Chapter Text
A heavy sigh escaped him unconsciously as Izuku made his way through the rooftops of the city, resting his hand on top of his head to prevent the hood of his sweater from slipping off as he climbed the tall buildings and jumped over streets of Mutsufu.
Probably shouldn’t have stayed up so late watching all the videos of the sports festival, Izuku grumbled to himself, sighing once again, I could already tell I’m in a bad mood, and I’m going to be meeting Hitoshi today.
His tired expression soured as he thought about another peculiar event yesterday— the hospitalization of the pro hero Ingenium, and the Hero Killer Stain. Although the details were withheld from the public, due to his connections, Izuku was able to find out his condition: that he was likely paralyzed from the waist down, leaving no possibility of doing hero work ever again. It pained Izuku knowing that Iida’s greatest idol and dearest family member was left in such a state. Knowing Iida, he must be frustrated, no doubt. For one of his dearest loved one to be left in such a state…
If Izuku was free to do as he pleased, as self-centered as it was, he would have asked Phoenix to heal him— at least enough for him to be able to walk again. But he knew they’d refuse— no doubt the reason why they were avoiding him currently. The immortal did not heal out of benevolence, but rather out of obligation. They did not seek to help those in need, but stepped in as a duty to help those in front of him. All Might, as it turns out, was a rather lucky exception, and was healed due to Phoenix’s long alliance with One for All. Then why did Phoenix help Izuku in the first place?
Though it frustrated Izuku quite a bit, in the end, there was nothing Izuku could do to stop them. After all, it was foolish of him to think that his own morals applied to such a timeless individual. Though they were forever his savior, his beloved teacher, and embarrassingly enough, a father figure, Izuku wasn’t sure how to feel about the fact the reason why Phoenix helped him countless times was purely because his six year old self was able to charm the immortal enough to him stay for a bit longer after their first coincidental encounter.
What would have happened if… no. The point is, Phoenix accepted death and pain as a part of living, and will not actively intervene unless they are directly confronted with it— meaning that any future requests for healing were impossible.
For now, Izuku should do what he can do— and bring the one responsible to justice. Izuku briefly looked up the Hero Killer, and to his surprise, he was reknown to have already killed many heroes, with 17 confirmed killed, and leaving 23, not including Ingenium, crippled to the point they could never go back to their careers of fighting crime— yet he still hasn’t been caught. Though he really did not want to keep making detours from the League of Villains, Izuku believed it was necessary, since people’s incompetence was taking lives.
I should give Detective Tsukauchi a call to see if he’ll let me access their systems again.
Izuku sighed tiredly as he leaped off the rooftop and landed on a nearby building. But he soon paused his momentum as he saw what seemed like a group of young adults on the opposite building’s terrace.
Making his presence sparse, he watched in silence as the group of four talked amongst each other, while a meek-looking male stood timidly in front of them. They didn’t look much older than Izuku himself, perhaps second or third years in high school.
Izuku hopped onto the same building, landing softly on the roof of the stairway, keeping his eyes locked onto the group who stood near the balcony. They began to laugh, shoving the meeker teen and causing him to crash into the metal railings. Izuku’s brows twitched at the sight. To think there would be a scene like this at their age, at this time on this day.
Do these kids not have school? … They probably ditched, didn’t they?
Sighing, Izuku rose from his position on the roof, tucking his hands into his sweater pocket as he leaped down to the ground with a soft thump. “Oi, don’t you have anything better to do?”
The group of four males spun around in surprise, eyes widening at Izuku who stood there with an unimpressed expression. Their shock turned to confusion, then smug amusement.
“A kid?” One of the boys smirked, “What are you doing here?”
“I’d like to ask you the same question,” Izuku replied evenly, watching the group with unwavering eyes, his gaze analyzing them carefully.
The one who just spoke was a long haired blonde, who was quite lanky and tall. Another had short, brown hair, and was quite muscular, but lean, while the third had short spiky black hair and a more bulkier physique. The last, who was the one that had shoved the meeker teen, had short, dirty blonde hair, and similarly to the second teen had a muscular, yet lean build.
All four were tall and towered over Izuku, and all shared a nasty, smug grin. Behind the four teens, stood the timid male with shaggy brown hair, who despite his larger and bulkier build, looked small and vulnerable, with his body curled in on itself, his head down and looking towards the floor, and his hands clutching the railing tightly.
“Oh~ that’s some attitude you got there kid,” the dirty blonde said, a wide smug smile across his face as he wrapped an arm around the timid boy’s shoulders. Izuku did not miss the way the boy flinched at the contact, and how he curled into himself to make himself even smaller. “Don’t worry, we’re just having a friendly conversation here… “ The boy’s smile grew more twisted as his hand painfully gripped the boy’s hair within his fists. “Isn’t that right, Tsuka-Chan?”
“Y-Yea…”
Izuku huffed in unamusement, his brows knitting together.
Are they being serious right now?
Izuku growled, his hand pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. “I really, really don't have the patience right now to deal with you guys, so could you guys just leave, already?”
“Oi oi oi,” the spiky blacked haired teen growled, stepping forward, “You really gotta watch your mouth, little shit. We just gave you the opportunity to leave quietly, but now that you’ve opened your trap…” Taking advantage of the height difference, the teen’s elbow mockingly rested on Izuku’s head, his face leaning down to snarl into his face. “We should teach you a lesson, don’t you think?”
Izuku wanted to roll his eyes, but he restrained himself and only let out a tired sigh as the older male practically breathed down on him.
“Please,” the meek teen in the back spoke up, his voice unbelievably soft and quiet, “Please, he has nothing to do with this, I—“
The dirty blonde teen gripped the teen’s hair, yanking it harshly and causing him to grunt in agony, his hands grasping the other’s fist in protest.
“Did I hear that right? Did you just tell me what to do?” The dirty blonde haired teen grabbed the other’s shirt, pushing the boy backwards against the railing. “You wanna try repeating that, Tsuka-chan? ”
The boy winced, trembling as the boy kept pushing him backwards until his back was arching over the railing unsteadily.
“You know~” the blonde said with a disgusting smile, “What happens if I let go right now~?”
Izuku could feel his irritation grow to cold anger as he watched. Bullying was one thing, and threatening with something that can result in death was another.
“If I were you, I’d stop right there and scram,” Izuku hissed, his sharp eyes firmly set on the teen wobbling dangerously over the edge.
“What is this? This kid is still trying to act like a hero, is that it?” The dirty blonde disgusting smile widened as he pushed him even more harshly backwards, causing Izuku to tense. If he let go, even by accident, then—
“Well what are you waiting for, hah? Come save this punk, you shit—“
In an instant, Izuku was upon them, securing the trembling teen in his arms and kicking the other teen away with a direct hit to the stomach. Izuku didn’t even bother drawing his small hidden blade that he always carried on him— it was a waste to use on these fools.
“The fuck—“
“Shit the kid’s fucking fast—!”
The dirty blond flew oppositely from them, his body tumbling away as his body landed on the ground. The teen grasped his stomach, retching until he eventually threw up on the concrete behind him.
“Wha—“ The meek teen stumbled in surprise as Izuku let him back down on the ground within the safety of the railing.
The other teens immediately tensed, with the black and browned haired teens activating their quirks, which was a simple bulk up quirk and an elongated claw quirk. Izuku stepped forward, shielding the meek teen from the others. The brown haired male with the claws moved first, roaring as his outstretched claws aimed at his face.
Now illegal quirk usage, huh?
“Listen well.” Izuku grabbed the outstretched claw midair, his iron grip tightening around his arm until the boy screamed wildly in pain. His emerald eyes, now a toxic, acid green, was dark and commanding. “Stop fooling around like the idiots you are, and scram.”
The teens all froze in place in alarm, though they looked like they still wanted to fight save for the brown haired one that looked like he was about to cry as he thrashed in Izuku’s grip.
“Holy fuck,” the long haired blonde suddenly whispered, his eyes widening in fear while a trembling finger pointed at his curly green hair, now exposed due to the hood slipping off of his head. “Holy fuck, he’s—“
“What… what is it, shithead?!” the agitated dirty blonde shouted, his arm protectively covering his abdomen.
“He’s… he’s that kid from the Sports Festival.”
The boys all froze again, though any signs of aggression immediately died and were replaced by confusion, then realization, then fear.
“You’re… you’re the guy who placed first in both the qualifiers,” the long haired blonde said in disbelief, “You’re the guy that went toe to toe with Endeavor’s son—!”
“Ha…” the black haired male said, his previously smug smile now nervously trembling, “That shouldn’t matter though, right? I mean, he just used a bunch of support items, so it shouldn’t—“
Izuku’s cold expression did not change, his unwavering dark gaze staring down at them as if they were mere insects. “Did I stutter? I said to scram, you damn fools.”
The boys flinched, taking several steps back instinctively while the dirty blond on the ground scrambled backwards into his own puke. Izuku released the claw quirked teen, and he too scurried backwards, cradling his throbbing forearm as he tripped over his own feet. The four teens, all pale in face, bolted towards the door, leaving Izuku alone with the meek teen behind him.
Izuku sighed, groaning as he rubbed his face.
I feel like my fatigue just got doubled, thanks to those idiots.
As Izuku grumbled to himself, wishing he was back in the comfort of his bed, the teen behind him looked at him with shock.
“I— !” The teen fidgeted nervously, then bowed deeply. “Thanks for saving me. You really didn’t have to.”
Izuku stared at the bowing teen, then sighed again. “You don’t need to bow. You’re my senior, aren’t you? Besides, it really couldn’t just leave you there.”
The older teen winced, awkwardly raising his head.
‘Most people would’ went unspoken to the both of them.
Izuku’s expression softened, gently placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. “Don’t look so upset. Stand tall. You don’t have to be picked on by those idiots.”
The teen straightened up fully, and Izuku internally grimaced at the height difference. Ah, but the blow to his pride was irreverent right now. There were more important matters at hand than him struggling to get over his lack of height.
“Thank you again,” the teen mumbled nervously, doing an awkward half-bow, likely remembering what Izuku said before about bowing. “You’re Midoriya Izuku, right? The first year that went undefeated in the qualifiers. … You’re smaller than I thought.”
Just as I was about to ignore that…
Izuku wanted to die of embarrassment. “.. Yeah…”
You’re just freakishly tall, alright?! I’m not that short!!
“Ah, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything!” The older teen said quickly, his expression brightening, “I thought you were really cool! Seeing you in person was even cooler! You moved so quickly my eyes needed a second to catch up!”
His smile grew playful. “You really kicked their asses… God that was so satisfying to see— Fuyashiki freakin’ threw up in one hit! And at the end where you were like ‘scram !’ They all looked like they shat in their pants! He even fell into his own puke, for god sake! I hope his clothes will stink like hell… ”
Izuku smiled as he saw the older teen chuckle to himself, his expression bright and mischievous. It was a much better look for him, he decided, than being the one hunched over, trembling at the mercy of others.
“Ah,” Izuku realized, quickly whipping out his phone and checking the time, “Sorry, but I gotta go.”
I wanted to get there early, but it looks like I don’t have the time to do that. If I take the shortcut, I could get there five minutes faster…
“Ah, I’m sorry, I must have been holding you up!” The teen shyly pulled out his own phone. “But before that, could I— if isn’t too much trouble— could I get a picture with you please? I’d ask for an autograph as well, but I don’t have anything to write with…”
Ah. Is this what it feels like to be in the spotlight?
After taking the promised photos, Izuku sighed quietly to himself, combing through his hair tiredly.
Is this how heroes feel like all the time? Actually, a lot of people really like this stuff, but I can see why Aizawa-Sensei wanted to be an underground hero…
Izuku turned around to see the older teen silently squealing, hugging his phone tightly. Izuku huffed softly in amusement.
Still, he does look quite happy. Guess it wouldn’t hurt, then.
“What did you say your name was again?” Izuku asked the bubbly teen, who spun around in surprise.
“Ah,” the teen said shyly while fidgeting with his clothes, which was awfully amusing to see seeing that it was him that towered over Izuku. “It’s Hagumi. Hagumi Tsuka.”
“Hagumi…” Izuku smiled at him. “Well, Hagumi-san, I better get going. Stay strong alright? I know what it feels like to be the target of idiots like them, so believe me when I say things will get better.”
Hagumi looked at him with shock. “ … Midoriya-san… was bullied before… ? But how?! You're so amazing! How could… ”
“Let’s just say that being Quirkless is not easy for anyone,” Izuku replied with a wry smile.
Hagumi’ s expression turned from shock to sour realization, his head lowering. “Ah… Quirkless…”
“Don’t look so down, Hagumi-san. I’ve made it this far, haven’t I?” Izuku climbed onto the railing, balancing on top of the metal beam. “So hold your head up high. Decide your own worth.”
As Izuku leaped off the ledge and landed onto the next building, he could hear Hagumi’s calls.
“I— I’ll forever be your biggest fan, Midoriya-san!!”
Izuku huffed in amusement, giving the older teen a wave before taking off. As Izuku continued running across the tops of the buildings, the other’s words lingered.
Biggest fan, huh? I’m not even a real hero yet…
“Bakugou-shounen. I understand that you are upset, but please take it. Do you think that rejecting the medal will make this any better? How do you think the rest of the students, who fought to their best of their abilities, feel when the winner says that they don’t acknowledge the win? It’ll be the same as not acknowledging their efforts. You said so yourself, didn’t you? They all tried their best to win. For the sake of them, please take the medal, Bakugou-shounen— and someday, you can really show the world that you won indisputably.”
Katsuki’s brows pinched as he examined the gold medal, his coarse fingers running over its engravings. The streak of sunlight from his window made it gleam beautifully, but its extravagance only left a bitter taste in his mouth. Huffing, he tossed the medal aside in the corner of his dark room.
What a joke.
He sighed as he collapsed backwards on his bed again, placing his still slightly throbbing arm over his closed eyes.
Do I really deserve to call myself a he—
“Oi! Brat!”
Katsuki sat up quickly as Mitsuki loudly barged through the door, hand holding a plate of sliced apples.
“Why are you still in bed?! It’s almost ten, you brat! Don’t act like a sad mole and turn on the fucking lights!”
“Quit your nagging old hag,” Katuski grumbled, sitting up properly and flinching a bit when the light turned on and blinded his eyes.
Mitsuki glanced at the medal on the corner of the floor, but didn’t say anything as she handed him a plate of apples. “Here, brat. Since you didn’t come down for breakfast, you should eat at least something before lunch.”
When Katsuki wordlessly took the plate, Mitsuki huffed and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. When Bakugou was sure she left, he bit into an apple slice, a small, fond grin forming as he chewed.
“I better not see you moping, Katsuki!!” Mitsuki’s voice sounded suddenly from downstairs.
Katsuki choked on his apple slice, and pounded his chest as it painfully went down his throat.
“All right, all right!” He shouted back, an annoyed tick mark appearing on his face. “Quit nagging, you hag!”
“Hitoshi!”
Hitoshi turned around, his face brightening as he saw Izuku leap down from… a brick wall… ?
“Izuku! What were you doing up there?”
“Oh, it’s just a regular thing for me,” Izuku replied, “It’s faster than taking the roads, and it’s extra training for me.”
“So you’re basically saying… that you travel by rooftop?”
Izuku nodded sheepishly.
“Honestly, I can’t even be surprised anymore,” Hitoshi said in defeat, “Next thing you know, you're going to tell me that you actually have a secret identity on the side, and plan to uproot the current justice system with pure tenacity and willpower.”
“I will neither deny nor confirm that accusation,” Izuku responded evenly with a smug smile.
Hitoshi merely sighed in defeat. He glanced at Izuku, who still had a sly smile on his stupidly handsome face. Now that he took a closer look… Izuku did look a bit different today. Maybe it was the effect of being out of uniform? As simple as he was dressed, Izuku did look great in just about everything. Especially in slightly oversized sweaters, Hitoshi decided.
“Did you wait long?” Izuku asked him, “I had to make a detour on the way, so I couldn’t come as early as I wanted to.”
“No!” Hitoshi said quickly, waving his hands in front of him. Hopefully he didn’t notice that Hitoshi was staring. “I just got here. I did some stretches while I was at it.”
“Good, good.”
I definitely can’t tell him that I came out here twenty minutes early just to arrive before him, Hitoshi thought to himself nervously.
“I did take your advice and jogged here,” Hitoshi mentioned, “It was honestly easier than I thought, though I’m not excited to do it again.”
“Well, prepare yourself if you’re going to continue. After the break ends, you’re going to be running under the afternoon sun, and not in the morning like this.”
Hitoshi grimaced. “Yup, not excited at all.”
“Now, now, Hitoshi,” Izuku said, patting his back, “Don’t go giving up on me yet. C’mon, I’ll show you where I train.”
Hitoshi, admittedly excited, followed Izuku down the concrete stairs and to the sandy beach, which was quite surprising for a training ground. He expected it to be near the beach, and not on the beach itself, which he thought would be difficult to find footing on sand.
They walked along the cliff side to where the water met the sand, and to his surprise, Izuku guided him behind the rocks where a small section of the beach was completely isolated, with rocks creating a cozy border around the wide area. It was about the size of a medium-sized backyard, so they could probably run to each end of the area comfortably.
“It’s a fairly secretive place,” Izuku said to him, “You can only see the path when the tide is low, and the cliff side above us isn’t accessible because of gated areas, so I’ve basically had this place to myself.” He motioned to the ground, patting the ground with his feet. “Since the tide regularly comes in, it’s really clean, and the ground is fairly solid because of the moisture, but it still cushions you if you fall or anything. Even in the afternoon, there’s quite a bit of shade, and the breeze is nice when you’re exercising too— though it gets chilly during winter.”
“It’s like the perfect secret hideout,” Hitoshi observed, and Izuku chuckled at his words.
“You already stretched and warmed up, right?” Izuku asked him as he stretched his arms.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Well, since those are really important to do properly, I’ll check how you do it later, but for now,” Izuku cracked his neck as he rotated it, his eyes turning serious. “Try attacking me, just like our round in the Sports Festival.”
“Right now?”
“Right now.”
Exhaling deeply, Hitoshi tried getting into a fighting stance, eying Izuku cautiously. Taking a deep breath, Hitoshi dashed forward, aiming a right hook at the boy’s head. Last time, he’d been so focused on a linear path to his opponent with no attention to his surroundings with predictable attacks, that he was all too easy to read. This time, it’ll be different, he decided. It had to be.
As Izuku dodged the attack, Hitoshi immediately tried to follow up with a low-aimed roundhouse kick, but Izuku quickly dodged that one as well.
He’s behind me — !
Landing a bit clumsily, Hitoshi spun around, throwing a series of punches at the male, who swiftly dodged each one of them. As Hitoshi tried going for a higher kick, Izuku’s body lowered in an instant, his legs outstretched and sweeping him off the ground. Despite his best attempts to get back on his feet while not panicking, his body wouldn’t keep up with his thoughts. Just as he was about to fall right on his butt, Izuku caught his arm, gently uprighting him once more.
“That’s enough,” Izuku said, smiling. “That was great! I can already see that you improved.”
“You practically toyed with me the whole time again,” Hitoshi grumbled, trying to hide his flustered face as Izuku let go of his arm.
“Don’t feel upset,” Izuku said to him with a pleading smile, “ I promise I was just trying to measure the level you were at.”
“I’m not doubting you.”
“Thank you,” Izuku replied in relief, his face turning serious once more, “As for my observations, you really learned a thing or two from our battle yesterday, huh? You’re paying attention to how I’m moving. Your environment. You’re adding some kicks now, which you didn’t before, and you’re focused and rational. It’s crazy how much you’ve changed after experiencing just one battle.”
“I was just really, really bad before. I’m not a genius or anything.”
“I dunno, Hitoshi, we’ll see,” Izuku chuckled. “If we did mock battles like this everyday, then think about how much we can improve.”
“Mm… ”
“Well, I’m going to point out improvements you can make now,” Izuku began. “First of all, your balance is quite off. Everytime you’re kicking and punching and you return, you can tell you’re wobbly, can’t you? Second, show me your fist real quick?”
Hitoshi did so promptly, and Izuku reached and corrected it for him.
“When you’re making a fist to punch, make sure your thumb is firmly placed over your four fingers, and not off to the side, or it’ll make it weaker. Punch my palm real quick?”
Hitoshi did as he was instructed, aiming a blow to the open palm Izuku held at his chest level.
“When you punch, you’re pushing your fist outwards, when you should be twisting. Look.”
Hitoshi carefully observed as Izuku demonstrated, slowly extending his fist as his arm twisted inwards.
“Though there’s many different types of punches, this is the basic. It gives out a lot more power and makes use of the energy you put into it. Even better yet, use your core. The same can be applied to kicks as well. When you’re kicking, just like that roundhouse kick you did earlier, you twist your hips as you move. Use your entire body to carry more power. Like that, you’re able to control your balance as well. The goal should be to have complete control over your body so that if you’re able to act the second your mind reacts. Better yet, even without the mind, where it’s purely instinctual.”
Izuku got into a fighting stance, where his body was lowered to the ground, yet still light against its surface. Without a second beat, Izuku performed the same roundhouse kick that Hitoshi had done, yet the difference of power and speed was astronomical.
There was an obvious difference in form and technique, and Hitoshi could already tell by the way he moved that everything was carefully controlled, yet so natural and fluid. It was as if wind had been generated by the power that was behind it. Hitoshi wouldn’t be surprised if bone broke being hit by that much force.
Izuku then repeated the motion, slowly this time, just like the punching demonstration. Hitoshi watched carefully, now noticing how Izuku’s body moved together— his arms rotating at the same time as the foot planted on the ground pivoted, twisting at the hips while the leg came up to kick, then ending it with a clean finish as the body reversed, with arms rotating, hips twisting back, and feet straightening again.
“It looks like a lot of unnessaccary movement, but with practice, it all becomes just one natural movement, while the power increases with the speed,” Izuku explained. “So just like how you learn every martial art or fighting style, you’ll be doing plenty of repetitions for all kinds of things. Do the roundhouse kick again, this time with the things I’ve mentioned. I’ll do it with you.”
Taking a deep breath, Hitoshi obeyed.
“You improve so fast, Hitoshi,” Izuku said to him, grinning, “Your balance already got a lot better.”
“Please, Izuku…” Hitoshi groaned, his entire body overflowing with sweat as his entire body throbbed in protest, “I’m dying. No more repetitions. Please .”
“Lucky for you, today’s training session is complete,” Izuku responded with amusement. “Congrats.”
“YES!”
“We’ll be doing the same tomorrow. Sparring, repetitions, then another spar to finish it up.”
“Nooo!”
“Except now, we’ll be adding conditioning and stretches before and after the sparring. That’ll be our schedule everyday.”
“Noooo…”
“On weekends though, instead of full repetition, we’ll dedicate most of the time to sparring.”
“...”
Izuku watched as Hitoshi huddled in the corner, mumbling about how “I’m doing this to get stronger” and “I came this far, I can’t give up yet”.
Izuku just chuckled. He’s quite honestly surprised that Hitoshi made it so far on his current pace. For the first week or so, he should probably tone it down a bit, just so he could get used to it. It wouldn’t help to damage his body for sudden overwhelming training.
“I’m going to be super sore tomorrow, I already know,” Hitoshi groaned, rotating his neck and stretching his arms and legs.
“Oh yeah, Hitoshi, don’t you have to jog back home?”
“... NOOO!!”
“I’m home!”
“Izuku!” Inko piped up eagerly, “How was training with that other kid?”
“He’s very determined, that’s for sure,” Izuku said with a proud, fond smile, “He did his best to keep up with me, even if he was physically dying.”
“Oh Izuku,” Inko said with a sigh, “Go easy on that poor kid. Not everyone is a monster like you.”
“Haha, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Izuku chuckled, heading to his room for fresh clothes so that he could go shower.
Hopefully, he keeps it up… Once he gets proper combat experience, paired with his frankly overpowered quirk, I’m sure he’ll be an excellent pro hero no doubt. If he goes underground, his efficiency would probably be terrifying.
Izuku chuckled at the thought.
Which reminds me… we could do some quirk training as well, couldn’t we? How very exciting… Ah, but before I forget…
Izuku dialed one of his contacts, humming idly as he rummaged through his closet.
“... Hello?”
“Hello, Detective,” Izuku responded.
“Izuku! It’s been awhile. What’s the occasion?”
“I’ve decided to check up on Hero Killer Stain’s case,” Izuku answered.
He heard the man on the other end sigh. “ Ah. Well some of my colleagues have been assigned to his case, but it’s clear that with the recent victim, it’s not going too well. I heard that they could only react after he strikes, unfortunately.”
Izuku hummed, and the man sighed again. “ Alright, alright. I’ll let you look at the case. The procedures will be the same as last time, so you can only look at them under supervision. Does this satisfy you? ”
“Very. Thank you, Tsukauchi-san.”
“ The fact that a young teenager has to step in to cover our incompetent backs makes me question our authenticity.”
“You said last time as well,” Izuku chuckled, “Don’t worry, you have competent people, it’s just that they can’t be everywhere at once when they’re so in demand. You guys are severely understaffed, so even if they’re not the best, you need all the help you can get.”
“ Exactly. People nowadays all want to be heroes and fight the bad guys, not some backwater detective who works all day behind the scenes. That’s why I kept telling you that you should join us instead of those attention seeking fools. They’ve got too many hands free that it’s a problem. ”
Which was true. With how many heroes they were currently, many had to fight over the rights over a villain case. Yet crime still persists. Like the Hero Killer’s case, not enough were actually giving the support necessary for preventing recurring incidents.
“True, but I already told you that I’ll do both in the future. A hero license also gives me authorization for cases and case files and that’s all I need.”
“ I know, I know. But just imagine it! Detective Midoriya Izuku. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? ”
“That sounds very tempting, but you know I’m going to say no.”
“ Fine, fine. Leave this old man and go chase your dreams, whatever.”
“Tsukauchi-san, could we please take this seriously?”
“ Alright, alright— But Izuku— you're still a kid, remember? Even if we’re understaffed, I hate to rely on you like this. Kids should do whatever kids should do, not...”
Izuku’s smile irked a bit. “I can’t just sit by idly. You know this, Tsukauchi-san.”
The man sighed once more, and Izuku couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for the tired man, who was likely rubbing his temple at the moment.
“ Just… take it easy, alright? I’m not saying to stop whatever you’re doing, but take some breaks and relax for a bit while you still can.”
Izuku huffed back. “Alright, I get it.”
“ Take care of yourself, Izuku. I’ll see you soon.”
“To you as well, Tsukauchi-san.”