[A/N: Short? 100% but I don't have the energy to care.]
The first thing Izuku did when he arrived in class was run into the door.
It's not entirely his fault (it a hundred percent is). He's been distracted since Dabi had told him how he got his scars. It's stupid, but he couldn't help himself from being curious and over analyzing it. He'd been distracted when eating dinner with his mom. He was distracted during his intern yesterday and he's distracted even now, as he walks into class only to find the door isn't open like usual and now his face is pressed against it.
"Ow," he muttered softly, rubbing at his face. All these thoughts about Dabi's past are slowly killing him. He doesn't know why he's so surprised about it all. He knows Dabi had to have gotten his scars somewhere but he didn't expect them to be from himself. He can't imagine being born with a quirk designed to hurt you. It sort of makes him want to wrap Dabi in a hug but he doesn't knowing if he did he'd be burnt to a crisp.
Fire and cold. That combination kept playing in his mind. That was the thing that kept him up till midnight, the thought that played on loop in his head. He couldn't not compare it to fire and ice. His quirk, as he stated, was cremation or the creation and manipulation of blue fire and yet he had almost a secondary quirk of sorts that went completely against that. He said his skin could withstand cold, almost like it was designed for ice. A fire quirk with a body meant for ice. Ice and fire. Half hot, half cold.
That was his problem. His mind kept circling back to Shouto, to the Todoroki family on a whole. And then he'd go on tangents in his head. He'd link Dabi's hatred for Endeavor and his startlingly familiar blue eyes to the family. He'd play around with the idea of a fire and ice combination quirk and how few families have those traits. The reaction to him talking about Shouto. The hesitance when talking to Natsuo. How lightly he stepped around facts involving Rei. How he'd ran away from home and lived on the streets. In his head it all clicked but his heart kept denying it. As helpful as it would be, deep down he didn't want Dabi to be who he thinks he is. The worst part is this time he doesn't think his head's wrong.
"That was a little sad." A tired voice dragged him out of his thoughts and he turned around to see none other than Shinsou standing behind him, amused smirk playing on his lips. Oh. He saw that. Shinsou walked past him, opening up the door and held it for him. He sarcastically grinned. "I've got it, y'know, so you don't run into it again."
Why are all the people he surrounds himself with assholes?
"Ha ha, hilarious," he retorted but still accepted the opened door and strolled into class and sat down at his seat, Shinsou trailing not far behind.
The insomniac (there's no way he isn't with those eye bags, Izuku decided) pulled out his books while saying to him, "You weren't here yesterday. You missed some reporters breaking into the school and causing havoc."
Izuku rubbed at his neck, laughing painfully awkward as well. "Sorry I missed it. I bet it was fun to watch. I, uh, I had to go to my internship yesterday. My supervisor wasn't going to let me skip even if it was just an easy going patrol."
Shinsou nodded before turning away from him in his seat, opting to pull out his phone and open up a game. At a glance Izuku guessed it was a puzzle game judging by the colours. He sighed and pulled out his own phone. He's having trouble connecting with Shinsou. He knows he impressed him the other day with the heroes versus villains exercise but he still didn't feel like that was enough. He doesn't know why it's such a big deal. He guesses he just wants at least one friend if he's going be to going here but... it doesn't really matter.
Mic came into the class room, his usual greeting ringing through the classroom. Several kids covered their ears in alarm. "Morning listeners! I've been told to inform you that today will be running a little differently. The hero students are doing training at the USJ today so this afternoon we will not be watching them, instead we'll be going over note taking for analysts and maybe some extra English! We have a scheduled class with the support course in a few days as well. I'll give more details on that later but all you little listeners need to know now is that you'll need to pay attention then for if you want to go far in the sports festival!"
Mic continued his announcement before diving right into their mathematics lesson. He noticed more than a few students stopped paying attention and went about with their own activities. He decided it was safe to pull out his phone. When he opened his phone, he was immediately met by a text from none other than his favorite villain.
Smelly Flesh Man:
What are you doing today?
He thought of all the questions he has about Dabi's past and felt himself frown. Maybe he can find something to investigate together so he gets the chance to ask him in person some of the things he's been thinking about. He's sure if he keeps it all to himself any longer he might explode.
Me:
Not much
Is there any suspicious activity that's been going on lately that I could look into with you?
Smelly Flesh Man:
Some
These guys stopped me yesterday. Figured out I work with you and gave me a list of heroes to take a closer look at. I'll show u later.
A pretty popular villain who was the source for a lot of my information went missing yesterday. No ones seen him in a week.
There's some punks trying to gather recruits for an attack on the USJ today.
Your name keeps popping up with everyone I talk to. There's a big challenge of who can find you quickest. Someone's looking for u and their getting others to do the dirty work for them. I'd watch your back for a while.
Wait
Aren't u in class?
Izuku froze in his seat. His eye's focusing only on the word he'd just heard moments ago now displayed on his screen. Without thinking , he shot his hand in the air, pocketing his phone. Mic paused mid sentenced, staring at his now raised hand. "Yes Midoriya?"
"May I go to the bathroom?" He asked urgently.
Mic seemed skeptical, glancing at the clock. He knew his request was strange given they were only a few minutes into class but he can't sit here any longer without getting the answers he needs and no offense to his class but he's not doing that in front of them. Mic sighed. "All right."
He hurried up and out of his desk, grabbing his back pack as well and shouting a quick thank you! as he bolted out of the classroom and down the hall. He couldn't go to the bathrooms, someone could overhear and that would be bad, really bad. Instead, he ripped open. the nearest door that he figured led to an empty teachers office. If someone hears what he's about to scold Dabi for, he would be in big trouble. Bigger trouble than he can get himself out of.
All that Dabi had to say is interesting but not as worrying as one particular bit from the message. He's always had people looking for him since he became Revite, he can deal with someone going missing but he cannot just sit with the second last bit. It left his stomach turning.
He shut the door behind him, not even looking around before pulling out his phone. After one or two rings, the person he called picked up.
"You get your phone taken away during class or something kid? You went silent for a-"
"What did you mean when you said that thing about the USJ?" he demanded, cutting Dabi off. The other line stayed silent for a second or two. "I swear, just tell me what you meant or I will tell the real owner of your flat that you're living there illegally!"
"Jeez, okay, okay. Calm the fuck down." Dabi sighed into his phone speaker. "I overheard this guy trying to get people to join one of the better known ring leaders, Shigaraki. He's apparently trying to find people who are willing to attack the USJ today. He's got hundreds of recruits last I checked."
Fuck. It's exactly what he thought it is. He hadn't misread the texts. Someone really is trying to attack the USJ which is where the hero students are. This is not good.
"Why are they there?" Izuku asked, trying to calm his racing heart. "What's the goal?"
"From what I heard a group of students from U.A. are going to be there. Apparently All Might's a teacher that's going to be supervising them." All Might's a teacher? "Their plan is to kill him or some shit. Injure a couple students along the way."
Really, he should be panicking, he sort of is but not nearly enough. The number one hero is being threatened essentially and yet he can't bring himself to panic all that much. Realistically, thousands of people want to kill All Might and hundreds try but never succeed. What makes this group so special?
Truth is, he's not worried for All Might, he's worried for the hero students who'll get in the way. If someone's trying to kill All Might, chances are they don't care if a couple kids get hurt or worse. He felt something tighten in his chest before his face started to heat with anger. "You didn't think to tell me?!"
On the other end of the phone, Dabi's hesitance in answering showed his shock by Izuku's sudden anger. "Uh, no? I know you're a hero fanatic but I don't see-"
"Why I care?" he finished. He felt anger bubble to the surface. Of course he cares! Is Dabi insane? he should have told him. "I go to U.A.! I'm an analyst, I could have been training with the hero students! I could have been there! Not only that but these are kids my age! They may be training to be heroes but doesn't mean they are yet. They don't know how to fight and- oh crap! Shouto is in that class!"
"Look, I'm sorry. I'll tell you next time." Dabi sounded sincere until he snorted. "As for that kid, just let him die."
"No."
"Why not? It gets him out of our hair?"
"The whole point of this is to help him! Not let him die!" His partner in crime can be the most dense and insensitive person in the world sometimes. He brought a hand to his hair, tugging on it in frustration. "Can you get there?"
"Get where?"
"The USJ!"
"Oh. No. I'm all the way on the other side of town."
Great. This can't get any worse. "What do I do then?"
"I don't know. Send in a tip," Dabi offered.
Izuku wanted to roll his eyes and would have if the situation weren't so serious. "They wouldn't give it their full attention. The police ignore my tips if I don't have enough information!"
"Well fuck if I know. You're the brains of the operation," Dabi whined. He heard the man take a deep breath and could imagine him pinching his nose. "I can't believe I'm suggesting this but try the fucking bird. He might be able to get direct contact with people who can actually do something."
He's an idiot. How did he not think of that. "Okay. Thank you. I'm still mad at you though. I gotta go and fix this. Don't wait up for me at training tonight."
He hung up before Dabi could get another word in and quickly dialed another number that picked up even quicker than Dabi did after he changed his phone to the voice changer setting. He wasted no time getting right to the point. "Hawks, I need you to warn the heroes about something."
"Revite? How'd you get my work number?" Hawks answered, the background noise of honking cars coming through. He's flying, good. The faster he can tell someone then.
"It doesn't matter how I got you number," he said, voice cracking as panic filled his chest. He just needs to get those hero students some help. He can't let them get hurt. Shouto can't get hurt or all of this effort he's put into helping him will go to waste. And Kacchan, and Uraraka and so many other kids. He can't let them get hurt. "Inform the heroes there's going to be an attack on the USJ soon, if it hasn't already begun. This isn't a false alarm."
"Woah, slow down. I can barely understand you when you talk that fast."
He took a deep breath and repeated again, his voice feeling higher as he continued. He just needed Hawks to get on it already.
"There's a couple hundred villains, likely all low tier ones, that are going to be there. Their leader as far as I know is called Shigaraki. There's students there and they could get seriously hurt.
"Okay, got it. Mind telling me how you know this?"
"No time to explain. Bye." He hung up, back collapsing against the door. He let out a long exhale, trying to slow his heartbeat. It's fine. He's done all he can do. He has to trust the heroes. . . fuck. It's not like he can run all the way there and even if he did, he can't help much. He has his baton and costume in his back pack but that can't do much.
He'd just ran a hand over his face when a voice, a familiar one at that, came from in front of him. "Young man, are you all right?"
To say he screamed would be an understatement. A loud shriek left his lips as he jumped at least a foot in the air, his soul practically leaving is body out of shock. For the first time since entering the room, he looked around it and what his eye's saw was enough to give him a mini heart attack.
A man stood before hum, his figure towering over his own. He was all skin and bone, the hollow of his cheeks visible. He looked halfway to death, body already reducing itself to a skeleton. Blonde hair hung down in two strands over his face, the rest lying in an unruly mess in the back. His clothes looked to be fit for someone three times his size. He'd be surprising to see no matter the situation but knowing who that person is had left Izuku stunned. He blinked, eye's widening.
"A-All Might?"
-:-
Toshinori doesn't know which surprises him more the sudden appearance of a kid in his office or what the child says once he pulls out his phone.
When he'd first came into the room Toshinori nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise. The boys face was pale and eye's blown wide. He seemed so panicked that he didn't even notice Toshi sitting on one of the couches observing him go about his rant to the phone.
Something picked at the back of his mind, telling him he should know the kid from somewhere. He tried to brush it off. It's not uncommon that he recognizes people with how many civilians he saves regularly. That nagging feeling in his gut kept prodding though. Every bit of him was telling him he should recognize the boy. Those green locks and freckles were familiar.
He watched the boy run a hand through his hair. He talked to into the phone, his hands flailing around frantically as he seemed to demand information and scold the person on the other end. Toshinori's frown deepened. He felt like he should make his presence known, try to help the boy. Clearly this was a big enough emergency for him to step out of class. Then again, he knows he can be... surprising in this form and the boy is clearly already distressed. To have a stranger approach him might be startling.
"The whole point of this is to help him! Not let him die!"
Toshinori's attention snapped back to what the boy was saying at that. Let who die? Someone could die? Maybe he should intervene.
"Can you get there? ... The USJ! ... What do I do then?" The boy spoke to the person on the phone, his voice rising in pitch and distress only more prominent on his features. Toshinori wished he could help in a way that wouldn't spook him.
Who was he talking to? Why is he mentioning the USJ? His head started to spin. He's never felt more left out of the loop. He opened his mouth to catch the boys attention only to be cut of by more yelling into the phone.
"They wouldn't give it their full attention. The police ignore my tips if I don't have enough information! ... Okay. Thank you. I'm still mad at you though. I gotta go and fix this. Don't wait up for me at training tonight."
A hero in training maybe? He hung up on whoever was on the phone and Toshi nearly stepped in at the opening but then he started dialing another number.
"Hawks, I need you to warn the heroes about something," the boy said in to the phone and a wave of shock went through Toshinori. Hawks? The young boy before him has access to Hawks' number? Who is he? Why is he so familiar?
"It doesn't matter how I got your number. Inform the heroes there's going to be an attack on the USJ soon, if it hasn't already begun. This isn't a false alarm. ... There's a couple hundred villains, likely all low tier ones, that are going to be there. Their leader as far as I know is called Shigaraki. There's students there and they could get seriously hurt."
This is bad. Very bad. His time limit is all gone for the day. He'd been reckless and used his quirk too much today. If he hadn't he could have been there to help with whatever is going on at the USJ. His students are there. He needs to be there.
The boy lowered the phone, quickly spitting out, "No time to explain. Bye." and then hanging up.
Toshinori watched as he collapsed against the door, leaning heavily against it and a sigh leaving his lips. Hesitantly, he walked over to him, standing in front of him with his towering figure. He needed answers from the boy but he also needed to make sure he was well. The stress visible on his face can't be good. "Young man, are you all right?"
Gaze snapping up to met his, the boy froze. His eye's skidded across his features, slowly widening by the second. He shrieked, face paling. The next words to leave his lips shocked him enough for a century. "A-All Might?"
"How do you...?" He stumbled back a bit, jaw going slack. He'd recognized him in this form? That's impossible. No one knows about this form except the staff, his closest friends and... it clicked. It suddenly made sense why that green hair was familiar and the freckles on his cheeks. Even for a boy with such plain features, he should of recognized him before. He said in utter shock, "You're the quirkless boy from the roof?"
"I-" The boy seemed just as flustered and taken aback as he was. He blinked at him a few times before straightening up right again. "I... I am."
He's foolish to not have recognized him before. He remembers that day like it was yesterday, the boy who'd gone from crying in front of him, asking if he could be a hero to saving his friends life. The backpack he wore now was even the same one he'd thrown at the sludge villain, inspiring Toshinori to step forward into action. He recalls wanting to go after the boy after seeing his bravery. He'd wanted to thank him for inspiring him, he'd want to give him his quirk. This was the boy who would have been his successor if not for the press that kept Toshi from running after him when the villain was apprehended.
For some reason, a twinge of fear overcame him. What was he doing here at U.A.? Had he not followed his advice? Is he still trying to be a hero even without a quirk? If he was or wasn't, that didn't explain how he knows about an attack on USJ.
He stepped forward and asked, "What is going on?"
The boy cringed. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Nearly all of it," he answered honestly. "What is going on at the USJ. How did you know? How can I help?"
"Uh... It's complicated and hard to explain," he answered rubbing at the back of his neck, ears tinted red. "As for helping, neither of us can do much assuming your time limit is up unless..."He trailed off, seemingly becoming lost in thought. He scratched at his chin before a flurry of words came tumbling out in hushed mutters like he was talking to himself. "... if he can get us there and push his limit it would be easy to help. Hawks is all ready alerting the authorities but All Might could get there on record time with only a few jumps. He could save the students and I'm not completely useless with my analysis and..."
He kept going but Toshinori couldn't keep up, the words too quiet to hear. He waited for the boy to finish his rambling but couldn't help but feel impatient even if he only had to wait a few seconds before the boy's head snapped up like he'd gotten an idea. His students are in danger. He can't leave them to defend themselves even with Thirteen and Eraserhead there.
"I have a plan," The boy said, digging through his backpack and pulling out two ear buds. He didn't even want to ask why he had those in his bag at school. He tossed one to Toshinori who barely caught it in time out of surprise. "Wear that and when we get to the USJ we can communicate. I'm training to be an analyst and I know the most about the situation. I can be useful, just not in combat. I know more about the quirks and their plans. Got it?"
Toshinori's pretty certain half of that flew right over his head. He isn't used to people telling him how to act like this, it's nice for a change. Still, he's a little lost. He put the earpiece in while asking, "Excellent plan young man, but I can't on good conscious let you come with and endanger yourself. Even if I did, how would we get there and fight? My time limit is up for the day."
"Sorry All Might but you don't have much of a choice but to bring me along," he said, determination dancing in his eyes like flames. "As for your time limit, this schools motto is plus ultra, is it not? Go beyond, plus ultra, of what your time limit is. We can jump there, you're able to make a distance like this in no time. I'll go on your back or something like I did before with the sludge villain."
It shocked Toshinori how calm he was being with all this. It's true that there was some panic to the boys voice, but he was calmer than most people in this kind of situation. In his many years of being a hero, Toshi has seen every kind of reaction to crisis' and this is one of the better ones.
"Please All Might," the boy begged, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "They're your students but some of them are also my friends. This kind of danger is what I'll have to get used to if I want to be an analyst so don't even bother using protecting me as an excuse. I'm quirkless, not defenseless."
Every part of him screamed to keep the boy safe and force him to stay. He likely has a family, parents and friends to go home to. If he gets hurt Toshinori doesn't know what he'd do to himself. Yet... that look in his eyes isn't far from the one he saw in himself when he was younger. That bit of determination isn't a spark that cam be stomped out but rather a flame that not even hoses of water can diminish. If he leaves him here he has no doubt he'll find a way to make it to the USJ on his own. It's better to take him and keep an eye on him.
He sighed. "If you're coming I need to know your name, young man."
His eye's lit up and he beamed. "Izuku Midoriya!"
"Righ then, Young Midoriya, let's go," he said. He shifted into his hero form, feeling his muscles strain as steam surrounded him for a few seconds. When it cleared, Midoriya was staring at him in awe. He crouched down and gestured for him to climb on to his back like he'd suggested. "Hop on!"
Hurriedly, he climbed on, gripping Toshinori's shoulders in order to stay on. He readied to jump when a cough racked his throat. He lifted a fist to his mouth, trying to hide the blood that spilled from his mouth. An awkward reassuring pat came from his shoulder. He glanced at Midoriya in his peripheral vision, catching sight of his comforting smile. He grinned kindly and said, "Plus Ultra, right?"
He nodded. "Right, Plus Ultra!"
He has to do this. For his students. It's his job as the symbol of peace to help others. He can do this. Bending his legs, he jumped out the window of the office and started for the USJ, Midoriya clinging desperately to his back.
Don't worry 1-A, he said in his head, soon I will be there!