Chapter Text
[Misadventures at I-Expo – Part 1]
To say that Izuku was excited about today was an understatement. Today was the day where he got to go to the one and only, I-Island! It was one of the places that Izuku always wanted to go, not just because it was one of the best places to learn about Quirk science, but the best place to learn about and witness the best Support Items in the world being developed!
The fact that he was going to be go to such a place, and all because Star and Stripe invited Class 1 – A as well? It was a once and a lifetime opportunity, and one he refused to squander. After all, when would he ever get the chance to go to I-Island, or I-Expo without having to shill a bunch of money? He wouldn't. Not unless he became a high enough ranked hero to be sponsored to go there.
Of course, not all of Class 1 – A was going to go on the same plane. Not because of any favours, but because the private planes U.A. had access to were only big enough to fit fourteen people, not including Aizawa. Therefore, certain people had to go with others, and frankly, it all worked out in the end, much to Izuku's relief.
For example, Izuku flying with All Might! While he was a little upset that Yoshihara didn't want to join them, her reasoning wasn't bad. Johnny was invited to the place as an investor—something that Izuku didn't find shocking, despite I-Island and The Speedwagon Foundation being rivals—and Johnny was allowed to bring four people with him, having picked Josefumi, Maria, Giorgio, and Yoshihara.
That, and The Speedwagon Foundation's flight left at 3:30 in the morning so that they could arrive earlier. Apparently, it wasn't just for fun, as The Speedwagon Foundation had a mission there. Whatever that mission was, though, Izuku wasn't let in on it.
With that being said however, Izuku was still content to know that she was going to be there. Even if it was on a super secret mission instead of what the rest of the class was there for. Aizawa-sensei made it clear that this was a field trip, and while he wanted the class to learn while they were there, it was also a day of fun, seeing as the last few weeks had been nothing but stressful.
Aizawa-sensei might have been strict, but he wasn't a bad teacher. For that, Izuku was glad. Although he wouldn't be the first to admit that he did feel a little self-conscious about this trip. He wished that his mother was still here. Wished that she could see him and how far he had come.
"Alright! Young Midoriya, do you have everything packed?!" Toshinori Yagi, otherwise known as All Might, called out to him as Izuku snapped out of his thoughts, clutching his suitcase as he stood waiting at the stairs for Toshinori, who was rapidly approaching.
It had been a few days since Izuku had seen him, but ever since coming back from the internships and after their second heroics 101 class back, visibly speaking, he had improved immensely in the short time it had been. While he wasn't quite completely healthy yet, he was still far better looking than before.
For starters, All Might's face was no longer as emaciated, even compared to the last few days. It looked less like a dying old man and more normal. His eyes no longer looked like pits, but actual eyes with white sclera and large blue eyes. He also lacked the stick-bug like anatomy, now having far more meat on his bones. His stature had even improved, no longer looking slouched over, but properly standing.
Of course, there were still a few things that make him look sickly. His skin was still a few shades lighter than it should be, although it was fixing itself. From time to time, he still coughed up blood but not nearly as often. He still needed to switch into his buff form every although it did last longer than three hours, being able to be in for seven instead.
It was all part of the healing process. According to the doctor that managed to get him back into this state, it would take at least six months for him to return to normal levels. Although, Izuku would admit that it seemed a little suspicious. All Might had told him that it was impossible to restore him to full health without a miracle.
Although, Izuku was willing to concede that he finally found said miracle. Whoever it was, Izuku did not know, and frankly he did not care. What he cared about was that his mentor and teacher was getting healthy, and that was all that mattered to Izuku when it came to All Might. Seeing him not sickly and dying put some relief into him.
Honestly, if something disastrous happened to All Might, or god-forbid he died, he honestly wouldn't know what to do with himself. For as much as he wanted to think that if All Might died he wouldn't be lost or aimless, he wasn't too sure anymore. In the year that he had gotten to know him, as corny as it sounded, Izuku had started to see All Might as the dad that he never had.
It was a little bizarre. He knew that, and while he would never tell All Might out of fear of making their dynamic seem weird, that was what he saw All Might as. A father figure that he needed in life. Something that he had been denied due to his real father never visiting him. Even now, he wondered what his father was doing. If he knew that his wife had died.
He always wondered why his father never came to his mother's funeral. A part of him believed that maybe he truly was just a dead beat. Or, that perhaps, his mother had been lying to him about his father, and that his father had died at some point and she either didn't want to tell him because she didn't want to relive it, or because she was heartbroken to the point of refusing to admit it to herself.
Whatever the case was, his father wasn't in his life, but he wasn't particularly pressed about it. Besides, he doubted that much would have changed in his life if he had. He more than likely would have had the same child hood. Would have faced the same bullying. Though, maybe some things would have changed, but to what extent he did not know.
Though, now was not the time to think about what-ifs and depressing topics—he did that enough already as it was. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a bottle of pills labeled fluoxetine. He dropped a single 20 mg pill onto his hand and dry swallowed it, sighing as he put the pill bottle back into his pocket.
"Yeah! Everything's in my suitcase, All Might!" Izuku called out as he readjusted his school uniform's collar. All Might smiled, patting him on the shoulder.
"Including your suit and hero costume? I know it's a lot for a single day and evening, but trust me, it will be worth it!" All Might said as Izuku nodded, smiling. He knew that today was going to be really fun. He just knew it! It was I-Island, so how could it not be exciting? "Alright, then let's get going. We should get there by 3:30 this afternoon. It's 5:30 am now, so it'll be a 10 hour flight. Try and get some rest, okay?"
"Alright!"
As they boarded the plane, the pilot guided them to their seats, while taking their luggage to a compartment just before the cockpit. After getting seated and putting on their seatbelts, the pilot started the plane, and they began their take off. Izuku watched out of the window as he saw another plane with his fellow classmates starting to take on the passengers.
While he was a little bummed they weren't leaving at the exact same time, they would probably only be an thirty minutes to an hour behind. Of course, Johnny's plane would beat them by several hours, as The Speedwagon plane wasn't just a passenger plane, but was also a government aircraft, meaning that it could cheat and take routes that commercial planes weren't allowed to.
"So, Young Midoriya…" All Might spoke, once again taking Izuku out of his thoughts as Izuku looked at him. All Might had a concerned look on his face, which felt a little out of place. Although, there was a good chance that he had seen him take the pill. That was basically confirmed when All Might continued. "… I saw you taking a pill out of a bottle before we boarded. Is there something that I don't know?"
Izuku clammed up, not wanting to make eye contact. Not because he felt ashamed about taking anti-depressants, but because he felt bad for not telling All Might. Not to mention that the tone he took to it with the question being deeply concerned, it almost made him want to cry—he had never heard that amount of concern come out of someone who wasn't either his mother or Yoshihara.
"I…" Izuku paused, letting out a shaky sigh. "I've been taking anti-depressants for a little while now. Ever since my Mom died, actually. It's… been rough. B-but it's not like I've been feeling suicidal or anything. Just… sadder than normal. Doubt that'll ever exceed anyone's expectations. Constantly beating myself up for not being able to help the people who've died…"
Izuku repressed a sniffle, as All Might put an arm around his shoulder. "Young Midoriya, if you ever need someone to talk about how you're feeling, and if your friends or girlfriend aren't around, just know that I will always lend an ear."
Izuku wiped a tear from his eye before nodding. "Thank you, All Might."
"Alright," All Might said as he clapped Izuku on the shoulder, before leaning back into his seat. "Now then, I'm going to get some rest. Wake me up once we're close."
"Okay!"
And without saying another word, All Might fell into a deep sleep.
[XXXX]
Josefumi yawned, slumping forward in his chair as he, Maria, Giorgio, and Yoshihara all sat around a table within their Speedwagon Foundation issued private jet. They had been flying now for the better part of two and a half hours, and they weren't going to get to their location for another four hours—significantly shorter than if they took a regular U.A. issued plane, but still too long for having woken up at 3:30 in the morning.
Although, that wasn't the main reason why he was bummed. Going to I-Island was something that, while he was excited about, he had wanted to do with Karera. I-Expo only happened once every five years, and he had no idea what his future was going to look like in five years. Even if this was on a mission rather than for leisure, that didn't change the fact that he still would have liked it if he had gotten to go with her.
However, Karera had made it clear that she wasn't going to go. Not because she didn't want to go to I-Island—far from it, in fact—but because she didn't want the rest of her class to feel like crap for not being invited. After all, it would reflect bad both on her and on Class 1 – A if they were able to cherry pick certain people to go with them from other classes.
While Josefumi didn't like it, that didn't change the fact that he couldn't help but agree with her mindset. It was already bad enough that Class 1 – A, while it was starting to mend it's fractured relationship for the third time, was already somewhat at odds with each other, the last thing that they needed was for an entirely different class to have beef with them.
Not that it didn't stop Monoma from trying to stir shit, though, the arrogant little prick. If it wasn't for the fact that Josefumi knew that all of DIO's sons never reproduced, he wouldn't bat an eye at a reveal that Monoma was a descendant of him. Thankfully, it wasn't possible.
"Man, this blows…" Josefumi mumbled as Giorgio patted him on the back.
"C'mon, amico, it'll be alright! Besides, Karera probably would've been bored to tears anyway! You know how she is with super fancy scientific stuff," Giorgio said as Josefumi grumbled, sitting up straight while brushing Giorgio's hand off of him.
"I know, I know. But still, we've always wanted to go here together. This kind of thing only happens once in a blue moon, and unless your super rich it's basically impossible to go without an invite…" Josefumi said as Giorgio raised an eyebrow.
"Umm… You mean like you and Karera?" Giorgio asked as Josefumi scowled.
"Dude. One ticket costs 10,000,000 Yen! That's like coughing up 56K Euro for a single ticket! And that's not counting for inflation or whatever else happens in the next five years. I have no idea what'll happen in that time. For all I know, shit'll go tits up," Josefumi complained as Giorgio sighed.
"Well, at least try to have some fun, Jojo. Don't go souring the mood because Karera didn't want to go. Besides, I'm sure you'll find something to do to distract yourself," Giorgio said as Yoshihara spoke up, turning her attention away from the conversation that she was having with Maria about various kinds of tea or coffee blends that they liked.
"Don't forget, though, we are here on an important mission," Yoshihara reminded as Josefumi's expression steeled, his arms crossing over his chest as he gained a serious look in his eyes.
"Yeah. I know, and it's really weird, too…" Josefumi stated as Maria gained the same look in her eyes.
"For David Shield, one of the founders of I-Island, to have found a real Stone Mask and not a fake that some hack was selling is beyond bizarre. Didn't you say they were all destroyed, Jojo?" Maria asked as Josefumi lowered his head slightly, his eyebrows furrowing in thought.
"My Dad thought so, anyway. In the 1950s, just before Speedwagon died, he made sure that The Speedwagon Foundation scoured the planet in search for all of the remaining Stone Masks, and destroyed them all, so as to prevent another Vampire from showing up. After all, when The Pillar Men were defeated, and when Kars was flung into space, the last thing that we needed was someone coming across a Stone Mask and figuring out what it did."
"And yet," Yoshihara interjected, "Not only did they miss one, but we also have a Vampire. If I were to guess, this was most likely his Stone Mask that he used."
"But if that was the case, then why was it found when they were building I-Island?" Josefumi asked as Maria shrugged.
"Well, we don't know how old this Vampire is. I-Island has only been around for 40ish years. So, for all we know, the Vampire most likely buried it in the location where they started construction on I-Island before the idea was ever even conceived. Even if the chances are low, they aren't zero," Maria said as Josefumi looked back up at the group.
"Either way, we know what we have to do. We have to find that Stone Mask, and bring it back with us so it can destroyed. Hopefully, it's the last one, but I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch," Josefumi said as footsteps rang out from behind them.
"That's a good line of thinking, Joseph. Better to be safe than sorry," As soon as that voice echoed out, everyone turned to look over in the direction of the cockpit, as a tall, bulky looking man stepped out.
When describing the man in question as bulky, he wasn't the stereotypically kind of bulky—muscular with no end in sight—but rather he looked less like someone who could have been considered a Mr. Olympia candidate. He was traditionally muscular and fit looking, and he was dressed in his dark blue suit with a red tie around his neck, underneath which was a white dress shirt with a popped collar, capping off with a pair of cowboy boots.
The man had ear length blonde hair, with deep blue eyes and stubble on his chin from having recently shaved. His expression oozed with a seriousness that made some as cold as Yoshihara to shiver. After all, Jonathon Kujo was the kind of man that, once he became serious, that would not end unless the reason he was serious was done or complete, or if he was putting up a façade to try and trick the people around him that he was being serious.
As America's second ranked Pro Hero, Jonathon had been through and has seen a lot of things most people would never be able to see. Not to mention the fact that he was a Stand User, and one of the most powerful ones to date, Jonathon had both the privilege and the curse of being witness to a lot of the worlds tragedies. Key of which being his battle with Funny Valentine, the 59th President of The United States of America.
The shortened down version of the story was that, during the second Steel Ball Run, Funny Valentine was in search of The Saints Corpse, which would have given him completely control over The Flow of Negativity and Positivity, so that The United States could prosper unto eternity, and thereby dooming the rest of the world to nothing but suffering.
Johnny, having realized that, with the help of Gyro Zeppelli, assassinated Funny Valentine, effectively saving the world. The result of that battle was that, to the rest of the world, The President went missing, and was replaced by Steven Steel, who had run as opposition to Funny Valentine seeing as there was Funny Valentine did not denominate a Vice President for him to campaign with.
Of course, that was 22 years ago, when Johnny was 19. In that time, he had seen a lot more stuff. Stuff that, frankly, he was shocked to have lived through, such as nearly having his head crushed by a rock that, had Tusk not shattered to bits, would have killed him instantly when he was 28 and when his son was only two years old.
But that was in the past. This was now, and the now was more important than the past.
"After all, you can never know when something like this could happen again," Jonathon, otherwise known as either Johnny by those he was close with, or Joe Kid to the public, stated as Josefumi smirked. "However, this is more than just finding that Stone Mask. Don't forget, Kira, this is also your trial run to see if you can qualify for earning your Speedwagon Foundation license. Assuming you want to be an agent, of course."
Josefumi looked over at Yoshihara, who didn't seem too enthused by the idea. Although, to Josefumi, it made no sense. Being a Speedwagon Foundation agent meant that she would be set for life. Even just starting out, she would make well over $90 or 9,706 yen an hour—a higher bi-weekly paycheque then most heroes not in the top 100—and that was just starting off.
Not to mention, The Speedwagon Foundation gave full coverage for all medical needs, including a massive Life Insurance policy for worst case scenarios. They offered paid full-time maternity and paternity leave, had flexible hours, and if she was able to make it high enough, she would also get in on a massive pension plan once she turned 25.
Of course, the downside to being a Speedwagon Foundation agent was the danger that came with it. But so did being a hero. Some would say it was much more dangerous than being a hero, and Josefumi would be inclined to agree, but the positives outweighed the negatives.
"I understand, Uncle Jojo. But, I don't know if I want to be an agent…" Yoshihara said as Johnny nodded.
"Well, you have the rest of the day to decide. Not to say that I won't hire you at all after today, but, if you want to have something that is akin to a International Hero License super early, then today is your last chance. Otherwise, you're going to have to wait till next year to get your provisional license."
Yoshihara nodded silently as Johnny cleared his throat. "Moving on. I trust that all of you understand what we're going to be doing, yes? In case you need a reminder, once we touch base on I-Island, and once we get set up in the hotels, you guys will have two hours to fully scope out the island. Then, once that's done, we'll be investigating four of the key locations that David gave us to find this Stone Mask, as he's lost track of where it went. It'll be either in one of the three museums, or in the vault on the top floor of the Central Tower. I trust that you guys can find it."
"And what happens if it turns out not to be there?" Maria asked as Johnny frowned.
"Then we assume the worst. The someone stole it, and that we'll need to track it down ASAP. Because if it got stolen, then it could lead to something disastrous. One Vampire is already one vampire too many. But two? While they're not impossible to deal with, we're lucky our current Vampire friend is as docile as he is. But if we get a more proactive one?"
"It could destabilize the society of wherever it chooses to take root," Giorgio said as Johnny hummed in acknowledgement.
"Exactly. As for myself, I'm going to have my hands tied with meeting The President, who also has a mission for you. Although, he won't be there until 3:30 pm, around the same time the other U.A. Students. So as much as I want to help this time, I'm going to be busy, so I'm counting on you guys. Especially you, Joseph. I have high hopes for you."
"Yes, Dad," Josefumi said, nodding in understanding.
"Good. Now, I'm gonna go back to the cockpit to make sure our autopilot doesn't steer off course," Johnny said, walking back to the cockpit, as the group of four began to entertain themselves for the rest of their flight. After all, there was still four more hours left until they made it to I-Island, and time wasn't going to pass itself.
[XXXX]
In a warehouse located on I-Island, several dozen individuals dressed to in Kevlar bullet proof vests and completely black jumpsuits, fitted with silver masks that had white designs painted on reminiscent of stylized X's. Inside the warehouse was a single cargo container, filled to the brim with firearms and ammunition.
Standing on an elevated platform, overseeing the unloading of the supplies, was Wolfram. He was dressed in simpler black tank top and a pair of beige cargo pants, alongside a pair of black military-style boots. His spikey red hair that sat lopsided on his head was a little on the messy side, and his expression was steeled into a frown.
Sitting next to him, legs dangling off the platform, was Kyoka. She was dressed in an outfit made for her by someone who Shigaraki had called "The Doctor." It was designed to be an inverse of her hero costume that they had seen her wear at the USJ, to show that she had reversed course, or something along those lines.
Her new villain costume consisted of a black long-sleeve jacket with studded shoulder pads and a high-rise collar that fanned to the back of her head. It was opened, with three golden music note shaped buttons on the left, and on the right, there were three golden clock shaped buttons. Around the base of her neck was a thin black circle that sat atop the collar of a white dress shirt underneath the jacket.
Overtop the white dress shirt was a black waistcoat that had extended tails that stopped just behind her knees. Her pants were a pair of black striped purple pants, kept in place by a dark blue leather belt with a belt buckle that was shaped into the initials J.K. To complete the outfit, Kyoka wore a pair of heeled black platform mini-boots, alongside a set of golden hoop earrings, and a pair of painted on red triangles underneath her bottom eyelids.
In her personal opinion, she thought that the costume was over-designed. However, she would be lying if she said that she didn't like it. The only thing that she disliked were the hoop-earrings. She much preferred studs compared to anything flashy. But then again, she could see how they had some appeal to them.
Still, as she watched The Steel Sabers set up for their planned attack on I-Island, she had to admit that she was both impressed and disgusted by how armed to the teeth that The Steel Sabers were. They were clearly a very powerful mercenary group, and they had a lot of funding. Though, if she had to guess, it was all thanks to that mysterious "Sensei" guy that Shigaraki seemed to admire.
"Oi, Silencer," Wolfram spoke as Kyoka glanced over at him. He was using her new codename—Silencer. Again, another inverse of something when it came to her would-have-been Pro Hero name. From "The Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack" to "The Deafening Villain: Silencer." At least, that had been the rationale that Shigaraki used when he picked it out for her.
Although, she had to wonder how he had known about that? Of course, her curiosity had been appeased when he had found that someone in her old class was a traitor. Of all people, though, she never would have expected that it was them. While the reason had illuded her, she didn't really care about that. All that she cared about was how funny it was that it was them of all people.
"What?"
"I wanna go over what your contributions to this are gonna be. So pay attention, 'cause these are orders from the big boss in charge. Fuck'em up and you're a dead woman," Wolfram stated bluntly, although Kyoka hardly gave it any merit. After all, she was pretty she was the only person on this planet who had the power to Stop Time.
Still though, she paid attention, because even she didn't know why she was here aside from getting extra practice in using Stereo Hearts. "Alright, then spit it out."
"Hnnn…" Wolfram grunted, scowling. "Your roll is simple. The Speedwagon Foundation are here, having sent four Stand Users to find and locate something called The Stone Mask. I dunno what the fuck it does, but the big boss wants you to nab it. Also, the big boss said that you might be familiar with two of them, seeing as one of 'em is your cousin, but both of 'em were yer classmates."
"Kujo and Kira are here?"
"Not yet, but they're gonna be," Wolfram bit out, crossing his arms. "Keep a low profile, though. The last thing that we need is for you to get caught. We also know next to nothin' about the other two, so don't throw yourself into a needlessly difficult situation." Wolfram paused, before continuing. "By the way, we've narrowed down it's location to being one of the three museums, as our contact on the inside reported to us that it ain't in the vault."
Kyoka frowned. Because, of course, nothing could ever be that easy for her. Though, she suspected that they would be here. This was I-Expo, and while she might not have known the exact details, The Speedwagon Foundation was known for being rivals with I-Island, as well as, paradoxically enough, investors.
Granted, she was in the same spot as Wolfram about what the hell The Stone Mask was supposed to do for them, but if that "Sensei" guy wanted it, then who was she to say no? Staring back out toward the crowd of Steel Sabers, Kyoka frowned.
"Yeah, sure. Consider it done," Kyoka began as she stood up. She was about to leave to start scout out the island, but not before looking over her shoulder at Wolfram. "Oh, and Wolfram? If so much as a single civilian dies tonight, even if by accident, you won't have to worry about the heroes coming to get you. But me."
"Oh-ho! Is that insubordination I hear?" Wolfram barked out a laugh, before glaring at Kyoka, who's expression did not change. "Listen 'ere you little brat. I don't give a rats ass as to who or what you think you are, but I'm the motherfucker in charge, and what I say goes. If I want to kill the entire Island, I'll do so, and there ain't a shitting damn that you can—"
Before Wolfram could finish his sentence, Stereo Hearts threw a fist into the side of his head, sending him smashing into the ground hard enough to dent the concrete. Several Steel Sabers turned to look in the direction of the stage, as Wolfram snarled, blood dripping down the side of his face as he went to reach for a nearby guard rail to use his Quirk on.
However, just before he could touch it, Stereo Hearts grabbed Wolfram by the neck, lifting him into the air as he began to choke, all the while Kyoka glared daggers into Wolfram's eyes. "If a single innocent civilian dies tonight, Walter Holmes West, I will personally divorce your head from your shoulders. I do not care if you kill a pro hero, someone from that stupid class, or either of the Shields or our insider. But I will not accept the death of those not involved. Do. You. Understand. Me."
"F-Fuckin'…! Fine…!" Wolfram choked out as Stereo Hearts dropped him to the floor, all the while he hacked up a lung, holding his throat whilst he wheezed.
"Good. Contact me when the raid begins in earnest. In the mean time, I'll hunt down the Stone Mask," Kyoka said, her tone of voice still layered in venom before hopping off the raised platform. None of the Steel Sabers tried to do anything, for fear of what would happen to them, seeing as none of them could see what the hell it was that had grabbed Wolfram.
The only reason why Wolfram wasn't freaking out himself was because All For One had already explained to him what a Stand was. While he himself wasn't interested in bothering with one, having already taken twenty plus years to master his Quirk, he could see why one would want to get their hands on one.
"The physical manifestation of one's fighting spirit…. For her's to be as strong as it is… Clearly, I thoroughly underestimated you, Jirou Kyoka. This excites me! I wonder what All For One will have in store for you…!" Wolfram thought, a viscous grin taking up his expression.
[XXXX]
"All Might!" Izuku shouted, frantically shaking the aforementioned individual as he snored deeply, a hint of a smile taking up his expression as he slept. "All Might, All Might!" Finally, after the third time of saying his name, All Might woke up, albeit groggily as he wiped at his eyes, blinking several times in a row.
"Hnnn—Huh? Urm… What's the matter, Young Midoriya?" All Might grumbled, yawning as he glanced over at Izuku, who had a wide-eyed starry look—a massive contrast from when they had first boarded the plan.
"We can see it. Look!" Izuku exclaimed, pushing his head against the window as All Might raised an eyebrow. Considering he had just woken up, he wasn't completely lucid yet. While he wasn't the kind of person who, when he slept, he forgot most of what happened prior, may or may not have momentarily forgotten that he had asked Izuku to wake him up when they were an hour or so away from I-Island.
Lo-and-behold, when All Might looked over to see what Izuku was looking at, he couldn't help but feel a smile pull at the corners of his face. "We're almost there! I-Island!" Izuku said, his eyes sparkling like emeralds as All Might pulled back from the window. Not since he had first met him had All Might ever see that amount of excitement before.
Well, that wasn't completely true. There were other times that he had seen Izuku excited, but not nearly as much as this. This was a whole other level. He knew Izuku was a massive fan I-Island, but to be this excited…?
"Then again, what was I supposed to expect? That's just Young Midoriya for you," All Might thought blissfully. "I didn't think you'd be that excited," All Might quipped, sitting back down in his chair. "Honestly, I'm glad that all of you were invited. I was originally going to go by myself until I found out all of Class 1 – A were going, and after all of that talk about a lack of seats on the main plane, having you come with me was for the best."
"Yeah, but I still feel a little bad," Izuku said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, everyone else, excluding Kira, Kujo, Buccariatti, and Zeppeli had to fly on a standard jet, but I got to fly with you. It feels sort of—"
"Don't think too much about it, Young Midoriya," All Might interrupted, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm sure that the rest of Class 1 – A understands why. I doubt they'll think much of it. Besides, even if the rest of the class does not know it, One For All binds us together, and there are a few things I need to catch you up on so that you don't accidently say anything to the wrong person. Not that I think you would, but it's better to be safe than sorry."
As All Might said that, the pilot from the cockpit's voice came on over the loud speaker. "This plane will soon begin its descent to I-Island."
As soon as the announcement finished, All Might let out a sigh, standing up from his seat. "Now, it's about to get exhausting…!" All Might said as Izuku watched with a mix of both concern and also glee as All Might turned into his muscle form—fully now, which admittedly there was still a massive change, just not that entirely big of one anymore compared to before. "Because once I arrive, I… must maintain my muscle form constantly."
Adding two feet onto his height, going from five foot three inches to seven foot three inches, All Might had to crouch slightly to not bump his head on the roof of the plane. "While it might not be that big of an issue anymore, maintaining this form past three hours still hurts, albeit I now have an extra four for wiggle room, it'll still prove difficult," All might explained, before as he threw off his suit to reveal his hero costume underneath—a dark blue bodysuit with red, white, and yellow accents.
"All right, Young Midoriya, get changed into your costume! We're gonna be landing within the hour, and I want you to be ready. After all, I had you pack it for a reason!" All Might said as Izuku nodded. One of the flight attendants grabbed Izuku's suitcase for him as he frantically went to the change room. All Might watched as he entered the room, smiling from ear to ear.
It was times like these that All Might cherished, watching Izuku act like a regular teenager rather than some mature individual—something that he had been made to become due to recent events. He honestly didn't expect that this year would be as hectic and as damaging to the boy as it had been.
It was hard, watching from the distance that he had, to see his student—his successor—be made to go through hell. It was already hard enough for him to accept the fact that All For One was still alive. It was even worse for him to know that his brother somehow survived the eradication of The Yagi Clan. But to see Izuku force himself to bare it all without talking to that many people about it, to try and repress his feelings with anti-depressants even if they were helping him, it made All Might feel as if he failed as a teacher.
All Might remembered that time in his life, when he was Izuku's age. Back then, the only thing he had to worry about were getting good grades up until he hit high school, when Nana Shimura had started training him to receive One For All. Even then, he didn't have to deal with villains at all unless he was doing his internships. Never once did they attack U.A., and never once did he have to fear them hurting his friends or family, much less killing them.
He had hoped that when he had given Izuku One For All, he would not have had to suffer. But now, as it was growing more and more apparent, that was looking less and less like a possibility.
At least Izuku had his friends, and had someone who loved him enough to stick by his side. It was more than likely one of the only things keeping that boy sane.
"All Might, I'm ready!" Izuku said, stepping out from the bathroom in his hero costume—a dark green track suit with black and white highlights, and a lower-face mask that acted as an air filter. On his hands and feet were an oversized pair of boots and gloves, the gloves being white with blue accents and the boots red with black accents.
"Looking good, Young Midoriya! Now then, we should be landing any—"
Before All Might could finish his sentence, the plane lightly shook as the sound tires rolling against pavement filled the pair's ears. A smile took up Izuku's expression as he excitedly ran toward one of the windows.
"We're here!"
"That was a lot faster than I had initially thought. I really do need to work on my sense of scale…" All Might mused, clearing his throat. "Well then, that was fast! Let's get ready, shall we?!"
"Yes!"
It didn't take long for the plane to land and for Izuku and All Might to get off and onto I-Island proper. Of course, they were checked at the gate for their I-Island I.D., and after clearing it with the security system, they were allowed inside. However, that wasn't the last thing that they had to do, as there was always room for human error. Therefore, they had to be scanned into the system.
"We will now begin the immigration inspection." A robotic female voice spoke over the intercoms, as Holographic screens appeared all around them, listing out several bits of information about them as it was uploaded to the system. Things like names, weight, height, blood type, what kind of Quirk factor they had—both of theirs being emitter type—birthdate and anything you could possibly think of just by scanning them.
Admittedly, All Might was rather taken aback by how much information had been gathered in such quick succession. But then again, this was I-Island. It was home to 10,000 scientists, and they all helped in creating and updating I-Island, so it was no surprise that this place was as advanced as it was.
"Wow! This place is so cool! No wonder they call it the go-to place for support items, quirk and technological advancements!" Izuku exclaimed as All Might laughed to himself.
"Of course! Without I-Island, the world as we know it would be far less advanced!" All Might said as Izuku was practically bouncing in place as the security system did its thing. After a few more minutes of being scanned, the robotic voice spoke up once again.
"Immigration inspection is complete. Currently, on I-Island, we are having the preopening of I-Expo, an exposition showcasing the results of various research and development. If you have received an invitation, please come and take a look."
As soon as the doors opened, Izuku bolted, before stopping in his tracks, looking out in awe of the massive cityscape. The main city of I-Island, I-City—not a very inventive name, but it worked. Buildings of all shapes and sizes, of varying colours and mixed in with it all were amusement rides, lush foliage, and air so clean it almost hurt to breath.
Needless to say, All Might—and more obviously Izuku—were impressed. Of course, All Might expected something akin to this, but not exactly. He had seen the brochette a million different times, and he had heard what it was like from David Shield, albeit having not seen him in person for quite some time, but never the less it was all the same to him.
"You've really outdone yourself this time, Dave…" All Might mused, standing next to Izuku. "I can't believe so many people are here even before they officially open to the public."
"Seeing it in person is way different from the brochette! This place is better than I could have ever imagined!" Izuku exclaimed. All Might could practically hear his heart beating out of his chest.
"Did you know, Young Midoriya, unlike Japan, people here are allowed to use their Quirks as they wish on I-Island! Yet, due to the high-powered security matching that of Tartarus, no crimes have been committed here?" All Might said as Izuku blinked in astonishment.
"Really?! Whoa, this place is even better than I thought!" As they spoke, they walked down into the main part of the entrance, as All Might began looking up something on his phone—a GPS to the hotel that they had booked for them.
"Now then… I believe our hotel was—"
Just as All Might was going to finish his sentence, one of the female staff members began to approach, a smile on her face. "Welcome to I-Expo! How can I—Wait… All Might?!" The woman exclaimed, as practically everyone in the main square turned to them, eyes wide and excitement loud.
"Oh my god, it's All Might!"
"It's really him! He's here!"
"Ahh~! All Might!"
Like a school of excited children to learning about free sweets, a massive crowd of people surrounded All Might in seconds. All he could do was laugh, caught up in the moment, completely forgetting about poor old Izuku, who was trying desperately to get himself out of the mob before he got crushed.
"Thank you for such a warm welcome! Please, line up for autographs!"
After what felt like an hour, and after giving damn near everyone in the main area an autograph or taking a picture with them, All Might was covered in lipstick smears and was extremely taken aback. Sometimes he forgot just how popular he was, and every time he was reminded, it was a toss up between him loving it, or him not liking it.
"I didn't think I'd be stopped for that long… We were about to be late!" All Might muttered, wiping the lipstick off his face.
"Late?" Izuku asked as All Might beamed.
"Yeah, I wanted to have a reunion with an old friend that I haven't seen in a while. I hope you don't mind, but I'd like you to come with me. They mean a lot to me, and I figured you two should meet," All Might said as Izuku's eyes widened.
"A friend of All Might…! Of course I'll come with!" Izuku exclaimed as All Might's smile tensed, before leaning down and whispering.
"Ah, but one thing. I haven't told them about One For All, or how I've passed the Quirk on to you, so keep that in mind," All Might explained as Izuku nodded.
"Of course, but… don't you think it's a bit weird to have kept it a secret from your friend?" Izuku asked as All Might tensed slightly.
"You know as well as I do that danger follows around those who know the secret of One For All. Even now, I could never risk that for someone who I hold dear. Remember, Young Midoriya, how I said it was a matter of perspective when you mentioned telling Young Kira and Young Kujo?"
"R-right! Of course, I'm sorry…!" Izuku said as All Might laughed again.
"Don't be sorry, Young Midoriya! It's all right!"
Just then, the sound of something spring-loaded echoed in the distance, as both Izuku and All Might turned to face the direction where it was coming from. As soon as All Might saw the bouncing head of light blond hair, he couldn't help but smile wider than before.
"UNCLE!" An excited female voice called out as All Might cackled, opening his arms as a blond-haired young lady flew at him, launching off a futuristic looking pogo stick. "Uncle Might!" The young lady exclaimed, leaping into his arms as All Might continued to laugh, his tone happy as can be.
"Melissa! Ahahaha!"
"Long time no see!" The young lady, Melissa said, smiling wide with eyes gleaming behind round thin-framed glasses. "I'm so happy you showed up!"
"And I'm happy that you invited me! I haven't seen you in all almost a decade! I barely recognized you at first!" All Might said as he put Melissa down, and it wasn't hard to see why he hadn't recognized her. The last time he had seen Melissa was when she was just turning eight. Now, though, she was easily in her late teens—17 to 18 if he had to guess.
Back then, she was barely up to his calf. Now, though, she was tall enough to stand up to his stomach! Not to mention physical differences. Of course, there was the fact that she now had glasses and the fact she had gotten taller, but she also had grown out her hair longer than he had seen it before, reaching down just past the middle of her back.
Then, there was how she dressed. Back then, Melissa always wore sundresses or other typically girly things. But now, she was dressed in a short-sleeve dress shirt with plaid cuffs, a large bow plaid red bow around her neck, and a dark raspberry pink waistcoat. She also wore a pair of pale gray Capri pants, underneath which were a pair of plaid pink knee-high socks and heeled brown boots.
"Well, I am 17 now! I bet I'm heavier than I used to be," Melissa said as All Might smiled.
"Not at all! You're as light as a feather!"
"Hahaha," Melissa laughed earnestly, her smile beaming brightly. "I'm glad you seem well, as usual, Uncle Might," Melissa said, a blush of embarrassment spreading across her cheeks as her smile turned semi-awkward. "Sorry I'm late, I was so focused on my experiment that I lost track of time…"
"Don't worry about it," All Might dismissed, waving it off as Melissa seemed relieved. He looked around, trying to see if he could spot David, but to no avail. "Oh right, where's Dave?"
"He's in his lab. From what I saw, it seemed like he was finishing the first stage of some research he's been working on for a long time now. He doesn't actually know you're here, because I invited you here in secret as a surprise to celebrate!" Melissa answered, winking with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
"Is that what it was? By the way, what's Dave researching this time? If I were to guess, it's probably something Quirk related."
"Ah, he said it was confidential. He won't even tell me about it!" Melissa replied as All Might hummed.
"Bah, that's Dave for you. Seems like Scientists have it hard, too, huh?" All Might said, before glancing over at Izuku, as he stared at the two of them, confusion littering his face as All Might blinked. "Ah! I got so caught up talking to Melissa that I forgot about Young Midoriya…! Oops…." All Might thought as he cleared his throat. "A-hem. Melissa! This is Midoriya Izuku! I brought him with me, seeing as he's one of my students at U.A.! Young Midoriya, this is my good friend's daughter."
"Hi! I'm Melissa Shield! It's nice to meet you!" Melissa said, reaching out for a handshake as Izuku blinked, before taking off his left glove and accepting it.
"Nice to meet you, er… Ms. Shield," Izuku said, his accent making his English sound a little off. Thankfully, though, his English class had been paying off it seemed.
"Wow! I can't believe Uncle Might has a student! You're going to have a promising future, huh?" Melissa said, getting right up in his face as Izuku panicked, putting his hands up.
"I-I, um…! Well, you see, I'm still in training, but I—"
"What kind of Quirk do you have?"
"A-A power type! Um… could you…?"
"Your costume is cool, but it has a very orthodox design…" Melissa said, reaching and grabbing his hood, before allowing it to flop down. She flanked his left, looking him up and down, stroking her chin. "I don't see any support items either…"
All Might could tell from a distance that Izuku seemed more than a little uncomfortable, but it reached it's zenith when she grabbed his hand and traced the scars along his knuckles that he gotten from The Sports Festival. "Maybe you should refine your costume…"
"P-Please let go of me!" Izuku exclaimed, snapping his hand back and away from Melissa, who blinked in shock. "I-I don't mean to be rude, but—"
"Ah, I should have probably mentioned this, Melissa, but in Japan, as you know, skin to skin contact of any kind is seen as a bit awkward unless you're romantically involved. It also doesn't help that Young Midoriya is with someone," All Might explained as Melissa recoiled slightly, giggling nervously.
"O-oh! My bad, I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" Melissa exclaimed as Izuku nervously rubbed the back of his neck.
"I-It's fine. You didn't know… Phew, if she was here to see that, Yoshihara probably would've lost her cool… Or maybe not, you can never tell with her sometimes…" Izuku said as Melissa tilted her head.
"Yoshihara…? As in Yoshihara Kira?"
"Y-Yeah, that's her! Um… how do you know her?" Izuku asked, albeit timidly, as Melissa smiled.
"Oh! We met when Mr. Kujo landed! Papa and I greeted all of them and showed them to their hotel! She's very nice, if a little stand-offish. I never would have guessed she was with someone!" Melissa said as Izuku seemed almost relieved. Of course, All Might knew why. Most people's impression of Young Kira was the controversy that surrounded her, so to have someone who wasn't aware of it, and think positively of her, was probably a nice change of pace.
But, that being said…
"A-hem… Melissa, I believe it's time," All Might said as Melissa laughed nervously.
"O-Oh, right! My bad, I got distracted!' Melissa said, grabbing onto the futuristic pogo stick as she lifted it up and pressed a button. Both All Might and Izuku watched as it turned into holographic particles and became absorbed into the bright red watch on her wrist. "Come on, Uncle Might, Mr. Midoriya! This way!"
The two looked at one another, and smiled, before following after Melissa As far as All Might was concerned, today was going to be a wonderful day. Not only did he get to reunite with his niece, but he was also going to see his old friend that he hadn't seen in well over five years.
It was official, today was going to be awesome.
[To Be Continued – Misadventures at I-Expo – Part 2]