The beach had been fun for a while, but then the rest of the day was ruined by a sudden downpour. "Okay, so, like, is there some sort of conspiracy to keep us from having a good time here, or what?" Camie grumbled as they had to leave the Expo. Most of the events were outside, and they didn't want to just retrace their steps and look at the same exhibits again.
"You're telling me…" Mina pouted outrageously from under the black umbrella Momo had made for her.
"Mm." Yui, who had joined them just minutes ago, was also visibly unhappy from beneath her red and white umbrella. "Arcade?" She suggested hopefully. Those were always fun.
"Oooh, I know a good one too!" Melissa exclaimed, "Everyone on board?"
"Yes!" They all cried out as one.
"Excellent! Follow me then!" Melissa turned and marched towards their destination.
"Wow, it's huge!" Izuku exclaimed as he looked at the building, "Looks brand new, too!"
"It was recently remodeled." Melissa told him, "There's a bowling alley too, and even pool tables and tables to play cards! They've been here for decades."
"It looks great!" Mina cheered as they went inside, "Oooh, I can't wait! Do they have Dance Dance Evolution?!"
"I don't think I've ever been in one of these." Momo mused out loud, drawing gasps of horror from the rest of the group.
"What?! How?!" Mina, Nejire, and Setsuna looked at her seriously, making her jump up with an 'eep!'
Momo played with her ponytail, "No real friends, remember?" She asked sadly, "Though for different reasons than Izu. Really, mother and father would just buy me whatever games I wanted to play."
"Time to fix that. Even I've been to arcades!" Izuku firmly hooked his arm with hers, and Nejire did the same from the other side.
"Yeah Yaomomo, let's have some fun!" She said cheerfully as they started to drag the bemused heiress in.
The rest of the group followed, with Yui in the lead, looking around for something. What, they weren't sure. Suddenly, Yui jerked to a stop, and Izuku almost crashed into her. Despite her unchanging face, she hurried away from the group with single-minded focus.
"What's up with her?" Camie blinked at the girl who had so wanted to hang out with them, suddenly leaving them in her tracks.
Setsuna grinned and rolled her eyes, "Oh boy, here we go again. Come on." They followed, and saw Yui just standing there, drooling.
"…Is… is that a 1/72 scale, full-metal, Liger Zero Phoenix?" Izuku and Momo asked at the same time, eyes opening wide.
Yui nodded her head so rapidly she almost looked blurred. She whipped around, "Want." She said quietly.
"Yui where will you even fit it?" Setsuna was biting back laughter, though she couldn't keep the grin off her face, "Last time I came over to your house, your parents asked me to take some of your figures home because they were tilting the manor." Camie, Mina, and Nejire could take it no longer and started hanging off of each other, laughing.
Yui huffed, "Drama queens." She turned pleading puppy dog eyes to them.
"Ack!" Izuku gripped his chest.
"It was super effective." Melissa said in bemusement.
"Okay guys! Let's win Yui-chan this figure!" Mina cheered, pumping a fist into the air. Yui's face lit up.
"Okay, but seriously, let's play other games too." Setsuna said, "We know how often these places are rigged in one way or another."
"And no Quirks!" Melissa told them, pointing to a sign. "Those would be cheating, obviously."
"How many do we need, anyway?" Camie asked, "Also, we're lucky it wasn't a Death Saurer or a Berserk Fury or else Kodai-chan would have to fight Set for it!"
"I'm not that bad!" Setsuna protested. Yui turned to her and gave her the flattest look, "Shut up!" Blushing, Setsuna grabbed Nejire and started walking away.
Yui held up a peace sign in victory, getting the rest of them to laugh. They raced through the arcade, looking for the highest-paying games. Momo paid for everything, giving them basically unlimited tokens to play with. She just wanted to have as much fun as possible and would not take no for an answer.
When Mina playfully asked why Momo couldn't just buy the figure, Yui looked scandalized. Her face was the funniest thing they'd seen all day, and they all burst out laughing. Yui puffed up like a chipmunk in affront, and it was the cutest thing any of them had seen all day. Momo, Nejire, and Melissa were outright cooing at the sight. Embarrassed, Yui hurried to one of her favorites: Monster Drop. It took about twenty attempts, but she won the jackpot on it for an 'easy' 2000 tickets.
The next set of games was the basketball hoops, "Heh, watch and learn, noobs!" Camie quickly tied her hair up in a ponytail.
"Them's fightin' words!" Mina jumped up to one of the other three hoops.
"I guess I could try!" Momo smiled happily as she stepped up to the last one.
They all readied their tokens, "Wait!" Setsuna grinned as she popped in, "Loser has to play a punishment game!"
Momo flushed, "Uhm… what kind? I'm probably going to lose…"
"We'll decide back at the hotel!" Setsuna grinned, and that did not set Momo at ease in the slightest, wondering how lewd this punishment was going to be.
"Okay, but then we all have to play, and the winner decides the punishment for the worst scorer!" Nejire had a catlike grin on her face too.
"Oooh yeah, tournament!" Camie beamed, "I'ma rockthis~!"
"…I am making a mistake." Momo mumbled to herself, before leaning down to put her token in.
"Let's gooooo!" Mina slipped her coin in with the other two, and the balls came tumbling down.
Camie immediately proved to not be hot air, because she had scored three easy baskets before Mina had scored her second. Momo had sadly missed all three of her first shots, and only managed to make the fourth one. After that, she alternated between making a few in a row, and then missing when the basket moved until she re-learned the shot. The game's time quickly ran out, with both Mina and Camie making every shot, though Camie was the fastest and had scored two more baskets than the pinkette.
Momo was squatting on her heels, poking sadly at the floor. She hadn't even gotten half of them! Izuku was patting her on the back in comradery. "Nooo…. What are they going to make me dooooo?"
"Come on, Momo, maybe someone will do worse?" He winced, realizing how bad that sounded. Yui meanwhile was pretty happy, since Mina and Camie had won over 500 tickets between the two of them, and even Momo had won a couple.
"Our turn!" Nejire hopped up to the right lane, with Yui in the middle and Izuku on the left, "Ready?"
"Mm!" Yui confirmed, looking fired up.
"Let's do it!" Izuku said, and slipped his token in.
They all sucked. Setsuna was sniggering, "I think Nejire's boobs are in the way."
Momo looked down at her own chest, "Betrayal!" Melissa immediately sputtered to her side.
Nejire did the best, scoring three out of every four shots. Izuku and Yui were about tied at half of their shots, but Izuku was faster and had scored a single point more than her.
"Drat! No punishment game for Zu." Setsuna snapped her fingers, pouting. Izuku sighed in relief. "Looks like it's me and you last, Meli!"
Melissa smiled at the new nickname, "Ready to lose?" She smiled at the other verdette of the group, eyes shining with surprising competitiveness.
"Oooh, you better be ready to back that up!" Setsuna grinned back as she got ready.
And Melissa most certainly did, coming close to beating Camie. That did indeed make Momo the worst one. They played a few more rounds tournament-style, and Camie was ultimately the winner. The fawn-haired girl was grinning, already knowing what the punishment for Momo would be.
The next set of games was the Two-Minute-Drill, and Melissa blew all of them out of the water, since they were completely unfamiliar with American Football. That had the blonde smiling smugly, "Maybe you ALL should do a punishment for me, hmm?" Melissa joked, laughing at them stewing at the defeat.
They then took a break from ticket-earning, and found themselves at the air hockey tables. Yui paired up with Izuku with a surprisingly intense look on her face. The silent girl then spent the next twenty minutes with Izuku in a game. The two were surprisingly skilled at it, to the point all of the other games had finished, and their game was still 2-2.
"Wow, you both are good!" Mina gawked, before shaking her head and grinning, "You're not making the paddle bigger, are you Kodai-chan?" She needled Yui, hoping to get a nice reaction.
Yui sadly denied her, "No." She said, flatly, not taking her eyes off the table. She was not going to lose!
Mina pouted at having been denied her fun, "Stop for a moment!" Yui put the paddle on top of the puck, looking at her questioningly. "The rest of us finished like five minutes ago, so we're off to the dancing machines. Come find us when you're done, okay?"
"Sure thing, Mina-chan."
Yui nodded, "Okay…" She said quietly.
The two continued to play, and the next ten minutes saw the score go up to 4-4. Izuku smiled, 'Nice shot, Kodai-san.' He thought at her, and she twitched.
She blinked at him, tilting her head to the side, before thinking back, 'Thanks? Can you hear me?'
'I can if you want me to.' Izuku confirmed, making sure she understood that he wouldn't pry if she didn't want him to.
'…Wow, your Quirk is so cool!' She almost gushed, smiling as they prepared for the next round.
'Thanks!' he chirped back, 'Yours is awesome too! Especially when you wrecked that entire hallway of Villains last night! I had no idea you could do that!'
Her smile turned a little smug, 'If it's physically connected to something I'm touching within a certain range, I can affect it. Like this floor isn't one solid piece, but the slabs are touching the slab I'm on, so as long as they're in range, I can grow and shrink them too.'
'Really cool!' Izuku exclaimed, as they continued their game, chatting lightly. After she scored one more point, Izuku couldn't help but ask, 'So you don't have to answer, but I was curious. You're chatting pretty animatedly with me right now, so how come you don't like talking out loud?'
She let out a sigh, 'I was homeschooled until the start of Middle School.' She replied, 'Parents were pretty protective and wanted to make sure I was getting the best education. I didn't really have any friends, and my hobbies involved TVs, computers, and arcade games that my parents had at home. When I finally went to school, I pretty much had zero filter, and didn't really know how to talk to people my age. Plus, I found them really childish and didn't like any of the dumb challenges they kept doing, and none of them were into the things I was. A bunch of them ended up thinking I was rude, or snooty. I was already pretty quiet anyway, but after I just stopped trying because they all started making fun of me.' She looked sad, and Izuku's eyes were narrowed in anger, 'When I came to U.A, I actually made a few friends. They got me into texting since they saw I didn't really like to talk unless I needed to, which helped a lot.'
'Well, I'm really glad you got away from those jerks, Kodai-san.' He said firmly.
'Me too.' She smiled softly. 'And call me Yui.' She said, making his ears pink a little bit.
The two of them wrapped up their game, with Yui making for a very funny image when she scored the final point, and threw her fists into the air in victory, with her face unchanging. They quickly met up with the rest of the girls, and both started drooling a bit as they saw Momo, Camie, and Mina dancing. Momo's classical dance training transferred decently well to Mina's more energetic style, and the heiress had delighted in finding common ground with her pink girlfriend. After a few weeks of practice, she was already well on her way to learning some of Mina's favorite choreographies. Which meant they were now getting the treat of seeing three gorgeous ladies shake it.
"Yahoo!" Mina cheered when the song ended, getting some clapping from the rest of them, "I love the arcade! Kodai-chan, Midori, you guys have to try it!"
"I have two left feet." Yui shot her down immediately, blushing and looking away.
Setsuna snickered, "Can confirm. Tried to teach her a few steps the first week and she fell over and took Itsuka-chan with her."
"Daww… okay." Mina pouted at having been denied.
Izuku was game, however, and joined Nejire and Melissa on one of the platforms. He then conclusively proved that a few lessons with Mina did not a master make. Thankfully, he managed to at least not fall on his face, and gamely just sprang back up and continued trying. They all cheered him on.
After the dancing wore out its welcome (with Mina setting a conclusive high score for the arcade that would stand for years), they went back to ticket hunting.
After a few hours passed, they finally had enough, and Yui was the elated owner of a heavy, new, heavy-duty case containing her prize, which she was happily snuggling. It was getting dark, so it was time to go back to the hotel. "Want me to carry it for you, Yui-san?" Izuku asked her.
"Mhm." She shook her head, casually shrinking it and dropping it into her purse.
Izuku's eyes widened, "Wait, it changes the weight too! That's so cool!"
Yui smiled smugly, shooting him a peace sign.
"Okay guys, I'd love to stay with you another night, but I'm going to go spend some time with papa." Melissa asked, smiling a little. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Ah, that's right. Professor Shield isn't leaving." Momo said, "Yeah, you should go spend time with him."
"Since we're leaving first thing in the morning the day after tomorrow, is there anything you wanted to do before we leave?" Nejire asked her, smiling brightly as usual. "Or will you be with your dad instead, since you won't see him again for a while?"
"No, he wants me to get to know you all better. He's super thankful you've all managed to get me out of the lab." Melissa giggled over how happy he looked when he found out that they were already growing close. Her smile vanished and she tapped on her chin, "Hmm… anything I want to do…?"
"Anything you won't be able to do once we go home, maybe?" Izuku threw in his two yen.
A light bulb went off above her head, and she smiled devilishly, her glasses glinting. She then conclusively proved she was American, "How do y'all feel about guns?"
Everyone but Momo gulped.
…
"It was a great day." Momo said, stretching and feeling her back pop rather deliciously, "I think I'd like a nice, long soak before bed."
"Ahp, ahp, ahp!" Camie snagged her arm as she started walking away, "Aren't you forgetting something, Yaomomo?" She had a Cheshire grin on her face, which was rapidly mirrored on Mina and Setsuna's faces.
Momo internally started to sweat, "Nooo, of course not." She said, through a clearly manufactured smile, 'Drat! I thought I could get away with it too!' She mentally cried some crocodile tears. "What would you like me to do, Camie-chan?" She asked, hiding her dread. Camie leaned closer and started whispering in her ear. Her face instantly flamed red, and she made a very unladylike and very much uncharacteristic squeal, "Nooooo! T-t-tha-that's too embarrassing!" She clapped her hands to her face, hiding behind them.
"Yep! Come on, Yaomomo!" Camie dragged her away, grinning.
"Noooo! Save me, Izu!" She cried piteously as Camie took her into the bedroom.
"Uhh, maybe we shouldn't-" Izuku tried to get up, but Setsuna plopped herself in his lap.
"Nope, you stay right here, stud." She then grabbed his chin and brought her lips to his.
"I'll remember this!" Momo yelled, before the door slammed shut, sealing Camie and Momo away from the rest.
…
"I'm getting excited! I wonder what Camie-chan is having Yaomomo do?" Nejire asked, bouncing lightly on the couch.
"Well, you won't have to wait any longer!" Camie's savage grin was back as she entered the room once more. The polycule all zeroed in on her, "I present to you, our lovely maid for the night~!"
She stepped out, pulling on Momo's arm. The heiress was revealed in her full glory…
Wearing a French Maid cosplay.
Her eyebrow was twitching, and her face was almost purple from how embarrassed she was. She looked at Izuku, and he looked like he was mentally taking pictures. That almost eased the embarrassment a little bit.
"Say the line!" Camie was still smirking, but only able to hide how much she loved it due to having already seen it.
'Oh, why did I join in on this dumb bet!' They all stared open-mouthed and almost drooling as Momo tripped over her words, "H-How m-may I serve you t-tonight, goshujin-sama?" She managed to force out.
That did it. Mina and Setsuna started drooling, Nejire hunched over, trying to stem a nosebleed, and Izuku almost passed out.
Setsuna's own face went red, "Oh my, I think daddy likes." She said, starting to levitate and leaving absolutely zero ambiguity as to what she was referring to.
"I'll get you for this!" Momo dropped her duster and clapped her hands to her face again, hiding behind them.
"Camie, you're the greatest…" Mina said in complete awe. She launched herself at Momo, wrapping up her girlfriend in a surprise hug, "You look amazing, Yaomomo!" She snuck a kiss, getting a surprised moan from the heiress, and that turned into a deeper kiss quickly.
"You know it!" Camie cheered, "I think we killed Zuku though. Haven't done that in a while." She sat next to him and Setsuna, and started to poke him.
"Eeeeeee….." Nejire started to fan herself, staring at the two girls without blinking.
-]|[-
"Hey everyone!" Melissa let herself into the penthouse, before blinking, "Why is there a French Maid costume in the trash?"
"French Maid?!" Yui jumped in, looking at the trash. She hurried to Setsuna, "Tea. Spill."
"Heh, no can do." Setsuna laughed nervously, feeling the daggers being glared at her head.
Despite how pleasant a night it had ended up, Momo had still been way too embarrassed about the whole ordeal. Especially as she had to actually maid for them until after everyone had already showered before she got her soak. She was currently being pampered by Izuku, and Setsuna didn't need to detach her eyes to know she was being glared at.
Melissa's eyes widened, "The bet! Wait, did you-" She watched as Momo let out a wail and buried her face in Izuku's neck.
"Pics!" Yui said, hungrily. She turned her powerful puppy gaze on Setsuna.
"Ehehehe…" Nejire laughed nervously, "Yaomomo-sama said if any of us took pictures, we'd be target practice today."
"Serves you right." Melissa laughed, hiding how much she wished she could have seen it herself. Momo in a maid costume had to be dangerous. She cleared her throat to try to hide how dry it currently was, "A-Anyway, shall we?"
"Yes, I think we shall." Momo stood, a glint in her eyes, "I think I would quite enjoy a day at the range."
…
"Okay, so has anyone other than Yaomomo ever shot a gun?" Melissa asked once they got to the range. The other shooters raised eyebrows at the large group, and one of them even waved at Melissa, recognizing her. The staff had started to sweat a little at the large group of newbies, but Melissa was a bit of a regular there with her dad, and Momo had accreditation to show she was trained. Melissa and Momo had assured them that they'd be starting slow and with safety lessons first. Despite that, the staff did warn them that someone would be nearby in case they needed help.
She got a chorus of 'no's,' before Setsuna reminded them that she, "Never shot a gun, but I like archery."
"That must be pretty fun too!" Melissa beamed, "Okay, then some rules. Number 1, and perhaps most important, NEVER point a gun at something you're not willing to destroy. For example," She grabbed her Glock 9 from the table and made a show of removing the magazine. She then pulled back the slide and a bullet popped out from the chamber, which Melissa caught and put back in the magazine, "This is empty right now. You all saw how there was that extra bullet in the chamber? That means that even if you remove the magazine, there COULD still be a bullet in there." She grabbed a bore sighter and stuck it in the barrel before turning it on, "See the laser?" She then adopted a lazy carrying stance, and turned around. The laser swiped across all of their legs. She turned back, "In that quick turn, if this were loaded and the gun misfired, I could have shot one of you six in the leg."
"Man… that's so dangerous!" Mina gasped, "You have to pay so much attention!"
"Scary." Yui quietly agreed.
"Yup, it's super dangerous." Nejire said, "Snipe-sensei teaches this too at U.A, but it's an elective and you can only take it in your final year. Even Heroes are hard-pressed to get guns in Japan."
"Good to know." Melissa chirped with a smile, "Anyway, Yaomomo? Want to give them the next rule?"
"Yes!" Momo beamed, happy to be included in the lecture, "If a gun leaves your sight, it is loaded. I don't care if you only put it down for a single minute. If it has left your sight, it is loaded."
"Yup! Rule 3, keep your finger OFF the trigger until you're ready to fire." Melissa moved onto the next one, putting the Glock back down, "Those are the most important ones. Now, you should also wear eye and ear protection when firing because these things get loud. If you have any questions, ask."
"Is there any particular way we should hold them?" Izuku asked curiously.
"Good one." Momo smiled, "You absolutely do need to hold them in a particular way. The recoil can be pretty strong, so if you're not prepared, well…"
Melissa smirked, and held out her arm with a finger gun, "Bang!" She said, and then jerked her hand back and lightly smacked it into her forehead.
Mina erupted into giggles, "Is that experience talking?"
"No." Melissa shook her head, "Not personal experience. Sam-" She started to giggle before her merriment died and she flinched. "Ah…" She trailed off, remembering the fate of someone she thought she could trust. She was very quickly hugged by Momo, and the rest of their group followed soon after. "S-sorry guys…" She dipped her head, "I… I had been trying not to think about it…" Tears prickled in her eyes.
"It's okay…" They told her gently, "No one is going to think less of you for it."
She took a deep breath, trying to center herself. She swallowed, trying to put a smile back on her face, "Papa… papa brought him to the range once. He was cocky and thought that because he was big, he could handle one of the big guns." She looked sad despite smiling, and even her giggle was melancholic, "The recoil was so bad he smacked himself in the face and needed to have his nose reset." They giggled in response to the story, trying to project warmth at her. She smiled, hugging the two closest (Izuku and Momo) tighter, "Thanks guys."
"It'll be tough." Izuku said softly, "You had many good memories, I'm sure…"
"Yeah." She drew a shuddering breath, squeezing her eyes shut as she leaned into them, "But I'll get past this." She told them. 'I have to.' Went unsaid. She pulled away, "Well, come on then! Momo and I will show you all how to do it! Pick whichever one you like." She said with injected pep, and was quick to turn around and go back to the table. She grinned at them, "Though I would recommend not going for one of the big ones immediately." She grabbed one of her favorites: an old Garand that had survived the proceeding wars and then the revolution at the start of the dark age. It was an antique for sure.
"Nah, I got this! I shot a bow before, remember?" Setsuna grinned as she grabbed the big shotgun from its case on the table. Melissa shook her head in response in response before her eyes widened as she got a closer look at the gun.
Before she could tell Setsuna to put it down, "I am here!" Small Might popped in, "To tell you that is a very bad idea!" They all jumped, before greeting their grinning teacher, most of them unsure of how to refer to him when not in his Hero form. "Hahaha! Ah, that's right. Call me Yagi-sensei when you see me like this." He held his hand out, and Setsuna pouted as she handed All Might the shotgun. He eyed it, before turning to Melissa quizzically, "Melissa, where in the world did Dave find a 4-gauge?"
Melissa giggled a little helplessly, "I'm… not sure. I think I might have grabbed the wrong case. I definitely didn't mean to bring that one."
"Yes, this certainly isn't for beginners." All Might laughed, "Shooting this one would feel like you got slammed in the shoulder with a hundred-pound weight."
Setsuna paled, "Oh crap!"
"I don't think I even brought ammo for it… I think." Melissa double-checked the table, and indeed found no 4-gauge ammo, "Yeah, I definitely grabbed the wrong case."
All Might shook his head in bemusement, "Here, Tokage-shōjo, if you're going to play with the shotguns, start with the 12-gauge." He handed her one of the others.
"Thanks Yagi-sensei." She grinned, "My shoulder thanks you too." That got another laugh.
"Mhm…" Yui carefully picked up a small pistol, unsure of what it was.
"That would be a Glock 21." Melissa told her.
"This looks fun." Mina exuberantly went for one of the larger revolvers, a .500 Magnum.
"Nonono, bad idea!" Momo came right in and put a stop to that, "Take the smaller one, Mina-chan. That one is WAY too much for a beginner." Momo told her, before leaning in and whispering in her ear. "I need to use One For All just to be comfortable with one. I really didn't like them before, and you know how strong I am."
Mina pouted, "Okay." She put it down and grabbed the smaller Model 10.
"Huh, it's kinda light." Camie commented, looking curiously at the HK SP5 in her hands.
"I should be good, right? I'm pretty strong." Nejire mumbled, going for the S&W Lever Action. "This one looks really cool!"
All of the pistols were taken, so Izuku carefully approached the more 'military' rifles laid out and grabbed one. "Good choice, Midoriya-shōnen." All Might grinned at his successor's choice of the Ohio Ordnance HCAR, "That one has surprisingly little recoil for its power. Pretty well designed." Izuku smiled back.
"Okay." Melissa was grinning, "Let's show you how to load them, operate their modes and safeties, hold them, and aim them. We'll also show you how to stand, and how to make sure you're safe using them." She, Momo, and All Might spent the next several minutes showing them all how to do just that. As funny as it could have been, none of them were willing to let Mina bash herself in the face with the way she was holding her revolver. "Okay, everyone comfortable?"
"Yep!" They all chorused at her.
"Great! The targets are all downrange, so let's go hot! Remember, one bullet only!" They had all only loaded one round each, just to be safe, "If you like it, we can load some more."
"I'll leave you to it." All Might said, before grabbing one of the rifles himself. "It's been a while since I got to shoot. Have fun, kids!" They waved him goodbye as he went off to another section of the range, where there were other shooters.
"Actually Melissa, why don't you give me that one?" Momo smiled, holding out her hand for the Garand.
"Ehh? Why?" Melissa asked curiously. And then her eyes bugged out as Momo casually created a gun even her papa hadn't been able to get his hands on, "Is that a-?!"
".50 Cal?" Momo smiled, "Yes, it is."
"Okay, I never got to ask. HOW do you know so much about guns?!" Melissa drooled as she stared at the rifle, "They never sell these!"
"Well, when my family registered my Quirk, we immediately got dinged because of its potential as well as the potential for abuse." Momo explained, frowning as she remembered being afraid of the strange people in suits her parents had been forced to allow into the manor, "We had regulators over at the house, and they explained how dangerous my Quirk could be if I wasn't aware of the dangers. Like if I were to create tons and tons of gold, I could casually wreck the economy with very little effort."
"But you are the economy!" Mina let out a giggle. Momo blushed.
"I'm sure Yaomomo wishes Zu would wreck the economy." Setsuna waggled her eyebrows, a big grin on her face.
"SET!" Momo and Izuku flamed red. The other verdette burst into laughter, followed swiftly by the others.
"Ugh, you lot are impossible." Getting her blush under control, Momo continued, "Regardless, with my Quirk able to create anything that I was tested on, other than anything living, they mandated that I be taught weapon safety. After all, nothing could be worse than a child who didn't know better being able to run around and casually create guns out of her belly. I had never had an interest before that, but after I did a lot of research on them. My parents allowed me to create the guns for practice, since they had a lot of parts and were a challenge to get right. After I succeeded with my first one, my parents went overboard and hired an ex Special Forces member to teach me. I ended up liking it after I got past the initial fright, and realized I could use them as a Hero if I ever needed to. That's also where I learned my breaching tactics that we used in class."
"Wow, none of that ever happened to me!" Setsuna gasped, and Yui, Nejire, and Camie nodded. Melissa and Izuku didn't bother, since really, they had no need to.
"It did to me." Mina said casually. They snapped their gazes to her in confusion. She raised an eyebrow, "Really guys? I make acid."
"Point." Izuku let out a laugh, hugging the pinkette from the side. She smiled, leaning into him.
"Well, thanks for sharing, Momo!" Melissa carefully took the .50 cal from the heiress and handed over her Garand. "Ooof. It's heavier than I thought!" She grinned, "You know, I think I'll sit this one out. I'll need to lie down with this puppy."
"Okay." Momo led the rest of them over to where they would be shooting, "Everyone pick a target, and then get your earmuffs on. Remember, be ready for the recoil! Especially Mina, Nejire, and Setsuna!" Once everyone was ready, she yelled, "Fire!"
A chorus of bangs erupted, before going silent. There was also a really nice 'ping' when Momo pulled back on the lever on the Garand. Most of them had weathered it to varying degrees of 'okay,' But Setsuna had let out a loud yelp as she was forced back a few steps. "Oh, holy crap! That was SO much stronger than I thought it would be!" Setsuna said, realizing that if All Might hadn't stopped her, she very probably would have been injured.
"Imagine if that had been the 4-gauge." Momo said, dryly.
"Yeah, that was crazy." She scratched the side of her head. "How bad is that?"
"My dad only let someone try it once." Melissa laughed, "The guy almost got knocked over"
"Owie…!" Off to the side, Nejire nursed her shoulder, "Was not expecting that. It kicks like a mule." She sighed in relief as Izuku put his flaming hand on the spot, and the soothing, very arousing flame went to work. "Mhmm, love ya, Zuzu." She mumbled, pulling him in and kissing him. Izuku blushed, but kissed back gently. After a moment, he hurried to help Setsuna too.
"So, what did you think?" Melissa asked curiously, wondering if any of her… perspective beaus (holy crap, that was weird to think about!) enjoyed it.
"Maybe once in a while…" Yui demurred, unsure if she liked it or not.
"Yeah fam, it was kind of fun!" The HK didn't have much kick at all. "Not sure I'd do it regularly, but I'm down to try some of the others." Camie threw her two-yen in.
"I thought it was okay. My aim was awful though." Izuku smiled, wondering if he could actually hit the same area code as his target next time.
"I hit mine!" Mina cheered, throwing her arms into the air cheerfully after making sure the gun was put down. "Let's go again!"
"I think I'll stick to archery. Yikes!" Setsuna laughed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, "Thanks for not letting me break my nose, Meli, Yaomomo."
"Hehehe, maybe once in a while! I have my own gun!" Nejire charged a bit of her quick to her middle and index fingers, smiling playfully.
"Let's try it again." Izuku said, already grabbing a loaded magazine.
"Yaomomo, can you make a bow and some arrows? Maybe Camie and Yui would like those more?" Setsuna asked the heiress, who agreed.
The next hour passed relatively relaxed, with Setsuna showing Melissa, Yui, and Camie how to use a bow, and Izuku, Momo, Mina, Nejire, and Melissa all getting used to shooting, with Nejire downsizing to a smaller rifle with less recoil. Finally, they got a little bored, and it was almost time to wrap up.
"Not before I get to use this one!" Melissa had waited patiently, and now was accepting a magazine from Momo filled with .50 cal bullets. She brought it to a more open part of the range, where Momo had prepared a mat for her to lay down on. Izuku's eyes immediately fell on her butt as she laid down, and his weren't the only ones. She looked great in those tight khakis.
"Oh, one more lesson for you all on gun safety!" Momo said, before creating a… kite? The object looked like a frame with some stands that just contained some thick paper, which she put next to the muzzle of the rifle. "Okay, an important thing to know is that the bullet itself is not the only danger. The escaping gasses can be too. There are 'pop' rounds that don't actually shoot anything. They're usually used as props in movies. They give off the flash and smoke without actually firing. But just because there's no bullet involved doesn't mean there can't be danger. Watch." She walked back and grabbed her earmuffs. She gave Melissa a thumbs up.
Melissa turned, aimed, and fired. The paper shredded from the escaping gasses, revealing just how dangerous the backblast could be. It was almost enough to distract them from Melissa's booty jiggling as she fired the massive rifle again. She adjusted, and fired again.
'I think I love the gun range.' Izuku couldn't help but muse, trying to keep from drooling at the sight. The next target was, of all things, a gigantic jar of mayonnaise. Barely any time after Melissa squeezed the trigger, the entire jug exploded, throwing splashes and dots of mayo everywhere. A quick shot at a ketchup jug and then a mustard one no doubt had the entire area smelling like a sandwich.
Melissa was practically vibrating as she launched herself to her feet and squeezed the stuffing out of Momo. Once she let go, she beamed, "Who else wants a shot?" Izuku smiled as he went to lay on the mat, accepting another magazine from Momo. Melissa started to laugh, "You know, it's a good thing you can make those, otherwise we'd be broke." The rest of them started to giggle as well.
-]|[-
Everyone who wanted to try the .50 had a chance to, but before long, it was time to go. Melissa and Momo quickly disassembled the rifle, and Momo made a case for the parts. They couldn't bring it back to Japan with them, and Momo had 'disconnected' from it, so she also couldn't reabsorb the weapon. That left it in limbo, so they would be leaving it safely with her father. The rest of the group helped pack up all of the Shield family's collection as well, and brought it back to David's quarters, where they met up with the man himself and All Might. It was rather late already, so they all went for dinner at one of I-Island's most popular restaurants.
After dinner, they finally got to have some of those promised dances, as the joint doubled as an entertainment complex. And that was… basically it. Their little vacation was over, and it was time to say goodbye.
Said goodbye involved Melissa clinging to her father, hugging him so tightly he was practically tapping out, "I'll miss you so much, papa!" The blonde couldn't help the tears soaking into her father's shirt.
"I'll miss you too, Melissa." He patted her head, fighting back tears of his own, "But you're ready for this. I'm sure you've been dreaming of this for years. It's time to make all of your dreams come true. Not just some of them."
She sniffled, still clinging to him, "Love you, papa…" She mumbled.
"Love you too." He sniffed, "Love you too." He looked up, "You take care of my little girl, you hear?"
"She's in good hands, sir!" Mina cheered, throwing him a thumbs-up.
"Go on then." He patted his daughter's back, pulling away. He didn't even get a word out before Toshinori was popping his spine, "Gah! Damn it, Toshi!" The rest of them giggled as All Might manhandled the much smaller man.
"Bye, professor!" They all waved as they made their way into the terminal, so they could be cleared to fly and make their way to Momo's jet.
"Don't forget to vidcall, Melissa! Don't let her spend all day in her lab, you hear?!" David waved after them.
"We won't!" Izuku promised.
Setsuna laughed, "Yeah, we'll put a strict 30-minute time limit and have her in bed before 9!"
Melissa playfully smacked her arm, rolling her eyes. "Bye papa! I'll miss you!" She waved, up until the moving floor put them out of sight. She sighed, "Never thought I'd be flying the coop so soon." She mused.
"You're taking your first steps into the wider world." Toshinori smiled at her, "And you couldn't have picked a better way to do it." He put his hand on her shoulder.
She smiled back at him, "No…" She took a step and hugged Nejire and Mina, who were the closest. "I don't think I could have." She agreed with her uncle. "I wonder what U.A. will be like?"
"You're going to love it." Mina assured, getting nods from everyone.
Izuku was the only one who had a dark thought stray into his mind as he considered a certain someone's reaction to his blonde maybe-girlfriend, 'And if he tries a single thing… he's going to regret it.'
-]|[-
"Izukuuuuu!" Inko was hugging the stuffing out of her son, "Oooh, you little rascal! I'm going to get gray hairs before you're even out of your first year!" She finally let him go, letting out a little surprised giggle at the swirls that had replaced his eyes, "Welcome home, Izuku." She smiled brilliantly at him, "Other than my heart attack, how was the trip!"
Izuku's expression cleared up, "Oh, it was great!" He beamed at her, "And mom, we even got official CREDIT for the capture of all of those Villains! We're all officially Heroes!"
Inko smiled at the sheer excitement in her son's gaze, "Oh, I don't think I'll ever get used to you being in danger like that, but at least you're happy." She turned her gaze to his arm, "No luck yet?" She asked softly.
"Honestly?" He looked at the arm, "I'm… kind of used to it, actually. Not that I wouldn't mind my real arm back, but this works more than fine." He articulated all of his fingers, revealing that there was really no loss of dexterity.
She smiled a little hesitantly, "As long as you're okay." She smiled a lot more genuinely, "Well? How did it go?" The smile turned sly, "Do you have a girlfriend or two now?"
Izuku blushed, "It was amazing." He said a little dreamily, "And…" He blushed, "…Yeah. We're together now…"
"Oh, my baby!" She seized him in a hug and started to spin again. Once she stopped, she had to ask, "I'm not going to be a grandma yet, am I?"
"Moooom!" Izuku whined, causing her to let out a delighted laugh.
"Come on. Tell me everything." She grabbed his hand and led him to the couch, eager to hear about his (non-dangerous) adventures. Several minutes later, the neighbors flinched from the cry of, "ALL FIVE OF THEM?! WITH MAYBE TWO MORE?! WHEN DID MY SON BECOME SO MANLY?!"
-]|[-
"Hey everyone!" Izuku flashed into existence in his designated teleportation spot (given to him by Aizawa-sensei) and stepped into the classroom proper.
"MIDORIYA!" The wall of volume almost blew him over as his classmates greeted him.
Kirishima jumped up to him, hand raised for a high-five, "Bro, that's so manly! I'm SO jealous!" Izuku was not entirely sure about what he was talking about, and it must have shown on his face, "You all got to fight Villains and got official credit! That's amazing!"
Ah. That made sense. Izuku smiled, "We just did what we needed to do. I-Island's system of restraints meant that only All Might could have busted out of them, and doing so would have caused massive collateral damage."
"Still, that's so hardcore." Kyōka twirled her earjack, smiling, "You guys have even more experience than the rest of us now."
Yes, that was certainly true. Izuku saw out of the corner of his eyes how angry Katsuki looked. He looked like he was going to blow a gasket… and if he knew Aizawa-sensei at all, he probably could guess where it would be coming from. He purposefully did not look at the ash blonde, and mentally prepared himself, because he would not stay silent any longer.
Momo smiled at Kyōka, "Yes, but don't let our success mistake you. Every single one of us was in a lot of danger. Even Nejire-senpai got hurt."
"Wow, and she was so strong! She beat all of us!" Ochako gasped, amazed at the thought.
"Yeah fam, the lead jerkoff had an OP Quirk!" Camie threw in, "It reflected anything and everything you threw at him back at you. Busting through it suuucked."
"Yeah, I almost flattened Camie-chan's tits when I got launched into her." Mina chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. This earned several blushes.
"Kero, still, getting credit for the capture of such dangerous Villains is going to put all of you on the radar even without the sports festival." Tsuyu mused, tapping her chin, "Kero, don't slack off."
"Yeah." Ochako looked fired up, "Don't think I'll lose to you all just because you got ahead! I'm going to do my best!" She threw her fist into the air… and several of them swore she ignited in flames.
"Settle down, brats." Aizawa came in, still sporting his cast.
"Huh? Aizawa-sensei, you're not healed yet?" Izuku's eyes widened as he saw him.
"I'm mostly good. It's just my arm." Aizawa said blandly, "In fact, the old lady has a test for you, once we're done for the day."
"Ah!" Izuku smiled, "You got it, sensei."
"Good. Now in your seat." He stood at the front of the class, "Homeroom will be short today. We'll be going to the field again today."
"Eh?" Kirishima blinked, "You mean like when we did the Quirk Assessment test? What for?"
"Exactly, and for another assessment." Aizawa replied without feeling, "Come in, and introduce yourself already." He raised his voice, and the door opened again.
Izuku and the rest of the polycule smiled as Melissa walked in, "Hey everyone! I'm Melissa Shield. Please call me Melissa." She looked so good in the uniform! The rest of the class were really glad the purple menace had been expelled, because they were a hundred percent certain he would have been immediately getting his perv on. "I'm from I-Island, and officially, I'll be joining your class for Heroics. Just the Heroics classes though. I'm a bit older and have already taken many of the educational courses, so I'll be with the third years for those."
"Nice to meet you, Melissa(-chan)!" The class chorused out, and before they could say more, Aizawa interrupted.
"Good. You can play meet and greet on your own time." He said blandly, "Go get your uniforms on and meet on the field in fifteen." He stood and walked out. "Don't be late."
"I see what you mean, Izuku-kun." Melissa chuckled at their teacher's antics, "He is rather intense."
"That's putting it mildly, kero. Nice to meet you, Melissa-chan. I'm Asui Tsuyu. Please call me Tsu." The froggy girl smiled as she got out of her seat.
"And I'm Uraraka Ochako!" Ochako beamed at the new girl as she hopped up.
"Move it people!" Izuku called out, smirking, "Don't want to give sensei an expulsion target already, yeah?"
…
"Normally, we wouldn't repeat these tests until after the final exams." Aizawa started, "Or after the sports festival at the earliest, if we got any new students joining in due to good performances. But you lot have been through more than most students, and transfer students are not common, so I'll make an exception. We'll see how all of you improved, and get a read on Shield as well." He stared at Hagakure, "Let's see some improvement, shall we?"
"Yes, sensei!" Tōru said firmly, standing confidently, unlike last time.
"Good." He turned to Melissa, and took a moment to remember their first conversation.
"So, you're my new student." Aizawa said, having walked into Nezu's office to meet the girl.
"That I am. Nice to meet you, Aizawa-sensei." Melissa smiled brightly at him, already aware of what to expect from the man from her new friends' testimonials.
"Likewise." His voice was as bland as ever, "I will put it bluntly, Shield. Regardless of whether you earned the spot during the I-Island takeover, I don't appreciate having a student inserted into my class without ever having a chance to see what they can do myself. And especially not as a favor to one of the teachers."
Melissa smiled more pleasantly, "Well, I suppose I'll just have to earn my spot then, won't I?"
"That you will. We teachers have carte blanche to run our classes the way we wish. First thing in the morning, I'll be running you lot through a Quirk Assessment Test. Be prepared."
Nezu was simply sitting there and watching the interaction, but at this point, he turned his eyes to the ceiling in exasperation.
"Well, that will be rather difficult, sensei." Melissa commented evenly, "I take it you didn't even glance at my file?"
"I never do." Aizawa replied, equally blandly, "I prefer to go into these assessments with no prior biases and form my own opinion before I read them."
"I do believe I warned you not to do that this time, Aizawa-kun." Nezu let out a suffering sigh, "I admit, I am beginning to lose some patience with your methods."
Before Aizawa could say a word, Melissa handed him her file, "You may want to listen to him, sensei. Before you end up looking like a fool in front of your entire class."
He narrowed his eyes at her, and glanced at his boss, who did not say a word, and merely sipped at his tea. He took the folder and flipped open to the first page. Not even five seconds later, his eyes narrowed, "I see." He clapped the folder shut and looked at Melissa, who smiled thinly at him. "My apologies." Yes, that would have made him look like a fool in front of his entire class.
"Forgiven." Melissa replied magnanimously.
"My next question is: will you be revealing this to the class or keeping it secret?" Aizawa asked her.
"Hiding it would imply I'm ashamed of it." Melissa replied, "And I absolutely am not."
"Good." Aizawa smiled thinly, "I'm even more interested to see how you handle yourself now. Welcome to 1-A. Let's see if you'll last."
"Shield." Aizawa called out, beckoning her to come forward, "How far can you toss a ball?"
"Around 165 ft." Melissa replied, "I rather enjoyed softball."
"Good." He tossed her the ball, "I'd tell you to use your Quirk-"
"But I don't have one." Melissa finished for him, declaring it loud and proud. Behind her, the rest of the class gasped. 'Oh, that's right, only Izuku and the girls knew! I thought he would have mentioned it to at least Inasa. Must have slipped his mind.' She mused, before saying out loud, "Not to worry. I came prepared."
"What the fuck?! She's Quirkless?!" The explosion that she had anticipated but had hoped otherwise came from the, as Camie-chan put it, 'hateful little Nitrogremlin,' "How the fuck did she chea-"
Now that hurt to hear, but she and Aizawa never got a chance to address it, "Bakugō." The voice was disturbingly calm coming from Izuku. Everyone in the class immediately shut up as their Class President turned to Katsuki, and for once, did not use that cutesy nickname. Point in fact, Izuku was staring at the ash-blonde without blinking, and small wisps of his psychic power were blooming near him. It was perfectly clear that the verdette had had enough of his old friend's hate and wasn't going to put up with it any longer.
"Oh shit… I'm hearing the Mob Psycho's theme!" Kyōka whispered, her spine stiff.
Katsuki snarled, glaring at Izuku, "You got something to say?"
"Yeah." Izuku said, glaring back for once, "Finish that sentence and you're not making it to the Sports Festival." The promise of violence was practically wafting like a bad odor in the air.
"Enough." Aizawa barked, hiding a smile behind his scarf. He had honestly let that play out because he wanted to see how far Midoriya had come from that first day. He was glad the problem child had moved past some of his issues. But Bakugō had apparently relapsed for some reason. Likely that inferiority complex rearing its ugly head due to his presumed rival having such success at I-Island, "If you two want to beat each other black and blue, save it for the Sports Festival. Bakugō, another word and you'll be in detention until the event. This is U.A. boy, and you're here to learn to be a Hero. Heroes don't discriminate." He glared hard at the ash-blonde, his Quirk active.
"That was fucked, Bakugō." Kirishima looked disgusted.
"Asshole." Mina and Camie sneered at him.
"Fuck off." Bakugō replied, stomping off to be at the edge of the group and as alone as he could get.
Aizawa sighed, wondering if he really was going to have to end up expelling someone with actual potential because of his absolutely awful attitude. "Well, let's get on with it. Shield."
Melissa smiled, having used the commotion to roll up her sleeves. She put the ball between her legs, and raised her left arm. She tapped on the face of her smartwatch, and the device came alive. Her watch, the bracelet on her other arm, and her anklets all activated, her nanotech engulfing her body and revealing her v1.5 Hero suit. Or at least parts of it, seeing as the gym uniform was covering most of it. She flicked her right wrist, and her hard-light projectors created a golden baseball bat. She grabbed the ball, tossed it up in the air, and hit an absolutely perfect home run. Her suit enhanced her strength to low superhuman levels. The ball flew rapidly and grew smaller and smaller as it traveled away from them. "How'd I do, sensei?"
Aizawa looked intrigued as he held out the measuring device, "Good job." 524 meters. WAY out of the park for a home run, back in the day.
Off to the side, Bakugō was staring in dumbfounded shock. 'What the fuck is this shit?!' he snarled mentally, 'This Quirkless bitch managed more than half of what I managed on the first day?!' For the first time in a while, some doubt started creeping in from the edges, 'How the fuck did she do that?! Why the fuck is she allowed to use her shitty toys while the rest of us are out of costume?!' He then realized what he had just thought of, and it was like a bucket of ice had dropped down his shirt.
In the middle of the pack, Izuku almost wanted to go over to punch him in the nose due to his first thoughts. But then he heard the rest of it, and smiled vindictively, 'Yeah, that's right, Kacchan. You might have beat me down so much I believed I was worthless, but you'll never do the same to her. So much for Quirkless being 'useless,' huh?'
He wasn't feeling like disrupting the class any more than it had already been, so he didn't speak to the ash-blonde mentally and simply pulled out of his mind. That had been the first time he had used his telepathy on the ash-blonde since that first time all those months ago. He had needed to know what his old friend would think about Melissa's showing, and if he was going to be a problem because of it.
Instead, he mentally tapped on Melissa's mind, 'Great job, Melissa! You knocked it out of the park!'
'Hehehe, thanks, Izuku-kun!' Melissa responded, smiling brilliantly as she turned around.
"That was stinking awesome, Melissa-chan!" Ochako cheered, "How did you do it?!"
Melissa smiled at her, "I don't have a Quirk, so I needed my own edge. All of the technology in this suit, I made myself. This way I always have my costume ready in the event of an emergency!" She said cheerfully. "That's also why I'm allowed to use it. I'm basically dual majoring as a Hero Student and a Support Technician. Hero Course students are only allowed to use their gear if they need it to aid in their Quirk functions," Aoyama's belt was an example of this, "-or if they get it signed off on. But any support gear you make yourself is free game in all school events! And you can be sure that the students from the Support Course will be using that to their advantage during the Festival."
"Correct. On all points. And that reminds me; Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, make sure the class has the forms to make requests for the Festival. Keep in mind that you're not guaranteed to have a support item approved just because you request it. Hagakure's full costume would be approved, but requesting something like a grappling hook would likely be denied. The goal is to even the playing field for the entire school, not to give you all more advantages." Aizawa stated getting nods from the two representatives, "But we're burning daylight, so let's get going. We have tests to run." He beckoned the next student forward, and off they went.
And when they were done, most of the updated rankings hadn't changed. Melissa herself was elated to see just how well she had done. She had placed in the upper half of the class, albeit barely! Tōru was cheering happily, outright jumping up and down. She had worked hard enough on her physicality that she had knocked Aoyama into twentieth! Momo and Izuku were beaming at each other, having come in a dead tie this time, unlike her clear victory and his tie with Inasa the first time. Inasa himself had tied with Todoroki, and the two shot each other some small smiles. Katsuki was fuming. HIS score had barely improved at all! He was in fifth place, and not even solidly either! Iida had just barely missed on knocking him down to sixth! The arrogant blonde was starting to almost feel like his throat was getting tight.
"Excellent work, all of you." Aizawa said, "As most of you saw, improving the strength of your Quirk can be difficult, as shown by Bakugō's ball toss." He probably shouldn't have singled the ash-blonde out, but the boy frankly needed a kick in the pants. His complexes were either going to help him once he overcame them or they were going to break him. "Keep working hard. Now get back to class. That didn't take as long as I thought, and there's still enough time for English." He almost snorted at the chorus of groans. Almost.
As they trudged back to the school, Aizawa went up to Todoroki, "Still no fire, Todoroki?" He asked in disappointment.
But he was surprised to see a slight smile from the heterochromic boy, "Not this time, Sensei. I wanted to gauge my own improvement without it."
"Oh?" He raised his eyebrow.
Todoroki looked satisfied, "I-Island was an eye-opener in more ways than one."
Aizawa finally let out a prideful smile as they continued to walk, not asking any more. 'This is a good class. Finally.' Any future classes he had sure would have some large shoes to fill.
-]|[-
"Ughhhhhh, it's finally oveeeeeeerrrrrr…" Mina moaned, dropping her head onto her desk, "Can we go back to I-Island?" Her voice was rather muffled.
"It wasn't that bad, Mina." Izuku chuckled, patting her on the shoulder.
"Speak for yourself, fam." Camie slung herself onto his shoulders, and several in the class gawked as he didn't flinch or start blushing and stuttering. "Class suuucks." She nuzzled into him.
"Kero." Tsu ribbited, "You two look much friendlier."
"I would hope so." Momo smiled as she sidled up and took his hand, "We are all dating, after all."
"PFFFFTTTT!" Almost everyone in the class did classic spit takes. "WHAT?!"
"Midoriya!" Sero clenched his fists, "You lucky bastard!"
"My, Midoriya's sparkle is so bright!" Aoyama couldn't help but cry out. Perhaps he should make some wine suggestions for dates?
"Jeez, didn't take you for such a boss, Green." Kyōka smirked, "Three smoking-hot girlfriends."
Izuku blushed and chuckled a little nervously, "Ehehehe… about that…"
Mina sprang up, smirking devilishly, "We also got Setsuna from 1-B, and Nejire-chan-senpai in our little group." She didn't mention Melissa or Yui quite yet, since Melissa hadn't fully committed to the idea yet, and they were still entirely unsure about Yui, despite her joining their dates.
"WHAAAAAAAAT!" The class nearly blew them over with sound. Even Tsu looked uncharacteristically gobsmacked.
Kirishima rubbed the back of his head, "Damn bro, that's so manly. You treat them right, you hear?"
"Of course!" Izuku looked affronted.
"Also," The redhead continued, "Kinda even more glad Mineta isn't here anymore."
"Ugh." Camie wrinkled her nose, "He would be making a big deal about it, wouldn't he?" She pecked Izuku on the cheek, making him blush just a little.
Bakugō looked like he wanted to hurl, standing up with his chair making the floor screech. "Whatever. I'm out of here." He threw the door open with a slam, still in an awful mood, and the sight that greeted him didn't help that at all. "What the fuck do you all want?" He snarled, glaring daggers at the wall of students blocking his way.
"I don't recognize any of you. You must be from General Studies." Izuku asked, coming up to them.
"Sup fam?" Camie smiled at them, before jerking her head at Katsuki, "Don't mind the Nitrogremlin. He hasn't had his shots."
"Fuck you, bimbo." Katsuki snarled, a little crackle of explosions racing along his left arm.
"Not even if you were the last guy on earth, you fucking cactus." Camie shot back. Several of the other students bit back startled laughs.
"Really? This is the vaunted Hero Course?" A new guy came through the crowd, interrupting the sniping. He was lanky, looked like he hadn't slept in months, and had vivid purple hair. "A bunch of squabbling children? If this is the best you have to offer, I'm not impressed."
"And why should we care what you think, extra?" Bakugō stared at him, unimpressed.
"Can you NOT refer to others as extras, Bakugō?!" Iida chopped his hand furiously.
The purple-haired boy stared glibly at him, "Most of us who didn't make the Hero Course, and were stuck in general studies or the other tracks. Depending on the resu-"
"Yeah, yeah, they might transfer you in if you do well. We know that." Mina said, coming up to them with Momo.
"That's right." The kid looked a bit put out at having his speech interrupted. "Consequently, it means you lot can lose your spots too. For a General Studies kid like me, this will be a perfect opportunity to knock you off your pedestals. Consider this a declaration of war." His face didn't change, but somehow it was pretty clear that he was glaring.
"We knew that as well." Momo said, staring at him nonplussed, "I do wonder why you're speaking as if this is a foregone conclusion. Much as I'd like Bakugō gone, you'd be hard-pressed to take his spot."
Katsuki's teeth started to grind, 'Now the fucking rich bitch is talking shit too?'
Purple's eyes narrowed, "Don't be so haughty just because your Quirks worked in a fight against robo-"
"Ha!" Tōru came up, "Is that what this is? A pity party? Whining because your Quirk didn't work against robots? Newsflash: I'm invisible and I made it in. I didn't even have a costume at the time, so to even use my Quirk, I had to get completely naked." She said bluntly, and the General Studies students all gawked at the revelation. "Did you just roll over and cry when it was clear your Quirks didn't work? Did you even get any Hero Points?" Several of the students looked away in shame.
Camie started to laugh, "LOL, you guys sure are idiots. Do you even know what a weight room looks like? My Quirk didn't do anything to the bots either. It's a Support Type, not a Direct Combat Type." She rolled up her sleeve and flexed, revealing a fair bit of muscle. "Git gud, scrubs."
"Not to mention," Izuku looked several of them dead in the eye, "Our newest member is Quirkless, and earned her spot by helping to capture several B, A, and S rank Villains during the I-Island incident last week." Now even the purple-haired kid couldn't keep the shock off his face. Katsuki's eyebrow pulsed with fury at this revelation, though he probably should have realized it already. "Honestly, I was worried about how fair the entrance exam was. It certainly skewed heavily towards those with heavy combat Quirks. But now?" He shook his head.
"Indeed. You might want to consider what being Heroes mean and what Heroes actually do before you arrogantly come barging in here and 'declaring war.'" Momo was entirely unimpressed. "Now please move. We need to meet up with the rest of our group and get to training."
"Think I can join in?" Kyōka asked, and almost the entire rest of 1-A joined in.
"Of course!" Momo smiled at them as the student sea parted and they met up with Setsuna, Yui, and several other I-B students, "You know the manor is open to you."
As the noise from 1-A dimmed, the General Studies students dispersed. Those who most wanted to be Heroes could only clench their fists and stomp away.
…
The next two weeks passed quickly, with all of the Hero Course students training their hearts out. Every day, they were in the weight rooms, or running on the track, or sparring with their Quirks under Nejire's supervision. At Momo's house, Izuku and his girlfriends and maybe-girlfriends put in the most amount of work. They were super glad that the heiress had so much private property because there was no way they would have been able to train like they did otherwise. Izuku and Momo clashing in the skies were a common fixture, with Melissa using the data to fully iron out v2 for Momo's costume.
Izuku even trained in semi-secret with Nejire, trying out a new technique that he had brainstormed after consuming more ancient media. It wasn't going super well, as Nejire seemingly had a sixth sense for the technique, and never quite got caught in it.
Melissa worked on her combat skills wearing her full costume, which was rapidly approaching the complete v2 design that she would reveal at the Festival.
Momo and Izuku also did their work as class leaders (along with Itsuka and Setsuna), and made sure everyone had their forms filled out and processed in the event they needed some special allowances for the games. Even if they hadn't been reminded by Aizawa-sensei, there was no way they would have let poor Tōru go naked. They made sure she would have her costume available.
Finally, as the final day before the Festival came to an end, Izuku went to sleep, completely relaxed, and surrounded by his polycule. Everything had changed in only a few short months, and tomorrow, they would all see just how far they had come.