TheMagicBroccoli: Hi Iida. Just so you know we're here for you if you need anything. Shoulders to cry on, hugs, things like that.
SonicTheClassRep: Thanks Midoriya. I will let you know if there is something I need.
Well, with Stain in prison, at least the possibility of Iida going into a vengeance crusade was out of the table…
"Good morning, Mom. Morning, Frieren," Izuku yawned as he stepped into the living room, where his mother was just about to go to work.
"Good morning, Izuku," Inko smiled as she put on a jacket and grabbed her shoulder bag. She tried on her high heels, only to grunt in pain and discard it in exchange for normal shoes. She… hated high heels now. She was getting on with the years, and by hell did her feet hurt when she used heels. "Breakfast is ready for the two of you. Take care when you go to UA, okay?"
"Yes, mom," Izuku yawned again. "I think I'll need coffee…"
"No, no coffee for you, young man!" Inko waved her finger at his face. "You're 15. It's too early for you to get addicted to caffeine like us adults!"
"Eeeeh okay."
"Alright, I'll be going now," Inko turned to the door. "See you tonight, Izuku."
"Yes, mom, take care."
Izuku stretched his limbs. Oh, it had been, what, three days since the Sports Festival? He was the champion, and then… oh… Ingenium died. Poor Iida…
As for Frieren, a short glance to the guest room told Izuku all he needed to know. She was still sprawled on the bed with no care for the world. How someone with such great knowledge and power also became the epitome of laziness in the mornings remains a complete mystery to Izuku and Inko. Well, then, she can take care of herself either way. Once she woke up, anyway.
Izuku proceeded to prepare for his classes in UA, turning on the television first things first so that he knew what was happening in the world lately. He had slipped into his school uniform and began eating breakfast when the morning news changed to the topic of the murder of Ingenium. The program host was the man who cut off half of the horn on the left side of his head so that it didn't block the way. "Now, in a new development in the story of the Ingenium Murder, we have received exclusive footage from Gentle Hero's body camera," the host began. "This footage sheds new light on the incident. Viewer discretion is advised."
Izuku found his eyes glued to the screen. There, Gentle Hero had been greeting citizens when his hero phone began to ring, showing a distress signal nearby. The Bouncing Hero bade the people goodbye and bounced off with his air trampolines, only to find that Hawks, the Number Three Hero in all of Japan, was also on the way.
"Hawks! Didn't know that you'd be here! You have received the distress signal?"
"Yeah, I did, Gentle," Hawks replied, pulling up his own hero phone. "I was just passing by."
Izuku nodded as Hawks mentioned that he was simply passing by. His patrol route was a bit different. Instead of just staying in one place, his agency was nomadic, travelling from one city to another in a circular pattern. The only other hero that moved around that much was Mirko, the Rabbit Hero.
"Go on ahead, you are much faster than me!" Gentle said. "Whoever it is needs help now!"
"Alright, see you there," Hawks blasted off, leaving Gentle Hero behind. The Bouncing Hero kept, well, bouncing until he arrived at the site of the distress signal earlier. Along the way, Gentle saw Native and Ingenium held aloft a pair of larger flight feathers, swiftly carrying them towards the nearest hospital. Smaller feathers were wrapped around their wounds, stemming the bleeding somewhat.
As Gentle Hero arrived, he saw that a veritable storm of Hawk's feathers were lashing out against Stain, the Hero Killer, who was deftly parrying the incoming feathers with a sword in his left hand. Hawks was keeping his distance, likely because he knew that Stain was dangerous up close. The Hero Killer's right hand… lacked fingers, and the stumps were spurting out blood.
"Gentle Hero," Stain spat, literally, even as he still parried feathers with his sword. "Another fake hero that revels in fame."
"You have caused enough damage, Hero Killer!" Gentle Hero bounced forward with an outstretched fist. Hawks directed his feathers to limit Stain's movements, forcing him to the defensive. Stain attempted to stab Gentle Hero, only for his sword to get blocked and parried by a feather. Gentle Hero then delivered a brutal punch to his solar plexus, causing the Hero Killer to grunt in pain. Feathers flew forward, pinning him to the concrete by his clothes.
"My crusade… cannot end like this!" Stain howled. "Taken down by two fakes like you!"
"Please be silent," Gentle Hero said as he pulled out a muffler and roughly applied it to Stain's mouth.
With Stain's rage now silenced, Gentle Hero turned his attention back toward Hawks. "Are they safe? Are they alright?"
Hawks gave him a look and shook his head. His feathers gave him sensory input even from afar, so even now, he was listening to the doctors and nurses attending to Native and Ingenium. "Native will recover. Ingenium… just got declared dead on arrival."
"No… it can't be…?" Gentle Hero's normally flamboyant tone faltered at the news. "Truly?"
"It is. I've called the police. They'll be here soon."
"If only we were faster…"
As he entered UA's hallowed gates, Izuku found his mind drifting back to Tenya. He hadn't replied at the group chat yet, with Kaminari and Ochaco chatting back and forth for the most part.
Today was the day after the Iidas buried their eldest son. He could only imagine what it was like for them. He had never lost anyone; his father didn't count, because how could you lose someone if you never had them to begin with?
Still…
"Just be there for him," Izuku repeated what Frieren told him. "Just be there for him…"
"Good morning, kids," Aizawa, who no longer looked like a mummy, stepped into the classroom. Though he still had a scar below his left eye. The unkempt teacher scanned the class, and let out a satisfied grunt. "Now, before we begin, you might notice that Iida's seat is empty. He has requested that he be allowed an absence for today… for reasons that you all know," Aizawa let that part remain unsaid. They all knew that Ingenium had been murdered. "Now, we will discuss your performance in the Sports Festival. Todoroki," he put his gaze unto Shoto, who didn't appear to react it that much. "You're using only half of your quirk. I don't know what issues you have with your right side, or if that has something to do with Endeavour, but you have to use it if you want to become a hero. When you feel confident about disclosing what exactly is bothering you, go to Hound Dog." How the big dog mutant became the councilor was anyone's guess.
"Yes, sensei," Shoto nodded.
"Good, I expect you to do that. Now, Bakugo," he turned his attention to the blonde. "Be more mindful of your surroundings. Always expect trickery and deception from your enemies. Don't be arrogant."
"Grrr," Bakugo all but growled. "Yeah, I'll do that."
Aizawa sighed. "Midoriya, Tokoyami." The two stiffened as their names were called. "When you unlock new aspects of your quirks… I expect you to tell me, as your homeroom teacher. We have to see if they're not dangerous or do not possess strange side effects. Especially you, 'Mean Green Bean.' Do this again and you will be very screwed."
"Yes, sensei," the two replied.
"Alright," Aizawa continued. "This coming week, you will have your internships, where a pro-hero will take you under their tutelage. It will last for the whole week." A robot then plodded into the classroom, placing folders on each student's desk. "These are the internship offers that you've received. Some of you haven't received any offers, so in lieu of that, there are 40 agencies that have agreed to take UA students whether or not they got any offers. I expect you to come to a decision of who you'll intern under tomorrow."
Aizawa scanned the class. Midoriya's eyes were wide open, as he received more than a thousand offers. Fumikage, Uraraka, Bakugo, and Shoto followed in terms of number of offers, though as Uraraka checked her folder, most of her offers came from rescue hero agencies. Those happened to include the Wild Wild Pussy Cats and Selkie.
"Now, for our final announcement, you also have to think of your hero names. Think carefully. We will not accept Skibidi Sigma or Fanum Taxer as a hero name, no matter how much you think it's cool to use such archaic terms. They'll also stick with you for your whole careers, so if you decided to call yourself a name like Small Might," he looked at Izuku for that, which made the greenette shrink in his desk, "... or Lord of the Balls," he turned his eyes towards Mineta, "...people will call you that forever." Aizawa let out another sigh and dunked half of his mug of coffee. "I'm no good with names, so Midnight will facilitate that… damn it, why is she late?"
After about five minutes, Midnight finally arrived with her usual flair. "Good morning, students!" Midnight proclaimed. "We will be making your hero names today! Now, I'll be giving you fifteen minutes to think about your hero names. Think carefully, because they'll define you for your whole career!"
The class immediately went into thinking, and think they did. After the fifteen minutes had passed, Midnight tapped the board and called up the first person.
"Shining Hero: I Cannot Stop Twinkling!" Aoyama posed flamboyantly as he presented his hero name. "Because I will always shine!"
"Too long, think of something else," Midnight said with a smile. It really was a mouthful to say.
"Can I suggest Magnifique?" Izuku raised his hand. "I mean, it fits… you're, ehem, magnificent, and aggressively French."
"Oh… mon deu! That sounds good!" Aoyama posed dramatically. "I will thus be called Magnifique!"
Midnight laughed. That is a good name. "Good, next!"
"Ridley Hero: Alien Queen!" Mina was up, and her love for the Alien franchise showed. Midnight, however, shook her head.
"It's copyrighted. I don't want Paramount to sue us."
"May I suggest Acid Trip?" Kaminari raised his hand.
"That's even worse!" Midnight put her hands over her eyes. "Now you're making her sound like a drug user! Ashido, just think of something else while we go over the others."
Mina pouted and walked back to her seat. "Okay…"
"Next!"
"Explosion Hero: GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT!" Bakugo proclaimed with fire in his eyes. Izuku facepalmed while Midnight… lost her enthusiasm for the activity for a moment.
"Sounds like a terrorist codename!" Hagakure gasped in pretend shock.
"Too violent," Midnight shook her head. "Rethink it."
"HUH?! But it's good!"
"May I suggest-"
"No, Kaminari, your suggestion is surely worse."
"Aw."
Midnight sighed. Honestly, this class was just a pain in the ass. She now understood why Aizawa gets so grumpy. "Next."
After a few more of his classmates, some of whom honestly had… questionable creativity (Invisible Girl, really?), Kirishima came up next with "Red Riot." Honestly, it made all the sense. After that, Izuku watched with interest as Fumikage finally got his turn. He put up his whiteboard. "Nevermore Heroes: Tsukuyomi."
"The god of the night! But, heroes, not just hero?"
Fumikage tilted his head at Midnight as though it was a stupid question. "There are two of us."
"Wh… oh, right," Midnight nodded, realizing that Fumikage was very particular about people identifying Dark Shadow as his own entity. "Right, approved! Next!"
Shoto walked up to the front. "Cold Hero: Sub-Zero."
"Are you sure, Todoroki?" Midnight looked at his whiteboard curiously. "I mean, your quirk is more than just cold and ice… and a certain character already has that name. Though the copyright has expired already."
"I am sure."
"Well, you should consider changing it one day," Midnight replied. Izuku wondered about how that might come about when Shoto is seemingly deadset on never using his flames due to his unrelenting hatred for Endeavor. Shoto really was just doubling down on only using his mother's ice. "Alright, next!"
Bakugo came up again. "LORD EXPLOSION MURDER!"
Midnight let out an all-suffering sigh. "No. May I suggest just going with Dynamight? It sounds good and pays homage to All Might."
Bakugo thought about it for a moment. He could see Kirishima waving and giving him a thumbs-up when it came to that hero name. "ALRIGHT! Dynamight it is."
"Good!" Midnight clapped her hands, pleased that Bakugo finally had a hero name that didn't sound like a terrorist codename. "Next!"
Momo walked up and presented her hero name. "Genesis."
"Creative and very fitting! Approved!" Midnight smiled. "Next!"
Kaminari came up next. "Electric Hero: Chain Lightning!"
"You're really doubling down on having a conductive chain as your support item, huh?" Midnight remembered how Kaminari used a copper chain back in the Sports Festival. "What if you start using something like wired harpoons, are you still going to call yourself Chain Lightning?"
"Oh… hmmm…"
"May I suggest Susanoo?" Fumikage raised his hand. That made sense. He and Dark Shadow named themselves after the god of the night.
"Or Raijin?" Izuku suggested as well.
"I don't know man, naming myself after a god is a bit too grand and pretentious when I'm not as good as you!" Kaminari scratched his head.
"Don't sell yourself short, man," Izuku replied.
Kaminari then thought about it for a moment. "Ah, screw it! I'm going with Chain Lightning! But when I get a lot stronger, I'll change it to Raijin!"
"Well, it does fit at the moment," Midnight shrugged. "Approved! Next!"
Somehow, Ashido returned. "Acid Hero: Acido!"
"Simple and fitting, also the Spanish word for acid and flows well with your own name… I like it!" Midnight nodded. "Next!"
Shoji was next. The tall, multi-limbed boy put up his whiteboard. "The Tentacle Hero: Kraken."
"Very fitting! Next!"
It was Jiro's turn now. The purple-haired girl fidgeted a little bit as she put up her whiteboard. "The Sound Hero: Symphony."
"Sounds great!" Midnight winked at her own pun, which made Jiro cringe. "Approved! Next!"
It was Izuku's turn now. His hands shook as he held the whiteboard containing his hero name. Oh, man, why is he so nervous? It's just a name! He looked at each of his classmates, gauging how they were looking at him. Well, most of them. Iida was absent.
"My hero name will be…" Izuku placed his whiteboard upright for the class to see. "The Magic Hero: All Mana!"
As the hero naming session ended and Aizawa let them do whatever for the rest of homeroom, the students began to form into circles of chairs as they discussed amongst themselves. Somehow, Shoto found it in himself to be in the same circle as Izuku and his friends. "So," Izuku began as he looked at the list of agencies and heroes that send him internship offers. "Who are you going with for internships?"
"I'm trying to improve my hand-to-hand skills," Uraraka pored over her paper. "I might go with Gunhead."
"Sadly Her Excellency Miao Ying didn't send me one," Kaminari groaned. "I mean, she's a very good lightning user, right?"
"She's a diplomat, not a pro hero," Fumikage reminded. "I don't even think the Northern Han have pro heroes."
"Yeah, I'm really going with the Lurkers, Edgeshot's team-up with Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady," Kaminari replied, his hair slightly standing up from a small static discharge. "They can teach me teamwork!"
"What about you, Fumi?" Izuku asked.
"It appears that Hawks wants to take me in," Fumikage held up his list. "As well as Edgeshot. I will have to ask my father who he recommends between the two of them."
"Well, with Hawks, you're both birds," Kaminari commented. Dark Shadow popped out and gave him a glare, and Kaminari looked back, getting into a staring contest with the sentient quirk.
"So, Shoto, what about you?" Izuku asked. Since when did Shoto start socializing, anyway? Is this because he was the one person Shoto traumadumped at?
"I'm going to take General Winter's offer," Shoto replied.
"Oh! But then you're going to-"
"I will have to go to General Winter's agency in Veliky Novgorod, yes," Shoto nodded. "I will be flying there accompanied by a UA staff member tomorrow."
Izuku looked at his paper again. "That's one hell of a coincidence because I kid you not, Star and Stripes wants me!"
"Weren't the two of them sitting beside each other in the Sports Festival?" Kaminari butted in, his eyes now watering from his staring contest with Dark Shadow.
Uraraka gasped. "Don't you think they're…?"
"Well, General Winter was friendly only to her…" Izuku shrugged.
Shoto didn't seem to know what was being talked about now, but he did pick up that Star and Stripes was gunning to get Izuku as an intern. "So, you're going to take Star and Stripes' offer?"
"Well," Izuku fidgeted. Truthfully, going to the person that All Might himself trained was as close as he could to being under All Might. "Her quirk, despite the secrecy around it, is probably the closest to mine in terms of versatility, so it would probably be a good idea. Her agency will cover all costs, so I don't have to worry about money…"
"That and she's basically All Might's daughter," Fumikage added.
Izuku blinked. "Huh? Of course not!"
"Don't make me laugh. Your room is basically a shrine to All Might."
"Well… that's… fair, I guess," Izuku shrugged. "Alright, so Shoto and I will be going overseas… I'll bring souvenirs for you guys, heh. Shoto, you've probably got a gold credit card under Endeavour's name, so this is could also be an opportunity to dip into his coffers. You better get stuff from Novgorod, alright?"
Shoto's eyebrows raised. "That… is an excellent idea."
Yagi coughed up blood as he finished reading the list of hero names that Class 1-A chose. All Mana! That's what young Midoriya called himself?! Obviously, he was quite a fan of his!
"All Might?"
"Ah, young Togata!" Yagi greeted as the blonde third year student entered the faculty room. "Have you unlocked a new aspect of One For All yet?"
"Yeah!" Mirio looked like he was going to jump in joy. "Look!" Tendrils of dark, blueish light appeared on his palms. "I met a bald guy in the mindscape last night. He said that it's his quirk, Blackwhip."
"Hmmm, so Banjo showed up now…" Yagi nodded. So far, it had just been Nana that had been speaking to Mirio within the mindscape. With Banjo showing up, that made two more quirks within One For All unlocked. "That's good! Maybe Aizawa can help you with that. He's good with that scarf of his, maybe that could translate to-"
A CALL IS HERE! A CALL IS HERE!
Yagi froze as his phone rang. His ringtone was… himself. "Ahahahaha!" Mirio laughed, clutching at his stomach at the hilarity of All Might's ringtone. "Do you always listen to your own voice every morning, too?!"
"Shush!" Yagi said with a chuckle as he took the call. "Hello, Tsaukuchi?"
"Toshinori," Tsaukuchi greeted from the other side. "Can you get Aizawa and yourself in a meeting with me? I just got a report with a… concerning description."
"Sure, but why rope him into this?"
"You'll see."
"Alright, I'll see you at the cafe, usual place." Yagi turned off the call and turned to look at Mirio, who had picked up at the seriousness of the call and quieted down. "Young Togata, I have to go."
"Take care, All Might!" Mirio stood up and bowed.
"You as well," Yagi replied as he hurried out of the room. Aizawa is going to hate him for calling him…
About thirty minutes later, Tsaukuchi, All Might, and Aizawa were seated… in a cat cafe. Aizawa didn't mind the fact that a cat was perched on his shoulder. Hell, it was obvious that he was far more benevolent to cats than people. As for Tsaukuchi, he was obviously not a cat person, and awkwardly let down a cat that tried to lie on his lap. All Might… he was in-between.
"Alright, detective," Aizawa grumbled. "What is this about?"
Tsaukuchi leaned in closer. "A robbery got thwarted a few hours ago."
All Might raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's good-"
"The suspects said that someone kicked them in the heads in quick succession. All they could hear before they got knocked out with severe concussions was… get this, 'the roar of an engine.' Sound familiar?"
"No… you're not saying…" Aizawa put his hand on his face and let out an all-suffering sigh. "Are you saying that my student is going into a vigilante crusade?"
"It tracks, Hero Killer kills his brother, who, let's remember, he looked up to for his whole life, and now he's taking out his grief on random criminals," Tsaukuchi shook his head. "Look, this is all circumstantial evidence, and there is no definitive proof that your student is the person who did this, but I recommend that you keep an eye on him. If I get a similar report while your student is still in school, then it's probably someone else."
"We will," All Might said. "We will keep an eye on him. We'll also ask his friends to do so. Right, Aizawa?"
"Right."
"Iida. Please remain. I need to speak with you."
It was the end of homeroom on the following day, and the other students were standing up to leave the classroom. While Aizawa hadn't received word from Tsaukuchi about a certain vigilante kicking criminals' heads and giving them concussions that, while not fatal, would certainly kill their bank accounts with medical fees, he still needed to close up more loose ends. Namely, counseling.
Aizawa dourly looked on as Midoriya and Uraraka gave Iida one last look before they hurried to their next class. He then placed his gaze straight at Iida. He wasn't going to confront him directly about Tsaukuchi's suspicions, of course. If it was indeed him, then he'd probably try to hide it better. If it wasn't him, then he'd made Iida feel a thousand times worse. It was bad enough that he had to watch his brother's ashes be lowered into a pit six feet into the ground. If he, a student that was all about following rules, was suddenly accused of going vigilante as a grief-laden coping mechanism, then… that would just be a bad move.
There was also the fact that Iida was burying himself in work. He stayed in the school library longer than everyone else, even Yaoyorozu (though the latter probably had her own library at home). When All Might had quietly asked his parents about how he was doing, they said that Iida stays up all night studying. But they didn't mention anything him going out at suspicious times… though the incident that Tsaukuchi reported to Aizawa and All Might had been in mid-day. It was simply too early to know anything for sure.
Aizawa could see that he was tired. He knew very well what tired was; that was his perpetual state as he tried to juggle two jobs at once, one in the day and one in the night. Iida was getting, what, four hours of sleep? Aizawa usually gets three, and somehow stays alive.
"Yes, sensei?" Iida asked. He was acting all strong and boisterous, like his usual self, but Aizawa was a master of observation. This was a person that was constantly on the edge. Tiny inflections in his voice, the fact that a small eyebag was beginning underneath his eyes… it was easy to know that he was still not "alright."
"I just want to tell you that if you're in need of… a conversation, then Hound Dog is available. He can help you sort your mind through this."
"I'm fine, sensei."
"No, you are not," Aizawa replied. "No one is capable of being alright after what happened. I would be infinitely more concerned if you were actually alright. If you need to take more days off… or, whatever else you feel you might need, tell me."
Iida appeared to shake as he lowered his gaze to the ground. "...yes, sensei. Can I go now?"
"Yeah, you may," Aizawa nodded. "Again, if you need help with going through… all this, don't hesitate to ask."
"...I will."
"Good."
Later that night, Aizawa would receive a message from Tsaukuchi, and so did All Might.
Someone got kicked in the head again.
This time, the robbers saw that someone was indeed kicking them in the head. Engines spat out fire from within the vigilante's legs, and the vigilante… was wearing black armor.
A black knight.
A black knight was going around kicking criminals' heads.
What is this, Batman?
The following day was a haze. While it had been relieving that he didn't apply for any more absences, Iida had been worryingly quiet and elusive. Whenever Izuku or Uraraka tried to speak with him after class, he would apologize and say that he had important matters to attend to. He similarly brushed Fumikage and Kaminari off whenever they attempted to talk with the class rep; the general situation in the class had deteriorated to the point that Iida barely fulfilled his duties as the class president. Yaoyorozu, at the meantime, fulfilled her role as vice president rather admirably, almost to the point that she may as well have been the president either way.
Monoma had at least been a little more courteous, refraining from mentioning Iida at all whenever he made jabbing remarks towards Class 1-A. Izuku and the others were more than used to Monoma saying such things, but Bakugo had nearly strangled him more than once before Kendo knocked out Monoma and dragged him away. Manga would apologize most profusely whenever Monoma said something that might be deemed offensive, whilst Ibara Shiozaki, the local Catholic girl in Class 1-B, usually chalked Monoma's speech patterns to a lack of virtue in his part.
Now, though, Izuku and his friends were a little concerned now that Aizawa and All Might had called them to the faculty office. What could possibly make their homeroom teacher call for them? He'd never done this, not for anyone, ever! As for All Might… he was only around during heroics class. For the rest of the time, it seemed like he wasn't even in the school.
When they entered the faculty room, it was just Aizawa and All Might waiting for them there. The former was sitting on one of the couches, while All Might was standing up. Honestly, if All Might did sit down, he'd probably destroy whatever he was sitting on. Meanwhile, on a few cubicles, several of Ectoplasm's clones were busy grading several stacks of test papers while the original Ectoplasm hummed a thne while grading essays on his own cubicle. "Good afternoon, children," Aizawa yawned and dunked an entire cup of coffee straight into his gullet. "You're probably wondering why we sent for you."
"We are!" Uraraka exclaimed. "I mean, I'm wondering if we did something wrong, or-"
"Calm down, young Uraraka, you have done nothing wrong," All Might assured her. "However, we have something to ask of you. It concerns your friend and class representative, Iida Tenya."
"He barely sleeps now, doesn't he?" Izuku said, remembering that Iida, for the first time, had a less than perfect head of hair. There were stray tufts wafting out of his otherwise smooth hair now. "Do we need to make sure he goes to sleep at a proper time?"
"That's… probably helpful, but no, that is not what we we're going to ask you to do," Aizawa shook his head. He threw down a police case file on the center table, which Kaminari then picked up.
"What's this about, sensei?" The blonde asked. "This is a police report… oh my God, did Iida commit a crime?!"
"Two days ago, a contact of All Might's in the police department came to us and said that a robbery was thwarted by someone that kicked the robbers in the head," Aizawa replied. He stirred the coffee on his cup and took another sip. "They heard an engine roaring just before they were knocked out. Same thing happened again, only it was last night. And last night, it was a knight wearing black armor bashing their skulls in."
"You're not implying…" Izuku frowned. "No, that's not… possible. Iida's all about the rules! He'd literally jump into a pit of spikes before breaking rules, especially… vigilantism!"
Fumikage butted in. "I concur," he said just as he and Dark Shadow nodded at each other. "It is not within Iida's character to break the law."
"Well, this is just circumstantial evidence, and we don't know for sure if it is him," All Might placed a hand on his forehead. "But please, watch over him. Talk to him. Both of these incidents happened while he was absent in the school. The worst part would be if a bystander identifies that it his indeed him. His identity is certainly not a secret, not after the Sports Festival. The whole country was watching that."
"I don't know how we can do that, sensei," Izuku sighed. "He doesn't want to talk with us. He always says he's in a hurry. And we're going into the internships next week, which is two days from now… Todoroki and I will be at the airport later… oh, did Iida tell you who he's interning with?"
"He's going with his brother's old sidekick, Manual. Or so he said," All Might answered.
"In Hosu? In the same place his brother was murdered?" Izuku pondered. That made no sense, now that he was thinking about it. Stain was already in prison, deep within the bowels of Tartarus. There was no way he was getting out of that place. "Why would he want to go there?"
"It's up to the air, but let's just Manual takes care of him. Tokoyami, you're going with Hawks, right?"
"Yes. My father recommended him on the grounds that we are both avian in nature. His reasoning is… perplexing."
"Hmm, Hawks' agency is still in Hosu, though they're supposed to head to Musutafu next. It wouldn't be too hard for Nezu to persuade him to stay there until the week ends, right, All Might?"
All Might thought about it for a few moments. "I've worked with Hawks a few times, he is a very amicable fellow, if only a little too casual in conversation. It wouldn't be too difficult to have his agency collaborate with Manual's while they're there…"
"That is, if you're alright with it, Tokoyami, Dark Shadow?" Aizawa asked.
"This arrangement is acceptable to us," Fumikage nodded. "We will simply… not mention that strings were pulled."
"Yeah, last thing he needs is feeling betrayed," Izuku added. Uraraka and Kaminari nodded along in agreement.
"You're going out to a journey?"
Izuku looked up as Frieren watched him pack up a suitcase, which was, of course, All Might themed. There was also the All Might themed umbrella, the All Might themed jacket, the All Might backpack, and the All Might themed phone. "Well, I'm going to the United States for a bit. My internship is with Star and Stripes. One of her, uh, 'boys' is going to meet me in the airport, then we'll fly from there."
Frieren thought about Izuku's words for a moment. "She has children?"
"No, no, she's… unmarried and childless, as far as we know. Well, maybe she does have a spouse and a kid or two, but she probably kept them secret. She's a high profile hero after all."
"I see. You will return almost immediately, then."
It's a whole week, Frieren, Izuku almost said, but he remembered that she saw time very differently. For her, her time here might as well be a blink of the eye. His time with him and his mother… blink of an eye, too. At least she appeared to like it here. "Well, I guess you could say that. You got any plans while I'm away?"
"I intend to gather the ingredients to make a potion that dissolves clothes."
Izuku blinked. "Uh, what?"
"The ingredients are also in this world. It is a useful tool," Frieren deadpanned. It was like… losing clothes wasn't a big deal to her… damn it, Mineta should never be allowed to get his hands on this potion!
"I… wish you all the luck on your… uh, endeavours," Izuku shook his head. He swore that he should never forget that in the end of the day, Frieren was just built different, literally. "Is there anything else you intend to do- oh, wait, I can't believe I never asked you this… but what's your favorite spell?"
"The spell that creates a field of flowers," Frieren replied. "It is the one my master taught me."
"That's surprising…" Izuku slowly nodded at the thought. "I would have thought that it would be the black hole spell…
Six Months Ago…
"FRIEREN WHY DO YOU HAVE THIS SPELL?!" Izuku screamed as a singularity had appeared in the forest clearing, churning up the air and dust into a hot accretion disk around it. No one in Musutafu would be the wiser about the black hole in the nearby forest because of the illusionary barrier field spell that Frieren cast in the place.
"Practice," Frieren dully replied while Izuku held on for dear life on a nearby tree. She didn't seem to mind that he was screaming. She then shattered the black hole by fracturing spacetime before stretching her limbs like she was warming up for exercise (she never did).
"I can't believe you haven't taught me your favorite yet," Izuku closed up the suitcase. "I mean… it's just a really nice spell, yeah?"
Frieren smiled to herself as she recalled all those times she used that spell. And the fact that it was brought her and Himmel together, even if she couldn't have realized it at the time. She saw a boy crying, all alone in the woods, and she made a field of flowers that made him gape in awe. She couldn't have known that this boy would come back a decade later as a man to offer her a place in his adventuring party. It simply felt like… the right thing to do at the time.
"You only asked for 'useful' spells," Frieren then reminded Izuku, who gaped at that. "But sure. I will teach it to you when you return."
"Yeah, it's just that, you know, my friend's brother died, and… maybe I can put up a field of his brother's favorite flower around his grave…"
"Sounds like a good plan."
Izuku sighed. Man. He just wanted to go and give Iida the tightest hug ever. "Well," he checked his phone for the time, "I gotta go to the airport now. Say hi to mom for me!"
"See you," Frieren waved him goodbye as he exited the apartment, leaving her alone for the next few hours.
"Heya kid!" Izuku looked up as an American woman greeted him as he and one of Ectoplasm's clones stepped out of the taxi. Her brown hair was in a neat ponytail, while her purple eyes seemed to glow slightly. Under her white jacket, she wore a black shirt with the stylized shield of Captain America printed on it, as well as brown trousers and casual red and blue sneakers. She spoke in English, but Izuku spoke English well enough to understand and hold a conversation with him. "You're uh, Izuku Midoriya?"
"That's me!" Izuku beamed at the woman. "You're Sergeant Wesson, right?"
"Yeah! Come on, let me carry that for you."
"Oh, thank you so much!" Izuku then turned toward Ectoplasm's clone, who was looking on with… an unchanging expression, but that was just Ectoplasm's hero costume having a permanent grin. "It's her, right?"
"It is her."
"Okay."
"I will be accompanying you until you board the plane."
"Thank you, sensei!"
The plane ride was rather comfy. True to UA's prestigious standards, Izuku and Wesson were in first class, though Izuku spent most of that time sleeping. Wesson, meanwhile, spent her watching a Filipino telenovela that she had saved in her laptop. When Izuku woke up, he saw her crying, a pile of tissues on the cupholder in front of her.
"Wesson? Are you okay?" Izuku asked. His eyes then went toward her computer screen, where it had just been revealed that the female protagonist was adopted by her supposed parents when she was merely an infant. She was… left on their doorstep in a basket.
Why did this plot point feel so familiar?
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Wesson replied, wiping her eyes. "It's just the story, man!"
"Oh… I see." When Izuku had heard that a member of the US Air Force was going to accompany him to Stars and Stripes' base, he expected a stern, strict person. Not someone that bawls her eyes out to a soap opera.
Well, expectations could get destroyed at times.
About five hours later, Izuku and Wesson finally touched down on San Francisco. They left the airport on a taxi, where Izuku marvelled at the sights of America. It was familiar in some ways; there were costumed heroes patrolling the streets, and hero merchandise was everywhere. However, people, ordinary people at that, were also using their quirks on the street. Izuku had nearly gasped when several people dressed in office clothes flew overhead, while a man that looked like a rat (or is that a rat that looked like a man?) was teaching martial arts to four teenagers who looked like turtle mutants in a dojo.
"Right, remember that quirk use is much more liberal here than back at Japan," Wesson said as Izuku gaped at the sights around him. "So, what do you know about the heroics system here in the US?"
"I know that some heroes either work closely with the military or are part of it," Izuku recounted. Stars and Stripes herself is part of the Air Force. Uncle S.A.M. worked under NORAD, Grand Admiral (whose quirk summons ghost ships that he literally throws at his opponents) worked alongside the Navy, and Legion is within the Army. "There are independent heroes like Captain Celebrity that go after villains like they're bounties. City heroes work closely with the police, like back at home, except that they can do their own arrests as well. Then you've got local heroes or vigilantes in the countryside. You guys are loose with vigilantes as long as they don't cause trouble, and the large, empty spaces mean there are lots of spaces for villains to hide in and train. Villains are either low-level thugs or really strong supervillains because those in the middle tend to get shot. But you're also looser with quirks so there are a lot more people trained with their quirks, a lot more heroes too."
"Yep, that's about right. Somebody like the guy that led the terrorist attack on the USJ back in your would have died in short order here, with a bullet in the head. Here, you gotta be bulletproof to be a real threat."
"I see…"
After about thirty minutes, they finally arrived at the base where Stars and Stripes was, well, based from. The enormous woman looked down on him as he arrived… and both of them were wearing All Might themed shirts. "Hello, green child! You are smaller than I thought!"
"Or you're just very tall," Izuku deadpanned.
"AHAHAHA!" Star and Stripes laughed. "You are very clever, aren't you? Now, get your things in order. We got the guestroom ready for you. Wesson will get you there. After that, we'll get to the first order of business…"
"This is not what I imagined when you said that we were going on a patrol!" Izuku screamed while Star and Stripes laughed. Both of them were standing on top of a moving fighter jet; something about the fighter's 'gravitational locking and inertial dampening technology' prevented either of them from just falling off at the sheer speed they were going.
"I usually take down drug smuggling rings, which are always guarded by cartel members with quirks. Most of the time, they try to bypass border patrols by travelling by sea or air," Star began, pacing on top of the jet while Izuku found himself shaking. This wasn't like flight magic. Not at all! This jet was going at, what, Mach 2? And it could go up to Mach 8, apparently! "Anyway, you like to shoot at things with your, what do you call it?"
"Zoltraak," Izuku replied, using his staff to support himself on the fighter's hull.
"Yeah, that! And you do it while floating… but say you get rushed by a strong melee fighter, like the rabbit girl-"
"Mirko," Izuku corrected.
"Yeah, whatever! Say they get at your face faster than you can put up your defenses? Your classmate's shadow monster nearly got you, after all!"
"I'm… screwed?" That's basically what happens when a warrior rushes a mage before the latter could put up a barrier.
"See? You gotta shoot faster and harder at the same time, Midoriya! Your Zoltraak and all the other forms your quirk takes! You need to be faster and hit harder all the same! And also, later, I'm gonna start toughening you up, and you better stick to the routine I'll give you when you get back home! You look like a small gust of wind can blow you over!"
Right. Just like Fern, Frieren's other apprentice.
"Understood, ma'am!" Izuku saluted. He began to take aim at the water below and cast Zoltraak as fast as he could while being rattled by the fact that he was standing on top of a jet moving at double the speed of sound.
"Todoroki Shoto. Is there any way I can convince you to use your pyromancy as well?"
Shoto stared at General Winter as though he had asked a stupid question. "No..."
General Winter simply shrugged at that as he and Shoto entered his agency, located in downtown Velikiy Novgorod. It was a rather simple-looking place, almost like an ordinary office space. The fact that the outside of General Winter's agency was a literal ice castle did nothing to diminish the ordinary-ness of the inside. It may as well be a call center or an insurance company if not for the costumed heroes and sidekicks milling about inside.
"Well, it was worth a try, but may I suggest that you use your steam instead?" General Winter continued as he led Shoto to a wide training area. There was a rack with all sorts of weapons; there was an axe, a sword, a pair of spears, a pike, a musket, a warhammer, and a dagger. These weapons were all for training, obviously, so they were all made of wood.
"My steam?"
"You thaw out your glaciers with your right side by turning them to steam," General Winter pointed out. "It would not be as efficient as simply burning out accumulated frost with actual flames, but by applying that principle to yourself, you can avoid the same pitfall that led to your defeat in the Sports Festival. Well, not as much, but you refuse to use your flames, and I understand why…"
Shoto simply nodded. "I understand. I will try that when we begin training." That didn't count as fire, so he wasn't going back on his oath with that. Besides, he'd always done it that way. He's just changing where the thawing was aimed at.
"Good. Stay here, we will begin shortly," General Winter walked to the other side of the training room… and suddenly turned around, nearly instantly forming a spear made of ice and throwing it at Shoto's direction. Shoto threw up an ice wall on instinct, blocking the spear.
"General Winter… what is the meaning of this?"
"Heh, got you," General Winter chuckled as the spear returned to him with a flick of his finger, before it then faded into cold vapor. "Now, these are the issues I see with the utilization of your ice. You rely too much on excessive force to win. Even now, I threw a single spear at you and yet you made a wall that could have blocked a tank shell. You will accumulate frostbite so much faster that way."
Shoto nodded. That made sense.
"Second, this is something I have observed not just with you, but with you hero students in general. It is an understandable weakness, given that you are merely 15, but you need to learn close combat. How precise is your ability to make ice? Can you make anything more complicated or do you simply generate it in waves?"
"As far as I know, I can only generate it like this," Shoto replied. "I can't make it into a shape. Or… I suppose I was never given the incentive to do so."
"How Endeavour manages to have very low collateral damage with his fire quirk while training you with just brute-forcing your way out of everything is such a mystery…" General Winter shook his head. "This cannot do. Let us find out if you can indeed shape and control your ice as opposed to merely generating it."
"Yes, General Winter."
"Excellent! Let us begin that process now."
General Winter then threw a hammer made out of ice.
Shigaraki Tomura was shaking.
"It's been too long since we made our mark in this society, Kurogiri," the young villain hissed as he downed a shot of brandy. "What is a League of Villains good for if we don't do any villainy?!"
"You will be pleased then, my dear Tomura."
The television that had been sitting cold and dark in the corner of the bar lit up to life, showing a blurry static. The voice that came through, however, was unmistakable.
"Sensei!" Shigaraki howled. "Is there something we can finally do?!"
"It would please you to know that the students that you so despise are out in their… internships," All For One spoke with a calculating malevolence in his voice. "I know that you are tired of… doing nothing, so I am giving you some of my Nomu and minions. Do with them as you wish, Tomura. Though our little spy tells me that two of the UA students have gone overseas for theirs. The… cheater and Endeavour's brat."
"Yes… yesssss!" Shigaraki jumped. "If that cheating AP build user is away, then I can do things without him interfering! First… did the little spy also tell you where they live?"
"He has. We know where they live."
"Ahahaha… looks like some kidnapping is in order!" Shigaraki started laughing maniacally. He then turned to the assembled members of the League of Villains, who had been sitting quietly, not daring to speak as long as the bogeyman of the underworld spoke. "It is time, League! We'll hit these brats where it hurts!"