There is so much to explain that I almost want to cry. Actually, I almost did cry when I learned everything.
See, children? This is why you don't drown in your work! Otherwise, the world will leave you behind!
Let's start with the most important: the League of Villains case.
The LOV case has improved dramatically since I last was involved, and, for once, my information came into use. After a lot of connections, I figured out that Kurogiri has been walking into a forest at different times. Kurogiri, one of the major problems, was arrested recently, and they have been trying to question him. However, it did come with a significant consequence. Gran Torino was on the mission, and while on the job, they encountered another member of the LOV named Gigantomachia.
Apparently, this dude was chilling in the woods and was waiting to be used by the central leader. At least, what I gathered, he sounds like a faithful servant. That doesn't make him a pushover, though. The mission was almost a failure because of him. I am just glad we have something.
Now we know titans are a thing! Get the gear, honey!
Speaking of cases, I was given a new vital case alongside a stack the height of me of minor matters, and I nearly cried when I was given.
It's the fucking Gentle Criminal case! I LOVE GENTLE CRIMINAL! HE'S LIKE AN ILLEGAL VERSION OF ME BUT DUMBER!
Gentle Criminal is a villain who has been popping up on Herotube recently by having his sidekick La Brava record him doing his evil deeds like robbing a grocery store. He isn't violent while doing it. At most, Gentle incapacitates them temporarily so he can leave. He's rather simplistic about it, but he can avoid heroes.
Sadly, I have a job to do.
After some intense research, I found his name to be Tobita Danjuro. He is 32 years old. He was initially going to become a hero, but due to his way of thinking, he kept failing the provisional exam as well as classes. He was forced to become a part-time worker, but that doesn't mean he gave up on his dreams. One day, he saw a man falling from a window swing and tried to help them with his quirk. However, he didn't think it all the way through, got the man injured, and he got a strike with a hefty fine. Obviously, after bullshit like that, his parents kicked him out. He became a freeter, and, eventually, who he is!
Gentle Criminal's quirk is Elasticity. Anything Gentle touches turns into a bendy flexible material. And when I mean, I mean anything including air. It's a rather useful quirk, but you have to be careful with it because it's bouncy.
Additional information on the case is that I realized is that he attacks places that are currently having problems with customers. What do I mean by that? Well, take that grocery store robbery, for example. After researching that place, it turns out that they were having problems with expired food, and promised to improve on it.
They never did. Bitch, I would do the same thing over food. This is why I love Gentle. Shouta disapproves of my interest in him, but oh well.
In addition, the quality of tea he drinks before the deed shows how large the incident is. Alright then.
I found nothing about La Brava besides that she is the camera lady and the person who posts the videos. It's interesting because I can never link them up. Well, I can get a location. However, it's absolutely randomized, so she has to be able to hack.
The biggest clue I have is that his next incident is going to be massive. After some connecting the dots, I figure he's probably going to attack the cultural event at UA or something else major like that.
Yay! Hear the sarcasm!
Okay, I'm almost done talking about Gentle. I just have a question.
How the fuck does the man have so many dislikes? Like, in his recent video, he has over 700 dislikes and one like. We know that one like comes from me.
While we are on the topic of the UA cultural festival, it's in two fucking weeks! The cultural festival is a time for students to show off their abilities while entertaining the audience. Unforntually, everyone else really doesn't want this to happen with everything going on. The Hero Commission came in and tried to stop Nezu.
Nezu, being the hard-ass rat he is, said no. Thankfully, they came to the conclusion that if one thing happens, the whole thing shuts down. They also can't allow media and visitors to come in, so it's just a school thing. Probably for the better.
And Gentle might be attacking this? Great, I have to stop it beforehand. Ugh! At least I have an idea of how to do it.
Anyway, every class has to do something, including my class. What did the psychos decide to do?
A band concert.
. . .
Mhm. You read that right, folks.
Look, we have to make this fricking epic because some students are blaming us for making UA dangerous. To that, I say they are invalid, and they suck my pee-pee.
From what Ochako has told me, there is a lot planned. If they can go through multiple villain attacks, I believe they can pull this shit off.
We have Jiro who making the music while teaching kids (bless you, woman), Ashido teaching everyone how to dance, and a special effects team. For anyone curious about my role, I am singing and dancing! I'm not the lead singer as Jiro has that, but I do have my own little part, and I echo her. Oh, and CAT is needed for something.
I also plan on starting shit there, so this is going to be grand.
The last major thing that affects me is the fact that I get some anxiety from seeing fire now.
I mean, that's expected. I literally had my arm burned off. I thought it would be a minor thing because I don't know what trauma is. Apparently, I do.
How did I figure this out?
The first thing that sent off the red flag was that whenever Todoroki used his fire-quirk, I could fucking feel my heart rate pounding. It's not a pleasant feeling. I could still operate, but it was harder. Logically, I thought I would get used to it.
Nope.
Remember that rulebook I set on fire in the middle of the teacher's lounge? It's was still going after all this time. Anyway, I came in, and I can't tell you what happened to be honest. I became detached in a way? Shouta had to pull me in my room to get me snap out of it. I kept staring at the fire, and I wouldn't move. That fire is now removed from the building and locked away somewhere.
Yeah, something else to work on. A fire quirk is pretty common, so I can't stop because of that.
I believe that's everything you need to know. You will learn the rest of what happened throughout the chapter.
To the actual story!
---
"So much to do, so much to see, so much to ruin!" I sing as I walk into the teacher's living room. As it's early morning, most of the teachers are sleeping.
That doesn't mean all of them are, though!
"In this whole new world!" I hear Hizashi sing from the shared kitchen. I walk to the kitchen and give him a strange look.
"Of all thing things you could have come up with, you came up with that?"
"Someone has to balance your sadistic tendencies with something nice!"
"Says who?"
"Says me."
"I guess that's valid?"
"It is valid!"
"Yeah, yeah. What are you doing anyway?"
"Making breakfast. Would you like some-?"
"FOOOOOOOOOOOOD!"
At this point, Nemuri walks in tired as I believe she had patrol last night, "I love you, but shut up, Zu. Too early to be this loud."
"It's only early if you look at it like that! If you didn't sleep, it's just a time for you!"
"Whatever. Zashi, are you making me some?"
"I can," Hizashi replies as he starts more.
"Thanks, babe."
"I'm a taken gay man."
"Just keep telling yourself that. At least let me in-" Hizashi cuts Nemuri before she can finish. Damn. Now, I am curious. However, with her, it probably has something to do with a threesome or something like that.
"SO IZUKU, WHAT ARE YOU BRIGHT PLANS FOR TODAY?!" I see Nemuri huff as she sits down. Your problem, lady.
I hum as I organize everything in my head, "I need to go to RG to have my arm checked. If it's good, I can go to Mei and wear my prosthetic to get used to it. Then, Eri is supposed to be coming over to UA, so I'll be with her for the day probably. Oh, and I need to talk to Mom tonight, so it's a busy day!"
Mirio, Shouta, and I visited Eri the other day, and let me tell you that the hospital room is still trash. I felt sorry for the kid, so I made the bright idea to invite her to the cultural festival to get out of the grungy room. I was quick to get approval from Nezu, but he wants her to get used to being around people, thus why she is coming today. However, Eri must be with either Mirio, Shouta, or me the whole time. AKA Mirio and Shouta because I am not trusted with children for some reason.
It might also be useful to note that Mom has been moved onto the UA campus successfully, and she now lives in a little cabin in the forest.
Both of them look up at me with my last comment.
Hizashi observes me for a moment before saying, "Bring Sho with you, please. That way, he can act as a mediator between the two."
"He has his own shit to do. Mom and I need to figure this out myself. Nemuri, you have been seeing my mom. How is she?" Nemuri looks up at me with surprise. Yes, I am calling you out.
Nemuri sits up, "Do I want to know how you know that?"
"I have eyes everywhere. Now, answer." She mumbles something about me becoming Nezu before answering.
"She's fine, if not a little depressed. I understand both sides. Midoriya-san wants to protect you because she is your mother, but you also want to fight for who you are. You two have to negotiate on that."
"...when, in all this time you have known me, have you ever seen me negotiate on something?"
"You just do what you want, but now is the time to start doing that."
"I should have just become a vigilante. Then I can do whatever the fuck I want."
"You do that anyway."
"Not now! Let's be honest: If I did whatever I want, I would have taken over the Hero Commission and transformed it into one heck of a system."
Hizashi loudly places a plate of food in front of me to shut us up, "Off-topic. True, but off-topic. Izuku, you know Shouta is going to figure it out and force you to bring him- are you even listening? I should have waited until after to give it to him."
Food. Food. Food. Food. Food. Food. Food.
Nemuri chuckles, "You were asking for it."
As soon as I am finished, Hizashi starts again, "Now that you are listening, you should know that Shouta will figure it out and make you bring up."
I look at him with curiosity, "What makes you think he will figure it out?"
"I'll tell him myself." Shit. That wasn't in the equation.
"That's called being a snitch."
"And you think I care? Jeez, get your head in the game, Izuku!"
I hear a door open along with a groan, "Do you three know how to be quiet?"
Why did you have to come now, Shouta?
Oh, Hizashi wasn't lying about being a snitch, "Sho, the midget is going to see his mother tonight."
"HOLD THE PHONE, MIDGET?! I AM PAST THE HEIGHT STANDARD OF BEING A MIDGET, AND YOU SAY I'M OUT OF THE GAME?! MAYBE YOU'RE IN THE WRONG PLAYING FIELD!" The other teachers can wake up, but nobody can call me a midget!
Shouta disregards that comment, "Is that right, brat?"
"Yes. What's it to you?"
"I'm coming with."
"Why?"
"So you don't screw up the relationship further."
"Can we just say that my mom and I are both horrible at being sensitive because of others and end it there? It runs in the family."
"No. You're mother at least knows way better than you."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"You have insulted every person in my school, intentionally and unintentionally. I think that says it all."
"If you shut up, I'll let you watch the show."
"And interfering if necessary."
"I'll let you believe that. Recovery Girl should be in her office by now, so I need to get my arm checked out despite being legal to do so."
"You've done surgery on yourself. You have lost that right."
"It's a duty if it's for survival!" I ignore Shouta as I head to Recovery Girl.
---
Good to know that Recovery Girl is as salty as ever! I think I am more likely to get a concussion from her than from hero work.
Not that I plan on doing that anytime soon, but I digress.
As it turns out, I can now wear and test my new arm! However, I can only wear it for an hour a day unless I want to irritate the bitch.
Oof.
Luckily, Mei has no life, so she is already in the support lab this morning!
"Oh, Izuku! Did we finally get permission for you to wear it?!" Mei asks as she zooms to retrieve it.
"You know we would do this anyway, but yeah, I did."
"I don't want to be banned from the lab for a stupid reason, so you can't blame me!"
"I can blame anyone for anything, and you can't do shit about it."
"True! Now, I worked on the mechanics, as you asked. It should operate the same while being quieter, but I need you to test it! I also added a sleeve that goes up your arm. That way, you have more support, especially when you do the tricks you do. Take off your top!" Mei comes out with my robotic arms, and I can see the black sleeve with metal that she is talking about. As it turns out, she added something that acts like a top part of a shirt to my other arm, so it's even less likely to fall off. Besides that., it doesn't look much different.
"Damn, lady, don't rush a man. I'm down a hand over here, "I huff as I unbutton everything and take it off. That takes forever, by the way. Then, Mei hooks me up with the arm, and I can already see that we will need something simpler, "Mei, I need to be able to do this by myself, who has one arm."
"I know! I will work on that. We need to get the workings right first, mister! You should know me! Now, I need to test as many everyday things as possible!"
I do a lot of things every day, ranging from fighting to cooking to building shit.
The robotic arm does have a few advantages. Unlike my actual arms, it doesn't fidget, so it's easier to screw things in, hold a gun, and things of that nature. It also packs more of a punch literally, making it convenient to use in a fight. This gives me an idea for CAT, but I'll program that in later. Overall, it does everything great, if not better!
However, it does have some downfalls. First, it still hurts my existing arm to carry heavyweight objects. It can, but it risks breaking the bone I have left. Speaking of the upper arm, it sweats. This leads to it becoming slippery and unstable. If I use it for too long, it hurts like hell. Finally, and what I consider the biggest flaw is the grip. It still grips like a normal hand, but because it is mechanics, it is much stronger.
Why would this be an issue?
I can break things accidentally if I grip too hard, especially when I am pissed or surprised. To give you an example, if Shouta is to jump me as he sometimes does and I grab him with my robotic hand, I could break his wrist with the grip. I have to be very careful about that. I need to touch people with my left, not my right. Not that I want to contact people anyway, but it's part of the job.
Oh, and stick to throwing knives with my left hand.
After some practicing, I remove the arm and get shoved out of the support lab as Mei has to build her invention for the cultural festival.
Alright then.
I check the time and realize that it's time to go pick up Eri!
---
You know, it's my first time looking at the behind-the-scenes of the cultural festival, and damn is it busy! I don't blame Eri for being overwhelmed! Mirio thankfully is much better at children than me, so he is willing to lead her around and explain everything. I just keep close behind because she wants me around for some reason.
I also learn some things.
A, and less important: Nemuri is leading Nezu around. The poor woman.
B, and more important: Some students are against class 1-A because we bring trouble to UA? What?
EXCUSE ME, WE DON'T GO KNOCKING ON VILLAIN'S DOOR ON HALLOWEEN AND ASK, "HEY, FUCKING TRICK US! WE LIKE SUFFERING!" WE JUST HAVE SHITTY LUCK, SO THOSE PEOPLE CAN SUCK OUR DICKS UNTIL THEY SEE THE FUCKING SHOW WE HAVE TO ACT THROUGH!
Sorry, I needed a rage moment. Oh, and please imagine me slamming my hand on the table after each word on the last sentence because that's the closest thing to clapping I can get.
That's the worst thing about losing an arm. I can't clap anymore! And if I try clapping with my new limb, I'll just clap my hand clean off!
C: Eri is like a smaller and better version of Shouta. She doesn't smile, which is bad for a kid her age. She doesn't express much. However, she at least is always clean and doesn't attempt to be an edgy teenager at 31.
Eri seems alright with the whole thing at most. She isn't against it. She's intrigued by what I see, but I don't know how to read emotions, so don't ask me. By the time Eri is set to go back to the hospital, it's sundown.
I need to face Mom.
As I am unwilling to see her in the fucking UA tuxedo thing, I switch to casual wear of t-shirt and jeans quickly because I hope to sneak out before Shouta notices. I grab a box of tissues before attempting to retreat out of the teacher's dorm through my other exit.
Shouta knew I was going to do this. He waits outside, leaning against the wall next to the door. When he sees me, he sits up, "Knew you would try this."
I scoff, "I'll try the roof next time."
"I just want to help, problem child."
"And I just want to figure this out myself. That's not working out, problem adult." I start walking to the forest, not bothering to check if Shouta is following me because he is.
"I'm not going to interfere. I'm just there for emergencies."
"Do you not trust me with this shit?"
"I don't. You lack a certain part that prevents you from being a human being. Logically, you can do this, but you might do it the wrong way. Think of me as a mediator if nothing else."
"Good to know." I know Shouta is trying to help, but sometimes, like most teenagers, I want him to fuck off and go bang Hizashi instead or something. Or sleep. LOGICALLY, he should be sleeping instead of doing this because LOGICALLY his sleeping schedule is shit.
Yes, I am salty. I probably need a couple of hours of rest tonight to recover from shit as I have been skipping out. I'll consider it.
Eventually, we arrive at the little cottage in the forest, and damn. Nezu really set it up for her. It's larger than I expected. Heck, it even has a little garden for her to take care of! I don't know how he knew her hobby was gardening, but I digress.
I walk up to the door and knock. Mom is quick to open, and she looks horrible. Don't call me out now because she really does! She seems like a mom-version of Shouta. That's a dreadful thing, by the way. Have you seen Shouta?
Anyway, when she sees me, her eyes light up, and a small smile creeps on her face, but she remains calm, "Izuku, baby. And Shouta, hi. How are you doing?"
I offer her a smile because I do miss her even if there is still some spite there. We are here to fix our problems, after all, "I'm good. May we come in? We need to talk." Mom's facial expression changes. I see her look at my missing arm, and that makes it worst.
Oh boy.
"Of course. Come in. Would you two like anything?" She asks as we walk in. Immediately, her BIG puppy runs up and starts jumping on us.
"Can I request the dog off? You've been giving it growth hormones? I think it's growing too fast." Something Nezu taught me: Always start the casual conversation. Should I follow another dog's advice? No, but I am doing it anyway.
Mom chuckles, "Izuku, that's how fast a dog normally grows."
"Jeez, it's going to be bigger than me at this point!" Mom thankfully takes the doggy outside.
"He is not. Dogs don't grow that big."
"Hound Dog looks otherwise." Mom has a questionable look. She isn't as well-informed about heroes as I am.
Shouta sighs, "Kid, Hound Dog is a human with a dog quirk."
"But I am on the right track?" He just shakes his head. Mom leads us to the much larger living room where there are a couch and multiple armchairs. I sit on the cleanest part of the sofa, Shouta settles next to me, and Mom takes armchair. I don't bother with dramatic silence, so I get straight to the point,
"Mom, I care about you very much, and I want you in my life again. However, I also need to do this. I need to prove myself to the world for the others so we can stop being pushed around so much. I get this is scary. Well, if I could feel fear, I would. Rephrase, I know this is supposed to be scary. Your only son is willingly throwing his life out there for others, and every time I go to the hospital, you probably have a heart attack.
However, I promise I will do whatever I can to stay alive. I don't plan on being removed from the game anytime soon. I have shit to do before that. Even then, I still have to torture Shouta over here. If you don't support me, I understand, but know that I will still continue this path until the end."
There is silence for a minute, and I am fidgeting as I can't sit still for damn.
Eventually, Mom looks up at me and sighs, "I know, Izuku. I will be honest that when I recommended the idea, I was being selfless. Maybe a little idiotic for how rebellious you are. It hurts to see you hurt. It doesn't help that the world is constantly slamming you down because of who you are, and all I want to do is hide you away. I know you wouldn't let me do that, but I know I wasn't there to support you during the case, but I want to be there for you now. I love you very much, and I can't have you out there without a mother's support. Will you accept me back in your life, Izuku?"
I can help but laugh, "Damn, you didn't have to be that dramatic- ow, fuck Shouta! Ignoring the asshole beside me, of course!" Mom shakes her head at our interaction, but she holds a smile.
"I'm proud of you, Izuku." I look up with stars in my eyes. Finally, praise!
"Thanks, Mom! I will remain forever salty about the situation, but I can overlook it."
With that, Mom and I spend the rest of the evening catching up. Shouta decides that I won't fuck shit up anymore, so he leaves to go grade or whatever teachers do.
When I return back to the dorms, I am much better now with one less person on the salt list. It will take time to reform the relationship to what we had, but we shall manage!