Chapter 2: Ego
- MUSUTAFU, CITY STREETS -
It had been several days since Izuku first met Mr. H at the park. He thought about stopping by the café earlier, but decided against it at first. School and the usual interactions he suffered had worn him down. It was just easier to go home after it all and not worry about anything.
The only difference in his routine was stopping by the park where he met Mr. H.
Every day throughout the week, Izuku would make his way there just to look at the All Might mural. After several visits to the park, he grew more and more curious about the black cat in the artwork. One day, he decided to look into it. Apparently, the popularity of the mural caused an influx of searches into the same thing and the veritable return of fans of the artist.
CAT.
An artist from Shibuya who was most well known for their street art and their various forays into different mediums like music. CAT had been around for years and many people from the world over had spoken highly of their work. It seemed that no matter who you were or what your "thing" was, everyone felt that CAT's work spoke to them in some way. Despite their popularity, CAT had disappeared for several years leaving the whole world to wonder what happened to them.
That mural of All Might was a big announcement of their return, or maybe it was just the need to make something. It made waves nonetheless. Each time Izuku passed by the park to see the mural, more and more people were there with him. Some just to see it, others to let people know they were there with pictures and selfies. The word had spread.
Apparently, even All Might had shown up one day and gave his approval of the mural.
'I can't believe I missed it!' Izuku internally screamed the day he learned about that event. 'I could have met All Might!' Izuku felt that day couldn't have been worse. His lamenting did cause his mom to chuckle when she heard him complain. He was a fanboy for sure.
Bakugo was just as angry about it too. You could hear the explosions all over the school when he found out. Izuku was glad he was nowhere near Bakugo at that time. He was sure the explosive ash-blonde would have used him as a target to make his frustrations known.
After learning more about CAT, Izuku got more into their art. Each piece spoke to him in some way or another. He even bought several albums and songs they had made which he began to listen to almost every day without feeling bored by them. It made each day a little more tolerable.
And so, when he finally had a day off from school, Izuku made his way to Café Wildkat early in the morning. His mom was going to be spending the day with Bakugo's mom, Mitsuki, so he was free to do whatever. She only asked that he stay safe and to call her if something happened.
As well as warn him about rushing off to go see a hero fighting a villain. She knew he had a form of tunnel vision and often joked he could walk into the middle of it without thinking just to ask a question. He tried to deny that he was that bad. He failed.
Izuku donned his headphones, picked out a song, and started his trek.
Once more he took to the streets of Musutafu, weaving through the busy, early morning crowds as he made his way. Every so often he would see a hero on patrol and would take time to put them in his Hero Analysis notebook or make notes to do so. Towering buildings began to shift to small stores and quiet streets. In the middle of a fork in the road sat the small café.
Izuku stopped his music and took off his headphones. He stood outside facing the door...
And was in the middle of a mental debate on whether or not he should go in.
'Maybe I shouldn't have come here. W-what if I just annoy him? He was nice to me earlier but what if that was a fluke?' Izuku was having a mental tug-of-war and barely noticed the door open. He didn't even know he started to verbalize those thoughts. "M-maybe I should just go home. I have homework I need to finish. I-It's not like he was expecting me..."
"Yo, Phones," a voice called out breaking Izuku's train of thought.
He sheepishly raised his head to face the voice before darting his eyes away, 'Of course, it had to be Mr. H to come out to meet me. Granted, it is his café and I was just standing outside for a while.'
"True, it is my café so who else would've come out to greet ya? And you were only out here for like, a minute," Mr. H responded, breaking Izuku's concentration.
Izuku just stood still, allowing silence to fill the air. After what felt like hours he finally responded, albeit with a little bit of dread. "I-I said all that o-out loud, d-didn't I?"
"Yep," was all Mr. H said.
Izuku could only lower his head to hide his embarrassment.
"So, you comin' in, Phones?" Mr. H asked while pointing his thumb behind him and smirking at the embarrassed teen. Izuku groaned while slowly nodding. Mr. H opened the door wider to let in the verdette, who quietly walked past the shades-wearing man.
As Izuku sat down on a stool at the front counter and set his backpack down, he looked around the small café taking in every detail he noticed. Polished hardwood tables were scattered about the café's floor with a set of cushioned chairs at each one to provide some extra comfort to the guests. Some potted plants dotted the café giving it some extra life and color. Cream-colored walls with some sections covered by black slats were decorated with various nick-knacks, posters, event fliers, and shelves. Large windows allowed for both people inside and outside the café to view the world on the other side.
At the front counter, Izuku could see the back wall aligned with various cooking appliances and coffee machines ready to make things fresh for customers. Some pastries that Izuku figured were made earlier, sat in a container near the register. Hanging on the wall was a large, sectioned chalkboard listing the items and daily specials to choose from. A small tablet was set up and streaming music throughout the café.
As Izuku began to relax after taking in his surroundings, the sound of a coffee cup being placed in front of him caused him to refocus on what was going on. He sees Mr. H smile at him as he presents the drink to him, "Figured you could use something to get you settled. It's on the house so don't worry." Mr. H turned to pour himself a cup while checking a on few things.
Izuku took a sip of the coffee that Mr. H provided. As soon as the liquid hit his taste buds he felt like he was on cloud nine and energized. It took him everything he had to hold himself back from quickly downing the blend and burning himself on accident so he forced himself to take small sips in the meantime.
Izuku was interrupted by the sounds of a meow next to him. Taking a look he saw a trio of cats had hopped onto the counter to look at him. 'Must be allowed to have them here. Maybe it's like a cat café?' Izuku thought as he inspected the cat trio.
They sat together in a small group. They all had midnight black fur and blue eyes though each had a unique feature to them. For the cat on the right, it had a patch of white fur on their front right paw, while the one on the left had a similar patch on its left front paw. The one in the middle seemed to have a patch of fur in the shape of a white five-pointed star over its left eye.
The trio inched closer and he reached out his hand as he began to give the trio a series of scratches and headpats. As he did, he began to take in their details and his brain began to make connections though he brushed them off as coincidences.
"I see the trio has graced you with their presence." Mr. H's voice called out as he walked over to the counter. The cats meowed in response as if to make their voices heard. Mr. H just shook his head as a small grin began to form on his lips before speaking. "Phones, meet RK, BK, and LK."
"RK, BK, and LK?" Izuku tilted his head as he heard the names. 'They are certainly unique.'
"Yep. Obviously, they're just nicknames. I didn't really have any good names for them when I found them as kittens, but with how they all seem to act together as a group and are rarely apart, I decided to name them accordingly." Mr. H clapped his hands once and the trio of cats sat up straight, ready to introduce themselves fully. "Starting from the right, we have little lady RK, or Righty Kat."
RK raised her right front paw to wave at Izuku. He couldn't hold back his smile as he fawned at the cat's action.
"On the left is Mister LK, or Lefty Kat"
LK did the same thing as RK, raising his left paw but with much less effort. That got a chuckle out of Izuku. He seemed to be the lazier one of the group.
"And the one in the middle and leader of the trio is BK, or Brainy Kat. Guess how he got that name."
BK didn't wave but he did nod its head sagely at Izuku. The freckled teen returned the bow with his own, and he began to question why he did that.
"It's nice to meet you all," Izuku replied as the trio of cats went back to demanding more scratches and headpats from the teen. Izuku complied and a calm silence filled the air of the café.
After several minutes of Izuku and Mr. H enjoying their coffee, Mr. H spoke up. "So, how has the week treated you?" Mr. H's question cut through the calm silence.
Izuku paused, thinking about his answer, "It... it was alright. Just the u-usual." Izuku looked down and stared into his drink, his sad expression reflected in the dark liquid.
Mr. H allowed Izuku's response to linger a bit, taking a sip of his own drink. After a moment he decided to respond back. "Sounds like your usual isn't something you like to go through, Phones. You up to talkin' about it again?"
Izuku took another sip of his drink and let out a heavy sigh. 'It couldn't hurt, and he has only been kind to me after all,' he thought. Setting his cup down, Izuku finally spoke. "I-it's just... Like I said when we first met, I always w-wanted to be a Hero. But growing up m-my Quirk gave me issues. I-it wouldn't activate, no matter what I did. So everyone else... They thought I was lying. T-that I made up having a Quirk just to fit in. A-and then when I say I want to be a Hero... W-well, they do all they can to let me know my dream is nonsense."
Izuku paused, gripping the cup a little tighter. Mr. H let him work through his emotions letting Izuku guide the conversation.
"H-how can a Deku be a Hero? Even when I showed that I had one with the papers I got from the Quirk Doctor I went to, they called it useless... called me useless," Izuku whispered as he held back bitter tears. "I still have some people say I faked those papers. That I'm really just Quirkless."
Mr. H could only look at the teen in front of him with sympathy. He took another sip before speaking, "Well, certainly ain't easy when the world seems to want to beat you down. But I meant it when I told you that getting back up each time was a quality of a great hero, Phones." Mr. H saw a small smile appear on Izuku's face when he said that. Smiling himself, he continued. "But it's not just being able to get up, you need to improve each time. One step forward at a time and your dream will get closer."
Mr. H set down his drink so he could focus entirely on Izuku. "So what steps have you taken to reach your dream, Phones? Keep bein' honest with me."
The question surprised Izuku, and it took him a moment before he was filled with excitement. Setting his drink to the side he dug through his backpack and brought out a journal and several pins and set them down on the counter. RK, BK, and LK grew curious at the pins and began to tap them with their paws.
"W-well, growing up I took some basic martial arts classes and tried to find a workout routine to follow, thoughIhaven'thadanyluckonthatendandthenthereis..." Izuku began to get lost in a mutter storm, shocking Mr. H with the speed at which his verbal thoughts escaped.
Mr. H chuckled before snapping his fingers in front of Izuku's face. "Phones, breathe. I lost track of you somewhere in that mess."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head as he looked back at Mr. H sheepishly. "S-sorry, I tend to mutter a lot... m-most people find it creepy. S-sorry again."
Mr. H waved his hand at Izuku to dismiss his negativity. "Eh, just means your brain is thinking faster than it can process. If anything it's impressive, though what makes it a skill is being able to understand your own thoughts and what to do with them when that happens. Details are important but you gotta be able to focus on the important ones."
Izuku smiled again as Mr. H continued. "Besides, sometimes you gotta hear an idea to know if it's a good one or not. Just because it sounds good in here," Mr. H said, tapping the side of his head, "doesn't mean it sounds good out of it. If you just take a moment to get in a good breath in I'm sure that will help a bit with your thoughts."
Mr. H looks down at the journal and pins in front of Izuku as he addresses them. "So what's with these?"
Izuku quickly opened his journal as he explained. "W-well, I actually just like Quirks. There are so many interesting Quirks that can be used in so many ways. And, well, since I have problems with my Quirk, I thought maybe I could study the Quirks of Heroes and maybe find an answer on how to make mine work."
Izuku then looked down at the pins he brought, "I recently found out that my Quirk might have something to do with pins. When I found a jar of them, I felt like my Quirk was trying to tell me something. There was this hum, but it was quiet. It didn't matter what kind of pin I found, each one caused that hum to happen." Izuku picked up one of the pins and looked at it, his smile slowly going away. "But that was just it. Just a little hum and nothing else."
Mr. H picked up a pin himself and started looking it over, almost like he was appraising it. After a few seconds, he spoke up, "Is it safe to assume you thought the pins would give you powers based on what's on it? Like this Lady Nagant one. She had a Quirk that made her a long-range sniper, right?" Izuku gave him a nod letting the older man know he was on the right track. "I would think you were trying to have some sort of long-range ability with a pin like this. Something like shooting, right?"
Izuku nodded again and went back to the journal. "T-that's actually another reason for my Quirk notes. I know my Quirk stockpiles energy and since I don't have an exact answer of what that energy is, I thought maybe it could take the shape of something else. So I have these notes and looked for pins of different Heroes hoping I might get something. W-was I wrong to think that?"
Mr. H took another look at the pin in his hand before setting it back down on the counter with the others, "It seems like a good guess, but I think I know what's wrong with your line of thinking, Phones."
Izuku tilted his head at Mr. H's words. "W-what do you mean?"
Mr H. grabbed his coffee and took another sip before continuing. "You remember what I talked about when we met at the park? About interpretations?"
Izuku nodded before responding. "Y-yes. You said there were two types; The artist's and the viewer's."
Mr. H grinned and gave a quick nod. "You got it, Phones. Now when it comes to these pins, which interpretation do you think fits you?"
Izuku brought a hand to his chin as he started to think about it. It only took him a moment before he had an answer. "I'm the second one?"
Mr. H smiled at Izuku and gave him a thumbs up. "You're on a roll, Phones. These pins are pieces of art. That means someone already has a set meaning behind them, even if it is a simple one, like 'This is an image of a hero'. Unlike finding meaning in them, you're forcing meaning onto them. Does that make sense to you?"
Izuku paused to think about it some more, the mental gears turning slowly. After a few seconds, his shoulders began to sag as he let out a sigh. Grabbing his cup on the side he answered. "I-I think so? I'm not really sure..."
Mr. H nodded in understanding, "What I mean is you can't force an idea onto something. It ruins whatever meaning it can have. Forcing an idea causes conflict, and ideas thrive on understanding." Mr. H pointed at Izuku as he made his point. "Your Quirk put you on the right path, you are just going about it wrong. And if one way doesn't work..."
Izuku picked up on what Mr. H meant. "Then I need to try the other. So instead of finding meaning in something else, I need to make my own and give it meaning?"
Mr. H could only grin at Izuku's progress. "That's right kid. Maybe you need to make your own pins. That way, the meaning behind them is yours and yours alone. You're not forcing a meaning, but instilling your meaning and understanding in them. The power they give is the power you say they give."
At that moment, it all clicked for Izuku. After months of experimenting with constant failure after failure, he finally had an answer.
As Izuku thought on this new revelation, Mr. H spoke up. "I want to ask you, Phones, who are you?"
Izuku blinked, not understanding the question. "U-um. M-Midoriya Izuku sir."
Mr. H couldn't hold back his laughter at the answer. "Ha! Funny, but not what I meant, Phones."
The verdette slowly raised his cup to hide his pout. 'I-I don't think I made a joke... Did I?'
Mr. H took a few seconds to settle down. He looked back at Izuku not even trying to hold back his smirk. "What I mean, Phones, is who is Midoriya Izuku? Not the Deku that everyone calls you. Not the kid they call useless. I want to know who you know you are." He finished off his point by gesturing to Izuku, tapping the teen's chest.
Izuku could only let Mr. H's words sink in. He never really thought about something like that. After a while, the words of everyone else just seemed to stick. 'I guess... I don't really know who I am.'
The café owner gave Izuku a soft smile. He could see how much the world beat him down. It was evident that the name Deku started to take hold within Izuku. It had started to warp his own identity. Mr. H gave the green-haired teen some time to think while he worked over his own thoughts, 'Phones' confidence is shot to hell. Gonna take some time to build it up, but I know he can do it. This should help him take the first step.'
Mr. H raised his hand to get Izuku's attention. When the he looked up to the older man, he Mr. H spoke. "I think, the first pin you make should be your identity. This should be who you are, and who you want to be, Phones. This is your ego. Who Izuku is, and who Izuku strives to be."
Izuku listened to every word that was said to him. Each one began to resonate with the teen. For the first time in years the words and insults of those around him, started to lose their sting.
How can you be a Hero?
Your Quirk is worthless.
I bet he doesn't have a Quirk.
Useless.
Deku.
They were still there, but they weren't as loud as they were. For the first time, he was letting his own voice be heard.
Izuku looked at Mr. H once more, his eyes filled with determination as he spoke. "T-then I guess I better get started." Izuku pulled his notebook closer to him as he grabbed a pencil and flipped to an empty page. He stopped and looked back at Mr. H, rubbing the back of his head as he gave the older man a weak smile. "I... I don't really know w-where to start."
Mr. H let out a soft chuckle as he shook his head. "Alright. First things first, figuring out your brand, Phones."
The two spent hours that day discussing ideas, with Mr. H explaining things Izuku needed help on. After a while, Izuku had to leave for home. For the first time in years, he walked the streets of Musutafu with purpose.
Izuku spent days mulling over ideas of what his identity was. Pages upon pages of his journal were filled with sketches to give it a physical form. Each one seemed right, but as he thought on each one he reconsidered and tried again.
His classmates had seen his behavior and would either ignore him while the usual suspects would do their best to bully or verbally assault him. Some even ruined his sketches, making him start all over again. It was disheartening, but it didn't stop him. This was important to him. Important for him to become a hero.
Sometimes he would return to Café Wildkat to speak with Mr. H and to brainstorm ideas. The two would come up with something and Izuku would sketch it out, but Mr. H would always ask him one question.
"Is this who you are, Phones?"
And each time, Izuku started over. That simple question made him really think and reconsider what he had already worked on.
He even started going to his mom to get another perspective. Seeing her son's mood take a positive turn, Inko was more than happy to help where she could. Still, Izuku could never figure out his identity.
'Who am I?' Izuku continued to mull over that one thought. Sitting at his desk he leaned back into his chair. As time went on he rubbed his temples in frustration. 'This shouldn't be that hard!'
He took Mr. H's advice and took a deep breath. He stared blankly at his ceiling hoping inspiration might strike him. Feeling nothing he put on his headphones and started playing his music. As soon as the beat kicked in he bobbed his head and tapped his pencil to the rhythm.
'Who am I? Who is Midoriya Izuku?' He closed his eyes as he let his thoughts flow. 'There's more to it. It's not just who I am. It's who I want to be.' Izuku opened his eyes as he looked around his room.
Adorning the walls were multiple posters of All Might, his inspiration, and one of the main reasons he wanted to be a Hero. That bright smile was always present in each image. As Izuku stared at one of his posters, the No. 1 Hero's catchphrase echoed in his mind.
I AM HERE!
'Wait! Who I want to be. I want to be a hero. A hero like All Might!' Izuku quickly leaned forward and stared at his journal, ready to sketch out a new idea. But he stopped. The conversation with Mr. H came to his mind.
"What I mean is you can't force an idea onto something. It ruins whatever meaning it can have." Mr. H pointed at Izuku as he made his point. "Your Quirk put you on the right path, you are just going about it wrong. And if one way doesn't work..."
Izuku picked up on what Mr. H meant. "Then I need to try the other. So instead of finding meaning in something else, I need to make my own and give it meaning?"
'I can't be All Might, but I can be inspired by him and be me. The hero I want to be!' With that thought, Izuku began sketching. Several ideas came and went just as quickly, each one getting closer and closer to what the freckled teen wanted. Pages flipped back and forth as he looked through each idea finding something to work with. As he did so another thought popped into his head. 'All Might wasn't the only one. CAT. If it wasn't for them and that mural they made, I don't think I would even be here working on this.'
Izuku brought his pencil up to his chin. He was on the right path, he was just missing one last thing.
He started going back to his conversation with Mr. H again. 'Maybe I missed something...' He sifted through each word spoken until it finally dawned on him.
Mr. H let out a soft chuckle as he shook his head. "Alright. First things first, figuring out your brand, Phones."
"That's it!" Izuku's voice rang out through his room. With speed his pencil glided across the page, each stroke giving life to his new idea. This was it, this was what he was looking for. As soon as he finished he quickly grabbed the journal and rushed out of his room.
He saw his mother sitting on the couch, watching the television and called out to her. "MomI'mgoingouttoseeMr.H!Iwillbebacksoon,loveyou,bye!"
Inko could only blink confused at how fast her son sped out of the house. But she could hear the excitement in his voice. He was happy, and that's all she needed to know.
- CAFE WILDKAT -
Izuku rushed through the city streets getting closer to the café. His smile shining brighter and brighter as he neared the little shop. The bell chimed and rang out for all to hear as he opened the door.
"Mr. H! I have it!" Izuku exclaimed proudly, taking short, choppy breaths due to his mad dash. He quickly made it to the counter and sat in front of the man who had set him on this path. RK, BK, and LK were startled by his appearance but soon settled down and climbed up the counter to see the teen.
Mr. H could only smile and laugh in response. Izuku's excited mood was infectious and it made him antsy to see what the teen had come up with.
"Well, Phones, don't leave me hangin'." The café owner slapped the counter several times, gesturing Izuku to share his progress. "Let's see what you got."
Izuku placed the journal on the counter at a speed Mr. H had never seen before. He quickly flipped through pages of sketches until he finally made it to the page he was looking for. He then turned the book around so that Mr. H could get a better look at his drawing.
For what seemed like hours Mr. H looked over the sketch, taking in every detail and line in the simple drawing he saw before him. Izuku meanwhile, was nervous. Even if this was supposed to be his art, his meaning, he wanted Mr. H's approval.
And finally, the man smiled.
"Gotta say, Phones, I didn't expect something like this. Doesn't really seem like you from a first glance." Mr. H set the journal back down in front of Izuku. "Is this really what works for you?"
Izuku nodded. "Yes. I thought about it for the longest time. And then I thought about what I wanted to be. I want to be a hero. All Might came to mind, but I remembered what we talked about, how I needed to find my own meaning. Then I thought about this being a brand of some kind. A way to tell the world 'This is me'." He paused and picked up the journal. He stared at the sketch for a few seconds before continuing. "But this is my art. My identity. My Ego."
"And with this," Izuku turned the journal to look at his sketch on more time. On the page was a circle shaded in black. Inside the circle was what looked to be a white, stylized skull, with two rabbit ears and the top row of teeth curved into what looked to be a smile as it sat on a black background. Izuku looked at Mr. H, with the same look of determination he had when he first came to the café.
And Izuku felt his Quirk hum louder than it ever had before.
"I will let the world know who I am!"
Mr. H stared at the teen before smirking. "Good answer, Phones." He grabbed the journal and gave the design one more look. "We can work with this. I have an old tablet you can have with some art programs still installed. I'll give you a few pointers on how to turn this into a digital piece that we can turn into a pin." He placed the journal back onto the counter as he looked at Izuku. "Once we do that, I have a pin press you can use from my time as a designer."
Izuku's eyes seemed to sparkle at Mr. H's offer. His response was quick and filled with excitement. "Really!? Thank you, Mr. H!"
Mr. H waved his hand dismissively at Izuku. "Don't worry about it, Phones. Just make sure you put the effort in and I'll consider it paid in full."
Izuku returned the next day after school to get the tablet from Mr. H. The older man spent some time teaching Izuku the ropes, helping him to clean up his sketches and to make them give the most detail while still being simple.
He had spent most of his free time doing so just to make sure his future pin would be exactly what he wanted. It surprised his mom with how focused he was on this project. She even joked she was concerned he hadn't talked about heroes during that time. He couldn't help but blush and act sheepishly as he tried to justify his efforts.
Inko simply chuckled and asked him about it as she wanted to know more about his work now that he seemed to finally get past his sketch phase. Izuku happily obliged and explained everything to her.
It was finally after several days that he returned to Café Wildkat to show off his work to Mr. H.
He called out as the bell above the door chimed. "Hey Mr. H." He made his way to the counter as RK, BK, and LK went over to greet him.
"Sup, Phones. Let me finish this order for my guests and I'll get you your usual so we can chat." Mr. H responded to him as he worked, only turning his head to look over his shoulder at the green-haired teen and giving him a small nod.
Izuku returned the nod and made his way to his usual seat at the counter. Taking out the tablet Mr. H had gifted him, he went through his files as RK, BK, and LK sat next to him, expecting their usual signs of affection. After petting the trio of cats, RK and LK left him and BK to their own devices. BK laid down next to Izuku on the counter as he waited for Mr. H to finish up the orders the café owner was working on.
After a while, Mr. H made his way over with a cup of coffee for Izuku and one for himself. Both took a sip of their drinks as they let the relaxing atmosphere and soft music set in. Mr. H had set down his cup and began to speak as he petted BK. "So, Phones, you seem to be in a good mood. I take it that it's ready?"
"Yeah!" Izuku opened up the art file for his first pin and showed it to Mr. H. "It took a while, but I got it! R-really glad you reminded me about layers." Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he remembered several mistakes he made when he first started. Mistakes that caused him to restart the whole project.
Mr. H only hummed in response, though one could see the wide smirk on his face at Izuku's confession, obviously finding amusement in his mentee's growth. "Well, when I close up we can work on getting the pin made. I have what we need to do to make it happen so just relax and take a break. Maybe work on some new ideas. You have the starting line, so don't lose that drive to keep going."
Izuku gave him a determined nod and brought out one of his Hero Analysis notebooks and a sketchpad he bought recently. While he had been working on this pin he had the idea that maybe his powers could be inspired by the Quirks of others. It was initially what he tried with those pins he first tried activating his Quirk. When he realized that he couldn't use their power, he could find a way for it to inspire his own, at least.
Hours passed as business went on at Café Wildkat. The general relaxing atmosphere brought in many loyal customers, some of whom recognized Izuku from his own visits and greeted him with him doing the same. As closing time neared, Mr. H told Izuku to bring out several things they would need for this pin-making. Izuku did so while Mr. H cleaned up and got ready to close the café.
An excited Izuku even offered to help out, which Mr. H gladly accepted and gave the young teen some basic things to do to speed up the closing routine. Mr. H thanked him for his help and they went over to the counter as he explained what the piece of equipment was, what kind of paper and materials they were using, and the reasons why they were using them. Izuku took detailed notes -much to Mr. H's amusement- as he followed along with the older man's explanations.
They had printed out Izuku's design and Mr. H directed him on how to use the pin-press machine, making sure that Izuku was the one to handle the creation of his pin. He wanted to be sure that Izuku knew that he made this himself, even if he had some help along the way. To him, it was symbolic, and you shouldn't mess with something like that.
The one thing that Izuku noticed was that with each step the humming he felt from his Quirk grew louder. And as he finished up his work, the humming quieted down as he smiled. He took the pin into his hand, the 1.5-inch disc fitting nicely into his palm.
Mr. H clasped a hand on Izuku's shoulder, breaking him out of his revelry. "Gotta say, Phones, it's got style."
"T-thanks Mr. H," Izuku replied softly. He turned to face the older man as he spoke again, "For everything. It means a lot to me."
"Think nothing of it, kid." Mr. H turned his attention to the pin in Izuku's hand. "So, what are you gonna call it?"
Izuku sat there for a minute before smiling. The humming he felt returned and called out to him with a great deal of certainty. The name came to him immediately.
"You said this is supposed to be my identity. This pin says I am Midoriya Izuku. The one who will be a hero. But to borrow something you told me earlier, I found an interpretation for its name." Izuku held the pin up as he stared into the empty eyes of the white rabbit skull that stared back at him. "All Might always says his smile lets people know they are safe because in his words, 'I am here.' So this pin says the same. I am here. I am Midoriya Izuku. I am a hero."
Izuku's smile shined as it grew wider as he finished the meaning of the pin, "This pin says 'I am.' This pin is my Ego."
First Pin - Ego
Izuku's first pin and what allows him to use his future pins. Ego is the representation of Izuku's identity and thus is tied to him on several levels.
There seems to be a power that has yet to be activated.
Chapter 3: Bonds