It's time for the real fun to begin.
My Hero Academia Untold: The Fafnir Knight (Remastered Edition)
Saga I: Dusk
Arc I: Origins
Chapter VIII: The Unknown Reunion
"Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven."
-Tryon Edwards
'Thank you, my Knight.'
Izuku's eyes snapped open again upon hearing those familiar words at the end of his favorite childhood dream. He slowly rose from his bed with a slight groan as he looked around his room. It was still dark out if his bedroom window was any indication. Still, it doesn't change that the last few nights had been strange for him since he'd been having that same dream repeatedly.
The dream was about the day when his quirk had first manifested. The day of his first and only meeting with the girl he had helped years ago. According to his father, the day when he was first 'knighted.'
He wasn't sure if this reoccurring dream meant anything or if all that combat training from All Might and Gran Torino was finally getting to him. The old, retired pro pulled no punches regarding his training. The surprises that One For All combined with Dragon Shift could do were equal parts: amazingly terrifying and exhausting.
After wiping the grime of sleep from his eyes, Izuku checked his phone for the time. There, in the dim glow of the light.
03:21 AM
Izuku was nervous. Today marked the final day just before the UA entrance exams.
His rigorous, three-month training with the two older pro heroes ended yesterday. Today was his scheduled day to rest, his chance to study, his chance to steady his nerves and find himself. Yet all Izuku's thoughts kept returning to that girl who continued to invade his dreams.
Izuku used to think about her all the time when he was a child, fawning over his first childhood crush. It was silly, of course. However, Izuku had always been a bit of a silly, idealistic kid. It didn't help that his father often teased him while boasting how that girl was his boy's princess, the one who gave him his armor. After all, he had first awoken his quirk to help her.
However, his thoughts about her abruptly ended when his father died. There were no more dreams, only a dark pit of despair when he slept, cold and alone. Now that these dreams were coming back to his mind, what could they mean?
Was she okay? Did she even remember him?
Izuku couldn't even remember her name and doubted she would remember his, too. Besides, even if she did remember him. The boy grimaced at the thought. Well, if she knew that he was Draco Knight's son now, she would likely avoid him like the plague. Just like everyone else did once they knew who his father was.
Izuku breathed in a heavy yawn and decided to slip back into bed, hoping to return to the realms of slumber. If he was lucky, continue to dream of those simpler days that were long gone now. He had to rest up as he would be up in a couple hours anyway. All Might had suggested for Izuku to rest up for the big day, but putting a pause from his training habits, even just for a day, it just wasn't his style.
Even on his day off, he would get ready for the day with at least some light training. Plus, he wanted to ensure that the beach remained clean. The tide still brought in trash and litter every few days or so, and he wasn't willing to have Dagobah Beach dirtied up again after all that effort he had put into it.
However, little did Izuku know as he closed his eyes. That very same girl from ten years ago was now only a few blocks away, fast asleep and unprepared for what would lead to their unknown reunion.
Ochako Uraraka woke up to her alarm clock at five that very morning in her small; yet cozy apartment. Ever the early riser; since she began her intensive training regime two years ago. She was now in Musutafu to start the next critical step in her life and goal of being a great Pro-Hero.
After saving up the money and leaving his previous job with the government, her father had invested in a new construction company. The business was booming, with several new apartment complexes being constructed by his company. This allowed Ochako to live in this one rent-free for the time being.
Of course, she would have to return to her hometown in Mie to finish her last year of middle school. But after managing to secure a small leave of absence from school to take the UA entrance exam, taking place in the big city. After all, any middle school faring from the countryside would love to brag about how one of their own, a girl no less, from their humble school, got into UA. Every middle school in the country would love the prestige of having their alumni attend the most famous Hero School in the country.
Ochako was confident enough to pass the exam. She had already unpacked most of her things in preparation for attending UA. Despite that, the new school year had yet to begin until a few weeks after the entrance exam.
The girl had posters of famous pro-heroes dotting the walls of her bedroom. These included Pro-Heroes: like Thirteen, AllMight, and her personal favorite, DracoKnight, along with posters of several hobbies of her interest: space, fantasy-themed anime shows, and even a star chart decorated the walls that reminded her of her old home.
At the centerpiece of her pro-hero collection was her prized Draco Knight pendant or 'The Knight's Commander medal,' to be specific. The pendant hung upon the wall as the centerpiece of her collection. Years ago, she had won it in a contest held by his fan club. It was a Limited Edition piece of merch with only twenty pieces being made, each numbered by their rank, with her number being the ninth out of twenty.
The medal was a neck order that held a gold-and-silver pendant of Draco Knight's personal emblem that he and his sidekicks had worn on their hero costumes. The sigil was a black outline of a double-edged longsword with a crossguard shaped like dragon wings, centered in the middle of a sliver kite shield.
Now years later, Ochako found herself excited to have returned to Draco Knight's hometown. She came here many years ago during one of her father's work trips. Not to mention that it was here when she had also met the boy who she had dubbed her knight.
In the face of everything said and done about Draco Knight, Ochako had always had an inkling that something must have gone wrong with the events that night. She had always hoped that maybe someone somewhere had gotten the facts wrong.
Luckily for her, she wasn't alone, for even to this day, her father had always defended Draco Knight. Especially; since he had personally known the man during his time as a DAM. She knew that until that fateful day, Draco Knight would have always been careful to try and avoid unnecessary destruction. Or at least according to what her father had always told her.
"Okay, let's see what we have planned today."
Ochako rose out of bed after her daily stretches to check her daily routine plan written on the large whiteboard in her room. A habit she gained from training with several other local pro-heroes working in her hometown. This included a month-long junior training program with Pro-Hero Gunhead in Tōkyō. While it was a rough, almost hellish experience, she was grateful for everything she had learned. As she looked over her training schedule, she began to check the items off on the board.
'Okay, I got a five-kilometer jog, and I can use that to be more familiar with the city layout, too.'
'Light breakfast, and shower afterward with a small break.'
'Quirk practice, maybe I can find a local place with a lot of trash?'
Ochako had taken to heart many lessons that her favorite heroes often said. "Community service is the cornerstone of heroism."
A quote from one of Draco Knight's interviews really spoke to her. Inspiring Ochako to do local volunteer work from recycling and trash cleanup programs in her hometown serving as practice. With the advantage of her quirk, she got to be especially useful in her efforts.
'After that, I can get lunch and then study for the written portion of the exam.'
Pumped and motivated for the day, Ochako got together her workout outfit. It was a simple set of gray sweats with a pink sweatband and fingerless gloves, except for the parts covering her pinkie fingers to avoid her quirk from accidentally going off. Dressed and ready, she grabbed her keys and phone to run out the door and start her morning jog. The sunrise was halfway peaking from the horizon when she left, leaving a nice, cool winter breeze with the signs of spring being just around the corner.
'It's almost around that time…when I met him, wasn't it?' She thought to herself as she jogged down the street.
It had been nearly ten years since she met that boy in this very town.
That boy and his kindness, the boy who went out of his way to help her. He had been the one that inspired her to become a pro-hero. A boy whose name and looks she sadly couldn't remember. What she could remember was his kind smile that reminded her of All Might.
While his quirk reminded her of a knight in shining armor.
The innocent love she carried for her first childhood crush always seemed a little silly, but it was enough to lead her to where she was now. Everything about that mystery boy undoubtedly screamed future pro-hero in the making. This kind boy had sparked a drive in her to become a Pro-Hero as well. In her mind and heart, she often wished she could see him again, if only just to say, "Thank you."
'Maybe he'll be at UA? Or could he have gone to another hero course?'
'Could he even…be an upperclassman?' She thought about the possibility of him being a year or so older than her until she came across the waterfront beach, seeing a fair amount of trash on it. She looked for the entrance sign that read: Dagobah Municipal Beach.
'Perfect! After breakfast, I can come here to clean up and practice!'
She was still getting used to city living. The people around here were messier and far more careless with their litter. At least compared to those back home in the countryside. Still, she wouldn't complain as it meant more chances to put her training to use. She continued her jog up until she reached the two-and-a-half-kilometer mark. From here, Ochako crossed the street to finish her five-kilometer run as she jogged back to her apartment.
She didn't even notice a green-haired boy jogging on the opposite side of the street, heading towards the beach she had just passed by moments ago.
When she arrived back in her apartment, she quickly prepared for her shower. Deciding to skip breakfast until after she cleaned up the beach; however, she was far from finishing her routine. Before heading to the bathroom, Ochako retrieved a box of darts from her living room drawer. Pulling out five darts from the box, she turned to the five mounted dartboards across from where she stood.
'Alright, time for concentration practice,' she thought to herself as she used her quirk to float each dart, aligning each one with a target. It took her a moment to ensure they aimed to hit the bullseye. When the darts were set in place, she left them alone, floating perfectly still as she kept concentrating on them. When she felt ready, she left them alone and started to get bathed.
The shower doubled to disturb her focus with the relaxing waters. While in the middle of bathing, Ochako continued to concentrate as she released each dart, one by one.
"Shift," Ochako said would say quietly, letting loose an unseen dart at different points in time, hoping that she did it perfectly.
When she left the shower, she saw all five darts had hit the bullseye of their respective targets.
"Yes!" She cheered with a pump of her fist.
Ever since she discovered a new trick to her quirk when she was around eight years old, she had learned that Zero Gravity wasn't precisely what her quirk was. Instead, after tinkering around, an update was made to her registration form. Her quirk is now known as Gravity Shift.
She could control the direction of an object's gravity and temporarily reduce or increase the weight of any object under the influence of her power.
Originally, Ochako had used small softballs for practice since they were safer to practice with, but nowadays. She used darts since they were smaller, lighter, and more challenging to keep in place for even a short time. Ochako still suffered from nausea if she used her quirk on herself or if she shifted a large amount of weight in a short amount of time. However, she theorized that she might be able to fly one day with enough practice.
That is, if she could improve her tolerance to nausea.
"Oh shoot! I almost forgot! I still need to go to the beach and clean it up!"
She got up to change into a more casual outfit, one that she didn't mind getting dirty, and gathering up some heavy-duty gloves, she headed out back to the beach.
To say Izuku was a bit peeved was an understatement, given that quite a bit of trash had already built up again in the two weeks he hadn't been here. Including ANOTHER DAMN FRIDGE! Although the boy didn't want to use his quirk in public for the whole mess; he decided to save his power for the larger pieces; once he was done with the smaller bits of trash first.
Thankfully, Izuku had cleared all the trash on his own within the hour. Now for the fridge, Izuku began to think aloud while not noticing that he had company walking up behind him.
"Okay, how do I handle this? I could pull it, but I could also try lifting it..."He let out a steadying stream of muttering under his breath.
"But that could strain my back, but maybe if I lightly shift my body with my quirk just to increase my arm, leg, and back strength to enforce my stance; my clothes can hide it," Izuku then pounded his open palm with a fist. "YEAH! Let's go with that!"
Izuku lightly shifted his body under his clothes, feeling One for All surge through his limbs as scales began to form with a light glow of sparks. He grabbed the fridge and lifted it slowly, making sure to do so with his knees and not his back.
"Wow, ya' weren't kiddin' when you said you could lift that with yer quirk," a soft voice said with a giggle. This caught Izuku completely off-guard as he yelped in surprise, dropping the fridge that landed squarely on his left foot. The pain caused his eyes to water and his vision blurred as he tried to suppress a yell.
"OH NO! I'm so sorry!" He heard the voice again. Without even looking, Izuku noticed the voice behind him sounded feminine.
'Oh crap! Of course, it had to be a girl!' He panicked, only to feel the pain ease up from his foot and the fridge being removed from the ground effortlessly.
"Wah?!" He blinked the tears away and saw the girl in question. She looked around his age and was moving the heavy appliance easily, leaving him completely stunned. So much so that he nearly forgot the extreme amount of pain he was in.
"WHOA! That's amazing! Is that your quirk?!"
"Shift!" He heard her say, launching the fridge towards the wall. "Release!"
The fridge landed perfectly on the sand before it could crash into the wall behind it.
"Phew! Again, I'm sorry about tha..." She said while turning, only to pause as she saw the boy in front of her.
Both of them had stopped and begun thinking the same thing. Izuku managed to get a better look at the girl with a cute round face, a light blush, and chocolate hair and eyes.
Meanwhile, the girl saw something in his bright emerald eyes and the wild mess of forest-colored hair.
'She looks familiar...'
'He looks familiar...'
It took them a moment to realize that they had both been staring at each other for quite some time. Leading both to turn away from each other in embarrassment.
"I'M SORRY FOR STARING!"
"NO, I'M SORRY FOR MAKING YOU DROP THE FRIDGE ON YOURSELF!"
"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAYING MORE ATTENTION!"
"BUT I SHOULD HAVE APPROACHED YOU MORE CAREFULLY!"
Both ended up pausing again with another realization. Why were on earth were they yelling at each other? The two looked back at each other and, without warning, began to laugh. Until Izuku was reminded of the pain in his foot when he tried moving it.
"Ow..." he winced out.
"Oh, no! Again, I'm so very sorry!" She walked up to Izuku and held his arm to support him, easing him to sit down on the sand to try and take the weight off his foot. "I was here earlier for my morning jog and saw all the junk. I came back to clean it up, only to find that you already did it!"
"You clean up public spaces too?" Izuku raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had never seen anyone else do this without participating in a volunteer program.
"Yeah! All my favorite pro-heroes believe in community service, so I wanted to do the same thing!"
"Same here! Who's your favorite pro-hero?"
The girl had to stop herself at that moment, thinking carefully about how to answer. She wanted to respond with Draco Knight, but she wasn't sure about how this boy would react to that. In the past, Ochako had been criticized for still liking the deceased Pro-hero even after his supposed disgrace.
"Thirteen, followed by All Might!" She answered with a smile. It wasn't a complete lie either; she loved both of those heroes.
"All Might is my personal favorite, too!" Izuku wished he could have answered differently but erred on the side of caution, with his previous experience being his guide. "I'm just surprised to see that someone else is helping out, but I haven't seen you here before," Izuku noticed that the girl had the slightest hint of an accent. However, he didn't want to point it out and appear rude, so he went with the next best thing. "Are you from out of town?"
"Yeah, I'm here to take the UA entrance tomorrow."
Izuku was surprised to meet another examinee aside from Katsuki.
"You too?"
"Wait… you're taking the exam tomorrow, too?"
"Yeah, my best friend and I have been planning to go to UA since we were kids!"
Both laughed, surprised that they had a fair amount in common already. Izuku tried to get up to his feet but had forgotten about the pain in his left foot.
"Ugh..."
The girl winced, reminded that she was the cause of this, and could feel the guilt eating at her.
"Again, sorry about that. Here, let me help you," the girl offered, getting up and offering her hand.
"Ah...Thank you – uh..."Izuku only now realized that even after talking so casually to this girl he had just met, he didn't get her name or even introduce himself.
The girl looked at him, thinking the same thing.
"Heheh! I'm Ochako Uraraka, and it's nice to meet you..." She said nervously and with a sheepish smile, "despite me being the reason you got hurt."
"And I'm sorry for talking so much without properly introducing myself," He let out a small, shy laugh. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, and like I said, please don't worry about it! I just really need to stop being so jumpy."
Izuku took her hand and expected for her to pull, only for him to start floating slightly.
"Whoa!"
"Don't worry! I'm just using my quirk so you can avoid putting weight on your foot. Sorry for not asking, though."
Izuku was far from angry. Instead, he was excited to see her quirk in action, especially after moving that fridge from earlier with ease.
"Wow, so does your quirk let you float things and move them?"
"Kind of," Ochako answered. "I can shift the direction where gravity pulls an object or nullify its weight to make it float; add or subtract from one object to another."
"WOW! That could be so useful in so many ways!" He exclaimed.
This caught Ochako off-guard. Her quirk wasn't that flashy; the only people who ever complimented it were her parents, one of her classmates who was quirkless, and that boy from ten years ago. She slowly brought him up and aligned him with the ground, gently releasing her quirk on him.
"Whoa..." Izuku lightly stumbled in place, but Ochako hadn't physically let go of him just in case he fell over.
"Oh, I hope I didn't just mess up your chance to take the exam tomorrow," Ochako said, looking down at the ground sadly.
"I wouldn't worry about it."
'My foot was shifted, so it might hurt right now, but it's not broken for sure.' Izuku had gotten better at shifting his limbs without tearing up his clothing. But with One For All now a part of him, he didn't have much choice.
He had to adapt.
"Let's at least get some ice on it! Come, my apartment isn't that far from here!" Ochako quickly got her quirk back on Izuku again and dragged him in the air to her apartment.
"Wait, what?!" Izuku was clearly not ready for this girl's antics. Hell, he barely even knew her, and now he was being taken to her apartment! "I said I was fine!"
"Ya' don' have to pull da' tough guy act with me!" She laughed, her accent slipping through. Ochako could be helpful to a fault, but she could quickly get ahead of herself as well. It wasn't until they arrived at her apartment that she finally realized something as she turned the key to unlock the door.
'Oh my gosh, I brought a boy to my apartment...and a complete stranger too! No! I'm pretty sure he's nice and isn't gonna be pullin' any funny business... I think...? Nothin' Gunhead martial arts couldn't deal with, just in case...!"
"Um...Uraraka?"
"Gah!" Ochako yelped, snapping out of her thoughts.
"I said, I was okay...You didn't need to go so far to help me," Izuku said sheepishly while lightly scratching the back of his head, mind you that he was still gently floating in the air.
That was enough for Ochako to snap out of her little funk. She opened the front door and had their footwear set by the entrance before sitting Izuku down on a chair by the kitchen and sitting there awkwardly. Izuku locked his eyes to the floor, refusing to look around her apartment out of fear of coming off like a creep. Meanwhile, Ochako went to her freezer to grab one of her cold compress gel pack and offered it to the young lad.
Izuku accepted the pack with a nod and thanks. He knew better than to argue with the girl at this point, given how direct she had been in helping him. Izuku had to admit that, at the very least, she had been very kind to him so far, which made him feel at ease.
He took off his sock and pulled the left leg of his sweatpants up to place the cold pack on his foot. It was mildly bruised, but nothing that Izuku hadn't dealt with before. Fortunately, the cold gel pack was already starting to help with the swelling.
"Better, I hope?"
He looked up to see Ochako offering a bottle of water to him. He didn't realize just how thirsty he was until he saw the water bottle.
"Much better, thank you!" He said before taking a drink. Soon, an awkward silence fell on them once again. Honestly, it was a miracle that Izuku had been able to do this at all. He had been able to talk casually to girls at school before, but not full-blown conversations or physical contact.
Then the boy realized something, 'I just held a girl's hand!'
Ochako tried to break the ice with something basic. "So, what's your quirk? Some kind of super-strength? That's what it looked like when I saw you lifting the fridge."
'Oh crap, how do I answer this?' Izuku thought to himself. Dragon Shift and One For All? Both were kept secret for their reasons. Then again, could he call them by those names anymore after what happened? Even All Might wasn't sure about it, so Izuku decided to wing it.
"Y-y-yeah! You got it right! It's a strength quirk that improves my muscle and bone density." He wasn't lying. He was just leaving out the more specific, important details like his scales and claws and the super strength of All Might.
"That's awesome! You should be able to get to UA without a problem."
"Thanks," Izuku said with a light blush after another quick sip of water. "I could say the same with your gravity quirk, too."
Then his stomach let out a long low growl that caught even Ochako off guard.
Then her stomach let out a growl of its own.
The blush on Izuku's face grew deeper; he had been out there for a while. It didn't help that he had skipped breakfast in favor of a brunch after cleaning the beach. Except he wasn't the only one, with Ochako's face blushing a deep red as her own hunger had been made known.
Looking at each other, they shared another giddy laugh.
"Did you skip breakfast too? I could make something for both of us," she said, offering breakfast since he didn't get a chance to eat because of her. She couldn't help but still feel guilty about it; her accidental mishap crippled him for the time being.
"Yeah, I'm getting hungry, but no, thank you. I should go home so I can eat. But," Izuku held up the gel pack.
"Thanks a lot for the cold pack," he added, quickly slipping his sock back on and trying to get up, only for the pain to surge when he put weight on his left foot.
"Wait! You're still hurt!"
Izuku tried to ignore it as he already had caused enough trouble for the girl and wasn't about to impose on her for breakfast. Sure he might have been poor, but he could still make something simple at home. At least, so he thought until he tripped. Thankfully, Ochako had pretty solid reflexes and caught the poor boy before falling to the ground again.
Izuku could almost sense defeat, but Ochako had an idea why Izuku wanted to decline her offer for breakfast. His pride in relying on others; she knew that most people, even humble ones, had some sort of pride that made it hard for them to accept help as they could perceive it more as a handout.
She devised a compromise that could help them both out while keeping his pride in mind. "How about this?"
Izuku looked up; his face was still red from her surprisingly firm grip on him.
"As you noticed earlier, I'm still kind of new in town, and I can use someone to help me find places, like stores and restaurants and whatnot," Ochako waved a hand as she considered her words. "So how about you help me out, and we can eat at a local place nearby? I mean, if we both get into UA, then we'll most likely be working together, right?"
Ochako had said all of that with a bright smile. A smile that was too much for Izuku to handle, as his face clenched rather drastically.
"Okay," Ochako laughed, "that's a bit ugly."
Izuku couldn't fault her logic since he was also getting hungry. Getting her help moving around would be best until his foot felt better. Plus, she raised a good point that they would be already working together if they both got into UA, so it wouldn't hurt to be friends, and she already seemed nice enough.
"Okay, then," Izuku finally agreed with a sigh and a small smile. "I know a nice place around the corner that is pretty good. It's got a little bit of everything, including mochi –"
"Mochi?! YES! LET'S GO!" She exclaimed, suddenly pulling him along again. There was nothing that could stop Ochako from having her favorite treat. When they stopped by the entrance to put on their shoes and head out the door, one could say that it was an odd day for both heroic hopefuls but not a dull one for sure. If only they knew how much their lives would change from this moment onward.
Their fates were now intertwined thanks to this unknown reunion.
Mitsuki Bakugou was doing her rounds of shopping today. It wasn't often she got an extra day off of work, knowing that tomorrow was a big day for the two young boys she loved dearly. She found it in herself to buy the ingredients for an extra special breakfast tomorrow morning. She had already worked out the details with Inko, Yū, and Ryūko to surprise the two before they headed out to UA to take their entrance exams.
So she walked with a full shopping bag in hand when she had swung by a nearby bakery, wanting a warm drink to help her during the rather chilly spring day.
"Good morning, ma'am. What can I get for you today?" Asked the rather young-looking blonde cashier, who had amber eyes and tanned skin.
"Just a hot coffee, and drown it to hell with cream and sugar, please," Mitsuki said, letting out a tired yawn.
"Okay, that'll be ¥ 780,* please." The girl answered with a small curt bow.
"Damn, that better be a good cup of coffee," Mitsuki grumbled as she pulled out her wallet for payment.
"Thank you! It'll be ready in just a few moments," the girl said before heading back to brewing. Mitsuki nodded and left to find a spot to sit and relax for a moment. She was about to sit at an empty table when she heard something: A voice, specifically a very familiar voice.
'Izu?' Mitsuki thought, ensuring she didn't just hear things.
She looked around when she finally spotted the green-haired boy sitting…with a girl?! They had a corner booth with Izuku facing away from Mitsuki's position. Taking his line of sight to her advantage, she turned to spy on the two with great interest. They were talking so casually that it completely took Mitsuki by surprise.
Just who was this mystery girl, and what kind of spell was she weaving on Izuku to make him sound so relaxed?
'Oh, Yū is so going to get a kick out of this.' She thought to herself as she pulled out her phone and recorded the two.** Her eyes were filled with mischief, completely forgetting about her coffee order.
The barista, Jou Mori,*** simply stood there with the drink in hand when she came upon this odd sight before her. She sighed, not in the mood to deal with this weird customer. She instead plotted for a better idea. Putting the drink to the side, she went to the far back room of the shop. She could hear the loud groans of her boyfriend working out for the UA entrance exam and the sounds of him lifting the weights they had set up to work out in shifts.
"Hey, Riki!" She called to him. The young man was tall and muscular, with short spiky brown hair and very pronounced lips.
"What's up, Pani?" Rikidou Satou asked as he set his workout gear down and grabbed a towel nearby, wiping his face with it.
"I got a weird lady spying on the other customers."
Rikidou sighed with a furrowed brow. "Why don't you handle it?"
"Last I checked, I handled the last weirdo."
Rikidou simply hummed in response.
"Fine." He resigned as he quickly refreshed up and replaced his shirt with a clean one. "Do we got any cookies? Just in case I need the extra muscle?"
"I set a few brownies on the side for you, Hunny bunch," the girl answered as she gave Rikidou a wink before walking back up to the front.
"God, I hope this isn't another stalker type," Rikidou said to himself. Working in his family's bakery had its perks. But, every now and then, you get a demanding customer. Which wasn't limited to random perverts and creeps in general that need to be dealt with. Thankfully, few people were willing to pick a fight with someone as prominent and musclebound as most males of the Satou family.
Plus, his sugar-based quirk that he could use to further boost his strength wasn't a bad backup either. As long as he was in his family's private property, specifically the bakery itself, he could use his quirk if necessary.
"Or it could be worse, like that one psycho." He shuddered when he remembered the last time he had dealt with a crazy girl who once stalked her ex into the shop. Rikidou quickly put on a green employee apron and stepped past the coffee bar.
With a glance, it seemed apparent which customer Jou was talking about, but what threw him off was that it was a rather curvaceous middle-aged woman. She had ash-blond hair and giggled as she spied on two teens that were around his age, sitting in a booth nearby and unaware of her actions. Puffing up his chest ever so slightly, Rikidou walked up to confront the lady.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" He said, attempting his best firm voice.
He couldn't see the woman's face, but she suddenly went quiet. Slowly, she turned her head to face the young man, who slowly started to feel very, very small. The fearsome aura she radiated made Rikidou almost tremble with fear, with his bowels feeling like they turned to water. Despite being much shorter and far thinner in muscle mass, this lady exuded an aura of intimidation that he felt could break him. Her eyes pierced through him as if they were lasers threatening earth-shattering destruction, a grand villainess or mother to a great villain or maybe just the devil herself.
"What?" She spoke without raising her voice, but that contained his doom if, heaven forbid, he said the wrong thing.
"Uhmm..." Rikidou started stammering out, sweat collecting on his brow as he continued staring into those terrifying yet entrancing, blood-red eyes. Finally, Rikidou answered, praying to any deity that would listen.
"Your coffee is ready, ma'am!" He managed to say, swiftly grabbing the hot cup on the bar and shakily handing it to her.
The woman's wrathful aura disappeared in an instant, replaced with a grateful smile.
"Oh! That's right!" Mitsuki said upon realizing she had indeed forgotten all about her order. She checked the time on her phone, realizing she had been there a lot longer than planned. Not that any of that mattered, she had more than enough material. Mitsuki graciously accepted the coffee and took a sip.
"Ah...yeah...that's the good shit," she said as she took a relaxed look while she drank.
"Is there anything else I can help you with, ma'am?" Rikidou quickly asked, praying again to said random deities that she would answer no.
"Nah, I'm good. Thanks anyway, big boy." Mitsuki said with a wink before leaving the bakery.
Once she left, Rikidou turned to see his girlfriend looking impressed. However, Jou could also see the mental anguish on his pale face. Without a word, Rikidou sped into the back room with the greatest need to use the restroom he ever had. After about half an hour, Jou decided to check on her boyfriend, who was still in the bathroom.
"Riki? You okay in there?" She asked after gently knocking on the door.
"Yeah..." He answered softly.
"You sure?"
"I felt like I met death incarnate today. Given that I only spent like ten minutes crying in here, I'd say that's a good sign."
Jou couldn't help but laugh awkwardly.
"At the very least, I don't feel as nervous about taking the exam tomorrow now," Rikidou added with a long sigh.
"I suppose so," Jou said with a stifled laugh and a roll of her eyes.
"You used your quirk on the coffee, didn't you?" Rikidou suddenly asked, making her laugh again, this time more nervously.
"Pani! We could get in serious trouble for that...!"
"It's not like she noticed! If anything, she should be on cloud nine by now!" Jou tried to reason but knew it was kind of a moot point.
"Putting your sweat into the stuff you make to give them a boost isn't the cleanest job, you know..."
"HEY! You know for a fact, I had it checked out; it's sterile!" Jou said while pouting dramatically, feeling just a bit hurt by the comment.
"It's risky! Until you get completely tested of all the effects..."
"And that's why we're going to UA!" She answered with a huff before deciding to leave Rikidou be and checking back in at the bakery. The two teens were still chatting the day away, completely unaware of the weirdo who had stalked them earlier.
She considered telling them, but seeing them so carefree seemed like the wrong move as it might put a damper on the mood and, at worst, could give off the shop's poor reputation. Besides, it wasn't her business to pry about what was happening between the two teenagers and the older woman.
Jou brushed it off as an odd situation and left the two be as she tended to the storefront.
"Kurogiri."
Tomura Shigaraki called out just as he finished off his drink. He had plenty of time to mull over his latest plans. He knew for sure that All Might would teach in UA. Thanks to a few well-placed government leaks, he knew he needed to get his affairs in order before the League could make its official debut on the grand stage. By killing the Symbol of Peace.
In a matter of seconds, the back of the bar began to distort, with a mass of black smoke appearing. The glowing yellow eyes of Kurogiri had opened, following the rest of his physical body in his trademark suit.
"Yes, Tomura?" He beckoned, ever so calmly, with the smallest of bows.
"How are the plans coming along?" Tomura began as he motioned for a refill of his drink. Kurogiri began by setting up the bar to supply Tomura's refill, answering as he started mixing.
"I have our new agent ready for his assault tomorrow. I handed him the files and a spare burner only moments ago."
Tomura grinned. He was pleasantly surprised with their newest recruit, who so happened to have the perfect quirk for the job that needed to be done.
"Good. I know The Master felt the need to lay down the law with that rogue crew of birds. And the rest?"
"Giran is still busy keeping the government in our favor. However, we may have our preferred parties cut short with the recent protests. On that note. We also have wind that some people are investigating the last battle with The Master."
Tomura chuckled at that answer; he remembered the initial resistance he had gotten from Giran about doing some lobbying. Yet, now it seemed as if the man had found his true calling.
"Funny, the puppets think they're in charge. But we're the ones pulling their strings. I did the math, and unless they lose big time, they will still have the majority. Now, as for the rats looking for cheese…."He continued as he carefully tapped his fingers on the table.
"Well, once we know which ones are sniffing about. It will be simple to bait and trap them," The Pale Prince turned to the man of smoke."And before I forget, any luck with the last ace in the hole?"
"We have been tracking his movements. Our sources with the police have mentioned a plan to apprehend him without any Pro-Heroes." Kurogiri answered as he completed Tomura's refill and handed it to him. "Chief-Superintendent Doumeki is currently heading the operation."
Tomura slowly drank, mulling over and enjoying the taste.
"We simply need to beat him to it. Otherwise, two out of three so far isn't a bad place to start. At least until we know the final results."
Kurogiri stood silent. He was worried if Tomura was trying to bait him by mentioning his brother. Yet, Tomura sat there silently as he continued his drink. While the smoky servant didn't have many features to betray his train of thought. He would rather not deal with a moody Tomura.
"Ah, now this I had almost forgotten." Tomura suddenly said, making Kurogiri flinch.
"How is my dear little brother doing? Is our beloved broken prince enjoying his new assignment?"
"He's securely in his assigned position and will take the UA exam tomorrow." Kurogiri swiftly recovered and managed to answer calmly.
"Heh."
"Do you disprove of the plan?"
"The general idea is solid. Infiltrating UA, especially with All Might being our target, is all the better...But..."
"But?" Kurogiri repeated.
Tomura took a look at his glass, seeing how much he had left before draining it. Breathing out a heavy gasp, before answering,
"It won't last long. Sooner or later...He will get outed. Especially if we move one too many times under his direction."
"And here, I thought you would take a chance to eliminate him once and for all?"
"Don't get me wrong, Kurogiri. In the end, I will kill him, or maybe I'll keep him alive long enough to make him into a Noumu."
"He still doesn't know about the Noumu, does he?"
"When Master showed me what happened to all our old siblings...I felt strangely nostalgic," Tomura chuckled as he nursed his drink. "And on that note, I'm still unsure what to do with...that psycho. The Master won't let me kill her, and he won't turn her into a Noumu."
Tomura looked annoyed with the situation but thoughtfully scratched his neck.
"At the very least, I can use her as a bargaining chip. He's tried to save as many as he could. It's his greatest weakness, he's much too soft for his good, and that will soon be his end."
Author's Commentary
*780 yen: approx. $7 US at the time of writing.
**Recording people without permission in Japan is illegal due to strict privacy laws. (This is compared to the US, whose laws vary from State to State.)
***Jou Mori: This is one of the few OCs that will have a minor supporting role in this story. She is based on a character from the video game that inspired this story. The character from that game was named Regina Dubios. She served as the chef to a popular joint where the party would find recipes and ingredients to make boosting effects for when you traveled to the game's dungeons. Her quirk Cooking+ is similar in that aspect; depending on what kind of food her sweat is mixed with can produce various effects. Even her name is a call back to the game. "Regina" is Latin for "Queen," so the name "Jou" is one of my many possible readings for the Japanese word for "Queen." Dubios is a name of English/French origin (Norman and Huguenot) if you want to get technical. Which means "Of the wood or woods" Mori is another such reading for "forest" or "woods."
Hence the name Regina Dubios became Jou Mori.