Rebirth and Blood

Izuku Midoriya was not a physically strong man, he had always known that. He'd kept an average figure throughout his life and was always more partial to cardio and endurance training than anything, he even ran track in high school since his UA dreams were crushed back then. However at the moment he'd wished that he had picked up a few dumbbells when he was younger as he was currently trying not to have a fifty pound bar be slammed on his windpipe.

"Come on man, you can do it, just five more."

Rikido Sato stood over him like a sweat stained giant as his hands followed the sway of the bar, making Izuku both grateful and pissed off at his encouraging words. Somehow the green haired man managed to lift that heavy ass weight the requested number of times, more due to him not wanting his neck crushed than any aspirations of achieving an All Might like physicality. He sat up red faced and huffing on the bench with sweat dripping off his sides. The two made eye contact and Rikido gave an affirming thumbs up while Izuku scowled.

"Y-You know, this sucks big time."

A hand slapped against his back like a thunderclap as the Sugar Hero grinned mischievously at the person set to be his underling, his large pink lips making him appear cartoonist.

"You only say that because you're a beginner. It gets easier over time and you'll start to enjoy the pain. Biggest thing you have to remember is number one: consistency is key, you need to keep a regular schedule with your lifting so that you can continue to adapt your metabolism to the demands you set upon your body to maximise the results. Number two: pace yourself, don't try to overdo it with the amount of resistance you put on your body, don't rush straight into it either, you need to ease yourself into it bit by bit so that you can adjust without injuring yourself."

He tapped a thumb to his chest.

"Believe me, one time I managed to snap a tendon in my arm because I didn't give my body time to rest throughout the week and I barely did even a couple minutes of warm up when I should have done ten. Thankfully the medical insurance I got managed to keep me from being permanently injured and it shouldn't be a problem anymore until I get into my fifties, but learn from my mistakes so you don't wind up screwing yourself over. Your physical health is how you're going to be making your living now so take extra care of your body."

Izuku narrowed his gaze at the hero.

"Ironic coming from the guy who eats nothing but sweets."

Rikido nodded affirmatively at the statement, handing him a bottle of water before moving to stretch his back.

"And you're correct in saying that, however my quirk turns my glucose into raw muscle mass by converting it into protein which is then made into new muscle cells so I get to have my cake and eat it."

Izuku raised an eyebrow while he took a swig of the water, careful not to ingest too much of the stuff as his lungs burned.

"So you're effectively immune to diabetes?"

The hero cracked his fingers as he found the last of his routine before wrapping boxing tape over his hands.

"Pretty much, now why don't we-"

A finger began to tap almost compulsively against Izuku's chin as he began to stare out into nothing, his focus being drawn completely inward.

"So if your quirk is bound by the intake of sugar you ingest then that would also have a direct collation to your overall energy levels seeing as how you'd have to withdraw from the complete amount of glucose in your system at the time, meaning that even if you'd consumed an insane amount of sugar, you would still be left feeling drained of energy since the body can't handle such a intake or withdraw of calories and glucose, meaning you would be left completely unconscious at worst if you used it for too long over a period of time or used the conversion process to an extreme in a momentary setting, regardless your quirk must have the side effect of leaving you drowsy if you use to any real degree which would explain the obsession with eating since you need to constantly refuel due to how your metabolism works in combination with your quirk."

He continued to stare at the wall with his finger tapping against his chin until he shifted his eyes to the other person in the room who looked utterly dumbfounded. Izuku flinched back a little, embarrassed at his old habit.

"Sorry, I tend to mutter at times."

Rikido kept looking befuddled at the quirkless newbie, completely shell shocked at what he heard.

"You figured out all that...just by hearing me explain that one thing?"

Izuku shrugged, somewhat confused by the reaction he was getting. He hoped this wouldn't be like every other time he let his habit out

"Yeah, why?"

Rikido blinked stupidly for a moment.

"That's...amazing. You sure you don't have a quirk?"

Now Izuku recoiled at the statement, utterly unsure of why he was asked that of all things, nearly falling off the bench in the process.

"No, I just have a fondness for quirks. I always have, it comes naturally to me."

That did nothing to lessen the stronger man's expression.

"I read some of that notebook you left behind yesterday, most of the observations in there were on par with most of the stuff I'd see on a quirk development file. Those guys have to get a master's degree before they do anything close to what you wrote down. Why the hell didn't you become a quirk specialist?"

Again Izuku shrugged, not really caring of what could have been.

"I never thought I could do it or really anything. I was just a pebble on other people's paths to greatness so why the hell should I bother?"

A finger was jabbed hard into his chest by the goliath, making him wince in pain. There was a deep seriousness in those brown eyes that caught Izuku off guard.

"Whoever the hell told you that is wrong, dead wrong. You have a talent most people would die for, especially in this industry. Heck, most crime groups would kill to have somebody this good join 'em. Don't forget that man, you have value."

Not really sure how to take this compliment and encouragement, Izuku decided to laugh nervously and shift his eyes to the floor, away from the intensity of his soon to be employed.

"Thanks, but, um, let's get back to training, shall we?"

The hero nodded, leading over to a section of the floor that had been roped off in a square formation reminiscent of a boxing ring where various mitts, gloves and other equipment laid in various little displays surrounding the square while two heavy bags lingered a few feet away.

Anxiety spiked hard in the less stocky man as he stepped into the ring. He had never been in an actual fight in his life, or rather a confrontation where he fought back, much less one that he won. However, to his deep relief, Rikido climbed in with padded striker's mitts on his hands, meant only for receiving blows and not trading them.

"I know you're new to the whole fighting thing but being a hero, even if your job most of the time doesn't involve physical confrontation, means of knowing how to put someone else on the ground before they put you on the ground is paramount to your safety. Like I said this isn't how you pictured it as a kid where the heroes always win and the bad guys just go away after you beat the hell out of them. The second you put on a cape your life is going to be in danger so you need to know how to protect it if a situation escalates to such a point where you need to defend yourself or someone else."

He slapped the mitts together in a loud clap which made Izuku flinch.

"The very first thing you need to understand above all else is that combat is 80% mental and 20% physical. Meaning that even if you're the most fit guy on earth and you know every martial art ever, if you don't think you can beat that person who's trying to hurt you or you are frightened to the point where it overcomes your rational thinking, then you're going to lose even if the villain is the lamest dude on Earth. So the three things we need to focus on with you is number one: physical strength, number two: muscle memory and number three: confidence. Since you're shaking so much I'm pretty sure a stiff breeze could knock you over at this point."

He tucked his arms back to where his elbows were extended downward and the mitts faced outwards while being grounded by his limbs.

"Now put on those boxing gloves behind you and just hit these things dead in the middle as hard as you can, as long as you can. We're not trying to set a record here, we're just trying to get you used to punching. We'll move to kicking soon enough but for now just get to it."

The prospect seemed simple enough and there wasn't much fear anymore so Izuku compiled, slipped on the glove and gave a nod of acknowledgement to his teacher before slamming a right jab to the right pad, then following it up with a left jab to the opposing mitt. This continued with little bits of encouragement from Rikido, who smirked proudly at the endeavor. 

Then without warning, the Sweets Hero cranked his right arm back like a cobra and struck Izuku right in the gut, dazing the newcomer as he gasped for air while rolling on the ground for a few breath stopping seconds.

"And that is why you need to work on always keeping your movement up along with your guard because the bad guys don't just stand there and let you wallop on them. Most of the time they'll try to go for your throat or jam a knife in your gut, so you have to keep that in mind whenever you engage with someone physically, otherwise it might be a closed-casket service for you."

Izuku glared up at the still smirking man with the ire of one set upon while he was still on the ground.

"You fucking asshole, you never taught me any of that!"

Rikido snickered as he removed one of the mitts and offered a hand to his soon to be sidekick.

"I'm showing how hard this is gonna be, dude. You think a murderer or a rapist is gonna give you that second chance to figure out what you fucked up? What we get paid to do is to put our bodies in front of dangers for the good of the public who can't defend themselves or need some help in doing that. We aren't celebrities, or internet personalities or professional athletes who just play a ball game. We're the first and last line of defence against those who maliciously misuse their supernatural abilities and it's a mostly thankless, dangerous, and literally back breaking position which pays just enough to keep you alive unless you manage to reach one of the top 10 in the government survey, which 99% of us don't."

There was a distance to his eyes now as his voice grew deeper, the hand falling to his side as he kept staring ahead at nothing.

"We don't get to play dress up or run around in our tights, that's not what the world needs us for. We're there to save those in need from whatever tries to steal their life from them. It's our duty to stand against the very worst of humanity who have been gifted with powers so horrible that seem to match their inhumanity. If there's some psychopath who wants to bring the world to ruin and kill everyone who disagrees with his plan then our job is to stand in his path and stop him or die in the process."

Silence lingered in the air as Rikido's knuckles became white with a furious anger coloring his face which was honestly the most horrifying thing Izuku had seen as veins budged on his face with a look of righteous murder in his eyes.

Slowly, very slowly, Izuku crawled away from the hero, not wanting to move too quickly or invite the wrath of a person who could easily snap his neck. Eventually light returned to Rikido's eyes as he blinked at the room around him. He took one look at Izuku's whereabouts and cringed at his own issue.

"Shit, my bad dude. I was somewhere else for a bit, you wanna keep going?"

Izuku measured his words carefully, trying his best not to trigger the man out of both fear for his safety and common decency.

"Yeah, but are you alright?"

A hand was waved in his direction as the two squared back up.

"I'm fine, I just slip back to the war every so often. Saw some messed up stuff and it sticks with me. Still, I wouldn't change it for all the gold in the world since we managed to kick that sick fucker's ass and I managed to bring down some horrid bastards, saving who knows how many innocent people by standing up to them."

Izuku nodded, feeling something akin to understanding despite knowing he had nothing compared to what the more experienced man went through. Yet as the hours ticked down, a question bubbled in his head, one he and frankly many others had since the start of the now long ago conflict. 

Landing one final blow and managing to finally dodge a return strike, Izuku mustered up the courage to speak.

"Hey Sato, would you mind if I asked you something...about the war?"

The warrior regarded him casually with a shrug as he removed the mitts and curled his fingers.

"Don't see why not."

The quirkless man pursed his lips in what was now a cultural taboo to mention, less images of horror and suffering be summoned.

"What was it about? Really, because nobody has a solid, definitive answer as to why it was started. It wasn't even like a traditional war with two neatly defined sides, even a guerilla conflict made more sense since it was like every criminal was set loose for the sake of mindless chaos. It literally accomplished nothing with no set goal in mind."

He flexed a palm to ease some of the pain from the training.

"Nobody even knew what that hand guy wanted, since all he did was destroy stuff and the big bad guy got killed right when he was broken out of Tartarus, by the same freak who broke him out no less. They weren't trying to establish a new government or attack a specific group, it was random, idiotic destruction and I just can't wrap my head around something like that."

The crimefighter again became hard lined as he gave the desk jockey the once over.

"Good, that means you aren't like them. Take my word for it, the second you start to understand and sympathize with people like that beyond just simply understanding their psychosis or pathology, that's when you need to worry. Because for most normal people they can't understand the idea of those who wanna see the world burn for no other reason than they can. Demons like that are rare, very rare and most villains can be helped, but there's a select few who are just...psychotic beyond belief."

He tensed for a moment.

"The reason it happened was because a couple villains managed to hijack an underground political movement and subverted it to act as a time bomb so they could gather enough lost, delusional or evil people to throw at the world that they hated with the intent of killing everybody who got in their way, be they man, woman or child."

Izuku found himself connecting some of the dots from memory.

"The... League of Villains right? They merged with the Meta Liberation Army into the Paranormal Liberation Front?"

Rikido nodded.

"Exactly, they were funded by All For One originally before merging with the Liberation Army. Those fuckers were without a doubt one of the worst groups of scum in generations. You ever wonder why you don't see any of Destroyo's literature anymore?"

Izuku raised an eyebrow at the man like he had suddenly gone insane.

"Because it'll get you put on a watch list at best or killed at worst if the wrong person sees you with it."

The Sugar rush user grunted in agreement.

"Then I don't need to exactly tell you how people responded to the surviving members of the Liberation Army?"

Suddenly Izuku felt his chest grow tight and his blood hot as memories flooded back to a more recent time than his childhood, one that nearly made him sure he'd kill a man for.

"No."

The days after the conclusion of the war were...brutal. There were no other ways to put it. "The times of screaming" were what it was referred to as and it suited it to a tee. The whole of the nation turning against a measly one hundred thousand after losing livelihoods, idols, friends, family, even children to the chaos of a few outcasts was horrible, yet not a one felt guilt towards what they had done to those villains. The jails were emptied and the prisoners hung, Tartarus was soon filled as those who once escaped it returned for protection from the mobs baying for their blood and those who tried to hide in the cities or the countryside... he'd rather not contemplate such a gruesome end to a human being. 

The two shared the look, one of a fighter brought to his brink and a civilian who had lost almost everything, both due to a few insane individuals who nearly ruined the world. A large, calloused hand was extended out to the quirkless man and he grasped with thumbs crossing in a show of solidarity. Rikido retained some of his usual friendliness in spite of the shared rage and grinned.

"See ya man, been good training with you."

Izuku released the hold and moved to gather his things, feeling far more powerful than he ever did. 

"Same to you boss, I'll be back around next week."

With that Izuku left the agency for the day, his mind still pressed with the moralistic anger that awful time summoned in all his countrymen. He let the fury go as he pictured the face of his next meeting in two days, of her pretty yet tired face and wondered what her experience during the time of the conflict was like.