Izuku frowned at his notebook. It was the notebook he kept for himself and his quirk. Today they had learned about atoms in class. Miss Koushi had explained that they were the smallest form of matter, made up of electrons, protons and neutrons. She'd explained that everything was made of atoms, even air! When she'd said that Izuku had immediately wondered if the air atoms were what his quirk, Caeli Imperium, interacted with. But his classroom teacher didn't say much, so he was left to speculate. Theoretically Caeli Imperium had to interact with something. Dad wouldn't have named it that if it didn't but Miss Koushi had said that there were lots of different types of atoms and Izuku had no idea what made up air.
Still, if air was made up of atoms, and Caeli Imperium interacted with those atoms, then there were some more applications he could think about. He already knew he could move things with it. The first time he'd used the quirk he'd made the bit of paper Dad had held up move, and then he'd cut it.
So, if he cut it and if he moved it, there was something solid his quirk was impacting. And if it was solid, what else could he do with it? He already knew he could control Caeli Imperium to cut paper, which meant he must be forcing his control down to a tight, narrow band, but could he expand it? Could he make something solid that could lift things, instead of just move them? Could he lift himself?
Could he use Caeli Imperium with Fire Breath to direct where the fire went? If he could, that would increase his range enormously! He was limited to how far he could project his breath, which was more than his friends, but not really far enough to be useful. There were so many possibilities and he couldn't help but hum to himself as he stopped frowning and started to write ideas in his notebook.
He couldn't wait until he saw Dad again for a practice session. Dad didn't mind if he thought of ideas to try. Infact, he encouraged Izuku to think of things to do with his quirk, but he did mind if Izuku practiced by himself. He always had to be present, or Kurogiri did, and Izuku knew that both were really busy so he couldn't practice as often as he'd like. Even when he promised he'd keep it small and be careful, the answer was either a straight out no, or 'when you are older'. He was almost six! How old was older?
He felt something move behind him and without thinking Izuku thrust out with Caeli Imperium.
There was an 'oof!' and he turned in the chair to see Tomura picking himself off the floor.
"I'm sorry!"
"Tch," the older boy muttered.
"Sorry!" Izuku repeated. "I didn't mean to get you so hard. Dad gave me a new quirk," he added the explanation because he knew Tomura would demand one.
The grey haired boy rolled his eyes. "Well, at least you are leveling up," he told Izuku.
"But I didn't sense you until you were really close!" Izuku told him. He hadn't sensed Tomura enter the room.
"Of course not! You had your nose in that book," the other boy growled.
"I was writing ideas for the quirk," he explained.
"What does it do?"
"It controls air," Izuku said brightly.
Tomura's gold eyes flashed and Izuku could tell he was interested despite not wanting to be. He came to sit at the table with Izuku. "So what else can you do with it beyond hitting me?"
"I was thinking that if I can hit things, then I might be able to lift things. And I might be able to lift me!"
"Bah! Boring!" Tomura dismissed Izuku's suggestion. "If you create a force, then you can create a force on someone and hold them in place. You could press down on their chest, or better yet, if it's air control, you could make sure that they can't get any air! Far more useful!"
Izuku looked at the older boy. He had a hand resting on each of his upper arms, and two around his neck. Another two were around his chest. "That's not very nice," Izuku objected.
Tomura glared at him. "Fucking Hero," he hissed, slamming his hands done on the table.
"No!" Izuku yelled. Tomura didn't have gloves on. One hand hit the table and his notebook, and the other hit his notebook. All five fingers. Izuku grabbed at it, trying to rip away the affected pages before they got to the others but it was too late.
"Hah! Serves you right!" Tomura laughed as he left the room.
Izuku looked dismayed at the small pile of dust that had been his notebook, and then at the scraps of paper he'd managed to pull out. At least he'd saved some random notes, but the book was gone. He already knew there was no point in complaining to Kurogiri. There wasn't anything that could be done to retrieve his notebook and so with a sigh he got up and moved to the kitchen, looking through the cupboards for a dustpan and brush. Once he cleaned up, he could start a new notebook.
At least this one had been about him, and he could easily duplicate what was in it but he'd have to figure out a way of keeping the books safe in future. As he cleaned, Izuku frowned as he thought. Tomura may have actually helped in that respect. If he could create a steady pressure, then he could pick things up, and he could hold someone against a wall or something like that. But maybe he could create a barrier over his notebook. Then Tomura could slam his hands down all he wanted but he wouldn't make contact! He'd make contact with the air atoms and Izuku didn't care about them!
He hurried to clean up the dust. He had to get a new notebook started now!
-ted-
"Make a wish!" Ochaco yelled.
"Huh?" Izuku looked up. He'd been about to blow out the candles on his birthday cake.
"It's tradition," she told him.
"Oh! All right," Izuku replied. This was the first birthday party he could remember with friends. Last year, his Dad had spent the day with him and he'd had a small party with Tomura and Kurogiri but they weren't exactly friends. The year before, when he was four… he couldn't remember. Maybe there had been friends there? And he definitely couldn't remember the birthdays before that. So this one, his sixth birthday was special.
His friends, and their parents were here.
They weren't at the bar. Kurogiri had decided that the bar would not be suitable for his birthday. They were instead in one of the large presentation rooms at his Dad's office. It was the weekend so the company wasn't using it. It had a brilliant view of the city as well and several of the parents had lined up at the window just looking at it.
Dad hadn't wanted a big party, and so Izuku had only been able to invite his closest friends. Ochaco, Minato and Kazue. That was enough and they were having fun. The other kids at school didn't really like him and occasionally, Arata or Gatarui called him a sympathiser but they never went any further. The disapproving stares of the teachers saw to that.
"I wish fo-"
"Little Dragon, you aren't meant to tell us!"
"Oh," Izuku blinked. "Okay," he chirped, wondering about the reason for a moment before he took another deep breath and blew out the candles, making his wish silently. He was careful not to use Fire Breath. He didn't think Kurogiri would appreciate that two years running.
When the last candle gutted out there was a cheer and everyone clapped. Izuku grinned. It was so nice to be with friends and being in his Dad's office building meant that Gigantomachia could be with them as well.
Izuku didn't see the huge man very often but he was always nice. And sometimes Dad let him play, a little anyway. Gigantomachia was always willing to play hide and seek and was way faster than he appeared.
Kurogiri came over when the candles were out and carefully pulled them out. He pulled a knife from somewhere and began cutting it into slices.
"What did you wish for?" Minato asked Izuku.
"Hey! He's not meant to tell," Ochaco reminded them all before Izuku could tell the other boy. Minato's skin was dark purple today. He said that even though he could make his skin green, green was Izuku's colour so instead, he'd picked a colour that complimented green. Izuku thought he just liked purple.
"I wished for something good," Izuku gave the hint but was quickly distracted when Kurogiri announced that the cake was ready. The four children rushed over to him and the warp gate carefully divided up the slices between them. Izuku could see that the yellow eyed man had cut more for the parents and he quickly counted.
There was a slice for each of his friends' parents, once for Gigantomachia, one for Kurogiri himself, one for Tomura and one for his dad. That left one slice over. Who was that for?
"It's for you Izuku," Kurogiri saw him counting. "After birthday cake," he explained.
Izuku wasn't sure what that was, but it sounded good. "Thanks Kurogiri," he said before tucking into his cake now. Around him his friends did the same.
Life was good.
-ted-
"Who did you say Izuku's Father was again?" Tamiko Uraraka said, controlled enough not to choke on her drink but it was a close thing.
Chinatsu Amano laughed gently. "I'm surprised myself," she admitted. "When Minato told me little Izuku's party was to be held here, I thought Izuku was the son of one of the executives, not the owner!"
"Yes, Kazue always told me that Izuku's father worked for JBQC but she never mentioned where," Hiroki Nakashima nodded.
"But his name is Chui, not Riji," Tamiko objected, reminding them of Izuku's surname.
"That's for his protection," the smooth voice of Hisashi Riji interjected as the man himself walked up to them. He was dressed casually, still in a suit but his collar was unbuttoned and his white hair was artfully ruffled.
Chinatsu nodded her understanding. Of all of them she understood the most about needing protection. As a lawyer she'd worked on some very controversial cases where the witnesses and sometimes the accused were under protection. Tamiko still looked confused. She and her husband, Sozonushi, ran a small construction company. She'd heard of JBQC. They were a huge company with a branch that was construction based but they weren't competitors. JBQC ran multi-billion yen jobs. Their company was lucky to clear ten million yen jobs.
"There have been several unfortunate incidents," Hisashi said delicately.
Hiroki leaned over to Tamiko and whispered the further explanation. She went pale and her eyes widened, almost comically. "That's terrible!" She gasped.
"Thus, for my Little Dragon's protection, he uses the name Chui," Hisashi pronounced. "I trust this won't be a problem?"
The adults understood the question. "Of course not," Chinatsu spoke for them all. Their children had a lot more to gain from knowing Izuku Riji than the other way around. She would speak to Minato so that he didn't jeopardize anything.
"Good, I have enough lawyers on retainer," Hisashi joked.
Chinatsu had the good taste to chuckle.
"Thank you for coming," Hisashi continued.
"It's our pleasure," Hiroki responded. "I understand why it's such an intimate affair now," he added a touch nervously.
Hisashi nodded. "Izuku hasn't made as many friends as I might have hoped. I'm afraid some of his opinions have alienated others, but he is dedicated to your children, so I do thank you."
"Alienated others?" Tamiko asked. How did a six year old alienate others?
"Izuku spends time with my lead researchers," Hisashi explained. "They are very fond of facts and statistics, and some of them are not that acceptable to the general public."
"That explains why he's so good at science and maths," Chinatsu murmured. "I'm glad he's helping Minato." Their children might be very young yet, but Izuku was well versed in those fields.
Tamiko chuckled. "Ochaco did tell me Izuku had lots of questions when they learned about atoms," she commented.
"How are facts not acceptable?" Kazue's father asked. He was a salaryman, and while that wasn't a glamorous job he dealt with facts and figures all the time. Two plus two always equaled four in his world. There was no other interpretation.
"Society is sometimes difficult," Hisashi replied with a shrug but he could see that the group wanted a further explanation. Inwardly he sighed. This would be a test of friendship because he could easily see these parents telling their children to remain away from Izuku if they didn't like his facts. So be it. If it happened, it would serve a greater purpose for Izuku to see what the world was truly like.
"With all due respect, facts are facts," Hiroki said.
Chinatsu looked mildly amused. As a lawyer, she was well aware of how interpretation was often central to facts.
Hisashi sighed theatrically. "I believe it came down to some questions Izuku asked about quirkless children."
That was not a statement they were expecting. He could see the signs of shock on all their faces. All For One ploughed on. "One in five children born today is quirkless," he explained.
"Surely not?" Hiroki objected. "There are no quirkless children in Kazue's class," he pointed out.
"They are in their own classes," Hisashi told them. He could tell from the way they reacted, they had no idea this was the case. He'd discovered everything there was to know about it when he'd called the school after Izuku's first day. They'd also provided him with the name of a Middle School that had the same policies. Doctor Garaki had already made some tentative offers to some of the younger teens and while none had been needed yet, they had names now. Education was compulsory until the completion of Middle School. After that, All For One imagined many of those quirkless students would have trouble finding a High School that would accept them, let alone a university.
"That's not-" Tamiko started but was interrupted as Hiroki nodded forcefully.
"Good," Kazue's father said. "That's as it should be," he added.
Hisashi wasn't surprised at his vehemence despite Hiroki's previous insistence that facts were facts. He'd seen as time went on that those with weak quirks often wanted to emphasize the differences to reassure themselves of their supposed superiority. He had seen it at the dawn of quirks, in reverse though. There were those, non-quirked, individuals who wholeheartedly welcomed those with quirks. They saw nothing wrong with it, but the majority, the uneducated, the prejudiced were those who were scared. Those who wanted to destroy the quirked. He almost wished they could see the world now.
"I think the more interesting question is why people without quirks are still being born," Hisashi said delicately. Chinatsu was wise enough to know he would have said something else and Tamiko nodded her agreement. She wasn't understanding the subtleties of the conversation but Hisashi could tell she was an honest woman. He'd seen her company's books. She didn't have time for prejudice, or anything that didn't help bring in the yen.
"They shouldn't be," Hiroki stated.
Inwardly, All For One nodded but not in agreement. This man was one of those people for whom facts were facts, until they interfered with his beliefs.
"They are, which is a very interesting scientific question, but not one for my Little Dragon's birthday," he concluded, turning back to the children.
Izuku had led them to Gigantomachia and somehow had convinced the huge man to let them climb over him. Gigantomachia had an odd smile on his features but was holding steady as he was swarmed by the six year olds. Tomura was looking bored as he stood off to the side. He was next to Kurogiri and Hisashi could tell he was uncomfortable without the hands that usually graced his body. It would have been too difficult to explain them so he had been forced to leave them at the bar. This was for his benefit. Hisashi had reminded him that every now and then, even for player characters, it was necessary to be disguised. This was practice.
Izuku laughed as he walked along one of Gigantomachia's outstretched arms. He was the picture of childhood innocence and Hisashi felt his heart warm as he looked at his son.
Life was good.