Rumors of my demise have been… greatly exaggerated.

I am back, baby!

It's been, what, four months…? Wow, time really does fly…!

Well, anyway, I'm back to semi-regular uploads! I'm in school now—in a foreign country, no less—so I'm not going to make the foolish decision of committing to an upload schedule right now. However, I will promise that I'll warn you all if I need to take another long-term hiatus. There's no reason I can foresee right now that I'd need to do that in the near future, but I'll keep you all posted.

For now though…

On with the show!

…God does it feel good to say that again.

"Hey, wake up already," a mildly annoyed voice demanded.

Izuku groaned and turned over in his bed, burying his face in his pillow.

"Ugh… you are such a pain in the ass, kid…"

The boy didn't even stir, letting out a quiet snore directly into his bedding.

Whumph!

Izuku's eyes shot open as his blanket was ripped from his hands, sitting up an instant later to face…

"Gah…!"

The number three hero, Hawks, guffawed from his relaxed position on Izuku's desk.

"Couldn't have put it better myself!"

Hawks stared at the troublesome teenager through his goggles, his typical relaxed smile plastered on his face. A gentle gust blew from the window he'd used to slip into Midoriya's home, ruffling his feathers pleasantly as moonlight lit up the room. The dim lighting wasn't ideal, but even still he could see signs of the boy's wounds through his clothes.

"You got a first aid kit here, kid?" he asked.

The boy was completely caught off guard by the question—always a good thing for interrogations—and nodded hesitantly.

"Y-yeah… It's in the bathroom…"

With a thought, one of the feathers he'd used to rip away the teens' bedding zoomed out of the room, returning a few moments later with a red plastic box that had a white cross printed on its side. Opening it with his hands, he quickly assessed its contents. He may not be a doctor, but he sure as hell knew the basics of treating wounds.

"Can you get your shirt off yourself or do I need to cut it?" the man asked as he withdrew a roll of gauze. "Probably best to get the pants off too, just to be sure I get everything."

The boy blinked in surprise before shaking his head.

"I-I got it…"

Pushing off the desk, Hawks repositioned himself at the side of the boy's bed as he took off his outer-wear, several of his feathers floating around him with multiple items held in little clusters. From gauze, to scissors, to rubbing alcohol, and even band aids, he had everything ready.

Good… He doesn't need stitches.

Once the shirt and pants were off, Hawks was able to get a much better idea of the boy's injuries. It was mainly bumps and bruises, with a few minor scratches and burns here and there. The lone exception was several more worrying burns on his upper right arm that seemed to wrap around the limb. It would probably scar without proper medical care, but the injury didn't need that to heal safely.

He'd expected worse, so it was a pleasant surprise to see so little—

"...Why are you doing this…?" Midoriya asked quietly as Hawks wrapped up the boy's arm in gauze—his feathers handling the lesser injuries.

"I couldn't really call myself a hero if I was able to ignore someone in pain," the dirty blonde said with a laugh.

It was actually somewhat genuine, too, not that anyone could tell the difference anymore.

The duo lapsed into silence after that, staying that way until Hawks had finished his impromptu treatment. It didn't take too long, thankfully, and the man pulled away so the teen could put his clothes back on. From there, Hawks grabbed the green-haired boy's desk chair and took a seat, spinning around in circles for a moment as he grinned at the boy's discomfort and unease.

Really, it was just too easy to throw people off.

"...What now?" the boy asked, finally.

Hawks stopped spinning suddenly, coming to a stop perfectly so he could face the boy. Leaning back in the chair, he put his hands behind his head and stretched out as languidly as the furniture allowed.

"That depends entirely on you, kid," the dirty blonde declared. "But first, let me show you something…"

Tapping the side of his goggles activated the built-in holo-projector, creating a two-dimensional screen in the center of the room for the both of them to watch.

It was a familiar scene for Izuku. Flames were everywhere, covering the ground and blackening the sky with smoke. Screams warred with the sound of crackling fire as people fled in terror, trying to get away from the source of the horror. One person—whoever was recording—stumbled and fell, quickly getting left behind by the rest of the stampeding crowd.

"Oh my god, that kid's gonna die…!"

The camera's focus spun to match the person's perspective, angled up at the crest of the hill they were running down. A young boy, maybe five or six, was frozen in terror. Then, suddenly, the child got up, running desperately as a bright light appeared behind him.

An explosion erupted where he had stood, a gasp of horror echoing from the cameraman. They continued to face the spot, zooming in after a moment on the molten crater of slag and charred dirt. The boy was gone, utterly reduced to—

"Ah—hahahaha!"

The camera whipped up, away from the crater, towards the source of the laughter. Hovering in the sky, her silhouette framed by the moon, was a red-haired young woman standing on a broom. Behind her rested the indistinct form of the boy that had nearly died, his own laughter bubbling forth much quieter than the girl's almost musical tones.

"She's laughing…!"

Izuku was struck with an incredible sense of deja vu as the scene progressed.

"Come on, everyone! There's no reason to be scared!"

The broom dove forward, the girl's posture changing to match as she gradually circled towards the ground.

"Give a smile! Let out a laugh! After all…"

A gasp escaped the cameraman as the girl flew directly over him, giving him the perfect chance to follow along for a dramatic shot of the back of her broom as she swooped back into the sky—heading towards the villain in the distance.

"...Shiny Chariot is here!"

Hawks cut the projection there, ending the clip early and crossing his arms in front of his chest as he turned back to the teen across from him.

"That video has…" he began, pausing to glance at the inner display of his goggles. "...About half a million views already…"

It was kinda funny how quickly the boy paled at that statement. It was also helpful. Any lingering doubts that Hawks may have had about the teen's involvement evaporated at the indirect confirmation he'd just received.

"...And it was only posted a few hours ago. Who knows what that number will be in a few days, much less a few weeks?" Hawks went on, his friendly tone doing nothing to diminish the weight of the information. "Oh! Wanna guess what it's called?"

"I… I don't know…" the green-haired teen replied, clearly too stunned to even begin to guess at the answer.

"'A Real Vigilante in Japan!'" Hawks said, giving air quotes with his fingers. After a moment, the hero tacked on an explanation. "Backdraft shouting at you later in the clip made it clear you aren't licensed."

Huh… He just got even paler. I didn't realize people could turn that shade without a quirk to do it.

"People love the show you put on there. They can't get enough, really," the dirty blonde explained. "There's also a video of 'Miss Samurai' going around, but 'she' isn't as universally well-liked. Making almost as many waves, though."

The green-haired boy looked ready to faint, now. He was completely overwhelmed by what he'd just been told, it seemed. It was pretty understandable, to be fair, and it would certainly make Hawks' job easier.

"Given your reaction, I take it you have some idea of what this means, don't you?" The bird-themed man stated with a yawn. "You're about to be the media's latest chew toy."

Midoriya gave a shaky nod.

"Well, there is some good news," the man said. "As of now, nothing can tie you to those two vigilantes… as long as you stay outta the hero business, anyway. You kinda screwed the pooch there, kid, but you can still go back to being an everyday teenager. This is your last chance. For your sake, I'd suggest you quit while you're ahead and let these personas fade out of the—"

"No…!"

Did he just…?

The teen seemed almost as surprised as Hawks at his own outburst. In the silence that followed, he hesitated... Perseverating over what to say even as he wilted under Hawks' continued stare.

"I…" the boy began, trailing off uncertainly.

It would be so easy to push him further right now… To break through his gradually recovering resolve and manipulate the teen into following his suggestions… To convince him to quit… But…

"Why do you even have those fucking wings?!"

The blonde closed his eyes, indulging himself in a single solemn moment.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't shatter the boy's hopes like that. There was a certain gleam in his eye, one that he saw in the eyes of all the greats at one point or another. To destroy that, even if it was for the sake of keeping the kid safe…

…Besides. He wanted to know. What drove this boy? Why was Midoriya so determined, no, obsessed with being a hero?

I wonder why you have your wings, kid…

…But, at the end of the day… Cutting the boy off this early was the smart decision. The one that would end with the least problems for everyone. No amount of sympathy or pity would sway Hawks from his duties. He had given his all to make the world a better place, and he wasn't about to risk that for—

"I'm going to be a hero that makes people smile, and I won't let anyone stop me…" the boy said eventually. "...E-even y-you…"

Silence. Complete and utter silence filled the room as Hawks stared at the boy.

"Really…?" the man asked, standing up slowly.

One of his feathers zipped into his hand, quicker than the boy could even notice, and extended until it was the length of a blade. He ran his gloved hand down its length, sending up a few sparks from the combined pressure and friction, purely to display its lethality.

"You…" he began, aiming the tip of his newly formed weapon at the now trembling boy, "Are going to stand up to me?"

A nervous sweat ran down the injured teen's brow…

"You're not stupid kid. You know how that'll end."

Still shaking, the boy nodded jerkily. Despite his fear, he was undaunted.

"E-even then…" he stated. "I-I'm going to be a hero."

…Stupidity isn't gonna cut it, kid.

Hawks glared at the boy, bringing to bear the full force of his namesake as he narrowed his eyes at the teen. This was the look he used when he interrogated proper villains; the truly evil ones that were kept from the public eye after being caught. It was the kind of look that would give lesser men nightmares and was often enough to get information out of hardened criminals.

As expected, it was entirely too much for the teen, who collapsed onto his bed and scrambled away with the reflexive fear of a mouse caught in an open field.

See? Words alone aren't enough—

SMACK!

"Did you just… punch yourself…?" Hawks asked, utterly bewildered.

The boy stared back at him, his now bruised jaw set in complete determination. The effect was diminished by the tears welling in his eyes—clearly his true form wasn't yet as tough as his others—but it definitely didn't detract from the ridiculousness of the act.

"Someone I… respect… did that when he needed to clear his mind of 'stupid thoughts,'" Midoriya explained. "F-for a second there, I let myself doubt my d-dream… So I borrowed his method."

As he spoke, the teen got up off his bed and took an absolutely terrible stance opposite Hawks, fists raised in a pitiful mimicry of a boxer.

"N-now… a-a-are we gonna… f-f-f-fight…?" the boy asked finally.

The blonde simply stared for a moment, blinking repeatedly as he processed what he was seeing.

"Pfft!" he laughed. "PFFFAHAHAHA!"

Letting go of his blade-feather—which shrunk back to size and rejoined the others in his wings—he palmed his forehead and reared back in unrestrained amusement. After a few moments, he doubled over, actually smacking his knees a few times as he continued laughing.

"W-what's so funny…?"

Wiping away a tear, Hawks forced his laughter to subside.

"Oh… I haven't laughed like that in a while… Thanks, kid," he began.

You're way too likeable for your own good, Midoriya.

Taking several steps forward, he approached the boy—who tensed up in anticipation—and then…

…

…walked past him to the windowsill.

"You still have my number, right?" he asked, turning to face the teen even as he lifted one foot onto the edge of the window.

"Uhh… Yeah…?" the teen nodded dumbly.

"Good," the hero nodded. "I've got three conditions for ya. Follow those, and I'll leave you alone… You won't have to worry about me catching or reporting you."

Of course, all bets are off if you raise enough of a stink that I'm ordered after you, but hopefully you aren't stupid enough to do that…

Midoriya's eyes widened in complete shock.

"What…?! Seriously…?!"

"Mhmm…" Hawks confirmed, giving another yawn. Holding up a finger, he continued. "Condition one… Don't bring anyone else in on this. You're already a rarity with your level of competence at this age. The likelihood of someone getting hurt rises exponentially the second you get others involved."

For a moment, the green-haired boy seemed fine with that… and then he clearly remembered something and looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

He's really gonna need to work on his poker face if he wants to keep a secret. Then again… with whatever these meteors are doing…

"I… may have accidentally just done that already…" the boy admitted.

…Or not.

"How?" Hawks asked quickly, startling the boy with his terseness.

"A… friend…? He uhm… May have figured out that one of my forms is a vigilante," Midoriya stated. "He doesn't know that I have a quirk though!"

Hawks raised an eyebrow at that.

"It doesn't matter, then. You don't need to get him involved for that. Just cut contact with him—and anyone else that figures you out, for that matter."

The teen liked that suggestion even less…

Hawks knew that look. He needed to say something very convincing, fast, if he wanted his words to stick properly.

"You're doing this because you want to 'make people smile,' right?" the man quoted, working hard to keep his amusement out of his tone. "Well, do you really think your friends'll be smiling if you get them maimed, or worse, killed, because you got them involved in this?"

The boy paled for the third time that night… Morning? Ah, it didn't matter…

"I take it you'll agree now?" the man confirmed.

Midoriya nodded rapidly.

"Right, well, condition two…" Hawks went on briskly, lifting a second finger. "Don't bite off more than you can chew. If you think you've stumbled across something that's beyond you, like a criminal enterprise or some bigshot villain, give a tip to the police."

This one the boy had no issues with, nodding easily at the idea.

"Finally… my last condition," the man continued. "If, somehow, you still end up involved in something too dangerous for you to handle… Contact me directly. I'll be there to bail you out of trouble as soon as I can. However… This isn't a get-out-of-jail free card. It's actually kind of the opposite, since I don't want you abusing the safety net I'm giving you."

The man paused for a moment, using the lull to emphasize his next statement.

"If I need to help you like this, it's over."

The teen flinched.

"I'll be taking you in and you'll have to deal with all the consequences that result," Hawks stated bluntly. "You've proven you can handle things up to the level of mindless D-Ranks, so the kind of situation I'd have to bail you out of is too big for me to escape notice. It's one thing for me to not pay much attention to something below my pay grade, it's quite another to be seen letting you escape."

The boy gulped nervously.

"Now… Do you agree to my terms?" Hawks asked, his tone deathly serious.

Midoriya hesitated for a moment… and then gave a nod.

"I understand…" the boy agreed. "Don't involve my friends… Report the things I can't handle… and call you if all else fails."

"Good," Hawks said, giving a nod of his own as he finally slipped his other leg out the window. "Now, get some rest, kid…."

"You've got busy times ahead of you."

Late November; A few days after the Joint Festival Fire…

Bakugo let out a growl of annoyance as someone bumped into him on the train to school, nearly knocking his phone out of his unsteady grip. The growl he gave, along with the glare that followed, was more than enough for the random idiot to give him his space. It probably helped that he was so clearly injured.

His wounds were healing as well as they could be expected to after he pushed himself as far as he had. Both of his arms were in casts, his left arm covered up to the elbow, while the right arm was covered up to his shoulder—perpetually resting in a sling on top of that. His fingers poked out of the left one, so he could still grip things loosely. His right arm… wasn't so lucky and was stuck in a rounded off piece of plaster. Modern quirk-science was miraculous enough that he'd be out of the casts by the end of the week, but it didn't make it any less of a pain in the ass to be restricted to limited use of his off-hand until then.

Worse than his immediate wounds, however, was the fact that All Might had banned him from training until the end of the year. It was insane!

…It didn't help that he was actually being generous with that limitation, given how Bakugo's nerve damage had worsened from his recent strains… but that didn't make it any better, dammit!

The scars extended up to his elbows now—thin little daggers of discolored skin that had actually become mildly noticeable. His inner child marveled at the way it could be mistaken for flames on the side of a racecar while his ego lamented that it signified his failures.

Thankfully, he could still regain full functionality if he was careful, but All Might was taking no chances whatsoever now. He even mentioned something about getting a friend of his to monitor Bakugo if needed.

…Somehow, none of that was at the top of his list of problems.

Bakugo Katsuki could handle pain. He could handle slow-healing wounds. He could even handle being restrained from training with his mentor—there were other ways to improve himself that wouldn't risk his potential, after all… The thing he couldn't handle, however, was girls.

Yes, he was having girl problems… and he was actually able to admit it to himself now.

"Fuck's sake…" he groaned, staring at his phone's message history. "How the hell did this happen…?!"

—FLASHBACK—

The injured blonde stared off into the flames as Miss Samurai—no, as Baiken—disappeared into the inferno.

What the hell?!

He felt like someone had just run up and smacked him with a live fish—so bewildered by the unexpected that he didn't have any idea what to think. It somehow hadn't even occurred to him that Baiken could be the vigilante, despite their similarities. The moment her mask came off, however, it all clicked into place, leaving him too shocked and confused to try and do anything about it.

"Alright people…! The show… is over! Please make your way towards me so we can get out of the fire!" a familiar voice called.

Turning around, Bakugo was greeted by the sight of the rich girl—what was her name again…?—with a megaphone held to her lips and the support item he'd seen before in her other hand. She was firing it repeatedly, somehow making more ammo with some kind of lightshow every time she reloaded the single-shot tool, creating an expanding foam barrier to surround a naturally formed path through the flames. The small stream within kept the fire from spreading across it directly and the girl's own efforts were making things even safer for the civilians.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Bakugo shouted, rushing over to the girl without thinking.

I told her that I'd handle the extras…! It's my fucking job!

Immediately, she turned to look at him, a single eyebrow raised in an expression that felt tailor-made to imply he'd said something stupid. Which… In retrospect…

"Leading the civilians to safety…? There's no reason to wait," the girl replied, a mild sarcastic bite in her tone.

…Shit. She's got a point. God damnit.

"You're injured…" The girl said, cutting him off before he could think of a response, staring at his arms. "Here."

In a flash of multicolored light, a pair of slings appeared in her hands.

"It's not ideal, but it should keep your arms from getting worse until you can receive medical—"

"I'm fine," Bakugo cut in pridefully. "Save the effort for the civilians."

"Really…?" the brunette replied, disbelief evident on her face.

"Yes, really," Bakugo growled. "You're wasting your—"

"I've already made them. You're just being needlessly stubborn," the girl declared.

The blonde's scowl deepened.

"Let's just get moving. You walk with the idiots while I take up the rear to make sure none of 'em wander off," he declared, already stepping away to—

"N-no… You go ahead. I'll follow behind," the girl countered.

Glancing over his shoulder, Bakugo raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hah…?"

Why did she have to be so friggin' difficult? First she took over a situation he already had under control—nevermind that he hadn't actually started moving the random idiots to safety yet—but now she refused to listen when he gave completely reasonable orders? Between her stuck-up bitchiness earlier today and this, he was really starting to get pissed.

Fuck's sake she's a pain in the ass…

"What? I-It's perfectly reasonable…!" she exclaimed, clutching at her arm as she refused to meet his gaze.

Why the hell is she stuttering and… Oh.

Looking at the brunette properly, Bakugo finally noticed something important.

She's hurt.

It was subtle, but the girl's eyes weren't focusing properly—probably a concussion—and on top of that, she was swaying slightly from side to side without realizing it. Worse still, she wasn't putting any weight on her one leg, which seemed to be swelling at the ankle. It didn't look bad enough that it was broken, but it was probably sprained rather thoroughly. Add to that the notable burns stretching across her back, partially melting the remains of her dress into her flesh…

No wonder she'd stayed out of the fight earlier. She would have just gotten in the way.

As the girl was now, she could probably walk on her own, but it would be slow as hell and she would be at constant risk of tripping over herself. Most people would see that as all the more reason to push forward anyway, relying on those nearby to help them get to the EMTs faster… but she was too prideful for that.

…And if there was one thing Bakugo understood besides anger, it was pride.

Sighing at the realization that he was seriously about to do this, he stomped over to the girl, who took a shuffled half step back that only highlighted her injuries with its awkwardness. Turning around and exposing his back, he mumbled a statement.

"Get on…"

"W-what…?!"

Glaring at her over his shoulder, the blonde repeated his order.

"Get on!" he shouted. "You're clearly hurt, so get on!"

The brunette's eyes widened… and then narrowed as she returned his glare.

"I'm fine," she declared.

Bakugo's scowl deepend in response, the aching of his wounds only reinforcing his impatience.

Fuck it. I don't have time for this shit.

With a subtle flash of orange electricity, Bakugo sweeped the girl's legs out from under her—carefully targeting her un-injured leg—and positioned his back directly underneath her before she could even begin to fall. The moment she made contact, instinctively latching her arms around his neck in a reflexive attempt to regain traction, he shot forward towards the gradually thinning crowd of civilians around the exit the girl had widened.

"Y-you ruffian!" she yelled, holding on for dear life as Bakugo smirked.

"Just keep holding on, princess," he shot back.

The duo blurred past the civilians, leaving a gust of wind in their wake as Bakugo kept up his use of One For All. As they reached the end of the area the rich girl had reinforced with her goop shots, he started lashing out with kicks—flinging away burning branches to widen the path for everyone behind him. At this rate, he'd be out in no time. The pros could double back to check for any stragglers, but the important part right now was making sure there was a safe way out to begin with.

"Let me down you…! You…! You—!"

"I've already got ya, rich girl," Bakugo taunted. "You're just being 'needlessly stubborn.'"

Apparently, that was a little too far, since he could practically hear her last dregs of patience snapping complete—

"You ill-mannered…!"

Smack!

"Violent…!"

Smack!

"Horrible…!"

Smack!

—she started hitting the back of his head with every new insulting adjective she tossed at him. It didn't hurt much, thankfully, since she didn't really have a good angle to generate any force—she still needed to hang on if she didn't want to go flying, after all—and most of the blonde's pain receptors were fully occupied with his actual injuries.

"Would you fucking stop that?!"

Smack!

…

"Infuriating…!"

Smack!

"We're here!" Bakugo shouted. "Now stop yelling at me, you friggin' banshee!"

Pausing mid-windup, the girl looked around.

They had arrived in a field of white tents, surrounded by ambulances, police vehicles, and fire trucks. Every brand of emergency responder was here, even a small army of sidekicks and minor heroes that were helping out however they could with their quirks.

"Oh…"

The brunette let go of his neck, finally, and stood on her own two feet, dusting herself off and turning away from him with a quiet 'harrumph!' She flinched upon putting too much weight on her injured foot, but was otherwise mostly fine.

Almost immediately, one of the many medical personnel was at their side, asking a multitude of questions as he poked and prodded their injuries with his equipment—escorting them into one of the many tents so he could more directly address their wounds. Several other people were there—having been treated already—with trauma blankets wrapped around their shoulders as they waited to be interviewed by the police.

A few minutes later, after the EMT had finished first aid and prepared them for transport to the hospital—having given Bakugo quite the lecture about his arms while putting them in splints—the duo were left with nothing to do but wait…

"Seriously…? Are you giving me the silent treatment right now…?"

The girl had her nose in the air, refusing to dignify him with her attention as she crossed her arms beneath her… attention-getting bust—

Focus, idiot. Already made that mistake with Baiken.

"Oh, I get it… You're too good to say thanks, huh?" the blonde pushed on. "Not sure what I expected, given how much of a bitch you were earlier—"

"Rggghh!" the girl grumbled. "That's it!"

Heh. Still got it. Always a good feelin' to piss people off.

"You are the most frustrating person I have ever met!" the girl declared. "You have no manners whatsoever and completely lack any kind of understanding of the concept of respect! Nor do you know the meaning of the words personal space or permission! You have no idea whatsoever how to be a proper hero! You yelled at civilians and even threatened them before you… you…!"

Tilting his head to crack his neck, Bakugo simply smirked at her in defiance. The painkillers he'd been given were heavenly right now, and he really couldn't care less what the hoity-toity bitch thought of him.

"Yeah? So what?" he asked from the improvised cot he'd been left upon. "What're you gonna do about it?"

Her eye began to twitch sporadically, her fingers clenching and unclenching like she wanted to strangle him.

"You…!" the girl trailed off with a growl.

Suddenly, she froze. After a moment, an evil gleam entered her partially-focused eyes as she stood up from her own cot and hobbled over to him. Holding out a hand, she glared at him menacingly, as if daring him to defy her.

"Give me your phone," she ordered.

Bakugo blinked.

"...What?"

"Give… Me… Your… Phone…!" she repeated, emphatically.

"Why…?"

"You want to be a hero, correct? Given your… skill…"

It was almost funny how it sounded like she was pulling her own teeth out to say something nice about him.

"...with handling the villain, it's the most reasonable assumption," she finished.

Bakugo nodded, giving a yawn. The lack of adrenaline in his system was catching up to him, apparently.

"Then I am going to teach you how to be a respectable example of the job description," the girl declared. "And in exchange, you're going to teach me how to fight. At least that way you can pay me back for manhandling me before…!"

"Feh," the blonde grunted, ignoring the rest of her statement for now. "I don't need manners to be number one, rich girl."

Her eyes gleamed at that, her evil grin deepening. It… was actually starting to get a little worrying…

"Oh, on the contrary… With your complete lack of people skills, you'll be lucky to even get into double digits on the hero charts."

Bakugo scowled at that.

"See?" she asked, her tone sickly sweet. "You know I'm right."

A trickle of smoke leaked from his mouth at the notion, his scowl deepening.

"Now… give me your phone."

The silence trailed on for a few long moments, the girl's glare only intensifying with time.

"...You do realize I can't move my arms right now, right?"

—FLASHBACK END—

So… Now he had to deal with… whatever this was… On top of…

…Baiken.

He had no idea what he was going to do about the vigilante-girl. He'd made up his mind on that aspect of their relationship, but he still felt like he needed to do… something… to address the elephant in the room. The thing was… did he even care?

It's not like he wasn't a rule-breaking punk himself, so what did it matter if his new… friend…? Nah, rival sounded much better. Anyway, what did he care if his new rival was a vigilante?

The blonde had her number from when they'd set up their 'date' at the Festival, so he could still get ahold of her. What would he say though? It was an absurd situation, and—

"Holy shit, I'm turning into Dek—Midoriya…" he muttered under his breath. "Hesitatin' like this over stupid crap…"

Fuck it.

With a few taps of his phone, he'd sent off a text.

"What the hell, Pinkie…?"

That same morning…

Izuku winced as he stumbled into his bedroom door while closing it, agitating his bandaged wounds. He'd been healing quite well, the burn marks and deep bruising fading and scarring over remarkably fast, but it still hurt when any kind of pressure was put upon them. It could have been much worse though, so he was grateful that this was all he had to deal with.

The past several days of recovery had been a blur. After the adrenaline shock of Hawks' appearance was over, he had passed out on his bed again and slipped in and out of sleep for a while. He'd been so exhausted that he'd barely had the energy to get up and use the bathroom. The teen had assumed that using the watch like he had would have consequences, but it seemed almost ridiculous how severe it had been. He'd passed it off as a cold to his mother, who thankfully bought it since he wore clothes over his bandages, and now he was finally ready to go to school for the first time since the festival.

Making his way to the front of the apartment to get his shoes on, he stared outside the windows with no small amount of trepidation. His new agreement with the number three hero was at once a relief and a sword of Damocles held above his head. He'd glanced at his phone this morning—finally feeling up to it for the first time since he'd been bedridden—and it was terrifying to see the amount of attention his actions as 'Shiny Chariot' were receiving online… nevermind how the media was responding to a 'Real Vigilante.'

"Backdraft's failure and the rise of a new wave of heroism. Is Shiny Chariot a sign of change for the HPSC?"

"Police and HPSC promise to crack down on illegal quirk use and vigilantes—vow to capture Shiny Chariot and any copycats."

"Why is Vigilantism Illegal? An explanation of the significance of Shiny Chariot's debut and a retrospective on why vigilantism has been outlawed throughout Japan."

It was everywhere. News articles, headlines, talk shows… Izuku's debut as Chariot had taken Japan by storm, and it was terrifying. There was pressure before, but now it felt completely insurmountable. How could he possibly handle all of this attention?! What would happen if he screwed up, or—

"Izuku!"

Startled, Izuku nearly jumped a foot in the air as he spun to face his mother.

"O-h-h-h…! H-hi mom…" he stuttered.

"Are you feeling better, honey? You still look kind of pale…" she asked, already on the verge of fussing over her son. In her hands was the bento box that she'd apparently prepared for him, but…

"W-what about you…? You have bags under your eyes…" the boy asked before it even occurred to him that it was impolite.

Of course, once it did occur to him he immediately went to correct his—

"I-I'm fine, sweetie," Inko replied quickly. "I've just been working some extra hours lately…"

"Really…? Why…?" he responded.

They weren't well-off people, but the cost of living wasn't too crazy in Musutafu. His mom's job had always been enough for their little place in the outskirts of the city. He needed to take the train more than some people, but it wasn't that big a deal. There wasn't really any reason they needed the extra…

…oh.

"...It's because I want to go to U.A., isn't it…" Izuku mumbled, looking at the floor in shame.

From the way his mother's smile grew strained, he knew he'd hit the nail on the head.

"N-no, don't worry about that, honey. I-I've been saving money for school for years! You just worry about keeping your grades up so you can get into that Support Course you applied for," she stated.

"R-right…" Izuku muttered.

What could he say? Calling her out on the lie wouldn't help, so he just let the matter be for now.

In a flurry of movement, he'd grabbed his lunch and launched himself out the door—using a bit more force than he expected but still catching himself easily—leaving his mother with a jaunty wave and a forced smile.

"See you later, mom!"

He was out of sight of the building within moments, whereupon he slowed to a normal walking pace. His faked grin fell away, replaced by a look of gentle determination.

"Now I need to find a job on top of everything else… Crap."

…

A while later, as Izuku made his way to school, he got an unwelcome reminder. A notification buzzed on the cheap flip phone he used to communicate with Bakugo…

"What the hell, Pinkie…?"

The green-haired boy's face slackened a bit as he stared at the low-resolution screen.

"I… I forgot…" he mumbled in horror.

It was just one thing after another recently, a whirlwind of things to worry about and try to wrap his head around. Between recovering from his injuries, his conversation with Hawks, and dealing with his new infamy… He was just too overwhelmed. It would be amazing to be able to tell someone, to rely on someone besides himself…

…And after everything he'd done lately, the things he'd revealed… Bakugo might be a good option… but Izuku had promised Hawks… It… He just couldn't… But…

…

…

…

…Sliding his extra phone back into his pocket, the green-haired boy continued walking.

I'll… I'll deal with it later today…

…

Izuku arrived at his classroom in an oddly calm state. His breathing was even, his pulse normal, and his mind was relaxed—

"Did you friggin' see that clip, man?!"

Ohgod-ohgod-ohgod-ohgod…

—And definitely not about to explode from embarrassment and panic. Did it count as second-hand embarrassment since they weren't technically talking about him…?

"It was nuts!" the second teenager added, hopping out of his chair to do a pose, letting out an over-the-top laugh once he'd gotten in position...

…The exact position Izuku had used to stand on the Shiny Rod's broom form…

"'Give a smile… Let out a laugh… Shiny Chariot is here!'" the boy paraphrased cheerily, twirling in a circle to mimic broom flight.

At this point, Izuku felt like shrinking into a rock and hiding in a hole somewhere.

"It was s-o-o-o-o cheesy!" a girl chimed in from across the room.

No, he needed to become a pebble.

"I thought it was great!" someone else countered. "It was really Sentai, y'know?"

A speck of dust.

"She was so pretty too!" another girl added. "Nothing like that slutty Mount Lady or Midnight! They give heroines such a bad rep!"

How could this possibly get any—

"Miss Samurai is better than some flashy witch bitch," Bakugo interjected grumpily.

…Oh.

Like that.

"You're just saying that 'cause she makes you think of your wacko girlfriend, you lucky bastard," someone else cut in.

Izuku started choking on nothing, drawing a few curious looks as he leaned against the door frame in a vain attempt to suck down air.

"Baiken ain't my girlfriend, dumbass!" the blonde shouted in response.

Exactly!

"Then how'd you know Ren was talking about her, huh?!"

The green-haired boy hunched over, dry-heaving.

"Fuck off, extra!" Bakugo shouted, sitting forward in his chair menacingly.

"Hit the nail on the head, didn't I?!" the guy went on angrily, shooting to his feet. "You can't scare us guys anymore now that we know you're living in bliss!"

Unbidden, images of a romantic scene at sunset between Bakugo and 'Baiken' came to Izuku's mind.

"I love you, Pinkie…!"

"I love you too, you stupid blondie…!"

From there, the duo leaned in towards each other, sunlight gleaming off the skin of their lips as the sun slowly set in the backgrou—

EW-EW-EW-EW-EW-EW-EW-EW-EW—

"She's my fucking rival you idiots! Not my girlfriend!"

"EXACTLY!" Izuku shouted, latching onto the conversational lifeline like a drowning man.

The entire classroom turned to stare at the green-haired boy.

"Huh… When did Midoriya get here…?" someone in the back stage-whispered.

"...Does he have a crush on Bakugo's girlfriend…?"

"NO! I don't have a crush on…"

Thankfully, he managed to stop himself from finishing that sentence with 'myself,' but the way he trailed off into nothing was almost as weird.

…Almost.

"He totally does…" one of the girls giggled. "That's adorable!"

"It's kinda hot, though… Can you imagine Bakugo and Midoriya fighting over you?" a nearby girl commented.

"He'd get the crap kicked outta him!" the peanut gallery added.

"Well, ignoring that part…" the prior girl corrected.

Through sheer force of will, Izuku managed to stand up and trudge over to his desk, collapsing into it and hiding his reddened face behind his arms. If he was lucky, the teacher would be here soon.

"So… Bakugo…" one of the boys began with a grin, sidling up to the blonde not-so-surreptitiously. "...Does she put out?"

Very soon…

Elsewhere…

"Don't forget…!"

A broad smile spread across the viewer's face as she watched the video, fascination evident in her gaze. Over and over, she paused the clip, zooming in on multiple freeze frames of the vigilante… but more so on the unusual tool she wielded.

"Fascinating…!" she murmured.

Pausing yet again, she focused on the broom form of the unusual staff, analyzing it for any visible equipment.

"How did she manage to hide her tech so well…?" she went on, muttering to herself. "I can't see any evidence of magnetic repulsors or vacuum engines… Not even that experimental new anti-grav stuff… So how did she do it? Is it part of her quirk…?"

Scrubbing forward and pulling up other, more obscure, versions of the same clip, she got as much footage as she could to search through.

"No… Her quirk appears to have a distinctive golden energy when activated…" the viewer stated, watching as the redhead on screen zipped around the villain. "At least the bow makes sense. Nanomachines and hard-light tech are definitely capable of transformation and shots like that, even if this is an advanced example…"

Then she pulled up the videos of the other vigilante.

""Hmm… Much less advanced equipment…" she mumbled. "That grappling hook looks like it was made out of scrap metal in someone's garage, but I suppose it got the job done. She should really invest in sturdier materials, though. It's not safe to rely on such sub-par equipment… I could make something so much better."

Blinking in surprise, the viewer noticed something.

"Odd… Is that…" she started, zooming in on the symbol on the samurai-themed vigilante's clothing.

With a few key presses, another window appeared to the left of the current display, showing off a freeze frame of the more popular debuting vigilante… and the identical hourglass symbol on her hat.

"That's interesting… Are they—"

Suddenly, the buzz of her phone interrupted her. Pausing her search, she answered the call.

"Hi papa…!"

Nodding along as she balanced the phone between her shoulder and cheek, the girl systematically documented her search progress in a hidden file and slowly closed all of the tabs.

"Mhmm, mhmm…" she mumbled. "Exchange Program…? Does this mean I can visit Uncle Mi—I can?! I'll be right down!"

Hanging up in excitement, she shot to her feet and rushed to the door, the image of Japan's newest scandal still visible on the last remaining window she left behind. Despite her momentary distraction, a thought had entered her head, left to fester in the back of her mind:

Maybe I could be someone's hero too…

Omake:

Meeting Chariot…

As the green light faded, Izuku began assessing the latest transformation.

Bright and cheery red hair dangled in her eyes as she looked down to confirm what she already knew.

I'm never getting a guy-form from this stupid thing, am I…?

'Well it's nice to meet you too, mister!' the latest voice in the temporary-girl's head declared somewhat petulantly.

Sorry! I didn't mean to—

'Ah, don't worry about it! I know you didn't mean it!' The girl cut him off instantly.

Huh. That was… unexpectedly reasonable. Had Izuku gotten lucky and gotten someone more akin to Hinata instead of being… eccentric… like the others?

'Given I just woke up and haven't met them, who knows!' the girl went on.

Oh… I was thinking that aloud…? Wait, how does that even work—

'So!' the girl cut Izuku off again. 'I'm Chariot Du Nord, but my stage name is gonna be Shiny Chariot! I'm gonna be a witch who makes people smile all around the world!'

Izuku blinked in astonishment.

'But what about you…? What's your dream…?' Chariot went on.

The freckled girl began to smile, her grip tightening around the wand that now felt like it was hers as she adjusted the witch's cap on her head.

'I'm going to be a hero that makes people smile!' she countered.

'O-o-o-o-o-h-!' the girl exclaimed. 'That's awesome! I've never met someone else with a dream like mine!'

The crackling fire in the distance brought Izuku's attention back to her situation, but even then she couldn't find it in herself to stop smiling. She could feel the energy welling up from within her, more than enough to finish off the villain that had already been injured. The only trouble now was…

…getting after him quickly.

'Use the Shiny Rod! It can turn into a broom!' Chariot exclaimed excitedly.

Her body's instincts lined up with the statement, compelling her to run forward as she channeled energy into the short-staff. The thing rapidly lengthened, gaining three bristle-heads at the end as it completed its transformation. A moment later, the temporary girl was on the broom, marveling at the fact that she was actually floating on the thing.

Levitating with Ryoko was more impressive, sure, but this had its own unique charm.

So, how fast is this—

Suddenly, the broom shot forward, accelerating so fast that Izuku narrowly avoided flying off the thing. Normally, the freckled girl would be screaming in reflexive terror, but now…?

"WOO HOO!"

Detail Diatribe:

Hoo, boy was this a chapter.

I don't have any particular bits of trivia to cover here today, but I feel the need to comment on a few things, so here we are! Bwahaha!

For one, was anyone expecting Hawks to show up? I hadn't decided on that one for ages, but with all the planning I did over the length of my hiatus, it's for the best. Really, though, with how he's the only one that's managed to connect the dots so far and the fact he has no reason to not step in, I think it makes perfect sense for him to give Izuku a stern talking to. Of course, the (sometimes) boy-wonder's luck held up this time and he managed to say the right things to get Hawks to let him off the hook right now, but who knows how long that'll last?

Well, I do, thankfully, but you'll have to wait and see!

Next is the aftermath of Izuku's debut. It was quite the Big Deal, earning the capitals there. Sure it might not have been too big of an incident from the logistics standpoint, it was just an E-rank boosting himself up somewhere in D-rank with Trigger after all, but the unusual amount of damage he managed to do before getting caught and how long it took for proper heroes to get there is not a good look for the HPSC. Chariot's natural showmanship is just the straw that broke the camel's back. Now Izuku's got a spotlight on his vigilantism and he's gonna have to deal with the consequences of that.

Good luck, buddy. You're gonna need it.

Speaking of good luck, Bakugo's really got a twisted sense of it. He's definitely still something of an asshole at heart, but the poor guy keeps needing to deal with the fairer sex and the apparent madness that entails from the perspective of a teenage male (even if it was actually Izuku behind the first instance.) He's got no chance, really, but it's gonna get worse before it gets better. Call it karma if you'd like, but he's got a long way to go to earn the opportunities he's been granted, and comedic challenges are just the tip of the iceberg.

Anyway, that's it for this segment today. Back to your regularly scheduled Author's Notes.

AN:

For those of you that want a more in-depth update on what's going on with uploads, here you are!

Basically, I'm currently living in Japan, pursuing my goal of becoming an animator. My dream is to make my own anime studio in a similar manner to how Gainax started off with less professional work or how Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum went about things. Obviously that's going to take a lot of time and a lot of effort, but I'm slowly working towards it bit-by-bit.

This is why I'm writing fanfiction in the first place, actually! It's excellent practice for writing, though it's also fun for its own sake.

Anyway, most of you won't care about my personal life, I'm just mentioning it so you understand why I'm so terrible at maintaining an upload schedule.

As for the thing you all probably do care about…

I have another chapter prepped and ready to drop next week! No four month wait this time, I swear! I'm currently still writing more thereafter, so we'll see about the week after next, but you have at least one more chapter to look forward to in the near future.

AN 2:

Now that a new waifu has been introduced, that means I have a reason to revisit Fridays with the Waifus! Please leave any questions you may have for Chariot in a review or send them to me directly!

Now, to wrap up…

Thank you all for bearing with me, and I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am, delays or not. I really do care about this project, and getting to share it with people that have fun reading it is what keeps me writing through all the time constraints and the flighty presence of my Muse.

I'm glad to be back.