlooked a construction site.
Annoyingly, a few late stranglers came into the classroom not a minute later and all the homeroom teacher did was give them a light warning to not do it again.
Favoritism at its finest.
"Now then," The teacher marked something on his desk before turning his full attention onto the classroom, instantly quieting down the chatty students without saying a word. "There are things you must know about this term if you are planning on getting into a good Junior High School next year. Try as you might, but I won't be surprised if most of you end up at Aldera Junior High."
As he droned on about the importance of one's grade and extracurricular activities, Tony zoned out, mind occupied with other important matters such as the delicious lunch Inko had graciously packed for him in a cute All Might themed bento box.
The hours flew by with relative quickness and before he knew it, it was already time for lunch, the bell ringing again to signal the change in schedule as the students started to stand up from their seats, chatting excitedly amongst themselves as they grabbed their own specialized bento boxes.
Some began to head over to the cafeteria which was located downstairs in the main hall or outside where the sun provided ample warmth and light to combat the brisk cold of April's capricious weather.
Tony moved to the rest of the students shuffling through the doorway when he was rudely stopped by a lanky brute with spiky blond hair and piercing red eyes. Said eyes stared at him with such disdain that Tony was momentarily taken aback at how much it reminded him of Thanos during their last encounter on his home planet, Titan.
Flanking on each of the blond boy's sides were two other boys, one short and round with red scaly bat wings on his back and the other long and skinny with abnormally elongated fingers that grew a couple of more inches within seconds.
"Oi," the blond boy said, a rough voice that easily cut through the chatter in the room, "Deku."
The name does something funny in Tony's chest, and he scowls back in return.
Deku. Meaning useless, stemming from the word 'Dekunobou' or 'someone who can't do anything.' A derogatory nickname given to him by one Bakugou Katsuki—his ex-best friend.
Who needs enemies when you have friends like him.
Tony's scowl deepened when he noticed the remaining students left inside the classroom had stayed behind to watch what they were hoping was going to be an inevitable fight between them. Even the teacher who had taught their English class from last period took one look at the both of them and headed out the door without so much as a second glance, their arms stuffed to the brim with essays and assignments.
Not wanting to wait any longer to eat his delicious meal, Tony made a show of looking around the room before pointing at himself.
"You're talking to me?" he asked flatly. "Cause I'm kind of in the middle of something here."
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say as Bakugo's eyes narrowed sharply in retaliation to his words, the palms of his hands glowing dangerously bright with tiny orange sparks and black smoke.
Explosion was a terrible superpower to give to an elementary school kid.
"What the hell did you say, shitty Deku?"
Tony scoffed.
"Seriously? Don't tell me you're as deaf as you're as dumb? Not a good look for you, Porcupine," taking absolute delight in the way Bakugo stuttered at the newly christened nickname Tony had dished out for him. "I don't like repeating myself twice."
It wasn't like it wasn't a bad choice of name—the kid's hair seriously reminded him of the spiky mammal.
Before Bakugo could resort to violence, given that he was now emitting black smoke from both of his hands, another voice roughly cut in, this one significantly older and sounding very much annoyed at their disruption.
"I suggest, Mr. Bakugo," their homeroom teacher appeared from the door, quickly approaching them with long strides as his face barely contained his disdain for them both, "that if you want to discuss something private with Midoriya that you do so outside of the classroom."
There was a hint of a potential discipline if Bakugo did not comply, and the blond brute was at least smart enough to not take his chances, his lips pressed down into a thin firm line.
He pinned Tony with a particularly harsh glare and hissed out in a voice low enough for only him to hear, "Meet me at the swings, Deku," before turning sharply on his heels and marching away.
The rest of his lackeys hurried after him.
Tony watched them go, debating internally if he was even planning to follow through with the Porcupine's demands before his homeroom teacher cleared his throat loud enough to gain the attention of everyone else in the room.
"If you are not planning on staying here for lunch, then I suggest you all leave before you have to explain to your parents as to why you had to stay late in school on your first day back in school."
That quickly got the rest of the students to evacuate leaving behind just Tony and the homeroom teacher.
"Now then," Tony turned to find the man's disdain had not disappeared, if anything, it grew tenfold the moment they had locked eyes. "About your punishment for coming late into my classroom today…"
15 minutes later, Tony left the room with a dark cloud hanging over his head, his appetite a thing of the past as he stomped through the barren hallway, uncaring about his surroundings.
He has cleaning duties for the next two weeks. And the damn homeroom teacher had decided it would be fine if he did it all by himself.
The man had started a war, and Tony intended on winning.
His stomach chose that moment to let its presence known again and Tony carefully weighed his options; he could eat his lunch in the cafeteria, but that meant finding a seat by himself and he had no friends to call on his own to claim a table with. The bathroom was out of the question due to sanitary reasons, and he certainly did not want to go back into the classroom where his homeroom teacher was no doubt still lurking about inside there.
That left him with one last place.
Sitting beneath the shade of a gnarly looking oak tree, Tony took another bite out of his bento box, savoring the delicious, crisped chicken Inko had graciously made for him for lunch. All around him, children of various ages played together or alone in the rocky field that was their playground. Some were using their superpowers to play soccer, kicking the ball far harder and faster than most athletes could ever dream of doing back in Tony's previous world. One of them kicked the ball hard enough to let out a tiny sonic boom as it entered the goal post with a distinct clank and bounced off the railing.
He was almost done eating when a dark shadow crept up on him, and Tony looked up to find Bakugo looming over him, his lackeys not far behind.
The boy clenched his hands into smoking sparkling fists.
"Shitty, Deku," he growled, red eyes zeroing in on Tony's face, "I told you to meet me by the swings."
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Tony gestured down to the opened bento box on his lap.
"As you can see, Porcupine—" grinning triumphantly when the nickname caused said boy to bristle like the animal, "I'm kinda eating here. If whatever you want to say to me is so important, then I'm sure you can wait till after school is done."
Hopefully, Tony would have managed to have evaded them by exiting out from another backdoor entrance.
For some reason, Bakugo stilled, cocking his head at Tony like he had suddenly manifested two heads as his hidden quirk. Tony tensed in anticipation of an outburst.
"So that's how it is…" he muttered low to himself but loud enough for Tony to hear every single word. "One measly spring break and suddenly you've grown a damn spine the moment you get back to school."
Bakugo pressed a hand into the open palm of his other hand, a miniature explosive boom echoing loud enough to draw eyes onto them.
"Well, that won't do. That won't do at all, shitty Deku."
In the depths of his red gleaming eyes was the promise of something terrible, a promise of a world of pain and hurt and if Tony had been anybody else, he would have cowered in fear.
But he was anything but anybody.
He was Tony Stark.
And Starks never backed down.
Standing up, Tony calmly shut the lid of his bento box. The blond kid had a few good inches on him, but that didn't deter Tony from posturing up to his fullest height, forest green eyes hardening like cut pieces of a jade stone from the finest manufacturer.
If Bakugo had expected him to remain compliant and fearful, then he didn't show his shock, only deepening the scowl on his lips. The rest of his lackeys though, took a cautionary step back.
"I'm only going to say this once, Porcupine, so pay close attention," Tony said, his voice steely and carrying easily through the hushed silence of the playground.
Everyone was watching them.
"If you know what's good for you, you would back down right this instant. I'm not the same Deku that you think I am. I'm not going to take your bullshit anymore." The curse had Bakugo widening his eyes, his lackeys also dropping their jaws in surprise. "So, let's just let bygones be bygones and put this all behind us, uh? Be the bigger person."
Not really expecting a response nor wanting to stay any longer, Tony turned sharply on his heels and began to walk away, the crowd of students that had gathered around to watch parting ways for him like Moses did to the Red Sea to help his people escape Egypt.
He had only managed to get a couple of steps in when the sound of an enraged growl pierced through the air.
"The fuck you mean, shitty quirkless Deku!" Heavy footsteps quickly made their way over to him from behind. "You think you can tell me what to do!?"
Without any warning, a hand shot out and grabbed Tony from behind, and something hot was pressed roughly through the fabric of his clothes, burning past through the flammable material and burning his skin like he had gotten hit with a full blast of Thor's destructive lightning bolt from his hammer. The sickly sweet scent of burning flesh permeated his nostrils.
Tony yelled.
"Oi," Bakugo's voice was dangerously close to his ear and the sound of crackles was deafening. "Answer me!"
Something snapped inside Tony, something deep and primal, and full of rage as he turned around, pivoting smoothly on the balls of his feet as he landed with startingly accuracy a well-aimed and highly unexpected punch onto Porcupine's smug ugly face.
There was the satisfying sound of bones breaking beneath his fist and Bakugo howled, clutching his hands over nose as blood gushed out in waves down his gray uniform and staining the ground beneath him in a pretty shade of red.
The boy bent himself low onto the ground in an effort to not ruin his clothing any further.
"Didn't I tell you, Porcupine," gaining Bakugo's attention once again. There was so much hatred swirling within those dark red eyes that Tony couldn't help but smile, showing his once best friend a mouthful of his sparkly white teeth.
"I don't like repeating myself twice."