Alright, we're coming to the end of my pre-written entries. Next update will be the last for a while.
For this chapter we'll be meeting some new, familiar faces. Again, author's notes are at the bottom.
Short grass gave way to a gravel path leading up to the base of the… "building." Izuku could just make out the massive row of doors laid into the front of the structure, their polished steel surface standing in stark contrast to the blackened rock around them. The young man continued onward, each footfall accompanied by the satisfying crackle of gravel.
A black stone archway loomed over the young man, one of several set along the main path. They seemed to share the same material makeup and spiral pattern of the building proper. As the hero-hopeful passed through the first beam of shadow, he set his gaze to the short figure walking at his side. "Hey," Midoriya began, "I never got around to introducing myself. I'm Izuku Midoriya."
The child-like person turned his gaze from Izuku's face to his outstretched hand, his mohawk of purple bulbs bobbing and jiggling at the sudden motions. A minute passed as bulb-head scrutinized the greenette's offered palm.
"Minoru Minetta," the kid introduced, taking hold of Izuku's hand. A quiet smile played across the small boy's features. Midoriya easily matched his grin, glad he had waited that awkward second before aborting the handshake.
"So, are you a first year too Midoriya?"
"Yeah, I'm a first year," Izuku replied, turning his gaze back towards the cyclonic structure that was Aozora High. Even now he had a hard time believing his good fortune, to be scouted by this rising power in the world of pro heroics. His school-to-be had made no secret after their success last year in their intent to rival UA in the near future; the thought that his year might just be the one to achieve that status filled his head with fanciful thoughts.
Distracted, he airily added, "Picked me up after I failed UA's entrance exam..."
"Say what!?"
The hero-hopeful threw his hands up in an attempt to ward off Minoru's explosion of shock. Even now the diminutive teen stood staring up at his taller counterpart, mouth gaping and pointer swapping between Midoriya and himself in a slow, repeating pattern.
Izuku was just starting to uncurl from his startled stance when Minetta again found his voice. "Y-Y… You too?" Midoriya's confusion faded quickly, the near relief in the other boy's words spelling out their shared circumstances plain as day. Minetta continued on, "I… I wasn't sure if I was the only one or not. You don't exactly want to brag about being UA's leftovers."
Empathy was always something Izuku had in spades. The way he felt for people, be they close relations or complete strangers, had been a driving force behind his dream of herodom from the very beginning. Minoru, someone Izuku's own age and living a similar experience to his own, was that much easier to relate to.
Dropping to a kneel, eye-level with Minetta's row of orb-hair, Midoriya took hold of the smaller boy's left shoulder. Their gazes locked as moments passed, quite awkwardly as Midoriya realized he had acted with no real idea of how to proceed. A swift glance away, towards the blackened tower standing tall behind Minoru, gave the young hero to be some much needed inspiration.
"That's our school now." Minetta turned his head to follow his classmate's gaze towards Aozora. "It isn't what we planned on and I know being here feels like winning the consolation prize, but… think of it like another chance."
Izuku stood, stepping to his schoolmate's side as they stared up at the heroic edifice. "We're not hopeless," Midoriya affirmed, "even if the path I have to walk isn't quite the one I hoped for, I'll keep going forward with everything I have."
Minoru was rather used to having to look up to people in the most literal sense. Being such a squirt was a real hassle. But in that moment, even if he could trade sizes with All-Might himself, Midoriya would still look like the tallest man on Earth.
Even if his speech was a little cliché.
"Wow," yelled a voice accompanied by eager applause, "you've sure got some drive! I'm hyped just listening!"
The two boys whirled about to face the newcomer. Izuku found himself once more in his palms-forward defensive stance, Minoru losing his balance and falling on his ass as the sudden turn proved too much for him.
"Oops," cried the voice, clearly that of a cute girl. Baffled looks adorned the pair of boys as they stared not at the form of a bubbly teen but rather a floating female uniform. The dark navy hue and silver highlights mirrored that of their own clothing, the obvious contrast being the dark, mid-length skirt and cobalt stockings.
"Midoriya, are ghosts real?"
The boy turned to Minetta, face draining of color as he registered the mini-teen's words. "I-I don't know," was his blurted response.
"Is our new school haunted!?"
"I don't know," the greenette shouted back, hands clenched over the short student's shoulders.
"Um… hey," came the voice from the disembodied girl's uniform. The long sleeved arms were spread wide in a disarming manner, the blue blazer cocked at an inquisitive angle from the black skirt. "I'm actually just a girl, not a ghost, if that helps."
The two boys stared at the not-ghost, the drawing stillness of the moment bringing them out of their panic modes. The pair turned back to each other, noting Izuku's double-handed grasp around Minetta's throat and the severe angle the smaller boy was being held at. Midoriya released his grip and Minetta fell backwards.
It was the instant before impact, a bare breath of time in which the vertically challenged boy was gifted a moment of clarity. It began with a set of steady palms pressing upwards into his falling back, slowing the boy's collapse from free fall to easy tilt. The unseen hands slid around to grasp Minoru's upper arms, his back coming to rest against a solid frame and a pretty nice set of cushions.
And then it hit him… the scent. A pleasant, mesmerizing aroma that could belong only to a budding young lady. His sharp inhalation was a bit too long and too audible to be anything less than disquieting.
"Whoa, this awesome smell really must belong to a girl."
A breeze whistled by in the stillness following Minetta's blurb. The girl kneeling behind him, the one whose fleshy orbs were currently pressed against the back of his head, began in a cautious tone, "Well… thanks, I guess? Never gotten that as a compliment before!"
Her sudden rise in energy snapped Minetta out of his reverie. A dawning look of horror bled across his features at the realization of the particular thoughts he had just given voice to.
Midoriya could only stare, eyes wide and lips pursed as he beheld the scene with the sort of sick reverence normally reserved for the sight of a train crash or a collapsing structure. In a way the circumstances were similar, Minoru's school and social life certainly seemed to be on the verge of disaster. A part of All Might's studious protege told him that, as a future hero, saving those in need was a massive part of the job.
But the floating uniform – more realistically the unseeable girl in normal clothes – beat him to action.
"Wow, I am some kind of blockhead!" Izuku watched as one sleeve bent inwards, cuff rushing towards the "brow" area, accompanied by the smack of flesh on flesh. Minetta maintained his look of broken soul, eyes rolled back and mouth locked into a silent wail.
"I haven't even introduced myself! I'm Tooru Hagakure, nice to meet you!" Hagakure capped off her intro with a long bow of the head. Minetta froze up further, a strangled cry clawing from his throat. Izuku could only assume the boy's mind was in overload at the reality of a girl's face being so close to his own. Not that he had any room to talk, should he have found himself in a similar situation.
Whether or not Hagakure herself had any clue what her actions were doing to the tiny teen remained unknown.
They were coming in good numbers now. From his spot on the forward balcony overlooking the entrance, Hokuto surveyed the advancing crowd of first years flowing out of the distant station. It seemed they had a good crop this year, he couldn't wait to start putting them through their paces.
And as fortune would have it, it looked like he was about to get a chance to "welcome" a few newbies. He recognized the group of three, they were prospects for the hero course after all. They held a considerable lead on the advancing throngs of students, the trio utterly absorbed in idle conversation. Hokuto doubted they were even aware of the crowd behind them, let alone his own observation.
This would not do, to be so lacking in such an essential skill of day to day heroism. By the time Hokuto organized his thoughts, the three had walked more or less into optimal range. And, no surprise, none of them had bothered looking up.
A three story fall was probably fine.
'Let's see how this little gaggle handles the classic ambush.'
"Light refraction?"
Tooru spun around, walking backwards to keep Midoriya in sight. "Yep, that's the way the doctors described it. In theory, my skin can do all kinds of funny things with light."
The cuffs of Hagakure's long sleeve came close together, giving the boys the impression that she was cupping her hands together. "But… something happened when I was little, back when my quirk first appeared, and now its kinda stuck at a hundred percent."
Izuku's typical enthusiasm to study quirks fell swiftly to the wayside. The implications of those words… how long had it been since she had seen her own reflection? For once, the boy questioned if his formerly powerless status was really the worst of fate's hands.
Minetta, ever the social expert, dove into the conversation, "I can do this." The group paused as Minetta, a bit ahead of the others, plucked one of the plum orbs off the top of his head. The sight of the tiny teen presenting the sphere had Midoriya and Hagakure curious. "See, these balls of mine-"
"Watch out!" In time with her cry, Tooru shot forwards, shoving Minoru away. A heavy net fell over the invisible girl, the weighted ends driving her to the ground.
Midoriya surged in, his body once again reacting without thinking. Sliding into place beside his captured classmate, Izuku grasped Hagakure by the shoulder, his free hand snatching up a portion of the net. The invisible girl's sleeve shot up, pointing towards the towering school.
Following Tooru's gesture alongside her desperate shout of, "He's coming," Izuku caught the barest glimpse of their assailant. He fell from the sky heedless of the inevitable impact, landing in a deep crouch on the pebbled path with hardly a sound. The whine of slicing air followed instantly as the man shot towards them, a blur of crimson on top of black. If he hazarded a guess, Izuku would say he'd reach them in the span of two bounds.
The familiar rush of power filled the boy, every muscle in his body charged by One for All. The weighted orbs around the edge of the net had enough mass to hold down a full grown tiger – tested and proven. To a determined Izuku Midoriya, such a detail was utterly meaningless. With a swift twist the boy had lifted both Tooru and her bindings, shifting them to rest behind him. Acting as a human barrier, Izuku turned fully to face their attacker, arms raised and stance rising.
His body quaked under the sudden impact, the graveled earth giving way beneath his feet. With gritted teeth the young hero-to-be locked eyes with his opponent, pushing back against the considerable strength of the man before him. Tan eyes gazed hard into his own, attempting to pierce his resolve. Izuku could do little more than hold, fixing his assailant with his most resolute glare.
The one thing Midoriya did not expect from his no doubt sad excuse for intimidation was the smile that split the strange man's features. Sure, a cocky smirk or an amused grin would be par the course, but the sheer approval in that expression was disarming.
"Yeah, you've got some good eyes there." Izuku almost fell forward as his opponent pulled back. On all fours, the greenette looked up to take in the man's appearance, noting the red long-sleeve shirt and neatly done bow tie. More accurately, he noted how this guy's toned shoulders shone clearly through the massive tears he'd ripped in his upper sleeves and how very appropriate his tie's glistening cherries on sheer black background was. The dark slacks were ruined, to many breaks and shears in the fabric to count. The price one paid for such speedy movement in day to day clothing, Izuku guessed.
Making to step aside, Hokuto could not hold back his surprise as his frame locked with a sudden jolt. His expression slipped back towards approval, his smile even wider than before, as he turned at the waist to regard the diminutive presence laying prone behind him.
Minetta lay flat on his belly, chin digging into the loose rocks. His arms were extended fully, palms clasped around the adult's ankle. To be precise, the boy had a death grip on a small bundle of his sticky orbs which currently had Hokuto's left leg cemented to the earth.
"Heh, guess we really do have some good prospects this year," the older male announced, giving a firm nod towards Minetta. His gaze swept back over Izuku, sliding passed him to rest on the disembodied girl's uniform currently shifting free of her net prison. "Real good prospects."
Hokuto gave his leg a few more flexes, the action shooing away the ball headed gnome, ending the escape attempt with a harsh click of his tongue. The man stilled, eyes closed in concentration.
Minoru held up a hand, about to tell his former assailant not to attempt forcing his foot free when the locked appendage came free of its laced prison with a moist squelch. Minetta's raised palm shot back to cover his gag reflex as the pea green, slime drenched sock came into view.
A long sigh escaped Hokuto as he stood over his doomed footwear. The three students visibly recoiled as his shoeless limb pressed against the ground with a happy little squish. Minetta seemed to actually be turning green.
"Third lesson of being a hero: be prepared to lose things in spite of your efforts." With that, Hokuto spun on his heel – of course the one garbed in that filthy sock – and began his soggy march towards the building. With careless air he threw over his shoulder, "I expect you on time for class, first day or not."
Midoriya wasn't sure he could put proper words to that little revelation, but a good portion of his reason was occupied by the words uttered by Hagakure as their "teacher" gained a good lead on them.
"Hmm, you think he's gonna be like that all the time?"
So, Minoru Minetta and Tooru Hagakure.
Since we're in a different school setting I figured it was a good chance to set up a different trio as the main cast. Minetta was actually always one of my choices. One of my favorite things to do is to take characters who are either given very screen time or are outright loathsome in canon and just play around with them in a fan setting. Old grape-head is prime fodder for this and I plan to have some fun with him. Expect some personality differences, having Midoriya as a direct influence on his growth is just the start.
Hagakure was kind of my natural second choice. For one, as stated by Minetta, Aozroa has scooped up some of UA's "leftovers." When I was thinking about canon characters to port over, one of my first thoughts was who would be least likely to pass, especially since I raised the difficulty standards of the entrance exam. I don't think it would be hard to fathom that with the harsher requirements coupled with the obvious chaos, Tooru's main series solution of pressing hidden buttons on the robots just doesn't cut it this time around. And as for Minetta, I just assume he panicked during once the robots started running amok, again not working out as well here as it did in canon.
My second reason for choosing our favorite invisible girl is mostly just for the niche. Not a lot of people focus on her so I figured I'd fill a gap or two. It helps that I feel she could have a very... interesting dynamic alongside Minetta. A desperate pervert interacting with a girl who can't be seen is prime material. I plan to take a lot of liberties with her personality, I consider it one of the perks of working with a minor character who isn't so focused on in canon.
Hokuto's ambush is what I consider the centerpiece scene of this chapter. Here we get an outright display of exactly why these three were scouted for Aozora. Between Izuku's protective instincts, Tooru's situational awareness, and Minoru's recovery, they have some potential.
We get a little taste of Hokuto's power set in this sequence. Enhanced strength? Enhanced speed? And what of that unfortunate conclusion with the slime secretion? More will be revealed with time.
On that small "teaching moment," we have Izuku utilize One for All without destroying himself. It's not unprecedented, but it is part of my little "re-imagining" of how One for All works in this setting. Again, more will be revealed in time.
Next update: Oct 15/16