Sanji Inochi

"—Ah."

I was there, within my Mindscape.

What was the total amount of Dreams I had? Right… It was 27,632. Previously, it was 23,510.

Something was different.

Yeah, something was really different. Once I closed my eyes, taking a "nap" in David's machine, I was forced into my Mindscape. I always had the ability to dictate when and where I entered this place, but my mind pulled me in without my consent.

I probably—I definitely took note of that. But that wasn't my top priority right now. As soon as I entered, there was this white shadowy smoke that was constantly coming off of my body as if it was generating the smoke itself. To the average person, I didn't look human. Really, I looked like a phantom roaming this earth.

And in front of me, there were nine phantoms who looked exactly like me—all faceless. They were beyond the invisible barrier that trapped me like a prisoner, just about ten meters away. Each phantom took the shape of a person, each of them having different figures than the other. I was able to tell that, out of the nine, there were seven men and two women, all lined up.

What did they look like individually? Well… I don't really remember. I swore I remembered that there was a phantom who was a large man who had the shape of a bodybuilder, but that was about it. However, I noticed that their eyes had a fierce white glow that had a long trail that gravitated upwards.

Yet, there was one special phantom who was different from the rest.

It was the first phantom. His eyes didn't glow white; in fact, he only had one eye unlike the others. Instead of glowing white, it had a faint golden glow to them. There was no trail that emanated from his single eye, but just a mere glow. He was the first one I looked at, and unlike the rest of the phantoms, he had a conscience. He knew that I was looking at him.

Click.

Clack.

Click.

He took three careful, methodical steps towards me. Our eyes met.

Click.

Clack.

Click.

Another three steps. It was torture. I tried to say something, but I couldn't force the words out of my throat.

Click.

Clack.

Two steps. The phantom stopped just three meters ahead, just in front of the barrier that separated us. "Ha—" he breathed. So the phantom could talk. "Finally, dreamer..."

I recognized his voice. On the plane to I-Island, he was the one who spoke to me after I remembered the memory with the nightingale. And back then, he called me a "dreamer".

Again, I tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"You have to remember..."

Slowly, he reached out and pressed his right palm against the invisible barrier. He stared into my eyes, he stared at me as if he knew everything about me. I didn't know what he was talking about. I didn't know what he wanted me to remember.

"—You… You are the tenth heir."

CRACK!

"—Ah—!" I finally said something, but at that moment, my barrier cracked.

It didn't shatter.

It didn't break.

It cracked—a hairline fracture.

A crack.

A single—only a single—just a single— crack .

"—Wake up—"

It was enough that my head felt like it was splitting apart.

So I woke up.

Once I opened my eyes, I saw David Shield at my side.

I had never seen a man look so concerned before. He worriedly asked, "Are you okay, Sanji?! The machine overloaded with energy, but the limiters kicked in and turned it off. I'm glad that nothing exploded this time around. "

I winced in pain, holding my head. The headache still lingered. "Yeah, I'm fine… Just a headache. Did my Quirk do this?"

"Mhm, I already know the cause," said David. "As you were inside, one of the Quirk Types registered was Mental. Coupled with the fact this machine trapped you inside a dark, quiet, enclosed space that acted like a sensory deprivation tank, there was a high chance that something would go awry. Though, any good engineer knows to build in failsafes to prevent any serious damage to the equipment or the user themselves. Though, you really pushed those limiters… I'm sorry, I only realized everything once it was too late."

I shook my head, trying my best to ease David's worries. "Don't be, I should be thanking you for doing this for me in the first place. Anyway, you said that I overloaded your machine right? How? I don't think I was that powerful, especially now."

David sat down on a nearby chair, rubbing his chin. "Well… Let me explain to you what the tests gathered. First of all, it wasn't able to determine the main function of your Quirk, but it was able to determine other things. Like for example, your AP Level. Inochi, Setsuna told me that your Growth Potential was 12,500; correct?"

I nodded. It was a shame that the main function of Dreams wasn't able to be calculated or whatever… I kinda expected that outcome though.

David told me, "It's now 12,750. It increased by a quarter of a thousand."

"What? Aren't Quirks supposed to, uh, stay constant, right? I thought Growth Potentials were determined at birth," I replied. A brief chill went throughout my body but that was probably because I wasn't wearing a shirt.

"They're supposed to be. Accumulation-type Quirks have a 'limit' so to speak. Your cells are able to accumulate a substance up to a certain point. When you fully reach your Prime—where your AP Levels match your Growth Potential—you can accumulate energy up to its greatest limit. However, you're different. Frankly Sanji, I don't think you have a 'limit'."

"...I don't have a limit? That's kinda unsettling."

"Yeah, it's honestly a shock to me as well. As you grow, your cells will naturally produce more and more AP until it stagnantes when you're in your Prime. You're the exception. This basically means that your cells are constantly increasing the production of AP until you die. There's no telling how this affects your body negatively. I wouldn't be surprised if you develop cancer when you're older. You basically have no theoretical limit, but your body does ."

I let out a breath, taking that in for a moment. At least I wasn't told that I'm dying within a month. Hmm, I think my cells will stop increasing production when I refuse to collect any more dreams. Unfortunately, that's impossible. I have no control over whether or not I collect dreams. If what he said is true, then I might have cancer or some other disease in the future.

Then, I heard a whisper, "Dreamer…" It was the phantom's voice again.

I shook my head, getting rid of his voice. I didn't need him talking to me right now. "That's definitely something to keep note about. Anything else you discovered?"

"Well, there was a big discovery but I'll save that for the end. Let's talk about Quirk Passivity. Do you know what that is, or do you need me to explain it?"

I haven't reached that unit in metaology yet, so I shook my head.

Tapping his leg, David answered, "I'll give you a brief explanation. Let's say, for example, a man has a Quirk that allows him to produce water. Besides this ability, this man has incredible speed being able to scale a ten-story building within seconds. These two things are completely unrelated to each other, but both are effects created by Quirks.

"Producing water is the Quirk's main function, yet its speed was a passive effect granted by this man's Quirk. This is what we call 'Quirk Passivity', where Quirks passively enhance the user's body outside of its main function. We are able to calculate a person's Quirk Passivity with our current technology. There are five categories we look at:

"Speed: How fast you can move in one direction.

"Power: How much strength you have.

"Endurance: How long can you fight while pushing your body to the limit.

"Agility: How easily you can move your body in multiple directions.

"Resilience: How much damage you can withstand.

"We give these categories a nickname: S.P.E.A.R.! Each category is measured on a point scale of 1.0 to 10.0. For example, let's say your power is a 1.0. It means your Quirk doesn't enhance your power, so you have the power of the average human. But what if your Power was a 10.0? I'll let you imagine how strong you'd be. A good example of a Hero relying on Quirk Passivity is Odysseus. His Quirk is Endless, which doesn't allow him to feel exhaustion. His real feat is having a 10.0 in all five categories. He's one of the most powerful Heroes in history. Now, here are your numbers:

"Speed: 6.9.

"Power: 6.5.

"Endurance: 8.0.

"Agility: 7.3

"Resilience: 7.8."

"Goodness…" I muttered under my breath. "Those must be some high numbers, right? The average of those numbers are above six."

"7.3, to be exact. You see, we also calculate the average Quirk Passivity—and for the sake of brevity, I'm going to refer to it as Q.P. because it's a mouthful to say. The average person has a Q.P. of 1.5, while the average Pro Hero has around 3.7. A top-ranking Pro Hero would have an average of 6.3. You can see why Odysseus is No.1 in Greece for a reason, don't you?

"Oh, before I forget… In some cases, we also have an instance where some of the categories go below 1.0 and into the negatives. This would mean that the Quirk negatively enhanced your body, but those types of Quirks are rare. On the other hand, some Quirks directly boost strength or speed, so you would see a big value in those categories.

"Back to the main point, we're not accounting for the fact that every human is made different. Some are bound to be more physically fit than others while some are naturally frail. I'm told that you have an incredibly high endurance despite not having Q.P., —"

I raised my hand. "Wait? Are you saying that I'm not affected by Quirk Passivity? My endurance and resilience are pretty high, so I'd imagine that's why I can last so long in fights."

"Heh, and that's why you're an amazing man, Sanji. Because you're unable to use your Quirk, your body won't be affected by Q.P. because as you train your Quirk, your Q.P. is also 'trained' in a sense. Your body as it stands today? It's from pure, unadulterated exercise without your Quirk. Remember Sanji, your human body and your Quirk are two separate things. Let's say that this is a video game. Your human body has your stats categorized by S.P.E.A.R., and Q.P. acts as a 'permanent buff' to those stats."

"I see…" Well, looks like I hit the jackpot. Too bad I didn't win the lottery of life. "Is that everything before we tackle the elephant in the room?" That would be my Quirk Types.

Deeply sighing, David took off his glasses and set it in his lap. "Yeah, we finally can… There were three Quirk Types analyzed, but two of them were determined before the machine was overloaded. One of them was Mental, and the other… Well, let me say something first…"

"Okay…" I said with my voice rising in anxiety.

"You were born a special man. There's no wonder why some people are chasing after you for your potential. Thankfully, you have great mentors to guide you like All Might. Because uhm… This other Quirk Type is the rarest Quirk Type in the world… You are exceptionally rare, less than one percent of one percent.

"Because you have an Origin-type Quirk."

"Eh?"

"Armory versus Deku," I say, announcing the match to everyone. "For context to those who aren't aware, back in Japan, I help Midoriya with his martial arts. One of those ways was sparring with him, and I pretty much won every match. But those were relaxed spars—"

I look around at my current audience who are more or less bewildered by my suddenness, "—so what would win in a real fight?"

Midoriya, flustered by my eagerness to fight, is viciously rubbing his head. "N-Now, of all times? Just to see who wins? I-Is that why you wanted to fight me all of the sudden? Odysseus couldn't have persuaded you that much!"

Itsuka nods, giving me her concerned eyes. "Midoriya's right, Sanji. You aren't a confrontational person like me and Mom are. The only time you're willing to fight is when—" She hesitates. She knows that the only time I throw myself into a fight is when I'm angry. From that hesitation that lasted just less than a second, she put together that I'm kinda mad at Midoriya right now. But with that hesitation came vulnerability; I saw the look in her eyes. I know what she'll say next. "Well… I mean, I guess I would like to see you two fight."

...After this, we're gonna have a long talk.

Hayami raises her eyebrow, surprised that her daughter, out of the blue, suddenly agrees with me. "You too, sweetie? Well, so be it. I'm not in the mood to stop you two."

Setsuna pulls up three fingers. "Make that three. I'm gonna text everyone in the group chat that you and Midoriya are fighting! I think bets are gonna be made." Oh God, that's gonna be a mess.

Melissa's mouth is slightly agape. "Wait, more people are coming? I didn't expect your classmates would want to see them fight so much!"

All Might feverishly shakes his hands in an attempt to calm everyone down. "Young ones—especially you, Young Inochi—what has gotten into all of you?! It was just an offhand comment made by Odysseus! To take it so literally…"

Valjean smirks, crossing his arms. "You can't stop the fighting spirit of the young. How do you think revolutions happen? For the better or worse, they're usually caused by the young. My Cosette is pretty rebellious herself."

Cosette whines, "I got my ears pierced one time, Dad! You freaked out!"

Monarch comments, "Valjean was always an overprotective father."

Odysseus adds on, "Who wouldn't be? A father's job is to be paranoid and what not! At the mention of fatherhood, I'm weeping at the thought of my son back home. He would've enjoyed this upcoming fight, which will happen, right All Might? We have the four of us—all Number Ones—to step in when things get too rowdy!"

All Might enthusiastically nods. "Yes, we can! Well Young Midoriya, your friend here challenged you to a fight! Why don't you showcase the fruits of your training?! This is an ample time to display your prowess to a fine bunch of strong Heroes! And to Master Kendo when he arrives… I fear for my life whenever he's around, but I shall not be paralyzed with fear!"

Midoriya gives him a reassuring hum, glancing at me before looking back at his mentor. "Alright, I'll do my best, All Might! I'll prove to him that I'm strong!" He's obviously a bit opposed to my challenge, but if his idol approves, then he'll do it.

Hayami shakes her head at us. "That's about what I expected from—!"

Bakugo snaps, completely interrupting Hayami, "What about me, you damn loser?! Why is everyone so gung-ho 'bout you and shitty you fighting?!" He points at me specifically, almost like he's threatening to blow me up with that grenade-shaped bracer of his. "One second, you're too much of a pansy to fight me, and in the next, you're 'bout to kick Deku's teeth in! You're mocking me, aren't you?! You think I'm not that strong enough to beat you, is that it?! You think that Deku is stronger than me, don'tcha?! You bastard! I'll fucking kill you, you goofy-faced jackass! Don't underestimate me!"

("Where are his parents? Why would they allow him to act like this? Even cutting off that girl's mother..." Valjean mutters to Monarch. Monarch nods. They just agreed on something… I feel like that's a rare occurrence.)

Itsuka steps in, "Bakugo, don't interrupt my—!"

All Might raises his hand, stopping Itsuka from saying anything more. "Young Bakugo, calm yourself! I know you're worried about your own strength, but I assure you that you're just as strong as these two right here if not stronger! However, this isn't the time to display such strength. For now, you must let Young Midoriya and Inochi have their fight. Do you understand?"

Bakugo huffs, spitting on the ground. "Fine, All Might. But this isn't over, y'hear? One of these days, prolly when you awaken to your no-good shitty Quirk, we're gonna have a fight. You'll gonna regret everything, 'kay? That's not a promise, but a fact."

Jeez, Bakugo is so self-centered. While everyone was talking about me and Midoriya, he had to chime in about how much he wanted to display his strength. His crudeness and ego are his flaws. Though, once he really becomes a Hero, I can see him becoming very popular. The media might say he has villainous traits, but with how skilled he is with Explosions, they'll ignore that.

Crossing my arms, I just nod to whatever Bakugo said, focusing my attention on Midoriya. I'm the taller of the two, but in terms of raw power… Then that has to go to Midoriya. "It's settled then. C'mon Deku, let's follow the signs and head down." Saying that, I realize just how hostile I sound. It puts Hayami, Itsuka, and Setsuna at unease.

Nodding, Midoriya does just that. Just before I follow him, Itsuka runs up to me. She pulls her face in close and whispers, "We're gonna talk about why you're angry at Midoriya after this, right?"

"Of course. I wasn't planning on leaving you in the dark," I reply.

"Good. Go win this fight would ya? If we could take down All Might, then you can surely beat Midoriya by yourself," cheers Itsuka, giving me a fist bump and a smile. "I'm your biggest fan, Armory. Rooting for ya."

I manage to reciprocate her smile before catching up to Midoriya. We follow the signs to the entrance of this battle arena. From what I read about this arena so far, any Hero—or Hero-in-Training—can use this arena for whatever reason, whether that be for sparring or just showing off their Quirk.

As we approach the entrance, a fair bit away from everyone else, Midoriya keeps glancing at me. He's definitely thinking about something alright, and I know what it is—I mean, it's really obvious. I come out and say it, "Just ask me, Midoriya. I can see the words lodged in your throat."

"You do?!" He shakes his head. "Wait, sorry… That's just a metaphor or something… Anyway uhm, why are you really fighting me, Inochi? I might not be Kendo or any of your other friends, but I know you well enough that you don't fight for the sake of pride."

Yeah, that's obvious… He knows me well enough that I never fight to elevate myself. Yet of course, I'm fighting him for a different reason. Honestly, being angry at Midoriya isn't a good answer. Challenging him to a fight was an impulsive decision, but I'm not against it. Really, hearing about how much he wants to be All Might, he sounds just like a little kid. He's so focused on achieving that fantasy that everything he does is the means to reach that end. Like I thought before, it's selfish.

I mean, heck… Midoriya is one of the most influential players on the chessboard. He's a pawn that's about to be promoted into a queen. He's being mentored by All Might of all Heroes. However these two met, I have a feeling that All Might wanted to foster the next Symbol of Peace, but Midoriya only wanted to become the strongest Hero.

Our Quirks are both Origin-types. I remember the conversation with David Shield after my tests were finished, specifically about Origin-types.

"Origin-type Quirks are, and I will say it again, the rarest type of Quirks in existence. They are the exceptions to the rule, completely undermining the foundations of metaology. The general public aren't aware that it exists unless they do a lot of research. Now, metaology community as a whole have a list of key traits that all Origin-type Quirks have:

"One: They originate from the Origin of Quirks. Meaning, for generations upon generations, the basic genetic makeup of the Quirk has stayed relatively the same ever since Quirks came into existence. We can't place the 'why' just yet, unfortunately. However, there's a genetic marker that exists in all Origin-types that we can use to identify one, and you have it.

"Two: They have a specific condition of inheritance. Like for example, being born into the right family, which I suspect was your condition. This does mean that there are other ways of inheriting Origin-type Quirks. With these unorthodox methods of inheritance, it's often the easiest way to identify whether or not the Quirk is an Origin-type.

"Three: They undermine a foundation of metaology. In your case, as we talked about before, your maximum AP Level is constantly growing making you theoretically limitless. In one other case with an Energy-type Quirk, their users can directly convert their AP molecules into physical energy, which is unheard of.

"Four: They have special genetic properties. They are able to resist being extremely altered by other Quirks. There are even some cases where the Origin-type 'absorbed' another Quirk and turned it into a 'passive effect'. For some reason, Origin-types do not like being changed to the point where they lose their identity. This, I suspect, explains why your Adoptive Muscle Memory isn't your true Quirk. If you use a pedigree of those who contain an Origin-type Quirk, you would see that almost every offspring would be colored in.

"Five: Their AP Levels are over 10,000. Given the rarity of Origin-types, it only makes sense that they are super powerful. However, there are examples of Quirks that are not Origin-types that have an AP Level of over 10,000. Additionally, you would see a high average in a user's Quirk Passivity, which we have already been over.

"You have no idea just how rare you are, Sanji. We predict that there are less than one thousand people with an Origin-type in the entire population of the world. Metaologists are scouring the globe to find people like you."

I asked David, "I see, but I have a feeling that I know a few who have Origin-types, am I right?" He hesitated, but that hesitation gave everything away.

"Yes, and I'm sure you know who they are." Our heroic duo have an Origin-type Quirk like I do; more powerful, I believe. That explains their overwhelming strength…

From the beginning, from the very beginning where the society as we know it was literally birthed in fire, there were a few special Quirks that existed. It was only until generations after that someone recognized the patterns and declared them a new type of Quirk altogether. They managed to persist through time and resist genetic variation. It's...crazy honestly. It's so crazy that I carry a direct fragment of the past. That means most, if not all, of my ancestors have Dreams just like I do.

My dad had Dreams as his Quirk. And if David said was right, that Adoptive Muscle Memory was absorbed into Dreams, then my mom must have had it or maybe a relative of mine. God, the implications that this has is astounding… I have the rarest Quirk Type in existence. I pretty much won the lottery.

(On another note, I have to talk to Lian about Astral some time. David used him as an example, but I didn't think he realized that I know the exact man who he used. I have to be careful with choosing my words when I do talk to him about it.)

"Inochi?" Midoriya asks, getting my attention.

I wave my hand. "I'm here, I'm here, don't yell at me. I was just thinking about something, Midoriya."

"Yeah… I could tell… What is this about, Inochi? Why are you mad at me again? I mean, we had that argument about Heroes killing Villains. I'm sorry that I compared you to Stain, but—"

"—I'd like it if you don't finish that sentence." Again, I'm sounding hostile. "God, we're both fighting for the same thing, yet we're butting heads a lot, don't you think? We were both born special; we're both cut from the same cloth."

"What? What are you saying?" Midoriya asks. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I was never born special! Before I met All Might, I was just a useless Deku who couldn't do anything! He gave me this once-in-a-lifetime chance! If I remember right, we're both lucky to be standing where we are today!"

He's trying to talk about my past… Well, as little as I know about Midoriya's past, I won't deny that we're a bit similar in that regard. "I know, I'm not gonna refute that. But it's up to us to decide just what the hell we're gonna do with this 'once-in-a-lifetime chance'. Our motivations determine our actions. So remind me, Midoriya, you know enough about me right? What do you have to say about my motivations?"

Midoriya pauses, taking a second to process what I just said. We have a lot of similarities, but unless we were born from the same mother and grew up exactly the same way, then we're different. The line that separates us is our individual beliefs, the core of our hearts. I watch Midoriya think of an answer for a second or two, then finally, he answers me, "I don't agree with how easily you accept killing as an option. Our world doesn't need to see Heroes staining themselves with the blood of Villains; they need saviors to uphold, not killers. Inochi, you're trying so hard to be a Pro Hero like I am, but I have a feeling that you're just going to hurt yourself in the end. I admire your determination and your strength, especially when you're legally Quirkless, yet it's misplaced somehow. You're trying so hard to be selfless as if you're compensating for something. And now, you're angry at me. From what you said, I gather it's from my motivation, isn't it?"

...God. Itsuka yells at me all the time for training every night until I go sore—luckily, it's hard for me to get sore nowadays. Considering that Midoriya didn't reprimand me about much, then we mostly agree on what Heroes oughta do. It's just the why . Why are we fighting? Why are we trying so hard?

"Yeah… C'mon." I gesture to keep walking, and we do. "I'm not the kind of person who constantly criticizes everyone for their ideals, but you're the exception. All Might, Master Kendo, Gran Torino, and everyone else involved are looking up to you as the next hope—I can't mistake that gleam in their eyes. Out of everyone else in U.A., you have the most power to hold up the world. But why are you fighting?

"When I hear you talk about your motivations, I can only envision a child sitting in front of their TV screen surrounded by action figures of Pro Heroes. That dream of yours, I don't need my Quirk to figure out that you want to be All Might; strong, cool, the greatest. You're even fighting like him. What separates you from 99% of kids across Japan? Is everything you do an effort towards that goal? Not for the sake of Japan, but for yourself?"

"Inochi—"

"That's selfish. That's why I have a problem with you. To chase that chimera of yours, you want to inspire others not for the sake of helping them, but to be more like All Might. I bet that your head is filled with the urge to train yourself and your Quirk, right? When you fought Stain, you obviously disagreed with him. Why? What's your reason?"

Midoriya exclaims, "Because he kills Heroes! He is a murderer! He paralyzed Iida's brother! Stain was a Villain through and through!"

"Is that all? I don't disagree with you, but that wasn't the answer I was looking for. Ever since he was put into Tartarus, he gained an online following of an audience who shares his ideals. Everyone watched the video, Midoriya. Did you take the time to think about Stain's beliefs and understand why he was wrong? And…" I pause. "Did you understand why he was right?"

"What? Don't tell me that you believe in his ideals too…"

"I don't. Every argument, no matter how illogical and far-fetched it may be, has a semblance of truth even if it's small. Stain is no exception. Catharsis is no exception. I disagree with them; I hate them, but there is some truth to their words. So we have to take that truth and ask, 'What will I do with you?'"

"..." Midoriya goes silent for a second. "I see… You're criticizing me on how much I focus on myself. Still, even if he was right about some things, I still need to be a Hero—!"

"We all do!" I yell. "We all need to be a Hero, but we can't have such idle thoughts about this! We can't just go 'Oh, he's just a Villain!' and sweep him under the rug and act like he never happened! At this rate, the people won't admire you for your impact on the world, they'll only admire how hard you punch the bad guys while the same world keeps spinning!

"You understand why I'm criticizing you so freaking much, right?! I want to be a Pro Hero like All Might too, yet I want to shape our world into a better place, the world that he will pass onto us!"

We're at the entrance. There's a tunnel that leads down into the arena. Midoriya stands in front of me with his eyes glaring into mine. We're both angry, we're both heated. I've been dominating the conversation, but this has to end here. Midoriya says, "Inochi, I—"

"Don't say anything else. We fight in front of our adoring crowd. Let's see who wins, Deku." I start heading down the tunnel first. "Good luck. I won't be holding back."

As I walk down the tunnel, I step into the arena littered with dirt and holes from the previous fight before. It's a relatively flat plains with a few trees here and there about average size. Good to keep note later. The arena itself, now that I'm standing in it, has a radius of about fifty meters. From the ground to the iron netting above… Eyeballing the distance, it's definitely out of range of my grappling hook. Midoriya, with Full Cowling, could jump that high if he was determined enough, but it's a big enough gap that he'll probably won't risk it.

The wind blows. "Don't… forget…" I'm hearing voices again. It's faint this time around.

I walk down about three-quarters of the arena, stopping. I look up and see our audience gazing down at us. There's the group and even a few spectators are stopping to watch us.

Setsuna gives me a thumbs-up. "Give 1-B a win, Sanji! I'm counting on ya! And by the way, everyone is running over as we speak! Pony is even flying over!" Those guys…

All Might nods. "I have also notified your classmates as well, Young Midoriya! They will also witness this fight of yours!"

I look behind me and see Midoriya about one-quarter of the arena away. He blushes at All Might's comment, rubbing his head. "O-Oh…"

I walk over to the other side of the arena, checking my equipment to make sure everything's ready. I got my katana, wakizashi, tanto all there. My grappling hook—left hand—is calibrated and ready. My crossbow—right hand and loaded with regular bolts—is ready too. My M.K. Bracer, the one I used to access Yume-no-Kami Ude's features will be useless because again, Hayami didn't bring our bikes here.

At the other side of the arena, just across from me, Midoriya is there with his green Hero Costume. He stretches his arms, locking eyes with me. I won't use my katana just yet because that won't be too fair of a fight. Unless Midoriya went through an intense training montage, I should be better than him in martial arts. I hear Odysseus's voice above us, "Are you two boys ready to see who's the better match?!"

"I'm ready!" Midoriya exclaims.

"Ready!" I shout, making sure Odysseus hears me.

Odysseus bangs his hand against the iron bars above. "Good! We have two promising individuals who are quickly rising in the industry of heroism! Both are Japan's children! On one side, we have Deku, a man taking after All Might! And on the other, we have Armory, an honorable man! Come my boys, fight!"

Here we go.

Fifty meters separated by a plain of grass. Our previous spars before this were small simulations for the real battle. I ingrained Midoriya's fighting style within my mind, and Midoriya has my style ingrained in his. We know how the other fights.

ONE FOR ALL: FULL COWLING - FIVE PERCENT!

Full Cowling. That's just five percent of his total power. It's a technique he learned from Gran Torino that increases practically every part of his body at the cost of dealing less damage. It's an upgrade however, because Midoriya wouldn't break his arms using this Super Move.

The air vibrates slightly, reacting to the energy output that Midoriya is generating with his Quirk. I can almost see a faint tinge of green staining the clear air. After he activated Full Cowling, Midoriya leans forward, preparing to scale the fifty meter gap within seconds. He mumbles something to himself, his eyes focused and his breath steady. Looks like he's taking the first move for himself. Alright then! A direct charge!

LUNGE!

Midoriya lunges forward, crossing the distance between us. With his right hand pulled back, he shouts, "You have your defenses open, Armory!" Just as Midoriya swings his fist forward, I parry his strike to my right, letting his momentum fly his body behind me. "Wha—?!"

BAM!

Without looking, I slam my right elbow into his back. "Gah—!" His body bends to my elbow, causing him to lose his balance. He stumbles onto the ground, his momentum carrying him ten meters and creating a small mound of dirt. Rolling onto his feet, he wipes the dirt off of his face and glares at me with that glowing green eyes of his.

"You usually start out with a right hook, Deku. Sorry, but I saw your attack coming all the way from China." I get into a proper stance now, using my left arm to act as my shield and my right as my spear. "Let's show each other what we know, alright?"

Deku nods, rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms out. "Alright! I won't lose to you!" he promises. Well, let's see if he can keep it.

He raises his arms.

DASH!

"Yah—!" Midoriya charges in using the enhanced speed and strength from Full Cowling. He stomps his feet down and bends low, doing an upwards jab coming straight for my chin. I block his attack with my left arm. With his right pressed against my left, I straighten my left arm out and push against the air, my fist coming downwards into his face.

WHAM!

My fist connects. Midoriya turned his head at the last moment to take the attack into his left cheek. As my knuckles are pressing against his skin, his right hand grabs onto my shoulder. What is he trying to do? "What are you—?!"

GRAB!

His left hand grabs onto the rope that's tying my metal breastplate against my chest. Giving it a hard yank, my armor comes right off my body. Dammit all! I bring Midoriya in close, letting my elbows bend before I push him away. He holds my breastplate in his hands, smirking as if he's saying, You don't need that here. I have to give it to him; that's smart. Hayami made me wear some metal armor to help protect me. Though, knowing that it could be used against me, she made sure that I would be able to take it off at a moment's notice. Midoriya took advantage of that fact and used it to even the odds.

THROW!

And now he's throwing my breastplate at me! Instinctively, I grab it and throw it off to the side, but that's just a distraction. As soon as the breastplate is no longer a nuisance, Midoriya is right in front of me with his feet off the ground, just above me. From his stomach, he yells, "Detroit—!

— SMASH!

My head rings a little bit. Midoriya's fist collided against my head like a sledgehammer to a watermelon, but luckily, my head has a tougher shell than that! His punches have definitely gotten stronger; nothing compared to Itsuka's punches though!

"Hrah—!" While Midoriya's still in the air with his right arm extended, I grab onto it with both hands, twisting my hips and slamming Midoriya onto the ground!

SLAM!

"—Guh?!" he yelps, his body bouncing off of the grass. He doesn't remain idle though. Once he bounces up, he spins his body in the air, causing me to take a step backwards. Going back onto his feet, he steps forward and performs another regular old right jab. With my right arm, I block his punch. I try to reciprocate his attack, but he bends low and sweeps the air upwards into an uppercut with his left.

WHISH!

I managed to step backwards and let the uppercut zoom past me with a very faint blast of wind following afterwards. Even though his punches aren't that powerful compared to when he uses one hundred percent, I can still feel the energy vibrating throughout my body! Imagine when he's able to fully control his Quirk!

Although Midoriya definitely improved from the last time we fought, he's still not perfect. His technique is still imitating All Might's but with less power and speed! All he's been doing is punching! Bellowing, Midoriya yells, "Armory—!"

PUNCH!

DEFLECT!

He's getting a lot more bold with his attacks! He used his legs as springs to leap up and attempt a straight right into my stomach. I managed to deflect his arm away with my left and replying with a right jab for his face. He stumbles from the impact, but he's far from over.

Here we go!

"—C'mon, Deku!"

"Haaah—!"

WHAM!

PARRY!

BAM!

BLOCK!

PUNCH!

DODGE!

For the past five seconds, we exchanged a series of punches one after the other after the other. None of our punches actually hit our marks, because they were either blocked, parried, or avoided altogether. One could describe our flurry of attacks as a festival of failed punches, I guess. We tried different stances—going low, going high, leaning off to the side, things like that. We didn't give each other time to breathe—I didn't even have time to feint from how fast-paced our attacks were—so really, this was a battle of who can outlast the other in a sprint of strikes.

So far, within that five seconds, Midoriya punched for a total of ten times while I did eleven. Only one of us is visibly tired, and that man isn't me. Tell me, Midoriya, what were you thinking when you decided to engage like this? What did you expect? You remember that I train myself every night, right? Because of that training, I honed my body enough where I can fight an endurance battle with All Might. So why did you, a weaker version than him, decide to fight me like this?

Midoriya pulls back his right arm, putting his strength into this punch. He roars, "—Hrrraaah!"

His fist upwards into another uppercut. I back away just in time where his arm flies high into the air—he did this before! With his defense wide open, I bend low and slam my fist into his face—!

BLAM!

As my fist connects, I spring up and use the force of my punch to slam Midoriya onto the ground, his head smashing into the grass first. A small crater is created—look at me, creating craters. It's nothing to write home about. I stand up and kick Midoriya while he's down, sliding him over five meters away. Slowly, he stands up, wiping the blood and sweat off of his lips. "Haah… Haah… Dangit, what am I doing wrong…?"

Really? He's still thinking that?! "What are you doing wrong?! Did you listen to anything I said?! You model yourself so much after All Might that you fight just like him! Don't you remember that Itsuka and I literally defeated him during our Final Exams?! You and Bakugo couldn't do that!

"No offense to All Might, but his technique relies too much on overwhelming the enemy! Sure, he has an excuse because he can literally level cities with a couple of well-placed punches! But you can't do that, can't you?! Your fighting style is so blatantly obvious! You are adamant on using your fists and only fists, but that isn't working! I even fought you on the same playing field and you can't get the advantage! You fight like you never used your Quirk before!"

He kept breaking his limbs during the beginning of the year. It was like giving a newborn baby a rocket launcher. Midoriya seriously fights like he never used his Quirk before. He should've been born with his Quirk, right? Unless he has a troubled upbringing, his body should have been able to handle the consequences of his Quirk. Ugh, I can't think about this now.

Just… What the hell is going on with you, Midoriya?

Recuperating some energy, Midoriya stands tall. I hear Bakugo shouting profanities at me. Time to ignore him. Midoriya shouts, "Stop berating me! I'm doing the best I can with this power given to me!"

A twinge of familiarity is invoked in my chest. The wind blows again, and I can sense something standing beside me. "Your best…"

I say, "...isn't enough, Midoriya."

"Shut up!" he shouts loud enough for everyone to hear. With Full Cowling still coursing through his veins, he charges at me with an obvious right hook. His arm swings around. The speed of his punch is admirable, faster and stronger than most people. Despite the fact that it's obvious and emotion-induced, the average man wouldn't be able to react until after the punch. However, just from the mere fact that I can think about his punch, then my reflexes are more than just good enough .

DUCK!

I go underneath his arm, emerging behind him. His Hero Costume, Costume Beta, has a hood. The hood mimics All Might's bunny-like tuffs. It's directly made apart of the costume and not buttoned on, unlike mine. That's a flaw right there!

I reach out and grab his hood, yanking him back. "Even your costume has flaws, Midoriya!"

PULL!

I take Midoriya off of his feet. I throw him back just enough where his head reaches me. Then, without mercy, I pick up my leg and slam my heel into his stomach!

SLAM!

His head collides with the ground first, picking up a small cloud of dirt from the impact. "Gah, ah—!" he groans.

"This is a flaw too!" I take my hand off of his face and grab onto his metal respirator that he wears! Why does he even have this when he won't use it regularly? It's asking for someone to grab it and throw him just like this!

THROW!

I slid Midoriya along the grass before throwing him into a nearby tree just about eleven meters away! His back crashes against the bark of the tree, resting against it barely able to stand! I won't give him time to react, to breathe, any of that!

DASH!

Just as he realizes where he's at, I'm right in front of him. He braces his feet to jump away, but I stop him just before he dodges by striking the middle of his chest with my palm, distorting the air somewhat.

PALM!

"—Guh, fwah—!" His body smacks against the tree again, causing a few leaves to rain down on us. I have him trapped!

"Grrah—!" Midoriya yells, trying to punch me again, but I block his arm. Countering, I knee him in the gut. The sound of my knee against his body was gruesome.

KNEE!

He's stunned. Why is he still trying to punch me?! In this position, what good will that do?! Master Kendo, one of the greatest martial artists, is teaching him! He needs to improve his technique, my God! I reprimand, "Use your damn head, Midoriya!"

HEADBUTT!

"—Ah!" I slammed my head against his! C'mon Midoriya, arms aren't the strongest muscle in the body! They can do damage, but there's other things that can work just as well if not better!

Grabbing him by the shirt, I hold him against the tree as his head hangs low, his eyes staring at the ground. Midoriya slowly picks his head up, his face scratched up and sprinkled with dirt. I mutter, "Is this it, Midoriya? Is this how the fight will end?"

"I worked hard, Inochi…" he replies just above a whisper. No one would be able to hear us. "Ever since that day, I've been working so hard with what I've got… I don't win, not like how Kacchan does… But I'm still going to try my best to win! Thank you for showing me my flaws. I needed this."

He grabs my wrist. I—!

PUSH!

"—Heh." Midoriya pushed me away from him. I take a few more steps after that, giving him the space he needs, giving him the time he needs. There's a new feeling in the space around us. Something clicked in Midoriya's brain. It speaks of raw determination and newfound courage.

"Let me show you everything I'm trying to become—!"

— ONE FOR ALL —

The air vibrates again. Is he increasing from 5%? No, I don't think so. While I had him against the tree, his eyes weren't glowing. He powered Full Cowling off, and now, he's reactivating it. I can see the lightning sparks flaring around him like an anomaly event. The fallen leaves disperse around him—a small whirlwind in the making.

— FULL COWLING —

He lunges! His arm—! No, he isn't going to punch! He's twisting his torso! Instead, he's—!

— SHOOT STYLE!

I raise my arms—!

— ST. LOUIS SMASH!

"Gahah—!" I grunt. Shockwaves of pain ran through my nerves. Even though my bracers absorbed some of the force from Midoriya's kick, it wasn't worth experiencing the damage that it dealt. I should've dodged it instead! I—?!

"—Take this, Inochi!" With his shin pressed against my arms, Midoriya forces his leg downwards, breaking my guard completely! Twisting his body, he uses his other foot to—!

CRACK!

"—Nuh!" His foot collided with my skull. My head is snapped back as my body flies helplessly away from Midoriya. I hit the ground rolling, but I manage to use the momentum to pop myself back onto my feet. My costume might be black, white, and brown; but I'm not done fighting!

Midoriya doesn't relent. He lunges as soon as I recover my footing, following up with an aerial front kick with his right leg. I step forward and spin around him, letting Midoriya fly right by me! We have our back turns to one another, but we're right in each other's range!

I twist my body!

He twists his!

I lift up my leg, spinning on my heel!

He does the same!

"Raah—!"

"—Graah!"

CLASH!

Our feet collided in the middle with a smack that radiates throughout the arena, blocking each other's kicks.

No time to waste!

I drag my foot lower onto his leg, gaining more leverage to push it down like swords caught in a bind. Feeling his leg—knowing where his leg is at without looking at it—I leap up and spin around, bending my other leg and snapping it forward, my sole flying towards his head!

BLOCK!

Damnit, blocked! Midoriya grabbed my foot before it could hit him! He leans back and spins around on one leg—his other leg, the one he kicked with earlier, is still off the ground—then throwing me back!

Whoosh!

Because Midoriya was balancing on one leg, he falls to his knees just after throwing me! Crap, I'm going pretty fast, aren't I?! I look behind me, and I'm going right into a wall! I flip backwards, letting my feet hit the wall first. I bend my legs to act as dampeners, staying on the wall for just a second! But from how fast I was going, my legs sustained some damage.

Midoriya, with that glint in his eyes, is going to charge again! Guess I'll meet him halfway!

Using the wall as a springboard, I leap off heading towards Midoriya! He jumps towards me like a rabbit, his right leg back like before!

FLIP!

I do a front flip, rotating my body in just a way that I actually gain height, effectively dodging his kick in mid-air. As I flip, my fingers catch his hood again. Bringing Midoriya along, right as when I finish my front flip, I throw him back on the ground!

CRASH!

He's on his back! I do another flip, rotating my body so I could redirect my momentum downwards towards Midoriya. As I let gravity drag me down, I lift up my right leg, about to bring down an axe on his ribs!

SLAM!

"Gah—!" Damnit, it didn't work! Midoriya rolled out of the way just before the kick landed! My right heel slammed against the ground and my leg ended up taking the brunt of the force! If I didn't train my body as much as I did, then that attempt would have definitely shattered every bone in my leg.

As I stand up, my instincts kick in right as Midoriya tries to do a side kick into my hip. My arms move on their own, catching his leg and tucking it underneath my armpit. I use my left elbow and strike his knee, causing him to whine in pain. Following up, I bring my right hand around and smash it into his cheek!

BAM!

"—Geh!" Midoriya, who sees the clinch he's in, drops his body, making himself fall. Smart! By doing that, he's forcing me forwards off-balanced. I stumble forward being unable to stop myself. Then, with his other foot, he presses it against my chest and launches me over him!

I roll forwards, landing on my hands first before doing a few somersaults to slow myself down, then going back onto my feet. That's my acrobatics at work. Itsuka's always been jealous that I could do this so easily. Midoriya lunges forward, spinning around to perform a butterfly kick that I dodge effortlessly.

Responding to that, I bring my leg upwards, making him think that it's a high kick, but that's wrong! I twist my hips about halfway through the kick, directing my foot downwards and striking the crook of his neck! That's a Brazilian kick! It's hard to pull off, but satisfying once connected!

Before he can react, I flip backwards, letting my other foot strike him upwards into his chin!

SMACK!

Alright, time to go in!

PUNCH!

KICK!

We're more evenly matched than before! Because Midoriya has more moves in his arsenal, it makes it harder for me to predict his next actions. Although, during the first bouts, he begins to rely on his legs a little too much. However, he quickly realizes his mistake and uses a combination of hands and feet.

BAM!

WHAM!

Out of the two of us, I'm winning by a good margin. I'm still the better martial artist here; it's just that I'm taking more hits. Unlike the fight with All Might, where I had to focus on dodging because being brushed by just one knuckle will result in defeat, I can freely guard against Midoriya's attacks. Midoriya himself is using his added agility to his advantage too. He's jumping off of nearby trees and the arena's walls for a boost; too bad I avoided those attempts. It might be harder to predict him, it's still relatively easy.

BASH!

SLAM!

Midoriya's lucky, in my opinion. Throughout this entire fight, I haven't used my crossbow, my swords, or my grappling hook. I don't think I'll use them here. It tips the fight too far in my favor, basically a guaranteed way to win. Especially with my katana. I have something to prove here, and so does he. There's no reason for me to ruin this fight.

I just avoided a heavy kick from Midoriya by jumping back, creating some distance between us. He puts his right foot in front, his mind probably running through ideas on how to land a good strike on me. We basically have a stand-off at this point. I, making small and careful movements, simply pat my sheathe where my katana's sleeping in. "If I really wanted to, I could end the fight." That comment wasn't necessary whatsoever, but hey, that was a taunt. It'll make him divert his thoughts to my weapons, even if it's for a brief moment!

This is my chance! I kick off the ground, running straight at him. Midoriya picks up his head realizing that I'm coming. He drags his right foot around like an arc of a circle, then he—?!

WHISH!

Dirt?! Midoriya kicked up the dirt! With Full Cowling, the kick was powerful enough to create a "wall" of dirt that he can hide behind! This move is meant to give Midoriya time! He won't be behind this wall! Why would he? Instead…

I turn around, and Midoriya's right above me with his right leg back. "Ah—" I shouldn't have turned around. That wasted precious moments that I could've used to avoid this attack, but because I had to look at him, I'm unable to jump away. Well, this will hurt!

"ST. LOUIS—!"

— SMASH!

Midoriya's roundhouse kick connected perfectly. It hit my head with the force of a semi-truck. I can't tell how far I fly back or how fast. But just after a second or two, my back collides into a tree. It's not the same tree that I forced Midoriya up against; this one's larger. The impact manages to pull some of the roots out, breaking through the earth, but just barely. Some of the leaves shed too. I pick up my head with ringing in my ears. As soon as I begin to stand up straight, Midoriya is already making his next move.

His feet explode from below, flying towards me faster than I have seen him before. During his charge, he spins in the air, picking up an enormous amount of energy, especially when he's maximizing his angular momentum by having his legs bent close to his body. He does three full revolutions before he extends his right leg.

Crap, I should definitely dodge this one!

"Take this, Inochi—!

DODGE!

ATALANTA SMASH!

CRASH!

WHOOSH!

"—?!" That kick! What the hell was that kick?! I managed to dodge, but Midoriya just slammed his shin against the tree, and the tree was uprooted! He just kicked a tree down, creating a powerful blast of wind pressure just like All Might's attacks! His other kicks before didn't cause that much wind even with the added speed! So whatever that kick was, it wasn't at 5% Full Cowling! I'd say it was at 10%! I don't think he suddenly increased from 5% to 10%, but rather used 10% for that kick alone!

When the dust settles, I see Midoriya's striking green eyes glowing at me with dangerous intent. Despite this slightly intimidating moment, he can't fool me. His right leg is trembling. That kick dealt some damage to him, either from channeling 10% of his power or from the kick itself, or a combination of both.

Well, time to stand up, Sanji. Face your opponent and all that. Look him in the eye, have your back straight, hide all signs of hesitation, and gather every bit of courage you can muster. There, all ready!

Take a stance, alright good.

Midoriya steps up, having his arms to the side. "Have you given up yet, Inochi? Do you still want to fight?"

I nod. "You know how fights go, Midoriya. Until one of us concedes, the fight won't end. Sorry, but that's just plain stubbornness."

"Well, I need to prove to you that I have what it takes. I want to be a Hero too."

"So do I, just as much as you." That's where the banter ends. I want to be a Hero just as much as Midoriya. I…

The wind kicks up, and the world becomes slightly more grainy, faded even. That's...not normal. What's wrong with my vision? Materializing in front of me behind Midoriya, a wispy phantom engulfed in white emerges, faceless like always, but has a distinct form. I think I recognize that phantom… It's not the one with the golden eye, but one of the phantoms at the end of the line.

"Y'know…" That's my brother's voice. So that's how his body looks, if only his face is revealed. He walks behind Midoriya, pacing back and forth. "...I haven't really thought about why I wanna be a Pro Hero so much. I don't have a sad backstory, I'm not continuing our non-existent legacy, and I don't really feel inspired by All Might or any other Heroes. I mean, I just wanna do some good for the world! That's all there is to it! Doing good for the sake of good! My motivations aren't special, but genuine kindness shouldn't be either. You understand, right—?"

"—Inochi! Where are you looking?!"

KICK!

"—Ghrk!" Where… Where did Midoriya come from?! I just felt his leg crashing against my chest, cracking a rib or two!

"Detroit—Smash—!"

BAM!

I can't even react! It's like my body is paralyzed! My brother's phantom… That… That distracted me so much! It put me so off-guard that I just don't know what to do anymore! Midoriya, taking this amazing opportunity for himself, barrages me with punches and kicks all over my body. I try my best to guard against them, but the energy used was wasted. My brain is in a haze, my mind is a mess.

Each time I get hit, the pain from Midoriya's attacks are stacked on top of each other, making it harder to focus. I don't think I can recover from this, but I'll try my best!

After getting hit with practically everything Midoriya threw at me, I clench my right fist and swing it downwards into his gut! I—?!

GRAB!

"Not so fast, Inochi! I'll end this fight here!" he proclaims, twisting my fist after catching my punch. With his left leg, he turns his hip and slams his leg against my chest, letting go of my hand. I fly backwards, rolling back as my Hero Costume is further stained with dirt and sweat. Unlike last time, I can't roll myself onto my feet or even do a couple of flips. I just can't…

Eventually, I find my back hitting a wall.

SMACK!

"Ugh—!" Yup, my back hurts again.

Slowly, I use the wall to stand myself back up clutching my chest with one hand. Midoriya's… Midoriya's still beside the fallen tree. Why isn't he trying to close the distance? What is he planning to do—?

Midoriya drags his left leg back so hard that he creates a line of dirt. It's like he's about to do a penalty kick in soccer… Then what's the soccer ball—?

Oh.

Oh God.

The tree is the soccer ball.

And I'm the goalie.

Well… This isn't good.

"Sorry about this, Inochi, but this is it!" Midoriya's left leg is charged with 10% Full Cowling. Like a giant wielding a blade, he slams his foot against the bottom of the tree—

WA-BAM!

WHOOSH!

The kick is powerful enough to turn the tree into a giant spear. The wind created from the kick pretty much acted as extra propulsion to increase the velocity of the tree. There's no way I can dodge in time. The leaves cover too wide of an area. If I use my grappling hook, that will take too much time to fire and pull me away.

The only option is to take this head-on! I hold up my arms and wait for the tree to come!

CRASH!

"—Mhk, ugh—!"

I take it back… Midoriya's super kick from earlier wasn't like a semi-truck… This was a semi-truck. A tree weighing God-knows-how-much just crashed into me directly. Sure, I was hit with the leaves first, but then came the thick branches. On the parts where my skin is exposed, I get littered with a bunch of small cuts. Finally, as the full force of the tree hits me, I get sent back deeper into the wall with a crater acting as my home. My back takes the worst damage throughout my entire body. I'm surprised that my spine hasn't shattered despite everything it's been though…

My vision consists of only green leaves and brown branches. Ugh… That's it… My body is practically crying out in pain. I'm done.

Taking myself out of the crater, I navigate through the leaves and make my way out. It takes about ten seconds for me to do so, but at least I'm still alive. Midoriya waits for me to come out, having a frown on his face like a disappointed mother. He opens his mouth, but I raise my arm. "You win, Midoriya. I don't feel like continuing our fight. That was a good idea, I give it that. Using the tree as a spear? It would do a lot of damage. I wouldn't grow a big head though… Your technique still needs some work."

Midoriya is amazed that I just conceded the fight, having his mouth wide open. Anxiously, he nods, exclaiming, "R-Right! I'm calling this 'Shoot Style'. I already developed a couple of Super Moves for it. Anyway uhm, I'll keep working on myself, Inochi! I'm going to try my best to improve both my body and mind!"

I give him a thumbs-up. "Okay." Then, I start walking towards the exit. "Oh, before I leave, grab my breastplate for me." Midoriya nods and quickly does that, tossing it over to me. "Thanks." Now I can walk back.

Well, that's another loss. It was kinda humiliating honestly. I wonder what everyone was thinking when they saw me stand like a deer caught in headlights? I was distracted for one moment and Midoriya used that chance to defeat me. If I… If I didn't see my brother's phantom, then I would've probably won. Eh, I'm not complaining. In the end, Midoriya developed a new style and promised to always remember my words. That's what matters. If Midoriya took this victory as a sign to ignore everything I said, then I'd be really pissed. But he didn't, thankfully. I consider this a victory for both parties.

Walking alone, I make my way back to my group. And what do you know? Everyone is there. Class 1-B, some guys from 1-A, Master Kendo, Lian, and hey, even Grandmaster and Count are here too! I didn't know they would be here! This is a pleasant surprise! I hope they're happy with how I fought, even though it's a bit shameful in hindsight.

Monoma exclaims, "I will not consider this a defeat, Inochi! You were obviously distracted by something just after Midoriya knocked that tree down! If you weren't distracted, you would have wiped the floor with that man! I—!" Itsuka chops him.

Lian smiles, shaking his head at Monoma. "At least you're smiling, Baihu! Are you happy to see us?"

Grandmaster says, "I'm sure he is pleased to see his future mentors. Claude and I wanted to make our appearance a surprise." The Count nods, but he hangs behind Grandmaster. For some reason, Count seems depressed. I'm surprised he could feel that emotion! He's always been a jovial man.

Master Kendo, he's wearing something casual, just shrugs. "That was a good fight, Sanji. There's definitely some things you can improve on, but I'll give you criticisms later. Either way, I'm glad you showed Midoriya his flaws in his techniques. The very same flaws that Toshi had in his. Good God, what are you teaching him?!"

All Might raises his hands. "Forgive me, Master Kendo, but I taught him everything I know!"

"Which is next to nothing! You're lucky we have other No.1 Heroes watching us or else I'd dethrone you!" Master Kendo threatens with a huff, crossing his arms.

My friends chimes in with their own comments, trying their best to praise me. That's sweet of them… Of course, Class 1-A is more focused on Deku. Odysseus, Monarch, and Valjean give me warm smiles. Looks like I didn't disappoint them. I'm glad—?!

BOOM!

"You fucking shithead! Who the fuck d'you think you are?!" From out of nowhere, Bakugo used his Explosions to propel himself up to me. He grabbed my neck and slammed me against the iron netting of the arena. My back swells up in pain and his hand wraps around my throat, almost suffocating me.

I spatter, "Gah—?! What the?!"

"—What are you doing, Kacchan?!" Midoriya's here too?!

"Shut up! You think you can go 'round telling people how you and that chick beat All Might?! Saying that I fucking lost to him like a pathetic little wimp?! I'll fucking kill you for saying shit like that! I'll—!"

"That's enough!" Monarch implores, marching up to Bakugo and—?!

BOOM!

Bakugo ignites his right palm in front of Monarch. It wasn't a powerful explosion; it was an attempt to intimidate her. Who in the world would pull that stunt in front of Great Britain's No.1 Hero?! "Don't get in my fucking way, punk! I'm not finished with this dumbass just yet! I'll make him regret everything he fucking said 'bout me! Just watch—!"

— WRAP!

"Katsuki Bakugo, wasn't it?" Valjean asks, wrapping Bakugo's entire body in his chains, restraining him completely. Bakugo is forced to let go of me as Valjean yanks him back. It's like how Eraserhead does it…

Now that I'm not being choked, I can see that Monarch was ready to attack Bakugo.

Lian has his hands in his pockets with a look that says, That was a terrible idea, Bakugo.

Odysseus has his arms crossed. He was ready to escalate the situation if need be.

All Might just looks shocked that this happened.

Bakugo, being restrained by Valjean, tries to struggle free but fails. "Get these fucking chains off of me, you bastard!"

Valjean shakes his head. "You assaulted not only this young man here, but also the No.1 Pro Hero of Great Britain. What gives you the right to do that? Over what? Ruined pride?"

"Heh, you're just afraid that I'll surpass you, right?! I'll—!"

"Actually no, letting you talk was a big mistake." Valjean wraps one of his lengths around Bakugo's mouth. Seeing the unenvious situation he's in, Bakugo stops struggling and glares at his captive. "I've never met a man like you, and believe me, that's not a compliment. I don't know why your school hasn't expelled your sorry ass yet."

"Fw—!" Bakugo tries to say something, but Valjean simply pulls tighter on his chains.

I get pulled away from Itsuka, who makes me wrap my arm around her. She lifts me up and quickly walks me back to the rest of our class—plus Lian, Shojo, Master Kendo, and Hayami. Everyone is whispering about what Bakugo did. They have angered voices and angered eyes. They're mad at him.

"Dude, now I understand why they had to chain Bakugo up back at the Sports Festival."

"Yeah, he's too mush of a wild animal!"

"'Wild animal' is too good for that asshole, Shrooms. Sure, I hate Quirkless as much as the last guy, but that was too fuckin' much."

"What an abrasive man, filled with pride and arrogance. I can't imagine a worse sinner than him."

"Now do you see why I loathe Class 1-A so much? All it took was for someone to do something better than Bakugo, and this happens. Sure, I'll say that the other nineteen are tolerable, but Bakugo is their star student. He represents the entirety of 1-A."

"I feel sorry for his classmates right now. Look at 'em! They're embarrassed!"

Hayami puts a hand on my shoulder, asking me, "Hey sweetheart, you okay?"

"I got hit by a tree earlier. Compared to that, what Bakugo did was nothing," I answer with a smile. Itsuka sighs, muttering about how this situation is ridiculous. I unwrap my arm around her; I can stand on my own.

Back to Bakugo, All Might is pleading with Valjean. He says, "Valjean my friend, don't you think this is a little unnecessary? Young Bakugo wants to be a Hero more than anyone! His drive and strength are simply inspiring! He exudes that kind of presence! He's the perfect kind of student to be an amazing Hero like you and I!"

Valjean blinks. "Perfect? You call him perfect? God, I don't know if I should be shocked or horrified at that statement. Do you call assaulting a man 'perfect' over a bruised ego? Even a No.1 Hero? From the first moment he saw us, he didn't give us any respect. Why in the name of God should I respect a brat like him? Sweet Jesus, this makes me feel blessed that I have a wonderful daughter."

All Might glances at Bakugo, sharing a brief moment of eye contact with him. With his hands at his side, he bows. "I understand, Valjean. But with all due respect, you don't know Young Bakugo as much as I do. He has his flaws, yes, but I am his teacher. I am his teacher and the rest of these young ones here. I will do my best at guiding him to become the Hero he wants to be."

"Ugh." Valjean lowers his arms. His chains immediately release Bakugo, like a prisoner being freed from jail. Before Bakugo says anything, before he even does anything, Valjean tightly grips his shoulder, pulling in him close. "Before I let you go, I have a few words for you. This crusade of yours? I've seen it before. You're trying to be the strongest man in the world; I can see the desperation in your eyes. If you want to be the strongest so badly, then why not be a Villain?"

Bakugo growls and shoves Valjean away. "Does it look like I'm tryna be a Villain, you no-good prick?! Don't fucking lecture me when you don't know shit 'bout me! Watch, I'm gonna surpass every single asshole here! Including you No.1s! 'Specially you, All Might! Just watch!"

Before anyone can react, Bakugo storms off, stomping to who-knows-where? Kirishima and Midoriya run up to him, trying to say something to Bakugo, but he pushes them away. I can hear Bakugo shouting dagger-like insults at the two of them. Well, that ends that… All Might looks around at everyone then rests his eyes on me. He bows as if he's saying, I'm sorry that happened, Young Inochi. Then, he follows after his perfect student.

Perfect… I didn't think that All Might would defend him. Thanks to Bakugo, I got flashbacks to middle school with Suzuki. I admit that Suzuki has what it takes to be a Hero, but his flaws are literally the reason why he's in the General Courses. Frankly, even though he's trying to change, I still kinda hate him.

But Bakugo's on a whole other level. I tolerated him at first. He did yell at me before, but it wasn't this bad. He kept shouting that he'll beat me and crap like that. Now that I can see the worst of him, I hate it. How can an utterly selfish, arrogant, thick-minded guy like that can ever be a good Pro Hero?

Y'know, still…

Our world puts those with the strongest Quirks on a pedestal, the shining image of the future like they're preaching, This is the next big thing! Unless 'the next big thing' does something absolutely criminal, they will turn a blind eye and say, "This is fine."

During the Sports Festival, when Bakugo was fighting Uraraka, the audience booed him for his behavior. When Bakugo becomes a Pro Hero and inevitably will be in the Top Ten, I think they'll ignore his behavior. If he does the job, then we'll let him do his job. Even though Monarch, Odysseus, and Valjean don't particularly like Bakugo, they aren't Japanese. Of course, I wouldn't trust my words too much. They aren't gospel, I'm not foretelling the future. I'm just saying stuff from my own experiences.

I mean after all, at the end of the day, I'm legally Quirkless. People like me, we have a bit of a reputation for being outsiders. So this is me, on the outside looking in.

Grandmaster approaches me with The Count behind him. He has a hand on his chest, looking solemn, apologetic even. "Well, I didn't expect Bakugo to make a fool of himself, but here we are. I'm glad you're okay, Inochi."

Itsuka smiles. "I am too. That asshole can't even respect No.1 Pro Heroes. Ugh, I want to rearrange his teeth for hurting Sanji like that. Anyway, why are you here, Grandmaster? I didn't think you were invited."

He just laughs, playfully tapping the ground with his cane. "I simply asked the officials to give Claude and I an invitation with a reason stated why we should attend—easy really. As for my going-ons, I needed to make a deal with a man; good news, he will give me an answer within a couple of days."

Master Kendo crosses his arms. I think he knows what Grandmaster's deal was. There's a reason why he didn't tell us the specifics, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, Itsuka nods, turning her attention to Count. "Awesome, and why does The Count look depressed?"

Grandmaster frowns, glancing behind him to look at Count. The Count is currently off to the side smoking a cigarette. Valjean keeps glancing at him too… "Sorry to say, but that's personal. Don't worry, Claude is my responsibility and it's in my best interest to make him happy. We're partners after all."

Heh, something tells me that they're more than just work partners. As soon as I'm about to speak, Monarch and Valjean approach us. Monarch asks, "Armory, we're going to the doctor's tent near here to get our injuries fixed. You should come with us because you quite literally got a tree kicked into you. I'm amazed you can just walk it off."

I laugh, scratching the back of my head. "Yeah, guess I'm tougher than I thought. I'm pretty sure a few of my ribs are cracked, but it's nothing new. I would've been able to get away scot-free if Midoriya hadn't taken my breastplate off."

Itsuka looks at me and frowns. "You're lucky that your body is built like the Great Wall of China, 'cause otherwise, I would scold the hell out of you. I'm coming with you, Sanji. Is that okay, Mom?"

Hayami hums. "Mhm! Take care of yourselves! We'll be here!" We nod, letting Valjean and Monarch escort us to the doctor's tent a fair bit away. I don't think anyone will harass us with them around.

I walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Itsuka, who's still a bit fuming after what Bakugo did. She whispers to me, "After this, Melissa offered to give us a tour of I-Island Academy in an hour or so. Wanna come?"

"Of course, why would I say no?" I answer. Wait, I didn't see Melissa in the group. Setsuna was off talking to Rin and a few others. "Where did Melissa go anyway?"

"Back to her dad's. She needed to do something."

"Heh." We hear Valjean and Monarch chuckling to themselves. Man, I didn't realize how tall Monarch is. She's a woman, but she's taller than me, and I'm pretty tall considering I'm Japanese. Itsuka curiously tilts her head, wondering what they're talking about.

Valjean asks, "Armory and Battle Fist—I hope I got your Hero Name right, young lady—how long have you two been together?" Oh right, I forgot that I said that Itsuka was one of my main reasons to stay in Japan.

Battle Fist, as usual, blushes and turns away. "Sanji, have I mentioned that I really hate you sometimes?"

"You say that every day. It's not just a 'sometimes'."

"Be quiet. And with all due respect, Valjean, I'm not gonna answer that question."

Monarch quips, "At least you have more respect than that blonde-haired rat. That's all I'll say about him. God, I need something to hit. He irritated me."

"Why," Valjean starts, being smug and everything, "that's not very ladylike of you, Victoria. I thought you were a king!"

"I would've chosen the name 'King' instead of 'Monarch', but someone else already took it! And if you ask me, gender doesn't matter when it comes to leadership. 'I have the heart and stomach of a king.'"

"Queen Elizabeth the First, when she was inspiring her troops to fight against the Spanish Armada."

"I see you're well-informed on the history of Great Britain, Valjean."

"To be fair, you're a history buff. You know every single detail about Arthurian mythology. You even name your Super Moves after the mythos."

"It's the most well-known myth in Great Britain, the world even. While in your country, they're pretty well-known for surrendering."

"Why does everyone keep mentioning that?! That happened at least a couple hundred years ago! Should I mention that you bent over backwards because you were too cowardly to fight a war?"

"At least we fought to the end!"

"With America saving your sorry behinds."

Monarch groans, grinding her teeth from annoyance and frustration. "I don't want to start another fight, Valjean. You're lucky that I sent Eliza to run errands for me."

I ask, "Who's Eliza?"

Valjean smirks. "Eliza is Victoria's most trusted servant. Back in Britain, Victoria is quite wealthy. Her servants take care of her household and her duties as a Pro Hero. But out of all of her servants, she only brought Eliza to I-Island. Her and her alone."

Monarch frowns. "Thank you for explaining." That was definitely sarcastic. "If only you had insulted Eliza, because then, I would have a good excuse for tearing your throat out."

"Again, you're being unlady-like."

"You're a sorry excuse for a father."

Itsuka giggles—very cute giggle—and moves closer to me. "Y'know, I hope representatives are as nice as them. Too bad that won't be the case probably. You think you're ready to be harassed to your wit's end?"

I sigh. "I would say 'yes', but I often underestimate their tenacity."

"Agreed. But hey, at least we got each other."

Togaru Kamakiri

"Hey Togaru!"

"Why are you still callin' me by my first name, Horns?"

"Because I wanna! Now shush, lemme finish!"

"Fine fine…"

"So Togaru , do you like our little vacation? I mean, you've been all moody, all angsty, all angry—"

"So basically me on a Tuesday afternoon."

"Pretty much! But c'mon, spill the cool beans and cheese!" She's still sayin' that shit? I need to slap Honenuki later; I already have fifty other reasons to slap his annoyin' little teeth out anyway.

I groan. Why am I hangin' out with 'er again? Right, she dragged me away after Inochi's fight with Midoriya. The action's over an' we can go back to whatever we were doin'. Fuckin' Bakugo, that asshole. I might be an annoyin' prick, but I'm not him. At least I have common sense to not fuck with No.1 Pro Heroes. Thinks he's all hot shit an' fuckery like that, makes me wanna stab 'im. Anyway, I should prolly answer Pony.

Or maybe not.

"Say something, Togaru. Don't make me cry in public! I know how to make myself cry! I watched a really sad anime with Shojo a few days ago! The girl—!"

"No spoilers!" I flick 'er head. "I won't hesitate to tape your mouth shut, Horns. I did that with Cartoony, so I can do that to you."

"...How did you tape Manga's mouth shut?"

"Ah, shoulda worded that better. I basically grabbed a roll of maskin' tape an' said 'To hell with it'. Next thing I know, Cartoony's head was pretty much wrapped in tape. Did Glasses not send you a picture or somethin'?"

"Oh! It's that one! I thought Manga was doing cosplay of a mummy!" Pony exclaims, hoppin' up an' down like always. "Shojo didn't correct me or anything… Hmph, I shoulda known that you were up to no good! You dirty prankster!"

"Wow, you're insultin' me of all people? You? Pony Tsunotori, everyone's lil' sister? Holy crap, I think I might die from a heart attack."

"What?!" she hollers, immediately jumpin' up an' grabbin' me by the arms. "Do you need a doctor?! Are you choking?! Are you choking, Togaru?!" What?! I said I was havin' a heart attack! An' that's an idiom for God's sake!

I grab 'er arms an' push this crazy chick away from me. This idiot is just as shameless as Inochi—actually no, no dumbass can be as shameless as that dolt. Anyway, Pony ain't got a care in the world whether or not she's embarassin' 'erself. The world can go fuck itself if it was in the way of what she wants. Very stubborn…

I prod Pony's forehead with my finger, pushin' 'er head back. "Does it look like I'm havin' a heart attack? Or chokin'? No, no I ain't. Why would I have a heart attack at my age? Well actually, 'cause of goofy shorties like you, I'm gonna die of stress."

"I am not short!" she exclaims, stompin' her hooves 'round like a grump. "At your height, everyone is short! I mean holy heck and cream cheese! Bondo is taller than you by just a lil' bit!" Surprisingly enough, Monarch's prolly as tall as me, an' she's a woman. No wonder people mistake 'er as a guy sometimes. Though, if you ain't blind, you can tell she's a woman. But people are blind all the damn time, like Shojo. Without her glasses, she's just a wrinkly old, perverted man.

A good chuckle comes outta me. "D'ya wanna be called a 'gnome' then, lil' gnome? Hell, at your height, you're just a cute little baby."

Pony's cheeks get a tinge of red. "I am not a baby! Hmph, I'm pretty dang good at fighting, Togaru! If you think I'm a baby, then gimme a bad guy so I can knock their lights out! Let's see who's the baby then!"

"Still you. Unless you get a growth spurt overnight, you'll still be a puny lil' Pony Tsunotori." Havin' her at this height is perfect. She's short an' annoying, but pretty damn cute. Setsuna would poke fun at me for admittin' that Pony is cute, but fuck 'er. I can always snitch on Shiozaki 'bout her crush. She ain't hot shit.

"Hmph hmph hmph," Pony grumbles, crossin' 'er arms an' turnin' the other way. Aw, she's angry at me. Her cheeks are puffin' up again. Silently like an upset kitty or whatever, she nudges my arm an' we get walkin'.

The Early Access Event is filled with a lotta shit. Most of it is Quirk-based. Like to my right, there's shit for Hardening-type Quirks to see who can last the longest. Lookin' left, a Pro Hero is yammerin' 'bout how awesome he is. He has a lil' power an' it already went straight towards his head. Ugh, just the average asshole who thinks he's better than everyone else. At least Bakugo has the power to back his shit up. Even Inochi could beat up that guy.

'Sides from the games an' shit, there's food stalls. Just earlier, Pony dragged me to get a candy apple. 'Course I paid. Pony got 'er daily dose of sugar, an' I got to see 'er happy. But damn, there's a lot of people 'ere. I-Island is a small country with how many knuckleheads are crammed into this thing, kinda like the Vatican. I get that this is the Early Access Event, but fuck . If this is early, then how many people will be 'ere for the actual convention itself? Makes me more worried 'bout Pony's safety. She's so damn small that she'd be swept away by the crowd, like a freakin' ant roamin' 'round in a playground filled with toddlers whose diet is just fuckin' sand like come on .

"Does any daring man or woman out want to attempt this game? All you need is be fit and have your wits!" Nope.

"I'm selling never before seen pictures of your favorite sex icon Pro Heroes! C'mon, c'mon! Who wants a piece?" What the fuck? He's gonna get his ass beat.

"Test out our new equipment! This state-of-the-art machine can restrain any VIllain with ease, being able to account for any type of Quirk! I—" Boom! "—Oh shit, why the hell did it explode?!" State-of-the-art, huh? The only thing that's good for is bein' a bomb.

Shit, it might just be me, but I ain't seein' anythin' good—boring even. Setsuna made this place out to be 'magical' but the only magic 'ere is my ass. There's a fuckton of Heroes an' Heroes-in-Training 'round the place, but they're too caught up in their own shit for me to give a damn.

At least Pony looks happy. Her eyes are sparklin' like this place is a fantasy kingdom or some crap. Maybe I'm just bein' a cynical prick 'bout this, eh. That's the asshole I am, cynical an' pessimistic. Good reason though, 'cuz the world is pretty shit. Least I'm tryna do somethin' 'stead of sittin' 'round with my thumb up my ass.

I sigh, stuffin' my hands in my pockets. Why am I wearin' my Hero Costume anyway? It's hot as hell. Shoulda left my cloak back at the hotel—on an unrelated note: Grandmaster an' Count are idiots for wearin' fuckin' coats in the summer. How are they even fricken human? "Hey Horns, wanna—"

She gasps, stoppin' me. Pony has her stupid big mouth open, 'er eyes glancin' at me, some random ass stall, then me, the stall—okay this isn't a freakin' game, Pony, you can stop. What's the stall anyway? Let's freakin' see what's the commotion… The sign says, "Enter the contest to win…!" That's all I can read. The rest of the words are cut out from people bein' in my way. Pony must be lookin' at the prizes. The stall has 'em layered out in a hierarchy of sorts, I dunno. Plushies are at the bottom, big stuffed animals are at the middle, an' the expensive shit is at the top—like anime figurines, that's why … Pony's obsessed with 'em.

"Togaru Togaru! They're having a contest! We gotta enter! We just gotta! I see a really cool figurine that I want, please please please! We gotta take home the bacon! We need to smack 'Plus Ultra' into these fools and win!" she exclaims, yankin' on my arm.

"I don't have a choice, do I? Ugh, I was gonna help you anyway, you didn't need to ask me," I grunt.

"Thank you so much! I pay you back for this, don't you worry!" She drags me over to the booth. Then, like a puppy seein' that they're at the vet, her face drops. "...Hey Togaru, we're friends right? We're super duper best friends in the whole wide world, right?"

"Aw, what's goin' on now? Did you see a puppy gettin' killed or somethi—?!"

The sign.

The fuckin' sign.

"Enter the contest to win a prize! The best couple with the most votes wins!"

What the fuck. Who designed this thing?! Fuckin'—! You have to be in a relationship for this crap?! Who the fuck cares 'bout other people's business?! This is some kind of perverted shit I swear! Some scam, some major big-name conspiracy out to get information on us! Absolutely no one, in the freakin' world, would give two flyin' shits 'bout this game!

Pony slowly turns around an' looks up at me with 'er big eyes. Oh God, there's tears in 'em. She's givin' me her pleadin' look. "I know we're not together, Togaru… But uhm, can you do this for me? Just for today? I really, really, really want that top prize… I understand if you wanna say no…"

...I'm really fuckin' doin' this. Yup, that's it, Togaru… Just be in a fake relationship with this goofy girl for a day. Nothin' will go wrong, nothin' at all! She won't be even more clingy to me! Oh fuck, she might actually feel the need to kiss me! Haha, I'd rather cut my intestines out before that happens! Aw shit, might actually do this!

Why? Well, I just like Pony too much.

—Oh. Well shit, let's just bury that fuckin' thought down an' kill it. Not worryin' 'bout that today, no. Just uh, just forget that I ever thought somethin' like that. Luckily for me, no one can read minds in my class of dumbasses and idiots. No one will know.

"Oh, we know!" Okay, shut the fuck up, Setsuna. I have no idea how you managed to get in my head, but shut up.

Facing the crystal blue sky, very beautiful an' peaceful actually, I mutter, "Go to hell." Okay, now I look down at Pony. "Fine. You wanna be a fake couple, fine by me! But we ain't doin' the shit that gives me a heart attack, alright? You owe me big time for this, Horns."

Pony wipes a few tears off of 'er face before huggin' me. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Horns," I grumble.

"Right! Sorry!" She lets go of me. "Now, let's submit our names and crap! Nothing's stopping us now!"

We approach the booth with the girl in charge. Nice-lookin', but there's probably the devil underneath that skin of hers. Shiozaki should perform an exorcism or whatever it's called. The booth girl says, "My, you sweethearts are adorable! Must be here to join the contest, right? Best couple and all that? You came to the right place!"

Pony raises her hand. "Can you explain more about this, please?"

She nods. "Of course, little lady! On each day of the I-Expo, we hold contests on different things by drawing out of the box. Today was 'Best Couple', and tomorrow will be something different! Once you enter, you'll be put with the other contestants. At the end of the day, we'll stop accepting contestants and open the voting, which you can vote on our app. The winners will be determined the next day and they can pick up their prizes! Simple, right?"

"Sure," I say.

"Uh huh!" Pony agrees, noddin' like a dork. "How do we enter? Do we give you our IDs or something like that? Our blood?!"

The lady shakes her head, laughin'. "Oh no, not your blood! We're not that freaky! But yeah, we need your IDs and that's it!"

I give Pony my ID without a word. Like the eager little kid, she hands 'em over to the lady. She puts 'em through some kind of machine before we hear a ding . Then, she hands our IDs back. That was quick. "There we go, you two! Download our app and you'll see your names—and pictures—in the pool with the rest of the contestants! I gotta say though, there's a lot of competition. Actually, I see some of them right now!"

"We're definitely gonna take the cake home. Sure, the other couples might be supermodels or some crap like that, but dude, who cares about that? We're both charming as hell, and cute ! No one's gonna get in our way!"

"Heck yeah! I'm not a Hero-in-Training, but I'm definitely cute!"

HIGH FIVE!

"Oh."

"You gotta be freakin' kiddin' me."

"Huh?"

"Is that—?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Shojo Fukidashi."

"Headband n'Glasses."

"Togaru Kamakiri."

" Them."

"Oh dear!" the booth lady says, retreatin' to the back. "It seems you guys know each other! Well, if you wanna fight, please take it someplace else! I just cleaned the blood from last time…"

Pony an' Shojo approach each other, both shorties who no one takes seriously. Pony is too much of an oblivious idiot, an' Shojo is a nerd who flip-flops from bein' confident an' bein' cowardly.

"Why are you here, Pony?"

"I am allowed to be here, Shojo! I got an ID and everything, ha! Look in the Constitution to see all of my rights!"

"We're not even in America! This is I-Island! Look, either way, I really want that figurine of the Monkey King. Not only he's king, he's the god of high school."

"Hmph! You're not getting the Monkey King, 'cause me and Togaru will get more votes than you! We're more likable!"

"Oh please, that guy looks like he's about to kill everyone here!" ("I want to kill everyone 'ere.")

"He always looks like that! I know he's a big softie on the inside! Sweet like sugar! He's sugar, Shojo! What about Awase? His headband is too big for his head!"

"It's not too big! It's the right size! You're just jealous that you can't pull it off!"

"Yes I can! I can just yank it from his head! I can totally pull it off!"

"That's not what I meant, Pony!"

"Well, what in the cool beans and cheese did you say?!"

Awase looks at me, scowlin' like I tore up his favorite headband. We face each other like two cowboys 'bout to have a showdown; though, I fought Snipe durin' my Final Exam. Awase crosses his arms an' says, "Togaru Kamakiri."

"You already said my name before, dumbass."

"Well, I wasn't sure if you were paying attention, dude!" He starts shakin' his fist at me. "I never know with you!"

"Okay Headband, I know my own name! Fuckin' hell, least I ain't an idiot like you! Your headband is cuttin' off blood to your brain!"

"It's not that tight! Look man, you're just jealous that you're not as charming as me! I mean c'mon, you're as charming as a pile of bricks dumped in a pile of manure."

"You're 'bout as handsome as a dirty monkey on roller skates. Perverted too. How many times did you mention Glasses's thighs?"

"Oh shut up! You're in denial about Pony! Everyone knows you would die for her!"

"No, I wouldn't! The only people that're gettin' their ass shanked is you if you keep talkin'! I won't hesitate, bitch!"

"I swear to God and Shiozaki that I'm gonna weld your stabby ass to a cross and leave you there for the rest of the trip!"

"Just try it! I've been meanin' to bruise you black n'blue ever since I saw ya!"

For about ten minutes, we were at each other's necks. Pony was about to headbutt Shojo, an' Shojo was ready to shove one of her drawings in Pony's face. Awase had his metal bars out, an' I was wavin' my arm 'round like one of those guys who direct planes.

The booth lady simply watches us, all shocked an' horrified that teenagers are 'bout to spill blood. Oh well, it ain't gonna be my blood paintin' the ground. It's gonna be this dumbass's. Tsuburaba will be pretty damn happy once he hears that I killed Awase. It'll be—

"Am I interrupting something?" Oh fuck, it's Inochi. He's back from the doctor's already?

Shojo an' Pony point at each other. "InochiSanjiYougottavoteforShojo'sbeingabigdumbPonydoesn'tdeservetowinI'mgonnasmackyouShojo!"

Inochi takes a deep breath in an' puts his hands together. "I understood absolutely none of that. The only thing I got out of it was, 'Shojo's being a big dumb Pony.' I hope you guys didn't swap bodies or anything."

He looks at me an' Awase for an answer, but Awase goes first, bringin' an arm 'round him. "Hey Inochi, we're friends right? Best buds? You scratch my back, I scratch yours. Y'know, that stuff?"

Inochi frowns. "You want something from me, don't you? I can see in your eyes."

"Nooo—!"

"Headband wants your vote, Quirkless," I answer, finally givin' him the truth. "Basically, me n'Horns an' Headband n'Glasses signed up for a contest. The—"

Pony jumps up an' shouts, "The couple with the most votes wins!"

Shojo lets out a pathetic squeak. "Wah?! Why did you say that in front of Sanji?! You know he's a romantic!"

Awase slowly takes his arm off of Inochi, backin' away like he's a bomb. Inochi has his head down. Oh shit, we're fucked. Awase asks, "Inochi dude… You okay? You're not giving off a good vibe right now, hehe… Oh man, we're screwed."

Inochi raises his head, glaring at us. " You guys became a couple without me knowing? " But then, his anger turns into complete an' utter sadness—what a pitiful dork. He runs his hands through his hair, unable to cope with this. This is actually fun to watch. His misery is my happiness. "Oh my God, I thought we were friends! I thought you trusted me enough!"

THUD!

He falls to his knees, bangin' his hand against the concrete. "What did I do wrong?! Why did you keep this a secret from me?! Instead of my heart exploding from joy, it's gonna explode from betrayal! I can't believe there was a traitor in my class, let alone four of my closest friends!" ("I ain't pals with you, Quirkless.")

The idiot looks up at the sky with tears wellin' up in his eyes. Damn, is this the first time we're gonna see him cry? "God, I sinned, didn't I?! I knew I shouldn't have eaten the last mango mochi in the freezer! I knew Itsuka was looking forward to it, but I couldn't help myself! It tasted so sweet and cold, especially after a day of training at the Dojo! I needed the relief! Forgive me, I'm just a filthy glutton! I'll repent!"

The rest of us… We just, uh, glance at each other like we ain't witnessin' Inochi havin' a mental breakdown. At least I got somethin' checked off my bucket list. I can even snitch on 'im to Kendo 'bout the mochi thing.

Shojo says, "We have something to confess, Sanji."

"Huh?"

We explain everythin' to 'im.

"I see." Inochi stands up. Okay, now he's actin' like he wasn't crazy the second before. "So the couple with the most votes win, huh? And you guys are posing as fake couples. Got it. You want me to vote for you, but I'm guessing I can only vote once."

"Yup! So vote for me and Togaru! We love you very much, Inochi!"

"I don't love you 'cuz that's too much, damnit! But if you don't vote for us, I'mma stab ya."

"Yeah! And I'm your best friend! Vote for us, dude! You're our only hope!"

"Don't listen to them! Vote for me, Sanji! You saved me from Catharsis, remember?!"

Inochi sighs, closin' his eyes. After a few seconds, they open. Looks like he has an answer. "Togaru Kamakiri and Yosetsu Awase. You will be the representative of each group. I'll have you guys do something that will possibly convince me. You'll be first, Kamakiri."

"Ugh, what do you want me to do? Whatever it is, don't make me hug your dirty ass. Your costume's dirty as hell," I snark.

Inochi chuckles like a goof—annoyin' laugh. "Haven't gotten the time to wash it. Anyway, that's a good idea but that's not it. Togaru Kamakiri, also known as 'Jack Mantis', please give me a poem."

Might as well.

"Fine. This is a 'Poem For the Dumbass In Front of Me' by Togaru Kamakiri.

"Roses are red.

"Violets are blue.

"Quirkless is a bitch.

"He oughta be in a ditch."

"Absolutely moving!" Inochi exclaims, givin' me a thumbs up. God damnit, that wasn't the reaction I was lookin' for. Pony an' Shojo are stiflin' their laughs. Heh, guess I was funny. "Onto you, Yosetsu Awase, also known as 'Welder'. Right now, at this very second, tell me why you want to be a Pro Hero—no hesitation!"

"Thighs."

"...D-Duly noted." Okay, I can give him a shitty poem but he's surprised by Awase's answer? Come the fuck on.

Pony asks, "Did you get what you need now? Who are you gonna pick?!" Shojo is right besides 'er blushin'. Good God, 'er face is like the skin of a tomato. If she doesn't know that Awase has a crush on 'er now, then she's fuckin' denser than a black hole.

Inochi nods. "I already came up with an answer! It took a lot of mental deliberation with me, myself, and I. The four of us agreed that, for the sake of both parties…"

SPRINT!

This motherfucker!

"Get back here, Inochi! You can't escape from Horny, Your Best Friend!"

"That ain't your Hero Name, Horns! God damnit, that asshole!"

"Hell yeah! Sorry dude, but you messed up big time!"

"Let's go Awase! I'm gonna make him vote for us one way or another!"

("...You guys were a fake couple this whole time?")

Juzo Honenuki

Thump thump!

There's our drinks! "Thanks for being our pack mule, Manga." He grumbles and sits down, picking up the manga he was reading before we asked him to get us drinks. I ordered a soda while Kuroiro got some sparkling water. Manga brought some orange juice for himself. And Kagesuke? Well, he gets to drink blood. This puppy is dangerous.

"As I was saying, Honenuki, you should take your studies more seriously. Do you ever do your homework?" Kuroiro asks, and frankly, I haven't been listening to him. I tuned out after he said my name and the rest was just blah blah blahs. I was more focused on Kagesuke rolling around on the table. He's cuter than I am!

I shrug to whatever Kuroiro is saying, opening my can of soda and taking a nice long sip. "That's gonna be a 'no' for me, o' infernal one. I don't feel like doing my homework because it's a rehash of what we learned in class. I ace almost all of the tests anyway, including the written portion of our Final Exam. There's a reason why I entered the Hero Course through recommendations."

"Still, you're not living up to your fullest potential. You are squandering your intelligence—which is vastly superior to most surprisingly enough—and living a life of idle luxury and terrible comedy."

"Hey, that wasn't very punny of you!"

"Like I said, 'terrible comedy'."

In the back, Manga nods. "Yeah, I agree with Kuroiro. Not about the other stuff, just the 'You're bad at jokes' stuff. I'm a gag character, but sheesh , you need to work on your material."

I huff, dramatically crossing my arms like I'm a high school cheerleader in America. "At least I'm handsome. I got that going for me. And my brain too. Seriously Kuroiro, you don't have to worry about me. I might be your best bud—"

He interrupts, "I would not refer to you as such. More as: The man who refuses to leave me alone and drags me everywhere with him. Because of you, I was dragged away from Komori's company right under her nose."

"To be fair, you're anxious around girls, especially Komori. If anything, I did you a favor." Kuroiro frowns. He's mad that I took him away from his crush. Tokage would kill me if she finds out I ruined a good romance. "Either way, don't worry about me. I'm a big boy now; I can pee standing up. I can take care of myself and my studies. Glad to see you're concerned though."

Kuroiro drags his finger along the table. "Not 'concerned', more… How do you say it? Annoyed? Agitated? In your free time, you often bother everyone else with your oddity of a personality and strange way of looking at the world. At least you are not Bakugo, that fiendish devil."

Ugh, that guy… I didn't like him before and I hate him now. He riled us up back at the Sports Festival, somehow being the representative of our entire grade. Seriously? Who would put a nuclear warhead as our representative? Some are gonna say, "You're just jealous because you aren't as strong as him." That's not the point. Bakugo is an aggressive asshole who freaks out whenever his pride is challenged. Case point: Inochi. Him and Kendo did the impossible and defeated All Might in a fight. They have great synergy and are able to beat All Might at his own game. Bakugo and Midoriya also fought All Might, and they escaped through the gate. Why? They simply didn't have the right tools to defeat the Symbol of Peace, and their teamwork stinks more than actual poop.

When it comes to fighting, Inochi and Kendo are ruthless . They don't hold anything back. You'll be knocked out with one punch by Kendo, and Inochi won't hesitate to kick you while you're down. Midoriya's lucky that Inochi didn't use his katana, because he's really good at kenjutsu. Anyway, let me go back to my original point: Bakugo.

Here's him in a nutshell:

Problem: "Oh no, someone is doing something better at me!"

Solution: "Time to assault him and a No.1 Pro Hero because that makes sense!"

Like c'mon, I get that Class 1-A worships him and all, but not everyone is brainwashed to believe that Bakugo is a perfect Hero. Even All Might believes it… Well, they always say to never meet your Heroes. By defending Bakugo like that, he kinda justified him assaulting Inochi. He didn't reprimand him for his actions, at least not publicly.

This definitely opened our eyes a little bit.

"Jeez," I say, taking another sip of my soda. It was a bad idea to wear metal armor in summer. "That entire Bakugo situation was just 'yikes!' Personally, I'm a bit upset that Inochi didn't beat Midoriya because I thought he had him outmatched. It didn't matter in the end though. Bakugo attacked Inochi."

Manga comments, "Bakugo's definitely a bully. I know, because I've been around bullies for most of my life. I mean, Bakugo is just...shallow, y'know? There's a lot of things you can be fighting for, but he decides to fight for the idea of winning."

"Such pride in that explosive heart of his," Kuroiro states, sinisterly petting Kagesuke like an evil villain. "He has so much of an ego that he didn't even respect the other No.1 Pros. If the situation was escalated further, I would think he'd challenge one of them to an actual duel ."

"Of course he would. But I don't wanna talk about Bakugo now. We can talk crap about his ugly behind later, through words or texts, we'll do it either way. Don't worry, we're good people," I snark, being sarcastic just like how Kamakiri is! He's sarcastic a lot, and he generally wants to kill everyone he sees. But everyone knows he won't actually do it, because he actually likes us. He's the tsun-thing from Manga's mangas.

"Heh," Kuroiro chuckles, drinking his sparkling water. Yup, that's the drink of dramatic, delusional guys all across the world. Just… Sparkling water.

Manga looks up. "Uhm, hey guys… There's someone here."

"Hmm?"

"Wha?"

"Arf!" Thank you for joining in, Kagesuke.

"Ah, so you noticed me!" an American exclaims. He's wearing a business suit, having his hands together like he's about to close a deal. If I know anything about guys in suits, they're probably up to no good. Better keep my guard up. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you three are friends of Sanji Inochi, correct? His Hero Name is Armory?"

"No, his Hero Name is All Might—of course his Hero Name is Armory!" I answer, putting my soda down on the table. I glance at Manga and Kuroiro, using my eyes to tell them that I'll handle this guy. "Is there something you want, sir? Maybe an autograph?"

He shakes his head, putting his hand on his chest. "Oh no, not an autograph. You see, I am a school official of Heroes United in New York City, the best Heroics School in all of the United States. I was wondering if I could speak to him about a possible transfer from U.A. High."

Ugh, Heroes United?

...I'm doing everything I can to stop myself from laughing. It's really hard, and Kagesuke isn't helping me. He's biting Kuroiro's finger and it's really adorable. I never thought I would hate a cute puppy, but here we are. I am sitting here listening to this guy. "Can I ask why you're interested in him? I mean, he's legally Quirkless. I didn't think recruiters seeked out the Quirkless because they are 'the lowest in society'."

The recruiter frowns, briefly giving me a death stare before his mask comes back on. "A young man like you isn't aware of Armory's potential. At Heroes United, we are determined to bring out the full scope of his power for the good of the world." Eh? How does this guy know about Inochi's potential? I wouldn't think that anyone in our class would leak information since we're not that important in the business world, besides from Tokage but she wouldn't betray her friends. So maybe… If I had to guess, Mayor Yamamoto is involved somehow.

Manga whispers, "This guy seems like a jerk. Chase him off, Honenuki."

Kuroiro concurs, "Indeed. He doesn't care about Inochi. He only cares about his Quirk."

If my friends command…

"For public relations for your school, I mean?" I correct him. "I haven't done much research pertaining to American Hero Schools, but I have heard about Heroes United. Specifically, I heard about the scandal where you expelled a Quirkless student who defended himself after being assaulted by his classmate who used his Quirk illegally."

The recruiter grits his teeth, gripping his navy blue tie. "Excuse me, that student was a danger to himself and everyone around him! Our school had no history of discrimination against Quirkless individuals and we pride ourselves on treating everyone with respect!"

"Well, good. I'll be sure to let Inochi know about your offer, but I should also tell you something." Everyone around me quiets down, curious to what I'm about to say. Let's see just what kind of a man this recruiter is. "When he had his AP Levels measured, there was a bug. It displayed that he had a what? Around 1,200AP now, 12,500 for his Growth Potential? The numbers were shifted by a tens place. They were actually 200AP and 2,500AP respectively."

Kuroiro and Manga immediately notice my lie. But because they love me, they aren't going to call me out. Especially Kagesuke. He's the smartest one here. He can close the chasm of ignorance in the science world.

Manga adds on, "Yeah… Sorry about that. Hey, 2,500AP is still kinda impressive for a Hero! Just not a high-ranking one..."

"I agree. Inochi is a very strong man on his own. He doesn't need a strong Quirk to leave an impact on our world," Kuroiro says, giving Kagesuke a good head scratch.

One of the recruiter's eye twitches. Looks like my gamble paid off. When he mentioned Inochi's potential, the tests we did a while back came to mind. Looks like he knows about the results of our tests. That's just an example of me being smart. Anyway, the recruiter's skin is turning red. He's about to enter rage mode. "What? You're joking, aren't you? You're lying to me."

I shake my head, raising my hands. "I'm not lying! Really, I'm not! You know those machines aren't perfect! The city managed to buy a faulty one for us! But hey, at least you're an amazing man, right? You don't discriminate against the Quirkless, rock on! I'll drink to that, cheers!"

I take a swig of my soda.

"Hold on! If Armory is this weak, then Heroes United won't be interested in him whatsoever! We don't seek after students who won't be big names! He might as well be Quirkless for God's sake!"

"Woah, where did that come from? Look, I'm already gonna tell Inochi about your offer! I'm sure he'll take it! I—"

"Don't bother, I'm retracting the offer!"

"Hey, what's with the sudden change of heart? I thought you didn't judge people based on their Quirks, but on the content of their character—"

"Oh be quiet, you don't believe that! We all know that the men and women with the best Quirks will have the public eating out of their hands! If you don't have a good Quirk, then you might as well be trash! The Quirkless, they're worse than trash, just useless sacks of flesh who contribute nothing to our world! It'll be better if they were off dead so they won't bother the rest of us!"

"...Wow," Manga mutters.

"Fascinating!" Kuroiro exclaims, grinning.

"Pfft…" Oh no, it's coming back; it's coming back! I can feel it rising in my throat, ready to spill out like rainbow vomit! "Kehehehe! Oh my God, I can't believe that actually worked! You are an awful person! I can't believe how easy it was to manipulate you!"

"Eh?" The recruiter glares at me, processing what I said. His face goes from complete anger, to shock, then back to anger but comes back with a fury. "You… You were lying this entire time?! You son of a bitch, I'll—!"

Before I know it, he lunges at me. But right before his hands wrap around my handsome neck—better not leave any marks—an arm is pushed against his chest, stopping him in his tracks. We look at the new person, and it's a woman. She's really cute actually! This mysterious lady has braided light gray hair, with stunning blue eyes. She wears a regal blue and red dress with an insignia on her right shoulder. Wait, I recognize that. It's the same symbol that Monarch uses. With a smile, she says in a calm, but mature voice, "I think you should stop harassing these young men, sir."

The recruiter towers over the woman, raising a very menacing finger at her. "Who are you supposed to be, huh?! Mind your own business!"

"They are my business," she says, looking at the insignia on her shoulder. "Don't you recognize this symbol? It's the same one that Monarch proudly displays. She has taken it upon herself to ensure the safety of Armory and his classmates for the rest of their trip. They should enjoy I-Island, not be constantly bombarded with idiots like you."

Holy shit, I didn't think Monarch would go above and beyond for us! Manga and Kuroiro look just as shocked as I am!

"Who cares about her?! This involves strictly America! Britain shouldn't be involved in this! They won't get Armory, I swear!" he yells, spitting in her face.

"Goodness…" the lady says, wiping the spit off with a cloth. "It doesn't matter what you want, you bigoted pillock. Besides, we have no interest in stealing Armory from his friends. Look here." She raises her phone.

"What are you trying to say here? Your phone isn't even on!"

"Oh, I know. Too bad I recorded your tirade and sent it to Monarch. If you continue to harass them, we won't hesitate to release this video to the public. Heroes United will undergo another scandal and you will rightfully be burned at the stake."

"What?! I—"

"Say nothing else. Just leave." The recruiter's face scrunches up like an old man, instantly aging fifty years. He looks behind at us three bratty kids before walking off. He just got chased away by a guy without lips, yeehaw! My friends give each other smiles before we look at the lady who works for Monarch. She approaches us and does a Japanese bow. Sighing heavily, she rambles, "That was very intense! I can't believe I managed to act so calm under pressure! This never happened before!"

Aw, she's introverted. I glance at Kagesuke who's looking up at the miss. I say, "Thanks for helping us out either way. Did Monarch send you here?"

She shakes her head. "N-No, just the right place at the right time. I—Oh! I haven't introduced myself yet! My name is Eliza; I work as Monarch's servant. It's good to meet you three!"

I nod.

"Likewise, Miss Eliza," Kuroiro says.

"Mhm." Manga goes back to reading his manga.

"God, you have no idea how fast my heart was beating! Like ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum! It was really nerve-wracking, but—!" Her phone rings, "—Wah?! Excuse me, it's Monarch!"

She takes her call and turns the other way. "M-Miss Monarch—Huh? Uwah, please forgive me! I—! Hmm? I see, I understand! I'll…"

I wonder how many cute servants Monarch has… Did she only bring Eliza to I-Island? Ah, something like this will make Tokage's brain go wild with conspiracy theories.

Bzzt!

That's my phone. It's the class group chat. Manga and Kuroiro got the same notification as me.

Yanagi: "A couple of individuals tried to speak with Yui and I about Inochi"

Yanagi: "They wanted him to transfer to another school?"

Yanagi: "Please respond?"

Shishida: "The same happened to me"

Shishida: "I was the bigger man and walked away"

Kamakiri: "what the hell is up with yall? havent met any assholes like that"

Pony: ":o"

Pony: "language togaru!"

Rin: "that's strange"

Rin: "i haven't encountered anyone like that either, but it's probably because i was with lian"

Monoma: "Ohoho! I ran into the same problem, but this proves that Inochi is more popular than 1-A will ever be! Even internationally!"

Kamakiri: "broadway, the majority of the idiots in japan hate his ass"

Monoma: "Fame is still fame!"

I should jump in.

Me: "yo, just chased away a douchebag earlier"

Me: "also one of monarch's servants is here and she's really cute"

Tsuburaba: "send pics pls"

Kodai: "no perving airhead"

Tsuburaba: "hey!"

Yanagi: "Don't be perverted, Airhead"

Shiozaki: "Do not be lustful, Airhead"

Komori: "what they said airhead!"

Tsuburaba: "why is everyone ganging up on me?!"

Kamakiri: "cuz youre an airhead, airhead"

Awase: "^"

Tsuburaba: "oh shut up!"

Kuroiro chuckles. He's enjoying this conversation.

Kuroiro: "Let us return back to the subject at hand"

Bondo: "Uh huh! I'm so nervous about what's going on!"

Shoda: "I'm sure Inochi and Kendo can explain"

Shoda: "Once they see our chat"

Kaibara: "tokage too, they oughta know about this"

Kaibara: "though if i had to guess, it's prolly about his ap levels"

Kaibara: "i mean, honenuki said that one of monarch's servants is with them right?"

Kaibara: "and the other no.1 heroes seemed to have taken an interest with inochi"

Kabiara: "big names have their attention on inochi because of his potential"

Monoma: "I concur! Thanks to Bakugo, the respect for Class 1-A has been diminished! Inochi is more favorable than them!"

Manga says, "I'm just going to stay quiet and wait for Inochi to come on." That's probably a good idea.

Tetsutetsu: "BROS WHAT'S GOING ON?! I'M EATING A JUICY TURKEY LEG RIGHT NOW AND MY PHONE IS EXPLODING!"

Me: "caps much?"

Awase: "ease off the caps"

Rin: "we tell you every time you type…"

Tetsutetsu: "SORRY BROS TOO PUMPED ABOUT LIFE RN!"

Tetsutetsu: "SOMEONE ANSWER ME!"

Me: "the world is obsessed with inochi rn"

Kuroiro: "Basically, yes"

Tetsutetsu: "AWESOME! I'M GOING BACK TO EATING!"

Komori: "please clean your phone after you're done…"

Bondo: "I can imagine how dirty his screen is…"

"We should really make Tetsutetsu stop using caps…" I tell them, and they basically nod in agreement. Kagesuke too!

Tokage: "i was wondering why our gc blew up so much"

Tokage: "god damnit, sorry ibara, but i can explain everything just give me a sec"

Tokage: "i'm at the i-island academy rn"

We give her a second.

Tokage: "okay look: the tests we did way back was given to a bunch of people and somehow, the information spread across the globe that midoriya and inochi are uber-powerful"

Tokage: "because of this, other countries want them to transfer to their schools and have their own all might"

Tokage: "and every country is kinda split into their own factions as well, so it's an all-out war to see who can fetch them first"

Tokage: "damn, i hoped this wouldn't have happened tho"

Tokage: "anyway, keep your chins up, kings and queens"

Tokage: "don't take anyone's crap and stay tight, we're counting on you guys"

Everyone explodes in messages. Well then…

People are obsessed with heroism. Countries are fighting to have the best Heroes. To think that Inochi is wanted by the same guys who looked down on the Quirkless?

I feel sorry for him.

Itsuka Kendo

"We've been waiting a hot minute for you guys!" Mom exclaims as me, Setsuna, and Sanji walk into the hotel. She's waiting for us with Grandpa, who's on his phone. The visit to the I-Island Academy took a lot longer than we thought thanks to some events that were completely out of our control. I wish I could punch them in the face…

Sanji laughs, doing his trademarked action of scratching the back of his head. "A lot of stuff happened, but Melissa gave us a nice tour of her school. She's genuinely a genius. Her inventions could change the world."

Setsuna remarks, "That's why you don't look down on the Quirkless. She's so much smarter than her classmates."

Mom smiles as a fellow scientist-slash-engineer herself. "Aw, I'm glad us support scientists are getting the credit we deserve. But seriously! You haven't told us why you guys took so long! Even Dad was getting worried."

Grandpa looks up from his phone. "She's not wrong. There's some crazy people out there, especially in events like these."

"Oh I know." My cheeks puff up. "The class group chat was blowing up earlier about how these recruiters were constantly irritating them. It even happened at the academy! Some girls were hounding Sanji about transferring to I-Island or some other school."

"Luckily, our cute tomboy rescued her goofy boyfriend. He's pretty much her property at this point, not gonna lie," Setsuna comments with a very annoying giggle. I should really keep track of how many times she teases us. It must be in the thousands at this point, my goodness…

Sanji just cracks a laugh; he just can't bring himself to frown at any one of Setsuna's jokes. "Well, don't know how to quite respond to that. Guess this was returning the favor for what happened earlier."

Mom tilts her head. "Wait, what happened earlier? You guys never told me this." Oh right, everyone was so focused on Lian that I completely forgot about the Jason guy.

I explain, "Basically, there was this asshole who tried to ask me out. Sanji stepped in and the guy backed off."

Grandpa snorts, rubbing his mouth. "He's lucky that Sanji didn't take his head off. Speaking of heads getting taken off, I suppose this is a good time to talk to you about your fight with Midoriya."

Oh right, that . Sanji was winning! But all of the sudden, he choked at the last moment and got a tree kicked into him. Everyday, I get more impressed with how much his body can take. He's really strong. I mean, that was obvious when we were at the beach. His chest is toned, but not bodybuilder-toned y'know? Perfectly toned… Yeah, I'm definitely a pervert…

We look at Sanji who looks a little more serious than usual. "Yeah yeah, I need to keep training. Still not the best, but I'm not the worst. But I figure you guys probably wanna talk about why I was distracted. I, uhm, well… It's a long story."

Jeez, that basically means he isn't comfortable sharing. It involves his Quirk, doesn't it? He doesn't feel comfortable talking about it, like back at David's lab. Maybe I should ask him when we're alone.

Grandpa nods, standing up. "That's fine. I'm getting too old to listen to long stories anyway. You should head back to your rooms. Your friends are already here dressing down for the night."

Mom adds, "Luckily, we haven't heard anyone dying yet! That's a win in my book!"

"Please don't jinx it, Mom… Someone could be dying as we speak," I tell her, then looking at Grandpa. "By the way, what happened to Grandmaster and Count? And Lian too, since he kinda...integrated himself into our group."

"Oh, they're staying at a different hotel than us. You'll probably see them again tomorrow, especially Lian." Frankly, Lian is exhausting. I like him, but he's so energetic that he sucks all of your strength out…

Setsuna quips, "Don't worry, darlings. It won't be the last we see of… What was his Hero Name again? Shangdi?"

Mom nods. "Yup, it's Shangdi. In Chinese mythology, it means 'Supreme Deity' or 'Supreme Emperor'. Just from the name alone, you can tell that he's really strong, even compared to the three No.1s we met with earlier—Toshi too! Man… For a brief moment, there was so much power within such a small space."

Sanji says, "It's almost unimaginable really… I—?" He turns his head to a man who's eavesdropping on our conversation. The guy looks familiar actually… Orange-brownish hair, and his nose is really pointy. Like holy crap, it's like a scythe! I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but that's the first thought that came to my head!

Setsuna immediately becomes uneasy, stepping in front of us. "Good evening, Mister Yotsubashi. I didn't expect you, the CEO of Deternat , to eavesdrop on our lovely little conversation."

Oh, you have gotta be kidding me? This is Rikiya Yotsubashi? The guy who brought our data? He's staying at this hotel too?! Grandpa and Mom turn to him. I see Grandpa putting Mom behind him like Yotsubashi is about to kill all of us with an eyeblink.

Yotsubashi gives us a kind smile like the one you'd see from a dad. "Good evening to you too, Miss Setsuna! And no need to be afraid, I'm just a harmless businessman who wants to better the world—you may even call me a philanthropist! As you know, I create clothing for those who do not conform to society's norms regarding appearance! An innocent, but much needed niche that had to be filled."

Setsuna mutters, "Innocent… Yeah right." She clears her throat, putting her heiress persona back on. "Well that's absolutely wonderful! Are the rest of your allies here too? Like Miss Kizuki and the others?"

From the mention of Kizuki's name, Sanji's body stiffens. He whispers to me, "Mister Yotsubashi is in league with Kizuki? Is it me, or is there a conspiracy going on?"

"If so, it'll explain why Setsuna and Grandpa are on edge," I reply, looking over at Grandpa. Slowly, Sanji and I walk over to him and Mom, joining together with them.

Yotsubashi flashes a quick smile and a fast glimmer of his seemingly pure white, innocent teeth. "Mhm, she's a trusted friend. And I see you're surrounded with many, many trusted friends yourself, Miss Setsuna. Say, Mister Inochi, may I ask you a question?"

Grandpa steps in, "You can ask me first, Yotsubashi. I'm his guardian, and I'd rather not see an article trashing my boy when I wake up tomorrow."

"Ah, I understand completely, Master Kendo! However, since you're kindly opening yourself up to a question… May I ask why The Count accidentally bumped into that poor barista just earlier today?"

That's a weird question… Did The Count really do that? I feel bad for him and the barista…

Grandpa replies, "What? He did that? Well, thanks for telling me?" He's...tapping his leg. Crap, I remember when Sanji told me that I tap my leg when I lie. Did I really inherit that from Grandpa? And why is he lying in the first place?

Yotsubashi frowns, nodding. "I see, forgive me for the misunderstanding. On the topic of The Count, I'm happy that these young, upcoming Heroes will be interning under some great role models."

Mom tells him, "I mean this respectfully, but can you get to the point, sir?"

"Of course! I am simply saying that I look forward to your children's development! Especially Mister Inochi's… When he's finally liberated—" Setsuna bites the inside of her cheek, "—he'll truly become one of a kind."

"Oh my, what is this?" Okichi Tokugawa joins the conversation. Why is he here too?! I get he's the son of some businessman, but seriously? Why is everyone suddenly appearing at his hotel?! Sanji, upon seeing Tokugawa, gives him a stare that can kill even me. I nudge him a little, and he shakes his glare out. "To have so many people gathered here at once? If I was an introvert, I'd be shaking in my boots, haha! Ah, jokes aside, it's a pleasure seeing my dear schoolmates and especially Setsuna."

"Okichi Tokugawa, you have gotten taller since I have met you! How's your father doing?" Yotsubashi asks him.

"That's puberty for you, Mister Yotsubashi. And my father is working. He's in a meeting right now, and I am simply enjoying my time at this lovely hotel. Anyhow…" Tokugawa turns to the rest of us, specifically Setsuna and Grandpa, then engaging in a conversation with Yotsubashi. Is he…? Is he helping us? He's taking the attention away from Sanji and putting it on himself. For once, being self-centered is actually helping!

Setsuna backs up and whispers, "For the first time, Okichi is being helpful. You guys felt that Yotsubashi was giving you the creeps, right?" We all nod. "At least I'm not going insane. Dad always told me to be careful around him, and his goons too. If Yotsubashi and Kizuki are here, then some of his other friends are here too."

"Amazing," Grandpa deadpans, "just what I wanted! A corporate squabble. This is why I don't go to the I-Expo. I can't stand businessmen in suits."

Mom groans. "Especially Gajin Nobuto. That guy is as crooked as he gets." Grandpa winces. Wait, is that guy apart of Yotsubashi's gang too?

Sanji smiles and says, "Luckily for me, I barely know anything about the business world."

"That's because you're so absent-minded that you might as well be an airhead, but that's Tsuburaba's nickname," I joke, playfully jabbing his side. He just gives me his cute smile.

I hear Tokugawa bringing his hands together with a loud clap . "It really was splendid to have a short yet entertaining conversation with you, Mister Yotsubashi, but—"

"Actually, forgive me for being so persistent, I really do have some things to say to the good people behind you. I—"

"I'd rather not have you bother them anymore, Rikiya." Mister Tokage appears with his resting asshole face like usual. "You should rest tonight. God knows we need sleep. Tomorrow's busier than today, most certainly."

Yotsubashi's eye twitches, but he's still maintaining his smile. "Why, of course, Fuyushiro… Everyone needs sleep, don't they? I hope you have a nice sleep yourself, my friend. It has really been a pleasure speaking to you all, and I hope I will see you again."

After saying his last words—really creepily in fact, like he's subtly threatening us—he walks away.

In unison, Tokugawa and Setsuna sigh. Grandpa looks relieved, and so does Mister Tokage. What's going on with these guys? Mom asks, "Is anyone going to explain what's up with Yotsubashi? You four seem to know something."

Mister Tokage explains, "Rikiya Yotsubashi is a very idealistic man, to cut the explanation short. Radical even. That would explain the uneasiness you feel in your chests. Unfortunately, some of his allies are staying here, so you'll probably encounter them at some point. For the sake of your sanity, just ignore them and walk away."

Grandpa grumbles; he doesn't sound like he's convinced. "Right… Anyway, we should tune in for the night. We don't need any more action than we already have."

Tokugawa nods. "I agree, my elder. From what Setsuna has told me, you did a lot today. You have my sympathy."

"What did you tell him, Setsuna?" Sanji asks, sounding a little hostile. Okay, if he decides to punch Tokugawa, then I need to hold him back. As much as I like seeing that rich face of his ruined, Sanji shouldn't be the one to ruin it.

Setsuna awkwardly giggles, taking off her face mask. "Just the basic stuff, like our friends being harassed and stuff. I thought he could help us out a little, and he did try to help, but nothing came out of it."

Mister Tokage sighs, looking at where Yotsubashi walked off to before turning to us. "It's a shame that your trip is filled with stress, not the joy that you had originally expected. What can you do, I suppose… Setsuna, I'm going to my room if you need me. Have a good night." He leaves.

After he leaves, Tokugawa says, "Mister Inochi—"

"I'm going to my room," Sanji immediately replies. Wow, that was surprisingly rude. Funny, but so not like him. I'm the rude one here!

"Same, I need to get out of my costume." I start to follow him—

—And Setsuna stops us. "Actually wait, there's been an error with the rooms. Because of it, you two are placed somewhere else."

Mom giggles. "Oh right, I almost forgot about that…"

Grandpa just looks confused. "When did this happen?"

Setsuna only gives us her mischievous smirk. "You'll see."

"..."

"..."

"Itsuka."

"Yeah?"

"I'm starting to think there wasn't an error."

"Thank you, captain obvious."

Here's what Setsuna said: "Here's your new room, guys! Enjoy, have fun, sleep tight, and especially bathe in the luxury of being by yourselves! No one else is up here! Just you two alone! What paradise!" Then she slammed the door and ran away.

Instead of being in Castor in Room 4603, Sanji and I are in 5101, just four-five levels where half of our class is at. And, I'm not sharing a room with a few of my friends. I'm just sharing a room with Sanji, and him alone. Setsuna planned this from the very beginning, didn't she? She saw a perfect opportunity to "mistakenly" put Sanji and I in one room and hope that something happens between us. God, at least the room is really nice. It's not much of a room but a small apartment.

Once we step inside, there's an open space with a few partitions that extend about three-quarters of the way to the ceiling. They separate the common area, the living room, and the kitchen. There's a door to our right that leads into the probably-perfect bathroom. And going into the living room, there's a door on the left. I'm pretty sure that's the bedroom. I'm also sure that's the only bedroom here. Luckily, there's a couch so Setsuna doesn't get what she wants: us sleeping in the same bed.

Our stuff is already brought up here, so Sanji and I needed to bring ourselves and ourselves only. They're laying on the kitchen counter. Glancing at Sanji, he looks around the room with a cute grin on his face. He's so happy that we get to sleep in absolute luxury; he's like a little puppy at the dog park. "Itsuka, there's a mini-fridge with all kinds of drinks in here! I can't even read some of these!"

Too bad he's completely ignoring the fact that Setsuna set this up. I say, "Shouldn't you be wondering about something else?"

Sanji points a finger-gun at me. "You're right: the bathroom. I bet the shower is better than ours! And it doesn't run out of hot water!"

"Not that! There's something way more important than the bathroom!"

"...The beds? I bet they're softer than the clouds themselves."

"No! I mean Setsuna! She moved our rooms so she could put us together in the same space! I bet she's cackling to our friends like some evil witch with a crooked nose! Is she trying to coerce us into winning her bets in the gambling ring Awase set up?"

He takes a second or two to just blink, quietly closing the mini-fridge. "You know it's impossible to understand the fabulous Setsuna Tokage. Besides, are you really that bothered about us staying in the same room?"

Thanks to those words, I'm blushing. I'm really not against the idea, but I'm mainly angry that Setsuna has the audacity to do this without our permission. However, there's the issue with our classmates… They're the definition of crazy. Because of them, they're cited as the creators of the word. "N-Not really, no… I'm worried about our friends. You know how they are."

He laughs, leaning against one of the partitions. "I do, and I'm sure they'll be fine. They're mature enough! Remember, we're Japanese! We clean up the stadium after a soccer game because that's who we are! You're so much like a doting mother."

"Hmph, I'm just saying, Sanji! It'll be pretty bad if we cause trouble in a foreign...country? I'm not sure if I-Island is a country, but you know what I'm saying! We are responsible for ourselves!"

"And they know that more than anyone. C'mon, instead of stressing out about them, let's just enjoy the small moments of peace we have. Especially since everything is a lot more chaotic than we imagined…" I'm starting to think about the harassment again, and the crap with Bakugo too; oh, and the stuff with Rikiya Yotsubashi. Our lives are constantly being bombarded left and right with things we didn't even know we had to deal with! Sanji, most of all, is in the thick of it.

So… Sanji makes a good point. I end up sighing, walking over to my bags and grabbing them. "Your words aren't gonna melt the stress away, but I'll try my best."

"That's why I'm here. C'mon, let's unpack our stuff." Sanji gets his bags, and we start unpacking. Maybe this is a good time to talk about...everything. I would've talked to him back at the I-Island Academy, but I was too focused on getting him away from Melissa's annoying schoolmates. They were jerks, honestly. Some of them were gossiping behind Melissa's back, insulting her because she's Quirkless. I was gonna give them a piece of my mind, but Sanji wouldn't let me. People are assholes to literal geniuses all because they weren't born with the right genetics—and really sweet guys like Sanji. Melissa and Sanji deserve everything nice.

Zip!

Oh crap, I forgot my hairbrush. "Dangit, I can't believe I forgot to pack my brush!"

Sanji unzips a side pocket of his bag and takes out a hairbrush. "Here. I had a feeling you might forget yours."

"Wow, I don't know if I should be thankful or insulted," I crack a little joke, catching the hairbrush after he tosses it to me.

"Heh. Anyway uhm, think this is a good time to talk?" he asks after pulling out a plain white shirt. "About y'know, pretty much everything that happened today? We have Midoriya, Bakugo, me becoming hotter than Todoroki—"

"Pfft, no offense, but it's impossible to literally be hotter than him. But yeah, this is a good time to talk. Setsuna isn't trashy enough to place bugs in here—at least that's what I hope." I'd say it's too much effort to plant bugs, but it's Setsuna. She would go the extra mile and then two more miles "just because".

"Yeah, anyway… A good start would be Midoriya. You must be thinking, 'Oh man, why did you fight him, Sanji? What did he do to you?'" he states, doing dramatic hand-motions to further his point.

"Well, you usually have a good reason for everything, so let's hear it."

"Okay, uh… You know how me and Midoriya are the only two who will have an AP Level of over 10,000. That makes us very influential in the world; everything that happened today is evidence to prove that claim. Yet… There's a fundamental difference between us. It's our beliefs. It's the 'why' in 'Why are we fighting?'"

"Really? You guys always had differences when it comes to heroism. You even had a small argument back when you were fighting Catharsis. Why did it come to a head now?"

"David's testing," he answers, "I won't discuss everything, but long story short, he was able to find that I have the rarest Quirk Type in existence—an Origin-type. It's a lot to explain which I won't do now, but to make it simple: Origin-types are guaranteed to be stronger than the average No.1 Hero."

I blink. "...What?"

Sanji stops unpacking and stares at me, his eyes darting around the room. "I just said I have an Origin-type."

"Yeah, I heard you. But what you said last… You are stronger than most of the average No.1 Pro? Like you aren't joking with me right? You can beat Monarch, Valjean, Odysseus, and All Might in a fight together?"

"Okay, I don't know about that! And I'm still Quirkless right now! We were barely able to beat All Might!" He shakes his hands. "Wait wait, we're getting off-topic!"

"Oh right, Midoriya has an Origin-type too! That explains how he could destroy a zero-pointer in one punch!"

"Yeah, he nailed it, moving on!" he exclaims, really making sure that we move on. Hehe, I was just playing around with him. "Look Itsuka, you said that we are responsible for ourselves, right? As much as I hate saying this, me and Midoriya… We're uh… How do I say this nicely…"

"You two are more special than us," I finish for him.

"Yeah! We're—" he stops himself, "—ahem, I am not going to finish that sentence because it sounds incredibly bad. But basically, yeah. We are more special than the average person, than the average Hero. Because of that, when I heard Midoriya telling everyone why he wanted to be a Pro Hero. It made me question everything about him."

"Why? He said that he wanted to be the strongest like All Might. He's his role model after all. Midoriya is his biggest fan."

"That's the point. Midoriya sounds more like an adoring fan than a Hero. Everything he does, it's all to become All Might. He's been given the chance to fulfil his fantasy. But—"

"Real life isn't a fantasy," I say, finally understanding his point. "You're saying that you fought Midoriya because he's too self-centered. That explains why he kept trying to punch you during the first half of the fight. His ideals leaked into his technique."

"Exactly. His thought process is, 'If I can't save this one person, then how can I call myself a Hero?' The act of saving validates his satisfaction to be a Hero."

"I got it. But I think you're influencing him, Sanji. I believe that, when he started to use his legs, he realized his mistakes and began to distance himself from All Might's legacy. You're making an impact on him."

"Good." He smiles. "I don't hate Midoriya, not at all. It's just that… that we aren't really compatible with each other. Still, there's this weird thought in my head that I can't seem to get out…"

"Like what? You can tell me."

"Well… One of the traits of an Origin-type Quirk is inheritance. You can either be born with an Origin-type, which is probably my condition."

"Either? There's another way to inherit Quirks other than being born into it? How is that possible?"

"That's the magic of Quirks, I suppose. Moving on, David confirmed that there are other ways of inheriting an Origin-type Quirk, which got me thinking… Midoriya uses his Quirk like he never used it before. Beginning of the year I mean. He broke his arm punching that zero-pointer, remember?"

"And his fight with Todoroki, yeah. I watched it online because y'know… You were busy fighting Suzuki." The mention makes him wince.

"Yeah… I'm casually putting that memory aside." Sanji does a hand motion as if he's literally putting something aside. "Back onto my point, All Might, who also has an Origin-type, is teaching Midoriya how to use his Quirk. We both know that they're pretty chummy together, like master and student."

Wait… I snap my fingers. "When Midoriya joined the dojo, you joked that Midoriya is All Might's secret son! You pointed out how similar they are that they could be related!"

Sanji nods. "Yeah. One similarity is just luck, two is a coincidence, but three is too much. There are too many things similar about them. So… There could be a possibility that Midoriya inherited his Quirk from All Might."

Oh God, the implications that this could have. "Holy shit… That would explain a lot, wouldn't it?"

"Not only that… Bakugo calls me 'Shitty Deku', because I'm a shitter version of him. But why would I be a crappier version? I'm taller than Midoriya, my hair is black and white not green, and I don't mutter all the time. Our appearance and mannerisms are different, our fighting styles are different, almost everything is different. Let's channel our inner Grandmaster here, our Sherlock Holmes."

I say the thing, "'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'" The quote's from Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who created the greatest detective alive.

"That's right. The reason why Bakugo calls me 'Shitty Deku' is because I'm Quirkless. No doubt about it," Sanji concludes with stern eyes.

I finalize his thoughts, "And so, Midoriya must have been Quirkless. But one day, he met All Might and inherited his Quirk, fulfilling his dream. The World's Greatest Villain is raising Tomura Shigaraki, and The World's Greatest Hero is raising Izuku Midoriya. How about that…"

"...Yup. If we're right, then we pretty much cracked the code regarding the secret we've been teased with. But…" Sanji winces, shutting his eyes and briefly clenching his fist. "Never mind, it's nothing."

He's bothered by the thought. I try my best to comfort him, "If you say so. Look at you, Mister Detective. There's actually a brain in your thick skull after all. Do you think you're actually right?" If Grandmaster was here, he would be so proud of Sanji.

Sanji shrugs. "Honestly, I hope not. The thought of Midoriya being Quirkless… It's weird. I have no idea how to react if this is actually the case. Either way, everything will be revealed to us in due time. Anything else you wanna talk about?"

I shake my head. "Nah, everything else will just be me complaining about how crappy today was." I glance at the bedroom door. "Although… There's a slight issue with, y'know, the sleeping arrangements. There's only one bed."

He nearly spits, trying his best to not laugh right at my face. "So? Are you making me sleep on the couch and not on the almost-guaranteed-to-be-softer-than-Ibara's-hair-bed? Am I a dog to you?"

I open my mouth—

"—Please don't answer that." I laugh, nodding my head at this dork. Really though, is he making me feel guilty? I mean, I wouldn't mind him sleeping in the same bed, but it'll be embarrassing…

I answer, "It'll be awkward and we'll be playing right into Setsuna's trap."

Sanji smirks. "Did you forget that you slept on my chest after Catharsis happened? You were so worried about me that you let yourself shamelessly sleep on me like a pillow."

Wait, how could I actually forget that?! Ugh, too much stuff has happened since then! My face starts to burn up! "Shut up! God, I'm starting to think you care more about sleeping on a nice bed than sleeping with me."

Okay, I could have worded that better.

This idiot stifles a laugh, trying his best to not react to my accidental innuendo. "At least you aren't Tetsutetsu. But really Itsuka, would it be the end of the world? If you say the word, I'll hold your hand or hug you no questions asked. Besides… You know how I am. I function on a few hours of sleep. The remaining time I have, I would go and train but I can't do that here obviously."

At least he isn't Tetsutetsu who randomly does push-ups without being prompted to. Gosh, there has to be a hidden motive hiding behind Sanji's words. "Yeah yeah, I get it. There's something else I'm not getting though. C'mon, you can tell me. Don't make me pull the words outta your throat."

"Well…" Sanji's cheeks grow a very faint blush. It's so faint that you need to strain your eyes to see it, but I see his blush as clear as day. He's making the kind of face that you would only see a few times in your entire life. "I don't like being alone. Back home, I could just train because it was something productive and I would occupy myself. It sounds a little selfish, but it would mean a lot to me if you did this. I mean, if you tell me to, I'll sleep on the couch, don't get me wrong. I don't wanna be pushy."

I… I never knew that. I never knew that he didn't like being alone. I can see why. He was alone for most of his life until we came into the picture. My God, when was the last time that Sanji pushed for himself? Maybe that's why he was blushing. Not because of the thought of us sleeping in the same bed, but from the embarrassment of confessing his aversion to loneliness. I have to do it. Besides, it's a win-win situation for the both of us.

I walk up to him and pat his head; his hair is really soft and fluffy—so cute. "You win, Sanji. Tonight, let's just watch movies until we pass out. Does that sound good?"

He gives me a beaming smile, showing his pearly white teeth. "Awesome! Thanks, Itsuka! I promise I won't bother you during the night! Lemme go and change out of my costume real quick!" Sanji takes his bags and duck into our bedroom, shutting the door. Behind it, I can hear him shouting, "Holy crap! This bed is just as soft as I imagined! It's great!"

You're lucky that I love you, Sanji.

Bzzt!

That's my phone. It's probably Mom.

Mom: "Heya sweetie!"

Yup, I'm right.

Mom: "So how's your new room?"

Me: "great, so uh"

Me: "me and sanji are sleeping in the same bed"

Mom: "Oh"

It takes a hot second for her to respond.

Mom: "My daughter is finally becoming a woman!"

Mom: "I'm gonna cry"

That's not the reaction I was expecting!

Me: "mom!"

Me: "we are not having sex!"

Mom: "It's a perfectly normal thing for your age!"

Mom: "Wait, do you two have protection?"

Me: "oh my god i'm going to block you"

Me: "we are not going to have sex"

Mom: "If you say so"

Mom: "I thought you'd make Sanji sleep on the couch"

Me: "i'm not that cruel"

Me: "he might look like a puppy but he's still sanji"

Mom: "True"

Mom: "Anyway gtg, love ya!"

I sigh.

Me: "ily 2"

Mom: "Mwah!"

Bzzt!

Oh, another text. It's from...Midoriya? Speak of the devil…

Midoriya: "Hey Kendo! Can I ask you something?"

Me: "it's about sanji, isn't it?"

Midoriya: "Yeah…"

Midoriya: "Did he tell you about what happened?"

Me: "naturally"

It takes a while for Midoriya to respond.

Midoriya: "I'm not here to defend myself or criticize his arguments, I was just curious about something. Inochi showed me how my technique is flawed so I've been analyzing how he fights."

Ah, I remember that Midoriya has notebooks filled with notes on different people. I guess he's onto Sanji.

Me: "for your notebook, right?"

Midoriya: "Yeah! My Hero Analysis for the Future! I drew Inochi's costume and the equipment he has, and took details about his improvisational fighting style. Right now, I'm at the part about his Quirk, and I wanted to check something with you"

Me: "you know that sanji doesn't talk about his quirk much"

Midoriya: "I totally know! It's just…"

Midoriya: "During our argument before we fought, you probably don't know about it, he said something weird"

Me: "how so?"

He takes a long time to respond again.

Midoriya: "He was talking about my dream and how I wanted to be All Might so badly"

Midoriya: "He said that he doesn't need his Quirk to figure out my dream"

...What?

Midoriya: "I don't think he meant to say it. He accidentally slipped up"

Midoriya: "What do you think it could mean?"

Sanji doesn't need his Quirk to figure out Midoriya's dream? It was definitely an accident that he spilled a few details about his Quirk. But something doesn't make sense. His appointment with David was an hour before his fight. He couldn't have figured out some of its mechanisms in an hour despite how smart he is.

Does… Does Sanji know what his Quirk is all this time? Has he been keeping it a secret ever since we met?

Either way, I shouldn't tell Midoriya. Not yet, at least.

Me: "don't worry too much about it, just skip the quirk section and move on"

Midoriya: "If you say so"

Midoriya: "I thought that I should bring it up to you because you know…"

Midoriya: "You two are partners"

Me: "yeah, thanks for telling me"

I put my phone down. I really need to get out of my Hero Costume. I grab some of my clothes and duck into the bathroom, changing into a comfortable t-shirt and more-than-comfortable shorts.

Okay, that's done. I put my Hero Costume in my bag and walk over to the bedroom, knocking on the door. "Sanji, you done changing?"

"Yeah!" he says, "I was just about to take a look in the nightstand and—"

He stops. I can hear the drawer closing shut. Whatever he saw, he didn't like it. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Setsuna planted it. I open the door and walk inside to see my partner having an existential crisis. "You okay? What was inside?"

"You don't wanna know. I'm afraid for Setsuna's safety if you saw it."

"Well, that makes me even more curious. C'mon, I'm a mature teenager, I can handle it." I approach the nightstand and open the drawer—luckily for me, Sanji doesn't stop me—?!

…

Sanji was right. I'm gonna kill Setsuna.

"Itsuka—"

"It's a condom, Sanji."

"I know what a condom is; you don't have to tell me."

"Setsuna literally put a condom in the freaking—!"

"Y'know what—!"

Thump!

Sanji closes the drawer and sits me down on the bed, then putting his butt next to mine. "How about we order some food and do a movie marathon like you said? That way, you can take your mind off of this!"

"Fine, but I'm gonna kill Setsuna at some point this week, and you won't be able to stop me."

"Only savages resort to violence so easily."

"That's ironic coming from you."

"Probably, yeah. Anyway, ready to conquer the night?"

"Hehe, you're such a dork, but yeah, I'm ready."

Wahhh, it's two days late. I have an explanation. So on Saturday, my mouse decided that it wanted to die and I refuse to post a chapter on my phone because that would be hell. And yesterday, I was dealing with irl stuff so couldn't do it then. At least I can do it now! Also dang, formatting might be a bit screwy on this site. Sorry about that.

The next chapter is called: The Hidden Battle

Post-chapter business:

Sanji and David: Because of David's testing, we find out more about Sanji's Quirk and have some answers. This further reveals the similarities between him and Deku, with Deku being the ninth holder of One For All while Sanji is the tenth heir of Dreams. However, this is a similarity that *all* Origin-type Quirks have. Lian, who we now know also possess an Origin-type, will fall under that description of "the xxth heir of Astral". There is also an explanation of Quirk Passivity that has been teased ever since Honenuki's scene in the Final Exams. This is my reason as to why some people are pretty damn strong despite the fact that their Quirk is completely unrelated to strength. There is something more important established: the power scaling. Origin-type users are established to be the most powerful individuals in the world; though it's not always guaranteed that the strongest *will only* consist of Origin-type users. We have examples of powerful Pro Heroes without an Origin-type (like Odysseus) and with (like Lian). They are the measures of comparison when Sanji eventually begins to grow stronger throughout the story.

Because right now, he's starting to see phantoms. Take that as you will, but this is something that I had planned. Of course, if you read the manga, then you know that Deku can also see the past holders. Honestly, that was an unintentional similarity. Thanks Horikoshi for ruining my life.

Fight: Well, I wanted to give Deku a headstart on his development. He isn't surrounded by yesmen who keep praising him for his progress because Sanji pretty much goes off on him. He shows Deku why his technique is flawed and beats him up, but it becomes the catalyst to develop *Shoot Style* a couple of months than in canon. Here's why: He's being trained by Master Kendo, a martial artist, and Sanji pushes him off the cliff. Additionally, I also foreshadow him using 20% Full Cowling by making Deku use a 10% Atlanta Smash (which is not a canon Super Move, I made that myself). At this point of the story, Deku is stronger now than he was in canon.

Bakugo: This might cause some controversies, but I believe that this was in-character. As it stands, Bakugo doesn't really like Sanji that much. However, during his fight with Deku, Sanji talks about All Might *who is Bakugo's reason for becoming a Pro Hero*, and Sanji lowkey disses Bakugo. It's only natural that Bakugo would be utterly pissed at Sanji, going as far as to assault him out of anger in front of a crowd of almost 40. But with this incident, I also let Valjean criticize him because I do think, like Deku, Bakugo needs some criticism for once in his life.

Kamakiri and Honenuki: For Kamakiri's scene, just some needed fluff. (Quirkless is a bitch yo.) And for Honenuki, I wanted an example of 1-B getting harassed about Sanji instead of just going "yeah it happened" in a passing remark. Originally, I wanted to write a scene where Setsuna, Itsuka, and Sanji go around I-Island Academy with Melissa. However, I ended up cutting this scene out because this chapter was getting long as it is. So unfortunately, Itsuka explained what happened in a passing remark.

Speaking of Itsuka...

Itsuka's scenes: First scene is just the usual setting up for the big bad. Re-Destro knows that Master Kendo was spying on them and the gang is generally creeped out by him. In the next scene, Setsuna is exercising her godly power over us mortals. She forces Itsuka and Sanji together, hoping that they will sleep in the same bed, which does happen. It also develops more of Sanji's character believe it or not, because he expresses his distaste for being alone. Though, the highlight of this scene is Sanji piecing the puzzle together. He's smart enough to sit down with the information he has and draw a conclusion from it. And guess what? He's right! But he doesn't know that for sure, so he'll keep it at the back of his head. Just like how Itsuka will keep that Sanji knows about his Quirk all along at the back of her head.

The Chapter Itself: God damnit, my chapters are getting longer and longer. I have a reason: It's a big arc. I have to introduce a lot of new things and the characters have to digest just what the hell is going on. Hopefully, with the Fireworks Festival, the chapters will be shorter.

The Hidden Battle: But hey, it sounds like we're finally getting into the action next time. Finally.