"Salutations my fellow Team Leaders! I hereby call this third meeting of the Beacon Leadership Council to order! I'll start with a simple roll call! Izuku Midoriya, Leader of Team MNVW?"
"Here... Tenya, are you reading off a script or something, I'm pretty sure you said the exact same-"
"Very good! Ruby Rose, Leader of Team RSBR?"
"I am here!"
"Excellent! And obviously I, Tenya Iida, Leader of Team TABY, am present and accounted for! This meeting may therefore come to order!" Izuku just took a bit of a breath and nodded, sighing as he figured he wouldn't get his question answered that time either. Spread out on the table were a collection of snacks as usual... but also some new things he hadn't seen on the table before. Cooked stuff. Some shrimp balls, some pasta, some various little bits and pieces of finger food.
It all honestly looked pretty good and a quick bite later confirmed it.
"Wow Tenya, this is some good stuff. I didn't know you could cook!" Tenya just smiled a bit as he shook his head.
"I couldn't before these past couple weeks. A bit of a team bonding exercise was for Yang and Tsuyu to teach us how to cook and then to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I have to admit, I didn't think Miss Xiao Long was the type who could cook up a fine meal while Miss Asui's usual table manners left me unsure as well. Sure enough though, they're both quite good at it."
"Yeah, Yang does make some pretty good stuff! It was always better when she cooked than when dad did. She makes great cookies too!" Ruby chirped with a smile as she took a bite out of one of the sweets on the table while at the same time making a small plate of the actual food Tenya had cooked up.
"Indeed. With that out of the way, is there anything that happened with anyone concerning their teams this past week? That we didn't all personally lay witness to." Tenya looked between Izuku and Ruby and the smaller boy got the sense he knew what Tenya was referring to; his fight with Bakugou. "Personally, my own week has been rather pleasant. On top of the group bonding my team has done, I've been doing my best to get to know my own teammates better better on a more personal level; as an example, Miss Xiao Long and myself spent some time going over some possible designs for her motorcycle, Bumblebee."
The secondary garage wasn't a very large place, Iida thought to himself as he stood in it. The faculty had their own parking, and students rarely had their own vehicles, justifying the smaller building being only six or so cars long with several shutter entrances. Thankfully there were normal doors on the side, allowing him to enter far more quietly to find his teammate.
At first he'd been wanting to find Yang to examine the mechashift function of her gauntlets, when Tsuyu had told him she was here working on 'her ride'. Interestingly enough, the frog faunus had actually been there herself, and was kind enough to give him directions. Normally he would have just left Xiao Long to her own devices, but a twinge of curiosity had gotten the better of him. She had mentioned 'her Bumblebee' previously, even Tsuyu had mentioned she had gone for a ride, leaving out just enough detail over the matter to make that curiosity impossible to ignore. As he stepped into the student motor pool, the display of gold made it impossible for him to miss. Though he had no idea if it was from Yang's voluminous hair or her 'ride'.
While Tenya knew quite a bit about metal and machinery, his knowledge of motorcycles was distinctively lacking. The composition of the dust-fueled engine had to be similar to a basic car, surely, but the rest was a mystery save its color and the vagaries of its design. The windshield didn't seem nearly large enough to protect her incase of an accident, though the position of the handlebars implied she had to be leaning forward to operate it, which would help provide leverage both when needed to brake and encase of collision. Distracting himself from that, he turned his attention to the color instead, which was a rather pleasant shade of yellow that seamlessly transitioned to orange in many places, with a burnt sienna near the back wheel.
And perched near said wheel was Yang Xiao Long, with her back to him and the rest of the world, her hair actually tied back into a basic pony-tail of all things. Probably to protect her hair, which certainly explained the addition of a red bandanna. She wore a pair of grey-brown cargo pants and an orange tank top, which let him get a view of her rather impressive back muscles and shoulders. Now normally he wouldn't be the kind of man who would debase himself with uncouth ogling of his teammate... but maybe one time he could possibly keep staring for a little bit before announcing himself...
"Enjoying the view?"
If anyone ever asked, he would tell them he didn't squeak and jump when she spoke, snapping him out of his momentary lapse in judgement. "M-Miss Xiao Long! How did you know I was here?" He tried to distract from the fact she'd actually gotten him to flinch after all her inappropriate comments and attempts to goad a response. After he was finished here, he would chastize himself properly for letting his baser instincts get the better of him!
She gave her head a sudden jerk to the side, apparently using that to dislodge a white earbud into her waiting oil-covered hand as she looked back at him with a wry grin. "Pretty easy." She pointed to the hull of the bike itself, which offered no real answer. It took him making his way closer to see the mirror-like sheen on its surface...and how he could even see himself in it.
Iida adjusted his askew glasses and nodded briefly. "Very clever Miss Xiao Long. I wouldn't have considered using something as unconventional as mere coating reflection to keep an eye on your surroundings."
She shrugged and began to stand up, picking up a rag she had atop her open toolbox and using it to wipe at her hands in the process. "It does the job. So what brings you down here, other then to admire mah guns?" She added some rather impressive flexing for emphasis, grinning all the more at him as he used all his willpower to stare just at her well defined biceps and triceps.
Curse her confusing teasing. But thankfully he kept his mind on the task and looked back at her face. "I heard you were working on your vehicle, and I wished to have a look for myself. If that's alright with you." The last part was added quickly, in case that was the kind of matter she liked keeping to herself. Gods knew she seemed to enjoy showing and telling all about herself, but it never hurt to be polite.
If anything, it actually made her smile even more. "Of course it is! I'm always happy to show off my kickass Bumblebee." She stepped back, letting him see the small tub underneath the bike for a currently unknown reason. "I just finished lubing up some of the parts and was about to change out the oil, and maybe I'll see if I need to change out my oil filter too. Maybe even go get some extra spark plugs this weekend while I'm at it." She briefly drifted into her own thoughts, which apparently didn't involve making some ham-fisted innuendo while he made his way around the vehicle.
He didn't know much of anything about motorcycles, but the back tire was almost as aide as his hips. He looked back at her and quirked an eyebrow. "Are all back tires usually so thick?"
The inquiry seemed to snap her from her mental checklist, blinking and looking at said tire. "It's a bit larger than the usual ones a superbike size uses, but they're more stable for on and off-road. Of course most of my baby is a custom kit. Completely rebuilt the exhaust system, better headlight, and did some work on the engine and a few other places too. I got it all for a steal doing some hunting back at Signal and doing odd jobs and deliveries for the garage I got the parts from." When she looked back at him, she noticed he was still staring at the tire, expression one of unwavering focus which was soon enough turned on her.
"Yang. What is a superbike?"
"I don't believe you're giving the idea enough consideration."
Somehow the conversation had gone from bikes...
"Fat chance. I'd have to buy the high-grade dust just to keep my baby running right."
To his family's engineering efforts..
"I still think the alterations to your engine would be more efficient in the long run."
To engines, and the superiority of dust mixing on their performance.
"And I think you're crazy."
Tenya sighed as he handed over the socket wrench, silent for several moments before redirecting the conversation. "So what gave you an interest in motorcycles?"
"I dunno." Yang shrugged and began to tighten the bolts. "I think it started with the magazines my dad had. They just looked so cool, and things kinda just went from there." She paused to give the bolts a test jiggle before continuing. "When I'm riding, I just feel so free, ya know? Wind in my face, going wherever I want."
"It sounds very liberating." He nodded and handed her the containers of oil.
A small smile curled her lips. "It really is." There was something in her tone he couldn't place, but she spoke again and disrupted his pondering. "Hey Tenya. Why did you become a Hunter?"
He blinked, startled by how seemingly random the question was, before closing his eyes and thinking on it a moment. "I suppose, if anything, it's because of my brother."
"Ooh. A hunky older brother, you say?"
He actually laughed at that. "I'm afraid he's happily married, Miss Xiao Long. But he's always been my inspiration." He held a rag out to her so she could clean her hands. "Many members of my family have been Hunters. Grandfather said being a good Hunter showed you could be a good businessman. Father couldn't, as he has never had a strong aura, but Tensei stepped up to live up to the family legacy." By now Yang had fully turned to face him and was sitting on the concrete. "He's always brave, and always gives things his all! From hunting, to learning how to run the family company, there isn't anything he can't do!" He clenched his fists and found himself grinning at her. "I genuinely hope that I can be as great as him one day."
For a moment, Yang said nothing, but slowly a smile began to curl her lips. "Well, I think you're doing pretty good so far. So don't go trying to change too much."
Tenya found himself rather surprised by that compliment, nodding as she got up and went to get something from the shelf, when he realized how poor a leader he'd been. Surely Ruby and Izuku had taken the time to actually talk with their team about themselves, to actually learn about the people they're entrusting their lives with. Him? He knew next to nothing! He didn't even know Tsuyu's semblance! He came down here to ask about her weapons, not her! If he had any sense, he would be working on fixing that...and he'd start right now.
"Yang? How did you design those weapons of yours?"
No one said he couldn't do both, and maybe hear her own motivations in the process.
"Oooh, that's pretty neat. Yang's usually pretty protective of her bike; you must've come up with some good stuff." Izuku saw a small grin form on Tenya's lips as he readjusted his glasses.
"Of course. While the Iida Family doesn't necessarily specialize in motorbikes or their maintenance, our engineering skills are top notch... and our willingness to work with a client to their exact desire makes us quite the agreeable partners and possible business when it comes to handling sensitive transactions. Miss Xiao Long seemed suitably impressed by the upgrades I suggested and appreciated that I listened into her specifications as to how to keep her, ahem, 'baby' in the same shape." Tenya adjusted his glasses again.
"Yeah, I've been... bonding, I guess, with my team too." Izuku saw Tenya look at Ruby with interest, an interest he couldn't help but match. "Oh, it's nothing bad. Heck, really nothing bad. Ren and Shoto are great as always and Katsuki." Ruby coughed into her fist a bit as she brought up his name, looking a bit awkwardly towards Izuku.
"Well, he's given me a lot to think about…"
"AAAAAHHHHH! THE STRAWBERRY KING! HE WANTS MY HEAD!"
Ruby Rose felt the panic of her life flow through every part of her body. A second later, her fear induced blindness dissipated, and her eyes began to adjust to the darkness around her. A few seconds of panic dissipated when she recognized that she was not in the land of sweets, and that she had not had her head removed by an anthropomorphic fruit.
Relief washed over her. She hadn't just been caught stealing the strawberry, chocolate cookies from Fragaria VII, and hadn't been about to be executed for "the greatest crime anyone has ever committed." No, she in her dorm, safe.
...with her team...
"OHMYGODDESSESIAMSOSORRYIDIDN'TMEANTOWAKEYOUALLUPIWASHAVINGAHORRIBLENIGHTMAREWHEREMYHEADWASCHOPPEDOFFBYTHISSTUIPIDFRUITKINGIMEANTHECOOKIESWEREN'TEVENTHATGOODYANGMAKESBETT-"
Only after ten seconds of babble did Ruby notice that she hadn't been called a runt. In fact, after all that time, she hadn't heard anything from anyone. She looked over to the other side of the room. The three other beds in the room.
"Did, did I oversleep?"
She grabbed her scroll, and pulled it open.
"6:03, that's like...dad hours."
She looked around, and tried to think about what was going on. She was the only one still in the room, and the other three had already been gone for a while from what she could tell.
"Okay Ruby, so your team is gone, nothing to worry about," she sat there for a moment, before slamming her hands to the sides of her head, "AAAAHHH! WHAT IF THEY'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!?"
Quickly, she threw off her covers, and ran over to her drawers. She grabbed a pair of sweats lying in the top drawer, and threw them on. A second later, she bolted out the door.
"Ozpin will know what to do. He's had to have dealt wit-"
Ruby saw a light coming from one side of the hallway, only a little while away.
"The gym?"
Ruby slowly walked over to the door leading into the floor's gym, and could see that it was indeed the gym, and that lights were on over the whole gym. Could that be where the kidnappers were holding her team? Well, better be safe than sorry.
Slowly, carefully, Ruby opened the door, making sure not to cause even a single creak. She walked into the main office of the gym, that split up into three sections, a place for battle equipment in the left room, the center pavilion having general workout equipment and weights, and the right side having a pool, a sauna and locker rooms. She could hear loud clanging coming from the center room. She walked over to the door, and looked in through the window that connected the main lobby of the workout center to the weight room.
Bakugou was there. He had actually thrown his shirt off, and had nothing but shorts on. Honestly ruby couldn't understand why he did it, maybe to keep the fabric from getting in his way... never mind. But Bakugou was in the room, and was doing squats, with what looked like a... well not to put a too fine a point on it, an obscene amount of weight. Ruby could see her partner talking, and she slowly pushed the door out a bit, trying to get a listen.
"Come on you weak FUCK!"
Ruby jumped back, and nearly allowed the door to slam shut, but she caught it at the last millisecond. She then looked back at Bakugou, who was panting.
"SEVEN REPS! SEVEN! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN REALLY DO!?"
'Wow,' Ruby thought, her left eye twitching slightly, 'He's even rude to himself,' she stopped herself, 'Still, why would he be up this early. The team has had a bunch of stuff to do. Why not actually sleep to a decent hour.'
"DEKU COULD PROBABLY DO TWENTY-FIVE OF THESE YOU SHIT! ARE YOU GOING TO LET THAT WEAKLING KEEPING MOVING AHEAD OF YOU!"
'I...I thought we talked him through that,' the fight with Deku had only been three da...four four days ago, 'Keep forgetting. I am not a morning person,' She looked back at her partner, 'Maybe I should talk to him a-'
"ARE YOU REALLY THIS PATHETIC?" Bakugou lifted himself up from another squat, which Ruby guessed was his ninth rep, "EVERYONE'S AHEAD OF YOU NOW. YOU HAVE TO KEEP WORKING, NO MATTER WHAT. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY-THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN GET IT," Ruby could have sworn she saw some rather tearlike sweat forming at the sides of his eyes, "THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL LIVE YOUR DREAM. TO BE THE STRONGEST HUNTSMAN THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!"
'...' Ruby felt slightly wrong all of the sudden. Like she was listening in on a private breakup or something, 'He...he really cares that much about being the strongest? About being a great hero. That'd he'd get up this early?'
"WHO'S THERE!?"
Ruby went full semblance and turned tail. She wasn't about to have to have that conversation right then. Bakugou and her were getting on better terms, but she could tell that in the moment, he was just a bit too raw to actually speak about it. Especially since he probably thought he would only have to go over that conversation they'd had once, and going over similar ground might damage the progress she had made. She turned quickly to her left and into the swimming area, and then into the nearest female locker room.
"ANYONE HERE!?"
Ruby didn't answer. Sometimes Discretion was the better part of valor after all.
"Chh-hearing things."
She heard Bakugou turn, and then leave the swimming area, likely going back to his weights. With how early it was, he would likely be at it for another thirty minutes at least, so she could sneak back. Slowly, she edged her way out of the locker room, and saw that her partner was nowhere to be seen. As she surveyed her surrounds however, she saw another light on in the area.
It was the sauna. The light was very low, a dull orange, and she hadn't noticed it on her way in, and she suspected that Bakugou hadn't seen it either.
"What do we have here."
Well...she had another of her teammates in the sauna. Down to nothing but a towel, she saw Todoroki Sitting in the sauna, clearly concentrating.
'What's Shouto doi-'
Her answer appeared when Todoroki held out an open hand, and suddenly a snowflake formed. It was distinctly intricate, one in a million pattern. It would have been a lovely piece of jewelry if someone could actually get it to stabilize...not that Ruby would care about boring stuff like that, no way. Just observing was all.
Todoroki just sat there, in the same position, for the next five minutes, not moving a muscle. It took a moment for Ruby to suddenly see exactly what he was doing, but once she did, she was flabbergasted. Because you see, nothing about Todoroki was moving. Not even the ice.
The ice sculpture wasn't even melting in the middle of a sauna.
She pulled her head back to check the temperature, and her jaw dropped.
'TWO HUNDRED!?'
That was insane. Even with a semblance, most people could not survive that kind of heat. To hold a piece of ice together through sheer force of will in an sauna...that was insane.
Was...was that some of Todoroki's training? Was he putting himself in this insane situation to test and push his abilities, like Bakugou was with his weights. Was he just as obsessed with becoming the number one huntsman? Ruby supposed that made sense, after all both had gotten up far too early to go and push themselves before they already had to go through school as well.
Something...something didn't feel right. Ruby stepped back, and looked back behind her. No one there, might as well sneak out. She...she felt like she needed a walk.
xXxXxXxXxXx
The sun was starting to truly rise over Beacon, and with it, Ruby sighed with acknowledgment that she would not be getting back to bed anytime soon. She was on one of the pathways next to the track, sitting beneath a tree. She had been walking fairly well, and actually had been in the process of getting her bearings back when..
'Oh, they're on lap four,' she noted as two figures came running around again. One in green, the other in red, and both keeping stride with one another. She almost couldn't believe that someone as scrawny as Deku had the physical ability to hold his own with the Invincible girl. It was really impressive. Not as impressive as defeating Bakugou, but still really unexpected.
Yet somehow, she looked at the two, sweating and clearly tired, and felt...well she didn't know how she felt.
"I...I need to find someone I can talk to about this."
xXxXxXxXxXx
It had taken only ten minutes to find Ren. He had been next to a wall of Beacon, and was sitting cross legged, clearly in a meditation. She felt slightly bad about bothering him, considering Ren was clearly in his own form of training, but she needed help.
"Hey Ren," Ruby coughed, trying to get his attention.
He just sat there, not moving a muscle.
'So dedicated,' Ruby gazed in awe.
"Listen, if you don't want me to talk to you, just speak up."
He just sat there, not moving a muscle.
"Okay then," she then sat down crisscross applesauce, and thought for a moment.
"I...I was always the strongest in my year in Signal," she began, trying to articulate exactly what she was thinking, "I mean, it wasn't even really that close. I never lost to anyone my year...or even a year ahead of me for that matter."
"I-I mean I still lost, I wasn't invincible or anything," she winced at a memory, "Yang beat me every time we sparred, but...but even then, I guess I never really considered what going to school with everyone two years older than me would be like, and just how much stronger than me they would be."
Ren hadn't moved, but for some reason Ruby actually appreciated it. She was being allowed time to come up with the best words she could use, rather than having to continually try and adjust to another person in a conversation.
"I guess it started with Toshinori's class. I was certain I would be able to show him and his challenge up no problem. I guess I thought he was looking down on me because of my age," she winced as she remembered that obstacle course, "But instead, I did the worst out of anyone that day. I used up my semblance, something that hasn't happened to me for years Ren, for years."
"I thought I had returned things to normal when I beat Bakugou," she had a small smile, "But then Deku does that to, and does it by fighting him in a way I never could. But...but that wasn't the scary part."
"Bakugou got hurt because he landed wrong. He nearly got knocked out because of a failure in aura, even when he had a full tank," she felt her hands quiver slightly, "Just one little slip up, and boom, I could be Grimm Food."
"I don't know if its because I'm two years younger than everyone else, or maybe that I have been so darn neglectful, but I am behind everyone physically," water began to father around the bottom of Ruby's eyes, "And the worst part is, is that they're getting further ahead."
"I mean it, Bakugou, Todoroki, You, Deku, Pyrrha, even Yang," her hands began to clench her sweatpants fabric, "they're all training now harder than I ever have, even in school. They are all growing, and...I am weak."
The world seemed to stop. Ruby looked down in her hands. And then, she felt something deep within her that she hadn't in a long time. A small fire was beginning to pick up steam, and before she knew it, Ruby found herself on her feet. She brushed off the dirt, and then turned back to Ren, who was still deep in meditation.
Ruby clenched her right hand into a fist, and her frown became a small smirk, "You know Ren, I am weak. I am two years younger than everyone else. But that doesn't matter."
"What matters is what I do about it," Her smile began to grow, "I am going to get stronger. I am not going to let them keep going past me," her tears were gone, "I am going to pass everybody. I'll pass Bakugou, and Shouto, and Pyrrha, and Deku, and Yang. EVERYBODY!" She raised both fists into the air, and then shouted to the morning sky.
"I AM GOING TO BE THE GREATEST HUNTRESS THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!"
She looked back at her teammate, having not moved at all during the entire conversation.
"Thanks a lot Ren," she nodded, "I really needed to talk all that through with someone. Good luck with the rest of your training!"
And with that Ruby ran off. She had a workout to plan. A few minutes later, an acorn fell out of the tree that Ren had been sitting under, and landed directly on his head. His eyes opened slowly, and he cautiously turned around, looking for what had hit him. A second later, he noticed the acorn sitting next to him, and scowled.
'I hate having to sleep out here,' he thought, rubbing the slowly growing welt on the crown of his head, thinking about why he had to leave, 'Darn Bakugou and his explosive snoring.'
He stopped, and looked down on the indentation in front of him, and blinked.
"...did...did I miss something?"
"But yea... he isn't doing bad either. It's not something I want to talk a lot about though."
'Well Ruby isn't being terribly subtle but I get her point…' but then Izuku shook his head, 'It's something she'd want to discuss later.'
Tenya, similarly, seemed to pick up on the same jam as both of them looked over to Izuku.
"I can't say too much exciting stuff happened between my team and I either. It was pretty standard, some training and stuff... but I do guess I... kind of have interesting team stuff to discuss." Izuku saw both Ruby and Tenya arched their eyebrows and listened in.
It had been just the day before the Leadership Council was supposed to meet up, actually.
Izuku'd had a bit of a day of it already and so, workout clothes on and stretching his limbs, he couldn't help but smile and relax. He had a relatively calm weekend planned for himself after he and Pyrrha got Autumn Bell finished up. He'd probably do a little bit of light studying, hang around with a few of his friends, check in with Ozpin and go to the Leadership Council. After having managed to squeak out a win against Bakugou, luck or not, he had decided that it might be a nice idea to just give himself some time to breath this weekend.
He took a deep, deep breath and let it out slowly, letting a serene expression come across his face. He was usually so jittery and so panicky, going from place to place... maybe just relaxing for a day wouldn't be such a bad thing?
"OW, PLEASE, LET GO OF MY EARS!"
"Well would you look at that boys, they are real! Who would've thought?" A chorus of laughter followed the taunt and Izuku couldn't help but frown, his expression paling a bit as he swallowed a lump in his throat. His eyes turned over to a nearby hall and he quietly stalked over, peeking his head out around to see if he could catch what was up.
When he'd heard Bakugou's story from Ruby, he honestly hadn't want to believe that, after what Yang had done to show up Team CRDL in the Dining Hall, that they'd actually take to just finding random targets in the hall to either pressure onto their side or bully, like they'd attempted to do with the explosion user. Yet... well, here was his proof. Right in the middle of Beacon Academy's hallways, in front of his emerald eyes, Team CRDL were all gathered up around... a girl from their classes. He had never exactly caught her name, it seemed like she did even more than most to not go noticed, but Izuku'd recognize the long brown hair and long, brown furred bunny ears from just about anywhere. They were pretty distinct as far as Faunus features go for how tall they stood up.
And now said ears were being pulled and tugged around by Cardin and his teammates as they all laughed, the girl's head following with each direction as she just kept asking them to stop pulling on them and that they hurt. Izuku was sure they did; Faunus features on anyone usually tended to be pretty sensitive.
So he didn't even think twice about what he did next.
Maybe he should have, all things considered. It took luck to beat Bakugou and while he could go toe to toe with someone whose Aura was roughly equal with his, that didn't make it easy. There were four of them and one of him, in addition to that.
Again, it was probably a good thing Izuku didn't think about it.
"What are you guys doing?! Stop that!"
Because if Izuku had, he'd probably have had second doubts about walking out from around the corner and standing as tall as he could, shoulders facing Cardin and his team. His sudden shout enough to surprise Cardin and his team, the four of them flinching slightly as they may have feared that they'd been caught by a member of the faculty. However, as they turn to face their new guest the fear melt from Cardin's face, replaced by that usual cocky expression of his... though the rest of his team didn't look quite so certain.
"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here boys. It's Iz... Deku. Yeah, our good buddy Deku." Izuku swallowed a lump in his throat as he watched Cardin keep his grip on the Faunus girl's ears, the girl just standing back, looking at the developing scene with a look of worry. "Seems like we've just got more and more good friends joining us in the hall today, don't we fellas?" There was a bit of laughter from the other members of Team CRDL as they look at Izuku, Keeping their eyes peeled. He saw that a handful of them kept glancing down to his hands while Cardin locked eye contact with him.
"Cardin... what are you doing to her! Why are you tugging on her ears?" The answer was obvious enough but it was the only thing he could think to say, his fists clenched slightly as Cardin just shrugged.
"Oh come on Deku, don't be a such a nag. We're just asking our little friend here a few questions 'cause we're curious about an animal's biology." Izuku bristled as Cardin spoke; calling a Faunus an animal was about as low brow as calling a moon child broken. The fact that Cardin followed it up by tugging on the young woman's ears to bring her forward a bit more only made the feeling in Izuku's gut churn harder. "You see, the boys and I were curious about whether these freaks' appendages are actually solidly attached or not. They look more like gag ears or something that some perverts would put on their heads after all. But my oh my, imagine our surprise when we get a good feel; a pulse and everything? Isn't that right friendo?" Cardin tugged on the girl's ears again as she just frowned, watching Izuku.
"... Yes. It's fine. There's nothing wrong. No need to start anything." The girl said in a polite tone as she did her best to smile at the green haired boy. "It's fine, really. Just move along. No need for anything to get started." Izuku saw Cardin nod as he looked back at him.
"See Deku? Just a little harmless fun between friends is all. Now, why don't you run off. The boys and I will play with you another time. After all, we gotta show 'Kacchan' that he just got lucky taking us all on." Cardin laughed a bit as he shook his head. "Man, you and that little shit have some cutesy nicknames for each other there, Deku." Team CRDL just snickered behind Cardin as Izuku frowned, looking at Velvet.
'She's obviously lying,' he thought, 'I think almost anyone could see that. She's just trying to take it so she won't cause a scene, try and keep a fight from breaking out,' he felt his fist tighten, 'they're taking advantage of her, to push her around, and make her feel small,' he felt some sweat form at the back of his head, 'if she really want to avoid a figh…'
'No, I can't just stand by and do nothing.'
He swallowed a nervous lump in his throat as he bent his knees a bit.
'Too late to really run away,' Izuku almost felt the edges of his mouth rise a bit, 'I already came charging out here, and when a hero sees trouble,' he felt his spine steel itself, 'well, their job is to involve themselves' He then noticed the girl still pleading with him, but he remained steadfast, 'Sorry' he then remembered something, and began to formulate a plan, 'But involving myself doesn't mean I can't get back up…'
So as Izuku bent his knees to get down into his stance, he also brought one hand up into a fist while he covertly slipped the other behind his back, reaching into his back pocket to slip out his Scroll. Just because he was going to do his best to make sure things didn't continue didn't mean he had to be dumb about it. He'd hit the emergency beacon and get a few teachers here if he couldn't get Cardin to back off himself. So he steeled himself, looking on at Team CRDL as he did his best to look as imposing as he could.
Height aside, he was just trying to channel his determination.
"If you don't stop picking on her, then I'll stop you myself!" The entire situation felt, at once, all too familiar but also all too different. This time he wasn't some powerless kid standing up and trying to do what was right. Izuku had power now, he had the ability to help people... and just like before, he still felt he had a responsibility to as well. As he took his stance, Cardin scowled a bit while the other members of Team CRDL started sweating.
"H-Hey Cardin, maybe this isn't such a good idea. I mean, you saw that fight with Bakugou and that kid's Semblance, he-"
"Got lucky, that was it." Cardin spat as he looked at Izuku, giving one last tug on the girl's ears before he let go of her. "Little punk isn't anything without his weapon and his Semblance and, would you look at that, he doesn't have them on him and the boy scout said it himself; he wouldn't use it on a person directly. It'd 'kill them'." Cardin barked out a laugh and while CRDL wasn't all that reassured by his logic they did fall in behind their leader. "We can beat him black and blue before he even knows it. Then we can actually get our rep back from Bakugo's lucky hits." Izuku frowned as he saw Cardin pound his fist into his hand, clearly ready to brawl. Well, he had tried to warn them off and it seemed like they were intent on keeping the fight up. As the Faunus girl implored them all to stop and Team CRDL started to spread out to circle Izuku, his thumb slipped onto the screen of his scroll...
"Really Velvet? Are you kidding me?"
Team CRDL bristled and Izuku flinched a bit as a new voice joined the crowd of people. Izuku tilted his head over to see the new arrival. It was... not what he was expecting, to be honest. A highly fashionable, brown haired young woman walked up to the group, tilting her glasses down to reveal an annoyed gaze as she looked at the scene in front of her.
"C-Coco!" Izuku was honestly surprised by how spooked the rabbit Fanus, Velvet apparently, sounded as she moved her hands from rubbing her ears to waving them defensively in front of her, sweating a bit at the new girl, Coco's, arrival. "Look, everything's okay, so how about-"
"You call this 'okay' Vel?" Coco responded, rolling her eyes slightly as she seemed about ready to get into a conversation with Velvet.
"Hey, mind buzzing off there, we're kinda in the middle of kicking this kids ass." Coco stopped speaking when her gaze turned over to look at Team CRDL and Izuku, our hero felt a bit nervous as she looked over and examined the scene.
"... Mind giving me a moment? My teammate here needs a bit of a lecture. I'll be over to help you take out the trash in a second." Izuku… was kind of blown away at the confidence the girl was showing, turning her attention back to Velvet. Cardin... didn't take it well. So even as Coco tried to start a conversation back up with Velvet, Cardin shouted in a frustrated annoyance as he turned on Coco.
"Okay, I am 'not' going to have a bunch of pests keep on wandering in and belittling me like this, so how about you take those crappy looking glasses of yours and get-"
One of Coco's gloved hands immediately reached out and grabbed Cardin Winchester by his own ear, the burly teen squeaking in some surprise before he screamed in a lot of pain as Coco twisted and pulled at his ear to bring him down to her level.
"Or I can take out the trash right now. Not exactly any skin off my nose." Coco said in a very much annoyed tone of voice as she tilted her face down to look at Cardin, now stooped below her thanks to her grip, her eyes hovering over the top of her shades.
"Get the Hell off of me!" Izuku watched as Cardin thrasheed and struggled against Coco, the young woman just deftly staying just outside his reach as she practically danced around him. After a moment of letting Cardin waste some energy Izuku watched as Coco 'cranked' Cardin's ear, an even louder cry of pain coming from him as he was forced down onto a knee. Izuku grimaced as he realized what Coco's doing; she was applying a lot of torque to Cardin's ear, twisting it rather than pulling it. That had two effects; one, it hurt like crazy and, two, if she put enough force into it... well... he'd rather not think about it.
"Oh what? Judging by my partner over there you were having some fun with her ears before I got here. What, can't you take what you dish out there tall, thick and stupid?" Cardin tried to fight against her grip only to yell in more pain. Team CRDL, having not seen someone so thoroughly bring Cardin to his knees before, immediately broke, their morale pretty well shattered at having been put in between Izuku and Coco. He watched as the three of them ran off, Cardin's gaze trailing back towards them as he ground his teeth.
"Cowards! Get over here and kick this scrawny, bespectacled bi-AAAAAAAAH!" Cardin's insult was cut off as Coco just kept the pressure on.
"Alright there big boy, let's set out what's going to happen. You're going to apologize to my partner for tugging on her ears like some backwoods hick who hasn't ever been part of proper society before, you're going to apologize to the little guy over there for trying to gang up one on four because you're too much of a chickenshit to actually handle him yourself-" Izuku blushed slightly as she said that, before she once against twisted his ear, "-AND, most importantly of all, you're going to go ahead and apologize to me for insulting my shades. Twice."
"You crazy bitch. Like I'll actually-"
Cardin's face was quickly slammed into the floor, the teen groaning out in a bit of pain before Coco picks him back up.
"What was that?"
"... I'm sorry... for tugging your partner's ears... for trying to pick a fight with Deku... and for insulting your shades..." Cardin growled out underneath his breath, Coco just rolling her eyes as she did so.
"Guess that'll have to do." With that Coco rather effortlessly tugged Cardin up and pushed him back behind her, the larger teen stumbling slightly as he was sent stumbling away. "Now get the Hell out of here before I change my mind about not taking your ear as a souvenir." It was clearly a light threat, not to be taken seriously, though Cardin did seem to book it rather quickly himself. The young woman dusted her gloved hands off and sighed as she readjusted her shades, Velvet still somewhat nervous as she took that moment to approach Coco.
"H-Hey there Coco, good work. I appreciate it but really, none of you actually had to-"
And immediately Velvet's human earlobe was pinched in between a few of Coco's fingers as she snapped at her ear, the rabbit Faunus crying out in surprise as Coco turned her attention back to her.
"Right, so, where were we when big, tall and dimwitted tried to insult my shades... oh right." Velvet whined a bit as Coco tightened her grip. "Vel, are you kidding me? It was bad enough when you just let kids from our year mess with you back in the day. Now I'm walking around, looking for my partner so we can go out on an assignment, and what do I find? You're letting 'first years' bully you? More than that, you're letting a first year come around to try to stop other first years from bullying you? Come on Vel, you're made of tougher stuff than that. You could've had that entire team on their backs and crying for their mommas in no time flat!" Velvet shrinked a bit as she sheepishly scratched at the back of her head.
"C-Coco, you know I don't like to fight people and I didn't want to cause trouble-OW!" Like a stern mother Coco just pinched harder and dragged Velvet along... walking over to Izuku.
"Well you did it anyway because your reluctance to actually 'stand up for yourself' got this kid here involved. Now be a good girl and apologize to the little guy." Velvet was squirming a bit as Coco brought her over to the younger man, whose cheeks were a bit red after witnessing the situation.
"Oh no, please, it really wasn't any trouble, nothing even happened with-"
"Something 'could've' happened if I hadn't been looking for her. You could've gotten ganged up on and beaten up cause my partner here didn't want to stand up for herself." Velvet winced slightly as she looked down to the side, before turning her own brown eyes on him.
"I'm sorry... I do appreciate that you wanted to help. Don't take me pushing you off as me being offended or anything... I just didn't want to see a fight start." He nodded in some understanding as Coco just rolled her eyes.
"Vel, you can't let people just walk up and tug on your ears either. You're supposed to be setting an example." Despite her tone, Coco did finally let go of Velvet's human ear, the girl rubbing at it as her partner turned her attention down to Izuku.
'Holy woah she's taller than me,' he thought, though that perhaps wasn't saying much considering how short he was. She was right up there with Pyrrha and, though Velvet's ears gave her some height on him, her own head level was much closer to his. He swallowed a lump in his throat as she lowered her shades... only to find a far more amused and somewhat cocky expression on her face as a sly grin formed on her lips.
"Come on, nothing to be nervous about there little guy. Honestly I appreciate what you were doing for my partner there. Really showed a lot of guts." The young woman just flipped her shades up as she grinned down at Izuk. "So what's your name there kid? Deku or something? Cute little name you got there." Izuku blushed; he'd never heard a girl call Bakugou's nickname for him 'cute' before.
"A-Actually, my name is Izuku Midoriya..." He stammered out, scratching the back of his head with a slight blush on his face. "B-But Deku's fine!"
He was knocked out of his sheepish embarrassment when, all of a sudden, Coco started to howl with laughter, grabbing her gut slightly as she couldn't help herself. He blushed a bit more deeply, looking down as Coco just waved at him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just the look on your face is all! Man, you're just a sweet little guy aren't ya?" Izuku placed his face in his hands to hide the blush, which only earned more goodnatured laughter from Coco as Velvet also got in to the chuckles. The two went ahead and waited for Izuku to recover his bearings, taking some deep breaths before he managed to regain his composure. "Anyway, nice to meet you Deku. You probably caught 'em already but I suppose if you're gonna properly introduce yourself, so should we?" Coco's casual tone came with a bit of a shrug as she jabbed her finger back towards Velvet. "That there's my partner Velvet Scarlatina and I'm Coco Adel, member and leader of Team CFVY respectively." Izuku blinked in some surprise as she said that though he bowed his head shortly afterward.
"It's cool to meet you... I'm actually the leader of my own team too, Team MNVW." Coco nodded slightly as she looked down at him, a wide grin on her face.
"That so? Well Team MNVW must be in some pretty good hands if they got a gutsy leader like you in charge. You need that kind of moxie to lead a team of Hunters in my not so humble opinion." Izuku smiled a bit as she said that though he couldn't help but kick at the ground a bit as he reached over to right his arm.
"Well... I don't know if I was as brave as you say. I mean, I appreciate the compliment but honestly I was just looking to stall for time by distracting Cardin. I was going to hit the emergency signal and then stall out Team CRDL till a teacher arrived to deal with the situation. It really wasn't all that gutsy of me..." As he glanced off to the side and said that Coco nodded a bit, a slight quirk to her brow as she takes it in.
"I'll admit, for a first year, that isn't surprising thinking... but in that case it's probably better that I arrived when I did." Izuku glanced up at her with a questioning look as Coco brought out her own Scroll. "You see, when the teachers call this an 'emergency signal' they mean it's an 'emergency' signal. You use it to call for help in the case of some kind of major attack or infiltration, like say if Grimm or the White Fang suddenly showed up out of nowhere. If you'd rang the emergency signal then me and about sixteen other Hunters and Huntresses probably would've shown up expecting some kind of major ordeal on our hands." He grimaced a bit as she said that, a slightly Cheshire grin on her face as she put her Scroll away. "The teachers would probably give that oaf a talking to, don't get me wrong... but they'd also probably give you a lecture about using the emergency signal for a non-emergency."
"O-Oh..." Izuku nodded in understanding, feeling sheepish as he glanced off to the side. "S-So how was I supposed to handle Cardin, then?" Coco grinned a bit as she shrugged.
"Pretty much like how I did. You're a Hunter now kiddo, means you gotta start being able to handle problems yourself if they ain't big fish." Izuku saw Coco cast a glance over Velvet's way, the rabbit faunus chuckling nervously before Coco turned her attention back to him. "Now if those lunkheads were set on beating you to death, that'd be a good use of the signal. As it stood, they were just jackasses... and, well, think about it. Every member of staff here or anyone who could receive your signal is a fully fledged Hunter. If they're not in class... well, they probably wouldn't take kindly to having to take time out of a day that usually includes killing Grimm or dealing with other jackasses to break up a schoolyard fight, right?"
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. So I really don't deserve much praise for what happened... OW!" Izuku felt Coco flick him on the forehead as he cast his eyes down, the shades wearing young woman just shaking her head at him as she lowered said sunglasses.
"You still bothered to step out and stand up for my partner... a girl who, by all means, should've been able to do it herself. And you were going to stand up to a group of four thugs who'd beat the crap out of you while help arrived. I'd still say that was pretty gutsy there Deku." Izuku couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the praise despite himself. As he worked himself back up to a proper mood, he looked up at Coco and tilted his head to the side.
"So you're Velvet's partner then? Why haven't I seen your team with her in classes then? Have I just been missing you all?" Velvet paled a bit as Coco just laughed a little.
"You could say that; Team CFVY is actually in its second year. It's why it was so easy for me to lay the brute back there out." Izuku actually flinched a bit as he realized that these people were his seniors and he'd been speaking so casually to them...
'OH GODS, I BLUSHED AND TOLD MY SENIOR IT WAS OKAY TO CALL ME DEKU!'
"Chill Deku, chill. It's cool; I don't take much stock in the whole 'senior-junior' thing. No need to get so flustered little guy... even if that shade of red does go good with your hair." Izuku nearly choked as Coco broke out into another fit of laughter, both his embarrassment and her chuckles eventually dying down before she continued. "Anyway, we're second years which is why you don't see us in class with Velvet... the reason why you see Velvet, however, is because my partner here has a tendency to choke under pressure."
"... You don't have to say it quite so bluntly..." Velvet didn't deny what Coco said however as Coco winked at the young man.
"Don't get me wrong, Vel's really smart; her Semblance and weapon of choice pretty much relies on that and a strong spirit. Put her in the right situation... like say against a Grimm or a robot and she does just fine. But... well, put her in a high anxiety situation like say a test or force her to fight people and the poor girl just crumples." Coco reached over and wrapped an arm around Velvet's shoulders, rubbing her opposite one reassuringly. "So Velvet here had to retake the first year unfortunately... hey, you're in class with her right?" Izuku blinked as she asked that, but just nodded. "Tell me, how's Velvet been doing? She been answering questions and not flipping her shit during exams or are we looking at leaving her behind another year?"
"Coco!" Velvet went red in the face after Coco asked that so plainly, bringing her hands up to shield her embarrassed expression as Coco just chuckled a bit. Izuku' stopped for a second, and tried to readjust his frame of mind and catch up with where the conversation had gone.
'In all honesty, Velvet seemed to be doing fine in class to me; she didn't talk much and really didn't participate but when she's called on she does answer a question... it takes her a moment but she answers it,' and even then, that just seemed to be normal behavior, Ren and Shouto didn't seem to answer many questions 'Also, as far as I've been able to tell she's been doing alright in exams…,' he then remembered the distinct sound of a pencil being repeatedly tapped during the last midterm under Port, ' lots of tapping that I've hear coming from her direction, but hey, a professor's never called her to the side to talk so that's a good sign, right?'
"Well..." He brought a hand up to his chin as he continued to think.
'Honestly, It just seems to be getting her to get out of her shell to so she can answer the question is her main problem, but again, she hasn't seemed to freeze under the pressure and give no, or a wrong, answer.'
"She doesn't really participate willingly a lot... she usually just kind of hangs out in the back of the class too. But whenever she is called on by one of the professors I don't really remember anytime she's given a wrong answer or froze up in class, so I'd think she was doing pretty well." Izuku answered honestly as Coco nodded along with his explanation, Velvet giving him a grateful grin before Coco smiled.
"Alright, sounds good. Not that you're the only person I've checked in with; as the leader of Team CFVY making sure Velvet actually advances a year's pretty much one of my top priorities. But it's good to hear someone backing up what else I've been hearing. Thanks there Deku." Izuku just nodded softly as she thanked him, a slight red tinge to his cheeks.
"Y-Yeah no problem." Coco just laughed again as she patted Velvet on the shoulder.
"Anyway, Vel and I have to get going. Like I said, only reason I went out looking for her was cause we've got an assignment to head out to. Good meeting you Deku, hopefully we'll see you around. Maybe when we get the chance I can introduce you to my other two teammates. I'm sure they'd like to thank you in person for helping Vel out." Izuku nodded a bit stiffly as Velvet and Coco waved goodbye, the two turning to make their way back down the hall.
He paused for a moment as his thoughts ran about as fast as they could. In particular, about the meeting he he had tomorrow...
'Well, Coco does seem like a nice person and she was a team leader too... couldn't hurt to make a pitch, right?'
"Actually, Coco, do you have a moment? I'd like to ask you something!" Izuku called out after them and, he swore, there was an amused grin on Coco's face as she turned to face him, expectantly. There's a slight tilt to her head as she lowers her shades, an eyebrow quirked. Izuku saw an almost apologetic look accompany that amused grin before she spoke up.
"Alright Deku, let's hear it then." She sounded almost expectant, as if she's heard a question like that time and time again. He was a bit thrown off by it but he gathered his nerves and, making himself stand upright so he came off as at least somewhat reputable and official, he looked her in the eye.
"I was wondering if you'd like to join the Beacon Leadership Council." Both Velvet and Coco's faces seemingly dropped in surprise as they heard him speak, confused blinks coming from both of them as Coco tilted her head to the side.
"Say what now?" She asked as he nodded. He figured she hadn't heard about that before.
"You see... a group of my friends and I in the first year were having some trouble with taking up the mantle of leadership. There's this girl, Ruby Rose, who's two years younger than the rest of us so she had some trouble getting a member of her team to respect her, and then there was me... well, y-you can probably tell that I can be a bit on the rough side when it comes to talking to people or 'leading' them..." Izuku mutter slightly as he scratched at the back of his head, a slightly amused snort coming from Coco's lips as she nods.
"I guess I can imagine it. Big difference in doing what's right yourself and convincin' others. So?"
"Well... there was a third guy, Tenya Iida, who was pretty much a natural at it but was looking for suggestions and ideas himself. We all figured that if we pooled our knowledge and what little experience we got week by week that we could help each other improve and get better as leaders. Hence the name." He scratched at his arm a bit before proceeding, a more determined look about him as he nodded. "Ever since we've formed, it's actually been a big help... though having someone who actually has solid experience would probably be an even bigger help." Coco nodded, seeming to understand his point as she popped her hips to one side, placing her hands on them.
"Right, I can see where this is going and what you'd get out of me joining... and while I'm flattered, you have to understand that I'm a team leader, not the head of a charity organization. If I'm going to put my time into something like this, I'll need some assurance that I'll be getting something out of this. So?" Izuku nodded; he'd actually already thought ahead to that.
"Well recently we've been doing more to help each other learn as well. I'm a bit of a survival expert so I've been offering what I know on that to everyone in the group from time to time, Tenya's really good at Engineering and Ruby's a whiz with weapons. We also generally help each other just... get better at whatever we're interested in improving at during a meeting. If you joined... well, we're First Years in the same classes as your partner. If you wanted us to help her in any way or to report to you on how she was doing or any difficulties she might be having then you could get that information from a meeting." Coco quirked a brow slightly, an amused grin on her face.
"So, offering to give me a direct pipeline into how my partner's doing as well as a little bit of help? Gotta admit, you move in for the kill right away don't ya Deku?" Izuku blushed slightly as he scratched the back of his head.
"Oh, Tenya's also a pretty good cook and brings snacks so... ummm... yeah, that's all I got for now." He stumbled and mutter a bit towards the end, feeling sheepish as he tried to reel in a Second Year student into joining his organization.
"Hmmm... you know what Deku, you've put me in a good mood and made me a pretty good sounding offer." Coco nodded as she extended a hand forward. "Count me in, I'll join your little Leadership Council." His emerald eyes went wide as they met Coco's deep brown, the girl smiling genuinely as he gave her a wide grin.
"Holy woah, really?!" Coco chuckled as she nodded, taking his hand and shaking it as he returned the gesture with gusto. "Thanks a lot! This'll really help us out a bunch! I'm sure Ruby and Tenya will be really excited!"
"YOU ACTUALLY GOT THE LEADER OF A SECOND YEAR TEAM TO SIGN UP FOR THE COUNCIL?!"
Izuku flinched back as the game of Go that he and Ruby had been going through was now pretty thoroughly tossed out the window. After all, he couldn't exactly keep up a board game when the pieces of said game, to speak nothing of the entire board, was sent flying across the room as his two friends rose up simultaneously and screamed in surprise. Izuku raised his hands up defensively in an almost automatic gesture, as if expecting some physical harm to befall him, as he waved them about in the air.
"I-I-I know I didn't ask, and I'm sorry I didn't check in with you guys first, but Coco just seemed really nice and I thought that her experience could really-"
"WHY ARE YOU APOLOGIZING, THIS IS GREAT!" Both of them declared at once again, the two of them pulling back slightly as they each got into their own form of 'excitement'.
"Oh this is going to be so cool! I'm going to meet someone even older than Yang who's going to be coming here as a sort of, kind of, not really peer! She'll be an even older role model for me to look after and learn from! And it's another Huntress! Finally, I'll have another girl to talk to!" Ruby danced with her declaration, Tenya just looking at Izuku with a wide grin.
"What Miss Rose says is quite true Mr. Midoriya. Having a fellow leader who has been through what we have and has a year of experience on us can only help with, not just our growth, but also with the development of the Beacon Leadership Council as a more inclusive group. I have to say Mr. Midoriya, I'm almost honored; the Council was my idea, but to see you attending to its needs in terms of recruitment with such voracity to surpass my own meager efforts thus far... I find it quite touching." Tenya said all the while waving his arms about as Izuku just smiled.
"Oh it's no problem Tenya. Truth be told, it was easy for me to bring up; your idea really has helped me out in not just being a better leader but in learning a few things about how to work with and improve my team and myself. I was more than happy to invite Coco because this group's already done so much to help me."
...
Tenya seemed to be on the verge of some rather comical tears as he tried to maintain his strict and rigid composure, the young man coughing into his fist as he turned his head to the side.
"Well Mr. Midoriya... I'm quite pleased to hear that you think so highly of this organization. Still, I can't help but thank you. If only there was a way to-"
"I MOTION THAT WE MAKE IZUKU THE TREASURER OF THE BEACON LEADERSHIP COUNCIL!" Ruby suddenly called out, excitement clear in her voice, as his gaze snaps over to her in surprise.
"Wait, what?"
"Seconded! The vote moves to the floor! All those in favor say aye! Aye!"
"Wait, guys, hold on a second, think about-"
"Aye!" Ruby waved one hand in the air as she voted, Tenya just nodding firmly before bringing his hands up in a rather firm and decisive gesture.
"Then as President of the Beacon Leadership Council I hereby accept this super-majority of votes to make Izuku Midoriya, Leader of Team MNVW, the Treasurer of the Beacon Leadership Council!"
"GUYS!" Izuku suddenly shouted, finally drawing Ruby and Tenya's attention back to him. "How am I supposed to be a Treasurer of the Council when we don't make any money?" At that Tenya and Ruby both seemed to pause, both of them raising their hands up to their chins in thoughtful gestures.
"You know, Izuku does have a point." Ruby conceded as Izuku released a sigh of relief, glad that they were finally starting to see sense.
"Indeed... excellent foresight Mr. Midoriya! Truly a mind geared towards the reality of our current situation and its needs is one fitting to be this organization's Treasurer!"
"WHAAAAAAT?!"
"Yeah! Izuku, your first job as Treasurer of the Beacon Leadership Council is to secure us some funds!" Ruby immediately followed up behind Tenya's declaration and his shout of utter and complete bewilderment. Izuku looked between the two of them, trying his best to find some kind of crack in their front that he could exploit, some sign of common sense that would cause this lunacy to give way and let things return to a more even keel... alas all he saw was a united front insisting that he, Izuku Midoriya, would be the Beacon Leadership Council's Treasurer.
And soon enough Izuku sighed, scratched the back of his head and shrugged.
"I'll see what I can come up with..." He said softly as both Tenya and Ruby nodded in ready agreement. With time running short and their last game pretty well ruined the three of them decided to call the meeting here. It had been a rather productive day, he thought.
E/N: In this chapter we have "Meet The Heavy" a little Tenya yang bonding piece by Preventer Squall, and "Chasing Two Years" A brief foray into Ruby's world by Wind-Waker.
-Shovern
Oh, hey, another one of mine.
Ruby has always been my favorite member of team RWBY, and I really felt she had sort of fallen short in the amount of attention she had received from the story up to this point in the writing. Part of this is because this is Izuku's story, but the other part is that other outtake writers just seemed to prefer more popular characters (For the record, there are a lot of little snippets about those characters that are either in Tales of Beacon or cut).
I also thought that it would be cool to give Izuku a second main rival besides Bakugou, and of the cast, Ruby just seemed to fit, due to her ambition to follow her mother, her own status as a prodigy, and that she is ostensibly the main character in RWBY, just as Izuku is for My Hero Academia. It was a bit of a fun dynamic to explore going forward.
The final bit of real push was to at least try and bring Todoroki more into the story. Up to this point...well, he just hasn't interacted with Izuku that much. This way of training his ice powers seemed like a good way to give him something to do, even though it will still be a while before he becomes more involved.
-Wind-Waker