Chapter 29: Control breeds obedience, not loyalty.
"Oh, you're here earlier than I expected," Sero greeted and entered the changing room.
"Yeah, I was checking something on my phone," Izuku answered with a playful smile.
"What? Got girls?" Sero rolled his eyes.
Like he'd need more of what he has.
The saying that goes "The rich get richer" can also be applied to handsome guys.
The ones with girls get girls easily.
They say don't blame the players, blame the game. While it wasn't fair that some are blessed more than others, it was life.
While some people were born with a powerful Quirk, he was born with... A tape.
And the funny part? He considered himself lucky to be the tape guy, he once saw a guy with triangular-shaled head.
How can you even wear a shirt with that shape? Oof.
"Over a million followers," Izuku smiled and dangled his phone mischievously.
"... No way. You're kidding, right?"
"See for yourself."
Sero took the phone, staring at the numbers in shock.
"Damn... You haven't debuted yet and you're already famous..."
Still, what's with the comment section?
Binge_Reader69: "Ass or tits?"
Yo_mama: "Thoughts regarding september 11, 2001?"
Definitely_18: "Check your DM's, left you a surprise ;)"
Freaky_Grandma: "Boy, come near Hokkaido, I got candy for ya"
"Alright enough, don't read those," he snatched his phone back, an embarrassed flush on his face.
It can't be helped. Although he had a huge amount of followers, most of them were girls.
... Weird ones.
The internet was a mistake.
"... Somehow I feel bad for you...."
"Mind your business!"
"Alright, alright, make sure to not post anything regretful," Sero warned playfully.
"... Yeah, it's dangerous now. Too many people are watching me."
Izuku's expression was complicated. He was watched now, everyone was watching him. If before, he could watch anything he wanted using his phone, he now felt insecure.
The search history is in danger, he must buy a new phone and make new accounts, download a VPN as well.
And the group chat! Everything must be purged.
'Why didn't I think of it yesterday?! I knew this was going to happen!'
'Rip, bozo," Banjo snickered.
' Shuddup!'
"You need a public manager." Sero suggested.
"Yeah... I need someone to help me with... This."
"Just take a look at the business class, you'll find someone who is interested in helping you."
"Yeah, I'll see to it. It'll cost me though."
"If they found you worth it, they could invest in you, you know."
"It's better to pay them, that way they can't do anything without my approval, being a boss is better than being a partner."
Sero was caught off guard by his words, "Hooh... Didn't expect this side of you.."
"Heh, I'm not an idiot, Sero," Izuku chuckled.
Why would anyone let anyone on their business?
If you don't need to share what you're doing, don't. The more people know about your life, the more they can and will interfere.
It's a legitimate thing he learned the hard way, a life advice everyone should live by.
Multiple figures approached the door, entering with a carefree attitude while chatting happily.
"Oh hey, Midoriya! You rocked it out there!" Kirishima greeted warmly.
"You left fast, at least let us group up first," Shinso sighed.
"My bad, I was in a hurry."
"But still, you won by a landslide! You're amazing," Shinso praised earnestly.
"Thanks. Your performance wasn't half bad, controlling your enemies and using them as your shield is a genius action," Izuku praised back.
This was his nature, he always reciprocated the actions of others.
Negative or positive.
"Thanks bro, also, remind me not to get on Momo's bad side," Shinso shuddered in fear.
Izuku chuckled. It can't be helped, that girl can make anything! Including a pepper spray bullet which sounded terrifying.
Honestly, he didn't wish to get on her bad side neither.
Izuku was smart enough to not fuck around with a walking weapon factory.
In the girl's changing room, Momo sneezed.
"You okay?" Ashido asked.
"Yeah, it felt like someone was talking about me..."
"Girls, hurry up! Recovery Girl is calling for inspection," Jiro announced.
"Kayy~" X5
In the boys changing room, Izuku's conversation with Aoyama was interrupted.
"Guys, Recovery Girl is asking for all the students to attend a mandatory test before the last event," Iida interrupted their chat, urging them to head to the Nursery.
The boys nodded, changing faster.
'... Shit. She's going to kill me.'
' You're cooked, COOKED!' Banjo mocked with glee.
'Shouldn't have sent all them kids into the stratosphere,' En sighed, shaking his head.
'The hell am I supposed to do? Let them gang up on me?'
'Try to dodge, idiot,' Nana rolled her eyes.
'I ain't dodging shit. They should dodge me.'
'There he goes again...' Hikage murmured, face palming himself.
'I'm the danger, bitch.'
'Pride breeds arrogance, arrogance will breed your downfall, don't underestimate anyone,' Bruce warned earnestly.
'.... You're right, I shouldn't underestimate those kids, next time we fight I'll put them in a coma,' Izuku nodded in agreement.
'WHAT? No that's not what I meant!'
'Too late, the decision has been made.'
'God fucking damn it—!'
Izuku chuckled and cut the sound contact with the vestiges, leaving the visual contact active.
Defense III, an ability that gave him an unimaginable control over his own mind, protecting it from the in and out.
He can directly expel the vestiges if he wished to, permanently killing them off.
But "Izuku" liked having them around him, he liked them to a degree, even though they were dead.
9 minds are better than one. The accumulated knowledge and experience is a plus.
He walked with his classmates, having small talk with them.
"So what will you do after this whole festival?" Kirishima asked, curious.
He wanted to have a boys night out, the ultimate bromance!
"Hmm... Dunno. I'll decide based on the rewards."
Depending on the rewards the system offered him, the following couple of weeks could get busy.
".. What rewards?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it~" Izuku smiled.
"Besides me, what's with Kaminari?" he added, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh... It's nothing..." Kaminari muttered, slumped.
"A chick with green vine-like hair managed to beat his ass, he didn't qualify for the 3rd event," Bakugo spoke with a grin.
"You said you'd never tell anyone!"
"People change."
Bakugo looked at Izuku with an earnest expression, Izuku rolled his eyes.
"...Sorry for your loss, Kaminari," Izuku put one hand on his shoulder and offered his condolences.
"How many left?" Sero asked.
"... 13. 7 from our class got eliminated on the 2nd event," Kaminari sighed.
Aoyama sighed too, it can't be helped.
Him, Kaminari, Asui, Ashido, Ojiro, Koda and Hagakure.
"Good enough. It's not about remaining to the last event, it's about showing the heroes what you got," Izuku spoke with an encouraging smile. "You've done well, be proud," he patted his back with a laugh.
"... Thanks. You're right, I did my best," Kaminari smiled, feeling better.
The boys reached the nursery, chatting energetically.
All but two, Shoto and Bakugo.
Shoto was still weary of Izuku, Bakugo on the other hand was thoughtful.
One feared Izuku Midoriya, the other felt regret about his actions from the past, while Shoto tried to create some distance between him and Izuku, Bakugo tried to close the distance between him and Izuku.
"Hagakure-san, sorry for knocking you out," Izuku apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Don't worry about it, it's just a game~" she waved her hands hurriedly.
She felt ashamed. She attacked him first and now he is apologizing, geez...
"Your strategy was impressive though."
"You think...?" she asked, feeling giddy from the praise.
"Yeah, it gave me some trouble."
"But did I have a chance? Would I have won?"
".... Nah, I'd win."
Hagakure slumped with a depressed expression.
Izuku opened the curtain, entering the nurse's office.
"Oh hey, Recovery Girl! You called for—"
He directly dodged a flying slipper moving at high speed towards him.
"Brat!" she spat with rage, fuming.
Behind her were beds full of students, all injured.
Some were awake, most were unconscious.
"My bad. I was cornered and didn't control myself.." Izuku smiled, unrepentant.
Why should he apologize? They tried to beat him up by ganging up on him, he felt like he gave them a taste of their own medicine.
"Sprains, fractured ribs, bruises, broken fingers, concussions and much more than that! I'm a nurse not a miracle healer!"
'But you are though...' Izuku discreetly thought.
There's hardly anything that this woman can't heal, her Quirk is too powerful.
However, Izuku was certain that a better healer existed out there, hiding with the 1% of the rich population.
Their personal doctor. Powerful enough to regenerate anything.
Such figures are not publicly available though.
"It won't happen again, promise," he drew an x over his heart using his index finger.
Somehow, Recovery Girl felt like he was lying.
"...It's honestly that rats fault, not you. The heck are they doing mixing kids up for a group fight, this isn't a colosseum..." she murmured.
"Hmm? What's that?"
"Its nothing! Do this again and I'm never healing you anymore, you hear me!" she struck his head with her cane.
It shattered upon impact.
"...." X20
"... I'm not paying for that."
"GET OUT!"
The students watched as he quickly ran out of the room, a bunch of candy bars flying after him, connected by a long black tendril.
"...." X19
---
Outside a fairly simple but cheap apartment, a man was hanging by the railings carelessly and fearlessly.
"Oooi, care to get down here?" Giran loudly called the figure hanging by the railings.
Atsuhiro Sako descended down, curiosity visible on his face.
It's been a long time since someone noticed his existence.
"... What do you want, shady purple-guy?"
" Who the hell are you calling shady you knockoff performer!?"
"The hell?! I'm a great performer!" Sako retorted, offended.
"Then why does no one know about you?"
"I haven't hit a home-run on my shows, someday people will understand my greatness!"
"Whatever, man. Here, see this," Giran threw him a card.
Sako caught it, inspecting it with his full attention.
"Leagues of villains?" he muttered, surprised.
"They can help you pull out a good performance, I'll also pay you 2 million yen if you join."
"Hmm..." Sako thought deeply, rubbing his chin.
While the 2 millions were a nice bonus, he was more interested in using the league to boost his performance.
The ultimate show, that was his goal in life, he wanted to die like a firecracker.
To light up the night, like a passing comet!
He, the great great grandson of the esteemed Harima! The bandit king's blood flows through him, filling him with the need for speed.
He wanted to show the world that he was here!
"I'm in," he replied with an excited grin.
"Welcome aboard. What should we call ya?"
"Call me... Mr. Compress!"
"... Corny."
"Shuddup!"
---
"Off to the preliminaries! Opening up with a surprise from the girls of the general education course!" Present mic announced to the crowd.
Izuku was sitting down with his classmates on the stadium stands, having a full view of the entire field.
Multiple girls wearing a cheering outfits walked forward, waving their hands and cheering cutely.
"...."
It seems that the general education class is cursed by the existence of Mineta.
"Huh? This wasn't scripted..." Present mic stared, scratching his head quizzically.
Shouldn't it be a bunch of students showing off their hero costumes?
"Huh? Wasn't it what they wanted??" a girl with a long pink hair asked, confused.
The other girls nodded, confused too.
Their classmate, Mineta has told them about an event that they were asked to do by th—
The girls paused, robotically turning to the direction of Mineta.
He stood there behind a wall, breathing heavily with a lewd deprived expression on his face, a camera filming everything.
"This will go to my collection..." he smiled maniacally, drooling uncontrollably.
"Get him."
"Yes, president!" x7
The girls returned hurriedly, embarrassed and furious.
They proceeded to beat the shit out of him, leaving him sprawling on the floor.
"Oh my god, that guy is scum!" Uraraka spoke angrily, feeling indignant about the way he treated his female classmates.
Such a disrespectful person!
"Tell me about it..." Izuku shook his head helplessly.
Luckily, Mineta was not his problem anymore.
He felt bad for the General education course but he was also grateful that they took him in.
'Thank you for your sacrifice.' he bowed in gratitude.
---
In an old underground lab, a tall figure wearing a suit walked calmly through the narrow alley.
All for One, known by many names, a powerful man that considered himself a normal person.
He helped others with their Quirks, removing and giving it to people that want it.
The redistribution of resources is the key to the kingdom of God.
... Not that he believes in God, if God was real he wouldn't have given birth to him.
As powerful as he was, he is currently heavily injured.
He has a copy of Regeneration that he gives to multiple Nomus but he won't use it.
The problem with this Quirk is that it consumed his life to heal him. A full-body regeneration could cost him 10-17 years out of his lifespan.
He could ask his friend to fix his body in a hyperbolic healing chamber but he doesn't trust him.
Or anyone in that matter.
Speaking of his old friend.
"Doctor. It has been a while, how have you been, old friend?" he greeted with a fake smile.
The figure in a lap coat turned to him, a surprised expression on his face.
AFO rarely visited him.
This figure was of course, Kyudai Garaki. A renowned doctor with medical knowledge that he built over the span of his lifetime that exceeded 120 years!
He, who was born with the Quirk Life Force, could live twice as long as a normal human being! Currently his Quirk resides inside AFO and he has a copy of his original Quirk.
A copy that AFO can take at any moment, killing him with ease.
However, his Quirk wasn't stolen, he willingly gave it away to have the funding and support of AFO's vast resources.
No one understood his dreams, to have a world where death is a suggestion! A world where eternal life can be achieved!
All looked down on him, refusing him, calling his research immoral and inhumane.
All great discoveries of the human body took many corpses. How else would people know about basic human limits?
Kyudai believed that he wasn't a bad person, he only experimented using dead corpses that he turned into his test subjects.
All in the hopes of achieving immortality! With the help of the demon king, anything is possible.
Kyudai is a fairly old man of a portly and short stature. He is completely bald and has a very large and bushy mustache. He wears a rather peculiar set of goggles that are shaped somewhat like gears, along with a white, buttoned-up labcoat.
"Master. It's a rare sight seeing you," Kyudai said with a smile, staring at the figure.
AFO. The symbol of evil.
He stood before him, a floating breather besides him, breathing air for him.
He was old, sick and dying. He refused treatment and never allowed anyone to touch his body, refusing to have it modified.
"Why? Don't you like for me to visit you?" he smiled and spread his hands.
"Not at all, it's always a joy seeing an old friend of mine," Kyudai smiled, eyes closed.
"Haha! Walk with me, old friend, we have much to talk about..."
The two figures walked into the dark tunnels of the lab, a sinister aura enveloping them.