Midoriya ran through the alleyway, his shotgun close in hand and loaded with rubber buckshots. His eyes were scanning every single position possible to him- the anxiousness he was feeling wasn't due to fear, but anticipation. He was armed to the teeth- black plate carrier, kevlar weaved clothing, multiple ordinances- it was as if he was prepared for a war. Sprinting atop the cobblestones, Midoriya was anticipating an attack, his head turning at every alley intersection. The SAT captain had been at this training for a month now and it was nothing like apprehending criminals or villains. It was brutal because his target was none other than Usagiyama herself. His means of attack used to be highly reliant on firearms but he has since replaced it with a simple yet effective tactic: shoot and engage. Starting his assault with a few shells before he engaged allowed him to get close and get ready- of course if he needed to get close. Rubber ammunition allowed him to stay as far as he needed until necessary and therefore let him stay at further ranges. The issue Midoriya had now was dealing with his opponent's speed- which he was starting to remember as he turned a corner and immediately found Usagiyama lunging towards him with a lethal kick. He was ambushed.
Reacting, the green haired man dropped towards the ground and rolled forward, recovering onto his knee and aiming down his shotgun. The rabbit woman was in her environment- the close quarters area allowing her to generate a tremendous amount of momentum by hopping from one wall to another. It was hard to aim directly at her and even harder to determine where she would land next, an issue Midoriya had trouble with many times the past few weeks. Fighting someone with a highly active quirk was harder to do now that he didn't have Horizon's armor to rely on- which he was going to inevitably remake but with sheet metals. That, however, wasn't important- he had to figure out how he would catch this rabbit before it was too late.
"Come on, Green! How long are ya gonna sit around!?" Usagiyama pulsed off a wall and spun vertically into an axe kick, the ground visibly impacted and causing Midoriya to jump back.
Recovering and now in a position to fire, the green haired man shot from his hip, rubber pellets forcing the rabbit woman to raise her arm and protect her head. Unfortunately for Midoriya, Usagiyama's physical resistance was abnormal and therefore the rubber buckshot did little to no damage. This was one of the few cases that the green haired man would've enjoyed those plastic rounds, noticing they mimic the destructive capability of standard kinetic ballistics. The rabbit woman pivoted around her feet and closed the distance between her and Midoriya, grasping at the barrel of his shotgun and ripping it out of his hands.
"You're stronger without this." Usagiyama threw the gun which prompted the green haired man to re-correct himself and brought his fists upward in a fighting stance, "Looks like ya know too!"
Near instantly, Midoriya felt a slamming sensation against his abdomen- if he didn't have his plate carrier, the pain would've been immeasurable. Usagiyama's movement was based solely on instinct and technique, a luxury that Midoriya didn't have. Reacting to her attacks was like trying to dodge bullets from point blank, and more notably, she wasn't even using her faster and more dangerous kicks. The first course of action would be to disengage and get more breathing room, but he knew Usagiyama wouldn't allow him to do so- unfortunately for her, he always had a trick up his sleeve. He wasn't about to take a one-man beating like he did during their first fight.
Usagiyama's ears twitched as she immediately knew upon hearing multiple clicks which were instantly followed by a spew of smoke. The rabbit woman took two leaps back and realized that her senses were disrupted- the smoke he made was infused with a very faint sweet scent that hid his position. Midoriya knew this and started to reposition himself as well as check his other resources. He had one more smoke grenade, two stun grenades, and an experimental 'shock' grenade he'd been working on for a while. He didn't have any other weapons and being anywhere within her attack range was pretty much a decisive loss- she was simply too strong at martial arts for him. The green haired man didn't really have a choice though, preparing the stun grenade and tossing it forward, closing his eyes and covering his ears.
The rabbit woman was barely able to react as the smoke dissipated and the small object clanged against the ground- a brutal sensation running through her sensitive ears, followed by a blasting light which blinded her. Taking a few steps back, she felt a pair of arms grasp around her abdomen- a forceful throw to the side causing her to hit a wall. Her senses were struggling to keep up as she recovered and stood up, a dark afterimage still tainting her vision. Midoriya kept his assault, a deep breath and heavy strides forward- starting with a right punch to the blinded woman. The attack was parried by her raised forearm and was instantly followed up by a blind strike to his stomach- the attack hitting successfully and causing Midoriya to recoil and disengage.
"That really fuckin' hurt, Green!" Usagiyama smiled at him, ear to ear, full of adrenaline.
After gathering herself, the rabbit woman brought herself downwards and pulsed towards him, the short distance making it near instantaneous as she brought him down with her smaller frame. His head was caught in her legs as he was brought down to the cobblestone ground- stunning him for a moment. As his mind collected itself, he opened his eyes and his face went red instantly. He was… really close. Attempting to pull his head out, he brought both of his hands onto her thighs and tried to pull them apart, his eyes glossing over the rabbit woman's own orbs.
"Ya forgot to kick." Usagiyama watched him struggle with a slightly sadistic smile across her face.
"P-Please let go…" Midoriya kept his eyes closed out of resisting perversion.
"Right." The rabbit woman lightened her grasp around his head and stood up, leaning over to help the green haired man.
The two had been doing the same routine over and over again, which allowed them to become a lot more comfortable around each other, especially because Usagiyama never really had social boundaries. Midoriya understood that she wasn't stupid, she simply lets her instinct take control way too often- not to mention her quirk heightened all of her senses. In combat, it was incredibly hard to mask himself against her, outside of combat- he didn't really know what to do. Midoriya didn't really have any skills when talking to females outside of professional standard, let alone one that was abnormal compared to all the other females he's met, so he couldn't help but feel anxious around her. It was an alien feeling to him because he could recall the first time he met her when he was willing to fill her with lead pellets. Not his best idea now that he's starting to enjoy her existence a lot more.
"Fuckin' hell, Midoriya, why did ya use that flashbang?" The rabbit woman pulled the larger man up, then rubbed her ears, "It hurts a lot- and I'm used to pain."
"First off, it's a stun grenade." Midoriya slowly turned and averted his gaze and rubbed his neck, "Second… A-are you alright?"
"I'm fine, it's just loud as fuck…" Usagiyama started to hobble down the alleyway.
"So… It's effective against you then? Good to know." The green haired man took a mental note and walked beside her.
"Ya hit me this time, good job." The smaller woman stepped along the cobblestones with her hands on her hips, "Startin' to pay off for the training grounds."
"I'm still surprised you got access to it." Midoriya grabbed his shotgun and unloaded the weapon, "Moreover, you're doing all this for me."
Usagiyama didn't respond. Perhaps she didn't respond due to not having an answer or she didn't respond because she was surprisingly embarrassed about the nature of her actions. Usagiyama wasn't too sure why she was doing the things she was doing- usually comradery wasn't her thing. The thing was, Midoriya had so much potential, he had an incredible amount of aptitude- it was a mistake for hero society to turn it's back on him.
"Eh. Doesn't cost too much." Usagiyama beckoned Midoriya over and opened her arms in a familiar stance, the green haired man quickly becoming demoralized, "Come on."
"Do we have to…?"
"Unless ya know how to clear thirty kilometers in a minute…" The rabbit woman smugly stared at the green haired man who couldn't find the words to retort, "Exactly."
Midoriya dragged his feet and positioned himself accordingly, bringing his arms inwards and trying not to touch anything once more. It didn't really help much because of her… bounty, but the green haired man tried his best nonetheless. The landscape was extremely simple, tall unfurnished structures and thousands of tight corners. It was designed to maintain heroes and otherwise allow them to train their sidekicks or students. Of course, it wasn't a free establishment and those who use it have to pay for their access as well as their additional bodies. Midoriya wasn't told how much it costs but the people he's met here have very deep pockets from what he could tell.
Upon reaching the exit of the training grounds, Midoriya swiftly jumped out of the tanned woman's arms and dusted himself off. Looking around, he spotted a few heroes mumbling about with what he assumed were students. The assumption was cemented when he spotted Hawks and Tsukuyomi wander through the massive gates. The blond man looked around for a moment with his carefree demeanor and spotted both Midoriya and Usagiyama, a wave with his hand and a careless stride towards them.
"Hey! I didn't expect you guys to be here!" Hawks had his hands in his pockets while his companion followed suit.
Midoriya felt his heart rate hasten as the hero approached the two. He almost forgot about who Hawks was, more importantly, who Horizon was as well. Simply by looking at the hero's face- Midoriya could tell that he was well aware of who he used to be. The blond figure eventually stood beside the anxious man and put his left hand on his right shoulder, a smile striking across his face.
"What now?" The man whispered and then walked past Midoriya, a thumbs up to Usagiyama who returned his thumbs up.
The green haired man took a deep breath. He shook his head to snap out of his nervousness but it still persisted behind his mind as he closed the distance between him and Usagiyama.
"Hey, bird boy! Whatcha doin' out here?" The rabbit woman was clearly happy to see her friend.
Hawks slowly turned to his companion and reversed his thumb to point at the figure, "Going to teach Fumikage over there some new tricks."
"How about ya have him smack up Green over there?" Usagiyama met Midoriya halfway and pushed the taller figure forward, "Doesn't really match up against me."
The raven man slightly recoiled and pointed at himself, glancing back and forth from Hawks to Midoriya. The green haired man leaned forward with a slight trace of annoyance.
"I thought we were done, I'm hungry."
"Shaddup." Usagiyama used her right hand to prod Midoriya forward.
Starting once again, Midoriya inhaled the cold air around him. The environment was similar to the multitude of alleyways- modern and compact. The green haired man knew a few things about Tsukuyomi's quirk- it was unique compared to what he's seen so far. So far as to call his quirk a whole different being from the younger hero. Midoriya wasn't too concerned about the young man's quirk but more about his knowledge- Horizon's existence was something that he didn't want anyone to remember or know about.
"Go time."
Midoriya rushed down the alleyway with his shotgun held tight. Knowledge was a powerful tool for him, but now he was stripped of his information and back to his original ways. Midoriya needed to draw out the fight and learn about his target before he was able to make a decisive strike.
'Come on, Green. Let me at 'em.'
The green haired man snapped his head to break the voice. He wasn't going to let Horizon alter his actions again- he refused to. A few minutes of running aimlessly and eventually Midoriya was met with the destruction of a wall beside him- raising his left arm and preventing his head from receiving a brick to it. Ripping through and past the darkness was a frightening black visage of Tsukuyomi in shadow armor. A right straight towards Midoriya caused him to take a step back, the abyssal gauntlet slamming into the ground and causing a visible impact. The raven figure opened his palm and spun around on his hands, kicking towards Midoriya who stepped back for even more space between them. The green haired man soon found an opening and fired a shell towards the twilight hero- the younger man rolling onto his feet and covering his head with his arms and the rest of his body with the black shell, nullifying the damage.
'Let. Me. Free.'
Midoriya ignored the voice and compounded the information he's gained. The shadow armor around Tsukuyomi was the result of his quirk wrapping around him and providing him heightened states of attack and defense. From what Midoriya could tell, his attacks were strong but not devastating like Usagiyama's and therefore he would be able to withstand more of them if the time came.
"Piercing Twilight Claws." The younger man spoke, bringing his left arm forward and pointing it towards Midoriya, a long black claw ejected from his grasp.
The speed was incredibly fast, the green haired man was barely able to roll and dodge it, recovering onto one knee and returning fire which was swiftly absorbed by the abyssal armor. Tsukuyomi's armor reverted itself back into position and he rushed towards Midoriya knowing full well his quirk would protect him. It was starting to become a thorn in the SAT captain's side as he prepared to enter the melee, slinging his shotgun and preparing to fight. The green haired man anticipated a right straight and he reached the jackpot, Tsukuyomi throwing the strike and immediately found his wrist being gripped. He was slower than Usagiyama which brought Midoriya to the understanding that fighting an opponent who's skill level was miles above his own still could help. Pulling his wrist behind him and placing a hand on the figure's chest, Midoriya slipped his foot between the hero's legs and kicked, throwing the raven man onto the ground.
"Dark Shadow!" Tsukuyomi roared, the abyssal arms enlarging and attempting to grasp at Midoriya, the green haired man swiftly disengaging and repositioning himself.
It dawned on him that shadows don't like light and within this dark alleyway, there was only light. Midoriya remembered the resources he had and devised a plan with the information that he was able to gain: Tsukuyomi was heavily reliant on his quirk and he couldn't blame him- it made up for any cracks in his defenses. Additionally, his shadow armor allowed him to enhance his attacks even further- a deadly combination. Unfortunately for him, Midoriya was smart and moved accordingly. He ran.
Sitting atop a roof and looking downwards at the two trainees was Hawks and Mirko. For some reason, Usagiyama was always intrigued at what Midoriya had up his sleeves, something that she would've never thought of regardless if she had the tools to do so. For her, she just needed to kick people really hard and they'd go down like a rock. Yet watching Midoriya move without actually fighting him was interesting- the green haired man always moved with a purpose, a reason. He didn't engage in hand-to-hand combat unless he needed to or he was prodding for information. He didn't run unless he was looking for a more favorable position. Thinking about it, she guessed that's the difference between someone with a quirk and someone without one. It takes Midoriya significantly longer to apprehend someone than she would because he couldn't afford to make mistakes. He moved in a methodical manner and couldn't rely on brute strength and instinct like she could- which on its own was impressive.
Continuing to distance himself from Tsukuyomi, Midoriya heard a massive burst of energy and glanced behind him. Turns out, the kid could fly too- neat. Realizing that he couldn't reach a position that he wanted, the green haired man ran into a slide and rotated himself, firing another shell at the hero. Midoriya watched the abyssal figure turn and point his feet towards him, the form he was in quickly shifting.
"Sabbath!" The raven figure changed back to his shadow armor which prompted Midoriya to roll along the ground and recover as Tsukuyomi landed.
Drawing a smoke grenade, Midoriya pulled it's pin with his teeth and recovered his standing, throwing it onto the ground and clouding the area. Becoming covered in a slightly sweet smelling smoke, the green haired man leaned against a wall and started to load his shotgun- he was four shells short of being empty. The green haired man was depending on the smoke to give him some time to think about what to do next.
'You're over thinking, just let me take the wheel.'
Midoriya continued to ignore Horizon- he was starting to get on his nerves. Before he could begin to think, the green haired man spotted a shrouded image approaching him at incredible speed and he instantly knew: Tsukuyomi. Slinging his shotgun and bringing his arms up to protect his head, a shocking pain was felt in his stomach as he was punched into his vest. Midoriya hacked as air forcibly left his body, the green haired man being knocked back and staggering. Gathering himself, the Midoriya hopped back and left the dense smoke, turning to run once again. He wasn't ready just yet- he needed a bit more time.
"Dark Shadow!" Tsukuyomi's voice pierced the smoke and he pulsed through it, the grey cloud flowing past him.
Pivoting on his feet, Midoriya turned and slam-fired three shells towards the hero, forcing the younger man to spin and switch to his armor once again- at least 20 meters in between them. It dawned on him that shadows don't like light and Tsukuyomi was a biological creature. He had two ways of beating this: A stun grenade and his shock grenade. The stun grenade was simple, it would generate a bright flash of light and prevent Tsukuyomi from attacking or even defending for a short amount of time- enough time for Midoriya to act. The shock grenade was more complicated because of its overall success rate and its chance of failure. It worked by ejecting eight pronged wires in multiple directions and generating a fast yet extremely short-lived electric shock. The green haired man thought for a moment, a smile growing on his face. Realizing this, Midoriya shook his head and broke the expression. At this point, the fight dragged on for a little over six minutes, the last exchange of blows was about to begin.
Tsukuyomi started first, kicking off the ground and instantly covering the distance, starting with an unanticipated left straight. Instinctively reacting, the green haired man pivoted and slung his shotgun adding a bit of space between him and his assailant. The raven headed man followed up his strike with a right hook, Midoriya using his left hand to parry the strike and take a step back. Taking a page out of Usagiyama and even Tuskuyomi's book, Midoriya leaned down and onto his right hand and angled himself on his right foot, his left leg kicking forward and slamming into the younger man. Unfortunately for Midoriya, Tsukuyomi's reactions were just as good as his- the abyssal figure pushing an open palm downwards to parry the kick. The green haired man had to recollect himself because of his unorthodox attack, placing his left hand down on the ground and stabilizing himself into a roll forward. In the position he would've been in, Tsukuyomi's shadow gauntlet crashed into the ground. The two got back into their stances and glared at each other's eyes.
'Go on, Green. Do it.'
Midoriya was unaware that he was grinning, it was as if something switched in his brain. Tsukuyomi started first once again, the green haired man anticipated this strike, and waited for the first swing. Unfortunately for Midoriya- Tsukuyomi was tricky as he started with a right hook kick. Reacting to the strike, the green haired man took the brunt of the hit but countered by wrapping his arms around the hero's leg, using all his strength to throw the figure. Spinning on his feet and successfully launching the man, Midoriya continued his assault and drew his shock grenade, slamming it against Tsukuyomi's chest. Swiftly taking a step back and distancing himself, the grenade popped open and sprayed it's wires, a crackling sensation echoing for half a second before wearing off. The hero wasn't completely affected as he threw the wires off and stood up- something that Midoriya didn't want happening.
"Dark Shadow-" Tsukuyomi was a lot angrier now, "Covert Black-Ops Arms!"
It was near instant as Midoriya was barely able to react to the abyssal strike. Bringing himself low and rolling backwards, the green haired man prepared his trump card: the Stun Grenade. Before he could throw the grenade, he felt the air in his body get forced out by another strike to his chest. Another crushing sensation after being hit again and then again until eventually the barrage ended. It was as if he was suffocating but Midoriya stood up and roared out in pain as he struggled to take the air in around him. The anger subsided and melded into a smile as he gripped the stun grenade. Swift calculations: 23 meters from Tsukuyomi, stun grenades are effective up to 20 meters by flash and 50 meters by noise. Perfection. Midoriya ripped the pin out of the stun grenade and tossed it at Tsukuyomi, closing his eyes and covering his ears.
"Black Abyss-!" Tsukuyomi's quirk retracted himself and wrapped around the hero.
An ear piercing and abrupt blast of light appeared in front of the unprepared Tsukuyomi, the man instinctively going into the defensive unaware of how long he would be blinded and deafened for. Midoriya opened his eyes, a slight afterimage of the flash in his vision but that was completely fine with him. Assigning all of his energy to his legs, the green haired man pulsed into a relentless lunge grasping the now weakened Tsukuyomi. His quirk was struggling to manifest which worked in Midoriya's favor as he slammed the younger man onto the ground. The young hero attempted to react but found himself being spun and locked into a choke hold.
Midoriya was breathing heavily as Tsukuyomi tapped his arm- the green haired man letting him go and holding him so he didn't become light headed and fall over. The two of them sat for a moment as their mentors approached them. Keeping Tsukuyomi upright until he could come to his own senses, he helped the younger man up and gave him a tired grin.
"Good job." Midoriya patted his back.
"You caught me off guard." The words didn't come off as arrogant, the young figure bobbing his head slightly to remove the rest of the stun grenade's effect.
"Oi! Fumikage! You did a good job!" Hawks waddled over and brought his fist out which Tsukuyomi responded with a fist bump.
Usagiyama walked up to Midoriya and gave him a large smile, "Nice one, Green. Ya didn't lose this time!"
"It's pretty hard to win when I'm up against you." The green haired man responded, "But your training was useful."
"It wasn't just trainin'." Usagiyama's smile melded into a more smug expression, "I saw ya using my kicks."
"I… Well, I guess I did huh…" Midoriya averted his gaze and walked over to the remains of his shock grenade, the tanned woman following behind him, "Fighting someone with techniques was a lot different from the standard criminal."
"Are ya saying I don't have technique?" Usagiyama crossed her arms, "That hurts, Green."
"W-well, that's not exactly what I meant." The green haired man scratched the back of his neck.
Midoriya picked up the contraption and looked at it with a bit of disappointment. From what he could tell, he needed to add a stronger charge and a few more capacitors to increase its effect. He could also modify it's original design so it could instead be used in close quarters and wrap around a target instead of being thrown ordinance. It would make a very effective apprehension device.
"The heck is that?" The rabbit woman watched Midoriya reclaim his creation.
"Shockwire Grenade." The green haired man responded, opening it's internals and looking at the charge which of course read 0%, "Something I've been working on."
"Nice." Hawks leaned onto Midoriya's shoulder which prompted him to pivot and distance himself.
"...Y-Yes?" The green haired man held the device close to his chest as if he was hiding it.
Hawks corrected his back and smiled- to Usagiyama it was just a grin but to Midoriya it was something more devious. Tsukuyomi appeared beside the winged hero and looked towards the SAT captain. For some reason, Midoriya didn't hate Tsukuyomi, he actually thought the kid had a lot of potential in him. He assumed that the young hero liked him too as he held his hand out to Midoriya.
"It was a great match, Green." Tsukuyomi had a smirk which caused the green haired man to reduce his nervousness.
"S-same to you." The older figure returned his handshake with a smile of his own.
"Well, Fumikage, we have some practice over this way." Hawks angled himself and pointed using his thumb which Tsukuyomi nodded and started to walk.
Taking a step forward, Hawks placed his hand on Midoriya's right shoulder once again, another ominous whisper exiting his mouth, "You dropped this."
Being pressed against his chest was Midoriya's black lighter, the dragon engraved on it catching the green haired man's eyes. Usagiyama's smile faded as she glared at the two, unlucky for them, her impeccable hearing picked up on the exchange as if they were speaking normally. Midoriya's hand shook as he reclaimed his lighter, the man felt as if he was suffocating.
"T-thanks." Midoriya stowed the object and took a latent breath.
"Let's be good friends." Hawks stepped back and placed his hands into his pockets, a slight hop in his steps as he smiled and turned towards Tsukuyomi.
Usagiyama tapped her foot against the ground, her metallic attachments reaching the green haired man's ears, prompting him to turn. She didn't necessarily look angry or happy- just an odd... concerned look. The white haired woman's expression changed to her normal soft smile as she let her arms drop to her sides.
"Ya still hungry?" Her hands found themselves on her hips.
"Absolutely." Midoriya wasn't sure why her smile kept drawing him back out of his nervousness or anger.
Midoriya sat in the corner of Usagiyama's living room, prodding at multiple contraptions he was working on. His objective was to make items that he could utilize to make up for all of his quirkless disadvantages. The Shockwire Grenade he decided to make into a device that is to be slammed against a target's chest to shoot it's wires out and wrap around. Whether he wanted them to be disposable or not wasn't something he was thinking about yet because it first needs to be able to work on someone like Usagiyama. He didn't really feel right using it against her though. Next on his list was to remake Horizon's exoskeleton but with a different design- he didn't know how to make it appear however. A hero's image is just as important as their overall effectiveness- which is probably why Mirko was designed the way she was. Extremely… Beautiful… Midoriya shook his head and continued to fiddle with his grenade.
Usagiyama, on the other hand, was slowly getting better as her cooking days went on. She decided to feed the green haired man because the last time they went to a restaurant, he wasn't able to taste their food. However, when she cooked for him, he always had a serene expression plastered on his usually tired face. Usagiyama was a woman with a lot of pride so watching him enjoy the food and just grow overall was something she actually enjoyed. Thinking about it while she prepared ingredients, she was mildly confused with herself. She wasn't used to thinking about other people as she mostly thought about how to make herself stronger. Sometimes she would be approached by other heroes asking if they could join her and fight with her, sometimes she would be resting in a family owned restaurant and be approached by men asking her for a date, and sometimes she would be approached by Pro Hero Association Agents asking her to do minimal tasks with other heroes. She would always say no and then go on with her search for a better fight or another hunt for an infamous villain.
Taking a deep breath, she continued to cook and Midoriya continued to tinker, eventually a few ten or so minutes passing. Usagiyama placed a small meal on the table- just a standard japanese meal. A bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, a plate of fried fish, and a bowl of steamed vegetables. Her bowl of vegetables was larger than Midoriya's, mostly because she had the reins when cooking and she likes vegetables.
"Hey, Fluffy, get over 'ere." The rabbit woman called the green haired man who turned with a confused expression, "Wash your hands too."
"...Fluffy?" Midoriya was slightly flustered at the new nickname as he stood up and waddled over to the sink, "W-what caused you to come to this name?"
"Ya hair. It's like my tail." The green haired man slowly looked down at her fluffy white tail- he never really got a good look at it and sure enough, it was there.
Placed nicely above her lower back was a fluffy tuft of white fur and beyond it were two large soft tanned-
"Keep lookin' and you'll be blind." Usagiyama swiftly threatened and caused Midoriya to recoil.
"I-It's-Uh- It's not what y-you think." Midoriya started to rub his hands faster as the shorter figure smirked with a heavy smug expression.
"Uh huh." Usagiyama flicked the man's forehead and sat down at the table, "Hurry up."
