10
"I fucking hate this uniform." Michael said as he adjusted his tie and cuffed his sleeves.
The suit jacket was too stiff for him, and his slacks didn't stretch as much as he'd like. He felt constrained in the cloth as he looked himself over. He made one last adjustment before a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. "You look nice." Himiko said, resting her head on his back.
Michael sighed as he pulled her arms off him and turned to face the still half asleep girl. "You can go back to bed if you want, Himiko."
"You're so warm, though. It's not the same." She said with a pout.
Michael rolled his eyes and looked to the clock to see he still had an hour before he needed to be outside. "Fine. Are you hungry?" He asked, walking to his kitchen.
Toga gave him a slow nod and took a seat at the counter to watch him. "You any good at cooking?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Parents taught me. Wanted to make sure I could feed myself in case something happened."
"Oh."
"How often do you need blood?" He asked to change the subject.
Skillets and pans clattered against each other as he waited for her answer. "I don't know. I've never really had a steady supply to figure it out."
Reaching into his fridge, he huffed and said, "Figures as much. When I get back home tonight, I'll let you get some. I'd rather play this safe, seeing as how you tend to get…."
"Psychotic?" She suggested.
"Disagreeable." He corrected as the smell of cinnamon began to fill the room. Working quickly and quietly, he finished cooking and put away what was leftover. Taking out two plates from his cabinet, he piled on the food before turning to her and sliding a dish to her. A small stack of french toast was piled on the plate, dusted with sugar and dripping syrup. Placing his plate in front of hers, he slid her a fork and sat down to eat his own. "Holy shit." Was all Himiko could say after cutting off a piece and popping it in her mouth.
Michael's eyes snapped up to see a line of syrup hanging off her chin as she chewed. "Don't talk with your mouth full. That's rude as hell, hon." He said before taking a napkin and leaning forward to wipe her chin.
The moment he wiped the syrup off, his eyes had locked with hers for a moment as they both registered what he called her. Quickly sitting back in his chair, Michael ate the rest of his food in silence. Once he'd rinsed his plate off, he walked back to Himiko and took hers to repeat the process. "What did you call me?" Himiko said, looking at him with uncertainty.
"Hon. I called you hon." He said, drying his hands before checking the time on the clock.
Himiko looked down at the table in silence before whispering something he couldn't quite make out. "What? Look, if you don't want me calling you that, then just tell me. I'm not trying to make this weird or anything. It was just what came to mind, and I said it."
"Thank you. I said thank you."
Michael's eyes widened at her words, and he struggled to respond. Finally, he managed to speak. "Don't… Don't worry about it."
The girl looked up to the clock and back to Michael before saying, "You're gonna be late at this rate."
"Right. Well, same drill as last night. You can stay here, but you need to stay out of sight and don't wreck my fucking house. Also, if you wanna watch any of my American movies in Japanese, just look in my closet. I have a copy of each movie in both languages, so you don't have to watch Godzilla in English again." He said, remembering the titular monster movie being played when he'd returned.
He turned to leave before looking over his shoulder at the ashen blonde. She sat quietly, staring back at him with her curious golden cat eyes. "I'll see you when I get back here… Hon." He said as he left her sitting at the table with a blush he never saw.
Mina stood outside his gate, playing with her phone as she waited. Hearing his door close behind him, her eyes snapped up, and her face lit up with a dazzling smile. "Sorry, Pinks, I overslept a bit." He said with a smile as he rubbed the back of his head in mock embarrassment.
"It's okay. I'm sure you were awfully tired after losing to me that hard at the arcade." She said, laughing at his raised eyebrow.
Her happy mood was infectious as he began to smile and shake his head at her boasting. He made a point to bend down to her eye level and flash his fangs before saying, "I was tired from having to carry you the entire time we played House of The Dead."
Her black and gold defiantly stared back into his steel before he said, "Keep on, and I'm gonna have to kiss you or something."
Not backing down, she challenged, "Do it then. You won't."
Michael grinned before darting forward and giving her a quick peck on the lips. Purple flooded her face as she reeled from his kiss. Michael had started walking the route to school laughing as she realized he called her bluff. A few more seconds of walking and Michael turned around to see Mina rushing him. He barely had time to dodge out of her way and not enough to dodge her next move. She had shot her hand out and grabbed his dress shirt before pulling him back down to her level. Her eyes were screwed shut as she smashed her lips against his and only let go after a few seconds locked in the kiss. Pulling away, Mina's eyes were wide in surprise at her actions, and Michael could only say one word. "Damn."
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Michael offered her his hand. Mina slowly reached out to take it and said, "I'm so sorry for that. I don't know what came over me. I just kinda reacted, and…"
"Stop apologizing for doing something we both wanted to do." He said with a small smile as he squeezed her hand.
"What?" She asked with wide eyes.
"Don't act surprised, honey. I wasn't lying to you when I said I liked you a lot that night. Hell, I like you like you. Like, really like you. So a kiss like that is something I wouldn't mind doing a hell of a lot more in the future."
Mina's face slowly flushed purple again as she broke into a happy smile and replied, "Good. I don't think I'd mind doing it a bit more, either. Like right now!"
Happy laughter erupted from the girl as Michael bent down to give her another kiss. "We should probably hurry up and get to school. We aren't gonna make it off our block at this rate.
Looking at her phone to check the time, she gasped before taking his hand and hers and running. The two sprinted the two-mile distance and finally came to a stop in front of the mass of students waiting outside the gates. The run had only energized Michael as the friction from the suit warmed his body the more he ran. Mina, on the other hand, was left panting for breath as Michael laughed. "Come on, Pinks. That was only 11 minutes of running. That's a five and half minute mile. That's an easy run, hon." He said with a grin.
Mina waved him off as a few of the other students came up towards them. "I can't believe you! Not even a hero course student, yet you're stealing from our pick of girls." Said a nasally voice from below. Snapping his eyes much further down than usual, he spotted Mineta stomping his foot and raising a fist at him.
"Can I help you or something?" Michael said, his mood already beginning to sour.
"Leave Ashido alone and let her back into the pool of single ladies." He said, pointing an accusatory finger at Farron.
Michael put a finger to his chin in mock thought before saying, "Hmm. Yep, that's gonna be a no from me."
"What! You can't be that strong. You didn't even make the hero cut, so you can't possibly be worthy of any of the busty queens of Class 1A."
Michael did a quick double-take in disbelief at the purple midget's words before his snake eyes narrowed down at the boy. "I don't know much about you or how you think things work, but let me tell you a life lesson I learned in my younger years. Talk shit and get hit." He said as his muscles coiled in preparation to strike.
The midget opened his mouth to say something before a voice interrupted him. "Mineta, please don't antagonize, Mr. Farron." Said, Yaoyorozu as she stepped in between them.
"Ms. Yaoyorozu. It's nice to see you again. I don't think I ever really thanked you for saving my ass back at the USJ. Is there anything I could do to repay you?" He said, visibly relaxing and unballing his fist.,
"No need to thank me. You repaid any debt when you saved Kyoka, Kaminari and me." She said, waving off his thanks as the bell rang and the gates opened.
"Have a good day, Pinks."
She smiled at the nickname and gave him a tight hug in front of the crowd. Michael had even spotted Shinso in the crowd, who raised his phone and took a picture with a devious smirk. "You too, Mike!" She cheered.
Breaking apart from him, she quickly ran up to her classmate's group and spun to give him one last wave. He gave a wave back and began his trip to his own homeroom class. The room was abuzz with conversation of random topics, the main one being the school festival this Wednesday. He took a seat next to Shinso, who retained his smug grin from earlier. "Delete it." Deadpanned Michael.
"No."
"Do it, you prick."
"Or what. You'll kill me?"
"I fucking mi-" He cut off as his mind went blank.
Strangely enough, he was completely aware that he'd just been brainwashed as Shinso gave him a knowing grin. "Michael. You are going to let me keep this picture."
Michael's body nodded on its own as his mind screamed at him to snap out of it. Finally, Shinso snapped his fingers and released his control of his friend. "Oh, you motherfucker! I can't wait to get a little more sparring practice with you. If you thought I was going hard the first time, the next time we get a chance, I'm gonna rock your shit!" He threatened.
"You done?" Shinso asked with a devious gleam in his tired, purple eyes.
Michael barely caught himself from saying more to the obvious trap laid out for him. Shinso chuckled to himself before looking to the front of the class. "Smart choice."
"Go fuck yourself, you crafty bastard." He shot back with a huff.
The door burst open to reveal Midnight in another pose, happily smiling at her students. "Good morning, students! It's a great day for learning, and today, we will be doing just that. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let's talk about our weekends. Who wants to go first?" She asked as she looked around the class for any hands.
When no hands were raised, she rolled her eyes and said, "Hmm, fine. I'll just have to pick one of my very fabulous students. How about... Mr. Farron!"
"Fuckin hell." He cursed in English
"Cursing in another language is still cursing, Mr. Farron." Midnight admonished in English
He sighed before apologizing and said aloud, "I beat the hell out of my boy, Shinso, there and enjoyed my weekend."
Smiling at the insult, Shinso piped up and said, "You're holding back information from our lovely teacher, aren't you, Farron?"
"Shut your mouth, you little shi-"
Shinso shook his head before saying, "I heard that you did something else. Tell us about it."
Brainwashed again, Michael began to speak until the door was opened yet again. A mummified Aizawa stood in the doorway and, upon seeing Michael, swept his red-eyed gaze across the room. Released from Shinso's control, Michael flipped his friend the bird to receive a roll of the eyes in return. "Michael Farron. You are to follow me to Class 1A for your assistance in a lesson."
Thanking God and Aizawa for the save, he looked to Ms. Kayama, who waved him away with her hand. "Okay, Mr. Shinso. Tell us about your weekend then." She said to Michael's delight.
Following Aizawa, he asked, "So what is it that you need me for, sir?"
"We are going over the incident in class. You played a key role and no,, I'm not just talking about the two deaths. Given that you are on track for being placed into my class, to not include you here would be illogical." He said stopping in front of the door to the class.
Michael stepped in and held the door for the heavily bandaged teacher as he hobbled into the room. Instantly voices could be heard whispering, one of them happily calling for his attention as quiet as she could. Michael walked to the side of the class and stopped beside her as she happily stamped her feet. He looked down to see her looking up at him with a happy smile and wide eyes before Aizawa cleared his throat. The class's attention shot to him as he raised a remote and clicked the lights off. Another click started a projector, and the video feed of the USJ flickered to life on the wall behind him. "So, before we start this… Is there anyone who would like to comment on their performance or lack thereof?"
Michael didn't have to look down to feel Mina's mood shift from excitement to dread.
"Well, then I will start by prefacing this with a few words of advice. Firstly and most importantly, lethal force is the use of force with intent to cause serious bodily harm or death. The use of lethal force is only authorized for use in the direct defense of yourself or others when all other options have been exhausted. Secondly, know when to retreat and delegate the problem to someone more capable of handling the situation at hand. Thirdly, do not let your emotions control your decision-making ability. Emotion-based decisions are usually the first step to making mistakes. Mistakes out there can easily lead to the death of yourself or others. Finally, The superhero combat mindset is to beat and apprehend the villain, survive, and continue the fight or rescue operation if need be. You can not do that if you are dead. Do we understand?"
The class was silent as he clicked the button once more, and quick video replays of each battle played out before them. Bakugo and the red-haired kid blasting their way through the ruins zone. Tsuyu, Midoriya and Mineta getting creative in their teamwork at the shipwreck. The red and white kid froze over patches of the landslide zone while Toru's voice relayed enemy positions to him from a concealed position. Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Kaminari and him brutalizing the waves of enemies. Two students Michael had never seen before using a giant shadow monster to fend off the attackers. Finally, it settled on the rest of the students dealing with Kurogiri to give Lida an opening to escape and alert the teachers. After the quick recap, Aizawa stopped the feed and asked, "So from just what we've seen so far, the majority of you were able to use some form of teamwork to make it out alive and okay. This is the kind of behavior that will let you stay successful and, more importantly, stay alive."
He sighed and rubbed his eyes as he clicked back to the start of the feeds. "Now for the mistakes. Bakugo and Kirishima. You knew next to nothing of the situation at hand and threw yourselves literally headfirst into the problem. I shouldn't have to explain why this is a huge no. So do I?"
Kirishima shook his head no, while Bakugo huffed with a roll of his eyes. Aizawa sighed before moving on with his video. "Mineta, I'm not going to even try to understand why you immediately gave up, much less why you're in this course if that's your way of thinking in battle. Be thankful for your two classmates." Midoriya gave the purple midget a small smile to make him feel better.
Another click. "Tokoyami, you did well defending yourself and Koda. Koda, you will have to learn to defend yourself sooner or later. Pray your first lesson isn't your last." Koda gave a shaky nod as Aizawa went on. "Farron. Good job on taking control and giving your team things to focus on. However, I recommend that you take therapy and will be scheduling a quirk exam for you." The majority of the class seemed confused until Aizawa played through Michael's time in the incident.
All of it from the frantic crowd control to the moments of beating the electric villain to death with a nightstick. Thankfully, his brief nudity was blurred from view of his class. He'd take that small victory as he chanced a glance to the classmates in the room. Koda and Mineta looked terrified of him while others gave him unsure looks. Todoroki and Bakugo seemed to regard him with an almost approving glare. The only faces that didn't radiate any uncertainty or negativity were Yaoyorozu, Kaminari and Jiro. Their faces expressionless except for the silent thanks Jiro mouthed his way. Even Mina seemed unsure in what to think of the blood on his hands. "Michael Farron's actions have been reviewed by the school board and the police. They have both found him innocent by virtue of acting in self-defense and in the direct defense of others. Any questions?"
When met with silence again, Aizawa rolled his eyes and continued. "Yaoyorozu. You did well with your quick thinking and flexibility in the heat of battle. Switching from acting as an attacker to applying first-aid quickly and correctly is a skill all heroes should be proficient in. Recovery Girl herself has said that you are the only reason Farron had not bled out on that mountain. Jiro. Using your quirk as a nonlethal crowd controller is an excellent offensive tactic that you should do what you can to maximize its potential. Also, if you should choose to use a weapon such as a sword again, you'll need to enroll alongside Farron in a bladed weaponry class. Kaminari. I hope you know that using your quirk like that is an excellent finisher; you should take care to only use it with backup. The situation that came about at the end of the fighting here resulted from no one else being able to defend you. It is not your fault, but you should take care in future battles."
The three of them nodded at their teacher's words as they thought back on their experience. Finally, Yaoyorozu raised her hand. Aizawa nodded in her direction, and she asked, "Is there a class to help learn combat care and basic field medicine?"
"Yes, there is. I'll enroll you as soon as I get my hands on the paperwork. Any other takers?"
Koda, Sero, Uraraka and Midoriya rose their hands, and Aizawa wrote them down on a sticky note. When they went down, Jiro rose hers before being signaled to speak. "I would like to attend the bladed weaponry class with Farron."
"Anyone else?" Asked Aizawa.
This time, Yaoyorozu raised her hand alone. "Excellent. I'm glad to see some of you taking steps to expand your horizons. Now, let's finish this presentation and get on with our day." He sighed as he clicked his remote again.
The scene swapped to a view of the plaza, only now it was covered in the bodies of unconscious villains. In the middle of the area stood Shigaraki and some giant abomination of a creature. Aizawa broken in its grasp as Shigaraki faced off against All-Might himself. "Midoriya. I swear the next time that I tell you to run… You run. We got lucky out there and barely managed to scrape through with various levels of damage. Thankfully, only four of us came out with any real injuries. Three of them in this very room. Farron's left arm is a miracle in even being attached and another in working normally. Not to mention the amount of blood he lost from countless lacerations and internal bleeding. Farron, did you know that you had been stabbed three times?"
Farron raised an eyebrow and shook his head no as he felt his body for the scars that weren't there.
"Of course you didn't. Midoriya had broken his arm and both legs in his attempt to help. Nerve damage and permanent injury are going to be an issue if he keeps it up. He needs to figure his quirk out and needs to do it soon." He explained as Midoriya nervously rubbed his arms.
"The lot of you are looking at what happened to me. The only reason I'm here today is that I didn't trust the lot of you to not throw a fit if I didn't show up. Number 13 is doing okay as well. She's stable and recovering as we speak. What I'm trying to explain to all of you is that you have all managed to survive a real attack and if you don't learn from it and better yourselves… you won't survive the next." He finished as he clicked the lights on and shuffled out of the classroom.
Grey skies and dark clouds hung overhead as he left the school grounds with Mina and Toru by his side. They had walked halfway in silence until Mina broke the silence. "Are you okay, Michael?"
"Am I what?" He asked in confusion.
"Are you okay? I can't imagine what you were thinking on that mountain. You were like a typhoon. You and Aizawa both just jumped into the crowd and started swinging. No hesitation or second thoughts or anything. You just did, and when I saw you and your arm, I just… All I wanted to do was melt that monster that did that to you. All I could feel was hate, and I don't know how to explain it without sounding like a villain, but when you killed him, I didn't feel sorry for him. Then when that guy at the end threatened to do that to Momo and Kyoka… I almost felt relieved when you did that to him. I feel horrible for thinking like that now, but I can only imagine what's going through your head. So, are you okay?" She stopped him and looked up into his eyes as she waited for an answer.
He gave her a small smile, "Yes, honey. I'm okay. I'm a little messed up, but I'm all alright. Now, are you okay? You didn't need to see me get my hands dirty like that, and I'm sorry that you did." He said before picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist.
Toru coughed into her hand and added in, "I can't say I disagree with what he did. I just disagree with the rules not allowing it unless you're licensed."
"It is in the states. No man is born equal, but Colt, Heckler, Koch, Smith and Wesson have all done their best to even the odds." He said, making a finger gun with his free hand.
She quickly pulled herself closer to him as he continued to walk. "I don't know, Mike. I'm a hero. I shouldn't feel like that to anyone." She whispered.
"Heroes like you are allowed to feel angry, Pinks."
"I'm no hero."
"You're my hero." He answered as he rubbed her back and finished the walk in silence.
