A/N: At this point, Izuku and Itsuka should be about 8 years old. Also, I added something towards the end of chapter one (names and Quirks for the moms). Feel free to check it out.

Chapter Two: Resolution

Seven Years Ago…

It was another grey, rainy day in Tokyo. Observing the weather from her classroom window, Momo Yaoyorozu wasn't one to put much stock in superstitions, but the weather was foreboding nonetheless. Sitting at her desk, she reviewed her notes, the odd number of students giving her a bit of space she otherwise wouldn't have.

Korusan was a prestigious private school where the classes were primarily composed of children of prominent Heroes, with children of wealthy individuals rounding out their numbers. Or in cases like hers, where both categories applied. Discretion was the watchword, especially for where some of the more private figures were concerned.

All that to say, she and her peers had great things expected of them, and the culture fostered at Korusan was intended to reflect this, regardless of the fact that the oldest of the class was barely nine years old.

She looked up when the teacher walked in, heralded by the rest of the class finding their seats in a hurried manner.

"Good morning, class," he said, nearly dropping a stack of papers on his desk.

"Good morning," was the chorused reply.

"Before we get started today, we have a new student joining us today." On cue, the student in question entered the room. "He recently moved here from Musutafu."

A messy mop of green hair that looked like it was underwater, drifting around his head, likely indicating his Quirk. Bags under his eyes, fixed into a thousand-yard stare, gave the impression of chronic sleep deprivation. Thin as a reed, he might as well have walked out of a concentration camp for all the life he had.

"Can you introduce yourself?"

"I'm Izuku Midoriya," the boy said, completely monotone. "Pleased to meet you."

The teacher eyed him cautiously. "Do you have anything you want to tell about yourself?"

"No." And that was that.

The teacher quietly sighed. "Very well. For now, you can sit next to Yaoyorozu. She's in the back corner with the open space."

Momo wanted to protest in some fashion. Everything about the boy screamed "avoid at all costs", and the whole situation sounded like the beginning of a bad manga plot. But, she reminded herself, she was taught to mind her manners – and as her mother so often reminded her, she represented the family – she schooled her features and hoped no one noticed her momentary breach in decorum.

"I don't know of any Heroes named Midoriya," someone whispered.

"Could be another rich kid."

Robotic and stiff, the boy moved into the seat, barely acknowledging her presence as he placed his things down. He pulled out a notebook and a pencil, popping the former open, then began scribbling in it as the teacher began, lost in his own little world.

As class progressed, she noticed he was moving at a very different rhythm in regards to his notetaking.

Is he drawing? Momo wondered.

He was drawing the teacher…writing things on the whiteboard, faithfully recreated down to the last detail. His handwriting could use some work, but other than that, he was unobtrusive. For the moment, Momo postponed trying to get him to focus.

[IB]

In between periods, Sho Hajime slipped up beside her, beaming at her in a way that inferred an incoming headache.

"Morning, cousin," he said.

"Good morning," she replied.

While they shared similar facial features and coloration, his eyes were more of a flinty grey compared to her glossy onyx. Paternal first-cousin or not, he proved to be more than a handful at times.

"What do you think of your new desk mate?"

"We've known him for less than a day, Sho."

"Don't be like that, Momo. Surely something's come up that my genius cousin's figured out by now."

Momo thought for a moment, then said "he's good at drawing."

Sho glanced at Midoriya, now writing in an entirely different notebook. "Ah, so he's easily distracted."

"The drawings were on class materials."

"Really? How so?"

Their conversation halted when the teacher signaled her to his desk.

"Yaoyorozu, could I speak with you for a moment?" he asked.

Momo nodded. "Of course, sir." She got up, missing the mischievous grin her cousin sported.

Settling in the corner, the teacher spoke in hushed tones, barely audible above the happy chatter of the students in the room.

"Yaoyorozu, I am sorry to put this on you, but could you bring him up to speed? According to his transcripts, he appears to be on top of things, so I don't think you'll have much trouble, but apparently he had some trouble at his last school when it came to interacting with peers. I'd rather have someone who won't pry too much."

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Sho poking his head from around the door, grinning like a fool. Whatever he was up to…

Oh no, Momo thought, realizing Sho's plan, to her existential horror. The teacher noticed about the same time.

"Hajime, no!"

Too little, too late. Sho activated his Quirk and flashed across the room, right in front of their new classmate.

"What'cha doing?" he asked, quite loudly, slamming his hands on the desk in front of him.

Whatever reaction he had been expecting, the resulting telekinetic burst was not it. Everything was shoved back, Hajime suffering the worst of it, flung into the clutter of desks. Bits of paper, some pencils, and loose items on the desks had been tossed about.

For a moment, no one moved, a quiet settling in the room as everyone caught their breath. Then Hajime slowly sat up from the wreckage, rubbing the back of his head.

"Whoa," he groaned, dazed.

Midoriya had a death grip on his desk, eyes wide – from fear or anger, Momo couldn't tell – and fixed on the spot on front of him, all while he took deep breaths. Shortly after, the shock wore off and his breathing came down to normal level. Hair pulling close to his head, the wavy patterns returned, followed by his face slackening to his previous, placid expression.

"Is anyone hurt?" The teacher asked.

Apart from the culprit, the most damaging injury was an eraser to the eye. While the teacher inspected the collateral damage, Hajime clambered back to his feet, then triumphantly thrust his fists into the air with a little hop.

"That was awesome!" he loudly declared.

Momo cautiously approached Midoriya, eyes once again staring off into the abyss and his drawing half-completed on the desk, arms defensively pinned down over it.

"Midoriya?" No response. "Midoriya, are you okay?"

His eyes widened and his arms relaxed. "Not really." Letting go of the desk, his hands were shaking ever so slightly.

"Do you need to talk to someone?"

"No." He picked up his pencil again and resumed drawing.

Momo blinked. "…Okay," she said, then thought to herself, how do I fix this?

[IB]

Before the last period of the day, Momo dragged her cousin in front of her desk, where Midoriya was still at work on his notebook. For once, her rambunctious cousin was downright contrite, shoulders hunched over and head bowed.

And for good reason, thought Momo, then said to her cousin. "Hajime, I believe you have something you need to say to Midoriya."

"Hello, Midoriya," he said, voice subdued, but otherwise clear. "I am Sho Hajime. I'm Yaoyorozu's cousin."

Momo discretely nudged him. "And?"

He bowed low, nearly clipping his head on the desk. "I apologize for startling you. My actions were unseemly, and caused unnecessary distress for you and our classmates."

Looking up from his writing, Midoriya studied Hajime for minute, weighing something in his mind. Without changing expression, he eventually nodded.

"Okay. Apology accepted," he said, with exactly the same level of passion as his introduction. "You were uninformed, therefor didn't know what would happen if you surprised me like that."

And he went back to his notebook, scribbling furiously.

"So…" Hajime drawled, cautiously peering down at the notebook, "what are your studying?"

Mindful of the teacher's instructions, Momo tensed, worried where this was going. Yet Midoriya continued writing without breaking stride.

"Quirks," he replied.

"Oh." Hajime blinked. "Which one are you on?"

"Yours."

Both of them looked down at the freshly scrawled out characters for Sho's name. Along with it was a sketch of Sho in school uniform, a manic grin that captured his essence better than Momo had anticipated.

Hajime perked up. "Momo's right. You are really good at drawing! And if you want a name for it, I'm calling it Blink."

"Thanks," Midoriya replied, voice still flat, adding another line of writing to incorporate the new information.

"You planning on a Support course?"

That got Midoriya to pause, his hair stilling as he looked up. "What?"

"You like studying Quirks. And you're probably as smart as my cousin if can figure out the distance from here to the door on the fly."

"How did you figure that out?" Momo asked.

"He wrote it down already. Along with some other guesses about my Quirk."

Momo looked at the notes, raising an eyebrow. "You can read upside down?"

"Yeah?" Hajime said, cautiously.

"To answer your question," Midoriya interjected, scratching his chin. "I haven't decided yet."

"Eh, I'm sure Momo can help you with some ideas."

For the first time, Midoriya looked at her directly, a trace of curiosity in his expression. It was somewhat unnerving, that deep green practically swallowing the light as it came, but he seemed genuinely interested on what she might have to say.

For a moment, she wanted to back away, leave the conversation and move on with her day. But this was the first time she had seen Midoriya react to outside stimuli in a positive manner. If she was going to be working with him, she wanted to encourage this behavior.

And Sho simply blundered into it.

"Well, there are Quirk specialists, analysts for the news…"

[IB]

Itsuka sat quietly, watching as her father finished his walk across the room with the rails for support. It had been three years, with many tears shed throughout those trying times, but he looked more like himself again.

She and Ms. Obsidian clapped at his success, and her father smiled and waved, leaning on the beams.

"Nothing to it," he said, taking a deep breath. "Let's try something new."

Stepping beyond the supports, his legs wobbled a little. He tested his weight, then moved a litter further.

"Careful, daddy," said Itsuka, walking up alongside him.

Pushing off the supports, he stagger-stepped across the floor, only to stumble after a few, pained steps, Itsuka helping him slow his descent.

"Son of a-" he gritted his teeth, cutting the next word off.

Obsidian rolled her eyes, pushing a strand of purple hair aside. "Don't push yourself."

Itsuka guided her to the wall, then eased him into the nearest chair. Rolling up the legs of his sweatpants, he adjusted the braces again.

"I thought I had it that time," he grumbled.

"You're still making progress," Itsuka said. "I'll get the crutches."

"Relax, Shin," Obsidan added. "Most people wouldn't be able to walk at all after what you went through. As your legal representative in this matter, I advise you stop moping."

That earned the woman a pointed stare. "Nori…" he growled, but there wasn't that much bite to it. Listening to the two bicker at times was like how she imagined siblings would jab at each other.

Itsuka returned with the crutches, holding them out for her father. A wane smile graced his lips as he took them and pulled himself back to standing, letting himself rest his weight on the supports with a wince.

"Thanks, Itsuka."

"Daddy, are you okay?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart," said Obsidian. "Your father's just being pig-headed."

"Itsuka called me a mule the other day. I think I'd prefer that."

Obsidian snorted, suppressing a smirk. "I see. Anyway, go ahead and get showered. We got places to be. You might as well get ready, too, Itsuka."

Since the older woman had come in her business attire, a suit and pencil skirt combination that was a few shades darker than her hair, once Itsuka had changed into the teal dress she had picked out, she was waiting to fuss over her hair with a brush.

"You and your father both," she playfully grumbled. "All that wild mess that never seems to stay in order." Obsidian pulled the mass of red hair into a side-tail. "There," she said, turning the stool around to face the mirror. "Isn't that better?"

Itsuka stared at her reflection, subconsciously picking at a strand, picking out the similarities and differences between her and her mother.

Obsidian was about to say something when her father emerged from his bedroom, his mass of black hair done into a top-knot, green eyes glinting in the light. He had a grey suit and slacks, a forest green dress shirt with a gold tie.

"You look nice," Itsuka said.

"Eh, had to learn how to do it at some point," her father quipped.

As much as he tried to play it off, she noticed how her father was self-conscious of his appearance, especially around her. While he had been working out again, he was still a far cry from his Pro Hero days, and his hair still looked a bit lank at times.

Itsuka quickly banished that particularly unpleasant train of thought.

"How are the braces?" she asked.

Wobbling around like a newborn deer, he steadied himself. "I'll live. I'll probably still need the crutches for a while yet."

"Right," Obsidian said, jingling her keys, "let's go."

[IB]

Piling into Katanori's car, the Kendos taking up the backseat. As they pulled away, Shinutsu checked on his braces again, trying to find. The route they were taking was mostly familiar, though he couldn't imagine where his former coworker was taking him.

"You just had to get me out of the house," he grumbled. "Today of all days."

"Can't have you moping alone, Shinutsu," Katanori retorted. "Not after last year."

Itsuka's father frowned. "Well, since you're bound and determined to see this through, where are we going?"

"You'll see," she answered with a knowing smirk.

Since he was not liable to pull any answers from the lawyer or his daughter, Shinutsu stared out the window, watching the world go by. It took only a minute before the silence got to him.

"Nori, how did your interview go?" he asked, trying to find a conversation.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that you're speaking to the newest addition to U.A.'s faculty."

He blinked, the smiled. "Congratulations!" he said, then tussled Itsuka's hair. "Maybe you can be one of Itsuka's teachers?"

"If Little Itsuka wants to go into the Business course, perhaps. Last I heard, she had her heart set on another path."

Itsuka gave her father a quick glance, then looked away. Shinutsu quietly sighed. He knew where Ituska wanted to go and what she wanted to do with her life, and he was honestly terrified. He knew firsthand the demands and risks of being Pro Hero entailed, and he knew his daughter was all too aware of those costs.

Was it selfish or hypocritical of him to try and steer his daughter away from the life that had nearly taken everything from him?

"Daddy, don't leave me!"

Shinutsu gritted his teeth at the memory. He couldn't tell her no, not after he nearly left her alone because he had let himself be consumed in his grief. He would just have to make sure she would be ready for whatever her choices would carry her.

More idle chatter about nothing in particular as the drive continued until they pulled into the wharfs.

"Here we are," Katanori announced, coming to a stop.

"Is that…?" he trailed off.

"Selkie's boat, yeah."

Once he was out of the car, Katanori was at his left and Itsuka on his right, guiding him up the gangplank to the Oki Mariner. Standing at the top of the ramp was the Sea Rescue Hero.

"Nice and easy," Selkie said, flashing a grin at him and saluting. "Welcome aboard, sir!"

Making his way up the gangplank, Selkie ushered him past his crew, letting Shinutsu see everyone else who had come.

In addition to Oki Mariner crew, there was Fugue accompanied by her sidekick. Wind Waker, Dark Cloud, so many others he hadn't seen in ages, all looking to him. As he passed through the crowd, many took the chance to shake his hand, or rest a hand on his shoulder.

He found himself at the front of the crowd, where a table had numerous pictures laid out, sixteen in total. Portraits of the fallen with a candle for each one, flickering in the breeze.

"Here you go, boss," Fugue said, handing him a glass. "Whenever you're ready."

In the privacy of his mind, he was ready to curse Nori for putting him in such a position without warning him. The woman gave him a slight smirk and a nod.

He was quiet for a minute, all eyes on him with glasses in hand, even Itsuka, though it looked like someone had secured a soft drink for her.

"Today, we remember a tragedy that stole a great deal for us. When villains struck these shores, and our agency stood up to the plate to stop them." He paused, searching for the words to say. "While it's all too easy to remember the losses and the empty space they left behind, we should never forget why they would be willing to make that sacrifice. Not for accolades or opinion pieces. Not because the integrity of the agency was at stake."

He licked his lips.

"We answered the call, and when it comes down to it, they stood for us. We stood for one another, for our family."

Murmured approval quietly rippled around the crowd, heads bowed.

"No matter what, even though many of us have gone separate ways, even if most of us don't share blood, we are still a family. Though they may be gone, they shall never be forgotten by us who remain. And so." He held up his glass, everyone mirroring him. "To family."

[IB]

Six Years Ago…

Sitting in the corner, arms and legs crossed, Sayuri Emiya watched as her…well, technically the boy was her employer, even if the Lovecraftian Lawyer handled most of the transactions for her fee. Anyway, her young employer had been called in. As his butler, chauffer, and bodyguard, she had ferried him to the office building to meet with the family's lawyer.

Listening with one ear, she followed the conversation, surreptitiously fiddling with her fingernails, buffing the metallic surfaces. The temperature in the room had seen her loosen her tie somewhat, but her young master hardly seemed bothered by it all.

For a kid barely nine years old, he was extraordinarily grim. Not in the 'seriously cute' sort of grim, but the sort of solemnness that she often found in combat veterans and the like. Far more than his age and experience could account for.

"Is he dead?" Izuku asked.

"No," the lawyer said, "but he did pass along some instructions in the event something like this happened."

A manila packet was passed across the desk. Izuku gingerly took it up, staring at it as one would a viper.

Sayuri looked up from her fingernails, red eyes tracking the boy's posture. As he read through the packet, his back had straightened out, and his head was held higher.

"How soon does this need to be processed?" Izuku asked.

A tentacle reached up, scratching at the approximation of the man's chin. "The sooner the better. But I will work at your pace, young Midoriya."

Izuku flipped the packet in his hands, tightening his grip, then looked up. "Thank you. I think that that will be all for now."

No words were exchanged the length of their walk from the office. When they climbed into the car, the boy cleared his throat.

"Yuri," he said.

"Sir?" she replied.

"Your dossier said you have combat training and experience."

That was hardly a secret. "Just as you say, sir," she answered. "What do you need from me?", then mentally added, as long as it doesn't land me in prison.

"I need you to teach me how to fight."

The butler blinked. "Are we talking about bullies or something bigger?"

"Bigger." She could hear him smile. "Much bigger."

Mulling the notion over, Sayuri inclined her head. "Well, you're the one paying me. Never taught anyone before, but I can work out training regime. It's going to be tough. Think you're up for it?"

She glanced into the review mirror. Hands clasped in his lap, her charge still had that distant gaze, but it had diminished just a little more. She could see the grim satisfaction backing that smile, and that fading ember of life became a fire in his eyes.

"Absolutely."

[IB]

Sho Hajime. Quirk: Blink (allows him to cross a distance up to 10 meters nearly instantly).

Momo Yaoyorozu. Quirk: Creation (she can create any non-living matter from her fat cells, provided she knows the composition).

A/N: I originally planned on splitting this chapter up, but that kind of disrupted the flow of the next chapter, hence the delay as I tried to figure out how everything worked together.

And now it's time to unpack this chapter.

In keeping with the Star Wars theme for naming places, Korusan is a bastardization of Coruscant. I would have used Soumei (where Iida went before U.A.), but as I recall, that is a lower secondary school/middle school/junior high. In any case, this encounter with Izuku will have an impact on Yaoyorozu's later development.

Sho Hajime is an OC, introduced primarily because Momo would likely adhere to instructions given by their teacher (Iida was similarly excluded for the same reason. He'll show up later, though), and I needed someone a bit more reckless who could draw Izuku from his shell in a positive (-ish) manner. Also, having more characters involved with the Support aspect is both fun and useful from a narrative perspective (Shinso and Hatsume are terribly underutilized characters, especially when they can provide more insight to their respective courses). As it stands, he won't be too involved in the overall plot, but he will pop in every now and again.

On Itsuka's side of things, we get a look at the Kendos' own healing process (among others). Not going to lie, that speech fought me every step of the way, and I'm not even sure I got it quite the way I wanted it (though the same could be said of the rest of the chapter). I think this will also be the last time I really make use of most of Shintsu and Katanori's former colleagues (at least for a while).

And thanks to Itsuka's dad, we have some names to work with, which according to my currently limited understanding of kanji, breaks down as follows: Shinutsu: Shin (elasticity) + utsu (to hit/strike). Katanori is Kata (solid) + Nori (law, referring to her profession), her family name being Tesetsu, Te (hand) + Setsu (sharp), or knife-hand, if you will. Akatsuchi (Itsuka's mother) means "red earth", denoting her hair color and her Quirk. Sho means "to fly/soar", with Hajime meaning "beginning" or "origin", his name mostly being cobbled together before I remembered I have books on the subject. Sayuri means "Lily", which is primarily derived from her given birth name, while the first kanji of her surname means "protection" (appropriate, given her present occupation).

Speaking of, Sayuri Emiya is essentially an aged-up Illyasviel von Einzbern, farmed out from Fate/Stay Night. I originally planned to have Walter C. Dornez from Hellsing (or an expy of him, at least) as the resident butler, but since I've already been working with Illya for Fate/Reckoning, I decided to convert her magecraft into a Quirk, played it off of Walter's fighting style, and voila! Yuri the Combat Butler!

…Also, Izuku needed some consistent adult supervision without All Might or his mother, and without tying him to another family, all while still keeping Hisashi out of the picture (in related news, the final section would be just after All Might and AfO crippled each other). So, Izuku's going to have an Alfred to his Bruce Wayne (or Walter to Integra Hellsing).

On the plus side, now that we've gotten through some of the messier, emotional bits, the next chapter should prove a bit more easily completed.

And now it's time to end this long authorial note. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated (and I'm sure this chapter needs it), even if it's only to tell me my attempts at coming up with proper Japanese names leaves something to be desired.