deercountry | (closed) march catchall

"Hey.. no need to bow," Daniel says. His reaction is a little weaker than it usually would've been, considering that he definitely used up some of the little energy he had saved up with his reaction from a moment ago. But still-- the last thing Daniel wants for this poor injured boy is to humble himself before Daniel over something that isn't even an issue in the first place.

But while it's hard for the man to reach out to Midoriya, considering Daniel can't exactly move all that much, the man's Omen picks up the slack. The shisa is still sitting next to Midoriya's seat anyway, and it's very easy for the lion-dog creature to just lean over until its head is resting on Midoriya's lap, like the most oversized lapdog in the world.

"I'm not mad at Shigeo. I don't blame him at all." Despite Daniel's fatigue and pain, those words sound very genuine. He didn't think about blaming the boy even for a moment. "No one has any blame for this. It was just.. a really big accident."

And accidents happen. Usually they don't blow up entire neighbourhoods, but.. well, Trench sure elevates the scales on these things.

"I mean.. I imagine you got those injuries from that incident too." Unless Midoriya went off and did something else dangerous in the meantime. Daniel wouldn't put it past the boy, far too heroic for his own good. "And you're not blaming him either, right?"

Of course not. Otherwise Midoriya wouldn't be sitting here and bowing his head while desperately requesting for Daniel to not get mad at Mob.

He sits up straight again, partly because there is suddenly a large shisa head in his lap that leaves little room for it. Knowing his luck with animals, and not wanting to cross a lion, Midoriya goes rigid and hovers his hands out around his sides.

"I live nearby, so yeah. I saw the trouble and came to help." He feels slightly guilty for not attending class that day, but he hadn't been feeling up to it. "I couldn't blame him. He was so scared. I know it's your job as his sensei to punish him, but I think he's been through enough.

"It... it's scary when your power just bursts out like that, and there's others who could get hurt. Especially when you thought everything was okay..." He isn't just talking about Mob now.

Yeah, that instinctive reaction - that's very much like Midoriya, Daniel thinks. It probably has a lot to do with the way his world works, with the way kids are raised there to be heroes, but he just seems completely unable to let something alone when he thinks there's trouble going on.

And considering how strong Mob had seemed in that out of control form.. it's no surprise either that things ended up this way. That even a capable kid like Midoriya got really hurt.

There's stuff that could be said about that. Or about the idea that he should punish Mob, a thought that never even crossed Daniel's mind, despite his current state.

But Daniel shoves it all aside in favour of the last point the boy brings up. Because-- well, it's really not hard to realise that this isn't just Midoriya talking about Mob.

After a brief moment of consideration the man decides to just be direct about it. It feels like the best thing to do here.

"... you have experience with that?" Either personally, or just by witnessing it. Especially given the fact that it's not like Midoriya is the only one in his world with special powers.

The average civilian in Midoriya's world is only likely to gawk as a bystander and expect Heroes to take care of everything. People are hesitant to stick their necks out for others even for non-dangerous things, just like in Daniel's world. (Midoriya has even wondered if California is more into karate than Japan. Such is Midoriya's cluelessness and Daniel's commitment to Miyagi-do.) It's only because Midoriya is in training as a Hero, and because of the person he is, that he runs toward danger rather than away from it. With his training, he can actually do something.

And of course, that carries responsibility. He remembers his own sensei at home, Aizawa, punished him for getting into a fight in school with a few days' suspension, dorm cleanup duty, and an apology essay. But that was a fight the two boys willingly entered, and it barely damaged anything--again, because of their training. Such isn't the case with Mob.

"Quirks normally start small. They manifest by age four, and it grows with the person. Mine came late in middle school and was at full power. I could control its release, but I couldn't regulate it. I kept getting hurt, and I had to be careful not to hurt others. But I figured it out. I had a lot of help from my senseis and my friends."

Daniel slowly exhales. It's good to hear that Midoriya at least had such a big support network back home. It's what the boy deserves, considering that he always seems to have good intentions, and an even better heart. Daniel only hopes he can provide part of that for the boy in this place as well, alongside everyone else Midoriya knows.

It's not the part he addresses out loud though once he starts to speak up again. His voice still sounds a little weak due to his current state, but his words don't waver.

"Then you understand. Regulating powers.. it's hard." In a way Daniel can't even fully understand, given what his world was like - given the fact that he never had to grow up with such powers. Hell, if you can call karate a 'power' he got in his teenage years, then he even misused that at one point. (Because of Terry Silver, but it's not like Daniel will ever stop blaming himself for that too.) "If you happen to lose control.. That's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. It's just a big accident."

It's how he feels about what happened, despite what it did to his back and his body. It's how Daniel knows he'd also feel if Midoriya had been the one causing it, rather than Mob.

"And you don't think I seem like the kind of guy who punishes my students for things they can't help, do you..?"

He tentatively lowers his arms to a normal resting position, taking care not to disturb the Omen on his lap. (Midoriya hasn't a clue what to do otherwise and is very effectively trapped in his chair forever.) If he wasn't bandaged up, his larger scars might be visible now that it's getting to be T-shirt weather. Those are from before Trench when his Quirk was the thing beating him up the most.

Karate has been an important part of staying on track with the personal and physical growth after being pulled from his world and the community of UA. There are a lot of parallels between training his Quirk and physical strength, confidence, qi, balance--all the things karate has been teaching him. He chose to attend two karate schools because he felt it was the best way to follow All Might's advice of both saving people to win and winning fights to save.

"No, Sensei. I just know that homes got destroyed and people got injured, so they might call for punishment without knowing the full story. Part of it is fixing what we can, but also making sure it never happens again. So, Mob-kun needs all the support we can give."

"Then that just means our first priority is protecting Shigeo."

From the people who'd want to seek revenge or punishment of some kind - or just the people who would blame him without knowing the full story. Without seeing what a good kid he actually is. Thankfully it does seem like some already have that covered, with Sunny looking after Mob and Ritsu already publically trying to explain.. It helps, especially when Daniel can't even get his ass out of bed to carry out the most mundane tasks right now.

Preventing a next time-- that's also important, but Daniel would like to first ensure that Shigeo isn't only getting more hurt in the aftermath.

Daniel says those words with confidence, but.. honestly, the man does still look tired. Healing from what basically amounts to a broken back isn't something you do easily, and even by now it's all still taking its toll on him.

But not just on him. Seeing Midoriya like this is a stark reminder of the exact aftereffects of this entire thing. And it also makes him think of something else.

"But.. We can't have you running all over town to help right now." Because he knows Midoriya would. It's just the type of person he is. A kid who dragged himself all the way over here to see Daniel, even though he looks like a stiff breeze might knock him over while he's still hurt too. "You need to look after yourself too right now. Shigeo would worry if he'd see you like this."

Midoriya knows what it's like to be suddenly looked at as a monster because of his Quirk. He doesn't want Mob to feel that blend of fear and hatred directed at him by a crowd. It's already too late for Midoriya, but he wants Mob to have a normal kid's life, or as normal as possible. He wants him to be able to walk to class without worry.

Daniel and Midoriya hardly look like they're in any shape to be protecting Mob, but they mean it with their whole hearts. Midoriya means it so much that he's fully prepared to run around town--

"Oh. Yes... I know, Sensei. Thank you." His eyes shift down half-guiltily to look at Daniel's shisa instead of Daniel. "I'm not visiting him in person today. I don't want to make him feel bad. Maybe there's something around here I can do?" he asks hopefully, raising his large eyes again.

Please, Midoriya, when does 'you need to look after yourself too right now' mean 'go do chores at your sensei's house'--

Except maybe Daniel does get it, deep down. He at least understands that Midoriya just is like this, that the boy would run himself absolutely ragged for the sake of other people, no matter what state he is in himself. It makes it a little hard for Daniel in this moment though, since all he wants to do is desperately tell Midoriya to just rest for once, but he also doesn't want to hurt the other's good heart and intentions..

.. except it seems like Daniel doesn't have to do anything. Because it's instead the shisa who moves. The creature's large head slowly moves off Midoriya's lap, and then the creature moves to seemingly nudge the boy.

Daniel can spot it from where he's lying down, slowly speaking up with: "I think he wants you to follow him."

Midoriya's penchant for getting himself into bad scrapes makes him a "problem child" in the eyes of his teachers back home. The impending doom of a scolding was why he looked down at the shisa to avoid Daniel's eye. It seems to have backfired. Daniel's Omen is also his teaching assistant.

"Oh--all right, Sensei. I'll be right back? Call if you need anything--or just tell your Omen. Like telepathically."

Midoriya can speak efficiently when called for, like in a fight, but right now he's awkwardly rising out of his chair and shuffling along in the shisa's wake.

There's a small, yet affirmative sound from Daniel. He trusts his Omen enough to know the creature wouldn't be dragging Midoriya off without a reason, so he just allows it to happen, watching as the shisa leads the boy out of the bedroom, then throughout the hallway. It looks around for a moment, like the creature is deciding where to bring the boy, but then spots the living room empty for now and slowly guides the teen to go sit on the couch.

The Omen itself remains seated on the floor - though it's tall enough that it can still easily look at Midoriya, really. It's staring right at the boy.

And then it actually speaks, unlike the way it had been entirely quiet around Daniel a moment ago.

"Izuku." Sorry, Midoriya, apparently the shisa doesn't do last names..

The creature's voice is low, but calm.

"Has your teacher never taught you the importance of rest?"

The calm in its voice at least doesn't make it sound like an accusation, more like the creature genuinely wondering about this..

He expected to be shown some small task he could take care of, but that isn't the case. He sits as bidden.
His eyes lower. The disadvantage of having large eyes and not being practiced at hiding his emotions is that the smallest flicker shows on his face.

"He has. I just didn't listen."

Problem child, repeat offender, that's him. All Might drafted intense but sensible workout plans for him, but Midoriya tended to get carried away with doing extra. All Might would always be ready with an ice pack or a water bottle, and Midoriya would be there insisting his training be closer to a real fight. All Might had the same fault regarding himself. Midoriya doesn't know it, but Bakugou identified it, said All Might wasn't equipped to truly rein his student in, and said they had to be stopped right away.

"Even when I had to go do something hard... he was trying to get me to eat and sleep, and I didn't listen. I pushed him away. Said some awful stuff. My whole class had to come out and bring me back. And then I woke up in one of those Sleeper cocoons."

He curls his hands into fists where they rest on his thighs. He believes he is in his world fulfilling his Quirk's purpose to put an end to a great evil. The Midoriya who is in Trench has also always wanted to save others in whatever way he can.

"It feels like I'm not enough, and I have to get stronger. I couldn't stop Mob-kun. I couldn't keep everyone safe. That's what my Quirk is for."

The Omen sits there, silently listening to everything Midoriya is saying. The creature doesn't seem too bothered by the fact the boy keeps talking on. If anything, it feels like a good thing. It's better to spill these things than to keep them all inside, and the shisa knows that it would fill Daniel with pride to know that one of his students is willing to share these things with him.

(The shisa is part of Daniel, after all, and he could always pass on any knowledge to the man.)

Even when Midoriya is done, the creature seems to contemplate the words for a brief moment.

Then it speaks up again, its tail slowly swooshing back and forth behind it.

"Do you have to be enough all by yourself? Does it all rest on solely your shoulders? Is that what you believe?"

Midoriya also sees Omens as part of the person; what one knows the other is sure to find out. He doesn't know Daniel's Omen all that well, so he answers as if it were someone like Daniel speaking to him.

"There are some things only I can do. But... no."

He bows his head and squeezes his eyes shut against the tears. (This is in vain.)

"I don't believe that. There's nothing wrong with asking for help. The people around me are more than capable of helping me with all sorts of stuff. But I... I can't help feeling that way. When things get tough, I want to be able to take care of everything..."

He roughly wipes at his wet eyes with his forearm. The gesture is that of any crying kid, a vestige of times not that long ago, but when he looks up, he has the shadows in his eyes of a young adult beset by too much responsibility.

Is it a surprise to see that look in Midoriya's eyes?

Not really. Not when the Omen shares thoughts with Daniel, and he knows that the man has thought this sort of thing before. That Midoriya's world, Ochako's world-- it puts way too much responsibility on the shoulders of people who shouldn't have to carry it. Who should somehow be able to live more carefree lives.

This is the inevitable result of doing such a thing to such young minds.

"Sometimes the best thing you can do is take care of yourself first," the Omen says.

But no matter how stern the creature may come across with its calm, unflappable attitude, it moves closer to Midoriya now. Not in any intimidating way, but instead in a way that's much more dog-like despite its current more lion-like form - leaning in to lick Midoriya's face affectionately, very much the way a dog would.

"You are not alone," it says when it pulls back. "Remember that. Use it. Tell it to yourself whenever you feel like it is just your job to take care of everything. Burdens are shared among a community. This is the basis of society."

He is not subject to thoughts of exceptionalism bordering on narcissism. He has always thought of others first. It took him a while to reassure others that he had the drive to strive for victory. Johnny hadn't thought of him much until he tested him. But Midoriya always wore the mantle of a public servant well, and to serve had seemed so natural as to eclipse everything else.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. The pressures of Hero society were highly competitive even without Midoriya's special circumstances, and as a result, some things fell through the cracks. People fell through the cracks. He sensed no maliciousness in his teachers, whether they were telling him to take it easy or supporting his future career. Where did the failures of these adults and Hero-based society come in? The over-reliance on Heroes to take care of everything? Everyone's drive to measure up to the impossible paragon of All Might? Or more darkly, the Hero Commission's murders of potential criminals, one of the many secret things done to prop up the fragile peace won by might?

He has always been of the mind that the community that works together supports each other. Uraraka is fueled by their smiles. He remembers All Might apologizing to him for not taking a firmer hand when it came to telling him to rest. Midoriya has found it hard to internalize the message.

He buries his face against the Omen's and scrunches his eyes shut both to protect his eyes from the licks and to lose himself in the fluffy comfort. He wraps his arms loosely around it and weaves his fingers in its fur. Maybe his tears will go away if they're immediately soaked up in it, and maybe then he will be able to do more than cling desperately in sorrow.

The creature doesn't seem to mind the fact that it's suddenly getting clung onto. It doesn't even comment verbally on the tears. Instead it just lets silence hang over them, and after a moment of it the shisa even leans into the hold. Not too hard, since it's not like the creature wants to topple the boy over - Midoriya may be tough, but he's in clear distress right now - but just enough for it to be noticable. For it to be clear that the hold and the physical contact is more than welcome.

It only after a few moments of silence that the creature speaks up again. It's the same deep, low voice, but a touch more quiet now, like someone dialed the volume down just a little bit.

"Everything will be alright. We will make it so." Another pause, just a beat, and then he adds: "This is Daniel's belief as well."

You know, since sometimes it can be a little unclear where an Omen's opinion stops and the person's opinion begins..

All Might called him the next Symbol of Peace, but the burden is even greater when he has to figure out how to achieve peace in his own way. It's uncharted territory, and sometimes he feels so small and alone (and stupid).

Despite Midoriya's strength and the strength he is sure the Omen possesses, he holds the Omen as gently as a child. Midoriya has made the mistake of conflating an Omen's opinion with their Sleeper's before. It seems the logical choice that two so closely entwined should be in agreement, but not every Omen works well in tandem with them.

He draws back enough to look at the shisa's face again.

"O-Okay..." he whispers breathlessly and sniffles. His voice is garbled like a person just surfacing from the waves. "I'll tell Sensei thank you..."

There's another lick at Midoriya's face, though this time more brief - just a single one, soft and reassuring.

With the boy looking at the shisa, he may see that it's almost as if the creature is smiling. As much as a lion-dog-hybrid creature can do that much, anyway, but there's something about its face that suggests it.

"You should hug him instead."

Sorry, Midoriya, the shisa has no trouble being embarrassing in the most straightforward way.

"You seem like you could use a few more hugs. And Daniel loves those." Putting two men on blast all at once, this Omen's sheer power..!!

He's not the best with animals, but he's used to reading expressions in faces with animal-like features. He's about to smile back but falters. He ducks his head as color rises in his cheeks. Why does everyone put him on blast?! (It's because he's such an easy mark.)

"If you think it'll be okay... then yes, I will," he says as he rises to go do just that.

(closed) march catchall

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