A BNHA fanfic.
My Hero Academia/BNHA is owned by Horikoshi-sama and all affiliated Media. I make no profit from playing in their universe.
Kudos to My Hero Academiafan 27 who was the first person to correctly guess one of the name drops from the last chapter.
Name shoutouts: Chapter 11 had 2 name shoutouts. The first is Shanpū & Nekohanten both names of which are again from Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi. The second name shoutout is a play off a popular DC hero. Toshinori's aunt Diane is named for Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman. This is of course owned by DC and all affiliated Media.
Normally I don't respond to Guest reviews, but Kiku IS the female counterpart to Izuku. Male canon Izuku Does not exist in this world. As to the OP comment – any child born with OFA is going to be at least a little OP.
Updates on Wednesdays.
Constructive Reviews welcome. Flames will be flushed.
TIME SKIP – 3 YEARS LATER…
)_O_(
CHAPTER 12
Might Tower, Tokyo, Japan – July 1st, 2177
The ringing of the phone startled All Might awake. He nearly fell out of his chair in surprise as he reached bleary-eyed for the phone. "Moshi-moshi?"
"All Might, sir, we have a situation. We need your help. Hurry!" The frantic voice on the other side of the phone begged. He could hear sounds of fighting in the background on the other end of the phone.
"Whoa, slow down there. Take a deep breath and tell me what is happening." Toshinori tried to calm the young-sounding person as he sat up straight in his desk chair, attempting to smooth the wrinkles out of his costume.
He could hear the girl on the other end suck in several breaths. From the pitch of her voice, he guessed her to be barely out of hero school. "There's a huge turf war happening in Mukogawa. At least three large gangs seem to be involved. There are some pretty hefty quirks in play. We've already reached out to the rest of the top ten and most of them are on the way. We are hoping you will be able to prevent the dispute from spilling over into civilian areas." She barely took a breath between each sentence.
"What's your hero name, kid?"
"Lite-Bright, from Wash Agency, sir."
Toshinori was glad she couldn't see him smirking on his end of the phone. Kids these days came up with the weirdest hero names. "Okay, Lite-Bright, text the directions to my phone as well as all of the pertinent information you have. How far out is Endeavor?"
"Endeavor is about an hour out. He was in a meeting with the HPSC and the Chinese consulate. Something about collateral damage from his last fight with Qing Pin." She answered. He could hear voices and what almost sounded like gunfire in the background.
"I'm on my way." He snapped the phone shut and tucked it into one of the nearly invisible pockets in his hero costume. As he leapt out the window, he remembered something and pulled out his phone, opening the chat feature as he jumped to the nearest rooftop.
-THE MIGHTY HAMMER: I may be late for Hitoshi's birthday dinner. If I'm not there, start without me.
-MINI MIGHT: *THUMBS UP* I'll tell Papa Shou & Papa Zashi.
-THE MIGHTY HAMMER: I left his gift on the shelf in the hall closet of the apartment.
-MINI MIGHT: Papa Shou and I will stop by and pick it up on the way to the restaurant. Please stay safe and be careful. I've had a horrible feeling all day.
-THE MIGHTY HAMMER: I will. It is just a gang war, there are other top heroes enroute. I love you. See you soon.
-MINI MIGHT: I love you too dad.
*THE MIGHTY HAMMER HAS LEFT THE CHAT*
)-O-(
Two days later, Aizawa-Yamada apartment, late afternoon…
Hizashi entered the apartment quietly, toeing his shoes off. Shouta was the first to notice his somber mood. He raised a dark eyebrow at his spouse. Hizashi tipped his head and Shouta nodded, following him to their bedroom.
"Hitoshi is finishing up his summer homework. Kiku should be home from the dojo any time. Was Nezu able to find out anything?" Shouta whispered, eyes darting to the partially closed door.
Hizashi lowered his voice to barely a whisper. "He's in Dantoin Private Hero Hospital. Nezu had to call in some favors to get the information. The HPSC and Nighteye are trying to keep it all hush-hush. They've put out something about appendix surgery."
"That's bullshit. Appendix surgery my ass. He would have notified us, or at least Kiku. He made it clear he intended to join us for Hitoshi's birthday party. Does Nezu know what happened?"
"Nezu's been doing some digging. It's beginning to look like someone set a trap for him. The gang fight he was called to was just a cover. The moment he arrived all three of the fighting gangs joined together and attacked the support heroes. None of the other Top Ten actually showed up. No one knows what happened, but suddenly the leaders peeled off to take on All Might. The last phone call to his number came from Wash's agency. One of his sidekicks has gone missing. The HPSC has opened an investigation. Nezu called in a favor and was able to convince CompuTron to hack into the HPSC. It was All-for-One, Shouta," Hizashi's voice trembled when he mentioned the name of the Underworld Boogie Man. Few heroes even knew the man existed, even fewer could think of him without fear.
"He's in critical condition, Shou. They have him in Dantoin and they aren't letting anyone see him yet. Word is he managed to finally kill that monster, but whether he lives, or dies is still to be determined."
There was a loud gasp from the door, and they turned to see Kiku standing in the now open doorway, pale faced with tears streaming down her cheeks.
)-O-(
1 Week later – Dantoin hospital…
Mirai paced the hallway outside the hospital room where his former mentor lay in critical condition, still unconscious after the massive surgery. Fingers fiddled with one of his seals as his long legs ate up the distance between the room and the elevator and back. It had taken several years and much groveling for him to repair the damage he'd done to their friendship. He would never admit his feelings to anyone, but he was still secretly glad when Inko had broken up with Toshinori. Cousin Inko had proven she wasn't good enough for him when she dumped him. When she'd begged him to reach out to Toshinori two months after the breakup, he'd literally seen red. It had taken all of his training not to deck the woman that had hurt his crush. He'd offered to pass on the message but with no real intention of doing so. The letter had been his biggest mistake. He should have burned it instead of passing it on during a weak moment. It had taken copious amounts of apologizing for All Might to even speak to him again.
His thoughts were interrupted by the *DING* of the elevator door opening. Two figures stepped out of the elevator, a tall scruffy looking man in dingy black cargo pants and a faded t-shirt that was more gray than black and a tall youth with short curly green hair and two curls which tumbled down a narrow forehead and framed a pair of bright blue eyes. The kid was wearing navy shorts and a white All Might T-shirt. He was surprised that though it was summer, the taller of the two figures had a beige scarf wrapped around his neck.
"Do you think daddy's going to be okay, Papa Shou?" The green-haired teen whispered to older man, voice so quiet Mirai barely caught the words.
"I hope so. We will have to ask Doctor Shūfuku. Your father should be in room 625." They moved in Mirai's direction. He just stared at them. Toshinori was in 625. They had to be mistaken…or lost…his mind refused to accept any other possibility.
"Excuse me," he stepped in front of them, "this is a private hospital. I'm afraid I can't let you go any further."
"We have permission to be here," the black-haired hobo responded, eye twitching.
Nighteye sneered. That was unlikely. A hobo and a teenager; either they were lost or looking for trouble. Those hauntingly familiar eyes bored into him. Why did that kid's eyes remind him of his Toshinori?
"Are you the doctor? Can you tell me how my father is doing?" The youth, a girl, he realized from the voice, asked, wringing her hands nervously.
"I'm afraid you've got the wrong hospital kid. Your father isn't here. This is a private hospital that caters only to heroes," Mirai replied, slipping a seal into his other hand.
The girl's fist clenched, and she glared as she realized who this man was. This was Sir Nighteye, the man who had kept her parents apart. "Dantoin Private Hero Hospital. My father is in room 625. His name is Yagi Toshinori. I have more right to be here than you, Sir Nighteye." The words were snarled out through clenched teeth, her green curls beginning to straighten and rise up on her forehead.
"Easy Kiku," the adult beside her whispered. He reached into his pocket and Mirai tensed, readying his seal in case he attacked.
"Sir Nighteye." The black-haired man held out a thin identification wallet. "Aizawa Shouta, Pro Hero Eraserhead, escorting a private citizen to visit her father."
Mirai carefully took the wallet and looked inside. The only thing within was a hero license assigned to pro-hero Eraserhead and a single platinum American Express card. Quirk: Erasure. He glanced at the man and then again at the girl. It took him only a moment to realize why her eyes were so familiar. She had Toshinori's eyes. How was this possible? Why hadn't Toshinori told him? She must have been born before he'd joined All Might's agency. Why hadn't he seen her around? Then it clicked. She looked a lot like cousin Inko…but that couldn't be right; this child had to be at least fourteen. There was no way Inko could have had a child this old with Toshinori. As far as he knew she hadn't even met him prior to her starting at the agency.
"Not to be rude, but can you let us pass? I'd really like to see my father." The girl's tone was still hostile, and he could see her visibly restraining her temper – a temper he now suspected hid a very real fear.
Mirai stepped aside, too stunned to do anything else, his analytical brain struggling to connect pieces that just didn't fit. How was this possible? Was it possible? How was he going to explain this?
The girl reached the door just as the doctor was exiting. "Doctor Shūfuku?" At the smaller woman's nod, Kiku bowed. "Thank you for allowing me to visit my father. How is he doing?"
"He's in a medically induced coma for the moment. The surgery was successful. We have to remove his stomach and half of his left lung, but provided infection doesn't set in, he should eventually recover." The doctor explained, going on to detail what they would need to watch for and, at Kiku's inquiry, explaining what sort of dietary restrictions her father would have to restrict himself to in the future.
Kiku thanked the woman and Before the surgeon could say anything more, the teen squeezed past her and slipped into the room. Shouta moved to follow but was stopped by Nighteye's gloved hand.
"How is this possible? She looks like my cousin, Midoriya Inko whom Toshinori dated for while a few years ago, but that child is far too old to be a product of that relationship." Nighteye needed answers and since the underground hero had accompanied the child, he felt the man would be the best source for said answers.
Shouta smirked behind his scarf. This was the guy who had kept Yagi from his girlfriend and now he was demanding answers? How arrogant. "How old do you think she is?" He asked, side-stepping the question. He refused to make it easy for him. That was the reason he hadn't reprimanded Kiku for her attitude just now.
"I would say fourteen, possibly sixteen, but she doesn't appear physically mature enough for sixteen," was Mirai's reply as he slid the seals back in his pockets, visibly relaxing his stance. Shouta's dad-hackles rose at the thought of the older man noticing such details about his foster daughter. He tightened the grip on his scarf just a bit.
"She's ten; she'll be eleven next month." Aizawa's voice was deadpan as was his expression, but he was laughing on the inside.
Mirai stiffened, "impossible."
"It's a long story, much of which isn't mine to share, but I will explain what I can. Feel free to sit, we will probably be here a while." He moved with Mirai to the seats in the waiting area, glancing at the doctor who was staring through the open door in confusion. "Her identity doesn't leave the three of us, clear?" He was addressing both the doctor and the pro hero.
Doctor Shūfuku looked at the two heroes. "I would never disclose any private information about my patients, especially not one of his importance. I know how dangerous that secret," she gestured over her shoulder at the child sitting beside All Might's bed holding his hand, "would be in the wrong hands. My lips are sealed." She moved to the vending machine at the end of the hall, coming back a few minutes later with three cups. She handed the green tea to Mirai and a steaming cup of hot coffee to Shouta. He smiled his thanks and inhaled deeply of the sharp aroma while he waited for the Doctor's elevator to depart. He took a large sip which suddenly shot out his mouth, narrowly missing Nighteye. He carefully placed the cup of overly sweet coffee on a small table that held a variety of magazines, a horrified look on his face.
"Too hot?" Mirai enquired, sipping at his tea.
Aizawa shook his head, features riddled with disgust. "Too sweet. Sugar ruins the taste." He grimaced, using his scarf to scrub the horrid sweetness from his tongue.
Mirai blanched at the thought of drinking his coffee black. He took another sip of his tea, observing the minute details of the underground hero sitting across from him.
Shouta took a few deep breaths and looked at the green-haired hero. "What do you know about All Might's quirk?" he began.
Mirai raised an eyebrow. "I am acquainted with the circumstances of One for All, how does that tie in…" He trailed off, staring at Shouta in shock. "Y-you mean to tell me it actually passed on? That isn't supposed to be possible. What the actual hell?"
Shouta smirked again, this time letting it show. "We don't know. You can ask Yagi about it when he wakes up, it isn't my place to discuss his family matters if he hasn't already brought them up with you."
The discussion didn't last much longer. Aizawa refusing to disclose any further information and Nighteye knowing it was futile to ask. An awkward silence formed between them and after his last sip of tea, Mirai stood and deposited the empty cup into a nearby trash receptacle. "I should get going. I have sidekicks to oversee and a report to write. When All Might wakes up, tell him I would like to speak with him please."
)-O-(
Yamada-Aizawa apartment, 1 week later…
Kiku was worrying her lip as she worked on her quirk notebook. She thought about her quirk as she took notes on what she'd learned about All for One and One for All. It had taken her two years to figure out how internalize the green bioenergy. She still didn't know if there was a way to utilize that excess energy, but if there was, she would find it. She looked up from her notes and smiled at Hitoshi who was learning to cook from Papa Hizashi. From the smell of things Ramen was on tonight's menu. She hoped he didn't make it as spicy as last time. That had been a disaster. Hitoshi had added so much hot chili sauce the only person who was able to eat it was Papa Hizashi and even he was weeping from the heat.
Shouta entered the kitchen, dropping his new yellow sleeping bag – a gift from Kiku and Hitoshi to replace the old one – beside the door. He sighed and ran long fingers through his straggly black hair. The summer training camp had ended early after an incident involving one of his second-year students.
"Long day, Papa Shouta?" She'd started calling them by their full names since she'd turned ten and decided she wasn't a baby anymore.
"You know, if you hate paperwork so much, maybe you shouldn't expel so many students," Hizashi suggested to his husband.
Aizawa sighed. "This one was honestly justified. I refuse to have a student in my class who will endanger his classmates just to show off. I gave him three strikes like you suggested and even brought his parents in after the second one. This time I had to send three of his classmates and Nemuri to Recovery Girl because he wouldn't listen to warnings about the dangers of using his fire during the scenario and went rushing into a simulation half-cocked."
"Is Aunt Nemuri okay?" Hitoshi asked as he chopped chicken for the Ramen.
"She will be. She has also learned not to use her gas around a child with a fire quirk. It's an explosive combination." Shouta attempted a joke.
Kiku cracked a smile. She'd have to send Aunt Nemuri a text and see how she was doing.
Tongue between her teeth, she jotted down the last question she had in the journal, making a note to run her thoughts by Nezu-san when she got the chance. Standing up, she looked at the others. "I'm going to go text Melissa and a couple of my friends until dinner." Pulling out her phone as she headed to her room, she opened the messaging app.
*MINI MIGHT HAS CHANGED HER DESIGNATION TO VALKYRIE*
TECHNOPATH: You changed your designation?
VALKYRIE: People aren't supposed to know who my dad is as Papa Shouta pointed out to me when he got me the phone last week.
TECHNOPATH: You have a good point.
VALKYRIE: How is summer break on I-Island?
TECHNOPATH: We are having fun. There was a hero convention here last night. Dad let me go to it. I got to meet Flash Bang.
VALKYRIE: Flash Bang?
TECHNOPATH: He's 25th on the American Billboards and he's soooo DREAMY!
VALKYRIE: Ugh. Didn't you have a crush on your classmate Tenro-kun last week?
TECHNOPATH: That's long forgotten. Flash Bang is a thousand times cuter.
VALKYRIE: Gag me.
TECHNOPATH: Just wait, someday it will be your turn.
VALKYRIE: Not if I can help it. The only man I am concerned with right now is my dad.
TECHNOPATH: Is he still unconscious?
VALKYRIE: Yes. Doctor Shūfuku says he should wake up soon. Tell your dad I said hi and I will keep you both updated. I hope he wakes up soon… I will let you get back to drooling over FB.
*VALKYRIE HAS LEFT THE CHAT*
*VALKYRIE HAS JOINED THE U.A. HOPEFULS CHAT*
INGENIUM 2.0: How is it going VAL?
CREATI: Hi VAL.
ALIEN QUEEN: Hi VAL, how is your summer going?
VALKYRIE: Hi. Not so fun. I have spent the last week with a family member in the hospital.
TAIL MAN: That sucks. I hope he or she gets better soon. You going to be ready for our tournament next week?
VALKYRIE: Bring it on. I will kick your ass this time.
TAIL MAN: You can try…like always. 😊
ALIEN QUEEN: Sick family sucks. I lost my grandma last year to cancer. I want to propose introducing a new member to our chat group and our training sessions.
INGENIUM 2.0: Did you make another new friend AQ?
ALIEN QUEEN: I sure did. Kiku would like him; he's a Crimson Riot fan. He helped me run off a group of bullies that were harassing some of the quirkless students.
CREATI: Sounds like a good choice for the UA Hopefuls. Are we still meeting up on Saturday?
TAIL MAN: I can't. My mom's brother and his family are coming to visit this weekend. I am required to attend. Ugh.
VALKYRIE: Your cousin?
TAIL MAN: Yes. I'm going to spend the whole weekend having to listen to him tell us how great he is.
ALIEN QUEEN: Sucks. You can meet him at the next meeting then.
VALKYRIE: I can't wait to meet him; Crimson Riot was awesome. What's his quirk?
ALIEN QUEEN: I'm going to let you find out when you meet him. Have you finished that analysis yet?
VALKYRIE: Sure did. I'll bring it Saturday. You still bringing the soda?
ALIEN QUEEN: Sure am. I made sure to grab some non-caffeinated options for you.
CREATI: I've got snacks handled this week.
VALKYRIE: I'll bring them next session then. I'll see if Papa Hizashi can teach me to make Mochi.
INGENIUM 2.0: AQ are you bringing any Orange Juice?
ALIEN QUEEN: It's on my list. Mom is calling me for dinner. TTFN.
*ALIEN QUEEN HAS LEFT THE CHAT*
VALKYRIE: MB has just informed me that dinner is ready. Later.
*VALKYRIE HAS LEFT THE CHAT*
)-O-(
Saturday - Dantoin Private Hero Hospital…
The rest of the week was filled with visits to All Might's bedside. Every day Kiku could be found by the great hero's bedside either holding his hand and talking to him or playing chess and other strategy games with Mirai who had been trying to get on her good side, or on one occasion, Nezu.
Without realizing when it started, Mirai found himself teaching the young girl how to analyze situations and opponents. He was rather surprised to find her a natural at it. She could take a scenario with minimal information and within a few short minutes come up with a plan and a backup to resolve it.
Kiku was in the middle of reading one of the pre-quirk American Manga her friend/rival Ojiro-kun had introduced her to when a groan drew her attention. "Daddy?" Her attention was suddenly riveted on the blonde in the bed, comic book falling to the floor forgotten.
Toshinori opened his eyes and quickly shut them again. Too bright…and what was that annoying beeping? Were his first thoughts. Movement from beside him had him opening his eyes a crack. "Daddy?" The green blur next to him morphed into his daughter. She was wearing one of the special track suits he'd had designed for her by Shield laboratories. This one was red with white piping and matched her red sneakers. In her hands she held a slender American comic book. From the angle he was lying, he couldn't tell which one it was.
"Ki – Gah!" his throat was too dry to continue. Suddenly a cup of water was being held to his lips as a large hand supported the back of his head to help him sit up. He drank deeply of the cool water before collapsing back into the pillows of what he now recognized as a hospital bed. Kiku replaced the cup on the nightstand and pressed the button to summon the doctor. He turned his head to the most beautiful sight he could behold. His daughter sat there, tears streaming down her cheeks, hands clutching his, the comic book now forgotten on the floor. "Daddy! You're awake! PAPA SHOUTA, HE'S AWAKE!" She bellowed. Toshinori winced at the shout.
"Kiku," Shouta hissed from the doorway. "This is a hospital. No shouting."
Kiku blushed crimson. "S-sorry." She turned her attention back to her father whose ears were still ringing. "Sorry daddy. I've been so worried. I'm glad you are awake. Everything will be okay now because I Am Here for you." Toshinori would have chuckled at that if he weren't hurting so much.
"You need to keep your voice down in the hospital, young lady or I won't allow you back. I could hear you in the elevator." Doctor Shūfuku reprimanded as she entered the room carrying a clipboard. "I need you to step outside with Aizawa-san for a few minutes while I examine your father."
Kiku nodded, squeezing her father's hand once more before picking up the 'She Hulk' comic from the floor and exiting the room. Once she had left, Toshinori turned his eyes to the doctor. "Give it to me straight, Doctor Shūfuku. I need to know what to expect."
"You are lucky to be alive. Whoever you fought did severe damage to several of your internal organs. We were able to save your liver and stitch your intestines back together, but we had to take your stomach and half of your left lung. You can say goodbye to all of those greasy meals you like to eat, my friend. Your lung should eventually heal to the point where you can get about seventy percent functionality from it, but your stomach is completely gone. You are going to be on a strict diet from here on out. You will also have to cut back on the heroing at least until your lung is fully healed but more likely permanently. I'm going to keep you here for another week for observation and then send you home. Do you have someone who can help you out for a while during your recovery?"
"I can think of someone who will probably jump at the chance." Toshinori chuckled, wincing as the vibration added to the pain in his side.
Doctor Shūfuku examined the surgery site and then pushed several buttons on the machine beside his bed. "I'm going to let you rest now," she said. Toshinori could feel the pain medicine seeping into his blood as the world faded away once again.
Kiku looked up expectantly as the doctor stepped into the hallway. "Is he going to be okay?"
"Not for a long time, but he will recover. We will need to keep him here another week for observation before we send him home and he will need someone to stay with him to care for him while he is recovering." The doctor said. "Someone will have to make sure he doesn't do any heroics for the next several months while that lung recovers. As soon as you know who will be caring for him, I will get a list of medications and dietary requirements and restrictions together. It is a good thing he has people around to help him. I see too many heroes leave the hospital and go right back into heroics too soon, all too often at the expense of their life or their career." She patted the girl on her shoulder. "Go home and get some rest. You can come back and see him more tomorrow." As the doctor moved to the elevator, Kiku's phone beeped.
She pulled it out and paled. There were six text messages from UA Hopefuls asking where she was.
"Papa Shouta, I need to get to the training group. I'm fifteen minutes late. Can you drop me there on the way home? I can take the train afterward."
"Sure, kid. Bring your grandfather back with you so we can discuss arrangements for your father." He pulled her into a hug as they waited for the elevator.
)-O-(
Torino's Training Dojo, Tokyo City…
"Sorry I'm late," Kiku gasped out, hurrying to where the group of students were gathered. Grandfather raised an eyebrow at her from where he was standing slightly apart from the group. She nodded at him and moved to join her friends, handing Mina the assessment she had written up for her. "Da-That family member I told you about woke up today. I was at the hospital visiting."
"That's good to hear," Tenya said, noting the slip. He wasn't going to scold his friend, knowing if Tensei was sick or injured he would have done the same thing.
"We are glad he woke up. This is Kirishima Eijiro," Mina introduced the unfamiliar black-haired boy standing beside her.
"Pleased to meet you." Kiku acknowledged the boy, wondering what his quirk was since it wasn't outwardly visible.
"Likewise," the boy replied, eyeing the greenette who, at 172.75cm, stood head and shoulders above the rest of their friends.
"Enough chit-chat. Time to get to work you zygotes. You have a long way to go to be ready for UA. Now, everyone stretch and give me five laps around the arena." Gran Torino instructed his class with an evil grin.
Knowing better than to argue with the diminutive instructor, the seven pre-teens dropped into their routine stretches, Kiku interrogating the newcomer about his quirk as they warmed up their muscles.
Eijiro's eyes widened in awe as he watched the tall green-haired girl race around the perimeter of the of the track keeping pace with the tall blue-haired boy with engines in his legs. He was keeping a decent pace himself, his speed on par with Purple-hair and the girl with the spiky ponytail. Suddenly he stumbled as his foot missed a step and he plowed nose-first into the ground, barely managing to activate his quirk in time to prevent a broken nose. As he pushed himself to his feet, he noticed the floor was uneven.
He examined the rest of the track and realized there were a series of divots in the floor, each one spaced approximately the same length apart in two alternating rows. It took him a few moments of staring at them before he realized they were footprints. Following the trail of footprints, he discovered the girl, Midoriya, was the one making them. He wondered what sort of quirk she had that allowed her both the strength to leave permanent dents in the cement floor and keep up with a boy who was obviously related to the Ingenium hero family. Eijiro made a mental note to ask the girl more about her quirk at a later date.
As he began making his way around the track again, he noticed a boy standing in the shadows, red & white bangs falling down over his forehead as he watched the students with mismatched eyes. When Eijiro got to the area of the track nearest the boy he diverted for a moment.
"Hey man, I'm Kirishima Eijiro, pleased to meet you," he introduced himself.
"Shoto." The other boy responded in a monotone.
Kirishima grinned at him, "you got a last name?"
"Just Shoto." The young man's voice took on a note of anger.
He shrugged and shot the other boy a challenging grin, "well, come on man, if you are going to be here you might as well join us. You are shooting for UA too, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Again, with the monotone voice. Eijiro idly wondered if he had any other setting. Shoto pushed himself away from the wall and began to jog along beside Eijiro. "Watch your step," he reminded the black-haired boy.
Eijiro managed to avoid the next divot and devoted more of his attention to keeping track of the floor. He noticed his partner doing the same. As they ran silently side-by-side, Torino Sensei piped up from his perch on the bleachers, "one more lap young zygotes then line up so I can split you into groups for no-quirk sparing."
As usual Tenya and Kiku were the first ones back to the bleachers. They were walking in circles cooling down as they waited for the others to finish. As soon as the last student (Eijiro) was back, Torino spoke up. "Hitoshi-kun, I am pairing you up with young Shoto-san, I want you both working on strikes and blocks tonight. You are joining us this time, right boy?" He eyed Shoto who silently nodded. "Yaoyorozu-san, you work with young Kirishima-san. Take him through the basics. I want to see where he stands. Ashido-san, I'm pairing you up with young Iida-san. You need to work on dodging and strengthening your strikes. Remember everyone, tonight is no-quirk sparing, anyone caught using your quirk will give me fifty pushups. Kiku," he turned his attention to the tallest of his students who was wondering why she hadn't been paired up with one of her classmates. Usually, she was the one assigned to test the skill-level of new opponents. She glanced at Momo who grinned victoriously. The black-haired girl seemed to take great pleasure any time she could one-up Kiku. Kiku rolled her eyes even as she tamped down on that well of jealousy. "You need to work on your quirk control," he pointed at the divots in the floor and Kiku blushed. "I want one-hundred pushups and then you are working on dodging with me."
His feral grin had her quaking nervously. He had toned down his training methods since he'd trained her dad, but she knew tonight he wouldn't go easy on her. She dropped to the floor and started the pushups as her friends paired off in their training circles.
)-O-(
Chiba Prefecture, Japan, same time…
"Kurogiri, where is sensei?" Tomura asked, sliding onto a stool at the kitchen counter. "He usually checks in on me at least twice a week. It's been two weeks and I haven't seen him yet. Did I do something wrong?" The pale-haired teen asked, picking up the glass of milk placed before him, careful to avoid touching the glass with all five fingers.
"Sensei was in a fight with All Might. The doctor has retrieved him from the hospital and he's recovering in the lab." Kurogiri replied, returning the carton of milk to the refrigerator.
"Did he kill All Might?"
"No. All Might survived."
"I wanna see sensei. Surely, he will be happy to see me," Tomura insisted, taking a sip of milk.
"You can't see him right now. He's in a coma at the moment. All Might nearly killed him. You will have to wait until he wakes up."
The partially disintegrated glass shattered on the wall beside Kurogiri's head. "Damned All Might! I'll kill him myself for hurting sensei." Parts of Tomura's shirt disintegrated as he wiped milk covered fingers on the gray t-shirt advertising Fallout: New Tokyo.
"We don't know where All Might is. The heroes are keeping his location very hush-hush and our informant hasn't contacted us since before the fight. Last information I had, he was critically injured, and it was unknown if he was going to survive. Trust in the doctor to do everything he can for sensei. Why don't I see if the good doctor has any rejects you can practice your quirk on?" Kurogiri offered, hoping to direct the young teen's attention elsewhere for the time being. It wasn't time to move on All Might yet. They needed the boss to be healthy and his plans in place before they made such a move. Tomura was still too impulsive to do anything other than get himself killed charging into things he wasn't prepared for. His time would come.
"Fiiine!" Tomura huffed, plopping back down in front of the television and carefully picking up the game controller. "If the doctor has any rejects be sure to put them in the white room. I'm in a mood to paint the walls."
Kurogiri shuddered as he warped away. He hated cleaning up after Tomura's rages.
On the silent computer in sensei's office a single AOL notification popped up informing the absent master of a new email message. *YOU'VE GOT MAIL.*
…A.U.T.H.O.R.S..N.O.T.E…
This chapter is the start of the next Arc.
One tiny name drop in this chapter, let's see who catches it – well, there's also a small nod to the Fallout series – which I don't own.
This next Arc will take us up through the next few years until we meet up with the Canon timeline, though this story will be NOTHING like Canon.
Thank you to TodoBakuDeku2108 for their help with names and quirks. I am your #1 fan.