UA's Conduit

Chapter 19. Eiji's Resolve, A Father's Request

The sound of combat and Present Mic's thundering commentary echoed even on the outside edge of the stadium as Izuku leaned on the concrete wall and looked deep in thought. He stared off at the sky, watching as the clouds slowly drifted across the sky and birds flew past.

To say that something was bothering the young conduit is an understatement. Judging by his conflicted expression, something was eating him from the inside.

Izuku ignored the loud voice of Present Mic as the young conduit thought back on what had happened earlier after his match against Monoma. The talk he had with Endeavor, the second ranking hero, and father of his classmate, Shoko Todoroki.

----------

FLASHBACK

As the medical bots passed by with an unconscious Monoma, Izuku looked up at the Number 2 Hero, who had pulled him to the side. He was really confused why the hero wanted to talk to him but that wasn't the thing that confused him even more. But the fact that the man is talking in a soft voice and politely asked him.

Since the moment he learned about heroes, he had always seen Endeavor as the type of hero that doesn't care about his surroundings and just focuses on beating villains. He had always seen Endeavor as the Katsuki of the hero world, since both have the tendency to go overboard and their hot-headed nature.

But the Endeavor in front of him appeared to be different. There was no anger in the hero's eyes. The prideful stare was nowhere to be seen. All Izuku could see was a man with an understanding and patient expression. Heck, even the fire surrounding the man's face was not as wide as how he saw it on his computer.

The man looked at him, studying the young conduit and was clearly deep in thought. Though the man wasn't glaring at him, he could feel the pressure coming from the man. Is this the power of being Number 2? Not even All Might can give off this type of pressure. Every second that passes increases Izuku's anxiety.

"Uhm, what can I do for you, Endeavor?" Izuku asked, making sure none of his words came out as stutters.

That seemed to snap the man from his thoughts and blinked. "Hm? Oh! I apologize." the man started. "I just want to get a closer look at the infamous conduit of UA High." the man said with a serious expression.

Those words caused a lot of alarm bells in Izuku's mind as the man continued to look at him. He's here to see me? That's a bit suspicious. Izuku thought as he took a step back.

"What do you want from me?" His voice and eyes were cold and serious. His stance shifted to a defensive one. Even though the man was a high ranking hero, Izuku would fight Endeavor. Be beaten up by the Number 2 Hero be damned, but he wasn't going to let another hero attack him for being different.

The man was taken aback from the boy's sudden change in demeanor. As if a switch was flipped. Despite that, the man could only sigh and raised his hand.

"I mean no harm, Izuku Midoriya. I have no problems with conduits." the man said, trying to calm the young boy down.

Izuku blinked at that and opted for a confused expression but his stance didn't move. "What do you mean by that?" he asked the man, who gave him a look of understanding.

"It's just as I said. I have no problems with conduits. Meaning, I have no problems with you being here. It would be an insult to the only person I respect." the man gave Izuku a reassuring smile.

That caught Izuku off guard. "W-what... What are you talking about?"

"Not counting your lightning attacks, you have the ability to absorb and manipulate smoke to your liking. There is only one person in this world that I know has the same abilities and can perform like you do. And that would be the Banner Man." he said, earning a nod from Izuku.