The Emperor's Dragon II

The Four Pillars

Izuku knew he should be working with his new companions but before he could fully commit, he had to... He had to see Ochaco. The Doctor would have said he was being stupidly sentimental but he knew he couldn't really move forward if he didn't see her.

He knew the heroes were watching her but when he hadn't rushed to see her, they weren't as careful. There was still a hero watching her, but it was a sidekick and he'd easily dealt with them. He thought it was Rocket but he wasn't sure. It didn't matter. As soon as Kurogiri had dropped him off in Ochaco's hospital room, Izuku had grabbed the side-kick's quirk, knocking him out, so that it appeared Rocket was sleeping. He was going to give it back. He didn't want the heroes knowing he'd been here. At least, not immediately.

And he was expecting company.

For the moment, Izuku just looked at his friend. He gritted his teeth. She looked as if she was asleep but she wasn't. The bruises had faded and she was just too still.

"I'm sorry, Ochaco," Izuku whispered. "I couldn't get the one responsible for this," he explained. It wasn't enough.

Izuku shook his head. All Might, or rather Sir Nighteye had taken the vigilante Edge Dart into custody. He had been charged with a variety of offences, mostly for vigilantism. It should mean that the final few charges, breaking and entering and assault with a quirk would be taken more seriously but-

For the system to work, you have to have faith. Izuku didn't have faith. Bokusen Shoko might face the full force of the law but it would only be because All Might asked for it. That wasn't justice.

It just wasn't.

He acknowledged it would go someway to giving Ochaco's parents peace to know that her daughter's attacker had been apprehended and charged but... It was only happening because they were trying to appease him. What about the others? Those whose names and exact situations he would never know? Didn't they deserve justice?

That's what needed to change. While they still could. The gap between societies was growing and unless they pulled it together now- Izuku shook his head again. There'd be two societies in the same country. That would never work. There had been class divisions in the past, and those had been similar. Justice for one class over another but this felt different. It really would be two societies.

Izuku lifted her chart tablet from the holder at the foot of the bed and tapped it. The attending nurses and doctors wrote notes when they checked on her. He scrolled through their comments but most of them were no change. That wasn't what he wanted to read. He wanted to know when she would recover. This was why he wanted a regeneration quirk for her. A few minutes with that and-

He shouldn't think about things he didn't have. The word coma got his attention. Izuku stopped scrolling and read the message. Induced coma to allow healing, the Doctor had written. Izuku didn't know much about medical reports but if Ochaco was in an induced coma, why hadn't they stopped that? He frowned at the tablet, and put it in his Pocket. Doctor Kyudai could read it and explain it to him.

Izuku moved to the chair beside her bed and sat there, taking her hand in his but the instant he touched her he felt Dragon's Hoard react. That was odd. His quirk didn't usually react to things. He closed his eyes and focused on his quirk. What do you want? He thought to ask it but then realised that was a stupid question. That was the question others would ask. It was dumb. That question implied that his quirk was separate from him. It wasn't. Even though he could take quirks from other people, that wasn't because they were separate from them, it was because he could separate them. What do I want? He instead thought, trying to work out what the feeling was.

All he really felt was that it had something to do with Zero Gravity but before he could figure it out, two misty portals opened and Hitoshi and Mei appeared from them.