CHAPTER SIX: WATCH/LEARN

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THE first order of business was to gather information about Chisaki Kai in his natural environment, to see if there were any places where Izuku could approach him in public. He would have written a letter to him, but as he flipped through the file folder at the kitchen table, he noticed something interesting.

Chisaki was in several photos, and all of those photos were taken around the same place of a long period of time.. at a certain time of the day. Which meant it was a pattern that Izuku could take advantage of. He could watch and observe him, until he figured out the best way to approach him.

It certainly wouldn't be in public.

So, obviously, the best way to learn how to approach him was to watch him. Repeatedly. After all, the best was to gather information about a supposedly infamous villain was to follow them around and observe their habits in public places, right? Then he would be able to approach him without causing an uproar, and—

"Chisaki Kai?" Mom read out loud, looking at the sheet of paper over Izuku's shoulder. Izuku shut the file folder but the damage was done. "He's quite dangerous. How are you going to talk to him?"

"I'm going to watch him and then I'll approach him."

"Why not just write a letter?"

Izuku shrugged. "I don't know how he would react if I just announced my intention to negotiate with him."

"That's why you would entice him with further information to convince him to follow back on it."

"I don't know..." Izuku said, uncertain. Mom's hands hovered over his hunched shoulders. "Something tells me I should watch and see for some reason."

Her fingers grasped his shoulders and she pressed a kiss against his cheek. He smiled up at her. "Whatever direction you chose to walk in, know that I'll always support you. If you have questions or need advice, all you need do is ask."

"I will. Thanks, mom."

She ruffled his hair and stepped away from him. "How about I make us some supper? I think I have the ingredients sitting around here somewhere..." And off she went, muttering under her breath as she pulled pantry items out of the cabinetry.

Izuku watched her, silent as usual.

                                                                    _

At lunch, Izuku trailed after Katsuki with Yagi's prescribed meal clutched in his hands, following him up to the roof. They sat, allowing their legs to dangle over the edge as they both act their respective meals in silence.

It was funny, Izuku never noticed it before, but he thought that Kacchan's diet was similar to the one he was on now. All vegetables and proteins and carbs and little sugar, to build strength in the body.

Izuku stole a bit of the leftover, ignoring Kacchan's stink-eye. "Delicious and nutritious," he said, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes. "I wouldn't expect anything less of Kacchan."

"What else would you expect?" Kacchan yelled, crowding him and threatening him with explosive fists, but his eyes were smiling. " I made it myself, after all. It's better than your shit anyway."

He eyed Izuku's sad, pitiful bento with no small amount of disgust. Izuku sniffed at him and took a large bite of his own meal, just to prove a point.

" My food is perfectly healthy. It's just... a little bland."

"You need to put more spice in it." Kacchan pointed out, washing down his meal with a bottle of water. "Spice makes everything tastes better. The more the better."

" Ugh, you make everything too spicy."

"You have weak taste buds and a wimpier digestion. Anyway, are you free later this week to study for that test together?"

"Ah... I forgot about that test."

"Seriously? I thought you'd be studying for it weeks ago. I know you're busy with whatever your dad's got you doing, but..."

"I'm fine," he said quickly, too quickly. Kacchan quirked an eyebrow at him, silently telling him like I'd believe that. Izuku cleared his throat. "I am," he insisted, more softly, with a smile. "I'm enjoying the training. I think I might try to go into a school that focuses on diplomacy and communications."

"Well... at least you figured out something to do with yourself." Kacchan's tone was matter of fact, nonjudgmental and calm, but Izuku still felt something inside of him bristle at the backhanded insult. Katsuki's gaze was distant as he looked at the horizon. "That's good. A little surprising you figured it out so late, but at least now you won't go into some quirkless school by default."

Izuku huffed.

"Yeah. That's something. I still have to pass the entrance exams though."

"What? Like you're nervous?"

"I am. Don't you realize how many people will get in just because they have quirks that are better suited for it?"

"Don't you realize how many people are stupid ? You'll get in easy. After all, I'm your friend. I'm not friends with worthless people. Or stupid people."

"Thanks for the pep talk."

Even though Izuku's tone was sarcastic, he meant the words.

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He followed Chisaki Kai for weeks in the public spaces he inhabited and the dingy alleyways where he made Business Deals by terrorizing people weaker than him. Izuku was careful not to be seen or recognized.

He didn't really gain much insight to the underground crime lord, other than a general feeling of uneasiness. Izuku didn't really know if that was because he wasn't used to negotiating with villains, or if he wasn't used to talking to people outside of his immediately family (or Kacchan's).

                                                                    _

"How did it go?" asked father, during the evening meal. "Did you come into contact with him?"

"Not according to the plan." Izuku pushed his peas to the side of his plate. "I have to figure out how to approach him."

"I know you will. You are my son."

Izuku forced a smile. Across the table, Tomura-nii watched them with an unreadable look in his eyes. It was foreign on his brother's face, since he was usually pretty easy to read.

"Approach whom?" he asked.

"Chisaki Kai," Izuku said simply, when their parents looked at him to explain. Tomura-nii frowned and swallowed his noodles.

"What if he doesn't then?" he asked. "Figure out how to approach this Chisaki Kai, I mean. Is it game over for him?"

"Then it'll tell me that he's too young to handle the responsibility of becoming a more active member of the Family Business, and we'll wait until he's older. I'm sure spying on the hero hopefuls at UA will help him learn from his error."

Izuku choked on his food. "UA?" He hadn't even thought far enough ahead to consider applying to hero schools, too busy training and keeping his grades from slipping and following Chisaki, let alone consider the possibility of applying to UA . "I don't—would they even consider my application since I'm quirkless?"

"You're going to inherit One for All. You'll have a quirk." Father fixed him with an intense stare. "You will get accepted into UA. Certainly, you're intelligent enough to pass the written exam, and I'm sure you'll learn how to use One for All well enough to pass the practical exam in six months."

"What if I don't get in?"

Father didn't answer his question. Izuku wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

He couldn't fail the entrance exam. It was not an option.

                                                                    _

A letter arrived in the mail and printed in neat, careful penmanship in black ink were the words It has come to my attention that you have been watching my movements. Remember, I follow yours, too. Izuku traced the ink bled into the fine parchment paper. Smooth, and even; the person who penned it had clearly been in control of what they had been writing. Calm. Not angry.

Or maybe he was reading too much into this. It was just words, after all.

Either way, it couldn't have been anyone else than Chisaki Kai, since Izuku was following only him. It chilled him to the bone, to know that this man knew where he lived; he thought he had been careful. But he was protected here, as well as the rest of his family— they were all powerful people, who knew how to defend themselves.

Besides, nobody would dare to stand against father. Only All Might, and Yagi wasn't exactly what he expected when he imagined his father's mortal foe. He couldn't back down from these, couldn't hesitate or show weakness to this man who was looking for it.

Izuku threw the letter into the fire and watched it burn.

He penned another letter, as a response.

I know. I wouldn't expect anything less from someone like you.

                                                                    _

After school, during his jog toward the beach, Izuku gradually noticed a black sedan following him in the corner of his eyes. His heart pounded, and not just from the physical exercise, and his hands were sweating as he pulled up mom's emergency contact.

The car swerved in front of him and stopped. Izuku skidded to a halt. He was trapped, he couldn't turn around and run the other way since there were more cars blocking his path. Which meant—

A hand clamped around his shoulder. His heart jumped into his throat and he threw a punch blindly. The intruder cursed as he yanked his shoulder away, as a scream for help bubbled in the back of his throat, but he bit back. Don't do anything that might involve the police, they'll look too hard into our family—

He pivoted.

Two men stood in front of him; the tall, muscular man with a mean look on his face was the one holding onto him. Even though he was his restrainer, Izuku's mind fixated on the smaller man standing behind him.

The other man he recognized instantly, from the photos in the file folder on Chisaki Kai. His brown hair was cut neat and trim. He wore a long green coat with a furry collar, with long medical gloves covering his hands, no skin to be seen. The most disconcerting thing about this otherwise average man's appearance wasn't the bloodshot eyes, but the long orange beak-shaped mask that covered his mouth and nose. It reminded Izuku of those old plague masks he once saw on television, when he was watching a documentary about the early evolution of quirks.

Something about his presence... was intimidating.

"I'm sorry, I need to go somewhere." He forced his voice to stay steady as he ducked his head and tried to make an escape, but the bodyguard (he assumed) caught his shoulder in a very, very tight grip. He looked up at him, then at Chisaki. The man was blocking the sun, casting a shadow over Izuku and across the ground. "Please let go of me."

Were there any civilians around who were watching this? Heroes? Police officers? Maybe... even one of his father's business partners? (Or, at least, he hoped someone was lurking in the shadows and could tell his parents what happened to him... if something happened.)

"Your name is Midoriya Izuku. Your parents are Midoriya Inko and Midoriya Hisashi. You have an older brother." Chisaki said, voice as smooth as velvet, walking forward as the bodyguard loomed into Izuku's personal space. It made Izuku nervous, how casually he listed the names of his family members. "You've been shadowing me for months, too. Who are you working for?"

"No one." Izuku denied.

"It must be someone, otherwise a good kid like you would not follow someone like me around when you must have homework and extracurricular school activities. So, again—" his voice lowered, into something like a threat, as his presence felt malevolent instantly, "I will ask, who sent you to spy on me ?"

"No one asked me to spy on you." Izuku repeated.

What happened next occurred too fast for Izuku to react. The bodyguard's hand squeezed his shoulder, so tight it almost hurt, and Izuku was thrown into the sedan. He tried to scream, but a hand closed around his mouth. He tried to bite down on it, to kick his abductor, but the more he struggled, the stronger the man seemed to become.

Chisaki slid into the seat on the other side, and the bodyguard slammed the door shut and entered the passenger seat. Then, the car drove off. Izuku pressed his back against the door, tried to open it, but the door was locked and he couldn't get out.

Swallowing the bitter taste out of his mouth, Izuku turned around to face Chisaki. The villain (someone his father wanted to be their Business Partner, but this man had just kidnapped him ) watched him with an unreadable expression on his face. He straightened his back.

His demeanor wasn't threatening, but... his eyes...

They were so cold. So overwhelmingly threatening, unlike mom or father's, who were the most dangerous villains alive. How could someone's eyes promise a world of cruelty and hurt without saying words?

"Do not be afraid. I will release you from this car as soon as you tell me the information I want to know."

And of course, if he didn't answer truthfully, then he'd come back for him and target his family, or him, all over again.

Well. Izuku didn't have the advantage in this anymore, clearly. The walls of this car felt like they were closing in on him, confining him to this small cage. He never liked feeling like he was trapped, but he couldn't let that show, couldn't let these people know he felt unsettled.

So, he imitated mom's cold glare whenever Shigaraki had disappointed her bitterly and didn't look away from Chisaki Kai.

"My father asked me to approach you."

"Your father? " Chisaki looked amused, a small curl twitching at the corner of his lips, but his eyes glinted dangerously. They were cold, so cold. "Your father has nothing to do with our world."

Izuku licked his dry lips. "Midoriya Hisashi and Midoriya Inko are my parent's aliases. The criminal underworld still remembers All for One and Iron Will, don't they?"

Chisaki's eyes widened minutely, but otherwise, his expression didn't change. "It's hard not to know of them, the king of the underworld and the woman who enforced his rule. I thought they died years ago, or that the heroes had captured them. Nobody knew they had children..."

"They decided to lay low while Tomura and I were growing up, but now that we're grown, they're resuming their old activities."

"Such as?"

"I'm not at liberty to disclose that information. I can take a message to my father that you're interested in their movement, and he can either tell you in person or send a messenger in his place."

"And you, their son, is one such messenger?"

Izuku nodded. "They don't trust anyone outside of the family to exchange critical information, and Tomura-nii is too hot-headed to have the patience to understand the delicacy of our situation."

Take the bait, take the bait. Please think you're more important than you actually are—

Chisaki leaned back in his seat and glanced at the bodyguard. "Pull over into that alley."

"Yes, sir."

Yes! Izuku looked out the window as the car rolled to a stop on the sideroad, Chisaki's gaze prickling the back of his neck. He hoped this man just didn't trust his driver, and wasn't about to try to kill him... but if he was going to kill him, then wouldn't he have just done it in the car or at the location they were going toward, where there were fewer potential witnesses?

The bodyguard stepped outside of the car, walked to Izuku's door, and opened it slowly. His hand clamped around Izuku's shoulder in a vice-grip, again, like Izuku would be foolish enough to try to run away. He pulled him into the alley and backed him into a corner, but Izuku shook his hand off and skittered away. He met Chisaki's gaze.

Chisaki dismissed the bodyguard with a sharp gesture, and the man stepped back into the waiting car.

His eyes glinted strangely in the shadows and the plague mask distorted his face into something inhumane. It made Izuku feel nervous, even though he had no reason to feel nervous. His family thrived in the shadows; had walked in them since the very beginning of time. This was his territory, his birthright.

"Why were you following me?" he asked, again.

"My family knows you are interested in bringing the glory days of the yakuza back into the spotlight. We have contacts with people in high places, in government, business, universities, and such, that we believe you would find beneficial in furthering your goal."

Izuku thought he imagined the greed that flashed across Chisaki's face, there and gone again faster than the blink of an eye. He rolled his neck, cracking his joints, and he took a step closer to Izuku—and his eyes never left his face. At least he had his interest. They were both smart people too; Chisaki wouldn't kill him now and risk Iron Will's wrath upon his organization. "And what would your family get out of this arrangement?"

"My father heard about and investigated into the rumors that you were creating a serum that renders people quirkless. He discovered there was substance to those rumors, which was why he asked me to approach you. We wish to acquire it, since it'll be useful to our goal."

Chisaki shook his head. "Absolutely not. I have spent years developing the prototypes, and I will not hand it over to him ."

The leader of the Eight Precepts, a powerful underground criminal organization, sounded almost frightened . With the way his tone shook and his hands clenched-- it was easy to mistake it for anger, but... Izuku wouldn't call it anger in this situation. Especially if it was All for One who was knocking at the door and demanding the serum.

Besides, he ought to be frightened. The serum he had created was a powerful product, something that could bring hero society to its knees; something that could reveal its true colors, when heroes were stripped of their quirks. In his father's hands, it would be even greater than anything Chisaki could imagine with his own mind.

After all, there were some things impossible for mortals to understand without living a long time, and father had been alive since the very beginning of quirk existence.

"You should consider it. Father doesn't take it kindly when someone rejects his generosity."

He tried to dart around Chisaki, but the man's gaze pinned him to the wall and he couldn't move . Izuku flinched, from surprise at how malevolent he seemed so suddenly, and stared up into his cold, cruel brown eyes.

"Or I can take his only son and demand him to give me his contacts in return for the child's life."

He looked serious, like he wouldn't hesitate to do just that, and it made Izuku feel frightened; panicked, like he was being trapped into a corner. But he couldn't afford to become panicked or trapped, and he couldn't look frightened.

So he bluffed.

"I wouldn't do that. You don't even know what my quirk can do."

Chisaki hesitated. "I was under the impression you were quirkless."

Of course he'd read the files about my quirk, Izuku despaired—but wait, he could work this in his favor. He couldn't fail father, he couldn't fail now. "Officially, I am. But my father has a quirk that enables him to give and take quirks, my mother's telekinetic quirk is unusually strong, and my brother's quirk allows him to dissolve everything he touches. Do you really believe my father would allow a quirkless to meet with someone like you?"

They stared at each other for a long time, and Izuku felt like Chisaki was sizing him up. He didn't look away, and it seemed to make Chisaki uncertain—unsettled, maybe. He had read making people feel unsettled was the best way to get them to listen to a weaker opponent, once, a couple months ago.

Chisaki stepped away. "Tell your father I will consider his generous offer."

Izuku shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked off the wall. He forced himself to walk calmly, to give Chisaki his back—not to seem like he was trying to run away.

"That would be a wise decision. Let me know by week's end what you've decided."

Chisaki stayed silent.

As if he had just remembered, Izuku said, "Oh!" and turned around, placing his fingertips against his chin. He smiled. "Just a word of warning: father always gets what he wants in the end. One way or another, he will retrieve the quirkless serum."

He walked away whistling, faking confidence into his steps and pretending he was braver than he truly was.

Or maybe more confident and reckless.

.

.

.

("I'm sorry I'm late," Izuku told Yagi, gasping. "Something held me up at school."

"It's all right, my boy. You're responsible. Just call or text me next time, so I know. I was worried something had happened to you."

"... thank you."

Something about Chisaki Kai—was unsettling.)

                                                                    _

Yagi was a hard, harsh trainer, pushing Izuku beyond his limits every day and even to his breaking point once or twice. Time ticked on as days turned into weeks into months, as the negotiation with Chisaki continued on at a slower pace than he would have liked.

But at least he was starting to become stronger. More confident in his own ability to haul rubbish away from what had once seemed to be an impassable mountain. The beach slowly cleared and the horizon emerged beyond the piles of junk.

One day, Izuku sat down next to Yagi on top of the wall, sipping out of the water bottle he had thrust into his hands. His legs were much shorter than Yagi's, so they hung several inches above the ground.

"You're making quite a lot of progress," Yagi said, with a smile. "More than I was expecting. I'm impressed."

"It's soothing," Izuku replied, truthfully. It seemed like he was either telling half truths or completely lying these days. "I can just lose myself in the work and worry about nothing else."

"Have you decided on which schools you're applying to?"

He bit his bottom lip, because even though he had discussed it with his father a couple months ago...

"I'm going to try to get into the Heroics Department at UA, but if not, I have the General Education department as my backup option. I know several excellent heroes transferred from Gen Ed to Heroics because of the Entrance Exam, so it's a strong program and even if I don't get in, my chances aren't completely shot—"

Yagi chuckled, startling Izuku out of his rambling and back into the present.

"General Education is an excellent department. My closest friend is a detective, and he graduated from that course." Yagi ruffled his hair, and Izuku blinked up at him. That gesture was so... familiar. He hadn't been expecting it. But it wasn't necessarily bad. "I have faith that you'll figure out a way to get it all to work out."

It was strange. Yagi just... encouraged him, for stupidly small things that didn't really warrant encouragement or praise. He'd almost think that Yagi just gave it away easily, like it was a limitless commodity, but the man was far too reserved to just give it freely.

Which meant that Izuku had done something in his eyes to deserve it.

Him, a strange child, and All Might, a hero who saved millions.

Or, well, Yagi wasn't much of a stranger anymore, was he?

"If I... if I don't get into UA at all... like I fail the written exam and I don't get into the Heroics department or the General Education program... will you... I mean..."

"If you're asking me if I'll be disappointed in you, then the answer is no." Yagi was staring out at the sunset. "Did you know that when I was at UA, I wasn't offered a single internship? Not for any lack of trying, of course, but they never saw my potential as a hero. So, no. I won't feel disappointed. Know that even if you're rejected a hundred times, it doesn't determine your potential as a hero. Or your worth as a human being."

Izuku swallowed against the lump in his throat. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he said nothing. Just leaned against Yagi's side, slightly, before he straightened his back.

"I'll... apply to a couple other Hero Schools as well as UA."

"An excellent strategy. It's always a good idea to put your eggs in different baskets."

"Huh? I don't—which American metaphor is that, Yagi-san?"

"An old one, my boy." Yagi laughed. "A very old one. The original proverb is 'don't put all your eggs in one basket.'"

"Oh, I know that one." Izuku chewed on his fingernail and looked at Yagi out of the corner of his eye. "How many eggs should I keep in each basket then?"

"I'm not sure. I'd say enough that you don't lose sight of what your final goal is, but you have a plan B if plan A fails."

"I never thought about it that way... interesting." He tapped his chin with his finger. The piles of remaining trash wouldn't pick itself up on its own though, so with a sigh, he put his water bottle on the wall, rolled his sleeves back up to his elbows, and got back to work.

                                                                    _

The UA Entrance Exams loomed closer and closer as months trickled down into weeks and his workload increased. It was difficult, balancing everything from negotiating to training to schoolwork to sleeping, but he managed it. Father had told him that he was smart enough to get into UA, and Izuku wasn't going to prove him wrong.

And... All Might spent hours training him, teaching him. He didn't want that effort to go to waste. He was a nice person—almost too nice.

It wasn't just the Entrance Exams that made him feel stressed out. Every time Izuku had to talk to Chisaki Kai to negotiate for the quirkless serum, there was a part of him that felt deeply unsettled by his presence. He didn't know why or what exactly it was that made him feel that way, but there was a feeling in his gut that made him wonder if Chisaki was hiding something from them, about the serum.

But, eventually, he obtained the serum that his father wanted, and only revealed half of the contacts of the extensive network his father had collected and offered for the negotiation. Which was better than he expected.

At dinner, Izuku sat down at the table, and pushed his food around his plate. Father would be happy about obtaining the serum that rendered people quirkless, but... he didn't think it was wise to continue negotiating with their Business Partners while he was training under Yagi. He didn't want him to suspect that something was amiss with him, and then go digging deeper into him and uncover information about his parents.

"What's worrying you, Izuku?" Mom asked suddenly, and Izuku jerked into wakefulness. "You haven't eaten anything and you haven't said a word."

"Ah..." Izuku breathed out. Now, Tomura-nii and father were both looking at him. "I've completed the objective. Chisaki should deliver the quirkless serum to Kurogiri personally tomorrow evening."

"Oh? That was quicker than I expected. Whatever did you do?" Father looked genuinely impressed, putting the chopsticks on the edge of his bowl and fixing him with his full attention. Izuku sat up straighter.

"I... threatened him."

Tomura-nii snorted into his bowl of curry. " You? You're about as dangerous as a cat."

"Cats can still leave their marks on your skin if they sink their claws in deep enough." Mom said calmly, not looking at Tomura-nii as she buttered a piece of bread. "Well done, Izuku."

"Yes, excellent. Perhaps I should have you negotiate our affairs more often..."

"About that." Here was where he had to keep his tone of voice calm, unconfrontational. Like he was just commenting on something normal. "I don't believe it is wise to negotiate with villains when I'm attending UA under the tutelage of All Might. He might suspect that you're my parents. I doubt he would understand our true intentions."

"Don't get caught then." Tomura-nii said snidely. "You're supposed to be smart, Izu-chan, aren't you? People say you're a genius."

Izuku pressed his lips together. "I don't want All Might to use me to get to you. Even geniuses can overlook things."

"And he won't," said father firmly. "We'll come back to this after you finish your first trimester at school, but for now, you will have no contact with our Business Partners. I was planning on bringing it up with you after you're accepted, but I want you to establish yourself in the school. You'll be more useful to us if you're able to obtain inside information about the future generation of the pro heroes."

"Yes, there is that, too." Izuku agreed.

After dinner was finished and they helped clear the plates off the table, Izuku took the stairs up to his bedroom and pulled out his homework and a barbell. The mathematics wasn't difficult —math was always easy for him to understand— but it was hard to concentrate on solving the problems for some reason.

It was... strange.

All Might was strange, giving affection so easily. Everyone around him was careful with how they acted and how much affection they gave. Even father and mom didn't really like being overly affectionate with him when they were out in public, let alone Tomura-nii.

And yet, Yagi had patted his head and encouraged him like it was as easy as breathing.

Chapter Management