Chapter Text
"This villain really suits my formal debut," Yu says, bending over to pick up the rapidly shrinking villain and let her tight suit accentuate her curvaceous backside for the gathered civilians, "My name's Mount Lady, sorry for /Butting/ in." A not quite smirk graces her lips as she watches the civilians, mostly bland or ugly middle-aged businessmen start whipping out their phones or cameras, taking pictures like there's no tomorrow. Mentally rolling her eyes, she gets a small twinge of satisfaction at the cluster of girls off to the side calling out condolences to Kamui Woods till something catches her eye. Amid the middle aged men, there's a poof of green hair, a teenager actively drawing in a notebook, vibrant green eyes glancing up, absorbing her entire being for a few seconds before returning to his diligent work.
Cute freckled cheeks still filled with baby fat, those wide green eyes and brilliant smile filled with awe. Not notably tall or short, though maybe a little scrawny, but that can be buffed out. Resisting the urge to lick her lips, she releases her quirk and lets her body slowly shrink back to normal. Keeping an eye on him as she waves to the crowd while police bind up the villain, she watches as he looks to his phone before his eyes meet hers for just a moment, filled with unchecked longing and desire. Before a word can be said, he's hiked up his backpack and taken off in a sprint, vanishing behind the adults still crowding the site.
Hiding disappointment behind her smile, Yu poses for pictures and gives out autographs to her future fans. Thoughts of the adorable green haired boy slowly fade into the background and the false smile becoming just a little more real as she soaks in the praise and adoration. Still, the crowds must fade, and with them gone, she sets out onto her first patrol as a properly debuted hero.
~~~
Furiously writing down more notes on the newly debuted Mt Lady, Izuku tries to ignore the students around him as he waits for Homeroom to start. It isn't long before the teacher walks in, a stack of papers in one hand as the bell rings. "C'mon class, you're middle school seniors, It's time you all started thinking seriously about your futures." he declares, setting the stack down on the desk, "I'll be handing out printouts on your desired life-course."
A sharp stare sweeps over the class for only a second, before it's replaced with a laissez-faire smile, "Of course, you all want to be heroes, don't you." The papers are tossed to the side as everyone's quirks flare in displays of power. "Yes, yes, your quirks are all wonderful, but it's against the rules to use them in school, you know." Izuku can't help but look down at his notebook, his questions and notes on Mt Lady's quirk sitting there, unanswered alongside the gap where he would have had her sign if School didn't have to happen.
The class quickly quiets down, transformations reverting and emitters stopping, until Bakugo kicks his feet up onto his desk, "Sensei, don't lump me in with everybody else!" he exclaims, "My quirk's in a whole 'nother league than these extras."
Everyone turns to glare at him, the red-eyed boy matching their glares and more before the teacher speaks up. "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten, Bakugo's shooting for U.A., isn't he?"
Almost immediately, the mass of students recoil while Bakugo smirks, "You done running your mouths, peons?" he declares, jumping onto his desk, "I aced the mock test, and I'm the only one from this school who's got a chance. I'm gonna surpass even that All Might Bastard and carve my name in the history books."
"Ah, right, didn't Midoriya also want to go to U.A.?" the teacher adds, the entire class turning to face the cowering green-haired boy. Laughter burst forth, followed swiftly by insults and jokes at his expense.
"Th-there's no rules against it or anything!" he tries to retort, "Sure, there's no precedent, but..."
"Eat shit Deku!" Bakugo exclaims, slamming an explosive slap down upon Izuku's desk, "Forget having a weak-ass quirk, you don't even have one. Where do you get off putting yourself on the same level as me?!"
"N-no, I'd never compare myself to you, it's just... I've always wanted to be a hero since I was a kind and... you never know till you try."
"You never know till you try?" Bakugo exclaims, hands crackling with explosions, "The exam is hopeless for you. What can a Deku like you do?"
~~~
Trying to shake the water out of his freshly fished out notebook, Izuku watches with tears in his eyes as ink filled droplets hit the floor. "The new stuff might be ruined, but..." he sniffles, hand clenching, "Maybe I can salvage the old stuff, copy it to a new book." Staring at the book, he can't just stick it in his bag, so with a depressed sigh, he holds it tight and starts the long walk home.
Normally, Izuku loves a lonely walk, nobody to harass him, tease him or push him down, but sometimes, the quiet streets are his worst enemy. They let him get lost in his thoughts, and today, they're extra dark, reflecting on the words Bakugo said.
"You know, if you want to be a hero so bad, why not take a swan dive off the roof and hope for a quirk in your next life."
A small, dark part of him wants to take his advice, to end the torment and suffering, but even now he can squash it down, a brilliant smile lighting up his mind as All Might's form flexes in his brain, telling him the words he wants to hear. "That's right! Don't listen to what others say! Just keep looking forward!!" A determined smile starts to take form on his face as he comes out from an underpass.
"Well now, what have we here, a Medium sized disguise." The thread of positivity shatters as a monster of sludge expands to engulf him, a warped eye staring at him amid the foul green mass. "It's okay kid, I'm just gonna use your body for a bit. It'll only hurt for about 45 seconds... Soon it'll all be over." A desperate hand rips ineffectually at the goo forcing its way down his throat, and the villain can't help but chuckle, "You can't grab hold of me, I'm amorphous."
His notebook falls to the floor, tears flooding his eyes as he struggles to maintain consciousness, still clawing at the sludge covering his mouth and nose. Darkness starts creeping in, and he catches sight of his open journal, an image stretching across the left page, ruined by running ink. His planned costume? But now...
"Have no fear, boy." A voice declares, one so ingrained in his mind his mouth forms the words, even past the foul fluids forcing themselves into him, "For I am here!" A muscular arm strikes out towards him, towards the villain as All Might yells "TEXAS SMASH!" Wind rushes past, stealing with it both slime and his breath, the flickering thought of All Might's name being his last before the darkness collapses in on him.
A rapid but gentle slapping slowly drags Midoriya back to the world of the living, with it a close up of a heavily shadowed blonde haired face. "Hey hey, Ah I was worried we lost you there for a moment." All Might says, straightening with a smile as Izuku bolts to his feet. "I must apologize, I got a little caught up in Villain cleanup, but don't worry, thanks to you, I have him all locked up in here!" he declares, holding up a bottle filled with goo and two swirling eyeballs.
"Oh, y-your autograph!" Izuku stutters out, "Where'd I... This notebook..." Pulling the abused notebook open, he finds a massive signature spanning two previously untouched pages. "Waaaaaa!!! Th-thank you so much. I'll treasure it, as an Heirloom!" Closing the book, a knot swiftly ties in his gut as he looks at his Idol. "Could... May I ask just one quick question, All Might-san?"
"Hmnn? A quick question? I suppose I have time for one." He says, looking over his shoulder at Izuku.
"Could... Could a quirkless person ever be a Hero like you?" Izuku asks, hands together almost in prayer as he looks at the broad back of All Might.
"Without a quirk? Hmnnn..." All Might says, looking up and away, "If by hero you mean a Pro Hero, no, I don't think you can. Every day Pro's risk their lives, and even the best quirks aren't always enough to save them. Still though, boy, there are other ways to be a hero. Doctors, firefighters, even Support technicians are all heros to many, and can save as many or more lives than many Pros. Maybe look into one of those, but remember to keep your goals realistic too. Slow and steady wins the race and all that." With that, he flashes a brief smile, before crouching down, "Now then, be sure to keep cheering me on!" he declares before launching into the sky, leaving a shell shocked Izuku behind.
"I can't... no, he didn't but, but not like him..." Izuku whispers to himself as his eyes wander to All Might's signature, "I can still be a hero, but not a pro... not like him..." Tears drip down, new spots appearing on the page before he jerks it away and closes it. Head tilting back, two small waterfalls pour down his face, only to be haphazardly wiped by a sleeve. Bakugo's advice worms its way back into his mind, a darkness reaching into his eyes, stripping them of hope and light. 'Why not take a swan dive off the roof?'
Time and thoughts flow like the very sludge that sought to strangle him as he starts walking again till a sudden explosion goes off in the distance. For just a moment a flicker of passion ignites in his eyes, the thought of a nearby villain attack giving hope to see a hero in action. All till All Might's voice speaks in his head, 'No, I don't think you can.'. The scorched cover of his notebook taunts him as he walks, laughing at his dream just like his classmates. "For my future, Ha..." a sad sob racks through the laugh, as his eyes close again.
A chain of smaller explosions rip him from his thoughts, Katsuki surging to the front of his mind as he looks around in a panic, only to see a small horde of people gathered at the entrance to a side street. His mind curses his hero chasing instincts, but he crosses the street to look, a spike of realization hitting as a mass of foul green sludge with eyes rises, teeth forming a wide snarl as explosions pop from it. Dread claws into him as someone nearby mentions how it has a hostage, his throat constricting in memory of the feeling.
'Is this my fault?' springs into Izuku's mind, 'Did I distract All Might with my question so he didn't notice the villain escaping?'. Pushing up into the crowd, he doesn't see the scraggly blonde standing off to the side, looking on in horror. Slowly squeezing through the crowd, he suddenly spots a face push out of the goo, spikey blonde hair and piercing red eyes sending a knife into his heart. Where normally the threat of death would sit, the eyes are wide and pleading, tears leaking only to get swallowed by slime.
Like a shot from a cannon, Izuku bursts from the crowd, past Police and Pro Hero alike as he runs at Katsuki, ignoring the cries for him to stop. Notebook dropped, his mind runs faster than his body, thinking of what to do, how to save Kacchan. His notes from earlier on Kamui Woods spring to mind, Blind the foe and launch a sneak attack while distracted. Swinging his bag off, he hurls it into the Slime Villain’s face as he gets close, stationary, notebooks and other items flying free from it. Several score direct hits on the large, exposed eyes, causing them to recoil, freeing more of Kacchan's face and an arm.
"You! Why you?!" he declares as Izuku grabs hold, staring into the Greenet's teary eyes.
"It's because," Izuku stutters in reply, still fighting to free him, "It's because your eyes were pleading for help!"
The slime begins to converge around them, before a massive purple hand pushes through, grabbing around both of them and yanking them upwards and out. A voice calls out "Canyon Slam!" before another hand passes by and hits the villain with a wet splat, scattering green goo across the street. The hand holding them lowers them to the ground before rapidly shrinking, Mt Lady struggling briefly to get to her feet next to them now at normal size.
Izuku's eyes can't help but see the torn side of her suit, red scrapes running up the length of her side and thigh as well as the not insignificant amount of chest revealed. Flushing crimson, the boy quickly takes off his school jacket, holding it out to her while unable to meet her face as she looks over.
"Are you boys alright? Huh?" Looking down at herself, she blushes slightly before taking the offered jacket and slipping it on before going back to her Pro mode. "Come on, we've got paramedics here already and you two need to be checked out." As the two get swarmed by paramedics and Pro heroes alike, she starts the somewhat painful walk to get checked on herself before she almost trips over something. Looking down, it's a notebook, scorched but still legible, or in this case, the image covering the left side is still mostly clear. A sketch of her in her costume, done with excellent detail. The page on the right is a little worse for wear, but numerous little but insightful notes about her style, her quirk and a number of questions are all there.
Suddenly, a mop of green hair and eyes filled with longing and desire flash in her mind, the boy at her debut. One of the medics starts poking at her side before getting waved away. "It's fine," Yu says, "It's like a scraped knee, and the injuries shrink with me." Marching to the two boys, the dichotomy is obvious. Several pros are praising the Blonde victim, fawning over the boys Explosion quirk, while Death Arms berates the green haired kid for trying to help his friend, calling him stupid, suicidal for going in there without a quirk.
This revelation stops her for a moment until she looks at the boy. The hair is the same, the face and the body as well, but his eyes... The fire, the life is gone, replaced with a dull, glassy sheen as he can barely bring them to look at anyone. As Death Arms leaves with a huff, she closes in, squatting down in front of him as his eyes wander to what remains of his bag and its contents. "Hey boy, what's your name?" she asks, ignoring her thigh's complaints at her current pose.
"M-me?" he stutters, wide eyes suddenly focusing on her, "Midoriya Izuku, M-miss Mt Lady"
"Is this yours, Midoriya?" she asks, holding out the book, still open to her page.
Doing the seemingly impossible, his eyes widen even more as a spark of life flickers in them, before vanishing almost instantly. "Yes, It's mine. I'm sorry they're creepy and stalkery, it's just..."
Reaching out with her free hand, she gives his forehead a flick, snapping him out of his mutter. "It's a great drawing, and some good observations," Yu says, running a finger over the drawing of herself. "In fact, I have an idea. I'll need to borrow this jacket to get back to my agency and get it cleaned before I can return it to you, so how about I leave you with the address to my Agency and my number so you can call later and we'll set up a time for a little get together."
Confusion spreads across his features as he looks at her while she grabs a pen that was laying nearby. "Y-you don't have to worry about that, it's not important." He says, looking away as sadness takes over.
"Nonsense, and besides, I'd love to meet you in private and answer your questions, especially if you'd be willing to do another sketch of me for me."
"You want one? It's really not that good..."
"Of course I do," she states, hand going to her hip, "It's the first fan art made since my Debut, so of course it's important. I saw you there this morning, you know."
"You did?!" he exclaims while flushing red, his pale freckles jumping to visibility.
Nodding with a smile, she replies, "Yep, not hard to notice a cute boy who starts drawing among a bunch of middle-aged guys who just start taking pictures."
"C-cute?!" He stutters out, arms reaching up to cover his face.
Unable to fight her smile, she rolls her eyes a little before writing down some things in an open page of his notebook. "Here's the address of my Agency and my number for you to call to arrange the meeting. Give it a call some time later today or tomorrow, and we'll get something worked out." Passing his book back to him, he looks it over, and his eyes widen, a spark of life flickering into them before they erupt with joy and tears.
"I don't deserve this..."
Flicking his forehead again, Yu tilts up his head so his green eyes stare into her own magenta ones, "You were really brave back there Midoriya. Braver than most of the heroes here. You may not have accomplished much in the end, but at least you did something." Pushing herself up, she ignores the soreness in her side, turning away from Izuku. "Besides," she says quietly, giving her butt a soft slap, "You inspired me to move this ass of mine."
Sauntering back to the police, she can feel his eyes locked on her, burning with the same fire they did the first time she saw him. It feels... Amazing.
~~~
Staring up at the rather plain looking office building, the address in his notebook says it's correct, and it was confirmed by his call to her too. Pulling out his phone, he checks over his planner, just to make sure it's the right day and time and place and... The doors suddenly slide open, Mt Lady standing in the doorway with a hand on her hip. "You know, it's not polite to keep a lady waiting, Midoriya." She says, a finger wiggling in his direction, "I suppose I'll have to think of a way you can make it up to me."
Emerald eyes blink in shock before a soft pink starts making its way up Izuku's cheeks as he manages to stutter out, "S-sorry, I just... This is new to me, and I'm n-nervous." Yu's eyes roll as she turns around, waving for him to follow as she walks back into her Agency. Scurrying after her, the lobby is rather plain, but he's led almost immediately to an elevator nearby.
It opens five floors up into an open room with two small couches facing each other and a coffee table between them. Sitting in the far one, she gestures for him to sit, leaving her legs open just enough that he may be able to peek up her knee length pencil skirt. "So, Midoriya-kun, how are you doing after, well..." she asks as he sits, arms and legs held close, a notebook and pen in his hands on his lap.
The greenet looks down at his hands, both of which shake slightly before he clasps them together. "I'm fine," He says, trying to meet her eyes, only to crumble almost instantly. "It's... it's easier when I don't think about that day." Tears pool at the edges of his eyes, and one hand moves to feel his throat as his body suddenly gags before shaking his head. "So, uh, starting... starting..." He begins flipping through a new notebook before settling on a page. "So, Takeyama Yu, Hero alias, Mt Lady, Quirk, Gigantification, right?"
"Yep. It lets me grow up to around sixty five feet tall, and gives me the strength to match," she says with a flex of her arms, opening her legs just a little more as well. "A simple but powerful quirk that will keep all eyes on me in heroics."
Izuku nods in agreement, to her delight. "It gives you the ability to capture almost all non-super strength villains with just a grab, and even gives you inadvertent toughness, since injuries shrink down with you, meaning blade and spike quirks aren't going to do much more than cause paper cuts or pinpricks. The risk of collateral damage is high, but not to an unreasonable degree, since you control your body, though that could be mitigated by a more rural location."
"You're right on that, Midoriya-kun, but you also have to remember that most gigantification type villains operate in cities, and they're hard to stop without extreme force or another gigantification hero." Yu points out with a smile. 'Besides, I'd never get popular out in the sticks.' "And if I'm too far out, they wouldn't be able to get me on site in time to help."
His fluffy green hair bobs once again as he starts scribbling notes in his book, muttering, "Of course! Gigantification villains often want to cause as much havoc as they can, so naturally they'd stick to cities. Though if it's like that what if they started being in rural areas where there wouldn't be the right heroes to stop them? Would moving anti-giant villain heroes out to rural areas help? But then the villains would just go back and..." Blinking, he looks up, inadvertently tracing his eyes up her black stocking clad legs into the dark cavern of her skirt, a treasure of red barely visible. Forcing his eyes up, he can't see her mental cheer at catching his eye.
"H-how fast can you grow? Can you only go to max size and nothing in between?" he asks, visibly struggling to keep his eyes locked with hers.
Sliding her legs together, she crosses one over the other, much to Midoriya's relief. "The fastest I've grown is just under three seconds, but it usually takes about 4 to get to full height. It's all or nothing though," she admits, with a slight frown.
"It's not a mostly fixed speed?" he questions, eyes wide with surprise, "Have you checked how slowly you can grow?"
"Huh? Why would I do that?"
"Well, you can clearly still move while growing, so logically you could fight while growing, and in a situation where your full size would be a detriment, if you could make it so it take a minute, two or more to reach full size, you would be able to fight while at a range of your height to three or four times your height, which would still give enough power to match most super strengths without the worry of damaging your surroundings. Of course, this assumes you can turn off your quirk mid growth." Looking for an answer, she seems dazed, looking at him like he just spoke Russian to her.
"That's..."
Izuku lets out a sigh, hands lowering as he nods, "I know, it's a stupid idea and it'd never work." Grabbing his head with his hands, he starts curling in on himself, muttering, "Stupid, useless Deku, of course you'd screw it up. She must think you're a moron. No, you are a moron..."
"That's an amazing idea!" she exclaims, jumping to her feet and moving around the table to him, "It goes against everything I was taught in Hero school, but it just might work." As he starts to uncurl, she grabs him under the arms and lifts him up, the distinct lack of mass affirming her suspicions about his scrawniness. "You have any other ideas?"
Realizing their closeness, Izuku can't fight the colour slowly filling his cheeks, but her excited smile is enough motivation to pull him from his funk. "There's a technique I've learned about from some other Transformation quirk users on some forums, and while it hurts, you could try rapidly turning on and off your quirk during transformation to essentially lock it in place, but it requires a lot of focus and practice, and isn't really practical for fighting."
Releasing him and spinning on her heel, Yu walks to the other couch before flopping down. "Why don't people share things like this?!" She exclaims, throwing up her hands as she sits up proper, legs spreading and causing her skirt to slowly hike up, revealing not just more of her soft but muscled thighs, but causing her satiny red underwear to catch more light. His view lasts only long enough for her to surreptitiously spot him looking, sitting up and closing her legs as though nothing had happened.
"It's, uh..." he stammers, trying to regather his thoughts and push the image of red out of his mind, "It only works with Transformation quirks that are all or nothing, so not a lot of people, and not all of them figure it out, so, well..."
"Well keep it going, Midoriya, you've had great ideas so far, and I've hardly done anything for you. At this rate I'm not gonna be able to call in that debt you owe me," Yu says leaning forward, arms squeezing her bust to strain the buttons on her white button up shirt.
"Uh, lets, see, ummm..." He looks at his notebook, before a thought strikes. "You said my first idea went against what your Hero school taught. What school did you go to, and what was it like?"
"That's easy, I went to the Seiai Academy. It might not have a huge hero course like Ketsubusu or U.A., being an all girl school, but it does produce some of the best heroines to join the field. Like yours truly." She says, hands on her hips and chest jutting out, once again straining her shirt. "Not having cute hero boys there kinda sucked, but they did good work teaching us efficiency with our quirks. How to use it as quickly and effectively as possible. Of course, that means I cut my growing time down as much as I could training there, and never considered the reverse." Looking at him clearly writing down more than just her answer, she tilts her head and waits.
"Of course different schools and teachers would teach heroics differently. I wonder if we could improve the future of heroics by matching potential students with the right courses and teachers, not just hoping they pick the right school?" He flips to a new page, writing more and more, the pen flying across paper, "But then there'd have to be more early vetting of heroics students, and it could mess with general studies as well..." Looking up, he cringes before bowing his upper body repeatedly. "Sorry, sorry, I keep going off on tangents, I just can't stop my brain when it gets going."
"Don't be, it's pretty cute." Yu replies with a sly smile, "Your passion is kinda inspiring."
Yet again Izuku starts flushing, but he's able to keep his head on straight as he replies, "It's not really cute. Most people find it creepy."
There's a sadness in the way he says this, a loneliness even she can pick up as he starts curling back in on himself. A cold hand grips at her heart, pieces of who Izuku Midoriya is falling into place in her mind. Scrawny, young and a little short, most likely in junior high. Fluffy hair, cute freckles and expressive eyes that ignite with passion when he talks about heroes and heroics. A smart mind that follows unusual paths of logic and a heroic heart willing to charge into danger to save someone. Yet... Self-deprecating, anxiety ridden and prone to curling in on himself, likely due to years of bullying and abuse from being quirkless.
'A job and a half to turn into good boyfriend material, but when those eyes ignite...' she thinks to herself, an electric shiver running down her core, leaving a trail of heat behind, 'He'll be worth the effort.' Standing up once again, she walks over and places a hand on each of his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. "Well I think it's cute, so let me ask you. Who's opinion is more important? Random people who call you creepy, or me, a pro hero who thinks you're cute?"
His mouth opens but his mind grinds to a halt as she can see metaphorical steam come out his ears. Both arms shoot up to cover his face, pen clattering to the floor as it falls off his legs. A squeak escapes him, the only sound as he tries to process the situation while Yu stays just a few feet away. Something seems to click, and gaze travels to the floor, hands falling to his lap as they start wringing each other. "I'm quirkless..." he says, soft as a ghost's whisper.
"I heard you say so the other day. What does that have to do with what we're talking about?" Yu asks, an internal smile growing as his defenses start opening already.
Confusion pierces his self loathing as he looks up uncomprehending. "But I'm quirkless... Worthless..."
"Quirkless, yes. Worthless, no." she says with such finality that he almost flinches. "I have known you for only a couple days. Just three encounters, and in one, you were more heroic and did more to help than most of the heroes there. Today, you've already given me ideas how to improve as a hero." Placing a hand on his head, she can't fight the shiver that courses down her as her fingers sink into the sinfully soft mass of curls. "I-if trying to save people and helping others makes you useless, I guess All Might is the most useless person of all." Goosebumps dance up her arm as she can't help but gently stroke his hair.
"HE'S NOT..." Izuku exclaims loudly, before the gears in his head start spinning, the energy of his declaration draining as he slowly slumps again. Almost a minute passes without anything being said, her hand still softly fondling his locks before he looks up at her, eyes wide, almost pleading. "D-do you think I could be a hero?"
"As you are now? No way." she replies almost instantly, her gut suddenly twisting as tears start welling up in his eyes before he looks back down again. "I mean, look at you. You're scrawny, Villains would snap you like a twig. Plus, how are you supposed to carry someone to safety when you probably couldn't even drag them? Or how about breaking down a door to get to someone caught in a fire?" Turning away, she walks to the other couch before sitting down. "If you work out, build some muscle, learn to fight, maybe get some support gear made too. Then... then you could be a Hero."
His dead, watery eyes turn up to her, tears springing forth as something ignites within them. Small at first, like a single candle in the dark but it grows in intensity as the tears do. "Thank you," he sobs out, bowing to the point his head is near his knees, "Y-you're... Nobody's ever said I could..." Messily wiping his face, he inhales deeply before looking straight at her, pure adoration visible across his features. "Nobody has ever believed I could be a hero before. Thank you so much Mt Lady." Standing, he bows a full 90 degrees, notebook falling to the floor as he does so.
"Just use my name, since we'll be seeing more of each other." she says with a smirk, "After all, since nobody else thinks you can be a hero, it makes sense that I'll be the one to train you, yeah?"
Looking back up at her with a raging inferno of drive burning in his eyes, he bows again, "Thank you Miss Takeyama."
"Okay, first. Don't call me that. Miss makes me sound old. Call me Takeyama-san, or better, Yu-Sensei." She replies, one hand on her hip, the other holding up a finger, "Next, I guess we gotta start scheduling your workouts and diet and support gear research. I bet you don't have a gym to work out at, so you can come here for that. Finding a decent diet should be easy, and you're gonna have to do the research on your own anyways." 'Shit, Paperwork...' she mentally curses as she looks over, but the fire in his eyes lights a pair of them in her. A passion in her chest, and one a little... lower.
"Oh! Support gear, I was gonna ask. Do you use any besides your suit?" He asks, his notebook in his hand and pen at the ready, "I understand it would be almost impossible to make stuff that would grow with you, but having gear that works when you're normal sized, and falls off when you grow would let you be more useful in tight spaces."
Snapping her fingers, Yu exclaims, "Idea! So first yes, I don't use any other support gear because they don't work with my quirk, but if your ideas work, I might need some. So, to get you started on support gear research, I want you to design me some." Nodding to herself, another thought strikes, this one dampening her spirit a little. "Now that I think of it, shooting for a support course might be your best bet, Midoriya."
"Huh?"
"Well, we've got what, ten months before exams? Even if you did your absolute best and skipped school for all of it, you probably wouldn't be ready enough for heroics entrance exams. If you go for the support course, you can use that cute brain of yours more than muscle, so you won't have to go crazy on working out just to be ready in time. It'll also give you plenty of time to get familiarized with support gear, and even design your own that will work with whatever fighting styles you choose."
"But I want to be a hero."
"You don't have to take a heroics course to get a license, though it helps a lot. Actually, you barely need a license at all, since you don't have a quirk." He visibly cringes as she says this, to which she sighs, "It's hard, and I get that, but it's not like you're going to suddenly get given a quirk or something." Pausing to think a bit, she eventually says, "Think of it like this, if you, who has no quirk can work hard, study, train and become a hero, then anyone can. Kids will look at you and realize even if their quirk isn't great, or they don't have one at all, they can still be a hero if they work hard."
And there's that smile again, small and fragile but warm as a summer day.
"You'll be able to look at them and say, 'Yes, you can be a hero.'" With that, any shred of doubt left is banished and his smile lights up the room.
"Yes, Yu-Sensei!" he exclaims with another deep bow, "When do I start?"
Chapter Text
Both diet and exercise proved to be a bit slow to start, breaking snack and meal habits as well as starting the process of building muscle on Izuku's twig-like form. His stamina however proved a delightful surprise to Yu, being above most middle schooler's not involved in a sport. He may barely be able to do twenty push ups without his arms giving up, but he can follow that with about the same in sit-ups, lunges, curls and just about every other light strength building exercise and still have the energy to do a 10k run while slowly dripping in sweat. A sight she very much enjoys whenever her work doesn't cross with his workout hours.
On the other side, his dive into support gear, and the heroes that use them has proven both enlightening and shocking for the boy. Making even simple gear requires a wide mix of skills and knowledge, from Material Sciences and Mechanical Engineering to Biology and his personal favourite, Quirk Analysis. On the other hand, watching and rewatching hero fights while looking at support gear specifically revealed a shocking lack of protective gear in most heroes, and almost no-one using non-quirk relevant support gear.
Some make sense, Mirko's hard and fast fighting style would be dragged down by armour in most cases, or Kamui Woods or Best Jeanist where their quirks provide defense themselves. Others... Izuku almost had a panic attack when he realized Gunhead, a Pro specializing in both using and fighting weapons, goes around in an open vest. Not even a bullet proof vest, just a normal, everyday vest.
Nightmares of All Might, Katsuki and his new sensei horribly injured and bleeding out plagued him for several days after this revelation, leaving him both drained and motivated in their wake. Tired eyes studied armour, materials and technology in every moment not filled by other obligations, all tied to the question, 'How can I keep them... how can I keep her safe?'.
Days turn into weeks and slow progress is made on all fronts. Strength and muscles begin to develop, but more importantly, he finishes his initial designs. Notebook clutched tightly in one hand, he dials one of the few numbers on his phone. His heartbeat jumps with each ring before there's a pause, and her voice comes through.
"Hey Midoriya, what's up?" Yu asks, the sound of the streets audible behind her, "I'm not quite done my patrol, so if it's not important it's gonna have to wait."
"Oh, uh, I just finished the designs, but I didn't know you were on patrol. Sorry." He replies, bowing despite being alone in his room, "When should I call again?"
"Meet me at the coffee shop down the road from my Agency at 5, we'll talk then. Bye."
"B-bye" he manages to stutter out before the call ends abruptly and he releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. 'Five is... in about two hours. Two hours... plenty of time to get cleaned up, get dressed and make my way over there... Oh All Might, is this a date?!' The notebook falls from his hand, the sound of it hitting the ground snapping from his momentary freeze. "It's a work meeting," He mutters as he shakes his head clear, "We're talking business, not... whatever you talk about on dates." Tossing his phone onto his bed, Izuku opens his closet and stares at the clothes inside.
~~~
Gently stirring her drink, Yu's purple eyes watching the door of the café as the clock ticks closer and closer to five. Fresh out of her post-patrol shower, the fruity scent of her shampoo lingers just barely perceptible beneath the smell of the peach tea. The green bush of hair that belongs to her student pops into view out the window, and her smile grows, tongue ever so briefly licking her lips. Nothing like a visit from her favourite boy after a great patrol. As she watches, he pulls out his phone before looking up at the address and name of the business, puffs up his chest, squares his shoulders and walks inside.
The greeting from the cashier seems to squeeze his anxiety out again, but as he scans the room and sets his eyes on her, they alight. With the same energy she saw when she first saw him, he hurries over, sliding his bag off and giving her a small bow. "Good evening, Yu-sensei, I hope your patrol went well."
Waving him down lazily with a hand, she rests her chin on the back of her other hand, saying, "It was a pretty boring one. Only a couple rookie villains to stop, and the cameras would not stop following me the whole time." Pausing to take a sip, her eyes wander over him as he sits, his shoulders squeezing forward a bit, gaze seemingly locked on the middle of the table and both hands hidden on his lap. "So, you've got the designs? I'll admit, I've been curious as to what that adorable little mind of yours came up with."
He nods quickly, anxiety seemingly vanishing into the air as he reaches into his backpack, pulling out a newer looking notebook. "It wasn't hard to decide What I wanted to design, the bigger issue was the How." he says, flipping through pages, "From what I've read, Transformation quirks are the hardest to make reliable support gear for, since its a physical change, unlike emitter or mutant quirks. Yours was even harder, despite being such a simple change." As he lays it down, she can see an anatomically accurate drawing of her in her hero costume, pairs of numbers listed all around it. "It wasn't easy to get all the measurements at both sizes, but I watched all the videos and..." Catching her sly smile, the gears in his brain crash to a halt as blood is brought to his face faster than Villains are brought to justice by All Might.
"I'm sure you must have been able to see all my good sides then," Yu says with a purr, "But you know, if you had asked, I would have let you measure me personally." Letting him stew in his embarrassment for just a moment later, she lets out a soft laugh. "Sorry, sorry, it's just you're so innocent and cute I can't help but want to tease you. If you needed my measurements though, I would have given them if you asked."
"Sorry," he says, head low, "I just didn't want to bother you. You've already done so much for me and I've given basically nothing back..."
A flick to his forehead snaps him out, and she lets out a huff, breath visible through the steam of her tea. "You've done plenty already, and you've been working on more. Besides, we'd have a terrible relationship if we only did things because one of us owed the other." Pulling over the notebook, she looks over herself in all her pen and paper glory. "You really caught my good side here."
"You don't have any bad sides," he mutters, just barely audible before he shakes his head clear, "Sorry, I keep distracting you." Flipping to the next page, a couple sketches of armour catch her eye amid the clouds of words and math. "I did a lot of looking into support gear and costumes, and I found a lot don't do protection. Most heroes that don't make it to the top 50 or so tend to get put out of the career by a crippling injury or death within ten years. I couldn't... I can't..." He pauses to wipe tears from his eyes before looking up at her, determination burning behind his emerald eyes. "I'm not going to let that happen to you."
A jolt shoots through her, heart quickening at his passionate declaration. "So what's the plan? There isn't any armour that would grow with me."
Green hair bobs in a nod, as he turns the page again, "You don't need as much protection when gigantic, so I focused on a way to protect you before then." Pointing to an image, he says, "I didn't want to ruin your look, so I designed the chest piece to match your outfit, with a simple defensive skirt to protect your waist and thighs without impeding movement. Bedliner coated steel backed by Kevlar padding should make it incredibly resistant or immune to most street level weapons, as well as good protection from a lot of quirks and general wear and tear. The real problem was figuring out how to have it not get in the way when you grow."
"Some of it was easy. Anything not holding the armour up could just be held by mid strength magnets. They won't just fall apart with general movement, but will easily pop free when stressed by your growth. Putting it back on, they just click into place easily too. For the shoulders and hips, I, uh, ended up looking at pet collars." he says, suddenly blushing at the implications of his words.
"A little kinky there, Green Bean, don't you think?" Yu asks with a sly smile, watching as he grows redder and redder.
"N-not like that, I meant cat and dog collars," he exclaims while fighting the urge to cover his face, "Outdoor cat's especially need special collars that won't accidentally hang the cat if they get snagged while jumping, so they're designed to pop open easily enough. At human size, they should be strong enough to hold up the armour, but still give when you start growing. I'm a little worried about the shoulders though since they would pop around your neck most likely, and I don't want it to accidentally choke you."
Nodding, Yu looks at the designs, before closing the book gently. "You've got the plans. Now, do you think you could build this yourself?"
"I..." he starts with a pause, "I probably could, but it would take too long. I don't have any of the tools or skills, but blacksmithing is a well known and well documented skill, so learning it wouldn't take too long. The bedliner is easy enough, though styling it colour-wise might take a little finesse." A second notebook suddenly comes out of his bag and he begins writing as his tone drops to a mutter. "If I buy the breastplate, chain skirt and kevlar vest, that would cut most of the time, though it wouldn't be cheap, maybe 130,000 yen? I'd have to redo the fittings, which would be cheap enough but time consuming..."
His phone is pulled out, and as she watches, numbers and websites get written down. Times, costs, locations for everything from metalworkers and postal services to cosplay supply stores. "If I somehow manage to not screw anything up, It would take..." His phone swaps to a calculator app, and with a few pen strokes, he speaks out loud again. "I could probably have it done in about a month."
"Sounds good to me," Yu says before taking a sip of tea. "I'll get you an Agency credit card after this so you can get started."
He suddenly jolts as if a live wire zapped him, shaking his head vigorously before saying, "I couldn't. You really don't... Wouldn't it be better if you had professionals make it?"
"You're the one training for the Support course right now. Getting your gear on a pro is a great way to get your foot in the door." She says, leaning back and stretching just enough her shirt lifts a little, exposing the lowest of her soft abs to him. "After all, didn't you say you were gonna make sure that I wouldn't get taken out by an injury?"
"I did but..."
Reaching across the table, she sinks her hand into his hair before saying, "If it turns out you can't do it, we'll send on the blueprints to a professional company and have them figure it out, okay?" As he looks up, she gives him a smile and a tousle before asking, "So, how are other things going? Is your friend still doing alright?"
"Kacchan is fine. He's really strong so something like this won't bother him." he replies with a smile, "He's really amazing. I mean, you saw his quirk before, he's going to make a great hero." The smile fades quickly though, as he looks down at his own hands, "He'll be a better hero than I could..."
"Maybe he will be, maybe he won't be." Yu shrugs, "I think you're gonna become a great hero regardless. And besides, he's not the one getting to spend time with a hot new heroine, is he?"
"I guess..." he says while scratching his head.
"You guess? Am I not attractive enough?" She pouts while squeezing her arms together to push out her bust. "Or do you not like spending time with me?"
"It's not that, you're very pretty, it's just... there are so many better hero hopefuls you could be helping instead of me."
Downing the last of her tea, Yu rises to her feet, frowning down at Izuku. "What am I gonna do with you...?" He curls under her gaze, but her eyes wander to the notebook. An idea forms, and with it a smug smile. "Grab your notebook and follow me, Midoriya, I've got an idea that will help you." Waltzing out of the shop, he hurriedly snatches up his book before chasing after her, pausing long enough to bow and thank the barista.
Leading him back to her agency, she takes him back up to the same meeting room as before and sits him down. "Just wait here a sec, I've got to grab something." Entering her private office, she grabs a few sheets of paper from the printer, some writing utensils as well as one of the Agency credit cards. Izuku's already wringing his hands nervously as she returns, causing her to huff. Setting the items in front of him, she says, "This is one of my Agency's credit cards, I want you to use it to pay for what you need to make my support gear."
His hands immediately recoil from the card as he shakes his head vigorously, "I can't that's too much. I can just sell some of my merchandise and..."
Grabbing his hand in her own, she drags it to the card, saying, "Midoriya. Izuku, I trust you not to abuse this. This is going to be my support gear, it's only fair I pay for it." As she releases his hand, he takes the card and clutches it to his chest, nodding. "Good. Now, for the second thing. I want you to draw me."
"Huh?"
"You're good at drawing, and I want you to make one for me. I'll even model for you so you can get it perfect." Pink starts to creep up his cheeks, and she steps back, lifting a foot onto the table to pose and let her skirt ride up her shapely thighs, "I can stay dressed like this, or maybe you'd like me in my Hero costume? How about in a swimsuit? Maybe just my underwear, or perhaps... nothing at all?"
Metaphorical steam starts spewing from his ears as his face goes red as a strawberry. "Y-your Hero costume please, and uh... if it's okay, could we maybe do it in the gym? I kinda have an idea, but it needs the mirror wall to help."
"Sounds good to me, give me a moment to change." Stepping towards her changing room, she pauses just outside the door to look back at him before winking, "Just make sure you don't peek." If it was possible for him to get any redder, he did, leaving her with a smile as she starts changing. For a minute, she heavily considers not putting her lineless Hero suit underwear on, just to give the poor boy a little show, but common sense prevails enough that she suits up like normal.
His eyes sparkle in admiration and awe as she returns, similar to his stare when she debuted. Walking with him back to the elevator, his hands clutch the art supplies with only a slight nervous energy. It almost feels like a waste taking it down only one floor, but as it opens to the fully stocked gym, Izuku immediately starts looking around. Going from bench to bench, he seems to mentally measure them but is never quite satisfied. Eventually, he settles on grabbing 20kg plates, moving them one at a time to stack up near the mirror wall.
Nodding to himself, he grabs one of the chairs from the wall and moves it over, setting it a distance from the weights, facing both them and the mirror wall. "Okay, Umm... Yu-sensei, could you stand over next to those weights with your right foot on them?"
Following his request, she moves over, taking the pose and asking, "Alright, what else?"
"Can you put your left hand on your hip, and hmnn..." Tilting his head, a small frown marks his face as he looks things over.
"Don't be afraid to get a little handsy if you need to change up my pose. You're the director here, I'm just your model."
"You're not just my model, you're my Sensei. It would be disrespectful."
Letting out a huff and putting her other hand on her hips, she replies, "Well then as your Sensei, I'm not just giving you permission to adjust my pose, but I'm ordering you to do it so you can do your best on the drawing."
His nod is a bit meek, but he approaches, looking over her with a scrutinizing gaze. Up close, she realizes he's actually just a little taller than her. Only an inch or so, but surprising nonetheless. His hands grab her right hand, guiding it up to her face, before he shows her a two fingered V pose with a hand, which she copies. Stepping back a moment, he checks the angle, before adjusting it's position a little, so her index finger sits just below her eye, and her middle goes over it like some sort of magical girl.
Her hips are suddenly grabbed, and she can't fight the blush that starts creeping up on her, but apparently, neither can he. Still, he remains professional enough, shifting her balance and stance just a little before stepping back to check over things again. Nodding, a small smile comes out before he asks, "Could you show me your pretty smile?" The unintentional compliment does it's job, drawing a natural, shining smile from her that lights up his own. "Perfect, just stay like that!" Almost hopping back to the chair, he sits down, frowns briefly before shifting the chair a few feet. Seemingly satisfied with the spot, he sets the paper on a notebook and grabs a pencil.
Never let it be said that Yu Takeyama won't suffer for someone else, because not even twenty minutes in and she can feel her leg cramping up and her arm growing tired. 'Maybe I should join Izuku for some exercise every once in a while,' she thinks to herself, watching him scribble and scratch away at the page. In a moment he's seemingly focused on the page, she lets her arm drop and shake out a bit, before lifting it back up, the tired ache only slightly faded.
"I-if you're getting tired, I can just take a picture with my phone and use that as a reference," he says, concern etched on his face.
Her smile relaxes under his doe eyed gaze, and she quickly shakes her head. "It's fine. I signed up for this, and I wanna see you to do your best work. I can handle a bit of soreness if that's all it will take." A certain degree of urgency enters his movements, though the energy in his eyes remains determined.
Fifteen minutes later and a small part of her is wishing she took him up on his offer. Both legs have started locking up, her smile is starting to cramp and her raised arm has started to go numb, but sweet relief comes when Izuku announces, "I've got you done. You don't have to stay there anymore."
Collapsing without a care for how she looks, Yu lays out on the mat, almost as sore as after a busy patrol. "Thank fuck," she groans, using her still functional arm to start massaging her numb one, "That was way harder than I thought. How's it looking, Midoriya?"
"Good, but... are you okay?" He asks, setting his drawing aside. A shaky arm tries to give him a thumbs up, but falls halfway and he's at her side in an instant. "If it was that bad, you should have told me," he says, hands hovering near her, unsure of what to do.
"It's fine, nothing a hot shower and a little massaging won't fix."
"I could help with that," he offers, and as she raises an eyebrow, he quickly amends, "T-the massaging, I mean. I've helped my mom with it a little after she has a hard shift at work, so I'm okay at it."
Rolling onto her chest, she stretches out her arms and says, "Since you're offering, my legs are all cramped up, you mind working some magic?" Behind her, he shimmies and shuffles a bit, before his hands tentatively touch her ankle. The touches are soft and gentle, but as she opens her mouth to tell him to go harder, they suddenly dig in, pressing into knots. A low groan comes from her lips as his hands work up her calf, before switching to the other leg.
Once up to her knee on that leg too, he shimmies up, straddling her calves as his hands get to work on her muscular but soft thighs. The cramps are slowly but firmly worked out, her satisfaction coming in the form of quiet moans and groans. Reaching the top of her thighs, he suddenly stops, leaning to get off her legs. "You're not finished yet, are you? I trust you not to do anything weird," Yu says, leaning a bit to look back over her shoulder, "Besides, how often are you gonna get permission to touch a heroine's butt?"
His blush is sharp, but he sits back down, his weight gently pressing down on her soothed thighs. Featherlight at first, she can barely feel his touch through her suit, but he eventually builds up the courage to dig in. She has to bite back a loud moan as his hands sink into her ass, digging deep into her glutes to knead and relax her muscles. Inside her mind, a little meter labeled "Boyfriend material" rises up as she holds back another lewd sound as his ministrations incidentally spread her cheeks.
In what feels like far too short a time, he's finished with her hips and butt, and shifts off her properly this time. "Feel any better?" he asks, hands held nervously in front of him.
"Way better, yeah. Thanks for that Midoriya." She says, slowly pushing herself up, "I'm gonna grab a shower, you're still not finished the drawing, right?"
"A little more drawing, then I want to ink the lines so it can't be erased." he replies, pointedly looking away as she stretches and flexes her legs right in front of him.
"Sounds good. I'll be quick and handle tidy up here, feel free to go back up to the office if you want to." With more sway in her step than needed, she disappears into the changing room, leaving Izuku to gather up the art supplies and hop into the elevator. The coffee table is too low to use with the couch, so Izuku just sits on the floor, pulling out his phone for some photo references. There weren't many of the villain from her debut, but enough he can draw something that would pass as being close enough without being that villain. Thankfully, from the top down, they don't need many details, though drawing dreadlocks ate up time.
Flicking out her damp hair as she exits the elevator, Yu slowly walks over to the bush of green hair, barely visible past the sofa. Peeking over him at the drawing, her breath is stolen but she's left with a wide smile instead. In the pose she took in the gym, she stands full sized, foot on the villain from her debut as he's downed on the ground. Behind her, a skyscraper reflects her form in it's windows, giving a generous but not too detailed look at her backside.
"Izuku, this looks amazing!" she exclaims, wrapping around his shoulders, "You totally caught me in that drawing, it's so cool!"
"'s not that good," he mumbles as his face turns pink, unable to handle the praise or contact.
"It might not be as good as a professional, no, but you put a lot of effort into it and it shows." Squeezing him some more, Yu finds herself subtly feeling up his chest, the barest hint of muscles there. "And besides, I have plans for this, and no I'm not gonna sell it as merch or anything, this is something you made just for me." She says, pre-empting his objections as he almost jumps in her grip. He slowly relaxes in her embrace but before long she lets him go, standing with a sigh. "Well, I'll leave you to finish this, I've got some paperwork to do in the meantime, so just find me when you're done."
"Yes Sensei."
Walking into her office, the dread of the day's paperwork sets in, only somewhat muffled by the promise of Izuku's art. With just a single disappointed groan, she settles onto her chair and pulls out a pen.
Notes:
And here's chapter 2 of the 3 I have already prepared. Hopefully I'll have a fourth ready by the time I would need it, and thankfully, your comments and feedback have been stirring my muse a little.
Chapter Text
Friday is a rest day. The perfect day to wind down from the week of school and after-school exercise. With only a half day on Saturday, it leaves plenty of time for a full hard workout then, with Sunday to rest and be ready for the new week. And what better for a hero aspirant to do on a rest day than to study up on heroes and watch all the latest Hero news.
"Kamui Woods is still going strong, but his quirk is a super strong capture type, and he's really good with it," Midoriya mutters to himself as he carefully watches the footage of the robbers getting undone by sudden branches, "Top 100 for sure, top fifty in a few years." touching up a few details on his sketch of the hero and adjusting a few numbers, his viewing is interrupted as an emergency report starts.
"We have a breaking news report. We have confirmation of one dead, six injured in the aftermath of a particularly violent villain attack involving the recently debuted hero Mt Lady. The heroine suffered minor injuries in the conflict, but successfully captured the villain. The attack happened on..."
"Oh that poor hero," Inko says from behind the couch, "It's terrible, having something like this happen so early in her career."
Immediately dialing his Sensei's number, Izuku's heart jumps as it goes straight to voicemail. Jumping to his feet, Izuku hurries to the door, fumbling to get his shoes on as he says, "Mom, I need to go out for a bit, I'll be back later."
"Is everything okay, dear?" she asks as he throws open the door, hands clasped together as she watches him leave.
"I don't know, but I just have to go check."
Flying down the apartment steps, he lands in a sprint, headed straight to the local train station. Riding the first train that will get him close, he tries her number again, only to get directed to voicemail yet again. Every minute stuck waiting slowly twists his guts, squeezing anxiety a little higher with every station it passes. In far too long, yet barely any time at all, he's at his stop and running again. The ever plain agency becomes visible, its entryway swarmed by reporters and others, all crowding in, yelling for comments.
Diverting down the back alleys, they're thankfully devoid of paparazzi as he makes his way up to the agency's back door. Entering his pin on the pad, it beeps green letting him enter to start up the dozen flights of stairs to get to her offices. Another keypad with a different pin lets him into the main area, the layout still the same, but with one addition. Still in her hero outfit, Mt Lady lay flopped out face down on one of the couches.
"Sensei, how are you feeling?"
She almost jumps, pushing herself up to meet his gaze, her eyes red from tears. "M-Midoriya, what are you doing here? It's your day off, isn't it?" she asks, quickly wiping her face on her costume's sleeve.
"I saw the news and..." Hands clenched together, he moves closer with slow steps, "I don't really know what to do, but I want to help. You don't have to go through this alone."
Rising to her feet, Yu quickly crosses the room to rest her head on his shoulder as her arms wrap around him. "Thank's, Izuku, I..." His arms squeeze her with a comforting strength while she gathers her thoughts. Relishing his grip for a minute or two, she eventually pulls away, saying, "Sorry, I shouldn't be like this. I'm a hero, We're supposed to be icons of justice and stuff."
Shaking his head, Izuku pulls her back into the hug, "You're still human, nobody should have to handle things like this alone."
"Geez," she murmurs, pressing her cheek to his, "I really picked the best student ever, huh?" Leaning into the embrace more, she lets herself relax as he supports her weight. "So, what now, Izuku?"
"Um, well, when I have a bad day, I get cozy and watch hero videos and have my mom make Katsudon for dinner. Oh, I heard eating ice cream helps, so we could get that too." Blinking, the irony of having a hero in his arms makes him blush before saying, "We don't have to watch hero videos though, there's plenty of movies and shows we could watch, or even video games if you like that."
"Sounds like a good way to get my mind off this, at least for a day or two." She says with a smile, pulling back from the hug once again. "Your place or mine?"
Blood rushing to his face, Midoriya lets out a squeak before stuttering, "M-my place. T-there's no way I c-could s-spend the night at your house, Sensei."
With just the smallest hint of a smile, she gives him a light shove before turning away. "A bold assumption there, Midoriya." she says, throwing a smirk over her shoulder before her mood catches up, and she slumps a little. "Give me a bit to change here, and we can get going."
Nodding, Izuku takes a seat before sending off a text to his mom, giving a brief explanation of what's going on. Her reply is justifiably confused but understanding on top of asking for a few more details. A few more messages back and forth, and mostly everything will be ready when he gets back with Yu. Speaking of, the blonde Heroine returns from the changing room, now in a pair of skinny jeans, a tight shirt and a still unbuttoned light jacket.
"I've let my Mom know what's going on, but if we want ice cream, we'll have to get it ourselves," Midoriya says, standing up and pocketing his phone. "Also, we should sneak out the back, the front is covered with reporters."
Holding a hand out to him, she says, "Lead the way."
With all the tender nervousness of an inexperienced teenaged boy, Izuku takes her hand in his, before heading for the back staircase. Through the door, down the stairs and out into the alley, his grip on her remains firm. The squabbling of the reporters echoes between the building as they travel along the back alleys till they're far enough away. Walking to the station, Izuku can't help but notice the lack of her usual personality. Her every step is gut wrenchingly familiar to his own before he was told he could be a hero. Before he met her.
Getting on the train they sit quietly, side by side amid the early evening traffic. The scenery passing outside does little to distract him from his companion, who seems to slowly curl upon herself as they travel, her eyes locked on the floor between her feet. Words of assurance catch in his throat, so instead of saying something stupid, he reaches his arm over her to gently hug her to his side.
Looking over at him, she gets a soft, warm smile and a gentle squeeze that makes a smile start to tug at her lips. "When did you get so smooth," she says softly as she elbows his side before letting out a huff and leaning into him. "I guess I don't mind right now."
With a willpower normally reserved for chasing his dream of heroics, Izuku manages to keep it together long enough for them to reach their stop and get off the train before he turns into a blushing mess. No longer hand in hand, they take a brief detour to stop at a convenience store for ice cream and a whole bag of snack food before arriving at Midoriya's apartment complex.
"It's not much since it's just Mom and I," Izuku says, opening the door before calling, "I'm back with Yu-sensei."
"Welcome back Izuku. Make yourself at home, Miss Takeyama, I'll get started on dinner."
Gently tugging her into the apartment, he switches to his slippers and says, "Go ahead and get comfy, I'll get the ice cream in the freezer then we can figure out what we want to do." Taking a brief moment to give his mom a hug, he stores the frozen treat and returns to find Yu flopped out across the couch again. Sitting down in front of the couch, he takes the remote and clicks on the tv and immediately changes it off the hero news channel. "What do you want to do, Sensei?"
Sitting up slowly, she looks down at him before setting a hand in his soft fluffy hair with a smile. "Put on a cheesy monster movie and bring the biggest softest blanket you have here." The TV swaps to streaming, a B-movie starting with a few more clicks before Izuku gets up to go dig through the closet. He returns a moment later with a thick winter comforter to wrap around her. As he hands her the blanket, she takes hold of his hands, yanking him down onto the couch with her. "You're staying with me," she says, putting the blanket around both of them.
With a cushion's gap between them, Yu can't help but feel a little disappointed, Izuku's earlier confidence gone in favour of a nervous boy trying a little too hard to stay focused on the movie. With an internal huff, she shifts a little closer before leaning into his side and resting her head on his shoulder. He jolts straight, hands suddenly clasping together in his lap while his eyes lock on the screen ahead, unable to look over at her.
"Don't be so stiff, Izuku," she grumbles, "Weren't you the one who said I shouldn't do this alone? Didn't you not hesitate to comfort me on the train? I just want someone to hold me close and let me know things will be fine."
Softening under her words, he lets out a long slow exhale before grabbing her up and pulling her onto his lap side saddle. Both his arms and the blanket wrap around her before she can speak, engulfing her in a soft warmth. "Is this better?"
"Much."
Relaxed in his gentle grip, head resting on his shoulder, Yu lets the feelings of the day fade as her mind is turned to mush by the low quality horror film. When a bag of chips is opened, she bites some straight from his hand, and while his lack of meaningful reaction is a little disappointing, it's not enough to ruin the cozy mood. The movie's halfway done by the time dinner is ready, a pair of Katsudon bowls brought over by Mrs. Midoriya who has an indecipherable look on her face hidden behind a smile as she looks at the pair.
If not for being weighed down, Izuku would have jumped as his favourite food is laid before them, instead he only squeezes her tight with one arm so he can lean forward to grab a bowl with his other hand. The scent of egg and pork wafts up as his embrace eases off so he can hold both the bowl and the chopsticks. When the first load of pork, egg and rice is lifted up, she can't help but blink as it's held in front of her, waiting.
When her mouth opens, the food is guided in to bathe her tongue in its nostalgic taste. A simple meal made after a day of school, a cheap and quick meal ordered at a small restaurant during a rushed lunch. The kind of taste you can have a thousand times but never get tired of. "You really know how to spoil a girl," she says as another bite is proffered as she finishes the first.
"You both need and deserve it," he replies, depositing the food in her open mouth. Crimson floods her cheeks as she chews and swallows before leaning into him more.
It doesn't take long to finish the dish, and he takes even less time with his own bowl, the only indicator he even tasted the meal being the occasional soft moan. More snacks come after, and by the start of the second movie, ice cream is on the menu. Yu eventually shifts, laying out across the couch with her head in his lap, the blanket being moved to cover her lower body. Halfway through the second movie, he ends up shifting as well, legs stretched out behind her as he leans on the armrest.
Not one to give up the opportunity, she slides up, leaning back against his chest, pulling his arm down in front of her shoulders. Ever so slowly, the troubles of the day are pushed back and kept away even as the exhaustion sets in. The warmth of the blanket, of his embrace, of his care all work together, lulling her to sleep before she realizes.
~~~
Gentle sunlight filtered through curtains slowly drag Yu to consciousness, a familiar, comforting smell pervading the area as instincts pull the blankets over her head. Memories return as her brain shakes off sleep, her failure, the cameras, the questions, the depression of the aftermath, and yet also Izuku doing his best to help. The memory of his arms around her combined with his scent pervading the air sends a flush of warmth through her system as she nestles in.
"Izuku!" she exclaims, shooting upright and looking around. Heroic faces greet her from nearly every surface, posters, figurines and merchandise filling seemingly every nook and cranny. Even her own visage stares back, a full collection of her newly released poster series lined across the wall front and center. Pulling off the blanket and shifting to the edge, she can't help but notice she's still fully dressed. "I guess he's still himself, even if he is a teenage boy."
Leaving the bedroom and slipping into the bathroom, Yu gives herself a once over, wiping away the clingy scent of sweat with a washcloth. A borrowed brush works out the tangles of sleep and brings back the natural bouncy spirals that run down the front of her hair. Some mouthwash and a splash of water across her face and she steps forth from the bathroom, ready to face the day.
At least until a chill runs down her spine and she turns to spot Inko sitting at the dining room table, a steaming cup of coffee resting between her hands.
"Good morning, Miss Takeyama, would you like some coffee?" Inko asks in a slow, controlled monotone. When the heroine shakes her head, Inko gestures to the chair across the table from her. "Then sit, I believe we have things to talk about."
Taking a seat across from Midoriya's mom, her hands find themselves clasped in her lap, legs together and back straight.
Focused green eyes stare deeply into her own, before all the tension leaves Inko's body like a balloon. "As a mother, I want to forbid Izuku from seeing you, to keep him safe from your wiles, yet..." Her gaze shifts to the coffee before her, her posture defeated. "And yet, as a Mom, I can see how good you've been for him. He's happier, healthier and more driven than he's been, well, almost ever. You've seen his room, it used to be almost entirely All Might, and now he's got every piece of merch he could find of yours. I don't know what happened between you two, but you're one of his idols now."
Memories surface of her first real talk with him, the insecurities, the self doubt, and eventually his question. "I think it's because I believed in him. He asked me if he could be a hero, and I said he could with hard work." The image of him, determination burning in his watery eyes springs to mind, and Yu can't help but feel a flush of pride. "I mean, he was just this adorable little green string bean. Smart and heroic, yes, but that's not enough to beat villains, so I offered to help with his training and let him use the gym at my agency since he'd have troubles with normal gyms."
"So you know then?"
"About how he's quirkless, yeah. He told me." A hand lifts to her chest, clenching even as her heart does, thinking of what he must have suffered through, "When I first really talked to him, he was a mess of nerves and anxiety and self doubt, and while I'm no therapist, I think he's doing a lot better now."
The greenette nods, taking a moment to take a sip of her drink before saying, "When he was little, when he was... diagnosed as quirkless, I couldn't support his dream. Even since then, I've never been able to support him, not like you have. Not like he wants." Tears slowly begin to drip down her face as she stares into the swirling blackness of her coffee.
"Maybe not, but it's also because of you that he's the amazing boy he is today." Yu says, reaching across the table to pat the woman's hand, "You raised him to be kind and caring and smart. Sure, you weren't perfect, but nobody is. I mean, I'm a disaster in the kitchen, and..."
Pushing herself up from the table, Inko swells with determination, walking around the table to grab Yu's hand. "Well we can't have that. Everyone needs to know how to cook, and you especially need to learn how to make Izuku's favourites if you want to be with him." Pulled to her feet, Yu finds an apron shoved into her hands as Inko turns to start pulling things out of cupboards. "We'll start simple, have you ever used a rice cooker before?"
Several hours later, Izuku arrives home to the pervasive smell of Katsudon before even entering the apartment. "Mom, I'm home!" he calls out, only to be greeted by an unusual sight. The kitchen, so often occupied by his mom, is instead manned by his sensei, her hair done up in a bouncy ponytail and her body draped in his own All Might apron. His mind only had barely a few seconds to handle the message of "Smash the Chef" written across her chest before a fresh wave of Katsudon smell sucks away his rational thought as she turns to him, a steaming bowl of it in hand.
"Welcome home, Izuku, your Mom's been teaching me how to cook." She says, setting the bowl down at the table, "We can have it for lunch before we head to my agency for today's work out, yeah?"
Izuku simply nods, not trusting his mouth not to say something stupid. Sitting down in front of the bowl, he feels Yu's eyes on him as he takes his first bite. A second and third follow immediately before he takes the time to breathe and say, "It's good."
There's a quiet, near inaudible squeal from her before she pushes out her chest, hands on her hips as she says, "Of course it is, I did my best and I'm amazing." Dishing up a bowl of her own, she takes a seat next to him at the table and digs in. From the first bite, she can tell it's not as good as the bowl she had last night, but it's heaven and earth compared to what she would have made if asked to do it this morning.
Finishing a bite, he lays his chopsticks across the bowl and looks right at her. "How are you feeling, Yu?"
Her proud facade quivers under his gaze before falling away into an earnest nervousness. "I..." she starts, before letting out a soft sigh, "It still hurts. Not the injuries, but the failure. I did my best, and it wasn't enough. People got hurt... someone died. I have to go on knowing someone died because of my inability to protect them." Trying to blink away tears as they form, a hand suddenly wraps around her own, squeezing it softly.
"You did the best you can do for now." Izuku says softly, "But you're like me. With so much room ahead to improve, we can only get better from here." His second hand joins his first in wrapping around hers, and his own smile slowly brings one out from her as their eyes lock. "And I'll do whatever I can to help, Sensei."
A warm silence fills the air between them as neither seeks to break the contact until Inko pokes her nose into it. "Don't let the food get cold you two." She says, reminding them both of her presence. Soft blushes grace cheeks as they detach and turn back to their lunches, but the smiles stick too. "Don't worry about the dishes, I can handle them while you two go do whatever it is you do." The blushes return with a vengeance as Inko starts tidying up the leftovers.
Notes:
A bit of a shorter one, and the last of the stuff I have done. I might still be able to get one done for next week, but after that, who knows.
Chapter Text
Drawing little more than a spare glance from the receptionist, Izuku walks into the building containing Mt Lady's agency with a heavy box in hand. Taking the elevator up to her offices, he's greeted by the blonde Heroine half hanging off the couch, looking bored as can be. As the elevator doors ding open, her stunning purple eyes lock onto him before she perks up immediately.
"Is that what I think it is, Izuku?" she asks, hopping off the couch before giving a stretch.
Fluffy green hair bobs as the boy nods, "I just finished it earlier and tested it myself to make sure it wouldn't just fall apart. I don't know how well it will do on the job, or how long it will hold together, but..." The box is snatched from his hands, Yu setting it on the table and pulling open the lid.
"It'll be fine," she says, waving away his worries, "You did your best, and this looks pretty darn good." Lifting out the chestpiece, the rough, matte finish is perfectly dyed and the magnetic clasps hold together even with a solid shake. "Well, I suppose I should get my hero outfit on so we can make sure it fits right." Setting the chestplate back in the box, she moves to get her hero suit, before pausing. "Remember, Izuku, no peeking... Unless maybe you wanna play dress-up with your favourite Heroine?"
His mouth opens to respond before he flushes red with embarrassment and lets out a whiny "Yuuu..."
Giggling like a schoolgirl, Yu slips into the changing room and does what the room is meant for. Off comes her street clothes, on goes her hero costume. Wiggling her toes in the infused hair and cloth outfit, a brief thought strikes her about asking Izuku if he can figure out how to make growing boots eventually. Heading back into the main room, she can't help but notice how his eyes light up as he sees her in costume. "Well, Izuku," she starts, holding her arms up, "are you going to help me put it on and get it fitted?"
Excitement changes to embarrassment as Izuku's face flushes red, his freckles and hair making him look almost like a strawberry. Regardless, with all the bravery a normal teenage boy can muster, he brings the pieces over, starting first with the skirt. His hands ghost over her waist and thighs as he clicks on the skirt, despite already having rather intimately touched them before. After aligning the magnets and shaking out any misaligned links, he steps back to look.
The waist remains loose enough it won't just pop free, while not allowing too much movement. The skirt extends halfway down her thigh, the purple quirk-dyed metal shining bright, having been recently polished. As Izuku pulls back, Yu gives her hips a few shakes, feeling the way the skirt sways and swings. Turning away from him, she reaches up before bending to reach for her toes, giving her student an excellent view of her tight backside in her equally tight hero suit.
"Well, this feels like it fits good, now for the main event." Yu says, turning back to face the still blushing Izuku. While she lifts her arms, it takes him a moment before he gets to his feet, lifting up the top half of her new protective gear. The magnets holding the sides together come apart as he pulls, though not without some effort on his part. Split like a strange clam, the back half is lifted over her head and lowered into place, joining the front half with the clicks of magnets grabbing each other. With it in place, nervous fingers adjust the numerous straps, tightening the armour around her torso.
When he gets the last of the straps adjusted just right, Izuku steps back, his hands clasped together nervously. "That's it... Is it alright?"
Rolling her shoulders and wiggling her hips, Yu gives her green haired not yet Support Technician a grin. "Feels good, Izuku. Maybe a little tight in the chest, but that can be fixed by adjusting a few straps later. Want to hit the gym in a bit and give it a run through its paces?" He nods, an eager grin overtaking his nervousness as her own grin widens. "Great, but first, I've got something to show you and give to you." A soft blush fills his cheeks as she grabs his hand before dragging him into her office. With a twirl and a pose, she points to the wall with a "Tada!".
Spread out on the wall in full 60cmX90cm, his drawing for her is now blown up into a poster. If not for the lack of colour, he'd have mistaken it for proper merchandise. "Whoa, is that alright, Yu-Sensei? I mean, it's really not that good, and this is your office and..."
"I think it looks great," she replies, throwing an arm over his shoulder and pulling up next to him. "You did a really good job with it." Releasing him, she slips behind her desk to pull out a poster tube, "And for what I need to give you, Behold." Drawn out from the tube is a second copy of the poster, this one slightly different. Down in the open bottom corner, her signature is scrawled in violet ink, paired with a bright pink lipstick kiss. "A copy for you, signed by yours truly. A unique bit of merch that only you and I will have. What do you think?" she asks as one hand holds out the poster to him, the other resting on her hip in a proud pose.
Emerald eyes water up before an arm brushes them away as he smiles at her. "It's amazing, Yu-Sensei! I'll cherish it forever!"
Unable to hold back her smile, Yu does a small fist pump before passing the poster tube to Izuku. "Well I'm glad you like it. Now, if you have the time, what do you say we head down to the gym and give this suit a run through its paces? We won't have the space to test how well it comes off when I grow, but if you're interested, we could do a little hand to hand practice, see how it holds up if some villain wants to get... handsy."
Pink fills Izuku's cheeks as her hands start making very lewd grabbing motions, but he nods and says, "I've... not gotten much practice fighting yet, but I'll do my best, Sensei."
Running the armour through the basics proves quite successful. It holds strong through running, shadowboxing and most stretches, only giving up a few magnets of grip on some more extreme ones. With those out of the way, mats were brought out and a ring was made in the middle of the gym. All too soon, Izuku found himself standing across from her, ready to actually try fighting for once.
"I'm ready whenever you are, Izuku."
Gloved hands clench into fists as he lowers himself just a little before throwing himself at her. A sloppy, telegraphed punch is easily deflected by the heroine who counters with a quick but weak jab he's just barely able to avoid. He just barely manages to slip a grab before stumbling back to avoid a leg sweep. She straightens up, armour still in place as she takes a slightly more relaxed stance. "Not bad, Izuku. You're pretty good at dodging."
"I've uh... had a lot of practice I guess." He nervously replies while scratching his head.
It only takes a few seconds for Yu's brain to put two and two together to get bullying, so she twirls a hair drill with a finger as she says, "We can discuss your prior training later, we still need to test out my new armour." Rapping her knuckles against her chestplate, the hard knocking sound gets Izuku to take up a fighting pose again. Three punches hit her torso in short order, the blows almost entirely dissipated by the hard shell and soft interior. "Not bad, but you need to work on your form, my student." She says while making the motion of dusting off the chestplate, "Now how about some grappling?"
With a gulp and a nod, Izuku steps in close, eyeing her up and down before setting his feet and grabbing for her shoulder and waist. With the chest plate in his grip, he tries to lift and throw her but the magnets give away almost immediately. The chest plate gets yanked up and off as his footing slips, sending the front plate flying behind him as he hits the ground. No longer supported, the back plate hits the ground at almost the same time before Yu takes a couple steps over him. "Well, at least we know it'll help prevent me from getting tossed, though now I have to worry about losing the parts or it getting stolen..." Squatting slightly, she offers him a hand that he readily takes.
She takes a step back as she pulls him to his feet, before closing the already small distance between them and wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. "Looks like we'll have to work on your grappling and throws too." He immediately starts blushing and she leans in closer and closer, bodies pressed close together until till he closes his eyes and the tips of their noses touch. Moving a half step back, she suddenly grabs him around the arm before throwing him to the mat in a textbook Judo shoulder toss. "I suppose I'll have to train you to not get distracted in combat either." She adds, squatting right next to his head with a pink cheeked smirk.
Midoriya's hands come up to cover his still crimson face as he groans.
~~~
With an excited spring in his step and a glowing smile on his face, Izuku walks into Yu's agency's building, ready for his Saturday afternoon training. After all, when Yu's growth testing proved his armour detaches safely and properly and it got the go ahead for use, he can't help but feel good seeing it take the Hero News by storm. When she was asked who designed her new armour, he almost had a panic attack until she said it was from a prospective Support course student. The terror of potential public recognition got replaced swiftly by laugher as a clip of her taking down a villain by ripping of her own armour and beating the guy over the head with it plays, earning the Top Takedown of the Week title. But with all of that being yesterday, Izuku enters the gym, pumped up and ready to go until his brain and body come to a screeching halt at the sight of his Sensei doing some toe touches while facing away from him while wearing incredibly tight sports shorts.
Spotting his reflection as she straightens up, her loose white tank top slides back down her back before she throws a grin over her shoulder. "Hey Izuku, right on time. I've got the weekend off, so I figured I'd join you for your workout." Spinning around, she sets her hands on her hips before asking, "All right Green Bean, you ready to build some muscle?"
His heavy blush and stunned silence speak volumes.
"Go get changed and we can get started, Izuku." she says, sauntering over as he seems rooted to the spot. Stepping past, she turns and gives him a quick pat on the back that makes him jump forward before hurring off to go change. He returns only a few minutes later, wearing a pair of shorts and a light tee shirt. "Alright, time to start with some warmup stretches. You want any music?"
"Oh, I uh, normally put on Present Mic's Put Your Hands Up Radio show." Izuku replies, ruffling his own fluffy green hair.
"Sounds good to me, you know where the plug in is."
He runs over to a small table near the wall, pulls out his phone and plugs it in, a nearly over song suddenly coming from the speakers around the gym. Returning just as quickly, he takes a spot next to her and says, "Ready when you are, Sensei!"
Yu begins, guiding him through a fairly standard stretching routine. With the mirror wall ahead, he can imitate her while comparing his own form to hers, though on several occasions he finds himself staring as her tank top rises, or her shorts cling tight to her lower body as she stretches. Naturally Yu notices, though practice lets her keep her grin under control while Izuku fights down his blushes. Twenty blood pumping minutes later and the two are warmed up and ready to go.
Taking a swig from her water bottle, she sets it aside before turning to her student with a smile. "So, where do we wanna start, Izuku? We can spot each other on the bench press or squats, we've got free weights and the assorted machines. Of course, we gotta save the treadmill for last, Pro Trainers say to do Cardio last to make it more effective."
Green eyes wander over the equipment all around the room, before he points to the bench press. "Can we start with that? It's going to be the hardest, so I figure we should be in our best condition when we do it so that if something goes wrong we can keep each other from getting hurt."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll go first and then you can show me how much meat you've put on those twigs." Izuku nods before moving over as Yu slides a fifteen and ten kilo plate onto each side of the bar. Sitting in place, she asks, "This isn't too crazy for me, but I still have to ask, do you know how to spot for this?"
"I've never done it before but I made sure to look up everything I could think of before I started using your gym, Sensei, including how to spot. For the bench press, you stay above their head, keeping close to the bar, but don't touch it. Make sure you're always ready to grab it and use an over and under grip if it's really heavy." His face scrunches up in thought briefly before he adds, "Oh, and help lift and re-rack the bar."
Giving him an affirmative nod, Yu lays down on the bench, sliding up into place before getting a grip on the bar. Izuku takes his place at her head and grabs the bar with her. "Ready?" With his nod the pair lift the bar into the starting position before he lets go. The strain as she lowers to start the first rep is a bit more than expected, but the burn is tempered by her cute student leaning over her, ready to catch the weight. His tee shirt is too tight to flutter and reveal anything unlike her own top, but his admiring eyes locked on her feels just as good as she begins her set.
It takes almost no time for her to finish the first set, and as she rests up for the second she tilts her head back to look up at her student. "I guess it's been a bit longer than I thought since I've last gotten a good workout in. That's a bit... harder than I thought." Stretching her arms back causes her bust to push forward and Izuku's shorts to stir before they're interrupted by her timer going off. "Second set, let's go." She says getting back into position, Izuku taking his own.
After a grand total of five sets she slips out from under the bar and grabs her water bottle. Fresh cool water sprays out into her mouth as she squeezes, and with a little not so accidental clumsiness, a stray squirt drips down onto her tank top where the white cotton greedily drinks it up. Not enough to reveal anything but more than enough to kickstart a teenage boy's imagination.
Gently massaging her shoulders, she watches a flustered Izuku take off the ten kilo plates, leaving both fifteens on before sitting down. Like the reverse of her sets, she takes up the spotter spot, hands at the ready while he lays down, his fluffy hair nearly tickling her crotch. Once he's got his grip and she's got hers, she helps him lift off, bringing the bar over to neutral as her leaning lets her loose tank top hang open right above him.
His emerald eyes can't help but trace up her pale muscled stomach up until they find the light purple underside of her bra covered breasts. The bar almost slips from his grip as his cheeks explode with red and his face turns sharply to the side to avoid looking. "Whoa there, Izuku, you gotta keep focused." Yu says, still supporting the bar, "Getting distracted is a quick way to get hurt, in the gym or out being a Hero."
Taking a deep breath, he turns his gaze back up and re-grabs the bar, doing his best to ignore the indecent view he's getting. "I'm ready." Yu's grip slowly eases till he's holding it up on his own. Just like his teacher, he goes through a 5x5, resting for a couple minutes between each set. By the end his arms burn, but more than that, he can both feel his own and see his teacher's pride.
"Not bad," She says, ruffling his soft, fluffy hair with a hand, "At this point, you're probably stronger than most of your classmates, and with a few months to spare before high school.” Easing away as he grabs his water bottle, she sets her hands on her hips and asks, "So, have you figured out what kind of fighting you want to learn yet? It's not a rush, but the earlier you start learning the better."
Water cuts through the air as he squeezes out a drink before setting it aside as he looks up at her from his seat on the bench. "I've started studying Judo throws because they'll be a useful base for takedowns, but for actually fighting, something like Kickboxing maybe? I don't have a quirk to worry about so something flexible that uses the whole body seems like a smart idea."
His teacher nods and gives him a gentle slap on the shoulder. "That's some good thinking. A lot of heroes get caught up in fighting styles that rely on their quirk, so when they can't use it they end up in trouble. Then again, when you're crazy strong like All Might, I guess you can just punch things all the time."
He nods in agreement before turning to her and asking, "What kind of fighting style do you use, Sensei? I've looked over as many of your fights as I can, but I haven't been able to pin anything specific down. It's almost like you learned to use your quirk first, and if that doesn't work or isn't possible, you kind of just brawl like..." His eyes meet hers before she tries to look away, rubbing her head in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, it's not like that's bad or anything, you're pretty strong and have a quirk you can reliably fall back on and..."
A finger presses to his lips as she shushes him, "It's fine, I know I need to work on it, but it's like you said before. We can only get better from here, and we'll do it together." With a half smile, half smirk, she watches his eyes light up before a stream of words about fighting styles start tumbling from his mouth. Silencing him once again with a finger, she taps the tip of his nose before saying, "Later. We're in the middle of a workout right now, we can workout our minds after."
Green hair bobs vigorously as he nods before they move to some other machines. Going quickly though the gym's somewhat small assortment of strength training machines, they move onto free weights before getting ready for cardio and cooldown. While Izuku puts away some weights, Yu takes a moment to stealthily unscrew the cap of her water bottle enough that just a squeeze should set it free.
"We're in the home stretch now." Yu says, raising her bottle, "Let's aim for a thirty minute run on the treadmill before we hit the showers." He looks to her before nodding, and with his eyes on her, she tilts her bottle back as if to take a drink before squeezing. The cap springs free, bouncing off her bust before the half-bottle worth of water left in follows it, drenching her tank top and causing it to swiftly become semi-transparent.
Red pours into the boy's cheeks even as his eyes lock onto her light purple bra, now clearly visible. His brain skips gears even as he tries but fails to look away until in a strange mirroring of their first actual meeting, he pulls off his shirt and holds it out to her while averting his eyes as best he can. "H-here, you can use this while your top dries, Yu-Sensei."
With Izuku suddenly undressing in front of her, she can't help the blush forming on her own cheeks as she takes the offered shirt. As she reaches to remove her own top, Izuku turns to face away, hands rising to cover his face so even the mirror wall doesn't let him see. Her top comes free without issue, but before she can go to put on his shirt, she sees a burn scar spanning a solid chunk of Izuku's lightly muscled back. A blotchy hand shape sits in the middle, and she can't help but reach out and gently press her palm against it.
"Ah, Sensei, that's uh..." He steps away, turning back to face her before realizing she's still topless making his blush intensify as he covers his eyes. "It's nothing, really, it was just an accident."
Her hands grasp his, pulling them down and holding them firmly but gently. "Izuku, I need you to tell me. Was this from your friend? Kacchan, was it?"
"No, it's... I mean, yes, it was him but it was an accident, I got in the way and..." His gaze drifts off to the side, unable to meet her own.
"Izuku, look at me." She commands, and after a few seconds he complies. "Izuku, you're not in trouble. I just need you to tell me the truth of what happened."
"I can't, you'll stop him from becoming a hero."
Her eyes close for a few seconds before she lets out a huff. Releasing his hands, she slides in, wrapping around him in a hug as she murmurs, "You selfless idiot." Initially shocked by the sudden embrace, his hands hover awkwardly for a few seconds before he returns the hug. "It's probably too late to make anything of it anyways, at best we'd get a notice put on his record for any future schools. I wanted you to trust me. I wanted to know you'd tell me if someone was hurting you. I told you before, you may be quirkless, but you're not worthless. If something bad is happening, you can trust me to help. I care about you, Izuku."
A few sniffles is all the warning she gets before tears begin to spill forth from him, his arms tightening their embrace. They last for a couple minutes, during which she gently pats his back, and just as quickly as they started, they come to a stop. "Sorry Sens... Sorry Yu, it's just..."
"I understand, and it's alright." She replies, letting the hug end and taking a half step back, "After all, it's not like I'm wearing a shirt for you to make a mess of." Her smile is met by a resurgence in his blush as he tries his best to keep his eyes at level with hers. Pulling on his shirt, she can't help but notice his scent clinging to it. It's one she's mildly familiar with, after how much time she's spent with him, but it's pleasant to her nose nonetheless. "Do you think you can tell me what happened now, or should we do our run first?"
"I can tell it now. There's not much to it, our school got a new student at the start of last year, and Kacchan must have felt they were disrespectful to him and so he went to teach them their place. I got in the way to stop him and I guess he made too big of an explosion, and well..."
"You've now got a nasty scar for it." She finishes before letting out a sigh, "You know, how he acts is a lot different from how heroic you say he is. What kind of hero goes and tries to blast someone for being disrespectful?" Izuku's mouth opens to reply, but the words don't come. "Well, If something like this happens again, report it to me, and I'll help if I can. It's a hero's job to help those in need after all. But enough about that for now, let's get this workout finished."
After going through their run, she lets him clean up first before showering and changing herself. Clean, sore and tired, the two end up taking the train to Izuku's house for dinner after Inko got word of what happened. Of course, the boy got both a scolding for hiding it and a dose of Midoriya tears and hugs from Inko before she started cooking dinner. Joining in the kitchen work, Yu once again dons the All Might apron, much to the embarrassment of its owner who sits at the table to talk with both of them as they cook. Before long dinner is done and the three eat before retiring to the couch for a movie, Izuku between them, often leaning against his teacher. When the movie finishes, Yu heads off with fond goodnights, taking a taxi home before it gets too late.
And if she didn't happen to return his shirt amid the bustle of the evening, nobody had to know...
Notes:
I'm actually a little surprised I finished this for today. My muse was rather silent until like, 9pm some days, and I got inspiration to write up to a thousand words before the clock told me to go the fuck to sleep because I have work in the morning.
Don't expect the next update to be next Wednesday, but then again, who knows. All I know is next update has some important stuff happening, including the U.A. Entry exams, though they'll be a lot less exciting as they're the support course ones rather than the Hero ones.
Chapter Text
Between his newly started Judo training, studying kickboxing through Herotube videos, keeping up with his workouts, studying for final exams, prepping for U.A.'s entrance exams, studying support gear design and all it's associated skills as well as getting enough time to sleep, Izuku suddenly finds himself lacking almost any time to go out and look for Hero fights. He may be able to watch the news and any clips that come up while studying or eating, but for a super Hero fan, it's not enough. His mind and body scream to get out there, to see it in person.
Naturally both Yu and Inko noticed this change and ended up suggesting he take a cheat day. Unlike a normal cheat day, where he would eat whatever he wanted instead of following his diet, a whole day to just do whatever he wanted. Naturally, he resisted the idea at first, stating his need to work harder than others to catch up, but in the end, the two most important people in his life broke down his defenses and got him to agree. And so the chosen cheat Sunday arrived with Izuku waking up with his early alarm and staring at the ceiling.
Energy buzzes in his skin, muscle memory pushing for him to get up and start studying. Fighting these urges, he closes his eyes to try to get a little more sleep, though ultimately failing. Giving up on that he grabs his phone to start perusing Hero News, very quickly becoming engrossed in the many takedowns, rescues and other events that have happened recently. A hand grabs for his notebook only for him to realize it's on his desk. Rolling out of bed with a grunt, slides into his chair, setting his phone on its stand and with the twirl of a pen and a smile, he starts furiously writing.
It wasn't until almost two hours later that he'd be interrupted by a knock at the door. "Izuku, breakfast is ready." Inko says from the other side.
"Oh, right, I'll be out in a minute." he replies as he looks down at his bare chest and All Might pajama pants, "Just gotta get dressed."
Her giggle is audible through the door before she walks off, and after changing into something suitable for the day, he joins her at the table. "So, how much hero news did you get caught up on Izuku? Anything interesting? I hope you didn't stay up all night to try and catch up."
Cheeks flush as memories of long nights and tired mornings come back before he shakes his head. "I didn't stay up all night, I just couldn't get back to sleep when my alarm went off, so I started looking at stuff." Picking up his rice bowl, he lifts a load up to his mouth before a thought strikes him. "Oh, All Might is still in the area, which is really strange, normally when he changes patrol areas, it's usually only for a few weeks before he's off somewhere else unless it's around Might Tower. A lot of people are wondering why, but I think there's a really obvious reason. All Might's getting old, most guesses put him in his 50's, and combined with his reducing activity over the past couple years, I think he's going to retire from heroics soon, but then why be out here, and then it hit me. U.A.'s here. He's looking to become a teacher to fill the hours he isn't working as a hero, and then once he retires completely, he can still push forward heroics!"
"You've really thought that through my little hero fan, though I shouldn't be surprised given how much you like All Might." Inko replies with another giggle, one hand sliding under the table while the other props up her chin, "Then again, All Might is your number one favourite hero, or..." fixing him with a sly smile, she brings her other hand up to idly set her phone on the table before joining the first under her chin, "maybe a different Hero has slid her way up there to the top?"
"Yu's not..." he starts before fading into silence, the gears in his head turning faster and faster.
"I never said anything about Takeyama-san, though you have certainly been buying a lot of her Hero merch lately. A lot more than All Might stuff from what I remember. Oh, and that special poster she signed with a kiss too."
"It's different, she's..." the rice bowl is set down with a quiet clack before Izuku's hands wrap over each other. "Yu's special, she saved Kac... Katsuki and I from the slime villain, and she even saved me from myself. She believed in me and my dream, but also showed me I'd have to fight for it. I couldn't just coast by on wishful thinking like before. She's done so much to help me and yet..."
"You've done a lot for her too, you know." Inko says as he pauses, "I still remember the moment we saw that incident with her on the TV, you immediately dropped everything to call her before running off to make sure she was fine when she didn't answer. You were there for her in what was probably one of the hardest moments of her life so far. You did everything you could to make her feel better, even if it didn't seem like a whole lot."
His head shakes and his gaze drops to his food. "She's strong, amazing, she would have been fine even without me..."
Reaching across the table, she sets her hand on his and says, "Maybe, but when something like that happens, having someone be there for you can make all the difference in the world." He nods slowly, eyes still locked on the food in front of him. "I've seen how much you care for her, not just that night but in so many other ways too."
"I do, she's... really important to me." Scooping up another mouthful of breakfast, he chews slowly to let himself think. "I wanted... I still want to keep her safe, even though I know she's a hero. Talking with her and spending time with her makes me happy, even if she keeps teasing me." Pink slowly starts filling his cheeks as he talks, his fingers clenched tight around his chopsticks. "Seeing her smile at me, or when she hugs or holds me, I..." Slaps echo out as he claps his own cheeks before stuffing breakfast into his face as fast as he can. Shooting to his feet the moment most of it's done, he says, "Sorry Mom, I need to go for a walk to clear my head."
"Alright, just be safe out there Izuku." She replies, tapping on her phone while he rushes off to get his things. Within a minute or two, he's out the door with cheeks still flushed, leaving her home alone with a new recording to do some editing to.
Out in the cool morning air, Izuku's heart continues to pound in his chest, it's beat far more intense than his activity should have caused. A flash of a half smirk, half smile dances through his head, intensifying the heat in his cheeks, especially as the phantom feeling of her nearly bare chest against his joins it. More and more memories flick by as he starts walking with no destination in mind. From the countless little teases to the bigger moments, posing her for the poster and massaging her after, holding her hand as he guided her to his place, his arms wrapped around her as they cuddled under a blanket.
Trying to shake his thoughts free, he heads out into the thick of Mustafu, mind and heart in turmoil as he seeks a distraction. As luck would have it, it's not long before he finds one, a small jewelry shop being robbed by a trio of villains. With alarms blaring and small crowds watching the scene from a distance, it's probably been called in already, but just to be sure, he sends in a report on his phone too. As expected it's not needed, a whistling of air marking the arrival of Airjet.
His notebook comes out in an instant, all thoughts outside the fight vanishing as he observes and analyses the situation. With the skills of a Pro Hero, Airjet quickly brings down the villains with only minimal collateral damage. Of course, while the fight still thrills Izuku, his mind is much more focused on Airjet's equipment.
"... still good defensive gear despite being a mobile hero..." He murmurs, sketching out the various pieces of support gear, "... must be strong enough to protect in a crash since he's a flying hero..." Still mumbling to himself, he starts off again, notebook open in front of him as his pen twirls in his other hand.
A nearby coffee shop becomes a quick stop to rest and get his thoughts all on paper before he's off again, heading for the local Hero Merch store. With a clear mind, he enters the store, ready to go over all the new releases. Naturally, there's several new All Might pieces, though nothing groundbreaking or striking. A couple posters for some newly debuted heroes, some new keychain dangles, a sweater or two, nothing really striking him until he comes across a display of the new Hero-Series poseable figurines.
Standing there in the middle of them is a Mt Lady figurine complete with her detachable armour.
Like a tidal wave of anxiety, the discussion of this morning crashes back upon him, leaving a nervous energy in its wake. Even just being painted plastic, her lovely eyes stare back at him, bringing forth a warmth from his chest. Swallowing the knot in his throat, he picks up one of the boxes, her photo plastered across the front with her sweet, charming smile on it.
A small embarrassed part of him yells in his brain to put it back, but it's simple to resist the urge before grabbing a new All Might Keychain and a Mirko bunny eared toque as well. Doing a quick once over of the store, he pays for his choices before heading out.
With the bag clutched to his chest, Izuku follows his hero hunting instincts while trying to push down the feelings bubbling up from his thoughts. 'Imagine if it was the real Yu instead of the toy you're holding...' The horny, monkey part of his brain whispers, bringing with it a flush of blood to his cheeks. As if to try and run from the thoughts, his pace quickens and he turns down a random street seeking some form of distraction.
Street after random street he would take, but fate would have a different plan for him as when he decides to look up, he finds himself not far from a gathering of pedestrians surrounding a Hero, or rather, Heroine. Purple horns crown blonde hair over the crowd as Izuku's teacher signs autographs and chats with fans. Purple eyes meet green, and her smile changes ever so slightly, developing a warmth to it he can feel in his chest.
Instinct takes hold for a moment as he starts walking closer, all parts of his brain agreeing he should be closer to her. This grinds to a halt, however, as he spies a man moving in, half hunched to partly conceal one hand that glints in the sunlight. Opening his mouth, he's unable to say anything before a bladed hand rears back, sparkling in the sunlight before driving itself into Mt Lady's side.
Her warm smile turns to shock as the fist is pulled back and raised, blood dripping from it as it is raised to the sky. "Fear me!" The man cries out even as Izuku starts running towards them, "I will be the NEW Hero Killer!" He turns to strike the staggered Mt Lady even as the crowd begins to scatter, but gets stopped as Izuku's bag of merchandise slams into his face.
His heart hammers in his ears as he weaves through the dispersing crowd, eyes locked on the villain even as theirs lock on him. The man pivots, bladed fist striking out as Izuku closes in. Green hair parts as he ducks the blow, raising his own hand to the man's chest while stepping in beside, sliding his leg behind the villains. With all the strength built over the last almost eight months, Izuku pushes.
It's almost too easy as the villain's balance breaks immediately, their body slamming to the ground audibly and their head hitting with a dull crack. Mt Lady flips the villain over before Izuku can even turn to check on her, pulling their now normal hands behind their back. "Hey, can you call this in?" Yu asks, giving him a pained smile, "My hands are a little full and I don't keep any cuffs on me. Oh I'm gonna need an ambulance too."
"Y-yes Yu... er Mt Lady." Izuku replies before fumbling for his phone. After phoning it in, he goes to grab his bag before his eyes wander over Yu, in particular, the blood leaking down her side. "I..." he starts, anxiety rising before he forces it back down. "I'm going to try and staunch your wound, is that okay?"
"Go for it."
Stripping off his shirt, he folds it into a bundle before popping the side of her armour open. Almost half dozen puncture wounds and lacerations dot her suit and side, blood leaking from each. Pushing the cloth over the wounds, he can feel his own pulse start to calm as the situation winds down. After nearly a minute of silence between the two, Izuku suddenly says, "I'm sorry, Sensei, I saw him, but I couldn't say or do anything in time and you got hurt because of it..."
"None of that," She retorts immediately. "You couldn't have known, and you did great besides. Just, let's save any real talk till the police and paramedics get here, okay?"
He nods in silent agreement, and the two remain in position as best they can, even when the villain begins to stir. The police arrive not a moment too soon, cuffing the villain and allowing Mt Lady to relax a little, the ambulance arriving barely a minute later. As the paramedics arrive, Yu pulls Izuku off her injury, dragging him in front of her. "Today, not just your armour, but you, Izuku, saved my life. Thank you."
Her hands grab his face, pulling him in before pressing their lips together. Izuku's eyes go wide, before closing after a few seconds as he melts into the kiss. While his heart beats like a drum, his hands move to wrap around her shoulders until she pulls away far too soon for his body's liking. That soft, loving smile returns to her face as she licks her lips briefly before saying, "I gotta go with the medics now. Stay safe, Izuku, and thank you again." She blows him a kiss before letting herself get ushered into the back of the ambulance, proper gauze being pressed to her injuries as she moves.
And so Izuku is left standing there, shirtless, face growing redder and redder as he realizes what just happened while officers gather the statements of those still around. One of the officers just looks at Izuku with a chuckle before saying, "It's like dealing with a young Midnight all over again. Give him a few to reset and we'll be good." It does, at least on the surface, take a few minutes before he's able to formulate thoughts well enough to answer the police questions, and after a soft warning about vigilantism, he's free to go.
Still in something of a daze, he grabs his bag, folds up his bloody shirt as best he can and heads for home shirtless.
In the back of the ambulance, Yu's phone beeps with a text from Inko. Opening it reveals a sound file that she plays. Two familiar to her voices begin talking, and as she listens, she can't help but smile more, despite the pain of her wounds.
Arriving home after more than a fair share of stares, Izuku enters, takes off his shoes, drops his bag and then crashes face first onto the couch. Looking over from the kitchen where she had just begun lunch, Inko asks, "Izuku? What's wrong?"
"Mom, I..." he starts pushing himself up as he works on gathering his thoughts, "I think I'm in love with Yu."
~~~
"You're gonna do wonderful, Izuku." Inko says as she re-does his tie, the two of them standing in the doorway to their apartment. "You've studied and trained hard, now go on and make Yu and I proud." Giving him a hug, she ushers him out the door where he stumbles face first into Yu's chest.
Arms wrap around him, trapping him there for a moment before easing up and letting him come out, face now red with embarrassment. "Morning Izuku, I figured I'd take you for a ride, it's a big day after all. You don't want to be late." She smirks before stepping back, letting him get a good look at her.
All his brain can think is 'Mature Schoolgirl'.
A white button up long sleeve shirt covers her torso with a loosely tied green ribbon bow around her collar while a soft lavender pleated skirt goes down to her knees. Below it, black socks rise up from her polished leather shoes just to disappear underneath the skirt. Her hip suddenly juts to the side as she shifts, setting a hand there and breaking his stare as he realizes he was. "Well, I'm glad you think I look good, but we should probably get going I-zu-ku."
Still red faced, he nods and follows as she leads him to her car. He slides into the passenger seat and soon they're off on their way to U.A.. Things are silent for a few minutes as the boy calms down, just watching traffic around them. One hand clutches his bag, his other pressed to his chest as he takes long slow breaths to fight off anxiety.
"You'll do great, Izuku. I've seen your designs, I've worn your designs and they've even saved me from some nasty injuries." Yu says, taking a brief moment to pat his shoulder at a red light, "If having a pro endorse and even use your stuff isn't enough to get your foot in the door, I'm sure that brain of yours will be."
"I know, you're right, but it doesn't make it less nerve wracking. It's U.A., the best Hero school in the country and one of the best high schools as well. The pass rate of the entry exams is super low and..." His hand moves from his chest to be held in front of him, clenching into a fist, "I'm gonna do my best. Even if I don't pass, there are other schools too, and like you said way back when we first met, I barely need a license, I just have to prove I'm good enough to be a hero."
"I did a little digging myself, and if by some miracle you make it through without ending up with a Hero license, I can bring you on as a sidekick in training." Yu says, smiling as he looks over at her with admiration, "But then, any school worth their salt would recognize your heroic heart and put you on the right course right away." A small blush forms, but his smile remains as he nods, turning back to the road ahead.
It isn't long before they arrive near enough to U.A., the parking ahead a literal nightmare as thousands upon thousands of potential students arrive for testing. Both of them get out, moving onto the sidewalk where she reaches into her shirt from above. "Izuku, I... made you this." Yu says, pulling out a pink Omamori from the confines of her bra. "It's a special good luck charm, but you absolutely can't open it until you come back to me after the exams, okay?"
His hands are gentle as he accepts it from her, holding it close to his chest with a smile before putting it in his uniform's breast pocket. "Thank you, for this and for everything since we met." He says, bowing deeply to her, "I'll do my best and make you proud."
As he straightens back up, Yu pulls him into a quick hug before giving him a light shove in the right direction. "I know you will. Good luck Izuku, I'll be here to pick you up after you're done." Watching him run off to the school's entry, she stands alone by her car until a chill breeze makes itself known by blowing down the street and up her skirt. The cold wind sends chills across her bare crotch and makes her thighs squeeze together to keep it warm.
Slowing down as he nears the gates, Izuku can't help but look up at the school in awe as he approaches. Imposing pillars of glass that shine like a beacon in the morning sun. Slowing to a walk, he looks all over the U.A. gate, a defensive wall set to spring closed at a moments notice, over a foot thick of defensive potential just below their feet.
A heavy shoulder slams into his from behind, a familiar voice cursing, "Get the fuck out of my way, Deku."
Red eyes glare at him in passing, and he fights down the urge to flinch before retorting, "You walked into me, Bakugo, maybe you should watch where you're going."
As if a brick rose up from the paved path, Bakugo stumbles in shock before barely catching himself and whipping back to face Izuku, explosions crackling in his hands. "What the fuck did you just say to me you worthless Deku?"
"Do you need your ears checked too? You walked into me, you're the one being a jerk here."
Bakugo's hands curl into claws as more small explosions crackle off before being interrupted by a loud shout of "HEY HEY HEY Little Examinees, no getting fired up out here." The crowds part as Present Mic approaches, Bakugo throwing the hero a brief glare before huffing, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stomping off towards the school again. "Everything alright Little Listener?" Mic asks as he reaches Izuku, an eyebrow rising as the green haired boy starts vibrating.
"Oh my gosh, you're Present Mic! I'm a big fan! I listen to your radio show all the time when I'm doing my workouts or at home relaxing." Izuku exclaims rapid fire, hands digging into his bag instantly for one of his notebooks, "Could I get your autograph maybe? I know you must be busy watching over everyone to make sure nothing happens but between your Teaching, Hero work and Radio Show, it's so hard to find you to get one otherwise..."
"Sure thing," The Hero replies, throwing finger guns at Izuku before accepting the notebook and pen, "And who's the cool cat I'm making this out to?"
"Midoriya. Midoriya Izuku." The pen flies across the paper and after a brief moment, Mic hands the notebook and pen back, a bombastic signature gracing the page. "Thank you so much, Present Mic Sir!"
"Any time for a fan, but you better skedaddle or you'll be late for the exams." Shooting one last finger gun at Izuku, Mic walks off back to his post while Izuku gazes at him in awe before the words sink in.
Letting out a surprised yelp, Izuku jumps before hurrying to the building, bag and notebook clutched tight. Following the signs everywhere, he's soon at his assigned spot, ready for the written exam.
True to its reputation, U.A.'s written exam is tough. Even with three hours to complete it, Izuku still finds himself going over his answers at the fifteen minute warning. Despite going over it, he hands his exam in with no small amount of dread, Yu's good luck charm held tight in his free hand. Keeping it close to his heart, he takes his bag and heads for the practical room for the support course. One of U.A.'s massive doors stands before him, and after kissing the charm and catching a whiff of peach, he stows it away and opens the door.
A large room with dozens of workbenches and easily almost a hundred prospective students greets him, some of those students looking over at him before returning to their waiting. Moving to an open spot, he sits next to a girl with pink dreadlocks tinkering with something. Still with time to spare before the practical, he pulls out his support gear notebook, and starts going over his notes and designs again.
"Hey, I recognize that baby." A voice from beside him says, making him jump before looking over. Bright yellow eyes with crosshair pupils stare into his briefly before looking back at his notebook. "That's that mountain woman's detachable armour, right? Did you make that baby for her?"
"H-huh? Baby? I uh, did design and build it for her, but I..."
The girl's yellow eyes immediately shoot up to focus on him again, the crosshairs spinning back and forth as she stares. "You got a Pro to use your support gear before you even made it to U.A. Greenie?" Hands grab onto his shoulders as she leans in closer, "How? I've bugged tons of Heroes to use my stuff but they always just brushed me off or said to get a license first."
"It's a bit of a story, but put simply... She decided to pick me up and help train me for becoming a hero eventually, I helped her with analysis and so she suggested I try and come up with some support gear for her and to learn how to do it for myself in the future since I don't have a quirk and will need gear to be a Hero. I ended up designing and building the armour for her, and it got approved and yeah."
She leans back in surprise, blinking rapidly before her hands begin to coast over his torso and arms. Reaching some sort of decision, her hands clap onto his shoulders again. "That's perfect Greenie! If you go and be a Quirkless Hero, you're gonna be in the spotlight and that means all your gear is going to be in the spotlight too. The name's Hatsume Mei, future Owner and head technician of Hatsume Inc. and I'm gonna make your future babies."
His brain skips like a record player being tossed down a flight of stairs before a loud voice declares "Alright everyone, take a seat. We'll be going over the practical exam momentarily." Marching through the room, Power Loader stands up at a lectern at the front of the class. His odd yellow helmet sweeps over the prospective students as they sit and look to him before nodding. "Alright then. The practical has two parts, the portfolio, which you were told to bring in when you got your examinee ID's in the mail, and the time pressure design, which you will be making right away."
Power Loader's hand raises before slapping a button on the lectern in front of him, causing panels in the workbenches to flip over, revealing tablets. "You've got one hour to pick a Hero that isn't in your portfolio, and create either a new costume or a new piece of support gear specifically for them that again, isn't already in your portfolio. When you're done or when the time is up, save and submit the design with it saved as your full name, and then drop off the portfolio with me up here. Go."
An awkward silence hangs in the air as everyone stares at the flat yellow helmet before giggling comes from beside him, Hatsume already drawing on her tablet.
Turning to his own, he picks up the tablet pen and twirls it in his finger as his brain goes into Hero analysis mode. 'Any hero, and either a costume redesign or a new piece of support gear... It's such a wide topic, and there's so many fan pieces out there. I can't choose a well known Hero if I want to stand out. Something that will show my skills... someone who would show what I'm aiming for as a student...' Writing down the names of less known Heroes he could go for, a sudden name jumps out and brings a smile to his face.
'Eraserhead, an underground Hero who specializes in quirkless combat. Quirk: Erasure, can disable the quirks of those he stares at with his quirk active, doesn't work on Mutation type quirks and passive mutated aspects of other quirks.' Drawing out a quick sketch of the man, he finds himself staring at a scruffy looking hobo wearing a black tracksuit, a white scarf and yellow goggles. "His only true support gear is his capture scarf, though the goggles are designed to work with his quirk too..." he mutters quietly, careful not to draw the ire of those around him.
Drawing a second blank body to work off of, he starts adding cutaway layers to the costume. Extra padding and protection to vital areas, armoured and reinforced elbow and knee pads to boost attacking power and most importantly, a protective hood that acts as a facemask too, to obscure his eyes and hair, reducing the tells of his quirk. The scarf is moved off the neck and into an arm where it no longer poses a massive choking hazard and provides easier use. "For the support gear..."
"Thirty minutes left!" Power Loader calls out, making Izuku's heart jump.
'Shoot, I've not even started... Okay focus.' Clapping his cheeks softly, he takes a moment to pull out the charm again, inhaling it's scent. More than just peaches, it reminds him of her, pushing down his anxiety and letting him get back to work. 'Eraserhead's fighting style focuses around ambushes mostly, but he doesn't really have support gear to really take advantage of that.' Running his fingers through the fluffy mass that is his hair, his brain runs through countless Heroes and their quirks that do great with surprise attacks. Like a bolt of lightning, an idea strikes him. 'He already uses one capture scarf, a second one would be easy to add to his combat, but if it was made different, with electricity resistant materials, and a built in taser system, it could be used to instantly down villains from a range and...'
A second scarf is drawn from the Hero's other sleeve, this one dark to match his costume, to be unseen in the night. 'It'll need multiple contact points so it can effectively discharge no matter how it wraps around, and it'll need some control systems on it, the costume will need some grounding and insulation...' Getting started on the blueprint, he works as best as he can from memory, eventually coming to a suitable enough final design with only a few minutes to spare. Before any insecurity can kick in, he saves and submits the work, the tablet flipping back into the table a moment later as he takes a deep breath to steady himself.
Hatsume is already gone, the seat next to him empty as he pulls out his portfolio to bring up. He feels a little twinge of sadness, the girl was nice, if a little weird, and he can't help but want to talk with her more. Turning in his portfolio and getting an autograph from Power Loader does bring a smile to his face, though as he leaves the classroom, he's suddenly ambushed from the side.
"There you are Greenie, what took you so long?" Hatsume asks, holding his arm tight, "I finished twenty minutes ago, and have been waiting here for you so we can talk about your future babies."
Once again, his brain skips a beat before it clicks into place. "Oh, by babies you mean inventions? Your support gear?"
"Duh, Greenie. I made them, so I'm their mom and they're my babies."
"That... makes a lot of sense. Weird, but it makes sense." Pausing a moment, Izuku's eyes widen before he takes a half step back and tries to bow, only to be held in place by Mei's strength. "Ah, sorry, I never introduced myself. I'm Midoriya Izuku, it's nice to meet you Hatsume."
"Unimportant details, Greenie, and just call me Mei, its quicker. What is important is I need your phone number so we can talk gear later." The moment he pulls out his phone and unlocks it, she swipes it from his hand, sending a text to her own phone that beeps in her overalls. "There we go. Now if you don't make it into U.A. we can still get hold of each other." Pushing the device back into his hands, she starts walking away with a wave. "See ya Greenie, I gotta head home. This grapple gun isn't gonna finish itself."
"I... Okay, bye Mei." he says, giving up trying to understand the situation while giving her a wave. Putting his phone away, he thumbs the charm in the same pocket, a smile forming. "I did my best. If it's not enough, I'll try other schools." He says to himself, shouldering his bag and heading for the entrance.
True to her word, Yu is standing there, hand on her hip and a smile on her face. "Come on, Izuku, let's get going so we can celebrate."
"Celebrate?"
"We may not know if you passed or not, but that smile looks like you're pretty confident you did well to me." She says, patting him on the back as he reaches her, "I let your mom know you'd be over at my place for the evening so we can have some fun and unwind and stuff."
"That sounds nice. I feel like my brain's gonna crash as soon as I relax, that exam was hard."
"Tell me about it on the ride there. I'd rather get going before I get swarmed, and I got the stuff to make Katsudon for dinner, and figured we could... Hey!" His warm, gentle hand grabs hers, pulling her along to the car in excitement. "Geez, I know you like it, Izuku, but this is a bit much."
His stomach growls audibly in response, to which she giggles. "Sorry, I forgot to bring a snack so I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast, and Katsudon..." Another roar comes from his stomach, his hands going to cover it after releasing hers.
With a laugh, she bumps his hip with her own, nudging him off towards the passenger side. "Let's go then." She responds, sliding into the driver's seat and starting the car. He joins in the passenger seat, setting his bag on the ground and buckling in quickly. "So," she asks as they get going, "Gimme the rundown of the exam. What all happened?"
"To start, I guess I told off Bakugo when he was a jerk to me at the entrance."
"Hey, way to go," She exclaims, reaching a hand over to blindly ruffle his hair, still sinfully soft and fluffy as usual. "If you're going to be a quirkless hero, you'll need to be able to stand up for yourself like that, and your old bully is the best way to start."
He leans into her hand a bit, relishing the contact as he adds, "I even got to talk to Present Mic because of it, though it was only really enough to ask for an autograph. After that, I had to head in for the exams..."
The drive isn't long, but then, neither is his telling of the day's events except when he went off on a tangent about Eraserhead. As she pulls into her own apartment's parking lot, she has to fight down a not so subtle twinge of jealousy as Izuku talks about Hatsume and their interactions. Leading him up to her place, she waves him in first before taking a moment as she locks the door behind them to gather herself.
"Before you open the charm I made you, I want to tell you about it." Yu says, sitting down on the sofa and patting for him to sit too. "It's an old design I found, one used even earlier than the pre-quirk era. It's supposed to grant success and safe return, because it was given by women to their husbands and lovers before they would go off to battle."
Holding the charm in his hand, he blinks at it before turning to her, his cheeks growing red with a blush. "W-wait, you gave this to me, does that mean...?"
"Yep." She says with a nod, a little colour filling her own cheeks as she does. "Way back when we first met, I'll admit I thought you were cute, and I kinda wanted to seduce you for a little fun, but then everything happened, and well... Through all this time training you, doing all the support gear stuff and just hanging out, I've changed. Oh, you're still the adorable boy I saw then, but I can see the rest of you too. You're kind, smart, driven and have become more than a little hunky, and past that, you care for me. Not just as a Teacher or a Hero, but as a person. You've been there for me, through highs and lows, and you even put yourself at risk to save my life. I guess what I'm saying is, Izuku, I love you, will you be my boyfriend?"
Instead of speaking, he lunges across the couch, wrapping her up in a hug before pressing his lips to hers in an inexperienced but fiery kiss. Embracing him back, Yu runs a hand up his back, sinking her fingers into his hair to help keep the kiss close. Eventually, they have to break for air, and he gasps out, "I love you too, Yu. I'll gladly be your boyfriend but..." Her finger covers his mouth to silence him, though before she can say anything, his stomach growls loudly again.
"Let's make lunch, then we can talk buts, 'kay?"
His stomach growls in agreement before he nods and moves off her. As Yu moves for the kitchen, Izuku remembers the charm still held in his hand. Undoing the string, the paper unfolds to reveal a satiny purple fabric within. It unfolds as he pulls it out, revealing itself to be a pair of panties just as Yu throws a look over her shoulder.
"Those are yours now, Izuku, do whatever you want with them." she says with a sly smile, "The charm required I wore them all of yesterday and today until I made the charm. Haven't put new ones on yet either, see." Hands grasp the waistband of her skirt before pulling it down, baring her supple cheeks to her new boyfriend.
"Ah..." He says, standing there red faced and stunned for a few seconds, "That's why the charm's smell reminded me of you."
She can't fight her own blush as she pulls her skirt back up and hurries into the kitchen. It takes a few minutes for him to gather himself before he joins her, and they quickly settle into a rhythm together as they cook. Quick and easy, they soon have their katsudon ready, taking it to the couch to relax as they eat.
"So, what was that ‘but’ about earlier?" Yu asks, setting her bowl on the coffee table.
"It's..." His chopsticks tap on the edge of the bowl as he gathers his words, before he sets it down like she did. "First, I love you, I truly do. More than anyone I've ever known except Mom, Oh gods what will Mom think about this?" His train of thought crashes to a halt, his hands grabbing for his face until hers reach across and wrap around them, pulling them down to between their laps.
"She already knows Izuku, and she has for a while. I'm sure you remember when you first brought me over, after that incident, well in the morning she gave me a bit of the talk and also her blessing to date you."
"Eh?! All the way back then? Is that why she taught you how to cook katsudon?"
"Yep. She said something like 'Everyone needs to know how to cook, and anyone dating my son better know how to make his favourites.'."
"She's right. Everyone should know how to cook katsudon."
"I also remember how you reacted to seeing me in that apron." She adds, shuffling a little closer while tracing a circle on the back of his hand, "Such a shame I can't find one of my own anywhere. I had been wondering what you'd do if you saw me cooking in just the apron?"
His mouth hangs open as he tries to come to an answer before swallowing nervously. "I guess I'm lucky it was a limited run before it got pulled for, ah, obvious reasons."
She just smirks and shrugs before saying, "I guess I'll just have to borrow yours. Back on topic...?"
"Right, sorry, sorry." He says with a quick bow, almost headbutting her with how close they are. "I'm just worried about what I'd mean for you and your career. After all, I'm just a quirkless underaged nobody support course wannabe right now, and you're Mt Lady, a rising star hero and shoe-in for making the Top Ten Hottest Heroine's list this year." Flushing red, he quickly adds, "At least in my opinion."
"Well if my boyfriend says it, it must be true." She says, leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Shuffling over till she's pressed up against him, she slides an arm around in a half hug that he returns. "As much as I hate to say it, you do have a point. To everyone else, you're a nobody right now, and even if you're going to prove them wrong in the future, I know you wouldn't want it hurting me and my career."
He bobs his head in a nod, before she turns his face to her. "But I don't care. I love you Izuku." Punctuating her statement with a kiss, warmth spreads both from the contact and from her chest, lingering even as she pulls away. "We can keep it a secret, go on dates in private or just spend time here or at your place, but I'm not going to give you up. We both worked hard to get you from the weak, scared little boy you were to the very fine young man you are now, and I wouldn't trade that time for anything."
Kissing her back, he reaches for a hug but her hands guide his to her chest, making him look like a strawberry again, especially as he's pushed to squeeze them. "We may need to hold off on sex, but I'm sure we can find other ways to have fun instead." She whispers before getting shut down as Izuku's stomach reasserts itself. "After lunch."
Katsudon rarely stands a chance in front of Izuku, but this bowl found itself very swiftly demolished.
Notes:
After far too long, I come with another chapter. The biggest one to date, and for good reason. This is the first big point in the story, after all. I'm not 100% on the end bit, but my Beta reader says it's good, so I'll leave it unless inspiration strikes.
Chapter 6
Notes:
After far too long simmering on what were already planned scenes, here it is. I apologize to those who have been waiting so long for this, I hope you enjoy, and the next one should absolutely take a lot less time.
Chapter Text
The soft light of the morning pokes in through a covered window, angled just right to shine on Izuku's eyes as his body fights to remain asleep, wrapped around a soft, squishy and warm body pillow. Refusing to yield, he squeezes his pillow in tighter; a lacy mound under his hand having a wonderful amount of give that also causes his pillow to let out a pleased groan. "Geez, not even gonna let me wake up before playing. And I thought I was the horny one."
Quiet grumbles come from Izuku as he pulls his far too talkative pillow in closer, burying his face in it, the smell of peach tickling his nose. With the light mostly blocked out now, he relaxes again, settling back for sleep even as a hand starts wrapping around his, sliding it up and down a firm six pack. Ever so slowly, neurons start activating inside a fluffy green haired head, and eyes open to catch faint bits of sunlight reflecting off smooth blonde hair.
Eyes widen as panic floods his brain, hand squeezing the mound again as the pieces start clicking together. "Oh my gosh, sorry!" Izuku exclaims, letting go and shooting away from Yu, only for gravity to take control. Hitting the ground with a thump he shoots up and looks around, a vaguely familiar room around him.
"Well," Yu yawns, sitting up on the bed, "looks like you're wide awake now. And here I was hoping for some more sleepy cuddling."
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and shaking it from his head, Izuku takes a moment to gather his thoughts and memories. "Yesterday, the exam, then I came over and..." Pink slowly fills his cheeks as thoughts of last night slam into the boyish innocence of his mind. "We're boyfriend and girlfriend." An irrepressible grin spreads across his face before he jumps onto the bed, wrapping her up in his arms before peppering her cheeks with kisses. "I love you, Yu, I never thought this could happen to me."
Hands clap his face before her lips meet his, silencing him in an instant. Her smile lights her face as she pulls back and says, "Love you too, Izuku. What do you say we get dressed and make breakfast together? I've got a few hours before patrol so we could probably squeeze in a movie or something."
"Sounds wonderful!" he replies, leaning back in to kiss her cheek.
~~~
The U.A. teacher's lounge is both busy and quiet as the entire mass of teaching staff goes through the entrance exams. An opera of pens and pencils scratching on paper, keys being tapped on keyboards and the sporadic munch of snacks or sipping of drinks, little needs to be said as they filter through their prospective students work. A sudden laugh from Majima Higari draws some attention, a few of the more bored teachers looking over in hopes of a brief distraction from the monotony.
"Hey, Aizawa, are you looking for a new costume?" He asks, causing the tired man to look up from his footage. "One of the potentials decided to design a new costume for Eraserhead and honestly, the kid's got some good ideas. He's even got some designs for a second capture scarf for you."
"Send it over," Aizawa responds, "I need a break from these recordings." The file is sent over and he opens it up, Yamada leaning over next to him to look too.
"Ha! They got your look down all the way to the scraggly beard and dead look in your eyes." Yamada exclaims with a slap on his thigh.
A small huff is Aizawa's only acknowledgement of his fellow teacher's jab as he looks over the design. "The kid's got potential," He agrees after giving the designs a once over, "Practical ideas, though I already have a protective layer in my costume. The taser scarf seems at least achievable to make and could be a decent upgrade to my capture scarf if it works."
"His mechanical design would need some refinement, but honestly, it's one of the better and more creative designs I've seen so far." Majima agrees, "If I see another 'Endeavour Flame Enhancer', or 'Mirko Super Kicking Boots' again, it'll be too soon."
"I've still got that 'Presentation Michael Megaphone Gag' one from last year printed up on my board at home for when I need a laugh. I know I wear some leather, but that doesn't mean a modified ball gag with a megaphone built into it fits my aesthetics."
Majima's sudden groan draws more attention as he says, "Speak of the devil. This is..." before pausing. His eyes sharpen, lips moving silently while his hands shift as if manipulating an invisible object. A curious tension builds as more and more of the teachers pause what they're doing to watch him examine whatever blueprint this is. "This is insane." he says, swallowing nervously, "Absurd, but actually theoretically functional. Please let them be a normal genius..."
The man's quiet prayers would remain unanswered.
~~~
The mild underlying anxiety of waiting for his U.A. acceptance or rejection letter tints the otherwise wonderful week as he nearly floats through his day to day dealings, buoyed on the high of having a girlfriend. With school out, he can accommodate her schedule more, meaning more time to see each other or workout together or even just go down to the little coffee shop by her agency on a date.
Two days after the exam, he got a chain of texts from Mei, all but demanding to know everything from what kind of support gear he wanted, to his measurements, to his aesthetic preferences when it comes to colour, shape and focus. What followed was a two and a half hour mix of texts and calls as the two bounced ideas, went off on Hero based tangents and even got into a heated debate over ease of use vs effectiveness in capture type gear.
He doesn't hear from her again till almost a week later when his phone starts beeping like mad at eight in the morning. Scrolling up past message after message of Mei techno-babble, he reaches the top of the new messages and almost drops his phone in surprise. 'I got in, top of the class in practical. My babies are the best after all.' her message reads, and with his pulse racing in excitement, he tosses his phone on his bed before running out to the mailbox.
Alongside the usual fare, a large manila envelope stamped with the U.A. logo sits in their mailbox, being snatched up immediately. Bringing it all inside, the normal mail is tossed on the kitchen table haphazardly, while he rushes to his desk. His butt barely touches his seat before he's popped the top open, a stack of papers being pulled from within. The top document, stamped with the seal of U.A. is devoured by his eyes, though it takes mere seconds before he whoops with joy, exclaiming, "I made it in! I'm going to U.A.!"
Grabbing his phone, he's about to call his girlfriend when he remembers the time and her schedule, instead opting to send a text with the news. Switching over to Mei, he sends her the news, a reply coming in almost immediately in the form of a phone call.
"Nice work Greenie, I knew you'd get in. Nothing less than the best from my future baby making partner." The girl's excited voice blares from his phone over the sound of hammering in her background. "So I've been thinking, you need to figure out what kind of weapon you want to use. Protection is good and all, but you need something to take down bad guys. Something that screams "Midoriya Izuku, made by Hatsume Industries."
Unable to stop a snorting giggle, Izuku replies, "I guess you're right Mei, I'd want to get it early so I can start training." Flipping open his own personal notebook, he glances over page after page of weapon ideas. From traditional ones like staves and swords, to oddities like pneumatic fists, net guns and shock cannons. Turning back a few pages, he looks over his costume designs, ranging from sleek lightweight suits like many current heroes, all the way up to walking fortress armours. Alongside many of the designs are shields, from small bucklers to hold off weapons and similar quirks, to massive tower shields he can cover others with.
"...Actually that's a pretty good idea."
"What's that brain of yours thinking, Greenie?" Mei asks, giving him a jolt as he almost forgot she was on the line.
"I was thinking about a double layer shield where the second layer can shift to make it extra wide. Something to let me protect other people from stray attacks. I guess that means the weapon would have to be one handed..."
"Grounding spikes on the shield!" Mei exclaims, "Pneumatic spikes at the bottom that can flip down and stab into the ground, letting the shield support itself as cover, and letting you use bigger weapons."
"It might be hard but..." Izuku murmurs as his pencil dances across an open part of the page, conceptualizing the idea, "It depends on what kind of materials we can use. If we keep it light but sturdy enough it shouldn't be an issue. That means I'm probably going to want a mainly one-handed weapon."
"One handed, hmn... I'm thinking... Laser Sword!" Mei exclaims after some brief thought.
"Isn't that way too unstable, deadly and also mostly impossible without an appropriate quirk?"
"Arm mounted multi-cannon? You can shoot projectiles, shockwaves or even energy blasts with ease, and it'll work great with your shield providing cover."
"Wouldn't that completely obstruct my free hand while I have the shield on?"
On the other side of the phone, Mei lets out a harrumph, "So, mostly one-handed, but can still let you use that hand, can't be deadly and doesn't need quirk support?"
"I want it to mostly aid in capture, but it will still need to be able to help take down powerful villains too."
The line goes quiet, before an almost cackling laugh comes through. "You're really not making this easy on me, are you, Greenie? But then, the best babies are hard to make. Give me a few days and I'll have some ideas for you to check out. Cya." The phone clicks as it disconnects, Izuku not even getting a chance to say goodbye.
Laying down his phone and looking back at the paper, his smile grows as excited energy builds till he jumps up from his chair. "I got in! The first real step towards being a hero, and I'm doing it."
His bedroom door bursts open, his Mom rushing in and sweeping him up in a hug, happy tears bursting forth. "I'm so proud of you Izuku! We need to invite your girlfriend over to celebrate!"
"M-mom, I..."
Releasing him, she cover her growing smile with her fingers before saying, "Oh my, right, I'm sure you and her would much rather a private celebration. Just remember, no grandkids before you graduate."
"Mooooom..." He whines as she giggles at his embarrassment.
"I'll leave you alone to talk to your girlfriend. Should I prepare the stuff for Katsudon tonight?"
His excited nodding gives her a silent chuckle before he pauses then asks, "I'm not talking with her, but... could we have something with peaches for desert?"
"Peaches?" She questions briefly, before smiling and tapping the side of her nose, "Sure, I can come up with something." She replies, before stepping out of his room. "I'll get started on breakfast, don't take too long."
~~~
The familiar door of the Midoriya household stands before her, sounding off as her knuckles rap against it. Hurried footsteps are heard from the other side before it swings open, her boyfriend pulling her into a hug while exclaiming, "I got in!" His lips meet hers before she can get a word in and she's whisked into the building with a spin before being set down again.
"I knew you would." She replies, initiating the kiss this time and putting some tongue into it. The surprise lets her grab control and push deeper, beginning to play with his nervous tongue using her own.
A soft giggle from the third person in the house breaks the two apart, leaving Izuku flushed and panting while she licks her lips and looks over to Inko. "Oh, don't let me interrupt you two, I'm just reminded of my own teen years with Hisashi." Inko says with a smile and a shooing wave before slipping back into the kitchen. "Ah, youth."
Giving him a second, far chaster kiss, Yu steps back from the embrace and sets a hand on her hip. "I'd ask how you feel about getting it, but I think I have a pretty good idea." Even as his flush fades, it's replaced by an embarrassed blush and a happy smile. "Well, I'm here to celebrate, so lets get celebrating!" Grabbing his hand, she pulls him in further, stepping back till she reaches the couch. Falling over it's arm, she pulls him with her so he lands on top of her as she lays on the sofa. So close to her, he can't resist, and presses in for another kiss.
He's pulled in tight, her arms wrapping around him as she continues the kiss and his body melts against hers. However, ever the cherry boy, or perhaps, strawberry boy as his cheeks grow red till his freckles stand out, he cannot handle this intimacy long before he rolls off the side, dropping the short distance to the ground with a thud. He's sitting up almost instantly as she turns to face him, the blush still on his cheeks as he gazes into her eyes. "Have I ever told you your eyes are beautiful?" He asks, head tilting slightly and lips pulling into a smile.
"Once or twice, and yours are just as gorgeous. Like deep green emeralds I could stare into for hours." Yu replies, retaining a smile of her own. "How do you want to celebrate? Besides Katsudon for dinner, of course."
"I don't know... I've never really had anyone but Mom to celebrate with."
"That won't do." She says, sitting up and offering him a hand, "We need to play some games, watch movies, maybe go out to a nice place nearby or something."
"There was that one beach nearby," Inko says from the kitchen, "Unfortunately people started using it as a dump a couple years ago when the tide pulled in some trash." Letting out a sad sigh, Inko taps her knife against the chopping board, "We used to love going there when you were little, Izuku."
"A beach, huh..." Yu says quietly, a small blush and a sly smile creeping onto her face as she looks at Izuku.
As if sensing the impending embarrassment, Izuku hops onto the couch next to her, turning on the TV and quickly says, "I heard there was a new monster movie released that wanted to get back to roots with practical effects and costumes. It looked a little silly from the teasers, but the reviews are good."
"I'll be the judge of that," Yu replies, shimmying over into his side.
The movie is good, all three of them enjoying it, Inko watching from the kitchen before joining once the prep work is done for dinner. The overall solid performance has a few moments where things get a little silly, adding levity to the enjoyable monster fights. The practical effects become a running game where the three try and guess if they're a quirk or mechanical in the moment, though with no way to confirm, it's mostly done for fun.
Dinner is started as the movie ends, and it doesn't take long for the smell of katsudon to fill the apartment, and following it, the sweet and cinnamon scent of peach cobbler as that's put in the oven. Neither of the two are able to resist the urge to drool a little at the scent of Inko's cooking, so while Inko cooks, they prepare the table. With everything in place the two sit and wait, seated right next to each other with hands holding the others below the table line.
Their entwined fingers only split as they offer their thanks for the meal before digging in. As usual, Inko's cooking is delicious, and come desert, Yu gobbles her serving down like a child given a treat before staring at Izuku's bowl. He doesn't even need to look to sense her gaze, and with a smile hidden from her, he stabs a fork full before holding it up to her. It's gone almost instantly, but followed with a sudden kiss as she leans over to him. Blushing and turning away, he misses her smirk as he spears more of the dessert before offering it to her again.
All the while, Inko silently eats and smiles at her dorky son and his girlfriend.
~~~
Staring at the entrance of U.A. for the second time in his life, the nervousness of the first time is overwhelmed by the excitement buzzing within him. His first day of class, one of the big steps towards becoming a hero. A map in hand, he marches in with the other students, his eyes wandering over the many cool quirks visible, but keeping his destination in the forefront of his mind. Finally, he reaches classroom 1-H, and the moment he opens the door, he spots two yellow eyes zoom in on him.
"Greenie, there you are, what took you so long?" Mei calls out, waving him over before turning back to the papers and parts all across her desk. "I've been working on the design for your support weapon, as well as a few babies of my own for the Sports Festival. We'll start prototyping once we get in the labs, it'll be great!" The moment he sits down in the desk next to her, it gets covered by blueprints as she moves them over. There's a quick scrape as her desk is shoved over next to his along with her leaning in. "So this is my third draft of the Hatsume Inc. Super Grapple Gauntlet for you, and I think I've got the core mechanics down."
"It's like Eraserhead's scarf!"
"Hobo Hero's scarf baby is a bit more basic than this, since it only does scarf stuff. Our baby will be able to not just do capture, but take on remembered forms with the shape memory alloy and hook onto extra parts to let it work as a heavier weapon."
"And it can retract to leave my hand open, as well as provide armour to that arm, since it will be made naturally tough." Izuku continues, looking over the designs with her.
"You get it, Greenie! With the extra attachments, we can probably make it work as a grapple hook, We could attach a mini air cannon to propel strands farther and faster with various heads on them. Maybe build a taser system into the lines so when they grab a villain it shocks them."
"Weight might become a bit of an issue, but if we keep the strands smallish, and the attachments not on the arm..."
"We could make it so it can attach to the shield as well, and..."
A loud clap jolts Izuku up, even as Mei keeps rambling on, Power Loader up at the front of class spotting her and sighing. "Welcome to U.A.'s Support course. I'm your homeroom teacher Majima Higari, also known as Pro Hero Power Loader. I will also be your teacher and supervisor for most Lab times..."
"Lab!" Mei suddenly exclaims, cutting off the teacher as she straightens up, "Sensei, when are we going to start inventing?"
"We will be doing orientation first with the rest of the school first," Majima says, "And after that, we will be doing a tour of the various support labs, and going over the basic safety protocols. Tomorrow morning will be doing safety testing, and then, IF you passed all the tests, the first lab work class will be in the afternoon. Should you fail, you will be studying for it during lab classes until you successfully pass the tests." Several students gulp at this, though Mei's head rolls back with a groan. "For now, you can leave your bags here, and follow me to the auditorium."
Students begin to file out while Mei tries to hunch down over her schematics till Izuku sets a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Mei, it'll be quick and then we get to check out the labs after. It's just orientation, after all, how bad could it be?"
Thirty minutes later, he would regret those words, as Nedzu prattles on and on, Mei's unhappy glare burning holes in the side of his head.
~~~
Most of the class passed the safety tests with ease, and in their first real chance to use the labs, Izuku found himself lost among the seemingly unending supply and selection of materials available. Every kind of fabric you could think of, in piles of common colours and the tools to dye it for any specific you may need. Metals, plastics, woods and more, all neatly lining shelves on the walls. Plumbing parts and mechanical components filling up bins, all neatly stowed in their own spaces. And that's not even mentioning the tools and machines.
All in all, a support student's wet dream, but for someone looking to go into Heroics, it's a little too much. With only a month or so before the Sports Festival and only so many classes in the Lab, every moment counts and unlike Mei's hyper focus, energy and efficiency, Izuku was frozen with where to start. Despite having only three core things to make, not being able to finish one, or worse, two, means whichever one he completes first must be the most important.
The first is his grapple gauntlet. The most complex of the three, but also the most useful. It will give him the power to match up to the other hero course students, to compete on the same level. With Mei's help building it, it should be easier, but at the same time, failure means both his time and Mei's was wasted in preparation for the festival. On top of that, any time spent working on this is time Mei isn't spending on her own inventions.
Second is his shield. Maybe not the most critical of the three for the sports festival, but the piece of equipment that reflects his dreams and goals. A tool, made not to attack or capture, but to protect. A tool made to save people and shield them from danger. A tool that will let him save people with a smile.
And last, his costume. A thought that didn't strike him till a few days ago when Yu showed up to her gym in costume while he was brainstorming support gear ideas while working out. The simplest and least useful of the gear, but an opportunity that others either don't get or don’t care about. The Hero course students have to compete in their gym uniforms for fairness's sake, and the support students are there to show off their inventions. But for him, he can compete in a costume he made himself, show the world the Hero he could be while fighting to prove he deserves to be there.
All in all, for the often overly analytical mind of Izuku, it's all far too much as quiet words tumble from his lips as he mutters to himself. Mei blurs past to grab something, before stopping and looking at him. "Are you still back here, Greenie? I know it's wonderful, but you should start making babies at some point. Oh, are you stuck with too many ideas? Maybe you should take a walk outside, Mom always sends me to do that when I get too many ideas. Or when I'm running out of ideas." The girl pauses to tap her chin in thought, "Actually, she sent me outside a lot, now that I think of it." With her bit said, she returns to her workstation, a series of small motors already there in the process of being assembled.
Looking into his notebook and the pages and pages of thoughts and plans already there, he lets his head hang, before walking over to Power Loader. "Sensei, could I take a quick walk to clear my head?"
"That's fine, Midoriya, just don't be gone long or get lost." He replies, a smile visible under his costume's helmet.
"Thank you, Sensei." he says with a bow, before walking towards the heavy door to the lab. Despite its solid build, it opens easily, and he barely manages a step outside before he almost bumps into a taller student. "S-sorry, I didn't notice you." he says, bowing quickly as he steps back.
The student, a young lady with a black ponytail shakes her head, giving a small bow herself. "It was my fault as well; I was standing too close to the door. Are you perhaps in the support course? I was hoping to thank Midoriya Izuku, but I didn't want to disrupt the class, so if you could ask for me, I would appreciate it."
"He's, erm, I'm, uh..." Letting out a sigh, Izuku takes a breath before straightening up and making a small bow, "I'm Midoriya Izuku, it's nice to meet you and you're welcome, I guess?"
"Yaoyorozu Momo, It's a pleasure." She replies, giving a bow back, "I want to thank you for the costume designs you did for Mt Lady, as it inspired me to improve my own costume to work with my quirk without some rather embarrassing issues."
Izuku's eyes light up, and he pulls out a notebook while asking, "Oh?! If it's based on her pop off armour, that means you have a Transformation type quirk? Or maybe an emitter quirk that releases things from your body? I'd love to hear about it if you don't mind."
"Not at all. My quirk is called Creation, and it lets me create anything I know the atomic makeup and design of by using my lipids as fuel." Holding up a hand, a sparkle of multicoloured light spawns forth a simple matryoshka doll, making Izuku's eyes go wide.
Looking over his shoulder, nobody seems to have heard her from the class, and so he gestures for her to be quiet before waving for her to follow him away. "Sorry, I don't know how bad most of the class is, but my friend Mei at least really cannot learn about your quirk, Yaoyorozu."
"Ah, I should have considered that. Thank you for your concern, Midoriya, but I'm quite used to people who wish to abuse my quirk for their own ends." She says with a smile, "But back on the topic of my costume, my greatest issue was that I need exposed skin to create objects out of, or they would rip my costume or get caught inside it. Adapting Mt Lady's detachable armour..."
"...You could create protective patches that could be removed or just come free when you need to create something from that spot, letting you maintain your modesty and protection." Izuku finishes, cutting in from his excitement.
"Indeed. I found myself even more appreciative after having had class, as some of my classmates are a little..." She frowns a bit, trying to find the right words to remain tactful.
"Perverted?" Izuku helpfully suggests, his face twisting in distaste.
"I would have used a more polite word, but yes. Once again, you have my thanks, Midoriya. If you ever need assistance, feel free to give me a call." Pulling out a business card, she holds it out to him, which he accepts with another bow. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to class. Have a nice day."
"Ah, you too. Have a good day." Watching he leave for a moment, a slow smile crawls up his face before he turned to look at nothing. 'Two people, my costume designs have helped two people already.' Turning back and entering the class again, he hurries straight to his desk, pulling out drafting paper and his own personal notebook. A single glance is spared by Mei, who grins before focusing entirely on her own babies.
Chapter 7
Notes:
So, it turns out preparing an outline for the story provides a lot of writing motivation, and yeah, this chapter is done already. Enjoy, and hopefully the future chapters should also be out in reasonable times.
Chapter Text
Izuku is elbow deep in fabric during lab when a sudden loud alarm makes him jump, Nedzu's voice coming from every building speaker. "All Hero Staff are needed at Location 4 Immediately, Situation is a code O3. This message will repeat." True to his words, the message repeats itself while he rushes out of the supply room to find Power Loader heading out the door, fully loaded and the students looking confused.
"Hey Greenie, you know what's going on?" Mei asks, taking a moment to look up from her work when she spots him from the corner of her eye.
Before he can answer, the door to the room slams shut, before a second internal slides down from the roof, thick and heavy as it reaches the ground. This is followed by all the heavy machinery in the lab shutting down drawing cries and exclamations from any working on them. "Something bad enough they need to lock down the school. If they need the Hero teachers specifically, it's probably a Villain related incident, but since they need to meet somewhere first, it's probably not in the main building. At least, that's my best guess."
"Huh, well, maybe it'll go on long enough we get extra time in the lab here. I've been pestering Power Loader-Sensei for more time after school to get all my babies ready for the Sports Festival, but he hasn't let me stay more than an extra two hours."
Izuku can't help but smile at Mei's nonchalance before saying, "I guess there's nothing we can do now but wait and work on our stuff." Heading back into the supply room, by the time he has everything he's looking for, most of the class is settled and back working when he returns.
"A Phone call is Here! A Phone call is Here!" Izuku's phone suddenly rings out in All Might's voice barely a few minutes later, causing half the class to jump before glaring at him as he quickly shuffles into the materials room. The ID is Yu's so he quickly answers, "Hello, Sensei..."
"Are you okay Izuku?" She cuts in, clearly panicked, "I got word U.A. was attacked, I'm on my way already."
"I'm okay Yu," He replies softly, "The school got locked down, but nothing has happened here so far besides the teachers being called for it."
Her sigh of relief is easily audible, "I'm glad. Once this is all over, I will be taking you home, so you know."
"Yes ma'am," He replies quickly as her tone becomes stern but playful, only for his phone to be pulled from his hand.
"Hey, you're Mount Lady, right?" Mei asks Izuku's phone, "Hatsume Mei, future owner and head technician of Hatsume Inc., as well as the maker of Izuku's future heroing babies, and I'd like to add you to my list of future clients... Hey!"
Snagging his phone back, he quickly says, "Sorry, I'll let you go. See you soon. Love you, bye," before ending the call and putting it away so Mei can't grab it again.
"No fair Greenie! You won't keep future clients from me!"
"Mei, she's on duty, and will be here later anyways, you can talk to her then."
Her eyes flicker and shift as she stares at his face, her quirk scanning for any signs of lies, before she frowns but concedes with a huff. "Fine, but you better introduce me properly." Spinning on her heel, she returns to her workstation, picking up where she left off without missing a beat.
Returning to his own work, it's almost an hour before the lockdown suddenly lifts and one of his classmates immediately runs out for the bathroom. Not long after that, a teacher arrives, though not their normal one.
"Hey Little Students!" Present Mic exclaims, bursting in the door with his usual levels of energy, "Due to some happenings, school's out early today while us teachers go over some safety stuff. So... pack up your projects and enjoy the free time, yeah?"
What would normally have been a cheer instead was a little confusion and grumbles from the students, before it's all overshadowed by a cry of "Noooooooooooo!!!!" as Mei throws herself over her projects, "I don't wanna go early, I need to make my babies, and no after school lab time either today?! Greenie, convince Noisy-sensei over there to let me stay!"
"Mei, we can't. There was an attack, and they can't watch us in here. Besides, didn't you want to meet Mt Lady and talk shop with her?"
Cross-haired eyes blink at him, remembering earlier, lips pursing in thought, before unenthusiastically agreeing, "Fine, but I don't have to like losing time to work on my babies."
"I wouldn't expect you to." Izuku replies with a smile, "Maybe you could use this to convince Power Loader to give you a little extra time going forward, since you're losing several hours of work time here."
"Oooh, now there's an idea. Let's go, Izuku." With a gentleness that would surprise anyone who only saw her work, she quickly tidies up her works in progress, putting them safely away inside her workstation while Izuku does the same with his. Tossing her bag over her shoulder, she begins dragging Izuku out the moment he grabs his own. He's pulled all the way outside, where it's not hard to spot Mt Lady, given the number of students crowding around her and the other heroes in the area. "You! Mount Lady!"
Stretching up to peek over the crowd, Mt Lady spots the familiar green hair of her boyfriend, as well as a girl with pink dreadlocks pointing at her. The latter begins pushing through her crowd, dragging Izuku with her, before finally breaking through. Holding up a finger to the girl, she turns to the rest, saying, "Alright, I'll have to make it quick, if you want a picture or signature, please line up." There's a bit of confusion and voices asking why, and to answer, she gestures to Izuku, "I know Midoriya here's mom, and she'd kill me if I didn't make sure he made it home after today."
There are a few grumbles here and there, but the crowd accepts the answer, a few muttering about him being a lucky bastard. The line is made, and while it's quick, Izuku can't help but smile at the passion she puts into interacting with her fans. From fun poses in pictures, to personalized signatures, it still takes a decent chunk of time, but before long they're all done and she's free to leave.
"Finally," Mei exclaims next to him, putting away a notebook she had been blueprinting in while she waited. "Mei Hatsume, I talked with you from Greenie's phone before he stole it from me." From within her overalls, Mei pulls out a business card, holding it out to Mt Lady.
"Mei, right, you were the one who is going to make Izuku's babies, right?" Yu replies, letting her grin speak volumes as she accepts the card, "Nice to meet you. Takeyama Yu, or Mount Lady, it's a pleasure to meet you. I do have to take Izuku home, but if you don't live too far, I'm sure his mom wouldn't mind company, and we can talk then and I can just drive you home after."
"That sounds just fine to me," Mei replies, "I'm living at my uncles workshop while I'm at U.A., so it's not too far away. While we're talking, do you mind if I check out Izuku's first baby?"
"Not a problem, but lets get to my car first. I wasn't kidding when I was talking about Izuku's mom."
The ride home, thankfully, was fairly quiet as Mei spent most of it looking over Yu's armour on the trip, pausing only to ask him a question here and there. Getting Yu up to the apartment required a bit of thought and Izuku's school blazer to hide her costume somewhat and reaching the door, Izuku is sent in first like a lamb to the slaughter.
"IZUKUUUU!!!" Inko wails, almost tackling her son as he opens the door, dragging him quickly inside as tears bubble in her eyes, "You're okay, right? I heard the school was attacked by Villains, and..."
"I'm okay, Mom." He replies, hugging her back, "I was in class when it happened, so everything got locked down, but nothing happened to us besides that."
"Stupid lockdown stealing my time to make babies," Mei grumbles, still waiting at the door to be invited in.
Hearing a new voice, Inko turns to see Mei and Yu at the door and in an instant, she's turned to them, still hugging Izuku tight. "Welcome, come in. You must be Hatsume, Izuku told me about meeting you at the exam. I'm Midoriya Inko, Izuku's Mother, and it's nice to meet you."
"That's right!" Mei agrees as she steps in with a business smile, "Hatsume Mei, future owner and head technician of Hatsume Inc., as well as the future maker of Izuku's babies."
Izuku can't help but wince as his mom's grip on him suddenly slackens, and he can see Yu's grin splitting her face as she holds back laugher. "Mom, she calls her inventions her babies, and she wants to be my support technician when I become a Hero."
"Not just Izuku, I'm gonna handle all of the best Heroes, and provide them with the best babies I can make!" Mei declares, puffing up her chest, "Speaking of, I'm gonna start with you, Mount Lady. Greenie made you a pretty good protective baby, but you've got nothing to help you fight." Yu is immediately dragged to the couch and sat down as Mei begins pulling notebooks and binders and loose papers from her bag, laying them out on the coffee table.
Inko's hug tightens again briefly before letting him go. "She seems like an interesting friend, Izuku. Will she be staying for dinner?"
"I'll ask," He replies, before calling over, "Mei, do you want to stay for dinner?"
Mei looks up from her papers before tapping her lips with a finger as she hums in thought. "Sure, if your Mom doesn't mind." She replies after a minute, "I'm not gonna be in the Lab today, so a proper meal sounds great, and we can talk more about our plans for the sports festival."
"Will you be staying as well, Yu?" Inko asks the Heroine as well.
"I'm off the clock, so that sounds great to me. Izuku, do you mind if I borrow some of your clothes? I'd like to get out of my costume if you don't mind."
"Go ahead," He replies before turning to Mei but his thoughts are interrupted by his Mom.
"I'm going to go do a little shopping for dinner, try not to get into trouble while I'm gone and don't ignore your friend for your girlfriend."
"I won't."
As Inko heads off, Izuku joins Mei at the coffee table, pulling out a couple of his own notebooks from his school bag. Yu joins them soon after, having changed into a pair of loose jeans and a t-shirt with the Kanji for mountain from Izuku's collection.
~~~
It didn't take long for news of the lockdown to spread, with U.A. releasing an announcement of what happened the day after. A full on villain attack against one of U.A.'s new hero classes, with over seventy confirmed arrests and thankfully no fatalities. While many students were reported injured, none of them were serious, though two of the initially on-site teachers were reported as having been hospitalized from their injuries.
Needless to say, Inko was fretting like a mother hen come Monday, but despite all her worry, she never once asked if he wanted to transfer out. Her baby boy isn't going to give up his dream, and she's not going to try and stop him.
...But that doesn't mean she isn't going to worry about him, especially after something like this, so that's why she called in his girlfriend to drive him to school early.
After scanning the area to make sure nobody will notice, Izuku leans across the car, wrapping Yu in a one armed hug and giving her a smooch before saying, "Love you Yu, see you after school."
"Love ya too!" She replies, waving as he steps out.
Making his way to the gate, the whole thing is clogged by a mix of students and news reporters, the latter blocking much of the former. Spotting a familiar head of hair among the crowd, he walks over, tapping the girl on the shoulder and saying, "Good Morning Yaoyorozu."
She seems a little surprised, jumping slightly at his touch, but turning and recognizing him, she smiles. "Good Morning to you as well, Midoriya. I had suspected something like this would happen, so I arrived early to hopefully avoid it, but it seems the news is quite pervasive." Turning back to the mass, her hand goes to her chin as her smile fades into a tiny but still there frown. "I would like to get through diplomatically, but with what happened Friday, I shouldn't say anything."
Not missing the underlying implication of her words, he offers her his hand, saying, "Come, I'll just push through. It's not like they can stop us." She's clearly surprised by his offer, but after a moment, she grips his hand with her own, nodding. There's a moment of surprise for him as he realizes how easy it is for him to move people aside as he pushes through, his months of training having built up a not insignificant amount of strength. Even the grip of a reporter grabbing his shoulder breaks with near no effort, and with that, they break through to the other side, a seemingly invisible wall the reporters do not cross.
"That was, refreshingly different." Yaoyorozu says, releasing his hand and fixing up her own uniform as it had gotten slightly ruffled. "Normally I'd have my family's security or my parents to handle such things."
"Well hopefully the school can do something about it." He says with a glance back at the teeming mass. "If you don't mind me asking, what did happen Friday? I've seen what the news and U.A. said but..."
He can see her face twist, ever so slightly, her hands curl up and move to hold each other, her breathing hitch and accelerate, and in that moment, he can see his own reflection from many months ago.
With slow, obvious movements, he reaches out, wrapping her hands in his before saying, "You don't have to say a thing if you don't want to. I can see it, and I know how you feel right now."
"No you don't!" She snaps, yanking her hands from his before blinking and trying to put on her calm facade again.
"I do, because I was where you are less than a year ago." Izuku says before shivering, a hand reaching unconsciously for his own throat. "A villain attacked me on my way home from school, he was made of sludge and covered me, was choking me to take over my body as a puppet. It..." Memories rise and his body gags, the hand on his throat squeezing softly, "It took weeks for things to even approach being normal, and even now..." Shaking his head and closing his eyes for a moment, he takes several deep breaths before looking again to see recognition in her eyes. "It helps to talk about it, with close friends, family or professionals."
As his hand releases his own throat, her own reach out for it, wrapping around it. "We have time before class, would you... could I tell you what happened? Somewhere private?"
"I'd be glad to listen."
~~~
Bobbing to the beat, Izuku follows along with the tutorial being projected across the wall of Mt Lady's gym. With the mirror wall to check his form, he can't help but feel like he's improving, getting closer to his goal. Not having a bag to punch means shadow boxing is his go to, throwing hands against imaginary foes and dodging their imagined retaliations. Quick right, duck left, left hook into a jab to the stomach, dodge back before striking with a low kick.
The door to the gym opening makes him jump as he resets to neutral, looking over to see his sensei turned girlfriend in the doorway. "Looking good there, Izuku. Are you up for a little sparring?"
"Sure!" he replies with a beaming grin, "I want to get some practice in for if I make it to the third round. It's always some sort of fighting tournament, and they usually just have basic fights for first years." Straightening out, a finger goes to his lips as he pauses, "Though it has been a few years since the last wildcard third round, so there's a decent possibility it might be something else. On the other hand, there was the attack, and they probably want to show how capable their students are that beat the villains. But then..."
As he dissolves into muttering, she closes in, getting his attention by pulling his hand away from his face and silencing him by delivering a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm gonna get changed, so if you want to help..." She doesn't fight the smile that forms as he starts blushing, his face barely a foot from hers as his teenaged imagination runs wild. Using just a little more sway and saunter than perhaps necessary, Yu steps back, turns and slow walks to the changing room, feeling Izuku's eyes glued to her the whole time.
He doesn't follow, so once changed, she returns with a pout that makes him squirm in place. "You know, with all your talk of U.A., you've only really talked about girls, you know. Am I being replaced already? Is that why you won't help me change?"
"Never!" He almost barks back, shaking his head as his eyes firm, "I'd never replace you, Yu, you're the only girlfriend for me."
A smile replaces her pout, though she fights to keep hold of all the butterflies in her chest at his declaration, "I know, I'm just teasing." Making her way to the mats, she gestures him over and says, "We'll go easy to start and slowly ramp up. We want to practice after all, not beat each other silly."
"Right." Izuku pauses to grab a quick drink of water before joining her on the mats and striking up an amateur pose.
Squaring up, she waits a few seconds, before stepping in. His first punch is a wound up right straight she avoids with a lean before grabbing his arm when he doesn't retract it fast enough. She snags his waistband with her other hand, pivoting to throw him over her shoulder and tanking the awkward smack on her back he gets before he's facing the ceiling with the wind knocked out of him and his arm trapped. "And that's round one to me," Yu says, sticking out her tongue at him while squeezing his hand between her thighs.
"Avoid getting grabbed, got it..." Izuku groans as he gets his breath back. "Maybe change my footing to avoid the throw?"
Releasing his arm from her legs, she helps pull him up with a nod and a smile. "That could help. I'm not super strong, so if you dropped your center of mass, I'd have a harder time throwing you. What about your punch, where do you think you went wrong there?"
Izuku closes his eyes, replaying the brief fight in his head, trying to picture it from the outside. As his mental approximation plays, there's a vague sense of familiarity to it, like part of it is familiar. A memory, a faint scent of burnt caramel and his eyes shoot open before his hands go to his face. "I'm an idiot."
"You're learning." Yu corrects him, poking his nose between his hands. "So, what mistakes did you make?"
"I'm an idiot but I can get better." Izuku says, pulling his hands away. "You remember my notebooks? I've studied a lot of people, including Bakugo, and how he fights, and I've already noted one of his biggest flaws is he leads with a big obvious all in right hook, and I just did the same thing. You even countered the way I thought up in my notes."
Yu stifles a giggle, before stepping in closer, saying "Well now you know better, and that's one thing you're for sure better at than that blonde brat."
He begins to smile, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss as thanks before stepping back and getting ready. She readies across from him again, but this time, he moves first. His punches are a little quicker this time, a little more guarded as they flow from one into another, and when he suddenly sets his footing, she hops back to avoid a low kick. "A bit too obvious, Izuku." Yu taunts, reaching for his face. His hands grab her wrist, but leave himself exposed for a palm strike to the gut.
Keeping his lunch down becomes objective number one as he staggers back, Yu giving him a moment to steady himself. Still carrying the taste of bile in the back of his throat, an idea strikes, an old lesson Yu has worked on him with. Yanking his shirt off and tossing it aside, the sight of his bare chest is enough to distract his girlfriend for just a moment as he charges, forcing her to take a step back to raise her guard. It doesn't help as instead of throwing a punch or a kick, he hurls himself at her, bringing them both to the ground as he grabs what he can in an attempt to pin her.
An arm and a breast are enough to get her to blush and say, "Not bad, but..." before she bucks her hips, tilting him enough she can push him the rest of the way, pinning him down on his back, "Not enough to hold me down, yet." Grinding against him just a little, she watches him squirm and blush before shifting off. "Using your sexuality not a bad tactic, but one you can't always rely on. A better idea would have been to throw the shirt at my face. Then I'd have to block it or be blinded, giving you an opening either way."
Izuku nods as he sits up, a blush still prominent but he absorbs her advice like a sponge, already contemplating incorporating such tactics into using his support weapon. "These fights really don't take long, huh?" he ponders aloud while catching his breath.
"Real fights don't often take long. Even hero fights, a lot are just posturing and feints with quirks, before someone finds an opening, then boom. Like..." Pondering for a moment, a memory strikes. "Like the Sludge villain fight. Because of Bakugo's explosions, nobody was really fighting for a while there, until you ran in and created an opening. Then I just slipped in and splatted him while saving you and Bakugo."
He continues to nod slowly, thinking back to countless Hero fights he's seen. "I suppose that's part of why the top Heroes are so good, they know how to make and take those openings."
"A lot of them." She nods in agreement, "Some like All Might or my giant form can just overwhelm anything a Villain would try to do anyways." Standing, she offers him a hand, pulling him up into an embrace when he accepts it. "We'll just have to figure out what works best for you, even if it means wrestling for hours together." He blush relights, and she leans in to give him a quick smooch before sweeping his leg and tossing him to the mats again.
~~~
In the final week leading up to the sports festival, a certain energy seems to fill the school. Nervousness, excitement or determination can be seen on almost every face, though for some, the reasons are completely unrelated.
"Come on baby, give Momma just a little more power!" Mei begs, watching the force gauge creep up as her Wire Arrow system strains to pull harder. Parts start to squeal, and she sighs, turning off the piece of gear and letting it relax. Grumbling to herself about parts and materials, she detaches the arrow and retracts it in a snap, removing the whole system from the strength tester. Her hastily scrawled blueprints greet her at her workbench as she returns, holding no answers to the problem she faces. When some of her notebooks don't help either, she shrugs, sets her stuff aside before marching over to Izuku's table.
"Hey Greenie, do you mind if I give you a hand? My baby's being trouble so I want to clear my head with something new."
"Oh, uh, sure, Mei, I'd be glad to have your help." He replies, looking up from his work. "I'm working on the latching system to hold the shield extensions in place when both retracted and extended."
"I see, I see." She says while scanning over his blueprints which are far more in depth than her own. "So where should I start? This is your baby after all."
His finger points to a second set of blueprints for several variations of something as he says, "You're better than I am with mechanical stuff, so do you think you could work on the grounding anchor module? Even if it's just blueprints for the best option would be great."
Cackling as she grabs the sheet, she declares, "Mei Hatsume at your service. I'll get this baby part started don't you worry." She's back in her seat in an instant, brushing her own projects back before setting out Izuku's blueprints again. The first design works like a folding chair, tubes and brackets that click into place with spring pressured pins, but... "Too boring. Maybe I'll make one as a cheap backup part, but a baby should be special." The second is, "Interesting, the pneumatic spikes would really ensure the shield stays upright, but only if they could penetrate the ground reliably."
Scanning the third brings a smile to her face, not from the design itself, but the notes around it. A stabilized base with an internal CPU and sensors to let the shield resist and flow with hits as needed automatically. A system functionally very similar to one she's got half finished at home, planned for completion after the Wire Arrow system is finished. "Hey, Midori, mind if I got a little crazy on this part? I got some ideas that will really let it and your shield baby stand out."
"I don't mind, but don't forget your own babies." He replies "If it's going to take too much work, I can just build a temporary part for it so you can show off your own stuff in the festival."
Mei can only reply with more laughter, already pulling some parts from the drawers of her workstation. "This is nothing to the future Head Technician of Hatsume Inc.. I'll have it done with time to spare and I can already feel my brain whirring to go." A ruler in one hand and a pencil in the other, she starts up her own blueprint, a smile wide across her face.
Chapter 8
Notes:
My muse remains with me, and this was shockingly quick to finish. Despite it coming out pretty good, I still think it will be the worst chapter of the fic, mostly because it's just the sports festival first two events.
Chapter Text
"HELLO EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL!" Present Mic's voice yells out, coming from every speaker inside and several outside the stadium. "I'm your host with the most, Present Mic, and joining me this year, we have an interesting co-host. Is he a dog? A bear? A mouse? Most importantly, he's the Principal of U.A., Nedzu!"
"Thank you for the introduction," Nedzu says, far more calm than his boisterous partner, "Indeed, while I normally leave the first year announcing to the Hero class teachers, as well as U.A.'s own Radio Jockey, this year has not been without its troubles, and so I'm going to be taking a greater part in things."
"For those of you who may not have heard, some real uncool villains thought it'd be a great idea to attack one of our Hero classes, and while none of the students were badly injured, we're not taking it lying down. On top of the hordes of Heroes here to watch the first steps of the next generation, we've got even more Heroes out and about than usual, but they're not who you're here for."
Watching screens where she can, Mt Lady wanders around her designated area, watching for trouble and waiting for Izuku to make his first impression. Passing a takoyaki stand, the scent catches her and she pauses. Digging her card out from a pouch inside her armour, she asks, "Can I get a six piece order, please?" Soon, she's got a tray of steaming fresh octopus balls in hand and one in her mouth as she continues her patrol.
"Starting from the top, you already know of them, the freshman class that already faced down a massive villain attack and stayed strong, the Department of Heroics Class 1-A!" Mic declares, slapping a button to open the gates to the class. The crowds go wild as the students walk out, some waving to the crowd, others trying to shrink away from attention before forming up into their rows. "And following them, we've got their sister class looking to make their debut splash today, Class 1-B!" The cheers are noticeably reduced as the second class walks out, but the energy remains high.
"Naturally, while the Heroics courses are the main focus of the sports festival, you should never count out the efforts of the other classes." Nedzu says as the cheering starts to quiet down. "Up next, we have classes 1-C, 1-D and 1-E, our General Education students."
"That's right, and the Hero Course students better watch out. I'd bet quite a few of the little listeners down there are looking to prove themselves and gain a spot in the Hero course."
"And after the Gen Ed students, we have our Support Course students, Classes 1-F, 1-G and 1-H. Many of them will be looking to show off the gear they have created to attract the attention of both Companies and Heroes."
Hands clenched together, Inko watches as Izuku steps out into the field while holding back proud tears. Dressed in a full costume, he stands out as the only student not wearing the gym uniform. A soft forest green with bits of black trim covers most of his body, white sections covering his upper arms and thighs. An orange trimmed purple utility belt around his waist adds a little extra colour, despite clashing with the base scheme. Most of the outfit is clearly padded, softening definition but providing a decent bit of extra protection.
"Whoa there, looks like someone's out of uniform!" Present Mic exclaims, turning to Nedzu who's already smiling. "Isn't that a foul?"
"Support Course students are allowed to use any gear they created and got approved before the Festival, and Midoriya did build the costume himself. It has almost never been done before, since most Support Course students only make costumes for other students, but Midoriya is within the rules to wear his costume here. I'll certainly be interested in seeing his goals with this."
"Well then everyone, you heard the boss, looks like Lean Green down there is good to go. Now before we lose track, we still have three more classes to introduce, though most of them will not be competing in the festival. Coming up last but certainly not least, we've got our Management Course students from classes 1-I, 1-J and 1-K, and they'll be doing as business types do while the others compete." The last three classes enter the field, taking up their place, more than a few already eyeing the big distraction so far. "With those introductions out of the way, it's time to introduce our Master of Ceremonies, or should I say, Mistress, the 18+ Heroine, Midnight!"
The cheers for the adult themed Heroine are quite different, including a lot of hoots and whistles, till it's all silenced as she snaps her flogger. "Thank you, Mic. To start off the festivities, we have an opening speech from our top student in the entrance exam. Bakugo Katsuki." Pointing her flogger at the boy, he walks up seemingly without a care for the entire audience around him nor the not so quiet whispers among the classes.
"Sensei," he says, taking the mic as it's held out for him and staring straight at Midoriya, "Today, I promise that I'm going to win." Tossing the mic back in her direction, he walks off the stage, ignoring the boos of the students while keeping his eyes locked on Midoriya till he reaches the ground. Finally, his stare breaks away and he marches back to his spot in the hero class.
"With that... youthful declaration out of the way, let's get onto the first event!" Midnight says, trying to pull back some of the excitement Bakugo wasted. Her flogger points to the massive display where dozens of events begin to spin by like pictures on a slot machine. It spins and spins for about half a minute before it starts to slow down some of the options becoming visible. Some are absurd, like zero gravity paintball, or survive in a fight against Mirko, while others are far more reasonable, such as extreme dodgeball. Finally, it stops at an obstacle race, Midnight declaring, "And there we have it, an obstacle race. Our fresh young hopefuls are going to have to show us their stamina in a race around the stadium."
"But first, a quick fifteen minute break to let the Support students grab their gear and let the Business students get started on their own work." Present Mic adds as the students begin to file away. "And while they get ready, how about I give all you watchers in the audience and at home a little sneak preview of the course? After all, we can't have an obstacle race without obstacles."
On screens everywhere, a camera drone's perspective takes off, exiting the stadium and turning down the path. A wide open path starts, with the beautiful greenery of U.A. flanking it, before the path starts to widen. One, two, a dozen and ever more robots begin rising up, from the simple One Pointers all the way up to a quartet of Zero Pointers. The drone zips among them, dipping and dodging like a runner might have to before breaking past them all. Down another open stretch, it soon reaches a massive pit carved over the entire path, only a few standing platforms connected by thick ropes providing a way across. This naturally means nothing to the drone as it flies across, down another open stretch, before reaching a pair of warning signs on either side of the path. Past them, the ground is lumpy packed dirt, a hint to what the last obstacle is.
The drone feed cuts off, jumping back to shots of the stadium and the students lining up for the start of the race. It's not hard for Inko to spot Izuku, his costume letting him stand out alongside Hatsume next to him. Clasping her hands together in prayer, she quietly says, "I know you can do it Izuku, just stay safe for me."
"Is everybody ready? Can I get a Yeah!?" Present Mic calls out, the crowd cheering, along with some of the students. "That's what I'm talking about! Any last words of wisdom for our competitors, Mr Principal?"
"Do your best, and people will notice. Even if you don't win today, you will still show all those watching, here and at home what you can do. Of course, never be afraid to embrace the school motto and go beyond..."
"PLUS ULTRA!" The crowd and students cheer, even outside the stadium among those on site or at home.
"Here we go in Three! Two! One! ..."
~~~
"...Begin!"
As that word comes through the speakers, the mass of students shifts to move before a wave of cold washes over everyone combined with a snapping, crackling sound. Ice coats the ground, crawling up the shoes of everyone there while its creator takes off, immediately making their way through the gate and onto the course proper. He's not the only one though, as quite a few in the Hero course break free and take off after him, including Bakugo spouting his normal level of curses.
Looking next to him, Izuku spies Mei examining the ice around her hover soles while he shifts his shield off his back. Ice shatters under it as he slams its weight down, letting him break free and take off. Support, Gen Ed and Hero course students alike are passed as he runs, most working on freeing themselves, though a few unlucky souls just resign to their fate. The path is straightforward, though a few stray purple orbs on the ground make his quirk instincts kick in to avoid them.
"Too obvious, either a trap from U.A. or another student's quirk." he mutters while running past, eyes focused on them so intently he almost misses the robot sliding in the way. Lifting his shield and setting his shoulder, Izuku crashes against it like a footballer, slamming the one wheeled robot aside. More robots ahead encourage him to leave this one behind as it clumsily rises to its wheel again, and after dodging past a couple more, he spots someone bent over in the distance with their hands on their stomach. Ahead, two massive half-frozen robots begin to fall over, two more behind them bearing down on the racers.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asks, coming to a stop next to the person he quickly realizes is Yaoyorozu, and who isn't bent over in pain, but is instead creating something as what looks like a cannon barrel is extruded from her sparkling stomach.
"Fine," She replies somewhat curtly, "Concentrating."
"I'll cover you then." He says, popping the latches on his Riot sized shield to extend out panels to double its width. It proves helpful quite quickly as several unoccupied robots begin firing weak lasers and rubber projectiles at them, hitting his shield ineffectually or passing nearby.
In almost no time at all, there's a heavy slam behind him punctuated with the cracking of stone before Yaoyorozu yells, "Cover your ears!"
Even with the warning, the shockwave hits him like the cannonball hits the giant robot. It's almost human-like as the massive mechanical monstrosity clutches at the new hole in its body as it crumples over and falls to the side. Turning to Yaoyorozu, she's standing proud, looking over her kill with the cannon smoking in front of her.
"Thank you for the assistance." She says, looking over at him with a smile, "Shall we work together to get through?"
With a bright smile he nods, replying, "That sounds like a plan. I can block the robots, but not destroy them."
"Leave that to me, Midoriya." She states as her hand begins to glow and sparkle. A weapon shaft begins to form, and with her other hand, she grasps and draws forth her creation, a sturdy spear with a thick, hard head.
Izuku's shield leads the way, charging ahead and forcing robots to the side, where skilled thrusts from Yaoyorozu bring them down.
"Whoahoa, what's this? It looks like we've got a Hero Team Up in Robo Inferno between the Support Course's Midoriya Izuku and the Hero Course's Yaoyorozu Momo." Present Mic declares, triggering a camera to swap to them.
"It's an excellent idea." Nedzu acknowledges, "Neither have the mobility of the frontrunners, so working together allows them to move faster as they cover the weaknesses in each other's abilities. A good display of Heroic teamwork in a solo event."
"And there you have it from the U.A. President himself. And look at that, our lead contestants have gotten past The Fall, they are really going Plus Ultra! It seems Midoriya's not the only Support Course student putting in work as well, Hatsume Mei has just reached The Fall, and is crossing it in style."
Finally breaking free of the Robo Inferno, Izuku and Yaoyorozu break into a run till they reach The Fall. The chasm rears its ugly head and Izuku slows to a stop, resting his still extended shield. "You go on ahead, I need to collapse my shield again if I want to be able to cross."
Looking to him, Yaoyorozu nods before saying, "Then I wish you good luck." Using her spear for balance, she starts walking across the ropes with the balance of a gymnast while he begins the process of retracting the shield’s extensions.
Less than a minute later, his shield is back on his back, and he's begun crossing in a slower and much less elegant manner than Yaoyorozu.
"Our frontrunners have just passed the Minefield, and are now in an open sprint for first place. Who's going to take it, the explosion powered Bakugo Katsuki or the ice cold Todoroki Shoto?"
"That doesn't matter," Izuku says quietly to himself, "Stay focused on the task at hand." Reaching the last platform, there's a shriek from behind and he spins to reach out only to be unable to do anything as someone falls into the netting below. In his mind, however, he can picture it. His gauntlet, reaching out with its capture strands to catch the girl, letting him reel her back up to safety. A project he'll need to complete before becoming a Hero. Determination sparked, he turns to the last rope and tackles it with renewed vigor.
Far from the stadium, Inko breathes a sigh of relief as Izuku successfully finishes the fall, but with a minefield still ahead of him, she can't relax just yet.
Meanwhile, watching with a few other Heroes, Mt Lady smiles as the camera briefly focuses on her boyfriend finishing The Fall, and in a good spot too. "Looks like there's a lot of pretty good students this year." She says before stuffing her last Takoyaki ball in her mouth.
"That Bakugo kid is doing real well. I remember him from the Sludge Villain attack last year. If he makes it to the third round, I'd bet he's going top three no question." Death Arms comments, "I'm probably going to send an offer, even if I doubt he'll consider it."
Swallowing the last of her snack, she nods in begrudging agreement before adding, "Midoriya was there as well, and he's doing pretty well. It looks like he’s in about the mid twenties from what I can tell."
"The quirkless kid that tried to be a hero... Right, I remember him." He says with a bit of a grumble, "And now he's got the audacity to do it in costume. Hmph, a thousand yen says he doesn't make it to the third round."
"I'll take that bet." Yu replies with a half hidden smirk.
The lightly used minefield is far easier to spot as Izuku comes up on it, several bright pink splatters on the ground marking spots mines have already gone off in. Small mounds where ordinance remains buried form a strange pattern of irregularity as he charges in. Where one sits, there is rarely one immediately beyond it making longer strides safer so long as one keeps their eyes on the ground. Far quicker than many other students picking their way through the hazzard, Izuku crosses in leaps and bounds, reaching the other side in seemingly no time at all. Picking his pace back up for the last sprint, he crosses the line and spots his name take its place on the leaderboard in 25th.
"Greenie, you made it!" Mei exclaims, skating over to him on her hoversoles, "Didja hear it, Radio Voice was talking about me and my babies."
"I did, and his name is Present Mic. He uses a neck mounted speaker system to help control his quirk by using its sound waves to interfere with his own voice."
"Ooh, that is an interesting baby, but more importantly, how'd your baby hold up in the field?"
Sliding his shield from his back, he holds it out to give it a look over, Mei joining with her analytical eyes. "It's held up enough that I could close the extensions, even after tackling a few robots with it."
"They barely dinged it, from what I see." Mei agrees with a nod, "Meanwhile my babies did wonderful for mommy. My hoversoles kept up the entire time with no drops in power, the wire arrows did everything they needed to without so much as a squeak, and my rebalancer let me dodge those robots without a worry."
"And that's our top 42!" Present Mic suddenly declares, "For the rest of you still running, feel free to finish the race or just find your way back inside."
"Both Heroes and Spectators are still watching, mind you." Nedzu adds with his voice calm, almost parental compared to the energy of Present Mic. "If you wish to give it your all, you should at least try to finish the race if you can."
"And while they show us their youthful vigor, those of you who passed should rest up." Midnight says, "The second event will be starting after the race is done."
Mei jolts, before saying, "Shoot, gotta go get the rest of my babies for round two, just in case. See ya in a bit Greenie." Buoyed on a cushion of air, she slides off to the locker rooms, leaving him alone while he waits.
~~~
"Congratulations to those who made it to round two..." Present Mic starts.
"...And well done to the rest of you. You did your best or even went Plus Ultra, and at U.A., that's all we ask of you." Nedzu finishes.
"That's right, but just because you didn't make it to the second round doesn't mean the fun is over for you all. Once the second round is finished, we have a large selection of games that any student can compete in, for fun and prizes!"
A sharp crack cuts through the air as Midnight snaps her flogger, "That means it's time for all eyes on me. You've done well strutting your stuff solo so far, but round two is going to be a team game. As for what it is... spin that wheel!" The displayed events start spinning again, round and round before coming to an eventual stop. "And it's going to be a Cavalry Battle. A childhood classic, but for those who haven't played before, teams will be made of two to four students with one acting as a rider. Each rider will have a headband worth points based on their team, and the point of the game is to have the most points at the end of the timer." Turning back to the students, she taps her thigh with her flogger, "Now, you might be wondering how points are calculated, well, the student who got forty-second is worth five points, forty-first is worth ten, all the way up to second place. For first place..."
All eyes turn to Todoroki Shoto as Midnight lets her words simmer. "... they get a little reward for their success so far. Todoroki Shoto is worth a thousand points! You all have ten minutes to make your teams, good luck."
In an instant, both hero classes are clamoring to form teams amongst themselves, Mei diving straight at Todoroki, leaving Izuku by himself, quietly choking down rising anxiety. A beacon of salvation comes in the form of a Hero student with hooves, horns and big blue eyes dragging her partner over, a person with an insectoid face and a dour look. "You want to partner?" She asks in slightly broken Japanese, "We have sword and horse, and with you shield we have good knight."
Tears well up before he wipes them away with a smile. "I'd be happy to! So, she said sword, so does that mean you have a blade type quirk?" He asks the mantis teen, eyes sparkling.
Unable to resist the awe, Kamakiri smirks and holds out an arm. "Not just a blade type quirk." Clenching his fist, a dozen blades of varying size grow out and make Izuku's eyes practically glow.
"Those are great! The extended combat range will be super useful, especially if you can make them dull for smacking our enemies." Izuku says with a barely contained squeal before turning to the horned girl, "And what about your quirk? You said horse, so is it heteromorphic?"
"I can shoot my horns and make them fly around. I call it Horn Cannon." Tsunotori replies, smiling and sharing Izuku's excitement.
Nodding rapidly, a stream of thoughts begin to spill from his mouth, confusing the half-japanese girl and bringing a bit of a scowl back to Kamakiri as they try to parse his words. Izuku's eyes wander the students, before they fall on an opportunity.
~~~
"The teams are made, the field is set and we're just about to begin the second event, and from the looks of it we have a few interesting teams down there." Present Mic declares, "So, Nedzu, as a veteran of handling Hero teams, what are your thoughts?"
The sound of a teacup being set down is heard, before Nedzu says, "As one would expect, most of the students decided to stick with their classmates, relying on familiarity to create strategies, and there are several excellent ones I can see. But if there is one I'm most interested to see in action, I believe it would be team Tsunotori, if mostly to see how well students from three classes can work together."
"With those wise words, I'm throwing the mic to you, Midnight. Take it away!"
"Well then, boys and girls, it's time to mount up, we start in one minute." Midnight declares with a smile, relishing the teenaged embarrassment as boys and girls have to climb and grab each other to make stable formations. With seconds to spare, the horses are all ready, so raising her flogger high, Midnight begins the countdown. "Three. Two. One. Start!"
Like newborn foals, their first steps are awkward and ungainly, the effort of having several people move in sync proving to be a lot for the inexperienced hero hopefuls. Some groups aim to take immediate advantage of this, Shishida and his rider, Kodai moving to attack one of the lower point 1-A teams, while Shoji and his hidden riders aim for Todoroki's team.
A wall of ice rises, and as if a bell was rung, quirks start flying left and right. Horns zoom off, explosions meet ice, chunks of the ground turn to mush and a sneaky tongue grabs for headbands. Izuku's team moves slowly, with him and Kamakiri holding the front as shield and sword to allow Tsunotori up top to focus on her horns and snagging headbands. At the back of the horse, Ojiro stands alert, tail poised and ready to protect their flank. A brilliant blue light catches Izuku's eye, giving him just enough time to raise his shield and brace before a beam of blue energy cuts across the field, startling a few of the groups and slamming against his shield for barely more than a second.
"We're going to need to get closer, we're too open for ranged attacks." Izuku says as he spares a moment to check his shield for damage.
"I coulda told you that, idiot." Kamakiri says, "I can't cut anyone from out here, even with Tsunotori working on snagging us points."
"Catched one!" She exclaims, a horn zooming back with a headband dangling from it. "We can move now."
"I'm good to move back here as well."
Moving closer to the fray, it's not long before Kamakiri is fencing off the horse and rider who's band Tsunotori stole while Izuku blocks strands of tape fired at Tsunotori's headbands. Before whoever is on the other end can start to pull, Izuku shifts to let Kamakiri slice the tape free. "I got a floating hand being a pest here." Ojiro says while swatting at the offending body part with his tail.
"Tokage. You can get rough with it. She can regenerate, but it takes time and energy. "Kamakiri says before suddenly lashing out with his blade and cursing, "Hey don't get handsy with me copycat, I'm winning this my way!"
Bakugo's group suddenly blasts past, chasing after whatever team Kamakiri swatted away while Pony spots a second flying hand with a headband heading back to it's team. She drops her current horns, firing a pair of new ones that chase it down, one smashing the hand like a club, the other snagging the headband as its grip drops. "Yay! Two headbands. Our points almost one thousand."
"Humph, not enough yet." Kamakiri says.
"We need one more decent headband to probably make it in." Ojiro agrees, before a familiar ominous crackling is heard.
Ice streams out from the first place team, coating most of the battleground in it's slippery surface and trapping almost every horse. A blanket bursts forth from Yaoyorozu, the only warning any team gets before lightning dances across the surface of the ice, zapping everyone on the ground but his own team. At least, everyone but Izuku, who's insulated costume protects him and lets him support Tsunotori as the others lose control of their muscles briefly.
Team Todoroki moves, almost pulled along by Iida as they snag unguarded headbands from the half collapsed horses, and as they come for Tsunotori's, she suddenly shifts, toppling into Izuku's arms and leaving her hidden between him and his shield. Their focus moves elsewhere as the teams begin to reorient themselves and break free from the ice.
"Are you three alright?" Izuku asks, doing everything he can to hold firm and keep Tsunotori off the ground.
"Fuck that stings!" Kamakiri curses standing up with the help of blades extending to stab into the ground. "We're not out, right?"
"I'll be fine." Ojiro says while smashing himself free.
"Owie..."
"Help me support Tsunotori here." Izuku says, before swapping to a whisper, "If we look like we're done, other teams might not target us or realize we still have our bands." As the other two group in to help support their rider's weight, Izuku talks loudly again, "Todoroki's team grabbed basically all the headbands. Unless we can get some from him, that's probably it for us."
"I make pretend horn attack?" Tsunotori asks quietly, and the three boys nod. Together, they angle her so she can see while still being mostly hidden, and a pair of horns zoom off towards the top team. The attack is direct, easily spotted and thus winds up caught in a sudden pillar of ice, before that pillar spreads into a massive dome over the team.
Almost as one, the remaining teams turn on the dome, explosions, lasers and strength quirks alike slamming against it, cracking and breaking it despite Todoroki's attempts to keep it solid. A massive chunk of it begins to melt, softened into a pudding-like consistency, bringing the efforts of the teams to their peak. With under a minute left on the clock, the barrier falls and the teams still trying, pounce. The ensuing brawl is frantic, flashy and ultimately changes little before the end is called.
"And that's the end of the event! Now that was a show and a half." Present Mic announces, "Let me turn it over to Nedzu while the scores are tallied."
"This was a very promising display from our first year students." Nedzu says, holding back a cackle as team Tsunotori reveals their headbands, "Strength, skill and strategy were all on display, and I hope the Heroes watching agree when sending out internship offers. Team Todoroki certainly showed their potential, keeping hold of their headband, and as time began to run out, performed a full team combination to incapacitate their opponents and secure a dominating lead. My favourite performance however, was team Tsunotori's final gambit. Thanks to Midoriya's hero costume, he was able to resist Kaminari's discharge, allowing him to protect his rider and their headbands, while also hiding them from the other teams that were incapacitated. From there, a declaration to point everyone at Todoroki, and they slipped under the radar, letting them keep their points without a fight."
"Now that's a sneaky move, and... Oh, I'm hearing the points are calculated, so I'll leave it to you, Midnight!"
"To nobody's surprise, and pointed out by our illustrious Principal, in first place is team Todoroki!" The 18+ Heroine declares as the massive display lists the team members and their points total. "In second, we have the team led by the one who placed second in the race, Team Bakugo!" As the names and points are put up, he clearly isn't happy as small explosions crackle in his hands while he glares at Todoroki. "Next up, the surprising dark horse made up of three classes, Team Tsunotori!" Bakugo's eyes shoot to Izuku as soon as his name appears, but is unnoticed by the boy. "And almost last, we have the three person team, Team Hatsume in fourth, leaving Team Shiozaki in fifth to let one of their members advance."
Outside the stadium, a smiling Yu internally cheers for Izuku while accepting her winnings from Death Arms.
Chapter Text
Freed from the festival, if only temporarily, and with his shield stored in the support course lockers, Izuku wanders the grounds in search of a certain someone. Through the crowded masses, it's not hard to spot various Heroes as they patrol, with people either parting as they move, or going up for a signature. He himself has found himself under similar intentions, from either people thinking he's a Hero, or recognising him from the events so far.
He eventually spots a pair of purple horns atop blonde hair and hurries over, his gloved hand waving to her. "Takeyama-sensei! Hey!"
The sound of his voice makes her perk up visibly and turn to find him while calling back, "Midoriya, great job out there!" Making it through the crowds between them, both have to fight their initial instincts, instead settling for Yu patting him on the shoulder. "I've been watching when I can, nice work making it to the third round."
Izuku's head tilts a little as he smiles and scratches his hair, replying, "I got lucky that I had such good teammates for the second event."
Fighting the urge to kiss his cute dorky face again, instead, she pats his back while saying, "Let's walk and talk, I'm still on duty. You did good." Poking at his nose with her declaration, he seems a little surprised but follows as she starts walking. "You had good teammates, yes, but you yourself put in plenty of work to win that round. Helping out your friend in the first round was great too, and trust me, Heroes do look at that kind of stuff."
"I just thought she was in trouble or hurt, and I just ran up to help even though she was fine."
"And that sounds heroic to me. Even without a strong or flashy quirk, you've already shown off a lot of things Heroes need." Subtly bumping his hip with her own, she starts listing, "The heroic spirit to try and help someone in danger. The skills and tools to protect them. Athletic ability, teamwork, both with a familiar person as well as strangers. Even strategic planning and the selflessness to let someone more suited to the situation take the spotlight." Seeing him blush at her praise, she takes one final shot, going for the kill. "In my opinion, anyone who watched you compete should be able to see you've got the makings of a great Hero."
He suddenly stops, making her pause too, before she suddenly finds her hand in his as he pulls her along into the side halls of the stadium. The moment they're out of sight, he turns to face her before pulling her in and mashing his lips to hers. Her surprise is only momentary before she embraces him back, the protective armour between them ignored as her hands grasp at his back and one of his quickly slides into the top her chain skirt. When he breaks the kiss, he pulls back just a little with tears in the corner of his eyes and a smile a mile wide on his face. "I love you so much Yu..." He says before pulling her back in for another kiss, both parties unaware of the camera silently taking pictures from around the corner.
~~~
"Welcome back to the final event of the Sports Festival, the one you all know and love, the 1v1 Tournament!" Cheers echo across the stadium at Present Mic's declaration, "And boy do we have an interesting lineup this year. We've got two Legacy students, our Entrance Exam top scorer, and even two Support Course students. For a first year sports festival, this is looking to be one for the books!"
"It certainly will be. The students have had their chance to shine among a crowd, in teams, and now, it's time for them to prove themselves standing alone." Nedzu says, "But before we get to that, we have a very important message that just came through the Hero net. If you would, Mic?"
"Let's see what's... WHOAAAAHH!!!" The windows of the announcer's booth rattle violently as Present Mic's control over his quirk slips for a moment, "Now if that isn't news to match our student's showings today, I don't know what is. Heroes, Students, and people everywhere, we have confirmation that Pro Hero Ingenium has successfully captured the Hero Killer Stain! I'm gonna have to see if I can get him on my show for an interview!"
"A fortuitous event, and an interesting prelude to our first match."
"That's right, as coming in from the north gate, we've got Class 1-A's serious speedster, the youngest member of the Iida family and younger brother to Ingenium. A boy looking to start his own heroic legacy here today. It's Iida Tenya!" Nervousness, pride and determination mix on Iida's face as he crosses the field to immense cheering. Knowing that not only is his brother safe, he's probably free to watch him at this point, a fire burns inside him, ready to give his all.
"Coming from the south gate, we have a support student that's been drawing eyes ever since they stepped out. From his team up in the obstacle race to his squad's strong third place finish in the cavalry battle, he has proven that just because he's quirkless doesn't mean he can't keep up with the best. It's Midoriya Izuku!" Fighting down every single nerve screaming at him to cower and run and hide, Izuku stands tall as he marches across the field. Unlike when Iida did, there are few cheers, instead a confused murmuring spreads across the crowd.
Midnight steps up, looking from one to the other. "Now boys, I want a good clean fight. You can win by knockout, surrender or ring out, so give it your all."
"I wish to apologize in advance, Midoriya, but I am going to go all out." Iida says with a mechanical but perfectly bent bow.
Bowing back, Izuku replies, "I wouldn't want any less. I need to show what I can do, and you going easy on me would defeat that purpose."
A moan comes from Midnight as she says, "Yes, this is the fires of youth that I love! Show me your all, boys! Are you ready?" When Izuku and Iida both nod, she steps back off the stage before raising her flogger. "Then this match will start in Three..."
Iida lowers himself, preparing for a runners start while Izuku sets himself and his shield.
"Two..."
Silence falls over the stadium, the crowd going silent, eager to watch the fight.
"One..."
Clutching a pillow tight to her chest, Inko quietly prays and cheers for her son. Outside the stadium, Yu watches on a screen, one of many crowded around it.
"Begin!"
Engines roar and Iida shoots from his spot, long strides crossing the arena in seconds while his hands reach out. Even braced, Izuku skids back at the power of Iida's quirk and strength before falling to a knee and tilting his shield to deflect him up and over. The force suddenly stops as Iida lets go and instead kicks off the shield and jumps back to avoid a self ring out. Izuku barely has time to get back to his feet before Iida is in his face again, this time with a heavy kick that slams into his shield and rattles his arm.
Izuku's shield shoves the leg away while he pivots to throw a punch, one that ends up falling short as Iida breaks away, running towards the arena's edge. Rather than a self-out, Izuku realizes his goal as he Ida begins to run around the radius. Turning on Mei's upgrade to his shield, he sets it in line with his opponent and crouches down behind it. Already faster than his first charge, Iida finishes his half loop around and accelerates.
Mere steps away, Iida leaps and raises a leg, the thrust of his engines guiding him into a perfect Hurricane kick. Steel like leg slams into steel shield with a devastating clang, Mei's balancer doing everything it can to fight to keep the shield upright. It holds just long enough for Izuku to spring up from the side, shocking Iida and giving him the opportunity to grab.
One hand around Iida's arm, the other grabbing his outfit's waist, it's a clumsy throw, but even so Iida hits the ground hard. Fists rain down on him as Izuku straddles his waist, Iida barely able to get his arms up to guard in time. It doesn't last, as Iida turns his legs and revs his engines, kicking them out with enough force to send both of them tumbling across the arena. Scrambling to their feet, a lull forms as they stare each other down.
"You've impressed me, Midoriya." Iida says as he slowly shifts back. "I said I would give you my all, but I've got one trump card I've been holding back."
"Recipro Burst. The Iidaten signature technique." Izuku says, and Iida nods.
"Take up your shield and do everything you can to stop me. Show the world your worth just as I intend to." Walking back to the far side, Iida takes up his sprinter's stance again while Izuku grabs his shield and detaches the stabilizer after a thought.
"What's this?! We've got a reset in the stadium, what's going on?" Present Mic's shouts cut through the silence of the stadium, before there's the sound of a bonk and he is silenced.
Iida's engines start to rumble as Izuku grips his shield tight, squaring it with his opponent and squatting a little to brace as best as he can. The engines reach a crescendo before there's a roar as blue flames burst forth from their exhausts. "Recipro Burst!" Iida shouts before becoming a blur. Leg meets shield with a clang that echoes across the stadium and a force that flings Izuku to the edge of the ring.
Izuku fights to stand but his left arm refuses to listen, now broken behind his dented shield. Iida appears before him in a blur again, delivering the final blow to push him from the ring.
"And with that impressive display, Iida Tenya is the winner!" Midnight declares as the crowd goes wild. "Medical bots are already on their way, Midoriya, they'll get you to Recovery Girl right away."
"Blink and you miss it, like a samurai showdown of old, a single hit determined this match!" Present Mic screams over the mic, "Let's give it up for our winner with their super move finish!"
"It was an impressive display of skill for a first year." Nedzu agrees, "Most students only start working on super moves near the end of their first year, so to have one ready already and use it with such proficiency, I think Iida will have no shortage of internship offers. His opponent was no slouch either, with clever usage of support gear to create an opening, and the skills to follow up. If Iida hadn't been able to shake Midoriya off, that attack would have been enough for Midoriya to secure the win."
The voices of the announcers fade away as mechanical assistants carry Izuku through the halls, Iida walking alongside and keeping pace with ease. "I feel like I must apologize for the injury, Midoriya. I may have gone too far in the fight."
Shaking his head, Izuku winces as it jolts the break in his arm, before replying, "We gave it our all, and that's what we wanted. As my friend says, failure just shows that your baby needs improvement." Iida blanches while Izuku smiles. "She calls her inventions her babies, and while they tend to fail at first, she always works hard to make them better."
"I wish you the best in your endeavour to improve, and I will strive to do the same."
Raising a thumbs up, Izuku holds it for a second before lowering it back down and relaxing to ease any strains on his arm. An amicable silence follows the two all the way to Recovery Girl's on-site office, where the door opens automatically to let the robots in. "Just set him on the bed there, dearies," Recovery Girl says before turning to Iida, "Do you need my assistance as well, Iida?"
"I will be fine, Recovery Girl, I just wished to ensure my opponent safely made it here." He explains with a chop, before bowing, "If you'll excuse me."
As he leaves, Izuku calls out, "Good luck, I'll cheer for you!" before wincing as Recovery girl begins poking at the shield.
"I am going to go slowly, but this will still hurt and I need you to stay as still as you can." She says, before beginning the slow and painful process of sliding his broken arm from the shield. The robots take the shield away once it's free, while she carefully cradles his arm. "The break is pretty clean, so this won't take long." Her lips stretch out, making a loud wet smooching noise as it meets his arm. Bones set and knit, muscles mend and energy drains from Izuku as the pain fades. "And there we go. You can stay for a nap if you wish, or head back to your class."
Nodding slowly, Izuku's eyes slowly drift shut as he falls asleep.
~~~
"Well, they were the winners this year! But listen here! Anyone here could have ended up on these podiums." All Might declares, sweeping a hand out over the students, "It's just as you saw. They competed, improved and pushed each other higher! The next generation of Heroes are sprouting from the efforts this day! And so, I'll add one more thing!" Raising a hand up, All Might points to the sky, "Everyone say it with me now! Ready, go! PLUS ULTRA!"
"PLUS ULTRA!" Echoes across the stadium as the crowd joins the cheer, Izuku included.
The stands slowly empty while All Might linger for some photos with the winners, students, Heroes and civilians mingling into a massive crowd spilling out into the stands and grounds around the stadium. Changed back into street clothes, Izuku drifts along with the crowd, silently debating about what to do.
His thoughts are cut short by a shout of "Greenie!" before Mei practically tackles him from behind. "Did you see my match? I got to show off all my babies with no interruption! It was great!"
"Hey Mei, sorry, I missed it..." He replies with a sad look, and a rub of his hair, "But I know Mom recorded the whole festival, and I'm gonna be rewatching it a lot, so I know I'll get to see it."
"That sounds like an idea. We'll get together over the weekend and rewatch to see what everyone else saw of us. I gotta know if I made a good impression."
"Hmnnn, does Sunday work for you then? I do a big workout day on Saturday, and with the second year students tomorrow, and third year students Friday, that's the best time for me."
"That sounds perfect." She replies, slapping him on the shoulder, "I've already got ideas I need to get started on, so I'll get them out of my head before then. Anyways, I'm gonna go see if Power Loader Sensei will let me into the lab for the rest of today. See ya!"
"Bye!" He calls back as Mei heads off, waving despite her turned back. Slipping from the crowd, he pulls out his phone before shooting off a quick text. The answer comes back barely a minute later, bringing an end to his self-debate and sending him off to the entrance of U.A.. From there it's not hard to find his girlfriend, even in her street clothes, and without a word, they slip into her car.
"You did amazing out there, Izuku!" Yu says, sparing a moment to pat him on the shoulder as they slowly drive through the creeping traffic leaving U.A., "Even in the first years where the skill and training gap is smallest, Support and Gen Ed students almost never make it to the third round. That even won me a little bet with Death Arms. He didn't think you'd make it that far." Izuku nods silently next to her, hands clenched in his lap. Letting out a sigh, she says, "Do I have to pull into a parking lot and kiss you till you understand how amazing you are?"
A blush creeps up as he replies, "I wouldn't mind that..."
"Later." She says with a snort, "Really though, even Nedzu was impressed with you out there, and that's no easy task. I'm already going to send in an internship request for you, but don't be surprised if other heroes want to take you too."
"I can do internships?!" He asks, blinking as he looks over at her.
"Yep. Heroes and Agencies can send in internships for any student, though only Hero courses get default options if they don't get any offers. After that display of hers, I bet Hatsume's going to have a pile of them too. Most Agencies just send for Hero students, but some are looking for new support staff."
Nodding in understanding, he lets a growing smile form. "So if I accept your offer, it's going to be just you and me for a whole week? Hero Work during the day, and nights to do whatever we want together, with no Mom around?"
"And I thought I was the horny one."
"Who said anything about that? I was thinking we could watch movies or shows, play games and cuddle on the couch without interruption."
"Cheeky," She mutters while poking his side. "But yes. I'll be able to get you involved in more of the patrol side too, not just the officework."
Looking down at his hands, Izuku can't help his smile and speak softly to himself, "Going on a patrol with Yu..."
"They're not as glamorous as they might seem. It's a lot of walking around while being on constant alert, even while dealing with fans or else you might need a brave young hero to run in and save you."
"Yu..."
"But sometimes you'll get called in to a crime in progress nearby, or even more rarely, you come across one on your own. But most of the time, it's just you out there providing a feeling of safety to those around you." Izuku nods quietly and the car falls into silence, though this only last a few minutes before Yu lets out a near growl, "We should be celebrating! You made it to the third round of the sports festival and are gonna be interning with a Pro Hero! Be happy, be excited, nerd out about the quirks you saw or something!"
"I'm holding it all in because I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fall over the moment it all finally clicks with me."
True to his word, he barely manages a couple steps into the apartment before his eyes go wide and his knees give out, and he breathlessly exclaims, "I made it to the final event in the sports festival!"
"I'm so proud of you!" Inko wails, bursting into view and crashing into her son with tears in her eyes. Izuku's own barely held back tears burst forth as he hugs back, and unable to resist, Yu joins in before long.
~~~
Despite expecting, or perhaps hoping for it, Izuku finds himself strangling down his anxiety as he makes his way up to Nedzu's office. It doesn't take long enough to get there, and facing down the massive doors to his destination he does everything he can to squash down enough fear to walk up to them. Even without touching them, they swing open at his approach, Nedzu sitting at his desk in the room beyond.
"Welcome, Midoriya, and Good Morning to you. Would you like some tea while we talk?" A paw gestures to a steaming teapot, but Izuku shakes his head. "No? That's quite alright. Please, take a seat." Neither speaks as Nedzu methodically makes his own cup of tea, performing each step with practiced precision. A small testing sip brings a smile to the Principal's face, before he sets the cup in its saucer and brings his paws together. "Perfect. Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on your performance in the Sports Festival. It's already rare for a non-Hero course student to make it to the final round in the first year, and even more so to do it quirkless. And to do it while drawing attention to yourself with brazen displays of style, skill and tactics, Bravo."
"Uhm, thank you?" Izuku replies with a confused smile.
"No, thank you for a wonderful performance. But on to the matter at hand, I do believe you know that students who do well in the sports festival can be moved to the Hero Course, correct?" Izuku nods. "And you know, should you wish to join, and become a Hero, there will be far more challenges ahead than a student with a quirk?" He nods again. "Well then, should you wish to be moved, I will let you know in advance that you won't be able to join the class till the next term, but to ensure you keep up, extra studies will be provided, along with gyms for training after class. You don't have to decide right away, but I will need an answer by the end of the Internship week."
"I want to say yes, more than anything in the world," Izuku replies, sitting up a little straighter, "but I should take my time and think about it."
Nedzu nods slowly at the response before pausing to take a sip of his tea. "A wise decision. Should you have any questions, your teachers or myself will do our best to answer them. If you don't have any right now, I would suggest hurrying back to class. Majima is probably going over the Internships, and after your performance, I'm sure you've got more than a few offers."
"I will. Thank you." After bowing to the Principal, Izuku shoulders his bag before hurrying off at a speed that isn't quite running. Hustling through the empty halls and stairs, he swiftly reaches his class, and quietly opens the door to slink to his seat.
"Ah, there you are, Midoriya. Hurry to your seat so we can get this done before class." Power Loader says, nodding at him. "The quick and dirty of it is you'll all be able to accept any offers for internships you got, or if you don't want to or didn't get any, you'll be able to spend extra time in the labs here during the week. Now, as for who got offers..." A click of a remote puts a projection on the wall, revealing a small handful of names with numbers next to them. "This is honestly more than most years, mainly thanks to the two who made it to the third round, but then, the Sports Festival always was more for the Hero Course."
"Hurry up, Sensei, Greenie and I want to see our offers!" Mei exclaims, her leg bouncing audibly in her impatience.
"Fine, fine. Here's the paper offers." Going around the room, he sets down small stacks of papers in front of the students who got them, briefly glaring unseen at Mei's stack from the debacle she caused. "You can go over them now, we just need your decision by Wednesday so we can send confirmations."
Flipping through his small selection of offers, Izuku pauses on the one he knew would be there. His smile grows alongside a warmth in his chest as he pulls it to the front of the stack. The rest of the stack is almost entirely Support companies, with a low rank Hero or two mixed in, ultimately nothing he's interested in.
Just one signature and his internship is set. One whole week alone with Mt Lady.
Notes:
Finally, the Sports festival ends. As much as I wish I could have skipped it, it's technically important enough to the story that I have to include it, despite it not being too different from canon (Or most of it mattering in any way aside from Izuku making it to Event 3)
At least now is where the fun really begins.
Chapter 10
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"So... turns out it's not going to be just you and me for a week." Yu says, her shoulders slumping in her seat. "I kinda forgot I opted in to being one of U.A. 's default options this year, so I've got someone from 1-A joining too."
Letting out a sigh, Izuku leans over, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "It's fine. We'll have to change our plans a little, but at the same time, it'll be neat working with an actual Hero Course student."
"Speaking of, are you going to get to move to the Hero Course?"
"Nedzu gave me an offer, but I haven't accepted or declined yet. I wanted to talk with you and Mom about it first."
"It's always been your dream," Inko comments as she walks over from the kitchen, "You don't need us to tell you to take it."
"I know that, it's just..." Silence settles in for a moment as Izuku gathers his thoughts. "I wouldn't join the class till after finals, and I'd have a bunch more classwork added on to keep up in the meantime. When you add that to my workout schedule and Support course studies, it just feels like... I keep thinking back to that one thing you mentioned when we first talked, Yu. About how I don't really need a license to be a Hero..."
Yu rises from her seat, stepping over to wrap her arms around Izuku's shoulders and rest her chin on his head. "I remember that, but I also know you better now, so let me ask. Would you really be happy with that? Not taking the chance, putting forth your all and going Plus Ultra to be a Hero?" When he shakes his head, she smiles and squeezes him a little tighter, "I thought so. With that out of the way, I believe we have another important topic to discuss. Your Hero name!"
"You're right, Yu! I've kept a bunch of Izuku's old Hero books, there's plenty of names he's thought up in them."
"Mom no!" He exclaims, arms reaching out but unable to escape the grasp of his girlfriend.
"Mom yes!" Inko replies with a sly smile, "It's my job to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend, and besides, they're not all bad, Izuku." He fixes her with the most deadpan stare he can, but she just laughs it off, heading into her room to dig them out. He's stuck there till she returns and opens the first, sweet memories flickering through her mind as she reads. This softness is quickly replaced as she turns the book towards them. "I think we can start off with Mighty Boy."
Groans come from Izuku as he slides down in his chair, trying to escape by melting into a puddle on the ground. Yu's inescapable embrace stonewalls his technique, even as she nods. "A classic, to be sure. What kid hasn't considered naming themselves after All Might?"
"Oh, these are some very old ones. The Psycho Hero: Green Glow." Inko says, following it with a chuckle. "He couldn't pronounce or spell psychokinetic, so he thought psycho would work too." Yu giggles while Inko flips pages. "Katsuki must have written this one." Clearing her throat, she takes on a very serious tone, "Mega Mighty Murder Dragon King."
Even Izuku can't keep a straight face at this, and the three break down into laughter while Inko digs for more. "I'm sure some of mine were just as bad." Yu says, trying to console him between chuckles, "In fact, I remember Super Big Girl being one of the ones left on my crayon drawing room floors."
A choked snort comes from Inko before she manages to get out, "Little Rapper: The Spits Fire Hero."
"Auughhhh..." Izuku groans in despair, "I was too young to understand rap culture, I just found it because spitting fire was like dads quirk and I might have gotten his."
It takes a minute for the two ladies to calm their laughter, but once they do, Yu suggests, "Well, since you're going to be working with me a lot, why not Valley Boy? You can upgrade to Valley Man when you're older, we'd be a great duo."
"It's a bit simple but works with our last name," Inko agrees with a nod.
Finally wiggling out of his girlfriend's hug, Izuku rises to his feet. "It's fine, I guess, but I want something personal. Something that speaks to who I am, who I will be as a Hero. A name that when people hear it, they know I'll be there to protect them. That I will be the first to stand between them and danger."
"The Green Wall?" Yu throws out as she wanders over to the couch.
"Too simple." Izuku replies, "How does The Mustafu Guardian sound?"
"Not bad, but you probably don't want to tie your name to a location." Inko points out as she heads back to the kitchen to work on dinner, "It can make it weird if you move or have to work further afield."
Dragging Izuku onto the couch with her as he passes, Yu says, "Maybe we're thinking too complex." Squeezing her boyfriend close again, she buries her face in his hair as he starts to blush. "You should pick something simple to start, you can change it later once things have settled."
He's silent for a moment, thinking, before he says, "Deku?"
"No." Yu replies instantly, poking his nose. "No self degrading names. You're gonna be a Hero."
"Shieldman?"
"Too simple and boring."
"How about The Katsu-Don?" Inko suggests with a giggle that is punctuated by the sizzling of oil.
"Mom no!" Izuku groans, "That'd be like Yu calling herself Miss Peach or something."
"But I thought you liked my... peaches?" Yu whispers into his ear while guiding one of his hands towards her butt. He tries to flip over to hide his face in shame, only to get an instant soft reminder of his current location. "Aww, you do like them!" Keeping him trapped in place, she squeezes her bust together around his face while relishing his embarrassed squirming.
Once again he breaks free of her entrapment, pushing himself up only to look down at her smug grin. Face red and mouth pouting, he hops off, instead sitting down over her legs. "Something simple but not boring, and speaks to how I want to be in the front, protecting people... How about Vanguard?"
"Hmn... I like it. Simple but descriptive, and you could add a title to it later." Yu says, before sitting up enough to shrug, "I still prefer Valley Boy myself. After all..."
"Shush you." Izuku preempts her, pressing a finger to her lips only to regret it when it gets sucked in.
Pulling out as she begins licking and sucking it proves just as bad an idea as she finishes, "After all, you love my valleys."
His suffering is cut short as Inko calls out, "If you two are done flirting, would you mind helping me set out dishes?"
"Yes Mom."
"Yes Ma'am"
~~~
Costume case in hand, Izuku walks side by side with Mineta Minoru, the Hero course student also doing his internship with Mt Lady. "And here we are, the building that has her agency." Izuku declares with a grandiose gesture as they finally reach their destination. Leading him into the main lobby, he waves to the receptionist and asks, "Good morning, could you let Mt Lady know her interns are here?"
"Your mother really does know Mt Lady, huh." Mineta comments as they wait, "How many times have you been here? Her agency, I mean."
"Enough for the receptionists to recognize me, at least. Most of the time it's just her letting me use her agency's gym to work out."
The conversation doesn't have time to continue, as the elevator opens and Mt Lady stands there, posing in full costume. "Alright newbies, bring your stuff and follow me." Stepping to the side, she waves the boys in while keeping the doors open.
"Yes Ma'am!" Mineta eagerly replies, hurrying in, Izuku walking in behind him.
"First thing's first, you two won't be able to get into the agency without me, since it requires a keycard, but for the most part, it's not going to matter, since we'll be spending most of the week here or on patrol together. If you do have to come back alone for some reason, the receptionist will let you wait around till I'm back to let you in unless it's an emergency." The ride is short, and the elevator opens up into the main room of her agency. "This is the main area, there's not much here since it's mostly just me. My office is in the back there, and you two will have your own offices to camp out in overnight. The bathroom slash changing room is over there, there's a microwave and mini-fridge in the one office next to mine, and yeah, that's about it for this floor." Crossing her arms, she nods to herself.
"Camping out? We're going to be staying here?"
"Yep, all three of us. Think of it like training for later. Sometimes a patrol and paperwork go on too long, and you just have to crash at the agency, or sometimes you're pulled for a big teamup, meaning it's a bunch of Heroes way out of their normal places, and sometimes a hotel isn't available nearby." Yu explains with a laugh, "Don't worry, there's futons in the rooms, so go ahead, pick one and start unpacking. Once you're done, get your costumes on and meet me back out here."
Claiming dibs as fast as he can, Mineta takes the office closest to Mt Lady's, hauling his personal bag and Hero Costume case inside. Izuku simply shrugs and takes the other, closing the door and setting out his stuff before getting changed. Even despite the simplicity of his current costume, by the time Izuku exits the room, Mineta is already there and changed.
"Nice. Now, follow me down to my agency's gym." Mt Lady says, giving the two a thumbs up before heading back to the elevator. Going down a floor with another scan of her keycard, the trio walk out, and Mt Lady turns to face them. "I know Izuku knows the rules, but what about you, Mineta. What do you know about gym rules?"
"If it's like the ones at U.A., put things back when you're done with them, wipe down any machines you use, don't do heavy lifting without a spotter, don't hog equipment, no quirks unless the gym is quirk rated, watch out for people around you when working out, things like that, right?" He replies, ticking off things on his fingers as he goes.
"Yep. You don't have to worry about hogging or other people as much since this is a private gym, but you've got the right idea. This gym isn't quirk rated, but neither of our quirks are much of a problem on that front." Walking further in, she gestures to the room at the back, saying, "That's the changing room and showers, but for now..." Turning back to face them, she sits down on the mats, and gestures for them to do the same. "... I figure we could start with costumes, quirks, and what you want to learn this week."
Izuku joins her on the mats, sitting to face her, and after a brief frown, Mineta joins them as well. "I guess I'll start," Izuku says before silence starts to drag on, "I don't have a quirk, so there's not much to do on that front, but I was hoping to do some sparring and learning close combat. I'd also like to do a patrol or two with you, to get experience on that front."
Mt Lady nods, before turning to Mineta, "And you?"
"Popularity!" He blurts out, surprising the two, "I wanna be popular and you're a total babe that's been scoring fans like crazy!" He visibly calms a bit from his outburst, before grinning, "Some one on one sparring practice would be helpful too. Oh, and patrols, like Midoriya said." A pensive look overtakes him for a while before he adds, "I'm not sure how much you could help with my quirk, with you being a power type compared to my capture, but I didn't have any good option for that anyways..."
"Oh you'd be surprised, Mineta. Despite how it looks, I use my quirk as a capture type more than a power type most of the time." Izuku nods in agreement with her statement. "Sure, there are times where I go giant and have to throw hands with a big villain, but most of the time, I can just grab them and it's done."
"That's great and all, but I'm not exactly going to be just grabbing them and it's done."
"No, but she can show you 'where' to restrain villains, and what kind of quirk stuff you should watch out for that would change what and how you restrain them." Izuku interjects.
Mt Lady nods at Izuku's explanation, before adding her own, "Yep. You learn real quick where and how to hold a villain when a screw up means anything from stabbed to burned to frozen hands." One of said hands unconsciously rubs the other at a memory of pain.
"That... would be really helpful actually, thanks." Mineta says after brief consideration.
"Alright, so we've got a plan going forward. For now, we can start on one of your points, Popularity." Breathing in, Mt Lady puts her hands together, before pointing them at Mineta. "While most of your costume is great, the diaper has to go."
"It's not a diaper, it's a fruit bowl!" He retorts instantly, making the other two look again, Izuku tilting his head in thought.
"I can see it now," Mt Lady admits, "but that's still not great. People are going to see it as a diaper, and that's not a good look. Don't ever be afraid to update your costume, even once you go pro."
"The support course would love to help," Izuku adds in agreement, "if you want something new just for style, or if you want protection, they can hook you up."
Tapping on it, Mineta sighs before nodding in understanding, "I guess I can go without it for now. It wasn't really part of my original design, but I thought it looked good."
"You've still got a couple years of school before you're going to really be out there, so there's plenty of time to think it over and make decisions." Mt Lady says as she stands back up and shucks off her armour. "For now, we've got some time before lunch, so let's get some warmups and light work, then after we eat we can do some real practice and figure out what I'll have to teach you before we can do a patrol."
Both boys stand and join her, Mineta taking a moment to detach his bowl belt and set it aside before the three of them stand before the mirror wall. Some light music starts with a click of the remote and she starts leading them through her and Izuku's usual warm up stretches. Their eyes intently follow her in the mirror, but the differences in their gaze is like night and day. Izuku's eyes are warm and loving, twinkling with the same adoration she's seen for months. Mineta's gaze too is familiar, one she sees nearly every day. Filled with hunger and lust, it seeks to strip her with its gaze and devour her figure.
Even so, they both follow along with the warmup before moving on to light workouts. The morning slips away, and soon they break for lunch, some hearty beef and rice bowls delivered from a local place. A quick break to let everything settle later, and the three head back into the gym. A few rounds of Quirkless sparring between the two Hero hopefuls all go in Izuku's favour, but when Mt Lady allows Mineta his quirk, the short boy proves skilled with it, earning wins in all but one match, which ends in a grappled draw.
"Not bad boys. You've clearly been keeping up your training, Izuku, and Mineta, you've got a solid grip on using your quirk in combat." Her arms sit crossed against her chest as she nods, "Without your quirk, you need to improve though, maybe get a weapon of some kind?"
"I guess I could, it's just not really cool..." He replies with a sigh and hunched shoulders.
"What are you talking about?! There's tons of amazing and cool Heroes who use weapons." Izuku interjects, "At U.A. alone there's several, Snipe, Eraserhead and Midnight being notable ones. Nedzu counts as well, though he doesn't actually fight often. For really high ranked Heroes, you have Yoroi Musha who's also one of the longest serving Heroes in history, Edgeshot uses more than a few traditional ninja weapons at times. And there's the up and comer Hawks, who's slated to be the youngest Hero to enter the top 10 rank, and while he doesn't use a sword, he knows swordsmanship so if it came down to it, he absolutely could wield a sword or similar. Even the Wild Wild Pussycats all have their claw gloves too, and it's part of their image." As Izuku ends his rant, he spots Mt Lady smiling softly at him while Mineta seems deep in thought.
Mt Lady's hands clap together before she says, "Well, it's something for you to think on. For now... Hmn..." Tapping her chin and her foot, she contemplates for a bit. "How about we do a quick practice patrol and follow up? Just a little taste of what the full ones later on this week will be like." Looking at eachother, Izuku and Mineta nod, before giving her a thumbs up. "Alright then boys, grab your stuff and follow me." Snagging her armour and turning back to the elevator, she reflexively gives her ass a slap before strutting towards it.
~~~
The scent of the two half-eaten pizzas fills the air of the agency as all three occupants relax while spread about on various seating. "Not a bad first day, if I do say so myself." Yu says with a stretch that leads to a wrinkled nose, "But now, I think I need a shower." Making her way to the elevator, she adds, "Once I'm done, I'll let you two down to use them as well."
There's a moment of silence after the elevator goes down before Mineta turns to Izuku. "Hey, Midoriya, you said she lets you use the gym sometimes, right?"
"Yeah...?" Izuku replies, suspicion creeping up as he turns to look at the shorter boy.
"Does that mean you have a scan card for the gym? So she doesn't have to be here all the time to let you in, you know?"
"I don't, why? You want to do some late night lifting or something?"
"Or something." He mutters, turning back to his phone.
It's only about ten minutes before the elevator dings again, Yu standing in it with a towel around her hair. "Alright, who's next?"
"I'll go!" Mineta exclaims while jumping up off his seat, "Might as well do it now instead of all of us trying to cram one in tomorrow morning."
Izuku follows him into the elevator, adding, "Good point. I may as well come down so I can just go in after and save a few elevator trips." Mineta hurries into the changing room once the elevator opens again, leaving Izuku and Yu to look at each other. "I hate to say it, but I feel like he's going to do something perverted..."
"Most likely." She nods in agreement, sliding closer to him, "I've seen the way he looks at me, it's not uncommon to see. Lots of horny boys see a hot young lady like me and can't keep their dick in their pants." Sliding even closer, she slips behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest, faintly able to feel the muscles beneath his padded costume, "But not you..."
Izuku turns to face her, his own arms reaching around her back in an embrace as he replies, "You don't make it easy, you know." He gives her a quick, chaste kiss, pulling back before she can trap him into anything deeper, "As much as I want to do everything we hoped we could do this week, we have to keep up the act."
Yu pulls away with a grumble, crossing her arms under her chest to push up her bust. "Are you sure you don't want to give them a squeeze? He's in the shower so he'd never kno-ow~." Stepping back and turning away both do little to hide his blush, nor do they stop Yu from grinning like a cat who caught the mouse. "Really? Not even a little one? How about a butt grab? I have it on good authority a lot of people want to grab and grope and squish it."
"I do too, but we can't when Mineta is around." Izuku replies quietly.
"Fine, fine..." She concedes, her grin remaining as a plan forms. Stepping away, she relaxes, pulling out her phone to pass the time till Mineta leaves the locker room in just his shorts with a towel around his shoulders and clothes in hand.
He puffs out his chest as he spots her looking, and gives a wink before saying, "I'm done. You can head on in, Midoriya, while Mt Lady and I head back upstairs together."
Izuku heads into the room, while she joins Mineta in the elevator, using her card to get them up to her agency. The boy isn't subtle about the leering glances he sends her way as they go, and when the door opens, he struts ahead, only for her to stay behind. He barely catches a glimpse of her grin as the elevator doors close, and go back down to the gym. Quietly creeping across the gym, Yu slips out of her shorts, and sheds her shirt, tossing both to the side as she enters the locker room. Her bra joins the other clothes right before she heads for the showers, now wearing nothing but a pair of lacy white panties and knee high socks.
Soon Izuku is in view, and after taking a moment to admire his butt, she whispers his name, just loud enough to be heard over the shower. "Izuku... Hey Izukuuuu..." Izuku perks at her voice, before turning around confused just to get an eyeful. "Boobies! Boobies!" Yu chants, bouncing up and down to make her chest jiggle, "Boobies! Boobies!"
"Yu!" He shouts, his hands shooting to cover his rising crotch, "What are you doing?"
"Showing you my boobs, duh." She replies while giving them a wiggle from side to side, "Mineta's in my agency and can't get down here, so it's just you and me, and that means it's titty time."
Fifteen minutes later the duo exit the elevator into the Agency, Izuku looking embarrassed and Yu practically glowing with an aura of smug victory. Mineta watches them, staring intently as they each walk into their own temporary rooms, before turning back to his phone.
"Hmn..."
~~~
A pair of handcuffs spin on Mt Lady's finger as she waits for Izuku and Mineta to finish changing. "You better hurry up, boys, it's not good to keep a lady waiting." She calls out while tapping a foot.
Mineta immediately comes scurrying out, tugging on his gloves before saluting and replying, "I'm ready, Ma'am," with Izuku following less than a minute later.
"All right boys, time for a crash course in capture. First off, have either of you used handcuffs or had them used on you?" She asks, and Mineta's hand shoots up while wiggling his eyebrows and giving her a look. "Then you should know that while uncomfortable, handcuffs shouldn't be painful if applied correctly. However..."
"Getting them on correctly to a struggling Villain isn't easy, right?" Mineta replies.
"They've also been falling out of favour for more specialized capture and restraint gear." Izuku adds, "Quirks work in all sorts of ways, so restraints especially have been designed with common quirk functions in mind."
"Ding ding, you're both correct!" The cuffs get tossed aside as she widens her stance. "Modern capture heroes tend to focus on full body restraint techniques, because you don't always know the full functionality of a villain's quirk. Unfortunately for me, that tends to mean a nice big grab around someone who could turn into spikes or fire for all I know." Both boys wince, and she nods, "So, next question, where's the most common place for a quirk to come from?"
"Well..." Izuku starts, reaching for a notebook that isn't there, "On the grand scale, technically most quirks come from the skin, but that's primarily due to Heteromorphic quirks, but for specifically coming out of a body part, the most common location is the hands. It's predominantly Emitter type quirks, but a solid portion of Transformation quirks change the hands or arms primarily or as part of the overall transformation."
Mt Lady nods again, "And that's part of why handcuffs have fallen out of favour as well, since they don't do much to restrict the hands themselves. Izuku, put your hands like this." Showing Izuku her hand with her fingers and thumb curled in, but not quite a fist, he imitates it and she looks to Mineta. "Now, Mineta, take one of your balls and put it on Izuku's palm, catching as much as you can." A purple ball is plucked with a pop and placed over Izuku's palm. "This is sometimes called the cat paw capture, and is generally the best way to restrain hands. With the fingers and palm contained, a large chunk of hand based quirks lose their effectiveness. A fist is almost as good, but often leaves the thumb free."
Mineta takes a moment to look it over, before plucking the ball from Izuku's hand and setting it aside. "Makes sense, and since my balls are sticky all over, it can get stuck to a wall or something, restraining them more."
"If you're lucky. Hand restraining tends to be the last step, but often the most important one." A grin spreads across her face as she looks at Izuku, "You know, it's a good thing we've got the three of us here, we'll really be able to experiment with your restraining capabilities, and see how well someone could move under them."
Getting a grin of his own, this one as lecherous as his thoughts, Mineta replies, "I'm sure we could have come up with something."
Izuku can only sigh and silently thank All Might's Mighty Muscles that Yu didn't have to do an internship with this pervert alone.
Notes:
So, interesting thing.
I have written the entire internship, intending the whole thing to be one chapter.
However that would make it almost 10k words, so congrats, two uploads really close together. I'll probably do this half now, and the other Sunday, maybe?
Either way, apologies for the wait, and I hope you enjoyed.
Chapter Text
Suited up and ready to go, Vanguard and Grape Juice wait in a fragile silence for Mt Lady to finish changing into her own costume. The silence is broken by the elevator's ding and the doors sliding open to reveal said Heroine. "Alright you two, let's go!" Both heroes in training rush in, one standing on either side of her before the elevator closes and descends. "Stand proud, you're about to take your first steps into heroism." She says as the elevator comes to a stop. The elevator opens and the three step out into the lobby, heads held high as they march with confidence towards the front door.
"Good luck on your first proper outing, boys." The receptionist calls out while waving at the trio, getting a smile and a wave back from Vanguard, and a grin and finger guns from Grape Juice.
Finally out in the wide open world, the two can't help but notice the immediate attention from the assorted people nearby. Waves from some, pointed fingers from others, whispered words between people, all from a distance, however. "Well, Grape Juice, Vanguard, we've got a long patrol ahead of us, so let's get marching." Yu declares before starting to walk, the two following right behind her.
Street by street, block by block, the trio walk and walk and walk nearly without stop, and about two and a half hours later, Mt Lady finally raises a hand and calls for them to stop. "Time for a lunch break, there's a couple good places nearby, and I can answer any questions you have."
"Oh thank thick thighs," Grape Juice says with a groan, "I don't think I've walked that long in forever, and you guy's legs are longer so I have to walk harder to keep up."
Leading them both to a little diner, Mt Lady can't help but chuckle as the two almost collapse into the seats. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Lunch is on me, but that doesn't mean go crazy."
"We're only going at walking speed, imagine how crazy patrols are for like, All Might or Mirko." Izuku comments as he grabs a menu. "We covered about 15km so far, while those two can cover entire prefectures on a good day."
A groan comes from Mineta as he sinks into the seat, "Yeah, and they're crazy fast. I'm gonna get a nice agency in a good neighborhood, and make my patrols there. If they need me further out, I'll drive." Taking a menu for himself, he scans it quickly before saying, "If I'm not back in time to order, get me a beef udon bowl, please." Hopping down from the seat, Mineta lets out a pained groan as his legs protest the shock before half walking, half waddling over to the washroom.
"So, how're you holding up, Izuku?" Yu asks, leaning forward on the table, chin resting on her hands. "Halfway done your first big patrol, is it everything you dreamed about?"
Setting the menu aside, he nods while stretching, "It's certainly rough, but I can handle it." Leaning forwards, he mimics her pose before adding, "I know they're usually boring, but I almost wish something will happen. Just a little crime to stop, something to give us a real first taste of Heroics."
Unnoticed by the two, a discrete camera clicks away, capturing the moment as its owner's stakeout pays off. With their other hand, notes fill a notebook, capturing the scene, their words and anything the camera won't catch. A delivered meal puts a brief pause on the peeping, but once the waiter is out of the way, the camera resumes its duty. With the third wheel gone, the lovebird duo seem to relax, their smiles becoming more natural as the photographer's own grin grows.
"Still, it's our first patrol together, even if Mineta is here too. It's special, and that's enough." Izuku finishes and Yu nods, but their conversation is put on hold as a waiter arrives to take their orders.
Mineta returns barely a moment later, still a little wobbly legged, but looking far more relaxed. Clambering back up into the seat and glancing between the two, he asks, "I take it the waiter just took our orders?" and getting a 'Yep' in reply, he switches topics. "Cool. I feel like I have to ask, when do we stop and do autographs and stuff with fans? We've passed more than a few groups, given all the guys waving at you and snapping pictures, but we've just kept going."
"That's a very good question," Yu replies as she crosses her arms and leans back, "Put simply, I want this first patrol to give you two a control patrol, if that makes sense. Letting you experience how much your average hero can cover in a normal patrol, how much walking it is and all that. That way, when we do tomorrow's patrol, and we stop to interact with fans and such, you'll be able to see how different things go."
"That's good. I was getting worried that heroes couldn't interact with fans while on patrol, and had to wait for a villain attack to schmooze."
She can't help but laugh, giving the table a light smack in her humors, "I know that feeling, heck, I'm pretty sure I asked my teachers the same question when I was in school." Taking a second to subdue her laughter, she sits up a little straighter before continuing. "You can stop to chat with fans whenever during a patrol, but most teachers generally advise not doing it more than once or twice in a normal patrol. As you said though, after a villain attack has been fully resolved is often the best time to do fan stuff during a patrol. Not only is everything winding down from a tense moment, but villain attacks always seem to draw a crowd, so you'll often have new potential fans in the crowd too." Pausing a moment, she hardens her expression, leaning forward just a bit and fixing both boys, Mineta in particular with a stare. "But just because you're talking with fans doesn't mean you can let your guard down. It's all too easy for a criminal to hide in a crowd of fans to get close to a hero to attack them. I know from personal experience."
Izuku shudders as the memory crawls back up, and even Mineta gives a subdued nod. The heavy silence lingers briefly, before she sits back and stretches up, letting out a brief moan before settling back. "Still, just because it can happen doesn't mean you have to treat your fans like they're villains in disguise. Just keep your wits about you and you'll do fine." Glancing over towards the front of the building, she adds, "Speaking of fans..."
The two turn to look with her past a blue skinned lady a couple tables over who seems to be almost face first in her bowl to see several people outside the window, professional cameras pointed in at them. "We don't have to worry about them coming in, but once we're done, they'll be troublesome."
"Are they here for us?" Mineta asks with hopeful notes filling his tone, "We are from U.A. after all."
"Probably, but not in the way you think, I'd wager. Unless you made it to the top three in the sports festival or some other important thing across the various schools, most first years don't tend to catch or hold much attention." With a groan born of experience, she brushes one of her curls aside, "Even when you go pro, unless you're sticking out, most tend to just fade into local hero status. No, I'd bet my boots that they're probably more interested in the attack on U.A. or All Might teaching."
At the word attack, Mineta suddenly tenses, before shaking his head clear, "That, right... Do we have to talk to them?" A hand pats his shoulder, and he looks to see Izuku being the source of the gesture.
"Not if you don't want to." Yu replies while giving him a soft smile, "First, you're underage, so without a parent or guardian's permission, they can't, and yes, I count as a guardian for the internship, in case you do want to talk to them. We were also told by U.A. to chase off anyone trying to push you guys about the attack, so you don't have to worry. After all, I am the Mineyama Hero Mount Lady, I'll keep you safe."
The conversation is brought to a halt as the waiter returns with their food, a trio of bowls laid out before them, filling the table with a thick and delicious aroma. All three of them clap their hands together and declare "Itadakimasu" before digging in. Good food and time to rest does wonders for the two boys, the soreness of the morning march fading away as they eat.
The meal passes in relative silence, and almost as one, the three finish, setting their chopsticks across the top of their bowls with quiet clacks. Rising from her seat, Mt Lady looks down at her interns and sets her hands on her hips. "Well, Grape Juice, Vanguard, ready to get back on patrol?"
"Yes Ma'am," Is Vanguard's snap reply, shooting to his feet and saluting, though with a sweet smile gracing his face.
Grape Juice stands as well with a reply of, "As ready as I'll ever be. Hopefully my legs will hold out."
Mt Lady spins on her heel and marches up to the front to pay, and then with that settled she marches straight out the front doors. Cameras and Microphones immediately lunge forward, but an outstretched hand puts a stop to them early. "Now, if you all have some questions for me, ask away, but my interns have declined to speak, so you know the rules, and I'd rather not have to show them how to arrest a pushy reporter. Understand?" Punctuating her final words with a slight tilt of the head and an almost feral grin, the entire crowd takes a reflexive step back. "Good."
A few of the braver ones stick around to ask a few questions about her thoughts on the internships and sports festival after the U.S.J. attack, while others slink away with their tails between their legs. It takes a good ten minutes or so before those who stayed are satisfied and leave as well, letting the Heroine give her two Interns a grin and twin peace signs before starting their patrol again. Much like the first half, it goes without incident, though Grape Juice begins flagging near the end, so she opts to cut the patrol short by a couple blocks.
"Well, that wasn't bad at all," Yu says with a clap as they enter the lobby, "Patrols are pretty demanding, and you both made it through. Nice job!"
Mineta flops to the ground, rolls onto his back and raises a weak thumbs up as he groans lightly, while Izuku just nods and gives her a smile.
"You can take a quick break here if you need it, Mineta, or we can head up to the showers..." Mineta is up before she can finish her sentence, already stumbling towards the elevator with a gleam in his eyes.
A short ride later, and he performs a repeat of his earlier performance, this time on the notably more comfortable sparring mats. "You two can go first," He says, waving a hand at them, "I don't trust my legs to stay standing in a shower yet."
"Well then, you're up, Izuku." Yu says, giving Izuku a slap on the back to usher him towards the changing room. While Izuku showers, she takes a seat, the room fading into relative quiet aside from sporadic groans and moans from Mineta as he lays there. It's only about ten minutes before Izuku comes out, smelling like peaches and looking like a snack, but even so, Mineta waves for her to go first. She looks to Izuku and shrugs before taking him up to the agency proper, making sure to steal a kiss before heading back down and into the changing room.
As piece after piece of his plan falls into place, Mineta rubs his hands together, ignoring the aches in his legs. "Just a couple minutes now..." He cackles to himself before pulling out his phone to check the camera and charge. Green lights down the list bring a smile to his face, and he slides it back for plausible deniability before getting to his feet. Each step is measured, quiet and slightly achy as he crosses the gym, coming to a silent stop at the changing room door. His touch is soft as can be as he takes the handle, but attempting the slightest turn smashes his plan into smithereens. Fighting down a disappointed shout, he instead slinks back to one of the benches to sit down, quietly cursing fate and door locks.
~~~
A loud klaxon blares from Mt Lady's chest, Vanguard and Grape Juice jumping in surprise while her hand reaches into her vest pocket to grab her phone. Even without unlocking it, the screen displays a map and a message and after scanning both, she shoves it back in. "We've got a robbery in progress nearby, boys, and we're gonna have to get there fast. Keep up if you can." With that, she bolts down the road, her two interns taking off after her only a moment later.
With nearby still being several blocks away, the robbery is in full swing as she arrives to find shattered windows and scattered flames as a crowd lingers near a phone store. "Out of the way, please, Heroine coming through!" Mt Lady says, pushing through the crowd, Vanguard and Grape Juice following her path.
"Aha-ha It's the oversized bimbo herself, I planned on it being you!" The villain declares with a laugh, pausing his looting to turn to her. Snapping his fingers, a small fireball appears in his palm, "I knew you'd be patrolling nearby, and I know all your weaknesses. There's nothing you can do to stop me!" Tossing the fireball in her direction, it bursts like a firework as she dodges aside, sending little sparklers out to splash against anything nearby.
"Vanguard, lend me your shield, then run crowd control," Mt Lady yells to her interns, "Grape Juice, you have my permission to quirk up the other exits." A second fireball shoots towards her, forcing her to duck, and leaving it to hit Vanguard's shield as he moves up. The pass off is clumsy as she can't take her eyes off the villain, but with the heavy shield in hand she moves in. "You wanna fight, sparky, let's fight."
His bag of loot is tossed aside, more than a few of the onlookers wincing at the sound of dozens of phones crashing into the ground while two new fireballs are snapped into existence. "That little chunk of scrap isn't gonna stop my flames. Eat this!" Both fireballs are launched with a sweep of his arms, each aimed just to the side of Mt Lady, where they'll detonate and burn all within their radius. The attacks fly true, and detonate exactly where he planned, only for the flames to wash over the shield harmlessly as Mt Lady strides forward, the shield held behind her.
A hastily snapped fireball fumbles to the floor as Mt Lady swings the shield around and forces the villain to dive aside or get clobbered, and for just a moment, Izuku's eyes are torn from the fight. The little sphere of fire rolls along the ground like a childs toy till the villain gets his feet under him and snaps two new fireballs into existence, the stray ball unceremoniously vanishing without so much as a puff of smoke.
"Mt Lady, he can only have two fireballs at a time, and I don't think they blow up till he wants them to!" Vanguard calls out as his attention snaps back to the fight.
"Shut up brat!" The villain verballs snaps, before snapping a fireball in Vanguard's direction that bounces off the glass window between them. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Mt Lady throws out a right hook, catching him in the jaw and sending him staggering back. "Oh that's it, I was just gonna humiliate you a little before, but no-oof!" The wind is knocked from him by the shield coming in low and plowing into his gut, cutting his threat short.
"I think he has to designate a location where they'll blow up when he launches them too, so if they don't get there, they're just flaming balls!" Vanguard calls out his new observations.
"Is that so?" Mt Lady says with a grin before plowing the shield into the staggering villain and sending him crashing down on his butt. He forgoes trying to get up, instead opting to snap and try to throw a fireball only for it to get deflected away from its detonation zone by the shield being thrust forward. "Not so tough now," She taunts, delivering a kick to his leg to spin him followed by dropping the shield towards his face, forcing him to block it with his arms. Seizing the opening, she grabs his hand and twists, flipping him onto his stomach and trapping his arm behind his back. Intertwining her fingers with his blocks that hand's ability to snap while the other is pinned by her boot and she sits on his back before calling out, "Grape Juice, I need your quirk here!"
It takes Vanguard relaying the message, but Grape Juice hurries in and races to her side. "How should I bind him?"
"Hands need to snap for his quirk, besides that, normal stuff will work." She replies, pulling back his wrist in a clearly uncomfortable manner, "Start with his free hand, I've got this one locked down."
A bouncy looking purple ball is plucked from his head and stuck to the villain's hand before Mt Lady moves her leg, letting Grape Juice pull the villain's arm down and stick it to their side. The process repeats with his ankles being stuck together, several spots on his body stuck to the floor and then his final hand, with him cursing all the while. "I may not have done the takedown, but I feel cool, having restrained my first villain." He says with a grin, looking at Mt Lady.
"You did good, and if your teachers and mentors are doing it right, you shouldn't be directly involved in your first couple of villains." Pausing, she gives him a softer look as she stands, "The U.S.J. incident aside, of course." Turning to the doorway, she calls out, "Vanguard, do we have an ETA on the police?"
He turns to ask the crowd, but the answer he gets back is both disappointing but not entirely unexpected. "Nobody knows out here, they didn't think to call." His own disappointed sigh is obvious.
"Figures..." Keeping a foot on the villain, Mt Lady pulls out her own phone and starts fiddling through before finally getting a line to the police. "So, they'll be here in about five minutes," She says after a brief chat with the support on the other side, and until then, we have to keep an eye on this guy."
"Can't you just leave him there and handle other stuff?" Grape Juice asks, making vague gestures towards the gathered crowd "He can't use his quirk, and he's not going anywhere stuck to the ground with my quirk."
"We don't know if he has accomplices or a secret plan or anything, so until we hand him off to the police, if anything goes wrong it's on her." Vanguard replies while blocking the door, even with the danger finished.
"Correct! Our fans will just have to wait for now." Mt Lady says with a chuckle at Grape Juice's frown, "Besides, after the patrol, all three of us have more paperwork to do so be sure to enjoy the freedom while you can." The groans from both interns let her laugh despite having thrice the normal paperwork waiting for her as well.
Right on time, the Police arrive, bringing with them their quirk restraint and suppression gear. With Mt Lady moving aside, the equipment is set down and one of the cops gestures to Grape Juice, "I need your help here, mr...?"
"Grape Juice, sir," Grape Juice replies with a sloppy salute as he walks over, "Which do you need me to remove first?"
"We've got to flip him over first, so if you can free his arms without freeing his hands, that would be ideal. Nice work on the restraining, by the way, you've been taught well."
"Thank you, sir." While smiling from the praise, Grape Juice works with the officers to undo his quirk bindings and replace them with police restraints. It's a surprisingly tense operation, and he finds himself wiping stray beads of sweat from his brow as the last restraints click into place. "Is it normally this nerve wracking?" He asks as the villain is hauled away to the police van.
"Worse." The officer replies, giving him a pat on the shoulder, "Not enough heroes have capture quirks or are skilled in proper villain restraining, so more than half the time we're trying to lock up a villain who at best might be tied up with a rope or some basic cuffs." Their head slowly shakes as he looks off into the distance, eyes focused on something unseen, "It's far too common for a cop to get injured or worse from a cheap shot with a quirk by an improperly restrained villain." Returning his gaze to the Hero student, the grim stare fades into a warm smile, "But you keep doing work like that, and believe me, you'll have a lot of friends on the force."
A light blush fills Grape Juice's cheeks, which he scratches lightly with a hand in a vague attempt to hide it, "Well then I guess you can look forward to the day the Fresh Picked Hero: Grape Juice becomes a proper Pro Hero."
"I wish you the best of luck, but don't forget to work hard. And if it doesn't work out, a lot of the skills are applicable to police work too." Straightening up, the officer nods and gives Grape Juice one last pat on the shoulder, "If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to work." He turns to the staff, who are currently sorting through the sack of almost stolen goods while Grape Juice heads to the front where Mt Lady and Vanguard are with the crowd.
"Hey you two, save some fans for me!" He calls out as he pushes through the door, causing a wave of cheerful laughter to roll through the crowd.
~~~
A startled yell rips through the early morning quiet in the Agency, the sound of a door being slammed open following moments after as Mineta bursts into the main room. "What the heck, Midoriya you bastard, since when were you dating Mt Lady?!"
"Hwha?!" Izuku blurts out as he falls from the couch, hitting the floor with a thump. "Oww... What are you talking about?" A phone screen is shoved in his face, on it, an article including a picture of him and Yu from the restaurant the other day. "A big lady's little love? What?"
"According to this article, you've been dating Mt Lady for at least several weeks now, so spill it!"
"Can I see that?" He asks, before accepting the phone from Mineta.
A Big Lady's Little Love
Written by: Curious
Today, loyal readers, I bring you an interesting little discovery of mine that I've been sitting on for a little while now. If you know Heroes and Heroines like I do, you'll know of the "Big" Heroine who made her debut about a year ago, and aside from a rocky moment or two, has been working hard and climbing popularity polls. Naturally, I'm talking about the Mineyama Hero, Mount Lady. Love her, hate her or don't care, you cannot deny she hasn't made a splash on the hero scene, her armoured costume upgrade sparking a small movement of other Heroes upgrading their costumes in the wake of it saving her from a villain attack.
But that's not what you're here to read about, no. You're here to learn of her little loverboy, so let's start at the beginning.
The day of her debut, she gets a double whammy of villains, starting with an over the top takedown of a gigantification villain, but what we need to focus on is the second villain. This slimy scoundrel had kidnapped a teenager, and was causing havoc with their quirk, limiting the nearby Heroes ability to help. As all seemed lost though, a teenaged boy runs in, distracting the villain by throwing a bag of school stuff at them before trying to pull presumably their friend free. The bravery of the act inspired her to move, and she slid in, growing big and rescuing the boys while flattening the villain. Heroes win, the day is saved and all that, but more importantly, remember this boy.
A couple months later, after her costume upgrade, she's on a patrol, taking a moment to chat with fans when a wannabe hero killer creeps up and gets a sucker punch into her side with his knife type quirk. But then, from past the crowd comes a bag of stuff, distracting the villain before a familiar face rushes in and throws down the villain. Mount Lady cuffs him, but then, while waiting for the police and ambulance to arrive, the boy pulls off his shirt to help stop the bleeding. And I don't need to tell you, this boy has been working out. From the first encounter to here, he's been putting on muscle, and when the ambulance arrives, we get our hint as to why.
[(Herotube)A Hero's Reward]
Now, call me old fashioned, but unless she's aiming to be 18+ Heroine Midnight number 2, that's one hell of a kiss.
Moving on, we've got a couple fan pictures from immediately after the U.S.J. Incident (Read more Here) that show, one again, our familiar green haired gentleman with Mount Lady, this time with mentions of her knowing the family, and taking him home. Coincidence, or Cover Story, I'll leave it for you to consider.
That brings us to the big two, starting with the U.A. Sports Festival (View Shoowaysha Coverage Here). Here, we get to know our mystery boy. A support course student looking to make their mark with a bold display during the festival itself. More interesting, however, is what happened during the break, as I happened to spy a meeting between the two. Amid all the hustle and bustle, he found her, and led her off into a private part of the stadium. Friends getting away from the crowd, or lovers looking for a quiet place, well, that'll be a secret till next time.
Finally, we have two days ago(At time of publication), where while scoping out local Hero patrols for any U.A. interns, what did I find but Miss Mount Lady once again with the boy now bearing the Hero named Vanguard. And if these lunchtime photos don't speak of two people who are really comfortable with each other, their words did. "Still, it's our first patrol together. It's special, and that's enough." I wish guys were half that smooth with me sometimes, or how about her declaration, "I am the Mineyama Hero Mount Lady, I'll keep you safe." I'll admit my writing doesn't carry the same emotion, but if you were there, you could feel the love between the two. As a bonus, there was a Villain attack their very next patrol, and while he's not a hero yet, you can see their chemistry and teamwork in these shots. After a fight like that, I'd bet the Agency was bouncing with a sock on the door knob.
So it seems like Mount Lady has a Loverboy, and things have started to slip into the public eye. I wonder, will we see some proper public kisses next? Maybe a ring on that finger, or perhaps that belly will start to grow without her quirk. Ah, a forbidden romance between Heroine and a Quirkless boy with dreams of Heroism, hidden in plain sight. I don't know about you, but I'll be keeping my eye on them as things develop.
But if that all isn't enough to convince you, don't worry, I have a few aces up my sleeve that will be hitting print with my next article. Until then, stay curious.
Choking down panic, he hands the phone back before giving his best incredulous look. "Mineta, do you remember what I said when we were first coming here? I've known her for quite a while, because she's a friend of my Mom." The grape headed boy doesn't stop his suspicious stare, so Izuku fakes a sigh. "Okay, starting from the beginning, The Sludge villain. The kid they kidnapped was Bakugo Katsuki, I've known him since we were practically babies, and I just ran in to try and save him without thinking. The second time was basically the same thing. I was out shopping and Hero watching, and I came across her on patrol, saw her get attacked, and I ran in to try and help. I'm pretty sure the kiss was her playing up for the cameras and to embarass me."
Mineta recoils, disgust momentarily flickering across his face, "Getting kissed by a total babe is embarrassing to you?!"
"It's more like getting smooched by your hot aunt in public is embarrassing."
The disgust returns more firmly as he considers the thought, before fading into acknowledgement, but the suspicious stare remains, "That's all good, assuming the end half of the article isn't true."
"You were there for most of that. Yes, she drove me home after the U.S.J. because my mom worries a lot, but doesn't have a car. During the sports festival, we just moved away from the crowds for somewhere to talk without being swarmed." Getting up onto the couch again properly, he continues, "Those restaurant and villain fight pictures are only when you were in the bathroom or out of frame, and of course my first patrol was special, isn't it the same for you?"
"I... Yeah, I guess it was, I guess you're right." Shaking his head, he stuffs his phone away before giving a little bow. "Sorry I jumped to conclusions there, Midoriya."
"It's okay, Mineta, I can understand how it'd seem like that, just remember not to trust those gossip articles too much. Most of the time they're just looking to sell magazines and hook readers."
"Heh, yeah." Flopping back onto the couch as well, Mineta stretches out his arms, "A Pro Heroine dating a U.A. first year, what was I thinking? What next, All Might is dating your Mom or something. Ha ha ha."
"Oh god I would die!" Izuku exclaims before laughing along as well, letting the tension of the moment bleed out as he does.
The laughter of the two boys is interrupted by a half asleep Yu popping out of her office, one hand rubbing her eyes as she says, "Keep it down, 'Zuku or I'll drag you off to be my teddy bear." before stumbling back in and shutting the door.
Mineta stares at the re-closed door for a moment, blinks, then turns his focus back on Izuku with intense suspicion.
Chapter 12
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
With the internships over, Mineta gone and their privacy back, the pair celebrates in the best way they know how. By spending the whole evening at Izuku's house with Inko. The fast food, restaurants and quick meals of the week are incomparable to her full course dinner cooked with love, and the three of them squeezing onto the couch to watch a movie together. Chaste kisses, warm embraces, and maybe just a little pinch and tease from Yu to spice it up. Still, all good things must come to an end, and Yu has to go home for the night while school looms in the morning for Izuku.
At U.A., there's an excited energy filling the halls, with all the Hero students and Support students coming back from internships. Heroic classmates catch up with each other, Supports sharing their experiences and showing off their work, while the other courses gossip about any lucky, or maybe unlucky, students who wound up in the news over the week. Mei is no different, spending the entire time before class showing her new and improved schematics and plans to Izuku, and the moment support lab starts, they both jump straight into starting production of his Super Grapple Gauntlet.
After school, his life is mostly back to usual, filled with workout sessions, spending time with Yu and studying. With just a little Hero analysis as a treat. Well... after the sports festival and obtaining the chance to move to the Hero course, there was one big change.
"Come on, Izuku, harder! Really give it to me!" Yu shouts out into the gym, her voice overwhelming the meaty smacks and the boy's grunts.
"Do you have to be so loud?" He asks, blushing but acquiescing to her demands, "Someone might hear."
"That's part of the fun."
Groaning, Izuku makes the wise decision to not fight his girlfriend on this, and instead focus on continuing to hit the strike pads she's holding up. Keeping it up for a few minutes more, they eventually stop for a break to let both of them rest. Flopping to the mat, he grabs his bottle and downs a few gulps of water before lying back, Yu dropping the gloves and plopping next to him. "Ugh, my arms are starting to ache already..." He groans, flexing his fingers and rubbing down his arms.
"Well it is different from normal working out, and I doubt that noodly little boy you used to be did much punching, so I bet your body just isn't used to it yet." Yu replies while walking two fingers up his arm, only to stop at his shoulder before lightly booping his nose. "And what a body it is." She adds, moving to trace a hand down his chest, "So firm and muscular, and with a six pack that's even better than beer."
Grabbing her hand while a light blush fills his face, Izuku smiles at her and replies, "Its girlfriend is just as beautiful and muscular, you know."
"Really now?" She asks, bringing her other hand to join the embrace "How beautiful is she?"
"Oh, where do I start? Perhaps with her hands that despite working so hard to protect, remain soft and gentle?" His other hand joins in, softly caressing hers, "Or maybe with her long flowing hair that always catches his eyes and tempts him to run his fingers through it?" Reaching up, his fingers twirl through one of the long curls that frame her face, "Maybe her gorgeous violet eyes that steal his breath away whenever he looks into them? Her supple lips that beg for him to kiss them? How she..."
His praise is silenced by her leaning down and trying to suck his soul out his mouth, an action he returns with equal vigor. The need to breathe finally breaks their liplock, leaving Yu leaning over him with lightly flushed cheeks and a lewd look in her eyes. "How'd this little Hero Nerd get so good at being charming?" She asks, lifting a hand to trace a finger over his chest again while licking her lips.
"A beautiful Muse." He replies simply, making her snort and smile before sitting back upright.
"Charmer." Stretching a bit, her tone changes and she says, "Well this Muse thinks it's time we get back to working out. You've still got time before your exams, but you've also got a lot of training to fit in that time."
"Yes Ma'am!"
~~~
Working with Mei on his Super Grapple Gauntlet was a wildly different experience for Izuku, nearly incomparable to creating his shield or the costumes. From the reactive materials used to make the grapple scarves to the complex electrical work to the mechanical systems and failsafes, without Mei's experience and assistance pulling most of the weight, he'd never be able to complete the project in time. With her help, they've reached the initial testing phase with two months to spare.
"Ready, Izuku?" Mei asks with an excited grin on her face as she stands behind the blast shield with him. Inside the test chamber, two dummies stand ready, one with the prototype grapple gauntlet on its arm, pointed at the other that stands across the room in a t-pose.
"Ready."
An only slightly oversized red button is pressed, and the normally neatly wrapped bands shoot forth from the gauntlet. Halfway out, they begin to writhe erratically, suddenly looping back on the dummy wielding the gauntlet, entangling it, the supports and even the bands themselves into a mess. Mei slaps the shutoff button before making her way out from the cover to take a closer look. "Well, the baby didn't explode, so that's good." She declares, her eyes already working overtime scanning the mess, "Nothing smoking or burning, all in all a successful test one. What do you think, Izuku?"
"Well, it looked like it was going good to start, but then... Hmnn, did a grapple signal fire too early?" He asks while creeping around the cover, still cautious of the potentially dangerous invention.
"It shouldn't have unless..." Prying open the casing, experienced eyes scan over the relatively simple inner workings of the gauntlet. "Hmnn... Yep, we had a short. Looks like maybe the unspooling made part of the casing move more than expected, and that caused a current jump that made the grapple cloths to react."
"Whew, that doesn't sound too bad," Izuku says with a sigh of relief, "Will it be hard to fix?"
Mei's laughter brings a smile to his face, the laughter of someone overjoyed, "We'll have this baby of ours fixed up and ready to go for more testing tomorrow no problem." Trying to pull one of the capture cloths free, it eases up and goes limp, leading to her accidently yanking too hard. All the cloths seemingly spring to life, slacking their grip on each other and the dummy and instead flailing onto Mei. The result, as capture cloths are wont to do, is almost the entirety of Mei's upper body and arms wrapped up by them. "Uh... a little help, Izuku?"
With a laugh of his own, Izuku sets forth on his duties of untangling Mei and handling the cloths till they can be reset around the gauntlet.
It still takes another week of testing, fixes and fine tuning before the Hatsume Inc. Super Grapple Gauntlet V1.0 is finished and ready for human use, and he may not be able to take it from school grounds yet, but this is U.A., so he has access to a plethora of training grounds to work with. From sparring dummies and robots for practicing combat to 3d gymnasiums to practice movement and mobility, his after class hours become swiftly filled by time spent at U.A., much to Yu's annoyance.
~~~
"Good day and welcome back to Heroes Tonight! I'm your host, Yamamoto Yukio, and today we've got a double feature! It is my great pleasure to introduce a pair of fantastic Heroines, the 18+ Heroine, Midnight, and the Mineyama Hero Mt Lady." From behind the back wall, the two arrive, one from each side as they both smile and wave to the crowds, strutting their stuff up to the chairs there for them. "I would first like to say, I'm incredibly thankful you both agreed to be on my show." Yamamoto says with a small but polite bow towards them as they sit down.
"It's a pleasure to be here," Midnight practically purrs, languidly crossing one leg over the other.
Mt Lady nods in agreement, saying, "I'm excited to be here as well, especially so early in my career."
"You have made quite the Big step into the Hero scene," Yamamoto replies, chuckling at his own little joke, some of the crowd, and even Midnight joining in. "More than that though, and on the first topic of the night, like Midnight, you've made some waves in the field of Hero Costumes as well."
"Ah, I remember my first costume," Midnight says with a sigh, seeming to look up and into the distance as she relishes an old memory, "It was wonderfully liberating, but the stuffy old suits felt it was a little too liberating."
Yamamoto nods along, before commenting, "Well, I'd share a picture of it, but then we'd get taken off the air. For those not in the know, Midnight's first costume was considered so scandalously minimal that legislation was penned on the minimum requirements for a Hero costume, as well as what kind of quirks get exemptions and for what. It's a lot of legal mumbo jumbo that says you have to be covering certain parts of the body, and must be covering a certain amount of the body, and such things."
"I've heard it's even more of a mess once you actually get into it." Mt Lady comments, thinking back to some discussions of it with Izuku, "Plenty of quirks that don't work right with what the law wants covered, or Heteromorphs that have different body parts that might need to be covered... bleh, too much legalese for me, I leave that stuff for the professionals."
"It is quite the deep hole, but one that can be pleasurable to explore, finding all the little bits that tick." Midnight comments, pausing a moment to lick her lips slowly, "Discovering how far you can stretch it, or parts you can slip around. My own current costume, for example." She gestures down her chest, contained only by a thin body sleeve. "It took a few iterations, but I eventually figured out this wonderfully tantalizing final result."
"As expected of someone voted one of the top ten sexiest Heroes, eleven years running." Yamamoto agrees while trying not to stare. Quickly shaking his thoughts free, he turns to Mt Lady, saying, "While you, Mt Lady, have stirred up some change in a very different way. Not long after you adopted your new fall off armour, we've seen a small but steady increase in Heroes adopting some extra protective gear. A lot of people have been wondering, what sparked that change?"
"It's actually not much of a story," She replies with a shrug, "I happen to know the family of a kid who was looking to get into support, we talked a little, he wanted to try and design me something, and ended up with what I've got now. I had some professionals check it over, it was fine, and so I started wearing it. It's been pretty useful so far, even saving me from a lot of nasty stabs one time."
"Isn't that a nice little tale though, folks?" Yamamoto says, turning to the cameras, "A newbie Heroine helping out an aspiring Support course student, and ending up getting helped herself. How is that boy doing nowadays?"
"He made it into the course, and has been working hard last I heard. I think exams are coming up, so he's probably busy preparing for those." She replies, the barest hint of annoyance tingeing her voice.
"Well, best of luck to him. But back to the topic at hand, protective equipment and armour have become more popular, and when you step back and look, it's a rather interesting thing. You look at other, similar jobs like police officers, firefighters, JSDF soldiers, and they're all kitted out with protective gear by default. Yet, most heroes don't have much, Midnight here, for example." Yamamoto gestures to the aforementioned Heroine, who maintains their calm, borderline sultry smile. "Her whole costume barely has anything protective about it."
Midnight chuckles a little as the attention turns to her, "This is actually a topic that comes up in my class at U.A.. One of the biggest things about a Hero's image that's more important style and aesthetics is that they're not uniform. Police officers, Firefighters and Soldiers all have uniforms for their various reasons, but Heroes are different. We're individuals, and while you may find similar costumes within agencies, every Hero is unique, and our costumes are there to help show it."
"That doesn't stop them from having protective equipment." Yu interjects, pointing out the flaw in the topic, "It kinda seems like people are too focused on the uniqueness and individuality, and forgetting they're humans doing dangerous work and that they can be hurt."
"You're right, but it's our individuality and quirks that means there isn't one good answer either, and for some Heroes, it's hard to find something that would work." Midnight says, before gesturing down at herself again, "Take myself, for instance, what would you suggest?"
Pausing to think a moment, memories of Izuku's notebooks flash back to Mt Lady, and she can't help but giggle, "Well, one idea I remember seeing from that boy's notebooks was a fully sealed combat mech suit for you that has an internal pump and vent system it would use to move, concentrate and release your quirk. It'd keep you protected for sure, but I imagine all your fans would be disappointed."
"Very disappointed," Yamamoto agrees, "How about something a little more in style for her?"
"Well... she could ditch the ripable fabric, I'm not actually sure why she uses it, and update her corset with some boob plate to protect her core while flaunting what she's got. Something for the arms would be good too, maybe some reinforced long gloves?"
Midnight hums, tapping her full, slightly pouty lips as she considers, "The bodysuit was actually a personal rebellion against the new laws at the time, after all, I may be fully covered, yet it equally reveals just about everything." Grinning, she flexes just right so that the fabric stretches against her chest, "But your ideas, they're not bad. I'm sure there are artists out there already hard at work with the idea, and I may have to bring it up with my own support staff."
"An interesting idea indeed. Now, we have some questions from our watchers as a little break before we get into some big topics." Pulling out a small stack of flashcards, he makes a show of clearing his throat before asking, "From a Mister Onimaru, What's your favourite food?"
"Anything peach has always been my favourite," Mt Lady replies, licking her lips, "Though I'll admit recently, I've developed a bit of a taste for strawberries." Thinking of Izuku's adorable blushes, she can't help the smile and blush of her own that forms.
"Oh ho, are the rumors true then?" Midnight asks with a salacious grin at the love filled look on Mt Lady's face, "You have found yourself a tasty little boytoy."
Gasps come from the in-studio audience, and more cameras swing to face her as Yamamoto's eyes seem to gleam, "Oh, do tell."
It takes all of her PR training to keep her face under control.
~~~
With Heroes Tonight playing quietly in his ear, Izuku silently solders the primary circuit board for his support course finals exam. As assigned by Power Loader, he has to blueprint, build and test his entry exam design, the Taser Capture Scarf. Sparing a glance at Mei, she's building... something, and whatever it is, it’s well beyond his skills, causing him to offer silent thanks to Power Loader for making this exam personalized for each student.
Comparing his work to his blueprint and circuit diagrams, he's silently glad most of it is just the removed guts of a taser and not something he has to build from scratch. Any pro level version of this would be custom designed, like the workings for his gauntlet, with easily customized voltage settings to help take down tougher, weaker, smaller or larger targets, maybe with an integrated processor to let it self regulate on the fly more than the standard issue circuitry.
Blinking out of his momentary tangent, he notices the new notes written on his blueprints, his body recording what his brain was thinking. "Oh... I hope I'm not going to have to upgrade it now that I've written that down." Izuku says to himself mostly, only to jump as Power Loader chuckles from nearby.
"No, your exam parameters have already been locked in, but I've got to ask, are you sure you want to go into Heroics? You've got the kind of brain we need here in support, even if your skills need some work."
"I'm sure, Sensei." Izuku replies with zero hesitation, "It's always been my dream and I'm not going to let it slip from my grasp now. But... If you don't mind, I wouldn't mind coming down here to do more support work, I want to be able to make and maintain my own gear, even if I can't come for classes."
"Yeah, let him come, Sensei! That way Izuku and I can keep working on his babies. I'll even teach him myself." Mei adds in, leaning over from her seat.
"The support labs are only restricted to only those who have passed their lab safety tests, just like the gyms aren't restricted to the Heroics classes." Power Loader explains, moving along to the next student, "Midoriya passed his tests, so he's free to use the labs during the available hours."
Mei's hand shoots towards the roof as she yells, "Yes! Once you're in the Hero course, we're going to have to make a baby-making schedule, Izuku."
"Wait, I can use the gyms here?!" Someone else yells out throwing their hands in the air, "I wish I knew that before I started paying for the gym near my house."
"You shoulda read the student handbook, it explains all of this." Another student calls out in reply.
With a loud clap, Power Loader silences the students, "A little chatter is fine, but remember, you're working on your exams right now." At least one student lets out a pained choke, making the teacher and several students chuckle before the room is filled with the sound of progress.
And at the end of the week, everyone is done to varying degrees of success and released for the weekend, all with the written exams to look forward to next week. For Izuku, he has the extra practical Heroics exam to look forward to as well on Saturday after all is said and done. Needless to say, very few students had a relaxing weekend, Izuku and his anxieties least of all.
~~~
Plain white rice stares back at Izuku as he stares anxiously at his breakfast, offering him neither courage nor advice for the coming trial. A hand reaches across the table to gently pat his, Inko saying, "Don't worry too much, and just give it your all. Yu and I both believe in you."
Breathing deep, the chopsticks in his hand flex as he clenches before relaxing as he releases the breath. "You're right. Getting worried isn't going to help." Inhaling again, the familiar scent of miso soup fills his nose, and as he breathes out, his shoulders sag. "I've trained hard for this." He straightens up, squares his shoulders, puffs up his chest and gives his mom a bright smile. "I'll succeed and show them that anyone, even quirkless, can be a Hero!"
"That's my Hero," Inko says, smiling back, "but no Hero can succeed on an empty stomach."
His stomach agrees, letting out a quiet grumble. "Right! Thank you for the food."
A calm fills the apartment as the two eat, the nervous energy mostly subdued now by hopeful determination and motherly love. After finishing eating, he helps her tidy up breakfast despite her protests and once all that is finished, he reviews his notebooks, waiting for his girlfriend to arrive. It doesn't take long for him to get lost in his studies, so lost in fact that he didn't notice the front door opening, nor notice the figure enter and sneak up behind him.
Two meaty mounds plopping down on his head make him jolt, his hands reaching up to the offending objects. He barely touches them before hands capture his against them. "My, so eager this morning." His girlfriend's teasing voice says, as she leans onto him a little more while guiding his hands in some squeezing, "Or perhaps you just need to squeeze out some stress?"
"Yuuu..." He whines in response, half-heartedly trying to pull his hands away, "I'm just... a little nervous. This is a big test for me, and it's to get into U.A.'s Hero Course. It's probably going to be crazy, I mean, the normal entrance exam has a pass rate of like, 2%, this one is probably going to be even harder!" With the rising tone of his voice, his hands finally break free and he throws them in the air before letting them fall. "This is somehow more stressful than the sports festival..."
Sliding around the couch, Yu plops down next to him, shuffles over and throws an arm around him in a hug. "Just give it your all and you'll do great, my heroic hunk." She encourages while resting her head on his shoulder, "You might not have the same training as the other Hero course students, but you've got more training and experience than people doing the normal exam. I'm sure you'll do great, and then afterwards we can go to my place and celebrate..."
As her volume trails off, Inko's cuts in, "Remember, no kids before graduation."
Izuku just groans and leans into Yu, relishing the contact and affection. Her free hand comes down, gently massaging his thigh down near his knee, and the two just sit like this for a time till Inko pops her head over and says, "As cute as this is, you do need to go to school for your exam, Izuku."
Yu's embrace keeps him from fully jumping off the couch, and instead, it reels him back down into her lap. "I'll get you there in time, there's no rush." She says, arms coiling around him to hold him tight. Leaning in, she nibbles on his neck and he shivers at the new sensation, instinctively tilting his head to grant her more access. A mischievous giggle comes from her, the only warning he has before she bites. It's not hard enough to break the skin, but his sudden squeak makes Inko giggle while Yu shifts to suckling the bite. He squirms more and more at the sensation till she finally decides she's done enough, and releases him from both her lips and her arms. "Well, let's get going then."
Standing first, Izuku holds a hand out for his girlfriend, pulling her up when she accepts. She steals a quick kiss before heading for the door, with him following after grabbing his school stuff. "Bye, Mom, I'll text you when I finish the exam!" He calls out before the pair leave for Yu's car.
Things are quiet in the vehicle for a moment as she starts it up and pulls out of the parking lot, but once out on the roads, she speaks up, "You'll do great, Izuku, but getting all worked up beforehand won't help. Pro Heroes can't just go around jumping at shadows or we'll be too exhausted to help when it matters."
"I know, it's just..."
His cheek squishes as she pokes it, "Instead of focusing on the bad, focus on the good. Think about our patrols together, all of our training, all the fun we'll have after you're done." A blush fills his cheeks as he turns away and she can't help her grin, "Feeling a little better?"
"Yeah." Breathing deep, Izuku slaps his cheeks lightly before exhaling and relaxing. "And worse comes to worse, I've got my good luck charm on me."
He holds something up, and sparing a moment to glance over, she immediately regrets it as she almost lets go of the wheel. "I-Izuku, you can't just wave those around like that..."
"But you gave them to me to use however I wanted?" He replies with a far too innocent tone, "Is it wrong for me to have my good luck charm on me when I'm about to do a big test?"
"Well, no, but when I said that, I was meaning for... other things..."
"Oh? What kind of other things?"
"You know..." She starts, before glancing over to see him with a smug grin on his face. A smug grin she has to give his arm a playful slap for, saying, "Geez, who taught you to be so sassy."
He returns the slap with one of his own, never losing the smile as he replies, "My wonderful girlfriend of course. She may be a bit of a brat sometimes, but I do love her a lot."
"She loves you too."
A much happier quiet takes over the car; punctuated occasionally by some muttering from Izuku as he thinks through everything he's learned. The drive goes by without incident, and with time to spare they arrive outside the gates of U.A.
Leaning across the car, Yu plants a short kiss on his cheek before saying, "For luck. Go knock 'em dead."
Returning the favour, he nods before stepping out and straightening up. Breathing deep, he marches into the school, determination fuelling his every step. Entering through the massive gates, for perhaps the last time as a non-Hero Course student, he makes his way through the school, winding up outside a pair of heavy doors he's seen only once before. It swings open slowly with a heavy creak as he raises his hand yet doesn't touch it. Beyond it, Nedzu smiles at him, the first thing he sees through the slowly growing opening.
"Good morning, Midoriya, come, sit, would you like some tea?"
"No thank you, sir." He replies, taking a seat across from the Principal.
"Very well." Paws steeple as Nedzu focuses firmly on the boy, his mouth shifting to a thin line, "Before we continue, I would like to ask again, are you absolutely sure you wish to take this exam and move to the Hero Course? You know the challenges you will face there and beyond will be... severe."
Izuku's eyes seem to almost flash as he returns the look, lips set in determination and hands clenched. "I do, and I'm not going to give up. It's been my dream forever and I'm not going to let go, not now, not ever."
The cold stare down holds for only a moment, before Nedzu claps with a smile while leaning back in his chair. "Wonderful, Midoriya, just wonderful! Now, we don't do these exams often, as it’s rare for a student looking to change courses to succeed in the Sports Festival, and moreso, we, or rather, I quite like to make each and every one a unique challenge to their taker. And you have been quite the interesting specimen to design a challenge for." Nedzu's chair spins, hiding him behind its tall back as he looks out the window behind him, "The entrance exam, fighting robots and helping people to score points. Simple, generalist and a decent showing of a person's capabilities in handling Hero work. The first year's Heroic exams, fighting teachers as a paired team, making them face their weaknesses to improve, I remember having Eraserhead do something similar for his." Spinning back, Nedzu flips open a panel on his desk, "But for you... I decided to do something... familiar, just with an increased difficulty."
A button is pressed on his desk causing a hologram to flicker into life between them, showing a 3D map of part of a city. "A full shift patrol through one of our training grounds."
Perhaps only a trick of the light between them, but Izuku can't help but notice an unusual gleam to Nedzu's eyes.
~~~
"Alright Little Listener, your exam starts in one hour, so you've got that time to prepare, plan your routes and all that fun stuff." Present Mic says, sitting at the desk in the front of the small room. "We've got a phone here for you that'll function like a pro's out in the field, letting you know about stuff going down and all. There are maps and records of the area over there, your costume has been delivered and is waiting in the changing room down the hall and with that..." He pauses for a moment, watching a clock on the wall, "Your hour starts now."
Izuku whips out an empty notebook and flips it open before moving to the maps and records provided. Green eyes scan through the documents as fast as they can, searching for anything relevant while his hand transcribes anything he finds important. Staring at the map for a moment, the tip of his pen taps the page, before he dashes to the front desk, grabbing the phone there and quickly scanning through it. As expected, there's a photo app which he uses to get several shots of the map, both as a whole and focusing on key parts. Minutes tick by, the air filled only with the sound of the pen scratching across paper, the occasional beep or picture snap from the phone and the faint sound of music from Present Mic's headphones as he observes.
His notebook closes with a clap about twenty minutes in before being put away as he stands up. Plans, ideas and strategies bounce around his head as he asks, "I need to get some things, is it alright if I go?"
"Absolutely," Mic shoots back with finger guns, "Just make sure you're back here in time."
"Yes sir." Izuku says with a nod before spinning on his heel and practically running from the room. First stop, getting his costume on, a process he has done more times than one might think, but then, what kid doesn't want to try on their Hero Costume? His second planned stop is granted a skip as the changing rooms come complete with a pair of vending machines loaded with energy bars, sports drinks and other post workout snacks. His spare pouches get loaded with snack bars and jelly pouches while a pair of drinks dangle from straps meant for gauntlet attachments. Still with more than half his time to go, he's off like a shot again, hustling his way through the halls to his final destination.
"Mei, I need any babies you have that will help me on a full patrol for my exam!" He declares as he bursts into the Support Laboratories.
Golden crosshairs meet his eyes and a manic grin spreads below them. "You've come to the right place! How long do we have?"
"Less than thirty minutes, I have to be back there for Ten."
If it was possible, the girl's grin grew. "Leave it to me." She says, before laughing as she starts digging through her desk and baby storage.
With barely a minute to spare, he arrives back at the classroom, more than half a dozen of Mei's inventions loaded onto him. She wanted more, but relented when he pointed out situational issues with the gear, like weight or battery life.
"Nice timing!" Present Mic says in English, looking down from the clock and shooting him another pair of finger guns. "Right on time, a good skill to have for a Hero." He says switching back to Japanese, "Now, let’s get you out into the field, I imagine Nedzu has been almost vibrating waiting to get to run this exam, so let's not keep him waiting. Follow me." Standing up from his spot, he leads Izuku through the halls and out the building to where a U.A. golf cart sits. The little machine is zippier than expected, and the two of them zoom across the grounds of U.A., eventually arriving at the gate to the walled off city chunk in which his exam will take place. "Here we are," He says, stepping out of the cart, "Head on in to start your exam, and good luck Little Listener. I'm rooting for you."
"Thank you, Mic-Sensei" Izuku replies with a bow before walking up to the gates, the mechanical doors swinging open slowly as he does. Marching in, memories of the map guide him onto the start of his planned route while the door begins to close behind him.
Unheard by Izuku, Mic's head sags before saying, "You're gonna need it..."
Inside, the streets and shops are a lot less quiet than Izuku expected, humans and robots alike going about their day to day lives. "Students maybe?" Izuku asks himself as he examines them closer, most seeming to be around his age or a little older. Even so, there are still a good number of adults, and even a couple elderly people here and there he notices as he walks. "Are the robots supposed to be potential villains like the sports festival? No, it's too obvious, but I can't assume they're just there for numbers either." His hand twitches, wanting to write, even as he tries to focus on the task at hand, eyes darting everywhere for trouble.
Lessons float to the surface, 'It's all too easy for a criminal to hide in a crowd to get close to a hero to attack them, but just because it can happen doesn't mean you have to treat them like they're villains in disguise. Just keep your wits about you and you'll do fine.' Taking deep breaths to steady his nerves, he discretely pats his good luck charm in its pocket. "I can do this," He declares, shoulders set and back straight as Yu smiles at him in his mind.
And that's when the building down the street explodes in a fireball.
Notes:
Ugh, this took way too long, but it's finally here.
As a bonus note, the creation of this chapter spawned an additional chapter in my current total count of chapters in my notes.
Chapter 13
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
A raging wall of fire greets Izuku, no, Vanguard as he nears, heat rolling off the flames in waves and keeping the nearby people at bay. "What happened? Is anyone injured?" He calls out, eyes scanning the crowd for any.
A chorus of negatives and confusion are his answer, though one person does call out, "I called the Fire Department already!"
"Good. Does anyone know if there's anyone inside? Do any of you have a useful quirk to help?" Vanguard asks while his mind contemplates the few physical mutations he can see. One with a minor canine quirk of some sort changing their fingernails into small blunt claws. Another with unusually glossy skin, but beyond that nothing of note.
One guy raises their hand, "My quirk lets me shoot out some water. It's not strong enough to put out a fire like this though..."
"Really?! How much water can you put out, and how fast... No, focus." Clapping his cheeks, he shakes his head clear, "As the active Hero in this situation, I am granting you permission to use your quirk to help. I've got to make sure there's nobody inside, so I'd like for you to soak me in water then try and keep the entrance extinguished, please."
The person is a bit shocked, but nods before taking a few deep breaths and taking off their glasses. Twin streams of water spray from his eyes, neither one much stronger than a household tap, but enough to start soaking Vanguard. Once he's suitably drenched, the guy stops his quirk and wipes away the water in his eyes while Vanguard puts on a basic respirator.
"Here goes..." Vanguard says, mostly to himself as he faces the flames. The heat hits like a wall as he moves in, but he cannot stop, not when someone could be inside here. Shelves line the walls of the first room, a shop of some kind, it's products ablaze on the walls though mostly untouched in the middle. Pushing through the center, there's nobody on the other side of the cashier counter but a half-open door to rooms beyond sits, the sounds of fire raging on the other side.
With his water coating already nearly gone, his hand is halfway to the doorknob before a fragment of a memory hits, a clip of an old safety video. Instead, he pushes the door open with a reinforced boot and calls out into the stockroom beyond, "Hello, is anyone in here?!" Straining to hear through the roaring flames and crackling objects, his heart jumps as a trio of thuds sound out, too rhythmic to be incidental, and following that, a muffled voice, unclear but there all the same. "I can hear you! Where are you?!"
Any response is drowned out as a shelf collapses with a crash, bottles shattering, wrappers catching, burning and releasing thick black smoke that thickens the already oppressive air. Designs for goggles begin to form in his mind, but he pushes them back, focusing on what he knows. 'A muffled voice, they must be on the other side of a wall, and their pounding, their way out must be blocked...' Another shelf crashes to the ground, bringing with it another wave of heat as more ignites. 'Not on the outer walls... There!' He mentally exclaims, scanning through the burning room and spotting a shelf downed across what might be a door.
The ever-growing smoke leaves his eyes watering as he pushes through, deftly stepping between burning spots before arriving at the door. "Are you still there?!" He calls, banging three times against the wall, getting a trio of bangs in return. 'Gloves aren't made to handle fire so...' Delivering a kick to the shelf, the flame stressed structure gives way, crumpling and causing an explosion of heat and sparks as it falls. A couple more kicks and the door is clear so he bangs on it, calling out, "The door is clear on this side, can you get to it?"
Rough coughs sound from the other side of the wall before a voice replies, "I can! Hurry!"
With little other option, Vanguard grabs the handle and turns, the heated metal causing his gloves to smoke and his hands to heat. Swinging open the door, the flames nearby flare at the change in airflow, the renewed heat pressing down on him. On the other side of the door is a robot dressed in an approximation of a worker uniform, its eye blinking a clear blue. "This way, follow me." He says, gesturing for the robot to follow. The head bobs, before the frame shakes with another cough. Despite a small voice in his head calling it stupid, Vanguard removes his respirator and holds it out to the robot, "Here, you need this more than me right now."
The mechanical blue eye flashes brighter for a moment, before it accepts the respirator and holds it up to its head before following Vanguard through the burning building. They move low and carefully, Vanguard kicking away another shelf that fell over the previous path, and through the omnipresent sound of flames, they can hear sirens in the distance. In the front, the shelves have all collapsed into a massive bonfire raging across the middle of the room, but unlike the rest, the doorway smolders as brief sprays of water splash over any flames that start.
Every step feels like pushing through an oven, bare skin screaming like it's sunburnt, and covered skin not feeling much better. It's barely more than two dozen steps and half a minute, but it seems to drag on with the air itself seeming to fight them. His lungs burn with the heat and tingle with the smoke, but with a final push, they burst free, the cool outside air feeling like jumping in an ice bath compared to being inside.
Traces of smoke are coughed out, replaced by deep gulps of cool clean air as Vanguard straightens up catching sight of the fire truck arriving. "Was there anyone else in there with you?" He asks, turning to the robot, which shakes its head and holds out the respirator to him. "That's good. And you did great as well." He adds, giving the guy with the water quirk a thumbs up.
"Thanks, but are you alright man?" The guy asks back.
Vanguard shoots him another thumbs up before pulling out one of his sport drink bottles, cracking it open and only wincing slightly as he downs most of the unfortunately warm beverage. The bottle is dry by the time he comes up for air and gulps down a few more deep breaths. "Note to self, improve heat resistance or costume and fire preparedness" He mutters quietly, pulling out a small notepad and pen, scribbling down both the note and immediate ideas as they begin to flow. The crowd moves away and a firefighter checks on the robot while the rest start working on the fire while he writes till he looks up, blinking. "Exam. Patrol. Right." Stuffing away his notebook, he moves over to the Firefighter talking to the robot and asks, "Do you guys need me to stay here right now, or can I continue on my patrol?"
"You're fine to go, we just need an address to send the paperwork to." The Firefighter responds.
"Right, I'm..." he pauses, 'Where's my agency? They didn't give me one, so... I guess I'm with Mt Lady, so...' Pulling out his notepad, he flips to a blank page, writes down the name and address before handing it over, "I'm based out of the Mt Lady Agency currently, so send it there, please." The Firefighter accepts the paper, before returning their attention to the robotic victim.
After one last check to make sure everything's under control, Vanguard starts off again, consulting his map and planned routes. Aside from the slowly growing further away fire trucks, the streets are peaceful and quiet. After cooling down from the heat, his exposed skin tingles, sensitive like a mild sunburn. His glove will need replacing after the damage from the heat, and his boots might as well. The costume held up well, though it didn't face any direct exposure, and naturally, all of Mei's babies are completely unbothered by the heat.
With most everything in good shape, his patrol marches on.
How quiet the city is fascinates him, though perhaps not patrolling with a well known Heroine changes that. Nobody rushing up for signatures or pictures or questions, no curious chatter from onlookers. 'Is this what it's like for low ranked heroes?' He ponders to himself, remaining alert but allowing his mind to wander. 'Maybe I should find a low ranked Hero willing to let me shadow them for a day. It'd be a neat experience at least.'
Something out of the corner of his eye draws him out of his thoughts, and he turns just enough to see someone glance around before turning down a back alley. He's turned and about to run across the road when a small voice in his head asks 'Why?' It's enough pause to bring him to a stop and his hand reaches for his chin as he thinks. "Why are they going down the alley? Why am I worried? It's not likely they're a villain, or they wouldn't be so obvious since I'm right here in costume... Unless they want me to see and..." Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, he gives his cheeks a clap before turning back to his route. "I can't just jump to conclusions, and I'll be nearby anyways if something does happen."
Decision made and mind set, he starts off again a little more alert till he moves beyond the block with nothing happening. Minutes pass by into an hour and as he's about to check his map again, an alarm blares on the phone. [ Robbery in progress reported at Araki Electronics on Block 13. Three suspects wearing masks.] "Block thirteen, that's... only a couple blocks from here!" He exclaims as he checks his map. After checking both ways, he bolts across the street, making a bee line for Block 13.
Blaring alarms are heard before he can even see the building, but as he rounds the corner, he spots a suspicious masked trio hauling large sacks out the front of the store. Their eyes meet his, and the chase is on as they bolt. Taking off after them, he pulls out the phone briefly to report, "Vanguard reporting, I'm in pursuit of the suspects, currently heading northbound."
The reply of "Acknowledged" is barely audible as the phone is quickly tucked away in a safe pouch.
What little traffic there is on the sidewalk moves to avoid the chase, people and robots alike ducking into doorways and moving into the gaps between buildings to watch and record the events. "Low chance of friendly fire, so..." Flipping open one of Mei's pouches attached to his utility belt, Vanguard draws forth a bulky, boxy looking pistol with a wide barrel and aims it towards the fleeing perpetrators. "Freeze or I will shoot!" He yells.
All three look back and one drops their sack, hands shooting to the sky as they come to a stop before one of the others cuffs them with a smack. "They're a Hero, they can't shoot us with a gun, idiot."
"Oh, right!" As they reach back for the sack, Vanguard aims as best he can while running and fires. Rather than the bangs of a normal firearm, it makes quiet 'thwips' like a paintball gun, each shot a little capsule that zips across the distance near instantly. A brilliant lime green bursts forth where they hit, covering the crook's hand, shoulder and shoe with their contents. "Ow fuck, that hurts!" They exclaim, still grabbing the bag before trying to bolt again to catch up with their rapidly retreating compatriots.
When their shoe doesn't move and their hand freezes up around the bag, the realization of the situation comes crashing down with a "Fuck!"
Firing a couple more potshots at the fleeing duo and only scoring a useless splatter across one's back, Vanguard comes to a stop next to the criminal currently trying to untie his shoe with one hand. Glue gun in one hand, handcuffs in the other, he meets the eyes of the crook as they look up. "You are under arrest, please come quietly." Criminal eyes flicker to the glue gun still pointed in their direction before slowly raising their hands, even with the sack still glued to one. Vanguard's entire demeanor softens almost instantly, a friendly smile taking over his face as he holsters the gun and applies the cuffs.
"Vanguard, reporting in. I have captured one of the suspects, however the other two have continued fleeing north and umm... east past block 4, I think?" He calls in, watching the two other suspects turn off down an alley in the distance.
"Received. Officers are en route." The voice on the other side replies.
Excitement bleeds from him, though he remains alert, both for the captured criminal and the area around them, even as curiosity begins to bloom. A minute ticks by with no sign of the police, followed by another and Izuku's curiosity couldn't be contained. "If it's not against the rules, could I ask what course you're in? I mean, getting attacked by a Hero has to hurt, and oh gosh, sorry, I know they're not bullets, but I helped Mei test the glue gun and I know it hurts and..."
"It's alright, just a few stings." The guy waves off as best he can with cuffed and glued hands, "I'm in the business course, but I'm actually a Hero trainer in training, so this is kind of like my future job. Being a practice villain, criminal, sidekick or civilian for training exercises, managing fitness regimes and all that kind of stuff."
"Whoa, that sounds really cool. Getting to work with all sorts of Heroes in all sorts of capacities!" Izuku replies, eyes gleaming and hands wishing he could pull out his notebook, but he's supposed to be on the job here.
"It's not boring, I'll tell you that."
The distant sound of sirens pull Vanguard back into focus and renews his grip on the criminal while his eyes turn to look for the police car. Not one but two show up, the first zooming past as it follows his prior directions while the second comes to a stop, the two officers inside getting out. Spotting the criminal already cuffed, one officer shoots him a thumbs up, "Nice work, sir. We can take it from here." As the pair move to move the criminal, they realize the issue. "Do you have, ah." They accept the spray bottle Vanguard pulls from his belt, and with a few spritzes, the robber is freed from the ground and his loot. "Thanks. Not to sound ignorant, but who are you, and what agency should I send the paperwork for this to?"
"Oh, right. I'm Vanguard, and I'm currently based out of the Mt Lady agency. Here." Scribbling out the address again, he passes it over to the officer not escorting the criminal into their car. "Thank you for the help, I'm gonna see if I can't catch up and help with the others." A short bow to the officers later, he's on his way again, following the path the other two criminals took.
Despite his efforts and nearly an hour of searching however, he doesn't turn up anything even as the noon hour nears. He can't help but sigh as he gives up, no, leaves the case to the police, before pulling out his notebook to jot down everything he can remember of the situation to pass on later. The self-disappointment is joined by another sensation rising up from his gut, this one equally familiar and far more noisy. "Urgh, and I'm off my route so now I have to figure out where to stop for lunch again..." he mutters to himself, resting a hand on his grumbling stomach, "Glad I've got some snacks at least." Stuffing a snack bar in his mouth, he pulls out the phone to go over the map again.
~~~
Eyes flickering from one monitor to the next and High Specs running full tilt to help manage the information, Nedzu observes both Vanguard and the whole testing ground. On each side, the first year Heroics teachers observe a trio of monitors themselves, these providing various angles on the current actions and location of Vanguard. Both Heroes relax a little as the test settles for a short break, Vlad going so far as to lean back and stretch while saying, "For somebody without any proper training yet, the kid's not bad."
"He's sloppy and not taking this seriously enough," Eraserhead replies, still hunched over, several empty jelly packs and a half empty, now lukewarm coffee sitting on his desk, "But he's not hopeless."
"You're not just saying that because he built that prototype Shock Scarf you were testing out the other day, right?" Vlad asks with a chuckle and a grin.
Glowing red eyes cut across the room to glare at him silently for a few seconds before he replies, "That'd be irrational, a students ability to make support gear has little bearing on their ability to be a Hero, and it'd also be irrational to not test out new options to help me be a better Hero."
Vlad lets the topic drop with a shrug, turning back to his screens, "I'd say he's doing about as well as I would expect out of my class, and doing it without a quirk. He's got my vote so far, Nezu." Eraserhead lets out a humph, but doesn't say anything as his own gaze returns to his monitors.
Meanwhile, beady black eyes stare nearly unblinkingly at the monitors, mouth turning up into a small smile as the last pieces of his plan fall into place. He watches as Vanguard's order is made in the little noodle stand being run by one of the third year business course students. While costumed "Villains'' wait in their designated locations, he watches as the dish is served and the chopsticks are split. There's a soft clack as the plastic cover to a button is flipped open. A small, innocuous sound but one that makes both teachers sit up straighter. On a screen, a periwinkle haired girl in an over the top villain outfit gives the camera a thumbs up. Noodles are lifted, dripping with broth and raised towards Vanguard. A small smile grows feral, sharp teeth gleaming in the light of the monitors. A paw hovers over the newly unveiled button.
"Prove yourself, Midoriya."
The paw comes down.
~~~
Sitting on the stool at the noodle stand, Izuku can't help but keep glancing around, something in his gut feeling off, aside from hunger. A subtle change that must have started from around the time he started to head here for food. Yet even as his eyes wander, nothing seems truly out of place. A trio of U.A. robots go past, dressed in improvised school girl uniforms, 'chatting' in beeps, boops and other robotic noises. Down the road, one in an apron sweeps their storefront, whistling a faint tune that carries on a light breeze.
A realization sitting at the tip of his tongue, he turns back to the chef robot and has any such thoughts blown away by the hearty scent of the broth pouring into a bowl. His stomach roars, ready and raring for the food as Izuku presses his hands together in thanks. He basks in the scents as he splits the chopsticks before reaching into the bowl with them and coming back out with a load of noodles. And just as they're about to meet his tongue, Izuku's phone shrieks in alarm, joined almost immediately after by what sounds like an air raid siren echoing out across the city. Chopsticks clatter to the table as he whips out the phone and scans the message blaring across the screen.
[Mass Villain attack in progress! All available Heroes please respond!]
Bolting upright from his stool, he calls out, "Get to somewhere safe, sir!" before dashing out from under the canopy of the stall. It's chaos outside, robots running this way and that, store shutters rolling to cover windows and doors and alarms going off everywhere. An explosion goes off in the distance, glass rattling all around as the shockwave hits but he's already on the move. Between the explosion and the flow of pedestrians, it's easy to figure out the right direction, and surprisingly easier to find a culprit.
In the middle of the road, a wolf-headed man laughs evilly, fireballs shooting from a cannon mounted over his arm. "Come on Heroes, try and stop me!" He declares as another building is engulfed in flames thanks to his weapon. Predatory eyes sweep the street before locking with Vanguard's, causing an outright feral grin to spread across their canine face. Vanguard barely has the time to react before the cannon is pointed his way and a fireball races forward.
Diving aside, he has to roll horizontally due to his shield across his back, but back on his feet, he swings the shield around to block the next shot. The villain gives an annoyed 'Tch' as their next shot dissipates against the shield harmlessly before he presses a button on the cannon. His next shot is a continuous stream of flames rather than a fireball, forcing Vanguard to hunker down and slow his charge to a crawl as the heat makes his still tender skin sting. "Is that it, Hero, you're just going to hide behind your little shield like a coward?"
'Glue Gun, no, Short Range Electro-Interference Detector, no, GPS Gear Tracker, no, Micro Turbo Fan, maybe.' Vanguard thinks, his mind running through the gadgets Mei sent him with, "Ooh, the Animorphic Stun Speaker, that might work." Waiting till the villain pauses their attack to let their weapon cool, Vanguard jumps forward the moment they do and turns on the device. A huge array of tones begin to blare from the little machine, most inaudible but even he can feel their effects. Compared to the slight discomfort and dizziness he was experiencing, however, the villain is screaming, hands clamped over his ears as he falls to his knees.
Blocking a haphazard jet of flames as he closes in, Vanguard keeps an eye on the cannon while readying his own arm mounted weapon. More flames sweep over his shield as the disoriented villain tries to line it up while Vanguard keeps stalking closer and closer. With barely a couple meters between them, Vanguard suddenly shuts off the stun speaker causing the villain to reflexively relax, more than enough of an opening for him to fire out his grapple gauntlet. The three stripes of capture cloth shoot out, converging on their target like angry snakes and as they strike, he triggers the coil signal, making the bands seek to constrict the villain. All three bands hold as he yanks back, pulling the unprepared villain off their knees and leaving them open for him to rush in.
Vanguard sprints the last of the gap, dropping his shield to instead pin down the villain and detach their flame cannon while also working his capture bands further around them. It's no Hatsume tech, so the weapon comes off easily enough, letting him shift his focus towards properly restraining them. Reaching for his cuffs, his hands meet empty space as a memory jumps to mind, his previous arrest being cuffed by him then getting carted off without returning the cuffs. The bands will hold for now at least, and digging out his phone with his free hand, it's almost fumbled as another explosion rocks the city, followed by a crash as a tall building suddenly loses a chunk of it's side when a vicious spiral of energy carves through it.
Under him, the villain bucks and struggles while laughing at the destruction while Vanguard mashes in the number for the police. There's barely half a ring before a voice comes through, "All Officers are currently occupied. Please state the nature of your emergency and we will get to you as soon as we can."
"I'm Mi-... Pro Hero Vanguard, and I have a captured criminal and need police pickup. I'm between I believe thirty-four and fourty-one block."
There's a brief relative silence, before they reply, "I'm sorry but we can't spare anyone at the moment. If you can, deliver them to a nearby precinct yourself or lock them up somewhere safe till an officer can be sent."
Another spiral of energy cuts through a building and into the sky, a flicker of familiarity jumping to Izuku's mind. Sports festival, second years, periwinkle, semi finals, a name... "Hado Nejire..."
Instantly, the villain underneath him stills, before demanding, "How do you know the boss' name?!"
About to reply, Vanguard's immediately cut off by a deluge of cotton pouring from a nearby street. Another familiar quirk, but younger, less experienced, Heroes, and yet... Pieces click and he can't help but shudder as anxiety rises and hopelessness seeks every little crack in him it can.
"You've realized it!" The villain cackles, "You realized you stand no chance. You might have stopped me, but the rest of them will crush this city and there's nothing you can do to stop them!"
"I can't..."
"Exactly, you-"
"I can't beat them but..." Making a snap decision, he pulls out his glue gun, fires two shots into the back of the stun speaker before sticking to the villain's head. "I can't just stand by and not try." Retracting his grapple gauntlet bands, he gathers his shield and the flame cannon, strapping both to his back before marching towards the field of fluff still spilling from the street even as his stomach protests with a loud growl. "Even if it's hopeless, I can't just stand by and watch when people need help!"
Despite their role in this, the Villain can't hide a tiny smile, watching the boy walk towards certain defeat, his legs trembling slightly but his shoulders squared and his head held proud. Still, they have a role to play, and with the Hero's back turned, they bolt, letting out a growl when the infernal speaker on their head doesn't come off when pulled.
"Cotton Fluff, the quirk of Fuwa Mawata, second year U.A. student. Allows for the creation and manipulation of small cotton balls, quirk limits on production have increased somewhat since I last saw it, skill and control have probably improved just as much. Stronger in enclosed spaces, but still potent in the open. Weaknesses..." Pulling out Hatsume's Micro Turbo Fan, he affixes it to his left arm as he walks, "Extremely flammable, and easily blown away by strong winds, however they have a lot of practice against both, and fire is too dangerous in the current circumstances..." Letting his lips continue to ramble through thoughts and ideas, Vanguard checks his phone for the map.
His search and muttering are cut short as flames consume the cotton in an instant, filling the street and buildings with a wave of heat. Alarms begin to blare from all over as buildings catch fire, awnings burn or melt and signs sizzle. A car comes flying down the street, tumbling end over end as the robots inside it shriek before going silent as it finally slams down upside down and half buried through a storefront. He's moving before he even notices the red liquid slowly seeping through the damaged car roof, and it only serves to hasten his steps.
Roof crumpled under its own weight, the doors refuse to budge as he slides to his knees and tries to pull them open. Crouching further to look inside, it's bad, the two in the front clearly dead, one a broken neck, the other's head split wide open. A wail from the back seat is promising, the smaller passenger there tangled up in their seatbelt, but only bleeding from superficial wounds. "I'm going to get you out of there, okay?"
"You think you can just ignore us, Hero?!" Someone calls out, trying to get his attention.
'Not Fuwa' Vanguard's mind provides, and he spares half a glance down the road, revealing as expected Fuwa, but also Okikonshu, another second year with a beetle quirk and notable strength. 'Strong enough to flip the car, but not fast. Rescue first?' Cotton begins to flow from Fuwa, so he draws forth his glue gun, aims and fires a trio of shots at a speed that'd make Snipe proud. As expected they're all blocked by compacted cotton, the sticky messes falling to the ground, but it serves its purpose as his aim swings over to dump every remaining shot into Okikonshu. The beetle boy is absolutely splattered by the glue, not enough to stop him but enough to gum up the works.
Dropping the gun, his shield and the flame cannon, he squirms into the shattered car window, drawing the hidden knife from his costume. An absolute necessity when working with capture material, it's durable and more than sharp enough to cut the seatbelt straps holding the injured victim in place. Dragging them out carefully, a huge cloud of cotton bears down on him even with how quickly he acted, forcing him to raise the Micro Turbo Fan and turn it on to repel the worst of it. Fuwa's quirk is nothing if not persistent however, and so with a grimace he shields the young victim while shoving his hand into the flame cannon to ignite the mass with a pull of the trigger.
The flash of heat is short but intense, but his costume protects him and the one beneath him from the flames none the worse for wear. Yet even as the cotton burns away, new masses are being formed from Fuwa, her limit nowhere near reached. Rising clouds of the stuff draw his attention up, but not away enough to miss Okikonshu starting a slow charge forward. Eyes darting between the clouds, the villains and the one below him, there's only one option.
Tossing the flame cannon aside, he scoops up the victim before turning and bolting away. It's clearly unexpected, as Okikonshu yells out, "What?! Hey, get back here Hero!" They quickly fall further and further behind as the glue does its job, though Fuwa doesn't seem to chase him.
Several blocks later he finally decides to slow down, and perhaps not a moment too soon.
Or maybe a moment too late.
A spiral of energy tears across the road ahead of him, leaving scorched furrows in its wake, a second doing the same behind him a moment later. "Aha, I found you Hero!" A bright and cheery voice calls out as it's owner drifts down in front of him, "My little Hench-Kohais said there was one around here!" Coasting on spirals of crackling energy, Hado floats menacingly in what must be a villain version of her Hero costume. Rather than her normal blues, it's deep black leather and latex, bristling with metal spikes and steel skulls and an overall menacing style that doesn't match the cheery-looking smile on her face. "Come on, Hero-kun, let's play!"
Glancing around quickly, Vanguard bolts behind a car not far from his position, Nejire dropping to the ground with a pout. "It's not fun if you only run away, Hero-kun~." She says, raising a hand that begins to glow with her spiraling quirk. He bursts out from the other side, both arms now free as he fires his grapple gauntlet. It's dodged as she releases a quick burst of quirk from her feet, doing a little backflip through the air and firing off the bolt from her hand at him as she lands. It's quick but easily dodged, though it hides her next move. "Tag, Gotcha!" She exclaims, appearing in front of him in a burst of movement from her quirk. A palm loaded with energy touches his chest and sends him tumbling down the road, propelled by a spiral of light.
The spiral practically drags him down half a block before dissipating enough he can tumble aside, and she's right on him before he's finished rolling. "Done already Hero-kun?" She asks, her head tilting to the side as she looks down at him with a sharp spiral curling around her finger that's pointed at his chest. Reaching for his waist, his hand is stopped by a shot blasting through his belt and scattering the contents of the pouch. "Ah ah ah, no... Is that candy?" The moment's distraction is enough for him to raise his other hand, the grapple gauntlet shooting out, only to catch nothing but air as she leaps away.
Rolling to his feet, Vanguard immediately has to roll again as a spiral curls through where he just was. Nejire stands over his snacks, his stomach growling aggressively which prompts her to laugh, "Oh ho, Is the little Hero hungry? Need some candy to fuel up?" Pointing a hand down, a vicious spiral crashes over the candy, shredding it and the concrete below while her other hand sits in front of her mouth and laughs. "Oh hohohoho!"
The momentary respite of her laughter gives him just enough time to get to his feet and glance around, looking for something, anything to help. However, despite U.A.'s attempts to flesh out the training ground, there's nothing of use nearby, even within the prop-filled storefronts. A spiral zips by his face, Nejire pouting at him while pointing. "Hey, don't ignore me, Hero-kun, it's not polite!" One pointed finger turns to ten, spirals revving up from each one.
'She's skilled, I probably won't be able to dodge... Weaken it? Lasers lose power and focus in excess humidity, her quirk is probably similar enough...' Flipping on his Turbo Fan, he grabs his remaining drink bottle and practically rips the cap off as she fires. Grape flavoured sports drink sprays through the fan, becoming a thick purple mist between him and the energy bolts before he raises his arms to block. It's not enough to stop them, but the ones that punch through the cloud are a lot wobblier and impact with reduced enough force that his costume can hold up, even if each one feels like a direct punch.
"Gotcha!" Nejire exclaims, suddenly in his face after having followed her blasts. She grabs both his arms, her quirk active and tearing through his bracers while destroying both the fan and his gauntlet. Dragging her quirk down his arms, she jumps back as he tries to kick her away, right before his gauntlet bursts. All three capture bands explode out like frenzied snakes writhing through the air, causing Vanguard to duck down and away only for Nejire to meet him there with a right hook to the jaw.
His vision swims as he meets the concrete, tumbling over the shattered remains of his support gear. Rolling to get up, something wraps around his hand as he does, coming up with him but before he can even spare a glace for it, a fist slams into his stomach causing him to double over and gag. It switches into an uppercut to his chest backed by a spiral that flings him over onto his back. Left breathless by the impact and still disoriented by the punch to the face, just about all he can do is close his eyes and catch his breath.
'This is the strength of the big three... I can't even touch her, am I really good enough to be a Hero?' he thinks, before a voice cuts through his thoughts.
"If you, who has no quirk can work hard, study, train and become a hero, then anyone can." Yu's voice declares in his head, "Kids will look at you and realize even if their quirk isn't great, or they don't have one at all, they can still be a hero if they work hard." His eyes snap open, but he can see her smile in his mind's eye. "Anyone who watched you compete should be able to see you've got the makings of a great Hero."
The cloth in his hand wriggles as his fist clenches, determination filling him as he fills his lungs. "I'm not done yet." He pants out, pushing himself to sit, then struggling up to standing. "Because a Hero can't just give up, no matter how impossible the odds." A suspiciously timed explosion in the distance doesn't even jolt him as he's fully focused on the villain in front of him.
Nejire's smile grows at his declaration, her eyes sparkling as she stares him down, observing his tattered and battered form. "Then prove it, Hero-kun, I'm right here. Stop me." Raising a hand, a massive spiral begins to form around it, pointed off at a nearby building.
A single, wobbly step gives way to a sprint while the capture cloth in his hand lashes out in a sweep. She leans back almost impossibly far, letting the fabric lash overhead before righting herself with a quirk thrust from an arm pointed back. With his other hand, Vanguard grabs everything he can from his belt and hurls it at her only for it all to be ignored save a small shift of her head to avoid a candy bar heading too close to her eyes. Barely more than half a dozen steps away, she shifts slightly and dashes in with her quirk, aiming a spiral enhanced right hook to bring him down before he can even react.
Whether experience, reflexes or just exhaustion, Vanguard ducks the punch, stepping in low and slipping around her. Wrapping his arms around the surprised Villainess's waist, he heaves up and back in a picture perfect suplex. The impact of Nejire on the pavement seems to linger for a second, shock hanging in the air before a blinding pain comes from Vanguard's side as she slams a quirk boosted jab into his kidney.
From there, it only takes a moment for her to roll off and slap some cuffs on him, ending his exam.
Notes:
God this chapter fought me forever, and came out shorter than I thought anyways. Oh well, that's how things go sometimes.
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