"So, what's your little brother like, Tsu?" Uraraka asked.
"Well, he's nice and polite, but he's also pretty mischievous. I don't think there's ever been a full day when he hasn't gotten himself into trouble. Not to mention, I'm PRETTY sure he has ADHD. We've never had him diagnosed, but he's way too hyper and can barely focus on anything for too long. So I'm as positive as I can be WITHOUT a diagnosis." The frog girl explained.
"And does he basically have a frog Quirk like you?" Ashido asked.
"More than I do, actually. He actually looked like a real frog on two legs like my dad and Hop Pop. And he can stick to walls and launch his tongue out just like me." Asui said, proud of the abilities of both herself and her brother.
"So, you said he doesn't live with you, right? Why not?" Hagakure asked.
"Oh, well, Hop Pop lives on one of the more distant, rural islands of Japan called Amphibia. He's a farmer who has a lot of work to do, plus he lives all on his own, so my parents thought it would be best to send him and Polly to help him out and keep him company." Froppy explained.
"Amphibia, huh? I think I've heard of that place once or twice." All Might said.
"Yep. One of the most distant islands from the mainland of Japan. To the point it basically has its own minor government. It's population is mostly made of people with amphibian Mutant Quirks. Three types of amphibians, anyway: frogs, toads and newts." Present Mic explained.
"What's the difference between frogs and toads, exactly? I've never known." Sero asked.
"Frogs have long legs, longer than their head and body, which are made for hopping. Toads, on the other hand, have much shorter legs and prefer to crawl around rather than hop. Frogs have smooth, somewhat slimy skin. Toads have dry, warty skin." Asui explained as if she knew to recite that from perfect memory.
"I didn't know some islands or other countries had populations with specific Quirks in mind." Kaminari said.
"A lot of those places are usually founded by Mutant Type Quirk-users to get away from the discrimination." Shoji explained bitterly.
"Yikes." Kirishima said.
"But you said they got their own government? How's that work?" Bakugo asked.
"Well, like Mic said, it's so distant that it's just barely still in Japan's territories. So our government had a harder time managing it, so they set up a smaller government to keep the peace and report to ours regularly." Midnight explained. "But I find it funny that they appointed a KING as the head of their government. A king who reports and takes orders from another government. Kind of crazy, right?" The X-Rated hero giggled.
"But now that you mentioned it, supposedly our government hasn't heard from their 'king' for a few months now." Aizawa said.
"Weird. The last time I heard from Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop was a few months ago." Asui said, getting a bit concerned, looking up to the host. "Did something happen?" She asked worriedly.
"Oh, don't worry. They're all fine. You'll see what happened later. For now, let's just get this started. Like always, you'll see a bit of his personality first, then some of his abilities and maybe some of the fights he's been in." Their hostess explained, starting the screen up.
"You know, hearing my little brother got in a bunch of fights doesn't ease my worries." Asui said, giving the celestial Empress a small glare.
Sprig stood atop a field plow as he addressed Hop Pop, Polly and Anne. "If the thief struck once, it'll do it again! The only way to catch this monster is a stakeout!" Sprig declared.
"A thief?" Midoriya asked in concern.
"Yes. A 'thief' stole some of their corn." Sandra confirmed.
"Something about the way you said that doesn't sit right." Bakugo said suspiciously.
"Good catch, Bakugo. It was actually Sprig. This whole thing is a part of his scheme." The celestial explained.
"Sounds about right. Like I said, he's always getting up to trouble." Asui sighed.
"I like steaks." Polly said simply. (A few laughs came from this)
"Good idea." Hop Pop agreed with his grandson.
"Okay." Anne accepted with a shrug.
"So, the old frog is your grandpa and the pollywog is your sister?" Uraraka asked, to which the frog girl nodded.
"But who is the other girl?" Sero asked.
"Oh, that's Anne Boonchuy. She's an exchange student they've been taking care of for some extra money. But, from what I heard, she and Hop Pop didn't get along at first." Asui explained.
"I think I'm starting to understand..." Yaoyorozu said, starting to theorize what might have compelled Sprig to steal from his own family.
"And the only ones who can do it aaaaaare... Anne and Hop Pop!" The frog boy declared, leaning forward and pointing to his bestie and his grandfather.
"Say whaaaaat!?" Anne asked in disbelief.
"Huh?" Hop Pop questioned.
"Oh, I get it. If this is back when they didn't get along, then Sprig is tricking them to spend time together in order to bond." Ojiro realized.
"How devious and underhanded! One should never FORCE people to spend time together and get along. It must happen naturally! Forcing people who do not get along to spend time together will only lead to further hostility and resentment!" Iida snapped, doing his usual robotic chopping.
"Really? I could've sworn the only reason we like Kacchan now is because we were forced to see him every day in class and then forced to live with him." Jiro said, shooting a teasing smirk at her explosive boyfriend with her tongue sticking out a bit, ignoring his indignant "Oi!".
"So we have a little trickster on our hands..." Ashido said with a smirk.
"Aww, man. Now I wish he lived here instead of on a distant island. We'd have an awesome addition to our prankster group." Kaminari complained, looking to Ashido and Sero.
"He's already enough of a handful. Please don't try to make him worse." Asui requested, although it sounded more like a demand.
"Well, I obviously can't do it because I have the attention span of a..." The pink amphibian began to explain, before a butterfly flew past him, tearing his attention away from the task at hand. "Oh, look at that." He marveled at the creature.
Everyone's shoulders slumped when they saw how quickly Sprig's attention was lost. "Yeah, I might not be Recovery Girl, so maybe I can't make a diagnosis, but I'm almost positive that's ADHD." Midnight said.
"Seems like a rather dangerous trait for a farmhand to have." All Might noted.
"My moms always said it's best to learn from experience. If you do something and get hurt, that's how you learn not to do something. So if Sprig got hurt not paying attention, that's how he learns to pay attention." Kirishima said.
"Yeah, but you have a Hardening Quirk! You can just shield up against what might hurt you! That doesn't work for everyone." Mineta pointed out.
"Endeavor always got mine or my sibling's attentions with a smack to the head." Todoroki said.
(How does his childhood keep getting MORE disturbing?) Midoriya questioned in horror.
72 Hours Later...
Sprig now sat in his basement with Anne as they looked over the small number of things in her backpack. "Wow, Anne! Look at all your cool stuff!" He exclaimed, picking up a pair of nail clippers. "What's this? Oh, I get it! Torture device!" He realized, clamping it shut a few times.
"That's a toenail clipper." She told him.
"How does he not know what those are? He should have nails, right? Tsu has nails!" Hagakure said, leaning over and lifting up Asui's hands to confirm she does indeed have fingernails.
"Yeah, but I told you, he's even more of a frog than I am." The frog girl reminded.
"Oh, such a tragedy! He will never know the joy of perfectly kept nails!" Aoyama exclaimed, holding up his own hands to show off perfectly manicured nails.
"So, Tsu, do you ever go and visit him? And teach him ANYTHING about life around where we live?" Shoji asked.
"We go and visit them in the Summer, like Yaoyorozu did with her cousins. But we usually just talk about how our lives are going and hang out and play like normal siblings. I never really think about teaching him things. But I could've sworn he's seen me use nail clippers before." She pondered, now a bit concerned about Sprig's memory.
"Oh, okay. Okay. But how about this?" He asked, picking up a bike pump... And putting the hose in his mouth... And pumping it up. "It's painful!" He declared, before pulling the hose free, the air escaping his mouth with such force he went flying back and forth a few times.
"Okay, I'm starting to think this kid doesn't have any survival instincts." Aizawa said.
"Whose first instinct seeing something new is to put it in their mouth? You expect that from babies! Even toddlers know not to do that by Kindergarten!" Present Mic agreed.
"Why would an exchange student need a bike pump? Did she bring her bike with her?" Sato questioned.
He then popped back up, finding the most amazing thing among her entire inventory... A pen. "Oh- and this!" He declared, rapidly pressing the button to deploy and retract the writing part of the pen. "Oh, I love this." He said, doing it even more.
"Okay, not gonna lie. I've done that before." Kaminari said.
"M-me, too." Koda admitted.
"Honestly, sometimes clicking a pen just relaxes me or helps me focus." Yaoyorozu added.
The Next Day...
Sprig was reading some documents down in some kind of basement or dungeon. "It says here this place belonged to Great-Uncle Skip Plantar! He was a farmer AND a brilliant scientist! He experimented with all kinds of stuff!" Sprig explained, showing Anne and Polly the documents, including pictures of a pumpkin and a brain. "This is WILD! I wanna know more! Like... What does this do?!" He questioned, pulling a lever, which opened a strange cage, which unleashed a horrific living pumpkin monster.
"What the heck!?" Everyone cried out in horror as they saw the monstrosity.
"No offense, Tsu, but your ancestors got up to some weird stuff." Uraraka said, the frog girl slowly nodding, disturbed by the monster on screen.
"Why would you pull a lever that you don't know what it does?! Especially in a creepy evil scientist lab!?" Jiro asked, freaked out.
"Curiosity killed the cat. Or frog, as it were." Tokoyami said in concern.
Later...
The group was in a new level of this subterranean hideout, filled with weapons and armor of a frog lady named Polli-Anna. "I found her diary!" Sprig said, holding it out for him and Anne to read.
"The Bogwater Wars of '48? The Western Toad Invasion of '53? Man, she was in A LOT of battles!" Anne read, amazed by the accomplishments of the warrior woman... All while Polly ran around with dangerous weapons like an axe and flails of various sizes.
"Wow, Tsuyu. You're ancestors are really interesting!" Midoriya said, amazed his froggy friend's distant family members, even if the scientist's activities were a bit... questionable.
"Honestly, even I didn't know all of this. Kind of neat." She admitted.
"Are we just going to ignore the baby running around with dangerous weapons!?" Mineta freaked out.
"Those are not toys! She absolutely should not be messing with those!" Iida berated as well.
"She's always said she wants to take over the world one day, but I always thought she was joking... But now, actually seeing her with a weapon, I'm concerned." Asui admitted.
"She was the coolest, most terrifying Plantar ever! Like me!" Polly declared happily.
"Wow! We sure are learning a lot! I'd like to learn more!" Sprig said, before noticing yet another lever and running to it. "Like Hey! What does this thing do!?" Sprig asked, pulling the lever, which set off a series of death traps.
"Again!?" Everyone cried out.
"Does this kid have a death wish or something!?" Bakugo asked in disbelief.
"Even Kaminari and I wouldn't do that!" Ashido exclaimed.
"They need to put him in a straightjacket or something or he's gonna get them killed!" Sato said.
"Will you PLEASE stop pulling levers!?" Anne snapped at him.
"Levers are for pulling, Anne!" Sprig insisted.
"Only if you know what they do!" Ojiro exclaimed.
"If I was worried before, now I'm convinced. This kid has absolutely ZERO sense of self-preservation. I thought you kids were bad, but this is a whole new level." Aizawa groaned.
"Someone should start following him around with a spray bottle and just spray him whenever he's about to pull a lever or mess with something he shouldn't." Sero suggested.
"But he's a frog. He'd probably like that. Then you'd be rewarding bad behavior." Koda told them.
6 1/2 hours later...
As Tsuyu was taking Polly away from a pair of children she angered, Sprig observed a muscular man feeding a small log of wood into a wood chipper.
"Oh, yeah. I remember this. It was the last time THEY came over to visit US." Asui remembered.
"Oh, really? How'd that go?" Shoji asked.
"I wished it was Winter after they left, because I wanted to go into hibernation and sleep for two weeks." The frog girl groaned.
"Oh, come on. It couldn't have been THAT bad, could it?" Kirishima asked.
"Are we observing the same child?" Aoyama questioned.
The man walked away, allowing the frog boy to approach the tool, grabbing the opening for the wood and peering into it. "Ooh, that looks fun!" He declared.
"Sprig, no!" Tsuyu cried out, quickly grabbing her brother and pulling him away from it.
"Okay, this kid officially CANNOT be left on his own." Midnight said, horrified at how close the accident-prone boy was to a dangerous machine.
"He should be one of those kids you put on a leash." Hagakure added.
"I always thought that was ridiculous and bad parenting, but in this case? Probably a good idea." Present Mic agreed.
Much later...
Tsuyu was at the mall with her three rural family members and Anne. "Sprig, you can't touch everything or you're gonna lose a limb!" She told him.
"But there's SO many new surfaces and textures!" He complained.
"I never thought there was so much to consider about touching things." Todoroki said.
"There's a lot to consider about almost anything. Like he said, there's all manner of surfaces and textures: smooth, rough, soft, round, bumpy, rigid, course. The level of moisture to whatever you're touching: wet, dry, moist, damp. The list is endless." Tokoyami explained.
"Indeed. Much like how a picture is worth a thousand words for your eyes, all the other senses have similar levels of perception. It all depends on how deeply you can focus on the details." All Might said.
"Wow. That was actually profound." Midnight praised.
"I read it in a magazine." All Might admitted.
"Of course." Aizawa said, deadpanning.
"Your mission is to walk through that gallery of art installations without touching ANY of them." She told him.
"Eh. Looks simple enough." He said.
"So, what exactly is the plan here, Tsu?" Ashido asked.
"I gave them missions to work on their biggest issues so they'd have an easier time in our big towns and cities." The frog girl explained.
"I would've recommended letting them get adjusted slowly." Iida suggested.
"That's what my parents said, too. I was gonna go along with it, but then I saw Sprig about to touch a ceiling fan going top speed with his tongue, Polly talking smack to kids three times her size and Hop Pop about to give away his bank info." Asui said.
"So, how did this all turn out?" Mineta asked.
"I would've rather gone through the USJ attack again." She admitted.
Tsuyu then explained the missions she bestowed to Hop Pop and Polly, before pointing to the second floor of the mall. "Anne and I will be watching all of you from up here. You have 20 minutes to complete your missions." She instructed.
"And if one of us screws up?" Sprig asked.
Tsuyu turned her back to her brother. "Then you can't be trusted to leave the house... EVER." She declared dramatically.
"I-isn't that a bit extreme, Tsu?" Midoriya asked nervously.
"Did you forget the part the kid almost dove into a wood chipper?" Bakugo questioned.
"Nevermind." The broccoli-headed boy said quickly.
"No way!" Both her siblings cried out.
"Since when do you set the stakes!?" Hop Pop complained.
"Scatter!" Polly cried out, all of them running in different directions, only to wind up crashing into each other. "Oh, boy..." Anne groaned.
"Yeah. Already having regrets about this." Tsuyu agreed.
"I really should've called it off after that." Asui admitted.
"Well, at least you admitted you were wrong and learned from your mistakes." All Might said supportively.
Much, Much, Much later...
Sprig hopped around the art displays, marveling at them in awe and coming very close to some. "Such textures to explore!" He exclaimed.
He then gasped as he saw what looked like a stuffed puppet head with a giant $100 bill in its mouth, along with more money, gold coins, jewels and jewelry. He hopped towards it with his arms outstretched to touch it, before remembering his older sister's words, stopping himself in mid-air and returning to the floor. "It's fine! Totally fine! I can just LOOK and appreciate from afar!" He told himself, starting to walk through the display with his eyes closed.
"Well... At least he has SOME level of restraint." Yaoyorozu said.
"But I'm guessing that didn't last too long?" Jiro asked, looking to Asui, who nodded glumly.
But as he walked through the display area, he became more and more anxious with each passing exhibit, hugging himself tightly, before becoming amazed as he observe an art piece that looked more like a complex piece of machinery with buttons, levers, switches and wheels, leading up to a spiked shaft that held up a giant golden eyeball with countless reflective or otherwise eye-catching objects hanging down from it.
"You know, I think we all know what he looks like right now, but I won't say it." Present Mic said.
"Are you saying a ten year old looks like a drug user?" Midnight questioned.
"I mean... He looks like someone who has a jonesing." Kaminari admitted.
But then they laid eyes on the art piece. "What the heck is that?" Kirishima asked.
"That looks like a control panel for a nuclear reactor or something." Hagakure said.
"Art, she is a strange and mysterious mistress." Aoyama said.
He pulled his hands from his sleeves, fingers dancing with excitement as he reached for the art piece, but then regained some composure and held himself back with great struggle. "Come on, Sprig! Fight it!" He insisted, punching himself in the face MULTIPLE TIMES to try and control himself.
"Well... That's one way to stop yourself..." All Might said awkwardly.
"But there HAS to be a better way." Sero said, cringing with each hit.
All while a couple stood by and watched him beat himself. "Must be some kind of performance piece." The man said.
"A child is striking himself in the face!? How do you not see fit to stop this?!" Iida demanded.
"Well, like he said, Iida, he thinks it's art." Uraraka told him.
Eventually...
Sprig hopped up to a cafe in the food court in a mall. "Care for some Bugaccino, sir? Made fresh daily." A newt lady offered him.
"Oh, god..." Everyone said in fear, knowing what would happen if an insanely hyper kid like Sprig had caffeine.
"No child should have caffeine, let along one as crazy as Sprig." Ashido said worriedly.
"Five, please!" Sprig requested, hopping up to her height.
She looked apprehensive at this. "Um... These are pretty strong." She warned him.
"Five, I say!" Sprig insisted, hopping up to her height once more.
"His manners could certainly use some work." Tokoyami noted.
"Yeah. Those guys really don't get paid well, from what I've heard." Todoroki agreed.
"Bop bop be bop!" Sprig hummed as he rhythmically pounded the table as he waited, before the woman placed five mugs of the coffee before him. "Wow." He said in amazement, lashing out his tongue and pulling all the mugs into his mouth and drinking the coffee, while SOMEHOW not swallowing the mugs, which he spat back onto the counter.
Many were shocked by the manner of which Sprig drank the coffees. "Okay, I'm not gonna lie, that was totally manly!" Kirishima admitted.
"It's definitely... efficient, I guess." Asui said, although she'd never consider doing that herself.
"Disgusting! But maybe Hop Pop will like it! One to go, please!" He requested, to which she gave him one more coffee in a cardboard cup. "And she said they were strong. I don't feel anything!" He proudly declared. But shortly after he said this, his pupils rapidly expanded to take up most of his eyes.
"Oh, boy. Here it comes!" Sero said in concern.
"Total chaos in 3... 2... 1..." Kaminari countered down.
He then noticed a fly buzzing past his face, which suddenly seemed to completely freeze in mid-air right beside his eye, its wings moving at a snail's pace while people around him seemed to freeze in place. He then ran and hopped around in place, moving so fast he left only still after images as he approached a fountain of water, which also seemed to be frozen in place and he actually touched and broke a bit of water away from the main spray from the fountain. "I am the time lord now." He declared.
Everyone's jaws hit the floor at this. "Holy crap! That was awesome!" Hagakure said.
"He has to be moving AT LEAST faster than the eye can trace!" Mineta said.
"It even looked as if he stopped time itself! He's moving faster than a fly's wingbeats, which is once every four MILLISECONDS! That's faster than our neurons can fire!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed.
"Dang. If we get your brother hopped up on coffee, he might actually be faster than any of us." Sato said in shock.
"Well... He definitely seems like a fun, happy, friendly kid." Uraraka said.
"Just one that needs to be kept away from caffeine at all costs." Iida added.
"And who needs to get his curiosity and impulsiveness under control." Aizawa threw in as well.
"Plus, it may be time to get a proper diagnosis to see if he really DOES have ADHD." Midnight gave one last point.
"Yeah, we're definitely gonna have to look into that." Asui agreed.
"But still, he seems like a nice kid. It'd be nice if we could meet him at the end." Ashido said.
"Oh, don't worry, he'll definitely make an appearance at the end. But for now, why don't we see a handful of his talents?" Sandra said as the screen continued.
Anne and the Plantars traveled through a barren mountain zone, as Sprig passed the time by playing his fiddle. "~A family distrusts each other on a dangerous mission, like the nearly-naked humans on the island of suspicion~" He sang as he played his instrument.
"Oh, he plays the violin? That's pretty cool." Jiro admitted. She wasn't too interested in the fancier instruments like at the opera or choir, but she still had to admit the music he played sounded good.
"It's actually a fiddle. He makes a big stink about it if you get it wrong." Asui corrected.
"I'm surprised he had the patience to sit down and learn how to play it. I don't think I could do that." Ashido said, impressed.
"But hang on, is he singing about Suspicion Island? I love that show!" Aoyama exclaimed.
"Yeah, Anne apparently showed it to them." Asui confirmed.
"Ugh! That show is so cringe!" Bakugo complained.
"Veruvia, Felicia and Randy, so hot! Beguiling, hostiling, we're all suspicious islaaaand~" The frog boy finished his song, before Hop Pop raised his hand as a signal to stop.
"Well, even if the subject of the music isn't that great, his playing and singing voice are both excellent. And he has to be quite creative to come up with lyrics on the fly like that." Midnight praised.
"Yeah. I might even look to get him on my radio show some time." Present Mic admitted.
Three Days Later...
Polly, Anne and Hop Pop sat back as Sprig played a ballad he had written on his fiddle. "There was a little frog who stood for revolution~ The toads didn't like that, so they tried to execute him~" Sprig sang as he hopped from the back of the wagon onto the shell of the giant snail pulling the wagon. "~But thankfully, our Anne stepped up to take the tower and she saved Hop Pop, whooo~" He drew out the word as Hop Pop's eyes gleamed eagerly to hear his part of the story. But he would be disappointed... "~Mostly hid and cowered!" He finished the verse, causing Hop Pop's face to fall.
"Revolution!? Execution!? What?!" Asui asked in a panic.
"Well, Hop Pop did VERY MINOR acts standing up to the powers that be, like running for mayor and resisting extortion from tax collectors, but this inspired other frogs to revolt against the toads. So, in a weird way, your grandpa started a revolution." Sandra explained.
"Apparently things aren't running so smoothly over there." All Might said to the other heroes in concern.
"You have NO idea." The celestial said.
"We might have to have some officials check up on Amphibia and their 'king'." Aizawa suggested.
"~And cowered and cowered and cowered~" Sprig continued somehow crouching more and more each time without effecting his playing and singing.
"Honestly, he should have more respect for his elder!" Iida snapped.
"Yeah, that's seriously rubbing salt in the wound. Not very manly, dude." Kirishima agreed.
2 Hours Later...
The family rode away from a small town at night time as Sprig played once more. "~Oh, Hop Pop stood his ground in hopes he'd save the day~ But then the townsfolk went berserk and so he ran away~" The boy sang once more.
Everyone looked to Sandra once more for context. "They came across this village of even TINIER frog people than them who were being terrorized by a family of bandits. Hop Pop fought off one of the bandits when he was on his own, but then got wrecked TWICE by the matriarch of the family, then the tiny frogs went feral and decimated the bandit family." The empress explained.
"Whoa..." Everyone said in shock.
"Well, at least he tried to do the right thing." Asui said.
"And again, I'm seriously jealous he can come up with lyrics for his songs so easy. It takes me FOREVER to come up with good lyrics." Jiro said.
"That just means you're putting in more work than the brat is. So you're music's better in the end." Bakugo told her, giving her a supportive half-smile, ignoring the glare Tsu was giving him.
Tomorrow...
Sprig was walking around a Thai temple, eating a bag of popcorn. "Wow. I really wish Anne or Tsu had told me about these earlier." He said, dumping the whole bag into his mouth.
"So, where is he now?" Sato asked.
"Oh, it's a Thai temple. It's like a community center for Anne family and her family and other people of their heritage. Anne went there when she was visiting her family and Sprig and my family went with her." Asui explained.
"Neat." Several students said.
Suddenly, he happened upon a group of people playing a game he didn't recognize, hitting a strangely-colored ball over a glass barrier.
"And that sport is?" Hagakure asked.
"Sepak Takraw. It's also known as kick volleyball. Basically a mix of volleyball and soccer." Sandra answered.
"Sounds fun." Kaminari said.
"So he's an athlete, too. Super cool! Way to be manly!" Kirishima said.
A member of one team headbutted it over the barrier. A member of another team tried to kick it back over, but the ball flew above his leg. "Whoops! Heads up!" He called out as the ball flew towards Sprig. Thankfully, the frog boy saw it coming and caught the ball on the tip of his foot, launching it into the air, then jumping and flipping upside down to kick the ball back to them, leaving the group so stunned, one of them didn't even realize the ball was coming towards his face until it hit him in the face.
"Nice!" Several students praised.
"I bet you could be good at that sport if you made yourself float to kick the ball easier, Uraraka." Ashido said.
"That would probably be cheating." Uraraka told her.
"It makes sense he'd be good at it. He is a frog, after all. His legs are strong. So whether he's jumping to get the ball or kicking it, he's got a natural advantage." Midoriya noted.
But the ball hitting him brought him back to reality as he waved Sprig over. "Hey, new guy! Join our team!" He offered.
"Hey, we saw him, first!" A member of the other team insisted.
"Calm down, everyone! Plenty of Sprig to go around!" The fiddle playing frog assured them, doing a cutesy pose.
"Oh, jeez. I remember this. He got an even BIGGER ego after this." Asui sighed.
"Gotta say, though, he's got talent. If he found an organization for it, I bet he could go pro." Ojiro said.
"It is quite impressive how many talents the little frog boy has. With enough work, he might be able to shine as much as I." Aoyama said, earning several eye rolls.
Several Days Later...
Hop Pop stood in front of a group of people holding a bottle of orange liquid. "New product, everyone! This here is a freshly-made bottle of-" He announced, before looking down, trying to think. "What was it again? Oh!" He remembered, straightening back up. "Plantar's Potion!" He declared. And a blue frog man in the front raised his hand. "Yes, you in the front, Wally." He acknowledged the vagrant.
More glances were sent to the host to request context. "The mayor just QUADRUPLED the taxes on all the stands at the market, including the Plantar's vegetable stand. AND he wanted the it in a mere three days after putting up the notice. So Anne squeezed the juice out of some vegetables into a jar for a new product." Sandra explained.
"Quadrupled?! That's insane!" Uraraka said in horror.
"And three days is nowhere near enough time for people to get the kind of money required for those kinds of taxes. It's completely unreasonable!" Tokoyami said in disbelief.
"Does it taste good?" He asked.
"Wouldn't know. Haven't tried it yet." Hop Pop admitted.
"Oh." Wally said simply, lowering his hand.
"Guy needs to work on his sales pitch." Mineta said.
"Hop Pop's always been real big on honesty and being fair to the customers, so hyping up his product to be the best thing ever is something he wasn't comfortable with at first." Asui explained.
"Well, that's a nice way to run a business, but sadly, that's the reason a lot of mom and pop shops shut down, because they can't compete with the competition. It's how we lose great locations where food is prepared carefully and with love and passion." All Might said sadly, thinking of several small restaurants he loved that lost out to bigger chains.
"Hey, that's the world we live in, big guy. Competition is how we keep making things bigger and better. If you can't keep up, that just means you didn't have the drive." Present Mic said.
"Or in other words, everything wrong with hero society." Aizawa grumbled.
After a moment, Anne raised her hands to her mouth. "Hey, Hop Pop! Can we chat for a second?!" She called to the elderly orange frog, before turning to Sprig. "Sprig, work the crowd." She instructed.
"Yes, ma'am!" Sprig happily complied, hopping forward. "Sprig Plantar, ten years old." The frog boy introduced himself, before doing armpit farts fast enough to actually sound like the rhythm of classical music, the crowd cheering and throwing him flowers as he bowed.
"Beautiful..." Hop Pop said in awe of his grandson.
Everyone was rather surprised at this, most of the boys impressed, the rest struggling not to laugh while all the girls were disgusted. "I-I mean... That's kind of impressive that he can do it that fast." Koda admitted.
"Yeah. It even actually sounded like music." Todoroki admitted, amazed it actually sounded like music he heard once while visiting his mother.
"Yes, classic music brimming with culture and sophistication, which he has now ruined with a vulgar performance." Yaoyorozu said, aghast.
"Oh, come on! Being able to keep up a rhythm like that is GODLY. I've never seen a person with that kind of skill!" Sero insisted.
"Gotta say, the kids got some talents. He might even be able to get a scholarship in sports. And his music skills could open up some doors with extracurriculars, too." Jiro noted.
"Maybe the two of you could start a band, Jiro." Kaminari suggested.
"Don't think a fiddle fits into a rock band, Pikachu." Bakugo told him, Jiro nodding in agreement.
"Still, if he made something of himself with either option, it could be a good step forward for those with Mutation Quirks." All Might pointed out.
"Alright, then. For the next thing before we see Sprig's notable battles, I'll show you someone rather important in Sprig's life." The celestial declared, making the screen play once more.
Anne and Sprig were walking through the woods, when a bush shook nearby them, to which Sprig gasped and put a hand in front of Anne to halt her. "Stay back! It could be a blood-sucking predator!" Sprig warned, grabbing a stick and raising it like a dagger.
"You are REALLY not selling me on this place." Anne told him.
"Is... Is Amphibia really that dangerous?" Koda asked worriedly, wanting to see the place, but now nervous about the dangers.
"They have ladybugs big enough to be driven like cars and river snakes half the size of Mt. Lady's giant form." Asui confirmed.
"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope! SO much nope!" The more fearful members of the class all said quickly.
The frog boy pushed the bushes aside to see a gourd in a wig with a face drawn on it. His eyes widened at this. "Oh, no! It's an..." He began in horrified realization.
"AMBUSH!" A voice called from above him as a yellow frog girl dove out of the trees and tackled him to the ground, rolling once and leaping back into another bush, leaving Sprig in the dirt.
"What the heck was that!?" Sato asked.
"Someone just took him down! But who!? And from where?! And why!?" Midoriya exclaimed.
"All I can tell is it must have been a girl, based on the voice." Mineta said.
"Of course you'd pick up on that." Tokoyami said.
"Hey! It's obvious!" Mineta insisted.
"I'm hit! Sprig down! SPRIG DOWN!" He cried out dramatically.
The girl then emerged from the bushes in front of him. "Ha ha!" She laughed triumphantly.
"Hey, Ivy! Nice ambush!" Sprig praised, sitting back up. "Gourd in a wig? Classic!" He laughed.
"I like this kid. She's crafty. And good at stealth and surprise." Aizawa said.
"Why do I get the feeling she does this a lot?" Iida questioned.
"I get the vibe this is AT LEAST a weekly thing. If not daily." Kaminari said.
"I don't like it. Come out in the open and fight one-on-one like a man!" Kirishima snapped.
"Everyone is different, Kirishima. Expecting everyone to fight exactly how you do is a recipe for disaster." Midnight told him.
"Can't take all the credit. You're REALLY easy to trick." She told him, helping him to his feet.
"Welp, guilty as charged." He admitted, to which they both laughed.
"Wow. Doesn't even try to deny it." Bakugo scoffed.
"At least he's honest." Uraraka said.
Anne then coughed to get their attention. "Oh! Ivy, meet Anne, oddity exchange student from the mainland!" He introduced the frog girl to the human girl, walking back over to the other amphibian. "Anne, meet Ivy, childhood acquaintance and occasional sparring partner." He introduced the other girl, throwing a punch which she blocked, then another one she jumped over, kicking him in the face.
"Ooh, I'm sensing some chemistry here! My shipping sense are tingling." Ashido said with a smirk.
"Mina! They're ten!" Asui said with a blush, not wanting to think her little brother was actually looking at girls that way.
"Heya, Ivy." Anne greeted.
"Hey. I've seen you around. Nice to officially meet." Ivy said, shaking her hand, before leaning in. "Do you like being randomly attacked?" She asked.
"Not at all!" Anne declared.
"Well, too bad." Ivy said, walking back towards the bushes. "See you later, Sprig. But you won't see me~" She said dangerously backflipping into the bushes.
"Well, she seems like fun." Hagakure said.
"She's like Aizawa with Mina's personality." Jiro said.
"Now that's a terrifying thought." Yaoyorozu admitted with a shudder, earning a pout from the pink girl.
Later...
Sprig and Ivy sat at the edge of a lake, observing a huge swarm of fireflies. "Wooow..." Sprig said in awe as the observed the flying light bugs.
"Man, this is WAY better than that stuffy, old dance. Right, Ivy?" Sprig said, looking to his female counterpart, but noticing she wasn't there. "Ivy? Ivy?!" He asked, looking around.
"Dance?" Mina asked excitedly.
"The firefly formal. It's a annual gathering for the people of their town, but more importantly, it's where a couple can do the courtship dance for the right to be wed." Sandra explained.
"Courtship dance?! They're getting married?!" Shoji asked in disbelief.
"They're TEN!" Asui cried out.
"Yes, Ivy's family is rather wealthy and owns expensive proprietary crops. So if Sprig married Ivy, Hop Pop could get his hands on those crops." Sandra explained.
"So much for priding himself on honesty." Tokoyami said distastefully.
"AMBUSH!" The yellow frog girl declared, leaping on him from nowhere, the two rolling across the ground until Sprig was laying on the ground on his stomach, Ivy sat on his back. "Ha HA!" She declared triumphantly, raising a stick to the sky.
"Oh, no you don't!" He declared, grabbing a stick and managing to get up and get her off of him, the two using the sticks to sword fight, the two laughing happily.
Iida sighed at this. "It's nice to see children behaving like children." He said with a smile.
"Take a good look students. This is the kind of peace you'll be fighting for one day." All Might declared.
"Come back here! This place'll be your grave!" She declared.
"That's, uh... That's pretty dark!" Sprig said, although he still sounded happy.
Everyone's eyes widened at the girl's declaration. "So much for peace." Present Mic said.
"I doubt she means it." Midnight said.
"Still, how many children shout out for people to die or that they'll kill you? Other than Bakugo?" Ashido teased, Bakugo growling and making mini-explosions in his hands, before Jiro gave him a kiss on the cheek to calm him.
Some time later, the two were laying down peacefully on their backs, looking at the fireflies again, Sprig noticing a group of purple flies flying by. "Hey! Purple ones!" He pointed out.
"Oh, yeah, those are babies. I've read that they're purple so the moms can find them if they get lost." Ivy explained, holding a trio of fireflies in her hands, before letting them fly off.
"What?! That's adorable!" Sprig said in amazement.
"Oh, how adorable! So dazzling! They almost twinkle as bright as myself!" Aoyama said.
"Fireflies really are amazing." Koda agreed, the light bugs being one of the few insects he could tolerate.
"I know, right?" Ivy said happily, looking at him, closing her eyes and smiling. Sprig looked to her as well, before sticking out his tongue with a "blep" like how cats sometimes do.
"Aww!" All of the girls cooed all at once.
"They're adorable!" Ashido cooed.
"Especially when they're together~" Hagakure said in a sly tone.
"No shipping!" Asui snapped.
Later on that night, Ivy was seen walking away from Sprig and his family with her mother, Felicia, waving back to Sprig with a smile. Sprig waved back with a similar smile, looking in her direction long after she was no longer in sight. Something Anne quickly took notice of. "Oh, you just fell in love with her, didn't you?" Anne asked.
"Yeah, I just fell in love with her." Sprig confirmed as the realization hit him as well.
"Nooo!" Asui groaned.
"He's gotta grow up something, Tsu." Uraraka told her.
"I know. I just wish it didn't have to be so soon." The frog girl said.
Three Days Later...
Sprig was pointing at a crystalline blue spiral shell leaned against their house, when he and Anne suddenly heard a voice. "Hey, Sprig." Ivy said as she jumped down from their roof and leaning against the house.
"Ivy?" Sprig said in surprise.
"I came by earlier, but I couldn't find you. But I did find this SWEET Blue Moon Shell." She said, pointing to said shell.
"And you... took it?" Sprig asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Why would she steal something from a dear friend?! That's a complete violation of trust that could completely destroy their relationship!" Iida shouted, chopping as always.
"Agreed. That shell is absolutely gorgeous. It's value must be immeasurable." Yaoyorozu agreed.
"That thief doesn't deserve him!" Asui said, hoping to take the chance to tear down the ship before it could sail.
"Well, there's actually more to the story than that." Sandra informed them.
"Yeah. It was a little dirty, but I took it home and polished it up. Here's it back." She explained, handing him the shell.
"Uh... Thanks." He said awkwardly, taking it back.
"Well, that was nice of her." Uraraka said.
"Yeah, but you still ask someone before you take their crap." Bakugo countered.
"Yeah, I'm with Kacchan on this one. It looked like Sprig was really shocked to see it back, so it was probably valuable to him." Midoriya admitted.
"Oh, yeah. He practically assaulted half the town when he thought someone stole it." The Empress informed them.
"He WHAT!?" Everyone shouted in disbelief.
"Still more to the story, though." She said, point back to the screen.
"Go get her." Anne whispered while nudging him.
"Oh, right!" He remembered. "Happy early birthday, Ivy." He said, handing the shell back.
"Oh, so it was a gift for her. That explains a lot." Ojiro said.
"So, he's already getting her jewelry, huh?" Jiro asked, joining in on the shipping train to mess with Asui.
"It's not jewelry!" The frog girl insisted.
"Oh. Thanks, Sprig! It's beautiful. But, I kind of like it here." She said, hanging it on a nail on the doorframe. "When I see it sparkle, I know I'm getting close to your place." She explained.
"Huhbuhbuhbuhbuhbuhbuh- WOW." Sprig stammered, before gawking at his crush, sticking his tongue out once again. "Okay." He said, giving her a thumbs up.
"Who has that reaction if they're NOT in love?" Ashido asked.
"Sprig, that's who!" Asui insisted again.
"Awww!" Anne cooed, leaning onto the frog boy.
"Cut it out!" Sprig complained, flailing his arms at the human girl.
"Even Anne's on the shipping train!" Hagakure pointed out.
"Well, see you dorks later!" Ivy said, hopping away.
"See ya, Ivy!" Anne said, waving to her. "Well, looks like we found our thief." She said.
"Yes, Anne. But she didn't just steal the shell... She stole my heart." Sprig declared, putting his hands on Anne's shoulders and staring into her eyes... For an uncomfortably long amount of time. "Too much?" He asked.
"WAY too much." Kirishima said.
"Even Mineta doesn't simp for girls THAT hard." Kaminari agreed.
"Hey!" Mineta whined.
"Little bit, yeah." She confirmed.
"Got it." He acknowledged.
"Well, at least he course-corrected." Midnight said.
"Yes. It's nice to see SOMEONE who knows when they go too far." Uraraka said as all the girls glared at Mineta.
"Okay, I get it!" He complained.
Eventually...
Anne, Hop Pop, Polly and Felicia were walking through the woods, searching for their respective family members, when a hawk-like cry was heard as a pair of giant, winged silhouettes flew over them, before a pair of gorgeous giant doves flew down to a tree in a way that made them look like they were lovingly dancing. "They're beautiful." Felicia said in awe.
"So pretty..." Koda said in awe.
"I agree. They're gorgeous." Yaoyorozu agreed.
"Truly Magnifique!" Aoyama added.
"Is it even possible for birds to fly like that? Let alone while holding each other like that?" Jiro questioned.
"What did you just see, Ears?" Bakugo answered her question with his own.
"But..." She started.
"What did you just see?" He repeated, much to her annoyance.
"Look at them." Polly said as Anne simply gasped in awe and wonder.
Hop Pop, however, wasn't as awed as the rest of the group. "Love doves! Don't move or we're dead!" He whispered.
"Wait, what?" Everyone asked all at once.
"What could they possibly do? They look harmless?" All Might questioned.
"Looks can be deceiving. Overhaul didn't look like much at first, but we all know the damage he caused." Aizawa pointed out, causing the former Number One to lower his head in sadness at the thought of Sir Nighteye.
"What? I thought they were all romantic and mate for life." Anne questioned with a raised brow.
"And they spend that life massacring all living things!" Hop Pop added.
But despite their best efforts, the doves spotted them and let out a terrifying shriek, flying at them as they screamed in fear... Before the doves separated and did an elegant backwards loop in the air, before rolling around each other. "Beautiful." Hop Pop praised as everyone else made noises of approval, before screaming again the doves snatched them.
"Why would people live in this insane place!?" Ojiro questioned.
"Better question, why would someone send their child here to be an exchange student!?" Sato asked.
"Well, she has two other friends there, too: Sasha and Marcy, who wound up with the toads and newts respectively. Sasha's situation actually started significantly worse than Anne's while Marcy's was the best BY FAR." Their hostess explained, before looking away. "At first." She added quietly.
From where they were by the lake, Sprig and Ivy saw their families being taken by the amorous aerial creatures. "Our families! We've got to help them!" Sprig cried out, before being hit with a stick Ivy tossed him.
"Way ahead of you! Let's go!" She declared, the two running through the woods in the direction the doves flew.
"Man. They're brave for a couple of kids." Shoji praised.
"But they ARE only just kids! They shouldn't be handling those things alone! They should get some adults!" Ashido said.
"There's no time. By the time they run and do that, the doves might have already eaten them. They gotta do the manly thing and rescue them themselves! Like real heroes!"Kirishima said.
After a few moments, the doves reached their nest and dropped their prey within, before hacking a strange green goop on them.
After groaning in disgust, the group noticed they couldn't move. "We're stuck!" Anne cried out. The doves nestled into each other lovingly, before flying away. "Uh, so they're NOT gonna eat us?" Anne asked.
"Not right away. Love doves prefer to let their prey marinate in fear first." Hop Pop explained.
"Well, so much for no time to get an adult." Asui said.
"Screw that! If they think they can do it, they SHOULD do it! They're not afraid to handle things themselves! They're tough little punks!" Bakugo said approvingly.
"Besides, they just have to make sure they're quick and get away before the doves come back. Stealth mission! My favorite!" Hagakure cheered.
"Revelry in the dark." Tokoyami agreed.
Sandra then fast forwarded a minute or two.
Thankfully, Sprig and Ivy showed up a short time later. "Hey." Both frog children said, climbing into the nest. "We're here to rescue you." Sprig informed them, swiping away the goop with their sticks.
Once everyone was freed, they tried to make their escape, but it was at that moment, the love doves reappeared and roared at them. "Don't worry, guys! Sprig and I are ready for combat, right?" She asked him.
"So much for the stealth mission." Todoroki said,
"But at least everyone is free now, so they have numbers on their side." Midoriya noted.
"Right." Sprig confirmed.
"On the count of three! One... Two..." She began to count down, before noticing her pink counterpart was missing. "Sprig?" She questioned.
"How could he just run off and abandon his dear friend like that?!" Iida demanded, being careful to only call them friends so as not to upset Asui.
"Oh, I think I know what he's doing!" Sero realized with a smirk.
"AMBUSH!" Sprig declared, having climbed up in a tree during this time and tackling the male dove to the floor of the nest, riding on its back as it ran around to get him off. "Take that, you beautiful creature!" He declared, hitting it in the neck with his stick and knocking it out.
"What?! That's really all it takes?! They made these things sound like the deadliest creatures around." Mineta said.
"Well, the neck IS a rather sensitive and vital area, so being hit there can EASILY render someone incapacitated." Yaoyorozu explained.
The female dove quickly flew over, grabbing Sprig in her mouth and throwing him off her lover, nuzzling her defeated significant other tenderly, while Sprig landed beside Ivy. "Nice ambush!" She praised.
"Well, I learned from the best." He told her.
"Flirt later! There's still one enemy around!" Asui snapped frantically.
"So you ADMIT he was flirting!" Ashido and Hagakure pointed out.
"Not now!" The frog girl snapped again, though this time in annoyance.
"Now, let's finish this up!" She declared, tossing her own stick and hitting the female dove in the head with it, knocking her out as well.
"Well, I do have to admit, they make one impressive team working together." All Might said.
"Right. If only our students were that cooperative." Aizawa agreed, sending a glance to the students.
"They'll get there. And they can use this as a good example to follow." Midnight assured them.
"They're actually saying we have a lot to learn from ten year olds." Kaminari said, deflating rapidly along with his ego.
"Well, all in all, I'd say Sprig is pretty capable and has a lot going for him. You should be proud, Asu- Tsu!" Midoriya said, quickly managing to correct himself as the frog girl looked to him.
"I am." She confirmed, smiling at her brother on the screen.
"Still, I wouldn't have minded more action." Bakugo said.
"You want to see a ten year old in violent situations?" Ashido questioned teasingly.
"It doesn't matter how damn old you are! If you can fight, you can fight! Especially with the right Quirk!" Bakugo snapped.
"Honestly, he's got a point here. Especially because Sprig's gone up against people at least twice his age." Sandra explained.
"Who would fight a TEN YEAR OLD!?" Yaoyorozu asked in horror.
"You're about to find out." Sandra said as the screen resumed.