Chapter 18 - Eri and the Big Three
The next morning was Saturday, which meant that today would be a half-day of school. After some breakfast and the usual walk to U.A (along with Matthew terrorizing some more reporters), Class 1-A and the American students arrived at the classroom. However, after they all were in and now seated, All Might appeared at the door and came into the room.
"All Might will be taking over for today's half day." Aizawa announced, his tone dull as usual. "American students, and Midoriya, come with me."
The six Americans students got up and began following Aizawa, with Midoriya also following suit. As they were leaving, their fellow students were left murmuring over why they were the ones being pulled out of class. Aizawa then left, leaving Class 1-A for All Might to deal with, which he just decided to give them a pop quiz. This made most of them groan in pain; some of the students really hated pop quizzes.
"So, what's happening to us?" asked Sunshine, deciding to ask the question all were wondering. "Are we in trouble or something?"
"No; this is a special case, only for the six of you." Aizawa replied. He then looked over to Midoriya and said, "Midoriya, do what All Might required you to do."
Midoriya nodded in reply and said to Matthew, "Come with me."
Matthew looked back at the group with uncertainty, and then began following Midoriya. After watching them leave, Aizawa motioned for the rest of the American students to follow him; All Might had informed him earlier of what Midoriya was supposed to do.
"What's going to happen to Matthew?" asked Milo.
"Midoriya's going to introduce him to someone who's of special interest." Aizawa replied. "As for the rest of you, you're going to be introduced to two of the top students at U.A."
After he said that, they continued walking for a while until they came a spare classroom. Normally, this classroom would be used for detention purposes, but for today, it was going to be used for the American student's meeting with two members of the Big Three.
The American students and Aizawa entered the room, to which Aizawa motioned for them to sit at the desks that were set up for them. They obeyed, and Aizawa took his place behind a small desk.
"Now, here's some info on the Big Three." said Aizawa. "They are the most powerful students at U.A, and are the closest to becoming pro heroes. They all have impressive quirks that they have trained with extensively, minus one member; he sacrificed it in order to save someone from being killed. However, he is still considered part of the three, and he will be joining us soon. In the meantime, you will be meeting the other two members, who will be here in a short while. When they come, they will educate you on how to improve your quirks, and how to mold yourselves into better heroes."
At least, that what Aizawa was hoping they would do; he remembered what happened with two members of the Big Three when they met Class 1-A. And it just so happens, that those two members were the ones that were going to meet the Americans. If it was going to be a repeat of that, Aizawa had a good reason to be worried.
There was a knock at the door, and Aizawa called out in his usual dull tone, "Come in."
The door opened, and in strolled the two members of the Big Three. The first member was a girl of eighteen years of age, and she had periwinkle colored hair, wide and curious eyes that were colored blue, and fair skin. She wore the standard U.A uniform, wearing a waistcoat instead of the standard blazer, and she walked and carried herself in a rather cute way.
The second member was an eighteen year old boy, and he had indigo colored hair, pointy ears like an elf, pale skin, and tired looking eyes. He wore the standard U.A uniform in a rather slovenly way, and his shoulders were hunched and his hands were in his pockets.
"American students, meet the two members of the Big Three." said Aizawa. "Amajiki, would you like to introduce yourself?"
The indigo-haired boy suddenly gave off an intense stare, so intense that even Joshua was intimidated. A worried look appeared on the American students' faces; they were shocked by how fierce this guy was staring at them. But little did they know, Amajiki was trying to do a trick in his head to help with public speaking; imagine them as potatoes. Unfortunately for the poor guy, it only worked half-way; only their heads looked like potatoes.
"It's happening again." Amajiki groaned, starting to tremble. "I can see their human bodies. I can't speak… my mouth is dry… I forgot what I was going to say… I want to go home!"
Suddenly, Amajiki turned around and quickly put his head against the wall, like he was trying to make himself disappear. He was still trembling, like someone had just jumped out and scared him. Aizawa sighed defeatedly and facepalmed; it was happening again.
"Sheesh…" said Joshua, quietly speaking with Murdock. "And that's one of the top students at U.A?"
"Hang on now…" Murdock replied. "Maybe he's got a really powerful quirk, like Aizawa said."
The periwinkle-haired girl giggled and said in a bright tone, "Come on, Amajiki! You're supposed to have the courage of a lion, not a little lion cub!"
Amajiki groaned in response, and the girl said brightly, "Sorry about him, he does this a lot! This is our little lion cub, Tamaki Amajiki, and my name is Nejire Hado! I want to welcome you Americans to U.A; we're proud to have some new faces here in our school, and we hope to help make you better heroes! Wait a minute, hold on!"
Hado suddenly got into Sunshine's face, causing her to lean back in surprise. With an inquisitive look on her face, Hado asked, "How come your hair and skin is white, and why are your eyes gold? Does that something to do with your quirk?"
"Well, I-" Sunshine tried to reply.
"Hey, what's your quirk?!" Hado asked, suddenly moving over to Milo.
"Uh…" Milo replied, a little shocked at how excited Hado was.
However, before Milo could give an answer, she moved over to Murdock and asked, "What's with the funny hat? Is it to make you look cool?"
Murdock still there with his mouth open, trying to think of a response. However, due to how hyper this girl was acting, he couldn't think of a reply.
"Oh my gosh, I want to know about all of you! Can we have a Q&A, please?!" Hado begged, her tone childish.
"Great Scott, she's a complete airhead!" Joshua spoke to himself. "These two are supposed to be the best students in U.A?! We've got a guy with a chicken heart, and a girl who's got the mind of a kindergartener! Though I'll admit she's very cute and all, but come on! If these are the best that U.A has to offer, the heroes are going to be in some trouble!"
Suddenly, Hado zoomed over to Joshua and began pelting him with questions! Amajiki still stood with his head against the wall, and Aizawa again groaned in defeat and facepalmed. This little meet and greet was slipping out of his control; where the heck was Togata when he needed him?!
Meanwhile, as the 'Q&A' was going on in the classroom, Matthew and Midoriya were walking through the halls of U.A. As they were walking, a tense atmosphere had settled over both of them, and both found themselves unable to say anything at the moment.
Finally, Matthew decided to break the ice and said, "Midoriya, there's no need to worry anymore; I know about it."
"Know about it?" Midoriya asked. "What do you know about?"
"I know how you got your quirk." Matthew replied.
A shocked look came over Midoriya's face, and he covered his mouth with his hand to keep from screaming.
Matthew, noticing this, then said, "All Might told me about it, and I promised him I wouldn't tell anything. So, it's cool; you can discuss it with me."
"Oh." said Midoriya, now calm and no longer shocked. "Okay, good; for a second, I thought All Might and I were in trouble."
"I just have one question. Who else aside from you, All Might, and myself know about this quirk?"
"Principal Nezu, Recovery Girl, an old friend of All Might's, and Kacchan."
"Kacchan?" Matthew asked, surprised by this revelation. "And he didn't tell anyone?"
"No; he promised he wouldn't." Midoriya replied. "I know it's kind of strange, considering how he treats me sometimes, but I know that I can trust him. He may be a jerk, but he has good judgement."
"Right. Anyway, it's still a pretty cool quirk to have. At least it means you're no longer in the 'quirkless' category."
"Yeah, but it's still a hard quirk to master. If I use too much power, I can get injured terribly. Still, I've been taking a lot less damage by just using my legs; when I first started using it, I used my arms, and they often got destroyed and broken. It got so bad that the doctors told me that if it happens anymore, I would lose all function in my arms."
"Gee…" Matthew spoke, his tone shocked. "I guess its a blessing and a curse then…"
"Yeah." said Midoriya.
The two continued walking for a few seconds in silence, before Matthew asked, "So, why did I get separated from the rest of the American students?"
"There's somebody that All Might and I want you to meet." Midoriya replied. "He's one of the top students in U.A, and he's a good friend of mine. We've worked together before, and All Might and I feel that you would get along with him."
"Okay. So where is he?"
"He's at the main entrance to U.A. There he is right now!"
Matthew looked and saw Midoriya's friend, who was standing in the main entrance lobby of U.A. Midoriya's friend was a tall, incredibly muscular, eighteen-year-old male with a blonde hair that was slicked into a cowlick, fair skin, and fierce blue eyes. His attire consisted of a white and blue sports jacket, a black t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and red and white converse sneakers.
Upon seeing him, Matthew suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, the look on his face like he was seeing a ghost. Midoriya continued walking, but stopped and turned when he noticed that Matthew had stopped.
"Matthew, are you alright?" Midoriya asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I think I'm seeing one." Matthew replied, his tone shocked.
Midoriya didn't know what Matthew meant, and had to go back and pull him by his arm in order to lead him forward.
"Hey Midoriya!" said the blonde kid, his tone bright and powerful. "Good seeing you again!"
"Good seeing you too, Togata!" Midoriya replied. "Togata, this is-"
"Starsky Roberts?" Matthew asked, his tone shocked. "It can't be you! You died!"
"Uh… I'm sorry, but who is that?" Togata asked, a smile on his face but his tone confused.
Matthew then blinked, and realized the mistake he made. He laughed a little and said, "Gee I'm sorry; I thought you were someone else!"
"Oh okay, that explains it!" Togata replied, now understanding. "Anyway, allow me to introduce myself! I am Mirio Togata, also known as 'Lemillion'!"
"Nice to meet you." said Matthew, extending his hand for Togata to shake. "I'm Matthew Noble, also known as 'Fearless'. Hey, I like your handshake; you've got a frim grip, really show's some character!"
"Thank you!"
After they stopped shaking hands, Matthew noticed a movement near Mirio's side, and looked down. There, hiding behind him, was a little girl, about seven years of age. She had light blue hair that was almost white in color, fair skin, and bright red eyes that were cute and innocent looking. Her clothing at the moment was a white long sleeved shirt, a red dress over it, dark red tights, and pink boots. Matthew, having been shocked by Togata's appearance, didn't notice her.
"Well now, who do we have here?" Matthew asked, his tone kind.
"Oh yes, of course." Togata said kindly, resting his large hand gently on the little girl's head. "This little peach blossom here is Eri."
"Hey kid." Matthew said, taking a knee so he could see her better. "I'm Matthew; nice to meet you."
The little girl held closer to Togata's leg and looked away, apparently uneasy around this new stranger.
"Hey, I don't bite…" Matthew said gently, slowly extending his hand for her to shake. "See?"
The little girl looked back at him, and then hesitantly put her hand in his. He then shook it gently, like how an adult would when shaking hands with a small child.
"There, see?" Matthew asked, letting her hand go. "You don't need to be afraid."
The little girl looked a lot less scared now, and seem to now be comfortable around Matthew, who stood back up to his full height. Midoriya knelt to greet Eri, and she recognized him, running up to hug him around the neck.
"She's a cute little thing…" said Matthew, standing beside Togata to speak quietly. "But why is she so scared? Normally, a lot of seven year olds have a ton of energy."
Togata looked genuinely sad as he watched Eri talk with Midoriya, and replied in a quiet voice, "She was the granddaughter of a yakuza boss. Before we rescued her, her blood was used to make quirk-erasing bullets. Her quirk is called 'Rewind', and it can rewind a living person back to basic, original form. So, this madman used her blood to make these bullets, and would often use his quirk to destroy her and put her back together and… it was just a mess."
"Gee…"
"Yeah. One day, Midoriya and I found out about her, and we decided to rescue her. I fought against the madman, but he had one of his henchmen shoot at Eri with the quirk-erasing bullet. So, I jumped in the way and took the bullet for her; an action that I have no regrets about taking. It removed my quirk, rendering me quirkless."
"Wow; that's a pretty brave thing to do." Matthew spoke, his tone amazed.
"Yeah. Provided that she gets help for using her quirk, Eri could possibly restore my quirk. Still, I'm in no rush, but it's going to be hard to find somebody on my level of fighting."
"That's why I'm here, isn't it?"
"Yes." Togata replied, his tone now normal. "I was wondering if you would be willing to spar with me a couple of times. Midoriya told me about how you, despite being quirkless, handle yourself in combat. I would like to experience a fight against you, considering I can hold my own even though I don't have a quirk at this point."
"I understand." said Matthew. "And yes, I'll be sparring partners with you."
"Awesomeness! Thank you, Fearless!"
"Hey, one quirkless to another, am I right?"
They both laughed at that statement. After they enjoyed a good laugh, Midoriya approached Togata and Matthew, with Eri holding his hand.
"So, are you going to do it, Matthew?" Midoriya asked.
"You got it." Matthew replied with a nod.
"Great! I know you two will get along pretty well with each other!"
"Let's hope so." said Togata. "Anyway, we better go to the classroom where Amajiki and Hado are; who knows what kind of trouble those two are causing!"
The four began walking together, going back down the halls of U.A. As they were walking, Matthew focused on Eri, but made sure that she wasn't looking at him. It must've been tough for her, being the test subject for a villain. No wonder she seemed afraid when he noticed her; if he had been in her situation, he probably would act the same way. It honestly made him all the more like Togata and Midoriya; it made him want to protect her, and keep her from any harm.
"Hey Matthew, who's Starsky Roberts?" Midoriya asked innocently.
A somewhat saddened look had appeared on Matthew's face; apparently, there was a story to tell from who exactly was the person he mentioned.