An interview is had at a very interesting diner! Things get a bit heated. The girls need a nap. And Izuku does some tests!
Izuku was pleasantly surprised by what he saw at the location his phone was leading him. The diner was a squat, multistory building on the corner of an intersection, with a very simple tan brick outer facade. Heat Rush hung as a softly glowing neon sign over the door, a few various posters and signs in the windows; specials of the day, a 'Help Wanted' sign, a glass door inset into the corner section with a striped awning overtop. He noted a weird sensation coming from his left, a sense of…something, but all he could see was a small brown bird sitting atop the awning, seeming content to ignore everyone around it.
Opening the door with his friends and partners, Izuku paused for a brief moment. At this time of day, the assembled students appeared to have missed the lunch rush, the diner mostly empty save the blue visage of Kizuki in a large corner booth, casually perusing a menu. The diner had a very old pre-Quirk Western feel to it, with circular stools seated before a counter that ran across the one wall, behind it what Izuku could assume were the kitchens.
The only person Izuku could see at the moment was a handsome young man, a few years older than the students, with sun speckled charcoal gray hair pulled back in a ponytail. He had golden amber eyes, a few shades darker than Himiko's, and a spiked earring in both ears. He had a chefs apron on and noticed them entering, his blank visage unchanging as he nodded to them.
"Welcome to Heat Rush. Take a seat anywhere you like, I'll be with you in a minute," the man said in a soft, smooth voice.
"Oh, they're here with me Ryo!" Kizuki called, having noticed them when the man identified as Ryo had spoken to the group.
Ryo glanced at Kizuki with a steely gaze, before shrugging. "Alright. The usual?"
"Yep! Oh, I forgot to ask, is Drop around? Just to give them the heads up?"
"He's busy. You can have your talk."
Kizuki smiled at the man. "Thanks!" She turned back to the group and stood up, gesturing for them to take a seat in the corner booth with her. After some shuffling, the group ended up all seated, Kizuki on the end and Izuku next to her, followed by Himiko, Ochako, Shoto, and then Katsuki. Tenya had been unable to attend, having prior plans to go visit his brother, so it was just the five at the moment.
Kizuki's smile grew wider as she gestured to the menus sitting on the table. "Please, feel free, it's my treat for dragging you all out here!"
"Why did you drag us out here?" Himiko asked suspiciously.
"I seriously just wanted to talk. I'm…well, I'm actually a big fan. Your performances at the sports festival were incredible, and of course, taking down the Hero Killer? And saving the city from the bomb Nomu? A flying Nomu with a bomb in it coulda been a disaster, and yet you stopped it. It's truly inspiring! Seems like your abilities are truly top notch!"
Katsuki smirked. "Well, yeah, we're the fucking best. Well, I'm the best, these others are close though."
Izuku rolled his eyes. "Kacchan…" he sighed.
"Listen, you wanna be the best, you gotta project that! Civilians like confidence! And I got that in fucking spades!"
"What you are is a cocky punk," Ochako said, pointing her finger at Katsuki.
"Well earned confidence if I may say! I saw your performance at the Sports Festival, it was truly incredible!" Kizuki said, smiling wide as she complimented Katsuki. The blonde puffed out his chest with a smarmy grin on his face, the others at the table rolling their eyes (save Shoto, who remained blank faced as ever).
"I know an actor when I see one, lady. You wanted us here for a reason. Cough it up," Himiko said, an unusually hostile glare on her face as she leaned over the table to stare at the reporter woman.
Kizuki's overly friendly smile, one Izuku likened to the sort of smile customer service agents would wear no matter how they felt, vanished. The smile remained, but was much sharper, focused, her gaze piercing as she met the amber eyes of Himiko with a smirk on her face. "Well aren't you a clever kitty, Himiko Toga. Of course, minor cat mutation certainly isn't your actual Quirk, but it's not like your parents were ever up to listing your true Quirk, were they?"
Izuku snarled, his eyes narrowing as he saw Himiko rock back at the mention of her parents. He leapt to his feet, glaring down at her, barely noticing how Ochako had risen in tandem and looking for all the world like she intended on leaping over the table to wring the blue-skinned reporter's neck. Katsuki's smug look vanished in an instant, the temperature in the diner lowering briefly as Shoto's eyes narrowed, a small hint of frost creeping over his fingers.
"No fighting in here. Take it down a notch," the soft voice of the owner Ryo sounded, the gathered teens glancing over to see him standing at their table, holding a tray with glasses, a water jug, and a coffee pot. His golden eyes turned to glare down at the smug looking Kizuki. "Stop antagonizing them."
She rolled her eyes, sighing deeply. "Alright, alright. I admit that was a low blow. I meant what I said about ordering though, it's on me."
"I don't think we want to stay," Izuku growled. He was willing to heed the owners request, and he wasn't about to start a fight in a diner of all places, but he saw no reason to sit there and watch as she said such hurtful things to their Himiko. The blonde girl had shrunk into herself at the comment, refusing to look up, and that concerned Izuku more than anything else, the fact she wasn't even willing to fight for herself.
The blue-skinned woman sighed, taking the offered coffee mug that Ryo had just poured coffee into and sipping at it, letting out a satisfied hum. She glanced back up to stare at the still standing Izuku and Ochako, meeting their eyes and then to the others around the table.
"Give me one more chance, okay? I just wanted to talk to you guys about an opportunity. Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself when chasing a story…surely you can understand what it's like? Getting overly excited, seeking out knowledge? I admit, I stumbled across Himiko's parents during my prep work for the interview, but it was an accident! Personally, I think they were too prejudiced to be of any use as a witness so I ignored their testimonies entirely. Dismissing you over your ability is just pitiful, really. You're incredibly talented and didn't deserve that, what they did, or what I said. I just got a bit…frustrated. I apologize."
Izuku shared a glance with Ochako, the two looking down between themselves to see what Himiko thought. The blonde shrugged her shoulders, barely willing to lift her gaze; but it was enough for the two of them to sit down once more. Ochako wrapped one arm around Himiko's shoulder, pulling her closer to her as Izuku took her hand and entwined his fingers with hers in a show of support.
Ryo cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "Orders?"
Katsuki worked his jaw, before growling out his choice, Shoto following along quietly. Ochako ordered for both her and Himiko, the blonde not flinching from it as Izuku sighed, giving an answer. Kizuki just smiled at Ryo as pocketed his pad, turning about smartly and moving back behind the counter into what they presumed was the kitchen.
Izuku turned back to Kizuki as the chef left. "Enough games. What do you actually want from us?" Focusing on her, having spent some time around her, he could get a small sense of her emotions…excitement, concern, a deep well of curiosity that seemed to demand she seek and push and dig, one that felt almost obsessive…and a strange detachment that made Izuku feel oddly distant, as if she weren't truly there.
She took another sip of her coffee, humming contemplatively. After a moment, she set the mug down and stared down at the table, looking at her hands now splayed upon the table's surface. "My ability allows me to take any touched object and turn it into an explosive. Not exactly conducive to reporting, if I'm being honest. But it's quite powerful, wouldn't you say? Especially you, of all people, you must understand how useful such an ability would be, wouldn't you?" Kizuki asked, lifting one hand up to gesture towards Katsuki.
He snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you're trying to make up for pissing me off by flattery, you're shit out of luck. You're on my shit list now and it's hard to get the fuck off it."
Kizuki waved him off. "No, no, I'm being real now, no more reporter business. I'm just pointing out that I have a unique talent all my own. As each of you does. So I ask you…what do you think of Quirk use laws?"
"That is an odd question," Shoto said, tilting his head to the side. "I don't follow how discussion of your Quirk leads to that."
"Oh, it's just an offshoot. I'm just curious what you think of them."
Shoto placed one finger on his lips, a gesture that made the others at the table blink at him in confusion…the resemblance to Tsuyu's signature thinking pose was uncanny. After a moment, he lowered his hand and met her eyes. "I do not really think much of them one way or the other. They rarely come up."
"Didn't they? When you fought the Hero Killer in Hosu, was there no concern about charges being sent your way for vigilantism?" Kizuki asked, steepling her fingers as she leaned forward.
"It was self-defense," Katsuki growled, still glaring at her.
"Yes, that's the official report, backed by the number three and number five heroes, as well as several others in the top fifty. With that sort of backing almost anyone would believe anything. Now I admit, my research does corroborate that story, after all, so I believe it too. But here's my question…what if it wasn't? What if you were just trying to save that hero? You know, Native, the one you rescued. Without the backing of those very visible heroes, you likely would have been charged…just for saving someone! Does that seem fair to you?" Kizuki asked, gesticulating wildly as she spoke with a fervent passion.
"...no, I don't think it's very fair," Himiko said quietly. She lifted her head up, her amber eyes a little red and watery, but she kept her gaze affixed to Kizuki's as she spoke. "But that's the law, and we're supposed to uphold them."
Kizuki tilted her head to the side. "So it's okay that the law is unfair? You're telling me you'd uphold a law that prevented you from helping someone, just because it's the law?"
"But if you were to break a law to assist someone else, that would be vigilantism, and vigilantism is wrong," Shoto interjected, stating it as though he were reciting from a script.
"So you'd be willing to let someone die just because it's against the law?" Kizuki pressed.
"Those sort of bad hypotheticals don't do anyone any good, Miss Kizuki. I know what you're getting at but it's an unfair question to begin with. There are exceptions when it comes to saving lives and you know it, else you wouldn't ask!" Izuku said, already tired of where she was going with this.
She held up one finger. "Those exceptions are few and far between, and are rarely applicable. You guys got lucky you had as many people backing you up as you did. You genuinely think you coulda gotten away with flying a bomb into the sky above a city if it weren't for the backing of all those heroes and the detective with the lie detector Quirk?"
Izuku's reply was cut off by the silent return of Ryo, the man gently placing plates before each person at the table with practiced ease. "Need anything else?" he asked as he straightened up.
"I think we're good Ryo!" Kizuki said with a wide smile.
"I'll let them say if they are or not," he replied, gesturing to the others at the table.
Ochako shared a quick glance with Himiko and Izuku, before nodding. "We're all good sir, thank you."
"It's Ryoya or Ryo, not sir. But alright. Just yell if you need something." With one final piercing glance at Kizuki, he walked off back behind the counter.
Kizuki quickly snatched up her utensils, winking at the table as she pointed at the food. "Why don't we take a short break in the questions and answers portion. The food here's really good, after all!"
Izuku wasn't particularly keen on continuing this conversation at all, since he still couldn't figure out her angle? Was she trying to get them to agree the laws were annoying ro something? From how she felt, it didn't seem like she was trying to trap them, so much as…she just wanted them to agree? But he couldn't tell why. He was ninety percent certain she wasn't recording…his ability to sense electronics was headache inducing when he activated it, but he couldn't find any on her besides her phone which he didn't think was recording? Couldn't quite tell. But he was mildly confident it wasn't. So what was her actual goal here?
He shook his head and decided to dig into the food, not wanting to let it go to waste. Within the first few bites, he could tell the chef knew what he was doing. It was damned good. Well, at least he got a decent meal out of this really strange and annoying trip. Glancing at the rest of the table, he could see the other students were similarly pleased with their meal…save Katsuki, who pulled out a canister of…ground up ghost pepper? Izuku sighed internally at his brother as the blonde liberally coated his curry with it. But saying anything about it was fighting a losing battle, much less asking where he got the canister. That was like asking where Izuku got his notebooks from. You were better off not knowing.
After a few minutes of the gathered group silently eating their food, Kizuki gently dabbed at her mouth with her napkin and gave a satisfied sigh. "Ah, excellent as always Ryo! Thank you!" The chef in question just gave her a rather lackadaisical thumbs up, returning to towel drying a glass. She turned back to the gathered students with her smile intact. "So…thought on my questions more?"
"I have a question for you, instead," Izuku replied. She arched an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue. Izuku nodded. "Why are you asking? There's an angle here and don't pretend there isn't. What are you after?"
"I'm not after anything. It's more…I want to hear your thoughts on the matter. This isn't a trap or a trick and I'm not going to add it to my reporting. I genuinely just want to know what you think…is it okay to break the law to save a life?"
"Yes," Shoto replied bluntly, slurping his noodles right after speaking.
Izuku blinked at his swift response, but didn't necessarily disagree if he was being honest with himself…he didn't think he could ignore someone in danger, even if it meant running afoul of Vigilante laws.
"I mean…yeah, I'd probably want to help people," Himiko murmured, pushing her plate away as she slumped back in the booth.
"No need to be ashamed of that answer! Personally, I think that the laws are a bit too strict, you know? And not just for saving people! Your Quirk, Miss Uraraka, wouldn't it be excellent for helping your family?"
Ochako slowly turned her gaze back to the reporter, her eyes narrowed. "And what would you know about my family, Miss Kizuki?"
Kizuki had the gall to roll her eyes. "Please, once again, I mean no offense. I just did my research. It's what reporters do!"
"No, it's what fucking paparazzi do, reporters look at relevant facts, not someones fucking family history," Katsuki replied, his own ruby gaze hard and cold. "But fine, I'll answer your question. Yeah, I'd break the law to save a life. Yeah, it'd be nice to maybe be able to use my Quirk when it'd help. But everyone running around throwing their Quirks around without any fucking limits would be chaos and we'd all be fucked. Especially people who don't fucking train it to be safe."
The smile on Kizuki's face faded slightly, but she bowed her head in deference to Katsuki. "Of course, chaos would be something I think we'd all want to avoid. But-" any further comment from her was broken off by the sound of the door opening and a loud, annoyed sigh coming from the chef behind the counter.
Izuku broke his staring contest with the reporter to glance up, eyes going wide as he saw the blonde visage of Keigo strolling into the diner in civilian clothes, casually chatting with Toya as Tenko followed behind, hands moving rapidly over his phone as he focused on it. Keigo raised a hand in greeting to the chef. "Ryo! Heya man, been a minute!"
"Hi Keigo. The usual?" Ryo replied, arching an eyebrow at the hero.
Keigo rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Always so damned cold…oh…Izuku?" Keigo seemed to notice the gathered group, Toya and Tenko both looking over at the same time to see them all together. The smiles that were crossing their faces vanished as they noticed the blue-skinned woman next to them, Kizuki just taking a sip of her coffee, setting it down gently as she smiled at the trio in a manner Izuku could only call smug.
"Why are you here, Kizuki?" Toya growled, his eyes snapping over to Shoto, the younger brother blinking up at him in confusion.
"I'm allowed to be, aren't I?" she said, pulling out a nail file from her small purse and beginning to casually file one of her nails.
"Rephrase, why are you here with them?" Tenko snapped, stepping forward and gesturing to the gathered students.
"Is something wrong with me talking to some students after we did an interview? Eraserhead is very aware of where they are, you know I mean no harm."
"Toya? Is there a problem?" Shoto asked quietly, glancing between his older brother and the blue-skinned reporter.
"Yes Toya, is there a problem?" Kizuki asked in a saccharine tone.
Toya growled under his breath and took a halting step forward, but the arm of Ryoya snapped out and grabbed onto his, holding him in place. Ryo's golden eyes met ice-blue and he shook his head slowly. "You know the rules, Toya."
Toya worked his jaw angrily, before letting out an annoyed huff and plopping down onto one of the stools lining the counter. "Yeah, yeah. Shoto! Wanna sit with me?"
Shoto glanced at the group, confused, but was cut off by Kizuki gracefully getting to her feet. "Well, I believe I've taken up enough of your time today. As promised, lunch is on me. I hope you consider what we've spoken about! I'll see you all some other time!" Without waiting for a response, she sauntered over to the counter and tossed a handful of yen onto the counter, Ryo lifting it and counting it before giving her a single nod. The reporter stepped out of the diner, waving goodbye cheerily at the trio of pro heroes who watched her with annoyed expressions.
As the door shut behind her, it was like a pall was lifted off the diner, Keigo letting out a deep sigh as he slouched into the stool beside Toya. Tenko stepped over to the table the teens were at, glancing over them. "Sup, Izuku. Wanna introduce us?"
"O-oh, yeah!" Izuku stammered, still a little confused by what just happened. He was a little off kilter, being slammed by emotions from Shoto the second he noticed Toya, and then another wave when the three heroes saw Kizuki…he couldn't quite filter through them yet, but if he was to guess, the overriding emotion was anger. He shook his head to clear it, introducing each person at the table to Tenko and by extension, Keigo and Toya (although Shoto took over introducing Toya). The mood around the table was much happier, the girls enjoying talking to Tenko as Katsuki ended up getting into a discussion with Keigo about flying.
Izuku smiled at them, the groups mingling for a bit as Ryo cooked the hero's food in the background, but he was still…confused, by how everyone had acted, and decided to ask. Taking a seat at the counter, he waited until Ryo had a moment before raising his hand to get the chef's attention. The chef glanced over, giving him a nod of recognition as he set down a plate and made his way over to Izuku on the far end of the counter.
"I'm sorry to bug you, but…um…can you explain what all that was earlier? What's that about 'rules'?"
Ryo shrugged. "No fighting, as I told you before. Everyone can eat here so long as they follow the rules."
Izuku paused, confused by the wording. He'd already assumed Ryoya didn't discriminate, but…like a bolt of lightning, it hit him. How on edge he'd been around Kizuki from the first minute, how absolutely aggressive the three heroes got the second they saw her, how Toya quickly tried to get Shoto away from her…holy shit. "Wait…was she a villain?"
"She's a person," Ryo corrected.
Izuku narrowed his eyes at the chef. "I didn't say she wasn't."
"Lots of people think villains aren't people, you know."
"Yeah well I'm not one of them, but it woulda been nice to know in case she did something!"
"She wouldn't. Not here," the chef assured him, ducking beneath the counter for a second looking for something. Standing back up to his full height, he started to spray the counter with a cleaning solution and began wiping it down.
"Because of the rules?" Izuku asked.
Ryoya nodded distractedly. "Anyone who follows them can eat here, talk to each other, hang out. Whatever happens outside this diner doesn't matter here."
"...how do you enforce that?" Izuku asked quietly.
He was interrupted by Tenko sliding into the stool next to him, one hand flicking through his phone, a flashing colorful game lighting the screen up and nearly blinding Izuku as he glanced down at it. Tenko spoke up before Ryo could. "Ryo's Quirk is strong, and he knows how to use it. He was a party member."
Izuku took a moment to process Tenko's wording, blinking in confusion. "Um, you mean…a hero student?"
"A hero. For a little bit. I had something to do and needed permission to use my Quirk. When it was over, I quit and opened this diner," Ryo said in a bored tone, almost dismissive.
"You…didn't want to keep being a hero?" Izuku asked, feeling a strange pressure in his chest. All his life, deep down, being a hero had been all he'd ever wanted to be, no matter how much he tried to tell himself he didn't want it, he always knew…he just would hide from that feeling, shoving it down into the depths of his soul because he thought a murderer could never become a hero.
Ryoya sighed. "Not exactly pleasant conversation. As I said, I had something I needed to take care of. But I'm not a fan of hero society. I did what I needed to finish my mission, and then came here. This place is my home and what I want to do. Got an issue with that?"
Izuku waved his hands in front of his face in negation. "N-no sir!"
"Ryo or Ryoya. Not sir."
"R-right, Ryo! Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I just…it's not something I'm used to hearing, I guess," Izuku said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away from the golden-eyed man.
Ryo looked over at the green-haired man for a moment. He shook his head. "You're fine, kid." He paused, before looking over at Tenko. "You know him?"
Tenko grabbed Izuku's shoulder and shook him. "Yep! Had a pep talk buff to give this guy. He needed it before he started his main character quest. He's chill, Ryo." Tenko turned to Izuku and gestured towards Ryoya. "Ryo was in our class. He's the one who sparred with Toya the most when he was having a bad day. Ryo's cool, Izuku. It's all good."
"Yeah, I get it. Um…you're a really good cook. Kacchan and I cook too, but don't know much western food. It was really good though!" Izuku said awkwardly.
"Thanks. Glad you liked it."
Any further awkward conversation was interrupted by Himiko, the blonde sliding into the chair next to Izuku with an uncharacteristically serious look on her face. Izuku reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, the blonde leaning over slightly into his grasp but looking at Ryo with a sharp gaze. "Um…Ryo, right?" Ryo nodded at her. "The uh, sign out front? Help Wanted? Um, I have a friend who's like…well, he's uh, just getting out of a, um, a place, and he needs a job and I saw the sign and-" her slowly increasing babble was cut off by the golden-eyed man vanishing underneath the counter, popping back up a moment later with a piece of paper that he slid over to her. She glanced down at it, seeing a standard employment form that she'd seen a hundred times in various places over the years.
"Have him fill that out and come by whenever they get out. As long as he's willing to work and listen to what I say, he'll have a job. If he needs it, I can find a place for him to stay till he's on his feet."
Himiko stared at Ryo, flabbergasted by how easily he just…heard her and agreed. He didn't even let her finish pitching Jin and just…
Ryoya took pity on the clearly confused blonde. "Heat Rush is for second chances. Everyone deserves one. And Ten vouches for you guys. That's more than enough for me."
Himiko kept staring at him, a slight shimmer in her eyes at the young man before her saying the sort of thing she wished she'd heard much more often when she was younger. She nodded, her voice thick as she replied. "T-thanks. A lot. I'll…I'll make sure he gets this asap."
Izuku gently squeezed her side, glancing up and offering Ryo a soft smile. "Thanks a lot. It's a really nice diner. We…we should probably get going though, it's been a long day. And I think Kacchan's gonna kill someone soon if he doesn't get to take out his aggression on a training dummy."
"Shut up nerd!" Katsuki shouted from the other side of the diner, where he'd been talking to Keigo still.
"You first dork!" Izuku yelled back, Himiko giggling quietly.
Tenko gave Izuku a quick shoulder squeeze. "You guys head back to base and recharge. Was nice meeting you officially, Himiko."
"You too!" she said back with a watery smile. The two teens stood up, Ochako sauntering over to them and, upon noticing Himiko's state, pecked the blonde on the cheek before taking her free hand into her own. Katsuki strolled over, waving goodbye to Keigo, as Shoto and Toya stood there awkwardly for a moment…before Shoto finally gave in and wrapped his arms around his brother in a hug, the white-haired man returning the favor.
"Alright, let's go home," Izuku said, waving goodbye to the pro heroes, and one oddly calm chef. For all the annoyance and suspicion Curious brought, for all the ways she pissed them off and tried to trip them up with her words…at least they found a nice place to come and relax. Izuku…kinda liked the idea of a diner where even a villain could sit down and chat. Who knows, maybe he could save someone with words rather than a fist. It was a nice thought, really.
Ochako tiredly wiped at her eyes, still a bit annoyed from the incident at the diner, but more just done with the day. Heavily leaning into Izuku's side, she stumbled into the dorm, kicking her shoes off and shuffling off into the kitchen. Himiko snuggled into her side as she went, seemingly as drained as Ochako was. The two managed to avoid crashing into anything as Ochako filled up a couple glasses with water, putting one into Himiko's hands as she drained hers swiftly. She needed a nap, and from how Himiko was acting, the blonde did too.
"You two okay?" Izuku asked softly, coming up behind the girls.
Ochako yawned, nodding. "Yeah. Just wanna go take a nap. Himi's gonna come with. You comin'?"
Izuku shook his head. "I'm not tired, too keyed up I think. I'm gonna head to the training grounds and maybe get a workout in to try and burn some energy."
Ochako nodded. "K. See ya when ya get back, Izu. Love ya," she punctuated her declaration with a soft kiss on his lips, the green-haired man's face breaking out into a smile at the affection. He nuzzled her cheek, turning about to press a kiss to the forehead of the half-asleep Himiko, the blonde sighing in happiness and patting her boyfriend on the back as he walked away.
The two girls managed to stumble their way into Ochako's bedroom, Himiko flopping onto it with her arms spread, taking up far too much of the bed for Ochako to fit. The brunette huffed at her girlfriend, tapping her on the leg and making her rise into the air, the blonde letting out a shriek before managing to grip onto the bedspread to keep herself down. Himiko turned towards Ochako and stuck her tongue out at her, Ochako giggling tiredly as she began to change into her sleepwear. Himiko rolled her eyes, using the grip she had on the bed to launch herself across the room so she could snatch up her pajamas from off the top of the dresser.
Not bothering to ask Ochako to drop her, Himiko just changed midair, using the ceiling as her stabilization point and getting into her pajamas without too much trouble. She then shoved herself back towards the bed, managing to reach it moments before Ochako and with a lunge, grabbing the headboard and pulling herself down into the center of the bed once more.
Ochako just tapped her fingers together, releasing her Quirk on the blonde and decided to take a page out of her girlfriend's book. She leapt on top of Himiko, giggling as Himiko let out a loud and annoyed 'oof' at the sudden pressure. She struggled for a moment against the dead weight, but Himiko managed to roll over and wrap her arms around her girlfriend's waist, the two now entangled up on the bed.
Himiko buried her head into Ochako's shoulder, sighing deeply as she did. "That sucked, 'Chako." she murmured, her voice muffled.
"What did?" Ochako asked, running one hand through Himiko's hair as the other reached down to pull the blanket up over the two of them.
"Stupid reporter lady. She was a bitch, bringing all that up," Himiko replied.
Ochako snorted, but didn't reply further, just gently stroking her girlfriend's hair as she lay there, half curled about her oldest friend and now girlfriend. Sometimes, the best thing for her was getting to just…be there, with those she loved with all her heart. People often talked about her smile being like the sun, and cracked jokes about how when she and Izuku smiled together they needed sunglasses…but that's because they didn't realize the truth. Himiko was the sun…brilliant and warm and comforting, chasing away shadows since she'd once been eclipsed by them.
Ochako never really could pinpoint when Himiko had etched herself indelibly upon her heart, but she could pinpoint the moment she'd realized it. A month before the two were set to move to Musutafu, while Ochako was busy packing, Himiko had been sprawled out over the gravity teen's bed, gossiping about some drama at school that Ochako was at best paying half attention to while she packed. When she'd turned around to ask the blonde girl a question, it hit her, right then and there.
No fireworks went off, no sudden epiphany, no bolt of lightning to the brain. She'd turned about to witness Himiko, eyes closed, smiling softly, stretching in the dappled sunlight coming through her window, and it hit Ochako. Something she'd known the whole time but never quite realized, something that made her wonder if she'd ever not been in love with Himiko…It was no shock, just a gentle realization, an understanding, that she was in love with this energetic, beautiful, loving girl, and that she did not regret it for a single second.
And now she had her, and Izuku, and a bunch of others…friends too, more family to keep adding to her ever growing list…maybe the reporter was annoying, maybe class was tough, maybe she was just exhausted…but the one thing that wasn't a maybe? She was happy. With a quiet hum to herself, she squeezed Himiko tighter, letting the consciousness fade away into Morpheus' realm, a loving smile plastered on her face as she fell into the land of dreams once more.
"Are you sure about this?" Toshinori asked, for what felt like the twelfth time since Izuku had broached the idea to him, the duo standing in one of the reinforced training gyms. They'd specifically selected one with an obstacle course in it, which Izuku had already done a half dozen runs to get a baseline time for.
"Yes!" Izuku sighed, exasperated. "I know it's dangerous; Second made that abundantly clear, but isn't that why I should test it in a controlled environment first? I got Sensei here with me in case something goes wrong, and Second and Third are both willing to walk me through it. It was Gran Torino's idea to begin with after all! Plus, I may as well try to see if I can access the last two."
'I think if you reach for Smokescreen, it'll come to your call. The other Quirk's seemed to come when you subconsciously needed them, so we're pretty sure just reaching for the remaining two should trigger the last two unlocks,' En interjected into his mind.
'He's right. I can feel Fa Jin is ready. But don't touch it until you're used to Smokescreen at least,' Third said.
'Leave Gear Shift for last…if you use it full body, it's gonna fuck you up and you're going to need to rest after it,' was Third's warning, Izuku nodding along as he passed the words on to Toshinori and Aizawa, the erasure hero leaning against the wall with his eyes glued to Izuku.
"Very well…I suppose we start with Smokescreen then? There is no chance of a backlash, right?" Toshinori asked.
Izuku shrugged. "En says it doesn't hurt anyone. Worst I could do is overdo it I guess, but the gym has a good ventilation system so even if I do it should clear out, right?"
"Perhaps. We'll have to see how it functions first, Midoriya. Go for it, the cameras are recording," Aizawa replied.
Izuku took a deep breath, allowing En's 'pull' to bring him into the inner world. Even though he couldn't see En's grin under the high collar the sixth user wore, he could feel the grin as he pointed into the sky, the wispy cirrus clouds that represented Float now joined by larger, much more solid clouds resembling cumulus clouds, sometimes trekking across the sky and dimming the lights from the celestial array that represented his loved ones. Izuku nodded internally, now used to how he could grasp onto the effect…with a thought, he felt the clouds form in his hands, around his body, felt the energy flow through him and then…
Whoomf! With a loud hissing noise, purple smoke flooded the entire room, all vision cut off in a split second. Izuku winced away, already able to feel the weird mix of annoyance and amusement from En, as well as the sheer exasperation from Aizawa and the somewhat aghast sense of awe Toshinori had. He couldn't see it, but could hear the moment the ventilation system kicked on, the smoke being pulled out of the room swiftly.
"Well. That happened," Aizawa deadpanned.
"...I overdid it," Izuku murmured, his shoulders hunched.
Aizawa sighed. "Yes, yes you did. A cloud that size would likely be a hindrance more than a help most times. Unless you can see through it?"
Izuku shook his head in negation. "No…but…" he paused as a thought crossed his mind, blinking rapidly. "Actually, wait…let me try it again. Turn off the vents?"
Aizawa arched an eyebrow, sharing a glance with Toshinori. The blonde hero shrugged, unsure what Izuku was getting at. Aizawa sighed, flicking the button to turn off the system as Izuku breathed in deeply. His eyes lit up green as the smoke flooded out from him once more, slightly less but still filling the room. After a few seconds, Izuku shouted in joy. "My Quirk vision works in the smoke! I can still see energy sources!"
Aizawa turned the vents back on, nodding. "That could be useful then, so long as you differentiate properly. Don't get over reliant on it though. If you mess up whose energy is what, you could harm a civilian."
Izuku nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes sir!"
"Well…at least we know how you can utilize that. Let's try the Third's then?" Toshinori said, looking at Izuku.
Izuku nodded once more, allowing himself to fall back into the vestige realm. This time, Third was there, arms crossed over his chest as he nodded down towards the lake itself. Izuku dove in, feeling the water slide about him, only to find himself caught up in a current, a riptide pulling him along. Silently he giggled as it pulled him along, safe in the knowledge that here, in his inner world, nothing would harm him. The current dashed back and forth, almost repetitively, each jagged movement a reminder of what he knew it could do. Izuku focused, letting himself escape the current and the inner world, now understanding how to access the darting current.
He began to quickly and repetitively squat, Aizawa and Toshinori watching him…one, curious, the other, focused…watching as a red energy began to build up around his legs, a shimmering glimmer of red that swirled with his green energy. It began to spark and sing, a ring of red coming off his knees as Izuku took a runner's stance, staring ahead at the obstacle course ahead of him.
Aizawa held up his phone, a stopwatch visible on the surface. "On your mark…get set…go!"
At the command, Izuku launched himself forward, rocketing across the gym faster than he'd ever moved before. His eyes went wide in concern, having gone faster than he expected. He had to launch Blackwhip out to grip onto the nearby pillar as well as form a repulsion barrier along his feet to practically skid off of, nearly losing his footing as he swung around, but barely managing to keep on track.
The rest of the obstacle course followed as normal, no other chance to build up the energy for Fa Jin, but when he skid to a stop by his mentors, Aizawa stared at him in consternation. "H-how'd I do?" Izuku asked, a little breathless.
"Worse, actually. That initial launch was too uncontrollable it appears. You lost precious time redirecting yourself. Try it again while prepared, if you use Blackwhip earlier I believe you'll be fine." Izuku nodded, repeating his prior motions and taking the same runner's as before.
The pattern repeated itself for the next five runs, Izuku slowly getting the hang of the burst of motion Fa Jin was giving him. It wasn't like One For All, the energy released was far more focused and less likely to break his limbs…he just wasn't used to the speed boost it gave him, and since it wore off quickly, he had to adjust both ways rapidly. But by the third run, he had it pretty well down…by the time he was on the fifth run, he was able to hold multiple charges in different limbs and was able to pull them out as needed. On his sixth run, he'd broken his prior record by a good ten percent!
He couldn't help but smile proudly at his accomplishment. And he still felt like he could run the course another dozen times! Gods he was so pumped lately! He'd been feeling this static beneath his skin, like he could just do anything, over and over again. Honestly, it made it a bit difficult to sleep, he'd been staying up longer every night and waking up just as early, but he felt surprisingly good about it. Still, he probably shouldn't overdo it, he knew that better than anyone. Especially with the plan to test out Gear Shift on himself.
'I can't promise what it'll do, kid. Just know it'll probably hurt if you hold it too long, so go easy,' Second cautioned, Izuku nodding along. He glanced back to see Aizawa and Toshinori both giving him a nod, the green-haired young man taking his stance once more. Closing his eyes, he focused on the whirlpool, letting the spinning water flow into him, into his body, his essence, his very soul, letting it flood him as Full Cowling sparked to life around him. Opening his eyes…Izuku moved.
Izuku could fly without issue. Between Float, Overcharge, and Blackwhip, he'd never had trouble cornering so long as he controlled himself properly and gave himself platforms to rebound off of…but holy shit was this different. He had no clue what was going on, because the world was narrowed down to just the course he was running, everything blotted out so he could avoid slamming into something in an out of control state. He was able to just…change direction so rapidly, instantly, in such a way he couldn't even truly understand it himself.
When he found himself stopped next to Aizawa, his Sensei and mentor both staring at him with wide eyes, he found…he wasn't even gasping for air. It-it had felt perfectly comfortable. Like it was just there for him to wield. And holy shit, it was fun!
"...You completed the course in one eighth the time, Problem Child," Aizawa deadpanned, letting out a deep sigh that expressed how done with it all he was.
Izuku's eyes went wide, a grin stretched across his face so expansive it threatened to split his face in two. "Haha! Oh my gosh that's amazing! Gear Shift is awesome!" Izuku excitedly raised his hands up in the air, feeling for all the world like a kid once again…when he felt every single muscle in his body lock into place in a second, his vision going blurry as he felt the air drain from his lungs.
His body folded in half like paper, collapsing to the ground before either of his teachers could react. Dimly, he heard the tired sigh in his head of the Second wielder, followed by his voice. 'Yep. That's what I was trying to warn you about. Drop Gear Shift now, Izuku!'
At the command in his mind, he managed to release it, feeling his lungs take in sweet, sweet air once more. He gasped, one hand on his chest, eyes flickering open to see the worried face of Toshinori over him, Aizawa on his other side checking his pulse with concerned eyes.
"...ow," Izuku managed to croak out, his two teachers both glaring at him for the understatement.
'Looks like when your body is under Gear Shift's influence, you can't get enough air. You're gonna be limited to small bursts, else you're at risk of damaging your very cells,' Second lectured in his mind, Izuku tiredly nodding along.
Clearing his throat and sitting up with the help of Toshinori, Izuku haltingly explained what Second had told him. His teachers shared a glance.
"I…Gran Torino is correct, you must practice with this power, but no more today. And we need to stick to, as the Second user said, small uses of it. If it's going to cause cellular damage…" Toshinori trailed off, shaking his head.
"We'll have the old lady check you over. Run some tests. Let's make sure we understand what it does to you. C'mon kid, up and at 'em. We'll run you over there and go get our weekly lecture," Aizawa said, helping Izuku clamber to his feet.
"Yes sir," Izuku muttered, rubbing at his temple with one hand. The fact he'd cleared the course in one eight his previous times meant he'd be willing to put up with nearly anything to get control over this power…combining everything else he had, he truly could become a pillar. This pain was a small setback, really. Izuku didn't care what it took…he'd master this. He'd master One For All, end the threat of All For One, and bring about the peace his mentor had spent forty years cultivating. He wouldn't accept anything less.
Well, that was fun wasn't it? I'm sure there's nothing bad going on with Kizuki's questioning, or the thoughts she's trying to leave behind.
Heat Rush and Ryoya are creations of the immensely talented Rainy_Day, someone who I've mentioned before! He generously allowed me to utilize the diner and Ryo's personality/mindset for the next part of the story, and I hope you guys enjoy him as much as I enjoyed writing it!