Nothing had hurt like breaking his arm with a single punch. Getting the power glove off had topped even that and Izuku had blissfully blacked out when Mei and Power Loader had yanked his arm out of the glove. When he finally came to…
A pair of wrinkly old lips were locked against his own.
Mei and Power Loader were standing in the corner of the nurse's office looking uncomfortable. Recovery Girl pulled back from the kiss and wiped her mouth.
"There. That should be good enough. How does your arm feel?"
"… uh." Izuku managed.
"Will he ever jack it again?" Mei said.
"Hatsume. Shut up." Power Loader said.
"Never." Mei said.
After decades of dealing with teenagers Recovery Girl was unflappable.
"I see you have your hands full." Recovery Girl said.
"Like I didn't have enough things to worry about already." Power Loader said and glared at Mei and Izuku: "Recovery Girl, could I borrow your office for a moment. I need to scream some sense into my students."
"The floor is yours." Recovery Girl said and took one more quick look at Izuku's arm: "It should be okay in a couple of days. Take it easy until then. Try having a nap after Power Loader is done."
"… thank you." Izuku said.
Recovery Girl left them alone with a fuming Power Loader. When the door closed behind Recovery Girl, Power Loader exploded.
"What the hell were you two thinking?!"
"How cool it would have been if it had worked." Mei said.
"Shut up! I told you that every invention goes through me!" Power Loader roared.
"So, we had a bit of bump in the road but…" Mei said.
"A bit?! Are you insane?!" Power Loader screamed and pointed at Izuku: "He's lucky his arm didn't come off!"
"… I'm alright. Really." Izuku said.
"We'll do better next time." Mei said.
Power Loader grinded his teeth behind the mask.
"I think… we are suffering a communication failure here. I wonder if you're parents would have more luck with you two."
Mei turned pale.
"… you wouldn't…"
"Oh, trust me, Hatsume. I can, and I will if I must. Now, the next time you have an invention you want to test, what do you do?"
"We bring it to you." Mei said sullenly.
"Better." Power Loader said and stomped out of the nurse's office,
Izuku and Mei sat in awkward silence. Mei was the first to break it.
"I'm sorry about your arm. And that your first kiss went to some granny." Mei said.
"… it wasn't my first."
"What?! Who was it?"
"… I don't wanna talk about it." Izuku said.
"Come on. Don't leave me hanging here."
"Mei. I don't want to talk about it." Izuku said.
"Fine." Mei said and glanced at his arm: "Still, I'm sorry about your arm."
"… it's okay."
"No. It's not. I fucked up but don't tell Power Loader I told you that." Mei said.
"… okay."
"Wanna go take a nap?"
"… I… yeah. A nap sounds good."
Recovery Girl's Quirk allowed her to speed up people's natural healing through kissing. At least Izuku hoped the kissing was part of it. Ramping up someone's metabolism like that took the fight out of a man and Izuku felt like he had just done a full workout. Mei helped him to the resting area and to Izuku's surprise one of the beds was already taken.
"What's up, guys?" Kirishima said.
Kirishima's face was bruised and there was a faint smell of smoke in the air.
"Izuku broke his jack off…" Mei said.
"An accident! What… what happened to you?" Izuku said.
Kirishima's grin was wide enough to show off all his teeth.
"We were doing practical training with All-Might and Bakugou got a bit too into it."
Izuku and Mei looked at each other. Kirishima was practically beaming.
"He was so cool! I couldn't keep up with him at all. I barely got one hit in." Kirishima said.
Izuku had never seen anyone be so excited about getting trashed by Bakugou. Or by anyone else for that matter.
"… Bakugou can be a bit… rough." Izuku said.
"I don't mind. Wait! You two know each other?" Kirishima said.
"… we were in the same class." Izuku said.
"That's so cool. We should hang out after school." Kirishima said.
The door slammed open and Bakugou walked in. His lip was split and swollen. When Bakugou noticed Izuku, his eyes narrowed. Deku would have covered before Bakugou but he wasn't Deku. He was Izuku Midoriya. A U.A student.
"What are you doing here, Deku?" Bakugou growled.
"… my…" Izuku said and cleared his throat: "My name is Izuku Midoriya. Not Deku. Or did you forget? Kacchan?"
They glared at each other for a moment. Kirishima was looking confused while Mei was stroking her hair.
"So, you're the notorious Bakugou." Mei said and offered Bakugou her hand: "Mei Hatsume. Genius supreme. How you doing?"
"What?" Bakugou said.
"A bit slow on the uptake, I see. Good. Dumb and mean. The perfect heel." Mei said.
"… what?" Bakugou said.
Kirishima pushed Mei aside gently but firmly.
"Did you come to see me?" Kirishima said.
"Yeah." Bakugou said and pointed at his split lip: "You got lucky once. Next time you won't be able to even touch me."
Kirishima grinned.
"Next time I'm beating you into the dirt."
Bakugou gave him a savage smile.
"Bring it on. I'd love to see you try." Bakugou said and started to leave: "Don't waste your time here. The rest of the class isn't worth even half of what you are."
When Bakugou was gone, Kirishima looked dreamily after him.
"Isn't he super manly?" Kirishima said.
"… uh…" Izuku said.
"Baby dick." Mei said.
Izuku and Kirishima turned to look at her.
"What?" They said.
"Did you see his hands? His tiny, tiny hands? Baby dick I tell you." Mei said and grabbed Izuku's hand: "See this? Huge hands. You know what that means? In Izuku's pants is a dick other men merely claim to have."
Izuku flushed crimson. Kirishima glanced quickly at Izuku's crotch before jumping out of the bed.
"I don't have time to be hurt when the others are busting their asses off. Plus Ultra!"
"Plus Ultra!" Mei agreed: "Knock Bakugou dead."
"I will." Kirishima said and ran after Bakugou. Or away from Mei.
"… well… that was weird." Izuku said after Kirishima was gone.
"Really? I always suspected that gay and macho share a border."
Mei sighed and slumped down on the chair next to the bed.
"… what's wrong?"
"Power Loader was right. This was a bust. We have to redesign Project: Indestructible completely. You can't handle the strength increase. Which means we have to make the armor lighter. Which means less weapons and protection. Which means…"
Mei pulled her hair in frustration.
"Which means I fucked up! God damnit!"
"We… we just need something to absorb the shock from the punches. There… I remember there being fiber that could do just that. If we add that…"
"We'd have to sell someone's organs to afford it. And even then, we'd need a loan." Mei said.
"… we could make it ourselves."
"Izuku. I'm flattered but I'm a genius. Not a wizard."
"Momo Yaoyorozu could do it." Izuku said.
Mei blanked.
"Who?"
"… she's in class 1-A. Her Quirk… she can use it to create anything." Izuku said.
"Wait. Is she… from that Yaoyorozu family? The one with all the money?"
"… yeah. I think so."
Mei grinned and slapped his shoulder.
"Izuku. My man. You just turned a bad day into a great one. Get that shock absorbing fiber for us and then use your non-threatening sex appeal to talk your way into her pants."
"… what?"
"When you're Izuku Yaoyorozu, Project: Indestructible will never have to worry about funding." Mei said.
"What?! No! I'm not marrying someone for money."
"Why not? People do it all the time. You think that hussy who married Endeavor did it for his personality?"
"… you… you should marry someone because you love them."
"How did that workout for our parents?"
A cold fury blew through Izuku and Mei didn't need her Quirk to see she'd crossed a line. The grin died on her lips.
"Mei. Never. Ever! Say that again!"
For the first time it was Mei who had to avert her gaze.
"I… I'm sorry, Izuku. That was stupid."
The silence in the room felt heavy. Something slimy and poisonous had made its nest in Izuku's chest. He could still remember the day he'd come back from the doctor diagnosed as Quirkless. The argument that mom and dad had had still echoed in his ears if he didn't drown it out. And then there was… the crying in the night. Mom had been alone, and she'd been crying… and all Izuku could do while lying awake was listen. Why being Quirkless had been such a big deal to dad? Not like being able to breathe fire had made much of a difference in his day to day to life? Why hadn't he been good enough? Why did he have to be… defective?
"Izuku."
Izuku looked up. Mei was looking at him with eyes filled with worry.
"Look. Project: Indestructible is lucky to have you. I'm lucky to have you. You think that bitch Bakugou could have beaten that sewer monster?"
"Bakugou… is always better at everything."
"Truly awesome people don't have such shitty flaws." Mei said and put her legs on the bed: "So, how we doing this? Rush to class and kidnap her?"
Izuku scratched his nose.
"… it's kinda embarrassing talking to a girl you don't know."
"Didn't slow you down with me. How about we put a letter in her locker and ask her to meet us at the workshop? Give us the homefield advantage."
"… Mei. We're just asking her a favor."
"You have a lot to learn about capitalism but don't worry. I'm here to teach you. You should get some shut eye. I'll try to arrange a meeting in the afternoon." Mei said.
"… you want to do it today?"
"If I give you time to mull it over, you might psyche yourself out."
Mei left him to rest and after a long nap his arm felt… better. The pain was still there but it wasn't debilitating, and he could move his fingers freely. He still kept his arm in the sling just in case and headed back to the workshop where Mei was waiting for him.
"Feeling better?" Mei said.
"I… yeah."
"Good. Good." Mei said and offered him a bag of candies: "Freshen up that morning death breath. It's almost showtime."
Izuku took a candy. A black candy. He stared at it suspiciously.
"Something wrong?" Mei said.
"… no. I've just never seen these before." Izuku said.
"Foreign sweets. I love them." Mei said and threw a couple in her mouth.
Izuku followed suit… and spat the sweet immediately out. No. You couldn't even call it a sweet. The taste was strong and salty.
"What the hell, Mei?!"
Mei glared at the candy Izuku had spat out.
"Nice, Izuku. I had to order these from Finland."
"What the hell were those?"
"Salty liquorice and they are delicious." Mei said.
"They are disgusting."
"You just have no taste. You really should…" Mei said and then glanced over his shoulder: "Put on your game face and empty your fuck box, Izuku. She's here."
Izuku hadn't been prepared for how tall Yaoyorozu was. She towered over them and had the build of an athlete with a lifetime of practice. She had the authoritative air of a natural leader. Izuku tried not to stare at her chest which wasn't easy since it was directly at face level for him. In her hand was a letter.
"Izuku Midoriya? You wanted to see me." Yaoyorozu said.
Mei was on her first.
"We both did. Have a candy." Mei said and offered Yaoyorozu the bag of salty liquorice.
"Oh. Uh… thank you." Yaoyorozu said and reached for the sweets.
"… you probably shouldn't. They… aren't very good." Izuku said.
"… okay." Yaoyorozu said and looked at them: "I… thought Midoriya wanted to talk to me alone."
"Wow. Slick moves, Izuku." Mei said.
"Mei!" Izuku said and smiled to Yaoyorozu apologetically: "… sorry. We don't know what planet she's from… and thank you for coming here in such a short notice. I'm Izuku Midoriya and she's Mei Hatsume. I… we're in the middle of a project and need your help."
"Oh." Yaoyorozu said and looked disappointed: "I thought… Well, it doesn't matter. What do you need me to do?"
"We ran into a bit of a road block with the power glove. It's super bad, you see." Mei said.
"… I kinda broke my arm when… I used it." Izuku said.
Yaoyorozu looked worried.
"Are you alright? Should you even be up?"
"Don't worry. A little tongue action from Recovery Girl fixed him right up." Mei said.
Yaoyorozu eyes widened.
"… could we not talk about that?" Izuku said.
"If you insist. Izuku came up with an idea how to work around that little problem." Mei said.
"… we need fiber that can absorb shock. If we weave it into the gloves, I should be able to use it safely." Izuku said.
Yaoyorozu smiled.
"So, Kirishima was right. You're trying to get into Heroics without a Quirk."
"He's the one." Mei said.
"So, you two want me to help create competition for my class in the tournament." Yaoyorozu said.
"Pretty much."
"Why should I do that?" Yaoyorozu said.
"What's wrong? You afraid of science?" Mei said.
"I'm 1-A's vice-president. I need to think what's best for my class."
Izuku cleared his throat.
"… we're asking for help and… heroes help those in need." Izuku said.
Yaoyorozu raised her eyebrows and Mei looked at him surprised.
"I… we… you think I'm a hero?" Yaoyorozu said.
"… you're in the right course for it." Izuku said.
Yaoyorozu was quiet for a moment.
"I guess I am." Yaoyorozu said and switched back to full business mode: "I need to know the exact composition of the fiber."
"You got it." Mei said and showed Yaoyorozu the chart.
Yaoyorozu studied it for a while.
"How much do you need?" Yaoyorozu said finally.
"… as much as you can get us."
Yaoyorozu nodded and handed Mei back the chart.
"I'll need food. My Quirk consumes a lot of energy."
"There's a half-decent restaurant nearby, and baby, mommy is hungry." Mei said.
Mei led them to the restaurant, a small family owned affair. Yaoyorozu looked around fascinated.
"… something wrong?" Izuku said.
Yaoyorozu hid her smile with her hand.
"I've never been to a place like this. So, this is how commoners eat."
Izuku and Mei looked at each other. Commoners? Izuku wondered if he should have been offended but Yaoyorozu had said it with such child-like excitement devoid of malice that it was hard to feel insulted.
"Eat up. Our treat. Since you're doing us a favor." Mei said.
When Yaoyorozu had eaten her way through Mei's allowance and started chomping on Izuku's wallet, Izuku wondered if Mei regretted this as much as he did. After eating them both bankrupt Izuku just slid his plate before Yaoyorozu and she gnawer her way through it too. Soon Mei had to sacrifice her meal as well. There was something hypnotic about the way Yaoyorozu ate. Even when she wolfed her way through feast large enough for three people she never made a pig of herself. Her manners were impeccable.
"I'm done." Yaoyorozu said.
"So, are we." Mei said.
They returned to the workshop.
"Could you turn around?" Yaoyorozu said.
"… okay." Izuku said.
Even with his back turned Izuku could hear Yaoyorozu unbuttoning her shirt. From the exposed skin Yaoyorozu started creating the fiber they needed. After a few minutes, she was done. Even with the fiber, the victory was bittersweet when Izuku thought how he'd explain to mom how he blew through his allowance in one afternoon.
"Thank you." Izuku said.
"My pleasure. I… hope you do well in the tournament." Yaoyorozu said.
"… so do I." Izuku said.
For the next few days they were busy weaving the fiber into the gloves. When they were finally done, they showed the upgraded gloves to Power Loader. After studying them for a long time, he nodded approvingly.
"They're good to go. See, Hatsume? How easy life can be when we follow the rules?"
Mei kept her silence for which Izuku was grateful. Power Loader followed them to the machine that measured impact force. Izuku put on the gloves and took a series of long breaths. The feeling of his arm breaking was still fresh in his mind.
Then he threw a punch.
The old record on the machine broke. Izuku's hand did not.
Shuichi followed Dabi into the bad part of town. Dabi was walking ahead of him and paying him no heed. Could he slip out and run? Dabi wouldn't dare to use his Quirk around so many witnesses. Right? Could he with a little luck shake off Dabi? Maybe but that would mean leaving Mustard and slime boy to the Shi Hassaikai. Shuichi looked at Dabi and shuddered. He looked less like a man and more like a demon. He hadn't even dared to ask where Dabi was taking him when Dabi told him to come with him.
Shuichi felt braver now.
"Where are we going?" Shuichi said.
"To meet a… spy expert. If anyone can get us proof about All-Might's… condition, she can. This is just one of those meeting you don't want to go in on alone." Dabi said without looking at him.
"You could have taken one of the Eight Precepts."
"I don't trust them." Dabi said.
"But you trust me?" Shuichi said.
"More than them and you have backbone. Unlike Mustard."
"You sure? Ever hear what they say about a cornered rattlesnake?" Shuichi said.
Dabi kept his silence and led him to an abandoned apartment complex. It loomed over them like an evil giant and all Shuichi's senses were screaming one thing to him. Run! Run now! If you go in, you're never coming out!
"Get in." Dabi said.
Shuichi looked at Dabi but for some reason the house's dark hallways looked more terrifying. Something lurked in there. Something scarier than Dabi. That didn't make Dabi any less deadly. Shuichi closed his eyes and crossed the threshold. Dabi followed him and seemed… nervous. What kind of a monster could give Dabi the creeps?
The house felt like a huge abandoned spider's nest but there were signs of life in one of the inner rooms. A hand-held console was lying on the table and clothes were tossed lazily on a couch. The floor was littered in candy wrappers… and small bones. Shuichi looked around but didn't see or sense anyone. Shuichi let out a sigh of relief. Whoever they'd come to see, wasn't home. He was saved.
"I know you're here. We have a job for you." Dabi said.
Shuichi heard laughter and felt someone… something hiding just out of sight.
"I'm listening."
"It's about All-Might. We need you to infiltrate U.A and keep an eye on him. We believe All-Might has grown… sick and need proof." Dabi said.
"Oh really? Who's the guy with the scales? Down payment?"
Shuichi felt the eyes of a hungry predator on his skin.
"He's with me. Do this for us and you can name your price." Dabi said.
"U.A, huh? All-Might? Neat. Deal."
"Why don't you come out and introduce yourself." Dabi said.
Suddenly a blonde girl in a school uniform was standing before them. She had the feverish eyes of a junkie and the smile of a vampire. Shuichi could smell blood on her breath. Her suddenly appearing out of thin air made both Shuichi and Dabi flinch which got a laugh out of her.
"Wassup? It's yer girl Himiko Toga. Did ya miss me?"
I am now running a Discord... but this site won't let me post links. Leave a comment if you want in on that Discord action.
