Chapter 2

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"Mirio! Where are you?" An exasperated voice said. Nejire Hado was finally 18 years old and in her third year of U.A. Hero course. She was at the top of her game, even being named one of the 'Big Three'.

At least that's what she thought until a smirking cartoon face shot out from one of the buildings, his fist was drawn back, getting ready to pummel the young lady in the face. "Mirio I didn't know you could fly!" She laughed, dodging the man and watching as he permeated into another building.

His quirk, permeation, was a pain to deal with but it excited her to face it. It was a guessing game and one that focused on her ability to try and figure out where the enemy was coming from. It was their teacher's idea to practice this in their free time. Nejire would get to practice her aim and predictive ability while trying to shoot him down, while Mirio worked on how long he could hold his breath and see how far he would be able to fly out.

A loud laugh came from below her and she looked down to see the hero Lemillion shooting up from the ground, "I bet you weren't expecting this Nejire-chan!"

She scooted to the side just in time to avoid Mirio's fist as he sailed past her, into the sky. "That was close! Almost got me!" She said with a smile.

"Better be careful Nej!" He shouted, going back into the ground. She let out a laugh that quickly turned into a yawn, she could feel herself grow drowsy. A day of working with her hero mentor, Ryuko Tatsuma, and then having to work with Mirio on his quirk was exhausting.

"I think I'm done for the day, Mirio." She let out an exaggerated yawn, and the energy around her diminished slightly.

The cartoon hero in question popped out from the building on her right. "I suppose it's a good time to stop. Time for ramen?" Before she could let out an answer, he disappeared back into the building.

With a chuckle, she let herself slowly levitate down to the ground.

Tamaki looked up with bags under his eyes. The scaredy-cat was tired, "I suppose it's time for us to get going, food?"

Nejire looked at the quiet man with a bright smile, "Of course! Need to go get ramen before it's closed!"

At that moment, Mirio popped up from the ground with a sly grin, "Nej is right Tamaki! Need to go get that yummy ramen before it disappears. Only two hours before the shop turns the lights off after all."

With a sigh, Tamaki looked down at the floor. "Yeah, yeah, we should tell the teachers that we are finishing up before we head for ramen." After getting nods of agreement, Tamaki turned and left Ground Beta, Mirio and Nejire following behind him.

After a quick talk with the teachers, the trio was soon headed out of the grounds. "Hey-Hey! Mirio, that was so cool when you jumped up from out of the building!" Nejire started the conversation, complimenting him on his actions. "Have you gotten better about moving while underground? Are you able to hold your breath longer now? How did you switch buildings without me noticing?"

Mirio let out a laugh, his eyes like a winter night, looking up at the dusk sky, "Well, to be honest, it was Sir's idea for me to start moving around a lot more. Said that it would help me become even more unpredictable than I already am." Scratching the back of his head, he looked back towards Nejire. "I suppose I owe most of it to Sir, without him I don't know where I would be at."

"You don't give yourself enough credit Mirio." Tamaki yawned. The boy slouched with his hands in his pockets. "While Sir Nighteye might have helped you with some of the things on the side to help you train your quirk, you're the one that spent so much time working on permeation in the first place." Sighing, Tamaki looked uncaring as he passed his friends, both of which had stopped to ponder his words.

"Thanks, Tamaki," Mirio said before jogging to catch up.

Nejire smiled, and her hands clapped together as she glided closer to them. "Oh I can't wait to get ramen tonight, we haven't had it in a few days! Oh I wonder how Mr.-"

'Yip, yip'

Pausing mid-step, Nejire's eyes went towards where she thought she had heard a light bark. Her eyes traveled near a park with only a few lights and several trees concealing her eyesight. Had she misheard?

"Nejire-chan?" Her head whipped around and saw her two friends staring worriedly at her, "Is everything alright?"

"I-I just thought I heard something, it's nothing to worry about. You guys didn't hear a dog barking?" She asked her eyebrows scrunching. She put her fingers together and began to twiddle them, her previous mood gone.

Mirio looked at Tamaki and then frowned. "I don't think we heard anything Nej. Are you feeling okay? You aren't acting like yourself."

A nervous laugh escaped her lips. Truth be told she did not feel alright, not at all. "I'm sure it's nothing! Nothing at all! I just thought I heard something! I'm sure it was nothing." She rushed the words out. The two in front of her shared a look but decided not to say anything.

What was wrong with her? The thought plagued her mind as they walked to get food. Both Tamaki and Mirio tried several times talking to her but soon eventually gave up, instead talking with each other about the latest sports games that had occurred.

The yip, she had heard it and she hadn't been crazy. She had heard it somewhere before and it was bothering her that she couldn't put her finger on where.

"Nej you gotta eat, I thought you said you were starving?" Mirio said, gesturing towards her untouched bowl. Her eyes opened wide and blinked. She hadn't even remembered sitting down or ordering.

"Oh, um, thanks Mirio!" She put on a tight smile and took a bite of food. It was her favorite pork ramen that she got every time they came to the little shack. She scarfed down the bowl, giving Mirio a tip whenever it came to her mind about his fighting. The smile that she received in turn was well worth the happiness. His eyes shined like bright little diamonds compared to the bleak blue they rested at.

Tamaki stared down at his dish, "I suppose having noodle arms for a little bit isn't too bad. At this point, I probably should be practicing with them."

He received a playful shove, "Who knows? You won't always have dried squid bits on you at all times."

"What if you ate clams?" Nejire wondered aloud, "Would you be just like the squishy inside or could you turn yourself into a shell? Or what if you decided to eat a toad? Could you get a super long tongue?"

Tamaki shrugged, "I haven't really thought about it before. I've only used my quirk with so many dishes. Part of me is scared, and the other part..." A shudder made its way down his back. "Let's not worry about it."

Opening her mouth, she froze in her actions and looked over at a giant dog on the other side of the street. With black fur and sharp red eyes. The giant dog looked like a terrifying monster.

And it was staring right at her.

'Yip!'

Nejire froze in her tracks. She knew this dog. A dream? She couldn't put her finger on it. Drool leaked from the dog's maw and her sharp red eyes looked at her penetratingly. The dog's front paw stomped into the ground, creating a visible imprint in the concrete. It looked like a bull ready to pounce at a red flag, fully prepared to take everything out in its path.

Then it lunged.

She barely had any time to register the massive beast roaring at her, coming at speeds that her flying would barely keep up with even at full speed. Mirio had just enough time to shove Nejire off of her seat before the hound crashed into the massive stall, shattering the rickety-looking wooden shack with just a tackle.

Mr. Okana, the shop owner, cried out as his business was destroyed. The dog only had to glare at the small restaurant owner for a moment before the ramen chef backed up and quickly ran out the back in fear.

Now that the annoyance was gone, the dog turned its gaze sharply to Nejire once more. She growled loudly and stamped its foot into the broken wood, crushing the already shattered boards.

Once more it bounded towards Nejire but this time they were ready. Nejire flew high up into the air, the previous fatigue from the day long replaced by adrenaline. Her heart pounded as she quickly shot a beam of her waves at the dog.

The massive beast didn't even flinch as it took the full force of Nejire's wave motion, it hadn't even bothered to blink its eyes at her. The waves just had no effect.

Mirio made his move next. Popping up from the ground, he landed a punch directly into the dog's belly. The red-eyed animal winced as it was punched back several feet. Coming to a stop on its hind legs and slowly falling to the ground after a few moments.

Noodles shot out from Tamaki before the hound could get readjusted in its spot. "Oh, this feels weird." She heard him mutter. The beast began to thrash in an attempt to break the chains that were holding it in place. "Mirio!" Tamaki called. "Knocking out the beast anytime would be great!" His dug-in heels were slipping even as he pulled back with all his might.

"On it!" Mirio replied, already moving to help.

"Wait!"

She didn't know why she said it. It had come out before she could even think about it. Both Mirio and Tamaki looked at her with astonishment.

In the brief moment that he let his guard down, the beast suddenly burst out of Tamaki's noodle bindings and bounded towards Nejire.

"I really hope I'm right about this." She said, gently lowering herself to the ground. She knew this animal, she had seen her before. In a dream that flitted through her mind during restless nights ..

The beast came closer and closer and once she touched the ground it seemed to go even faster. Her already racing heartbeat seemed to go even faster. Her hand shook as she reached out in front of her.

15 meters...10...5 …

Her eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the inevitable pain to appear had she been wrong. She could feel her arm shake nonstop and her hands felt clammy.

She waited a moment, then two, and after feeling no pain for a third she opened her eyes. A small black dog had replaced the giant monster. Her tail wagged so fast it was almost invisible to the naked eye. The dog ran circles around her and yipped loudly. The shock in her eyes grew.

"Mrs. O'Leary? How? W-Where have you been?" She knew this dog! She was taking a guess but she had only seen the puppy once before in the monstrous form and she had forgotten how big and scary it could get. "I don't understand."

"Nej?" She looked up to see Tamaki and Mirio slowly coming closer. "Do you know this dog?" Mirio asked.

She laughed, it was like a dam had broken. She laughed so hard that tears leaked from her eyes. "I-I do? And I don't remember how?"