Well, sure has been awhile huh?
I know I said I was gonna finish the mini arc of FTZ first before going onto the next story, I ended up talking about this story with Petrus and sorta got the itch. I asked him what I should do and he said to just write what I want and so I did! I wrote the next chapter of THIS story and I couldn't be happier as I loved every second of this. So I'm gonna update this a few times and then finish the FTZ arc.
And just to warn you all, this chapters a biggie.
Enjoy!
"Whew, that was a good work out wasn't it bro?"
"You said it bro! A work out worthy of two manly men like us!"
After their time in the gym was over the UA boys as well as Eri, holding onto her big brothers' hand tightly, were seen walking out of that particular part of the mall with one key difference then when they first entered. When the group first entered, Tetsu and Kirishima were at each other's throats and were constantly making challenges towards each other.
But now, it was quite the opposite as the two hardening quirk users had their arms wrapped around the others shoulder and constantly laughing and stating how manly the other is and how manly they are together. It was the pure definition of a bromance.
"So, are they…cool now?" Izuku asked with a confused expression as he watched Kirishima and Tetsu do their bro thing. "They certainly seem a lot more friendly with each other?" Eri nodded as well as he looked up at the red- and gray-haired teens. She liked that they were getting along now, but it was still quite the bizarre sight.
"I believe so." Ren stated as he looked at the two with his usual expression. "At the very least they seem to be at better odds with each other."
"And all it took was breaking a table!" Jaune state with a sweat drop as he remembered how Tetsu and Kirishima broke the table in the gym during their arm-wrestling contest. Thankfully the gym didn't press charges or anything as they said it happens more often than they might think. But the blond boy was still happy for them as now they could be friendly rivals than just rivals.
"Well it's a good thing that they did!" Iida spoke up next as he did his usual strange hand gestures. "As heroes in training it's a requirement that we learn how to get along and work together should we end up teaming up some time in the future."
Everyone sweat dropped as Iida's words as well as his usual hand movements. Leave it to Iida to turn something like a friendship between two students into something involving their future career as heroes. But in a way the engine quirk user was right. Both their future as UA students as well as heroes in the future would go a lot smoother if they could get along and work together. So this whole thing was a win-win.
Grooooooooowl!
Everyone stopped and looked towards each other as a loud growling sound was heard. "You guys heard that to, right?" Jaune asked as he shifted his eyes around the group, all of them nodding in response.
The growling sound was then heard again, a bit louder this time, and everyone continued looking for where the sound originated. Izuku looked to Eri and was about to ask his adoptive sister is she heard it as well, but his eyes widened as he saw Eri blushing a bit and holding a hand to her stomach.
It was obvious now where the growling was coming from.
Izuku smiled a bit as he knelt down to Eri's level and put a hand on top of her white hair. "Eri, are you hungry?" Izuku asked in a gentle and kind tone. Eri hummed for a bit, still a bit embarrassed at her stomach making such a loud noise that everyone could hear it, a gave her big brother a nod. Izuku gave his little sister a toothy smile to reassure her that it was alright before looking back at the rest of his fellow UA students. "You guys mind if we get something to eat next? Eri's a bit hungry."
"Yeah man that works." Kirishima told Izuku with a sharp toothed grin and a thumbs up. "I could go for something myself."
"Nothing beats a nice big meal after a good work out." Tetsu said as he licked his lips at the idea of getting some food. "Could use some extra iron today as well. Gotta keep my quirk nice and strong!"
"Yes, a healthy and well-balanced meal after an intense work out helps keep your energy up." Iida stated in his usual manner. "Furthermore-"
GROOOOOOOOWL!
'Just admit you're hungry.' Everyone thought in unison as they looked to Iida who's stomach was now the one growling instead of Eri.
"Uh, Ren…" Jaune began as he looked to his classmate and saw Ren had an odd…vibe around him. "Everything ok?"
After a brief moment of silence, Ren looked up at everyone with a strange sparkle in his eye that no one had ever seen from the 1-B ninja before. As a few were about to ask Ren what was up, he quickly spoke up and said. "I know just the place."
"Behold! The greatest restaurant this mall as to offer!" Ren was quick to drag to group to a restaurant on the east part of the first floor of the mall. Looking up, the group saw the name of the place. Quirky's. "This restaurant provides all sorts of meals that benefit people with all different kinds of quirks. It's the perfect place if your quirk needs you to have a specific diet or food plan."
"Wow that's amazing!" Izuku said with a big smile on his face. If Ren was right, he should easily be able to stick to his diet with this place. "Can't believe I've never heard of this place before."
Jaune then took a deep breath through his nose and let out a pleased sigh as he took in some of the amazing smells coming from the restaurant. "Can we please go in already?" Jaune practically begged as the smell was practically dragging him inside the place. "That smell is heavenly…"
"Yes! Let's head in." Ren said in a rather eager tone as he led everyone inside. As the 1-B ninja brought them inside, he quickly mentioned to Izuku how they would have a kid's menu for Eri. Once inside, the group couldn't help but admire the décor of the place. It wasn't to fancy, but it was above casual as well. It held that perfect balance of not insanely fancy or high class but showed it was more then just a common café.
"This place looks rather nice Ren." Iida stated with a smile on his face as he looked at the establishment as well as the various people either eating or working there and every single one of them had a smile on their face. "This certainly looks like a very nice establishment with a friendly atmosphere."
"And man Arc was right!" Tetsu stated with some drool coming out of his mouth. "That smell is amazing!"
"Imagine what the food taste like…" Kirishima day dreamed as he spotted a waiter carrying some delicious looking food over to a table. He wanted some of that. He wanted it bad.
"Oh! Hello there Ren. It's a pleasure to see you here again."
Getting everyone's attention was the greeter behind the desk in front of the entrance to Quirky's. She was a woman with light green hair in a bob-cut and wearing a suit that the waiters were wearing for the top half of her body and a long skirt the waitress's wear wearing for the bottom half.
"Always good to see you Sara." Ren politely greeted the woman. It was easy to see that the two knew each other. Most likely due to Ren coming here often. "These are my classmates from UA. I brought them here to try some of your amazing food. We'll need six regular menu's and one kids menu please."
"Of course." Sara nodded with a kind smile. "Here, allow me to show you to your table."
"Thank you!" Everyone said in unison as they all followed Sara as she led them to an area of Quirky's where there were plenty of tables that could seat all of them easily. She then seated them at one of these tables which was empty and cleaned of any dishes or scraps of food. They all sat down, with Eri sitting on her brother's lap, and Sara handed them all a menu she grabbed from the front with Eri being handed the smaller menu full of meals meant for children her age.
"Alright, just take your time on deciding what to order and your waiter will come by and see if you're ready." Sara informed them all as they all quickly opened their menus and looked through all the different meal options. "But would any of you like to start off with anything to drink?"
"I'll take my usual please." Ren asked Sara who nodded, knowing what Ren usually got to drink when he came here.
"I'll have orange juice please." Iida kindly asked the woman. One thing about Iida's quirk is that it always seemed to work better and more efficiently when he has plenty of vitamin C in his body.
"I'll just have a lemon water please." Izuku told Sara. "And an apple juice for Eri." Eri smiled at the drink Izuku picked out for her and licked her lips a little bit. She was eager to get that sweet apple flavored juice.
"Me to please." Eri followed up afterwards, ordering the same drink as her brother.
"I'll take a cola please." Jaune asked as he looked at the drink options on the table.
"Spirt please." Both Tetsu and Kirishima said in unison causing both of them to share a fist bump.
"Alright then!" Sara said with a bright and friendly smile on her face as she wrote her drinks down. While she wasn't usually a waiter, she made an effort to at least get people's drink orders. "I'll make sure to let your waiter know! He'll be with you soon." And with that, Sara left to go back to her station at the entrance of the restaurant.
Once she was gone, everyone was mostly quiet as they looked through their menus and decided what to order once their waiter came by with their drinks. A few times some of the guys, and Eri at one point, drooled a bit as they looked at a few of the menu options.
Once they were all done, they simply set their menus down and sat together in silence. It was a rather awkward silence as they all looked around each other and the establishment they were in, not really knowing what to say. That was until the man of class 1-B spoke up with a rather interesting question. "So why'd you all come to UA?"
"Huh?" A few of the guys let out as everyone at the table looked towards him.
"Well if we're gonna be hanging out like this I figured we should all know more about each other." Tetsu explained his reasoning for asking what he asked the question. "So come on, we all have our reasons for coming to UA so spill!"
"Well, me and Jaune have the exact same reason." Izuku was the first to speak up, seeing no reason not to tell everyone here why he and Jaune came to UA. Its not like this would require him to spill the beans of One for All.
"We both simply wanted to be heroes that save people with smiles on our faces." Jaune gave the one true reason why he and Izuku wanted to go to UA. "Ever since we we're kids we've admired All Might and wanted to be just like him. A hero that smiles, no matter the danger or risk. And since he went to UA, we wanted to follow in his footsteps."
"A truly admirable reason." Iida complimented as he looked at the two boys with a small smile on his face. Iida honestly couldn't say he respected Izuku or Jaune upon first seeing them at the entrance exams for UA. And he thought he was about to lose some respect for Izuku after seeing what he did to Bakugo during the hero vs villain training. But after learning and getting to know the two boys, as well as the history between Izuku and Bakugo, Iida would admit he misjudged the two. They were truly talent and strong people that would make great heroes one day. "I know the feeling of wanting to be like someone myself. I've told a few of you before, but I wish to be just like my older brother. He also went to UA and I want to do him and my family proud and continue the line of Ingenium."
"Its so manly!" Kirishima said as he was moved to manly tears after hearing Izuku, Jaune, and Iida's reasons for coming to UA.
"A simple reason, but a respectable one as well." Ren nodded at the three with a small smile on his face. "Wanting to simply save and help others while doing your loved ones proud."
"Yeah! Woohoo!" Tetsu cheered rather loudly making a few of the restaurant patrons looked towards them. "You guys are gonna do great! I know it!"
"Tetsutetsu! Please use your indoor voice!" Iida quietly scolded the iron quirk user while making his usual arm movements. "I appreciate the compliment but there are other people here trying to enjoy their meal so keep it down."
"Alright, alright, sorry man." Tetsu apologized while still grinning. "I just think its really cool how you both wanna live up to your own heroes. Its not one thing to say you wanna be like them, but you two are working your asses off to truly become them! I think that's really respectable and not everyone can say that they do that."
"W-Wow, thanks Tetsu." Izuku said as he looked to the iron quirk user with a light blush on his face from his compliment. He still wasn't quite used to the whole 'praise and compliment' thing yet. "That means a lot."
Just then Izuku felt a small hand being put on top of his and looked at his lap to Eri looking up at him with a small yet bright smile. "You're gonna be the best hero big brother." Eri told her older brother with nothing but sincerity.
Izuku's heart clenched a bit at the face Eri made as well as her words as he proceeded to hug her right and close with his little sister instantly hugging back. "Aaaaaawww." The guys let out at seeing the sweet scene between the brother and sister.
"Um, I hate to interrupt but have you all decided on what to eat?" Getting everyone's attention, and causing Izuku and Eri to separate, everyone turned to the source of the voice and saw a man with slick black hair and a suit. He was also holding a tray of drinks that everyone had ordered.
"O-O-Oh, s-sorry!" Izuku quickly apologized to the waiter. "W-We didn't s-s-see you there."
"Its quite alright. It's a nice sight to see how close you and your sister are. Reminds me of my own little sister." The waiter reassured the Midoriya siblings with a kind smile as he handed everyone their drinks. Izuku and Eri blushed a bit in response as the waiter spoke up again. "But anyway, hello my name is Joji and I'll be your server today. Have you decided on what to order or do you need some more time?"
"I'm ready to order." Jaune said as he looked at everyone else in the group. "What about you guys?" Each and everyone of them nodded in response. "Alright then! I'll take the sea food platter please!"
"I'll have the beef stew, side of steamed vegetables please." Iida requested as he handed his menu to Joji.
"I will have the crab salad please." Ren asked as he also handed his menu to Joji.
"I'll take the grilled beef!" Tetsu requested in an excited tone to get some of that in his belly. Handing the menu back to Joji, Tetsu also asked for. "Side of baked potato's to please!"
"I think I'll have the American style barbecue chicken sandwich please." Kirishima placed his order next. "Been while since I've had a good sandwich."
"And I'll have the pork Katsudon please." Izuku of course ordered his favorite food from the menu. Even with his diet Izuku could still have his favorite dish. In fact, when he looked over the information for this places Katsudon, they actually included some things in it so it fit into the diet All Might gave him even better then how his mom makes it! It was a total win! "And my sister Eri will have the Oyakodon with a side of sliced apples please."
"Apples…" Eri drooled at the mention of her favorite food.
Joji laughed a bit in response as he collected all the menus and wrote down everyone's orders. "Alright! I'll make sure the chefs get right on it!" Joji told everyone as he put his pen in his suit pocket. "Your orders will be ready soon. If you need a refill on drinks, just give me a holler."
Everyone gave the waiter a nod as they watched him walk away towards the kitchen. Once their waiter was gone, Tetsu looked back to everyone and spoke up. "Welp, since I was one who asked I guess I should tell you why I wanted to go to UA." Everyone paid close attention to Tetsu as he was about to give his story. "I wanna be the human shield that protects the little guy."
"Human shield?" Eri questioned as she tilted her head a bit.
The others had a similar reaction as Tetsu's statement left them a little confused. "I'm afraid I don't understand." Iida said as he made his weird hand and arm movements. "Could you please elaborate?"
"Well…it all started when I was in first grade…" Tetsu began explaining his story to everyone.
"I had just moved into a new city. I didn't originally live around here actually. I went into the new school as I came and still do come into everything. Full of confidence and manly pride! I was gonna make my mark in this new place and not let anything slow me down. I let every kid in the class know who I was and what I was gonna do."
"Things were going pretty well for the first few weeks. I made a lot of friends, showed off my quirk, and made my place in this new location. I wasn't trying to be popular mind you; I just like showing others how tough and manly I am! But there was one thing that always caused me to break a little bit…when others asked me if I wanted to be a hero."
"I was always a fan of heroes. Seeing them showing off their powers, saving people, beating up villains. It was awesome! But…it also kinda scarred me. Seeing the pros work their quirks to the max and sometimes get hurt, all the destroyed buildings, and hurt or even killed people during disasters, and of course those big and scary looking villains that aren't afraid to play dirty. It was all just so…overwhelming."
"When anyone asked me if I wanted to be a hero when I got older, I didn't know what to say. On one hand, I thought it would be really cool being a hero. But on the other hand, could I really handle it? Would I be able to defeat villains and save people or would it all be to much for me? Sometimes this question would keep me awake at night…until one day."
"It seemed to be like any other day. I was with a few of my buds at the park and we were all just playing around and stuff. But then suddenly one of us was harshly pushed to the ground. When we looked, we saw a couple of 4th graders looking at us like a bunch of street thugs. They were after candy money and demanded we give any money we might have on hand. We all stood out ground and said no. One of the 4th graders, a big tough looking one, turned his hand into a tiger-like paw with sharp claws and charged at one of my friends. They were frozen in fear as the bully charged at them, and admittedly I was a little scarred to. But seeing my friends face, I knew I had to do something!"
"So out of complete instinct, I shoved them out of the way and suddenly activated my quirk. I didn't even realize my quirk activated; I was ready to take the hit without it. When the 4th grader slashed at me, his claws broke against my metal and he yelled out in pain. Once again I acted out of instincts and self defense and socked him right in the nose with my metal first!"
"He was all talk and went down in one hint. The other 4th graders he was with couldn't believe what they saw and actually looked at me in fear. I cracked my knuckles and asked 'Who else wants some' and they quickly took their friend I knocked out and ran away."
"Afterwards, I fell to my knees and started to breath heavily. I couldn't believe what I did. I took on someone so much bigger and older than me! And it felt great! My friends quickly started cheering for me and thanking me for protecting them. And the one I pushed out of the way asked me one thing. 'Are you gonna be a hero' and I gave only one word in response…"
"Yes."
Tetsu crossed his arms over his chest as he finished his tale. Everyone was looking at him with expressions of awe and respect. Before anyone could speak up, Tetsu said one last thing. "It was that day I learned that being manly and brave isn't about being fearless. Its about going in and doing whatever you can despite any fear you might have. So that's what I wanna be. A brave and manly hero that protects people who can't protect themselves. Despite any sort of danger or fear. That's why I went to UA. Not because it's the best hero school, but because it's the toughest. Because it will push me to the limit and past that over and over again."
Waterfalls of manly tears poured from Kirishima's eyes. The red heads respect for the iron quirk user was now through the roof. "Dude…" Kirishima let out as he put a strong hand on Tetsu's shoulder. "I can't put into words how manly that is…"
"Yeah Tetsu that's amazing." Izuku complimented the iron quirk user who simply smiled in response, still keeping his arms crossed. "And with your kinda quirk I know you'll be just the hero you want to be! If not even better!"
"While I can't condone you getting into fights at such a young age…" Iida voiced his opinion before giving Tetsu a small smile and nod. "I do respect your reasons for wanting to become a hero. And what you said is true. There's no such thing as true fearlessness, but bravery is certainly something you have."
"Three cheers for TetsuTetsu!" Jaune said as he took his drink and raised it in the air. "Here! Here!"
"Here! Here!" Everyone cheered for Tetsu as they clinked their glasses together. All except Eri who was to short to raise her glass of apple juice that high but she still made an effort and cheered along with the rest of the group.
"Aw come on guys." Tetsu grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. There was a light dust of pink on his cheeks from everyones cheering. "You're making me blush here."
"Well what can we say man, you got a lot of heart." Kirishima complimented as he gave Tetsu a strong pat on the back. But after that, Kirishima moved his hand on top of his head and started lightly rubbing it. "You certainly have more of it then I did…"
"Care to explain?" Ren asked as he rose his eyebrow at the statement Kirishima made.
"Yeah man what do you mean?" Tetsu asked as he turned to his new best friend. "Come on don't say stuff like that! You go plenty of heart!"
"Well…ya see…let me tell you the reason why I went to UA…" Kirishima then began to tell his story.
"See…last year I wasn't anything like I am now. I doubt you'd all would recognize me. Both in appearance and personality. One thing, this isn't my natural hair color. My hair is actually black and normally went down, I even had bangs."
"Dear God…" Tetsu let out at that last part about bangs.
"There's more." Kirishima told the iron quirk user.
"No!" Tetsu gasped dramatically.
Everyone at the table, Kirishima included, gave Tetsu a strange look before Kirishima shrugged it off. "Anyway…"
"Like I said, I didn't just look different I was a lot different to. I guess…you could kinda call me boring. I wasn't really passionate about anything and I never did anything to stand out or make myself known. I was just kinda…there during school."
"And, this is something I still kinda feel, I felt like my quirk was nothing special. It wasn't flashy like a lot of hero's quirks and I didn't think it could do much either. Heck, the first time I used my quirk when I was four, I ended up cutting my face. When you said that stuff about my quirk on the bus ride to the USJ Midoriya, it made me a lot happier than you might have thought. And its also kinda why I got a little upset about finding out about how me and Tetsu practically have the same quirk…sorry again man."
"But anyway, not only was I not passionate about anything I also didn't have any courage whats so ever. Whenever someone was getting bullied or a fight broke out, I was always the first to run and keep my head down. I didn't exactly like confrontation or conflict. And the one time I did, I easy got sent down to the ground flat on my ass."
"But there was always one person who stepped in to help. One who our school always said would make it as a hero. Mina Ashido. We went to the same middle school together. She was always the first one to stand up to bullies and diffuse any sort of tension or conflict. She was a real hero."
"Then one day two of my classmates being stood down by a large villain and demanding the directions to a hero agency. They were to scared to answer and me…I was just frozen in fear. I couldn't even do anything. And then Mina her self came running in, stood in between the villain the girls, looked that villain right in the eye and lied to his face about the direction of the agency he was looking for."
"I just couldn't believe it. She went face to face with a villain, no fear at all, and lied to his face! While…all I did was just watch and do nothing. Later I heard that Mina was applying to UA. I was just…crazy to me. And made me feel even worse. My favorite hero, Crimson Riot, was always talking about the meaning of chivalry, and living your life without regrets."
"And so, from that moment on…I promised myself I would live just like that. Every single day I worked hard on every aspect of myself. My strength, speed, stamina, and most importantly of all…my courage. I applied to UA just like Mina to prove I got what it takes. And I was surprised to see that I actually got fifth on the entry examine! Even ended up working together with Arc, Rose, and Valkyrie. And I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I'm gonna keep working harder and harder till I'm a hero that can't be brought down by anything!"
When Kirishima finished his story, everyone was looking to Kirishima with various looks. Izuku and Jaune looked at Kirishima with some surprise. Kirishima's story reminded them a bit of themselves. Have little to no confidence, usually avoiding conflict and confrontation, but soon gaining a drive and will to work hard to become a hero.
Iida and Ren gave Kirishima reassuring nods, stating how Kirishima would be a great hero without using words.
And Tetsu...
"Kirishima…" Tetsu grabbed both of Kirishima's shoulders and made the dyed red head looked at him with Tetsu's face being completely serious. "Listen to me. At the start of today I didn't like you because I felt like you were just copying my style. But soon I felt that the manly fire in your heart was truly your own burning hot and bright! So don't sell your self short ever again you hear me!? You're a strong and passionate guy I'm proud to be friends and rivals with!"
Kirishima didn't even need to think of his response. He and Tetsu gave each other a strong high five and continued to look into each other's eyes with Kirishima giving a shark toothed grin and saying. "You got it man!" Tetsu soon grinned and nodded as well with Kirishima speaking up again. "Besides, can't have you pulling ahead of me as UA's number one man."
"Those sound like fighting words…" Tetsu said with an excited growl as he started pushing Kirishima's hand away with the dyed red head doing the same and both struggling to get the upper hand.
"Maybe they are…" Kirishima growled back as the two were unaware that their bodies started to go into an arm-wrestling position.
Meanwhile everyone sweat dropped as they watched the two subconsciously start to arm wrestle. "Could you please not arm wrestle in here." Ren was the one to speak up and finally make the two aware of what they were doing. "I don't want you breaking the table we're going to be eating on."
"Right, sorry about that guys." Both of UA's manly men apologized in unison before giving each other a challenging look and grin. They were gonna settle this later. Even if they were friends now, a tie was not acceptable!
"Kirishima." Now getting the hardening quirk users' attention was Eri who's heart clenched a bit at seeing the bright expression the white-haired girl was giving her. And it only intensified as the girl gave him two thumbs up and said. "You can do it."
Manly tears started to leak out of Kirishima's eyes at the diabetes causing sweetness Eri was giving her. "Thank you Eri!" Kirishima said to the girl who gave him a small smile in response.
Little did he know her words and thumbs up were copied from an All Might poster in Izuku's room.
"So Ren, everyone else has given their reason for coming to UA." Iida spoke up as he and everyone else at the table turned to the ninja of 1-B. "What about you? Why have you chosen to come to the number one hero school in the country?"
"…" Ren was silent. When Iida asked this question, Ren's face went back to a small frown as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. Ren was usually in control of his emotions and he still was in this case, but everyone could see that something was wrong.
"Yo Ren." Tetsu begun with a small but worried frown. "Is everything alright?"
"…"
"Hey…" Izuku talked to Ren with a calm and reassuring expression. "If you rather not say you don't-"
"Saving families." Everyone was silent as Ren finally spoke up. He had lifted his head up and opened his eyes to look at everyone. "That's my reason."
"Saving families?" Jaune asked.
"…I've…heard of cases of villains leaving children parentless. Or killing a parents' children." Ren began to go in depth with his explanation. "I want to be a hero to do everything in my power to prevent that from ever happening."
"You have a very noble desire Ren." Iida said with a serious tone which held nothing but respect for Ren. "Wanting to protect others and their families is truly a heroic goal."
"Thank you Iida." Ren bowed his head to the class rep of 1-A.
Izuku and Jaune looked towards each other and then to Jaune. While they could tell Ren wasn't lying, heck Ren didn't really seem like the type to lie at all, but they could tell there was more to this story. Much more. But they wouldn't pry. It was Ren's business and he would tell them if/when he was ready.
"Alright everyone, thank you for patiently waiting." Before Kirishima or Tetsu could speak up to Ren, with Eri staying silent and clinging tightly to Izuku after being rather unnerved by Ren's story of villains killing people, Joji returned carrying a very large trays containing everyones food. "Got everyones food here so dig in!"
Everyone smiled as Joji put their respective meals in front of them, a few even drooling and rubbing their hands together in anticipation for the food. "Thank you for the meal!" All of them said in unison as they put their hands together and bowed their heads after all their food was placed.
"Its no problem." Joji smiled at them as he stacked the now empty trays and was ready to walk away. But before he did he remembered something and looked towards Izuku as the boy was picking up his chopsticks with Eri eagerly eating her food so she can move on to the side of apple slices. "There's someone at table near the front of the restaurant that wishes to speak with you."
"Huh?" Izuku hummed as he put his chopsticks next to his bowl. He rose a brow and was clearly confused. "Talk to me? Why?"
Joji simply shrugged, showing he didn't know. "I have no idea." Joji told the greenette. "She just asked me if I could ask the green haired boy attention for her."
Izuku hummed again in response. What did this girl want with him? It just seemed kinda weird she would ask the waiter instead of…wait a minute…'she'…'WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?' Izuku mentally screamed as his face lit up like a Christmas tree. A girl wanted to talk to him?! Why?! He didn't even know who it was but it was still a girl wanting his attention! HIM!
"Um, are you ok sir?" Snapping Izuku out of his thoughts, with Izuku feeling like his brain was now smoking, was Joji who was giving Izuku both a confused look and worried look. "You seem to be heating up."
"Uuuuuuuuuuh…" Izuku let out as his brain was still trying to cool down enough to make rational thoughts again.
"You should go talk to her Midoriya." Iida spoke up next as he made his usual hand movements. "It could probably be important."
"Yeah man." Kirishima encourages with his usual grin now back on his face. "Don't worry we won't eat your food."
"O-O-O-O-O-O-O-Ok…" Izuku said with his stuttering now on the maximum. Izuku, with his body making robot-like movements, picked up off of his lap surprising the girl a bit as she was handed to Jaune. "C-C-C-C-C-C-C-Could y-y-y-you p-please w-w-w-watch m-my s-s-sister p-please Jaune…"
"Oh, uh, sure." Jaune said as he took Eri and sat her down next to him as well as bringing up the girl's food to her.
"W-W-What…" Eri stuttered as she gave Izuku a pleading look, not wanting to be separated from him.
Izuku felt a stab of guilt at his heart for this and quickly put a hand on the girl's shoulder. The blush on his face now gone as the need to reassure his sister easily overpowered the nervousness and anxiety he was experiencing from the fact of a girl wanting to meet up privately with him. "Don't worry Eri, I promise I'll be back." Izuku reassured his little sister with a big toothy smile. "I'm just gonna go talk with someone for a little bit, that's all. You're safe with everyone here."
"O-Ok…" Eri said as she put both of her hands over Izuku for as long as she could before he pulled away.
"Don't worry Izubro!" Tetsu told Izuku, with a new nickname to boot, as he put a fist to his heart. "We'll protect her with out lives. Like real heroes!"
Izuku gave a grateful nod to Tetsu, as well as his other male friends, before he walked away to the front of the table where…a girl was waiting for him. 'Ok Izuku, calm down! You can do this! You talk to Rose, Yang, Belladonna, Uraraka, Nikkos, and Valkyrie all the time! Not to mention Schnee even if I do get distracted by her smooth pale skin, beautiful snow-white hair and-AAAAHHH! STOP IT IZUKU! THIS IS NO TIME FOR THOSE THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW!'
Slapping his cheeks, Izuku continued to try and properly mentally prepare himself for this. He was now near the front of the restaurant and begun looking around for the girl who wanted to meet him. Joji never gave him a description so he would just have to look around and gu-
"H-H-Hello! O-Over here!"
Izuku turned to the source of the voice and found a girl, the one who presumably wanted to meet with him, waving at him and the first thing to pop into Izuku's head was, 'B-Bunny?'
Izuku was looking at a girl…with bunny ears. Sitting at a table alone and shyly waving towards him was a girl with chocolate brown hair that went down a little past her waist, a matching pair of chocolate brown eyes, and a pair of big floppy bunny ears on top of her head. She was about a year older than him at 16 and was wearing a tan colored short sleeved shirt with a bunny emoji on the front. She also had skin tight jeans that went a little past her knees and flat shoes that matched her hair.
"U-U-U-Um h-hi…" Izuku stuttered nervously as he walked up to the table the bunny eared girl was at and took a seat. He failed to notice due to his own nervousness and heated face, but it also seemed like this girl was also acting quite nervous and had some blush on her cheeks. "I-I-I'm I-Izuku M-Midoriya. W-W-W-W-W-What i-is it you w-w-wanted t-to talk about?"
"W-Well first off all, my name i-is Velvet Scarlatina." The girl, now known as Velvet, introduced herself with Izuku now taking note that she spoke with an Australian accent. "And before I t-tell you why I wanted to talk to you I should mention t-that I also go to UA as well."
"Oh really?" Izuku asked with his interest peaked a bit. Now that she mentioned it, Izuku could have sword he remembers seeing a pair of bunny ears one time in the lunch room. "W-What class are you in?"
"W-Well, f-funny thing actually." Velvet started explaining as she started twirling a piece of hair with her finger. Something Izuku couldn't help but think was adorable. "I'm actually in two classes."
"Two?" Izuku was certainly surprised by that. He's never heard of a student being in two classes before.
"Y-Yeah, I'm in class 2-A as a hero student and 1-H as a support student." Velvet revealed causing Izuku to be taken back a bit. Velvet blushed a giggled a bit at his reaction. She could already tell he was about to ask what was up with that and started explaining. "You see, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to take the hero course or support course. I've always admired and wanted to be a hero my whole life, but I just love tinkering and creating things. But in the end my friend Coco convinced me take the hero exams and now the two of us are in class 2-A together as well as two of our friends. But I couldn't resist the urge to make some of my own stuff. So sometimes I might have ended up sneaking into the support building and making a gadget or two…or a few dozen. When this year started Nezu informed me he and Power Loader were aware of me sneaking in since day one but didn't do anything to stop me. They actually said they were impressed. So, they made me an offer, if I was up for it, I could take both the Hero classes and support class. I jumped at the chance and been doing really well! I've been able to go all out with my stuff as well as my hero training."
"Wow! That's amazing Scarlatina!" Izuku complimented her with a wide smile and some sparkles in his eyes. An action that caused Velvet to squeak and blush a bit. "How do you handle taking two courses like that? It must be hard!"
"A-Actually its pretty easy for me." Velvet sheepishly stated as she scratched the back of her head. "They mostly have the same courses with the exception of the specific hero and support courses. And the support stuff is usually really easy for me so most of the time I just take those lessons at home and get it done with a breeze! N-Not to brag but I-I'm o-o-one of the t-top five i-in 1-H." Velvet seemed to stutter even more as she explained her accomplishments. "S-So I mostly focus on the hero c-classes."
"T-That's really impressive Scarlatina." Izuku complimented the bunny girl once again. "Y-You should be r-really proud of y-yourself." Velvet's face exploded in red at the praise Izuku was giving her. "I-I-If you d-don't mind me a-asking w-whats your quirk?"
"O-O-Oh! I don't mind at all!" Velvet reassured the greenette as she cleared her throat. "My quirk is pretty simple to explain. O-Obviously as you can see, I have the t-traits of a rabbit, but my main quirk is called Mimic. I can copy the movements of anyone I've seen perfectly. It helps that I have a photographic memory."
"Woah really?! That's so cool!" Izuku's eyes sparkled at hearing yet another amazing quirk another fellow UA student having. As Velvet blushed at his compliment yet again as she soon witnessed Midoriya go into his most infamous form.
This mutter state.
"Withaquirklikethatthere'ssomuchpotentialforcombatyoucouldjustwatchvideosofamartialartsmasterandinstantlylearnthetechniquesnottomentionwatchingotherstudentsheroesandevenvillainsinfightsandlearningtheirmovementsaswellyoucouldendupeasilyswitchingbetweendifferentfightingstylesandbeingcompletelyunpredictableandgaintheupperhandplusthefacthat-"
"Uuuuuuuum…" Velvet awkwardly let out as she watched Izuku mutter, not even noticing the weird looks he was getting from a few of the surrounding people in the restaurant looking at him as well. "Midoriya?"
"Huh, what?" Izuku let out as he was brought out of his muttering state thanks to Velvet and gave an embarrassed look. "Oh my Oum I'm so sorry! I-I-I-Its just I-I get s-so excited w-w-whenever I h-hear a n-new quirk I-I just can't h-h-help b-but l-look into it and-"
"I-Its ok! Its ok!" Velvet once again cut Izuku off and reassured the poor boy. "It was actually really impressive how you were able to come up with that on the fly." Velvet then whispered on part under her breath. "P-Plus it was kinda c-cute…"
"What was that?" Izuku asked with a tilted head. "I didn't quite hear that."
"N-N-NOTHING!" Velvet yelled in a panicked tone before clearing her throat again. "A-Anyway the r-reason I wanted to t-talk to you is that I was hoping you c-could help with something."
"Uh, yeah sure what is it?" Izuku said with a rather confused tone. Of course he's more then happy to help just about anyone but he was more so confused about why she needed his help specifically.
"Well you see there is one more thing I do for the school." Velvet started explaining causing Izuku's jaw to drop a bit. She did even more for the school? With this, and both hero and support classes Velvet started making Izuku think he was being lazy in comparison. "I always write the school newspaper!"
"Oh that's you?" Izuku asked as he was one of the students along with Jaune, Iida, and a few others that always grabbed a copy of it every week.
"Yeah! And right now I'm working on an article regarding the USJ incident." Izuku flinched a bit as she said this. Memories, rather painful and scary memories he may add, of that incident came to his head. "And it would really help if I had someone to give me some specific details since you were there. I-If you d-don't want to o-or if the experience is a bit t-to painful I under-"
"I'll do it." This time it was Velvet who was cut off by Izuku was gave her a strong nod. "I-I won't lie, the experience is still rather fresh and kinda painful but…if you really wanna do this then I'll help you ask. But there's just one thing I'm wondering."
"Whats that?" Velvet asked.
"W-Why me s-specifically?" Izuku asked with his usual stutter. "I-I mean I-I'm sure there are o-others you could a-ask. H-Heck I'm currently h-here with two o-of my classmates that were a-also there."
"O-O-O-Oh, w-well you see…" Velvet looked away from Izuku as she tried to form the right words. "W-Well I'll a-admit I-I've seen y-you in the lunchroom s-sometimes and I guess I also j-just w-wanted to g-g-get to k-know you a bit is all. I-I saw you here at the m-mall today and j-just went for it y-ya know?"
"O-O-Oh y-y-yeah t-totally!" Izuku stuttered back as now he and Velvet shared a sheepish smile. "S-So how should we…"
"Oh! How about when classes start up you come to UA an hour early and meet me there and we can go over things." Velvet told Izuku the plan she had. "Is that alright?"
"Yeah t-that works." Izuku confirmed with a nod. "I-I usually get up early to work out anyway."
"Perfect!" Velvet beamed a little, her ears standing straight for a bit, with a smile that made Izuku's face heat up once again. "So I'll see you there?"
"Of course!" Izuku immediately told Velvet as he stood up in his chair. "It was great meeting you Scarlantina!"
"You to!" Velvet said to Izuku as he walked back to where his table was, waving to Velvet until he disappeared from sight. When he was gone, Velvet let out a sigh of relief as she leaned back in her chair. "I did it…"
Vrrt!
"Huh?" Velvet felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and pulled it out and saw it was text.
Coco: So, you talked to that green bean finally?
Velvet blushed a bit at the text her best friend sent her and texted back.
Velvet: Yeah! I actually did it!
Coco: Woohoo! Bout time you moved on from just starring at him in the lunchroom like a creep.
Velvet: Hey! I'm not a creep!
Coco: Relax bun-bun, I'm just teasing :P I really am happy for you.
Velvet: Hehe, thanks Coco.
Coco: And hey, if you need an extra push to win him over maybe show him that fluffy tail of yours~
Velvet: COCO!
Coco: Just an idea~
Velvet was blushing madly at her best friends' text…but…it might work.
"Oh my gosh that was great!" A little later, the UA group was seen leaving Quirky's with bellies full of food and their bill paid. Tetsu let out a burp as he turned to Ren and said. "Man you were right dude, this place is awesome!"
"I knew you wouldn't be disappointed." Ren said with a small smile coming to his face. "Many of my own dishes I make are inspired by the many food options here. Except for my pancakes, those are my own secret recipe."
"Wow, you have your own pancake recipe?" Jaune asked as he turned to Ren, who nodded in response. "Think you can make some for me?"
"Some for me please!" Kirishima eagerly asked.
Before Ren could response, Izuku spoke up. "Hey do you think you guys could keep it down?" Izuku asked in a quiet voice. Izuku was currently holding a drowsy looking Eri in his arms. After eating their meals, Eri started to get a bit tired. Guess both a work out at the gym and a delicious meal tired the 5-year-old out. "I think Eri's started to go to sleep."
"Today must have worn her out." Iida stated as he adjusted his glasses. "Its important that a growing child like her gets plenty of rest. I recommend you take her home Midoriya."
"Yeah you're probably right." Izuku agreed as Eri shifted around in his arms, her eyelids growing heavier. "Sorry to cut this short you guys."
"Nah don't worry man." Kirishima reassured Izuku with a smile and thumbs up. "I should probably be getting home to. My mom wanted me to help out around the house today."
"Nora gets a bit feisty when I'm not around for to long." Ren explained as he put a hand to the back of his neck. He remembered all the times Nora got a little…nutso when she went without his food for a long time. Nora was a heavy eater so Ren made her meals in large portions due to that and a hungry Nora was a Nora no one wanted to deal with. "Yeah I should probably get going before my Aunts apartment becomes a wreck."
"Good idea." Jaune said with a sweat drop. He knew Nora more then everyone other then Ren himself in their group so he had a small idea what the green ninja was talking about.
"I'm afraid I must be going as well." Iida told everyone while making his usual arm movements. "Its been fun being with you all but I have some studying to catch up on. Even with school out for a few days we can't afford to fall behind."
"Hey sweet! Mind if I join ya?" Tetsu asked as he walked up to Iida. "I'll admit I've been having some trouble with math and I've been looking for a tutor."
"I'd be honored to help you Tetsutetsu." Iida told the class 1-B student with a smile. "Even if we're from different classes we should help each other to grow and reach new heights, both physically and when it comes to our curricular."
"Awesome!" Tetsu cheered with a pumped-up fist. "I owe you man!"
Izuku and Jaune then bid all the guys goodbye as they all walked away, with Tetsu going with Iida for a bit of a study/tutor session, with smiles on their faces. Overall today was fun. While they didn't do all to much, they still enjoyed themselves. Hopefully they could all do it again.
"Hey Jaune, can I ask you a favor?" Izuku spoke up as he turned to his best friend once everyone was gone. Eri was now completely asleep in his arms and one could tell that she would be out for a while. "Could you take Eri home for me please? I kinda wanna take a walk by myself."
"Yeah I can do that, but how come?" Jaune asked as Izuku carefully transferred Eri from his arms to Jaunes. Thankfully the white-haired girl remained asleep. "Is something wrong?"
"No nothings wrong." Izuku reassured Jaune with a calm tone and smile. "I guess I just have some things I wanna think about on my own is all. As much as I love being around Eri, I rather do this by self. Just tell my mom I'll be back in an hour or so, it won't take long."
"Alright Izuku, if you say so." Jaune said as he held Eri in a position that would be more comfortable for her. He's had some experience in holding sleeping children and Eri was no different. "See ya later buddy!"
"See ya Jaune!" Izuku said as the two took off in different directions.
…However, what they didn't notice was that from the upper part of the mall was a female figure with dark skin and mint green colored hair looking down at them. Specifically, Izuku. "Cinder, its me." The girl spoke into her watch which seemed to have a communication device installed into it. "I've got eyes on the target. Commencing operation Mirror."
'Man, I can't believe so much has changed in so little time.' Izuku was now seen walking through the woods as he was lost in thoughts. But these weren't just any ordinary woods. These were the woods him, Jaune, Bakugo, and many other kids they knew would always explore and play when they were in kindergarten.
Whether it was playing hero, catching bugs, or just exploring for the fun of it. They were special to him. Even when Bakugo was a huge jerk, Izuku still enjoyed all the times he spent in these words. It was like this place was where everything started in a way. They always helped him relax and remember all the fun times he had.
'First I find out that All Might's power isn't natural, then I get said power, I actually made new friends, me, Jaune, and said friends got into UA, I made even more friends, and then we got attacked by villains.' Izuku gave himself a brief summary of the things that have happened over the last year in his life. From 10 months of hell to meeting all the people he could call a friend.
Despite going through it all, a part of him still couldn't believe it. He had a quirk, he had friends, and he was in the school of his dreams. 'Don't worry four-year-old me…' Izuku said in his mind as he looked up to the sky with a bright and hopeful smile. 'I'm going to do it. I'm gonna be a hero!'
Rustle! Rustle!
"What? Is someone there?" Izuku heard the sound of leaves rustling and quickly turned to the source. His eyes widened a bit as he found a little boy about Eri's age standing in the bush looking at him with a…strange smile. His eyes were hidden by a large yellow hat he was wearing with his body covered by a red coat. "Oh, hello there. You kinda startled me."
"…" The little boy didn't say anything.
"Um…" Izuku was now started to get a little creeped out. The boy's smile was unnerving and he just had this…hollow feeling to him. "Are you here by yourself? Its kinda dangerous to be in the woods all alone. You could get lost. Do you know where your parents are?"
"…" Suddenly the boys smiled became wider as he started running into the woods. Izuku's eyes widened at that…and failed to notice the boy seemingly phased through the bushes and not making the rustling sound from before.
"Hey! Wait!" Izuku called out to the boy as he ran after him. The boy was surprising fast as no matter how fast Izuku ran he was always the same distance away. "You shouldn't just run off like that! Please come back!"
"…" The boy still didn't say anything as he continued to run away as Izuku continued to push branches and other stuff out of his way.
Izuku continued to chase this young boy for about five minutes. Izuku pushed one last branch out of way…and was rather shocked at what he saw. "A…warehouse?" Izuku was now in a part of the woods he never knew existed. It was a rather open but hidden area complete surrounding by trees.
And in the middle of this area was a warehouse that looked like it had been abandoned for decades. It all…unnerved Izuku. However, the greenette gasped as he saw the young boy enter said warehouse. "Oh no…"
Izuku was getting more worried about this. Something about all of this just…didn't feel right. Izuku needed a back up plan incase something was wrong. Izuku quickly took out his phone and opened up text and clicked on All Mights name and quickly typed something as well as clicking something that would send his location to the Number One Hero. He didn't send it yet though. He kept his thumb over the send button. He held the phone behind his back as he started approaching the warehouse. If something bad happened, he'd send All Might the text.
Hopefully he wouldn't have to.
"Come on…come on…" Izuku struggled to get through the crack in the wall. It was easy enough for a small child to get through…a bit of a struggle for a teenager. But with some effort, Izuku managed to squeeze through while keeping his hand behind his back and his thumb over the send button.
"Hello…" Izuku's voice echoed through the large warehouse. It was mostly dark but there was some sunlight leaking through the various cracks. "Anyone here?"
"So, you're here? I guess Emerald was successful."
Izuku gasped as suddenly a light shone down from above right at the middle of the room. Izuku quickly hit the send button on his text which was a simply S.O.S along with his location. Once the text was sent, he put his phone back in his pocket. When he looked to the light, there was two things. One was something rectangular covered by a sheet and the other…was a woman. She was looking right into Izuku's eyes with her own amber colored ones.
This woman about five foot eleven, some of that height being because of the heels she was wearing, and had fair skin with ashen-black hair that covered a bit of her left eye. She wore lipstick and violet eyeshadow as well as a dark-red, off-the-shoulders, v-neck mini dress with yellow designs. There is a blue feather-like accessory on her right hip, at the top of an open portion of her dress. The dress ends in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending just above the knees.
"Its so nice to finally get to meet you face to face like this." The woman spoke in a rather intimidating yet calm tone. "I was rather…intrigued by you and your abilities when I saw them for myself. So powerful and raged filled. Like a resting beast that turns into a monster once awakened."
"W-What…" Izuku said as this woman just gave him chills and caused him to tense up. "What are you talking about? H-How do you know who I am? And who are you?!"
"Hmm…you don't know do you? Guess you weren't even aware of your actions during your rage. I suppose it makes sense." The woman had a rather amused smile on her face as she spoke which caused Izuku to start lightly trembling. "As for the other two questions, you may call me Cinder Fall. As for how I know you…well, you certainly left an impression at the USJ."
"The…USJ…" Izuku's eyes snapped wide open as he looked into Cinder's amber eyes. Only two groups of people were at the USJ. The UA group which consisted of him, his classmates, and teachers, as well as…
"You're with the League of Villains!" Izuku yelled as he unknowingly activated full cowling. Looks like he was right to send that text.
"I suppose you could say that." Cinder said as she turned and walked right in front of the hidden rectangular object. "I was there for the attack but I just wanted to…observe and judge things for myself. That little boy Shigiraki didn't want my help but out of the kindness of my heart I gave him a little edge by trapping some of the teachers and students in a flame barrier."
"That was you?!" Izuku yelled as Cinder's smirk grew a tiny bit bigger.
"That is what I said wasn't it?" Cinder said in a bit of a teasing tone that irked Izuku a bit. "After that, I simply hid and decided to just watch. And I must say I was watching you very closely. You have so much power within you. Its…almost like All Mights." Izuku completely froze. Oh no…did this villain…did she…"But I suppose the worlds is full of coincidences isn't it?"
"W-What…" Izuku let out as this woman was now starting to confused him a little bit.
"But enough about that. I suppose I'm wasting your time aren't I?" Cinder's words only further confused Izuku as she rose up an arm…and showed to be carrying the boy he was chasing by his neck. "I believe you were looking for this?"
CRACK!
The ground cracked underneath where Izuku stood as the greenette's hero instincts overtook him at seeing the young boy being held by the villainous by his neck and Izuku made a great leap towards Cinder. "YOU LET HIM GO!" Izuku said as he reared his hand back and ready to pull off a powerful smash.
"Hehehehe…" Cinder let out a haunting laugh…as the boy vanished from sight. "Rather convincing illusion isn't it? Emeralds really outdoing herself right now?"
"An…illusion?!" Izuku was panicking now. He couldn't stop now. This villain laid a trap for him and he took the bait."
"Now then…" Suddenly Cinder grabbed the sheet covering the rectangular object and proceeded to do a backflip and jumping past Izuku while pulling the sheet off revealing…a mirror. "Lets get to why I brought you here."
'What? A mirror?' Izuku mentally questions as he looked into the eyes of his reflection that was coming in quick.
…But when Izuku looked into his reflection something changed. Suddenly the Izuku in the mirror gained a shadowy dark aura and along with red glowing eyes. 'Wait…whats going on?'
CRASH!
Izuku then ended up punching right through the mirror, shattering it into piece…with something…no…someone coming out of the other side. Izuku then landed on his feet and-
"Hey there."
Izuku's eyes slowly widened at the voice. It was…his own voice. It was a bit deeper, but it sounded exactly like him. The greenette then turned around…and saw himself. Standing 15 away from him was a near perfect copy of himself!
This Izuku did have a few key differences however. His hair was black and dark purple instead of dark green, his eyes were a ruby red, his skin was slightly more tan, and the cloths he was wearing, while the exact same style, now had a black and purple color scheme.
"Huh…" Izuku let out as he looked right into the clone's eyes. So many questions were doing through the hero in trainings head that he couldn't properly process and could only watch.
"You're obviously confused, so allow me to properly introduce you two." Cinder spoke up as she stepped up next to the Izuku clone. "This here is Dark Izuku Midoriya. My new…accomplice you could say."
The newly made Dark Izuku turned his eyes to Cinder and-
SLAM!
Izuku watched with widened eyes and a frozen expression as Dark Izuku proceeded to round house kick Cinder in the gut. The villainous was not expect this at all and was sent back towards the front of the abandoned warehouse and grunted in pain.
"Hmph, get real." Dark Izuku said in an aggressive tone before turning back to the original Izuku and locking eyes with him.
Told ya this one was big!
Got the introduction of more RWBY Characters, the backstory I made up for TetsuTetsu since he doesn't have one in canon (even though he totally deserves it) and of course...that ending.
Dark Izuku has been something me and Petrus have been planning for a long time and now its finally time to put it into action. Obviously him and his creation were inspired by Dark Pit from Kid Icarus Uprising. He's gonna be a big part of this story so I hope you look forward to him and all the things he's gonna do!
Such as the next chapter!
So remember to fav and follow so you don't miss it and make sure ya leave a review as well! Always love hearing what you guys have to say. Even the haters. There saltiness sustains me.