Kurogane "Smoker" Kemuri climbed off his imported motorcycle, listening to the familiar noises coming from the backyard of the large, stately house he lived in. Walking inside and dropping off his riding jacket and jitte, he stepped out onto the deck. Sitting on it, watching Tashigi fight off nearly invisible strings, was Midoriya Izuku.
"How long has she been at it?" Kemuri asked, pulling a lawn chair next to Izuku, drawing a cigar from his metal case and pulling out a well worn pocket knife from his youth, flicking it open away from Izuku.
"Do you want me to-?" Izuku started, only for Kemuri to lightheartedly point the knife at him. They both knew the chances of him landing a hit was low, given Izuku's Quirk.
"What have I told you, brat?" Kemuri growled with an amused smirk.
"Don't mess with a man's cigars, sir," Izuku said, focusing back on the fight, "Half an hour."
"How far back did she start?" Kemuri asked, carefully cutting his cigar. Tashigi ducked and weaved under another set of strings, before swinging Shigure up to guide another above her head.
"The swimming pool," Izuku said, his finger following the string.
"Ten minutes?"
"Five if I get sloppy."
"Don't get sloppy," Kemuri ordered, finishing the careful cut of his cigar and dropping the stub in the trash before pulling out his lighter. Sucking on the cigar for a second, he said, "So, how do you think you two did?"
"We passed," Izuku said, voice hard as he crossed his fingers. Two helixes of string formed and wrapped around each other to form a rope he brought crashing down towards Tashigi. Shigure flashed up, knocking it off course before Izuku could hit her with it.
"Obviously," Kemuri snarked, cupping his cigar and taking a deep drag. He tried to avoid smoking on the job, both because of public smoking laws and because it intimidated kids who wanted his autograph, "but…?"
Izuku hesitated, before lowering his voice, "Is it normal to be nervous anyways?"
"Of what? An army of new prospectives popping out of nowhere and taking charge?" Kemuri shot back.
"Yes?"
"Heh…" Kemuri leaned back, huffing out some smoke, "Yeah, that's normal. Especially once you hit the big leagues. Because there just is the possibility that someone will decide to reinvent themselves in Japan and we have new Heroes flooding the streets every year. You and Tashigi are good, kid, you'll make it in. Your mom comin' over?"
"For what?"
"Well, you passed," Kemuri said, "And yeah, yeah, results don't come for another month, I'm sure you both passed. We'll have a nice little celebration now, then a bigger one when they come in. Now, get back to losing to my daughter, I'll call your mom."
"...Thanks," Izuku said.
"Bah," Kemuri huffed, lifting the phone to his ear, "What are you thanking me for? I'm not doing any-"
"Hello?" A familiar, nervous voice said.
"Midoriya!" Kemuri said, "Good to hear from you."
"Oh," Inko said, "Hello, Kemuri. Can I help you?"
"Yeah," Kemuri said, "Your brat is over here. I wanted to know if you wanted to come over and throw a little party with us now that the hard part of this is over."
"Oh," Inko said, "I… yes, I'd love to!"
"Good to hear," Kemuri said, "Hina'll pick you up on her way ho- I thought i told you not to get sloppy! Sorry, Inko, I got to go-"
"Spar going wrong?"
"Depends on your definition," Kemuri said as Izuku planted his foot on Tashigi's gut to keep her as far away as he could, a loop of string tight between the pinky to the index finger of his left hand, clashing with Shigure in a high pitch whine. Meanwhile string writhed along the thin patch of skin where the katana had nicked him, "Nothing as bad as Izuku's tenth birthday, don't worry."
— X Tashigi X—
Tashigi breathed in, hand fingering Shigure's hilt as she stood on the edge of the pool. Izuku was sprawled out on his stomach on the deck, his goggles off to the side so she could see his green eyes… or she could, if she was close enough to. With a lazy flick of his fingers, the spar started.
Armament flowed up Shigure's blade as Tashigi drew it, mentally visualizing a flame flickering around the blade as she brought it up and twisted it to gather force. The string flying at her hit the blade and split in two, exploding against the water as the tension snapped. Tashigi began to move towards Izuku as quickly as she could, Shigure in one hand as-
Tashigi's eyes widened as Izuku lazily raised a hand, not moving from his position. Five flashes were the only warning she got before she was forced to stop and swing Shigure in a wide circle to deflect the five String Shots that launched at her. They lashed against the ground before slithering back into Izuku's skin. Slowly, Izuku rolled off his stomach and onto his rear. His finger twitched, and Tashigi swiftly shifted into a Kendo pose and swung Shigure down, snapping the string in two.
"Gauntlet," Izuku drawled, string writhing from his right hand and down across the cobblestone forming a loose net around Tashigi. She abandoned Flame Style, spinning and deflecting string after string as quickly as she could. Occasionally one got through her guard, nicking her in the side as she slowly fought her way closer and closer to Izuku. The world faded around her and she focused on the rustle of the wind, the bubbling of the purifier in the pool behind her, indistinct chatter eventually joining in the distance. All that mattered was sensing and deflecting the strings that launched at her with the slightest twitch of Izuku's fingers. It was a familiar training exercise, one they had done for years to enhance her senses to make up for her poor eyesight.
There! Izuku had let up his guard, and had opened a straight shot to him. Gripping Shigure, Tashigi breathed in deeply, flowing Armament across her legs and kicked off as hard as she could without breaking the cobblestone. Izuku recognized his mistake a second too late, strings converging on her on all sides as she span and swung Shigure, picking up force as she went and cleaving through the strings. Tashigi rushed by her father and swung for Izuku's shoulder. It dug in, less than an inch, before Izuku slammed a high pitched, whining string against Shigure and forced her back. Under his skin, where muscle should have been, string writhed and bound together the wound as Izuku grinned up at her with a look of absolute pride, even with his foot in her gut.
— X Katakuri X—
Purururu.
Katakuri Charlotte stared at his phone in confusion as he popped a donut in his mouth and swallowed it in one. His phone shouldn't be going off in here. Not unless…
"What is it, Brûlée?" he asked in the tone he only saved for her, in here. When they were alone, he could never bring himself to throw up the mask of coldness for her. Not after what happened because of him.
"It's a disaster, Big Brother," Katakuri's hand stopped on its way to the donut box, sitting up straight as Brûlée blubbered into the phone.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Mama, mama got a craving while you were gone and now… now she's fighting All Might!"
Katakuri was not one for swearing. He just didn't see the point, really. Anything you could say with a swear could be got across just as clearly without one.
Which was why it was so momentous when he breathed in, breathed out and said, "Fuck."
Because really, what else could you say when your Mom was fighting the Symbol of Peace? He should have known the trip to Minato to taste the local delicacies would end badly. But he hadn't, and it had.
"Open a mirror to you all," Katakuri said, wrapping his scarf around his face and grabbing his trident. Stretching his senses, he saw a flash of All Might standing with a fist in the air.
This was the end of any hope of Lottoland, he could feel it in his bones.
— X Toshinori X—
Toshinori hadn't fought like this in a while. Not since All for One. Not because of the difficulty, though the fight was certainly up there, but because of the black and red lightning that erupted with each clash of fist to cutless. He hadn't expected to ever see it again, after that fight.
The Conqueror's Intent Clash. The Haō-shoku no Shōtotsu. The Supreme King Color Clash. When two people with the Haki of a Supreme King met each other, their intent warred with each other in an explosion of force. Ones that were cracking buildings and forcing weaker willed heroes to their knees.
All Might only knew a handful of people who had Supreme King Haki. Himself, All for One, Best Jeanist, Kaido of the Beasts, his child according to rumors, Star and Stripe. Nana had had it, but had rarely used it.
And now, this woman. He knew her, and had wanted to take her out when she had taken over Tashirojima but had never found the time . Charlotte "Big Mom" Linlin. Mother of thirty children, wannabe warlord. The HPSC had been fine while she was on an abandoned island. But now she was in Minato.
Now she was in All Might's territory. His to protect. Even more than the rest of Japan, the people of Minato took pride in Might Tower, in saying they were home to the Symbol of Peace. He wasn't arrogant enough to say Minato belonged to him, but it was nonetheless the place he called home and he had a duty to it.
Fist met cutlass edge as Supreme King Haki warred with each other. Ground cracked and cratered underneath their feet as Toshinori stood strong even as the giant of a woman bared her entire weight down on him. News helicopters were flying around the fight, he couldn't afford to look weak. Not ever, but especially not now. Not when his city needed him.
Symbol met the blazing eyes of Emperor, and Toshinori raised a leg. The color of a Supreme King, the Color he never used because he was a Hero, a Symbol of Peace, not a Conqueror, built up and exploded as he stomped. He watched Ingenium stumble out of the corner of his eye as the sword was forced back. He caught Charlotte by the shirt and pushed One for All to the maximum as his golden light turned black.
Just this once, he would fight as a Supreme Ruler again. He had sworn he had shattered the throne when he defeated All for One, but if it would stop Big Mom, he would sit on its broken remains.
Symbol fell away, and the King's grip on the Emperor grew tight. Another stomp sent everyone in the area staggering except Jeanist, who stood in the middle of his own burst of Supreme King Haki. Above them, the sky split as All Might hoisted Big Mom above his head. A lightning fast thrust of her cutlass covered in flames and lightning lashed out at him. All Might caught it between the thumb of his hand and the other fingers in a burst of Haki. Clenching his fist, All Might snapped the sword like a twig in the biggest explosion of Haki yet, before finishing the throw.
Big Mom rolled across the ground before standing up, flames and thunder crackling around her. The flames gathered around her fists and she charged at All Might. All Might slid into a boxer's pose. Each wild punch was caught by a block or a reciprocated punch. Burst after burst of Haki erupted with each clash, and All Might slid back. The flames of One For All burned black as he did so, and he lept, landing on the giantess's arm and throwing his entire back into the punch.
Supreme King: United States of Smash !
The sky split again as Toshinori landed a solid punch on her jaw, sending her tipping back and riding the woman as she fell. Shards of pulverized cement flew into the air with a storm of black lightning.
The King stood up, thrusting his fist into the air. He had, undeniably, won.
—