The Emperor's Dragon

The Truth, Please

Izuku wasn't quite sure why Hitoshi followed him after lunch. As usual they'd eaten with Mei in the Support building, and then broken up to go to their afternoon classes. General studies was west of Support and Management was south. Ochaco had stayed back with Mei to talk about an upgrade to a support item and Hitoshi had just shrugged and said he'd walk with him.

It was nice but unnecessary.

At least, that's what he thought, right up until Hitoshi dragged him sideways into a small room once they reached the Management building.

"This one will be empty all afternoon," his friend announced. "The third years are at work experience," Hitoshi muttered.

Izuku looked around. The room was small. There were ten desks in it, and they were arranged in a U shape.

"This is one of the specialist classrooms," Hitoshi explained before fixing him with a stare. "Now spill it," he instructed.

"Spill?" Izuku asked.

Hitoshi just glared at him.

Izuku sighed. He'd had the stupid thought that if he didn't talk to Hitoshi then he wouldn't lose his friend over what happened last night. "You don't have to talk to me," he muttered. "You can just say you aren't my friend anymore and walk away," he told Hitoshi.

The glare got deeper. "Just tell me everything."

"So you know what to tell the authorities?"

Hitoshi actually growled. "You silly little Dragon! You once told me you'd be my friend, even if I became a villain," he snapped. "What makes you think I'd be any different?"

The challenge hung in the air between them. Izuku looked to the floor. "All Might was fighting Dad last night," he admitted and left it at that.

"You told me that last night," Hitoshi reminded him but his voice was gentle. "Why was All Might fighting your Dad?"

"I don't know."

"Izuku," Hitoshi prompted. It said without words that he had to have some idea.

And unspoken, between them was the fact that All Might didn't fight minor villains, especially not on national television. Izuku sighed as he slumped into one of the chairs. "Dad's always told me he wants to change the world," he said. "That the current system of heroes and so called villains is not viable and certainly not fair," he added.

Hitoshi nodded. "It perpetuates discrimination," he said.

"Yeah," Izuku agreed. "People have to have good or bad quirks. Dad wants to make it so that they just have quirks. And... Are you familiar with the work of Dr Ken Kyuuin?"

"Never heard of him!" Hitoshi announced. It wasn't surprising. The name was one that Doctor Garaki used to publish some of his work. Along with Daruma Ujiko.

"He's one of the few research scientists who agree with an old theory. It's one the scientific community largely ignore and the public actively rubbish."

"The public don't usually care about scientific theories," Hitoshi pointed out.

"True," Izuku nodded. "This one though is about quirkless people," he explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Izuku shrugged. "The theory states that quirkless people aren't actually quirkless. They have a quirk factor, after all."

"They do?" Hitoshi actually sounded interested.

It was a reality of quirk society that most people knew at least a little bit about quirks.