Yagi Toshinori was beginning to realize that he had made a real mistake. That wasn't to say he hadn't realized he had messed up before when Tsukauchi had told him off about what he had done about Midoriya Izuku, it was just the severity of his mistake that had just become clear. Nedzu had just reneged his offer to teach Heroics at UA next year to aid him in his search for a successor. The chimera had originally offered the possibility of a position on UA staff so that it would attract less attention when he searched for and trained the next successor of One for All but now he wanted nothing to do with leaving Toshinori alone with his charges.
"It is not that I want to have to go back on my offer, but I find myself unable to trust your judgment when it comes to the consideration of the mental health of my students. Not while under such time constraints as you are at present. While I do believe you when you say that you understand much of where you went wrong in the handling of the situation of Midoriya, that doesn't change the fact that I have to take into consideration that you broke procedure to the boy's detriment. Additionally, given that I will be taking him on as my personal student next year if not sooner, I have to take into consideration how encountering you here at UA as a teacher could affect his mental well being regardless if he succeeds or fails in his goal to enter the school in the heroics course."
Toshinori had to frown at that. "You think he could be a Hero? You know he is Quirkless, right?"
Toshinori had a brief moment of realization that maybe he had just messed up again when he saw Nedzu's fur bristle in response. "What pray tell does his lack of a Quirk have to do with his capacity in becoming a Hero? There are more types of Heroes than just combat Heroes, Yagi. If Midoriya is both as intelligent and clever as I suspect, he will make a fine investigative or support Hero much like both of his uncles and myself."
"Both of his uncles? I wasn't aware that Mirai's brother was a Hero as well."
Nedzu made a strange chittering noise that took Toshinori a moment to realize was him chuckling. Nedzu never laughed outside of his overdramatic fake laughs made to mimic human laughter. Suddenly Toshinori was worried he might have just put his foot in his mouth. "My apologies, I should have realized that if you weren't aware of the Midoriya's marriage you likely weren't aware of Aizawa's name change. It is my understanding that he changed his name at least in part because of you taking his brother under your wing. While the civilian identity of Sir Nighteye is still largely a secret outside of the Hero community, Aizawa wished to mask the connection so that he was recognized for his own merits and not those of his elder brother. His role as homeroom teacher for class 1-A is the reason I couldn't possibly consider you as a teaching assistant in place of a full teacher for heroics."
Toshinori felt his heart sink at that revelation. He knew of Aizawa Shouta even if he had never spoken with the Hero Eraserhead personally. Tsukauchi had often recounted tales from his work that involved the Hero that the detective considered just as good of a friend as he had once considered Toshinori himself. Suddenly a lot of Tsukauchi's frustration with himself during their last talk made significantly more sense. The man had been put in a position where one of his friends had seriously hurt a family member of his other friend. The guilt he felt as the realization sunk in that he had unintentionally hurt the man as well with his actions was painful.
"I see…Do you have any recommendations for another way for me to look into finding a possible successor?"
"If your heart is truly set on a student from UA taking up your mantle and inheriting One for All, I would suggest perhaps you watch the sports festival and offer a possible internship to the student you take the strongest liking to for the position. I can see about arranging a ticket to watch the upcoming festival."
Toshinori plastered a familiar grin on his face at the offer.
---MiM-MiM-MiM---
Yoichi wanted to strangle Eighth. The man had found the perfect kid for the Quirk and had not only crushed the kid's dreams, but abandoned him in his time of need.
A kid with his own eyes and his brother's freckles.
Yoichi shook off the thought. It was just a coincidence. Eyes of that color weren't as rare as they had been before he died.
But how many of them have the same curl pattern as Hisashi or the same build that he did at that age? Or clear analytical skills when it comes to Quirks and heroics?
Yoichi was brought out of his thoughts by Seventh as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "I can see that you're thinking too hard about something. Did something happen?"
Yoichi was unique in that, unlike the other remnants of past holders, he didn't feel immediately guilty for spying through the eyes and ears of the current holder. It was probably just due to how he was living vicariously through them to make up for the utter shit-show that had been his actual life. "Eighth found the perfect kid for One for All and went and ruined basically any chance of the kid ever accepting. The kid was perfect and instead of offering the Quirk, he decided to crush the kid's dreams of being a Hero because the kid was Quirkless!"
That caught the attention of the other vestiges. Especially Fourth. "You're saying that Eighth is planning on only passing on One for All to someone with a Quirk already?"
Yoichi had to shrug at that. "He hasn't mentioned aloud what he is looking for in a successor yet but it seems likely."
Second sighed and prodded Yoichi again. "There is something else about the kid that caught your attention. You wouldn't be this worked up about things if that was it. Holders have skipped over other potential holders in the past and you never got this worked up about things."
Yoichi folded at that. "There are two other things about the kid...first his given name follows the pattern. Izuku has nine in his name just like everyone else had their corresponding number in theirs." Sixth snorted at that. "Or, well, everyone except Sixth. But that wasn't what was bothering me...I want you to keep in mind that I have no real proof or anything but the kid...I think he might be my brother's."
That earned a wide array of reactions from the vestiges. From Second seeming to choke on his own tongue to Fifth cackling like a mad man at the possibility. It was Seventh though who managed to get the question out. "Why?"
Yoichi gave an awkward smile and shrug. "The first time I saw the kid's eyes all I could think was that it was like looking at my own in the mirror. His eye shape is not quite the same but it is pretty damn close. He has the same curl pattern as my brother and with the freckles, his build and how dark green the kid's hair is, it was sort of like looking at a version of my brother back before he discovered he had All For One but with my eyes. Admittedly his face is a different shape but that could come from the other side of the family. No idea if he is just a descendent from some secret kid of his or my brother's actual son though."
The silence that followed was deafening before Second snapped. "You can't seriously be happy about that! In what world is the fact the bastard might have reproduced a good thing? Do you really think the world needs more All for Ones running around?"
Yoichi could help by feeling a bit insulted by his ex-boyfriend's words. "You seem to be forgetting that any family of his is also my family. If the kid is my nephew or great whatever nephew, then there is a chance he could take after me and my heroic qualities. That is not even considering the fact that my brother is not his sole guardian obviously or I suspect that the kid would not have been such a fanboy when it came to meeting Eighth."
Third moved between the two making soothing gestures. "Take it easy you two, First only thinks it is a possibility. We don't know yet if the poor boy has anything to do with All for One or not. Regardless I don't see how it matters now anyways. First, you said that it is unlikely the boy would accept One for All even if he was offered it so there is little point in fretting over this."
Yoichi exchanged an annoyed look with Second before deciding that Third was annoying right again. "I suppose that is true. If there isn't anything else, I am going back to keeping an eye on things."
---MiM-MiM-MiM---
Iida Tenya was excited. Extremely so. Ever since his brother had pulled him aside after dinner a few nights ago, all he could think about was how this was his chance to finally make a real friend. That wasn't to say he hadn't tried before but being the weird rule obsessed kid had made things difficult. Most of his classmates over the years had decided that he was too strict to be fun to hang out with to the point that Tenya himself had resigned himself to the fact he was not likely to have any friends until he was enrolled at UA. No one liked to hang out with the teacher's pet.
But then his brother asked him to watch over his friends' new foster son when he transferred into his school. It was a fresh start with a new possible friend. Given that the boy in question was living with two UA teachers, he was hopeful that perhaps that would mean he was more understanding of his desire for structure to be upheld.
So here he was, waiting at the school gate for the boy to escort him inside. Tensei had shown Tenya a photo on his phone that night of a boy with wild gravity defying lavender hair so he knew what to look out for. Eventually he spotted the boy a little ways away on the sidewalk. Hurrying over he moved to intercept him. "Excuse me. You're Shinso correct?"
The lavender haired boy paused to look Tenya up and down. "Iida Tenya I take it?"
Tenya nodded. "That would be correct."
The boy sighed. "Look, I know you were asked to help me get settled into the whole private school thing but it really isn't necessary for you to give up your morning to babysit me. Wouldn't you rather spend the morning at least with your friends?"
"Ah, no I don't一 I mean I'm free this morning."
Shinso narrowed his eyes at that. "You can't seriously tell me there isn't anyone else in this school you wouldn't rather be hanging out with."
Tenya felt his face heat up in embarrassment as he averted his gaze. "No, not particularly. I am not exactly the most popular student in our year…"
"Phone."
That caused Tenya to snap his head back to the boy in front of him. "What?"
"Give me your phone. While I personally don't give a shit, I promised my friend that I would give him your number after I told him that you were meeting me today. He got really excited when he found out that my current guardians were friends with your brother. You can chat with him instead of just loitering around the front office for me this morning while I get the last of my transfer shit taken care of."
Tenya hesitated a moment before handing over his phone to the lavender haired boy who quickly pulled up the text messaging app and sent a quick text to a number he added. Taking his phone back he was reading over the message sent when the other person replied.
Hey, Izuku. This is Iida's phone number. Going to hand him back the phone now. You can ask him your questions now.
Oh that was faster than I was expecting!
Good morning Iida!
I know Hitoshi said he was meeting you this morning before classes but I wasn't expecting him to message me from your phone so soon!
Good morning? I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage since you know my name already.
(╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻
I don't even know why I am surprised he didn't even tell you my name when he failed to mention the fact he was living with my uncle for nearly a week
I'm Midoriya Izuku
Quirkless Disaster
Apparently future personal student of Nedzu
Your uncle?
Yeah I am not even going to bother pretending the two of us are not related like I am supposed to try to do since you were going to find out anyway given your brother is probably going to be invited by proxy to my birthday in July
Aizawa Shouta is my mom's baby brother
I am curious what you mean by invited by proxy?
I opened the invitation for both my uncles to bring friends with them to my birthday this year
Since your brother is apparently one of my Uncle Shouta's friends, he would be considered invited
You are invented as well if you want
You don't have to come if you don't want to though!
I would be honored to attend your birthday celebration this year!
I haven't been invited to a birthday party in a few years if I am honest.
Really?
I mean I get it, seeing as if it wasn't for Kacchan I wouldn't have been invited to any parties either
I am not the best at making friends, sadly.
Most everyone here think I like rules too much to be considered "fun" to hang out with.
Who is Kacchan by the way?
Kacchan is my sort of cousin Bakugou Katsuki
His mom is my mom's bff
Do you have OCD possibly or do you just prefer things to be more structured?
Either way, you would probably get on with Kacchan given his mild OCD
I was formally diagnosed with fairly strong OCD tenancies a few years ago so the answer would be both.
Not to worry, we all have our things!
I have pretty bad ADHD and Hitoshi has pretty bad insomnia so don't be surprised if you get messages from him at weird times in the middle of the night
Or me for that matter
I'm not sure I would reply if you two do that.
I normally mute my phone both in class and when I go to bed.
It's all good!
Most of our vague posting in our group chat after midnight is more us screaming into the void then expecting an answer
Kacchan just enjoys reading the backlogs when he wakes up at the ungodly time of 5 in the morning everyday so we haven't set aside a chat just for the two of us nightowls
Speaking of!
Herochat.5ygf79jm
The password is 4llM1ghtSux
All Might Sucks?
We don't have time to get into my Tragic™ backstory right now
You have class in 5
Tenya jolted as he checked the clock on his phone and realized that Midoriya was right. He quickly pocketed his phone and headed to class. Once seated at his desk, he did something he had once thought unthinkable and pulled his phone back out to click on the link that he had been sent.
It Probably Was Izuku's Fault
Iida Teyna has been added
I Feel So Attacked Right Now changed Iida Tenya to I Am Speed
I Am Speed: Can I ask about the name of the chat?
I Feel So Attacked Right Now: You could but given that it has to do with my Tragic™ backstory I am going to have to ask you to wait
I don't want to get you in trouble for playing on your phone during class
The Fucking Responsible One: That is bullshit Nerd.
Don't believe a word he says, the Nerd would be more than happy to blow up the chat all day.
I Feel So Attacked Right Now: (◡‿◡)
(◉‿◉)
Read my name
Coffee Is My Lifeblood: he is not lying though izuku
we sort of did message a lot in the chat during school hours while I was waiting to get transferred
Tenya looked up to see that Shinso had in fact made it into the classroom before turning his attention back to the chat.
I Feel So Attacked Right Now: (´•̥̥̥ ‸ •̥̥̥`)
You were supposed to be on my side, Hitoshi!
I Am Speed: I am going to mute my phone now since class is about to begin but it was nice to meet you all.
The Fucking Responsible One: Same.
Nerd, try to stay out of trouble today.
I Feel So Attacked Right Now: Relax, I am going to spend the day with Uncle Mirai
I'll be fine
The Fucking Responsible One: Why the Fuck would you say that!
I Feel So Attacked Right Now: I'm serious, I've only got good vibes for today!
Coffee Is My Lifeblood: no offense izuku but there is no way you didn't just jinx yourself there
I Feel So Attacked Right Now: +ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+(◕‿◕)凸+ﾟ*｡:ﾟ+
---MiM-MiM-MiM---
Later, as Izuku sat in the wreckage of the bullet train that he had previously been riding back home on that mid-afternoon, he refused to acknowledge that perhaps his friends might have been right about jinxing himself. Around him were a handful of scattered people that had previously been in the same car as himself before the sudden appearance of a villain just on the outskirts of Musutafu had knocked the tail end of the train from the tracks.
Izuku vaguely registered that while his train car was more or less safe on ground level now, the two cars between his car and the remaining train up on the tracks hung at an awkward angle between the two points. Pulling himself to a sitting position in the ceiling below where he had previously been seated, Izuku fished out his miraculously intact phone.
He faintly heard a sigh on the other end of the phone after he dialed the number that Tsukauchi had forced him to add to his emergency contacts. "Midoriya?"
"I know you said today is your day off and all but could you call some heroes over to the bullet train line a bit East of Tatooine station? The back half of the train I was on just got derailed by a villain." He peered out the upside down windows in the direction of the fight. "It looks like Backdraft is already on site."
The detective's voice came out sharp as he snapped to attention. "Where are you, kid? Are you hurt? Your speech is slurred."
"I'm not in any immediate danger. My car is safe on the ground now but I am not sure how safe the people in some of the other cars are. I don't trust the connection points between the cars to keep them suspended."
"I put out an alert over the Hero Network. It looks like Mt. Lady is almost on site to help with the derailment. Izuku, are you hurt? "
That caught Izuku a bit off guard. Tsukauchi had never referred to him by his given name over the past week and a half, only as Midoriya or kid. He smiled to himself at the fuzzy feeling that the detective really did care about him.
"Izuku?"
Izuku blinked and had to process his surroundings again. Maybe it wasn't warm feelings that were making everything fuzzy. "Sorry. I think I must have hit my head in the crash."
He hurt a faint "shit" over the phone before the detective was in his ear again. "Okay, kid, I need you to focus on staying awake for me. You might have a concussion. Just try to keep talking with me while we wait for emergency services to get you checked out."
"Em-kay, I can do that."
"Do you know if you have any other injuries?"
Izuku shook his head and winced before he realized a bit too slowly that: A, the detective couldn't see him right now and B, that shaking your head when you might have a concussion is probably a bad idea. "Don't think so but I am probably not the best judge of that. Might have broken something again and not noticed."
"Make sure you tell whoever checks you out that for me okay? Do you know about the other passengers in the car with you?"
Izuku turned his head around to look at the few others that he had been in the car with. Due to the time of day, it hadn't been too busy on the train but there were still a handful of people scattered around. It took Izuku a moment to realize the unnatural positions a few of the bodies near him lay in. He felt his heart almost stop as he realized he was the only one still breathing. He took in a sharp intake of breath before closing his eyes to avoid the unblinking gaze of the woman just an arms length away.
"Kid?"
"They didn't一I'm the only one who一" Izuku felt his chest tighten as he struggled to speak.
"You're okay Izuku. Just focus on my voice. You're going to be okay." Izuku lost focus as he drifted listening to the man's voice. When he finally came back to himself, he found himself wrapped in the arms of a familiar hero. The smell of coffee and sweat was familiar. Like a half forgotten memory. Izuku found himself burying his face deep into the man's scarf-like capture weapon. "Uncle Shouta..."
"I've got you, Izuku. I've got you." The man's voice was rougher then it had been just a week ago we he had seen the man last in person. "I'm going to pick you up so we can get you over to an ambulance, okay?"
"Kay." Izuku felt the man shift to get an arm under his legs to pick him up in a bridal carry. He kept his face pressed into the Hero's chest to avoid possibly seeing his former fellow passengers. The man moved carefully from the wrecked car towards the noise of emergency services.
Suddenly a voice to the side of them spoke up, "Sir, we can take him over here." Izuku felt the change in direction before he found himself being lowered onto a cushioned surface.
"Izuku, I'm going to let go of you real quick so that they can look you over."
Izuku nodded into the man's chest and started to lean back away. The first thought he had now that he was getting a proper look at the man, was that he looked a bit like death warmed over. Izuku had never thought the Erasure hero looked like he was in the best of health normally but the paleness of his face made his normally tired frame and messy hair look even worse then normal.
Then he found his view blocked by a woman holding a small flashlight to shine in his eyes. "Alright, Izuku was it? Can you tell me how you are feeling physically right now?"
"Fuzzy. I don't really hurt but it didn't really hurt when I broke my ribs a little over a week ago either so there is that."
The woman blinked in surprise before his uncle cut in. "He has a high pain threshold. I would recommend taking him to the hospital for X-rays to double check."
She nodded in understanding. "We can do that. The good news is that it doesn't look like you got a concussion at least." She turned to Shouta next. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
She rolled her eyes. "Did you want to ride along with your son?"
Izuku found himself blushing at the comment as his uncle snorted. "Nephew actually but yes. I have no intention of letting him out of my sight until his mother takes him home."
The woman nodded in understanding. "That is understandable. What are your names so I can notify the police that you are being taken off site?"
"Just tell them that Detective Tsukauchi knows who we are and how to find us tomorrow."