All The Power

31: Fat Gum

Izuku hugged Tooru goodbye and waved to his friends as he walked out to the front gate. He found Tamaki walking in the same direction and met up with him halfway there. The upperclassmen looked up briefly to make sure it was Izuku and then turned their eyes lower. The absorber had looked up his profile from the past year and rewatched the third-year Sports Festival so he could get a grasp of what kind of person Tamaki was. While having a powerful quirk with the ability to use it masterfully, the older boy had borderline crippling anxiety. It was exemplified by the way the third-year's shoulders slouched and his eyes didn't stray far from the ground in front of him.

"Would you be more comfortable if I stayed quiet or can I ask questions?" Izuku probed.

Tamaki was quiet for such a long moment that Izuku thought he chose the former. "What do you want to know?" He said five minutes later.

"Why did Fat Gum invite me?" They got closer to the train station.

Tamaki looked up again to see what Izuku's face was showing. He took the look of curiosity as a front for Izuku mocking him and looked down again. "He is probably interested in replacing me with you." He said morosely.

Izuku's eyebrows shot up at his words and then furrowed. "I doubt that. You are a very capable student and soon be a hero. Even if you have your disadvantages, from what I've seen, you are very good."

Tamaki looked away from the perceived taunting. "He just wants someone without my disadvantages." He said even more morosely.

"Everyone has disadvantages, no one is perfect. Not even your sunshine child of a friend and especially not me."

Tamaki hummed at that and turned back to see where his steps would land. Izuku guessed that's all the boy had in him for the time being. He stayed quiet for his benefit and followed Tamaki into a train headed to Fat Gum's agency. On the trip, he recalled the information he had on Fat Gum. Everything he had read and researched about the hero said that he was a good man and a good hero. While not ranked too high, he is capable of his job as a hero. He could see the connection between Izuku's quirk and Fat Gum's as they both could absorb kinetic strikes. Fat Gum used his fat to absorb them and redirect it as a powerful strike at the cost of his body fat.

The train stopped and Tamaki began to move out and Izuku followed. It wasn't long before they arrived at a building, the older boy walked in and held the door for Izuku. There was a loud voice that came immediately after Tamaki walked in.

"Suneater! Great to see you again and you've brought Midoriya!" Fat Gum walked up to them with a beaming smile.

Tamaki shrunk into himself slightly and Izuku frowned at that. He turned to the extra-large hero. "He thinks you're going to replace him with me."

The hero's smile fell and looked at Tamaki. "That isn't true, lad. I would never do such a thing." He said softer and held the older boy by the shoulders to face him. "You are one of a kind." He smiled more fatherly to him.

Tamaki looked up at the smiling face of his mentor and faintly smiled as well before looking away with reddened ears. "I'm sure there are others just like me."

Fat Gum ruffled his hair roughly. "None of that, you are one of a kind. Saying any different would be a lie."

Izuku did what he did to see what kind of man Fat Gum was behind closed doors and he didn't like how Tamaki kept putting himself down. Izuku could see Tamaki as himself if his determination and conviction weren't as strong as they had been. The hero turned to Izuku and gave him a thankful nod.

"Come on, let's sit down for a chat. Hope you're hungry!" He led them with a smile.

Tamaki walked beside Izuku and said softly. "Thanks." Izuku nodded with a hum.