Well fuck, 500 followers… been kinda busy with moving into the new apartment and there is quite a lot of stuff to set up, sorry if updates get a little slow.
-.
September 23th, U.A. Highschool Heights Alliance, 1-A, 0645.
Hakuba didn't even knew how much he had missed that sensation; the scent of her skin, the warmth of her embrace… even the light snoring was a bliss. He had woken up with his head just above Momo's bosom, partially resting on her arm and partially on the pillow. She apparently held him close throughout the entire night, their legs still loosely interlocked and her cheek leaning against the top of his head.
"Suppose I finally can get used to this… A shame it happened after we moved to the dorms." Hakuba thought to himself, a small smile on his lips as his hand slowly reached around her back, lightly skimming over the fine silk of Momo's nightgown.
Part of him was still undeniably rebuking that nightgown with the fury of a thousand Minetas, but alas these last few hours had been by far the best of his week; from the moment Momo opened her door, to how she reacted to the gift, to their first kiss in over two months. Momo's reaction to the confession would be something Hakuba wouldn't forget so soon: Not a single word. She just looked away for a moment as if trying to hide her smile before she pulled Hakuba in for another kiss. A very gentle one that ended with both lovers clearly accepting each other.
Hakuba took a deep breath, cleared his throat and shifted lightly, unfortunately it was time to get up.
Momo just let out a small groan, the movement more or less waking her up, but Hakuba followed it up with a gentle smooch to her lips.
"…Do you really need to wake up this early…?" Momo complained as she pulled him back into her embrace, her voice still raspy.
"Good morning to you too." Hakuba joked, now hugging his girlfriend tightly.
Momo just nuzzled onto her boyfriend's skin a little, wouldn't take much more for her to fall asleep again.
Hakuba sighed. He had a routine that he needed to stick to and staying there with Momo was a risky move, both because people would notice his absence at the courtyard and because the girls would inevitably knock sooner or later.
He rolled his eyes and pulled the sheets back over.
"As much as I would like to, we shouldn't make a habit out of this. And I know that you would not approve of me getting lazy… but since it is your birthday, we could make it a special occasion." Hakuba spoke tenderly as he adjusted his head onto the pillow.
His only response was another soft snore.
"Adorable…" Hakuba suppressed a chuckle and allowed himself to close his eyes.
Before he even knew, he was already waking up again. Momo's cellphone vibrating on top of her desk was enough to do the job. He had slumbered for some thirty, maybe forty minutes. In a moment the device went off once more.
"Can you… pick it up for me?" Momo asked as she sat up, a soft yawn interrupting her speech.
Hakuba nodded and rolled towards the edge of the massive bed. It was a message from Ashido.
"Here." he handed Momo the phone, once more moving to her side.
Momo rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she slowly replied to the message. With a sigh she placed the cellphone down and stretched her back.
Technically boys and girls weren't allowed to sleep together given the rules that governed U.A.'s dorms, but that was a protocol both Hakuba and Momo decided to break there. Some degree of stealth was going to be needed in order for him to leave that room without turning classmates into witnesses… Iida wouldn't snitch on them, but both culprits were recommended students and Momo was Class 1-A's vice-president, so that would most certainly rustle Iida's feathers. Chatterboxes like Ashido, Sero and Kaminari were the bigger threat, given how likely they were to unwittingly inform Aisawa of this little transgression.
"We have fifteen minutes before the girls start knocking…" Momo informed, visibly cursing in her head about how inconvenient living with everyone else was from time to time.
"I should get going then." Hakuba suggested, it was good while it lasted.
"I told her you stopped by to give me your gift. I just need to get dressed." Momo placed a hand over his and leaned her head on his shoulder.
Well, she wasn't exactly lying.
"…and I'd say I am pretty fast to change clothes…" she added in a mildly suggestive tone only he knew and turned to face him.
What a way to wake up.
This was definitely something he could get used to. A shame they only had a few minutes for themselves, they still had a lot of catching up to do after those two months.
Damn, Momo made him feel like the luckiest guy alive.
"Have I ever said that I love you?" Hakuba jokingly asked following the brief silence after they pulled away from that kiss that unfortunately had to be way shorter than they wanted it to be.
"Well, I could stand to hear it a little more." Momo laughed, now finally getting out of the bed.
Hakuba followed suit, he just needed to put his shirt and dog tags back on, but his eyes were busy with something else.
"Can I help you with anything?" Momo asked once she reached for the closet's door, her tone mildly tired as she half turned.
"Just appreciating the view. One of the many benefits of dating you." Hakuba answered, now back to his usual tone despite and expression despite the faint color coming to his face.
"To think I got myself a pervert…" Momo sighed, motioning for him to turn around with her finger.
"We both know that this is not news to you." Hakuba quirked an eyebrow before turning around.
He just stared at the wall for the moment, the devil on his shoulder doing his best to get Hakuba to crank his neck, but the boy was not about to push Momo to do anything she wasn't comfortable with.
It was just the quietness of the room for a moment, periodically being broken by the sound of drawers being pulled.
"…I wouldn't get mad if you happened to… peek just a little." Momo spoke after silence persisted for a while, the awkwardness palpable in her voice.
That surely surprised Hakuba, who reluctantly turned his head just enough to catch a glimpse from the corner of his eye.
Momo just stood there, she had already put on the blue pants that were U.A.'s standard, but she had her back fully exposed, the loose black hair tossed over one shoulder as she looked over the other, her cheeks deep pink and her lips sporting a timid smile. No posing or anything, in fact she was visibly concealing herself, holding both her bra and shirt tightly against her chest.
It was just a moment of intimacy that was gone as fast as it came, a shy nod being the signal for him to look away once more.
Hakuba just took a deep breath, doing his best to keep that image burned on his retina for as long as possible.
Damn, Momo really made him feel like the luckiest guy alive.
"No comments?" Momo asked timidly as she now hurried to get herself presentable for the incoming guests to her room.
"None that wouldn't breach protocol, I assure you." Hakuba responded after clearing his throat.
"Really? Maintaining protocol right now?" Momo chuckled as she approached.
"The hag is very fond of Pavlovian conditioning and she is much stronger than she looks…" Hakuba suppressed a sigh. He could tell that Momo was just behind him now.
"At this point it would feel a little strange to not have you doing this, wouldn't it? But just so you know, I like having the no-protocol you around as well." she spoke tenderly, busy with something at his back.
"You can turn around now." Momo added.
"It looks good on you." Hakuba observed as he noticed the hairpin.
"Thanks, I…" Momo responded as she meandered closer, her nose now brushing against his, but the sudden knocking on her door stopped her in her tracks.
"Yaomomo! Open up! We gotta a lot of work to do!" Ashido shouted, clearly overhyped for something.
"I do miss my apartment sometimes." Hakuba admitted.
"You and me both." Momo sighed and made her way towards the noise outside.
She opened her door to a small burst of confetti and a nice cheer. The girls always did small things like these for each other and soon enough they were all inside. Even Uraraka and Asui seemed to be in good spirits for now.
Hagakure was the one to spot the hairpin. Her invisible eyes going back and forth between the ornament and the one male in the room.
"Mina-chan, look! We are off to a good start!" she shouted enthusiastically.
"Nice! Machibuse, get out and message Hatsume's number to me!" Ashido demanded.
"Good morning…?" Machibuse offered confusedly, the girls had a plan as it seemed. And if it involved Hatsume then it surely had to be a wild one.
"It is an amazing morning, yeah! Now shoo! We need some girls-only talk!" Ashido was going absolutely ballistic.
"Sure… I suppose I still need to take a shower before we all leave to class." Machibuse relented, now reluctantly leaving the room.
He was just about to reach the door when he looked back at Jiro with confusion in his expression. His lieutenant only gave him a tired shrug in response to the unspoken question and that caused devilish little idea crossed his mind; now he was pretty sure as to what the girls, namely Ashido and Hagakure, had planned for today and what this "girls-only talk" was about.
Hakuba stopped, spun on his heel and gave Momo a quick kiss on the lips.
That surprised Momo a little, but she was quicker to return the kiss than he was to pull back.
It all happened in an instant, and soon the boy was already closing the door, saying something about also needing to make some sweets for his girlfriend's birthday.
"I told you guys that they didn't need our help…" Jiro did her best to hold her laughter.
Machibuse had beaten Ashido in her own game.
The pink skinned girl rushed towards the door and almost yanked it out of the hinges as she shouted her lungs out.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW MUCH TIME I SPENT PLANING THIS THING TO GET YOU TWO BACK TOGETHER!? WHAT THE FUCK!?"
-.
September 23th,Main Building, Class 1-A, 0915.
Homeroom had been fairly uneventful up until this point; Usual notifications about today's classes and training schedule and, as per routine of Friday homeroom a small glimpse of what was to be expected for the next week; Class 1-A would be going once more to Gym Gamma this Sunday, this time for standard endurance training, and all first-year students would be taking a few written exams starting Monday.
The students undergoing internships were visibly relieved to know that they would be allowed to take the exams at a later date. They already had more than enough to deal with.
One minor thing was ticking everyone off however.
"Ashido... You've been tapping your foot since we began. What's with you today?" Aisawa asked, his usual tired look clearly bothered.
"Huuuuh…." Ashido froze.
"Sensei is right, mademoiselle…" Aoyama added. Truth be told, he had tried to get the attention of the girl sitting right behind him for the last few minutes in order to maybe get her to stop, but Ashido just ignored him.
"Is it because…?" Kaminari pondered loudly.
"Of course it is because of those two! I went to sleep like two in the morning because I was working out the details of my master plan! And bam! All for nothing! And… and the we barely stepped out from the dorms they are already acting as if they weren't dating!" Ashido began throwing her tantrum.
The entire class just stared at her for an instant.
"This is a school, not a dating show. And they are both students from the recommendation, so if someone is expected to follow the rules, it's them." Aisawa stated plainly.
"I stepped out of the line once already and was… lengthily lectured for my misbehavior. In Okinawa we are taught to not repeat mistakes." Machibuse offered, causing Watchman Iida to quietly adjust his glasses.
Yaoyorozu just gave her boyfriend a subtle judging look. Both of them were breaching the most basic rule of the dorms less than a few hours ago and yet he managed to keep his straight face.
Truly someone trained to fool a polygraph.
Ashido just turned away, bidding her time. Next class was Art, and Midnight surely would side with her.
The teacher sighed, knowing that things would be back to normal in a few days. He then gave a quick look to the two lovebirds under his tutelage and scratched the back of his head.
"Congratulations to you two, I guess…"
-.
September 23th, U.A. Highschool Heights Alliance, 1-A, 1915.
"Aw man…"
"HA! SUCK IT SOY SAUCE FACE! NOW DRAW FOUR!"
Machibuse and Uraraka were busy with getting dinner ready, but things were much more hectic over on the other side of the counter that divided the kitchen from the main common area. Bakugo, Sero, Ashido, Kaminari and Jiro were having a friendly game of Uno while they waited for the food. As friendly as any competitive activity with Bakugo could be.
He had quite a full hand and had been blocked two turns in a row, not an ideal scenario. And now both him and Sero were pretty much set to lose the round.
"Worst part is that I got absolutely nothing useful out of these four cards…" Sero complained, just tossing a random green card into the pile.
"So, where is Yaomomo now? We are back at the dorms, so you two don't need to pretend things are not happening." Ashido grumbled as she looked down towards the cards in her hand, her next move could stop Kaminari from winning.
"Momo was here in the kitchen, you just happened to miss her. Tokoyami-san returned from Kyushu not too long before you all settled down to play and she took the opportunity to speak with him about what classes he lost due to his internship. We might have been given some leeway about these exams coming next week, but Tokoyami-san has been affected to a much larger extent." Machibuse explained, slowly stirring the pot in front of him. Been a while since he made curry for his classmates.
"Uraraka-san, mind checking on the rice for me?" he added, now turning towards his assistant for the night.
"Right!" Uraraka quickly responded, she had been eying the card game with a mix of interest and reluctance for a while now as she peeled the shell of the twenty-something boiled eggs.
"Okay… looks done! I'm turning off the heat." she informed before returning to her eggs, now with a little more focus.
"My gratitude." Machibuse nodded.
"Damn… You had to play a red one!?" Kaminari complained loudly as he ended his turn without playing a card.
"Uraraka-san, you have helped me plenty already. Go join them for the next round once you finish with the eggs." Machibuse offered, his voice a little lower as to only reach her.
Uraraka just gave him a downcast look in response.
"This investigation has been weighting a lot on us all, please allow yourself to relax a little… It may not seem like much, but incessantly mauling over what is happening will wear you down." Machibuse suggested with a faint smile.
Uraraka swallowed, her shoulders stiff.
"How do you deal with this?" she asked without lifting her eyes from the counter.
"Midoriya-san has asked me the same thing a few days ago when I joined the effort… I told him that I just push the feelings to the side instead of dealing with them, and I honestly believe that my approach is terribly flawed. Although things changed since that day, suppose I found someone to lean on if it ever becomes too much to ignore." Machibuse responded, oddly amused by the fact that both Uraraka and Midoriya would come to him the exact same question.
"Deku-kun asked…" Uraraka repeated, a little surprised.
"He likely is the one having the hardest time, so he is going to need our support. Your support mostly." Machibuse gave a small chuckle as he watched the girl blushing slightly.
"He is always taking care of everyone, isn't he?" Uraraka asked with an honest smile as she looked towards the corridor.
Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu soon came into Machibuse's view.
"If you ask that to him he is just going to say its his job and try to keep appearances…" Yaoyorozu responded as she joined the two in the kitchen.
"Well, it is my job regardless." Machibuse quirked and eyebrow.
Yaoyorozu just briefly hugged him from behind for a moment as he continued his work.
"There is a surprise for you in the fridge, by the way." he added as he turned his head around only to receive a kiss to the cheek.
"It seems that I've lost on more developments than just a few classes over these last two weeks… those two are finally a thing?" Tokoyami commented as he pulled a chair and joined into the growing circle of people playing the card game.
"Since early today… Uno." Jiro responded as she cheekily tossed a red card onto the pile.
"You aren't the only one, I had this amazing plan to get them together today and it was all for nothing because Machibuse got to her room before we did." Ashido whined, her eyes going back and forth between the pile and the two block cards sitting on her hand of three cards. Playing any of those likely meant that she would hand the win to Jiro.
"You are mad that they finally stopped with that shitty drama? You are not making any sense, Raccoon-Eyes." Bakugo spat as he went through his next play in his head. If he used a reverse now than it was one chance in four that the game would end, but if he managed to play a next turn than he could slam Jiro with a plus four he had been hoarding for a while.
"I'm not mad that they are together! Just look how adorable they are! It's just that I have been trying to get that ship sailing since we began school… I mean, their first date happened because of me…!" Ashido defended herself, taking a moment to watch the scene in the kitchen.
Too much of a risk, Bakugo just opted to play a block on Sero.
"Why you gotta do this with me?" Sero moaned in defeat, cutting Ashido's explanation.
"Because it's your fault that I have nine fucking cards in my hand!" Bakugo shouted back.
"…I just wanted to be the one to give the final push, you know! I had an amazing idea and now I never get to use it…" Ashido turned back to the game.
She gave the players that would follow her play a hard, sizing look.
"Ok, Kaminari, it's on you my dude…" Ashido slowly placed down her card, causing Kaminari to draw two more.
"What was this plan of yours then?" Sero asked, closely watching as Kaminari tried to think of a way out.
"Right… now, what color you do have in your hand? You haven't played nothing blue in a while and you should be out of red by now…" Kaminari squinted his eyes as he looked at Jiro.
"Am I out of red cards?" Jiro taunted.
"Yes you are! I call red!" Kaminari slammed a wild card onto the pile. It was a bold move, but if he was right than that meant that Jiro would need to draw and everyone would know that she had no plays on red.
"Oh no, what am I gonna do…" Jiro blatantly faked pain as she placed her last card onto the pile and ended the game.
"The hell, Chargedolt!? How dumb can you be?" Bakugo tossed his handful of cards on Kaminari's face before slamming his head onto the table.
"I was planning on locking both of them inside the development studio." Ashido disclosed her plan as she tossed her losing hand back into the pile.
"That sounds a little… weak?" Sero observed, now picking up the pile of cards and shuffling it back together into the deck.
"It had a lot more steps than just that, obviously!" Ashido rose a finger in objection.
"Ahem… first step was to get Hatsume into the plan, she would be the one to get Machibuse in there." she began explaining.
"So this is why you wanted her number?" Machibuse asked, now beginning to add the final touches to the food.
"Yeah, I overheard you telling Shoji that she was working on your bow, so I was going to get her to call you… After that it was just a matter of making sure you didn't pick the lock or anything, so I asked Todoroki to come with me and block the door with ice. He still wants to get back at you because of that day you got a bunch of people high, and that was amazing opportunity." Ashido responded, scuttling a little to the side so Uraraka could join in.
"We kinda saw another side of Todoroki that day… Who's the next victim of the Okinawan Special, Captain?" Jiro held in a laugh.
"Shit… that's a really good name." Sero muttered.
"So my Quirk has become sort of a running gag in this story?" Machibuse asked, mildly amused as he looked around.
"Well, you are through over a fourth of the class already. And not even you are safe from yourself." Yaoyorozu observed, now taking a moment to pry inside the fridge.
"A most unfortunate result, yes, but I was strapped for more efficient solutions at the time." Machibuse responded, trying to wiggle away from the very confusing memory by justifying his actions.
"I still really wanna know what you were saying back then…" Ashido prodded for a response.
"I can only remember firing the arrow and then coming back to my senses a few minutes later; everything in-between is mostly a colorful blur with a few flashes of clarity and a plethora of… very unique sights." Machibuse shrugged.
"Pretty much." both Sero and Kaminari spoke in unison, testifying to how the whole experience was.
"So, what do you guys think it is going to happen to Dark Shadow if Tokoyami gets slapped with that crazy-juice?" Kaminari threw the possibility out there as he was handed his cards for the new round.
"Please do not paint a target on my back." Tokoyami turned away.
"Personally I want to see giggling Bakugo. That would be next level for sure…" Jiro also gave her suggestion.
"PINPRICK, IF YOU EVEN DARE TOUCHING ME WITH THOSE DAMN THINGS I AM BLASTING THEM ALL OFF!" Bakugo immediately got up on his chair, both hands up in a fighting stance.
The remainder of the group just stared at him for a moment, but slowly they resumed their activities. Uraraka joined the game and Tokoyami was plenty satisfied with just watching. In a few minutes both Machibuse and Yaoyorozu were busy with serving the food, even if the former at first had declined the help.
By the time they were done in the kitchen Jiro had already claimed another victory, the girl apparently turned out to be quite the card shark.
Ashido resentfully stored the deck as the remainder of Class 1-A showed up for dinner.
For Machibuse it was a good enough way to close the brief pause on his internship, he was back in business starting tomorrow.
If anything he still had a few hours to enjoy with Momo after dinner. Hakuba wasn't that big into dramas, but it was her birthday so it was only fair that she was the one to decide on what movie to watch.
Love would keep the tension and dread away for that night.
-.
September 24th, Musutafu General Hospital, 1230.
Turned out that Machibuse's internship would need to wait another day. When Kamihara called to inform that his intern would be needed elsewhere, Machibuse was quick to assume that the investigation on the Hassaikai had been concluded. But no.
It was a far more unique call; he was to go to the hospital nearby the U.A. campus instead of heading to Edgeshot's agency. The call came in the nick of the time actually, Machibuse was just about to make enter the train station.
"There you are my dear, just in time. Sorry for the sudden call, it is a very special case." a kind voice called him.
Recovery Girl needed his assistance.
"Ma'am." Machibuse bowed lightly as U.A.'s resident doctor came closer, the steel suitcase with his costume firmly in his right hand.
"The patient has arrived last night, most of the preparations are already finished. How about we go meet him?" Recovery Girl suggested as she motioned for him to follow.
"May I ask who this patient is?" Machibuse inquired as the elevator ride began.
"Oh… just one of U.A.'s alumni, although this one graduated quite a few years ago when I was still a lot younger. You likely know him already." Recovery Girl teased the teen accompanying her with just a few hints.
The track from the elevator to room 411 turned into a short guessing game, no harm in some fun along the way.
They stopped in front of the door.
"Excuse me! It's Recovery Girl!" the nurse called out as she knocked on the door.
Soon she pushed the door open and gestured for Machibuse to enter.
Resting on the bed was a tall, slim man sporting a neatly combed blond hair. His finger slowly moving over the clothing provided to him by the hospital, the loose strands in the cloth neatly arranging themselves into a pattern.
He was hooked up to a ventilator and to a few more tubes.
"I believe you recognize our patient… Hakamata-kun, this is Machibuse Hakuba. He is going to help me today; his Quirk is a blessing for cases such as yours. I believe this is the first time you actually meet each other." Recovery Girl made the introductions.
The special patient was no one other than Fiber Hero: Best Jeanist.
Machibuse's façade failed him as he quickly took a deep bow in respect. In a way it was his fault that the hero in front of him was in such a… sorry state. Kamino had costed a lot to a lot of people.
"Best Jeanist, Sir… you have my gratitude for what you did for me. I hope I can at least be of use in your recovery." Machibuse spoke in a tight voice, eyes locked onto the dull light-gray floor of the room.
Best Jeanist took a very deep breath before responding, not to add emphasis to his next words but because he wouldn't be able to speak at all otherwise.
"There is no need for this, young man… that is a good attitude, but what happened to me was an expected danger of hero life, like how denim is expected to rip when pulled too much." the pro spoke gracefully.
"How are you feeling today?" Recovery Girl asked as she checked on the information displayed on the monitors that sat by the bed.
"Lightheaded… arms and legs fell a little numb, but I assume that is intentional." Best Jeanist responded after another long-drawn breath.
Recovery Girl just gave a small nod before turning to the teen behind her.
"Best Jeanist survived a run into All For One, but what almost took his life afterwards was an allergy to some of the remedies… medical staff was spread very thin after Kamino, and that caused this detail to slip unnoticed when he first arrived at the hospital. Jeanist has never been one to spend too much time in the infirmary, so we never discovered how strong the allergy truly was." she informed, now handing out a list of the medicaments used for Best Jeanist's treatment.
"I assume that is why you called for me." Machibuse responded, now carefully going over the information.
"I have been testing a few substitutes, but it's hard to get something that works reliably without pushing our luck and it's well over time we get those tubes out… Jeaninst won't recover properly if he never get's accustomed to breathing without assistance. I'm going to need you in the operating room to keep the patient's immune system under control and prevent anaphylactic shock." Recovery Girl gave Machibuse his mission.
"I will be sure to do my best." Machibuse responded with a firm nod.
"The operation proper will begin in an hour. I have already told the hospital staff about you and they should be finishing picking up a few things that you are going to need: Epinephrine, albuterol, the standard stuff. You are also going to need to change, but just ask for some scrubs at the staff balcony and you will be all set… it should be an easy one, two or three hours at most. I'm sure you can do it, sweetie." Recovery Girl added with a smile and gestured for the student to go on ahead and prepare.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Machibuse responded and made his way out after taking a quick bow.
The two pros in the room just remained silent for a moment.
"Can't say that I wasn't surprised when you first told me that one of the students kidnapped by the League would be joining in the operation." Best Jeanist commented.
"He is very different from young Bakugo, isn't he? Motivation, drive, pride…" Recovery Girl responded as she now began preparing the anesthetics that would keep Best Jeanist asleep for the next few hours.
"Behavior." Best Jeanist added with a small sigh.
"That is most likely his grandmother's fault, you can bet that the old witch made sure of that…" Recovery Girl responded with a subtly bitter tone.
"Someone you have known for a while." Best Jeanist guessed based on that reaction.
"Both me and Hakame were still in high school when we first met; she was already someone very hard to deal with back then and the years have only made it worse… Used to send all the pretty boys running for their lives if they looked for too long." Recovery Girl rolled her eyes.
The nurse continued her preparations, random memories from years long gone going through her head causing her to chuckle a bit.
"Still… Machibuse-kun fortunately has learned quickly to be much more careful with his Quirk than his grandmother ever was. He's made a few mistakes here and there, but you are in good hands…"
-.
September 26th, Tokyo, Tokyo Central Station Surroundings, 1520.
The last couple of days had been surprisingly tame. Best Jeanist's operation was a resounding success and the man would leave the hospital tomorrow, breathing entirely by himself for the first time in eight weeks.
Yesterday was just a unnoteworthy day of patrol, all things considered. Edgeshot simply stated that the police was still working on tracking the angler Nomu and the topic was pretty much buried.
But luck was not on White Rider's side today.
It was just too Hatsume-y of an incident, but the mad scientist in question was, for once, completely innocent; she and Machibuse had just finished lunch, and when they returned to retrieve the weapon they were greeted by the sight of Power Loader shouting very colorful words as he hosed down a trio of second years with high pressure water from an emergency valve. The students in question somehow managed to rip a hole in a vat of highly toxic antifreeze liquid and pretty much caused a lockdown at the Development Studio that would last at least a couple of hours.
Machibuse luckily enough managed to convince Power Loader to open the door so he could get in and rescue the case with his costume from Hatsume's personal locker, a chest that rested somewhere buried underneath the massive amounts of Hatsume's babies by the far corner of the room. Good thing he was immune to toxins, otherwise he would have completely missed on his internship today due to lacking his proper work clothes.
The bow was unfortunately locked away in another section of the studio that housed the workbenches used by the students from the Support department in order to tinker with restricted gear. Since Hatsume had been the only one working there prior to the incident, Power Loader decided to lock the room down once she left for lunch… and now he would need to manually override the lock, something he was only capable of doing after the main studio was clear of hazardous material.
Another wave of projectiles came in hot, somewhat drawing the teen out of the small flashback he was having.
"I really miss my bow…"
White Rider took a deep breath, his back was pressed firmly against the cold stainless-steel shell of a wine cooler, he could feel dozens of projectiles rapidly pelting his cover. His foe fired sharp nails in bursts of about four seconds but needed to take a break of zero-point-eight seconds in between those bursts and that cooldown time had been steadily increasing with every burst.
It was plenty of time for the hero-in-training to take a shot, but alas he was without his main weapon.
He was alone this time, in a place he very well remembered coming with Momo months ago. The large panels of the French countryside were now riddled with holes and the outrageously expensive wine bottles once being proudly displayed in racks had been shot down and shattered. It was every insurance company's nightmare.
The desperate looking villain had holed himself into the kitchen of the once posh French restaurant after being left behind by his crew as they fled from the quick hit they performed at a jewelry store located inside a nearby shopping mall. Now he was White Rider's problem to deal with.
The target was a man in his late twenties with a very slim build and teary green eyes, face still hidden behind a balaclava. He had more than a few fresh bruises on his pale skin and limped from a cut on his left tight. His weak posture was that of someone scared as he held his right hand in front of him, his entire right arm seemed to be made of some metallic material, and his fist effectively functioned as a nail gun.
"Rider, what is the situation?" Edgeshot asked over the com. The pro went chasing after the escape vehicle and had left his intern to handle the situation at the restaurant.
If anything the place had already closed for cleaning after lunch, so the only ones inside were the owner and a handful members of the staff, all of which managed to escape through a backdoor.
White Rider took the chance to dash away from the cover he had been using. A quick vault over the main counter allowed him to pick up a small something he had been eyeing since entering the kitchen and would allow for more movement.
"I am having to improvise a little, but things are well under control. Over." the teen responded as he squeezed out a load of his standard anti-personnel drug over the blade of the fillet knife he picked up during his last move.
Throwing a kitchen knife wasn't nearly as refined or efficient as using his Delivery Arrows and required much more care as to just graze the target with the blade, but that hardly was something Machibuse had never done before.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the man cried as he threatened to fire his Quirk one more time as he firmly pressed his back against the wall, eyes darting around nervously as he searched for a way out.
Full of openings.
The target was twitchy enough that he would open fire on anything that moved from behind that counter, it was just a matter of creating a distraction and striking back during the cooldown.
But…
"What is your reason for doing this?" White Rider asked after a long breath, now resting against his cover.
"S-SHUT UP! I'M NOT FALLING FOR THIS GOOD COP THING!" the man shouted once again, now taking aim at the source of the voice he just heard.
"I am not a cop; I am a hero. And only a hero-in-training at that." White Rider stated indifferently.
"IT'S ALL THE SAME! Y-YOU ARE HERE TO TAKE ME DOWN! I'M NOT GOING TO JAIL!" the man's voice trembled.
"That was my original intent when I first began confronting you, yes." White Rider responded honestly, now sitting on the floor.
A tense silence filled the kitchen for about a minute.
"I have fought thugs, gang members, villains and even terrorists… but are not any of those, are you? I know this fear you are feeling all too well…" the teen asked.
"S-stop… D-Don't talk to me!" the scared man chocked on his words.
"Rider, police already has the restaurant surrounded. I'm converging to your location; the escapees are already under custody." Edgeshot informed over the com. Been a while since his intern had updated him on the situation.
White Rider cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the "villain" in the kitchen.
"Sir, tell the police to stand down. This may take a moment, but I will try to solve this situation without any more conflict. Our man here is an innocent just having a very bad day. Over." White Rider responded.
Edgeshot's silence was good enough of a response.
"What is your name? You don't need to tell me if you do not trust me." the teen asked, now resting his head against the counter.
"Ichitoge Ken…" the man introduced himself reluctantly.
"Ichitoge-san, I am going to stand up now. I trust that you will not shoot me." White Rider informed.
He got up to his feet, and now was face-to-face with the man that still had his hand ready to fire.
"D-drop the knife!" Ichitoge ordered, his arm still shaking.
"Let me just rinse it off on the sink first... My Quirk allows me to produce all kinds of drugs and toxins; I had planned on taking you down by throwing this at you: it would paralyze you by inducing muscular cramps for a few minutes." White Rider rose his hands and slowly walked towards the sink.
"My name is Machibuse Hakuba. Protocol: White Rider if you desire to keep it professional… I am a first-year student of U.A. Highschool and currently work as an intern for Edgeshot." Machibuse introduced himself as he took off his padded gloves and began cleaning the impromptu weapon of his chemicals. It was very unlikely that it posed any health risk for someone to use that knife to prepare food, but it was good practice to keep things under control.
"Edgeshot is right out there, isn't he?" Ichitoge gritted his teeth nervously.
"He is on his way, the men that left you behind are already under custody. The restaurant is already surrounded by the police however." Machibuse informed as he eyed the man in front of him.
The teen dried his hands on a nearby towel, stored his gloves on a pocket and pulled down both his hood and mask.
"Damn, you are just a kid… what the hell was I doing?" Ichitoge lowered his arm as it dawned onto him just how far he had gone today.
He slumped to the floor and took the balaclava off, revealing a scraggly blond hair and a blackeye. The man winced as the wound on his leg made itself noticed again.
"I'm going to prison, aren't I?" Ichitoge spoke more to himself than to Machibuse.
"You actively took part on a robbery, used your Quirk to threaten civilians and caused significant damage to this establishment. Those are not light charges." Machibuse informed, faint regret sensible in his voice.
Ichitoge just curled into the corner.
"Please, let me have a look at your wound. I have some degree of medical training." Machibuse offered a hand to the man.
"Why are you doing this?" Ichitoge took a moment to accept the hand and soon he was sitting down a chair.
Machibuse was silent for a while as he inspected the wound, taking his time to think about his next words. It was a shallow cut, but it was a rather lengthy one.
"I know a thing or two about doing something out of desperation and regretting it later… Now tell me, what is your story?" he responded, now using the device Hatsume had given him to quickly find the appropriate chemicals he would need before taking the medical supplies from the zipper inside his bullet-proof vest and sterilizing his hands.
"You luckily have made it this far without hurting or killing anyone, and if you were left behind as a distraction it raises a few questions that may help your case." he added, now donning the surgical mask once more.
"I… I lost my job about half a year ago. Was already struggling to make ends, but that got me deep in loans, and the debts kept on overdoing…" Ichitoge began, clearly ashamed of his situation.
The sight of the Chelicerae springing from Machibuse's palm startled him a little.
"I am going to inject you with a dose of aluminum sulfate and local anesthetics to numb the wounded area and stem the bleeding. The cut is not particularly deep, but I will need to perform a suture to close the wound and prevent infection. Eighteen stitches at least." Machibuse informed, leaving out the information about how that was actually the first time he would be stitching someone outside of a controlled environment.
Ichitoge gave a weak nod and continued his tale as Machibuse then carefully delivered the payload and began sterilizing the wound.
"The guys that robbed that store with me bailed me out, said that everything I needed to do was help them today. I just had to be there and be scary… they would do all the lifting and once we escaped I would be free to walk away without anyone getting hurt..." he explained, his brow furrowing as the mild burning sensation of the wound being cleared continued to torment him.
"Once things went south and heroes showed up they kicked me out of the car… I got that cut when they decided to cut off my safety belt... these bruises came from the fall…" Ichitoge continued, now sobbing.
"They used you as muscle and then bait. It is not hard to imagine that they would have disposed of you regardless of the outcome; you are a loose end and your former crew clearly had no qualms about stepping too low." Machibuse concluded, now pulling the suture thread from the device on his chest.
Ichitoge cried, but not because of the needle puncturing his skin or because of the thread pulling his flesh back together. That man had been through a very long and painful experience. And it all had crashed now.
It would be a slow process.
All healing was slow in a way.
Edgeshot, the police, reporters and a handful of onlookers waited almost half an hour for an outcome.
White Rider stepped out of the restaurant with Ichitoge's arm over his shoulders, the man's leg was still too weak to walk properly. The fact that Ichitoge was crying his eyes out wasn't helping either.
"There is no need for this… just get Ichitoge-san a good lawyer and a place for him to rest. I will vouch for him in court if needed." White Rider stopped a policeman from handcuffing the "criminal" he was escorting.
Ichitoge uttered a barely understandable thank you amidst his tears as the police got him into a car and left.
Everyone in that street just watched the car get further and further away for an instant.
"I'm proud of you, kid… Let's call it a day." Edgeshot spoke as he placed a hand on his intern's shoulder and gave a light squeeze before moving on.
White Rider was about to turn and follow but the reporters behind him incessantly asking questions that for once deserved his attention: What happened inside the restaurant? Why he decided to not fight? "Wouldn't have been a lot easier to take him out?
Hakuba took a deep breath and decided to focus on a random camera. He had to be quick with his statement, otherwise his lack of a spine would get the better of him.
"It is not about difficulty; it is about doing what is right. A hero's true purpose is saving people... and someone needed my help today."
…
..
.
AN: And here we go, fifty chapters down. Now that we added some girth to this internship arc we can finally move on to the Shie Hassaikai raid. And yes, Hakame and Chiyo (Recovery Girl) have some history, we are going to address that later on.
Received a few questions, so keeping with the whole Q&A stuff:
Am I planning on going over the OVAs?
I knew about the All Might OVA, and that one had absolutely nothing to do with this story so I just decided to not cover it, but I gotta be completely honest here: I completely forgot that "Save! Rescue Training!" and "Training of the Dead" existed. Don't know if I will go over those two now, the first one didn't seem all that interesting to write and the second one would be kinda redundant… I mean, Hakuba is immune to the Zombie Virus Quirk, so that would be mostly a meme chapter.
If we get a new OVA, then sure, I might give it a shot.
How far do I plan to bring the story?
Hard to say without spoiling anything but rest assured that I have things already planned up until the Endeavor Agency arc we got recently in the manga. And as you guys can tell I write a lot of "filler" stuff in between the main events of the story… so yeah, I will be here for a while.
The dates I put in whenever I change scenes: Are they cannon? Is there a list people can use to write their own stuff?
Very few of the dates are cannon, and those that are cannon are the ones related to birthdays and such. What I have here are mostly well-educated guesses, with the exception of the first few chapters, which have dates offset by about two or three weeks because I didn't want to make things that happened in the first two seasons of the anime feel so tightly packed. Lately I have been considering retconning those dates I left offset, just so people can use this story as a reliable timeline to pace their own stories.
AND FINALLY!
ART!
Today I bring to you guys one… very creepy Nomu. Just check it out on my profile here, I just updated it with the deviant art link. Or you can just add /imyaff to the deviant art URL. Honestly I prefer to get your guy's feedback about the artwork here in the reviews so I don't have to log in two different sites to reply, but feel free to speak up there as well.
I'm still searching for some stuff after the move, one of these things is the SSD that has the art for Hakame. I should add it to the DA thingamabob by the time the next chapter comes up, didn't want to delay this chapter any longer just so I could find that thing.
That's it for now. NINJA EDIT: As of February 3rd the Deviantart page has been updated and now we finally have the art for the damn hag.