The Immortal Hero: Phoenix

Chapter 25: A Phoenix No More

When Izuka returned from Hosu General Hospital after healing Ingenium, it was very early in the morning, yet her parents were waiting up for her. She'd told them what she was doing, of course, but that didn't mean they had been happy. Izuka hoped they wouldn't scold her too much, since she was so tired, but she had to confess what happened. Inko and Toshinori sat on either side of their daughter as she told them about how Ingenium had been cripplingly wounded by a mysterious Villain in Hosu and had been left paralysed. She explained how she had promised Tenya she would come to help if Ingenium needed healing that the doctors couldn't manage, which had led to the 1AM desperate call. She told them of how she'd worked for hours and consumed as much blood from herself and the others present as she could, before deciding she had no choice. Inko gasped and Toshinori grimaced as she told them of how she had convinced Tenya to slit her throat to heal his brother, but she explained her reasoning and while neither liked it, they knew there was no real argument to be made or other option. The Hospital didn't have the blood to spare and Ingenium would help a lot of people, plus there was technically no downside outside of a potential hit to Tenya's mental health. When Toshinori had mentioned that, Izuka had begun to panic and cry, calling herself an awful person until her parents were able to calm her and lull her to sleep.

The next day, Izuka awoke late. In fact it was already evening and the Second Year Sports Festival had ended already, but when she came down, she found her parents sat around the dining room table, chatting with the Iidas. "Tenya! Ingenium! Mrs Iida! It's good to see you all!" Izuka smiled, running to hug Tenya and bow politely to the other two. She was glad she'd decided to ignore her urge to wander about in her Pyjamas.

"Izuka! We are glad you are wake! We had come to express our thanks properly, yet you were asleep and we dare not wake you!" Tenya yelled with a smile.

"That's nice of you! Ingenium sir, are you doing well? Everything working okay?" Izuka asked, sitting at the table with her parents.

The Pro Hero was dressed in his Hero gear, sans helmet, and grinned widely. His hair was buzzed down so the doctors could stitch a bad head injury, so while the injury was gone, the hair couldn't be restored so easily. "Please, if anyone has the right to call me Tensei, it's you. You saved my life, and at the cost of your own." he smiled.

"She tends to do that... more often than I'd like." Inko deadpanned. Izuka gaped as Tensei so cavalierly stated her secret in front of his mother. Seeing her daughter's expression, Inko giggled, "Honestly, we couldn't exactly not tell them. Tenya knew already, and Ingenium is a top hero! It's only fair I tell their mother."

"Indeed." Mrs Iida stated, standing up and bowing low, "My name is Yamiko Iida, the former pro hero Slipstream. I wish to offer my heart felt thanks to you for healing my son. Tensei lives to be a hero, and if you hadn't made the sacrifice you did, he would have been forced to retire. We of the Iida family are in your debt."

Izuka squeaked and returned the bow, forgetting to stand first so accidentally hitting her head on the table. The Yagi-Midoriyas tried to restrain their laughter while the Iidas watched bewildered as the girl whined in pain, then jumped up and bowed properly. "S-Slipstream! Oh gosh, I love you! You were one of the top female heroes of the last generation and THE top female Rescue Hero before you retired! C-Can I please have your autograph?"

Yamiko blinked, "Um, of course! Is there anything else you want? I'd be happy to do whatever I can! With my late husband having passed away and Tensei still unmarried, I am the de-facto head of the Iida Family. There's a lot I can offer you."

Izuka grinned; "Just the Autograph would be good! You don't owe me anything!" she said, before racing off to find her older notebooks. When she returned, she had an old and well-used notebook in hand, which had been well cared for, considering how it had been carefully repaired and the corners were still sharp and not rounded. Izuka flipped to one of the early pages and showed Yamiko the entry for Slipstream. The picture was a childish replication of an old newspaper photo, drawn in crayon and the notes were written in emotional language and in a childish hand, reflecting Izuka's young and immature self when she made the entry. The notes weren't as analytical as Tenya and Tensei were used to from their own pages in Izuka's notes, but they still showed a fair amount of interest and creativity.