Chapter 79: Interview

Seeing as it was now entirely too dangerous to go outside for a press conference, Izuku and D.O.C. decided to have an interview.

As such, Izuku and interviewer, Inata Byu, and her camra crew. All of whom had been background checked, so no risk of them trying to kill him.

The two of them were sitting on the couches that Izuku added to his office, with a coffee table between them.

"Thank you for your time Mr. Midoriya, we know your quite a busy...person." Inata was clearly weirded out by interviewing someone of Izuku's age but was being as professional as possible.

"Yes, my job has many, many benefits. But it is also, full time." Izuku said, putting on a forced smile. "So, not to be rude, but I would prefer to get to the questioning."

"Of course," Inata said. "So, Mr. Midoriya, how did you come to start taking care of O.P.C.'s? You have to admit, taking care of children at your age, is a...peculiar decision."

"Well, that information was actually classified for quite a bit of time," Izuku said. "However, after discussing it with some officials, we believe that we can safely share some information."

"Really?" Inata asked, looking interested. "Please, do tell."

"Alright, so I had been at my house when suddenly I heard someone knocking on my door." Izuku started the story. "I open it, and there is a very, very scared looking little girl, she was absolutely terrified, she said someone was chasing her and begged me not to let them get her. So naturally, I ushered her inside and closed the door. Of course, all that did was buy me a bit of time, before the villains broke into my house. Turns out, the villains she was getting chased by, were the Yakuza."

"The Yakuza?" Inata said, looking a bit surprised.

"Yeah, them. Fortunately, I was able to act quickly. I hid the girl under a pile of laundry, not the most sanitary way of handling things, but I figured maybe they wouldn't check there, and then I got my phone, set it to record, and hid it, before I pretended to be asleep, using headphones to make it seem plausible that slept through their break-in."

"That seems like a lot to think of in such little time." Inata pointed out. "Seems like your a quick thinker, wait...you recorded the Yakuza breaking into your house."

"That's right." Izuku nodded. "You might have heard about the story of the anonymous boy that took down the Yakuza...I was that boy."

"Really?" Inata's eyes widened a bit.

"Well, it's not like I took them down single-handedly," Izuku said quickly. "Sir Nighteye's agency had been investigating them for years, they just needed a bit more direct proof of wrongdoing, to get the ball going. I was pretty much the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Still impressive nonetheless," Inata said, it was hard for Izuku to tell if she was just being formal or if that was genuine praise. "And then after that, you and the young girl were moved into witness protection correct?"

"That's right. We stayed together for a while, and got attached to each other." Izuku said. "So when I got the option to take her in, I did so."

"And this girl was your first O.P.C.?" Inata asked, getting a nod from Izuku. "Can I get her name and quirk by any chance?"

"Well I can give you her name, however, I think I should keep her quirk private. She's a shy girl, so sharing too much information about her feels wrong." Izuku told her.

"That's fair." Inata agreed. "So her name?"

"It's Eri," Izuku answered.

"Eri...why was the Yakuza after her in the first place?" Inata asked.

"Ah, you see Eri is the granddaughter of the former boss of the Yakuza, before Kai Chisaki, aka, Overhaul, took over," Izuku explained. "So after the old boss fell ill, Chisaki decided to take care of his granddaughter out of "respect." unfortunately, Chisaki was a piece of literal human garbage. And was horrible abusive towards her, inflicting punishments that border on torture if she even thought of disobeying him. Even frequently using his quirk on her, in effect, killing her and then bringing her back multiple times using his quirk."

"Oh god." Izuku could tell Inata looked genuinely disgusted by that. "What a monster."

"I am aware. Trust me." Izuku grimaced as he recalled reading Chisaki's experiment notes and documents. "But moving on with the story, that was only the first O.P.C. I happened to bump into."

"First? You just happened to bump into two O.P.C.'s by accident?" Inata asked.

"More than two, but we'll get there," Izuku said. "One day I went shopping with Eri, I found that many of the shoppers had been turned to stone. As it turns out, a villain had abducted a homeless O.P.C. child and was using her as a weapon to rob places. Fortunately, I managed to knock him unconscious with a tranquilizer dart, and save the child."

"And then you ran into another after that?" Inata looked confused. "That seems very unlikely."

"Extremely." Izuku agreed. "I thought the same thing, especially when I ran into two more not too long after that, and then another one not long after that!"

"Are you serious?" Inata looked at him in disbelief.

"Absolutely," Izuku said, his face and tone showing that he was in fact, dead serious. "I'm aware it's insane sounding, but it is what happened. The kids started making jokes that I had a secret quirk that attracted O.P.C.'s."

"I can understand what that...I don't even have words." Inata responding.

"Yeah, well seeing as I'd done a good job of taking care of so many of O.P.C.'s and was seemingly willing to adopt them to no end, they gave me an offer." Izuku continued. "They wanted me to start this foundation, and accept every O.P.C. they had. They gave me a contract that told me that they would be funding my foundation, as well as building a facility for me and my children, and providing other measures of support, and I would do this job for the rest of my life."

"The rest of your life?" Inata questioned. "You mean you could never quit? Or stop accepting O.P.C.'s?"

"That's right," Izuku confirmed.

"And you agreed to that?" Inata asked, getting a nod from Izuku. "Isn't that a bit...reckless? As you said this is a job that comes with a twenty-four-hour work period, doesn't that essentially lock you off from any other jobs? Didn't you have something in mind? A dream job or something?"

Izuku sighed. "I did have a dream job once. I wanted to be a hero."

Inata didn't say anything but her wide eyes and befuddled look told him what she thought of that.

"It was my dream since I was a child." Izuku continued. "I always thought that saving people, was the coolest thing you could do. I admired heroes, obsessed over them even. I'm pretty sure there is no piece of All Might merchandise I don't either have, or know about. I thought there was nothing that would stop me from chasing that dream...and then I was diagnosed as quirkless."

"That must have been devastating," Inata said, with a bit of sympathy.

"It was," Izuku said in a low voice. "I still held onto my dream, but...everyone else stopped believing in me...it's also when my life started going downhill. My father abandoned us, my friends turned their backs on me, and the schools were actively against me."

"We'd heard about the quirkist abuse you suffered at the hands of your schools," Inata said. "We don't mean to bring up any bad memories, but could you elaborate on the way you were treated?"

"There's not much to say really. They essentially did everything they could to make my life harder." Izuku said. "Lowering my grades, blaming me for things other kids did, turning their heads when they saw me getting mistreated or assaulted, and if ever tried to defend myself then I would always be blamed for whatever happened. It...was terrible. Even worse was the way they made me believe that deserved it, that I was...really a lesser person just because I didn't have a quirk."

"Do you still believe that?" Inata asked.

"It's... it's hard not to." Izuku admitted. "I developed a persecution complex, I just tend to blame myself whenever something goes wrong, and it's really, really difficult not to do that. It's also made accepting praise from others difficult, and has left me a lingering sense of paranoia."

"Have you sought mental help for your issues?" Inata asked.

Izuku sighed again. "Not yet, I should have, but I've been very busy so I never found the time. I will get to it eventually, once I've hired more staff...but I believe we were discussing my dream, correct?"

"That's right." Inata nodded. "When exactly did you give up on that dream? I imagine it must have been hard to foster such a...difficult dream with no one believing in you."

"Your correct," Izuku said. "I held onto that dream for years, despite what everyone else said, until one day I met...a high-ranking pro hero. And I asked them if I could become a pro hero...they said no."

"That's a rather...divisive statement," Inata said. "Care to share who that hero was?"

Izuku shook his head. "As you said, that statement could be very divisive, and I don't want to cause that hero trouble, they said that not because of any bais against quirkless people, but because they were concerned for my safety. Which I appreciate, even if it was absolutely devastating."

"Was this before or after you ran into Eri," Inata asked.

"Before." Izuku clarified. "And so this left me with this feeling of...hopelessness and a lack of purpose. For my entire life I'd clung to this dream, and so when that dream was gone I just...there was just a void in me. And then I met Eri, and I started taking care of her, and it felt like that void where my dream once was, was being filled, seeing her grow and becoming happier as time went on. And that feeling only grew as I got more kids."

"So did you dream of becoming a hero, and lack of direction in life influence your decision to start this foundation?" Inata asked.

"Yes, very much." Izuku nodded. "I always wanted to help people, and this was a form of helping people. Just in a different form than what I originally wanted. These children needed love and affection, and I could give it to them. And me not having anything else I wanted to do, helped in the decision to sign."

"So you don't regret signing at all? Inata asked.

"No," Izuku answered immediately. "No matter what downsides this job has, it's offset by seeing how happy those kids are. Nothing can beat that."

"Hmmm. We then I suppose the next question is, do you think you're qualified for this job?" Inata asked. "Because there are many people how capable a 15-year-old is for this position."

"Well, I can't blame them," Izuku said. "But at the same time, I think the results speak for themselves, all the children are happy and healthy, and nothing had really gone wrong, with the exception of my crash, and I've been taking measures to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"And I imagine keeping things up and running is a rather difficult task," Inata said. "How much goes into keeping this foundation running?"

"Well there's a lot, managing repairs for the forest and the house, which need to happen frequently because the kids often break things, and then I have to make lesson plans for both their formal education, their quirk training, and helping them learn their respective hobbies and future job prospects. I also need to manage the supplies of this place, such as food, school supplies, special support items, and more. And of course, you need to spend time with and support the children personally. Making sure they get the amount of attention they need."

"That's quite a lot of work," Inata commented.

"And it's only scratching the surface," Izuku said. "As I said, the job never really ends. Which is why I say the results speak for themselves."

"I cant' argue with that." Inata agreed. "Now, another topic I wanted to cover was the process of O.P.C.'s being brought here, and how it's handled. Firstly, say a parent wants to get rid of their O.P.C. child, how does one do that?"

"Well, first you have to get in contact with D.O.C., you can find the number online, and when you call them, you tell them that you think your child is an O.P.C. and they send people to check if that is actually the case. If they label the child an O.P.C. they'll take them to one of the D.O.C. facilities, where they'll be put into a list, to wait for their turn to be transferred here, into my care." Izuku explained.

"Ok, so when you obtain these children, are they legally your children, or are they still adoptable?" Inata asked.

"Well, I'm not listed as their father, only their legal guardian." Izuku clarified. "This decision was made, because I'm aware that not all of the kids would be comfortable thinking of me as their father, nor would they appreciate having that thrust upon them. If they want to think of me as a father then they can, or they can think of me as a brother or a friend. Or anything really. As for adaptability, for the most part, you can't adopt an O.P.C. The only way you could adopt one is via my approval, and I would only approve of that if the child genuinely unhappy in my care or would be happier in the care of the adopter, and even then I would demand very through background checks, inspection of their homes, and they would have to go through a year-long trial period before I would allow them to fully adopt the child."

"Those are some strict conditions," Inata noted.

"They have to be," Izuku told her. "There are people who exploit O.P.C.'s for power. As I told you there was a villain who used one of my daughters as a weapon to commit crimes. Not to mention adopting an O.P.C. comes with a check to deal with their needs, as well compensate you for risking your life by raising them. People have adopted O.P.C.'s in the past, purely for this reason, and neglected the actual child. This kind of behavior can not be allowed. This is why my process has to take so long and be as thorough as it is."

"That makes sense," Inata said. "Now, I think it's time we addressed the elephant in the room, the assassination attempt."

Izuku frowned. "Well, I don't really have much to say on that. We don't know who sent the assassin, however judging from what we do know, the motive behind their attacks, seems to be quirkisum. Of course, we are taking precautions to increase security, as you may have seen."

"Ah yes, those...what are they called?" Inata asked.

"Grimm," Izuku answered.

"Yes, those Grimm. Those were created by one of the children here, as was your robe correct?" Inata asked.

"That's right. My son Yami." Izuku told her. "He had been, understandably worried about my lack of protection, he used his quirk to make the Grimm seen around the house as guards, as well as to serve other functions, like carrying heavy objects. One of those Grimm, made in corporation with my daughter Shiruku, was this robe. Made to keep me safe should danger ever come to me."

"Right and those things aren't actually..alive...right?" Inata asked, looking slightly disturbed.

"No. The Grimm are pretty much robots made of solidified negative emotions." Izuku explained. "They may mimic living beings, and share many of the same functions, but they have no actual will or minds of their own."

"That must be rather...handy," Inata commented. "Tell me, are the children living here...comfortable with those things around?"

"Mostly," Izuku answered. "Many of them were rather off-put by them at first, but considering that they are also given control of them, they got over pretty fast. And while there are one or two of them that are still uncomfortable around them, I make it pretty easy to avoid them if you really want to."

"I see one last question. Does producing those Grimm cause any negative effects on the boy?" Inata asked.

"No." Izuku shook his head. "Yami's quirk has no immediate drawbacks. Its only weakness is that it requires him to absorb negative emotions as fuel. Without those, he can't make any more Grimm. Other than that, he can make as many as he pleases with no drawbacks."

"I see, what a powerful quirk," Inata commented. "Tell me, have any of the children considered becoming heroes in the future."

"Many of them have, yes," Izuku affirmed. "As you know, this place holds children with extremely potent quirks, so it makes sense that many of them would wish to use that power to defend others. I have a room designed for the children to train their quirks, with specialized equipment suited for them. Of course, I have to keep close watch of them while they train, to make sure they don't go too far while sparing. Of course, they're not under any pressure to go down the hero track, and they're free to choose any profession they wish."

"Hm, well next I would like to talk about funding," Inata said. "Surely this place must cost a fortune to maintain, not even counting the surrounding area. Is this all paid for by D.O.C. directly, or is D.O.C. paying you to deal with this?"

"D.O.C. paid for the construction of the house and purchase of the land," Izuku explained. "However all other expenses must be handled by me, although they do pay me enough to handle it. Although I do receive money from other sources as well."

"Other sources?" Inata questioned. "Such as."

"Various places. My mother will send in quite a bit of money, I've also gotten into investing as well which pulls in a ton of money as well. And um...how do I say this...sometimes, due to the children's unique quirks, they can produce materials that can then be sold. With no harm done to the child of course." Izuku quickly clarified. "For example, one of my daughters can produce spider-webs and likes to design clothing. Really good, high-quality clothing by the way, but regardless, she likes to produce them using her webs, this, of course, means that she'll have a lot of extra pieces of discarded webbing that she throws away. Spider-webs can of course be sold in high quantities, for quite a bit of money. Of course, I ask permission first before doing such things, and any profit that the children help generate will go into their allowances. And things like Kiba's donations that she gets from her streams, goes directly to her, as I had no part in obtaining that money."

"I mean, I'd argue you did considering you purchased the equipment she used to get that money, the room she sleeps in, and the food she eats." Inata retorted.

"I suppose you could look at it that way." Izuku acknowledged. "Still, Kiba worked to obtain that money, unlike the other children whose quirks just happen to produce valuable things, I would feel wrong in taking any of it."

"I see, but I must ask if the government is providing you with all that money, why look for other avenues to gain income?" Inata asked. "Are they not providing enough."

"No, they're providing more than enough money," Izuku assured her. "However, I feel uncomfortable with only a single source of income. As you stated, it keeps a ridiculous amount of money to keep this place up and running. Taking care of this many children, with quirks these dangerous, means that being rich is a requirement. If I didn't have all these other sources of income, and something happened that would cause the government to stop giving us money, then at most this place would last two weeks before the children no longer had anything to eat, and that's assuming this place would still be left standing, as I would no longer have money to constantly repair it. And no ordinary job would ever allow me to make enough money to take care of them, while also being able to watch over them."

"So now, with all these other sources of income, if the government were to stop giving you money, would you be alright financial speaking?" Inata asked.

Izuku leaned back and let out a breath. "Well, I would definitely have cut down on any frivolous spending I do. As well as a lot of frivolous spending for the kids. We'd have enough money to keep going, but that'd be about it. Despite the fact that we'd have enough money to be considered rich, for the most part, we'd have to act as if we didn't have a lot of money. This is why I'm still currently searching for more ways to obtain income."

"Have you given any thought to donations?" Inata asked.

Izuku nodded. "I have, but I'm not really to ask for any. Right now I'm still living quite wealthily, so it feels wrong to ask people for their money. Of course, if they are willing to donate, I won't refuse, and all money donated will be put into an emergency fund, used only for...well emergencies."

"I see." Inata looked up at the clock. "Well, I think we should start wrapping this up."

"Yes, I think that would be wise." Izuku nodded. "Are there any final questions?"

"Do you have a favorite child?" Inata asked.

Izuku laughed. "Absolutely not."