Chapter 35: Midoriya Izuku XXXI

A/N: Yeah… This one is supremely late. Apologies for that. Good news: I finally have a lot of free time to burn through. I should finally be able to post on time for once — and even better; I might just pump out some other chapters to supplement my lateness. So there's looking forward to that, I suppose.

"Why are we here again?" Izuku growls.

"I told you why! We need to stock up on supplies!" Hatsume exclaims, waving her hands in the air. "We don't know if those scientist inventor stuck-ups will be supplying me with scrap or not! And I'm not risking going somewhere so far from my lab when there's a chance that I'll suddenly be hit with inspiration! If I don't have any materials to work with, how do you expect me to function?! To make my babies?!"

Izuku sighs, already feeling the anxiety and discontent seeping into his very being. He hides this behind an unassuming pair of sunglasses and an impassive face, all while retreating further into the hoodie he's wearing as Hatsume babbles on.

Again, he doesn't exactly mind her talkative state; he appreciates the unique charm that it gives to her character.

But the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall is a venue that's a bit too public for his tastes, and it's a pitiful circumstance he finds himself in that Hatsume had decided to drag him here. Especially when an unfortunate and near constant side effect of Hatsume's signature chattering is the occasional glance or judging look from the shoppers around them.

He doesn't necessarily care for stares. Well, he does — but only a smidge. It's more that all the attention could result in unwanted run-ins with people Izuku would rather avoid.

He isn't exactly all too worried; he's fairly certain that his disguise will hold up under imprecise scrutiny, and he highly doubts that he'll run into somebody who's still actively working on the case of a missing boy from over a year ago. But he can never be too careful — lack of caution had been the downfall of many before him, after all.

And even then, that's only part of the problem. The root of Izuku's unease runs much deeper — while to most the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall is just a place to shop and hang out, the massive complex harbors a very different meaning to Izuku. It's a place that holds a much darker place in his past; it is the place where his dad had been murdered, after all.

Even to this day, the whole circumstance surrounding the event astounds him. He'd found out early on that villain attacks on such a lucrative target as a mall weren't rare. However, he also found out that very rarely do such instances ever end with civilian deaths. The heroes' response was simply too strong and prevalent, and the criminals often were too hesitant to risk higher forms of retaliation.

So of course, he and his father just so happened to be caught in one of the few scenarios that involved the more unstable, less consequence-driven types of villains. The fact that he was involved in an event of such miniscule scales… it scourges up negative thoughts.

So there he is, walking alongside his (friend? acquaintance? business partner? pawn?) inside the place that he hasn't stepped a single foot in since the day his father died. No matter how much he tries, he can't quite kick off the feeling of unease and disgruntlement he's currently harboring. Just walking around the place is sprouting up too many bad memories.

But he has to endure, if just to sate Hatsume's limited (if eccentric) desires. It's the least he can do for inadvertently dragging the innocent girl into the midst of Sensei's machinations, after all. Even if he doesn't quite know what role she'll play in the long run, or just how badly she'll be caught up in the web of crime and affliction.

And if keeping her happy means begrudgingly dragging himself through the one of the few places still around that would dredge up trauma from his past, then so be it.

"Sooooo…" Hatsume trails off, leaning outwards towards Izuku. "Why'd your sensei-sponsor dude want you to come to I-Island with me, hmm?"

"What do you mean?" Izuku asks, keeping his voice even and he brings himself into focus.

"Well," Hatsume giggles. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you did a whole one-eighty switch in your decision making when he called you! A few words, and suddenly you wanted to go to I-Island when just a little bit before you were hesitant to even consider it!"

"I was not—"

Hatsume jabs her finger into Izuku's chest. "You were! I could sense it in the air!"

Izuku sighs, deciding to let her assume what she wants (even if her assumption is true — not that he would admit it, of course). Izuku gently pushes Hatsume out of his personal space, and the two continue walking as if nothing had happened.

"So," Hatsume continues. "Was it because your training time with him was getting in the way, and he cleared up some leisure time for you?" She turns to face him, eyes zooming in and out. "Or is he trying to get his grubby fingers on my inventions, hmm?! Because that isn't going to happen! Never ever!"

Hatsume pauses a bit, cocking her head in thought. "Though I suppose that I do owe you for getting me to my fancy new lab and sponsorship in the first place. I guess that I can give a few concessions because of that. Hmm…"

"I don't think it's that," Izuku offers, saving her the thinking energy. "My… Sensei has a lot of connections all over the country — all over the world even. I doubt that he'd want to pilfer some plans from some high school inventor, no matter how much of a prodigy they are."

"Oho! You referring to me?" Hatsume cackles. "You underestimate my skill if you don't think I'm the best there is!"

"Please, don't go into another spiel about your technical and engineering superiority. I heard enough on the way here."

"Hmph. Fine. But only because you asked nicely! Now come on! Let's get some stuff for baby making!"

Izuku suppresses a groan as the stares towards them increase in incredulity and intensity after that rather loud statement. He simply lets go and allows Hatsume to pull on his arm as she races forward.

It's not long after that Hatsume finally reaches her destination: a rather large and bustling hardware store stocked full of equipment coming straight from an inventor's wet dream.

To Izuku, the sight is a little bit unsettling. Inside the store are roaming robots moving to and fro, and inventors tinkering with their own inventions while they converse with fellow like-minded individuals for fresh perspectives (because apparently bringing potentially volatile equipment into the store is allowed). All while fire and fleeting plumes of smoke fill the air inside.

He's already been inside of Hatsume's lab. He can't imagine what it would be like going into a place — by his own will nonetheless — with an atmosphere potentially tenfold more hazardous from what he's already been in.

"I'd… rather not go in there," Izuku eventually stammers.

"What?!" Hatsume shrieks, spinning in place to face Izuku. "But come onnnnnnnnn!"

"Look," Izuku says, "I'll just stay out here, leaning against this wall. And if you have any questions to ask or want to talk while you're inside, go on ahead. I'll listen with my quirk; and answer if I feel like it."

"Oh yeah, right!" Hatsume pats him in the back, hard enough to cause him to stumble forward a bit. "Your quirk really is something, ain't it? Well, alright! I'll concede to you this time; but only because you presented a really good argument to me!"

Hatsume stomps into the store, Izuku sighing in relief as he leans against the wall right out front of the establishment. He makes sure to keep a steady focus around Hatsume, but other than that he closes his eyes and lets his quirk drift amongst the hustle and bustle of the mall.

He notices the usual things, of course — children whining, teens hanging out, couples out on dates, cash registers going off… But it's all just background fuzz to Izuku; nothing juicy or useful found from their existence.

So he listens further, scanning around for specifics, honing in on the littlest details — something to take his mind off of his current troubles. A young man scratching vigorously at his neck, a one yen coin plopping into a far off fountain, a buzzing fly circling a tossed out pizza, Kaminari Denki laughing at a joke about snakes, a news report on a television talking about the stocks—

Wait.

He refocuses his senses, centering upon a rather large group of what seems to teenagers. He doubles back on the voice he had heard just a moment ago and reassures himself that yes, the voice belongs to Kaminari Denki. Which must mean the girl to his left with the two agile tendrils moving around from her head is Jirou Kyoka, while the rather hulking boy to his right with what appears to be multiple appendages is Shoji Mezo.

In fact, the other seventeen individuals surrounding the three seem to make up the rest of class 1-A. The boy with the tail waving to and fro is likely Ojiro Mashirao, and the one with a small creature resting on his back and an unusually shaped head is likely Tokoyami Fumikage. The others have their own features that make them easy to identify with just sound, especially when considering their voices.

From there, it's fairly easy to single out the only other person aside from Kaminari that Izuku cares about in the slightest from the group. As it is, Izuku had long gotten used to Todoroki's body shape, posture, and habitual movement, so it isn't hard to pick him out from the group. Nevermind the fact that Yoarashi is by his side, speaking in his seemingly ever-present shouting voice.

Though, what comes to Izuku as an immense surprise is the apparent fact that even Bakugou seems to be present. He seems snappy and as hot-tempered as ever if the words coming from his mouth are any indication, but the mere fact that he is out on a large social outing with his classmates — and seemingly not by force — is strange in itself.

I wonder how 1-A ended up roping him up into this? Some sort of lost bet? Blackmail? Now wouldn't that be funny?

Of course, his thoughts are interrupted as he hears Hatsume calling for him.

–Michimoto! Yo, Jakku! Look behind you! Michi-kun!–

Izuku feels a subconscious twitch at that. Michimoto Jakku may not be his true name, but still. For someone to so casually make up a nickname from it and to address him with it so blatantly…

Izuku turns around, peering through the glass storefront. On the inside, he can see Hatsume, a huge grin on her face, waving an arm at him. –Finally! I was beginning to think that you weren't going to turn around!–

"I assume that you need something from me?"

-Uh huh. As you might remember from my earlier rant, we're here looking for some high quality materials that Yuuei or my new fancy sponsors won't directly supply me! Which is something I don't really get! I mean, they're the ones paying for this trip; they even gave me limited funds for 'esoteric supplies.'– She says the last parts with air quotes. –So why can't they just order me the parts themselves and deliver them to me?!–

"You're just mad that the process takes away from your tinkering time," Izuku interprets.

–Doesn't matter! Anyways! I'm looking for some specialized CARC — that's short for chemical agent resistant coating, you plebeian — for some armors I'm making for the hero course! You see, there's this one girl who I just know is going to be a repeat customer because of her quirk! Anyways, she has orange hair, you know? So I was thinking!– Hatsume holds up two canisters, one in each hand. –What do you think? English Violet or Teal?– She cocks her head. –Actually, nevermind. It has to be a shade of blue… but Tiffany or Turquoise? Hmm…–

Must be talking about Kendou, Izuku absentmindedly notes. Yeah. Kendou from 1-B, who's shown some sort of mutation or awakening with her quirk. And is also friends with Ibara… right…

Izuku suddenly works his quirk into overdrive, scourging the mall for any other signs of familiar profiles aside from those belonging to 1-B.

It takes a bit before he calms down, but he eventually does when he realizes no hide nor hair of Ibara anywhere on the premises despite the presence of 1-A.

Must not have planned on a joint trip then. That's a relief.

Though… from his rather extensive search, he did notice one familiar individual within the mall. Turns out, the random individual constantly scratching at their neck from earlier wasn't just some nameless face, but actually Tomura himself. And of course, Izuku only comes to this conclusion as Tomura comes within (normal) earshot. Which just so happens to be within eyesight as well.

And Tomura, clad in a concealing hoodie as well, has his gaze instantly centered on Izuku.

Well, there go my reservations about being recognized. Does it really count though, considering how much I spend with Tomura? Or the fact that he won't turn me into the police or kill me… probably?

It's not long before the two of them are standing face to face, the crowd departing around them, almost as if sensing the tension in the air.

Eventually, after a brief flex of his quirk, Izuku is the first to speak. "We can talk. If you want. I set up a bubble, so you don't have to worry about saying anything strange or incriminatory."

Tomura merely lets out a scoff in return. "Ah. Right. The infamous A.O.E. spell of 'Noise cancellation.' What an honor."

The sarcasm is clear in his voice, but Izuku doesn't pay any heed to it. He couldn't quite be demeaning himself before Tomura, after all. His pride won't allow it.

Izuku gets straight to the point. "Why are you here, exactly?"

Tomura huffs. "What? Can't I go out in peace to buy a new game that's out?"

Now that Izuku thinks about it, he does recall Tomura saying something about a new game earlier in the week. And of course, he had to go out and buy it today.

"And why this place specifically?" Izuku continues with his interrogation.

"Fuck me. Why does it matter?"

"I…" Izuku takes a second to reconsider his words. "Sorry… Just… It just didn't seem all too coincidental, is all. But if it actually is, well…"

"What doesn't seem coincidental, brat?"

"Nothing, nothing." Izuku waves Tomura off. "Continue on as you were. You don't bother me, I won't bother you. That way we're both out of each others' hair. How's that sound?"

Tomuras lets out a laugh. "You kidding? As if! Just seeing you in front of me has already ruined my day! We're already past the point of you not bothering me!"

"Tomura—"

"No. Your turn. Why are you here? And standing in front of a techie shop? Last I remember, you can't craft for shit."

Izuku thinks up of a deflection quickly. "What? Can't I pick up a new hobby?"

"When you're so obsessed over your grandiose thoughts of staging a 'rebellion?' I don't think so. So tell me the truth. I might consider getting out of your hair then."

"Well maybe I've finally found the time to—"

Izuku nearly jumps in place, startled by the thump in the glass behind him. Tomura doesn't quite hear the commotion, though Izuku clearly can. Just because he has a bubble set up that voids the immediate area of sound doesn't mean he can't still hear everything outside of it.

–Michi-kun! Who's your friend?! That's not your sponsor-sensei, is it!? He seems all skin-flakey! And in need of lots of lotion!–

Izuku ignores the commotion, and internally curses the fact that he knows Hatsume's pushing herself against the glass in order to get Izuku's attention.

Quite possibly worse, however, is what Izuku comes to notice at his front side. He scowls at the grin that slowly comes to accompany Tomura's face, knowing completely what it means. After all, while the older boy may be deaf to the outside world, he isn't blind. He can see Hatsume quite easily. And from there, it would just take a bit of brainstorming to connect the dots.

Tomura lets out a cackle. "Michi-kun, huh? Now that's funny. Cute too, if I really, really squint while thinking about it."

He heard that? No… he couldn't have. So… Looks like he can read lips. Huh. Didn't know he could do that… Could actually be problematic in the future. Gotta keep that in mind.

Still, Izuku knows that there's no point in acting dumb anymore. So he turns towards Hatsume, shows his displeasure as broadly as he can on his face, and gestures for her to scamper off.

"I'll explain later," he tells her through his quirk. "This is a serious matter. One that you need to keep out of. So stay in there until I'm done, alright?"

Hatsume rolls her eyes, leaning her head back to face the ceiling. –Fiiinnnnneeeee–

With that, Hatsume retreats back further into the store. That covered, Izuku turns back to face Tomura. "You're lucky that she doesn't stay up to date on things not directly connected to the support world," Izuku explains, a bit of venom injected into his words. "Otherwise she would have recognized you there."

"Pfft. And that would be a problem because…?"

Izuku can feel his fists tightening in response. "You aren't using your quirk on her. You'd have to go through me first, for one."

"As much as I'd love that, I know that Sensei wouldn't," Tomura admits. "And besides, I know better than to piss you off by dusting your girlfriend. And it would be a pain having to watch my back while I'm playing video games. So she's off the hook for now."

Izuku can feel his face lighting up into a tomato. "She's not my—"

"Save your excuses. I don't care, and I especially don't want to hear whatever long-winded justification you have prepared."

"But you—"

"Uh huh." Tomura rolls his eyes. He then turns around, and begins walking off. "Later, brat. Next time, try not to show up when I'm trying to have some time away from you and Kurogiri, alright?"

Within the minute, Tomura turns a corner and is out of sight — but that doesn't mean that he leaves Izuku detection. There'll be tabs on him until Izuku and Hatsume are gone from the mall for good.

Eventually, Izuku lets out a sigh in barely held relief. Well, at least the chances of him running into 1-A are slimmer now; they're all the way on the other side of the mall now. As long as Tomura does his errand quickly and the kids don't deviate from their path—

"I think I got everything!" Hatsume's chaotic voice pierces the tension in the air. Her arms are loaded with bags, which she promptly drops off half onto Izuku to carry for her. The action is anticipated, but the weight of the bags isn't. Izuku nearly topples over from their collective weight.

To think that… shopping with a girl… would be this bad!

"I saw your hoodie buddy wander off, so I thought it was okay to come out! What'd he want?"

"What the hell." Izuku takes a strained breath, trying to get a better hold on the bags in his hands. "What kind of insane workout do you do to be able to hold so much scrap nonchalantly?"

"Not what I asked! Steer away from the tangent!"

"But this is entirely relevant to the current scenario!"

"So is what I asked!"

Izuku lets out another sigh. "Alright alright. Just… He wasn't my sensei. Just… another student of his. We don't really get along, so—" Izuku cuts himself off. "Look: we're leaving now, right? This was our only stop?"

"Well actually, there's this car parts place I was a little interested in, and—"

"Yeah, we're leaving," Izuku says. This time, he's the one to drag Hatsume along, even despite the added weight to his arms.

"But—"

"Also, this is the last time that I'm ever letting you pick the location of an outing ever again."

"But isn't this the first place I've even chosen for us to go to together? Let alone the first time we've even gone together somewhere."

Izuku nods. "Exactly."

"Ooooohhhh. But that's kinda unfair, ain't it?"

"Please. Not now. I just want to leave."

"But all the motor oil! And the spare rivets! And the rims! And the headlights! And the…"

Two days pass. Aside from a few drug busts with Mustard in company and a brief check-in with Stain regarding his upcoming target, said two days are pretty uneventful. Tomura doesn't even comment about their confrontation at the mall.

Still, Izuku's happy that Tomura didn't run into any of the Yuuei students. Or most likely didn't, anyways. Izuku doesn't quite know since he left the mall as soon as he could, but seeing how such an incident would have spurned the police up at the very least, and all's been quiet, he's willing to bet that any such confrontations never came into being.

So here he is now, packing what little he has into a suitcase in preparation for his trip with Hatsume to I-Island. He still isn't sure what exactly his goal is, nor why Sensei coerced him into the trip in the first place. Izuku couldn't even get an audience with the man for more information when he asked. All he got was a handwritten note passed to him by Kurogiri telling him that this was a sort of test, and that he'd see the end goal of this whole operation when he saw it.

Right. I'll know when I see it. While on an island full of some of the world's best inventors and with inventions that have never seen the light of day. Mhm. Easy as can be.

Alas, Izuku's at least somewhat adapted to the twisted way Sensei runs things. So he resigns himself to the fact that he'll just have to go with the flow and see what happens from there. As such, with a few sets of clothes, his trusty laptop, and his costume (never know when it might be needed, after all), Izuku makes his way down the steps and into the bar proper to meet up with Kurogiri.

"All ready for your trip I presume, Izuku?" Kurogiri asks.

"I am."

"Then may the odds be in your favor." A portal opens up beside the man. "Have fun on your vacation to the world's leading quirk research center, Izuku."

"Right. Vacation."

Izuku walks through without another word, and appears in an alleyway a few blocks away from Hatsume's lab. He takes his time walking towards his destination — he's early, after all — and makes sure to scout out his surroundings while he's on his way.

Hatsume's already outside and ready, bounding from one foot to another. Every once and a while she starts climbing up some sort of pile, which Izuku can only assume is all the stuff she's bringing with her. It's estimated size alone sends a shiver down his spine, dread over him carrying said stuff filling his mind.

Nonetheless, Izuku moves on. There's another individual there with Hatsume — a rather stout man fitted to what appears to be some sort of metallic apparatus. From Izuku's best guess, the man is Power Loader.

His presence makes sense; despite Hatsume's position in the support company she's found a place in she's still a Yuuei student through and through. Having one of her teachers — no matter how resigned he seems to be with where he currently is with all the slouching and sighing he's doing at Hatsume's antics — be present to see to her departure makes sense.

Izuku just hopes that Power Loader isn't privy to the whole Michimoto-Jakku's-real-name-is-Midoriya-Izuku-who's-actually-the-villain-Whisper thing. That'd really sour things up.

With all that figured out, Izuku calmly and steadily makes his way up to the duo. When Power Loader looks him over with an appraising glare rather than a panicked one, Izuku's willing to let down his defenses. Just a little.

"So you're the one I have to thank for getting Hatsume sponsored into an actual support company, hmm?" The stout man asks.

Izuku rubs the back of his head, retreating back to how his current persona is supposed to act. "I wouldn't exactly say that I had much to do with it, Power Loader-sensei. I just had some connections is all. And when I saw the potential in Hatsume—"

"Nonsense!" Power Loader guffaws. It's a loud laugh, but not exactly loud enough to drown out all the finicking and jumbling Hatsume's doing in the background. The two ignore the noise in favor of their conversation, however.

"Connections and analysis are what you Business course kids are built to do! Or, well, former Business course student. I heard from Nezu that you decided to drop out for more… what'd he call it? Practical experience with a true master of the art, or something."

"Anyways!" Power Loader continues. "The fact of the matter is that I'm entirely grateful! Because of your preliminary and interceding action here, now I only have to worry about Hatsume during school hours! You have no idea how much of a burden you've lifted off my shoulders!"

"I… you're welcome? I suppose?"

"Don't think that I can't hear you two talking about me down there!" Hatsume yells from atop her pile.

They both turn to look at Hatsume at that.

"What are you even doing up there?" Izuku calls out.

"Making sure I have everything packed! We can't really come back if I'm missing anything aft— Oh hey! Where'd this Nezu plushie come from? Did you pack this in here as a surprise for me, Michi-kun?"

Izuku blinks. "Nezu? Plushie? Hidden in your stuff? And basically emitting no noise?"

Of course he has some way to negate my quirk's capabilities. The utter bastard.

Before another word is spoken, the 'Nezu plushie' suddenly springs to life. The little creature hops out of the crate housing him, after which he slides to the bottom of Hatsume's pile and lands to the ground with fluid grace.

"Hello Michimoto-kun! Pleasure seeing you again! It's been some time, hmm?"

A/N: So. With this, there's still this week's chapter that's missing. That'll be coming… sometime this week. And if everything goes right Sunday will have it's regularly scheduled chapter. Here's to hoping.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed!