Chapter 14 – Fun Time Out

Tenya usually knocked, and waited for the person in the room to admit him inside. He usually bowed sharply when introducing himself, and spoke to everyone with as much respect and distance as possible without being rude. That sort of politeness had been imparted into him from a young age, alongside all other sorts of etiquette expected from a member of the Iida family. He had taken to it like a fish to swimming, considering how he'd always been possessed of a naturally serious demeanor.

Tenya usually knocked, but obviously that went out the window when the person inside was in a coma. So he felt he could be forgiven for entering the room unannounced.

Tensei was sitting upright, and staring out the window, though he turned to look upon hearing the door opening.

"Tensei!" Tenya rushed over to his brother, enveloping him in a crushing hug.

"Woah there, champ. I'm still a little sore."

Tenya leapt off of him like he'd been scalded. "Of course! I'm so sor-"

"Hey. Calm down, it's fine."

Earlier, when Tenya had first entered the room, his brother had looked to see who it was. He hadn't been quick enough to change his expression in that moment. His face had been completely blank. Not sad, just empty. No emotion at all, bar a single tear on his cheek.

Tenya studied his older brother. A gentle smile was playing across his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He looked… tired.

He hadn't expected Tensei to be awake. Tenya was supposed to be informed the moment he woke up. He told him as much.

"Yeah, I know, but… well, the doctor had some tests they needed to run.I told them to do that first. I wanted to be sure, y'know, before you guys came by."

A memory flashed through Tenya's mind, of the first time he'd come to the hospital, immediately after receiving word that his brother was there.

"There is some damage to his spine." The doctor had said. "Based the position of the damage, we can't determine if this will have long-term effects on him until he wakes up. He could be perfectly fine. But he could also lose all mobility in his legs. Permanently. You need to be prepared for that possibility. We just won't know until he comes to."

Tenya glanced down at his brother's legs. Tensei seemed to understand what he was thinking.

"I can't feel them." His voice wasn't bitter. It was completely flat, void of all feeling.

Tenya just stood there for a moment. Neither of them said anything.

"I-I should call mom and dad." He made to leave, but Tenya caught his arm.

"Wait. There's something I need to tell you first. Just you." Tenya stopped, and looked at his brother, waiting for him to continue. "I'm not going to be a hero anymore."

"We don't kno-"

"'Course we do. There's no point in lying to ourselves." Tenya's legs were trembling, but he didn't try to interject again. "Alright, take a seat."

Tensei waited until his younger brother had followed his order before he continued speaking.

"You want to be a hero, right?"

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Tensei frowned at nothing, letting his eyes go out of focus. It was a look Tenya was familiar with. His older brother always did that when he wasn't sure how to phrase something. Eventually, he sighed.

"I'm not going to be a hero anymore. But that doesn't mean this is the end of Ingenium. I want my… 'legacy', I guess, to continue. And since you're already becoming a hero..." He sighed again, and looked Tenya straight in the eyes. "I want you to be the next Ingenium."

Trepidation had been mounting inside of him since his brother had grabbed his arm, and now it reached a boiling point. His stomach felt like it was twisting inside of him, and his throat was closed so tight he had moments where he wasn't sure if he could actually breathe.

"I understand, that's a lot to drop on you. You can take a moment. Don't feel pressured."

Tenya shook his head, but couldn't lift his eyes to meet his brother's.

"I..." He tried saying, in a strangled voice. They sat in silence for several minutes.

"Tensei!" The door opened, and their parents rushed in. "The doctor called us. Are you okay. Wait, Tenya, how'd you get here so quickly?"

He remained silent as Tensei filled them in. The mood dropped a bit as he told them about his legs, but their mother swiftly pulled him into a hug.

"I don't care about that. I'm just happy you're alive."

"Mom, I'm still sore."

"Of course." She let go, but didn't back up, electing to hover over his bed.

"How did this happen? The police suspect Stain?" Their father spoke up.

Tensei sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Yeah, it was him. He's… a lot more dangerous than we thought."

"How so?" It was their father that spoke, but Tenya lifted his head for the first time since he'd sat down. The way Tensei had said that…

"He fought with bladed weapons. He was pretty darn good with them too. But that's not what was so dangerous about him. I was quick enough to avoid that sword he was swinging, but… not the other attack."

"The other attack?" Tenya spoke up, his voice oddly husky as it passed through his tightened throat.

"Yeah, these holes just appeared in me. A bunch of them, and all of them really small. My blood got everywhere… and then he licked it. I froze. I couldn't do anything. I just watched as he… was that how All Might felt?"

Tenya mumbled out an apology, slowly walked into the bathroom, calmly closed the door behind him, and vomited into the toilet.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Jolyne asked, glancing around at the crowds, from behind her sunglasses.

"Yup! Come on, Jojo. It was gettin' dull, being all cooped up!" Foo cheerily replied. "I mean, who can stand being inside all damn day?"

"Wanted criminals. At least the ones who don't want to be caught."

"Nah, we'll be fine. That's what the disguises are for!"

Jolyne stifled a groan. Foo's 'disguise' was a literal tweed coat, with suspenders and a bow tie. And a pair of fake glasses. At least Jolyne was wearing her hair down, and had sunglasses on. Foo's face was barely obscured at all. They were so going to go back to fucking prison. Welp, it was a good run.

They were seated inside the food venue of some mall. At least it wasn't too close to their hideout. The last thing they needed was the police catching sight of them in the vicinity and correctly narrowing down the search radius as a result.

Foo reached forward, snagging a fry off of Jolyne's plate, and washed it down with the last of her water. Jolyne stifled yet another groan.

"When we were ordering, you said you didn't want any fries." The look on the cashier's face had been pretty funny when they ordered. Foo got three of the largest cups possible, and filled them with water, and then barely got any food.

"Oh, don't be so stingy. This is what friends do! They hang out at the mall, and try each other's food. Hang on, lemme get a refill." Foo got up and wandered towards the cashier, whose countenance shifted to a look of further horror.

Jolyne squirmed a bit. Her guts were doing flips. She wasn't exactly sure this was a normal hangout. Well, not that she had a great barometer for what was or wasn't normal, these days. Either way though, it felt a bit more like a date you'd see in the movies or some shit. Fry-stealing and all. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. Nah, she was just overthinking things, she figured, ignoring how that thought seemed to make a bit of pit in her stomach.

It was all Hermes fault, she decided. The whole outing had been Foo's idea, but she'd wanted everyone to go. Weather had begged out, as it clearly wasn't his thing. Emporio had been much the same. Jolyne had conveniently forgotten to invite Annasui, and she definitely didn't want to be out in public in the company of Hermit Purple – should they get caught, his secret support of them would exposed. But when invited, Hermes had asked who all was going. Apparently 'you, me, and Foo' was the wrong thing to say, since the other woman just laughed, wiggled her eyebrows, and said 'you girls have fuuuuun.' Fuckin' Hermes.

Foo returned, cup full, and grabbed yet another fry as she retook her seat.

"You know, those have a lotta like, salt and shit. Won't that dry you out?"

"Yep! That's why I got some more water!"

Jolyne didn't bother stifling this groan. She followed it up by lightly banging her head against the table. So maybe she was a little overdramatic. Sue her.

"Hey, that guy looks super goofy."

Jolyne turned to see who Foo was referring to, and saw an enormous guy in a white spandex suit, with a hood and a black eye mask on. A hero? And didn't he seem to be-

"Why is he looking at us?" Foo wondered.

The hero in question started walking towards them.

"Because your disguise sucks fat dick." Jolyne said, leaping to her feet and grabbing Foo's hand. "Time to run!"

The hero started running after them, but Jolyne no longer took notice. She focused forward, pulling Foo behind her as they sprinted away.

"Stop right there!" From the loud bangs, clatters, and shouts coming from behind them, Jolyne guessed the hero was barrelling through the tables. Well, she had to give him credit, it was a much quicker route to his destination.

"Ah, I told you I shoulda worn a fez!"

"Come off it Foo, that woulda just made you even more fuckin' suspicious looking!"

They knocked through several passers-by, but Jolyne was careful not to get tripped up. Swiftly enough, they reached the railing. The food court was decently high up. In the fourth floor of the mall, to be precise, so that made this a good place to ditch their pursuer. With his gratuitous size, his quirk had to be related to all that fat, so he probably didn't have the greatest mobility.

She let go of Foo and turned one of her arms into string, willing it to wrap around the rail. Turning around showed the hero gaining on them at a much quicker pace then she would have expected.

"Damn, for a fatass, he's quick! Come on Foo, let's blow this popsicle stand!"

"Uh, this is a shoppi-" Foo was cut off by Jolyne grabbing her around the middle and jumping over the railing. They began descending relatively slowly, and before they got to the bottom floor, the hero was leaning over the railing, looking at them. He reached for the string Jolyne had around the rail.

"He'll throw us off?!" Foo said, astonished. Privately, Jolyne doubted it. He probably wanted to pull her back up with it. He had the mass to make a good enough counterweight.

She willed the string to slip free, and with no anchor, they began to fall. It was easy enough however, to swing the now free string like a lasso, and catch another railing entirely, from the third floor. Beyond the hero's reach.

But of course, two people falling creates a lot of weight and momentum, so when the string went taut, it hurt like hell. The pain reverberated through the string, and straight into Jolyne's shoulder.

"Damn Foo! How are you so fuckin' heavy?!"

"I drink a lot of water!" The plankton proudly proclaimed, with a grin so goofy Jolyne was tempted to forgive her right then and there.

They descended the rest of the way, and landed lightly on the floor. Jolyne reverted her arm back to normal and immediately let go of Foo. Carrying a person in one arm is hard enough, but she wasn't kidding when she said Foo was heavy. Both of her arms were so damn sore now.

The hero above them stared down, as if thinking of how to stop them. Foo lifted a finger underneath her eye and pulled the skin down, sticking her tongue out at him at the same time.

"Everyone, stand clear." He shouted, before vaulting over the railing, and plummeting all the way down. He bellyflopped onto the ground with a resounding Smack!, and swiftly got back on his feet.

Dammit! Jolyne thought. Is that his quirk? He didn't bounce. Some sort of shock absorption?

"Well, he ought to have heard that." The hero said, seemingly more to himself than them. "I am the hero known as Fatgum! In the name of the law, Stone Free and Foo Fighters, you are under arrest."

"Foo."

"Yeah, Jolyne?"

"Shoot this dickhead."

"Sure!" Foo shifted her hand to a gun and fired off a plankton. It impacted the hero directly in the centre and… nothing happened. The momentum was seemingly stalled right away by the fat covering him.

So my guess was correct. Jolyne thought.

"So, you choose to fight! Very well then." Fatgum began charging towards them.

Jolyne put her hand behind Foo, and slipped it underneath the back of Foo's shirt, pressing her palm against the small of her friend's back. A gold ripple transferred across her hand and into Foo, hidden from Fatgum's sight by Foo's body.

"Once more. With feeling."

"Roger that, boss!" Foo fired another bullet, this one laced with the Joestar family Quirk. It slammed into Fatgum, but this time, with far more effect. Jolyne had needed something that could transfer through Foo without effecting her, while still doing damage to Fatgum. Thus, this ripple warped the fat which stored the energy the hero was struck with. The success was clear, as the Fatgum spasmed on the floor.

"All energy changes forms, but it goes away. No doubt you're aware of this, considering how your Quirk works. When you absorb kinetic energy, it becomes potential energy. By warping your fat so it can no longer hold that energy the way it previously had, the potential energy is released – in the form of kinetic energy. And you absorbed a lot when you crashed into the ground floor from the fourth."

Jolyne turned away from him, keeping her hand on the small of Foo's back, and using it to guide her away. "Let's go. Before he recovers."

"Fatgum!" Came a voice from above them. Jolyne looked up, along with many of the civilians who were stood watching the scene unfold. A young man in a dark hero costume was stood high above them on the fourth floor, and had apparently been the one to shout, though he now seemed to draw back from the attention.

It was only for a moment though, for he quickly regained his composure, and a pair of wings sprouted from his back. Chicken wings, if Jolyne wasn't mistaken. He leapt, and glided down fast, straight towards them. His left hand morphed into a swordfish sword, and his right into an oyster shell.

He aimed for Foo's shoulder with the sword, keeping his momentum from the hard fall. That was his mistake. Jolyne pushed Foo aside and stepped forward. The sword passed through her shoulder, but didn't leave a mark. A hole had already opened up, and the string comprising it swiftly contracted, grabbing the sword tight.

It wasn't like the fight with Shigaraki – she had no intention of maiming him. Instead, she spun on her heel in the direction away from them, careful not to go too slow and thereby cancel his momentum, before releasing her hold on him.

With all the momentum, he was flung across the floor, and crashed into a small seafood stand.

It all happened in the span of seconds, so Jolyne had to grab Foo's hand and lift her back to her feet.

"Okay, this time we're gettin' the fuck outta here." They ran again, Jolyne pulling Foo along like before.

A shout from behind them let them know the new hero was back on his feet, and Foo turned her attention to him, firing off a couple of bullets. From the clang sound, they'd been stopped by something.

"Damn oyster shell. Everyone knows oysters are an inferior aquatic species anyways!"

"Foo, don't shoot while we run. Too many civilians around."

"Yeah, I get it. Wouldn't do anything anyway. Why are both of these guys hard counters for me? That uh, what did you say earlier, Jolyne? That sucks fat dick!"

"Oh god, please don't repeat the things I say."

Jolyne risked a glance behind them. The young man- well, maybe more a teenager – was gaining on them.

She morphed an arm into a net and cast it out. There was a mechanical rocking horse toy which could be used with coins sitting by the entrance of a store. She grabbed it in the net and tore it loose from the foundation, before throwing it behind them at their pursuer

"Ah, no fair! I can't shoot but you can throw things?"

"It's too big to ricochet."

"Laaame."

Their pursuer morphed his non-oyster arm into a bunch of tentacles, and grabbed the mechanical horse out of the air before it could impact him. It cost him time however. Due to the crowds, he couldn't just fling it away while he ran, he had to slow down and drop it.

That had worked well enough, and so as they neared the exit, Jolyne retained the net form. She reached out and caught several mobility scooters just in front of the doors, and pulled them out and into each other, making a wall out them.

That didn't work as well. The new hero crashed into the wall, oyster shell first, and kept running.

The doors didn't open automatically as they approached. Clearly security had caught wind of what was going on.

"Stone Free!" Jolyne's Stand fully manifested, and sent a fist through the glass, which the two of them jumped through. Her Stand's humanoid form wasn't as strong as say, Star Platinum, but it was better to use its fists than her own. Afterall, glass won't cut Stands, but Jolyne's fleshy human fists? They'd get torn to ribbons.

They ran into the street, cars slamming on the brakes and honking all around them. It was a Saturday afternoon in Tokyo, so the traffic was pretty severe. It didn't slow down their pursuer at all. Once again, a pair of wings sprouted from his back. He leapt onto one of the cars that had stopped for them, and jumped off, gaining enough air to use his wings to glide after them.

Jolyne sent out string onto a traffic light post, and pulled herself and Foo up with it as the hero flew towards them. She swung them in arc, and the hero went past them, though he was close enough that Foo nearly got a mouthful of his feathers. His tentacles reached out and grabbed Jolyne's ankle, but a golden ripple quickly pried them off.

He landed heavily on the pavement, but didn't miss a beat before he turned. He leapt onto a car parked by the curb, and jumped off of it, taking to the air again.

Up the street came a police car, red and blue lights flashing.

"Damn, someone called the cops! Alright, into the alleys."

They ran in between the buildings, near a restaurant's side door. Jolyne sent out a string, and pulled the door, holding it open as they ran past. When they got to a turn, they took it, and Jolyne recalled her string. As the police and the hero ran into the alley, they saw a swinging door, and no criminals.

Shouts of 'where are they! We know they came through here!' let her know they fell for it, as they accosted the poor confused kitchen staff.

"Alright Foo. We gotta make a getaway. Time for your Quirk." It wasn't really Foo's Quirk, per se. More the one belonging to the girl whose body Foo had taken, seemingly forever ago in Florida. It wasn't anything flashy that would make a hero or villain, but it had its uses.

Foo closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, they began running again, their footfalls utterly silent.

The body's original owner had been a girl who hated being noticed, and had really lucked out with her Quirk. Well, until she used it to stage a kidnapping. She'd managed to evade the police for a surprising amount of time for an amateur as well, using that Quirk.

And now they used it follow in her footsteps as they wandered their way through the alleys of Tokyo. Occasionally they'd hear voices up ahead, or behind, in a side alley and have to make a detour. But after a while, they finally made their way out of the ward they'd been in, and collapsed up against a wall, side by side.

Jolyne was worn out. Her hair was damp from sweat and stuck to her forehead. She turned to see Foo looking directly at her, sweating up a storm herself, and grinning.

She was aware of the silence being turned off when she could suddenly hear her own tired panting.

"Well? I told you going out would be fun!"

Jolyne gaped at her in shock for a moment, before rolling her eyes and groaning. Of course she thought that was fun. She looked back at Foo, whose face was still holding that goofy fucking grin. Oh, fuck it.

"What, you didn't li-" Foo didn't have a chance to finish, because Jolyne grabbed her suspenders and pulled her into a kiss.

I really gotta thank Hermes for refusing. She thought.

"Nah man, it's all about this right here." Higashikata said, circling his hands over his chest, mimicking a different sort of shape to found there. "Oh, and the face too."

"No, I get that, it's just- why limit yourself? There are infinite possibilities, and infinite hot chicks to embody them!" Minoru said. "Facts are facts, you're not giving thighs nearly enough credit."

Minoru hadn't really had many opportunities to talk to Higashikata before. In fact, he kinda thought the guy was a little scary. But hey, Jirou had ended up being perfectly fine. No harm no foul, right? And besides, he was surprised to find the taller boy was actually pretty cool. Way less uptight than all the other guys in the class.

"Haha, hey if that's what you want, fine. It leaves more for me. But I betcha I land a girl before you."

Minoru scoffed. "You're too fixated on Hirose. Meanwhile I catch a wider net. There's no way you're gonna beat me."

"Hey, Yasuho is practically already mine. I'm way ahead of you." The worst part, Minoru felt, was that Higashikata might actually believe that.

They were sitting in Higashikata's room in his apartment, eating pizza and playing some racing game. They had the whole place to themselves, for the moment. Kujo was out and about, and Minoru had the suspicion that wherever he was, Hirose was with him. Minoru elected not to say this, however, and instead took the conversation down a different path.

"So, our rivalry aside, who in our class do you think'll get together first?" Minoru wondered.

"Hmm. Ah shit, that's a good one. Honestly, I barely pay attention to those plebs. Buuuut… maybe Kaminari and Jirou. They hang out a lot, right? And he keeps givin' me the stinkeye." Higashikata muttered the last part under his breath.

"Oh, that's a good one. I think Kira and Tokoyami, though."

"What? The fucking bird? No way he's gonna get any girl's tail-feathers. Unless, what, ya think she's a furry?"

"Hah! Maybe. But I'm serious. They've both got this edgelord thing goin' on. All dark and angsty. I see it."

"Huh, now that you mention it." Higashikata took a moment to snicker to himself. "God, wouldn't that be funny. You think he's got a dick or a cloaca?"

"Hmm. Well, it's just his head that's the bird right? Rest of his body's human. So…"

"Yeah, I getcha. Woulda been funny though."

"Totally."

They lapsed into silence. Higashikata tried a balancing act, eating his pizza in one hand, and holding his controller in a weird awkward grip. It didn't work out that well, and his red car crashed into a wall, losing time.

Minoru's blue car continued on, as Higashikata struggled to right himself. All Higashikata saw was Minoru's 'NUM2' plate as he blew past him and crossed the finish line.

"Not number one any more, huh?" Minoru teased, keeping his voice light in spite of the smugness he felt.

"Aw come on, that's cheating!"

"Nope. It's skill."

"Whatever. I'd win a real fight. Games like this don't matter."

Minoru didn't care that Higashikata was a sore loser, but he got quiet all the same. It was true, he thought. Higashikata would definitely win a real fight.

"What's it like? Having a Stand I mean."

"Pfft. It's the best ever. It helps that I've got the coolest Stand of 'em all. Chicks love it."

That was a lie of course, but it set Minoru's mind to wondering. If Higashikata didn't maim a chick early on, would his Stand have gotten him some feminine attention? It seemed to be working for Kujo. If he had one, he probably would have a girlfriend. Maybe even two. That was the best part of being a hero, Minoru knew. The chicks. And if he had extra powers? He'd be drowning in girls.

Yaoyorozu, maybe. Or Ashido. They'd both be super impressed with how cool he was for it. And why limit himself to his classmates? As a hero, he'd have a ton of fangirls. He let himself bask in the fantasy a little longer, before heaving a sigh, and getting ready for the next round of racing. This time he got the red car with the 'NUM1' license plate.

It was a pretty dingy looking place, all things considered. Dust covered all the corners, and the wallpaper was faded and peeling. No decorations adorned the walls either. Tenya supposed it fit, though. It wasn't as though the place operated in full cooperation with the law. They were probably squatting, in fact. In truth, it set his teeth on edge just to be here, but perhaps it was necessary for a hero to be flexible.

He doubted it. He didn't feel as though heroes should willingly consort with such… undesirable sorts as these, but desperation had its own way of convincing even the most principled of figures.

"Alright. That'll be 200,000 yen."

It seemed like a lot, but honestly, it was cheaper than it had any right to be. Well, most of the people who went through with it ended up dying, so perhaps it wasn't that unusual. It's certainly why they had to ask for the money up front, though.

In fact, Tenya rationalised, the illegality of it all was certainly tied to the risk that customer took. In this case, it was far more acceptable that he go along with this. It wasn't as though he was putting another's life at risk. He was shouldering the burden on his own. That was the whole point of it all in fact.

He handed over the money. Tenya wasn't all that used to paying with cash, but the criminal types hardly accepted debit cards. His brother had been very confused as to why he needed the cash, but… he'd been easy enough to convince. In a sense, they'd managed to convince each other.

He couldn't believe a villain had managed to defeat Ingenium. All his life, his brother had seemed invincible. As tall, proud, and good as All Might.

Stands. Why does it always come back to Stands?

A slow mounting dread had built as Tenya talked to Tensei. From the moment he was told to be the next Ingenium, he'd been full of this… fear. Fear wasn't new to him, he was hardly a robot, but this had been something else entirely. It was a feeling of powerlessness, the same one that had plagued him ever since the USJ.

An attack that Tensei hadn't even seen coming… Tenya couldn't help but recall the battle at the USJ. Hirose crying out and falling over, without him having any idea what had happened. The villain's hand getting ripped in half, all of the lights going dark…

Even before then, when Higashikata had torn Jirou apart. Stands really were… horrific. He hated them, he realised. It didn't quite make sense, it wasn't like Stands were specifically responsible. Or even capable of making their own choices. And he'd befriended a number of Stand users. But still, logic or no, after what they did to his brother… he couldn't forgive Stands.

Tenya was snapped out of his reverie by the criminal snapping his fingers of front of his face. Apparently they'd already finished counting the money, and retrieved the arrow.

It was strange to look at. A sort of bronze of gold colouring all over it. An ornate tip. This was it? This was the thing that could cause so much suffering? It felt almost cheap.

"You sure about this kid? There's no goin' back. Ain't no one gonna judge you for backin' out now."

An image of Tensei looking at him as he walked in the door flashed through his mind. Blank faced, no visible emotion in his eyes or the set of his mouth. Just a single tear on his cheek.

The image was coupled with the sound of Jirou's screams upon seeing her legs detached from her body. Even transmitted through a screen, they were agonising to hear.

He thought of his own poor perfomance in the 2v2s, how he'd easily been the least valuable player. How useless he'd been fighting Red Hot Chilli Pepper. And how not a single other person had voted for him to be class rep.

No one had faith in him. Least of all himself. And he was supposed to be the next Ingenium? Not like this. It wasn't possible.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

The man laughed. "Damn kid, no need to be so serious. Wipe that scary look off of your face. Well, here. I'll do that for ya."

And then he stabbed Tenya in the throat.

I know my take on the physics behind Fatgum's energy being released is a little wonky, but it felt too JoJo's to not include.