Over the Top

by papireaz

When I died, I expected a big parade, maybe a few manga volumes. Not to be reincarnated in a world with heroes. Might as well be one I guess! SI/OC

25. Issue 24

So this is the 24th chapter. Now that's what I call crazy, like seriously 24?!

Well here is the second part to the Stain arc.

ft. - Funkist aka Fairy Tail opening three. Good series, and a banger opening.

---

Summary:

Interruption.

It isn't necessary for me to go into current world events, but I will because I care about the few readers I have in Ukraine. I hope that you, your loved ones and anyone that you know are safe. I could say something like 'my prayers are with you' but that sounds disingenuous. So I'm just hoping that you are all safe and sound.

Whenever you all read it, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

That is all.

---

It was seven in the morning, so naturally I was annoyed. Iida proposed that we meet up before the train to Hosu, and so while it took me a while to get to the required train station, eventually I made it in time. Hosu was a two hour train ride from Musutafu which was a pretty lengthy journey, well not like the old train from London to Scotland but two hours sat in a compartment with him of all people was going to drive me insane.

Still at least I brought some games.

Maybe I could finally complete a RPG?

Nah. Wishful thinking really, I had a horrible track record when it came to actually finishing games. I guess it was because I didn't want the journey to end so bad that I never tried to go past the final dungeon, unless it had a sequel. If it had a sequel then I'd finish it without any problems, because then I would have something else to play. What did that say about me?

I don't actually know.

"Yamazaki," A voice called out in front of me. Iida was wearing his U.A uniform, with his shirt tucked in and top button done up. I guess it made me look like an idiot in the process as I wore some jeans and a grey jumper, carrying my bright orange suitcase around like a lunatic. In comparison Iida looked ready to go to on a school trip, he looked perfectly normal while I looked like I had just rolled out of bed.

But the truth was far more complex.

The warmth in Iida's eyes...

It had faded slightly. I could tell that he wasn't really in the moment, that his mind was focused on something else entirely. On someone else entirely. Of course on the big TV screen behind us the news was reporting on him of all people. Suddenly the nation was gripped with intrigue, just who exactly was Stain? The Hero-Killer was becoming more and more famous, or rather infamous, as conflicting reports of who he was came to light.

Of the hero's Stain had killed prior to, well, Ingenium.

"Come on, let's get outta' here." I dragged Iida by the arm to get to our platform as quickly as I could. "Have you ever been to Tokyo? I've always wanted to go, but I've never actually been. Do you know how to get to Akihabara? To Shinjuku? If you do, I'm begging you to just give me a tour or something."

Iida sighed heavily. "Yamazaki, this is a school trip, not a vacation. Our actions reflect U.A-,"

"Which is why you are planning to fight Stain, right?"

He said nothing. It's not like he could deny it either, since I saw right through him the most he could manage was a small nod. Hell, using the word 'fight' wasn't even correct, I bet Iida wanted to Recipro Burst his foot through Stain's chest. Not that I blame him, but it's not like I was going to willingly allow him to become a murderer. Still, if worse comes to worse, I could take the fall for him.

What was the worse that could happen?

"Musutafu to Hosu, calling at seven-thirty-one has arrived at platform two. I repeat, Musutafu to Hosu calling at seven-thirty-one has arrived at platform two." Groaning, I dragged my suitcase behind me as I followed Iida to platform two. My phone kept on buzzing, which meant some asshole was messaging me. You know, I never really understood why we British people spell 'ass' differently.

Well, our pronunciation is different I suppose. We say, or rather they say 'arse' while the Americans say 'ass'. But calling someone an arsehole didn't roll off the tongue as much as asshole, even more so when I put an accent on asshole which made me sound like I was from Texas or something. Not that I'd ever met a Texan in my life, hell I don't remember if I'd even met an American person in my life.

We boarded the train and went to out compartment, specifically reserved for the two of us. U.A really is the best, but if only I shared this compartment with a girl. A cute one at that, maybe she could sing to me while I lay my head on her lap...

I got my PSP out after putting my suitcase to the side and sat down on the seat, before laying down on it completely. It was slightly uncomfortable, but nothing my hoodie rolled up into a ball and put behind my head couldn't fix-, Wait! Aha, I didn't even need to take off my hoodie. I had an even better idea, and Iida groaned as he caught the look on my face - Because even he recognised my genius!

"Heed my call, NIMBUS!" I yelled, punching my fist in the air.

Sure enough, Nimbus was summoned and awaited my orders. Grinning, I focused it to turn into a nice cushion, as well as a blanket. That was my genius plan, and even Iida was surprised. Pulling out a few snacks that I had bought, mostly sweets, I threw a pack towards him. I was a good friend after all, and I did have standards to uphold. I couldn't just allow him to not have some of my sweets, that would be cruel.

"Yamazaki, I don't-."

"Shut up and eat them." I cut the other boy off. "If you don't, I'll spread lies about you to Mina and Hagakure. I wonder how they will react to you being a fan of naked male models?"

He quickly shut up at that, and scoffed down the sweets like a good boy. Now, two hours was more than enough to get a good chunk of this game done and dusted, especially since I was in the final dungeon. Luckily, I brought the sequel with me so I wouldn't be bored. We had a week of no revision, so I might as well make use of it. That was before the door to our compartment was opened, and inside came a grumpy Aizawa-sensei.

"Change of plans, this train is being delayed so I'll drive you to Tokyo myself." He said.

No.

Not the car.

I whimpered slightly, tugging on the blanket made from my Quirk.

There was a hidden truth about me, something that I'd never admit to anyone. It was such an important secret that if anyone found out, I'd have to kill them and their entire family on the spot. I'd purge out their entire bloodline for fear of my secret coming out, that's how much it meant to me. It would completely change everyone's perceptions about me, and instead of the class clown I'd just become a clown.

I get severe car sickness extremely quickly.

---

Chapter

Twenty Four

'Draw your sword, look forward and strike without hesitation!'

---

Aizawa's car was nothing out of the ordinary.

A normal grey sedan, as expected of our teacher. Not too flashy, and not too technical - It fit him perfectly! Hell, from the outside everything look clean. You wouldn't be able to tell that he had spent years driving this car because that's how new it actually looked, hell even the tires looked maintained. I was surprised that he had enough time to take good care of his car, after all he is a Pro-Hero and a teacher at the same time.

However, once Iida and I got inside our perception on the man changed radically. Small plushies of cats were dotted around the car, and it was horrifying. Anime cats, cats from abroad, cats in kimonos and even a cat wearing a fucking pinstriped hat! Worst of all, Aizawa didn't seem to take notice of any of it, he just carried on unbothered by the 'catception' unfolding in his car.

And then he turned on the radio.

I didn't expect for a old idol song to be played, much less Aizawa-sensei hum to it, tapping his fingers to the beat as he drove us to Hosu. I guess when they say you should never meet your teachers outside of school, they really do mean it. Still, I opened the window beside and practically stuck my head outside it so I would have as much fresh air as possible.

Somehow, I already felt like throwing up.

"I didn't peg you to be the type of guy that listens to this type of music sir."

"Hm, I don't. A... friend of mine enjoyed this type of music, to the point where he came late to school one day because he was in a queue to have his album signed by the lead singer of his favourite idol group. After he died, his cd's all fell upon me as he had no one else to give them to, that's all."

"You can admit that you like it sir. This is a safe space, right Iida?"

I didn't get a response.

Looks like Iida fell asleep.

"Yamazaki," Aizawa began as he took a left. "Keep your voice down, it looks like this is the first time he's been able to go to sleep peacefully in days." I sighed as I titled my head to the left, sure enough it did look that way. His glasses were nearly falling off his face, and he had some slight drool coming from his mouth. But, he looked more calmer now than he did these past few days.

"What's the real reason as to why you are driving us sir?" I asked. "The train wasn't delayed by that much. We would have still made it in time, in fact we would have been early as Manual said he wanted to meet us at two."

"I can't argue with that. However, you are students in my class. As such, for the duration of this trip you are all under my care - And so it falls upon me to make sure that you get to Hosu safely, and not meet any unsavoury people along the way. After all, you would have a couple of hours to search for someone, don't you think?" Ah, so he drove us to make sure Iida doesn't use the extra time we had in Hosu looking for Stain.

"I'm sure we wouldn't have enough time to look for someone sir. I've never been to Tokyo, so Iida said he would take me around and stuff."

"Iida said, or did you force him to do so?"

"Eh, same thing really."

Aizawa said nothing as he continued to drive, I only had old idol songs to keep me company with Iida asleep. Now I could plug in my headphones and listen to music, but just looking down at the screen would make me ill, let alone having to actually pick a song. Plus, I didn't really know any old idol groups, so it was fun listening to music that came out near the time that I was born.

"Hey sensei, do you think that... is it all right for me to meddle with someone when they might not want me to? Not that I care for their opinion, but does it make me selfish, or even arrogant, for meddling with their life and choosing what I think is the best outcome for them?" I asked the man. It wasn't that the topic weighed heavily in my mind, rather I was curious to see what answer he would give me.

"Well some might say that meddling in others life when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero." He answered. "Not that I agree with that statement, because I don't, but it is right in a way. Being a hero requires you to save people, no matter if you are like All Might, or like myself. Sometimes, we may have to save others who don't necessarily want to be saved. It's caused countless law suits, but you'll learn more about that next year with Midnight. Still, I'm sure you know my answer to it."

"Do what you want and don't get caught?"

Aizawa scoffed. "What is this, advice to commit crime? No. Do what you feel like needs to be done, but don't overstep your boundaries, or your limits. There is a time and a place, and I don't think I need to tell you what happens if you push past your limits and fail when trying to save someone."

"Right. Well, any other advice?"

"Close the window."

"But I'll get sick."

"If you do then make sure it doesn't get all over the cats."

"Aha, so you do own them!"

"Did you think that I didn't?"

"But you ignored them!"

"That's because I see them every day."

"I can't believe you bought all these things."

"They were a gift from Hizashi."

"Present Mic?"

"Mmh."

"Sweet, do you think he can buy me a gift as well?"

Aizawa paused for a moment, looking at me directly through the mirror. His mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out, instead he just ignored my question and kept on driving. Huh, weird. Then and again, I don't want him to lose focus, maybe resulting in a car crash or something. That would be tragic, death by asking questions, it sounded really dumb now that I thought about it.

"I'm surprised you haven't shouted at other drivers yet."

"Me too kid, me too." Aizawa responded. "It really is a shame that we don't have better drivers in Japan, instead we have IDIOTS WHO DON'T INDICATE WHEN TURNING LEFT!" He suddenly shouted angrily, adding a bunch of insults that I couldn't even begin to comprehend. Shota Aizawa, my homeroom teacher, had a serious case of road rage. No, he was the king of getting angry while driving.

No dad could ever possible hope to match him.

"Uhm sir, maybe you should-,"

He ignored me, choosing to pick up the cat in a kimono beside him and proceeded to throw it on the seat next to him angrily. Ah, the cats weren't just for decoration. It was stress relief for my teacher so he didn't run someone over. "WHY CAN'T YOU DRIVE STRAIGHT! Kami, you drive like a grandma who forgot their glasses at home... HURRY UP WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY YOU USELESS WASTE OF SPACE!"

This was so out of character for the usually calm and collected Aizawa that I forgot to record him.

His actions even woke Iida up from his sleep, who could not believe what he was seeing either. I felt sorry for the vice-president, being woken up by this of all things. "Is Aizawa-sensei being for real?" He asked me confused. I nodded at him sadly, placing my hand on my heart as I pretended to weep. Requiast in Pace Shota Aizawa, you will be sorely missed in our class.

Homeroom of 1A for a month.

Eventually the man calmed down and started to hum again to his idol songs. I was horrified at how quickly his demeanour shifted, and so Iida and I came to the conclusion that we would forget what just happened. Nothing happened. Aizawa just drove us to Hosu with no complications at all, and that was that. No cat plushies, no idol songs, and no shouting.

This was all just a fever dream.

It never happened.

A short while later we entered the bustling city of Tokyo, and I was instantly captivated by the sights in front of me. Musutafu was a pretty populated city, and it certainly had its fair share of skyscrapers, but Tokyo was on another level. Despite it being so long ago, I still vividly remembered London in all of its glory. And I guess that's what Tokyo reminded me off.

My old life.

It reminded me of my old home.

I wonder if my old house still existed in this world? Who's living in it? Or that football pitch a few streets down from my house, or what about the local school? Heh, maybe I should take a visit there one of these days. Maybe bring everyone with me and show them around London, ah I wonder if that good local restaurant still exists! They sold the best chicken wings!

Still the traffic only got worse.

Tokyo Drift lied to me! They didn't go 'fast and furious' they won't as slow as a snail! I've seen it with my own eyes, my own two fucking eyes at how painfully slow it was! Oh, a green light, "Take her away, Ern!" I shouted as Aizawa drove us to Hosu. What a ride, going at ten miles per hour was such a thrilling experience! Somehow, we managed to make it to Hosu by twelve, which meant we still had a few hours before we needed to meet with Manual.

"So, are you just going to go back to UA?" I asked our teacher.

"Nope. I have to babysit you two until you meet with Manual or else I get fired, and probably sued."

"Huh. I thought being a teacher was an easy job."

Aizawa smirked at that. "You would think that, but it's an extremely stressful job. Especially when you are a good teacher, it seems like everyone else is dumping their marking on you because they can't be asked to 'mark the little listeners work.' But it is extremely fulfilling. Thinking of becoming a teacher?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Haven't given it much thought." I replied honestly. Could I be a teacher? I mean would I even have the patience for it? Plus, I suck at actually doing my work on time. And I'd never wear a suit to work, actually maybe I'd look good in a proper suit. Like one of those tailored made to fit me, not one of those cheap suits bought from an online retailer.

Hm.

Stepping outside from the car only made me realise how could it actually was. Gah, I should have brought a coat. Iida obviously came prepared, in an expensive coat that costed more than my TV it looks like. A designer brand too, which rubbed salt in the wound. It's not like he meant to flex on me, hell he didn't even realise that I had no coat as he was instead transfixed by his surroundings.

"Here," Aizawa threw something at me and I barely managed to catch it in time. My eyes widened in surprise as I looked at what I was holding, it was an old coat. A dark brown aviator jacket with white fur lining, and it looked worn. There used to be a sticker on the front of the jacket, but it was removed and the back looked like it was stitched back together after a nasty fight.

"Is this yours?" I asked him.

"Mmh. Not mine personally, it was a friends."

I looked at the man strangely. "Should you really be giving your friends belongings to your student? That feels oddly weird ya' know. Like you are trying to relive your 'glory days' through me or something. Don't tell me you have already gone senile or something?!"

To his credit Aizawa actually sniggered at that. "Oi, I'm not that old. And it was my friends. It was a goft from the same friend that gave me all those idol CD's, he died and well I had to keep the jacket. But I knew that you would forget to bring a coat, so I made sure to bring one for you. It might be a little big for you, but maybe it'll fit your style or something."

"I can't take this." I replied. "With all due respect sir, it was my fault for not bringing a coat with me. You shouldn't have to part ways with something as important as this-,"

"Keep it," Aizawa interrupted me. "I don't use it, in fact I've never worn it. It just stays on my coat hanger, so I thought might as well get rid of it? Plus it's really good quality, made by the support department at UA as well. Sure it may be old, but it's still sturdy for a jacket. I'm sure you can wear it with your costume and it would fit right in, hell it would provide you with greater protection."

"Really?"

"Yes really." He smiled at me, and for once it felt genuine. Not that his smiles prior to this one didn't feel genuine, rather they felt rather reserved. But now, now it felt like he completely trusted me in a weird way. Like he was sure on the type of person I was, which was slightly odd but I paid no attention to it as I put on the jacket. A little too big my ass, this was way bigger than me.

Rolling up the sleeves was the only way I would look slightly cool.

"Looking good Yamazaki." Aizawa commented with a nostalgic look plastered across his face. "Mind if I take a picture and send it to Hizashi? I reckon he would have a field day with it." I shrugged my shoulders as he pulled out his phone and took a few pictures of me, huffing slightly as I tried my hardest to look like a model, even posing next to a lamppost.

"Is that enough?" I asked him.

"It's perfect," Aizawa replied. "Now, where do you guys want to go to eat some grub? Oh wait, I also forgot to give you this." He opened his trunk, revealing a pair of goggles and what seemed to be a long stick. Wait, that was-, "Hatsume asked me to give this to you." Aizawa explained as he handed over the 'baby' Mei-chan and I made. "She said she ironed the kinks out... mostly."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Aizawa shrugged his shoulders. "And this," He added chucking the goggles at me, "Is my birthday present to you." The goggles weren't anything special, they looked like standard pilot goggles which made me wonder if he planned on giving me the jacket first and bought the goggles after to make them fit, or the other way around. Either way, I was surprised to say the least.

"You really didn't have to. Now the rest of the class is gonna say this is favouritism-,"

"It was a joint gift from all the staff at UA," He interjected. "And it's UA tradition to do this for all the Hero course students in their first year. We got Bakugo a stress relief ball for his birthday a few weeks back." Huh, neat.

"It's your birthday today Yamazaki?" Iida asked confused.

"Nah, it's tomorrow. May the Tenth, but since Aizawa-sense isn't gonna' be here tomorrow he just left it with me today right?" The man nodded. "Sweet. Although, I wonder why you got my goggles?"

"So when you fly your eyes won't tear up."

"Ah," I nodded at that. "Makes sense. Thanks for the gift sir, now let's go get some pizza!"

"Ramen." Aizawa corrected me. "I'm the one paying for both of your meals, so I get to decide what we eat. Plus as your teacher I can't go to an establishment that the school does not have any links to, therefore we will be getting ramen at a place which a friend of mine owns." Aww, but I wanted pizza. Oh well, maybe Sero was right after all? Free food is the best.

---

After we ate some cheap ramen, much to the dismay of Aizawa'a bank account, Iida and I started to explore Hosu. Or rather, I ran around taking pictures of everything and Iida apologised to the bystanders that I disturbed accidentally. Eventually Aizawa had to cut our time together short as he bid us farewell and took off in his car, I could faintly hear the idol songs playing in the background as he drove away.

Iida found Manual's office extremely quickly, and to be fair to him it wasn't exactly an easy find. By no means was it a decrepit building on its last legs, but it had seen better days that's for sure. If it wasn't for a grinning mural of Manual with his thumbs up stuck to the front door, I never would have guessed that this was a pro-hero's office; their headquarters so to speak.

The Batcave.

The apartment with overdue rent.

A fortress of solitude.

A mansion in Malibu.

And the... what was the X-Men house called again?

"Welcome, welcome." A cheerful man greeted us by the door. He had messy brown hair and black eyes and stood at around five foot nine if I had to guess, making him a little taller than myself. Well, a lot taller, but that's unimportant. His costume consisted of a light blue and white, skin-tight, long-sleeved shirt that tucked into his orange gloves, the light blue eventually transforming into a darker blue for his trousers.

But what stood out the most was his helmet, which had a fish-like fin attached to it along with a blue visor. Overall, Masaki Mizushima looked like a fish rather than a human, which made me question why his Pro-Hero name was 'Manual' after all. I mean it doesn't exactly scream the words 'Manual' now, if he were aptly named 'Fish-Man' or "Jimbe' then maybe he would be recognised and liked a lot more.

Oh well, I wasn't a part of his PR team.

"Iida, and Yamazaki, right?" He asked us. I waved at him, whilst Iida nodded his head curtly. "Great, I'm Manual the person who you will be interning with for the rest of this week. You guys had food, right? If you didn't, I can quickly pop over and get some fish and chips for you two if you want?"

"Nah it's fine Manual-sama. We already ate beforehand." I replied, adding the 'sama' to truly show my respect. He wasn't one of my teachers at you, he was a hero and so he deserved the proper respect... Plus I didn't know exactly what to call him, so I didn't want to risk it for a chocolate biscuit.

However, Manual burst into laughter at my formality. "Please kid, don't try sucking up to me. UA sent me both of your files beforehand, along with it came a warning for you Yamazaki about your sarcastic tendencies. Still, I like my men to have a strong personality, it gives them some attitude which I can work with, but I digress. Come on, make sure to put your shoes on the rack."

He opened the door to reveal an extremely traditional layout, with tatami mats and everything. "Sorry about the mats, I haven't been able to scrape enough money to replace them, so it'll have to do for now." Manual apologised, "But you can wear these slippers I bought for you two, tatami mats are quite cold in my opinion so hopefully your feet won't freeze and fall off now."

"No problem, thanks for the gifts." Iida replied.

"No, no. Thank you for coming all the way to Hosu, musta' been a helluva trip with those train delays. I'll admit it threw me in a loop, but Eraserhead managed to message me in time before I went to collect you guys with the agency car."

"You have an agency car?!" I asked surprised.

"Oh yes." Manual grinned as he pulled out his keys. "We have a company car for me to ride around Hosu in, for emergencies of course. It would be totally unethical for me to use the agencies finances to purchase myself a sports car, so if anyone asks just say that it's for the agency, got it?" I mock saluted him in response which drew a dry chuckle from him.

"I have to say, you seem more enthusiastic to be here than I expected Yamazaki."

"I'm a huge fan of your work as a hero, sir. Especially your mixtape that you released a few years back."

"Oh, I thought I got rid of all the copies."

"My best friend is a music nerd. She keeps any and all music that heroes made in a safe."

"Huh, well that's a shame. I thought I could get rid of that embarrassing marketing stunt but looks like it's stuck with me for life." Manual complained "Well, here is the main room. My office is that small cleaning closet near the back." He led us to a circular room where ten or so people sat down on some cushions typing away furiously at their laptops.

"Everyone, say hello to our new guests."

The men working there looked to be either a few years older than us, or around Manual's age which wasn't that old. Manual himself had only graduated from UA about ten years ago, which put him at around twenty-eight years old. That was pretty young, so when the office workers waved at Iida and I, it felt like we had walked into someone's home. The stench of takeout food and coffee helped as well, especially when that guy was playing Galaga on his laptop.

He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did.

Bzzt.

Oh, someone messaged me. But they could wait, especially as Manual introduced us to all the team members. Kei, Takumi, Itsuki, Akira, Junpei, Yosuke and Ryoji all seemed like cool guys. Especially as one of them made a joke about how lively the place was going to be for the next few days. Still, I did enjoy the atmosphere that Manual had created in his agency; it really did feel comfortable like home.

And seeing them all interact made me realise that it was a home, they acted like a family together with enough teasing and extortion material to last for years. Takumi, the one closest to Manual, even put him in a headlock as he described the company's finances. Iida, the self-proclaimed brooding king, had a small smile plastered across his face at the exchange. Heh, so it wasn't all doom and gloom with him, I still had a shot.

Bzzt.

Who the hell was messaging me now?

"So, now you have met the people you will be working with for a few days, what do you think? Some other heroes, like Native, might drop by today or tomorrow so you might work with them. Speaking of, he made a terrific joke around Christmas time last year about a present given to you by a terrorist, and how it will blow you away-, Yamazaki, could you please put your phone in silent mode?"

"But sir if I do that my phone might just blow up. Girls don't like it when you ignore their messages ya' know." I was assuming that the person messaging me was indeed a girl, only because I knew no other person who sent multiple messages at once. And that person had to be Jiro. She probably found a retro music store and picked up a crazy rare album for dirt cheap, and she was then going to gush over it and explain to me it's worth.

I could imagine her eyes sparkling with joy, the smile on her face-,

She wasn't even here damnit!

"Oh? Are you dreaming of a certain girl Yamazaki?" He teased me, elbowing me in the arm. "By all means, if a girl you like is messaging you then take all the time you need. I won't mind, especially since I have Iida here as an extra worker. Don't let this internship get in the way of young love, that's actually how I met wife you know."

"Really?" I asked. "That seems rather weird, allowing people to not do work so long as they are trying to get a girlfriend."

Manual shrugged his shoulders. "Or a boyfriend, don't forget that. The reason is that back in my day we had no phones, well we did but they weren't nearly as complex as they are now. Back then, social media was mainly used for marketing. Then and again, I didn't get my first phone until high school so maybe I'm the outlier. We only had our smile and honesty to try and woo the people we liked, and not hundreds of memes and gifs." Oh god, he knew what they were.

"Sir, I'm pretty sure talking to people through messages hasn't devolved into that. But if it has, then I'll eat my shoe or something. I don't think a reply will take more than a minute, so don't worry about giving Iida my side of the work."

Manual nodded. "Sure, just meet us at my office once you are done. And don't be late or else I'll put you on coffee duty!" He wagged his finger at me, all before turning around like nothing happened. It was strange to say the least, it was like he lived in a totally different plane of existence compared to us. It was like he was... over the top in a comical way. He took everything he said so seriously that I couldn't help but laugh at him.

Coffee duty?

This motherfucker wishes he could put me on coffee duty. I'd pour the cup on top of that bastard and show him what 'coffee duty' really means, how dare he try to devalue me?! Doesn't he know who I am-, Oh wait I am a student. Still, the sausage fest of the office really made me sad. No female workers? Really? Now that was unusual, unless he was-,

No, Manual couldn't be a sexist.

Sure enough, looking around the one floor agency, no female could be found sitting at a desk. It was all overworked men with massive bags under their eyes wearing shitty suits. No female in sight, which adding more credence to my theory. Suddenly the cheerful persona that the 'Normal Hero' put up came crashing down right in front of me, because Manual totally seemed like a creep.

But he had a wife.

Then and again, he never said if she worked.

Was he abusive?

No, think Sora, think!

The hero who I had chosen to intern with was potentially a sexist. Or maybe a misogynist? Or just a flat-out creep. With each passing second, I was beginning to regret ever accepting Manual's offer. That was until a tiny little girl wearing a yellow dress walked right in front of me and hugged one of the workers, Takumi my mind supplied. She had bright pink hair, which clashed with the colour of her dress so much that even I, a disaster in fashion, had to look away.

"Niichan," The little girl began. "When's papa gonna' take me out to lunch?" She looked to be no older than seven, and the way she spoke made it clear that she wasn't above the age of ten at least. Then and again, I don't really know how modern day ten-year-olds speak to other people.

"Getting a little big there Hiromi. I can't keep on carrying you anymore-," Takumi, the diligent worker that was playing blackjack, groaned as the tiny girl pulled his hair.

"Don't call me fat." She pouted. "Where is papa?"

"Your father is in his office, same as always." Takumi replied, slapping her hands away from his hair as he turned to point at me. "Oi, kid. Take her to her father, will you?"

"Who me?" I asked, looking around to make sure he wasn't pointing at someone else. Takumi nodded as he pushed the girl forward and turned back to do his 'work.' Tch, lazy bastard. He was more concerned with his games rather than taking a girl to her father. Still, I had an estimate of who her 'papa' was which if true, completely killed my theory. I walked up to the little girl; Hiromi was what the worker called her and offered her a kind smile.

"Hello, want me to take you to your father?" I asked.

She screamed and ran to her 'niichan' for help against the 'creepy boy.' Ouch. That hurt, was it my smile? I think it might have been my smile. My smile wasn't the greatest, and it totally, made me look like a loon. But scary enough to scare kids? Now that was a new low that I wouldn't repeat to anyone, because this never happened. Takumi, the worker who was now grumbling, shoved the girl forward once again after calming her down.

"So, your 'papa' is Manual right?" I asked her. She hesitantly nodded, maintaining her distance as she looked shyly away from me. Gah, and here I thought I was good at dealing with kids. Oh well, time to prove it. I raised my hand up to hi-five her, but she instead ignored me and chose to walk ahead of me. Brilliant, just brilliant. Being disrespected by a Chibi girl with bubble-gum pink hair in a yellow dress. Still, at least she didn't kick me in the balls.

We walked side by side until we reached Manual's office, at that point she waited patiently for me to open the door for her as she couldn't reach it. My first reaction was to swoon at how cute her pouts were, but quickly resisted that urge as she was Manual's daughter. But I did wonder as to how the man would react to his daughter entering his office at this time of day. I'm sure elementary school would have finished by now, so how did she get here?

Maybe the mother?

Oh well, not my problem I suppose. Opening the door, I was immediately greeted with the heavy smell of food. All over the floor lay empty boxes of takeout food, from ramen to pizza. Beer bottles were dotted around the room as well, some empty and some half full. Sitting down in his chair, Manual was teaching Iida how to manage the giant pile of paperwork that the boy was currently holding. It instantly reminded me of that dreadful work experience I had a few years ago in Endevour's agency, and with it came the memories of bunking the work experience for a day.

Ha, history repeats itself.

Well, not really. But Manual's demeanour did shift dramatically as he jumped over his desk to hug his 'pumpkin' as hard as he could. It even made me smile, and I prided myself on being as emotionless as possible... Okay now that was a lie. Still, it did tug on my heart a little, and it reminded me of the relationship I had with my parents. Gekko and Hinata would do the exact same, hell they already have done this exact stunt before.

But it also reminded me of her. It reminded me of her blonde hair, the disgusted look plastered across her face, and her unhappy voice as she pushed me away to one of the doctors. It reminded me of the bitch that abandoned me, and my mind wondered to what my life would have been like if she hadn't left me. Did she know what I was, or rather who I was. I didn't understand why she left me, and I felt angry at her for leaving me.

What did I ever do to her?

What was stopping her from at least raising me for a few years? Would she have done this with me? Act like an actual mother, act like Hinata who was my mother in all but blood. Would she actually care about me like Hinata or Gekko did? Despite everything I had been through, and despite all the love I had for Hinata and Gekko for giving me a home to return to, something inside me wanted to desperately search her out and ask her the truth.

Ask her why she left me, why I was the way I was.

But I had no idea if this was something that I wanted to do, or if it was the other me that wanted to seek revenge. Either way, I quickly left those thoughts behind as I sat down next to Iida and took some papers off from his pile. They were registration forms that we, that being Iida and I, had to sign before we went out on patrol. It was a simple check that the district of Hosu had set up making sure that as students, were safe from any potential harm.

"Well, after you guys sign those forms just give me a call and I'll explain to you what the plan will be for the rest of the day." Manual explained as he let his daughter sit on his shoulders. "I'm going to get some food for her, and then I'll take her home. I should not be gone for more than an hour, which gives you more than enough time to thoroughly read those forms and sign them correctly. Welcome to Hero work, featuring never ending paperwork." He joked.

Iida and I didn't find it funny, especially since the document looked to be about seventy pages long, and that wasn't counting the other form that we had to fill in about our costumes and support items. Gah. Paperwork, my only weakness.

---

"So, any questions?" Manual asked us.

I raised my hand up.

"Aozora, what is your question?"

Sighing, I pointed to the equipment scattered across the gym floor. "When was the last time you used this gym? It looks old. Old, unused and a little out of date. That's my first question, my second question is why you are using our 'hero names' and why we have to do training in the first place. Can't we just go out on patrol?" Don't get me wrong, more time spent indoors meant that Iida had less time to look for Stain.

But spending our days at the gym Manual had set up to push our bodies 'beyond our limits' seemed like hell. Sure, Aizawa's training with me included some exercise, but it was mostly for training my Quirk and how to actually fight and not die in a battle due to my carelessness. This was just going to the gym, which I had only tried a few times before. It's not like I was opposed to it, rather as a 'indoors' person it felt wrong for me to be trapped inside a room without a game in hand.

"Well, Aozora, the answer to your first question is that I don't know. Usually, I go to the local gym to help others out with their own personal fitness. Usually this is reserved for the lazy sacks of shit in the head office, and as you can see, they would rather play blackjack all day rather than do some exercise while on their break." Manual replied. "And as for your second question, I'm just getting you used to people calling you by your hero names. And today we will be doing a fitness test so I can accurately gauge your ability and give you advice on how to improve your overall fitness."

Oh great, he was a health nut.

"Now, get on the treadmill. Fifteen minutes at the max setting with an incline of three-point-five. No rest, and if either of you stop for even a moment to catch your breath, I will make you repeat it but with a steeper incline." Manual the Normal Hero? More like Manual the sadist. Forget Aizawa beating the snot out of me, this was way worse. Somehow, I managed to make it through the first workout without stopping which caused Manual to actually compliment me.

"Looking good Aozora. You may be small in size, but you have good legs. Did you play a sport during middle school, or even now?" I nodded at him.

"Football."

"Ah, soccer is a great sport. Still, let us move on to our one hundred push-ups. Come on, we don't have all day so get a move on." I groaned at that. Where was our break? I didn't even have enough time to drink some water, and my legs were aching already. I had no idea that treadmills even had an 'incline' feature, and he wanted me to do one hundred push-ups right after? Iida looked to be in his comfort zone as he immediately got down on the floor and started to do the exercise with no problems.

I, on the other hand, was corrected instantly by Manual who told me that I was doing the push-ups incorrectly. No, my hands were far too wide, and I wasn't reaching the floor. Even after his 'corrections' I could barely do eight in a row, let alone one hundred overall even if it was separated in five reps of twenty. Overall, I managed to achieve thirty push-ups before Manual moved us on to the next exercise. We had to hover on the bars, lean forward and do fifty dips.

Needless to say, I could not do even one.

I never knew how bad my upper body strength was until Manual practically sighed at my pathetic attempts. It wasn't that Iida was doing better than me, even he was having troubles with the workouts, but he could at least do one dip. I couldn't even hover standing up straight, let alone leaning forwards. After the treadmill and the 'one hundred push-ups' I felt tired. So tired, and it felt like I was going to collapse on the floor at a moment's notice.

I reminded myself of what Mineta once said, that he was a 'lover' not a 'fighter' and I quickly realised that it applied to me as well. But unlike Mineta, I felt frustrated that I couldn't even perform the exercise. I had thought that I was 'lean,' but Manual quickly corrected me, I was skinny-fat and I lacked upper body strength immensely. It was a miracle that I could even swing my bokuto around with one arm, but even then, it was more of me swinging it around wildly with no control.

After that we used the dumbbells, which quickly restored my faith in myself. They were easy, even if they weren't that heavy, Manual was impressed by me once again. Next came the bench-press, which I surprisingly did well on as well. But then the dreaded machine came, the chest press machine. I don't know if that was the name of it, but it would give me nightmares for the coming days. Oh, I could do the reps when it was just the bar, but as soon as the weights were added, my arms turned to jelly. I could push it no problem, but then I couldn't hold it.

It was embarrassing, even with the minimum weights I couldn't perform the reps. I was just so extremely tired from everything that we had done before that I could not even perform them correctly. It was so frustrating, especially since Manual kept cheering me on, especially since he was working with me. But it just was not working, and eventually I collapsed to the floor panting heavily. This wasn't my day, not at all.

"Aozora, is this your first time going to the gym?"

I nodded. I had been to the gym before, mostly just to meet with people there after they had worked out. Especially when I used to be in the middle school football team, but since I wasn't exactly liked nor did I present a positive attitude, I was quickly barred from training with them. Sure, I deserved it, but I was slowly starting to regret not going with them now. My entire body hurt, every muscle in my body felt like it was on fire.

It ached just to breathe in and out, let alone to actually get up and move.

And then I looked at the clock. Somehow, we had spent over two hours at the gym. And we weren't even done yet, no, we had to work on our core. Setting us up with a circuit that involved a medicine ball, lifting up dumbbells and punching while holding them as well as sit ups, after twenty minutes of repeating those same exercises, Manual finally stopped for the day.

"Well, that was... illuminating." He commented. "Iida, you performed admirably today. Sure, you didn't finish any of the sets I asked, but you did give it your best. I'm sure you already know on what you need to improve, so I will not bore you with the details. Yamazaki, you tried your best. On the whole, as someone who hadn't been to the gym before you did better than I would have thought. Your upper body strength needs a lot of work, and your stamina while plentiful for a football match needs to improve if you are going to be a hero that can fight multiple enemies one after the other. But a good starting point for you to build from."

Resisting the urge to curse at him, I simply nodded in response.

This was going to hurt for the next day or so. That was until Manual through two bottles of lotion at us. "Rub this across your whole body. It'll soothe all the aches, and by tomorrow you'll be as good as new. Perfect for you to start some more training, as well as your patrols. Now get up, have a shower, and get ready for dinner." Manual instructed as I mock saluted him. God, I was never going to do this again. Nope. I'd work on my upper body strength, enough to do the exercises, but after that I would never do this again.

I never wanted to be built.

I just wanted to be lean, is that so hard?

Iida helped me get up, albeit rather shakingly as he nearly collapsed on me. "Yamazaki, we won't speak of this ever again, okay? Not to anyone in our class. Ever."

"I'm way ahead of you. What workout session? We never had one."

And for the first time in a while, Iida smiled. "That is the spirit. We did not get pummelled into the ground by a session at the gym. We just happened to slip and fall down some stairs, that is all. Am I right?"

I nodded.

"Yeah. Curse those blasted stairs."

---

Dinner was a rather simple affair. Manual, his daughter, Iida, and I all went out to a restaurant to eat some food. It was a family restaurant, and Hiromi ordered the meal that came with a toy as well as asking the guy in the suit for a balloon. It was nice and simple, and I thoroughly enjoyed my chicken nuggets and double cheeseburger that came at no cost of my own. Finally, some food after that torturous workout routine.

"So, papa says that you two work for him now." Hiromi asked as curiously. "Are you two his slaves?" Iida nearly choked on his fries as I resisted the urge to spit out my strawberry milkshake all over the little girl. Manual on the other hand laughed, ruffling his daughter's hair as he called her such an intelligent girl, not bothering to correct her.

"No, we are not his 'slaves.'" I replied. "We are working with your dad for a week, after that we get to go back home."

"So, I don't have to see you again?"

"Yes-, wait why don't you want to see me again?"

"You look scary. I haven't seen a boy with blue hair before."

I snorted. "Well, I haven't seen a girl with pink hair before." That was a lie, but she did not need to know that.

"Nu-uh. I've seen girls with pink hair before."

"Well so have-, You know what, why am I arguing with a five-year-old. Iida, why didn't you stop me?" I asked my classmate who merely shrugged his shoulders in response. Gah. Bloody useless bastard, he probably found it amusing. So, I did what any rational teenager would do, I took a French fry and threw it at him.

"Real mature Yamazaki."

For that sarcasm, I threw another. This time it hit his glasses, something which I counted as a win as he sat upright and threw one of his chips at me.

"Real mature of you Iida, you are seriously acting like our class vice president now." Iida simply pushed his glasses up as he paid no attention to me, instead choosing to throw a piece of lettuce at me. Oh, it was on now. Grabbing the bottle of ketchup, I poured some of it on my chips and threw them at him, making sure that his clothes got stained in the process. In response, he used his mayonnaise to do the same to me.

We kept this up for a while before Hiromi burst out giggling, Manual soon after.

"You guys act like babies." Hiromi said, which stung as she was a child herself. Manual on the other hand threw a chip at his daughter in response.

"What did I say about calling people babies?"

"Not to do it when they can listen."

"No. It was not to do it at all."

"You are such a big baby papa."

Manual rolled his eyes, choosing to sip his drink instead of responding. Eventually, Hiromi wanted to go to the playground, so Manual ordered Iida to go with her. The look on his face was priceless, doubly so as I took a picture of him holding hands with Hiromi and promised him that I was sending it to everyone in the class. Heh, I'm sure Mina would love to talk about the picture in detail, and I was sure that it would lead to Iida blushing profoundly at the implications that he would be a good 'daddy.'

However, it did leave Manual and I alone. Judging from his posture, and the way he turned to face me as soon as Iida and Hiromi were out of sight it meant that he had wanted to speak to me alone for a reason. The first lesson Aizawa-sensei had drilled into my head was that if people want to speak to you in private, either they had a job for you or were going to tell you a secret.

"You must be wondering why I sent Iida away, aren't you?"

I shook my head. "Not really. To me it seems like you want to speak to me about something, seeing as Iida isn't here, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you want to discuss Stain. That, or you are about to reveal something about the internship that you know will affect Iida, which again will probably relate back to Stain in some way. Am I right?"

Manual grinned at me, chuckling slightly as he took another sip from his beer bottle. "When your file came through, I wasn't expecting this. Good Quirk and a good mind, even if your physicality could do with some improvements, you still make a strong offering. Admittedly I was surprised that you chose to intern with me, to be frank I can't really help you when it comes to your Quirk. Best I can do is teach on how to control it to help save people, but that's about it. But you were right, this is about Stain. We, the heroes who patrol around Hosu as well as Tokyo, have reason to believe that Stain is still in this district."

I resisted a snort. Was it really that shocking? I mean he killed one Pro-Hero, sure the district would be crawling with them after a while to try and smoke him out, and any sane person would go into hiding, but Stain wasn't sane. No, he probably thought that this was an even better opportunity to take out a few more heroes that he deems unworthy, to send a message. And if a certain little student died along the way, it would add even greater emphasis to his point that our society had stopped producing heroes, or rather that we were 'fake.'

That even the generation of heroes to come were nothing but fakes.

And that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Who gives a shit if a hero was 'fake,' as long as they saved people and avoided innocents dying then that was all that really mattered. Who gives a fuck if they post ass pics in their spare time to make money or stared in movies and video games to capitalise on their loyal fanbase. That's how capitalism work, or something along those lines. Political science wasn't a subject we studied until out second year of U.A.

"And if I already know this?"

"Well then I'd have to commend you for being smart enough to keep up with us pros." Manual replied. "But then I'd berate you for choosing to come here if you knew that fact, but something tells me that you didn't come here to pick a fight with a murderer, am I right?"

I nodded. "I came here for one reason alone Manual, and that's to keep Iida away from Stain before he can do anything stupid. Sorry to say this, but I don't really care for you or your agency. I only came here because Iida choose this place, it was the only option I had left short of kidnapping Iida and throwing him in a warehouse all alone for a week. If it was up to me, I would be with Hawks right now flying in the sky."

Manual laughed at that. "Honesty hurts sometimes but coming from you it just breaks my heart into a million pieces kid. I know I'm not exactly the most popular hero, but when you mentioned my mixtapes, I had a fleeting dream for a second that you were one of my superfans."

"Heh don't get me wrong. Initially I didn't care for you, but as I learned more about you in preparation for this trip, I did eventually start to respect you immensely. You have a basic water Quirk, but even then, compared to Blackdraft or Water Hose you aren't that popular. Still, I didn't know you had a daughter. Spending all your time with her has probably dampened the amount of hero work you can do in a day."

Manual nodded at that, finishing his beer bottle in one last gulp. I didn't expect the man to be a heavy drinker, but he just knocked out three bottles in the span of an hour. But he didn't seem drunk, maybe it was a side effect of his Quirk? His water Quirk allowed him to control any liquid within a nearby radius, including liquids inside his body. He could dilute the alcohol or some shit, rendering him unable to get drunk, or rather he can sober up within an instant.

I think.

Science wasn't my strong suit.

"Mmh, I guess you are right." Manual eventually replied with a yawn. "But Hiromi isn't my daughter."

"Huh?"

"Yeah. Weird right? I look after a young girl that calls me 'papa.' Truth be told I'm not even related to her. She's my wife's niece, her parents were drug addicts and abused her. They locked her up in her room, forgot to feed her and didn't take her out to see the sun, or even go to school. Even now I have her home schooled as throwing her into elementary school would destroy her. But she's been getting better, if anything I reckon by the time middle school comes along, she can have a decent experience. Hopefully."

Wow.

"If you don't mind me asking, where is your wife? If you are a hero then shouldn't she, or someone that the two of you have chosen, be looking after her?" I asked the older man.

"True. But I'm afraid I'm the only one who will look after Hiromi. See my wife, her aunt, died a few years back." Manual answered. His soft black eyes turned unreadable for a moment, and even I could tell the loathing and hate he held within him. "Turns out calling me in to take Hiromi away from those bastarda angered them, and so while my wife was walking back from work with little Hiromi by her side, they attacked her. They wanted to take back what was 'theirs,' but my wife wouldn't allow it. She tried to fight them both head on, but all it took was a fatal wound to the back of the neck. She died before the medics could even reach her." He angrily spat out.

"Did... did you catch them?"

"Eventually. They were as high as a kite; the husband had overdosed on some drug while the wife was still alive. I questioned her, why would she kill her own sister. And the only response I got was 'I killed that bitch because I wanted too. She stole the kid that we were going to sell to make some money, and so we wanted revenge.' Needless to say, she's serving a long sentence, and by the time she's released out of prison it'll be in a body bag." He explained surly.

Turning my head to the left, I could see the pink haired girl laughing as she went down the slide. Full of childish innocence, she seemed like a happy kid. But she had already gone through so much, enough to even make me angry. 'Scary boy,' I probably reminded her of her shitty parents-, No, they weren't good enough to be called her parents. I could probably be a better parent to her compared to them, and I was still a teenager.

And then I looked back at Manual. He looked tortured, like he had beaten himself up over it. And he probably did, sure he feels fine now but I couldn't imagine the rage he must have felt when it happened. But Manual really was a good man, even after this tragedy he still puts on his costume to save others, to me that was a hero worth respecting. That was a man worth living up to, a man that truly deserved to be a hero, and the fact that he wasn't as popular as say Endeavour left a bad taste in my mouth.

"I don't know what to say." I eventually said. "I mean I know some people can be messed up, but to do that to your own family. Jeez. Sometimes I wonder if being a hero is as good as people make it out to be. I can't even begin to imagine the horrible shit that you pros have to go through. Sorry to hear about your wife, she seemed like a great human. I reckon I would have liked her."

Manual nodded at that, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's been years since it happened kid. No need to apologise for it, hell you weren't even ten when it happened. Still, it happened early on in my career. I had so much rage within me that I dedicated my every living moment to being a hero, but it wasn't enough. My wife, she was smart. She was my PR manager, my assistant and the one running the agency all in one. Those workers still there, they still work with me not just because of my friendship with them, but because of the respect they had for my wife. But I've realised that I wanted to be a positive role-model, and since then I've tried my hardest to become one. Even if I wasn't exactly the most popular hero."

"Well, you definitely succeeded." I replied.

"You think?"

I nodded at him, pointing at where Hiromi and Iida were playing. "That girl looks up to you. In her eyes, you are her father. And I'm sure that she thinks of your wife as her mother, trust me I would know. As an adopted kid, shit like this happened to me as well. Mother abandoned me at birth, father either a deadbeat, a villain or some rich prick that doesn't care. Either way, I'm better off without them." Was I? Or was I just lying to myself?

No.

I loved Hinata and Gekko.

I truly did, and they were my parents, even if we weren't related by blood.

"Thanks kid," Manual muttered, wiping away a few tears. "Sometimes I feel like I've failed her. I'm not related to her by blood, so I can't provide her with everything that she wants. But I try, I try to be a good role-model and hearing you say that I've succeeded makes me feel happy." Argh shit, now I was starting to tear up as well.

"Don't mention it. By the way, you are now one of my favourite heroes. Tied with All Might for third place." Manual giggled at that.

"Tied with All Might? Are you daft?"

"Please, he's a pretty cool guy but once he teaches you thrice a week the novelty wears off. He's just another guy in a costume." Albeit a pretty powerful guy that would end my entire bloodline with a single punch. But there was no way that this would turn into Injustice, not when we didn't even have our Batman yet.

"That's also why I invited Iida." Manual explained. "I could have killed her. I nearly gave into my rage and did, but I knew I was better than that. Heroes can't afford to be motivated by personal grudges, we don't have the authority to make arrests and dole out punishment. We can only use our Quirks in the name of justice because of the law, but even then, the line between heroism and vigilantism is very thin. I want Iida to learn this lesson, that our rage isn't supposed to conquer us – That we are supposed to conquer it. I'm sure you can also learn the lesson as well"

"Well don't worry about that." I replied with a thumbs up. "You can count on me to help you teach Iida that lesson. I'll make sure that it sticks, because there is no way in hell that I'm fighting Stain with Iida. Nope. If I see the 'Hero Killer' I'm turning right back around and running away with Iida tied up beside me."

"Well kid, glad you know what to do because I was having a tough time with talking to him about it. Tensei was a friend. He was my senapi when I was in my first year of U.A, and he also introduced me to my wife. I want to hunt the son of a bitch that killed him myself and teach him some manners before throwing him in prison for the rest of his miserable life. But coming from an old geezer, that seems rather stupid don't you think? At least with you here, a good kick up the backside from a friend ought to convince him."

I hoped that was the case, but I had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be as easy as what Manual was describing. Still, I couldn't give up now. Not when I promised myself that I'd save him from himself, that I'd make sure that he wouldn't die.

Tenya Iida was going to live, and I'd make sure of it.

---

Bzzt.

Bzzt.

Bzzt.

Bzzt.

"Urgh," I moaned, yawning loudly as I reached out for my phone. Who the hell was messaging me this early in the morning? Jeez, at least let a guy get his beauty sleep. Not whatever kind of hell this was, imagine being woken up to-,

Kaminari: Happy Birthday bro! Hope u have a great day

Mineta: Happy birthday. You are now sixteen which means in the UK you can have sex, isn't that great?

Yaoyorozu: Happy birthday Sora. I hope you have a pleasant day.

Mina: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SO-CHAN!

Tsuyu: Happy birthday Sora, I hope you like your presents

Uraraka: Hppy Birthday!

Uraraka: Happy* oops : )

Kirishima: Happy birthday dude! Have a manly day!

Sero: Can you spare me a slice of cake? Oh, and happy birthday, have a wonderful day

Tokoyami: I wish you a happy birthday

Hagakure: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, YOU LIVE IN A ZOO! YOU SMELL LIKE A MONKEY, AND YOU LOOK LIKE ONE TOO!

Tokage: Did you know that when a car crashes, there is a small chance that those in the passenger's seat die? Well either way, make sure to look at the lights when crossing the road. If it's red, it means you should cross. Happy birthday.

Monoma: SORA-SAMA I WISH YOU THE GREATEST BIRTHDAY OF ALL TIME!

Koda: Happy birthday Sora!

Ojiro: Happy birthday man

Shirou: Congrats on making it to sixteen dude, now you are a year older than... people?

Sakura: Happy birthday! How's your trip in Hosu coming along?

Keiko: Happy birthday bro!

Saki: Ha-pp-y b-day Sora

Makoto: Onii-chan, I wish you a special birthday.

Renji: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! YOSH!

Genji: Happy birthday.

Kenji: Happy birthday. 16 huh? Weird

Denji: Happy birthday, hope you have a wonderful day

Miwa: SORA! It's your birthday, so don't forget it! Today is an incredibly special day for you! If you don't reply to this message within ten minutes of you reading it, I'll burn your porn collection! Lots of love, from your sexy sister

Sui: Happy birthday cunt. Did you learn how to kick the ball straight? Oh, and here is an unrelated picture of me holding up the most recent trophy I won in football, do you like your gift?

Gekko: Happy birthday son. Your mother and I give you lots of hugs and kisses

Hinata: I CAN'T BELIVE YOU ARE 16 ALREADY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDDO!

Izuku: Hello Sora-san. Uraraka gave me your number, so I hope you are doing well. There is a chance that my mentor and I will be going to Hosu today, so just in case we don't meet I want to wish you a happy birthday!

Unkown: I hope this is your number. If it is, I am Shoto Todoroki. This message is for Sora Yamazaki, so if you aren't him could you kindly delete this message after informing me that this is the wrong person. But if you are Sora Yamazaki, I wish you a pleasant birthday.

Unkown: Shitty cloud watcher. Fuck you, and don't have a happy birthday. I wasn't forced to do this, and I don't care if you die.

Jiro: TO my absolute best friend, the person that I trust with my life and the idiot that has saved my life more times to count. Here is a picture of you sleeping with some makeup on your face from a few years back, I wish I could be with you to celebrate your birthday and give you your present, but this will have to do for now. I hope you have an amazing day, and of course, happy birthday to the best friend anyone could ever ask for!

Hah.

I couldn't believe it as I scrolled through each message, these bastards actually blew up my phone with the number of notifications. Hell, even Bakugo and Todoroki wished me a happy birthday (Even if it was in their own peculiar way) and I didn't even have their numbers. Well, I didn't before, after saving them to my phone I now did. Heh, I wonder how much I could annoy Bakugo now that I had his number? And my plan revolving slowly turning Todoroki into a version of myself was becoming easier and easier by the day.

I didn't even have enough time to respond to them all as Iida entered my room and threw a present at me. It was a small keychain that read 'I love Hosu' along with a recently published manga volume, a card next to them both.

"Happy birthday Yamazaki. Forgive my handwriting, I wasn't exactly given a lot of time you see and-,"

"Thanks." I cut him off. Here I was, worrying about this bastard and he woke up extra early to buy me some birthday presents. How unfair! But looking at him now, even I could tell that the smile had had on his face wasn't forced. Which was why it hurt when the next moment, that smile vanished, and the same look in his eyes returned. Iida wasn't saved from himself yet, and truth be told I didn't even know if it could happen.

But my birthday was today, so maybe that would give me some extra luck? I got changed and went downstairs where little Hiromi began to sing to me happy birthday, in a cute little way that made Manual ruffle her hair. She was a cute kid, very fun to be around with, and constantly made you smile. Even if she occasionally was slightly mean to me, it didn't detract away from her cute actor. If anything, it made the kid more endearing.

After some breakfast, curtesy of Manual, he brought us once again to the gym as we did the same exercises as before. Luckily, his training this time was cut short as we got suited into our costumes, and quickly were explained by Manual what it meant to be on patrol. I could barely keep my excitement in check as I strapped both my weapons to my side, and my new jacket adding to my overall cool factor. I looked like a badass, that was for damn sure.

"Now, I'm sure you don't need me to explain to you why patrols are important, so instead I'll tell you this one rule that I follow." Manual said, raising his index finger. "Always, always have the emergency services on speed dial. I swear, the number of newbies I've seen mess this up always causes headaches, so please have them on speed dial. And another thing, make sure to always collect potential witness names, it aids the police in more ways than one. All that aside, welcome to your very first patrol."

And with that, he opened the doors, leading us to the bustling streets of Hosu.

"Yamazaki, you, and Iida take the right-hand side. I have some work to take care of, so if anything happens come ask for help at the police station. It's just around the corner from here." He explained as he nodded at the two of us. "I don't expect you two to do much, but here are a few tasks to get you started." He gave us a list of three tasks.

To walk a dog, find a missing cat and find out who stole someone's bin...

"Sir," I started, still staring at the list in front of me. "This just seems like you left a bunch of shit for us to do because you were too lazy to do them yourself." Beside me, Iida agreed.

Manual on the other hand, grinned. "Lesson one. Being a hero isn't always saving people from a burning building this or fighting villains to save the city that. Most heroes spend more time solving petty crimes and helping out the local community, and while they might not be the most exciting tasks, they should run you for a few hours at the very least. Oh, and write some notes while you complete the tasks, you will have to draft a formal report in the evening anyways."

I groaned at that.

Paperwork was my only weakness, besides cute girls who was also my best friend. Wait no, I should have just left it at cute girls. Damn it. Now I was going to think about Jiro in a skimpy swimsuit for the rest of the day, her voice wishing me a happy birthday as she buys me strawberry ice-cream and kisses my cheek, blushing while doing so. Her bright smile as I pull her in for a hug, her pouting as I don't share the ice-cream, her face when I suggest that we play strip poker.

If only that was my reality, if only.

Instead, we had to go find the bloke who stole a rubbish bin from someone.

How exciting.

The missing cat was easy to find. Iida just used his Quirk to run around the park where 'Mr Tiddles' was last seen, and we returned the blasted creature back to its elderly owner, who cried with tears at the sight of their cat still being alive. She then shut the door on us, forgetting that it was us who even brought the cat back to her decrepit house. How rude, well I suppose 'Mr Tiddles' should be preparing for some goodbyes as when that old fossil died, she was going straight to hell.

Walking the dog was as easy as it sounded. Iida and I flipped a coin to decide on who would be picking up its shit, and when it landed on me, I had to play my card to get out of that hell.

"I can't do it."

"Why not?"

"It's my birthday."

"So?"

"Picking up shit on your birthday is a sign of bad luck, and I will get cursed for the rest of my life."

Iida begrudgingly accepted being the 'shit-boy' as long as there were no photos taken of him cleaning up the shit. Alas, when he wasn't looking, I managed to take a picture of him scooping up a massive dump off the floor. Oh, that was definitely getting edited at a later date, just imagine with what I could replace it with?

I could replace it with a big fat throbbing cock-,

Ahem.

Shit duties aside, by the time we started our last task it was already five in the afternoon, and the sun had begun to set. I still had enough energy within me to patrol for another few hours, but not even I could deny the monotony that was asking people if they had seen a rubbish bin thief hanging around the area lately. Fortunately, one of our leads led us directly to the culprit, a homeless man by the name of Ichiban who collected bins as a hobby, and who from the looks of it also collected stolen items.

After calling the police on him, Iida and I watched as the police chased the homeless man for a few minutes, before tackling him down and cuffing him. It was extremely entertaining to do so, but a part of me wished to join in on the fun. Sadly, neither Iida nor I held a provisional license so we legally couldn't intervene, less the man presses vigilante charges against us. But I really wanted to tackle the homeless naked man!

"So, it's nearly six? Want to go get some food then head for Manual's agency?" Iida shrugged his shoulders in response. "Pizza it is. You like pizza, right Iida? Because I love pizza. It's like my favourite food ever, and the funny part is that I don't know why. The fatty, oily based pizzas aren't even that good. It's the stone oven one's with the flat bases that are the best, now that's what I call real food, you get me?"

Iida shrugged his shoulders once again.

"Oh, come on man, are you seriously-,"

Before I could finish my sentence, a loud alarm alerted the two of us to a small alleyway where someone was trying to break into a car. They had a crowbar for an arm, likely their Quirk, and they were sneakily trying to open the door without anyone noticing. Sadly, the alarm went off before they could get away with the crime. And so, using my heroic nature, I decided to approach the target while Iida ran to get some police officers.

Now, how to approach them?

Should I lean against the wall and cough slightly? No, that made it seem like I was stalking them or something. Maybe jump up on top of the car and startle them? No, that ran the risk of me actually breaking the vehicle. And that would be bad. Unbelievably bad and would lead to U.A, and Manual, getting sued. So then how would I approach the criminal?! Aha! I summoned my Nimbus, transforming it into a long pole as I poked the criminal in the back.

"Halt criminal scum!" I yelled rather loudly. "I will not allow you to break into someone's car, so I will give you one warning before I beat you to death with this stick. Well not to death, but I'm sure you understand what I mean criminal! Your dastardly plan ends here!" Overdramatic with a touch of sophisticated language. I really should peruse a career in the theatre arts, maybe I could become the next DiCaprio?

"Huh? Halloween is not for another few months, so get lost kid-,"

Ouch that hurt.

"I'm not a kid! And if you don't step away from that car right now, I'll shove this stick so far up your ass it'll come out from your mouth!

"...that's murder. Anyways, this is my car-,"

"As if I'll believe you, a criminal. Put your knees behind your hands-, hands behind your knees and do as I say, the police are coming here any moment now!"

"But dude, it's my car."

"Then use your keys."

"I left my keys in my car, look!"

Sure enough, as I leaned forward, I could see the car keys sitting there. Damn, so maybe he was telling the truth? Phew. I nearly apprehended an innocent man; I wonder how long it would take for U.A to expel me for that? Hm, well if he wasn't a criminal, then maybe I could help him out. Aha! A special mission that only I completed while Iida was away, that would surely result in some extra credit points! Or something.

"Do you require assistance?"

"What do you think dumbass. My keys are stuck inside my car, as long as I can get my keys out then I don't mind."

"So, why don't you break your car window then?"

He turned to look at me funnily.

"Bro... did you just suggest that I break my own car window?"

"Yes."

"But I'd have to replace it!"

"Using a crowbar to break open your door is going to cost a lot of money to replace as well. But I have to wonder which is cheaper, a door or a window?"

"Fair point kid, fair point." The blonde-haired guy sighed heavily in response. I bet he didn't think that he'd leave his keys inside his car today, then and again who leaves their keys inside their car? What a dumbass.

"Don't call me a kid!" I snapped. "I'll have you know I just turned sixteen."

"O..kay?"

Hmpf. How rude. It was like I was talking to a brick wall, only this time the wall was very rude. Rude, rude, rude! After a bit of debating, the guy eventually decided to break his window, however I offered to break it for him.

"You see, you are a civilian. I can't afford for you to injure yourself in my presence, pretty sure that's a fine." I explained as I pulled my bokuto out. "But if I break it, then you won't get injured. Is that all right with you?" This totally wasn't a lie so I could break the guy's window for calling me a kid. Nope, this was just me being a normal hero.

"I don't care, I just want my keys." Was the only response I got. Tch, impatient bastard. I'll get your fucking keys, and then you better get down on your knees and pray to me for being so awesome, and that you apologise for disrespecting me.

All right well here goes nothing. The window was surprisingly easy to break, but it was what came after that pissed me off. See, I put too much force into my swing, so much in fact that my bokuto actually got stuck within the leather seat. And when I pulled my bokuto out, not only had I broken the car window, but I had also ruined a perfectly good seat. But hey, at least I managed to retrieve his keys.

"Here you go." I said as I passed him his keys.

"You-, you-,"

Shit.

Oh shit.

"Hehe, sorry about that." I apologised, scratching the back of my head sheepishly. I mean jeez, how was I supposed to know that would happen? It was just an unfortunate accident. Hell, at least I didn't use Hatsume's 'baby.' God only knows what would have happened to the car. Still, at least he didn't seem too upset.

"YOU BROKE MY CAR?!"

Okay, maybe he was extremely upset.

"Okay, let's calm down for a moment and-,"

"Calm down?" The guy snarled. "Kid, you broke my damn car!"

"Well maybe if you didn't call me a kid, your car wouldn't have been broken." He stared at me, and I stared back.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously what?"

"You broke my car!"

"No, I didn't." I replied.

"Yes, you did! I saw you!"

I shook my head. "Nu-uh. Nothing happened."

"What do you mean 'nothing happened?'"

"Nothing happened." I repeated.

"So," The guy hysterically began, pointing at the ripped-up seat. "How did this happen? Please, tell me how my seat got ruined?"

"A ghost."

"A ghost?"

I nodded. "Ghosts are extremely prevalent in this time of year. I'm sure a ghost must have destroyed your seat, well no worries. I'll hunt this ghost down and exorcize it for you, as an aspiring hero you have my word!"

"I don't want your 'word,' I want my seat back! It's ruined!"

"Well..." I took out my sword again and leaned forward into the car. This time I slashed the other seat in an identical pattern. "Here we are, now the ruined aspect of the seats cancels each other out, so it becomes normal. Like in maths ya' know?"

"You just ruined my car even more!"

"Nope. It was that pesky ghost again, maybe you should consider hiring a priest to protect you. I can offer my services, but I'm afraid they are costly."

"You-,"

"Yes, yes. I know. Ghosts are terrifying, but a great man once said that this is the 'Final Getsuga Tenshou' when exorcizing a great ghost, only to fail. So, was it really a 'final' attack, or a finale to the story up to the point? I think that's the real question at hand here, the question that we really need to solve." I replied, stroking my chin thoughtfully. "Let's see... do you have a credit card? I think we can repair the damage caused by the ghosts."

"WHAT GHOSTS?! You are the idiot that damaged my car!"

I placed a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down. "Now, now. It's okay, I'm sure seeing a ghost for the first time was a shock, your mind can't comprehend what you just saw so it's okay for you to blame me. But I'm telling you, it was a ghost. A midget with purple balls that was lusting over woman, that was the ghost you saw, okay? Repeat after me, a midget with purple balls-,"

"You broke my car man! Screw this, what's your name! I'm reporting you."

"Now, now. I'm sure if you repair your car, we can move onto the second stage or exorcism which involves you forgetting that this ever happened. Ya' see, ghosts are pesky in that the more you think about it, the more real they become to you. So as a priest, my best advice is for you to forget this ever happened."

"I-, I had a date with a hot girl tonight as well. We were gonna' go to my place, and I brought some condoms as well and-,"

"That's great Mark but come and join me in prayer. If you pray hard enough by bashing your head against this wall, we can exorcize the ghost in the matter of a few minutes. I guarantee that if you 'pray' hard enough, you will wake up with no memory of the ghost whatsoever. Or any memory of anything really, but that's the price you have to pay for turning your back against the truth."

"What's your name, I'm reporting you-,"

"King Explosion Murder."

"P-Pardon?"

"King Explosion Murder." I repeated. "I was going to go for Lord Explosion Murder as my hero name, but they rejected that. Oh, but my full name is definitely not Katsuki Bakugo-, Oops, I shouldn't have said that. I don't reside in Musatafu nor do I attend U.A-, Oh no, not again." I face palmed, hoping that my fake tears would calm the guy down.

"I-, My parents don't love me, ya' know?" I said in English, hoping to throw the guy off. Yes, if I pretended that this was a prank then maybe he could forget about everything. Haha, what a brilliant plan!

"You broke my car-,"

"I WAS NEGLECTED AS A KID!" I yelled as I threw myself onto him. "I DIDN'T SEE DAYLIGHT UNTIL I WAS A MAN! I WAS STUCK IN PRISON; MY BACK WAS BROKEN AS THE CITY NEARLY FELL IN MY ABSENCE! I'M A BAT! I CAN FLY!"

"Your insane-,"

"Hello?" I asked confused. "W-who are you? Where am I?"

"Didn't you say your name was 'Katsuki Bakugo?'" The guy replied. "Holy shit, you are some messed up kid. Are you insane or some shit? Don't you remember? You damaged my car you idiot, and don't think I'll forget your name Bakugo!"

"Who the bloody hell is that. Well, I must be off." I replied, wiping off the fake dust from my costume, walking away from the alleyway. As soon as I turned the corner, I was going to go in a full sprint and forget that this ever happened. This never happened, this was all just a dream. A ghost, YES! A ghost did all this!

"Hey jackass, what about my car?"

"What the bloody hell is a car, you pompous fool." Was my response as I hightailed it out of there, right before I was greeted with a familiar face. A few of the workers at the main office ran past me, totally forgetting that I was even there. More so than that, civilians followed right after them which only made me confused. Grabbing one man by the arm, their eyes immediately betrayed their desperation as he forcefully pushed me away.

Rude, I was only trying to ask as for what was happening.

"DISPATCH AS MANY HEROES AND OFFICERS AS YOU CAN!" A voice shouted ahead of me. A police officer, holding his taser, was shouting at his phone loudly. And then the stench of smoke flooded my lungs, immediately causing me to cough violently. What the fuck? Was there a fire-,

Boom!

Suddenly, the building behind me exploded, the screams only got louder as I pulled a few civilians away from the rubble. My ears were ringing as I looked around to see what the cause of the explosion was, but I couldn't see anything due to the heavy smoke. But I had one idea, one idea that made my blood boil completely. The League of Villains had finally made their move, and those bastards decided that my birthday was a good day to execute their plan on.

But I thought I had at least a few days-,

Shit, not now! I pulled someone away from the fire, their legs crushed completely by some rubble as I summoned my Nimbus and helped to lift the rubble up, pulling them out from the danger as I ran around looking for anyone.

It was far too early-,

"AZORA!" I heard someone say. "KID, ARE YOU OKAY?!" Manual was shouting at me as I gave him a thumbs up. He looked completely serious, and a small amount of blood trickled down his face. But in front of him, standing in all of its glory was a hideous creature. A white humanoid with its brain sticking out, and its eyes implanted in its brain greeted civilians, studying them curiously before letting out a bloodcurdling scream that made me take a few steps back because of the fear I felt.

Oh shit.

Oh fuck.

A Nomu stood there, completely enthralled by us humans. All before it took off in the building behind it, crashing through it with no regard for the people inside. And then it hit me, if the Nomu was here, then Stain must be-,

"Hey, you dumbass, what about my car-,"

I turned around and punched the guy in the jaw. He collapsed like a bag of potatoes which wasn't really surprising, he was a weedy blond-haired person after all. But to be honest, he scared the shit out of me and interrupted me mid monologue, so he deserved it.

"MANUAL!" I yelled. "We have a man-down over here, he feinted from the presence of the Nomu. Get him to safety, will you? I'm going after Iida."

"No." Manual replied. "I can't allow you to just wander off like this. Especially in a perilous situation, the civilians are more important-,"

"Iida's going to go after Stain," I interrupted him. "I'm the only one that can stop him. You said it yourself, all he needs is a good kick up his backside from a friend, and everything will be all right? I got this." I started to look around for any sign of Iida, but the fact was that I couldn't find him anywhere. Shit, I'd have to use my Nimbus to fly around Hosu and pray that I wasn't too late.

"No." Manual said once again, this time grabbing my arm tightly. "Kid, what you are about to do is completely disregard my rules." The sound of another Nomu forced Manual to pause mid-sentence and swear. "Shit, everything has gone to hell. And I can't get in contact with Native, who promised that he'd be here right now. Kid, you can't go. Heroes aren't supposed to choose their friends over civilians, not at a time like this."

"But I'll be damned if I let him die!" I yelled at Manual. "I'll be damned if I let my friend die, and I'll be damned if I let innocent people die as well! I-, Shit, I should have-, shit." This definitely happened sooner than I was expecting, from what I remember it took a few days before this event. Not the second day in, which meant something must have happened. Think Sora, think! What could have happened that would cause this to be moved forward by a few days?!

"Aozora." The hero started, grabbing me by my shoulders tightly. "You can either save a fellow hero, or you can choose to save some civilians. But you can't do both, you-,"

Zero.

If I can find Zero, then I'll force him to stop all this and tell me where Iida and Stain are. He has to be the cause of this. There was no other way. Summoning my Nimbus, I jumped onto it despite Manual's insistence for me to get off it at once. I had to stop this madness before anyone died, and I had to save Iida. It was the only way, the only way I could save them both. But I had a time limit, I had to act fast or else I'd fail completely!

"Sorry sir, but I have to go on my own. I can stop all this at once." I told him. "I don't need to choose who I'll save, because I'll save them both. That's my answer." The man stared at me for a few moments before swearing loudly, kicking a rock at his feet across the road in a fit of anger.

"Not only do I have one student obsessed with revenge, but I have another idiot that's suicidal. Fuck, when I sent those applications out, I must have been more drunk than I thought." He lamented, before turning to face me determined. "Fine then Aozora, I'm trusting you. Only because this situation is dire, only because you seem like you know a way to end this madness. But don't do anything reckless, anything you do from now will have consequences, and if you get tried for vigilantism then don't say that I didn't warn you. Shit, I haven't even checked in on Hiromi-,"

"Don't worry Manual," I gave him a thumbs up as I started to float higher and higher in the air. "I'll make sure that you can hug and treat your daughter all you want tomorrow, so just try to stay alive until then. Okay?" He nodded shakily, turning his back towards me as he ran towards the raging fires that had erupted all across Hosu. But I had my plan, as soon as I found Zero, I could stop this madness completely.

The only problem was that I had no idea where to find him. I had never met Zero, at least not in person. During the USJ I fought against their bodyguard, who was extremely strong. While Zero did mind control him from afar, that didn't mean that he couldn't have been a part of the group that attacked us during the USJ. That didn't mean that they couldn't just appear in another person here again, which made looking for Zero all the more challenging. I had nothing to go off from them – Only a distorted voice that I'm pretty sure wasn't even theirs.

Even if I was flying in the sky unrestricted, Hosu was a big area. Then and again, all I had to do was look for a flying shadow, that being Kurogiri. But it was night-time, which obscured things slightly. That was until I looked at the goggles Aizawa, and really the rest of U.A had gotten me for my birthday. At first, I just tossed them around my neck, because truth be told, they were a little bulkier than average goggles. For good reason, especially as I put them on and toggles the switch on at the side.

After fiddling around with them yesterday, I realised that they in fact also functioned as night vision goggles. Probably Aizawa's idea, seeing as this fit with his aesthetic and everything. But I wasn't going to lie and say that they weren't useful, because they were the only thing allowing me to see on top of the buildings, and within alleyways while flying around Hosu, hoping to catch sight of either Zero, Shigaraki or Kurogiri. After a few minutes, I slightly went lower towards the ground, hoping to catch anything, but it was pure bad luck.

Grr, I could hear the screams from the people down below.

Bingo!

I managed to find Iida in this mess, running through alleyways as fast as he could. I followed the silver blur as much as I could, getting closer and closer to it as I descended down onto the streets and followed him into another alleyway, hopefully this was a – dodge – dead end. Instinctively, I jumped off my Nimbus, managing to narrowly avoid a bag thrown my way. People were throwing bags down into the alley, before jumping down themselves.

Crash.

There was another Nomu nearby! Shit! I continued to chase after Iida, hopefully if he ran straight to Stain that could be where Zero was. But that was wishful thinking that an egoist like Zero would want to be in the centre of the action, and not on top of a building overlooking the chaos. Iida turned left, and I followed. Running as fast as I could, I used a nearby pole to propel my even further, I had to catch up to Iida, and so I wrapped my Nimbus around my legs to reinforce them and make them go faster.

More and more buildings were being set on fire due to the chaos caused by the Nomu's, the fact was that there were so many of them to control. And yet Iida ran straight through the chaos without even sparing a second glance for the pleas of help, it was like he didn't care. He was turning his back on everything that a hero stood for, and for what? A chance for vengeance? Frankly, that pissed me off more than it should have.

"HELP! ANYONE, PLEASE JUST HELP!" A man screamed as he pointed towards a building that was set on fire. "MY KID IS TRAPPED UP THERE! PLEASE!" A Nomu had caused it by the massive hole in the building, and the fire was only spreading upwards. Shit, there wasn't even a hero in the area to help them out. And with everyone dumping their bags to run away, the man had no one. And Iida was only getting away, shit, SHIT!

"PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!" The man repeated again as he collapsed onto the ground in tears. "HE'S THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE LEFT! PLEASE DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME! PLEASE, ANYTHING BUT HIM!" The man cried out, and yet despite that no one was coming to help him. Other people ran past him, totally ignoring him in the process as they tried to run away from the chaos as fast as they could. And it made me sick.

Looking back at Iida, he was only a few metres away from me at this point. If I used my Nimbus to create the 'Truth Seeking Orbs' I could hit him in the back, or at least slow him down. But I couldn't avert my eyes from the father's yells. I couldn't stop thinking about his kid trapped in a burning building, all alone with no one there to help save him.

I couldn't stop thinking about the damned kid.

God-fucking-damnit! I growled angrily as I turned away from Iida and ran full sprint towards the burning building. Iida could wait for a moment; I wasn't going to allow a random kid to die because I wanted to save my friend from doing something stupid. The building looked to be twelve stories tall, and the raging fire only made me more anxious as I approached the man who was crying for someone to help him, screaming for anyone to come.

"Where is your kid?" I asked him. "I'm a hero. I'll get them, so just tell me where they are." I had to make this quick, there was a high chance that the kid was in danger. I wasn't going to allow the kid to die from the smoke, let alone to watch them burn to death. No, I was going to save that god damn kid then I was going to find Iida and give him a good kick up the ass for ignoring someone that needed to be helped.

"S-somewhere on the seventh floor. That's where our apartment is! T-thank you! His name is Mizuki! Please, hurry!" I nodded at the man, before running to the entrance and using the sword Hatsume and I built to slam the door open and summoning my Nimbus to help get rid of all the debris. Shit, I could barely breathe in here, let alone see where I was going. The seventh floor was the target, so I had to find the stairs as quickly as I could.

Coughing violently, I raised my hands to shield my face as I turned a left and ran up the stairs, even jumping the last few steps to save some time. Crap. The staircase to the third floor was completely burnt down, which meant I had to use my Nimbus to fly up to the third floor and hope that the roof didn't come completely collapsing down on me. But I could hear someone's screams for help from up above, and that had to be the kid.

"I'M COMING FOR YOU! JUST WAIT!" I yelled as I jumped onto my Nimbus and gritted my teeth. I didn't have much time left; the building was practically collapsing in on itself. Still, I had to do it. I wasn't going to allow a father to lose his child, not now or ever! The staircase to the fourth floor was thankfully intact, and the fifth floor was just as good. Thankfully the fire hadn't completely spread to this part of the building, which meant I had even more time to save the kid.

"HELP ME! HELPE ME!" The kid screamed, "PLEASE I'M TRAPPED!" Oh shit. I couldn't stop myself from jumping onto the stairs, skipping each second step as I made it to the sixth floor. I was close, close enough that his pleas for help were beginning to be heard closer, and closer with each step I took into the inferno. Luckily, the steps to the seventh floor were largely undamaged as I made my way to where Mizuki was.

A part of the wall had come off and had trapped him underneath as he struggled to lift the rubble up, the fire closing in on him as the kid cried for help. Shit, if I hadn't been here, he would have definitely died. I ran up to Mizuki, trying my hardest to lift the rubble up from him, but it simply wasn't budging. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I dug my fingers into the rubble trapping the kid, I just wasn't strong enough.

My muscles were screaming at me to let go, but I wasn't budging.

"I'm here for you kid," I said in between trying to lift the rubble up from him, "Just stay there, I'm going to save you, alright? You hear me? You still with me Mizuki? I'm here to save you, so just hang on for a little while." I tried to convince him, but at this point I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince myself that everything would be alright. The wall trapping him was large, larger than me which meant that it was heavier than myself too.

Shouldn't I just wait for a hero to arrive and save the day?

No.

I am a hero.

I was the only one who came here to save the kid. I'm the only one who can save this kid, the only one who even tried to save him from certain death. I wasn't going to give up now, I couldn't! No! I wasn't going to just abandon him to save my own skin! Iida could wait, saving this kid was more important! And yet, the rubble wasn't being lifted off from the kid. If anything, it sunk deeper and deeper only causing more pain for me as one of my nails was ripped off.

Screaming in pain, the only thing I could do was clench my teeth and continue to try and lift up the rubble from Mizuki. The building was only getting worse and worse, I could hear more walls collapsing in on itself, and the fire was getting hotter and hotter causing me to sweat even more profoundly compared to before. And the smoke, how could I forget about the smoke that was making me cough every time I opened my mouth to breath.

The same damn smoke that blurred my vision and gave me a massive fucking headache.

But I wasn't giving up. I yelled, screamed even louder, and tried to push my body as forcefully as I could to lift the rubble up, but nothing was working. I couldn't even summon my Nimbus because my concentration was all over the place, and I could barely grip my swords strong enough to cut the rubble – Not that I trusted myself enough to cut the wall safely and not injure the kid in the process. I could only lift the damn wall up and help get the kid to safety.

It was the only way.

"A-are you a hero?" The kid asked me, "Like All Might? O-or Endevour?" I nodded at him as I tried to lift the wall up once more, this time failing completely and landing on my bottom as I cursed loudly. Shit, at the rate I was going at, the kid and myself were going to be completely buried alive by the fire. Mizuki wasn't going to be able to go to school, he wouldn't be able to see his life through until the end. I had to save him, I HAD TO!

"GRAAAH!" I screamed as I lifted up the wall ever so slightly, enough to slide my foot below it and use my knee to lift it up even more. "GO!" I yelled to the kid. "GET OUT OF THERE! JUST GO!" The kid managed to escape, but I couldn't hold the wall up for any longer as it inevitably collapsed on my leg, now trapping me. Mizuki could only stare in horror as I screamed in pain, trying my hardest to lift the damn thing up again.

But it wasn't working.

My breathing grew heavy as the smoke around us became pitch black. I was struggling to keep awake at this point, but I still continued to push the rubble, I still continued to fight. If I was trapped, no one could escort Mizuki back downstairs. It was far too dangerous, and he would probably die. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing, and yet when I needed them the most my arms failed me completely. I was weak, utterly weak and useless.

All those days spent playing games, the hours spent reading and watching anime. I didn't regret them, not one bit. But I did regret never working out, never improving my physicality. I did regret only relying on my Quirk, I did regret not being strong enough to lift this wall up. The ceiling on top of us started collapsing, and I had to pull the kid close to me so he wouldn't get crushed from the couch and fridge that fell down to our floor.

Come on, lift damnit, lift!

How can I call myself a hero if I can't even lift this stupid piece of rubble?! I closed my eyes and used the remaining strength I had to lift the wall up to no avail. With my leg trapped underneath, I was in an awkward position. I couldn't dig my feet into the ground and lift the rubble with everything I had, instead I was reminded by the constant throbbing pain of my left leg trapped underneath some shitty rubble.

"ARGH!"

I opened my eyes to Mizuki, the kid that I was trying to save, trying to lift the rubble up. He was small, only around nine years old, and yet with every ounce of his body, he was trying to lift the rubble up from me. I could only stare in surprise as he wiped his tears away and began to lift again, wiping his hands across his trousers before trying to lift the rubble up again.

"I don't want hero-san to die!" The kid yelled. "The heroes always win, so it's unfair for the hero to lose now! Not when hero-san saved me! If I want to be a hero, then I can't give up now! That's my promise, you hear me hero-san? I'm going to save you!" Mizuki screamed as he tried to lift the rubble once more.

Mizuki, even on the verge of death still tried to help save me. Me. A random nobody, just some idiot in a costume that pretends to be a hero. I was a complete failure; I couldn't even save this kid and yet he didn't give up. Iida was probably already facing Stain at this point, and Zero was enjoying the chaos they caused somewhere. Manual was still fighting to save innocents, using his daughter as fuel to keep him fighting, and yet here I was.

I was a failure.

I should just give up now and die.

"Just go kid," I whispered. "Save yourself, just go down a few floors and jump out the window. You'll be injured, but at least you will live. Just leave me here to die, save yourself!" At least this way I could save one person, even if it meant my death at least two people wouldn't die! "GO!" I yelled, trying to push the kid away from me. I had to save him, I had to save at least one person or else how the hell could I call myself a hero.

"N-no!" Mizuki stubbornly replied. "I'm not gonna' leave you here hero-san! Don't you have people waiting for you?"

People waiting for me...

Miwa.

Hinata and Gekko.

Renji, Genji, Kenji, Denki, Shirou, Sakura, Saki and Makoto.

Midoriya, Uraraka and Kirishima.

Yaoyorozu, Mina, Tsuyu and Hagakure.

Sero, Tokoyami, Koda and Ojiro.

Todoroki, Bakugo and Iida.

Kaminari and Mineta.

Jiro.

They all believed in me, believed that I could save people. Believed that I was a hero in the truest sense of the word, they all cheered me on to succeed. They were my friends, my family. All of them cared for me, all of them would mourn my death no matter if I saved the kid. I was more than just a hero; I was Sora Yamazaki. I couldn't just abandon them as well because I gave up hope, no I had to fight until the end for them!

Digging my hands underneath the rubble, I gripped it as hard as I could as I lifted it up with the help of the kid. I wasn't going to give up, not when everyone still needed me! Not when I had so much left to do! Not when I hadn't built a carefree tomorrow for everyone!

"ARGHHHHHHH!" I screamed, ignoring the pain as I lifted the wall with everything I could. Even if the muscles in my body were telling me to stop, I wasn't going to let it all end here. I continued to scream as we lifted the wall up from the floor, even if it felt like my lungs were being squeezed to death I kept on fighting! This was the final push, and so using all the strength I had, Mizuki and I managed to lift the wall up completely, throwing it to the side.

"W-we did it!" Mizuki exclaimed. "We actually did it hero-san!"

"Not yet." I replied. The building was going to collapse any minute now, the fire had completely invaded our floor and the staircase to the floor below us wasn't available, not unless I wanted to be burnt to death. Which meant the only exit was through the windows and considering this was the seventh floor that wasn't exactly encouraging. But it was the only option available to us short of trying to run through the fire.

Grabbing Mizuki, I held him close to my chest as I stood up and faced the window, concentrating as hard as I could to summon my Nimbus. If I failed at this, we would end up being injured, but most likely dying from this height, which meant it was up to me to ensure that we lived.

I took a heavy breath in, before exhaling out loudly.

We were running out of air in here.

"Hang on tightly," I told the boy, "It's about to be a bumpy ride." And with that I sprinted towards the window, jumping through it as I used every ounce of my body to summon my Nimbus into existence. We fell rather quickly, so I shifted my body mid-air to make sure that my back hit the ground first, hopefully protecting the kid from any major injuries if I failed. But I felt a grin form on my face as a familiar blue cloud popped into existence, wrapping it around myself and the kid to form a protective ball as we plummeted to the ground.

Crash.

We landed on the ground safely as I dispelled my Nimbus, coughing heavily at the amount of fresh air available. I could only chuckle quietly as I raised my fist in the air, victorious. The tears streaming down my face didn't stop, rather they only increased as I felt massive relief flood my body. I saved the kid from dying.

I did it.

"MY BOY!" The father cried as he ran to his son, clutching him tightly. "YOUR SAFE! MIZUKI, YOUR HERE WITH ME!" The man cried as he hugged his son tightly. "Your here with me, safe and sound. Your still alive Mizuki, I didn't fail your mother. I didn't fail her-," His voice cracked at the end as both father and son cried together. I could only watch with a smile plastered across my face as they both wiped each other's tears away.

Slowly, using Hatsume's sword to support me, I got up from the floor and started to walk towards where I last saw Iida. I still had a friend to beat up, a murderer to catch, and a city to save. My work here was far from done-,

"Oof."

I wheezed slightly as someone hugged me from behind. Mizuki, the kid who I saved, was hugging me tightly as he thanked me over and over again. Even his father joined in on the hug, which left me feeling a little awkward, but I appreciated the gesture, nonetheless.

"Thank you for saving my life hero-san!" Mizuki cried out. "I'll never forget about you until the day I die!" I smiled softly as I ruffled his hear, just like how Gekko ruffled my hair.

"Don't sweat it kid, just happy to help."

"No," The man replied. "You saved my son. When everyone was running away, when there were no heroes about, you stepped up to the occasion. You did more than just save my kid; you gave me hope young man. That takes guts. Guts, and kindness, something that took me by surprise. You can't be older than fifteen, and yet you risked your life for my son. U.A really does produce the best heroes, and from your actions today, you have earned two lifelong fans."

I blushed at that. "Please sir, your kindness is embarrassing me. Honestly, anyone would have done what I did if they were in my position." That was a lie. Iida didn't. But under normal circumstances, not even I would know what Iida would have chosen.

"Wrong!" Mizuki shook his head. "Not everyone, only you!"

"I'm just one hero out of thousands. Trust me, you could find better-,"

"We don't care about better." The man interrupted me. "We only care for you, the hero that risked his life to save ours. As far as I'm concerned, that makes you a better hero then that flashy 'Mount Lady' or that dragon lady. No, that makes you a real hero in my eyes. So young man, what's your name?"

"My name?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, your hero name!" Mizuki said excitedly.

"Oh that," I replied scratching my head. "Is it really that important? It's just a name, and I'd much prefer it if you called me by my real name."

"Heroes like yourself deserve to be respected, and so my son and I decline your request. What's your hero name?"

I smiled at them both, summoning my Nimbus as I jumped on it. Iida shouldn't be too far from here, and if I remember correctly, he turned left which gave me some idea as to where he went. But I also had to find Zero, assuming he wasn't near Stain. I was going to end this madness right here and now, and I was going to be a badass while doing so. I turned back to Mizuki and his father, grinning at them as I ascended into the night sky, ready to save everyone.

"Aozora," I replied. "The Over-the-Top Hero: Aozora."

---

Hello all, extremely sorry about the delay but I wasn't able to use my laptop which I usually write this story on for the past few weeks, which did impact my schedule for writing. Plus I've been extremely busy, which only added to the delay. I wish I could say that it won't happen again, but that would be a complete lie.

I can't guarantee that the next chapter will come out on time, so I apologise for that.

1) I expanded more on Manual only because in canon the only real information we got from him was that he wanted Iida to intern with him to him because he felt 'similar to Iida' which was stolen from the wiki by the way. My brain would not stop thinking about why they were similar, and so I concocted a backstory of sorts for him that I think fits him.

2) Bakugo saying happy birthday does not mean he is nice. Maybe he was forced to do it by his mother, maybe he did it to try and get a one up on Sora because Sora did not wish him a happy birthday (Yes this is a thing.) Sora and Bakugo have a weird relationship in that they are both the 'delinquents' of the class, a bit like rival gang leaders that are constantly trying to one up each other.

3) Zero was originally going to appear in this chapter. I cut him out because I always wanted this chapter to end on Sora saving someone, and inserting Zero in before or after that would drag the moment down because of what happens during the meeting. Plus the chapter was getting a bit too long, so I had to cut it down for next time. Shocking, I know, the person who constantly inflates their word count actually deciding to cut something.

Now, for your questions!

Walkmanapprenticewordsmith: It was very fun reading all your reviews as you slowly caught up. He turned 16 this chapter, that being May the 10th in the timeline. To be honest, I don't really care about the MHA timeline too much. I'll have events take place roughly around the same time, only either it being a few days later or early. To be frank, once I deviate from canon fully, the timeline won't matter much anyway.

Nevarus: Reject x Reject is a parody of Hunter x Hunter. Thus the, "It's going out of hiatus" line should make sense if you are a fan of it. The One Piece fascination is a core part of Sora's character, after all OP is about freedom. Freedom to pursue your own dreams, and now Sora has the freedom to persue his 'carefree tomorrow.' Just a neat little thing I made up a few months back. And yes, that's the point.

Is Sora sane? No, not with his circumstances. Not to give too much away, but how do we even know that Sora's edginess when he was younger came from him? What if it came from the other 'side of him' so to speak? Food for thought, food for thought.

TooLazyToLogIn: Fair enough. Gonna definitely add some scenes of Sora bullying others because he thinks that they are better then them, only to drive home th point that his realisation isn't 'shit,' rather necessary. But I do actually thank you for reminding me that I have a long way to go, just like how Sora's journey is only at the start. Or maybe a 1/4 way through? I don't know, I lost track.

And that's all folks!

Next time:

Dangerous conversations with a psychopath!