Hello and welcome to Episode Three of…
Fridays With the Waifus!
Today's guest is… Rias!
Why don't you say hello to the audience?
The camera pans over to a… bathtub? It has a partially transparent curtain, showing off a curvy silhouette behind it as the sound of water splashing against skin and ceramic echoes throughout the studio.
Uh… Rias?
The girl is humming in the shower, clearly lathering her skin with soap given the motion of her silhouette.
Rias, we're on air. You were supposed to be done with this before I brought you here.
'Oh, was I? I didn't think it would matter.'
Setting down the bar of soap and shaking out her hair, the indistinct girl shut off the water. A moment later, she pulled the curtain to the side without any hesitation—
Woah, woah, hold it!
With a snap of the host's fingers, thick black bars appeared over Rias' chest and pelvis, obscuring her privates.
Didn't you hear me? We're on air! As in, live! Full-frontal nudity is a big no-no for our ratings! We're not an adult program, missy!
'Spoil my fun, why don't you…?'
I am not losing my show because you don't know the meaning of the word modesty!
The girl took several steps forward, a smirk on her face as her hips swayed alluringly. It was only mildly affected by the awkward cut off of the censorship bars.
'Oh…? Even if I asked nicely?'
H-hey! Back off! The censorship team—which is me, mind you—can only do so much! Don't push it!
Her smirk widened even further as she continued approaching, her arms reaching—
THAT'S IT! No more Mr. Nice-Show-Host!
A literal wall of text slammed down in front of the girl, displaying two blurred questions and, more importantly, cutting off the redhead's approach. A wad of clothing appeared in a puff of smoke right above the girl, falling onto her head unceremoniously and dangling there.
Put those on so we can get to the questions!
'Fufufufu… Only because you're cute right now, getting all flustered like that.'
The sound of clothing rustling and zippers zipping echoed from behind the wall.
'Nowhere near as cute as Izuku, of course…'
ANYWAY, now that you're finally decent—
'I wasn't before? You're so mean, Mister—'
—We can get on with the questions! Here's what we have for today!
"How long are you going to milk Izuku's awkward moment with Todoroki being on her breast against him?"
"Do you know about Bakugo confessing to Izuku as Baiken, and if so do you have plans to tease him about it too?"
'Well, the first one is simple.'
Really? Do tell.
'I'm never going to let him forget it! How could I? Everyone's first time is so special, it would be a crime for me to let it go.'
Well, I'm sure Izuku appreciates your consideration.
'Oh, definitely not, but that's what makes it so much fun! I'm hoping I can invent a new shade of red and name it after his face. I'm sure my brother could fund the venture.'
How so? It's not like you can get in contact with him—
Rias' face froze, and after a few moments she blinked. Twice.
'What were we talking about…?'
Ah, sorry, I said something I shouldn't have. Nothing to worry about for right now! Spoilers and all that.
'Right…'
Now, question two!
'Hmm… Well, given that I don't know who this… "Bakugo" character is… I have to say I didn't know that. It seems I'll need to have a talk with Izuku about keeping secrets from me. Fufufu…!'
Oh dear. I've unleashed a monster, haven't I?
'U-FUFUFU!'
Well, on that note… I believe that's the end of today's episode!
'UFUFUFUFUFUFUFU!'
Now then… On with the show!
Come on…
Tense and straining to control the energy flowing through his body, Bakugo grit his teeth and forced it to follow his command.
Come on…
Sparks bloomed into existence above his fingertips, not from conscious activation of his quirk, but as a prelude of an explosion to come.
"DIE!"
The blonde thrust his arms forward, aiming the blast at a pile of junk that towered over him.
For a brief moment, the world was calm, the soothing sound of waves lapping at the beach the only thing breaking the silence.
Then… then the trash pile disappeared in a series of blasts that each dwarfed Bakugo's average output by a notable margin.
Panting from complete exhaustion, the mental strain just as bad as the horrible bone-deep ache he could feel throughout the entirety of each arm, Bakugo fell onto his rear and let himself relax for a moment.
The predatory grin in his face said more than words ever could about his mood.
"Hah! Finally! I fucking did it, All Might!" He crowed joyfully.
A booming laugh arose from nearby.
"So you did, my boy!" All Might declared happily, posing proudly in his muscle form. "It's quite the milestone, using your own quirk with One For All!"
At first, Bakugo had been… leery… about focusing on something besides mastering One For All on it's own. Nothing had ever given him as much trouble as the inherited quirk, and his entire being railed at the idea of giving up on it, no matter how temporary the defeat may be.
Now though, he was getting stronger again, and it was exhilarating.
Using both of his quirks simultaneously was an incredibly painful proposition normally. Channeling two separate types of energy through his body at the same time overwhelmed his ability to manipulate it, letting them both run wild and... damn did it hurt when he lost control. Finding a way around this issue was a… work in progress… but he'd managed something, which is more than could be said about his progress past his frustrating plateau with One For All.
Just now, he'd finally managed to actually use them both at once, mixing the two energies in such a way that One For All supplemented his Explosion without running wild. Doing so required that he adjust the ratio between the energies just right, and it was incredibly difficult to manage that when Explosion was so much weaker of a quirk.
He'd never admit it to anyone, obviously, but All Might's quirk was frankly… intimidating. It was like a massive fighting hound, lashed to a tree and straining to break it's tether. The thing wanted to be used so desperately that it seemed almost… upset… when he used his own quirk instead.
So he'd taken advantage of that eager flow, letting the tiniest amount seep into his own quirk while he used it—going as slow as possible so he could avoid the agonizing feedback that usually happened when he didn't restrain One For All.
It had taken more than a few tries, and it hurt like hell since his body wasn't used to it, but he'd done it.
What he'd achieved was probably the equivalent to using One For All at one percent, just through his own quirk instead. It already magnified it impressively, and would only get better as he improved his control. Of course, that would require a lot more work—far more than he was used to putting into a single skill—so he didn't exhaust himself this badly after just a few uses, but it was progress…
And it was satisfying.
"Um… Hello?!" a familiar voice called from a good distance away. "I'm here... like you said!"
"Gah!" All Might gasped, immediately shrinking down into his smaller form. Glancing around warily, he grabbed Bakugo by the elbow and pulled him to his feet. "We should leave… It's best to not be seen. We'll begin getting attention if we're noticed with any frequency."
Bakugo groaned in annoyance and pulled away from the man who was somehow still taller than him in this form.
"No… I know who this is…" the blonde muttered in annoyance. "Didn't think he'd actually show up though…"
Before All Might could say anything, Bakugo cupped his hands and shouted… loudly.
"Spiky-teeth! Get your ass over here!"
"My name is Kirishima!" the other boy yelled in reply.
"Young Bakugo…" All Might began, a note of warning in his tone. "What did you do….?"
The blonde ignored him until, a few moments later, a sharp-toothed teen entered their particular clearing between the many remaining trash piles.
"What the hell happened to your hair, spiky-teeth?!" Bakugo exclaimed.
The other boy's hair looked completely different than before, filled with sharp spikes—the two most prominent of which turned his bangs into something reminiscent of horns. Even more obnoxious was the stop-sign red that the teen's hair and eyebrows had become.
"I'm a whole new manly me, now, Bakugo!" the boy declared. "I'm here to 'take this seriously,' like you said!"
A disconcertingly strong hand slapped down on Bakugo's shoulder, holding the boy in place with a bony grip.
"And who are you, young man?" All Might cut in, a friendly smile on his face even as he clenched Bakugo's shoulder tighter to keep him in place.
How the fuck is he still this strong in this form?!
"Kirishima Eijiro, sir!" the teen replied dutifully.
"Would you stop that?!" Bakugo complained, grabbing at All Might's hand and straining to pull it off without damaging the unhealthy limb.
The blonde stumbled away when, suddenly, the older man let go completely and stepped toward Kirishima, his friendly disposition coming even further to the fore.
"May I ask why you're here, young Kirishima?" the man asked.
"He's here for training, old man!" Bakugo exclaimed testily. "I invited him!"
The gangly man's head spun around, his limp bangs smacking comically against his sunken eye sockets as he stared at Bakugo in bewilderment.
"...Why?! I told you to keep this a secret, young man!"
"Cool it, Mr. Yagi," Bakugo replied, putting distinct emphasis on the name. "No one cares that you're an old has-been of a hero!"
The man blinked a few times in askance, and then visibly caught up to the blonde's implication. Kirishima stared at the other man with visible awe, clearly enraptured by the idea of being near any hero, 'has-been' or otherwise.
"Ah… Right," the man mumbled. After a moment, his eyes shot up to glare at Bakugo. "But still, why…?!"
Bakugo swaggered over to Kirishima, stopping a short distance away from him.
...Ugh. Why does doing the right thing gotta be such a pain in the ass?
"The red-head wannabe over here's got a shit quirk and zero skill…" the blonde said, gesturing at the other boy.
"HEY! What the hell, man?!"
"BUT!" Bakugo interjected. "He doesn't know when to give up…"
It felt like pulling teeth, but the blonde knew he had to say it. He'd started this by inviting the idiot, so he had to go through with it no matter how much it made him feel like a wuss.
"He'd… make a good hero…" the blonde forced out through gnashed teeth.
'Mr. Yagi' raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by Bakugo saying something good about anyone but himself.
"Oho!" the man chuckled. "It seems my student has taken a liking to you, young Kirishima!"
The teenager smugly grinned at Bakugo, a joke at the blonde's expense already prepared—
"You got something to say… punk!?" Bakugo growled, smoke leaking from his ears and nose as he glared at the red-haired boy.
The teen shook his head, but his smug look didn't fade.
"Hmm… Well, I do believe there's an issue to resolve first, young man," 'Mr. Yagi' began.
"Whatever it is, I'll face it head on!" Kirishima declared loudly, pumping his fist in the air.
"Why are you here?" the older man continued.
The red-headed teen was taken aback at that.
"Er, for training…?" the boy said as if it was obvious. "Bakugo already said that."
'Mr. Yagi's' expression firmed up, his smile dimming in intensity despite maintaining its presence, and for a brief moment, it wasn't a mild-mannered gangly man standing there, it was 'The Number One Hero.'
He didn't actually transform… because he didn't need to.
"Allow me to rephrase, then, young man," the man said, his voice carrying a frightening amount of weight despite it lacking the booming vocal chords of his muscle form. "Why should I train you?"
Kirishima stumbled back slightly, clearly intimidated by the sudden tonal shift. He stopped himself almost as quickly though, visibly forcing the fear off his face as he adjusted his stance and spoke.
"Because I want to—No, because I will become a hero!" Kirishima declared. Looking off into the distance briefly, the boy continued. "Recently… I learned that there's a difference between being brave and not getting scared… It… was a hard lesson."
Taking a breath, the redhead turned back and stared the hero in the eyes resolutely, his expression utterly certain.
"I'm going to be as brave as Crimson Riot and save as many people as I can!"
Silence reigned after his declaration, the 'former-hero' staring quietly at the young man before him. Clearly, he was measuring the boy's worth…
"Wonderful!" 'Mr. Yagi' declared cheerfully, the pressure of the moment evaporating the instant he spoke. "Keep up that attitude, young man, and you'll be a pro in no time!"
Rubbing the back of his own head sheepishly, the older man continued.
"Apologies for being so serious!" he said. "It's not my style, but I need to be really careful about teaching people. I could get in a lot of trouble with the commission for doing this outside of a Hero School."
Kirishima blinked a few times, chuckling quietly as the tension left him.
"R-right," he laughed.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment, young man, I need to speak with Bakugo. Why don't you go get warmed up while we talk?" 'Mr. Yagi' suggested cheerfully.
"Of course!" the redhead agreed vigorously, charging off a moment later.
As soon as the boy left, All Might turned to face Bakugo.
"You've really made things complicated, young Bakugo," he said, his tone serious even if he hadn't reverted to acting like… that. "If I train him, we won't be able to spar anywhere near as often, and I won't be able to speak as candidly about One For All while he's present. He cannot be allowed to learn my secret, understood?"
Bakugo nodded irritably.
"I'm surprised with you though, young man. You didn't strike me as the type to put yourself at a major disadvantage like this. The boy doesn't need my help. The system is built to pick out motivated people like him and put them on the hero track," All Might continued. "Are you really okay with this? I can direct him elsewhere if you're having second thoughts."
"I…" Bakugo trailed off.
"I guess you really are meant to be a hero, huh?"
How can positive words like that become so… tainted?
He was in the right! Only people with power can make a difference. Chasing after a dream beyond your talents will only get you hurt in the end, so it was better to shut that kind of idiocy down before it got to that point...
...So what the hell am I doing, inviting spike-teeth along?
Letting out an uncharacteristic sigh, Bakugo nodded.
"Yeah… I am."
In for a penny, in for a pound, right?
All Might blinked, his ever-present smile gaining a special feeling to it—one Bakugo had only ever seen when the man had offered to mentor him, back in that hospital room…
"I'm proud of you, young man…" he said, reaching forward and ruffling Bakugo's spiky hair fondly. The blonde didn't even resist for once, the man's tone too emotional for him to keep up his usual prideful affect.
"This is how a hero acts."
For the first time in a very long time… Bakugo's scowl was replaced by a genuine smile.
The function f is defined by f(x) = 2x^3 + 3x^2 + cx + 8, where c is a constant. In the xy-plane, the graph of f intersects the x-axis at three points—
Izuku let out a pitiful groan, rubbing his eyes blearily as he forced himself to stay awake.
I am so screwed…
Once he got home several days ago, bearing the realization that he was completely unprepared for his mid-terms and had even more riding on them than a normal student… he'd been studying. A lot. As in, cramming from dawn until sometime past midnight for three days straight.
The exam was happening tomorrow, and Izuku still didn't feel ready.
He'd put in a lot of work recently—even calling in sick so he could skip school and study more—so he was pretty sure he would at least pass the exams for his other classes… but his Advanced Math class…?
He needed to ace it… As Mr. Mura had said… if he didn't pass this exam, he was getting booted from the class.
Math had never been his best subject, and it had taken a lot of work to bridge the gap between an average class on the topic and the 'Advanced' course… but it was necessary if he wanted to apply for U.A's Support track. Among other qualifications, he needed an Advanced Math class of some kind on his record.
Unfortunately, the freckled teen had been skipping bits of studying time here and there for weeks because of his vigilante work, and it was coming back to bite him now.
So, so, screwed…
He didn't necessarily need to get into a Support Course, given his realized heroic dreams, but it would help a lot to have access to the kind of equipment U.A. would have, and it would lead to a career that paid the bills. Given that being a licensed hero was out of the picture for him, he needed some way to support himself and his 'hobby.'
...What am I going to do…?
The green-haired boy blindly grabbed his coffee mug from nearby, fumbling for it briefly before lifting it to his dry lips and glancing at the time.
'3 A.M.' the clock read. He'd fixed it a while back, and it functioned properly now… So that meant it was already 'tomorrow,' technically.
Startled by the realization, Izuku's grip loosened, sending the cup tumbling from his grip and soaking his shirt with mercifully cold coffee. He'd been sipping at it for a while, but he hadn't realized just how long it had been.
Blinking forcefully a few times, in that special way that one does after going 72 hours with the bare minimum of sleep, he started to stand up from his chair to reclaim the mug. Of course, because he'd been sitting for far too long now, his legs were asleep—and he really wished he could say the same.
Stumbling because of his tingling legs, he banged his arms painfully on the lip of his desk, letting out a miserable grunt before finding his balance again. Once he was stable, he bent down and reclaimed the cup.
Only… four hours until I need to leave for school…
Izuku turned to glance at his physics textbook and marvelled at the way the letters began to fall together into a meaningless blob of gibberish. Blinking and shaking his head seemed to fix it, but his exhaustion made that a temporary solution.
Glancing down, he saw the way his shirt adhered to his skin, the dark liquid already turning into a stain in the cotton of his clothes. Peeling the fabric away for a moment, he stared at it blankly.
"I guess I can take a break to take a quick shower…" the boy mumbled with a yawn. "Maybe it'll wake me up a bit…"
Having said that, Izuku shuffled out of his room quietly, making his way to the bathroom as quietly as he could manage. His mother was not happy about his recent cramming session, but seemed willing to allow it so long as he slept and ate appropriately. Waking up the woman this late at night would not do him any favors...
Upon entering the room, the green-haired teen glanced at himself in the mirror, noticing with morose acceptance the bags under his bloodshot eyes.
Hah… I look like Eraserhead...
Letting out a tired chuckle, he turned on the sink faucet and splashed some cold water on his face. The temperature woke him up a bit, but it could only help so much in the face of his recent sleep schedule. Patting his face dry so as to avoid making a mess, he leaned back and stretched out in another attempt to wake himself up. Again, it worked a bit, but not enough to matter.
Sighing dejectedly, Izuku gave up on that idea for the moment, choosing instead to begin the awkward process of peeling his t-shirt off. Removing wet clothes is one of those things that always gets worse before it gets better. Because of the way the skin adjusts to the sensation of the damp fabric, the sudden contact with cold air always sucks, especially when combined with the way wet clothes always manage to smack against one's flesh a few times while being pulled away.
Shimmying it past his shoulders as he did his best to avoid the damp parts of the shirt, Izuku strained to get it over his head. His sleepy-clumsiness was not helpful here, turning a rather simple objective into something that took far too much effort.
Click!
Izuku froze like a deer in headlights. The shirt was past his head now, his eyes peeking out from underneath the hem of it, and he had somehow gotten the wad of clothing partially tangled on his arms.
Staring at himself in the mirror, one thing caught his attention above all else…
The watch's face was up, ready to be activated with the simple press of a button. On its surface was an unfamiliar symbol—the first new one in weeks—a three-quarter perspective cube with an 'H' on the left face, an 'N' on the right, and two diagonally placed squares on the top.*
Instantly, complete panic overwhelmed Izuku.
He struggled to get his shirt off, deactivate the watch, and get his shirt back on in case the watch did activate, all at the same time. Of course, his panicked efforts only succeeded in making everything worse. The fabric of his shirt caught on the watch, depressing the surface with an ominous 'click!'
The world flashed green… and…
Izuku stared, slack-jawed, in the mirror—utterly unable to look away from the shirtless form reflected there. It was a new body, like the symbol had suggested, with long purplish-blue hair that dangled to her waist and bangs that hung asymmetrically over deep red eyes—a single long strand, an ahoge, arcing up from her scalp in a very noticeable manner. Of course, the thing that was far more noticeable was the young woman's shirtless body.
A perfect hourglass that rivalled Rias' form demanded Izuku's gaze, offering a sight the teenager had—until now—never seen in reality in spite of a certain redhead's corrupting efforts.
The young girl's eyes began to twitch as Izuku's brain overloaded, a red line trailing from her nose as the freckled young woman barely managed to avoid fainting at the sight.
Rias' incessant teasing had built up her tolerance at least a little bit, it seemed, since she was still conscious right now.
'I see you're appreciating our toned body, Izuku!' A new voice—to match the new look—declared suddenly.
Reflected in the mirror was a smokey duplicate of Izuku, hovering a bit behind with her hands held above her head in an identical pose to the temporary-girl's tangled posture. Her eyes were closed and there was a lovably smug expression on her face, the kind you can't really get upset at even though you almost want to.
Unlike Izuku, she was fully clothed, dressed in something resembling a school uniform—but similar to Rias' own costume, it was too stylized and revealing to be one. To start, she had a navy blue blazer, with the top of her cleavage exposed via an opening in the fabric, pulled tight enough around her torso to function like a corset, with a blue skirt that hung to her mid-thigh above matching stockings. The entire ensemble had yellow lines creating simple patterns along it, while multicolored arm-bands, labelled with different student council positions for some reason, somehow hung off her left arm despite not being attached to anything.
It was quite the… memorable look.**
"Eep!" Izuku exclaimed, jumping in place from the sudden shock and then subsequently doing her best to not pay attention to how her body bounced in response.
'Don't be shy!' The new girl stated forcefully. 'It's our beautiful body, and you should be proud of how good we look!'
Instantly, Izuku's head shot up to stare at the ceiling.
She crossed her arms just under her bust—Don'tthinkaboutit-Don'tthinkaboutit-Don'tthinkaboutit —from a reflex that wasn't hers. The freckled girl mumbled a stubborn denial and, without any conscious effort, her purple ahoge stood up perfectly straight in a way that somehow conveyed an adorable kind of resolute certainty.
Suddenly, the phantom form of the newest spirit was floating inches away from Izuku's face, her chest and hair swaying such that a second blood trail joined the first on Izuku's face. A disappointed frown spread across the spirit's face as she stared into the freckled-girl's nearly identical features.
'That's no good!' she exclaimed. 'You need to be proud of your looks! You can't be the best you can be if you're not confident in yourself!'
"I-I-I…" Izuku trailed off, eyes darting every which way that wouldn't set her gaze on the ghostly young woman in front of her face. "N-Not a pervert…!"
'Of course you aren't! It's our body!' the girl declared, pressing on with the force of a steamroller. 'Besides, being a little perverted never hurt anyone! You need to enjoy life and experience all its wonders!'
That… didn't sound right... But it was oddly convincing. The girl had a unique charisma to her, and as she went on, Izuku found it hard not to nod along in agreement.
'I'm certain that at one point you were comfortable enough to bare yourself to the world, but I can only assume some horrible incident convinced you that you had something to be ashamed of!' she continued. 'Maybe some bully pantsed you in front of your class, or a girl made excuses and called you ugly when she rejected you, or maybe you were laughed at because of some minor deformity in a public bath by misguided youths!'
As the girl spoke, she seemed to take on the presence of a genius orator, creating the sudden vision of a massive stage that matched perfectly with the air she exhuded. Standing just behind her was a group of people, all wearing similar uniforms to their leader. The group contained an athletic girl—with brown hair and glasses, and two blond boys. The first boy was taller than the other, with his blazer partially open and exposing his muscular chest, while the other had shorter hair and a gym uniform beneath his coat.
Blinking, Izuku shook away the vision and tried to correct the girl before she could continue.
What…? That's not what—
'Never fear! For I am here to help you!' Again, the girl carried on without paying Izuku any attention. 'I will straighten you out; correct your insecurities! I will make you so comfortable with yourself that you won't even hesitate to walk to school nude if you so desire!'
W-why would I want to do that…?
The spirit leaned in even closer, her nose pressing against Izuku's and forcing the latter backward through sheer force of personality—even as she continued to speak excitedly.
'24 hours a day, 365 days a year! I, Kurokami Medaka, will help anyone with anything; however I can!'
Finally, the girl pulled back, the somewhat opaque spirit floating away from Izuku enough that the temporary girl could stand straight again.
'Now then, what're we doing first?' the spirit demanded, her eyes closed and her special grin back in place, a closed bamboo fan magically in her hand all of a sudden and pressed against her chin contemplatively.
"...What just happened…?" Izuku muttered in quiet confusion. Medaka's overwhelming personality was… surprising, to say the least.
Without realizing, the temporary-girl's head had returned to a normal posture, bringing her gaze back to the mirror. Instantly, she felt the reflex to look away, but… this time she didn't.
'See? There's nothing to be ashamed of! It's just you!'
Blinking, Izuku finally managed to look at herself without a nosebleed or a borderline panic attack. It was… odd. She felt almost like she was in a trance, too focused on what mattered right now to worry about the part of her brain that was completely losing it in its own little corner of her mind. The analytical part of her knew that this… wasn't going to last...
But for now…? It was just looking at her own body.
"Was I really making such a big deal out of this?" she mumbled to herself, finally removing her shirt fully and tossing it into a hamper.
All the while, Medaka's opaque form watched contentedly, clearly happy that Izuku had seemingly understood the point of her completely over-the-top speech.
Without any of the hyper-active reactions she was used to, Izuku turned on the shower and stepped in once it was warm enough, marvelling at how calming the hot water was. Her skin was softer now than in her real body, and the way the current flowed over it was soothing to the extreme.
Although the waist-length hair was quite the pain to deal with while wet.
A couple minutes later, Izuku stepped out of the shower and towelled off, still feeling completely fine about her notable nakedness. She could see Medaka grinning smugly out of the corner of her eye, but ignored the spirit's unusual penchant for manifesting outside the watch and got dressed in the extra clothes she'd brought.
Unfortunately, her stretchy shirts were in the wash from recent use, so her current top rode up while her pants hung low on her hips. Even still, it didn't distract Izuku because of her current focus. Shortly after getting dressed, Izuku was back to standing in front of her desk, struggling to make the decision to study more or finally get some sleep.
'What're you waiting for? You can get this done easily!' Medaka exclaimed, confident enough in Izuku's abilities that it was hard not to see it as an indirect compliment.
Not bothering to correct her statement, Izuku accepted the encouragement for what it was and sat down to work. The spirit floated down and settled gracefully on the unoccupied part of the freckled girl's desk.
The function f is defined by f(x) = 2x^3 + 3x^2 + cx + 8 where c is a constant. In the xy-plane, the graph of f intersects the x-axis at the three points (-4,0), (½, 0), and (p, 0).
What is the value of c?
Izuku stared at the question for a moment, then blinked a few times in confusion.
Why was I so confused before…? This is easy!
Without hesitation, she scribbled the answer in the margins with her pencil and moved on to the next… and the next… and the next. For some reason, the knowledge she'd struggled to memorize and apply came at her call instantly, making what actually were difficult problems for the temporary-girl normally into questions as difficult as 2 + 2 = 4.
'I told you they were easy!' Medaka laughed. 'You just needed to apply yourself!'
Izuku wasn't so sure about that, but nodded in agreement anyway.
For the next hour, she continued doing problems and reviewing the contents of her textbook. It was remarkable how the information stuck nigh instantly. Once she read it and saw the knowledge applied in an example—even just a single time—she understood it and could, more importantly, use it. Clearly, there was something about being in Medaka's body that was doing this, but the girl refused to acknowledge anything.
'I'm not a believer in the idea of geniuses, Izuku,' the girl stated imperiously, her fan spread out such that it covered part of her face. 'You're putting in the work, and you're learning. It's as simple as that.'
The statement was horribly naive, something that Izuku knew was wrong from personal experience. The freckled girl had grown up with a genius; seen how the blonde boy rocketed ahead while she struggled to keep up. It was almost insulting to be confronted by the thought that Bakugo had simply worked harder, when Izuku knew the boy had been gifted from the start. She'd never been able to keep up, and eventually just stopped trying to compete—retreating into her notebooks and fantasies of heroism...
Despite that though, she held her tongue. Medaka seemed like a nice girl, and Izuku didn't want to upset her.
Once the freckled girl made it through her entire semester's worth of notes and textbook review, several times over even, Izuku realized that there wasn't much else she could do to prepare for her exams.
I'm going to get some sleep, Medaka…
Yawning, Izuku slipped under her covers, a few hours remaining before her test, and rapidly began to doze off.
'Sweet dreams!'
…
"Izuku, it's time to—Oh, that's a new look."
Groggily, the teenager sat up in bed, glancing to the side at Inko. The woman had barged into the room, clearly anxious, and had Izuku's lunch box in her hands.
"Huh…?" Izuku grunted, then finally woke up enough to realize that the transformation hadn't ended while she slept. "Oh."
'Good morning!' Medaka exclaimed, her ghostly form hovering behind Izuku's mother in a perfect imitation of her lunch-box-toting pose. Flipping her hair back glamorously, she continued. 'I must say, sleeping with you is quite different from how I remember sleeping with Zenkichi when we were kids… You're far grabbier.'
Like a hammer had been taken to a window, Izuku's trance-like resistance to embarrassment shattered. Her face reddened and she barely managed to keep herself from letting out an 'eep!' of shock.
W-what're you…?! I couldn't have—That's not…!
'Hmm… I thought we'd made more progress than that last night,' the girl stated calmly, tapping her hand fan against her chin contemplatively. 'Oh well. I'll just have to keep at it.'
Shutting her eyes and letting out a quiet groan of dismay, Izuku ignored the comment and stood up.
"Well, nevermind your quirk," Inko said. "You need to get going! It's already 7:15! Did you sleep through your alarm?"
Izuku blinked.
"What?! Crap! I need to go!"
The purple-haired girl grabbed her backpack from its usual spot by the foot of her bed, rapidly shifting through it to make sure everything was there. As she did so, she pulled her pants off and exchanged them for her uniform trousers, tightening the belt more than normal so that they stayed respectably high on her waist while taking great care to not actually look at herself during the process. From there, she grabbed a gakuran from her closet and slipped it on rapidly, stepping toward the door of her room at the same time.
"Don't forget your lunch!"
Letting out a quiet 'ah!' Izuku ripped the box from her mother's hands and charged toward the front of the house.
"Sorry! Gotta go! Thanks for lunch!" she called over her shoulder. "Bye!"
The freckled girl tore down the street, slipping between the crowds of people engaging in their everyday business as she ran full speed along her normal route. If she was lucky, she may be able to make it to the station before the train left. If she made it there, then she would definitely get to school on time.
If she had to run the whole way though…?
Well, it was far less likely.
Anyway, Medaka's body was fast. Startlingly so. In fact, the only time Izuku could remember going faster was when she used Baiken's sword skill to defeat Bakugo. The air gave palpable resistance as she pressed on, a purple trail of hair flapping in the wind behind her as she kept going.
Wow… You're really fast, Medaka.
'Oh, it's nothing special,' the girl said humbly. 'I was captain of the track team in junior high, so running like this is only to be expected.'
Given that Izuku had never seen someone move this quickly without a quirk… She was inclined to disagree.
A few minutes later, she arrived at the train station.
Allowing Medaka's instincts to guide her, Izuku hopped into the air, landing on her feet on the hand-rail that cut through the center of the stairway into the subway and grinding down the metal surface. Vaulting over the ticket-station while still scanning her card came next, and it felt as easy as skipping along a sidewalk. People were giving her looks, clearly confused why she was in such a rush and even more astonished by her over-the-top motions. She paid them no mind as she ran.
This is amazing! I feel like an olympic athlete!
'Oh, you flatter me!' Medaka responded. 'Besides, I turned down the offer to join Japan's Youth Olympic team.'
Wait, seriously—
"EEK! VILLAINS!"
Landing on a dime, literally, and then twisting on it as it skidded in an almost unnatural feat of balance, Izuku reversed direction. Ignoring the part of her that was worried about getting to school on time, she ran in the direction of trouble. Her own problems always came second to this.
A smile spread on the freckled girl's face as she felt the now familiar feeling of anticipation rise within her.
Ducking into a janitorial closet near the stairway to the surface and sending a pulse of energy at the watch-shaped tattoo that was present on the left forearm of all of her transformations, Izuku activated the function that would exchange her clothing for her costume. She didn't actually have a design prepared for Medaka yet, obviously, so she was hoping the watch would accept the vague idea she'd just come up with.
A dimmer version of the familiar green light lit up the walls of the tiny room.
Glancing down, Izuku confirmed that things had—
"Eep!"
The freckled girl was wearing a costume identical to the one Medaka wore when she appeared as an apparition—the only difference being the watch's hourglass symbol replacing the student council text on each armband—and looking down had given Izuku far more of a view than she'd expected. It only got worse when her mind automatically drew connections to the even better view she'd gotten last night…
A thin stream of blood rolled down her face as a blush covered her cheeks.
'This is much worse than I thought…' Medaka commented. 'I thought you'd made some progress, even in spite of this morning's backslide, but it seems my efforts only amounted to a temporary gain.'
R-really, it's fine! You don't need to—
'I'll just have to work harder!' the girl declared.
Sighing in defeat, Izuku chose to cede the topic for the moment, choosing instead to check the most important part of her costume: her mask. Thankfully, the watch had done what she'd hoped and created the covering she'd imagined without her needing to draw up a detailed schematic like she had done for her other costumes.
It was a simple yellow domino mask, with purple versions of the box symbol that represented Medaka on the watch's face marking the outer corners of her eyes.
"Perfect!" Izuku muttered excitedly before bursting out of the janitor's closet, narrowly missing an old man that had to be the janitor and bounding up the stairs that led outside.
The sight that greeted her was… unexpected.
There were three men, dressed in form-fitting black jumpsuits, each with a stylized white 'S' on their chests. Their faces were obscured by identical black hoods and glasses, though they each had a different number—one through three—on their foreheads. The only differences between them, besides the numbers anyway, were the goatee on the first one and the overweight nature of the third. With white gloves and boots, they were sliding around the ground like they were on roller-skates, presumably relying on their quirks to pull this off. ***
Upon seeing their odd ability, Izuku's entire body stopped.
Her mind went into overdrive without her even meaning to, analyzing the skate-like sliding the three men exhibited.
It's unlikely to be a mutant quirk—they have no evident alterations from the human norm—nor is it likely a transformation quirk for the same reason. It's almost certain they have emission quirks, exuding some kind of gas or energy from the soles of their feet.
The girl felt a distinct and very strong sensation in the back of her mind, like she was this close to a major epiphany.
'It's a shame you don't have roller skates… Their technique is flawless, and you could make excellent use of it to catch them,' Medaka commented.
What?
'Upon seeing any skill, I've always been able to replicate it perfectly when I try it myself, so you should be able to do the same,' the girl explained matter-of-factly.
Wait, is that why studying was so easy?!
'Exactly! Everyone can do these things if they just try hard enough!'
That's not how it—!
"FWA-HA-HA-HA!" the trio cried, bringing Izuku's attention back to the 'villains.' "We're the three Sturm Und Drang brothers!"
They had seen Izuku standing at the top of the stairs apparently, and were skating across the concrete toward her.
"Now, my brothers!" the man with a '1' on his forehead declared. "Time for our 'Slipstream Attack!'"
"What are you—?" Izuku asked reflexively.
Despite someone screaming a moment prior, these three seemed harmless enough, even if they were… eccentric… to be dressed like that in public. The worst she could see was that they were using their quirks publicly, but she didn't really have ground to stand on there.
As such, it didn't even occur to her to dodge them.
"I flip!" The first brother exclaimed as he skidded past the purple-haired girl, lifting her already short skirt casually.
"I strip!" The second brother cried, somehow yanking the pale-yellow panties that had come with Medaka's costume off the freckled girl.
"I wear!" The third, more rotund, brother shouted as he leaped forward, slipping the undergarments on over his costume in an impossible move made a reality only by sheer perverse dedication.
Izuku stood there in shock, staring after the three as they slid away, gradually slipping further and further away as the freckled girl struggled to process what had just happened.
'...I wonder if I should thank them for helping with your confidence training?' Medaka wondered casually, breaking Izuku out of her mental short-circuit.
With cheeks redder than a stop-sign, the freckled girl cried: "Y-you're not Villains! You're perverts!"
Instantly, she was chasing after them, holding her skirt down one-handed while the speed of her current body allowed her to keep up with them... but not quite catch up.
"We have a pursuer, my brothers!" Number Two exclaimed. "She's quite determined!"
"Never fear!" Number One cried. "Our perfect triad formation has no weaknesses!"
Skidding into the streets and swerving through traffic, the trio attempted to escape by losing Izuku in the resulting mayhem. The girl was too focused for that, though, cartwheeling over sedans and sliding beneath trucks with timing so perfect that—were Izuku paying attention to anything but catching the perverts—the purple-haired girl would probably be having a panic-attack over all the near misses.
"Ah! Another!" the first brother declared, gesturing at a random girl on the street.
She was looking at her phone and giggling occasionally as she waited at a stop-light, earbuds letting out small amounts of audible music to those around her, and therefore didn't notice the incoming trio.
"Look out!" Izuku cried in warning.
With obnoxious grins, the brothers slid forward.
"I flip!" the first exclaimed.
"I strip!" The second cried, yanking the poor girl's undergarments away.
"I wear!" The third shouted, tossing away Medaka's panties and replacing them with the newest pair.
Blushing from the situation, Izuku darted to the side and snagged the yellow underwear before it could blow away in the wind, bouncing up into a flip and replacing them properly while her body was upside-down.
It's fine… They were over his suit… It's still sanitary…
'It was certainly helping your self-consciousness for them to be missing, however…' Medaka pointed out. 'Perhaps you should—'
I AM NOT GOING TO RUN AROUND HALF-NAKED!
'You don't need to yell,' the girl replied with an audible pout. 'I'm just trying to help...'
Landing on the ground with a solid 'thump,' the still red-faced Izuku continued her chase. Unfortunately, her re-dressing maneuver had cost her valuable time. The Sturm Und Drang brothers had gained quite the lead, and their continued evasive maneuvers were making the distance between them grow even larger.
Still determined, she recklessly pursued them through the winding streets and alleys. From an intersection, to a shopping mall, and into a skate park, she followed them. The trio repeated their perverse performance on several young women along the way, boosting Izuku's motivation significantly.
"EEK! PERVERT!" the latest victim shrieked. "HELP!"
She appeared to be a waitress for a small restaurant near the skate park, and was spinning in circles indefinitely from the unfortunate combination of the force of the perverted trio's theft and the fact that her uniform included a pair of roller skates that she clearly had little experience in using.
Skidding to a halt, Izuku latched onto the girl's elbow and gently pulled her to a stop.
"H-huh? Why'd you stop…?" the girl asked, her body swaying slightly from her dizziness.
"Saving people comes first," Izuku declared without hesitation. The purple-haired girl turned her head to look at the Sturm Und Drang brothers… who were already so far away that there was no hope of running after them effectively. "I... can catch up to them…"
"Um… Would my skates help?" the waitress asked.
'Perfect!' Medaka exclaimed. 'Put them on, quickly! We can still catch up with these!'
"Yes, actually… Are you sure though?" Izuku replied, hesitant to accept the assistance.
"Of course! It's for a good cause!" the girl replied as she slipped off the shoes. "I just hope they fit."
"Right!" Izuku nodded, taking the offered shoes and strapping them on, hanging her slippers off the belt of her skirt. "I'll have them back to you as soon as I can!"
So saying, the purple-haired girl sped away from the scene, Medaka's penchant for athletics in general allowing her to adjust to the slippery nature of the roller skates with ease.
'Now, think back to how the brothers were moving earlier,' Medaka interjected suddenly. 'What were they doing to move so fast?'
Trusting the girl with minimal hesitation, Izuku did as she was told, considering how the trio had been sliding so effectively.
They were moving their arms forward and backwards, like someone usually does when sprinting, while… speed walking as they slid. It almost looked like they were on a conveyor belt and going in the same direction it was moving.
'And…?' Medaka added leadingly.
...They were swaying from side to side with each… step…
The incredibly distinct feeling from earlier, the one that had resulted from analyzing their quirks… It made the final leap from being almost complete to actually clicking into place. It was very satisfying, like solving a puzzle after hours of work.
Without any real effort, Izuku began mimicking the pervert trio's technique perfectly, moving with the same swaying motions and speed walking steps. As a result, her speed rapidly increased, accelerating beyond her previous maximum and then even further beyond that. Her ever-present grin widened as she heard the distant shouts increase in volume.
She was gaining on the villains.
"I wear!" the third cried as Izuku finally got close enough to see them again.
Putting even more effort into her efforts, the freckled girl generated an extra burst of speed, bringing her just out of range of the three brothers.
"My brothers! Our pursuer!" Number Two cried. "She's returned! With ROLLER SKATES!"
"Into the alley!" Number One exclaimed.
Stomping her foot into the ground, Izuku launched herself over the trio, landing directly in front of them, and cutting off their intended escape route right as they made their turn. All three of their eyes widened as they struggled to halt their incredible momentum, to no avail.
The last thing they saw before unconsciousness hit them was Izuku's bright smile… and then her fists.
…
I'm going to be late-I'm going to be late-I'm going to—
'Never fear, Izuku!' Medaka interjected. 'You've got time to spare!'
That clock we just passed at the street corner said it was 7:59! I need to be past the school gates by 8!
'Like I said! Plenty of time!'
Chasing, knocking out, and then tying up the troublesome trio had taken far too much time, not that the temporary-girl regretted doing so, but it did mean that she was even more desperate to get to school on time. The roller skates really helped though.
Rounding the corner, she barreled down the main street on her borrowed shoes, looking more like a purple and blue blur than a person.
Up ahead Izuku could see the gates to her school closing even as she strained to put on an extra burst of speed. Now at what felt like maximum velocity, she could barely handle the air resistance, tears pooling in her eyes as the wind whipped at her hair.
That's when she noticed him.
Standing, well leaning, against the inside of the gate was a familiar blonde—his head pointing at the sky as he waited impatiently.
Why is Bakugo there…?
Then Izuku remembered.
"Oh, and tell him this too…" the boy had said. "We need to talk."
A familiar tingling sensation spread across Izuku's skin. The transformation was ending. Using Medaka's ability to study and her other unique skills had used up a lot of energy, yes, but the freckled girl needed just a little more time.
I'm almost there!
The gate was halfway closed now, and she was barely a hundred meters away. Dumping the rest of her energy, Izuku forced herself to push even a little bit faster.
80 meters…
60 meters…
'Well, this is goodbye for now!' Medaka declared. 'Make sure to ace your exam, Izuku! I know you'll do it!'
40 meters...
No! Not yet!
20—
In a burst of red light, the transformation dissipated, leaving a green-haired boy in place of Medaka's freckled duplicate. With the disappearance of the transformation also came the return of Izuku's school uniform.
Unfortunately, now that he was back in his proper body… he didn't have Medaka's unreal athleticism… nor her ability to replicate skills perfectly.
Oh cra—
Almost immediately, the boy lost his balance.
Before today, Izuku had never been on a pair of skates, and there was no way he was going to learn in the two seconds it took for him to trip and fall over his own legs. Worse still, he was moving at an incredible rate, the momentum from a moment earlier still carrying him forward faster than a car in a school zone.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he screamed as his feet lost contact with the ground.
Flying forward and on a straight collision-course with the front of the school building, he narrowly passed through the gap of the mostly closed school gate—
With a flash of yellow energy and a crackle of orange electricity, a hand blurred in the corner of his eye, latching onto Izuku's collar and resisting all of his force with incredible strength. The person that had grabbed him slid on the ground, still holding onto Izuku as the wind whooshed past the two and impacted the school building. As the two slowed down and the green-haired boy's momentum died, gravity finally caught up to him—leading to him landing gracelessly on the soft dirt beneath him.
Dazed and feeling like he'd just been on an impromptu rollercoaster, Izuku yanked the roller skates off his feet and pulled himself up shakily. He only had to keep himself from emptying his stomach once!
Given how fast he'd been going, that was a victory in his mind.
"What. The. Fuck… Was that, Deku?" his… savior… growled from behind him.
Spinning around and nearly losing his balance from the suddenness of his own motion and the still settling butterflies in his stomach, he turned to face Bakugo.
"Haha…" the boy chuckled awkwardly.
What do I say…?!
He had absolutely no idea how to interact with his former bully. Gone were the days where he would stand there and take the boy's harassment and cruelty… but then again, it also seemed like the blonde wasn't really doing those things anymore…
"How in the hell were you going that fast…?" the blonde continued. "You looked like a purple blur, and were outpacing the cars. That's not something you can pull off without…"
The boy trailed off, his gaze boring holes into Izuku's own as a suspicious look appeared on his face.
"Midoriya…" the boy growled, his tone scratchy and angry. Like he'd been… lied to.
"Do you have a quirk?"
OMAKE
AN:
Initially, I planned to introduce my first Outtake here to set the standard for what they would be, especially since it would contrast last chapter's Omake, but...
This idea just works too well, so it'll be a few chapters before we get our first Outtake. Don't worry though! They'll still happen eventually!
For now, though, we have the first in a multi-part series…
Life in the Watch!
It was just Ryoko's luck that after waking up from a several century nap and claiming her very own little sister a short while ago, she would find herself trapped within this stupid freaking cave again…
The sight of the geometric blocks with glowing blue liquid floating through their cracks was so familiar by now that she could probably draw it from memory… and she was terrible at drawing! Well, no, she wasn't terrible at anything, thank you very much… But it wasn't her… most perfected skillset.
Anyway, Ryoko couldn't remember how she ended up in the cave in the first place, nor how she wound up in this near perfect duplicate that only allowed her out to visit her new little sibling… But she did remember bits and pieces of what came before that.
She'd been… a space pirate?
Well, it was something like that. She hadn't been the captain, but she was his second in command, she was certain of that. The man hadn't been a fighter, always fiddling with his machines and inventions, but he did know how to point her in the right direction for having fun.
The amount of havoc she caused was legendary! Entire planets feared the reputation of the great and terrible Ryoko!
Though… the actual memory of how exactly she earned that reputation was… fuzzy. She blew up a lot of stuff though, that she was sure of! It was a shame she couldn't recall much else of that particularly fun part of her life...
That wasn't important though! Especially since she was stuck in this horrible, boring, cave with no way out!
There was a subtle difference between the current cavern and the one she remembered, though. This one seemed… welcoming, in a way. It had several geometric rocks that stuck out of the floor at her command, forming furniture or other simple objects when she desired. The old cave had never done that, and it had seemed… hostile. Like it was barely tolerating her presence because it meant she wasn't outside instead. It was really depressing if she gave it too much thought…
So she didn't!
Worrying about the past wasn't Ryoko's style! Who cared about the past! She had a… decent… place to stay and a little sister to play with whenever she wanted. Life was great!
Besides, with how impossible it was to tell if time was passing in here, she could just take a nap whenever blowing up rocks got boring. Of course, even that would get boring eventually…
"Muu…" the brightly blue-haired young woman groaned.
Flinging an orange orb at a geometric wall carelessly, Ryoko barely reacted to the sphere boring a hole through the stone. Dragging her index finger through the air lazily resulted in the orb floating in identical patterns, carving through the rock effortlessly and filling the thing with holes until…
CRUNCH!
The formation collapsed to the ground under its own weight.
"This is boring…" she complained. "There's nothing to do, and I've already taken… two…? Three…? Well, a bunch of naps!"
Ryoko slumped over the side of her seat, the upper half of her torso dangling from the armrest comically as her hair drooped to the side.
"When's Izu-chan going to do something…? We've only played together once! Is she ignoring me…? Muu..."
As if on queue, something in the cave shifted.
Despite the fact it made no sound, Ryoko perked up instantly. She knew everything that happened in her abode, somehow, and the fact that an orange door popped into existence at one end immediately caught her attention.
"Oooh…!" she exclaimed, her interest piqued.
Hopping from her stone chair, she skipped over to the new exit. Without any hesitation, she reached for the doorknob, pulling the door open to reveal—
To be continued...
OMAKE END
*This symbol is actually part of the logo for the series Medaka comes from! If you look at the text, you'll see this purple box resting right among the letters.
**Medaka comes from the relatively niche series Medaka Box, and I'm using her original design from the start of the series. Her design goes through several notable changes over the course of the manga/anime, and I always liked her first look the best—it feels the most in character and iconic of them all.
***The Sturm Und Drang brothers are actually canon! Sorta…
They're minor antagonists from the MHA: Vigilantes series, which Horikoshi has said 'takes place in the same MHA universe…' but community opinion varies on whether or not it's considered canon. I'll personally be considering it such, and I plan to take from its content for future ideas.
AN:
Boy was this chapter a surprise, even to me!
I've been planning the vague idea of Izuku's exam troubles for weeks now, and I only came up with the idea of making his prudish nature into this much of a problem as I was writing the chapter! You guys in the review section inspired the idea with some of your comments, so thanks for that!
Speaking of the Izuku's exam worries… Medaka has joined the party!
Medaka is the first member of the roster to come from a reviewer suggestion, and I hadn't even heard of the series she comes from until then! At first, I was dismissive, a quick glance at her wiki page horrifying me with the sheer absurdity of her ability list… but then I gave the anime a shot.
She grew on me quite quickly, and I found myself enjoying her unique personality and way of looking at the world. I'm not much of an anime watcher though, it takes too much time, so I binged a hundred chapters of the manga over a few days to get a better perspective and ultimately decided to include her.
There are a few things to mention, though.
Like Hinata, she's being taken from a very specific point in her source material's timeline, and won't have her 'complete' moveset or experience. This is mainly because, after a certain point (the Minus 13 arc was good for a while but didn't resolve well in my opinion, and what followed lost my interest), I thought the series was dragging on longer than it was meant to.
Secondly, I've notably altered her abilities, re-balancing them and simplifying them from the borderline Mary-sue levels she has in canon to something more reasonable while still retaining what makes her interesting. More detail will follow on this topic as Izuku learns more in the narrative.
As you've probably noticed, it's been much longer between 2B and Medaka's introductions than between Baiken and 2B. That's on purpose, and will continue from here. Waifus will be introduced much slower now, though the exact gap will vary, and there's a rough limit on how many of them will be introduced in each Arc of the story too so as to avoid throwing too much at Izuku too quickly.
Now, what did you all think of today's episode of Friday's With the Waifus?
I'm starting to get into the groove of things, and it's getting easier to make, so it's working out on my end. I would like some questions for the other waifus on the roster though, because I'm starting to run low on what I have prepared for following weeks.
As for the first large chunk of this chapter… Bakugo.
The not-so-golden boy is growing! Woohoo! He's finally showing some positive changes in behavior! Ain't it great? There's more to come, of course, but it's quite the milestone. Mark your calendars everyone! He's managed to put the 'right thing' above his own personal needs/desires.
On the topic of milestones… This story is just shy of 250 Followers and 100 Reviews! Woah! That's kind of weird to consider for me, I won't lie. It's great that so many people are enjoying the story! I hope you'll be around for the next milestone, and the one after that! Thank you all so much for reading, and I'll see you next week!