Big announcement first, this fic has a TvTropes Page now! That's amazing!
(xx)
"I don't know how to evaluate that." Yoichi said.
"A big fat 0 in the heroism department." The Second immediately said.
"What?! He saved everyone!" Nana pointed out.
"Yes, by using his Yakuza name. That's not heroism." The Third said.
"Alright, but you can't deny the result." En argued back, "Everyone got out unharmed."
"Yes including the villains." Banjo replied, "Sorry En, but this time I'm with them. It was a good move, but hardly Hero good."
"... You know, now that Banjo agrees with me I'm having second thoughts." The Third replied, before dodging out of the way of the Blackwhip of the Fifth.
"Children, please, we are trying to decide what to think of..." Yoichi waved awkwardly toward the memories of Nineth, "All this. Can you be serious?"
"I am deadly serious. 0 Heroism, 100 Yakuzaism. Kid is a Yakuza. One for All is fucked." The Second said.
"Yakuzaism isn't a word." Shinomori replied, "And I'm with Nana and En. He put his Hero career at risk for this, that has to be worth some Hero points."
"See, the Fourth agrees." Nana said triumphantly.
"The Fourth just got invested the romance of Nineth and Himiko, he would say that Izuku stabbing someone in the back is worth Hero points!"
"... That is a lie." The Fourth pointed out.
"Really? Then you don't mind if we send you to watch over Yagi's Vestige the next time they have a date." Yoichi asked.
"You wouldn't!"
"The Fourth treating Nineth's life like it's some sort of superhero romcom aside, can we focus for five seconds?" Yoichi asked, only to see the whole room devolve into an argument. He sighed. "Get a Quirk, he says. It will be fun, he says. Fuck you brother."
-x-
Tsuyu was in the Green Valley Chat too. That was the first thing Izuku realized on Friday morning, as he checked his phone. Made sense, and at least unlike Iida and Uraraka she was in the know.
The second thing he realized was that it was ten in the morning. He shot out of bed and tried to rush for his school uniform, before the memory of what happened the day before, and the announcement that the school would give the students the rest of the week at home. He sighed in relief, slumping back down on the bed. Of course, his mom wouldn't have allowed him to skip school.
He sighed in relief and opened the wardrobe to change from his sleep clothes.
Kurogiri was there. "Good-"
"Aaaah!" Izuku slammed the door of the wardrobe shut on instinct. After a moment, he shook his head and opened it again.
"-Morning,"
He closed the door again. "Go away!" He opened the door again.
Kurogiri was still there, "Midoriya Izuku." He finished, "I'm here on behalf of my master to say he is very sorry for putting you and your class in danger."
"I- What?" Izuku blinked, "Tomura is sorry?"
"Tomura Shigaraki's exact words were 'I deeply regret a lot of the things that happened yesterday'." Kurogiri clarified, "Master All for One says you can take it as an apology, though he wants you to know you and your companions were never in actual danger."
"Oh. You know, it didn't really feel like we weren't in danger." Izuku replied.
"That was the intention." Kurogiri replied. Izuku wasn't sure if he actually believed it. The danger had felt a bit too real, not to mention he had to convince the Villains on his own. But for the sake of his friends, he might as well take the apology.
"Just make sure it doesn't happen again."
Kurogiri didn't say anything for a long moment, before slowly nodding. "Of course."
"You will absolutely attack UA again, won't you?"
"I'm not privy to my master's plans." Kurogiri finally said.
"Please leave my school alone."
"Oh my, look at the time. Good day, Midoriya Izuku." Kurogiri said, vanishing into thin air.
Izuku sighed. Well, there went a can of worms he would have to deal with. Hopefully nothing more would happen. Principal Nedzu had to know more was coming and he was definitely taking strict measures against a repetition of the USJ.
-x-
"Nedzu." The President of the Hero Public Safety Commission was an experienced politician and had a long career. In all her time in the role, first as Vice-President and then after the Nagant debacle as President, she had learned many lessons, but one was paramount.
Fear the rat. Since Nedzu had made his way into the Hero System, he had been content with cooperating with them, but everyone knew that someone with his intelligence was bound to have his own agenda.
"Madame President." He said, bowing his head respectfully, "It's good to see you. I hope everything is good in the family."
"Likewise." She replied, wondering internally if Nedzu had a family. "We are here to discuss yesterday's incident and the current situation." Besides her, two other members of the HPSC were present. Muramasa, the head of the Villain Activity Public Report Department, and Yokumiru Mera, from the Heroes-in-Training Department. Mera was slumped on his chair, apparently exhausted, while Muramasa sat perfectly still, and one could have even forgotten he was there at all. As usual, she would be the one doing most of the talking.
"Of course. I'm afraid I came a bit underprepared today." He started, before pulling up a folder that was at least three-hundred pages thick. "I could only put together this proposal for restructuring of UA and security improvements."
The President sighed. Fear the rat indeed. "Would you mind summarizing it."
"Surely!" Nedzu opened it, and started to go through each chapter of the document. Improvements on the robots AI, new shielding for the cameras and other emergency mechanisms against EMP-like Quirks, improvements to the USJ walls to prevent the use of lasers to cut through them again, a detailed explanation on how the Sports Festival would be held with additional security, both hidden and 'evident'… She kept up with most of it, but just a glance to Mera told her he was barely understanding. Though to be fair that might have had more to do with the exhaustion he made clear.
"And for my final chapter, Additional Security Employment."
"UA Employment has always been left up to you, what is making you think we need to hear about it now?"
"Why, because it ties directly with our ongoing… dispute." He replied, clearly putting the emphasis on 'dispute' on purpose. PR nightmare, that was what it was. If she ever found out who planted the seed of the idea in Nedzu and the Number One, she promised then and there to strangle them.
-x-
Izuku shivered. For some reason, he felt like someone had just sworn to kill him.
-x-
"You can't be serious, Nedzu. It was already borderline unacceptable that you would ask for release, but UA employment? It would never fly."
"Hardly! UA has a registered Psychologist. We could certainly take care of the trauma she suffered."
"Hound Dog. You are asking us to put someone like that under Hound Dog's care." She sighed, "It will be a PR nightmare if anything happens."
"It will be a bigger PR nightmare if you don't take a decision soon. Did you know that mister Tokuda is a delightful fellow? We have had some long, interesting talks on the upcoming Sport Festival, and I'm sure that he would love to hear what else I can tell him."
Takeo Tokuda, a famous freelancer. A name that meant the stuff Nedzu had uncovered could appear in any newspaper, in Japan and overseas. Not that any other journalist wouldn't have been the same. Truth was, they had already tried to pull the 'law' in their defense, only for Nedzu to prove once and for all that the law was, indeed, not on their side.
After all, the whole Nagant arrest was, indeed, a mess. As Nedzu put it, once her two murders were proven to have been ordered by the previous President of the HPSC, which the rat had done immediately, by declaring her a Villain, they made the case pretty much impossible to solve appropriately. Nagant had worked for the government, so if the government allowed her assassinations, they were not acts of Villain nature. Then her only crime became the murder of the HPSC leader. But since the reason for the murder was stopping him from ordering further murders, Nagant had acted in her rights as a Pro Hero, because in recognizing her as a Villain the HSPC had thus implied the previous President had employed a Villain, thus, according to the Law on Quirk Usage, he was classified as a Villain too. The only way to prevent the previous President of the HPSC from being branded as a Villain (and the current one as an accomplice of said Villain) was to acknowledge that Nagant's murders were ordered by the HPSC, and thus in turn that the government had openly required her to kill people, even for lesser crimes… To cut it short, it was a complicated mess.
Not for public opinion though. 'Young heroine forced to work as an assassin by evil HPSC President revolts against him and is thrown in jail' was a lot simpler, a lot easier to digest, and frankly sold a lot more papers. Especially when the Number One was outraged too and more than ready to side with said young heroine. Covering Nedzu's opinion on something was doable. Covering All Might's? Absolutely impossible.
'When I go to hell, I will find my predecessor and dunk his face in the closest fire pit for leaving this mess behind.'
The President sighed. Cornered by a rat. "You know what Nedzu? She signs a non-disclosure agreement, you promise to not put that out, and we will declare that her innocence was proven, and she is allowed to return into society, though she will stay under UA's tutelage for a while. If anything happens after that, it's on you."
"Thank you for your cooperation!" The rat said, pulling out a new stack of papers, "Please sign here, here, here…" He kept turning the pages, "And don't worry, I will take absolute care of her. After all, I can't have the new security guard of UA in bad shape, mentally or physically. I already have some ideas."
-x-
Deep in her cell in Tartarus, Kaina Tsutsumi shivered, feeling a deep sense of dread creep on her.
-x-
Himiko was a bit worried. She walked up and down in front of the store. "What if they don't come?"
"They will." Mustard replied, yawning as he sat on the bench closest to the store and played on his 'new' portable console. 'New' because, in punishment for the way Tomura had handled the USJ raid, All for One had decided that he had to give away four consoles and all the games of said consoles. Tomura had muttered 'Oh thank god, PC master race' and then handed off his older consoles and the full libraries to Dabi and Mustard. While crying like a baby, but frankly Mustard didn't care. That's what you get for fucking up in the Villain industry. Severe punishments and all that.
Dabi at first didn't want any, until he was informed one of them included Just Dance – Mustard refused to imagine Shigaraki playing that – at which point the man had bolted for his room with the box of the console. Twelve hours later and no one had seen him yet.
Meanwhile, Mustard was enjoying his new pastime. He still had to deal with school, but he was already selling online all the games he didn't care about to get some extra money and playing the rest. The League was the best to be honest.
"What if they don't want to?"
"Himiko, Uraraka said 'absolutely' and Yaoyorozu sent a heart emoji and said she 'will be there immediately'. They are going to be here any minute now. Speaking of which, I probably have to go hide before they see me, right?"
"But what if they don't like spending time with me?!"
Mustard sighed. Goddammit, why did the serial killer feel like a normal teenager so often? He put a hand on her shoulder, the other holding the console. "Himiko, they are going to. Just have fun together, drink often and find some good clothes." And with that, still playing, he slipped away. He would stay nearby just in case, but most likely they wouldn't talk again until they were done.
Himiko twirled a strand of black hair, considering what to do. She had been a normal middle schooler, right? She could do it again. All she had to do was repress herself a bit. Less than usual, even, since her classmates wouldn't hate her for her Quirk. Not that the old school would, but that was because she was hiding it. But maybe they were just behaving well at school? What if they…
"Himiko!" A voice stopped her and she turned around, to see Ochaco and Momo walk toward her with a smile. The one that had called was Ochaco, while Momo walked next to her with a pleased smile. "How are you doing?"
"I-I'm doing really well. I'm so happy that you are here!" She said, grabbing Ochaco's hand together in her own, a smile growing on her face.
"No, Shimura, thank you! I'm really happy to be here. I think we all need to relax a bit after the whole 'USJ' day." Momo replied with a smile.
"You can call me Himiko, Yaoyorozu." Himiko replied with a toothy smile, and Momo blushed.
"A-Ah, o-of course, uhm, Himiko? Th-Then you can call me Mo-Momo."
"And you ca call me Ochaco."
"Alright the, Ochaco and Momomo." Himiko replied with a smile. Ochaco started to laugh while Momo tried to correct her and she smiled. Maybe Mustard was right.
They all entered the store together, looking around. It was a large clothing store well known for the good selection, and what followed was, of course, the girls starting to look around. What that revealed pretty fast, though, was that Momo and Ochaco had incredibly different tastes.
"She can't just put on a short-sleeved shirt for a date!" Momo pointed at the simple black top and skirt Ochaco had picked from the sales bin.
"W-Well she also shouldn't go overly dressed! They are having a date at the mall and then a simple lunch and dinner, she can't put that on!" Ochaco pointed to the red, elegant dress Momo had picked, that looked perfect for an elegant dinner date, less so to walk around.
"I- Yeah you might have a point, but going well dressed is a must!"
"I totally agree but we need to choose wisely!" Ochaco added.
"You are correct!"
"You have excellent tastes by the way!"
"Thank you, your clothes are fantastic for their price!" They both huffed and stomped away.
Himiko smiled. It was nice to have friends.
-x-
Izuku read the message from All Might. His mentor was asking if he was doing well and telling him to rest but remember to do his basic exercises, and Izuku smiled. He would be doing more than that, he thought as he sent a simple answer back to the Number One.
The car stopped, and Izuku stepped out, Hisashi accompanying him. Izuku smiled at his dad. He had frankly been a fool for not asking him before to do this. It was such a simple thing, but he had let his preconceived notions on the Clan paint his decisions, and now that was the result.
"Alright, we are here." Hisashi said, pointing to the enormous building in front of them. "Are you ready?"
Izuku nodded. He took a deep breath, and walked in the building.
"Ah, Mister Midoriya, you are here!" Gunhead, owner of the Gym, Pro Hero, and apparently on the payroll of the Green Valley Clan, smiled – something that somehow Izuku could tell despite the mask covering his face – and waved. "Isana called in advance, and we are more than ready to help your son with training."
Izuku smiled. Of course, he had been stupid. He could train with All Might, Gran Torino and Professor Aizawa, but he could also look for advice in other places. After finding out about the Clan having Heroes under their payroll, the obvious thing was to look for one or more that were known for training their own Sidekicks and ask for their help.
He couldn't explain how he got One for All, but no one was going to question a sudden awakening apparently, so why would he hold back from looking for multiple sources?
'Well maybe I'm cheating a bit since I'm using my father's connections, but it's for a good cause, right?'
"Oh by the way," Hisashi said, "Did his sparring partner also arrive?"
"Of course." Gunhead opened the door to a large gym that was, Izuku found, completely empty safe for the equipment, "He is in the changing room. I figured you'd prefer a private room, too."
"You found me a sparring partner dad?" Izuku asked. Hisashi smiled.
"Of course son, did you take your dad for someone that does half a job? Gunhead can help with Quirk control, but you also need to train for combat."
"That's great dad!" Izuku said, before coughing, "Errr, I mean, I don't really like the idea of fighting with a criminal, but…"
"Who said anything about a criminal?" Hisashi asked.
"Hi Izuku!" A voice Izuku hadn't heard in months said. His head whipped around, to find Yo Shindo standing at the door, wearing what Izuku assumed was his Hero costume, "Dad told me you were looking for a sparring partner and I thought, who better than another Hero student?"
Izuku smiled.
Yes, this was perfect.
-x-
This wasn't perfect.
Ooooh, a broken finger was definitely not perfect.
"Shit. Are you ok, Izuku?" Yo asked, while Gunhead helped him up.
"Yes… Just one second…" He sobbed, and the Pro Hero looked at the finger.
"Uhm, so this is the problem. You have too much energy and your body can't keep up, is that right?" Izuku nodded, and Gunhead hummed, "Well, the good thing is that this isn't an unknown problem. The bad thing is that now we have to fix that finger if we want to train more."
Izuku nodded. Hisashi had left once they had started training, explaining there was a meeting in program, and had told Izuku he would be back to pick him up in a few hours. 'Unless it's a trap and they shoot me dead, in which case you are the boss, make sure to avenge my death.' He had said, before laughing at his bewildered look and walking out.
Then they had started training. Gunhead had gotten down a description of everything about Izuku's Quirk, including the side effects and the fact that, when trying to hit Shigaraki, Izuku had somehow managed to not break his own arm like usual. After that Gunhead had nodded and had decided that they would start getting warmed up and decide from there, with Izuku switching in his gym clothes and working out with Yo to get ready for the actual training.
After that, Gunhead had decided to try and see if Izuku's limiter would kick in any time he tried to use the Quirk against a person, with Yo offering himself as the target.
The result was that his cousin was sent rolling back on the floor by a finger flick and Izuku was clutching the broken finger.
Gunhead sighed, "I really hoped that would do the trick by itself. Are you alright Grand?" Gunhead asked, using Shindo's Hero name.
So cool, Izuku really hoped he'd get to pick is Hero name soon.
"I've taken worse." He said standing up, "Well, at least we can tell it's not just concentration." He walked to the door and called in a few people. Izuku looked up to see two sidekicks from Gunhead's Gym.
"We don't quite have a Recovery Girl." Gunhead explained, "But we can fix broken bones with one Quirk and close wounds with another. It's not perfect healing, and it will still ache for the week-end, but by Monday you will be in perfect shape."
Izuku nodded, and let the two sidekicks touch his finger. Sure enough, the pain subsided, though it wasn't as pleasant as the sensation after Recovery Girl healed him. Here it was more like he was left with a pulsating sensation. He sighed, "Thank you." He said.
"Don't mention it kid." The first one, a tall man with a thin black mask, said, "We owe it big to your cousin." The second one, who looked almost identical, just wearing a blue mask instead, nodded.
Izuku blinked. "Uh?"
"It was Mister Iwata that introduced them to me." Gunhead explained, "They didn't want to become independent Pros, but it's hard to find work in Heroism with healing Quirks that aren't on Recovery Girl's level at least. But they are perfect to solve training issues at my Gym and as first aid on the field. Really, those Agencies that rejected them don't get what they missed." He waved at both of them as they left the room.
"Is it… Is it that common for the Clan to send people to various agencies?"
"Oh, I don't really know." Gunhead replied. At Izuku's look, he shrugged, "I don't know other Heroes linked to the Clan. It's to prevent anyone from sniffing out our trail, so to speak."
Izuku nodded, then felt like he had to ask another question. "Why did you agree with working for the Clan?"
Gunhead looked at him – or well, the four muzzles of his mask did – and then brought a hand to his chin. "Well, back then I was an unremarkable nobody really. My Gatling Quirk," He raised his arm, pointing at the two barrel-like organs on his forearms, "Is nothing exceptional. Projectile Quirks are common and while I have a decent fire ratio, since I fire claw-like bullets, and those don't really fly far. I'm basically a CQC combatant, and that put me in a pretty weird spot. Plus I didn't do well in my internship, ashamed as I am to say it now." He laughed, "So when I got out, my prospects weren't that great. Then the Clan came up to me and offered to help me by giving me…"
"Money?" Izuku asked, interrupting him, but Gunhead shook his head.
"No, no, money wasn't what I was going for. What they offered was intel. 'There is going to a robbery here', or 'We know about a drug deal in this location'. I would go there, pretending to just be on patrol, and bam, a crime is stopped and I get some good reputation in the industry. After that, it didn't take long for them to introduce me to my mentor, Gunshot." He grimaced, "I really miss him."
Izuku nodded. Gunshot had been a famous Pro Hero, but he had died in a mysterious incident a decade before. The HPSC had never officialized the exact cause of death, which usually meant he had died in a Villain attack and the Villain had a low profile, though Izuku noticed Shindo grimace and remembered their talk all those months before. "He was with the Clan too, right?"
"Of course. He trained me more, and then eventually I went independent, and founded my Hero Agency. The Clan invested in it too, and sometimes they give me contacts with some Sidekicks whose Quirks would work well in my team." He nodded, "Well then, now that you should be better, let's try to figure out your Quirk, shall we? No tricking me into wasting more time by recalling the old days."
Izuku nodded, before the man helped him up. "So, what I think you are having problem with is output management." He raised a hand before Shindo could think, "Yes, 'thank you Captain Obvious', but what I mean is that Izuku's Quirk is most likely similar to yours. He needs to learn how to regulate the output, which means we are lucky you are the one training with him."
Shindo nodded, "I suppose."
"And there is another thing." Gunhead said, looking at Izuku, "But it's something I think you should figure out on your own."
"I-I should?"
"Yes. I'll give you a hint. You know how most Pros with strength Quirk fight, right?"
"Sure." Izuku thought immediately about All Might's many fights.
"Good. Then reflect on what they are doing that you are not." He grinned, "Meanwhile, we are going to see if you can regulate the output by attacking Shindo. Focus on thinking that you don't want to hurt him, and it should work."
Izuku nodded, and Shindo took a fighting stance. "While you do that, I will also teach you about fighting, alright cous?"
Izuku nodded again. This had been what he wanted, more instructors for his Quirk.
He had to do his best if he wanted to take part in the Sports Festival.
-x-
"Alright, agreed, that's a great outfit, elegant but fitting for the type of date you are going to." Uraraka said with a nod.
Himiko nodded, "Yeah, I'm really happy about it."
"I'm just sorry for the price. Uraraka mentioned she could buy 'ten different shirts' with the price this one comes to." Momo added.
Uraraka grimaced, "Ah… Yeah, but it's no big deal if Himiko thinks she can pay for it. I'm not one to wear a lot of expansive clothes, but I'm sure she will look great in them."
Himiko looked at her friend. Her dad had decided to reward her with unlimited spending privileges on his credit card, that she was carrying in her wallet. Momo was rich, so she probably also saw the price of the clothing as no big deal, but Himiko knew Ocacho wasn't the same.
She glanced at Momo, and made a smile. "Say, Momo, before we leave, don't you think Ochaco needs an overhaul to her wardrobe."
Momo's smile was almost like staring straight at sunshine when she realized what Himiko meant, but Ochaco, clearly less prepared, shook her head, "N-No girls, thank you, but I already spent my monthly allowance for clothing…"
"Uhm, when is your birthday Ochaco?" Himiko asked.
"December the 27h." She replied.
"That means we missed your last birthday!" Himiko said, and Momo nodded.
"Indeed, Himiko, this calls for a belated gift." She smiled, "I think I saw some delightful sportswear and a few great shirts."
"Oh, and we should definitely also buy some new shoes."
"Girls, thank you, but really, it's fine."
Himiko looked at her, and walked closer, basically inches from her face. It was a complete violation of personal space, but it meant they were staring straight at each other, a hand on her shoulder. "Ochaco, you are sweet, but we really just want to buy you a gift. If the birthday excuse doesn't work, consider it a thank you for being my friend and helping me out today. Alright?"
"I-I'm not…"
"Will it be fair if I also buy Momo something? That way it's not giving you preferential treatment just because I think you would look pretty in a few of the clothes I saw today." Both Momo and Ochaco went bright red at that, and Himiko hissed. "Ahahah, I mean, not as cute as Izuku, but you are definitely pretty, you know?"
Ochaco slowly nodded, and Himiko smiled, rushing off, "I'm buying something to you too Momo, so stay there and wait."
Ochaco and Momo looked at each other as their new friend rushed away. They were both bright red, and couldn't look at each other. "It's… really hot in here, uh?" Ochaco asked.
"Y-Yeah, they should probably turn on the air conditioning." Momo replied.
'Damn, Izuku is really lucky.' They both thought.
-x-
Izuku had three more broken fingers that needed to be readjusted by the end of the day, but overall that had gone fairly well. He had managed to throw a decent number of shots by the end that didn't break his bones, and when they had tried a punch – at Shindo's insistence – he had also managed to not break his arm or make his second grade cousin explode.
Not that he seemed to enjoy it considering he was on the ground clutching his abdomen. "Alright…" He panted, "Note for you, Izuku, try to keep it a bit lower yet." Grand slowly got back up, with Gunhead's help.
Right, that was something Izuku needed to get better at. He still didn't have an exact visualization of what he was doing. He was holding back, sorta, but not really 'holding back'. It was like using only a portion of One for All, but since it mostly happened without a more refined thought than 'Please don't make him explode, please please please don't kill someone' it really wasn't an exact science.
The rest of the training, after that, was hand to hand combat. Gunhead was delighted to find out Izuku had a decent knowledge of fighting opponents with knives, swords and in close quarters. Shindo and the Pro run Izuku through a few of their respective combat styles. While Shindo's was heavily influenced by his Quirk, he was still trained by Ms. Joke, a close quarter combat fighter, and Gunhead's Martial Arts were well known, so they both had a lot to teach him.
By the time his dad arrived – and Izuku found himself taking a sigh of relief at seeing him alive, something his dad didn't miss, saying 'Why Izuku, you were so ready to avenge me? I'm moved.' And winking – Izuku had gone through the basics a lot more.
"Alright, see you next week." Gunhead said, waving at the three. Shindo entered the car with them, to take the train. That was when Izuku realized something. "Uh, Shindo, didn't you have school today?"
"Nah, Ketsubutsu got spooked for the attack on UA and decided to give us two days off, and the Agency I'm interning at didn't need me around today." He smiled, "I'm going on a date with my girlfriend tomorrow, so I guess I will spend the rest of the day looking for a plan for tomorrow."
"Ah, that's a nice coincidence, I'm going on a date too tomor-" He froze, "Oh my god I have a date with Himiko tomorrow! I completely forgot!"
Shindo chuckled, "Really?! Oh man, you better start looking for your outfit."
Izuku nodded, deep in thought. Oh man, so much had happened that he wasn't even sure if Himiko was still up for the date. He pulled out his phone and opened the incoming mails. Surprisingly, a large number weren't from Himiko, that had only sent one message earlier in the afternoon, while he was training, saying she hoped he was doing well and was ready for the date – to which he answered immediately saying yes, that he was sorry for taking so long to answer, and confirming their meeting at the mall the following day – and then he noticed the absolute folder of pictures Uraraka had sent him for some reason. He hadn't talked much with the girl, so it seemed weird-
He opened it and his eyes went wide. It was truly a plethora of pictures of his girlf- friend in all kinds of clothes. Some were normal, different shirts and skirts combinations, while others… one was an elegant, red Chinese dress, complete with white accessories to cover the buns on Himiko's black hair. The picture accompanied with Momo making a victory sign and Ochaco with her arms crossed in an x, sign that someone else had taken those.
Further down was Himiko dressed in a black goth shirt, fishnets and black boots included, this time with an accompanying picture of Ochaco giving a thumb up and Momo a thumb down. 'She says a guy named Dabi would really like this', read an accompanying message.
Izuku found himself incapable of looking away as he scrolled through the pics, until he reached the bottom, where he found a blurred picture. 'You get to see the definitive outfit only tomorrow, lover boy' the message read, 'and you better be well dressed, or I will show you what being the daughter of a construction company owner means.' The message was accompanied by a wink and a fist emoji.
Izuku looked at it for a long moment, then back up at Shindo and his father, both looking at him in amusement. "Uh… Do you think you can help me picking my clothes for tomorrow?" He asked.
He really didn't want to know what Ochaco meant exactly.
The rest of the day went by fast. Izuku had a quick shopping run with his father and Shindo. As it turned out, his cousin was really good at picking up outfits appropriate for a date, considering the little time they had. He explained that his girlfriend had basically beaten into his head the concept of elegance, and his father had only approved.
After that, they had dropped Shinso at the station and then gone back home. And then, he went to sleep early, and woke up on Saturday, still early in the morning. With a sigh, he opened his wardrobe. No Kurogiri, maybe he had caught the mistman off guard by waking up so early.
He pulled up his new clothes and crossed his fingers.
-x-
Himiko was pacing up and down in front of Wookies, the large store in Tokyo that they had picked for their date. As Izuku had mentioned, the real reason to pick it was that Wookies had a ton of restaurants, a large amount of stores they could visit, and was close to both cinemas and arcades. They could also think of something else over the day, if they wanted to.
She didn't what to do. Would he like her new clothes? She had bought a small pile in the end, but she had decided to put on the ones Momo and Ochaco had agreed on.
A simple, white shirt with short sleeves, under a light black jacket with long sleeves that reached the wrists perfectly, opening in bell sleeves ending in red details on the border. Her long black pants were tight enough to show her curves without being too tight for her to move freely in them. For her hairdo, they had opted to not make buns that day, but instead using a black circlet over her black hair, kept down and back to emphasize her face.
She did think she looked pretty today, or at least the girls had said it enough time to convince her. "This is dumb…" She told herself, "I'm just going out with a friend as usual."
She took a deep breath and pulled out from the purse she had also bought to complete her look a small thermos, taking a light sip. She had two but they had to last the whole day, so she couldn't get greedy.
"Hey, Himiko!" The girl turned around, to see Izuku walk forward.
His black button-up shirt was the first thing she noticed, along with green pants. The red shoes were the finishing touch, and he smiled as he walked up to her. "Uhm… You look really… good, today." He managed to say."
"Ah-Ah, thank you. You… You look good too."
"Th-Thank you." He replied, "So, friendly date as usual right?"
"O-Of course. We are going to be the friendliest friends, right?"
"R-Right."
They both chuckled awkwardly for a bit, then turned toward the store. Himiko took a deep breath. 'Come on. Just another friendly date.'
Neither of them was willing to acknowledge their heart beating faster as they walked side by side into the mall. Himiko was just happy no one was watching them.
-x-
"Alright, Bakudeku-squad on the case." Mina said, pulling up her sunglasses and down her dark blue baseball cap. Not that any of that did nothing to hide her evident pink skin tone.
"Who the fuck is in the Bakudeku-squad? I never greenlit that name!" Bakugo hissed, and Mina shook her head. Alright, still in the closet. She exchanged a look with Kirishima, who shook his head. Alright, no pushing the matter further. Let Bakugo come out on his own time, got it.
"Alright, then it's the Ashido-squad." She replied, "For all things romance."
"I didn't invite you two for that, you idiots!"
"Then what's this about, Bakubro?" Kirishima asked.
"We are going to collect proof that Himiko Shimura is actually Himiko Toga, a serial killer and therefore someone that is putting Deku and his family in danger because he is too dumb and lovestruck to realize." He replied, peeking from behind the corner.
Mina and Kirishima looked at each other. Mina sighed. Ah, boys love. It really was making him see things if he thought sweet, innocent Shimura could be a serial killer. Wait, was that kinda racist, if her Quirk was blood based? Uhm, maybe she needed to talk about it with him later. For now, she would help him work out his feelings. He clearly needed some counseling.
Also she could observe someone's date, not bad for a bonus. Lots of juicy gossip.
Bakugo sighed, almost feeling the thoughts irradiating from Pink. He really wished Yaoyorozu was here. Because she had a brain of course, just that.
-x-
"Alright, is the Himiko Brigade ready to go?" Uraraka asked.
"I have a question!" Iida shouted, Momo and Uraraka both covering his mouth and dragging him behind the corner.
"Ssssssh!" They both hissed.
"Sorry!" He somehow managed to exclaim in a low voice, chopping hair wildly, "But why are we following them?! That seems very impolite!"
"Then why are you here?"
"To pose this question in person of course, it would be too impersonal if I asked through a simple message or phone call!" He replied, and they both sighed, before Uraraka looked at him.
"You see Iida, I overheard Ashido and Kirishima say Bakugo wanted to spy on Izuku's date. Therefore, we are here to make sure the date goes well by getting in Bakugo and the other's way if they try to do anything wrong."
Iida pondered the matter for a second, then slowly nodded. "I see your point. And here I was, worried you both were just envious of Himiko and had an interest in Izuku."
Uraraka turned bright red. "Wh-What, no, Izuku is great, but he is already taken." Uraraka replied, ignoring the fact she had been thinking about Izuku and Himiko since the day before. She was just getting weirded out from the day before, that was all. Definitely all. Nothing to make her question things there.
"Absolutely, he is a good person, but not someone I'm interested in." Momo added. Of course, she was only here to protect Himiko from Bakugo and his friends if they tried to do anything bad. She had definitely not come to see if Uraraka's suspicions on Bakugo's 'interest' in Izuku were founded. Definitely not that.
-x-
Alright, they are moving." Melissa said.
"M-Melissa, did we really have to come?" Hana asked, hiding behind the corner of the store. As in, she was standing a good meter away from the exit, where Izuku definitely wouldn't see her and she definitely would see precisely nothing of the date.
"Of course! We are rivals, but we need to see how Izuku acts on a date if we want to prove Himiko and he are friends and not lovers."
"B-But what if they are lovers?" Hana asked. "A-And why did I h-have to come anyway?"
"Well, first of all because I know your dad wants you to romance Izuku." She replied, ignoring Hana going bright red, something that emphasized incredibly her white eyes, "And second of all, I promised professor Power Loader to take care of Mei while the labs are closed, and I need help with that. I can't leave her home alone or Professor Aizawa will come back to find the fridge dismantled and turned in something explosive."
"Who is M-Mei?" Hana asked, looking around.
"It's that girl right th- Oh my god Hatsume Mei put down that crowbar this instant!" She shouted to the girl with pink hair and goggles that was, under the incredulous look of the surrounding crowd, dismantling the door of one of the elevators of the mall.
"I need to repair it! This baby is too noisy, it's asking for a touch up!" Mei asked, clutching the doors of the elevator in an almost protective manner.
"It's not your job!" Melissa dragged her away
"But it could be! Support Items will better everyone's life one day!" She replied, "I will repair every baby in the world!" She shouted now.
"Hana, help me!"
"Y-Yes!" The girl shouted, rushing toward the other two and starting to pull together as they tried to make Mei let go the machinery.
-x-
Pony covered her face with her hand. 'Melissa whyyyyyy.' She whimpered internally. She had told her friend about the date to help her, but that didn't mean she had to make it known to the world she was here! She especially didn't need to reveal to Izuku she was here! Izuku would figure out immediately who actually sent her after him!
"So." Mustard said, "We have Bakugo and friends, Uraraka and friends, and the boss cousins with… some sort of insane pink-haired maniac that is trying to destroy the mall."
"Repair…" Pony muttered through her hand.
"So, who decided to spill the beans?"
"I told Ashido." Jiro replied immediately, "And then she told the entire class, you were there."
"Right. Who told Melissa though?" Mustard asked, and then both turned to Pony.
"I-I mean anyone could have, right? We weren't keeping it a secret, right? Everyone knew about the boss' date, right? The Green Valley Chat is also super populated now…" Pony asked, looking pointedly away from them both, "A-Anyway we need to solve this."
"I agree." Tsuyu replied, and everyone turned towards there.
"What are you doing here?!" Mustard asked, almost but not quite shouting.
"I mean I thought Izuku would need a bodyguard and I promised my mom to keep an eye on him, so…"
Mustard put his hand over his face. Took a deep breath. Alright. That made it thirteen people following Izuku's date. Probably not for long if mall security kicked out the girl with Melissa, but still, too many people. "See, this is why you need to keep your mouth shut. At least none of the people that I talk to followed us- please don't say Kaminari, Mineta and Hagakure are behind us." Mustard said as Jiro coughed.
"I mean I can just point at them if you want." She said. He steeled himself, turned around. There they were, dumb, dumber and not-so-invisible. He groaned.
"Go home." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Never!" Mineta shouted.
"Don't you 'Never!' me, we agreed the 'Mina strategy' is only cute if a girl does it." Mustard took a deep breath. "Why are you here?"
"We have a right to spy on their date!" Mineta immediately replied.
"Who the fuck said that?!"
"I don't know, but it's not a crime." He turned to Kaminari, "It's not a crime right?" The blonde teen shook his hand, and Mineta turned back around to the unimpressed look of Mustard and the three girls, "It's somewhat of a crime but you can't tell anyone because you are doing the same." He concluded.
"I'm not- alright, I know why you two are doing this, you want to get pointers by spying on Izuku, right?" He pointed at both Mineta and Kaminari. Mineta immediately nodded.
"Well, I don't need- yes." Kaminari said, changing his answer as Mustard glared at him, and Jiro snorted in her hand.
"Yeah figures, what about you Hagakure- Don't try to run away by getting naked." He said, looking at the girl.
"Wh-What? I would never!" She replied, as her shirt fell back covering her invisible body all the way down to her pants when a moment before it had been rolled up to just under her chest, "A-And anyway I just came here because they forced me to!"
"Lies!" Mineta shouted.
"Slander!" Kaminari shouted.
"You said you desperately wanted pointers too!" They said together, concluding by both pointing at her with their index finger in an overdramatic way.
"Shut up." She hissed back through her teeth.
Mustard sighed. "Alright, I can't really tell you to stop." 'Without telling you what I'm doing.' "But you are going to help us. We are here to make sure Izuku and Himiko have a good date, and if you want to stay, you have to join us, alright?"
The three nodded energetically, and he passed a hand over his face. This was going to be a long day.
'Dammit Izukun.'
-x-
Izuku looked back, feeling weirdly watched, he scratched his head. "It's pretty lively today, isn't it?" He asked Himiko.
"Yeah, well, I guess this is the biggest mall in Tokyo." She replied. He agreed, but he couldn't shake the feeling their private outing really wasn't all that private. 'Maybe I should look into it, we are the heirs of the Green Valley Clan and the League of Villains, someone might be after us-"
"Uh, Izuku, look, let's go check out that store!" Himiko said, dragging him toward a store that sold Hero-themed accessories by grabbing him under his arm. Any thought beyond blushing madly looking at her happy face and feeling her touch immediately vanished from his head.
-x-
Aizawa suddenly shook from head to toe, the sensation of dread moving past even the painkillers.
"Are you ok Shouta?" Present Mic asked. Aizawa just shook his head.
"My students are about to do something incredibly illogical." He replied, "I can sense it."
"Damn those painkillers must be real strong if they are making you forget you teach a bunch of hormonal teenagers." Mic replied with a smirk.
(xx)
No one ever expects the sudden Nagant release!
Well, I had been building it up for a while, though I don't know if anyone noticed.
Of course, Nagant's release is only one of the many measures the sadic rat has come up with to ensure the Sport Festival is Villain proofed. Though maybe it's the students that should be afraid.
We also get some free time for Izuku and Himiko, friendships blossoming, Izuku training with Gunhead and Shindo, all the good stuff. Yes, Gunhead could have just told Izuku 'You should spread One for All through your entire body', but that would have defeated the purpose of having Izuku figure out his own Quirk. Of course, if ne doesn't in a week, he is more than ready to do that.
It's Date time! How will the day go as the tangle of Class 1-A and other UA students follows Izuku and Himiko on their first date alone together in months?
Oh and Mei is also here. She isn't following them, she is just barred from staying alone with any form of machinery.