It was a bit past five thirty when she came back to the apartment, fur matted with sweat. Ikumi panted, wiping her brow. She took a sip of water from her sports bottle, stretching slightly.

Ikumi knew that she couldn't just rely on her natural strength without training it. Heroes had to train pretty hard to protect people and get to disasters quicker than anybody else. So she'd started jogging to build up her stamina and muscle. Since she had such a long stride, she'd had to run further.

In the grey morning light she checked her phone. "26 minutes, 28 seconds…" she muttered. She'd gotten a bit faster than when she'd started - she'd shaved a few minutes off her fifteen kilometre morning run.

She pulled at her bottom lip as she walked to her room. "I'll probably have to start running further… maybe twenty k's next time…"

A couple of morning stretches later and Ikumi went into the shower. She sighed as the cold water poured around her, reaching for the gallon sized bottle of mutant shampoo to properly clean herself. It was at least better than when Mrs. Usagiyama had been a child - back then 'mutant' shampoo was usually pet shampoo with some minor additions, sold at two or three times the original price.

Fortunately things had changed for the better - the Hearts and Minds party had lobbied for stringent checking of any product meant for those whose physiology had changed massively as part of their Quirk. Ikumi and her mum had spent a long time checking between pet shampoo and her favourite brand of shampoo to make sure that it was right.

It still looked a bit ridiculous, the massive bottle sitting next to her parents' comparatively smaller bottle. Covering her entire body in suds and washing it off, she turned the shower off. Washing finished, Ikumi took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, her fire rushed around her, drying the worst of the water off. Pulling out a towel that looked more like a blanket, she finished drying herself off then pulled her dressing gown on.

She pulled her uniform on, carefully trying to tie the ribbon under the blouse, the result somehow misshapen and lumpy. It was the best she could do - her dad had the same problem with his ties.

Ikumi stared at herself in the mirror and sighed. At fourteen, her height had almost stabilised. She was highly unlikely to grow much taller at this point. Not that it was much comfort. At just under three metres tall, Ikumi now had problems with low clearance underpasses and most buildings. Everything was built wrong for her to be truly comfortable - at least Aldera's ceilings were just high enough for her to walk relatively straight, even if her ears bent. And then there was her figure.

She had inherited her mother's figure, wide hips and large breasts - though her ribcage was larger than her mother's, probably to help compensate for her increased size. This was a problem when you tried not to attract attention. No matter what kind of shirt she wore, her chest seemed to push it out, making the boys stare at her and girls making remarks when they thought she couldn't hear them. To try and avoid being noticed too much, she did her best to find an oversized school shirt so that her chest didn't strain it so much. Her skirt had gone down to her ankles after an incredibly embarrassing incident with a windy day.

At least she hadn't worried about back pain too much - Ikumi had found herself practising using her Quirk on her chest a lot, especially when playing volleyball. Even without her Quirk she was strong enough to handle the weight. But her large chest still annoyed and embarrassed her.

"Ikumi! It's breakfast time!"

Her stomach grumbling, Ikumi shook herself out of her slump. "Coming!"

She liked helping her mother make breakfast - it helped make up for the fact Ikumi ate enough food for a family of four by herself. Waving a quick goodbye to her mother as she finished her meal, she hurried outside to meet with Kacchan.

—

Katsuki gave a half-hearted glare up at Midori. "Took you long enough."

She gave him a light-hearted shove. "Really, Kacchan?"

They strode through the streets, other pedestrians giving Midori a wide berth as she walked. Katsuki shrugged. "How's your Hero training going?"

"I'm trying to find a gym that can house, well…" she gestured, pointing at herself. "...Me, really. And it's not like I can find somebody my height who can teach me how to fight."

"What? You already know how to fight! Just hit them in the face!"

Midori shrugged. "W-well, gigantification VIllains exist, but most of how I fight is about beating somebody smaller than me. But none of the dojos nearby will have me - they say I'm in too different a weight class."

Katsuki kicked a can, scowling. "Screw them."

Ikumi's ears pricked. "Sounds like there's something coming from the train station - there's a lot of chaos."

"Villain attack? Midori, no-"

A smile crossed her face, ear twitching. "Kamui Woods! He's there!"

Katsuki tried to hold her back but it was like stopping a car. Midori hurried over to the scene with him clamped to her arm, eyes flashing-

And then she stopped. "Oh," she mumbled.

Katsuki glanced over at the scene and could immediately get why she'd stopped. He scowled. "Well, this sucks."

A hulking Villain roared, dreadlocks swaying in the wind as he flailed at the Heroes attacking him. Somebody in the crowd commented, "What a crazy Quirk, turning into a monster!"

Midori stared up at the scene, before looking at the Heroes. "T-there's Kamui Woods, as I said," she managed, a slight smile crossing her face. "He's a real upcoming superstar!"

Katsuki looked up. "He looks alright," he conceded as Kamui Woods stood on top of a skyscraper, glaring at the Villain's wild eyes.

The man with stars on his head next to her grinned. "Wow, a full on-" He turned to look at her, only to gawk when he realised that he was barely up to her waist. He blinked, then shrugged. "-Commentary? You, uh, must be a real fan."

"I really like Heroes," she muttered, perking up slightly as she watched Kamui. "Oh! Here comes his finishing move!"

Katsuki watched vaguely as his arm uncoiled, huge branches shooting out. "LACQUERED CHAIN-"

"CANYON CANNON!"

Midori blinked in surprise when an even larger woman crashed onto the scene with a flying kick, knocking the Villain into the train stop. She turned around with a sultry expression, the purple horns of her costume complimenting the cream of her skintight leotard. "Pleased to make your 'ass-quaintance'," she purred. "Today's the debut of Mount Lady!"

Midori blinked, before somebody shoved her leg. "Outta the way! Gotta get the hot pics!"

Her ears drooping, she stepped aside to let them pass. Katsuki glared up at her. "Seriously, Midori! Tell them to fuck off!"

"It's… really not worth it." As Mount Lady posed for the cameras, the police leading the Villain away, she idly pulled out her notebook, writing a few notes. "Nice to see a female Hero with a size shifting Quirk, at least!"

Katsuki looked at his phone, sighing. "Look, fangirl over her shit later. We're gonna be late if we keep standing around."

"Oh! Right!"

"If you wanna be a Hero, I got you!" The star headed guy yelled as they left. Katsuki marked him as a half decent asshole.

She carefully turned around, trying not to get in anybody's way. Katsuki, in contrast, just shoved his way past without regard to other people.

A businessman, not looking where he was going, collided with her legs in a similar fashion to running into a brick wall and bounced backwards. He spluttered. "Watch where you're-"

His voice died down when he slowly looked up at the person he'd crashed into.

Katsuki glared at the guy as Ikumi gasped. "O-oh! I'm sorry! I-I didn't see you!" She knelt down, offering a hand that seemed like it could wrap around his entire torso. "Do you need a -"

Hurriedly he picked himself up, bowing politely. "N-no need! I'm fine!"

Katsuki glared up at his erstwhile friend as she stared at the rapidly departing businessman with a despondent expression. "Come on, Midori! Hurry the fuck up!"

"C-coming!"

—

The whispers started when she awkwardly ducked through the door. Kacchan glared at his classmates as he slouched over to his desk, kicking his feet up in a display of confidence Ikumi wished she shared. Tomoko gave her a happy smile, shooting a look at the girl next to her.

"Think she knew that giant Villain?"

"Sure could. He's ugly enough that he could be her cousin."

"Think she's going to try and pretend that nothing happened?"

Ikumi took a deep breath, sitting carefully at her larger than normal desk. She started making notes about Mount Lady as their teacher Zeitakuna came in, slapping a pile of papers on his desk, the whispers stopping for now. "Now then! Since you're in your third year, it's time for you to start thinking seriously about your futures!"

It felt like the air was sucked out of the class as he picked up a paper. "Now, I should hand out these future career forms, but…"

With a whisk of his hand, he threw the papers into the air. "I guess you all want to be Heroes, don't you?"

The class cheered, their Quirks going off left and right. Wind blew through the classroom, a boy grew so much muscle his shirt and jacket exploded off his body, bright light shone from a couple of students' hands… The only ones who didn't use their Quirk in some form were Ikumi and Kacchan, Ikumi trying to keep her head down and Kacchan leaning back with a smirk on his face.

Zeitakuna tried to get order back in his class. "Yes, you all have wonderful Quirks, but you can't just use them whenever you want!"

Kacchan spoke up. "Come on, teach! You can't just lump me in with the rest of these idiots!"

Ikumi shook her head fondly when the rest of the class collectively glared at Kacchan. "Get over yourself, jerk!" Was their response to that, Kacchan just laughing in their faces.

Zeitakuna spoke admiringly about Kacchan's application to U.A and Ikumi privately hoped it would be enough. Maybe she could get through this lesson without being brought up-

Then he looked over her application with a disinterested look. "Oh, yes. Midoriya, you're aiming to get into U.A as well, aren't you?"

The class went practically silent. Kacchan glared at their classmates. Nobody spoke aloud, but it didn't matter when she could hear them whispering to each other.

"Really? Midoriya in U.A?"

"She's got a flashy Quirk, but… Would they even want somebody like her? She kind of looks like a Villain already."

"Bet she's just going so she can drag Bakugou down with her when she fails."

She raised her head slightly. "I-It's not like I'm the only mutant who wants to go in. And I-I think I've got the power for it."

The class tittered. "I don't think that people with a police caution on record can get into U.A," Kawa sniggered. Ikumi tried to glare her down, the other girl matching her stare.

Kacchan glared at them. "Oh, fuck the lot of ya! Like any of you've got Quirks half as awesome as Midori's!"

Zeitakuna tried to get order back, but not before shooting her a look like it was her fault Kacchan was antagonising the class. Ikumi tried to shrink in on herself more.

Hopefully the day would end soon.

—

Hedoro panted, sucking in breaths as he flowed through the sewers. He grit his teeth, feeling the bills that were still suspended in his mass. Why, of all things, was All Might here?! Shouldn't he be in Tokyo or something?

Well, Hedoro wasn't going to be caught. He slithered through the pipes, straining to find somebody. Somebody, anybody would do. Any kind of invisibility cloak he could quietly kill and wear around.

The sound of footsteps came from overhead, along with muffled conversation. His eyes narrowed. Then he slithered along, careful to keep an ear out. Once one of them went away, he would strike.

—

Katsuki glared up at Midori as they walked home. The events of the morning replayed in his mind, along with a couple of other incidents. "I still say you should stand up for yourself more, Midori."

Sighing, Midori shook her head. "You know what happened the last time I-I tried to do that," she mumbled. Some extras had gotten pissy when she'd tried to talk to them and the teacher had made her stand outside, even when he'd tried to talk sense into him.

Katsuki wasn't going to back down on this point."We're gonna be Heroes, Midori! Can't care what other people think when we're kicking ass."

"Being a Hero isn't just about beating up Villains, Kacchan. Heroes also have to do rescue work as well," she chided gently.

"Yeah but my Quirk was made for kicking ass."

Ikumi shook her head. "It's a great Quirk, Kacchan, but you could definitely save people with it!" When he grunted in annoyance she gave him a determined look. "It's true! You could use controlled detonations to knock down walls in burning buildings, get rid of rubble-"

"Heroes beat Villains!"

"And they save people, Kacchan-"

"Tch," he growled. "I guess you wouldn't be up for a fight anyway after how you acted in class."

Midori stopped. "...What?"

Katsuki snarled. "Seriously, you're so goddamn timid! You're taller than everybody yet you just let them walk all over you!"

Midori glared back at him. "That's easy for you to say! You don't get in trouble just for trying to move around!" She ducked under a store sign, other people in the street giving her a wide berth.

"So? Actually take some pride and tell them to go hang!"

"It's not that easy-"

Katsuki glared at her, about a decade's worth of anger at how Midori just rolled over boiling up. "It is! They treat you like crap and you don't even get angry about it! Why the hell don't you get mad at them more?!"

Her eyes flashed and she whirled on him, small licks of flame coming from her mouth. "I can't get angry because people treat me like I'm the Villain!" Midori glared back at him, fists balled. A couple of extras stared at her, some muttering to themselves. And like that, Midori deflated, shrinking back in on herself. "See?"

Katsuki hated that.

"Tch. Just when you grow a spine-"

As they passed the underpass, her nose wrinkled.

—-

Ikumi had always had a great sense of smell. This had made growing up with a class that was mostly sweaty teenage boys difficult. Right now, something smelled… bad. Like an open sewer.

"What is that?"

Kacchan glared at her. "We're not done-"

A mass of slime shot from the darkness, knocking Ikumi back. Kacchan's eyes widened as it wrapped around him, foul teeth chomping down on him. "Gotta say, kid…" A slimy voice chuckled, a veiny yellow eye bubbling to the surface, "you're a real godsend! Just the right size disguise and a good Quirk to boot!"

Ikumi's eyes went wide when it chuckled, forcing Kacchan's mouth open. "Now I'm just gonna have to crawl inside you and wear you like a good meat puppet, how about that?"

For a second she hesitated, then she shot up, dashing to reach Kacchan. "Get off him!"

"Oh, playing Hero are you? A grown woman who dresses like a schoolgirl?" Kacchan's arm was whipped around, her friend struggling to force it back. His other arm clawed at the slime, trying to drag it off him.

Ikumi barely managed to get out of the way as Kacchan's hand sparked against his will, the explosion lighting the alleyway up. She tried to throw a punch but the Villain pushed Kacchan's body in the way. Ikumi had to pull her punch and got rewarded with an explosion that knocked her back, Kacchan's eyes widening as his body was forced to move. "G't… 'ff me," he grunted, struggling.

"Come on, boy! Stop struggling, help a guy out! It'll be all over soon…"

Ikumi managed to push herself up, then her eyes met Kacchan's. For a moment she froze. She'd seen Kacchan with a lot of looks in his eye - rage, confidence, quiet caring…

She had never seen him afraid, pleading for help. And on seeing that, everything else didn't matter. Her legs moving without conscious thought, Ikumi darted forwards, reaching to grab Kacchan.

The Villain tried to hit her with one of Kacchan's explosions but she ducked, focusing on the other side of her Quirk. Fire Breath would only hurt Kacchan but maybe…

Ikumi had experimented with Dragonframe before. Ever since she'd found out about it, she'd managed to train her control of it. Dragonframe flowed around her hands, and she grimaced at the slimy feeling of the Villain's body, pushing him away from her.

It's just like mud. Push it away!

Her hands reached deeper, managing to grab Kacchan's face. He gasped, Ikumi straining as a tiny gap, maybe a couple of centimetres thick formed around his mouth and nose.

"You bitch!"

Ikumi barely managed to throw Kacchan clear as the Sludge Villain turned on her as she braced. He glared at her, eyes darting back to Kacchan. "You wanna die so bad?!"

Ikumi's eyes narrowed. Sucking in a deep breath, she breathed fire, forcing the Villain away. Kacchan pushed himself up, hacking up a lungful of slime.

Snarling, the Villain lunged forwards, and Ikumi focused. Straining harder with Dragonframe than she ever had, she focused on the Villain's body as it impacted her hands. He lunged, lashing out at her but she stood firm. Pulling on reserves she didn't know she had, Ikumi held the Sludge Villain in place, tendrils of sludge leaking but his eyes and mouth held in place.

His panicked flailing went harder as she held him. Sweat poured from her face as she held him in her grasp, both hands straining to hold him, Dragonframe covering his body in a trembling area. Kacchan stared, then slammed his fist into his palm with a small BANG. "Good one Midori!"

"I… I can't really hold him…" Ikumi muttered, gritting her teeth as he thrashed.

Desperately she looked around. She had never held something as big as this with Dragonframe before, much less something that was actively thrashing around. "C-call the Heroes-"

The manhole cover exploded, and her control wavered. The Villain popped a few tendrils of slime free, his foul grin widening as he tried to wrap them around her neck-

A familiar figure burst out, clad in a T-shirt and jeans. Ikumi's heart leapt into her mouth on seeing him. "FEAR NOT, KIDS! I AM HERE!"

—

When he took in the scene, All Might was slightly perplexed.

All Might knew he was taller than the vast majority of people. There were those who had greater height but they were pretty rare, and they usually were adults. For the first time in a while, All Might looked up.

The girl in front of him - a teal fox by the look of her, though the smooth snout looked a bit awkward - had held the Sludge Villain in place - maybe a liquid manipulation Quirk? But he had no time to think about that.

All Might grinned at the Villain as he panicked, then he brought his fist back. "TEXAS… SMASH!"

The Villain splattered with the force of the shockwave, pieces dripping around the alleyway. All Might shook his head slightly, then turned to focus on the students in front of him - they wore matching uniforms, so they must have been walking home from school when they got caught up in his mess.

"A-All Might? Oh-oh gosh!" The girl squeaked, eyes wide. All Might internally shook his head - he knew how to deal with fans, at least.

Next to her, the spiky blonde kid shoved her leg. "Course it's All Might," he coughed, trying to affect a cool demeanour. All Might could see the look in his eyes though. Seems that the tall girl wasn't his only fan.

"Indeed!" He looked up to the young girl who had held the Villain in place. In a flash, he gathered up the groaning Villain's body, pouring him into a couple of handy soft drink bottles. "I must apologise for getting the pair of you mixed up in my Villain hunt!"

"It's-it's no problem!" She gasped. "Oh no - I-I accidentally used my Quirk illegally and-"

"Like All Might's gonna give a damn about that, Midori!" Her friend shoved her roughly, before looking over at him intensely. "It's not a problem, right?"

All Might nodded. "Since you were using your Quirk in self defence, young lady, we'll just leave it at that. Just an unofficial warning."

She nodded frantically, then paused. Shyly, she pulled out a notebook from her backpack, extending it out hesitantly. "Um… autograph?"

All Might let out his signature laugh. "Not a problem!" With a blur of his pen, he signed it before handing it back to her.

She squeaked in joy, then looked at her friend. "And one for Kacchan as well."

"Tch." Looking away, 'Kacchan' pulled out his own notebook. "You don't have to or anything-"

Another signature scrawled into his book. "There you go, young man!"

He took his book back, face warring between showing he was happy and trying to seem cool and composed. All Might smiled, then his face froze slightly when he felt blood come into his mouth.

"Well then! I must be off to secure this Villain! Take care!"

The young woman blinked, then smiled. "O-okay! We're always going to cheer for you!"

"Go kick some Villain ass, All Might!"

With a final smile, All Might ran around the corner. After checking that the Villain was unconscious, he sighed, unflexing One for All.

On the edge of hearing, he watched the pair of them leave.

"When the hell could you do that, Midori?"

"I just… I thought about how Captain Celebrity held up the Sky Egg, and then…" she gestured helplessly, "It just… happened." She clenched her hand. "That was… I couldn't hold him."

He kicked a can. "You saved my ass though. But I gotta say, why the fuck did you run in like that? Why not call for the Heroes?"

She looked down. "It's-it's silly, but… it felt like my legs just moved on their own, you know?"

"...You're too nice for your own good, you know that?"

She sighed. "I wasn't able to do it by myself. I-I've got to get better with my Quirk."

Her friend smiled, then punched her playfully on the arm. "AND you're gonna start standing up for yourself more, Midori. Show those extras who's got the second best Quirk ever."

"Not like your Quirk was able to get him off, Kacchan," she teased, eliciting an angry yell from her friend.

All Might smiled gently as they walked off, the boy strongly insisting that he had the Villain right where he wanted him.

Maybe in another time, she could have been his successor. Still, it was reassuring to know that there were still fools like him out there who would move to save others without thinking.

—

AN: Whoo, this is a long one.

I debated endlessly on how to handle the confrontation. In the end I went with this one, I hope you liked it. Ikumi and Bakugou have had a fight, since no matter how good a friend we are, we will fight with somebody close to us.

So Ikumi has fought some Sludge! Maybe this is a wakeup call.

All Might already has a successor! Who could it be now? Of course I know since I'm writing this.

As always, thank Banchoking for editing this.

Next time… We'll get some training done!