Come one, come all, to the latest chapter of Waifutrix!
Apologies for the evening upload, I usually have my final edits and AN's done sooner, but I've been delayed by personal reasons. It's still arriving on the usual day, however, so I'm still meeting my goals! Woohoo!
Anyway, same as usual, in-depth notes are at the bottom, etc. etc...
For now though… On with the show!
—
Hope was a beautiful thing.
Yagi Toshinori had been without it for so long that he'd slowly forgotten what it was like to have it. After the fight that had crippled him, he'd gone from having several decades left to his career down to less than one. After months of therapy, it had been clear to him that it was no use saving himself from that… but the 'Symbol of Peace' couldn't die.
There was a reason why the era he'd started with his rise to the top was the most peaceful one in living memory. All For One's machinations had led to a world overrun by villains with far too few heroes to fight against them. Attending a Hero School in his era was only for people with a death wish.
He'd changed that, made the world a better place through his own actions and the actions inspired by his existence. That's what it meant to be number one.
There was a problem with that, however. When one man brings about change, that change is inherently tied to him. As a young man, he was too immature to realize that. Even now, older and jaded as he was, he wasn't sure he could resist the temptation were he placed in the same situation...
The point, however, was that as a symbol, he had become the keystone that tied this era together. Already, just from his limited ability to work full-time as a hero, the crime rates were rising. No one dared to say it, either to him or in mainstream media, but people were starting to wonder…
Why wasn't All Might doing more? Why wasn't he stopping this upswing in crime? Whatever happened to the 'Symbol of Peace?'*
The answer was there in front of him. He simply couldn't fill the shoes anymore. Stalling as he had been was an inevitably doomed tactic. If he pushed himself too far and lost, or worse died on camera… The world he'd worked so hard to build would fall apart.
Was it any wonder he'd begun to lose hope?
But then he'd found it. A light at the end of the tunnel his life had become… Bakugo Katsuki would succeed him. Sure, the boy needed a few years on the job to soften the harsh edges he had, and his prickly personality would do him no favors… but the boy had a good heart. He had the most important trait of a hero, the 'Instinct to Protect.' In that one way, he was years beyond many of Toshinori's colleagues, even.
Now, if only the rest of him could catch up. He was a bundle of pride wrapped up in harsh language and anger problems… Worse still, he was hopelessly impatient, determined to make as much progress as possible as quickly as possible. It was almost enough to make All Might wonder if the boy thought he needed to be at the pro level before even getting into U.A.
Bakugo needed to slow down, for his own good, otherwise he would burn up like so many prodigies did before adulthood. He needed friends to ground him—to make stupid teenage desicisons with—and experience the joys and sorrows of childish romances, but there wasn't much All Might could do to help with that...
"Damnit!" the young blonde cried, flinging a pile of waste across the beach into one of the cleaner areas with nothing but air pressure.
Bakugo's task for today was to practice switching One For All off and on while fighting. As such, he was doing something much akin to shadow boxing, imagining an opponent and doing his utmost to defeat them. Where it differed from shadow boxing was—
"FUCK!" the boy shouted, crashing into another pile of garbage.
—the fact that he was moving well outside the restraints of a sport. The boy had taken to One For All exceedingly well, having an inherent knack for regulating its power to a level he could handle, which was by All Might's estimate, somewhere around five percent right now.
The teen was quite in shape before their training, and even more so now, but One For All was simply a difficult quirk to use unless you had the frame to handle it's strain. All Might had managed it in his younger years because he was naturally blessed with great height and broad stature. Combine that with the muscle he developed, and he was almost tailor made for the quirk.
Bakugo, despite his talent and muscular form, simply had—comparatively—too short and skinny of a build to skip ahead like All Might had. While that wouldn't constrain him in the long run, this had the—
"Stupid fucking—!" the teen shouted angrily, face planting into a small horde of plastic bags.
—unfortunate side effect of All Might having no good way to teach the boy. How was he supposed to instruct him on something that came as naturally as breathing to him?
So he'd done his best to break it down into steps for Bakugo's sake.
First was just activating One For All at will. That had taken him no time at all, as had regulating its power… but he appeared to have hit a stumbling block now. It was unexpected. All Might had assumed that the teen would begin having issues once he started training him to use both of his quirks simultaneously, since the man had even less of an idea how to help with—
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Bakugo raged, tripping on a poorly placed broomstick while in the middle of an enhanced leap. Resorting to older habits, he tried to activate his explosions to re-orient himself. The feedback from using two quirks at once overwhelmed him and he spasmed mid-air, losing any semblance of control before falling into a heap of crumpled newspapers and partially destroyed textbooks.
—well… That.
The thing was… today wasn't Bakugo's first day on this drill. He'd been at it for a few weeks now, and he'd never done this poorly. The boy seemed preoccupied, unable to focus. He kept pausing in the middle of activating One For All, no doubt one of the reasons behind his performance issues.
Is something bothering him?
"Enough!" All Might called, shifting into his muscle-form out of habit so as to get his apprentice's attention.
The boy's hand stuck out of the book heap, his middle finger aloft, before retracting a moment later. From within the pile, an orange glow began to build up, light streaming from the cracks between—
The pile turned to ash instantly, Bakugo's concentrated explosion incinerating it even as it flung the ash away with its force.
"DAMMIT!" the boy roared, his entire body tensed as he leaned backward to shout with his entire being.
His form relaxed a moment later, his arms drooping as he started panting from exhaustion.
"Good grief…" All Might muttered, having returned to his smaller form. "What am I going to do with you…?"
—
Bakugo was angry.
Now, normally, that'd be nothing special. He was an angry young man, and frequently slipped into that emotion out of habit even when there was no real reason for it. This time, however, he actually had a reason.
That… That… Bitch!
Today was quirk practice, shadow-boxing specifically, and it was going terribly. His focus was shot, mind wandering, and he couldn't keep up with his imagined opponent. A moment's hesitation here, a second's distraction there, and he would inevitably lose control of One For All. It would either wind up so underpowered that he didn't have the force necessary for his planned maneuver, or so overpowered that he'd overshoot his objective entirely and smash into—
"Dammit!" he cried, his control slipping and his swing releasing just enough air pressure to launch some random crap in the background. He'd just cleaned the area it landed in, too!
Get out of my head!
No matter what he did, the indistinct humanoid blob he usually imagined as a sparring partner kept slipping into a different shape; one with flowing pink locks, a beautifully scowling face, and a rockin' body that could actually keep up with him—
DIE!
The illusionary girl danced around his strike, his loss of control making him overreach and fly into a pile of rubble.
The girl, the hero trainee, had gotten stuck in his head and he just couldn't stop thinking about her! It. Was. Infuriating!
I've got better things to do than deal with this shit! GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!
Power flowed into his legs, empowering them so he could chase after his imagined opponent, but for a brief moment he saw her glance back at him and smirk.
COULD YOU STOP BEING HOT, FOR ONE GODDAMN MINUTE?!
He burst forward, already realizing that he'd pushed too much energy into his limbs even as he flew past the non-existent opponent and landed in a divot full of plastic bags. Laying there for a brief moment, he was dimly aware of the vein throbbing in his forehead.
Subject to the whims of his imagination, the girl was suddenly at the edge of the ditch, taunting him with that sexy scowl that he couldn't get enough—
STOP IT WITH THAT SHIT!
Standing in an instant, he rushed at the illusion, power rushing into his frame so he could take a swing when—
His foot spun out from underneath him, having landed on a broom handle he hadn't even noticed in his rage.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
Seeing the rapidly incoming ground, Bakugo just reacted, reaching for the familiar feeling of his own quirk so that he could redirect his motion. But then, suddenly...
PAIN.
His entire body locked up, flame chugging through his arteries, veins, and capillaries in equal measure. It was too much, far too much. The energy throbbing throughout his form threatened to shatter him.
Then he hit the ground and the pain disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Spitting out a newspaper from the pile he'd landed in, he pushed himself upright, dislodging many of the leaflets covering his form.
"Enough!"
I'M NOT DONE YET!
Sticking his hand through the pile, he gave his mentor the finger before retracting the limb. Sheer, all encompassing rage overwhelmed him as he supercharged an explosion to blow all the damn books away.
"DAMMIT!" he cried, channeling all of his anger, all his frustration into a roar and activating the ball of sweat in his hands at the same time.
The pile was gone in an instant, exhaustion coming a moment later. In the distance, he heard All Might mutter something, but he wasn't paying attention to the man. All of his focus was upon the illusion his imagination had created of the girl that had ripped away his focus.
That damned scowl slipped up into a smirk, followed by a wink, and then…
He blinked, and the facade was gone.
"—Bakugo!" a voice called, interrupting his daze.
"Fuck off," he bit out, letting himself fall to the ground and sit cross-legged.
"No way!" the man declared, crossing his spindly arms in an 'x' shape. "I cannot, in good conscience, allow my student to suffer in silence!"
All that comment earned the older man was a glare.
"Seriously, young man…" All Might began, taking a seat opposite his student. "What is bothering you?"
"None of your business," Bakugo bit out.
The man stared at him for a moment, his sharp brow lowering over his hooded eyes as he seemed to stare into the blonde's very soul.
"Oho! I know that look!" the man exclaimed with a chuckle. "You're having girl problems, are you not, my boy?"
Bakugo's glare deepened even further, if that was possible, and flames seemed to burst into existence in front of his eyes.
"Ah… I see I've hit the nail on the head!" All Might declared. "Now, what seems to be the trouble? Does she already have someone? Is she at a different school? Oh! Have you even confessed to her yet?"
"Old man…" Bakugo growled in warning.
"You haven't! Haha! I can't believe it!" the older blonde laughed heartily. "I never would have pegged you for the shy type!"
"I.. am not... shy..." Bakugo ground out, minor explosions sparking around him.
"It's alright, my boy, I understand. Why, when I was your age I—"
"For fuck's sake! Enough already! I don't have any girl problems, all right!" Bakugo interrupted, bursting to his feet angrily.
The man went silent for a moment.
"Ah. I see. Boy problems then…? I don't judge—!"
The glare he received for that was so hot it could have competed with the sun.
"Right! Definitely not!" All Might chuckled nervously. "My apologies…"
Bakugo kept glaring for a few more moments, but stopped after his mentor began to sweat a bit. Sighing, he slumped back to a seated position.
"Fuck it. Not like I can talk to anyone else about it anyway," Bakugo muttered.
The grin that overtook All Might's face in response was almost as blinding as Bakugo's recent glare.
"So, what's her name?" the man asked excitedly. He sounded giddy, almost. It was weird.
"...Uh… Dunno," Bakugo muttered.
All Might raised an eyebrow. "That's no good!"
"No shit. Thing is, I uhh… Didn't meet her in the most usual circumstances…" Bakugo trailed off.
Fuck. How do I explain without mentioning the other crap? I'm really not supposed to be doin' shit like the mob fight…
"Well, to keep it simple… We met each other 'cause a… 'friend,' Bakugo began.
Pft. Deku. A friend. Hah!
"...introduced us for a spar."
His mentor's other eyebrow joined the first.
"Young-Bakugo, I know that I was very clear with you about using your quirk outside our training…" the man warned, the child-like quality he'd gained briefly for this discussion vanishing in an instant.
"I know! It was just a brawl. No quirks!" Bakugo defended.
At first, anyway…
"Very well. Continue," All Might nodded.
"Well uh… I may have said some things…"
"Oh no…" All Might groaned, his right hand slapping over his face. "Don't tell me you—No, of course you did."
"Do you wanna hear or not?" the blonde demanded.
All Might made a 'continue' gesture as a way of replying.
"And I… I think I… Yeah, no, I definitely pissed her off. The bitch was not happy…" Bakugo continued.
All Might's posture dipped as he cradled his head in his hands.
"Don't call the girl you like a 'bitch,' young man…" he muttered under his breath.
"I was winning at first, but I… got distracted," Bakugo stated.
Sure as hell won't happen again though!
"So she… may have… kinda…" Bakugo said, straining his very being to admit it.
"...beat me."
"I see…" All Might trailed off. "I see, I see, I see!"
"What are you…?"
"You are unsure how to reconcile the flames of rivalry with the passion of love!" All Might declared with a shout, shifting into his muscle-form to accentuate the point.
What the fuck is he talking—Wait, no. That… Is he actually on to something…? What the hell? No! There's no way something that cheesy is accurate...
"Gah!" All Might coughed, spitting a wad of blood onto the sand and shrinking back down rapidly.
Wiping away the trail of red at the corner of his mouth, All Might continued. "You must be firm, Bakugo! You must find this girl and declare your feelings for her proudly! There is no reason you cannot have a relationship while training with each other!"
"I don't have the time for—" Bakugo began.
"Nonsense!" All Might interrupted. "You have more than enough time to pursue such a thing! In fact, I will mandate it!"
What the fuck is he saying?
"You are not to return for training with me until you've confessed to this girl!" All Might stated.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Bakugo shouted. "ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"I am quite sane, young-Bakugo!" All Might denied. "This is for your own good! Clearly, you cannot focus with unresolved feelings. Furthermore, you are still young! You need to enjoy your life while you can. Being a hero can wait, my boy. Live a little first!"
There's no way he's serious! He has to be—
All Might's brilliant smile sparkled briefly, in spite of its reduced presence in his smaller form.
Fuck. He's not kidding.
"Go on, young man!" All Might ordered.
"What? Now?" Bakugo exclaimed.
"There's no better time than the present, my boy! Don't let opportunities like this pass you by!"
Scowling, Bakugo picked himself up and reclaimed his things. A few minutes later, he was walking away from Dagobah beach without any kind of plan.
What now?! How the fuck am I supposed to—
Halting mid-step, his scowl turned upward, becoming a wicked grin. Smoke leaked from the edges of his mouth as he made a connection. He did have a way to get in touch with the girl.
Deku…
—
School had returned to normal after a few days once it became clear to his peers that Izuku had just been in the right place at the right time. People were quick to believe that it hadn't been him who actually beat the villain, especially after word got around that Bakugo had talked to him about it. It was good that things had settled down like that, for Izuku's sanctity of mind anyway, but the rumors about him had only been replaced by rumors about Baiken.
Granted, no one knew the name of the mysterious pink-haired girl who'd shown up and beaten Bakugo in a duel, but everyone had heard about it by now. The people who stuck around after school for their clubs had heard the ruckus of Izuku and Bakugo's fight, and many had seen it happen through the windows of their clubrooms. There was little doubt that the altercation had occurred.
Of course, things got worse from there.
Izuku had a fanclub. Well, actually, Baiken had a fanclub, but obviously no one knew that it had been him as the pink-haired girl. If there was any good in the world, it would stay that way.
"Bro, did you see the pics Nakamura got?"
"Wait, he managed to get pics of the Samurai Girl? Holy crap! I gotta see this!"
"D-a-a-a-m-n… I know you said she was hot, but dude...That's crazy! Look at those—"
Izuku, his face redder than Rias' hair, shoved his head into his arms. With his hands clasped over his ears and his nose pressed to the cold laminate of his desk, he desperately tried to tune out the students around him.
Class will start any minute! I just have to wait them out!
If he'd known how much attention the fight would have gotten, Izuku never would have dared to fight Bakugo… but, even now, he had a hard time keeping a straight face when he thought about it. The sensation of knowing that he'd won, beaten the boy who'd bullied him for so long, the boy who'd become the face of opposition to his dream—
Of course it was only because he got conceited and I took him by surprise…
Even still… It made him smile. It was a pleasant memory to carry with him into the Support life. Not that the Support path had anything wrong with it, of course! He was perfectly happy to—
A hand smacked into his desk, rattling the flimsy thing and making Izuku jump a few centimeters into the air.
"Deku..." Bakugo growled.
Whispers erupted around them as Bakugo drew attention with his action.
"B-Bakugo!" Izuku stuttered.
It was weird, even after doing it multiple times, to call him that after saying 'Kachan' for so long… but it felt right. They weren't friends, so he shouldn't delude himself by giving the boy a nickname.
"After school, you're going to call that friend of yours and tell her to meet me at Tatooin Park this Friday," the blonde ordered.
"I'm not going to be your—"
"Deku…" Bakugo interrupted.
"No, Bakugo, I won't—"
The other teen's nostrils flared, his brows twitching as he forced a word out that Izuku didn't think he was capable of producing...
"Please…" Bakugo spat, hurling the word like a curse.
Izuku blinked, astonished, and reacted without thinking.
"Okay," he said.
Wait, no! What did I just agree to?!
"Good," the blonde nodded. "Tell her to be there once school's over."
"R-right," Izuku stuttered, still struggling to comprehend the sheer scale of the mistake he'd just made.
Bakugo turned to walk to his seat, but then stopped, hesitating visibly for a moment.
"What's her name, anyway?" the boy asked without turning to face Izuku.
Don't say Izuku from habit. Don't say Izuku from habit. Don't say Izuku from habit.
"B-Baiken…?" Izuku replied, his tone uncertain.
Was it really a good idea to use the woman's name for this?
"Baiken…" Bakugo murmured. "Like the samurai? That's a good name." **
What is he…?
The blonde didn't say anything else, walking over to his seat and plopping into it, resting his feet on his desk out of pure habit. From there, he stared off at nothing, hands behind his head in relaxation, and waited for class to start.
What's gotten into him? He's too… quiet.
…
There was some good to today, at least.
Izuku was going to actually meet the costuming club. Granted, he'd already met a couple members on the first day of school, but that's besides the point. Today was their first club meeting, and he was looking forward to it.
For some reason, there had been a delay with beginning club operations, and they didn't start the same day as the other groups, but it wasn't a big deal. Apparently there was some kind of issue with reserving their club room.
He wasn't quite sure what he expected when he walked through the door with a sign reading 'Fashion Club (Costuming),' taped to its surface… but it certainly wasn't this.
The room was small, seeming more like an extended supply closet than anything else, with diagrams and measurement tape hanging from the walls. Shoved into the corner was a partially assembled mannequin, held up by a single metal rod rather than legs, with a thin desk taking up the entirety of the wall opposite the door. Sitting on a stool, with various types of cloth dangling from her shoulders and extended arms, was Togeike. She was on her phone, her demeanor reeking of boredom, while Agoyamato stood in front of her. He kept rushing back and forth between examining several sheets on the desk and holding up little strips of differently colored and patterned cloth to various parts of Togeike. Whichever pieces passed muster were added to the slowly growing quantity of strips hanging from her limbs.
"Who's—" Togeike stumbled, glancing up from her phone. "Oh! Midoriya!"
Agoyamato didn't appear to notice, continuing his work without pause.
"Sorry about him," Togeike said, gesturing at the tall boy with her off hand. "He gets way too into this stuff."
As she spoke, the large-chinned teen stood directly in front of her, holding up a pale blue cloth to the girl's face.
"Would you knock it off!" she exclaimed, flicking him on the underside of his oversized jaw. "Our third member is here! At least try and be polite!"
"Hmm?" he grunted. Turning around, he finally noticed Izuku's presence. "Ah, Midoriya. Good to see you here."
With that said, he immediately went back to his notes.
Togeike let out a put-upon sigh, bringing her dainty fingers to her face as a gesture of annoyance.
"Um… Hello," Izuku replied awkwardly. "Where's… Is there anyone else?"
"Nope!" the girl replied, popping the 'p' of the word. "Just us three!"
Leaning back in her chair, gripping the underside of her legs to keep herself in balance, she continued speaking. "It's a good thing you signed up when you did. The student council was gonna shut us down, since we didn't meet membership requirements! But, since you joined, we just barely made the cut."
"I see…" Izuku mumbled.
"Yeah, the reason it took so long for us to have our first meeting was because they didn't believe us when we said you'd signed up. After we finally convinced them, we had to haggle for this place as our clubroom…" the girl stated darkly. "It's practically a broom closet!"
"That sucks," Izuku sympathized.
Togeike nodded emphatically.
"So, uhh… What exactly do we do as a club?" Izuku asked. "I was hoping to get some help with preparing for the Support Course, since I don't know much about how to make costumes, but…"
He left the trailing statement there, hesitant to be blunt about the unfortunate state of the club.
Maybe the computer club would've been better? They at least have a club room that's the size of a normal classroom.
"Well, honestly, it's really just Tsutsutaka working on fashion designs and me modeling for him," Togeike explained. "He wants to make a splash in the designer clothes industry, bringing hero-quality fabrics into the mainstream. As for me, I've got nothing better to do and I've known him forever, so I might as well help out."
"That's a really impressive dream, Agoyamato!" Izuku exclaimed with some excitement.
He's really reaching for the stars!
The taller boy glanced back, giving a gentle smile.
"Thank you," he said pleasantly. "I've been told it's unreasonable many times, so it's refreshing to hear such kind words."
"I don't think it's unreasonable at all," Izuku denied. "I've never heard of anyone doing what you're doing! You're putting in the work, too, so I'm sure it'll happen!"
"I think I can get along with you quite well, Midoriya," Agoyamato laughed. "I'd be happy to help you with learning the ropes of working with fabric. Even if I don't specialize in costuming, I know enough to get you started."
"Thank you!" Izuku replied.
He paused for a moment, making a connection.
"I just realized… if you aren't that focused on costuming, then why is the club called—"
"Didn't you see the sign?" Togeike interjected. "Technically, we're the fashion club. We just added costuming to the name for your sake."
"Oh."
"Regardless, my offer stands, Midoriya," Agoyamato commented.
"Thank—" Izuku began.
'Yoo-hoo!' a familiar voice called, ringing out in his head like it was some distance away. 'I'm bored Izu-chan!'
Oh no. Not now!
"Uh, sorry, I have to—" the freckled teen stated rapidly, reaching for the door behind him in a panic. He needed to go, now! He tugged on the handle, beginning to pull the door open—
He didn't make it.
Green light filled the small room, and Izuku saw a now feminine hand resting on the door knob. With a weary sigh, she turned around to face her confused witnesses.
"Sorry about this…" Izuku mumbled, her voice further contrasting the sudden difference in the changed-boy for the spectators. Absentmindedly, she unbuttoned her uniform jacket, since it was uncomfortably tight now, and brushed her blue hair out of her face.
"What the…" Togeike trailed off.
Agoyamato simply blinked repeatedly, otherwise stone-faced, and stared at Izuku.
Did you have to do this now, Ryoko?
'There's no time like the present, Izu-chan!' the young woman declared giddily. 'I've been stuck in that watch for so long, and that stupid cave for even longer! I'm sick of it! Rias, Hinata, and Baiken have all been out lately, but you just left your big sis to rot in boredom! For shame, Izu-chan!'
You know each other…? Wait, no, I'll deal with that later.
"Since when do you have a quirk, Midoriya?" Togeike questioned. "Everyone knows you're quirkless!"
"Uh… since about… a month…? No, It's September now… two months. It's been two months," Izuku rambled. "I'm not too in control of it, so this kind of thing happens sometimes. I'd been hoping to avoid anyone finding out at school… but…"
Suddenly, she had a taller boy—who towered over her a bit less in this form, and isn't that depressing—in her face, holding up the same strip of blue cloth he'd held up to Togeike a few moments prior.
"Hmm… You'd make a good model for some of my designs…" Agoyamato muttered.
"Hey! Stop that, Tsutsutaka!" Togeike demanded. "Get out if his—er, her...?"
"It's fine," Izuku said to both of the girl's statements, a nervous chuckle following shortly thereafter.
Agoyamato returned to his desk, visibly tuning out the conversation as he took some more notes on one of his many documents. An awkward silence fell upon the room then, with no one willing nor wanting to speak up and interrupt it. Izuku leaned back against the door, crossing her arms out of Ryoko's habit and looking like an oddly refined delinquent given the way her wild blue hair and the unbuttoned male uniform contrasted with her features.
Eventually, Togeike worked up the nerve.
"So, uh… Does it just… turn you into a girl…?" the girl asked.
'I'm way cooler than that, missy!' Ryoko denied proudly.
You're also not a quirk, Ryoko…
"Well it—" Izuku began.
Words were ripped from her as she felt the familiar but no less strange sensation of falling through something. Pinwheeling her arms was no help to her balance, leading to her head smashing into the floor outside the clubroom—no doubt leaving quite the bruise even as it rattled her. Blinking away stars, she glanced around and checked for people in the hallway. Thankfully, no one was there.
Satisfied that there were no witnesses, Izuku pulled her feet through the hard surface and stood up, opening the door a moment later.
Togeike was laughing, and offered Izuku her jacket…?
Wait, what?
Claiming the article of clothing, she slipped it on even as her thoughts were whirring.
Why didn't it slip through with me? Was it just happenstance? How does intangibility even function? Will this be a recurring problem? Could I lose other pieces of clothing? What if something comes off while I'm in the middle of a wall?!
'You're overthinking it, Izu-chan!' Ryoko declared. 'It just kinda goes 'whoosh,' and you'll feel like 'dun…' and then it works!'
I… What…? That makes no sense!
"You should have seen your face!" Togeike gasped, her laughter finally dying down.
Izuku just sighed in reply.
"But, seriously…" the girl said, coughing to bring a halt to her laughter. "What does your quirk even do? It's really weird. Mine just let's me see the probability of things I know might happen, and Tsutsutaka's just gives him that iron jaw thing he's got going on."
How much should I tell her?
Izuku pondered that for the brief length of time it took to open her mouth and speak.
"I have a few different forms I can turn into, and they each have different quirks," the blue-haired girl explained. "I don't really have control over how long the transformation lasts, and sometimes it just… happens."
There. That's pretty much what's on my record, so it's no big deal to share. No coughing either, so that's good.
"Really? What are the others like?" Togeike asked curiously.
"Um…" Izuku stumbled. "Well one's kinda perverted, and another's really kind, and the last one feels like a yakuza Oyabun…"
"They have personalities?" the girl clarified.
Wait, how did I talk about you girls without getting cut off?
'No clue!' Ryoko replied happily. She really did seem giddy to be out.
"Umm, kinda…?" Izuku answered, unsure about how much she was allowed to talk about before the coughing would start. "It's kind of like… multiple personality disorder, but the extra personalities don't ever get control…? I guess?"
'I'm just a personality to you, Izu-chan?' Ryoko pouted. 'I can't believe you'd demean your big sis like this!'
I-I didn't mean it like—You're messing with me, aren't you?
'Com-pletely!' Ryoko acknowledged.
"Wow, that's a really weird quirk…" Togeike stated.
"Are these other forms also young women?" Agoyamato chimed in, turning around upon his seat.
He was listening?!
"Unfortunately…" Izuku confirmed, her head hanging morosely.
"Hmm…" the boy trailed off. "Would you be willing to join Togeike in modeling for me? It would be of great assistance to have more variety in body type for my designs. I can let you keep my work, if you'd like. I'm mainly doing this for practice right now, and I'll still have the design documents to recreate anything I tailor to you."
'Ooh! Do it!' Ryoko exclaimed. 'I've always wanted to see what it was like to play dress up! It'll be like being a kid!'
You practically are a kid already…
'Hey!'
"I guess…" Izuku agreed, ignoring Ryoko's indignant muttering. "Can you explain how you're working while we're doing that though? I bet I could learn a lot from even that."
"Of course!" the boy affirmed. "I'd be happy to do so."
"Welcome to the Modelling club, Midoriya!" Togeike joked.
"Yeah!" Izuku nodded. A moment later, her eyes bulged as she realized what the brunette had said. "Wait, no that's—"
"Has anyone ever told you how easy you are to tease…?" the girl interjected.
Izuku drooped, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.
"Yeah…"
…
Despite the awkwardness of her introduction, Izuku ended up enjoying the costuming club a lot. Togeike was fun to be around, in spite of her frequent sarcasm, while Agoyamato was a fount of useful knowledge. His subdued nature took some getting used to, but the boy was friendly enough that it wasn't a big deal.
They talked shop for a while as the tall boy took some measurements of Izuku's 'Ryoko-form.' He was exceedingly professional and polite about it, even having Togeike grab the tape measure for the more… intrusive… parts of the process. He said he had some designs already in mind for Izuku to model, even displaying some of the documents he'd drawn up on them.
If Izuku had any doubt about the boy's dream, they ended there. Agoyamato was truly talented. Even the things he considered 'minor projects' looked fantastic in Izuku's eyes, with the more long-term designs being frankly jaw-dropping. The boy seemed to have an instinct for how to adapt to whatever style he was going for, easily slipping from cute, to elegant, to sexy… It seemed like there was nothing he couldn't design.
Well, he avoided men's clothes, since—according to him—he wasn't very good at it.
From what Izuku saw of the boy's creations, she was doubtful that was the case. The boy was probably just being a perfectionist.
Once the meeting had gone on for a while, the boy even mentioned an assignment for Izuku. The currently blue-haired girl was to begin designing a hero costume. For now, it was just concepting, but once that stage was done, Agoyamato expected Izuku to actually make the thing. It was supposed to be both a good way for the older boy to gauge Izuku's skill while also serving as a milestone for him to look back on years later.
It was a struggle to not just begin drawing right then and there, but Izuku managed to hold back and let the meeting end. Once they'd gone their separate ways, she snuck out of the school—taking great care to avoid running into anyone—and rushed home.
"Hi, mom!" she exclaimed, a moment after running through the still closed door. The blue-haired girl hadn't even thought about doing it, it simply didn't occur to her not to do so until after she'd slipped through the object.
"Izuku?!" Inko exclaimed in shock.
"Bye mom!" Izuku continued, running straight for the stairs and taking them two at a time.
Upon entering her room, she tossed her bag at the foot of her bed and jumped into her desk chair, drifting slightly on its wheels before coming to a stop in front of her desk. A moment later, she had a pencil in hand and a sheet of paper on the flat surface in front of her.
'Wow, sis! I've never seen you this excited about something!' Ryoko commented.
Costuming is awesome! Are you kidding me?! There's so many things that a good costume can do to help a hero! Best Jeanist's costume is a great example! It gives his quirk plenty of fabric to manipulate without needing to rely on other sources. It's—
'Woah, woah, I get it, Izu-chan!' Ryoko exclaimed. 'No need to talk my ear off.'
I… Sorry, I can't help it sometimes. At least I'm not mumbling all the time anymore!
'You used to mumble?' Ryoko asked.
Izuku began to doodle basic stick-figures for her to draw designs upon. She stayed there for a few minutes, working in silence while Ryoko—presumably—watched. The thing the freckled girl realized after a short while, though, was that she had no idea what to create. Staring at the practically blank page generated no ideas.
Hmm…
'What's wrong?' Ryoko asked.
I have no idea what to make. It's weird, I've never had this problem with costumes before.
'You've made costumes before?' Ryoko queried, curiosity evident in her tone.
No, I've designed a few, but they were—That's it! My notebooks!
Izuku stood up suddenly, turning to face her bookshelves and taking a step before realizing something.
Oh. I tossed those. Right...
Sighing morosely, Izuku returned to her chair. The good mood she'd been in tarnished by the realization about where all that work had gone. It was an important action at the time, lending weight to her decision to give up on her dream, but it was hard not to be upset about how it inconvenienced her now. Sitting in front of her desk, she stewed in self-recrimination. Tossing the All Might memorabilia would have been enough, right? It was just stupid to toss all that hard work away!
It wasn't long before she was interrupted, however.
"Izuku…?" her mother's voice echoed.
"Hm?"
Izuku turned to face the older woman, instantly zeroing in on the simple meal she had on a tray.
"You seemed so excited when you got home that I didn't want to bother you…" Inko trailed off. "But, you need to make sure to eat something. You're a growing boy—uh…"
"Thanks," Izuku mumbed, reaching out and carefully taking the tray from her mother.
"Are you okay? You look upset." the woman asked. "What happened to that good mood from earlier?"
"Yeah… I'm just regretting getting rid of my notebooks," Izuku explained. "It was stupid to toss them like that… I had a lot of stuff in them that could help with Support projects."
The woman perked up at that.
"Well…" she trailed off.
Izuku tilted her head to the side curiously, hair swishing as she moved.
"I… may have taken those out of the garbage bags you filled up and kept them in my closet…" Inko stated.
The blue-haired girl blinked in surprise, her mouth falling open in shock.
"You… Seriously?"
"Oh, please don't be upset, Izuku! I just couldn't bear to see you toss away something you've worked on for years!" the woman rambled. "You were so angry back then, and I just knew you'd regret getting rid of them and—"
Izuku excitedly leaped at her mother, flinging her arms around the shorter woman and silencing her nervous muttering.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed excitedly into the woman's shoulder.
Inko reciprocated the hug a moment later, hesitating briefly on where exactly to put her hands on her son-turned-daughter.
'So this is a hug…?' Ryoko muttered. 'It feels… nice.'
"Of course, sweetie!" Inko stated. "I can go get them now, if you'd like?"
Izuku pulled back, much to Ryoko's quiet discontent, and nodded firmly.
"Yes please!"
With a gentle smile, the older woman stepped out of the room, walking toward her own. Izuku returned to her desk and began to tear her way through the dinner Inko had made. She wasn't too hungry, actually, and the food tasted oddly bland, but it would make her mother happy, so she did it.
'Hmm…' Ryoko mumbled.
Yes, Ryoko?
'I want a hug too!' She declared. 'It's only right! You gave mama-Inko one, so you'd better give your sister one too!'
Izuku paused mid-bite.
Uh, Ryoko… You do realize I literally can't do that, right? The only time I can interact with you is when we're sharing a body.
'Not if you come in here!' Ryoko stated.
What do you mean? Wait, actually, that brings up another question… Earlier you brought up the other girls connected to the watch. I've not really mentioned them to you, I don't think, so how do you know them?
'Because we visit each other all the time?' Ryoko replied as if it was obvious.
...What? How?! No, that's the wrong question… Hmm… Ah! What's it like in 'there,' as you put it, Ryoko? I had kind of assumed that you all just… slept or something whenever I wasn't using you—Oh god, that sounds horrible! I didn't mean it that way!
'Hehe, you really stick your foot in your mouth a lot, huh, Izu-chan?' Ryoko laughed.
...No comment.
'Hi-hi-hi,' the girl giggled. It sounded almost like bells, actually.
So, uh… my question?
'Oh, right!' Ryoko exclaimed. 'Well, we each kinda have our own area to live in. Mine's really boring, so I tend to visit the others a lot.'
Really? Huh. Interesting… What're they like?
'Rias calls them "Waifu Habitats" for some reason—"
Don't call them that, Ryoko. Rias is just messing with you.
'Really? That's rather na-u-gh-ty!' Ryoko sang, drawing out the syllables. 'I'll have to teach her a lesson the next time I see her…'
Izuku's face instantly reddened a bit and a hand went up to steam the blood flow she knew was coming from her nose. Rias was tainting her mind! She never would have thought of—
'What happened, Izu-chan? Why're you bleeding?' Ryoko asked. Her tone was utterly innocent too, so she clearly had no idea what the issue was.
N-nothing… You were saying?
'Well… Rias lives in a massive comic shop. The place has everything, but she won't let me into the back section. Somehow she even keeps me out when I try to sneak in… I'll manage it eventually! Nothing will stop the great and terrible Ryoko!' the girl declared. From there, she began to laugh maniacally. Correctly this time.
A back section to a comic shop meant for Rias…? That… Could not bode well.
I think I need to have a talk with Rias…
'Hmm? Did you say something?' Ryoko asked.
It's nothing! Carry on!
'Okay…' Ryoko drawled suspiciously. 'As for Hinata, she lives in a giant museum. It's full of paintings of this blonde guy, and she actually gets angry when I try to take them down for a better look.'
Angry? I have a hard time imagining that…
'I know right? You should see her though, Izu-chan! She goes from this demure little princess into a dragon defending its hoard if you so much as glance at one of them the wrong way!' Ryoko exclaimed.
Weird…
'Mhmm!' Ryoko agreed, her nod quite audible. 'Baiken's place is not at all what I expected either. She lives in this giant shrine with these weird statues everywhere! They have tons of arms and this really creepy expression. She spends all her time in the center garden, smoking and drinking this really tasty stuff she calls "sake."'
Uh… You've tried it?
'Yeah, why else would I say it's tasty?' Ryoko replied. 'Think a little, Izu-chan!'
That's what I was hoping you wouldn't say…
Izuku pinched her nose, feeling a headache coming on.
Just… don't drink that stuff too much, okay? It's not healthy.
More like it wouldn't be healthy for Izuku, she imagined. A drunk Ryoko was not something she wanted to consider, especially given that the spirits each had some amount of control while Izuku was transformed, limited as it may be. Images of energy blasts made because they 'looked pretty' or slipping through the floor because Drunk-Ryoko 'thought it would be funny' filled her mind.
'That's sweet, Izu-chan! You care about your big sis!' Ryoko explained. 'But it's the older sibling that tells the younger what to do, not the other way around!'
Something told Izuku that this would not end well.
What about your area?
Hopefully distracting the childish woman would get them off this landmine of a topic.
'Oh… It's boring. Like I said,' Ryoko replied evasively. 'It's just a cave with some creepy blue lighting.'
That's it?
'Yup,' she affirmed. 'Can we talk about something else?
Sensing the sensitivity of the topic, Izuku shifted to another question she'd been meaning to ask.
How did you and Rias manage to force your way out of the watch, anyway? Also, can you not do that? It's really awkward to explain.
'Hmm, let me think…' Ryoko mumbled. 'Nope! I can't think of a reason I'd stop doing that! It's way too fun being outside for me to give this up.'
...Please?
'Aw, Izu-chan, you really need to work on your puppy-dog-eyes!' Ryoko countered. 'Besides! It only works on guys and old people, don'cha know?'
Izuku let out a sigh. Great. That wouldn't cause issues down the line. Not the puppy-dog eyes thing, the—
'Anyway, the way we get out isn't all that complex. There's… cracks? Yeah, I'd call them cracks,' Ryoko rambled. 'There's cracks between your mind or soul or whatever it is and the edge of the watch. If I tug on them, I can force it open and build that bridge link we talked about last time.'
I have cracks in my mind?!
'Well, it could be your soul or whatever. I don't really know what it is. I can't really see inside it either, so…' the girl trailed off. 'It's probably fine though.'
It doesn't sound fine.
'Meh. You worry too much, Izu-chan,' Ryoko stated.
"Sorry I took so long, Izuku," Inko stated as she barged back into the room.
The freckled girl startled at the sudden noise, but turned her focus toward her mother.
"I had to dig them out from behind a few other things. I'd put a few other boxes on top and—" the woman rambled.
Izuku tuned it out a bit and stared at the box. Through the open flaps she could see the familiar covers of her notebooks. 'Hero Analysis for the Future' they read, with individual numbers added below the penned-in titles.
Wordlessly, the currently blue-haired girl accepted the box from her mother, solemnly setting it on her desk and sitting back down.
"Anyway, I'll leave you to it," the older woman declared. "Have fun, honey!"
"Mm," Izuku grunted absentmindedly.
As Inko left, the freckled girl continued to stare… and stare… and stare at the box's contents.
'Are you gonna take them out or not?' Ryoko interjected in confusion.
I… Yeah... I will.
With the slightest trepidation, Izuku pulled out a random volume, flipping through its contents. She wasn't really paying much attention, though, her mind slipping back into memories… Memories of writing down little things, here and there, about each hero she'd see on the way to school—the excitement of witnessing a new debut and the wonder of imagining what it would be like to make her own debut… eventually.
'Hey, what's that one for? It doesn't have a label,' Ryoko asked, breaking Izuku out of her bittersweet reminiscing.
Glancing down at the page she'd stopped at, Izuku instantly recognized its content. It was her hero costume, the one she'd modelled after that man and the one she'd planned to wear when she debuted after graduating U.A….
It's my—Was my costume. The one I was going to wear when I became a hero.
'Oh. I thought you didn't want to be a hero though…' Ryoko responded.
I…
Did she?
It was getting harder and harder to tell what she wanted anymore. Between discovering the watch, the power it granted her, and two separate pros suggesting she do it… Izuku just wasn't sure anymore. On one hand, it had been her dream forever… but on the other…
What if she couldn't?
It went back to the question she'd had for so long, her whole life really… What makes someone a hero? If it was power, then Izuku easily could become a hero now. But there was something that felt… off about that though, so she was tempted to discard that idea.
Was it the ability to keep fighting, no matter the odds? The determination to get back up even when you were knocked down? If that was the case… Then there was no point in trying, right? Izuku had given up when it counted. If determination was the deciding factor… then she just wasn't cut out for the role.
Was Izuku willing to risk it? To risk that deep, soul-crushing despair again?
I just don't know anymore, Ryoko…
—
*So, who got this reference upon reading it? Digital muffins (that will be granted by 'THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP') will be passed out to those who did. For everyone else, the phrase 'Whatever happened to the Symbol of Peace' is a paraphrased version of the title of a classic Superman comic 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow.' It's considered one of the best Superman stories ever written, and is about the end of the hero's career.
**Baiken's name is—likely—inspired by Shishido Baiken (though the kanji used for their shared name are different), who was (assuming he was a real person) a samurai from the Edo period. Most notably to the layman, he allegedly fought (and lost) a duel with Miyamoto Musashi.
There's some debate over the accuracy of the man's name, and it's reading. His family name was almost certainly 'Shishido,' but whether his personal name was Nanigashi (as it appeared in the earliest record we have of his existence) or Baiken (like he's named in Eiji Yoshikawa's world-famous novel 'Musashi,') is up in the air.
AN Primus:
And so Bakugo's comedic arc begins! How did it go so far? Was it fun? I don't consider myself the best at comedy, so I'm trying quite hard here to make it entertaining… So please be sure to yell at me if I'm being stupid.
On the topic of comedy! If you have any suggestions for comedic situations to result from the 'Modelling Club' joke, please let me know! I've got some things in mind already, but nothing specific as of yet.
More importantly for today's Author's Note… Guest reviews.
Unlike many authors I've seen on this site, I'm not going to complain about them or whine that people don't like my story, in fact, responses have been quite positive overall. No, I'm only bringing them up as a PSA. If you decide to review as a guest—first of all, thank you—there's something important to be aware of…
I can't respond to guest reviews via Private Messaging, as I can when a normal user leaves a review. As such, if I like your idea and want to discuss it or I want some clarification on a point you're making… I can't contact you about it. Accordingly, your idea/suggestion/criticism is far more likely to go unused or be ignored, since I can't communicate with you about it.
I greatly appreciate the fact you took the time at all to leave a comment, even as a guest, but I just wanted to warn those of you who may be unaware of this fact on this site.
AN Tertius (Secundus was sucked into 'The Warp' by a freak accident and is currently being poked and prodded by the Khaos gods):
Hmm… Waifus…
Always a fun topic, isn't it? It almost seems like one of the end-of-chapter AN's always becomes the Waifu-corner now—not that I'm complaining!
For today, I've got good news, an update, and a prompt:
First of all, two more suggestions were added to the roster!
These lucky (or unlucky depending on your perspective) ladies will be joining the crew at some point. They were suggested by a few different people, and were not only characters I already liked—but forgot existed—but more importantly they bring a lot to the table with the usual talking points I mention on this topic. Furthermore, I'm relaxing a bit on the final number being less than ten—as I mentioned in a prior author's note. I no longer have a definitive number, just the preference of not adding 'too many.' So, there's always a chance your pick may still make it in!
Secondly, on the topic of Tifa!
The general consensus on 'Abridged Tifa' so far has been either positive or neutral, with only one reviewer disliking the idea (for reasons that I sadly could not parse and could not contact them to clarify.) As such, she is likely going to be joining the roster unless I can't find a good spot to slot her in—the prior 'Mystery Additions' already have a place in my outline—or someone makes a valid criticism that dissuades me from including her.
Lastly… the prompt!
There's two similar but specific archetypes of waifu that I currently don't have on the roster at all: monster-girls and/or kemonomimi. For those of you who are unaware, these particular types of character are those that either have a major part of their body replaced by an animal's—like a harpy, lamia, or centaur—or in the case of the kemonomimi have a few animal traits added on top of a normal human body; an excellent example being the classic cat-girl.
It's almost a travesty that, given the base idea of this story, I don't have such a classic archetype on the roster. Unfortunately, no good ideas are springing to mind! As such, I'd love some suggestions!
Personally, I tend to prefer kemonomimis over monster-girls (and I'm a sucker for fox-girl kemonomimis) but I'll happily consider anything that fits the category. Of course, the deciding factor will be the same as for normal suggestions: do they fill a unique role on the roster? Are they useful? Is there a fun dynamic they'd have with Izuku?
To be clear, normal suggestions that don't align with this prompt are still welcome. I'm just looking for this archetype in particular right now.