The Emperor's Dragon

Two Types of Lessons

Izuku kept his breath steady as he blew out a small trail of fire. It looked like it was blowing out beads on a string as it alternated as flaring, but still small flames, and tiny, almost non-existent flickering tongues of fire.

"Very impressive, my Little Dragon," All For One praised his son. He meant it as well. Izuku's control over Caeli Imperium was almost perfect if he could produce those effects with his Fire Breath.

Izuku huffed, pushing the flame away from him before it went out. He looked at his father. "I know that if I push air towards the flame I smother it," Izuku said, using the terms his dad had used when describing the effects, "and if I pull air away from it, the flames get bigger," he added. "But that makes no sense," he commented.

"What doesn't make any sense?" Hisashi asked.

Izuku flopped into the chair at the small table set up for them. There was a jug of water and two glasses on it. The training room was simple with a combat square marked out and various pieces of equipment around the edge. The table was here so that his dad could watch.

"Fire is meant to grow with more air," Izuku said and then when his Dad looked slightly confused, he added a further explanation. "We learned about atmospheric composition in school this week," he said.

"And what did you learn?" The man feared by the Underworld asked his son.

"Air Is composed mostly of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and others."

All For One nodded. He knew this already.

"We also learned about fire in our evacuation drills," Izuku continued.

Hisashi nodded, keeping the smile from his face. He knew exactly where Izuku was going with this.

"Fire needs oxygen to burn. That's why we get told to use the fire blankets at school if we can. It cuts off the oxygen in the air to the fire." Izuku blinked up at him. "That's why it doesn't make sense that when I use Caeli Imperium to push air towards Fire Breath, it goes out, and when I pull the air away, it gets bigger. The only way it makes sense is if Caeli Imperium isn't air control at all but something else."

"And what do you think it is?" All For One asked his son, an unavoidable note of pride in his tone.

"Caeli Imperium isn't air control, it's nitrogen control!" Izuku announced. "So when I extinguish the fire, I'm pushing nitrogen to it and cutting off the oxygen, and vice versa for when my Flame Breath gets bigger."

Hisashi raised his hands and clapped. "Well done, my Little Dragon!" He praised.

"You already knew!" Izuku accused him.

Hisashi couldn't help but smile as he nodded. "Of course I knew, my Little Dragon. But it is important for you to be able to analyse your own quirks. Sometimes they aren't exactly what they seem."

Izuku accepted that explanation as he nodded. "Should I rename it?" He asked.

"That's entirely up to you," Hisashi told him. It honestly didn't matter what Izuku named the quirks he was given since they were all absorbed into his own quirk and that one was still unnamed.

His son's face twisted with thought. "Caeli Imperium means 'air control'?" He asked.

"It does," All For One confirmed before his son dissolved into muttering. He waited a few minutes, listening idly while Izuku debated to himself the merits of altering the name.

"I don't think it needs to be renamed," Izuku said finally. "Since the quirk is nitrogen control and nitrogen makes up about 80 percent of the air, calling it air control is still accurate."