Chapter 14: An Old Friend
Deku: Everyone I'll be back to class soon. Thank you for your concern.
Izuku tucked his phone away, then made eye contact with his weary looking reflection.
"Well. This will be… interesting."
Izuku's return during the final minutes of Lunch had been somewhat overwhelming. Despite the group chat, many had wanted to check that he was actually fine, as opposed to 'Midoriya fine.' Evidently, that had become something of a shorthand for 'Not literally incapacitated, but close enough.'
'...maybe I really am that bad.'
One for All had pulsed, much to his chagrin.
Even after his attempt to alleviate their concerns, both Uraraka and Tenya had stuck by his sides like they were glued there. Even if he'd kind of wanted some space, he'd been touched by the gesture, and it had helped improve his mood quite a bit.
Then he'd caught sight of Bakugo at his usual table, though the group lacked its standard level of enthusiasm. Kirashima appeared to be trying to cheer his friend up, but Bakugo was unsurprisingly having none of it. Red eyes had flicked in Izuku's direction, then had pointedly focused elsewhere a second later. The sheer fact that Bakugo had been the one to break eye contact was somewhere between novel and concerning.
He'd managed to cram a meal down his throat at breakneck speed, not bothering to sit as he sucked down his food. His haste had been a good idea, though it had earned him yet another concerned look from Uraraka and Tenya. Not a second after he'd dropped off his bowl for cleaning, the bell had rung.
They'd arrived at the classroom to find both Aizawa and All Might looking a bit more tired than usual, though All Might at least had tried to perk up once he had an audience. Aizawa had simply told everyone to take their seats in a tone that brooked no argument. Izuku had turned to do so, only to realize that Ojiro was sitting in Bakugo's former spot. He hesitated, then quickly moved to take his seat.
"We're going to be reviewing the footage of everyone's performance." All Might clicked a remote that was comically small in his massive hand. At the same time, Aizawa turned off the lights. The whiteboard flickered to life, displaying several shots of the Field Gamma gate. "We'll go one person at a time. Keep an eye out for anything you find notable. We'll discuss their performance after their recording is finished."
Izuku plucked a notebook from his backpack and settled in, a little excited to see his classmates in action despite everything.
Surprisingly, the winner of the first race had been Kaminari. Izuku had known, abstractly, that he was capable of pulling in electricity. Evidently, that included pulling it directly out of the robots, which had instantly incapacitated them with no time lost. Once his video was over, he'd received quite a few well deserved compliments on his new technique.
Hagakure had easily circumvented the hostile enemies, cinching second place just a few seconds behind Kaminari. Given she'd immediately discarded her boots and gloves, her video hadn't had much to see, save for a floating receiver occasionally appearing when she took it out of her mouth. For all that it was somewhat odd, it had certainly been an excellent way of hiding the one visible thing she needed to keep with her.
Kirashima had come in third, having been able to easily dispatch anything other than the electrified drones while retaining a solid pace. Sato had come in a distant fourth at four and a half minutes. Despite the ease with which he'd dispatched the robots, he'd spent an unnecessary amount of time fighting battles he could have easily avoided. Aoyama had been dealt a particularly brutal hand, his lasers often too much of a risk to his environment to use. He'd been in an… unfortunate condition by the time he finished, regardless.
The second block of students had demonstrated a far more diverse means of movement. Shouji had come in first, and not by a small margin. His combination of enhanced senses, the ability to climb and glide, and remarkable physicality had let him easily navigate the maze, or simply disregard it entirely. Ojiro had earned second place through remarkable parkour, utilizing his tail to swing on pipes and take down enemies.
Jiro had taken third after managing to avoid almost all the robots and destroying those that came within range of her jacks. Fourth had gone to Mineta, who'd scaled buildings with his balls. Koji had taken a close fifth, his reliance on the animals living in the simulated city slowing him just a bit more than others. He was, however, the first to know All Might's exact location, even before Jiro.
The third round had been dramatically more intense. Tokoyami, clad in Dark Shadow and surrounded in the dim light of the maze, had torn through the robots at a breakneck pace. He'd easily scaled buildings by having Dark Shadow drag him up by their connection, and they'd even briefly glided on their way down from a rooftop. Uraraka had come in second, having launched herself in arcing leaps between buildings and thrown robots into the sky. At one point, she'd successfully grappled a drone and rode it quite a ways towards her goal before she'd smashed it to pieces. The sheer intensity she'd radiated had been something else.
Izuku gently tugged on the collar of his shirt. It had suddenly gotten rather warm.
Shoto had come in an extremely close third, having used his ice almost exactly how Izuku had predicted. He'd also used small, controlled bursts of fire to address drones, much to Izuku's pleased surprise. Yaoyorozu had come in fourth, a bicycle and sensory equipment letting her move quickly and avoid opponents. She'd occasionally used a grappling hook to clear buildings, but having to block turret fire and remake her bike each time had quickly taken its toll, slowing her down. It had been a near photo finish with Ashido, who'd skated on her acid with remarkable speed. She'd climbed walls by making tiny hand and footholds, and spun her way between and even through robots with remarkable dexterity and liberal application of acid.
Then had come the fourth round. Izuku knew that the teachers and Nezu would have scoured the videos for any sign of things that shouldn't be seen, but he was nervous regardless.
The first video they'd started was Sero's. However, much to Izuku's guilt, he'd immediately stolen the show.
"What the hell?" Kaminari blurted, then whipped to face Izuku. "I know he said you were fast out the gate, but that was NUTS!"
"Quiet." Aizawa growled.
Kaminari immediately snapped back to attention, then mimed zipping his mouth closed. While nobody else said anything, Izuku could feel more than one set of eyes on him.
Sero had made remarkable time, easily swinging through the environment and securing first place at just over three minutes. Asui had come in second, her ability to jump between buildings exceeding even Uraraka's weightless maneuverability, and her tongue making quick work of standard drones.
Then had come Tenya's video. It had proven extremely interesting.
First of all, he was faster than he had been, even just using the Engines in his legs. Far faster. It was only due to Izuku's familiarity with his friend's Quirk that he could tell he stayed primarily in 1st Gear, despite the fact that he was able to move at speeds that rivaled his previous 3rd Gear. The stumble he'd seen at the start wasn't the only one, but Tenya had still been able to blitz most robots he encountered with ease. He'd only used Tensei's Engines sparingly, but the difference in his speed had been stark when he had. It was obvious, however, that it was new to him, as he'd clipped more than one wall and stumbled more often.
Interestingly, the arm mounted Engines didn't produce anywhere near as much exhaust as they had in the videos Izuku had seen of Tensei. Instead, they left a thin trail much like Tenya's did.
'Perhaps it's due to the lower speed?'
About half way into Tenya's run, he'd encountered a straightaway absolutely packed with 1 and 2 Pointers. Tenya had been a blur, sweeping through the enemies in a scene of incredible skill and robotic carnage. Then, he'd shifted into 2nd Gear.
With both sets of Engines.
THAT had thrown Izuku for a loop. He knew for a fact that Tensei's Engines lacked gears, both from fights he'd seen and from the fact that he could feel it within his own copies. But nonetheless, the familiar signs were there for both sets. The change in pitch. The shift in the glow from within the mufflers. The speed.
Tenya had dropped back to 1st Gear quickly, but not before he'd torn through a dense knot of robots in a stunningly swift display. However, he was now deep in the enemy ranks, and had robots he'd damaged but not fully incapacitated creeping up from behind. Izuku had briefly assumed that this was the event that had cost Tenya a higher placement in the race, but was almost instantly proved wrong.
Tenya had leapt up, planted a foot on a metallic head, and started running across the robotic mosh pit. It wasn't anywhere near as fast as his previous progress, but he was still fast enough that the robots were helpless to stop him from literally running over them.
The drone swarm that swept down from above, however, would have been. When Tenya had seen the flying enemies approach, he'd opted to blow through and reach the end of the straightaway in one go using his Recipro Burst. His engines had glowed orange, then yellow, then brilliant blue-
Then there was a stark red flash, and Tenya had vanished.
Camera views flickered past as Tenya blurred through the air, only wide shots capturing him for any appreciable amount of time. Thankfully, he managed to re-orient himself and began using Tensei's Engines to slow himself, rapidly climbing as high as 4th Gear in his efforts. His impromptu flight came to an end when he slammed feet first into a ducting tube, the metal structure cratering but leaving Tenya mostly unharmed, albeit visibly shaken.
Roughly three blocks away from his starting point.
All Might had landed on a nearby rooftop a split second later, where his path would have intersected with Tenya's had he not managed to slow himself down. A hop later, and All Might had been checking Tenya over carefully. Once he was satisfied Tenya was uninjured, and that he wanted to continue, All Might had leapt back the way he'd come.
Tenya had taken a while to figure out how to get down safely, and had eventually resigned himself to sliding down a pipe. He'd then completed the rest of his race without fanfare, clearly taking things cautiously after his mishap. Unfortunately, his accidental flight had taken him far off course. Between that and his slow descent from the building, Tenya had finished in just under four minutes.
"Iida." Aizawa drawled, wasting no time despite what they'd just seen. "Self assessment."
Tenya stood sharply. "I should have been more judicious in using the unfamiliar aspects of my Quirk. While I moved faster in general, and especially while utilizing my new Engines, I would likely have lost any advantage I'd gained had I tripped at those speeds. I should have limited myself to speeds I could have ordinarily achieved in such an environment for the time being." Tenya declared, arm chopping. "Moreover, whatever happened with Recipro Burst caught me entirely by surprise. I'd believed I had an understanding of my new capabilities, and was proved completely wrong to the point that All Might had to break his roll and try to rescue me. My performance was critically poor, and I will work hard to ensure such mistakes are not repeated."
"While that may be true, Young Iida, you still demonstrated several commendable qualities during your race. While it might have been wise to hold off on using your new Engines, you adapted to them quite well given your inexperience. Were it not for the surprise launch, their usage would have put you in the lead, something truly impressive given that you were primarily locked to the maze itself." All Might gave him a thumbs up. "With proper training to control your new power, you'll truly be a force to be reckoned with!"
"Thank you, sir!" Tenya bowed, then dropped back into his seat.
"Anyone else have anything to add?" Aizawa panned his eyes around the room. A moment of quiet passed before Yaoyorozu raised her hand.
"I believe that, with exception of his admitted haste in using unfamiliar abilities, Iida performed well." She said, nodding in Tenya's direction. "He might have benefited from a bit more general caution, however. While it would have compromised speed, checking around corners rather than rushing onwards could have saved him from several unnecessarily close encounters. From what I could tell, it seemed like he's able to more quickly reach higher
"Good." Aizawa nodded. "Anyone else? No? Moving on then."
There was an immediate tension in the room. Only two people were left. The two who hadn't finished.
"Next up is Young Bakugo." All Might said as he clicked the remote once more.
Bakugo had, for all intents and purposes, trivialized the race from the word Go. He'd leapt buildings, annihilated the mechanical nuisances, and navigated any complex environments he couldn't just go over with ease. His only fault had been a tendency to fight more than strictly necessary, but given the ease with which he'd blasted apart swarms of drones that Izuku had avoided, it hadn't slowed him down much.
The tension ratcheted up when Bakugo reacted to Izuku, though he wasn't visible on any of the screens yet. It only grew more intense in the chase that followed, especially once Izuku appeared in the video for the first time, immediately after his first 7% jump. He'd only been in frame for a moment, but it was startling how close he'd been.
Then, Bakugo flew out over the courtyard, his explosions keeping him aloft. He briefly touched down on the far side before blasting off again, a look of intense focus on his face. He glanced back over his shoulder-
The video cut off.
"NO!" Ashido, Kaminari, and Sero all cried out in near unison, only to be glared down by Aizawa.
"Unfortunately, Midoriya's stunt broke the cameras in the area after that." Aizawa grunted. "We'll review what we have. Bakugo, self assessment."
With a low growl, Bakugo stood. "Excellent mobility and hostile neutralization. I probably did some minor damage to the environment, but nothing more than some scorch marks and possibly a broken window from a shockwave, which is well within standard Heroics Insurance coverages. Shouldn't have let myself get bogged down in Deku's mess."
Aizawa and All Might exchanged a glance, then Aizawa nodded.
"Acceptable. Any further notes?" Aizawa glanced around. "No? Last one, then. Midoriya."
All Might met Izuku's eyes, and gave him a small nod. It helped a bit, but Izuku doubted anything could really settle his nerves.
Watching from the outside was certainly an… interesting experience. It was also a cringe inducing one.
'Should have jumped to the other building instead of taking out that two pointer. Could have kept that turret barrel on hand to keep a little extra reach against the drones. DEFINITELY shouldn't have used Blackwhip to launch myself up like that, I could have just as easily grabbed that pipe a little further on and swung myself upwards with far fewer obstacles… well that's odd.'
The shot of him using Smokescreen was from far back, as he'd evidently been in a relatively low coverage spot. From what he saw on the screen, the smoke looked noticeably thicker than it had close up.
'Probably just because of the distance.'
After that had come the chase. From this perspective, it was even more obvious how close he'd been getting. For a moment, he almost forgot it was himself he was watching; The figure smashing his way through hazards, weaving through obstacles, and visibly gaining ground on Bakugo couldn't possibly be him.
Then, in a final tremendous leap, he'd vanished from the last camera's view and the screen had gone black.
Silence.
"...Holy crap." Kaminari mumbled. "That was some wild shit."
"Language!"
"Sorry, Iida."
Aizawa's eyes flashed as he cleared his throat, silencing both. "Midoriya. Self Assessment."
Izuku stood nervously. "Much like Tenya, I used several techniques that I probably shouldn't have yet. In particular, my attempt to swing upwards using the tendrils was nearly a disaster, as was the… accident… that ended both mine and Kacchan's runs."
Izuku could see Bakugo go rigid in the corner of his vision, but otherwise he didn't respond.
"I should have focused primarily on leveraging Full Cowling, which I have marginally more experience with, even if it meant being slightly slower. I became more focused on the competition rather than finishing the race. I should have just leapt down from the building and climbed back up on the other side."
"I'm glad you're aware of your mistakes." Aizawa replied.
"Even with them in mind, I'd like to congratulate you on your progress, Young Midoriya." All Might popped him a thumbs up. "This is a dramatic improvement over your pre-internship performance. Well done."
"Thank you." Izuku returned to his seat, though the attention of the class remained squarely on him.
"Alright, assessments." Aizawa flicked his eyes over the class, then languidly gestured towards Sero.
"Using your tendrils to deal with the drones was well done, especially the electrical ones. Those things were vicious."Sero said with a wince. "You'll want to be careful swinging like that, though, especially when you retract your anchor. The speed change can be… a little hard to grasp when you're first starting out."
"Thank you, Sero." Izuku nodded. "It's something I still need to practice a lot more."
"Anyone else?" Aizawa asked. "Asui, go ahead."
"Your wall jumping could use some work, Ribbit. I spotted some of my old bad habits." Asui said flatly. "Considering how recent a change it is, that's understandable. Just something to be aware of."
"I appreciate you pointing that out. I partly based it off of Gran Torino, but I guess he doesn't really jump, per-se…" Izuku caught himself before he could start muttering. "I'd appreciate it if I could ask you for some recommendations another time."
"Of course, Ribbit."
As Asui sat, Aizawa nodded to Yaoyorozu.
"The Smoke. Were you using some kind of Support Equipment? Why did you choose to use it then, when you may have blinded yourself to the turret firing on your last known location anyway?"
"The smoke is actually another technique." That got a few surprised looks. Izuku scratched the back of his head, then looked down at his desk to keep his eyes from betraying him. "It's effectively the same stuff as what makes up my tendrils, but without being contained or controlled. If the turret fired while I was still in the air, I was too close to properly dodge regardless, so I thought my best option was to lower its odds of firing at all, or hitting if it did. It wasn't a perfect solution, but I didn't have time for perfect."
Yaoyorozu considered for a second, then nodded in acceptance as she retook her seat.
Aizawa glanced at the clock. "This will probably have to be the last question. Aoyama."
"Merci." Aoyama turned to face Izuku. "Midoriya, your speed seemed… inconsistent, once you began your pursuit of Bakugo. At times, you accelerated greatly, and your sparkle was magnifique while doing so. But you sometimes slowed down again after, despite a clear path ahead. Why?"
"Oh." Izuku blinked, slightly surprised by the question. Though, honestly, Full Cowling's aesthetic catching Aoyama's attention made a fair bit of sense. "Full Cowling is my way of using a smaller amount of my Quirk's power to enhance myself, rather than effectively oversaturating my limbs until they explode. I found that, after my training, I could squeeze out a little bit more without issue, which was my first speed up. After that, I tested a little beyond that, but decided it wasn't worth the risk of overdoing it, so I slowed back down."
Aoyama nodded. "Continue to sparkle, Midoriya. It suits you, Mon Ami."
Izuku… wasn't really sure how to take that, but nodded anyway. A moment later, the bell rang.
"Well, that's all for today then." All Might stood and strode crisply towards the door. "Each of you went Plus Ultra today! Well done, all around. I'll see everyone Wednesday!"
The rest of the day was blissfully uneventful by comparison. Izuku was more than happy to lose himself in his studies and work, the normalcy a relief after the absolute mess of his Heroics lesson. By and large, the video review had seemed to satisfy the class's curiosity over his breakthroughs, even if he'd felt more than a few people watching him throughout the day.
The most common of those had been Shoto, but Izuku suspected that was mostly due to the conveniently lost footage and All Might's rush after the races ended. No doubt he'd be getting those looks for a while.
When the class had finally made it back to the dorms, Bakugo had carved a path directly to the workout room, a slightly alarmed but far from reluctant Kirashima dragged behind him. Inko had almost immediately wrapped Izuku in a somewhat smothering hug, which had drawn a bit of attention. Most of his classmates had quickly written it off as simply how they were, though Shoto had watched as if he were studying for a test. Once she was satisfied that he was ok, Izuku had retreated to his room, Iida in tow.
There was a LOT to catch him up on.
"That's… horrifying. I'm so terribly sorry, Izuku." Tenya slumped back in Izuku's swivel chair, dropped his glasses on the desk, then rubbed his face. "Is there anything I could do to help? Anything at all?"
"You already are." Izuku gave his friend a wan smile. "Toshinori would listen, but he's got a lot on his own plate right now. Plus, he obviously feels guilty that All for One was still around in order to do this. I could talk about it with Mom, but I've already worried her enough, and she lacks a lot of the Heroics context to really understand. The previous users helped me through the initial shock, but even if they've been great so far, I've really only known them a week. I trust them completely, but it just… feels different, especially given they were there when it happened. Being able to talk to you about everything helps so, so much."
"Then I'm happy to listen." Tenya nodded resolutely. "How are you feeling?"
"I wish I knew." Izuku sighed, then flopped back onto his bed. "Bad, obviously, but there's so many other things running through my head that I can't really assess any of it. On one hand, like with Kinenkō, I was able to save at least a little bit of Tsubasa. But on the other hand, he's… not entirely there. He seemed to recognize me and Kacchan, and he talked to me a little bit, but he could only manage a few words. He won't respond to Yoichi and the others at all. According to them, he just sits in his tiny room of a realm and either rocks back and forth or sleeps. I don't know if it's something he'll recover from, or if this will be his existence forever."
"I suppose time will tell. But at least he's afforded a chance. That's more than could be said before." Tenya put his glasses back on, then laced his fingers together. "How should we proceed with Bakugo knowing of One for All? It sounds like he made his thoughts on the matter quite clear, but perhaps we could invite him to train? Do something to curtail this hostility?"
"I think it would be wise to let him have his space." Izuku sighed. "I don't know if he'll come around, but if either of us apply any kind of pressure in that direction, he'll refuse purely on principle. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'll be training even more like a man possessed of his own volition."
Tenya frowned. "That has its own slew of issues, but I fear we won't be the ones who can address them."
"Probably not." Izuku groaned. "Why does he have to be so stubborn about everything?"
"I believe you would know better than I, unfortunately."
"Well, we're certainly not going to figure out how to approach him right now, then." Izuku ran a hand through his hair, then let his arm flop onto the bed. "On a brighter note, I think you did extremely well in your race today."
Tenya shook his head. "Had your sudden manifestation not occurred, I'd have placed last."
"If we're ignoring my sudden Quirk development, then we should absolutely ignore yours. You were making fantastic time before that!" Izuku sat up to look at his friend. "What WAS that, by the way? I noticed quite a few changes, but I assume that they were due to the two Quirks melding. Your Engines gained a higher base speed, similar to Tensei's. In turn, it looked like his gained the ability to shift gears. But that red flash…"
"I honestly have no clue." Tenya sighed. "Both sets of Engines function almost identically to one another now. While neither set has access to Tensei's immediate maximum speed, they're both dramatically faster than my 1st Gear used to be. From my experience trying to slow down in the air, I'd estimate my new 3rd Gear to be equivalent to Tensei's previous maximum, despite the fact that I currently have three additional Gears beyond it. And that's just with one set. But that singular moment of acceleration? That far exceeded even what I could have previously achieved with Recipro Burst in 6th Gear. It's certainly not something I've heard of my family's Quirks doing before now."
"One for All enhanced Boon substantially… Maybe this is a product of Engine getting stronger?" Izuku leaned forwards. "What did it feel like?"
Tenya tipped his head back, considering. "...Usually, when I perform a Recipro Burst, I have to manually saturate my Engines beyond their usual threshold. When I tried, however, it felt… to call it an additional fuel source would be wrong. It wasn't like the literal fuel my Engines use, so much as it was a well of raw energy. When I pushed for more fuel, I unintentionally drew on that energy, and all of it rushed into Engine at once. Suddenly, it was supercharged. After that, I was a bit too focused on my impromptu flight to pay much attention."
Izuku tapped absently at his chin. "Were there any other anomalies?"
"Both sets of Engines are far more efficient. They can also run on either Orange or Grapefruit juice, but that's of far lesser consequence." Tenya drummed his fingers on the desk absently. "What confuses me about that is the fact that Tensei's Engines were always less efficient than mine. Even if they changed to reflect the more efficient systems of my own, I wouldn't have expected fuel economy to increase to the point of triviality."
"A substantial increase in speed, an even greater jump in fuel efficiency, and some manner of turbocharger. That… seems like a lot more than I would have expected, given Boon as a frame of reference." Izuku tapped on his chin in thought. "Then again… if I'm already presuming the power amplification effect of One for All persists… what's to stop effects from other melded Quirks from doing the same?"
"Recovery Girl did say that two of the Quirks melded with it. Smokescreen, and one of the Quirks that are being withheld from you." Tenya nodded slowly.
"Fa Jin." Izuku murmured, then carefully sent a strand of Blackwhip to grasp the spine of a notebook on his desk, a second splitting from the first to snatch a pen. With a satisfied smile and a tug, both were in his hands. "I don't really know enough about either of them to be especially helpful. I'd have assumed that Smokescreen would have had something to do with the exhaust, but given that Tensei's Engine actually produces less of that now, I'm not as convinced. How exactly do the internal mechanics of Engine work?"
"More or less akin to a jet engine, really. Firstly, our bodies generate fuel by digesting the relevant food. For me, it's Orange juice, as well as Grapefruit juice now. My arms and legs are capable of pulling in air through the skin and compressing it thanks to biomechanical turbines. That's where most of the sound comes from." Tenya absently flexed his limbs for a moment, just long enough to briefly make an audible sound. "The compressed air is mixed with aerosolized fuel, then ignited. The resultant superheated gas is expelled from the muffler, generating thrust."
Izuku finished transcribing Tenya's explanation, eyes narrowed. He tapped the page with the butt of his pen a few times, then underlined 'aerosolized fuel' with a sharp flick of his wrist. "One moment, Tenya. I have to ask the Vestiges a few questions."
At Tenya's nod, Izuku turned his attention inward. 'En? Quick question about Smokescreen.'
'Yes, it'll set off smoke alarms.' Came the immediate reply. 'Don't experiment inside.'
'...Duly noted. Does it consume anything when used? Is there any kind of dietary requirement I should be observing?'
'Technically speaking, yes. Smokescreen uses up Carbon in the body, though there's actually no trace of it in the smoke itself.' En said. 'But the exchange rate of carbon to smoke is so absurd that you'll probably never notice it so long as you don't pump it out for hours at a time while starving yourself.'
'Excellent! Thank you so much!' Izuku thought. He started to pull back, then paused. 'Oh, also. Would you be up to training me on how to use Smokescreen tonight? I should be spending it in the Vestige Realms.'
'Gladly.' En replied.
'Thank you!' That done, Izuku returned his awareness to his room. "Well, I'd be willing to bet I figured out the culprit for the efficiency increase! Apparently, Smokescreen uses Carbon at a ludicrously efficient rate. My bet is that it had an effect on how Engine aerosolizes fuel. It might even have a hand in amplifying the pressurization process, so it may be partly responsible for your speed increase!"
Tenya blinked, then shook his head with a small grin. "It never ceases to astound me how quickly you can pick Quirks apart with so little information."
Izuku was too busy turning ideas over in his head to be embarrassed by the compliment. 'Bruce said that Fa Jin's overlap was likely through repetitive motion, which falls on the turbine. It might also play into whatever method of fuel injection is used. If it's responsible for the red flash incident, it's likely some manner of amplifier… amplification of repetitive movement? Did it accelerate the pressurization and fuel saturation process enough to launch Tenya that far? But having too high a fuel density would prove detrimental at a certain point, not to mention that Engine might not be able to take that much of a pressure increase…'
'You're actually pretty close.' Bruce chuckled. 'Fa Jin accumulates a kinetic charge through repetitive movement, which can be used to enhance the body or impart that kinetic charge into something else.'
Izuku nearly fumbled his notebook in surprise. 'Bruce? You're actually telling me about Fa Jin?'
'No point in keeping it from you, really. Plus, it would be hypocritical of me to knowingly keep information from you if it's actively needed. There's no doubt that what he's describing is Fa Jin. That red flash was my calling card, for all intents and purposes.' Bruce replied. 'From his description, it sounds like the reserve of energy was applied to Engine, or possibly converted directly into additional thrust. That's something he should try to identify, along with exactly what he needs to do in order to accumulate a charge. I'd recommend he try running around without actively using his Meta Ability, then while actively using it. Throw in other repetitive motions as well.'
'I'll pass that along. Thank you for the information, Bruce. I'm sorry if this development forced your hand.'
'Not your fault, kid. I thought it might be a possibility, and I was prepared to step in if I was proved right.' Bruce replied.'Tell him to be careful. The more energy Fa Jin has stored, the harder it is to limit how much you use at once. The stockpile of energy bleeds off over time, but it can have quite the kick if you use too much. That's especially dangerous if he's locked into using it to enhance movement, rather than unleashing it with an attack.'
Izuku nodded. 'Is there a threshold he should avoid crossing? I know you said it could be… dangerous.'
'That's something he'll have to figure out, unfortunately. I'm a little iffy on what MY limits were, much less yours or his.'
'What do you mean?' Izuku asked. 'You said that the backlash from using Fa Jin was… er…'
'What killed me? Yeah, it was. But that was a wildly abnormal instance.' Bruce sighed. 'Growing up, Fa Jin had a definitive limit on how much it could store at once. It wasn't until my last few years that I realized that limit was just… gone. Knowing what I do now, I think that was One for All at work, probably Power Stockpile in particular. I tried to figure out what my new limit was, but I never found it. I actively charged Fa Jin for three years to try and kill All for One, and in that time I never hit a limit. When I tried to use it…'
'...oh.'
'Yeah. I'd put money down that Eight was the first of us to make a bigger Boom than that in one punch.' Bruce chuckled grimly. 'So the danger zone is an unknown point somewhere between one week of active charging, and three years. God only knows how fast you could store power given how strong One for All has become, so that muddies the water even further. The second sequential motion stores a pretty small amount of energy compared to, say, the tenth, but if you were to throw out two 100% attacks in sequence…'
'...It could still power up Fa Jin to dangerous levels almost instantly, just from the sheer kinetic energy behind the attack. I think I understand why you wanted to hold off on letting me have access to that.'
'I'm glad you can. Keep honing that fledgling sense of self-preservation, and I might let you take Fa Jin for a spin sooner rather than later.'
'I feel the need to point out the irony of you, the person who turned themselves into a Meta-Powered Kinetic Bomb, espousing self preservation.' Kudo said, his sudden interruption startling Izuku. 'Not to suggest it's bad advice, but mind the source.'
'Let's just say I have a rather unique first person perspective on its importance.' Bruce countered. 'It's not like you have much room to speak, Mr. "I'll lead a team to distract the murderous megalomaniac while you lead the others away."'
'That was completely different! All for One was there for me because he thought I still had One for All. You actively went out of your way to find him so you could try...'
Izuku quietly extricated himself from One for All as the Second and Third users continued to bicker. Tenya sat patiently, though he was obviously curious. "Sorry, got slightly sidetracked. Bruce said the red flash was definitely Fa Jin's influence, and suggested you try to identify what activities store the energy up. It'll be repetitive motion of some kind, but given this seems to be a part of Engine now, I think it'll probably have something to do with it directly rather than just twitching your fingers. Bruce also mentioned that it should be possible to control how much of it is used at once, but that controlling the output gets harder the higher the charge."
"I'm glad to have that confirmed, at the very least." Tenya nodded, eyes intent. "Perhaps I should go and test that in the gymnasium-"
Tenya was interrupted by a knock on the door. They shared a glance, then Izuku stood and crossed the room to pull it open. "Hello- O-oh, Uraraka! Um, hi!"
"Hi Deku!" Uraraka chirped, through her eyes looked everywhere except at him. "Um, I was wondering if- Oh, Iida. Um. Hi to you too!"
"Hello, Uraraka!" Tenya called.
"Am I… interrupting something?" Uraraka shifted in place. "I can come back later-"
"No! No, you're fine!" Izuku assured her quickly. "What's up?"
"I, um… I wanted to know if you'd like to… go… exercise together again." Uraraka winced slightly. "Maybe we could spar, too. If you'd like."
For a second, Izuku flashed back to the moment before he nearly died on a treadmill. Uraraka, casual clothes dampened enough to cling to soft curves and toned muscles alike-
'StopstopstopStopSTOP!' Izuku squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head to rid himself of the intrusive image before it rendered him a gibbering idiot.
"Oh…" Uraraka sounded disappointed. "Sorry, you probably already had plans-"
"NO!" Izuku blurted loudly. "No. No plans. I was just clearing my head a bit. Exercising together would be great, and I'd love a spar! I can't wait to see what you learned from Gunhead in person!"
"Oh! Ok, great!" Uraraka perked up. "I'll go get changed and meet you down there! Um, Iida, you're welcome to join us!"
"I would like that a great deal!" There was something slightly odd in Tenya's voice, but Izuku had bigger things to worry about. Like reining his imagination in. And keeping the part of his brain doing the imagining cordoned off from whatever part governed One for All. He could not afford the risk that the Vestiges would be able to pick up on-
Smug Pulse.
'...damn it…'
"I'm going to get changed now!" Izuku yelped, then dove for his closet, which let his door slowly begin to swing closed on its own. "I'll see you two down there in a bit!"
Izuku observed Uraraka carefully as they circled one another on the padded sparring mat. She was partly crouched, prepared to spring forward the moment he made a move or exposed a weakness. The difference in her stance was striking compared to the last time he'd seen her fight, evidence of her progress under Gunhead.
Behind her, Tenya sprinted past on the elevated track around the gymnasium.
They'd opted to start with their spar, so that they'd be in top condition for it. That decision had absolutely nothing to do with the way Bakugo had glared at him when they'd stepped into the workout room, even if Kirashima had surreptitiously apologized for it regardless.
Izuku tensed and feinted slightly forward. Uraka twitched, but didn't fall for it. Her gaze bore down on him, fierce. It demanded he give his all, to try himself against her until one was taken down. It was a challenge, and he was more than happy to oblige.
Just as Tenya passed behind Uraraka again, Izuku swept forward and struck out with a jab. Uraraka twisted out of the way nimbly, and a gloved hand snapped up to grasp at his wrist. Izuku snatched his arm back just in time, the feeling of rough cotton on the back of his hand a warning of her surprising speed. Both stepped back from their brief engagement, eyes roving over one another warily.
Uraraka made the next move. She lunged forward, coming in low with her arms open. Izuku suspected a grapple was inbound, so scampered away. Instead, Uraraka lashed out with a palm strike. The heel of her hand clipped Izuku's ribs as he lurched to the side, avoiding what would have been a debilitating strike had Quirks been on the table. He retaliated with a jab that caught her in the shoulder, but she moved with the strike to trap his arm beneath hers. She didn't quite manage to get a lock on him, but the maneuver hampered him enough that she could try to trip him up. Her legs tangled with his, and she heaved.
Izuku felt his balance shift perilously, so he abandoned his grounding and leapt into her throw. The improvised maneuver was enough to dislodge his arm from her grip, though his landing roll certainly didn't do him any favors. He scrambled away, just barely ahead of Uraraka's next lunge, this time an elbow strike. Once he was clear, he flipped himself to his feet, then swept a leg out as Uraraka tried to regain her own footing. He'd been hoping to drop her back to the ground, but she managed to catch the blow and give his leg a solid yank.
Izuku stumbled forward, and his training against Hikage engaged. He'd been thrown enough times to have a knee jerk reaction or two.
This one just happened to be literal.
Izuku's knee slammed into Uraraka's chest, and she stumbled backwards with a choked grunt and wide eyes. Izuku regained his footing, then reached forward to steady her. "Uraraka, I'm so sorry-"
Uraraka's fingers once more wrapped around his arm. With a heave, she flipped him bodily through the air to slam his back into hard ground, driving the breath from his lungs in a violent burst. Uraraka wasted no time, slamming down on top of him and pinning his arms above his head in an iron grip. Their legs tangled, hers pinning his to the ground. He tried to twist free, but lacked both the leverage and the oxygen to properly combat her. With a final buck, Izuku let himself go limp. The darkness around the edges of his vision throbbed with his heartbeat as he struggled for breath.
"...hergbh…"
Uraraka's competitive glare faded. "What?"
"I believe you may have knocked the wind out of him, Uraraka!" Tenya called from somewhere above. "He's off the sparring mat!"
With a startled 'eep', Uraraka released Izuku's wrists and sat back. With an effort, Izuku forcibly sucked in a lungful of air, then turned his head to cough.
"OHMA'GODI'MSOSORRYAREYA'OKAY?"
"...fine..." Izuku wheezed. "...how's… chest?"
"I'm fine! Took harder hits than that at Gunhead's agency!" Uraraka assured him, though the faint hoarseness of her own voice didn't entirely support her claim. "I completely lost track of where we were on the mat. Are you sure you're ok?"
"Was thrown worse. A lot." Izuku grunted as his breathing slowly edged towards normal. Granted, those had happened within One for All, but they'd certainly hurt worse at times. "I'll be able to walk this off… in a minute."
"By that Gran Torino guy?" Uraraka blinked. "I wouldn't have figured him for the grappling type, from what I saw in the papers."
'...Craaaaaap. Shouldn't have let that slip.' Izuku thought reproachfully. "Er… He was in the newspaper?"
"Yeah?" Uraraka cocked her head at him, thankfully taking the hastily offered bait. "Have you not been paying attention to the news? A picture of you and him dragging Stain out of an alleyway was plastered on half the newspapers I saw being sold on my patrols."
"...Oh." Izuku squeaked.
"Were you… not expecting that? You were given primary credit for taking out a high ranking villain during your first internship. If that doesn't get you into the news, I don't know what would."
"I mean, I kind of knew? Abstractly? I had to dodge some news crews after I visited Tenya in the hospital again, but I didn't really run into them again after…"
"Your mentor took you back to Tokyo to visit? Wasn't that a long trip?"
Izuku was saved from addressing his second blunder by a sharp whistling sound.
"Get it, girl!" Ashido cheered from the stairs, a cheshire grin on her face. "About damn time!"
"Huh?" Izuku stared at Ashido in confusion, then glanced around. Other than Tenya, there was nobody else in the room. "What's she talking about?"
Uraraka looked down at him, then blinked. In a fluid movement, she'd untangled their legs, flung herself off of him like she was diving for cover, and curled into a ball as she unleashed a high pitched, warbling whine.
Izuku shook the fog from his mind, reviewed their conversation, then their spar… and finally slammed face first into the brick wall of realization. He rolled to his side, then simply lay on the floor for a while, mentally cataloging his merch. Then hero rankings. Then counting backwards from 1,000.
Daigoro pulsed gleefully.
Hikage and En pulsed resolutely.
Daigoro pulsed despairingly, then fell quiet.
'Curse you, Ashido.' Tenya gazed down on his friends, then unleashed a weary sigh. 'They were finally acting relatively normal again, but now they'll be blushing messes around one another for days. I thought I'd escaped the worst of it when Tensei moved out, but those two are even worse than he and Nemuri are. Please let them figure it out quickly, rather than dancing around it for half their lives and counting.'
He shook his head, then turned back to the track. He felt for the new store of energy within, but found nothing.
'So just running doesn't seem to do anything…' Tenya observed, then flexed the Engines within his legs. They spun to life, and… a tiny glimmer of energy. It was faint, hard to notice, but definitely there. He resumed his run with Engines idling, but the accumulation of the Fa Jin reserve remained consistent. 'Running in general seems to be unrelated. Other repetitive motions seem similarly useless. So that leaves…'
Mindful of his limited room, Tenya eased himself into the lowest range of First Gear. The whine of his Engines pitched upwards, and with it, the accumulation of energy accelerated noticeably.
'So it gathers energy from the natural processes of my Engines… interesting. Ordinarily, that would be of limited use, but with my increased efficiency, I could keep Engine idling to accumulate it passively.' Tenya rounded the bend, then carefully pulled on the well of power. There wasn't much, but it was enough to boost him the length of the track at speeds equivalent to the lower reaches of his old Second Gear.
As he rounded the bend once more, Tenya cautiously flexed the new Engines in his arms. Immediately, Tenya felt his speed jump. He was still in control, but with both Engines at the low end of First, his overall speed was at the middle-upper reaches of the Gear. It still felt odd not to pump his arms, but something about the Quirk helped him maintain his balance despite it.
The accumulation of Fa Jin had doubled with the second set of Engines fueling it.
'I'm going to need a much bigger track.'
Toshinori flopped into the plush swivel chair in his penthouse office with an exhausted sigh. He'd been in meetings from the moment he'd returned to Might Tower after they'd reviewed the student's footage, and he'd been tired even before that. Were it not for the comforting warmth of Boon propping him up, he'd probably have fallen asleep in the middle of the finance report. It was always a lot of words to say that the agency bank account effectively displayed 'Yes you can' instead of a number. Hell, his personal account had so much in it that he needed to hold his phone sideways to make the number fit on screen, so the agency had to be doing pretty well.
He'd been much more interested in the report that had come after that, though.
Inko's articles had proven a good place for his staff to begin their investigation. They'd thoroughly vetted the sources, verified them against resources they had access to as a Hero agency, and tapped police contacts for relevant reports.
There had been some minor inconsistencies, small embellishments that weren't strictly wrong but were definitely slanted to support the author's views. On the whole, however, they'd proved depressingly accurate. By and large, the everyday Hero was doing worse. Poorer areas of Japan and her cities were understaffed, while metropolitan areas were saturated far beyond what seemed necessary. Some heroes were distressingly highly ranked despite a pitiable record, which begged the question of how the HPSC was even ranking them. Crime was going up. Collateral damage was increasing.
It stank of complacency and conceit with a stench that turned his stomach despite the fact that he didn't have one anymore. And all of it was happening under his watch.
'What a god awful mess. How the hell am I going to fix this? Where do I even begin?'
Part of him longed for Nana to answer him as she could Izuku, but all he felt was the blazing expanse of power within himself. Compared to the eternal supernova it had been for so many years, it was distressingly small. He was far from powerless, but already the inevitability of it loomed over him.
'Stop it, Toshi. You're better than this.' He berated himself. 'You'll do it. It doesn't matter how impossible it seems, you'll do it. You're the Symbol of Peace, and you won't let something like fear stop you.'
Except he wouldn't be the Symbol of Peace for much longer.
He groaned, then spun himself in his chair. He absently watched his office slowly drift past him until he came to a stop facing his computer. He must have bumped the mouse at some point, because the login screen glowed at him in the dim light. With nothing better to do and plenty of reasons to want a distraction, he punched in his password.
"An Email is here! An Email is here!"
He shook his head. 'Ridiculous.'
Not that he'd ever change it, even if it was.
He clicked on his email, and to his pleased surprise, found two. One was unexpected, while the other was a response to something he'd sent days ago.
Hi Uncle Might!
I heard that Dad was going to call you sometime soon, and it got me thinking. It's been ages since you came to visit, and we all miss you. If you have the time, I'd love to invite you to attend the I-Expo this year. I can get you in line for Early Access tickets, just give me the word.
Love you, and hope you're doing well,
Melissa
P.S. If you want to go through with this, please don't mention anything to Mom and Dad! I think it would be a LOT of fun to surprise them. ;)
A smile stretched itself across Toshinori's face. 'Oh… Oh I do like the sound of that. Perhaps I can invite Young Izuku along… though that would probably seem rather odd. Maybe if I offer them to the entire class? No, that would undermine Young Bakguo's prize for winning the Sports Festival, and inciting any further conflict with him will only make matters worse. Maybe standard passes for everyone, and a lottery for early access? Guarantee Young Midoriya gets one by giving Mrs. Midoriya an early pass as well, so she can help wrangle the students who get in… that might work.'
Toshinori quickly hammered out a reply, slightly giddy at the prospect of visiting his old friends and their daughter. Once that was sent, he moved on to the more expected of the two emails.
Go ahead and give me a call. I'm mostly working on a personal project at the moment, so I can make time more or less whenever you want.
Looking forward to it,
David
Toshinori glanced at the time. 'A little late, but I'm pretty sure I-Island isn't too many time zones away at the moment…'
With a few keystrokes, a hyper-secure video call window flashed onto the screen. After a few rings, the image resolved.
"Toshi!" David grinned on the screen, his office behind him. "I've been looking forward to this all day!"
"Here here!" Toshinori smiled brightly. "Sorry it's a bit late, I had a few meetings run long."
"The great equalizer." David nodded with a groan. "I've had more than my fair share of those recently."
"Trying to get something greenlit?" Toshinori asked. "Or trying to backdate a green light, maybe?"
"Something like that, yeah." David grimaced. "Nothing I can share, unfortunately, but hopefully that'll change."
"I know that feeling." Toshinori gave a grimace of his own, one of both understanding and guilt. "How are Melissa and Cathy doing? Can't be all bad with your little Wonder Girl running around."
David snorted violently, then began to laugh uproariously. "Sweet mother of God, we need to get you over here at some point! If you're still thinking of Melissa as anything even approaching little, you're horrendously out of date."
David snatched up his phone and quickly scrolled through his gallery. A moment later, Toshinori received another email. Within, he found a picture of Melissa leaning against one of the guard rails on David's balcony, with an absolutely glorious sunrise behind her.
"Holy-" Toshinori blinked. "She has to be nearly as tall as you! When did THAT happen?"
"Some time in the past four and a half years, that's when!" David laughed. "Cathy has to do a double take every time she comes to visit us. She's having a hell of a time getting that cleared with the government now that we're getting closer to your side of the world, but she was just in last weekend."
"Wish both of them well for me." Toshinori smiled fondly. "It's been far too long."
"It has." David nodded. "But it's not just Melissa who's changed. You're looking better! Did you manage to make some headway on your recovery?"
Toshinori blinked, incredulous. "I look better?"
"Yeah?" David squinted at him. "I mean, you look like death warmed over, but at least someone bothered to warm you at all this time. I'll take that as a no on the recovery front?"
"I'm afraid not. At least, not in any permanent capacity." Toshinori shook his head.
"Damn." David sighed. "You look… I don't know, lighter. Less stressed. I thought things might have been looking up."
'In a way, they are. I just can't tell you that part.' Toshinori leaned back in his seat, his heart a leaden lump of guilt. "It's not all bad, really. Teaching has been incredibly fulfilling, even if I'm… not exactly the best at it yet. My students are making fantastic strides, and it's a wonder to know I had at least a small hand in that."
"That Hosu trio, right? I nearly shit bricks when I found out they were yours." David hesitated. "How's Tenya Iida doing? Hopefully making a fast recovery."
"Not making, made." Toshinori grinned proudly. "Young Iida was able to participate in a Heroics exercise today. Young Midoriya's Quirk made some interesting developments during his time with my old teacher, and was able to work with Recovery Girl to expedite his friend's recovery."
David perked up at that. "Don't take this the wrong way, but have you considered…"
"Asking him to help me?"
Toshinori considered his friend. He wanted so, so badly to tell him everything. About One for All, about All for One, and most of all about Young Izuku. He'd obscured the truth of the first two for so long that he feared how his old friend might react, but the third…
Carefully, Toshinori rolled his sleeve up to reveal the luminous golden ring. "I have."
David sat forward sharply, his face suddenly occupying almost the entire screen. He looked excited for a moment, then it fell away. "I assume this is what you meant of when you said 'Nothing permanent.'"
Toshinori nodded. "It helps with the pain, and it lets me stay in my hero form for longer, but the benefits aren't permanent. It runs out after 24 hours, and he has a limited reservoir of vitality to give out. Even if he dedicated himself wholly to keeping me up and running, my decline wouldn't stop. He'd only keep me going for a few extra weeks, at most."
David nodded resignedly, though his gaze remained sharp. "So, how'd you get him to use it on you without revealing why you really need it? Given he went through an internship with Gran Torino, which I can't imagine was a coincidence, he'd probably buy that the old goat beat you up too. Camaraderie through mutual trauma or something?"
"Oh, that probably would have worked!" Toshinori belted out a laugh. In that moment, he fully committed. "But no. Young Izuku knows about my condition."
David's eyebrows shot towards his hairline like missiles taking off. "He WHAT?"
"He knows. Has known since before he got into UA." Toshinori grinned at the increasingly startled look on David's face. "It's a long story, but suffice to say I've grown rather fond of him. He stayed in the tower with me and Sorahiko after his encounter with Stain for some personal training, at which point we tested what his ability could do for me. I hurt less, I don't cough up blood, and I can hold my form somewhere between twice and three times as long with half of his Vitality allotment in effect. Unfortunately, it only modestly accelerates healing, which means any improvements I make go away the next time I use my Quirk."
David nodded along, a careful look in his eyes. "And how long is your limit, now?"
Toshinori grimaced. "...Just under an hour."
"Shit." David bit out with a growl. "What happened? That's a massive acceleration in your decline!"
"I assume you read what was reported on the USJ incident?"
"Yeah. You had to fight some kind of bioengineered monstrosity. Same things were present in the Hosu incident as well." David frowned. "Unless there's something else going on?"
"The Nomu at Hosu were far, far weaker. The USJ Nomu was built specifically to fight me. It wasn't quite a match, but I was fighting it after I'd already ran out my limit for the day." Toshinori nodded as David went pale. "It did some noticeable damage to me, but I did worse pushing my limits to take it down."
"How… how long do you think you have left?" There was an edge in David's voice. A look in his eyes. An intensity that was ever so slightly unsettling.
"Almost certainly no more than six months, with relatively light work." Toshinori sighed. "But if we're talking in terms of meaningful fights? Two, maybe three. My retirement is coming soon, David."
"What if it didn't have to?"
Toshinori cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "What do you mean?"
"What if there was a way to strengthen you again? Hypothetically, of course." David insisted. "Something to supercharge your Quirk, to get you back into the prime of your power."
"...David, are you suggesting I start taking performance enhancing drugs?" Toshinori blinked. "I don't think the Symbol of Peace dosing himself on Trigger is going to do anything good for the overall safety of the world, much less Japan."
"No." David looked pensive. "This hypothetical would lack the downsides of Trigger. Just a piece of gear with a similar, if dramatically stronger, effect."
"Does this hypothetical piece of support equipment do something about the state of my body?"
David hesitated, then slumped. "No."
The flickering spark of hope was snuffed out.
"Even if my Quirk were to be restored to its full power, the limit is my body. I could punch with damn near my prime strength right this moment, but doing so would ravage me. More power wouldn't solve my problems, it would make them all the more obvious. Even if I used whatever you're hypothesizing about to turn mere wisps of power into bonfires, my physical decline is as much the reason for my retirement as my Quirk. All the power in the world would be worthless if I can't use it."
David stared at the ceiling for a morose moment. With a sigh, he once more lowered his gaze to the camera, a glimmer of tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Toshi."
"Don't be, Dave." Toshinori shook his head. "Whatever harebrained scheme you cooked up, I'm sure it would have been a marvel."
"Hairbrained is probably far, far too kind." David shook his head. "Not to mention what it could have done to the world if someone managed to replicate it, god forbid."
Toshinori hummed. "Then it's a good thing I don't know anything about it."
"That it is." David huffed out a breath as he leaned back in his seat. "So. Retirement."
Toshinori groaned. "Can we go back to talking about hypothetical revolutionary technology?"
"It can't be that bad, right?" David didn't sound particularly convinced. "Even if we both wish you could keep doing this until you're zipping around Japan with a walker and grippy slippers, you deserve a chance to relax at SOME point."
"My retirement is shaping up to be less relaxing and more a change of focus." Toshinori rubbed his face. "As it turns out, my becoming a pillar has had some… unfortunate side effects on modern heroics in Japan. Some have grown complacent. The popularity contest aspect has undermined the actual heroics, leaving some less visible areas understaffed in favor of those that offer higher publicity. Everything's been going to shit, and I was too busy strutting around trying to prop up my Age of Peace to notice."
"...Fuuuuuck." David groaned sympathetically. "And you're not going to let anyone else deal with it because you're you, naturally."
"Got it in one." Toshinori chuckled through a yawn. "Plus, I'm a teacher now. I fully intend to see my students prepared as well as humanly possible. Young Izuku especially."
David eyed him, then a small smile began to form. "You always had a thing about succession. Are you trying to set him up as the next Symbol of Peace? He certainly seems to have the raw power, if not the durability."
"The next Symbol of Peace…" Toshinori paused. "That was my original plan, yes. But with how things have fared under me, all the pitfalls I never noticed… I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. Granted, the public may take that decision out of our hands, but I'm no longer sure a Symbol of Peace standing on its own is a sound strategy. If nothing else, though, he will certainly be my successor as a force of good in the world. He's marvelous."
Some of David's previous energy returned to him. "Sounds like quite the kid. I don't suppose I could convince you to fill me in on that long story of how he met the real you?"
"I could probably be talked into it…" Toshinori gave his friend a sheepish, wary grin. "Promise not to judge either of us too harshly? We'd both been having something of a rough few years…"
"Well that bodes well." David plucked a bottle of something clear from beneath his desk, then settled back in his chair.
"No toasters." Toshinori said automatically.
David rolled his eyes, then spun the bottle around as he unscrewed the cap with a supernatural flick of his thumb. "Sparkling lemon water, asshole. I quit alcohol when Melissa figured out it was flammable."
"Just making sure." Toshinori grinned mischievously, then waited for David to bring the bottle to his lips. "Now, it all began when a supposedly Quirkless Young Izuku hitched a ride on my leg as I jumped across Musutafu."
Liquid sprayed from David's mouth and nose as he coughed in mid gulp. "Hegh whaght- OGH GHOD ID BHURNS!"