Two Types of Lessons

Izuku kept his breath steady as he blew out a small trail of fire. It looked like it was blowing out beads on a string as it alternated as flaring, but still small flames, and tiny, almost non-existent flickering tongues of fire.

"Very impressive, my Little Dragon," All For One praised his son. He meant it as well. Izuku's control over Caeli Imperium was almost perfect if he could produce those effects with his Fire Breath.

Izuku huffed, pushing the flame away from him before it went out. He looked at his father. "I know that if I push air towards the flame I smother it," Izuku said, using the terms his dad had used when describing the effects, "and if I pull air away from it, the flames get bigger," he added. "But that makes no sense," he commented.

"What doesn't make any sense?" Hisashi asked.

Izuku flopped into the chair at the small table set up for them. There was a jug of water and two glasses on it. The training room was simple with a combat square marked out and various pieces of equipment around the edge. The table was here so that his dad could watch.

"Fire is meant to grow with more air," Izuku said and then when his Dad looked slightly confused, he added a further explanation. "We learned about atmospheric composition in school this week," he said.

"And what did you learn?" The man feared by the Underworld asked his son.

"Air Is composed mostly of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and others."

All For One nodded. He knew this already.

"We also learned about fire in our evacuation drills," Izuku continued.

Hisashi nodded, keeping the smile from his face. He knew exactly where Izuku was going with this.

"Fire needs oxygen to burn. That's why we get told to use the fire blankets at school if we can. It cuts off the oxygen in the air to the fire." Izuku blinked up at him. "That's why it doesn't make sense that when I use Caeli Imperium to push air towards Fire Breath, it goes out, and when I pull the air away, it gets bigger. The only way it makes sense is if Caeli Imperium isn't air control at all but something else."

"And what do you think it is?" All For One asked his son, an unavoidable note of pride in his tone.

"Caeli Imperium isn't air control, it's nitrogen control!" Izuku announced. "So when I extinguish the fire, I'm pushing nitrogen to it and cutting off the oxygen, and vice versa for when my Flame Breath gets bigger."

Hisashi raised his hands and clapped. "Well done, my Little Dragon!" He praised.

"You already knew!" Izuku accused him.

Hisashi couldn't help but smile as he nodded. "Of course I knew, my Little Dragon. But it is important for you to be able to analyse your own quirks. Sometimes they aren't exactly what they seem."

Izuku accepted that explanation as he nodded. "Should I rename it?" He asked.

"That's entirely up to you," Hisashi told him. It honestly didn't matter what Izuku named the quirks he was given since they were all absorbed into his own quirk and that one was still unnamed.

His son's face twisted with thought. "Caeli Imperium means 'air control'?" He asked.

"It does," All For One confirmed before his son dissolved into muttering. He waited a few minutes, listening idly while Izuku debated to himself the merits of altering the name.

"I don't think it needs to be renamed," Izuku said finally. "Since the quirk is nitrogen control and nitrogen makes up about 80 percent of the air, calling it air control is still accurate."

Hisashi nodded. "Very good, my Little Dragon. Though now that you have figured it out, I think you deserve a new quirk. What would you like?"

"Really?" Izuku asked, incredulous.

"Really," All For One replied. It would be good for Izuku to start taking in more quirks. He was sure Doctor Garaki would like to track their absorption rate as well. And if Izuku got used to taking in more quirks, when he finally asked where they were coming from, that should be an easier conversation. So far, Izuku hadn't shown the need to compulsively take quirks, and that, as far as Hisashi was concerned, was a good thing but then he did keep Izuku practicing sufficiently that if he did feel compulsion it should be controlled.

Izuku dissolved into more mutters and Hisashi laughed. His son was so cute!

"What?" Izuku demanded at the noise.

"Before you decide, I want to teach you one more thing about your quirk," Hisashi told him.

Izuku frowned. All For One could see that Izuku thought he had good knowledge of his quirk, and he did. But he had never been told of one key feature.

"Give me Caeli Imperium. I'll give it back in a few minutes," he instructed.

It spoke of Izuku's trust in him that his son's face immediately scrunched up as he felt internally for the quirk. "Wah?" The little noise of confusion told Hisashi all he needed to know. Green eyes fixed upon him, demanding an explanation.

All For One nodded to indicate he knew what was going on. "Your quirk is different from mine," he explained. "If you keep a quirk long enough, my Little Dragon, you can't give it away."

"What?" Izuku gasped.

"It merges with your own quirk," Hisashi continued. "So before you take any quirk, you need to consider how it will impact the ones you already have."

Izuku nodded slowly, still thinking and then his head dropped as the muttering began again.

All For One heard something about making him lighter to fly better which was quickly countered by something about fire proofing before Izuku added in debating the merits of getting something completely new. He nodded to himself. Both weight reduction and fire proofing were good options for Izuku to have, and neither were flashy, which meant that they would be far easier to acquire. He could get both and give them to Izuku one at a time. Doctor Garaki could run a search of the quirk registry.

"I'm not sure," Izuku said finally. "I think I'll be able to lift more now that I know Caeli Imperium is affecting nitrogen but being lighter would make it easier to lift myself, but if I can be fireproof, that would mean I could use Fire Breath far more aggressively without needing to worry about myself."

Hisashi nodded. "You are keeping the dragon theme!" He told his son.

Izuku blushed. He probably hadn't thought of that.

"They are both good options. I will find you something," he told Izuku.

"Thank you daddy!" Izuku chirped.

Hisashi smiled. It was good to see Izuku so happy. All For One knew that his son wasn't happy at school but that was the point. He had to learn how cruel people could be. He wouldn't mention school until Izuku brought it up, but Kurogiri kept him well appraised. He'd leave it a while longer before he brought it up with his son. There was no need to push, not when the school was doing it so well.

All For One smiled as Izuku went back to practicing. He would have a dragon at his side. One way, or another.

-ted-

Izuku sighed when he looked at his desk. He'd just gotten back from Physical Education. So long as his classmates didn't use their quirks, he was actually doing well there. His dad had kept his promise and he had begun physical training with Kurogiri. At the moment he just did a lot of running but it was enough to improve his fitness and he never trained with Tomura. His class didn't like that but there was nothing they could do about it. It's probably why they took it out in different ways.

He could see that his bag was missing. Which meant his lunch was missing. He looked at the chair at his desk. His books were there. They were stacked on the seat. That was something. They were usually there, and no one stole his notebooks, mostly because he took them with him and left them in his locker, the few times he brought them to school.

He heaved a breath, trying to remember if he had any lunch tokens in his shoe locker. He thought he did, and if he didn't, well, Himiko usually had some money she'd give him. So long as he got her rare steak the next day. Izuku suspected that it wasn't the steak she liked but since Kurogiri could usually be convinced to provide something, he didn't feel too bad about asking her.

Ugh… Kurogiri. The misty man never said anything when he didn't bring home the bento boxes. Instead, he just packed a fresh one the next day. Occasionally he did get the boxes back. They just appeared on his desk. Empty, of course. Usually dirty.

He picked up his books and sat at his desk, as the rest of his class filed around him taking their seats. They still had one period to go before lunch.

Izuku didn't bother to look at them. After he was blown off by Zakuro he'd made overtures to them all and was rejected soundly. They all didn't want to be infected! Idiots.

Even Miss Semai treated him with kid-gloves but he already knew she thought he had a disability. He didn't. But they didn't know that. No one knew he had a quirk. Quirks! To them, he was quirkless and Izuku could see the benefits now of his previous school seperating the quirkless kids. He'd asked around but it appeared he was the only quirkless person enrolled.

That seemed odd to him but no one was willing to explain. And he didn't want to ask his dad. He probably knew. It was probably tied into the reason Izuku had to pretend to be quirkless. He knew part of the reason. Dad wanted him to learn what people were truly like and while his classmates were being mean to him, they were being nice to each other. It was frustrating but Izuku figured they must have made good friends in the first two years.

And it wasn't like he was completely alone. Himiko didn't push him away but she was in the year level above him, so he couldn't spend a lot of time with her.

Izuku took notes, diligently copying from the blackboard at the front when something clattered to the floor and Izuku heard it roll towards his desk. He looked down and felt his eyes widen as he recognised the pencil he lost last week.

He bent down, keeping one hand on his notes, and gripping his current pencil. The other one was just out of reach but Izuku stretched and managed to snag it, pulling himself up to sit back in place before Miss Semai even noticed he'd moved. Of course she hadn't. And even if she had turned, he would have sensed it and pulled himself upright before she saw. All that spatial awareness training with Tomura was coming in handy.

"Pst." The hiss came from behind him.

"Gimme," the instruction followed.

Izuku turned his head and saw Mawari making little gestures at him. He opened his eyes wider to give the girl a look. This was his pencil and she knew it.

"Quirkless, Gimme!" The hiss was more intent.

Izuku saw the others in the surrounding desks stop writing notes and look at him. He shook his head. He knew the others in his class took his pencils and stuff but this was the first time he'd gotten one back. Accident or not on Mawari's behalf, he was keeping what was his.

"Give me the pencil, Deku," she hissed the actual words.

He honestly didn't know how Miss Semai didn't hear it. Izuku shook his head again and looked back at his notes. He started copying again after he laid the retrieved pencil under his forearm.

"Miss Semai!" Mawari called out.

Izuku stopped writing and sat up straight with the rest of his class.

"Yes Mawari?" Miss Semai said as she turned from the blackboard.

"Izuku took my pencil," Mawari said.

For a moment, Miss Semai looked confused. "How did he get your pencil?" she asked.

"I dropped it," Mawari explained. "It rolled to him and now he won't give it back."

"It's my pencil," Izuku objected. This was the first pencil he'd ever gotten back. He wasn't going to let it go again without saying anything. "I lost it last week."

"Izuku, did you pick up the pencil Mawari dropped?" Miss Semai asked.

He didn't reply. He had picked it up but it didn't change the fact that it was his pencil in the first place.

"Give Mawari her pencil back," Miss Semai ordered when he remained silent.

"It's my pencil!" Izuku objected again.

"Give Mawari her pencil back," she repeated.

There was a snigger from behind him. Mawari, if he wasn't mistaken but it could have been Kizuba. The two of them were close.

Izuku glared.

"Detention!" Miss Semai snapped. "Give back her pencil," she added.

Izuku slowly picked up his pencil and with his eyes still glaring at Miss Semai he waved it in Mawari's general direction.

"Now apologise for taking her pencil," Miss Semai added. "And show some respect!"

"No," Izuku snapped.

"Double detention," Miss Semai almost yelled. "And I believe I will put a note on your record."

Izuku gaped. "It's my pencil!" He objected.

"Izuku, I will not hear you accuse your classmates of stealing, so you will stay here at lunch," she told him.

There were more sniggers but this time from the entire class. Izuku didn't say anything. He just bowed his head.

There was nothing he could say to those who weren't listening no matter how unfair it was. No matter how much he wanted to. If he said something more he didn't know what Miss Semai would do but he didn't really want to find out.

Izuku burned in rage and shame as he sat there. He didn't bother to write anymore notes.