Chapter 28: Internships will improve you or kill you
(Earlier that day – With Kendo)
'This is him?' Kendo thought to herself as she stood at the entrance of a rather run-down-looking building. The man she was looking at was a small, frail-looking old man in a hero white and yellow hero costume. She had walked in on a sight that made her nearly scream her head off and call the cops but it appears that was a false alarm.
"Oh my, how clumsy of me. I was carrying a plate full of sausages and tomato sauce when I slipped and fell, now they're a big mess to me to deal with." The elder said as he wiped some tomato sauce off his costume which somehow was still clean, even though it should be covered in sauce.
'It didn't look like that when I walked in! I thought you've been murdered for goodness sake!' She thought to herself as she wondered if she had the right address. No way this was the guy she chose.
"Now, who are you?" The man asked her with a cheerful face, regardless of the fact he was speaking with a stranger.
"Oh, huh-My name is Itsuka Kendo of UA! I came to do my hero internship here!" Kendo let out as she stood stiffly. She may think he was out of his prime in both body and mind but that didn't mean she wouldn't show respect.
"What?" The masked man asked her, great so he was hard at hearing too!
"Itsuka Kendo!" She repeated, even louder this time.
.
.
.
"Who are you? You are going to have to speak up, I'm what you call hard of hearing, little lady." He informed her of what she already thought, dropping her expectations even lower as she figured she would sooner spend her week helping him like some nurse the actually learn anything!
'Oh for the love of-! When I asked the staff, Nezu said he was All Might's teacher back in the day! That rat didn't tell me he was senile! I mean, I knew he would be old but I at least thought he would be….anything than this.' She thought to herself as she recalled how she asked her principal who gave her the recommendation to choose him. Now she saw what Vlad meant when he said that little rat would screw with you just for shits and giggles. Her classmates were going to improve while she was stuck with…this guy. All of a sudden, the old man dropped to his bottom like a toddler.
"I'm feeling hungry." He said out of the blue. Okay, this was it, she was out-she had much better things to do than this.
"Hungry?" She asked him confused before she just reached for her phone and pulled it out. "Okay, would you excuse me while I make a-What the hell?!" That was what she wanted to say if not for the fact she felt a gust of wind, got pushed back a bit, and lost hold of her case containing her hero gear-all within 2 seconds. When she got her bearing back, she saw that same old goat going through her case like he owned the thing!
'When did he? How did he?' She asked herself as he picked up her mask and inspected it.
"Why don't you show me what you got?" He asked her, sounding very different from before. As before he sounding like a cheerful if not confused elder now he sounded like he was a calm and focused instructor.
"What?" That was all she could ask as her brain struggled to make sense of this.
"I've seen what you can do with that quirk of yours. Now I want to see how well you fight in an enclosed space." He said as he turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye. Did he want her to fight in his home? That was nuts.
'What's with this guy? First, he's senile and now he's as sharp as Vlad-sensei?' She questioned as she observed him and even saw his stance and posture were different from before. This one reflecting that of fighters…with years of experience. He observed her as well before he turned his attention back to her case as he looked everything over.
"A pretty standard costume. Fits your style. Go the bathroom and change into it so we can begin, now!" He ordered her as he tossed her case right back at her-surprising her that he had the strength needed in that little body of his before he pointed to a door that she guessed was a bathroom.
"Sir…I don't really understand what is going on right now." Kendo said as she awkwardly held onto her case with both hands.
"Is that right?..." The man said as he stood straight before he crouched down to the floor. Before she could react he jetted off and started to bounce around the room. Off the walls, the ceiling, and the table tops-nothing was left untouched as he moved like a graceful animal before he shot right on past her towards the door. She turned as fast as she could and saw he had hit the wall above the doorway with enough force to crack it but he was still holding onto it, showing that his so-called frail body was much more powerful than she thought as his hands gripped the wall hard enough for his gloved fingers to sink into it.
"In that case, there even more reason for us to get started, you zygote!" He said to her with a menacing smile that reminded her too much of what Vlad would get before he threw them through a particularly challenging test or obstacle.
"I watched the UA sports festival and saw all your little moments on camera. You have a solid head on your shoulders, know how to work in a group, and can take a punch but you're still a 1st year and worse than a novice sidekick!" He mocked her, bring her confidence down as she recalled her…match with Mei and how that went down. But there was something else on her mind. She recalled hearing someone else use that word.
'I hope you zygotes are ready for training today.' 'All Might, he used the same phrase. They also play dumb in a similar way. Was he really trained by this guy?' She recalled All Might said the same thing once before when they had a hero class with him. Did he pick that up from him?
"I may be old that it's shameful that this is what the profession of hero has been reduced to, but rather than sit at home and complain like some old fart-I'm going to do something about it." The man said as he looked down at her, his smile never fading. "When I'm done with you, you'll be a force to be reckoned with so-put on your costume." He repeated himself though this time around, Kendo smiled back at him as she realized that this week may just be a productive one yet. After all…
If he could teach the number one hero and help forge him into what he is now, there's no telling how much stronger she would get if she was trained by him as well.
"I am looking forward to working with you, Gran Torino." Kendo said as she quickly ran off towards the bathroom to change. Oh, this was going to be great!
(With Midoriya and Kodai)
"The two of you will be put through the wringer during the time you will be interning here. Your schedules have been planned out so that you get the most out of this internship, understand?" Yoroi Musha told them as he walked back and forth in front of their treadmills as the two-run along on the stationary equipment.
"Yes sir!" They both replied, sweating a bit as they had been at this for about 10 minutes but from the look, he was giving them, they could see he wasn't going to let them off anytime soon.
"During this week, you will nothing but train, exercise your bodies and quirks, spar with some of the sidekicks and myself, and join in on some of the patrols with either myself or a sidekick. There will be breaks in-between for rest and meals but while here you will only eat breakfast and dinner." He informed them as he turned his back to them to observe the others present as they did their own work-outs. Xever had long since left to carry on whatever he was doing.
"No lunch?" Midoriya asked as he felt a tear move down his face. The pro didn't even turn to answer him.
"No, learn to tough it out. Patrols often or not can go on for 6 hours or more. In that time, you will be expected to perform your job to the best of your ability at any time." He told them both as he turned around and looked them both in the eyes. "Is that clear?"
"Yes sir!" They both replied as they kept at it. They knew it would be hard and there was no way they would quit now. This was all necessary for their futures as pros so they would take it and own it!
'Why does the world have to be cruel?' Midoriya thought to himself as he thought back to the packed lunch he got from Yu, and how he would have to wait till dinner to taste it.
(Meanwhile – In the center of Tokyo)
Meanwhile, back in Tokyo Bakugo was dealing with his own issues as he stood inside the agency of one of the best heroes in Japan. And right in front of him stood that same man.
"Frankly, you are a mystery to me." The fifth-ranked hero, Tsunagu Hakamata aka the Fiber hero: Best Jeanist said to him with his back turned.
"Huh?" Bakugo asked, he was confused as well as to why the fifth-ranked hero office was so open as all around them were the desks of sidekicks, sidekicks who were present and watching this all go down.
"Tell me," He started as he turned around to face him. "Did you choose my agency because I am one of the top five heroes?"
"You're the one who put out the offer in the first place! But," Bakugo started with his usual anger before he calmed himself down and answered the question. "No, it wasn't"
"Oh?" Jeanist seemed intrigued with his answer.
"I heard from a…classmate." Bakugo started as he been given advice by his class rep about his choices. "That you have a talent for helping heroes who have… behavior issues. Like Mt. Lady." And Midoriya recommended this guy for him. When he asked why all he told him was that it would aid him greatly and that he should consider it.
"Hmmm? It's been a while since I've heard someone bring her up in conversation. But yes, she was one of my more…difficult sidekicks." Jeanist said as he thought back to how difficult the girl was when she first started working with him. Nonetheless, he was quite proud of himself seeing how well she was doing these days. Maybe he'll give her call. "But I am curious as to why you want to change." But that didn't change the matter at hand. It was rare for someone like Bakugo to actively want to change, most times you had to force or trick them so this was unexpected.
"I watched your performance. Your intelligence and problem-solving skills are a cut above the rest. You're tenacity, combat skills and quirk are also nothing to scoff at either and you have affirmed understanding of your own abilities and their potential uses and you already are at the level where I would consider taking you as a sidekick but…from what I observe, you have one fatal flaw." Jeanist told him honestly as even though it would inflate his ego, the truth was the truth. Besides, the next bit would bring him back down to earth. "Your temperament is nearly non-existent, your treatment of others is appalling and your prideful attitude is more suited towards that of a villain. In essence," Jeanist told him as the boy struggled to hold back what was surely an angry retort. "You are an animal…at least, you were." Jeanist conceded as he closed his eyes and leaned back onto his desk.
"Wha?" Bakugo, who was about to burst in rage-paused as that last sentence registered.
"The fact that you chose my agency because we wish to fix this shows that you aren't hopeless. But I don't think you came to this understanding on your own, so how did this abrupt change in attitude came about?" Jeanist could admit, he was curious as to what brought on this change.
"….Let's just say I saw the future prediction of what would become of me if I don't work to change myself." Bakugo said as his mind flashed back to that tunnel during the sports festival-where he learned about Todoroki rather lacking childhood and the purpose of which he was born or as it put it 'created'.
"Hmm, I won't push too much into it if you don't feel like sharing, nonetheless." Jeanist said as he stood straight once more. "As a hero, it is my job to fix the behavior of people like you. The line between hero and villains may be thought of clear cut but it can be blurred and confusing. So it is my job to show you what makes a hero even in the most troubling of times."
"What is it you intend to do?" Bakugo asked him, now just mildly irritated.
The way you speak, the way you carry yourself. Your emotions and morals…" Jeanist listed them all off as he looked him straight in the eye. "We will work on all of them during this short time we have of a week but, I will ensure to sow everything I can onto your body and soul."
(With Tetsutetsu)
"Now that we have gotten past introductions and manners," The smartly dressed, four-armed man said as he eyes the two interns in front of his desk who were nursing bruises from how he knocked them over the head for interrupting him. "I can begin with the basics. Pro heroes are first and foremost, public servants. This means that for our work, we are paid by the government. So in essence, we are not so different from firefighters or police as we both with towards the safety of the public." He explained to them as it was always seen by the ignorant public that heroes were these supermen that made a ton of money and were the modern-day rock-stars but it was quite different. "However, because of the nature of hero work, there are clear cut differences between the three professions based around the duties and training of each." He then went on to explain how they differ as the two listened closely.
"As for the actual duties of pro heroes…" As he went on, Tetsutetsu found his own mind wondering back to All Might, and how he had agreed to become his successor. He didn't really understand it all, even now but he did know that with All Might's power-he can help more people and carry on what he had built. But that was thinking for another time as he could Fourth Kind was catching onto the fact he wasn't listening.
This was going to hurt.
(With Uraraka)
"At our core, the duties of a pro is controlling crime, you see?" Gunhead explained to his young charge as they walked along the streets. "Whenever a crime occurs, depending on the situation, the police may call in local hero support. The requests themselves come in all at once by district, get it?" he asked her to make sure she was keeping up.
"Mostly." Uraraka replied as she kept her eyes on him.
"We then file the reports on the services we provided during a said incident like assisting in arrest or rescuing people to the government office you know as the Hero Public Safety Commission. They then pay us an amount based on what we had done and the type and scale of the situation." He explained to her before he shrugged his shoulders. "We usually as paid a percentage."
The way he talks is so cute.' Uraraka thought to herself with a blush as he sounded so adorable right now. How can someone so big do that?
"But it's important to remember what the job of a pro is more than a profession, it's a way of life so you can't treat this like a 9 to 5 office job. Even if you're not on the clock if there is a situation happening such as a burning building and you can help, do so as it's the right thing to do. If there is one thing I hate if pros who merely do this for the money and nothing else. Sure you don't get paid if you do hero work off the clock but what's the point of being pro if not to help people?" He revealed a part of his own beliefs to her as they walked. Uraraka didn't know that last part but she did agree with him. Sure she wanted the pay but that wouldn't stop her from doing good things. She couldn't possibly imagine what type of hero would sit back and do nothing just cause they won't be compensated for their actions.
(TV Station – With Yaoyorozu)
"In addition to our normal hero work, pros are allowed to side jobs. So long as it doesn't affect your hero work and isn't illegal-one can basically do whatever." The Snake Hero: Uwabani said to Yaoyorozu as the two were in the hero's dressing room as the blonde finished touching up her make-up. "Of course, there were many who didn't think it was right for heroes to have what they called distractions from their main line of work but our popularity and public demand won out in the end." She said, referring to the times when it was even illegal for heroes to have a secondary job in many countries, including Japan but such systems and beliefs died out long before the pro was even born. "It does help as most pros retire at the same age as sports athletes so having experience and an education in other fields keeps both pros who retired from age or injury of the pensioner's list till their ripe old age." She finished as that was one of the main arguments used by those who wanted to be more than heroes. Many didn't want to spend their lives as public servants and then go onto pension at age 50. It was because of this that many hero schools started to teach more than just hero-related classes.
After all, it was common knowledge that pros like Recovery Girl had a doctorate in medicine and had the skills required to be a GP and surgeon. While others such as Present Mic had their own radio talk show going on for them. She herself not only had her modeling career but she was also a successful businesswoman and ran a lucrative perfume business.
"So right now, I'm about to film a commercial so why don't you stick around." She said as she reached for her lipstick. Yaoyorozu on the other hand was confused as she would have thought they would do more…hero work than this. But before she could raise that concern, the snake hero beat her to it.
"Do you know why I picked you?" Uwabani asked her as she stood up, having completed her make-up.
"Because you fell for your qualifications as heroes?" Yaoyorozu answered the best she could, to which the snake hero chuckled a bit.
"Mostly but there were two other reasons." She corrected before she pointed at the younger girl. "It is because of your flaws."
"Huh?" Yaoyorozu was lost now, why would you pick someone for their flaws?
"I noticed that after your….match that you didn't look too confident in yourself." The snake hero at least looked apologetic for bringing it up.
"Well, it wasn't exactly my highest moment." Yaoyorozu said as she looked away bashfully, sure she wasn't as broken up about as she used to be but it still stung.
"I can imagine, but that's not the point. The point is that I wanted to help you with that since as you very well know, pros are in the spotlight nearly 24 seven days a week. If we're visibly down or depressed, it doesn't help public confidence or safety as more criminals would act thinking we aren't in the right position to stop them." She explained to the girl.
"So we have to act confident, even when we aren't?" Yaoyorozu asked the woman who in turn, nodded her head to her. It was sad but it was true. People look up to them so they needed to be their pillars-even if they didn't feel strong enough themselves.
"That's the core of it. All Might may well be the symbol of peace but we all have to do our part to keep the peace, especially since he hasn't been as active lately." Uwabani revealed to the girl as they both walked out of the dressing room towards the set for her shoot.
"He hasn't?" Yaoyorozu asked. She never noticed that but then again, she never cared to look. All she thought she needed to know was that he was there to keep them safe so she just focused on her studies.
"There was once a time when he was almost always out in the streets, stopping crime-saving lives," Uwabani started with a dreamy look in her eyes. She wasn't ashamed to admit she had a crush on him once upon a time. "Being voted number one 'hero husbando' material year after year." When she let that one out, she looked at her young intern with a teasing smirk as Momo blushed at that one. She knew of that concept but she swears she never voted! Not even once! "But these days, it's not the case. If you ask me, I just think it's age as All Might has been around for 20 plus years, even he has to slow down as the years go by." The blonde finished with a sigh as she could only imagine how much strain all that responsibility could put on a single person. As much as people forgot about it. All Might wasn't some Godsend or a deity. He was human…
Which meant like all humans, he would slow down, grow weaker, and eventually….die. She wasn't too sure society could take that kind of shock so he prayed that he at least lived long enough to see retirement. That way the transition period would be much smoother and painless.
"Anyway, I wanted to take you under my wing so that we can work in that confidence of yours. This brings us to the third reason I picked you." Uwabani as she sought to change the subject.
"What is it?" Yaoyorozu said as she saw what the elder woman was doing but went along with it.
"It's the fact that you are cute as a button." Uwabani revealed as she brought up one of her perfectly manicured fingers to her lips with a smirk.
.
.
.
"Huh?" Yaoyorozu asked. That was it!?
(With Jiro)
"Heroes must practice and train every day. That's doesn't change even when out on a patrol!" Death Arms told his young intern as the two jogged through the streets. It was lucky for them that people had the sense of mind to move out of the way when they saw them coming.
"R-right!" Jiro breathed out as she struggled to keep up. Sure she wasn't out of shape but she wasn't expecting such a big guy to be able to move like this?
'This is harder than P.E! We've been jogging for almost an hour now.' She thought to herself as they turned a corner and much to her dismay, she could see the incline of the road which meant they would be running uphill now.
(With on unlucky pervert)
"An important thing for heroes to do is knowing how to pass the idle hours. I find keeping yourself busy with a productive hobby works best but training our mind isn't a bad thing either." Mt. Lady said as she looked through some catalogs for office supplies. She was thinking of upgrading her small agency and she figured she would need new furniture. Of nothing else then for clients. Meanwhile, at the foot of the chair, she was lounging on, lay Mineta who was struggling to keep the pace as he did push-ups with two 10kg flat weights on his back. It didn't help that he wasn't allowed to look down as this witch of a woman had placed one of her fashion magazines on the floor. It would have been fine if not for the fact it was turned to the bikini section and there were some swimsuits being modeled that were neatly criminal with how much of the rather sexy models skin they showed off.
"Y-yes." Mineta gasped out as he lifted himself for the 28th time.
"Yes, what?" Mt. Lady asked him with a smile that screamed you were screwed if you answer wrong.
"Yes, mam…." Mineta corrected him as he gave into his base desire and peeped down at a brunette bombshell in a two-piece. He figured that if he was quick she wouldn't notice. She wasn't even looking at him.
But he was wrong. So very wrong.
"Oh no, you looked, didn't you?" Mt. Lady asked/stated as she got up from the chair and walked over the corner of the room, where there was a stake of identical weights to the ones he already had on his back.
"It was an acid-arg!" Mineta tied to explain to get out of more work but before he could even finish his sentence, he found that she added another one to his load-increasing it to 30kg which already made up around more than half his body weight.
"That's another 10kg and 20 extra push-ups for you. Remember, so much as peak and its 10kg and 20 extra push-ups." Mt. Lady reminded him with a rather cruel(in his opinion) smile as he already had to finish 100 push-ups in the beginning but after being caught for the second time now, it was 140 with 30kg dead weight.
"This is torture." Mineta cried as he held back the tears. He would at least keep his pride dammit!
"This is punishment and training, two birds with one stone." His pro-teacher said as she sat right back down and watched him much more closely now. "Quite frankly, such behavior can be seen as criminal as I've known powerful women in both fashion and industry that put naughty little boys like you," The behavior was the fact that not even ten minutes into the meeting between the two, she caught sight of what he brought with him, a Goddamn spy camera. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he planned for it. "Behind bars, this might not be American so no 'fun in the showers' for you fortunately but good luck finding a good job after that." She finished as took a sip of the coffee she had served herself earlier. It may be cold but she was too entertained to get up and reheat it.
"I don't know how you see it but no female would feel safe being rescued or protected by a pervert like you. Besides, you only gone up 20kg and 40 push-ups since we started, based on what I was told, I thought it would be quadruple that by now." Mt. Lady said as she really did believe he could be changed. If someone, as rumored to be tough as Eraserhead, let him stay in his class, then he must have some redeeming qualities, right?
"Who told you that?!" Mineta yelled at her. Too tired to realize he probably earned himself another 10kg. As she got up to get said extra weights for his disrespectful tone, she thought back to the chat she had with her boyfriend last Saturday.
Bird watcher: 'Be warned, he's a pervert the likes of which would make Jiraiya look like Kakashi by comparison.'
Tokyo Giants: 'Thanks for the head-up. I already have something in mind.'
Bird Watcher: 'Send pictures?'
Tokyo Giants: 'U know it.'
Bird Watcher: 'Have I ever told you how much I loved you?'
Tokyo Giants: 'More than the times you said you like trolling people like Mineta or blonde bomber.'
"From a reliable source, but that's not the issue right now-you still need to finish your punishment and then finish off the cleaning. A hero's agency as to look presentable after all, right?" Mt. Lady reminded him as she originally was going to give him some type of hazing she got when she started to work for Jeanist-which was to clean his agency dressed like a damn French maid Mineta screwed himself over faster than she could have hoped! She knew from experience as demeaning it was but she also didn't rise too much of racket as Jeanist did that to everyone, he didn't matter if she was one of few women working there and sole female sidekick as not a week into it-she was joined by a new male sidekick.
'Dammit, I thought this would a so cool! I should have known something when that hero otaku Midoriya laughed his ass off when he heard who I was interning with!' Mineta thought to himself as he recalled how foreboding his class rep's laugh was when he saw his hand in his choice. He just thought he was trying to scare him, clearly, that bird lover knew more than he was letting on!
(Later in the afternoon – Endeavour Hero Agency)
"It took you long enough, Shoto." Endeavour spoke to his son from behind the desk of his office. Currently, the two were in a rather large and luxurious office of his agency. It was the second tallest hero agency in japan at over 40 floors, only supposed by All Might's-which vexed the redhead to no end as his rival's stood at over 60 floors. "Are you finally ready to walk the path of the mighty?" he asked his son, hoping that he was over this rebellious streak of his.
"Don't flatter yourself, I have no intentions of walking down the path made. I just didn't have much of a choice here. As much as it pains me to admit it, you're the best flame user I know and I needed the best teacher I can get." Shoto replied as he stood right in front of his father.
"Oh, and what brought this on?" Endeavour asked. Curious as to what made him 'have no choice'. He had been trying for a year to get the boy to listen to him to no success but now there was a force that could?
"My class rep threatened to give me a beating even worse than what he did during the festival if I didn't take your offer. He's…very insistent when it comes to hero work." And of course, it had to be that little shit that humiliated his son on international television.
"You don't mean that quirkless brat, do you?" Endeavour asked, feeling his ire rising as he thought back to how much he wanted to burn that brat alive for what he had done. He created Shoto to surpass All Might and he dared to challenge him and go on to defeat him? If only Shoto used his fire, then he would have won like he should of! Maybe that loss was what he needed though….
"I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you. Just about everyone that has had either been beaten by him or proven wrong." Shoto told his father as he didn't want to get on his rep's bad side as unlike with Bakugo, he didn't tell him of his past when Midoriya asked, which didn't help his case as Midoriya just looked him in the eye, threaten him and then shoved his completed forms into his hands and told him to hand them if he wanted to be 'the lone wolf'. By the time he realized that his forms had been filled in with Endeavour's info-it was too late. The shorter boy was gone.
He thought about not doing it, about finding his rep and telling him but in the end, he chickened out and just did what he was told. He did want to be a hero that embodied the right ideals but first, he needed to work through his own demons.
One of which was right in front of him.
"Like some quirkless brat would be able to function in the real world. It was shameful that you lost to him and all people." Endeavor mocked as he got up from his seat and walked around the table. "But we can focus on that later, now you get ready, we'll leaving soon."
"Where are we going?" Shot asked him curiously as to what they could do when the sun was setting in a couple of hours.
"I'm going to show you what a real hero can do." Endeavor said with a smirk. Nighttime was a great time to catch some criminals' after all.
(Later in the late evening – Yoroi Musha Hero Agency)
"I knew internships would be hard but…" Midoriya said as he and Kodai dragged themselves to their rooms. They are bruised, tired and dirty from a full day's worth of training and sparring.
"We didn't think he'll run us into the ground like that." Kodai finished his sentence as she had lost her hat somewhere along the way, lucky she brought spares.
"And to think, it's gonna be worse tomorrow." Midoriya moaned as Yoroi had told them he had something planned for the both of them the next day. just thinking about it gave him chills.
"Please don't remind me." Kodai begged with as much emotion as usual, though her tone didn't give more away than normal. "At least supper was nice."
"Who would have thought they had their own version of lunch rush working here? Though I can see why rescue operations needed food for both the people doing the rescuing and those being rescued." Midoriya said as he thought back to the meal they just had. Sure it was embarrassing being not only the youngest there but also the dirtiest as they were the only ones who didn't have time to shower before dinner. They would have done so if they could but they saw that if they did choose to shower, they would have missed dinner as meals were strictly served at certain times-you miss it, you go hungry.
"Maybe I'll ask her if she doesn't have some tips to share." Kodai asked herself as she could imagine herself learning something new about cooking.
"You do that, I have a feeling that I'll be too busy to pick up new cooking tips. Anyway, I gotta shower and hit the sack, we got an early day tomorrow." Midoriya said once they reached their rooms and stood outside them.
"Hmmm, see you in the morning." Kodai replied as she reached for unlocked her door as Midoriya reached for his own keys. Soon afterward he was inside his room and stripping out of his costume and getting his bathroom supplies out of his bag so that he could get rid of the day's grime and sweat. Once he had everything and he was in nothing but his boxers, he walked into his bathroom to clean himself.
(Later – in Midoriya's room)
Group Chat:
Bird Watcher: 'Is anyone else on?'
Jigglypuff: 'Just got to bed.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'I too am available, just finished our patrol for the night.'
Strict Sonic: ….
Jigglypuff: 'Iida, are you there?'
Strict Sonic:….
Bird Watcher: 'Okay, now I'm worried about him.'
Strict Sonic: 'Apologies.'
Strict Sonic: 'I was using the restroom and my phone was on the table.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'Now that we are all here, how was your first day with our internships?'
Bird Watcher: 'It was certainly…something, had to train the whole day basically.'
Jigglypuff: 'I got to patrol with Gunhead but that's mostly it.'
Strict Sonic: 'Same here as well. Just a couple patrols and some useful insight into the profession of hero work.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'We merely did some patrols, though I had the unfortunate task of being his errand boy.'
Jigglypuff: 'Well it wouldn't have been that bad. Hawks is the 3rd ranked hero.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'He had me fetch his chicken from some fast food establishment where he gets a discount.'
Jigglypuff:…
Strict Sonic:….
Bird Watcher: Hahahahahahahahahahahahah…oh that, that's funny as hell!
Strict Sonic: 'Midoriya!'
Bird Watcher: 'What, that was funny, don't tell me you didn't crack a smile at that image.
Jigglypuff: 'LOL'
Strict Sonic: 'Uraraka!'
Jigglypuff: 'I'm sorry Iida but that image is pretty funny.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'To be fair, it is quite humorous in hindsight.'
Bird Watcher: 'It must have been quite the shock for them to hand you that meal, have you seen fast-food workers.
Bird Watcher: 'Chances are that they thought it was cannibalism or something like that.'
Strict Sonic: 'Well not really, I mean birds ear birds all the time. You styled yourself off birds of prey, you should know that.'
Bird Watcher: 'You really want to through down bird facts with me? I want you to think about your answer very carefully before you answer.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'By the way, why is it that you designated me as 'Avian Shikamaru' of all things?'
Bird Watcher: 'Well kage would have been better that's sort of part of your name already.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'Right.'
Bird Watcher: 'Then I thought about the Naruto character and thought to myself 'Hey, these two are super similar' if you take out his laziness, you would be like-cousins or something. Hence the name.'
Bird Watcher: 'Sides, The other choice was 'Black feathers' which sounded more like some kind of perfume, I don't know-could be only me.'
Strict Sonic: 'You're right. It's just you.'
Jigglypuff: 'I vote we change the name.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'Seconded.'
Bird Watcher: 'Foolish of you to think this here is a democracy. For your insolence against my bad name, I shall spam you all with really old and now cringly memes for the next week.
Bird Watcher: 'Sides, the names aren't supposed to sound cool, they're more jokes than anything else. Or do you 2 like being named after a Pokémon and a blue speedster?'
Jigglypuff: 'Well it's not the worst name. Plus I love Jigglypuff. Why do you think the hero costume had so much pink?
Strict Sonic: 'I'm afraid I do not know who this Sonic person is, is he a pro hero?'
Avian Shikamaru:…
Jigglypuff:….
Bird Watcher:….
Jigglypuff: 'R u 4 real right now?'
Bird Watcher: 'You don't know about Sonic?
Strict Sonic: 'No I do not.'
Strict Sonic: 'Is that bad?'
Avian Shikamaru: 'My friend. I have never been all that interested in such notions but even I know of the character. I've even played a game or two where he is a playable character.'
Bird Watcher: 'Hold on, I'll send you a link so you can learn all you need.'
Strict Sonic: 'Can this not wait for tomorrow? It's getting late.'
Avian Shikamaru: 'Iida is correct. I must rise early on the morrow if I'm to be prepared for our morning patrol.'
Jigglypuff: 'Well I see you guys tomorrow. R we going to chat in the morning?'
Bird Watcher: 'God no. I don't even know what time you guys are gonna get up for the day.'
Bird Watcher: 'Sides, I gotta be up at like 5am tomorrow for training.'
Strict Sonic: 'Then I suggest you get to sleep, if you go now-you should have a solid 7 hours.'
'Bird Watcher: 'You're right. See you guys later.
Jigglypuff: Good Night guys!
Avian Shikamaru: Till the next time.
Group chat – End
And after he sent his own message, Midoriya placed his phone into the special charger he brought, removed the bathrobe he was wearing from his now dry body, and changed into his pajamas which was basically a pair of worn-out but clean dark blue sweat pants and an old light green t-shirt which didn't have some generic or sarcastic phrase printed in it before he crawled into his futon and fell asleep minutes later, praying the next day will be merciful
(The next day)
It was not.
"Come on, little man! You're going to have to faster than that!" Another one the sidekicks that worked for Yoroi Musha yelled at Midoriya as he went about punching a modified Mu ren Zhuang(those wooden martial arts dummies with 'arms' sticking out of them). Like Mr. X, this guy was also a foreigner but of European descent. He was quite tall standing at a height of around 184cm and quite ripped. His brown hair and blue eyes along with his beard and mustache made him look like Chuck Norris. As for the person, he was yelling at….
"Why does it swing around?!" Midoriya asked/yelled as he had to work like mad just to keep up as the so-called dummy was not only made from some really hardwood but was covered top to bottom in metallic studs or bumps, whatever they were called which normally would have made this thing hard to work with but the arms moved whenever hit and would spin around the body before coming back around.
And Midoriya was told to attack the damn thing and had been at it for over 20 minutes now.
"Because the regular ones don't hit back. Why train with useless dummies when you can train with something like this?" The pro by the name of Rahzar joked as he watched the younger male struggled not to get hit by one of the arms he had already knocked back, meaning he was in constant motions as he would either dodge have to block the strike-all while still landing as many hits as he could with nothing but his arms.
"Can't I use my legs?" Midoriya begged as he could already feel the welts forming on his hands and forearm as he wasn't even allowed to wear any of his protective gear.
"No! We're working on your upper body strength today. We'll work on your entire body later." Rahzar denied him that mercy as the boy kept at it, even though it hurt like hell with every hit he blocked and every attack that landed.
"But my hands…" Midoriya tried to get something from this guy as he noticed that he was starting to bleed from all the cuts and bumps. Sadly, his instructor was no stranger to blood.
"Get used to it. Or did you think you'll always have your gear? Or that you'll never fight a criminal with a hardening quirk?" Rahzar asked him as he came up behind him and bumped his head with his closed fist, getting a satisfying 'ouch!' from the rather short boy.
"Well…" Midoriya wanted to argue, he really did but he had a feeling that if he did, it would not only make him look stupid but would also backfire right into his face-so he held his tongue as he kept at it.
"This is nothing to what you should be doing. When I was your age, he trained by punching ironwood trees till my hands and fingers were forced to grow tougher." Rahzar bragged to the boy as he stepped back and flexed his hand.
"Did it work?" Midoriya asked him, looking for any reason to stop this torture.
"Did it work? Move aside and I'll show you." Rahzar muttered as he pushed the boy out of the way and stood in his place in front of the dummy, which didn't even look damage. "How long have you been at this again?"
"About twenty minutes?" Midoriya answered, confused as he watched Rahzar snap his neck to the side and produce a 'crack' as he took a lazy but proper-looking stance in front of the dummy.
"Then let me show you what years of training and experience can do." Rahzar replied as he stared down the dummy for a couple of seconds before his hand shot out like rapid-fire guns as he laid into the dummy, Midoriya was floored by the speed and precision of his strikes it took mere moments for the onslaught to overwhelm the wooden dummy as it was soon destroyed by one of the Rahzar blows, the rest of it was destroyed soon after, leaving a messed up uneven wooden stump in its place.
'Holy shit! He broke that thing with his bare hands! And in like 10 seconds flat!' Midoriya thought to himself as he rubbed his eyes to try and clear them just to be sure, not really the fact he was smearing blood and sweat all over his face.
"And that," Rahzar started as he turned around and flexed his hands, showing that he didn't even have a single welt from that. "Was without the use of my quirk. If I had used it, I would have broken in with a single punch."
"Amazing…"
"That is what the master is trying to teach you. Your whole body can be used. Quirks at the end of the day are nothing but another tool in your box. At least according to him." Rahzar finished as he walked him over to another training dummy now that the last one was destroyed.
"Say, Rahzar you're an American, right?" Midoriya asked as he started to go at it again on the fresh one, trying to distract himself from the pain with conversation.
"That should be obvious little man, why does it matter?" Rahzar said as he looked to the side in boredom.
"Well did you move here like Captain Celebrity?" And for that question, he found himself facing off against a glare that seemed more at home on an angered wolf than a man.
"Hell no! That is the first and last time you compare me to that pompous ass, understand?" He ordered the boy who nodded his head as fast as he could to keep back what would have been a painful lesson. "As for why I moved here, I wanted my own thing. My family has been involved in hero work for four generations now. If I had stayed then I wouldn't have been my own person, just another Bradford following the family tradition." He answered as like with Midoriya's friend Iida, he also came from a line of heroes but unlike Tenya, he has no interest in picking up the family mantle. Sure he wanted to save people but under his own name.
"Okay, that makes sense." Midoriya said as he made logical sense when he thought about it. So since he could sense the conversation over, he went back to striking at the target. Though he did keep it slow as the faster you strike it, the faster the arm swung around to hit you back.
"Don't start slacking on me, hit that thing like it insulted your mother!" But clearly, his instructor didn't approve of that.
'God, wonder if Kodai is having a better time than I am?' Midoriya thought to himself as he imagined all the bruises he'll have after this.
(With Kodai – In another training area)
"Again." Yoroi Musha said.
"Again." The elder repeated to the girl as she was told to perform the same form again for what felt like the 100th time in a row. They had been training in a separate training hall to the one they used yesterday and to the one Izuku was sent to. Still, she wished that would they would do something else.
"You need to work on your form. Martial arts are called that for a reason. If you just kick and punch like a madman, then you will be taken down just as easily." As if he picked up on her feelings as she was sure she didn't let it show, Yoroi Musha explained the purpose of their constant drilling to her.
"Yes sir. It's just…proving to be a challenge." She relented as she let her arms fall to her side, tired from doing the same striking motions with the two batons in her hands.
"I can imagine but learning Eskrima as well as Muay Thai and some elements of Jeet Kune Do will suit you quite well. I don't expect you to be a master at any of them by week's end but I do expect you to have a firm grasp on them, and to continue to practice even after your internship here ends." Yoroi Musha told her as he gestured for her to take a seat where she stood as he did the same.
"Yes sir." She replied as she sat down opposite him. If she was anyone else, she would have noted that this felt like what a student did when they sat before their master but she held her tongue.
"Eskrima would be optional skills to learn to use in tandem with your quirk. Correct me if I'm wrong but your quirk allows you to change the size of non-living things, right?" Yoroi Musha asked as he picked up an identical pair of batons to the ones she was using. Unlike regular eskrima sticks, these were a little heavier and were made from a metallic alloy.
"Yes sir. So long as all five fingers touch something, I can make them shrink and grow as I see fit." She confirmed for him as she had experimented with her quirk her whole life and knew its ins and outs better than anyone.
"Hmm, so with an ability like that, you could end fights quite fast as all you would need to do is enlarge your opponents close to the point where they maybe trip over their own pants, can't see through their shirt. Or you could use it to increase the size of these," He listed off the unconventional but pretty effective uses for her quirk, things she wouldn't have thought of as she would have only seen the person-not the gear or clothing. "To the point that they're basically clubs. If you did that when they're already close to the opponent then." He finished as he let her imagine how effective it'll be to basically sucker punch someone like that.
"It'll but like I'm hitting them with it. Like the one-inch punch." She said as she imagined that such a move would work like the old age technique from 1970s martial arts movies. Yoroi for his part, cracked a smile as she heard her comparison but didn't laugh.
"Just like it. As for Jeet Kune Do and Muay Thai." He started as he held up two fingers. "The main principle of Jeet Kune Do is minimal effort for maximum effect and anticipating the attack. In this profession, it's better that you try to end the fight as soon as you can, dragging them out takes time and energy which in a job like this, such things are a luxury." He explained as he always hated pros that took too long to take down foes. The way he saw it, they were doing nothing but showboating. If you wanted attention-then go into the entertainment industry!
"And Muay Thai?" Kodai asked as from what little she knew, that was close an intensive martial art to pick.
"Pure combat purposes. The only style you know is Judo which isn't suited for fighting but subduing opponents which won't always work. Sometimes you have to beat them into submission." The elder told her flatly as she winced a bit at the thought of beating the crap outta people but could see where he was coming from.
"I understand. I will take your words to heart and train myself to one day be a master of these martial arts." Kodai replied as she bowed to him, feeling a new wave of respect for the man as he had done nothing but impress her ever since she walked into his agency. She was confident that she'll only gain more experience and knowledge from this internship.
"Don't rush it. You have concerns in your life. But for now, let is continue." Yoroi said as he along with his young intern got back up to their feet.
"Yes sir!" Kodai replied before she got into position again and went back to practicing her sticks with what she hoped, would be some new gear types for hero work.
(With Kendo and Gran Torino)
"Come on you zygote! You're not even trying!" Meanwhile, with Kendo, she was also being taught by a man old enough to be her grandfather but unlike Kodai, she was getting her butt kicked as her hero bounced around the room so fast she could barely keep up.
'Well, you're not an easy target!' Kendo thought to herself as she kept her hands smaller than usual as she defended herself the best she could. "Sir I can't go full out in your house! Can't we train out back?" She asked as he couldn't even go full out in here. It was set completely to his advantage and he was exploiting it for all it's worth.
"I already told you, you need to work through your weaknesses! One of them," He answered as he came to a stop on top of his fridge. Clever use of the terrain allowed him to actually look down on her for a change. "Is indoor combat."
"Sir if I did go full out, then I'll wreck the place. Aren't heroes supposed to keep collateral damage to a minimum?" Kendo asked him as to her, it was like asking Mt. Lady to fight on a single-lane road. You were just asking for trouble.
"At least you know that. All Might kept forgetting that little rule when I had to beat some sense into his ass." Gran Torino muttered to himself as he thought back to his student's early days, how even when he saved the day-he made insurance companies want to kill him where he stood. "As for your question, you just said the solution."
"What?" Now she was confused.
"You said you can't go full out, right? Then why go full out, your hands don't have one setting, do they?" he said as he pointed that them, he had seen her use different sixes during the festival so he knew it was possible.
"Well, no-" She tried to explain but he wasn't hearing it.
"Learn to take your quirk into consideration yes but more importantly, learn to control it and how to think outside the box. Didn't you notice that besides the one time, I haven't broken or damaged anything?" He asked her as he pointed around the room and to her shock-he was right. Not a single thing was even damaged.
'Now that he mentions it, no. He's been jumping around like a rabbit on cocaine and he hasn't broken a single thing.' She observed as she even saw that the glass coffee table was intact even though she was sure he bounced off it like 4 times, at least. 'So does that mean he's controlling the force he exerts to such a fine level? How much control would that even require?' She asked herself as she thought back to how he moved and remembered seeing some strange. There were like a bunch of tiny holes on the bottom of his boots which reminded her of a showerhead. Were they there to allow him to control the force of the air he ejected? Like how a shower never felt painful because the water was pressed into dozens of tiny streams?
'But if he can do it then….' She thought to herself as she tried to force her quirk into her hands like normal but unlike normal, she imagined that she had showers in her elbows and blocked off most of them, except for a few. After she felt it started to hurt, she imagined that she unblocked a few more in one arm to add to it and soon enough-she felt her hands grow in size-but her left one was much larger than her right. Something she was ever able to do before. "I hope this works, can't hold this for long." Kendo breathed as she worked to hold this new application of her quirk.
"Oh, so there's a brain in there yet?" Gran Torino said as he started to get ready for round 13…that day.
"Alright Oldtimer, let's see what you got." Kendo challenged as she could feel the unbalance but didn't put too much thought into it. She purposely kept on hand smaller so that it would be her attack as it was faster to move around while the larger one would be her shield.
"Good, I'm been waiting so long for you to be a challenge that I was afraid I'll die of old age." Gran Torino joked as a smile broke out across his face. Now he was starting to have fun!
"I spent years in martial arts classes, this will just be another lesson." Kendo promised as she vowed to take this to heart. She would find out new and better ways to use her quirk. That was a promise.
"Then bring it on, little girl." He told her as she jumped towards her. Now unlike all their other fights, even though he could avoid her easily and bounce around-she was noticeable faster in her reaction time as she found that it was harder to land a clean hit, and more than once, he had to retreat to avoid her counter attack or even surprise strike as she alternated the power imbalance between her hands to switch one side from defense to offense and back to defense on the fly. 'She's got a fire in her. One that reminds me of you Nana.' Gran Torino thought to himself as he could see his dear friend in this young girl. In the fire in her eyes.
'Shame Toshi already chose his successor, she would have made a fine holder of One for All. Oh well,' Gran Torino thought to himself as he avoided one of her attacks by a hair before he bounced off the ceiling and came down with a kick with enough force to knock her on her stomach. The force of the hit screwing with her concentration as she left her old on her new technique before she hit the floor. 'We'll just have to make her into a great hero without it.' He finished the thought as he landed on the floor.
"Close but no cigar, kid." He said to the girl as he worked herself back up to her feet, now sporting a bruise on her forehead from when he hit the floor-face first.
"Dammit. It's gonna take a while before I can hold it for long." Kendo said with a frown as she looked down at her hands and tried to do that again but found it took really long.
"It's not something you're used to yet. From the festival, I saw you only going three sizes." Torino noted as he went over the fridge and reached for the bottom freezer.
"Yeah, regular." She held up her hands and showed them off when her quirk was off before she let them grow a bit to the point where they were twice their size. "Medium" And then she let them grow even further to the point when they were now easily four times the size of the last form, easily large enough to pick up a person in one hand. "And large." She finished as she let her quirk fade and her hands return to normal size. "I also can't use two different sizes at once, at least not normally."
"Hmm, well it's not that big of a roadblock, to be honest. We'll work on that as time goes." Torino said as he took out a pack of frozen taiyaki and walked over to the microwave.
"Do you think that I'll be able to overcome it?" Kendo asked him, worried she wouldn't be able to overcome this new huddle as the elder placed the frozen desserts onto a plate before putting them into the microwave.
"I don't know. That's for you to decide." He told her as he pointed his recovered cane at her. "But it's not like we can't work on that. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to increase the size you can get them too." He finished with a smile, though it wasn't for her. It was the fact he could eat some of his favorite treats in a couple of minutes.
(Later that day – UA High)
"Sorry for barging in like this." Tsukauchi said as All Might, in his skinny form sat down two cups of tea for them. It was late afternoon and long after school hours when the detective made a visit to the school, hoping to have a chat with his old friend.
"No worries, you're always welcome here, old friend. So what is it that brings you to our neck of the woods?" Yagi asked his friend as he sat down.
"You recall the USJ incident?" The detective asked him, making him frown as he recalled how useless he was during the attack.
"How could I forget? I still feel like a loser for not being there to help." Yagi breathed as he combed his hand through his messy blonde hair. Sometimes he really hated how forgetful he was if he hadn't had stepped in to assist in incidents that would have been solved by other heroes, he wouldn't have exhausted himself before the school day even started.
"Don't beat yourself about it. No one saw it coming so it falls on all our heads. But anyway, I wanted to discuss the big one, the one called 'Nomu'." Tsukauchi replied as she switched the topic to the real reason he came.
"Yes, I heard it was quite the beast." Yagi said as he read the report and spoken to Aizawa about the monster and he could admit, he was both impressed at its skill and scared that they found someone like that in the first place.
"We harvested DNA from…it." The detective paused before correcting himself after what he read about it. There was no way that thing was even human anymore.
"DNA? What, is it possible he was involved in other crimes?" Yagi asked. Was there a chain of crimes he wasn't aware of?
"Oh we know he's been involved in other crimes but that wasn't the issue." The detective responded before he paused and breathed out. "Please remember that we of the police are not asking you to help with the investigation, an investigation that is still ongoing so I'm basically leaking information but I still felt the need to tell you this." He said just to get it out there, which threw his friend off as this wasn't regular behavior.
"It's a clue that might lead us to the mastermind behind this so-called 'League of Villains'." Tsukauchi revealed to him with a serious tone in his eye.
'It could?!' Yagi thought to himself as this could be a break in the case.
"After studying the creature at an undisclosed, specialized facility. We realized that it wasn't as that Nomu didn't want to talk but more along the lines that Nomu can't talk. In fact, Nomo shows no reaction no matter what he did to it, not even base reflexes." The detective revealed as he pulled out another picture of the Nomu in a small white panel cell as it wore a heavy-duty restraint jacket which was fastened to the walls by 8 different chains.
"But aren't reflexes something all living things have?" Okay, this was weird as Yagi wasn't some genius but he paid enough attention in biology to know that anything with a brain, had some form of reflexes. Hell, some reflexes didn't even need a brain, just a suitable central nervous system.
"To a degree, yes. Without them-life, as we know it wouldn't be possible. After a brain scan was conducted, it was concluded that Nomu is not only incapable of thinking for itself but also that there is next to no brain activity. Other than some brain signals that instruct organs to actually function-the thing's a vegetable." Tsukauchi said as he was really put off by that last one. Hell, one of the guards shot it and it did nothing as the bullet was ejected from the body and it healed itself.
"As for his identity, his DNA came back with the closest match for this fella." The detective said as he pulled out a picture of some confused-looking thug's mugshots "He has a record of extortion and assault and was on parole up till last year when he failed to check in with his parole officer. His wasn't seen since."
"How is this your lead to the mastermind? My apologies but low-level thugs like this are an as common dime a dozen." Yagi asked as he didn't even count the number of times he had to stop low-level criminals such as this.
"That would have been my thoughts if not for the fact that 'Nomu' has completely different abilities to the man in the photo." Tsukauchi said as he put the two images side by side and it was clear as night and day that these two couldn't have been the same person but somehow were. "Listen closely, when I said that the DNA came back with this guy the closest match, I meant it. According to our studies of the creature, it contains the DNA of at least four different people. Four of which have been identified and just like our pep," He said as he pulled out four other photos of seemingly random people as they had nothing in common with each other, hell one wasn't even a criminal. "Have been registered as missing for a while now."
"DNA from that many people? Intermingled into one body?" Yagi paused to think about that as he contemplated what this meant. "He is even human right now?" He asked as he looked at his old friend out of the corner of his eye.
"I wouldn't say so. His entire body has been tampered with either by surgeries, drugs, or other methods." The rather plain-looking man explained as that was the only reason they could even conduct such tests on it, as it didn't qualify as an animal or man so the law didn't apply here. "To put it simply, his body has been modified so that it can hold multiple quirks. The decrease in brain processing power was most likely a side-effect of having that many quirks."
"But we are more concerned about the DNA as even if foreign DNA is introduced into the system unless there is a way for it to be completely integrated into the creature, the bearer would not develop multiple quirks like this." The detective said as he looked his old friend in the eye as he said this, watching as the info went through Yagi's mind as he put the pieces together and paled as there was only one conclusion to draw from here.
"…I see that as the holder of One for All, that this is painting a picture that we both hoped would never see the light of day. What I'm seeing is…" The detective started but paused as it was thought that he wasn't comfortable with. In fact, he hoped he would go his entire career without ever having to deal with this again.
"That the only way Nomu could be made possible, is if there is a quirk that allows one to give quirks." Yagi said as he got up from his chair and walked over to the window to stare out of the glass panel at the setting sun as it bathed the area with the last of its light. Strange how it reminded him of his own situation-how he was the sun and right now, he was setting. And it seemed that the night he kept at bay for so long was making its return. "But that's….impossible, there was only ever one such quirk…and the user…" They both knew he was referring to.
"That's why I wanted you of all people to know. I know that this case hits close to heart for you. But….I believe that AFO may still be alive." Tsukauchi finally said it as he saw his friend bulk up in a show of anger at the name.
.
.
.
"All for One….How much chaos and death will be enough for you? Even after everything, you still carve it?" All Might said with a face that was filled with anger, much different from his regular smile as he thought about how he lost the woman he saw as his mother to that monster. And how he believed for these past 5 years that he had finally defeated him.
(Meanwhile)
"Master, how many Nomu's have you finished?" Speaking of the devil, in a lab in an unknown location somewhere in Japan. The fabled king of the criminal underworld-AFO sat on a throne whole medical equipment to keep him alive beeped in the background. At present, he was in the middle of a conversation with his young student.
"Hmmm, they're not as strong as the one we used during the USJ attack but I'm finished verifying the behavior of eight of them." He answered as he looked back to the side where there sat tanks full of unfinished Nomu.
"Give them to me." Tomura said over the line. AFO would normally take offense and kill whoever would dare speak to him like this but he understood that Tomura was off the rails crazy and could barely operate like a regular person without getting impatient or angry.
"Why?" He asked him. Though he did have a faint idea as to why he wanted them, but he wanted him to say it.
"Because I don't like that hero killer. I can destroy the things I don't like, can't I, Master?" Tomura asked him, sounding just as crazy as normal as AFO made a note to teach the boy that just because you didn't like something, didn't mean you could destroy it. You could learn to like it later or better yet, learn to manipulate or your needs and desires.
'Actually, this can be a good test run for him. And even if it isn't, it'll put on quite the show.' AFO reasoned to himself as he didn't this would have the desired effect that Tomura wanted but what the hell. "Very well. But you may only have five. Use this as a learning experience." He instructed the boy who he knew must have been filled with glee at the notion of having so many 'playthings' to use to cause some more chaos.
"By the way, where do you plan on using them?" He asked him.
"Where else? The one place we know the hero killer to be." Tomura started before he paused as he most likely looked over to Kurogiri, he was the only other person in the bar.
.
.
.
"Hosu."
And that is the end of that. That took much longer than I would have wanted but it is done. Sadly, I wasn't able to fit in a patrol for Midoriya and Kodai this chapter so the features and landscape of Kyoto will remain a mystery…at least for another chapter. I wanted to show that kendo was learning something since as far as we know, she can't shift the size of her hands to different settings. Sure she can use her quirk in one hand at a time but that's it.
Yes, I brought in Chris Bradford from TNMT as well, I couldn't resist and don't worry-we'll see what his quirk is soon enough as you can imagine that he looked like what he did before he was mutated as with Xever, I changed his appearance as his quirk is a mutation type while Brad's will be more transformation type. Also, the dummy Izuku was using was the same type of dummy used in the Jade palace in Kung-Fu Panda. The punching trees was something tigress said she did for like 20 years I think, IDK-it's been a while since I watched any of the three movies.
For Kodai, the martial arts she's picking up are the same as some of the martial arts Nightwing knows in DC as he's one of my favorite heroes ever. So I wanted him to have some semblance in this story as I will not be using him nor any of the bat family in this story. Maybe some of their villains but's not written in stone just yet.
Also, this chapter was more about focusing on the students as they trained and not much else so I hope you weren't expecting some big fights or anything of that nature. I also know that more happened in this part of the story but since most of the interactions the students have during their internships stayed the same-he didn't see the need to write about them as it would just have been a useless filler. I did try to show that each person spoken about or mentioned was learning something. Whether it'll be about their profession, now skills, world-building info or just trivia about the characters-I wanted them to matter.
And before you ask, no I don't know if heroes are paid for hero work after-hours but it does make some sense as it is a job. I also wanted to show that there were bad heroes out there who do it for nothing more than the pay-check which helps to explain why Stain's ideology took off so quickly as some pros don't exactly make the profession look good.