Chapitre 1134: 25
Chapter 25: To Be a Midoriya
Summary:
A talk about his quirk.
Notes:
Thanks to my betas, epicderpybro2, Epsilon110 and Mattybeach for helping me. Go check out their stories here on AO3!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hisashi was tired. A week of worry, stress, and guilt weighed down on him, but he kept a happy face on around the children. If they saw him worrying, their own spirits might fail and he wasn't about to allow that.
Izuku had told him all about his classmates, but meeting them in person was different. Yaoyorozu was almost just as he remembered; she was the heiress of a very wealthy family and her upbringing shone through. He was quite surprised by how concerned and affectionate she was with his son, but he wasn't resistant to it. She was a fine young woman.
Uraraka and Ashido seemed like good kids as well. They were both deeply attached to Izuku, that much he could tell immediately. He wondered what had caused them to become so close, but that would have to wait until his son woke up. Everything else was secondary to Izuku.
Katsuki was beating himself up. Hisashi had known the boy since before he was born; he would be a sorry excuse for an 'uncle' if he couldn't tell when he was suffering. Katsuki was feeling guilt, just like Hisashi was. They felt guilty that they weren't there for Izuku, that he had faced Terrorflame on his own, that he was lying there while they were completely uninjured.
Last Friday felt like a bad dream. He had barely landed back in Japan when he had received the message from President Nezu that there had been an attack and his son had been hospitalized. He couldn't remember the last time his instincts had flared that badly; he even got a bit of a headache from it. He had sent his luggage home with his hired driver and taken to the skies from the airport.
He slammed down in front of the hospital with enough force to set off car alarms and crackling enough lightning that he burst a streetlamp just by being nearby. He felt his heart pounding faster as his instincts screamed more and more.
He hadn't expected to see Katsuki, Yaoyorozu and the other two girls there, but he was relieved to see that All Might was involved. Especially after saving his life, Toshinori was a loyal and steadfast friend. In hindsight, it was foolish to not expect Izuku to have made good friends so quickly. It was his nature, after all.
When he saw his boy lying there on that operating table, in surgery for an injury given to him by Genta of all people… his fury broke. His boy was safe, but he would never be the same, Physically, mentally, or emotionally.
The news that Izuku had managed a full transformation was just the icing on the terrible, terrible cake. He should never have been able to do that, he never should have had to do that. But he somehow did and, judging from what All Might told him, he had to. If he hadn't, people would be dead.
A part of Hisashi marveled at the fascinating amalgamation of pride and grief that was tearing his heart in half.
When Ashido expressed a desire to stay there with Izuku and when the other three agreed… that made Hisashi feel a lot better. Not only did it show him just how much of an effect his son had on his classmates, he also knew that having his hoard there would accelerate his healing.
A week of guilt, anguish, regret, confusion, pride, joy… it was a lot to take, even for someone as experienced as him. He had seen his share of destruction and pain throughout his 26 years of being a pro hero, but he had never had his own family hurt like this.
Hisashi sighed, looking out the window of the suite that Inko and he were living in while Izuku was in his coma. They were willingly keeping a little distance from their son, as much as it hurt them, so to let his friends be around him without the pressure of his parents being around; he knew kids acted differently when they had an audience, especially one they felt they needed to be respectful around.
His long years of practice and training with his quirk had allowed him to maintain some transformations nearly permanently, including the little trick his father had taught him before he passed. By just barely circling his quirk through his sensory organs, he could maintain part of the enhanced perception abilities of his draconic form without transforming significantly. Those that knew him well could see a slight discoloration around his ears, but for the m-
"DEKU?!"
"MIDORI?!"
Hisashi hadn't moved that fast in a long time. He was thankful that there was nobody in the hallway outside his room as he tore toward his son. He hit 'send' on the message he had typed in his phone a week ago as he burst through the door, his eyes wide and glowing, whipping his head in the direction of the bed.
What he saw would have warmed his heart if it wasn't already nearly on fire from beating so hard. Ashido and Uraraka both had their arms thrown around Izuku and their cheeks crushed against his, the two women crying slightly while his son's expression was a hilarious combination of confused and very happy.
His entrance caused the women to nearly jump out of their skin and quickly release Izuku. His son looked startled by the sudden noise, but as his eyes latched onto Hisashi, they quickly filled with joy and tears; he really was his mother's son.
"Dad!" Izuku cried out. Hisashi's heart swelled; he had wished to hear that voice every day for an entire week.
"Izuku!" Hisashi crashed into his son, wrapping his arm around him. Since that fateful night six years ago, he hadn't missed his left arm more than he did right now.
The two men embraced for a good minute, both men crying into each other's shoulders, but Izuku crying harder, of course. Finally, they pulled apart slightly, Hisashi wrapping his arm around his son's head and pressing their foreheads together. "I missed you, son."
"I missed you too," Izuku responded softly. Hisashi noted a tone of sadness in his voice. "Did… did I hurt anybody?"
Hisashi cracked a small smile as he leaned back. "No, Izuku. You didn't hurt anyone. Well, besides some villains."
Izuku flinched as if all the memories had suddenly come crashing back. His eyes began to glow brightly as his horns began to streak back on his head. "Terrorflame!" he yelled frantically. "Where is he? The girls! My classmates! I need to protec-"
"Izuku!" Hisashi yelled, shaking his son's shoulder. His eyes snapped up to his father's, the glow fading slightly. "He's gone. Everyone is safe. Everyone is safe. "
Izuku panted as he fell back into his bed. He took a few moments to collect himself as he stared at the ceiling. "How… how long was I out?"
Hisashi sighed and leaned back, giving his son some space.. "A week. It's Friday, Izuku."
Izuku sputtered as he shot up in his bed. "A-a week ?! Oh man, I've missed a whole week of training." His eyes widened further. "I missed a week of class! Oh man, Aizawa is gonna kill me."
The girls giggled behind Hisashi. He had to admit, he had forgotten they were there. "You didn't miss anything," Hisashi said with a smile. "They canceled class to check on the security of the campus. A wise decision, if you ask me."
Izuku sighed, clearly relieved. Then suddenly, his eyes widened again. "Dad, I transformed! Fully!" His voice was equal parts excitement and trepidation.
Hisashi's brow furrowed. "I heard. You're incredibly lucky to be alive, son. I won't scold you, but you have to be more careful. You knew how dangerous it was."
Izuku's shoulders slumped. "I know. But I had to do it. If I hadn't…"
"If he didn't, Ochako and I would be dead," Ashido finished for him. "He saved us from Terrorflame. We owe him our lives."
Izuku smiled softly at the woman's words. "I'm just happy you're okay, Ashido. Uraraka." He looked back to Hisashi. "It's sort of a blur, the whole thing, I mean. I remember resisting my instinc-"
Hisashi flinched this time, his eyes widening before he caught himself. "Oh, right. All Might and Ryuko told me that you already informed your friends here of our 'family secret'." His voice was a little scolding but mostly exhausted.
Izuku's head lowered again as he looked away sheepishly. "I trust them, dad. They're… they're important to me."
'Ladykiller,' Hisashi thought, shaking his head and smiling a bit as he heard both women gasp slightly behind him. 'He doesn't even know what he's doing.'
At this point, Izuku's doctor entered along with a small team of assistants. She asked a series of questions to Izuku while she and her team ran tests. Izuku passed with flying colors, apparently experiencing no unexpected discomfort or complications, satisfying the doctor. She nodded to Hisashi as she left, telling them to take all the time they needed and to call her when they were done catching up. She gave Hisashi a curt nod as she left the room twenty minutes after she entered.
"But yeah, where was I? Oh right, the transformation." Izuku didn't miss a beat. "I was resisting, trying to keep my instincts in control, but then I heard that villain say he was going to kill us and… well, I stopped resisting. I just... let go." Izuku began to tear up again. "I felt like I didn't have a choice. I needed my quirk; all of my quirk."
"Wait…" Uraraka began. "What do you mean you 'stopped resisting'?"
"Just that. I stopped separating myself from myself." There was an odd note of resigned pride in his voice. "In my head, it was no longer this separate voice, but a unified one. For the first time in a long time…" He looked at Hisashi, pleading with his eyes for his father to tell him if it was going to be okay. "... I was alone in my head. There wasn't Izuku and the instincts, there was just… one thing. I don't want to call it myself, because I don't think it was me. I wouldn't have said those things, or hurt those villains like I did. I… I don't think."
Hisashi nodded. "I know, Izuku. I know." His son looked up at him, his face filled with surprise and intrigue. "As soon as I heard you transformed, I knew that you had done that. I know that feeling well, that mixture of yourself and your instincts to make something else entirely. Unlike you, I have a name for it."
"Really? W-what is it? It didn't feel… wrong or anything. It felt like…"
"I call it 'Stormclaw', son." Hisashi smiled at Izuku's widening eyes. "That feeling you experienced, that's what lets us be what we are. One day, you'll find your own name for it."
The four of them sat there in silence for a few moments as Izuku thought. He looked back up at Hisashi and opened his mouth, but before any words could come out-
"MY BABY!"
The door almost flew off its hinges as Inko burst into the room and nearly tackled Izuku out of the hospital bed. Hisashi smiled widely; he had heard her coming but didn't want to spoil the surprise.
His heart warmed as he saw the short woman began to nearly crush the breath out of their son. Her tears flowed freely, which renewed the waterfalls in Izuku's eyes as well. The two greenettes sobbed happy tears into each other's shoulders for at least a minute before Inko pulled back, still sniffling too hard to form a coherent sentence.
At this point, Katsuki had made his way to the side of the bed. He and Yaoyorozu had entered with Inko, but they had kept quiet while the woman embraced her son. Izuku saw Katsuki and began to tear up again; Hisashi stopped being surprised years ago by how many tears the boy somehow stored in his body.
Izuku sat up straight in his bed and threw his arms around Katsuki, which the blonde begrudgingly allowed. "I'm so happy you're safe, Kacchan. I didn't see you at all after I got teleported. I was so worried."
"I'm not the one who almost killed himself, dumbass," Katsuki scoffed as he returned the hug with one arm. "I'm gonna kick your ass for missing a week of training."
Hisashi laughed at the slightly scandalized look the three girls were wearing. They clearly didn't understand Katsuki and Izuku's relationship, but perhaps the wide smile his son grew would help them.
"Wait." Izuku let go as he leaned back. "If I was in a coma for a week, how come I feel like I just had a good night's sleep? I don't feel stiff or weak from the atrophy that surely would come about from being virtually immobile for an entire week, not to mention the strain a lack of use would cause on other parts of my body like my throat, but I was able to speak just fine, and I don't even feel thirsty. Perhaps it's my quirk? No, that wouldn't make sense. Perhaps…" His mumbling grew too fast and soft for Hisashi to follow, even with years of practice.
"Uncle had a team of specialists in to see you every day," Katsuki explained, cutting off Izuku. "One of them had some quirk that stimulated all of your muscles. Apparently, he's some famous physical therapist. Makes sense, with a quirk like that. There were a bunch of others that did other stuff to you, too. Long story short, you should be fine to get up and get back to work."
Izuku's eyes were wide again. "Woah… what kind of other stuff? Did someone have a quirk tha-"
"Son." Hisashi stopped Izuku before he could get going again. "I'll tell you all about it later, but we have important things to discuss now that you're awake. Besides, there's someone else you haven't greeted yet."
Izuku quickly looked around and locked eyes with Yaoyorozu, who was waiting politely by the door. His eyes flashed bright green for a second, quickly enough that someone might not notice. His eyes widened slowly as his jaw opened. "You saved my life. Thank you."
Yaoyorozu began to blush slightly, but Ashido was the first one to speak up. "Wait, how did you know that? None of us told you that."
Izuku laughed awkwardly. "Sometimes you just have to listen to your instincts, right?" He answered her question while avoiding exposing himself to Yaoyorozu, impressing Hisashi.
Or at least, impressing Hisashi until Izuku lowered his head in guilt. "Actually, can I speak to Yaoyorozu in private for a bit?"
"Son…" Hisashi warned.
"I know, but…" Izuku met his eyes with a look of determination and guilt. "She saved my life. I owe her the truth."
Hisashi stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. He stood up as he ruffled his son's hair, which brought a smile to both of their faces.
"T-this really isn't' necessary, Mr. Midoriya," the woman protested weakly.
Hisashi ushered the rest of the visitors out of the room as he smiled kindly at the woman. Ashido and Uraraka looked kindly at her, while Katsuki glared suspiciously. Hisashi caught him whispering at her as he passed. "Don't betray his trust." It was a warning, he noted; not just on Izuku's behalf, but from him as well.
Izuku was putting on a bit of a brave face, all things considered. He had a vague feeling that time had passed, but it felt more like he had experienced a series of vague dreams over the course of the world's longest night, rather than being in a coma for a week. He was understandably confused and disoriented, but it was good to see all of his close friends there for him, but he was a little surprised to see Yaoyorozu there, especially with how she had been acting the past couple of days.
That was, at least until his instincts spoke a word to him.
Lifegiver.
Izuku didn't know what she did, but he subconsciously knew that she had done something to keep him tethered to the mortal coil.
As the rest filed out, Yaoyorozu sat in silence, looking slightly nervous in the chair next to his bed. Izuku looked at her for a moment, hoping to calm her with a soft smile. "How did you save me?"
She started tugging at her hair. "After you… lost consciousness, Ochako and Mina brought you up to the entrance. While All Might fought Terrorflame, you… you stopped breathing."
Izuku paled.
"So, I gave you CPR. After two cycles of rescue breaths, your quirk flashed over your body and you started breathing again."
Izuku's eyes widened. He felt his quirk humming slightly under his skin as he stared at the woman. Since he had known her, he had always known her to be pretty, but for the first time, he realized just how beautiful she was. Perhaps it was the revelation that she had saved his life, or perhaps it was his quirk's doing, but for whatever reason, she suddenly took his breath away.
The way the afternoon light shone through her long, beautiful raven hair seemed to frame her like an angel, causing his mouth to begin to turn up into a smile. Her onyx eyes and gorgeous face caused blush to begin to creep into his cheeks as his mind worked at memorizing her features rather than making sure he was still breathing. 'Maybe I need more CPR…'
"Um, Midoriya?"
Izuku blinked, breaking the trance. He felt his quirk flare in the back of his mind.
Pain. Regret. Why?
"You were s-staring, are you okay?"
He shook his head, dispelling the warmth on his cheeks. He didn't know what was causing the weight in her voice and her expression, but he made a mental note that he was going to fix it.
But later. Right now, he needed to explain some things.
"Yaoyorozu, I need to tell you something. It might explain why I've been acting so strangely." He averted his gaze slightly, ashamed of how he had scared her at the USJ. He had noticed the terror on her face at the time, at least subconsciously, but he had to focus on Kurogiri.
Izuku took a deep breath and prepared himself while Yaoyorozu shifted slightly in her chair. "My quirk… has some unique aspects to it. You're aware of the physical manifestations and transformation, for the most part. Those are obvious. The part that is less obvious is my quirk adaptation." He opted to begin the conversation on an academic note, hoping to make her more comfortable. "You are, of course, aware of what quirk adaptation is. I assume your adaptations are quite impressive, considering what your quirk is capable of."
Yaoyorozu relaxed slightly, bringing a wave of satisfaction to Izuku. "My body digests and metabolizes food at an incredible rate, to the point where I eat many times more what others do. If I am particularly out of energy, or eat a particularly hearty meal, or worse, both , you can physically see my body change slightly as my lipid reserves are restored and grown." She blushed slightly as she spoke, causing Izuku to smile. "In addition, my body is denser than the average human, allowing me to store more lipids in a relatively small space. With training, both of these aspects have gotten stronger."
Izuku was intrigued. "Denser? How much so?"
The woman blushed harder. "D-don't you know it's not proper to ask a lady about her weight?"
"O-oh, that's not what I meant!" Izuku waved his arms around in a panic. "I was just curious, I didn't mean to insult you, I swear!"
Yaoyorozu averted her gaze for several seconds, letting her blush calm down. "F-fine. I can respect scientific curiosity. Hold out your hand."
Izuku did as she asked, to which Yaoyorozu extended her own arm, placing it in his and letting her arm go slack. Izuku nearly dropped her arm, surprised by the sudden weight in his hand. He lifted it back up with a look of awe on his face and reached out his other hand to turn her arm over, marveling at it. He didn't even realize that he was holding her hand as he looked her over.
He ran his left hand over her arm, taking note of the refined and hardened muscles along it. 'To compensate for the additional mass. Her joints must also be adapted to the additional strain on them as well.'
"O-okay, that's enough," she said nervously, pulling her arm back.
Izuku's fingers suddenly wrapped around her arm and hand tightly.
I don't want to let her go.
Izuku's hands flew open, releasing her arm as he gasped slightly. Their eyes met for a split second before they both looked away, blush creeping up their faces. "S-sorry, Yaoyorozu."
"Do not worry, I was the one who offered in the first place," she said quickly, hoping to put the event past her. The two sat in awkward silence for a few seconds before she spoke again. "You were talking about quirk adaptation?"
Izuku, who had been distracted trying to memorize the feeling of her skin but at the same time trying desperately not to, snapped back to attention. "R-right."
He cleared his throat. "Yaoyorozu, you're basically a genius, so I'll spare you the metaphors and get to the point. My quirk adaptation lies in my brain. I have what amounts to a second voice in my head. It's called my 'instincts' and it is the key to using my quirk." He kept his voice monotone and objective, hoping to keep her calm.
"The voice is mine, but it is different at the same time. At the risk of sounding to arcane and philosophical, it is like a very overactive subconscious. That is how I knew you saved me, actually. I looked at you and my instincts called you 'lifegiver'."
Yaoyorozu was listening intently, her face flat and mostly expressionless, ever since the blush faded.
Izuku continued. "The issue is that, unlike my father or cousin, my instincts are less than nice. I am much more akin to Terrorflame, or Fulgurite, or Frostheart in that sense. If I am not careful and determined, I am likely to wind up like them."
Yaoyorozu nodded as she listened. Izuku raised an eyebrow. "I sort of rely on 'tricking' my quirk into making it work in line with my- you're not surprised, why are you not surprised?"
"What?" Yaoyorozu sat up straight, taken aback.
"You're not surprised." Izuku's eyes began to glow slightly. "You already know this, or at least suspected it. How?"
The woman blinked a few times before looking down, her shoulders slumping. "I… overheard Mina and Ochako talking to each other about it. No, that's not entirely honest. I eavesdropped on them. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spy, but I heard them saying you had an ev-" She slapped her hands over her mouth, but it was too late.
Izuku flinched.
"Nonono, I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-"
"No, you're right," Izuku admitted. "They are evil. If I don't control them, then I'll become a villain." He looked her dead in the eyes. "But after the USJ, I know that I can do it. I won't let anything stop me. As long as I have my friends and family to stand behind me, I'll never fall."
Yaoyorozu was still blushing slightly, holding her face from embarrassment as he made his bold declaration. She slowly lowered her hands as a kind expression appeared on her face. "Oh, Zu."
She slapped her hands over her mouth again as Izuku stared at her, eyes wide.
"I-I'm sorry, Midoriya, it just slipped out, I-I didn't mean to bring up the past like that, please forget about it!" She buried her face into her hands as she begged forgiveness.
Izuku felt the word echo in his mind, awakening fond memories from long ago and bringing a whole new rush of emotions. A smile began to grow on his face, quickly swelling to a wide, blinding grin.
"No, Yaoyorozu, it's fine. I missed being called that. Thank you."
Momo's heart skipped a beat. 'I missed that smile…' She felt a smile creep across her face as she was nearly blinded by the sunshine radiating off of Z- Midoriya.
The admiration and kindness in his eyes should have made her heart swell, but it only sent it deeper into the pit of her stomach. 'Please don't look at me like that. Please . You'll only make it worse…'
She stood up, hoping to distract herself from her blush. "Thank you for trusting me, Midoriya. I'll go get everyone else, I wouldn't want to keep them."
Midoriya nodded as she stepped outside the room. The crowd gathered outside stopped their light conversation and turned to stare at her, many of them raising expecting eyebrows. She nodded curtly and smiled weakly, hoping to appease them. They stood up and walked past her, Ochako and Mina both giving her reassuring smiles as they passed.
She stood alone in the hallway for a moment, tracing her hand up her arm, where the faint sensation of Midoriya's touch remained. 'I waited too long… I missed my chance.'
Momo shook her head, waving her hair around slightly as she turned back and walked into the room once again. "It was just a childish crush, anyways," she mumbled under her breath.
'Right?'
Izuku watched everyone file back into the room, his smile growing slightly with each person. However, three new faces joined the group, causing him to try and climb out of his bed before his father stopped him.
"Ryuko! All Might! Recovery Girl! What're you doing here?" he said excitedly. His cousin quickly approached the bed and threw her arms around him in a big hug.
"Did you really just ask me why I'm here?" Ryuko asked as she squeezed him tight.
All Might beamed down at him, an almost fatherly look on his face. "Young Midoriya, I am glad to see you awake and well... I never got to properly thank you for saving all of your classmates last week."
Izuku grew slightly green from the praise as he rubbed the back of his head. "It's kinda funny, it doesn't feel like a week ago. But thank you, All Might. I appreciate it. I want to thank you for keeping everyone safe after I couldn't."
"Of course, it's my job, after all!' the pro joked.
"Well, yeah, I guess," Izuku responded. "Just because it's your job doesn't mean you don't deserve thanks."
All Might laughed loudly. "Hisashi, you've raised a good boy!"
Hisashi ruffled Izuku's hair again. "As if I needed you to tell me that."
Izuku smiled happily at both heroes before glancing over the rest of the room. Uraraka and Ashido were both smiling fondly at the scene, but he noticed the hint of something on Yaoyorozu's face again.
Why?
Recovery Girl cleared her throat. "I don't have all day, you know." Her tone held not actual bite, but the room quieted down regardless. She looked Izuku dead in the eye. "Sorry to put this on you so soon, but we need to have a talk about your quirk and what happened last Friday."
Izuku gulped and then nodded. "Alright."
The elderly woman scanned the room, her gaze lingering on the three female students. "And I'm to understand that all three of them know already?"
Izuku nodded with a sheepish smile.
She shook her head. "If you say so. It's reckless if you ask me, but I suppose it's not my quirk."
Hisashi shot the women a stern gaze. "This is a very important secret, young ladies. You must not speak of it to anyone without his permission, understand?" He gestured towards Izuku. "Our family is placing a lot of trust in you."
The three women nodded. "We understand, sir," Uraraka said firmly.
"Alright," he affirmed before turning to Izuku, who was looking around nervously. "Son, I had hoped to wait a bit before telling you this; I felt it was best to let you get more used to your quirk at UA before dumping this on you, but that's no longer prudent, I'm afraid." He sighed before turning back to Recovery Girl. "Please, go ahead."
The woman pulled out a small device and hit a button, causing a hologram of a brain to appear. The hologram rotated slowly as Recovery Girl began to speak. "I've been studying the Dragon quirk for a long time, children. Stormclaw, Purifier, Thunderwing, Ryukyu… all of them came through my office more than once in their time at UA. I have brain scans on all of them. Let's take a look at Hisashi here."
She hit another button, and a bronze glow began to illuminate parts of the floating brain. "Here you can see a visualization of the effect the quirk has on his brain. As you can see, about 40-50% of his brain is affected at any given time. During times of high stress, like in a battle, that percentage spikes to around 60%."
She looked at Izuku as she continued her explanation. "Your great-grandfather was quite interested in finding out as much as he could about the quirk, such as how he discovered the chromatic and metallic differentiation. I never met the man, but his notes, combined with help from your grandfather, we established our best theory as to why you have these mental adaptations."
"Back in the early days of quirks, there were many that were… less than pleasant to hold. The nature of mutations is that not all of them are good. Many people had quirks that caused them immense pain or loss of functionality; these quirks were mostly weeded out by natural selection as the years went on. This sort of quirk incompatibility is something that's not heard much of nowadays."
"While most quirks evolved to be better suited for the human body or to be less severe, your family's quirk took a different path. If the quirk is too much for a person, change the person. This is, of course, the concept behind quirk adaption, but few adaptations are on the level of what your quirk does. Most adaptations are mild things that let a quirk work better for the body, such as Uraraka's height, or Ashido's acid resistance. Those adaptations are helpful, but are seldom necessary. Uraraka is taller so she can use her quirk more efficiently, but your instincts are there so you can use your quirk at all. "
"The simple fact of the matter is that the human brain just isn't equipped to pilot flying lizards the size of small buildings, especially ones as intricate and powerful as your family. That's where your quirk adaptation comes in. In essence, your quirks 'run' part of your brains, which is where your instincts come from. As you grow, train and mature, the amount that it 'runs' grows." She noted the concerned look on Izuku's face.
"That isn't to say that you are doomed to fall under the sway of your quirk; quite the contrary, in fact. As someone who knew both your grandfather and Hisashi here quite well, let me be the first to tell you that they're very different people, despite having very similar quirks. It's safe to say that your own personality has a major say in how your quirk develops. While you can't escape your base instincts, as it were, you are not a slave to them. Think of it less like a foreign entity taking over your mind and more of a seperate power source that helps your brain do what it needs to to handle your quirk."
"Which brings me to my next point. From what several of the other students said in their reports, you had a very poor reaction to Aizawa's quirk."
Izuku nodded. "Yeah, I don't remember too much about it, but I remember a lot of pain and confusion."
"It was like you forgot everything," Ashido added, worry in her voice. "Like you had amnesia."
Recovery Girl nodded. "That makes sense. Aizawa's quirk, Erasure, essentially turned off power to the part of your brain that your quirk was running at that point. It caused what amounted to a small short-circuit in your head."
"That sounds pretty bad!" Izuku cried out.
She nodded again. "It is, but it wasn't anything life threatening. I suspect that given a few minutes, your brain would have recovered and you would have regained your memories and been able to act normally. You might have liked it if it happened under different circumstances; it would have been the first time ever you would have been entirely free of your instincts."
Izuku thought about the concept. "Free of my instincts…" His mind began to wander, wondering what he would be like without that damned voice in his head. Before he could get far, he noticed something. He looked at Recovery Girl and pointed a finger. "You're speaking in the past tense."
She nodded grimly. "Yes, I am. That is no longer a possibility for you, I'm afraid." She pressed a button and the brain changed to another image, this one much less colorful, but dancing with green lights. "This is a scan of your brain from the first week of classes. I took this after your incident in All Might's class. As you can see, much less of your brain is affected by your quirk compared to your father."
She pressed the button again. This time, the brain was lit up nearly twice as much with the same green light. "This is the scan of your brain from yesterday. Note how much more of your brain is being affected by your quirk. It's still nowhere near your father, but the differences are startling."
With another press of the projector, another brain appeared next to Izuku's, this one lit up with reddish hue. "This is Ryukyu's scan from when she first started UA. If you notice, your first-year scan is slightly more active than hers, but nothing to be alarmed about." She pressed another button and his cousin's brain began to glow brighter. "This is her second-year brain activity. And when compared to your scan from yesterday, you can see the similarities."
She looked straight at Izuku once again. "Simply put, your quirk adaptation went through essentially a year of development in what I can only assume to be a few minutes. By all accounts, young man, you should be dead. It's a miracle your brain survived the stress it was placed under."
The room grew deathly still for a few moments as her words sunk in. Izuku's mind was racing, trying to comprehend what exactly she was telling him. He looked up hesitantly. "What does this have to do with Professor Aizawa?"
"When you were 'quirkless', you suffered complications that were severe, but not life-threatening. Since Aizawa had never used his quirk on anybody in your family, we had no idea you would react that poorly."
"That is our failing," All Might said solemnly, "and you have our most sincere apologies."
"Extrapolating from what we know now," Recovery Girl continued, "If Aizawa were to erase the quirk of your cousin or your father here, they would likely fall into a coma or have permanent brain damage, even if he only Erased them for a second. I suspect that someone whose quirk was as advanced as Terrorflame's would likely be killed outright. Safe to say, Aizawa will not be using his quirk on you ever again."
His father sighed. "I had counted on Aizawa to help you out if you had problems, but that's not an option any longer." He shot a serious look at Izuku. "We don't have a back up plan, now. You're on your own when it comes to handling your quirk now."
Izuku glanced over at Uraraka and Ashido, who were staring back at him with determined looks. He looked back at his father and smiled, surprising the man. "I'll be okay."
His father's shock fell off his face as he chuckled and smiled, ruffling Izuku's hair again. "That's my boy."
"There is one last thing we need to discuss," Ryuko interjected. "We need to talk about what happened at the USJ and why."
"What, the vill-"
"No, Izuku, with you, " she interrupted.
Recovery Girl looked at him with a kind expression. "Anything you can tell us about what happened will be helpful, sonny."
Izuku wracked his brain. He did his best to recall the moments leading up to his transformation, but they were all so foggy. "I… don't remember much, I'm sorry."
"You were in a lot of pain, Midori," Ashido said with worry in her voice. "Like how you are when you're resisting, but worse."
Izuku nodded as he recalled the pain. "Yeah, the headache was pretty bad, even though I wasn't resisting."
"That's right," Uraraka gasped. "Mina told you to stop resisting, but you said you weren't… so you were having that headache even if you weren't resisting…"
Hisashi raised an eyebrow. "Izuku, how often were you having those headaches? You mentioned them when we talked on the phone last week."
Izuku poked his fingers together. "Well, not that ofte-"
"Are you seriously trying to lie about this?" Katsuki, who had been silent up until now, spoke up loudly. He turned to Hisashi with an angry scowl. "Horns over here had them nearly every day, and they were bad ."
"It's true," Ashido added. "He could barely stay standing when he got one."
Hisashi looked down at his son, who suddenly felt a lot smaller under his piercing gaze. "You failed to mention that, Izuku Midoriya ."
Izuku tried to shrink down as much as he could. "I-I didn't want you to worry…"
"Yes, well, that worked out, didn't it?" His father sighed. "Son, how are you so smart about everything, but so foolish when it comes to yourself?"
"Hisashi…" his mother interjected. "He knows." She looked at Izuku with teary eyes. "Please just… don't do that again, Izuku, okay? Let us know if you're having trouble. We want to help you."
Izuku felt the gazes of disappointment and surprise from everyone in the room as he looked down. "Sorry…" he mumbled.
"That works well with one of my best theories, actually." Recovery Girl got everyone's attention as if nothing had happened. "Hisashi, you get headaches sometimes, right?"
The man nodded. "Rarely, but yes. Usually only when something stressful happens and I have to contain myself, such as when I heard Izuku had been injured. Keeping myself calm caused a dull pain."
Ryuko nodded. "I'm the same way."
Recovery Girl nodded. "And young man, you said you experienced acute pain even when you weren't trying to hold yourself back?"
Izuku nodded sheepishly, still cowed from his scolding.
"Allow me to use a metaphor. Think of your quirk adaptation as a pipe that your quirk flows through like water. If you try and resist it, that pipe shrinks, causing 'high water pressure', which translates to headaches. At the same time, when too much water is pushed through that pipe, even when it's not constricted, that will also cause high pressure."
She pulled up the hologram of Izuku's brain scans, showing the difference in the activity. "My theory as to what happened to you, young man, is that you had such a strong desire to protect your friends here that you shoved more through than you could handle, and, in an unfortunately convenient twist on this metaphor, the pipe burst."
"I don't think I like this metaphor," Izuku said as he paled.
"The real question is why," Ryuko added. "I never had any sort of reaction like that when I was growing up, nor did I experience headaches to that degree ever ."
Hisashi nodded. "My guess is that it has to do with him being chromatic. Their instincts might be more volatile and violent than ours; it would make sense." He shook his head slightly. "Ryuko, did your brother ever complain about headaches?"
The copper-haired woman thought for a few seconds. "Yes, some. Not like what Izuku has, but worse than me, if I remember right."
Hisashi sighed. "And with Terrorflame dead, we-"
"He's what ?!" Izuku's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
"Oh, right," Ashido said softly. "You wouldn't know."
His breathing picked up. "D-did I-"
"No." Hisashi's firm hand gripped Izuku's shoulder, causing his face to whip up to his father. "He was killed by the villains after All Might defeated him. You didn't kill anyone."
Izuku sighed and fell back into his pillows, still breathing a little heavily.
"I think that's enough excitement for one day," All Might said as he stood up. "Come on, students. Let's leave the Midoriya family in peace." He began to motion for the four students to grab their luggage. "President Nezu wants you back in your dorms now that Young Midoriya is awake."
Izuku felt a pang of longing as his four friends left, followed by All Might and Recovery Girl, but with his mother, father and cousin all crowding around him, he didn't feel too bad.
Momo and the three other students piled into All Might's truck after they put their luggage in the back. The hero himself had to step away to make a phone call, but he told them he wouldn't be long. While they waited, her mind was a maelstrom of confusion and uncertainty as she sat between Ochako and Mina in the back.
"Yaomomo, something's eating you up," Mina quickly noted. "What's on your mind? Is it about Midori?"
Momo knew that Mina wasn't going to let it go. Perhaps if she talked about it, she would feel better. Momo sighed, then nodded. "It's… a lot to take in. I am grateful for the trust that he and his family placed in me- us, but I don't understand why they told us all that. Why give us all of that, rather personal, information?"
"Do you really need it spelled out for you, Ponytail?" Bakugou snapped from the front seat. "You heard them, Teach can't cancel his quirk anymore. Izuku needs help keeping his quirk in check, so that's up to us. I guess you don't have to if you don't want to, but Izuku trusts you for whatever reason."
Momo still wasn't used to Bakugou's brash, dismissive nature, and she half-suspected she would never be. 'How can someone like Midoriya be best friends with someone like him?'
"Deku's gotten a raw deal in life, Yaomomo," Ochako added quietly, but with a fire in her tone. "I think he deserves to be a hero, but he needs us to help him get there. You heard what Recovery Girl said, he has those instincts of his that he needs to control. We can't do the job for him, but we can help, right? I know that I would love to have you with us."
Momo noted with a degree of intrigue the small blush that crept onto Ochako's cheeks as she finished, but stored the information away for the time being. "Yes, forewarned is forearmed, as they say. If Midoriya has another 'incident', then I will be better prepared to handle it. I suppose I am still surprised that he put his trust in me so easily…"
Mina scoffed. "You've known him longer than any of us but Bakugou, and you saved his life at the USJ. I'm not surprised; Midori seems to be a good judge of character."
Momo's brow furrowed slightly. 'It is a hero's duty to help those in need; I'll do my best.'
She kept thinking as All Might returned and started the car. Mina and Ochako started chatting around her, which she only was vaguely listening to.
"Did you see how his dad kept ruffling his hair? So cute~" Ochako said happily.
Mina laughed. "I know, right? What's up with that?"
"Izuku's a damn cat, that's what," Bakugou answered. "You should see him get all goofy when people pet him. Spirals is the worst about it." Momo could hear the eye rolling in his voice.
"Spirals?" Ochako asked. "Who's that?"
"She's someone who works for Ryuko," he said dismissively. "She goes to UA, so you'll probably meet her eventually. Upperclassman."
Momo kept thinking, her classmate's voices fading from her mind as the exciting events of the day rushed around in her mind. 'He needs help controlling his quirk. I can do that.'
Her eyes went wide as she came to a realization. 'Did he give me this information so I would feel obligated to help him? To get me closer to him? I know he noticed me pulling back from him…'
A small, hopeful smile crossed her face.
'Clever, Zu... Clever.'
The sun had long set when Ochako followed Momo as she pushed the doors of their dorm open. As the doors flew wide and the four students entered, she became very aware of a sudden silence coming from within.
Every student in the common room had frozen and were staring at them. Eiko was the first one to break the still, jumping up from her place on the couch and running over. "You're back! Does that mean…?"
Ochako smiled, realizing just how tired she was. "He's awake."
A wave of shouting and gasps crashed over the students in the doorway. Bakugou began getting pelted by a thousand questions from Eiko while Pony ran over to Momo and did the same thing.
"When's he coming back?" Kyouka asked Ochako and Mina.
"Tomorrow, hopefully," Mina answered. "At least, that's what All Might told us on the drive over."
Kyouka grew a small, relieved smile at her words. "That's good to hear. Hasn't been the same without him around."
Iida placed his hand on Ochako's shoulder, shocking her out of her trance as she realized she was staring off into space. "You seem exhausted, Uraraka. All four of you should get some sleep."
Ochako nodded and turned to take her weightless luggage upstairs. "Tha-," she let out a huge yawn- "Thanks, Iida."
After getting ready for bed, Ochako found herself staring at the ceiling of her room. Despite the great weight of exhaustion on her body, she had been lying down for over an hour without being able to drift to sleep.
She tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable or feel relaxed. She let out a quiet groan of frustration as she turned her pillow around again and slammed her head back into it.
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to force herself to sleep, but to no avail.
After another twenty minutes of restless sleeplessness, her willpower broke, and the thought she had been denying and suppressing the entire time began to shine through.
She sighed with resignation and sat up, swinging her legs over and getting out of bed. She felt a small pang of guilt in her chest as she opened her door and stepped out into the hallway, feeling bad about the thought of waking her friend u-
As she shut the door behind her, she heard an identical click to her right. She snapped her head up and saw Mina staring back at her in the dimly lit hallway.
Their eyes went wide as the two froze, staring at each other like animals caught in headlights. After what felt like hours, they began to creep slowly toward each other.
They met halfway between their two rooms, still staring wide-eyed at each other.
Silently, Mina leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Ochako, pulling her close. Ochako held in her gasp as she quickly returned the hug, bringing her friend's head into her chest tightly.
They held each other for a while, but at the same time, not nearly long enough. They broke apart, each with a small blush on their faces. Mina grabbed her hand and began to pull her gently back towards her room.
Ochako smiled softly. 'I guess I'll be gettin' a good night's sleep after all.'
Notes:
Wew! Another long one.
Leave a comment telling me how you liked the chapter, and I'll see you next time. :)
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone