The Magic Touch
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Telepathy"
[-Text message-]
AN: This one jumps around a quite a bit.
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So far as the world knew, it all started with an interview. Yes, there was a press conference later that went over things more, but everyone remembered the interview, none more than Chitose Kizuki. The blue-skinned woman was still new to her position as a reporter. In fact, this would be her third ever interview. The young reporter knew she wouldn't have gotten this assignment if not for sheer luck, though good or bad remained to be seen. Two of the station's other reporters were hungover, one was on vacation, and the last was doing an interview with the head of the HSPC. So when an anonymous party offered a lot of money for a live interview without revealing the interviewee's identity, it had been foisted off on her. 'Probably some random millionaire with more money than brains announcing a run for office or something,' Chitose thought. Though she wasn't a veteran in the field by any means, the reporter still knew how much the rich loved to act like anything they did was newsworthy. As such, she could be forgiven when she entered the interview room and saw Japan's Number One Hero, the Symbol of Peace herself, Tempest aka Nana Shimura. "Oh! I'm sorry, I-" Chitose didn't know what to say. She expected some rich idiot with an overinflated ego? Yeah, that'd go over well.
"Didn't expect me?" Tempest asked with a friendly smile. "Don't worry, that was my intention. I have a rather big announcement I wanted to make and I felt it best to get the basics out before my follow-up press conference next week." The Pro Heroine stood at least 40cm taller than Chitose's own modest 165cm, not to mention her muscular build making the size difference even greater. Combine that with the hero costume she wore even now, and the older woman seemed larger than life even while sitting down.
Before Chitose could reply, one of the crew called, "Places everyone! We're live in 30!" The reporter hastened to her own seat, not quite opposite of the heroine's own, both carefully placed to give the subconscious message that the duo were holding a conversation not just with each other, but also with the viewer. It was one of a million little tricks Chitose had learned about the business to make the audience more invested in the stories they were being told. 'I don't care how anonymous she wanted to be, why did no one warn me I was going to be conducting a live interview with the biggest celebrity in the nation?!' But not only was it far too late to back out now, Chitose knew damn well she'd be killing her career more effectively than if she threw her boss in front of a train if she tried. Her only option was to power through and give the best damned interview of her life. "Alright, we're live in 5, 4, 3," the crew member counted down the last two numbers silently before pointing at her as the light above the cameras flicked on.
In an instant, Chitose's professional face was on as she greeted the camera, "Good evening, everyone. I'm Chitose Kizuki and with me tonight is none other than the Symbol of Peace herself, Tempest!" Taking a brief pause as the cameras obviously focused on the star of the show, the reporter addressed the Pro Heroine. "Now, Tempest, you said you had a major announcement for us tonight?"
"That's right Kizuki-san," Tempest responded easily. God, Chitose envied her right now. The woman had been in front of cameras longer than she'd been alive! This was probably nothing for her. Then, to the lilac-haired reporter's surprise, Nana's ever-present smile faded and she grew serious. "As I'm sure you know, I've been the top hero in Japan for over thirty years now, ever since I turned 21. However, those days are at an end. In a few months' time, I will be retiring from active duty as a hero."
The silence that followed her statement was absolute. A fly's footfall could have been distinctly heard as everyone tried to process Tempest's words. She was the Symbol of Peace! The Top Hero in Japan and arguably the world! She'd been a hero as long as most of them could remember! After several seconds of near catatonia, Chitose managed to squeak out, "Retiring?" Her sense of professionalism reasserted itself as she followed up her semi-question, "But why? And why now for that matter? As you said, you've been the number one hero for over three decades!"
Tempest smiled again, but it was more rueful than usual. "Because I've been the number one hero for over three decades. I know I don't look it, but I turned 52 last month." That statement was accompanied by Tempest striking a pose, showing off her figure and smiling face. Indeed, the ravenette could easily pass for a woman twenty years younger than her actual age; she had not a wrinkle or gray hair to be seen. Yet, when she said it out loud, many people both in the interview room and watching at home realized just how many people her age (and even younger in some cases) were already grandparents. "I do my best, but… I've started slowing down. Just recently, I had a very near miss. A terrible situation that I'd have caught if I was just five years younger. I stepped in just in time and stopped anyone from getting too hurt, but it was a close thing. A very close thing. That, more than anything, made me realize something: I'm getting old." And that simple sentence made everyone in the nation reel in shock. No one had ever really considered before that the Symbol of Peace… was mortal. Was as human as the rest of them.
"I- well, you're not that old, Tempest-san. Your charity calendar two years ago sold out before it even hit the shelves," Chitose struggled to reply. And it was true. Nana Shimura had decided to do a swimsuit calendar for charity (specifically to combat homelessness) to celebrate her fiftieth birthday. All two million copies had sold out within 24 hours of the announcement.
"Thank you for saying so," the taller woman demurred, "But I've already decided. I didn't want to make it too sudden though. Who knows what kind of chaos would have erupted if I simply stopped working tomorrow? No, while the date isn't finalized, I've decided that before Spring, I'll no longer be an active hero. It's time to pass the torch to the next generation."
That she kept saying active hero caught Chitose's attention. And what kind of reporter would she be if she didn't investigate something like that? "You say you won't be an active hero. Does that mean you won't be fully retired? And do you have any plans for what you'll do once you're off active duty?"
"I mean, obviously, I'll step in if there's a national disaster or something. I'll be retired, not dead. As for what's next? I was thinking of becoming a teacher actually. Even if I'm no longer an active hero, I still have thirty-four years of experience I can pass on to the heroes of tomorrow." By now, Nana's serious demeanor had faded entirely, leaving only her normal smiling persona. Yet now, everyone could see beyond the smile. Beyond the invincible titan of strength and heroism she had always been, to the woman underneath. And as viewership of the biggest interview of the decade climbed, the resignation of the president of the HPSC went largely unnoticed.
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The Todoroki household was one that was far from ideal. Between Enji's unhealthy obsession with surpassing Tempest, even if only by proxy through his youngest son, Toya's equally unhealthy fixation on proving he can be a hero despite his frailty, and Rei's growing resentment towards her husband and worsening instability, their family had been horribly fractured for years. Just a single well-placed blow from shattering entirely. Yet, ever since the announcement two months ago, it seemed like maybe their family was finally starting to fix itself, albeit ever so slowly. Enji might not have liked the way he finally "beat" Tempest, but he nonetheless focused on making sure Japan wouldn't fall to chaos with her retirement, much like heroes around the country were doing.
Regardless of how it made her sound, Rei found herself happy her husband wasn't around as much. Shoto wasn't training until he collapsed anymore, in fact, it seemed his father only trained him when he asked. Both facts were drawing Rei back from what she realized had likely been a breakdown. Admittedly, the few times Rei had seen Enji over the past couple months, he seemed less confrontational and more… withdrawn, as though he was still figuring out the new status quo. Now if only Toya would stop sneaking out so often. The boy insisted on becoming a hero despite the sheer number of burn scars he had proving his body couldn't handle his quirk. Enji certainly hadn't helped matters with how hard he used to push Toya before it became obvious he could never be a hero, but the boy was definitely not right in the head. Nearly a decade later and Rei still shuddered when she remembered her eldest son attacking his newborn brother with a fistful of fire.
Little did the Todoroki family know, their slowly repairing bonds were going to be tested in the worst possible way in the near future.
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Two Years Later
"What kind of lame quirk is 'Tactile Telekinesis'?" A loud blonde shouted. Both his hair and his temperament suited his quirk well, both resembling the explosions he could detonate from the sweat on his palms. The child he was addressing had fluffy green hair and freckles. Said boy was also pouting at his friend.
"It's not lame! It's like telekinesis but I have to be touching whatever I move," Nine-year-old Izuku insisted. Though little Izuku's quirk was nothing like his father's, he also had no real memories of the man so it hardly mattered. Besides, these days he had three moms, so what did he need a dad for? But despite how proud he was of having an evolved form of his mother's quirk, his best friend Kacchan (Katsuki Bakugo to others) was less than impressed. They were in the park and once again, the explosive blonde was denigrating his quirk.
"So you have the power to pick shit up? Sounds like a lame quirk to me!" Katsuki retorted. Yeah, Izuku could pick stuff up with his legs or the back of his hand, as Katsuki had seen him do before, but what good was that against villains? "You know what, I'll prove how lame your quirk is!" With no further warning, he rocketed towards the verdette, intent on scaring him with his own quirk, Explosion. But before he could, Izuku… picked up the water from the nearby fountain? and threw it at him. The cool water instantly diluted Katsuki's sweat, leaving him unable to use his quirk, and knocked him to the ground. As he sputtered in shock, the other boy placed a single hand on his foot. Suddenly, Katsuki froze in place. His entire body refused to move except for his head. "What the fuck did you do?"
"I told you, I can control anything I touch. If I touch you, you can't move if I don't let you," Izuku explained. Katsuki had to admit, that actually was a pretty cool trick. It seemed Deku wasn't a Deku after all if he had a worthwhile quirk like that.
The two boys were interrupted by a woman's voice calling, "Izuku, it's time to go home!" A tall, beautiful woman walked towards the two boys, her dark blue hair with its pink streaks tied up in a high ponytail.
Taking his hand off his friend, Izuku called back, "Coming mom!" He turned back to Katsuki and said, "Sorry, gotta go." Before rushing off to hug his second mother.
Kaina Midoriya lovingly hugged her son back. She could scarcely believe how much her life had changed in a little over two years. Back then, she'd been on the brink of collapse. Killing "undesirables" for the HPSC until it felt like she was drowning in blood, whether they be villains deemed to have gone too far, heroes that were too unscrupulous, or even just scientists researching something the HPSC wanted left alone. Then that chance incident with Tempest happened and a deal was struck. Kaina retired from hero work and never spoke a word of what she'd been forced to do. In exchange, the president quietly resigned, never to hold office or approach her in any way again. Meanwhile, Nana caused such a stir that no one even noticed the two of them stepping down. Of course, Kaina hadn't trusted the slimeball in the slightest. She knew his type far too well. And so, one night while he'd been driving along the coast, his tire suffered a blowout. His car went off the cliff and Kaina returned home, vowing to never take another life again.
Yet even though she was out of the shadows, the former assassin never felt like she'd truly stepped into the light. At least she hadn't until she met two wonderful balls of sunshine, a single mother and her son, and a heroine who, despite her persona, was just as lovingly wholesome. What started as a casual chat when the boy recognized (and fanboyed) over her became regular meetings became dates. And before Kaina knew it, she was married to the most wonderful women in the world, 'Sorry Nana,' and had a child of her own, even if not by blood. She still wasn't sure about Izuku's dream of becoming a hero, but she'd support her son even if she didn't necessarily approve of his decisions. Besides, Nemuri was thinking of getting a job teaching at U.A.; if she did, she'd certainly keep an eye on their son. After all, there was no way Izuku wouldn't get into the top hero school in the nation.
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"Alright Izuku, this will be a new exercise for you!" The Midoriyas were on Dagobah Beach where Kaina was training her son on using his quirk. While the place had been an absolute garbage dump for years, someone had cleaned it relatively recently. As it was the offseason, the trio didn't have to worry about ruining anyone's day with their practice. "All you have to do is stop me from shooting you. But you can't leave the circle you're standing in," Kaina explained as she indicated the roughly one meter diameter circle her son was in the center of. "This will be a good way to train both your quirk and your creativity."
"But I have to be touching something to affect it!" Izuku protested as his second mom moved to her spot some twenty meters away. That she was using paint rounds was only a comfort in the sense he wouldn't die when she shot him. Hopefully, the thick white pads she had him wearing would keep the bruising down. Plus, he was wearing a face shield so he wouldn't have to worry about paint in his eyes or mouth.
"You're touching things now, aren't you?" Kaina retorted as she loaded up her paintball gun. Hopefully, she had enough ammo. Sure, two thousand seemed like a lot, but she knew from experience how quickly one could burn through ammunition during practice. Though it wasn't her rifle, she knew how to use pretty much any firearm proficiently. Granted, to a woman who's sniped targets three kilometers away on rainy nights, "proficient" was less a matter of hitting the target and more a matter of her first five shots hitting the fingernails of her son's left hand in sequence. As Izuku shook his gloved hand in pain, the former hero called out, "You better figure out something fast, Izuku! There's 1,995 more where that came from!"
Izuku did not figure out his solution fast. While he had tried creating walls of sand to block his mother's shots, either the wall would be too loose and she'd simply shoot him through it or it'd be too small and she'd direct her shots around it. After an hour of being shot, his chest guard had a surprisingly well-done impressionist portrait of his first mother on it from all the paint rounds he'd taken. It was only as Kaina was reloading for the last time that Izuku thought he'd found the answer. 'All this time, I've only considered using my quirk on solids and liquids. I'd never even thought about the air. It's everywhere and I'm always touching it, so maybe-' Reaching out with one hand, Izuku tried to focus on the air between him and his mother. 'C'mon. Work with me… there!' With a push of his open palm, the verdette felt the atmosphere respond. A gust of wind blew back at Kaina, throwing off her aim and forcing her to brace herself against the gale. Once it died down, the woman smiled and called out, "Good job! Next time, we'll work on your speed and focus." Izuku swore he could feel new bruises forming at the idea of doing this again. Or maybe that was just his current bruises throbbing in pain.
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"It's an interesting crop this year," Cementoss commented as the various teachers watched the entrance exams. The humanoid block of cement gestured towards a few specific screens, "Some creative quirk applications in particular." On one screen, an applicant appeared to be controlling a Three Pointer like a marionette, forcing it to shoot other villain robots. On another, a young woman with a beehive hairdo used the pale green tentacles growing from her back to maneuver around, picking up and smashing any faux villain she found.
"Some are perhaps a little too reckless though," Thirteen offered as a blonde kept deliberately taking hits then striking back even harder as her body burst into flames. The Space Hero took a moment to call up the applicant's profile. "Hm, a quirk that increases her power as she takes damage. Useful, but relying on surviving your opponent's attacks is rather short-sighted."
Vlad King, homeroom teacher of 1B, pointed at two different screens and said, "Those two are so bloodthirsty, I can't tell if they're deliberately saving people or if they just happen to attack enemies that were about to hit another examinee." The pair in question were Katsuki, who had just detonated a robot that had snuck up on a redhead girl with spiky hair, and a girl with pink skin whose tail had smacked one robot into a group of others that were chasing a diminutive boy with purple ball-like hair. Then the boy, seemingly sobbing in relief, launched himself at the girl, his hands making squeezing motions, only to get smacked aside by her tail. "Never mind, pretty sure the girl was incidental at least."
"She will be penalized for that of course. Such an action might well cost her a place in the Hero Course," The small mammalian principal assured. It would seem someone hadn't listened when warned about attacking their competitors.
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Right as the final bell rang, a man walked into the classroom, presumably their homeroom teacher. His hair and short beard were both a light blue that was almost white in places and seemed to move on a constant gentle breeze. He wore an open aviator jacket over a dark blue martial arts gi with a similarly colored aviator cap atop his head (with an open top to let his hair out) and what looked like a quarterstaff on his back. "Man, you kids sure are lively!" He loudly announced. As they all quieted down, he said, "I'm your homeroom teacher, Oboro Shirakumo! It's nice to meet you!" The students all muttered their own greetings back. "Well, I'm sure you lot will loosen up eventually. Now, today we're going to deal with the usual stuff: Entrance ceremony, guidance sessions, etc. But afterwards comes the fun part." All twenty exchanged confused glances at what their teacher meant by "fun part", even as they followed him towards the auditorium.
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With his entire class standing around in gym uniforms, Oboro explained what they would be doing now. "This is what UA calls the Quirk Assessment Test or QAT. We'll be going through the usual middle school fitness tests except you'll be allowed to use your quirks." A number of the students started chattering excitedly at getting to use their quirks, particularly a pink haired girl. "Now, this might be a test, but you're not being graded. Well, you are, but it won't affect your grades. Instead, think of this as a way to see how creatively you can apply your quirks. As a demonstration, Bakugo, step forward." Katsuki stepped into the indicated circle and caught a ball tossed to him. "I want you to throw this ball as far as you can. Anything goes so long as you stay in the circle."
With a fierce grin, Katsuki hurled the ball with all his might, further propelling it with a massive explosion, "DIE!"
A rapid series of beeps came from Oboro's phone before eventually, "903.2 meters. Pretty good." As Katsuki got back in line, Oboro turned to address the entire class, "That's what I meant about using your quirks. Remember to think outside the box; you never know what kind of trick might save your life someday."
What followed was a bizarre series of fitness tests as students found all kinds of ways to utilize their quirks. A tall girl with short black hair had created rocket powered skates to destroy the fifty-meter dash. A redheaded Caucasian had launched herself via a jet of flames during the standing long jump. Izuku quite literally crushed the grip strength test, thankfully Oboro said not to worry about it. UA could afford kaiju sized robots, a grip tester or two was nothing. Though perhaps the most ridiculous was a girl removing her ball's gravity and sending it into space. Once they were finished, Oboro called their attention once more. "Alright, I'm going to show your total scores and placements all at once. Remember, this is just a measurement of where you are right now. Don't seek to beat your classmates' scores, seek to beat your own scores." The scores went up and Izuku found himself in third place, though he noticed the top four all placed within a few points of each other. Fifth place had a somewhat larger gap but afterwards, the points were once more all fairly close together until the bottom three: Kaminari, Hagakure, and Mineta. To be fair, two of them had quirks that were of no help in any of the tests and the third had a quirk that let him do amazingly in one test and a body that caused him to do poorly in all the others. Before anyone could get upset about their rankings Oboro spoke up once again, "If you're upset by your score, don't get sad or angry. Instead, use it as motivation to improve yourself down the road. After all, exceeding your limits is what it means to go Plus Ultra!"
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Though everyone knew it was coming, they were still starstruck as Nana Shimura aka Tempest walked in through the door. Not only was she the former number one, but she also had held the title longer than anyone else in the history of professional heroics and was the youngest to ever hold it too. Now 60 years old, Nana still didn't look her age, but had nonetheless visibly aged since her retirement eight years ago. Her face had a couple laugh lines and her hair was starting to gray, yet she still held herself with the poise and vigor of a woman half her age. The class burst into excited muttering at her appearance. "It's really her." "She's wearing her classic outfit." "I heard she once beat the top ten heroes at once." "What a gilf." "Do you think I could get her autograph?"
"Welcome everyone to your first day of Foundational Hero Studies!" The former number one greeted them all with a smile. "To answer your questions before we begin: yes it's really me, I've had a few costumes over my career but this one is my favorite, I fought them sequentially not all at once," Without even a pause in her speech to denote she was doing anything, a massive wave of pressure swept over the class, leaving them all feeling like mice before a tiger that was still deciding if it was hungry enough to bother eating them, "Refrain from making sexual comments about your teachers and classmates." The pressure disappeared instantly, as though it were never there to begin with. Twenty racing hearts would testify that it definitely wasn't a figment of their imaginations, regardless of how cheerful and inviting their teacher seemed again. "And I'll happily give autographs after class. But, I've got a busy schedule planned for us today so let's get to it."
With a press of a button, twenty numbered cases emerged from the wall to Nana's right. "Here are your hero costumes, based on the designs you submitted to the support department. If you'll take your cases, you can head to Training Ground Beta and change in the locker rooms. We'll begin the exercise in fifteen minutes." What happened next was a mad scramble as everyone sought to get their case as fast as possible, wanting to try out their new hero costumes. Nana watched their antics with amusement. 'They seem like good kids. I think you'd have liked them, Toshi.' A feeling of agreement echoed from One for All, making her smile just a little bit wider.
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In the girls' locker room, Momo looked hesitantly at the case that contained her new hero costume. Initially, she had gone for something like Midnight's original costume until she was reminded about the Diet passing laws regarding such things. Then the heiress had spent some time designing a costume that wouldn't get her in legal trouble but would still provide the exposure she needed for her quirk to function properly. She'd spent hours debating the pros and cons of various designs before her mother walked in. Cereza Yaoyorozu, a statuesque stunner of a woman and the richest person in the nation, had taken one look at her daughter's sketches and given a short laugh before reminding her that DNA-encoded materials existed. She need not sacrifice protection for her quirk. To that end, Cereza had insisted that if Momo cut her hair short to supply the DNA, she'd make sure her daughter received the best possible costume in the world. Though she had agreed, Momo nonetheless found it a bit hypocritical that her mother told her to cut her hair. To her knowledge, the half-Japanese woman hadn't cut her hair since her daughter was born! Momo had seen her mother's hair loose before and it didn't just reach the ground, already an impressive feat given the woman was over two meters tall even without the heels she always wore, it actually trailed behind her. If not for her mother's quirk, Momo was certain it'd take an entire day to care for her hair. Regardless, she saw the sensibility and did as suggested; now her hair was actually shorter than a couple of the boys' in class.
Still, time to see what her mother had come up with. Opening the case, Momo was confused. "It's… a biker suit?" Indeed, the contents appeared to be a red full-body biker suit with white accents along with a pair of surprisingly thin gloves, a thick belt, some kind of electronic device, and a headset. Fortunately, the ensemble came with a pamphlet, explaining its functions. She skimmed the pamphlet quickly then again more slowly. If the manufacturer was to be believed, Momo's new suit was resistant to firearms, knives, heat, cold, electricity, and pretty much everything else tested against it. Her gloves were somewhat weaker in exchange for greater dexterity. Meanwhile, the electronic device was a wrist-mounted computer with an extensive database of schematics and chemical formulas for countless materials and devices, which it could display on her headset's visor (currently clear but the instructions stated it could be tinted with the press of a button) or on the computer's screen itself. Finally, the belt's pouches were filled with extremely high calorie nutrient shakes. 'I- mother really went all out.' It was rather like her: Find a way to fix a problem by throwing money at it. Cereza wasn't a bad mother, but her duties did mean she was too often an absent one. And too often her solution was trying to buy her daughter the best of everything. Looking up, Momo realized many of the girls were almost done donning their costumes and hurried to put on her own.
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"Well, don't you all look like heroes?" Nana Shimura greeted the class as they left the locker room. Overall, Izuku had to agree, though he personally felt more like he was prepared to attend a fancy dinner rather than save lives. His emerald green Chinese suit might be eye-catching with the gold dragon design traveling up its left side but it didn't really scream "hero" compared to the others. Well, maybe Jiro and Mineta. The former looked like she was headed to a rock concert and the latter appeared to be wearing a white metal diaper. Still, Izuku's gold sash would come off easily with his quirk and was made of carbon fibers so he could use it as a weapon, not to mention the escrima sticks at his sides. Mama Kaina had been extremely insistent he know how to fight without his quirk, using herself as an example. All her hero work was done on skill and all her quirk did was provide her easy access to a weapon.
By contrast, the other students varied from Iida's futuristic knight appearance to Tokoyami's black cloak, yet they all looked every bit like heroes to Izuku. Though a part of him did wish the girls' costumes weren't all so tight. He felt like he couldn't look at any of them safely! Some, like Asui and Grey, looked like their costumes were painted on! The verdette was dragged out of his hormonal thoughts, he definitely wasn't staring at the American girl's ass (or at least he wasn't after spotting Mineta's leering and hating the comparison), as the teacher once more spoke up, "This will be a fairly basic exercise for your first class. Two of you will be acting as villains who have taken a hostage and are trying to escape with them. Another pair will be heroes attempting to rescue the hostage and capture the villains. Finally, one of you will be the hostage." Tempest paused, making sure everyone was following along, "The villains will start at a random point on the western end of the training ground and have to reach the eastern exit without being captured. Escaping with your hostage will result in full marks. Losing the hostage but escaping will receive partial credit but still a passing grade. For the heroes, you will be attempting to rescue the hostage and capture the villains. Unlike the villains, losing the hostage is an automatic failure, whether that's because one villain escaped with them or the hostage was killed." When the class gasped, Nana quickly explained, "Not really killed of course! If the villains are able to hold the hostage to the ground for five seconds, the hostage will be deemed 'killed', but without the hostage, the heroes have no reason to hold back and the villains will only have one minute to reach the finish line before they're declared captured. Finally, the hostage. The hostage receives a passing grade so long as they are still 'alive' at the end of the exercise, but to receive full marks, you either have to escape yourself or cause enough trouble for the villains that the heroes are able to rescue you. Are there any questions?"
There were several, not all of them relevant. After a few seconds, Nana whistled loudly. "Okay, in the future, wait to be called on before asking. Now, in order: You will be paired up by lots both to simulate the randomness of hero life and because I don't know how well any of you work together. The hostage will have their hands bound behind their back but any further restraints are up to the villains. If the hostage doesn't visibly resist but can explain how they actually resisted, they'll receive full marks. At least one of you will be taken hostage at some point in your career so it's good to learn how to act in such a situation. No, that's not sexual harassment. And Grey-kun, for today only, you can do so once the exercise has started. Afterwards, it's your quirk so use your best judgment." That last part left all but one member of the class confused. As far as they knew, Jean hadn't asked a question at all. "Now then, the first group will be… Tsuyu Asui and Tenya Iida as the villains… Kyōka Jiro and Mashirao Ojiro as the heroes and… Izuku Midoriya as the hostage."
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"Asui-san, I think it'd be best if I carried Midoriya-san. That way, we can run at top speed to the exit." As he spoke, Iida's right arm chopped like an action figure with 'real kung-fu action', something Tsuyu found silly but adorable. "With your maneuverability and my speed, we should be able to get through the gate before the heroes can reach us!"
"That sounds fine to me, kero," The frog girl replied, "But how good are you at turning? Will you fall if we have to change direction quickly, especially carrying Midoriya-chan?"
"That is a valid point! In that case, I will make sure to keep pace with you while you use the buildings to get around! If I have to quickly alter course, I will toss Midoriya-san to you so we do not risk injuring him!" He certainly was enthusiastic if nothing else. As the PA system announced the start of the exercise, Iida slung Izuku over his shoulder like a sack of rice. "My apologies, Midoriya-san!"
"It's fine," Izuku replied before smirking, "I'm sorry too." Before the speedster could ask what he meant, Izuku activated his quirk, freezing the taller boy in place. Unfortunately, Iida was off-balanced, causing him to fall forward. Tsuyu leapt forwards to pull him back, but her tongue touched Izuku's cheek, letting him paralyze her as well. All three fell to the ground, Tsuyu on the bottom, Iida on top, and Izuku's upper half awkwardly sandwiched between them. Which was how Kyōka and Ojiro found them five minutes later.
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"We've got incoming. 4 o'clock, five seconds," Jean Grey mentally warned her partner. Momo still found it hard to believe the American girl had a quirk with such unrelated abilities, but she certainly wasn't going to complain. Spinning to face the indicated direction, she created a netgun and fired just as one of their opponents rounded the corner.
"Eep!" The blonde squeaked as the weighted net flew towards her. But in an impressive display of flexibility, she bent backwards almost a full ninety degrees at the knees, allowing the net to fly over her. A quick application of her own quirk saw a clear liquid oozing out of her feet and allowing her to maintain her forward momentum even as she flipped back upright. Secreting more fluid from her arm, Kalifa ran her hand down said arm before flinging the accumulated liquid at the villains and their hostage. The hostage, Kaminari, tried struggling, but Momo had already taken the time to bind his feet and insulate him, rendering the boy pretty much helpless.
"Careful not to let that stuff hit you!" Jean couldn't tell what her classmate thought her quirk would do except that it'd win her the exercise. But her focus was broken when the other hero, Sato, broke through the storefront on her other side, roaring like a berserker. "What?! How did he hide his thoughts from me?!" She would have to trust Momo could handle herself. The redhead shot a burst of flames towards Sato's feet, seeking to buy some breathing room more than anything. Instead, the boy charged straight through, unheeding of the flames. It was then Jean realized why she couldn't sense him, 'He isn't thinking! I can't hear his thoughts because there's nothing to hear!' While technically not the first time she fought an opponent who didn't need to think to fight, the only other time had been her martial arts instructor, who was experienced enough to beat her ass while deciding what movie he was going to watch later. An actual berserker was something new entirely. As such, she could be forgiven for forgetting about her other opponent.
A wave of liquid hit everyone present, causing all except Kalifa to drop to the ground. The blonde herself was visibly dehydrated as she stumbled her way to Kaminari and got to work on his shackles. The boy tried to ask something, but his speech was slurred. "Don't worry," She reassured him. "It'll wear off in about twenty minutes. Or when it's washed off. Useful as hell, but the water thing's going to be a bitch."
-]|[-
Upon arriving home, Momo was informed by one of the butlers that her mother wished to speak with her in her office. Thanking the man, Momo held in a confused frown as she headed towards her designation. Her mother being home so early was highly unusual, even if she was likely still working if she was in her office rather than her study or the lounge. Once she reached her mother's office, the teen politely knocked on the door. From the sound of it, the older woman had been in a virtual meeting of some sort as she heard her mother's voice through the door, "Oh, it's that time already? I'm afraid we must adjourn for the day everyone. I have an urgent meeting to get to." A number of indistinct voices replied before the door was thrown open mere seconds later. "Momo, darling! How was your day? Did you like the costume? I put my best people on it!"
Yet as Cereza guided her daughter into the room and into one of the comfortable chairs off to the side, Momo couldn't help but focus on just one thing. "M-mother. Y-y-y-your hair!" Gone was the signature beehive-esque hairdo her mother had always sported, along with the three meters of hair that went into making it. Instead, her hair was almost boyishly short, even shorter than Momo's own.
"Hm? Oh yes," Cereza seemed to barely realize the loss of the hair she'd always been so proud of would be such a shock to anyone. "I did say you would receive the best possible costume, didn't I? Your hair was used so you could use Creation without destroying your clothes. Mine served as the base material to improve its durability."
"Bu-but you loved your hair!" Momo wasn't certain why she was protesting.
Sighing fondly, Cereza pulled her only child into a hug. "Not a billionth as much as I love you. You're my daughter, Momo. Trading all my limbs to help keep you safe would be a bargain. Giving up my hair doesn't even register as a sacrifice by comparison." Momo said nothing, merely clutched her mother tighter and pretended she wasn't crying. In turn, her mother kept her silence and instead pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Yes, Cereza Yaoyorozu was too often an absent mother, but no one could ever claim she was a bad one.
-]|[-
"Izuku, Kyōka says there's three more robots in another room about ten meters from you," Jean's mental voice notified him. Curiously, it sounded just like her actual voice but without the slight accent she had.
As Izuku thought back his confirmation, he couldn't help but note how incredibly useful his classmates' quirks were. Even though teams were once again done by lots, it kinda felt like theirs in particular was designed for the exercise with how they were dominating it. He worked his way through the partially collapsed building, wondering how U.A. kept them seemingly seconds from total collapse yet structurally sound, and found a trio of robots acting as a family, a parent and two children. The largest of the three was pinned beneath a heavy wooden desk. Placing his hand on it, Izuku easily lifted it off before blanching at how its arm was severed, easily picturing what such an injury would look like on a real person. Moving quickly, the verdette grabbed his sash which sprung to life with his quirk and wrapped itself tightly around the stump. "Jean, I need Sero asap. I've got a victim with a severed arm and I can't keep pressure on it while carrying out all three." He sent out urgently, before addressing the two children robots, "Hey, it's going to be alright. Your mom's going to be just fine. My teammate will be here soon and he'll help me get all three of you out of here."
It felt a little silly talking to the androids but apparently, they had built in recording devices so the teachers could review everything they "saw" and "heard" to go along with the various security cameras. Thankfully, it didn't take Sero long to arrive. Just over a minute later, he came through the slanted doorway. "I came as fast as I could!" The taller boy declared loudly. More quietly, he asked Izuku, "Is the arm salvageable?" Izuku shook his head. While technically the damaged arm might be usable for parts, for the purpose of the exercise, the limb had been completely crushed. "Alright, when I say go, remove your sash and I'll tourniquet the limb. And… go!" With speed born of a worrying amount of repetition, Izuku removed his sash and helped guide Sero's tape to properly tourniquet the injured limb. With that, Izuku picked up both of the "children", his own quirk making keeping both secure a breeze, while Sero carried the adult out of the building.
"And that's time!" Thirteen called as Izuku and Sero joined their two teammates. "While you won't have your grades until I've had time to properly review the recordings, some preliminary comments. Sero, good job on the makeshift bandages and tourniquets. They wouldn't be pleasant for a real person but they will keep them from bleeding out. Jiro, impressive usage of your quirk to direct your teammates towards victims. Coordinating isn't a glamorous part of our jobs, but it's one of the more important ones. Grey, likewise on using your telepathy to quickly relay messages when you realized the building was interfering with your headsets." The redhead in question raised her eyebrows in confusion, wondering how the rescue hero was so certain she'd been using telepathy the whole time. With a mental shrug, she assumed that it was probably an assumption from how the lack of radios didn't hinder them. "However, in the future, be aware that open flames in a badly damaged building might make the situation worse. You never know if a gas line is broken. Lastly, Midoriya. Great job on clearing the rubble, but keep in mind that sometimes it's better to not act until you further assess the situation. It'd have been better to leave that last robot pinned until Sero arrived to handle the limb."
-]|[-
Lounging in her favorite recliner in a comfortable t-shirt and sweatpants, Chitose was ready to watch the Sports Festival. Though she didn't know it, in another life she would've been the executive director of Shoowaysha Publishing and one of the leaders of the Meta Liberation Army. Of course, she'd have also been about half a year from a violent death, so it was hard to argue that life would have been better. Instead, she was the famous Ms. Curious, one of the top investigative journalists in the nation (and occasional media contact for the Yaoyorozu Group, something she still hadn't figured out). That interview she'd had with Nana Shimura so many years ago had launched her career and given her a taste for what she saw as true journalism. The fame and glamor of heroics were nice, but there were literally thousands of reporters who covered that. Same with the "scandals", which ranged from as irrelevant as a nip-slip (and what did it say about them as a society that Uwabami's nipple made national headlines?) to as serious as a cocaine addiction. No, what Chitose was interested in was the darker side of things. Heroes who instigated crimes to catch the perpetrators and climb the rankings, politicians with ties to supremacist groups like the CRC and the MLA, and most recently, one of the department heads of the HPSC dealing in Trigger. Chitose wasn't a Pro Hero, but that was how she fought. By exposing evil and corruption in their society, she worked towards building a better tomorrow.
But not today. Today was for watching a bunch of teenagers with superpowers compete against each other. And that's why she had a tub of popcorn ready (extra butter spray and garlic powder) and a mini-cooler filled with a cold six-pack in front of the couch. Present Mic loudly and enthusiastically announced the two hero course classes, but was notably less enthused about the other courses. "Gee, no bias there." The pledge was… unique was a polite way of putting it. Shit-stirring would be more accurate though. And then it was time for the first event, an obstacle race.
Midnight signaled the start of the race and… it immediately became obvious that whoever designed the race assumed everyone taking it would be earthbound. Three of the students flew through the air above the crowd, one propelled by flames and two others by unknown means. A fourth one seemed to be launching himself with pillars of ice then using gouts of flame to get more airtime. "Huh. I don't remember seeing him in the hero classes. And hair like that's hard to forget. Is this kid seriously not a hero student with a quirk like that?" As that quartet rocketed ahead of their competition, a few others managed to circumvent the crowd at the start, but by and large, it was a tangled mess at the starting line. Present Mic announced the first true obstacle, the Robo Inferno, as the frontrunners reached it. "Holy shit! UA doesn't screw around!" Chitose gaped in shock at the various robots, especially the ones taller than her apartment building. Yet those four kept right on going, barely slowing their pace at all. The sole girl among them blasted the robots with concentrated flames. The boy with the candy cane hair froze his targets. One of the flying boys seemed to be shooting wind or something at the robots. The other one, Chitose couldn't tell what he was doing. He'd just touch the robots in passing and they'd stop moving, sometimes falling down as well.
The next obstacle proved even less of a hindrance to the flying trio: A giant pit with pillars and ropes to cross it. As the three crossed, they started taking shots at each other, flames from the girl and blasts of air from the boys. However, their superpowered dogfight also cost them time. Time that others were using to catch up. A third boy, a blonde who apparently had some sort of explosive quirk, started catching up as they passed the uncreatively named Fall. Every so often, he'd spare a moment to launch a long-distance explosion at the group, forcing them to scatter. "Well damn," Chitose muttered as she scarfed down more popcorn. "I almost feel bad for the other students. Try getting people's attention when that is going on."
Just before the final obstacle, the boy with ice and fire, who'd been surprisingly flying under the radar considering he was in the top five, unleashed a massive ice attack. Spiky pillars of ice jutted from the ground at every angle, forcing the other four to stop everything in order to dodge around his assault as he slid past, flames propelling him across the ice. "And Todoroki Shoto of Class 1I takes the lead right as the frontrunners reach the final obstacle! The minefield!" Present Mic boisterously announced. "And don't think his competition will have it easier just because they can fly, either!"
"That's right," Present Mic's co-announcer, Loud Cloud, chimed in. "We have something special that will work just as well against fliers as landbound students." From the ground lining the track sprouted dozens of machines. If she didn't know better, Chitose would think they were- "Automated turrets." Said guns all promptly homed in on the five students who'd made it that far and opened fire. "Like the landmines, they're nonlethal, but those rubber bullets will definitely leave a mark if you get hit."
"Just when I thought the only real obstacle for those kids was going to be each other. Wait, Todoroki?!" The violette spat out her beer as she realized just who the current leader was. "That boy's Endeavor's kid and he's not in the Hero Course?!" How the hell was the top hero's son not a hero student?! Though after a moment, she did recall the man's older two children weren't heroes either. Chitose didn't know what they did, but if Endeavor's kids had become heroes, there's not a reporter in the nation who wouldn't know. Either way, it was clear that Shoto was rather lucky when it came to the cannons. Most of them were prioritizing the flyers, leaving only a few he had to worry about as he traversed the minefield.
Of course, his large-scale attack meant the others were now paying more attention to him. Explosions, flames, and gusts of wind all headed his way. In fact, the explosive blonde was lowering himself out of the air. Either he saw how the turrets were prioritizing aerial targets or he simply wanted to pit himself against the son of Number One. Maybe both. Just then, the camera zoomed in on one of the three flyers, a verdette boy, as he was apparently knocked out of the air. "Huh, kinda cute," Chitose commented. "Might be a real lady killer in a few years. But… right now all he is, is losing." Indeed, all four of the other frontrunners were racing ahead, even ceasing their attacks on each other in an effort to take first place.
But rather than takeoff after them, the downed teen instead slammed his hand against the ground, a feral smile on his face. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then suddenly, every mine between him and the finish line was launched into the air by pillars of earth and stone. The two boys on ground level had no time to react as they were struck by mines and blasted away, only to collide with more and get knocked every which way. The two fliers had slightly more forewarning, yet the sheer volume forced them to stop entirely and focus on defense. While they fought to keep from being overwhelmed, the green boy rocketed ahead, staying low to the ground as he flew past his competition and across the finish line.
Back in her living room, Chitose stared at the screen wide-eyed, her forgotten beer spilling onto her shirt. "What. The. Fuck."
-]|[-
In her private booth, Cereza was just as stunned at the winner's gambit, having caught it on the big screen and thus taken her eyes off her daughter. "Oh my, that boy certainly knows how to make an impression," she chuckled good naturedly. "Honestly, who throws a minefield at someone." She turned back towards Momo as Present Mic loudly shouted that same question. The statuesque woman's smile fell off her face in an instant once she spotted her little girl. Clinging to her back, positioned like he was trying to dry hump her, was another student. Even as she watched, Momo elbowed him in the face, but the boy refused to let go, sticking to her with some kind of purple balls. Pulling out her phone, Cereza hit one of the speed dials. As always, the other line picked up before the third ring. "Get me everything on," a quick glance at the leaderboard got her the name she needed, "Minoru Mineta."
The target of her call nodded though they knew she couldn't see it. "Shall I have him dealt with, ma'am?"
Before she answered, Cereza looked back down at her daughter, just in time to watch a metal device grow out of her back then rapidly extend itself forward, launching the dwarf right off of her. Her uniform ripped, but a quick glow of her quirk had the torn uniform sliced off and replaced with a fresh one. "Not yet," the matriarch decided. "I'm still deciding." Hanging up, she resumed cheering for her daughter, who ended up finishing fourteenth.
Once the last students crossed the finish line, the next event was announced: a cavalry race. And each participant's placement in the last event determined their point value in the next one. Under Cereza's watchful eye, her daughter approached the first place boy, who was worth ten million points by himself. The pair in turn recruited a pink girl with long white hair tied back in a ponytail before an excitable girl with pink dreadlocks confronted them. Once they received their headband and had their names put up on the scoreboard, she learned the names of her daughter's teammates: Izuku Midoriya, Hōko Kuwashima, and Mei Hatsume. "Well then, let's see how they do."
-]|[-
Down in the stands, Kaina cheered alongside her wife as their son took first place. Though she'd forever deny it, the violette had been almost as worried as Inko when Izuku was shot out of the sky. Sure, U.A. probably would make sure nothing they used was actually lethal, but accidents still happened. And her son was shot out of the sky! She hid it well, but Kaina could tell her other wife hadn't been happy about that either. Though, Nemuri also knew better just how dangerous the flak cannons were.
Once the event was finished, Kaina pulled out her phone and sent her second wife a quick text. [-Nemuri, what the hell were those cannons?-]
A few seconds later she got a reply. [-Don't worry. They're bean bag rounds. And we had Hawks on standby to catch anyone who didn't catch themselves.-] Almost immediately another text came, along with a chime from Inko's phone showing it'd been sent to both of them. A selfie of Nemuri blowing them a kiss came with the attached message [-Don't punish me too harshly over the next round, k?-] Looking up from her phone, Inko asked, "What do you think that means?"
A few minutes later, the duo got their answer as Nemuri announced that the winner of the last round would be worth over a hundred times more than every other entrant combined.
-]|[-
"Have you given any more thought to my proposal?"
Nana rolled her eyes from where she sat behind her desk. "Please, come on in," She stated sarcastically, "I'm doing great Mirai; this year's classes are fantastic. How are you?" She could already tell it was going to be one of those conversations again. Something that was becoming increasingly and annoyingly common.
The man in question, Mirai Sasaki aka Sir Nighteye, either didn't notice or simply didn't heed her unspoken rebuke. Standing only slightly shorter than Nana herself, he had green hair with a trio of yellow stripes and wore a plain gray suit. Sitting down in one of the chairs in front of Nana's desk, he insisted, "One for All can't be allowed to disappear, Tempest. It is too strong to not pass on. You of all people should know that. And if you pass it on now, you'll still have plenty of time to train the next Symbol of Peace."
Finally looking up from her paperwork, Nana retorted, "Yes, I do know how strong One for All is. After all, I've had it longer than you've been alive." And wasn't that a reminder of how vast the gulf of experience was between them. At 60 years old, Nana was already the top hero when Mirai was born. Staring him dead in the eye, the older hero willed her former sidekick to realize just how serious she was. "One for All is too strong to pass on. You know damn well it hit singularity nearly twenty years ago. Anyone I gave it to would be lucky to wield a fraction of its power. More likely, they'd use it for the first time and explode like a meat balloon." Heaving a sigh, she quietly said, "One for All was created to fight All for One. He's been dead for decades now. Toshi-sensei died ending him and we made damn sure the bastard stayed that way. Now, One for All is just a relic of a bygone age. One that will die with me."
-]|[-
It was their first day of class after the Sports Festival and everyone was still buzzing with energy over the whole affair. Though, when their teacher walked in, right as the bell rang like always, the students couldn't help but notice one of their number was missing. Shirakumo addressed his class boisterously as usual, "Alright everyone, I'm sure you all enjoyed your first Sports Festival! Now before we begin, we- yes Iida-kun?"
The tall boy lowered his hand from where he'd had it raised as high as possible without leaving his seat. "Sensei, it seems Mineta-san is still not present! Do you know if he is out sick?"
Their instructor's easy smile fell off his face and his expression grew serious. "Minoru Mineta is no longer a student in the Hero Course." Several of the students gasped at hearing this, though all of the girls sighed in relief, some internally and some not. Yes, teens were horny, especially teen boys, but Mineta was more sex-obsessed than the rest of the class combined and with no sense of boundaries. "He was already on thin ice for his… antics, but his actions and performance in the Sports Festival were the last straw. Mineta-kun was transferred to General Education as of this morning." Smiling once more, Shirakumo continued, "Which brings me back to my announcement! Everyone, please welcome our newest student, Hōko Kuwashima!"
Through the door walked a young woman who bore a startling resemblance to Mina. Standing even taller than Momo, she had bubblegum pink skin and long messy white hair. From under her skirt came a tail longer than she was tall. Lastly, behind a pair of rectangular glasses, her eyes had black sclera and bright red irises. Once she reached Oboro's podium, she bowed politely to the class. "My name is Hōko Kuwashima, please take care of me."
"Okay, Kuwashima-kun, you can take the empty seat between Yaoyorozu-kun and Midoriya-kun." Once she was seated, Oboro said, "Now, starting next week all of you will be going on internships with other Pro Heroes to learn under them. But before we do that, first-"
"HERO NAMES!" Midnight shouted as she kicked in the door, making everyone present jump in surprise.
"You're a little bit early," Oboro snarked, even as he tried to get his heartrate back to normal.
Blinking in surprise, Midnight quickly pleaded, "Wait, let me do it again!"
"What? No, you don't get to- get back he- and she's gone." The bearded man sighed. He'd known Nemuri for half his life and he still felt he wasn't used to her antics sometimes. "Anyway, as I was saying, first we have to address something that will stick with you for the rest of your careers." This time, he turned towards the door, the students following his example. After a few seconds of awkwardly waiting, Oboro cleared his throat and said, "THE REST OF YOUR CAREERS!"
"HERO NAMES!" Midnight once more bellowed as she kicked in the door. Rather than jump, the entire class sweatdropped at her actions. "The names you choose today could very well stick with you for the rest of your careers, so choose wisely. It's not easy to change your name once it catches on."
Passing out whiteboards, Loud Cloud explained, "Everyone, take some time to think about what kind of hero you want to be and what name encapsulates that idea. When you have an idea, come up to the podium to show the class."
"We have to show everyone these?" No one could say who spoke, but a number of them shared the sentiment.
"Of course! How can you proudly proclaim to the world that you are here if you can't even say it to your classmates?" Midnight asked.
The class was relatively quiet as everyone tried to think of a good hero name, some talking quietly to their neighbors, others contemplating in silence. After several minutes, the first student up was Kalifa. Holding up her board towards the class, she said, "I will be the Slippery Hero, Soapland."
Oboro facepalmed while Nemuri bit her knuckle to smother her giggles. "No, just… no." The blue-haired man insisted. Under his breath, he added, "That sounds like a hero from a porn movie." With a frustrated frown, the blonde returned to her seat.
Next was the ever-energetic Mina. "Alien Queen!"
"Like a xenomorph? Isn't that a bit scary?" Nemuri whined.
Mina pouted for a moment before she got an idea. Quickly rewriting her name, she presented, "The Acid Hero: Queen!"
"I love it!" Nemuri squeed, pulling a complete 180. And so it went. Names ranged from Ojiro's basic "Tailman" to Tsuyu's adorable "Froppy" to Jean's intimidating "Phoenix". Of course, there were a couple hiccups, such as Bakugo needing three tries to come up with an acceptable hero name or Tenya simply writing down his first name. Eventually, only two students were left.
The newest student stepped up to the podium before flipping her whiteboard around. "Elastic Hero: Djinn."
"Hm, that's an interesting one; I like it. Any particular reason for the name?" Midnight asked.
A smile on her face, Hōko explained, "My hero costume is based on a Djinn and I always really liked reading 1,001 Arabian Nights."
"Well, it's a lovely name!" The R-Rated Heroine congratulated.
"The Cleansing Hero, Ajax."
Oboro frowned in confusion, not understanding the reference. Raising her hand, Momo asked, "Wasn't that a character in 'The Iliad'?"
Kalifa nodded, adjusting her glasses. "Also it used to be a brand of soap."
With a shrug, Loud Cloud gave his approval. "Sure, why not."
-]|[-
"I'm glad you agreed to this, Izuku," Jean smiled warmly at the verdette. The pair were sitting at a quaint little cat café, each enjoying their drinks: black tea for Izuku and a mocha chip frappuccino for Jean (something Izuku admitted he had never heard of). While multiple cats came and went, an Egyptian Mau lounged in Jean's lap and a particularly fickle Maine Coon repeatedly moved between the two whenever it decided it wanted affection from the other.
"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to ask me out," Izuku replied with a blush across his cheeks, only to realize how his words sounded, "I mean- not like on a date! Unless it is a date!"
Chuckling at his overcorrection, the redhead said, "Of course it's a date, Izuku. And why wouldn't I ask you out?" Through his sputtering, he tried to take a sip of tea to calm himself. She paused and waited until the cup was up to his lips before continuing, "Just because I'm the sexy redhead with a whole bakery stuffed into my pants?" As she planned, Izuku spat his drink out in shock as she repeated back his thoughts on her hero costume.
"I'm sorry! That was so disrespectful of-"
His apology was cut off by the telepath's giggling. "I'm not going to hold your thoughts against you, Izuku. Especially not something I picked up on accident." Once she stopped giggling, she said, "Real talk, if I'm not focusing, sometimes my telepathy picks up stray thoughts around me. I've learned to either ignore what I 'hear' or at least not judge people based on it. Besides," here the American shuddered, "Your thoughts were way better than Minoru's."
"Oh, alright then." Despite his words, Izuku did his best to not think anything sexual, especially about his date. Of course, everyone knows that the harder you try not to think of a pink elephant, the more you will. All the verdette's efforts resulted in was both teens blushing brightly at his thoughts.
"I… don't think that one is possible… outside of hentai or a very specific quirk," Jean offered.
Their embarrassment was compounded by a new voice stating, "I was going to ask if either of you wanted anything else, but I can see you're busy. Just… don't make a mess or get caught." Both teens desperately sputtered denials as their waitress walked away, her leopard tail swinging agitatedly behind her as she checked on her other tables. Izuku buried his face in his hands, thinking he'd never be able to look anyone in the eye again. Next to him, Jean wasn't any better, wishing her quirk would let her erase the last five minutes from her mind forever.
At a distant table, two other students were enjoying their own first date. "Mou! I never really paid attention to tea brands before," Nejire pouted adorably. She wore a two-toned teal dress, the upper portion being considerably lighter than the bottom section. Pointing at one option, she asked, "Is Ba Sing Se tea good?"
Her date visibly cringed despite her best efforts. Idly tickling the chin of a Russian Blue, Momo sported a light pink turtleneck sweater and cream slacks. "I really wouldn't recommend that variety, Nejire-san. Ba Sing Se tea is little more than hot leaf juice." Normally, she wasn't one to badmouth others, but it was a truly awful tea.
Confused, Nejire asked, "Isn't all tea hot leaf juice? And please, call me Nejire-chan, Momo-chan."
Momo grasped her chest as though wounded, "How could a hero student say something so horrible?" Looking through the menu quickly, she found what she wanted. "I'll show you proper tea, Nejire-chan." As their waitress came to take their order, the young heiress requested, "We'll take two white dragon teas and a plate of daifukumochi." Once she'd jotted down their order, the waitress left, happy that at least one couple wasn't doing anything naughty. Turning towards her date, Momo stated, "Just wait, white dragon tea is almost heartbreaking in its deliciousness."
-]|[-
Shota Aizawa, or as he was known while in costume, Eraser Head, was enjoying a quiet drink in his second favorite bar. His favorite was a good place for gathering intel on various criminals, less so for meeting up with his two oldest friends (even if he refused to admit they were friends). Instead, he was here in a hero only bar, waiting for them to show up. On the plus side, the beer was actually decent quality, unlike the dive he usually frequented. 'Speak of the devil.' Hizashi and Oboro slid into the booth across from him, both in their hero costumes and looking as cheerful as ever. "Hey Shota, heard you sent an internship offer!" the loud blonde said in lieu of an actual greeting, "Must be someone special if you finally decided to take an intern after all these years!"
Oboro looked between them in confusion, apparently having been unaware of this. "Really? Why didn't anyone tell me? C'mon Shota, this I gotta hear!"
Shota sighed and set down his beer, knowing he wasn't going to get out of answering. If he ignored the question, they'd just keep pestering him all night. It was easier to simply tell them. "Hitoshi Shinso."
The other two thought for a moment before the name clicked for Hizashi, "The Gen Ed kid with the brainwashing quirk? Got decked by Tokoyami's quirk in the third round?"
"That's the one," Aizawa agreed, taking another sip, "He has an ideal quirk for heroics but the Entrance Exam is too biased towards flashy and destructive quirks. If not for that, he'd already be a hero student."
At this, Oboro had to cut in, "No, he wouldn't. I remember that kid complaining about the exam so I went back and looked up his attempt. You know what he did?" The question was obviously rhetorical as the blue-haired man didn't give him a chance to answer before continuing, "He took one look at the robots, gave what looked like a single attempt to use his quirk, then gave up. Just found an alley and did nothing for the rest of the exam! Once his quirk was useless, he just gave up."
"Are you saying the exam isn't biased?" Aizawa countered, unwilling to give ground. Next to Oboro, Hizashi facepalmed and signaled the waitress for another round. This was neither a new argument between his best friends nor one he wanted to deal with sober. Neither would admit it but in the end, Hizashi knew it really just came down to the fact that neither of them had offensive quirks but only Shota had needed to use the Sports Festival to enter the Hero Course.
"Of course there's bias! But your boy didn't even try! Even his loss against Tokoyami wasn't caused by a bad quirk matchup but because he fought someone where his quirk couldn't hand him an instant win!" And now the Cloud Hero was really getting into things. "One of my students is invisible! She didn't have any flashy or destructive quirk yet she still passed the exam just fine! Hell, she didn't even have the lowest score of those who did pass! You of all people should know people are more than just their quirks!"
-]|[-
It was a somber 1-A that returned to class after their internships. They'd all heard the news, a grim reminder of just how dangerous their chosen careers were. Of the twenty students, only nineteen returned from their internships. On the twentieth's desk were multiple bouquets of red spider lilies and a framed portrait. Even Oboro-sensei wasn't smiling as he stood behind the podium. Once the bell rang and they'd all sat down, the blue-haired man spoke, his voice impressively steady, "Welcome back everyone. As I'm sure you're all aware, we… lost someone during their internship. The investigation is still officially ongoing but, we do know that Tenya Iida… was a victim of the Hero Killer, Stain." He paused as a couple of students quietly sobbed. "It is, unfortunately, a fate that befalls many a hero in the line of duty. In light of this, should any of you wish to leave the course, please see myself or the principal and we will arrange your transfer. Furthermore, all of you will be attending a mandatory therapy session with Hound Dog, with potential follow-ups if he feels necessary. However, even if he doesn't think it necessary, just know that his door, and mine, and every other teacher's, is always open to you."
-]|[-
"First time being interviewed?" Izuku jumped in his seat at the unexpected voice. He'd been so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed the woman standing behind despite facing a mirror. Behind the makeup chair he was sitting in was the famous Ms. Curious aka Chitose Kizuki. The reporter sported a shoulderless navy blue dress and a reassuring smile.
"Um, yes actually. How'd you know?" Izuku asked curiously.
Moving around him, Chitose looked through the available makeup. "A number of things. The first is you're clearly suffering from some minor stage fright. While that happens to some people no matter how many times they're in front of a camera, you're also confused about being sat for makeup. Am I right?"
"Well, yeah. I didn't think guys usually wore makeup on television?"
Finally finding what she was looking for, Chitose grabbed a brush and a particular powdered foundation. "Close your eyes while I put this on." Seeing no reason not to trust the woman, Izuku did as she asked. The reporter carefully and skillfully applied a light touch of foundation to the teen's face as she explained, "You might think that, but pretty much everyone who goes in front of a camera wears at least a little makeup. Foundation to smooth out skin tone, mascara or eyeliner to make their eyes stand out, blush to add color to their cheeks. What and how much varies, but the makeup is pretty much universal. The only real exceptions are field interviews." Pulling back to check her handiwork, she nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, you can open your eyes now. Freckles tend to be covered up but yours really add to your charm." Izuku blushed at the compliment, which only made Chitose giggle. "See? Don't worry, you'll do great."
But Izuku wasn't so sure. "But what if I make a fool of myself on live television?"
That made the violette blink in confusion before she realized something. "Well, if you mess up, we'll just do another take. Did no one tell you this wasn't a live interview?"
"It isn't?"
"No, we'll be pre-recording this and airing it tonight." A smile back on her face, Chitose leaned forward and ruffled his hair. "Oh, this is really fluffy. What product do you use?"
Blushing hard enough to be blatantly visible through his foundation, Izuku tried to answer while also not looking down her dress. "I uh- don't know the brand. I just use whatever brand of shampoo my mom buys. My hair's always like this."
"Well that's just not fair," she pouted. "I know a lot of women who pay good money to have hair this nice." Shaking her head, Chitose got back on track. "Anyway, this will be a basic interview about how you helped take down the Shie Hassaikai. My advice to you is to be friendly and confident. You're not being grilled by the police; you're chatting with friends. That attitude always does well with audiences."
Curious, Izuku answered, "But what about the other heroes who were there or Phoenix? I wasn't that important to the raid, was I?"
Ah, the selfless humble type. Very popular with viewers so long as they didn't undersell themselves too much. After a while, humility became deprecation. "Some of them will also be doing interviews, particularly Sir Nighteye as the leader of the raid. Yourself and Phoenix are getting so much focus due to both your youth and that the two of you supposedly are the ones who took down the leader." Sweeping a hand through the air, she said, "You two are rising stars among the heroes of tomorrow, taking down dangerous villains while still students."
Just then, a crew member poked his head in, "We're ready in 10, Ms. Curious." Without giving her time to reply, he stepped back out again.
With a smile, Chitose offered Izuku her hand, "Come on, it's time to declare to the world that you are here." At hearing those words, Izuku's doubts were temporarily forgotten as he allowed Chitose to pull him from his seat and towards the studio.
-]|[-
While watching the interview on tv, Chitose reflected on the young hero she'd spoken with. Izuku Midoriya, aka Sentinel, was a fine young man. And the story he was part of was the perfect feel-good story, especially after the recent mess with Straight Cougar being under review for using lethal force against the Hero Killer, Stain. And boy wasn't that situation a mess? Disregarding the naïve few who were outraged by a Pro Hero killing anyone for any reason, people were largely split into two camps. On one side, there were those who felt killing Stain wasn't wrong, but ambushing him with lethal force was. On the other were those who insisted the serial killer had already murdered dozens of heroes and had recently killed a student. Therefore, Straight Cougar's actions were completely justified. Hopefully, Sentinel's and Phoenix's actions would take the public's minds off that mess. After all, defeating the evil yakuza and saving a sweet little girl (she'd seen photos and the albino unicorn was just precious) was the epitome of heroism in the public's mind. That the pair who took down the leader were so photogenic just made everything better.
And she'd definitely noticed Midoriya checking out her cleavage in the dressing room. It was always nice to know she could still turn heads in her thirties. Chitose smirked at the memory. Hopefully, she'd get to interview him again. Her instincts told her he'd be making waves for a long time to come.
-]|[-
Momo was glad that her mother was spending more time with her lately. They had breakfast together every day, even if her mother had to interrupt a meeting to do so, and the older woman did her best to keep up with her daughter's social and scholastic life. Not to mention simple chats from time to time. Admittedly, Momo herself was exceedingly busy dealing with training, studying, tutoring classmates, and making time for her girlfriend. But at the very least, breakfast was their time. "Your classmates have been around quite a bit lately. Have you been making friends with them?" Cereza asked her daughter as she spread peach jam on a croissant.
Unlike her mother, who usually ate rather light meals, Momo had enough food in front of her to feed an entire family. Though it used to embarrass her to eat so much, her mother insisted that her late father used to eat similarly, both of them requiring roughly five times as many calories in a given day to fuel their quirks. Looking up from her four plates of food, Momo carefully finishes her bite before answering, "Yes! It's been wonderful having them around! Especially with finals over with, so we can focus more on spending time together as friends. I enjoy helping them study but we all prefer using the home theater to watch movies or singing karaoke." Her already bubbly smile got a little brighter as she remembered, "Oh! And Midoriya-kun has been a lot of help with his quirk analysis!"
"How so?" Her mother asked curiously, wanting to hear what Momo had apparently learned about her quirk.
"Well, he noted that my creations sometimes have properties that aren't physical, like my tasers always being fully charged or when I made a drone that was already programmed." That caught Cereza's interest. She'd known her daughter could do such things but she'd never really given it any real thought. As she spoke, Momo held up her index finger, "So, due to some suggestions he made, I can now do things like this." The rainbow light of Creation shined from her finger and an object launched into the air. As it came back down, Momo caught it and held open her hand, revealing a simple glass marble.
"I… what exactly did you just do, darling?" Yes, she'd seen her daughter create and launch a marble, but the significance of the act eluded her.
"I Created something that already had a velocity attached to it." Cereza's eyes widened at her words. "Midoriya-kun's mother has offered me lessons in shooting and proper firearm safety when she heard what I could do."
"Really? So you can use your Quirk as a sort of gun? That's amazing. Is Midoriya's mother a soldier or firearm instructor of some sort?"
"No, well yes, but before she retired, she was the Pro Hero Lady Nagant." That wasn't a name Cereza recognized and her confusion must have shown because her daughter explained further, "Lady Nagant has a quirk that turns her arm into a rifle. According to Snipe-sensei, she can hit any target within three kilometers with just pure skill, unlike his Homing quirk."
"My, it seems your classmate is full of surprises. And he figured out how your quirk works so easily?"
Momo blushed slightly as she glanced away. "Not exactly. He had a lot of ideas but many of them just didn't work for one reason or other. This was one of his simpler ones. Still, thanks to Midoriya-kun, I've become much more versatile than before!"
Smiling at her daughter's happiness, Cereza replies, "Well, it certainly sounds like he's helped you a great deal. I would very much like to meet him some time."
-]|[-
As he waited, Izuku fought the urge to fidget with his tie. His mom (Nemuri) had tied it for him and he knew he wouldn't be able to fix it if it got messed up. Normally, he wouldn't dress up so much to meet a classmate's parents. Sure, it was best to make a good impression, but simply not wearing his joke shirts would be good enough. On the other hand, Cereza Yaoyorozu wasn't just his classmate's parent; she was also the head of the largest tech conglomerate in the nation. If it ran on electricity, odds are the company that made it belonged to Yaoyorozu International. Just the house he'd been chauffeured to showed the family's wealth; Izuku was fairly certain the land Momo's house sat on was almost the size of his neighborhood.
A moment later the door near him opened, a familiar woman exiting as she called over her shoulder, "Not to worry, Yaoyorozu-sama. I'll have it ready by the end of tomorrow." Turning back, the lilac-haired woman exclaimed, "Oh, Midoriya-kun! I didn't expect to see you here!"
Izuku blinked in surprise, "Kizuki-san, you work for Yaoyorozu-sama?"
Chuckling, she replied, "Sort of. I'm her preferred media contact for some reason. So when she wants to make a big announcement, she has it sent to me. I was actually just finishing up an interview for an article she wants written."
"Oh? Is Midoriya-kun here?" A voice came behind Chitose. The reporter jumped a little as she turned around and suddenly Izuku understood why the doors were so tall. A woman who could only be Momo's mother stood in the doorway, positively towering over both Chitose and Izuku. Wearing a black business suit, the ravenette was so tall that Izuku found himself roughly eye level with her breasts. Looking down at him, she gave a welcoming smile, "Ah, it's nice to meet you, Midoriya-kun. I do hope I haven't kept you waiting."
"N-no, not at all, ma'am." From the sidelines, Chitose found herself smirking. 'Poor boy. She looks like she's gonna eat him alive.'
"Well, do come in then. I want to learn more about the boy who's helped my little girl so much." Turning to the younger woman, Cereza said, "Just email it to the usual account, dear." Just before the door closed and cut out all sound, Chitose heard, "Now, my daughter says you're quite the analyst-"
-]|[-
At the Yaoyorozu manor once more, Izuku still had trouble understanding how he'd gotten to this point. His first meeting with Cereza had certainly gone well. Very well, actually. But he was still surprised to receive an invitation to a pool party, especially since it came specifically from Cereza rather than Momo (who'd have invited the entire class). Instead it was just him, Jean, and Chitose who had come. Granted, he was still enjoying himself. But it was odd nonetheless.
"Izuku, darling, would you mind putting some lotion on my back? I'm afraid I can't reach," Cereza's voice was like the call of a siren, leading countless men to their watery graves. That the woman in question was lounging on a patio lounge chair in a bathing suit only further sold the image. When she'd first come outside in her white one piece, Izuku had almost thought it a normal, if somewhat conservative, swimsuit. Then she'd turned around and revealed that, for all it covered everything in the front, it covered nothing in the back. The back of her swimsuit was just a couple of thin shoulder straps and a thong, leaving everything on display. Frankly, Izuku found himself wishing he'd worn something thicker than a speedo. Like a full suit of armor. At least then, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone spotting the tent he was pitching. 'Why did I agree to wear a speedo again?' He wondered. Then he spotted Jean wearing her promised swimsuit: a sling bikini the same shade of green as his speedo. 'Oh right. Tit-for-tat she'd called it.' Of course, he had no way of knowing that all three women present had absolutely spotted his erection and that it was half the reason his classmate's mother had asked for his assistance. She couldn't resist teasing the little cutie.
"Uh, o-of course Yaoyorozu-san," Izuku stammered. As he walked over to Cereza, Chitose, sporting a low-riding black bikini, flipped into a perfect dive off the pool's diving board. With how opulent and massive most of the rooms in the mansion were, she was rather surprised the Yaoyorozu home didn't have an Olympic sized swimming pool (they did, but that one was strictly for large gatherings or exercise, not relaxing like their family only pool).
"Oh please, call me Cereza~" The older woman teased. Passing Izuku the suntan lotion, she requested, "Do make sure to get all of me. It'd be a shame to get sunburned." As she spoke, she stretched out her incredibly long legs and wriggled her hips a little, deliberately drawing Izuku's eyes to her backside. Izuku squirted some lotion out onto his palms, more than he'd intended honestly, and rubbed his hands together before getting to work. Deciding to start from the top, he worked the towering woman's shoulders first. It only took a moment for him to notice the knots in her muscles. Pressing down firmly, the verdette teen carefully worked each one he found as he spread the lotion across her back. "Ungh, that's good, Izuku," Cereza groaned. Izuku had to bite back a groan of his own. He swore, this woman could make reading a shopping list sound sexual. Down her back he worked, taking care to massage out any tension he found along the way. Once he reached her backside, Izuku switched down to her feet. Applying more lotion to his hands, he once again carefully worked her muscles as he moved up the ravenette's legs.
Finishing Cereza's legs, Izuku once again found himself staring at her colossal booty and hesitating. Sure, she'd said to get all of her, but she couldn't have possibly meant all, right? When he hesitated too long, the woman took things into her own hands. Reaching back, she grabbed her pillowy cheeks and spread them, showing off the tiny string that barely covered her holes. "What are you waiting for, darling? I did say to cover all of me."
With a quiet gulp, the boy responded, "R-right." Confident he was going to follow through, Cereza released her backside, letting her cheeks clap together and smirking at the expression she was sure the cutie was sporting as her ass jiggled before his eyes. Applying some more lotion one more time, Izuku took hold of the booty in front of him. While he'd intended to simply spread the lotion, the feeling of the butt overflowing his hands caused him to simply stop and enjoy the moment. Unconsciously, he found himself wondering: if her butt felt this amazing in his hands, what would it feel like around his-
A loud splash cut off Izuku's thoughts as Chitose hauled herself out of the pool. "Wow, I'm so glad you invited us here, Cereza-san," The woman happily called. "Today is a scorcher. Hm? What's wrong Izuku-kun?" But Izuku didn't hear her. Instead his eyes were round as plates as they locked onto her lower body, his face so red that steam was erupting from his ears.
Swimming over, Jean held up a black piece of fabric. "I think you lost something, Chitose." In her hand was the older woman's bikini bottom. Looking down, the reporter saw her neatly trimmed bush on full display. But before she could apologize, Izuku's speedo finally gave up and allowed his straining erection to slip free.
As all three women stared, Cereza chuckled throatily, "Well now~ I was going to offer you three the guest house, but I think perhaps it would be better if you all slept in my bed tonight."
-]|[-
"So you see, Yaoyorozu-san, it's not that we disapprove of you dating our son, it's just…" Inko Midoriya trailed off as she tried to find a way to express her discomfort without offending one of her son's girlfriends.
Luckily, her wives were always there to the rescue. "Your daughter is only a few months younger than your boyfriend is," Nemuri cut in. "I know it's legal but that still paints a rather unusual picture. It's a rather large age gap after all."
Sitting in an armchair, Cereza showed no signs of being upset. It was understandable after all. She'd certainly be curious if a man in his 40s was sniffing around her daughter. And by curious, she meant that she'd have his entire life history on her desk before the day was out. That Izuku's parents were willing to talk to her before jumping to conclusions was rather refreshing. "I understand perfectly, darlings. A rich older woman seemingly trying to make your son her boytoy? There'd only be more red flags if I had a dozen husbands who all died under mysterious circumstances." After a moment to realize that joke might not go over well, she clarified, "I've only had one husband by the way. And he died of Type 3 Diabetes. But I assure you, my intentions towards Izuku are completely benign." A wistful smile appeared on her face as she spoke, "He's so innocent but he has this intensity to him. He reminds me of a bear. One moment, he's just so adorable that you want to hug him forever. Then he becomes all intense and you think there's nothing in the world that can stop him. Ah, if he were a few years older, I'd have asked him to marry me already."
That caused the other women to sputter in shock. They hadn't realized Cereza's feelings for him were so intense. Given the woman was a couple years older than Inko, herself the oldest one of their threeway marriage, they had thought the woman might be having a midlife crisis and was trying to "recapture her youth" with a young boytoy. And of course, in an age-old tradition shared by mothers everywhere, this made them realize: Grandbabies. In fact, if Izuku married Cereza, technically Cereza's daughter would be their granddaughter. Clearing her throat, Inko spoke up, "Well, I'm glad to hear you're not just stringing Izuku along."
Nodding, Kaina added, "Which means I don't have to disappear you." No one present doubted her seriousness. She wouldn't let anything threaten the family she'd found.
"Though we do still need to speak to that Curious woman," Inko said. They weren't worried about Izuku's classmate. The worst anyone could say about her was she was a little rude due to being foreign, and that kind of xenophobia was old when quirks were new.
-]|[-
The Christmas party was in full swing at the Yaoyorozu mansion, with most of the second year hero course students present along with their families. Despite not being related, Mina and Hōko pretended they were twin sisters as they flitted about. Speaking of which, Mina and Hōko were currently using the latter's elastic tail as a jump rope for little Eri, the albino girl giggling happily as she skipped over the appendage. Even Katsuki was acting relatively well behaved. A few had (not very) subtly checked the drinks for alcohol upon seeing this. Even after a year and a half at U.A., the blonde was still abrasive at best.
Spotting her target, Momo briefly excused herself from her discussion with Nejire's parents. "Pardon me, I'm afraid there's something I have to take care of immediately." Quickly moving, the ravenette found her quarry just as his mothers left to mingle. Tapping him on the shoulder, she waited for him to turn around before she spoke. "Izuku, there's something I feel that I should tell you," Momo began. Taking a breath and steeling herself, the taller girl said, "I respect you as a hero and care for you as a friend and classmate. However… I will not be calling you daddy, even if you do marry my mother." There, she'd said it. For his part, Izuku's face turned a vibrant red at his classmate's words.
"Don't worry, Momo. I'll be doing that enough for both of us~" Cereza purred as she draped herself over her fiancé from behind. Izuku's face heated up to the point steam blew out of his ears and nostrils at the older woman's words. Worse, she wasn't just teasing her daughter. Oh, she definitely was teasing Momo, but she had called him daddy before. More than once. Her own face a bright crimson, Momo decided discretion was the better part of valor and quickly fled back to her girlfriend. Chuckling to herself, Cereza watched her daughter all but run away before she turned back to her fiancé, "After the party, do come up to my room. I've got a very special present to give you tonight~"
-]|[-
Bonus for Underdressed and Overpowered. Round 2, Fight!
Gigantomachia was on the move and it looked like no one could stop him. Pro Heroes such as Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods had fought to contain him, only to be tossed aside, if not outright ignored in some cases. The colossus strode forward with purpose towards his master, ferrying members of the PLF as he was ordered. On his back, Dabi, Himiko, Skeptic, Spinner, and Compress held on as best they could and watched in awe at the destruction their ally was capable of when he barely even tried.
Suddenly another hero landed before them with a mighty crash. The still gigantic Mt. Lady glared up at Gigantomachia with one eye, the other kept shut due to a bleeding head wound. "Where're you going, bastard?" She snarled. With both hands, the heroine gripped her costume and pulled, ripping the entire ensemble apart and leaving her clad in just her mask and a single purple pasty covering her crotch. "I didn't hear no fucking bell!"
While certainly impressed by a pair of tits bigger than he was, Dabi didn't think much of the heroine's intelligence. "Really?" He drawled, "What, does she plan on trying to seduce Gigantomachia? Doubt the bastard even has a sex drive." Indeed, the titanic villain didn't even seem to particularly register that there was another obstacle blocking his path. He merely raised his arm and swatted her aside. Or he would have… if she didn't stop his arm cold with a single hand. With a hard tug on his arm, Mt. Lady pulled him down to her level and smashed her forehead into his nose, breaking it instantly. From atop the giant villain's back, Dabi lashed out, shooting a stream of blue fire at the hero. To the shock of all villains present, all he succeeded in doing was burning her mask.
"You stay out of this!" With a wave of her hand, she sent all five of them flying just from the shockwave. While she was distracted, Gigantomachia punched her in the face with his free hand, seeking to free himself so he could go to his master. Instead, his fist merely turned the blonde's head sideways. "You'll have to do better than that!" The heroine hooked her foot behind his leg and pulled the villain to the ground. Once he was flat on the ground, she straddled his waist and socked him right in the jaw. The giant's head rocked to the side and a thunderous crack filled the air as his durability quirk failed to protect him and his jaw broke. Gigantomachia's fingers grew long bony claws as he swung his arms to gut the heroine like a fish, but again his attack was caught. With a flex of her arms and a twist of her wrists the villain found his own wrists broken. But he refused to give up. He had to reach the master!
"Just! Stay! Down! Already!" Each word was punctuated by another punch to the villain's face as Mt. Lady rained blows down upon him. Nothing Gigantomachia could do halted her assault as she beat him senseless.
Seeing what was undoubtedly their strongest member get outright manhandled dealt a crippling blow to the PLF's morale, taking the fight out of many. The fight left many more as a violet gas flooded the area, causing countless villains to lose consciousness where they stood. Those who avoided the initial cloud tried to attack the apparent source, only to find nothing there. "What're you boys looking at, I wonder?" A sensual voice asked. Whirling around, they found Midnight standing in their midst, her body exactly as bare as Mt. Lady's, though her pasty was shaped like a flower of some sort. In her right hand was one of her signature feather fans while her left held the unconscious body of a masked PLF member. The villains barely had time to react before she moved. Combatants were taken out left and right in a flurry of blows, even as her body continuously released her sleep-inducing gas.
The end result was a crushing defeat for the PLF at their main headquarters. They wouldn't learn until later that without Gigantomachia's interference, their leader, Shigaraki, was also taken in. When All For One finally took over his new body, it was to find it in even worse circumstances than his old one: imprisoned and with crude prosthetic hands replacing his real ones. To his fury, his plan succeeded but his victory was completely meaningless.
-]|[-
Minor Future Omake for "The Emerald Phoenix" by Primordial Vortex
With his masters dead, Gigantomachia was on a devastating rampage, lashing out at everyone and everything within reach. As far as he was concerned, his very reason for being had been taken from him, but he would carry out his final order no matter what it cost him: Stop the heroes. Though he didn't know the precise details of what All For One wanted him to do, killing every hero he could find seemed like a good place to start. And with All Might's retirement and Endeavor's injuries, it seemed he would succeed. No one else had the raw power to stop the behemoth and his sheer size made more specialized quirks like Midnight's ineffective.
Two near exhausted hero students watched his rampage before addressing each other. "You're sure this will work, Eon-kun?" Taller than her partner, Momo's redesigned costume was less sexualized than before, though still showing plenty of skin. Perhaps the most important difference was her wrist-mounted computer that replaced the bookshelf she'd previously kept on her spine. Looking back, she was embarrassed that she'd requested something almost guaranteed to break her spine if she fell wrong.
"Sure? No. But I think it's our best bet, Izanami-chan," Izuku replied. His own costume was largely unchanged from his original, at least visually. Between Momo and Mei, all of the Hero Course students' costumes were made out of a strong yet lightweight material, the construction of which he could barely understand.
Regardless of his uncertainty, Izanami took his hand firmly in her own. "Then we had best get started, right? Yui-chan is going to be so jealous." She teased. In an instant, the pair disappeared, teleporting in front of the titanic villain. Just as Gigantomachia noticed them, Eon was engulfed in the azure flames of his quirk while One for All's crimson lightning enshrouded Izanami. The two quirks created a fearsome aura around the pair. Their minds psychically linked together, they moved as one, recreating a centuries old scene from a certain series. "These hands of ours are burning red!" The duo roared together. Gigantomachia began charging towards the new duet, seeking to kill the two who killed one of his masters. Raising her right hand, Momo declared, "Their loud cry tells us-"
Immediately, Izuku finished her sentence, his own left hand raised, "To grasp happiness!" As one, he and his fiancé shouted, "Erupting! Burning! Finger!" Their bodies moved, posing as though they were preparing to fire a ki blast out of Dragon Ball before their hands overlapped and pressed forward, the brilliant radiant light of their quirks focusing on their palms. With a rainbow shine, Momo's original quirk activated, fueled by Phoenix Force and One for All. "Sekiha Love Love Tenkyoken!" From the rainbow-colored light of Creation, a new figure emerged. Nana Shimura, the last wielder of One for All to fall by All For One's hand, appeared surrounded by violet light. Over twice as tall as she was in real life, the heroine rocketed forward at incredible speeds, colliding fist first with the towering Gigantomachia. The impact was obscured by an explosion of light, but when it cleared, Gigantomachia stood motionless. Taking up most of his rib cage was a giant heart-shaped hole.
-]|[-
AN: In large part, this was spawned by two of Panda Redd's recent videos talking about Superboy and his tactile telekinesis. Naturally, I had to include the best joke from those videos. And Panda Redd is right in that tactile telekinesis is broken as fuck when applied right. It just also sounds incredibly stupid when you say it out loud. Inspiration comes from a number of other sources too, such as Primordial Vortex's "Quantity of Quirks". Oh and spite. Because I'm genuinely sick of stories that act like Aizawa isn't one of the worst teachers in shonen or that Shinso, a one trick pony who had literally nothing to fall back on, somehow "deserves" to be in the Hero Course. That Aizawa has canonically spent more time training Shinso than the entirety of his class combined just makes it worse for me. Anywho, Nana is the eighth holder while Toshinori was the seventh. Toshinori managed a mutual kill on AfO before Nana's career even truly started. And no, he's not secretly still alive. After their battle, AFO's body was burned to ashes on the spot. Some of the results include: Garaki didn't have a sponsor and Oboro never died, Toya wasn't rescued and actually did die, Aoyama is still Quirkless, and the current holder of OfA isn't desperate for a successor as she never received a career ending injury; she's just getting old. And much like Primordial Vortex, the rapid aging aspect of OfA on people with quirks is being ignored harder than that girl who just wants senpai to notice her.
Katsuki still got first place despite Izuku not floundering like a dumbass because he's less of a total cunt than canon and actually got some rescue points during the exam. Why did Iida die? Because Izuku wasn't there to save his ass. Wasn't planned until I got there and went "Oh. Well, shit."
Anyway, yes Nana has what's functionally Conqueror's Haki as one of her quirks, though it's only the basic form (imposing your will on others) as any of the more advanced forms are hilariously broken for MHA, never mind as one of the first generations of quirk users.
For Momo's visor, picture Tagoma's Scouter from Dragon Ball Super, just clear rather than blue. Her mother is indeed a sort of MHA-ified version of Bayonetta. Cereza's quirk allows her to alter the properties of her hair, which stays even after it's no longer attached to her, though she can't alter it further afterwards. For Momo's suit, she made most of her hair as incredibly durable yet comfortable as she could, then had it cut off and used in her daughter's costume.
For anything that "Isn't accurate to how Japan is today", just take it as the fact that over 120 years and the emergence of superpowers have caused some changes in cultures around the world.
That second to last scene is canon to "Underdressed and Overpowered". I got inspiration to write it on the drive home one day. For the five on Gigantomachia's back? Well, in the real world, falling 25 meters unprepared would be quite fatal. Since this is MHA where "peak human" is far higher than the real world, they merely got several broken bones and internal hemorrhaging that they may or may not have survived long enough to receive medical aid for. You can choose for yourself whether they got arrested or simply died before they could be taken to a hospital. The actual last scene is just something random I thought of for EP ages ago and decided "I'm not gonna wait for him to write it! I'll write it myself!"
