Chapter Two: A Bat's Growth
*Three Years Later*
Umeko sat in her room on the floor, propping herself against a giant plushie of a cute cartoony bat. On the floor in front of her laid her sword, in her hands was a notepad and pen with the same cartoon bat on them. Umeko's raven black hair now extended down just past her shoulders. She flipped through her notes that she had been making since the awakening of her quirk. No matter how much she analyzed her notes, the true nature of her quirk was still lost to her.
She was unable to train her powers on her own since no one knew just how destructive it could be. 'Bala', while not seemingly that powerful held the potential to be much more. She also had not been able to practice with Murciélago either that much to her dismay. Seeing how her sword wasn't a normal blade, no one knew just how dangerous it was in comparison. Though there were special training centers outside of hero schools. Which she wouldn't be able to attend until her high school years. The training centers tended to be expensive and only pro heroes generally could afford them. Granted, some of the more successful pros could afford their own personal ones.
That all said since her sword was a manifestation of her quirk, she had a note that permitted her to carry it around. Something she was glad for since she disliked having her sword too far from her for too long a time. She quickly learned that her sword seemed to be connected to the essence of her being in a way. Just another thing about her quirk and its oddities.
Another thing over the last few years she had discovered her quirk had another unique power attributed to it. Which seemed to be a type of passive ability that enhanced her skin to be quite durable. She discovered the ability by sheer accident when she was assisting her mother when making dinner one night. She had been chopping vegetables when the knife slipped slightly in her hands. The chopping knife had been recently sharpened but when the cutting edge slipped across her finger. It did nothing more but slide across it doing nothing at all. Umeko had stared at her finger curiously as she quickly analyzed what had just happened. To test her discovery she then swiped the knife against her forearm, receiving the same result.
Unfortunately, her mother had turned to face her just as she did that and proceeded to scream bloody murder as a result. Her panic had quickly turned to confusion when she noticed Umeko was completely unharmed. After piecing things together herself, Sayuri had then called the quirk doctor. To have Umeko's quirk registry updated, Umeko hadn't gotten into any real trouble, but she was banned from handling kitchen knives for a while. Umeko wound up coming up with the name 'Hierro' for it.
Then there was the newest dream that had begun to invade her sleep. After her quirk had first awoken the dreams had stopped completely for some time. Though they returned eventually, the same as always. The latest and newest dream was very well the most perturbing yet.
It took place in the same never desert under the moonlit starless night that never ceased. She found herself traveling aimlessly through the sands, with a heavy sense of emptiness plaguing her. She couldn't speak at all and thought to herself lamenting her loneliness. She then found herself before a large white tree with many sharp spines. Something about the tree resonated strongly with her and she sunk herself into it. Ignoring the sharpness of the branches as she did. She stayed there for what seemed like an eternity before someone appeared before her.
It was a man who wore a white outfit, with brown hair and brown eyes. He carried himself with a sense of superiority like all others were beneath him. Yet, something about him made it clear he possessed the capability to act as such. Not to mention something about him was alluringly charismatic. The man held out a hand to her and with a calm and smooth voice simply said.
"Join me"
Then she would wake up every time the dream would always end at that moment. Whatever the dream meant continued to plague her thoughts a good while afterward. Umeko flipped through her notepad as she pondered her thoughts.
"Just how does this all tie together I wonder?" The green-eyed girl muttered to herself.
"Umeko!" She suddenly heard her mother cry out. "Are you ready? Your friends will be here soon for your birthday."
She had been so engrossed with her thoughts she had almost forgotten about that. It was December 1st her birthday she was now ten years old. "Yes mother, I'm coming down." Umeko made her way down the stairs, only to suddenly scooped in her mother's arms as she reached the bottom.
"And what's my special birthday girl been up to so far today?" Sayuri asked hugging her daughter to her chest.
Umeko couldn't help but give a small smile towards her mother's antics. "Just trying to figure out more things about my quirk."
"Always the investigative one I see."
"Sooner I better understand my powers, the better and sooner I can learn them. Such things are a must if I'm to be a good hero myself one day." Umeko simply remarked.
Sayuri set her daughter down and watched go if to another section of the house with a look of approval on her face. It hadn't been long after her daughter awoke her quirk, that she expressed a desire to be a hero. Sayuri herself wasn't surprised at all by the declaration. Her daughter's quirk while there were still many questions surrounding it, was suited for hero work. Not to mention the Kurosaki's had a history of some in the family being protectors. While the exact specifics had been lost over time. Sayuri knew her great-great-grandfather, her daughter's great-great-great-grandfather. Ichigo Kurosaki had been known as a protector of sorts during the age before quirks, alongside his wife Rukia.
In all truthfulness, as a mother, Sayuri couldn't help but have her concerns. After all, hero work tended to be rather dangerous by its very nature. She understood though her daughter had her heart set on being a hero and protector. The best thing she could do as a parent was to support and help however she could. The violet-eyed woman was snapped out of her thoughts by a knock at the door.
"Inko! Izuku, glad you made it." Sayuri chimed seeing her two guests arrive, Inko with a present in hand.
"Good to see you Sayuri, we would have been here earlier. I needed to pick up Izuku and Umeko's other friend on the way over." Replied the green-haired woman. It was then that a small girl stepped out from behind Inko.
She's a fair-skinned girl and has slightly inward-tilting eyes, irises that are bright yellow, and their pupils' thin slits, making them somewhat resemble those of a cat. Her mouth is wide and rather feline, as both her upper and lower canines are more pointed and longer than the rest of her teeth, giving her a vampire-like appearance. Her hair is a pale, dirty ash-blonde and is styled into two messy buns, with numerous wild strands sticking out at all angles from their centers and where they're fastened, a straight fringe, and two chin-length side bangs to frame her face.
"Himiko Toga, how nice to see you as well." Sayuri mused "Umeko should be in the living room." She remembered how Umeko and Izuku had run into her by chance while playing outside one day. Izuku, bless the boy and his kind heart invited her to play with them, upon seeing she was all alone. It didn't take long for the children to start getting along with each other. Soon enough the three had formed their own little trio.
"You're all here I see," Umeko said with a small amount of joy as she walked into the room, hands in her pockets.
"Umeko!" Himiko cheered with a wide smile that showed off her fangs in all their glory. As she then ran over and hugged her friend, Umeko kindly returned the gesture.
"Hi, Umeko" Izuku piped up as he approached, the other two. The three children then took off to hang out with one another. Leaving the woman alone who had watched the little scene with smiles.
"Come on Inko, let's get everything ready while the kids are busy." Sayuri mused to her fellow mom and friend.
The three kids made their way up to Umeko's room, Himiko who had never seen it before. Was in awe of all the cute cartoony bat merchandise that covered it. Some posters plastered on the black painted walls, various plushies, toys, figurines, and even bedsheets.
"Wow, I knew you liked 'Chomppy The Bat' a lot like me, but I didn't know you had this much chomppy stuff." The blond mused in delight.
Izuku who had been in the room before said nothing and took a seat. He didn't quite get the obsession his friends had with the cartoon bat character. Though he wisely chose to keep that opinion to himself. Last time he had said something perceived as negative about the bat character. Umeko had given him a look that it seemed like she was piercing his very soul. He no intention of making such an apparent mistake ever again.
"So what've you been up to?" Himiko questioned as she took a seat herself.
"I've had a new dream as of late," Umeko stated as she then went on to explain her latest with the tree, the man in white with brown hair and eyes. Once she finished both Himiko and Izuku had inquisitive looks on their faces.
"That seems awfully vivid for a dream, same goes for the previous ones you've mentioned." Himiko mused.
"It really does," Izuku chimed in "honestly these dreams seem more like memories than actual dreams."
Umeko nodded her head in agreement. "That's what I'm starting to think as well but if that is indeed the case. That only leads to even more questions that have no answers to date. Where do they come from? Why do I have them? How do they relate to me? Do they also somehow relate to my quirk? I can't help but shake the feeling the answers are right in front of my face. Though I simply lack the means to see them at the moment for whatever reason."
The three kids sat in silence for a few moments as they pondered it all. Himiko spoke up looking to change the topic a bit. "Speaking of your quirk, I bet it will give you a guaranteed spot at U.A. one day."
"I imagine so," The green-eyed girl replied. She knew that her quirk was already perceived as having very strong capabilities. Not even taking into account that she hadn't begun to dig into the true depths that it held. No doubt the number one hero school in the country would greatly desire her for a student someday.
"Your quirk is all sorts of awesome!" Himiko said happily before her face took a slightly dejected look. "People always look down on me for how my quirk works and how it influence's me." Early on in their friendship, the blond had told the two about her quirk and its influence on her. Thankfully, her friends had been understanding and supportive. They even helped her work on gaining better control of her quirk's influences.
"You have a great quirk Himiko," Izuku spoke up "the ability to transform into anyone is amazing. Ok, so you need a bit of blood to make it work and your quirk makes you have a desire for blood. Considering how it works it makes sense in all honesty."
"I'm in agreement with Izuku," Umeko cut in "don't allow societies short-sighted views to get the better of you. People tend to look down on blood-based quirks, due to the inherent morbidness that comes with them. That does not make your quirk bad in any way. Vlad King is a successful pro hero and his quirk is also blood-based."
Himiko grinned with glee at her friend's words. "Thanks for believing in me."
"Besides, at least you two have quirks I'm still quirk-less." The green-haired boy muttered.
"Don't worry Izuku you'll have a quirk of your own eventually, you're a late bloomer is all," Himiko suggested.
"You'll have a quirk of your own someday, somehow I'm sure of it," Umeko replied.
"I'm sure you two are right, I just have to keep hoping. Regardless of what that doctor said." Izuku stated a bit meekly.
"Izuku that doctor that told you that you were quirk-less was arrested for multiple offenses. Anything he told you and your mother should be completely disregarded." The raven-haired girl stated.
"Yeah, your right, by the way, anything new with your quirk by chance?" Izuku retorted.
"Not since my heirro ability made itself known."
"That ability makes it hard to hurt you right?" Himiko said before continuing. "I wonder if normal blades can't hurt you, can something like your sword cut you? it's not a normal blade after all."
Umeko raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at that thought, she never actually contemplated that before. "It's worth testing." She spoke as she stood up and grabbed Murciélago and drew it from its sheath. She then placed the blade edge against her wrist.
"This doesn't seem like the wisest idea?" Izuku spoke up trying to be the voice of reason. Sadly that voice fell on deaf ears.
"Don't worry Izuku, Umeko knows what she's doing." The blond replied as she pulled out her phone. "Need to record this if something really crazy happens."
Umeko took a moment to prepare herself and then slightly ran Murciélago's blade edge against her wrist. She immediately learned a few things, her blade was indeed sharp enough to cut her. The other thing being it was apparently much sharper than a normal blade could ever hope to be. Seeing how she only intended to make only a minor cut but instead cut her hand clean off.
"HOLY CRAP!" Himiko and Izuku yelled out together in surprise and mild horror.
Umeko for her part was keeping unnervingly calm despite having lost a hand. Said appendage fell to the floor surprisingly with a minimal amount of blood leaking from it. Umeko made a quick mental note about it was a good thing all the floors in the house were wood for easy cleanup. She then noticed the stump of her hand had only bled a little down her arm and had already stopped amazingly. She then noticed that she didn't feel any high level of pain. Another person would most likely scream in agony from such a wound. However, what she was feeling was equivalent to maybe being stuck with a doctor's needle. Then something truly amazing happened, Umeko felt an odd sensation at her wrist stump. Then before her eyes, her hand suddenly regenerated fully like it was never cut off, to begin with. It happened so quickly that it seemed almost instantaneous.
Umeko couldn't help but have her eyes go wide in surprise at the sight. From start to finish the whole ordeal lasted just a few seconds. She looked at Izuku and Himiko and saw their own eyes wide, mouths agape in disbelief. She then looked towards her old hand and noticed it and the blood. Was beginning to disappear into dust until it was gone, no trace of it to be had. She then took note of the sudden sense of feeling more tired than she had been.
"It would appear that I have an instant regeneration ability. Though it seems to have a noticeable drain on my energy as a result." Umeko spoke with a tone of curiosity.
"What happened in here!?" Sayuri announced as she made her into the room, Inko right behind her. Both had looks of worry on their face having heard the sudden screaming. "Umeko, what are you doing with your sword?" The violet-eyed woman questioned seeing her daughter had her blade out.
"Just some investigating into my quirk, I've learned that it grants me instant regeneration." The green-eyed girl casually replied.
"It's true!" Himiko chirped with excitement. "I caught it all on video, let me show you!" The blond made her way over to the two women and showed the recording. Inko and Sayuri's faces paled a little as shocked looks became visible on the both of them. Sayuri then leaned her head back, took a deep breath, and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Umeko honey, I'm glad you're figuring more things out about your quirk. Though I must ask you to refrain from maiming yourself further." Receiving a nod of understanding from her daughter, she continued. "I need to go make a quick call and have the registry updated. Inko I need a favor from you."
"Yes?"
"Could you please go to my booze cabinet in the kitchen and make me a strong drink? I suddenly feel that I need one."
A while later after a phone call and a stiff drink in her system, Sayuri along with Inko finished setting things up. Thankfully, the little birthday celebration went off without a hitch. The kids enjoyed birthday games and indulged in cake and then it was time for presents. Inko and Izuku had gotten Umeko a brand new exclusive chomppy the bat figure. Himiko brought a chomppy birthday card with a gift card inside it. Umeko thanked them all for the presents and then it Sayuri's turn to give a gift.
"Looks like I'm up and I have something I'm sure you're going to love." Stated the raven-haired woman as she pulled out something from her pocket.
Umeko took whatever her mother had pulled out and studied it for a few moments. "This is a brochure for the top quirk training center that's not an academy in the city. It's the best training center of its type this side of the country."
"That's right," Sayuri replied with a wide smile. "and tomorrow I'm taking you there to get signed up for it."
A collective gasp was had by everyone else from the news. Umeko for once actually didn't know what to say, so she acted instead. She hopped out of her chair and threw herself at her mother with a hug. While she rarely expressed her feelings so vividly. She couldn't help it in this case with how great the news was. "Thank you, mother, thank you so much." She spoke happily.
Sayuri leaned down and gave her daughter a kiss on her forehead. "Just doing my job at being a good parent."
Hours passed after that and eventually Inko, Izuku, and Himiko left. It was now night time and Umeko was sleeping in bed. It was a full moon and she had left her curtains open. Allowing the moonlight to illuminate her entire being as she slept in her chomppy pajamas. Umeko enjoyed the moon something about it brought a sense of peaceful familiarity. Some nights she would simply stare up at it and take in its apparent splendor.
Umeko suddenly shot up awake and rubbed her eyes a little. "It was that same dream again with that tree and the man in white." She muttered to herself as she looked out her window up at the moon. The moonlight shined off her eyes like they were made of the gemstone they were colored after. Her pale skin seemed to glow in an eye-catching way beneath the gaze of the moon. Which in turn seemed to accentuate her black hair and teal-colored birthmarks beneath her eyes. She turned her eyes to the street below and saw something curious.
It was a spirit with a chain in its chest. Over the last few years since, her quirk had awakened. She had still kept her ability to see ghosts strictly to herself, though she had tried to interact with them a few times. However, whenever she came near, they would always flee. As if something about her presence scared them greatly, she had no clue as to why that was though.
The ghost was too far away for her to make out clearly, but she could tell it was a black-haired man. She noticed he was moving his head around franticly, desperate looking for something. Almost like he knew he was being hunted in some manner and trying to find a proper route for escape. Then the spirit fell down in fright as something landed in front of it.
It was some sort of misshapen monster it had some oddly shaped bone-white mask and a massive hole in its chest. The creature then let out a roar that could only be described as otherworldly. Umeko felt as though she should be frightened by the creature and yet she wasn't at all. In fact, something about it gave her a feeling of familiarity for an odd reason. She quickly snapped out of these thoughts as she saw the monster stalk towards the spirit. Umeko decided she needed to quickly grab Murciélago and try to lend help in time. Before she could even get out of bed something happened that made her freeze in place.
Another person wielding a massive sword suddenly descended from above from seemingly nowhere. The person brought the massive blade down and felled the beast with a single mighty swing. Then as the monster began to her surprise dissolve away to nothing. The person swung their blade around and tapped the hilt against the spirit. The spirit was then engulfed by blue light and was gone. Umeko tried to make out the features she could of this newcomer. The person was a decently tall man, he wore a black outfit reminiscent of those worn in ancient Japan. That had some sort of white and red garb over it. He also had what appeared to be orange hair. Something about him made Umeko think that she should know who this person was but nothing more would come to mind. So she continued to watch as best she could.
*Street*
Ichigo had quickly dealt with the hollow easily enough and then sent the spirit to soul society. His orange hair was still just as spikey as it always was, though it was styled with a touch of refinement. Despite being over a few centuries old now Ichigo still maintained the look of someone in his late twenties. He wore his standard black shihakushō, but with some notable changes: he has two white shoulder plates crossing his chest in an X shape that holds his Shikai blades in place, with the first plate on his left shoulder having three sections adorned with red scales, the second plate having three sections adorned with red scales on his right waist and a white cloak with black markings tied around his waist. He slung Zangetsu onto his back and adjusted his vice-captain badge on his arm. Which was marked with the insignia for the thirteenth squad. While he could have become a captain, he was happy being his wife's vice-captain.
"That was the first hollow I've seen all week on my patrols here. I really shouldn't complain, that just means with so few basic hollows in the living world. Halibel, Nel, and the others are doing their part to help maintain the peace as much as possible on their end." Ichigo spoke out loud to himself as then thought back to past events. "Yeah, I'm perfectly good with this, I hope I never have to deal with something like the Quincy war ever again. Well, that's pretty much the end of my rotation here in this city. Better head back and give my report, no doubt Rukia is itching to spend some time with me after being away. I should ask for Karakura for my next rotation.
With that said he opened up a senkaimon and headed off to soul society.
*With Umeko*
"What exactly was all that just now?" Umeko muttered as she tried to piece the bizarre scene she had just witnessed. She quickly concluded that it all had to with ghosts in some manner. Which meant she was probably the only one around who was even able to see what just happened. She shook her head and decided to push these thoughts away for later. She had a big day tomorrow with going to the training center with her mother. With those final thoughts, she laid back down and went back to sleep.
The next day Umeko was riding in the car with her mother, while her blank expression was on her face. Internally she was rather excited at this opportunity the training center provided. Then they arrived at the training center Umeko stepped out of the car, hands in pockets, and Murciélago strapped to her back. Mother and daughter made their way to the lobby and were greeted by the woman behind the counter.
"Hello and welcome to the Musutafu quirk training facility." The woman politely spoke.
"Hello, I called a few days ago about signing my daughter up here, so she can start training her quirk properly," Sayuri replied.
"Ah yes, I remember you must be Sayuri Kurosaki. Everything is more or less set up we just need a few signatures and a few other details filled out. Then will be all good to go."
Sayuri took a moment to quickly put her signature where it was needed and filled in info on her daughter's quirk. Once done she handed all the paperwork back and after a few moments, everything was in order.
The facility worker stood up and made her way to Umeko and gave her an I.D. badge on a lanyard. "This badge is your way of gaining access to the facility and its training areas. The badge also carries a summary of your quirk abilities. That way any of the personal trainers we have on-staff can help you with optimizing your training. Since this's your first time here allow me to give you the grand tour of the facility."
Umeko showing no reaction on her face simply nodded her head in understanding. As she and her mother followed the woman for the tour of the facility. It took a while to get through most of the place, while the green-eyed girl showed nothing on her face. Mentally she had thought the place was quite impressive for what it was. Though from what she studied the hero academies like U.A. were even more impressive.
"You two are in luck for coming here today." Announced the facility worker. "We're opening a new section today and All Might and another hero are here as the guests of honor."
Soon enough Umeko saw a large gathering of reporters and there in front of them sure enough was All Might himself. He is a very large man with an equally muscular and well-defined physique. He has chiseled features on his face with a strong jawline and pronounced cheekbones, and bushy eyebrows. He has short blond hair, swept backward, with two distinct tufts that stick up above his head, leaning slightly to each side. His strong features cast a dark shadow over his face, hiding everything but his bright blue eyes.
Wearing his golden age hero costume that consisted of a skin-tight blue bodysuit decorated with a red symbol that somewhat resembles a "Y," designed with a white diamond at its center, with white lines connected to it that trace from his chest to his back shoulders; the lines trimmed with the aforementioned red symbol. The symbol appeared to have wings on the side that ran from atop his torso before ending around his back, over which was a similar red and white design absent of the white diamond. Large white patches lined with red-covered each side of his hips before ending at his lower thighs, and he wore a gold belt that had a silver buckle with red eyes. His forearm sleeves were colored in gold that each had white lines covered in blue accents over his wrists and had spiked fins on the sides of his arms, his feet were covered in shin-length gold boots trimmed with white and red accents.
Umeko then noticed the was another hero present as well. She quickly recognized the woman as the biggest up-and-coming female hero in recent years. Rabbit Hero: Mirko.
She has an athletic build with muscular arms and legs. With tanned skin, red eyes which are tilted slightly inwards, long eyelashes, and straight white hair reaching down past her waist. On her head, she has a pair of long white rabbit ears pointing upwards with a slight crook. Along with these, she also has a round white rabbit tail, which gives her overall design a definite resemblance to an albino rabbit.
Her hero costume consists of a sleeveless white leotard with dark purple trim around her shoulders and waist, a wide, yellow crescent moon design over her chest, and two thick metal plates on her midriff. She wears purple thigh-high boots to compliment her leotard, with more plating around the heel and toe areas, making her feet look like those of a rabbit. She also has a pair of thick white gloves on her hands with long cuffs, sporting small triangular protrusions around their edges.
Umeko would be willing to admit out of all the pro heroes if she had to pick one for her favorite. She would say that would in fact be Mirko as surprising as some would find it. It had a lot to do with how she carried herself in all honesty. Most female heroes got too caught up in the glitz and glamor of hero work. Mirko didn't, sure she still had her appearances sometimes like now. Though she always emphasized her actual hero work more than anything else. It was why she was rising through the ranks of the hero world as quickly as she was. To Umeko, the rabbit hero embodied what a hero, especially female heroes should strive to be. Plus, while bats would always be her favorite animal bar-none. There was something about her rabbit motif that struck a positive with her.
"It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!" All Might boisterously, spoke his iconic catchphrase and struck his signature pose. Beside him stood Mirko making a pose of her own for the media present.
"You should go and meet them it's not every day such an opportunity arises." Sayuri chirped gaining her daughter's attention. "You might even get an autograph from them or something like that." A playful look crossed the violet-eyed woman's face. "Izuku would be head-over-heels if you were to get him a genuine All might autograph you know?"
Umeko raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "What are you insinuating mother?" She asked dully but innocently all the same.
"Oh nothing, nothing at all," Sayuri chimed "On another note, I know you're actually a pretty big fan of Mirko, even if you don't show it."
"How?"
"I notice that you are far more focused on the tv or radio when Mirko is being discussed. Looks there's a chance to go and meet them."
"Greeting madam and to you as well young lady!" Toshinori spoke up as he noticed the woman and what he assumed to be her daughter. The child immediately grabbed his attention. The girl with paler than normal skin, her teal-like tear marks on her face. Plus, goodness gracious what was a child doing carrying around a full-blown Katana for?
"Hello, All Might, I'm Sayuri Kurosaki and this's my daughter Umeko Kurosaki." Sayuri introduced.
"A pleasure to meet you both and how are you this fine day, young Kurosaki?" Toshinori asked while doing his signature pose once more. Only to find the young girl looking up at him with a look of indifference and zero emotion to him. As if she was somehow whole-heartedly un-impressed by him in every way. Things suddenly felt very awkward. It didn't help he could hear Rumi behind him begin to snort in a rather un-lady-like fashion. In amusement at the whole little display. Thankfully, the mother stepped in to save things.
"Don't mind my daughter's lack of reaction, she's just very guarded with emotions and feelings. Especially when she's out in public, I know for a fact she's a bit of a fan of yours."
Well, that made him feel better a little bit, then he noticed the i.d. card around the girl's neck. The girl must be getting a head start on training her quirk for hero school. That made him feel a lot better, he always liked seeing the youth aim to apply themselves for the sake of good. Which then begged the question. "What by chance is your quirk young Kurosaki?" The girl still as blanked-faced as ever merely handed him her i.d. card.
He read the summary of her quirk he raised an eyebrow in curiosity, the name was unique. Then he saw that her sword was a manifestation of sorts of her quirk, well that made a lot more sense now. Then he read the rest of her quirk's summary and found his jaw-dropping in near disbelief. Because sweet kami just what was going on with this girl's quirk. Shooting balls of energy at fast speed, enhanced durability, and even instant regeneration. Any of these on their own would be considered strong quirks. This girl had all of them and potentially, even more, it was actually a bit frightening in all honesty.
While Toshinori was still processing what he was reading Rumi walked up to greet the two. "Rabbit Hero: Mirko, nice to meet the two of you."
"Nice to meet you as well," Umeko replied, her tone still managing to be as dull as ever. "Meeting my favorite hero is an unexpected but pleasant surprise."
That got a slight look of surprise out of the rabbit woman. She was rising through the ranks fast but she wasn't that well established just yet. So seeing someone so young to peg her as her favorite hero was a bit unexpected. Though she wouldn't deny the nice sense of gratification the girl's words brought her. Rumi smiled down at the girl. "Can I ask why?"
"You are what a hero should be, especially female heroes. You're not obsessed with the glamor of the industry. Like too many female hero's tend to be that's why you are a true hero and the others are simply trash." Umeko said with indifference but somehow still portrayed a bit of an edge.
Toshinori snapped out of his own musing at the girl's words. While a bit too harsh for his liking, he couldn't deny there was some truth to it.
Rumi meanwhile was grinning ear to ear practically. Yes, she was definitely liking this girl, who seemed to share similar views. Rumi would never deny that she preferred patrolling the streets to some posh publicity stunt. Not that she wouldn't do so once in a great while. She simply wasn't so obsessed with that sort of thing like other female pros were. While she wouldn't call her colleagues "trash", she saw the point being made. She was only really at the training facility. Because All might asked her to as she was the most up-and-coming female hero and she was also a fitness freak. She looked to see All Might still holding the i.d. card. She leaned over to read it herself, her eyes widened, and her jaw fell slack soon enough. Rumi then let out a whistle before speaking.
"Dang kid this's quite the quirk you got going for you. I take it you're going to start training here?" Umeko simply nodded her head and Rumi made a mental note of that. "Well then," Rumi chimed "me and All Might better not take up any more of your time. Though before that, would you care for some pictures and autographs by chance?"
Umeko looked at Mirko and a very tiny smile made its way onto her face. After a few minutes, Umeko and her mother left the two pros. Umeko now had signed photos of her with both Mirko and All Might. She also had photos of All might and Mirko by themselves posing. Both photos were autographed to Izuku, no doubt her friend would treasure them. She had a second set of them for Himiko as well.
As the mother and daughter walked away Rumi turned to All Might. "That girl has a ton of potential, more than what's been seen in a long time, I can feel it. Call it instinct but she's gonna shake things up one day I think she will have a lot of interest once her academy years start."
"I have to agree with you Mirko," Toshinori replied, "and that's also what concerns me."
A/N: Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story thus far. We saw a fair bit of things play out in this chapter and the setup with some new things. I'm time skippings a bit here since I don't feel like writing like a dozen chapters of fluff. Of Umeko growing up before even reaching the entrance exam. Umeko discovers her Heirro and her instant regeneration. In regards to those two things, her Heirro while keeping her protected from basic goons with basic weapons. Certain things and of course type of quirks in the right hands can still hurt her.
I gave her regeneration the drawback of being very energy taxing. This helps keep her balanced so she just doesn't tank hit after hit without a care in the world. Also, we got a brief appearance of Ichigo and see a glimpse of what he's been up to. As well as what version of the bleach timeline preceded the rise of quirks. Some people who make bleach stories choose to ignore that the war with the Quincy's sometimes. I figured I should make it clear just where that bit falls in place. No direct interactions will happen just yet, but they will happen eventually.
Himiko has joined the team and made it a trio because honestly, I just felt like. This story by virtue of being a cross-over is also technically AU. so understandably I'm taking a few liberties here. that's why I came up with the whole training center thing. I wanted Umeko a way of training her quirk without constantly getting in trouble. It also gave me a reason to include the bit with All Might and Mirko. One it helps set up certain things for down the road with All might. I included Mirko as well simply because I just really like her character and wanted to give her a presence now for later.
Not much else to say for the time being. In the meantime, please leave a review as they do help keep me motivated to write. Please like and fav if you have not already and stay safe, stay healthy. I'll see you next time. I'm out!