Chapter 33: Steppin' Up/Steppin' Out
- 104 BUILDING, SHIBUYA, TUESDAY -
"Close. The equation is nearly set but I'm still missing the correct factor for X."
Standing atop of the 104 Building was an adult male in black and dark gray clothing overlooking the city streets below. His amber eyes narrowed as he watched several members of the police and patrolling heroes remove a pile of what one would call junk. When the backs of those responsible for the clean-up were turned, the man on the roof held out his blackened, left hand as it began to glow an ethereal blue.
On the streets, just under the remaining pile of junk, rings of mathematical equations evaporated into a thin black smoke before disappearing entirely, leaving none the wiser of its existence.
One thing that did happen was that several civilian bystanders seemed to react to the man's actions. Their curiosity was replaced with a dull disinterest.
The man smirked, grabbing the brim of his black cap and tipping it down his face as he made his way to the rooftop stairwell.
"Well, well. It looks like I need to crunch some new numbers instead of a complete recalculation." He said with an amused tone, his laughter following soon after. "This city's days are numbered."
His laughter seemed to carry through the air as a feeling of dread fell over the populace of Shibuya.
- SUPPORT LABS, U.A. UNIVERSITY -
Away from the bustling streets of Shibuya, in the quiet halls of U.A. was the small group of Hero students; Izuku, Shoka, Momo, and Shinso. The quartet of friends stood outside the heavy and reinforced doors that led to one of the many support labs for the Support Course of the university.
The issue on all their minds was that it was too quiet for their liking.
"Three," Izuku said, starting a countdown as an uncomfortable smile formed on his face.
"Two," Shoka followed up, her expression completely flat as she stared at the door.
"One," Momo continued, letting out a sigh.
"And boom..." Shinso finished in a dull tone.
The four quickly moved out of the way when the reinforced and heavy doors leading to the support labs was blown completely off their hinges. Dark smoke wafted from the labs and the group could pick up the sound of angry coughing and mad laughter from two individuals.
"Damn it, Hatsume! Five times! You have caused an explosion FIVE TIMES THIS WEEK!" Came the voice of the Support Course instructor, Maijima Higari, known as the Excavation Hero: Power Loader.
Power Loader is a rather short, skinny man who looks much younger than he was. On his head was a large yellow helmet styled into the shape of a rectangular excavator claw, giving it the appearance of a metal dragon skull. Only his mouth and the ends of his spiky ginger hair were visible under the unique piece of equipment.
He was shirtless, showing off a rather impressive build and strong arms that hand a pair of gray fingerless gloves with metal guards on his large hands. At the ends of his fingers were orange L-shaped pieces due to his Quirk, Iron Claws, making the combo of his Quirk and gloves something to look out for. He finished his look with a pair of cyan pants and a pair of gray shoes.
"Huh. Feels like less." Hatsume Mei said from her spot on top of the busted doors.
The Support Course girl with pink dreadlocks was still as energetic and blind to the world around her since Izuku and the others saw her, which was to say, only yesterday. Momo still tried to hide away from the pinkette in fear of turning into a human 3D printer for the her, the memories of their first encounter still fresh in the heiress' mind. The group watched on as the pinkette dusted herself off, seeing that Mei wore the same clothes as yesterday when they saw her; a black, sleeveless tank top, coveralls that had the sleeves tied around her waist, black shop gloves with gray palms, a pair of white slip-on shoes, and her unique steampunk goggles on top of her head.
"Hatsume, it's only Tuesday," Power Loader stated in a strained voice.
"Go figure. Well. All I know is that test number five failed." The pinkette said as she dusted the soot off her body. "But I know what went wrong and I can easily fix it so that my baby really shines!"
As the young woman tried to rush back into the lab, Power Loader stopped her by placing his large hand against her forehead and preventing her from moving forward.
What was surprising was that he was straining himself doing so.
"No. You will finish your assignments for me and then you and I will work on Todoroki's new hero costume for his internship." He explained. The Pro Hero regretted his word choice as Mei's eyes began to sparkle, forcing Power Loader shut her down. "And no. No crazy support gear. No suggestions or ideas. We already have a plan and we will finish it. When he gets back from his internship, he's free game for you."
Mei pouted a little before begrudgingly accepting her instructor's orders. As she entered the lab, Izuku and the others couldn't help but feel slightly concerned for their heterochromatic friend when he would show up to the lab.
Well, Izuku, Shoka, and Momo did. Shinso was now reconsidering asking for support gear he thought of after a talk with Aizawa.
Power Loader watched Mei return to her workstation before turning to address the quartet. "Alright, distractions out of the way," the Support Course instructor focused on Shoka, "follow me. Your new mask turned out pretty damn good, Sakurane. Ms. Shield knows her stuff," he said as he led the group to his workstation.
"I'm kinda surprised you got it made this quickly," Shoka remarked with an impressed smirk.
Power Loader nonchalantly waved it off. "It helps that Ms. Shield's designs were well made and streamlined. Normally, I wouldn't even be open to using designs from sources outside my department or our wheelhouse. Hell, I was hesitant to let some of your commissioned equipment through until I had a good look at them. It's a legal and Safety Commission nightmare if things go wrong." He explained.
"You make it sound like the Commission wouldn't cause a fuss if it was just your work," Shinso noted dryly.
As the Pro Hero and students arrived at his workstation, he crouched below the station's surface, pulled out a small case, and set it down on the desk. "It's to protect people outside of our labs, mostly independent engineers more than a support company. If something happens and the equipment or design is faulty and that ends up causing Sakurane here to suffer an injury, or in the worst case death, that independent designer can kiss their future goodbye."
Power Loader gestured to the lab around him, his hand lingering on Mei as he continued to speak. "In here, I have the final say. I go through both the first and last checks on every piece of equipment that is made for you Hero Course students. If it's for a personal project, like Hatsume likes to work on in her free time, I'm a bit more hands-off, only stepping in to stop her if she endangers herself or others."
The group nodded along, taking in the Pro Hero's words. They all were thankful and impressed by the instructor's work ethic and diligence.
"But I'm willing to trust Ms. Shield. She's just as great of a support engineer as her dad." Power Loader stated confidently. "Hell, I already told Nezu if we can snipe her, we better do it. I would give an arm and a leg to have someone with her skills to work with."
"Well, if you want to try and pitch it to her, you can," Izuku said as he set his backpack and costume case on the work desk and dug through his bag to pull out his laptop. "It only feels right that she gets to see Shoka try out the gear she designed for her."
"Speaking of," Shoka said as she reached for the small case, "time to see how it turned out."
As the slender ravenette opened the case, Izuku pulled up the chat he and Melissa used and began to call her. Shoka looked at her new mask and smiled. It was shaped and colored exactly like the basic domino mask her hero costume first had, only now with large white lenses staring back at her. A jingle rang out, catching her attention when she turned to see Melissa appearing on the screen.
"I didn't miss it, right?" Melissa asked excitedly.
That caused the quartet to chuckle at the blonde engineer. "Just in time. Shoka just opened the case." Izuku explained.
"Awesome," the curvy blonde directed her attention to Shoka. "Well? Go ahead and put them on. Let me know how they feel."
"Alright, alright," Shoka replied with an amused smile nearly splitting her face.
The gray-eyed young woman gently pulled the mask from the case and flipped it around. As she donned her newest piece of equipment, her eyes widened in surprise when the lenses came to life , becoming a faint blue as she placed it on her face. She watched a bootup screen appear as the words Aegis OS, faded in before her vision shifted. She now was able to see everything and everyone in the room.
"Sweet," Shoka smirked.
"Give it a second for the internal sensors to sync up with your eyes so the mask can mimic your expressions," Melissa instructed through the chat.
Shoka did as she was told. After a moment of waiting, and the go-ahead from Melissa, the slender ravenette began to run through several expressions and feelings that her eyes could convey. From anger to questioning, straight to sadness, surprise, and finally elation. The group of hero students and support engineers watched as the mask mimicked them perfectly.
"So? How do I look?" Shoka asked with bated breath.
She saw Izuku give her a heartfelt smile as he answered. "They work perfectly. Totally fits your style, Shokat." Shoka preened at his words as he turned to the screen and addressed their blonde friend from across the ocean. "Impressive work, Melissa. Hard to believe this is just the simple version."
"Indeed, I can't wait to see the final version after our internships," Momo said as she studied the mask intently.
"Legit, these are pretty awesome." Shoka took off the mask and continued to look at the interior. "So, you called your OS, 'Aegis'?" She asked.
"Yep. That's the one I had to make for my studies and I've been adding on and tweaking it over the last couple of years. All of the support tech I make which requires a computer system runs it, though I do have a basic support OS installed as a redundancy."Melissa explained as the group and a very impressed Power Loader listened in. Mei had even come over and was visibly vibrating at the tech-speak.
"Aegis runs the system in your mask that creates the lens effect for your expressions, going into low-light mode, and sudden flashes," the curvy blonde continued her impromptu showcase, her voice barely containing her excitement, "I did tell you yesterday I didn't want to overload you so this will have to do for the time being."
"I'll be sure to let you know how well it works after the internships," Shoka replied, putting the mask back on her face to get used to it.
"Thanks, Shoka. Can never have too much data."The blonde engineer replied with a bright smile.
Power Loader let out a low whistle. "Gotta say, Ms. Shield. Even if it's a simple make, this is some Grade-A tech." He leaned closer to the screen, ready to use his best salesman voice in order to convince the blonde support student with his offer, "Say, how would you like to get more practical experience? U.A. could use an experienced engineer like you to help set the standard for our students. Plus," The Pro Hero gestured to the group next to him, "you already got several friends who could benefit from your expertise."
Melissa was caught off guard by the offer. She smiled shyly as she considered it for a moment before speaking. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, Power Loader sir. I'm..." The blonde engineer paused so she could gather her thoughts. Izuku saw her look at something off-screen, her gaze lingering for a moment when she finally spoke again, "I'm still trying to figure some things out."
She leaned her head to the side as her face began to show a conflicted expression. "That, and would my credits and work towards my Masters even be shared if I transferred? Because I'm not going to lose all that time and effort. I put in the work, you know? That and money." The blonde engineer released a relieved sign as she stared off into the distance. "Thank god for scholarships."
Power Loader nodded, completely understanding where the aqua-eyed engineer was coming from. He would be pretty peeved if the work he put into his certifications were all but dropped if he had transferred schools. That, and he was proposing a very big ask. Leaving I-Island, even for the practical experience U.A. would provide the blonde, was a big decision. He was also worried about what had her so conflicted but he wasn't willing to pry into her business.
Still, he wasn't about to give up. He saw the potential the young woman already knew she had. He just wanted to make sure she had as much experience to pull from.
"Well, I can always pass this along to Nezu. No doubt he could pull some strings so you still get your Masters and credentials if you did end up here." The Pro Hero said.
Melissa listened to him but couldn't help but smile and hold back a laugh as she saw her new friends nod along with the hero's assessment with blank looks of subdued acceptance on their faces. Her jovial expression soon turned to one of concern when she noted that the quartet hadn't changed.
The curvy blonde now grew concerned about just how far Nezu's reach was.
Thankfully, someone else injected themselves into the conversation, breaking up the odd atmosphere at the mention of U.A.'s dean.
"So how did you design your personal OS? What components did you use for this mask? Could you please transfer here so we can make babies together!? Care to share some tips?" Mei began to ask in rapid succession.
"Wait, what!?" Melissa's brain took a moment to process the pinkette's question about babies, the rest of her inquiries not registering as Mei's third question required almost all of the blonde's processing power.
"Oh! Right. Your inventions." Melissa said as she remembered Mei's match with Iida and her unorthodox sales pitch. She let out a relieved sigh at the realization. Thankfully, before she would have to engage with the enthusiastic inventor further, Shinso came to her rescue.
"Hey, Hatsume. I've been thinking of some offensive gear to up my fighting skills. Think you can make a pair of Escri-" Before the indigoette could go on, he was immediately dragged away from the group by Mei.
As he was carried over to her workstation like a sack of potatoes, Melissa could see him mouth one last thing to her.
You owe me.
Power Loader let out an annoyed huff at Mei's less-than-stellar social skills. "Well," The Pro Hero turned to address the remaining four members of the group, "before I go and make sure Hatsume doesn't cause a sixth explosion this week, do any of you need me for anything?"
Izuku and Shoka shook their heads. The slender ravenette mostly just needed to talk to Melissa about her mask and the verdette didn't have anything he needed to be made for his costume. Momo, though, spoke up. "If you have a moment, I would like to make a request."
The busty heiress dug through her bag, pulled out a sheet of paper, and laid it on the hero's workstation desk.
Power Loader looked over the design, taking in every detail he saw. It was a snow-white cloak, stylized to look like bird feathers along the edge that draped over the body with the front going down to the knees, the back falling past the knees to emulate rectrices. The white color blended into sections of gold along the ends of the "feathers". Two triangular clasps held the cloak together with it splitting down the left side of the body, allowing that arm to move freely. The cloak had a hood, that when pulled up, had a small opening in the back for Momo's spiky ponytail to be let out, making it seem like the cloak had plumage.
The final detail was a stylized owl face sewn into the top of the hood, with small gold detailing along the face.
"I see you three have a theme going on." The Support Course instructor noted with a smirk. He shot a glance over at Momo before studying the cloak. "I take it you want this made before your internship too?"
"Yes please." The heiress nodded.
"Alright. Follow me and we can look at some materials you can look through to see what you want it made of." Power Loader waved at Momo for her to follow him. He looked at Izuku, Shoka, and Melissa one more time. "Are you three good for now?"
"Yes, sensei."
"Yep."
"Yes sir."
With a nod, Power Loader and Momo left to look at support materials for the newest addition to her hero costume. As they left, Melissa cleared her throat, the sound through the speakers catching Izuku and Shoka's attention.
"What did he mean by theme?" Melissa asked, curiosity brimming through her voice.
Shoka quirked a brow before she understood the question. "The three of us have a theme going. I'm a cat, Izzy's a bunny, and Momo is an owl. Our costumes pretty much show that."
Izuku brought a hand to his chin as he started to think. "I'm pretty sure Shinso has an idea for himself as well. Same for his friend he meets up with."
"Right. The bat plushie he won during the festival." The slender ravenette nodded as she remembered that specific plushie.
The two lovers had an agreement with each other, sharing a nod when they looked back at Melissa. They tilted their heads as they saw the blonde deep in her own thoughts. They smiled as they picked up the tail end of her musings.
"-ust what would my animal be?"
Melissa shook her head. When the curvy blonde focused back on the screen, she blinked, her cheeks reddening when she noticed Izuku and Shoka's smiles.
She coughed into her hand, doing her best to move on from her embarrassment. "Well, since Shoka is happy with her mask so far, I guess we can move on to the next bit. Did you bring your headset, Izuku?"
Izuku's smile widened as he opened his costume case, gently taking out the headset Mr. H had commissioned. "Right here."
The curvy blonde's eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked at the headset, taking in every visual detail she could. She hoped that Izuku had the blueprints themselves or was able to get them to share with her. "You said this keeps track of your stockpile and how your Psychs work, right?" She asked as her aqua-colored eyes still focused on the equipment in his hands.
"Yep. The HUD knows which Psychs I set based on the energy draw each of them takes from my stockpile." He took the visor out of the case and attached it to the ends of the headset. "I'm able to edit things and update my Psych list from my laptop when I plug the headset in," Izuku explained as he demonstrated that specific feature.
"The sound quality is also god-tier for music," Shoka added. She connected her phone to the headset as her music began to play through the speakers, loud enough for even Melissa to hear it without any distortions or quality loss through the video call.
Izuku nodded his head and pointed at her. "That too." He returned his attention to Melissa as Shoka cut off the music. "So what did you want to see it for?"
"Well, what I have in mind for you requires me to understand your Quirk and its limits," Melissa explained as she typed away at her computer. "I read through your dad's book again to double-check some things, but I managed to make a program that should track the readings I need and give me the data I'm looking for."
"What exactly are you trying to measure?" Shoka asked, her curiosity building up as the two Quirk Dorks started to get into the groove of things.
"Stockpilers have a limiter, much like the human body does in order to make sure it doesn't break itself," Melissa explained. "But there is possibly a way for a Stockpiler to bypass that limit safely as opposed to the body doing so."
Izuku's eyes widened at that. "You mean an artificial evolution?" Seeing the confused look on Shoka's face, Izuku began to explain, "Dad did say that Emitter-type Quirks were the hardest to undergo an evolution, Stockpilers even more so. While they can grow stronger, it's not the same as a Quirk evolution that Transformation types can go through. Technically speaking, your Quirk has a better chance of evolving compared to mine."
Shoka tilted her head at that. "How come?"
"Because Quirk evolutions tend to happen under moments of stress or pushing past the limitations of your Quirk," Melissa said, picking up from Izuku's explanation.
"In fact, I think you are already on the way to one." The verdette continued. "Your new ears that appeared during the sports festival are probably an indicator of that."
Shoka smiled at that. "Sounds about right." Izuku and Melissa looked at her in rapt attention, wanting to know more. "Right. So when I was training for the festival, I thought about pulling from any source of black I could. Figured that I wouldn't always have my coat on me."
Her skin began to go ghostly pale as her hair faded into gray, a pair of segmented black and white cat ears popping up on top of her head. "So, I pulled from my own source." She said as she played with her hair. "Though Izzy and I learned a few days ago that my transformation can be cosmetic only as opposed to using it for hero stuff."
Izuku tried his best to hide his blush at the reminder. Thankfully, Shoka moved the conversation along, saving him from minor embarrassment. "So if Izzy's Quirk can't evolve the normal way, how are you going to do it artificially?"
"The safest way I can think of doing that is by letting him move past that limiter his Quirk has. Basically, giving Izuku a quick power boost to his Psychs."Melissa explained. Despite her assurances, Izuku and Shoka could hear some creeping doubt in her tone. "It's a long shot, but I think I can pull it off. Even if that doesn't pan out, I can find a way for him to push the limits of his Psychs."
Izuku and Shoka shared a look. While he was hesitant to share his new secret with Melissa, he didn't want to leave a trail of breadcrumbs for her to follow and catch him in a lie. After all, it would be weird to see a large discrepancy in the data she wants.
Izuku honestly didn't want to lie to her. So, the freckled young man decided to test the waters.
"Well," The verdette took a moment to find the right way to word his next sentence, "what if I somehow got a boost to my reserves? Not like a natural build-up, but a hypothetical increase that doubled or even tripled my stockpile?"
Melissa let out a hum as she thought about such a situation. Izuku and Shoka could see her working through the problem, her face scrunching up as she came to a conclusion. "Well, that shouldn't cause any problems that I can think of. After all, that is just boosting your reserves, not how they act."
"And if they did affect how Izzy uses his Quirk?" Shoka asked.
The aqua-eyed engineer shrugged. "I would still need data. If anything, I'll have two different measurements for me to use in order to make the gear I have in mind. Better to have more to work with than shooting in the dark."
The blonde went silent for a moment. Izuku grew concerned as he could see the gears turning in her head. He shared a concerned look with Shoka. She shrugged, not knowing what to do. Before Izuku could recover the conversation, Melissa spoke up.
"That being said," Melissa typed away at her computer when a transfer notification popped up on Izuku's screen, "I'm sending you the program you need to install, Izuku. I can't do much without it. Unless you want to run the calculations and observations by hand?"
The verdette shook his head. "Nah, I'm not that much of a mathematician. I trust you and your work." That earned a smile from the blonde. An alert chimed from his laptop, signaling that he received the program from the curvy blonde. "And got it. Just tell me what to do, Melissa."
The aqua-eyed engineer's smile grew as she coached Izuku through the installation process, explaining how the readings she would need were going to be taken, as well as further studying his Quirk. She watched him work as her mind lingered on her suspicions. It wasn't hard for her to piece together that Izuku was hinting at something.
Something he couldn't outright share. The blonde didn't want to overstep her bounds, but she didn't want to leave things as they were.
Maybe she could call Uncle Might and ask him for his thoughts on the matter. After all, he was the one to suggest she and Izuku meet. Maybe he would know something.
Melissa stayed as long as she could to help out Izuku and Shoka before she had to turn in for the night. Even as the night went on her mind still lingered on Izuku's strange behavior. The blonde engineer huffed as she went to grab her phone, resolved to figure things out.
She turned on the security feature her dad installed on her phone to help keep calls private for her and her family and scrolled through her contacts, dialing All Might's number. She brought her phone to her ear, tapping her foot as it started to ring. A smile graced her face when the call finally connected.
"Hello, Melissa." The curvy blonde's smile dropped slightly. "How are you doing? How are your studies?"The more her honorary uncle spoke, the more she noticed something off with his voice. It wasn't as boisterous as she remembered it.
"I'm fine, Uncle Might. School is good, but kind of boring since we are getting closer to summer. A lot of our time is focused on personal projects." She politely answered. Melissa thought about how to ask about Izuku, deciding to lead into the topic instead of just jumping straight into it. "How about you? How's teaching our future Heroes?"
"I'm glad to hear you're doing alright." The Pro Hero replied with a hearty laugh. "And I'm fine as well. Teaching is still something I have to get used to but it is rather fulfilling. I actually finished going over my lesson plan for tomorrow. I'm going to be helping the Hero Course practice patrolling before they go off on their internships."
"Nice." Now she had her in. Perfect. "I'm sure that Izuku and the others will be excited about that," She said, planting the seed.
"I hope so. I'm glad you two managed to get in contact with each other. It was surprising to hear that the two of you knew each other already, but I guess serendipity can be a rather wonderful thing."She could practically hear her uncle smile through the phone. "If anything, I'm just happy you two were able to restart your friendship. I consider that the greater accomplishment than you two working together."
Melissa did smile at that. "I still haven't thanked you for that. When I saw him during the sports festival, I was afraid of even trying to contact him." Her voice softened as she continued, "If Dad hadn't told me you gave him Izuku's email, I might have missed out on meeting my old friend."
"So thanks, Uncle Might." The blonde engineer said graciously.
"Of course, Melissa." The No. 1 Hero replied.
Melissa went quiet. Despite having the opening she wanted , she hesitated. The curvy blonde struggled to speak, her voice coming out as a whisper, "But there's something I need to ask you about, Uncle Might. About Izuku."
All Might was silent. Melissa waited, letting her uncle take as much time as he needed. Her mind wasn't idle, already working on making connections based on what she knew and observed. Whatever this was, it was much bigger than she expected.
She let out a sigh and decided to take control of the conversation. "Earlier, I was talking about what I needed from him for a piece of support gear I want to make for him. I told him that I needed data on how his Quirk works."
All Might was still quiet, but she knew he was listening. "He brought up a hypothetical. Something about his Quirk getting a power boost that could potentially double or triple his stockpile," She explained. "I think he was trying to hint at something that could mess up the data I would need, but I was afraid of asking him when he seemed pretty hesitant to share."
"So, I thought maybe you would know. You're one of his teachers and you were the one to get the two of us talking." Melissa began to nervously play with her hair as she waited for the Pro Hero to respond to her.
"Well," All Might started to respond, "It is a rather sensitive topic..."
"Don't worry, Uncle Might." She quickly interjected. "I turned on the security feature Dad wants us to use." Melissa paused for a moment, hoping her recent observation was wrong. "Does it have anything to do with why you sound, off? Your voice doesn't sound like it usually does when we talk."
All Might chuckled. "Your intelligence is something else, Melissa." It was now his turn to think about what to say next. "Yes, it does have something to do with that. I was hoping to at least tell you about it in person, but with your friendship with young Midoriya, I suppose now is as good a time as any."
"My Quirk is failing, Melissa. I won't be able to be a Hero for much longer." Melissa felt a pit in her stomach form at that. "And I have chosen young Midoriya as my successor. I can only figure that his dancing around the issue with his Quirk was him trying to find the right way to bring it up with you. The biggest condition he had for me to accept my offer was that he couldn't keep it a secret from his friends."
"What offer?" She asked. Her uncle made it seem like something else was tied to being his successor.
Melissa heard All Might let out a heavy sigh. "I offered him my Quirk. I wasn't born with my Quirk. It was given to me by my master, and it was given to her by another Hero. I was Quirkless, like you when my master saw something in me that she thought was worth bringing out."
"And there's something I want to tell you, Melissa."She went quiet as he talked. "You were the first person I considered passing on my Quirk to."
The blonde swallowed heavily at his words. The tension in her body that she didn't even realize she had seemed to lift slightly. "I was?" She asked.
"You were. Do you remember when you were eight?"Melissa nodded, unable to find her voice. Despite being on the other side of the phone call, All Might seemed to know what she did. "I had asked you, if I could somehow find a way to give you Quirk, would you want it? I asked you, would it help you achieve your dreams?"
Melissa's eyes widened at that. "I... said that no matter what I could make myself a Hero. That I would find my own way to achieve my dreams. That I didn't need a Quirk."
"That's right. Even as a little kid, you had the drive to be what you wanted to be, even when you had to deal with others putting you down." He paused, taking another moment to think about what to say. "When I needed to search for a successor, you were the first person I considered. But, when I wanted to bring it up, you were so driven to follow your own path. To be what you wanted to be."
"I didn't want to just hand you something and make you lose the work you had already put in. I didn't want to cause your dream to die. To make it seem like it was pointless without my Quirk. Like I was saying you couldn't find a way to make it on your own." The Pro Hero finished his piece.
Melissa just stood there, in the middle of her room, taking in everything her honorary uncle said to her. When she finally found her voice again, only one question was on her mind.
"Uncle Might... Can I be a Hero without a Quirk?"
She waited for what felt like an eternity to get an answer. She already knew what she was going to do no matter the answer, but asking this would help alleviate some lingering feelings she didn't know she still had.
"Melissa." The blonde engineer held her breath. "Quirk or no Quirk, it's up to you to determine that. I think you are well on your way to being the Hero you want to be. The Quirk my master entrusted to me simply helped me because there was nothing else for me to rely on. But she saw something in me, the same thing I see in young Midoriya. A certain drive and determination. And I know you have that too."
"But you, Melissa, also have your mind, your engineering skills, and your gear. You have more going for you than a Quirk. Just know that it will be a difficult path to walk." Melissa felt her heart swell as All Might kept speaking. It was his next question that struck a chord with her. "The question is, do you want to be a Hero?"
The aqua-eyed young woman looked at a series of blueprints on her wall. "Yes... But I want to do it my own way." She answered.
"Then work hard for it." The Pro Hero replied. "If you need help or advice, I'm just a phone call away. And don't forget about your new friends. I have no doubt they would support you too."
"I will," Melissa said with confidence. A soft smile formed on her face as she thought about her promise to Izuku. "And I'll support them too."
She heard All Might give her his trademark laugh, the one she recognized and grew up with. "Good. I'm glad to hear that, Melissa. Now, what sort of projects are you working on?"
- TRAINGING GROUND BETA, U.A. UNIVERSITY, WEDNESDAY -
The afternoon sun hung in the overcast sky. The No. 1 Hero looked up, his smile fading as he felt the atmosphere shift subtly. After having that chat with Melissa, his spirits had been rather high. But now, something was scratching at the back of his mind. He chalked it up to his Hero work giving him a sixth sense that sometimes flared up when he needed it.
Aside from those times One For All seemed to give him a reaction as well but those were few and far between.
The Pro Hero shook his head of those thoughts. He would have to keep his eyes and ears open. For now, it was time to teach.
"Alright, you zygotes! It's time for your lesson!" All Might loudly declared to 1-A as they gathered around him.
The class stood just past the gate leading into Training Ground Beta for their next Heroics lesson with the No. 1 Hero. As the students got ready, All Might saw Izuku and Shoka fiddling with their gear. Shoka was making sure her mask was on correctly and functioning properly while Izuku checked to see if the sensor app he and Melissa installed was turned on.
All Might shared a look with his successor. The verdette gave him an appreciative nod that spoke volumes to the Pro Hero. It seems that Izuku and Melissa had their own chat after the youngest Shield finished up her call with him.
The No. 1 Hero cleared his throat. "Now, pay attention." All Might's words grabbed everyone's attention. "Today, we will be going over the basics of patrolling and how to address situations you may come across."
"Nezu and I have set up several encounters inside the training ground. From small-time villains fleeing the scene of a crime, to injured pedestrians and even cats stuck in a tree." That caused a few chuckles from the group of hero students. "You will be broken up into pairs and given specific areas to patrol. Keep in mind, that your routes may overlap with others, which is common in the field. This will also be a challenge as I will be grading how quickly a pair may react to a situation, how they handle it, and if they make the right judgment calls."
Sero raised his hand, causing All Might to pause and point at him. "What do you mean by judgment calls?"
"A good question. Consider this, young Sero. Should you come across a situation that you and your partner can't handle, what should you do?" The Pro Hero asked.
"Uh, call for backup?" Sero quickly replied.
"Exactly. You need to know when you need help and when to call for it." All Might looked at the rest of the class in front of him. "If there is a problem that is bigger than you expected, it's better to call for help than to risk your life or the life of the civilians around you. The opposite is also true. Who can tell me why that is?"
Tsuyu had a thoughtful look on her face. She brought a finger to her chin and spoke up, "Kero Because you could be making a situation seem bigger than it is? Kero kero Then you are just pulling heroes away from their patrols when they might be needed elsewhere."
"Indeed, young Asui. That's exactly what I mean." All Might's smile grew before shrinking again as his tone grew tense. "Take it from me, you can't be everywhere all at once. Despite my own ability to show up when I'm needed, it took me years to be able to leap from one problem to the next, helping where I could."
All Might paused as he thought about what to say next. "But doing things like that can tire you out, making it more difficult for you to perform your heroics. This lesson, while teaching you the basics, is to help you understand that you are not alone out there. It's a lesson that even I forget sometimes."
The class listened and took in the No. 1 Hero's words. As All Might scanned the group of students, his eyes lingered on Izuku, making sure that his successor understood that last part. The verdette looked over at his friends, his eyes lingering on them before looking back at his mentor and giving the Pro Hero a determined nod.
All Might smiled brightly and nodded back. Pride swelled within his chest as he saw his students begin to get serious, his words sinking in.
Bringing a hand up and clearing his throat, All Might continued on with the lesson, "Moving on. The pairs will be randomly determined. Each team will have a set of radios that will allow you to communicate with each other, other pairs that are close by, and to hear about in incidents that are called in, which is my job."
The blonde hero moved through the group, handing each student a headset radio. Once that was accomplished, he moved back to his spot and held up a small box filled with small handheld devices. "These are your maps. Since this is your first time dealing with patrols, we will make sure you can find your way through the city, as well as your patrol routes. Keep in mind, that as you continue your education, you will be expected to rely on maps only when you are truly lost."
"NOW!," All Might posed with his hand held up high, "It's time to determine the pairs!"
Splitting the class into pairs went rather smoothly. The only students who had an issue with were Shinso and Bakugo. It was obvious to everyone that the two didn't enjoy being paired up, but the two managed to keep their grievances to themselves in order to get through the lesson.
Izuku glanced over at his partner for the lesson. Iida stood next to him, as ridged as ever, staring down the street ahead of them. There was still a rather pained look in the bluenette's eyes, mixed with several conflicting emotions.
"Iida." Izuku watched as the armored speedster seemed to jump slightly at being addressed, too caught up in his own thoughts. "Are you alright?"
"Yes." Izuku's eyes narrowed at the rather quick response from Iida. "I'm just rather focused on the lesson. There's much to learn today. And I intend to learn everything I can."
The verdette gave a slow nod in response. His mind replayed that Monday morning and the questions Iida had asked him. His gut was telling him that he needed to keep an eye on his friend. And it seemed this was the best way to gauge Iida's emotions.
After all, the bluenette wasn't the only one whose life was affected by a villain.
A siren was heard. Its alarm rang out through the faux city when Izuku and Iida's radios came to life.
[Alright students, your training begins now. Your maps have been updated with your pair's patrol routes and random events and scenarios are in play. The city is populated with robots programmed to play citizens, with several one through three pointers running around the city, playing the role of villains. IT'S TIME TO GET TO WORK!]
"Guess it's time," Izuku said as he held out the device All Might gave him.
He pulled up the map and saw his and Iida's position with a blue area in a small section of the city, with two other colored zones overlapping theirs in some spots. Izuku assumed this was the area they needed to patrol. He held the map out to Iida, who took it and looked it over himself.
"What do you suggest Iida?" Izuku asked. Since Iida's family was full of generational heroes, he assumed his partner would have experience or knowledge he didn't have.
Iida studied their zone for a moment before holding out the device for Izuku to look at. He held a finger up and pointed at the main street that ran through a large part of their zone. "One loop on the main street, followed by quick checks on the side streets. We will repeat this pattern to allow us maximum coverage of the area."
An idea popped up in Izuku's head that he quickly brought up, "Should I use Blink to get me up to the roofs when we go through the smaller streets? It would give us an aerial view of our zone."
Iida placed his hands on his hips as he considered that option. Giving the verdette a nod, he agreed with his partner's idea. "That is something to consider. We have a plan so let's begin our patrol."
The two hero students started moving down the main street. Their patrol started out rather peacefully. The basic humanoid robots that populated the area gave it life, helping make the patrol a bit more believable for the pair. Izuku was surprised they ran into the cat scenario.
They were more surprised that BK was the cat in the tree. Izuku was more impressed that BK stuck to his role. He did act like a scared cat stuck in a tree before The verdette managed to get him down. Giving the bunny-hooded student an affectionate lick on the cheek, BK trotted off, leaving Izuku and Iida to continue their patrol.
The rest of the time the pair spent patrolling moved at a brisk pace. As it was, the pair of students hadn't received an alert for them to track, though they did run into minor scenarios. Come across a 1-Pointer acting as a purse snatcher. Iida quickly ran it down and retrieved the stolen purse for the civilian bot. A store robbery with a group of 1 and 2-Pointers, Izuku Blinked in the middle and took them out with ease.
They had even come across Kirishima and Sero in the middle of their patrol.
That easy patrol would quickly turn as All Might's voice blared in their ears from their radios.
[ALERT! A villain has managed to flee from custody, injuring several Heroes and police officers during their escape. The suspect was last seen near 4-3-6 Taris Heights.]
Izuku brought his hand up to answer the call when he noticed Iida seemed to tense up out of the corner of his eye. "This is Link and Acceleron. We're nearby and ready to pursue!" The verdette said as he and Iida broke out into a sprint. "Description of the villain?"
[The fleeing villain is worn-out black clothing with red detailing and moving at high speeds.]
'Okay, we are looking for a 1-Pointer painted black and red then.' Izuku thought to himself. The verdette was about to call out to Iida when the armored speedster activated his Quirk. His engines flared to life as he rocketed down the street, nearly crashing as he sharply turned the corner.
"Acceleron!" The bunny-hooded student cried out to his partner in frustration. He picked up the pace, doing his best to catch up to Iida. Knowing he could lose sight of the bluenette, Izuku took to the roofs.
Sending his energy into Orbit, the verdette flung himself into the air. As Izuku landed, he rolled, safely carrying his momentum, and took off running again. He caught sight of Iida cutting through a side street and followed after him, using Blink to close the gap.
Unfortunately, he lost sight of his partner once more. Izuku grew annoyed with Iida's actions when a realization set in. "Iida!" The verdette hoped that using his partner's name would get a reaction. The radio remained silent. "Iida! Respond! Where are you?"
The sound of metal shearing rang out, giving Izuku an idea of where to go in order to find the runaway bluenette. Blinking across the rooftops, Izuku finally found Iida. The verdette was about to join him when he noticed how still his partner was, how tense his body was as he stood over the destroyed 1-Pointer.
Izuku let Blink recharge before teleporting near Iida, being careful not to surprise him. He took a tentative step forward, making sure his presence was known. As the verdette neared his partner, he called out. "Acceleron? Are you alright?"
Iida didn't respond. The armored speedster continued to stare at the Villain Bot. Izuku took another step closer and put a hand on the bluenette's shoulder.
"Iida. What's wrong?" The verdette asked, using his friend's name instead of his Hero name, hoping to get through to him. Iida still had yet to react. There was a growing worry in the pit of Izuku's stomach. He was about to make a call to All Might through his radio when Iida finally spoke in an emotionless tone.
"The villain is down. Let's return to our patrol." The armored speedster turned to leave, Izuku watching on in concern. The verdette was about to call out to him when All Might called them through their radios.
[The exercise is over! Everyone, please make your way back to the gate for your assessments.]
Izuku slumped his shoulders. He couldn't help but feel frustrated with himself as he saw his coursemate walk away, unable to find the right words to say to him. The verdette could assume that Iida was still in turmoil about what happened to his brother.
And the Hero Killer seemed to be the only thing Iida could think about.
'I need to do something.' He thought to himself. He was torn on whether to handle things himself or bring in Aizawa. Either way, Iida was at risk and Izuku couldn't afford to not do everything he could to help.
A thought ran through Izuku's mind. 'If I want to avoid Aizawa-sensei, maybe someone else can get through to him.'
Quickly digging through his costume for his phone, the freckled Hero student scrolled through his contacts and sent a quick message.
Link: Iida needs someone to talk to.
Link: I'm worried he is going to do something reckless.
All Might's smile dropped as he read Izuku's messages. After hearing some of the by-play through their radios, he was able to put the pieces together. And with the messages from his successor, it seemed that the feeling he had earlier was right on the money.
Something was wrong, and Iida was still hurting. And that hurt was on the verge of turning into an anger the bluenette would get lost in.
The blonde Hero waited at the gate for his students to arrive, doing his best to keep focused on finishing the lesson before having a chat with Iida. Thankfully, his six assistants were keen on helping keep his stress level down. He absentmindedly scratched VK behind her ears, the amber-furred feline happily nuzzling into his ministrations.
Before trying to give him several love nips. Thankfully, the fangs of a tiny cat didn't even scratch him. He was used to much worse.
He was sure it would be an odd sight for his students to see him be a living cat's playground. And he was right. Most of the Hero students of 1-A couldn't help but smile or laugh at the sight of BK lounging on top of his head, or RK and SK perching on his right shoulder, with FK on his left. LK and VK sat together comfortably in his arms. All in all, the size of his musculature ensured that every Kat had a place to rest.
After a moment to allow the students a chance to take a picture of the unusual sight in front of them, All Might began to run through his critiques for each pair of Hero students, everyone giving him their undivided attention as he did. It made his chest fill with pride at how well he was doing as their Heroics instructor.
As he finished up the lesson, All Might dismissed the class, the Kats following after their humans, when he shared a look with Izuku.
"Young Iida. Could you please stay for a minute?" All Might asked the bluenette, stopping the young man in his tracks.
Iida looked back at the Hero in confusion but did as he was asked. Time seemed to move slowly as the two waited for the rest of the class to leave the training ground, several of the bluenette's coursemates shot him looks of confusion and concern. Izuku was the last one to go, but not before giving his mentor and friend one last look. The blonde Hero gave him a reassuring nod and watched his successor, and BK, follow the others.
All Might turned his attention to the youngest Iida and let out a heavy sigh.
"Young Iida." The bluenette jumped slightly at being called on. All Might watched as the young man schooled his features, but could see the flux of emotions boiling under the surface. Now, he just hoped the young man would be able to listen to him.
"There's something I wish to share with you. About a young man who had a choice to seek justice. Or revenge."
- HPSC MAIN OFFICES, TOKYO -
Joshua stood in his office, next to the large windows that overlooked the Diet Building and the cityscape of Tokyo. Thousands of Japanese citizens moved across the streets, going to and fro as the city's nightlife began to stir. The vice president of the HPSC watched on stoically, his mind elsewhere entirely.
A knock at the door broke him from his inner musings, causing him to turn away from the windows to welcome in his guests. Entering into his office were his personal subordinates, ones he knew weren't in the pocket of the president of the HPSC.
Yashiro Uzuki and Kariya Koki.
Uzuki was a pale, slender woman in her mid-twenties, with pink hair cut short that had her bangs swept left and over her blue eyes, and an earring in her left ear. She wore a black suit jacket over a black bustier with green laces, and a plain white button-up shirt that she left the two buttons around her neck open. A pale blue tie hung loosely around her neck, tucking into her bustier. She had on a pair of black, slack-capri pants that flared out at the ends and a pair of snow-white high heels. The brightest pops of color were her long, painted nails that were colored hot pink, matching the shade of lipstick she wore.
Kariya was a pale man who looked about the same age as Uzuki, if not a bit older. Standing taller than the pinkette, with an athletic build that could be faintly seen through his clothes. He had wavy coiffed orange hair the hand pulled back and held in place by a series of pins, with a strand of bangs hanging on the left side of his face. Behind a pair of black-framed, yellow-tinted sunglasses was a pair of brown eyes. His clothes were much more informal; an untucked plain white button-up shirt that had its sleeves rolled past his elbows, with several of the upper buttons left open, a black vest that he left open that had an applique of a skeletal hand holding a heart sewn into the breast pocket, a pair of black skinny jeans with several tears and rips on the legs, and finally a pair of white Oxfords with thick, black heels.
"Yashiro. Kariya. Thank you for being timely." Joshua said to the pair.
Uzuki had a proud, smug smile on her face. "Of course, sir." She replied with a high level of professionalism.
Kariya was much more relaxed, taking out a lollipop from his pocket as he spoke with a playful tone, "Of course, Boss. You call, we answer."
Uzuki rolled her eyes at her partner's unprofessionalism but pushed past it. "What did you need us for, sir? Is this about our search for Giran?" The pinkette was confused about their sudden summons. Where Joshua had his moments of micro-management, he usually let her and Kariya handle things their own way. They got results and that level of trust in them was because of that.
"That's one of the reasons. How goes the search for the Underworld's broker?" The ashen-haired man asked.
"Could be better," Kariya answered bluntly. "The guy's slippery, that's for sure. Even with all the deets we got from that Susukichi and Kamachi, he's more than skilled enough to hide from us."
"That, and we suspect that someone is helping him. Someone with a wide reach." Uzuki added. That was something she didn't want to be true. It would mean that they may have lost him for a time.
Joshua parked himself on his desk. He brought a hand to his chin as he mulled over the pair's assessment, finding it hard to disagree. "It seems as though the Boogeyman is trying to make sure we don't pick up his trail. Or remove assets from his side of the board for the time being."
The two agents shivered at the mention of All For One. When Joshua first told them about the man, they tried to discount it. He didn't blame them, but he needed them to let go of any preconceived notions about the man if the Hero Community would have to face off against him.
"For now, I will assign other agents to cover your investigation." Uzuki couldn't help but pout at losing her assignment while Kariya seemed to be fine with it. "Instead, I have another one I need you two to focus on."
The pinkette's blue eyes flashed with excitement. "Understood. What's our new assignment?" She asked eagerly.
There was a small, amused smirk on his face. "I want you two to head to Shibuya and watch over one, Midoriya Izuku, as he begins his internship. I want you two to see how he handles himself."
Uzuki blinked owlishly, staring at the ashen-haired man as she tried to make sense of what she heard. Both Joshua and Kariya could see the wind in her sails disappear.
The pinkette finally found the ability to speak once more. "So... You want us to-"
"Babysit, right?" Kariya finished her sentence. Uzuki wouldn't admit it, but her partner took the words out of her mouth. He was just able to say it without any budding anger lacing his tone.
Joshua shrugged, giving the two a playful smile. "In a sense. Consider this a test for him. I want to know if he passes it. From what Nezu has told me, Midoriya will either run head first into trouble or trouble will find him." The ashen-haired man explained.
Kariya nodded as he thought about what Joshua was hinting at. He rolled the lollipop in his mouth before taking it out and waving it in a circle. "And with the weird happenings in Shibuya, you expect him to be in the center of it whether he means to or not." The orangette guessed.
The vice president of the HPSC gave him a nod. "Yes," he said, gaining the attention of the two agents. "His class had managed to fight back against a major villain attack relatively unscathed. Midoriya also has shown a disregard for the rules if it meant he could save someone. During the sports festival, I watched him win through his skills, his mind, and his ability to make connections and reach the heart of others."
"Sounds like a real Hero Boy," Uzuki stated. She crossed her arms under her chest, an unconvinced look on her face as she stared down her boss. "What? You expect him to be the next big thing. The kid isn't even considered fresh meat yet. Sure, he did a damn good job during the festival, and that Quirk of his is nothing to sneeze at, but we all know that if he isn't careful then this job will eat him alive."
Uzuki and Kariya saw a knowing smile form on the ashen-haired man's face as he spoke, "He'll get there. Consider us three as gardeners. We're making sure this seed is cultivated into a grand flower that stands out among the weeds. We'll simply do some pruning when needed, but we'll let him grow naturally."
"There is also the fact that he seems to help build others up. During the second event, he and his team remained strong, all of them working together as a united front against the odds. During the finals, he broke through to Endeavor's youngest son. And going by all of the reports that have crossed my desk about that family, that is a damn miracle in of itself. The stronger Midoriya is, the stronger those around him are." Joshua explained.
The two agents shared a look and seemed to have a nonverbal discussion between themselves. Joshua waited for the two to come to a consensus. After a moment, the orangette spoke up. "So. How are we doing this, Boss?"
"You two already have an in. Something is happening in Shibuya and it warrants us to investigate." The ashen-haired stated. "Simply integrate yourself with the agency Midoriya is interning at and work with them to figure out what is going on and put a stop to it."
"Alright. What's the agency the kid is going to?" Uzuki asked.
"Street Bito," Joshua replied in a disinterested tone. However, that is just what the two agents heard. Joshua was very interested in the next few seconds, waiting for the pinkette to react the way he expected her to.
"Really!? He's going to that numskull!?" The blue-eyed agent responded in surprise and slight rage.
"Hey, look on the bright side. At least Rhyme is cool to hang with." Kariya said, trying to placate his partner. She sent him a glare which he returned with a smile. The orangette had no issues with the Bitos and was fine with spending time with them. They were good Heroes in his eyes.
"Plus we'll get to dine on the best ramen in Japan. I even heard Ramen Don has combined it with curry." That seemed to calm the pinkette enough to turn her rage into a simmering annoyance.
Kariya looked at Joshua, a question weighing heavily in his mind that he wanted an answer to. "Are we looking to recruit him?"
That caught Uzuki's attention. Not many people caught Joshua's eye and he was the most vocal opponent against the president and how she ran things. She was leagues better than her predecessor, but even she couldn't be fully trusted. Uzuki still remembered the one time she ever saw her boss angry was how his own internal investigation over Lady Nagant led to a dead end. He can't do anything to help her without evidence and the people in power before him did a damn good job erasing everything that pointed the finger at them once the Hero was locked up.
And that was because the current president stone-walled him at every turn. The fact she kept other heroes in the Commission on a tight leash didn't endear her to anyone on Joshua's side.
"No," Joshua stated with finality. "He won't thrive here. As I said, we will tend the garden, only pruning if needed. Midoriya has plenty of others who know how to bring out the best in him." The ashen-haired man shrugged, "We can work with him, but he won't work for us. At least he won't if I have anything to say about it. We lucked out that he is outside the age range that our last president would have taken him for the Commission's own forces."
"After all. Imagine him being the next Hawks with a Quirk like his." Joshua ended things on a rather dark note.
Uzuki nodded, completely understanding his boss' point of view. She didn't like the stories she heard through the grapevine. It made her hate this job some days. Kariya grimaced at the mention of the Hero. Hawks was one of the few Heroes in the other camp that the orangette tried to have good relations with, but even he felt that he had to walk on eggshells around the Hero.
Uzuki let out a tired sigh. "Fine. We'll keep an eye on the kid. What's our range of options while we do so?"
"Make sure that Beat, CodeR, and Midoriya are able to complete the investigation. Help them with whatever they need." Joshua paused as he considered other actions he could sanction through his agents. "If you need to, call for reinforcements. With the Hero Killer still on the loose, that will be difficult but it's an option for you to fall back on if needed. If anyone tries to stonewall you or the Heroes, feel free to use my name. Anything past that, be sure to check in with me."
Uzuki stood up straight as she responded, "Understood, sir."
Kariya just gave the ashen-haired man a nod, "Got it, Boss."
- U.A. UNIVERSITY MAIN GATES, FRIDAY -
It was time for the First-Year Hero Course students to begin their internships. Forty students stood at the main gate, their excitement palpable as they were ready to work alongside professional heroes.
For Izuku and the rest of the Wildkats, it was no different.
"So. Are you guys ready?" Shinso asked as he stood next to Kyoka. Out of the group, they were the only ones who weren't leaving the main campus because of who they were interning with. That didn't mean they wouldn't see their friends off.
"Yep!" Came Izuku's reply. The verdette sat his costume case on the ground in order to take out his headset so he could listen to music on his way to Shibuya. There was much more that he wanted to say, but he was trying his hardest to keep a lot of his excitement contained.
"I am," Momo said as she began to bounce on the heels of her feet. "It's exciting to work alongside heroes, even in a learning capacity."
"I'll survive," Shoto said with a straight face.
Shoka rolled her eyes at the heterochromatic young man's response. That was the best they were going to get out of him. She looked at Shinso and Kyoka. "What about you two?"
"Ready as I'll ever be. Aizawa has already told me that we'll be hitting the ground running." The ever-tired Hero student responded. While he was excited to have one-on-one training with Aizawa, something felt off. Shinso couldn't shake off that particular feeling.
Kyoka bobbed her head in a so-so fashion. "Kinda? Still a little nervous about having to join him on his show but at least Mic said that will come later in the week."
"That's good," Izuku said. "Just remember that we'll be listening for you."
The punkette groaned, her shoulders slumping as she spoke, "Still can't convince you guys otherwise, huh?"
"Nope."
"You kidding?"
"Why wouldn't we support you?"
She huffed and looked at the other two group members, only to see a smirk on the Shinso's face and Shoto pulling up the station on a radio and podcast app on his phone.
Seeing her friends support her caused her to smile.
The group fell into a comfortable chatter with each other as they waited for their buses. As Izuku listened to his friends, his eyes wandered around, seeing the rest of his fellow Hero students forming their own groups, trying to get as much time together before they would have to split for their internships.
It was then he noticed Iida. Where the bluenette had been aloof earlier in the week, today there seemed to be a considerable weight removed from his shoulders. Izuku could still see that his friend was conflicted, but not in as much turmoil.
The verdette apologized to his group and made his way over to the glasses-wearing speedster.
"Hey, Iida." The bluenette turned to look at Izuku as the verdette made his way over to him. "How are you feeling?"
Iida gave him a small but genuine smile. It was the first smile that Izuku had seen from him this week. "I'm doing better today. I was given some advice on Wednesday and I had spent yesterday thinking over what was shared with me."
The bluenette turned and gave a perfect bow to Izuku, catching the verdette off guard. "I must thank you, Midoriya. I know I have been rather distant and stand-offish this week but that has only caused you, and no doubt the others, concern over me. Thank you, for your help and consideration."
Izuku smiled, understanding that Iida must have figured out that he asked All Might to help. That, or his mentor just told him. Either way, the verdette was glad that Iida seemed like his head was clouded by negative thoughts and emotions. At least not enough to blind him. Izuku knew those feelings would never fully fade until he made peace with himself.
It was something the verdette had to deal with years ago.
"I'm just glad you're feeling a little better now." Before Izuku could say anything else, several buses began to pull up to the gate. "Just remember that we're all here for you. Stay safe during your internship."
A playful smile formed on Iida's face, one that Izuku knew meant he, specifically, was going to get called out. "I will try. I'm more concerned about you. Please avoid facing off against too many villains. We all want our representative to return to us safe and sound."
Izuku slumped his shoulders and groaned, grumbling as he spoke, "I'm not that bad..."
"So you have said many times, Midoriya." With that, Iida boarded his bus with several other Hero students following after him.
Shoka and Momo made their way over the freckled verdette. The busty heiress shared a look with her two lovers as her lips formed a small smile. "Well, I suppose I shall see you two in a week," Momo said a little disheartened. "We haven't been apart since before our acceptance here. I will be honest, it will take some getting used to."
Shoka nodded sagely at the taller ravenette's words. "Yeah. Not gonna to lie, it's weird." She smirked, giving the two a confident look, "But it's only a week. We can tough it out."
"And it's not like we can't talk to each other." Izuku reminded the pair.
"True," Shoka said. Her eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind. "Hey, I have an idea." Izuku and Momo looked at her as she spoke. "It's been a while since we've done anything on HS. How about a challenge?"
"Sounds intriguing. What do you suggest, Shoka?" Momo replied, her onyx eyes brimming with curiosity.
"We have a week and we're all in different cities. Let's try and recruit as many Heroes on the game as we can, and when we meet back up, we have a battle with a team made up of only those Heroes." Shoka smiled as she saw her boyfriend and girlfriend consider her idea. Seeing that they needed a push, Shoka spoke in a playful, teasing tone. "Come on, you know you wanna."
Izuku gave her a stifled laugh. "Alright, I'm game."
"It does sound like a fun idea. I'm for it." Momo answered with a smile. Seeing that she needed to board her bus, the busty heiress brought the two into a warm embrace. Before pulling away, Momo locked lips with Izuku, followed by Shoka, a blush forming on her cheeks at the brazen action of public affection.
"I love you two. Be safe during your internships." The onyx-eyed young woman told the two. She shot Izuku a knowing look, causing him to give her a sheepish smile. "Especially you, Zuzu."
The verdette let out a sigh but smiled nonetheless. "I'll try. Love you too, Momo."
"Love ya, Momo. Be sure to kick some ass." Shoka said, earning a confident nod from the ravenette heiress.
Izuku and Shoka watched her board her bus, giving the two one final wave before leaving. The two looked at each other as they got ready to board their buses.
"Look, I'm not gonna repeat Momo. Knowing you, Izzy, you're bound to be right in the middle of trouble." Shoka said. Before Izuku could respond, she pulled him into a kiss that left him speechless. "So just don't go too crazy, okay?"
"I only promise to try. Just as long as you can do the same." Izuku said with a smirk.
Shoka pulled him into a hug, nuzzling into him as she basked in his warmth. "Sure thing. Love you, Dork."
Before Izuku could respond, Shoka let go and boarded her bus, only stopping to say one last thing, "Oh. Be sure to eat at Ramen Don. You'll thank me later."
A small smile formed on Izuku's lips as he watched the bus pull away. He brought a hand up, his fingers grazing Ego as he looked at the horizon before bringing his eyes up to look into the wide, blue sky.
"Time for the next step."
Shinso left the locker room, wearing a U.A. gym uniform as he made his way to the gym Aizawa wanted the indigoette to meet at. In his hands were a pair of Escrima sticks, the ones that Mei managed to create for him earlier in the week.
They were two black, light metal rods with clips at the base that would allow him to attach his capture cloth to, something he wanted to try. Aizawa had explained that using the two tools in tandem would be difficult, but if he wanted to learn the hard way, he better make it work. The biggest detail was the tips of the rods. At the tip, there was a larger cylinder that allowed electricity to flow through. The trigger was at the grip of the sticks, and when pulled, would release the equivalent of a stun gun on whoever was on the receiving end of them.
It didn't take long for Shinso to arrive. Standing in the middle of the large room, on a medium-sized training mat was his mentor and supervisor.
Seeing his student arrive, Aizawa nudged his head, signaling Shinso to make his way over to the mat. "Alright. We're just going to make this a light session. We have work to do later so make sure you get rest before your first night patrol."
Shinso quirked a brow at that. He knew his mentor was not one who wasted time, but this seemed odd. "Why?"
Aizawa shot a look at Shinso, his gaze boring down on the Hero student as if he were staring at his soul. "Because we are going to look for a vigilante."
- LUNAR BURROW, TOKYO -
Shoka curiously looked at the building in front of her. From what she knew about the Rabbit Hero, she tended to wander around, not staying in one place for too long. To have her own gym was something about the Hero the slender ravenette didn't know.
Putting the oddity past her, Shoka gripped her bag and costume case tightly and made her way past the doors. The entrance was well maintained, leading to a small office and what appeared to be a relatively big apartment further in. What caught the gray-eyed Hero student's attention was the sounds of grunts, slams, and thuds coming from the attached gym next to her.
Pushing the door open, Shoka was greeted by the sight of her Hero supervisor unleashing a barrage of powerful kicks on a series of dummies. The slender ravenette watched, enraptured by the skill that the Rabbit Hero displayed. No move was wasted as she bounded from one target to the next, her legs slamming into one only to lead to another attack on the next.
The show ended as the Rabbit Hero stood in the center of the dummies and took a second to breathe. Her ears twitched, a feral grin forming on her face as she turned to face Shoka, giving the Hero student a better look at the Hero.
Mirko wore a sleeveless white leotard that contrasted nicely with her tanned skin and showed off her well-built frame. The leotard had a dark purple trim around her shoulders and waist. Printed onto her impressive bust was a wide, yellow crescent mood, and wrapped around her midriff was a singular piece of metal that had yellow detailing on it. She had on a pair of dark-purple thigh-high boots that had plating around her heels and toes, with her toes resembling that of a rabbit. The final article of clothing was a pair of thick, white gloves that had long cuffs with small protrusions in the shape of triangles.
"About time you showed up!" Mirko said as she leaped over the dummies, landing in front of Shoka. The Pro Hero studied the student, taking in every detail she could. "All right. Get in your Hero costume. We're gonna spar. I need to know that I'm not wasting my time."
Mirko expected the ravenette to take offense at her words, a small test to get a read on her personality. When the young woman in front of her smirked, the Rabbit Hero couldn't help but get excited.
"Bring it, Cottontail."
- WEST EXIT BUS TERMINAL, SHIBUYA -
Izuku smiled as he stepped onto the bustling streets of Shibuya. The city was just as alive as the last time came here. This time, though, he would have the chance to see everything that made it special. Taking a breath, the verdette weaved through the heavy crowds and made his way to the statue of Hachiko. His eyes darted around, taking in the sights of the Scramble Crossing as citizens crisscrossed on the street, making their way to whatever destination they were headed.
The Hero student waited for his supervisors to arrive. As he did, he sent a quick message to his friends in their group chat, letting them know he had made it safely. It wasn't long when he received a response from Kyoka and Momo and wondered how Shoka, Shinso, and Shoto were doing. As he continued to wait for his supervisors, the verdette checked in with Melissa.
Link: Made it to Shibuya. Time to learn how to be a Hero.
Aegis: Show them what you can do!
Aegis: I got your back if you need me.
"Yo! Phones!" Izuku blinked and looked around him, trying to find the source of the voice when his eyes landed on a pair of blonde Heroes.
"Hey, Midoriya. Glad you made it here safely," The younger blonde said with a smile. "The name's Rhyme, but while I'm in Hero Mode call me CodeR or just R"
Rhyme wore a form-fitting bodysuit with a black lower half, with her chest, shoulders, and elbows being colored peach with white trimmings, and her arms being a light gray with a black and peach stripe running along her upper arms. On the thighs of her suit were large pockets with zippers running on the top. A single black strap with a peach trim wrapped around her waist and attached to her suit by two buttons on the front. The legs of the suit went all the way down, covering part of her yellow boots.
She had on a pair of white gloves, with the fingers being black, and having bright blue detailing around her joints, the top of her hand, and around the thick cuffs. A high-tech back piece sat comfortably between her shoulder blades, its function was left entirely to Izuku's imagination. Finishing off her costume was a unique white, black, and peach headset, whose visor doubled as a headband.
"And just call me Beat, both in and outta Hero Mode, yo!" The older blonde added with a broad smile as he held out his fist.
Beat had a much different look to him. The older Hero had on a light-gray body suit that cut off past his knees and elbows. He had on what could be seen as more casual clothes on top of that; A black hoodie with a red interior and the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, a pair of brown, baggy shorts that were tucked into a pair of black knee pads. On his hands were a pair of black and red gloves, with white knuckles that had plenty of nicks and scratches showcasing their constant use in villain fights, and he wore a pair of black and red skater shoes that had unique soles. Beat completed his look with a large pair of black stereo headphones with a small mic attached to the left phone.
What caught Izuku's attention was the skateboard in the older blonde's hand. A mix of red and white graffiti patterns on a black background, with a stylized skull sitting at the top over a jagged X, its lone red eye staring at the verdette.
"It's nice to meet you both. I'm excited to be able to work with you," Izuku said, bumping his fist against Beat's. He held out his fist to Rhyme, earning a small giggle as she returned the gesture.
"Same, Phones. Same." Beat replied.
Rhyme spoke up, getting the verdette's attention, "Mr. H told us all about you when we visited him during the sports festival. Gotta say you did spectacular."
"Not just that, Sis. The whole thing was hella tight. You and the rest of your class really showed up that day." Beat added excitedly.
The older blonde looked at Izuku, his lone visible eye giving the verdette an appraising look. "You showed us you got the skills, but now you gotta back 'em up, ya dig? So, you ready to get started?" The older blonde asked.
Izuku looked at the Hero siblings, a confident smile on his face as Ego hummed. "I am!"