The Silent Gamer

Chapter 13 : The Suspicion

Cherry blossoms were falling in the courtyard of a traditional Japanese household. The pond within the compound was teaming with koi fish and water filling the hollow bamboos could be heard. The stone pathway was being kept clean by the housemaid as the owner of the house, Toshinori Yagi was seen sitting outside a room which lead to the garden, with his former student Izuku Midoriya relaxing beside him. The bonsai collection in front of them was displayed with pride and a serene silence was being enjoyed by the student and the retired teacher.

Toshinori Yagi has an incredible history. Coming from humble origins and with no parents, he was taken under the wing of Nana Shimura, a track and field ace of her time. From that time he put all of his dedication in his training to be a track and field specialist like his mentor and he went to UA high school just like his student right next to him. After being selected to represent Japan in Olympics, he goes to USA for additional training and gets acquainted to David Shield, his physiotherapist and both of them became fast friends. He was so close to the man that he even considered the man his brother and the man's daughter as his niece. From there Toshinori Yagi goes on to become win gold medals for his feats in Olympics, even setting a world record for the longest jump in the history of Olympics. He then goes on to be a mentor for many aspiring athletes of Japan.

But alas, his outstanding career came to an end when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Toshinori didn't smoke and turned out that his mother died of the same disease. Not only that even his mentor, who was like a mother to him, died in an accident along with her family, only leaving her grandson behind, who was then adopted by his long-time rival from middle school, Yoshida Shigaraki. Sure, the treatment might have cured him, but the muscular man was reduced to a skinny husk. And when all hope was lost, the principal of UA gave him a chance to become the physical instructor of the school and that was the place where he met his favorite student, Izuku Midoriya.

Izuku Midoriya was not an athletic student, but he was definitely above average. While there were children who would miss his classes in order to skip out, Izuku never skipped his class. The boy was always punctual and he put others needs ahead of his own and that sacrificial nature of the boy gravitated the man more towards the guy. Heck, the boy even got elected as class president but handed it to his classmate as he thought that he was not worthy of it. The instructor would give him tips on how to improve his fitness while the boy helped the man to keep up with the trends which ended up making him the coolest teacher of UA. The relationship grew to such an extent that the boy looks up to the man as father figure and the man looked at him as son he never had.

"You should stop gifting these bonsais to me whenever you come to visit me, young Midoriya. I am running out of space here. Well, I don't mind if you get me Yakushima cedar bonsai", Toshinori says as he sips his tea to which his former student looks at him with a smile and says, "Sensei, you know very well why I can't get a Yakushima cedar for you. Do you want to see me in prison that badly?"

"Being in prison is not that bad! It is an experience", Toshinori replies to which Izuku says, "You are saying as if you have experienced it". "Well I did. When I was young and visiting Spain along with my friend and that damn Shigaraki, all three of us got drunk so much that we ended up starting a brawl. The police came and we were taken to prison for one night".

Izuku's eyes widen with shock and he starts laughing. In between wheezes the green haired man says, "Wow! I never expected you to get arrested. But getting drunk is different from acquiring Yakushima cedar which is protected by the government".

The teacher smiles and says, "You knowing about this information is enough to confirm that you actually tried to get that tree for me". The animator rubs his head sheepishly and says, "Well you did so much for me. I had to try". The man's blue eyes twinkle a bit and he asks, "How is little Hanabi?"