The Luring Heroine Chapter 2: Her Friend: Nerding Out

Hey guys, William Sloan here and this is the next chapter in The Luring Heroine.

I've got nothing else to say, so let's get going.

After leaving Izuku at the cafe, Flashfire decided to head home. Not home home, but her brother had a house that he had purchased for whenever he was in the area, and he let Flashfire live there while she was at UA. Flashfire didn't have to worry about bills and whatnot, as her brother pays for it with his bank account.

It was a standard two story building with a balcony on the second floor, coming from the master bedroom. The house itself was a simple white color and the roof was red. The front door was a dark oak wooden door that was reenforced to be fireproof, as was the entire house, so that Flashfire wouldn't have to worry. At the front door lied two plants, one on each side.

Flashfire approached the front door and moved the left plant. Underneath it was an extra key.

"Hmph. Every time." Flashfire said. Her brother always left the spare key under one of the plants as a way of knowing where it was. Unlocking the door, she pushed it open and looked onward. The front door brought a person into the main living room, complete with a TV, and a few movies and DVD's, and a DVR as well, but it was dustier than everything else. Taking a left brought someone down a hallway, with the basement on the left and a bathroom on the right.

After the living room was the kitchen, which was a standard kitchen, with the cabinets and fridge empty, but Flashfire had money for any and all groceries she would need, plus an allowance that came to her every week for food.

Heading up the stairs brought Flashfire to her room, which was a standard room that was completely Fire-type proof, which made Flashfire feel at home. The bed was small and for one person, and a desk laid right next to the bed. On the wall next to the desk was a shelf that had hero memorabilia, including an All Might lunchbox and a Thirteen figurine. Other things on it were some figurines of some Pokemon, like a Drapion and a Cherrim, as well as a Palkia Plush. Those were her two favorite things: Heroes and Pokemon.

Setting her bag on the bed, Flashfire opened it and pulled out a small portable computer. Setting it on the desk, Flashfire turned it on, entered her login info and she pulled up a video chat room. Clicking on a person's name, the screen changed to say "Calling: Rick". She told her family that she would call when she got there, and she was keeping her promise.

After a minute of waiting the screen changed again, this time showing a human boy, about the age of 17. His eyes were brown, as well as his hair, which barely reached his forehead. He wore a simple black long-sleeve shirt and he had a small chuck of amethyst hanging around his neck.

It was her brother, Richard Ame Thyst.

"Well, it took you long enough." Rick said in a joking way, which Flashfire knew very well.

"I see the camera add a few extra pounds." Flashfire retorted, causing both to laugh a little.

"So, you're settled in?" Rick asked.

"Yep. Everything's okay." Flashfire said, "How's everyone else?"

"Okay, I guess." Rick said, "I won't lie, it's been kinda quiet without you."

"I know." Flashfire said. She had a feeling about that. She was always the one who would light up the room, both literally and figuratively. "Can I talk to everyone?"

"Sure." Rick said. He turned away and he called everyone. Within seconds, five other creatures, or rather Pokemon, were around Rick. A small, blue quadruped Pokemon with orange outer gills, a Pokemon that resembled a sea cucumber, another Pokemon that was a pink serpentine with yellow jewels around its neck and its tail, a Pokemon that wore a gladiator-like helmet that was also quadruped, and a Pokemon that could also pass for human, with a pink 'hat', lavander colored skin, and it wore red baggy 'pants'. They were a Mudkip, a Pyukumuku, a Shiny Dragonair, a Type: Null, and a Medicham.

"Hey, Flashfire." The Mudkip said, "How's life in Japan?"

Flashfire giggled. "Going great, Swampy. I actually met a friend earlier."

"Really?" The Pyukumuku asked.

"What's your friend like?" The Shiny Dragonair asked.

"Well, let's see." Flashfire thought back about Izuku. "His name's Izuku Midoriya. He has kinda curly hair, kinda black and green? He's Quirkless,"

"But you don't give a crap." The Type: Null said bluntly.

"Exactly Alexander." Flashfire said. She thought back to what Bakugo said, and Medicham noticed.

"What's bothering you?" Medicham asked.

"You can tell us." Muku said, "We're a family, and family helps each other."

"Maybe she doesn't want to say anything?" Swampy said.

"No, that's not it." Flashfire said, getting everyone's attention. "It's just that..." She took a deep breath to regain her composure, which meant that it was a heavy subject.

"You sure to want to talk about it?" Rick asked, not wanting to see Flashfire upset.

"No. I'm okay." Flashfire said, her voice a little wavy.

"Just take a deep breath and think about what you want to say." Rick said, having doing this before.

"But that's just it." Flashfire said, "I don't want to rethink what he said."

That caught Rick's attention, and his face got a little defensive. "What who said?"

Flashfire took another deep breath before continuing. "There was another boy I met. His name's Katsuki Bakugo. I think he has some type of exploding Quirk."

"And?" Rick said, trying to get Flashfire to talk.

"And he told Izuku..." she took a moment as a tear rolled down her face. "He told Izuku that there was another way to get a Quirk. He told Izuku to take a swan dive off the roof!"

That got everyone on the other screen rattled, with Swampy and Muku's faces looking like they just saw someone jump, while Emerald and Alexander looked like it was Flashfire being told to jump, and they were angry.

"Did he?" Rick asked, trying to diffuse the situation.

"No. I stepped in." Flashfire said, "I lost my temper and I used Psychic on Bakugo."

"The Exploding Quirk guy?" Alexander, the Type: Null asked.

"You didn't send him out did you?" Rick asked.

"No." Was Flashfire's answer, which made Rick glad.

"Well, you handled it better than I would have, that's for sure." Alexander said, "We all know what I would have done."

"And I would have helped." Emerald, the Shiny Dragonair agreed. "I don't care what his problem is, you don't got telling people to go kill themselves."

"That's taking things way too far." Muku agreed, his face still showed his scared nature.

The mood was a sour one at that, mostly because of what Flashfire told them, but in the end, Rick gave a heart warming smile, as did the rest of the Pokemon.

"Well, at least you made a friend." Swampy said.

"100 percent improvement." Medicham said.

"But Bakugo counts as a negative friend, so that's a negative percent." Flashfire said.

"There's no negative percent." Rick said, "You just made one friend and one enemy."

"Someone hit him." Flashfire said, which Emerald complied, nailing Rick in the arm with his tail.

"Look, Flashfire." Rick said, rubbing the area where Emerald smacked him, "Don't worry about that Bakugo guy. All he is is a bully who needs to give other people a hard time just to feel powerful. Don't give him the satisfaction of being thought about. You're the better person, Flashfire. You know why?"

"Because I stand up for people instead of putting them down." Flashfire said, and Rick wasn't wrong when he said that.

"So this 'Kacchan''s name is Kasuki Bakugo, and you were friends with him until he found out you were Quirkless?" Flashfire said, running through what Izuku told him. "And on top of that, he's been bullying you for years and nothing changed?!" The last part made Flashfire peeved.

"It's not his fault." Izuku tried to reason with the angry Flashfire.

"Yes it is!" Flashfire said, slamming her hand down on the table. "You've done nothing wrong to him and this is how he treats you." Her tone of voice was serious.

"He's not the only one." Izuku reasoned quietly.

"That doesn't change a thing!" Flashfire shouted again. "A real friend is someone who sticks up to people bullying other people!" The fire inside was raging again, but Flashfire took a deep breath, and she decided to change the topic, and try to help her friend. "So, you want to go to UA?"

"Y-Yes." Izuku said quietly.

"And you want to become a hero?" Flashfire asked.

"Yes." Izuku said, his face showing slight signs of happiness. "More than anything."

"Then don't let someone let Bakugo tell you otherwise." Flashfire said, grabbing ahold of Izuku's hand. "It's your life, and I think your dream's possible." Flashfire looked to see a bird flying by. "I want to become the world's first Pokemon Hero. That's my dream, and I'll accomplish that." Flashfire pulled her chair back and got up. "I hope that we meet again at UA, Izuku. I really do." She floated away, but turned her body to somewhat face Izuku. "Because I think you can become a Hero."

Flashfire stuck up for Izuku when he was getting picked on, and she was the only one who seems to think that Izuku can become a Hero.

"Thanks, Rick." Flashfire said, "That really helped."

"It's no trouble." Rick said before a thought popped up. "Hey, did a package come in?"

"No, I don't think so." Flashfire said, but as she said that a knock was heard. Flashfire used Psychic to float the computer downstairs and she sat it on the coffee table before she answered the door. She cracked the door a little and she saw a deliveryman there. "Yes?"

"Are you Flashfire Thyst?" The man asked. He didn't seem freaked out by Flashfire, but then again he saw weirder things ever since Quirks started popping up.

"Yes."

"Sign here, please." Holding out an electronic clipboard, Flashfire signed her name and she was given a small box. "Thank you."

Closing the door, Flashfire sat the box down on the coffee table and she opened it, emptying it for its prize. Dumping the plastic packing peanuts, she reached inside and found a phone and a small black stone tucked away inside a clear container.

"Rick, did you?" Flashfire began, looking at the items inside the package.

"Yup." Rick answered, "I got you a phone so that we don't have to use video chatting all the time. Plus, I thought that it would be a way for you to get in touch with any friends you would make while you're at UA. My number's pre-installed, so you don't need to worry. Plus, I sprung for the unlimited plan, so you don't need to worry about refilling your phone. I can handle the payments on my end. You just worry about your training."

"And the stone's a?" Flashfire said, about to open the box that contained the stone.

"Be careful!" Rick said, which made Flashfire almost drop the container. Flashfire got a good hold on it and everyone let out a sigh of relief. "That's a Dusk Stone."

"A Dusk Stone?" Flashfire knew that it was for when she wanted to evolve, seeing how Rick wouldn't be there.

"I found it a while ago while you were still with us." Rick explained. "I hid it so that way, you wouldn't have to worry about thinking that I wanted you to evolve."

"Wow." Flashfire said in amazement.

"Yeah." Rick said.

Flashfire gazed at the Dusk Stone like she was staring back at her own child. She was caressing the boxed stone and she honestly forgot that Rick and the other Pokemon were watching.

"Thanks Rick." Flashfire said in a genuine manner.

Rick smiled at his sister of a Pokemon, and his voice said it all. "I'm glad. Take care, Flashfire."

With that said, Rick logged out and Flashfire turned her computer off so that she could let it cool down. The Dusk Stone was still in its box, and Flashfire knew that it wasn't an excuse to slouch on her training. She could become the world's first Pokemon Hero even without-

"-without evolving." Flashfire muttered her thought out loud and she grabbed her bag and she bolted out the door, leaving the Dusk Stone on the table.

Meanwhile...

It wasn't long after Flashfire had left Izuku at the cafe. The Quirkless boy was walking down the street, thinking about what his new friend had said.

'I think you can become a Hero.'

True, no one had ever said that to him, but thinking back on it, Izuku was having second thoughts. Could he become a Hero? Would UA even let him enroll? All these questions were nagging him, and even then, what Bakugo had said made him doubt himself even more.

Walking down the street, Izuku found himself walking into a tunnel. Thinking back to when Izuku was a kid, he had always wanted to be a Hero. He still remembered his favorite video when he was a kid. It was old disaster footage, and a certain Hero was still pulling people out from the wreckage. Izuku could still hear the Hero's hearty laugh, saying that everything was okay…

"...now that I'm here." Izuku found himself talking to himself about the number one Hero, All Might. Granted it was embarrassing, but no one was there. Izuku attempted to laugh like All Might, but all that did was set him up for a date with trouble.

Reaching the other side of the tunnel, for some reason, Izuku felt the urge to turn around. And when he did, a hideous green slime Villian stared back at him.

"A Villain?" Izuku's voice was high due to fear, and his legs were shaking like crazy. He wasn't even sure if he could move.

"I think you'll make a nice skin suit for me to hide in." The slime Villain said in a very threatening way.

Fear getting the better of him, Izuku did manage to start running away from the villain, but he didn't manage to get far as the villain lunged towards, engulfing Izuku in his watery body, and causing him to drop his charred notebook, the exact same one that Flashfire had found.

With Flashfire

The Ghost/Fire-type was search for the last twenty minutes or so trying to track down Izuku, but so farm no such luck. She didn't ask where Izuku was heading next, so that didn't leave her with much to go on.

"Where is he?" Flashfire was concerned for Izuku, and that only made her want to find and find him faster. She bumped into someone and when she looked up, saying she was flabbergasted was the BIGGEST understatement of the century. "Sorry, sir. I didn't looking at where I was go-" Looking up, she saw a giant of a man (But not as tall as Mount Lady, not by a long shot). He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and green pants. His hair was a bright yellow with two strands standing and the back was a little wild, but not too bad. The man was very muscular, too. And that slowly pieced together in her head.

She had just bumped into All Might himself.

She was about to scream like a little fangirl when another scream caught both her and All Might's attention. She knew that scream anywhere.

"Izuku!" Without a single clue, Flashfire was racing towards the scream, and All Might was closing in.

'She moved towards the danger without a second though.'

Meanwhile…

Izuku's life was flashing before his eyes as his vision was getting blurry. He tried anything and everything to get himself free; clawing at the villain's body as a last ditch attempt. All he could do was look at an open page that looked like it had a design for a costume.

A flash of fire had grabbed the villain's attention as he had looked to see where, or rather what had caused it. He felt something pulled out from his grasp, which was Izuku and Flashfire. The Lamp Pokemon had used Flame Charge to get Izuku free.

"Flashfire?" Izuku gasped.

"Just breath." Flashfire said.

"It okay, you're safe now." Another voice said. Turning around, the Slime villain saw All Might was there. "Now that I'm here that is."

The Slime villain didn't waste time trying to get Flashfire, as he swung an arm at All Might. All Might ducked and rapidly advanced. The Slime Villain tired to use his arms to grab All Might, but he felt like they were stuck, courtesy of Flashfire's Psychic.

"TEXAS!" All Might brought his clenched fist back and he swung. "SMASH!" The sheer force of the attack sent high-force gusts the villain's body, as well at Flashfire and Izuku, causing both of them to be sent back. Flashfire managed to avoid the blast of wind, but due to what the Sludge Villain did, Izuku blacked out, with All Might being the same thing he saw.

About 10, 20 minutes later…

"Hey. Wake up." All Might was trying gently slap Izuku awake without hurting him.

"You're not doing it hard enough, but I can understand." Flashfire floated next to Izuku and grabbed ahold of his shoulders and she began to shake him awake, which worked. Flashfire set Izuku gently on the ground and the first thing he saw was the last thing he saw: All Might.

"Phew. I though we lost ya for a sec." All Might said.

The look on Izuku's face was priceless, and Flashfire was trying not to giggle at the look on Izuku's face. She also was to scream like a little fangirl when she first saw All Might, but that subsided. Izuku screamed and he backed away from All Might out of sheer shock, which was something that Flashfire would have done as well.

"Well, looks like you're all right." Flashfire said, trying not to let her laughing fit get the better of her.

"Sorry about that." All Might said, causing the two to look at the Hero, "I didn't mean to get the two of you caught up in my justice-ing. Usually I pay more attention to keeping bystanders safe, but it turns out that the city's sewer system is difficult to navigate." All Might let out another heart-filled laugh.

'He went through the sewer system? I thought he was behind my the whole time.' Flashfire honestly thought that was the case, but she guessed not.

Izuku still couldn't register the fact that All Might was in his presence. "Anyway, I would personally like to thank your friend here." He motioned to Flashfire. "But I can't deny that what you did was dangerous. You could have gotten yourself killed."

Flashfire looked down at the fact that All Might was lecturing her about safety.

"But you were a big help. You save an innocent bystander, and you helped me capture the villain!" All Might help up two bottles of Torrent, which each contained a part of the villain.

'The most amazing hero in the entire world...All Might...the real thing...in the flesh!' Izuku's mind was running at Max Speed Ninjask levels, which concerned Flashfire.

"You-Who. Earth to Izuku." Flashfire waved her hand in front of Izuku to get his attention, which worked as Izuku's face was tomato red and he looked away out of sheer embarrassment. Izuku suddenly started scrambling to find his notebook. He managed to find the charred notebook and he opened it, revealing a flashy signature from All Might taking up two whole pages.

Must I say what happened next, or can you take a shot in the dark?

If Flashfire was being honest with herself, she couldn't understand a word that Izuku was saying when he was bowing to All Might. Something about an heirloom? Or was it something about it being past down from generation to generation? She honestly couldn't figure it out for the life of her.

"Well, I better bring this guy to the police." All Might said, bringing both Izuku's and Flashfire's attention. The number one Hero turned around. "Stay out of trouble, you two."

"You're leaving?" Izuku asked.

"A Hero is always fighting time as well as enemies." All Might said. He was doing some stretching, probably to help with any discomfort from the start.

Flashfire felt a little upset that she couldn't get to ask All Might some more questions, but she noticed that Izuku getting closer towards the Hero.

"Alright, then." All Might put all his weight into his legs and he jumped high into the sky, sending the debris scattering due to the immense force. As he was in the air, he noticed Izuku latched into All Might's leg and Flashfire was latched to Izuku. Both were screaming due to the force. "Hey, what are you doing?!" All Might yelled due the force of the wind. He tried to reach down to remove Izuku, but Flashfire chimed in before he could.

"Don't! We could both die if we fell from this high!" Flashfire screamed.

"Oh! That's a good point." All Might agreed. He looked down to the two hitchhikers. "Just close your eyes and keep your mouths shut!" The two UA hopefuls complied in no time flat, which saved them from seeing a bit of blood seep through All Might's teeth.

'Shit.' All Might thought to himself. He eventfully landed on the roof of a skyscraper and Izuku looked like he stared directly in front of the most horrifying thing he ever saw, and Flashfire's eyes were swirled.

"Woah." Flashfire managed to say. She shook herself awake, but Izuku was still struggling to recover.

"Not a wise idea, you two." All Might said. "Bang on the door. Someone should let you in." He began to walk away. "Now, I have to go. See you on the flip side.

Something flipped inside Izuku, and he recovered as All Might was leaving. "Wait! Not yet!"

"No!" All Might said back, not even turning around. Flashfire thought that was a little weird, considering the accolades All Might had received from all of his admirers. This wasn't adding up. "I don't have the time!"

"I HAVE TO KNOW SOMETHING!" Izuku screamed out, which caught Flashfire's attention, as she saw Izuku's face as he thought back to when he was first told he wasn't going to develop a Quirk, and how his mother comforted him while she cried. Izuku's hand was still outstretched. As he brought back his hand, his mind kept repeating every single insult and put down he had endured his entire life, but at the end, something comforting resurfaced as well. The one thing he would never forget.

'Because I know you can become a Hero.'

That. That one sentence from someone who he had just met and who also stuck up for him even after knowing he was Quirkless. She treated him like she treated almost everyone. The keyword was 'almost'. He still remembered what she said to Bakugo.

'I will say this once, so get this through your ears. If I EVER find you that you're picking on my friend again, I can make sure that you know what it's like to be on the receiving end of being bullied.'

He learned so much from Flashfire, and she told him that he could in fact reach his far-fetch'd dream. He wanted to, but he wasn't so sure. Flashfire saw him bring his hands back to his sides, and All Might was still walking away. She and Izuku both knew that they had to take a chance right then and there, or this chance may not come again.

"Is there any chance that I/he can become a Hero, even if I don't/ he doesn't have a Quirk?!" Both Izuku and Flashfire said. (For a clearer picture, Izuku said 'I' and 'I don't', while Flashfire said 'he' and 'he doesn't'.)

At that moment, All Might stopped. He heard the question loud and clear, but Izuku was also stunned that Flashfire was sticking with him. But All Might was still hung on the fact that Izuku was Quirkless. He wanted to be a Hero, but he didn't have a Quirk.

"I'm a normal boy." Izuku admitted. "But could I ever be someone like you!"

Neither of them knew, but that encounter changed their lives. Was it for the better or for the worst? Neither of them knew the answer.