Rebirth and Blood

Nine hundred and thirteen documents. A full six months worth of work, set right in front of him by a man either too busy or too incompetent to get it all done. The thing that made it all the worse though was this was supposed to be his leisure time, the thing he was supposed to do to unwind from his regular nine-to-five job. Still, he signed up and was officially employed by the Sugarman agency as the understudy sidekick known as The Limit Breaker. Which despite the admittedly kick-ass name that Rikido praised him for, was no different than his regular profession of pencil pushing.

He was getting paid a salary for this that was 25% in total of what he would have made yearly at the company. However there were lodgings within the agency(read: slightly furnished broom closets) that came free of charge. On the flip side however there was no deadline to meet for the rest of the year so it could be done at his leisure.

Clicking his pen and checking his stamp, Izuku set to work processing all of the necessary forms and so on for the fiscal year. The current window we had to work with within the week was two days, exactly the same length as the weekend. To make matters worse his employer had a tendency to check on him which greatly disturbed his flow. Thankfully by downing a few energy drinks and staying awake through the night, he managed to cut the work order in half(making sure to double-check his work of course).

He slept at his desk in the tiny office of the agency like countless times before at his day job, except he was woken up not by the blinding flash of lights but the warm sensation of a hand tapping his shoulder and the unmistakable smell of cinnamon rolls. Gazing up with drowsy eyes, Izuku saw Rikido standing over him with a tray of food in one hand.

"Hey man, I think you overdid it with work. It's 5 in the afternoon and you've been asleep since 6 in the morning."

Stretching, the shorter man stood from his chair and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before grabbing a cinnamon bun without asking or expecting to be given one.

"These files need to be done and I only get 2 days a week to help you out. Meaning it's only 10 days in a usual month that I can be of assistance and at the current moment we're working at a deficit while there's a constant influx of new paperwork coming in from both the local and federal government. Meaning I only have 10 days out of the month to do this or if you really want to be pedantic about it, I only have 120 days in a year to get this in order. So excuse me if I feel the need to pull my weight for the sake of this little team we have right now."

The Sweets Hero grimaced at the thought. Yet there was a reluctance in his soul that shone through his fear of repercussions.

"I know and I appreciate it but you won't be any good to anybody much less yourself if you keep pushing your mind to its absolute limit without rest and nutrients. Besides, those energy drinks you have will kill you if you take too many."

Izuku bit on the confectionery, enjoying the warm gooey taste of cinnamon. He chewed on both it and the idea before swallowing them.

"Yes, but here's the thing, you won't get paid and I won't get to live out my dream of being a hero if this agency goes under due to unfiled registration forms and mandatory surveys, on top of the massive community reports you keep lagging behind on. So I need to keep on going for both of our sakes because at the moment this is it."

Retaking his seat Izuku cracked his fingers and pulled out his pen.

"However if you really do want to help me then how about you take the other half of this work so I can get done quicker? That way it would be more efficient for both parties involved, leaving us feeling far-less drowned in the bureaucracy we find ourselves in, deal?"

A sense of apprehension filled the taller man which vanished with a groan as he took the other slab of paper over to his personal desk.

"I always hated homework."

He grumbled to himself as the more mature part of Izuku's being felt repulsed by the statement of what it stood for. Continuing his duties without turning his eyes away he shot back in a tone befitting all tamed, effective office drones.

"If we didn't have it then who would turn the gears of the world?"

More hours passed with only the solidarity of pen strokes which made Izuku feel unnervingly comfortable as he continued to slice through the work. His employer on the other hand was a different matter altogether. The man clearly did not have the patience or the sort of analytical mind that went so well with cataloging and sorting such material, made even more apparent by how he had the tendency to grumble or chew on the back of his pen whenever something rather confusing showed up.

It was roughly 7:30 in the afternoon and they had gotten 85% of the work done between them. Bringing the defect they were working on down to nearly two months worth on top of more recent enquiries which could be dealt with later. Izuku would have gladly offered to stay another night to finish the rest of the papers, unfortunately though it was a Sunday meaning he had his actually paying job to get back to come tomorrow.

Rikido wasn't too disheartened by this, if anything he seemed to be relieved at the thought of stopping judging by the sigh of relief he let out. 

"Welp, I'm happy with what we got done today. I never thought most of that would get finished."

His massive, muscled arms folded over his back to create a makeshift pillow as the hero leaned back in his seat, clearly beside himself with pride. Izuku glared at the man with his professional senses pricked by such an undisciplined view on the matter.

"There's still the matter of the growth rate you have to take into account. Yes we might have gotten most of it done but how long will it be until we're back to square one?"

Standing up from his desk the quirkless sidekick picked up a thin three ring binder. The contents of which made him scowl as the more analytical side of his personality began to flow freely.

"Judging by the average receivable date upon each of the documents, discounting the bills, you have an average receivable rate of 5 sheets a day of various legislation that goes into monitoring your performance and providing legal protection in your day-to-day patrols. Thus, you will on average receive a total of 35 documents per week or rather 1825 articles yearly. Or in other terms, because of your career demands as a street-level hero there's a 50% chance this will start to pile up again even with my help."

Rikido shrugged, pulling a bottle of water from his desk and tossing it to the more numerically gifted person.

"That's fine dude, I didn't hire you to be my secretary. This is essentially on the job training for you until I say you're adjusted enough to actually head out there into the wider world. I just got behind on stuff for a bit and you're giving me a hand for now."

He glanced to the side with what had to be shame, making it a point to avoid looking at his employee.

"That being said, I know this ain't the best introduction to the job. I haven't even taken ya to get your costume yet or any support items."

Izuku scoffed at the idea, grabbing his things and readying himself to depart for the night.

"Don't hold it against yourself. I know just how bad it can be dealing with paperwork, much less when the government is your employer. I'm happy just being able to know I'm something akin to a professional hero. "

A grumble came from the heavier crime fighter with dissatisfaction clear on his face until he suddenly snapped his fingers in what had to be a Eureka moment.

"Hey, how 'bout I treat ya to dinner? There's this bar up near Eastern Tokyo that I've been meaning to bring you to. The food's great and the booze is cheap."

A hand was raised at the suggestion with the most moralistic, straight laced look Izuku could muster at the time.

"No thank you, it'll take me about an hour to get back home and then I need to prepare myself for tomorrow so that is to take up quite a bit of my time. Needless to say as well I don't believe getting drunk before the start of a work week isn't productive in the slightest. Maybe next weekend."

Rikido got up from his desk while practically towering over the neophyte as he slowly closed the meager distance between them. It wasn't intended as a threatening gesture, but Izuku couldn't help flinching a bit when a hand was laid on his shoulder and Rikido brought him closer in a confidential manner as if he was about to share some secret.

"Look here little bro, it ain't about filling our belly and having a good time. This place is the premier hangout for heroes in the biz, everybody goes there at least once in a while. Meaning this is your perfect opportunity to start making connections within the industry and with me introducing you and your wonderful analytic ability to others who have quite a lot more pull than little old me, then our agency might just get the break we need to get you fully entrenched to the point where this won't be a just a moonlighting position anymore."

Anxiety and ambition filled Izuku's forest green eyes. That would be quite a step up from where he currently was and if he managed to attract enough attention from those higher up the food chain then there came the possibilities of recommendations, team ups or even mergers with other agencies which meant a fatter paycheck or...enough to become a full time sidekick.

They shared a hungry, wolfish grin that was understood instantly between them.

"I'm in."

The Sweets Hero knuckled his moppish head of hair, returning the anxious yet eager expression.

"Then off we go."

The bar was unusually normal. There were no pictures of famous former patrons or anything that denoted it as the place where the best of society gathered. It had a few tacky decorations, a few old arcade cabinets tucked away to the far side wall along with an ancient box TV that might work until the end of the world harnessed to the ceiling silently playing some game of baseball and a jukebox near the counter. 

Or in other words that was your typical hole in the wall. The place itself was somewhat difficult to find since it only had one barely lit neon sign sticking above the outer door and the name was unremarkable in the extreme, going by "Toshi's Pub" as if the owner couldn't think of something more creative. Yet perhaps that was the appeal. A hidden oasis in sight tucked away from prying eyes or expectations where the patrons were simply their born names instead of the titles they wore for the public.

Izuku mentally shrugged at the idea and sipped his water, looking somehow both out of place and not at the same time in his businessman attire. He was alone at the table since Rikido had found someone to chat with the second they arrived, two someones in fact that Izuku couldn't help but to recognize despite their shared E and D ranked status as pros.

The Martial Arts Hero: Tailman and Tentacle Hero: Tentacole, both fairly low in the rankings but possessing a squeaky clean record in their decade or more of service to the public. The two were wrapped up in some deep conversation with the Sugar Hero that occasionally erupted into laughter. So here he was again, a third wheel who got dragged along just like in Highschool and College.

It was roughly past eight now and he had to be at work by eleven, meaning he could burn some more time before he needed to go. Everyone else in the bar, as sparsely populated as it was, were heroes of some shape or stripe that didn't quite match the expectation of maybe one of the top fifty in the nation hanging around. Izuku was still a fanboy, but time and age had given him perspective that made him discard the worship for tonight. After all these people deserved a rest more than anyone. 

Briefly he flicked on his mobile and scrolled through the contact list...which was done shamefully fast since it only contained his mother, his boss, Rikido and the crazy girl. Looking around at the surroundings he debated the situation and chose to screw it, it wasn't like she had anywhere to go in the morning.

"U doing OK? I'm stuck at a bar with nothing 2 do."

The text was short and to the point, enough to make him not over think it. The message was delivered and read within a couple of seconds which was soon fired back in just as casual a fashion.

"I'm good, bored but good. Got a meeting with my PO in a day or 2, so we need to reschedule your training 2 Friday."

A smirk found its way to his face.

"U gonna try twisting my balls again?"

Dots gathered at the corner of the screen for half a minute.

"Nope. I'm gonna slap ya round a bit, beat the shit out of ya, insult your very existence, choke ya a little cause it turns me on and then we're gonna cuddle or I'll annoy U until U give up."

He laughed as quietly as he could at that.

"Is this a training program or light BDSM roleplay?"

Another, larger smile came his way when he got a response.

"Hey, you'll learn something either way."

The humor wasn't lost on him, but to his mild dismay the conversation was cut short when the three pro heroes finally made their way over to his table. Rikido took a seat adjacent to Izuku as the other two filled in the remaining seats.

"Sorry about leaving you out to dry like that dude, me and these knuckleheads got into discussing capture rates and it kinda spiraled from there. Anyway, let me introduce ya to Mashirao Ojiro and Mezo Shoji. These boys and I go way back."

The two men were both taller than Izuku with a viable difference in physicality despite their baggy civilian clothes. The one known as Shoji was exactly as his past exposure in the media would have you believe. Big, broad and massive with a blue mask always covering his face while multiple arms sprouted from what appeared to be normal shoulder joints. Ojiro had the look of an average joe about him, appearing far closer to baseline humanity than his friend(minus the tail thicker than his neck sprouting from above his rear) with a head of blond hair and a relaxed atmosphere seeming to radiate out from him.

Izuku cleared his throat and offered a hand to both of the seniors.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintances, I'm Izuku Midoriya. I hope we'll be getting along well in the future."

The handshake was revived well enough by both heroes, but he was thrown a bit off guard by the snicker coming from Ojiro.

"Jeez Riki, you weren't kidding when you said this guy could give Iida a run for his money."

An eye roll was had by the more mutated goliath as he noticed the frazzled reaction of the newbie.

"Don't mind Monkey Butt over here, he takes some getting used to when we're off duty. It's a pleasure to meet you Midoriya."

Izuku nodded nervously at the mutant, hoping above all not to make a bad first impression.

"Likewise, I've heard various things about your service in the Okinawan-"

A sensation of something hitting one of his legs made him pause as the limb was gently tapped from below him.

"Tell us about the notebooks Riki said you could write. He said you got some kind of natural talent for quirk analysis or something. That true?"

Ojiro said in the silence of the moment with what could only be described as a pranksters mirth, earning him a glare from the two other pros. Izuku leaned back and resisted the urge to stomp on the man's tail since he knew how this sort of thing went, adding to the glares the two were sending at the martial arts hero.

"I wouldn't call it a talent, more of a logical assumption."

The blond hummed in curiosity.

"How so? Quirks don't tend to follow the natural laws of things."

"Yes, but typically with each person their quirk is the only thing "supernatural" about them, which can have different ranges of effects on the human body. Some like Sato's where it's almost a basic enhancement upon the existing structure or yours where it mutates the baseline template of biology. Everything else about the person has to follow suit in a logical order, meaning that somebody can breathe fire, but because of that the human body they have has to adapt to it and never the other way around. Thus meaning this person has a quirk factor in his lungs that combust the oxygen due to a massive increase in body temperature within the organ that uses dead cells as fuel, necessitating that the throat canal is naturally charred every time and replenished by freshly grown cells under the old ones."

The martial hero raised an eyebrow, completely unconvinced by the explanation as Izuku decided to choose another subject to verbally dissect.

"Or if you need more proof, your quirk factor is located in your tail obviously enough right? Well due to its placement I gather that instead of it being an independent limb that you can control the same way you could your arms, due to nerve placement you instead need to manipulate the muscles of the lower back and upper legs in tandem to use it effectively. That's impressive enough on its own since you had a lifetime to train with it, but I also bet that it actually has a very detrimental downside if it were to get injured. It's an extension of both your spine and hip, meaning you could have a crippling problem if that was ever pulled hard enough."

The dojo hero smirked at him like he just figured out a puzzle.

"That's why I got into jujitsu at five so I could learn how not to have this deadweight dragging behind me. Bravo to you kid, looks like the candy man was right for once."

Shoji regarded the exchange stoically as he cast a glance at Rikido who practically glowed with pride. His gaze was met by the sugar titan, knowing exactly where this was leading.

"See guys, I told ya he has the smarts you need to catch that damn thief. Why not have us sign up for that case with you? Be a good experience for him and we'd all get a bigger bonus if we manage to get the creep. Besides, it bumps our rankings up by ten each, meaning more funding for our agencies."

The more mature of the professionals shifted his eyes to the newcomer. Average height, slim build, clearly having some possibly debilitating neuroses and screamed Greenhorner. Sighing Shoji regarded his bulkier classmate with a more judging sense.

"Fine, but he stays white collar for the entire thing, otherwise I'm calling this off."

Rikido's expression changed from one set to corner the market to a morally insulted paladin of justice. His bushy brows knitted in mild anger at his old friend. 

"Of course, he doesn't have his costume made yet or an ounce of training. What? You thought I was just going to saddle him up without even getting his support items? Come on Squidboy, give me some credit here."

Shoji merely shrugged at the accusation.

"No Sweets it isn't like that, you've always been one of the most upstanding out of all of us. It's just greed can change a person if even only for a moment and out of everyone in the class you're ranking the lowest. And we all know what happens if your rank within the system falls too low."

The burly man scowled at the mutant.

"Yeah, yeah, don't wanna end up like those guys from Nagasaki, I got it."

Staring at the interaction going on right in front of him Izuku found himself utterly out of the loop. However Ojiro leaned in over the table while they continued to talk, seemingly unaware of the green and blond haired pair and spoke in a whisper.

"That means you're gonna help us catch a jewel thief, lucky you."

A heavy shiver came down Izuku's spine for reasons he could only guess at when he processed what he heard. This was going to be his very first case, the thing that would likely make or break his sidekick career and from the sound of it, he was going to be the brains of the operation.

Lucky him indeed.