The New Liberation Army
Hello everyone and welcome to the season finale of Hailstorm Vol. 2! And as you may already know, with the ending of this season comes yet another hiatus for this story. Now don't fret just yet because if what I've heard is true, the next season of My Hero Academia isn't too terribly far away. And when the anime resumes, this story shall also resume shortly afterwards. So, in recognition of that fact I've made an extra long chapter for you all to enjoy as we close out the Work Study Arc and prepare for the next arc. Now then, with no guest reviews this week, let's dive on in!
One Week After the Deika City Incident
The destruction that the League wrought in Deika City, much of it done by Shigaraki, obviously didn't go unnoticed by the press for long. Fortunately, the Superhuman Liberation Front were well-practiced liars who were good at concocting convenient excuses and their soldiers would stick to said stories like glue. In this case, the story that was circulated said that a criminal group used false information to lure the resident heroes away from the city before carrying out a coordinated attack. But the residents of Deika city stood together and fought back with the heroes eventually joining in once they'd realized what happened. In the resulting struggle, all twenty members of the criminal group were killed, though it cost the lives of several of the civilians in the process.
It was also noted that the CEO of Detnerat was present at the time and got caught up in the fighting where he was forced to amputate both legs to survive. Naturally there were those who said the use of quirks by untrained civilians made the damage worse, but most of the world at large was greatly impressed with the heroism of the Deika City residents. While there were several mysteries still left over, no one was looking too terribly hard to spot any inconsistencies. At least not right this minute which suited the League just fine as they already had a plan in the works.
Though Chimera's main concern at the moment was the blue woman beneath him, filling up the bedroom with the sound of her pleased moans before yelling out upon reaching her climax. "Oh Chimera," said the Purple-haired reporter breathlessly as said villain moved over next to her, "where in the world did you learn to do that kind of stuff to a woman?"
"I had one or two flings over the years," replied Chimera while putting his left arm around his bedside companion who hummed in contentment while resting her head against him, "one before I met All for One and another one after, though she died on the job."
"What happened with your first love?" She asked, again living up to her namesake 'Curious'.
"As said, just a fling," replied Chimera, "probably had a more active sex drive because of her rabbit quirk. We banged a few times but could never really get along with the way either one of us did things. One day she just, disappeared. Though that wasn't uncommon out in the boonies where I was."
"You know I researched your story," she said while slowly dragging her finger across his chest, "but there was a gap a few years wide in it. Truthfully there are still a lot of gaps that I haven't been able to fill in."
"Well to begin with," said Chimera as he lengthened his nails into small claws which he lightly raked against her back, eliciting a gasp from the blue-skinned reporter, "I obviously can't tell you about my time after meeting All for One. The man's kept a low profile for a long time and believe me when I say he's done some nasty things to keep it that way."
"I figured that might be the case," replied Curious before shifting her position to where she was laying on top of Chimera with her arms crossed under her chin, "but what I really want to hear right now, is how it all began for you?"
"I thought you said you did research on me already," commented Chimera as he put his hands behind his head.
"There's only so much one can learn about a person from just online research," replied Curious, "and up close and personal interviews are said to be one of the best ways to move people's hearts. Though I think I'll keep this particular one between me and you."
"Most definitely a wise decision," said Chimera as he pushed some of her hair out of her eye, "there'd be only so much I could tell you anyway. But if you found my old records online then I might as well fill in the basics of what happened then."
"That's what I really want to hear," she said as she put her hands on either side of his head, "what was it that happened to you? What pushed you to become this, or were you simply always like this?"
"Why don't I start and let you decide on that," replied Chimera before clearing his throat, "my early life wasn't all that complicated. I had a good father and a loving mother who cared for me and raised me to be a well-behaved boy. Then my quirk manifested, and things started to change. You see my father was an actor who used his quirk of shapeshifting his body to play all kinds of creatures, monsters and otherworldly beings. My mother was a costume designer who could sprout multiple different types of limbs out of her hands and arms which allowed her to create extraordinarily elaborate pieces for people of all shapes, sizes and quirks."
"They met on many different collaborations and eventually fell for each other. As you can imagine, two unique quirks like that sometimes mix and create an even more unique quirk, in this case my Flesh Beast quirk. Now I know what you're gonna ask: 'Did my quirk terrify my parents?' 'Did it scare people and make me an outcast of society?' 'Did I develop a fascination with ingesting people because of my quirk?' The answer to that lies somewhere in between the last two."
"How do you mean," questioned Curious, the look in her eyes one of near entrancement as she silently urged him to continue.
"My parents actually accepted me and the strange quirk I had, saying that it was its own unique work of art," explained Chimera after pausing for dramatic effect, "it's not so surprising when I consider that my parents dealt with weird looking things almost everyday. But naturally not everyone was as understanding about it as they were. Many found my quirk odd or disgusting, saying the strange limbs I could produce made them uneasy. At one point some bullies tried to get the better of me and I scared the shit out of them so bad they never came within a hundred feet of me ever again."
"Were you like a lot of other children at that time?" Asked Curious, "did you want to be a hero?"
"I did," said Chimera, "I saw how some heroes out there looked more like villains in their quirks or appearances and thought to myself 'if they can do it, then surely I can too.' That line of thought would prove to be my, can I really call it my undoing? I'll just say what happened and let you decide on that. But getting back to the story, it was a rather average weekend day and I'd been on my way home from running a quick errand at the nearby market when a hero and villain came crashing down in front of me."
Curious shifted slightly upon hearing this, here attention now fully focused on him as she knew this was where things really changed for him. "The two of them were grappling, the hero was Gunhead back when he'd first started out. He was faced with a villain capable of extending and altering the size of his limbs which gave him an advantage in such a contest. I was frozen for a moment, knowing I had to do something before I leapt forward with the first thing that came to mind, the giant head of a flesh lion."
"They said the villain Gunhead was fighting that day was called 'Stilt Gripper'," Curious mused aloud, "a surprisingly tricky villain despite having a rather silly name."
"Well whatever his name was to the people," said Chimera, "he had a different name for me: 'The First Meal'. The flesh lion I summoned crunched his head right off and consumed it, as if by some sort of instinct. I remember being ecstatic at the time thinking 'I'd actually managed to help a hero'. Though as your research may have revealed, not everyone else thought that way."
"Try most people," said Curious before resting her head on his chest and drawing circles with her finger, "I actually got a chance to interview one of the people who saw it, they were horrified. They were all saying things like 'how could he do that' and 'what's wrong with him'. Most were certain any hopes you had of being a hero were over after that."
"Some people stood up for me," replied Chimera, "my parents and a number of their friends said I hadn't meant to bite the villain's whole head off or that I panicked and reacted on instinct. Though it definitely hurt my chances of ever getting into a prestigious school. But the oddest part about it all, is that I don't remember being upset in the slightest."
"And why's that?" Asked Chitose as she shifted her position to look him in the eye again, "was that how you discovered your thirst for blood?"
"Something like that," said Chimera, "I learned that day that I'd been subconsciously forming digestive systems for many of the flesh beast limbs I created. And after getting a taste of human flesh, all regular food didn't taste as good anymore. It was like discovering the taste of real authentic food after having tasted imitations your whole life, you just don't want to go back. So one night I was leaving school early and decided to take a little detour into the less friendly part of town."
"The Lower District," hummed Curious, "a string of murders occurred there but no one was ever able to catch the culprit because all that was usually left at the scene of an attack were sploches of blood and the occasional limb. So that really was you?"
"I honestly didn't know what I was thinking the first time," said Chimera, "I was a kid wandering around, actually waiting for someone to try and jump me. I figured at the time as long as they attacked first then I'd be killing them in self defense. And eventually, some punk in a brown hoodie and his small gang tried to rob me. I tore them all to pieces and swallowed them with Flesh Beast, clothes and all. That was the night I was certain about what I was, a cannibal. And it felt absolutely incredible."
"I recall seeing a report from just a few years ago," said Curious, "it took them months to finally catch you in the act. At first whole gangs disappeared and then it was just a few individuals at a time. There was no clear pattern at first other than the area where you hunted."
"I did my best not to leave any forensic evidence that would point to me," said Chimera, "I swapped to just eating the occasional individual because eating whole gangs got too much blood on my clothes. You can only make so many excuses to your parents about why you came home without your uniform before they start getting suspicious. I also tried to keep the timing of my feedings inconsistent because forming a coherent pattern is exactly what I didn't want to do. Though even with all of those precautions they eventually caught up to me with a surprisingly clever sting operation."
"The police sent a number of undercover operatives there, if I recall," said Curious, "they'd been doing it at random hoping to get even a whiff of you."
"And by pure chance I picked a night where they had the most undercover cops out looking for me," said Chimera, "turns out that random interval thing works both ways. I wound up trying to eat Mirko of all people and she kicked me a block away before some other heroes converged on our location. I used the classic sewer escape method and headed home."
"I remember the interview," said Curious, "your parents were devastated, said you'd come home beaten to a pulp. But what really broke their hearts was when you revealed what you'd been doing."
"I knew if a hero ID'd me that'd be it," said Chimera, "I wasn't quite the monster then that I am now and felt it was at least right to tell them goodbye. They deserved at least that much after everything they'd done for me."
"You're saying you became more monstrous afterwards?" Questioned Curious with a tilt of her head.
"I went from one rundown place to the next," said Chimera, "abandoned warehouses, old plants, the tunnels of the sewers, the ruins of construction sites, the woods and even the mountains. Do you know what you find when you go to places like that these days?" The Villain rolled over suddenly, getting an excited yelp from Curious as he now hovered over top of her. "Some of the strangest and most vile quirk formations imaginable. People who long stopped being people and became the stuff of nightmares. I was among the forgotten, the cast out, the monsters. I struggled, fought, endured and devoured, climbing the food chain of that world until I stood atop it as one of the scariest monsters around."
He moved in closer then and whispered in her ear, "and it was during that time that I first met, All for One, and my world changed forever again."
"How much," said Curious breathlessly, his voice and the feel of his breath causing her to shudder in excitement, "how much did your life change after that?"
"Quite a bit," said Chimera before gently nipping her neck, "but we'll save that for next time. Right now, I'm in the mood for another session." Curious might've been disappointed with that if the villain didn't immediately start exploring her more sensitive areas. Before long, the room was filled with passionate moans once again.
A Short Few Minutes Later: A Semi-Secret Waiting Room
"Damn, where have you been," questioned Spinner as his Cannibalistic teammate walked into the room. It was a surprisingly sparse room despite its size with one comfy looking green couch and a short table topped with the remains of a sushi meal the rest of the League had been eating. There was a massive blue rug in the room with a floral pattern that helped give it some character, albeit of the generic sort. The only other furniture pieces in the room were a box that Twice was using as both a shrine and a seat, along with a bean bag chair that Toga was currently sitting in. The knife-wielding blond was currently sporting an eye patch over her left eye, courtesy of her run-in with Curious back at Deika City.
"Just having a lively discussion about future propaganda with our resident interviewer," replied Chimera while stretching a bit, "and answering some more questions for here again."
"I still can't believe you didn't kill that woman," said Toga, "she nearly blows me to bits and what do you do when you find her, send her off with the medics. I swear if you let her anywhere near me-."
"Don't worry about that, Toga," assured Chimera, "I think her interest is more on me at the moment. So long as I keep it that way and give her bullshit answers about you, she should keep away." It honestly had been an interesting situation. During the cleanup Chimera had been walking by the mass of bodies Toga had made by copying Uraraka's quirk and noticed some movement from Curious. She'd somehow gotten lucky and landed on some of the corpses of her followers, reducing the force of her impact with the ground.
She was still grievously injured, but the Cannibal Villain had decided he was full at the time and that it might be better to keep the Liberation Army's leadership fully intact, at least for now. He later learned that she'd apparently heard his speech to Hanabata through her barely functioning earpiece before it died. She'd been enamored with him ever since and was directing the same level of curiosity she had for Toga on to him, though with a lot more loving and a lot less trying to blow him up. At least, once again, for now.
"Just remember that our objective takes priority over you getting a little action," said Dabi.
"We've still got some time before things really start moving," said Chimera with his arms crossed, "and besides, the rest of you have gotten to enjoy the spoils of our last battle. Not just the topnotch medical treatment but the nice warm beds and fine foods. If you asked, they'd probably be able to find a woman who's interested in you too."
"I'll pass," said Dabi, "it just sounds like another headache to deal with in the long run."
"I might think about it," said Spinner, "but I'm too busy enjoying the sushi they brought."
"You didn't eat all the ones with the shrimp bits on them, did you?" Asked Chimera.
"Yeah but don't worry," said Spinner, "I hear they got plenty more where this came from."
"No, the reason I ask is because that was mine and it wasn't sushi," said Chimera, "it was pieces of someone who had a shrimp quirk."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT?!" Exclaimed Spinner as he started spitting out some of what he'd just ate while his teammate proceeded to laugh his ass off.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he said while wiping a tear from his eye, "though I should mention I have done that before."
"You're disgusting," said Dabi with a shake of his head. Any further conversation was halted as Hanabata walked in accompanied by a lanky man wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and pants with long hair that went past his shoulders and often covered his eyes. This was Skeptic, the one in charge of much of the Liberation Army's computer needs as well as one of its commanders.
"It's time," said Skeptic as he pointed towards the door they'd just come from.
"Shut up!" Exclaimed Twice, "we're still eating our sushi!" Though his disagreement was quickly forgotten as he immediately switched to phrases like 'alright' and 'where we goin'?' Apparently attempted psychological treatment had only made him worse. Now he sounded like there were even more people in his head.
"That sushi was paid for by 'our' money," said Skeptic in clear annoyance as they all exited the room and stepped onto an elevator. "The medical treatment, video editing and even Toga's coat were also paid for by 'our' money."
"And if it weren't for us," said Twice, "that baldy would be in the hospital instead of this hideout!"
"And I recall that said money is Re-Destro's money, whom our leader defeated," said Chimera, "according to your own Liberation ideology, because his quirk is superior then so is his position. That makes it 'our' money that we're spending, and I highly doubt we've taken even a cent out of your paycheck, so quit acting like you've got a reason to whine about it."
"Why you-," the Computer Genius started to say before being cut off by Hanabata.
"That's enough Skeptic," he said as they stepped off the elevator into a large, ornate, entrance hall before descending a flight of stairs, "these are the ones who the grand-ahem-I mean Re-Destro chose. And Re-Destro's words still carry the same weight as Destro's." No more conversation was shared between the two leaders of the Liberation Army and the League of Villains after that as they approached a wall next to the staircase. A hidden switch caused part of the wall to slide open, revealing a secret staircase which led to a subterranean level.
It was there, beyond another large door where a mass of Liberation Warriors of all varying shapes and sizes awaited down below with Gigantomachia standing in the middle and rising high above everyone else. Though even he wasn't quite as high as the stage which the League was now waiting to step out onto. "Welcome and thank you all for coming, Liberation Warriors," announced Re-Destro, who'd already been present, "I'm Re-Destro of the Meta Liberation Army!" The man was currently seated in a large, rounded chair equipped with several wheels on the bottom. Naturally he wasn't going to be walking around much anymore ever since Shigaraki's decay quirk reduced his legs to nothing.
But that didn't seem to be putting a damper on his enthusiasm as he continued his speech. "Tonight, the Metahuman Liberation Army shall be reborn!" Sitting next to him, dressed in a suit and tie along with a massive, red fury cape was Shigaraki. Both his left arm and leg were in a cast as they hadn't completely healed from the battle yet. Amazingly, one of the hands which made up his old costume had somehow survived the fight in Deika city and was adorning his face. 'To this day I still don't know how he can see with that thing on his face,' mused Chimera as the massive door slid open and the rest of the League slowly stepped out onto the stage.
"Until the day we fought them, I'd believed without a doubt that the League was an obstacle," continued Re-Destro, "but I realize now I had blinders on! I had not realized that I was a prisoner of blood who could not break free from what I'd been taught. But on that day, I saw a new liberation! So do not see this as surrender, for Tomura Shigaraki is one who is truly free! His freedom filled me with awe and has necessitated my abdication! So from this moment on, the Liberation Army recognizes Tomura Shigaraki as the grand commander and its second coming! So as we walk down a deeper path to liberation, the Metahuman Liberation Army and the League of Villains will unite under a new name!"
Chimera and the other League members started moving towards the front of the stage then. "The idea came from me and the League of Villains Spinner! Now if you'd please, Tomura Shigaraki!"
"The Paranormal Liberation Front," Shigaraki said simply as the rest of the League moved up beside him, some showing off a bit more than others. "Pushing aside the name of 'villain' and allowing the metaframework to be interpreted more broadly. And the ten people on the stage will be my lieutenants. Teams will be assigned based on what they need. Anyway, the name's the same as this," he said while pulling the hand off of his face, revealing the numerous bandages over it, "it's just decoration. We'll do what we want."
A great cheer rose in response to Shigaraki, or rather, the new Grand Commander's words. The excitement in the air was palpable for quite a while then, even after the gathered Liberation warriors had departed. Once they had, Re-Destro moved over to speak with them. "Well done today!" He said, maybe a little too enthusiastically as he rubbed his hands together at quite a speed, "would you like something to drink?"
"Buzz off," said Shigaraki off-handedly as he got up from his chair.
"With pleasure!" Exclaimed Re-Destro as he raced off as fast as his chair could carry him. His next words were on the radio. "Trumpet, we're heading out!" Chimera might've remarked on how quick an exit the former Grand Commander made, but the sound of Shigaraki falling over drew his attention instead.
"It's amazing you're still alive with all of the damage you took," said Compress as he moved forward to help Shigaraki up.
"The Paranormal Liberation Front," said the voice of the Doctor on their radios suddenly, "what a flashy name, or at least it's better than a cheap name like the League of Villains."
"Like I said, it's just decoration," said Shigaraki, "but more importantly, Machia listened to me. I think I reached that minimum level you were talking about."
"Yes, your memory's back," observed the Doctor, "you and your quirk have both returned to who you were made to be. So as promised, I will grant you power if that is still what you wish." Chimera didn't even need to look to know that Shigaraki was grinning evilly.
1 Month Later: U.A. Training Grounds
"Die humans!" Exclaimed the numerous green training bots as they rushed towards their target, "fall before the might of Skynet!"
"Should I be concerned that these machines are referencing Terminator," said Slade as he leapt up and shot his cables into the ground. "Because those are some red flag phrases right there!" He then pulled himself forward while twisting his body into a corkscrew maneuver with heightened density. "Gravity Drill!" The entire mass of charging robots was reduced to scrap as Slade smashed right through them with surprising ease.
"Guess that means it's good news we're wrecking them," said Clay as he came down and shot out several branch-like clouds which connected with another group of training robots that had surrounded Slade, "Root Lightning!" Electricity surged from the center of the cloud formation Clay had created, quickly frying the machine's circuitry before they partially exploded and collapsed to the ground in a heap.
"Yes, excellent work!" Said All Might as he and some of the other students applauded their new maneuvers, "you still work together flawlessly even despite not having done so for a while. What else did you learn at your internships?"
"I learned how to better incorporate acrobatics into my attacks," replied Slade.
"And I learned more fine control with my thunderstorm generation," answered Clay.
"Which you've demonstrated wonderfully," said All Might, "alright, who's up next?" A show of hands raised in reply to this as the exercise continued. The goal was relatively simple, use what new moves or tricks you learned during your internship to take out the training bots. It was as much for the teacher as it was for the students, allowing everyone to grasp just how much further they'd advanced. And there had been a lot of improvement.
Like Clay and Slade, some of the students came back with new moves like Aoyama's Naval Saber or Mina's Acidman attack which covered her whole body in acid. Others came back with more efficient ways to deal with their enemies like Kirishima making his opponents quickly lose the will to fight or Ojiro downing his own opponents with a flurry of interconnected moves. Then there were those who'd increased their ability to work as a team such as the combo of Mineta, Sero and Kaminari. The rest of the class managed to at least increase their overall abilities like Tsuyu, Uraraka, Todoroki and Bakugou.
Though the one who showed the most notable improvement was Midoriya. In just a few weeks he'd gone from barely being able to generate Black Whip to producing several tendrils while on the move and using them to reel in multiple opponents before kicking them apart with Full Cowling. A fact that several of the other class members took notice of. "Hey Midoriya, you can use the black stuff now," Mineta pointed out excitedly.
"You'll make my quirk obsolete if you keep it up," joked Sero as some of the other students gathered around to congratulate him. But it was at that moment something occurred to Midoriya, prompting him to rush over to Uraraka. "Uraraka," he said while holding up his hand, "I can use it properly now. So thanks for what you did back then."
"Oh, that was so long ago," laughed the Gravity girl as she indicated her pink gauntlets, "you know I put these wires in because of that. I can't use them like Sero can, but I took that experience and made it into something useful a long time ago, so we've both improved." The two bumped fists then and smiled at each other while Clay and Slade watched from a short distance away.
"How about that, he's speaking normally to a girl so far," quipped Clay while checking the valves on his costume, "that's some real improvement right there."
"Wonder if we should get him ready for the kissing phase," mused Slade, only half-joking. He really would like their friend to at least try to have a relationship, especially with how uncertain things were now. Though that concern was put on the back burner as Momo, Jirou and Mina came over.
"Hey guys," said Mina with a slight twirl, "so what did you think of the new move? I got the idea from Kirishima's Unbreakable trick."
"I wouldn't want to fight you up close when you use that," said Clay, "you did get all of the acid off of you, right, because-Hello!" Mina had decided to answer his question with a hug.
"I don't know," she teased while rubbing against him, "does it feel like I've still got any acid on me?"
"Mina," said Jirou as she pulled the pink-skinned girl away, "save it for the date. We're still in class right now."
"Easy for you to say," replied Mina, "you got to spend close to a month with him and give him hugs whenever you wanted."
"That's, uh," Jirou started to say but couldn't think of a good retort as a slight blush appeared on her face.
"She is right though, Mina," said Momo, "we are still in class right now. But look on the bright side, you get to celebrate the end of your school year with a date."
"You know that's the only reason I was even okay with him being alone with Jirou for so long," said Mina, "that and I never got an offer from Gang Orca."
"Even if you had he was full up on interns," said Clay, "taking on three students while running an organization keeps one busy. And that's not including the running of the remedial exams he did."
"Well we'll just have to make up for lost time," said Mina cheerfully as she took Clay by the hand and led him back towards the exit of the training ground with the rest of the class.
"I'm starting to dislike this idea more and more," said Jirou as she, Slade and Momo also started walking back to the classroom, "I know I said he was basically hers for the day, but it still kind of irks me to see them together."
"I don't think you should have anything to worry about," said Momo, "like Mina said, you were with him for nearly a whole month. I can't think of many things she could do that would change his mind in one day."
"You're probably right, but I can't help wondering," replied Jirou, "I mean if Mina was going out on a date tonight with Slade, how would you be feeling? Though you've got the killer bod so maybe you wouldn't be worried at all."
"Oh I'd still be worried," said Momo, "Mina is a carefree individual who's a lot of fun to be around. And she's pretty enough that my looks might not make that much of a difference. So the real possibility exists that she could snatch Slade right out from under me."
"You could try having a little bit more faith in me," said Slade as he put an arm around Momo's shoulders and pulled her close, "Mina is fun to be around, but she's not my type. If the beauty doesn't have any brains, then my interest level goes way down. But you've got more brains than a lot of people I've met, and you just happened to be mildly attractive too."
"Only mildly," said Momo with a smile while elbowing him in the ribs, "and here I thought you were awe inspired by my beauty while we were at our internship."
"Huh," said Slade, "sorry I didn't hear what you said I was too busy being awestruck by your beauty." The two laughed then while Jirou rolled her eyes a bit. 'Glad someone's having a good day,' she thought, 'guess there really is nothing to do but wait and see what happens.'
A Short Time Later: Teacher's Lounge
"Congrats on finally getting Black Whip under control," complimented All Might. He'd called Midoriya, Clay, Slade and Bakugou to the room for a quick progress report as soon as class had ended. Though Clay found himself somewhat preoccupied with another matter.
"Thank you so much," said Midoriya as he bowed his head in gratitude.
"You too, young Bakugou," he said as he turned to the annoyed looking blond, "I feel like there's no limit to how far you'll go." The Explosion Quirk user responded with a quick 'the heck!' to his statement. All Might ignored it, however, as he pulled out a notebook he'd compiled.
"In the end, I couldn't figure all of them out," said All Might, "but hopefully you can still move forward with this." He set the notebook down as Clay quickly read its title: 'Previous Successor Quirks'. "So now we need to move onto the next step. I collected as many details about the previous holders of One for All that I could find. But even after exhaustive searching I couldn't turn up anything about the second or third users. It was difficult to keep accurate records during that time period, though it's always possible they may have tried to leave some sign of their quirks…."
"Who cares about any of that," said Bakugou, "get to the point. I don't want to waste my precious time on you guys."
"No one made you come here," Clay pointed out, "and no one'll stop you from leaving if you want to go." Bakugou simply hmphed and turned away again. Midoriya spoke up after that.
"When it comes to my progress on Black Whip, I can only maintain it for a second," he said, "so I can't wield it exactly like Mr. Aizawa or Sero. But as a support ability, it's a really powerful quirk."
"Have you had any of those weird visions since the last one?" Questioned Slade as Bakugou picked up the notebook and leafed through it. Midoriya answered in the negative as the Blond spoke up.
"The Fifth User: Lariat," read Bakugou, "real name: Daigoro Banjo, Quirk: Black Whip. Using energy threads released from his body, he excelled at capture and midair maneuvers." He flipped another couple of pages before speaking again. "It's the same for this guy, none of the previous users started out with strong quirks. I've never heard of any of these guys."
"Really, but they're all really amazing quirks," said Izuku.
"Every quirk is amazing according to your small fry perspective," said Bakugou in slight annoyance.
"That's because all quirks are amazing to one degree or another," said Slade, "your explosion quirk is only good because you've honed it and come up with inventive ways to use it."
"But young Bakugou isn't necessarily wrong in this case," said All Might, "All for One was stuck on One for All. During a time where evil was more powerful than you can imagine, All for One completely crushed anyone who was considered strong. It was possible through his unstoppable ill will and influence. So struggling in extreme conditions as they died, the past users entrusted this power to those of the future, spinning it together. They weren't 'chosen ones' in a fight that kept repeating itself, just 'ones who were entrusted' and 'those who entrusted'."
"No wonder they all died young," said Bakugou as he dropped the notebook. Midoriya went to read the previous users death dates and noted that he was right.
"Yes, they all did," said All Might as he hung his head a bit lower.
"Well, what are you gonna make the damn nerd learn next?" Questioned Bakugou irritably.
"The next Quirk you'll need to learn, is Float," said All Might with a determined expression, "the Quirk that belonged to my master."
"I WIN!" Exclaimed Bakugou, making everyone in the room jump, "I can already float with explosions! You're gonna waste time learning how to do something I can already do! So while you're doing that I'll be polishing my skills at the work study! So I'll be ahead of you!"
"Technically you don't float," said Clay, "otherwise you'd remain suspended in the air."
"What, I'm totally floating when I'm in the air!" Bakugou shot back confidently.
"Not really," said Slade, "what you're doing is propelling yourself through the air with your explosions. You aren't able to remain in a single spot for more than a second before you start falling again, even when you're letting off multiple explosions really quickly. It's closer to say that you're 'rocket jumping' or dare I say, 'double jumping'."
"Screw both of you, I totally am floating when I use my explosions!" Exclaimed Bakugou.
"Well either way it still means I need to learn this quick so that I can catch up," said Midoriya. Bakugou rounded on him and said it wasn't going to happen and before long the conversation devolved into little more than throwing around banter and varying definitions on the word 'Float'. Most of them would agree later that this particular meeting had gone fairly well.
That Night: U.A. Heights Alliance
"You sure this is how you want to do this," said Clay, "we're kind of running out on everyone in the middle of the hot pot party. Not to mention, it's kind of a cold night." Not that Clay could really talk given that he was only wearing a thick black hoodie with a killer whale symbol on it, complements of Gang Orca. Mina was wearing a slightly heavy, blue and yellow coat. But inspite of the cold she was still smiling.
"Oh it'll be fine," said Mina as she grabbed a hold of Clay's arm and began to lead him off the campus, "we're not going to be gone all night. Just long enough to have a nice time."
"If you say so," replied Clay, "I'll admit I am really curious what sorts of things you'd have planned for a date."
"Well if we weren't so busy and it wasn't quite so late I'd take you to a nice dance place," said Mina, "but since we've already had so much food I went with another option. There's this little place I know of not too far away, though it is still a pretty good walk."
"Not a problem for me," said Clay, "it's actually not a terrible night for a stroll even with the minor chill."
"I certainly don't mind it," said Mina as she rested her head against his shoulder, "just gives me another excuse to snuggle with the boy I like." Clay knew he probably should've commented that even if she had agreed to this date, he and Jirou were still technically a couple. But for whatever reason he didn't want to ruin the happy look on the pinkette's face and decided instead to let their walk slide into a comfortable silence. Not long after that, the two arrived at the place Mina had mentioned.
To Clay's surprise, it was actually a two-story café with a large, glass roof as its main attraction. "What is this place exactly," said the Cloud Wielder as he looked over the building.
"They call it the Starlit Café," explained Mina, "they've only been open for a couple of months but there are already a ton of rave reviews about this place. My family told me about it a week or so ago and I've been dying to give it a try."
"Hope that means you have a few good recommendations from the menu then," said Clay as he pushed the door open and the two of them walked in, "because even if I'm not that hungry, you know how much soda I can drink."
"The more absurd part is how you can do that and not be running to the bathroom every few minutes," said Mina as she looked up at him with a smirk. The two stopped in front of one of the waiters then with Mina requesting that they get a table on the second floor. Thankfully there were a few open and they didn't have to wait all that long to get seated. "So they tell me the drink mixes are pretty good here, since you don't like coffee for some reason."
"It's an acquired taste that I never bothered to acquire," replied Clay as he flipped through the menu and landed on a section with different types of hot chocolate, "but this will go great with the time of year. Wonder if they do seasonal stuff here?"
"I think they had a special on cookie and candycane flavored stuff not too long ago," said Mina as the waitress came. The two quickly told her their orders before resuming their conversation. "But the big reason I wanted to come here at this hour is up there." She pointed to the large glass ceiling. It was, thankfully, a very clear night and due to the positioning of the building as well as the way they had their lights set up, it made the stars quite visible.
"Now that is something," said Clay, "I never took you for the stargazing type."
"It's something I've been doing a bit more lately," said Mina, "I've always been good at moving around on the ground and everything, but more and more I'm finding myself wondering what it's like up in the sky." The waitress had returned at that point and set their orders down and the two took a quick sip to see if they liked what they'd gotten. Thankfully, the answer was yes as the cookies n' crème flavored hot chocolate that Clay had gotten was quite tasty and Mina's own hot chocolate with cream and sprinkles was clearly agreeing with her taste buds.
"Not bad," admitted Clay, "if it's not too expensive I might stop by here a bit more often."
"Glad you like it," said Mina, "means the first part of the date is going off without a hitch." She leaned back a bit then and got kind of a distant look in her eye as she gazed at the ceiling again. "I've been meaning to ask. What's it like up there?"
"Depends on what you mean when you say 'up there'," replied Clay.
"When you're flying up in the sky," said Mina, "and it's dark out, what's it like?" Clay crossed his arms as he tried to think of a good way to explain the sensation.
"Typically I try to avoid flying too high at night," said Clay, "I can make exceptions for well-lit areas, but most of the time I just don't unless I have too?"
"Why is that?" Questioned Mina with slight tilt of her head, "Is it that scary?"
"In a manner of speaking," said Clay, "at the speeds I move sometimes it'd hurt more than a little if I happened to run headlong into a concrete wall or a steel girder. And before you say anything, no, I can't always move at a slower pace. You've seen how fast projectile attacks can be especially if they're launched one after the other."
"But what about when you're on patrol," said Mina, "or better yet, what's it like when you decide to fly just for the heck of it?"
"It's been a long time since I flew at night for the heck of it," said Clay, "though there was this one time during my work study with Gang Orca that I decided to just go for it."
"Oh, what happened exactly," said Mina as she propped up her head with her hands, gazing at him expectedly.
"We were asked to look into some smuggling in one of the harbors," said Clay, "we'd gotten there late and there wasn't much else to do but wait for the shipment that was going to show up the next day. Despite that, Gang Orca had us do a preliminary sweep anyway to see if we were gonna find anything. At one point I was high in the air looking out over the water where the light was blocked off by the stacked-up shipping containers. It felt like I could see for miles yet at the same time like I couldn't see anything more than five feet in front of me, until I looked up."
"Could you see the stars that night?" Asked Mina, "Or the moon?"
"It was a new moon that night," said Clay, "but there weren't any clouds, so I could see the stars in all directions above me. And when I moved out a little further where the water was calm, I could see the star's reflections. It was an incredible sight, almost like I was riding on a cloud through space with the entire galaxy in front of me. I felt small then, yet at the same time I felt excited because it was like looking out at a place with endless possibilities."
"Wow," said Mina, "do moments like those happen a lot when you're flying?"
"I wouldn't say a lot," answered the Cloud Rider, "but I'd be lying if I said flying wasn't one of the more enjoyable aspects of my quirk. It's certainly come in handy quite a few times and given the way things are going I'll no doubt make plenty more uses of it in the future."
"Yeah, the future," said Mina as she leaned back in her chair with a sigh, "to think in just three months we'll no longer be freshmen. We'll actually have underclassmen and the big three will graduate and then U.A. will need to find a new big three. We aren't gonna be the newbies anymore and students will probably come to us for advice on what to expect."
"The first thing we should warn them about is not to freak out when it comes to Uncle Aizawa," said Clay, "it'll save them a lot of the freakouts our class was doing at first. But leave out the part where he's my Uncle. The last thing I want is a bunch of underclassmen coming to me and asking if I can get him to let up, because I haven't gotten that man to let up once in all sixteen years of my life. You should've heard the lecture he gave me the first time he saw me flying around on my clouds."
"Geez, glad he wasn't my Uncle," said Mina, "I lost count of the number of holes I burned in things when I first discovered my quirk." The two laughed at that before falling into a nice conversation that flowed from one topic to the next. They continued talking about how much they'd been through since school started, some of the crazy tests they'd passed, what each one thought was the funniest moment of the year. Clay found it quite interesting when he thought about it.
He could probably count with the fingers on one hand the number of times it had just been him and Mina in the same room. And while he had taken Jirou on a couple of dates now he admittedly still got a bit nervous about the prospect of dating. Or so he'd expected, but somehow Mina was able to get him to relax in a way similar to how Jirou did, but without music involved. 'Guess I should be thankful I've got a better sense of humor than Uncle,' thought Clay, 'or Mina might wind up being my Miss Joke real fast.'
But he put that thought aside for now as their conversation rounded back to flying. "So I guess I should ask," Clay said, "why was it you were so curious about what it was like to fly around at night?"
"Well," said Mina, actually appearing a little bashful for once, "I'd actually been wondering this for a while, what it would be like to fly through the air? Honestly, I was kinda hoping you might consider taking me up tonight, on one of your clouds."
"You want to watch the night sky while floating on a cloud," said Clay.
"If you do I promise I'll take care of the bill tonight," said Mina as she clapped her hands together, "it just sounds like it'd be so fun. I know we might get in trouble if we're caught but we can probably come up with-."
"Sure," said Clay, interrupting her before she got carried away, "got anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"
"Wait, you'll do it," said Mina, more than a little surprised, "are, uh, are you positive? We really could get into trouble."
"There's something of a gap we can use," said Clay, "the park where Midoriya does his runs isn't usually as heavily patrolled as some of the other areas, at least not by flying heroes."
"Why am I surprised that you know that," said Mina, "I mean I know you've chatted about the campus's security before but were you actually finding blind spots in it?"
"After U.A.'s own security issues all throughout the year I figured it'd be best to spot at least a couple places where another attack might come from," said Clay, "but the good thing about this part of the park is that it's just out of sight of U.A. So long as we don't go too near the school, no one will notice."
"You sound like you've been thinking about this harder than I have," said Mina with a raised eyebrow, "wait a minute. Have you taken Jirou there already?"
"Not there specifically," said Clay, "but I did take her up once during the work studies."
"Guess you would when you get to spend a month with her," said Mina with a sigh, "but you're sure you haven't taken her up in this specific location?"
"Not once," said Clay, "this'll be the first time I've ever tried stargazing from that particular spot. And you'll be the first girl I've ever had stargazing with me in that spot."
"I guess that'll work well enough," said Mina as she pulled out some money, "so we'd best not waste too much more time. It'll get late before we know it."
"You get the bill and I'll get the tip," offered Clay while pulling out some of his own money.
"I can work with that," said Mina while flashing her trademark smile.
A Short Time Later: The Park Just Outside of U.A.
"So I am curious about one thing," said Mina as they walked along the concrete path of the park with grass and trees on either side of them. The path itself was lit by numerous streetlamps which had been placed every few feet or so. "Was it you or Midoriya who noticed that this place was kind of a blindspot?"
"Midoriya noticed there weren't a lot of patrols here," said Clay, "I was the one who figured out that it was because we were on the edge of U.A.'s patrol range and just within another hero's jurisdiction. As mentioned, if we go too far towards the school the security system will detect us. But the hero who patrols this area is groundbased and won't show up for another few minutes, meaning," Clay put an arm around Mina's waste as he formed his cloud greaves and gauntlets, "if we go now, we won't have any problems."
Mina didn't need to be told to grab him and hold on tight as they quickly ascended into the air. As the two went, Clay started producing more and more clouds which he let trail out with the slight breeze in much the same manner as an actual cloud. Before long, they were up just high enough that the wind wasn't too stiff but that anyone looking up would think they were just a small, slow-moving cloud. Mina let go of Clay then while steadying herself on the newly created cloud platform.
"Wow, we're so high up," she said after getting down on all fours to peer over the edge of the cloud.
"Yep," said Clay as he laid down with his hands behind his head, "I originally came up with this little trick for recon on cloudy and semi-cloudy days. Though it usually works best with those who have sensory quirks. But in the rare moments where I just want to use my quirk for something besides school, this is one of the things I use it for."
"I can see why," said Mina as she fell back while also putting her hands behind her head, "from up here it almost feels like we've left all our problems behind."
"It's fun to think so for at least a little bit," said Clay, "even the best of the best need a break from time to time. And it seems like we'll be winding up the best whether we like it or not some days."
"That is why we came to U.A. though, isn't it," said Mina as she glanced at him, "to be the best?"
"You're not wrong," said Clay, "and I did mention once that U.A. was also the most convenient place for me. But even by U.A.'s standards we've exceeded the curriculum at least a little bit. Thanks to the League of Villains, the school's changed its policies and testing multiple times now. That's not even mentioning the number of dangerous things we've had to deal with before even getting our provisional licenses. It's been sink or swim since the first week and I'm certain no one in class feels like sinking."
"That reminds me," said Mina as she rolled over a bit and put her head on Clay's shoulder, "we should all go swimming some time. You, me, Jirou, Slade, Momo. The last time we did anything even remotely close was when everyone got together to use the school pool for exercise. Not entirely sure if that counts."
"That's assuming we can find the time," said Clay, "our work studies aren't over yet and there's still the occasional bit of schoolwork to do."
"No, no talking about schoolwork," Mina groaned as she rolled back on her back, "let's just take a rare moment to be unproductive for a bit."
"Just try not to fall asleep," said Clay, "some of the others might get the wrong idea if I showed back up carrying you."
"I don't think we'll have anything to worry about," said Mina as she grabbed his hand in her own, "I might be a bit worn out, but my eyes are still wide open. How could they not be with so many stars out?"
"It is quite a sight above the noise and bright lights of the city," agreed Clay as the two of them fell into a comfortable silence while staring at the stars. In all honesty, the Cloud Wielder himself often wished he could fall asleep and still maintain his quirk. The thought of falling asleep on one of his clouds had always been an enticing one, but also one that had proven to be out of reach at the moment. If he did actually fall asleep, his control on his clouds would slip and they'd dissolve in midair which would make for more than a little of a rude awakening.
So he instead did what he always did and tried to relax, exercising just enough concentration on his cloud to keep it solid and in its current state. Though after another moment, it would be Mina who'd be threatening his concentration as she rolled over and straddled him this time. "You know Clay," she said, "we were having such a fun time I almost forgot to ask you something important."
"Important how?" Questioned the Cloud User, wondering if he should be worried about where this was going.
"When Jirou and I agreed to each go out on a date with you before you decided who you wanted to be with more," said Mina, "we never really picked a time for you to give us an answer."
"I just thought you were gonna ask me to make up my mind as soon as this date was over," said Clay, "or if you were being generous, giving me 'til the next day."
"I mean that was kind of the thought at first," said Mina, "but with everything going on right now, are you even gonna have a spare moment to think about something like that?"
"I can always find one," said Clay, "but I guess that depends on how long you think you'll be able to wait."
"I might have a somewhat reasonable idea that could work for all three of us," said Mina, "now that I'm actually out here with you, I realize that it might not have been the most fair thing in the world to ask you to chose between us after just one date each. I mean sure, we've known each other for months now but you've only really thought about us romantically in just the last couple of months."
"I'd say a bit longer than that on my end," replied Clay, "but do continue. What else have you realized?"
"I just realized that maybe we should give you a bit more time to think about us," said Mina, "we've got enough pressure on all of us right now with the end of the year coming up. So why don't we do this: you pick one of us when the school year draws to a close. Does that sound reasonable?"
"I can't say it's not," replied Clay, "but is that really a good idea? I don't think heartbreak is the best way to go on a day you're supposed to be celebrating. And more to the point, won't that mean Jirou gets a little more time with me because of the work studies and all that?"
"Oh I'm not worried about that just yet," said Mina as she cupped his cheeks and leaned down towards his face, "from here on out, I intend to leave an impression on you whenever I can." Her lips met his then as she practically collapsed on top of him. Despite knowing what a flirt Mina could be from time to time, Clay was still surprised by the amount of passion she was putting into the kiss. What surprised him even more, though, was that he was kissing back with a fair bit of passion himself.
'Well this is just great,' he thought as he put his arms around the alien girl and pulled her closer, 'you said you wanted to make this easier on me, but I don't feel this getting even the slightest bit easier.' The reason being was at that particular moment, he could just as easily see himself with Mina as he did Jirou. His fears that the two of them might just be too different personality-wise seemed more and more ridiculous the longer he laid there kissing her. And this internal battle which had waged quietly inside of the Cloud Warrior, now seemed more akin to an all-out war.
A Few Months Later: Springtime at U.A.
"Man," said Mina as she and most of the rest of Class 1A walked along one of the school's paths. The cherry blossom trees had bloomed and yet even they were hard pressed to put everyone in a better mood. "Even though we finally made it to Spring Break we still had to do work studies on all our days off."
"And now Spring Break's almost over," said Kaminari, "and I'm almost too wiped out to find something fun to do."
"And we've already got another one to do," said Uraraka, "me and Tsu are going on an expeditionary operation this time."
"Really," said Kaminari as he looked back at the message on her phone, "our next work study is an expeditionary operation."
"It's not just you guys," said Midoriya, "our next work study is supposed to be an expeditionary operation too."
"Really," said Uraraka with a questioning look, "I wonder what your's is going to be like."
"Wait, we've got one to go on too," said Jirou as she looked up to Shoji who nodded that his was the same.
"Just a wild guess here," said Slade as he turned to Momo, "we've got an expeditionary operation coming up too, don't we?"
"We do," confirmed Momo, "what in the world's going on? It's not unheard of for hero agencies to have similar missions, but for so many to have the same type at once?" No one really had a good answer to give to her at that moment. But even if they had known all the details about what they were going to face, it probably wouldn't have made a difference. While a war raged in the Cloud Warrior's heart, a real war against the enemy known as the Paranormal Liberation Front, was about to begin.
And so all the pieces have begun to move in place as we prepare for the next, very brutal, arc! Which will be coming a bit later with the new season of the anime. So as mentioned earlier this story will indeed be going on hiatus until the anime resumes. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in when the wait is over for the beginning of the War Arc! 'Til then.