Chapter 19: Improvements to Be Made

Some people didn't bat an eye at the sight of a teenage girl in a red hood walking around with her face in a piece of paper, tracing her path as she did, plus coloring the shops she finds with a red marker.

"This doesn't look like a really big area…but it's big." Ruby looks up and surveys the area she's in now, an alley. She squints her eyes to have a better look through the darkness. "I need to install a night vision feature in Rozuiro." She turns on a tactical flashlight attached to her cape, given to her by Maria. She shines around the area, taking note of every pipe, every fire escape, and box and jotting them down on the paper as she follows the path until she reaches the next area. "...Annnd done with that block! Now for…huh?"

There were two people across the street, next to a nice looking car and underneath a street lamp with a clock underneath that read '4:12'. Both of them were men, a businessman talking to a fancily dressed lanky man, the latter seemed uninterested in whatever the businessman was saying. Ruby watches as the fancy man brushes the other man off and goes to walk away before the businessman roughly grabs his arm and jerks him back.

Ruby has seen enough.

"Hey!" she said as she made her way to the men. She glared her silver eyes at the business. "He's not interested."

The man scoffed. "What are you doing out here, kid? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Isn't it a little late to harass someone?" Ruby retorted.

"Harass?" the man laughed haughtily. "I'm the harasser here? Is that what you are saying?"

A little voice in Ruby starts to scream at her to not get involved any further and that this might get too dangerous. Still…

The lankier man suddenly shoves the businessman by the shoulder.

"Get out of here," he said, his serious tone sounding feminine and flamboyant, more so than Aoyama, Ruby thought. "I've told you before that I am off the clock and I rather enjoy my days off without people like you, thank you."

The businessman looked at the two with angry eyes until he clicked his tongue and decided to cut his losses. He climbs into his car and drives off, uncaring that the exhaust smoke makes the two cough.

Ruby turns to the lanky man, now close enough to see the makeup on his face and glasses. "Sorry for butting in like that."

"No, it's okay. Thanks for that, though. He was getting annoying," the lanky man thanked. "I usually have my friend with me, but he's working overtime. I don't think I've seen you around. Are you a new hero in these parts?"

"Well…not exactly," Ruby said, scratching the back of her head. "I'm more of an intern."

"Hold on…" The lanky man bends down close to Ruby. "Aren't you the girl from the sports festival? The one who went up against Endeavor's little boy?"

"Uh, yeah. That was me," Ruby said. The man pulls her hood over her head. "W-What?"

"I have met quite a few underground heroes during work and if I knew one thing, it is that secrecy is important," the man said. "Don't want that pretty face to be too known in public. Though, it might be a tad difficult because you were seen in the sports festival."

"Oh. Thank you. I wasn't really trying to stand out. Things…happen."

"As things do. So, what do I call this new hero?" the man asked, sounding curious.

"I am Roslein Ryder, the FairyTale Hero!" Ruby introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you…um…"

"Call me Ivori, sweetie," the man, Ivori, said with a friendly smile. "Thank you again for coming to my aid. Some of my clients get too worked up over the smallest of things."

"It's no problem at all, sir!" Ruby said. "We've all got people like that to deal with." In her case, one Katsuki Bakugo.

"Somehow, I feel yours and mine are a biiit different," Ivori smirked playfully. "Well, I've taken enough of your time, sweetie. I think it's time we part ways."

"Oh! That's right! I need to get this finished. Have a nice night and be safe!" Ruby said before jogging away.

Ivori smiled a little.

"Curious girl."

The bell above the cafe door jingled as Ruby came back in.

"I'm back, La Cazadora," she said as she took back her seat at the table booth. Before her was a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk. "Did you order this?"

"Oh, no," Maria said, setting aside a crossword puzzle she was doing. "A waiter came by and said a nice young lady ordered and paid this for the future hero."

"Really? Who?" Ruby asked.

Maria looks around the cafe. "Huh…I guess she left. Whelp, let's not let a good Samaritan's offer go to waste. Dig in while I look at your progress." And Ruby does, taking bites of cookies and sips of milk and enjoying every bit of it. "...There are some missing spots here and there, but you've done quite well. Not only that, but you were able to procure a possible ally."

"Huh? You mean…Ivori?" Ruby asked. "How did you know that?"

"I have my own little network of allies in this city and I asked them to keep an eye on you tonight from the shadows," Maria said. "What? You really thought I'd just leave you alone in the dark?"

"...Yeah, kinda," Ruby said. She partially blames it on her homeroom teacher.

"Having a network of trustworthy allies helps underground heroes to gather reliable information about their target. I'm a little surprised that you may have found such an ally already. It took Eraser Head a few days when he first started out. Granted, he decided to go underground in his third year and with his gruff disposition…"

Ruby stared at the woman, holding her half eaten cookie halfway up. "...Wait, what? You taught Eraser Head?"

"Hm? Oh, no. I've only taught your mother. But, she did use some of my teaching methods on Eraser Head."

"...My mom taught Mr. Aizawa?"

"And became her sidekick up until her death," Maria added.

Ruby gaped silently, with only a tiny squeak escaping her throat.

"Oh? You didn't know? Well, now you do!" Maria grinned. "She had two more if I recalled…what were their hero names…Meblight and Recent Bike?"

"Midnight and Present Mic?!" Ruby questioned, looking more in shock.

"That's it! Know them?"

"They're my teachers too…" Ruby started to look as though she's going through a crisis. Her homeroom teacher, modern hero art history teacher, and English teacher were all Summer's sidekicks…Did Yang know about this? Did Qrow? Her dad? Toshinori? How come no one told her?!

"So, all three of them became teachers at UA, eh? My…How time flies…"

Ruby slumped in her seat, dumbfounded. Then, she noticed something outside through the window display. She gets up for a closer look and sees the cat from earlier, grooming itself and unaware its been spotted by Ruby. The girl hurries back over to Maria.

"The cat is back!"

"Is it, now. Well, what do you plan to do?" Maria asked. Realizing this might be another test, Ruby has a moment to think. She can't just run out of the cafe, it'll give the cat a running head start and she'll lose sight of it again.

"...Once it's on the move again, I'm gonna tail it. At least until I'm confident I can catch it," Ruby said.

"Sounds good. Let's move closer to the window," Maria said.

They moved to a vacant table and watched the cat, though Maria advised Ruby to not make it too obvious. Ruby started tapping on the table, feeling impatient and wanting to get the cat now. But, she kept telling herself to wait until the opportune time.

Finally the cat started to move. Once it was far enough, Ruby headed out, taking her map with her. She follows the cat, keeping a respectable distance between them. The feline turns a corner between two buildings. Ruby has a look at her map. There was a dead end there.

Ruby nods before picking up the pace. The cat appeared to be looking for something, maybe a place to sleep or something to eat, and Ruby sneaks up quietly behind the cat. Once she felt she was close enough, she bursts forward to grab the cat. It shrieks in fright and manages to escape Ruby's grasp by a hair. It darts out of the alley and heads down the street with Ruby right behind it. Ruby dodges and swerves out of other peoples' way, all the while keeping her eyes on the cat. She sees an entrance to an upcoming alleyway and decides to burst ahead and stops beside the entrance.

Much to her luck, the cat skids into a turn into that alleyway. Ruby smirks at the success and continues the chase. This one had a lot of boxes and trash, but it didn't deter Ruby as she used the terrain to her advantage, such as leaping up to swing on a low pipe to catapult herself over trash. At some point, Ruby grabs a tin lid and frisbee tossed it to make a cardboard box fall and it lands on top of the cat.

Ruby power runs to the box and turns it up with the cat inside.

"Gotcha," Ruby grinned.

The cat meows in defeat.

"Look at it, all snuggly now," Ruby said, looking at the cat, now curled up in her lap. She leans back on the sidewalk, Maria sitting next to her. "I guess we'll wait here for its owner to arrive."

"...You know…Your mother saved me once," Maria revealed, her tone somber. "Twice, actually."

"Huh?"

"A long time ago, I was attacked by a villain called Tock. You could say she was my generation's Stain, a hero hunter. And she had me on her hit list. I was so cocky at the time, I underestimated her. She was able to ambush me and while I managed to fight back, she slashed my eyes." Maria could still feel the throbbing pain behind her prosthetic eyes. She could still hear herself screaming in agony. "Tock would've killed me, if not for your mother, who was a student provisional hero at the time. Tock was arrested soon after, but the damage was done for me. I've lost my eyes and confidence as a hero."

"La Cazadora…" Ruby said. The cat in her lap sleeps away.

"I returned to Mexico and went into hiding, too afraid for someone else to come and finish the job," Maria continued, her hand tightened into a fist in reaction to her self-loathing. "I was a disgrace. Getting scared and running off to hide…like a coward. I was no hero." The dark sky slowly started to gain a brighter color, a sign of the coming sun. "But then…Summer came knocking at my doorstep."

Ruby looked in awe as Maria reminisced. She was at home, still recovering from her surgery, when she heard a knock. Fear struck her, making her unable to move. All she wanted to do was hide. But then…

'Maria? It's me, Summer!'

At first, Maria didn't believe it was her. It could be a villain who could mimic someone else's voice for all she knew.

'I will not fall for your tricks! Leave!'

Then, white petals started to emerge from the bottom of the door before a large swarm took over the living room. Maria, at that moment, was unable to see the petals dance and swirl, but she felt them. She knew this feeling. This swarm of comfort. She then felt a presence in front of her as the swarm started to fade. A pair of kind and gentle hands, slightly rough but still tender, took hold of her own hands and were placed on a pair of warm cheeks. Maria moved her thumbs, feeling familiar cheekbones.

'See? It really is me. I'm here for you.'

"Summer…After graduating from UA, she came all the way to Mexico to see me. She didn't ask me to return. Instead, she wanted me to know that I was safe. And, she stayed with me. She even attended a university in Mexico City to further her studies. For those three years…she stayed with me as I recovered. Eventually, I decided to get my prosthetics because I knew that one day, she was going to have to leave to achieve her dream. Her beautiful act of kindness reminded me why I wanted to be a hero. And so…here I am, many years later, interning her daughter."

"Ruby Rose…" Maria looks at her young ward, her robotic eyes clearly showing her adoration. "...you are so much like your mother. Kind, thoughtful, stubborn, and persistent as hell."

"...Not persistent enough," Ruby lamented.

"Worried about your friend in Hosu?"

"You know what's going on?"

"Oh, I know. I've overheard your call earlier," Maria said. "A habit of mine from this line of work."

Ruby looks forward at the horizon, the sun peaking through.

"I don't know what's going on. I have this feeling that won't go away. I wish…I could've done more. He's my friend. I want to help him, but…I don't know how…"

"...I know that feeling," Maria said, sounding mournful. "All to well…"

The cat stirred from the sunlight, blinking until its eyes adjusted. It looked up at Ruby before rubbing against her.

Ruby giggled.

Maria smiles again. "Let's go get some breakfast. I'm sure the boys are up by now."

After getting their breakfast to go, Ruby and Maria head their way back to the apartment.

"Wow…You're right about the differences between night and day," Ruby said.

"Yep. And soon, you'll be used to both," Maria said. "And, who knows, you might get as good as your homeroom teacher one day."

"I doubt that. What happened when we were getting breakfast didn't inspire confidence…" Ruby bemoaned. It happened back in the cafe, while they were making their orders. The cashier overheard a bit of their conversation about more of Ruby's training and the gentleman thought it was amusing, thinking it was a joke, no matter how serious Ruby was about it.

Ruby grumbles at the memory.

"Ah, don't worry. You'll be taken seriously soon…give or take a few years." Maria coyly smirked.

The corner of Ruby's lips quirked. "Hey."

They made it back to the old apartment. "We're back and we brought breakie!" Ruby announced.

"Welcome back!" Izuku greeted, a bruise on his left cheek prominent.

"What happened to your face?" Ruby asked. "Did you get hurt from your training last night?"

"Yes and no. I got this from sparring with Gran Torino."

"Sorahiko, are you eating taiyaki?" Maria said.

"So what if I am?" Gran Torino said and took a munch of the pastry.

"Too many sweets is bad for you at this age, Sorahiko!" Maria chastised. "It's a wonder you haven't become diabetic at this point with all the taiyaki you've eaten over the years."

"Bah! I'm fine!" Gran Torino declared.

While the senior heroes bickered, Ruby and Izuku took a seat at the table and Ruby handed Izuku his breakfast.

"So, how did training go?" Ruby asked him.

"Pretty good. I figured out how to use One for All more efficiently," Izuku said. "Instead of concentrating on isolated areas, I'm gonna channel One for All all over my body!"

"...How come I didn't think of that?" Ruby wondered.

"What about you? How was your night?" Izuku asked.

"Eh. It was good," Ruby said. "Learned a bit about underground heroes." She suddenly slams her hands on the table. "Oh! Midoriya! You're not gonna believe what La Cazadora told me!"

"What?"

"Apparently, my mom had three sidekicks before she died and you wanna know who they were?"

"Who?"

"Midnight, Present Mic, and Eraser Head!" Ruby exclaimed.

"No way," Izuku said, surprised.

"I know, right?" Ruby said. "I just realized I hadn't told Yang this yet!" She takes her phone and sends Yang a text. "She's gonna freak!"

And freak she did. Upon waking up, Yang received the text and raced down the stairs and to the kitchen, where Tai and Qrow were.

"When were you guys gonna tell us Mom taught Mr. Aizawa?!" she asked loudly, surprising the men.

"...I'm guessing La Cazadora told Ruby…" Qrow said.

"Nooo, really?" Tai asked sardonically.

{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}

Ruby Rose

Quirk: Petal Burst

"She can burst into a swarm of rose petals and move at high speeds."

— Affiliation: UA High School Hero Class 1-A Student

— Birthday: 10/31 (Scorpio)

— Height: 162 cm

— Blood Type: O

— Likes: Support Equipment, Support Engineering, Sweets, Strawberries

— Color: Haute Couture (A52228)

{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}

Cinder Fall

Quirk: Unknown

"?"

— Affiliation: League of Villains Ally

— Birthday: 8/24 (Virgo)

— Height: 177 cm

— Blood Type: Unknown

— Likes: Power

— Color: Falu Red (661114)

{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}

Hours ticked by as the heroes-in-training continue their respective internships.

Soon, the sky grew gold, shining shades of yellows and oranges. Ozpin liked the color. It reminded him of autumn. It was also a perfect time of day for a nice cup of evening tea. The man in green prefers to take advantage of calm times like this. It gives him a moment of serenity in this hectic hero's life.

It also helps to prepare Ozpin for upcoming hurdles. Though…this one particular hurdle was one he didn't expect.

There was a knock at his office door.

"Come in," he said. Toshinori comes in with a grim look on his face and his clothes slightly stretched, meaning he was in his muscle form. It made Ozpin wonder what happened. "Toshinori?" The taller man didn't answer and sat down in one of the two armchairs. He puts his head in his hands. "Did something happen during your meeting with Officer Tsukauchi?" He gets no answer, only deep and slow breathing. Toshinori was trying to keep himself calm. Ozpin moves to his emerald tea set to pour a cup for his friend and hands it to him. "Here."

Toshinori takes in shaky hands. "...Thank you. Oz…"

"Hm?"

"I am aware that we were never able to find the body, so…are we…sure that All for One died all those years ago?"

"After receiving testimonies from Gran Torino and…Lady Kindred, the injuries he had sustained should've ended his life," Ozpin said.

"Yeah…should've…but…"

"Toshinori?"

"If…if he is alive, even after all that, then…" A haunted look formed on Toshinori's face. "...Young Midoriya…he'll…"

"Tsk…all that hard work in getting him here…" Roman grumbled.

Mercury shakes his cut arm, finally getting movement back in his body. "That guy was something else…"

Emerald winced at her own cut, on her cheek. "...Even after I used my Quirk on him…"

"This was your own fault," Cinder said coolly. "You two shouldn't've attacked when you did, even after I told you so."

"But…But he was going to attack you," Emerald insisted. She flinched back when Cinder looked at her with cold eyes.

"And that gave you permission to disobey me?"

Emerald looks down, unable to look at Cinder in the eye. "N-No, ma'am. Please forgive me."

"...Be that as it may, I agree with Stain," Cinder said to Tomura.

"What?" Tomura hissed, disregarding the gash in his shoulder.

"You do lack a proper conviction and desire," Cinder said. "Without that, you won't be seen as a threat."

Despite his injury, Tomura sprung towards the woman in red and grabbed her by the neck.

"Cinder!" Emerald shouted, fear in her eyes. She and Mercury move to attack, but Cinder calmy raises her hand to stop them. The woman didn't seem worried about her predicament, her confidence still evident on her smiling lips.

Of course, it also helps with the fact that Tomura has his pinky raised.

"Are you calling me harmless?" Tomura challenged. That smile, the look in her eyes, the calm and steady beat of her pulse through his fingers…she clearly looked like she was in control of the situation, unafraid, and it was making him mad.

He wanted to put his pinky down so bad.

"Not at all. You just need to build up your presence in society," Cinder said. "Ask yourself, what do you want out of this?"

Tomura grumbled and scratched his neck with his other hand. "What I want is for this society to fall."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Cinder questioned. "You've felt the Hero Killer's presence and its impact on society. As you are now, you are nothing more than a common criminal. So, how are you going about this? How will you send this society into chaos?"

Finally, Tomura lets go of Cinder. "...You ask too many questions, Fall." Tomura puts his hand on a stool. Steadily, cracks spread on the object. "If Master hadn't told me to keep you alive, I'd have killed you a long time ago." The stool crumbled to dust.

"Hmph. And I you," smirked Cinder, facing her palm up as the skin of it glowed hot.

Ruby yawned as she came down into the lobby.

"Morning…" she mumbled.

"Um, Rose, it's past 10," smiled Izuku.

"Oh…Good evening, then," Ruby said with a drowsy smile. Izuku chuckled.

"Coffee?" he offered.

"Cream and five sugars, please."

Gran Torino chortled. "Looks like I'm not the only one with a sweet tooth."

"She's young. You're not," Maria frowned. "That's the difference."

Ruby sighs, feeling revived after a long sip of her caffeinated beverage. "That hits the spot. I feel ready to take on my next challenge!"

"I feel the opposite. I'm exhausted," Izuku said. He looked exhausted too. "Gran Torino and I had been training all day. I can't wait to sleep…" A thoughtful expression became evident on Ruby's face. "Rose?"

"...Even though we're in the same building, we haven't had time to hangout like we did before," Ruby said. "I know that we're not on vacation or anything like that, but with our different schedules…I miss us hanging out, you know?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. It makes me wonder how All Might and Silver Line made it work, due to their different schedules."

A knowing smile perked on Maria's lips. "I'm sure you'll figure it out one day. But for now, this is just training. Speaking of, once you are awake enough, we're heading out, Ryder!"

[Night 2 of Ruby's Internship]

"Tonight, you will be finding me," Maria said.

"Finding you?" Ruby muffled, nibbling on her late night dinner given to her by the cafe waiter. The cat they found was in a kitty tower nearby. Apparently, it belonged to the cafe's owner's daughter.

"I'm going to hide myself somewhere in the area and leave behind some clues to assist you on your search." Maria holds up her cane, using her thumb to trace the linings on the skull. "Whether they'd been inanimate or a person. You still have the map, no?"

Ruby nodded. "I do."

"Good. Give me 30 minutes to get things ready. In the meantime, study the map a bit more if you like," Maria said, removing herself from the booth and cafe.

With a timer counting down the minutes, Ruby did whatever she could to pass the time: study the map, fiddle with Rozuiro, doodling on napkins, watching cat videos…

Once time was up, the waiter came by and placed a small plate on the table. "A little treat." On the plate was a picture of Maria and a note that read

'You have 2 hrs to find me. Be sure to be thorough in your search!'

On top is a cellophane sachet filled with candy in the shape of little skulls in the same style as the one on Maria's cane, in different colors. She takes one out, a purple one, and pops it in her mouth.

"...Mmmm. Grape," she munched. She looks at the photo. In it, Maria appeared to be walking into…someplace. But where? She looks at the time on the cafe clock.

12:36 am.

"I have less than 2 hours to find La Cazadora," she thought. "That sounds like enough time, but I don't know where she is." She puts the photo, note, and bag of candy in her pouches and heads out. "Where could she be?" She takes out the photo to examine again. "It looks like…she's heading into an alleyway!" Ruby takes out the map and a pen. "Okay…I'd just need to mark all the alleyways annnnd…Oh…That's a lot of alleys…" Ruby shakes her head. "No…now's not the time to be discouraged. I can do this!"

She began her search, looking through the alleys as thoroughly as she could get. However, by her fifth spot, she decided that she needed to be more flexible with her search…mainly so she doesn't have to run into someone taking a pee.

"Maybe I can ask someone…"

Using the photo, she asks people if they have seen Maria. None did, but one may have given her a lead.

"I think I've seen a skull like that over at A Simple Wok."

"Thank you so much!" Ruby thanked with a bow. She takes out one of the candies. "Here."

"Thank you!"

Ruby heads over to A Simple Wok, a ramen stall. She checks the alleys nearby, but to no avail. She sighs as she crosses them off the map.

"So much for that…" She sniffs the air, taking in the aroma of noodles. She moves close to the staff, watching the chef cook and the like. As she looks around, Ruby spots a skull figurine on the booth. It was styled similarly to Maria's.

"Um, excuse me?" Ruby said to the chef. The chef paused doing what she was doing to look at her. "Where did you get this?"

"...Who's askin'?" the chef asked.

"Um…R-Roslein Ryder?" Ruby asked. The chef cocked a brow. Was she not convincing? Ruby takes a deep breath before saying with more confidence, "Roslein Ryder."

The chef smiles. "Nice to meet you, Ryder. And as for your question, a…sassy, elderly woman came by and left it here."

"Did she say where she was going?"

"Hmmm…Something about headin' on over to Reza Road."

"Reza Road…ah! There it is!" Ruby said, finding it on her map. It was on the other half of the map. "Thank you for your time, ma'am!"

"And I wish you luck, kid."

"Here I am…so, now what?" Ruby asked herself. So far, she was the only one on Reza Road and it somewhat unsettled her. She shakes herself from her goosebumps. "Okay…let's get this over with." She goes down the road, looking out for anything…or anyone. She puts her hood on and picks up the pace.

Ruby couldn't help but think about the Taurus Incident. Did Yang felt this unsettled before Adam attacked her and Blake? Did Blake get this feeling? …If so, does this mean that Ruby might be sensing something wrong? Is…someone following her?

Her heart started to race as her paranoia started to rise. Her eyes darted around, the shadows around her suddenly hostile.

As childish as it sounds, she wished she brought her wolf plush with her. Raser could always calm her nerves.

Her back suddenly hit something when she walked backwards while in panic mode. She looks up to see the familiar street lamp and clock.

"Wait…isn't this where I met–"

"If it isn't the FairyTale Hero."

"Ivori!"

The man in white smiled. "Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you again too." Ruby notices another man with Ivori. He had long, blue hair in low ponytails and a serious expression. "Um, hi!"

"This is Kobalt. My friend," Ivori introduced.

"I see. Nice to meet you," Ruby said with a light bow. Kobalt nodded.

"Now, what are you doing tonight?" Ivori asked.

"The hero I'm interning with wants me to find her," Ruby said. She shows them the photo. "I was told that she was heading to Reza Road. Have the two of you seen her?"

"Hmmm," Ivori hummed thoughtfully. "...I think so."

"You do?" Ruby asked.

Ivori nodded. "Look closely at this picture. Do you notice anything?"

Ruby takes a closer look at the photo. It was just Maria heading into an alleyway, the picture likely taken by one of her associates. Then, something caught her eye. First, she noticed how Maria's cane was positioned so the skull was looking right at the camera. It was thanks to this that Ruby was able to register a torn paper nailed to the wall with that same kind of skull.

"I see it now! Thanks, Ivori!"

"You're welcome. Now, for payment."

"Payment?" Ruby asked.

"Information doesn't come cheap, of course."

"Oh. O-Okay. Um, how much?" Ruby asked, reaching for her wallet in one of her pouches. Ivori hands her a slip of paper. "Hm?"

"Your autograph."

Ruby was able to find the alleyway with the torn paper.

She looked around the place, but found no signs of the woman. But, she wasn't going to give up. She is persistent and stubborn, after all.

She began moving around boxes and bags and noticed the handle edge of a hidden door behind the dumpster. She's no Yang or Toshinori, but she used all of her strength to push the dumpster. When it barely budged, she used her harness rope to tie it to the handle of the dumpster. Once done, Ruby prepares herself and does a burst that successfully moves the large receptacle.

Ruby unties her harness and goes around to the dumpster to slide open the door. She crawls through the space and uses the tactical light to search around.

She smiles at the grinning figure of Maria Calavera waiting for her.

"Found ya."

Chapter 20: Promises in the Making

Lately, I've been feeling a need to draw, but I don't know what. So, requests! Send in requests and I'll draw whatever, whether it be a scene or something else. And not to worry, I'll be sure to mention the requestee. Such artwork is going to be posted on both Tumblr (thisisourheroacademia dot tumblr dot com) and Deviant art (hh-bluedynamite).

Two rules: Nothing too mature or explicit (though I might give an exception to adult characters; those would be categorized as mature content), and no ships (as much as I love Tododeku and Nuts & Dolts).