"Gyro-kun. What exactly... is this?" Momo clamped her chopsticks onto a couple of the ebony noodles that had been served to them, unfamiliar with the texture of it.
"Al nero di seppia." Gyro answered as he slurped down a portion of his own dish. Given the atmosphere of the restaurant they were in, the action might have been unbecoming. Not that he cared much. "A really nice dish from my homeland. Spaghetti with fresh squid ink."
His date began eating her own dish, finding it quite enjoyable. "Your kin knows their culinary arts."
The eldest son of Gregorio Zeppeli swallowed. "We really do. Y'know, Italians were the first to use tomatoes in cooking."
"Is that so? Interesting."
Gyro helped himself to another mouthful before speaking again. "I've been thinking. Once my facial hair starts coming in, I think I'll grow a series of soul patches."
"What do you mean?"
"A bunch of squares of my hair, going from my sideburns to my chin, like a checkerboard. Skin, hair, skin, hair, skin, hair."
Yaoyorozu imagined what that would look like on him. "I can see that, yes. But I can't help but wonder why you would fashion your maw in such way. Are you going through a rebellious phase?"
"Rebel, against my old man?" He laughed.
Momo understood his reaction. Gyro had an undeniable and perpetual sense of humor, yet all the time she had known him, not once did he say or show anything negative towards his father. This train of thought reminded her of something. "Gyro-kun. How long have we known each other?"
"A year."
"And how long have we been together?"
"Half of that year." He picked up and sipped his drink.
"Then why have you yet to introduce me to your family?"
The cool liquid slid down the wrong tube and Gyro quickly turned away and began coughing into his arm. After a moment, his breathing regained its proper rhythm. "You sure on that? I'm pretty sure I have."
"Showing pictures is not the same as face-to-face, Gyro-kun."
"Well... you see... my old man... is it possible to love someone if you don't allow sentimentally of any kind in your life? Because that's the way my father lives his life."
"None whatsoever?"
"He never gives or gets gifts. He doesn't allow any of us to take pictures together. We've never even had a pet or invited friends over for dinner, not that he has any friends."
"Oh my..."
"But I'm pretty sure he loves mom, me, and my brothers. In his own... weird way."
"Have you ever thought of asking him if he does?"
"If I did, he'd stare me down in that..." He shuddered. "Yeah, it would not be fun."
Seeing his dropping mood and discomfort, Momo decided to change the subject to something lighter. "Do you remember how we met, Gyro-kun?"
"How could I ever forget? I remember it like it was... a little over a year ago."
"It was a little over a year ago. We just talked about this."
"I know. That's why I remember it as such."
Gyro, still not completely familiar with his new home, wandered around until coming to a public park. After walking off the path, he came across what seemed to be scattered junk, and into the middle of it was a black-haired girl.
Momo was busy practicing her Making quirk, conjuring up items of various complexity so as to not burn herself out mentally...or physically. While she was not vain like some girls she'd met, she was proud of her figure and didn't want to harm it or herself by overdoing it.
Coming to the scattered junk, Gyro spoke with his accent as obvious and thick as ever. "What is all this? A public yardsale?"
"Ah!" Momo let out a very unladylike yelp before whirling around to face the person that had caught her unawares. Realizing she was showing a distinct lack of poise, Momo coughed into her hand and regained her footing. "No, just practicing my quirk. My apologies for the mess."
"No need to say sorry to me. This isn't my land." He looked around them, suprising her. Most boys tended to focus on her midsection. "Your Quirk? What is it, magnetism?"
She cocked an eyebrow at him before holding out her hand and making a simple rock emerge from her palm. "No, I make things."
Gyro's eyes widened and he again surveyed their immediate surroundings. "So... you made all of this? That is awesome!"
The young woman found herself blushing slightly, most of the time people went straight to asking her to make something for them... or focused on her bosom. "Yes, it is rather useful, but I have to be able to clearly picture every intricate piece in my head in order to make it...otherwise things can get messy."
"I hear that. Like surgery. Botch one thing up, and everything goes to shit." Seeing a tennis ball, he picked it up and demonstrated his own ability, making it rotate like a vinyl record on his palm.
Momo nodded approvingly, that was a far better comparison than some that had been made, tinker toys being one of them to her irritation. She watched the tennis ball spin at a consistent, if rapid, pace with some degree of fascination. "Intriguing, is that your Quirk centrifugal force?"
"Not exactly a Quirk. Been in the Zeppeli family since we were royal executioners for the old Kings of Naples. It's called Spin." He tossed the ball, making it land a decent distance away. Much to her surprise, it began to rapidly roll back to her new acquaintance, and jumped back into his hand.
"'Were' royal executioners, then I have to assume you have moved from that aspect of your heritage?" Momo asked.
Gyro shrugged. "Public execution became a thing of the past after the monarchy ended. So my forefathers moved on to being doctors, but me? I wanna help people before they get hurt."
"A commendable goal...I'm so sorry, we forgot introductions, allow me to start." Momo hurried, embarrassed she'd forgotten her manners so brazenly. "I am Yaoyorozu Momo, pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine!" He gave a bow. "Gyro Zepp- I mean, Zeppeli Gyro."
A small but sincere smile formed on her lips. While she was used to foreigners putting their own names before their family's, a strange custom to be sure, it was a bit touching that Gyro was making an effort to follow Japanese norms. "You are very polite, Zeppeli-san, your family did well to teach such courteous manners."
"My old man is one of... dedication. Always wanted to pass that down to his five sons. And it paid off apparently." He wasn't regularly a man of such courtesy, but he was in a good mood. He reached down into the pile around them and pulled up a lightbulb. "So do all of these things work? Can this light up?"
Momo gave a ladylike moue of distate before shaking her head. At least that's what she thought it was. Most would actually call it an adorable pout. "No, I got some of the wiring wrong, as I said I am practicing and I still have a lot to to learn before I can consider myself ready."
"They say practice makes perfect..." He pulled two metal green balls from his jacket. "And these took a few years to get down pat."
"What are those?" Momo asked curiously.
"The old family Steel Balls." He began making one rotate in his palm, and them gently placed it on his cheek, where it stayed in place with its spin not stopping.
"Fascinating..." Momo murmured, leaning in close to get a better look.
"You got a knife?" He asked with a smile.
She was taken aback. "What?!"
"My skin is tough as nails now."
"I am not going to stab you," she said, catching on to what he was getting at.
"Spoilsport," he jokingly replied. The Steel Ball stopped rotating and returned to his hand, returning his flesh to normal. "My ancestors have passed down this trick for generations, perfecting it and coming up with new ways to use it."
"So... you must have a considerable arsenal, right?"
"I like to think so, but hey, I admit I'm still a long ways off from mastering-" A small rumbling sound brought his words to a halt. "What was...?"
His new acquaintance blushed. "Sorry. It seems that my creating of so many objects has emptied my stomach." He looked at her with a titled head. "My Quirk actually converts lipids into whatever I make, so I need to keep eating to use it."
"Aaahhh, gotcha. Then I guess stress eating isn't ever a problem for you!" He laughed for a moment. "Well, I had nothing else planned today. Wanna go hit a ramen stand?"
Momo nodded. "Of course." She mentally told her blush to go away. This wasn't a date. Just a food run with a boy. An enthusiastic, cute, foreign boy...
Both brought themselves out of the memory.
"Thank the maker I decided to go for a walk that day," Gyro said with a small laugh.
"Certainly."
XXXXXXXXX
The news of the Number One Hero taking a position at UA had quickly spread, and the press wanted a taste of the juicy story. Camping out near the front entrance and cornering staff and students as they arrived was evidently the go-to strategy.
"What kind of teacher is All Might?!" One asked Ochako.
She thought for a moment. "Well... he's really strong!"
They moved on to Deigo. "What can you tell us about All Might."
He pretended to think. "Only that..." He ran through the entrance, avoiding any more questions.
Out in the unwanted masses were two men who kept to themselves and had no media equipment visible on them.
"What are you considering, boss?"
"That we use this opportunity to send a message, N'Doul."
Before too long, all of 1-A had made it to their desks, and their seemingly exhausted teacher peeled himself out of his yellow cocoon.
"Okay, then, I went over the marks and notes from your trials yesterday." Aizawa glanced at each other of the players from the first fight. "Bakugo. Stop brooding so much. You lost. It's going to happen. You're wasting your time and talent."
The ill tempered blonde grinded his teeth but nodded.
The homeroom teacher continued. "Midoryia..." the name made its owner lock up. "You destroyed your body again. And I'm getting tired of the 'I have no choice' excuse. Once you clear that hurdle, you'll be far more flexible and effective."
"Y-yes, Sensei!"
"Now then, I'm gonna have to dump something on you all." His students all feared he would announce another threat of expulsion or a pop quiz. "We need to pick a class President."
Instantly, everyone lit up and had their hands in the air, wanting the position.
The cacophony was cut off by the demanding voice of Iida. "Enough!" His word brought silence. "This is a position of responsiblity and authority, where you must carry and pull the weight of everyone. Just because you want it does not mean you can handle it! This is an office of the utmost trust. Ergo, it must be decided by a vote!"
Some of his classmates saw some flaws in his proposal.
"But we haven't known each other long enough to build any trust, kero."
"And wouldn't everybody just vote for themselves?"
Seeing an opportunity, Valentine answered in Iida's place. "Perhaps. But rarely do politicians have the direct trust of their subjects. We all witnessed what the other's are capable of in our battle trials. Who of us smart and who is... less than. Who is sneaky and who is direct. We could use that as a basis on who should receive their votes."
Aizawa, who had slid back into his sleeping bag, spoke up. "Do whatever you like, just so long as you're all done before my nap is over." He fell to the ground behind his desk.
And thus 1-A commenced with their small democracy. As Brando considered whose ring to throw his hat into, Gyro gleefully selected his romantic partner. Capitalizing on her earlier words, Valentine voted for herself.
Not even a minute later, the results were in.
Aizawa rubbed his eyes. "So, your class representative is Midoriya, and the vice-president is Valentine."
The former was utterly shocked. I got four votes?!
The American girl next to him felt something else. Some say second place is the first loser... but I can work with this.
Bakugo was dumbstruck. "You gotta be kidding... who the hell voted for Deku?!"
Behind him, Uraraka decided to keep her vote to herself.
Diego, however, did not. "I did. But how about this? Whenever I need a human shield, you'll be the first one I turn to."
"Zero votes... and after I spoke so highly of the position..." Iida was crestfallen. "But... I cannot speak against the system I suggested!"
"Then why didn't you vote for yourself?" Johnny asked with a deadpan.
XXXXXXXXX
Running through the hall, Narancia pulled up the zipper on his trousers. "Dammit! Should've held it in..." Coming up to the line for the school's midday meal, Narancia adjusted his red tie. The uniform required at UA was so uncomfortable for him. "Stupid..." He leaned to the left to see just how far he had fallen behind his friends. Much to his surprise, he didn't see Bruno or Giorno anywhere in sight. He looked behind himself. Had he actually beaten them to the line?
Spotting a patch of yellow, he grinned. Maybe he had indeed arrived first, against all odds. However, his pang of triumph was snuffed out. With a moment of observation, the blonde hair did not belong to Giorno, but some other blonde... who looked familiar for some reason. This possible stranger did not notice him, too occupied with scowling and barely talking with his friends. At least Narancia assumed they were his friends; he didn't seem too fond of them.
Then it hit him. He waited for his turn, got what he desired to consume, and looked around for his closest classmates. It only took him a few moments to spot Bruno and Giorno, and he hastily made his way to a seat next to them.
"Find the line alright?" Giorno asked, sipping water.
"Yeah, had to run like the wind. Didn't want-" Narancia cut himself off. "Hey, Giorno. You still got that photo of your old man?"
Giorno nodded. "Si."
"Can I see it again?"
"Va bene, but why?" He reached for his wallet.
"I saw somebody who looks just like him, but I want to be sure..."
"This rice is delicious!" Ochako ate her helping, sitting amongst her friends.
Midoriya could still barely believe what had happened. "I got elected so suddenly... I honestly didn't expect to win."
Diego gnawed on a cut of well-done meat before speaking his mind. "Life rarely goes how you expect it to."
"Yeah, but I'm not sure I can handle this sort of thing."
Ochako smiled. "Of course you can!"
Iida chewed some of his own food before he too gave his thoughts. "You'll do just fine. You've got the guts and judgement where it counts. That's why I voted for you, because I believe you can carry us through."
You were one of the four?! Midoriya was shocked.
"I seem to remember you wanting the spot yourself. Rather badly too," Diego said.
Ochako added, "yeah! And you've got the look for it too with those glasses!"
Iida continued. "As I said before, having volition doesn't mean having suitability. I followed my own judgement on the matter."
The carnivorous blonde swallowed his mouthful of meat. "It's official. You're the most straight-laced guy I know." His words were true, and the unspoken ones were positive as well. He wouldn't have just stood there like everyone else, watching my mother get taken advantage of and slowly die. He would have stepped up and stopped it...
Ochako nodded. "You're always about honor and dignity. Are you from a jet-set family or something?"
Iida adjusted his glasses. "I try not to talk about it too much... but yes. The Iida family has been in Heroics for generations. Have you ever heard of Ingenium?"
Brando shook his head, but Midoriya lit up. "The Turbo Hero?! He's got an office in Tokyo and sixty-five sidekicks working for him!"
"You're quite knowledgable, Midoriya." Iida then beamed with pride. "Ingenium is my older brother! As the second Iida son, I aspire to be a Hero just like him! But, at the moment, I don't think I could do the same as him. So the better man, Midoriya, becoming the one to lead us is the natural thing to do."
Midoriya felt a surge of motivation enter him. So Ingenium is to Iida, what DIO is to Diego, and what All Might is to me!
Over at a certain other table, Giorno's eyes were as wide as could be. His back and lips were stiff and straight. In his hand was his opened wallet, with the signed photo of DIO Brando his mother had given him long ago. He was staring at the young man Narancia had pointed out.
He did indeed look just like his father.
"I... I can't believe it."
Bucciarati looked at the photo, and then the stranger. "He could be your brother."
"I have to know." He stepped out from his chair.
Suddenly, a loud, nearly deafening noise filled the air.
"Is that a siren?!" Ochako looked around.
A monotonous voice then spoke over the caterwauling. "Level three security breach. All students, promptly evacuate."
"Level three?" Brando wondered aloud.
A senior classman answered him before running off. "It means somebody made it through the gate! This hasn't happened since I've been here!"
In a matter of seconds, a throng had formed in a hallway, everyone tighter than sardines in a can.
"It makes sense!" Iida shouted as he and his friends felt everyone around them push and struggle. "The pinnacle of education would have such a quick response time!"
"I think it was too quick!" Brando thought hard. I could go dino... but everyone is so packed together. And climbing up on their shoulders would only mean I'd get thrown off and trampled. I'm stuck here for now.
It soon became a war zone. Izuku couldn't keep the different paces of those in front of him and those behind, and soon became separated from his friends.
"DEKU!" Uraraka reached out for him, but he was pulled away.
"Get off of me, you damn pigeons!" Brando demanded, but his words were drowned out.
The shoving and panicking soon resulted in Iida getting pressed against a glass wall. The pain in his chest and face wasn't too severe, but he wasn't going anywhere. Forcing his eyes to focus, he saw outside, and on the pathway was a group of people with cameras and microphones. "The press? They're the intruders?"
Outside, the reporters had found themselves at another entrance, but with two Pros blocking their way.
"Just give us one statement from All Might and we'll leave!" One of them demanded.
Present Mic was not buying it, nor was the man next to him. "It starts with one, then another, and another. It'll never stop."
"Can't we just scare them off, Hierophant?" Present Mic whispered to his accomplice.
The redhead looked at the interlopers from behind his sunglasses. "Not unless you want to make the evening news for being a menace to society. Just wait for the police to escort them all out."
Back in the hallway, Iida pieced together what was going on. "Everybody calm down! It's just the press!" Unfortunately, his words went unheard, as everybody around him was screaming. The panic had taken hold over all of them. What would Midoriya do? What would my brother do?! I... I need to get to a spot where everyone will see me! He pushed himself away from the glass and spotted where all of them were trying to go. The massive doors that lead to freedom. His eyes drifted to the exit sign above it. "That's it! Uraraka! Make me float!"
The young woman did not see where he was going with the request, but nodded and reached for him. Their fingers couldn't quite reach.
Brando saw this and was completely lost. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Iida chose to ignore him (thus gaining a bit of ire from Brando) and focused on reaching Uraraka. Finally, when it felt like his shoulder was about to dislocate, her fingers made contact with his flesh. Instantly, he felt weightless and took to the air. He adjusted his stance and rolled up his pants before shouting, "Engine Boost!" He went forward, but began spinning like a pinwheel. But he made his way forward. The spectacle caught the attention of everyone below him, making some of the shoving and shouting stop. Iida began to feel dizzy but he ignored it and made sure to land above the doors above of the glowing grabbed a pipe to keep himself steady.
"EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He had to be precise and attention-grabbing. His way of speaking paid off as the noise did indeed die down. "EVERYTHING IS OKAY! It's just the press! There is nothing to panic about! We are students of UA! Let's act like it!"
His words got to them, and they all did indeed stop accidentally crushing one another.
Before too long, the authorities made the press leave and the students returned to their classroom with Midoriya and Valentine standing near the front once more.
"I... I've got something to say!" He gulped and put on the most confident face he could muster. "Adter what happened, I think that... Iida should be our Class President!" His words shocked them. "He showed an ability to unify people, and to calm them all down with a level head. So I propose that Iida Tenya take my position of Class Rep."
Most of his classmates voiced their energetic support, while Aizawa, back in his sleeping bag, sucked a juice pouch dry. "Whatever."
Valentine also had a neutral reaction. Less easier to steer... but I can still manage.
Hearing the positive reaction, Iida could not help but smile. "Well then, I have little choice but to accept!"
XXXXXXXXX
"Good! Good good good!" The former doctor was ecstatic as his latest victim screamed while being chopped up. "Secco! Are you getting this?!" His assistant nodded fervently as he held up a portable camcorder, filming the butchery. "Good!"
Finally, as his arm got tired from continuously swinging the machete did the unfortunate soul depart to the afterlife. His murderer gleefully wiped off his weapon. "These are the best of times, Secco my dear. Give me that." He snatched the recording device and watched the playback. "Ooooo, such excellent angles! And you zoomed in on his shouting! Look at him... so afraid... so tormented. I say you've earned yourself a sugar cube!" The man in the light brown bodysuit let out a seemingly intelligible grunt. "What, you want two of them? You are getting greedy..." He pondered for a moment, and shrugged, pulling the treats from his pocket. "You did good today."
He tossed them, and Secco caught them in his mouth before chewing and sucking on them. As his pet enjoyed the reward, the doctor's phone began ringing. He pulled it from his coat and checked the number. "Unknown caller, eh? Such a mystery..." He answered. "Buon giorno, Boss."
"It's time for Passione to move to greener pastures, Cioccolata. I've already informed La Squadra."
The aspect of a whole slew of new videos to be made caused a good helping of ecstasy to enter the sadist. "Good! Good good good good good good good!"
"You'll receive your travel information soon." The Boss hung up.
Cioccolata grinned widely as he caressed his precious partner. "Secco... we're going to need a second camera! I can sense many great days headed our way! Many, many great days!"