Izuku woke up sometime after it was all over. They had had the big ceremony, they had gone back to school where Aizawa had informed them about the near future at the school, ranging from them effectively getting a two-day vacation while the following days would be the sports festivals for the second and third years, to reminding them that once they got back, they would be going over the various pro's that had been scouting them for internships, to bring informed that they would be having special classes with Thirteen about restraint.
Izuku only vaguely heard about it, as Venom told him.
He was far, far too out of it to care, as he sat on the car back home.
Izuku was DRAINED. Utterly, and completely drained. It was like the numbness that had set in after being struck down by Eren had returned, only several magnitudes stronger.
It was like the entire world around him, from the colors to the physical world he was touching, to the pain in his shattered teeth was completely washed out.
He didn't feel anything at the moment. Not joy or pride at having won, not pain from his utterly destroyed teeth, not disappointment he hadn't gotten to experience the award ceremony, not worry about the fact that Venom had taken complete control over his body at the end.
It was a harsh lesson, one Izuku would come to realize in time, that trying to overcome his problems by getting utterly pumped on a chocolate high, was not the smartest idea in the world. Though admittedly, a lot of his current feelings had a lot to do with getting drained by Recovery Girls healing process on top of that.
The ONLY thing Izuku felt at that moment, was a deep, DEEP desire to go lie down in his bed and embrace the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.
Which incidentally, was exactly what he did, being incredibly unlike himself as he completely ignored his mother and just went straight, to bed without even kicking off his school uniform.
---
Shoto wasn't entirely sure what he had been expecting as he headed to the address Mei had given him.
A relatively big mansion, surrounded by stone walls was not it, however.
His father had been bloody pleased with his loss and hadn't even questioned him heading out.
The bastard thought he was finally giving in to his wishes. That he had seen for himself how far he could go with only ice now, and that he would have to give in to the old man's demands.
It was the same thing Uraraka had said to him, just without any damned kind words to try and make him swallow it.
There was no way he was going to bend now, just because the going got rough. Especially not when an alternative had presented itself.
He rang the doorbell, which was covered in dust, and looked like it hadn't been used in years.
After a short pause, a click came, and the door opened, letting him step into the space between the gates and the building proper.
The place was NOT well cared for.
The entire yard was absolutely overgrown with grass and weeds, except for a path where someone had dumped a series of plastic tarp over the top of it all, letting him walk on it towards the house.
Said house was also not well cared for, though in it's case, there was more wrong with it than simple neglect of upkeep.
For one thing, there was a terrace that had completely collapsed on itself, though the lack of rot, suggested it was not the result of rot and tear.
Other than that, the green paint was very faded, with a series of scratches, and cracks in the wood along the whole outer structure. Some were obviously the case of cuts, and some looked like they had been hit by things of various sizes.
As he stepped up to the entrance, the outer door opened, and Mei greeted him in her regular overly cheerful and energetic way.
"Hello, Todoroki Shoto! Welcome to my old home, and lab from before Yuei!"
He followed her into the building, as she closed the door behind him, then pushed a series of buttons at the side of the door.
"What's that for?"
"The 212 taser guns that I've got hidden on the property outside. I deactivated them so you could get in without being electrocuted."
The way she said it, so cheery and nonplussed, was utterly at odds with what she had just said.
"That's quite the elaborate security system you've got there." He said in his regular stoic manner.
"Yeah, I've had several problems with break-ins. It's the reason I moved out and into Yuei full-time. Now I only come back to this old place to pick up stuff. Like now."
She motioned for him to follow, as she began walking further into the house.
As one could expect from the outside, the interior wasn't much more upkept, though there was a distinct lack of damaged walls, instead everything was just covered in dust, like the people living here had stopped giving a shit about cleaning the place years ago.
After a while, they reached a set of open steel doors that looked ridiculously out of place in the old building.
Mei quickly stepped inside.
Inside was a whole plethora of gadgets, and equipment. What drew his eye first, however, was a mechanism in the corner of the room with a large red button with a skull and crossbones on it. Above it was the word, DANGER, helpfully written in large red letters, with yellow and black stripes around the entire thing.
"... Why do you have a self-destruction switch in your house?"
"Oh, that? Don't worry, that's just an old thing I made for show when I was younger. It's a replica of the self-destruct of the one in Vegapunks old lab. The actual self-destruct is remote controlled with a unique method of communication only I have the access to."
"Again, the idea of a self-destruct seems… Unnecessary."
"Nah, it's really not. I had a smaller lab on my Mom's old summer house. I invented a shield that repelled bullets there, and the entire thing was stolen by some Americans. I had an alarm telling me about when it happened, but without any method to destroy it, I didn't have any way to prevent it from being stolen and published by someone else."
For the first time that day, Mei's voice became incredibly venomous.
"Now it's the "invention" of some hack American scientist. Joke's on him though, without some of my other equipment, it's completely impractical and expensive."
"I… See."
"Ah, but don't let my worries bother you. You came for my beloved Kuzan 0.3 did you not?"
She walked through the lab, past all sorts of inventions, up to a spot where a big, white suit had been put up on a mannequin.
The suit didn't look particularly high-tech. In fact, it looked like a regular, white winter jacket, along with matching pants, with a pattern the same as thirteen's hero costume, just not as big and poofy.
"Now, self-heating clothing isn't something new. That stuff has been around for over a century now. But as I said, I made this suit to be able to handle the colds Antarctica, before mom told me that due to pesky international laws about the continent, we aren't allowed to settle It large scale. Such a damn waste of land."
She shook her head in annoyance.
"However, it should be absolutely perfect for you! The interior of the suit has heat packs, that will immediately begin to warm the moment they feel a degree at less than -2. Normally, these wouldn't heat up to such a degree to literarily keep ice out of you, as that's just asking to keep the person wearing it alive, but thanks to your ability to handle the heat of fire, you should be fine, so I've removed that restriction."
He stepped forward, and put his hand on the suit, feeling the touch of the fabric beneath. This suit... It represented a way forward, an alternative to the accursed flames that had defined his life with hate and suffering.
...
If you want to read ahead of the public release, or just want to support me.
You can join my p atreon :
[email protected]/Huvnn