Iron Deku

Chapter Seven - The Enigma that is the Midoriya family

"Should I add this new project to the main server, sir?" Jarvis inquired, watching as his creator danced around his lab to an unheard tune; going from workbench to workbench and messing with the holographic projections that emitted from them; his eyes flicking between the green glow of his active quirk, and their regular shade of green every few seconds.

"Actually, until further notice, we're better off keeping this stuff on the private server..." Midoriya called back, pulling his shirt over his head, and then off as he continued to move.

"Working on a secret project are we Sir?"

"Have you finished with the scans yet?" Izuku questioned, rubbing one of his hands over the area around his Arc Reactor. Ever since he'd patchworked it back into working order, the skin around it had felt tender to the touch. It wasn't until he'd gotten back to his lab, and gone to take a bath, that Izuku had discovered the blue veins that had emerged from his chest.

"The upload of your schematics are at 67%, Sir- as for my analysis of yourself, I have a finished diagnosis, however for a more accurate diagnosis, I would need more time," Stopping his dance around his lab for a moment Midoriya looked to the centre of the room, where the floating ball of data that was Jarvis had chosen to appear.

"Well, what's happening?"

"From what I can tell Sir, the addition of the second Palladium ring to your damaged Arc Reactor unfortunately sped up the rate at which the Palladium is poisoning you," The AI began, earning a groan from the green-haired boy.

"That's not all however... From what I can tell, the usage of your Arc Reactor to power this... suit... that you used to break free of the people who kidnapped you also accelerated the rate at which the poisoning is occurring." Izuku had always known that, at some point, he was going to have to suffer the repercussions of putting a poisonous metal into his body- but he hadn't really ever processed what that truly meant. If he was being completely honest, he hadn't expected to have to think about it for some time.

Sighing, the boy took a seat in the nearest chair he could find; a hand coming up to cover the bottom part of his face in contemplation.

"Before you added the second ring you had, at the very least, another six or so years before the poisoning would reach a lethal level. Now, you have around three-and-a-half... On top of that, if you're planning on building and using more of these suits like I think you are, then that number drops even more..."

A silence stretched throughout the lab for what must have been the first time since he had gotten back. Midoriya knew what he needed to ask next, and yet he felt like he couldn't. Jarvis was right. He had discovered his golden ticket to get him into UA; to become the Hero he had always wanted to be, and he wasn't going to let it go without a fight.

"How long would I have..?"

"With all possibilities accounted for, the most time I can see you having left would be a year-and-a-half, Sir..."

"Well then..." Midoriya began, finally standing back up.

"I guess I know my dead-line!" Giving his AI a small smirk, the boy finally walked away from the glowing data-ball; leaving the main area of his lab all together, and walking upstairs. Though he had converted the whole first floor into a lab, he had left the top floor untouched. As much as he would have loved the additional space; he couldn't bring himself to get rid of his mother's old room- or even his own for that matter.

But while Midoriya had decided to hit they hay- the same could not be said for detective Tsukauchi. Though his official shift had ended only a few minutes after Midoriya had left the station; the man was never one to just let his curiosity simmer. The boy intrigued him; he was willing to admit that much- however the boy's family was something that intrigued him more. His Mother was accounted for; all of her records the way they should be, from her birth, to her death.

His Father on the other hand...

After digging through every 'Midoriya' related file he could find, there was only one that had any connection to the man whatsoever- and even then, it was an extremely loose connection. A old student profile from a UA 2nd year, by the name of 'Stark Hisashi'.

"I have a feeling I'll need to talk to Toshi about this... " The man sighed, reclining back into his chair with an exhausted sigh; pulling his hat down to cover his face in the process. It wasn't a strong link, but according to the file, he and Midoriya Inko had been planning on forming a hero duo upon graduating.

"If Midoriya Inko went to UA, then why did she never become a hero..."

"If you plan on sleeping here, you mind locking up when everyone's gone?" Quickly bolting up from his relaxed position, the detective's hat fell to the ground. Looking over to his right, there was another officer stood in his doorway.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle ya'" Tsukauchi shook his head at his colleague; waving a hand of dismissal in his direction.

"Don't worry about it; I just didn't hear you come in- and yes, I'll lock up after you all!" Nodding his head, the officer backed out of his office, leaving the detective alone once more. With a sigh, he reached over the arm of his chair and picked his hat back up; dusting it off with his elbow. He could already tell that this mystery was going to be a tiresome one.

Leaning back into his chair, Tsukauchi closed his eyes once more- and once more was startled out of his attempted sleep, this time by the ringing of his desk phone. Rubbing his hand across his face, the man let out a defeated sigh.

"Tonight is going to be a long night..."