Chapter 4 To be a hero
Dekiru arrives to the field and sees the family in the war-torn city. The sight of the city brings back memories. It wasn't that long ago that he was trekking through destroyed cities to hunt down villain and save people. He quickly shakes those thoughts out of his head and makes his way to the family. Two 'parents' and their two 'children' look distressed. When saving someone, first impressions are everything. If he doesn't say the right thing it will leave the people uncertain that they're in good hands. Dekiru runs up to the family and calls out to them.
"Thank goodness!" He arrives. "I was told there's some survivors in the area and came as fast as I could. Is anyone injured?" The 'husband' shakes his head.
"N-No sir… We're alright." Izuku nods.
"That's great. The Evacuation site is just through the city." The 'wife' speaks up.
"Is it just a straight shot through the city?" Izuku nods.
"Yes. But be mindful of your surroundings okay, if you see something let me know be it a piece of falling debris or a villain." The 'daughter' begins to worry.
"T-There's no villains here, right?" She asked in a small voice.
"Don't worry. It's better to be safe then sorry." He bends down to her eye height. "Do you want me to carry you?" The girl shakes her head.
"I'll be okay." The 'Son' starts to become angry.
"Come on you stupid hero! Let's go!"
"Shiro!" The 'wife' is shocked by the disrespect her 'son' is showing.
"Okay, let's go everyone. If you need to rest, don't hesitate to tell me if your tired." The 'family' nods and follow the hero. Inside the observatory room, Mera and several suits of the HPSC watch Dekiru at work.
"He handled them well."
"As expected of a hero of his status."
"We have yet to see his response to a crisis." Mera nods, agreeing with his co worker.
"Very well." Mera taps his earpiece. "Do it." At the fake city. Izuku hears the crumbling of concert and the mother shriek.
"YUMI!" A large piece of one of the buildings break off. It falls towards the girl. Using his quirk to propel himself, Izuku shoots off like bullet towards the girl and pulls her into his arms and moves out of the way. The debris land where the girl was standing just seconds ago.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asked. The girl nods weakly. "Do you want me to carry you?" She nods again. Dekiru hoists her up into his arms. "I know you're all frazzled, but we need to keep going." They continue through the city. Back at the observatory, many of the HPSC suits smile. It looks as if Dekiru still got it when it comes to being a hero.
"Impressive response time."
"Still. He was only a hero for four years. Compared to some hero veterans, he very much behind."
"You forget. Dekiru spent years as a vigilante before becoming an official hero. He also grew up in a much more violent world." Mera comments. "Have you forgotten why we call the early days of quirks the darkest years of human history? It wasn't hyperbole, those were some of the darkest days."
"Indeed." Mera looks behind him and sees the Vice President. "It is thanks to the first heroes that we have the hero system. Because of them we have heroes like All Might."
"What are you doing here sir?" One HPSC worker asked.
"I want to see the combat review. Has it started yet?" Mera looks at the camera feeds.
"He just arrived at the evacuation zone with the family with no point lost." He answers.
"Maybe we made it too easy for Midoriya." One of the HPSC agents said. The Vice President shakes his head.
"The rescue portion of the review wasn't made to be difficult. The focus of this exercise is combat." The VP explains. "We need to make sure Dekiru can handle powerful villains. He's a living relic, one of the very first people to have a quirk."
"So, you pit him against one of our strongest heroes." Mera said. The VP smiles.
"Oh god you called All Might." One of the suits starts to worry.
"As much as I want to see that dream match, we'll have to settle for someone else." Suddenly a large ball of fire descends from the sky and into the city.
"You called him!?"
"He volunteered. Let's see how he fares."
V
"Over here!" The heroes in charge of the evacuation waves at the family. Right by them is a bus. "You're the last ones! Get on quick!"
"Okay! It's the home stretch! One last push and you're out of here!" Izuku shouts. "No time for gratitude, just go!" He orders. "The sooner your safe the better!" The family gets into the bus.
"We're loaded up! Head out!" One of the heroes hits the bus twice with his fits. The driver drives off with the family inside. "I got to say, it's an honor to meet you Dekiru." The hero said. He's dress in armor from head to toe and has mufflers on his arms and legs.
"Thanks for the assist, who are you?" Izuku asked.
"I am the Turbo Hero Ingenium!" The hero said.
"Names Rock Lock." The dark-skinned hero looks at Dekiru critically. "Man, I don't get what's so great about you. You look average to me."
"C'mon Rock Lock, without Midoriya, we wouldn't be here as heroes." Ingenium said. Rock Lock shrugs.
"He's good at escorting civvies I'll give him that. But all I see is hype and nothing else." He scoffs. Suddenly, Ingenium lets out a shout.
"We got incoming!" They look and see a mass of fire head their way. The mass lands not too far away. The two heroes instantly recognize the burning man. "Endeavor…!? What's he doing here?" The number two hero begins his march towards the three heroes. The loud speaker from the observatory comes to life.
"Dekiru. It's time to test your combat abilities, and who else to test you then the number two hero Endeavor." The VP said over the intercom.
"Better get going then…" Izuku said, popping his knuckles. "He's not going to just wait." Izuku begins to make his way over to the hero. They come to a stop when they're standing right in front of each other. The two of them stare at each other, studying one another, waiting for the other to make the first move.
"The hell? They're just having a stare down." Rock Lock comments.
"The most intense stare down ever." Ingenium adds. "It Reminds me of those old samurai flicks." The two heroes watch the number two hero and the legendary hero square off.
"So, you're the 'legendary' hero everyone is so worked up about." Endeavor eyes Dekiru up from head to toe. "A relic like you won't be able to keep up in this age. You should just retire and aim to become teacher for the next generation of heroes."
"How about I show you." The air around Izuku begins to warp as he takes a fighting stance. "What I can do…" Endeavor scoffs.
"You're no match for me." Endeavor launches a torrent of fire at Izuku, engulfing the hero. However, the fire moves back towards Endeavor, surprising him. He sends another blast of fire to cancel the flames out.
"You think my quirk is just a simple fire quirk?" When the smoke clears Endeavor sees the hero is still standing, with not a single burn on his body. "I control heat, fire gives off heat. I can just redirect your fire back at you."
"You think because you control heat means that I'll be at a disadvantage?" Endeavor decides its time for the kid gloves to come off. "FLASH FIRE FIST!" The number two hero fires his signature move. Izuku barely dodges the attack and counters with his own move. Fire engulfs his hand and with a swipe he launches a crescent wave of fire.
"FIRE WAVE SLASH!" Endeavor simply powers through the attack, charging forward. He launches a spear of fire at Izuku. Dekiru bends down, dodging the attack and jumps at Endeavor. He rolls through the air and brings his leg up for an axe kick. Endeavor blocks the attacks and counters with a fire blast, hitting Izuku square in the chest. He's sent flying back and he tumbles to the ground. To everyone's surprise, Izuku is fine. To the untrained eye, it looks like Izuku took the full force of the attack, but Endeavor is no fool. He knows that Izuku used his quirk to mitigate the damage. Dekiru propels himself forward and attacks Endeavor. Realizing that his fire is doing more harm than good, Endeavor decides to use his physical strength while Dekiru uses fire attacks.
"Chain fire barrage!" With his hands open, fingers pointed straight at Endeavor he creates small fire balls at his finger tips and fires a continuous volley of fire balls at the flame hero, forcing him to block and cover his face. When the attack stops, he realized that the hero is gone.
"What—" a stream of fire hits him in the back, making Endeavor stumble. On instinct, he fires back with a blast of fire only to hit nothing. All around him, the fire seems to come to life and attack Endeavor. The hero only has one option and that is to fight fire with fire. He counters the controlled fire with his own fire attack. However, he couldn't keep up with the defense for long and he was just giving Dekiru more fuel to attack with, so he decides to dodge the attacks.
As Endeavor avoids the flames, he's suddenly hit across his cheek by Dekiru's fist, who came out of nowhere. Only to disappear in the fire. He looks around him and finds himself trapped in a ring of fire. Suddenly, he's kicked in the back. Before Endeavor can react, Dekiru launches himself out of the ring. Dekiru does this again and again, using hit and run tactics to wear down Endeavor. Growing irritated, Endeavor waits for the right moment for Dekiru to lunge at him. Just as the hero attacks, Endeavor turns in the direction and grabs Izuku's leg and slams him to the ground.
"Cheap tricks can only get you so far!" Dekiru quickly gets up and attacks Endeavor head on.
Ingenium and Rock Lock look on in awe as the number two hero battles the legendary hero. This fight is a dream match hero fans would die to see. The Turbo Hero smiles as he watches the fight. Back in the dark days, not many heroes were well known, expect for Izuku Midoriya. His parents told him stories as a child of Dekiru. He's a hero that never gives up and never yields. His story has inspired many heroes including All Might himself.
"Okay… He lives up to the hype." Rock Lock comments. "So, who do you think is going to win?"
"Dekiru." This makes Rock Lock scoff.
"Of course, you would think he would win you fanboy." Rock Lock said.
"What are they're quirks?" Ingenium asked.
"Endeavor's quirk is Hellflame. It lets him generate fire. Dekiru's quirk is called Agnikinesis. He can control heat and fire." Rock Lock answers. "You also have to factor in Endeavor's years of service."
"Yes, but you know what Endeavor's weakness is?" Ingenium asked.
"Yeah, overheating. But Dekiru can overheat too, right?" Rock Lock asked.
"Dekiru's quirk is different. Hellflame is powerful, but its too powerful. If he overuses his quirk he'll overheat. Dekiru doesn't need to generate his own fire. Remember, his quirk lets him control heat. Heat is one of the key components to make a fire. Without it there is no fire."
"This could be anyone's game." Rock Lock said. The two heroes watch on as the fight becomes more and more intense. Endeavor can't help but smirk. In his days at UA, he studied all fire type quirks. Dekiru's Agnikinesis was one of the quirks he researched at the time, it was viewed as one of the most powerful fire quirks. But that was two hundred years ago. Hellflame now stands at the top as the most powerful fire quirk. While powerful it has its fair share of weaknesses, one of them being water and the other being itself. The number two hero is quickly approaching his limit, while Dekiru is starting to feel every strike that Endeavor landed.
"Your quirk and fighting skills are truly remarkable. But this ends now." Endeavor braces himself. The flames on Endeavor begin to flare. The two heroes know what Endeavor is planning to do. He plans on using his ultimate attack, the Prominence Burn.
"Holy shit!" Rock Lock shouts. "Get out of there Dekiru!" Dekiru knew that this was going to be a big attack, but he can't dodge because Ingenium and Rock Lock will be caught in the blast.
"PROMINENCE BURN!" Endeavor fires a massive concentrated stream of fire at Dekiru. With no time to dodge, Dekiru brings up his hands and pushes his quirk to the absolute limit. The blast of fire engulfs Dekiru, but the hero stands firm in the torrent of fire. After five very long seconds, the attack ends. The Number two hero is shocked, Dekiru is just mildly burned from the attack and breathing heavily.
"Did he just tank a Prominence Burn and survive?" Rock Lock asked, stupefied.
"Yes. Yes he did." Ingenium answers. The number two hero can't believe what's happening. He thought that the strength of Dekiru was an exaggeration, but for him to take on the Prominence Burn and still stand is astonishing. Even at half of its true power, the Prominence Burn is no joke. It's an attack he rarely uses due to the amount of fire power it has and how quickly it overheats his body.
"Now, it's my turn…" Izuku brings up his arms over his head with his hands open and pulls all of the fire around them. The fire converges all at one point, a small condensed sphere of fire. It shines so bright that it looks like a small sun.
"RADIANT BLAZE!" Izuku launches the fire sphere at Endeavor. The attack misses and hit a building. The sphere erupts and all of the fire Endeavor and Izuku used is released. In just seconds, the whole building bursts into flames.
"So… How about we call this a draw?" Izuku said huffing from exhaustion. Taking Endeavor's most powerful attack really did a number on Izuku. Had it not been for all the damage he has taken from before the Prominence Burn, he would have hit Endeavor with Radiant Blaze. What caused him to miss is flinching from one of his broken ribs, throwing off his aim. "You have to be overheating."
"And you're hurt." Endeavor points at Izuku. "You've taken on damage that would have knocked out lesser opponents." Suddenly, the stadium speakers come to life.
"The review is over. Endeavor and Dekiru, our medics are on their way." Mera said over the intercom.
V
Inside the infirmary, Izuku is being tended to by a doctor that works with the HPSC. Using his healing quirk, the doctor mends Izuku's body. Once healed, he heads to a meeting room where he first reported to for the review. Izuku enters the room and sees Akemi with Mera, the Vice President, several commission members and the two heroes he met with during the test. The woman smiles when she sees Dekiru.
"Ah, Dekiru. I just reviewed your fight with Endeavor." Akemi said.
"What about the rescue portion of the test?" Dekiru asked.
"The rescue portion, while important, wasn't what we wanted to see." The VP said. "We needed to you can stand toe to toe with one best heroes."
"Quirks have gotten stronger over the years." Mera said. "As bloodline mix, so to do quirks. Your quirk is one of the only 'pure' quirk left in the world."
"I see..." Izuku nods. "You wanted to see if I could handle going up against someone at Endeavor's level."
"Correct." Mera said. "You handled yourself well out there. No doubt from years of constant fighting." Izuku nods.
"Everyday was another fight. Catching ten villains in a single shift was considered a slow day." This shocks the commission members and heroes.
"How many villains did you catch in a single day?" Rock Lock asked.
"Fifty villains in sixteen hours." The Locking hero looks at Dekiru, shocked.
"God, there must have been villains around every corner." Rock Lock comments.
"Another question Dekiru." Ingenium asked. "Have you killed a villain?" Izuku shakes his head.
"The government at the time did give us permission to kill villains, but I never acted on it. Only in extremely dangerous cases or when all options have been used will I ever think about killing a villain." Hearing this makes the turbo hero smile. Everyone in the room is in agreement. They would be foolish to deny Dekiru a chance to be a hero again.
"Midoriya Izuku." Akemi begins to speak. "Everyone here, from the commission member to pro hero has determined that you are capable of being a Professional Hero. You pass, welcome back to the fold. We still have one last thing to do. We need your picture." She smiles.
"Thank you, madam president." Izuku smiles.
"This calls for a celebration!" Rock Lock cheers. "Can't wait to see you in action!"
"Rock Lock is right." Endeavor said. "How about you join me for dinner at my estate. I have a son who's going to be a first year at UA. He'll be eager to meet you."
"Sounds good, I'll just make a call to Yagi."
V
"You passed? That's great Midoriya!" Yagi said, happy for Izuku. Once he got his license, he called Toshinori to let him know.
"That's right! I had to fight Endeavor for the combat portion of the review." Hearing this almost makes Yagi cough up blood.
"You had to fight Endeavor!?"
"Yep. I won't lie, it was a real nail biter. It was a draw. He was overheating and I was hurting from his attacks.
"Endeavor is no slouch when it comes to combat." Yagi comments. "Well, have fun at the Todorki's." Izuku hangs up. Once out of his costume and into his street clothes. He leaves the stadium and sees Endeavor waiting by a car.
"Come." The chauffer opens the door for Izuku and he enters the car. They drive off to the Todoroki estate.
V
The number two hero Endeavor is a man who is driven by his ambition. His ambition is to become the number one hero and surpass All Might and if he couldn't do it, then his children would. It didn't take him long to find the ideal partner and soon enough, he found himself becoming a father. His first born, while he had a powerful fire quirk it damaged his body and led to his passing. His second born had an ice quirk, the same for his third born. But then at last, his fourth child was born with the perfect mix between his quirk and his wife's quirk.
Unfortunately, his son refuses to use his quirk's true potential and only uses his ice side of his quirk. Endeavor hopes that Dekiru can help Shoto realize his true power and embrace his gift. If he can't, then he'll have to come up with another plan.
'Maybe I can offer him my daughter's hand…' The hero thought. If Izuku and Fuyumi mesh well together then maybe they can get married. He has to be smart about this, he can't make one single mistake. He called ahead of time to tell Fuyumi that they're going to have a guest over for dinner.
"So… You have a family?" Izuku asked. The number two hero nods.
"Yes. One daughter and three sons… One of them passed away in an accident…" Endeavor said somberly. "My wife is away…"
"I see…"
"What about you? Did you have a family?" Endeavor asked.
"It was just my mom and I for the longest time. My father was working overseas. He couldn't come home because of the rise of quirks. By the time I turned eighteen I finally got the chance to see him again."
"Those were some difficult times." Endeavor comments. The rest of the ride is silent until they arrived at the Todoroki estate. "We're here." The two leave the car and make their way to the estate. Endeavor opens the door to the estate and sees that his daughter is waiting for him.
"Welcome home father. Who's…" She stops when she sees Izuku. "Oh my god…"
"Fuyumi. This is Midoriya Izuku. He'll be joining us for dinner." Endeavor introduces Izuku.
"It's nice to meet you." Izuku bows.
"S-Same here… Let me go get the boys…" She quickly makes her way to Shoto's room and knocks.
"It's open…" Fuyumi opens the door and sees her youngest brother. "If it's about dinner, tell the old man I already ate."
"Dekiru is father's guest!" Hearing this shocks Shoto.
"Seriously?" Shoto asked. The young woman nods. "I'll be right down then…" She makes her way to Natsuo's room and knocks.
"Yeah?" She opens the door. "If this is about dinner, tell that bastard I'm out."
"He invited Dekiru, he's here."
"Dekiru…" Natsuo repeats what he heard, shocked. It didn't take them long to come down to the dining room. Fuyumi quickly sets the table and sits down. One by one, everyone files into the dining room.
"Ah… Everything looks nice." Izuku said as he sits on the floor seat. Fuyumi smiles brightly. Endeavor enters the dining room, dressed in causal clothes and sits down, ignoring the glares from Natsuo and Shoto.
"Thank you!" The daughter said. She introduces her brothers. "This is Natsuo, this is Shoto and I am Fuyumi, his daughter."
"It's nice to meet you all." Izuku nods. "I'm… Well, you already know who I am…" Izuku scratches his cheek and chuckles.
"Who doesn't." Natsuo chuckles. "You're a freaking legend." All of them start to eat dinner. "So, why are you here? It's rare for him to invite people over."
"I had to fight your father in my performance review. It ended in a draw." The three Todoroki siblings are stunned.
"A draw!?" Fuyumi repeats.
"Correct." Endeavor answers. "His quirk is strong, and he's skilled enough in combat to hold his own against myself."
"So, you have your license now?" Shoto asked. Izuku nods and shows him his license.
"I'm officially a pro hero!" Izuku announced.
"That's great! Do you have an agency yet?" Fuyumi asked.
"Not yet…" Izuku said. "Right now, I'm just glorified sidekick really." Shoto glares at Endeavor.
"So, do you want him for yourself?" Shoto asked. Endeavor huffs, annoyed.
"If only… I'm not the only one who wants to work with the legendary hero." The number two hero said. "Once news of his success spreads, he'll be flooded by offers from around the country."
"I'm sure it won't be much." Izuku shrugs. Endeavor decides to inform him of his future prospects.
"There are at least five hundred hero agencies in Tokyo. Thousands across the country." It was a rough estimate, but one that made Izuku's eyes bulge.
"Thousands!?" He couldn't believe it.
"How many heroes were active in the past?" Fuyumi asked.
"Not many, we just started. We worked together to protect the people from villains." Izuku explains. "We were swamped with so much work we never had time for ourselves. I was surprised when Endeavor said he had a family."
"Why?" Shoto asked slowly.
"Well… Having children or a spouse was dangerous. In the past, everything was free game for villains. Husbands, wives, sons, daughters and even pets weren't safe. Marriages and families would fall apart from the stress of the job." Izuku grabs his drink and looks at the liquid. "I've seen many people lose their loved ones because of villains. Is that was happened to you and your mother? Were you targeted by a villain?" The whole table is silent.
"It was my mother… She did this to me…" Shoto said, anger rising in his voice. "She did this because my left side of my face looked too much like his." He glares at Endeavor.
"I guess the old man didn't tell you everything, huh?" Natsuo said. "He's the reason why Touya is gone! He's the reason why mom isn't here, he drove her insane! He isolated Shoto because he wanted to groom him into being his successor! I bet you that the reason why he wanted you over is so he can win you over and get you to marry Fuyumi!"
"Natsu!" Fuyumi shouts. Endeavor scowls at his eldest son. His plans are pretty much dead in the water because of Natsuo's outburst. Shoto decides to add his two cents as well.
"I take it you wanted him to talk me into using your power?" Shoto glares at Endeavor. "I'll become the number one hero without your cursed power."
"Father…" Fuyumi starts. "Were you going to force me to marry Dekiru?" She asked nervously.
"No." Endeavor answers firmly. "I was hoping that the two of you would become acquainted before a decision was made. When I was your age your mother and I were already married with a child on the way…" Fuyumi is silent.
"I just started my career as a elementary school teacher. Now is not a good time." She said calmly. Endeavor nods.
"I understand." Natsuo stands up and glares at Endeavor.
"Bullshit!" He shouts. "You don't care about us! You abandoned us! The training you put Shoto through was nothing but torture! You drove mom insane! You're the reason Touya is dead! Worst of all, you want to use Fuyumi and Dekiru for your sick ambition!" Before Endeavor could shout back at Natsuo, Izuku stands up.
"I think…" He begins. "That all of us need a little breather."
"Good idea, I need to get away from this monster." Natsuo goes to leave the room but is stopped by Izuku.
"We're not done here… I'm going to talk to all of you about all of this." Izuku said firmly.
V
Izuku and Endeavor stare down each other. Now that his family's dirty laundry is out in the open, Izuku will likely tell someone and ruin his career. All of his plans and his ambitions are ruined. Now he'll never become the number one hero.
"Why did you become a hero Endeavor?" Izuku asked. Hearing this confuses Endeavor, but the hero answers anyways.
"It was long ago. I witnessed a man try and save his daughter. He failed and they both died." It's why he chose his hero name as Endeavor. He would be the one to struggle, the one who would fight the battles no one man can fight. "But when I became an accomplished hero and finally reached the number two spot my career hit a road block."
"All Might?" Endeavor nods at Izuku.
"No matter how much work I put in, no matter how much cases I solved it just wasn't enough!" Just the sight of that man boils his blood. His laugh, his smile, his unyielding strength. It mocks him to no end. "I have to become the number one hero! Otherwise…!" Everything that he's done, all of his hard work, and all of the sacrifices, it will amount to nothing.
"I understand… Working so hard, losing someone, having your family fall apart. I'm amazed that you're still working as a hero. Anyone would have given up after what you've been through." Izuku complements.
"My drive to become the number one was the only thing that kept me going. Without it… I don't know…" Endeavor clenches his fist.
"It not too late, your daughter seems ready to mend the bridges you burned. All you need to do is reconcile with your sons." The flame hero shakes his head.
"It cannot be done…" Endeavor said dejectedly.
"If they will not listen to your words, then speak through your actions." Izuku stands up from the table. "I'm going to talk to your children now." Izuku leaves and makes his way to the living room. Inside, he sees the Todoroki siblings watching TV. Seeing Dekiru, Fuyumi turns off the TV.
"Talk to the old man?" Shoto asked. Izuku makes his way over to a chair and sits down.
"I did. You know, for someone of his status, he sure has one hell of a inferiority complex." This makes Natsuo snort. "You two." He looks at Shoto and Natsuo. "You two hate him the most, right?"
"Yes." Shoto clenches his fist.
"Everything that's happened to our family is his fault!" Natsuo shouts.
"You don't think he knows that. He probably blames himself for everything. He just keeps up a façade to hide that pain. It's why he's pushing your brother so hard." Izuku responds to Natsuo.
"What about his trying to sell his own daughter to you!?" Izuku shrugs.
"I understand that quirk marriages are frowned upon, but back in my time, before quirks, some family would arrange marriages. It's a normal practice for prestigious families." Izuku answers.
But what about neglecting us!?"
"Don't you remember what I said during dinner? How villains target loved one. Sometimes the best thing for a hero to do is distance themselves from their family. I saw what happens when a villain goes after a family, it wasn't pretty…" Izuku remembers that horrible day.
"A hero who was also a father and a husband lost his whole family. They were slaughtered by one of the villains he captured. The villain broke out of prison and hunted down the hero and found his house." Fuyumi gasped in horror.
"Was it… That bad…?" Natsuo asked. Izuku wordlessly nods. He can still hear the hero's raw, visceral wails in his head.
"The hero caught the villain again later, and he made sure the villain won't hurt anyone ever again by crippling him."
"He didn't kill him?" Natsuo asked, confused.
"The villain wished the hero did. The road to recovery was a very long one." Izuku finished his story. "As for the training you endured. He should have waited until you were older and strong enough to undergo such training. Also, your scar doesn't look too bad. It's your first but it won't be your last. Take it from me, I got quite a bit of a collection." He unbuttons his shirt.
"Holy shit!" Natsuo shouts. Fuyumi brings her hands to her mouth.
"Bullet wounds, stab wounds, slashes and…" He points the burn mark around his neck. "Electrical burns… You can't be a hero simply out of spite. You need to have resolve and be ready to receive more scars." He buttons his shirt back up. Shoto is in shock from the sight of the old wounds.
"How are you still alive? Some of those wounds…" The youngest doesn't finish his sentence.
"Should have killed me, right? It no special power, it's just determination and the hope for better days." Shoto is silent, what does he have to fight for?
"He bought my mother so he could create a hero that can surpass All Might. The few memories I have were of her crying. The only time when I was ever happy was watching All Might with my mother."
"Then hold on to those happy memories. Keep them close to heart." Izuku said. "Also, there's more then one side to a story. Hear the whole story, from both of your parents." He stands up from the chair. "If you want to become a great hero then you need to use your full power."
"I'm not using his fire." Shoto growls.
"It's not his power, its yours." Izuku firmly said. "Use that power to surpass your father and become an even greater hero." Shoto is silent. Izuku stands up from the chair. "I think it's time for me to leave. Thank you for having me over." Izuku bows to the Todoroki siblings.
"Oh! I'll have our chauffeur drive you back to home." Fuyumi stands up. "I'll walk you out." She said and begins to escort him out of the house. "Do you believe that father can become better?" She asks.
"I do. It will take time, years even, but he'll become someone that you can be proud to call your father." Izuku answers. As they were about to leave the house, they see Endeavor.
"Leaving?" Izuku nods.
"I am. It was good to meet all of you." The first hero says his good byes and leaves the house, leaving Endeavor with his daughter.
"Fuyumi."
"Yes father?" The look in his eyes soften.
"I know I haven't been the best father and it may seen like I don't care about you, but I do. I already lost one child, losing another would destroy me completely." It's rare to see a moment of weakness like this from Endeavor. "I'm proud to call you my daughter, and I hope that some day you can forgive me for what I've done to our family." Tears well in Fuyumi's eyes.
"He really has a way with words, doesn't he?" Fuyumi wipes away her unshed tears. Saying a silent thank you to Dekiru, she returns inside.
V
It's a normal day for the people of Musutafu. People going to work and students going to school. This peace however is interrupted when they hear an alarm of a nearby jewelry store ring. It's a small-time gang of villains that's been scooping the store out for months now, studying hero patrols and getting the gear they needed for this heist. With bags full of jewels loaded up in the van they make their get away.
"Are we loaded up!?" The leader asked.
"We're good on time let's—" They hear the sound of someone landing on the roof of the van. The villains look at the person in horror. It wasn't just some hero, it was the legendary hero Dekiru, dressed in his hero costume. Dekiru smirks at the villains with his arms crossed.
"Want to guess who got their license?" The hero asked.
"Oh… Crap…" Before the villains can act, Izuku descends on them, quickly taking care of them with little effort. Once they've been apprehended, Izuku is greeted by some police officers.
"Great work Dekiru!" The officer salutes him.
"No problem!" Izuku said. "Do you need help with anything else?"
"Nope! We're good!" Izuku's ear piece comes to life.
"Dekiru! We got a hit and run!"
"Understood!" Izuku blasts himself forwards with his quirk, boosting himself by blasting fire from his feet and hands. It's been two days since Dekiru has gotten his license, since then he's been working as a freelance hero. Freelance heroes are heroes who don't have an agency. They're often called to help other agencies when the agency is short staffed. Today he's helping out one of the first heroes he met when he arrived in the future, his name is Kamui Woods. The hero is a hard working young man that just became a full fledged hero after years of being a sidekick.
"I sighted the suspect!" Izuku announced as he flies towards the speeding car. "Proceeding to intercept!" He lands on the roof of the car and beings to use his quirk to overheat the vehicle's engine. It takes a few seconds for smoke to billow from the hood. It sputters and dies, forcing the suspect to slow to a stop. He bails out of the still moving vehicle, only to be captured by Kamui Woods and his branches.
"Damn it!" The villain shouts as he struggles in his bindings. Izuku goes into the car and puts it in park to make sure it doesn't roll away.
"Great work Dekiru!" The wood hero complements Dekiru. "The police are on their way."
"Thanks!" Izuku said.
"Continue your patrol, I can handle this villain." Kamui orders.
"Are you sure?" Izuku asks. The hero nods. "Okay! Thanks a lot!" Using his quirk, he blasts off. The whole day is filled with stopping villains, criminals, saving and helping people. Just as he's about to call it a day, he gets a call.
"Dekiru! There's a fire at 12th street!"
"Understood!" Izuku quickly makes his way to 12th street and sees half of the house in flames. He spots the firefighting hero Backdraft and makes his way to him.
"Backdraft! What's the situation?" Izuku asked.
"Grease fire. Poor people didn't know how to put it out. Luckily they made a run for it." This makes Izuku cringe.
"They tried to use water, didn't they?" Izuku asked. Backdraft nods. "I got something for this…" He slides on his respirator and concentrates, focusing on the heat of the fire, drawing it all into one place, thankfully for him, this small blaze can easily be pulled in and condescend into one single point. Once he's done a small sphere of fire floats in his hands.
"That's amazing!" One of the firefighter's comments. Izuku focuses on the fire, expelling all of the heat from the blaze, starving it until it fizzles and dies.
"Great work Dekiru!"
"Make sure the source doesn't catch on fire again." Backdraft orders.
"Well… It's about time I head out, I'm done for the night. Good work Backdraft." The hero salutes.
"Thank you, sir!" Hearing this makes Izuku chuckle.
"Just call me Dekiru." Izuku waves good bye and leaves. As he was making his way back to Kamui Woods agency, he feels a pair of eyes on him once again. He stops, looks around but finds no one.
"Probably just some reporter or a fan." Izuku continues his trek back to the Kamui's agency.
V
Once school is finished, Katsuki makes his way to the beach. It's been two days since Dekiru busted on the hero scene and he's been trending since he started. The news won't stop talking about him and social media is going nuts. His parents were even talking about saving some money so they can help build his agency. He just hopes he comes back and helps them train.
He arrives at the beach and sees that most of the beach has been clean. It would have taken months to fully clean the beach but thanks to Eijiro, Mina and Kaminari they were almost done. Eijirou spots Katsuki and waves him over.
"Hey dude! He's here guys!" Mina waves to Katsuki. "Ready to work Bakugo!?" Katsuki smirks.
"Of course, raccoon eyes!" He makes his way to the beach. "Is he here?" Katsuki asked.
"I am now." Izuku said as he arrives, dressed in baggy cargo pants and a hoodie. He suddenly finds himself surrounded by the young hero hopefuls.
"Dude! I saw you on TV. You were awesome!" Denki excitably said.
"Yeah! You were so manly!"
"Totally awesome!" Cheers Mina. Izuku brings up his hand, signaling them to stop.
"Okay that's enough, now it's been a few days, how is everyone's progress?" Izuku inquires.
"My quirk has been getting stronger thanks to Bakugo." Kirishima hardens his arm. It looks more harder and sharper then before. Kaminari steps towards Izuku.
"Check this out." Kaminari activate his quirk. His body starts to give off sparks of electricity. "Pretty cool, huh!?" He accidently zaps Kirishima.
"Ow! Wait that didn't hurt too bad." Hearing this from Kirishima, he quickly turns off his quirk.
"Sorry dude!" It was Ashido's turn to show what she learned.
"Now it's my turn!" She activates her quirk. Acid pools in her palms, she brings her hands together and fires a high velocity stream of acid at a piece of metal. The acid punches a hole into the metal sheet. "You like it! I call it my Corrosive Beam!"
"That's great Ashido! Did you think of any way to use your power for support?" Izuku asked.
"I'm working on something, but right now I can't make enough acid at the moment. I need to level up my quirk before I can do it." She explains.
"Okay Katsuki, what progress did you make?" Katsuki smirks.
"Of course." He holds up his hand and lets off a large explosion. "My explosions are bigger now. As for a special attack, I'm working on something."
"Keep at it Katsuki, but make sure you don't neglect your studies. That goes for all of you." Izuku lectures.
"Why you got to bust balls man!" Kaminari groans.
"I'm not exactly good at school work either." Mina sighs.
"I could do better…" Kirishima admits.
"You idiots better improve your grades otherwise you won't get into U.A." Katsuki scolds them for their failing grades.
"Maybe you can help us?" Mina inquires hopefully.
"Help yourself raccoon eyes!" Katsuki shouts.
"Okay guys, it's time to get to work. If we keep up a good pace, we'll be done in half a year." Izuku said. Suddenly, a thought crossed Mina's mind.
"What happens when we're done?" She asked.
"Well…" Izuku starts. "I didn't take in account for all of the help. When I started, I just thought it was going to be Katsuki and myself."
"I'm still going to train." Katsuki said.
"Same here!" Kirishima said. Mina smiles.
"Oh! I should get a new swimsuit once we're done with the beach! It will be open to the public once it's all clean!"
"A new swimsuit…" Kaminari begins to think of Mina in a bikini. "Nice…" He whispers.
"Okay guys, this beach won't get clean by itself. We got work to do!" Izuku announces.
"Right!" They all cheer and get to work. All of them work to dusk, hauling heavy scrap and junk. Once they were finished for the day, everyone makes their way home. Izuku smiles and looks at the beach. Once it's done, the kids will be ready for U.A high.
"I wonder…" Izuku begins to think of the future. Once they're all grown up and become heroes, maybe he can hire them to be his sidekicks once he gets his agency started. "First I need an agency, I won't be able to provide internships if I don't have one and have permission from the commission." Izuku stops his mumblings when he feels himself being watched again. He decides to take a different route from his normal one. If a villain is following him, then they better be ready for a fight.
V
Izuku makes his way down an alleyway and stops just half way. He looks behind him and shouts at the person following him.
"I know your there. Come out and face me already!" After wait for a few seconds, someone steps out of the shadows. Izuku is shocked at who has been following him. He crosses his arms, looking at her sternly.
"Don't you have school tomorrow young lady?" He asked. The girl has blonde hair styled in two messy buns. She's wearing a high school cardigan and a short skirt with brown shoes and white socks. She has a manic look in her cat like eyes and is blushing.
"Finally… We meet at last…" She said, barely containing her excitement. "When I first saw you on the news, all of those beautiful scars I knew I had to meet you." She pulls out a knife and charges. "And give you one myself!" Izuku narrowly dodges the attack.
'She's fast!' Izuku is shocked at her speed.
"The moment I saw that beautiful body of yours I knew I had to have you!" The girl exclaims gleefully.
"You know. If you wanted to learn about how I got my scars you could have just I don't know, ask!?"
"I love you!" She attacks again, only for Izuku to dodge again.
"I don't even know you!" He dodges a series of swipes and stabs. Izuku uses his quirk to fire a blast of hot air at the girl sending her flying back. She recovers and brings up her knife, pointing at Izuku.
"I'm Toga Himiko! I think you'll look much better bloody and beaten up!" Suddenly, she feels the surrounding temperature rise.
"I'm giving you one last chance to cease your actions. Stand down and surrender." Izuku orders. The edge in his voice make Toga feel weak in the knees.
"Not until your all bloody!" Suddenly, Izuku's clothes catch on fire and burn away. Underneath he has his hero costume on. He furrows his brows, determined to stop the crazed girl.
"Looks like there's no avoiding it." Izuku takes a fighting stance. "If it's a fight you want then you got it. Once you've been defeated, we're going to have a long talk about your actions." Toga can't help but feel excited. Ever since she first saw the legendary hero's scarred body she fell in love. Toga can't help but wonder what it would be like to be there when he first got those scars, watching as his precious blood flowed freely from his body. Today she adds her mark to the canvas that is Dekiru's body.
Himiko charges at Izuku again swinging at him with her knife. He dodges her attacks and counters with a blast of heat, this sends her tumbling back but she quickly recovers. Moving faster, she closes the distance and quickly slashes at Dekiru. The hero is once again stunned by her speed, just how is this manic girl so quick?
"I almost got you!" She cheers.
"You're good I'll give you that!" She swipes at Dekiru again, but this time he catches her by the wrist, twists her arm and throws her to the ground, pinning her. "What is the purpose for doing this? You're a talented young girl, why become a villain!?"
"I just want to live my own way!" She struggles.
"Why are you obsessed with blood? Is it because of your quirk?"
"I want blood so I can become the person I love!" With a flick of her other wrist, she reveals a hidden knife.
"Crap!" Izuku jumps off her just in time. A second longer and he would have a knife in his leg.
"I'm not done yet!" She charges at Dekiru, only to find herself engulfed in blood. It solidifies, creating a crystalline prison, her knife slipping from her hands and falling to the ground. "NO!" She tries to struggle but can't move.
"Are you alright Dekiru?" It's none other then Vlad King. "I didn't think you would need back up."
"Better safe then sorry." Izuku watches the girl thrash about. "You know this girl?" He asked the hero.
"Yes, I do. She attacked a fellow student and proceeded to drink his blood through a straw." Vlad explained. "That was almost a year ago, since then she's been on the run."
"She fought like a starving animal." Izuku mused.
"According to information we managed to get on the girl, her quirk gives her a thirst for blood. He parents went to a specialist to help her urges." Hearing this makes Izuku frown.
"Guess the treatment didn't stick…" Izuku said. Now it suddenly makes since why she said she wanted to live her own life. Forced to hide her quirk's nature and with no way to mitigate her bloodlust, she was bound to snap. "She must have seen something that triggered her."
"It's possible." Vlad comments. "Blood type quirks aren't viewed in a very positive light."
"Sounds like you speak from experience." Dekiru said. The blood hero nods.
"I do…" He sighs. "The police will be here soon and she'll be out of our hands." This alarms Izuku.
"She's not a villain, she's a victim." Izuku said firmly. "None of this would have happened if she had proper help."
"I agree with you, but she still has to answer for her what she's done." They hear police sirens. Once they arrived, Vlad melts her bloody prison and the police cuff her and escort her to a patrol car. Izuku expected her to keep fighting, to resist the police. But the young girl looks completely defeated. What she didn't know was that Izuku wasn't someone who gives up. Be it against a villain, or someone who needs help.
A/N Sorry for the delay, I wanted to get this chapter out sooner, but I needed to make some improvements. I decided to speed through the Todoroki family drama, don't worry, we still have Touya to worry about.
Next chapter, the aftermath of Toga's capture.