The Emperor's Dragon II

Interview

Hitomi Yaoyorozu sat quietly in a waiting room while her husband Daiki paced. She was just as nervous as him but wasn't going to show it. It shouldn't be this hard. They'd both addressed thousands before. They presented to stockholders and company meetings often enough. And they presented at conventions. They were not strangers to presenting to a large audience.

Except this was different.

When they presented to stockholders and company meetings, even when there was an issue, then the people were expecting them to present answers, or to listen to their ideas. When they presented at conventions, they were showing off their ideas. This was something new, something that they never thought possible. This time they were asking an individual to do something. They were going to...

They might even have to beg for what they wanted but...

Hitomi sighed softly. If they had to beg then that would be worth it. And she didn't think that anyone would think them weaker for it. What had happened to Momo... She shook her head. It wasn't just unthinkable, it was inconceivable.

When you became a hero, you were told, right at the beginning, that you could be injured in your chosen profession. You were told you could be killed. You accepted that. It was what a hero did. You were never told this. No one even thought it was possible. People lost the use of their quirk, sometimes through injury or trauma but they still had their quirk. They still had a quirk factor.

Momo didn't. She had some quirk factor but... When All Might himself told you what happened, you tended to believe it. And All Might had been present when Recovery Girl had told them what happened. The Number One Hero had verified her medical information with more personable information. He'd explained who Mitei Chui really was, except he wasn't really Mitei Chui. They knew Windy Chui. She'd been arrested by the HPSC. Shunin from Reikokuna had been by her side as her legal representative almost before she'd been brought in.

It had quickly become obvious that she had no idea who Mitei was, and the Commission had to release her. Shunin was going to have a field day, not just against the Commission but against whoever had used her name to enroll Mitei as her supposed son. They'd have to figure out who that was first.

Hitomi didn't care. Not really. All she wanted was for Mitei, or whatever his real name was - All Might said it was Izuku - to give back Momo's quirk. Daiki would be doing the talking. They'd questioned All Might about Izuku. They'd questioned all of the teachers at UA. The boy was smart. All his grades said that. He was skilled. They'd seen that at the Sport's Festival but... He could have been a magnificent hero. His quirk, if it was as All Might said to take and give quirks then he would have been a great hero, better than Eraserhead because he could use the villain's quirk against them. But...

Even if he gave Momo's quirk back, Hitomi didn't know what would happen to Izuku. Even if he gave all the quirks back things wouldn't go back to the way they were. She shook her head. She couldn't focus on that. It was one of the things others would need to determine. She had to focus on Momo, and that meant getting Momo's quirk back, no matter what it took.

They knew that Izuku had a good relationship with his Father, so Daiki was going to do the talking, which was why he was pacing. He knew what was riding on this.

Hosa poked her head in the door. "It's time," she said shortly before pulling back and disappearing.

Daiki gave her a look. "You'll do fine, Dear," she told him.

"But what if-" he didn't complete the sentence. Doubts were not like him.

Hitomi gave him a smile at the same time as she shook her head. He knew what it meant. As they had told their daughter, they just had to do their best. She got up and offered her arm to her husband. Daiki took it and she could feel that he was trembling slightly. She wanted to tell him that even if things didn't go well, then Momo would be fine. They had wealth enough to ensure she did well in the world but suggesting that would be tantamount to failure and she couldn't think that.