Cottonmouth
A My Hero Academia story
1.
It was a surprisingly nice day for a walk. The sun was bright and a warm breeze blew quietly. Hopeful crowds fresh out of middle school stormed the sidewalks, breaking the still autumn with exciting talks of what was to come. The entrance exams for the prestigious U.A. hero academy were today, and nervous energy filled the thunderous teens. However, one was alone, silently observing as the crowd gradually made its way inside the giant auditorium.
Dark orange and brown leaves shaded Michael Farron as he slumped against the trunk of one of the many trees lining the entrance. His grey snake eyes scanned the crowd, taking in the sheer mass of potential students. All of them were here today just to have a chance at a spot in the best hero school in Japan. He carefully studied the crowds, eventually settling on a boy with green hair.
This muttering mess had his eyes fixed down, giving Michael the chance to guess the time until he'd take his inevitable spill. It wasn't long at all before this happened, but the kid stopped in midair before hitting the hard stone. Michael wondered if he had a flying quirk but then noticed someone else. A girl with brown hair in a styled bob held her fingertips together, breathing out a sigh of relief upon releasing them while the mess planted his feet back down. The two talked around each other, Michael rolling his eyes at the flustered, awkward duo. He wasn't going to last a minute.
Michael's gaze went back to jumping between crowds to see a girl with dark green hair tied into a bow and slightly bigger eyes than anyone else. He thought she was cute with her finger on her lips as she observed the crowds for herself. Something kept his eyes glued onto her as she sat by herself in silence. The girl's eyes eventually found their way to him, and the two shared a brief gaze. Michael gave her a small wave that she returned with a faint smile. He was somewhat reluctant to see the crowds moving inside the giant building as they had to break eye contact and join the students.
Merging with the mass of teens, Michael found his way to an empty seat and listened to the brief intro given by Present Mic. His attention was diverted by the constant mumbling of some kid behind him. He turned to tell the kid to knock it off when another student stood tall and loudly reprimanded the mumbling kid and challenged the competency of U. A. High. This student wore glasses and was rapidly chopping the air as he went on his tirade. Michael decided to just tune the world out for a while before developing a headache. He still needed to do the physical test and having to nurse a migraine while fighting wouldn't do him any good.
Eventually, a massive door leading to a fake city opened, and Present Mic screamed for the entrance exam to start. After a moment of hesitation, every teen in this section rushed outside. Michael immediately broke off from the crowd and found a spot to hunker down. Activating his quirk, his skin started to blend into his background. He slid both bowie knives from their sheathes and waited. It was only a minute until a two-pointer shuffled past him. Quicker than its sensors could detect and alert it, Michael was on the bot and driving his knives in whatever weak points he could find. A few stabs and the bot's circuitry were shredded as the blades easily punctured the metal. He quickly found a new hiding spot and continued his ambush method on a small number of bots until a purple-haired kid ran past his latest hiding spot in a dead-end alleyway.
The kid had heavy bags under his eyes and stopped not but a few feet away from where Michael laid in wait. The teen gasped for breath and looked behind him before cursing to himself. Spotting the alleyway, the teen bolted inside and slid to a stop next to Michael. The teen's breaths were ragged as he laid down in a bid to lower his profile. Michael, who had so far gone undetected by the teen, smiled to himself before saying, "So, come here often?"
The teen snapped his head in the direction of the voice and saw Michael as he let his camouflage drop. He let out a sigh of relief and took a moment to gather himself before replying, "No, not here in particular at least. I'm not gonna lie; you nearly gave me a heart attack."
Michael let out a chuckle and thanked himself for taking the time to stay fluent in Japanese. "Name's Farron, Michael Farron. So just what in the hell had you running like a bat outta hell?" He asked with a fanged smile.
"Hitoshi Shinso. To answer that, just take a quick peek around that corner, please."
Michael low crawled to the edge of the wall and quickly peeked around the corner. He immediately crawled back into his original spot and looked at Shinso before muttering, "Well fuck."
"What are we going to do about that thing?" Shinso asked quietly.
"We have to get the fuck outta here, that's what. We've got a snowman's chance in hell at beating that thing in a straight fight." Said Michael as he nervously tapped his blades together.
The two sat in silence before Michael looked at Shinso and said, "Rock, paper scissors for distraction duty?"
Shinso looked at Michael incredulously before holding up a closed fist. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" The two said together.
"FUCK! I hate this game!" Said Michael as he threw scissors at Shinso's rock.
"Okay, you're gonna haul ass the hell outta here, and I'll keep him off you before doing what I can to get away from him. Ready?" He said, looking to his purple-haired companion.
Shinso nodded and held up three fingers. Slowly he lowered each finger before bolting out of cover with Michael right after him. Shinso sprinted down the street and risked a glance out behind him to see Michael dodging jets of flame and dummy missiles from the zero-pointer robot. He had nearly made it down the street when a shout of pain came from behind him. Michael's unconscious body went sailing in front of him before crash landing through a window a few yards away from Shinso. The purple-haired teen burst through the door to see Michael partially stuck inside a wall. "Farron! Wake up! Come on; we have to leave this place before that zero pointer decides to come after us." Shinso said as he violently shook Michael's body.
Michael's vision swam from the impact as he fought off unconsciousness, but what hurt was his chest and arm. A result of the last-ditch attempt to block some of the damage from a massive fist as it sent him flying. He was sure he had at least a few broken ribs and dislocated left shoulder. As far as he could tell, any other wounds were either superficial or would simply bruise or scab over. As the world stopped spinning, he could see that Shinso had managed to find him and had dragged him from his spot as a new wall fixture. "Are you okay?" Shinso asked him as he looked out the now shattered window.
"I'm fucked up, but that doesn't matter right now. What's that robot up to?" He said, wiping blood off on his grey cargo pants.
Shinso looked out the window for a few seconds before a loud boom and the sound of metal being torn apart ripped through the air. "Some kid just blew that monster apart with a single punch. I think it's that muttering kid with the green hair from before. Damn, I didn't think he of all people could do that." Shinso said before running a hand through his flared purple hair.
The siren that signaled the end of the exam blared across the city, right as Michael and Shinso both let out sighs of relief. Neither boy could've predicted ending up in this state in just the entrance exam. Micheal walked over to the door with a bad limp and opened the door to see robots with red crosses patrolling the area. He used his good arm to wave to catch one's attention before turning to Shinso. "I'm gonna go get myself looked at. This really fucking hurts, man." He said, using his right arm to gesture to various cuts and bruises that his torn, black polyester shirt did nothing to protect from.
Shinso nodded and said, "Well, I suppose I should thank you for distracting that thing so we could get out of there. I hope to see you in the hero course with me soon, but I'm also applying for the general education course. My quirk isn't very effective against robots."
Michael laughed and waved him off with a smile as the bot applied basic first aid. "Hell yeah, I'll see you there. It's Shinso, right? Yeah, neither is mine. So how about this? If not the hero course, then I will at least see you at U.A. in general ed. That sound good to you?" Michael asked with his fanged smile.
Shinso gave him two thumbs up and waved goodbye as Michael walked off with the medical robot.
The medical building was abuzz with activity as teens with injuries ranging from minor burns to multiple broken bones. Michael was on his way out after having three broken ribs fixed and his shoulder popped back into place. He was a few feet from the door when they blew open to reveal a stretcher carrying the green-haired kid from before. Paramedic bots surrounded him as they wheeled the boy in. Catching a few glances of the kid, he could see the condition of the fallen hero prospect. His right arm and both legs were mangled, and he was unconscious with multiple aid bots keeping him stable. "Damn, the poor fucker is a mess." He said as he saw how swollen and purple his arm was. The brown-haired girl burst in moments after and tried to follow him into the operating wing before being stopped by medical staff. The girl made her way to the seats in the lobby and sat down with a huff. "So what happened to your boyfriend?" He asked as he pointed to the doors the boy was taken through.
"W-what!? Oh no, he's not my boyfriend. Midoriya just saved me from getting crushed by that zero pointer." She said, shaking her head no with a furiously blushing face and hands waving.
"Right. Well, what all happened that led up to that?" He asked as he leaned on the wall next to her.
"Well… We were all doing our best to score as many points as possible when the zero pointer was released. It chased a purple-haired kid for a moment and then punched somebody else. I didn't see what happened to him, but it looked painful just to get hit like that. When its fist hit the kid, it caused a huge shockwave. Some falling rubble hit me. It pinned me and messed my ankle up badly, but I was just too stunned to use my quirk. Midoriya came back and saved me by smashing the robot before it could roll over me. He hurt himself pretty bad doing it, though." She explained with a worried look.
"Midoriya, huh? Well, the kid has got a mean punch on him despite his looks. I bet he's full of surprises." He said as he watched more teens leave the medical building.
"Yeah… Oh! Sorry, but I don't believe I told you my name. I'm Ochaco Uraraka, and you?" She said with a small smile on her face.
"Michael Farron. Nice to meet you, Ms. Uraraka." He said, keeping his fangs hidden while he smiled.
"Nice to meet you too, Farron. So how do you think you did out there?" She asked with a nervous smile.
"Shoot, I only managed to get a few one-pointers and like three two-pointers. I also managed to get a three-pointer, but my quirk just isn't suited for this kinda thing. I just think it's strange to have an exam on pure destructive ability, especially when quirks are so broad in utility. After this, I'm gonna do the academic test for the general education course. You know, just in case I don't get in the hero course." He said with a slightly disappointed frown.
Michael knew his quirk wasn't necessarily the best for prolonged direct combat. Ambushing and guerilla tactics were his specialty, as they complimented his fighting style and quirk. His skills were something he always worked at bettering, lest he risked catching a beatdown. He ran a tongue over one of his fangs and switched to his thermal vision and back. He was limited by the animal's abilities his quirk shared a name with. A Cottonmouth snake from back in the U.S. was never really what he considered to be something even close to heroic. If anything, he knew snakes were considered evil creatures. "Hey!" Said Uraraka as she lightly smacked his shoulder.
"Oh shit. Real sorry about that; I kinda spaced out. Just wondering about some things. What were you saying."
"I was saying that I think you're right, but also that maybe U.A. could just be more focused on combat ability as a school specialty." Uraraka said with a slight pout.
"Seems shallow of the supposedly greatest school for aspiring heroes. When quirks built for purposes other than flashy physical combat are needed, what will they save when they can only destroy? What happens when you need something done civil? When a purely destructive ability isn't the answer?" He questioned with an eyebrow raised. The girl fumbled for an answer before finally responding with," I'm not sure, but I still want to do my best to go save others and be a great rescue hero!"
Michael laughed as she raised a fist and looked at him with determined brown eyes. She huffed and crossed her arms before asking him, "Well, why do you want to be a hero? "
"Now, where would the fun be in just telling you? I'm sure that if everything works out, then I'll be able to show you. How about that?" He offered with a smile.
She stuck a hand out and looked at him as determined as ever. He sighed and rolled his eyes as he shook her hand. She smiled at her victory when the receptionist came over and informed her that Midoriya was awake and could now take visitors. She excitedly stood up, bolted to the door, and slammed it behind her. Michael decided that he should leave as well and started to head towards the exit. "Farron!" Uraraka's voice yelled out.
He sighed and turned to see her standing halfway out the doors to the operating room. She pointed towards him and said, "I look forward to seeing you at U.A. High next month!"
He flashed her his fangs with a smile and shook his head before waving goodbye and exiting the building. His snake eyes took a second to adjust to the shining sun as he rolled his shoulders. Thankfully, it would still be warm out for a few weeks as summer settled down. Being cold-blooded was a pain in that he was too prone to oversleeping during winter and just was slower overall. So he decided that a lovely walk home would let him enjoy the sun's warmth at least a little longer.
The walk was relatively short and uneventful as he only lived a few miles out. Nearly every other teen had cleared out the area with the exams over, and the day was coming to a close. He did, however, get to watch the sky turn a gorgeous mix of purples and oranges. The setting sun and clouds that drifted overhead were details that completed the picture. His house was a simple thing. It was a nice and fairly worn-down building in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood. Thanks to being so close to U.A. High, crime rates were low but never quite zero. Walking inside his house, the door shut behind him with an effortless kick. He lived alone as his parents had passed a year ago back in the states from medical complications. He grabbed his phone off a counter decorated with coffee stains and a small grease spot before looking through a few apps. Music played from his phone as he made his way to a small twin-size mattress and laid down.
A week later, Michael was daydreaming about whatever crossed his mind until a ring interrupted his music. Swiping his phone from its resting place beside him, a quick look showed he had received a text. He groaned and rolled his eyes before sitting up and stretching his arms.
A dark portal opened up and out walked a pale blue-haired man with a severed hand covering his face and pale skin. The mist eventually subsided to show another man in a bartending outfit with his face covered by black smoke and glowing yellow eyes. Michael found the display a complete waste of time and said with annoyance, "What part of deep-cover don't you understand, Shigaraki. The whole villain entrance is badass and all, but it kinda screams evil intentions." Michael said with a smile and raised an eyebrow.
Tomura growled in annoyance before asking, "Did you get in the hero course or not?"
Michael smiled and held up a letter that had yet to be opened. "Well, let's find out together."
Michael ripped the top off, and his hand was inside the letter. A second later, the trio was looking at a little pod before a hologram popped out. All Might, in light form, stood proud with his hands on his hips and said, "I AM HERE… IN HOLOGRAM FORM! Young Farron, I am saddened to say that you missed the cut for the hero course. However, you scored high enough in the academics test to earn a high position in our general studies program. With enough hard work and improvement, you can earn degrees in nearly any study you may choose. If being a hero is still your preferred course of action, then show you have what it takes, and speak to one of our many qualified instructors. I am extremely pleased to welcome you to your hero academia!"
The hologram shortly cut out after the hologram stopped talking, and the three stood silent. "Not what I was originally aiming for, but I can make this work." Said Michael as he processed the new information.
"Farron… We brought you on this project because the master told us you could trust to get the job done. You don't seem like one to try to make a liar of him, so tell me something good, and tell me now." Tomura said as he started to pick and scratch at his neck.
"Relax. If anything, this makes my job that much easier as I'll have much more freedom of movement. If I were stuck up the heroes' asses, then I wouldn't have half the ability to report back and make moves without detection." He said with a confident smile.
"Hmm… Fine. Don't mess this up. As much as I'd rather just end the brats at the start, I suppose it would be more fun to kill them from the inside. Don't disappoint me, Farron." He said as he reached out and decayed a coffee cup.
Michael frowned in annoyance before saying, "Ya know, I liked that cup. Don't worry, and I'll fucking handle it."
Kurogiri's black mist opened another portal in the room, and Shigaraki wasted no time stepping through. "Good seeing you again, Kurogiri. I'll have to swing by the bar sometime soon." Michael said as he pulled out another coffee cup from a cabinet.
"It's nice to see you again as well, Farron. We're looking into getting some new blood, so it'd be nice if you'd be up for a drink when that headache rears its head. No doubt young Tomura will make it a memorable first impression." Kurogiri said as he adjusts his tie.
"I look forward to it." Michael said as Kurogiri closed off his portal and faded away with it.