#shes the one who gets katsumi to join the resistance

[smoochesforghost]

heres meira!! shes cute n shes sweet n shell sweep you off your feet!!

[of-muppets-and-men]

Penumbra

Sweet Jesus... I am still alive and finally back with another chapter. Apologies once again for failing to post it here and for taking so long. 

Link here if you’d prefer AO3.

June 17th.

It had been a day like any other for Ichigo.

He was just a boy then, living his best life alongside his father, newborn sisters and his beloved mother. There was no worry, no cause for distress; just bliss. How could anything be wrong with his mother by his side? Unfortunately for the Kurosaki family, fate was not so kind as to leave them be.

One moment and life was never the same.

Even now, as a grown man, as a father, Masaki’s absence still ate away at his soul. So once again, Ichigo in front of his mother’s headstone, lamenting alone in the rain. He paid no mind to the rain beat against his umbrella or the moist fabric of his pants against his legs. Ever since he and Orihime wed, he’d make the walk to the graveyard on his own. It felt troublesome to ask his son to pay respects to a grandmother he’d never known and Orihime somehow made coming here a worse affair than it already was… So he asked her to stop.

Not that it mattered to him; he liked it better this way. A more personal touch rather than the exuberant parade his father kept on with. It was just him and her. And so he lit the incense, joining his hands in prayer.

“Hey Mom… Been another mundane year but I hope you’re doing okay. Kazui’s getting big, I wish you could’ve met him…”

The young man shut his eyes, sighing deep and heavy in the gentle yet steady wisps of rain. Eyes still closed, Ichigo’s right and slipped down the face of the grave. He traced his fingers across the damp pillar of stone, feeling every dip in the engraving when something drew his attention away. A slight chill went down his spine as he sensed the faint spiritual pressure.

Ichigo knew the signature well: A Hollow.

His days as a substitute Shinigami may have been over but that didn’t stop Hollows from roaming around Karakura. Or keep his natural-born abilities from sensing them mucking around. Ichigo felt every muscle in his body tense up, screaming at him to don Zangetsu once more. With a clenched fist, He decided it was time to return home. After all, it was no longer his place to interfere; a path long behind him now.

“Sorry, Mom. I’ll swing back around when I have the chance.” Ichigo said mournfully. He started the fair walk back to the clinic, body still in turmoil.

C’mon, it’ll only take a minute.

Coward, you’ve faced down GODS. What’s one little hollow?

His mind beckoned him to act. To make good on the vow he’d made to her all those years ago. But he resisted, persistent as his subconscious was. Although their pleas did beg the question. Who was assigned to defend Karakura from Hollows now? It certainly wasn’t he knew, otherwise they’d never leave him alone. Ichigo pretended not to care before his mind travelled elsewhere. Or more specifically, to one person in particular.

Rukia.

How was she? Was she a captain by now? Did she marry that idiot, Renji? So many questions he wanted an answer to.

It had been so long since they’d last spoken. 9 years? No, probably closer to 10 now… Not since that night after the war ended. A night that was easily one of the best of his entire life. But… it was as equally bittersweet. So many things he’d wished he’d said to her then. How different things would be if he hadn’t been paralyzed by indecision. If he’d damned all the laws of the Soul Society to let her hear those three little words.

Ichigo let his arm drop to his side, letting the rain soak the rest of him, “I am a coward…”

And so he walked home, leaving his umbrella behind. The cold drops of water streamed down his sullen face and seeped everywhere else. Ichigo had long thought the rain had disappeared, but like all the relief in his life, it was only for a few fleeting moments.

Elsewhere

Suì-Fēng kept her stance firm, eyes and ears sharp; waiting for even the slightest notion of her enemy. Sand and dirt crunched beneath her sandals as she felt a bead of sweat across her brow. The commander of the punishment force focused on every shifting shadow like a mantis hunting for prey.

“Where are you?” She whispered with an almost jovial hum.

As she uttered the last syllable, she heard the faintest shift in the stones. From above? Good strategy, the lieutenant’s mind mused.

*woosh*

The Shinigami barely had time to think as her foe lunged forward with blinding speed, thrusting their blade with determined vigor. Side-stepping the tip, Suì-Fēng flipped the assailant onto the floor then scrambled for a chokehold. Arms taut around her foe’s neck, Suì-Fēng couldn’t help but gloat.

“You’re gonna have to try harder than that if you wanna beat me, Katsumi.”

A confident chuckle passed Suì-Fēng’s lips as her Captain’s adopted daughter scowled in defeat. But as Suì-Fēng loosened her grip, Katsumi’s silhouette faded into nothing, only leaving behind a single golden ribbon.

“What?!”

“HADO 63: RAIKŌHŌ!!!”

Gray eyes shifted to the adjacent hill, just inside her blind spot. A roaring bolt of lightning surged toward the captain, caught entirely off guard. It was only Yoruichi’s reflexes that managed to get her out of the spell’s way; Suì-Fēng had the singed uniform and hair to match her luck. A Flash step later and the captain and lieutenant were clear of the blast. Its fearsome might shook the ground beneath her, sending dirt and sand asunder into the air.

“Good grief, that much damage with no incantation?” Suì-Fēng scowled, her pride undoubtedly tarnished and by a child no less.

A scoff laced with envy. In the lieutenant’s youth, such mastery and skill were demanded of her; to bring honour not only to her house but to the name Shihouin as well. And to ultimately be out done, prodigy or no, was an unforgivable grievance; at least in her mind. Suì-Fēng moped on the floor of the training hall while she watched her beloved Yoruichi call for Katsumi.

“Katsumi! That’s enough for today!” she called out, her voice faintly echoing, “Bring it in!”

In a moment’s notice, the jovial little girl appeared before her elder shinigami. Arms taut behind her back, Katsumi bobbed up and down out of sheer excitement, eagerly awaiting her mother’s praise.

“How did I do?”

“You performed magnificently, sweetheart. A solid plan with beautiful execution. Not to mention your use of Utsusemi and a high level kido spell such as Raikoho. Even some Captains have trouble utilizing those techniques.”

“Well, I did learn from the best.” Katsumi proudly announced.

Yoruichi ruffled a loving hand through her hair, “I think it’s more than that but thank you darling. Suì-Fēng? Anything you wish to add?”

Her Lieutenant sat silently for a moment, bowing her head a touch.

“Nothing, My Lady. Katsumi performed… exemplary.” The lieutenant gritted, swallowing a bit of her pride, “But don’t let this get to your head, kid…”

“That a challenge?” The girl smirked.

Suì-Fēng’s mood switched instantly back into the same annoyed grouch she always. Her eyebrows became so furrowed, Katsumi thought they might pop off her face. The younger soul kept her grin, trying desperately not to giggle; teasing Suì-Fēng being a trait Yoruichi more or less approved of.

“THAT DOES IT! My lady, would you mind if we went another round?” the petite woman hissed.

“Suì-Fēng… We have an Officer’s meeting to attend.” Yoruichi breathed, clearly exhausted by her lieutenant’s temper.

Before Suì-Fēng could retort, Katsumi beat her to the punch, “C’mon, Mom. One quick spar?”

A deep, audible sigh left the Captain’s mouth, “Ughh… Fine. Just one. Take your positions.”

The lieutenant and apprentice stood and faced one another; Suì-Fēng more than ready to showcase the full power of an officer. Yoruichi would act as their referee, hand raised in waiting.

“Begin.” as she chopped her hand.

The two clashed into a heated fistfight, each feinting and striking with lethal efficiency. Suì-Fēng poured her all into every blow in an attempt to finish this battle quickly. But try as she might, Katsumi kept up, parrying every jab and checking every kick she threw. Growing more frustrated by the second, Suì-Fēng’s blows grew more wild. How can this child possibly keep up with me? Her mind vehemently screamed. Meanwhile, Yoruichi witnessed her lieutenant’s anguish in full. If only she could tell Suì-Fēng who this girl was...

Katsumi on the other hand kept her composure, waiting, watching for an opportunity. And it would most surely come. In her fury, Suì-Fēng’s guard had become sloppy, letting Katsumi slip a spinning kick up and through it. Pegging her chin. It was enough to stun the lieutenant, allowing the young girl to sweep her off her feet.

“Enough! The winner is Katsumi.” Yoruichi announced.

In a show of sportsmanship, Katsumi offered a hand to her downed opponent, only for Suì-Fēng to knock it aside. Breaths heavy, the lieutenant shakily rose to her feet. She assumed her fighting stance again, urging Katsumi to continue.

“Again…” was all she could say. How had she progressed so much in a year?

Before Katsumi could speak or act, Yoruichi stepped in front of her, shielding her daughter from view. And her lieutenant’s stubbornness quickly turned to acquiesce. Suì-Fēng’s captain stared down upon her, eyes cold and daunting as if a member of Central 46 itself.

“Suì-Fēng. Enough. You have nothing to prove to me so let’s end this before you embarrass yourself further.” Her beloved captain reprimanded, arms crossed.

Avoiding her gaze and keeping her head low, Suì-Fēng relented, “Yes, My Lady…”

Knowing full well she couldn’t fully explain the depths of Katsumi’s heritage nor exploit Rukia’s secrets, Yoruichi sought to dismiss herself and Katsumi. Though it did sting, having to watch a dear friend go through such a pressing mental ordeal. So in an act of sympathy, the captain walked over to her defeated subordinate, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I need to take my daughter home and prepare for this afternoon’s meeting. Can I trust you to do the same?”

“Yes, Lady Yoruichi.” Suì-Fēng spoke, dutiful and precise.

Keeping her voice hushed so Katsumi wouldn’t hear, Yoruichi whispered into her lieutenant’s ear, “Don’t feel ashamed, My daughter is… Unique. One day I hope you’ll know what I mean.”

Now, more puzzled than depressed, Suì-Fēng looked up at her Captain. Her grey eyes begged for some level of clarity, but found none as amber looked back. It was a look she’d grown to know and hate. Equal parts wise and misleading. Suì-Fēng picked herself in a huff, while Yoruichi ushered for Katsumi to follow. The poor girl had patiently waited for her elders to conclude their business and was more than ready to return home. Katsumi practically pranced behind her mother, a gleeful hum on her lips.

Though her cheery demeanor didn’t last. Suì-Fēng wouldn’t meet her gaze as she passed by, out of shame or remaining slivers of pride, Katsumi could not tell. It was confusing; she wanted to feel proud of her victory but the way Suì-Fēng looked soured any attempt. The girl stopped briefly, fingers fiddling nervously as she said the only thing she could think to say.

“Sorry.”

Suì-Fēng looked back up as Katsumi ran after her mother then vanishing out of the cave altogether. Now alone with her thoughts, the lieutenant bitterly scoffed.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, kid…” fully aware no one could hear her.

***

It took practically no time at all for Yoruichi and Katsumi to reach the Shihouin Manor. The past year of these training lessons had been a strange blessing in disguise for the Commander of the Punishment Force. Helping Katsumi grow was inadvertently helping her keep up to par too. Yoruichi felt strong, perhaps even stronger than she had been against the Wandenreich. No sense of falling out of grace as she had over a century beforehand.

But aside from her own personal growth, she couldn’t help thinking about Katsumi’s. The jovial little girl holding onto her shoulders, that she watched grow since her birth, might very well become one of the strongest Shinigami in the history of the Soul Society. As Katsumi resumed humming, Yoruichi deliberated on how she stacked up to the foremost powerhouses of the Seireitei.

Zaraki and her father were monsters in their own right, but immense as their power was, it lacked any sort of refinement. Refinement Yoruichi had diligently instilled in her student. Katsumi’s reiatsu reserves likely match that of Captain Unohana herself. And while her Tōgetsu may not be a match to Ryujin Jakka or Kyoka Suigetsu, Katsumi’s creativity may yet change that still. But the scariest part was how fast she was progressing. A 10 year old girl had already outclassed the entire Shino academy, mastering Shunpo techniques, Hakuda and Zanjutsu that even took time for Yoruichi to learn. And it was only a matter of time until she learned Shunko… and Bankai.

But that train of thought would have to wait until, at least until after the meeting.

Landing in the courtyard, Yoruichi kneeled down to let Katsumi off before going inside. Apparently, her daughter had energy to spare, bolting off into the foyer with no trouble at all. Where she would bump into another member of her house.

“UNCLE YUSHIRO!” Yoruichi heard Katsumi scream, followed by a loud crash.

The Lady of the Manor rushed inside to investigate the ruckus, only to find Katsumi prancing around a half conscious Yushiro.

“Sister! You’Re BacK!” her little brother managed to say, “HoW diD tHe traINInG gO?”

“Wonderfully, Little brother.” Yoruichi chuckled, “Our little Katsumi will be a Shinigami in no time.”

“tHAT’s gREAT!!”

“Say, Yushiro? Do you mind keeping her company while I attend this Captain’s meeting? I’d rather not have Shinji make comments about me being tardy.”

Unable to speak anymore thanks to the knee to the head courtesy of his niece, but was able to give a thumbs up. Much to his dismay and Katsumi’s delight. So while their retainers iced Yushiro’s head and cleaned up yet another broken vase, Yoruichi went to her room to switch into her more formal Captain’s attire. The baggy sleeves of her Shihakusho and Haori always bothered her, hence why she wore them so little. And already dreading the likely boring proceedings ahead of her, she made her way to the front door.

Yoruichi stood by the foyer, hands tucked in her sleeves as she called out, “Katsumi! I’m leaving now!”

“Coming!”

The voice started off faint but then materialized along Katsumi, who Flash Stepped into view. Without a second to spare, Katsumi leaped into her mother’s open arms, embracing her as tightly as her arms would allow.

“I’ll be home soon, Okay? Don’t burn the house.” Yoruichi joked lovingly.

“No promises.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

One tender kiss to the cheek later and Yoruichi was off, while Katsumi disappeared back into the Manor.

*** Yoruichi soared above the Seireitei, feeling the wind and crisp air flow through uniform. The Shinigami very nearly forgot how beautiful the afternoons were here, particularly from such a vantage point. But alas, she drew her gaze towards the first division barracks; her destination.

The flash goddess nimbly landed upon one of the railings, much to the shock of one Renji Abarai; the shock of her arrival almost made him spill his tea. With a second to catch his breath, he watched as Yoruichi coyly leaned against the very same railing.

“Hey, Renji. Rukia around?”

“Do you always have to appear out of nowhere? And yes, she’s already inside.” Renji griped.

“Lovely. C’mon, before she starts complaining.”

The lieutenant of squad 6 lazily followed his old friend inside, but not before rolling his eyes at her disregard for protocol. Even though she’d been reinstated as Captain of Squad 2 and had been for a decade now, Yoruichi still felt alien walking through the old halls of the first division. As did Renji; it was rare for lieutenants to accompany their captains to such meetings, let alone now, given meetings barely happened at all. The pair walked in silence, until Renji piped up with a pressing question of his.

“Do you know what this meeting is for?” Renji suddenly asked.

“Well, One thing is the exoneration of Kisuke and his reinstatement if that succeeds but I’m not aware of anything else.” Yoruichi explained.

“Is that right? Think they’ll give him back his position as Captain?”

“I don’t know… It’s possible but I don’t see Kurotsuchi taking that lying down.”

A shiver ran down both their spines; Mayuri was more than capable of making cockroaches uncomfortable. He was a genius, no doubt about it, but… the lines he’s willing to cross for his own ends. The otherwise emotionally inept Renji saw Yoruichi’s shoulders tense with the mention of Kisuke. A sharp exhale through his nose prompted the Lady to prod for an answer.

“What are you snorting about?”

“It’s nothing. Just never seen you flustered about anything before. But to think it would about Kisuke of all people.” Renji leered, very much enjoying being on the opposite end of teasing.

Although a quick jab to his ribs changed his tune just as quickly.

“His banishment was unjust. I’m thankful that others are beginning to see that now…” Yoruichi explained, failing to conceal a smile on the edge of her lips.

The pair made their way through the winding corridors to the Main Hall, avoiding the gawking of unranked Squad members. Renji, still rubbing his side, was glad to see Yoruichi in such high spirits, given the cruel and often unforgiving nature of the Soul Society.

They reached the entryway to hear the resonant chatter of the other Officers. Most were accounted for; Squads One through Eleven were present, though Rukia was noticeably missing from the roster. Odd, Yoruichi thought to herself but whatever. Yoruichi took her place amongst the rows, beside Byakuya and Toshiro. It was then Head-Captain Kyoraku appeared before the rest of his cohorts, lax as he always was.

“Thank you all for gathering here in such a timely fashion,” Shunsui began, “I’m sure most of the Captains here are aware of the reason for this meeting: the exoneration of one Kisuke Urahara. But before that matter, It’s my honor to introduce the new Captain of Squad 13:  Rukia Kuchiki.”

The room filled with officers erupted in shock and surprise as Rukia entered the room, though not yet in an official Haori. Yoruichi and Renji stared at one another in disbelief; somehow she neglected to tell them either of them her ploy.

“Now today is not her official promotion, but as witnessed by myself, Captain Kuchiki and Captain Kotetsu, Rukia has completed the Captain’s Proficiency Test. So a big round of applause to our dear Rukia.”

Isane did not meet Yoruichi’s piercing stare, nor did Rukia. Rukia only mouthed a single word to her confidant and husband.

Surprise.

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia – Chapter 74: 10 Short Films about 1-A

Presenting the next installment of my on-going, nextgen, MHA fic! Earlier chapters can be found here

“What’re you watching, dork?”

Toshi looked up from his desk to see his sister, Hana, standing in the doorway.  “Oh, just a video Shota sent over.  He wanted to know what I thought.  It’s Sequoia Rose and Kestrel fighting some of the Sons of Stain… Looks like they were planning some kind of raid on the local Agencies before they routed them out.”

It was a pretty impressive fight.  But the Sons of Stain were no joke; they were followers of the late Hero Killer, who still believed Hero Society was corrupt and worked to bring it down.  There was something very satisfying about seeing them get beaten.

Hana rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how you can just watch all that stuff in your free time.  Dad’s a Hero.  Mom’s a Hero. More than half the adults we know are Heroes.  You’re studying to be a Hero and so are all your friends!  Don’t you get tired of it?”

“No?” he tried. “It’s just all… so cool!  Besides, Rose and Kestrel are still pretty young!  There’s a good chance I might get to work with them someday, so it helps to know about…” She rolled her eyes again and Toshi trailed off.

“Do you even hear yourself?”

“You know,” he said, “just because you pretend you’re too cool for this kind of stuff doesn’t make you cool.  We used to watch videos together with Dad!  You used to run around in a Froppy onesie!”

Hana looked him dead in the eyes.  “Meh.” He actually felt a chill go down his spine, but pressed on.  

“Oh, come on!  You wanted to be a Hero when you were little! What changed, Hanners?  Your Quirk’s way stronger than Grandma’s! It’d be perfect for Hero work!”

“Maybe I don’t want to spend my life beating people up, dork!  You ever think of that?” Hana looked annoyed.  He’d known for a while now her interest in Heroes or in being one had been waning, but her disinterest seemed to have picked up speed since she became a teenager.  She did want to be a doctor, which was still helping people, but…

“But you could be a Rescue Hero, like Mom!  Or a Medical Hero, like Aunt Eri!  Your Quirk would be great for that!  You could move rubble or people, maybe even help with injuries....”

Hana pointed at him and he felt a slight shove in his chest, nearly knocking him out of his chair.   “Tosh,” she said. “Let it go.  Not everybody wants that life.”

“Even with a punch like that…” Toshi began, but the fire in her eyes silenced him.  “Okay, okay.  I’ll let it go.”   He smiled. “You know we’ll all be proud of you, no matter what you do, right?”

There was another eyeroll.  “Could you be any sappier?  I’m surprised you aren’t crying.”

“I don’t cry that much!”

“Suuuure….”

“But you know, though,” he said, “Aunt Eri and Katsuma got through med school way faster with way less debt…”

***

“You’re what?” Katsumi growled, staring at Dad.

Dad looked up from where he was packing his suitcase.  “Going to the Training Camp,” he said.  “The other teachers think it’ll be a good idea if I go and get an idea of what you kids can do.”

She threw up her hands in irritation.  “And you were planning on telling me this when?”

He shrugged.  “Didn’t find out until a couple days ago.”   He’d been commuting back and forth to U.A. a lot lately, getting things set up so he could start teaching the next term.  She still wasn’t sure how she felt about that or how she felt about having him around and in her space that often.  “And I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”

Scratch that.  She was relieved to still have him around after his injuries.  But she still wasn’t sure how she felt about him being their teacher.  Aunt Itsuka was a homeroom teacher, not a subject teacher, so it probably wasn’t as bad for Kana as this would be, but maybe she’d talk to her and see how she dealt with it.

She crossed her arms. “So you’re leaving Tai alone with Papa to eat take out the whole time we’re gone?”

He gave her a look. “I’m not that dumb.  Tsukushi’s given them a standing invitation to dinner while we’re gone.  She’ll make sure they’re fed.”  

Leaving Papa and her little brother to the Monomas?  Dad was desperate.   Well, Papa and Tsukushi got along.  And Tai loved Takeru.  It was really only Dad and the elder Monoma who fought, usually over stupid stuff like hedges and an ever escalating “niceness” war that probably wouldn’t end even when they moved.

“Don’t worry,” Dad said. “I’ll give you your space.  I’m not going to be looking over your shoulder the whole time or anything.”

She held his gaze, then shrugged.  It wasn’t like she had anything to hide anyway.  It was just the principle of the thing.  “Yeah, all right.”

He grinned after that. “Don’t think I’m going to go easy on any of you, though.”

“Wasn’t asking you to.”

“Not even Izumi.”

The words caught in her throat.  She could handle All Might pushing them.  His jocular demeanor meant that even when he was driving them the hardest, it was hard to get mad at him.  Even Aizawa’s pushing was a serious, focused thing.

Dad would push as hard of any of them, probably harder.  It was, she admitted, what they all needed, how nuts things were right now.  He’d force them to go beyond their limits, because he knew no other way.

Could she handle seeing her best friend pushed like that?  She’d been trying hard to let Izzy face her own challenges and not step in immediately to protect her.  Even since the Sports Festival, she’d been more acutely aware of how Izzy could take care of herself.  Dad knew that about her.

“She’ll appreciate that.” She’d have to try and do the same.

***

KA-BOOM!

The device exploded, leaving a large scorch mark on the opposite wall of the testing range.  Automated systems activated, with arms extending from the wall and spaying fire-suppressant foam over the flames. Later, a cleaning robot would emerge and take care of the mess.

Flipping up her protective mask, Mother let out a laugh.  “Aw, I thought for sure that baby was going to work!  But didja see the size of that explosion!  Wowee!”

Sora joined her in the laugh.  “Most spectacular!” she agreed.  “Perhaps we should adjust the fuel to power ratio by twenty-percent for the next version?”

Her brother shook his head. “If we are intended to make a rocket-propelled gauntlet for our costumes, then we will require sufficient force to do any damage.  Better to reinforce the material to survive the forces involved.”

He was incorrect about that. “Material strength will only go so far,” she told him.  “And reinforcing the material will add additional weight, which will diminish speed.”

The incorrectness persisted. “Incorrect,” he said.  “The advancements being made with lightweight alloys should prove sufficient to…”

Both of them frowned, then turned to face Mother.  At the same time, they began, “Mother tell him/her that I am correct!”

Mother let out another laugh.  “Babies, babies, babies,” she said.  “I think it’s adorable when you have a science fight.  And as much I’d love to weigh in on this one…”   The clock on her design desk chirped with an alarm.  It was loud, shrill, and impossible to ignore.   Father had insisted on her having one like that.  It would even trigger back-up alarms if not silenced with the correct passcode.  It was ultimately necessary to allow Mother proper time-keeping.

She silenced the alarm. “I promised your father I would have you both in one place so he could talk to you.”

At that, the door to the lab snapped open and Father walked in.  He had his projector laptop under one arm.  Sora looked at Tensei nervously.  It was rarely a good sign when he brought that out.  It would mean he had a topic for discussion that he considered important enough to require slides.  

Father regarded them seriously and set his laptop up.  He pushed his glasses up his nose.  “As you know, you will be leaving on Monday for the two week Training Camp.  While I trust Aizawa and your other chaperones to maintain order, I also still remember the third year camp my own class undertook.   Denki and Kyoka were somehow able to sneak away to go skinny-dipping.  The resultant pregnancy scare that resulted a few weeks later is not something I wish to see repeated with either of you or your class.”

Tensei brought a hand up.  “Father, seeing as how Takuma and I are both male, that would be a highly unlikely outcome, should we choose to engage in such behavior.”  He went a bit red.  “Even though we will not.  May I be excused from this discussion?  It seems as though it would be better focused on Sora.”

The traitor!  She made a mental note to hide his soldering kit later.

Mother, however, just shook her head.  “Let him have this.  He spent all of his last day off making these slides.  I tried to distract him, but he resisted my feminine wiles.”

“Mei!” Father erupted. “That is not an appropriate thing to say!”

“I thought it tied right in, Tenny.”

Father went a bit red, as he often did when Mother teased him.  “Regardless,” he said, “as you are both now in relationships, I feel this next stage of talks to be highly necessary.”

The presentation projected from the laptop’s holograph lens began with Relationships: How to Make Smart Decisions That Will Ensure a Successful Future for You and Your Partner.  Looking carefully, she could see the slide was numbered as one of one hundred fifty.

It was going to be one of those presentations then. Father certainly did love to lecture. Takuma, she understood, but how could he not trust Toshi?

“Perhaps we should be taking notes?” Sora ventured.  “But I believe I left pen and paper in my room.  I should go and get them!”

“As should I!” Tensei agreed quickly.  

Father seemed to be searching their faces for signs of deception, but nodded.  “Very well,” he said.  “Ten minutes, then we will begin!”

More than enough time. She ran out of the lab as fast as her legs would carry her, Tensei hot on her heels.  

***

Carefully, Kimiko closed her suitcase.  She had enough clothes to get her through the Training Camp and a few of the medical textbooks Doctor Izumi had provided her with.  According to Doctor Izumi, since she was progressing well with her studies, she’d be able to receive additional medical training at the camp.  The studying was often long and arduous and cut into her gossip-wrangling time, but she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t also rewarding.  It was an application of her Quirk that didn’t involve sneaking around, didn’t make being invisible the be-all and end all of what she was.

There was a knock on her door.  “Come in, Daddy,” she said.

Her door slid open as Daddy padded inside.  He smiled. “How’d you know it was me, ‘miko?” As always, he was able to look her right in the eyes, something almost no one else could.  Even Kenta had trouble with it sometimes.

“Pretty distinctive knock,” she told him.

Daddy smiled again. “You’re getting good at observing,” he said.  He nodded towards the shelf where some of her medical books still were.  “You’re getting good at lots of things.”

“Oh, Daddy,” she said. “You’re going to make me blush!”

He chuckled at that. “You’ve got everything you need? Sunscreen?  Extra changes of clothes?  Reflectors?”

“Yes, yes, yes, …wait, no!”   Kimiko ran to her dresser and pulled out her reflective headband, armbands, and gloves.  They were useful when she was going places in the dark, otherwise it was very hard to see just her clothing.  They stood out when she couldn’t.

She stashed them in her suitcase.  “Whew! You’re a lifesaver, Daddy!”   She threw her arms around him in a hug.

“Offf!”  Daddy grunted, returning the hug.  “I still need to breathe, ‘miko!”

She let go, but gave him an affectionate punch on the arm.  “Oh, Daddy!”

“Smart, pretty as your mother, and a heck of a right hook,” Daddy said, beaming.  “No wonder you’re going to make a great Hero.”

“Daaaaaddy!” she wailed, arms flailing.  “You’re too much!”

“I’m just telling the truth.”

He always did believe in her.  When she’d told her parents she wanted to be a Medical Hero, get her paramedic’s license, they’d both been supportive, but Mom had been more cautious, telling her about all the hard work that would be involved.  But Daddy, Daddy had immediately thrown his full support behind her.

She gave him another hug. “Thank you.”

After the hug, he crossed his arms.  “Now, you’re going to behave yourself on this trip?”

“Of course, Daddy!”

“You’re going to pay attention to Aizawa and the other teachers?”

“Of course, Daddy!”

“Not going to hit your friends too much?”

“…I’ll try, Daddy!”

“Not going to spend the whole time shipping your classmates and friends?  Or trying to arrange a ‘summer romance?’”

“…I’m only human, Daddy.”

“’miko…” he began, a chastising tone in his voice.

“Fine,” she said, stomping her foot.  “I’ll try and keep it to a minimum.”

“That’s all I ask.”

***

Shopping in the upscale boutique, Takiyo reached for the designer shirt. Another hand did so at the same time. Wrapping his glowing fingers around one side of the hanger, he tried to take it.  But the other hand, ending in sharp looking claws, wrapped around the other side and tugged too.

He looked to his right and shot them a glare, finding a boy his age, with a mane of purple hair and a feline-ish cast to his face.  He was very pretty, with a style that suggested the kind of trying too hard to look like he wasn’t trying hard to look that good. “Pardon,” Takiyo said, “I had it first.”

“Oh, please,” the boy said.  “I saw it first.  It’ll look better on me anyway.”

Takiyo wondered if he could distract the boy by using his Quirk like a laser-pointer, but he doubted he was cat-like enough for that.  “There must be something wrong with your eyes if you think that’s true.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he said, his yellow, vertically-pupiled eyes moving quickly.  He tapped a finger against his chin. “U.A. student, right? First year?  I do remember seeing a glowing boy during the Sports Festival.”

Takiyo’s thoughts darkened at that.  He hadn’t stood out nearly as much as he would have liked and he was certain he’d only ended up on an Internship with Cellophane because the class’s parents had arranged for no one to be left out.  Still, if he had made enough of an impression for someone else to remember, even someone infuriating…

He put his free hand on his hip.  “If you remember me, then you should remember how stunning I am.”  He almost regretted his words.  He had told Koda he was trying to be nicer to people.  She would be disappointed in him and he hated to think of that.  He could already see her disappointed face in his mind…

The boy shook his head, sending his mane waving in what had to be a practiced motion.  “You keep telling yourself that.”  He snapped his fingers, then licked his lips. “Now the boy who took first… that’s a different story.  Though my friend was rather partial to the girl who took second.  But nobody was talking about you, honey.”

Neither of them had let go of the shirt in the meantime.  It was the last one left in that color and style and he was not backing down.  “Regardless,” Takiyo said, “none of it changes the fact that I had my hand on this first.  It’s mine.”

The cat-boy laughed, but did release his grip on the shirt.  “I suppose it’s the duty of the pretty to do everything they can to help the less fortunate.  And you, my friend, need a lot of help.”

Takiyo gritted his teeth, feeling his glow intensify for a moment.  “Must you be so infuriating?” he demanded.  

The boy laughed as he walked away.  “Oh, you’ll see just how infuriating I can be, honey.”

What did that mean?

***

“Up!  Up!”

Takuma looked down to see his little sister, Moji, tugging at his pant leg.  She looked a lot like a miniature version of Mom, with pinkish skin and horns, topped by dark, fluffy hair.  At only two, she didn’t have a Quirk yet, but he was sure it would be trouble, whatever it was.

With a grunt, he bent down and picked her up.  She wrapped her arms around him and he planted a kiss on top of her head, causing her to giggle.  “Did you come to see your favorite big brother? Or did you just want a snack?”

She gave this serious consideration.  “Snack!”

Takuma laughed and shifted her so he was only holding her with one arm.  “Okay, hang on, I think we’ve got goldfish crackers around here somewhere… Assuming Mom hasn’t eaten them all.”  At four months pregnant with twins (Or as Dad like to refer to them, “Players to be named later.”), Mom had developed a lot of cravings.

“Snack?” Moji repeated, more insistently.  She had a bit of a one track mind sometimes.

“I’m getting it,” Takuma told her, finding the small serving pouches.   He set her down, ripped the top off, and handed it to her.

“Snack!” Moji said again. “Thank you!” Her cravings satisfied, she walked off, leaving him alone in the kitchen.   She dodged around Mom as they passed each other in the doorway.

“Hard to believe you used to try and sell your brothers,” she said.

“In my defense, Kenta really wanted a brother.  He would have liked Yamato.”

“You’re not going to try and sell the twins, are you?”

He shook his head. “Nah.  I’ll be out of the house by the time they’re old enough to be trouble.”

“You will, won’t you?” Mom asked.  “Hard to believe you’re almost sixteen.  I must have done something right.  Tsu and Momo were so worried when I had you!  They were afraid I’d leave you at the park or something!  As if!  That only happened two times.”

“Three,” he corrected. “It was raining.”

“Meh, who’s counting.” She crossed the room and pulled a container of ice cream from the freezer.  Mom grabbed a spoon and proceeded to eat directly from it.   She gestured with her spoon.   “So how’s things going with you and Tensei?  Good?  Tell me it’s good.  In-Laws with the Iidas?  Mama’s gonna have a nice retirement!  You know, Training Camps are great for cementing relationships…”

Takuma felt himself flushing a deep purple.  “Nope, nope, nope, not having this conversation!”

Mom cackled at his discomfort.  “Oh, come on. You can’t possibly be traumatized by this.  Your dad and I have always been very frank about sex.”

Too frank, really. And with four siblings and two on the way, too often too.  “Nope, nope, can’t talk, gotta go upload my last video!”

Not entirely a lie; he wouldn’t be able to upload anything while at the camp.  Two weeks without external validation from strangers?  He was gonna die!

***

The Anivoice Agency was not a large organization, but the building was significant.  This was because the ground floor contained an animal rehabilitation center.  Most of the animals had been seized from trafficking operations.  Father was frequently called upon to rehabilitate the animals before they were returned to the wild.  

While there were employees charged with caring for the animals, Father also liked to spend time with them.  Akaya had many memories of helping and was accompanying him today.

They paused before a large enclosure holding a gigantic beast, combining the features of many animals. “How are you, Manny?” Father asked. “Feel like talking?  No?  Okay, let me know if you do…”

Manticore made a soft rumble.  He had been in Father’s care for ten years and was barely closer to regaining his humanity than he’d been the day he arrived.  Yet Father tried.  

Father turned to her. “Looking forward to the Camp?” With other people, Father often had trouble finding his words, but never with her or her mother and brother.

What could she tell him? That the words that had shattered her during her Internship still haunted her? That her classmates were all finding themselves in relationships, while no one had expressed any interest in her? That she was certain that no one would look upon her with romantic eyes?

“I am,” she said.  Not entirely a lie.  She could throw herself into being a Hero. And there would be plenty of time to spend with her friends.  It did not do to devote oneself entirely to romantic pursuits.  Father and Mother had not even begun dating until they had graduated.

She had time.  She could tell herself that.

“I’m glad.”  Father was also not one to push, preferring instead to simply listen.  

Her faith taught her honesty…

“I’m not,” she said. “I haven’t felt truly glad for a long time.”

“I know,” he said. “We were worried you would never tell us.”

“You knew?” she asked.

“You’re like me, easy to read,” he said.  “Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“It began during my Internship.”  She told him all that had happened.

“I’m sorry you went through that,” he said. She could tell he was pushing down anger on her behalf. “The world’s filled with too many people filled with hate.  But love wins.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It did for me.  For Grandma. For her father. Our skin is stone, but our heart still feels.  We’ve all felt it.  You’ve already braver than I was at your age.  Stronger too. I know someone will see you for the amazing person you are.”

“Would that I could be so certain.”

“It will get easier.  Someone will see you and just go ‘wow.’”

“Do you truly think so?”

“I know it.”

She wished she could believe it so easily.  Something about the way Father said it made it sound possible.  “Okay.”

For a moment, the world was all right.  Manticore cooed encouragingly.  “Thank you, Manny,” she said.

***

“It’ll be fine, Mom,” Daisuke said, sitting at the kitchen table, sipping tea.  Mom sat across from him, likewise drinking tea, a nervous look upon her face.  Dad was at work.  

Mom was a tiny woman, dark-haired and serious.  She had an arm-stretching Quirk and had been a graduate of U.A.’s General Education program. She worked in finance, well away from the world of Heroes.  And she was worried.  It didn’t show on her face, but he could tell by the subtle way her teacup shook in her hands, the way her arms kept ever so slightly lengthening and then retracting to their normal length, the way she was blinking too much, her breaths quick and shallow.

“The first time your dad went away to a training camp,” Mom said, setting her cup down, he lost a hand, most of his classmates were injured, Bakugo was kidnapped, and Fumikage almost was too.”

“The hand…”

“And don’t say the hand grew back!”

“…Yes, Mom.”

Mom frowned.  “I’m sorry.  I’m just…  I’m not like Tsu or all the other spouses.  I’m not a Hero.  I worry enough about your dad when he’s out there.  Haru gets it, Mei a little, but… I remember how worried I was when the news broke about what happened at the Training Camp… I don’t think I slept a wink until he called.”

“It’s not going to be like that,” he told her.  “One, there’s no Villains after us.  Two, even if there were, Tokoyami’s Quirk isn’t like her dad’s and wouldn’t go berserk no matter what else happened.  And three, anyone who kidnapped Kirishima-Bakugo would return her within the hour.”  No offense meant to his explosive classmate, but she would be far more trouble to kidnap than anyone would want to deal with.

Mom frowned at that. “I know.  Just promise me you’ll be careful, all right?  Even with your teachers watching out for you, you’re going to be out in the middle of nowhere.  If somebody gets hurt…”

Mom worried a lot.  It was easy to forget sometimes, how many people didn’t have powerful Quirks, how many people weren’t Heroes.  At U.A., it was a bit of an insular bubble for his class, the children of so many Heroes who’d not only grown up as friends, but were all concentrated in one place.  People like his mom had to worry more about Villain attacks, about who would help if something went wrong, about who would get hurt.

His Quirk and his strength made him a frontline fighter and a brawler.  She would worry about him getting hurt no matter what.  But how could he not put his skills to use?  His Extendo-Arms might not have been as flashy as the majority of his classmates’ Quirks, but he had the right skills and the right Quirk to be the right person for someone who needed a Hero.  He didn’t seek fame or glory.  He just wanted to help.  It was enough.

“I promise, Mom,” he said.

***

“Can we have Mighty Burger for dinner?” Taki asked.  Asuka’s dark-haired younger brother was the only one in the family to look entirely human. Though the eleven year old’s shadow never quite seemed to match his movements.

“Yeah!” Nanami added. Her nine year old sister’s wings flapped furiously, though not quite enough to get her off the ground.  

“That would be good,” Asahi said.  Her frog-faced brother, all of thirteen, had not picked up the moodiness that some teens seemed to.  If anything, he was too well-behaved.

With Mom at sea and Dad at work, it was left to her to manage her younger siblings.  Normally, Asahi would be in charge since she’d started UA, but as long as she was there, she was drafted into the role of caretaker.  Not that she minded.  She had already done so before attending U.A and had been doing so for much of the Summer break.  They’d spent much of the afternoon at the library, so that Nanami could check out books and so that Asahi could begin to do research for a project he would have in his next school term, and were now walking home.  

“I don’t think so,” she said.

“Mighty Burger!” Taki insisted.

“Mighty Burger!” Nanami said.

“Mighty Burger!” Even Asahi was joining in now.

Asuka felt the familiar sensation of Frog-Shadow leaving her body.  “Mighty Burger!” Frog-Shadow insisted, joining in the now repetitious chorus of wanting to get take out.

“We have food at home,” she said firmly, using the same tone of voice her mom used to manage them. “I’m making pasta for dinner.”

Frog-Shadow zipped and around and hovered right in front of her beak, eyes wide and pleading.  “Pleeeeeease,” her familiar begged.  “They’ve got Hero Babies toys in the kids’ meals!  I wanna get Baby Ground Zero before they discontinue it!”

“…Why do you know any of that?” Asuka demanded.

“Because Toshi told you about it and I know everything you know.”

Asuka squeezed her eyes shut tightly.  Ever since she had almost lost her, she had made a greater effort to include Frog-Shadow, allowing her to roam freely and speak to her more often.  It had, by and large, been going quite well.  Being included more often had tamed some of her childish impulses, though it seemed that it was still an uphill battle.

“I’m pretty sure you’re outvoted, Asuka.” Taki said.  The shadows around him rippled a bit.

Asahi just laughed, a low, croaking sound that flared his throat pouch.  “Hey now, Mom and Dad left her in charge.  If she says we’re having pasta, then we’re having pasta.”

There were now four pairs of eyes staring at her.  She should be strong.  She should be tough.  She was the responsible adult here.  If she could wrangle her classmates as Vice-Representative, then she should certainly be able to handle her family as eldest child.

And perhaps if she flapped her arms hard enough, she could learn to fly without Frog-Shadow.

“Fine.  Mighty Burger!”

***

“Hi!  Welcome to the Nice Guy Convenience Store!  Let me know if you need help with anything!”  Isamu said to the customer who had just entered.  Ever since he’d returned from I-Island—and he still couldn’t believe everything he’d become privy to during that time—he’d been working in his dad’s store, pitching in where he could.  It was nice and normal and grounding.  The woman grunted and nodded in acknowledgement.

Weird. The dark-haired woman looked familiar.  Where had he seen her before?  That was going to bug him until he figured it out.  She headed to the back to pick up a handful of ready-made frozen meals and a six pack of energy drinks.  

The woman seemed to be eyeing him as well when she returned to the front.  As he was ringing her up, she asked, “U.A. kid, right?  One of Eraserhead’s brats?”

“Ah, yes, ma’am,” he said. Was she a Pro-Hero?  He didn’t think so, though she could have been an Underground Hero.  But not that many people would know who Aizawa was, even if his own face had been on practically every television in Japan during the Sports Festival.

That, mercifully, had started dying down.  The U.A. Sports Festival was a major event, but compared to daily Hero fights and premieres, it was easy to get forgotten by anyone who wasn’t a diehard fan.  

Was he in danger? He let one of his hands behind the counter.  Slowly, he began charging up an energy pulse, just in case he needed it.  He just needed to keep his face neutral…

“Thought I recognized you,” she said.  “You’re the zippy kid who tackled me at the last second.”

Isamua’s eyes went wide. Shadow-Thief?  She was on parole, right?  Aizawa said they earned their paroles…

“Yeah,” he said.  Should he apologize?

She shrugged.  “Just didn’t expect to see any Hero kids working a regular job.  I thought all you Hero types had rich families.”

“Not a Hero family,” he said.  “Just me.”

“They stuck you with all those Hero kids?” Shadow-Thief asked.  “What the hell?  That ain’t exactly fair to you, is it?”

“I’ve already learned a lot from them.”  Isamu shrugged.  A sudden and rare burst of confidence filled him.  “And besides… I think I’m doing all right for myself.”  Sports Festival winner, Intern with Deku, “Hero” of I-Island, even if he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that last one, especially the paycheck that had shown up from the Mighty Agency for “services while deputized” with way too many zeroes in it.  At least that adventure had been kept out of the news.  

Shadow-Thief laughed at that.  “You, you’re all right, kid.”  She took the bag with her purchases in it and headed for the door.  “Stay in school kid.  I wanna get to say I was your first take down someday.”

What did it say about his life that getting encouragement from a former Villain was not the strangest thing to have happened to him?

[melancholic-cloud]

I think we should rule out commitment for now, cause we’re falling apart | François | CHP6 Trial ATTN: ALL

He paused to at least break everything up, his throat was dry and he was still bitter and angry. He really wanted to be done with this already but pausing was necessary. “In VR there was the chapel, which caused physical sickness, and had a monitor in the cell Sachiko died in showing off her death. She was lying on the ground tied up in vines, covered in cuts and water and looking to be in immense pain. A shotput ball tied to a vine falls on her head. It stays on her like that for a second then loops. After we turned away from where her body was located the fake body fell down from wherever in the exact spot we found her. This repeats for all the rooms that we found bodies in, and also the game modders room where you can put your minifigure in the Observatory to activate Ochako’s death monitor and a minifigure of her body drops in her stead. The acting room also had the sickness there. But it was near the monitor for building sets, about right beside it, and like a fool I forgot to check it for anything. I just wanted out of there after the body appeared. On top of the fixer’s room’s desk was the contact card for Taro. Taro, strength hacking, weakness contained in the Game Modder Room. In the cabinets were more cards, some recognizable.”

Another short pause before a rapid fire. “Sasaki, specialties: hacking, information gathering; weaknesses doesn't work in person, difficult to contact. Katsumi Sakamoto, specialties heavy lifting, hacking, dagger throwing; weaknesses difficult to convince to help you, has difficulty being involved with death. Hozuki Sakamoto, specialties speed, sniping, has her own equipment; weaknesses child and stands out, bad for crowd stealth. Tatsuki Yanagi, specialties connections, dagger throwing; weaknesses old and retired from yakuza work, will not act directly. Sasaki Yuzuki, specialties hand-to-hand combat, disarming, and interrogation assistant; weaknesses easily angered, and has a hard time removing emotions from work. Takara Hiiragi, specialties sword-wielding and melee combat; weaknesses well-known, difficult for low-profile jobs, and is not good with public speaking. Kosei Yosano, specialties will do just about anything for the thrill of it, and is athletically capable; weaknesses does not reliably follow orders, is prone to backstabbing. Campana Suona, specialties thievery and stealth; weaknesses known for deserting, is distractible.”

“Moving to the the game modders room, the VR pod was open and running. The game inside was 'Taro Simulator', and playing the game revealed that the arch nemesis asked Taro 'their little hacker friend' to help them with a death game. From the sounds of it they may have lied to get their way, since telling the truth gets you a bad end. The informants room caused a little bit of sickness, and that would be because the dresser in there had this lock box-” he didn’t bother being gentle, practically tossing the locked box onto the floor. “It has an electronic lock. Being in the first aid room causes actual physical pain, not the sickness from the other rooms, but nothing else was in there. In the zoo keepers room you spawn in the middle of an enclosure between two cages. A cage with a black bear, and a cage with a bear and a rabbit. In the teachers lounge on top of the foosball table was what looked like a deck of cards. White box saying nothing but ‘outside’ on it, and inside the code cards. Double sided, one side red one blue. 'Where would your contacts put the curtain? - Anonymin Theatre' was the message. Inside with the cards was also the keycard to the lock box.” One again he opens the lock box, pulling out the gun. He considers tossing it out on the floor but it would be a shame if it went off and shot two people. “The gun has a barrel on each side, meaning shooting it would shoot yourself. It’s a handgun, and it’s loaded.”

Criss, he really wished he brought at water bottle, talking this much well this full of rage was taxing. It left his stomach unsettled, slightly more than the damn box and gun. “The art room also caused some sickness, being caused by the window in the back. You could open the window and walk right through. From there you’re in a white passageway and then it ends in a room. There is only a table and chair in the room, and under the table is carved ‘Chris Eades-Kiane King-Hisako Inoue-Isamu Kimura’. In the library we found these authors in the catalogues. C.E. Life and Freedom; K.K. Astonished, Picturesque, and Vanished; H.I. Those Who do not Study History and Thrice in a Lifetime; I. K. Always, All Ways. Life and Freedom is a memoir, and is in non-fiction. The other three are YA. The clue I got from the machine gave us the right names. Walking near the books they pours out a sick feeling, and opening them to the right pages caused clicking noises. Opening all of them to the right pages caused the secret room at the top of the library to open. You walk through a pitch black hallway and then are greeted with ‘the hell room’. The entire room, furniture included, were grayscale. There were a few couches sitting around a large coffee table in the center of the room. On the coffee table, there was a ransom note reading, 'Hell.' A flat screen TV hung from one of the walls, and some potted plants decorated the rest of the room. In one of the potted plants there is a pistol loaded with one bullet. A camera hung over the TV. There is a door and an access point in there. The TV screen once turned on had a slightly staticy black background with red comic sans text over it saying 'see you in hell'. The camera above the TV had a red blinking light on it, maybe meaning it was on. It was completely attached to the wall. Maybe that was where the  videos Xeno took were recorded, who knows. The access point was like the others except that we didn't have permission to use it.”

“In the waiters room if you turned on the button a simulation would start were two people there to eat a meal with each other both had nut allergies. Then they they both try to order each other food with nuts in them. Bringing them the food kills them. The poet’s room was set to the loneliness setting, upon entering. That cancels out all senses other than touch. In the theatre you could check the movie listings and find untitled 1 through 4. Xeno addresses the world talking about Reina's death. They say everyone should know that it's another killing game. They say they are the one behind the last two, and this one. They say 'I am the one that will destroy this world, and all living upon it. I am the one pulling all the strings, manipulating this world into its current state. The Despair Movement, the Resistance. Everything belongs to me. I am Xeno.' Then they same they won't just do killing games using HPA students, but with 'the rest of the world' until their demands are met. Then they cop out and don't say the demands. They say they want to know what people think their demands are and to offer them what they can. Then they start the next one with 'what's up bastards?  It's your favourite motherfucker Xeno' as if they were not trashy enough. They were like a different person in this one though, the first they were all ridiculously over the top but serious anime villain and this time they sound like some let's player or something. All high energy and 'hip' slang. 'The way the most of you ignored me earlier isn’t cool, you know?' Ugh. Then they yell violently Next Motive, and say the randomization motive. Then they get all lethargic and say it's a boring motive but say that they're a real deal and not 'a poser' and then they say 'Maybe next time, you’ll take me more fuckin’ seriously.' As if anyone could when they are speaking like that? Then they want people to heed their initial words and they say goodbye. Then next time they are also high energy but it's more childish and bubbly. Then they ask if everyone liked the motive and say ' saw how starry-eyed many of you were when the motive was revealed. It was so cute!' Ugh they even call the audience 'my lovelies' Then they say they have a present for everyone and they say it's a schedule. 'I’m thinking that just hosting a bunch of killing games would get boring, so we have to spice things up with a bit of variety, right? So you know that movie? Paw? The one about a dog in a clown mask named Jigpaw that kidnaps people and puts them into death traps that they have to escape from or else they die andhedoesitbecausehewantstorehabilitatepeople? I want to copy that idea.' Then they giggle. Then they say they're going to make their 'little despair lambs' join in on the fun. They'll be the first in the new game. Then a 'traditional one' then 'a sports one maybe' and they want Resistance members to be in that one. They they say they 'hope to see you all try to appease me' and give say 'Byyyeeee~'" He looks more and more angry and disgusted the longer he recounts the videos. “Then it opens up with them in the dented mask. They're acting all meek and shy or depressed, I don't know. 'I don’t know how to say this, but, thank you for the entertainment.' They say it makes them happy, but what everyone thinks of them is saddening 'but at least your moving right?'. Disgusting. Then they sigh real hard. Then they talk about how people are interested in joining them, and how they are flattered. That the volunteers made them think they should start recruiting people. 'f you want to join me, then please do what my first allies did, and, in front of any camera, hold a red piece of paper out that says you want to work with me. I have enough power to see those efforts, but I am only human, so I might miss a few of you.' They say not to let people see them do it, because they don't want them getting hurt. Then as an after thought they explain their motivation for this. 'Well, I’m just looking for entertainment. What’s more entertaining than seeing others fight for their lives? It’s… It’s so… inspiring, and it really gets you excited. I’m hosting all of these games in pursuit of that entertainment.' And that is it, that is everything I was privy to.”

"If you want my honest opinion before I am no longer a part of this for good, I had thought everything I found had pointed to Ren except the videos which seemed like Yuki, and I didn't like it. But I rid my hands of this trial. I refuse to be a part of this for any longer." He turned to glare at Max, raising one hand and waving sharply. “Good luck I do not want to say anything further.”

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia – Chapter 28: Class 1-A and the Sports Festival: Part 1

The raw and unedited next chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic! The rest of the fic (and a side series) can be found here 

“Gooooood morning, Japan!  This is Present Mic, your host with the most, coming at you live from this year’s U.A. Sport’s Festival First Year Stage! As always, I’m joined by Pro-Hero and Class 1-A Homeroom teacher, Eraserhead!  Say hello to the people, Eraser!”

“How do I always get talked into this?”

“Midnight says she had it written into your contract!”

“Hn.”

“So anything you can tell us about this year’s crop of competitors?”

“The same thing I say every year.  Never underestimate anyone.”

“Good advice!  And here come the first years now…”

***

Toshi stood with the rest of his class as the opening ceremony began.  Sixteen students in each of the three Hero courses, twenty students in each of the three Support, Business and Management, and General Studies courses for a total of two hundred twenty-eight competitors.  Only forty-two of which would get past the first round and then only sixteen of those forty-two would get to the tournament round. It made for incredibly stiff competition, though typically the Business and Support students did not try very hard to get into the other rounds, instead using either Halftime or the School Festival to show off their respective talents.  Though occasionally one did make it.

It was the General Studies students you really had to watch out for.  While many of them were quite happy with where they were and while changes to the Entrance Exam meant people with more diverse Quirks had a better shot at getting into the Hero Course… there were still plenty of them who were eager to move up.   And Toshi honestly wished them well.  He’d heard Uncle Shinso talk about it often enough over the years.  People should be able to follow their dreams.  But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try his hardest to win all the same.

This year’s first-year Chief Referee was Riza Arakawa, Hawkeye, their English teacher.  From what Grandpa Might had said, they’d had a more narrow body of teachers to select from for the job this year, since three of the teachers—Grandpa Might, Figure Sk8, and Hopper—were all related to students in the first year and they wanted to avoid any possible implication of impropriety.

She stood on the platform in her costume, which resembled a blue-military uniform, albeit one with a fairly tiny miniskirt, pistols hanging from her hips.  She was an intense blonde woman with piercing blue-eyes and a Quirk which granted her super-human accuracy with anything shot or thrown.   “And now,” Hawkeye said, “the student who scored the highest on the Entrance Exam will now give our opening declaration.  Will Kana Tetsutetsu please come to the stage?”

A cheer went up among the Hero Course students, none louder than Katsumi, though Toshi could hear plenty of cheers from Mineta and Koda, as well as the Class 1-B students pretty loudly as well.  Toshi himself, along with Katsumi, Izumi, the Iida Twins, and Shiro Monoma had all gotten in as Recommendation Students, rendering them ineligible for such an honor. But Tetsutetsu certainly deserved it. She was as strong and fast and skilled as anybody he had known, with the heart of a true hero.

The redhead from Class 1-B took to the stage.  “I just want to say,” she began, “that I hope everyone brings their A-game to this contest! Show us… show the world… your Manly or Wo-Manly best!  Just by being here, at U.A., we have already taken a tremendous first step in proving ourselves.  But as the future Heroes of tomorrow, we owe it to ourselves and our competitors to leave nothing on the table!  In the spirit of sportsmanship and friendly competition… let’s all GO BEYOND!”   She brought her right arm up, hand in a fist, as she converted it from flesh to steel.  “PLUS ULTRA!”

“PLUS ULTRA!”

Thunderous applause went up from the students and the crowd.  Toshi had heard longer speeches and he’d heard shorter ones.  But Tetsutetsu’s had been straight to the point, encouraging, and reminding them all that this was supposed to be a friendly competition.  Exactly the kind of thing it should do.

He looked over at the rest of his class.   “Okay,” he said.  “First event’s coming up.  Everybody ready?  Just like we planned it?”

Katsumi rolled her eyes. “Yes, Toshi.  You’ve only been over it a dozen times already.  We know what we’ve got to do.  You and your “buddy system.’”

Izumi touched her arm. “It is a good plan, Katsumi,” she said. “It gives our whole class the best chance to advance to the next round.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Katsumi groused.

Toshi stole a glance at the VIP boxes around the stadium.  He knew his parents were up there somewhere, and so were Katsumi’s, Izumi’s, and a few others.   Grandma Inko was up somewhere with Grandpa Might too.  

Lots of eyes on all of them. He was really going to have to do his best.

Time to Go Beyond!

***

Katsumi would never actually tell him, but Toshi’s plan for the race segment was actually pretty smart. Over half the class—Toshi himself, the Twins, Sero, the Newb, Tokyami, Shoji, Mineta, and Izzy—all had Quirks that could vastly aid in mobility in some fashion.  So Toshi had come up with a plan to pair them up with each other, complimenting Quirks where we could, so that they all had a better chance of making it to the next round.  She had, of course, insisted on being paired with Izzy.   Izzy could travel around by means of ice slides, but even with her regulator rig, she’d have to let loose with a lot of fire to manage absorbing that much heat.  Katsumi wasn’t fireproof by any means, but her Quirk did mean she had a small amount of heat resistance.  Besides… it meant she could watch Izzy’s back.  She could risk a few burns for that.

And… her own Quirk wasn’t good for getting around. Dad could propel himself with his explosions, but her situation was different.  She was in great shape and parkour with the best of them, but that didn’t do a lot of good with people who could fly or gravity jump or anything like that.  She hated to admit it, but her Quirk wasn’t suited for the race.  She’d give it her all in any case, but she knew she’d need help if she was going to make it.  If her Quirk had taken after her biological mother’s… well, maybe she’d have had a better chance.  But she had what she had.

The admission stung her, even unvocalized.  She hated admitting weakness of any kind.  Papa always said knowing your limits (while still trying to surpass them) was very (Wo)-manly… but, well, sometimes she had too much of Dad in her.

As they gathered near the starting line, she did her best to clear her mind and give Izzy a reassuring look. “We’ve got this, Izz,” she said. “You and me.  Same as always.”

Izzy smiled at her in return, and she felt her heart flutter for a moment.  Maybe Izzy didn’t love her the way she loved Izzy.  And maybe she still wasn’t over her, not by a long shot. But that smile could always make her feel like she could take on the world, if she was doing it for Izzy.  

“The same as always,” Izzy said.  

A hush fell over the crowd and the students, as Hawkeye called for quiet.  “The first event is an old but highly regarded traditional one… the Obstacle Course!  All you have to do is make it to the end and past the hazards! We know we have a number of flight Quirks this year, so it is requested that you fly no more than nine meters above the track!  You may use your Quirks against any hazard you encounter… but not against your fellow competitors!  Anyone caught violating this rules will be ejected from the tournament!”

She drew a flare gun from the holster on her left hip.  “Runners… on your mark…”

***

Isamu’s heart was pounding in his chest.  Dressed in his gym uniform, he’d petitioned and received permission to incorporate the gloves, goggles, and bandanna from his costume, as necessary and protective gear for when using his Quirk.  At Toshi’s suggestion, he’d been partnered with Mika Mineta for the race.   While she had a good foot speed of her own, he was a lot faster.  And between her horns acting like a battering ram and being able to use him as a gunnery platform for the sticky balls she could fire from them, he had to admit, it actually made a kind of sense.

“I dunno how I feel about riding you in front of all these people,   Haimawari.  Seems like that kind of thing ought to be more private.”

Man, was he grateful his gear hid how red he was getting.

“Get set…” Hawkeye continued, “go!”   She fired the flare gun, lighting up the sky.

He dropped instantly to all fours and grunted as Mineta landed on his back.  She was heavier than she looked.  Her legs (boy, those were muscular) squeezed his sides.  “Hiyo, Haimawari!”

“And they’re off,” the voice of Present Mic says, cutting through the din of everyone.  “Class 1-A takes an early lead, looking like they’re all in this together, but everyone else is close behind! “And it looks like we have a… winner?  Jin Ando of General Studies Class 1-E!  How…?!”

Aizawa’s voice cut in. “His student file says he’s a long range teleporter.  That can’t possibly be in the spirit of this event.”

“I guess we’ll just leave that one to the judges!  In the meantime, everybody keep it up!  Second place is still on the line!”

First place already gone? He rocketed forward, darting around some of the other competitors.   Around him, he could see Izumi climbing upwards on an ice-platform, Kirishima-Bakugo’s arms wrapped tightly around her midsection.  Toshi was bouncing in long gravity jumps, carrying Shinso in his arms. Sero, with Sato clinging to his back, fired a long strand of tape, grabbing onto one of the floating cameras and pulling himself into the air.  Tokoyami rose into the air, carried by Frog-Shadow, while Koda rode on the familiar’s back.  The Twins, with the wings from their costumes, rose into the air, each carrying one of their classmates; Aoyama with Tensei and Kaminari with Sora.  Shoji moved like some kind of giant spider on his Extendo-Arms, Ojiro carried in his normal arms.

Around them, other students flew or sped or ran, whatever their physicality and Quirks would allow.

Haimawari picked up his speed, yet knowing he needed to pace himself.  But speed was important here… he had to be one of the forty-two to make it.

***

Chihiro was going to be sick.  She’d been unprepared for the sudden feeling of acceleration that accompanied being carried by Iida, to say nothing of the fact that she was apparently not that great with heights and learning it at the absolute worst possible moment.  

They were hardly the only students in the air, though.  There was Sora’s brother, carrying Aoyama, and she could spy the comet girl from 1-C who had crashed into their dorm during the first week of school.  A bat-like boy from 1-C flapped beside them and a behind them there was a butterfly-winged girl from General Studies fluttered behind him.  There was even a boy from 1-B who had inflated himself like a beach ball and was bouncing almost as good as Toshi did with his gravity jobs.

“And now they’re coming up on the first obstacle!” came the voice of Present Mic.  “Courtesy of Power Loader and the Third Year Support students, get ready for something you’ve never seen before!  You’re heard of One-Pointers, Two-Pointers, Three-Pointers, and even Zero-Pointers, now feast your eyes on Minus One-Pointers!”

“Minus One?” Iida asked, bringing them a little closer to the ground.  Below, she could see the pack on the ground was being led by Haimawari and a female student from 1-C who instead of feet, had their legs joined in a singular wheel.  Izumi and Kirishima-Bakugo, on one of Izumi’s ice slides, weren’t far behind, with Izumi shooting the occasional blast of flame into the air.

“Beats me,” Chihiro said.

She didn’t have long to wait.  Even though the track remained clear, dozens of panels opened up in the ground and small robots, their main body barely bigger than an American football, with high spinning rotors and small claws, emerged.  Moving quickly, they began to swarm the students.

“Keep flying!” she told Iida.  “I’ll keep the path clear!”

“Roger!”

Chihiro extended both of Cords, sending a charge of electricity through both.  Each one struck out and pierced the sides of a drone, giving her a little bit of purchase.  The electricity disabled them and she tossed each one into another drone, which exploded in showers of sparks.  She quickly retracted her Cords, then shot then out again, spark-smashing her way through more.

“Ugh!”  Sora cried out in pain as a drone got past Chihiro, ramming into her side.  She lost her grip and Chihiro let out a scream as she began to fall.   But she shot out her Cords again, wrapping each one around the body of a drone.  

“AAAAH!”  Chihiro screamed, certain her Cords were going to rip from her head.  Each one could lift maybe 10 kilograms on a good day.  They definitely weren’t supposed to be used to support her full body weight.  She had maybe a few seconds before she had to let go or she was going to black out from the pain.

A body slammed into her and she found herself in Sora’s arms again.  “I must apologize,” she said.  “I was caught off-guard!  It took me longer than I expected to free myself from the swarm!”

Chihiro retracted her cords, hoping she wouldn’t be too sore to keep going.  “Just keep flying!”

Fortunately, it looked like many others were having the same trouble.  She could even see several students from the non-Hero courses who were signaling that they were giving up and were being pulled out by the medical robots.

She was determined not to be one of those.

***

With the constant up and down of Takuma’s tape-swinging, Kenta was pretty sure he was going to throw up.

“Oh, man, we are gonna die!” Takuma wailed.  He was actually doing better than most, since his Quirk was letting him just swing from robot to robot.  Kenta’s Quirk wasn’t much good here, but he was able to take a bite out of a few drones that got too close.  Toshi was definitely smart to have gotten them all to team-up.  He’d have been happy to help his best friend out anyway… but really, he was the one getting help.  His Quirk was one of the most useless here.

Fortunately, being the voice of reason was sometimes just as good as a Quirk.  “Dude,” he said to Takuma.  “Calm down.  I’ve got a plan.    See those two robots down there…”

“Yeah?” Takuma asked, letting go of a strand of tape and sending the both of them sailing through the air.

“Snag both of them!” Kenta ordered.  “And then reel us in!  Land on them!”

“Are you crazy?”

“No!  Crazy ideas are your department!  I’m the sensible one!  Grab something or we’re going to crash!”

“Okay, okay!  Quit yelling!”

Takuma fired off dual strands of tape, hooking a pair of robots and reeling the two of them in. His feet landed with a heavy thud, but the robots supported their weight.  With his tape and strong arm muscles, Takuma was easily able to steer the robots through the swarm.

“WAHOOO!” Takuma let out a cheer.  “You’re brilliant, bro!  Brilliant!”

“Remember that the next time I tell you something is a bad idea!”

“I make no promises!”

***

“And the first competitors are just now reaching the second stage!  Time to find out who’s got the goods and who’s a ‘pillar’ of our school!”

“…You didn’t really make that pun, did you?”

“I think you’ll find that I did!”

Tensei wasn’t sure what the second stage was, so he poured on the speed, Aoyama secure in his arms. The glowing blond had been invaluable during the robot-swarm of the first stage, blasting the robots right out of their path and letting him fly through without much difficulty.  But now, he couldn’t tell what was coming…

SHOOM!

A huge stone pillar shot up out of the ground and Tensei was forced to throw everything he had into flying upwards to avoid it, then rocketed backwards.

SHOOM!

More pillars shot up out of the ground, before falling back into their recessed holes.  He quickly estimated their height and found that they were taller than limited flight ceiling the Festival rules allowed him.  

SHOOM!

“Can we blast our way through?” Aoyama asked, charging up his light-blasts in his hands.

Tensei swooped in low, heading back to the rapidly appearing and disappearing pillars.  “I do not believe so,” he said.  “Estimating thickness and material hardiness, you would have to expend significant power to blast your way through even one, likely leaving very little to blast through any subsequent ones…”

“You could have just said non, you know,” Aoyama replied.

“I believe in providing all the necessary information,” Tensei replied.

They were losing ground. He could see some of the other competitors maneuvering through the pillar maze, some of the other flying students going to ground.  Others, like Haimawari were actually using the pillars, sliding up one and jumping to slide over the next.  And others still were just charging through.

SHOOM!

But now, even though he had fallen behind, he believed he had witnessed enough of the pillars movement to commit their pattern to memory.

“Hang on!” he shouted to Haimawari.  “TURBO… BOOST!”

He fired his Jetpack at full speed, shifting up just in time to avoid a pillar.  Fire, move, shift, fire more shift…  One pillar nearly clipped his wings, but he quickly recovered, firing a harder burst of his Quirk to avoid it.

Just a few more pillars and they’d be out of the maze…

***

SHOOM!

Shota screamed.  Not from fear, he trusted Toshi as his partner in the race to protect him, but to hold up his end of the partnership.  It was a fast, high-pitched sound, striking the pillar ahead of them and making it shimmer as this sonic effect accelerated the molecules of the pillar for a moment.  Just long enough for Toshi to jump them through it.  He definitely couldn’t do that trick for very long, but he didn’t have to either.

“Good job!” Toshi said. He bounced from pillar to pillar like a ping pong ball, rapidly shifting his gravity.  Even carrying Shota, he could keep up a good pace.  “Give me the signal when you’re ready for the next one!”

SHOOM!

Toshi jumped back, narrowly avoiding a rising pillar.  But he stepped too far back and…

SHOOM!

A pillar shot up under Toshi’s right foot, launching them both into the air.  Shota felt himself slip from Toshi’s grasp and this time he screamed for real as he went first up, then back down towards the still hammering pillars.  But even as he did, he called on his Quirk, hammering the pillar coming up at him with sonic waves.  Like he’d done during the Quirk Apprehension Test, he affected the state of the pillar’s matter, turning it into rippling waves.  He kept it up as he fell, pushing more power into it, into the air itself.  The air rippled before him, but slowed his fall.

SHOOM!

Toshi fell too, but he was more used to falling from great heights than Shota and recovered quickly, altering his gravity first to stop his upward ascent, then slowing his fall until he could do a gravity-assisted jump off another pillar.

“Gotcha!” Toshi said, as his next jump carried him to Shota, catching him in his arms.  “You okay?”

“I’m fine!” Shota told him. “That was fun!  Keep going!”

“We really gotta discuss your idea on fun, Shota,” Toshi said, launching himself into the air again.

***

SHOOM!

“Wheeee!” Frog-Shadow cried out.  “This is fun!”

“Can you just focus on us not getting smashed?!” Asuka demanded of her familiar.  So far, Frog-Shadow had mostly been behaving herself, which was good.  She knew she had a lot to live up to, after all, her father had placed third during his first Sports Festival.  And while neither of her parents would be upset if she did not place, they would if she gave it less than her all.  So she wanted to make as good a mark as she could.

Riding on top of Frog-Shadow, Koda tossed a handful of seeds into the pillar hole in front of them. Calling upon her Quirk, the stony-girl made them grow rapidly, filling the hole with choking vines and keeping the pillar from rising.  For a moment, at least.  She could already hear the sounds of vines snapping and urged Frog-Shadow onward.

“How are your supplies?” she asked Koda.  “I don’t want you to run out before the second event *chirp*.”

“Do not worry,” Koda said. “My request for my seed pouches for the Festival was quite generous.  I have plenty more to spare and can resupply before the third leg, should providence shine upon me to bring me there.”

“Good,” Asuka said.

SHOOM!

Something grey flashed by, wrapping around a pillar, and Asuka saw Monoma from Class 1-B swing through, a move she was certain belong to their teacher.  He gave them a brief salute as he sailed by.

“I wish you all the luck, Koda… But it is 1-B who shall prove the victors today!”

SHOOM!

Another pillar shot up and for a moment, it looked like Monoma was going to crash into it.  But Koda shot out an arm as he sailed by and pulled him back.

“You were saying, Shiro?” she asked.

“Perhaps this event will make victors of us all?”

“…As good as I expect to get.  Be safe, friend!”  Koda let him drop to the ground, perhaps a little roughly, but no more than he deserved in the moment.  They were in competition, after all.

“Onward!” Asuka shouted.

“I know, I know!  It’s not like I’m gonna go backwards!”

***

As they finally passed through the last of the pillars, Ojiro asked, “Can’t you go any faster, Shoji? We’re falling behind!”

Daisuke shook his head. “I’m going as fast as I can,” he said. Hand over hand, his Extendo-Arms keeping him up off the ground and moving at a brisk pace.  Not as fast as those with speed or flight Quirks, or even Sero’s swinging or Midoriya’s gravity-jumps, but faster than those who relied on footspeed alone.  

Not for the last time, he wondered how he’d managed to get paired up with Ojiro.  He strongly suspected that Midoriya had simply run out of classmates by the time he’d gotten to them.  That was all right, he supposed.  He ought to have been annoyed by it, but he was used to fading into the background.  

And, of course, he had to admit, Ojiro had come in very handy during the swarm of minus one-pointers. She’d simply turned the both of them invisible and they’d slipped through without issue.  Other than the couple of students who had nearly run them over or run into them, but well, it got them through.  

“Remember, we don’t have to come in first… just in the first forty-two,” he said.  “Just get to the next round.”

She smacked him upside the head with an invisible hand.  “That’s loser talk!”

“I can leave you behind, you know.”

She jerked in his arms. “No!  We have to work together!  Midoriya said!  I can’t win this on my own!  I get winded easy!”

Daisuke just rolled his eyes.  Such a drama queen.  Why was he cursed to be the sensible one?  “Don’t worry,” he said.  “We’re a team.  And that means nobody gets left behind.”

And now the final stage lay just ahead…

***

“And the first students are starting to make it to the third stage! In the lead are Haimawari, Mineta, Todoroki, and Kirishima-Bakugo from Class 1-A!  But they’ve got plenty of competition coming in from behind! Tetsutetsu from Class 1-B, Tanaka from Class 1-C, and…”

Izumi was beginning to tire.   Even releasing steady streams of fire, her regulator bands were blinking bright orange, verging on red.  But the finish line was so close.  

Katsumi had done an amazing job of protecting her, breaking off shards of their ice slide and turning them into deadly explosive projectiles.  She’d been able to assist in their defense as well, with her flame blasts.  It felt… good.  She was actually accomplishing something, going farther than she had ever gone before. She didn’t dare imagine she’d win, but for a moment, she believed she might place.

“You okay, Iz?” Katsumi asked.   She herself sounded fairly winded, but her determination came through  clearly.

“Managing,” she admitted.

Her ice slide ate up the distance quickly though and soon the third stage was upon them.

She hadn’t been expecting that.  Not in a million years.

“Oh…!”