End of November…
Ice surged towards her, prompting the girl to spin out of the way of the spear she already knew was coming. Ducking under the spikes that came next, she charged forward, careful not to step on any ice. A second spike shot out of the ground, but she was already dodging it before it could even grow past her knees.
Shoto's getting predictable…
Throwing herself over another spike, the girl bounced off her hands and flung herself even further forward. Landing in a run, she focused on the boy up ahead of her. Today's exercise was all about closing the distance as quickly as she could without using her quirk. Nothing but athleticism and quick wits.
It was the backbone of everything else, after all!
"Hmm…" the boy hummed as she got ever closer, narrowly dodging yet another spike before it could catch her. "Better…"
Almost… there…!
He was barely a few meters away now! All she needed to do was—
"...But not good enough."
Ice exploded from the ground, a multitude of spikes appearing directly in front of her. Immediately, the girl latched onto the nearest object—a street sign left behind in the mostly demolished lot—and used it to maintain her momentum and turn to the side. Grinning as she felt the cold air whoosh past her, the girl let go of—
"Gah!"
Her hand held fast, frozen to the sign that she hadn't noticed had pre-emptively been covered in ice. The sudden halt to her momentum hurt, tugging on her wrist and shoulder as the whole limb went taught—the rest of her body continuing up into the air for a few moments before falling back to earth again…
Thump!
…where it was promptly frozen to the ground by a thin sheet of ice.
"...Why do you keep coming here, Ms. Uraraka?"
The brown-haired girl turned to face the boy, pouting cutely as she tugged at the ice restraining her. Focusing on his expression, she wasn't at all surprised to see the suspicion there. It hadn't really left since they'd started doing this.
Because I need practice and you need a friend, buster!
"Because I need a training partner, and Izuku is busy," she declared aloud. "Why do you ask…?"
Breaking eye contact, the boy sighed. Crouching down in front of her, he raised a hand—coating it in flame before holding it up to the ice on her feet and hand.
"...No reason," he mumbled, watching the fire with visible disdain.
"Hm," Uraraka hummed noncommittally.
He was lying, obviously, and it really wasn't any of her business… but wasn't that kind of the point of heroes? Helping out, even when they aren't asked?
"Maybe next time, then!" she declared cheerfully.
There was no need to rush, though. She had time. Besides, once Izuku was back to training with them it would be a lot easier to get through to the guy. Izuku was better at this sort of thing anyway. For now, though, she would stick with Shoto… just be there for him. Even if he didn't share any of his problems, it was enough that he had at least one friend to hang out with.
…Although it was getting frustrating that Izuku had been gone for as long as he had. He hadn't even updated them on the job hunt! What was he doing that could possibly distract him that much? There's no way he was so busy he couldn't even stay in contact…
Maybe I should do something about that…?
"What should we do next? Quirk practice? Sparring? We've still got some time before I need to head home…"
Esuha, Izuku's Training Grounds
Why couldn't he say no?
Seriously.
One little word would have made his life infinitely simpler, but he just couldn't say it!
"Now just connect it here…"
Was there something wrong with him…? Really, it should have been easy! Hawks had been abundantly, terrifyingly, clear about getting other people involved, and yet…
"Pop this sucker in there…"
…and yet here he was. Sitting in the workshop he'd set up in his Esuha hideout—wow, calling it that really made him sound a lot more competent than he felt—as he watched his new partner put the finishing touches on their first… big project.
"...and it's done!" Melissa exclaimed.
In the girl's hands was a simple yellow sash, the kind that wraps around the body diagonally, with a repeating white hourglass marking upon its outer surface.
"Well… The prototype is done…" Izuku corrected nervously, putting down the schematics they'd drawn up together.
Not only was this their first attempt at working on something as a duo, it was far more complicated than anything the green-haired boy had ever worked on himself—it even required special tools to make it! Granted, he'd read a lot about what they were doing, but he'd never used this stuff before.
"Same thing…!" the girl exclaimed with a grin.
Though that kind of proved that it was worth working with her, didn't it…? Not only did Melissa have access to materials and tools far outside his price range—and where she was getting them was a whole other question—but she seemed born to do this kind of thing. It was enough to make him feel inadequate, not that that was any particular feat.
That wasn't why he let her into his life, though… And no amount of beating himself up over the decision he'd made would change the fact he'd made it… Because no matter how much he logically knew it was a bad idea, no sound reasoning would ever allow him to say 'no' to the blonde girl.
…Not after he'd realized what that would make him.
—Flashback—
"So… To summarize…" Melissa began.
They were speaking over the phone, discussing what would be necessary to begin their new 'partnership.' It was a wonder he'd let the situation progress this far, but… everytime he went to cut off the budding relationship, all he could think of was the girl's desperate look when she'd made her request.
The fragility of that hope haunted him, still. It reminded him of himself.
It would be so much easier to dismiss that as a superficial resemblance if it wasn't for the fact that she was like him—that she was quirkless… After hearing that, after he'd seen her face, he'd known that she was someone that needed saving. It was what he'd needed back then… Back when he'd reached out to his idol.
It went against everything he was, everything he wanted to be, to crush the chance the girl had clearly latched onto… If he did… He'd be no better than… than That Man…
He just couldn't do that.
…And so here he was… going along with whatever Melissa suggested. He had no doubt that the decision would have consequences down the line, but…
…The way she'd smiled when he'd agreed to her request drove away all his worries.
Worth it…!
Currently, he'd just explained how his quirk worked, though he'd updated his description since he'd explained it to Uraraka and Shoto.
"Your quirk provides you with some kind of energy that you can only use while transformed, but for some reason you have multiple different forms you can assume; each of which alter and adapt to that energy source in different ways, giving you different powers for each of them," the girl summarized. "And… because of the insane strain that such a complicated quirk puts on you, your brain has adapted by developing a unique personality for each body to help you control the abilities you get."
It was a far better way to explain away what the watch did, and it rather conveniently fit in with what he knew of quirk science. Hawks' flying lesson had stayed with him, and the discussion about human instinct and its interaction with quirks had intrigued him enough to look into it himself.
Explaining away the personality changes he'd started to notice while transformed and the fact that he often 'zoned out' while speaking to the girls as his body and mind adapting to his quirk so that they weren't overloaded was perfect. Not only did it mean he didn't need to bother to try and act differently or lie about what was happening, but it made his quirk seem… far less ridiculous than it actually was.
Seven sets of useful abilities that he could alternate between, admittedly with a cooldown, was completely unreasonable. Looked at from any reasonable perspective, the powers he had now were just… too much. No quirk could be that multi-faceted and powerful without comparable downsides…
…Downsides he didn't seem to have.
"Y-yeah, that's right… It's pretty crazy, I know…" Izuku replied.
He'd gotten a lot better at lying about this, hadn't he…? He… wasn't sure he liked that.
"Crazy…? This isn't crazy… It's incredible! Stupendous! Marvelous! Pick a big word from the dictionary and add it on and it still wouldn't be enough! You're so lucky to have such an amazing quirk!" the girl gushed.
It felt like a punch in the gut, hearing words like that. It was the kind of thing he'd always heard directed at Bakugo throughout his childhood, so hearing it directed his way was a slap in the face. It was only recently that Izuku had started to feel like he was… mostly over all of his problems with the blonde—nevermind the latest one he'd… he'd…
Oh god, he'd forgotten all about it.
…Again.
He needed to do something about it!
"How many transformations do you have?" Melissa interjected.
"Seven…" Izuku mumbled, more focused on opening his messages on the extra phone he had just for contacting Bakugo as 'Baiken,' checking if—
He hasn't sent anything else after that last message…
"SEVEN…?!" the girl exclaimed, sounding so excited that she might have been drooling.
"...So many options for making equipment…"
Definitely drooling.
Do I… Do I have to do anything about it…? If I just… leave it be… maybe he'll give up and move on…? Normally I'd say he'd never give up on what he wants, but… he's changed a lot recently…
"Shiny Chariot, Miss Samurai, Lady Hel, Cypher Blade, and Oversight make five… What about the last two…?" The girl asked.
"I haven't been patrolling as much since the Festival, so I haven't gotten caught on camera as those two…" Izuku answered absentmindedly.
…It's… Not ideal… But it's probably for the best, right?
"You wanna know the worst part…?" Bakugo's pained words echoed in his head. "I'm too much of a fucking coward to apologize…"
The green-haired boy flinched at the reminder. Bakugo was someone that needed saving… Just like Uraraka had, and Shoto did… Like he was doing with Melissa right now… He couldn't ignore the commitment to his ideal just because revealing his false identity as 'Baiken' and the recent vigilantes was risky… Not even because Hawks had told him not to.
"So, tell me about the remaining two! Maybe we can come up with something before they debut!" Melissa suggested.
…After all, he'd already made an exception with Melissa!
"Well, Medaka—"
"That's an odd hero name," the girl interjected.
"No, that's not her hero name," Izuku corrected.
"Ohh… You named the personalities, I'm guessing…? It makes sense…"
"...Something like that…" he responded evasively.
What was he going to tell Bakugo, though…? More than that, was the blonde going to get… involved…? There's no way he wouldn't turn Izuku's vigilantism into a competition—it's what he always did—
Izuku paused mid-thought, the reason behind Hawks' demand resounding in his mind.
"Well, do you really think your friends'll be smiling if you get them maimed, or worse, killed, because you got them involved in this?"
Oh… Oh no…
He couldn't involve Bakugo.
Melissa was fine because she was on the backline, out of sight from heroes and villains alike. She was perfectly safe as long as she stayed out of the public's eye. Bakugo, though…? There would be no way to keep him away from this if he found out. He couldn't tell the boy anything…!
But after what Bakugo had said—
"...I'm too much of a fucking coward to apologize…"
But Hawks—
"...if you get them maimed, or worse, killed…"
But—
"—zuku…! Izuku…!" Melissa's voice cut through his panic attack. "What's wrong…?! You're hyperventilating…!"
Taking a deep breath in a vain attempt to force himself to calm down, he found his answer.
I-I… I can't save him right now.
"N-nothing… Sorry…" he mumbled morosely.
"That couldn't have been—" the girl began before seemingly realizing that he was dodging the question. "...Er, nevermind! Nothing's wrong…! You definitely didn't sound like you were having a panic attack, ha ha…!"
'Huh. And I thought I was awkward…' he thought, letting out an involuntary chuckle.
"Don't worry about it," he said aloud.
"Who? Me? Worrying? I would never…!" she declared. "You were just telling me about Medaka…!"
Smiling a bit in spite of himself, Izuku opened his mouth to do just that.
—Flashback End—
He may have made the decision to let Melissa join the team because of merely moral reasons, but he'd found that the girl was generally just a good influence on him. Beyond all her technological expertease, she helped him relax—helped him deal with all the pressure he was under now that he'd been thrust into the spotlight as a vigilante. Even as the Bakugo issue gnawed at the back of his mind, he found himself enjoying the time he spent working with her, regularly losing track of how long he'd been there and just… having fun.
"So, are you gonna test it out…?" the girl asked eagerly, dangling the sash in front of Izuku.
Nodding, Izuku's fingers slipped to the watch's surface—Melissa's attention never slipping to the object as he'd come to expect by now—and a moment later the familiar green light enveloped him.
'Ooh! You're already making progress!' Medaka said instantly. 'Talking with girls outside your head is a big step, Izuku! I'm so proud!'
The transformed teen grinned at the girl's comment—knowing her current face probably made it look incredibly smug—but she couldn't find it in herself to be offended by the implications right now. She was in too good of a mood.
'Wow! You really are doing better…!'
Izuku grabbed the offered sash and slipped it over her unbuttoned green hoodie—not having bothered to activate Medaka's costume right now.
Thanks…!
"Hmm… There really does seem to be a pattern with your transformations…" Melissa muttered as she paced around Izuku, analyzing the temporary-girl's current form and double-checking the placement of their creation. "All of them are so… attention-getting…"
Izuku tried very hard to ignore the fact that she was getting checked out by a pretty girl. Clinical intentions or not, that's what was happening.
'What does it do…?' Medaka asked.
Well—
"Looks secure," Melissa nodded, re-affirming her statement by giving the yellow sash a sudden tug before noting something down. Izuku had to conceal a laugh when an illusory Medaka appeared behind the blonde, matching her pose identically—complete with prop-glasses and her usual fan spread out to mimic a notebook.
"Give it a shot," the girl suggested. "Make sure you use the codeword!"
Izuku gave the girl a thoroughly unimpressed look.
"I was there when we built it, Melissa," she stated. "I know that isn't necessary…"
The blonde pouted.
"...I could have hidden some code in the nanobots for all you know!"
The unimpressed stare continued.
'There's no need to be such a party-pooper, Izuku,' Medaka interjected, perfectly content to trust someone she had literally never met.
"...Okay, fine…"
Taking in a deep breath in an exaggerated show of petulance—though she honestly didn't mind the embarrassment, if it made Melissa smile—and then struck a pose.
"In the name of Love and Justice, I'll punish you! Secret Sash, make up!"
Arm extended outward in front of her, head cocked back imperiously with Medaka's signature smug grin firmly in place, Izuku left her other hand on her hip and waited.
…and waited…
…and waited…
…and—
"Are you sure we didn't miss something…?" Izuku stage-whispered, still frozen in the pose.
"It should be—"
The yellow sash sparked to life, glowing subtly as it snaked its way across Izuku's form. Within seconds, the support item had shifted into an entirely new shape in the teen's hands…
"It worked!" the duo exclaimed simultaneously.
'...It turns into a magical girl's wand…?' Medaka queried, her illusionary self looking thoroughly confused as she loomed over the yellow object in Izuku's hand.
It was a simple wand with a cartoonish white and yellow heart at the top—a tiny hourglass serving as the 'weapon's' pommel.
Well it can, but that's not why it's useful!
"Ooh! First try! That never happens with nanobots!" Melissa interjected happily, bouncing in place as she held up her notes triumphantly.
"How about something more… practical, now…?" Izuku asked plainly. "Maybe… Pliers…?"
Reacting to the spoken keyword, the duo's creation rapidly repeated the process and became a pair of pliers.
'Oh…! It's a multi-tool!'
"They're working perfectly!" Melissa exclaimed in excitement. "Go little guys, go!
The yellow piece of support gear—tentatively titled the Secret-Sash from Melissa's childhood love of Doraemon—was built with nano-tech bots and a few other pieces of modern quirk science. It was the perfect Support Item for Medaka. Given that the girl's most useful skill was the ability to copy other people's skills—but not their quirks—her main weakness was how many people relied on quirks entirely.
The Secret-Sash fixed that.
Sure, it wasn't as perfect as Melissa made it sound—it couldn't create overly complicated mechanisms or shift into other elements, so no advanced machinery or firearms—but it was sturdy and easy to use. Between copying people's skills and Medaka's own ridiculous athletic ability, Izuku would always be able to find a way for it to be helpful.
"You should check a quickdraw! Maybe some kind of weapon…?"
Nodding, Izuku reverted the weapon back to its base form…
"Staff…!"
…and then yanked on the thing directly. Glowing slightly, the nanobots that made up the item shifted as it fell, reforming into a long and thin staff that was a bit taller than she was. Like every form the sash had taken so far, it was a matte yellow color that matched Medaka's mask.
"Looks good to me," Izuku muttered. "Although we'll need to put it through some durability tests before I can start practicing with weapons—"
'Oh, don't worry, I took a few martial arts classes when I was younger. I know the basics of wielding most weapons, even if I prefer using my hands,' Medaka interjected.
Really…? That's handy, though I'm not really surprised. You know a lot of things I wouldn't expect from someone only a year older than me…
'I like to try new things. It's nothing special…' the spirit replied demurely.
"Izuku…? You cut yourself off there…" Melissa asked, a bit of worry evident in her tone.
Blinking, Izuku re-focused on the blonde.
"Sorry, just got distracted," she stated.
"Oh, okay…!"
And then Izuku had a faceful of blonde hair.
"The nanobots certainly seem as durable as we calculated…" Melissa muttered, face inches away from the staff in Izuku's hands and utterly uncaring of her close proximity to the younger teen… who blushed in spite of herself.
Completely unaware of the effect she was having on Izuku, the blonde started flicking and tapping the weapon with her pencil in varied patterns, sounding out the length of the item to check for hollow areas.
'Hmm… This girl could be an excellent way to get you to open up…' Medaka pondered.
Izuku liked having Melissa around, and she dreaded what Medaka might get up to if given the go-ahead.
Please don't do… whatever it is you're thinking about…
"It certainly should be sturdy… I was going to make a pogo stick that could jump a few meters out of this batch of little guys!" the girl went on. "If they weren't sturdy I'd be in big trouble…"
Izuku cocked her head to the side at that mental image.
"Oh well! Let's do some stress testing!" the blonde declared before the temporary girl could ask for context. "If we start now, you'll be able to use it properly soon…!"
Crap. Izuku knew she'd forgotten to mention something!
"I… Don't really have time right now," the blue-haired girl stated. "I need to find a job, and I was planning to head to my next opportunity after we finished basic checks."
"That's fine…! I can come along and start concepting other tools as we go," Melissa declared cheerfully. "I've still got time before anyone comes looking for me!"
"You don't need to—"
"Ooh, I'm already getting some ideas!" she went on, cutting Izuku off as she rushed around, packing up her bag eagerly.
The temporary girl went to protest, but stopped before the words could leave her mouth.
…Why am I even trying? It's not like anything bad is likely to happen while she's around!
A sudden feeling of dread filled the teen as those words crossed her mind.
I just jinxed myself, didn't I…?
'Oh, definitely,' Medaka nodded.
"So, where are we going…?" Melissa asked.
Returning her attention to her surroundings, Izuku laughed awkwardly…
"This is gonna sound like a really bad idea at first but…"
Izuku trailed off for a moment as she began to start the process of locking up and hiding away the various pieces of equipment lying around the make-shift workshop.
"Have you ever heard of Jack Jonah Johnson…? He runs a news station…"
Bakugo let out a breath, watching it drift away in the frosty temperatures of early winter. Rubbing his hands together helped a bit, though it also reminded him of the fact he would be a lot warmer right now if he could make some sparks…
A few couldn't hurt, right…?
Holding a palm out in front of him, he curled his fingers in the usual manner he did whenever he activated his quirk…
They started quivering instantly, pinpricks of irritation rolling across the digits as his muscles rebelled. He could force his quirk to activate, but…
Ugh… Fuck's sake.
Slipping the hand inside the pocket of his windbreaker, he turned to face something far more frustrating. A massive gate lay before him, a seemingly endless driveway stretching beyond it and off towards a stupidly large building in the distance. To the left of the gate was a small brick mailbox, complete with a nameplate engraved in what better not be real fucking gold—but probably was given how fancy the rest of this shit was.
"Yaoyorozu Family," the sign read, much to his consternation.
I knew she was a snobby bitch, but I didn't think my princess comments were fucking literal. What the hell?!
Unfortunately, coming here was more tolerable than the alternative. The Bakugo residence had fallen, reduced to being the lair of the fiendish monster that had replaced his loving mother… No, wait, he had that backwards. A loving mother had replaced the fiendish monster he was used to, and it was unbearable.
I can't believe she offered me fucking condoms before I left…
Shivering at something besides the cold, he reached out and pressed the button on the side of the intercom. It buzzed for a long moment before he let go.
"Yo, I'm here for the… Well, you know what I'm here for…" he grumbled into the microphone.
He did not need fucking 'manner' lessons! This was simply a means to an end! A way to get his bitch of a mother off his back and prove he wasn't lying so it would be believable when he 'broke up' with his 'girlfriend' in a few weeks. It would be hell until then, but it would be worth it to stick it to his mom.
Not a sound came from the speaker, much to the blonde's frustration.
"Hey, is this thing on…?" he began. "I swear, if it's just a fucking doorbe—"
The gate slowly began to open, screeching and groaning as the metal grinded against the stone beneath it.
"...Well that's not fucking creepy," he stated, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Yaoyorozu Momo was not a happy camper.
Following the disaster that was the Joint Festival she had been put through the wringer. Her injuries, for one, had ached for days after the fact and even now she still had to put a special cream on her back to prevent her burns from scarring. It was the itchiest thing she'd ever felt, and it refused to dry for at least an hour, much to her frustration.
Of course, that was just the beginning of her recent problems.
Far more important was her parents' reactions to the incident. To say they were upset was an understatement of such proportions as to compete with the best PR agents. It had taken days for them to stop taking her to task, and another few to work up the nerve to argue with them. Normally, she never would have done such a thing. In fact, it was the first instance she could remember in her entire life, but… It had been necessary.
They'd demanded she give up on her Hero studies.
To force her compliance, they'd threatened to bar her from Hero Courses. Not just U.A.'s, but all of them. With their influence, they wouldn't even need to worry about her sneaking behind their backs. It would be as simple as pressuring whatever school took her application with bad press or a word in the ears of those who funded them and she would be blacklisted everywhere that mattered.
Momo wasn't even sure why she cared so much, but she simply couldn't let that happen. Unfortunately, it was… a work in progress. She could tell she was making headway, one particularly important point they demanded being that she stayed away from anything related to hero work until she was actually under professional supervision in classes. From all the time she'd spent watching them negotiate business deals, it was clear she just needed to wait; to give them time.
Time to recognize they were being unreasonable and time for her arguments to get through their emotional reaction to their daughter being in danger.
So, as of this morning, Momo had been waiting impatiently for her stubborn parents to be more open to her arguments and working on some support projects when she'd gotten… the text.
"Hey… Uh… Were you joking about the training…?" -Stupid Ruffian
The ill-mannered young man hadn't actually signed his text or anything, that's just what his contact was listed as in her phone, but that was unimportant. She had been dreading the idea of him messaging her, but after the first few days of silence had let herself hope.
Clearly, that had been a mistake.
Thankfully, it was a simple one to fix! All she had to do was—
"I would never joke about an offer," she had replied, automatically.
Why?! Why had she said that?!
It was the worst decision she could remember making since declaring she could develop her own polymer in under a week! Yet, like the unfortunate day that had burned a hole through her desk and destroyed a year's worth of notes, schematics signed by David Shield, and her favorite stuffed bear that she'd had since she was seven—Sir Fluffyduke was survived by his son, Sir Fluffyduke the Second—she had forged on ahead and committed to something incredibly stupid simply because the alternative would mean admitting she had made a mistake…That she'd offered something she couldn't handle delivering.
Had… Had she developed an ego somewhere along the way…?
No… No, of course not! That would be ridiculous! She wasn't arrogant! No, if anyone was arrogant, it was the blonde simpleton that thought he could take up her valuable time for… for the lessons she'd offered him in the first place…
I was concussed when I mentioned it! It doesn't count!
Nevermind the fact that Momo would normally be more than happy to help someone overcome their ignorance—particularly when she stood to gain quite a bit of knowledge herself. Tutoring was something she was both good at and enjoyed—often assisting her classmates at school with whatever they were struggling with. Seeing their faces light up when they bridged the gap between confusion and comprehension always brought a smile to her face.
Really, she was just not used to being so indecisive. On one hand, she wanted to help someone learn something and gain useful experience in exchange—the boy may be rude, but he could fight—yet at the same time she couldn't stand the thought of being in his presence for a single second, much less all the time this commitment would require. It was baffling, since she was sure she'd worked with ruder people before for school projects and the like… So why was this one any different?
Maybe something can be salvaged from this…? I did have the presence of mind to suggest a trade of expertise. He's… unfortunately… the better fighter between us, so I can at least look forward to getting better at—
Ding…! Dong…!
That… That was the doorbell. Oh god. He was here. How long had she been up in her room, worrying over the inconsistencies in her emotions…? She hadn't even started on the… on the curriculum…
…Momo didn't have any lesson plans.
How did he keep doing this to her?! Why was it that every time he got involved, she lost her wits?! It was infuriating—
"Yo, I'm here for the… Well, you know what I'm here for…" Bakugo's voice rang out, echoing from the small speaker in her bedroom. Every room in the mansion had one, though only those with people in them would activate whenever a guest would arrive. Thankfully, her parents weren't home right now, so she didn't need to worry about them.
"Huh…" she mumbled, her demeanor oddly calm as a knot settled in her stomach.
This was it. The end times had come. She was about to try and teach a subject she had a middling understanding of to what would no doubt be the most frustrating student she'd ever had… all without any curriculum or structure because she had been stewing too much in the fact the lesson was happening in the first place to properly prepare.
Breath in…
…Breathe out.
Breathe in…
"Hey, is this thing on…?" the-cause-of-all-her-problems began. "I swear, if it's just a fucking doorbe—"
Momo's finger smashed into the button that would open the gate, cutting the connection as she struggled to remain in control of her expression…
Her eyes were twitching again, weren't they…?
"Damn him…!" she grumbled. "How is he so good at making me angry…?!"
Taking a few more controlled breaths, the brunette finally managed to calm herself. From there, she squared her shoulders and marched out of her room, ready to face her doom.
Why did I do this to myself…?!
"I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not, really," Izuku sighed.
"Bro! Bro! I can't believe this worked!" a distant voice called, though it was somewhat hard to hear over the sound of a wave.
Yes. An actual wave... In the middle of Musutafu… In winter-time.
"Haha! Yeah, bro, I thought the hero patrol route map was bull too, but they weren't lying!" a second voice called.
Several streets away, Izuku could see a torrent of water splashing through the streets well above the height of the average person. Fueled by fire hydrants and who knows what else, it cascaded along, knocking pedestrians over and relieving them of their valuables as they were caught in the torrent—only to spit them out moments later as the central wave kept going.
"You expected a villain attack…?" Melissa asked.
Nodding, Izuku started walking towards the side of the current street, aiming for a nearby alleyway.
"I keep running into them whenever I try to find a job lately. It's been… really frustrating," the freckled teen stated, deliberately not mentioning how she'd jinxed herself earlier.
"Wow! That's some really bad luck…!"
Tell me about it…
Once they were out of sight, Izuku pulsed energy toward the watch, equipping her costume in an instant of green light.
"Before you go, could you give me a lift to a rooftop somewhere…? I have an idea of how I can help," Melissa stated. "Don't worry, I won't be getting anywhere near the action, and I'll toss together some kind of communicator later to make things easier next time."
"A-alright…"
Despite her words, the costumed teen just… stood there. Awkwardly…
'Just be polite about it, Izuku. You'll be fine,' Medaka stated matter-of-factly.
Frowning cutely, the blonde looked Izuku up and down contemplatively.
"Do you think I'm too heavy…?" she asked, her tone completely genuine. "My uncle never has any trouble, but he is pretty big—"
"I-It's fine…!" Izuku cut her off, completely unwilling to step into the stereotypical minefield that line of questioning was.
"Really? Great!" the blonde declared…
…and then she threw herself at Izuku, quite literally.
Scrambling to catch the girl, the teen didn't have any time to worry about awkwardness. Melissa immediately wrapped her arms around Izuku's neck, her chest crashing into Izuku's in a way that would have occupied the dreams of many of her classmates—bad thoughts, bad thoughts, no—before she twisted her legs up to rest on Izuku's arms.
The end result was a rather typical princess carry, though without the dashing hero to hold the damsel, since Izuku was quite sure she didn't qualify, though Medaka herself probably could have pulled off the 'Dashing Hero' look somehow.
"My Uncle is a lot bulkier than you, so I thought this might be an easier hold than what he does to pick me up," Melissa explained casually. "Now… Geronimo!"
Looking away to hide her blush, Izuku gave a small nod of affirmation. With Medaka's athleticism, this would definitely work… But…
It's not awkward, it's not awkward, it's not—
Bakugo met the butler's not-so-subtle glare, completely unwilling to be the one who gave in first. The moment stretched on forever as they stood at the front entrance of the mansion, both of their eyelids beginning to twitch slightly as they each refused to blink—
Ding!
"Ah," the older man exclaimed with all the enthusiasm of a wet noodle, his gaze drifting to a surprisingly high-tech pocket watch as it let out an annoying 'twang.' "Miss Yoyorozu's tea is done."
Returning his attention to the blonde, he gave an exasperated sigh.
"Please do not track any dirt in here," the man stated. "Additionally, I would appreciate you not rubbing up against any of the furniture. Fleas are a nightmare to remove, and I'd rather not bother my employers with such an inconvenience."
…Seriously? Did he think Bakugo was a rabid dog or something?
"I'd be more worried about the dead rat you have on your head," the blonde quipped, eyes locked on the balding man's toupee. "It looks like rigor mortis' set in, so you don't have much time before it starts to stink up the place. That sure would be a pain, huh?"
The man simply raised an eyebrow in response.
"Hilarious," he said dryly. "Please keep that dull-tongue of yours in check in Miss Yaoyorozu's presence. I wouldn't want her mind addled by your grand wit."
Before Bakugo could reply, the man turned on his heel and began walking.
"Come along then, the young madam is waiting."
Tch.
Already this was going worse than he'd expected, not that he'd really had high standards, but still he'd at least thought he'd make it to the rich-girl before he wanted to throttle someone.
Stepping into the foyer, Bakugo marvelled at how stupidly expensive everything had to be here. If it wasn't made of fancy wood it was gold plated or diamond-encrusted, filling the two-story room with a needless sense of value. A large staircase led up to a literal balcony that oversaw the main entrance, a giant chandelier hanging in the center of the room and causing every single shiny thing therein to sparkle.
The Bakugo family wasn't poor or anything, but seeing this much wealth on display was momentarily enough to stun the blonde.
"No dilly-dallying, please," the butler interjected.
Muttering something unflattering under his breath, Bakugo went to follow the man. As he followed him down several corridors that were just as richly decorated—was that an honest-to-god oil painting—one thought managed to take precedence over the odd sense of economic overload.
How in the fuck am I going to explain that my 'girlfriend' is loaded to mom?
The 'Lady and the Tramp' jokes were never going to stop…
Momo sat in the aptly named sitting room, glancing at the door every few seconds as she nervously waited for the blonde's arrival.
Okay, you can do this Momo… It's as simple as coming up with a curriculum to address every single one of his notable PR flaws. You barely know anything about him besides that he's frustratingly good at hero work and incredibly… rough around the edges… and you have five minutes at most to do all that.
How hard can it be…?
As several seconds dragged on, she gave up on trying to be optimistic.
Oh, who am I kidding…? This is never going to work… I'll just have to… to wing it…
The very thought filled her with dread, having avoided such things like the plague for almost all of her life, but it seems her luck had finally caught up with her.
Even if I can't be wholistic, I should at least have some kind of game plan—
"Madam."
Momo's eyes shot to the door of the room as the family butler stepped into the room, a tray of her favorite tea in his gloved hands. Beyond him stood… her visitor.
"Yo," the boy began casually, giving a quick wave of one of his hands.
As he made his gesture, Momo's eyes latched onto the thin but noticeable scarring that traced his hands and continued into the depths of his sleeve. Had he been injured worse than she thought during the festival battle… or did he just think that keeping scars were cool?
…Who was she kidding? The buffoon probably thought the latter.
"Hello," she said aloud pleasantly, returning his greeting with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
"If you have need of anything, I am available as ever, Miss Yaoyorozu," the older gentleman declared as he placed the tea on the table, pouring a single cup out for her. "As you know, I am quite accomplished in managing the household, from overseeing the cooks and maids to… taking out the trash."
His eyes darted towards the blonde, his intention quite clear. The boy scoffed, but didn't say anything, thankfully.
"Thank you, Carlston, but that shouldn't be necessary," Momo stated.
Letting out a surprisingly disappointed sigh, the butler nodded in reply. Giving a slight bow, he left the pot on the table and wiped some imperceptible smudge from the glossy wood surface before leaving the room. He no doubt had other duties to handle.
"So, uh…" the blonde started. "What now…?"
There it was. The question she'd been dreading.
Maybe I should try being honest. It's probably the easier—
"I mean, there probably isn't much to cover," the boy went on. "This shit can't be that hard. Maybe we should just skip ahead to your training…"
The hard way it is!
Izuku stared past the edge of the building she was on, waiting for the oncoming wave that she could see in the distance. The teen would need to time this perfectly, but… she was feeling pretty confident about that.
"It's coming! Get out of the way…!" One of the people on the streets below shouted.
'It's almost here,' Medaka chimed in casually.
"Get inside, quick!"
Letting out a breath, the bluish-purple-haired girl adjusted her yellow mask and double-checked that her costume was settled properly… and that its newest addition was firmly tied around her torso at its intended angle.
"Why haven't heroes shown up yet?!"
One…
The roar of the oncoming torrent crashed into her ears as the wave approached.
Two…
A familiar grin spread across her lips as adrenaline and a sense of belonging flooded her body. Despite how it had complicated Izuku's life, it was all worth it for this feeling.
Three…!
Izuku took off in a sprint, rushing toward the edge of the building. Her shoes slapping against the concrete as fast as her heart was beating, she rapidly came up to the edge of the structure and—
"Surfboard!" she cried, heel slamming into the ground and launching her up above the two villains and their wave.
The vigilante soared through the air as the Secret Sash shifted around her arm, extending off in tendrils of glowing yellow nanobots before taking its new shape beneath Izuku's feet.
"Woah, what the—"
In the moment she had before crashing down onto the wave, the teenage hero got her first proper look at the villains of the day.
Tall and bearing swimmer's builds, with sandy brown hair that spiked up in such a way that made their heads look like paintbrushes, the duo were clearly related—probably brothers. Wearing nothing but swim trunks and sea-shell necklaces despite the winter chill, they looked more like classic surfer-bros than villains, but the vast amount of wallets, jewelry, and other valuables whirling around in the center of the water countered that impression quite handily.
Speaking of which, the duo were surfing along the top of their perpetual wave without boards of any kind, most likely using their quirks to power the current and stay atop the water. What caught Izuku's eye, however, was—
They're splitting the effort. One of them moves perfectly in tune with the water all the time while the other has a subtle hesitance to his motions. The second one is probably who's keeping it going in one general direction while the first handles the finer control.
Medaka's unique talent for analyzing skills paired scarily well with Izuku's own analytical perspective of people's quirks.
Alright, that's solved. Now… focus…!
It was incredible how much detail was being absorbed in the tiny amount of time Izuku had while in the air like this. Posture, balance, the slight shifts to account for minor turbulence, she saw it all…
Splash…!
…and as she felt the familiar 'clicking' sensation in the back of her mind, Izuku knew she could copy it.
"Hello, boys! You seem like you're having fun!" she declared, perfectly mirroring their technique upon her yellow board even as she ignored the frigid temperature of the water. "Unfortunately, this isn't really the best place to surf! Would you mind heading to the beach instead?"
"Only if you come with us, hot stuff!" one of the brothers hollered over the sound of the wave perpetually crashing against the buildings around them.
"Would you leave all these fine people's belongings behind if I did…?" the teenaged vigilante asked.
Glancing at each other the two dude-bros seemed to genuinely consider it.
"Would you actually go…?" they asked her simultaneously.
Without hesitation, Izuku nodded.
"Of course!" she declared matter-of-factly. "It's well worth it if you'll stop your criminal activities!"
"B-but we're villains…!" one of the duo declared.
'Here's your chance, Izuku! There's still hope for these poor boys!'
Much like how Rias had driven from the backseat recently, Medaka's influence hovered in the back of her mind, offering to lead her through the right words. Trusting the spirit to help with something like this, Izuku took the chance and followed the girl's lead.
Her sync rate ticked up to twenty-six in response.
"I'm sure you two were once both passionate, reasonable surfers… But some great tragedy must have led you astray!" the vigilante declared.
"Uh…"
They didn't seem convinced.
"What was it?! Did your parents throw you out…? Were your beaches claimed by pollution…? What could have driven you to a life of crime…?!" she went on dramatically.
"Bro… What is she talking about…?"
It… didn't seem to be working… yet. Izuku still had faith that there was a chance. If Medaka could convince her to shower without passing out from blood loss, then she could manage something like this.
Another tick went off in the back of her mind, and the teen could feel herself reach twenty-seven…
"I have no clue, man. We're just doing this to get rich quick… We're not the bad guys, are we…?"
"No matter!" the teenage vigilante declared. "I have faith in you to be better! To return to that which I know you once were! With a bit of effort, anything is possible!"
"...Damn. I feel kinda bad now, bro."
"I'm with you, man. Here we are being' dirtbags and the dudette still believes in us…!"
Perfect! It was working!
"And I will be the one to start you down the right path!" she went on, twisting her body such that she was looking at them over her own shoulder dramatically even in spite of being on a surfboard. How that worked, even Izuku wasn't sure. "I will straighten you out! Improve you! Rehabilitate you! By the time I'm done with you you'll be unable to think of anything but the waves!"
"That… sounds kinda nice, bro…"
"How long has it been since we just enjoyed surfing, man…?"
"I will not let you be led astray again! No more will you lust after others belongings! Starting today you will pursue surfing with everything you are!"
Even Izuku felt herself being swept up in the words, almost forgetting what to say next…
…Wait, what is next…?
'That's up to you, Izuku! You've been doing well without a script so far!'
The vigilante's eyes widened beneath her domino mask.
…What?!
Izuku could feel the smug energy radiating from the spirit as she replied.
'I stopped feeding you a script just before you said "no matter." I knew you could handle it!'
Somehow, impossibly, the girl seemed to be right in her assumption. Nothing had gone wrong so far…
"Hell yeah!" one of the brother's shouted suddenly, pulling Izuku out of her sudden panic. "I can't wait to get back to the beach! Thanks, dudette—"
…And that's when Izuku noticed the subtly glowing bee stinging the remaining brother's neck.
Detail Diatribe:
Brief thing to discuss here today.
The nanobots that make up the Secret Sash are what Melissa would have used to create the red pogostick she hops into the scene with in her movie introduction. The way that it easily shifts into a bracelet is actually part of what gave me the idea for the sash in the first place!
I have some other plans for equipment for Izuku's various forms, but I'm going to be keeping it reasonable based on the fact that they have limited resources—which I'll be addressing later more directly—and the fact that Izuku won't be reliant on complicated gear all that much.
AN:
First thing's first… Sorry for the delay!
I had some unexpected things come up and let time get away from me, leading to this incredibly late upload. It doesn't help that I've gotten somewhat distracted in my 'writing time' recently, delving into multiple other ideas that caught the attention of my muse.
As a result of that, I'm probably going to be uploading some more stories soon, though when exactly that'll be happening I can't say. Keep an eye out if you like my writing style, though!
On that note:
I may end up uploading chapters for other stories instead of Waifutrix for my 'weekly' posts, occasionally, going forward.
While this story will still remain my priority, and I still plan to finish it, I've decided to stop fighting my interest in other ideas and let the ideas flow. I've found that leaping headfirst into another project for a week or so clears the head for working on Waifutrix and allows me to keep quality as high as possible... And given that the cause of multiple past delays has me been getting distracted, I think it's better to just be forthright as to why it happens.
It's also what several of my writing inspirations do on this site, so that's fun.
Finally, given how I've had multiple noteworthy typo problems lately and how much time it takes to check over each chapter multiple times, I believe I'm in the market for a Beta-Checker! I've never worked with an editor before, so this will be a new experience if I do end up finding one, but feel free to message me if you're interested!
I'll also be checking the Beta-lists on the site, but who knows how that'll work out.
Be aware, though, for those that may be interested, that I'm looking for someone to actually discuss the story and where it's headed with, on top of typical quality-assurance things. I fully reserve the right to be picky about who I work with for this, and if I don't think we can work together well then I will find someone else. I don't mean to be harsh, but I refuse to compromise on something this important.
Anyway, that's all for today! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!