Chapter X: Level-Up Island
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Izuku let out a tiny groan as he woke up, before trying to rapidly blink the sand from his eyes. 'What a dream…' he thought to himself lethargically, before trying to sit up. And finding he couldn't. His eyes opened in full, as he realized he was very much stuck and also the most comfortable he'd ever been in his life. He looked to the side. Black hair. He looked to the other side. Periwinkle. 'IT WASN'T A DREAM?!' He freaked out as Mina let out a cute little snore lower on his chest.
"Mmmhm… it's too early, Izu." Momo moaned on his right side, snuggling deeper into him.
Oh. He had said that out loud. Crap.
"Yes, you did." Momo let out a little giggle, before waking up as well and turning her head. "Six in the morning." She groaned, "…I suppose we need to get up soon anyway to make our flight. Don't want to keep All Might waiting."
Izuku practically didn't hear a word she said. "Yesterday really happened?" He asked, his voice small.
"Yes, it really happened." She smiled, a little giddily. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, beginning to kiss him. Then they both recoiled, grimacing. "Morning breath…" She made a face, before her tongue glowed, and a breath mint appeared. She smirked smugly at him as she started to suck on it, while trailing a finger up to his mouth and making one for him as well.
Izuku hesitantly licked the mint off her finger, blushing hard but feeling giddy himself. After a few moments, they resumed kissing each other. Izuku pulled her in closer with his flaming arm, and Momo started to roll more on top of him, nudging Mina. The girl moaned and woke with a bit of a jerk.
She looked up, seeing Momo practically climbing on top of her too. She started to giggle sleepily, "You work fast, Yaomomo." Momo yelped and rolled back off him, blushing. "No, keep going." Mina whined, "It was just getting hot!" Not as hot as both of their faces.
Camie sat up behind Momo, who she had been hugging in her sleep before rolling away hours ago. "Fam, either on him or in the middle. You almost knocked me off." She smirked at Momo, revealing she was pretty close to the edge.
"Sorry Camie!" Momo blushed hard.
"No big." She smirked, "Just give me my morning kissies and we're cool." She straddled Momo and pecked her on the lips. Momo flushed full red as Camie deepened the kiss, before coming up having stolen the remainder of Momo's mint. "Ooh, frosty." Momo was as red as her Hero costume, and hiding behind her hands.
Mina had clambered up Izuku and started kissing him as well. Momo mumbled, "Don't you need a mint too, Mina?" She held her hand out with a few more.
Mina lifted her head, smirking, "Nope. Benefits of my Quirk. I can keep it just acidic enough while sleeping that I never have morning breath. Nyehhhh!" She stuck her tongue out, and then resumed kissing Izuku. Or she would have, if they hadn't jostled Nejire enough that she woke up, grabbed a mint, popped it, and then started sleepily kissing Izuku herself. "Hey, no fair!" Mina pouted at the blue beneath her.
"I gotchu, babe." Setsuna took the last mint and then started kissing Mina. The pink girl squealed in excitement and rolled on top of the disassembling girl.
"We're never going to get out of bed." Momo 'lamented.' And All Might was definitely going to kill them.
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They had, in fact, managed to get out of bed. And were only fifteen minutes late leaving the mansion and heading to the airport where Momo's jet was waiting! That was surely an accomplishment!
They spent the ride just discussing various lighthearted things and occasionally sharing some smooches, but as they neared the airport, Izuku and Momo shared a look and a quick, telepathic conversation. Nejire and Setsuna both caught it, "Oooh, we have a secret talk! Spill!" Setsuna pointed at them.
Momo cleared her throat, "So, today on our trip, you guys are going to learn something quite… surprising." Shocking. Shocking was the word she wanted to use. "It is currently a big secret, so you HAVE to keep it to yourselves. We're sharing a lot of trust with you, here. It HAS to stay secret until the right time, okay?"
"We got you fam. Our lips are sealed." Camie sensed that this was a serious topic, and didn't try to fool around.
They quickly extracted promises of secrecy from the other three as well, before Mina blurted out, "Big secret!" Mina's beautiful eyes were wide, "Why do you know about it then, Yaomomo?"
"Izu and I-" Momo started, but Izuku cut her off.
"Inasa too." He said, and Momo snapped her fingers, having forgotten about that, "He learned about it a few months after I did during our training for U.A. Both me and him found out by accident."
"Okay, if Yoarashi knows about it and we don't, this MUST be big." Nejire had known Inasa for the shortest amount of time and even she could tell that. The boisterous man was very loud, "How secret are we talking? NDA's?" She was very familiar with those. All Heroes ended up needing to sign at least one in their careers.
"No, nothing like that. This is something you're being trusted with." Momo clarified for them. Well, that and it was a long flight. They were not going to be able to keep this secret. Not with them planning on meeting David Shield at I-Island with All Might, and therefore were going to be flying with him. Izuku and Momo had spent quite a while before the beach party discussing it with him, and he had finally relented.
"We vouched for you." Izuku smiled at them, "And it's better to start allowing the information to trickle out, we think. It's not anything bad per se, it's just a BIG secret. Like, if the right people knew about it, it would probably be a state secret." Their eyes bulged.
"Okay, you definitely have our attention." Setsuna looked as serious as she ever did. "Lay it on us."
Izuku took the job as All Might's successor, "There's really no way to sugarcoat this, so I'll just rip the band-aid off." Their eyes widened even more at the lead-up, "Six years ago, All Might was involved in an unpublicized fight with an extremely powerful Villain, and he was gravely injured."
"WHAT?!" All four of them blurted in complete shock. Whatever they thought they had been about to be told, that was last on the list. Mina sputtered in distress, "But there's no way! All Might is the strongest! He's-"
"Human." Momo said, simply and as calmly as she could. That knocked the air out of their lungs.
"Haven't you noticed?" Izuku looked down, "Over the past few years, All Might's appearances have been shrinking, haven't they?"
"Oh fuck, they have!" Setsuna looked thunderstruck. She had wondered about it. Six years ago, All Might was on TV all hours of the day and sometimes the night as well. One of his most famous streaks had been three straight days of crime fighting, with barely more than some breaks for food and the restroom. Now? She heard more about other Heroes than she did him when the news was on.
Nejire had a hand over her mouth, "H-How bad?" Her bright blue eyes were wide in shock. "And how has he kept it HIDDEN?!"
"Bad." Momo said, before being unable to look at them and looking down, "Very bad. Every time we see him in class, he's really just flexing. Puffing out his chest, as it were. His Quirk allows him to bulk up to keep appearances up. But keeping his Quirk active puts pressure on the wound and it hurts. He can only keep it up for a limited amount of time each day."
"And he still… Why didn't he just retire?!" Camie cried out.
Izuku smiled, "He's the Symbol of Peace." He looked back up, "Good cannot become daunted by evil. Or at least that's what he thinks." His smile became sad, "So for the first five years, it was just him being stubborn. Now? That's why he chose to take up teaching. He knows his retirement is fast approaching."
Momo smiled, "He wants to make sure that we can say 'I am here,' now. He can't keep it up. It's our turn now."
Mina hiccupped and wiped a tear from her eye, "You're damn right!" She pumped her fists in front of her chest in determination.
The limo rolled to a stop, "Looks like we're here." Momo said, unnecessarily. It was time to face the music. She led them through security and toward the jet, before beginning to climb the steps, "Hope we didn't keep you too long, All Might." She apologized to the teacher.
"Not at all!" Toshinori's gaunt face greeted them. He was even in costume, though it was loose on his frame. "Do they know?" He asked.
"They do." Izuku confirmed, "They're ready." He stepped in, and allowed Setsuna to enter.
She took one step and froze, completely unprepared for the reality of things. Mina slid in, and then Camie, and Nejire had to float before dropping abruptly. All of them looked completely ready to burst into tears. "Good morning, girls," Toshinori said, tiredly. He opened his arms, the costume hanging off his frame, "Not a pretty sight, is it?"
"All Might!" Setsuna finally let out that sob, and rushed forward. Toshinori looked like a deer in headlights as she crashed into him and hugged him, and was quickly followed by the other three girls.
'Thanks, shōnen.' Toshinori flashed a smile at Izuku, who was lightly glowing and casting a protective barrier on his side. Izuku winked back, "There, there. I'm all right." He laughed, "Or should that be All Might?" They all groaned, but he succeeded in making them laugh at least, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions." He directed at the four heroines in training.
Nejire backed away, wiping her eyes, "You bet!" She choked back another sob/laugh.
"Then let's get this bird in the air. We have quite a trip!" He chuckled, sitting back down in one of the supremely comfy seats.
"I'll go take off, then." Momo said, having just shut the door to the plane with Izuku's help.
Toshinori coughed in shock, "You have a license?"
"Oh, heavens, no!" Momo giggled, "This entire plane is automated. I didn't want anyone else finding out without your permission. We'll have to prepare our own meals, though."
"Ah!" All Might chuckled, "As you were, then." He looked to the other girls, "Ask away."
He immediately regretted that as he was bombarded with so many questions his head spun.
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"Looks like we're here." Camie called out as she stared out the window.
"Wow, it's even more beautiful than I thought!" Izuku said. The island itself was massive, and despite the imposing walls that surrounded it, the actual island was gorgeous. There were four different cities, one in the middle, with three others at each point of a surrounding 'triangle.' Each island was surrounded by manmade lakes. Surrounding all the cities near the inner edges of the ring-shaped barriers were dense forests. Did he mention it was massive? It was nearly 40 km in radius.
They slowly descended and taxied on the runway, with All Might buffing up and filling out his costume. "Okay, that was kinda weird to watch." Setsuna giggled a little helplessly.
All Might laughed, "How do you think it feels?" They all cringed a little bit.
Nejire tapped her chin, "Uh, All Might? If you're on limited time in that form, shouldn't you come in all incognito-like?"
All Might let out a sigh, "I would like to do that but…" He looked down, "My friend's daughter doesn't know yet, and this is a surprise for Dave. She's the one coming to get us. I…"
"Oh…" All of their eyes were sad. Izuku bit his lip, "It's going to come out eventually, All Might. Don't you think it might hurt more if you didn't tell her? Especially if you're close?"
All Might flinched, "I… yeah, you're right. As usual, young Midoriya." Izuku blushed, "Not today though. I'll let her know before we go back just… not today."
The door opened, and they exited the plane. The sun was shining really brightly, so they all had sunglasses on except for All Might. They made their way through immigration, and oohed and aahed at all of the holographic technology. It seemed to be even more advanced than the stuff they had at U.A.! And once they actually made it onto the island proper, all but Momo (who had been here once before with her parents) marveled at the place.
"It's so amazing! I'm going to cry!" Nejire was beaming, rapid-fire-turning her head every which way as she looked around.
"We can even use our Quirks here if we want! Wahoo!" Mina cheered, jumping up and down giddily.
All Might chuckled, "There will be plenty of attractions in the pavilion that have Quirk usage too. I'm sure you're going to have a great time!" He looked at his phone, "Now, where is that hotel…?"
"Ah, welcome to I-Island." One of the workers came up to them, "I hope you enjoy-" And then her brain caught up with her eyes, which widened. "W-wait! ALL MIGHT?!" She squealed, drawing the attention of every single person in the vicinity.
"Oh." Setsuna deadpanned, "We're about to get mobbed, aren't we?"
"Most likely." Camie had the same tone.
And then the wave started, and Izuku said, "Nope."
All of his girlfriends and himself started to float and lifted off above All Might's head. "AHAHAHA! THANK YOU FOR SUCH A WARM WELCOME! LINE UP FOR AUTOGRAPHS!"
"Okay, like, but if he's on a time limit shouldn't he have just bulked up before he saw his friend's daughter?" Camie laughed.
Mina was fake swooning, "My Hero!" She peppered Izuku's face with kisses as they all floated, giggling at the mob that had immediately surrounded All Might.
…
"I didn't think I'd be stopped that long!" All Might was sweating lightly, and his face was absolutely covered with lipstick marks from all the women kissing him.
Setsuna playfully elbowed his hip, "Told ya you should have bulked up after."
Toshinori took the ribbing in good humor. And then they heard it. Boing. Boing. BOING. All Might smiled in genuine excitement as the boinging got louder and closer. And then they saw her. She was on what looked like a very high-tech pogo stick. She was very blonde, just like All Might, with wavy hair that went to her back. She was wearing tan, form-fitting, pale capri pants, with some plaid pink socks and brown heeled boots. Her shirt was a white, short-sleeved dress shirt with cuffs and a bow that matched her socks, along with a dark raspberry pink waistcoat. Topping it off was a pair of oval glasses, and it was a miracle that they hadn't flown off from all the bouncing, "Uncle Might!" She cried out, before jumping off the stick and into All Might's arms.
All Might laughed happily as he spun her around, "Melissa! You've gotten so big!"
"It's been so long! I'm so glad you came!" Melissa hugged him again.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" All Might said, "But I almost didn't recognize you, you know!"
"Well, I am seventeen now!" She replied cheerfully, putting her at the same age as Nejire. "I'm pretty heavy now, huh?"
"Not at all!" All Might laughed. He had been holding her up by the waist, and playfully threw her a little into the air as easily as he could with a baby. She giggled in response, before being set down.
"I'm glad to see you're well." Melissa said, looking up at him, "Sorry I was so late! I was really caught up with an experiment and lost track of time."
"Oh, it's not a big deal, Melissa! I was busy getting mobbed, after all. AHAHAHA!" All Might waved off her worry. He then turned in their direction, "Everyone, this is my good friend's daughter."
Melissa smiled happily at them, turning, "Hello! My name is Melissa Shield! Or would that be Shield Melissa?"
"Hi there!" Mina predictably jumped to the front of the queue. "And the American way is fine, Melissa-chan! I'm Ashi-Mina Ashido!"
Melissa giggled, "If my way is fine for you, your way is fine for me too, Mina-chan."
"I'm Nejire!" Nejire bounced up next, "Nejire Hadō! It's really nice to meet you, Melissa!" The others quickly introduced themselves as well.
"It's wonderful to meet you all!" Melissa beamed at them, "Though how come you're all with Uncle Might?"
Izuku smiled back at her a little shyly, "We're all his students at U.A. Momo-chan, Mina-chan, Set, and Camie-chan are with me in year one, and Nejire-chan is in year three!"
"Oh, I probably should have guessed! You're all in costume!" Melissa giggled as she gave them all once-overs. She looked very interested in their costumes, "You threw me off a little, admittedly." She looked at Izuku, who was just in regular clothes, compared to the others. Clothes which did nothing to hide how much work he put in, making her blush very lightly. "And, uhmm…" She looked at his arm.
Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Well, my costume was totally destroyed and hasn't been remade yet."
"Destroyed?" She gasped, "Was it a training exercise gone wrong?" She then paled, "Wait, didn't I hear about an attack on the school? Was that YOUR class?" She held her hands over her mouth as her eyes dipped again to his arm, "Oh no, were you really injured that badly?"
Izuku winced, "Yeah, it was pretty bad." He dispersed the flame, and her eyes filled with compassion as she looked at his stump. The flames returned, "We're really hoping that I'll be able to regenerate it, eventually. It's part of my Quirk." He smiled wanly, "Besides, it's not so bad. I got a cool flame arm out of the deal, right?"
They all giggled, though it was just a tad bit forced. "Good to see you can still be positive! Can I ask how the costume got destroyed?"
"Burned." Mina threw in, grimacing as she remembered his hellfire. She, Momo, Camie, and Setsuna had been really far away from the epicenter, and they had felt the heat.
"He saved us all, ya dig?" Camie said, making Melissa blink at her way of talking, "Villains didn't take his arm. His most dangerous technique did."
Setsuna tightened her fist, "Burned it right off."
"More like vaporized." Momo grumbled, "We were pretty far away and could feel the heat. I don't know how you do it, Izu…" She looked at him with sad eyes. Just what kind of pain tolerance did he have?
Melissa parsed that, looking very pale, before she looked at Izuku, "Do you remember what your costume was made of? We can probably provide better materials for costumes here." Izuku told her, and she paled so much that she started to wobble and almost fell over, "Th-that's the most fireproof material on the planet." Izuku didn't think. He just reached over and steadied her. Melissa took a deep breath, "J-just what kind of technique can do that?"
"One I sincerely hope he never has to use again." Momo said, and the girls and All Might all agreed.
Melissa herself nodded in agreement, and then looked over at Momo, "Uhm…I hope I'm not overstepping, but that costume is a little…daring."
Momo blushed, "Yes, well, prior to meeting Izu and the rest of my class, I knew very little about how my Quirk actuallyworked. One of the limitations I thought I had was that I needed a lot of skin area to use it, so if I used something like Mina-chan's costume, it would just constantly be getting torn."
"Did you not try DNA-matched, self-repairing fabrics?" Melissa took a closer look, walking around Momo curiously. Her girlfriends and boyfriend looked on, bemused.
"We tried that. It didn't work. The fabrics still got worn out and ended up tearing. In any case, it's kind of moot now. I'm definitely here for a redesign." Momo held back a giggle at the sheer curiosity on Melissa's face and the bemusement on her significant others'.
Melissa's face lit up, and she already looked a lot better than she had just a minute ago. But before she could answer, All Might coughed, "Not that I'm not loving your socializing with my honorary niece, but shouldn't we get going?"
"Ah! Sorry! I got distracted!" Melissa yelped, before gathering her pogo stick and… turning it into a tiny handheld device no bigger than an earphone case, which she stuck in her pocket, "Sorry! We can talk more later! This way, everyone!" She didn't even notice the rest of them goggling in awe at the technology.
…
"Why don't you have lunch with Melissa sometime?" Sam (a rather portly, but kind-looking man) asked David, Melissa's father.
David chuckled, "I'm not the only busy one. She went to the academy today too."
"Aren't they out for the expo?" Sam tilted his head.
"She's doing some independent research." David replied, smirking a little.
"I mean, I am Papa's daughter, after all." Melissa called out from the entrance, making the two men jerk in surprise. "I can't help being just like him, can I?"
"Melissa?" David eyed his daughter in surprise as she walked over.
"Hello, Melissa." Sam smiled at her.
"Thanks for taking care of Papa, Sam. He never would stop working." Melissa jabbed playfully at her father.
David chuckled, "Guilty." He smiled at her as Sam chuckled, "More importantly, what are you doing here?"
"Bringing your surprise, of course!" Melissa said, making both men blink. And then she jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, and both men's eyes bugged wide open.
"I AM HERE… SHAKING WITH EMOTION FROM OUR REUNION!" All Might flexed.
"Toshi!" David yelped incredulously, before moving forward, "TOSHI!"
The two men laughed uproariously as they met in the middle of the room, the far larger Hero almost crushing his friend's back in a hug. None of them noticed the nervous sweat that broke out on Sam's skin at the sight of the Greatest Hero.
David almost fell over as All Might put him down, "Man, how long has it been?" The blonde asked, fists on his hips.
"Oh, don't remind me about how old I am." David tapped his back with his fists, "Neither of us want to think about that, do we?"
"AHAHAHA!" The two laughed, "That's for sure! I'm sure glad to see you!" The two bumped fists, before he stepped to the side, "Students, let me introduce my best friend, David Shield-"
Izuku burst, yelping in excitement more to himself than the 'audience,' "Professor David Shield! A top scientist in Quirk research who earned a Nobel Quirk Prize! He was All Might's partner when he lived in America, and the one who created all of All Might's costumes!"
"And he's off!" Momo deadpanned, causing the rest of the room to burst into laughter.
"My, it looks like I didn't need to introduce myself!" David chuckled, holding out a hand.
"Ack! Sorry!" Izuku blushed, but took his hand, "I just get really excited." He said, sheepishly. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, sir!"
"Just call me Dave, Midoriya-san!" David waved him off with a smile, "I'm not big on formalities." He looked behind the boy, "And who are these lovely ladies?" He smiled at them as well.
"I'm Yaoyorozu Momo. Nice to meet you, Professor Dave." Momo smiled a little impishly, getting a chuckle from the man.
"I'm Utsushimi Camie! It's so rad to meet you!" Camie shot him a peace sign and a grin.
"Nice ta meetcha, professor! I'm Tokage Setsuna!" The other verdette in the room also shot him a peace sign and a sharp-toothed grin.
"I'm Hadō Nejire!" Nejire floated up excitedly, "It's so cool to meet you!"
"And I'm Ashido Mina!" Mina introduced herself with a little twirl!
"Ahaha, well it's certainly wonderful to meet all of you!" David nodded to each of them, with a smile, before All Might coughed a little into his fist, drawing his attention. "Now, I'm sure we'll have some time to properly meet and greet later, but it's been years since I've seen All Might. Mind letting us have some time together?"
"Of course!" Izuku said, knowing that All Might was probably looking to slim down.
"Melissa, can you take them down to the Expo?" David looked to his daughter.
"Of course!" Melissa smiled, "I'd be honored to go with some future Heroes!" She grinned brightly at the students, "Shall we?" She waved at the door.
"Wahoo! This is going to be so much fun! Let's go!" Mina was the first out the door.
"Well, she's certainly excitable!" David chuckled as the kids all filed out, "Sam, you go rest too. It's been a long day." The man obediently left, and Toshinori immediately deflated as soon as the door was closed, "Good lord, Toshi…" David put his hands on his shoulders, "This looks worse than I thought." He murmured in horror.
"It's alright." Toshinori replied, "Sadly, I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't be." David let out a sigh, "Come on. Let's go get you inspected."
Toshinori laughed, "Don't say 'inspected.' I'm not a costume!" David laughed in return, feeling better seeing his friend laugh.
…
"So, what can I call you all? I'm curious if you've chosen Hero names yet." Melissa said cheerfully, leading the group.
"We have, but I think you can still call us by our names." Momo smiled at the blonde, "We might be in costume, but our names haven't even debuted yet. I am Izanami, the Creator."
"Oooh!" Melissa smiled wide at the implications of that name, before she frowned, "Huh, wait a minute. Admittedly my Japanese mythology is a little weak, but I thought Izanami was a goddess of death?"
Momo gave her a little clap, "She was a creator deity before she was one of death." She held her arm out, and Melissa gasped as her arm started to sparkle. A matryoshka doll painted exactly like Melissa in her current outfit popped out, and Melissa yelped and fumbled with it before catching it.
"Oh my god!" Melissa examined it in total awe, "That's amazing!" She was almost literally sparkling as her mind whirred at the possibilities.
Momo giggled, hiding her mouth behind her hand, "Yes, I thought it was quite an apt comparison. There are many gods and goddesses throughout the various mythologies who represent different aspects in one being. Freya is one, as a goddess of both war and love, among other things. I am simply focusing on the aspect of Creation. I'm sure there will be people who forget Izanami's origins as a creator and focus on the aspect of death and destruction when they hear my name." She let out a slightly uncharacteristic smirk as her red lightning crackled, "Well, I have something for that too." Izuku hid a smile by ducking his head a little.
"Well, we'll certainly have to create a costume for you befitting Izanami then, won't we!" Melissa chirped cheerfully, "And you, Midoriya-kun?"
Izuku smiled, declaring his name for only the second time, "The Cosmic Hero: Eon!"
"Ooooh, great name! I can't guess your Quirk at all from that, though. Is it some sort of space-time manipulation?" She asked eagerly.
"No, but with how bullshit our boy is, he could probably figure it out!" Setsuna laughed. That obviously grabbed Melissa's attention and interest, but before she could ask them to elaborate, Setsuna gave her own name, "I'm the Severing Hero: Automata!" Making sure Melissa was looking at her, she pulled off her head with a pop and bowed as if she were waving a hat. Melissa let out a little squeal of shock, before pointing at her, "BUGGY!"
"YES!" Mina and Camie cheered, high-fiving the blonde. "And aww! I was hoping you'd choose Dullahan!" Mina pouted.
Setsuna snapped her fingers, "Crap! I totally forgot about that!" She rubbed her chin as she put her head back on, "Crap, I don't know which one I like better!"
"Oooooh! I really like Dullahan too! That's a really cool name you know, Setsu-chan!" Nejire beamed, "I'm actually already a provisionally licensed Hero; the Helix Heroine: Spiral-Chan!"
Melissa giggled at how energetic Nejire was. She liked that name quite a bit. But Setsuna had grabbed her attention firmly, "Just don't call yourself Setsuna the Clown and start wearing garish colors."
Camie laughed, and held her hand up to her lips, "Call me Discordia, fam!" And then she breathed out. A slight mist bellowed out… and then before Melissa's eyes, Setsuna's hair turned fire-engine-red, her face got encrusted in makeup, a large, bulbous, red nose grew, and her cool costume turned a totally awful combination of hot pink and neon green.
"CAMIE!" Setsuna yelped, and that was before the clown music started. "Oooh, I'm going to get you!" She stomped her feet.
The illusion vanished as they all laughed. Well, all of them but Setsuna. She was steaming a little in embarrassment… and the fact she found it a little funny anyway.
"Wow! What an amazing Quirk!" Melissa exclaimed, "Was that a full visual and auditory illusion?"
"Yup!" Camie grinned, "If you breathe that gas, it's GG. It's not just sight and sound. It's a full sensory illusion, ya dig?"
"Looks like I'm last!" Mina pouted, "I'm Amina Acid! And my Quirk is… well… self-explanatory, really." She giggled, forming a little dollop of acid on her finger.
"You all have such cool Quirks and Hero names!" Melissa exclaimed, "I would be beyond ecstatic to be able to work on your costumes! But first…" They burst out of the building and into the sunlight, "Let's go have some fun at the expo!"
"This is so lit, fam!" Camie cheered, looking out in wonder. Everywhere they looked, there were attractions. Crazily designed buildings peppered the landscape. Heroes in full costumes mingled among the tourists. Holographic musical notes floated in the sky. Jets of water were somehow turned into writing.
"Totally feels like a paradise!" Nejire cheered, "I totally wouldn't mind vacationing here a bunch!"
Momo tittered, "I'll keep that in mind."
Melissa directed them, "We have all the facilities of larger cities. Just about all we can't do is travel. Since the scientists and their families live here, we have to be big on confidentiality."
She would have gone on, but Setsuna unleashed a blast of sound that deafened everyone in a mile radius. Her squeal was so sharp that Izuku clapped his hands to his ears, followed by the other girls. Melissa's glasses cracked. "IT'S GODZILLO! OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!" The Hero in question was a four-meter-tall kaiju wearing a white cape and pants decorated with red flames. He shot them all a peace sign as he stomped by. "Izuizuizu!" She shook him, "Autograph! Pen! Notebook!"
Izuku hastily produced the requisitioned implements from…somewhere… and Setsuna split apart and rushed to her favorite Hero.
Melissa goggled, "I thought she was a splitting girl, not a 'splitting my eardrums' girl! OW! She even cracked my glasses!"
The rest of them burst into laughter, "I don't think I've ever seen her so excited!" Momo exclaimed, before poking Melissa, "You wouldn't happen to know your prescription, would you?"
"Mhm. It's positive one point five on both eyes." Melissa replied. And then her jaw dropped as Momo casually popped out an identical set of glasses for her. She put them on, and was even more astounded, "These are even better than my old ones! How?!"
Momo smiled happily, "Glad you like them! And I actually use reading glasses occasionally. Old habit from when I was younger before I got my eyes fixed. I learned how to make them when I was younger." Her grin turned a little smug, "And unlike manufacturing processes, anything I make is literally flawless by default. My Quirk doesn't do 'defects' unless I want it to."
Melissa looked like she was about to take Momo and run to her lab and never leave. Luckily, Setsuna arrived, "THANK YOU, IZU!" She smooched him, and then hugged the stuffing out of him. "Oh man, even if I don't get any costume upgrades here and it just rains all week, this was totally worth it just for that!"
Melissa took note of the kiss. 'I guess they're dating. They do look pretty cute together.' All of them giggled, before moving on. "Godzillo must have been invited by a sponsor to sign autographs and sell the newest items. I'm sure there are plenty of other Heroes around doing the same. There should be a bunch of different events like that, including the party with all the industry guests three nights from now."
"Ah yes," Momo said, "I had almost forgotten about that. We did come prepared for it." She grimaced, "I just hope it's not too fancy of a dinner party. My stomach is still rebelling over the last one I had to go to."
Melissa started to laugh, "Oh no. We've only got the best foods for it. You don't have to worry about anything too… exotic." She pointed at a building and smiled excitedly, "That one! We should definitely visit this one!"
A few minutes later, they were oohing and awing at all of the fancy tech on display. Melissa brought them to something she called a 'multipurpose Beagle,' which could fly and even move underwater. It looked vaguely like a mechanical bird of prey, and the engine seemed to have a strange screw coming out of it.
"Wow! What's its top speed?" Nejire was always excited about flying!
"Mach two in the air!" Melissa cheerfully declared, "And in the water it can go about eighty knots."
"Wow, that blows the old submarine records out of the water!" Momo exclaimed.
"It's so cool!" Nejire cheered, "I wanna race it! Izu can we race it?!" She hopped up and down, drawing their attention to her bouncing chest in her skintight costume. Melissa looked away with a blush.
Izuku laughed, "I don't think they'll let us take their prototype out for a spin, Nejire-chan."
They went over to the next exhibit, where Melissa showed them a diving suit that could go seven thousand meters in the deep ocean. "You can't quite make it down to the Challenger's Deep, but it'll take you a lot lower than even the old submarines!" She explained.
"Wow, how can it take the crushing force?!" Izuku asked, gaping, "And how can it prevent the bends?"
Mina jumped closer and almost pressed her face to the glass, "It looks so cool! And so creepy! I love it! Can I steal it?" They all chuckled lightly as Momo made a note of it just in case.
The next one they went to was an exhibit with a helmet, which Melissa put on Camie's head. "This one has 36 different sensors!"
A neon aqua lightbar popped up on the helmet, and then various displays popped up in front of her, "Yikes, too much info fam!" She started spinning her arms like she was going to fall over.
"Who made all of these?" Momo asked in wonder, still looking around.
"They're all based on things that Papa has patented!" Melissa declared, proudly! And she had reason to be proud, "Each and every item here helps Heroes around the world in their work!"
"You really respect your dad, don't you?" Izuku asked.
"It's totally cute." Setsuna giggled, showing her teeth again as they exited the hall. Immediately, there was an explosion, and all of the students from U.A. fell into combat stances, "What was that?!"
"Oh, that was probably one of the interactive exhibits!" Melissa said, both surprised and not that they all had reacted so quickly. "Shall we?" They all made their way there, and all of them looked surprised when they saw it.
"RIGHT ON!" Inasa roared as he blitzed into the air and tore through two robots with one punch. His tornado fist ripped the first one apart and then continued through the second. He jumped high again and aimed his arm toward the river, destroying another bot. Finally, he raised his arms in the air and a tornado ripped through the area, lifting the remaining bots up and then sending them crashing to the ground.
"Amazing!" The announcer called, "Despite a great performance by Battle Fist, we immediately have a new leader! The astounding Gale Force at 18 seconds!" The crowd cheered.
Inasa turned around laughing, and then beamed when he saw them. He lifted into the air and dropped right in front of Izuku, "My man!"
"Inasa!" Izuku exclaimed as they clapped their hands together and gave each other one-armed hugs, "I didn't know you were coming too!"
"It was last minute!" He laughed, "Kendō invited me!"
"Heya!" Itsuka came up, followed by Honenuki, Kinoko, Nirengeki, and Yui. She grinned, "Man, the rest of our class was so jealous that we were able to come."
Yui shrugged, "Only had six extras." She said shortly as she and Kinoko hugged it out with Setsuna and exchanged friendly handshakes with the rest of them.
Kinoko hopped excitedly, "Yui-chan is our Yaomomo." She teased the group, getting Momo to blush.
"Hn." Yui smiled a little.
"How did you all do on this… Villain Attack?" Setsuna asked, "And is it still open?"
"22 seconds." Yui said, before drooping, "Too slow. Must get faster."
"I was even slower." Honenuki groaned, "What a drag. I couldn't see the last bot from the main platform and had to climb. I got all the others in one shot."
"It is still open. Going to try to beat Yoarashi's 18?" Kinoko asked them teasingly, "You'll have to wait for Kaminari-kun to go." She pointed behind her as they announced Conduit!
"Heh! You go, girl!" Setsuna poked Kinoko's side with a smirk, drawing a playful leer from the brunette.
They all turned to watch as Kaminari smirked and got in position. "Ready?" The announcer raised her arm, "GO!"
Kaminari's arms were engulfed by triple Rocket Clustersthat he shot into the ground, causing an explosion that blew him into the sky. From there, he took aim, "LET'S FUCKING GO!" He screamed as he threw his arms back and forth. Large bolts of lightning flew from his arms like electrical sniper bolts. Every one of them pierced a Villain bot. Finally, three remained, and another Rocket Cluster launched forwards. As he floated down on his Static Thrusters, the Rocket Cluster hit the grouped-up bots and exploded in an electrical storm.
"Fantastic!" The announcer cried, "What a performance! We have a tie for first place!"
"Whooo! You go, Kaminari!" Kinoko cheered, getting a flattered grin from the blonde.
Inasa grinned at the group with Melissa, "You guys should give it a go!"
Setsuna chuckled, "I think I'll pass for now. I wanna see if I can get some costume upgrades first, otherwise I'd just be flipping the off switches. Effective, but kinda boring."
"Yeah, I'll pass as well, fam." Camie said, "Def want some upgrades first before I try."
Melissa looked very happy to hear this.
"What the hell? I'll give it a go!" Mina cracked her knuckles eagerly.
"Okay, so you, me, Izu, Yaomomo?" Nejire asked Momo, who nodded resolutely, "And Yaomomo will go get signed up!" The four of them made to leave, but they were interrupted.
"OH MY! WHAT A SHOW!" The entire mountain was covered in ice, "And Frozone has taken first place! An astounding fifteen seconds!"
They looked, and sure enough, there was Todoroki, and the entire mountain was covered in ice. Momo let out a sigh, "That boy." She grumbled as they started to walk away, "It's like his ice is a hammer and all he sees are nails."
"Mood." Camie grumbled too. "Dude needs to take a chill pill."
Melissa blinked, before she sidled up to Camie and Setsuna, "Uhm, is there something…?"
Setsuna let out a sigh as well, "Boy has some issues. His Quirk is actually a dual Quirk. He can make fire too. But for some reason he refuses to use it in a fight. Only for cleanup. And it's going to get someone killed."
Camie growled as Melissa's eyebrows shot up, "Legit, dude nerfed himself in the Villain fight at the USJ. Moron kept giving a Villain who could mess with all forms of water more ice to drown himself with."
Setsuna was frowning, "Yup. If it hadn't been for Kōda-kun, Pony-chan, and Ibara-chan, Tōru-chan could have gotten pretty badly hurt. Especially if she had landed next to him."
"Oh my!" Melissa held a hand up to her lips, "That seems… rather bad."
Inasa butted in, "We've been trying… but none of us know what the problem is."
"Yeah, that's definitely problematic. I can only hope the issue gets resolved before someone actually gets hurt." Melissa watched as the boy left the area and didn't even make eye contact with his classmates. But they put it from their mind as Mina took center stage. The rest of her new friends were back with them, so they watched as the pink girl limbered up for a moment and then hopped up and down to psyche herself up. The second the announcer counted her off, she took off running, and then skating on her acid. "Wow, that's so cool!" Melissa cheered her new friend on, watching as Mina burned herself some footholds almost instantly with her acid and climbed the mountain. As soon as she reached the top, she grabbed the cliff face, pulled herself up, rolled and started to breakdance. Each windmill of her legs threw gobs of acid around, instantly corroding the metal and shutting them down. She got back to her feet in one smooth motion and took off again, forming a thick, viscous bed of acid and tobogganed down the other side of the mountain while flinging acid via her arms. She finally landed in the water and dropkicked the final bot.
"YES! NINETEEN SECONDS!" She cheered, jumping up and down.
"YAY! Congrats, Mina-chan!" Nejire swooped down and grabbed her girlfriend, bringing her back to the others.
"Nice job, Amina Acid!" Inasa high-fived her.
"Thanks, Gale Force!" Mina grinned back at him. "You're next, Yaomomo!"
Momo smiled and vaulted the rail, landing down below. "Are you ready?" The announcer asked, and Momo nodded. She set her feet and brought up One For All. Her veins glowed before she sparked in red lightning. She jerked her arm, and a polearm came out, which she held in a loose, ready position. "GO!"
Momo exploded forward at her current maximum of 5%. Three steps had her already up to the first plateau, and her naginata sliced the Villain bot cleanly in half. The force behind it was so great that the rock beneath it cracked as well. Her naginata glowed red as Momo utilized her Quirk, stabbing it into the ground and growing it rapidly to fling herself at the next bot. As the naginata was absorbed back into her body, her momentum propelled her into the next bot with a dropkick. Her feet planted in its chest and shot it backward into another Villain, knocking both of them off the mountain. Momo quickly rolled back to her feet and soared into the sky. She created a bow, and this thing looked mean. The construction of this thing put every bow from history to shame, and required some extreme strength to even draw the string, if not a strength Quirk. And the arrow looked like it was made for hunting dragons. Momo took aim at the bot in the water, and loosed the arrow. It flew so fast a shockwave rippled around it. Without even bothering to watch her shot hit, Momo used the momentum from it to turn herself around and made a second arrow. This one looked futuristic and was covered in strange bumps.
She loosed the arrow, and it looked like she'd overshot. Instead, when it passed overhead of the cluster of remaining Villains, the arrow detonated, flinging shrapnel around and shredding the final enemies.
All the while, Melissa had been marveling at Momo's performance, 'Amazing. What destructive strength!' She eyed Momo, and her eyes narrowed a little, 'But is it just me, or…'
"ASTOUNDING!" The announcer cried as Momo landed, cutting off One For All. "WE HAVE A NEW LEADER FOLKS! AN ASTOUNDING TWELVE SECONDS!" Momo smiled, waving at the crowd as she leapt back up to the stands.
"YAY! That was so AWESOME, Yaomomo!" Nejire squealed as she hugged her girlfriend.
Izuku high fived her, "Way to go, number one!" He smiled brightly at her.
"Oh please, we all know that won't stand." Momo took the compliment but did some teasing of her own.
"Yaomomo, what was the draw on that bow?" Setsuna asked curiously, "I actually like archery and that did not look normal."
Momo blushed, "…Fifteen hundred kilograms."
Setsuna nearly swallowed her tongue and started coughing, "Fif-FIFTEEN HUNDRED?! KILOGRAMS?! YAOMOMO, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!"
"Is that a lot?" Kinoko asked cluelessly.
"Is that-" Setsuna sputtered, "Kin-chan, before Quirks, the Olympic Athletes used less than 23 kg on their draw, and that was exhausting. We're a lot stronger than pre-quirk humans even without strength Quirks, but even a 30kg draw made my arm ache. Yaomomo how the fuck?!"
Momo blushed and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Uh, look! A distraction!" She pointed at the announcer, who was calling for Izuku, "You're up, Izu."
Izuku went up to her, "Can you make me a tie, Momo?"
Momo smiled, and easily created an emerald green one. But instead of giving it to him, she put it around his neck and jerked him forward. Their lips met for a quick kiss, making her blush as the rest of them not in the know sputtered in shock, "Good luck, Izu."
"With that kiss I won't need it!" Izuku declared with a blush, and then hopped down.
"Wait!" Melissa gasped, "But?!" She looked at Setsuna, who wasn't freaking out, "But I thought? You? Setsuna kissed him earlier! What?!" Her head was whipping back and forth so fast she was almost getting dizzy.
"Hehe, we're all dating." Nejire declared.
Melissa's eyes bugged out, "Wait, what?! All of you?!" This was mirrored by the rest of their classmates.
"Yup!" Nejire cheered, "Official as of yesterday!" She grinned, shooting them a peace sign.
"No way!" Kinoko gasped, "I thought you all were just fooling around! You didn't ACTUALLY go the harem route, did you?!"
"Ew, don't call it a harem, pls." Camie said, "We're all dating each other, not just Zuku."
"Oh my." Melissa was blushing heavily, "I… can't say I was expecting that."
"Hehehe!" Setsuna giggled, "Gossip later! Let's watch Izuku tear this course up!"
Izuku stood in the center of the platform, waiting for the announcer. She asked if he was ready, and the looped tie in his hand stiffened into his favored blade form. He got into a quickdraw stance, like he was about to use a katana.
"GO!" The excited announcer couldn't wait to see what his plan was.
The second the first syllable left her mouth, Izuku's eyes erupted in green. Every single bot on the course started to glow and then rapidly flew from their hiding places. One smashed into another, and then another smashed into that, flinging bolts and plates of metal all around. The destructible enemies all kept crashing and smashing until they were all grouped tightly together, and then Izuku swung his tie. A visible distortion in the air screamed towards the bots, and sliced into them. An amazing eruption blew across the sky as all of them were destroyed. Izuku smiled as his tie started to flop in the wind once more.
"AMAZING!" The announcer screamed in sheer awe, "Five seconds! FIVE SECONDS! EON HAS SHATTERED OUR ALL-TIME RECORD!" And then a loud grinding noise rang through the air, and jaws dropped as the very top of the mountain started to slide forward and crumble.
Should he try to say something cool? Camie-chan would probably love it if he said something cool. "Don't worry." He said, trying his best to keep from stuttering, "I used the blunt side."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE 'BLUNT' SIDE?!" She screamed at him.
Over in the stands, Camie started to cheer even harder, "OH FUCK THE HELL YES, ZUKU!"
Izuku vaulted back up the stands, and Nejire grabbed him in a bear hug, "Oh my gosh, that was so cool, Zuzu!" She spun him around, "I'm actually going to have to try to beat that!" She said excitedly.
"Note how she innocently ragged on the rest of us." Setsuna laughed in delight.
Nejire blushed as she put Izuku down, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly, "Oh, I did it again. I'm so sorry!" She stuck her tongue out sheepishly.
Mina laughed at her, "Go get 'em, tiger!" Mina spanked her playfully.
"Ah~" Nejire made a noise that drew some more blushes. "I'm a fairy, Mina-chan!"
"Doesn't have the same ring!" Mina retorted, before smirking, "Also…noted."
It only took a moment for Izuku to get it, and he blushed to his roots. Momo noticed, and then it clicked for the more innocent girl. She blushed hotly as well and hid her face behind her hands.
Nejire floated down to the platform, and decided to immediately go Version 2. She did not want to lose! Not even to her Zuzu! Her hair started to spiral on its own as energy crackled around her.
"And it looks like our final contestant for the day is ready!" The announcer cheered, "But can she possibly beat our new champion?! LET'S FIND OUT!" She raised her arm and then chopped it forward, "GO!"
Nejire exploded from her spot, moving so fast that the ground beneath her cracked. No one could even see her move as she appeared in the midst of the biggest group of Villains. She punched each of them so quickly it looked like she was teleporting before they lifted into the air, "Nejire Eruption!" She yelled, throwing her arms into the air. The spiraling energy around her almost looked like it solidified, rising into the air in a massive beam far bigger than her body. The energy she had infected the robots with exploded, destroying them all instantly. She cut it off, drilling through the mountain up to the next level and calling, "Nejire Wave!" A widespread blast of her spiraling energy plowed into the ones on this plateau, grinding into the rock itself and carving into it before shredding the enemies. She then lifted into the air, pointing her middle and index fingers at the final bot. "Nejire Snipe!" She cried out, and her Makankōsappō facsimile shot out far faster than the one she had shot at Kyōka nearly a month ago. Proving that for all she had beat their asses like drums… she had been holding back WAY morethan they thought she had. The beam pierced through the last Villain before dissipating harmlessly before it hit anything else. She beamed as she floated back, "How'd I do?! Hmm? Hmm?" She asked excitedly.
"MY WORD! TWO CHAMPIONS IN ONE DAY!" The announcer screamed as the crowd roared, "YOU'LL HAVE TO SHARE YOUR CROWN, SPIRAL-CHAN! FIVE SECONDS FLAT, JUST LIKE EON!"
"Ohmygosh!" She nyoomed over to Izuku and crashed into his arms, "We tied Zuzu! Holy cow! I'm so impressed! I was really trying hard to beat you there!"
Izuku laughed as he spun her around. His little blue fairy loved it.
Momo pouted, "I've still got a long way to go." She mumbled. She was limited to only five percent, but still.
Melissa caught the comment and smiled. If she was right, she had just the thing for that. "Well, let's go! We've still got plenty of expo."
"Yeah!" The group, grown from its original size by quite a sizable margin, let out a cheer.
-]|[-
The beeping of medical equipment rang in the silent office. Toshinori, deflated into his true form, lay inside what looked like a really high-tech cradle. He was wearing a breathing mask and a pair of compression shorts and not much else, with various doodads stuck to him. He was relaxed inside the glowing cradle, with medical data whizzing by screens.
Off to the side, David was sitting at his desk, typing things in, and getting data from his dearest friend. Finally, a loud beep rang out and a chart showed up. He gasped as he saw it. He'd had All Might's health data from back before the incident, having seen him roughly seven years back. He'd also taken some data from Recovery Girl, brought to him by Toshi. The combined data revealed a startling drop in All Might's Plus Alpha Elements. "What is going ON Toshi?!" The chart showed that six years ago, Toshinori's numbers had been above 15,000. Possibly the largest score ever recorded. His injury had only dropped him by 2,097 AP, but the following years had knocked him down to 7,500.
But roughly a month ago, a drastic freefall had started. Toshi had dropped 2,986 points in the span of what could only have been a couple days, and had lost a further 300 until now. "Why are your Quirk numbers going down so dramatically?!" He whirled around, and had his breath stolen away.
His old friend was smiling. He wasn't really looking at anything in particular. He was just smiling. Happily. "It's gone now, Dave." He said softly, before looking up at his friend.
"G-Gone?" David's eyes couldn't get wider, "What do you mea-" It clicked, "You've passed it on." He breathed in shock, "You passed One For All on."
"Yeah." Toshinori grinned, "It's the next generation's turn now."
David let out a hysterical laugh. All that work for the past few years… All the time he'd spent trying to counteract All Might's decline… It wasn't for nothing, but Toshinori had found his successor. He wasn't sure if his device would even work now, if he could somehow convince the board that it would be safe in All Might's hands. "Who?" He asked curiously.
"It was meant to be Midoriya-shōnen." Toshinori replied, "But we were worried that his Quirk and One For All wouldn't play nicely. I'm rather curious to know what his Quirk numbers actually are. In any case, we worried that One For All would make his power completely uncontrollable."
"Ah. Yes, I can see that being a problem." David let out a chuckle.
"Make no mistake, Midoriya-shōnen is my successor. I chose him and trained him, regardless of my ability to pass One For All on." He grinned, "Frankly, with how he's grown? I'm not sure he would have even needed it. He'll be better than I ever was… and Yaoyorozu-shōjo will be right by his side with One For All. They'll all be better than I was. Hadō-shōjo is only a couple years older than them, but I can easily see her competing for the spot as well. Looking at them puts my mind at ease."
"I'm happy for you, Toshi." David shook his head, a grin of his own on his face. After a moment, it dipped, "Hey, Toshi?" He said softly, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but…"
"Did I ever consider Melissa?" Toshi asked gently. Dave stiffened, before nodding, a little shame on his face, "Of course I did." Toshi replied, gruffly, "She was the first person I thought of." He admitted, "But we both had done our best to make sure her Quirklessness wasn't thought of as a disability. That she still could help people in other ways. I didn't lie when I said you were like a Hero to me, Dave. The last time I saw her before my injury, she had seemed perfectly happy following in your footsteps. I didn't want to do anything that could potentially jeopardize that."
"I see." David let out a relieved smile, "Melissa is happy. I know she is." His smile turned melancholic, "It's just… sometimes I wonder if she truly has no regrets. Some of the secret inventions I've caught glances at or that she's requested some help with… they make me wonder if she's truly happy. If she's living life to the fullest. I can't help but wonder if deep down, that old dream of being a Hero herself isn't still alive."
Toshinori let out a sigh, now staring at the floor. "I'll be telling her about this, by the way." He waved at himself, and Dave's eyes went wide. Before he could say a word, Toshinori cut him off, "It's time, Dave. Judging from these graphs, the dregs of my Quirk won't hold out even till the end of the year. I have less time than I thought. I'd rather her find out from me and not from a TV when I retire."
"I… you're right." Dave said with a small groan, "You're right. I think she would be crushed if she found out like that." He smiled at Toshinori, "Go get some rest, Toshi. You've been working long enough."
"That I have!" Toshinori looked to the ceiling and laughed.