ZZzZZZzZZZzZZZ… Huh?
Oh, right! The show!
Welcome to…
Our host takes a pause to yawn.
Fridays with the Waifus!
Today's guest is… Who was it again?
Glancing down at a clipboard that appeared suddenly in his hand, our host flipped through several sheets of paper.
Right! Medaka!
With a snap of our host's fingers, the aforementioned purple-haired girl appears in a burst of smoke, immediately slipping into a pose with her fan partially covering her customary lovably smug grin.
'Kurokami Medaka, at your service!'
Well, aren't you chipper?
'Why wouldn't I be? I was born to help people, but I don't have my suggestion box anymore… So this is quite refreshing!'
Ah, of course.
'So, what can I do for you today?'
Right, well, the audience has a couple questions for you. If you could, be quick about it. I want to get back to my nap…
Our host pauses to yawn again.
I've been doing far too much work for my liking, lately, and—Ah, it doesn't matter. Here's what we have for today…
"What's your waifu habitat like?"
"Did you enjoy Izuku being all grabby in his sleep?"
The girl tapped the side of her head with her fan idly as she pondered the first question.
'I haven't heard the phrase "waifu habitat" before, but I'm going to assume it means the place I stay in the watch?'
Correct! Right on the nose, Medaka.
'Well, I live in an impressive recreation of Hakoniwa Academy, though I tend to spend a lot of time in the student council room, taking care of the flowers. There aren't any real people, so walking the halls gets kind of lonely…'
That's unfortunate… Do you really spend all your time taking care of the plants?
'Of course not! That'd be silly! No, I also spend a lot of my time in the library, picking up new skill sets and memorizing books so I can help Izuku better. The more information I can offer him, the better off he is!'
That's quite altruistic of you! But, speaking of Izuku, what about the audience's second question…?
'Hmm… I'm not quite sure what they're talking about… Oh! Are they referencing the comment I made after Izuku took a nap with me?'
That sounds right to me, so let's go with that!
'Sorry to disappoint, but that was a white lie. I'm trying to get Izuku more comfortable with sharing someone else's body, so I… may have made that up.'
Really? That's a bit mean! The poor boy is going to be hospitalized for blood loss one of these days, between you and Rias—!
'Oh, don't even get me started on that skank!'
…Oh? This sounds very interesting. Please, continue!
'Izuku is mine! Yet that devil is determined to claim him like some kind of object for her collection!'
And you aren't trying to do that…?
'Of course not! I'm just trying to make him the best that he can be! He's my project, not her plaything!'
You sound almost like your brother, there. Are you going to start talking about maxing out Izuku's 'stats' next?
The girl's eyebrows started to twitch as her fingers began to tap to their own rhythm, denting the table with each jab.
Actually, now that I think of it, maybe that's why you don't get along with Rias! You're just too similar to each other!
Medaka's grip on her fan tightened noticeably, starting to crack the thing as her smile thinned to a cold line. Behind her, her hair started to flutter like there was a gust of wind…
'I suggest you stop talking, Mr. Host…!'
You both have brothers that dote on you to the point of being kind of creepy, you both have practically the same figure, you even both enjoy being a tease with how you dress and speak!
'Mr. Host… I'm warning you…!'
Hell, you both have a group of students as your friends and subordinates, with a standout boy you fell in love—!
SMASH!
The purple-haired girl's foot crashed through the table, her absurd athleticism granting her strength far beyond the norm as she split the thing in half with her heel.
'I really hate it when I get angry…'
N-now, there's no need for—
'Shut up…!'
With great rapidity, our host mimed zipping his mouth closed, taking a few steps backward.
'I hate being angry… Because normally, I'm always in control. No matter what…!'
The girl stepped forward, her hair writhing behind her as it shifted in tone towards a blazing pink.
'But when I get angry… I go berserk…'
The girl's glare was piercing as her hands tightened into fists.
'Normally, I wouldn't have let you get to me… But the thing is… and I don't know how this is the case… but I'm certain you can take it—!'
Medaka lunged across the gap between her and our dear host, who turned to flee and—Oh… Oh god… Cut to the—
We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties.
Please Tune In Again Next Time.
For Now, Please Enjoy Your Regularly Scheduled Programming.
As Our Host Would say…
'On With the Show!'
—
Monday, After School…
'Move your ass, Boya!' Baiken ordered.
Leaning to the side, Izuku narrowly managed to avoid the blunted icicle aimed at her head, wincing at the scrape it left on her tattooed cheek and running forward before something else could hit her.
'That thing was moving slower than a blind man in a minefield!' Baiken declared relentlessly. 'How could you let it hit you?!'
Hurling herself to the side, the pink-haired girl narrowly avoided the floating wall of concrete that would have smacked into her face, barely getting to her feet in time to swing the length of rebar she had in her left hand, shattering the hail of ice that was waiting for her with blunt swings.
"Would you shut up…?!" Izuku growled, her sentiment filtered through Baiken's rough mannerisms.
Rushing toward the building in the distance, Izuku bobbed and weaved through the various obstacles present—moving from ice pillar to pile of debris and so on as she closed the distance.
'Hah!' the woman laughed. 'Maybe if you stop wasting my body!'
A blast of floating concrete smacked into Izuku's legs out of nowhere, not moving with enough force to injure, but easily taking away the freckled girl's balance. Tumbling forward, she reached out with her right hand in an attempt to flip herself over… but her body had other plans and positioned itself for a complete frontflip instead of a one-handed cartwheel.
Baiken's reflexes simply didn't acknowledge the existence of the fourth limb, leading to Izuku trying to maneuver in two separate ways at once and smashing into the ground painfully. Her pink mane flapped in the air as she skidded forward, coming to an awkward halt a moment later.
'Wow, you really are pathetic—'
Thwick!
A piece of ice embedded itself into the dirt at the girl's side, serving as a warning to get moving or else.
Kipping up handlessly in a feat of strength Izuku was, unfortunately, sure she couldn't manage in her base form, the girl continued running forward towards the single-story building up ahead.
I know I'm not the best, but do you have anything helpful to say…?
Lashing out on partially borrowed instinct, Izuku managed to deflect several pieces of dirt and rubble, forced to ignore the stinging impact of what she missed.
'Feh, fine…' Baiken agreed reluctantly. 'This is only because I owe you one after finishing off the barrier, got that, boya?'
Izuku twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the chaotic mixture of a shotgun-blast of old furniture and a floor covered in jagged ice. Her chest stuck out still, getting nicked by several bits of debris and cutting into her shirt enough to expose some skin.
"How the hell do you deal with these things?!" Izuku grumbled at her torso, her words filtered yet again through Baiken's mannerisms.
'Do you want my help or not?' Baiken cut in irritably.
Sorry! You know I don't mean anything I say out loud!
Slashing through the cage of ice that started forming around her, Izuku turned to the side, choosing a different path through the mostly open field that would have a bit more cover.
'Tch. Be honest, boya… You were definitely bitchin' about the girls there…'
…Oops…?
The woman sighed, and Izuku could almost hear her grumbling in aggravation, but she continued anyway.
'Whatever… Just shut up and listen, will ya?'
Izuku nodded, even as she dodged. Her current route seemed to be no better than the last. There was a ring of empty space surrounding her destination, devoid of all cover and almost impossible to cross without being pelted by projectiles. Technically, she could just force her way through and ignore the pain, but given that the whole point of the exercise was to treat them like lethally sharp spikes… that wasn't a good idea.
'I'm not too fancy of a fighter, so I've really got three major things I use in a fight,' Baiken began to explain. 'Swordsmanship in general comes first, with some particularly strong attacks like the "Garyou Tensei" you barely managed to use against that blonde brat.'
Izuku hopped into the air, lashing out with her 'blade' of rebar at a particularly large airborne spike and dodging the wave of ice that threatened to trap her feet simultaneously.
'Next is my grappling hook and it's associated moves, but you're keepin' that in reserve because of your 'vigilante' crap,' Baiken continued.
Hey! It's not 'crap!'
'Call it what you want, boya. It's still ridiculous,' the woman said dismissively, before pressing on. 'Last on the list is "Ki," though it's probably not any different to how you already use energy in your case...'
Panting a bit, Izuku leaned up against a stone pillar that was jutting out of the ground, catching her breath out of sight of the building she was targeting.
'Usually, I just use it for my "Azami" counter or to enhance my attacks—making my blade far sharper and extending it's effective range a bit—but I occasionally use it in its raw form as a simplistic blast to knock the enemy off balance. It doesn't do much damage that way, but it staggers 'em enough to cut before they can react most of the time,' the woman went on. 'Of course, there's also the 'ol reliable… "Tatami Gaeshi."'
A boulder of ice a bit wider than Izuku was tall smashed into the pillar, shattering the concrete and sending Izuku diving away, 'blade' of rebar clenched in her teeth as she used her left hand to catch herself and flip forward.
Again, her reflexes ignored the existence of her right arm.
'But technically that's magic, although that's the only spell I ever managed to learn,' Baiken continued. 'It's… was… a family spell…'
The woman trailed off into silence, leaving Izuku with no commentary as the freckled girl strained to keep up with the seemingly endless barrage of ice that erupted from the abandoned strip mall's roof. For whatever reason, Uraraka no longer seemed to be assisting with her own abilities, so it was 'only' ice, but that didn't make it any easier.
Reaching within and channeling her energy, Izuku searched for something to help her get out of this unrelenting swarm.
The moment she felt that she'd found a technique or ability, the pink-haired girl rushed to use it. With no conscious input, she raised her one leg high, toes pointed at the sky, and smashed downward, stomping into the ground within a lull of the barrage.
"Tatami Gaeshi…!" she announced reflexively.
With a burst of pink energy, which quickly fragmented into rapidly dissipating sakura petals, a tatami mat appeared in front of Izuku. It was standing vertically, tipping ever so slightly forward and already starting to fall. Without hesitation, Izuku charged forward, letting the thick straw mat take the brunt of the projectiles ahead as she pushed with her shoulder, 'blade' still gripped tightly in her left hand.
The impromptu shield only lasted so long, rapidly filling with dents, tears, and holes from the onslaught of ice, but it had served its purpose in letting her close in on her target—dissipating into nothingness the moment she let it fall to the ground.
'There ya go, Boya. Finally using your head,' Baiken commented.
Letting out a few heavy breaths, Izuku slipped into the building, only to be met with a ridiculous sight…
The place was a deathtrap!
In the distance, she could see a ray of sunlight peeking out from the ladder that led to the roof, but between that and the entrance was a chaotic mess of shelves, cinder blocks, i-beams, and other assorted heavy objects precariously holding each other up as a second ceiling. Sporadically placed pillars were the only supports keeping the ridiculous mess of objects aloft, but even that didn't seem like it was enough to support all that weight...
"Hey Izuku!"
Stepping out from behind one of the pillars nearest the ladder, Uraraka waved cheerily at the pink-haired girl. She was covered in a light sheen of sweat, her left eye twitching from an unseen strain as she visibly clenched and unclenched her one hand.
"I did my best to make it hard, so be careful, okay?" the girl called. "I'll be over here, but don't worry, you just need to get to the ladder to beat me!"
With that, she sat down next to the ladder, a folding chair conveniently placed nearby, and made her 'focus' gesture that Izuku remembered from the construction site… though this time her eyes were open and watching the freckled girl closely…
"What's the catch…?" Izuku mumbled, stepping cautiously underneath the canopy of stone—
Instantly, the temporary-girl sidestepped the singular cinder block that was perfectly aimed to conk her on the head, lashing out with her rebar 'sword' reflexively and gouging the steel halfway into the concrete block. Tearing the weapon back out of its target a moment later, Izuku cautiously made her way forward, batting the occasional object away…
"Shit!"
Izuku leaped backward, an entire shelf falling from above and cutting off the path ahead. Before she could react, another object began to fall, triggered by the release of the shelf, leaving the temporary-girl with no choice but to run to the side.
She got several feet to the right before—
Whumpf!
A second shelf cut off that route.
Smashing the flower pot that would have shattered against her shoulder, Izuku darted away again, trying to get back on track to—
Whumpf!
"Tch," the girl muttered.
Had Shoto given Uraraka tips or something?! This was practically the same strategy the boy had used when fighting Izuku the day they met.
But… Unlike Shoto…
Grinning brightly in her usual manner, though Baiken's features twisted Izuku's expression into a cocky smirk, the pink-haired looked straight up.
She can't stop me from going up!
Bounding off the shelf nearby, Izuku flipped up above the canopy, stepping from object to object with ease—even as they collapsed beneath her—and rushed toward the ladder. Within a few moments, she was there, leaping off an I-beam and latching onto the top of the ladder with her left arm, 'blade' held in her teeth yet again.
"Ooh! That was great!" Uraraka cheered, releasing her gesture and letting everything in the building smash into the ground. Her tenseness faded as soon as she allowed everything to start falling.
The sound was deafening, given the sheer amount of items, but the girl continued after a few moments, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
"I can't believe I didn't plan anything for you going on top of everything!"
"Dun' woawwy 'boud id!" Izuku replied, the sound garbled by the rebar she was still holding in her mouth.
'Seriously? Even marimos can talk properly with their sword in their mouth!'* Baiken admonished.
"...What?" Uraraka asked.
…Sorry? I didn't know that was important…
Reaching up, Izuku grabbed the thing with her right hand and repeated her statement.
"Don't worry about it!" she said. "You'll figure it out!"
"Thanks!" Uraraka smiled. "...But you should probably focus on Shoto."
"Huh—?"
A thick icicle, the size of Izuku's currently feminine forearm, stabbed into the wall a few inches from her nose.
"Gah!"
Startled, the girl let go of the ladder, barely managing to latch onto it again before she could start falling.
"Is there something going on down there?" Shoto's voice echoed from above. "I've been waiting for a while…"
"Impatient jackass…" Izuku muttered.
Blinking, she frowned. There really was no escape from Baiken's rudeness…
Her moment of annoyance complete, she vaulted onto the roof, turning to face the twin-toned teen immediately. The boy was standing directly across from her, on the opposite corner of the building and about a dozen meters away. He was tapping his foot impatiently, a look of mild boredom on his face.
"Are you ready yet…?"
Behind him was an arched pillar of ice that hung partially over the edge of the roof, a multitude of partially formed spikes growing from its surface that were aimed at the yard below. Was this what he'd been using to bombard her earlier…?
Of course I'm ready!
"Thought you'd never ask, punk!" her mouth declared.
Wincing, she sighed.
"Just… ignore the random crap I say, okay…? I literally can't help myself," Izuku clarified.
In lieu of a response, Shoto flicked his wrist in a circular motion, sending a wave of ice across the entire roof.
Izuku jumped over it, rushing at the boy to try and stop him as fast as possible. In a protracted fight, Shoto would easily have the advantage. Honestly, he already had the advantage against Izuku. Unlike Rias' body, Baiken's form had no way to fly, and Izuku wasn't confident in her ability to unleash an attack like the one she surprised Bakugo with before Shoto trapped her in ice.
Something that powerful, and that fast, would no doubt win the fight in the blink of an eye, but it was useless to her right now with the amount of charge-up time she still needed to use the move.
"Crap…!"
A wall of ice appeared directly in front of her, obstructing her line of sight and path toward Shoto. Instantly, she bounded to the side, expecting an attack—
A crystalline pillar exploded through the wall, coming to a halt in the spot she'd been standing a moment prior, while the floor's icy coating beneath her swung up at an angle, flinging her into the air. From her new perspective up above, she could see that Shoto hadn't moved at all from his initial position, and—
A massive block of ice flew at her from above, launched from a structure that Shoto had made in Izuku's blind spot on the ground, and she knew she only had a split second to react.
Channeling her energy, Izuku reached for anything in Baiken's unexplored repertoire that could counter—
A name instantly came to her mind, carried to her by the woman's instincts.
"Azami…!" she muttered, raising her left arm and holding her 'blade' with the tip pointed behind her and toward her feet, creating a guard-like gesture that itself wasn't effective, but the shimmering barrier of pink energy that accompanied the gesture was certain to absorb the impact.
In her mind's eye, she could see the moment when the ice would connect with the energy, the barrier's incredible brevity granting it equally incredible power, and it would nullify all the force behind the attack, granting her a split second to counter, evade, or anything else she could think of.
The barrier wasn't all-powerful, it could still be overwhelmed, she was sure, but for now it would be more than—
The pink barrier dissipated an instant after it appeared, and Izuku realized her mistake. She'd activated it too soon.
"Oh shi—!"
The ice block smashed into her brutally, flinging her at the roof with enough force to send her vision into blackness for a moment. The impact from hitting the building shattered the ice she landed on into a crater, leaving her limp in the middle of the spiderweb cracks for several long moments.
'Get up, boya!'
Wincing in pain, Izuku stabbed her 'blade' into the ground beneath her, using it to pull herself to her feet—
Ice swarmed her legs, encapsulating the limbs before she could take a single step and moving up even further, wrapping around her torso until it reached past her shoulders, sealing off her movement entirely and leaving her stuck in a partial kneeling position.
'Ugh… You're hopeless…' Baiken grumbled.
"...I believe that's the end of the match…" Shoto declared as he approached.
Izuku's face twisted into a scowl, though inwardly she was closer to moping than she was to raging.
"Dammit…" she growled.
The fight was… very anticlimactic.
"Woah, that was fast!" Uraraka exclaimed as she rushed over.
Silently, Shoto walked right up to Izuku, raising his left hand up toward the pink-haired girl.
"What're you doing…? Doesn't your right hand control the ice, dumba—"
Flames burst from the boy's limb, springing into existence with a roar as he began to heat up the ice covering the temporary girl. Izuku stared in awe, her expression sitting oddly on Baiken's face as she watched the fire dance along the boy's skin.
What little ice had sprung up on his right side melted away instantly, the heat bringing his body into perfect equilibrium as the biting cold constraining Izuku gradually grew warmer.
"That's…" she trailed off. "Amazing…!"
The other teen's expression darkened a bit, but the freckled girl didn't even notice.
"I've never seen a quirk like yours!" she exclaimed, for once seemingly unaffected by Baiken's mannerisms. "It's perfect! The ability to generate and control elements isn't exactly uncommon, but I've never heard of someone wielding two elements that perfectly balance each other's weaknesses like this!"
More than half of the ice coating Izuku's body was gone by now, though the flame-bearing boy only seemed to be getting more and more annoyed.
"How come you've never used your fire until now…?" Izuku asked. "It's not good to neglect part of your skillset like—"
"Shut up," Shoto interrupted darkly.
Izuku recoiled, startled by the terse response.
"You don't know anything, so don't try and solve my problems for me," the teen continued.
As the last of the ice melted away, the boy extinguished his flames, looking no worse for the wear from using that aspect of his quirk.
"I only used… that," the boy spat, "because you would have gotten frostbite if I left you to sit until my ice melted on its own."
"Umm… I know I'm new here, but…" Uraraka tried to interrupt. "You don't need to—"
Shoto abruptly turned away, walking towards the ladder that led back into the building.
"I…" he mumbled, pausing at the hole. With a sigh, he continued, "That was unnecessary. Sorry."
Glancing back at the other two teenagers, he continued.
"Let's… just go talk about what Izuku needs to work on to win his fight, okay…?"
"...Right." Izuku nodded hesitantly.
"Hmm… Fine…" Uraraka agreed with narrowed eyes. "Don't think that means I've forgotten this though, mister…"
…
'Well, someone's got a stick up his ass,' Baiken commented idly.
I don't get it… Why did he get so upset?
The temporary girl slid down the ladder, coming to a stop with a light smack of her sneakers against the concrete.
'Hell if I know, boya.'
Following the twin-toned teen towards a nearby table, which had a few chairs arranged around it, Izuku kept her eyes on the boy—as if she could glean some answers just by looking at him. Uraraka followed close behind, taking a seat at the table at the same time as the other two.
"Hmm…" Shoto hummed, the tension from a few moments ago already gone from his blank expression. "Where to begin…?"
"Well—" Izuku began.
"Ah! That's where," Shoto cut in absentmindedly.
Turning to look Izuku directly in her currently pink eyes, he continued.
"You're terrible."
"Hah…?" the temporary girl breathed in annoyance, Baiken's delinquent demeanor once again coming to the fore.
"You're a complete beginner, at war with the reflexes of your body, and still trying to figure out basic skills and attacks. I'm near certain that the tatami mat you conjured was the first one you've ever made, and you have little to no understanding of effective tactics," Shoto explained nonchalantly. "You rushed in against an element user, who you are well aware favors crowd control strategies, without considering at all how you were going to avoid my ability to freeze you solid."
Tilting his head to the side, as if in consideration, the boy went on.
"I've no real idea what this body's quirk is, despite the fact you conjured that mat, because that was literally the only time you used whatever your quirk is. You could have made a mat midair and used it to push off of, gaining some semblance of control over your motion, or used it to cushion your impact and give you a small chance to get moving before my ice encased you."
Pausing briefly for a breath, he kept going.
"Beyond that, you seem reliant on a weapon, yet you don't have any kind of proper equipment… From everything you've displayed… You have no chance against this Bakugo fellow if he's been training as long as you say he has."
Izuku and Uraraka stared in astonishment, startled by how effectively Shoto had broken down those concepts but also just how much authority he'd spoken with. Who was this, and where was the awkward boy with an odd type of common sense…?
…What just happened?
'He tore you a new one, Boya,' Baiken answered. 'He was nicer than I would have been.'
"R-right…" Uraraka stumbled. "Um… Is there something we can do to help Izuku, though?"
"Well, the first thing I need to know is what quirk this body has," Shoto declared, putting his elbows on the table and leaning forward. "As well as anything you can tell me about Bakugo's abilities. With that… maybe we can devise a strategy that can let you beat an opponent with vastly more experience…"
—
Wednesday…
Tapping his foot impatiently, Bakugo stared at the clock on the wall.
It was only Wednesday, and the waiting was already getting to him. He still had most of the week to go until the fight, but that wasn't what he couldn't get out of his head…
"I can't do this… Forget it."
He was such a fucking coward.
It was two measly words. That's it! Anyone could say them, it was so easy!
Yet… He couldn't.
He'd walked away, on the cusp of doing what he was sure was the right thing, the thing that would make All Might proud in that special way no one else had ever been. Moreover, it was the kind of thing he needed to be capable of if he wanted to be like his idol, wasn't it? The number one hero could easily say two little words.
He wasn't afraid of anything.
Shut up! I'm not fucking afraid…
Glancing to the side, the blonde noticed the familiar green hair of the subject of his stress, though the other boy seemed to be dealing with his own kind of problems—given how pale he was and how deep the bags under his eyes were, especially with the way he had his head on his desk, quietly groaning every few minutes...
It would be so easy to speak up now, get Midoriya's attention—
At the very thought of apologizing, Bakugo's hand began to tremble…
—then he'd just need to—
I. Am not… Scared!
Bakugo smashed his one fist onto his other, shaking hand, refusing to acknowledge what it signified. He wasn't scared! Why the hell would he be scared of Deku?! The useless wimp couldn't do anything to him!
Yet, a little part of him whispered the thought:
If you're not scared of him… then what are you so scared of…? Maybe what you're really scared of is being wro—
The teacher ceased his droning, turning to stare with the rest of the class at the blonde.
"What?!" Bakugo exclaimed. "Do I have something on my face?!"
"Well, er…" the man trailed off, gesturing at the blonde's desk.
Following his gaze, Bakugo turned to look at—
Oh.
There was a palm-shaped imprint in the laminate surface, a slight spark of orange energy sparking from his fist before he pulled both limbs away from the indentation.
"Shit… Sor—" he began, only to cut himself off with a wince—his eyes darting to the side toward a certain green-haired teen, who himself had barely looked over.
"I'll fix it later…" he said quietly, lifting his feet onto the desk and covering the damage with his shoes, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms defensively.
"...Right…" the teacher trailed off, seeming more confused by the occurrence than truly upset.
Feh. Typical. Spineless like the rest of the extras…
Turning his gaze away from his teacher and up toward the ceiling, he listened as the man went back to his lecture. One thought stuck out to him, though, as he tried to focus on his teacher's lecturing.
…All Might wouldn't have let me get away with that.
—
Friday Afternoon…
Izuku let out yet another groan quietly, wincing from the familiar jabbing inside his skull. Glancing blearily at the clock, he was overjoyed to see class would be ending any minute, releasing him from the torment of experiencing a history lecture with a migraine.
The past week at school had been… an experience, and he was incredibly happy that it was almost over… Though he wasn't looking forward to what would come next.
He'd gotten a few odd looks from people, but no one seemed to care that he was practically a zombie half of the time. As long as he answered when called on in class and didn't draw too much attention to himself, they were content to let him go about his business.
On one hand, it was convenient, but it was also kind of depressing…
The highlight of each day was, without doubt, the time he got to spend training with Shoto and Uraraka—and however long his transformation lasted after that. Being free of his sickly issues for even a few hours was well worth the price of sharing Baiken's body for a while.
More importantly, he was making progress.
Using the pink-haired woman's abilities was getting much easier now, with Shoto and Uraraka pushing him as hard as they were, and the trio had made a plan fighting Bakugo. Well, it was largely Shoto and Izuku who hashed out most of it, since Uraraka didn't have much experience here, but she added the occasional helpful idea.
There were still some issues with timing the 'Azami' counter effectively, and using the 'Garyou Tensei'** without that significant charge-up wasn't happening anytime soon, but everything else was coming along nicely. Izuku would still need a lot more time than he had to approach Baiken's proficiency with her own skills, but he was sure that come Sunday, he would have a lot of them to the point of 'bare-minimum competency' as the woman put it.
Of course, that meant Izuku couldn't miss out on any training time that was—
Brrrrriiiinnnnngggg!
Blinking, Izuku clumsily started getting up to leave. That was the final bell after all, so he was free to start heading to—
A brief rumble in his pocket caught his attention, and he pulled his phone out—wincing at the screen's brightness—to examine the notification.
'You better be here in five minutes, or Tsutsutaka is going to freak out again.' Togeike had said.
Huh… Wonder what that's about…
Shooting off a rapid response, Izuku made his way toward the fashion club's room, already wary of the upcoming experience. It took him twice as long to get there as it normally would, given how moving around too quickly worsened his headache, and he had to stop every little while to turn a gulp of nausea into a cough—determined as he was to keep his lunch down.
Had he mentioned how much this week sucked?
By the time he got there, Izuku was certain he was late, but there wasn't much he could've done—
"There you are!" Agoyamato exclaimed, popping the door open and dragging Izuku inside in an instant, sending the semi-nauseous boy's eyes swirling with afterimages.
Before he could even react, Izuku was forced onto a stool and handed document after document of designs—presumably for the competition—too fast for his somewhat addled brain to keep up with, though he did pick up a few things. Elegant oriental robes and kimonos of varying cut and craft, colored in various shades and ratios of white, black, and pink, and often given varying types of cherry blossom patterning.
"What do you think?!" The boy demanded eagerly before piling on a few more sketches for good measure. "I've been working every free moment I had since I discovered my muse, and—"
Togeike stepped up from behind the tall boy and reached up, smacking him upside the head.
"Tsutsutaka, give him a minute! Don't you see how bad he looks?!"
Startled, the burly teen finally looked at Izuku for the first time.
"Oh. Are you alright…? What happened?" he asked at a more reasonable pace. "Is this because of overdoing it with your quirk last week?"
Forcefully blinking a few times and rubbing his eyes for good measure, Izuku nodded.
"Yeah… I lost control last time. I can't handle switching like that."
"Hmm… That's unfortunate…" Agoyamato mumbled. "Will this affect your ability to model for—Ow!"
Togeike had smacked the artist again.
"Are you incapable of focusing on anything else?" the girl exclaimed in frustration.
"I-It's fine…!" Izuku interjected. "Honestly, I feel better while using my quirk anyway… It gives me a break from the side effects until I'm back to normal."
"Perfect!" Agoyamato declared. "Then you can attend Sunday's club meetup!"
Izuku stared at the taller boy warily. That was the day of his fight.
"I… already have something to do on Sunday…"
"You're not getting out of this, Midoriya," Togeike stated. "Remember how we're supposed to have a big meeting for all the clubs? It's kind of required, you know? So, the club leaders are going to hash out specifics for the competition and the rest of us are getting dragged along."
"But—" Izuku tried to cut in.
"Exactly!" Agoyamato nodded happily. "Of course, there's also—"
"The fact that the clubs are pretty much all trying to 'subtly' show off their models means you need to be there," Togeike interrupted. "Oh, and you're going to need to wear the outfit Tsutstutaka tossed together this week."
"Do you really have to keep interr—"
"Yes," Togieke cut him off. "Because if I don't, we're going to be here for hours. You can tell Midoriya all about the designs you've worked on and the work you want to do with him to develop your 'perfect' piece, but do it later… Preferably when he doesn't look ready to vomit over your precious sketches at any moment."
The tall teen's eyes bulged as he turned back toward Izuku, ripping the stack of papers he'd held a moment prior away and placing them haphazardly in a drawer of his work desk.
"Anyway, are you up to switching to that pink-haired broad you showed us last time before you collapsed?" Togeike asked, a bit of her annoyance at Izuku's other forms leaking into her tone. "Tsutsutaka's decided that's the look we're going with, so you should try on the clothes he wants you to wear to make sure they fit your ridiculous boobs—"
"She is my muse, Togeike! Don't refer to her looks so crudely!" Agoyamato interjected. "With the elegant curves of a goddess, and the overbearing brutality of a warrior. The other looks may have been wonderful as well, but this one has given me so much more inspiration—"
Togeike flung a balled up piece of paper into the pompadoured teen's mouth, causing him to gag horribly as she let out a sigh of annoyance.
"Do you see what I have to deal with…? The odds of him shutting up once he gets started are 0.06%." the girl exclaimed in exasperation. "I checked!"
"Huh…" Izuku mumbled.
There wasn't much else he could say, really…
—
Sunday Morning…
'I can't believe you're doing this, Boya…' Baiken grumbled.
Glancing at herself in the mirror, Izuku looked at the clothes Agoyamato had somehow convinced her to wear to the club meetup. She still wasn't quite sure how he managed to make it this quickly.
It had been a week since Agoyamato had discovered Baiken's 'look,' yet he'd already made this outfit from, presumably, scratch. It was honestly insane, and almost a little creepy if she thought about it too hard… It fit way too comfortably, even though the boy didn't have a chance to get any measurements...
I… Yeah, I can't believe it either… Why am I doing this again…?
The outfit was made up of a black under-shirt, with a v-neck that plunged so low as to leap into the definition of indecent, only held back by a black and white vest that went over the shirt but around her chest—trimmed in pinkish-red and held in place by slightly ornate knots of the same color—wrapping around her neck to keep her chest from moving too much.
A long, black, version of a highschool-girl uniform's skirt came down over white stockings—which had sakura petal designs trailing up their length—and short black, white, and reddish-pink ankle boots. Lastly, around her neck was a black choker—which itself had a gold version of the previous knots wrapping around it—while a golden ribbon held her hair in its usual spiky ponytail.***
'Because you don't know how to say "no" when people ask you to help them,' Baiken complained. 'You're risking being late to your fight if you visit this stupid meeting!'
From her bed, Izuku grabbed the last piece of the outfit—a mostly white blazer. It had black cuffs and the inner lining was entirely reddish-pink, with black lines trailing across the collar to create a traditional-looking fish scale pattern.
Slipping her arms into the sleeves, she adjusted it for a moment, trying to get it to sit right, but… it just felt wrong… so she took it off.
In a motion that felt far too practiced to not come from Baiken's reflexes, Izuku whirled the jacket onto her shoulders with her left hand, letting the inside of the sleeves catch on her body such that the thing hung off her like a cape.
"Ahh… That's better," Izuku mumbled.
Wearing the thing properly just felt… stuffy and awkward. Draping it like this just felt right, letting her keep her arms partially obscured and keeping her just warm enough.
Turning back to the mirror to make a final check that everything was fitting properly, Izuku has to plug her nose for a moment, shutting her eyes and turning away.
'Hah! I knew you couldn't pull it off!' Baiken taunted. 'You're too much of a prude to manage this one, Boya.'
I-It's just as revealing as your outfit, Baiken… S-so, I need to get used to it if I'm going to use your costume…
Before the woman could respond, a robotic voice spoke.
Alternate Outfit Detected… Assigning to Subject Four: Baiken in the Subject's Second Outfit Slot…
A green flash went off, much less bright than a proper transformation, and nothing appeared to happen.
Assigned. Slot Two has been labeled 'Wandering Swordswoman: Highschool Samurai.'
Izuku blinked in surprise.
That's… New.
When Izuku had made hero costumes for the girls, she hadn't actually made them physically. She just had been imagining the uniforms she'd drawn out diagrams for and the corresponding outfit had appeared, along with basic knowledge of how the system worked. Since the simple information she received had mentioned 'limited slots' she hadn't bothered trying to do anything beyond her costumes… So maybe this is what it meant by 'limited?'
'Heh. Good luck figuring this thing out, boya…' Baiken chuckled.
"Izuku! Time to go to your club meetup!" Inko's voice rang out from outside the temporary girl's room.
"Crap…! I need to go!"
…
It was the day of the duel… and Izuku was making her way to a fashion club meeting. It felt kind of ridiculous, and it was hard to focus on anything but the fight that was going to happen in a few hours, but here she was anyway.
She'd spent a lot of time training throughout the week to prepare for today… Hopefully it would be enough.
'You'll… probably be fine, boya,' Baiken said in an awkward attempt at comforting Izuku.
…Thanks.
Letting out a deep breath to clear her mind, she followed her club members. They'd met at Aldera's gates earlier, and were currently walking the streets of Musutafu.
"So, where's this meet'n'greet happenin'?" Izuku asked.
"Not too far from here, actually," Togeike responded. "We got lucky. The place that's hosting us is pretty close by."
"Hn…" Izuku grunted in affirmation, yet again struck by the gruffness of Baiken's speech patterns.
So, is there a reason you speak like… like this…?
'Eh… I didn't have a… conventional education after my home was wiped out,' Baiken answered. 'I haven't been as bad as you since I was your age… which probably explains why you're talking that roughly, actually.'
Oh… Sorry I asked. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories.
'Don't worry about it, Boya. I'm not so fragile I can't hold a conversation,' the woman responded.
Still… I shouldn't—
"And… we're here," Togeike cut in.
Shaken from her conversation with Baiken, the temporary girl turned to look at the building in front of them. It was a fancy cafe, with a clearly French theme, and had a fleur de lis pattern painted onto the door—though it was partially obscured by a paper printout that stated the place was 'reserved.' Above the front window was a sign, labeled 'Le Cafe de Aoyama.'
"A cafe…?" Izuku mumbled.
"I've heard good things about the food," Togeike shrugged.
"The son of the owners is part of one of the clubs," Agoyamato added. "Which is partially why we're having the meeting here. We'll have the whole place to ourselves."
With that said, the tall teen stepped up to the door and entered the building, holding the door open behind him. When Togeike stepped in, he was quick to pull her to the side, glancing quite visibly in Izuku's direction.
"Just get in, Mido—" Togeike sighed.
"Baiken," Izuku corrected with a habitual scowl.
"Right, Baiken," the girl said, putting a bit of exasperated emphasis on the name.
Bracing herself for what was no doubt going to be an interesting experience, Izuku headed inside.
The cafe was… about what she'd expected, actually.
Black and white checkered flooring, with blue and white present in some manner across almost every other surface—accented by the occasional red highlight. The tables had been rearranged, with fewer than normal around so that there was more room to move about, while the front counter stood in the corner—elegantly furnished to match everything else—with a french flag pinned to the wall behind it, just between the menu boards.
Lining the back wall was a series of simple mannequins, similar to the one Agoyamato had in that they lacked anything below their torso, upon which were resting an assorted collection of clothing. They seemed to lean a bit more in the cosplay direction rather than the practical one, with a long flowing black cloak, a flame-patterned bikini, a few ridiculously long wigs, and more things of a similar nature hanging off them.
Upon entering, Izuku was immediately noticed by all the occupants, of which there were maybe two dozen at most. There were more girls than guys—which only served to make Izuku even more nervous—though a few of the people present clearly stood out from the rest.
It was a group of six people sitting at a table off to the side, five of which were girls, and they could only be the people Izuku would be 'competing' with for the pageant, given their more 'stylish' appearances.
The first of them was a girl with shoulder-length pink hair, several shades paler than Izuku's own borrowed looks, and big poofy cloud-like earrings. She was dressed in a similarly poofy woolen jacket, with blue tights and white sneakers. Additionally, she was blowing bubble gum absentmindedly as she stared at Izuku.****
The second girl had—
"Ah! Bonsoir, mademoiselle!"
A blonde boy with a coiffed bang quite literally twirled over to Izuku, latching onto her one wrist and bringing her hand to his lips. The boy looked her straight in the eyes, his own sparkling like sapphires. Dressed in a frilled dress shirt, with an odd metallic belt over his stomach, and dark blue slacks, he had something of a pompous air.
"You look quite dazzling!" he declared.
'Kiss-ass,' Baiken snorted.
Izuku's borrowed instincts were so strong, she had to physically grip the fabric of the skirt Agoyamato had made to keep her free hand from decking the boy.
Why're you so violent…? He's just being friendly!
Izuku paused.
…In his own way.
'Oh, don't try to tell me you don't want to hit him!' Baiken shot back.
"Aoyama… restrain yourself please…" one of the other stand out people asked quietly.
The girl had silvery-gray hair that flowed over one eye, the visible part of her face being rather withdrawn in expression. Most notably, she wore a pale purple rain coat with a high collar, while its bottom trailed down to just below her waist. *****
"It's not appropriate," a third girl stated stiffly.
This one had black hair that was pulled into a high ponytail that fanned out behind her, with one large bang framing the right side of her face. She was dressed in a white frilled blouse and a belted maroon skirt, which sat above black leggings that fed into tall brown boots. *****
"Oh, I'm so sorry, mademoiselle!" the boy exclaimed, letting Izuku's hand drop. "I have shone too brightly already!"
The boy stepped back, pulling his forearm up to his head as if to mimic fainting, his belt lighting up with a gleam, and continued.
"Ah! To shine like this is my curse! For I am always twinkling—"
"Ooh! Are you the last of us models?" Another of the stand out people exclaimed, standing up suddenly and shoving the boy to the side as she approached Izuku.
She was dressed in a t-shirt that had the word 'ACID' written across its surface, along with a pair of pink short shorts and long tie-dye stockings that extended from her ankle boots. Far more notably was the fact that her hair and her skin were bright pink, while the whites of her eyes were actually black. Antenna-like horns extended from her scalp, their roots hidden in her bushy-but-orderly hair.*****
"..." Izuku pulled back in stunned silence as the girl got far too close to her, entering her personal space rather quickly and moving side-to-side like an excited puppy, clearly examining the temporary girl.
"Ashido… I was speaking…" Aoyama said, drooping in place dejectedly.
"Well? Are you?" the pink girl asked rapidly, ignoring the boy's sudden bout of depression. "You're definitely dressed for the part!"
"Hey, hey, give her a moment!" The last of the group declared.
She was dressed in a yellow crop top, a black skirt fanning out to her knees, and had a see-through open-front sweater dangling from her shoulders. Like Ashido, there was something else about her that stood out beyond her clothes, however… And that was the fact that the girl herself was completely invisible, appearing to be a floating collection of clothing.******
The invisible girl bounced over and pulled Ashido back, though the only sign of that was the shifting of her clothes.
"Aww…" the pink-girl grumbled.
Izuku remained rooted in place, unsure how to interact with a group like this.
"We'll leave you to it, Baiken…" Togeike said, patting Izuku on the shoulder as she walked away with a teasing grin. Agoyamato walked off as well, joining the people huddled in the corner talking too rapidly for Izuku to parse what they were saying.
"So that's your name?" Ashido asked quickly.
"Uh—" Izuku began.
"Woah!" the invisible girl exclaimed. "That's a deep voice for a girl!"
"...Tch." the freckled girl grunted. She didn't really care, so Baiken's mouth twisted the quiet sentiment in its usual punkish manner.
The group faded into silence, everyone staring at their newest member, who turned away and crossed her arms defensively. Outwardly, she looked annoyed, but on the inside…
Someone please say something! This is so awkward!
"Well… What's your name then…?" The dreary-looking silver-haired girl asked.
"It's… Baiken."
…
After the awkward start, interacting with the other contestants wasn't all that bad, actually. Fuwa Mawata, the girl with cloud earrings, was rather laid-back, and didn't speak all that much, which Ashida Mino and Hagakure Toru—the invisible girl—more than made up for with their cheerful chatter.
Yanagi Reiko, the silver-haired girl, was clearly somewhat shy and reserved, but she occasionally made puns based around ghosts or spirits that were simultaneously terrible and entertaining for the whole table.
Aoyama was the son of the cafe owners, and was the reason the event was being held here. Despite his… over the top personality… he was a fun person that wasn't that bad once you got used to his eccentricities.
Yaoyorozu Momo, the girl with a ponytail, seemed to take charge of the group with her stern but sweet personality despite Fuwa being the oldest. Speaking of which, Fuwa was only part of this competition because her old junior high club asked her to be their model. She was already attending highschool… as a first year at U.A.'s Hero Course!
Once that little tidbit was revealed, the conversation shifted quite quickly.
It turned out that, somehow, all of them were applying to U.A—well, except Fuwa, obviously—which was a remarkable coincidence. More impressively, everyone there was applying for the Hero Course as their first option. Heck, Momo was even getting a recommendation!
Izuku didn't have the heart to admit she was applying for the Support Course, especially while hiding her identity as she was… which was going surprisingly well, actually. There'd been a few close calls, a slip of the tongue here and there nearly leading to awkward questions, but so far that was the limit of her issues.
Starved for friendship as she was, Izuku felt kind of bad about lying like this, but… it wasn't worth the risk to share who she actually was. It may not matter all that much now, but if she ended up gaining notoriety as a vigilante, then being strongly connected to someone who looked rather similar to the 'Vigilante' wasn't a good idea.
Eventually, though, it was time to go. As she'd predicted, she wouldn't have time to change, so she said her goodbyes and made her way out of the cafe.
Izuku had a duel to attend.
—
Bakugo stood in the middle of a large clearing he'd made on the beach, tapping his foot impatiently with his arms crossed in front of his chest as he waited.
Where the hell is she?!
Baiken was going to be late if she didn't get here in the next five minutes…
"Are you sure she's gonna show up, man?" Kirishima asked.
The redhead stood off to the side, leaning up against a broken table, while 'Mr. Yagi' sat on a comfortable armchair they'd found in one of the trash heaps.
"Have faith, young Kirishima," the blonde man said with a cough. "I have faith in young Bakugo's eye for character. I'm sure this young lady will be on time."
The redhead stared at his teacher in disbelief, not even needing words to convey how ridiculous he found that statement.
"Well, 'faith' may be a strong word in this case," 'Mr. Yagi' agreed with a joking laugh.
"Would you two shut up!" Bakugo shouted, turning to yell at the two.
Crunch…!
The sound of footsteps on sand stopped the blonde before he could say anything. He turned to face the entrance to the clearing, a feral grin on his face.
It's time…
Crunch…!
Crunch…!
Crunch…!
A familiar head of pink hair came around the corner, followed by two unfamiliar faces: a girl with brown hair and blush-like markings on her cheeks and a boy with twin-toned hair. Both of the extras had serious expressions on their faces and were walking a few steps behind the character that actually mattered.
"What the fuck is she wearing…?" Bakugo muttered too quietly for the new arrivals to hear.
And dammit, why does she have to look so good in it?
"I don't know, but she looks manly as hell!" Kirishima added.
The new arrivals came to a stop on the other side of the clearing. The coat hanging from Baiken's shoulders fluttered in the wind, held in place by a reddish pink knot like the ones on her vest, as she stared down her nose at Bakugo with a derisive scowl.
"I'm here," she declared, her voice low but still carrying across the distance between them.
Bakugo's grin widened.
"With a peanut gallery too, looks like!" he taunted.
"Feh, you've got your own cheerleader squad," the girl countered, still looking down her nose at him with a scowl as she almost began to strut forward. "Do you have my bokken?"
The blonde held out his hand in Kirishima's direction, and the redhead flung a wrapped bundle at him. Catching the thing without looking, he walked forward to match Baiken's pace.
Their eyes never left each other, the tension in the air heavy enough that all four spectators remained silent as the duo met in the middle.
"I've got it right here," Bakugo declared, unwrapping the wooden blade and holding it in front of him.
Baiken reached out to take the thing, only for the blonde to retract it at the last moment.
"Aht! That's not the deal, pinkie," he stated. "You only get this…"
He dangled the thing off to the side to punctuate his words.
"...if you beat me."
The girl's eyes narrowed, before she sighed.
"Tch," Baiken clucked in annoyance. "I remember."
Taking a step back, she turned to face the duo that accompanied her.
"Shoto! Toss me the extra!"
Without a word, the boy pulled out a sword-length piece of rebar and chucked it at the pink-haired girl. She ripped it from the air effortlessly with her left hand, bringing it down to her side and turned back to Bakugo.
"Before we start this thing…" she began solemnly. "I need to know. Why?"
"Why what?" Bakugo asked, his feral grin dimming a bit from the delay.
The girl froze, a bit of an actual… was that a blush?
"W-why… W-why do you w-want…" she trailed off with a stutter, refusing to look him in the eye even as she kept scowling. "W-why d-do you w-want to go on a d-d-d-ate me…?"
Bakugo's mind flitted through all of the thinking he'd done in the past few weeks, all the things that All Might's lessons and his own experiences had brought to the fore. From the realizations of past mistakes to the new understanding of himself… he wasn't even sure anymore.
He wanted someone who could be his equal… And wasn't that the point of dating someone? To find someone that could be your partner, challenge you as your peer and make you even better than you were before. At least, that's what he'd taken from the many shitty romance lectures All Might had given him the past few weeks.
Of course, he wasn't gonna share something that ridiculously cheesy and personal.
"I'll tell you…" he began, tossing the bundle he had back to Kirishima. "If you can beat me."
From that declaration, silence invaded the arena.
Both fighters squared off with each other, Bakugo's open palms spread to his sides as he got a little lower, while Baiken had her metal rod held in front of her one handed, her free hand hidden by the flapping of her coat in the wind.
Seconds passed like eons, dragging on for eternity as they stared each other down… until finally…
The fight began with an explosion.
—
*This is a mildly subtle One Piece reference. In case you're unfamiliar, there's a character in One Piece who wields three swords at once named Zoro. He holds the third blade with his teeth, but is still able to talk normally somehow.
Funnily enough, Oda (the mangaka who made One Piece), actually explained how Zoro can speak without issues in his question corner. The answer was that "IT'S HIS HEART SPEAKING."
Anyway, another main character frequently calls Zoro 'marimo' because Zoro's short green hair is reminiscent of a specific kind of moss, hence the joke I made.
**In case you read the first Baiken vs. Bakugo fight before it got edited, the move Izuku uses to catch Bakugo by surprise has now been named 'Garyou Tensei,' which is actually Baiken's instant-kill/finisher move in most of her appearances in the Guilty Gear series.
***The outfit Izuku/Baiken is wearing here is based heavily off an alternate Baiken outfit I saw on DeviantArt, which I'll link here. Because of this site's policies, I've had to modify the link a bit.
So, just remove the parentheses and replace the all caps text with the equivalent symbol. If that doesn't work, just look up the deviant art user 'Lightning-Seal.' You'll be able to find the post on their profile. (SLASH)lightning-seal(SLASH)art(SLASH)Guilty-Gear-Baiken-617593122
There's some differences between what's in this chapter and what's in that image, like the skirt being notably different in design, Izuku's Baiken form not needing an eyepatch, and also just Izuku's Baiken form being notably younger, but the image is mostly accurate.
Because of the difference in age, the look ends up having more of a 'Highschool Samurai' tone to it—hence the name—instead of the 'Fierce Samurai Captain' look it has on adult Baiken.
****Fuwa Mawata is, like Togeike and Agoyamato, a canon character that's barely present in the story. I've taken some liberties with her design and demeanor, since she's only ever seen in her U.A. uniform and only says a few brief lines in one scene.
*****These girls are all canon characters from class 1-A or 1-B, and the clothes they're described as wearing are what's shown on their wiki pages as their 'civilian clothes.'
******Hagakure's 'civilian clothes' on her wiki page were really boring, so I found some fan art. Like the link above, you'll need to remove the parentheses and replace the all caps text with the equivalent symbol. The outfit that I used from this post is the middle design.
(SLASH)pin(SLASH)724305552556014698
—
AN:
There's no omake today, because I have a surprise for you all to celebrate Christmas! It should be out in the next day or two, so look forward to that.
As for the chapter's content…
The current arc keeps on chugging! Izuku's learning more and more of Baiken's skills, even if he's nowhere near as effective with them, while dealing with constant migraines and nausea during the day! It's really impressive he's managing, isn't it?
You know what they say, though. You can't make a diamond without pressure!
Actually… is that a saying? Huh…
PSA: I'm going to be taking this next week off from uploading to spend time with my family and catch up on my writing backlog. I don't have anything extra written as a buffer, meaning this chapter is the latest thing I have written, and it's starting to get to me.
As such, the next chapter will be coming out January 7th.
Until then, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year!