Underdressed and Overpowered
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"{Speaking a different language}"
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Once they arrived at the exam site and got off the bus, Izuku wasted no time in getting himself ready for the exam. More than one person stared as he stripped down to his underwear, but he'd long since lost all sense of shame or modesty. Yes, he was going to take this exam in nothing but a thong and his sneakers, get over it. Quirks were weird and in a world with living slabs of concrete and three-meter blue fox ladies (who admittedly had been rather cute), a mostly naked muscular teen shouldn't be all that noteworthy. The verdette was just finishing up his stretches (to more than one wolf whistle) when the uptight guy from before started approaching him. However, whatever he was going to say was lost when Present Mic's voice echoed across every exam site, "AND START!" Like many of the other examinees, Izuku jumped at the incredibly loud shout. Unlike them, his leap carried him into the testing grounds. By the time the Voice Hero explained there were no countdowns in real life, Izuku had landed and taken off running. He had points to find.
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"Well now, isn't this an interesting specimen~" Nemuri's throaty voice purred as she watched the screens. On the display, a mostly nude teen was tearing right through robots at breakneck speeds. "I'm not sure what his quirk is, but I certainly approve of his costume." As she watched, the verdette pulled another applicant out of the way of a falling robot.
"According to our paperwork, Izuku Midoriya. Quirk: Barbarian," Higari read off. How he could see anything with his helmet on was anyone's guess. "Apparently, his physical abilities are increased the less he's wearing? That's an… odd quirk."
Gesturing to another screen, Anan shook her head, "Is it really that much more unusual than others?" Onscreen, half a dozen robots were disabled by a black wave of sludge which then reformed itself into a young man with antlers. On another, a green haired centaur was stomping robots beneath her hooves while a black-haired girl was biting into robots with a mouth filled with fangs then spitting out the pieces at high velocity.
"Point taken," Higari conceded.
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Katsuki was having the time of his life blowing apart the faux villains. The more that came at him, the harder he fought, the more he sweated and the harder he could fight. And all with his own power. The nudist might've offered to use his quirk on him before, but Katsuki refused. He'd become number one with his strength, not riding someone else's coattails. If the damn thing could be turned off, he might have accepted. Even he wasn't so insanely prideful as to refuse a potential ace up his sleeve if he was ever truly fucked otherwise. But the damn nerd's quirk was always active. If he'd let the nudist use his quirk on him, he'd never know if he was achieving anything himself. Another group of robots appeared in his line of sight and the explosive blonde once more let loose.
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Second Day of School, Heroics Class
While they waited for the signal to start, Toru turned to her partner. Then quickly thanked any and all gods that being invisible meant he couldn't tell she was staring. Izuku had already torn off his costume (a quick look at it showed the entire thing was designed to break away easily) and was left in his shoes, thong, and utility belt. And frankly? Toru liked what she was seeing. She liked it a lot. Shaking herself, Toru asked, "So Midori, got any plans for getting past the villain team?"
Holding his chin in thought, Izuku pondered, "Well, Kirishima's hardening quirk makes him a good tank but Odelschwanck's centaur quirk isn't as useful for enclosed spaces. If I were them, I'd have Kirishima guarding the bomb while Odelschwanck patrols an open space to best make use of her speed." Before he could descend into a mutter storm, Izuku glanced at his partner. More specifically, he took in her hero costume. A pair of gloves and some shoes covered almost… nothing… "Hagakure, do you mind if I tried using my quirk on you?"
"Er, I thought your quirk only worked on you?" She replied in confusion.
"Eh not quite. My quirk increases the physical ability of anyone I use it on, including myself. The only two limits I've found are that the less you wear, the greater the benefit, and that it stops working if your genitals are showing," Izuku explained. Years ago, talking about such things might have made him uncomfortable, but now it was merely part of his quirk. Shame tended to fall away quickly when you had to be mostly nude to get the most out of your quirk.
The last part of Izuku's description caught Toru's attention. "Showing or uncovered? Because I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly wearing panties right now."
"Honestly, I don't know. At worst, it won't work. At best, you'll get a bigger boost than even I do." Izuku might have tested his quirk on a few willing subjects before, but he'd never met someone with an invisibility quirk. It was new territory for both of them.
"Sure, might as well," the invisible girl replied. Though she tried to hide it, she was hopeful it would work. She'd seen Izuku's scores on the Quirk Assessment and his physical stats were no joke. Well, besides the seated toe touches. Either his quirk didn't improve flexibility or he was really inflexible normally.
Five Minutes Later
At least half of Izuku's theory proved correct. The building they were assigned had a large open lobby on the ground floor. Upon entering, the duo immediately encountered Nelliel, the horned centaur-like girl towering over both as she blocked the stairs to the higher levels. The normally friendly girl gave them both a flat stare as she pointed her lance at them. "Run away, little hero. Flee and you just might live." Internally, Toru was impressed by how well the verdette sold her villain act. Of course, the fact she addressed Izuku alone also meant she wasn't aware of her presence. The fake villain didn't give Izuku a chance to reply before she charged right for him. Unfortunately, said charge was quickly aborted by a couch flying through the air at her. The statuesque girl barely dodged in time but lost almost all of her forward momentum. Izuku took the opportunity Toru gave him to sprint up the stairs. "Oh no, you don't!" Nelliel cried as she rushed after him.
Before she could reach him, an invisible force knocked her on her side, unfortunately sending her lance skittering across the floor. "Oof!" Nel gave out a grunt as she rushed to stand. However, she hadn't even got her hooves under her when she felt a small pair of hands grab her horse half by the withers and croup. Said hands promptly lifted her in the air. "What the- Toru-chan!" The much larger girl felt like a fool for forgetting about her other opponent. She must have stripped off her hero costume entirely to escape her notice. "When I get down, I'll-"
What she intended to do proved irrelevant. Toru showed no signs of strain despite lifting an entire horse over her head. "Sorry, Nel-chan. I can do this all day." And it was true. The invisible girl barely felt her captive's weight. 'Is this what Midori feels like all the time?' Worse for Nelliel, without her lance, she couldn't easily reach Toru even if she could see her.
"The hero team wins!" All Might's voice rang out through the speakers a few minutes later, causing Toru to finally put down Nelliel from where she'd been holding the squirming centaur above her head. The other girl was fast, strong, and weighed roughly three quarters of a ton. Yet it had only taken Toru seconds to have the centaur struggling above her. Toru felt more like she was holding a large pillow than a horse.
"Are you alright?" The invisible girl asked her classmate, worried she might've injured her. While Toru had plenty of experience in grappling techniques, none of them were meant for horses. Nor did she learn them at her current level of strength.
Nel grimaced slightly, "Bruised but I'll live. I had no idea you were so strong Toru-chan!"
"I wasn't until about 10 minutes ago," She replied to the other girl's shock. "Midori's quirk is so broken."
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Toru loved showers. Not only were they a great way to relax but standing under the hot spray allowed her to actually be visible to someone other than herself. Currently, she was helping Nelliel shower. "Thanks for this, Toru-chan," the taller girl said once again, "We have a specialty shower at home along with custom brushes, but I don't want to ride the train home stinking from class."
"It's no problem Nel-chan," Toru reassured her as she worked the shampoo into the other girl's body, using a brush Momo had made with her quirk. "I can't imagine what a hassle it is to wash your body. Besides, it's the least I could do after our match. Want me to get under your hooves too?"
"Please don't," Nel said with complete seriousness, "You do not want to see what a horse with slippery hooves is like."
From a nearby shower, Momo spoke up, "She's right. Also, hooves require special care rather than just washing them with soap. I could make the necessary tools but it's best left to a professional." And like that, everyone got reminded of Momo's wealth. Certainly, no one else had enough experience with horses to know about caring for their hooves. Well, besides Nel for obvious reasons.
"Hey, Toru-chan," Mina called, "What was that you mentioned before about Midori's quirk?"
Toru perked up, something they could all see thanks to the water spraying down on her. "Oh yeah. So, turns out his quirk can be used on other people. And since it works based on how little clothing you're wearing…"
"That's pretty broken, kero," the frog-like Tsuyu offered. Unlike the others, she was already done showering. She just seemed to be enjoying the water.
"That's not the half of it. If he's right, his quirk is permanent," Toru offered.
This statement caused everyone to stare at her in shock. "Permanent?!" Most quirks had some sort of time limit or release clause related to them. Even emitters that didn't otherwise turn off automatically could be deactivated by their wielders.
"Yep. According to Greenie, he used it on his mother by accident back when it first came in. It's still active on her last he checked," the invisible girl explained. Though she honestly hoped the woman just checked on her own and let Izuku know later. Nobody wanted to see their parents half (or more) naked, even if it was to test a quirk.
"Damn. Now I'm not sure if I'm more jealous of you for the powerup, or Kiri for being grappled by Midori," Mina stated, causing the other girls to blush. Kyōka in particular went scarlet as she tapped her earjacks together.
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"This is bullshit," Nel muttered. It was the middle of the first event in the Sports Festival and whoever designed the obstacle course clearly only had non-flying bipeds in mind. She was a good jumper but she certainly wasn't that good. Nor could she use the ropes. Was she really going to be forced to withdraw during the first damn event of all things?
"Excuse me?" A friendly but uncertain voice got her attention. Looking down, Nel saw a short brunette who came up to roughly her waist. She liked the girl's blush stickers; they reminded her of pink marking across her own face. "I noticed you'd been standing here a while. I guess the ropes aren't really meant for someone with four legs, huh? I'm not sure I'd be able to cross in good time on my own either. So, I was thinking, maybe we could team up?"
"Oh?" The centaur was curious. If the girl had a way for her to get across, she was all for it. Not like she could on her own. "How would we do that?"
The brunette girl smiled at her. 'This girl is friend-shaped,' she decided. "Well, my quirk is called Zero Gravity and I can remove the gravity of anything I touch with all five fingers. But it makes me sick if I use it on myself. I was thinking I could use it on you then you could just jump across with me on your back?"
That… was actually a good plan. Certainly much better than anything Nelliel had come up with herself. "That sounds perfect. I was afraid I'd have to withdraw before even finishing the first event. My name's Nelliel tu Odelschwanck," The verdette agreed, reaching down with one hand. Seeing the unnamed girl goggle at her name, Nelliel giggled and added, "Call me Nel."
"Oh, my name's Ochako Uraraka. Call me Ochako!" The brunette answered as she took Nel's hand. "Whoa!" With surprising strength, the centaur easily lifted her up and set Ochako on her back. "Right, here goes. Just a warning, I won't be able to hold this longer than a few minutes," She warned as she activated her quirk.
Feeling a bizarre lightness, Nel shifted her body a bit to get used to the feeling and test movement. Satisfied, she nodded, "That will be more than enough, Ochako-chan." Backing up a few steps, Nel broke into a gallop and leapt. Ochako fought the urge to scream at both the sudden acceleration and just how far they were going. In a single bound, the centaur cleared the entirety of The Fall! To her surprise, once the taller girl landed, she didn't ask her to get off. Instead, she kept running full speed ahead. Seemingly knowing what she was thinking, Nel called back, "Hold on tight, Ochako-chan! We're winning this whole race!"
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"Um, Mt. Lady? You said you can't get shoes that work with your quirk because they're much more expensive than just DNA-infused cloth, right?" Izuku asked his mentor of the week. He'd actually been surprised to receive an offer from the relatively new hero. However, she'd been one of the few who did and didn't have some form of strength enhancing quirk. Don't get him wrong, he was sure pros like Death Arms had plenty to teach him about using his enhanced physical abilities, but well… All Might was his heroics teacher. Even if the man was still clearly new to actually teaching, he'd been a hero for nearly 40 years and knew all kinds of little tricks for using super strength without going overboard. So, when he saw the offer, Izuku couldn't help but accept it, especially since (as of the last ranking) Mt. Lady had already shot up to 30th place. Sure, at least some of it was likely due to her sex appeal, but you couldn't reach even the Top 50 if you weren't competent, never mind 30th after only a year as an official hero.
"Yes," Yu didn't quite growl as she continued filling out paperwork in her office but it was a near thing. She did not like being reminded of one of her Catch-22. She'd be able to take on more villains if she had proper footwear to protect her feet, particularly with how much she used them against non-giant villains (read: most villains). But to get said footwear, she needed to take on more villains so she could afford them. Her intern better have a good reason for bringing it up or there'd be hell to pay. She didn't care how nice his ass was. "Why?"
"Well, I was just thinking, my quirk might be able to solve that," Izuku offered.
Yu looked up from her paperwork. "Oh? Did your enhancement quirk suddenly give you the power to create shoes?" She couldn't help but snark. Yeah, the kid had a weird activation condition, but she was pretty sure he couldn't make things like that one girl she'd seen in the Sports Festival.
"No, but it does work on others. So if I used it on you, in theory you wouldn't need to worry about damaging your feet anymore. Though you would need to redesign your costume."
"Alright, let me offer you some advice, kid. If you're trying to see a girl naked, just say so. Only idiots are gonna fall for the misdirection approach and they're gonna be pissed once they figure it out."
"I'm serious!" Izuku insisted. "Barbarian works fine on others! You wouldn't need to wear a costume like mine! Even just exposing your arms and the bottom half of your legs should provide more protection to your feet than a pair of well-made boots would!"
The teen was surprisingly passionate about the idea. And he certainly didn't sound like he was just trying to get her in a g-string. Heck, what he was describing was more along the lines of a really old-fashioned swimsuit. Even if it was as tight as her current costume, you could argue that it'd still be less sexual.
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"I'll be taking that!" The giant metal villain stated as she picked up an armored car. Casually, the bald metal woman broke off the cab and dropped it to the ground. The passengers quickly scrambled out, heedless of their injuries in their haste to get away from the fifteen-meter giant. They might be security guards, but they weren't paid nearly enough to take on something like that! Let the police handle her. Or better yet, the heroes. Passersby, rather than do the sensible thing and flee the area, promptly took out their phones and started filming the steel giantess. That her quirk apparently didn't affect her clothes probably helped with this. After all, in a world of tentacled humans and sentient concrete slabs, not many people would be turned off by a giant pair of naked tits just because they were made of metal. Once she realized what was happening, the villain crossed one arm over her chest even as she punched the ground with her other hand. "Oi! I better not see my tatas online, you fucking perverts!" The shockwave of her blow sent people reeling. Only then did they realize the danger of standing so close to a real villain and start fleeing.
"That'll be the least of your worries!" A new voice called. The villain barely had time to turn before a titanic heel struck her temple. The blow dented her metal skull and knocked her out in an instant. As she lost consciousness, the woman shrunk down to a tenth her previous height. Mt. Lady stood triumphantly over the unconscious woman in her new costume. Her previous bodysuit had been significantly reduced. Her previous thigh-high 'shoes' were now merely up to her ankles, leaving her legs bare all the way up to her butt. Similarly, her arms were completely uncovered now. Finally, though it couldn't be seen due to her hair, much of Mt. Lady's back was exposed as well, her costume now ending at the small of her back and the front coming around to clasp around her neck. "Wow. That barely stung at all!" The heroine cheered, "Okay Streak, you are officially my favorite intern ever! I take back all the bad things I said about you!"
Down on the ground, Izuku, or rather Streak as he was currently in costume, was busy keeping the crowd away from the scene. "Aren't I your only intern?" He quietly pondered. Then the rest of Mt. Lady's words hit him. "Wait, what bad things?!"
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"It's positively scandalous! We must put a stop to it!"
Such blustering had been ongoing in the HPSC headquarters for over an hour now. Kodama Horaki resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The career politicians were more concerned with "image" and "decency" than results. Yes, Streak's quirk made some people uncomfortable, but that same quirk meant a lot more people were alive to be uncomfortable. Heroes who utilized Barbarian were not only catching more Villains than ever, but a number of them were also surviving incidents that would have killed them otherwise. And if not for Mt. Lady's empowerment, the giant Villain during the attack on the MLA might have rampaged further and caused who knew how much death and destruction. Her and Midnight tearing off their normal costumes to fight clad in nothing but a single pasty was certainly scandalous, but they had also been instrumental in the overwhelming victory against the Meta Liberation Army. Even Best Jeanist had said the only reason he wasn't asking for Streak to use his quirk on him was because it ran counter to his own.
Eventually, Kodama brought herself to focus back on the present conversation when one of the department heads said something interesting. "Of the heroes who've been subjected to Streak's quirk, all of them are seeing a massive upsurge in effectiveness. Their arrests are up an average of 134% while property damage and civilian casualties are down 77%. The way I see it, we can either hide the titty or protect the city." Kodama struggled to hold back her giggles, especially at the absolute silence that followed such a statement. After several awkward seconds, the department head coughed and insisted, "My intern came up with it and it's been stuck in my head all week."
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AN: So this was born of a random thought I had. It passed me by until I remembered Toru and realized exactly how I worded the mechanics of Izuku's quirk. Anyone subjected to it is given a permanent boost to many of their physical stats: Strength, speed, agility, durability, and pain tolerance (no flexibility and nothing to senses beyond enough to help keep up with your new speed). The more skin they expose, the bigger the effect, at least until your penis/vagina is showing. Then you lose the effect until you're covered up. But because quirks are weird (and I didn't wanna make it a math problem), the amount isn't completely consistent. Having your legs bare doesn't make for double the boost as having your arms bare, despite being about twice as much skin showing. The quirk doesn't distinguish between sexes though. A man in a thong and a woman in a thong will both receive the same percentage-based boost. Then I realized that since Toru is invisible, she'd get the biggest boost of anyone as her crotch is never showing.
The quirk name, Barbarian, came from remembering DnD and how a Barbarian who isn't wearing magical armor would be better of naked and that raging gave them advantage on strength checks and gave them immunity to certain types of damage.
Nelliel looks like her resurreccion with the exception of her mask. Instead she merely has the mask's horns growing from her head. Her hero costume is basically her resurreccion outfit, except with a more armored top like her Espada outfit rather than the ragged green top from canon. What about Ochako? She ended up in Gen Ed. Things happened just differently enough that she never got stuck and Izuku never fought the Zero Pointer. Without the rescue points, she didn't make the cutoff.
Yes, I know that in canon, All Might was of basically no help in Izuku learning to use OfA because it came naturally to him. However, here he's not trying to help someone struggling to use a tiny portion of their super strength. He's giving tips to someone who has super strength (and agility, durability, etc.) and simply has less experience than him at using it. For a comparison, I might have trouble teaching someone how to be good at Pokémon, but still be able to give them help when they have trouble with a particular gym leader.