Chapter 8: Mom!

Power stones

~~~~~~

One advantage to working with villains is that he learned to be desensitized to others' thoughts pretty quickly.

He was no longer as disturbed or distracted when Shigaraki was nearby.

Slowly, he learned to block out the thoughts he didn't need to focus on at the time. But even though he wasn't focusing on them, he still remembered them for later if he needed it.

After a couple weeks of practice he was able to be around 4 people at a time and not display any sign of listening in.

Although he knew he wasn't much of a fighter, he didn't want to be completely reliant on others.

So he still did work on being at least a bit more fit. But even more importantly, he learned how to handle a gun.

Quirks may be powerful, but a lot of them aren't actually stronger than a basic firearm.

He was no expert by any means but he didn't need to be perfect, the gun was only if he ended up in a situation he wasn't expecting.

Two months had passed and Izuku felt and looked like a completely new person than when he left home.

He'd grown to like his new undercut, he thought it made him look older and that was a win in his book.

Izuku now almost exclusively wore dress shirts and some sort of vest.

Kurogiri had been thrilled to assist when he said he wanted help dressing in 'fancy villain clothes'.

And from gaining at least some lean muscles his face was less chubby than before.

With all this together he definitely looked like he belonged, rather than some kid who wandered in on accident.

Izuku was barely recognizable as he walked down the street.

Not that it really mattered, he technically hadn't really broken any laws yet other than truancy since he stopped attending school.

He sighed and decided he'd put this off long enough and knocked on the front door to his old house.

Izuku looked around while he waited patiently and took note of the additional cameras in addition to the normal street cameras.

He was glad that the League held up their end and was keeping an eye on the place.

His mom slowly opened the door and gasped when she saw him.

"Izuku! You're back!"

She threw the door open and hugged him tightly. His mother had grown much thinner and had dark circles under her eyes.

"Are you ok Izuku? Where have you been? I've been so worried."

-Why does he look so different, oh no, has he joined the mob or something? Though he does look quite handsome in that outfit-

Izuku stepped inside and sat down on the couch with his mother.

"I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you I'm doing what I can to change the world for the better."

-Oh no, he's not in the mob, he's in a cult-

"I trust you to make the right decision for yourself, but how come I haven't heard from you in months?"

-I bet some it's some cult thing where they can't contact people-

Izuku wasn't sure if he should tell her about his quirks, probably not. He didn't want her involved, and knowing his employer could give quirks is a lot of information.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure how to face you after I left like that. I didn't know what you would think once you knew about what I did to All Might."

"I don't like what you did, but I understand it. I couldn't get angry at you for speaking the truth. Even if All Might is a hero, I don't disagree that he should be held accountable for his actions, or lack thereof."

-Is that why he left, because he didn't think I could understand him?-

Izuku just held her close and cried into her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"You're leaving again aren't you? Let me make you dinner at least."

Izuku nodded softly. "I'll make sure to visit more often. Maybe we could have dinner every week or so?"

"I'd love that, I wish you'd tell me where you're going. But I won't make you. Just promise you're safe"

-Why can't he tell me. Is it that bad? Maybe it's a secret for a good reason, like a government program or something like that. Who am I kidding, if it were that he'd at least tell me something vague-

"I'll be safe mom, you don't need to worry. I know you will anyways, but I'm not doing anything illegal or dangerous." At least not yet.

———

After Izuku went back he kept at his training, especially his ability to read minds. He had two goals.

First, increase how many people he could be around and still focus.

Secondly, increase his range. After two more months of training, he was at 7 people and a 16 foot radius. He needed to do much better than that and was frustrated by his slow growth.

In between training he started doing jobs for the League. Most jobs were just selling his quirk analysis, which had become much better with his new memory quirk.

He would compile information about their quirks, their weaknesses, overall just explaining what they can expect against the person.

For a bit more money he includes detailed strategies and suggestions on how to defeat the person.

He liked working with Giran, he was a man who made it clear exactly what he wanted, which was money.

He knew it was a terrible reason to do things, but he was honest about it. So you always knew exactly what you were getting.

Some villains were difficult to do business with because they were erratic and violent, but Giran was always professional and polite when he gave Izuku the latest list of people to research.

Today Giran came with some questions and a proposition.

"I know it's rude to ask about a quirk, but you've mentioned yours is memory based right?"

"Yeah, I don't really have a reason to hide it. But yeah, I have a perfect memory."

"Well, I'd like to 'invest' so to speak, in this little analysis venture we've been doing"

"Oh? What are you suggesting?"

~~~~~

Power stones