[Dorm Life? New Classes?! What!? – Part 1]
It had been a week since the events of their internships. What was supposed to be a time to practice being in the field of heroes, was spent mourning the loss of a friend, a classmate, a mother, and an ally. But, for Yoshihara, Izuku, Josefumi, and Karera, the last week hadn't been that, it had been something else.
Despite everyone taking time off to grieve, Yoshihara and Izuku knew that stopping their search, or letting their guards down, was a bad idea. Especially considering who they were now up against—that being an entire criminal organization, one possibly bigger than even The League of Villains. And with the resources they had, dropping their guard was a surefire way of committing Suicide.
And so, the pair had devoted themselves to learning more and more about Damnatio Ad Bestias. If they could get any form of information on them or at least a hint at who worked for them, they would at least have something other than a name, a product, and a few dead guys that weren't helping much.
As they both expected, nothing came up when looking up the name of the group. The only thing that they got were Wikipedia articles dating back to the pre-Quirk era, teaching them about what "Damned by the Beasts" meant in ancient Latin. While it wasn't what they were looking for, it did provide them with one answer: finding information on these guys wasn't going to be an easy task—which they assumed to be the case anyway.
According to Josefumi and Karera, and their side of things, Damnatio Ad Bestias could be one of two things. A. They were a Yakuza, the most likely answer. Or B. A group of villains, much like The League of Villains, which was the least likely answer.
With two options to go with, the new group of four had nothing to work off of. With a title that was illusive and hard to find any information about, and a definition so broad it might as well have been equivalent to them trying to cross the grand canyon on a tightrope, one thing was for sure: they weren't going to give up. No matter what.
One question did linger in the back of their minds, though. And that was what a large organization like Damnatio Ad Bestias was doing working hand in hand with The League of Villains. The only reason they believed that to be the case was because of the Stand User that showed up at the USJ, and that Kurogiri had been helping them with the attacks on the city populous with these Stand Bullets.
So, the question was this: Why would they bother to waste their time with a rookie upstart group like them? Unless, of course, The League of Villains weren't a bunch of rookies, and that Class 1 – A only saw what was the equivalent to their goon squad?
That thought…. that thought was scary. The idea that The League of Villains was something far more dangerous than what anyone was anticipating, or worse, could get to such an extent, was a threat in of itself.
Needless to say, while the information-gathering aspect had turned up dry, what spawned from the search definitely seemed fruitful. They now had reason to suspect that their theory of The League of Villains having been working for and or with Damnatio Ad Bestias, was confirmed. And, if what Midoriya said was true, that being that Stain was now a part of that group, their ranks were filled with not only powerful Stand Users, but, they now had a professional Hero Killer on their side.
And that, more than anything, was beyond terrifying in its own right.
Of course, Izuku and Yoshihara didn't just research throughout the entirety of the week. Izuku and Yoshihara had also taken time to grieve for their losses, Izuku moreso than Yoshihara. The whole week, Izuku had been wrecked emotionally from it all. Aside from doing the research that she did, along with Izuku, and alongside being there with her boyfriend, she found out that Izuku had a lot of bottled-up emotions.
Anger. Upset. Depression. All of it. It all came flooding out of him in that week. It hurt her to see, and what made it worse was that Izuku hadn't exactly been in the right of mind to do much about it, aside from seeing Hound Dog, U.A.'s stationed Therapist. Said therapist put him on mild Anti-depressants. He wasn't suicidal, but it was supposed to help him from feeling down all the time. Two a day, one every 12 hours, would help him through the day.
If there was ever a time when Yoshihara didn't envy Izuku for his emotional self, it was that. Sometimes, Sociopathy had its perks, and that right there, the explosion of emotions, and all the nonsense that came after the fact… yeah, no. Not for her. She did NOT want to experience that ever.
Aside from that, though, or perhaps with even that in mind, another tidbit of information was garnered that week. But this piece of information had absolutely nothing to do with Damnatio Ad Bestias or The League of Villains. It was…
"…A Dormitory System?" Both Izuku Midoriya and Yoshihara Kira both said at the same time, however, compared to Izuku's confusion, when Yoshihara said what she had said, it was with an annoyed undertone.
They were moving… into dorms. The worst kind of thing imaginable. Dorms were loud, crowded, and full of nosey teenagers. Don't get Yoshihara wrong, her classmates were nice, despite their grievances with her being willing to kill Villains known, the idea of living with said classmates, especially with how Izuku and her's relationship had been… less than school appropriate at times, made things a million times worse.
"I know that it might seem obnoxious, especially considering how tensions are high between your class at the moment, but you have to understand that this is for your protection. Due to the increased number of villain attacks, it's become unsafe to live off of campus. Typically, this would be an option, but the Headmaster has made it mandatory. I'm sorry, you two. But those are the rules," Nemuri said, fixing the collar around her white blouse while dusting off her black yoga pants.
Both Yoshihara and Izuku were dressed in casual wear, for Izuku that would be a yellow shirt that said "shirt" in kanji, a pair of blue jeans, and black socks. For Yoshihara, that would be what she'd usually wear—a white long-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and knee-high white socks.
Today was Sunday, typically, a day before classes began. However, today was "moving into dorms" day. Meaning that while they'd typically spend their Sunday lounging around the house, they had to pack for the move. Both of them had already done so, as they were instructed to by Nemuri. Granted, they had to wake up early to do so, and with Yoshihara's legs hurting after a night of… festivities, walking was the last thing that she wanted to do right now.
But, nonetheless, she had no choice. And neither did Izuku. No matter how much they wanted to stay in bed together.
"Uh, Kayama-san, is it possible that Yoshihara and I could share a room?" Izuku asked. That had actually been an idea that Yoshihara had in mind, but, evidently, based on the shake of the head they got as a response, that would be a no.
"Sorry, Midoriya, but that's a no-go. The dorm rooms are separated by gender. The right side of the dorms is for girls, and the left side is for boys. There is a central main living area with a kitchen, a living room, and a dining space, but sharing rooms is a big no-no. School policy in all," Nemuri said, before smirking. "So if you want to be with your girlfriend, you gotta be sneaky about it. M'kay? Besides, stealth is a good thing to practice. Ya know?"
That got Izuku's face to flush red and even got Yoshihara to snicker to herself at how insane that sounded. Izuku was a good-hearted kid, and while he was a bit drawn to the new allure of being in a relationship, Yoshihara doubted that he was that touch-starved. Especially after last night.
In front of them were two suitcases. All Izuku had to his name were a few sets of clothes, his uniform, and a handful of posters—Yoshihara told him to get rid of the other 800 when he had moved in with them because there was NOT enough room in that bedroom for them all—a few dozen figurines, all in mint condition, and all of his notebooks. In Yoshihara's suitcase were some changes of clothes, her uniform, her manga collection, her laptop, and her Death The Kid Figurine. Oh, and her Demon Slayer Poster. She wasn't about to forget that.
"So, Mom. When will we be moving into the dorms? When do we leave?" Yoshihara asked as Nemuri turned to face the elevator.
"Right around now. I'm sure everyone else is already getting settled in. Oh, and before you ask, no, the rooms are NOT soundproof. You two can be a bit loud, as demonstrated from last night, so if you—"
"OKAY, MOM! That's good! Thank you for everything! Izuku, let's go!" Yoshihara interrupted, taking her suitcase, marching over to the elevator, and closing it behind her, neither of them noticing how her face lit up in a bright, scarlet red. Izuku stared dumbfounded at the elevator. He had never seen her move with that much purpose before, it was actually kind of scary. Nemuri, on the other hand, was laughing her ass off.
Once the ravenette had calmed down, Nemuri turned to look at Izuku, then smirked. "C'mon, let's not keep her waiting, shall we?"
"Alright!"
And with that, the two followed after her.
xxXXxxXXxx
Josefumi had to admit that when he got the email that he'd be forced to live in the new dormitory system that was put in place by U.A., he at first thought that it was going to suck. Schools typically cheaped out when it came to dorm systems, high schools especially. But when he got a good look at the outer building, he had been more than surprised.
Because this wasn't a dorm… this was a fucking mansion! When he stepped inside, he was greeted with freshly decorated walls, top-of-the-line carpet, and an entire closet designed to house upwards of god knew how many jackets and shoes, each with the student's names on them and where they should go. There was an entire designer kitchen, big enough to have multiple people in there at once with several ovens and dishwashers, an entire buffet table which they called a "dining room," and a living room that was the size of his entire apartment if all the walls had been knocked down.
But that. Wasn't. All.
They were given their own separate bedrooms, boys on the left, and girl's on the right. There were 30 rooms, which made no sense, seeing as there were only 16 students in Class 1 – A now, but he assumed that it was for when other people that weren't part of the class came over, such as friends from other classes, or what have you.
He saw what his room looked like. It was your standard bedroom, one that he'd spruce up as time went on, of course, but that was neither here nor there. The only downside, and he meant the only downside, was the constant surveillance.
There were cameras littered everywhere, including in the bedrooms. They were turned off at night, of course, at least the bedroom ones, and while that was a huge invasion of privacy, with what's been going on, Josefumi knew that it was needed. Whether it was paranoia on The Headmaster's part, or if it was truly a safety precaution, however, was something he had yet to figure out.
Oh, and there was the obvious downside that he wouldn't be able to be in the same building as his girlfriend, at least not 24/7, that was.
When he got word that he had to move out of his apartment, he made sure his landlord knew he had moved out, and explained to them why. Thankfully, his landlord completely understood and gave him a week to move all of his stuff out. He got what was important, like photos and the like, but he left the furniture, saying that the landlord could keep it.
Needless to say, he made a nice suburban couple really happy. Karera wasn't, but then again, he wasn't about to send all of that designer stuff to the dump because they had nowhere to put it. And of course, Karera was able to get what she wanted before they moved out, the only things they left behind were the shelves, the T.V., the couch and the love seat, and the bed and frame. They washed and scrubbed damn near everything, too, so that the next tenets could live in a clean environment.
Right now, Josefumi was just finishing up unpacking everything, setting up his clothes in his new dresser, remaking his bed with his own bedsheets, and stacking his books on the bookshelf in his room. He also put up some of the posters he used to have in his room—most of them being morale-boosting posters. He used to have a pinup poster before he got into a relationship with Karera, and had since thrown it out.
As he folded away his last pair of pants and pushed the drawer back into place, he leaned his suitcase against the bookshelf, and sighed, wiping away the small build-up of sweat on his forehead. He wasn't the first one to arrive, that award when to Todoroki, who was currently still sleeping. He looked positively exhausted when he walked through the door, even with two cups of coffee in his system, according to the teen, at least.
With his room having been prepped and ready to go, he stepped out of his new sleeping quarters and narrowly avoided running into Bakugo. The blond bomber saw him, basically growled at him, then continued on his way.
He honestly didn't know why Bakugo was angry with him, but he had to assume it had something to do with Tenya and Inko's deaths. Bakugo probably assumed that it was, somehow, their fault. Whatever the case might've been, Josefumi could understand why. Technically speaking, it was their fault. Both were killed by Damnatio Ad Bestias. What was worse was that, according to Izuku, revenge had something to play into both deaths.
He didn't know why Inko was killed, but if Revenge was a running theme, he'd have to assume that whoever the assassin that had killed Inko was probably had a negative past with Inko, or, was humiliated by her in some regard. As for the person who killed Ida, it had something to do with Kira. Whatever Kira had done to this person had warranted some sort of blood payment, but it hadn't satisfied them.
Josefumi sighed, before looking down the hall and calling out to Bakugo. "Hey, Bakugo!"
This got the blond bomber's attention, as he sharply turned to face the Joestar. His expression was riddled with anger, and if smoke could pour out of his ears, it would be. "The fuck do you want, Buzzcut?" Bakugo spat as Josefumi sharply exhaled.
"I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for your loss. About Mrs. Midoriya. I… didn't know her all that well, but from what Midoriya told me, she seemed nice," Josefumi said as Bakugo scoffed, looking away.
"I don't want your sympathies. It's your fault that she's dead anyway. Damn… whatever the fuck they're called…. I don't know shit about'em, but a simple google search told me their enemies with the Joestars, yeah? That means you dragged her into that mess. That meant that you got her killed. So you can go fuck yourself, and take your "apologies" with you, you fuckin' extra!" Bakugo snapped, before storming up the set of stairs at the end of the hallway, which led to the second-floor dorm rooms.
Josefumi sighed, shaking his head. He kinda expected that kind of reaction. Although considering it was Bakugo, he expected more of an… explosive reaction compared to the one that he got. But, he also noticed that he didn't mention Ida in any of that, or even brought it up. Maybe he and Ida didn't get along before his passing? Considering what he witnessed they didn't, he probably assumed that he wasn't all that caring about what happened to Ida in the first place.
Or, maybe he did, and he was hiding it.
"Bakugo giving you a hard time, Fumi-kun?' Izuku Midoriya's voice caught Josefumi off guard, but he didn't show it. Turning around, he faced the green-haired boy, before shrugging.
"To be honest, I expected a more violent reaction. Maybe he's just not feeling himself. Speaking of that, how are you feeling, Midoriya?" Josefumi asked as Izuku gave him a weak smile.
"I'm… still hurting. But, a lot less than when I first found out. Hound Dog actually prescribed me Anti-Depressants. It's for my productivity and… other things. It helps, but not as much as I thought it would…." As Izuku said that, he looked down at his room key. "Room 110… that's at the end of the hall on the right…. Anyway. I'm going to go set up my room now. See you later, Fumi-kun!"
With that, Izuku walked passed him. Josefumi smirked, before looking down the hall as his stomach growled. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten at all this morning. It was about time he made himself some breakfast.
xxXXxxXXxx
Yoshimura sat alone in the staff lounge, a cup of coffee in his right hand and his phone in the other, reading a digital book that he had been waiting to release for a while. He was wearing a casual white shirt with a black and gold striped tie, and a pair of black denim jeans. To top it off, he wore a pair of slip-on dress shoes.
He had to admit, U.A. was a nice change of pace compared to The Speedwagon Foundation. With a close confidant running the place in his stead, updating him via emails, he could take his newfound Job at U.A. with a degree of seriousness that he otherwise wouldn't be able to. Classes started on Monday, and the entirety of the first class was prepped and planned out. Now all he needed to do was try and find a time to tack on the class. It was why Nedzu had issued another meeting, one that everyone didn't want to do because it was Sunday—technically, a break day for 9-5 jobs.
Not that Yoshimura cared all too much, mind you. They merely adopted the 9-5. But he was born in it, moulded by it, and therefore, he could handle a meeting or two on a Sunday.
Taking a sip of his coffee and swiping his index finger across the screen, a black-haired woman—Nemuri Kayama, if he remembered correctly—sat next to him. She was the pro hero Midnight, and she was dressed in her hero attire. He put his phone down and addressed her with a slight bow of the head. "Ms. Kayama… how are you this morning?"
"Okay, I guess," Nemuri replied, putting her elbows on the table and clasping her hands together. "Alright, I'm going to cut to the chase. Did you know I've been watching over your daughter for the last year or so?" The ravenette asked as Yoshimura closed his eyes, took another calming sip of his coffee, and hummed.
"Yes… I wanted to thank you for doing that. But, I'm sure that's not where this conversation is heading, is it?" Yoshimura guessed as Nemuri scoffed.
"I guess you're right. That means you probably already know what I'm going to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway. My question is: where the hell were you? I don't know much about what Yoshihara went through. What I do know is that she lived on the street for a solid chunk of her life, before having to work for a…. club to earn money. If you were alive this entire time, why didn't you reach out to her? You work for the Speedwagon Foundation, right? Why couldn't you have at least sent an agent to watch over her? Or, you know, have done anything at all?!" Nemuri ranted, as Yoshimura sharply inhaled, before clearing his throat.
"For starters, Ms. Kayama, for a good portion of my mid-30s, I was in a coma. Do you see this scar?" Yoshimura asked, tracing the rather large scar that went from his eye, across his face, and down to his chin. "I got this from a particularly nasty Stand fight. And, had it not been for my Cloud 9, I would've died instantly. Because of the injury, I was unable to do anything. I only woke up from my coma two years ago, and only last year did I regain the use of my motor functions. So, that, would be the answer to question number one. As for your second and third questions, both of which are practically the same, see my original answer for the answer I would give you had you only asked that question," Yoshimura stated rather matter-of-factly, taking another sip of his coffee, before placing the cup on the table.
A solemn expression came across Yoshimura's face, as he stared at the table. "And it pains me to hear that my… ex-wife abandoned our child. But, I can't say that what happened is entirely my fault. I wasn't expecting to be attacked by a Stand User that day, nor was I expecting them to be nearly as powerful as they were. They were able to completely bypass my Stand's ability, and, well… you see the scar on my face, so I don't think I have to tell you what they did. Had I not been incapacitated, and nearly killed, on top of then having to go into hiding so that I could recover without the bastard who did this to me finding me and finishing the job, I would've done everything in my power to make sure my daughter lived a stable life. But, in order to protect both myself, and to some extent, her, I couldn't do anything. But… I suppose all my effort was for not, considering the same people who attacked me, are now attacking my daughter anyway."
Nemuri had gone from antagonistic, to sympathetic in the span of one explanation. A part of her felt bad for the man and suddenly felt like a piece of shit for snapping at him the way she did. However, there was just one thing that made no sense to her in his explanation, and that was…. "Protecting her? How was doing nothing protecting her?"
Yoshimura looked at Nemuri with a neutral expression. "The Joestars have many enemies…. Relentless enemies, at that. While most of them have been dealt with, like the remnants of DIO's followers, we also have other enemies that would see to it that our bloodline is wiped from the face of the earth. As far as they were aware, I had no familial connections, and, I knew that they would somehow track me in any way they could to hurt me further, even if it was after I was dead. Making them believe I had no one back home that I cared about would mean that they would have believed that nothing could avenge me. And, seeing as Yoshihara was so young at the time of my supposed death… well, if there was an enemy that went after her because they knew of my connection to them through blood, it's safe to say that she would not be alive right now."
The blond middle-aged man frowned, reclining in his chair. "You might see it as paranoia, Ms. Kayama. But all you'd have to do is take one good look at Josefumi, and you'd know that I'm telling the truth. You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but that boy has the soul of a killer. He's murdered at least a dozen Stand Users in self-defence, his earliest being at the age of 10 if records are to be believed. Most Stand users are murderers, either out of self-defence, or they're the ones murdering. The only ones who don't are those with non-offensive Stands, or those who are genuinely pure-hearted people."
"When I tell you that it was for her own good, it truly was. Had she known that I was alive, then yes, her life might have been better. But at what cost? Having assassins at your doorstep almost bi-weekly would be torturous. And I'm sure I'll have to explain this to her when I see her. I don't doubt for a second that she'll be furious with me for even being alive. I've prepared for the last year for this encounter," Yoshimura said, taking a sip from his coffee, which was now half empty. "I know how powerful her Killer Queen is. I watched the Sports Festival, and I know that it has had at least one previous user, though their abilities differ, if only slightly. She's quite the capable Stand User, but I can tell that she'll be unpopular as a Hero. I've heard the news stories… I don't know if they're true, but I also know that my daughter would never kill an innocent woman. I—"
"The woman she murdered was her mother, and her mother had made an attempt on her life," Nemuri interrupted, making Yoshimura's eyes widen. "I don't know why, so don't ask me that question. Save that for when you see Yoshihara again. But… I thought I'd let you know that."
Yoshimura covered his mouth in shock, blinking a few times. "My… ex-wife tried to… kill our child? Why…? For what reason would she…?" Yoshimura shook his head, shakily collecting himself. "You're right. I do need to ask her that when I inevitably see her. And… thank you, for telling me, Ms. Kayama…. I… I need to go now. I'll see you at the meeting later today to discuss the schedule shifting," Yoshimura said, abruptly leaving the table as Nemuri watched on with a mix of sadness and sympathy.
"You know, you could've used a little more tact than that, Nemuri," Aizawa, which Nemuri had only realized now was on the couch in his patented sleeping bag, said as the titular Rated R Hero jumped from her chair in shock at the man making his presence known. Aizawa flashed her a shit-eating grin, before unzipping himself from his bag like a moth shedding its cacoon, rolled it up, and took Yoshimura's spot at the table.
"You know, scaring a lady isn't very nice?"
Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "Who said I was nice?"
Nemuri chuffed in amusement. "Touche, Shouta. But still, how much of that did you hear?" Nemuri asked as Shota kicked his feet up on the table with little to no regard for manners.
"Enough to know that you clearly overreacted on Yoshihara's behalf, and fished for answers to questions you had no right asking. Aside from that, I also garnered that the man is genuine in what he said. However, there is something that's troubling me." As Aizawa said that, his normal frown turned into a scowl, as he closed his eyes in thought.
"For what it's worth, it only makes me even more concerned that someone as powerful as him, someone who could easily, with the snap of his fingers, kill All Might with little to no effort, was nearly killed by either the same someone who killed Ida and is potentially working for and or with The League of Villains, aka the recent bane of my existence, or it's said person's underling, in which case that means its two villainous organizations that are collaborating, and that can never end well," Aizawa said, his tone coming off sarcastic, despite Nemuri knowing that he meant every word of what he spoke.
And to that effect, it also brought to light just how much shit they were in. Two villainous organizations were bad enough, but two decently powerful organizations were even worse. Add onto the fact that at least one of those organizations had abilities that Quirks had no shot at countering, and suddenly you have a recipe for disaster.
Nemuri cupped her chin in thought. The more she thought about it, the more she feared for the lives of the students, who, in all reality, were caught in between what seemed like a feud not meant to be on school grounds. One that already took the life of one of the students—Ida.
And, to make matters worse, from what Izuku told her during Wednesday last week, The League of Villains not only had this other organization on their side but the fucking Hero Killer as well. The Hero Killer. One of the most deadly villains in the history of Quirk-Era Japan, next to names like Destro, and, for a more modern reference, the villain known as Six who attacked and nearly took out a quarter of Naruhata City in terms of sheer deaths they caused, just to put into perspective on just how bad that was.
But in case it didn't need to get worse. It did. For whatever reason The League of Villains might have had, they had a particular bone to pick with U.A. Now, whether or not it had to do with the fact that U.A. was THE Hero school in all of Japan, neigh, the world over, was debatable, but the facts were this:
Two Villainous Organizations with extremely powerful and deadly villains on their side, up to and including The Hero Killer Stain, joined forces and have some sort of beef against U.A. that couldn't be explained and are actively acting upon it both inside and outside of the school's facilities. They are also making it a point to show that it does not matter whether or not they were on campus or not, and that anybody associated with U.A. was going to suffer immensely for whatever transgressions that U.A. had done to said group outside purely existing.
On top of that, it was clear that they were willing to kill Students to get their point across, whatever their point might've been, and in case things weren't already bad enough as is, they were somehow able to break into U.A. and get classified documents regarding The USJ field trip, which, while having been nothing but a painful memory now, was still nervewracking. This was because U.A. was supposed to have State-Of-The-Art defensive mechanisms to prevent unauthorized entry into the building, and, considering Nedzu was as smart as he was, there was probably a likelihood that the defences, prior to them being upgraded with the help of The Speedwagon Foundation, had some sort of snag for Stands, showed that these organizations were NOT just a bunch of rowdy thugs banding together.
A bead of sweat cascaded down the side of Nemuri's face, as Aizawa gave her an eagle-eyed stare. "Oi, Nemuri? You good over there?" The black-haired man asked as Nemuri chewed on the inside of her lip, keeping her face down as she mulled over everything. "Oi, Nemuri. I'm talking to you. Are you okay?"
"No… Shouta. I'm not…." Nemuri replied, her tone of voice almost scared. "What if… what if this planned Summer Camp thing ends up getting leaked to the public? Both Class 1 – A and Class 1 – B are going to be in danger, the likes of which they are not prepared for. I know that there are risks to becoming Heroes and that the real world is tough…. But students shouldn't have to suffer at the hands of villains during school hours. When they're meant to be safe. I… I don't want another Oboro or Ida incident happening…. I don't want to lose someone close to me again…."
Aizawa let out a shaky breath, taking his legs off of the chair, as he placed a reassuring hand on Nemuri's shoulder. "You're scared that Yoshihara will get hurt, aren't you? You care about the others students too, but you're more scared about Yoshihara's safety. Especially because of her being a Stand User and that "Stand Users attract other Stand Users" nonsense, right?"
Nemuri gave Aizawa a weak smile. "She's my daughter in everything but blood, Shouta. Of course, I'm worried about her…. And of course, I'm scared about something happening to her. I know she can defend herself but at the same time… I guess it's just an… instinct. I've never been good around children because of my Quirk, so I never really thought of ever having children for that reason. So when Yoshihara came into my life, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to build any sort of meaningful relationship with her because of what my Quirk does to me. And now that I have that bond, knowing that it could be ripped away at any time… it scares me, Shouta, and I don't know what to do…."
Aizawa smirked, letting go of Nemuri's shoulder, and leaning back into his chair again. "If there's one thing that I can tell you, Nemuri, it's that life's life. What happens happens. And if life throws you a curveball of any kind, take it with stride. Tragedies happen every day, and we don't even bat an eye at them. Calamities can happen at random because the flow of life always changes, and it's completely unpredictable. But instead of sheltering yourself from it, and being scared of it, it's best to go with the flow rather than go against it. You, Hizashi, and I know that on a more personal level."
Aizawa then got up from his chair, adjusted his scarf, and cracked his neck from side to side. "Besides, there's still three more weeks to go till the trip. We still have final exams to get through first. So they'll be safe for the time being. For now, it's best not to think about it. Focus on the now, rather than the potential future. Losing focus will only make things worse in the long run. Alright?" Aizawa said, before sighing. "C'mon, why don't we do a miniature patrol and go catch us some crooks to get our minds off of this crap. Besides, nothing better than to start your morning catching idiots who think robbing banks will get them anywhere in this day and age."
At that, Nemuri smiled, got up from her chair, and followed the dishevelled, tired, and cranky man that was Aizawa Shouta out of the Staff Lounge, and out to go shake her mind of all the depressing crap. Besides, Shouta was right. Focusing on the potential future was a bad idea. Focusing on the here and now was the far wiser decision.
Besides, the last thing she wanted was to become like Shouta. She shivered at the thought. Not a very pleasant future that would be if she continued to worry. Besides, if she stuck to the here and now, and as long as she kept the future in mind instead of focusing on it, it would give her peace of mind.
And so, with that in mind, Shouta and Nemuri exited the building and began their short patrol of Musutafu.
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For as long as Tooru lived, he could never understand why humans did half the things they did, but, he assumed that it only made sense for them and that he'd never understand such things. It would probably be the same reason why humans would never understand why Rock Human Children were raised by wasps rather than other Rock Humans.
Don't get Tooru wrong, he didn't hate his biological mother for abandoning him. It was just their way of life. It was how they functioned. It was how their society was built. And, considering that Rock Humans were created by accident thanks to a couple of hundred Pillar Men mating with humans, it was bound to turn out this way.
Truth be told, Rock Humans adopted the worst traits from both homogenous. As much as The Pillar Men would've loved to be seen as separate from the humans, they were both cut from the same cloth, both were evolved forms of apes—The Pillar Men Nethanderhals forced to remain underground, and The Cave Men that became the Humans, who ruled the land above ground.
Such an unholy matrimony would create an abomination to creation—thusly it created The Rock Human. And as punishment for it, they were gifted with the innate greed of humans and desire for nothing but world domination from The Pillar Men.
And, for the longest time, Tooru believed that to be his path, too. Until he met a human woman who he became smitten with, something that Rock Humans shouldn't have been able to do. The woman's name was Nana Shimura, and, despite having been apparently cousins, what with him having the human male's brother that was Nana Shimura's father being his biological father, he cared less about that, and more about how beautiful the woman was.
Nana gave him a reason to believe humans were more than what he thought they were. Nana gave him a reason to believe that he could be just like the humans, and neglect his Rock Human ways. Her friend, Sorahiko, didn't like him all too much and had something against him, but it wasn't as if he had no reason to. Rock Humans weren't exactly difficult to tell apart from real humans, what with them disappearing for months at a time for hibernation, but that wasn't why Sorahiko disliked him.
No, Sorahiko disliked him because "he could sense the evil pouring off of him." Honestly, if he hadn't had better control over Wonder Of U, the hostile intent leaking off of that man alone would've been more than enough for some massive Calamity to have happened and killed him right where he had stood as he made his accusation.
Naturally, he didn't tell Sorahiko, and simply rebutted him by saying he had no reason to be evil. This didn't convince Sorahiko, but it at least kept him off his back.
Nana was made aware of their being cousins when he had told her the name of his supposed father. And, he also clarified that he wasn't human to her, which had strained their budding relationship. Not that it mattered to Tooru. And, eventually, it hadn't mattered to Nana, as due to his Rock Human biology, whatever human DNA came from her father's brother was so deluded, that it hardly mattered.
And so, they made a mistake.
They had sex, and they had a child named Kotaru.
Kotaru was the very first Rock Human and Human hybrid child, and as such, he was guaranteed to be Quirkless. He would never have a Quirk, ever. But, he had a far more likelihood to develop a Stand. That aside, both parents wanted nothing more than to raise their child in peace, and forgo the circumstances that surrounded their lives to do so. But, that wasn't a possibility, as by that point All Might was well on his way to being trained to be the next bearer of One For All, and with him studying to become a doctor, and Sorahiko and Nana training Toshinori Yagi, no one was there to raise poor Kotaru.
And with All For One looming overhead, and the inevitable clash with that bastard, Nana and Sorahiko made a decision without consulting him, the father, of what to do with Kotaru. And that was to give him away to someone else so that he could live a better life.
Tooru had been distraught, but, at the same time, he understood their decision. Despite being easily 110 years old, Tooru still had the mind of a 20-year-old and was quite stubborn because of it. He would've unknowingly put Kotaru in harm's way, and that was something he didn't want. Sorahiko had been more of a father to Kotaru, anyway, so that was probably why Nana had gone behind his back to make her decision.
Even so, when Nana had died because of her encounter with All For One, and with All Might now having One For All, and Sorahiko training him full-time, Tooru went out and searched for Kotaru. For years he did what he had to find his son, and only when did he find the ruined remains of that house, did Tooru understand what happened.
Kotaru was gone. And there was no getting him back. The last thing that connected him to his love was gone, and there wasn't a damn thing that he could do about it.
So, he kept an eye on One For All and Toshinori in the background, never going near Toshinori, namely because Toshinori had no idea he had existed in the first place—which was probably for the best. He still had a feud against his brother for trying to have him killed over taking that strange fruit that Taisuke had been interested in.
Something called the Locacaca.
A part of him knew that it would become important in the future. But, he ended up giving it away to The Higashikata Family Estate in Morioh. They could cultivate it better than he could, and while he didn't have any eyes or ears on The Higashikata's, there were other Rock Humans whom he had bonded with enough to call allies that would listen to his every command, namely due to his power and how devastating Wonder Of U could be.
That aside, he was content with knowing that his past was behind him, and he could continue on his life of being a doctor, and not being constantly reminded of the fate of Nana and their son.
That was until Tomura Shigaraki showed up at his Hospital for a broken wrist. He was supposed to see Doctor Garaki, but he had been busy, so he gave the man a check-up seeing as he was the only other doctor in the building this early in the morning. And considering the man was sitting in front of him, he didn't see why not.
But when he took the necessary blood sample, and when he did a background check using the blood, his blood ran cold. His reasoning? This Tomura Shigaraki had a different name. A name that he was known by because of his records still being available, if not a majority of the information having been hidden.
Tenko Shimura.
Tooru steeled himself, and while he wanted to question Tomura more on who he truly was, he didn't want to draw much attention to himself. He was going under a fake name for a reason. He didn't know what the reason could've been, but it was a reason nonetheless. Once he got him bandaged up, he sent Tomura on his way.
He knew Tomura was the leader of the League Of Villains. He knew it was his responsibility to report his appearance there to the local authorities. But, his Rock Human nature and his inherent curiosity as to why he was supposed to see Doctor Garaki over any other doctor had gotten him curious enough to do the check-up himself.
And he was glad that he did.
Because now he knew that, while Kotaru was dead, probably because of All For One, he had a child, or perhaps even children. And if Tomura, or Tenko, was aware of his heritage, the Rock Human would be able to get him out of All for One's grasp—because Shigaraki was All For One's last name. And once he did that, he'd be able to make it up to his long-dead wife and son.
But, before any of that… he had something he knew he had to do.
"Oh… Toshinori. You're not going to like this. But, you should hear it from me than from anyone else…." Tooru thought as he drove his way to U.A., with the important document regarding the blood test of Tomura Shigaraki, aka, Tenko Shimura.