"Hawks! Rioters in the Mouga District are... rioting! We could use your help!" a distressed hero yelled on Hawks' phone.
"Sorry, I've still got my task at U.A. You'll have to handle it. I'll send in my sidekicks to lend a hand."
"That'll do! Whatever you're doing at the top hero school must be important if you can't leave for an attack!"
Hawks' eyes narrowed in uncharacteristic seriousness. "Trust me, it is. I'm only part of it. The future of Japan, maybe even the world, hinges on what I and the U.A. staff are doing here." With that, the wing hero hung up on the call and left.
To the kitchen, where the self-appointed chef was cooking breakfast for everyone. "A few minutes of reading a cook book, and now you're Gordon Ramsey." Hawks commented. The chef paid him no mind as he cracked some eggs into a frying pan and cooking them with high verdant heat. "What happened to the world hinging on you?" Izuku asked. "The world is depending on me... to keep that out of anyone's stomachs!" Hawks pointed to the garbage bag that contained Izuku's first attempts at breakfast.
The greenette left his room at 5am after a study session from 4am to 4:40am. He worked up an appetite and decided to make himself breakfast. It didn't go too well. Fortunately, most of his roommates slept through his amateur cooking attempts. Hawks had only heard it because it occurred as he was getting out of his nest. He encouraged Izuku to learn a few recipes from a cook book before he burned their dorm to the ground. Izuku did just that, much faster than Hawks expected. He went from barely edible creations to restaurant tier meals after just a few minutes of studying a new subject.
As skeptical the other inhabitants were of trying his food, but after the first bite, they found themselves enamored with his cooking. Mirko made a pass at how this was how Izuku was going to pay his rent. Midnight gushed and said he looks like a cute househusband in his apron. He rolled his eyes at both. After breakfast, Izuku got dressed and was ready to head out.
"You're not visiting Rei." Midnight shut him down. Izuku stopped at the door with a sour expression. "Sorry, but you have your assessment test today. No leaving the house until that's done." Most of everyone else had something to do. Midnight and Nagant had a faculty meeting. Mirko had patrol duty. That just left Hawks and Mt Lady to watch over Izuku.
...
"Okay..." Yuu clicked her tongue as she logged into a website to assess one's intelligence level on Izuku's laptop. Meanwhile, Hawks took his phone and removed any textbooks that held useful information. Couldn't have him cheating. "Whatever score you get out of a hundred will determine what level you're on. We'll check back in an hour. Remember what Midnight said, no leaving until you're done, got it?"
"Fine." Izuku said as he sat down at his desk. The two blondes left him to his device, and got to washing the dishes in the meantime.
"So, how do you think he'll do?" Mt Lady asked. Hawks didn't seem worried much. "I'm sure he'll do fine. I heard from Tsukauchi that Izuku was in the top five of his academics. And these last two days, he's had time to catch up on stuff he missed."
"Two days to catch up on over year's worth of work. What could go wrong?" Yuu deadpanned. Hawks chuckled. "Yeah, that would be true for anyone else. But Izuku's really something else. He throws surprises out like it's nothing, and he grows a lot faster, too."
...
With nothing to do around the house, Mt Lady and Hawks were just vegging on the couch. The titan hero was scrolling through Hero Book, while the wing hero was flipping through channels on the TV. "Mmm... so bored...!" Hawks groaned, flopping back on the couch cushions. "Who would've thought securing the world would get so dull?"
Yuu clicked her tongue. "I don't know if I'd go that far. It's more like we're babysitting the worlds most destructive kid." Hawks blew a raspberry. "It's been about forty minutes since Izuku started his test. Wanna check on him?" Hawks shrugged and lifted himself off the couch. "Meh, beats sitting around being old." "You're 21."
Izuku's Room
Mt Lady and Hawks walked in expecting to find Izuku engrossed in his assessment test, eyes glued to his laptop's screen. But expectation doesn't line up with reality. The reality is that Izuku turned his laptop away from himself and he was concentrated on writing what appeared a letter next to two completed counterparts. His hand was going incredibly fast. Anyone who saw how fast his hand was going would think he was scribbling, but it was actually well-written Japanese on paper. "Hi guys." Izuku greeted without looking up from his desk.
"What are you up to?" Hawks asked. "Writing to Rei. She doesn't have a phone, so I can't text her. She asked me to keep in touch." He said with a small smile. Unless Rei was a topic, it was rare for Izuku to smile.
"What about your test?" Mt Lady asked. "I submitted it. The results are pending now." he said nonchalantly. "I checked and double checked my answers, it's been pending for a couple minutes now."
Mt Lady picked up the laptop. True to what Izuku said, the answers were still being graded. "How long have you been finished?" she asked. "Ten minutes or so." Hawks and Mt Lady looked at him in surprise. He finished the test in half the time a normal person would, and he didn't skip a single question! And he wrote three whole letters in ten minutes! Yuu and Keigo only had a single shared thought.
'What is he!?'
Ding!*
Izuku's laptop chimed in Mt Lady's hands as it was finally done grading his work. Hawks was looking over her shoulder while Izuku just folded his letters for Rei and put them in their own envelopes. The blonde girl simply had to scroll down and reveal Izuku's score. She took a breath before doing it. "Listen Izuku, you've been out of school for a while, and you did your best. So don't feel bad that you only got... 84/100!?"
"Holy crap!" Hawks exclaimed. Their eyes blew wide open before they looked back at Izuku. He was completely unfazed by their loud reactions. He just simply held the three letters he wrote earlier with a neutral expression.
"Either of you mind taking me to the post office?"
...
"What are you?" Mt Lady- er, Yuu Takeyama asked again. Izuku rolled his eyes as he and his watcher left the post office. Hawks, thanks to his large red wings, would've drawn too much attention, even in civilian clothing. So that just left Mt Lady to look after him for a bit.
"Hey, how about we get a snack? There's a good restaurant near here that got done rebuilding. "We just had breakfast." Izuku countered. "Yeah, a whole hour ago." Yuu shot back. 'You glutton...' Izuku thought but followed nonetheless.
The two of them sat at a booth, Mt Lady scrolling through the sweet side of the menu while Izuku scrolled through his phone. He got a message from Hawks and Mirko respectively.
[Hawks: Being in this bird cage all day is driving me batty! Wanna go flying?]
[Mirko: Fight me!]
Izuku swears he could hear Mirko cracking her knuckles as he read that. He has the rest of his day is open so he could make time for both. A sparring session could be good for him, he doesn't want to be too rusty when the school year starts. And maybe flying through the air would be good in helping him clear his mind. It's good to have animal companions.
"You're order, miss." The waiter said while handing Yuu a to-go box. "Thank you!" she said. Izuku was ready to leave, until something caught his eye. A familiar head of brown hair in a bobcut style. There were too others in front of her, but Izuku barely registered them. He froze in place as he realized the back of who he was staring at. 'Uraraka.'
"Finally, a break!" Mr Uraraka sighed as he slumped down in the booth his family sat down at. Ever since the Green Devil was "executed", construction companies like theirs have been in high demand. Every now and then, they got assistance from Mt Lady, which definitely helped, but the workload was still crazy. Sure, they had cash, which is a nice turnaround, but it's been longer than they would have liked since they've had family time. Ochaco didn't know what was worse, her parents looking depressed or exhausted and boned dry.
The Uraraka's perked up when a waiter came to their table. Strangely though, he already had a tray to place. "Alright, that's three cups of ginseng tea, and a plate of mochi for the young lady. Enjoy, folks." he said while placing the steamimg cups of tea and Ochaco's favorite snack.
Mr Uraraka raised his hand. "Excuse me, we didn't order this. We haven't even browsed the menu yet." The waiter smiled. "It's on the house. You can thank the young green and black-haired gentleman over there for that."
The waiter threw his thumb over his shoulder towards the exit of the restaurant. The whole family followed his thumb, the father and daughter more eager than the mother. They only saw his back briefly, and Ochaco nearly gasped out loud. 'I know that messy hair! But, Zu has black and white hair. Is that really the same guy?'
"Ochaco, do you have something you want to tell us?" Mrs Uraraka said with a sly smirk. Her daughter had been staring at the exit longer than her parents, and her eyes lit up slightly when she saw them. Ochaco looked back to see her mother's playful expression and her father's less than amused face. "Seems like someone has a secret admirer!"
"It's not what you think!" she immediately said with her cheeks going from pink to red.
"He knew your favorite snack and paid for it, even got us tea."
"I can't believe this..." Mr Uraraka muttered, his head buried in his hands hiding his facial expression. "My daughter is talking to a boy behind my back! He even knows what she likes. What next, flowers and teddy bears!?"
"No! None of that!" Ochaco outburst.
Meanwhile, Izuku was walking away with Yuu, the smallest possible smile on his face.
...
"It's been way too long since we flew free together." Hawks commented. He and Izuku were up in the sky, their wings carrying them high above U.A. grounds. As long as they stayed within the huge campus limits, it was fine.
"The only other time was when you were chasing me and I nearly incinerated you." Izuku said plainly, but Hawks brushed that topic off before it could sour things too much.
Hawks took a look at Izuku's wings. They're not far from the usual size he maintained, but they've been bigger. He wanted to have a race with the kid, but with those inhibitor gauntlets, Hawks would easily win. "So, got any goals?" the bird piped up, getting Izuku to give him a questioning sideways glance.
"I don't know why you'd ask me that," Izuku said as he looked ahead. "It's not like I'll be here long enough to see any meaningful goals through." Hawks frowned. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Izuku's had a dark cloud over him for years, and it got drastically worse up until recently. He couldn't be blamed for his pessimism, and it wouldn't change over night.
But it could be pushed away, slowly if need be. "Come on, there's gotta be something you wanna see through besides killing All For One." Hawks persisted, his relaxed smile returning. "Humor me, let's say, hypothetically, in about ten years, you're a free man... Well, as free as you can be. I'm sure that after everything, you'd be ready to retire before even getting a job. My question is... who do see yourself settling down with?"
That question was completely unexpected, Izuku was completely caught off guard by it. He didn't show much signs of being rattled, just slightly widened eyes. His lack of immediate response or dismissal of the notion was all Hawks needed. He had thought about it, or he didn't completely think it was impossible.
He decided to tease. "Oh I get it, too many options to pick just one, huh? Sorry I asked, lady killer." he chuckled.
Fwoosh!*
"Woah!" Hawks narrowly avoided a wave of flames aimed directly at him. He may have pushed a little harder than necessary, but it was worth it to him. Izuku released a loud groan of annoyance.
"If it'll get you to shut up, then... I'll admit I've toyed with the idea of a peaceful life. A family, where certain mistakes would never be repeated."
Hawks smiled. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Izuku scoffed. "Don't bother, it's not like it'll happen."
"Dude, I read your journal. I've literally got a whole list of girls who probably have something for you." Izuku's eyes narrowed into a glare.
"They don't even know my name. My time with them has been a spec in the span of my life. They don't know me at all." Izuku clenched his fist tightly. "I'm done with this pointless topic."
Hawks felt a significant pang to his chest. That word. "Pointless". That was Izuku's stance on dreams, especially his. The very foundation which held him up through harsh years that would've sooner broken others. There was a silence between them, just the wind in their ears for a while.
"...Why did you visit her?" Izuku piped up, grabbing Hawks' attention. "Nagant. I know she was your senior, but she killed the former head of the Safety Commission, not that she can be blamed for that. What drew you to her?"
Hawks scratched the back of his head. "Good question. It was about a year after she was locked up that I decided to visit. It was kinda curiosity on my part, I wanted to hear her side. And what was going on in her head ever since. She was as cold as I was expecting, about as much as you. But even if she didn't believe it, I knew she still had a heroic heart. She killed someone, yeah, but it was because she wanted a better world where people learned from their mistakes. In my opinion, she could've done things a little better."
Izuku looked down over the school they were flying over. He wouldn't let Hawks see the gloss in his eyes. 'Kaina...' he thought. "Sometimes I wonder what my replacement is like. She's quirkless and a brilliant scientist's daughter, which intrigues me. But, she's also with the Yagi's. I have absolutely zero interest in seeing them coddle a child to ease their guilt over abandoning me...!" he growled that last part.
'Ups and downs, but progress,' Hawks thought. 'He's opening up more, but still pretty pessimistic. At least we're on a good path. I can't wait to see him interact with his classmates.' The two boys flew until they reached the main U.A. building. They sought to perch on the roof. Just then, a brown and white blur came straight at Izuku.
The boy put up his hand to catch a punch and raised his leg to meet another, muscular one. "I thought you were patrolling?" Izuku asked. "Barely did anything, now fight me, momma's boy!" Izuku's eyes hardened into a cold glare as he let Mirko fall.
"YOU AAAASSssss...!" she yelled as she plummeted.
Gym Gamma
Mirko was a strange woman, borderline insane. Izuku was well aware of that. Most people, including heroes, would want him dead or seek to stay as far away from him as they could to avoid his wrath. Yet here she was demanding a sparring match with him.
"Is that the best you can do!?" Mirko taunted while rushing in for a roundhouse kick, which Izuku narrowly dodged. She was a melee fighter against a flame quirk user. That alone should put her at a disadvantage. However, Izuku had his inhibitor gauntlets on, leaving him with a tiny fraction of his full power. His flames don't reach far, and Mirko's combat instincts keep her from getting roasted. Flashfire techniques are off the table as they require more firepower than he can put out. And there's something else...
Mirko rushed in for a punch, noticing he was distracted, and socked him right across the face. Izuku recoiled from the blow, and quickly jumped into the air to put some distance between them. It wasn't enough though, as Mirko jumped up and he was met with a knee to the chin. Before Izuku could be sent flying, his leg was grabbed, and he was thrown back to the ground. A heavy thud, followed by a wave of dust from the impact was heard. Izuku coughed out the air that was knocked out of him. The Rabbit Hero was no joke.
Mirko couldn't help but feel disappointed and pissed. Even if Izuku was severely handicapped, he shouldn't be so easy to counter. His quirk is versatile, he's innovative, he can do more. He's just not trying! "What gives, devil? Huh!? You're acting like this is your first fight! You holding back cause I'm a girl or some shit like that!?"
Izuku grunted as he rose up to his feet. "I promise you, that couldn't be further from the truth." "Then what?" Izuku glared straight into her eyes. Her blood red eyes. She has the same eyes as him...! Her manic grin as she attacked. It was infuriatingly familiar. Izuku was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize a rabbit foot with his name on it was coming for his gut.
Izuku grunted as the impact knocked him off his feet again. "Listen kid, you gotta get over whatever mountain of issues you got. I'm not saying forgive and forget, I'm saying conquer!"
Izuku looked at her in surprise, prompting her to elaborate. "I ain't a teacher, but here's something I hold near and dear: don't hold anything back! You don't wanna be on your deathbed wishing you coulda done more, do ya? Well, whether it's now, or way later down the road, that's gonna happen unless you stop letting something that's not even here dictate you! Now fight me, Izuku!" Mirko finished as she leapt from her place and readied an axe kick. She looked down at the quickly approaching young man who had his eyes covered by his hair.
'Maybe a dislocated shoulder will get through to him!' the Rabbit Hero thought, but just as she was about to strike him, her foot ended up colliding with a puff of smoke. "Hah?" Mirko exclaimed in confusion. The next thing she knew, her ears were filled with the sound of combustion, and a blast collided with her back. She grunted as smoke emanated from her white leotard.
"You're encouraging the guy capable of leveling cities to go all out in a fight?" Izuku asked with smoke and popping sounds coming from his palms. Mirko stared at his hands as they emitted miniature green explosions. "You're insane."
Mirko grinned widely. "Heh, you say that, but look who finally started smiling!" It was true. Izuku had a smile on his face. It was much smaller than Mirko's, or Bakugo's for that matter, but it was something. These battle lunatics have rubbed off on him.
Izuku threw his hands behind him. "I guess we're both insane." With two strong blasts, he launched himself into the air, and released another explosion to come rocketing towards the Rabbit Hero. "You're chalk full of hatred, huh?" In response, Mirko flexed her thighs and leapt up to him, readying her leg to meet his explosive right hook. "Nothin' like a good spar to get all that shit outta ya!"
...
"...Dare I even ask?" Nemuri said, coming home to find Izuku standing at the stove with multiple pots cooking and in an apron, while Mirko was stuffing her face on beef curry with carrot strips. More notably, they were both bandaged and bruised.
"According to Recovery Girl, we need to know when to toe the line when we spar." Izuku said without looking up from his cooking. "You were right about one thing, Midnight," Mirko began after finishing her food. "He would make a good househusband!" Izuku didn't dignify that with a verbal response.
Izuku finished dishing up for everyone else, but he didn't touch his food until Nagant walked in, looking fairly ticked off. The first thing Izuku did before eating was ask her what was wrong. Nagant sighed, she knew how damn perceptive Izuku was. There was little point in trying to hide anything from him, so she just came out and said it. "You're dad was asking about you."
Nezu's Office (Earlier)
Nezu had invited Toshinori and Kaina to his office without either of them knowing the other was coming. According to him, it was so the two newest members of the U.A. faculty could meet. However, All Might arrived first, letting Kaina overhear some of what he said to Nezu. Something along the lines of, "I think it would be best for Izuku to spend time at home with his family." That was when Nagant walked in. Despite Nezu's pleasantries, the atmosphere was quite thick.
Kaina was baffled. She'd seen the giant of a man known as All Might, but to think that the frail, little man before her was him? If she hadn't overheard Nezu saying his name, she wouldn't believe. "Lady Nagant." Toshinori began. "All Might. You're a lot smaller than I was expecting." Toshinori felt a slight pang, but brushed it off.
"I heard what you said. Interesting that it takes your kid to almost tear down society for you to feel like taking responsibility."
'She knows. I guess it makes sense since she was stuck in a tiny cell with him.' Toshinori breathed in. "I, and his mother, made mistakes. We have to make it up to him."
Nezu stepped in. "I understand how you feel, All Might, but it's much too soon for that. Before opening such a wound, he needs more time to adjust. You'll have plenty of opportunities to talk during the school year." 'Though, even if Izuku has calmed down some, there's no guarantee he'll give you the time of day. In fact, him completely ignoring you may be the best you could hope for, even if you don't want that.'
"Sir, we need to make up for lost time. He can still live in the dorms, but please, just let him come back to us until then."
"For what? Another reason to cremate everything in sight?" Nagant spat, unable to contain herself any longer. "You clearly don't have any idea what living in your house did to him, otherwise you wouldn't even think about having him come back for even a single day. He was right, you're so eager to put the past in the ground."
Toshinori hardened his eyes. "With all due respect, Lady Nagant, that's not your bus-"
Kachunk!*
Toshinori froze as he was met with a gun muzzle pointed directly at his face, and his colleague's glare. "You're right, that isn't my business. But what is my business is making sure the kids I'm going to be responsible for have a chance at becoming real heroes, not hypocrites with overinflated egos." Toshinori felt like it wasn't just him she was attacking.
Nezu raised his paw. "You two are dismissed. You're going to be colleagues soon, so I'd rather you didn't try to maim each other." On that note, Nagant retracted her sniper arm, and walked by Toshinori, a murderous glint in her eyes. As she reached the door, she had some parting words for the blonde man.
"You disgust me. You, your family, all of you make me sick to my stomach. You're to blame for how the kid turned out, on top of being the embodiment of the atrocious side of hero society. But I won't kill you. It wouldn't be fair of me to rob him of that." With that, he left All Migh- no, Toshinori Yagi an even more deflated man.
Present
Kaina finished telling the tale of her meeting with Izuku's step-dad. If it was anything to go by, she hoped she wouldn't be meeting the rest of his family. But enough about her, what about Izuku? The boy had his fists clenched at his sides and his eyes overshadowed.
"Mirko..." his voice came out in a vicious growl as his head slowly shifted to look over his shoulder at the long-eared heroine. Surprisingly, she shivered as she was met with his petrifying glare. The sight of his livid eyes alight with the fire of his quirk was enough to give anyone a deathly chill. The words out of his mouth made her feel something other than the excitement she thought she would have.
"Round Two...!"
Gym Gamma
Izuku, dressed in his blue and white gym uniform again, walked into the large training area first. Mirko followed soon after. Nagant, Midnight, Mt Lady, Hawks, Aizawa, Recovery Girl, and Nezu were on standby just in case. Mirko insisted they just wait outside, however. "I won't kick his ass too hard." Not very reassuring, but she closed the door before they could dispute.
Not five seconds later, the sounds of explosions, roaring flames and grunts and yells (mostly from Mirko) were heard from the other side. They lasted for a whole five minutes before they finally came to a stop. When they opened the door, it looked like a nuke was dropped in the gym. Smoke filled the air, soot covered the floor and walls, green flames illuminated different areas, and in the center Mirko was still standing, but looked unsteady.
Izuku spit out some blood before walking towards the exit, his uniform partially burned off. He walked up to Nezu first. He stared directly into his dark eyes and spoke with an edge of unquestionable resolve. "I will burn this country down before I spend another minute living with those bastards."
Before going back to the dorm, the last person he passed was Kaina. He whispered a small "Thank you", before leaving.
Meanwhile, Mirko was getting healed by Recovery Girl for the second time. "Remind me, how much of his quirk can he use?" the Rabbit Heroine asked. "10%" Nezu answered. "Bullshit."