Have you eaten today? Are you staying hydrated? Please get to sleep at a reasonable time, and don't forget to take your meds if you need to!
Enjoyy!!
Discord server, if you know exactly why you walk and talk like a machine: https://discord.gg/DSBF4dP
~
"I guess you didn't get my text," Izuku commented as he jogged into place next to his mentor, who jumped in surprise and froze.
"Don't sneak up on me like that, my boy," Toshinori sighed, a hand clutching the fabric of his All Might work-out gear over his heart.
"Sorry," he giggled, trying to hide his smile with a palm. "I tend to do that a lot."
"It's fine, it's fine." The man waved him off, and the two of them started jogging again. "I don't have my phone on me, sorry – did you need something, Young Izuku?"
"Oh, um... That is a good question..." Izuku trailed off, doing his best to remember. "Uh, well, it's always good to have a partner when running so if you get hurt then you're not alone, and um..." He clicked his fingers with a noise of realisation, hopping a little ahead to do a victorious twirl before falling back into step with his bemused mentor. "Right! Now's probably a good time to tell you that I know about Nighteye-san's prediction about you."
Toshinori came to an abrupt halt, posture stiff. "Ah. Did he... tell you?"
Izuku snorted scornfully. "Did he tell me-" He shook his head, moving to stand in front of the man, blocking the amber light of sunset and casting a shadow upon his mentor. "No, he didn't. That prediction and your consequent indifference of your personal health caused this rift between you, right?"
The man dipped his head a little and had the decency to look guilty. "That's right..."
"I really wish the two of you would just make up, but you're both so stubborn," he huffed, crossing his arms. "I mean, come on, if Kacchan and I can be friends after everything that happened between us, there's little stopping you from doing the same! You could be such a good team again, and even aside from all the professional benefits you're missing out on, you're also losing the chance to make memories – but it's never too late to apologise and try again and make those memories, okay?"
"My boy," Toshinori began hesitantly, blue eyes aglow within the shadows. "Are you saying all of this because... Nighteye's prediction came true? Am I dead in the future?"
"You know I can't share things like that, Toshi-san," Izuku said apologetically, letting his arms fall back to his sides.
He wilted. "So I suppose it must be true... With health like mine, there's no likelihood of me lasting much longer, but I had hoped-"
"In my timeline, a long while ago, Nighteye-san made a prediction about me. He said I would lose a fight and die," Izuku cut in sharply.
Toshinori instantly straightened up, face blazing with worry and anger as his dad instincts activated. "He told you that?!"
"I didn't know at the time, because we were separated, and I was already fighting," he continued, teeth baring in a triumphant grin. "But, guess what?"
"You... You survived..."
"I survived," Izuku confirmed, stepping closer to grasp and hold up both of his mentor's large hands, staring at him with fierce determination. "Contrary to what he believes, Nighteye-san's predictions are not unavoidable. Your future is what you shape it to be. Don't settle for something you've been told is so. Always keep fighting for all the good in the world."
Toshinori gazed back at him, awe and adoration clear on his emaciated features. He slipped his hands free and surprised the boy by tugging him into a tight embrace, palm cradling his head and arm looping around his torso. Izuku returned the hug happily, nosing into his mentor's bony chest and digging his fingers into the man's back.
"I'll fight to live for you," Toshinori murmured, the words rumbling in his chest. "I want to be able to watch you grow up and see how wonderful a hero you will be."
The boy resisted the urge to cry. He pulled back, beaming so wide his cheeks hurt, raising his hands to cup his mentor's face and press their foreheads together.
"I've twisted fate before, and I'll do so again to bring about a brighter future, so, please..." He leaned back and raised a fist. "Twist fate with me."
Toshinori smiled softly, lifting his own arm and lightly bumping their fists together. "I'll do my best to not cause you trouble."
*
Loads of heroes were gathered as part of the taskforce to handle the Eight Precepts. Several long tables were pushed together to form a rectangle, with Nighteye sitting alone at the head, Bubble Girl and Centipeder standing on either side of him. Everyone was seated around the desks, looking towards the front of the room as Bubble Girl gave a summary of the situation, speaking with nervous enthusiasm – clearly not wanting to get tickled again. Izuku was settled next to Togata at the end of the table, with Rock Lock on his other side and Eijirou sitting opposite him between Fat Gum's massive figure and Amajiki. Further up on Izuku's side, there was Hado, Tsu, and Ochako, and slouching on the seat in the furthest corner from the boy was Aizawa with Gran Torino.
In short, the whole gang was here! ...and Izuku was very nervous since he needed to do some public speaking soon, but that was okay.
Centipeder took over the speech to share what they knew. A picture came up on the massive screen behind them, showing Twice and Chisaki, which then switched to a big warehouse, half-destroyed. Izuku could feel Aizawa's glare from across the room, and he stubbornly pretended to be oblivious.
"Even if they're from UA, why are there kids here?" Rock Lock grumbled. "We'll never get anywhere with them here."
"Don't say that!" Fat Gum exclaimed, shooting to his feet and motioning towards his two interns. "These two have super important information!"
He went on to explain the kid's altercations with the Quirk-destroying drug, but was hasty to clarify that it was only temporary. Eijirou looked uneasy at the reminder, and when Izuku caught his eye he was sure to give a supportive thumbs-up and a proud smile, getting a sharp grin in response. Aizawa spoke of the Quirk factor and Fat Gum added that Amajiki's Quirk genes had been damaged, but healed up.
"And after analysin' the contents of the bullet, we discovered somethin' that made me sick..." Fat Gum hissed. "Human blood and cells were inside!"
Izuku's hand clenched into a painful fist on his lap, but he otherwise kept his composure, even as Chisaki's picture flashed on the screen. Togata took in a short gasp of breath, head dipping.
"Chisaki has a daughter named Eri," Nighteye informed them. "There are no records or details about her birth, but when Mirio and Midoriya encountered her, she had a large number of bandages wrapped around her arms and legs."
"Don't tell me something so horrific..." Ryuku trailed off.
"It's a society of superhumans. If you can dream it, you can do it," Gran Torino muttered.
"What?" Eijirou mumbled, glancing up to his mentor. "What are you talking about?"
"Are you sure we need the kids?" Rock Lock complained again, brows furrowed into a deep frown behind his yellow mask. "We're wondering if this Chisaki bastard is turning his daughter's body into bullets and selling them. Wouldn't this have been resolved already if those two had just taken the child?"
"I take full responsibility for what happened," Nighteye said flatly. "Please do not blame them. Even though they did not know the full story, they acted to save the girl."
I didn't, not really, Izuku thought bitterly.
Nighteye folded his hands together on the table. "Midoriya was willing to bear the risk of taking her then, but both he and Mirio thought ahead and acted to try again when the odds were better. Our goal is to save her."
"You think Chisaki'll just keep her at home when she's the crux of the operation? Even if we push our way in, it won't matter if she's not there. Have you already identified where she is?" Rock Lock asked.
"That is the real issue. Since we don't know how far their plans have gotten, we have one chance to strike when it counts," Nighteye told them as the screen changed to show locations in Japan.
Izuku plastered on his Deku facade and raised his hand, waiting until he was nodded at to speak. "My name is Deku, and I have something that might help."
Instantly, Fat Gum perked up, clicking his fingers and pointing in realisation. "Ah, now I remember why you're so familiar! You're the kid called out by Stain, right?"
Murmurs rippled through the room and the other heroes stared at him. It was somewhat irritating to just be known amongst people as 'the kid Stain spoke of,' but at the very least it might stop these heroes from doubting him just because he seemed so young – and it was better than 'the kid who broke his bones in the Sports Festival.' Eijirou gave him a supportive smile from across the tables. Izuku nodded pleasantly and carefully pushed back his chair to get to his feet.
"That's me." He pulled a chunky disc out of his pocket, dropping it onto the table with a clatter. "Anyway, I tend to plan ahead for every situation and carry things that might end up being useful – it just so happens that this did."
"What is it?" Nighteye inquired, eyeing it dubiously.
"This is just the prototype version, but it's a forcefield emitter with a short-range tracker. My friend in the support course upgraded the finished version with the ability to cloak."
Rock Lock glanced from the item to the boy, seeming unimpressed with the hunk of metal. "What's this got to do with anything?"
"I'm glad you asked!" Izuku exclaimed with a bright grin, flipping the disc in his hand. "When I bumped into Eri-chan, I had the finished version on hand."
Ryuku's eyes widened. "You mean..."
"I managed to stick it on the back of her neck, hidden by her hair, before Chisaki took her back." His smile wavered for a moment.
"And why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Nighteye snapped.
Izuku met his sharp gaze without flinching. "I wasn't sure if the tracker would work, and I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. Besides, you don't tend to want to listen to me."
"I don't recognise the design," Fat Gum interjected, squinting across the table. "Where'd ya get it from, kid?"
"I made it," he responded absently, then activated the forcefield on the device, watching as it expanded into a balloon-sized sphere, emitting a soft blue light. "This is the forcefield. The final design expands to fit the wearer, so it'll be enough to cover Eri-chan."
Nighteye shook his head slightly. "Something like that won't be able to counter Chisaki. His Quirk-"
"Destroys and reverts, right? I've been up close and personal to Shigaraki-san's Quirk, Decay, so I made the forcefield with Quirks like that in mind. When it starts getting damaged, it'll initiate a sequence of constant rebuilding, which means that, regardless of how powerful the Quirk, it won't be able to break through." He paused, frowning a little. "The only issue is that it takes up a lot of power, and if the attacker is persistent, it'll run out of battery and the forcefield will drop – but that just means we have to be quick in retrieving Eri-chan, or keep her away from danger!"
"If she's stuck inside the forcefield, how will we grab her easily?" Rock Lock inquired, reaching out to tap the forcefield but hastily retract his finger as it buzzed. "It stung me!"
"Only people who are registered can get through the forcefield, and anyone else who tries will hit a solid surface and get shocked to dissuade them," Izuku explained, shoving his fist inside harmlessly. "However, I was only able to register people I'm around a lot, so out of everyone here, only Red Riot-san, Uravity-san, Froppy-chan, and Eraserhead-san will be able to get through."
He slid the disc down the desk, letting both girls wiggle their fingers through it before pushing it over to Aizawa, who placed a hand inside then sent it back up to Eijirou, who stuck his face within the forcefield. Izuku couldn't help but giggle at the sight, putting down his hand to catch the device as it was shot back to him. He tucked it back into his pocket, then retrieved another homemade invention from his other pocket, looking at the screen.
"The tracker isn't super accurate – sorry – but it gives a general enough region that we can narrow the search area down, and since Nighteye-san has already located the bases, that leaves us with..." Izuku padded across the room as he spoke, still staring at the device, then glancing up to point at one of the markers on the projected map. "...this one, here."
"Knowing this cuts down a lot of the time," Aizawa said, glancing tiredly to Nighteye. "Can we put together a raid quicker now that we have the location locked down?"
"We still don't know the exact route. It would be illogical to jump straight in just because we know the building's location. Yakuza have survived the age of heroes by being cautious and having endless contingency plans and escape routes. To presume they won't flee with Eri the moment they see us arrive is foolish." Nighteye stood up, facing the rest of the room's occupants. "Confirm the girl's whereabouts and get any information possible about the layout of their base so we can retrieve her as quickly as possible. I'm counting on all of your help."
*
After the meeting ended and everyone dispersed, the UA students settled around a table in the foyer. Togata's mood was still clearly dampened by the confirmation that Eri was being hurt for Chisaki's gain. Izuku's friends had begged for the full explanation of what happened on that first day, and he'd relented and shared it all. Even though he was doing his best to conceal how distraught he still was behind a facade of determined cheer, it was impossible to hide it from his friends.
"I could've rescued her then," he confessed in a whisper, tangling his fingers together atop the table. "I could've easily stopped Chisaki from ever touching her again, but..."
"But it was important to make that choice?" Tsu responded sympathetically, reaching across the table to grasp his hands. "I might not always understand you, Izuku-chan, but I know that every choice you've made so far is for the betterment of others, even at the cost of yourself, kero. I trust whatever decision you make."
"Yeah, you always make great choices, Deku-kun, and we'll be here to support you!" Ochako chimed in, leaning over to lightly place her hand on top of theirs.
"You spent a lot of time training us, so we'll do our best to make sure Eri is safe and sound! We've got your back, bro," Eijirou added, lightly patting him on the back before resting his palm on the pile with a grin that was only a little strained.
Izuku unfurled his fingers enough to better squeeze all their hands gratefully. "T-thank you. I- I really needed to hear that."
"Hey, hey, Togata, aren't they cute? You can't be sad with positivity like that on our team!" Hado exclaimed. "Wait, I know this - even if you regret something and get depressed, nothing will change. Did you know that?"
Togata sniffed and thumbed his nose, and although he sat up straighter, the intense look didn't fade much. "Yeah, you're right."
The lift dinged, and Izuku let go of his friends' hands and turned in his seat to see Aizawa trudging towards them.
"Kero! Sensei," Tsu said with a slight smile.
"Call me Eraserhead outside of school," he told them. "Man, I was going to recommend that your work studies be suspended today, since we found out the League could be involved."
Was that a faint glare aimed at Izuku? Oh, that was definitely a faint glare aimed at Izuku. He surely couldn't still be mad at him for intercepting that villain meeting, right?
...no, yeah, this was Aizawa – he was absolutely still mad about that.
"You know, Midoriya, you still haven't regained my trust after leaving to save Bakugou, but unfortunately... I'm sure that if I try to stop you know, you'll rush out again on your own." The teacher dropped into a crouch, staring lazily up at the boy.
"You know me so well," Izuku said teasingly in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"If you're going to do this, do this properly as part of a team, Midoriya." Aizawa bumped his fist against the boy's atrocious tie. "Got that, Problem Child?"
Izuku couldn't speak around the sudden lump in his throat. Instead, he nudged aside his teacher's arm and leaned down, wrapping his arms around the man's neck and hiding his face in the capture gear.
"Don't get snot on me, kid," Aizawa muttered, effectively ruining the moment - Izuku made a point to sniff as loudly and repulsively as possible.
The teacher grumbled and pushed him away, then heaved himself into a standing position with a slight wince. Izuku rubbed his wet eyes and grinned up at the man, gaining a brief pat on the shoulder, likely because he looked pitiful enough for Aizawa to need to do something about it.
"I'll say this to give you some peace of mind. The hand you missed grabbing onto did not necessarily mean despair for Eri." Aizawa splayed his fingers towards the students. "Face forward."
"Yes, sir!"
"Aizawa-sensei!" Ochako exclaimed.
"I'm Eraser here."
"I will follow you for the rest of my life, Eraserhead!" Eijirou enthused loudly.
"That's too long..."
"Sorry!"
Izuku couldn't help but smile. Yeah, things were hard, but with people like this around him, it was impossible to feel too bleak for too long.
It would be okay, eventually.
~
FANART TIIME
Art by indipindy16 on tumblr!!
(the DETAILS. the MOOD. the LIGHTING. the SYMBOLISM. hot dAMN MY GUY. as always, mad respect for drawing A Background. the cracks look so good man idk why i love it so much. and the broken punching bag?? NICE. his beat up hands and the contrasting pink/green ofa sparks???? NIICE!! i really adore the colours in this, man. it's just so good. warm and cold and the shadows and him being lit from behind and sitting between the two bright windows??? hghGHGH-)