The Waifutrix

by Isdren

When Izuku asked All Might the most important question of his life... the man dashed his hopes with a single word: No. Now, after a camping trip with his mother, an asteroid changes his life forever with it's contents: a watch that transforms him into 'waifus.' This is a more comedic, but also darker take on MHA's story. MultiCross (because 'waifus') and highly cannon divergent.

25. Chapter 24: Ripples

Click, clack, click, clack, click—!

Joysticks smacked against the limits of their range as the young man's fingers danced across his gamepad, a cavalcade of bright lights and damage-numbers scrolling across the handheld screen in front of him as he enjoyed the wanton destruction. It was incessant in its brutality, beautiful, even…

…And then the screen on the wall of the bar lit up. There was no video feed—replaced with nothing but a single line that shifted and moved in tune with the microphone to which it was connected.

"Shigaraki…"

The hoodie-clad teen didnt look up, the sounds of explosions filling his ears while the rigors of combat stole his focus.

"It is time for another lesson, little prince," the voice on the screen declared, his tone laced with subtle amusement.

Still, the young man ignored his beckoner… But this time he was not to be left alone. From behind the bar came a man of shadows, his glowing yellow eyes fixated on his charge as he raised an indistinct hand to the boy's shoulder.

"Shig—"

The teen startled, his hands clamping down completely upon his console as his head whirled to face what his instincts perceived as a threat… Only to relax when he noticed who it was.

"Kurogiri… I thought I told you not to startle me…" he complained, voice as scratchy as it always was.

Fragments of decaying plastic and silicone drifted to the ground, catching the boy's eye and bringing his attention to his now empty hands.

"...That's your fault…" he complained before slipping off the bar stool and cracking his neck beneath his hood. "Get me a new one before I'm back…"

The living shadow gave a subtle nod… and then made a simple gesture. The world around Shigaraki twisted, light swallowed by the void that had consumed him before spitting him back out into reality once again.

The room he found himself in now was dark, dominated by the light of several monitors—all of which were flickering between multiple news channels and similarly useful connections, quite a few of which were blatantly illegal…

"So, what do you think of this 'Shiny Chariot,' Mr. Johnson…?" One of the news-focused monitors echoed, catching Shigaraki's attention briefly before it flickered away to a completely different program—though the new one still seemed to be discussing whoever this 'Chariot' person was…

Whatever… Probably some new hero getting their fifteen minutes of fame…

Despite the painfully bright light of a dozen screens and the cacophony of intermingled voices, none of it could overshadow the presence of the masked man seated in front of them.

"I know you enjoy those games of yours boy, but you shouldn't let them affect you so. Partake of whatever vices you desire—"

"But don't let them consume you… I know…" the teen grumbled, cutting him off.

The older man remained silent for several moments, the dark metal of his helmet masking whatever he may have been thinking… and then he continued.

"You never cease to entertain me with your insolence, Shigaraki…" he said finally, audibly amused. "Now… Let's begin your lesson, shall we?"

Pausing again, he shifted to face his wall of screens. As one, they all stopped whatever they had been playing, flickering to a new scene: one filled with frightened faces and encroaching flames.

"Ah—hahahaha!"

Shigaraki's fingers twitched angrily at the sound, not liking how similar it felt to the laugh of… someone else…

"Sensei… Why are you showing me this…?"

The man didn't answer, merely gesturing lightly at the screens to call his student's attention back to the feed. The video continued apace, showing one of those repugnant heroes making what seemed to be a debut. It was dramatic, it was light-hearted in spite of the flames, and it was so filled with hope…

Shigaraki hated it instantly.

'Fake,' his mind screamed. 'Liar!'

That wasn't how the world worked. Heroes didn't show up in the nick of time. They were always late… if they ever showed at all. But no one seemed to get it. They all just believed, like stupid sheep…!

"Now…" his mentor said, the video disappearing as it concluded, "what do you think of this 'Shiny Chariot…?"

The boy didn't reply immediately, focusing instead on the calming sensation of scratching at his neck—

"Control yourself and answer the question, Shigaraki."

Clenching his jaw in frustration, the teen lowered his hands.

"She's everything I hate about heroes…"

Complete silence blanketed the room after that proclamation. It hung there heavily, like a blanket left to dry in the rain, until…

"How unexpectedly insightful of you…" the man chuckled. "But that's only part of the full picture. You are correct in that she's a perfect specimen of the societal disease we call heroism, but there's something else…"

Shigaraki remained silent stubbornly, refusing to answer the implied question.

"Hmm…" the man hummed, clearly noticing his student's reticence. "How about a hint, then?"

Turning in his chair, the well-dressed man faced the boy now across from him and leaned to the side, resting his elbow on the armrest of his chair… and then he idly tapped the part of his helmet that aligned with where his forehead should be.

"Why should we care…?"

Shigaraki blinked in silence… and then he leaned forward and began to mutter.

Scritch-scritch-scritch…!

Why does it matter…? Sensei always has a reason for these lessons, even if they're stupid and annoying…

Scritch-scritch-scritch…!

But what is it…? Why is this idiot any different from the rest of them…?

Scritch-scritch-scritch…!

Why would Sensei care…?! It doesn't make any—

The incessant sounds of scraping flesh came to a sudden halt, the boy's face lighting up beneath his hood as he finally made the connection.

"She's a vigilante…" he trailed off, remembering how the clip had ended.

"Will the wonders never cease…? Correct again…!" his master joked. "Now, for extra credit, a follow up question…

The man paused again, always determined to indulge in theatrics… It was a pain in the ass, like watching the same unskippable cutscene every time you tried to fight a boss again.

"How can we use that…?"

Shigaraki's brain stalled.

That's… like a 4X game—No! Grand Strategy…!

He didn't want to think about something that boring…! Why should he care about something that stupid? That's what his teacher was for! It's not like the man was going anywhere anytime soon! No one could beat him…

"Tch…" The man tutted reproachingly. "No guesses…? Disappointing."

Pssh…! You can take your disappointment and—

"There is a box on your left. Open it," his teacher commanded. "Take care not to touch its contents…"

Begrudgingly, the teen did so, lifting the lid and peering inside the container.

"What is it…?"

"Every hero needs a villain, little prince…" the man explained.

"...And this is the first card we will play."

---

Izuku glanced at his phone for the third time in as many minutes, nervously eyeing the time displayed on the screen. The waiting was killing him.

I hope they give me a chance… This time…

This was not the first, not the second, not even the third time he'd try to apply for a part time job around Musutafu in the past couple days. If he was going to help his mom pay for U.A. then he had to find a place to hire him, but…

"Come back when you're older, kid."

…No one would take him seriously.

I know I'm kinda baby-faced… and I'm on the skinny side… b-but… I'm not that bad… Am I…?

He was fifteen for god's sake! It was perfectly reasonable for him to apply for simple things like he'd tried, but… They took one look at him and assumed he was a kid.

T-this time will be different!

He'd been suggested this place—a manga cafe looking for part-time help—by Uraraka when he brought up his application issues in the group chat that had resulted from working with her and Shoto to prepare for his fight with Bakugo. When prompted to explain why he needed a job, he'd explained that he needed to help fund his U.A. tuition.

Though he hadn't brought it up yet, it was all but certain that he wouldn't be able to go back to training with them because of this, but something had to give if he was going to shove more things into his schedule… Especially since he needed to get back to patrolling.

He hadn't tried since the festival, anxious about all the attention Chariot was getting online, but he was starting to feel the itch to go out and help people again… To make them smile…

It's already six…

Glancing down at his phone again, Izuku realized that barely two more minutes had passed… but it was close enough that he should probably stop worrying and walk in already. The business had posted a time to show up for job applications on their website, and it was best to be on time for something like this. Reaching for the watch on his wrist, he let out a sigh.

He wasn't looking forward to this… He'd not wanted to think about it much, but there was… a small problem with the job his friends had found.

It wasn't just being some part-time helper… it was being a waitress.

'At least I'll look older this way…?' he thought, trying to look on the bright side.

A flash of green lit up his surroundings, and the teenaged boy was replaced with a girl with long crimson hair; one that actually looked as old as she was… if not a year or two older because of different genetics.

…Hi Rias.

Izuku had made the dubious decision to choose the red headed devil for this particular job though she had a feeling she would regret it eventually. But after her first day back at school… she felt like she'd already overwhelmed her ability to get embarrassed for this week.

'Fufu… Hello Izuku~! I'm surprised! Usually you don't pick me on purpose!' the spirit teased, an illusion of the girl—fully dressed, thankfully—popping out in a lavish pose in front of the freckled teen. 'Am I finally making headway into corrupting your innocent—'

"No!" Izuku exclaimed, looking away from her mildly-older-looking twin. "I just need your… expertise…"

'Oho…?' Rias asked, clearly intrigued. 'How so…?'

I… need to get a job… and you're good at charming people…

The girl had mentioned she had a lot of experience convincing people to help her, to join whatever a 'peerage' was, so it couldn't hurt, right?

…so I thought that maybe… you know—

The intangible redhead giggled, hiding her mouth with her hand as she struggled to contain her mirth.

'I am getting to you!' she declared joyously. 'You're willing to try 'charming' someone now! Oh, I can't wait to see how far you fall into depravity…!'

"It's for a good reason!" the freckled girl countered desperately.

Rias smirked at the other girl, her illusory form slowly walking towards the teen with a seductive gait. The spirit's infernal wings and tail faded into existence as her eyes gleamed menacingly.

'Oh, Izuku… You do remember that I'm a devil… right?'

The teen flinched back, pressing herself against the wall of a building in a reflexive attempt to avoid the other girl. The intangible spirit's smirk widened, drawing attention to her red lips as she leaned in toward Izuku, pressing her illusory body against her younger-looking duplicate.

'I know all about good intentions…' she breathed.

The ghostly devil held her position for a moment longer… and then disappeared into a rapidly dissipating mist, leaving Izuku breathing heavily and doing her best to lock that memory deep in her mental vault… Even if a tiny part of her didn't want to…

C-can we just go, now…?

'Sure…!' Rias chirped in the teen's head. '"Ikuzou!"'

The teensweatsropped at that.

Are… are you trying to sound like an anime character…?

'...'

Rias…?

'I have no idea what you're talking about…'

…

'Oh dear Satan… Is this a manga cafe…?' Rias breathed, excitement leaking into her tone. 'Izuku, you shouldn't have!'

The freckled girl's lips quirked up into a smile, happy to hear the devil's enthusiasm. Though she'd partially picked Rias for her people skills, Izuku had wanted to share the experience with the girl. She had expressed an interest in such things during their training sessions, after all.

I knew you'd like it!

Moments after Izuku entered the building she could feel the multitude of eyes on her. Her immediate assumption was that it was just because of the bell above the door, ringing whenever someone walked in… but then they all kept staring.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I help you, Miss?!" an eager young man asked from the counter.

His face was incredibly short, standing on a stool so that he could be seen over the register, with ball-like purple hair and a certain gleam in his eyes—which had yet to stray above the redhead's neckline. For some reason, he was incredibly familiar… but Izuku just couldn't place the boy… Maybe she'd met him before…? It was impossible to tell how old he was because of his frankly baby-like proportions, so it was a little odd she didn't remember someone so recognizable.

Quirks really were weird…

'It's showtime, Izuku!' Rias declared. 'Just follow my lead…!'

The temporary girl suddenly felt a unique extra-sensory feeling; an intuition of sorts that was actively directing her towards certain actions. It was like Rias was leading her around by the nose with her own instincts… Something she could easily ignore, but it felt odd to do so. Besides, there wasn't a reason not to right now, anyway.

Her sync rate popped up a few points in response to her decision, settling comfortably at twenty eight.

Huh. That was nice.

"Well…" Izuku began, trailing off as she approached him. Following the lead of the backseat-driving spirit, she leaned forward a bit, placing her elbows on the countertop and bracing her head with her hands—not noticing what the motion did to her chest. "I'm currently in the market for a job…"

Pausing for effect, she trailed her gaze up the young man's body—though she really wasn't sure why Rias wanted her to do so—coming to a stop with direct eye contact.

"...And I saw that you wanted some extra hands to help around here…" The redhead continued.

The desk-attendant visibly gulped, eyes wide with excitement.

"W-well, I err… I-I'm not sure this is the p-place for you, M-miss…" the boy stuttered.

Is that… Is he drooling…?

'Focus, Izuku! You've got a fan to manipu—I mean convince…! Yes, convince!' Rias interjected.

"Are you sure…?" Izuku went on, following Rias' unspoken directions. "I think I could have a lot of fun here… Maybe we could do something… together…?"

Why is he blushing so much…? This place does look fun. I'm pretty sure I saw the 'Hero Comics' manga on a shelf over there, and reading with people is always more fun.

'You… You have got to be kidding me, Izuku…'

'What…?' the transformed boy thought back indignantly.

"I-I-I…" the other teen stumbled, a weird grin stretching his cheeks as steam wafted from his ears.

'Just… Go for the finish…' Rias stated before she began to snicker in amusement. '...Hehe. Finish…'

Um… Okay…?

"So…" The freckled girl began, tilting her head to the side with a bright grin—sending her hair cascading over her shoulders. "How would I go about doing that?"

There was a long moment where Izuku was worried that the boy was about to spontaneously combust… and then he started hyperventilating.

"Oh! Are you okay…?!" The temporary redhead exclaimed, her heroic nature kicking in as soon as she saw someone in distress. "Do you have a fever…?"

…So she leaned over the counter and grabbed the boy, pressing her forehead against his to gauge his temperature.

"EEP!"

Izuku was gently shoved away, the counter-attendant stepping back with his hands awkwardly shoved in his pockets for some reason as his 'freak-out' moment peaked.

"L-Let me go get my manager…!" the young man said with a yelp, rushing away in an instant. "I swear I-I'll get you t-the job, mistre—M-miss! I said Miss! I'll do it even if I have to d-drag him out by his e-ears!"

With that, he was gone.

Huh… I wonder what's wrong with him…?

'I can't believe you, Izuku… You're hopeless,' Rias sighed in exasperation. 'Just… Look down.'

Blinking, the temporary redhead did just that—

"Eep!" she squeaked quietly, tearing her gaze away from her torso and the way her stretchy shirt clung to her body tightly.

'Did you seriously forget about what you look like right now?' Rias asked, amusement dripping from her words. 'I've got to give you credit, though. "Checking his temperature" like that was a stroke of genius!'

I-I-I… I d-didn't mean to…

'Mhmm… Sure…' the girl taunted.

B-but I didn't!

'Of course you didn't. I mean, it's not like you got the hottest devil around to help you seduce—sorry, convince—the little perv to give you a job.'

That's not… I didn't mean it like…

Red-faced, the teen couldn't manage to come up with a proper rebuttal.

'Honestly, what am I going to do with you…?' Rias said wryly.

Y-you could stop teasing me all the time…?

An illusion of the girl appeared behind the countertop, head tilted slightly forward as she raised her eyebrows at her younger duplicate. The look was dripping with sarcasm.

'Do you really think there's any chance of that happening…?' the girl asked leadingly.

"No…" Izuku mumbled hopelessly, shoulders slumping.

Rias leaned forward, putting herself in an identical position to the one Izuku had taken not even a minute ago, and reached up to pat the transformed boy on the cheek.

'Don't worry…' she said cheerily. 'I'll be gentle…!'

Izuku's eyes widened into saucers, her cheeks flushing wildly as Rias' illusion disappeared—the sound of her giggling in her own odd way echoing through the freckled girl's mind.

As her heart pounded beneath her frustratingly ample chest, the temporary girl desperately wished for something to distract her from her current embarrass—

S-C-R-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-C-H-!-!-!

"TESTING! TESTING!" a voice declared over obnoxiously loud speakers, drawing Izuku's attention to the street outside. "IS THIS THING ON?!"

'Oh thank god. A Distraction…' Izuku thought, only to wince from the sharp spike of pain from using the 'G-Word.'

"Yes it is, you dimwit!" Someone outside shouted angrily.

Moving to the windows, the temporary girl caught a glimpse of the man speaking through the loudspeakers. He was standing on a floating platform, his thin but tall form taking up most of the meter-wide disc. Dressed in a 19th century military jacket and skinny jeans—the former of the two hanging open to reveal his dark-skinned and muscular form. A small afro of frizzy hair stuck up from his head while white goggles with purple lenses obscured his eyes from sight.

Most notable of all, however, was the purple electric guitar he held the wrong way up… For some reason… Maybe he was left-handed…?

"SU-BA-RA-SHI-I-!" the man exclaimed, his American accent butchering the Japanese word. "I'M THE HYPNO HUSTLER… AND IT'S TIME TO ROCK!"

Rushing outside, Izuku made it just in time to be bombarded with the sound of the man's guitar, his pick screeching across the strings as he played the opening to…

Is that Purple Haze…?

The swell of sound was completely overwhelming, drowning out every one of Izuku's senses as the man kept playing.

"PURPLE HAZE…! ALL IN MY BRAIN…!"

…It is.

It was difficult to even make as simple a realization as that, somehow, the tones of the man's guitar distracting the temporary girl from any thoughts beyond simple contentment. Idly, she realized, she was swaying slightly to the music, a dull smile on her—

'—zuku! Izuku!'

Blinking, the freckled girl glanced upwards slowly. Above her and the slowly forming crowd, she noticed that the street performer was hovering past them all, a lightshow seemingly emanating from the small platform he was standing upon.

'That's not a lightshow! It's money!'

Whatever it was, it was pretty… the way the sun glinted off the multitude of shining objects that flowed up in the air, getting sucked into a compartment on the floating platform.

'HE'S A VILLAIN, IZUKU!'

Like she'd been struck by lightning, the redhead's body seized up for a moment—the sudden return of full consciousness shocking her system. Her thoughts ran a mile a minute now, connecting the dots now that she wasn't mentally encumbered.

It's probably his quirk… Maybe something to do with the music…? Whatever it is… I'm not the only one who was affected…

The crowd of people in the street paled in comparison to the other crowd Izuku had protected recently, but that made them no less important to the temporary girl. All of them were mesmerized by the man's hypnotic show, completely unaware and uncaring of the way their money and valuables were being sucked into the sky by the man's support item.

Where did he get something like that anyway…? No, nevermind that. It's not important right now…

Without any hesitation, Izuku sent a pulse of energy to the tattoo that represented the watch, equipping Rias' costume. Though the redhead's school uniform was already rather eccentric, Izuku had made some minor modifications to push it into 'hero costume territory.'

Firstly, she'd lengthened the corset's pointed tassels, making them extend a bit further than her knees in a way that suggested a longer skirt while leaving the actual article just as short as before, with thigh-high tight-fitted leather boots replacing her school clogs and socks. A tall pointed collar had been added to the capelet—which itself had the usual hourglass symbol emblazoned on its hem in gold now—framing her face while adding a certain dramatic flair to her appearance. Finally, a crimson masquerade mask—lined with gold—now covered her eyes, the petals of a blood colored rose extending off the right side of her brow and pressing her already spiky bangs up even further on that half of her face.

Costume readied, there was only one thing left to do now… Come up with a plan. She had the time, since the villain wasn't actively endangering people yet, simply robbing them, so she could afford to spend the next few moments trying to come up with something… Particularly the issue of how she could take the man down.

Izuku had given it a lot of thought in her practice sessions—all spent on controlling Rias' ravenous powers—but nothing she thought of could change the fact that the Power of Destruction was not suited to non-lethal methods. Such things ran directly counter to the point of its existence, and that made it even more difficult to control than it normally was. Unfortunately, Rias didn't really have any other offensive powers in her arsenal, so it was that or improvise.

First thing's first… Need to stop his 'performance.'

Raising her arm up, she braced her right hand with her other limb and aimed at the villain's platform—fingers shifting into a rough approximation of a 'gun.' Channeling her energy, she felt it when her devilish wings and tail burst into existence behind her. In an instant, a red marble-sized orb appeared in front of her fingertip, slowly growing in size until…

Please work…!

…She let it loose.

The destructive force shot forward like lightning, closing the distance to its target in the blink of an eye and leaving a trail of light almost akin to the winding stem of a flower.

Boom!

A small explosion—shaped like a rose's petals—sparked across the bottom of the guitarist's floating platform, utterly eradicating whatever mechanism it had that allowed it to collect people's valuables—sending a rain of coins and cash to the ground. The force of the blast, small as it may have been, was also enough to throw the man off, cutting into his song and making him stumble with the blow.

"WHO DID THAT…?!" he shouted indignantly, his voice ringing out through the speaker Izuku now realized was in his guitar, not the platform.

Slowly, down below, the crowd that had formed began to shake themselves free of his hypnosis, the disappearance of the music enough to disrupt the villain's quirk.

"YOU COMPLETELY RUINED MY JIVE, MAN!" he went on angrily. "GET OUT HERE SO I CAN TEACH YOU SOME MANNERS!"

One glance at the confused people below the floating villain was all Izuku needed to motivate her to answer his call. It may be more logical to keep taking potshots at him from out of sight, but keeping people safe took precedence over taking the man down as soon as humanly possible.

Er… Devil-ly possible…?

Jumping up, a single flap of her wings was all the temporary redhead needed to get into the air, soaring toward the man quickly. As she hovered to a stop in front of him, the occasional flap keeping her aloft, something occurred to her…

Crap, I need a one-liner! Heroes always have one-liners when they show up like this!

In the back of her mind, she still felt Rias' backseat suggestion and, without really paying attention to it, followed the girl's advice. She had a very small window to make a statement, after all, so there was no time for hesitation.

"I think you've gotten that mixed up," she began, accidentally channeling Rias' usual tone. "It's the devil's job to punish naughty boys, Mr. Hustler~"

The Hypno Hustler blinked.

Izuku blinked.

The whole crowd down below blinked.

Oh my god, I actually just said that.

It was a good thing her mask was so red, since it covered up the way her face sought to compete with a tomato, what could have been steam wafting off her skin as she fought to maintain her composure.

In the back of Izuku's mind, Rias was cackling.

"WELL AREN'T YOU A GROOVY LADY!" the villain said, after a moment's pause. "BUT YA SEEM TO BE FORGETTIN' SOMETHING, GIRL!"

He raised his guitar suddenly, aiming the neck at Izuku like a rifle. A ring of distorted air formed in front of the tip, rapidly shrinking until…

"THE AUDIENCE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO MESS WITH THE PERFORMANCE!"

The ring blasted forward, barely giving Izuku time to spin out of the way of the sound blast. The wave continued onward, splashing against a building in the background and doing…

…Nothing.

What…? That looked like it would have done a lot of—

"Crap…!" Izuku muttered under her breath, bobbing underneath another blast. Raising her hand reflexively, the freckled girl fired off a return shot. A Flower of Destruction raced forward, lancing toward the man and targeting him specifically.

Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd done automatically and scrambled to control the innate hunger of the red energy. If she didn't, the villain would pay the price for her lapse in control. It rebelled against her, its will notably stronger than she was used to as it resisted.

Hitting twenty eight with Rias' sync rate just earlier meant a greater connection with the girl… and that had some downsides to balance the increase in raw capability, it seemed.

I'll need to watch out for this with the others too…

Izuku let out a sigh of relief when the man swerved around the blow, clamping down on the energy as much as she could to extinguish the—

…!

—only to panic briefly when she realized it was hunting the villain.

"HEY! WHAT KINDA LIGHT SHOW IS THIS?!" the Hypno Hustler cried, racing through the skies as the temporary devil's destructive power sought him out like a heat-seeking missile.

A horrible realization came to the girl then.

The more I try to restrain it, the more it fights me!

Distantly, Izuku felt Rias' sympathy and influence, the spirit doing what little she could to assist, but she was mostly just grateful that the intangible girl was letting her focus on the task at hand.

There was a middle ground to be had here. Letting the semi-sapient blast have enough freedom that it wouldn't resist so much that she lost control completely while also keeping it from moving forward enough that it didn't actually catch up to its target.

Hopefully the energy would fizzle out before she lost her hold and it hit the man…

"IT'S NOT NICE TO KEEP A PERFORMANCE BEHIND SCHEDULE FOR THIS LONG, GIRL!" the villain shouted over the whistle of the wind and the roar of energy on his tail.

"GROOVE VOLLEY!"

Raising his guitar neck again, he fired off a series of sequential blasts.

Focused as she was on restraining her power, Izuku barely had the presence of mind to dodge the first—narrowly avoiding the second—and barely not getting clipped by the third through sheer luck.

The fourth, however, smacked straight into her torso.

"...Hey! …Teacher! Leave those kids—"

Izuku's eyes glazed over a bit, the sound of classic rock relaxing her mind. As her attention wavered, her control diminished in turn, dropping rapidly until—

EAT/CORRUPT/DESTROY

Complete, all-encompassing hunger nearly overwhelmed the girl through her bond to Rias' powers, filling her mind so holistically that it completely ripped the villain's influence out through its mere presence.

It was a good thing, too. If it hadn't, she wouldn't have regained her tentative hold on the still active Flower of Destruction in time. As it was, it was a close thing, trailing behind the man by mere centimeters before she managed to slow it down. The man's quirk had nearly cost him dearly.

Wait, that's it!

A new idea in mind and a grin spreading wildly across her currently red lips, Izuku adjusted her mental hold on her power… And then let it loose completely. The crimson energy shot forward like an eager predator, closing the distance between itself and its prey in mere moments.

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH…!" the villain cried. "GET BA—!"

A rose bloomed in the sky, filling the air with petals of crimson light. As the seconds passed, the energy faded into mere motes before winking out entirely, revealing the results of the attack.

"ZZZZZZZZZ…"

The Hypno Hustler lay draped over his own machine, guitar dangling loosely from his hand as obnoxious snores echoed from his speaker. He was out cold.

It worked!

The man's own attack had given her the idea, really.

She'd expected the attack he'd flung at her to be a simple destructive sound blast, but it hadn't actually hurt anything it hit. The man's quirk had attacked its target in a less direct way… So why couldn't Izuku? Sure, the Power of Destruction needed to destroy… But did that need to be literal? It was magic after all, not something as natural as a proper quirk.

With that idea in mind, she'd focused all her intent on destroying the man's stamina; giving her ravenous power a target that it could utterly annihilate without actually hurting the man. It was a compromise between what the ability was made for and her own morality, and she was sure it held back the raw power that it was probably capable of if given complete freedom, but it was a worthy trade in her mind.

…I should probably tie him up, shouldn't I…?

The villain was hanging precariously a few dozen meters above street level, after all…

'Fufu… Kinky…' Rias chimed in.

Blushing for the umpteenth time that day, Izuku let out a groan of discomfort.

Would you stop that?!

So saying—or rather, thinking—she glided over to the villain, a pout on her lips as she grabbed the man, and used her tail to drag his levitating platform to the ground along with—

'Isn't he lucky,' Rias declared, referencing how the unconscious man was cradled against Izuku's chest. It was really the only way to support his weight while flying down. He was bigger than her, after all… 'Too bad he's not awake to enjoy it.'

Izuku resolved to ignore the girl.

"Woah! That was awesome!"

"Has anyone seen her before…?!"

"She took out that guy in no time flat!"

Blinking, Izuku realized how much attention her little encounter had caused. Part of her slipped into a panic at the thought of even more attention heading her way because of this… but the rest was too focused on all the smiles surrounding her to care.

"Nevermind that! She's friggin' hot!"

Glancing down at the crowd below her, she gave her usual grin.

"Hello~" she said, winking at the crowd.

The way she accentuated the word was unintentional, but it was too late now… Particularly with how she saw several people swoon in response.

"What's your name?!"

"My name…?" she trailed off.

'You did come up with a name, right?' Rias asked. 'You better not call me "Miss Devil" or something equally boring…'

Hey, Baiken's name fits, okay…!?

Outwardly, Izuku went on.

"You can call me 'Lady Hel!'" she declared.

…

The Next Day…

Izuku stared down the entrance to the store ahead of him, a tech department store, and let out a sigh. After the incident with Rias there was no way he was going back there anytime soon. It wasn't worth the possibility of someone recognizing his redhaired form and connecting her to 'Lady Hel…' Which is why he was here. It was another place his friends helped him find, though the suspicious lack of a 'help wanted' sign out front didn't help matters.

…After how helpful Rias was with applying for the job, her… tendencies… notwithstanding… Maybe I should go in as 2B, just to be safe…? It's a tech store, so there's no way her abilities won't help out…

He felt like he'd been spending a lot of time in bodies that weren't his own recently, but it was more than worth it if it would let him help his mom out. It was his fault she needed to work late now, and he needed to make up for it.

Besides, the girls seemed to like it when he relied on them, so the only person being inconvenienced here was him… and it's not like that mattered.

No point in waiting, then…

A flash of green lit up the teen, and moments later a white-haired girl entered the building in front of her.

---

"—Shiny Chariot is here…!"

So… cool…!

Jiro Kyoka held her tablet to her chest and let out a happy little squeal, spinning around in her chair behind the counter of 'Radio-Ham.'

She was working here since her parents wanted her to 'get out more,' and had suggested the idea of a part-time job to 'build responsibility.' Classic parent-stuff, y'know? She wasn't really a fan of the idea, since it was a lot more fun to just mess around with her instruments or practice hero moves after school, but she wasn't going to say no to them after they let her pursue her dreams.

Besides, Radio-Ham might be a tech department store, but they had a music section. Instruments, amps, cds… Hell, they even had records! It was the best kind of silver-lining she could ask for. The benefits didn't stop there, though. Her boss was super chill, and was pretty much fine with the employees goofing off with the display tech or browsing the internet when they weren't helping customers as long as they dropped whatever they were doing to actually do their job when it was necessary.

…Which meant she could indulge in her first bout of fan-girling since she was eight and obsess over the latest hero debut: Shiny Chariot.

"Watching that video again, Jiro?"

"Gah!" The girl exclaimed, whirling to face her boss.

He gave her an amused look as he leaned against the customer service deck she was supposed to be paying at least some attention to…

"Can't say I approve since she's a vigilante and all that, but who am I to tell you what to watch?" he went on.

"Pft…! It's just a publicity stunt," Jiro denied. "She's way too good to be some random girl. The HPSC is just milking her popularity so they can make a big show of 'making her official.'"

The man raised an eyebrow as he scratched his scruffy cheek.

"Haven't heard that one before, but it makes sense I guess," he said with a nod. "There's just no way talent like that wasn't picked up by one of the hero academies. Last time there were any real vigilantes around was before All Might's time, I'm pretty sure."

"Yep. The big guy's rise to fame is part of what let the commission crack down on all of that stuff. Everyone knows that," the girl agreed.

"Although… It is kind of weird she's debuting now, isn't it?" the man continued. "It's really out of season for this kind of thing."

That was… Actually quite true. New heroes tended to start off by the end of summer at the latest, usually as sidekicks straight out of hero school… Shiny Chariot had skipped being a sidekick and gone straight to jamming solo, which was awesome, but… It was several months late, even if she was the top-of-her class type that waited for the best moment.

"It's also kind of weird no one's heard of her before," he added. "I mean, she's definitely the kind to stand out, even as a student."

"I get it, I get it," Jiro said, waving away the points in annoyance. "It's probably just part of her cover."

That was her story and she was sticking to it. There was just no way she was going to fangirl over a vigilante…

"…Eh, whatever," her manager hummed. Letting out a lazy yawn, he stood up a little straighter and turned away from the counter. "Well, I'll see you around. Gotta make sure customers can see me."

Jiro gave him a lazy but friendly wave before settling back into her chair. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she queued up the video again.

Just one last time… Then I'll go do something productive…

Enjoying her out-of-character moment of indulgence, she hit play.

"Oh my god, that kid's gonna die…!"

It was so cool seeing a hero like this. She didn't try to be edgy, or sexy, or cool… She just seemed like she was having fun. Seeing the girl's grin reminded Jiro of how she felt when she slid into the 'zone' with her music, just rockin' out where no one could see and living in the moment... It was awesome!

That's the kind of hero I want to—

"Hello."

Jiro jumped out of her seat for the second time in as many minutes, whirling to stare at…

Is she a statue…?

A white-haired girl stared at her blankly, her face so expressionless that it had to be a quirk. More annoyingly, one of her co-workers was standing with the… customer…? Whatever she was, the idiot couldn't seem to keep his eyes off the pale-teen's backside, and it was everything Jiro could do to not smack him in front of the-girl-that-was-probably-a-customer.

"A-hem," she grunted, startling the boy out of his fugue.

"H-hey, Jiro…" he began. "I, er…"

The music-loving girl rolled her eyes at him before turning to face the other girl.

"What do you want…?" she asked.

Already, Jiro didn't like the girl, if for no other reason than the fact that she looked so robotic… It didn't help that her feminine pride stung a little bit from the knowledge that the idiot she worked with had never looked at her like that. She didn't really want him to, and would probably smack him with her ear-jacks if he did, but it was the principle of the thing, y'know?

"I am here for a job," the white-haired girl responded, not even blinking at Jiro's rudeness.

You'd be better off at a strip-club wearing pants so tight over an ass like—

Okay, maybe she was a little more offended than she thought.

"Yeah, no, we're not hiring anymore—"

Her coworker practically vaulted over the countertop, sidling up to Jiro's side before leaning in to whisper to her.

"Okay, so hear me out," he began.

"Tanaka…" Jiro growled. "You know I got the last spot when Ibuki hired me…"

"Yeah, yeah, but…! I heard that Hiroto, y'know the old guy in the repairs department…? Well, I heard he's retiring soon… And…!"

The boy paused to point at the white-haired teen with his thumb.

"She said she's good with tech!" He explained. "I thought that if we gave her a test or something we could prove that she's worth hiring…!"

Jiro gave him an 'are you kidding me' stare, eyebrows fully raised.

She doesn't look like she's even paying attention to the conversation and you think she can put computers back together…?

"Come on…! I'll owe you one!"

She was seriously considering stabbing the boy's uniform with her quirk and seeing if she could vibrate his whole body enough that it would shake the idiocy out of his head.

"I'll take your late-shifts for a week, no, a month!"

That got her attention.

"...Fine. Let's go see if Hiroto's got anything laying around that she can try and fix," Jiro said with a put-upon sigh.

"Excellent," the blank-faced girl interjected, catching the other girl off-guard with the fact that she had been paying attention.

"Great… Let's go, then."

At least I'm getting a month without late-shift out of this…

---

'Why does that boy keep fixating on your gluteus muscles, 3B?'

Outwardly, Izuku didn't even blink at the statement. Internally, however…

I… I'm n-not sure I should explain that…

It really was a shame how poorly sized Izuku's size 'S' jeans covered the teenager's form differently like this. It was even more of a shame that she was hyper-aware of the attention she received for it because of spending time with Rias the day prior.

'You seem to be dodging the question…' 2B went on. 'What is the purpose of doing so…? Do you not trust me with the information, 3B?'

WHAT?! No! I—It's just… Embarrassing…

'...And that is one of those… emotions… that Humanity has…?' the android clarified. 'They seem very inconvenient.'

Izuku distinctly remembered a moment when the woman had given a quiet, but heartfelt, thanks for 'allowing' her to keep her name…

It's not just humans, 2B… You have them too. It's a good thing. They're your own kind of humanity.

The android remained perfectly silent but… Izuku got the distinct feeling she was… Oh my god. She was blushing.

'I… must respectfully disagree…'

"Alright, here you go."

Snapping out of her thoughts, the temporary girl nodded to the other teenager. She seemed oddly irritated for some reason, but Izuku wasn't going to let that stop her. She needed a job, and with all the pressure lately it felt like she was rapidly running out of time… Even if that was probably the placebo effect or something.

"Prove you can fix that and I'll ask my boss to consider you. With both of us recommending it, he might give you a shot," the shorter girl stated, gesturing at the workbench behind the IT counter.

Izuku nodded and stepped forward to examine the old desktop in front of her. The thing was easily over a decade old, and it was incredibly likely a senior citizen had brought it in because it finally died, but she had to fix it.

Okay, first step is to check if it turns on…

Bzzt…!

The moment she plugged it in, the thing gave an audible crack as something within fried itself.

That… Doesn't bode well.

Glancing at her supervisor, the white-haired teen tried to muster a hopeful look… but 2B's poker face was not to be denied. The employee gave a 'get on with it' gesture, barely even looking up from her tablet… which she'd plugged her earlobe into.

Ooh! That's an interesting quirk! I wonder if it—

'Focus, 3B. There is a mission to be completed,' 2B interjected.

R-right… Sorry…

Turning back to the computer, Izuku pulled it open and tried in vain to wave away the scent of burnt dust—

'Toggling olfactory sensors…' 2B interjected.

—and the smell was gone. Huh. Neat.

Narrowing her eyes, the teen focused on the contents of the computer case. After 2B's help just now, she wasn't surprised when her vision zoomed in on several vital components, cataloging the problems in a literally visible list that lined up with her thoughts on what she was seeing. It wasn't giving her the knowledge, just keeping track of it on the HUD that 2B's form granted. Even then, it was incredibly helpful to have.

More importantly, this hadn't happened before, but a quick glance at her Sync Rate Counter showed that she was sitting at '27.9.' Well… That explained the newness quite well.

At least the CPU isn't fried… the hard drive, on the other hand…

Thankfully, that would be easy to replace, but the customer wouldn't be happy about losing all of their files…

2B… is there any way we could try and save some of the data…?

'It's… possible. However, that was always 9… 9… It was…'

The android trailed off, confusion evident in her tone. Before Izuku could ask what was wrong, the woman barrelled on forcefully, clearly pretending it hadn't just happened.

'...Scanning is not my, and therefore not your, specialty. We are somewhat limited to brute force within the realm of Cyberspace, but that is probably enough for this level of technological advancement.'

Izuku really wanted to go back to whatever had just affected the woman, the words on the tip of her metaphorical tongue—

"Hey, I've got stuff to do, so if you're just gonna stand there and stare at it then we can wrap this up and forget about the job offer."

—but she didn't have time right now.

"The hard drive is fried," Izuku reported, 2B's professionalism bleeding through easily. It was a field the teenager had expertise in, given all her Support Item research, so it only made it all the easier for the woman's tone to come through. "That's why it won't boot properly. Much of the data is likely lost, but I may be able to recover some of it. Please collect an external drive for me while I extract it."

Tabling the issue of 2B's short-lived distress for later, the white-haired girl turned back to the computer and extended a mental probe to the thing in the way she'd begun doing with her training equipment. With how damaged it was, there was no way using a cord would work prop—

…

Woah…

Izuku glanced around, marveling at the pure whiteness of the world around herself. It was a world of geometric blocks and patterns, lancing off into the horizon in an infinite series of fractals that carried ones and zeroes to their destinations. It was incredible…

C-C-CRACK!

…And then the cracks began to show. Chunks of fragmented data tore at the heavens, rending them into pieces only to flicker back to normality… and then repeat the loop moments later.

'It is not a good idea to idle here. The system is unstable without a properly functioning BIOS,' 2B declared. 'You are lucky that it's even stable enough to support a data transfer.'

Right…

Izuku took a step, only to realize that her leg came into existence because she had done so, the rest of her form indistinct until she began to move. The shape that emerged was identical to how she looked while wearing 2B's uniform, the lone difference being that her entire being had been dyed pitch black—flickering in place like a digital phantom…

…Which was actually a pretty accurate description of what she was right now.

A platform of yellowish-white energy formed beneath her foot, the sigil that represented 2B within the watch emblazoned within concentric rings, only to disappear the moment she took another step—creating a series of platforms that let her walk through the distorted world around her.

Oh-my-god-this-is-so-cool…!

It was almost impossible to keep her geeky nature in check as she continued moving, marveling at the entire experience with barely restrained awe.

This was nothing like interfacing with the simplistic gear she'd been working with before. Tiny chips with rudimentary operation systems simply required some mental focus to adjust with her limited control, but this? A full-blown digital world?! It was awesome!

Wandering around somehow managed to take her to her objective rather quickly, the world around her reshaping to provide a rough direction of white walls to follow and shattered paths to avoid. Her destination, however…

"That's… A lot of files…"

Fluttering through the air were thousands upon thousands of black folders, flapping their ends like wings as they crashed and careened around the walled-off area. Many of them seemed to stutter and twitch occasionally, sending ones and zeroes falling from their insides as they flickered in and out of existence.

Stepping forward, Izuku's arm brushed against one of the data-creatures—

user/documents/cat-phot~

—only for her to rip it away instantly as a dozen photos of adorable animals flashed through her mind. Unfortunately, the suddenness of the motion led to her shoulder bumping into—

system32/kromer/do-you-wanna-be-a-big~

—only to stagger backward into a third folder—

desktop/shortcuts/hot-men-seeking-middle-aged~

"GAH!"

Izuku could not unsee the contents of that folder… no matter how much she wished to.

'Be careful, 3B. Direct contact will lead to data-bleed.'

"Y-yeah… I noticed…"

Sitting down placed Izuku below the average height of the folders, allowing her to focus on the next step… Collecting all the information. Taking a breath she was sure she didn't need in digital space, she focused on the folders around her and began trying to… to…

…Huh.

Um… 2B…? What exactly should I be doing…?

'I… am also not sure…' the woman admitted.

"I'm going to be here a while, aren't I…?"

---

Jiro let out an annoyed huff as she lugged the requested hardware back towards the repairs section. She wasn't really sure what annoyed her more, that she was the one carrying the thing back instead of her idiot coworker or that the potential new hire actually seemed competent.

I do not want to deal with Tanaka flirting with her all day…

Thankfully, the girl hadn't seemed to notice all the attention. It would have been even more annoying if she had reciprocated… Silver linings, right?

B-r-i-i-n-g…!

Glancing up at the sliding doors in the distance, the teenager took note of the person that had just entered the store—setting off the synthetic bell tone.

They were dressed quite oddly. Several layers of cape-like robes hung from their shoulders to their knees, obscuring their arms entirely and drawing attention to their utterly bare legs and feet. Resting on their head was a wooden cone-like helmet, its bottom edge reaching down to their shoulders. It had simplistic designs drawn upon it in chalk, while two large eye holes were cut into the front of it—though they were partially obscured by white mesh.

What the…?

Something about the person seemed… off… to Jiro's instincts. It was a distinctly uncomfortable feeling, and it made her want to carefully start walking away so she wasn't noticed by—

*Crrsh…!*

A sound like digital static echoed from within the stranger's adornments as they turned to stare directly at Jiro—her eyes meeting the individual's own through the barrier of the mask.

'RUN!' her gut screamed at her.

And so she did.

Dropping the box in her arms, she took off in the opposite direction.

Poff…! Poff…! Poff…!

Boxes exploded off the shelves around her as the tech within shot out of their containers.

"Go…! Show the world what horrible beasts you are, MACHINES!" a distorted voice called from behind her.

Coffee makers, speakers, even electronic toothbrushes began to… transform, for lack of a better term. Mechanical limbs sprouted as they revolved upon themselves, the crunch of metal and plastic ringing through the whole department store as the hardware began to rebel. Malformed robots replaced well-designed technology all across the floor, charging after the nearest humans in sight.

Shit, shit, shit…!

Jiro ducked behind a shelf, panicked breaths echoing from her mouth as screams and shouts of confusion and surprise resounded around her. The scramble of machine-lifeforms and frightened people was impossible to ignore, and the girl could feel the fear spiking into her heart.

What do I do…?!

She wasn't a hero yet! She wasn't ready for this! Hell, she wasn't even a hero-student yet! What could she possibly do to help—

Cops! I can call the cops…!

Tearing her phone from her pocket, she slid it to her ear and—

"Ow…!"

—flung the thing at the ground after it bit her, the jagged plastic teeth it had finished forming a moment earlier chittering together in a cruel imitation of laughter before it started scuttling toward her again. Instantly, she stomped on it, shattering the glass and ruining the device, sending sparks and a small amount of smoke drifting away as it fried itself dramatically.

"Do you see?!" the villain in the distance shouted. "This is what you get when you rely on machines! I've warned you all for years! Told you of their horrible voices! But did you listen?!"

"Damnit, this guy's a wacko…!" Jiro muttered to herself.

Alright… I need a plan…

She sure as hell was not ready for any of this crap, but there was no way she was going to sit here and watch while this nutjob terrorized people.

Hmm…

Peeking around the aisle, she searched for the—

"YOU!" the villain cried, pointing at…

Jiro blinked.

Oh thank god. A hero's here.

The teenager may not have recognized the young woman, but with how over-the-top she was dressed in that skimpy black outfit with an hourglasses pattern on its back and the quiet confidence she seemed to exude, there was no doubt of what she was.

"What are you…?!"

---

Izuku was on the verge of panicking.

The freckled teen had nearly figured out how to start collecting all the stable files from the hard-drive when her connection was suddenly cut. From the fact that the computer had promptly grown two stumpy legs and a saw-blade for an arm before attacking her, it hadn't taken any effort to figure out something was horribly wrong. Seeing the villain by the front of the store had simply explained the problem.

It really wasn't any surprise that she switched into her costume after smashing the malformed hardware into the ground—probably breaking it beyond repair, but that was a problem for Future-Izuku.

However, none of that was why she was on the verge of panicking. No, that honor belonged to—

"YOU!"

—the splitting headache she had from the horrible screeching sound echoing through her mind. Like scrap metal being dragged against itself, it had a terrible ferocity to it that was only magnified by its painful volume. It was frustrating… Enraging…!

Its wild nature demanded that she let loose, destroy anything that moved and—

'Your system is under attack, 3B,' the android in her head declared, her voice cutting through the sound like a calming river. 'I am beginning to implement defenses. You will have to handle the villain on your own while I hold him off here. Do not take too long. I am unsure how long I can last, given my inexperience with such a task.'

Oh. That's what was happening. Was this the villain's quirk?

"What are you…?!" The villain cried, their words distorted by some kind of modulator. "You have a voice…! Like the machines…!"

"Surrender, villain," Izuku replied, aiming to sound as confident as possible.

She knew it probably wouldn't happen, but she could hope, right?

"No…! The world must be shown…! You're like all the rest…!" the villain shouted. "No! You're worse! You're one of them…! A machine!"

Izuku cocked her head to the side, slipping just barely around the set of mechanized earbuds that had flung themselves at her neck in an attempt to garrotte her… Time seemed to slow down as the world took on a pale gold tint, giving the temporary android several helpful seconds to plan.

The villain won't expect me to dodge, so use the opportunity to close the distance.

One second passed, the world inching forward in time slowly.

Aim for the legs to knock them down or off balance, then go for the mask.

Another second went by, the white-haired heroine's attacker flying through the air she'd occupied milliseconds earlier in real time.

Something that big likely has a purpose beyond looks—and if it's important then it can only be a good thing to target.

A third second—

Color bleeded back into the world, and Izuku shot forward just as the machine she'd dodged hit the ground behind her. One step, two steps, three…!

"What the—?!"

The teen tumbled forward into a handspring, her legs whirling around her in a graceful diagonal axe-kick that was on course to smash into the villain's knees, her rebar blades trailing behind her in their faithful rings of light.

SMASH!

Sparks and wires flew from the mutated washing machine that had interposed itself between the blow and her opponent, taking the whole of the attack even if it had totaled the appliance. Wincing internally at the thin cuts that now marred her leg, the teen ripped the limb out of the thing.

Stupid…! Should have used a weapon…!

"Hah! How fitting that two beastly machines would destroy each other…!" the villain cried even as they retreated a few meters. Raising their hand to gesture in Izuku's direction, they continued. "Now go! Finish what you started…!"

Izuku's eyes widened as a flatscreen glided forwards with a squad of drones behind it while a row of fridges began waddling at her from the nearest aisle. A veritable army of headphones, keyboards, and mice were led by several printers as they hopped from shelf to shelf, rapidly swarming in her general direction. They were all upon her too quickly for her to escape… and so began the appliance war.

Ducking the first wave of projectiles, courtesy of the headphone division, Izuku lashed out with several swings of her shorter rebar blade—taking out a few of the keyboards that had split into connected segments and began trying to assault her with their numerous buttons. Crouching low, she managed to avoid the first flatscreen bombardment, the world flashing gold ever-so-briefly as glass rained down around her and barely avoided contact with her black outfit.

They're going to keep coming unless I stop the source…

Backflipping to avoid the mice trying to entangle her feet, the white-haired heroine latched onto one of the mid-air drones, using the handhold that gave her to fling herself down at the fridge squadron in a powerful dive—plunging her larger rebar 'blade' into their leader. Letting go of her sword and springing off the automaton before the rest could swarm her, Izuku narrowly managed to avoid one of the thick limbs the other fridges had sprouted—her weapon re-appearing behind her back instants later. As the familiar feeling of energy flowed into her circuit-like network, the world slowed to a crawl for the third time since the fight had begun.

I need to break their focus… But how…?

Out of the corner of her currently slowed eyes, Izuku could see yet another headphone volley flying at her like a net.

Ah! Perfect…!

As time caught up to her, the white-haired heroine lashed out with her fists, tearing a pair of earbuds out of the air and swinging her body in a quarter circle before wrapping the cord around one of the printer generals like a whip. Pulling it out of the ranks of its army, she used her momentum to fling the whole thing at the villain.

"Gah…!"

Not even waiting for the projectile to make contact, Izuku took off running toward the—

CRACK!

The sound of the villain's mask shattering somehow managed to overcome the ambient noises of the machine army and the cries of hiding customers being harassed by their personal appliances.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…! THE VOICES…! NO…! STOP…!"

A wave of invisible energy exploded out of the villain, enveloping every piece of technology in the store, including Izuku, who stared the villain straight in their startlingly gold eyes as her fist came up to strike them in the—

CUH-LOCK!

—chin, smashing their jaw shut and lifting them several centimeters off the ground.

For a dramatic moment, the villain seemed to hang in the air, body spasming as they seemed to practically short-circuit like the very machines they so despised… and then they collapsed to the ground in a heap like their 'reset button' had been smashed to pieces.

---

Jiro watched the battle, not quite in awe per se, but certainly captivated.

The teen had seen heroes fight off villains before—what person her age hadn't?—and this was by no means the most over-the-top or bombastic battle she'd been witness to, but…

It was a weirdly quiet fight.

Well, the villain had been ranting on and on about toasters being evil or something like that, but what villain didn't have some crazy axe to grind with the world? No, what was weird was the hero's silence. She was so serious in a way that was rare to see these days. Not a single quip, nor any kind of verbal sparring… She had literally only spoken two words the entire time since she'd arrived, and they were the briefest thing she could have possibly said in this circumstance.

Jiro didn't like it in the slightest, it was the complete opposite of what she liked to see in heroes, but she couldn't fault the young woman's skill, at least. She seemed to be dismantling the robot army with ease, like she was born to break down machine uprisings. It… was pretty cool, honestly.

And then it was over.

The hero managed to crack the villain's mask—which was weirdly high-tech for some random baddie to have—and get in close, delivering one hell of an uppercut that knocked her opponent's lights out. Peering a bit closer, Jiro could tell that the villain was an emaciated young woman, with shoulder-length frazzled brown hair and sunken eyes… but more importantly the look on her face was… weird. Like, really weird.

"...on… voices… Gone…"

What was that…?

Jiro inched closer as she noticed the heroine lower her arms from the action pose she'd frozen in. This clearly caught the attention of the villain, who whirled to face the victor of their fight with eyes wider than dinner plates.

"Thank you… Thank you, Machine Goddess…"

Woah, what…? That… What happened…?

"I am not a deity," the pale-haired girl denied simply. It was kind of weird she didn't deny being a machine, though…

As the odd interaction continued, everyone seemed to realize that the fight was over, fully abandoning their cover as they started to form a crowd of spectators. Already, several of them had their phones out to record the scene. How theirs had survived the machine uprising was beyond her, but clearly they'd gotten lucky or something.

"You freed me from the voices… What else could you be…?" the villain stage-whispered in frighteningly worshipful tones.

Also, voices…? How stereotypical could this nutjob get?

"I am merely another hero," the young woman declared. "Helping people is my purpose."

Well duh, Captain Obvious.

"Shh…!" Someone next to her hushed her.

Oops.. Had she said that last bit out loud…?

"What may I call you then…?" the… budding cultist…(?) asked.

Okay, that's probably a stretch, but it was getting kind of creepy how she was looking at the heroine. It's just weird to look at someone so obsessively after they were about to lay the smack down on you.

"I am called Cypher Blade."

Jiro stared at the weapons hovering behind the young woman's back…

Seriously? Chipped rebar…? Kinda lacking for a hero called 'Cypher Blade' aren't you…?

…And everyone was looking at her now… Everyone… Meaning the men, the women, the hero, too…! Why was—

"Ah… I said that outloud, didn't I…?" she asked, mortified at the attention of the whole store.

"It… Is a work in progress," the heroine declared way too seriously, answering Jiro's rhetorical question with an equally rhetorical answer.

That's how that worked, right…? Jiro totally wasn't just freaking out from all the eyes on her, right?

"R-right…" the girl replied, stepping backward and trying to duck behind someone else, anyone else, so that she could avoid the looks people were giving her and the cameras briefly pointed in her direction instead of at the hero…

…but everyone stepped away before she could even get close. As a subtle bit of red tinged her cheeks and she began to twirl her ear-jacks out of nervous-habit, a horrible thought occurred to her.

God… This is going all over the internet, isn't it…?

It was with no small amount of horror that she watched one of the cameramen give her a bright smile and thumbs up.

"You can bet it is!" he replied cheerfully.

---

The Next Day, in a Small Park in Musutafu…

Izuku was starting to get desperate, now.

Once is a coincidence, but twice…? How is my luck that bad…?!

There were two locations he'd have to avoid now, and he really hoped this next one wouldn't be a third. It was a pleasant looking ramen restaurant, one that would be opening up for the late-afternoon/early-evening in the next few minutes. They were a family-owned place, and the owner liked to close down after the lunch rush was over to prepare for the latter portion of the day.

Nervously messing with the dial of the watch, Izuku tapped his heel impatiently on the ground as he sat there… waiting on the park bench. He needed this to work out. The sooner he got a job, the sooner his mother could go back to normal hours and stop worrying about him. It was a simple equation, really, but one that demanded he put his best step forward…

…Which is why he was going to borrow one of the girl's forms again.

He couldn't risk the owner laughing him out of the store because he looked young, or deciding that he'd rather wait for someone better suited to apply for the job. Izuku was going to get the man's attention and run with it, and that required relying on the inherently 'special' air that all of the spirits in the watch had. It had worked with Rias and 2B—better than any of his 'solo' attempts—even if sheer happenstance had ruined it… But it would work again this time. He was sure of it.

Midoriya Izuku was a pretty normal, if scrawny, young man. Nothing interesting about him, besides his occasional habit of stuttering awkwardly or muttering his thoughts aloud… But the girls? Each of them radiated a sense of personality he was certain he lacked, and that always seemed to bleed through at least a little when he worked with them. Of course, that just left the question of who…?

Hinata said she likes ramen… Right…?

Nodding at the thought, the teen made his decision. Hinata may not have stood out as much when compared to some of the other girls, but that was probably for the best in a more traditional looking place like this… Probably.

A flash of green lit up his surroundings, and the teenaged boy on the park bench was replaced with a pale-eyed, black-haired, girl with a gentle air about her.

'Hello Izuku-sa—'

"Ooh…! That's an interesting quirk you have there!"

Izuku nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise, whipping around reflexively even as energy flooded her eyes to grant the teen knowledge of her surroundings.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you…!"

A blonde girl, on the taller side for a young woman, stood behind the freckled teen. Dressed in a maroon vest—complete with a bow and knee-length slacks, she had a certain scholastic air to her. The plaid socks extending into heeled soft-leather boots reinforced the look greatly, while the pocket-sized notebook she already had in her hands cemented it. Finally, she had a simple messenger bag hanging off her one shoulder, bulging oddly at several points for… some reason…

"I-It's fine…" Izuku replied.

The girl, seemingly taking that at face value, nodded cheerily before returning to her notebook.

"Likely a full-body, instantaneous change, though further confirmation is required due to the subject's clothed status. Unknown trigger for the effect, and seemingly takes little-to-no effort to maintain the transformed state—or perhaps the other form is the false one…?"

"Are… Are you taking notes on my quirk…?" Izuku wondered aloud.

The girl blinked, looking up from her notes with the expression of someone who realized they've just slipped into a bad habit again.

"Oops…! Sorry…! I just find quirks fascinating, and I like to write down my thoughts to help with my work," she explained. "I-I… I can stop if it makes you uncomfortable…"

Izuku's currently pupil-less eyes widened in surprise.

"What…?! No…! Go ahead…! I don't… I don't mind…" she stated.

I've never met someone else that takes notes like this…

'...T-There aren't many people like you, Izuku-san…' Hinata added hesitantly. '...She seems nice at least? It's probably the truth that she just likes taking notes…'

"Really…?!" the girl exclaimed in excitement, closing the distance rapidly and taking a seat before Izuku could even think to stop her. "Would you be willing to answer some questions, then?"

"Uh… Sure…?"

What else could she say? She had a few minutes before she could go asking about applying to the ramen place, so it couldn't hurt, and… it probably helped that the older girl was… quite pretty…

I'm such a sucker…

"First of all, which look is the real one…?" the girl that Izuku realized still hadn't introduced herself asked.

"Um… I'm a guy normally, if that's what you're asking," the freckled teen replied.

"And you aren't now, I take it? Down below, I mean," the blonde went on clinically.

Izuku's face flushed red instantly.

What kind of perverted—No, she's not Rias… She didn't mean it like that…

Not trusting herself to speak straight, the pale-eyed girl simply nodded.

"Fascinating…!" the older girl nodded, noting something down in her book. "Have you noticed any shifts in sexual preference with your quirk active?"

"WHAT?!" Izuku veritably shrieked, her traitorous mind returning to her classmates' theories about Baiken and Bakugo…

It was actually rather comforting that her immediate and only response to that was horror, though that was cold-comfort when compared to the knowledge of her classmates' ongoing commentary...

"I'll take that as a no…" the girl went on easily, making another note in her book. "Next up, given how much of a shift in mass you experience, are you aware of your sizes…? I'm curious what sub-type of transformation quirk you fit and specific measurements could help me get a better picture of…"

Izuku wasn't sure what was worse here… the fact that the girl was asking such a personal question so directly, much less at all… or the fact that thanks to Agoyamato she knew the answer.

"...Oh! Since sex-altering quirks are rather uncommon, and really aren't that well-studied, I'm also quite curious, have you experienced menses in—"

And with that, Izuku's ability to handle the situation finally dissolved completely.

"Thanks-sorry-gotta-go-to-my-interview-bye…!" the temporary girl stated at breakneck-speed, dashing away as soon as she could.

Within moments she was gone, leaving the blonde girl alone on the park bench. Her face twisted into a cute frown as her eyes darted back and forth between her notes and the subject of her impromptu interrogation.

"Oh, phooey… I did it again, didn't I…?" she mumbled to herself before continuing on, her tone even more dejected.

"Come on, Melissa… You got papa to let you leave early and you've barely been here for a day… And already scared someone off… You're never gonna be able to find a hero partner like this…"

…

"You're too skinny, girl…"

Thump…!

The largest bowl of ramen Izuku had ever seen was placed in front of her, steam rising from the freshly made soup. It looked incredible, even if ramen wasn't normally the teen's preferred dish. Clearly, the stocky man in front of her knew what he was doing. Between the way he was dressed in a typical chef's clothing with a towel draped around his shoulders in a way that mirrored the droop of his lengthy mustache and the stern expression on his face, it was clear he took his job seriously.

His serious glare veritably demanded attention, and Izuku was more than happy to give it so she could forget about the last few minutes. Frankly, she was starting to feel like the butt of some cosmic joke with all the embarrassing situations that had happened after the watch had entered her life…

"W-well, I… Thank you for warning me, sir, but… I'm just here for the job offer…?"

His eyes narrowed at her, his mustache seeming to come alive as it trembled and twirled on its own—likely the result of whatever his quirk was.

"Only people who know how to eat get to work here girl… How else would the customers know our food is good…?" he countered. "Never trust a skinny chef!"

"B-but I'm just—"

"Prove to me you can eat," the man cut her off, "and I'll consider letting you help out around here…"

The bowl was pushed forward, the steam directly wafting into Izuku's face and making her particularly sensitive eyes water from the heat.

"Are you up to the challenge…?"

Squinting down at the bowl, the teen quickly guestimated whether or not she could finish it off.

I… I can probably finish that…?

'You can do it, Izuku-san…!' Hinata cut in unexpectedly. 'Show that knock off chef how much a real ramen-lover can eat!'

…What…?

'Come on…! Go, go, go…!' the girl cheered. 'There's no way this can fill you up as much as Ichiraku's…!'

W-what is happening…? Since when are you competitive, Hinata…?

"Are you going to eat, or not, girl…?" the chef interjected.

Forced back to reality, Izuku gave a reluctant nod… and then she dug in.

It was… really good… The dish in front was a large bowl of miso ramen, and something about the taste felt incredibly familiar to the temporary girl, even if it wasn't quite right according to her sense of deja vu. With every bite she tried to figure out exactly why that was, but the answer continued to elude her…

…and the distraction of Hinata's suddenly developed and wildly out-of-character competitive streak didn't help in the slightest.

Before she knew it, the bowl was empty… and oddly enough, she still felt like she could eat more. That was more than enough to fill her up normally…

Thump…!

…and now there was a second bowl in front of her.

"What…? Did you think I'd be impressed after a single serving…?" the chef asked smugly.

Izuku narrowed her eyes at him, her own underutilized competitive streak beginning to flare up in response to the man's attitude. Hinata's approval of that fact only fanned the flames.

"Bring it on…!"

…

"Hah…! Done…!" Izuku exclaimed.

Thump…!

Another bowl was slid across the counter.

…

Thump…!

And then another…

…

Thump…!

And another…

…

Thump…!

And one more, just to be sure…

…

Thump…!

And then they began to blur together as Izuku focused exclusively upon consuming whatever was put in front of her, even as her stomach began to protest and groan in rebellion. Somewhere along the line, she realized that the restaurant had other people in it, and they were cheering her on…

"M-more…!"

…

…

…

"Hah… Hah… Hah…" Izuku panted, sliding the latest empty bowl across the counter towards the chef. "T-thank you for the… Hah… meal…"

"Woah… How many bowls is that…?! There's literal towers of empty dishes around her…!"

"Where does she put it all…?!"

"I wish I could pig out like that and still be that thin…"

'...Forty-one… Forty-two… Forty-three…' Hinata counted in Izuku's head. 'Forty… Four… and that's the last bowl. That's amazing, Izuku-san! You did great!'

The pale-eyed teen leaned against the counter-top and let out a groan, clenching her stomach in discomfort.

It doesn't feel like I did… Ugh…

'Well, you nearly beat my record, and I'm the champion back home…! Even Naruto couldn't beat me!' the girl went on excitedly. '...Not that it got him to notice me…'

'Naruto…?' Who's that…?

It sounded… vaguely familiar. Wasn't that the name Hinata had asked about when they'd first met…?

"That… That was incredible, girl…!" the chef exclaimed suddenly, leaning over the counter and pulling Izuku into a bearhug. "I've never seen a stick like you eat that much! You can consider yourself hired—"

CRASH!

A sense of collective confusion overcame pretty much everyone in the room as they turned to face the window that had just shattered, the unexpected hissing sound that followed startling everyone just as much as the sight of the tiny firework that had been tossed through the glass… and was currently burning up the remainder of its fuse quite rapid—

Kra-koom!

Bright colors filled the room along with shouts of surprise as people covered their eyes in vain. The damage was already done, the festive flashbang already blinding just about everyone temporarily while leaving a small crater in the polished concrete floor.

It was worse for Izuku, however. Even without the Byakugan active, her eyes were vastly better than the human norm… which came with the unfortunate downside of making them vastly more sensitive. As it was, she was blinking away tears and felt like soap had gotten into her eyes… She didn't even want to think about what it would have been like with the Byakugan active.

Kra-koom!

Kra-koom!

Kra-koom!

"PFA-HA-HA-HA-HA…!" a voice echoed outside the restaurant, the sounds of more fireworks almost overwhelming his laughter.

Staggering to the door while the rest of the people in the restaurant were still getting over their brief fright, Izuku peered outside…

I swear, someone out there hates me…

There was really no other explanation at this point. A third villain attack interrupting a job interview…? The sheer absurdity of the bad luck was laughable at this point, but…

Izuku couldn't help the grin that came unbidden to her face.

'Let's go show the bad guy who's boss, Izuku-san!'

---

Detail Diatribe:

Lots of stuff to cover today, so let's get straight into it!

For one, yes, that was a Mineta cameo. Can you blame Izuku for not remembering the little guy after so much has happened since their last, brief interaction? Of course, the pervert is not going to be happy once he realizes who he was speaking to and going 'awooga' over.

Jiro also had a cameo, and I think you all can see what I'm doing here. It's fun introducing canon characters early and checking in on how they're doing before U.A. gets started. Not only does it allow the world to feel more organic and full, but it also means I don't need as many original NPC characters to fill out various background roles in different scenes. It's a win/win, really.

With Jiro, I've adjusted her character to better suit how I imagine her as a person, adding a notable amount of sarcasm into her entertaining mix of punk rocker and easily excitable music-nerd.

On that note, it's unfortunate that in a series with so many teenage characters, not a single one of them is sarcastic canonically, somehow. I know it's because the western definition of sarcasm and its uses doesn't translate very well into Japanese or into Japan's culture, but god is it frustrating.

Next up are the villains of the chapter!

To start, yes, the Hypno Hustler is a Jimi Hendrix impersonator. No, I can't explain what led me to the idea, I don't understand it myself, but here he is now. A fun villain of the week that I pulled out of god-knows-where for Rias' debut. If you care, he's smack-dab in the middle of 'E-rank' as a villain. Roughly the same as the smoke villain was.

As for the unnamed villain Izuku fought with 2B, her design is based on the citizens of 'Facade' in NieR Replicant, though her quirk is based on a scene from the Michael Bay Transformers movies. It unfortunately came with the downside of her always hearing the various signals emitted by electronics, driving her mad with how her brain interpreted them as 'voices.'

Izuku breaking her mask and applying the classic 'smack it until it works' IT method managed to help, though, so she's on the road to recovery in a psych ward now. Oh, and for reference, she was a low E-rank.

On the note of villain rankings, in case you were curious, the villain from the festival was an average E-rank villain until he pumped himself full of trigger, then he was a low-mid D-rank with limitations on his ability to think. Most of the destruction wasn't caused by him, just as a side-effect of the fact that fire spreads, hence his ranking.

Now, to address Rias!

Her new design updates were something I thought of to lean more heavily into her demonic, excuse me… Her devil-like vibes… though I unfortunately do not have a reference photo I can use here. As for Rias' hero name, I've taken inspiration from 'Lady Death' of western comic fame, though I've chosen to spell 'Hell' like the deity of Norse Mythology… Mainly because I thought it was cooler that way than for any specific connection.

That's all for the DD today!

---

AN:

So, no Omake or Chariot interview today, but given the length of the chapter I'm sure you can understand why. I've got even more to discuss down here, too, but here's the important bit:

No chapter next week, but there should be one the week after.

Also, for future reference, if you don't care about my ramblings on story direction or writing content, I'll always have the important stuff (like upload schedule) at the top of the author's notes, so feel free to skip the rest if you aren't interested.

Anyway, let's get started.

First up is pacing.

You may have noticed how things have really sped up lately, and that's intentional. I was a little nervous about the decision, but I believe it to be the right one even if it might feel a bit abrupt, between Hawks' sudden appearance last chapter, Izuku's rapid series of debuts, and Melissa already appearing in this one. The thing is, with how Izuku has exploded onto the scene as a vigilante, he's left behind the calm world of obscurity and entered the big leagues… regardless of whether he's ready. There's no way he can avoid attention with his other forms now that people are on the lookout for Chariot and Miss Samurai, and combined with the increasing scale of villains he's taking down it results in him making a debut everytime he has a public fight of respectable scope. Theoretically he could try to stick to using certain forms for his vigilantism, but given his limited control over who he selects that's not a viable option when adrenaline is pumping and his 'saving people thing' kicks in.

Besides that, things are already happening as a consequence of all the attention, as you can see. The various players in this world aren't going to let something like this slide without getting their hands in the honey pot.

As such, slowing things down with other plotlines and developments to avoid this 'abruptness' would leave an odd disconnect between Izuku's personal experiences and the world's response to his presence on the big stage. I've really tried to take advantage of the time I had during the hiatus to make this work well, but we'll have to wait and see if it was worth it.

Next! On the topic of Melissa!

She's quite the interesting character, with a lot of similarities to Izuku. I have a lot planned for exploring what she brings to the story, in part because of how little she's used in canon. With the fact that she's only allowed the screentime of a single movie to exist—nevermind the tiny other bits of content she's in—she's really not had the chance to be a relevant character despite all her potential. Really, her backstory sets her up as a fascinating foil to Izuku and his development, but nothing was ever done with that sadly.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to what you all think of my interpretation of her character going forward!

AN 2:

I was surprised to see how many people commented upon my personal goals! I didn't expect so many of you to care, but because of some things you all mentioned I'm going to make one last post on the topic to address your concerns.

I am very aware of how poorly animators are treated, particularly in Japan. My dream isn't to be taken advantage of by a system that chews up talent and spits out soulless, underpaid, shells of people that have arthritis before they're forty. I'm being somewhat hyperbolic here, but the point remains.

My dream is to tell the stories I want to tell and share them with as many people as possible. To do that I need the requisite skills and a platform to distribute them, but that doesn't mean I need to be an employee. I plan to follow the normal career route long enough to gain the ability I need and to make as many connections as possible before splitting off and forming my own team of animators. Similar to what Rooster Teeth achieved with Monty Oum, but with myself at the head instead of giving the power to make decisions away to the rest of the team like he did.

This way I can treat myself and my associates fairly while still accomplishing what I want, all with the added benefit of not needing to stifle creativity and artistic liberty just to pander to corporate decision-making.

Obviously this is an incredibly difficult route and one I'm not likely to achieve breakout success with, but I'd rather waste my life reaching for an improbable dream that I care about than die a slow death working in a profession I hate. Call me idealistic if you like, but it's my attitude on the matter.

With that said, I think I've covered everything of importance on the topic, and I don't plan to revisit it again. I believe that Author's Notes are supposed to be about the story or things that directly correlate to it, not slip into tangents about the author's personal life, though I really do appreciate all the concern and interest.

So, thank you for all the well-wishes and warnings, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.