Chapter 16: Nothing I Can't Handle
"You are embarrassing us," Maw says, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Loki turns to him, a giant orange foam finger that says 'Izuku #1' on his hand. "I don't know what you could possibly mean."
"I apologize for the interruption," All for One says, not sounding sorry at all. "But you may wish to turn your attention back to the screen."
Maw pales. "He's learned where the Dark Elf forces are?!" He looks positively livid when Loki starts to laugh even harder. "You find the threatening of our entire operation humorous?!"
Loki uses the foam finger to wipe a tear. "If I said yes, how upset would you be?" The God continues before Maw can yell more. It was rude to fight when you are someone's guest. "Oh, do relax. Our operation is in no danger."
All for One rubs his chin. "It is thoughtful that your boy knew to gather information on his enemy in a time like this."
"Of course he does." Loki crosses his arms, the giant orange finger sticking out. "I taught Izuku the importance of intelligence gathering. He knows you can't win a war unless you have contacts on both sides."
"And now he uses your lessons against us," Maw seethes.
The Mischief God winces when his son is thrown by the Kurse. He's been there. "You continuously insult me. I've made sure Izuku has complete trust in me and no others. He will give me the information."
The boys on the screen get ready to fly but All for One turns to the Asgardian. "Is there any reason as to why you never told us you had a nephew?"
Loki holds back his usual sneer. "You never asked."
All for One seems to mull over the response before turning back around. "Indeed."
"They are flying back to the plaza," Maw observes, his hand stroking his chin. "It would seem they are going to fight again over the Nomu."
Loki gasps. "Wait…is he…"
"Why does the creature no longer listen to your protege? Has it malfunctioned?" Maw demands.
"Pffff" Loki loses his footing as he erupts in laughter, falling against the wall. Maw straightens and even All for One takes his attention off the Shimura siblings. "Brilliant Izuku! Brilliant!"
Maw can't seem to find words. "Did he just…"
"My son made your Nomu his pet!" Loki screams in glee through his laughter.
"And now he uses it to defeat our Dark Elf?!" Maw's words fall on deaf ears while Loki can't breathe. "This is funny to you?!"
"I am so proud!" Loki ignores him. "And you!" He points his foam finger at Maw…threateningly. "That will teach you to doubt my boy again!"
Maw scoffs. "If you wish to intimidate me, perhaps you should use an actual weapon."
Loki cackles. "This foam finger in my hands is more dangerous than any weapon in yours."
The alien squawks but All for One waves his hand for their attention. "Gentlemen. As entertaining as this has been. I believe the attack has ended."
He was right. Hirona was back at the bar looking crestfallen and the Kurse had been defeated. Loki lifts the finger away from Maw only to point it at him one more time, narrowing his eyes. The Maw rolls his eyes and Loki chuckles, vanishing the item.
"Well, I must say, this was a very enlightening experience," Loki says cheerfully.
Maw looks less pleased. "The Nomu will be far less useful to us if your son can control them."
"Not to worry." All for One easily dismisses his concerns. Messages and plans are already being filtered through a few of the screens. "I am already working on solutions to implement on all current and future Nomu so this does not occur again."
Loki reads in between the lines. "You have more Nomu than the ones we've seen." It's not a question. "You didn't tell us this?"
All for One leans back in his chair. "You never asked."
Oh, this was not over.
"It is time we took our leave." Maw takes over the conversation.
"Of course," The mortal answers while Kurogiri appears next to him. "I assume we are moving forward?"
"We are," Maw confirms. "In fact. We are moving the timeframe forward."
Loki whips his head around. "How much forward?"
"This year." It takes everything to retain his composure. "In his absolute wisdom, it has been decided we will lay waste to Asgard sooner than expected. And once he claims the prize in Odin's vault, we invade Terra." Maw faces All for One. "We do this if you are ready or not."
They could be deciding plans for lunch with how All for One responds. "Not to worry. You'll find I'm ready for any change of plans."
"Then this partnership is solidified." Maw turns back to him. "And when the time comes, your son will turn and serve us, correct?"
Loki makes sure to maintain eye contact. "When the time comes, Izuku will make the right decision."
Maw doesn't react. "Good, for you know if he should not, it is your job to dispose of the boy. Your plans can be moved to fit our new schedule?"
While the alien turns to retrieve something in his pocket, Loki answers, "they will all have to be accelerated, but there is no issue." For a man with no eyes, it is very interesting how he can still feel All for One staring at him intensely.
"Good." The alien doesn't notice anything amiss. He holds out a communicator to All for One. "This will let you contact us should we be off planet." Kurogiri takes the device for his master.
"Thank you for your hospitality." Loki gives a flourished bow.
"Think nothing of it." All for One inclines his head to Kurogiri who opens a portal for them to depart. "I look forward to seeing how well a demon and a god work together."
Loki smiles before following Maw through the portal. "As do I."
Hirona can't breathe. That's to say, she can breathe, technically, but it doesn't feel like any air is getting in her lungs. She stands at the bar, hands on the surface holding her up with her head down. Her domino mask lay on the ground next to her, ripped off as soon as she got back while Kurogiri fucked off to who knows where.
She tries to take another breath but feels nothing. What happened? She had it, she finally had it. Shimura suffering under her feet, All Might questioning everything, where did it go wrong?!
"What's the matter? Can't handle a little mischief?"
That kid…that stupid green-haired kid! It was his fault! He…he ruined everything!
Her nails start to dig into the wood. If it wasn't for him, she would've done it! Why was everything always working against her?! She was the victim here! She was the one who lost her family and was killed! She was the one All Might thought he was above saving, instead choosing to help her oh-so-precious brother! Why couldn't things go her way?!
No, if it wasn't for that stupid green brat then it would have! Shimura would be screaming in pain right now. All Might would be dead. And sensei…sensei would finally be…
She hates him. Hirona is shaking now. Stupid kid, taking her Nomu and making a fool out of her, she hates him! Hate, hate, hate! It won't be as slow as Shimura's but she's gonna make sure he dies painfully. And when-
"Hirona."
Air feels like it hits her chest so fast it hurts. The black-haired girl chokes a little, grabbing her chest and backing up, trying to regain control. "S-s-sensei."
The tv screen in the room remains silent. "Sensei…I…" she doesn't know what to say.
"Tell me, what do you believe your successes were today, my child?"
She hesitates, her shaking only getting worse. Hirona knows where this is going, but if she doesn't give him something as a positive, it'll only be worse. "We-" she swallows her anticipation of what will happen. "We successfully infiltrated the UA campus, sensei."
"That you did, Hirona, that you did." He sounds amused. Like when a child gives their parents a crude drawing for the fridge. "And I commend you. But now let's refocus."
Her head drops as sensei continues. "All Might is still living. Young Tomura is relatively unscathed. His classmates as well. All of your thugs have been arrested and now the enemy has control of one of our Nomu. Does that about cover it?"
Hirona sniffles. "Yes, sensei."
"And how would you summarize these events?"
Her stomach churns and her legs barely hold her up anymore. "Failure, sensei."
"Yes, you have failed me again." Her face scrunches. Oh no, how- "not to worry." He interrupts her spiraling thoughts. "I am not mad, Hirona. Merely disappointed."
She wipes her face and even though she can't see him through it, Hirona won't face the screen. "Of course, I can't put the blame entirely on you. You are, after all, the backup."
The girl's fear is quickly turning back to hate. "Oh, how I can only imagine Tomura would have fared if given the same opportunities as you. But alas, I suppose I must work with what I have."
Oh, she was used to that. All her life, just hearing how sensei's precious Tomura would have been better and how she could just never live up to his potential.
"Take time to recover and draw new plans, Hirona. Focus on your failures and how next time, you may do better." The screen flickers off and finally, she's allowed to slam her fist into the bar.
Stupid, stupid Shimura. She knows it so well. How Tenko was supposed to become Tomura but somehow, the heroes had found him and now sensei was stuck with her.
She heard it every time she failed. Every time she couldn't perform to his expectations or messed up an application of her quirk. Every. Damn. Time. Just how much better Tomura would have been.
She hates Shimura so much! Sensei's gonna see. She'll kill him and he'll finally see that she really is worthy! Then maybe…
A clink of glass near Hirona startles her. She looks up to see Kurogiri had placed a cup of tea near her. "It is Chrysanthemum. You were looking pale so this should help."
She lifts the cup and takes a small sip. It's light, a little sweet, and already she can feel herself relaxing a bit. Kurogiri nods and goes back to cleaning a glass but a whisper from Hirona catches his attention. "I'm sorry."
"Shigaraki?" The man asks confusedly.
"At the USJ," she continues, still in a whisper, looking down at her tea. "I snapped at you when you were just asking if I was ok so…sorry…"
He doesn't say anything for a few seconds before going back to his glass. "That is quite alright, young master."
Hirona nods, turning her face away so she could pretend Kurogiri couldn't see her wiping her tears.
If you had told Izuku he'd end his day at the USJ by being held up by a creature called a Nomu after having fought off a villain attack in only his first week of school, he'd have believed you. What? He's seen weirder.
"You doing alright, partner?" On instinct, Izuku uses his powers to cover up his injuries before turning around with Nomu's help. Snipe slowly approaches him while being flanked by police officers, all with their guns raised. Other officers surround his worried-looking classmates and lead them outside.
Nomu growls, hugging the boy closer to him and covering him with his arms. Officers slowly surround the two while Snipe remains up front. Izuku looks around and sees a wall of cement blocking off part of the facility.
'All Might must have run out of time, crap!'
"Can't you just put a bullet in this thing's head?" A cop next to Snipe asks.
"Too risky," Present Mic answers from Izuku's left. "We don't know if that'll be enough and if it's not, it could hurt the little listener." Nomu snaps its jaws in his direction causing a few officers to jump back but Mic holds his ground.
Ectoplasm approaches from his right, his clones running around the USJ while a few stay behind to help. "Does it understand us? Perhaps it can be reasoned with?"
One of the cops gets too close and Nomu lets out a small screech in warning. "Shit! Sarge, give me the order!"
"Wait!" Izuku tries to hold his hands out but Nomu still has them under him. "He listens to me! Just-"
"Back away from the kid or I'm putting you in the ground!" The officer points at Izuku and Nomu screeches again, tensing a little.
"He's getting ready to attack, weapons ready!" Another two officers approach.
"No-" Izuku tries.
"Hands behind your, uh, head!" An officer with a slightly more decorated uniform than the others yelled. Probably the one in charge. "If you do not comply, we will open fire!"
"Hey!" Finally, the cop's attention turns to him. "Stop! Please! He listens to me but he thinks you're gonna hurt me so please, if you back up, Nomu will relax!"
Mic and Ectoplasm share looks. Snipe tilts his head, and very slowly lowers one of his guns a little in Izuku's general direction, making sure to never actually point the weapon at the boy.
Nomu snaps his attention to Snipe and gives him a warning growl. The hero repositions himself, and Nomu directs its attention back to the officers.
"Sergeant," the cowboy hero says. "To de-escalate this situation, perhaps we should-"
"No offense, but you're not in command here," The officer barks back. "I'm not risking my guys over-"
"ENOUGH!" All talking ceases when Detective Tsukauchi runs up. "What the hell is going on here?!"
The sergeant points at them. "That monster has-"
"This is Nomu and he listens to me!" Izuku cuts the man off. "But he thinks they're gonna hurt me and will defend us unless they back off!" Izuku just got the coolest pet in the universe and he is not losing it.
Tsukauchi sighs. Deeply. "Truth. Only you, Midoriya. Lower your weapons." Snipe gives him a thumbs up and Tsukauchi nods so the hero puts down his guns.
"B-but detective-"
"That's an order." Izuku lets the satisfaction show on his face when the officers comply. Almost immediately, Nomu chirps, freaking chirps, and stands up straight, releasing Izuku.
Tsukauchi sends some of the officers away to help with the arrests before walking up to Izuku, eyeing Nomu the whole time. "I'm going to need a more thorough explanation of…all of this." He gestures to Nomu. "And a demonstration."
"Nomu, hop on one foot five times and then do a handstand." While it listens to what he said, Izuku goes to cross his arms but a shooting pain in his arm stops him so he just settles for a smug look by itself at the police detective.
"So…can I keep it?"
That jolts Tsukauchi out of whatever's on his mind. "W-what?"
Izuku does his best to make himself look innocent. "Well you know he listens to me because of your quirk sooooo…can I keep him? I'll take good care of him, pleeeeease? Nomu, look less threatening."
To achieve this, Nomu turns around and falls straight on its back, scrunching up its arms and legs. Essentially, Nomu made himself look like a dog presenting its belly to the detective, who did not look prepared at all for what just happened.
"Woah!" Izuku exclaims. "Wait, can I rub your belly?" Using his good hand, Izuku scratches the Nomu's stomach, the creature chirping happily as he did so. "Awww, you like that? Yes, you do. Yes, you do!"
Izuku looks up, a satisfied grin plastered on his face. "Did you need any more proof he's not dangerous or?…"
Tsukauchi is looking at his radio dumbfounded. "I don't even know who to call…ok Midoriya, whether or not you can keep, Nomu, right? Whether you can keep it or not doesn't matter. Either way, we need to take him in for testing."
He narrows his green eyes, standing up and signaling Nomu to do the same. "You're not gonna hurt him, are you?"
The detective shakes his head. "No, we're gonna take some blood to figure out what…exactly he is and see if he can answer some questions but we won't hurt him."
"And I get to keep him after?" Izuku asks hopefully.
Tsukauchi says something to someone over the radio and a few officers come over carrying a large harness meant to contain Nomu. "Lets…see what he is first and then go from there."
The officers approach the creature, opening the harness. Nomu backs up a step and looks at Izuku, a small whine escaping its mouth. He looks at Tsukauchi for one final confrontation that Nomu would be alright.
When he confirms, Izuku looks up at his new friend. "It'll be okay. They're not gonna hurt you. Just do what they say and I'll see you as soon as I can."
After taking another moment to look at Izuku, Nomu makes a clicking noise before taking a step towards the officers. After a little hesitation, they secure the harness around Nomu and lead him away back to a police van. Izuku hopes that isn't the last time he sees him.
"I can't believe this is my life." Izuku isn't sure if he was supposed to hear that from Tsukauchi. "Anyways." He looks him up and down, Izuku's powers still making him look unscathed. "At least it looks like you got by without getting injured."
"Nothing I can't handle," Izuku says easily. "I don't know if this helps but…" he points to one of his throwing knives on the ground. "I cut Shigaraki with that. It should have her blood on it."
Tsukauchi finally seems to calm down after whatever existential crisis Nomu gave him and gives him a reassuring look. "That will help a lot, thank you. Now go wait outside with your friends."
With a practiced smile, Izuku thanks the man but stops before he can take more than a few steps when a glint of something catches his eye. Looking down, Izuku picks up one of the swords the Dark Elf was using.
Almost the entire thing was black. From the textured handle to the blade itself which was only a tad lighter with both sides ending on a curve. However, when you swing the blade, a light blue, almost white sheen would emit from it.
Izuku takes a few experimental swings, the light coming off the blade is such a contrast compared to its natural color. And while its size isn't perfect for him, it's close. He looks around. Well…would anyone really notice?
He vanishes the sword to his pocket dimension before picking up the second one and doing the same. It would help if he could constantly practice, plus if he ever happens to run into a villain or two who use swords as their primary weapons, he'd be ready.
He knows, what are the odds of that happening? But it never hurts to be prepared.
Speaking of being prepared…he can't think of any situation where he'd use but…Izuku quickly takes the elf's plasma rifle too.
After letting a paramedic look him over quickly, he's escorted outside. He walks slowly and pretends to look over the state of the USJ while they walk, but really it's so his limp doesn't show.
Izuku has some enhanced regeneration and stamina but unfortunately, they're tied together. Without his stamina, which he currently has very little of, his regen works slower.
So he's just gotta make it until he can get home and get to bed. By tomorrow night, he should be healed up for the most part and good to go. No reason to waste any paramedic's time or supplies on injuries that will heal themselves eventually. His classmates need them more than him. Yeah, it hurts but he'll deal.
"Deku!" Thankfully, for his commitment to dealing with it, Uraraka crashes into his good side. "You're ok!"
He laughs. It works at covering up that the impact still hurts a little and helps him control the part of him that is freaking out over a girl hugging him. "I'm fine, Uraraka. Are you ok?"
She looks up at him. "Yeah, better now."
Izuku nods along. "That's-wait, why are you better?"
He might as well have caught fire with how fast she let go of him. Wait, did he? It would explain her red face. "Well-uh, you see, what I meant was-um-"
"Midoriya! I'm glad to see you are alright!" Iida interrupts, marching to them.
"Oh look! Iida is here, it's Iida!" Uraraka yells a bit too loudly. He can't blame her. It's been a crazy day, they're probably all a bit off.
"As class rep, I'm sure you'd like an update on our classmates!" Nothing can throw off his hand swipes, can it? "Everyone is accounted for and expected to be alright! Mostly scrapes and bruises with the exception of Ashido, Shimura, Koda, and Yaoyorozu. But I have been informed that none of their injuries are too severe and only require Recovery Girl's assistance! Thirteen and Aizawa have been transported to the hospital but I was assured they would recover fully as well!"
"Appreciate that, Iida." Izuku really did. It was one thing to hope they would all be ok but to actually hear it was something else.
"It was no problem, my friend! We are expected to be loaded onto the bus in just a few minutes." Iida puts his hand on his shoulder and starts to direct him. "If you wanted to-"
Izuku's bad arm burns at the touch and when he's forced to take a step, his leg nearly gives away, causing the boy to stumble and hiss a bit.
"Midoriya, are you alright?" Izuku has already schooled his expression by the time Iida looks at him.
"Oh? Yeah, I'm fine." He forces a laugh. "Tripped on my own feet for a second, I can be a bit clumsy at times."
Iida looks hesitant. "If you are sure…"
"Yeah no, I'm fine Iida, thanks. Can you go see if we can get on the bus yet?" Izuku redirects his attention.
"Ah, of course, you're right!" Iida brings his fist down onto his open palm. "We are all here now, no reason to delay any longer! I'll be back in just a moment!" And in a puff of smoke, Iida is speed walking back to the officers by the bus.
Well, he thinks that went alright. Iida didn't seem to notice anything before he left. Right, he should portably check in on the others before they-
"Deku…"
Izuku freezes. Wait, how long had she been there again?
Izuku turns to Uraraka who's watching him a little too close for his comfort. Concern is written all over her face. "Y-yes, Uraraka?" Why does he feel like he was just caught with his hand in a cookie jar?
He doesn't like the way her eyes trail over him before going back up to his face. She lightly grabs his good arm. "Are you ok?"
"Nothing I can't handle," Izuku repeats with the same smile, just like he said to get around Tsukauchi's quirk.
She doesn't waver. "Are you sure? Your hand is trembling."
What does she- oh, dang it. Has it been doing that this entire time? Nope, not gonna focus on that. "I mean, look at me Uraraka. I'll be fine. It's nothing compared to what happened to Thirteen I heard."
Unfortunately, bringing up her favorite hero doesn't distract her like he had hoped. Instead, Uraraka scrunches up her face like she's trying to solve some algebra problem.
A few seconds pass and Izuku is ready to ask what she's doing when a look of realization dawns on her. "You can change the way you look…" she whispers.
Izuku wants to say something but she keeps going, still whispering. "You're obviously hurt but it doesn't look like it, but that's it, isn't it?" She stares at him straight in his eyes. "It just looks like you aren't hurt, because you can change yourself."
"I…" what does he say? What can he say? Crap, him not saying anything is just as bad! "C-c'mon Uraraka, you really think I'd do that?" Where is Iida?!
The unimpressed look she gives him makes him feel sufficiently cowed. "You're really going to ask me that after what you did at the entrance exams? And after you tried to fight the other team by yourself at the battle trial?"
Izuku promptly ignores the laughter from his clones inside his head but he still can't think of anything to say, opting to look down instead. Every instinct is telling him to get away, turn invisible, leave a clone behind, something! But he can't! She's still physically touching his arm.
If he can get her to let go for just a moment, he can replace himself with a decoy. Izuku, slowly so he hopes she doesn't realize he's doing it, starts to pull his arm away. His breath hitches when her grip tightens.
"Uraraka…"
"I'm not letting go until you show me, Deku." Her tone leaves no room for argument before it turns a little more playful. "Or, if you want to continue being a dummy, I can just lower my pinky and drag you to the medics like a balloon."
That gets him to look back at her. "You wouldn't?!"
It's scary how much her smile reminds him of Eri's when she's being mischievous. "Try me."
Izuku slumps. "That's unfair…" Every part of his dad's lessons is still yelling at him to find a way out of this but there's another part…a part of him that just…doesn't want to.
No one has ever looked close enough at him to figure out any of the things Uraraka had. And while he expected to be scared, for some reason, he wasn't? Actually, now that he thought about it, it felt kind of nice? Why had dad always told him this was the worst thing that could happen?
Taking another breath, Izuku lets go of the illusion. Yellow lines trace up his body and when they disappear, it's all visible. Every cut, scrape, bruise, the gash on his head, all of it.
He won't look at Uraraka, at least until she tugs on him softly. When he does, her eyes are wet and shining. "I'll help you to a paramedic, ok?"
A refusal dies on his lips. Maybe, just this once, it was ok to accept the help.
Tenko chucks his controller onto his bed, his rage quit had him seething but fortunately, he aimed for the bed instead of the ground…this time. He used to have a habit of disintegrating them when he got mad but Gran more or less beat that out of him.
He still can't help but shiver a little when he sees the old man hit someone else with his cane.
And sure, the way he died that last round was utter bullshit but he knew that wasn't the real reason he was so upset. It had been hours since the USJ, hours since they were interviewed over and over by the police and let go. It was nearing evening now, but every single second of his fight with Shigaraki played on repeat in his head.
He didn't know what to think. What to feel. And it's because he just didn't know if what she said was true. It couldn't be, real life didn't have resurrection spells. But the things she said…
Some childish part of his brain just kept blaming her for his shitty play in the last couple of games he was in and it sounds stupid, but it was probably the only thing keeping him from spiraling down the rabbit hole.
There's a knock on his door. "Go away, Gran!" Weird, he was more of a barge-in kind of guy.
There's a cough and Tenko feels like a cold bucket of water is dropped on his head. "It's uh, it's not Torino. May I come in, young Tenko?"
He wants to tell him no but since when did he earn that right? Tenko opens his door to the skinny form of All Might. He won't even pretend to understand however the fuck his quirk works, he just knows it's weird.
Tenko doesn't look at him. He just leaves his door open and goes rummaging through his desk for nothing. He just needs something to do.
All Might closes the door behind him. "How are you doing?"
"Fine." Now's a good time as ever to start untangling some of these cords he has.
"Good, that's…good." They sit in awkward silence for a minute, Tenko keeping his eyes down on the things he's pulling from his drawers. All Might eventually speaks again. "I learned some information and I thought it would be best if you heard it from me."
Tenko hums but says nothing. Why couldn't real life have those dialogue boxes you could choose from?
"At the USJ, Detective Tsukauchi was given a knife with Shigaraki's blood on it and he ran a DNA test." Tenko inhales. All Might takes a deep breath. "And he got a hit. We have confirmed that Shigaraki really is Hana Shimura."
"…How?" Tenko croaks out.
He's still not looking at the hero so he can't see his expression but he can hear the way he falters in his words. "We are…unsure. I-I have a meeting with Tsukauchi and the rest of the UA staff tomorrow to discuss all of this but…I thought you deserved to know."
Seconds stretch into minutes, how many Tenko can't be sure. But he's got his answer. And he knows how he feels. And he hates himself for it.
"Am I a terrible person?" He asks. His artist's gloves luckily prevent him from decaying the desk that's holding him up.
All Might sighs. "I know this must have brought terrible memories back to you-"
"This isn't!-" Tenko stops his shout, getting ahold of himself before continuing much softer, "this isn't about what happened…back then. This is for now."
"For now? How are you a terrible person now?" He hears the symbol of peace take a step toward him.
"Because I am," Tenko replies as if it's obvious. "My damn sister that I killed ten years ago somehow comes back as a villain and I…I have the nerve to be happy about it."
"Young Tenko-"
He finally spins around to face the hero. "I mean, how fucked up is that? Hana comes back and all I can think about is how happy I am that she's alive! How finally, finally I can make up for what I did, to at least one of them…I just…how is this happening? Was she really dead all this time? And if she was, why was she AFK for so long? And-"
All Might's hand on his shoulder stops him. Wow, Tenko must really be lagging because he doesn't know when the hero closed the distance between them.
"My boy, you've been given something most people spend their lives dreaming of. A second chance. There's nothing wrong with being happy about that. All that matters is what you are going to do with it."
That wasn't a question. "I'm gonna get her back."
All Might gives him a much more confident smile. "I thought you might say something like that." He checks his watch. "Well I've taken enough of your time, I should get going."
He was right. It was almost dark now. This might be the longest conversation they've ever had. "Alright, I'll see you at school I guess."
Tenko loads up a new game on his desktop while All Might stops at the door. "For what it's worth, I thought you handled yourself very well today. Especially with…well everything. In particular when you saved young Asui's life."
The boy shrugs, typing 'adc' into the chat of his new team. "I shouldn't be given an achievement for that."
"Why not?"
The decay user sits, slipping his headphones on. "'Cuz I didn't know I did it until after."
Izuku yawns, opening the door to his apartment. Recovery Girl had healed him right up when he got back to UA but she wasn't kidding about that stamina drain. She let him rest there for a while at least.
He feels a little bad for being surprised when he came out to see Iida and Uraraka waiting for him. Should he be shocked anymore? He probably shouldn't be but old habits die hard.
After downloading a school app Present Mic told them about that had all their contact info on it, Izuku walked with his friends to the station before separating. He spent the rest of the train ride home talking with his mom on the phone.
It was mostly reassurances he was ok and she didn't need to get off work early for him, which he eventually got her to agree to.
Walking in, he drops his bag and switches his shoes for slippers before turning on the light.
After he got off the train, his dad called him, and Izuku told him everything. About the fights, the Dark Elf, and the information he learned. His heart was still pumping from how excited he sounded when Izuku told him about taking control of the Nomu.
But after, Izuku was assured that the info he gave him would be put to good use, which was a weight off his shoulders. Dad always knew what to do.
Most of the time. His laughing when Izuku questioned him about not telling him he had a cousin was not appreciated. But then he told him he was proud of him, so yeah, perfect end to the day.
Izuku looks around his empty apartment. Well, almost perfect. But what else was new. Mom didn't need to come rushing home, he was fine and, well, dad's always got important stuff going on. Katsudon would hit just right for dinner. Then it's just a matter of finding whichever documentary-
A heavy knock on his door pulls Izuku from his thoughts. Who could that be? Holding a knife behind his back, he pulls open his door and screams.
"Uncle Thor?!"
Sure enough, the God of Thunder stands at his door, smiling down at him. He wears a casual gray jean jacket with a shirt underneath, jeans, and is holding an 'umbrella.'
"Izuku, it's good to see you."
From behind his uncle, he hears, "Midoriya!"
"What? Kami-ack!" Izuku has no time to react before Kaminari tackles him in a hug that lifts him off his feet, making him drop his knife.
Thor chuckles, shutting the apartment door and picking up the knife. "So much like your father."
Once Izuku can breathe and he's back on his own two feet, he finds his words. "What are you guys doing here?!"
"Your mother called me," Thor informs him. "She was hysterical about you being alone tonight so I happily agreed to retrieve you to spend the night at our home."
Kaminari giggles. "She actually called my mom since dad still won't get a phone for some reason."
"I don't see the problem with a perfectly good raven."
"Plus! It'll let us talk more about what happened today!" Kaminari ignores his dad. "Because I mean…" he gestures between them. "Dude."
Izuku laughs. "I know."
"Dude!"
"I know!"
"DUDE!"
"I KNOW!"
"Alright boys," Thor gets in between them, holding his own laughter in. "Go get ready."
Izuku leads Kaminari into his room before starting to gather his bag and some clothes. "Do the stores buy their hero merch from you?" Kaminari snickers.
"You're just jealous." Izuku jokes back.
Kaminari hums. "Maybe a little. Anyway, this works out. We can talk about everything tonight and get that all squared away before everyone comes over tomorrow."
"Huh?" Izuku gives him a confused look to match.
"Didn't you check your phone?" Kaminari takes his own out. "I made a group chat for our friends with that app Mic made us get. Asked everyone to come over to my place tomorrow to hang out. Still waiting on some responses though…"
Izuku checks his phone. "I was on the phone with my parents…and you named it Mischief Squad?"
The other boy nods. "Yeah. What you said to Shigaraki about not being able to handle your mischief kinda stuck with me. Seemed right."
Unable to contain his snort, Izuku asks, "really? You set your name to 'Yellow Raijin.' You don't see me naming myself Susanoo."
"Okay, first off, I'm yellow and that's the Japanese God of Thunder, it's perfect!" Kaminari defends. "And Susanoo is the God of Storms!"
"He's also a trickster! He's the closest thing Japan has to a God of Mischief!" Izuku's phone vibrates.
Mischief Squad
Tenya Iida: I thank you for the invitation, Kaminari! While I was hesitant to accept as I believe we should use this time to reflect and get a head start on future studies, my brother has explained to me the importance of 'R .' A humorous approximation for the phrase Rest and Relaxation. So if you would send your address and other relative information, I would be honored to attend.
Tenko Shimura has changed his name to NoobMaster69
NoobMaster69: Yea, I can be there
NoobMaster69: ggez
NoobMaster69: my b
NoobMaster69: wrong chat
Tenya Iida: One should always strive for correct punctuation!
NoobMaster69: What items do you use to reduce cooldown Iida
Tenya Iida: What?
NoobMaster69: 1 sec
NoobMaster69 has added Tsuyu Asui to the chat
Tsuyu Asui has changed her name to Dat Grl
Dat Grl: Hello. I was messaging Tenko about the possibility of sitting with you all at lunch and he invited me to your chat. I hope that's ok.
Yellow Raijin: Of course it is!
Yellow Raijin: And you're more than welcome to come over tomorrow too!
Dat Grl: Thank you. I'm getting time with my siblings tonight so I'd love to hang out tomorrow. Ribbit.
Yellow Raijin: Awesome!
Yellow Raijin: Hey, I hope this doesn't come off as weird…but did you just type 'ribbit?'
Dat Grl: Yes. Ribbit.
Yellow Raijin: Okay…I get why you say it irl but over text?…
Dat Grl: Force of habit
Yellow Raijin: But you don't need to!
Dat Grl: I have a new reason
Yellow Raijin: What?
Dat Grl: To annoy you
Dat Grl: …
Yellow Raijin: Don't you dare…
Dat Grl: Ribbit
Yellow Raijin: IFOSKSKSMAP
Ochako Uraraka has changed her name to Mochiroid
Mochiroid: Hi everyone!
Mochiroid: How do they make so many apps?!
Mochiroid: And keyboards are literally the greatest thing ever added to phones
Mochiroid: Anyway, I wanna come out tomorrow but not sure if I can…
Yellow Raijin: That's too bad. I'm with Midoriya right now actually and neither of his parents are here so I didn't want him to be lonely tomorrow…
Mochiroid: I'll be there
Yellow Raijin: Yay
Dat Grl: Subtle
Dat Grl: Ribbit
Yellow Raijin: Listen here you little shit
Tenya Iida: Language!
"W-wait!" Izuku looks up. "What does she mean by subtle?"
Kaminari ruffles his hair. "I'll tell you when you're older."
"Tell who what when they're older?" Both boys see Thor leaning against the doorframe.
"Nothing dad!" Kaminari laughs. "Just teasing Midoriya over this girl he definitely has a thing for in class."
"W-what?! N-n-no! No no no! You got it wrong!" Izuku yelps, his hands flailing all over while his face heats up.
"Ah, so it is girls," Uncle Thor says like he's made a great discovery. "Just, human girls?"
"What does that mean?!"
"Well…" the Thunder God scratches the back of his neck. "I figured I would just ask. Izuku, your father can turn into a great many animals and he has been known to sometimes-"
"NOOOOOOO! Nope! No! None of that here!" Izuku shuts off that topic of conversation as quickly as he can. He doesn't even want to think about it.
Kaminari laughs harder, bumping his shoulder. "Hey, no judgments here bro. Totally get it if you're into, like, cat girls or something."
"That may not be too far off." Uncle Thor, what are you doing? "Your father told me about the time he found that Wild, Wild Pussycats magazine hidden in your room, Izuku."
"Oh my god, he looks like a strawberry!" Kaminari yells, his laugh taking him to the floor.
"I-it wasn't like that!" Izuku tries while his face is hidden in his hands. "T-there was s-some really good a-articles and…" Kaminari just laughs harder.
"Oh, you find that amusing, Denki?"
Kaminari sobers up very quickly at his father's words. "D-dad, wait!"
Izuku is pretty sure if he were to ask his uncle if he was having the time of his life, he would say yes. "Well, perhaps Izuku would like to know about the articles of Mt. Lady I found on your desk."
It was Izuku's turn, despite still being red, to laugh with Thor while Kaminari sputtered. "Y-you got it wrong!"
While Thor still laughs, Izuku whispers, "Mt. lady? The holiday spread?"
His cousin nods, not looking at him. "Special December edition."
"Cabin at night?"
"Yup, with snow outside."
"Oh. Yeah."
"Yeah."
Thor claps to get their attention. "That was humorous. Should we get going?"
"Yeah!" Kaminari jumps up. "You coming, man?"
Even though there was still a small part of him telling him to refuse so he wouldn't bother them, it had been a tiring day. And he was tired of being alone.
Izuku smiles, getting up and lifting his bag. "Yeah, I'm coming."