Chapter 14: Butterflies (Patreon)
Content
Edit: 06-03-2024: Added some more dialogue before ending the chapter.
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Izuku was silent as he sat in the passenger seat of the car, a smile on his face as he leaned on the backrest. The music of the radio a welcome addition to his ears, his head bobbing up and down on the beat.
In the driverâs seat, Inko kept her eyes glued on the road, though that didnât stop her from seldomly glancing at her son, a smile creeping up her face whenever she saw her son enjoying life.
When she heard about what had happened, her heart nearly stopped. The thought of losing her child again made her dash to her car in a mad attempt to race her way to the gates of U.A. High School. Thankfully, just as she was about to cause a headache for the police, she was knocked out of her dilemma when her phone rang.
A brief phone call later and that panic was replaced by fear and anxiety. Her baby was alive, not fine, but alive. He was stable and he was sure to live to see tomorrow. It was when she was shown a video detailing what had happened to Izuku and how he got it that the panic nearly returned.
But seeing him smile, even in the face of a loss of his limb snapped the panic right out of her. It made the car ride just a tiny bit bearable, however, that didnât mean her heart wasnât pounding at the thought of Izukuâs lost leg.
And then she arrived and the rest is history. She might no longer worry about the immediate future of her son being legless, but that didnât make the worry she felt any lesser.
That, and the grudge she has with the rat didnât dissipate. Not even a tiny bit when the rat told her about his reasons why he decided to let Izuku continue on his self-destructive path to heroism instead of shutting down the damned robot when a life was in danger.
She sighed, the thoughts coalescing into one giant amalgamation of worry, anxiety, and dread, before she shoved it down deep into the recesses of her mind.
âIzu, honeyâŠâ Inko paused for a moment. Izuku looked at her from the side, curious as to why he was called. She bit her lip. âHow are you feeling?â
âNever better.â Izuku shrugged, not really feeling something off about his body. Anything that was in pain or was just a general bother was gone after he did whatever with that weird energy thing inside of him that wasnât pyromancy. He still needed to experiment with the energy, what with him being able to access it and flow it to different parts of his body and even out of it.
Maybe it worked like another form of pyromancy? But way deadlier? Or maybe more defensive? Can he do something along the lines of regenerating his limbs while in combat?
At that thought, a smirk floated on his face. âIt would be funny if my enemy cut off my arm, only for a regenerated arm to use the dismembered arm as a bludgeon.â
Food for thought.
âIs that so.â Inko hummed, taking her sonâs words to heart. He wasnât the kind to lie to her, at least, not after what happened to him a few months agoâŠ
She shook her head, frantically getting the visions of her sonâs broken body on the ground⊠Blood seeping everywhere⊠God, blood was everywhere⊠And his eyesâŠ
His eyesâŠ
Her arms started trembling, the car slightly swerving side-to-side. Those lifeless eyes staring back at her⊠Judging herâŠ
âWhere were you?â
âI trusted you!â
âMommy! Help!â
âIt hurts⊠It hurtsâŠâ
A multitude of voices assaulted her ears, all of them sounding the same, yet at different tones. Sweat pooled over her brow and crawled down her face. Her eyes jittered from corner to corner, her inner mind begging for her turmoil to end.
â-ine! Mom! Itâs fine!â Izuku was shouting at Inko frantically, eyes taking on different emotions that he had never worn since he came back.
Fear and worry. Fear for his motherâs life and worry for her well-being.
âIâm here! Mom! Itâs okay! Iâm here!â Izuku grabbed his motherâs arm, her hands still gripping on the wheel tightly. The car was stable on the road and was progressively slowing down, Izuku making sure that he raised Inkoâs foot from the gas and making her other foot apply pressure on the brakes. âIâm okay. Iâm not dead. Iâm here.â
He leaned on her, hoping that his warmth and heat could calm his shaking mother. Inko was shivering, and she was clearly in pain. That was all he needed to know to jump to his feet and give his mother a hug.
âItâs fine. Iâm here. I wonât leave you. I wonât let you go.â
The car slowly ground to a halt, Izukuâs hands piloting the wheel to make sure it stopped next to the sidewalk where it wouldnât be an issue for other drivers.
And for the next few minutes, Izuku just hugged his mother and whispered affirmation after affirmation that he wouldnât leave, making sure that his body was always in contact with his mother during her episode.
It wasnât until a few more minutes that Inko finally regained her breath and directed a tearful eye at her only son.
âYou wonât leave me again?â Inkoâs voice rasped, her breath hitching as she clutched onto Izuku for dear life.
âI wonât.â Izuku hugged her tighter.
âPlease⊠Donât leaveâŠâ Inko let the tears trickle down her cheeks. Izuku calmly held her in his embrace, a slight frown etched on his lips. âPromise me⊠Promise me youâll be carefulâŠâ
âI will. Donât worry.â Izuku promised, his embrace tightening slightly. âI will never leave you again, mom.â
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After a few minutes of basking in silence, as well as a ticket for illegal parking in a busy street, Inko was back to driving the car towards their apartment.
The ride was spent in relative silence, with the mother-and-son duo just basking in each otherâs presence.
It didnât take too long before they both arrived at their destination and exited the car. A quick trip up the stairs and they now stood in front of their own apartment.
Inko grabbed the door keys in her purse and unlocked the door, with Izuku following after his mother when she entered.
âIâll get dinner ready.â Inko grabbed the groceries she bought a few moments after her manic episode. âWhat are you going to do?â
âIâll stay in my room and meditate.â Izuku shrugged before he voiced a whisper. âMaybe I can breathe fire with it?â
âWhat was that?â Inko questioned with a slight frown.
âJust talking to myself.â Izuku waved his arms and made a beeline to his room. âCall me when dinnerâs ready.â
He shut the door and flipped on the lights, before scowling and flipping them back off.
âThere, better.â Izuku flipped a bird at the light bulb, aware that he wouldnât be getting a response from the inanimate object and he didnât give a fuck.
He just hated light sometimes.
Plopping his ass on the ground and crossing his legs, Izuku then went back to following the teachings of his mentor.
Breathe inâŠ
Breathe outâŠ
Breathe inâŠ
Breathe outâŠ
Empty your mind⊠Focus on your core⊠Let the energy flow⊠Let your mind be your guideâŠ
âThere it isâŠâ Izukuâs face remained as still as a statue, his chest slowly heaving up and down as he tried to get a glimpse of the same energy that regenerated his leg.
He focused on it, ignoring the source of his pyromancy for a moment in favor of getting this other energy under his control. He reached out with an astral hand and tried to grab it, only for it to slip between his fingers.
Confused, Izuku tried to grab it once more, only for the energy to swerve around it, not unlike a river stream passing through a giant boulder in the middle.
Seeing that it didnât like being controlled, much like his pyromancy, he then settled for it to flow. Guiding it as he imagined building various pipes to let the energy flow more naturally than forcing it to follow his rules.
It worked⊠Somewhat. But it was progress.
He let it flow from his core and to his limbs, he body feeling the heat as it started to sweat. Unperturbed, he then tried to let it circulate his body, feeling the rushing energy flow like a current of electricity through his nerves and veins.
The heat was now hotter, his clothes starting to singe at the sheer temperature. Ignoring his slightly burning clothes, he then coalesced right at his palm, guiding the energy out of his body.
The heat was now unbearable.
Opening his eyes, he gaped. A fireball was hovering over his palm. But this wasnât any ordinary fireball. This was far from pyromancy. At best, pyromancy looked like it was just a cheap knock-off of the real thing.
The fireball in his hands? It was different. And he knew the last time he saw it, it was during a time where everything was supposed to end. Where he was supposed to be sent back here after everything heâs gone through.
He shut his mouth, and a huge smirk floated up on his face.
âThe First FlameâŠâ
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âThank you for gathering on such a short notice, but this is a topic I cannot stress enough has to happen before we all assign the students to their respective classes.â Nezu clapped his paws as he glanced at each and every one of his fellow colleagues seated at the table.
It wasnât the entirety of the staff of U.A., but only those that mattered with the decision to push forward and implement a plan Nezu had ever since his meeting with Midoriya Izuku.
âWhat is the reason youâve called for us, principal Nezu?â All Might leaned forward, his skeletal appearance looking even more gaunt after watching through dozens upon dozens of practical exam footage.
âAnd please hurry up.â Midnight whined as she slumped on the table. âWeâre still not done with processing the rest of the practical exam footage.â
âNot to worry, this will be but a quick meeting to showcase a new curriculum for the first year this semester, as well as resuming the in-campus dorm project Cementoss here pitched a year ago.â Nezu smiled as he placed his paws on the table, his words garnering the attention of every single teacher in the room. âOh, donât be so alarmed. It wouldnât change much to our current approach to teaching, but shuffle priorities a bit.â
âLet me guess.â Aizawa groaned, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. âItâs because of the Midoriya kid?â
âIndeed, Eraserhead.â Nezuâs eyes closed, a pleased smile forming on his face. âNow, donât take this as favoritism, but I have very plausible reasons as to why I am focusing on him, as of the moment.â
âYou mean obsessed?â Another hero snorted, his muscular body dressed in red and black highlighted spandex leaning against the durable frame of his chair.
âThat is also another way to put it, Vlad King.â Nezu waved the hero off before continuing. âNow, as to why I am âObsessedâ with Midoriya Izuku, as Vlad King here said earlier, it is because of a simple reason.â
âHe is a high value target.â Nezu stated and all of the heroes went stock still for a second. âYouâve all watched the footage, how he dealt with the 0-pointer, his injury and how he regenerated his leg.â
âThen isnât it just ahâ overpowered quirk?â A hero with a western accent with a cowboy costume piped up. âThaâ Quirk Singularity Theory ya wanted us taâ read âfore last year was a helluva read. Could be taâ reason why?â
âAs much as I want it to be, Snipe, this is not the case.â Nezu sighed, alarming the teachers. The rat sighing meant it was incredibly serious, and a serious Nezu was even worse than a happy-go-lucky Nezu. âA few days earlier, weâve received a report about a grave desecration, something that normally isnât brought to us heroes. However, the suspect in question, was quite the shock.â
âItâs that Midoriya boy, isnât it?â A hero wearing a tan cloak with his pearly whites in full display concluded.
âIndeed, Ectoplasm.â Nezu clapped once. âHowever, something was amiss. All Might, care to explain?â
The attention now solely placed on the skeletal hero, All Might sighed.
âMonths ago, I failed to save the kid.â All Might confessed with a solemn look. âAnd in this case, it resulted in his death.â
â⊠Wait, what?â Midnightâs mouth hung open, and so did some of the other heroes. âWhat do you mean the kid died? Isnât he alive and kicking?â
âAnd he even had that regenerating thing going on.â Present Mic stared at the number one hero. âCouldnât the little listener just heal his wounds?â
âHah, I wish it couldâve gone like that, but no.â All Might sighed, hands palming his face. âMidoriya Izuku died that day, and was cremated the next week then had his remains buried.â
Silence.
The heroes around the table couldnât believe what they were hearing. A kid died, was burned to ashes then buried, and now heâs alive again?
âHow do you know it isnât the same person?â Aizawa stared at the All Might and expected an answer from him, but he got it from another source instead.
âHis current DNA matches completely from those before his supposed death. Iâve checked.â Recovery Girl sighed as she rubbed her temples. âReally getting too old for this shit.â
âSo, what? The kid died and then revived? Is that a thing with quirks now, because that terrifies me.â Vlad King shivered. A quirk like that shouldnât exist. It was impossible. Just straight up impossible!
âFrankly speaking, yes.â Nezu nodded, casting silence down upon the room once more. âHowever, he had a very interesting story. Something about a mentor and being forced to kill him when he went âhollowâ.â
And now everyone was just plain horrified. A kid that young, dying, and then being forced to kill a person was in no way a normal thing to happen!
âWhich is why I suggest we implement this modified curriculum to somewhat manage Midoriya Izukuâs issues as well as the dorm project to give both him and his mother the protection needed in case of bad actors.â Nezu dropped his smile. âEspecially the HPSC.â
Nezuâs hatred for the HPSC wasnât a secret within the confines of the U.A. High School. Even the HPSC knew that Nezu hated their guts, and depriving them of a potential asset could deal a blow to their reserves.
âThen, pray tell, how are we going to implement your new curriculum for the first years?â Aizawa pointedly glared at the rat, whose scowl vanished and was replaced by a chipper smile.
âQuite simple really, the USJ showmanship, apologies in advance, Thirteen, will be postponed to after the Sports Festival.â At the ratâs words, the hero who was in a puffy space costume deflated slightly. âIn this time frame, the students will be taught various basic rescue theories, as well as conduct practicals in the various ground areas.â
âIâm guessing you want to conduct a so-called final test in the USJ just before internships?â Midnight assumed with a finger on her chin. The ratâs response was but a single grin, giving the pro heroine a thumbs up with his paws. How the rat did it was anyoneâs guess.
âThat is what I had in plan indeed, Midnight.â Nezu clapped, his soft paws smushing together like a pair of soft marshmallows. âIt might grate on the our strict schedule, but when has teaching the next generation ever been easy?â
At his words, the rest of the pro heroes breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled along with the RAT GOD. At that, everyone inside could agree that teaching the brats were both heaven and hell, depending on who you asked.
The meeting continued for a few more minutes until finally, they settled on an agreement with a modified curriculum, albeit with a few more additions and deductions with input from various teachers.
Now, all that was left was to review the remaining footage and rank them all accordingly⊠The teachers werenât going to get any sleep tonight, were they?