3: Birth of a Hero - 3: Awakening
Izuku didn't know how long he had been out for, but he knew that it had been quite some time since he last moved. His joints were stiff, and his body felt heavier, as if he were being pressed down into the mattress. There was no buzzing at the back of his head this time, so he knew that something else was causing him to wake up.
It was a soft...sound...a voice...someone was singing.
The sound was unlike anything he had ever heard in his life when he listened to music while working on his gadgets. No, this voice was husky...yet it was so heavenly that he thought that he was hearing the voice of an angel.
Cracking his eyes open slowly, he looked over to his right where the voice was coming from...and saw the very girl that had helped him to the clinic sitting next to his bed singing a soft tune to a sleepy little girl sitting in her lap.
He shifted his head a little closer so he could hear her better, but the movement must have caught her attention as she stopped singing a moment later and looked down at him with wide eyes. "Holy crap, you're awake!"
Izuku chuckled nervously as the little girl blinked sleepily in her arms, "Y-yeah, I guess I am, huh?"
Eri came wide awake at the sound of his voice and locked eyes with him, "Daddy!"
"Huh?" Izuku blinked before the tiny girl launched herself at him, hugging him as tightly as her bony arms would allow. "D-D-D-Daddy?!"
Kyōka smiled at the sight of the little girl looking so happy, even when she wasn't smiling, "Yup," she giggled as she moved from her seat to sit on the edge of the bed, "It's what she's been calling you ever since they brought her over to see you," she said as the boy raised up in bed so he could cradle the girl in his lap.
Izuku laughed a little nervously, "That's going to take some getting used to," he said as the girl snuggled against him, "Um," he looked over at the girl, "How...how long have you been here?"
The girl sighed, "Today?" She shrugged, "Not long. An hour at most," she said with a small blush on her cheeks, "But...you've been out cold for a solid week."
"Week?" Izuku said in a high squeak, "I've been here for a week?!"
Eri sniffled, "You wouldn't wake up," she said, "We came every day, but you wouldn't wake up."
Momentarily forgetting what she had called him a minute ago, Izuku smiled down at the little girl and patted her hair, "I'm sorry I made you worry about me, Sweetie." He said, "But I told you that I wouldn't die, didn't I?" Eri nodded her head shyly, "You see? I kept my promise."
Kyōka smiled at the pair of them, "You know you had a lot of us pretty dam-er-darned worried about you, right?" She said with her hands on her hips, "That Bakugō guy comes by every other day, and your mom comes by every evening to see if you've woken up," she reached into her blazer pocket and pulled out her phone, "Speaking of that, I should probably send her a text to let her know you're up."
He watched as the girl used the long jack-like lobes to type and send the message. "So, what did the doctors say was wrong with me?" Izuku asked as he held onto Eri. "And what about her? Have the police found out anything about her?"
Kyōka shook her head, "No. As far as I've been told by your mom, all they've been able to find is that Eri technicallydoesn't exist." She counted off on her fingers, "No birth certificate, no medical records, and no information on who her parents might be." She frowned, "Your mom and I have been taking care of her for the last week, so she's been in pretty good hands."
Izuku sighed, "That's at least some good news."
"Yeah, but you're the one that's got everyone's attention," she went on, "That Doctor Tsubasa guy gave you something that wasn't antibiotics or steroids. It was some kind of spider venom laced with Devil's Breath."
Izuku looked at her in shock, "But I...I should be dead, then, shouldn't I?"
Kyōka shrugged, "Well, I'm not complaining about you notbeing dead," she said with a small laugh, "Besides that, from what I heard, you've got yourself a Quirk, now."
Izuku blinked, remembering something like a dream about the doctor standing over him, and telling him he had a spider's abilities. He sat up in bed and placed Eri down before he got to his feet, not the slightest bit dizzy, or even lightheaded.
"Hey! Don't push your...self..." Kyōka trailed off as the teen suddenly jumped up onto the ceiling, and stuck their like a spider crawling across the tiles. "Ooo-kay..."
Izuku could do nothing but grin at her from his position on the ceiling. The possibilities of his new Quirk were running through his head like a bullet train. [I can't wait to analyze this!] He thought, thinking of how much he could fill up in one of his notebooks.
スパイダーマン
In the week that Izuku had been unconscious, the good doctor had had a great deal of time to analyze the blood sample he had taken from the boy. The master had been quite pleased with the results of his research as well.
"How is our newest subject doing?" The master asked over the static of a monitor in the man's lab.
The doctor chuckled as he turned his attention away from his project, "He's doing quite well, if I do say so myself, Master," he said, "Introducing the mutated blood to the Nomu's base form has given me quite the impressive little soldier to set loose." He smiled and turned back to the creature standing in front of him.
The creature itself was easily seven feet tall, with dark shaggy grey hair all over its body. Six long arms hung from the body ending in large three-fingered hands tipped with large razor-sharp claws. The head was large and rectangular with six red eyes looking in all directions.
Below those wicked eyes were deadly mandibles with huge teeth behind them.
"It's quite possibly my best work, yet," the doctor smiled, "I think young Tomura will be pleased with this beast once we enact his plan to kill the Symbol of Peace." He chuckled, "With all of those arms, he's quite possibly as strong as All Might. And with the Rapid Regeneration that the boy's Quirk has, it's virtually unstoppable."
スパイダーマン
It was only a day later that Izuku was discharged from the hospital, after having every test done to him to make sure that the Devil's Breath had left his system for good, the doctors even going as far as to give him a dose of the antiserum they kept on hand as a precaution.
Even when he was given a clean bill of health, his mother fretted over him like a mother hen over her chick, "Mom, seriously, I feel fine," Izuku said as his mother fussed over him once they were on their way home, "The doctors said that I'm back in full health."
Inko sighed as they rode the train back to their district, "I know, Sweetie, but you can't blame me for worrying like this after everything that's happened," she said as she smiled down at little Eri who was standing on the seat so that she could look out the window of the train as the buildings passed by. "You'd be surprised at what I've had to go through just this last week."
"Kyōka told me that you'd been talking to some guy from U.A.'s scouting agency," he said as the woman smiled at the mention of the girl, "So what have they been bothering you about?"
Inko looked at her son, "Bothering me?" She frowned as she reached over and placed Eri in her lap, "Honestly, they've been quite helpful. There's this nice man, a Mr. Toshinori Yagi, who works as a scout for both the school, and for the main Tokyo branch of Might Towers out of Minato." At the mention of the man, she saw Izuku's eyes widen slightly, "You know him?"
"I...yeah, we've met once," he admitted as he knew the man's alter ego to be All Might himself. "So - uh - what did he do?"
Inko giggled, "He's done a fair amount, Dear," she said happily, "You see after that first night, when you were admitted to the hospital, he and the U.A. principal came to visit me." She told him with a look of surprise coming to his face, "Apparently he was present during the practical exam, and he said that you showed a great deal of potential for the Hero Course," she said. "He even said that you had earned enough secondary Rescue Points to be admitted into the school!"
"I wha - ?!" Izuku gaped at her, "I wasn't told anything about that!"
"That's basically what I said," Inko nodded in understanding, "But the principal said, and Mr. Yagi was quite upset with him because of this, that it was a matter of safety on your part for not taking you into the Hero Course since, at the time, you didn't have a Quirk. So I suppose he stopped your enrollment because of that."
Izuku rolled his eyes, "Of course he did." He rolled his eyes resentfully. "The little rat said as much in his rejection letter."
Inko reached over and patted his arm, "Yes, Dear, I know, but as I said, Mr. Yagi was very upset that he did something like ignoring the fact that you should have been admitted for those secondary points you earned," she said with a smile growing on her face, "He outright threatened to pull funding from the school and send All Might somewhere else to teach!"
"Teach?!" The boy's eyes bugged out of his head.
She giggled, "That's right, apparently All Might is going to be a teacher at U.A. starting this year."
"Gran'ma, I'm hungry." Eri mumbled.
Inko smiled at her and started asking her what she wanted to eat while Izuku's mind was racing. [If All Might's going to be a teacher at U.A. this year, the Hero Course is going to be insane! But why is he suddenly trying to help me?] He wondered skeptically. Being stonewalled by the principal had left the young man feeling mistrustful, [Is it just because of my new Quirk? Or is he feeling bad about the last time we met?]
"Daddy's talking a lot." Eri pointed out.
Inko giggled while her son blushed, "Yes, Sweetie," she patted her grandchild on the head, "He does that."
As the little family laughed and chatted, across from them sat a figure in a red hoodie. He took his phone out and took a quick picture before sending a message with the photo attached. {Found the kid.}
スパイダーマン
A short time later, the Midoriya family arrived back at their apartment and Izuku sat at his desk for the first time in a week. It was just the way he had left it before being shot. Meaning that anyone that didn't know Izuku Midoriya would think it was covered in garbage.
"Okay, given how I think her Quirk works, something with a sound amplifying system would be ideal," he said, looking at a small set of speakers that had once been a pair of earbuds. "And since her Quirk is her earlobes, maybe something like a choker would work?" He frowned as he remembered that Kyoka had worn a choker around her neck every time he had seen her.
Eri sat on the bed while he worked, watching his hands quickly throwing together the piece of equipment while she munched on a nikuman Inko had bought for them on their way home. "Daddy? What's that?"
Izuku, having grown used to being called daddy by now, smiled and showed it to her. "This is my version of a miniature electrolarynx," the little girl cocked her head cutely as the boy-turned-father laughed, "Basically, if you can't speak, this little thing can give you your voice back." He told her, "But this one is special." He placed the device back on his desk, "I've made it so that when Kyōka plugs her jacks into it, her voice, whether she screams, sings or even just talks loud, it comes out as a sonic attack to knock bad guys out."
Eri blinked, "So it's a present?"
Izuku chuckled, "Yeah, it's a present." He smiled fondly at the thought of the girl in question wearing one of his gadgets, "She was so nice to us that I thought that I could do something nice for her." He finished with a small blush on his cheeks
The girl looked at her father-figure in confusion. "Do people do nice things for each other a lot?" Eri asked.
Izuku shook his head, "No, not all the time," he said with some regret, "But some do, like me."
Eri nodded, "Daddy's really nice."
"He certainly is, Sweetie," Inko said as she came into the room with a plate of tea and the steamed buns. "And I'm quite sure that he's famished after being completely out for a week." She smiled as Izuku cleaned off a spot on his desk so she could set the plate down, "Though I have to say, Izuku, I wouldn't mind seeing more of Kyōka in the future." She said with a small laugh, "She's so sweet and she's been a joy to have around since I started taking care of Eri."
He grabbed a rag and wiped some grease from his hands before reaching for one of the buns, "Did she come around a lot?" Izuku asked in slight surprise.
His mother gave him a mischievous look, "Quite a lot, as a matter of fact," she smiled as she sat on the edge of his bed next to Eri, "Since I still have my job, that week you were unconscious was hard on me because Eri didn't trust many people. Kyōka was kind enough to offer to babysit her while I was at work."
[That explains why they were at the hospital together yesterday,] Izuku thought as he bit into his bun, offering another to Eri when she finished the one she had been eating.
"Miss Jirō is really nice, Daddy," Eri chimed in as she took the food, "She sang to me everyday, and read me stories!" She mumbled around her bun.
Inko giggled as she gave her son a look, "Better be careful, Sweetie, or she might start thinking Kyōka's her mommy." She whispered loudly.
Izuku blushed and would have denied anything like that happening, except that Eri didn't look very pleased by the idea. "I don't want Miss Jirō to be my mommy." She said, sounding sad, "Mommies are mean."
"Mean?" Both of the Midoriyas echoed while Eri nodded.
"My mommy gave me to the bad people." Eri said, shocking the pair of them.
Izuku and his mother shared a look before the boy stood up and picked the little girl up. "Eri, you know that your grandma is my mom, right?" She tilted her head, "She's never been mean to me. Not once. It's probably safe to say I've been kind of mean to her in the past." He gave his mother a sorrowful look. His mother looked at him tearfully. "I said some stuff that made her sad. But she's never hurt me. Ever." He smiled at his mother before looking back down at the little girl, "Has she been mean to you?"
"No." Eri said in that tiny voice of hers.
"You see?" Izuku smiled at her, "Not all mommies are bad...some are just different than most, and some of them might seem mean to some people."
Inko nodded, "He's right, Dear," she said as she stood up and patted her back, "I have a friend named Mitsuki, who's nice, though she is a bit loud, and she and her son fight a lot." She shook her head, "If you've ever heard them, then you'd think that they hated each other. But she loves him just as much as I love Izuku, and you, now, Eri. And nothing is going to change that."
Eri nodded, seeming to accept it before finishing off her meal, and started to nod off. Izuku laid her down on his bed and pulled the covers over her. He then looked at his mother as they left the room. "Has she smiled at all since you've been looking after her?" Izuku asked as she shook her head.
"No, not once since I've been around her," she said with a watery frown, "Even Kyōka noticed. She thought she saw her begining to smile once when she was singing to her, but that's as far as it got. She hasn't smiled at all."
Izuku shook his head, "Who could take the smile from the face of such a sweet little girl like her?"
Inko didn't answer because she didn't want to know such an answer. Thankfully, the doorbell rang right then, and she bustled away to answer it while Izuku just went back to working on the support item. She peeked through the peephole, and smiled as she opened the door and greeted her guests. "Kyōka, Mr. Yagi! What a wonderful surprise!"
Kyōka was dressed in her school uniform, most likely because she had just gotten out, given the time of day, while holding a little teddy bear, and a small box of chocolates. Yagi himself was dressed as he usually was, a blue pinstripe business suit, and hat, but he was also holding a briefcase at his left side.
He tipped his hat to her, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Midoriya," he said politely, "I apologize for dropping by unannounced, but we heard that Young Midoriya was discharged today, so we both decided to drop in." He smiled, "I do hope we haven't come at a bad time?"
Inko shook her head, "Of course not," she smiled at the pair of them, "You two are always welcome here." She said, ushering them inside, "Izuku's just laid Eri down for her nap though, so we'll need to be a little quieter. Would either of you like some tea?"
"Sure," Kyōka nodded with a smile on her face as she presented her with the bear and the candy, "I hope you don't mind, but I brought these for Eri." She said, a wan smile coming to her face, "I thought that this might finallyget a smile out of her."
Inko nearly teared up at the girl's gesture. "That's so thoughtful of you, Dear," she smiled as she accepted the gift, "I'm sure she'll love it."
Toshinori just chuckled, "I haven't come empty handed, either, Mrs. Midoriya," he said, indicating the briefcase he held, "The folks at the company just finished it this morning." He held up the case, "I've made sure that the suit is bullet and stab proof, as well as fire resistant." He said as Inko's eyes widened when she realized that the case contained the Hero Costume Yagi had promised for her son, "The only thing that we couldn't do was insulate it to prevent electrical damage on account of Young Midoriya's bio-electrical powers." Then he frowned at the woman, "And though I'm sorry to admit it, we did have to rearrange the color scheme to include less purple and more grey and black so that the connection wouldn't be too obvious."
Inko nodded in understanding, "That was very kind of you, Mr. Yagi." She said as she led them into the living room, "I'm sure that my baby will love it all the same." She then called out softly, "Izuku, dear, Kyōka and Mr. Yagi are here to see you!" She heard her son stumble and swear quietly.
He came stumbling out of his room a second later, one hand holding onto the gift he had been working on for Kyōka, the other holding onto a rag that he was using in an attempt to wipe any grease or oil stains off of the device and his hands.
Toshinori chuckled as he saw the boy, "Back at it as soon as you got home, eh?"
Izuku looked at the man, stumbling for something to say to him, but ended up only giving him a shy nod. Then his eyes landed on Kyōka, and Inko noticed that both of them held a small blush on their cheeks, more so on her son than the girl though the sight made her smile all the same.
Toshinori cleared his throat as he set the case on the coffee table, "Erm, Young Midoriya?" He said as he took a seat, "I know that your mother has probably informed you of the situation with U.A., and that you have been accepted thanks to my, ahem, meddling, I should say." He sighed as the boy nodded slowly as he took a seat across from the man, "Though, given how you were treated by its faculty, I would fully understand if you decided to receive your education elsewhere."
Izuku looked at him, seeing that he was not only talking about being rejected because of his former Quirkless status. He was talking about personally rejecting him when he pleaded with All Might about becoming a Quirkless Hero.
He took a breath, steadying his heartbeat before speaking, "When I was a kid, I wanted to go to the same school as All Might did, and that was U.A.," Izuku said, speaking for the first time since he had arrived, "I...I still want to go there, but it's not just because of that anymore!" He stated hastily, making the adults chuckle, "I want to go there because it's one of the hardest schools to graduate from. I heard an entire class was expelled the first day last year."
"Oh my!" Inko gasped.
Kyōka's face went pale upon hearing that, "Seriously?!" She asked incredulously.
Toshinori nodded, "The curriculum is, indeed, quite rigorous, and the teachers can be as harsh as Villains at times," he said, smiling at the boy, "But I would dare say that you will have no trouble in graduating from such a school, because, as I've seen, you do not give up easily."
Izuku shook his head, "I get that from my mom."
Inko felt tears of pride and joy coming to her eyes again, "He gets all of his best features from me," she sniffled as the tears started streaming down, "Though my overly productive tear ducts isn't one of them!"
Kyōka and Izuku laughed as she bawled her eyes out before Toshinori cleared his throat again, "Young Midoriya," he said, gaining the boy's attention again, "Does this mean that you are willing to be accepted into U.A.?" He asked with a slight tone of sorrow in his voice, "Even after you were treated so poorly because of your former status?"
Izuku nodded with a determined smile on his face, "It's not exactly how I thought I'd get into U.A.," he admitted with a small shrug, "but I'm not going to waste an opportunity like this just because of a narrow-minded person," he said, then a look of concern came over his face, "But are you sure it's alright for me to be getting special treatment like this? Won't that cause some sort of favoritism issue?"
Toshinori scoffed, "Special my behind, kid," he grunted, "If it wasn't for the faculty's prejudiced meddling, you would have had more than enough Rescue Points to gain entrance to the school," he said with a bit of heat in his weak voice, "And...All Might wanted me to pass something along to you."
Izuku looked at him, as did his mother and Kyōka. Toshinori sighed, "He told me of his little encounter with you." The two women looked at him with a bit of shock, wondering when the freckled teen had met with the No.1 Hero, "And both of us saw your performance in the Practical Exam," he frowned at the boy as his eyes drifted down to his scarred up hands, "I've never seen anyone try as hard as you did that day." He frowned as the boy's mother fretted, "Recovery Girl said that your knuckles were broken, and your hands were fractured in several places, yet you were still willing to risk your life to help the other students around you that were struggling."
"And then this whole thing with little Eri, and your powers happened." He chuckled as he shook his head, "When All Might heard about that, he said it was like someone had shattered his soul. Scorning someone that was moredeserving of being a Hero than even himself." He raised his head and saw the boy looking at him with tears in his eyes, "He also told me that no amount of apologies, or favors could ever make up for the hypocrisy he commited."
"However," he continued, "All Might wanted to rectify something he said: you can't be a Hero without a Quirk." He shook his head, looking the boy straight in the eyes, "Young Midoriya, All Might told me that you, young man, are already a far greater Hero than he ever was or ever could be." He smiled as the little girl sleeping in the other room came to his mind, "Because no other Hero will ever be as great as you are to that little girl you risked your life to save." Izuku's tears started flowing down his face, "There is nothing more noble than that."
Toshinori unlocked the briefcase and turned it around, "And for that reason, he chose to honor yours and your mother's wish for your costume's design." He lifted the top open while the boy choked when he saw the contents, "And it is my pleasure, young man, to present this to you and bid you welcome to the Hero Academia."
スパイダーマン
Eri had been sleeping soundly in Izuku's room, feeling safe and warm in the All Might themed room, unlike the room the bad people had kept her in. The room was always bright, and no one came to put needles in her arms, or cut her, or take her to the Bad Man.
So she was completely relaxed and off guard when she felt something being placed over her face, only recognizing the smell of ether when it's sickly sweet-scent was right in front of her nose. Her eyes snapped open just as someone clamped it over her face. "Don't struggle, kid, this'll all be over in a sec!" A harsh male voice whispered to her.
But she did struggle, kicking and flailing her arms as much as she could manage before the ether began to take effect. Then, taking one last breath, she let out a scream that would be heard two floors down.
The man must have sensed what was going to happen next as he dropped the little girl to the bed and dashed toward the open window before hurling himself through as the sound of a door being smashed open came from behind him. But just as he was about to drop from the window something grabbed hold of his left leg just as he cleared the window sill. He yelped and fell, slamming against the brick wall of the building before looking up at what had grabbed him.
He only saw the furious green eyes of someone before he was hauled back up and dragged back inside.
4: Birth of a Hero - 4: Spider-Man
The sharp buzzing at the back of his head was the first warning Izuku got that there was something wrong. Then came the terrified scream from his room where Eri was sleeping.
Before he knew what he was doing, the boy was on his feet leaping toward the door, slamming his shoulder into it with the full force of his enhanced strength as he landed with a crouch just in time to see Eri tumbling to the floor while someone attempted to flee out of his bedroom window.
Izuku could not recall moving faster than he had at that moment as he leapt forward, catching Eri's hear in his right hand before she hit the floor and lifted her safely onto the bed while shooting his left arm out just in time to grasp the ankle of the kidnapper.
As his fingers closed around the man's ankle, he felt the bones snap under the pressure he exerted before hauling him back into the apartment where he was thrown into the waiting arms of an absolutely livid Toshinori Yagi.
The tall blond lifted the man up to his eye level where his bright blue eyes gleamed with malice. "How dare you lay hands on this child?!" He roared into the man's face as he whimpered fearfully.
Even in his shrunken form Izuku would easily admit that Toshinori Yagi was an intimidating man, and strong given how easily he began to pummel the kidnapper while the boy donned his Web Shooters. After the man was done with him Toshinori held the man against the wall of the living room while Izuku webbed him there like a fly caught in a spider's web.
After he was secured, Toshinori pulled out his phone to call Detective Tsukauchi, furious at the attempt on the child.
He passed his cell phone off to Izuku's mother, allowing her to speak with the man while he borrowed the landline. "Nezu, we have a problem," he spoke into the phone, "Eri was nearly kidnapped right from under our noses. If it weren't for Young Midoriya, she very well may have been." He paused for a moment to listen to the principal, "I'm well aware of the implications, but we can't leave this family at the mercy of these people. They need a safe house!" He paused again before a look of irritation crossed his features. "I don't care how much red tape we have to go through!"
As Nezu spoke, the iritation on his face turned to rage as the skeletal blond then thundered, "Favoritism?! Are you out of your mind!?" He shouted, Izuku catching the soft voice on the other end that must have been the principle, "I'll pay for whatever is required so the school won't be out of pocket, but we need them in a protective environment! The school grounds are the best that we can offer with so many Heroes standing by on campus! NOW GET IT DONE!"
Meanwhile Inko was having a similar problem. "Yes, yes, I understand, Detective, but you must understand that, aside from my son, no one in the house has any combat oriented Quirks, god forbid she should have to, but I'm not even sure what Eri can do if she was forced to defend herself," his mother said as she spoke into the phone. "That aside, I won't have my son branded as a Vigilante." Then a look of anger flashed across her face. "HOW DARE YOU BRING HIM UP!" Inko shouted angrily.
Izuku winced as he sat down next to Kyōka who was tending to Eri, "Must've mentioned Dad."
She looked at him with surprise clear across her face, "Your dad's a Vigilante?" She asked with Eri snuggled up in her lap, the little girl still unconscious because of the ether, taking notice that her little horn had grown significantly during the attempt.
The boy frowned a little, "Yeah, I used to think it was cool until a few years ago..." he said, "He stole something from someone important, so now he's on the run."
"Jeez, I'm sorry to hear that," Kyōka said in a hushed tone, "Um...how bad is he?"
He took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking, "Ever heard of The Prowler?" Izuku asked.
Kyōka's eyes went as wide as saucers, "Holy crap, your dad's The Prowler!?" She hissed while the boy hung his head, "Hey, that's nothing to be ashamed of," she said comfortingly, "A lot of people think he's awesome!"
Izuku shrugged, "I used to think so, too, but it's been so long since I've seen him that I wouldn't even know what he looked like now." He sighed, his head resting in his hands, "He doesn't even call anymore," he then gestured to himself, "But I can guess why. It's pretty embarrassing to have a Quirkless kid these days."
The girl looked at him, "Hey, come on, there's no proof of that," she told him while holding Eri's head against her chest, "Besides, if that really was the case then he could have been like a lot of other people, and put you up for adoption instead of just leaving you alone with your mom." She frowned, "And even then he could've tried to have another kid."
Izuku chose not to comment. Whether it was because he was still on the run, or that he was ashamed of him, his father hadn't been in his life in over a decade. It was always going to be a sore subject with him. Suddenly, Izuku remembered what he had been working on earlier. "Oh, that's right!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the device he'd been working on earlier, "I-uh...I have something for you."
When Izuku produced the little black choker from his pocket, Kyōka's cheeks began to redden a little bit. Not many boys tended to give her gifts and even when they did, it was usually something she didn't like. What Izuku was holding was actually something she used, given that she was already wearing something similar.
She smiled as she accepted the choker, "You didn't have to buy me anything, you know?" She said with a small laugh, appreciating the gift.
He gave a small frown, "But I didn't spend anything," Izuku said, "I actually built this."
"You built - ?" She was clearly stunned from the look on her face, "But this looks like a really expensive piece of jewelry!"
Izuku chuckled bashfully as she turned the choker over in her hands, noticing the little plug ports for her jacks, "Is this...Support Gear?" She breathed out, growing more delighted with the gift every passing moment.
The boy gave a shy nod, "Yeah, since I guessed that your Quirk might use sound as a weapon, I thought maybe you could use something like this," he began to explain, "When you plug your jacks into it, it amplifies your voice to super sonic levels."
Kyōka shifted slightly so she wouldn't wake Eri up, and took the choker she was wearing off so she could replace it with the Support Item, "This is so sweet," she beamed at him as the choker settled around her neck in a perfect fit, "I've submitted some ideas to have speakers in my boots so that I can use my own heartbeat for the sound, but I never thought to use my voice."
Izuku couldn't help but smile at that, "I understand. You've got a really pretty voice," he said before realizing what he had said while the comment had the girl turning beet red, "Uh, I mean that, erm, Eri likes to hear you sing!" He blurted out in a rush.
"O-oh, she does, does she?" Kyōka was still blushing up to her ears as she started absently twirling her left ear jack around her pointer finger, "W-well, I like singing for her, too..."
Toshinori suddenly hung up the phone with a huff, "Aggravating rodent," he said as Inko handed him back his cell phone, "How'd it go on your end?"
"Tsukauchi is coming over with a few others to pick up the kidnapper," she sighed, "He's also prepared to post guards around our apartment building to make sure that there won't be another attempt to take Eri from us, but I don't know if that's good enough."
The skeletal man nodded, "I agree." He said, leering at the man still stuck on the wall who was giving the family a dirty look, his mouth thankfully webbed shut, or else he most assuredly would have been swearing like a sailor, "If this thug was bold enough to come after her like this, then there's no doubt that this will happen again, perhaps within a few hours." He sighed and looked at the woman, "I know you don't want to risk him, but what about your husband?"
Inko's face visibly darkened, "What about him?" She asked defensively.
The blond man held up his hands, "Now now, I'm not trying to imply anything," he said in his defense, "I'm merely suggesting that you could contact him and inform him of the situation."
Inko frowned, and sighed deeply, "True, he would help if he knew that he was needed," he saw her eyes begin to drift toward her son, "but seeing him could…" she trailed off worriedly.
His eyes softened knowingly, "You know I've met the man before?" Toshinori said, surprising her, "I asked him why he was a Vigilante," he frowned, "His answer was similar to what Izuku went through with U.A." He explained while the woman smiled, "His Quirk was deemed too weak to be a Hero, even though he displayed great potential."
The woman shook her head, "I already know all of that," she said, gesturing to the couch where the children were talking, "It's him and Izuku I'm worried about." She let out a quiet sigh, "Hisashi's absence has left its mark on our son."
Toshinori smiled, "Do you believe he feels ashamed of the boy?"
Inko slowly shook her head, "I certainly don't, though I know my husband does have other reasons for staying away from us," she told the man, "But Izuku believes that his father turning to thievery was because of him being Quirkless at the time," she said sadly, "But I know Hisashi still loves us."
Toshinori thought for a moment, "If you decide to contact him," he smiled, "Let him know that the charges against him were dropped," Inko's eyes widened, "And tell him that if he decides to come back, I'll pull some strings with U.A. and have him hired as a groundskeeper to guard the school."
"You can do that?" Inko asked.
Toshinori nodded, "Technically, he's working as a mercenary, and as I said, the charges against him have been dropped, he just doesn't know it, yet," he said, "Nowadays, I hear he does under the table Hero work, and some bounty hunting for the Pro Hero Companies."
Inko nodded, "That's true, but..." she trailed off with another look toward her son. He had already been through so much that she didn't know what was right anymore for him. But she had also never asked why Hisashi had stopped calling her.
Toshinori reached out and patted her on the shoulder, "Think it over as much as you like, Mrs. Midoriya," he said, then turned to the children, "Young Midoriya, now might be a good time to try your new Costume on," he told the boy, "You may need the protection it offers before the night's over."
Izuku eyed the case still sitting on the coffee table before reaching out with a look of determination on his face. Case in hand he rose from the couch, leaning over to plant a kiss on top of Eri's head next to her horn. Kyōka almost yelped when he raised his eyes to meet her, "Look after her for me."
The intensity in his voice coupled with the look in his eyes made her heart flutter for a moment before she gave a nod, "Of course." She felt her cheeks heating up with more than just embarrassment for once.
With a smile, the boy straightened and went to his room to change despite the ruined door. Kyōka chanced a look over her shoulder and did yelp this time as she caught just the briefest of glimpses of Izuku's scarred back as he removed his shirt before she whipped around, deciding to focus on her duties as Eri's caretaker.
Her brief interest didn't go unnoticed as Inko held a knowing smile on her face while Toshinori was holding in a chuckle of his own. Though a few minutes later both their smiles and laughter died as Izuku came back out of his room, fully suited up.
Inko's hands flew to her mouth to stifle a gasp, "Oh my..."
Toshinori just grinned as the boy tightened the gauntlets on his wrists, "How's the fit, Young Midoriya?" He asked as Kyōka turned around to have a look for herself.
The blush she still had on he cheeks disappeared. The suit he was wearing completely hid the cute freckle-faced boy that she had thinking about earlier. She knew that Izuku wore baggy clothes, and that his clothes hid a very well-toned body beneath them, but seeing him in the form-fitting costume...
Izuku nodded in the man's direction, "It feels great," the boy admitted, his voice not matching the intimidating image cast boy the glowing green plates along his arms and chest, which formed a spider emblem. Even the lens of his mask's eyes glowed an eerie green color. "You even managed to get the web-shooters on the wrists just right."
Toshinori smiled, "There's a few of your gadgets in the case as well," he said, "I showed their designs to the R&D department, and they were able slap a few together."
Though they couldn't see it under the mask, Izuku was smiling, "I'm willing to bet that they're going to come in handy."
スパイダーマン
The police arrived less than twenty minutes later with Tsukauchi leading the charge. The would-be kidnapper was taken down from the wall, and carted off to the precinct to be interrogated, and the Midoriya family was made ready to be taken from their home, and into protective custody.
As the little family and Kyoka were ushered into Toshinori's car with the police escorting them, a figure peeked out from the corner of the building, "Dammit," the man frowned, and pulled out a phone, "Mr. Rappa? Bad news: my guy failed," he said, "The kid and the family taking care of her are heading for the U.A. school from what I've heard, and they've got a full police escort." He said.
"Hehehe, sounds like I get to have some fun," Rappa said from the other end, "The kid's still the priority, right?"
The man nodded, "Yup, Boss says roughing her up a little's fine, but don't kill her, alright?" He reminded him.
"No worries," Rappa said with an excited tone. "You'll take care of your guy, right?"
"We'll take care of everything on our end," The kidnapper's partner sighed as he hung up, "Too bad. I kinda feel sorry for these poor folks."
スパイダーマン
Kyōka placed her phone in her blazer's pocket as she finished speaking with her parents, "My mom and dad are gonna meet us at the school," she informed the Midoriya family, Inko looking at the girl worriedly, while Izuku was on high alert.
The worried mother sighed, "I'm going to have to apologize to them for putting you all through so much trouble," Inko said as she clutched Eri in her lap, "But I want my family safe as soon as possible."
Kyōka just waved it off, "No, don't worry, Mrs. M." She said, casting her gaze out the window, "My dad would've done the same thing," She assured the woman, knowing her dad would've freaked out way worse than Inko had when the whole thing went down.
"Young Midoriya, can you tell if there's anyone tailing us?" Toshinori asked from the front.
Izuku just shook his head, "No, and that's what has me worried." He said: his Spider-Sense, as he was beginning to call it, had started faintly tingling at the back of his head as soon as they had left the apartment, but not strong enough that he thought that they were in immediate danger. Just that they were being watched somehow.
Toshinori nodded in agreement, feeling the same nagging sense that they were running headlong into a trap.
"Daddy?" Eri looked over at the green/purple/black clad Hero-in-training, "Are the bad people gonna get us?"
"No!" Four voices told her all at once.
Izuku sat down in his seat, and took the little girl from his mother, holding her close to his chest, "No one is going to take you from us, Eri, I promise you that," he said, careful of the sharp claws on his gloves' fingertips, "And even if they did, you know I would come get you right away, don't you?"
She looked up at him with fearful eyes, "P-Please don't," the little girl pleaded, "If...If it's really them, then they'll - "
Izuku reached up and tapped her on the tip of her horn, "Eri, you're a part of my family, now." He told the little girl, "And nothing in this world would keep me away from you if you were ever in trouble. Understand?" Eri nodded her head before she reached around and hugged him as tightly as her little arms could manage.
He returned the hug gently, "That's my girl." He said and reached for his belt, removing a small disc-like device the size of an American dime. "And just to make sure that I can always find you, no matter where you are, I'll give you this." He said as he placed it in her little hands, "Keep it with you and don't let anyone take it from you. If you do that, the I'll always be able to find you, no matter wher you are."
Eri nodded and placed the tracer in her hair like a barrette. No one would take notice of a child's hair accessory.
She then settled between Izuku and Inko while clutching the little teddy bear that Kyoka had brought for her. The chocolates were in Inko's purse for later, but Kyoka had already given her a few when she came around from being knocked out and was delighted when she saw how the girl's eyes lit up when she tasted the sweet treats. [Everyoneloves chocolate,] Kyōka had thought when she saw the pleased look on the girl's face. Still no smile, though.
But seeing the little girl now, nestled in between her new family, Kyōka could almost see the barest hint of a smile forming on her face. [This is probably the first time she's felt any sort of affection.] She thought to herself, a feeling of envy bubbling up in her chest as she wished, fleetingly, that she could be part of the little girl's life.
A brief image of herself sitting next to Eri as she was sandwiched between herself and Izuku suddenly flashed through her head. [Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone!] She shook her head, [I can't be attracted to him!] She felt her cheeks heating up once agin, [There's no way! I barely know the guy! And who am I to want to mother this kid!?]
She looked back at the little family, or more specifically, Izuku, but instead of seeing him comforting Eri, or looking out the window to make sure nothing was coming, the boy was clutching at the back of his head, and looking straight up. Her breath caught in her throat just as the eyes on his mask began to widen.
Like a precognition, Izuku's Spider-Sense seemed to freeze time for a moment, allowing him to see what was about to happen as a large figure dropped down on the car, which would've crushed Toshinori.
He threw himself over Eri and his mother, "Incoming from above in ten seconds!" Izuku yelled out as he gripped the seat in his clawed fringers. Kyōka wisely tightened her seatbelt as, without question, Toshinori slammed on the brakes while she, Eri and his mother screamed, and made a hard left, fishtailing the car around and into the side rails of the road, the left side of the car only tapping against them.
The police escort hit the brakes as well, but that wasn't what Izuku was staring at. A moment later, Kyōka found out just what had made the boy so shaken up as a massive figure slammed into the asphalt and sent a tremor through the car.
This man, whoever he was, was almost as huge as All Might. The man also wore metal gauntlets on his arms, as well as what looked like a plague mask. The sound of Eri whimpering at the very sight of that mask told the two teens all that they needed to know.
"Is everyone alright?!" Toshinori asked just as the Villain moved toward the car with explosive speed. He grasped the passenger door where Izuku was sitting, his large hands digging into the frame. The boy was pulling what looked like a round grenade with his thumb on a primer as the door crumpled.
The door was then ripped away just as Izuku threw his weapon while the giant glared down at them. "Give me that girl, and no one gets - HEY!" The man roared as the grenade exploded into a mass of web-like substance all over him. "Why you little son of a bit - "
"Watch the language!" Izuku quipped while shooting a glob of webbing right at his mouth, shutting him up and forcing him to drop the door. "Don't you know it's rude to swear in front of women and children!" He shouted as he prepared to jump out of the ruined car.
"Izuku wait!" Inko yelled as she pulled Eri away from the door. The Villain was ripping himself free easily enough, but she knew that Izuku was not going to just sit around and do nothing.
But just as the he left left the car, Toshinori jumped out and grasped his shoulder, "What are you doing?!" Izuku snapped.
"Making sure that you don't ruin your chances at U.A." The man said, "I, Toshinori Yagi, personal assistant to All Might for Might Towers, give you, Izuku Midoriya, permission to engage this Villain!"
Understanding dawned on his features as the man released him. Izuku crouched down, feeling an electrical surge rush into his legs. Just as the Villain ripped the webs off of himself, Izuku launched himself at the man with explosive force, leaving green arcs of electricity in his wake.
The car bounced off of the ground for a brief moment from the shockwave produced by the boy as he jumped, briefly surprising even Toshinori, but the man was quick to control himself as he turned to the others, "Alright, everyone out!" The man ordered, "He can't focus on the fight if he's worried about protecting us in this busted heap!" He barked out as he signaled for aid from the police that were now scrambling out of their cars, weapons drawn.
Kyōka was the first one to bail out, just in time to see Izuku land a devastating punch on the Villain. There were no sparks of electricity this time, but the blow was no less effective as the man was thrown back, forced to dig his feet into the asphalt to keep himself standing. "Kyōka!" Inko called out behind her as the woman was struggling to get out of the car with Eri still clutched in her arms. The girl was quick to help her, taking Eri in her left arm whilst helping Inko out with the right.
Toshinori waved down one of the officers, "That's Kendo Rappa! He's classed as a B-rank Villain!" He then called out to Izuku, "Young Midoriya, watchout for his Quirk! It's focused on his shoulders!"
The boy gave no indication that he heard the man, keeping his eyes on the Villain as he started rotating his shoulders while the police were beginning to surround the dueling pair. "Tsukauchi! Tell your men to hold their fire!" He called out to the detective before turning his attention back to the fight, "Don't panic!" He yelled out his instructions, "All of his power is in forward strength, but he can't keep it up for long! Keep your distance, and tire him out!"
Izuku, instead of panicking, was very calm as the Villain began to chuckle and advance toward him. [Kendo Rappa, a B-rank Villain known for his brutality and bloodlust from underground fighting rings,] he rattled off in his head, [His Quirk is registered as Strongarm, which allows him to rotate his shoulders at extreme speeds allowing him to pummel his opponents with near endless rapidfire punches, but like All Might said he can't keep it going for more than a few seconds, so - ]
The Villain laughed happily, interupting the boy's thoughts, "Hehe, kid, I'll admit that you got a lotta spunk," Rappa said as he lumbered forward wiping his lips of a small amount of blood, "But you ain't got nothin' on my boss."
Izuku kept his low stance, "Give me a little time, and I'll lay him out right next to you after I'm done," the boy said, "You might be stonger than me, but I promise that I won't go down easy!"
Rappa just grinned and put up his fists, "Now that's what I like to hear!" He roared and lunged at the boy, fist cocked back for a powerful blow. "Better give me a good fight after that line, kid!"
"My name," Izuku said, "Is Spider-Man!" He shot a double line of webs at the ruined car door and swung it around and overhead to smash it down on Rappa's head, who laughed and unleashed a barrage of punches against it.
The moment he did, Izuku shot another set of Webs at his exposed middle, pulling back and slinging himself forward into a flying kick. His Spider-Sense warned him a split second before Rappa could bring a fist down on him, allowing him to just barely roll out of danger before the kick grazed the Villain's exposed left side.
Rappa laughed madly as he felt his ribs crack, "Not bad, Li'l Spider, I actually felt that!" He reached down and grabbed the offending leg, and whipped the boy around, smashing him into the asphalt. "But not good enough!"
The boy groaned as the pavement scraped against the metal plates on his suit. "Then how about this?" Spider-Man asked as he placed something on his chest. Rappa looked down at the device as it began blinking just before it let loose a powerful bolt of electricity into the Villain's chest.
"ARGH!" Rappa screamed as the electricity arced over him, "You little brat!" He reared his fist back as the attack ceased, but Izuku was already jumping clear, and throwing another one of his Web Bombs at the Villain.
He swatted it aside before it could explode, "That one won't work on me again, kid!" He snarled as the bomb splattered all over the pavement, "You know, I was just gonna grab the kid and go, but you're making real this fun for me! Let's see how much you can take!"
His Spider-Sense went crazy as Rappa's explosive speed carried him forward with his fists flying. [One hit from those and I'm history!] He thought frantically as he narrowly dodged a blow that crumpled the street, [The one thing I can rely on is that he can't use it indefinitely!] He back-flipped away and webbed himself into the air, [I just need to stay out of range until he stops! All I need is one shot!]
Using the Web Shooter to swing himself around had been a fleeting idea, now he wished he had followed up on it as he awkwardly swung into the side of a building. Rappa was already leaping into the air after him, "Is that all you've got!?" He swatted the boy off the side of the building and sent him crashing down onto the streets below, "A fancy way to turn tail and run!" The Villain landed and stalked toward the boy as he staggered to his feet, "Guess I was wrong about you, i'l spider."
Izuku shook his head, "Nah, just wanted to give the police a fair chance." He said before he leapt out of the way.
Rappa looked after the boy in confusion as he webbed himself up onto the side of a building, "Huh?" Apparently he'd forgotten all about the police gathered around him.
Tsukauchi yelled, "You heard him, men! Open fire!"
Shots rang out on the streets and bullets pelted the large Villain, but they only made him laugh, "You think that's enough to stop me?!" He raced over to the edge of the street and grasped a light post, wrenching it out of the ground and hurling it at the police officers forcing them to dive for cover. "My Quirk might be in my shoulders, but my muscles are harder than tempered steel!"
Kyōka was beginning to worry as Izuku jumped from the building he was latched onto to re-engage, "Toshinori," she turned to the man, "Let me fight!"
Toshinori looked at her, "Come again?" He asked, shocked at her request.
The girl was reaching into her blazer and pulling out Izuku's gift to her, "You heard me!" She shouted as she snapped the choker on and plugged her jacks into the device, the skin of her neck trembling slightly for a moment before the device settled.
Toshinori sucked in a breath through his teeth as Rappa landed a hard punch on the boy, and crushed him into the concrete. "Ack, alright! GO!"
Kyōka turned on her heel, and rushed into the fight.
Izuku was hanging limply from Rappa's grasp as the Villain held his left arm in an iron grip, "Not so tough now, are ya, Spider-Brat?" The giant man taunted him.
She heard him choking, causing her to suck in a breath and then she let out the longest, loudest belt she could manage. The sound that came from her throat wasn't what she was expecting as the high-pitched keen reverberated in front of her, shattering windows, ripping up concrete and asphalt...and sending Rappa to his knees and into an agonized frenzy as he dropped the boy so he could cover his ears.
Izuku was barely keeping himself in check from the sonic attack, but he had to do something about Rappa before Kyōka was forced to stop. [The energy I had felt in my legs?] He began forcing it up through his body and into his arms, specifically his right fist. It was now sparking wildly with green electricity.
He leapt at the Villain and drove the supercharged fist right into his face, releasing a shockwave of electrical energy so strong that Rappa was propelled backward and sent crashing into and through a building across the street.
Kyōka stopped her scream as Izuku landed on his feet. For a moment, she though everything was fine unitl she saw him wobbline on his feet. Her feet were moving before she realized what she was doing as she rushed to his side just as the boy hit his knees. "Izuku!" She slid to a halt and dropped to her knees, "I'm so sorry!" She half-sobbed as she cradled his head in her lap, "I couldn't think of a better way to get a shot at him!" She yammered out as the teen reached up slowly and pulled off his mask. Kyoka whimpered as she saw a small amount of blood dripping from his mouth, nose and ears. "Oh my god!"
Izuku reached out to her and grasped her by the wrist, "I...I can't hear you right now," he panted tiredly as he raised his eyes to look at her, "But thanks...Kyōka...you saved my life." The smile he gave her was filled with admiration.
Giving out a cry of relief, Kyōka latched onto him, her arms holding him tight against her in a firm hug as the police and his family gathered around them. Tsukauchi was barking out orders to restrain the Villain while she faintly heard Toshinori talking to someone loudly about setting up the nurse's office.
スパイダーマン
Several Hours Later - Might Towers - Minato, Tokyo
Paperwork was the bane of any Pro-Hero, even those at the Might Towers Agency, and Toshinori was now up to his neck in his own personal hell. The main branch of the police offices in the Shizuoka area wanted a full incident report in triplicate. The U.A. faculty was going to have a field day with him on account of allowing two unlicensed teenagers to make use of their Quirks, as well as dangerous articles of Support Gear, (they were viewing the Remote Mine Izuku used as dangerous) and he now had to fill out an employment contract for a known Vigilante/mercenary.
"That being said," the man sighed as he sat back with a satisfied smile on his gaunt face, "It's all going to be worth it."
After the battle, Rappa had been taken away as fast as Tsukauchi could arrange a transport to Tartarus, while Izuku and Kyoka were congratulated by the police for a job well-done.
And while he hadn't revealed himself as All Might, Toshinori Yagi, as a member of a well-known Hero Agency, felt he had made the right choice when he had authorized the two teenagers to act as professionals given the absence of any available Pros.
After arriving at the school and having both children ushered to the nurse's office to have Recovery Girl treat them, Izuku's eardrums being perforated from Kyōka's sonic scream while more than a few of his bones were broken. Though, with the added bonus of a Rapid Healing Factor andthe nurse's care he had recovered very well. Once he could hear her, Kyōka couldn't express enough how impressed she was with the Sonic Choker he had crafted.
As such the girl hadn't stopped thanking Izuku for his gift until they eventually reached U.A.'s safehouse all the while Izuku was blushing madly with both Eri and his mother hugging the stuffing out of the poor kid.
Toshinori would've thought the whole thing hilarious if he hadn't been so disgusted with himself for not joining in on the fight instead of leaving it all to the children.
Inko had been beside herself the entire time until Izuku had knocked the Villain out, and Eri was terrified that her daddy would die at Rappa's hands. But he had once again proven everyone wrong.
"And he used a skill that no one really knew he had," Toshinori chuckled to himself as he signed another form to be sent out, "Come to think of it, we don't really know just how strong Young Midoriya actually is, yet." He chuckled again, "This is going to be an excellent year. Maybe I won't see the rise of a new Symbol of Peace, but two of them?"