14. Unfair World.

The next day, I met Deku and Himiko at Dagobah beach, finding Deku pacing nervously as Himiko lazed about by the half degraded concrete steps.

"Uh....." Deku muttered, looking at Himiko, who raised a finger to her lips, and shushed him, just as I arrived, in a black tank top and shorts.

"Yo! Ready for some training?" I asked.

"Y-yeah, I-" Deku muttered, and Himiko once more interjected.

"Yup. Who's the dweeb?" Himiko asked.

"W-wh-" Deku stuttered shyly at her attention, and shifted uncomfortably.

Gross!

I'm a guy and that still feels gross.

He's practically oozing extra virgin oliver oil, right there.

Maybe it's his quirk, being a complete loser.

"Yeah, and Deku, you'll stop acting like an earthworm on a fishing reel right now or I'll smack some sense into you." I warned.

"B-but it's a g-girl!" He replied, ogling her.

"Yes. A girl. Just a girl. Not an alien. So stop acting like it's an otherworldly event, and get your ass here." I ordered.

Deku walked over and hid behind me.

"Ooh! It's almost cute how pathetic he is. Are we really training with him?" Himiko asked.

"Yes, unfortunately." I said, picking Deku up by the collar and bringing him between me and Himiko, as he blushed redder than a tomato.

"Deku, if you don't start focusing right now, I'll personally make sure you'll never become a hero." I threatened catching his shoulder in an iron grip, as he sobered up at a frightening pace, the blush draining into terror.

"N-no, I'll focus. Completely. Yes. Please don't leave me..."

Man, that gay ass choice of words. What a headcase!

I sighed, before continuing.

"Today, we'll start with some basic self-defense. I read Deku's book here and you, you little shit, need some balls stat. How can you just let this Kacchan fella walk all over you? It's disgusting!

Have some dignity as a person, man. Stand up for yourself." I scolded.

"No, you don't understand, Kacchan, he..." Deku defended.

"Beat you, burnt your clothes, destroyed your homework, bullies you and stole your lunch for the past 8 years. Yes, I know. And don't you dare say he's your friend. Friends don't lead a decade long bullying campaign on each other. I mean look at you Deku! You're all skin and bone! He has broken you into ...this, whatever this is. Try to remember what you were. You used to stop him from bullying other kids and now look at you." I said taking a picture and showed it to him.

"Can you imagine this guy stopping Kacchan from bullying anyone?

Does this guy look like the Izuku that was willing to put his life on the line to become a hero?" I asked, as Deku's eyes widened in realization.

He stumbled back, gasping for breath, as a panic attack set in.

Falling to his knees, he grabbed his hair as regret filled him.

"No....wh-what have I become? When did.....when did I ..." He sobbed.

I walked up to him and pulled him up, looking him in the eyes.

"Do you want to be a hero?!" I asked.

Deku looked at me in surprise, the suddenness of my actions shocking him out of catatonia, as he ground his teeth and answered, still sobbing.

"Yehess!"

"Then you'll need to start by becoming a man first. Come, punch me." I said, gesturing with my hand.

"W-what? I-i-i couldn't possibly..." he stuttered, taking a step back.

"Fine then. I'll punch your face in till you find those balls you lost in mommy's purse and sew them back on!" I shouted, and raised a fist at him as he flinched, putting down his hands and shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"Did you just flinch?" I scolded.

"Y-yes?" He answered.

Fuck, he's so fucking defeated that he won't even put up a fight?

And that flinch. It won't do. How will he fight back if he can't even keep his eyes open!

"Alright then. Looks like I'll have to manually unflinch your sorry ass. Now, keep your eyes open, or I'll punch you again." I said, as I punched him right in the face.

"Owch!" He cried, closing his ryes as I punched him again

"Deku, Deku, Deku. The more you shut your eyes, the more it'll hurt...." I said, slamming one into his gut.

"Is this how you'll become a hero?"

I punch his side, as he doubled over.

"Is this how you'll save people?"

Another punch sent him doubling over as he vomitted on the sand, grabbing his stomach.

"When a villain comes for your mom, is this what you'll do? Close your eyes as he rips her limb from limb, you fucking moist pussy!?" I screamed at him, as his eyes shot up at me, alert and filled with rage.

"You-" he cried, as I interjected.

"Yes, good. Now take this." I punched him, right on the nose as he pushed his face into my fist, taking a step forward, glaring at me.

"Good. Good! Fucking finally." I smiled, patting him on the shoulders.

"Wha- oh. Oh my god!" He cried out as he remembered.

"I-i did that. I did that. I did that!" He shouted, jumping up and down.

"Yes you did." I assured, "Now do it again."

I punched him once more, as his training finally began in earnest.

As the week came to a close, Deku was finally beginning to take some lessons to heart, even as he was suspended for standing up to Bakugo who destroyed his desk in response, fuming at the quirkless bastard who tried to oppose him.

His words not mine!

"How is that fair?" Deku whined.

"The world's not fair Deku. And it never will be. And it's better that way. Even if you tried making it fair for everyone, people like Bakugo would cause so much destruction at their loss of status that it wouldn't be worth it." I said.

"But that's not right! He was the one who broke the desk! Why am I the one getting punished for it?!" He replied.

"Welcome to hero society! Is this your first time here? Then let me assure you, you'll have a horrible time, we guarantee it!" Himiko answered in her best customer service voice.

"Get over it. This is how it is and this is how it will always be. Nothing can change that!

Just look at me. I was told all my life that my quirk was disgusting and not fit for society. That I should just suppress it and keep it hidden!

And then after years of keeping it down, one day, it exploded and I ended up hurting a lot of people.

And they all turned against me. My friends, my parents, the police. They called me evil, for one small mistake. They disowned me that day, my parents that is.

It pushed me down a dark path, and I-i...fell." She said, emphasizing the last word.

"Until, he came to me." She said, looking up at me as she leaned on my shoulders, grabbing my hand.

"Yuji here chased me down, from Iwaki to Tokyo. He even broke his ribs and leg trying to catch me. And then he did the funniest thing. He tossed Kuribo at me, like a ball. He was like, 'Get her!' and Kuribo just bit down as hard as he could on my leg with his puppy teeth. It was so cute!" She chirped happily, remembering that day.

"And then, when I thought he was going to turn me in to the police or maybe kill me, he just draped a blanket over me and took me home.

He helped me, in a way no one ever had. An-and he..." she fought back her tears, as I gently wiped them, and continued.

"And they lived happily ever after the end!" I teased, and pinched her red nose.

"You really like to ruin all the good moments don't you?"

Himiko slapped my shoulder playfully and complained.

"The small pleasures in life!" I said, looking enlightened.

"You're such an asshole!" Himiko whined, before she began to giggle.

"Look, the point is, without overwhelming power, you cant bring change into society. And you wouldn't happen to have some secret superpower hidden somewhere, now would you, Deku?" I asked.

"Uh, no.." he answered.

"Then the best you can do is make the world unfair to your advantage. That's all most people can do, even heroes." I explained.

"But what about All Might? He has overwhelming power!" Deku argued.

"Deku, care to repeat what All Might told you that day, atop the roof of that building?" I asked.

"He..." Deku remembered and shut up.

"Exactly. Deku, no one cares about the weak. The losers. Society is cruel like that. Even All Might is no exception. He was born quirkless, so he should be first to understand, but once he got that power, he became the exact same as everyone else. In this world, you can't care about everyone. You should just focus on the ones you love, and keep them close and keep them safe." I said, putting an arm around Himiko pulling her closer.

"Then you can think about saving everyone else.

Remember, being a hero is a luxury. One that you have to fight tooth and nail for. Even more so because you're quirkless.

Double the effort, triple the ingenuity."

Deku looked down at his feet, lost in thought, contemplating on what I'd just dropped on him.

"Is there no way to change this?" He asked, looking like a kicked puppy.

"There is." I answered, "But you're not ready for it yet. Get some chops on you first then we'll talk about it.

And on that note, here." I said, handing him a chit from my pocket.

He unfolded the paper to see a diet regimen on it.

"Stayed up all night to make that." I yawned.

"So stuff yourself and bulk up Deku. You'll need all the muscle you can get if you hope to pass the UA entrance exam." I said, slapping his back.

"This...thank you, Matsun! I'll-" Deku said, tearing up in gratitude, as he was interrupted by an untimely guest.

"Ahem, a delivery for Mr. MaskPerson?" A familiar voice came from behind me.

"You were supposed to be here at 8 am. It's barely half past seven?" I commented, turning to face him.

"Well, a certain wise man once told me, that it's good to be a little early for all your meetings." Gentle replied with a cheeky grin, as he handed me a USB.

"A wise man huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A very naughty wise man." Gentle replied, "One with a penchant for skipping on his bills and leaving his friends to pay for them."

"Hmm..I believe this extremely sagely being stuffed a 10k yen note down their friend's sleeve before leaving, yes?" I rebutted.

"Oh, did they? I don't happen to remember~" Gentle twirled, his coattails flying in the wind.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't." I joked, as he stared at me.

"What? Do I have to make a public announcement?" I asked, "Get going. Shoo!"

"Actually, I had something to ask of you..." Gentle said, bowing down.

"Well, go ahead." I replied.

"Could you please train me too!?" Gentle requested.

I sighed.

"Yes, of course. Why don't I just open a dojo already?" I snarked.

"I'll be more useful in your, uh, how did you put it? Endeavors." He replied.

I thought it over for a moment.

"Ooh, big words! And not the british kind too!

You didn't come up with this, now did you? I bet La Brava did the heavy lifting here." I teased.

"What? I'm almost offended you think so little of me!" Gentle faked.

"Oh yeah, definitely La Brava." I responded, a she caved in.

"Yes, it was La Brava. But you'll still train me right?" He asked.

I sighed.

"Fine. But on one condition. You and La Brava have to do one thing I ask you to without questions. And that doesn't include the ... you-know-whats." I demanded.

"Deal!" Gentle said, without thinking.

"Deal." I reciprocated, as he hopped away.

"Who was that?" Deku asked.

"No one of import. Let's go. It's getting sunny here." I said, getting up and putting on my jacket.

"See you tomorrow!" Deku replied.

"No. Take the Sunday off. I'll see you on Monday." I explained, as Himiko caught up to me, and we left for the apartment.

Today, I had a government to rob.