The Emperor's Dragon II

The Morning After

When Izuku awoke, he could hear the muffled sounds of talking. He dressed and wandered to the bar's kitchen. Kurogiri had declared that he was not going to take care of them except he kind of did. The misty man usually left out a stack of bowls and a packet of cereal for them. It was an easy breakfast, especially if you grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl that was mysteriously, never empty.

When Izuku arrived in the kitchen he saw Yakuni happily chatting with Dabi and Mr Compress. Twice wasn't present, Whisper was probably still asleep and Himiko was still with Doctor Kyudai. He poured himself some cereal, and grabbed the milk as he sat down, blinking as he listened to the conversation.

He had to talk to Yakuni today about a lot of things but having the young man talk to the others was a good way to establish him and... Yakuni could back up many of the things Izuku had said to them.

Izuku blinked as he looked down at the cereal. Something was wrong with it.

Yakuni sniggered. "Up too late?" he teased.

Izuku realised what the issue was and actually poured some milk into the bowl. "Just a little bit," he said, before he yawned. When he'd woken up, he had the oddest feeling that he'd dreamed but he couldn't remember what his dreams were so had dismissed it. "Did you get them back to the lab okay?" he asked.

Yakuni nodded, and then took a sip of coffee. "What do you want me to do with them?"

The question kind of took him by surprise and Izuku was aware of the way Dabi and Mr Compress were watching him. They were interested in the answer. He was interested in the answer. He'd never...

He'd never really had the power of life and death of others. Well, not those who he felt nothing for. Tomura, Shuyona, and those who had attacked Ochaco were exceptions. There was strong emotion there.

There had been emotion yesterday when Himiko was attacked but that had faded. He'd taken Overhaul's quirk and he'd taken the rest of Overhaul's facilities and people. He'd won and with Yakuni here, he was sure they could heal Himiko, one way or another, so the emotion had faded. And that reminded him... He needed to find out what the Heroes had done with the vigilante who'd attacked Ochaco.

"You wanted to see if you could make one of them into a High End?" Izuku asked to buy himself some time to think.

Yakuni nodded. "I think Rappa could be one," he said with a shrug.

"The others?" Izuku prompted.

The young man thought about it for a moment. "Maybe Rikiya," he said slowly. "But the others would be just normal Nomus," he concluded.

"So you can make them yourself?" Dabi asked curiously.

Yakuni shook his head, taking another sip of coffee. "I can do some of it, but I need the Doctor's help on other bits."

Izuku gave him a sharp look. "Learn," he instructed. "And if the Doctor gives you another mission, check with me first," he added.

The other man gave him a grin. "I work for you," Yakuni confirmed.

"You do!"

"And I have a whole heap of quirks for you," he continued.

"You do?"

"Yeah but I don't know where they are."

"I believe Gigantomachia has them," Kurogiri interrupted.

He knew, from the Doctor, that his Father had sent Gigantomachia away so the quirks were safe. Yakuni also seemed relieved. "That's good," he murmured.

"So, what do you want me to do with them?" Yakuni asked again.

They had to do something with them and Izuku was coming to realise that he couldn't be the one with all the quirks. Physically he could but he couldn't do everything. He'd need to rest and he needed to be able to trust others to do at least part of the work for him. Changing everything relied on more than him. He could direct the change, but others would have to make it happen.