"Indeed, I am me!" Philip laughed at his own joke, before bowing his head, looking at both the surprised woman and the young boy in the hospital bed. He smiled at both, casually

"I am pleased to see you both are safe. Especially you, young man. You were put through the ringer today."

"Y-yes... I-I was, sir!"

"... Goodness, all this austerity for me? No No No, too much. Please Don't do that, I really do not deserve any kind of special treatment"

The giant's warm smile was enough to put the Midoriyas at ease, despite his sudden entrance... from the window of a hospital room... on the 6th floor. For them his few words really were enough to show, or at least sell, that he really was just a gentle man with a good heart... and extremely strong arms, most likely. The two couldn't help but smile back at him, relaxing their stances, Inko even going back to her seat next to the hospital bed. Izuku was the one who broke the silence, after a few seconds of embarrassment.

"Sir-"

"I said not to call me sir!"

"But-" Izuku broke into a chuckle, followed by the giant and his mom.

"As I told the big muscle guy back there, the name is Maze. Philip J. Maze to be exact. You may call me Philip, if you wish... or I guess Mr. Maze, if you don't feel confident enough yet, no big deal. There's no rush."

"Then... Mr Maze..." Inko stood up, and then bowed, her knees and forehead touching the floor. Izuku followed suit, bowing his own head while staying on the bed. "... I'll be forever indebted to you. You saved me and my son from certain death! And it's not your-"

The woman's words stopped, as she was hearing sounds of struggle from the man she was thanking. She and Her son looked up, seeing the giant's struggling to find words. He was red in his face, and was moving his hands all over, trying to dismiss what they were doing.

"Ahhh... er... I... nonono, you shouldn't... oh stars this is... a... a dogeza for this?!..."

"M-Mr Maze? Is everything fine?"

"No! I mean, YES! I mean...AAAAAA CALM DOWN!" Philip suddenly slapped himself, hard, in the face, in front of the Midoriyas' shocked expressions. Hard enough that his hair moved to the left from the air movement, and the sound made both the windows and the hospital bed vibrate. He blinked a couple times, as if his brain was rebooting, then sighed, as if this was normal procedure for him. "... Much better. Phew... what I meant is... there's no need to be this ceremonial. I only did what I thought was right, ma'am. Really, it's fine."

"B-But Mr Maze!" Izuku shook his head, and straightened his back on the bed "You were awesome out there, and it wouldn't be right of us if we didn't recompense you!"

"Please, young man. There's no need. It's completely fine. I need no reco-"

But before the brunette could finish his sentence, a sound echoed in the room, sounding like a mix between a rock tumbling down a mountain and a bear growl. Philip blushed, and held his stomach. "... S-sorry... I... I am a bit hungry..."

Inko stood up, smiling widely. "Well then, I'll say! Offering you a nice dinner would work as a start to thank you, wouldn't it?"

"But-"

"No buts, I insist."

The giant sighed. Come now, how could he say no to that woman? She was practically begging him. That and those big green eyes she had made his heart falter. Peculiar... he decided to indulge in the greenettes' request, so he smiled. "Alright, alright. You win. I'll accept the meal. But only because you insisted so much, Ma'am!"

"Please, Mr Maze. The name is Inko. Midoriya Inko." The woman smiled, softly giggling. "And I am Izuku, Midoriya Izuku"

"Then I am pleased to have saved you both, Ms. And young Midoriya"

The greenettes laughed, especially Izuku as he was called like his mentor called him. He was happy... yet curious: who was this man, in the end? Would he have been able to understand that during dinner? Why does he have a gem in his forehead? Many questions swirled in his mind... and he hoped he could get some answers.

Nurses and Doctors both were quite shocked to see three people in the room when they came in hours later to announce to the mother-son duo that they were free to go home, but a quick explanation was deemed acceptable enough to let them go out. During the walk towards the Midoriya household, the mother-son duo had the chance to truly observe Philip closer... and found him to be even more gigantic than he looked. "... Do I have something on my face, Boy?"

"Huh? Oh! Nono, you're fine. You're just... uh..."

"... Large?"

"I wouldn't have used that word, sir-"

"I said to not call me sir!" The giant chuckled, amused. "And yes, I am tall. 7'7 to be precise"

"7'7?! That is HUGE! You're taller than All Might!"

"The number one hero? Oh yeah, I have seen him... yeah I am a bit taller than him. 3 or 4 inches taller, yes"

"That is incredible!"

"Is it? There's other pros that are larger than All Might... Godzillo, Mount Lady, Fatgum... off the top of my head I mean."

"... Right... how did I forget..?" Izuku did, in fact, forget about those heroes for a moment. Maybe his fanboyism of All Might was making his mindfulness falter? No. He had to remind himself not to blunder like that again. He shook his head, reassuring himself, and went back to look at the huge man of mystery. "Sir-"

"Boy if you don't stop calling me sir I'm going to smack you across the head." There was a pause... and then Philip erupted in an uproarious fit of laughter: his laugh was deep, loud, and profound, like a piece of oak, smoked and strong, ready to be built upon. It was a voice that made the Midoriyas at ease, so much so that Izuku smiled and decided to move the questions to later... Maybe after dinner. After all, he was hungry himself.

"We're here" Inko pointed forward, as the trio approached a decently sized apartment complex. She fidgeted with her hands, worried that the newcomer would have found it too humble. But when she looked at him, she could only see a profound smile that softened his chiseled face, which made her worry fade away, and warmed her heart... wait what? Warmed her heart?... huh. Peculiar, she thought.

A few minutes and a flight of stairs later, and the Midoriya door opened in front of the trio. "Welcome to our abode, Mr Maze!". Inko smiled, helping her casted and bandaged son inside. After a couple step, they heard a loud STOK, Before turning around. Philip was balled up on his feet, holding his head in pain. "Ow ow ow..."

"Mr Maze?! Are you ok?! Did something-"

"... Doorframe"

"... Ah?" The middle aged woman looked up from the giant, and quickly deduced the obvious: the man, focused on other things, had hit his head on the doorframe, which was several inches shorter than himself. "I'm very sorry..."

"Please, Ms Midoriya. I got distracted. My fault, all of it." The brunette looked up at her, straight into her green eyes, and she blushed, finally able to give a good look at his features: Philip's jaw was chiseled and squared, like those of famous American actors of centuries before. His hair was long and shiny, combed back so it could leave his forehead free of clutter, on which shined that orange stone. Looking at it carefully, Inko and Izuku noticed it didn't emerge from a hole in his head, like a wound, rather it simply sprouted out from his skin, like a horn. To finish the picture, his eyes of a deep orange, shining like embers. The only word that popped into Inko's head to describe the man who knelt in front of her was "Handsome", which made her blush and curse her thoughts.

Philip stood up, smiling "I hope I didn't damage anything, it would be extremely despicable of me."

"A-Ah? Oh, nonono, Mr Maze. You did nothing wrong." The woman turned quickly, running off to the kitchen sink to hide her embarrassment... from both the guest and her son. She took a deep breath, and opened the fridge "I can hook us all up with some Katsudon... is it fine?"

"Wonderful, Mom!"

"Marvelous, Ms Midoriya!"

The two boys looked at each other, looking in each other's face as they heard the woman work in the kitchen. Izuku studied the man... and confirmed what he thought... and what was evident: This man was Next level huge. And his clothes weren't the least bit baggy on him, they seemed even as if they were straining to keep staying on his body. His presence was... All Might-like, and it stunned the boy.

"... Uh... Izu-boy? You're kinda staring." The young hero in training shook his head, blushing in embarrassment. "Ah! S-sorry sir-"

Whap

Izuku wasn't hurt... but he felt it. The hand of the giant whacking him in the back of the head. He knew the man was practically giving him a love tap... but that hand still weighed more than a blacksmith's mallet. The young hero almost fell to the floor with that, and he would have if another hand didn't stop his fall placing itself on his chest. It felt... warm. Warm like the orange eyes of the mysterious Philip, who chuckled. "I told you I would have whacked you if you called me sir again, Izuboy."

"... PFFFFFFHAAAAHAHAHAHA!" The young boy couldn't keep it in: the weird nickname, the attitude, and the actual whack. It was too funny, like a cartoon character. He would have been worried, thinking he was being rude, if he didn't hear the man laugh with him. His laugh...again... that laugh... it was thunderous and uproarious, similar to All Might's, and yet less controlled, more natural. As the two stopped to take a breath, they heard Inko call them. Dinner was ready, and they all had stomachs to fill.

The trio reunited around the table, each with a piping hot bowl of katsudon in front of them. They clapped their hands in chorus, saying their "Itadakimasu!", before beginning their meal. The bowls were quite sizable and full to the brim, and yet the Midoriyas couldn't avoid noticing how... small chopsticks and bowl looked in their guest's massive hands, almost disappearing in the callous dinner plate sized palms... or palm, since his right hand looked to be glowing orange and crystalline. "... Is it good, Mr Maze? A-and sufficient?" Spoke Inko, shily

"It's Starsdamn delicious. Good Stars it's good... aaah...~" The woman sighed in relief, seeing the pleasure in the man's face, and his voracious appetite. "Plus, I'm not exactly on an empty stomach. I ate while traveling here."

"Oh right! I thought you weren't from here, plus the name is not Japanese. You're from the west, right? America?" Asked the young hero, eating one handed to rest his healed arm. "I am. Born in Texas, y'see? Though I traveled a lot. Still do, to be honest. That's how I learned Japanese, and many other languages."

"Well, I hope the trip was easy on you"

"Ehh... more or less. It wasn't the best... but it wasn't the worst either. Plus the food was nice. Ever tried shark Sashimi? That was basically what I ate."

The Midoriyas listened to Philip's words, their eyes widening at the mention of such a high cost delicacy. 'Hmm... Huge built body, imposing presence, costly meals... What kind of person is he?" These thoughts bounced into both the greenettes' heads. Izuku wanted to know more... and decided that conversation would have been the only true way to get to the bottom of this.

I am sorry it takes me so loooooooong! Try to enjoy. Thank you!

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