"Wow, I like the giant horns her agency has," Hiroshi chuckled, as he looked up and down the building. "Definitely helped cut down the time we'd need to look for it."
"You better keep your hands to yourself, Furinji!" Minoru warned him, squinting at him.
"I think I should be the one saying that to you."
"You could've gone with anyone else! Why her!?"
"I already told you, she's probably the one person nearest to us that could give me tips on fighting as a giant in a city setting like she does," Hiroshi said, shaking his head. "It was the rational decision, as Mr. Aizawa stated."
"Still, I wonder what she'll have us do," Kosei said, as his mind wandered off to imagine some steamy thoughts.
"Whatever it is, hopefully we'll be able to do some decent amount of hero work," Hiroshi replied. "It is what we're here to do."
"Let's get going, then!" Denki said, grinning. "Can't keep her waiting forever!"
The four boys walked in, and were immediately greeted by a secretary who pointed them up to Mt. Lady's main office. When they entered the room, they were greeted by Mt. Lady and one of her sidekicks.
"Welcome to Mt. Agency!" she said, grinning as her sidekick clapped. "I certainly hope you all had a good trip here?"
"Yea, it was alright, glad your building's easy to see with its horns," Hiroshi said.
"See? I told you the horns were a necessary part!" Mt. Lady said, nudging her sidekick with her elbow. "Just having a big sign with them wouldn't do!"
"Fine, you had a point," he sighed, before looking at the four. "We've prepared some rooms for you all to stay in while you're here with us if you want to drop your things off before getting ready for your workplace training."
"Really? Nice!" Denki said, as they were led to the aforementioned rooms. They checked each one, and each one was rather small, with only a cot, folding table, door mirror, and folding chair as furnishings. "Kinda... cramped looking though."
"Sorry, we don't really have a lot of rooms that are more bedroom appropriate," the sidekick said. "Can't really afford that... But we do have showers, so you'll be able to stay clean here."
"That's fine with me," Hiroshi said, as he peeked over and looked at Mt. Lady. "So when can we go patrolling?"
"Patrolling? So soon?" Mt. Lady said, shifting her eyes left to right a bit. Admittedly, she and her sidekick hadn't been able to come up with a schedule or anything that would be useful, so patrolling was a lifesaver.
"Yea, I mean, I was thinking that we'd start with something as basic as that, since we're still students, you know?"
"Y-Yes! Of course! Patrolling!"
"Where to?" Kosei asked.
"Oh! Um..."
"If you need a suggestion, maybe Hosu?" Hiroshi asked. "I've heard that they've been kinda stretched thin with hero patrols, so they might need some help there for the next few days."
Mt. Lady thought about it. Hosu... that was a pretty big city with a lot of people, and government officials had been asking for some more heroes to go patrolling around that area. It was perfect. She'll get these kids to patrol with her around Hosu, and maybe even get some recognition for being the workplace mentor for Ultraman Hero and his host! "That's a good idea! Let's get to Hosu as soon as possible! Get dressed, you four!"
"Well that was certainly easy," Hero said.
"I know, hopefully the rest of the week will be this easy, too..."
"But I haven't gotten situated to here yet!" Minoru protested. "Shouldn't we spend a day getting to know how to get around the agency a bit more?"
"Well, at least we get to get dressed in these bad boys now," Kosei said, as he went into the room he claimed.
"Yea, no sense in waiting around!" Denki added, closing his door.
"Plus, I get to finally see how my costume looks like on me," Hiroshi said, tapping on his costume case. "So get ready, man."
"It'll be exciting to see how it looks after all this time."
Minoru grumbled as all three of the other boys' doors were closed, and walked into his room. "Furinji's gonna make this a pain, isn't he?"
"Welcome to Gunhead Hero Office, you two," Gunhead said, looking at Ochako and Pony. "I hope you'll both have a good time here. I'll teach you all as much as I can within a week."
"Wow, he talks really cute," Ochako said, as Pony nodded in agreement.
"So what's our agenda for this week?" Pony asked. "Martial arts training? Patrolling?"
"Martial arts training is on the table, yes," Gunhead said. "As for patrolling, we'll be sticking to around here."
"Really? No where else?" Ochako asked.
"Well, I have been getting requests for Hosu, since they've been looking for some additional help with patrolling. But that's a bit away from here, and I wanted to focus more on training you two," Gunhead said, scratching his head a bit.
"We don't mind!" Pony said, puffing her cheeks out. "We're UA students, we're tough enough to handle extra work!"
"Yea! What's the point of being a hero if you don't do extra work to help keep people safe?" Ochako added.
"Oh? Well, if you insist," Gunhead said, shrugging. "We'll be alternating between martial arts training and patrolling, while giving you the ins and outs of the more mundane side of hero work, like paperwork. That's always something that a lot of students don't expect. Let's get started on your first martial arts lesson. Change into your costumes and follow me to the dojo."
Ochako and Pony nodded to each other and gave each other a thumbs up as Gunhead led them inside his agency and started to show them around.
"While being a hero is important, it's not necessarily the only thing we can do," Uwabami said, looking at the three girls she picked. "We're allowed to take on side jobs since being just a hero doesn't always pay too high, especially if you're a noncombative hero like I am. Which is one of the reasons why I chose you three for my drafts; you're all super cute, and perfect to assist as background models."
"So even heroes need side jobs, huh?" Itsuka said, sighing. "Honestly, was hoping it was going to be more, well, heroic..."
"Well, I think it's great!" Setsuna said, grinning. "We've already known that there're plenty of heroes who have side jobs. And since heroes tend to be in the spotlight, being a model makes sense!"
"We'll be doing more than just modeling though, right?" Momo asked, somewhat nervously. "Like patrolling at least?"
"Patrolling? Of course," Uwabami said. "Even if you're a noncombative hero, it's always a reassuring sight for civilians to see us."
"Any places in particular?" Setsuna asked.
"Hm... not any off the top of my head..." she answered, petting one of the snakes on her head. "Most likely we'll be doing patrols after our modelling jobs. I have one today here and one in Hosu on Wednesday. It's been delayed several times thanks to the giant alien attacks we've been having, and my own assistance with using my Quirk to search for people, so we'll be patrolling there afterwards. Especially since they've been asking for some additional help. The remaining days we'll probably be going over things such as paperwork."
"That sounds great!" Setsuna said, giving her a thumbs up. "Gonna have to learn the ins and outs for hero work, right?"
"Well, you three should get ready for today's modeling shoot. Go ask help from the makeup artists, they'll be glad to work with you," Uwabami said, as she strutted out of the room. Itsuka looked at Setsuna and Momo, who gave each other thumbs up.
"What's so great about just patrolling and modelling?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Setsuna turned to look at Itsuka. "Well, I guess it won't hurt to tell you, so that you at least know what we're planning."
The two then told Itsuka everything they knew, about Tenya's brother being injured in Hosu, Tenya's worrying behavior, and his decision to go to an agency in Hosu.
"I get it... and patrolling in Hosu would help keep an eye on him," Itsuka said, understanding where they were going at.
"Yea, and if it's anything like when Hiroshi got pissed at Bakugo for Fuka, it's not going to be pretty," Setsuna said. "Especially since there might not be someone to stop him if we don't do anything. Hopefully his workplace mentor will be there to do it, but if he isn't..."
"Hm... I'll help out," Itsuka said, crossing her arms.
"Are you sure?" Momo asked. "You don't need to-"
"We might not be close, but he is your friend, and hey, as long as we keep an eye on him, there won't be a chance he'll go off and try to fight the Hero Killer, right?" she replied, stopping her. "We'll do everything we can to prevent a fight from happening."
"Thanks, Kendo," Setsuna said. "That's a real big help. Now, let's get to those makeup artists and get pretty, alright?"
"Oh right, modelling," Itsuka said, sighing. "Well, heroes need side jobs I suppose..."
"So I guess it's you and me sharing this workplace training, Tokoyami," Fuka said, as she and the raven-faced boy entered the hero agency of the Number 3 Hero.
"Indeed, an unexpected but interesting matchup," Fumikage said. They went to the front desk, and were directed to Hawks' office. When they opened the door, they noticed the Number 3 Hero sitting on one of his couches, feet on the coffee table, and fiddling with one of his fallen wing feathers.
"Oh hey, you two are here," he said. Hawks was a handsome young man with ash blond hair and golden brown eyes, slight stubble, and most notably large red wings (they reminded Fuka of Tsubasa's, though hers were white). He was dressed in a black shirt with golden lines, a tan furred jacket and pants, and black gloves and shoes. On his head he wore a yellow tinted visor over his eyes and headphones over his ears. "Hi there, I'm Hawks, but I guess that was obvious."
"Fuka Furinji."
"Fumikage Tokoyami."
"Nice, nice, good to know your names," Hawks said, getting up. "So let's cut to the chase and start patrolling. Get ready soon."
"So where to?"
"Just around Kyushu," Hawks said. "A couple of sidekicks will be following us."
"Nowhere else in particular?" Fuka asked.
"Nope. Why?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking about other places that I've heard that need more heroes helping out with patrols, like Hosu-"
"Oh yea, I've been getting messages about that myself," Hawks said, somewhat disinterestedly as he walked out the door. "They've been wanting some help, but Kyushu's plenty busy for me, and Hosu's far away. Had to say no each time. I'll see you all downstairs in the lobby after you're done changing. Changing rooms are just down the hall."
"I see," Fuka said, looking away. "I guess it was a long shot trying to convince him to go to Hosu. I'll have to tell the others about that..."
"Something wrong, Furinji?" Fumikage asked, as they prepared to head to the changing rooms.
"Nothing, just... thinking," she dismissed. "Hopefully everyone else is having a smooth first day."
"So you're Earphone Jack, huh?" Death Arms said, as he chewed on a toothpick in his mouth.
"That's right," Kyoka said, nodding.
"Well, I hope you're ready for some hard training! Us heroes have to work hard to keep the peace, and any slip up on our part can be catastrophic!" he said, flicking the toothpick out before grabbing a new out of his pants pocket and sticking it between his teeth. He instinctively reached for his lighter before realizing what he was doing. "Dammit, keep forgetting that I promised those sidekicks of mine to not smoke while you're around..."
"Of course, sir!"
"Right, so let's get to it! We'll be running around the block for patrol!" Death Arms shouted, as he went outside. "What are you waiting for!? Move move move!"
"Right away, sir!" Kyoka said, as she followed him. "Didn't even have a chance to ask him about where we can go... guess I'm out of the 'Help Iida Out' operation..."
"So, I bet you're wondering why I had sent a draft offer for you," Best Jeanist said, as Katsuki stood before the man dressed in an all-jean outfit. The sidekicks at their desks looked up from their computers every so often, staring at the explosive boy. "Especially when I don't doubt that there weren't very many offers for you."
"No, I'm not," Katsuki said, grinding his teeth. He was lucky that it was someone who was in the Top Five who gave him a draft offer, but it was still frustrating. To think that he was so eclipsed by not Furinji and Hero themselves in ability and power, but also in terms of desirability, was aggravating. While he didn't care for the opinions of others, he was certainly pissed off at the lack of offers he got, greatly limiting his choices. "You're the best offer I had gotten, so I'd be insane not to take it. Not like that Furinji and his alien choosing someone who isn't even in the Top 50. What an idiot."
"It's because I see potential in you," Best Jeanist said simply. "You have a lot of drive that I can see in your eyes. The drive to become the best, to become stronger, to not let anyone stay ahead of you. But you also have a ferocity that can be dangerous if left alone to stew. A recklessness that needs to be held back. That needs to be tempered."
"Excuse me!?"
"Which is why I'll be doing my best to guide you. After all, heroes and villains are two sides of the same coin. One wrong move can change a promising hero to an uncontrollable monster. So, shall we work on setting you on the right road?"
"This is the right address..." Izuku said, checking the address of the building for Gran Torino. It was... not what he expected.
It was a dilapidated mess of a building, with weeds growing in the small patches of grass he could use, massive cracks in the walls, several broken windows, and a "Welcome" sign that was falling off from the front door. "I guess the rent for this place is low, but still..."
He opened the door, and peeked inside. "Hello? I'm Izuku Midoriya, I'm here for my workplace training-"
He stopped short, and saw an unmoving old man laying on the ground, surrounded by a red puddle with an intestine popping out from under him. "OH MY GOD HE'S DEEEEEEEEAD!"
"I'm alive," the old man said, picking his head up.
"OH MY GOD HE'S ALIIIIIIIVE!"
"Darnedest thing, tripped and fell over on my sausages and got ketchup everywhere!" Gran Torino said, picking up his cane. He was a diminutive old man, with thinned gray hair and beard. He was dressed in white spandex, with bulky yellow gloves, boots, and cape, and a big silver G-shaped buckle on a yellow belt, with a big domino mask around his eyes. "Also, who're you?"
"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya from UA!" Izuku said.
"Who're you?"
"I... I'm Izuku Midoriya."
"... Who're you?"
"... Izuku Midoriya."
"I'm hungry. Want lunch."
"Lunch!?"
"Yea, Toshinori!"
"Who!? That isn't my name!" Izuku said, as the old man hobbled away. "Ex-excuse, I'm going to need to make a call..." "I should tell All Might that he's... not all there-"
"So where's the rest of this One for All crew you made?" he asked, opening up the costume container. "I wanted to see an alien! Wanted to see how you two were against one another!"
"Oh, everyone already chose their workplace training before you-" Izuku started to say, before he realized what the old man just said.
"Really? Aw phooey!... Who're you again?"
"What is up with this guy?"
"S-sorry... but I don't know if I should be wasting time here. I need to raise the amount of power I can use my Quirk, and I'm not sure if I can do it here now..." Izuku said, sighing. "So if you don't mind, I... I think I should-"
All of a sudden, the old man sprang to life, jumping all over the place before landing just above the doorway. "Well if you're in such a hurry, you wanna show me what you got, kid!?"
"Usually at my agency we're on call for something to happen, but lately we've been more out and about," Manual said, as he and Tenya walked through the streets of Hosu. He was a hero dressed in blue and white, with dark blue pants, white boots, and yellow gloves. The thing that stood out most about him was his helmet, which had a movable visor and a fish fin-like spine on the back. "Things are a little panicked at the moment."
"Because the number of police patrols has been getting lower?" Tenya asked.
"That's right, they've been getting stretched thin as of late. So the government's been asking all sorts of heroes and hero agencies to help with patrols, even with people from outside of Hosu," Manual answered. "But man, getting the little brother of Ingenium to come to my little old agency, now that's something."
Tenya nodded, as he looked to each of the alleys they were walking past. Those were the type of places that the Hero Killer would leave his victims. He felt bad about using Manual like this, but he needed to search for Stain and Virus.
Because he will never forgive-
"Yo, Iida! What a surprise!"
Tenya snapped out of his thoughts, and saw Denki, Kosei, and Minoru walked towards him, with Mt. Lady nearby following them talking to someone.
"K-Kaminari? Tsururaba? Mineta? What are you all doing here?" Tenya asked, shocked at seeing them in Hosu. "And where's Furinji? Shouldn't he be here with you?"
"Oh right, I guess you hadn't seen my costume yet," the stranger with Mt. Lady said. Upon taking another look at him, he noticed that his helmet resembled Hero's face a bit, while his opened jacket revealed that his bodysuit had similar patterns. The support gear he had also felt like things that Furinji would use, like the canister gun, and his right arm had the Hero Hand... Oh.
Hiroshi flipped the front of his helmet up, smiling at Tenya. "Like my costume? Got it finished Sunday, so this is the test run of it. Gotta say, it's not a bad fit. They certainly got the look down and all the holsters and pouches for my gear. Mom, Dad, and their employees really outdid themselves here."
"Whoa, so you're that Ultraman Hero guy," Manual said, looking at Hiroshi. Others around them began to as well, spotting the Hero Hand on his arm, pointing and muttering. "Certainly didn't expect to see you here. What're you doing in Hosu anyways?"
"Mt. Lady's taking us out for patrol around here for the next few days," Hiroshi said, pointing to his workplace mentor. "We've been hearing that they've been needing some extra help with patrols."
"Nice, that's good to hear," Manual said, nodding. "Looks like you got some friends to help out, Iida!"
"I... Yes, I do," Tenya said, his helmet hiding his befuddlement. "Excuse me, but I may talk to Furinji in private?"
"Of course," Manual said. "I'll give Mt. Lady the rundown of what's been happening."
"Yes! That sounds wonderful!" Mt. Lady said, trying to keep an air of confidence up.
"Sounds good to me," Hiroshi said, as he and Tenya walked off. Denki and the other two were about to follow before Tenya held his hand up.
"Sorry, but I just need to talk to Furinji in specific."
"Oh, alright," Denki said, shrugging as he, Kosei, and Minoru started talking about other things.
"What are you doing here!?" Tenya hissed out of earshot of the others. "Mt. Lady's agency is close to Hosu, but I don't think she'd be going out here to-"
"Iida, I know what you're thinking of doing," Hiroshi said, cutting him off. "You're hoping to find Stain and take him down. We all know."
Tenya stayed silent, and turned his head away. "Iida, I know how and what you're going through. Trust me, I was going through it, too."
"Then you know you should let me go through-"
"What I did was have a sanctioned fight against a fellow student with a judge to keep it from escalating too much. What you're doing is searching for a wanted criminal without help, who could just kill you with no remorse. I want to help you find him, but only if we get help from pros and our friends."
"I need to do this alone, he's my brother-"
"But you're not alone, and you're our friend. You've got us, the SiDE Team, remember?"
"I still don't get that name..."
"It's just a name, but the point is that Midoriya, Uraraka, Jiro, Tsunotori, Setsuna, Fuka, and Hero and me are behind your back to help you out," Hiroshi said. "I don't think it's wrong that you want to pay back Stain for what he's done, but if you just go blindly charging in, you're going to get hurt. We'll do this the legal way, alright?"
"... Do those three know?"
"Nope, hadn't told anyone else but our group a thing. We all figured what you were planning out though when we talked about what agencies we chose."
"I see... I appreciate your concern, but I can handle this on my own," Tenya said, walking off. "This is my fight. You're welcomed to search around Hosu, but I'll handle Stain on my own."
"Well, even if you don't want it, I'll be on the lookout for you," Hiroshi said, sighing. "You're my friend, Iida, and friends watch out for each other."
"So what'd you talk about with Furinji, Iida?" Kosei asked. Tenya brushed him off, as he waited near Manual to finish speaking with Mt. Lady. "What's up with him?"
"Don't worry about him, he's just... shocked that we're here, that's all," Hiroshi said, hands in his pockets. "Says that even if we're gonna be patrolling around Hosu, that we'll need to be split up to cover more ground, you know?"
"Ooooh, of course! That's smart!" Denki said. "Hosu's pretty big after all!"
"Yea, pretty big..." Hiroshi said, as he checked his phone.
The "Help Iida Out" Chat Group
alienhiro: Managed to convince Mt. Lady to go to Hosu. Encountered Iida and told him that we know his plans. How are you guys doing?
rodeoponeo: gunhead had been getting messages to help out with patrolling there, so we talked him into doing it!
uravity: Yep, it was no trouble at all there!
airuka: Hawks was a no. He thinks that Kyushu's busy enough for him, and that Hosu's too far away.
lizardqueen: Uwabami has a modelling appointment in Hosu this Wednesday, which is super lucky! Apparently it's been put on hold thanks to all the giant alien attacks we've been getting.
momomaker: We told Kendo about what was going on, and she's agreed to help us out if needed.
lizardqueen: Oh, gotta go. We gotta be background models for her modelling session today.
alienhiro: Really? That's great! mightydeku, earphonejack, how are things on your end?
earphonejack: cant talk running now
"Well, if you're in such a hurry, you wanna show me what you got, kid!?" the old man said, as Izuku stared at him. He really didn't know what to make of this situation. One second, he's acting like a senile old man. The next, he's become some battle hardened hero who's ready to throw down with him. "Come on, put on that costume of yours and show off! I wanna see the kid who went toe to toe with an alien fight!"
"A-alright..." Izuku said, as he went and grabbed his hero costume. He took a good look at it. It really did turn out great thanks to everyone's suggestions and ideas. He checked the inside of the bodysuit, and sure enough, they had stitched a new sturdier outer layer over his old thinner layer. He put it on, and smiled. This was the result of his mom's work, as well as his friends. "But is it really alright if I show off inside? I mean, an open space would be better, since I could wreck your place-"
"Wow, you talk a lot," Gran Torino said, before inhaling. All of a sudden, he began bouncing off the walls, ceiling, and floor. "You're not gonna get too far if that's all you do!"
Gran Torino kicked Izuku squarely on the back, making him stagger forward.
"Gah! We're actually fighting!?" Izuku said, as he let One for All flow through him. He blocked a kick from Gran Torino. "I thought you just wanted to see my powers!"
"Nice block, kid! Your fighting sense's a little better than I thought!" Gran Torino complimented. "But your reaction speed could use a lot more work!"
Izuku began to copy Gran Torino's strategy, bouncing off the walls, ceiling, and floor to keep up with the old man. The old man was fast, much faster than he anticipated. He began to draw out more of One for All that he could, forcing himself to go faster so he could fight the old man. He swung his fist, aiming for Gran Torino's head.
"Nice try, kid, but you're-" Gran Torino started to say, when Izuku landed a kick against his gut. The old man coughed hard before he was sent flying back. As Izuku released his body's hold on One for All, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted from pushing himself harder, when Gran Torino started laughing.
"You're a lot better than I expected," he said, as he picked up his cane. "I was expecting that novice of a teacher All Might to have failed teaching you how to use One for All or how to fight, but it seems like you're a lot better than you look. I bet it was those kids you're friends with that really picked up the slack, though. Man couldn't teach his way out of a tin can."
"Y-yes... All Might's training really helped me, but if I'm being honest, it wasn't until Hiroshi, Fuka, and the others learned about One for All that I really started to get a grasp of it..." Izuku said, staring at his fist. "Who knows how long that would've taken me to do? Probably a lot more broken bones as well..."
"Hmph, as I figured. Shame they all went to different agencies. Would've whipped them into shape, too!" Gran Torino scoffed, shaking his head. "Well, since you have a better grasp over One for All than I thought, we'll just be working on raising how much you can draw out. How much do you think you've been drawing out as of late?"
"I-if I had to put a percentage on it, maybe something like, 15% at most? And that's just if I keep pushing it just a bit more before my bones began to feel the pressure," Izuku said, thoughtfully. "I kept pushing it during my fights with Todoroki and Hiroshi, so I think the amount my body can take is 10% by now..."
"We'll make that 20% by the end of this week," Gran Torino said, rubbing his chin in thought. "By the end of it, I'm sure we'll get you to a level where you can bet that Ultraman Hero kid fair and square."
"O-oh, but they were holding back!" Izuku said, remembering the Tector Hand scale limiter that Hiroshi showed them. "He was-"
"Using a scale limiter, right?" Gran Torino interrupted. "Well, doesn't that mean that his power is scaled to the human size, correct? And that the two of you fought each other until you both hit your limits? Hm... imagine if you had the ability to grow giant and your power scaled with you, too. If your friend's power was scaled at the same rate as you-"
"- I could actually be stronger than Hero!?"
"On a technical level. Of course, you're just a human without a gigantification Quirk, so he's got you beat in terms of strength if he wasn't using that thing to adjust his power output," Gran Torino pointed out. "But all the same, we'll make it so that you'll be more than tough enough to handle anything, even aliens. So let's get started!"
Gran Torino took a deep breath, and began bouncing all over the walls again. "Wait, right now!? Again!?"
"My oh my, seems like Mr. Hero Killer will be back up and running real soon, he's gotten a good chunk of his third dimension back," Virus said, lifting up the Hero Killer's hand and letting it flop back down. Indeed, the Stain poster had regained some of his depth, though now he resembled a partially inflated pool toy.
"God that is disgusting," Tomura said, retching. "This is even worse than when he was a poster! At least he didn't look like a popped balloon!"
"He'll be back on his feet by Wednesday," Virus said, not caring about Tomura's grumblings. "By then, we'll learn so much from him, won't we?"
"By then we'll be rid of him," Tomura said. "That's the only thing I'm looking forward to here..."
"Oh, don't be such an ungracious host, Shigaraki!" Virus laughed, as he walked towards the wall, Illne following him. "I should go meet up with some colleagues soon. And yes, this will be concerning those aliens you've been so eager to get, Doctor."
"How exhilarating!" the Doctor said, his voice barely containing his glee from the monitor. "To think, that I shall be the first doctor in the world to experiment on an alien! Oh, all those possibilities, all those alien Nomus I could make!"
"I certainly look forward to seeing what sort of things you can make with them," Virus said, as he and Illne prepared to turn into shadow.
"Oh, before I forget-" Virus added, pulling a slip of paper from a pocket that he handed to Kurogiri, "- if you want these aliens to come to the good Doctor without being crushed in transit, go to these coordinates at exactly midnight. I'll take the aliens directly to him that way."
"Hm, that Virus is so troublesome," Kurogiri muttered, as he wiped the bar counter after Virus and Illne disappeared.
"That he is, but he is a troublesome fool whose resources are invaluable," Tomura's Teacher said through the monitor. "All he's concerned with is entertainment, to see how humans struggle against aliens. What a waste. Hopefully we'll be able to make more use of them than he ever will."
"One of the things about patrolling is that we make people feel comfortable!" Mt. Lady said, as she waved to person after person as she and the four teens walked down the sidewalk. The giantess heroine and her four workplace protégés had gone down a shopping strip in Hosu. "People like it when heroes are around!"
"That makes sense! Who'd want to mess around when heroes are around?" Denki said, as he finger gunned and tongue clicked at a couple of high school girls from another school, who giggled.
"Isn't that the kid who went 'wheeey' in UA's Sports Festival?" one of them said.
"Yea, he's dumb, but cute," the second replied. Denki's confidence instantly disappeared as he remembered the embarrassing footage of him going dumb (no thanks to Kyoka finding a clip of it online).
"Heroes have to remain vigilant! Wary of their surroundings!" Mt. Lady said, trying to spout out as much useful advice she can (or at least repeat advice she'd get from her teachers back during her school days, which she wished she retained more of). "There's no telling what could-"
Suddenly, off to the side, they heard someone crying. Hiroshi rushed towards the source of the crying with the others trailing behind him, and soon enough they found a little pink-haired girl with yellow eyes bawling.
"What's wrong?" Hiroshi said, lowering himself to her level and flipping his helmet's face up to show his.
"I-I-I l-lost..." the child said, struggling to talk through her sobs.
"Did you lose track of your mom and dad?" he asked. She nodded, and he patted her head. "It's alright, let's find them. I'm Hiroshi, but you can just call me Hiro. These are my friends, Chargebolt, Tsururaba, and Grape Juice, and she's our mentor, Mt. Lady. What's your name?"
"A-Aiyu..."
"Please to meet you Aiyu. Why don't you get on my shoulders, that way they can see you more easily, alright?" Hiroshi said. She nodded, and soon enough she was sitting on the teen's shoulders. "Hey guys, let's go find her parents."
Soon enough, the four began walking around the shopping strip, calling out for Aiyu's parents.
"Mr. and Mrs. Aiyu's parents!" Kosei said, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"Aiyu's Mom and Dad! Aiyu's Mom and Dad, we found her!" Denki shouted.
"If anyone's lost a child named Aiyu, don't worry, she's safe!" Mt. Lady said.
"Who lost their kid!?" Minoru cried out. A salaryman looked down at him.
"Are you lost, little kid?"
"What!? I'm not the one that's lost! I'm in high school!"
"Mommy! Daddy!" the little girl cried out, still sobbing a bit.
"Hey, don't worry, we'll find them soon!" Hiroshi said, smiling at her, even though she couldn't see his face from her position. "Let's talk about things that make you smile! What do you like, Aiyu?"
"I... I like dogs," she said, sniffling. "And... and flowers..."
"What kind of flowers?"
"S-sunflowers..."
"Oh, those are real pretty!"
"Y-yea... I like them 'cuz they're big..."
"They are big, huh?"
"Th-they're mommy's favorite," she sniffled. "I-I want my mommy..."
"Hey hey, don't frown! We'll find them! So let's hear you smile!" Hiroshi said, as he bounced her up and down on his shoulders, making her giggle. "There we go! That's what I like to hear!"
Mt. Lady stared at Hiroshi as he cheered the little girl up. Of all things, she really didn't expect someone like him to be good with kids, especially after that brutal beatdown against that Bakugo kid. So that's probably one of the reasons why that Ultraman Hero chose him. She thought back to that day; she was there too when Tyrannion attacked. What would've happened if she was chosen instead-
"Aiyu!" a pink-haired woman cried out.
"There you are! We were worried sick!" an amber-haired man with yellow eyes said, as he and the woman rushed towards them.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Aiyu said, reaching out to them.
"There we go! Told you we'd find them," Hiroshi said, as he lowered himself to the ground so that she could hope off. She went to her mom's legs and hugged them tight. The two adults looked at Hiroshi, and recognized who he was from his Hero Hand.
"Y-you're that-"
"Yep, I'm Ultraman Hero's host. Just call me Hiro!" Hiroshi said, smiling. "I'm glad that we got to help out your daughter find you two!"
"W-we can't thank you enough!" Aiyu's dad said, giving him a polite bow.
"Hey, it's not just me that was looking for you two," Hiroshi said, putting his hands up to stop him.
"My classmates and our workplace mentor Mt. Lady were helping out a lot, too!" He pointed to the three heroes-in-training and Mt. Lady behind him. "It's thanks to them that we were able to find you, really."
"Oh! We're so sorry!" Aiyu's mom said, looking at the rest of them. "Thank you so much!"
"It's no big deal! Glad we could help!" Denki said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yea, what kind of heroes would we be if we ignored a lost little kid?" Kosei said, grinning.
"We're heroes, it's what we do," Minoru said, puffing his chest out in pride.
"All in a day's work," Mt. Lady said, puffing her chest out in pride as well.
"What are your names?" the dad asked.
"Chargebolt!"
"Tsururaba."
"Grape Juice!"
"Thanks again for your help! Looks like we've got some future heroes to be fans of!" he said, shaking everyone's hands.
"Say 'thank you', Aiyu," her mom said. Aiyu went to all of them and shook their hands, but when she got to Hiroshi, she motioned for him for a hug. He lowered himself to her level, and she hugged him around the neck.
"Thank you, Mr. Hiro," she said.
"Your welcome," he replied, giving her a hug back. "Now stay close to your parents, and don't let them out of your sight, alright?"
She nodded grinning, and when she went back to her parents, she grabbed her mom's hand, but waved goodbye to them with her free hand before taking her father's.
"Glad we found them," Hiroshi said, getting up and rejoining the others. "Let's get back to patrolling, shall we?"
"Yea, of course," Mt. Lady said, smiling a bit. "After all, a hero's job is never done. At least that's what my teachers said, at least..."
"Wow, that was a lot of fun!" Setsuna said, as she and the other two girls wiped off the makeup they had on in the dressing room. "Who knew modelling for picture ads could be kinda rewarding?"
"Yea, it was nice, but I don't think it's my thing in particular," Itsuka said, sighing a bit.
"It is enlightening to see a different side of heroism," Momo replied, as she dabbed off the last of her makeup. "Though I agree, I don't think I'm going to pick modelling as a side job."
"Good work, you three!" Uwabami said, as she walked into the dressing room. "You three have a talent for modelling."
"Thanks!" Setsuna said, flashing her a thumbs up. "Getting to show off my stuff like that's a ton of fun!"
"It'll take a while for those pictures to be out. They have to touch them up and the like. So why don't we get ready to go to Hosu? We'll be staying in a hotel there before we go to that delayed modelling job of mine," she said. "When we're there, I'll tell you all about what goes into hero work, like papers, records, all that boring stuff, as well as any more questions you have. No need to change out of your costumes, you'll get a discount if they know you're my workplace trainees."
"Sounds good to me," Itsuka said, as Uwabami closed the door. "Hopefully we'll be able to help out Iida while we're there."
"Yep," Setsuna said, checking her phone. "There's no way we're gonna let him face the Hero Killer alone."
"Good, you've kept up pretty well!" Death Arms said, as he and Kyoka jogged back into his agency. She leaned over, putting her hands on her knees, as she heaved in and out air from her exhausted lungs. "We'll be increasing our patrol run to another block tomorrow!"
"O... okay," Kyoka said, wiping off the sweat on her head. "I knew that being a hero would mean a lot of exercise, but that was the most running I've done since getting into UA..."
She pulled out her phone and checked her messages. "At the very least, it seems like everyone's getting situated now... Hopefully the others will be able to keep Iida from doing something stupid..."
"Left! Right! Left! Right!" Ochako and Pony said, as they practiced their punches alongside Gunhead's sidekicks.
"Good, good. Remember that you shouldn't just go through the motions, though. You have to focus on each individual punch, and the most important thing is your base physical strength!" Gunhead said, observing them. "If you ignore on improving it or simply want to learn cool moves, you won't get too far! Basics are always important!"
"Yes sir!" Ochako and Pony said, as they continued to throw practice punches.
"Good! Next thing you'll learn will be how to disarm criminals armed with knives and the like!"
"Welp, time for the next area!" Hawks said, as he flew over the city block, leaving an unconscious gang of thugs behind. Fumikage ran a bit behind two of Hawks' sidekicks, who pulled out handcuffs and some rope.
"Is... is he always like this?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Yea. He's always on the move," one of them said, as he finished tying up one of the thugs and started on another. "We're more or less the 'cleanup crew' since none of us are really able to keep up."
"Though your friend seems to be determined to do so," the second one said, pointing to Fuka, who several meters behind Hawks. Fumikage gritted his teeth. As much as he respected Fuka's ability, he didn't want to be left behind by her or anyone. He had to think of something to keep up with them...
"So this is the Number 3 Hero, huh?" she thought to herself, as she used her circular breathing technique to keep adding more air to her new air compressor backpack while expelling enough to fly. "No wonder he ranks so high! Not only is he fast, but he's able to multitask so effortlessly with that Fierce Wing Quirk of his! I've got a long way to go if he's like that!"
"Wow, you're doing pretty good! Shame you didn't get any further in that tournament," Hawks said as he took down another thug, with the two sidekicks and Fumikage reaching him to apprehend him. He slowed down a bit to talk to Fuka. "You'd probably would've done great if it were anyone else besides that Bakugo kid. Would've also sent him a draft offer, but my sidekicks suggested not to, especially since I had sent you one."
Fuka looked at him. Admittedly, she really didn't have much against anyone who would've wanted Katsuki. If he had the right person to guide him and learned how to keep his anger under control, he'd probably be a very fantastic hero. Hopefully whoever that one draft offer was, that they'll be able to do it.
"Oh right, I guess you can't talk since your Quirk is from your respiratory system, huh?" Hawks said, noticing the lack of response from Fuka. "No worries, I'm used to being the only one talking. It's something you get used to when you're as fast as me."
Katsuki gritted his teeth as Best Jeanist sat him down to comb his hair into a neater, nerdier style. This was humiliating. Right next to the fact that he now had to wear blue jeans himself on Best Jeanist's order too, so that he'd match him and the sidekicks who were all dressed in varying amounts of jean clothing.
"An important part to being a hero is keeping up appearances. Civilians are comforted by a clean and organized hero," Best Jeanist said. "A dirty and unkempt hero does not bring many confidence, unless that is, of course, your Quirk requires dirt."
"This was a mistake," Katsuki thought. "I should've aimed for one of those 40 agencies instead."
"For this workplace training, we'll be teaching you how to properly present yourself to others, as well as teach you about all the other facets of heroism, such as paperwork, since so few of you ever really expect it."
"Really should've aimed for someone else."
Nighttime...
"Man, that was a pretty simple way to start things out, huh?" Denki asked, as the three boys lounged around on the couches, while Hiroshi was busy typing on his laptop on the kitchenette table. Mt. Lady had left for the day to go to her apartment, while her sidekick stayed behind to keep an eye on them, much to his displeasure (at least he was getting overtime).
"Yea, it was good to help that little girl out," Kosei replied, drying off his head. "Hopefully the rest of our time here will be about as lax."
"This is unfair!" Minoru grumbled. "Why isn't it Mt. Lady staying behind to keep an eye on us!? Why that guy!"
"Gee, I sure appreciate using my time to look after you guys instead of being with my wife and newborn child..." the sidekick said, having heard Minoru's grumbling.
"Mineta, be polite," Hiroshi said, shaking his head as he clicked away on his keyboard.
"So what're you typing down, Furinji?" Denki asked, looking at him.
"A diary of sorts. Helps keep track of what I learned and did here, right?" Hiroshi explained. "Midoriya's not the only one interested in remembering what's happened, you know. Plus, it'll be good practice for filling out paperwork, I think. I'm also going to check up on Fuka and the others, too."
"Sounds smart," Kosei said, scratching his cheek. "You think we'll be getting quizzed on this?"
"There's no way we'd be quizzed on something like this. Everyone's experience is going to be different," Hiroshi said. "If anything, if they wanted to know what we learned, it'd be an essay."
"Oh god, I really hope we won't be writing essays," Denki sweated.
"It's either that, or our mentors will be reporting how we did to the faculty."
"It's going to be that," the sidekick said, as he typed down on his own laptop, looking through documents and whatnot. "Bulk of it will be on us to tell your school, while they'll basically just ask you about your own feelings about what you did and the like."
"Sounds good to me," Hiroshi said, as he opened up his laptop's messenger app.
The "SiDE Team" Chat Group
alienhiro: Hey guys, how did your first days go?
lizardqueen: I had a lot of fun! Modelling's up my alley, I think.
momomaker: It wasn't bad, but I don't think it's what I want to do for a side job.
earphonejack: my lungs are about to collapse from all that running i did for patrol
airuka: Hawks is incredibly fast, and his Fierce Wings Quirk makes him super versatile. I had a hard time trying to keep up. Poor Tokoyami couldn't keep up.
uravity: Pony and I are really getting into Gunhead's training!
rodeoponeo: next thing we're learning is knife disarming!
mightydeku: i now fully understand why all might was afraid of gran torino, i have spent the entire day sparring and i cannot feel my body anymore
lizardqueen: How about you, alienhiro, engine?
alienhiro: Went patrolling, and helped a little girl find her parents with Kaminari, Tsururaba, and Mineta. Nothing big.
engine: My own patrols have been fine. Goodnight.
"Mm," Hiroshi mumbled, as he stared at Tenya's curt response. "Sounds like he's still upset."
"We did confront him and told him that we were aware of his plans," Hero reasoned.
"Still, I rather him know that we'll help him out and bring in pros and the like. He can't go after the Hero Killer alone."
"Welp, I think it's time to hit the hay for me," Denki said, stretching and yawning. "Night, you guys."
"Night, Kaminari," Hiroshi said.
"Guess I'll clock out, too," Kosei followed.
"Yea it's time for some... privacy," Minoru said. The three boys went into their temporary rooms, and locked the doors.
"... I really wish he hadn't said that," Hiroshi muttered. "But I guess I'll go to sleep after I finish typing up the last of this diary entry."
"A DNA analysis on Nomu?" All Might said, as he and Detective Tsukauchi sat in the teacher's lounge in UA. The officer had called him to meet up to talk after work hours, and they figured that the school would be the most secure place.
"We've got a trail on one of the ringleaders of this Unearthly League," Detective Tsukauchi said. "I'm not asking for your help in the investigation, and I'm technically leaking information about an ongoing case. But since Nomu was made to kill you, and this Shigaraki fellow had a vested interest in your death, I figured you needed to know."
"With Nomu, we've ran all sorts of tests. It's not that he's just mute, but his brain activity is almost nothing. No reaction, nothing. So we ran a DNA analysis on him," he said, handing All Might a picture of some thug in a police lineup. "This Nomu guy's just a bit criminal. Been arrested for assault, extortion, all sorts of minor felonies. Thing is, the results came back with the DNA of four other people in him."
"What!?" All Might said, as he held the image.
"We figured that his whole body had been altered by drugs and chemicals, basically was taken and bioengineered to handle multiple Quirks. His extraordinarily low brain activity's the result of the burden of having so many different Quirks," Detective Tsukauchi said, as he took a sip of his tea. "The issue here though, is that just injecting the DNA of others wouldn't allow you to take on different Quirks. The only other answer possible for this is that there's some sort of transference factor. Most of the forensic scientists are baffled, but this is one of the reasons why I'm here to tell you off the clock. Because One for All works on a similar concept."
"You mean-"
"Yes, I'm thinking it has something to do with a Quirk that can grant other Quirks to others."
All Might's eyes grew wide and his heart banged against his chest. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. He made sure of it... didn't he?
"Besides that, we also ran a DNA analysis on Shigaraki. Thanks to the fingers that Hero and Illne tore off, it gave us a chance to figure out who this guy is," Detective Tsukauchi added. He took out another picture. "If they hadn't done that, it might've taken much longer to figure out who he is. So while I don't approve of what happened, I guess I should thank them for what they did."
"So... who is he?" All Might asked.
"We matched his records with a kid named Tenko Shimura. He was the son of Kotaro and Nao Shimura. No information about his paternal grandparents, though we got the names of his maternal ones. Had a sister named Hana. The family was listed as killed by a criminal who disintegrated their entire house and only left bits and pieces of them around, but only he was missing from that list. I have no doubt that it's the result of his Quirk awakening and he had no way of controlling it. Some villain must have found him and took him in to teach him how to hold back on using his Quirk."
All Might's heart stopped banging against his chest and he sat still. Shimura. It can't be possible-
Minutes before midnight at a mountain forest...
"Welcome back, you three," Virus said, as Disze, Maladi, and Ceteria came out of dark blue glowing portals, which closed as they fully stepped out. "So what did you three get for the good doctor?"
In Disze's right hand, he held a strange fish-like alien by the neck. It had sharp shark-like teeth, fins around its head, and most notably a tail-like whip for a right hand, which it kept attempting to struck Disze with, though he barely reacted.
"Oh, an Alien Boze? Intriguing choice!" Virus said, observing the fish-like alien. With a wave of his hand, Alien Boze was wrapped in shadowy bindings that restricted its movement. Disze released the alien, and it flopped onto the ground, wiggling and struggling to get free.
Maladi shoved her bound alien on the ground, as he struggled against his chains. He had rock-like flesh, a strange red glowing horn and eyes, and fur around his shoulders, ankles, and wrists. "Release me at once! Do you know who I am!?"
"An Alien Nackle? Fun," Virus said, as the alien's eyes began to glow.
"I said release me at once-!"
In a millisecond, Illne had appeared behind the Alien Nackle, and slammed his face onto the ground. "GAH!"
"Oh, shouldn't have done that, Mr. Nackle. She's a little tough on people who have the nerve to threaten us," Virus said casually, as he walked over to see Ceteria's captive alien. This one had red eyes and a face that resembled a bird's, though his body was humanoid and his flesh was black. "And an Alien Raybeak! Oh, what delightful irony to have a slaver become a slave."
"I will not forget this indignity, when my people find me-" the Alien Raybeak began to say, but once again, Illne had appeared behind him and slammed his head into the ground.
"Aw, I wanted to do that, my dear Illne," Ceteria pouted, as Illne got off the alien, only for Ceteria to apply pressure to his head with her foot. "It's always so sad when lower lifeforms don't know their place."
Alien Raybeak began screaming as more and more pressure was applied to his head, only for Virus to stop her.
"Don't forget, these aliens are going to go to our good Doctor! Our middleman should be arriving in three, two, one..." Virus said, when a dark purple cloud of mist appeared. Kurogiri's yellow eyes appeared, and was shocked to see three unfamiliar aliens that had similar appearances to Virus and Illne.
"What the-!?"
"Oh, that's right! You hadn't met these three!" Virus said, jovially. "Kurogiri, meet Disze, Maladi, and Ceteria! You three, this is Kurogiri, our Unearthly League's main form of transportation! At least, for humans and those unlike us."
"Hm, charmed," Ceteria said, as she tapped on her helmet's chin.
"Interesting form of transportation," Maladi muttered.
"So this is what one of those humans look like, huh?" Disze said, crossing his arms. "... Pathetic."
Kurogiri grumbled, though he decided that it would be unwise to anger the alien that resembled the Nomu they had made to kill All Might. "So, where are these aliens that you promised the Doctor?"
"Oh, right here," Virus said, picking up Alien Boze, while Illne picked up Alien Nackle and Alien Raybeak. "Disze, Maladi, Ceteria, take a break. Illne and I will take care of things from this point on."
"As you wish, my dear Virus," Ceteria said, as she took a seat on the tree that Disze had punched down.
"It'll be nice to take one," Maladi said, snapping her fingers and creating a shadowy 'hammock' between trees that she laid on.
"Tch, I'll become soft if I don't do anything else," Disze growled, as he punched another tree down.
"Don't go deforesting too much, Disze, we need the shadows of trees, remember?" Virus said, as he and Illne went through Kurogiri's portal. The two aliens found themselves amidst walls of tanks and machinery, with many containing Nomus. "So this is how the magic is made, is it?"
"Welcome to my humble laboratory," the Doctor said, as he approached the two aliens. "It is simply a pleasure to have you two grace it for the first time! And with three alien subjects, I see!"
"A human!? You're working with a human!?" Alien Nackle said, as Illne kicked him in the back.
"You talk about how we're lower lifeforms, yet you work with them!?" Alien Raybeak shouted.
"So we choose who we want to associate with. There is no problem with that," Virus said curtly.
"Oh? Living alien subjects? How fascinating!" the Doctor said. "Though this might make it much more difficult to work with them..."
"Hm? So Nomus don't need to be living?" Virus said.
"No, Mr. Virus, for you see, all Nomus begin existence as corpses! We take the corpses of the recently dead! Weak, powerful, famed, unknown, the corpses form the base that I and the Teacher use for Nomus! Sure, we sometimes kidnap people and put them through the experimentations, but it's so much easier to work with the dead. No struggling," the Doctor said.
"I agree. So. How intact do the corpses need to be?" Virus asked.
"Oh, as long as there's no irreparable damage before I can give a regenerative Quirk, it should be fine!"
"Excellent."
Virus grabbed Alien Boze up by the neck, and a shadowy mist formed in his free hand. He shoved his arm into the alien's maw, and as it choked on it, it started screeching while shadowy smoke poured out of its eyes. Virus pulled his arm out, surprisingly clean for someone who had his entire forearm in the throat of an alien. The alien fell to the ground, dead.
"Oh, that's always so much fun. Not many aliens with big mouths to do that with," Virus said, turning towards the other two aliens. "Now, on with you two."
"N-no! You can't do this!" Alien Nackle shouted, as Virus and Illne encroached on him and Alien Raybeak.
"Y-you're making a big mistake!" Alien Raybeak threatened. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!"
"Oh trust me," Virus said, as his hand covered Alien Raybeak's mouth, shadowy smoke pouring out of his eyes, ears, and nostrils as he thrashed around and screamed. "You don't know what you're dealing with either."
ORIGINAL AO3 NOTES:
- I'll be honest, I'm not actually entirely sure where exactly each agency is located in canon, so I decided to take a couple of liberties here and make them a few of them closer to the action. Fuka and Kyoka are gonna be out of the action, though. Had to recheck where Kyushu was, and considering that I at least have a general idea of where Tokyo is, I had to go and take her out of the action. I don't think Hawks would be that willing to go that far away from Kyushu to patrol Hosu. I kinda guess that it's the Hosu police that's been putting out calls for more hero patrols, instead of the HPSC doing it, and if it had been the HPSC, he might've responded.
- Since Izuku's already got a handle over One for All, he'll be focusing more on raising the percentage he can use it at.
- Had a lot of fun typing up the small bits about everyone's first day at their workplace trainings. I especially had fun writing the ending scene with Virus.
- The scene with Tsukauchi and All Might was something I've been looking forward to writing. I figured that thanks to the fact that Hero and Illne tore off two of Tomura's fingers that it'd be easy for them to find out his original name and identity. Even if Nana had erased all evidence of her relation to Kotaro, Kotaro's still got the last name, and the fact that there isn't anything on Kotaro's parents would be a major tip for All Might.