The Shogun

Chapter 8 : Opportunity Knocks

Now

"Come on, now you are just exaggerating! Even I can see that Izuku would struggle to say that", Reina says with a groan to which Seiran simply lets out a chuckle and says, "Well that was what my nephews, niece, grandnephews and grandnieces said when I told them about this part", and at that very comment, Naoki lets out a chuckle. Akira looks at the senior journalist expectantly and asks, "Even Naoki-kun didn't believe it!?"

"Nao-kun was in fact the most skeptical one!" Seiran points out, to which Naoki replies, "GiGi, Please don't bring that up!"

"See! He is still embarrassed about it!" the senior journalist pointed out and everyone in the Archives Room burst out laughing. The grandnephew looks at everyone sheepishly and he says, "Oh please... Please don't use me as a punchline".

Seiran wipes out the tears from her eyes and while looking at her grandnephew, she says, "We can't help it Nao-kun... You are too adorable to not make fun off. If he was alive, your Grandpa would be doting on you so much". Suddenly, the embarrassment of Naoki's face disappears to that of melancholy and in a quiet voice, he says, "I hope so, GiGi". The same look grows on Seiran's face and she simply nods and Reina couldn't help but notice the silence between the Grandaunt and the Grandnephew.

Seiran quickly breaks out of her funk and she says, "Well, but that is what exactly happened".

Reina then leans forward and while interweaving her fingers, she asks, "Ok... Let's go with that... so what happened after Izuku gave the ultimatum? Something must have happened right?"

Seiran mimics the moves of the chief editor and she couldn't help but notice the hidden enthusiasm Reina had and she couldn't help but compare it to the excitement of a kid who is acting mature but very much eager for their Christmas present. This causes the senior journalist to sigh and say, "Nothing happened".

The chief editor still looks at her expectantly and for a minute or two no one says a word. Feeling awkward, Seiran asks, "Reina-chan?"

"I'm still waiting for the punchline", was the reply she gave and Seiran with a brief sigh, repeated herself, "Nothing happened".

"Yeah and there's no war in Ba Sing Se", Reina replies sarcastically to which Seiran couldn't help but awkwardly chuckle and say, "I'm telling the truth". This causes the chief editor to roll her eyes and exclaim, "So you are saying that after doing such a scene, nothing happened in Izuku's life!? Come on! If I had done something like that while I was in high school I would go down in everyone's mind as a legend! Every student would be attracted to me like the bees to a flower!"

"But you were born in this era, Reina-chan... Sure Izuku's scene did make some impact, but his situation was still the same. He was still quirkless but everyone knew the fact that he was not going to take the bullying and abuse lying down. Everyone came to know that he will fight back now. But that doesn't take away the hateful stares, the prejudice, the rumors.... It doesn't take away all the false reports on his record... If not it doubled down a bit. Everyone around Izuku was looking to bring him down and Izuku just got back up. But one thing was very sure that Katsuki didn't bother him now.... He would not go out of his way to bully him anymore".

The archives room was silent after Seiran's explanation and Reina quietly asks, "So... nothing happened?".

"Nothing happened", Seiran confirms back.

"That's a bummer", Reina says with a groan and Seiran couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Suddenly Reina perks up and asks, "I believe this is not the end of the tale, right?"

"If it was then it would be a very bad tale", Seiran says as she leans back on her seat and she continues to say, "Izuku has met many people in his life, but there were a dozen of them who influenced him heavily. His first influence was All Might. The number one hero invoked the sense of justice in him. Second person was Katsuki. Even though he is not a friend, Katsuki's influence was very profound. If All Might was a Symbol of Peace, Katsuki was Symbol of Victory for Izuku. Katsuki taught Izuku the sense of victory and ruthlessness. The third person was Inko. She instilled the sense of kindness".