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Chapter 2: Seeing Through the Symbol
🕑 Added 2023-09-29 20:01:12 +0000 UTCChapter 2
“Shit, how the hell did you catch up so quickly?!” The villain panicked as he threw long tendrils of sludge towards the number one, hoping to slow him down long enough for him to escape. His anger at the kid that was still holding his fucking eyeball was forgotten in the moment.
Alas, his efforts were in vain as it didn't even seem like the symbol broke a sweat dodging his strike. "It takes more than just a little confusion to keep me away when there are people in need!" Rushing the villain, he closed half the distance before he or Midoriya would even see him move to begin with. He would have easily closed the distance completely but he had something else in mind as he pulled back his massive fist. “Texas-”
‘Oh no.’ Midoriya instantly realized what was about to happen and hunkered down, keeping his feet in place before-
“Smash!” All Might finished one of his iconic ultimate moves, punching the air with so much power that it generated a powerful wind current blast that flew right at them. The villain was caught right in the centre of it, feeling the force of a hurricane battering him, and with it, his control over his semi-liquid body started to fail as the wind tore him apart.
‘Wind pressure?! He can do this with just a punch?!’ The villain thought to himself in panic before he felt his body be torn apart by the wind, knocking him out as he was splattered across the floor and wall like water from a balloon.
‘He’s as powerful as I thought-no, he’s even stronger!’ Midoriya felt his feet moving back, their grip on the earth weakening even as he put more effort into it. despite that, he was smiling at this experience, giddy to be in the presence of someone like All Might, a man who preached hard work over natural talent and was the living result of that.
With the attack finished, All Might was expecting to see the slime villain reduced to a living splatter, and the boy he was assaulting on his but to his shock, the kid that wouldn’t be older than a middle schooler was still on his feet. With their being visible drag marks on the floor leading to his feet. ‘Strange, he was able to keep on his feet and barely be pushed back.’ He knew he had been holding back, but it was still rare to see something like this, he didn't let that bother him as he instead let out a belly-powered laugh. “Hahaha, apologies, young man. Had I not been confused by the city sewage network; I would have apprehended this villain before we could have ever threatened you.”
Midoriya didn't even notice that he dropped the eyeball in his fan-boy-fueled excitement, running up to the pro with stars in his eyes. "It-it's fine, All Might. I can't believe it, I'm talking to you, in person, and you're real!" He had only ever seen him on the TV for this, not having the chance to attend conventions like he would have liked for the sake of training, but oh-man, he was going to near drooling over him like this Kamui Woods fan girls and he felt no shame for that.
All Might took this in stride, continuing to laugh as he reached into his shopping bag for something. “Real I am, now, excuse me for a moment, I need to secure the villain before he comes to.”
“How are you-” Midoriya started to ask but he saw the man down both bottles of soda like it was nothing, wiping his lip to clear away any excuses, he held up the empty bottles for him to see.
“Now, I have the containers.” All Might raced around the underpass, scooping up pieces of the slime villain and forcing it into the bottles, he even managed to get his eyeballs in there…somehow. “And done! This should hold him till I deliver him to the proper authorities.” That done, he now held up the bottles which were filled to the brim with the slime villain.
Picking up a smell, All Might smelled his armpit and pulled with a yikes look on his face which faded into a laugh. “Oh my, they tell you that hero business can be messy, but it doesn’t save me from how high my laundry bill will be. Word of advice, young man. Stay out of the sewers.” Midoriya couldn’t stop his head from nodding at high speeds. He might not see him as his idol, but he respected him, he looked up to him for all he had done to help the world and save people.
That only fueled that small part of him, that little kid who obsessed over All Might and wished to be his sidekick when he got older. Seeing the man turn, most likely to leave to do what he said he would and then help someone else, he made his move. “All Might. If you could answer just one question of mine, please!”
“A question? Very well, young man, but make it quirk. Pros are constantly fighting both villains and time.”
“Power or character, which do you think is more important for a hero to have?”
"That is quite simple, young man. A powerful hero is certainly a good thing, but it is the heart of the hero that makes or breaks them."
'He…he agrees with me, HE AGREES WITH ME!' "So, you believe that if you trained hard enough, even a quirkless person could become a splendid hero?" He asked for a follow-up, he knew he had just asked for the one, but he couldn't help himself.
His question, however, grabbed the attention of the top pro in a way that he wouldn't have expected as he stopped himself mere moments before he would have leapt away. Turning back to him, he looked at him with new eyes, having not seen a confirmed quirkless person other than David's daughter in almost 20 years. "Quirkless?" Before anything else could happen, he felt a familiar and unwelcomed pain in his side as his body started to leak steam as he struggled in vain to keep it at bay for just a few more minutes.
Midoriya was shocked by this turn of events and wondered if this was the work of another, maybe the slime villain had an accomplice who was trying to help him escape but he couldn't sense anyone close by. Turning back to the pro, he was about to ask him what he should do but stopped as he didn't see the towering muscle bond man with perfectly kept blonde hair and a reward-winning smile.
Instead, he saw the exact possible, a much shorter man who looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over. He wore the same clothes as All Might, but on his frame, they were several sizes too small, almost like he wore bedsheets to cover himself. His arms, neck and head were all bony, lacking any definition while his blonde hair was much dirtier and unkept compared to All Might. It seemed that the only this imposter shared with the symbol of peace other than clothing choice and hair color was their eyes, both were a piercing shade of blue that seemed to lock onto and hold anyone in the place, though there was now a sense of exhaustion in them, like a engine that had been on full throttle for so long, that it was close to breaking down.
“What are you?!” Midoriya demanded as he raised his hands, ready to take this man down and call the cops on him if he had to. Even if he had saved him from that villain, he wasn’t about to let some prankster insult All Might like this.
Undeterred by the threat of physical violence from the boy, the man raised a hand. “I am All Might-!” His statement was interrupted by him coughing up what must have been a full cup worth's of blood, and with how skinny and frail he looked, he needed every drop!
“That is a terrible lie, also do you need to see a doctor? It’s not normal to spew out blood like that!” Midoriya asked him, now inclined to drag him to a clinic so that he could be checked on as this was far from normal.
“Young man,” The man signed, looking around before he gestured for him to follow him. "Why don't we take this somewhere more private? There are some questions I need to answer about this situation and my current condition." He didn't know what his game was, and he knew that following strangers to isolated spots was one of the dumbest things he could do. But he would be lying if he said he wasn't curious or concerned about this guy. Besides, if worst came to worst, he would easily take this guy and get the heck out of there.
Line Break
He followed the man some ways away from the underpass, with him checking on his pockets now and then to ensure that the villain was still secure. After a while, they managed to find a deserted park. The play area looked like it needed to be worked on, but nothing close to what he had seen in other areas. Finding a park away from any bushes or other obstacles that could hide an eavesdropper, the tired and very sickly-looking man all but collapsed onto it though Midoriya remained standing. "Now, All Might impersonator, I believe you owe me an explanation!" He refrained from pointing at him as that would be rude.
“As I said, I am All Might,” Midoriya didn’t believe that for a second and the man picked up on that as he thought of a way to explain it in a way he would. “You know that thing guys do when they suck in their gut and push out their chest to look like they have muscles? It’s like that?”
“…What?” Midoriya didn't understand why he chose that of all examples as he had never heard of that being effective, there was a reason that must do it as a joke, at least the people he knew did it for a joke.
“But…how? How would that add an extra meter of eight and at least 200kgs worth of muscle?” He scratched his hair, he had seen some crazy stuff, especially ever since the master had taken him in and began to train him but he can safely say that he had never seen something like what this guy was describing.
He seemed less annoyed by his question and more amused as he chuckled. "Trust me, young man. There are questions that even I don't have the answers to but when you've seen and done all I have, you learn to stop thinking about the minor details."
“I wouldn’t call that minor.” He muttered before he shook his head, he couldn’t let himself get distracted. “However, I’m still unconvinced that who you say you are?”
“And why is that?”
"All Might always has a fearless smile, one as bright as the sun is warm regardless of if he's signing autographs, giving TV appearances or saving lives from villains and disasters." Midoriya, even if he didn't worship the ground the man walked on, never forgot that core feature of his. That smile, that attitude, that 'you can do it' energy he seemed to bring he was in the scene. Even if All Might couldn't save his family from falling apart, his unending smile helped to save his soul.
"But all I see in your eyes is exhaustion, pain and defeatism, almost the exact opposite of All Might." He narrowed his gaze at this man, someone who walked and spoke like he was expecting death itself to appear and take him. a man whose presence made him feel worry-not relief.
“A fearless smile, hug?” “As I’ve said, I am All Might, but the situation is a little more complicated than it looks, before I tell you more, I’m trusting that you don’t speak of this to others to share it online.”
Midoriya was about to ask him what more he could say before his eyes widened. The man lifted his oversized shirt, to reveal an ugly pink, red and purple mess of scar tissue on the left side of his torso. It looked as if he had been struck by an electrified industrial drill for goodness sake with the skin tightened and dry. “5 Years ago, I fought against a powerful villain, probably the strongest one to ever exist. While I managed to defeat him, it wasn’t till after he did this to me.”
He lowered his shirt, taking a pained breath as he did so. "My left lung and stomach were lost and it took multiple surgeries to save my life…but they along with the injury took a toll on my body." He could still recall them, Recovery Girl yelling at the doctors as they worked, the brief moments when Nighteye was at his side between surgeries urging him to live. His teacher was a calming presence whenever he was lucid.
“At present, I can only maintain my hero form, my All Might form for 3 hours a day.” He finished the explanation, his shame for his reduced time thick in his voice.
“Just 3 hours…is that why you’ve been seen less these past few years?” Midoriya couldn't help but ask h-All Might. He had noticed it over the years, he couldn't think of someone who didn't but must assumed he was just getting old, or maybe handling a family issue as no one knew anything about his personal. Even the number 2 hero, Endeavour had more information out there about his adult children.
“Correct, young man. I might wish to work from sunrise to sunset like I used to, but that is no longer possible.” He used to irritate his sidekick with that, but he always enjoyed it. Being active, racing to wherever he was needed.
“Was Toxic Chainsaw that much of a threat?” All Might cocked an eyebrow there, that was an obscure reference but he did recall fighting against that villain a couple of weeks before the incident so it would line up.
“Him, no way, as if some gutter punk could hurt me!” The punk’s quirk might have been impressive, being able to spread radiation to his immediate area, but All Might was too fast for him. he just rushed him, knocked him out and then carried him somewhere isolated till his body was safe for the police to handle. His total exposure time was less than 10 seconds. “You wouldn’t know the name of the villain, or find any reports of news stories on the incident. It was suppressed. I asked them to.”
“But why?” All Might looked at him, his bright blue eyes, sunken in his head, capturing the boy and holding him in place as even weakened, he still had his stare.
"Because All Might always has his fearless smile and saves the day. The symbol of Peace can't be daunted by evil, so the people can never know that I smile to mask my fear." He looked to the side, to the city that was one of the many in Japan he defended. It was filled with so many people who were just trying to live their lives, who could only do that because they knew that he was out there, protecting them. If they ever found out about his time limit or heaven forbid, his injury…
He turned away from that line of thinking that was never far from his mind these days. "Young man. Earlier, you asked me if you could become a hero even if you didn't have a quirk. My answer is no. Pros risk themselves every time they put on the mask; they understand that any one of their patrols could be their last. That they might meet their end in a disaster or to a villain. I can't in good conscience tell you that you could do the same without some power.
Midoriya…didn’t know what to say to that, but he felt angry. He didn’t know why. He knew that objectively; All Might was correct. Without the power to back up your ideals, you'll never accomplish anything, it was a fact of life, more so in the hero business. It was a perfectly rational response, responsible even but-
All Might wasn’t meant to be rational; he never did what was logical, he always went beyond. That was what made him the number one! He gave it his all and them some, and pushed himself to his limit and beyond them every day. "But you just said that character matters more than power, now you're backtracking?"
"I never said that. I said that one is more important than the other, but I didn't say that one could survive without both." All Might countered, making him stop at how…wrong that sounded coming out of his mouth.
All Might took his silence as agreement as he got up with a huff, before turning to leave but not before he said one last thing. "If you wish to help people, there are plenty of jobs out there that would achieve this. You could go into medicine, perhaps become a support item engineer, even a detective-!"
“You’re just like all the rest.” Midoriya interrupted him, his head looking down as he tightened his fists at his side. “Obsessed with power…obsessed with quirks.” He should have never expected anything more from him. Not when from the moment he woke up in an empty apartment that his mother hadn't returned to in God knows how long to when he returned to that same empty cold space after another day of dealing with his quirkist school and classmates. Students, his teachers, random people on the street, it didn't matter.
Quirks did. Quirk this, quirk that. What quirk do you have? Don't you think that quirk is cool? Hey, that quirk is pretty villainous. He couldn't go a single DAY without hearing something like that. without someone looking at him like he was defective goods. He tried to keep it contained, to not get angry over something that he had known for years, but all that did was fuel his anger that he had gone the entire day suppressing, the entire day keeping a carefully made lid on but that lid was breaking, and frankly, he was too angry to care.
“Young man, things are more complicated then-”
“No, they aren’t!” All Might’s eyes widened at his outburst, as in that instant, he felt like something in the boy, call it a 6th sense, but there was something more with him, but he didn’t have time to figure out as the boy continued, tears in his eyes born from both deep disappointment and anger. “They shouldn’t be complicated. I already know heroes get hurt, that heroes can die, but you…you were supposed to be different. Always given speeches on how anyone can be a hero so long as they had a brace heard and the dedication to self-improvement to better themselves, that the circumstances of our births didn’t dictate our destine.”
All Might wished to stop him, but found that he…couldn’t. Those were his words, weren’t they? He wasn't lying when he spoke them, he had always believed in them, didn't he? Thinking on it, when did they become hollow? How much did he allow his injury at the hands of All for One to affect him so?
Midoriya rubbed at his eyes, getting rid of his tears, not wanting to spread them for this, for him. Not after what he learned about him. “What a hypocrite.” He felt slapped by these words, as Midoriya turned his gaze to him, devoid of that earlier respect, now they held contempt as he brushed past him to leave. After a few paces, he stopped to say his last piece. "You're not All Might, as far as I'm concerned, he never existed. But your secret is safe with me. My dream doesn't need me to out you. But I will prove you wrong, you can count on that.” He didn’t say more as he took a breath, cleared his mind and vanished from the pro’s sight, leaving him dumbfounded as he looked around for him, never seeing him quietly leave the park.
Line Break
Getting his stuff from the store, Midoriya found himself in a terrible mood. He had never believed in the saying about meeting one's heroes more than he did now.
'Idiot! Why did you believe him any better than the rest, if anything!' He wanted to smack himself for ever buying into it. that childish hope that he'll be different. He continued picking stuff and tossing it into his cart, most of it generic and cheap fruits, vegetables and spices, with few things with high fat or sugar content. He did make an exception with the fish, getting enough to last him the next 2 weeks, and some premium canned cat food.
Getting to the till, he didn't so much as flinch as the clerk who knew him charged him 10% more than anyone else, he was used to it and he was lucky that this place only extorted him instead of downright refusing him service like other places had. Walking out of the place and out into the open Tatooine market, he felt as if the Heavens themselves were seeing how much they could foul his mood. Stalking towards him, was Bakugo and his two cronies. The blonde looked even angrier than before, most likely because he didn't catch him but he spared him no mind as he walked past him, the boy and his cronies never saw him as he blended into the crowd, as perceivable as a black dot on a black cat.
Getting back to his complex, the only thing that he could say he liked about the place was the garden portion and the trees that lined the walkway. The former was small, but he did his best to care for it, watering the plants and flowers, and weeding it when he could. He always felt at ease when surrounded by the green, though he could never place it. Entering his apartment, he closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes, not bothered with slippers as he approached the kitchen counter where he dumped his shopping.
He unpacked the staff and put it all into its appropriate place, with that done, he went into his room to change out of his uniform, grabbing some casual stuff and a good, durable pair of shoes from his closet as well as fresh exercise clothing and gear which he packed into a gym bag.
Within less than 20 minutes of coming home, he was already out the door again. Making it to the street level again, he looked up towards the orange skies. "I have maybe an hour left of daylight left." His eyes moved towards the outskirts of town, more accurately, to the mountains that lay outside town, to his destination.
"Then I don't have time to waste." He said to himself as he got into a runner's position, before bolting off, shocking some people on the street as they yelled at him as he went by, with another yelling that he shouldn't be using his speed quirk in public. He never stopped enjoying hearing that, hearing how the fruits of his labor were mistaken for a quirk. Looking at his fitness tracking watch, he saw that he was moving at a good speed, 35km/h but decided to push it as he put his legs into it, and pretty soon, that speed had climbed to 50km/h. Racing through town, he allowed the anger, the frustration, the annoyance. All of it left his body and was replaced with a deep joy, a song of happiness.
It took less than 5 minutes for him to reach the outskirts, where most of the upper-end houses were. A few minutes later, he was out of town and on an old country road that led up the mountain. It was long and winded, with a killer gradient but he had run this route before and he'll keep doing it, so he merely smiled.
Line Break
Despite his new personal record, it had still gotten dark by the time he arrived at his destination. Seeing the imposing tall walls in the distance, he slowed down his run into a light jog. The lights of the main gate and those on the walls helped guide him into this place, located in the middle of nowhere far away from anything else. Outside, two people stood wearing martial arts gi with bo staffs held at the ready. Seeing him, the dutiful sentries went to attention with Midoriya slowing down as he approached. When he was 10m away, he came to a stop, huffing as he wiped the sweat from his breath.
Despite it being night, the light of the gate and walls illuminated the place more than enough for them to see his face and relax. "You're a bit early." One of them, a man in his late 30s noted as he looked at his watch.
Knowing that it was safe to approach, he did so with a small smile on his face. "I wanted to see if I couldn't beat my time."
He handed his bag to the second sentry, a woman in her late 20s with dyed blonde and red hair. As she looked through his bag for any contraband, she snorted his way. “Eager for training then?”
“Of course, I am, today’s the day the master evaluates my progress.” He handed a card to the man, his I.D. as while they knew him, the two were strict when it came to protocol. The man checked went into their little guard house to check his I.D. authenticity.
Once he confirmed that it was legit, he handed it back to Midoriya with a snort. “Oh yes, wouldn’t want to be late for that. but don’t you think you might have screwed yourself over by rushing here and wasting energy?”
Maybe, but Midoriya had been training for years, he had come so far that he didn’t think that his trip to the sanctuary would tire him to such an extent. “Believe me, I still have some in the tank. Besides, if that run could jeopardize my odds, then I wouldn’t be deserving of the promotion.”
“If you say, good luck them. You’re going to need it.” The woman told him as they stepped aside and allowed him to pass. Walking up to the massive doors, he placed his hands on each of them before pushing them open, revealing the interior that they and the imposing walls hid from the world. Inside, he saw a sprawling and massive property, easily the size of a small town with all the facilities one would need as he could see parks, dorms even if separated by gender for the most part, bathhouses for each, mess halls, a nursery for the young and a school house for the older kids in the community who through one reason or another, didn’t attend school somewhere else.
Recreational spaces were plenty for several sports or just simply outdoor fun and the farm areas that lined the main path. As it was night out, there was little activity to be found on them but he had seen them enough in the day to know that could normally be filled with people and farm animals.
As he walked through and reached the buildings that acted as dorms for men and women, he spotted smaller parks and gardens, each with small ponds which he knew were teeming with exotic fish of all shapes and sizes but he could tell most lights in the dorms were out, not hard to see why as he could tell further away, up on the hill, the hot springs seemed to be having no issues with people. Another place people were at this hour was the mess halls, either having their dinner or just hanging out with the rest of the community they’re built for themselves within these walls, so far from the judgement and apathy of society.
All of this paled in comparison to what sat at the centre of it all, the beating heart of their sanctuary.
The Dojo.
Looking at it, he felt that just calling that was a gross oversimplification. The picture that came to mind when someone said 'dojo' was a small building, where martial arts were taught, often either out in the boonies or smacked between two modern buildings as if a relic of now past time. But the building he looked up at was anything but. Standing 4 stories tall and sitting on a piece of land the size of 2 thirds of a soccer field, it looked closer to a school than a dojo. Built from wood and painted yellows, red and white, it stuck out among the browns and greens of the gardens that surrounded it.
From where he stood, he could already hear the sounds of training, of feet stamping on the hard wooden floor, of movement as people were thrown or wrestled to the mat, as others went through practice drills to the beat of a drum or the single worded command of a supervisor. It would be intimidating for a first-time visitor but for him.
He wouldn’t wait to enter.
Passing by others on their way out, they greeted him warmly which he returned. It didn’t take him long to get to the men’s changing room and get himself ready.
Line Break
Stepping into the main training floor, Midoriya had changed out of his street clothes and into his real training gear, not his exercise clothing. This consisted of a worn short-sleeved green karate gi with a brown belt tied around his waist, designating his proficiency to others. In addition, he also wore bandages around his forearms and knuckles with padded gloves to further protect the back of his hands and knuckles when blocking or striking. He had removed his scarf, letting his full face be seen as he walked through the hall towards the other end. Along the way were dozens of people, dressed in a similar style as they through their kata, shouts from supervisors louder than ever, all spoken in unison but different groups did different things.
Looking up at the ceiling, along the beams that crisscrossed it, he could make the near-glowing eyes of dozens of cats that watched them from above, their gaze seemingly implying that they saw more than you thought and that they knew more than they should. Even with the lights illuminating the place, it was like those feline eyes created false stars for anyone who looked their way.
Seeing so many felines wasn't cause for any attention, however, as the dojo space was filled with cat iconography. From statues of cats along the walls to the walls themselves being painted with dozens of carts of all shapes and sizes, from real to fictional, it was clear that this space was inspired by felines. Approaching the end, he finds the person he is looking for. Lounging on a throne-like is overseeing the entire hall, with two massive Siberian tigers lying on either side of her.
The person in question was a tall, muscular woman with amber eyes that while might have been passive in the moment, he knew that they could become infernos at the drop of a hat. A sight that would be all the more intimidating by her careful application of black eyeliner which made her eyes stand out all the more. Her thick orange and white hair was kept in a waist-length ponytail, with what appeared to be orange and white cat ears pocking out the top of her head. With how much hair she had, some of her ponytail was resting on the armrest of her throne.
Her attire on the other hand was quite different to what one would expect from a woman who gave out so much authority and power from just being in the room as it was made up of a revealing red and white knee-length qipao, her midriff exposed to emphasis her chiseled abs which she liked to joke could be used to grate cheese. Woven into her qipao was a golden tiger pattern with black trim, with the entire thing held together by 4 small metal fasteners. Thankfully, she didn't just wear that as she knew her modifications left a lot out in the open, so her bottom half was covered by a loose black silk pair of pants and red sandals. Over this, she wore a white and orange haori with a torn right sleeve, on its back was her crest and the motto written in Japanese which translates to 'Excellence through never-ending diligence'
Her fusion of Chinese and Japanese fashion looked good, but he was just glad she had some pants on else he and everyone else would be seeing what color underwear she was wearing with how she was sitting.
Upon approaching her, he brought his hands up, with his right clenched into a fist and left an open palm, pressing them together, he bowed before he. “Evening, Kenmikoto-sensei. I am ready for my evaluation.”
Looking at him, Teitora Kenmikoto’s amber eyes twinkled with amusement as she took a puff of her pipe. “Evening to you as well, my ever-studious student. Couldn’t wait the 20 minutes for the evaluation to get going, couldn’t you?” He chuckled as his face turned a little red for being called out by her. However, while he would normally feel irritation if not pure anger at this jab, he felt only amused affection from her with a bashful smile stretching itself over his face.
“I’m afraid not master, Kenmikoto-sensei. But the early bird gets the worm.” Still bowing, he waited for her to allow him to stand straight which she did by tapping her pipe on her armrest.
"And it fools that rush in and gets nothing," Kenmikoto told her, her eyes conveying a deep wisdom that only years of experience could ever truly bring. “Remember to temper her eagerness, my boy. Even the greatest lion knows when to wait and listen.”
“Yes, Kenmikoto-sensei.” He bowed once more to her as she got up, stretching her arms over her head which made her abs and… above-average bust stick out all the more as he looked away, still red in the face.
“Still, since you’re already here. We might as well start it. I was getting a bit bored. Come.” She instructed him as she stepped down from her throne and walked towards a door to the side, her two tigers following behind her with Midoriya behind them. Leaving the dojo hall, they walked through the outdoor paths that lined the building, with the night sky bright and clear to them thanks to their distance from the light population of the city.
Line Break
"I assume that you had a hard day, Izuku?" She suddenly spoke up, her back to him as she took a drag at her pipe.
"How did-forget it. I can't keep anything from you, can I?" Midoriya only shook his head, smiling as he gotten used to her just doing stuff like that with him and others. She was able to read the room and people as if they were books and she was the only one that was truly literate. In a way, it could make talking to her unnerving as she always knew more than you wished, but it also helped ease things if you got past that as he had. After all, it was easy to speak with someone about a bad experience when that person could understand perfectly how it affected you.
She turned to face him, her pace casual but purposely, not a single wasted motion. “You’re an honest soul, deceit doesn’t come easy to you.” She smiled at him, her praise making him blush. "But no, you and anyone else would be hard-pressed to keep secrets from me, especially when I can feel the tension coming off you." As she most likely already figured it out, he spoke up.
“It was…more of the same. Nothing to write home about.” She hummed, a slight frown to her as she looked out towards the rest compound, to the farm area which grew trees by the hundreds, some having already been cut down and organized into neat piles of logs.
"It being normal doesn't make a bad day any less bad. It makes it worse. Have you been practicing your breathing exercises?" He had confided in her about his treatment at school, and society at large once. After a particularly bad day when he came to train, she had sat him down and after some encouragement and assurance that he was safe, he broke down and cried about it. It pained her heart to see one of her students, one of her people in such pain but for as much as she wished to visit these vile people, she held back.
Instead, she offered him a place there as he was already a student, and already had connections among them. He could easily find a family willing to take him in, and he could transfer to their school but he refused. He wished to prove a point, to make it clear that they couldn't break him down or stop him. She felt it foolish to remain in a dangerous situation and made him promise that if another incident occurred, then she'd pull him out.
With the compromise, she taught him ways to keep himself in check, control his emotions and remain collected and calm as she taught him that bullies always pick their marks and harass them because it makes them feel bigger than they are, and part of that is seeing your reaction, much like how a child might act out if it means drawing your attention. Deny them a reaction, and you deny them their satisfaction and leave them with frustration instead.
"I have, it helps keep me grounded." He recalled just the one incident where he let himself blow up, but as he promised, he wouldn’t talk about his meeting with the hero with others. If Kenmikoto caught that he was holding back something, she didn’t make anything of it.
“That is good. Remember sinking to their level makes him no better than a dog biting another dog.” She reached a hand to one of her tigers, which moved like a housecat to place its head under her palm as she patted them. "Frankly, how that school of yours tolerates that Katsuki brat is beyond me, but the desire for fame can blind even the wisest of men." It didn't take a genius to guess why they allowed that egotistical menace of a child to run rampant and she hated it. She had been around a long time, a VERY long time and seen how society twisted itself backwards to change for quirks. One of the worst was how they valued heroes like status symbols, and how by proxy, a school tries to tie themselves to promising future heroes for the fame that it would bring.
Even if that meant actively shielding that promising student from any punishment their actions might bring to keep their records clean enough to pass most hero schools stringent entry requirements.
“I doubt my teachers would fall into that camp, Kenmikoto-sensei.” She laughed at that little jab from the boy. He was an honest one, yes-but that didn’t mean he wasn’t blunt when it came to his observations.
“You're right, my boy. But let's not give them any more time than they deserve.” Coming to their destination out back, they found themselves in an outdoor training patch, one that was lit not by electrical lighting like the dojo, but by dozens of charcoals burning torches stuck into the ground. In the centre of the space was a small patch of water, its waters reflecting the light from the touches and appearing to almost shine like liquid gold. Despite being the size of a tennis court, it was shallow, too shallow for anything larger than a goldfish which meant there was nothing in it.
Approaching the water, she didn't stop even as the tigers did, taking a seat at its edge. Reaching the water, she took another step, and another, and another. Each one didn't result in her feet sinking into the water, other than the surface rippling as she moved, she remained dry as she walked on it towards the centre of it. Only then did she turn to him, her gaze one of strength. "Come, Midoriya Izuku. The evaluation begins now." He knew what she was expecting, those eyes didn't lie. The first part of it was to see if he could follow her and if he could perform even while maintaining the same form she was, if he couldn't, he just knew she would fail him on the spot.
However, even with the nervous sweat forming on his brow at how daunting that sounded; he didn’t back down. “At once, Kenmikoto-sensei.”
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And we are done with the first two chapters of More than You Think, I don't want this note to be too long so I'll just explain the basics. Yes, the first part of chapter 1 was from young Izuku's POV, it wasn't him remembering it later on. However, even as a child he knew someone was off, and that it was connected to him being quirkless, he just didn't want to accept that(what kid would).
We also get more concrete hints at how people view the quirkless in the story as in the show, their treatment is never really…well, shown. Sure, Izuku is bullied but that's more for his desire to be a hero when he doesn't have a quirk. I can imagine that if he was aiming for U.A. but perhaps one of its other courses, he wouldn't have gotten nearly as much shit other them people calling him crazy for aiming so high.
When it came to characterization, he took some hints from Rock Lee as they're remarkably similar characters, with the exception being one was trained and gained power, while the other earned it. So I removed the 'earned power' part and ran with it, it's also why he took such offence to learning that All Might has lost that passion and told him to give up when his whole thing is bringing hope. He feels like All Might was invalidating all his hard work. Rock Lee and his moments will also factor into other moments, but I'm not just going to copy-paste so they'll be different as Rock Lee was just the base inspiration.
Lastly, when it comes to both the sanctuary where Izuku trains, and the whole ‘she walks on water thing’, that’ll be explained as the story goes as one big exposition dump just made me cringe thinking about it.
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Special thanks to Proud Provisional License Holder patron(S):
Anik Niles
And thanks to Hero student level patron(s):
Uknown Grimoire
Sit Lord
Austin McConnell
Hiquake
