Chapter 008 Part 1:
The subtle art of love, jackhammers to the head and body horror
(or the confession chapter wink wink nod nod elbow to the stomach)

"Hey, that is my pudding!" D complained to Pop Step out of costume, who was trying to swipe it from her hands. "Mine! No sharing, get your own one!"

"It's actually mine, but no big deal, I don't mind." Koichi said honestly while sewing his hoodie. D's mind wondered about how Koichi and Luffy could be so similar yet so different, giving up food... it felt wrong in a universal way.

Pop took advantage of her existential terror to steal her rightfully owned pudding and dumped all its contents on her mouth in one go. She then shouted 'brain freeze' and cradled her head while kneeling on the floor. Yes, suffer for your transgression, vengeance is always sweet, and this time it is served both cold and literally sweet

"Anyway," D said, already moving on despite the other girl still wriggling in pain on the floor, "Why are you fixing that old thing? Why not just buy a new one?"

"Oh, it's a special edition. They put out a new one each year and are actually quite expensive, so I can't simply buy a new one, even if it's the current year model and still on sale." he talked while continuing to sew and he was quite dexterous with those hands, which she decided to comment on.

"Hey Pop, look at Koichi go, look how dexterous those fingers are, touching all those hard to reach places. Look how his finger goes through that hole and makes it bigger, despite them being kinda thick they wiggle around quite quickly. And look how fast he took his finger off the hole when he noticed, imagine it going in and out in quick succession, uncaring of how the hole feels, or perhaps caring too much about how the hole feels."

Koichi, like the dense bastard he was, simply gave her a curious look before continuing to sew, the child's ramblings not being recognized for what they were because of her body and being distracted with his hoodie. Pop, in exchange, was feeling embarrassment for the both of them and was trying really hard to look at any place but Koichi's hands and failing, blushing red every time she looked at them. She alternated a few times between glaring at her commentary and blushing even harder, to the point that her face was so red from rage and shame that she decided to simply turn around and look at the wall while covering her ears. D wanted to cackle, but she kept it in to not give the game away.

"There, all done!" Koichi said while showing off his hoodie, and wow was he good at sewing, she couldn't even see the tears. "Now to put it away."

He opened his drawer and stowed the hoodie in a specific empty spot for it, and D noticed how there was another empty spot but no hoodies to put in.

"Hey, what's up with that?" she asked while pointing her chin at the hoodless space. "Misplace one?"

"Oh, I guess that in a way I did?" he asked himself. "That spot is for a silver age edition from five years ago with the established color scheme, but I, uh, gave it to someone."

She squealed in silence while furtively looking at the idol, who refused to meet her gaze or be emotional about the reveal. D elbowed her, hard, and then continued the conversation ignoring her grunts of pain.

"I sense a story there!" D hyped up, because embarrassing Pop was fun.

"Yeah, well it was back when I was dead serious about becoming a Hero" he began the story while D shushed Pop, who was making sounds of protest. "I signed up for the entrance exam to UA." at her sound of confusion, he expanded. "That is the best hero high school of the country."

"Damn do you aim high."

"Yeah, I was really determined, the best or nothing at all I told myself to light a fire under me… So I only entered for that exam, and that exam alone. But the morning of the exam…" he scratched his head in embarrassment. "I got completely and utterly lost."

D whistled at that, impressed at Koichi being both Luffy and Zoro.

"I don't really mind it in retrospect though, because the day before had seen some rain, and that day the canals were flooding with rushing water. There was a little boy who had fallen off, so I took my clothes off and jumped in the freezing water." he said while trembling from remembering the cold. "Heh, it turned out that I could actually stand above the water since it wasn't that deep for me, but that boy could have died back then if I didn't rescue him, he was that short."

She looked with amusement at the 'boy,' who was gritting 'his' teeth at obviously being called short. No 'man' wanted to be short, she mused.

"Some people then helped us get dry and I gave my hoodie to the kid because he was still shivering. I then raced to the exam but it was already too late." he shrugged in a 'what can you do' sort of way. "If I hadn't been lost and late, I couldn't have saved the boy, so I guess that's the price for helping him. It's good enough for me."

D lost all her cheer when she saw the downtrodden figure of Pop, probably already blaming herself for ruining his chance at happiness and Pro Heroism, so she decided to do something about it.

"Nice story, but did you try to tell the teachers why you were late or simply took the dismissal at face value like the idiot you are?" she challenged, and by the dumb look on Koichi she already knew the answer. "It's a Hero School, Koichi, do you think they wouldn't understand if you told them you were busy rescuing some kid that was drowning and had to dry him so he wouldn't get a cold? If they didn't even give you a chance to prove yourself after telling them that, then it wasn't a Hero School worth attending." she said with finality while crossing her arms in dismissal.

"I… but the proctor said…"

"Have you ever heard of extenuating circumstances? Or know what a concession is? Hell, it could have been a pre-exam test, fake emergencies across the premises and see who prioritizes a paper exam or takes a real step towards heroism at the cost of losing time, which you failed because you didn't think to bring it up." she told him while looking him in the eyes. "You idiot. You absolute moron."

After making sure Koichi was properly chastised for not even trying to argue his case, D turned to give a subtle look to Pop… if you were a Luffy-grade moron, because she looked directly at her while turning her whole body.

"If only someone could take care of reminding you to use your head, you would be so much happier." she deadpanned, robotically reciting the words, "Helping you along your life, perhaps for all of it, securing that help through an unbreakable vow that would unite the two of you together until death do you apart. You would be so damn happy by not making easily avoidable mistakes like that. What a shame that there is no one in your life who could fulfill that role."

She glared at Pop while pointing her chin at Koichi, telling her to say something already, but she quickly shook her head in denial and crossed her arms in an x while mouthing 'marriage?' without saying it out loud. D sighed.

"Or I guess, a person who could simply be there for you without an unbreakable vow, who wished to help you be happier while you also help her be happy, both making the other happy and that being the entire point of the thing." she course-corrected, "It must be lovely to have such a person, and you wouldn't mind who it was as long as continuous happiness were each other's goals. It could even be an experience, not necessarily forever but testing the waters to see if it works, always being able to turn back the clock to how it was before if you felt uncomfortable with it."

The idol was actually beginning to nod along to her correction, before realizing what she was agreeing with and sputtering in denial. She looked back at Koichi and felt the fear of Enel in her bones as he was actually nodding along like he understood what she was saying.

"I think I understand," he began and he absolutely did not understand, he was about to say something at the level of Luffy asking how a mermaid pooped to a royal princess and Ancient Weapon, she just knew it. "So what you're trying to do…"

Please don't think she was asking him out, please don't think she was asking him out, for the love of Oda and all that is holy, please, anything but that…!

"...Is confess to Pop Step, right?" he told her like he understood, but he didn't, he really didn't. "But you didn't want to outright say it, and she wasn't getting the hints." he said, unaware of how hypocritical that statement was. "Oh, sorry, did I ruin the moment?" he did, but not in the way he thought.

D considered her options and ran with it.

"Yes!" she said while making lovey eyes at Pop, who couldn't decide who she should be more incredulous of, "My cutie pie, all that he said was true! My passion burns brightly in this night for you, and I just couldn't hold myself back no more!" she exclaimed, and luckily she wasn't a True Woman right now, or she would be dead with the amount of bullshit she was about to spin.

She hugged Pop and stroked her hair, who tried to escape her grasp but she had copied the Repel-Repel Fruit earlier and was quite literally adhered to her person.

"My love! The time for subtleties and mind games is over! Right in this very instant, I confess my feelings for you! Marry me, Pop Step! Let's spend our honeymoon on a pirate ship and sail the seven seas, TOGETHA!" she said, putting extra emotion on the last word while hugging the stuffing out of the girl. "Unless…"

She squinted her eyes at her future wife, and put as much hurt and frustration in her voice as she could, which she was feeling a lot of right now.

"There is… someone else you would rather be with?" she asked, glancing at Koichi, "Someone who already stole your heart from under me, who you wish to be embraced by?" she continued to ask, pointing her head towards Koichi, "If there is such a person, I would leave you to pursue them, I only ask that you tell me about them."

Pop Step visibly debated what to do now that she was on the spot and had no way out, so she decided to tell the truth.

"Ther-there is a man," she told D, who began making aborting gestures when she saw from the corners of her eyes how Koichi slumped in depression, obviously not realizing he was that man. "That is all I will say, nowcouldyoupleasebackoffforasecond!" she rushed out, and the girl clicked her tongue at another unsuccessful attempt while unhugging the idol.

"Alright, I accept and respect your choice!" she told her and wow, the guy was really sad about it, needed to cushion the fall a little. "Even if you're simply lying to me to lay me down gently and there is actually no man, I still understand your decision!" Koichi, get the hint!

He didn't get the hint.

"Well then, bye!" she shouted as she was already leaving the flat and closing the door, taking Koichi's phone without him realizing it. It was amazing how oblivious he was; she should steal more stuff from him.

She immediately began texting Pop Step, telling her how to salvage this mess.

He's a moron and didn't realize the indirect of my last sentence, confirm that you have no special someone in mind and hint that he could potentially become it.

She watched from the window how the idol didn't take up her phone, and began sending triple x at her each second until she looked at it from annoyance. She blushed from the messages, and she sent a new one telling her to read the first in the chain. She went 'ah' and nodded to herself, not questioning how she got Koichi's phone.

They seemed to talk for a bit, the man rubbed the back of his head, the girl blushed for a while and they eventually gave each other a hug. It was annoying that it was a platonic hug, but she would take what she could get. They then waved at each other and Pop Step went outside.

She jumped from the other side of the corner, which made the girl jump in fright and hit her on the head with her school bag. Why was it always with the head?

"So?" she asked impatiently while rubbing her new bruise, "Come on, spill the details, I saw the hug."

Pop reddened at the reminder, but stayed composed and graceful as she answered.

"He… was sad for you being rejected, not me having a boyfriend. He also understood when I told him directly to the face that there being a man was a lie, but didn't get the hint he could become that special man." she explained, which D nodded along, sounded just like the idiot. "Then, I said I was too embarrassed to accept because I was inexperienced with romance, and asked for a hug t-to practice fo-or… for when I had a b-boyfriend."

The little girl sighed, already seeing where this was going.

"And like the moron he was, he thought he was just helping a friend out instead of questioning your selection of words."

"Yes…" the idol confirmed, disappointed with the truth.

"Just… that's just Luffy and romance. Or Koichi, in this case." she informed the woman. "I hope you have a plan, because I'm not waiting for you to confess on the last day possible. I know I said a year, but I would feel more comfortable in the first six months… And in a week I will feel more comfortable in the first three." she remarked.

Pop Step looked thoughtful, which was promising.

"I… still got his hoodie," she said, and that was prime confession material right there. "I was thinking of giving it back while telling him I was the kid he saved and thanking him for it… but after that my mind draws a blank, I don't know how to actually confess."

D hummed at that, trying to find the right words to say that couldn't be misinterpreted but were still romantic.

"I…" Pop interrupted her musings. "I want to confess to him on my own terms." she said with resolution. "I don't want you to trick me into doing it, or telling Koichi behind my back. I will tell him before the year ends." she decided while straightening her back. "If you're my Nakama, then you will respect my choice."

Wow, using her own words against her like that, now how could she deny her dream like that? There was simply no way.

"Okay." she nodded, accepting where she wasn't wanted. "I will still tease you though, just more subtly so he doesn't notice." she compromised, because it was just that much fun.

The woman lost all her energy at that and slumped, clearly defeated.

"That's the best I'm going to get, isn't it?" she eyed her like she thought D would just concede ground without biting and scratching for every inch lost.

"I'm being generous right now. If it came down to it, I was planning to impersonate you by copying your appearance and confessing to Koichi in your place by copying… the…" she said before trailing off.

The Clone-Clone Fruit… the Imitating Human… The Copy-Copy Fruit… the Copy Woman… Did… did she just… after all the complaining she did… how others were not creative… mocking them for it…

Did she have a Superior Devil Fruit, like the Fire-Fire Fruit and the Magma-Magma Fruit? Was she in a magnitude higher to the Clone-Clone Fruit because she could also copy powers and didn't think of copying appearances until just now? Was she that stupid?

She slowly, carefully, touched Pop Step's face, who was uneasy at her emotional shift. She then brought her right hand up, and slapped herself with all her strength. The sting of the hit was nothing to the subsequent agony she felt throughout her whole body, her bones snapping and rearranging to accommodate for her rising height, flesh and blood being created and coating the old ones which were being torn apart. Her organs moved around and grew, almost falling out from her tiny frame before a new rib cage contained them for long enough for the transformation to finish. It felt horrible, but not as bad as the Bat Woman change, if her still being conscious was any evidence.

She looked at her hands in wonder, moving about the regular non-baby fingers. She looked at Pop Step in the eyes and was actually at the same height as her, not having to perpetually look up. She looked down and she was naked and oh god she had breasts again and didn't realize how much she missed using them as stress balls until this very moment.

"HEY! NO SHAME! NOBODY HAS ANY SHAME IN THIS HOUSE!" Pop Step hit her over the head but D didn't care, she was crying because she thought she would be stuck as a child for years and now had just found the solution to the problem she never realized she had until she saw how the grass was greener on the other side of the fence.

She laughed and cried ugly tears as the pain still rocked her body, but it was so worth it! All the pranks potential alone! Driving True Man crazy with weird truths told by her disguised as his colleagues! But above all, she realized that she knew nothing, and that her potential was bigger than she ever thought it could be, previously limited to a narrow mindset of copying other powers.

A Devil Fruit User didn't become stronger after all, they got creative; she had just rediscovered this lesson all over again and couldn't help but laugh from being so blind while telling others the same. And the best part was that she got creative when wanting to copy an unobtainable Fruit ability and still managing to copy it anyways!

That night, the True Copy Woman was unleashed into the world.

Chapter 008 Part 2:
Naomasa's normal-normal talk
(nothing suspicious at all, just move on)

"Ah, it's good to see you Toshinori," Naomasa told his dear friend, "I wasn't sure if you would come since I called you out of the blue. I hope I'm not cutting into your work time… neither of them, if you catch my drift."

The True Man chuckled at his own choice of words.

"No, don't worry, I already clocked out from my, let's call it main job, and was given a break from the other one." he informed the man as he sat in front of him, he had already ordered his favorite cup of coffee and was grateful for it. "Though, it was a surprise when an unknown number called. I almost hung up thinking it was a telemarketer! Hahaha!" he laughed while taking a small sip.

"Yes, I had left my phone at the station but had already memorized your number, so it was as simple as borrowing a coworker's for a bit. Oh, and don't worry about him calling you again, I erased their call history as soon as I finished." he reassured the man, knowing he liked his privacy. "Though, already clocked out?" he asked, concerned, "It's barely midday."

At that, the emancipated man rubbed the back of his neck and blushed, refusing to meet his gaze. The detective didn't relent though, giving him a pointed look that expressed both his exasperation at him trying to keep a secret from a True Man and his worry about what was going on. Eventually, his gaze wilted Toshinori down and he admitted the problem while tapping his fingers together.

"I already used up most of my six hours since this morning, and Recovery Girl told me she would personally tie me down to a bed if I exceeded my limits again." he admitted, embarrassed of being afraid of the sweet old lady, "I still want to help people, but I'm reserving the little time I have left for an emergency only I can solve just in case, and will do a night patrol if nothing happens."

The detective nodded at that, aware of how the Heal Lady could get when her patients disobeyed.

"Still, the whole six hours?" he asked, baffled.

"…More like five and a half." said the incognito All Might with a wince. "I've been pushing the limits recently with the Instant Villains, so it went down again."

Tsukauchi considered his words. So, his limit had gone down from six hours to five and a half. That was an interesting and worrying discovery.

"Hey." he said, unable to hide his genuine concern and fear for the man. "…What will happen if you reach zero and can't transform anymore?"

Toshinori was startled by the attention, and quickly reassured his friend.

"Ah, don't worry! Recovery Girl says I will just be unable to use One for All, nothing bad will happen to me besides that!" he rushed out to calm his friend down. "Besides, if I don't strain myself I'm expected to have years of Pro Heroism ahead of me."

He did calm down after that, so he took a sip of his own sweet coffee with milk to mull over the new information.

"You know, that mentality, One for All, it's really the root of your issues." he told him, everything clicking into place. "You believe you must save everyone as the Symbol of Peace, but never questioned who would help you because you were the One, alone. D got you right in the heart."

All Might struggled with the observation and only answered after mulling over it for a while, his coffee forgotten.

"Back then, before the Golden Era of Heroism… No one had any hope. All for One was a constant threat that I knew only I could defeat." he said, not out of pride but of grim acceptance. "Nana couldn't do it, and I barely managed myself while still getting crippled in the process… I was the One, who was supposed to save All from his tyranny. I just… After winning, it was all I knew, so I continued doing so."

Naomasa nodded in understanding, but still felt like something was wrong. Then he remembered some photos he was shown, ones of All Might and… someone else.

"But were you truly alone like you say?" he asked, knowing the answer. "You had friends Toshinori, what happened to them? I know some of them are still alive."

"Ah… young Mirai…" he said, already regretting his choices. "He did not stand by my side as an equal in strength, but what he lacked in brute force he made up for in mind and versatility. But back then… even with Foresight, I was always afraid that the next time I went out with him, he would… die, killed by All for One to damage my resolve." he closed his hands into fists until his knuckles turned white. "I do not regret coddling him, as I am aware of at least one trap that could have killed him if I brought him along even with his future knowledge, but I wish it hadn't come at the cost of damaging our relationship."

Yagi debated with himself over revealing the reason why they drifted off, then decided that honesty would be appreciated by the True Man.

"He made a list." he stated with repressed anger, bringing back old arguments to mind. "He looked at the gaping hole in my chest and some of the light in his eyes died that day, he was never the same. His idol wasn't a Hero anymore but another human, one he still greatly respected but one he no longer thought unstoppable. He made a list to look for my replacement so I could retire like the crippled he believed me to be."

"Nobody could ever replace you." Naomasa told him from the heart without question, hand over his shaking fist.

"I know, but he tried to anyway." Yagi said while struggling to calm down, before taking a sip of his cold coffee and finally managing to do so. "It's just… In less than a day, he already had a candidate, by the end of the week, ten, and by the end of the month, a hundred. All with either a similar personality to mine or a good synergy with One for All, like that was enough for me to pass down my Quirk. I felt… hollow, like I had just done what I was meant to do and was being thrown aside for the next new thing. So I lashed out and concentrated on my work while we slowly drifted apart."

The Symbol of Peace looked at him in the eyes and looked so tired with everything, like all the weights were finally being felt and all the little scars accumulated over the years hurt all at once.

"Was I right, Naomasa?" he asked, desperate for approval. "Or should I have passed down One for All and retired long ago?"

The detective gulped down his immediate response of utter surprise, before concentrating on him.

"First of all, I am happy that you didn't hold back these doubts and asked me. I'm proud of you finally letting others in on your own." he complimented, squeezing his hand with affection. "I believe you were 100% right to continue to be a Hero, but at the same time, I can understand where Mirai was coming from. He had watched how his idol almost died and panicked in his own way, he was probably worried about you, wasn't he?"

Yagi nodded at that.

"He… he begged me to reconsider, said I just couldn't strain myself like that. He used his Foresight on me and said that I would meet a horrible death if I continued being the Symbol of Peace. But… they felt like excuses to get me to give up, and I feel terrible thinking of him on his knees pleading with tears in his eyes, but I just couldn't stop being myself, stop being a Hero."

"I know, and I support your choice… but I feel you brushed him off too quickly." Naomasa told the hero, sharing Mirai's worry too and trying to not let surprise color his voice. "You could have compromised, looked over candidates after your time limit ended. Just because you had a successor didn't mean you had to retire. You could prepare one, teach them the ropes, maybe even have them as a sidekick for a while. You both wanted it your way and refused to meet in the middle."

Toshinori considered his words and slowly nodded at them, so he continued talking.

"I know you don't want to think about it, but you gotta consider what you will do once you do retire." That got a wince out of him. "It's an inevitability, we both know it, your time is going down and there will be a moment when you can no longer be a Pro Hero. And while I support you continuing to be one for as long as you're physically capable, someday you will have to hang the cape and I want to make sure you're happy doing it. Because right now, I'm afraid you will go out in a blaze of glory because you don't know any better… So, what are your retirement plans, if any?"

"Mmh… Besides training my successor, not much." he admitted with a shrug, trying not to show how much it bothered him. Of course, this failed because it was the True Man he was talking to.

"Have you thought about doing light community service you could perform despite your health?" he offered. "Or maybe, after teaching your successor, you could become a teacher for future heroes. The sky's the limit Toshi, and just because you aren't punching bad guys and inspiring hope doesn't mean you can't still save the day, one way or another. In fact, I feel like you should begin doing one of those things right now at least a little bit, so when you finally retire you don't get thrown head first into something unfamiliar. I will even help you choose what will fulfill you the most, and could be there for your first day if you want me to."

He hid his laugh after that, amused at the image of big guy All Might being taken to school while holding his tiny hand, like a short parent with his overgrown child.

"Thank you. Being my own secretary is a good cover, but the job isn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be. Heh, maybe I do need something else to spice up the routine."

The detective crumbled upon himself, already thinking of a certain chaotic influence on his life.

"Please, everything but her." he pleaded with his hands together in prayer. "I specifically saw you today to avoid her. Well, besides the actual reason, but it was mostly for my personal one."

"Oh, right." Yagi uttered in realization while rubbing his head in embarrassment. "You were here for work… I just began talking about my problems and I didn't even realize. I'm sorry, please ask away."

"Don't worry, I can always put aside work to help a friend… which also connects to me being here, since I need a favor only you can do."

"I will try my best."

"Well… are you aware that… they make hoodies of you?" he tried, unsure of how to ask the favor itself.

"Yes?" Toshinori nodded, confused at where this was going.

"You see, the current… let's call it temporary guardian of D is quite the fan of you, and has all your special edition hoodies except one, the… give me a second, I have it written somewhere around here..."

The detective muttered while checking the multiple pockets of his coat, before finally extracting a small slip of paper from a pocket he had checked twice.

"Aha! Let's see… 'a silver age edition from five years ago with the established color scheme' is the one he's missing. And… we don't actually pay him? For taking care of D?" he admitted while blushing. "He does it voluntarily, which I would understand with any other orphan except her, so I asked D what Koichi would like as a thank-you gift for the trouble, and she mentioned his incomplete collection. So I thought that I could get a certain someone to check the storage rooms of the Might Tower to see if there was any extra, and maybe slip it on All Might's desk so he could sign it." he finished with a hopeful smile.

"Hmm… yes, I think I can do that." he said while checking the storage data logs on his phone. "I believe we always keep some in reserve in case we want to do a rerun with multiple different editions since it's easier to do surplus than two separate prints and… Yes, there are still some hoodies of that line in storage. It should be quite easy for it to end up in All Might's desk 'accidently' so he can sign it and ship it." he looked up from his phone in thought. "Oh, or do you think he would prefer it if I gave it to him in person? As All Might, of course."

The detective made a show of thinking about it, then gave his already prepared answer.

"While I'm sure he would be delighted to meet you in person, I think we can keep that surprise for a more important occasion, this is just a thank-you gift after all. Maybe for his birthday, if he still takes care of D by that time? I know I wouldn't." he offered.

"I will take that bet. I still don't get why you have so much animosity for that girl though, she was quite polite and sweet, if a little strange and mature for her age… perhaps a little too mature." He grumbled, still irritated at having his secret found out so easily despite how much better everything had been since then.

"Well, that day was the one where the least chaotic thing happened, and that was a national secret being unearthed by a four-year-old through sheer stupidity." the True Man complained, being aware of the menace that was D. "So, how about a visit to a nice café shop as stakes?"

"That does sound quite nice. When is his birthday?"

"February 22 and we are… on August the 22nd, huh." He said after checking on Koichi's phone. "Weird coincidence. But that does line up quite well, six months' time of surviving D's brand of insanity. Let's see if the poor boy can endure it."

"I'm quite confident that I will win." Toshinori affirmed, sure of himself. "Also, is that a new phone?"

"Heh, we will see about that, Toshi." he answered, honestly interested in the outcome. "And yeah it is, the back of the paper I showed you earlier has the number. D uses it but it isn't hers, so don't trust any texts and don't talk first on any calls you receive from it."

He offered his hand to Toshinori and shook it. He then waved him goodbye and exited the room. He then peeked his head back from the door to clarify something before going away again.

"Oh, and if I don't remember any of this conversation later, it's D's fault, and you should tell me about it while filming a video. Send my reaction to that number, you will get it when you get it."

…

As D carried the signed hoodie, she thought of All Might's words and actions. How he could pass the torch to the next generation, how he was slowly dying yet wishing to go out with a bang, how he was always smiling despite everything that weighted him down, how he was willing to put his health at risk and even die to achieve his dreams while probably doing so with a daredevil grin…

…And D chuckled.

"It makes you wonder, doesn't it?" she asked the sky after unearthing so many secrets by complete accident. "He isn't a perfect match to the rest of successors and his talk of succession sounded different to what I'm accustomed, but maybe he truly is one of them too. After all, are they one because they spread happiness, or because they are happy themselves? What truly makes a person be part of that sacred lineage, beyond those that carry the name of D.?"

She still had her doubts about it, but maybe, just maybe…

"I don't really want to believe it, but that's mostly because I wanted to be the one." she couldn't help but complain. "But if that's your choice, then I won't stand in your way."

She looked to the sky and couldn't help but laugh at a cloud shaped like a smile, as if both mocking and consoling her for not being chosen. But in the end she didn't mind, surely they knew better.

"You're the expert after all, Joy Boy."

…

"Seriously, my first prank as Naomasa and it's because of something so stupid." D told Pop Step, who was currently wearing the original hoodie of Koichi while neatly storing the autographed one for later. "Is it really so comfy that you don't want to return it?" she asked, perplexed at her changing her own plan in less than a day, even if she learnt a lot from the simple errand.

"Yeah, it's just like he said, wearing it gives me courage to confess my feelings, so I will give him the autographed one while wearing the original, that way he recognizes me as the kid and gets a new, better one." she explained again.

"I'm still not sure if getting the time limit reduced to six months in exchange was good for me, I want something besides that." the girl commented. "It only means that if you fail, I will have to date Koichi earlier, and kiss his mouth while putting my tongue inside it, wiggling it around to taste his insides-"

"Would you cut it already?!" she asked, embarrassed.

"Also, the confession would go so much better if you wore the hoodie and only the hoodie, nothing beneath-"

That night, Pop Step discovered how it felt to strangle her own neck.

It felt nice.

(You know, a smile-shaped cloud is very similar to a banana-shaped cloud, which itself is similar to a banana gator. Cloud watching is vague like that.

Oh, Shield who? I like to think he completely forgot he existed, because I really wanted to talk about Sir Nighteye, so let's say they drifted off and they are both busy with their own stuff, a common theme with Toshinori.

And D finally realizes she's a Copy Woman, who copies things. This decision is mostly so that D isn't forced to always rely on other people's abilities by giving her something of her own, and because it gives me the chance to develop her power in creative ways, even if she will have to claw her way there)