Important! Please read the first part of the AN at the bottom!
Back at it again with chapter five of Analytical Hero! For anyone curious about the Red Masks, I'll put little descriptions of their Quirks at the bottom. I know I would be interested in what they do.
For convenience sakes, 100 yen equals 1 us dollar. Before I was looking it up using a converter, but I can't be asked to keep up with fluctuations in real world money.
Also I want to apologize for missing literally the first deadline I've set on this story. A lot of different and very annoying things came up to push back the chapter. As I said in the April Fools chapter, I had finished this chapter early due to a large hit of inspiration, but then the document didn't save and deleted itself. That in itself wasn't too bad, since I was able to immediately sit down and write a loose plot line about what I just finished. But as I started actually rewriting the chapter, I found myself dissatisfied at every line. I just kept thinking "I wrote it better the first time." Because of that, it took me a while to actually write this chapter, but write it I did. Only then something even worse came along. For whatever reason, the power in my place went out, for a whole day. It wasn't too bad, being a rather temperate day and all, but I suddenly couldn't put the finishing touches on this chapter. Or update it since the power went out on the eighth! God I was so mad. Add in the fact that I had to empty out the fridge and buy new food on the ninth, and then found out I got lice on the tenth and I'm seriously thinking that something out there hates me.
Anyways, onto the chapter!
Izuku was panicking, his eyes jumping from the blood seeping into the tile cracks to the office space around them, trying to find any sign of their mysterious attacker. Every ruffle of paper and creaky desk only served to raise his anxiety another notch. He heard a sound nearby, nothing more than the crunch of dirt, yet he still swung. He hit nothing but air, receiving another slash to his side for his efforts.
His breath came harsher and harsher, his eyes moving more frantically. He had never been this pushed in a fight before. Never been so outclassed by an enemy, even the second mugger was nothing compared to the woman he had yet to view. His foot bumped into Resupply as he took a step back, the woman groaned, her own wounds serious despite the fact that he's taken more attacks.
He wanted to get her out of here and check her over for any serious damage, yet to turn his back would be to invite even more attacks.
Izuku was cursing in his own mind. At himself for thinking it would be easy, for being so careless as to charge into a dark room, for not even checking if he could learn any kind of healing skill. His mind wracked through every available Quick he had knowledge of to identify any weaknesses this woman possessed.
He threw out teleportation immediately, over ninety percent of teleportation Quirks moved the entire body, not just singular attacks. A permeation skill was similarly dismissed, as she would still remain visible while not inside of objects. He really only had invisibility to consider, but even then the knowledge that she was invisible wouldn't help him any.
Knowing he couldn't see her, wouldn't magically make her appear. Yet even then, Izuku's mind scrambled for a way to counter her attacks. The first step was to either neutralize her invisibility, or find a reliable way to locate her.
He bent down to whisper to Resupply, disguising the action as trying to shield her from stray attacks. "Resupply, I need you to summon whatever you can from your Quirk to help locate out attacker. Marbles, spray paint, flour, just whatever you could summon quick enough to catch her off guard and find her. Wait for my signal, then launch it."
Resupply nodded, "I'll take me a minute or so. It's hard to focus on my Quirk right now." Even still, she pulled her jacket closed to hide the light from her Quirk activating.
Izuku stood straight once more, shrugging off an attack that scraped at his arm. His screens were summoned forth as Resupply readied herself. Once his partner located their attacker, then it would be up to him to ensure she didn't get back up.
He chewed his cheek as he considered where to allocate the fifteen additional stat points he had earned. It was too little for him to evenly spread through more than one stat, he would have to just dump them all into one.
He quickly eliminated Intelligence, Wisdom, and Luck. Agility was thrown out as well. Dexterity would help him land more hits once he found her, Strength would ensure that each attack would be seriously damaging, and Constitution would help him ignore the various attacks she would throw out while Resupply readied herself.
Actually, there was a thought. The woman had landed near a dozen attacks on him, without Izuku able to guard either. And yet he was still still standing, a quick glance at his health showed about two thirds of it remaining.
His mind instantly jumped back to his time spent researching into gaming. If he remembered correctly, this would indicate her build was focused on an Agility/Dexterity split, relying on numerous weaker attacks to fell someone. Those types of builds had numerous weaknesses, but most of those strategies fell apart with the simple fact that she was invisible.
In the end, only one route was truly viable. His fingers hurried to mash Constitution higher. He watched the numbers climb even as another attack struck his side. With a final push, he confirmed the change, raising his stat to fifty four.
Izuku's hand rose to close out the screen, only to pause as a pair of brand new ones caught his attention.
[Congratulations! By raising Constitution above fifty, you can now choose between two skills!
Passive Skill: Medium Regeneration (Level: Max)
A healthy soul starts with a healthy body, and your body is quite healthy!
Active Skill: Copper Skin (Lvl: One)
Just like how bone regrows twice as strong after a break, so too has your body grown stronger after repeated damage!]
Izuku's mind froze, only rebooting after a hit. Shit, he didn't plan on his ability giving him a new benchmark skill, let alone being forced to choose between two skills in the middle of a fight! He hurried up and slapped accept to choose the Active skill. Not for any particular reason, it just happened to be the closest to his lowered hand. Luckily for him, it proved to be the correct choice.
[Active Skill: Copper skin Chosen!
Just like how bone regrows twice as strong after a break, so too has you body grown stronger after repeated damage!
Decreases physical damage by 10%
Increases unarmed attack damage by 25%
Increases lightning damage by 75%
Cost: 100 MP per ten seconds]
That last line stopped him for a second, it was the first time any of his skills ever came with a cost requirement. It was but a second more for him to realize what MP meant.
It was his Mana.
The drag office fell away, replaced with a mirror image of himself against a black background. His skin and clothes fell away, showing a white outline where he previously stood. A small emerald green ember flickered away in his chest. And then it exploded.
Powerful green flames covered his outline's chest, the edges going just past his body. Until it collapsed back in on itself. A fist sized fire remained where previously the lighter sized flame stood before.
His vision snapped back to the office, exactly how it left it. It appeared like no time had passed at all. Yet he felt something new, but familiar. It was like finding an old childhood toy after believing it to be lost in a move. It felt like getting under the blankets at just the right temperature. It felt like returning home after a long trip, only to have a home cooked childhood meal waiting for you.
Izuku didn't how how he existed, how he could go his entire life, without this feeling.
Another claw struck during this rumination, cutting more into his already tattered hoodie and shirt. He hissed, both at the pain, and at temporarily being pulled from the feeling.
Only his feeling followed.
That warmth in his chest spread just under the skin. It felt like thousands of ants crawling just beneath his skin, but somehow in a comforting way. Izuku saw the exposed skin on his wrist change to a tanner color. The chill of the office fell away, the itch of his clothes fell away.
The next attack, swinging for his chest, bounced off his skin. Izuku's hand jumped forward, but grabbed empty air. His foot snapped out in a punishing kick, knocking back the attacker trying to slip for his side.
Resupply tapped his foot twice, holding what looked to be an odd gun. It's barrel was too wide for it's size, a canister sat underneath the grip, and it had a weird top loader. She quickly sat up, firing two quick shots in the direction he just kicked their attacker. A hiss sounded from the gun, splattering neon orange paint on a nearby desk divider. The other shot connected with the invisible woman.
A grunt sounded forth, but the paint never appeared.
Regardless, Izuku charged forth, swinging his foot around in a vicious roundhouse. He connected with naught but air, a small hiss escaping him as his frustration boiled higher.
He barked to Resupply. "She turns what's on her invisible too. Do you have a back up plan?"
Resupply nodded, pulling open the top loader of her gun to drop the unused paint balls across the ground. Countless orange balls rolled across the floor, Izuku doing his best to follow as many of them as possible.
There! He charged towards the spot where a few suspiciously swerved off course. The woman's grunt of surprise brought a dangerous smile to Izuku's lips. His next attack missed, the woman dodging back. Izuku charged forward, towards the paint balls being tossed around by her steps.
The woman must of noticed his plan, for the kick he threw had connected too soundly. She must of jumped with the kick to create even more distance. Just enough to get out of the area covered with the orange balls.
Yet she couldn't do anything about the orange paint footprints she left behind.
Izuku charged towards the prints, tackling the woman against a divider. The wooden wall broke under their weight, cracking and splintering across the floor. But Izuku didn't take notice of that. He grinned wider, fist raised high above the woman he was straddling.
"Found you!" Izuku said, his voice taking on a teasing sing song tone. His fist crashed down, leaving shards of the porcelain mask she was wearing on the ground. His next punch broke her nose, the cartilage cracking under his fist. And still more punches rained down on her.
Until she finally stopped moving, firmly in the realm of unconsciousness.
Izuku pushed himself up, breathing heavily as the pain of countless cuts finally made itself known to the teenager. He allowed himself a second to catch his breath, observing the woman below him.
She was still mostly invisible to him, but now that he could focus on her, he realized she wasn't completely invisible. Still more than invisible when moving fast in a darkened room. It was like looking at a small dirt smudge on a window, impossible to notice at first, but wouldn't leave your head once you did notice it.
The claws the woman used to cut them slowly sank beneath her finger tips, retreating back like most Quirks do when a person reaches unconsciousness. Yet she was still invisible.
Izuku's eyes widened. "Resupply! The door, there were two red masks left!"
Resupply jumped up with a grunt, limping to the door from an unfortunate cut into her left calf. She had almost reached the door, when she was thrown to the side by an unseen force. Izuku cursed to himself as he darted into the darkened warehouse. The third criminal had gotten away.
Izuku wasted no time in trying to locate an invisible criminal in the darkness, instead running back into the office space. He slid to his knees in front of Resupply, wanting to help, but unsure on how he could.
"Do you need help?!" Izuku nearly yelled, eyes looking for anything that looks like too much blood.
She grunted, pushing herself up off the floor. "I'll be fine. She missed the vital areas, not for a lack of trying on her part either." Resupply pulled her undershirt down a bit, revealing a metal place still fused to her skin by her Quirk.
Izuku chuckled at her brazen response, quieting down as she spoke again. "Alright." She grunted as she stood up, testing her weight on her injured leg. "Let's not dally. The third guy could be calling in reinforcements as we speak. And I have questions that need answering."
They both looked towards the previously invisible woman, now clearly there in a white pea coat and with several cuts on her face from her shattered mask. Resupply secured the woman with some rope she pulled from her midsection, before waking her up with a strange capsule she broke under her nose.
The woman stirred, bright green eyes opening groggily, before sharpening with anger as she looked at the two Vigilantes. "Couldn't even kill me right, pussies."
Resupply rolled her eyes, "I have some questions to ask you first."
"You think I'm gonna tell ya shit? Get fuckin real, this ain't a fuckin TV show." She spit at them.
Resupply turned back to him, gesturing for him to do something. She raised two of her fingers and mimed them getting cut off, a look of terror on her face.
Izuku blanched, motioning that he wasn't going to cut off her fingers!
Resupply huffed, gesturing outside the building. It took Izuku a few seconds to get the message she was trying to send. He sighed to himself, picking up a broken length of wood from the divider she crashed into.
"You see, ma'am… actually, is there a name you'd prefer to go by?" She glared at him. "Well, ma'am, you see, my Quirk has a particular facet to it."
To the woman's credit, her name was Arrin by the way, she took much longer than Frank to break. It wasn't until after Izuku cut off the heels of her boots, complete with a promise to not miss next time, that she finally started talking. Resupply pulled a recorder from her right wrist while Izuku wandered back to grab his dropped bo staff.
Arrin claimed to be hired by a different group to capture the heiress of the Yamada Electronics corporation. Her group was to kidnap the heiress in a week or so, while she was headed to a preliminary test for UA. They would then take her to the Jackals, the group that hired them, get their payment, and get out of there before any Heroes could show up.
It was all very complicated, the woman going into much more detail, but Izuku couldn't keep his attention on her. While he did want to help out, the long day and even longer night was really cutting into the available brain power he had left.
It wasn't too much longer before Resupply reknocked Arrin out, the two leaving the compound back in the direction of Izuku's town. Resupply had left a few minutes into the forest, claiming that a companion of hers was waiting nearby. The two bid farewell, with Izuku continuing onward.
He stopped in a clearing a fair distance away from where Resupply split off. His eyes naturally came to rest on the star studded sky, his mask pulled off of his face as he thought to himself. Even though his plan to relax camping under the stars was a failure, the rest of the night didn't feel worthless. He helped foil a kidnapping plot, gained a potential ally in Resupply, gained some levels, and unlocked his Mana. His eyes widened.
"Holy shit! I unlocked my Mana!" He yelled to himself, screens rapidly opening before him.
He quickly found that his Mana bar had unlocked, displaying that he had a little over 1,700 points total, now reduced due to using his skill during the fight. The vernadette found himself laughing to the trees around him, jumping in joy as he fist pumped. He couldn't stop his imagination from running wild at everything he could potentially do.
But a sobering thought stopped him. "Shit. How do I explain this? Having a pocket dimension to store objects as a Quirk is one thing, but how would I even relate that to having my skin turn to literal metal! Or what about in the future, when I pick up the skill to throw fire? Or any other magical skill I may one day learn?!" He groaned to himself. "This sucks! I finally can do awesome stuff, but I can't show it off! You know what. I'll deal with it in the morning. I'm too tired for this now."
The morning didn't have any new answers for the teen. He had woken up late due to his night time activities. He stumbled his way out of bed just past one in the afternoon, hair tussled in every direction as it fought gravity and his hair brush. His morning routine was completed in contemplative silence as he tried to think his way though his new predicament.
He considered claiming that [Copper Skin] was his actual Quirk, but if Jiro did end up entering UA, it would immediately be called into question. Not to mention it still wouldn't solve his problem of the newer skills he could learn. He could just make up a Quirk and claim that both happened to fall under it, but without any knowledge on what he could learn, he'd be stuck trying to make one vague enough to fit under it.
Eventually he did come up with an idea, but it would require a bit of testing. For that reason, Izuku once again dressed in his workout clothing, intent on visiting a convenience store before heading to the forest to train.
He opened his front door, only to nearly bowl over his mom. His mom sent him a wide, but tired, smile. "Hey, greenbean, heading out?" She let her keys fall back into her maroon purse, her black collared work shirt was crinkled and stained near the bottom, with her black skirt remaining untouched due to the apron thrown over her shoulder.
Izuku stepped back to let his mom inside, smiling back at her. "Yeah, I had some plans for today. What about you? Just get off of work?"
She hummed her response back, "Long day. Kuzuki was being a real meanie butt again, but nothing too bad. Oh, one of my regulars did tell me the funniest story though!" She started telling Izuku about how one of the regulars at the diner she worked at ended up nailing his shirt to the house he was constructing.
Izuku listened on patiently, laughing at how the construction worker then managed to do so a second time minutes later. But Izuku did stop her from continuing when an old thought he had came to the fore. He darted back to his room, closing the door as he brought a few items from his [Pockets], his skill leveled enough to now hold twenty two unique items. He held the objects behind his back as he walked back to his mom. She closed the fridge door behind her, sending another smile his way.
"I had this thought a while back about how much you do for us to live how we do. And I really wanted to find some way to pay you back for it. So I went out and got a job!" Izuku slapped twenty thousand yen onto the counter top, pushing it towards his stunned mom.
She glanced back and forth, before sliding it back towards Izuku. "I can't take this! You should save it for when you go to college!"
Izuku pushed it back. "Don't worry about it mom, I have some more saved up. My boss owns his own business, and I'm his only worker. He can get away with paying me above minimum."
She made to push it back, but Izuku caught her hand, cutting off her response with his own. "Mom. Seriously, don't worry about it. I want to pay you back for everything you've done for me. I know it's not a lot, and I know you don't want to take it. But please do. Consider it an early birthday present, a mothers day gift, a super early Christmas gift, or whatever you need to to take the money. Use it on bills, spend it on a day off, or hold onto it for a rainy day, that's up to you. I want to show you that I really do appreciate everything you do!"
His mom was fully crying now, the tears that had welled up before finally fell during Izuku's little speech. Izuku himself could feel tears prickling at his eyes.
Inko flipped the hand that was over the money, grabbing onto Izuku's. "Fi-fine, but!" She sniffled. "I'm gonna spend it on the two of us." She wiped away a few tears as she tried to get her breathing under control. "I'm off tomorrow and Mitsuki has been rather pushy in trying to get me to go out with her. Tomorrow you and I are going to go enjoy ourselves, before you head off to college and I don't see you for a while."
The thought of him leaving for college was enough to push his mom over the edge, tears spilling forth even quicker now. She walked around the counter to hug Izuku, crying into his shoulder. "Wh- when did you get so tall and mature." The word mature caught in her mouth, cried out between several hiccups.
Izuku hugged her back, his hand rubbing a circle on her back as she bawled about her son growing up too quickly. His own tears started falling into her hair as he cursed being a sympathetic crier. Izuku started answering back to try and calm his mom down.
"I'll still call you mom, I won't forget about you. I promise to visit. I'll be back every break. I'll eat well."
The two continued like that for a while, Inko asking hypothetical questions for when he left for college, and Izuku doing his best to answer them.
Mother and son walked into the Musutafu train station, talking amicably about anything that caught their attention. Right up until Inko caught the sight of Mitsuki's spiky blonde hair, she darted towards her friend with a cry of "Misukiiii!"
Izuku felt himself freeze up in fear, the hair so similar to Bakugo's it nearly had him turning back to find a different path. It was only the woman herself coming into view that allowed the teen to calm down.
Mitsuki brought his mom into a large hug, giving her own cry of "Inkooo!" back. Mituki had dressed differently to how Izuku last remembered the woman. Her normal lavender shirt and blue skirt had been swapped out for a brown cardigan, blue blouse, and black leggings, most than likely designed by her husband.
Izuku walked towards the two at a much more sedate pace. "Hi, Mrs. Bakugo. How are you doing today?"
Misuki swept Izuku into a hug, smushing him against his mom as she refused to let go of the shorter woman. "It's been ages, Izuku! And didn't I tell you to call me Mitsuki? I already feel old enough leading my brat by the ear, I don't need any reminders to my age."
Izuku chuckled, finally being released from the older woman's hold. "I'm sorry, Mitsuki. It's been a while, I had forgotten."
Mitsuki rolled her eyes. "Too damn long if you ask me. I wish the both of you would visit more often. Maybe then I could get this knuckle head out of work often enough to relax." She gently bopped his mom on the head.
"Well, maybe I'd visit more if somebody wasn't trying to get me to go out every day!" His mom huffed, turning away. "Not all of us get to have rich fashion designer husbands who can afford for us to go out all the time."
Mitsuki growled good naturedly. "Maybe you would, if you put yourself out there! But nooooo, it's all, I'm too busy Mitsuki, I have to sleep, I can't drink on a week day. You can't snag yourself a rich man without first wadding into the water."
"Snagging a man doesn't sound quite like what you did. More like hunting him down."
She laughed, dragging his mom against her side as she gestured. "Exactly, first you gotta bait the traps, then drag them in the second you smell blood in the water. That's how you get them!"
Inko huffed, pushing away Mitsuki. "Whatever. Anyways, what's on the agenda today?"
"Well, originally I was going to take us to a nice lunch place, but after seeing the state of your nails and hair, the first stop is the salon! I refuse to take you anywhere without you looking one hundred percent perfect! How else will you draw in someone!"
His mom groaned. "No salon. I'm working tomorrow and I don't feel like wasting money when I inevitably ruin my nails in less than twenty four hours."
Mitsuki held tight onto his mom's wrist as she tried to pull away. "Nope. None of that. I'm dragging you to the salon even if I have to knock you out first." She shook her free hand threateningly. "Don't test me, I have plenty of experience."
Inko rolled her eyes. "Ugh fine. But only because you're going to be insufferable if I don't let you."
"It's funny you think you had a choice." She started dragging his mom towards the awaiting train. "Come along, Izuku. Don't think you're gonna weasel your way out of it. That mop you call hair needs a trim up!"
Izuku laughed, following behind the two of them. "I wouldn't dream of it. I know you'd chase me across the whole city if I tried."
True to her word, the older woman had dragged them both to the salon. Izuku managed to get out of the place with his hair mostly intact, and certainly without any of the weird hairstyles Mitsuki had tried to force on him. He didn't care what she said, cutting his hair and letting it grow into a wolf tail wouldn't get him a girlfriend in college.
After that, it was a crawl through several different shops Izuku didn't particularly care for. They ended up visiting more than a few make up stores, his mom walking out with only a few items, the rest put back after seeing their price tag. Mitsuki sneakily put those items into her own bag, giving them to his mom after they had already left the shops.
The next stop was a quick bite to eat at a restaurant Mitsuki guaranteed to be amazing, and then to a clothing store. His mom was adamant about even trying on anything, but Mitsuki was firm. She ended up pushing his mom into an open changing stall and getting Inko to try on several new outfits. His mom refused to buy anything, but if the steadily growing yes pile said anything, she'd be walking out with more than a few new clothing options.
Izuku wasn't spared the same treatment as his mom, as more than a few clothing in that yes pile was ones he had previously tried on. But it was during his mom's latest turn as Mitsuki's dress up doll that he felt a familiar feeling in his gut flare up once more.
[Heroic Spirit] activated again.
Izuku bit his lip, considering if he should even intervene. He was out with his mom, just enjoying the day. If he left now, it would be highly suspicious. Not to mention, he didn't even know the area that well. Navigating the various turns in the alleyways would be impossible.
An image of Sheila popped into his mind, laying unconscious on a pile of garbage, at the mercy of the scum standing above her.
Izuku was out the door in less than a second.
He dodged around various groups of people, his eyes tracing the best path through them, even as his mind was on following his passive. It held pretty steadily just in front of him, not through an alley or a building. But on the sidewalk, the person his passive was following hidden by the very crowd he was dodging through. Even still, Izuku almost lost them, an unlucky light change forcing him to wait for traffic to pass.
Unluckily for the villain, his passive had leveled up, the increased range from his skill providing him just enough leeway to keep track of them as he impatiently waited for the crosswalk light to change.
The very second it did, Izuku was across to the other side. A block or so later, the vernadette passed by the person. Doubling back, he realized they were inside of a coffee shop. He entered the door, eyes instantly drawn to his left. His passive was great at finding criminals, but it wasn't that precise. He knew that it was one of the people on his left, but without getting closer he couldn't tell which. Not to mention the cafe was pretty crowded, he didn't want to set off a potentially dangerous criminal with so many civilians around.
Izuku wandered towards the counter, ordering some ridiculously named drink, ears straining to hear anything that could help locate the criminal. He accepted the coffee, wincing at the sugar content, and wandered towards a bar seat near the window. His path took him by the three tables to help pinpoint his target.
The first was a man with long pink hair typing away at a computer, the next a group of five women complaining about the various colleges they're applying to, and the last was a couple chatting about each others friend groups. The second group had caught his attention, not from his passive, but rather from the topic they were talking about. Two of them were applying to UA in the coming semester, and he desperately wanted to turn back and ask them for any information on the college, but his current objective was much more important.
His power pointed him towards the last table, the couple now swapping sips from each others drinks. He took the time to observe the both of them as he passed them by. One was a male, appearing near Izuku's age, with long curly yellow hair. The other was a female, near the same age as the male, her hair was a strange mix of brown and purple that swirled around each other all the way to the ends. Their conversation seemed entirely benign.
Even still, he took a seat close enough to listen in, sipping at his tooth rotting drink as he tried to hear any sign towards their plans. The vernadette heard nothing in the ten minutes he sat there, feeling more and more like a creep as he seemingly stalked two people on a pleasant date. It was only the ever present pull of his passive that kept him there. He'd much rather feel a little embarrassed now than regretting helping someone in need later on.
The two got up from their seats a few minutes later, cups deposited in a waste bin as they made their way outside. Izuku waited a few seconds, just long enough to follow them without immediately getting caught. Once he felt that it was safe, he dropped his half empty drink into his ability, chasing them out the door. He never noticed the eyes that widened as his cup fell through the floor, nor as they traced up and down his form, committing his face to memory.
Inko grumbled as she stepped out from the changing booth, arms firmly crossed as she stared anywhere besides the smugly grinning Mitsuki. Inko really hated it when Mitsuki was right, and especially now! She didn't care how nice these clothes looked, there was no way she'd ever actually buy them! Yet she couldn't stop the pleased smile and confidence boost that came from Mitsuki wolf whistling her. The blonde woman clapped her hands excitedly as she jumped around the shorter woman, eyeing her from every direction.
"God damn, am I right, or am I right, Inko? You look hot as fuck right now!"
Inko rolled her eyes at her childhood friend, shoving her away as she strolled back into the changing room. "I don't care if you're right. I'm still not buying it!"
Inko tossed the clothing back over the divider, and unknowingly Mitsuki hid the outfit inside of the clothing she chose for herself. She intended to buy every outfit for Inko that she tried on today, even if that meant she bought out half the damn store! Her friend deserved to get spoiled every now and again. Speaking of buying outfits for others, Mitsuki's eyes scanned the store for her other dress up doll for the day, Izuku had disappeared a little while back. Around the time she hid lingerie inside of a different outfit just to get a reaction from Inko.
The blond woman gave up on looking for the teen with a shrug. Izuku probably left to use the bathroom, or he got bored, or he found a pretty person to go and chat up. No matter what, she'd be teasing the boy the second he got back. It had been entirely too long since she's gotten his appearance to resemble a strawberry.
In exchange for loosing out on a prime subject, she shoved a rather risque dress through the gap, silently counting down until Mt. Inko blew up.
"W-w-what in the hell is this!"
Mitsuki laughed to herself, just the reaction she was hoping for.
The vernadette darted between the crowds, spinning to avoid a swinging bag, even as his attention was focused on the pull. He caught sight of them just as they turned down an alley. Izuku waited just a few seconds to allow them to gain some distance, before turning the corner down the alleyway, completely focused on finding them the second he turned the corner.
The hand that forced him against the wall cut off his surprised yelp. Yellow hair was snarling in his face, while the brunette was just to the side with her hand pointed towards him.
Izuku held himself as still as possible against the wall, not wanting to spook his captors. The man glanced above his head, looking at the brick for a few seconds before meeting Izuku's eyes again.
"Why the hell are you stalking us?" He hissed out.
Izuku opened his mouth to respond, only to pause. How in the hell was he supposed to explain that he was chasing them because he believed them to be criminals. "Um, ah. Well. My Quirk told me to?"
The fist in his shirt clenched tighter, his next words came out rushed. "S-sorry, my bad. I explained that poorly. My Quirk kinda tells me when people are in trouble? It's done that a few times now to help out people in really bad situations! I kinda remembered that when I felt that…" He paused. "That you needed my help, dude?"
Yellow hair glanced back at the brunette, a silent conversation passing between the two young adults. His eyes jumped to the brick above Izuku's head once more before he responded. "Okay. Say I believe you. That still doesn't explain why you wouldn't just ask if I needed help in the cafe instead of chasing us for a few blocks!"
"Um, well. It's possible I accidentally conflated my Quirk with finding Villains? It leads me towards people in trouble, and I always find a criminal near by, so I accidentally freaked out and thought that one of both of you were Villains? I'm sorry!"
"Okay. One last question then. What was your intention with us when you finally confronted us?"
"To tell you the truth. I don't know. I. Actually now that you bring it up, I realize that I didn't actually plan anything past catching you in the act." Izuku blinked dumbly to himself.
The guy looked above his head one last time, sighing as he released Izuku. "You're lucky my Quirk corroborates your story."
Izuku rubbed his throat, "Thank you. I'm sorry for thinking you two are criminals. I wasn't thinking right. I saved my friend from a really bad situation with my Quirk before, and I couldn't help but remember her situation when I felt my Quirk activate. Not to mention that I'm still unused to actually using it."
The blonde man rolled his eyes. "Jeez, calm down. No harm, no foul. You gave us a bit of a scare, but nothing more. That being said. I'm not really in any trouble? Are you sure your Quirk is saying it's me in trouble?"
Izuku focused on his passive for a few seconds, shaking his head. "Uh, yeah. I'm sure. It's not the most accurate thing, but at this distance I'd be able to tell if it was you or her."
"Hmm, that's weird. Are you sure it only tracks based on who's in trouble?"
He groaned, hand rapidly raising to meet his face as a new thought hit him. "Well, it points towards two things. Those in need of help, and those who are Heroes. Whatever my Quirk classifies as Heroes that is."
Blondie snorted, "That'd do it. We're both training to enter UA this year."
Izuku perked up, his mood lifting. "Wait, both of you are going to attend UA? Do you know what the entrance exam is?!"
"I'm afraid not, but I may have a different proposition for you." Blondie smiled enigmatically at Izuku.
For his part, the vernadette looked on in confusion. Blondie turned back to brunette, raising an eyebrow as he nodded in Izuku's direction. Brunette squinted at him, rolling her shoulders as she pointed at Izuku. Blondie rolled his eyes over exaggeratedly, pointing towards his own head. Brunette threw her hands in the air, motioning for Blondie to do whatever he wanted.
Blondie ignored Izuku's curious gaze, "You said your Quirk involved finding people in danger or Heroes?" He waited for Izuku's nod. "Excellent. My name is Takamichi, but you can call me Taka. My Quirk works similarly to yours. It shows me the intent of who ever I'm looking at, it's how I knew you were telling the truth. Since you're aiming for UA as well, why don't you join us during training? Consider it payback for scaring my friend here."
His friend didn't look scared, she looked more annoyed. "Um. I mean. Are you sure? You just met me after all."
Taka rolled his eyes, "It's fine. Like I said, I see your intentions. You literally couldn't lie to me if you wanted."
"Uh, well if you're sure. Then I don't mind?"
"Excellent. Let's trade numbers and we'll set up a date later."
Izuku numbly handed his phone over to Taka, letting the young man quickly input his number and sent a text to his phone to save Izuku's. The two quickly said their farewells, or Taka did, the brunette simply held up a hand before silently exiting the alleyway.
Izuku blinked a few times. Trying to understand the strange change of events in less than a few minutes. "Huh. New training partners?"
Important! Please read!
Phew, latest chapter done. I'm sorry if this chapter is subpar! I ended up just needing to get something out! Otherwise I'd just keep it in my drafts constantly rewriting and editing this chapter for weeks! I've already rewrote it more than a few times. That being said, lets get onto the important bit.
Izuku unlocking his magic. It's a big step in any Gamer fic, and for good reason. It usually represents a changing point in the story itself. But here, I'm kinda split on where I want to take the direction of Izuku's magic. I have three different paths, the boring one, the slightly more interesting one, and the one I really want to do. Ultimately, this is an option I'll be leaving in your hands. I'll be combing through the comments, keeping track of what people are voting on.
The boring one is simple, only Izuku has access to magic. No one else even has so much as a mp bar. This is the boring route simply because that's the end of it. Izuku can learn magic, with a reason I'll give later, but that's it. It's also boring because it would limit what magic Izuku could learn. Without any possibility of anyone else possessing magic, he'd either have to get lucky and hope he stumbled across a book, or in a random Stat milestone. I find it unbelievable that Izuku could somehow craft a magical skill with pretty low mental stats, there will be no pumping magic into your finger until you shoot a mana bullet with mentals that low young man! You're liable to blow a finger off!
The second option is a little more fun. Izuku's world used to house magic, but in an underground magical way. And simply put, after enough mixing of magic races and human (because who wouldn't fuck a monster person?) Quirks evolved from magic. It would give Izuku more chances to learn magic, but not for magical items, and everyone with a Quirk would possess an MP bar that only works as a Quirk use bar. Of course I'd do more with the story and lore point of view, but I wouldn't be able to do a lot as more traditional magic would of gone extinct years ago.
My favorite option is to just go balls to the wall, magic exists and magical species exist and now Izuku has to deal with that knowledge. I mainly want to do this because I have a hankering to write a magical underground world type of fic. The main reason I'm so hesitant, is because I'd be walking a fine line of trying to not go too far into the magical realm to make this feel like a fic from an entirely different fandom. If I did do this, there would be much lore and word building. I'd keep it fairly tame, with the magical elements being closer to Supernatural than a Lord of the Rings situation. Like magical events happen, everyone sees them, but they play it off as normal. No that person isn't a vampire, they just have a Quirk that allows them to drink blood for a temporary power up, that's all. With this option, Izuku would have more chances to earn spells and magical items, but a few Villains would gain some magical power ups as well. However, one thing I do want to make very clear is that I will not go too insane with it. For example, there will not be a magical version of AFO that was hiding in the wings and somehow remained hidden without anyone figuring it out. I'd want to keep it within the real of believably. Not to say that there won't be people with magic who are 'bosses', just that they won't be the bbeg for Izuku to fight at the end of this fic.
Anyways, that's it for the important bit, leave your comments and tell me which one interests you most of all! If y'all aren't interested in the third option, I won't be offended. Now, onto the three red masks and their Quirks, for anyone interested.
Arrin, clawed lady: She's a pretty simple Hairy Frog mutation Quirk user. Why hairy frog? Because I realized I was using too many people with cat mutations. For those who don't know, hairy frogs are basically real life Wolverine. They force their finger bones outside of their skin to cut prey. So during the fight, Arrin was cutting up Izuku and Resupply with the sharpened tips of her finger bones. Due to being a "Hairy Frog", Arrin is actually very self conscious about her own body hair. She regularly keeps herself clean shaven.
Invisible person: He can turn up to four people, including himself, invisible. The more people he turns invisible at once, the more visible they are. Due to his already tenuous grip on his own self identity, he projects his more 'Masculine' traits more, finding it distasteful when Invisible Quirk users go by They/Them or It or whatever. Not that he's against it, but he doesn't like it when they base their gender off of their Quirk.
The person who got knocked out last chapter when they launched flashbangs inside: They have a simple, but powerful strength Quirk. They are the linchpin of the three man squad of these red masks. Arrin keeps their enemies separated and confused about the next attack, Invisible runs defense by creating noise around the rooms and keeping them invisible, and they attack the perceived strongest of the group they are fighting. Their Quirk is to take away a percentage point of strength from the person they attack, each attack grows their strength and saps the opponents. It only lasts for ten minutes, and only against one opponent, switching resets their buffs. Theoretically, they could get to All Might levels of strength, provided their body could tank an attack from the big man, or that their body wouldn't explode under the huge increase in strength without a similar increase in durability. They do go by They/them, because even random two bit villains get to be nonconforming! They actually started their criminal activities to pay for their mother's chemo. Unfortunately, the mom died before they could finish scrounging up enough cash, due in part to them getting arrested during a robbery. Due to their criminal record, they now can't get an official job, and have to resort to criminal activities.
Anyways, that's it! Tell me what you think, and I once again apologize for the late upload! Hopefully the universe won't piss on me the next time I plan to upload.
Have the bestest of days!