Author's Note: Here's chapter 7! I hope that y'all enjoy it! This one and the next one were a bit hard for me to write just due to how split up people were for action and combat. I hope it turns out well and that y'all like it.
Also, if you want to get into a place with other lovers of MHA, and specifically IzuJirou stuff, come on and join this Discord server that I'm on:
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We're only kind of crazy, and not at all a cult... except, we also kind of are. Anyway, yeah, join that!
I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's cross-posted on Ao3 as well. Leave a review if you want to. I welcome the feedback! See you next week.
Kyouka opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room. It was incredibly well decorated. She looked around. This was… expensive looking. She moved her arm. Silk sheets? "Where am I…?" She got up from the bed and left the room. The hall was extravagant. "What the hell…?" She kept walking down the hallway until she got to pictures that were hung. She started to look at the first one and her breath caught. It was… her. But she was older? She was holding a child that had hair that looked like hers, but with hints of green. "Green?!" The next picture had a young teen girl with white hair and a single horn coming out of her forehead. The girl was smiling widely and was holding up a medal from something. She immediately moved to the next picture and she swore that her heart stopped. The next picture showed her in a beautiful wedding dress. Standing across from…
"Izuku…" she said out loud.
"Oh, hey, Kyo. Taking a walk down memory lane?" Izuku appeared behind her, snaking his arm around her waist. He turned her around and pulled her in for a kiss. Kyouka was so confused. He was kissing her. The last thing like this that Kyouka remembered was last night when she kissed him, but this was so much… more. Kyouka didn't move. She was stunned. It was a great feeling. She felt… happy. She finally felt herself relax into the kiss. Her jacks wrapped around the back of Izuku's neck as her arms wrapped around his back. The kiss lasted until they both needed to break for air. Izuku looked at her, his eyes gleaming. "You okay, Kyo? It's been a while since you kissed me like that. If something is wrong, you'd let me know, right? I love you."
Kyouka's heart fluttered upon hearing those words. Before she could say anything, she heard tiny footsteps running towards her. "Mommy! Good morning!" The little girl jumped into her arms. Kyouka barely managed to grab the girl, though.
"Good morning, Celica! Are you excited for today with mommy?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah!" She said excitedly, but then a pout formed on her face. "But I want you here too, daddy!"
"I know, sweetie, but I have to work today. You know how important daddy's job is. Mommy works with me tomorrow, too. Auntie Meimei will be looking after you tomorrow. But Saturday? Saturday, you'll have both of us!"
"Yay! Mommy and Daddy are the best Heroes!" Celica yelled and squirmed in my grasp.
"Heroes?" She thought. "Something is off here."
Izuku looked at Kyouka. "I know that it's still weird getting used to this, what with it being a few years before the Hero Commission agreed to make us heroes, but we did what we wanted to. We changed things. And so, here we are. I love you, Kyo."
"I lo-" Kyouka started, but everything faded to black before she could. She opened her eyes to see that she was back in her room in the warehouse. She felt her face heat up as she remembered her dream. "Was I about to say that I love him? Do I love him? What does this mean?" She had, of course, supported everything that Izuku dreamed of as they grew up. She'd known him for years. Of course she'd grow to like him. Probably love him, too, if the dream was anything to go by. But Izuku was always focused on his dream, so she never wanted to get in the way of that. But after last night? The flirting, the kiss, and then the dream? Kyouka found it hard to ignore it anymore. She looked at her phone only to find that it was just after six in the morning. Groaning, she pulled her blankets over her head and tried to go back to sleep.
The next morning came, and like the morning two days before, they were all woken up by the clanking of pots in the hallway. Well, all but Kyouka. She hadn't really been able to get back to sleep after waking up the first time.
"Get up, ya lazies! You took a nap yesterday, and it's like, after 9 now. I already got the van, without any of you might I add!" Mei yelled.
"Maybe if you wanted someone to go with you, you could have told us!" Kyouka shouted back.
"I wanted initiative, sweetheart!" Mei shouted back.
"Fuck you!" Kyouka yelled back, laughing afterwards. She could hear Mei laugh in response.
The curtain to Kyouka's room was pulled slightly back, and a hand entered. "Knock knock." It was Izuku's voice.
"Come on in, Izu." Kyouka said, sitting up in her bed.
"Hey, Kyo. I was wondering. Could we… Could we talk about last night?" Izuku asked.
"Where's all that confidence from last night, huh?" Kyouka said with a smirk.
"Well, it was partially a joke… I mean, like… Okay. Start over. I meant all of it. It was just easier when competition was used as an excuse. And then…" Izuku trailed off when Kyouka raised her hands, telling him to stop. He turned to look around, and he listened.
"Alright, Mei. Stop listening." Kyouka said from her bed.
"Damn her and her good ears. Never can hear anything juicy…" Both of them could hear Mei grumble as she walked off.
"Maybe we should talk somewhere else." Izuku suggested, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That would probably be best." Kyouka said. She sat there briefly. Izuku didn't move. "What the hell are you still doing here?"
"Waiting for something to happen?" Izuku asked.
Kyouka grabbed a hairbrush that was resting on her nightstand and chucked it at him. He, of course, dodged the brush, but the message was clear. "Well get out! I have to change, alright?"
Izuku immediately felt his face flush. "R-Right. Sorry!" He quickly left the room, leaving Kyouka alone with her thoughts.
"Idiot…" she laughed to herself and got up.
After getting dressed, the two met up and left not only the warehouse, but also SangenJaya in general. They both got on a train and headed to Shibuya.
"So…" Kyouka started. "What was that you were saying about meaning all of it?"
"I… I did. But it seriously was easier to be confident when it had the excuse for being competition. But that all changed when-" Izuku was cut off by Kyouka snapping her fingers in mock realization.
"The fire nation attacked!" Kyouka said. The two shared a quick laugh.
"No, not that." Izuku let another chuckle surface. "It changed when you kissed me. That's when it stopped being a competition, and that's when it became real." Izuku explained. Now it was Kyouka's turn to blush.
"Well, it was real… at least to me." She admitted.
"So what does that mean? What happens now?" Izuku asked.
Kyouka felt her heartbeat quicken dramatically. This was not something that she was used to doing, but it was something that she did want to do. She faked a smirk. "This, hopefully." She then leaned forward and pushed her lips onto Izuku's once again.
"Ky-… Seki!" Izuku caught himself about to call her by her real name instead of her alias, but caught himself in just enough time. He continued, whisper-yelling. "We're still on the bus!"
Kyouka leaned forward next to Izuku's ear and whispered just loud enough for just the two of them to hear. "I don't like being called Seki by you. It's not as special as my name is."
"I'll call you by your real name all you want whenever we're in private." Izuku promised.
"I'll hold you to that, Oda." She said, stressing his fake name.
"But seriously, you want to…?" He asked, pointing between the two of them.
"Do I want to…? What? You're gonna have to be specific."
"Do you want to, like, go out? With me?" Izuku asked, clearly nervous.
"I guess that mask didn't get rid of all of that old him. The confidence is hot, but it's nice to see that he still hasn't changed too much." Kyouka thought before giving her answer. "Of course I do. I thought that was apparent when I kissed you… again."
"Awesome. Okay. Cool." Izuku took a deep breath in and then looked back to Kyouka. He pressed forward and kissed her square on her lips. He held himself there for a few seconds. Just long enough for Kyouka to get over the shock of him kissing her, especially after just implying they shouldn't kiss because they were on a train. She had just begun to relax into the kiss when Izuku pulled away, leaving her longing for more almost immediately.
"I-… That…" Kyouka trailed off. "That was so much better than the dream…" She whispered. She didn't think that Izuku had heard her, but she could see a small blush forming on his face.
"Dream?"
"That's… That's uh, not important!" Kyouka blushed and looked away from Izuku.
"Shibuya station. This is Shibuya." The announcer of the train said over the intercom.
"This is our stop." Kyouka said, grabbing Izuku's hand.
The two of them walked around Central Street for an hour and a half, hands together, before returning via the train. They stayed together with intertwined fingers until they got back to the warehouse. Once they got back, Kyouka stopped outside of the door and looked back at Izuku.
After a few seconds of silence, she asked. "So what does this make us?" She held up their hands.
"Well, I know what I want us to be. Do you?"
"I may have an idea."
"Does it involve the word boyfriend?"
"Only if yours involves the word girlfriend."
"Then it's settled. We'll have to update our alias backstories." Izuku chuckled to himself. "Since you're my girlfriend after all now." Izuku brought her in for a hug.
"Wait, you're not the girlfriend? I thought that's what you were suggesting." Kyouka smirked at Izuku and both of them started laughing. "But all things considered, I suppose I could get used to you calling me your girlfriend, Oda." Kyouka once again stressed the fake name. She quickly pecked his cheek.
"We shouldn't say anything yet. And we should focus on the op tonight. But I like you a lot, and I want to be with you." Izuku said.
"Of course. The mission comes first." Kyouka smiled and turned to the bay door. As she raised it, Mei was standing on the other side, hands on her hips.
"So where the hell have you two been for the last two hours?" She waited until the two were inside and the bay door was closed before continuing. "You know we have an op today, right?"
"Mei, we were just out exploring Shibuya. It's part of our area of influence, so it's nice to be able to get an idea of what that looks like. I know I've never been there before." Izuku explained, walking to the fridge and pulling out a water bottle.
"And the op tonight? You know that we have to leave soon in order to get there in time, right?"
"That's why we're here now." Izuku smiled. "Let's get changed and move out, everyone!" He yelled into the complex.
"Yes, sir!" Three voices echoed through the warehouse. Mei looked unimpressed, but did as she was told.
Forty-five minutes later, the five of them were suited up and driving towards the hospital. They were lucky that Mei knew how to drive. But that seemed to be part and parcel with being with Izuku. Things just kind of worked out around him. For the most part.
Several hours later, they arrived in Musutafu. For Izuku, Kyouka, and Fumikage, they didn't expect to be back so soon after having left not even a week prior. But they were here nonetheless. They had a mission, and they needed to go through with it. This was important for their future as a group. Mei located the small hospital and found a remote alleyway a few blocks away to park the van. They didn't want to be too close to the scene when they drove off, after all.
By the time they had parked, it was close to four in the afternoon. So while they waited for the sun to set and for these people to show up, Mei, Hitoshi, Kyouka, and Fumikage elected to play a game of cards. Izuku, of course, was barred from playing with them due to the nature of his quirk, but he had fun watching them.
A few hours passed, and Kyouka slammed her hand down on the table with a huge grin on her face. "Eat shit, you three! That's seven wins in a row."
"Izuku must be helping you! Cheater!" Mei pointed at Kyouka and stuck her tongue out at the girl.
"Hey, don't drag me into this! I haven't done a single thing for this game. I've been inactive over here!" Izuku said with his hands raised next to his head in mock surrender.
"Well how else do you explain it?"
"Maybe you just suck?" Kyouka suggested. Hitoshi laughed at that.
Mei looked out the window to see a black sky illuminated by the myriad light posts of Musutafu. "It looks like we're gonna need to be moving out soon." She set her cards aside and grabbed her sidearm. "On your command, Snake Eyes."
Izuku nodded and turned his mask on. He shuffled the dice to show threes. "I know the layout of this building pretty well. There are three possible entrances. One main entrance, one side entrance, and the emergency entrance. Mastermind, you're with me in the main entrance. Heartquake, you take the emergency entrance, and NightHawk, you take the side entrance. Overwatch, there's a building next to the hospital that should get you a good vantage point on the main and emergency entrances. And you'll be able to see some of next to the side entrance, but not the whole thing. I'm sure you'll make it work. Keep a lookout of what's going on inside the building when you can. Once we leave from here, split up to get where you need to go."
A chorus of acknowledgement came from the other four members of the group. With that, Izuku opened the back doors of the van. He and Hitoshi immediately ducked into a corner alley and found their way to the main entrance. Kyouka followed them part of the way, but split off to head towards the emergency entrance. Fumikage and Mei split off from them almost immediately, going a different route.
"I'm in position. I also have downloaded the room layout of the hospital." Mei said over the comms a few minutes later.
"Heard. Mastermind and I have a visual on the main entrance. We'll let you know if people come through this way." Izuku said.
"I'm watching the emergency entrance right now. An ambulance just pulled up. I'll do some recon and let you know." Kyouka responded.
"I am at my locale. The side entrance is in my sight." Fumikage
"Okay, I used my jacks to listen into the ambulance. It was kind of foggy since it's so far away, but I think this may be them. They said something about getting in and out quickly. One of them might have said something about hostages if things go sideways." Kyouka relayed over the headset.
"Overwatch. Can you see how many people are in that ambulance?"
"Looks like there are five of them in there. That doesn't seem like much…" Mei trailed off.
"I have a group of six heading through the side entrance now!" Fumikage exclaimed.
"Go ahead and add seven to that. Snake Eyes and I have some coming in the main entrance." Hitoshi said.
"Okay, guys. Wait ten minutes before heading in. We'll get them." Izuku said. They did as they were told, waiting ten minutes before a "Go!" from Izuku had them running off towards the hospital.
Izuku and Hitoshi reached the main entrance and slipped inside. Not even a minute later, the lights in the building shut off, and a few seconds later, emergency lights came on, bathing the halls in a dull red glow.
"Ominous." Hitoshi had changed his voice to be deeper.
"That it is." Izuku's voice changer came into effect as well. "Stay alert."
"Snake Eyes, Mastermind. You have two heat signatures very close to you." Mei said over comms.
The two rounded a corner and came to a reception desk. True to Mei's announcement, two people were standing near the desk. They were both looking away from where Izuku and Hitoshi came from, thankfully.
"Alright, Mastermind." Izuku whispered. "Let's see what you can do. I'll support you, but this fight is yours."
"I took out a few people on our last mission." Hitoshi retorted.
"Yeah, but I didn't see it." Izuku said. He smiled, but due to his mask, nobody could see it.
"Fair." Hitoshi stood up and wrapped his cape around him. Almost immediately, he seemed to fade into the ambient light around them. Hitoshi ducked behind the desk and tweaked his mask's dials. "Help me!" He yelled in a much higher pitched woman's voice.
"Who's the-" one of the guards answered. Immediately falling victim to Hitoshi's quirk. The other one turned to their comrade.
"Hey, Darius? What's going on?" They asked. When they didn't get an answer, they turned around to look behind them. It seemed that paranoia was already kicking in. He looked around frantically, and when he turned back to look at Darius, he saw Hitoshi instead.
"Sorry for this." Was all Hitoshi said as he punched him straight in the face, but in the same voice as the person that was just punched in the face.
Izuku stepped forward to Darius, the man that had been affected by Hitoshi's quirk. "Good job, Mastermind. We'll let this one stay trapped here for a few more seconds… three, two, one, alright." Izuku high kicked the man in his jaw, sending him to the ground almost immediately.
"Overwatch, we've taken the group of two out." Izuku said.
"We? I did all the work." Hitoshi countered.
"Alright, no need for a pissing contest. Good job you two. Heartquake, there are three heat signatures in the room you're next to. NightHawk, you're approaching on a group of three as well. Proceed with caution."
"Thanks, Overwatch." Izuku said over the comms. He then turned to Hitoshi. "We need to restrain these two."
"I have like, ten sets of handcuffs." Hitoshi offered.
"Those work."
The two of them handcuffed the two unconscious bodies and put them on their stomach against the wall.
"Okay, let's move on." Izuku said. Hitoshi nodded, and the two moved further into the hospital.
Kyouka had wanted to go with Izuku, of course. Especially with what happened this morning. But she did understand why he went with Hitoshi. Their quirks were good for this. Infiltration and quick dispatches. Kyouka knew that she'd be good with this as well, but the two of them were the best job for it. More people came through the main entrance anyway, so it worked out. That being said, Kyouka now had to deal with three people on her own. She slowly peeked into the room that Mei had told her the heat signatures were in. As she opened the room, she saw one armed guard… and two hospital workers. Upon closer inspection, she was able to identify one of them. She quickly ducked out of the room and quietly shut the door.
"We have a problem. The room I'm next to with the heat signatures? Two of those are hostages." Kyouka relayed.
"Hostages? That's horrible! Take out the guy." Mei said.
"It gets worse. One of the hostages… is Inko Midoriya." Kyouka heard nothing over the comms for a solid minute.
Izuku finally spoke up. "I was planning on making this as painless as possible. But now, things are different. Make them suffer. Heartquake, take the guy out, but be sure to make it so that he regrets his life up to this point."
Kyouka shuddered after hearing Izuku say that, but she still needed to follow orders. "Heard. Going in now. Comms will be dark on my end for a bit." Kyouka slowly peeked back into the room. Inko and the other nurse were bound in ropes with duct tape over their mouths against the wall on the far side of the room. Kyouka made her way into the room, thankful that the guard was currently watching the hostages instead of the door. She ducked behind a table and crawled into a good position. She set herself up in a runner's stance before sending her jacks out towards the armed assailant. Her jacks were fast. So fast that they wrapped around the person's neck twice before they even realized what was going on.
Kyouka then tightened her jacks around their neck and then plugged the tips of them into the criminal's temples before sending her heartbeat through them, immediately knocking them unconscious. As they fell to the ground, Kyouka unwrapped her jacks from around the neck and moved to Inko and the other nurse, who was unconscious. Inko's eyes were wide in shock.
"It's okay now, things are going to be okay. We'll get you out of here safely." Kyouka carefully removed the duct tape from the second nurse. When she removed Inko's tape, she did not receive the response that she expected.
Inko simply looked at the girl and asked a single question. "Kyouka? Kyouka Jirou?"
As much as she didn't want to react to that, Kyouka felt her own eyes widen in shock. "How did she know who I was?" She thought to herself.
"I know it's you, Kyouka! I've seen those jacks grow through the years you've spent at my house! I know your quirk." Inko accused.
Sighing, she switched off her voice changer. "Hi, miss Inko."
"Kyouka, what the hell are you doing? This is so dangerous! These people are criminals! And aren't you supposed to be in America with Izuku?" Inko flooded her with questions. Too many questions.
"While I'm on the job, my name is Heartquake. We don't want who I am to be discovered. As for your questions… Well, we'll explain them all later. Once these people are secure." Kyouka explained, gesturing to the person who could now be identified as a woman on the ground. Kyouka produced a pair of handcuffs and slapped them on the unconscious villain's wrists. She took a piece of duct tape and placed it over the woman's mouth. For good measure, she also took out an Egg. "You two are going to want to leave. I'm setting this for a few seconds." She explained. "I'll take you out of the building safely once this is set."
Kyouka sat the Egg down on the ground and set a small timer for a minute.
"What's going on?!" Inko asked.
Kyouka switched her voice changer on again. "I'm not exactly sure myself, honestly. Just got heat signature confirmation, and I was told to infiltrate, takedown, and exfiltrate. Follow me. I'll help this one out." She gestured to the unconscious nurse on the ground.
The three of them quickly made their way down the hallway to the exit. On the way, Kyouka spoke over comms. "So, interesting development. Inko recognized my quirk. My cover is blown for her. She knows who I am. Something to keep in mind."
Izuku sighed over the comms. "Well, this was going to happen eventually. I guess it will just be sooner rather than later. Make sure she's safe." Izuku instructed.
"I will, Snake Eyes." Kyouka confirmed before turning her attention back to the two rescued hostages.
"Snake Eyes?" Inko mused. "Is that who I think it is?"
Kyouka turned around as she was walking with them. "Can't tell you that, ma'am. Not yet." Inko said nothing, but kept running after Kyouka.
The three of them soon made their way out of the hospital. "We're out now. Can you tell me what the hell is going on now?" Inko asked.
"Miss Inko, as much as I want to, I have to get back in there. There are still at least fifteen people in there that need to be dealt with." Kyouka responded. "When you got tied up, what happened?"
"They came in in a cloud of darkness that sort of just seeped into the room from outside. Once that ended, there were a few people that were in the room, and they threatened us at gunpoint. None of them used their quirks aside from that first wave of darkness. They said something about raiding supplies. That's all I know. Most of the hospital's supplies are held in the cold storage." Inko explained.
"Where is the cold storage?"
"Third floor interior."
"Are there any other workers we should be looking out for?"
"There are several staff workers that were closer to panic rooms, so I'm sure most of them are there. We didn't hear any gunshots, so I don't think anyone was shot. I hope nobody is hurt." Inko hugs herself and shudders.
"Okay, I'll let my allies know this information. You were very helpful. Thank you." Kyouka turned around and ran back into the building, turning around right before entering the building. "You'll know more of what's happening once these people are taken down. I promise. Oh, and last thing. Don't call the police yet." She turned back and headed into the hospital.
"Heartquake, any updates?" Izuku asked over the comms.
"The two I found are safe outside. Inko is… she wants to know what's going on. Like I said earlier, she recognized my quirk. But she also gave me some information. Apparently, these people are after some of the medical supplies. There's probably some high end things there that could be sold for a good amount. That's on the third floor. That's all I was told. Oh! And I think Fog of War was used. The leader's quirk." Kyouka said.
"Do you have any information on what it was like?" Fumikage asked.
"Apparently, it was like a wave of darkness that rolled in even through the walls. It was there, and then when it was gone, there were people threatening Inko and her coworker at gunpoint. I don't think she heard or saw anything from the fog." Kyouka explained.
"That should work well for you, NightHawk." Hitoshi said.
"We can see if the flashbangs work for their intended purpose of quelling the beast." Fumikage agreed.
"Overwatch, check the third floor. Are you seeing any heat signatures there?" Izuku asked.
"I see eighteen heat signatures on the third floor, nine people on the second floor, and not counting the three that have been taken out or Inko and her coworker, I'm seeing six more on the first floor." Mei said.
"Well, it looks like we have a bit more work ahead of us." Izuku started. "Let's get to it."
All four of the people in the building began walking with a purpose again. Kyouka checked the room she had left earlier with an Egg in it. Their logo was already painted on the wall. She smiled. Tonight was going to be a big change for these five. They didn't know it yet, but tonight would be the beginning of their goal truly coming to fruition
