Author's Note: So, this was supposed to be a chapter for BtOGL: Highschool Library. But that chapter dragged on, partly because of IRL issues, and partly because my fan translation source for the DxD LNs was pulled and I have yet to find a new one. Then I got a WIP for the fan art I commissioned for this story, and felt inspired to work on it. This chapter doesn't feel like my best, it's a continuation of the previous chapter that felt like it was running long, and this chapter is basically the end of the set up. The next will be a bunch of time skip drabbles, leading up to the UA entrance exam. Anyway sorry it took so long for me to get something out...

Chapter 6

"How?" Izuku demanded, "You destroyed yourself along with Dark Specter. And the Shadows all vanished when Demonus was defeated!"

The plant monster smirked, taking pleasure in their anger and confusion. He shrugged slowly.

"Got me," he said with a slow chuckle, "Maybe it's because of the nine lives I had the first go around. Maybe I am just too good. I was fighting Demonus for control the entire time. Not too much, 'cause it was making me kill Rangers. Or at least try to. Which is my second greatest joy. But I certainly didn't want to die again in the process. All that matters in the end is that the Lord of Shadows got itself blown up yet I survived."

Then his mocking joviality vanished.

"Give me the backpack," Darkonda demanded again, "Those are the most complete, most charged Power Coin fragments I have felt in years. If I consume them, they just might be enough to make me whole again."

"Well then I'm definitely not giving them to you!" Melissa said, grabbing tightly onto the straps of her bag.

"It wasn't a request."

Darkonda gestured, and a sword appeared in his hand.

"You were right before," the monster growled, "I was always going to kill you. But it wasn't going to be personal. I would have made it quick, so I could get to my feast. Now? I'm going to have fun. I'm going to make it hurt."

"That's not going to happen," Izuku declared with more confidence than he felt. He shifted into a broader stance. He brought his right pointer and middle fingers up to his watch.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Izuku shouted, and behind him, Melissa silently mouthed the incantation along with him.

"Echo Ranger One, White!"

The white energy exploded out of his watch, with smaller motes of green and black. They wrapped his body. Solidified into armor and a weapon.

Darkonda flinched back in spite of himself.

"An active Ranger? How? They should be gone, and the shield should prevent them. And 'one'? Are there others? Is that why you want the Coin?"

Behind his mask Izuku smiled slightly. The unnecessary number he had started adding to encourage Melissa made Darkonda hesitate. Like the boy had hoped.

'Sorry, Dr. O,' Izuku thought. He drew the Tiger Saber and attacked. Sure, Darkonda had attacked first, and summoned a weapon first. But in Izuku's mind, attacking now, especially with the superheated blade, constituted an escalation.

The curved blade slashed diagonally at the monster's torso. At the last moment, Darkonda parried. The Ranger's blade bit into the monster's. Ultimately the straight sword held, and Darkonda pushed the Human back. He feigned a leg sweep and then brought his sword up at Izuku's thigh. The Ranger jumped over the low kick. He was able to block the second attack, but the impact pushed him higher and forced him to flip backwards to maintain his balance.

The monster kept the momentum, kicking and then stabbing. Izuku absorbed the foot and dodged the sword.

The Ranger was on the defensive, and he wasn't sure what he could do to recover. Shadows were weaker than their original selves. Except Darkonda had been able to fight two or three of the Space Rangers at a time. In the end, the simple fact was, the monster was a better fighter than Izuku. Even if Mode White was stronger than the Shadow, it didn't matter if all of his moves were read and he couldn't land a blow. At this point, Izuku's main focus was on their weapons. If, parry by parry, he could chip away at Darkonda's sword until it broke, then he would have a chance to turn things around. If he could last that long.

Then the ground shook, putting both warriors off balance.

"Don't worry children I do not know, because I AM… wait is that Darkonda?!"

"Yes, and he's trying to kill us!" Melissa shouted.

"Right," All Might stopped geeking out at the Rangers' Villain.

"Texas SMAAAAAAAA…. Uh?"

The Number One Hero charged in, fist extended. Only to nearly stumble as he passed right through the monster.

Melissa's phone beeped, and she took it out. She looked at the text, and then shouted, "Shadows can become intangible."

"Individually, the Shadows weren't a problem," Tommy told them, reminiscing on the Shadow War, "Like I told Izuku, each Shadow was noticeably weaker than its original. Enemies that might have been fight an entire Ranger team to a standstill could now be defeated by one or two of us. But they had one additional advantage. They could become intangible. All of them. They could pass through walls or the ground. While intangible, nothing physical could touch or hurt them, unless it was infused with magic or Grid energy. Some other types of energy could hurt them. Lasers in the infrared to yellow range. Fire or heat over thirty-three hundred… of rather, eighteen hundred degrees centigrade. Electricity if the volts and amps were high enough."

The image of Doctor Oliver shrugged, "It wasn't an issue for the Rangers so long as we Morphed. But it was a problem for some of our allies."

"Right," Toshinori remembered. Then he glanced at his young friend.

"Echo Ranger, please switch to Mode Black," All Might requested.

"Mode Black," Izuku complied, and the Tiger Saber shifted to the Brachio Staff in his hands.

"Now if you would kindly let me borrow that," All Might requested.

"Like I'm going to…" Darkonda objected, and stabbed at All Might.

CLANG!

The tip of Darkonda's sword sailed off into the sky, before vanishing with a twinkle. The flytrap glared at the stick now in the Hero's grip.

"I've never been a weapon user," All Might said, tapping the head of the Brachio Staff against the heels of his boots, "But while I was in America, I did become rather fond of baseball."

Gripping the Ranger weapon like a bat, he swung at the monster again. This time Darkonda dodged, but not quickly enough. The staff clipped his shoulder and sent him sprawling.

"Hmmm, foul tip, strike one for me," All Might announced.

Then the Echo Ranger stepped in. He kicked Darkonda's hand. The remains of the sword skittered away, into the gutter.

The monster rolled backwards and up to his feet. He held his hands out defensively, moving them side to side to keep the two Heroes at bay.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to need to do this," Darkonda sounded mildly amused, "But if I can get a complete and function Power Coin from it, it may be worth it."

Then he snapped his fingers. And six new figures lurched into view. A man with three arms, wearing a business suit. A young girl with fingernails and hair made of smoke. A female Hero with lightning dancing around her eyes. A boy, a year or two older than Izuku and Melissa, wearing a football (soccer to Melissa) uniform and without an obvious Quirk. A young teen of indeterminate gender, with four bird like wings, wearing a Squadron Green t-shirt. And an older man in a karate gi, also without a visible Quirk. But all six of them had a crown of grey, thorny vines wrapped around their respective foreheads, down their necks, across their shoulders, and wrapped one more time around their biceps.

"Kill All Might and the girl, my servants," Darkonda ordered, "But leave the Ranger to me."

"All Might," the Echo Ranger called, extending his hand. All Might nodded, and tossed him the staff.

"I will take care of these," the pro Hero announced, "You finish the Villain."

"Mode Green," Izuku incanted, as he caught his weapon. His colors and helmet switched, and his staff split into two daggers.

"Be careful, Hero," Darkonda taunted, even as he squared off to Izuku, "My servants are just innocent wretches. You wouldn't want to hurt them."

"I just need to hold them at bay until the Echo Ranger defeats you," All Might declared. The three-armed man's limbs stretched, allowing him to punch All Might from almost three meters away. The Symbol of Peace brushed them aside easily, the civilian had numbers and reach, but not strength or skill.

"Are you sure?" Darkonda simpered, "It won't be that simple. I can push them past their limits, since I don't care what happens. And if die, my vines will crush them."

"So I should kill them," All Might mused darkly.

"A… All Might?" Izuku stammered in confusion.

"Based on the ancient news reports and other anecdotal evidence," All Might explained, "There is about a fifty percent chance they are being controlled, and an equally chance they willingly joined with Darkonda for power. Plus a smaller chance they are just controlled corpses. But if killing him will kill them, then I should just give them the fastest and most painless death that I can, rather than have them suffer or risk others falling to this fate."

"Umm, hold on," Darkonda also stuttered, used to the Rangers over the more pragmatic modern Heroes. Even All Might, the biggest cape of the current generation, wasn't above killing Villains if there was no other choice.

"That won't be necessary," a new voice interjected. And at the same time, Darkonda shuddered in discomfort.

Telos stepped into view, appearing from nowhere like the enslaved Humans.

"Who are you?" the plant monster sounded high aggrieved, "What have you done?"

"What we've done," the Dai clansman said with a smirk, "Is take control of your Bounded Field. It will still keep the normals at bay, but it won't strengthen you anymore. And you won't be able to use it to take any more hostages. In fact…"

Just outside the field, the red-headed woman from the temple, accompanied by a second person with icy hair, in both color and material, looked over the field. After receiving the signal, they stepped closer and began performing hand signs.

The vines on three of the enslaved civilians burst in to flames and burned away without injuring the Humans. The controlling cords on the other three turned into ice and then shattered into snow. The six victims all collapsed, unconscious but breathing.

"And to think," Telos said sharply, "You've been hiding out under our noses these last two hundred years. That ends now. Mister Ranger, if you would please?"

Izuku lunged. And landed a solid hit. Even though he was moving faster in Mode Green, he could still tell that Darkonda was also moving slower. The Echo Ranger followed the first stab with a second, deeper slice. The Shadow was in a bad spot, but wasn't giving up.

"What are you doing here, tour guide?" Melissa asked Telos carefully. She tried to fake an aside glance at All Might. She was trying to convince the Dai family leader that she was protecting his identity from the Symbol of Peace. Of course, she was actually trying to do the opposite.

"We sensed a surge of monster power, and then found the Bounded Field here," Telos said, "So naturally we had to stick out noses in."

"What is a Bounded Field?" All Might asked, speaking formally as if he had never met Telos before.

"It is a magical term, Yagi-san," Telos stated, very deliberately, "It is when a wizard takes control of a region and tweaks the laws of reality to suit their needs. Well, wizard or in this case a monster. But most monsters can't do it. And with magic what it is there days, even a lot of wizards would struggle to do it. That's why Aliea, Red, and Blue are on the outside. It took all four of us to take it over, and someone had to come inside to complete the process."

"Yagi?" All Might asked, "The insurance adjuster?"

"Uncle Toshi isn't here, Telos," Melissa tried to sound confused. But wasn't as convincing.

"You don't have to worry," the guide chuckled, "We already expected you to tell him about us. Mutual assured exposure aside, if we can't trust the Number One Hero, who can we trust? And the same applies, we are the inheritors of the Rangers and secret defenders in our own right. Even if we had reason to expose your identity, it would be poor form for us to do so."

"When did you figure out?" All Might said softly.

"I'd like to tell you we figured out today when Yagi Toshinori ducked out of chaperoning Shield David's daughter at the same time as All Might conveniently appeared in Kyoto to fight off a disaster," Telos said contritely, "But honestly? We have magic and contacts. We… or at least the six family leaders, have known since you returned to Japan."

"I… see," Yagi sighed.

"May I ask you something?" Telos asked cautiously. All Might nodded.

"You appear to have recovered from your injury recently," the ninja started, "After living with it for nearly five years. May I ask what changed?"

"You don't know?" All Might countered with a bit of an edge.

"We aren't omniscient," Telos rolled his eyes, "But it would be nice to know if there is some new Quirk or treatment available."

"There is nothing is available," Toshinori explained gently, "The guardian of the Echo Coin removed the curse on my injury, and then healed it. But they are gone now."

Telos frowned, "We were surprised the Echo Ranger appeared here in Japan. What was this guardian?"

"You don't know?" All Might repeated, but this time in genuine surprise rather than sarcasm.

"The kids will tell you later, but while we knew about the Echo Ranger project, and tracked the Coin after its creation, we generally stayed away. And there was something interfering with most of our scrying."

"Then I should probably respect that privacy, wouldn't you say?" All Might raised an eyebrow.

"True," Telos shrugged, "We had narrowed it down to a few candidates. Or maybe a spell, if not an individual… or a robot."

He was fishing. All Might kept his mask, and Melissa also managed to not give anything away this time.

As their conversation trailed off, Izuku finally landed the finishing blow. At first he had been cautious, worried that the monster had been holding back before and was trying to draw him in. Acknowledging Darkonda's superior skill.

Only to realize it didn't matter. Whatever the Dai clan had done, Darkonda was now not only much slower than the Echo Ranger, he was physically weaker than even Mode Green. His sword was gone while Izuku still had his daggers. The Ranger's confidence slowly grew, so he wasn't backing off after each hit, afraid that committing to a blow would cost him. It was the proverbial death by a thousand cuts. Until one last pair of crossed slashes across Darkonda's chest finished the villain.

"No," he complained as his Shadow body began to melt into an off-black sludge, "I was so close…"

Then he was just a pool of muck. A moment later, that also evaporated into nothing.

Izuku turned to face the other three, and took off his helmet.

"Dr. O," he said to the air, a hint of anger in his voice, "You said that all the Shadows were gone. But Darkonda was here. Did you know about that?"

Then he looked directly at Telos and added more pointedly, "Did you?"

"Nope," the guide slash wizard slash not-quite-ninja shook his head, "According to the stories passed down, all the Shadows faded away, just like that, when Demonus was defeated. I did know that Darkonda was one of the ones who attacked Kyoto, during the Shadow War. But there was no indication that he was still around until today."

The he considered it, and told Izuku, "But I'll get you a list of the rest of the Shadows that were part of the attacks on Kyoto. And the ones we know of, that went after the Lightning Rangers in Tokyo."

"Dr. O says thanks," Melissa reported, looking at her phone, "We can cross reference it with his list. And he says he also genuinely thought all the Shadows were gone."

"So did my becoming a Ranger bring him back?" Izuku asked, "Or has he always been here? And are there others?"

"He made it sound like he had been around the whole time," Melissa reminded Izuku and told All Might and Telos, "But he could have been wrong. Or lying. Or something in between."

"Whatever the case," All Might said, "Izuku's last question may be the most important. Are there still other Shadows around? It is something we will need to look out for."

The teens and the wizard all nodded.

The Bounded Field was removed, and the Tokyo trio only saw Aliea, not that All Might knew who she was at that point. The Red and Blue family heads had fled to preserve their identities. The two groups said their goodbyes, again. Then the travelers returned to their hotel.

They ate dinner in the guys' room, and Izuku and Melissa filled Toshinori in on everything they had seen that day. Which left the Hero grumbling lightly in jealousy. Melissa also showed off her new collection of Ranger tech.

Evening wore into night, and Melissa returned to her own room.

"Thank you for protecting me today," she told Izuku, smiling happily, "You were really cool out there."

She missed the blush that filled his cheeks as the connecting door closed.

Their remaining day and a half in Kyoto was far less eventful. Melissa did have lunch with Aliea on Thursday before their train left.

After returning to Tokyo they settled back into their routine. Melissa and Izuku cleaned up Dagobah in the morning, with Toshinori's assistance when he was available. They practiced their martial arts after lunch, occasionally switching to yoga to break things up. Then Melissa worked on the Ranger tech and Coin fragments. Having the intact Morpher gave her new insight into how the Coins and the Morphers worked together. Izuku studied the technology and offered what suggestions he could. He couldn't keep up with the young woman, but some of his insights and guesses were able to help her.

But she also started a second project of her own, one she kept hidden from Izuku and Toshinori. Until the last day of July rolled around, and she approached her guardian.

"Uncle Toshi, I have a hypothetical question for you," she said cautiously, after Izuku had left for the evening.

"And that would be?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Let's say, just for example, I had studied for and taken the UA entrance exam, and submitted a request to transfer there when the term resumes in September. In that hypothetical case, where would you suggest I stay?"

"Melissa Kimberly Shield, you did not."

"Of course not," she said unconvincingly, "Just a hypothetical. It isn't like principal Nezu offered to let me come in as a second year and I had to convince him to let me start as a first year."

Toshinori dropped his face into his palms.

"If," he said softly and uncertainly, "if you can convince your father. And that is a big if..."

Toshinori knew how protective of his daughter David had become after his wife's passing. To the point Toshinori suspect part of the reason David had finally agreed to transfer to I Island was because of the island's small size and high safety.

"But if you are able to talk him into it, you would be more than welcome to stay here. I would be happy to have you."

"Thank you, Uncle Might," she smiled. Then her smile became a smirk, and she added, "Now I just have to take the exam."

"And you honestly haven't taken the exam," he prompted.

"No," she admitted, "Just studied for it and contacted the UA administration. I wanted to make sure you would let me stay, first. There's no way dad would let it happen otherwise. No, I found out about the exam and studied. I contacted UA, and Nezu reached out to me. He suggested that I didn't need to actually take the test, based on my grades at I Institute, but I didn't want special treatment. So I'll take the exam tomorrow, and talk to dad on Wednesday."

"Hmm," All Might frowned. Then he gave her a thumbs up, "Well then you have my support. But ultimately it is David's choice."

Melissa nodded.

"Hello Melissa," David smiled at his daughter over the video call.

"Hi, Dad," she greeted him.

"I've missed you," he said, "How are you? How is Toshinori?"

It was their second call while she was in Japan. And during the first one, she had told her father about learning All Might's secret identity.

"I'm good, and so is he," she answered, "How are you?"

"Good," he said, "Our tests are going well. But it's lonely without you. It will be nice to have you back in a few weeks."

"Yeah," Melissa scratched the back of her head, a gesture she hadn't realized she had picked up from Izuku, "About that..."

David frowned, knowing that tone.

"Melissa..."

"Dad, just hear me out," she told him, all business, "I want to transfer to UA. And I have a list of reasons why."

"Fine," David forced himself to relax. He had taught her to make reasoned arguments. Learning his daughter was prepared, he had to at least honor that by listening.

"Let's hear your reasons."

"First is simple," she said, "You know I want to make Hero support items. And UA is the best place for that."

She held up her hand as he started to protest.

"I Institute might have a better science program," she admitted, "But UA is better for support items on a practical level. You may be the top maker. But you don't teach at I Institute. The number two and three makers Professor Nezu and Power Loader are both at UA, and they are teachers. More importantly, UA is a Hero school. I will have a chance to interact with Heroes in training directly. To see and hear their needs. To test my devices, and get near immediate feedback. Not only that, but I'll be meeting future Heroes, potentially securing contracts while I'm still in school."

David nodded in spite of himself. I Institute didn't have a Hero course and was more theoretical than practical.

"My second reason is that I've already made two friends here in Japan," she continued, "And no, I'm not counting Uncle Toshi. But two actual friends, more than I've made in three years on the island."

David gave her a stern look.

"A boy?"

"Dad!"

He stared at her for a moment, "It is a legitimate question."

"One is a boy, and one is a girl. And I'll admit, I wouldn't be say no if the boy asked me out, but we aren't like that. Even if we were, it is my choice."

David's frown deepened, and he resolved to ask Toshinori about this boy. Then he decided to let the subject drop, and instead asked, "Then how much of this has to do with the Morphin' Grid energy spike you wanted to track down?"

"What if I told you that one of my friends is the descendant of one of the Squadron Rangers? And that this person has told me more than a few secrets I can't tell you, and given me fragments of Squadron Pink's Coin?"

David continued to study his daughter. Then he said carefully, "There is more to it than that."

"I'm sure there is," Melissa agreed, "Since they out and out told me that the other Squadron Rangers' descendants are also around but didn't want to meet me because they wanted to remain secret. And don't trust me. And there might be other secrets I've learned that aren't mine to share. So yes, part of this has to do with the Rangers. And I've made more progress with the Coin fragments in the last week than we have together in the last two years. That is another reason I want to stay."

"And the last thing," she said, "Is that Uncle Toshi has already agreed to let me stay here. So I will have a place to stay, protected by your friend and the top Hero. And I've also already taken the entrance exam and aced it. And spoken to Professor Nezu, who is quite eager to have me join the UA support class."

"And what if you don't like it?" David asked, "What if you have a falling out with these friends, make no more progress on your Ranger project, and are totally bored at UA?"

"Then I... we will figure that out if it happens," she said, "I could just as easily ask, what if a Villain sinks I Island in three months? Or instead of just grumbling about the board of directors, you decide you have to go somewhere else to complete your work? We can't predict the future, not completely. We can just figure out our best option and take it. And I think Japan and UA are best for me at this point."

"I'm going to need some time to think about this," he said, "And I will need to confirm with both Toshinori and Nezu. But I will consider it."

Melissa bobbed her head. Honestly, it went better than she had expected.

Sunday, August 6th. Haneda Airport. All Might was busy, so Izuku was escorting Melissa to her flight. Not that she needed an escort. In Toshinori's mind, when Melissa had arrived, she could have taken care of herself. After five weeks of rather intense exercise and martial arts training, she could now take care of most fools who gave her trouble.

But David was a worrywart, so the Hero sent the Ranger in training along. It would also give them a moment to say goodbye.

The entered the airport, and stopped right outside the security line. They made sure they weren't blocking the path. But the two teens just stood there, uncomfortable and uncertain. Milling, trying to figure out what to say. For a month and change they had seen each other nearly every day. For a large portion of the day. Now they would be separated.

"So, I guess this is..." Melissa started slowly.

"I Love you!" Izuku blurted out. Then his entire face went as scarlet as a maraschino cherry. Melissa also blushed somewhat and her mouth snapped shut with an audible click.

Then Izuku went into full on turbo mumble mode.

"I mean, I've had a total crush on ForeverPink for like two years now. But that was just online. I didn't know if I would ever meet her. Or if she was even the same person IRL as online. And then All Might brought just this amazingly gorgeous girl to the Dagobah, and I was immediately attracted to her. Not that your appearance matters. I mean it does but it doesn't, you know? I don't want you to think that I wouldn't like you if you weren't pretty, or that I am just leering at you like a jerk. I do that sometimes even though I try not to, and I apologize for that. But then I got to know you and you even were more amazing in real like... life. So smart, so strong, so kind, so fierce, so dedicated. We went out all those times that were like dates even though we did really call them dates or think about them like that, it was us going out for dinner and hanging out and... I mean I can't see how anyone wouldn't fall for you, unless they were a total fool or jerk like Bakugou. And I shouldn't have said anything. Because now you are leaving and I don't know when or if I will ever see you again. And things could have been normal, when we talk on line. But now I might have made things weird and I hope you don't think I'm weird or creepy or stupid..."

He would have kept going, but at that point Melissa lightly slapped his cheeks and squeezed.

"Izuku," she said firmly, "I don't think you are weird or creepy or stupid. I have noticed you 'male gazing' me, but well... I don't mind, because I know I'm not just an object to you. In fact, I kind of like it..."

She turned deeper red, and Izuku's eyes widened.

"But more important," she continued quickly, "What do you mean you don't know when or if you will ever see me again? I'm just going back for a couple of weeks to see my dad and back up some more clothing and equipment. I'll be back on the 22nd. Classes start on the 28th, right?"

"Huh?" Izuku grunted in confusion. He frowned and tilted his head.

"What do you mean?" he asked, "I thought you were going home at the end of summer."

"I was, originally," she agreed, "Didn't I tell... I transferred to UA. After I... I'm moving in with Uncle Toshi, probably for the rest of high school at least. This is just a short trip, to get ready to move here."

"Oh," Izuku said.

"Yeah," she smiled happily, "'Oh'. So this isn't a 'farewell' goodbye, it's a 'see you soon' goodbye. And that gives me some time to think and digest and so..."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodbye."

She turned and ran into the security line.

Izuku just stood there, stunned, until long after Melissa had vanished into the terminal.