Hello, Heroes. Rio is back again with the next installment of Domestic Heroes. First off, I want to say thanks for the kind words given to me by those here, in Ao3, and the guys over at the IzuOcha discord. They really helped boost my confidence a little and made me even more motivated to get this work completed for you all. We are beginning the final half of this challenge starting now, and I am quite looking forward to what you guys will think of the rest of what I've got. Hopefully what I've written will be an enjoyable enough read for you all. With that said, enjoy the story, everyone, and I will see you in the author's note.
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction in dedication to a much grander work. As such, the author does not own the rights to any characters within this story, and any correlation between any original characters that may appear and people in the real world are merely coincidental.
My Hero Academia: Domestic Heroes
From Super Heroes to Phantom Thieves
"…You know, when I agreed to take on this undercover patrol mission, I didn't think it'd end up like this."
"Neither did I. At least we've finally get to experience one of these things. Never really got a chance to do this when we were in high school."
"That's true, and we were even able to bring Eri with us as well! Hopefully this will be a simple patrol so we won't have to worry as much."
"Yeah. Here's hoping…"
Both Izuku and Ochako let off uneasy sighs as they stared at the massive stadium before them, the couple surrounded by a multitude of costumed individuals with various amounts of enthusiasm while Eri was taking in the sights in childlike awe. The two heroes were asked by their respective agencies to go undercover as a pair of tourists to patrol an enthusiast's convention that was occurring and had just arrived to the location of the festivities. There had been a string of robberies around the area as of late, so the directors thought it would be best to have a few heroes and sidekicks out on standby for extra security. The couple was asked to attend and were even allowed to bring their daughter along for the mission to make them appear more inconspicuous. While they would normally not want Eri to come with them on a mission, this one in particular was more lowkey than anything, and with so many undercover heroes around surveying the area, they figured it would be ok for her to come along. It helped that she was quite eager to attend the convention as well.
They were even given special costumes as well along with their squad mates to help blend in with the crowd, which they appreciated. The theme of the costumes, however…was not something that they were expecting…
"I gotta admit, though, this is kinda ironic. To think that we heroes have to go undercover as a group of teenage criminals just to catch a bunch of low time crooks. Pretty funny, if you ask me." Ochako spoke up, adjusting her hat and mask she eyed the patrons for anything suspicious.
"Technically, we're cosplaying as vigilantes, but you make a good point. I can only imagine what our parents would say when they learn that we were phantom thieves for a day." Izuku agreed with a laugh as he tightened his crimson gloves and dusted his coat.
"I'm not a thief, though. I'm supposed to be an 'avatar of power' or something. Although I look more like a maid than an avatar…whatever that is." Eri pointed out while looking down at her outfit curiously, quite liking the shade of blue she was wearing
The family of three was dressed up as individuals from a popular video game known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, with the couple being the actual thieves while Eri was an assistant of some sort. Izuku was sporting a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black jogger-style pants, brown-black winklepickers, a pair of red gloves, and a black and white, birdlike domino mask. Ochako, on the other hand, was wearing a dark purple cavalier hat with a feather plume tucked into a royal purple hatband, a long-sleeved pale pink blouse with a white neck jabot being held by a red gem pin, a black corset vest with gold buttons, bloomers that match her hatband, black pantyhose, a holster belt carrying fake grenade rounds and lace-up pumps. Lastly, Eri was dressed in a blue dress akin to that of a Victorian maid with long white socks and black loafers, and an ornate blue headband with black frills butterfly ornaments and yellow roses.
The two heroes were dressed up as Joker and Noir of the Phantom Thieves, with their daughter changed into their guide, Lavenza. It was considered the perfect cover by their bosses, and everyone couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of a bunch of heroes dressed as thieves to detain crooks, but it worked, and in all honesty, the couple didn't really protest about their outfits. They fit well and they liked them. It was a shame that they were going to return them after their mission was over, though, so they decided to enjoy them for as long as they can before they were gone.
"You know, I'm surprised that so many people attend these sorts of things." Ochako mused out loud as the family of three walked around the outside of the stadium, eyeing the various costumed patrons eagerly passing by. "I knew these events are popular, but for so many guys going all out with their costumes, it's pretty impressive."
"It's a lot of dedication, to be sure. I remember going to a hero convention with my parents when I was really young, but the details are a bit fuzzy right now. All I can recall was that I hand a lot of fun and it was one of the only times that my dad was around to spend time with us before going overseas. I think he even got me an All Might action figure as well, but I can't say for certain." Izuku said, his hand under his chin in a pondering motion as he tried to retrace his memories of his youth.
"Don't think too hard there, hun. We're on a mission after all. Can't be too distracted." Ochako said, placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder to snap him out of his thoughts.
"Mom? Dad? Can we get something to eat really quick before we go inside? I'm getting a little hungry." Eri asked politely, tugging at Izuku's tailcoat to get his attention.
"Huh? Oh, sure, Eri. We can go grab a bite. We haven't really had anything to eat since breakfast and I'm starting to get hungry myself." Izuku agreed, causing the child to cheer while Ochako giggled at her enthusiasm.
"How about we go and get ourselves some takoyaki? There's a stand over there we can get some." The gravity girl suggested while pointing at a crimson vendor stand nearby.
With sounds of agreements form the hero and child, the three proceeded to walk over to the establishment, looking quite surprised by how busy it was. Despite the multitude of people, though, the line was moving quite fast, and it didn't take long for them to near the front of the line. Once they got close, however, they were greeted by the sight of something they did not expect to see…
"Yo, Snake-Eyes! We're running low on batter! Go prep some more now! We got customers to feed!"
"O-On it!"
"Illusion! The orders are done! Get these stupid octoballs out of here pronto! We're running out of room!"
"Gotcha, babe!"
"…Is that Kacchan? Running a takoyaki stand…?" Izuku muttered, his eyes wide behind his mask in disbelief at the sight of his childhood friend dressed in a white shirt with a matching bandana on his head and a red apron around his waist manning a takoyaki griddle and ordering around a couple of woman in similar attire, one a seemingly ditzy blond and the other possessing a snake head. It was a sight that stunned the young hero to the point where he didn't even move as customers began go cut in front of him to get their food.
"Oh wow… I didn't think Bakugo would be posing as a takoyaki chef for his part of the patrol. He's doing…a surprisingly good job at it as well." Ochako said after a moment to take in the scene before her, also understandably stunned by the development.
"He's even gotten Utsushimi and Mongoose into the ruse as well, and those two hardly ever work together… I can't believe what I'm seeing…" Izuku added on, still in a state of disbelief that he didn't even notice that Eri had proceeded to walk ahead of the two heroes and made her way to the front of the stand, a line of droll trailing from her lips as she eyed the food on display.
"'Sup, little one! Welcome to Baku-Yaki Takoyaki! Where our takoyaki is so good your mouth will explode in flavor!" Camie chirped her greeting before gasping in recognition of the white-haired child. "Oh wow! Aren't ya the little tyke that the green haired dude and floaty girl adopted? This is quite the coincidence, huh?"
"Say what?! Deku and Doll Face's brat's here!?" Bakugo exclaimed, looking more irritated than before as the snake woman from before arrived with a fresh batch of batter in hand, only to have it removed from her clutches almost immediately before being placed in front of the griddle by the bomb happy hero. "Watch the damn food and make sure none of it burns or else!"
"O-Ok, boss!" Habuko stuttered in response, letting off a small whine when Camie started to giggle at her plight before being shoved over to her direction by Bakugo.
"You help her out! Make sure the takoyaki is made by the book and don't forget the freaking tempura this time!" He roared, growling at the amused laugh he got in response before turning his attention to the child with a glare. "And what are you doing here alone, Rewind Brat. Aren't ya supposed to be sticking close to your 'parents' or whatever?"
"Oh, they got surprised by seeing you working here and stopped moving, so I went ahead to buy us some food. I have enough to feed us." Eri explained as she started fishing through her dress to grab her wallet.
"Really? Is it that surprising to see me working undercover? It's my freaking job for crying out loud!" Bakugo hissed, glaring at the two costumed thieves he knew were his old high school classmates, before seeing the girl before him pulling out a small blue wallet, and slammed his hands on the stand to get her attention. "Hey! Put that away! Save that money for the crap you'll want to buy inside! It's better used there than on the stupid octoballs I have to make!"
"But I have to pay for the takoyaki, don't I? I'm a customer…" Eri said, holding up her wallet for emphasis and unaware of a hooded figure approaching her from the side, seemingly eyeing her for some reason.
"You're no customer, you a freaking undercover agent, at least for today. Why those idiots thought it was a good idea for you to come along I'll never now. I'll just give you the food for free so that all of you can get out of here." Bakugo hissed as he shoved the wallet closer to Eri's boy before turning his back to her to grab the takoyaki, causing Eri to stare at him in shock by the unexpected show of generosity, when a hooded figure rushed right past her in high speeds, pushing her down to the ground and causing her to cry out in alarm, alerting Ochako and Izuku in the process.
"Eri!" The couple shouted together, rushing over to the girl and slowly got her to her feet, inspecting her for any injuries as they did so.
"I-I'm ok! That guy in the hoodie just made me fall. I guess he was in a hurry for some reason." Eri assured, giving her caretakers nervous smiles as they stopped hovering over her when they noticed no visible wounds on her.
"That's no excuse to knock you down, though, Eri." Izuku said, giving the girl an apologetic look as he stroke her head with his gloved hand. "Still, at least your not hurt. That's the important thing here."
"Other than the fact that the guy who knocked down your brat was a pickpocket and stole her wallet, idiot." Bakugo grunted, causing the family of three to look at him in stunned silence.
"Oh! The pickpocket showed up again?" Habuko spoke up, looking at Bakugo curiously.
"Sure did, girl. Plowed right through the little angel and plucked her wallet right out of her hands." Camie said, looking oddly pleased as she grabbed her phone from her...front part of her uniform and completely unaware of the shaking forms of the Phantom Thief cosplayers before her. "Looks like the tracker that Mr. Explosion here placed on her wallet is working now. He's still close by, so we can go and get him right now, if we want. Shouldn't be too hard."
"Freaking finally! I've been waiting for some damn action all day!" Bakugo shouted, tossing his hat and apron away with the girls behind him following suit. "Alright, now that we're-"
"COME BACK HERE WITH MY DAUGHTER'S WALLET, YOU THIEF!" Ochako suddenly shouted, looking so angry that everyone around her, even Bakugo, jumped in fright of the furious, before grabbing Izuku by the shirt with a harsh glare. "Deku, let's go. We're doing the thing!"
"Right!" Izuku nodded, his body slowly glowing an emerald shade as the effects of One for All began coursing through him, and grabbed his partner by the arm while eyeing the runaway thief. "You ready?"
"Do it!" She nodded, face stern as she was picked up by the super-strength hero and immediately tossed at the direction of where the thief was running at high speeds. The force of the throw didn't bother her in the slightest as she sailed through the air, focused only on nabbing the man who took her daughter's belonging.
Thankfully, it didn't take long. Camie was right in saying he wasn't that far gone, and could not hold back the furious, protective growl that escaped her lips.
"Heh, that was easy. Kids these days should really-"
"HAND OVER MY LITTLE GIRL'S WALLET!"
"Huh, what the heck is tha-AACK!"
Ochako had a vicious smirk on her face as she crashed onto the villain, landing on his back and pinning him onto the ground so that he wouldn't escape. Dazed by the unexpected take down, the crook couldn't do a thing as the gravity girl proceeded to shift through his hoodie and pull out a multitude of stolen objects, such as watches and small souvenirs, from his person, with the biggest prize of them all being Eri's wallet.
"Hmm, looks like someone's been busy. Sorry, punk, but it's the end of the line for you." Ochako muttered, her face in full battle mode as she pushed the crook further into the ground, causing him to cry out.
"AH! You crazy woman! Where'd you come from!" The villain managed to grunt from his hold.
"I threw her at you and she pinned you down. It's a simple combo that doesn't normally require the use of Quirks, but considering you just stole from our daughter, we figured we make an exception…" Izuku stated as he approached the fallen captive, Eri, Bakugo and a couple of hero-themed individuals, one with electric blonde hair and a set of headphones and another with deep purple hair and headphone jacks for earlobes, following behind him.
"Jeeze, Midoriya. I know that you and Uraraka are Eri's parents and all, but don't you think that was a little overboard for you two?" The Kaminari muttered as he and Jiro went and grabbed the man and pulled him out from the angry mother's grasp.
"Well, what do you expect. You know how the two get when it comes to her wellbeing. I'll be honest, this guy got lucky, considering he stole in front of Bakugo of all people. If it wasn't for Eri keeping him calm while Midoriya called for us, the guy would probably be a smoldering carcass at this point." Jiro pointed out in an annoyed tone, smirking slightly at the flinch the criminal had made in their grasp.
"Bakugo…? Lo… Lord Explosion?" The petty thief whispered in fear his face beginning to pale at the sight of the very irritated blond nearby.
"Yup. Count your lucky stars that you're not dealing with him, dude. Then again, dealing with Mad Mama Uraraka and Fierce Father Midoriya isn't much better." Kaminari snickered as he gave the couple in question a smirk, amused by the looks of annoyance the two had.
"Hey, he stole Eri's wallet. No way in heck were we going to let him get away with it." Ochako huffed as she handed her little girl her wallet back.
"Eh. Fair enough. At least this means there's one less thief to watch out for." Jiro shrugged, accepting the statement easily. "We'll haul this guy in for you, alright? Head inside to the stadium and can take it easy for a bit. You'll probably find a food stand inside that's better than the super spicy stuff that Bakugo constantly makes. There might be a few prowlers there, though, so be on the lookout."
"Sounds like a good idea. We'll head there now. I'm most like going to be getting yelled at by Kacchan by the end of this for letting Eri wander off like that and essentially stealing his target. I'd rather try and postpone that for as long as I can." Izuku muttered, feeling a little ashamed at his actions not too long ago, before getting slapped upside the head by said friend.
"Damn straight I am, you idiot. Once this stupid mission's over I'm heading straight over to you and knock the crap out of you for causing me so much trouble!" Bakugo exclaimed before scoffing to the side. "At least you and Doll Face got the thief, so you aren't totally useless. Now get outta here and do your damn job, you nerd. My squad and I can handle it here without your help."
With that said, Bakugo departed from the group and back to his stand, and the partners that he left behind, in an angry huff, not even bothering to look back at the others as he departed while Izuku had his head down in shame for his inattentiveness. His mood was down as well, and would have remained that way if it wasn't for Ochako placing her hand on his shoulder and giving him a supportive smile. It looked like she was about to say something as well, but a certain someone beat her to the punch.
"It's ok, Dad. It was my fault for going on ahead in the first place. I promise to stick close to you so that something like this doesn't happen again. Please don't be sad." Eri assured and requested, her own food finished, as she grabbed Izuku's hand to comfort him.
"…Thanks, Eri. And no worries. I don't think I'll be sad anymore, thanks to you and Ochako." Izuku said softly, smiling at the girl as he placed his hand over Ochako's in gratitude, before turning to Kaminari and Jiro with an appreciative expression. "Thanks for everything, you guys. I really appreciate you guys answering my call after I sent Ochako to catch the thief. We're going to head inside now. You think you can handle the perimeter?
"No worries! With Bakugo and his squad out here and Jiro being the kick-butt partner that she is, we'll bag any crook that tries to get in our sites!" Kaminari boasted only to be stabbed once more by Jiro's earphone jack.
"Will you shut up and get to work? I really don't want to hear it today…" Jiro muttered, a light blush forming on her cheek from Kaminari's complement as the pair walked away from the family with the captive grumbling in their grasp.
"…Here's hoping that the two don't end up fighting for the whole mission. Even with being together for all this time, the two still find ways to tease and argue with each other." Ochako said after a moment while she and Izuku proceeded to pick up the missing items from the ground and made their way to the lost and found to deposit them.
"They fight because they like each other. At least that's what Mr. Kaminari always says whenever they visit." Eri chimed in, holding Izuku's free hand so that she wouldn't get lost.
"He's not wrong. People do fight with each other even if they've known one another for so long. Even your mother and I get into disputes at times, but trying to have an argument of any kind during work is never a good thing…" Izuku said, looking quite stern as he made his point, getting a look of approval from his girlfriend while his daughter nodded along in understanding.
It didn't take them too long to get to the lost and found to deliver the stolen goods. After explaining who they were and the situation, the family made their way to the inside of the stadium. Once inside, they were greeted my largest amount of people they had ever seen. Never before have they seen so many individuals in one place, and a good number of them were dressed up in a costume of some sort. It was quite overwhelming to them, as not even the large parties and banquets that Momo and her family hosted had as many participants. Nevertheless, though, they were on a mission. They were to make sure that all these people were safe from any villain attack that may occur. Thankfully, they were not alone in the slightest. There were a multitude of other heroes and sidekicks hidden among the patrons, along with the usual security. So long as the trio stuck together and focused on their job, they will be just fine.
"Oh my, now isn't this quite a sight. Not all that often that we see a family come to these sorts of events." A kind voice stated from behind the trio, causing them to turn to see a well dressed older gentleman, complete with a monocle and top-hat, approaching them with a warm smile behind his white, bushy mustache.
"Ah. Thanks, sir. This is our first time ever attending something like this, so everything's all new to us…" Izuku said with a sheepish grin, somewhat happy that his mask was hiding a good portion of his blush.
"I can tell. Your child here is quite enraptured by everything. I'm sure she will have a wonderful time here." The gentleman said kindly as he pointed at Eri, who had since redirected her attention back to the sights around her, before handing Izuku a small card and proceeding to bow. "I am one of the orchestrators of this fine convention here. Am I correct in assuming that you two are among the heroes my supervisors hired to maintain the peace around here?"
"…We are. I am Deku and this is Uravity. We're among the sidekicks asked to patrol the interior of the stadium. We'll make sure that everyone here is safe and protected for as long as we're here." Izuku answered quietly after looking at the card, his and Ochako's gazes hardened as they entered into hero mode, much to the pleasure of the gentleman.
"Ah, you two are the ones who nabbed that notorious pickpocket earlier. One of the staff from the Lost and Found informed me of the incident. Excellent. I'm glad to see such dedicated heroes in this day and age. I'm sure everyone here will be well protected under your watch." The man said in a soft yet happy tone, tipping his hat at them before walking ahead of them. "Good luck, heroes, and don't be afraid to enjoy the festivities. You may be on the clock, but you are allowed to have some fun with your daughter here. If you are undercover as a family participating in the event, might as well make it convincing, am I right. Take care."
Having said his piece, the gentleman walked off, disappearing through the crowd as Izuku and Ochako watched him go. Their client had a point; even though they were on the job, they were technically allowed to enjoy the convention, at least a little. They were masquerading as a family of cosplayers, after all. It wouldn't hurt to check out the sights so long as they remained vigilant. With that in mind, the couple grabbed their daughter's hands and proceeded to go into the deeper parts of the stadium to enjoy what the convention had to offer.
After all, if they were supposed to be having a family outing for the sake of the mission, who were they to complain.
Prompt 16: Trying Something New
Author's note: And there it is, Heroes. I won't lie, coming up with this story was quite difficult. I had the premise in my mind already, but it was, admittedly, pretty hard to get it into writing. The story has changed a bit from how I initially intended it to be, but I think the direction I took works in the end. Also, for those of you who have read my previous IzuOcha works, the costumes that Izuku and Ochako are cosplaying as; Joker and Noir of Persona 5, are the same one they were dressed up as in my Halloween MHA special: UA Halloween Bash. In fact, an image of the two in their costume is the cover of that story. Credit goes to Maxcoolgirl over at the IzuOcha Discord, who I commissioned to make that cover for me. Their artwork is amazing.
Well...that's it for today, everyone. Hope you like what I've written, because there will be more to come tomorrow. As always, thank you all so much for reading my work, Heroes. I hope you all have a fantastic day and I will see you in the next update.
Until then, Farewell. And remember: Go Beyond. Plus Ultra!