Alph, Jaxon, and Tsu ate pizza and talked some more, but soon the time came to leave. Jaxon looked at his watch. "Whoa. 5:30. Looks like I should get Tsu back to the U.A." He got up and walked over to Alph. "I'll try to come visit you once a week, alright?" he asked, hugging his brother.
"Whenever you want, Jax." Alph grinned, pulling out of the hug. He pointed at Tsu. "And bring your girlfriend."
Tsu looked away, embarrassed. Jaxon closed his eyes and spoke with a forced calm. "Tsu and I just met today. No way are we dating."
"Whatever. She'll make a good first friend, though." Alph laughed. "See you around."
Jaxon nodded. "Later, brother. Love you." He and Tsu walked out of the room and left the hospital. They went on in silence for a while.
Tsu finally spoke up. "So... what was your dad like? Do you remember him?"
"Yeah..." Jaxon grinned. "He was a successful American hero. Went by the name of Multi. His Quirk was similar to mine- he could create different personas inside himself, each with a different skillset."
"But Mom and Dad were two different styles of heroes. Mom believed that a hero's only job was to save lives. Dad, on the other hand, thought that combat was essential to a hero's daily life. All the fighting took its toll on Dad physically, but the worst was kinda yet to come..." Jaxon trailed off.
"Jaxon? Are you alright?" Tsu asked.
"I'm fine. It's just... I really don't feel comfortable talking about that yet. Maybe some other time." He looked down, clearly upset.
"Um... if you say so..." Tsu glanced worriedly at Jaxon, then looked up. "Hey, we're here! Maybe we can get to the classroom before everyone leaves."
On the main pathway, Jaxon walked a bit behind Tsu. Suddenly, though, he felt a presence coming up behind him at a rapid pace. Before he could do anything, a massive hand clapped down on his shoulder. He turned around and looked up into the face of-
"I... am... HERE!" All Might exclaimed. "And I finally found you. Where did you go?"
"The hospital downtown," Jaxon replied. "Visiting my brother. You remember Alph, right?"
"Of course I remember him." All Might looked at Tsu. "Then, she...?"
"Followed me. I kinda didn't want the class to know I was gone. Guess I didn't cover my tracks very well." Jaxon looked over at Tsu and waved her off. "I'll be right there," he called. "I think." Then, he turned to All Might. "So... you were looking for me?"
"I wanted to talk to you about your actions today." All Might's smile was smaller than usual. "What you did during the attack was very brave. However, bravery and foolishness are often sides of the same coin. You risked your own life attempting to save someone who would easily have saved himself."
Jaxon sighed. "Mr. Aizawa was surrounded by a crowd of villains. If I... er, Wisp... hadn't acted-"
"Slow down there. Aizawa could have handled those villains on his own. You're under-estimating our teachers greatly. Come to think of it..." All Might put a finger on his chin. "You've been doing that since today started, haven't you?"
"Um... what are you talking about?"
"When I was explaining the rules of the rescue simulation. You didn't believe the simulation was adequate training. While I admire that you're always looking to improve things, there are times when you don't need to speak your mind about it."
Jaxon thought back to the conversation, then realized All Might was right. "Oh... I was pretty brash there, wasn't I..."
"Don't sweat it. Really, your ideas were impressive. But that wasn't the time, the place, or the person to give them to."
"I see." Jaxon sighed. "Well... thank you for the encouragement, and for the lesson. I'll try to keep it in mind."
"There's one other thing." All Might pulled out a file and rifled through it for a second. "Two questions. I still have a few forms I need to fill out. One, do you have a parental guardian?"
"What, like, a parent? Yeah, I've got one."
"Specifically, a father. Your mother only gave me her contact information, and I was wondering why your father wasn't involved."
"Dad hasn't been on the scene for years." Jaxon looked around to see if anyone was there, then continued. "He... lost his marbles. Went crazy and left."
"Oh. I'm... sorry to hear that," All Might said. "Truly, I am. That must be hard."
"Not really. I've gotten over it."
"That's something not a lot of people can say. Well, my other question is, is your Quirk registration up to date? The costume company wants to know so they can finish your uniform."
Jaxon remembered his mom sending the specifications of his uniform to City Hall a while back. "Yeah. They should know about my multi-man power and my copying Quirk."
"Good. That's all I needed. Thank you, young Jaxon, and I'll see you in two days." And just like that, All Might was gone, sprinting to his next job.
Jaxon watched him go, sighed, and turned back toward the school. He walked through the halls to the 1-A classroom. The moment he was inside, he was accosted by Kaminari and Mineta.
"Just who do you think you are, sneaking off with Tsu like that?!" Mineta snapped. "I've got half a mind to report you!"
Jaxon stepped back. "Whoa. I wasn't aware that she was even there until I got to my destination."
"And just where was this destination?" asked Kaminari. "Because there aren't that many places to go around here. Chances are you were looking for somewhere solitary and hoping she'd follow you."
Now Jaxon was irritated. "That's a dollar-store accusation if ever I saw one! If you MUST know, I was at the hospital, visiting my brother! I left alone so that none of you would notice me. Obviously, it didn't work. Would you two please leave it alone now?!"
Kaminari stepped back. "Okay, okay. But I'll be keeping an eye on you." He glared at Jaxon before walking away, dragging a fuming Mineta with him.
Jaxon shook his head, disgusted. "Some people..." he muttered.
Meanwhile, outside the classroom, Aoyama saw Ashido walking toward the 1-A door and ran up to her. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you," he said calmly. "This morning, when Jaxon was explaining his Quirk, why exactly did you faint?"
Ashido blushed. "Uh... I was hoping you didn't see that. I don't know. It's just... I have a long list of standards for guys, and I never expected to meet anyone who met all of them. But... just from looking at him, I could tell he met almost half the things on my list. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to get to know him personally before I make a decision to go any farther, but as of right now, I think I have a crush on him." She closed her eyes, realizing what she'd just said. "Oh my gosh, please don't tell anyone I said that!"
"Your secret is safe with me, mademoiselle."
At that moment, Aoyama made up his mind. The situation truly pained him, as he somewhat wished he was in Jaxon's position. But he cared for Ashido as a person and as a friend too much to let her pursue anyone he knew wasn't right for her. He would make absolutely certain that Jaxon was worth the affection of Mina Ashido.
Meanwhile, Jaxon was gathering his supplies and getting ready to leave. He was zipping his backpack when Hanta Sero approached him.
"Hey... Jaxon, is it?" Sero asked.
"That's me. Who's asking?" Jaxon put on his backpack.
"I'm Sero. I was watching you fight that bird guy from the Landslide Zone. That was pretty incredible."
"You mean my flop with the Copy Visor? Because the only incredible thing about THAT was that I survived." A surge of pain hit Jaxon, and he winced.
Sero noticed. "Still got those migraines, huh? No, that's not what I'm talking about. Remember how Midoriya said that Nomu was built to fight All Might?"
"Um, yeah?" Jaxon replied, confused.
"That big guy you switched to- the one with the robe, you know- fought that thing to a standstill."
"Oh." Jaxon thought a moment. "Yeah, I see what you're getting at, but that wasn't really that impressive. Dyno was just at a really good position in terms of leverage. He was nowhere near as strong as Nomu."
"Well, still, it was awesome." Sero grinned. "Not to mention, you basically saved All Might's life earlier!"
"Okay, now I KNOW you're nuts," Jaxon exclaimed. "What could I have possibly done to save ALL MIGHT?!"
"Hear me out. You know how he had to leave before we went to the USJ? Something to do with the paperwork he had to fill out because you transferred here?"
"Yeah?"
"If you hadn't been here today, All Might would have been at the USJ right with us, right?"
"I don't follow, chief."
"He would have been fighting Nomu from the start and wouldn't have been nearly as prepared."
"Whoa." The thought of All Might unable to be at his best to fight something that was engineered to battle against him was almost too much for Jaxon. "Huh. I guess you're right."
"Yeah. Don't let it get to your head, though." Sero grinned. "So... you and Tsu, huh?" he asked, nudging Jaxon with one elbow.
Jaxon's face instantly went tomato red. "Why is everyone assuming that today?!" he snapped.
"I wasn't. I just saw Mineta and Kaminari grilling you over there." Sero chuckled. "Don't mind them. They're kinda perverts, but overall they're good guys."
"Coulda fooled me," Jaxon muttered, glancing at Kaminari, who appeared to be having a scathing argument with Jiro. Kaminari finally threw his hands in the air and walked away. Jaxon sighed and shook his head, then noticed that two of his personalities were having a conversation.
So, Peras, Leo said dryly, you haven't worked your magic in a while. What do you see in those two?
Peras thought a moment. Meh. There's a spark, but it'll never go anywhere. "Benedick and Beatrice" relationships seem nice on paper, but they have no evidence of working in real life. Plus, their personalities are super different, from what I've seen, and he seems to be the only one interested.
So, you'd give them a month? Leo asked.
That's a bit generous. Three weeks, tops, and that's if one of them doesn't cheat.
You've still got it, my guy! Leo cackled. That never gets old!
Jaxon had heard just about enough of this. Guys, stop, he snapped. Peras's "magic" gets me in trouble a lot. Don't risk it again.
Leo fired back instantly. That was one time, and they got over it!
I was hiding out at Chada's house for a week! Jaxon thought angrily. That girl's entire family was after me!
Alright, alright, calm your pecs, Peras muttered, then went quiet. So, reluctantly, did Leo.
Jaxon's face must have changed, because Sero looked at him quizzically and asked, "You okay there?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just... technically having a conversation with myself."
Sero laughed. "That's not as rare as you'd think around here. Hey, I've gotta go, but I'll see you around, okay?"
"Sounds good. I should be heading home anyways." Jaxon smiled at Sero and walked out of the classroom. He got to the main avenue and walked in the direction of the train station.
Leo? he thought. Why did you ask about those two?
Peras chimed in. It's probably because he likes Tsu.
It is NOT because I like Tsu! Leo exclaimed. I mean, not that I did in the first place. Wait, that came out wrong.
Dante, the Avian persona, spoke up. Love is an odd being, Leo. It scorns him who seeks it, but throws itself ever the more furiously at him who denies it.
Shut up, chicken wing, Leo growled. Or I might just cook your poetic butt to a golden brown.
Peras went ballistic. DENIAL IS THE CLIN-
Guys! Jaxon yelled. I was asking a question! Why do you always get so fired up?!
Peras apologized and quieted down again. Dante chuckled. You didn't let me finish, he said to Jaxon, then addressed Leo again. As I was saying, don't pursue a relationship with someone you just met, for sure. But don't write it off just yet, either.
Leo took a moment to reply. Wow. That's actually... really good advice.
It's kind of my brand, Dante answered. You are welcome.
