Guest - Look, man. I'm not having any smut in that story. But if you want to have a story composed entirely of fighting, go play some fighting game. Izuku manning up into becoming a proper hero is something that - considering his almost complete lack of self-worth and tendency to measure himself based on how useful he is to others - requires help from other people. People that are close to him, closer than everything else. So what you take for random sex stuff is all part of protagonist character development. It'll become clear in time.
Trixuny - Similarly to a powerful telekinetic :P
(***)
Sasaki led them to an open area in the school's part rendered off-limits to the general students body because of being reserved for the Special Course. He then told them to get to the middle of it and start the fight when they hear the whistle.
Izuku, at this point, was almost certain that he knew what Yoarashi's quirk was. It was something of a random mental connection at first.
'Airhead'. Air. Air current manipulation is a perfect counter to Mustard's poison gas clouds, as it can disperse them. It should also be able to (to a smaller degree) interrupt or deflect Dabi's flames, even if probably not a Prominence Burn. So, 'a counter to one or perhaps two major supervillains'.
Besides, did Principal Sasaki mention the 'atmosphere of the talk' for no reason at all? Or was it a very stealthy 'let's see if you'll figure it out' help towards Izuku? It sounded like something that the Principal would do. With the 'not a lot of movement' bit probably being a similar intelligence test towards Yoarashi?
"JUST FOR THE RECORD." Inasa says once they are alone in the center of the field. "YOU DON'T LOOK STRONG AND I DON'T KNOW YOUR POWER. I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU ON AN ACCIDENT, SO…"
"Don't worry." Izuku interrupts him. This is a perfectly reasonable worry on Inasa's side. He looks strong, and clearly has a combat-worthy superpower, at least according to the Principal. And Izuku looks extremely wimpy. "I'm tougher than I look. Go all out."
He has already surrounded himself with inward-facing telekinetic barriers. If he gets thrown in any direction, they will cushion this. He can't exactly stop the wind itself, and if that truly is Inasa's power… well, it's not exactly the best match-up for Defiant. At least quirk-wise.
"THIS IS SO HOT-BLOODED!" Inasa looks moved almost to tears. "I WILL GIVE MY UTMOST TO NOT LET YOU DOWN!"
Uh-oh. Provoking him further might not have been Izuku's best idea.
When the sound of the whistle comes, Izuku moves first. Inasa is ten meters away from him. That's well within range of his attacks. Two telekinetic pulls applied to the back of Yoarashi's legs (on a slightly outward trajectory, to make him see them), and then, when he began to fall face-first, another pull. This time towards the ground.
Yoarashi avoids getting slammed face-first into the ground by… oh, yeah. Izuku was right. It's ability to manipulate air. The upward current is strong enough to counter Izuku's pull (not like he was putting in a lot of effort, this was just him testing the ground). More than that, it's promptly overpowered.
Yoarashi stands up, although it's clear that he has to pull in quite some effort. Still, he looks pumped up.
Damn. He really is like Kirishima, isn't he? Almost disturbingly so. Izuku isn't sure how to deal with people like that.
Finally, Yoarashi retaliates (they will have to work on that, he should retaliate to attacks instantly, Overhaul and his goons won't be waiting for him). The circular, horizontal whirlwind rages on, powerful enough to send him flying.
Of course, he almost immediately pulls his feet back towards the ground while negating the air current by pulling himself in Yoarashi's direction. He lost, what? Three meters of ground? But he noticed another weakness in his opponent's quirk.
Oh, it was incredibly powerful, and this probably still wasn't him going all out. It was good for suppressing opponents, but unlike Force, it had to first travel from Yoarashi to his target. This meant a second or two delay, even at the range like this (though he probably had a much larger effective range than Izuku, perhaps by several times).
Izuku can move things instantly. Which he proves. Yoarashi is thrown to the right by Force. His whirlwind attack is suppressed, as he is forced to use the currents to stabilize himself. Except, when only he does that, Izuku immediately switches his pull to the opposite direction.
His own quirk helps Izuku throw him, before he switches the direction to counter the pull. Except Izuku does the same thing instantly.
Yoarashi realizes he is outmatched at close range and decides to gain some distance. Powerful gust of wind throws him back. Beyond Force's reach. Huh. That's actually some good combat instincts, Izuku decides.
He probably realized that a quirk this fast and strong has to have some limits. Range was the most logical one. If Izuku could manhandle people like that dozens of meters away from him, he would be unbeatable. Instead, it's just a measly twenty meters. And his control sucked close to that distance.
Inasa stands up, the fight temporarily coming to a halt. The wind dies out, while Yoarashi stands outside of Izuku's range.
"YOU ARE REALLY STRONG!" Inasa yells at him. "IT'S ONLY COURTEOUS OF ME TO HIT YOU WITH ALL I GOT!"
Well, Izuku was yet to Ignite. So he wasn't going at Inasa with all he had. Then again, what exactly could be Yoarashi's strongest att…
Oh my god, it's a tornado. A REAL, LIFE-SIZED TORNADO. With Yoarashi at the center, somehow untouched by it. The wind currents surrounding him are strong enough to tear the grass off the field while damaging the trees that were too close to him.
Principal Sasaki is holding one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, with a face indicating a sudden realization that suggesting this mock battle wasn't the best of his ideas.
Izuku ignites. There is a brief glint of shock in Yoarashi's eyes when Izuku closes the distance between them much faster than Inasa thought was possible. Second later the tornado dies down when Izuku restrains his arms.
He didn't move them a lot. But Izuku saw him do that when he controlled the winds. There was a connection between his meta-ability and that. So when he immobilized his arms, he impaired his quirk.
Impaired, but not deactivated it fully. He realized it when Inasa threw a chunk of dirt (one of those falling from the sky now that his tornado died down) at his face. He dodged but… well, it's time to finish this.
He maintains the lock on Inasa's arms while force choking him. Not to the full unconsciousness (let's not go that far). But after a few seconds, he lets him go. Inasa falls to the ground, coughing furiously.
"Do you surrender?" Izuku asks. Inasa doesn't answer (he sounds unable to do it, at least yet), but he taps out.
Phew. That was reassuring. Izuku is deeply uncomfortable choking people that weren't nasty villains. And even then, he was… shallowly uncomfortable.
In the meantime… Yoarashi likes fair play? He'll get fair play.
Izuku approaches him on foot. And then extends his hand. Inasa by then seems to get his breathing back in order (mostly). So he grabs it. Izuku lifts him up (helping himself with a bit of his telekinesis).
Somehow, this little gesture feels like it brought Inasa to the verge of tears.
"YOU ARE SUPER STRONG!" He yells. "AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU!"
One new superhero was added to the roster. Probably. Inasa still has to survive the following ten minutes. And it might be an achievement.
"Your first mission is surviving Principal Sasaki's wrath." Izuku says. Yoarashi instantly glances at the Principal, who is walking towards them through the thoroughly decimated clearing. With a rather… worrying expression on his face. "I think he didn't expect you to unleash a tornado in the middle of his school."
"OOPS." Yoarashi replies while shrinking severely. "I'M SUPER DEAD."
(***)
Somehow, Inasa Yoarashi survives the Principal's wrath. Although the scolding (about minding the potential collateral damage, even when you are in the middle of a fight that you're really enjoying) is rather intense.
Izuku quickly sends Kirishima a message about finding him a new best friend. He refuses to elaborate on details, even when Kirishima furiously inquires about it. Sometimes he is like that.
Once the scolding is concluded, Izuku has a quick talk with Yoarashi. Who really likes Defiant's hero name. As it apparently sounds hot-blooded. He quickly chooses one for himself.
Tornado is… rather descriptive. He also decides to call his meta-ability 'Whirlwind'. Which, once again, is rather straightforwardly descriptive.
They also talk for a moment about certain applications of Tornado's quirk. Izuku ignores Principal's worried stare when he points out that Yoarashi should test if he can use his air control to controllably depressurize areas around him. Sure, his quirk isn't 'oxygen control', but if he manipulates the flow of air through a lot of precise wind, he might achieve something akin to that, at least temporarily.
It would be useful for cutting air supply to ongoing fires! Or, well, people. That's a thing as well.
Eventually, Yoarashi is sent to get acquainted with the remaining Special Course students. Of course, not before Principal Sasaki has a very serious talk with him about secrecy. Once all of that concludes, Izuku is invited to Sasaki's private helicopter. They are going to visit the family of another potential student.
Wow. UA is really pretty damn wealthy, isn't it?
(***)
They are heading to Shizuoka. The neighboring prefecture. So it's not a particularly long trip.
"So…" The silence gets awkward at some point. "... who are we going to visit?" At least he is wearing his hero uniform now. He feels comfortably anonymous inside it.
"It turns out that the Hatsume family isn't the only zaibatsu with a member of their family developing a meta-ability." Principal Sasaki replies. "And unless Enji Todoroki has been greatly over-exaggerating, his youngest son might equal Dabi in firepower."
Uh oh.
"Just please…" Sasaki says. "Don't start a fight. And, preferably, leave talking to me, alright?"
Uh oh intensifies.
(***)
"Alright, Shino!" Mei announces with a bright smile. "I'm going to tell my parents everything during this family meal!"
Well, Shino Sosaki has mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it means no more secrecy. On another hand, her comfy work at Hatsume Industries might be over after it.
At the very least, Izuku proved to be a nice human being. Discovering that Mei was oblivious as to the fact that she was doing something wrong was rather… enlightening. Her apology to her bodyguards (including a rather shaky dogeza, who would have thought) was a surprise, but a welcome one.
"Great." Shino says. "You do that." She forgets to ask about how Mei is going to break the news to her parents. Big mistake.
(***)
The family meeting is surprisingly normal, if you exclude the rather lavish (although not painfully ostentatious) furniture. And the fact that aside from Mari Hatsume, Kimiko Hatsume, Mei Hatsume and her younger brother (Yuji Hatsume) there is also Shino Sosaki.
Mostly because they all still remember that one time Mei forgot about changing and actually brought a fistful of potentially explosive material from her lab to the family meeting in her pocket. It might be a private thing, but this type of security is very important.
There is some small talk about things, such as how Yuji is doing with his lessons. Shino's kind of excluded, unless she is needed to clarify what Mei did exactly. Her answers are often… well, it's good to have a qualified interpreter right next to her. And after babysitting her almost 24h per day for almost two years now, she is proficient in Meispeak.
Eventually, the time comes. Shino can see the sudden glint of decisiveness in Mei's eyes. Then she raises her hand.
"I'd like to make an announcement." She says, bringing everyone's attention to her.
Shino knows her a lot. Just in case, she quickly swallows the coffee that she had in her mouth and puts the mug back on the table. This is a basic survival 101 when you live next to Mei. It makes you not choke lethally on things when she says something very… Mei.
"Yes, Mei?" Kimiko asks. With a rather endearing smile. She is an amiable person and probably Shino's only hope of not getting yeeted through the window today.
Alright. Shino wonders how it is going to play out. Is Mei going to talk about her boyfriend first? Or maybe she'll start from the Network? This way or another, her career as a bodyguard is probably ov…
"I'm pregnant." Mei announces with a bright smile.
Shino promptly slumps in her chair. Oh, she is so dead. They are all dead. This is literally worse than her worst fears.
WHY DIDN'T SHE ASK MEI WHAT HER PLAN FOR THE TALK WAS?! WHY?!
They would have a few hours of a head start to run out of the country! Surely some Siberian warlord would have accepted a highly competent tank crew with a shady past overseas in the ranks of his army, right? Without asking too many questions.
"Is it about your… babies, was it?" Her father asks. Naturally, neither of her parents take her announcement seriously. "Those special inventions that you are making while being super secretive about it?"
"Uhm, no?" Mei seems confused at not being taken seriously right off the bat. "I took a test and all that. Last days of the first month, I think, so it's way too early to say anything else."
"Mei, please." Mari still didn't buy it. "This is a serious thing. Please do not use words when you don't mean th…" He pauses because his wife promptly elbows him on the side. He looks at her, only to see her gesturing towards Shino. So he moves his eyes there and…
… and sees Shino white as a sheet, very busy shrinking in her seat. The bodyguard gets to see her employer going through several stages of grief in an instant, before the train derails completely and lands on the field of shock.
"Wait, you're serious?!" He shouts. Mei nods, clearly confused as to why he reacts like that. That was good news, right? "Oh my God, who is the father? Is it…" Shino can see his eyes darting towards her so she goes fuck it and interrupts her not-for-long employer.
"It's not Chatora." She says, while continuing her routine of shrinking in her seat. Mei suddenly jerks in her seat.
"What? Chatora?" She looks terrified at that question. "Why would I even… I mean, he is just sooo old!"
Shino is just as old as Chatora is. This is adding insult to injury, all things considered. Although, as always, Mei is oblivious rather than malicious.
"Then who is the father?" Kimiko takes it over, because her husband has clearly received a verbal equivalent of a mallet strike to the head. Her son's eyes are darting between her and Mei. He is clearly confused about what it's all about.
"Izuku." Mei replies with a rather heartwarming smile. It pops up on her face when that name is mentioned. "My boyfriend. Though we don't see each other very often, since he is living in Musutafu. But we're video calling each other practically every day."
Her parents connect the dots almost at once. They knew she had visited some acquaintance there. With Sosaki and her teammates. Except, none of them reported anything like that happening. And now, Shino was clearly deflating in her seat.
"Sosaki-san." At least it's Kimiko that asks. Her voice is calm, but there are daggers hidden inside.
"I tried." Sosaki replies bitterly. "Mei promptly told me she has compiled false evidence for numerous crimes that I and my crew members supposedly committed and would have me fired from the job if I didn't do what she told me to. And that no one would believe my claims that she, the chaos gremlin extraordinaire, has obtained a boyfriend. Or could blackmail someone, for whatever reasons."
"Mei!" Her parents shout in unison. "That's…"
"I know!" She interrupts them. "I didn't know that blackmail is a crime. I thought I was just strengthening my negotiation power! Izuku explained it to me already and told me to dispose of it and apologize to Shino and the others. So I did so. Today. And I came forward with it towards you. Sheesh."
Well, that's certainly a point in Izuku's favor in her parents' eyes. Or at least that's what Shino figures out from the looks on their faces.
"And… that Izuku." Kimiko keeps pushing, while gesturing at her husband to not say anything. Considering how red he is, it's a good idea. As it's not the embarrassment red, unfortunately. More like the 'murder red'. "What can you tell us about him?"
"Well, he is my age." Mei replies. She looks delighted to be asked that question. "He has very fluffy and soft hair that I enjoy playing with very much. He is attending the UA while working for the local police department. He is also a great inspiration for my inventions, has an absolutely beautiful mind, and is mindblowingly awesome in bed."
Of course she said that. Her father looks like he was about to foam from his mouth at this revelation.
"Like, seriously." Mei frowns a bit, while Shino covers Yuji's ears just in case. "Why didn't anyone tell me that sex is so much fun? I mean, I'm not really interested in it aside from Izu, but…"
"Mei, stop. Please." Kimiko intervenes before Mei ends up giving her husband a brain aneurysm. Shino promptly stops covering Yuji's ears. The worst-case scenario didn't come to life. Whether that was Mei announcing some spicy details or her father unleashing a cluster F-Bomb was anyone's guess. "What is he doing for the police?"
"Oh, he is a superhero." Mei replies. She sounds almost disinterested in what she just said. Despite it being a major shock to almost everyone in the room but herself and Shino.
"You mean like Superman?" Yuji suddenly pipes in. In his eyes, the stars.
"Yep!" Mei replies with a wide grin. Yuji seems to have decided that his future brother-in-law is the coolest thing ever. Except, his parents are yet to agree to anything. And they are very, very surprised by that discovery.
"Sup…" Kimiko almost repeats the word after her son before catching up to what that means. "Mei! We've made a decision about that. We told you not to look for people with…"
"Yes, I recognize that you've come to a decision." Mei replies. "But given that it was a stupid ass decision, I have elected to ignore it."
He watched MCU films with her, didn't he? Of course he did. After all, SUPERHEROES. Mei was slowly turning into as much of a fanboy over them as he was. Then again, that was actually something potentially useful nowadays. Shino and her crew watched some, just in case. While having an intense debate on 'how would I kill/incapacitate someone with a power like that'.
"Mei, that's…" Finally, her father recovers enough to speak.
"Dad, no!" Mei interrupts him. While being clearly angry about something he did. That's… probably the first time Shino ever saw her do that. Even her father is shocked. "What your research found were the first generation meta-abilities. They are all either super weak or super unstable and deadly for their user, so you found the former only. Second generation meta-abilities like what Izuku has are way more powerful!"
"This doesn't change an…" Her father is stubborn. Unfortunately for him, Mei has all the arguments to bulldoze through him.
"Dad!" Mei interrupts him for the second time in her life. She was always daddy's little angel, if you exclude the whole regular explosions thing. And some occasional moments of utter obliviousness. He doesn't seem to know how to deal with her changing like that. "Mieko-chan could teleport from Musutafu to this very room in like ten minutes! Don't even try to tell me that this isn't important!"
"Mieko… what?" Mari Hatsume blinks at her a few times.
"My reaction exactly!" Mei is really into it, especially considering her wild gesticulation. "I have no clue how that even works, but it does! Shino can confirm it." When their stares go to her, Shino obediently nods. Mei promptly continues her tirade. "And there is another girl in Takoba that can make you permanently younger on touch! And one more girl that's biologically a human-frog hybrid that will probably start her own subspecies of Mankind! Hell, I got to meet a literal vampire! Don't tell me that this isn't important! So I'm not missing out on that, no matter what you're going to tell me!"
"Wait…" It's her father again. "... you're serious?"
"YES!" She practically yells at him. "Dead serious! The world is changing, and Hatsume Industries is doing nothing about it! I fell in love with Izu when I saw him rescue a six-years-old girl from a supervillain that kidnapped her, all while using a gadget that I made for him! My adorable baby number one! I'm not going back to designing fridge components after that!"
Her brother's love and respect towards his soon-to-be brother-in-law seem to be skyrocketing. Someone has clearly obtained a fanboy. Her parents, in the meantime, are still shocked. Practically speechless.
"I'll just add…" Shino takes one for the team. "... that Mei has also decided that becoming a first 'support engineer' for superheroes will make her as famous as Wright's brothers and so on."
"Yes, that too!" Mei beams at her. Her slight outburst has… calmed down, slightly. "Thank you, Shino."
"You're welcome." Shino replies and returns to slumping in her chair, awaiting the inevitable death penalty for her career.
"So yeah, I've been supplying a superhero team with the things I built with your money." Mei continues her announcement. Shino decides not to point out how she forgot to mention the bit when she built a literal gun for them, and that was certainly not very legal. "I've also been financing them a bit with that allowance that you've been giving me, though that was before the local police scrounged enough money to start, like, paying them on their own. And before Principal Sasaki of the UA caught wind of what was happening and decided that having superheroes among his school graduates would be awesome. And I regret nothing."
Does someone even remember the whole 'I'm pregnant' bit that started this clusterfuck of a talk? Shino isn't sure. But she has her suspicions.
Kimiko wakes up first and proves Shino wrong.
"And, uhm, does Izuku know that…" Did she decide to leave the Hatsume Industries biz to her husband and focused on what was really important to her, or was she too stunned by the discovery that she was going to become a grandma something like twenty years ahead of her expectations to notice Mei's outburst?
"That he'll be a father?" Mei replies with a question. "Uhm, no. He would worry way too much and I don't want to distract him from his work. He has many people to save. I'll tell him once it'll be visible."
Kimiko looks at Shino. There is an unspoken question on her face. Somehow, the former tank commander realizes immediately what it is about.
"They are absolutely adorable." She replies. "And precious. And madly in love with each other. And it's certainly not any dastardly plan of his, as he is way too innocent for that. Also, she was the one to seduce him, since he apparently failed to imagine someone like her being interested in someone like him."
"Yep, Izuku has to work on his self-confidence." Mei agrees. "Even I noticed that!" That it says a lot about him is actually pretty sad.
Kimiko Hatsume arrives at a decision. She stands up from her seat, approaches her slightly distraught daughter and promptly gives her a hug.
"Mei!" She says loudly, while her daughter hugs her back. "I'm so happy that you finally found yourself a boyfriend!" Shino can see Mei's face switching from 'why are you approaching me' to a look of pure delight and happiness. Heartwarming, really.
"Kimi…" Her husband appears to be trying to protest, but she pauses the hug for a split second and gives him a death stare. "Uhm. Yes. We're happy for you. Very much." He is doing his best, but his smile really doesn't look very honest.
If Shino's work experience is anything to go by, what awaits them now is a long business discussion. Followed (or preceded by) decision of whether Sosaki and her crew members will remain at Hatsume Industries' payroll.
Oh, joy.
(***)
Look, I get it that he didn't have a lot of experience and she DID take him off-guard with her announcement about wanting to have sex with her, but... not using protection with a girl that keeps talking about making babies with you? Even if it's the other type of babies (which still indicates that she compares her most loved things to babies). It's a bit... yeah, honestly, Izuku kind of had it coming.
Also to quote the meme, the child is a surprise tool that will help us later. In the actual plot, mayhaps?
Also Inasa would have crushed Izuku without Ignition and while battling at the longer range (Izuku wouldn't even manage to get close against him without Ignition). Izuku, however, beats him in combat experience and genuine combat training, and once he realized that Inasa's hands are tied to his quirk... yeah, it was kind of the lost cause. Still, if you exclude Defiant, I don't think that there is any hero in the Network that can even try to battle Tornado.