Okay, so, announcements. I have a new job. It is a lot more demanding than I expected it to be. This means that updates will be slow for the next month or so until I get used to it, and then they should hopefully become more regular again, I don't know. I only have one more chapter of EC written up already, because I've been too tired to write more, but hopefully that'll end soon.
Love you all, thank you for understanding.
The capture weapon snapped around Izuku's wrist, yanking him forwards as he tried to dodge. Neito swung a punch, their opponent ducking under the swing as he rolled forwards, throwing the scarf-like support item out behind him. Neito shrieked as his foot was caught, throwing him to the ground, Izuku jumping to his feet and trying to tackle their assailant. The boy stepped to the side, just as Izuku swung his foot up, his knee catching the other teen in the side, Shinso gasping as he was thrown to the ground.
"Ow," he groaned as he tried to get up, struggling as he realized that he'd gotten tangled up in his capture weapon, "Shit."
"Better," Aizawa grumbled from the side of the clearing, walking up to the three, "Your control has improved, but you're still mismanaging the weapon after using it."
"Right," Shinso sighed, lying back on the ground as he waited for the other two to help untangle him.
"Wow, you're getting really good with this thing," Izuku hummed as he yanked on one of the ends, sending Shinso rolling away from him, "Maybe I should get one as well."
"It would get in the way of certain quirks, I'm sure," Neito hummed as he stopped Shinso with his foot, helping the other boy up as he swayed slightly, "Best to stick to what we know."
"The capture weapon is a difficult Support Item to use," Aizawa growled as the grey cloth began to float around him, "You have to train with it almost exclusively in order to have any hope of making it useful in combat."
"Ah," Izuku nodded, "I guess I'll pass then. Wouldn't want to steal the family shtick either."
"I thought Eraserhead was one of your dads?" Neito laughed.
"He is, but I can't get between a true father and son!" Izuku chuckled back.
"We aren't related," Shinso and Aizawa groaned together as they rubbed the bridge of their noses, the other two just watching, before bursting out in laughter.
"Anyway," Aizawa sighed, "That's it for tonight, get back to the dorms before curfew."
"Yes sir!" the three teens shouted as they gathered their things and started walking out of the forest.
"Hey, Hitoshi, Neito, want to come around to the 1-A dorms for supper? My mom is making Udon."
"Your mother lives in the dorms?" Shinso asked, looking at the green-haired teen in surprise, "Why?"
"Same reason the dorms got opened," Izuku grinned, "Someone broke into our house and tried to kidnap me."
"Someone…You Hero kids are insane," the purple-haired teen sighed, "Whatever, I'm good."
"But Udon!" Izuku whined, "And my mom's cooking is great!"
"It really is," Neito hummed, "You should come, you'll get to meet some of your future classmates as well."
"I'm not in this to make friends," Shinso growled, walking slightly faster, "And I have food in my dorm."
"Too late!" Izuku called after him as the teen hurried down the path to his dorm, "Damn, I was hoping to talk to him more."
"He'll come around," Neito laughed, "You won't let him escape the grasps of your friendship."
"Not at all!" Izuku grinned as they walked towards 1-A's dorm.
Hitoshi sighed as he looked at his meal. It was basically just rice with some sides and had been all he had been eating for the last week since the dorms had opened. His stomach growled slightly as he ate the food, wondering what Midoriya and Monoma were doing at that moment. Probably eating Udon. His stomach growled again.
"I don't care about them," he sighed, looking around the empty room.
He was the only person from his class in the 1-C dorms, leaving the massive building feeling empty and lonely, though he was hardly complaining. Hitoshi liked his privacy, being a severe introvert, but it still felt strange to be completely alone. He jumped as his phone buzzed, blinking as he pulled it out, looking at the message.
You're still welcome to join us! -Izuku.
The attached image showed a table full of people, the purple-haired teen recognizing several of the Class A and B students eating noodles happily. He even spotted a pair of students he didn't recognize, a girl with bat-like ears sitting beside another with bright pink dreadlocks who seemed more interested in the papers around her than the food in front of her.
How did you get my number?
He watched as the message sent, jumping again at the almost instant reply.
I have my ways. Come over and I'll tell you.
Hitoshi sighed as he got up from the table, carrying his plates to the sink and washing them, before putting them away. He glanced at the cellphone on the table again, before walking over and picking it up. He paused as he typed out his reply, staring at the words for a moment, before deleting them and simply responding no.
"Will Hitoshi Shinso please report to the Support Department," the announcement chimed as Hitoshi looked up in surprise, the rest of his class turning to stare at him.
"Dude, lucky!" the boy who sat next to him whispered, grinning at Shinso as the teen got up from his chair.
"Whatever," He mumbled as he walked out of the room, the rest of the class giving him a cheer as he left.
Hitoshi walked slowly, not sure why he was being told to report to the Support Department, and why now of all times. It was his class's free period, so that made sense, but he'd only been training for a little over a month. There was no way that they were going to let him have a costume so soon. Was there?
"MEI!" "HATSUME!"
The pair of shouts made him stop as he stared at the thick metal door that was embedded in the wall, blinking as he turned to the room that had smoke pouring out of it, a stylized sign reading "Support Department" above it. He watched as several students stumbled out, coughing and brushing soot and dirt off of themselves, before a familiar face appeared, bright pink dreadlocks covered in grease and soot as she pulled up her steampunk styled goggles, laughing loudly.
"Hahaha! Failure is the mother of invention!" she shouted as Powerloader and the girl with Bat-like ears walked out of the room behind her.
"You caused another explosion," Powerloader growled, "You're banned from the workshop for the rest of the day!"
"What? But my babies!" the girl, who Hitoshi figured was probably the rumored crazy inventor Mei Hatsume, cried.
"No," Powerloader sighed, "Out. Go eat something and sleep."
"I'll handle it, Sensei," the bat girl sighed, "Come on Mei, time to take care of yourself."
"But babies!"
"Uhm…" Hitoshi said, making all three of their heads snap towards him, Hatsume's face suddenly lighting up.
"You're brainwashing-kun!" the pink-haired teen shouted, grabbing him and trying to drag him into the still smoking room, "Number one customer has told me about you! Your quirk is really interesting!"
"He has? Wait…who?" Shinso muttered, scowling slightly as Powerloader suddenly blocked their path.
"Hatsume, I said you're banned for the rest of the day!"
"But I have to show brainwashing-kun his new baby!"
"My new what?" Hitoshi asked, looking between the two in confusion.
"Vesper and I can do that, go eat something!"
"But Sensei!"
"I said no!"
"Come on, they'll be at it for a while," the bat-eared girl sighed as she pulled Hitoshi past them and into the room, most of the smoke having cleared, the purple-haired teen blinking as he saw the large blast mark against the far wall, "Yeah, that was Mei."
"She seems…dangerous," Shinso muttered under his breath, jumping when the girl answered.
"Not really, just eccentric. She's really good at inventing, but not much else. Makes being her lab partner…interesting. To say the least."
"So, why am I here?" Shinso asked as he was led across the room, looking at all the strange inventions and objects scattered around, "I haven't submitted a design for a costume yet."
"And we don't have one, but Midoriya was able to give us enough information on your quirk to make you a piece of support gear. Or a prototype at least."
"Midoriya?" Shinso started as the girl stopped at a shelf, pulling a black case off of it and turning around, snapping the latches open with practiced ease.
"Yeah, he's been suggesting support gear for pretty much everyone in the Hero course and some others as well," the girl sighed, "It's super interesting and helpful, but he also encourages Mei a bit too much."
"Ah," Hitoshi muttered as she opened the case, staring at the strange mask inside.
It was matt black with some silver highlights and looked almost like a muzzle, just more…angular. There were a pair of small dials on each side of it, and it looked like it was held in place using a sturdy material scarf.
"We designed it specifically to allow you to use your capture weapon without it getting tangled," the girl explained, "Say hello to your new Artificial Vocal Cords."
"Artificial Vocal Cords?" Shinso breathed as he gingerly picked up the object, "I…what…how does it work?"
"Simple, you put it on, and then, using a number of special vibrating plates inside and the dials, you will be able alter the way your voice sounds without affecting your quirk."
"Huh? How do you know that my quirk doesn't work through electronic speakers?"
"Midoriya's suggestion again," the girl said, "He claims that most vocal trigger activated quirks won't work through speakers or radios. And I'm inclined to trust him."
"Why?"
"Why not?" the girl grinned at him, showing off a pair of small fangs in her mouth, "Anyway, put it on, I'll help you calibrate it."
"I…okay," Hitoshi breathed as he looked at the object in his hands again, excitement bubbling up inside him.
"Hey Shinso!"
Hitoshi jumped at the shout, having been lost in thought as he'd stared off into the distance. He looked over at the group of students standing beside his desk, all of them smiling at him.
"What?" he sighed.
"You're looking really good lately," one of the girls said, "Like, you're getting buff!"
"Must be all that extra Hero training you're getting!" one of the boys laughed, "You look great, dude."
"Whatever," Hitoshi muttered as he looked away, trying to hide the slight blush on his face, "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing, man!" another boy said, "You're going to be a Hero student! That's awesome!"
"There's no guarantee," he replied, "I'm just…trying to."
"No way!" another girl cheered, "You got to the second round of the Sports Festival Tournament! And you're getting special training! You'll definitely be Hero student next year!"
"Why are you guys so sure? Aren't you scared of me?" Hitoshi growled, glaring at them, blinking when they all looked at each other and laughed.
"Scared of you? Why would we be?"
"Because your quirk is scary? But you're going to be a Hero!"
"Dude, you're literally already the Hero of Gen. Ed!"
"I'm…what?" Hitoshi muttered as he stared at them in shock.
"Yeah, Hitoshi Shinso, the Hero of Gen. Ed!" several of the students cheered.
Hitoshi could feel the blush burning at his cheeks and the tears welling in his eyes, the teen blinking them away as he turned back to the wall.
"Whatever," he muttered, hiding his grin.
"Hey, we're having fried chicken tonight!" Izuku said excitedly as the three boys walked back to their dorms, "You want to join us, Hitoshi?"
"I…" Hitoshi paused, letting out a low sigh as he looked at the grinning teen.
"It's futile to resist," Monoma said softly, "He will befriend you."
"Oh, shut up, Nei-tan!" Izuku laughed, "I'm not that bad."
"Maybe you are," Hitoshi muttered, making the two other teens jump as they looked at him, wide grins forming on their faces.
"So, does that mean…?"
"Yeah, I'll come over," Hitoshi sighed, running a hand over his face, "I might as well meet my potential future classmates."
Also, to anyone playing Genshin Impact, my UID is 606112466, friend me, I wanna steal your ascension mats. :)
