Chapter 69: Ageis

New Duds.

"Yes, I'd like as many invites as I can get my hands on," Izuku said, sitting at his desk talking into the phone. "Yes, I know who expensive I Island Invites are, I don't care. I have the money, just get me as many as you can."

Knock Knock Knock.

"Give me a second," Izuku said into the phone, before turning his attention towards the door. "Come in!"

The door opened, and Yami and Shiruku came in. Shiruku holding a box in her hands.

"Oh, will you two give me just a second, I need to finish this call," Izuku told them.

The two nodded, and Izuku turned his attention back to his phone.

"Anyway, how many invites can you get me...hmm...that'll do. Just send me the invites and take the money." Izuku said. "Now is that all...good. We'll then goodbye."

Izuku put down the phone and turned his attention towards his two children. "Sorry about the wait. What did you two need."

"Well, after that assassin came, me and Yami were worried about what would have happened if Fu hadn't stopped them," Shiruku said with a worried look on her face, with Yami sharing the same expression.

Izuku frowned. Unfortunately, he couldn't just say that he would have been alright because...he wouldn't have. In truth, had Fu not stopped Nise, then he would have allowed her into his home an instant, and she would have killed him just as quickly.

Which is why he was taking such elaborate measures to increase the power of their defenses.

And so apparently were the children.

"So, we thought of something, that might help you," Shiruku said, taking the box, and placing it on Izuku's desk.

"Oh?" Izuku was curious as to what exactly this was.

He slid the box over towards himself and opened it up.

And inside was something...peculiar.

It was a full-body Robe, folded up inside the box. But it wasn't any average Robe.

It was a Grimm.

Since it was folded up, all Izuku could see was the hood, but even then that was enough to identify it as one of Yami's creations.

Firstly the color scheme was the typical black and white that all Grimm had. With the "fabric" being entirely black, and there being the usual white bone armor that is present on every Grimm.

Also, it had eyes. Glowing yellow eyes at the top of the hood, and teeth as well. Bone-like teeth at the bottom and top of the hood's opening for the face. As if it were more of a mouth than a hood.

"Is this...a Grimm Robe?" Izuku asked.

"Right!" Shiruku said, smiling at Izuku. "We call it the Aegis Robe! It's made to protect you in case you're in danger!"

"Oh." Izuku took a second look at the Robe.

"We ran my webs through Yami's Grimm...vomit and used the threads to make this. I felt like some kind of wizard making a magic Robe!" Shiruku said, clearly very pleased with her work here.

"We tested it. It works." Yami said. "Try it."

"Hmmm." Izuku thought. Well, it would be useful in protecting me if anything goes wrong. It'll make me look evil but I guess that's just the price I pay for safety. Besides if my kids can handle being judged by their appearances. I guess I can too.

"Alright, let me go in the room and change real quick," Izuku told them.

XXXXXXX

After putting on the Robe, Izuku took a good look at himself in the mirror.

The Robe covered his entire body head to toe, with the only part of his body exposed being his face, and hands.

The bottom of the Robe touched the ground, but just barely. Keeping his feet hidden without making walking difficult. There was also a bit of armor going down the side of the Robe, but not much.

The upper part of the Robe was more heavily armored, with bone armor broken up into small armored pieces, covering most of the chest, with a big piece of bone armor covering the center.

There was also some slim bone armor running down the top of the sleeves, but just a bit.

On his back, there was that same bit of bone armor, that went along his spine.

Lastly, there was the hood itself. There were a lot of bits of bone armor, seemingly there to protect his head, and as mentioned earlier there were also eyes and teeth around the front of it.

One more thing of note about its appearance, when he put the hood up, it shrouded his face in complete darkness. No matter where he turned or even if he shined a light directly in his face, his face would never become visible. Meaning that it wasn't because of the lighting, this was simply an effect of the hood itself.

"Well, this is…" Izuku looked behind him at the two kids, staring at him intently. "Very nice."

It was creepy looking. And he would definitely need to keep the hood down if he wore this while talking to people.

Of course, he couldn't say that to them. And besides, it was at least comfortable. It was a bit heavy, but not overly so. The fabric was comfortable to the touch, very smooth. And it wasn't hot or stuffy either, in fact, it was unnaturally cool. It was a bit uncomfortable, but he'd get used to it.

"Great! So now you can wear it all the time!" Shiruku said with a huge smile on her face.

"Forever," Yami added.

"Eh?" Izuku was taken off guard by that a bit by this sudden proposal.

"Well if you only wore it when you felt like you were in danger then what's the point?" Shriuku asked, crossing her arms. "You wouldn't have felt like you were in danger when that girl came, and then she would have killed you! You have to wear the Ageis for it to protect you!"

"That's...a good point," Izuku said, as he gave it some more thought.

"Please daddy!" Shriuku begged, giving him the puppy dog eyes with her many eyes. "At least wear it until we catch those rotten people who want you dead. It would make everyone feel better!"

"Wear it," Yami commanded firmly.

Izuku pondered that.

The kids were worried about Izuku right now, heck 1A was worried about Izuku right now. And why wouldn't they be? Someone sent an assassin here, probably to kill him.

And he couldn't just appease them by lying. He'd already done that before, they wouldn't believe him! Especially because it was such an obvious lie!

But if he had some protection, some proof that he would be ok. Then it would put the kids at ease.

Now he has no idea if this would actually have stopped Nise from killing him. But Yami and Shiruku seemed to think it would have, and so would the rest of the kids most likely.

And that would be good enough.

"Alright. I'll keep it on until they're caught." Izuku sighed.

"Yes! Thank you, daddy!" Shiruku said, running forward and embracing her father.

"Your welcome sweetie. But um…" Izuku paused. "How do I wash this?"

Staff Meeting.

It was nighttime now, and all of class 1A, along with Inko, was in Izuku's office.

Izuku himself was sitting at his desk, facing them all.

And he was wearing the Ageis Robe.

"Uh, dude? Why do you look like a super boss from Kingdom Hearts?" Kaminari asked.

"Yeah, it looks like your plotting our collective demise," Mina added.

"Oh, this is the Ageis Robe," Izuku explained, taking down the hood so they could see his face. "It's something the kids made to protect me. They were worried about me after...well you know."

"I still can't believe someone sent a child to assassinate you," Momo said, looking rather sick at the thought.

"Ugh, it just makes me sick," Mina said with a look of absolute disgust.

"Children aren't weapons," Shoto added, with a hateful look in his eyes.

"It's so much worse than you think." Izuku felt his temper rising, as he recalled what Fu told him. "But that's not why I called you here. As you all know, as the world has become more aware of D.O.C., O.P.C.'s, and my existence, reporters and the like have attempted to come here and ask questions."

"Yeah, but they not getting past the bouncers." Mina giggled, imagining a group of reporters seeing a Beowolf, and noping the heck out of there.

"Yes well, we can't just ignore them forever, unfortunately." Izuku sighed. "They control much of the narrative, and how we're perceived by the public. D.O.C. needs to make a statement about things sooner or later. And while I'm not directly a part of D.O.C., I'm very important to them. As such, D.O.C. will be holding a press conference, featuring several important members of D.O.C. including the head of the division, Oshiri Boshi. I will also be attending this conference."

"But you're still recovering!" Ochaco objected.

"I've recovered enough," Izuku said firmly. "If we don't speak up about certain things, then the media and the people will come up with their own conclusions. Rumors have already started circling around about this place. Fortunately, Kiba's streams are influencing most of them, so it's mostly positive, but not completely. We have to take control of the narrative, otherwise, it could lead to disastrous consequences in the future."

"Are you sure you'll be ok dear?" Inko asked worriedly. "There could be more assassins out there."

"They'll be heroes around, so I think it'll be fine," Izuku said. "And also I'll be wearing this, which should provide me some level of protection anyway."

"Uh, are you about wearing that while trying to IMPROVE public perception?" Jiro asked. "It's kinda evil-looking."

"Well I won't be wearing the hood, so it won't look as bad," Izuku explained. "And to be fair, people are more likely to judge me for being quirkless than they are for wearing this."

"That...that sucks." Mina grimaced.

"Yeah, well it's unavoidable." Izuku sighed. "That and my age are going to be the most difficult hurdles for people to get over. Hopefully, I'll be able to present a good argument as to why I was chosen for this job."

"While I have stated my disapproval for someone of your age taking on this position, I will admit you've done far better than most people even three times your age," Momo admitted.

"Yeah, man! Even the way you collapsed shows how much work you put in for these kids!" Kirishima added. "And that was manly as hell."

"Yeah, it was super dumb but also kinda cool," Kaminari said.

"No one doubts your capability, nor your determination Midoriya, only your mental health!" Iida said.

"T-Thanks Iida," Izuku said, not really knowing how to respond to that. "Well, the conference is in two days so I'll have some time to coordinate with D.O.C. about what we'll be saying during the conference."

"That sounds like a lot of work, man. Are you sure you're not pushing yourself again?" Sero asked.

"It's just a bunch of talking and thinking," Izuku said. "And it's like I can really avoid this."

Class 1A looked at Izuku...worriedly. Seemingly unsure of how much they could trust that statement.

Izuku sighed. "Look. I already agreed to do it. And canceling at this point would create...let's just say problems that would cause me more stress and work than it would be to just go to the conference. Understood? Good. Now, I wanted to tell you all that I was going to be out, two days from now, for a few hours. That's all. You're dismissed."

Everyone still looked a bit worried but figured there wasn't much they could do about it and left the room.

Except Ochaco, who stayed behind, looking pouty.

"Ochaco, I know that you don't like this but-" Izuku got cut off.

"No, it's just that!" Ochaco interrupted. "It's just...it doesn't feel like we've reduced your workload by that much! I still see you working pretty much every day! We were supposed to come here so you could relax! So what's the point of us being here if you're still working so much!?"

Izuku took a moment to take in her grievance, before shaking his head at her. "That's not true in the slightest. You guys have reduced my workload by so much it's insane. I actually have time to relax for a few hours and sleep for a healthy amount of hours. If I had a normal job, then you guys would have left me with nothing to do and then some...but I don't have a normal job. My job brings many, many benefits, and they vastly outway the negatives. But one of those negatives is that my work never ends, and much of it is too important to just let anyone do. Thanks to you guys I was able to rest for a while, but I can't do that forever."

"...I guess your right." Ochaco sighed, still looking upset. "It just seems unfair that you have to be saddled with all this work, and your still only fifteen. I mean, I've felt swamped with work before, but it was nothing compared to how much you have on your plate."

Izuku couldn't help but smile a bit, feeling slightly touched at how much care she had for him. "Ochaco. Don't feel too bad for me. I'm rich, I live in what is pretty much a mansion surrounded by miles of land that I own, I have great friends one of whom is my childhood hero, and I have tons of kids who all adore me almost as much as I adore them. My life is great, and if I have to deal with a mountain of work just to sustain, then that's well worth it."

Even that answer seemed unsatisfying to Uraraka.

"I just...don't like seeing you in pain or exhausted," Ochaco admitted. "I always loved seeing the effect heroes had on people. Seeing all those smiling faces in the crowd. It was amazing. But I always wondered who made the heroes smile? Who picks them up out of despair? I mean...it wasn't really my main goal, I mostly wanted to become a hero because of my parents but...I'd still like to be the one that makes even the heroes smile. And as far as those kids and I are concerned, you ARE a hero. And we all just want to see you smile."

Now Izuku wasn't just slightly touched, he was very touched.

It was hard to keep the tears back, as Izuku got up from his seat.

Ochaco didn't notice this, however, as she had looked down to hide her red face. "I mean maybe that sounds a bit too sappy, but-"

Izuku interrupted her, by doing one of the most daring things he'd ever done.

He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug.

"Eh!?" Ochaco was surprised by this sudden boldness coming from Izuku of all people.

Izuku quickly ended the hug and gave her a flustered, red-faced, smile. "Just seeing you trying, for my sake, makes me smile on the inside."

"I-ah-gah-pahf." Ochaco's face was red as a tomato as she tried to stutter out words and completely failed.

"One day, I'll have everything figured out. And I won't be overworked, or be unused to anything, or have someone trying to kill me." Izuku continued, turning away and looking out the window. "And when that day comes, and I can just sit back and raise my kids, and watch them grow...then I'll be all smiles. But that future won't come if I don't build it. So I'll endure all those hardships, for the sake of that brighter future."

Izuku paused a bit, blushing a bit more as he considered if he was really about to say what he was going to say. "I...don't know how hard things are gonna get, and you have your own path to go down, so I understand if one day you don't support me as much as you do now. But I...I…"

The teen dad took a deep breath and turned around, to look at Ochaco, before giving her a respectful bow. "Thank you, for all your support. Ochaco Uraraka."

Ochaco was speechless for a bit, just looking at Izuku in shock for a few seconds before a smile crawled up her face, and a giggle escaped her lips. "Psh. Hahaha."

"Huh?" Izuku was confused and slightly scared at this response.

"You dummy." Ochaco gave him a sweet, heartfelt smile, and gave him a slight flick on the forehead, causing him to flinch a bit, and stop bowing. "Don't say things like that, as if you haven't done just as much, if not more for me. You helped me develop full cowling, you told me some things All Might should have told me a while ago, and of course, giving my parents work! Yeah, I have my own path I have to go down, but I intend to walk that path right alongside yours. We'll walk side by side, helping each other along our paths! Building out futures together! Because that's what best friends do!"

"I-y-you…" Izuku returned to being a blushing mess, but the smile that came on his face was unstoppable. "You really are the best friend I could have ever asked for."

"Same to you." Ochaco giggled.

The two laughed together for a bit, before calming down.

"Well, I have to go make some calls, you should probably go to bed," Izuku told her. "And don't worry, I'll get some sleep too."

"You better," Ochaco warned him playfully, as she started taking her leave. "Goodnight, Izuku."

"Goodnight, Ochaco," Izuku said, as he watched her leave.

It would take at least an hour for both their hearts to stop pounding.

A Pressing Situation

The day of the press conference had finally arrived, and boy was Izuku nervous.

And how could he not be, staring at the army of the press in front of him, all snapping pictures with their cameras, and trying to ask hundred of questions per second?

Izuku was currently sitting in a small chair, alongside a bunch of other of D.O.C's important figures.

He didn't really know any of them, but they all looked so professional and old. He felt so...out of place.

Which to be fair, he was. It was probably so weird to see a bunch of old guys in suits, and in the middle of them, was a fifteen-year-old in a strange robe.

"Hello everyone! It's a pleasure to see you all on such a wonderful day!" At the front of the stage, they were all one, was Oshiri Boshi, standing at the podium, speaking through many, many microphones. A rotund old man that looked like he was in his late eighty's. "As many of you know, I am acting director of D.O.C., formerly known as O.P.C.C.C. Oshiri Boshi! And I've come to talk today about our recent uprising in activity!"

The reports barely waited for him to finish before hurling more questions at him.

"Mr. Boshi why is D.O.C. suddenly acting now?"

"Why the name change!?"

"What reason do you have for hiring a 15-year-old for such an important position!?"

"What position does Midoriya occupy exactly!?"

"Was hiring a quirkless person some sort of publicity stunt?"

"Now now settle down!" Boshi told the crowd. "All your questions will be addressed, I assure you! Now, first I would like to start with an apology."

"An apology?" Many reporters were confused by this, and theories on what this was about broke out among the crowd.

"Yes, I would like to issue a formal apology, to all the O.P.C.'s in this county," Boshi said, putting on a sad face. "For years we have languished. With little funds and little way to deal with the issues we were saddled with, we were unable to carry out our mission to help these children, as effectively as we could have."

Then Boshi turned back, and looked at Izuku, signaling for him to come up, which he did, walking up to the old man's side, as the director of D.O.C. put his hand on Izuku's shoulder, and he tried really hard not to flinch.

"That was until we met this, wonderful young man! Izuku Midoriya, the new director of the Midoriya Foundation for O.P.C.'s. Of just the Midoriya Foundation for short." Boshi continued, smiling at the crowd, who were taking tons of pictures. "For years we had been looking for someone to fill a position. Someone how had the drive and determination to provide for, and protect these children, with a heart big enough to care for them all. And that someone is Izuku Midoriya!"

Immediately, the press started shouting out questions, all about Izuku's age.

"Now, now, I understand that he is quite young, very young in fact, but that should not disqualify him, by any means," Boshi stated firmly. "Midoriya has displayed great courage and intelligence beyond his years and has a work ethic that puts him above many people double, triple, or quadruple his age. Not to mention the children adore him, as he does them. As for questions about his quirklessness, that part had nothing to do with his position. The people of D.O.C. believe in equality amongst quirks!"

Once again this caused a lot of questions and murmurs, to erupt amongst the crowd.

"Now, I would like to give Mr. Midoriya a chance to speak to you all," Boshi said, patting Izuku on the back, signaling that he would no be taking over.

Izuku looked over the crowd, all looking directly at him.

He took a deep breath, and then breathed out.

Alright. I can do this. Izuku thought.

"I-" Izuku opened, his mouth, but unfortunately, he would never get a word out.

As suddenly chaos would break out in the crowd.

Once the reports nearly the front, suddenly took out a gun and pointed it at Izuku's face. "Die quirkless scum! Remove your worthless genetics from this earth!"

The crowd around the man screamed and gasped, and Izuku was frozen in shock.

But the robe wasn't.

As the man pulled the trigger, the hood flew up, covering Izuku's head, as it switched to absolute defense mode.

The armored parts of the hood expanded, covering more of Izuku's body, and suddenly the teeth around the face expanded as well, growing in size as they completely covered his face, but also keeping him from seeing anything.

BLAM!

The bullet fired at Izuku's face, but the teeth protected him, and the bullet bounced off...and then exploded.

KABOOM!

Izuku was sent flying back, and after a few seconds of air time, he felt himself skid along the ground, the robe still protecting him from harm until he came to a full stop.

Once Izuku stopped, he remained on the ground, frozen.

He couldn't even think for a little bit, as he had to wait for the shock to dissipate.

W-What just-what just happened? Izuku thought as his brain finally started working again.

As Izuku was processing the now failed assassination attempt, he felt someone pick him.

"Midoriya!? Midoriya are you ok!? Can you hear me in there!?" Izuku recognized that voice, it was Death Arms, one of the heroes that had been sent to act as security during the event.

"I'm-I'm fine!" Izuku said. He was still a bit dazed but he was mostly fine. The robe was still in protection mode, meaning Izuku still couldn't see anything.

Death Arm's helped Izuku off the ground, and onto his feet and his shaky legs. "Kid, how on earth did you survive that, and what the hell are you wearing?"

"It's...a long story," Izuku responded. I really need to give Yami and Shiruku a hug when I get back.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in a highrise apartment, a man with a particularly long nose was sitting on his couch in his bathrobes, watching the T.V.

This man was Rikiya Yotsubashi, C.E.O. of Detnerat, and the leader of the Meta Liberation Army, Re-Destro.

"News is coming in, after taking a horrible attack at the hand of a quirkist assassin, Izuku Midoriya survived with little to no damage, thanks to the help of a special robe made by one of the orphanage's children." A newswoman reported

CRUSH!

Re-Destro crushed the remote in his hand in anger, a bit of blackness crawling along his hand, and his eyebrow twitched as frustration, anger, and most of all, stress built up inside him.

Another failed attempt! Re-Destro thought. First, we lose Kiria, and now this?! Now I likely won't have another chance to kill him for quite some time!

Izuku Midoriya was an insult to everything the M.L.A. stood for.

The quirkless were unevolved relics of a bygone age. They should be at the bottom rung of society, and it should be made certain that their genes could not be passed on, one way or another.

But yet here one was, not only massively wealthy and successful but also in charge of children who were inherently superior to him!

He didn't even want to think of how their minds might be polluted by him and his unevolved views.

The fact that Izuku Midoriya could only survive these attacks by hiding behind the children's quirks only proved his genetic inferiority.

However, the M.L.A. still had higher priorities than this. Far higher.

But it was a matter of principle. Izuku Midoriya must die.

Re-Destro glared hatefully at the screen, as he saw Izuku Midoriya go into a guarded car. One day, he would kill Izuku Midoriya. He swore it.