107

Chapter 107: Scarab

A/N: And here we are folks, the end of the line. Hope you all enjoy and savor what's left! There's more that'd I'd like to talk about (and that includes news about my next fic!), but… I'll leave that for the end. For now, I present to you the last chapter of Flight of the Dragonfly!

"And how about the other patients?" Izuku asked, straining to keep his leg out straight in front of him. "Have either of you two made any friends?"

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Toga cheered, letting up somewhat in her struggle to reach Izuku and thus backing somewhat away from his propped up leg. "There's this girl I met! She's like me, but instead she has to constantly eat meat to keep up with all the energy her body uses up! She and I even painted some pictures with my blood just before you came!"

Izuku blinked. "Right…" He turned to Twice. "And you?"

"Friends?" Twice scoffed, the still present mask on his face ever glaring. Though, at the same time, he ended up engulfing Toga in a side hug. "Ha! Himiko's the only friend I need!—The hell she is! All I need right now are cigarettes! Where the hell are they?! I asked for them ages ago!"

The overhead speaker crackled to life. -We've already spoken about this, Mister Bubaigawara. Your request hasn't been processed yet-

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows at the statement. He slowly shifted his gaze towards the one-way glass on the wall. "Mister…" Izuku shook his head. "What was your name again?"

-Doctor Haramada-

"Right," Izuku hummed. "I suggest that you process Jin's request as soon as you're able, Mister Haramada."

-But Sir! We as an orga—

The man's voice suddenly stopped. Over the intercom, Izuku could hear several muffled voices rise up all at once. After a minute or two, the chatter died down. It took a few more moments before the voice over the intercom resumed speaking."

"I'll— I'll get str—straight to that, Mister Midoriya!" The man stutterd. "Though…" His gulp was audible over the speaker/ "If you wouldn't mind, I… respectfully ask that prepare for your departure. Your forty minutes are nearly up… Sir."

Izuku sighed, tilting his head back in irritation. "Fine."

"Aww!" Toga suddenly cried out. "You're going already?"

"Hey," Izuku said as he stood up from his seat. "I'll be back next week! You'll see me then, promise."

Toga pouted. "Fine! But you better keep your promise! Or Jin and I are gonna break outta here and kill you!"

Izuku let out a huff of air. "Isn't that a bit extre—"

"We mean your other promise, Izuku," Toga said, her voice dropping a bit of her usual cheer.

"Yeah!" Twice agreed, pointing an accusing finger at Izuku. "You better not have tricked us!—Eh, I wouldn't mind, actually."

"Ah," Izuku muttered. He took on a smile, nodding towards the two without any hesitation. "No need to worry about that, you two. By the time the two of you are cleared to get out of here, Japan will be a completely different place."

Izuku walked towards the door. The light above it flashed, the sounds of interlocking gears following suit before the door opened. "Until next week; Toga, Jin."

"Bye Izuku! I look forward to more of your blood!"

"Yeah, you brat! Better see you next week!—Fuck off! Like I want to see your ugly mug again! Good riddance! If I wan—"

The door closed before Jin's rant could continue. Izuku let out a sigh, leaning against the now closed door for a moment's respite.

"What? Tired of your new wards already?" Kaniko asked as she entered Izuku's vision. "Makes me wonder why you're helping them at all in the first place."

Izuku sighed, pushing himself off the door. "It's not that. It's just…the two of them are a bit of a handful. And I sort of wore myself out while we were downstairs awhile ago, you know?."

Kaniko rolled her eyes. "You don't say."

"But I do owe them though!" Izuku exclaimed. "It's complicated, sure, but it's the least I can do for the little bit of goodwill they showed me."

"You do realize that helping you was just an indirect way of ensuring their main enemy at the time was taken down, right?"

"Eh," Izuku waved his arm off. "I count it; I could be dead otherwise, you know." Izuku then shifted a little to look past Kaniko. "What happened to the doctor guy?"

"I think we made an impression," called out Hawks, stepping out from around the corner. "I just got done listening to his excuse of needing to go to the bathroom." Hawks shrugged. "Not my fault he can't take my serious face."

"Can't believe that he's supposed to be working here," Kaniko grumbled in agreement. "You'd think that Tartarus would require workers with a little more backbone in 'em."

"Dang," Izuku muttered. "I kind of wanted to check up on Kurogiri and Tenko again. Guess we'll just have to wait until next week."

"What's there to check?" Kaniko asked as the three of them began to make their way towards the exit. "You spent two whole hours down there staring at a wall. And you didn't make any progress!"

"I did too!" Izuku retorted. "It was just all internal."

"What took you so long though?" Kaniko asked. "I thought that the whole mindscape thing made it so you could spend whole hours in there with it being a fraction of the time in reality?"

"Well, yeah," Izuku muttered. "But there's only so much actual time that you can compress ten hours into, you know?"

Both Hawks and Kaniko stopped to glare at Izuku.

"What?" Izuku retorted. "I'll have you know that the mind is a fragile aspect of one's being. It's one thing to knowingly force somebody's consciousness into shreds. That can be done in seconds."

"And the opposite?" Kaniko asked.

Izuku sighed. "It's another thing when you're trying to mend a broken mind while making sure that your patient's sense of self is preserved and without any… oddities. Nevermind the fact that I have to do it in bursts to ensure the mind settles. At this rate I'll be done within… a month. If I come back weekly, that is."

"Hmm. Nice to know," Hawks said. "I'll make sure to bring some games next time so Kaniko and I can pass the time away while we wait for you."

Izuku grimaced. "You know—"

"Say no more, Midoriya," Hawks interrupted, lightly smacking Izuku over the head with one of his wings. "I've already said that I'll accompany you whenever you visit Tartarus, whether you like it or not. You're not wasting my time in the slightest."

"But—"

"I owe the kid who saved Japan that much. And besides, the world can do without me for a few hours when they have the likes of Jeanist and Endeavor. So trust me, no need to worry."

Izuku sighed. "Fine."

"Oi!" Kaniko bumped his shoulder. "You really should lighten up a bit, you know? Stop worrying about others and be a bit selfish for once! Like, imagine what Aizawa's reaction is going to be when he finds out that you've been trying to fix up his friend behind his back!"

Izuku chuckled. "Oh, he's going to be so mad. It's going to be worth it."

One Month Later…

Izuku settled himself in his seat, taking a long and cherished sip of his newly acquired tea. He leaned back and closed his eyes; and with a few moments of relishing in its taste and soaking in the atmosphere, he finally willed himself to speak.

"I can't believe that my mom's been allowing me to go inside of Japan's highest security prison, while it's still in the process of being repaired from its latest prison break, just so I could meet up with four of its highly dangerous individuals — all of which have tried to kill me, might I add."

He took another sip of his tea. "And yet, she barred me from meeting up with you for a whole month." Izuku sat back up and opened his eyes, looking at the individual across from him. "You don't think that was the slightest bit of overkill?"

Nezu clamped his hands together, leaning forward in his seat as he rested his arms on his desk. "I don't know, Izuku. Why don't you tell me? That was a decision made under your mother's judgement, and I can't quite compare when I myself am not a parent. I don't have kids of my own, after all."

Izuku chuckled. "What? A population of nearly a thousand students doesn't count?"

"Not in the same way that it does to the teachers and their respective students," Nezu explained.

"The way I see it, I simply don't spend enough time building any close relationships with my students."

"Really now?" Izuku hummed. "Then what about me?"

Nezu paused, tilting his head ever so slightly. "I'm not sure that I follow."

"You and I? We spend loads of time together. Doesn't that count for something?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to—"

"I'll be upfront about this, Nezu," Izuku interjected, leaning ever so slightly forward in his seat. "I'll say it right here and now. Because the truth is… Well, I'm pretty sure that you're the closest thing I've had to an actual father."

"Oho?" Nezu leaned back slightly in his seat, placing one of his paws under his chin. "I… must admit that the human sentiment is lost to me." Nezu drummed his fingers on his desk. "Hmm… Would it be wrong if I said that I'm a bit proud of myself for achieving something like this?"

Izuku let out a laugh. "Only you would say something like that." He shook his head, letting out a sigh. "But I get it; you don't know how to process this considering it's something you haven't come across before. You do you."

Nezu snickered. "Though, it says alot about your real father when you find me — the psychotic, sadistic science experiment whose put you under one harsh trial and another — to be a more suitable father figure."

Nezu took a sip of his tea, tapping one of his fingers over and over on his desk. "Might I have to take up a visit with one Hisahsi Midoriya?"

Izuku sputtered, some of the tea that he had been drinking just then going down the wrong pipe. "No—" Izuku cleared his throat. "No need for that, Nezu. Really."

Nezu shrugged. "Well, if you say so Izuku." He took another sip of his tea. "Don't think that this new revelation means that you're worming your way out of the true reason the two of us are here today, though."

Izuku tsked. "Damnit."

"Nice try in attempting to throw me off my game, though!" Nezu cheered. "I never once imagined myself as a father figure to anyone, after all. Too bad that your true intentions bleed off of your body like an overstuffed sewer."

Nezu chuckled. "But, if anything, this scheming of yours here is proof! Me mentoring you is meant to be! How poetic would it be for a father to pass on his legacy to his son?"

"But that requires effort!" Izuku whined. "Don't you know how much I've been through this past school year?!"

"But that's exactly the point!" Nezu exclaimed. "Now that that whole situation is behind us and our society's rebuilding itself, you suddenly have a whole load of free time on your hands!"

"I'm going to turn into some sadistic, privacy-breaking creep!"

"But aren't you already?"

Izuku drew a blank stare.

"Come on," Nezu began. "You're one of the most stimulating minds that I've met in a long time. What would it take for you to fully accept a role as my successor?"

Izuku leaned back in his seat, looking up aimlessly at the ceiling. "A lot, Nezu."

"Like demolishing your old middle school?"

Izuku shot back forward, staring straight at Nezu. "Wait, what?!"

"I bought and destroyed Aldera Middle School a little while back, way before this whole situation the Paranormal Liberation Army," Nezu explained, a feral smile adorning his face. "I did it for the symbolic nature of what it meant to you, of course. I was planning on rebuilding another school over it, but the chaos as of late stalled those plans. But considering the improving situation…"

Izuku set his tea down, blinking a couple times as the information settled in his mind. "But… wouldn't that cost like… a lot?"

Nezu smirked. "You'd be right! But of course, something like that wouldn't matter when you can play the stock markets like a fiddle—"

"Why, how scandalous!"

"—and under multiple aliases to prevent you from being found out," Nezu continued. "And think of it like this: with all your free time with me we can finally revisit your notebooks! Or even better, you can learn how to make Rube Goldberg machines… On the 'fly!' Ha!"

Izuku sighed. "Okay. Fine. It's clear that you're not dropping this. So how about this: you make a convincing argument—"

Nezu shot up out of his seat. "So you agree!?"

Izuku pointed a finger forward. "Look—"

"IZUKU!"

The doors to Nezu's office suddenly slammed open, two floating arms and a toothy mouth floating right on in.

"C'MON!" Setsuna's mouth exclaimed, flying right next to Izuku's face. Her arms flew to his shoulders in tandem, shaking his body without a thought. "You said that this was going to be quick! We have to get going!"

"Alright! Alright! Alright!" Izuku exclaimed, getting Setsuna to stop. "I'll be right out!"

Setsuna's pout was visible just from the few parts of hers present. "Fine! You better! I've already waited on this long enough!"

Setsuna recalled her parts, closing the door behind her. When Izuku turned back to face Nezu, he found the rodent giggling like a madman.

"What?" Izuku asked.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Nezu laughed. "It's just…" He took a breath. "Oh, so very telling."

Izuku scrunched his face up in confusion. "Telling?"

Nezu had to hold back another fit of laughter upon seeing the expression. "Oh, you know. It says a lot that a girl would break into my office just to remind you of something so… trivial. Well, trivial in my perspective anyways. But for you…"

Izuku narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I won a good portion of the pot!" Nezu exclaimed as he shot his arms up in the air. "Honestly the staff should have learned by now that betting against me is just begging for the worse."

Izuku scratched his head. "Can you actually tell me what you're talking about? What's wrong with friends wanting to go out and eat?"

"Ah, your ignorance is lovely," Nezu said. He waved his hand towards the door. "Now go. Have your fun. We can continue with this conversation later."

Izuku blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yep!" Nezu cheered. "I've got some money to collect, after all!"

Before Nezu could leave his seat, Izuku was already dashing out of the office. He did his best to ignore the chill that sped down his spine as the rodent's mad cackling erupted behind him, making sure to create as much distance as possible.

Once he was a good hundred or so feet away (and even then the relative safety from the energized Nezu was questionable), Izuku took a moment to catch his breath, leaning against the wall nearest to him.

"Quite a father figure that you've chosen for yourself," Taylor suddenly muttered from beside Izuku, her form leaning against the wall right with him.

"As far as I can recall from your own experiences," Izuku began as he turned his gaze towards her, "you're not one to judge on such matters."

Taylor blinked, taking a second before she answered back. "Low blow, dude."

Izuku shrugged, a carefree smile on his face. "What can I say? It's true, ain't it?"

Taylor huffed. "Doesn't mean that you have… too…"

Izuku paused, looking back at where Taylor had stopped in place. "What?"

Something suddenly niggled at his senses, the myriad bugs in his immediate range picking up upon a disturbance outside the building, just around the corner of the exit, and directly in his intended path.

"Oh," Izuku groaned, slumping his shoulders. "Fine. We'll go see what he wants."

Izuku left the building, humming a cheery tune with every step that he took. For once, he was entirely free of the worries of the past school year. The only things left on his agenda were academics, socialization, and… problems that stemmed from before U.A.

Izuku gradually stopped humming, quieting his steps as he neared the corner of the building. Once he was there Izuku quietly maneuvered himself against the wall, closing his eyes and crossing his arms as he settled in the space just before the turn.

"Yes, Bakugou?"

A second. And another. Three. Four.

"If you're not going to say anything, I need to get go—"

A suppressed growl sounded from around the corner, interrupting Izuku's speech. Eventually, out came Bakugou, removing himself from his own corner to face Izuku.

Izuku very, very slowly opened up one of his eyes. "Why, hi there. Definitely couldn't see you hiding from a mile away."

Bakugou's glare hardened, his cheeks retreating into his face. But still, he remained silent.

Izuku sighed. "Well—"

"I heard about what you did from your grease monkey of a friend."

Izuku drummed his fingers against the wall. "Bakugou—"

"Let me finish, Midoriya"

Izuku blinked. "I… Huh. Okay."

"I'll admit..." Bakugou bit his tongue. Just from looking at his face Izuku could tell how uncomfortable Bakugou was. It was a spectacle to Izuku's eyes..

Bakugou shook his head, eyes locking with Izuku in a harsh glare. "I'll admit that what you did could be considered impressive."

Before Izuku could get a word in, Bakugou pushed himself closer, jamming a finger straight into Izuku's chest. "Don't think that this means you're suddenly better than me – you just had the tools that I didn't."

Bakugou backed off, crossing his arms together as he continued with his glare. "Think you can fare better than me just because you had a couple of meatbag extras along with your bugs? Well think again!"

Izuku couldn't help it; he allowed his mouth to curl into a smile.

"Wipe that smile off your face, damnit!" Bakugou turned around, walking off with his hands in his pockets. "We're not done, you hear? We still have two whole years at this school, and you'll have to work your way past me!"

Izuku stared after Bakugou's retreating form, eyes locked on until they no longer could. Izuku took a moment to sting himself with a nearby bee — recoiling a bit at the backlash — but nonetheless satisfied. "Huh."

"Huh indeed," Taylor muttered, her figure shimmering in beside Izuku. "I've got to say, acknowledgement like that was… unexpected."

Izuku snorted, sending a cursory glance beside him. "What? Your bullies never came to apologize after witnessing your badassery?"

Taylor shrugged. "Not really…" Her face scrunched up in thought. "Wait… Kinda?"

"See? Can't be that strange."

Taylor sighed, her form starting the process of disappearing once more. "Whatever. I'll be here if you need me, Izuku. And good luck on your date, by the way. I'll be watching."

"Yeah, oka—" Izuku paused, his eyes bulging out from his sockets.

"Wait. WHAT!?"