14 Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia and Dark Souls, both belongs to their respective owners, Kohei Horikoshi and FromSoftware respectively.

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Izuku was silent as he sat in the passenger seat of the car, a smile on his face as he leaned on the backrest. The music of the radio a welcome addition to his ears, his head bobbing up and down on the beat.

In the driver's seat, Inko kept her eyes glued on the road, though that didn't stop her from seldomly glancing at her son, a smile creeping up her face whenever she saw her son enjoying life.

When she heard about what had happened, her heart nearly stopped. The thought of losing her child again made her dash to her car in a mad attempt to race her way to the gates of U.A. High School. Thankfully, just as she was about to cause a headache for the police, she was knocked out of her dilemma when her phone rang.

A brief phone call later and that panic was replaced by fear and anxiety. Her baby was alive, not fine, but alive. He was stable and he was sure to live to see tomorrow. It was when she was shown a video detailing what had happened to Izuku and how he got it that the panic nearly returned.

But seeing him smile, even in the face of a loss of his limb snapped the panic right out of her. It made the car ride just a tiny bit bearable, however, that didn't mean her heart wasn't pounding at the thought of Izuku's lost leg.

And then she arrived and the rest is history. She might no longer worry about the immediate future of her son being legless, but that didn't make the worry she felt any lesser.

That, and the grudge she has with the rat didn't dissipate. Not even a tiny bit when the rat told her about his reasons why he decided to let Izuku continue on his self-destructive path to heroism instead of shutting down the damned robot when a life was in danger.

She sighed, the thoughts coalescing into one giant amalgamation of worry, anxiety, and dread, before she shoved it down deep into the recesses of her mind.

"Izu, honey…" Inko paused for a moment. Izuku looked at her from the side, curious as to why he was called. She bit her lip. "How are you feeling?"

"Never better." Izuku shrugged, not really feeling something off about his body. Anything that was in pain or was just a general bother was gone after he did whatever with that weird energy thing inside of him that wasn't pyromancy. He still needed to experiment with the energy, what with him being able to access it and flow it to different parts of his body and even out of it.

Maybe it worked like another form of pyromancy? But way deadlier? Or maybe more defensive? Can he do something along the lines of regenerating his limbs while in combat?

At that thought, a smirk floated on his face. 'It would be funny if my enemy cut off my arm, only for a regenerated arm to use the dismembered arm as a bludgeon.'

Food for thought.

"Is that so?" Inko hummed, taking her son's words to heart. He wasn't the kind to lie to her, at least, not after what happened to him a few months ago…

She shook her head, frantically getting the visions of her son's broken body on the ground… Blood seeping everywhere… God, blood was everywhere… And his eyes…

His eyes…

Her arms started trembling, the car slightly swerving side-to-side. Those lifeless eyes staring back at her… Judging her…

'Where were you?'

'I trusted you!'

'Mommy! Help!'

'It hurts… It hurts…'

A multitude of voices assaulted her ears, all of them sounding the same, yet at different tones. Sweat pooled over her brow and crawled down her face. Her eyes jittered from corner to corner, her inner mind begging for her turmoil to end.

"-ine! Mom! It's fine!" Izuku was shouting at Inko frantically, eyes taking on different emotions that he had never worn since he came back.

Fear and worry. Fear for his mother's life and worry for her well-being.

"I'm here! Mom! It's okay! I'm here!" Izuku grabbed his mother's arm, her hands still gripping on the wheel tightly. The car was stable on the road and was progressively slowing down, Izuku making sure that he raised Inko's foot from the gas and making her other foot apply pressure on the brakes. "I'm okay. I'm not dead. I'm here."

He leaned on her, hoping that his warmth and heat could calm his shaking mother. Inko was shivering, and she was clearly in pain. That was all he needed to know to jump to his feet and give his mother a hug.

"It's fine. I'm here. I won't leave you. I won't let you go."

The car slowly ground to a halt, Izuku's hands piloting the wheel to make sure it stopped next to the sidewalk where it wouldn't be an issue for other drivers.

And for the next few minutes, Izuku just hugged his mother and whispered affirmation after affirmation that he wouldn't leave, making sure that his body was always in contact with his mother during her episode.

It wasn't until a few more minutes that Inko finally regained her breath and directed a tearful eye at her only son.

"You won't leave me again?" Inko's voice rasped, her breath hitching as she clutched onto Izuku for dear life.

"I won't." Izuku hugged her tighter.

"Please… Don't leave…" Inko let the tears trickle down her cheeks. Izuku calmly held her in his embrace, a slight frown etched on his lips. "Promise me… Promise me you'll be careful…"

"I will. Don't worry." Izuku promised, his embrace tightening slightly. "I will never leave you again, mom."

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After a few minutes of basking in silence, as well as a ticket for illegal parking in a busy street, Inko was back to driving the car towards their apartment.

The ride was spent in relative silence, with the mother-and-son duo just basking in each other's presence.

It didn't take too long before they both arrived at their destination and exited the car. A quick trip up the stairs and they now stood in front of their own apartment.

Inko grabbed the door keys in her purse and unlocked the door, with Izuku following after his mother when she entered.

"I'll get dinner ready." Inko grabbed the groceries she bought a few moments after her manic episode. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll stay in my room and meditate." Izuku shrugged before he voiced a whisper. "Maybe I can breathe fire with it?"

"What was that?" Inko questioned with a slight frown.

"Just talking to myself." Izuku waved his arms and made a beeline to his room. "Call me when dinner's ready."

He shut the door and flipped on the lights, before scowling and flipping them back off.

'There, better.' Izuku flipped a bird at the light bulb, aware that he wouldn't be getting a response from the inanimate object and he didn't give a fuck.

He just hated light sometimes.

Plopping his ass on the ground and crossing his legs, Izuku then went back to following the teachings of his mentor.

Breathe in…

Breathe out…

Breathe in…

Breathe out…

Empty your mind… Focus on your core… Let the energy flow… Let your mind be your guide…

'There it is…' Izuku's face remained as still as a statue, his chest slowly heaving up and down as he tried to get a glimpse of the same energy that regenerated his leg.

He focused on it, ignoring the source of his pyromancy for a moment in favor of getting this other energy under his control. He reached out with an astral hand and tried to grab it, only for it to slip between his fingers.

Confused, Izuku tried to grab it once more, only for the energy to swerve around it, not unlike a river stream passing through a giant boulder in the middle.

Seeing that it didn't like being controlled, much like his pyromancy, he then settled for it to flow. Guiding it as he imagined building various pipes to let the energy flow more naturally than forcing it to follow his rules.

It worked… Somewhat. But it was progress.

He let it flow from his core and to his limbs, he body feeling the heat as it started to sweat. Unperturbed, he then tried to let it circulate his body, feeling the rushing energy flow like a current of electricity through his nerves and veins.

The heat was now hotter, his clothes starting to singe at the sheer temperature. Ignoring his slightly burning clothes, he then coalesced right at his palm, guiding the energy out of his body.

The heat was now unbearable.

Opening his eyes, he gaped. A fireball was hovering over his palm. But this wasn't any ordinary fireball. This was far from pyromancy. At best, pyromancy looked like it was just a cheap knock-off of the real thing.

The fireball in his hands? It was different. And he knew the last time he saw it, it was during a time where everything was supposed to end. Where he was supposed to be sent back here after everything he's gone through.

He shut his mouth, and a huge smirk floated up on his face.

"The First Flame…"

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"Thank you for gathering on such a short notice, but this is a topic I cannot stress enough has to happen before we all assign the students to their respective classes." Nezu clapped his paws as he glanced at each and every one of his fellow colleagues seated at the table.

It wasn't the entirety of the staff of U.A., but only those that mattered with the decision to push forward and implement a plan Nezu had ever since his meeting with Midoriya Izuku.

"What is the reason you've called for us, principal Nezu?" All Might leaned forward, his skeletal appearance looking even gaunter after watching through dozens upon dozens of practical exam footage.

"And please hurry up." Midnight whined as she slumped on the table. "We're still not done with processing the rest of the practical exam footage."

"Not to worry, this will be but a quick meeting to showcase a new curriculum for the first year this semester, as well as resuming the in-campus dorm project Cementoss here pitched a year ago." Nezu smiled as he placed his paws on the table, his words garnering the attention of every single teacher in the room. "Oh, don't be so alarmed. It wouldn't change much to our current approach to teaching, but shuffle priorities a bit."

"Let me guess." Aizawa groaned, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's because of the Midoriya kid?"

"Indeed, Eraserhead." Nezu's eyes closed, a pleased smile forming on his face. "Now, don't take this as favoritism, but I have very plausible reasons as to why I am focusing on him, as of the moment."

"You mean obsessed?" Another hero snorted, his muscular body dressed in red and black highlighted spandex leaning against the durable frame of his chair.

"That is also another way to put it, Vlad King." Nezu waved the hero off before continuing. "Now, as to why I am 'Obsessed' with Midoriya Izuku, as Vlad King here said earlier, it is because of a simple reason."

"He is a high value target." Nezu stated and all of the heroes went stock still for a second. "You've all watched the footage, how he dealt with the 0-pointer, his injury and how he regenerated his leg."

"Then isn't it just ah' overpowered quirk?" A hero with a western accent with a cowboy costume piped up. "Tha' Quirk Singularity Theory ya wanted us ta' read 'fore last year was a helluva read. Could be ta' reason why?"

"As much as I want it to be, Snipe, this is not the case." Nezu sighed, alarming the teachers. The rat sighing meant it was incredibly serious, and a serious Nezu was even worse than a happy-go-lucky Nezu. "A few days earlier, we've received a report about a grave desecration, something that normally isn't brought to us heroes. However, the suspect in question, was quite the shock."

"It's that Midoriya boy, isn't it?" A hero wearing a tan cloak with his pearly whites in full display concluded.

"Indeed, Ectoplasm." Nezu clapped once. "However, something was amiss. All Might, care to explain?"

The attention now solely placed on the skeletal hero, All Might sighed.

"Months ago, I failed to save the kid." All Might confessed with a solemn look. "And in this case, it resulted in his death."

"… Wait, what?" Midnight's mouth hung open, and so did some of the other heroes. "What do you mean the kid died? Isn't he alive and kicking?"

"And he even had that regenerating thing going on." Present Mic stared at the number one hero. "Couldn't the little listener just heal his wounds?"

"Hah, I wish it could've gone like that, but no." All Might sighed, hands palming his face. "Midoriya Izuku died that day and was cremated the next week then had his remains buried."

Silence.

The heroes around the table couldn't believe what they were hearing. A kid died, was burned to ashes then buried, and now he's alive again?

"How do you know it isn't the same person?" Aizawa stared at the All Might and expected an answer from him, but he got it from another source instead.

"His current DNA matches completely from those before his supposed death. I've checked." Recovery Girl sighed as she rubbed her temples. "Really getting too old for this shit."

"So, what? The kid died and then revived? Is that a thing with quirks now, because that terrifies me." Vlad King shivered. A quirk like that shouldn't exist. It was impossible. Just straight up impossible!

"Frankly speaking, yes." Nezu nodded, casting silence down upon the room once more. "However, he had a very interesting story. Something about a mentor and being forced to kill him when he went 'hollow'."

And now everyone was just plain horrified. A kid that young, dying, and then being forced to kill a person was in no way a normal thing to happen!

"Which is why I suggest we implement this modified curriculum to somewhat manage Midoriya Izuku's issues as well as the dorm project to give both him and his mother the protection needed in case of bad actors." Nezu dropped his smile. "Especially the HPSC."

Nezu's hatred for the HPSC wasn't a secret within the confines of the U.A. High School. Even the HPSC knew that Nezu hated their guts and depriving them of a potential asset could deal a blow to their reserves.

"Then, pray tell, how are we going to implement your new curriculum for the first years?" Aizawa pointedly glared at the rat, whose scowl vanished and was replaced by a chipper smile.

"Quite simple really, the USJ showmanship, apologies in advance, Thirteen, will be postponed to after the Sports Festival." At the rat's words, the hero who was in a puffy space costume deflated slightly. "In this time frame, the students will be taught various basic rescue theories, as well as conduct practicals in the various ground areas."

"I'm guessing you want to conduct a so-called final test in the USJ just before internships?" Midnight assumed with a finger on her chin. The rat's response was but a single grin, giving the pro heroine a thumbs up with his paws. How the rat did it was anyone's guess.

"That is what I had in plan indeed, Midnight." Nezu clapped, his soft paws smushing together like a pair of soft marshmallows. "It might grate on our strict schedule, but when has teaching the next generation ever been easy?"

At his words, the rest of the pro heroes breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled along with the RAT GOD. At that, everyone inside could agree that teaching the brats were both heaven and hell, depending on who you asked.

The meeting continued for a few more minutes until finally, they settled on an agreement with a modified curriculum, albeit with a few more additions and deductions with input from various teachers.

Now, all that was left was to review the remaining footage and rank them all accordingly… The teachers weren't going to get any sleep tonight, were they?