Capítulo 2283: 25
Chapter Text
"Pretty generous of those I-Island guys from the Sports Festival to invite you here, huh?" Izuku mused.
"But of course! Why wouldn't they?" Mei laughed. "They saw my genius firsthand. And only a lunatic would refuse my glory!"
"Mhm. However, I'm more impressed with the fact that you practically forced a second ticket out of them, really."
"Like I said, nobody can resist!" She wrapped an arm around Izuku's neck, bringing him close. "Besides, you didn't believe that I'd go without my best assistant, would you?"
"No, I suppose not," Izuku chuckled. "Someone needs to be around to reign you in before you get too out of control, after all."
Mei slapped Izuku hard in the back, making him wheeze from the affectionate strike. "There's no such thing as too much chaos, Izuku! You should know that by now!" Izuku smiled at the display, albeit with a slight wince as he rubbed his back. Mei hit pretty hard.
The two then went on to resume their walk, making their way through the bustling streets of I-Island. Various attractions dotted the landscape, and a multitude of pro heroes wandered to and fro, instantly exciting Izuku.
The duo didn't really have a set destination in mind. Mei had come to the island with the stipulation that she'd show off some of her inventions, something of which she instantly agreed to. However, her demonstrations weren't due up until the I-Expo actually opened up to its full extent, which was still a few days away.
As it was, Mei and Izuku were deciding upon whether they'd go around visiting the attractions or if they would go and make sure that all their luggage had gotten to their rooms okay. They were just on the cusp of making a decision, but they were suddenly interrupted when a giant mass of people flooded their way around them, converging into a point further ahead.
The massive jumble nearly engulfed the two friends, but they managed to keep their place as the people around them thinned. Interested with whatever was causing the commotion, Izuku sent ahead some of his bugs to investigate.
Izuku wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light or not, but he thought that he recognized two signature stalks of yellow hair peering over the swarm of paparazzi and apparent fans.
A concise check with a small band of bugs revealed that his assumptions were true, and that All Might was currently stuck in a hodgepodge of overzealous fans and reporters. "Huh," muttered Izuku, "looks like All Might's here."
"Is he now?" questioned Mei, her eyes rising with intrigue. She turned to Izuku. "By the way, how did my compressor weights work out for him, hmm?"
"You mean those horrid things that you almost broke my arms with?"
"Yup! Right on the mark!"
Izuku sighed. "Well, I didn't experience them myself, but they seemed to work fa—" Izuku suddenly cut himself off, reaffirming his focus back on his bugs. All Might's gazed had swerved right in the face of the bugs Izuku was using to watch the spectacle. And if Izuku was still unsure whether or not All Might knew he was behind the bugs, the next words that came out of the hero's mouth quenched his doubts.
All Might turned his attention back onto the audience gathered around him. "I'm sorry everyone, but a student of mine requires some assistance!" exclaimed All Might.
Huh?
"Young Midoriya!" announced All Might, "please, show me where you are! Point me your way!"
Izuku was utterly confused. All Might apparently thought that he needed help with something. Still, there wasn't as if there was any possible way Izuku could correct All Might. The crowd surrounding him was too thick, and the ten or so flies that Izuku had gathered weren't enough to form any coherent words, never mind the factor that the proximity of the crowd made it unlikely any bug related words would be heard.
And so Izuku did the next best thing; All Might was asking something of him, after all, and he wouldn't disappoint. He moved his bugs into a thin, rough shape of an arrow, pointing to his physical location. Izuku himself waved his arms in the air in order to make spotting him easier.
All Might immediately caught Izuku's gaze. Within seconds, All Might was releasing a plethora of "Sorry's" as he moved through the gathered crowd, making his way in front of a confused Izuku and a pensive Mei.
"Ah! Midoriya, Hatsume! What a coincidence!" All Might declared. His face was smeared with blotches of lipstick — no doubt due to his overeager fans — yet the hero seemingly paid them no mind.
Izuku ultimately managed to break out of his confused stupor, opening his mouth to broadcast his thoughts. "All Might, wha—" But then he was suddenly shushed by the hand that covered his mouth.
All Might leaned in, changing his voice into a much more quiet whisper. "Not now. I'll explain later." He suddenly scooped the two up in his arms, surprising them with the agility of his action. "What's that?" All Might yelled, to nobody in particular, but still making sure as many people could hear. "You're having an allergic reaction?! Quick! To the infirmary!"
All Might sped off, zooming past the crowds and not slowing down until they were in the midst of a flower garden.
"Phew!" All Might huffed, letting down Mei and Izuku. "Thanks for that, you two."
"All Might!" Meri erupted, not sparing a single moment. "How did my—mauadbkfeafae."
Mei suddenly found her mouth covered by none other than All Might's hand, repeating the action he'd done earlier with Izuku.
The situation would normally be pretty funny to Izuku, considering what was going to happen next. However, considering who the oncoming victim was going to be… Izuku's eyes grew in shock at the sight rather than in glee.
All Might, unsurprisingly, saw the expression of shock on Izuku's face. "Midoriya, what's—" All Might began, until he suddenly felt a small, moist pressure on his hand. All Might quickly raised his hand from Mei's mouth.
"Mei!" Izuku berated.
"What?" the girl questioned unabashed. "He covered my mouth. You know how I am when people do that to me."
"But still—"
"No, no. It's my fault," All Might said, wiping his hand on his costume. "I should've been more considerate of you two. Anyways," he looked towards Mei, "what is it that you want, Hatsume?"
"I was wondering about my compressor weights!" Mei grinned, hopelessly caught up in the workings of her babies. "How did they do?"
All Might blinked. "That's all?" he questioned with a disbelieving smile on his face. "Well, if you must know, they did really well. I actually had to strain myself a bit with them on."
"Yes!" Mei exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. "The prototype was successful, then. All I need now is the statistical data from the bracelets and then Izuku can go along and test…" Mei muttered on about he weights, leaving Izuku and the Number One Hero to converse among themselves.
"Anyways," All Might continued, "I really must thank you two. You see, I was afraid that I was going to run late for a meetup I have planned with an old friend. The crowd didn't look like it was thinning anytime soon, and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity I saw. Your presence provided me the perfect opportunity to escape that crowd. And now, I'm actually a bit early."
That's what this was all about? "It's, uh, no problem, All Might. Anything for you," Izuku said.
All Might laughed. "Nonsense, young Midoriya! I have to find a way to repay you."
"What!?" Izuku exclaimed. "No, uh, It's really alright. You don't nee—"
All Might snapped his fingers, interrupting Izuku yet again. "That's it! You two wouldn't have happened to have heard of David Shield, have you?"
Izuku stopped his sputtering, and Mei was shaken out of her plans for her next baby. The expressions on their faces were quite telling to the pro hero.
Meeting the world renowned David Shield — Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and former sidekick of All Might — was quite an experience for Izuku and Mei. Unsurprisingly, meeting his daughter Melissa was just as phenomenal.
The moment they met, Melissa and Mei got off very well. Perhaps too well, in Izuku's opinion.
Within seconds of both of them realizing they weren't strangers to tinkering, the two began bouncing ideas off the other. The concepts that Izuku heard spilling out from the two made him hope he wouldn't be the one testing any of them himself.
Eventually, the conversation had somehow devolved from talk of mass-driver cannons and cheese transmogrifiers into talking about each other's quirks; something which Izuku found to be a universal constant whenever someone struck up a prolonged conversation with a stranger.
"I'm quirkless, actually," admitted Melissa.
"You are?" questioned Izuku, the statement immediately gaining his utmost attention.
Melissa shot him a look. A look Izuku was all too familiar giving himself a long time ago.
"N— not that! It's just… well," Izuku sighed, "I know how that is."
A confused look came upon Melissa's face. "What do you mean? I thought you could, you know," she made a couple motions with her hands, "buzz buzz?"
"He can," said Mei. "But the fact of the matter is that Izuku didn't get his quirk until later on in his life! Funny, since he doesn't seem to act like a late bloomer, eh?"
Melissa sighed. The expression had Izuku immediately apologizing. "So—Sorry," Izuku stuttered. "I'm probably bringing up some bad memories by just—"
"No, no! It's fine, really," Melissa pleaded. "I've long gotten over it. I mean, sure, I always wanted to be a hero when I was little. But I've found a different calling since then! I can be a hero in my own way, like my dad is! My inventions can work to bring peace to the world, just like most of the registered heroes that we have."
"Huh," muttered Izuku. "I guess I never saw it that way. I mean, I've seen how useful support gear can be, but the inventors being just as much heroes as the ones who use their equipment?"
Mei guffawed, bumping her shoulder into his. "Finally realizing that you need me, eh? Well don't you worry, the feeling's mutual! I probably couldn't survive without such a hardy test subject, after all!"
Melissa giggled at the two's antics. "Nevermind that," she said. "I'm actually interested in how you got your quirk, Izuku. You're saying that you had a postponed quirk manifestation, right?"
"Uhh… yeah," Izuku eventually said, nodding his head.
"Hmm…" Melissa hummed. "Do you remember anything weird from when you got your quirk? Any special things that happened that day that could have triggered your late manifestation? Any visual or auditory hallucinations you might have experienced?"
Izuku took a moment to respond. "I… don't think so?"
"Okay…" trailed Melissa. " And the toe joint?"
Izuku didn't need to ask for clarification regarding what she meant. "I still have the two I was born with." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. "Why do you ask?"
'"Well... the truth is," Melissa began, "you aren't an isolated case, if what you say is true."
Izuku rose an involuntary brow. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, you're not the first person to suddenly gain a quirk later in their life. Sure, late bloomers exist, but even they have the single toe joint. I can say that what you experienced, Izuku, was likely part of this slowly growing new phenomenon. It's most often accompanied by something traumatizing happening to the person, or with them experiencing some sort of delirium-induced hallucinations. We aren't exactly sure what's causing it, but it's become a lot more profound over the years. And even if the number of cases we've bumped into only go into a few dozen of so, there aren't any signs of it stopping."
"You saying that Izuku's a sort of rare specimen or something?" Mei questioned.
"Basically? Yeah," admitted Melissa. "Though, I'm more surprised by how well put together he is. Most of the people we've found affected by this weren't exactly… the most mentally stable. There are few exceptions, like yourself, in this case, but usually that's not how it goes."
Izuku took all this new information in, his mind becoming even more heavily-steeped in the mystery that was his quirk. There were those weird instances where he would experience something with his quirk: use unexplained urges, those moments of clarity and… and that feeling that he was missing something. But… did he want to bring those up now? "Even more questions…" Izuku muttered.
"What was that?" Melissa asked.
"Huh? Oh! Uh, nothing!" Izuku sputtered. He submerged his mind into a few stray bugs lying in the rafters above, trying to find a way to explain his brief mumble. Thankfully, it seemed as if fate had smiled upon him that day, giving him a perfect guise to his outspoken thoughts. "I just noticed that a couple of my classmates from U.A. are here! We should go say hi!"
As it turned out, Yaoyorozu had — unsurprisingly — been given passes to visit I-Island during the duration of the I-Expo event. The fact that she only had two extra passes, however, limited the number of guests she could have accompany her. Yaoyorozu explained that, consequently, as winners of a game of rock-paper-scissors, Jiro and Uraraka could come with her.
Izuku was surprised with the coincidental nature of their meeting, but otherwise welcomed his fellow peers on their Melissa-guided tour. After everyone calmed down, Izuku figured out after a brief moment's consideration that a good amount of his classmates were probably on the island.
If Yaoyorozu was any indication, Izuku wouldn't be surprised if Iida was here too, considering the status of his family. There was also the fact that Mineta had asked Izuku to accompany him on I-Island as waiters for a part-time job he scored, which meant that the little grape-head was on the island as well. Considering everything, Izuku wouldn't be surprised if there were going to be some other unannounced arrivals from his class.
Eventually, the combined group of six made their way to a nearby restaurant. It coincidentally also turned out to be the restaurant Mineta was working at.
"Oh wow! Hey everybody!" Mineta exclaimed upon seeing the group. As per usual, his gaze lingered upon certain individuals of the group longer than others, but his response was otherwise much more muted than one would expect from the boy. In part, this was a result to the… stinging punishments he'd received from a certain green-haired boy he'd singled out from the rest.
"Midoriya!" Mineta exclaimed, "you really don't know what you're missing out on here! The pay's great and there are so many lovely sights! Especially in the—" Mineta shivered, reconsideri his words. "—Aquarium section! Yeah, aquariums…"
"Hello to you too, Mineta," Izuku greeted.
It was then that another figure appeared before them, emerging from within the restaurant upon hearing familiar voices.
"Oi, Jammingwhey's here too?" Jiro questioned upon seeing said boy.
"Oh! Hey Jiro, and everybody else. Quite a few of us here, huh?"
Kaminari's, gaze fell upon Izuku. "Oh. Hey Midoriya," he spoke with a bit of apprehension.
"Hello, Kaminari." Izuku smiled. His relations with Kaminari were getting better, even if such developments wouldn't just get better automatically. But the lack of any hostile greetings showed that the two were moving along quite nicely in a positive direction.
The group eventually settled down in their seats, ordering tea and some baked goods from the two waiters. They'd spent a little under an hour at the place, conversing a catching up on what they'd all been doing over their brief summers. As Izuku expected, even Iida had showed up, zooming up onto them and berating them for not properly representing U.A.
However, all the joy and glee eventually came to an abrupt halt to Izuku. A part of his senses suddenly recoiled in pain, and he flinched as a result. "Geez!" he exclaimed, turning to Kaminari and Mineta. "What the heck are you guys doing, boiling bugs back in the kitchen?"
Both Mineta and Kaminari both adopted confused expressions on their faces. Kaminari was the one to speak. "Bugs? As far as I know, we aren't cooking any bugs. The only thing the chef would be boiling would be the spaghetti or the crabs if anyone ordered them."
"Crabs...?"
"Mhm," assured Kaminari.
Izuku narrowed his eyes, focusing his senses on every organism he could feel around him. There were the normal expectations, such as the dozens of wandering flies and the bumbling bees in the nearby gardens. There were even a few bugs he hadn't ever sensed before, all held up in a massive building on the edge of his range — no doubt some sort of entomologist's laboratory.
However, there was something new filling his senses; an armored carapace submerged in water, two large claws adjourned with pinchers, and stalky eyes serving for its vision.
Izuku got up from his seat, moving towards the window of the restaurant. Through the glass pane, he spotted a small tank, filled with a couple of crabs. Reaching into their minds, he sent out a few orders to test out his suspicions.
Move your claw up twice, one inch in the air.
Izuku watched in surprise as the three crabs within the tank did just that. He relayed another order to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
Walk side to side from one side of the tank to the other. The crabs did just that, marching in tandem with the other without one step out of line. Izuku bite his cheeks. He sent out one last order, just to be sure.
Crawl up onto each other to form a stack of three. Then wave your claws in greeting. It took some time, but the crabs had followed through with his order. What sent it home was the simultaneous waving of their claws at Izuku.
Izuku's took several deep breaths. He turned back towards the group, who were still chatting away, oblivious to his stunned state.
"Melissa," Izuku said, interrupting the conversation she was having with Uraraka and Jiro. "Are these crabs… special?" he gestured to the crustaceans within the tank.
"Special?" Melissa questioned. "Well… they aren't farm grown, if that's what you asking. They're completely ocean caught, as far as I know. A way to catch a "taste of the ocean." We like our stuff natural here on I-Island, despite what our technology might imply."
Izuku nodded along to the information. "Alright then. Thanks."
"Of course!" Melissa said, resuming her conversation with the others.
At that, Izuku turned back towards the tank, and began to think of all the other times he may have been around crabs before now. He'd been to restaurants like this one before, places that held live crabs and cooked them fresh on the spot.
The strange thing was that he was almost certain that he never had connections to these organisms before this point. In fact, now that he paid more attention, he could sense a few other things within his range. He could sense lobsters in some other nearby buildings, and a group of shrimp as well if he wasn't mistaken in nearby waters.
Suddenly, an explosion rang out in the background. A quick check with his bugs revealed the source to be Bakugo, scaling up a sort of mountain. Because of course he'd be here.
Back in his mind, Izuku was gaining more questions. What exactly was wrong with his quirk? What were these things that he was experiencing? Are the others in my situation feeling the same thing?
"Midoriya."
Izuku jumped in place. He turned around, spotting Yaoyorozu.
"Are you coming?" she asked. "Everyone went to go check on the explosion."
"Uh… yeah. Just a bit." He turned around, back to facing towards the crabs. "And it's just Bakugo by the way. No need to worry."
Yaoyorozu remained for a bit, looking at Izuku. But she eventually left, knowing that Izuku would be fine.
Despite that, Izuku spent a long time staring at the tank.
Notes:
So, two chapters it is. Mostly action next time, I suppose. Until then!
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