I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters.
Practice
Lee grimaced as Midoriya went about his own practice interview. Mt. Lady was teaching them how to handle media interviews, thanks to Bakugo and Todoroki doing an interview after stopping the group of villains after they got their licenses, but Bakugo had been so volatile and hostile that he'd been cut entirely, and Todoroki came off as indifferent. Todoroki had done better with Mt. Lady, but Bakugo hadn't. And Midoriya was so nervous, even for a practice interview, that he was almost as stiff as Kirishima was when he used his Quirk. Then, when asked about his attacks' similarity to All Might's, he began to ramble about it. Then, when Midnight brought up his new power, Midoriya tried to use a controlled version, succeeding in activating it without hurting anyone, but only because all he got was a tiny wisp of energy that barely reached a few feet before evaporating. Everyone grimaced at how proud he was of what seemed like a failure. Finally, it was Lee's turn. He sighed, deploying his exosuit without the helmet and walking up on stage to where Mt. Lady was waiting.
"Mach, you were amazing!" Mt. Lady began, acting as though he'd just completed a random incident. "For being so young, you have so much more potential than any of your peers!"
"Not at all," Lee said honestly, shaking his head. "Everyone has different aspects that they excel at, and in an area where I don't specialize, my potential is essentially zero. For example, I can't move quietly without extreme effort, thanks to having to wear my metal boots, and when I use the electricity my Quirk generates, it's impossible, because the electricity is extremely loud. For stealth missions, I'm about the worst option, unlike my friend Invisible Girl. For stealth, there's no one better. Alternatively, if the situation requires things not immediately on hand, Creati has me beat, since I'd have to make do with what I can find as a stand-in, like a homemade stretcher in place of an actual one. In matters of durability, my exosuit helps, but I myself am actually rather fragile, so while I can take a beating, it's only because of my equipment. Meanwhile, Red Riot's Quirk makes him extremely durable, and with more training could potentially even surpass my exosuit. And of matters of brute force, Shoto's flames, Bakugo's explosions, and Deku's Quirk all have the potential to surpass whatever force I can generate using my speed, once they each train to improve their quirks. The only area that my Quirk truly shines is in speed, especially over vast distances. Tell me to break down a wall and I can manage it, but it'll be messy. Tell me to deliver a cheeseburger across Japan and have it still be warm, and I'm your man."
Mt. Lady laughed. "You're so humble! But, seriously, you have the fastest Quirk on record! That's got to give you an edge!"
"Actually, my Quirk is more of a handicap than it is a power," Lee said. "As I said, my durability is from my suit only. Without it and my boots, the friction of my feet on the ground would take the skin off of my feet, and if I hit anything at that speed, my body won't withstand it. If I hit a fly, for example, whereas with a normal person it would bounce off, or it would splatter against a car, my body would be moving so fast that when I hit it, my body would go around it, essentially making it hit me with the force of a bullet. If I punched a wall, every bone in my arm would shatter. Without my equipment, I really couldn't activate my quirk at all. And my gear actually isn't mine either. It's made for my by Creati."
"I see," Mt. Lady nodded. "Well, you showed off some impressive moves with it. Are there any special tricks you use to stand out?"
"A few, yeah," Lee nodded. "One of them is pretty simple. If I can make contact with a villain, for example, I can use my electricity to stun them. And if the villain is tougher, like that one that Endeavor fought a little while ago, or the one who All Might fought, not that I could have lasted a second against that one in particular, but if they're tougher and I don't need to hold back as much, I can run around them and punch them as I pass, bouncing them around sort of like a game of pinball, and then if I'm in an enclosed space with enough room, like a n auditorium or gymnasium, I can add the walls and even the ceiling to areas I can send them, provided I can get enough speed. I can also channel my electricity into something like a bolt of lightning, but that one's especially tiring."
"That's awesome!" Mt. Lady said. "Well, thank you so much for your time, and I hope to see a lot more of your skills in the future!" She lowered the microphone and grinned. "You were great! You're a natural at interviews!"
"Thanks," Lee smiled. "My sister and I used to practice when we wanted to be heroes growing up."
"Awe!" Mt. Lady smiled. "Where is she now?"
Lee's smile fell a little. "She died, and she made me promise to become a pro for her."
"I'm sorry," Mt. Lady said.
"It's alright," Lee said. "I've had my time to grieve, so I'm alright now."
Mt. Lady nodded. After a few more rounds for everyone, including Lee following Mt. Lady's advice to work his sister being his motivation into his introductory interview, without making it depressing, they all headed back inside. A few days later, good news came. Work Studies were resuming. And the day after, it was Christmas. With Toru's permission, Lee allowed all of the girls to use the glasses he'd made to see what Toru looked like, though they didn't allow any of the guys to see, since Toru was too shy. The three of them sat together, all of them confirming the others' guess that their Work Studies would be under Rumi, at Rumi's personal invitation, though they didn't mention that it was only because Rumi had been sleeping with Mae. Other than that, they mostly spent their time enjoying the snacks and the festive spirit, though Mina did eventually split off to help Kirishima and Kaminari try to dress Bakugo up in a Santa coat and hat against his will, stopping by only to kiss Lee, Momo, and Toru from time to time. Toru and Momo still both blushed every time Mina kissed them, or any time Toru snuck a kiss with Momo when no one was looking, but neither of them objected, and besides Mineta and Kaminari, no one really paid them any mind, though Mineta had managed to get several pictures of Mina and Momo kissing from different angles, which they'd decided to allow him to keep one of as a Christmas present. And eventually, Eri arrived with Aizawa, Eri dressed up in a red Santa coat and hat.
"I'm supposed to say...trick or treat?" Eri asked, looking to Aizawa.
"Not quite," Aizawa said. "Wrong holiday."
"Eri Clause!" The whole class except Lee cheered.
Lee looked to Aizawa instead, Aizawa nodding. Earlier, when the Work Studies had been announced, he, Aizawa, All Might, and Principal Nezu had discussed the likelihood of an attack by Instant or his team, and as such, they'd agreed that the entire roster would be spread around to every Pro Hero agency and every member of every Hero school's staff and student body, regardless of their course. It would probably cause a panic, but everyone needed to be warned of the potential threat, especially of Instant, and especially the threat to UA and Lee's classmates.
"In sickness and in health," Eri said, throwing handfuls of glitter.
"No, you're even further away now," Aizawa said, returning his attention to Eri.
"Will Togata be joining us?" Kirishima asked. "That guy's a riot!"
"Unfortunately, no," Aizawa said. "He'll be celebrating with his own class today. Go on. Enjoy yourself."
Eri nodded and walked over to Uraraka, passing her a couple of Easter Eggs. "Take these eggs I painted."
"That's Easter, but thank you anyway," Uraraka smiled.
With Eri there to lighten the already happy mood even more, the party really kicked off. Jiro began to sing and play guitar for everyone, Eri tried all of the sweets, and eventually everyone brought out gifts to exchange. Mineta ended up with a photo of Aoyama, Bakugo got a marker, it looked like, Ida got three gold bricks, Sero got a frog-framed mirror, Mina got dumbbells, Jiro got a sweatshirt with a tribal design, Kaminari got a basketball, Deku got Mochi, Uraraka got an All Might keychain, and Eri somehow ended up with a massive, blocky sword from Tokoyami, which was shaped a little like Dark Shadow. Lee had given each of his girlfriends' matching necklaces, the entirely-diamond pendants of which all connected together, and to the one he put on a bracelet for himself, to form a heart with the edges as puzzle-pieces. He also gave Momo and Mina a set of contact lenses that would never wear out that would allow them to see Toru, and gave all three earpieces that would allow them to talk to Lee and Legacy both through his own neural implant, so long as he wasn't actively using it to augment his perception. Each girl had given Lee a part of their own gift to him, each part different but obviously coordinated to fit together as perfectly as their necklaces and his bracelet. Momo had given him a chronograph watch made of the same metal as his boots and exoskeleton had been, the watch opening under the face into a wrist-worn locket. Mina had given him a small picture of the three of them, which she'd had Legacy meticulously ensure his neural implant, and now their contacts, would allow them, and only them, to see Toru in. Toru had given him a strap made the same way as his previous exosuit to replace the leather one with, as the leather one wouldn't stand up to his Quirk. He smiled, kissing them all once he'd assembled the watch and placed the picture in it, thanking Legacy for her contribution of ensuring Toru was actually in the picture. Then, after a couple more hours of celebrating, everyone went back to their rooms, Lee, Mina, and Toru all following Momo to hers for a private celebration among the three of them.
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