"You feel it?"
"I think so. I feel…something. It's different than what I'm used to."
"Y-yeah, it took me a while to r-recognize it myself. But try-try and focus on it. Imagine y-you're trying grab a handful of eggs. G-grab too m-much, and you'll break them. Not enough a-and you won't grab a-anything useful."
"…That has to be the worst metaphor I've ever heard in my entire life,"
"I'm sorry! I've never taught anyone before!"
"Relax Midoriya, I'm only teasing,"
Letting out a slow breath, Percy closed his eyes, and tried to focus. He and Midoriya were at a beautiful beach on the edge of Takoba. Following the end of the Sports Festival, the first years had been given a week off to figure out their internships, and recover from the festivities. Since Rumi had indeed given him an offer, Percy hadn't had to worry much about where he'd have his internship.
Percy had started the week by working with Nejire, working on his newfound flying abilities.
That had gone nowhere, very fast.
In spite of spending three straight days on it, Percy could not call what he'd been doing flying. It was more like he was launching himself through the air, and crashing.
Repeatedly.
He'd gotten frustrated, and decided that he needed to take a step back and try focusing on something else instead. So, he began trying to harness that strange power he'd tapped into back at the USJ. It had been bothering him for a while, but between his injuries, and getting ready for the Festival, he hadn't had the chance. Which was why the week off they had seemed like the best opportunity to try and get a hold of the strange power boost. However, after twelve hours of having absolutely no idea how to get harness the gift his father had seemingly left him, he sought out some help.
In the form of Midoriya.
Having had the chance to watch the boy for a few months by that point, Percy had a fairly decent idea how his quirk worked. To Percy, it looked almost as if Midoriya had to channel his power. Similar to how Percy channeled his water. But since willing his father's gift into existence had been an exercise in futility, he decided to ask Midoriya how he used his particular gift. The way the broccoli boy explained it, he could actively feel the power in him, and he simply had to reach deep within himself and "grab" the power.
Which was about as useful to Percy as it sounded.
But, there was a bit of benefit to Midoriya's advice. It had given Percy an idea. He needed to first learn to identify the power, before he could try and harness it.
Which meant meditating.
Releasing another short breath, Percy tried concentrating once more. He focused on himself; focused on the power he could feel thrumming in his body. The power that was so familiar to him. The call of the sea, intensified by their proximity to the ocean, raged within him. He felt it ebb and flow, almost washing through him. Having identified that power, he focused on it, calling it to him, and feeling the familiar sensation of his power begin to flow from him. Then, once he'd channeled his abilities, he searched within him again. Only, he wasn't looking for anything that felt familiar. Instead, he searched for any odd sensations, any foreign feelings. Something that didn't quite belong.
A few moments passed, and he felt nothing at all. He was simply wrapped in the comfortable shell of the power he'd had for so long. However, just as he was beginning to feel defeated, again, he felt…something. It was…different. Foreign, and yet familiar all the same. Whereas his own natural abilities felt natural, felt like home, the new sensation felt…strange. It was somewhat familiar, which was why he kept missing it, it felt like an extension of his own abilities, and yet there was something inherently different about it as well. It was wilder. More untamed. If Percy's natural abilities were like a river, then the new power was like raging rapids. Dangerous, violent, and powerful.
Steadying himself again, Percy decided to try Midoriya's "egg" metaphor. Using his imagination, he internalized the image of a hand reaching out, and dipping into the frothing currents of the rapids.
The result was instantaneous.
It was as though a dam had burst, as Percy felt himself flooded with the same power he'd utilized at the USJ. He gasped out, and his eyes shot open. At the same time, the wind around the beach picked up, into a sudden and violent gust. The water at the beaches, previously docile in the humid evening air, stirred up. The water washed to and fro, coming closer to the shore, and in greater intensity. Percy's eye's glazed over, his sea-green eyes, becoming clouded white, and pupiless. Across his skin, navy symbols appeared. Almost like tattoos, letters of the Greek alphabet slowly began to appear over his arms, legs, and torso. A series of brilliant blue letters appeared down the forearm of his metallic arm, spelling out νέος. On his chest, a glowing Alpha, the tails of the letter stretching up and into his shoulders. On his forehead, an Omega. The tails of the letter dropping down to his cheeks like tears.
He gasped out, choking slightly. The power was…it was almost too much to handle. He hadn't noticed the effects before as much, simply because he'd been forcing so much adrenaline through his system that he hadn't been feeling much of anything. But with no imminent danger, and no shock of having just lost an arm, he could feel the full force of the power he was using. It almost hurt. His muscles felt tighter, stronger, than they'd ever felt before, and at the same time, the pain was almost excruciating. It was almost as though he'd just gotten done with the most intense workout of his life. He felt strong, yet aching at the same time. Like he was on the verge of tearing something, but that he could also toss a bus into the sun.
"This feels, weird," Percy said, his voice coming out considerably lower than normal. There was a slight reverberation to it as well, as though he were speaking through something.
"W-wow," Midoriya stammered out. The force of the sudden onslaught of wind had knocked him to the ground, and he was staring up at Percy in muted awe. Ignoring his junior for the moment, Percy focused on the power. Part of him, admittedly a very large part of him, wanted to test out the strength. See just what he could do with it. But he could also begin to feel it drain away. It was similar to being at the end of a long run. His lungs were starting to burn, his joints and muscles ached, and all he wanted to do was stop.
Before he could really practice with the power, he needed to get a better hand of accessing it regularly. It was a matter of baby steps. First, he needed to practice finding, and accessing the power. Then, he needed to work on maintaining the power, on letting his body get used to it. It was, after all, effectively worthless to him, if he could only use the gift for ten minutes before it sapped him of all his energy. Then, when his body was more adjusted the power, he could begin trying to harness it, and train with it.
He had a feeling that he would need it.
While he was confident he could handle most problems in the strange new time he was in, the USJ had made it abundantly clear that there were some very, heavy hitters. While there was nothing on the level he'd fought when he was seventeen, that Nomu thing had been the real deal. Granted, he'd gotten the piss kicked out of him, but he had been down an arm and a pint of blood by that point.
Still, Percy wanted to be able to use every tool in the chest, should the situation arise. He hadn't lived as long as he had, without knowing that there was always a bigger fish in the pond.
With a grunt, he allowed his concentration to falter, and dropped his hold of the power. He collapsed to the ground as soon as the last vestiges of his father's gift left him. He panted, down on hands and knees, as he tried to collect his thought. If the power had hurt while he'd been using it, the after-effects were ten times worse. It felt like he'd torn every muscle fiber in his damn body, and like he'd just finished sprinting for thirty miles straight.
In spite of the pain, he managed to look over at Midoriya with a shaky smile,
"Oh yeah, I can work with this,"
"But should you?" Midoriya asked, incredulously, "Percy, I-I know you're strong, but you look-"
"I know," Percy groaned, forcing himself to stand. His legs shook with the effort it took him to stand, and suddenly, he was very thankful that he allowed Midoriya to talk him into going to the beach. He took a shuddering step, as he lurched unsteadily towards the water.
"Which is why I'm going to take twenty-minutes, and soak in the water for a bit. Then, get back to it."
Midoriya said nothing for a moment, as Percy struggled to make his way to the water, and when he did speak, his voice uncertain,
"Do you…do you think I could train with you?"
Percy paused, only a few feet from the water, and turned his head to look at the shy teen. A large smile blossomed on Percy's lips,
"I'd like nothing more,"
BREAK
The doorbell rang, and Percy groaned from his spot on his couch. It was the last day of the mini vacation, and he'd been too tired to climb the stairs to his bed the night before. He and Midoriya had spent nearly every minute of the last few days at the beach training. His training with his father's gift, which Midoriya insisted that he had to name, had been processing far better than his attempts at flying had. While Percy still didn't feel strong enough to consistently use the power. He had progressed to the point where finding the power, and calling upon it was rapidly becoming second nature. His body was also slowly becoming used to the power. Percy had discovered that it was, quite literally, like working a muscle. His muscles were essentially tearing, similar to the way they tore when lifting weights, and were rebuilding themselves stronger than before. Given that Percy could heal his body in the water, and reenergize, what might have taken weeks or months to develop, had only taken a few days.
He could hold the power for close to twenty minutes before he was forced to drop it. Given that, in his experience, most fights never lasted more than a few minutes, it was likely longer than he'd ever need to hold the power, but it was all about building up a tolerance. He felt confident that he could begin practicing in that form within a few more days of practice.
But his constant practice had come at a price. The morning after was agony. He could barely move, and it took almost an hour of stretching before he felt loose enough to function. Hauling himself off the couch, he willed a few bubbles of water in existence around his knees and elbows, and hobbled to answer the door. Fully prepared to cuss out whoever was dumb enough to call on him before nine on a Sunday.
"Hound Dog?" Percy said in surprise. The guidance counselor was the last person he had expected to see,
"Percy," The large dog-man greeted with a tip of his muzzle, "Good to see you,"
"Good to see you too," Percy said hesitantly, "I didn't think we were having any more sessions," He and the school's counselor hadn't met in weeks, not since Percy had come to terms with his own mental hurdles.
Hound Dog shook his head, "I am not here for you, may I please come in?" he asked,
Tilting his head in confusion, Percy moved away from the door, and allowed Hound Dog into the dorm building. Closing the door behind the large man, Percy hobbled over to the nearby table, and collapsed into one of the chairs. Hound Dog took the seat opposite, and gazed at the bubbles of water on Percy's joints.
"Training hard?" He asked,
Percy shrugged, "Trying to get a handle on a few things. It's going well, but damn if I'm not sore in the morning,"
Hound Dog chuckled, "There is nothing quite like the ache after a day's hard training." then he grew serious, "Do you watch much of the news?"
Percy looked at him in confusion, not entirely sure where the conversation was going,
"Not much," Percy admitted,
Hound Dog nodded, as though he'd been expecting the answer, "I assumed as much. Here, take a look at this," He pulled a newspaper out of his pocket, and smoothed it out on the table. Leaning over to take a look, Percy grew hot in anger. On the front page of the paper was an image. It was a man in a hospital bed, riddled in bruises, with both legs locked up in restraints, and heavily bandaged. The title of the article read: HERO KILLER STRIKES AGAIN. INGENIUM CRIPPLED BY ATTACK IN HOSU!
"Damn," Percy muttered.
"Are you familiar with Ingenium?" Hound Dog asked
"No," Percy said,
"His name is Iida Tensei,"
Percy froze, and then looked back at the image, taking special attention of the man's face. Squinting as he looked at it, his eyes widened. The man in the bed looked shockingly like his classmate. Maybe a few years older, but the similarity was uncanny.
"Indeed," Hound Dog nodded, "Ingenium is young Iida's older brother."
"Fuck," Percy breathed out, and then looked back at Hound Dog, "How's he doing?"
"Tenya or Tensei?" Hound Dog asked, and Percy just glared at him, and Hound Dog sighed,
"Tensei is out of the woods. He'll live, but there is uncertainty if he'll ever walk again. It's almost certain that his professional career is over, however. Tenya, on the other hand," Hound Dog sighed again, and sat further back in his chair,
"I reached out to him a few days ago to try and schedule a session with him. This kind of thing…it can be incredibly damaging."
Percy arched an eyebrow, "I didn't know the school was taking such an active approach to this sort of thing,"
Hound Dog shrugged, "After you showed up, Nezu decided to finally take a more active role in the mental health of our students. Something I've been petitioning for, for years." He shook his muzzle, "Anyways, we tried to reach out and schedule an appointment, but he declined."
"Not surprising," Percy observed, "You gotta admit, seeing a shrink has a bit of a stigma to it,"
"One we're desperately trying to rectify, but I agree, it was not surprising." Hound Dog said, "Normally, with a family like the Iidas, we would be content to allow them to handle this kind of situation in-house. However, recently there has been a…development."
"What kind of development?" Percy asked, hesitantly.
"We received Iida's internship request." Hound Dog said simply, "For the Pro Hero Manual." Seeing Percy's blank expression, he continued,
"He's stationed in Hosu." Hound Dog said,
Percy blinked, and then groaned, rubbing tiredly at his face, "Fucking hades, Iida." He muttered, then looked at Hound Dog, "You're thinking he's going to go after him."
Hound Dog nodded, "Correct,"
"Then just deny the request," Percy said simply, and Hound Dog sighed in dejection,
"It's too late. Aizawa already confirmed the request, and the payment to Manual has already been approved,"
Percy just gave the counselor an exasperated look,
"You can get neural technicians from across the globe to build me a new arm but you can't cancel an internship request?"
Hound Dog shook his head, "Believe me, I'm as annoyed as you are, but it has to do with the contracts we have with the Hero Association. Once an internship request has been granted, it can't be cancelled, the only exception is with severe injury or death of the one taking the intern."
"Fucking Hades below," Percy groaned, "What on earth was Aizawa thinking?"
"Quote: 'Heroes need to be able to combat the emotional stresses and turmoil's of the job. It would be illogical and detrimental to his career not to let him learn how to deal with these kinds of situations.' End quote."
"I'm starting to hate that man," Percy grumbled,
"Welcome to the club, I'll have Midnight send you a jacket," Hound Dog agreed,
"Ok," Percy said, "So what do you want me to do about it?"
"Talk to him," Hound Dog said simply, continuing when Percy just gave him an exasperated look,
"I understand," The man said, "But hear me out. By now, you have to know how the students view you."
Percy nodded,
"They look to you, not us, for leadership and council. They listen to you, when you speak. You know Iida, he respects, if nothing else, authority. And you have authority. He'll listen if you talk to him."
Percy was uncertain,
"Don't look at me like that boy," Hound Dog chided, "You have more sway than you realize. I'm pretty sure you preached gospel to half your class last week at the Festival."
"How could you possibly-?" Percy wondered,
"Nezu,"
"Ah,"
"Indeed." Hound Dog stood up, and began moving to the door, "Get on it Percy."
"You know," Percy called behind him, "If the staff spent even half their time actually doing their jobs, you wouldn't have to pawn it all off on me."
"Where's the fun in that?" Hound Dog called back, and with that parting shot, the counselor closed the door behind him. Leaving Percy alone.
Rubbing tiredly at his face, Percy groaned,
"Just had to be a den mother, didn't you Jackson?"
BREAK
"Percy, hello? Anybody home? Earth to wonder boy? Anybody in there?" Someone's knuckles rapped on the side of his head, drawing Percy out of the recesses of his thoughts. Blinking, his vision refocused as he met the wide-round eyes of Ragdoll. She was practically nose to nose with him, as she hovered over his desk and as her head canted to one side while she stared at him.
Seeing Percy had returned to reality, the woman beamed, "Welcome back Percy, glad you could join us."
Percy cracked his neck and groaned, pushing away from the smaller woman. "Sorry Tomoko, just a little out of it,"
"Clearly," she snorted in amusement, as she crossed her arms and cocked a hip to one side. "You haven't been paying any attention to lecture all day today. What's going on up there?" She asked, poking him in the forehead with a manicured nail.
Percy brushed her finger away with a good-natured roll of his eyes. He leaned back in his chair for a minute, as he considered what he wanted to say, ultimately he decided that the Cats had been able to deal with him, so they might have some advice on how to deal with kids on the verge of a full psychotic break.
So, he spent the next several minutes explaining the situation to the woman, who sat there quietly, listening, occasionally nodding her head. When he finally finished explaining what the staff wanted him to do, Ragdoll leaned back and folded her arms under chin, deep in thought.
"Well?" Percy asked, after several minutes of utter silence, "Got anything for me?"
"Nope," Ragdoll said chirpily,
Percy twitched,
"Thanks Tomoko," He grumbled, trying his best to suppress the twitching that developed on the right side of his body, "Really helpful,"
Ragdoll shrugged, still smiling, "Didn't you lecture like, half of your class during the sports festival?" She asked, "Just do that again," She said it like it was the easiest thing in the world,
"Yeah well…" Percy began, scratching uncomfortably at the back of his ear, "That was different," he tried to explain,
"How?" Ragdoll asked, perplexed, "Sounds to me like you have a dozen of these cheesy motivational speeches locked and ready to go,"
Percy flinched, "It's not like that," he tried to explain, a flush creeping up the side of his neck, "Besides, those weren't prepared. They just kind of…happened. You know?"
"Not even a little bit," Ragdoll said, still entirely too cheerfully,
Percy groaned, and rubbed at his face, "I don't know, it's just like, with the others, it was all just spur of the moment. I didn't think about it, I just walked up and started talking. That's easy. I could relate to what they were going through, I knew people who had experienced the same shit. But this is…just different. I've been thinking too much about it, I'm just going to screw it up and say something dumb, and besides," Percy slumped in his seat,
"Whatever you say, you don't think it's going to make a difference?" Ragdoll answered for him,
"Well, yeah." He nodded, "These kids are, if nothing else, stubborn as hade-hell,"
"Pot, Kettle, have you met?" Ragdoll teased, Percy ignored her,
"They've made it abundantly clear that they're going to forge their own path and do what they want to do. Let alone with something that's as personal as this. There's no point to me trying to dissuade him from doing anything, because he's just going to double down. He already thinks he's alone, and if I gang up on him, and push, it's only going to make the problem that much worse."
"Then don't tell him to do that," Ragdoll answered simply,
"…What?" Percy asked, blankly,
Ragdoll just shrugged, "You said it yourself, he's going to do as he pleases regardless of what you say, don't try and talk him out of it. Just order him not to go alone."
Percy just stared at the woman.
"How are you a teacher?"
"Sheer desperation." She smiled back,
Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his hair and groaned, "So, your suggestion to me, is to tell Iida, a fifteen-year-old, with only a few months of training, to go after some freak-show who has been taking out some serious top-tier mother fuckers, so long as he has backup?"
"Yup," Ragdoll chirped back happily,
"What little respect I had for the pro-heroes of this school has evaporated with this conversation."
"You're welcome, Percy!" She cheered, but was cut off as the bell rang. Turning her attention back to Percy, she added, "Better figure out what you're going to say, pretty sure that's your cue to grab your stuff and head out."
Groaning for umpteenth time in the last twenty-four hours, Percy rose to his feet, grabbed his stuff and made his way to the door.
"Say hi to bun-bun for us!" she waved as Percy opened the door, "Make sure to use protection! Bunnies are notoriously fertile!"
Percy choked, completely unable to respond, but the door slammed shut behind him.
BREAK
Everyone was chatting excitedly as they gathered at the train station, Percy had only accompanied his classmates under the guise of wanting to see them off. Since Rumi's office was only a few blocks from the station, Percy was just going to hoof it.
During the trip from the school to the station, Percy had been trying desperately to come up with something to say to Iida.
Only to come up with nothing.
He was running out of time though, so he made up his mind, and decided to do what he did best. Wing it.
"Hey, Iida!" Percy called out, grabbing the teen's attention, "A word?" Percy asked, with a gesture of his head towards a wayward column. Iida looked uncertain, but nodded, stiffly walking his way towards the column. Percy strode over, not missing the concerned but hopeful glance that Midoriya and Uraraka shared. Apparently, the teachers weren't the only ones to notice the change in Iida.
Perching his back against the column, Percy stared down at Iida as he stood at attention. There were several tense, silent moments, where the pair just stared at one another. Neither speaking.
"What is it you wished to discuss Class President?" Iida's voice was painfully monotone, and Percy almost flinched at the dead look in the boy's eyes.
"Your brother," Percy said simply, deciding not to beat around the bush.
Iida flinched, his eyes widening slightly before the dull and dead expression returned.
"Thank you for your concern but I'm-"
"No, you're not," Percy cut across, "And that's fine. You're not supposed to be fine. I'd be more concerned if you weren't acting like you are. It means you give a damn about your brother." He sighed, unable to believe that he was about to actually follow Ragdoll's insane advice.
"Look," He began, "I know why you're going to Hosu, I know why you chose some D-Lister when you could have gone to someone much more influential. I know you want to go after the Hero Killer,"
Again, Iida flinched, unused to being called out as he was, "I'm not-" he tried to defend himself but again, Percy cut across him,
"You are. Don't deny it, you're a shit liar." Percy shot back, setting his suitcase on the ground and crossing his arms, "Look, as fucking stupid as your idea is, I'm not here to dissuade you from you trying to avenge your brother."
Iida's guilty expression morphed into one of confusion, "You're not?" he asked, incredulous,
"Would you listen if I did?" Iida looked down, averting his gaze, "Didn't think so." Percy scoffed, "I could lecture you on the fruitlessness of revenge, of the stupidity of what you're doing, how the last thing your brother would want is for you to get hurt in some stupid, ridiculous attempt to exact revenge or something. But you wouldn't listen, you'd run headlong into a stupid situation, and probably die."
"Hey! I'll have you know-" Iida tried to argue,
"You saying you're a better hero than your brother?" Percy shot, and Iida flinched, and stammered out a hasty denial, as a flush crept up his face, but Percy waved it away, "No matter what I say, you'll do as you will. Your choices are your own, you're your own person, blah, blah, blah. I know how this works, I pulled the same shit when I was thirteen," Percy rolled his eyes,
"Regardless," he turned his attention back to Iida, "You're going to go after him if you can, and when you do, I am giving you one order, one." Percy rose a single finger,
"Call. For. Help." Percy said, taking time to slowly enunciate each word, "I don't care if it's me, if it's Midoriya or Todoroki, hades, call Bakugo for all I care. But you will not." Percy leaned down, so he was nose to nose with Iida, "You will not. Go after him. Alone." Percy paused, as sweat slowly dripped down Iida's face, "Are we clear?"
"But it's not any of your-"
"I don't care," Percy snarled, "You want to throw your life away, that's fine, but you don't die alone. You will call someone. Never go into a combat situation without backup if you can help it. I get that this is about personal and familial honor, and all that shit, but I. Don't. Care! Call. For. Help." Percy reached out and clamped his one good hand on Iida's shoulder, "Promise me that."
"I-I" Iida stammered,
"Promise. Me." Percy growled,
"Fine!" Iida shouted, drawing some attention in their direction, "I promise to ask for help,"
"Good boy." Percy said, "Now swear on your family's honor,"
Iida's eyes widened again, "W-what? I can't do that! You ask too much!"
"Too bad!" Percy snarled, getting frustrated, "Swear it, or I'll freeze your legs where you stand,"
Iida glared at him, and for a moment, Percy thought the boy would deck him, or worse. But finally, his shoulders slumped, and he averted his eyes, and whispered out,
"I swear upon the honor of my family, that when I go after the Hero Killer, I'll bring help with me."
Percy grimaced, unhappy that this was what the situation had come to, but he simply was aware of the reality of the situation. It didn't matter what Percy said or did, Iida would find a way to get himself involved, he was stubborn like that. It was a matter of personal pride, and fierce revenge. Percy knew what that could do for a person, but Percy also knew that he couldn't give Iida the lesson he needed to learn. It was something only that a person could learn through personal experience.
So, if Percy couldn't convince him that revenge was worthless, and he'd likely die, the least he could do was maybe get the teen to call for help.
"Good man," Percy said, stepping out and away from the boy as the whistle of the incoming train drew both of their attentions away,
"Train's here, do what you need to do, just don't do it alone,"
Iida snapped to attention and saluted, "Yes sir!" Before turning on his heel and racing away from Percy.
Following in the teen's footsteps, Percy watched and waved to his friends as they boarded the train. Meeting Midoriya's gaze, he gave the boy a brief nod of encouragement, who nodded back happily. Seemingly thinking that Percy had dissuaded Iida.
The train departed the station, leaving Percy alone on the platform.
Footsteps approached him, and Percy felt Aizawa sidle up to a stop beside him. They stood quietly in companionable silence for a few minutes, watching as the train disappeared into the distance.
"I heard what you said to Iida," Aizawa said, breaking the silence,
Percy grunted, "Have a problem with it?"
"No," Aizawa said easily, "The others might not approve, but I'm glad to see you understand the reality of the situation,"
Percy laughed bitterly, "Not in the least," he said gruffly, "I'm just trying to clean up the mess you made,"
Aizawa turned and looked at Percy, "He needs to get over this. Hero work isn't easy, and these types things happen. If Iida can't learn to deal with it, and let this obsession with revenge drop, his career will be over before it can begin,"
"Because he'll be dead," Percy snarled, turning to look at Aizawa, so they were facing off, "He's fifteen! What the hell were you thinking?"
Aizawa crossed his arms, glaring up at Percy, "I seem to remember you telling us that you were pulling similar stunts when you were even younger than he was,"
"Yeah, and you know what happened? People fucking died, Aizawa. When I was thirteen, I snuck off and joined a quest I wasn't party to, and got one of my friends killed. Which is what is going to happen because you're being obscenely obtuse, besides," Percy glared back at Aizawa, "I'm me. You know there's a difference, I was stronger at thirteen than you are now pal, it's sure as shit not the same thing."
"You intervened though," Aizawa shot back,
"And who even knows if it's going to make a difference," Percy snarled, "For all we know, he won't do as told. He'll run headlong into the Hero Killer, and you'll have a dead student on your hands,"
"Or he won't, and he'll get over this petty grudge,"
They fell back into silence, just glaring at one another.
"You better get going Mr. Jackson," Aizawa said, his voice rather icy, "Don't want to be late for your meeting with the number seven."
Percy didn't bother responding, instead he reached down, grabbed his case, and strode off. Aizawa might have been wrong about Iida, but he was right about one thing.
He didn't want to keep Rumi waiting.
AN: Back on my bullshit folks! A few housecleaning details first and foremost. I'm once more changing up my release schedule, simply because I don't have the time or energy to write as much as I want to, and I want you guys to have a real update schedule to work with, so I'll be releasing chapters once a week instead of daily. Secondly, I apologize, but this arc is considerably shorter than some of the others, simply because the Internship Arc is relatively short, and was a pain in my ass to write. I rewrote this shit, no joke, four times, and I'm still not super happy with some parts but I think it's good enough to begin releasing. Additionally, this is officially where I start throwing canon out of the fucking window. There's a story I want to tell, and it's not centered around the plot of the original source material, so things are really, really going to shake up. Some people might not like it, and that's fine, but I think most of ya'll will like where I plan on taking this. I have reasons that I'm going to do what I plan on doing, and it may not seem like it makes sense at first, but I promise I have very good reasons for what I'm going to do.
All of that aside, I wanted to thank all of you. I did not think for the life of me that this story would have the reception that it has had! Thank you all so much for the love and support along the way, it's meant a lot to me and I'm really happy that you all have been along for the ride with me! I can't thank you enough, and I hope that my stories have brought a little light into your life during these terrible times. Hope you all enjoy what I have planned, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon! Until then. Love you all, stay safe, and stay healthy!
Love,
LilDB