Chapter 2: A Hero's Drive
Name: Luna
Quirk: Bast – She can assume the abilities of any cat, from regular housecats and lions to hybrids such as ligers and tigons. Her quirk is named after Bast, the Egyptian goddess of cats.
Appearance: Though usually taking on appearances of the cats' abilities, her usual look has been compared as eerily similar to a character of the anime RWBY known as Blake, however she has a tail, and they are complete opposites in terms of personality and choice of dress. She's 14.
Warning: Language and Adult Themes
Luna walked back home after another day of school, absently rubbing her bruised wrist, which was now a shade of blue. Bakugo demanded to know how she got it, only for her to reply that it was not his concern. His anger shot through the roof at being left in the dark, but she could not let Bakugo know that it was her father. After all, how could she?
Izuku had remained strangely distant throughout the day, not paying attention whatsoever to class, so Luna took it upon herself to take notes for the boy and discreetly dropped the notes on his desk passing by, not that he noticed. Luna tried to ask what happened yesterday after he attached himself to All Might's leg, but he began to stutter so bad Luna had trouble understanding the boy. She just assumed the height of the leap traumatized the poor boy and didn't push it. Who was she to pry for secrets when she kept so many of her own?
Suddenly, a loud explosion snapped Luna out of her thoughts, and she twitched, recognizing Bakugo's Quirk a mile away. However, she felt that something was not right about the situation, and quickly used her Quirk to transform her legs and inadvertently her tail, ears, and hair into that of a cheetah's, sprinting at 50 miles per hour. She found that she could actually run faster than even the fastest cheetah if she wanted to and went down on all fours, clocking in her top speed at 72 miles per hour. However, she could only keep this speed for a about 32 seconds before she had to stop or risk crippling herself. Luna found that her body reacted similarly to a cheetah's when she went as fast as she can; not only did it make her extremely hungry, but the same mechanisms that worked in a cheetah worked inside young Luna's body. Normally, a cheetah's body allows it to sprint at the speed of around 60 miles per hour for up to a minute. However, should a cheetah try to continue past that, the cat risked tearing its leg muscles and crippling itself. Not to mention, if a cheetah didn't catch any food after doing this several times, the poor cat would be too weak and emaciated to try to attempt it again.
When she rounded a corner, she saw the same goop villain holding on to Bakugo, trying to take over his body much like he tried to take over Luna's yesterday. And she remembered her helplessness to fight against it. She recalled All Might using intense wind pressure from his Texas Smash to force the thing away, but Luna had no such capabilities. All she could possibly do was try to transform into a big cat and try to roar the goopy villain away, but that was it.
She looked around, hoping to find something that would help her, but she found nothing. All she found were burning buildings, fleeing people, and several pro heroes doing nothing but stand around, just as helpless to act as Luna. Luna seethed on the inside, frustration making her entire body stand up and look bigger, desperately trying to come up with a plan to help.
Weak. Pathetic. Just like your mother. Luna grit her teeth, her father's mocking words echoing through her mind. She had to do something fast, otherwise Bakugo could die, and then Luna wouldn't be able to even look in the Bakugo family's way.
Suddenly, Bakugo freed his mouth, desperately trying to free himself "I won't let sewage like this swallow me! You little -" suddenly, a series of explosions rippled throughout the villain's body, but ultimately, it was no use.
"What power! I've hit the jackpot!" marveled the villain "With this Quirk and power, I can get revenge on that guy!" Luna assumed he meant All Might, and her blood began to boil.
Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered and watched the event unfold. Mt. Lady appeared but could not draw close as she was too big. Kamui Woods, another hero, appeared to save Bakugo's friends, who were surrounded by flames, but Luna could care less about them. Maybe her cold nature reared its head, but all she cared about right now was saving Bakugo.
Around her, she heard the heroes talking, stating the fact that they could do nothing:
"It's no use! There's no one here who can take care of this at the scene right now!" cursed Death Arms.
"All we can do is wait for someone with a more suitable Quirk!" exclaimed another hero.
Suddenly, Midoriya erupted from the crowd, charging the villain "Midoriya-kun! Wait!" exclaimed Luna, but if Izuku heard her, he paid no mind to it.
"Idiot! Stop!" shouted a hero, but, again, Izuku paid no mind. Luna watched with wide eyes as Izuku ran forward, tears streaking down his face.
"Hey, hey! It's that boy from yesterday! Where's your girlfriend this time, huh?" taunted the villain.
Suddenly, Izuku shouted "Page 25! Make an opening!" and threw his backpack, momentarily distracting the villain "Kacchan!" Luna froze, recognizing that what Izuku said was from his notebook. Is he trying to …? He began clawing at the villain, hoping to free Bakugo, but nothing worked. Instead, the villain laughed and began to suck the struggling boy inwards. True panic and fear shot through Luna, who didn't know what to do.
You are not pathetic, kitten. A voice purred in her mind. There is a reason that I chose you to carry my power. Show them what it means to fear the cat, little one.
Suddenly, Luna's pupils thinned to become slits and she leaped forward, fully transforming into a large and unknown black cat, larger than even the cave lions of legend. Many gasped at the sight, but Luna's mind focused on one objective: save them.
She leaped, her claws tearing through the villain like paper, who shrieked in surprise. He tried to crush the girl's paws by solidifying himself, but if she felt any pain, she paid it no heed. She tore the two boys away from the villain and quickly retreated, dumping the two at the hero's feet before slowly approaching the villain. A rumble not unlike thunder echoed from the cat's chest, and for the second time that week, the villain was afraid. He tried attacking her, but the monster merely dodged with contempt in her golden eyes. Finally, she leaped and roared so loud the pressure from it slammed him into the wall, dazing him. Quickly transforming back to her human form, she picked up a bottle that somehow remained unharmed from the explosions and fire, and somehow, someway, shoved the villain into the bottle, closing the cap.
"L-Luna-chan?" shouted Izuku and Katsuki in surprise as they saw the girl approach them, shuffling towards them in a daze. She held a bottle which they realized contained the villain before absently handing it to Death Arms. He took it, shocked beyond words.
"Are you two all right?" asked Luna, smiling tiredly at the boys. They spluttered, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, Luna's eyes rolled back into her head as she fell backwards, with Kamui Woods barely catching her before she fell onto the ground. Everything was silent except for the flames that still licked the inside of several buildings, everyone shocked that a mere girl of 14 years stopped a villain many pro heroes could not.
Suddenly, Kamui Woods snapped everyone out of their daze "We need an ambulance! Move!" And suddenly everyone made way for the three teenagers, one unconscious and two following in a daze. From a distance, Toshinori Yagi watched, stunned at the sight he saw. He knew of only one person who had a similar quirk, and she rose to become the most powerful hero in the days of chaos. When everything was in anarchy, the territory she claimed and protected knew nothing but peace and prosperity. Yagi followed then with his gaze, making a note to visit the hospital where the three went.
Izuku and Katsuki sat on either side of the stretcher than Luna was strapped to. She seemed pale and barely breathing. They didn't know what so say and didn't want to say anything. They merely thought of the killer aura that they felt oozing from the girl when she transformed, marveling at her raw power. Soon, the ambulance arrived at the hospital, with the three quickly being looked over. The boys seemingly had nothing but a bad experience and a few bruises, but, inexplicably, Luna was in a coma. The diagnostics that the doctors ran confirmed that everything was alright internally, so they couldn't understand why she didn't wake up.
Within the hour, both Izuku's mother and Katsuki's parents arrived, fussing over their children. For once, the two boys set aside their differences and entered Luna's room, where Yagi was already sitting in a chair, watching her.
When Izuku's mother entered with everyone else and saw the man, she asked "Excuse me, sir, but how is your daughter?"
Yagi flinched, jumping upwards "She's not my daughter! Just a family friend is all." Izuku, of course, recognized it to be All Might, but he kept silent. Mitsuki, however, merely narrowed her eyes at the man. She heard rumors of the man Luna's father was, and it made her suspicious of the man instantly. Why would her father send his friend over, but not come himself?
Suddenly, Luna awoke, groaning and trying to sit up. Yagi instantly rushed to her side, helping her sit up while the girl clutched her head, moaning at the raging migraine she was currently experiencing. Everyone crowded around the bed, silently watching the girl.
"Why does my head hurt so bad?" Luna mumbled, clutching her head in apparent agony.
"You overdid your quirk, Luna. You shouldn't have gone so far." She flicked her gaze to rest on the man, not knowing him, but decided now was not the time to ask him questions.
"If I didn't, Midoriya-kun and Bakugo-chan would have been seriously hurt. I couldn't wait around doing nothing. I never really got my response, either. How are you two?"
Surprisingly, both Izuku and Katsuki muttered that they were fine, worry clearly etched on Izuku's face while it was not as apparent on Katsuki's, but worried he was.
"Are you all right, Luna?" asked Masaru Bakugo "What happened?"
"I don't know, Masaru-sama. I remember seeing Bakugo trapped, Izuku being sucked into the villain. Then I heard a voice – AH!" a searing pain erupted in Luna's forehead, hear ears folding and her leaning forward, clutching her forehead in agony. Yagi held her.
"Perhaps now is not the time to ask questions." Suggested Yagi "I'll go get the doctor. Could you hold her?" he directed the question to Mitsuki Bakugo, who nodded and supported her while the girl sat, trembling with pain.
A few moments later, a doctor, who identified himself as Doctor Suni, appeared with Toshinori, who helped the girl right herself and gave her some anti-migraine medication.
"Perhaps everyone should leave except Luna-kun's family friend should leave. You can visit tomorrow if she is not released by then." The Bakugo and Midoriya families said their goodbye as Toshinori remained behind while the doctor wrote down some information from the machine next to Luna. Soon, he too left, leaving Luna and Toshinori alone.
"So, I suppose now would be the time I ask who you are, sir." Stated Luna.
"Uh, yes. My name is Toshinori Yagi. I suppose you could say I am a family friend – "began Toshinori Yagi, but Luna interrupted.
"My father" spat Luna "has no friends, so I suggest you redo that before I call for security." Toshinori sweat dropped at the venom in her voice. Why?
"Alright then. Let me rephrase that. I know what you are." Toshinori said, but if he expected a reaction besides confusion, he didn't get one. Lune raised an eyebrow, letting go of her head as the anti-migraine medication started to take effect.
"Could you please explain yourself? I'm just a 14-year-old girl with a cat Quirk. I'm nothing special."
Toshinori furrowed his eyebrows "You mean to tell me you don't know?"
"Know what?" Yagi sighed.
"Never mind. I wasn't lying about the family friend part, Luna. I was a friend of your mother." That certainly got a reaction out of the girl. Her tail began to whip back and forth, her ears almost invisible in her hair as her eyes narrowed.
"Tread carefully, Toshinori-sama. You may just find a tigress waiting to ambush her prey." Carefully said Luna, avoiding Toshinori's eyes. He hesitated.
"Look. I don't know your family situation, nor am I pretending I do. Just … if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Luna gave a small nod "I apologize for my rash words. I, er, will leave now." And indeed he left, leaving Luna to ponder his words.
I know what you are. This was certainly interesting. Luna was discharged at the end of the day at around six in the evening and made her way home, avoiding the Bakugo and Midoriya homes which were surprisingly close to each other.
When she entered, she announced her presence, but only heard the television blaring. Suddenly, her ears pricked when she heard the report:
"We are still investigating the incident, but according to witness, a cat-girl managed to apprehend the villain, something that pro heroes like Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods were not able to do. Now, a witness account."
"It was scary, you know." Flowed the pleasant voice of a woman "We watched as the heroes basically stood back, twiddling their thumbs, when suddenly a boy runs out and attacks the villain. Nothing comes from this, when suddenly a terrifyingly large black cat leaps out of the shadows, rescues the two boys, and basically apprehends the villain in a matter of a few minutes. Then, out of the smoke comes out a dazed little girl, holding a Sprint energy bottle with the villain inside. I didn't get a good look as she was rushed to an ambulance, but the heroes should be ashamed of themselves, forcing two young children to fight their battles." The television was turned off, and Luna nervously edged her way into the living room. There, her father sat in his usual armchair, silent.
"Playing hero, are we Luna?" asked her father.
"No sir, I just wanted to save my friends." Luna responded. Her fight and flight response kicked in, adrenaline coursing through her veins. If needed, she'd sprint to her room and lock the door, aware of how much her father despised heroes.
"Hmm." Was all he said "You can go to your room. No chores today." If Luna wasn't already nervous, she definitely was now. Her father never spared her from chores, and she nervously bowed and left. She carefully locked her door, set her chair underneath the door handle, opened her window, and sat on her bed, not daring to sleep. She carefully watched her door with her ears pricked and tail wrapped around her knees as she rested her chin on them, waiting for the first sign of danger. She sat like this for the entire night, not knowing what to expect, but nothing happened.
The next morning, she got up, packed her backpack, and went downstairs, only to find breakfast already ready. She hesitated, seeing her father asleep in his armchair. She picked up a blanket and draped it over him, then hesitantly tried the porridge that was lukewarm. She was surprised to find it tasted good. She quietly left the house and locked the door, not knowing what to think of her father. He made it abundantly clear to her at a young age that he despised anything to do with heroes, but now, he makes her breakfast after her so called heroics? Luna's musings made her completely oblivious to the whispers of people who recognized her from the few clips that surfaced.
When she plopped down at her table, many of the students began to whisper about her involvement with the prior day's villain. Finally, a girl gathered her courage and asked.
"Uh, excuse me Luna-san, but could I ask you a question?"
Luna, just realizing the class's attention was focused on her, as well as Bakugo's and Midoriya's, flattened her ears and shrunk back into her seat, but merely nodded, flicking her eyes from Izuku and Katsuki and back, noticing the new tension between the two.
"Were … were you the big, black cat that saved Bakugo-kun and Midoriya-kun yesterday?" Her hair stood up, and everyone leaned back subconsciously away from her.
"Tell me, Iriyasha-san" Iriyasha flinched "Have you ever heard of such an animal before?" Iriyasha shook her head "Then, you will know that I cannot transform into a cat that never existed. Only real cats are within my limits, and even then, extinct cats are hard, as even scientists don't know how exactly they look like." Iriyasha nodded. Then, class started, but Luna noticed how tired Izuku was. The whole day, Izuku was out of it again. She again copied notes for Izuku, but this time, made sure to catch him after class. Bakugo, in regular fashion, always was the first to leave the class. She waited for Izuku to stumble out of class and caught him outside.
"Midoriya-kun." Called Luna, and Izuku panicked "Y-yes L-Luna-chan?"
"Are you alright? You seem very tired."
"O-oh, I just s-started my training for U.A. is all, L-Luna-chan."
"Oh, okay. That's pretty smart, actually; you have quite a bit of time to prepare. I have some notes that I copied for you."
"Thanks, Luna-chan." Izuku went to grab them, but Luna held on. "However." Midoriya gulped "I won't do this for you every day. Midoriya-kun. I understand you desperately want to train; but you need to strike a key balance for it. You cannot completely disregard your schoolwork and health in favor of training. Got it? To make sure of this, I will accompany you for the beginning, but will not interfere." What could young Midoriya do? He nodded.
And so, for the first month, Luna took it upon herself to make sure that Izuku didn't go beyond his body's needs. She somehow managed to convince her father to allow her to leave early in the morning and late at night to train with Midoriya, and true to her word, she didn't interfere. Though she didn't exactly trust Toshinori Yagi, she didn't say anything. She trained her own body and Quirk while keeping a watchful eye on Midoriya. After the month passed, she left as promised, happy that Midoriya found the perfect balance of training and rest.
Luna's routine usually started with a long-distance run of about 15 miles, training both her body's endurance and stamina while also training her ability to harness her Quirk longer. She began to use her less common forms, such as the caracal, snow leopard, serval, and lynx. Though they were by no means cats adapted to long-distance runs, Luna made it work. She also trained to increase her strength while in the her lion and tiger forms, first going from barely scratching metal doors to denting them after the 9 months. She practiced her navigation of tough terrain using her snow leopard and jaguar forms, while practicing her leaps with the bobcat and caracal forms. For a solid beginning that was well-rounded in everything, Luna practiced her puma, or mountain lion form. Though practically unheard of in Japan, she had plenty of exposure to them when she lived in Canada and hoped to throw off future opponents who likely never heard of them before.
Full body transformations were hard, but over the nine months of rigorous training, Luna managed to nail the more common forms she would likely use, such as the lioness, tigress, jaguar, leopard, and cheetah forms, while becoming heavily proficient in turning into the smaller cats. A favorite pastime of Luna's became transforming into a regular black housecat and patrolling the streets near her house, and many times when her father saw her, he didn't even bat an eye. Luna didn't know what caused the change in him, but he acted more human towards her, which at first was a little jarring.
Another aspect that Luna began to train were her senses. Cats had much better night-vision and hearing than most humans, however it came with the cost of a severely muted color spectrum, being able to only see shades of white, black, blue, and a bit of yellow, though not much. While at first, she could understand most of what was going on in a ten meters around her, at the end of her training, she managed to push a complete understanding of about twenty meters, which was pretty good.
Her favorite exercise, however, was training her top speed of her cheetah form. While Luna could previously attain a speed of 72 miles per hours for 32 seconds, at the end of the nine months she pushed it to 76 miles per hour for about 41 seconds. Though at first glance the change seems minimal, Luna found that the smallest changes could have the biggest effect.
In addition to the training, Luna continued to keep a tight schedule for her day. Every two days, she would work for a weekly total of twelve hours, earning about ¥44,500 per month. Most of it went to bills and rent, but she always had enough for small, healthy meals, as well as a tiny amount of surplus. She also invested in some training equipment, which her father miraculously allowed to be placed in an empty room. She turned it into a home gym and was surprised when her father began to use it. It was without her permission, of course, but Luna didn't expect anything different from him.
Though the new changes were rough in the beginning, Luna was always able to keep at it because of the inspiration she received from Midoriya, who, despite being Quirkless, managed to push himself to new heights, and after a few months, she began to see a physical change in Midoriya. Though Luna was never interested in brawn in boys, she had to admit it was highly impressive. Though Midoriya was never unhealthy, he was always considered scrawny and gangly, not that Luna would ever say that to him.
Now that Luna thought about it, nothing would have been possible without Toshinori Yagi. She instantly distrusted the man, yet he helped Midoriya even though he had no real connection with the boy. What gives? Regardless, Luna needed to make amends. She let her personal opinions cloud her judgement, and she would make it up to him. When she arrived home, she first made dinner for her father, as she did not know how long she would be searching for Toshinori Yagi.
"What are you doing?" gruffly asked her father, entering their kitchen.
"I am preparing dinner, sir." Luna hesitated.
"Out with it, girl." "Well, I was also going to prepare a meal for a friend's trainer as well."
"What, he can't feed himself?"
"He can, sir. This is an apology from me to him. At first, I didn't trust him, but now I feel guilty for doing so."
"Feeling guilt is an admission of weakness. What's the man's name?"
"His name is Toshinori Yagi." All motion stopped from her father, and before Luna could react, he had her by the back of her hair, slamming it onto the kitchen counter. Luna winced at the pain, now thoroughly confused and slightly scared.
"What did you say?" growled her father, nostrils flaring and angry eyes piercing hers.
"Toshinori Yagi, sir." Silence ensued, Luna now not knowing what to think in the slightest.
"When did you meet him?"
"He visited me in the hospital, sir."
"Did you say anything you weren't supposed to?"
"No, sir. I promise."
"What did you say, then?"
"He tried to say he was a family friend, but I cut him off, sir. You never mentioned him, so I assumed he was lying. He clarified that he was a family friend of … her."
He snorted "No, that bastard wasn't lying. He never does, really. Tries to always tell the truth, something about a code of honor or some other bullshit idea." He let her go, Luna rubbing her head where she felt a bump already forming.
"Sir, if I may?"
"What?"
"Did … did he visit you that same day?" He whipped around to glare at her but saw there was only curiosity in her eyes.
"Curiosity killed the cat. I would've thought that you would have that drilled through your thick skull, considering your Quirk. Do whatever the hell you want, just get home by nine." And with that, he stomped upstairs, slamming the door to his bedroom.
Luna carefully returned to the task at hand, preparing a note for her father to heat it up if he ate past six. She prepared Toshinori's meal, and set out, looking for him. Luna's instincts told her to look for him at the beach where he trained Midoriya, and she found him there, staring at the sunset of a clean beach. Luna blanched slightly. Yes, she saw that Midoriya was cleaning the beach, but she didn't think he would be done. Quite coincidental, considering the entrance exam to U.A. High was in a few days. She approached Toshinori Yagi.
"Excuse me, Toshinori-sama." He turned around and widened his eyes slightly when he saw it was her.
"Hello, Luna. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing well, thank you. I came here to apologize."
"Apologize?"
"Yes, sir. When I first met you, I was convinced you couldn't be trusted, yet despite no connection with Midoriya-kun, you helped him prepare for the entrance exam as well. I beg for your forgiveness." Luna bowed, holding out the basket to him. Toshinori took it hesitantly.
"Eh? Oh, no need to apologize, Luna. I can understand why you wouldn't trust me at first." Luna frowned but quickly covered it with a small smile. She noted a similarity in speech as All Might, but assumed he was just a fan.
"No, Toshinori-sama. I must apologize. Inside you will find a full meal. As I have come to understand it, you are slightly below the healthy weight range for your age, and have included a heavy protein, carb, and fat meal. I hope you enjoy it." He quirked an eyebrow.
"How old do you think I am, Luna?"
"Not to be pretentious, Toshinori-sama, but around 50."
"That's … that's eerily close."
"It might be due to my enhanced senses of my Quirk but thank you. However, this was not only a reason to apologize to you. This was also a thank you from me."
"To thank me?"
"Yes, for helping Midoriya-kun. Despite me believing in him, I never really helped him. You, on the other hand, despite being a stranger to him, took him under your wing and trained him to become fit."
"Don't discredit yourself too much, Luna. Young Midoriya spoke highly of you, protecting him from bullies. He said one of the reasons he was so driven was because of your unwavering faith in him." Luna blinked up at him in surprise but gave a small smile.
"Toshinori-sama, may I ask you a few questions regarding my family? It seems you know more than I do despite me living in it."
"Sure, I got some time to kill."
"May I ask how you knew my mother?"
"Ah, that. We were actually classmates for most of our lives growing up, and me being Quirkless made me quite the target." Luna filed the information away while politely nodding "Anyways, your mother, Bastinara-chan, often defended my from them, much like you do for young Midoriya. We were friends until she moved to British Colombia, where she met 'the love of my life', as she said in a letter. Communication was sparse after that, and ultimately stopped about four years ago. May I ask what happened? I never figured out what happened."
Luna's tail began to twitch, averting her eyes from Toshinori "Well, the blunt truth is that she was sleeping with another man. My father was furious, and rightfully so. He was basically the perfect husband and father, and when he found out, it shattered him."
"Ah. I apologize for asking about such a delicate topic." His face darkened slightly.
"Believe it or not, Toshinori-sama, I felt strangely compelled to tell you since the first day I met you. I don't know why, probably some subconscious instinct, but nevertheless, I did." He looked surprised but didn't say anything.
"Toshinori-sama?" He hummed in response "Did you by chance visit my father when I was still in the hospital?" He tore his gaze from the sunset and looked at Luna.
"I did, child. Never have I met such a broken man as your father. I sensed the greatness he once possessed, but now he is too far gone."
"Forgive me for asking, Toshinori-sama, but did you do something to threaten him?" He flinched slightly at the question.
"Why do you ask?" Toshinori asked warily.
"Well, it's just that he began to treat me much better since that day, and, well, I thought the opposite was about to occur. He constantly flaunted his hatred for heroes since my mother left, and I thought … "
"Thought what?"
"Never mind, it's not important. I must go now. Good night, Toshinori-sama. And thank you for the conversation." And with that, Luna jogged home, transforming her lower legs into that of a lioness.
That child is something special. Thought Toshinori Yagi. She's humble and polite, yet she has no clue what she truly is. I hope she learns the truth one day. However, I'm still worried about her. I hope she manages to weather the storm.
Hello and welcome back to Bast's Legacy! Here is the second chapter. Even though some places seemed forced, I think the chapter was decently written. I don't really have much else to say, so this Author's Note will be relatively short. Stay safe out there! – Bananaman out!