Alright for those who don't follow Electric Heart. This chapter is the last new chapter I will be posting for the rest of the year, as December I will be taking the month to go over the chapters posted this year and reviewing them. I might also posted some One-shots that I wrote throughout the years, it's still a toss up of whether I'm going to do so.
Now last time Izuku did his prank on Bakugo and Izuku and Ochaco were on a night time trip the evening before the Sports Festival. Now its time to find out how that little trip went.
As always I do not own MY HERO ACADEMIA or any of their characters.
With that let's begin.
As if going for a leisurely stroll, Izuku calmly walked down the street, with Ochaco next to him. As they walked, Izuku looked across the street and looked over Koji. He was about to walk past an alleyway, seeing this as an opportunity Izuku suddenly dashed across the street. To Ochaco it seemed Izuku had suddenly disappeared and when she looked over Izuku was already halfway across the street.
As Izuku crossed the street, he rushed Koji and tackled the yakuza member into the alleyway. Izuku continued to push Koji deeper into the alleyway until they crashed through a set of trash cans and Koji lost his footing causing him to fall to the ground. As soon as Koji hit the ground, his hand shot into his jacket and he pulled out a gun.
Yet as Koji lifted the gun, Izuku reached forward and grabbed the barrel of the gun and Koji's wrist. Izuku ripped the gun from Koji's hand and then quickly dismantled it. First by pulling the magazine out and throwing it away. He then pulled the slide back, ejecting the bullet that was already chambered. Then Izuku further pulled the slide back, taking it off fully. Izuku then let the two pieces of gun fall onto Koji's chest. Koji looked down at his dismembered gun and then up at Izuku, "Alright, alright, calm down. I have my money in my pocket, if you'll just let me."
"I don't want your money, I want information." Izuku interrupted in a rough voice as he made it deeper. He then reached down and grabbed Koji's shirt and lifted him up enough to knee him in the chest, "Tell me what you know about the Shie Hassaikai raid that happened in december."
When Koji didn't answer, Izuku kneed him in the guts, causing him to spit out blood. Izuku then pulled him up again and said, "Tell me what I want to know."
Koji smiled then slowly spat out more blood then said, "Come on now, you think I'm going to tell you sh321 after you attack me like that. This ain't my first time, buddy." Izuku released Koji and got ready to attack again but froze, his eyes adjusted to the dark alley. Koji was not at all what Izuku was expecting, he held a hand to his knee, as a pained look overcame his face. Izuku saw this and then took a closer look at Koji. His face was a bit sunken in, his shoulders were tired, and not just from the night but from his life. His eyes were dimming from the dark they had held for a long time, "Who are you anyway? Walking away in the dark get up like that, people would think you're up to no good. Then again you are?"
"Crap," Izuku said, dropped Koji to the ground and then held out a hand in an apologetic manner. Koji looked up and scoffed as he hit Izuku's hand away, something Izuku was not taken off by.
"You think a simple hand will make up for what you just did to me. Took away the peace I got from dinner." - Koji stood up and looked at his clothes- "Now I have to go to the dry cleaners again. And I asked a question, who are you anyway?"
"Someone who just made a horrible mistake," Izuku said as Ochaco walked up next to him. She had her hands up and out in front of her ready to attack. She stopped when she looked at Koji and saw Izuku's taken-back demeanor. Something must have happen that had taken him out of big brother mode.
"Well, that much is obvious. What are you doing out this late with your girlfriend, it's a school night. Shouldn't you be at home, asleep?" Koji said as he brushed off his shoulder.
"Sir, I'm sorry about all this, but I need to ask you some questions." Izuku said in a quiet voice so he repeated in a louder voice.
"I told you I ain't telling you anything after what you just did," Koji said as he began to walk back to the street. However, Izuku held his arm out to the side and stopped Koji, "I may not be as young as when I first joined but I can still go through the ringer. So if you are part of some other yakuza family, looking to get the beat on my boss, sorry but that ain't happening."
"We're not a part of any kind of yakuza. We just have some questions about some rumors people heard from you." Ochaco said in a slightly pleading tone.
"What, are you some kind of reporter or something? The rumors I hear ain't that special and don't make a good story." Koji said as he tried to force Izuku's arm out of the way.
"What about the rumors you've been spreading around about last december. Heard you had some information about a late night hit that brought down the Shie Hassaikia." Izuku said, keeping his arm in place. He wasn't letting Koji walk until he got some answer.
"Why would young kids like yourselves be asking questions like that? Yeah there was a late night hit on the Shie Hassaikia. Words said it was about an upcoming rival gang that wanted to make their name known. Hitting up an old yakuza family is a good way to do that, but the Shie Hassaikia's name isn't what it used to be, even before their top members were all arrested." Koji said.
"We heard you know a bit more about that night than just that. Rumors that came from you were saying someone was kidnapped, someone with white hair," Izuku said, looking down at the ground as his arm dropped.
Koji looked at Izuku and saw the stressed and worn-out mental state Izuku was in. Koji sighed and pulled out a cigarette, "Yeah, I was on the side street when a motorcycle came blazing out of an alleyway. Didn't get much of a look, the driver was wearing black clothes and the motorcycle was dark in color. Green maybe, but all I saw was a little girl with white hair, harnessed to the driver. They were clearly in a hurry and the ropes around the girls were messy and the driver made sure as hell to get away from the alleyway as quickly as possible. When I heard about the arrest, I figured the rival gang kidnapped the leader's daughter to hold for ransom or some other reason, but there hasn't been any word on that. I saw them head towards the highway and in the direction of Musutafu of all places. That's where my trail ends." Koji said, walking out towards the street.
He stopped when Izuku called out, "Koji, of the people you've talked to about this. Have any of them expressed too much interest in the girl? Asking questions about who she was or where she could be hidden?" Izuku turned around and bore holes into the back of Koji's head.
"No, everyone seemed interested in what rival gang wanted to take down the Shie Hassaikia so badly. None asked about the girl, in this business ransom and money trade happen a lot." -Koji began walking away but then stopped - "Though there was this one guy, never saw his face since he called me. Still don't know how he knew my number, but he only asked one question about the girl. Wanted to know whether she had a horn on her forehead, along her hairline. Told him, "I didn't get a good look, but it did look like the girl might have had a horn on her forehead."
Izuku's breath increased as he took a step towards Koji, and put a hand on the man's shoulder. Who could be asking about Eri, and why could they possibly know about her horn? "Did you get this man's name?"
"No, he hung up as soon as I answered his question. I'll also give you this info for free, his voice, it was strained. Not like a heavy smoker or old age, more like physical damage had occurred and his vocal chords hadn't healed properly. I swear I could also hear some kind of medical equipment in the background, with the way his voice sounded I figured it had to be some kind of respirator, " Koji said, then Izuku dropped his hand.
"Are you sure this man was the only one that asked about the girl?" Izuku said, his breath becoming shallow. Someone knew about Eri, they had asked about her horn. That wasn't a random question, they wouldn't have asked if they didn't know who she was or what her quirk was and from Koji's description they didn't sound too friendly.
"You're the only other person to ask a question about the girl. The question is why are you asking questions about her? You aren't like her long lost brother or something?" Koji asked.
"No." Izuku said, walking on to Koji. He pulled out his wallet and handed Koji some yen, "Please treat yourselves to more dinner and some dry cleaners. I'm sorry for how I acted." Then before Koji could accept or deny the money, Izuku continued walking. He needed to get out of that alleyway as it was beginning to feel constricting. Izuku hurried out to the street and back across it to the parking garage. He heard Ochaco following him, but he didn't care.
At the parking garage, Izuku pressed the button for the doors to open and stepped in. Ochaco had to run to get in as the doors closed. Without a word, Izuku pressed the button for the top floor and the elevator began to rise. As they rode it, Izuku yelled out, "Damn it." and punched the door. Despite it being made of metal, Izuku's fist left a sizable dent in it.
"Midoriya, just calm down," Ochaco said, as she pulled Izuku's fist away from the door and saw his knuckles were bright red. She held his hand in her own while putting a hand on his shoulder. She could tell how much distress he was in, as he wasn't the kind of person to easily swear. He looked at her and they locked eyes. "It's just one guy."
"One villain. A villain, because who else would care about Eri's quirk. He asked if Eri had a horn on her forehead. I don't know how the villain knew to ask about that but clearly they have some idea about Eri's quirk. And if Koji is right, that there was medical equipment in the background, I have a pretty good guess of why they want Eri's quirk." Izuku said.
"To heal themselves." Ochaco guessed and Izuku nodded, "But she doesn't have control over her quirk, she could as easily kill them as easily as she could heal them. The villains might not know about that."
"It doesn't matter whether Eri can control her quirk, this villain is looking for her. They might just want to heal themselves, but what happens when they look a bit further into what Eri's quirk can do. Mr Aizawa was right, Eri's quirk could act like a fountain of youth, but it can also act like a quirk destroyer and who knows maybe even more. If this villain was asking questions about Eri, then chances are they were looking for her. Meaning she isn't safe." Izuku said, stopping as Ochaco got the point. Nor did he want to think about it any further.
"I understand that you want to protect Eri, but there will always be the monster in the closet, under the bed, after she turns off the lights. You won't always be able to protect her, but isn't that why you're teaching her? To protect herself from the monster in the dark." Ochaco said as she rubbed Izuku's knuckles.
"You're right. It's just… When I first saw Eri, my heart sunk. I couldn't imagine what she had gone through to get to that state and now she's smiling. I won't want her to lose that again, because then she'll never come back. Villains are horrible people that don't care about other people. They just see people as a means to an end and I can't stand that. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on Mr Aizawa when he offered to help teach Eri how to use her quirk," Izuku said, as the elevator dinger and the door opened.
"I knew it. I knew Mr Aizawa had to be a good softie." Ochaco cheered, then covered her mouth, "Sorry. But you're serious, he offered to teach Eri how to control her quirk. I thought he took every free moment he could."
"No, it's okay. Besides I have some dirt on our teacher, he likes cats. Practically adore them." Izuku said, causing Ochaco to laugh and Izuku joined her. They continued to laugh as they got on Izuku's motorcycle and drove home. Izuku was glad Ochaco had forced him to allow her to come along. Even though Izuku had made some mistakes, Ochaco helped him rebound and not sulk in those mistakes. For that, he was greatly appreciative of her.
After dropping Ochaco off at her apartment, Izuku drove home. Walking his motorcycle back the last few houses, to help not wake anyone up. He walked his motorcycle into the garage silently walked upstairs and went to bed. Before he fell asleep, he saw that it was 1:30 in the morning. Izuku knew he was going to have to deal with the lost sleep for the sports festival. Not wasting time to get changed, Izuku crawled into bed and went to sleep.
Izuku suddenly woke up hearing a knocking on his bedroom door. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Izuku walked over and opened the door. Standing outside was Eri with tears rolling down her cheeks. Izuku sighed as Eri was still having nightmares and would come to Izuku's room to feel safe.
"Are you okay Eri? Did you have a nightmare?" Izuku asked as he crouched down to hug Eri. However, Eri took a step back and began to shake like she was scared.
"I told you, he would find me. He always finds me and kills people because of me. I told you couldn't protect me." Eri said. Izuku became extremely confused, as the only person Eri had ever referred to like that was Overhaul and Izuku would have heard if Overhaul had broken out of prison. It would have been on the news or at least on hidden channels Mareo listened to and Izuku would have been the first person he told. Izuku took a look at Eri and found she wasn't wearing her normal bright red pyjamas, she was instead wearing her old hospital gown and her arms and legs were wrapped in strained medical gauze.
"Eri, why are you wearing that?" Izuku said. It shouldn't be possible, he had the hospital burn them. Eri didn't say anything but turned and ran away into the darkness of the hallway. Izuku leaned out into the hallway and looked in the direction that Eri had run off in, but she had disappeared into the darkness, a darkness that made the hallway appear as if it never ended.
"Because she knows who she belongs to. You might be able to hide her from that truth, with her new clothes and fancy pajamas, but deep down she will always know she belongs in rags." A voice came from behind Izuku. Izuku locked his jaw as he stood up and turned to face Overhaul. He was wearing his plague mask and his green jacket that had purple fur around the collar, with his white gloves, while his eyes looked demonic, "So you're the little brat who thought they could stop me. A High Schooler, who doesn't even deserve to be a pro hero, but tries so hard to fight against who he knows he is. You don't even know what I'm capable of."
Izuku transformed his arm and said, "I think I've got a pretty good idea." Izuku then rushed forward and fired an orange bullet at Overhaul. It went off right in front of his eyes, giving Izuku time to get in close and clothesline Overhaul, "You are never getting Eri back and you will never hurt her again."
"Eri will always belong to me." Overhaul said, as he slowly got his hands under and scoffed as if Izuku's attack did nothing. Overhaul then activated his quirk, his glove blowing apart as he pressed his hand hard against the ground. The floor instantly broke apart and Izuku and Overhaul dropped to the living room below. Izuku landed on the couch and felt it break apart. Not allowing himself to freeze, Izuku quickly rolled off of the couch and saw Overhaul reaching for him. Izuku kicked Overhaul's hand and rolled away, giving him time to spring back onto his feet.
As soon as Izuku was back on his feet, he looked around, but couldn't find Overhaul. Now it was Eri standing right in front of him. "I thought you could be the one that would finally rescue me, but you're just like all the others. You couldn't protect me and you're going to die because of your failure."
"I haven't failed yet, Overhaul is somewhere in this house and I can stop him," Izuku said as he took a small step toward Eri. She was frightened and Izuku knew if he got too close too quickly, she could panic and run away.
"Eri, you know the pain and suffering you've caused to those around you. You are nothing but cursed and you'll always harm those around you, including your 'older brother'. You're sick like the rest of the world and I'm just trying to protect you." Overhaul said as he appeared in the doorway that separated the living room from the dining room. Eri turned and began to walk towards Overhaul.
"Eri, no. You're not cursed and you've never hurt me. You healed me, remember, I was injured and you healed me. The world isn't sick, you remember the blue sky and the green trees, you called them beautiful. Overhaul wanted to destroy all that and he'll use you to do it." Izuku said.
"Shut up, you don't know the pain and suffering she caused. She killed people and she knows it. She is not as pure as you think she is, she's cursed and never who you want her to be." Overhaul said.
"She's never killed anyone, you've killed people! Her soul is still pure and I'll do anything to keep it that way!" Izuku yelled as he felt his anger begin to boil. He then turned back to Eri and calmed his voice so as not to scare her, but it was forced, "Please, you don't have to go with him. You don't have to suffer anymore, I'll protect you. Please Eri."
"Yes she does. She's killed people and she's going to hell for it." Overhaul said.
Izuku growled and stood up, drawing his shoulder down to stand at his full height, his right arm hanging by his side but tightly coiled to attack. He stared Overhaul in his demonic eyes but did not show any fear or signs of backing down. "If she killed people, I accept her for that. If she's going to hell for that, I'll go with her, I'm never leaving her again." Izuku raised his right arm and transformed it. He aimed right at Overhaul's head and within a second his arm ached from the pressure that quickly built up. With a roar of nothing but anger, Izuku didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, feeling more of emotional release than anything else, "I'm not going to lose Eri to the likes of you."
The world slowed as the bullet came out of Izuku's barrel. He got a good view of it and found that it wasn't just purple and green, there were streaks of white in it, white like Eri's hair. Izuku watched as the bullet flew through the air and got close to Overhaul's head. Izuku didn't care what happened to him if he killed Overhaul and he was sent to jail because of it. Eri was pure and innocent and Izuku was willing to do anything to keep her like that.
The bullet went through Overhaul's head, but he didn't collapse as he should have. Izuku watched as Overhaul's head healed, first blood vessels stringing back together. Then brain matter filled the void, only to be covered by bone and then skin. All the while Overhaul laughed, "Have you not realized it yet little hero, I'm Eri's curse and as long as I live, she will never be safe." Overhaul then reached forward and grabbed ahold of Eri
Izuku yelled, not wanting to see what Overhaul would do to Eri and rushed forward, but then he woke up. He flew out of bed as he got back on his feet, his arm transformed and he aimed in front of him. Izuku almost fired off a shot as in his mind Overhaul was still staying in front of him. Izuku then blinked several times and reality came back into focus. He was standing in his empty bedroom and was aimed right at the door, then suddenly a knock came from the door.
It opened and Eri walked into, "Are you awake big brother." Izuku quickly transformed his arm back and fully stood up, "Oh you are. We were calling you for breakfast, but you didn't come downstairs."
"Sorry, Eri. Just warming up for the day." Izuku said, as relaxed, he walked forward and gave Eri a small hug. More than happy to know that everything was a dream and that Eri was safe and Overhaul was still stuck in jail. Izuku tightened his hug then released Eri and stood up, keeping her hand within his, "What's mom making?"
"Rice with egg and Salmon." Eri said, then as they walked out of Izuku's room she looked up at Izuku's hair, "Why is your hair black, were you making bullets?"
Izuku had completely forgotten about his hair being dyed black as he ran his hand through it. He would need to wash it out before heading downstairs, or Inko would find it suspicious, "Why don't you go downstairs and tell mom, I'll be down in a bit."
"Okay," Eri said, nodded and headed down the stairs. Izuku sighed as he watched Eri disappear downstairs. Overhaul's face from his dream was still fresh in his mind, so Izuku had to remind himself that Chisaki was in jail and wasn't going to get out any time soon. Izuku walked over to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Not waiting for the water to warm up, Izuku hopped in and rinsed the hair dye off. Within a few minutes, the black dye was gone and Izuku turned off the shower.
He quickly dried his hair with the blower dry, before returning to his room to change into a fresh pair of clothes. After grabbing his shoes, wallet, phone and a pair of socks, Izuku headed downstairs for breakfast. Once downstairs Izuku was greeted by the smell of rice and salmon, and his stomach immediately growled.
"Hey you two." Izuku announced his presence as he walked into the kitchen. A smile planted on his cheek to hide his inner struggle from the night prior.
"Hey Izuku." Inko asked, as she grabbed a plate full of food and brought it over to Izuku as he sat down at the table. She had given him an extra portion in preparation for the Sports Festival, "Are you excited for the Sports Festival, hon?"
"I am." Izuku took a bite of salmon, it was sweet on his tongue and he could think of nothing else than eating more, "You have your tickets for the parent's area."
"Actually Principal Nezu called me last night, told me our tickets had been upgraded to the teacher's booth." Inko said as she sat down next to Eri and across from Izuku.
Izuku looked over at Inko and was confused as to why Principal Nezu would do such a thing, especially since Izuku hadn't done anything but cause trouble for UA, "Did he say why?"
Inko sneakily pointed to Eri and mouthed, "He said it was to help keep Eri out of the crowd and wanting to protect her."
Izuku nodded and mouthed back, "I didn't even think about that, Eri in a loud crowd like that. I'll have to thank Principal Nezu." Yet Principal Nezu rarely did something for a simple and singular reason other than that, so what else was the mouse playing at? But that was a mystery to solve at a later time.
"We've got 10 minutes before we need to head out and pick up Uraraka, eat quickly," Inko said as she picked up Eri and they walked off to finish getting ready for the day. Izuku was left alone at the table so his mind thought about how after day everything was going to be so different, Class 1-A names were going to be known and pro heroes were going to be sending in offers for internships.
Everyone's future was going to change, as after today their future as pro heroes would begin. They would choose their hero names, do internships and show the world who they were.
Izuku tried not to dwell on his future as nothing was guaranteed and chances were things won't go as planned and Izuku was worried about the wrong thing. Izuku finished his breakfast and put his plate in the sink. As he walked to the front door to wait for Eri and Inko, he slipped into his socks and shoes. Inko and Eri soon arrived at the front door and Izuku held the door open for them. They walked out to the car and Izuku sat in the back after clipping Eri into her booster seat.
Inko drove the car out of the neighborhood, and then Izuku gave her directions to Ochaco's apartment building. As they drove into the parking lot, Izuku spotted Ochaco sitting on the steps that led up to her apartment. Izuku leaned out the window and waved to get her attention. Ochaco smiled as she slipped in opposite of Izuku and gave a high five to Eri. "Hey, Eri, are you excited to see your big brother beat the snout out of our classmates."
"I ask that you don't refer to the Sports Festival like that." Izuku said, as he groaned and hit his head on the headrest in front of him. He looked over at Ochaco as Inko began driving towards UA, "You sleep alright?" A genuine question as she had been up late with him.
"Took a bit to fall asleep, there's been a lot of stress on my mind the past few days, but yeah I'm good." Ochaco said, clipping her seatbelt in, "I know I'll sleep hard today, if nothing else because my body will just pass out."
"Amen to that," Izuku said as he yawned a bit. Ochaco yawned back and said, "Jerk." Izuku chuckled but after that the rest of the ride was quiet. Everyone was quiet as Inko turned into UA's parking lot and they got out of the car. Izuku led the group across the street to the front gate, where he and Ochaco scanned their student IDs and Inko scanned her and Eri's tickets.
After walking through a pair of metal detectors they were waved down with a metal detector stick. Once they were all cleared, the security guard directed them to a trolley that would take them to the first-year stadium. They walked over to the trolley the guard pointed out and Eri began insisting on Izuku's lap for the ride.
This just reaffirmed Izuku that Principal Nezu had made the right call to get Eri out of the crowd. They soon arrived at the stadium, where Inko began to read Principal Nezu's instructions on how to get to the teacher's booth. Izuku, carrying Eri, and Ochaco followed her through the hallway until they reached an elevator and Inko had to input a code for the elevator to be called out.
When it arrived they all stepped in, where Inko had to input another code, which Izuku remarked on, "Mr Aizawa wasn't lying when he said security was being beefed up." Ochaco nodded in agreement.
After a short ride, they arrived on the top floor and walked into a small hallway that at the end was a small room that had a single door. After walking down the short hallway, Inko walked up to the door and knocked, Izuku could hear footsteps on the other side and a few seconds later the door opened and revealed Principal Nezu standing on All Might's shoulders.
"I'm glad to see you were able to find the elevator without too much trouble." Principal Nezu said as he bowed to Inko.
"It would have been hard to get lost, since you had everything mapped out, even our footsteps." Inko said as she stepped into the room pulling out her phone and waving it back and forth. Behind her, Izuku, Eri and Ochaco walked in. As Izuku walked into the room, he saw what looked like a corporate business meeting room, except there was no table and all the chairs were facing the window.
He also noticed Ochaco quietly sneaking over to a pair of refrigerators. "Miss Uraraka, you need only ask." Principal Nezu said as he climbed down All Might. Ochaco froze as she was called out and all of the teachers that were in the room looked over at her. Izuku looked over at the teachers and noticed three were missing.
"Where's Present Mic, Eraserhead, and Midnight?" Izuku said as he looked back at Principal Nezu.
However, it was All Might that was answered. "Midnight if referring. And since he lost the coin toss, Eraserhead is in the announcer's booth with Present Mic." All Might is quite happy he wasn't the one to lose the toss coin.
"Oh." was all Izuku could say as he tried not to be amused over how much dread his homeroom teacher experienced after losing the coin toss. Something he was most likely to repay in class. As Izuku struggled not to smirk, Ochaco returned with a sandwich and a water bottle.
"The festival is beginning soon so it would be for the best if you two joined the rest of your class in the waiting area." Principal Nezu said, nodding to the door. Izuku and Ochaco nodded back and began walking back to the door. However, Izuku realized he still had Eri on his shoulder. He stopped lifted her over his head and put her on the ground.
"I know you'll be cheering for me." Izuku said, holding his hand for a fist bump.
"Family through and through." Eri said as she returned Izuku's fist bump, Izuku winked then walked over and met Ochaco at the door. They quickly walked out and back over to the elevator, which Izuku pressed the button for. Once the doors opened they stepped inside and Izuku pressed the button for the ground floor.
Ah, what's better time nightmare then to help get you in the mood for one of the biggest event that can change the course of your life.
But after talking to Koji, Izuku thinks that Eri might not be as safe as he thinks or hoped for. And with that on his mind his subconscious present him with the worst case scenario in the form of a dream.
And now with his mind so heavily focused with Izuku be about to focus on the Sports Festival and do the distance. Find out next year as the Sports Festival begins.
Next Chapter: Racing Through The Stadium.
Review and tell me what you think