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Izuku eagerly stared out the window of a private jet that he and Toshinori were on, waiting to see I-Island. He looked over to Toshinori, seeing him taking a nap, before staring back at his little book all about I-Expo. He did feel a little guilty about leaving for I-Island without even telling his girlfriends in person.
"I see it!" exclaimed Izuku in a loud voice that snapped Toshinori out of his sleep, "The artificial moving city inhabited by over ten thousand scientists, I-Island! I can't believe this is how I get to start my summer vacation!"
Toshinori chuckled as he leaned over, "I didn't think you'd be that excited. I'm glad I invited you."
Izuku blinked as he looked back at Toshinori, "Are you sure it's okay for me to come with you?"
"There's no need to worry about it. The invitation said I could bring a companion."
"But isn't that usually for family or-"
Toshinori held his finger up to interrupt, "Remember, my boy. We are connected by something far thicker than blood, aren't we? The bond of One for All."
Izuku nodded as he closed his eyes, feeling One for All cycling in his body. He could remember seeing the remnants of the other past users back during his little freak accident.
Toshinori also thought to his head that he did see Izuku as his son, and the fact he was very attracted to Inko was another thing.
"The plane will begin its descent to I-Island."
Both Izuku and Toshinori looked up to the speaker in response before Toshinori stood up.
"Now, it's about to get pretty exhausting, because once I arrive, I..."
Toshinori's body began to smoke and expand until he transformed into his All Might persona, shedding off the jacket, white shirt, and pants to reveal that he had been somehow wearing his Golden Age uniform underneath the whole ensemble. That, or he managed to change into his clothes extremely fast.
"... must maintain my muscle form constantly! Now then, you should change, too. Your hero costume should be in the luggage that you brought with you, right? U.A. should've allowed you to bring it for this."
Izuku nodded as he quickly went to change.
Soon, the two of them were on a moving sidewalk, undergoing the immigration inspection. All Might decided to quiz Izuku about I-Island and its creation while waiting. Soon enough, an electronic female voice began to speak to them once the scan was complete.
"The immigration inspection is complete. Currently, on I-Island, we are having a pre-opening of I-Expo, and exposition showcasing the results of various research and development. If you received an invitation, please come and take a look."
Izuku immediately rushed out the door, quickly taking in the sight of I-Island's architecture, the number of people, and the technology in the immediate area.
"I can't believe so many people are here before the expo is officially opened to the public," commented All Might as he looked around, "Unlike Japan, people are allowed to use their Quirks however they wish on this island. The pavilions are full of attractions and demonstrations, so you should definitely take some time for those later."
Now let's see, the hotel should be nearby," muttered All Might as he pulled out his cellphone just as an employee greeted them, welcoming them to I-Island before discovering that she was standing right in front of All Might. An excited scream from her brought countless people to swarm around him. Despite being a hero in Japan, he was famous across the whole globe as he had also worked in America.
Some time later
"I didn't think we'd be stopped for so long! We were going to be late if they didn't stop. And young Midoriya, do take note that all these kisses to my face were not consensual," commented All Might as he wiped off some lipsticks on his face. He had someone he was interested in and didn't want it to seem like he wasn't taking it seriously.
"Ok," panted Izuku, having pushed his way out of the crowd first to escape the rabble, "But what are we going to be late to?"
"Ah, I wanted to have a reunion with an old friend of mine that I haven't seen for a while. Sorry, but would you mind accompanying me to see him?" asked All Might.
"An old friend... Of course, I'll come!" nodded Izuku in excitement.
All Might looked around before leaning down to whisper, "I haven't told him about One for All or how I passed the Quirk to you, so keep that under wraps, alright?"
"It's a secret even from your friend?" asked Izuku in puzzlement.
"It's because danger follows around those who know the secret of One for All," replied All Might, "The fewer people who know about it, the better."
Izuku nodded in agreement, but still, to keep a secret like that from a very close friend didn't seem right. Before he could think more about it, he was distracted by the sound of something bouncing that was coming closer and closer. Both he and All Might look towards the source to see a female figure bouncing on a red pogo stick.
"Uncle Might!" cried out the woman as she flung herself onto All Might for a hug, to which All Might eagerly reciprocated.
"Ah Melissa!" grinned All Might as he spun the now named Melissa.
"It's been a long time! I'm so happy you came!"
"No, thank you for inviting me! I almost didn't recognize you now. When did you go and get so grown up?"
"Uncle Might, I'm seventeen now. I'm much heavier than the last time you saw me."
"Really? No, I don't feel it," laughed All Might as he lifted Melissa up higher without much effort.
Izuku blinked as he drank in the sight of All Might talking with Melissa. She didn't seem that much older than him, and yet this was All Might's close friend? Did she have a quirk that made her retain her youthful age? Izuku dismissed that as he remembered Melissa mentioning she was only seventeen.
As he studied Melissa, he saw that she was quite beautiful. The long cascading blonde hair that stopped at her waist, the teal eyes that sparkled with intelligence, and a very fine body, with a full chest and butt.
'Stop thinking like that, you have several girlfriends!' though Izuku to himself as he punched himself, but he couldn't deny that physical attraction to Melissa.
"Oh right, young Midoriya, this is my good friend's daughter," said All Might, turning his attention back to Izuku.
Melissa immediately took it up from there, "I'm Melissa Shields. It's nice to meet you."
"Ah, that makes more sense," muttered Izuku, getting a look of confusion from both All Might and Melissa before Izuku shook Melissa's offered hand, "I'm Izuku Midoriya, a first-year in the Hero Course of U.A. High School."
"U.A? Then you must be Uncle Might's .."
"Yes, I'm one of his students," finished Izuku.
"He's going to be a spectacular hero in the future!" boasted All Might with a grin.
Melissa clapped her hands in excitement at meeting a student of All Might, her eyes sparkling behind her glasses before quickly analyzing Izuku's hero uniform, noting its rather simplistic design.
"What's with the hat?" muttered Melissa as she gently tapped it, thinking it was some sort of device only to find it really was just a straw hat, "I don't really see any other support items besides the small devices you have on your face that creates a mask."
She stopped as she looked at Izuku's hands, gently rubbing it. Though there were no visible injuries, she could feel some small scars on it.
"Perhaps you should consider upgrading your costume," muttered Melissa, her eyes sharpening as she looked up Izuku's whole arm. It was then she noticed just how built Izuku was, as his hero costume didn't really cover his muscled arms. Before she could further analyze on it, All Might coughed loudly.
"Melissa, shall we?" asked All Might politely.
Melissa blushed as she instantly straightened up, apologizing for being sidetracked.
"We gotta hurry and make it to the lab to surprise papa!" said Melissa as she grabbed her pogo stick, instantly transforming it into a small square object that she could put into her pocket, "This way Uncle Might!"
All Might and Izuku looked at each other and smiled before running to chase after Melissa. With Melissa, she couldn't help but think back to Izuku's arms. Even if she had been just analyzing his muscles as a professional, he couldn't help but admire those arms and wonder how it would feel to have them wrapped around her waist. She quickly chased those thoughts away.
In his personal lab stood David Shield, looking at a photo of All Might back when they were college students, wearing the New Age costume that he had personally designed. He reminisced the days when the two of them went around to save others.
"Professor?" said a voice, breaking David out of his memories.
"What is it Sam?" asked David, shaking his head while putting his phone away.
"I've finished cleaning up and putting the equipment away," stated Sam.
"Already? Thanks so much, Sam," nodded David, thanking the fact he had such an organized assistant in Sam.
"Why don't you get out of the lab and go have some lunch with Melissa?" suggested Sam,
David shook his head, stating that Melissa was busy with her own independent work despite the academy being on break for I-Expo, though it was easy to see that David was proud of his daughter. Which was why he was surprised when Melissa suddenly popped into the room. Sam greeted Melissa politely, to which she replied with thanks for always taking care of her father, who did nothing but research all the time.
While David couldn't deny that claim, he was more curious as to why Melissa was here.
"To celebrate the completion of the first stage of your research, I invited someone to celebrate it with us," grinned Melissa.
"And who would that be?" asked David in genuine curiosity.
"Someone whom you dearly love," smiled Melissa as she waved her hands to signal them to come in.
"I am here... Shaking with excitement for our heartfelt reunion!" declared All Might as he stepped into the room, with Izuku ducking in from behind.
"Toshi?!" blinked David in surprise while Sam couldn't believe the number one hero of Japan was here.
All Might laughed before grabbing David, spinning him around for a hug before gently dropping him onto the floor. David slowly stood back up before a smile entered his face, recovering from the hug. The two made a little small talk before giving each other a fist bump to show how close friends they were before All Might introduced Izuku.
David needed no introduction for Izuku as Izuku seemed to know the general facts about him, how he won a Nobel Prize, All Might's partner back when he was an exchange student at America, and the costume designer of all of All Might's costume, from Young Age all the way to Golden Age.
David and Melissa couldn't help chuckle at this as David reminisced back during the days he designed those costumes. Young Age up to Silver Age all had capes, while Golden Age didn't, and there was a reason why. David had been against capes from the very beginning when he designed All Might's costume, arguing that it would hinder him during his hero work. All Might fought back, stating that he wanted the cape because not only did it look cool and iconic, but how it could be used to help. David had been forced to agree to make the cape as part of the design when All Might stated he would just buy a cape if David didn't design one.
For the years, the cape had never hindered All Might, making All Might think he had been right all along up until the rocket incident, where he almost choked to death because of the cape. David had gleefully rammed it into him about the dangers of having a cape, to which All Might reluctantly agree that a cape would doe more harm and had it removed from the Golden Age design.
Upon All Might's cough, David's eyes narrowed before asking Melissa to take Izuku to look around I-Expo, stating that he wanted to catch up with All Might alone, while also dismissing Sam.
Just as they all left, All Might's body began to smoke once more before transforming back to his real form, coughing heavily as he did so.
"You said it was bad over e-mail, but I didn't know it was this serious," muttered David in worry as he looked over Toshinori, "Let's get you over to my lab. Maybe there's something I can do there."
"So what do I call you by? Izuku or Midoriya? Or do you have a hero name?" asked Melissa politely, remembering the cultural difference between America and Japan for names, "You can just call me Melissa."
"Izuku is fine if you're letting me call you by your given name," replied Izuku, "My hero name is kinda my real name. It's Izuku "D."eku Midoriya."
"What an interesting name," hummed Melissa, "Does the D stand for something special?"
"The will of D," replied Izuku automatically, "I'm not too sure what it means, but something about it stuck with me."
"I see," nodded Melissa, "Well then, let's get this tour started!"
The two of them went to various locations, with Melissa giving Izuku the guided tour. There were various heroes from all over the world attending the expo, and to overcome the language barrier, each one of them had been given an earpiece with an active translator working.
Melissa took Izuku into a building showcasing the latest inventions, all of which had been based on inventions that had been patented by David.
Izuku saw the pride Melissa had for her father before making some small talk about their respective academies. When he complimented Melissa on being a genius, Melissa could only blush at that before denying it, saying she needed to study more often.
Izuku looked down to his own hands, clenching it for a bit before talking to himself, "I still need to also train more if I'm going to be a great hero like All Might."
"Uncle Might really holds a special place in your heart, doesn't he?" smiled Melissa, brushing her hair back a bit.
This simple action, along with the lighting just so happening to flash over Melissa, caused Izuku's heart to beat harder when he looked at her. There was no doubt about it, there was some physical attraction that Melissa seemed to hold over him.
'Stop wandering, my damn eyes,' cursed Izuku in his mind, tempted to stab his own eyes with his fingers to stop them from roving over Melissa's figure, 'You got girlfriends who are just as hot as she is!'
"You look like you're having fun, Deku," said a very familiar voice.
Izuku slowly turned around to see Ochako standing there in her hero suit, her eyes and expression rather flat.
"Ochako!? What are you doing here?" asked Izuku, his emotions going haywire. He was both terrified at Ochako giving him that look as well as excited that she was actually here.
"You look like you're having fun, Deku," repeated Ochako, causing Izuku to flinch at that tone.
"Ahem."
Izuku turned to the source of the cough to see Momo, Kyoka, Itsuka, and Setsuna all standing there, with two of them having the same expression as Ochako.
"You appear to be having a good time," said Momo.
"Almost as if you were enjoying another girl's company without us," added Itsuka.
"Midoriya, I overheard. It did sound like you were having a lot of fun," added Kyoka, twirling her earphone jacks.
"Are these your friends?" asked Melissa in curiosity.
"Yea, these are my classmates," nodded Izuku quickly, "And I kinda didn't get to tell them the chance I'd be coming here. Everyone, this is Melissa, who's been kind to show me around the expo."
"Hello! My papa and Uncle Migh-" started Melissa, only to be interrupted by a panicking Izuku, who quickly pulled her aside.
"Please don't tell them that I came with All Might as his plus one," whispered Izuku.
"Why not?" asked Melissa, mystified by his actions.
"For reasons I can't explain," whispered Izuku, "Please?"
Melissa giggled, seeing Izuku's pleading face before nodding in agreement, turning back to the others, "How about we grab some tea at the cafe?"
The girls nodded, but not before Izuku's secret girlfriends glared at him.
Luckily, Melissa easily hit off with the other girls, distracting them from their anger at Izuku. Izuku himself sat at another table, lying down on his face in relief and tiredness.
"Thanks for waiting," said a familiar voice as a cold drink was placed in front of him.
Izuku looked up to see Denki, Mineta, and Kosei all standing there in waiter uniforms with grins.
"Yo, what's got you so down man?" grinned Denki as he lifted his hand for a fist bump, "Need your wingman to help you out?"
"Like you could do anything to help out," teased Kyoka from her section of the table, "What are you lot doing here?"
"That's so mean," cried Denki.
"They needed some temporary staff for the expo, so we applied," gestured Kosei.
"We can go to the expo during our breaks, and we get paid at the same time. And maybe we can even have a wonderful meeting with cute girls who are atten-... Oh my god I'm in love!" declared Mineta as his eyes landed on Melissa.
"Oh damn, a real American dream girl!" panted Kosei.
"Hey, Pony is from the states too you know!" shouted Itsuka, but Kosei wasn't listening.
"Hey Midoriya, where'd you meet this hottie?" whispered Denki as he dragged Izuku back.
"Introduce us! Introduce us!" said Mineta with a drooling grin.
"Don't be hoggin the girls," added Kosei.
"Do they also go to U.A.?" asked Melissa, her glasses glinting under the sunlight.
"That's right!" said Denki as he, Mineta, and Kosei posed for Melissa.
"We're basically pros," bragged Mineta.
"We got a lot going for us," boasted Kosei.
"Why are you three slacking off! If you're going to earn money, you should be working hard!"
The trio panicked as Tenya charged towards them, rushing past them before coming to a screeching halt.
"Iida, you're here too?" asked Izuku.
Tenya nodded as he explained that since he came from a family of heroes, the Iida family had gotten an invitation for the preview. However, his whole family was busy, so only he had come. Momo chimed in, stating that she had gotten invites because her father held some shares in the I-Expo's sponsor stock, along with two more tickets. The girls in 1-A had a rock paper scissor competition to see who would get to attend the preview early, leading to Ochako and Kyoka getting lucky. Itsuka had received an invitation from a sponsor sending her tickets in recognition of her abilities at the Sports Festival and ended up inviting Setsuna as her plus one. In fact, most of the students of 1-A and 1-B were on the island, waiting to attend I-Expo when it opened to the public.
"Tenya, don't run so fast," shouted a voice as they all turned around to see Yui walking towards them.
"Yui? How did you get an invite?" asked Itsuka in surprise. To be honest, she had asked Yui first, only for Yui to refuse.
"I'm Tenya's plus one," explained Yui.
"My apologies Kodai, I needed to make sure these three were working hard," apologized Tenya.
"It's alright, but there's no need to be that harsh. And I told you to call me Yui," frowned Yui.
"You know, if you're all planning to look around tomorrow, I could show you around as your tour guide," offered Melissa.
The girls gleefully accepted the offer while Denki, Mineta, and Kosei begged to be taken with. Before Melissa could even respond, an explosion echoed in the distance, surprising them all. They all quickly turned towards the source of it to see smoke trails rising up in a specific rocky area.
"Is it a villain?" asked Kosei cautiously.
"No, that's more likely the Villain Attack course we have there," answered Melissa.
"Then let's go check it out!" exclaimed Denki as he began to rush over there with Mineta, only to be halted when Tenya grabbed their collars.
"No you don't! You have work to do," lectured Tenya, causing the trio to cry as the rest of them left to investigate the explosion.
"A clearance time of 33 seconds! He's taken 8th place!" shouted a female announcer as the group arrived at the scene to see Eijiro standing on top of the rocky mountain.
"Now please welcome our next challenger," announced the announcer, causing the group to look down in time to see Katsuki walking up to the starting point.
"Are those two also your classmates?" asked Melissa.
"Yea. The red spikey hair one is Kirishima while the spikey blonde one is Bakugo," nodded Izuku.
"Now, Villain Attack... Go!" started the announcer.
Katsuki immediately launched himself forward with an explosion, jetting himself into the nearest villain bot. Right before impact, Katsuki not only let out an explosion to destroy the villain bot, but also used it to propel himself in a different direction towards another villain bot.
"Die!" shouted Katsuki as he landed the final blow on the last robot.
"Look at that time! He's cleared it in only 14 seconds! First place!" shouted the announcer as Katsuki landed back on the starting point with a smirk.
As he began to walk towards the exit, he heard Eijiro's voice.
"Hey, isn't that Midoriya on the stands?"
Immediately, Katuski blasted himself up towards the railing, landing right in front of Izuku with a roar.
"Damn it! What the hell are you doing here Deku!?" barked Katuski.
"Looking at the preview for I-Expo like you are," replied Izuku cooly.
While Katsuki began barking insults while shaking the railings, Melissa couldn't help ask why Katsuki seemed so angry.
"That's just who he is," sighed Kyoka.
"He and Deku are fated rivals," stated Ochako with a serious face.
"Kirishima, did you both receive invitations to I-Expo, too?" asked Momo, leaning over the railing.
"Nah, only Bakugo got an invite due to getting second place at the Sports Festival. I decided to tag along with him as his plus one," grinned Eijiro, "Mina was not happy to not get to go to the preview early, but I promised we'd go together tomorrow. So, are you guys going to do this or what?"
"It's pointless! There's no way you'll get a better time than me," snarled Katsuki.
"Is that a challenge?" shot out Itsuka with a smirk, "I bet Izuku would destroy your time."
"Hurry up and get your pathetic attempt over then," said Katsuki as he hopped over the railing.
"We have a new challenger coming on at the spur of the moment! What will he show us this time!" shouted the announcer as Izuku got onto the starting point, stretching his muscles a little.
'I'll use 60%,' thought Izuku as he felt One for All cycling through his body, 'Any higher and I'll suffer tunnel vision. Better to be aware of everything than charge forward blindly. I don't have Bakugo's faster reflex and judgment.'
As a gust of wind blew from his position, the announcer raised her hands, "The course is set! Villain Attack... Go!"
Immediately, villain bots began to spawn in random locations. The course was set so the villain bots wouldn't spawn at the same location from the last run as to avoid people studying the course. It wasn't fun or fair for someone's time to be beaten just because they knew the course beforehand.
Izuku immediately rushed forward, aiming for the first one he saw. Without hesitation, he slammed a punch right through the villain bot.
As the villain bot exploded, Izuku was already running towards the next target without hesitation. The second and third villain bot was swiftly destroyed right after. The fourth one, however, wasn't destroyed. Instead, Izuku grabbed it and dragged it with him towards the top. At the arc of his jump, Izuku spun and hurled the villain bot into the fifth one while stretching his foot towards the other one, crushing both at once.
"Amazing! He's cleared it in just 8 seconds flat! He's gone and taken first place!"
As the crowds were cheering, Melissa could only stare in shock and awe at Izuku's speed and power.
It was eerily similar to All Might's own, with exception to the stretching. However, despite all that, she noticed something else was off.
"Wow, you were so fast Deku!" complimented Ochako.
"An impressive showing," nodded Tenya.
"Indeed," nodded Momo.
"I'm going next!" said Itsuka, eager to see what her own time would be.
"Like hell you are! I'm going again and blowing that score away!" shouted Katsuki.
Before he could jump back to the starting point, they all felt a large tremor beneath them.
"Wow wow wow! Fourteen seconds! He's tied with second!" shouted the announcer as they saw the mountain covered in ice, along with Shoto standing at the starting point without even moving.
"He's in your class, too?" asked Melissa, "You're all amazing! As expected of future pro heroes!"
While the other blushed at this compliment, Katsuki had already launched himself at Shoto. A few seconds later, Izuku and the other males had to jump down to stop Katsuki from trying to beat up Shoto and the female announcer, causing Melissa to giggle while the girls looked apologetic.
In David Shield's personal private laboratory, Toshinori was lying in a pod with a ventilator on his face, letting the machine scan his vitals. The results of the analysis horrified David when he saw them, though.
"What's going on, Toshi!? Why are your Quirk numbers going down so dramatically?! Even if you were seriously injured during your fight from All for One, to suddenly get these numbers is too unusual. What in the world happened to your body?" asked David in aghast.
The numbers from before his fight against All for One had been constantly around 15000 AP. However, the latest scan revealed that it had been reduced dramatically to almost 2500 AP currently. A loss of over 12500 AP in the course of six years was just too dramatic and made no scientific sense. Especially the more recent years, where the slope was even steeper.
Toshinori coughed into his fist as he replied, "If you're a hero for a long time, your body is going to fall apart."
Toshinori wanted to confess the secret of One for All, but he was worried that by bringing them in on the secret, David and Melissa would be in danger of being targeted by All for One. Not to mention he knew the true reason was that he had passed the torch already. Soon enough, it would burn out within him.
David clenched his fist in worry for his friend. At the rate of decay, the Symbol of Peace would be lost. All Might was the reason why the crime rate in Japan had stayed at 6% while other countries were roughly 20% or over.
"There were so many times I wished you had stayed in America...," confessed David. If Toshinori stayed in America, he could've continued to support him. He could easily see Toshinori living a good life in America with him, growing old together. He would've helped Toshinori find that special someone for sure.
"There's no need to be so pessimistic," stated Toshinori as he walked up to David, "There are many capable pro heroes, and many people who support those heroes like you. The future isn't as bleak as you think. I can still be All Might for a few hours."
"But... there could be another villain like All for One that will appear again," stated David hesitantly.
"And if that time comes, I will not hesitate to fight. I have no intention of stepping down as the Symbol of Peace," replied Toshinori as he placed a hand on David's shoulder.
'Not to mention, I believe in the future, that there will be someone to replace me well after I retire. My successor will bring about a new age of peace.'
"Ahem, let's change the subject," coughed Toshinori, not wanting to think too much about the future.
"Huh? Oh, ok," blinked David, shaking off his own thoughts. He had been thinking of a device he had just finished inventing that would've surely helped Toshinori maintain his Symbol of Peace. If only the damn committee hadn't taken it.
"I actually wanted to ask you for a favor."
"A favor? Anything, my friend. What do you need?" asked David.
"As you know, I lost my stomach and part of my lung in my fight against All For One. I was hoping that you could use your connections in I-island to get me the best surgeons around here, or perhaps you could be the lead surgeon. I want someone whom I can trust."
"But of course!" exclaimed David, "But why do you need surgery now? Did something happen in your body? Is it cancer?"
Toshinori shook his head before pulling out a special case from his suitcase. David immediately recognized it as one of his inventions, the Biostasis Box, used to transport organs for transplant. With a click of the button, the box hissed open to reveal a stomach and lung, floating in a green liquid.
"I'm hoping to get these organs placed into my body so I can eat and breath once more," revealed Toshinori, "There's nobody else I would trust to overlook this procedure more than you."
"I'd be honored. But these organs... are they transplants from another donor? What about the aftermath? You'll have to take medications to make sure your body doesn't reject the new organs. And the medical history from the organ donor. With the advent of quirks, organ transplants have been much harder now, since the quirk from the previous owners now brought in the problem of quirk rejection that we still can't detect to see if the body can accept it until it's too late. With your quirk, it could spell disaster. I-" said David as he began to ramble, only to be stopped by Toshinori.
"Slow down there, friend," chuckled Toshinori, "First off, there's no need to worry about rejection, it's my own organs. I managed to find a place where they cloned my own organs. Recovery Girl opened me up to find some remaining stomach cells and scraped some cells off my still functioning lung. She personally oversaw the whole process of regrowing these organs before passing them to me. I don't think I'll need to worry about the side effects, but that's why I wanted to do the surgery here. I want you to not only monitor the surgery but the aftermath too. I know with the technology here, you can perform an in-depth scan as you did now and monitor the situation. But we can do it tomorrow, as we'll be having that dinner tonight."
David nodded, feeling much happier that his friend would be with some functioning organs, but he still couldn't shake off his thoughts about helping All Might another way.
Izuku and the others explored I-island with Melissa being their tour guide, with Katsuki and Eijiro somehow being roped into the group. At one point, the boys were all distracted testing their reflexes at another game. It was at this point, the girlfriends of Izuku decided to ask Melissa about her connection with Izuku.
"So... how do you know Izuku, Shield-san?" asked Itsuka first, having sent Setsuna to distract Kyoka for a bit.
"Well, we met today," hummed Melissa, trying to think up a way not linking All Might to Izuku, as per his request, "We're connected through an old friend. Uncle Toshinori, to be exact. And please, call me Melissa. I'm not used to being called my surname, living in America and all that."
While All Might was famous, his alter ego, Toshinori Yagi, was not. Toshinori did his best to keep that hidden, and with the help of Nezu and the government, his real name wasn't as publicly known either.
"Toshinori... isn't that the guy who came with us to our Disneyland trip?" asked Ochako, "The one that seems to be very close to Mrs. Inko?"
"He knows your father, one of the leading scientists in I-Island?" inquired Momo, "Now I think of it, I'm not sure what he does. All I know is that he's pretty close to Izuku and his mom."
"I don't recall Izuku mentioning about him at all until recently," nodded Itsuak, "So what does he do? I heard he got prime seats during the Sports Festival and he's somehow connected to one of the most famous scientists here."
"Uncle Toshinori works in the hero field, helping with... training and other stuff," said Melissa. It was the truth, albeit a bit stretched, but the truth nonetheless.
"Guess that explains the connections," hummed Itsuka.
"We should get to the more important part," said Ochako, shifting the conversation back to their original goal, "Melissa... what do you think of Deku?"
Melissa blinked, surprised at the question as well as the stares she was getting from the three girls, but decided to answer honestly.
"Izuku is... unique. From my interaction with him, he's very nice and humble. Strong and intelligent. Overall a very likable person. Why do you ask?"
The three girls looked to the side at that question, unsure how to reply. To them, they viewed Melissa as another rival that could threaten to steal Izuku away from them. From their interaction, they knew Melissa was just as intelligent as Momo, and perhaps just as rich. She had the exotic foreigner look with a rocking body that wasn't far behind their own, was older, and finally, she specialized in building support items. Meaning that if she teamed up with Izuku, they would meet up a lot in a private lab room, to which who knows what could go on. Not to mention there were the popular tales of a hero getting hitched with his/her support member.
However, Melissa was able to decipher their looks due to her female instincts but chose not to say anything.
'So, Izuku already has three girls interested in him. How interesting,' thought Melissa.
"Today, we will be closing at 6 PM. Thank you for coming."
As the announcement rang out its warning, Denki, Mineta, and Kosei were all laying on each other's back, looking dead tired.
"It's still the pre-opening and we're already this busy," moaned Mineta, "What will it be like tomorrow?"
"Stop, I don't want to think about it!" cried Denki.
"Is this even worth it?" sighed Kosei, "It's most likely we wouldn't be able to see the exhibit if we're this tired."
The trio heard their name being called and looked up to see Izuku and the others walking towards them.
Suddenly, Tenya held out three tickets in front of them, causing them to blink.
"What's this?" asked Mineta as he slowly took the ticket from Tenya's hand.
"Invitations to the reception party," explained Momo.
The trio looked up in shock and rising hope at this before Kyoko could only sigh, "Melissa prepared them for you all."
"She thought you should at least have some fun today!" exclaimed Ochako.
Melissa smiled kindly, "I had extra, so please use them if you'd like."
The trio could only cry with happiness while praising their new goddess. Tenya meanwhile explained how there would be other pro heroes at the banquet, and suggested that they arrive at the party as a group at 6:30 PM sharp at lobby 7 of the central tower so as not to embarrass UA. He took it to himself to contact Shoto and Katuski before readying to rush off. Yui tapped his shoulder to stop him from running off by himself.
As they went their separate ways to their rooms to prepare, Melissa suddenly tapped Izuku on his shoulders.
"Do you mind going somewhere with me first?" asked Melissa, to which Izuku acquiesced.
Soon, Melissa took Izuku to a more hidden section of the island, mainly reserved for students of the academy at I-Island.
"And this is the lab that I use," explained Melissa as she opened the door to reveal her personal lab, "Sorry it's so messy."
"Wow, it looks so professional," stated Izuku, looking at all the hi-tech machinery around the room. He could barely identify half of them. As he continued to look around, he noticed several trophies on her bookshelf.
"Melissa, you're really talented," complimented Izuku.
Melissa waved it off with a small blush, stating that her grades weren't naturally good, so she had to spend a lot of hard work studying.
"It's because I wanted to become a Hero no matter what," said Melissa as she searched through her drawers for the specific item she wanted.
"A pro hero?" asked Izuku.
"No, I gave that up early. I'm Quirkless, after all," replied Melissa.
"Quirkless...?" gasped Izuku as his breathing stopped. He barely heard Melissa tell him about her visit to the doctor after she turned five and was told that she would never have a quirk. His own mind was already flashing back to his own visit to the doctor, where he callously told Izuku that he would never have a quirk.
He remembered all the bullying from his own generation as well as the lack of care from the older generation. Teachers that didn't bother to raise a finger to help him as they considered it to be a waste of effort. It was only after he had eaten the Devil Fruit, forced into his mouth by Katsuki, was he finally treated slightly better.
He could only imagine that Melissa probably had to go through the same thing, except for a much longer period of time. Did having a famous father help her situation? Perhaps, but still, it was a cruel experience for a child to go through, and was something he would never wish upon others.
"Sorry," muttered Izuku as Melissa popped back into the room with a small box on hand.
"Hm, what's the matter?" blinked Melissa.
"I... It's just... to be told that you wouldn't have what everyone around you had naturally," muttered Izuku, "The experience that you had to go through while growing up... the pain of being 'different'... The tears shed."
Melissa's eyes widened at shock at that. She had never told anyone the difficult childhood she had gone through. The discrimination she had suffered from other children for being so different... for being a 'freak'. The teachers were quick to put a stop to that, but she suspected her father had a hand in that, being so famous. She quickly shook her head before continuing on to her original goal, giving Izuku a smile.
"Of course, I was shocked. But I had another goal that was close to me," explained Melissa, pointing to a collection of photos on her bookshelf.
Izuku noticed on the line of photos that All Might were in some of them. It started with David getting married, to a photo of Melissa being born, to Melissa growing up in the next set. He did notice that Melissa's mother was missing in the next set of photos, but chose not to comment about it.
"My papa. He didn't have a Quirk that would let him be a hero, but he supports Uncle Might and other heroes with the power of science. It's indirect, but he is fighting for peace."
"Someone who helps other heroes," muttered Izuku in a daze.
"That's right! That's the way I hope to become a hero," nodded Melissa.
"A hero for other heroes," summarized Izuku, now admiring Melissa's outlook.
Melissa slightly blushed as she nodded before opening up the box she had been carrying.
"I made this support item while watching Uncle Might," explained Melissa as she took off Izuku's gauntlet and wrapped a red looking bracelet around Izuku's wrist, "Try pressing this panel."
Izuku obeyed, slightly mystified, only to see the bracelet suddenly expand and wrap around his hand and arm, forming a red gauntlet.
"The same transforming capability like your pogo stick?" asked Izuku in amazement as he inspected it, tapping it as he did so. It felt sturdier than his old gauntlet.
"If I had to give it a name, I'd call it Full Gauntlet," smiled Melissa, "When I first met you, I noticed some very small scarring on your hand and arms. I only noticed it because I shook your hand and took a close look. Then, at the attraction, it seemed you were limiting your Quirk on purpose. While I have a feeling that while most of it was to ensure that you wouldn't suffer tunnel vision, the remaining is because your Quirk is too strong, and your body can't handle it, despite somehow being made of rubber."
Izuku looked at Melissa in shock that she could decipher so much in so little time.
"This Full Gauntlet is strong enough to take the full power of Uncle Might's punches three times. If you wear these, you'll be able to use your full power without any backlash. It might not be useful in the future when your body can handle its full power, but it can at least protect you from your own full power and other people attacking you. So please, use them. Become a wonderful hero that can save people from trouble, okay?"
Izuku saw the smile that she gave him, his heart almost stopping for a second. Such a pure smile that radiated the utmost confidence in him. It was something he would protect.
"I promise I will," nodded Izuku, "Shishishi, with this gear you're giving me, it's like you're my hero."
Melissa blushed at this statement, her glasses starting to fog up at that. Before she could say anything, Izuku had grabbed her hand, looking her firmly in her eyes, showing just how serious he was with that last statement.
Melissa gazed into his green eyes, falling deeper and deeper into the depths of them. Slowly but unconsciously aware of what she was doing, she began to lean forward towards Izuku's face. There was something hypnotizing about his eyes that made her come closer and closer. Izuku himself was hypnotized by Melissa herself as she came closer, unsure what to do.
Before anything could happen, though, Izuku's cell phone suddenly began to ring. Izuku and Melissa blinked before they quickly jumped back, trying to regain their calm. Taking this chance, Izuku quickly went to answer the call, only to have Tenya blasting in his ears, telling him that he was late.
"Shoot, I'll be there soon!" exclaimed Izuku as he rushed out of the lab, "I'll see you at the party Melissa!"
Without hesitation, Izuku used 60% of One for All to rush away. Meanwhile, Melissa quickly grabbed a cup and filled it with water, drinking deeply from it.
'What was I doing?' thought Melissa, 'I almost kissed him there! You can't do that, not with three other girls all interested in him. What do I have to offer, besides equipment? Not to mention he's two years younger than me! Then again, mama was two years older than papa when they got married... and he's got Uncle Might's seal of approval if he is his plus on... No, bad Melissa! Don't go there!'
Melissa tried to push that little scene away from her mind as she quickly began to walk to her room to change clothes.
'Have some damn control idiot!' thought Izuku to himself as he managed to arrive into the hotel room where he and All Might had checked in. Quickly hopping into the shower to clean himself up, he thought about Melissa. There was that physical attraction, and now a similar past. He knew how it felt to be judged by society for being quirkless, for lacking that one unique aspect. And yet Melissa had the courage and strength to push forward despite that difference. Izuku wasn't sure he had the willpower to do the same if he hadn't gotten his 'quirk' from the Devil Fruit. It was something Izuku really admired in Melissa now. But it didn't give him the excuse to cheat on his girlfriends! Which was something he was still trying to get used to still.
"I hope All Might is alright," muttered Izuku himself, choosing to pursue a different line of thought to distract him.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to many, a group of people had managed to infiltrate deeply into I-Island and were currently hacking into the security system.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review if you can!