The Emperor's Dragon

Contemplation

Izuku sniffed and gulped as he unwound from the tight little ball he'd curled himself into. He sniffed again, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes before he leaned back against the wall.

That had not gone well.

He'd thought he could handle seeing All Might, and in his mind he could but the reality was so much different. The man projected himself, much like his dad and Gigantomachia did but while he knew Ochaco and Hitoshi found it comforting, he didn't. It was a reminder of what had happened.

It wasn't going to happen again, Izuku resolved. He was not going to run from All Might again. But did that mean he had made his decision?

No... he didn't think he had but perhaps now was a good time to examine his options. They were more than just be a hero, stay neutral or be a villain, though most would view them that way. There were shades between each one and right now he was in a period of transition, he just didn't know what he was transitioning to.

Could he be a hero?

Izuku shook his head. That was a dumb question. He had no doubt he could be a hero. Physically he was certain he could perform everything necessary and with his current quirks, he'd be good at it. Even if he only decided to show one quirk, then... eh, he wasn't sure which one he'd show but Caeli Imperium was probable. Except... by saying 'be a hero' he was limiting himself. His dad had implied that if he went against him, then he would have to use all his strength, he would have to lead the charge but that didn't mean he had to be a hero. All it meant was that he'd have to actively work to keep himself safe from his dad's agents and to oppose his father.

He made a face at the thought but even as he did it, Izuku realised he couldn't lie to himself. It had felt undeniably good to help that woman a few weeks back. It also felt good to help his friends. Sure, most people would say he'd carried Hitoshi and Mei through the first round, he almost literally had, but that was his choice to help them and it had felt good to know they had gotten through. Same for the second round. That hadn't been all him. In fact it had mostly been Mei and Ochaco who had carried them but... Seeing Hitoshi come in first and then all his friends qualify for the last round, that felt good.

Really good.

The type of good he wanted to feel again.

Izuku just sat still and thought of nothing for a few moments as he let himself become used to that realisation. He did want to feel it again, he acknowledged. He really, really did.

But he didn't have to be a hero to feel it. He wasn't a hero now though... Heroes were paid to help people. They were expected to help people, they could feel that-

No! That was the naive view. He knew it was the naive view. Heroes were meant to help people, and some of them did but a lot didn't. They were only in it for the money. Many were in it for the fame, the recognition, the acknowledgement that they were the strongest.

But if he became a hero then... Would he want that? No. He wouldn't. Or would he...

Izuku sighed. He'd want to help people. He could live with being unknown in the ranks so long as he was helping people but... he'd want to change the system and that required acknowledgement. It required him to be known to be acknowledged as the best, the strongest and... It would require him to be part of the system.

And if the system found out his real quirk- He shuddered. That was something Dad had told him though Izuku knew his Dad had slanted his words for particular effect. So while it was true and was a possibility, what were the other possibilities?

If he was popular, the system, which was mostly the HPSC, would have a much harder time making him disappear or making him do what they wanted. Except the problem with that was that he'd have to be popular and the HPSC controlled much of that. They couldn't stop you clearing missions but they could prevent you from ranking well in the polls. There was a certain tipping point for heroes. Once you started clearing enough missions, and going up in the polls more and more people became interested in you and you got even better ranked.