Chapter 35: Invite
"Ouch." Izuku sat up and pulled two Elixirs from his utility belt, passing one to Katsuki. The blond grabbed it with his non-carbonized hand and opened the vial with his teeth, downing it all in a single gulp, Izuku imitated him. The boys were covered by a solid green and golden glow.
"Ah, better." Katsuki sighed in relief, feeling his arm and seeing the damage was gone.
"Yeah. Shame Elixirs are so expensive." And hard to make, Izuku only had one more in case of an emergency.
"Fucking captalist albino moles." Katsuki had read the Moggles entry in his friend's journal. He wasn't impressed.
"Kacchan!"
"Fuck you, Deku!"
Both boys broke down laughing, still riding the high of their victory. Say what you want; they threw hands with the Symbol of Peace for almost half an hour and survived to tell the tale in mostly one piece. That's more than what 99% of the global population could boast.
"GOOD TO SEE YOU TWO STILL HAVE ENERGY TO LAUGH!" All Might's usual flare was back, the man's smile looking more genuine. "I KNOW YOU TWO WANT NOTHING MORE THAN REST AFTER THIS, BUT WE STILL HAVE TO GIVE YOU KIDS YOUR SCORES!"
"How the actual fuck did you guys grade us already?"
Izuku poked his friend's exposed arm, "Nezu."
"Stupid question, forget it." Katsuki pushed himself back up, struggling with the weird feeling of being perfectly fine, thanks to the Elixir, and completely beat, thanks to All Might. Don't get him wrong; he didn't want to explain to Recovery Girl why his arm looked like a chunk of coal, but damn, that was weird. "Be honest; we wouldn't keep up even with your miracle juice, right?"
"I think my bones would snap if I took another building to the face."
"I'll take that as a 'probably' but say we still could nail All Might a few more times."
The man in question laughed and picked the boys up, holding them under his arms like two sacks of potatoes, "I'LL TAKE YOU WORD FOR IT, YOUNG BAKUGO!" He sure wouldn't have been able to put up this much of a fight for the boys if he hadn't been healed earlier that year. These kids are scary!
"What's with you two and carrying people?"
Izuku scratched his chin, "It's faster." More importantly, who wouldn't like to get a lift from All Might?
"Point. Up and away, old man!"
"He's not old!"
The two boys' friendly bickering and All Might's laughter sounded through the destroyed test zone as they sped away.
—
"Why the fuck did I get a ninety-eight?!" Katsuki barking complaints surprisingly didn't break the calm of the moment. He, along with Izuku, Ochaco, Tenya, and Tsuyu, was walking through U.A.'s sunset-lit campus on their way to the train station. The group was the last one to leave, as Izuku had to place an order for repairs to Katsuki and his gear with Mei.
The mad inventor said she could get the suits fixed in a day, but she would need a couple of weeks to get their respective gauntlets rebuilt from scratch, in part thanks to all the new materials she wanted to experiment with.
They didn't have any problems waiting a little more so Mei could have her fun, so both gave the green card and left not long after, meeting with the rest of the current group waiting for them on the way out.
"Why are you complaining?" Tsuyu felt pretty good about her practical score of 92, having done a great support role and performing a takedown at the end to get them the win.
"The two points were from 'excess damage caused to one-self,' so, of course, I'm pissed!" He jabbed a finger at Deku's stupid face, "This fuck can get away with breaking his bones, but I can't spontaneously combust? Where's the damn fairness in that?!"
Izuku laughed at Kacchan's rant, "Hey, I got a ninety-six! You scored higher than me and still complain?"
Tenya let out a tired sigh, "I agree with their assessment of your performance. In which situation cutting a building is a viable course of action?"
"It worked alright in The World That Never Was." Izuku's smile diminished some at his own comment, bad memories creeping up, many fragmented like broken glass but still painting somber pictures of his time in the city at the edge of Nothing.
A hand with soft pads held his arm. Izuku looked at Ochaco, her brown eyes shining with sympathy and support. "Thanks."
The girl shook her head, "Don't worry." There was a lull of silence, not heavy, not peaceful, but a fine line between a good and a bad form of quiet.
Izuku shook his head, now wasn't the time to mope about stuff, "I saw your test. 'Didn't know you could use magic like that, Ochaco."
"Yeah, what the fuck, Pink Cheeks? You stole my thunder!"
"Sorry, I…" Ochaco stared at her hand, feeling the soft buzz of magic and the heaviness of Gravity at the tips of her pads. "I don't know how I did that. One moment I was flying, the next I just… I just knew." She closed her hand, feeling uncertain of herself like never before.
Izuku's hands held hers, the girl startling at the gesture. His eyes were as bright as his smile, unshakable faith clear to see, "Hey, don't worry about that. I know better than anyone how scary it is to feel like you don't know yourself, but no matter what, know you have us." He traded glances with their friends, their presence a constant safe harbor against every storm.
A soft smile broke through her earlier gloominess like a flower blooming.
"̴̡̻͕̪͍͇̞͎̱̒̀͌͋ͅĨ̷̢̛̛̭̰̦̱̯̹͈̩͇̖̺̈́́̊͑̀̃͗̐̌͝ ̸̝̄ẅ̴̥͈̳͓̪̙̲̙͕̖́̎̈́̋̌̈́̈́̌͗̕͘͠i̵̧̡̢͙̣͓̪͇͕͉̫̙̍͌̍̈́͗͝l̵̢̡̛͙̗͖̙͔̪͈̄́̑͋̑̅̎̌̍̾̉̌͜͝ͅl̷̢̊͊̚͠ ̸̡̯̰͚̈́̌͜a̶̛̪̺̫̱̗͔͌̓͂̇̏l̷̨̠͓͈̤̻͈̙̣͇̔͆̓̋̌̀̾̿w̷̨̢̧̧̪̥̫͈̤͊̈̅̏͋̓̌ͅa̷̧̤̘͖̜̠̲̼̝͍͌͑̈̊̈́̀̃͌̏͜͝y̴͔̖̘͕̙̝̯͕͉͎̽̓͘͜s̷͇̳̦̝͚̰̝̞̙͕̻̮͋͊̑̾͐̂̿͊̎̕͝ ̶͇̥̟̖̈͝b̶̭̈́͠e̶̡̻͚̟̤̙̫͕̿́̉̾̃̈͗̉̉̓͝ ̶̡͚̹̝̖̞̥͚̈́͒̋͆̓ţ̷̠̤͈̖̞͇̒̑̏̿̐͒̈h̴̢̢̯̹̗̤̐́̃̓̌̌̊e̷̢̞̺͕͕̘̿̌͋r̵̨̢̡͉͎͙͍͕̼̦͜͝ĕ̶̪̱̹̆̓͋͌̇̔̽̊̓̽̒̕ ̶̨͈̘̆̀̍̅̓̅̒͗̓̃͝͝f̷̜̘̎̄̚o̶̙̜̦̙͉͚̭̟͌̎̔͗͜͝ŗ̷̗̏̆͌̽̑́̒͆͗͒̊͘͜ ̸̹̮̘̣͙̲̞̳̫̓y̶̨̩̜͔̰͔̜̝͍̠̩̤̮̽͘͜͠ọ̷̧̙̺̫̱͇͉͇͂̿̄̋̈́̏ų̴͓͇͙̰̬͇̥̹̘͍̟̂͋̐̾̈́͐͗ͅ,̶̜̭̻̩̼͓͗̑͗̑̐̓͛̎̄͌́̀͘͜ ̷͈̪̥͎̠̗̲̼͕̙̪̙̅͒m̷̢̫͎̜͍̤͕̹͍̪͚̯̲̆̋y̸̻̹̩͎̼̗̬̺̮̍̃͂͒̀̑͋͒̽͘͝ ̸͎̘̭̈́̈́Ŕ̸̡͎̪͍̯̤̳͉̻͙̑̍̌͛͋͂̇̊̒̌̓̕o̷͖̿̍́̚͘ş̴̛̥̦̮̗͚͓̹̠̹̭͈́͑̃̍͂̂͆͋̀͘e̵̛͓͖͓͉̅̈́̍̿̈́̅͝͠.̵̙̬̱̺̩̤̭̜͈̟̮̝͚͌ͅ"̷̡̧̨̛͍̦̩̳͕̮͓͈̠̆́̾́̒̍̈́̀͒̋̔̌͝
"Thanks. You guys are the best."
"Of course we are." Katsuki even left the chance to tease the two dorks holding hands slip not to ruin the moment, he deserved a damn medal.
"Now, let's make haste. I'm sure that we all plan on celebrating our victory with our families!" Tenya's good-intentioned words, unfortunately, ended with him shooting his foot.
Ochaco's face fell, remembering the only thing waiting for her was an empty apartment and leftovers from yesterday.
That hadn't gone unnoticed by Izuku, unlike how Tenya got a tongue slap on the back of the head and an elbow to the ribs. He knew how Ochaco's parents didn't live with her, but the chip only now fell that she spent most of her time alone.
He didn't like that. He didn't like that one bit.
Still holding her hand, Izuku pulled her, breaking into a jog to the school gates, "C'mon."
"D-Deku? Wait up!" To say Ochaco was surprised and confused would be an understatement. She knew her friend was spontaneous and worked on his own wavelength, but even for him that came from left field.
"No." A plan was quickly forming in his head, one that he kicked himself for not thinking about it sooner. He shouted over his shoulder, "Kacchan, tell Aunty to send the good stuff to my house!"
It spoke volumes about their relationship that Katsuki actually knew what Izuku was talking about, "The good stuff or the good stuff?"
"You know which one!"
At Tsuyu and Tenya's confused stares, Katsuki only sighed, "How those fucks aren't married already, I'll never know." He gave a two-finger salute and bolted after the distant duo.
Tsuyu nodded, "He has a point."
"Yes." Tenya adjusted his glasses, the sunset glinting off them hiding his amused eyes, "Yes, he does."
Already far away, Izuku pulled Ochaco into the train to her apartment, embarking on it too. He pulled up his phone at her surprised and confused stare and texted the only person he could count on in that situation.
Master: Eri?
Princess: Yes?
Master: Code Big Day!
Princess: :)
Izuku never felt as proud, happy, and terrified to see a smiley on his chat feed.
"Deku!" Fed up with it, Ochaco grabbed Izuku by the cheeks, smushing them, "Can you explain what you're doing, or do I need to pinch your cheeks?"
"You won't."
"Try me."
"Okay." He blew her a raspberry, earning a double pitch that left his cheeks red when she finally let go. Izuku held his face with tears in his eyes, "Mistakes were made."
"Now, spill!"
"Fine, fine." He glanced at her, pure mischief in his eyes, "I'm kidnapping you!"
Ochaco's blank face and flat look spoke volumes at what she thought of that, "No, you're not."
"Yes, I am!"
"Not."
"Am."
"Not."
"Am!" He poked her nose, earning a yelp instead of a comeback. "Ha, I win!"
She held her nose, mostly from shock, "Why did you do that?!"
Misunderstanding what she meant, Izuku explained his incredible plan, "I know you live by yourself while your parents work back in your home prefecture, but there's no way I'll let you spend today alone." The boy was almost glowing with his determination to see his plan through, "We just passed our exams; we have to celebrate! So, we're going to your home to get your stuff, then we are gonna pass by the supermarket to grab some stuff, and then we're having an awesome party back at my home!"
Ochaco kept her hands on her face, but now it was to hold back a sob. Of course. Of course, he would do something like that. Of course, Deku would take matters into his own hands to see she wouldn't be the only one ending her day all by her lonesome while everyone else created more happy memories.
Dammit, now she acknowledged it, she loved him too much. And the worst part, he only made it harder to not love him more.
Rubbing away the tears building at the corner of her eyes, Ochaco smiled, "Thank you." She knew better than to try changing his mind. Deku would protect everyone's smile; he was an awesome hero like that.
—
After Nana kicked Yoichi's butt for being an irresponsible enabler and a bad influence, and revoking his grandpa (in an indirect and very roundabout way) rights to mess with Izuku, she went back to her post in time to see Izuku coming up with his new plan.
Most times, she would be sweating buckets from having to watch his crazy ideas. This time though, Nana was having the time of her life.
She was the reason Toshinori was a sucker for romance, and those two were just precious.
While regretting the fact she was out of popcorn, Nana was watching everything while trying to contain her happy squeals.
Izuku, sweet, kind, dense Izuku, was hopping in place while putting his scheme into practice, not noticing how Ochaco looked at him. The girl, bless her heart, had it bad.
Damn, Nana rarely saw so much fondness in the eyes of people. The admiration. The care. The joy. All of it behind a simple look that meant so much.
Now that she stopped to think about it, maybe it was a little strange seeing so much feeling in her eyes when she was just dancing around her feelings not three hours ago…
Nana shot him a suspicious glance. The Other Izuku looked back with a grin from his own place at the edge of the pillar. The brat definitely knew more than he was letting on.
Let it be known that Nana was a woman of priorities. She could drill him for answers at any time, but this show was as rare as a blue moon, so she wisely decided to hunt for answers (that she probably won't get) later. Now, back to gushing about her little dork and his girl.
—
That's a bad idea. Ochaco shouldn't have agreed, she should have jumped off the train and walked back alone. She should have used her new Gravity magic to throw Izuku on the next continent.
"It's fine, Ochaco. My room always gets messy when I leave Eri and Cotton alone on it for too long, and I'm sure your place won't be nearly as bad." Izuku doubted she could top having a Balloon and Confetti combo going off under his bed.
"That doesn't make me feel better."
Izuku sighed, not seeing how that was such a big deal, "I can go blindfolded if you want." He pulled his scarf over his eyes, tightening the knot behind his head.
Ochaco giggled and rolled her eyes. Leave it to Deku to put her comfort over something silly like that and somehow make her smile all at the same time, "And how are you gonna get there in the first place?"
"I'll just follow my heart."
"And if you have to cross a street?"
"Don't worry. Danger Sense is on."
"Deku, no!"
"Deku, yes!"
They broke down laughing, having fun even while arguing. There was no heat behind their words in the first place, and both always knew when the other was being silly for the sake of being silly.
Ochaco pulled his scarf down, "It's fine. I prefer you see my house than get hit by a truck."
"Yeah, I don't think my bones can take another one."
"Wait, when did you get hit by a truck?"
"All Might practiced his swings with one as the bat and me as the ball when I tried to buy Kacchan time to catch his breath."
The girl shouldn't have been surprised, "Yeah, that makes sense. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. The truck didn't survive, though."
"A tragedy."
They tried their absolute best to not crack, but snickers escaped their lips, and laughter followed soon after. Ochaco found it so unfair that they could make each other happy by being themselves. Don't get her wrong, she liked all her friends, but no one else clicked with her like Deku did.
"It's just up ahead." She gestured to the low-end residential building up ahead, a four-story tall concrete block with signs it had seen better days apparent from a glance.
"It's not that bad." Izuku saw worse, like Gran's house.
Ochaco flicked the blue dreamcatcher on his braid, making the boy yelp, "You're thinking something rude."
"Not about you."
"That doesn't make it better!"
Izuku just shrugged, conceding the point.
Going up the side stairs to the fourth floor, they walked to the very last door. Ochaco fuzzed with her keys before unlocking it and letting Izuku in first. When the boy set foot inside and took out his shoes, he instantly had his eyes drawn to a portrait by the door.
It was of Ochaco and her parents. Her father was a man built from a life of hard work. Her mother looked just like her (or the other way around actually). Both looked tired but proud of their daughter, who was posing in her U.A. uniform.
"We took this one just before I moved here." The girl passed by her friend, a bittersweet smile on her face, "They said it was a way for them to see me off every morning."
"They sound like great parents."
"They're the best."
Izuku looked around the house, seeing it was a one-room that doubled as everything, with only one other door that should be the bathroom. The house was bare, with only photos really giving it personality. There were more of Ochaco and her parents, some of their friends, and one of their whole class after the battle trial.
But beyond that, there was nothing. No, not nothing, but too little. Too little for someone who deserved so much.
If there was one thing Izuku regretted, it was not coming there sooner, not doing what he was about to do sooner. "Ochaco."
"Yeah. I know it isn't much, but-" Ochaco's words were cut off by Izuku's hands landing on her shoulders. The boy's eyes were soft, but she could see he would do something and wouldn't let anyone stop him.
"Every day, after we work our butts off, you come back here."
"Yes?"
"To this place."
"Yes?"
"To be alone."
That was the part that killed him. It wasn't about having things, a big house, or whatever. It was about Ochaco only having pictures to make her company.
A white room.
A lonely girl who deserved better.
Two times you let that happen.
Are you really letting a third too?
…
Y̶̧̗͑ò̶͎̊̀̅̔́́u̴̯͗'̸̺̹̼̺̳̳͋̓̔̽r̸̩̥̼̘͜͠ͅȩ̵̮͗̏̈́̃̃͠ ̶̧̙̦̤̩̒̋͛̆̿̋̎̕͝͝b̶͖͔̜̟͗̈̐́̃͂̚͠e̵̻̖̰̹̱͚͆̎̄̇t̴͍̄͆ẗ̴̨̗̠̫̪̹̯̲̅̒͊ẽ̶̢̨̤̥͍͉̠̱̯͔͋̾͐r̸͖͖̪̘̮͈̗̲̈́̀̈́̓̔͑̓ ̶̢͚͓̺̫̳̪̑͑͒͛́̇̂͝ţ̵̠͉̜̳͙̤̈́̔̆͆̓͛̑̃̅͒h̷͍̜̣̙̭̖͂͒̾͗̍̃̎͝͝ͅȃ̵̧̜̻̮̥̦̱̹̹̎̑̈̊̿̔̈́͐ǹ̸̢̫͔̼̳̳͂́ ̸̳̰̫͖͓͖̅̎̄̏̊͋͒ţ̵̢̦̰̳̣͕̐ḣ̶̟̪̭̮̬͙̤͒͊̀̄͛͘͠å̸̖̙̣̘͂̓̈́͛̕͜͝͠ẗ̸̺́̈́̇,̸̣̏͂̽͑̌͒͂̕͜ ̴͙̭̊l̸̳̣͍̯̤̥̙̰̂̆̓́͗̊̀̃ĭ̴̡͕̳̅̇͊ṫ̴͕̫̜̭͑̚t̶̘̳̊́̾ͅl̷͙̻̯͎̽̉́̊̈́͘e̸̜͕̹̺̳̮̳̦̝͙͗̽̋͆ ̶̢̠͕̦̦͇̫̺̟̓̀͋̾́ͅH̸͔̯̺̥̩̾̃͋̀͂͗͝ę̸̢̼̤̰̠͔͋̆̍̈̊̿̎̅͘ͅr̷̨̛͙̦͍͎̲̯̽͒͐̄́̀̚̚͝ǫ̶̱͙͍̙̘̲̅͛̈̆͗́͂.̸̨̖̱͒͐̈̋
The bout of static that filled his mind came and went in a flash, but Izuku's heart hardened into steel. He was done leaving the people he cared about alone. He was done leaving them to cry by themselves, thinking there wasn't anyone there for them!
"No."
"No?"
"Not anymore, you won't!" That's it, time to throw the plan out the window and improvise! "Grab everything. I'll carry it, so leave nothing behind."
"Wait, what?!"
"I'm really kidnapping you now!"
Ochaco stepped back, waving her hands over her face in a panic, "Wow, hold on! I can't just leave my home behind like that!"
"Is that truly your home?" Izuku was getting angry, with himself mostly, but he didn't let it bleed into his voice, "Do you like coming back to this place? Or do you prefer to leave it to go to school and be with us?"
Her silence was telling. Still, Izuku wasn't done. He wouldn't be done until he made sure t̶̻̰̓h̶͕͒͘è̶̡̬́ỹ̸̦͊ ̵̡̠̈́̑h̶̫̹͂̋ḁ̴̠̌d̸̼̀ ̸͈̰̄̽t̶̯̔̅h̵͙̍ë̶͚̟i̷̯̰̔r̷̘̗̒ ̷͎͋h̴̗̱̎a̸̖̜͋ṕ̶͍̜́p̸̤̎͂y̶̦̲̐ ̶̤̦́̋e̴̞̼͆͌ń̵͎͕̑d̸̚͜ĩ̶̢n̴̹͊ͅg̷̳̙̒.̵̩̎
"Look at me." Izuku felt a stab in his chest when her wet eyes met his, but that only assured him he was doing the right thing, "You deserve better than this. You deserve better than coming back to an empty room every day!"
"But what can I do!" Ochaco snapped, the pain of her situation finally getting the better of her, "I can barely make ends meet with how things are now! I don't have how to go all the way back home to Ma and Pa every day. I have to stay here. I have to become a hero and give them the life they deserve…" She trailed off, tears falling down her cheeks.
Izuku, with his own eyes pouring, pulled her into a hug. Ochaco latched onto him, choking sobs into his shoulder, leaving growing wet stains on his scarf.
They stayed like that, holding each other and crying, for what looked like an eternity, but Izuku wouldn't let this be it. He would never let it end like that.
T̸̠̫̋̏͆̍h̵̢̪̊ẹ̷̀̚y̵͇̬͎̳̾̀ ̶̠̤̬̝͌a̴̠̞͈͆͆͘l̸̫͇͒͂͗̚l̵̫̑̓͆̅ ̷͓̐̍̆̕d̶̠̈́͜e̶̡͓͔̍̆͘s̶̳͙͉̔̆͋͠ẻ̴̟̯̘̫͌ṟ̷̛͆͘v̷͖̚͠ẽ̵̢͍̣̯̈͗d̷̥̹̓́ ̷̖̹̜͉͛t̷̪̘̋́͛̂o̵̠͂̀ͅ ̴̺̈́͝b̶̳͗̒e̷̬͚̹͉̊̄ ̴̼̫͇͚̾̃̊h̶̺͆̇̓ȃ̶̻̈͑͂p̶̧̚p̶̫͆͗̓͂ỷ̶̨̝̑.̸͍̀
"Maybe you can't, but you don't need to be alone. I know it hurts not being able to be with who you love; it will always be painful. Still, you don't have to bear the pain alone."
"W-what do you mean?" Ochaco didn't expect to end the day with them both crying in her house, much less what he was offering.
"You know what I mean."
"You can't be serious."
"Ochaco." He squeezed her tighter, half from being angry she could doubt him. "You have two options. I fly you to your parents' house every day, and we both will probably get into trouble with the law. Or, you come to stay with us, and we only get to survive Kacchan's teasing."
"I think getting arrested isn't that bad compared to Katsuki."
"Me too, but that will make becoming heroes a lot harder."
That was what broke her. How dare he. How dare he make her laugh after making her break down and offering his own home to her like that. Who was she kidding? He was Mydoriya Izuku; he would punch god if that meant his friends could be happy.
"That's insane."
"I got called that a lot."
"It's stupid."
"That too."
"You can't just barge into someone's house and do that."
"I just did."
"And I'm even worse because I want to say yes."
"Then do." Izuku pulled back slightly, just enough to look her in the eyes and smile, "There's nothing wrong and wanting something better for yourself, just like there's nothing wrong with offering a hand to someone who needs it."
"But what about your mom?"
"I'm sure she will side with me in this."
"What about this place?"
"If you stop to think about it, you'll be saving even more if you don't have to pay rent."
"And what about us?"
Izuku grinned, nodding to himself, "That's easy. Do you trust me?"
How can he ask that after everything they have been through? "With all my heart."
I̷̬̫͖͂̊̒̓̇̈́͝ ̸͕͔̰͕̹̀̈́̔̈́͐̽ͅą̵̨̢͓̣̠̲̺̩̀l̶̢̡̡̡̛̩͙͓̾́̇͜ͅw̷̡̥̞͓͉̝̟̯͔͑̉͆̎̂a̵̼͉̥̬̖̱̖͆̋ȳ̵̡̢̲̱̅͛̑̆̇s̷̥͓̉͂̏̉̓͠͠͝ ̸̮̇̄̋̈́́ẖ̴̞͔̳͙̟͙̃̈̃͐͑͝a̶̬̖̯̳̿͝v̷͓̼̠͆̉̈́̃͝e̴̟̓̉̆̓͗̈̍ ̸̜̤͉̰̜͆̾̂͠a̵̺̖̎̒̈́̊͋n̷͇̖̮̖͋̂͆d̵̠̘̞̽̈́͊͠͝ ̶̨̗̟̰̪̪̥̑̀͛̒İ̵̜̭̺͖͓̣͍̩͂͜ ̷̭͓͖̦͔̝̪̇̇͜a̶̭̪͚͉̱̍l̵̢̮̺̩͈̏͊̀̌͜ẉ̵̧̮͉̭̄͗̅̀͒͝à̸̩͈͆y̸̧̍̑̓̑̃͑̍s̴͖̥͔̙̼̯̪̊̍̊̾́ ̴̛̜̭̈́͐͂̊͊́͆̒w̸͓͍̅̐̽̂̽͒͠͝ỉ̷̡̝̼̯̈́̔͆̓̏̋͝l̵̲̲̣̯̾ḻ̸̳̱̲͍̹̥̭̰̄͛.̴̨̠̖̮̮̣͈̥̑
"Then trust me in this."
T̴̪̤̼̠͆̔̈̋r̵̭̫̗̜̘̳̻͗͂͐͋͑̃̋̚͜͜ứ̷̢̖͕͇̾̊̄s̷̞͔̖͉̱̳̦̮̗͂̊̄̕t̷̡̤̤̯̑ ̷̭̲̮̘͚͇͚̖̰͗̚m̶̧̨̱̘͋ȅ̷̢̛̟̜̩̫͚̤̒,̷̢̻͕̐͋͑̅̀̇ ̶̞̻̃͛͗͛̆̉͜w̸̨͔̖̮͙̟̺̟̿ę̷͈̻̠̮̐ ̷̩̘̥̗̻̈́̔̋̈́ẁ̶̢̲̰̺͓̾̋̈́̎̒͝i̸͓̩̰͍̳̠͗̀̇̑͋̍̎̕l̸̨̢̫͔̘͙͕̮̓̇̍͒̈́̇̃͜ĺ̶͇͈̳̯̫́̾͗̎̾̀̕ ̵̜̲̾̓̚͝b̵̯̰̞̺̎͜e̴̢͓͔̲̾̿́́̕ ̷̺̎̓̋͑̿̔̾ṭ̷̂͑̇̓̾o̴̢̲͔̥̠̺͚̠̕͜g̷̖̝̮͈̤̻̠̙̎̅́̏̒̋́̓e̷͉̻̽̈́̓̕t̸͈̝̪̄͂͐̇́̈́́͜h̵̻̖̗̯̩̰̪͓̐̇̈́̈́̉ë̶͔̦͔̘̪͍̪͉̕ṙ̶̮̟̝̲͎̙̞̔͗̉̓͝ ̸̡̥̺̻̟̣̤̹̔̿͋̿͐͘̕͘ͅà̷̗̹̻̠͈͙͍͝g̵͎̝̣̟̩͌a̶̳̭̼̥̯͔̻͑į̵̨̣͕̝̔̂͑̔͗͘n̷͠.
"Okay."
What were they doing? That was a horrible idea. That was a horrible idea, and there was no good reason to even think about it.
That never stopped them before, though.
"Okay." He looked around, a greater sense of victory washing over him now than when he 'beat' All Might a couple hours ago, "Where do we start?"
"I think, stop holding each other?"
Izuku realized they were still embracing, so close to each other he could feel her drumming heartbeat matching his. His cheeks turned nuclear red, "Oh."
"Yeah."
"We should-"
"Let go?"
"Yeah."
They stepped back, unable to look each other in the eyes. An awkward silence filled the room for a dreadful minute until Ochaco's soft chuckles broke it.
"We're fine with living together but can't hug for a bit without having a meltdown."
"We're a mess, aren't we?"
"Yes." She dried her tears and opened a brilliant smile, "Yes, we are."
Izuku buried his hot cheeks into his scarf, "Well, I wouldn't have it any other way." He wouldn't trade that feeling in his chest for the world.
"Me neither."
"So… let's pack up?"
"Let's."
—
Katsuki was halfway to the Midoriya residence when he felt a disturbance in the air, "Those two dorks just did something supremely stupid, and I fucking know it's Deku's fault." The bomber sighed, holding all the various bags he was carrying in one hand so he could facepalm with the other.
Ah, fuck it. Worst case scenario, Katsuki would have more ammo to tease them with later.
The rest of the track to his destination was spent with a growing sense of annoyance at the back of his mind nagging Katsuki, telling him he should strangle Deku the next time he saw the nerd. To be fair, it was basically an everyday thing by now; Katsuki always would have a reason to punt damn Deku into the sun.
That's why when Katsuki was there, standing before the Midoriyas place with bags in hand, he crossed his fingers and hoped it wasn't Deku getting the door, or he doubted he would resist the urge to smack the stupid out of him.
He knocked. Just like Best Jeanist said, breathe in, breathe out, and only murder people in the safety of your imagination.
The door opened, but instead of Deku, Aunty, Eri, or hell, even Cotton, someone he didn't recognize greeted him. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and familiar for some reason.
"Who is- oh, Young Bakugo!" The blond man startled, surprise shining through his blue eyes.
Katsuki felt the Light in him prickling with his growing suspicion, "Yes. Do I know you?"
The man panicked for a second before forcing an (also familiar) smile, "We met at the beach after the USJ incident. I'm Yagi Toshinori; you might not have recognized me after I recovered from my injury."
Red eyes widened, that skeleton was this guy? "Yeah, now that you say I remember you. What are you doing in Aunty Inko's house, though?" The answer would decide if he had to get rid of a body or not.
The one to answer was not Toshinori, but Eri, who popped by his side in a flash of soft yellow, "It's because Toshi and mom are a couple!" She gestured at the man excitedly, "They do all the lovey-dovey stuff that couples do! It's sweet, and they're happy and always smiling!"
Katsuki took her word barrage (fucking Deku's fault, he was sure) without blinking. From anyone else, he would have called bullshit, but if it was Eri saying it, then Katsuki would believe her.
He would still keep a shovel handy, just in case.
Giving a picture-worthy flat stare to the blushing man, Katsuki only clicked his tongue, "Sure." He turned back to Eri and handed her the bags, "Here, that's everything. There's also an extra apple tart for you."
"Thanks, Kacchan!" The little princess hugged his legs, grabbed the bags, and then flashed away, leaving only a translucent silhouette that quickly vanished.
"I thought you didn't like being called by that nickname by anyone other than Izuku." Toshinori, having settled the red on his cheeks, pointed out.
"The list of people who can call me that is very short." He challenged the man to doubt him with his glare.
"I'll take your word for it, Young Bakugo."
Those words. Those exact words he had heard earlier that day were what finally gave him the last piece of the puzzle. The familiarity he couldn't put his finger on became pointedly loud, along with his shock.
No way.
No fucking way!
There was no way in hell that guy was… Katsuki looked into the bright blue orbs gazing at him and swallowed his denials.
It was him. Some fucking way, it was him! A million questions went through Katsuki's head before he remembered where he was and realized that the answer to them all was fucking Deku, which only caused a million more.
"You need anything else?"
"No. I… I'm going home." He turned and started to walk away, leaving the confused man behind. Katsuki knew how to pick his battles, and while he could fistfight All Might without batting an eye, talking to him about his home life wasn't something he could do.
He would still murder him if he did something to Aunty, though.
"Holy fuck, Aunty Inko is dating All Might."
—
"Is it too late to have second thoughts?"
Izuku, holding basically all of Ochaco's luggage (and feeling it wasn't nearly as heavy as it should have been), gave her an unimpressed stare, "I think since you gave back the keys of your old place and yelled at the landlord for trying to scam you, but that's just my opinion."
The girl pouted. If Izuku hadn't been carrying all four cardboard boxes worthy of her personal belongings, she would slap his arm, "Your sassiness isn't helping." She fuzzed with her schoolbag and briefcase full of clothes, trying to stop her stomach from dropping to her feet.
Izuku piled all the boxes in one of his hands so he could pat her shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry, everything will be alright."
"How are you so sure?"
"Because I'm here!"
Ochaco rolled her eyes, of course, "You sure are. Here and ready to make me throw my entire life upside down in an afternoon."
"It's a record, that's for sure." He pulled her into a one-arm hug, feeling that her anxiety was genuine, "Relax, things won't be nearly as bad as you think." He grabbed her free hand and pulled her along, "Now, c'mon, we need to get there before anything."
Izuku guided her along the usual path to his house, the one he took when not parkouring through the neighborhood's rooftops, and tried to calm her the entire way. If they were doing something bad he could understand, but come on. Ochaco should know by now there was no social convention that would stop him from doing the right thing, be they customs, common sense, or the law.
"There it is, home sweet home."
Looking at the better cared-for building, Ochaco had to admit it was an upgrade, but knowing they were truly going along with their crazy plan only made her stomach do flips. Still, Izuku was right, it was too late for regrets, "Let's do this." She tried to psyche herself up.
"Let's!" He brought her up the stairs to the right floor, a spring in his step that almost made the box tower Izuku was carrying topple. Ochaco wasn't as enthused about it, but she had to keep up the pace as Izuku was still holding her hand.
Oh crap, Deku was still holding her hand!
The gravity girl stumbled when she remembered that detail, but Izuku caught her before Ochaco could kiss the floor. That also made him realize their situation, and the boy blushed like a strawberry.
"Careful, I think they waxed the floor or something." Izuku's weak attempt to change the subject wouldn't fool a four-year-old, but Ochaco leaped at it.
"Yeah, it looks like it."
"Yep."
"Uh-huh."
"Definitely."
They mercifully reached the right door. Izuku summoned Heroes Rising and tapped the door handle.
Ochaco blinked, "You use your Keyblade as a house key?"
"A Keyblade is an everything key. Why would I carry one that I can lose or may end up stolen if I have a much better option?"
When you put it like that.
"Now, stop stalling and come on in already."
Dang it! He saw right through her. Resigning herself to her fate, Ochaco walked in, letting Izuku lock the door with Heroes Rising while she took off her shoes and tried to steel her nerves.
Not like Izuku let her, "We're home!"
Eri instantly materialized by his side, "Welcome home!" The unicorn tackled him with a glomp. Finished that, she turned to Ochaco and did much the same, "Welcome home!"
While caught by surprise, Ochaco returned the hug, a smile blooming on her face, "Thanks."
Seeing Ochaco happy made Izuku feel great about the whole thing, but there was something that wasn't adding up, "Wait, I didn't tell you I was kidnapping kidnapping Ochaco. How did you know, Eri?"
The Princess of Heart blinked once, two times, then shook her head, "Secret."
"Not this again!"
Their antics got the other residents' attention, and Inko peeked from the corner with a raised eyebrow, "Izuku, Eri told me we would have a visit coming over, then said she wouldn't be only a visit."
"Did she tell you how she figured out the last part?"
"I think that isn't what you should be focusing on."
"In my defense…" Izuku put Ochaco's things down, then pushed the girl closer to Inko. The woman stared at the brunette's panicked face, at how she was still holding Eri, and how her kids were giving her their best puppy eyes, and felt her eyes watering.
"Oh, that's just unfair." They looked so perfect together that Inko couldn't even pretend to be mad! She rushed at them and pulled the trio into Inko's signature bear mama hug.
While Izuku felt his bones protesting even more than normal, he knew they were in the clear, "So, Ochaco can stay?"
"Of course, she can! I would like it if you had asked first, but there's no way I can leave the poor dear to live on her own like that." Inko was trying her best to hold enough tears so as not to drown them, "I still remember how lonely it was before you came along. I wouldn't wish that to anyone, much less for a teenage girl who's already preoccupied with all the hero stuff you kids do."
Ochaco, squashed by the three Midoriyas, reeling from Inko's words, didn't realize she was also crying. Only when Izuku and Eri joined them did it all compute to her, "Y-you mean it?"
"Yes. Don't worry, dear. You can stay with us for as long as you like." And just like that, the dams broke, and the four of them cried without shame.
Toshinori watched their moment from the corner, fondly rolling his eyes at the scene. This family was full of crybabies. Not only that, it seemed like adopting anyone in need of a home was an acquired trait.
Deciding that enough was enough, Toshinori cleared his throat loudly, "The food's gonna get cold." Four wet pairs of eyes landed on him, and the man chuckled, "Why don't Izuku and I put Young Uraraka's things away while you two set the table?"
"Oh yeah, did Kacchan bring the good stuff?"
"If by that you mean various baked goods, then yes."
"Sweet." Uncle Masaru knew how to bake like no one else. "C'mon, I'll leave your things in Eri's room."
"My old room."
"Why old room?"
"Ochaco needs a room, and I wasn't using it, so…" Eri shrugged. She always slept in Izuku's room anyway.
"True." He grabbed the boxes and Ochaco's bags and walked into the house proper, "C'mon, Master Toshinori."
Seeing him go, Ochaco couldn't stop but say, "This is really happening."
"Yes. I know my son can be… a lot, but he makes things happen when he sets his mind to it." Inko chuckled, part fondness, part exasperation, part pride. It was a loaded chuckle, that's for sure.
"I still can't believe it. I mean, I'm thankful for you letting me stay, but…"
Eri poked Ochaco's nose, making her yelp, "Stop overthinking things. Do you want to live with us?" Being put on the spot like that, Ochaco had no choice but being honest and nod. Eri pouted and crossed her arms, "Then don't mope about it. Just be happy everything ended alright."
Inko felt no small dose of motherly pride seeing her little princess being so wise, "Eri's right. Sometimes, things just work, so why complain?"
After getting reassured again and again, it would be rude of Ochaco to keep doubting their goodwill, "Yeah, I'm being silly."
"You are, but you and Izuku are just like that when you're together." Eri's words made Ochaco blush, something Inko caught on.
Oh, so there was more than one reason for all this, huh? "Well, come on in. I will need to talk to your parents later to rash out all the details, but let's eat first."
Ochaco heard a record scratch in her mind, "Oh crap! I forgot to tell my parents!"
—
Izuku was glad everything worked out in the end. His mom talked to Ochaco's parents while the girl had a breakdown, Eri took the rest of her things into his room and freed space for their new housemate, and Toshinori only knocked him on the head for not thinking things through once! More for Nana than anything, but it was deserved. Izuku didn't leave such glaring holes in his plans, usually.
Everything was still touch-and-go, with Ochaco's new living situation being a spur-of-the-moment thing, but everyone was willing to make it work.
And now they were all seated at the table, enjoying a big meal with everything from katsudon (no surprises there) to apple pie (also no surprise there). All in all, Izuku made do with worse scenarios.
"You had to fight All Might for your test?" Inko's unamused stare, to both Izuku and Toshinori, was a big tell of what she thought of it.
"Yes. But don't worry. I got paired with Kacchan." Who was the only person Izuku could count to be too angry to lose, which was a big factor in their victory.
"Oh dear." Inko shot Toshi a look. They would be having a nice long talk later, one where she would explain in detail why that was a very stupid idea.
"Wait, why didn't you call for help from the others if you were fighting All Might?"
To Eri's question, Izuku explained how it would be cheating if he called Cotton and the others to help. It would have made it less painful but would go against the spirit of the test.
Ochaco just watched all the interactions, still feeling kinda out of place. While she somehow convinced Ma and Pa that living with her friend and his family wasn't an absolutely horrible idea, she still felt she didn't exactly fit in. Such notion was dashed when Izuku turned to her with his eyes sparkling and dragged her mess of a test to the conversation.
Eri instantly started to hound Ochaco about her Gravity magic. Inko fretted over the girl, making sure she was okay after her dangerous stunt. Toshinori, who asked to be called by his first name and didn't accept no for an answer, tried to calm the woman with a laugh.
And just like that, Ochaco knew she made the right choice. It would need some getting used to, but she saw herself calling this place home, for it had people to come back to.
—
Toshinori insisted he would do the dishes. Ochaco insisted she would help. Neither had the good sense to back down. That's how they ended up in the kitchen while the other residents went to do their own thing.
He could see the girl was lost in her own world, frowning at each plate she dried. As her teacher, even if she didn't know, Toshinori had to at least lend an ear, "It must be jarring, taking such a big decision so quickly, without consulting anyone, and only then realize things were more complicated than you thought." By the way that Ochaco looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights, Toshinori hit that nail on the head.
"I mean… yeah." She slumped down. How was Ochaco supposed to know dropping all her life stability was such a big deal? She's a teenager!
Okay, that sounded dumb even to her. Luckily, she hadn't said it out loud.
"Let's do a quick mind exercise. If you were back to the moment you made your choice, would you do anything differently?"
The silence that drew itself out could mean many things, but in the end, Toshinori should know all these kids had too much heart for too little sense, "It's bad that I wouldn't?" Her movements were slow as she articulated her thoughts, "It's just, when Deku offered, I just was so sure that it was the right thing to do. What I wanted to do. And while now I know that yes, we could have gone about it in a different way that wouldn't be… this much of a mess, I still know that it's what I want to do."
"Ah, I know exactly what you mean." Toshinori glanced at her surprised face, stifling a laugh, "When Inko said that if I wanted to stay more time here, the door would always be open, I agreed without thinking twice." He chuckled knowingly, "Love does that to people."
It was a statement of her reflexes that Ochaco grabbed the plate that fell from her hands before it hit the ground; it was also a confirmation of Toshinori's words that her eyes blew wide and that she dropped the plate in the first place. "How did you know?!"
Toshinori only needed to raise an eyebrow for her to acknowledge that, yes, she wasn't very subtle. One needed only to see what she did to know that Ochaco was thinking with her heart and not her head.
"I'm not saying what you did was necessarily wrong, just very reckless. I still have my home, even if I hadn't gone back to it in a while." For more reasons than just his new living arrangements. Even before, Toshinori was just so busy trying to be a hero, a teacher, and look more into his successor's situation that he barely saw his own house. Not that all the extra hours helped much, with the League of Villains still on the loose, his struggles to teach, and the only real leads he had to his boy's case was what Nana had shared with him.
"Looking back, I could have returned the keys to my old place after we settled everything down." She very much doubted that Midoriya 'Deku' Izuku would let a 'no' from anyone stop him, but a safety net would have been nice.
"Indeed. Just take it as a lesson, Young Uraraka." Toshinori offered her his best smile, not noticing her eyes widening again, but for a completely different reason this time, "Doing what you think is right is good, but not considering the consequences of your actions can make things worse." Huh, that sounded pretty good. Toshinori had to note it down for later.
While the man gave himself a mental pat on the back, Ochaco had a silent collapse. She was formally introduced to the man she met at the beach months ago, and while she thought the nagging feeling of familiarity was from that at first, now Ochaco figured out where it truly came from.
The same shade of blond hair. The same bright blue eyes. The voice was a little off without the raw power behind it, but the gentle tone was the same. And the final nail in the coffin was how Toshinori straightened his back while giving advice before preening when he thought it sounded wise.
Just like All Might.
Suddenly, a lot of small details of how the hero acted and how the man beside her acted started to overlap, and while Ochaco didn't outwardly voice her discovery, she was yelling to the high heavens inside her head.
Oh crap, Mamadoriya was dating All Might!
No wait, that made sense. Both of them were too good for this world and deserved all the happiness they could get and more.
Oh crap! Izuku and Eri are All Might's kids!
No wait, that's not how it worked. But Izuku and Eri were adopted anyway so…
Oh crap! Shoto was right!
—
"Huh?!" Shoto looked from side to side, a frown on his face.
"Everything alright?" Natsu asked while searching for anything wrong himself. Only the empty street in front of the Todoroki compound, with nothing unusual, greeted him.
"I felt that strange and sudden feeling of validation again." If Shoto had a penny for every time that sensation of someone admitting he was right inexplicably hit him, he would have two pennies. It wasn't much, but it was weird that it happened twice.
Fuyumi gave him a strange look, "You should have that checked out."
"Fuyumi, don't be mean to your brother." Rei ushered her children inside, seeing that her husband's car was there, "Enji came home early today."
"I think we are the ones late." Shoto met with his family at the station to go out and celebrate, which meant all the cold soba he could eat while recounting his ten minutes of playing cat and mouse and bombs with his teacher.
They entered the house, and what greeted the family was Enji, in casual clothes, reading a book. It said "How To Interact With Your Children For Dummies" on the cover.
"You're back. How-" Enji double-checked his book before trying again, "How was school."
"Do I have any cat quirk ancestry?" Shoto was still not sure if he did, so who better to ask than one of the sources?
It wasn't what Enji was expecting, but the book said to always try to answer your children's questions when possible, "Yes, from my mother's side."
"I knew it!"
Rei saw her husband's confused face and went to the rescue, "Don't worry about it. So, how was your day?"
"I had a meeting with a Support Company representative, which reminds me. Shoto, you will be accompanying me to I-Island for the I-Expo."
Natsu was about to snap on principle, still not used to how the reunited family didn't have reasons for confrontations anymore. Fuyumi stopped him in time. Taking a deep breath, he asked calmly instead, "Why are you taking Shoto?"
Enji frowned, and once again, Natsu almost lost his temper. When the answer came, he realized it wasn't a displeased frown, just that Enji thought the answer was obvious, "Shoto can use this opportunity to make connections and look into equipment that can assist him."
"Sure, but why only him." Natsu was still on guard, too many years of doing so had conditioned him to be when interacting with his father.
Again the frown, but now Natsu knew to wait before jumping the gun, "You still have classes, and Fuyumi will be working until the day after the expo."
In hindsight, that was kind of obvious, but as they said, old habits die hard, "And what about mom?"
"Rei is deadly afraid of planes."
"Enji!" Came the woman's affronted yell. She had a slight blush on her cheeks, showing her embarrassment, "I just don't like heights, that's all!"
"You said that the only way you would set foot out of Japan was by boat because you would never enter a 'flying deathtrap of doom,' and I couldn't change your mind."
"Enji!"
Shoto interrupted their bickering by clearing his throat, also saving his siblings from it, "I just checked with Izuku, and he explained what the I-Expo is about, and I think I'll like to go." What he didn't tell anyone was that he had an ulterior motive.
I-Island was the technological center of the world, so if there was some hope for finding a way to make sense of Izuku's situation, that was the place to look for it. While he didn't have much to go on, Eri's words about the 'cracks' and the 'stars' were a lead that Shoto could use. Hopefully.
"Then it's settled. Don't worry, we'll be back before your training camp comes around."
Oh, there was that too. It would be fine if Shoto ended up missing it, though. A camp wouldn't be terribly important, right?
—
"What are you doing?" Toshinori's question startled Inko, the woman almost falling from her precarious perch on the bed. She was trying (and failing), to reach for something at the top of her wardrobe.
"Don't scare me like that!" She complained with a pout that Toshinori was used to seeing on Izuku's face on hers. Inko sighed, gesturing to the wardrobe, "I saw that Ochaco has an outdated phone, to say the least, so I decided to see if one of my old ones is still usable and pass it to her."
Toshinori nodded along, "Two things. How did you get it up there in the first place? And most importantly, you keep your old phones?"
"I keep everything with emotional value safely stored somewhere. Thank you very much!"
With how emotional she was, Toshinori was surprised the house wasn't packed like Dagobah was before Izuku cleaned it. Helping Inko down, much to her protest, he reached up and started to pull dusty boxes that had been hidden from view.
"My old school books. Izuku old school books. Photo albums. Oh, old electronics!" The fact she not only categorized each box but also remembered each one on sight should have been concerning. Opening the box, which was actually a shoebox that got repurposed as electronic storage, Inko started pulling out some old cell phones that should have been two decades old. "Cracked screen. Water damage. Mitsuki exploded it by accident. Oh!"
Her cry scared Toshinori, who yelped. He looked at her hand, which was holding a blocky red phone. It seemed brand new, if a little weird, "What's the problem?"
"This one is Izuku's."
"You got it mixed up?"
"No. I put everything in this box. It's just that…." Inko looked at him, her eyes wide, "He had this one when I found him."
Toshinori only realized he had bolted to her side when Inko almost fell back from the scare. He apologized, but still had his eyes fixed on the phone. Toshinori knew Nana and their predecessors were working on it, but still, "It's a lead."
"Yes." Inko had many complicated feelings flashing behind her eyes, "I won't pretend I know what half the things Izuku wrote in his journals are, but I know it is important to him. This, this can be it."
Toshinori nodded solemnly, "That can have the answers we're all looking for." He gestured to it, a frown settling on his face, "You never looked into it before?"
"It's broken. The police tried to fix it, and I took it to a dozen repair shops myself, but no one ever managed to make it work again."
Well, it couldn't ever be that easy.
Luckily, when tech was the subject, Toshinori's mind always went to the same name, "I think I know someone that can fix it. An old friend of mine from my days in America, if someone in this world can fix it, it's him."
The way Inko lit up made his heart leap, "Thank you, Toshi." She kissed his cheek, and most of his higher faculties shut down. He was hopeless, but that apparently was a Midoriya family trait.
—
"No, wait, just listen for a-"
"There's nothing to be said, Doctor Shield. Your project will be terminated- effective immediately and contained until it can safely be disposed of."
"You're making a mistake!" The tired man's shout fell on deaf ears. The monitor shut off, the call being forcefully ended. Tired greenish-blue eyes looked back from the reflection of the screen, brown hair a rats nest, exhaustion lines marked on a haggard face with stumbles of beard. The true face of defeat.
The man grabbed fistfuls of his hair, his tears falling unimpeded, as there was no one in his dark and cluttered laboratory to see them.
A ring and his eyes shot back at the screen, hoping that they had come around, that they understood he was right and his invention was the only way the world could still be peaceful. That hope died when he saw it wasn't them calling but the person he had just failed.
Drying his eyes and slapping his face in a vain attempt to look less like death warmed over, he accepted the call.
His whole world turned upside down when he saw Toshinori.
"David! Good to see you."
"T-Toshi?" His voice broke because that was simply impossible.
"Yes, it's me. Is the connection bad?" Toshinori raised his phone, which only gave a better view of the man's body. His strong, healed, body.
"What happened to you?! How?! The doctors said it was impossible to recover from that!"
A look of realization, and then sheepishness, crossed David's old friend's face, "Ah… oops?" He had the gall to laugh, "I may have forgotten to tell you. I have been fine for months, my kids made sure of that."
"What?!"
"Don't worry about that. We'll have time to catch up soon." Toshinori's face hardened, and David felt himself straightening on instinct. "I need your help. There's something important, Deathcon One, really really serious, that I'll need your expertise for."
Today was just full of high tensions, that was for sure, "Anything. You know you can count on me, Toshi."
"That I do." And like that, his beaming smile was back, "I-Expo is coming up, that'll be a perfect cover. I'll be there and we can talk more. Oh, I'll need more tickets, though."
David stifled a laugh, "I don't think anyone would bar All Might from bringing more people with him, but with all the secrecy, I think it makes sense. I'll send you some VIP tickets on the down-low."
"Thanks, David. Now go get some sleep; you look like a wreck."
He rolled his eyes goodnaturedly, all of the day's previous worries fading away, "Well, not everyone can look as good as you."
"Thanks! I take good care of myself." He laughed before a voice sounded from further back.
"I'm the one that has to take care of you all!"
"Yes, dear."
David couldn't believe what he had just watched, "What?!"
"As I said, we'll talk soon. Later, David. Tell Melissa I said hi!" Trying to hide an embarrassed blush, Toshinori hung up.
For a long moment, David stared at the screen. Unlike before, the person staring back had a massive smile on his face.
In a second he was on his feet, dashing out of his lab. He was in such a hurry he almost crashed into his assistant; the portly man held him back with wide eyes.
"David, wait, you can go after the council."
"What?" He took a moment to understand what he said, "Oh, that. To hell with that, they can burn my research for all I care."
"Wha- David, what gotten into you?!"
"It doesn't matter, Samuel!" David laughed openly. It didn't matter, because somehow All Might was back! "We don't need it anymore. You know what, go home, take some days off. Damn, I'm taking some days off." He broke into a light laugh again, patting his friend on the shoulder.
"What about the plan?" Samuel's blue eyes were wide with worry.
"Ah, to hell with it too." David normally didn't curse, but he felt in the right now. He would even break another of his somewhat rules and nap a bottle of champagne on the way home. "Don't worry about it, and cancel everything. I know you already paid the actors, I'll make it up to you." With another pat, David marched away, a skip in his step he hadn't felt in years.
Samuel watched him go with a frown. One that only deepened when his phone pinged.
?: Everything right on your end?
The man ran a hand through his receding blond hair. A war happening in his heart for a moment. He hadn't seen his old friend so happy in years. But still. Still…
Dr. Abraham: Yes. Proceed as planned.
D O N E! Holy crap, so much foreshadowing.
Yes, a lot of things happened in this chapter, most of it not being exactly what I planned, but my characters usually do their own thing and I have to roll with it. Everything has a reason, so pay attention and wait for it, I swear it will be worth it.
This chapter is also getting published on my birthday, so I hope you enjoy this gift!
Also, for those that want to support me, go to the P site and look for Bola8 to put some change in the tip jar, because that's basically what it is. Then you can have your name at the end of the chapter, like:
Guipa_, SilverZero90, CBN, Brolly Freeman, and kennine a heartfelt thanks to you all!
Beyond that, my friends gave their seal of approval to ensure the quality of this chapter, so a shout-out to SilverBits and keeperofhounds!
Join the discord and let's celebrate!
discord . gg / stAGY4V