Chapter 28
Showdown At Tea Time
Six days have passed since Joshua gave Eri a tour of the U.A campus. Joshua now sits on the couch in the common room, texting his brother. Mina walks up to him.
"What do you want?" asked Joshua.
"You need to pick up some rope," said Mina.
"Why me?" asked Joshua.
"You've practiced the least in the entire class," said Mina.
"I have to take care of business all of the time. My godfather wants me to take control of the company," said Joshua.
"I know that, but no one else wants to grab the rope and we need it to make Aoyama "fly" during the performance," said Mina.
"Do I have to?" asked Joshua.
Mina gives Joshua the dog eyes.
"Usually that wouldn't work, but I've been slacking so I deserve to become the errand boy," said Joshua.
Joshua stands up and walks towards the door.
"I'll be back in twenty minutes," said Joshua.
Joshua walks through the door. He looks at his watch and clicks a button. A hologram of his suit appears on it. He taps it and the parts of his suit fly out of his dorm's window. They attach to him and he flies off at high speeds. He flies for a minute until he reaches a convenience store. He taps the center of his suit and the parts of the suit unattach and roll into a ball. He places the ball into his pocket and walks into the convenience store. He grabs some rope and walks to the counter.
"Seven bucks," said the cashier.
"That's a little expensive," said Joshua.
"I don't make the prices," said the cashier.
"Fine," said Joshua.
Joshua pulls out seven yen and gives it to the cashier. The cashier turns his head and looks at a Vogue magazine. He analyzes it and sees Joshua on the cover.
"Kid, are you-" said the cashier.
The cashier doesn't get to ask his question before Joshua grabs the rope and runs out of the door. Because he's not paying attention, he accidentally runs into an older man wearing a tophat and a trenchcoat.
"My bad. I didn't see you," said Joshua.
"Dammit child. I was just enjoying the aftertaste of the Golden Tips Imperial," said the older man.
"Golden Tips Imperial?" thought Joshua.
Joshua remembers a Gentle Criminal video in which he showcased his love for the tea flavor.
"Golden Tips Imperial," said Joshua.
"Huh," said the older man.
"I didn't think that I would find a fellow tea connoisseur out here," said Joshua.
"Me too, but we have places to be," said the older man.
"If you wanted to know, U.A is having a school festival today," said Joshua.
"Why did you tell me this?" asked the older man.
"You're walking in the direction of the school. I thought you were heading there as a guest," said Joshua.
"You know what. We were," said the older man.
"Let me give you a map," said Joshua.
"Thank you, b-" said the older man.
The older man doesn't get a map. He gets a kick to the face. The older man's disguise falls off.
"Gentle!" exclaimed La Brava.
"Did you believe that I would be dumb enough to fall for your terrible disguise?" asked Joshua.
"Brava, start recording and don't stop unless I say so," said Gentle Criminal.
"Yes, sir," said La Brava.
Gentle Criminal stands up and throws off his trenchcoat.
"Behold, the dawning of a daring knave's journey! Keep your dazzled eyes on your screen, for it is I, your savior and gentleman scoundrel Gentle Criminal! The gears have gone awry! In light of this dilemma, I shall name my caper 'I Tried Invading U.A!" exclaimed Gentle Criminal.
"Is this a joke to you? You're trying to infiltrate a school full of children to get views," said Joshua.
"This isn't a game, young man. This is a way of life," said Gentle Criminal.
"Enough talking. I'm taking you in," said Joshua.
"You can try," said Gentle Criminal.
Joshua charges at Gentle Criminal. He tries to jump on him, but the air becomes elastic like a rubber band and flings him back a few hundred feet.
"That was a little violent, Gentle," said La Brava.
"He caught me off guard, but we better get running. He doesn't seem like he will be down for long," said Gentle Criminal.
Gentle Criminal and La Brava start to run away.
"Come back here!" exclaimed Joshua.
Joshua slowly gets back up. He starts to run at top speed towards the duo. Gentle Criminal sees him and slams his palm on the ground and it becomes elastic. Joshua is bounced into the air.
"Sorry kid. I can't let you interfere. Farewell young rising star!" said Gentle Criminal.
"I remember that kid. He won the sports festival, defeated Stain, and helped save hostages at I-Island. He's a tough one," said La Brava.
"He's mad. We can't tangle with him," said Gentle Criminal.
Gentle Criminal slams his palms on the ground. He gets bounced into the air.
"La Brava, keep recording from down there!" exclaimed Gentle Criminal.
"Ok, Gentle!" exclaimed La Brava.
Joshua starts to fall towards the ground. He pulls out his balled-up suit from his pocket and clicks the button. His suit unballs and attaches to him. He flies towards Gentle Criminal.
"I won't let you ruin Eri's day!" exclaimed Joshua.
He flies into the gentleman and grabs them. He then rockets towards a construction site and crashes into it. He grabs Gentle Criminal and throws him at a beam. He jumps on him and punches him. Gentle Criminal flies through the beam and lands in front of another beam.
"Your caper is over," said Joshua.
"You didn't think about your actions, did you?" asked Gentle Criminal.
The construction site starts to shake. Joshua grabs the broken beam and holds it, preventing the construction site from coming down.
"Thank you for such a good fight, but I have to get going. My caper still has to be completed," said Gentle Criminal.
"STEPH, bring out the other suit and alert the authorities," said Joshua.
"Yes sir," said STEPH.
Believing that he has won, Gentle Criminal starts to walk away. He turns his head and sees La Brava run up to him.
"You did it, Gentle. I knew that you wouldn't lose," said La Brava.
"Your faith is very helpful. Now, let's complete our most daring caper ever," said Gentle Criminal.
Before Gentle Criminal can take another step, he hears some noise behind him. He turns around to see Joshua holding up the beam, but it isn't. It's his backup suit being controlled by his AI program. He turns back around and catches a gauntlet to the face. He flies through the spaces between the beams and a fence. He falls unconscious once he hits the ground.
"Gentle!" exclaimed La Brava.
Before she can run to her friend's side, she is grabbed by Joshua.'
"Get your hands off me!" exclaimed La Brava.
"I wouldn't advise you to struggle. You're just a kid, so I doubt that you can go to jail as long as you don't do anything rash," said Joshua.
"I'm a grown woman!" exclaimed La Brava.
"I hear that a lot, kid," said Joshua.
A couple minutes pass. Joshua hears sirens and turns around. A cop car pulls up behind him. Two cops exit their cop car.
"Here is his accomplice. She's a child, so go easy on her," said Joshua.
"What about the other one?" asked the police officer.
"He should be over there," said Joshua.
One of the police officers enters the construction site. He walks to the broken fence and sees nobody.
"Umm, no one's here!" exclaimed the police officer.
"What do you mean no one's here?" asked Joshua.
"That Gentle Criminal guy isn't here," said the police officer.
Joshua runs into the construction site. He sees that his backup suit was elasticated.
"I'll go get him," said Joshua.
Joshua rockets into the sky. He flies for thirty seconds until he sees Gentle Criminal running towards the hill. He flies down and lands in front of him. Gentle Criminal runs into him and falls to the ground.
"You have failed," said Joshua.
"My dream is for someone to finally notice me. I failed to become a hero. I failed to become famous. I won't fail again! My viewers want me to win and succeed! La Brava wants me to succeed! I will complete my caper!" said Gentle Criminal.
Gentle Criminal gets back up. He jumps back a few feet. He stomps on the ground and the ground elasticated. He bounces into the air.
"Are you trying to use that tactic again? It has already failed," said Joshua.
Joshua flies into the air. He rockets towards Gentle Criminal. Gentle Criminal elastics the air around him, rappelling Joshua's attack. Joshua is bounced back a few feet. He activates twenty percent of Full Cowling and rockets towards Gentle Criminal. Gentle Criminal repels his attack, but Joshua keeps on coming back. The more times he punches the elasticated air, the less he gets repelled. After a barrage of punches, Joshua's fist goes through the elasticated air and hits Gentle Criminal's face. Gentle Criminal starts to fall back until Joshua grabs his collar.
"Stop fighting and come with me," said Joshua.
"No chance," said Gentle Criminal.
Gentle Criminal puts his hand behind his back. He elasticates the air behind him and rockets towards Joshua. Joshua isn't fast enough to catch him and gets speared by Gentle Criminal. The two rocket towards U.A. Joshua uses his hands to maneuver their trajectory towards the forest. A minute passes and they land in the forest. Gentle Criminal tries to stand up, but Joshua grabs his foot and flips him. Joshua tries to grab him, but Gentle Criminal rolls over. He stands up and tries to run, but Joshua grabs two electric disks from his utility belt and throws it at him. They land on his back and he gets electrocuted. He falls to the ground.
"You are tenacious, but it's time for you to stop," said Joshua.
"Pardon her," said Gentle Criminal.
"What did you say?" asked Joshua.
"Pardon Manami Aiba," said Gentle Criminal.
"Why do you want to be the gentleman that you boast online now?" asked Joshua.
"She doesn't deserve this. I roped her in. I should take all of the blame," said Gentle Criminal.
"As long as you surrender, I'll see what I can do," said Joshua.
"I surrender," said Gentle Criminal.
"Good. My sensors are picking up that there are two heroes en route to deal with you. Just tell them that you were going to pull a prank on the school and you won't be in too much trouble," said Joshua.
"Thank you," said Gentle Criminal.
"I'm just doing my job," said Joshua.
Joshua flies off at top speed. He flies until he reaches the back of the theater building. He taps the center of his suit and it balls up. He puts it in his pocket and walks into the theater building. He sees his class ten feet in front of him. He grabs a leftover suit from an old desk and walks into the maintenance closet. A few minutes pass and he walks out. He walks up to his class.
"Where have you been? You said twenty minutes. It's been over an hour," said Mina.
Joshua pulls out the rope from his pocket.
"I had to deal with a prankster, but I have the rope right here," said Joshua.
"We're about to be on stage in a few minutes. Are you ready?" said Mina.
"I'm always ready," said Joshua.
Five minutes pass. Present Mic's voice appears on the intercom.
"Here we go first-years! Let's see what you got!" exclaimed Present Mic.
The curtains open. The crowd starts to shout out the last names of the most popular students. The lights on the stadium turn on to show Class 1-A prepared to start their performance.
"Let's do this dammit! Let's grab U.A and kill them with music!" exclaimed Bakugo.
The instrument players start to play their instruments elegantly. The dance squad chirps in to help enhance the performance.
"Are you ready?" asked Izuku.
"Oui," answered Aoyama.
Izuku throws Aoyama into the air. He uses his quirk to flash like a firecracker in the sky. He starts to fall and Ojiro grabs him. On the balcony, Kirishima, Sero, and Shoto use their quirks to create a fantastic display overhead. Tsuyu uses her tongue and grabs onto Ochaco's waist. She hovers above the crowd.
"Who wants to fly!" exclaimed Ochaco.
She puts her hand out. People in the audience start to give her a high five and they start to float. The crowd starts to cheer.
"I believe that we're doing amazing. Hopefully, Eri likes it," thought Joshua.
Ten minutes have passed and Class 1-A's performance is finally over. Joshua walks out of the theatre building and sees his brother and Eri outside. He walks up to them.
"That was amazing little bro. You should quit trying to become a hero and become a professional dancer instead," said Akuyaku.
"I'm very talented. You should know that," said Joshua.
"It was amazing!" exclaimed Eri.
Joshua hears the statement of the excited girl and smiles.
"At first, the loud noises were scary, but then everyone was dancing and jumping around! Then, there was a flashy light and then you disappeared. And then it got cold like "whoosh"! And the lights were spinning everywhere! That girl's singing was so intense! I loved it!" exclaimed Eri.
"I'm glad that you did. I put in extra time to make sure the performance was amazing for you," said Joshua.
Joshua kneels. Eri gives Joshua a big hug.
"Thank you. It was the best day ever!" said Eri.
"I'm glad that I could make it that," said Joshua.