MosesArk Reborn2000
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Chapter 8: Among Other Candles
🕑 Added 2023-11-16 14:19:31 +0000 UTCAnd we are back, just a reminder that from November 24th, I’ll be taking December off. Also, this one is gonna be longer than normal, I'm aiming for just under 9k. Also, this will have art for the first time, tho it is AI as I got no talent for it now the cash to pay an artist yet.
Chapter 8: Among Other Candles
Waking up, Midoriya wondered when did his futon get so comfortable. It was cheap, but useable but also thin and he often slept on the top of it, using the blanket to increase the comfort provided by it. but now, he could tell that whatever he was sleeping on was soft, large and incredibly attractive to his sleepy body. Still, he had chores to do, he needed to see how much water there was and collect some if there wasn't enough. He had to clean and polish the surfaces, and then attend to the fire. He had brought some stuff that-
All at once, his mind cleared as the memories flowed in, with the boy shooting up from his bed as he remembered how the day went, how he met Ryukyu, saw how nice she was to someone like him, and…and…? He couldn't remember what happened after that as he looked around, seeing that this wasn't his room, nor was anything in it his. The room looked completely different to anything there was at the temple, the room being far too well-furbished, not even made from the same materials.
Looking at himself, he saw that he wasn't wearing his usual clothing either, not his sleep clothes or his shrine maiden uniform, but instead, he was wearing a pair of grey shorts and a red and yellow tee. "What happened, where am I?" He thought aloud as he got out of bed, worried when he didn't see Koharu. His question would be answered when the door would swing open, allowing a certain periwinkle ball of energy to enter.
"Oh good, you're awake, I was starting to get worried, but not as worried as this cutie!" Hado spoke up, out of her hero costume and in her school uniform, clueing in Midoriya to the fact she was a U.A. student of all things. But that came second to the fact she was supporting Koharu on her shoulders, who like him, upon seeing her other half grew restless. Hado didn't fight as the large snake got off her as soon as it could and raced to Midoriya to meet her halfway, picking her up and hugging her close as if they hadn't seen one another in months if not years, rather than just a day.
Hado just smiled when she saw the reunion between the two as she had trouble just getting the snake to go along with them, and then left the boy to rest while she fed her as they didn't have much of a rodent problem for her to hunt. After a couple of minutes, with Koharu back in her rightful place wrapped around his shoulders and neck, he turned to address Hado with a short bow.
“Thank you for taking care of her, she says you were really nice to her.” Hado smiled at him, but that only unleashed the floodgates as with him awake, she could finally ask the questions she so desperately wanted the answers to.
"It was no sweat, I always wanted a pet and she was the best! But how come you can talk to her? Is it part of your quirk, or is it part of hers? Wait, if she can talk, why didn't she talk with me? Is she just shy?" She just kept going, leaning all the closer to Midoriya whose face started to resemble a tomato. Koharu didn't do much, having seen what the girl was like and merely taking amusement in her friend's discomfort with proximity to the other sex.
"Wha-what time is it? There are no windows or clocks in the room?"
“Oh, it’s around midday, and you've been asleep for almost 24 hours, must have been a good sleep though, I struggle to sleep just the 8, but I love short naps." Hados's rambling made him wonder if this was what it was like to be on the receiving end. Even as he realized that he had truly been out for such a long time, that didn't answer his question.
“Nejire Chan-” He started, but she interrupted him.
“That’s my hero name, right now you can call me Hado!” She cheered as he blushed a little, this girl was far more outgoing them he was, but then again, that wasn’t saying much.
“Hado, where are we? The last thing I remember is falling asleep back at the temple.” He asked her, with the girl stopping for a moment before answering.
“You’re back at the Ryukyu agency, silly! We couldn’t just leave you there, as we brought the two of you with us.” She replied as if that was obvious, which didn’t seem like it for him. “You’re lighter than you look by the way.” She giggled as she had helped carry him and for a boy his age, he was on the smaller size.
“…Thank you?” He…didn't know how to handle that, even when he looked at Koharu, she merely shrugged in that shoulder-less fashion of hers.
“Oh, but we did have to get you a change of clothes, but we got one of the guy workers to do it as Ryukyu said it’ll be weird if we did that.” She pointed to his change of clothing.
“Oh, oh…” His mind caught up with that, as he didn’t think he could stop being red if a top hero like Ryukyu had been the one to undress him.
“When will you…call me mom?” That was the part he was dreading, even if he said he was okay with them doing that, he didn’t like thinking about it and the disappointment she might have for him.
“I’m pretty sure that Ryukyu already did that, but till she arrives, you’ll be kept busy with me, isn’t that amazing?” Hado replied, but then recalled something as she went back to the door of the room. “Wait, not just me, but I brought along a friend!” She dragged in someone new, a girl of all things! He yelped as he dived for his covers, not wanting to expose himself more than he already had.
The girl in question had short, cropped hair that had been dyed sea-green hair, and reddish-brown eyes with long lower eyelashes. He could also make out that she had several piercings in her ears, all grey studs. Like Hado, she wore the U.A. uniform, but it was more disheveled, her collar crooked, her tie loose and her sleeves rolled up. On her right wrist, she sported two pink bracelets.
Those same brackets jingled as she smacked her head. “Nejire! You can’t just brag me into the room.”
“Why not?” She loved Nejire, she really did but sometimes the girl was far too much like Mirio for her comfort, especially when it came to social tact.
“Among other things,” She pointed towards Midoriya, whose head was just barely sticking out from the blanket, red as a tomato while Koharu rested atop him, looking like a snake resting on said tomato. “I’m pretty sure he can’t handle it going by his turtle impression.”
Hado turned to see what she meant by that. “Why should he be ashamed? The night stuff covers more skin than a bathing suit does?” He had already admitted to her that when he transformed, his clothes burned off which meant he fought naked like Mirio, and he didn’t seem to mind when people saw him in the buff.
"It's the same reason it's fine for people to see each other in swimwear, but not in their underwear. It's an unwritten rule of social skills.” Haya kept it simple as Nejire could be both the smartest person in the room, and also the most clueless.
“Oh, then I’m sorry for that, I kinda forget small stuff like that.” Hado laughed it off while Midoriya remained where he was.
The new girl could only shake her head fondly before turning to Midoriya, her smile a little apologetic “Sorry about that, I'll leave the introductions for when you're dressed, which is why I'm here." She held up the bag she had been carrying, placing it on the dresser by the door before grabbing Hado's hand to lead her out. "They aren't the best, but it was the best the agency had. We'll be outside, take your time." With a soft chick, the two were gone and Midoriya was free to slowly crawl out of his shell, Koharu looked bemused by the entire situation.
Walking up to the plastic bag, he opened it and pulled out new clothing. Pulling it out, he saw that it was red and white sweatpants, with a red and yellow shirt with the Ryukyu agency logo on it. Seeing that, he realized what he was holding. “Is this…hero merch, Ryukyu hero merch….” He muttered as he pulled it out with far more care, treating it like a precious artefact as he studied every part of it, and to his joy, he realized that it wasn’t like the normal stuff you could get, he was holding limited production product!
Koharu hissed, drawing his attention away from the gift of the month. “What? I didn’t have anything like this before, it’s totally new to me!” He defended himself, to which she hissed against, this time sounded bemused and skeptical at the same time. "That's not fair! All Might was my hero growing up, of course, I would have more of his stuff." She replied in a way that he could understand, which made him deflate and to any observer, they would realize that whatever discussion they were having, she had just won.
“…Cheeky snake, you’re meant to be on my side.” He muttered as she gave him an affectionate lick on the cheek before slithering off him to give him space to change.
Line Break
A few minutes after they stepped out, the door slowly opened allowing the two high schoolers to see Midoriya cautiously walk out. Looking around, he could see that aside from them, the hallway was empty and had doors that looked just like the one he was opening, were they all in the same room? What for?
"So they fit?" He was brought to reality by the sea-form green-haired girl's question.
"E-excuse me?" He asked, getting her to roll her eyes, but it didn't come off as dismissive or mean-spirited as he was used to from others.
"The clothes, do they fit? I picked out something close in dimensions to that shrine stuff you had, but you never know when stuff like size isn't standardized." She pointed to his clothing, with Midoriya taking some pride in wearing it, even if it was just a stop-gap thing, he wasn't going to get rid of any of it anytime soon. He could only hope he won't be wearing it should he use his quirk.
"Oh, they're fine." In truth, they were a little baggy, but he didn't want to bother them any more than he already had. It wasn't the end of the world if he had to tighten the pants so that they didn’t fall.
If the girl thought he was lying, she didn't act on it and moved on to other things. “Well then, time for introductions. You already know Hado Nejire, I’m her friend, Haya Yuyu.” When she pointed towards Hado, the girl waved before she gestured to herself.
“Midoriya Izuku.” Midoriya followed suit, even if they already knew his name, it was only polite. “Are…are you really U.A. students?”
“Oh, this?” Haya asked, pointing towards their uniforms. “Of course, we are, how else would we have the uniform?”
"We could be graduates that just fit into them," Hado answered the question for him, though he knew he wouldn’t have given that sort of response.
Haya seemed to muse about that for a moment as the two walked off, with Midoriya following them down the hall. “I don’t know, I would like to grow a little more before my mid-20s.” She would like to get a tad taller before she stopped, even if she wouldn’t mind it if she remained as she was.
“Oh, that would be great, maybe I’ll grow to be a giant!” Haya and Midoriya smiled at Hado's exuberant statement, as the girl seemed to be able to light up whatever room she was in. “But we totally are U.A. students, we’re 2nd years.” She turned to him, pleased with herself in a way he didn’t understand in the moment.
“Oh, is there…” But that left just the one final question. “Any reason I was brought here?” He would have assumed they’ll take him to a police station, or back home, even a holding cell.
Hado brought a finger up to her cheek. “Well, Ryukyu handles a lot of cases, and a few of them are domestic related like abuse or neglect, so she had that entire floor built as a place for victims to stay till we can sort things out.” They reached an elevator, with Hado pressing the button for the 2nd floor, the plank above the elevator telling him that at present, they were on the 7th floor.
Haya took things from there before Midoriya assumed they were implying his family was abusive. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't, she didn't know and didn't want to insult them. "It's also for tourists that get caught in villain attacks or people whose homes are damaged by villain attacks and can't afford a motel or live with family till insurance handles things." The elevator dinged as the doors opened.
"That's why we have a bunch of spare clothing laying around, 'cause sometimes people don't have time to pack and wearing the same thing for days isn't as fun as it sounds." Hado should know, she tried that once when she was 8, refused to change out of her favorite shirt for days, and only removed it when the stains and dirt on it got so bad, she couldn’t even see the print on it anymore.
Stepping into the elevator, the door closed behind them as they slowly went down, in the meantime, Midoriya nodded, but his attention went back to the shirt he was wearing, more accurately the logo as while it was one belonging to the dragon hero, it wasn't the usual one, being much more dynamic and expressive. “It’s still really good, who’s designed them?” Haya blushed a little while Hado seemed to glow as she grabbed onto her friend’s shoulders.
“That would be Yuyu here, she’s great at design!” Midoriya’s eyes widen at that, that couldn’t be true! But…but Hado wouldn’t lie about that, he didn’t know much of her, but those eyes were so expansive, so free and bright, caring and powerful at the same time that he knew in his bones that she wouldn’t lie about this.
“Nejire!” Haya blushed at her friend’s reveal, she didn’t want to advertise them.
“It’s so….cool!” Midoriya nearly jumped her, stopping short as he looked towards her, despite being taller than her, he still seemed to act like he was an excited child looking up at his idol. “To secure an opportunity like that with a top agency, you must be amazing at your craft!” He heard how hard those kinds of deals could be, and how some pros offered them to students but they rarely won them! For Haya to have managed that while still in school was a feat in itself, and with one of the top ten no less!
The door opened up, allowing them off into what appeared to be the main floor he saw the desks of a few of Ryukyu's sidekicks, primarily women. He didn't know what he was expecting, but their workspaces seemed far more…personalized than what he would have thought from an office space, as if each one was given the decorating freedom and budget of a manager but then again, heroes weren't normal office workers, so of course they wouldn't follow the same norms.
The dyed-haired girl blushed, both from her friend's normal attitude and the new attention she was getting from them "I only got the opportunity because Nejire put in a good word, otherwise there would have been no way I would have stuck out among so many other applicants."
"Indeed, Hado spoke highly of you," They turned to see a familiar person approaching them, calm, approachable and professional in stride. “But you nevertheless earned that spot through the fruits of your labor. Take pride in that Haya.” Ryukyu smiled Haya’s way.
Her appearance garnered 3 different kinds of reactions from the trio. Where Hado threw herself onto her with a cheerful hello, Haya's face turned a little red while she bowed to her, tanking her for the chance to leave her mark, Midoriya started to freak out as he normally did when seeing a hero face to face. His face lost all blood before it returned with a vengeance, she started bowing to her in rapid succession, only making Koharu dizzy as she hissed in shock and confusion.
He wasn't even aware that steam was starting to leak out of his nose and ears as he went as if he were a human kettle close to boiling over. "Thank for you helping me!"
“Calm down, Midoriya. There is no need to get so heated over it,” Ryukyu stopped him before he became a human steam engine, to which Koharu was thankful as she tried to collect herself. “Like I said, it’s a hero’s job to help people.”
"I came to inform you that your mother will be coming in around 30 minutes but in the meantime, why don't you go out with Hado and Haya as that would certainly beat hanging out in the agency and possibly getting bored." He muttered that he could never get bored in a hero agency as she turned to Hado, handing her a credit card, the older girl looked at it with stars in her eyes.
“Here you go, Hado. So you can have some fun." With access to a truly large sum of cash in the hands of a…somewhat responsible teenage girl, Hado quickly thanked her before she grabbed both Haya and Midoriya's hands and ran for the exit, almost using her quirk to speed up, leaving behind a chuckling pro as one of her sidekicks approached her.
“Are you sure it was wise to give her access to agency funds? You know how she gets.” Hado was a great kid and had a bright future in front of her but she was also smart and absent-minded at the same time. she could just as easily try to buy a building as she would a cheeseburger.
Ryukyu didn’t see it like that. Sure, her student was absent-minded and prone to her curiosity controlling her, but she knew what restraint was and hadn't disappointed her yet ."I'm sure she'll be responsible for it." She turned to them, her eyes losing a little warmth as she prepared for the coming conversation, and reason she sent the boy off. “Now, please send up Mrs. Midoriya when she arrives, I’ll be waiting in my office.” Her sidekick nodded as she made her way to the elevator to go to her office.
Line Break
With the trio, Hado led them down the street, happily skipping about as she couldn't help but be super excited. She wasn't in a boring class, got to hang out with Yuyu, and a new friend! This was turning into the best day of the month! "So, what should we do first? Do we go have something to eat, what about a movie, oh! What about some sports? What sports do you like, Midoriya? Yuyu likes extreme ones, but I'm not sure about you." She asked him rapid-fire questions, with Midoriya struggling to work up the nerve to answer just one, never mind all of them.
He looked towards Koharu and Haya for help, but both just shrugged. One had little clue about what those human activities were, and the other was long used to how Nejire could be. "I…I'm not sure what we should do…but I'm up for whatever you think is fun." He didn't have many chances to hang out with people his age, but they tended to do stuff like that…right? While Hado took that as a means to talk about how they could go ice-skating before going to one of those places where people can sky-drive in a room, Haya walked a little closer to him.
“How you holding up? You seem tense.” He jumped at the questions, looking back at her and seeing that she seemed concerned, and far more perceptive than he realized.
"It's…I don't know," He didn’t want to say it, it was embarrassing enough and he didn’t even know why he felt like that.
“How about trying to give the issue words, even if it doesn’t make sense, it’s good to talk about one’s problems.” Haya didn't see it like that, and as an older teen and a hero student at U.A., she felt like it was her moral obligation to help him. After all, Hado always said that Ryukyu preached that heroes did more than save people from fires or beat villains.
“It’s the clothes…” He felt ashamed of that, he liked them, he did but they…felt off on him in ways he could barely put into words. "They just…I don't know, they feel weird like they're not for me or something, and it…it feels weird."
Haya stroked her chin, taking in what he said. He wasn’t the most descriptive, but she hadn’t expected him to be. "Well, they are meant to be given to just about anyone, so they don't have that same of that one would get from picking their wardrobe." She knew that she liked to change herself whenever she pleased, both her clothes and hair color. If she had just been given something else’s shit, she’ll feel off too.
“Is it because you dressed like a shrine maiden before?” Hado popped up between them, to which Midoriya jumped in fright while Haya just took it in stride.
"You make it sound weird," Midoriya muttered, turning his head to the side with a fair amount of blush on his cheeks while Hado just looked on confused.
"What's weird about it? Tons of people cross-dress, Yuyu dressed like-!" She was stopped from saying more by the girl in question, who was now also blushing at the fact her friend had just outed her as a crossdresser, so she liked anime and video game characters, sue her!
“Why don’t we save that story for another time, right Nejire?” Her last cosplay hadn't been the most family-friendly, to say the least, and Nejire had been the only one to know about it since she went with her to the convention, but she rather not people connect her to the character she picked, lest Mirio ask to join and knowing him and that reward winning smile, she wouldn't be able to refuse.
“Oh, okay!” Hado nodded, to which Haya let her go to focus on the more pressing detail.
“Anyway, she might be only something, what did you feel like when you were dressed like that?” She asked him, if she could get a baseline, maybe she could help. There was a mall close by they could even hit up.
"I just felt…put together, like I had a purpose again," He didn't like thinking about before he got there, when he was living in warehouses and abandoned buildings, how he had to steal just to survive. But when he got that uniform, when he did his chores, even when they were tiring and monotonous, he felt better than he had in years. "…a distraction from bad thoughts." Koharu snuggled up to him, neither noticing how people had been actively moving out of their way, practically giving them the right of way since they exited Ryukyu’s agency, mainly because of the massive snake that was wrapped around the teenage boy like a scarf.
And like Koharu, Hado came in and hugged him close to her chest, not noticing how his face lit up like a Christmas tree due to her pressing her bosom to his face. “They weren’t bad thoughts, Izu-they were just another part of you.” He focused on her words, not her body…her words, nodding as she released him, allowing him to take those stupid hormones and throw them into the fire. It won’t kill them, but it’ll keep them at bay for a while.
“Knowing her, she’s probably right.” Haya agreed with her, she didn't know the details, but she trusted her friend's judgement. Midoriya appreciated the gesture, but he was coming to understand that was just the type of girl she was, even when she had first appeared at the temple, she offered to help with the work like it was as easy as helping the elderly cross the street.
His came to a stop, his eyes widening to saucer plates. “Oh Lord, I forgot, the temple! What about the temple?” Oh lord, the fire! It could have gone out by now, or worse, grown to burn the entire place down!
“Relax, Izu! It’s all taken care of.” Hado told him, ceasing his panic before it could take off.
“Really?”
"Yup, we called in people from other temples and told them about it. they send they'll send some spare people to tend to it and were super impressed with how a good Samaritan took it upon themselves to fix it up.” He turned away at them, as he didn’t do it because people would praise him. Still, it calmed him to know that the place would be getting the proper care it deserved.
"That makes it all the better!" She hugged him close to her bosom once more, sending his blood to his cheeks at near-sonic speeds as steam literally shot out his ears, but it only tickled Hado who giggled at that, turning to Haya with Midoriya still in her surprisingly strong arms. "He's just like Tamaki!” He got the same way when she hugged him and it was always cute watching their kitten try and paw his way out.
"Which means you should be careful before with him." Haya was deadpan as she replied, mercifully getting Midoriya out as he mumbled to himself about 'this being more than he could handle'.
As a means to get things back on track, Haya went back to what Izuku said about the uniform and the feelings he had attached to it. "Alright, so it's less the fact that they're women's clothing that makes you comfortable, and more the fact you felt like you had purpose, that it calmed you to wear them, right?"
“I think…?” When he thought about it, that…kinda made sense. Before the temple, he was always suppressing himself, stressed out of his mind that one slip could spell the end for him. but when he was there…those few months made him feel so light. Was that why he didn’t mind wearing women’s clothing? It wasn’t like he wanted to wear dresses or other stuff, so maybe.
Haya snapped her fingers at that, a smile on her face. "Well, why don't we get you something similar to them, maybe you'll feel better in something like that." She pointed down the street towards a mall, with which Hado was quick to agree.
“Oh, good idea! And he can even pick out stuff to wear!” They two started moving towards it, with Midoriya jogging to catch them.
“Wa-wait! I can’t ask you to do that.” He didn't want them to do something so generous as that, but Hado just waved it off.
“Well we can, Ryukyu gave us a card and we can go nuts.” Last time, she was allowed to spend 200K without issue, she wouldn't mind if they doubled it, it was a group after all!
“B-but I’ll just ruin it with my flames!” That was enough to stop Haya, as she about it for a while and saw that the place she wanted to take him to before was a bust.
“Well, we’ll just go to one of the stores that specialize in quirk clothes. Maybe something from the Endeavour line will do, they tend to make the best stuff from what I’ve heard.” Hado suggested, but she shook her head.
"They do, but it's all so generic, you would think people that wear it would either want to rock just trench coats or be little Endeavors." Looking at Midoriya, she could tell he would look terrible in anything from that line. Besides, it would go against the intended purpose of getting something close to a shrine maiden’s uniform.
But then, there was a place, yes! It’ll do nicely! “Lucky for you, I know a place that does custom orders real quirk, we’ll be in and out with something that speaks to you if my name isn’t Haya Yuyu!” She directed them towards the train station as the trailer she was speaking of wasn't anywhere close, but it'll be worth the trip. On the train, they found a spot to sit as a group, with Midoriya depending on who was asked, getting the pleasure or misfortune of sitting in between the two as Hado played a game on her phone while Haya scrolled through some news.
Midoriya didn't know how and why, but he was the little boy between the two hot girls and he didn't know how to even comprehend that!
"Thanks, it's nice to get a compliment now and then." His soul almost left his body at that, as he slowly turned his horrified eyes to Haya, who met him his gaze out of the corner of her eye.
“I…I mumbled that out loud?!” He screamed and also whispered, trying to not draw attention to them, well-more then they were already getting.
“You did, but don’t worry too much about it. We’re hot, you commented on that, end of story.” Haya returned to her phone. “Not like you’re a creep or tried to cop a feel.”
“I-I would never!” He blustered out, he had been taught better than that! What would his mother say if she suspected that? He had already given her reason to be disappointed him him, but he’ll take arsonist over pervert any day!
"See, so we don't have an issue." Oh, how he envied her nonchalance and confidence.
Line Break
Back with Ryukyu, she sat at her desk in her office which despite the eastern themes of the rest of the agency, was styled to be closer to the classical layer of an evil western dragon. Even her desk was designed to look like a pile of gold, jewels and other treasures. She had said she'd like the place like this as a joke, not knowing that the contractor and designer took her literally, but she had come to appreciate the space, even if it made her seem far more foreboding than she was.
Her desk’s phone went off. “She’s coming up now, mam!”
“Thank you, Beetle-girl, that’ll be all.” She replied as she waited, watching the door to her office for another few minutes before it was opened by her secretary, allowing her guest to enter. At that moment, she could tell that the woman certainly held a striking resemblance to Midoriya, same hair, same eyes, and same face, they also seemed to share the same lack of height as it appeared that Izuku got shorter than the average height from his mother, the woman was even shorter than Hado.
However, she also caught the sight of bandages, her entire arms wrapped in them even though she wore a long-sleeved top to cover it up.
“You said that you have information on my son?” She raised an eyebrow, she was direct and confident in it, which she could respect. It saved them time rather than dancing around the issue.
"That's right, but before we get to that, why don't we take a seat? Can I offer you anything? Tea? Juice? Water?" She stood to greet her, shaking the woman’s hand once she approached her desk.
"Just water please, I already ate," Inko replied as she took a seat while Ryukyu walked over to the small mini fridge he kept, opened it, pulled out a chilled bottle of water and placed it on the coaster that was closest to Inko.
Once she returned to her seat, she went straight to business. “As for details, I can say that he’s doing fine, in no need of medical intervention or anything of the sort at the moment. As for his whereabouts, it has seemed that he spent almost his entire time on the run living up in the mountains, fixing up an old shrine he had taken residence in.” Inko seemed surprised by that, they had searched all over the prefecture for any sign of her boy, she had been worried sick that he had been dead in a ditch but he had been living in a shrine?
“A shrine?” She repeated as the pro raised an eyebrow.
“Was he not religious before?” Inko shook her head.
“Not at all. We pray before we have our meals, but we don’t attend temple or anything like that.” Ryukyu hummed at that, filing it away for later.
“Is he here? Can I see him?” Inko asked, eager to end this nightmare but the pro wasn’t done with her yet. She wasn’t getting the standard vibes she would from an abusive parent, but she still needed to be sure.
“He’s out for the day with a trusted member of my team, I thought it would do him some good.” She didn’t say more. “However, there is the issue of his quirk.” There, she saw how at the mention of it, Inko clamped up.
“What about it?” She answered with a question of her, guarded over the topic.
“Has he ever received specialized training or therapy for it?” Ryukyu asked her, hoping she was wrong even if the boy’s attitude and actions said otherwise.
“He didn’t need it, all he had to do was not use it and he would…should have been fine.” Inko corrected herself. “That quirk is far too destructive and needs to be kept in check.”
“How so? Aren’t all quirks dangerous? Shouldn’t he have learned more about it?” Ryukyu pressed, trying to test Inko as the woman got a little more emotional.
"No, he already has insane ideas in his head, terrible urges that…he got his quirk late when he was 6. One minute he was in his room, the next he was complaining of not feeling well and was hot to the touch, the next he was on fire, nearly burning the entire apartment complex down and not once did he ever understand what he did was wrong…" She shivered, her hands rubbing her sides.
“He’s the reason for your bandages.” Ryukyu's statement was punctuated by her eyes pointedly moving towards her covered arms, which Inko tried to hide.
“I love my son, but…there is something deeply wrong with him, he just can’t understand that fire is wrong, that burning things is wrong.” Inko didn’t answer the question, but Ryukyu was able to take her non-answer as an answer, helping to explain why Inko was so insistent.
“That, while tragic, is no reason to have barred him from that. quirks and children have always been a dangerous thing, but we have protocols for it. if there is damage done, it; why the government subsidies home and property insurance as you never know when a 4–6-year-old might break something by accident.” She knew that she had broken a few of her parent's furniture growing off, once even wrecked a public bus when she used her quirk when she was 7.
"But that is why children need to attend the proper quirk counselling so that they learn how the deal with powers, accept them and live healthy lives." She used to hate her power, seeing it as just a menace and would have still seen it as such if not for her parents putting her in counselling. “Izuku is the opposite of that, he’s a bundle of nerves, terrified of himself yet ready to burst at any given time” Izuku was a self-feeding terror machine as his control would weaken, he would allow himself to use his quirk, get shamed for it and feel terrible, thereby making his control even worse.
If he wasn’t given proper help, then his outburst with All Might will be a firecracker compared to what he’ll do.
Still, Inko hadn't seen any of that and was stubborn in her beliefs. “He’s not needed it for years, why should that change when he’s gotten by just following the rules? He could have been normal despite his villainous quirk that only seeks to destroy.” Ryukyu’s eyes narrowed there.
"And do you classify as villainous with quirks? I found that there is no such thing with him. Despite it all, he has proven to me and others that he just wants to help, that be an honest boy." She replied, keeping herself civil even if she wanted to yell. She hated that concept, the idea that a quirk could be 'villainous'. Villainous was intent, it was action-how could a quirk have such? It couldn't, it was a part of you like your skin tone and eye color. Branding people and their unique quirks as 'villainous' with no care for their character and actions was both disgusting and lazy, a means to try and box society into neat categories.
Inko met her gaze, holding up the arms that the hero was so interested in. “I know firsthand what those flames of his can do when he isn’t keeping himself in check.” Oh, Ryukyu was well aware of what his flames could do, but that was beside the point.
“And that’s only fed into the issue. He’s already stressed, what do you think the constant reminder that he harmed his mother is doing to him? He’s terrified of speaking with you because he feels he disappointed you.” Ryukyu’s words seemed to have a response, as Inko’s eyes widened at the idea that her baby would be…scared of her. That…couldn't be right…right?
At least she cared, Ryukyu was happy that it was more a case of intentional neglect, but that still needed to be handled. "You as his mother can't blame for a quirk accident on him, it will only harm the both of you, more than it already has." She told her, having seen too many cases just like that…young people, people who could have had bright and happy lives, given the short end of the stick and as a hero, she almost was always too late. She could try and speak with prosecutors and the police, but there was only so much one could do to help, and it never felt like enough when she watched such people be loaded up into the back of police transports like they were hardened criminals.
“Then…what do you suggest?” Ryukyu was pleased that she was willing to listen, but time will be the judge.
“First thing, he needs quirk counselling, and therapy to help him handle the issues he already had. That is non-negotiable.” Inko didn’t fight her on that, just nodding along.
“And?”
“He needs space, space to be himself. Space to express his quirk just like everyone else.” Within the bounds of the law of course, but seeing how those laws were loosely enforced, it wouldn't be too hard to get him a spot at a quirk gym that could handle extreme heat, or just take it back to the mountains. "And since I was the commanding hero, I'll be keeping a close eye on him and his progress to ensure he does improve and not slip into less-than-legal habits."
The police had been understanding of the situation, but they still saw him as a hazard. She had help from the commission, but they wished to take the boy under their care which didn't agree with, she could handle his wellbeing and if need be, training.
“Lastly, since his situation is a unique one,” That was an understatement if she ever said one. "He'll be put into a special course to help him finish up middle school as the last thing we want is for him to be put into an uncontrolled environment like a public school."
Line Break
"I see, so what you want something that follows the concept of a shrine maiden, young man?" The man they came to see asked, his attention on Midoriya as he walked about him, his chin perched on his hand as his 8 spider legs carried him
“I…guess, yes, I mean yes.” Midoriya had to look higher than normal as the man's entire lower half was that of a spider, which meant he was quite tall while his upper half was slim and fit, covered by what he could only guess was the latest fashion.
“No need to be shy, fashion is an expression of the self! If you can’t love yourself, who will?” The stylist, Ookumo Kouji asked him as he walked over to the side of his workshop where there was a desk with drawings on it, dozens of them of what he could guess were designs in varying stages of the creative process.
“Any preference in fabrics? Allergies I should know about?” He asked over his shoulder as he looked through them for something that could make what he could envision someone with Midoriya’s body and personality wearing.
“Not really…” Koharu hissed, drawing his attention as she seemed to remind him of something as he snapped his fingers. “Oh, I don’t need it to be thick or anything, since I don’t get cold most of the time.” Frankly, he had only worn winter clothing just to keep people from suspecting anything, as proven by the fact that Hado and Haya both wore tights along with their jackets while he was fine with what he had.
“You’re a human volcano.” Hado pocked his side.
“So, I skip on some fabrics and just focus on quality and fire resistance then?” That would mean he couldn’t use about 12 of his designs, but that in turn meant he could pull from 5 others…yes, yes, he could work with this. He already had the perfect idea in mind. “I can work with that, come with me, young man! I’ll even throw in something for your serpentine friend.” He rushed over and grabbed Midoriya by the shoulder, pulling him to the other side where the was a screen for privacy and instructed that the lad strip to his underwear.
He wasn’t too sure about this, but he supposed that this was a stylist and if Haya and Hado trusted him, he could give him the courtesy as he started removing his clothes while Koharo moved off him to rest on the nearby table among the vials of dye. “I’m not too sure about this, a personalized outfit, custom clothes, it all sounds like it’ll be expensive.”
“That’s because it will be, custom clothes always cost a pretty penny, but it’s better than buying 5 of the same shirt, isn’t it?” Ookumo asked him, to which Midoriya couldn't disagree as to why spend so much overtime in small bits when you could do it once and not have to worry about it.
“…I suppose.” The man smiled at the answer, clapping his hands together which changed, as his quick activated covering them in a purple and red carapace to his shoulders. His fingers become longer, with gauntlet-like plating with his finger and thumb ending with sharpened points. Pulling his hands apart, Midoriya could see that there was a silk-like thread connecting them.
“Now, hold still for a moment.” The man flicked a hand towards him, sending the silk towards Midoriya before more came, surrounding him in a slowly growing cocoon of the stuff as the man shifted and moved his hands and fingers like he was controlling a puppet from afar, with lines of silk going to the side and gathering vials of dyes and other fabrics he had close by. Midoriya had closed his eyes when this started, which meant that it was Koharu who was watching with a keen eye for those 30 seconds before the cocoon slowly fell away, revealing the finished product.
“Done, what do you think?” Midoriya blinked a couple of times, he had thought that would be longer. The man didn't even ask for his measurements! His stylist though looked pleased with his work as Midoriya turned to view himself in a nearby full-body mirror.
“That was…fast,” He felt the words in his mouth when he saw himself in the mirror. “Wow…” He saw himself in his new outfit which was a light soft and comfortable white and red Yukata. It differed from the uniform he wore which had more straight lines and a uniform color scheme, one of the biggest things he noticed was that the entire thing had small green-like threads woven into it which gave the entire thing a scale-like pattern which reminded him of Koharu. A large red flame pattern went from the bottoms up a little past his knees, the same with the sleeves where those same patterns went all the way to the elbow. Around his waist, he had a green scale pattern belt tying it, with red-like flames coming from it as if that belt was a fireplace.
It was beautiful. Stepping forward, he raised a hand to the mirror, still unsure that the person he was looking at was…him.
"I've never left a customer disappointed and I doubt I'll start now." Ookumo took his awed expression as proof that he was still at the top of his game
“It’s wonderful.” He whispered as he twirled around to see more of it, the cloth fluttering in the movement but not getting caught on anything. “I love it!”
“Happy to hear, why don’t you show your friends the look?” Ookumo suggested, with Midoriya being too happy to stop to think about how he'd normally be embarrassed by that as he happily presented himself to them.
Seeing it, both girls' eyes widened as Hado jumped towards him, clapping her hands. “Oh, that looks great on you!”
“I know, it feels great too!” He giggled as the older girl and Izuku gushed about his new outfit, from its texture to its patterns and clean colors.
“Told you he didn’t disappoint; he is a former top student from U.A.” Haya pointed back at the man as he walked out from behind the dresser screen.
“You are?!” Midoriya’s head snapped towards him as the man chuckled at that.
“Yup, was the best in my support class back in the day, but I decided that my talents would better serve everyday folk rather than making hero costumes. Been doing it for the last 8 years.” He replied, now that he thought about it, he was wondering how Kayama was doing. Maybe he should give her a call, it would be nice to hang out with an old school friend.
Seeing that the boy liked this outfit this much, Haya clapped her hands to draw his and Nejire’s attention. “Well then, it’s settled! If you love this one so much, we need to get you more of it. Can't have you wear the same thing every day, can we?"
“She’s right you know, and don't worry, I made sure to mix in some of my best flame-retardant fabrics and dyes. Go on, try burning it.” Ookumo encouraged the boy while Hado stepped back, leaving him a little nervous about this as he would hate to burn it, but…
“If…that is okay with you?” He looked towards the half-man, half-snake heteromorph who waved off his concern with a smile.
"Trust me, kid. If you manage to damage it, then it's on me for not making it flame-resistant enough." With that, Midoriya took a deep breath, feeling the fire in him that never went out started to grow and with it, so did his temperature. Soon he was shooting steam out of his mouth, nose and ears-this was then followed by smoke before he burst into flames, his body shifting into its other form which he was still workshopping a name on.
He had decided that since he wasn't shoes, and this was a Yukata, he shifted his legs into a serpentine tail, but avoided hitting anything with it.
If the stylist was suspired by what he was seeing, he certainly didn't show it as he just continued to observe the boy, walking around him to inspect how his quirk was reacting to the clothes and vice versa. "Oh my, I suppose to learn something new every day.”
Haya pocked Nejire to get her attention, pointing towards Midoriya next. “Is this what you meant when you called him a human volcano?”
“Yup, he even erupts when he wants to!” She raised an eyebrow at that but decided against asking. She'll find out in time she decided. After a few minutes, Ookumo told him to release his quirk, when he did, Midoriya was surprised to see that…it was there there.
“Hmmm,” Of course, while he was still happy that he had something that hadn't turned to ash, Ookumo saw that it had some damage, a burn hole here, a singed piece there. “There is some damage, but it’s still holding up.” To a lesser stylist, he would have just said it was good enough, but no self-respecting U.A. student would ever settle for such!
“All right, I’ll fix this up and increase its resistance to your flames, in the meantime, we need to get you at least 4 other outfits.”
“Make it as much as you can, we have a blank cheque!” Hado cheered.
“No, we don’t, Hado.” Haya stepped in before she got too excited and blew far too much cash on this before she turned to the stylist. “Just make it 7, one for every day of the week. We’ll get some other stuff later.”
“All right,” He nodded before guiding Midoriya back behind the screen so that they could continue. “Ready to make yourself a new wardrobe, my boy?”
In the end, they would spend over 94K in that one store alone but left extremely satisfied with their purchase.
Line Break
With all that done, they went to a nearby food court to have lunch, which was when Haya asked Midoriya a question.
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask but, what do you want to do? Like after this?” Haya’s question garnered a pause from the boy, as he lowered his drink to think. What did he want to do? A few days ago, he would have said 'Stay at the temple and manage it' Before then, it was 'not get caught or hurt anyone'. This took him back to his original goal, to the dream that got him out of bed in the morning.
“I…” But the issue was that it was even possible for him to try. Before he was fighting an uphill battle, now he might as well be trying to get to space with a firework. Shoulders lowering, he answered. “I don’t really know. I wanted to be a hero…but I’ve missed so much school, I might as well try next year.”
“Nope!” Both he and Haya turned to Hado, who shook her head with her arms crossed.
“Sorry?” He asked.
“You want to be a hero, right?” Hado asked him, her face far more serious than he had ever seen it.
“Y-yes-!” He stuttered out as she leaned closer to him.
“Do you want to attend U.A. to become a hero?” She asked again, her eyes trapping him in place.
“W-well yes, it’s been my dre-!” He couldn’t finish as she hugged him, her serious face vanishing as if it was never there.
“Then you have to apply to get in when spring comes!” She replied, stating it like it was an unarguable fact.
"Why so soon? You heard him, he's months behind on schoolwork." Haya asked her, finding this demanding request from her friend out of place.
“Because we’re second years and will be 3rd years come the spring if he waits too long, then we won't be able to students at the same time!" Hado replied, making him blush as he pictured it in his mind. Wearing the U.A. uniform, training to achieve his dream, happy in the knowledge that Hado and Haya would never be too far.
“And how will he get in?” Haya asked, not against the idea, as the younger boy was pretty right in her books. It would make things interesting if he did get it as she could already see plans to get him and Amajiki in a room together and watch them flounder social interactions together.
“We help him study and catch up, that’s how!” Hado stated it as if it was a fact, though it wasn't like she was wrong as he'd need some serious help and neither were slouches in their studies.
“Think about it, you’re 4th in your class and I’m first, if we pull it Mirio and Amajiki, we’ll be able to do it with time to spare!”
“Makes sense…” He mumbled as she let him have a little freedom.
“What makes sense?” She asked him as he tried to figure out a means to answer, but was a little embarrassed by it.
“…That Hado would be top of her class,” Koharu encouraged him with a lick to the cheek. “She…she asks a lot of questions…I figured that means she was a good student.”
What he wasn’t expecting in response to that was Hado hugging him even closer, squeezing him so hard he squeaked like he was a rubber duck as she gushed in joy. "Oh, you now have to attend, so many people say the opposite and that I'm a scatterbrain which totally isn't true, I just take interest in a whole lot of stuff, what about you? Do you have weird interest< I remember one time when I was 12 that I-" Hado only continued as Haya watched the entire thing with a laugh. The kid had eyes if he managed that as a lot of people didn't. Still, she couldn't let this moment pass without taking a picture so she pulled her phone out and snapped one, having a feeling that they were going to look back on this day fondly.
Line Break
Turns out it was a little over 9k, oh well, consider it a holiday gift as this is the second to last chapter for the year. I won’t give out days for when the next one will come out since I’ll be reworking the release schedules in the new year but when I do, I'll announce it on Twitter or you can just see it on my homepage here. Also, someone asked if I was writing a trans-Izuku and I hope that this chapter serves an answer as I have no clue how to handle the subject in a way that I can be confident in. The short answer to why Izuku wore a woman's uniform being that he connected that with his newfound freedom and purpose, it didn't necessarily have to be women's, but stuff in that style so don't expect him to dress like cannon, but also don't expect him to bust out a mini-skirt or sundress.
The image attached is the first one Izuku wore, at least in style
