Act 1 - Legacy

Chapter 3 - Education

Location: SecureTraining Ground Omega, UA High, Mustafu, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan Date: 11/08/2122 Time: 0830 hrs

"Good morning sensei!" said Midoriya Izuku chirpily as he met his new instructor, using his excitement to mask his anxiety (After all, how could a quirkless, worthless Deku be able to be a hero). The Doctor smiled politely at Izuku, his golden eyes lighting up.

"And a very good morning to you too Izuku! Ready for training?" he enthused, his voice warm.

"Yes!" Izuku was bouncing on the spot, his brain in a state of hyperactivity, helping him hide his fear (He was weak. Pathetic. Cowardly. Wrong). If chakra was the precursor of Quirks, that meant that Quirks could be trained in a similar manner. Though, considering how chakra had both mental and physical aspects ...a polite cough grabbed Izuku's attention. Izuku blushed, realising that he had begun to mumble.

As he began apologising, hoping this wouldn't be a dealbreaker to his new teacher, his sensei cuts him off, a wry smile on his face.

"When your mother told me that you were smart, I wasn't quite expecting this. I am impressed, which believe me, isn't easy. In all my life, only five people have impressed me with their intellect. My teacher, his teacher when I had a chance to meet him, my teammate whom I would never tell under pain of death, his student and Nedzu. You have surprised me. You are right in assuming that there is a mental aspect to Quirks. Genetics do play a role, as seen in Quirk 'marriages', eugenic programs at best…" Izuku raised his hand to ask, using it as a means to divert attention from his shock (He had impressed his teacher? How?! It shouldn't be possible?!), to which his teacher nodded.

"What's eugenics?" as soon as he asked the question, Izuku realised that he had said the wrong thing. A complicated set of emotions flowed across his teacher's face. His teacher then sighed and gestured to Izuku to sit down on the grass. Fearing rejection, Izuku complied. They sprawled onto the grass as The Doctor began explaining things.

"I assume you know what DNA is right?" he asked, at which Izuku nodded his head, "well, there is a theory that, since traits are inherited from parents to children, only particular people should be allowed to have children. And only with specific people, in a bid to remove undesirable traits… are you actually understanding what I am saying?" his teacher asks incredulously as he notices that Izuku, unlike children his age, seemed to be following what he was saying.

"Uhuh! When Daddy used to read to me when I was smaller, he read encyclopedias to me instead of storybooks. He then explained things to me. I then began to read on my own. I like reading illustrated encyclopedias, though I need a dictionary to understand" Izuku explained, hoping that his teacher would see that he was still useful (Please don't tell me to go away. I'll do anything! ANYTHING!). Now that he noticed, The Doctor saw that Izuku had much better diction and speech when compared to other children his age.

"You do? And what do you say to… you being part of the experiments? Conducting your own research? After being educated properly, of course" The Doctor asked, nearly salivating at the opportunity in front of him. The boy was not a natural born genius, oh no. But what had happened here, through nurture, the boy had become more intelligent. And now it was in both Izuku's and The Doctor's interests to hone the boy's intellect to its full extent. Anything less than that would be a travesty.

"Alright then. We shall be adding in additional classes to your schedule. I am going to be strictly monitoring your activities, understand Izuku? I understand from your mother that you overdo things. It will do you no g..." The Doctor ordered, his voice firm, especially when Izuku started scowling, cutting himself off when Izuku stood up agitatedly, eyes flashing red, slits in place of human pupils, as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me? What are you not telling me? Even the Kyūbi knows you, how? And how can I become strong enough to help others when I'm like this?" at this Izuku gestures at his admittedly scrawny frame in disgust "Weak. Quirkless. Useless. Evolution means that whatever comes after is the superior form. So that means chakra is weaker than Quirks. So why are you trying to give me hope WHEN I HAVE NONE!"

"Izuku…" The Doctor said warningly, as he stood warily over his charge, watching in concern as his rage kept building.

"No! How am I suPPosed to bE A hero wHen I'm sO WEAK! I'M JUST A DEKU! WHYDOYOUWANTTOWASTEYOURTIMEONME! I failed everyone! I AM THE STRONGEST OF THE NINE! HOW COULD I HAVE FAILED!" came the distorted voice from Izuku, as the seal allowed through more of the Kyūbi, their anger, fear, hate, pain all combining into a toxic mix. Izuku's face elongated, his wild mop of hair becoming spiky and his teeth changed into a more vulpine form. His scowl turned into a snarl as he went down on all fours.

The Doctor stood up and took a stance, withholding a sigh.

(Music: Naruto OST - Strong and Strike)

Izuku blurred, shattering the ground as he jumped. The Doctor blocked the attack that came from behind with his right arm. Izuku launched himself off of him as he spun to punch, a corona of corrosive red energy surrounding him. The Doctor dodged, letting him punch the ground, tearing up the sod, dispersing the mud below it and shattering the cement below it. Izuku immediately went into a handstand and launched himself into the ceiling, shattering it as he launched himself at The Doctor, bouncing off of a piece of rubble, aiming a kick for his blind spot. The Doctor, whirled around and nudged the kick away from him, suppressing his wince as the unfiltered chakra brushed against his arm, burning his skin. Izuku then went into a sloppy combo of punches and sweeping kicks, forcing The Doctor to back up and evade his strikes. Even untrained, the boy could put an enemy down.

Analysing the pattern of Izuku's strikes, he waited for the right moment...there!

Grabbing his young charge's wrist, he tossed him into the nearest wall, which promptly shattered. This also served to stun Izuku, breaking him out of his rage.

Before he could fall, The Doctor caught him in an embrace.

Looking into his shocked eyes, The Doctor gestured around him, "Izuku, this is the power you now contain", causing the young boy to look around the devastated training ground, "so make sure no one ever calls you weak again. I will train you to not only be a hero, but an icon. To be something more. And to reintroduce the world to something long forgotten. I give you my word that I will make all of this come to pass. But, for that, I need you to trust me that I will do the right thing by you. That is all I ask" he concluded as he set the still-in-shock boy down on the ground, ruffling his hair.

"I've drawn up a schedule for you, this will help in your training and allow you to have a good school life as well. But, for today, we will work on something very important for you. Something that is worth more than all the riches and fame in the world. Do you know what that is?" The Doctor asked, his golden, serpentine eyes boring into Izuku, demanding this all important answer from him as they walked towards the exit from the ground. The doors opened to reveal the Midoriyas, All Might with Nedzu on his shoulder and Miss Midnight (who was there on The Doctor's request in the event he was unable to stop Izuku and needed someone to knock him out), all having concerned expressions on their faces, with the Midoriyas having bypassed concerned to something close to a panic attack.

Unfortunately, Izuku didn't know the answer to the question.

"I don't know?" he said, more a question than a statement.

"Self-respect" his teacher replied, as he let the boy's parents pull him into a hug, letting the doors shut behind them.

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Location: Aldera Junior High, Mustafu, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan Date: 11/04/2129 Time: 1330 hrs

"But I know you want to get into the Hero Track!" exclaimed the teacher, throwing aside the career aptitude tests, while the entire class just went bonkers, showing off their Quirks, And why was that guy holding his eyeballs?! Uurgh, Izuku wanted to hurl. After the situation with his eyes, Izuku had no interest in such things.

"Honestly, what's wrong with the man? Does he have no respect for the hard work that people put into devising, printing, shipping and examining these tests? And what about all the people who don't make it into the Hero Track? What are they supposed to do? Seriously, no respect!" grumbled Kurama, annoyed with the man. Funny thing about Kurama, he hates people's hard work going to waste due to other people's idiocy. Which was exactly what the teacher was doing.

General reaction from him is a Bijudamma to the face. That teacher should consider himself seriously lucky.

While the teacher was (slightly, very indulgently) reprimanding them about Quirk usage in class, an arrogant voice cut through the din.

"Hey teach, don't lump in with these bunch of losers. I'm the real deal, but these guys will be lucky to end up as sidekicks to some busted D-lister, hah!" came Katsuki's voice, his drawl dripping with scorn. And predictably set off everyone's temper.

"Let's go, I'll take you all on!" he exclaimed, his arrogance against everyone here well founded, especially when the teacher commented on his marks and pointed out that he was trying for UA, which resulted in all our classmates' jaws to drop. Any second now….

"Uh, Midoriya? Don't you want to go to UA too?" the teacher asked right on time. Izuku ducked his head as he prepared for the inevitable explosion. Three, two, one…

Everyone burst out laughing, as Izuku stood up to defend himself.

"I don't understand you. You have power of your own to bring this entire rathill crumbling down around their ears. With me, you can bring the entire country down to it's knees! Why do you allow all these idiots to degrade you like this?" Kurama asked, his tone tired, as if he had given up on the madness that plagued Izuku's mind.

'You know exactly why' Izuku replied, thinking about the unsuccessful hunt for the mole. Whoever they were, they were highly placed or very obscure. Therefore, Izuku was acting as bait to lure him out by making make a mistake. Unfortunately, whoever they were, they were smart and sticking to their cover like a leech.

The table in front of him exploded as Katsuki leapt at him, and Izuku gave an award winning whimper, determined to play his role to the letter.

テンペスト

A lone figure made his way through the halls of the school, avoiding the janitors and students who had been assigned to clean up duty.

Quietly, he found the door. A quick Ram hand sign and a flare of chakra unsheathed the kunai he kept hidden in the seal tattooed to his wrist. A quick cut and he placed his bloody thumb on the seal guarding the door. A quick application of iryo ninjutsu took care of the cut as he resealed his kunai.

His quarry was waiting on the other side, standing in the middle of the roof of the school.

Shutting and sealing the door, he went down on a knee, his right fist supporting the weight of his body.

"Captain" he said, his voice gruff, respectful.

A sigh was heard from his superior and friend, the sigh that basically said I am so done with this.

"While I appreciate your adherence to protocol, we're not supposed to meet you know that, right?" he said, his voice tiredly reproachful. No reply was made.

"Ugh, Ryū. Just for once, don't do this. You know that I'm fine. See?" at which his Captain shook his arms out to show no damage had been done.

Ryū said nothing, staying in his position. This obviously aggravated the Captain as he pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh.

"Get up" and immediately Ryū stood up, meeting his superior's eyes as the genjutsu masking his eyes dropped to reveal the red spiralling shapes of his ancestor's eyes. That had been forcibly transplanted into him in a mistaken attempt to control him by his kidnappers four years ago.

Ryū still had nightmares about that. And was the reason why he chose to stand by his best friend's side. Because the damn self-sacrificing idiot needed someone to watch his back.

"I want you to relax. I want you to be my friend when we are alone, since we have to keep up this charade around everyone else" the Captain said, his voice tired. Tired from having to hide himself, tired from having to stay in cover for so long.

Ryū too felt the tiredness in his bones. His friend probably had it worse.

"Anything to report?" he asked, his voice carrying the hard edge of command as Ryū made his report.

"No. It's all quiet, for a change. No one is planning on hurting anyone" he said. Ryū was his Captain's eyes and ears in the school populace. He helped track down all the bullies and help create target profiles on them, with one simple purpose.

Pranking.

All the bullies in the school had been humiliated in a series of ingenious pranks, while ensuring that they got the blame for it. It took care of the problem within two years, allowing at least a few generations peace from such things.

Though occasional school wide pranks were played to ensure that their covers were intact.

Like the Noodle Incident. Which they both agreed never to speak of again,

"Alright, thank you Ryū, for your time and effort," the Captain said, his voice tired. Ryū nodded and walked towards the exit. He pauses at the threshold as he looked back at his friend and superior.

"You will be applying to UA, right?" Ryū asked, his voice gruff, covering his concern.

His friend looked back at him as the genjutsu was reapplied, hiding his friend's real eyes.

"Ten months" the Captain replied, his voice even. No stress markers, his voice calm. Assured.

Nodding in satisfaction, Ryū let himself in, shutting the door behind him.

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