Sweet Cute Green Obsession

by guyNumber23

Love is a very complicated thing. It changes the way one sees the world around itself, and push us past our limits. But there is a thin line between burning love and crazy obsession, and Uraraka Ochako may have crossed it, and not only her. One by one, they all fall in the charms of a certain green-haired teen. Can he take on all that "love"? Rated M for the lots of lemons.

48. Hot-blooded Heroes: Part 1

Watashi ga kita! Hello, readers, as you can see, I'm not dead yet! Also, you can't see nut I'm making a polite bow here. Sorry for the radio silence! As I said a while back, I was planning another little "arc" thing, and this time I decided to lay down the structure instead of get straight into writing. So now I actually have a plan! And with that, I can now go by without having to re-read and see everything I did. The beauty is in the fine details, they say.

Anyway, as a token of gratitude for your everlasting patience, I bring this 20k chapter, and I hope you have fun. The harem is going to expand yet again...

Hot-blooded Heroes [part 1]

"Fight, Deku-kun! You can do it!~"

"... You were pretty energetic the whole day today, Nejire. Something happened?" Tatsuma asked the bluenette next to her, but her eyes never left the duo currently sparring at the rooftop of her office building.

"Ah no, no. I mean, there's something, but nothing super big. Fight, Deku-kun!~"

The dragon hero turned her gaze to the giddy young lady next to her for a moment. It wasn't unlikely for Nejire to have a thousand-watt smile on her face most of the time, but Tatsuma did notice she was particularly extra happy. She could barely stay without jumping in place, mostly when Midoriya was next to her. Back to the current event that slightly bothered her.

"Oi, come on! I know you can do better, Deku." Usagiyama taunted/motivated the green-haired teen as he missed her again. She didn't say a thing but she was actually making an effort now to dodge the capture attempts, and she was quite impressed with how fast the boy had improved.

From timing his jumps to estimating the distance, and reducing his reaction time to land and bounce back, Midoriya was making fast progress as he trained more in the arts of "skipping around" the Rabbit Hero was famous for. More importantly to him, he was managing to use a higher percentage of One for All without straining his body, and he felt that his control over Black Whip was more solid. The key was to try doing more than one thing at the same time and then make it an automatic thing of his thought process. The more he learned to "multi-task", the more naturally it would be to him, and as such, Midoriya would pull out more of this kind of thing.

"Put more energy into it! I'm not even sweating here— oi!" Usagiyama side-stepped as she dodged the green teen, but she didn't expect Midoriya to launch a black tendril after he flew past her. If it wasn't for her keen reflexes, she would have been caught then and there.

"Sly kid… Hey! That was cheating!" She joked, taking a few steps back.

The emerald teen got up and ready to jump again, with a grin matching hers crossing his lips.

"You never said it was against the rules." He had to admit that these extra hours of training were pretty fun, aside from extremely useful.

Midoriya was still banned from the gym due to the house arrest, so it was definitely good to have some way to hone his physical skills, and he was training with Miruko, of all people. There were very few ways he could ask for a better match.

"Don't get cocky now. You can do that if you get to hold me."

"Hai!"

And so they resumed the little game of catch turned up to eleven. Meanwhile, the Dragon Hero watched with a blank expression, while internally her mind kept on telling her this wasn't a good idea. Yes, it was nice that Miruko decided to be more cooperative, even more considering the current times, but even so, she felt that dark-skinned woman was taking way too much glee in training him. That and the other things she said in particular, that is. Tatsuma didn't forget those. She also didn't forget how Usagiyama was decided to march to U.A. and get to know the person who "got Kayama Nemuri hooked in".

At the time, Tatsuma didn't think she was serious. They were fairly drunk and the shocking revelations of that night didn't help at all in having clear thoughts. So the blondie got surprised when she realized this bunny girl was actually serious about it. She didn't want to believe it, but every day she gave Tatsuma more proof of the contrary. Because of that, the dragon hero felt that this training too, was a way to lure in the sweet, innocent– okay, maybe not so innocent– Midoriya into doing something he could come to regret later in his life. This was her main concern

His relationship with Midnight and Mt. Lady was already highly questionable, but she could only see problems in someone like him getting, uh… deeply involved with Usagiyama. Not that Tatsuma thought she was an awful person or anything. It was merely her worries of the woman not being the best parameter of relationships in his life. He deserved something better, dare she say. Someone more responsible and caring, someone loving, who places his well-being in the first place. Someone like her–

Tatsuma shook her head. This was not a route she planned on taking.

"Miruko, let's end for today. It's already pretty late."

"Hah? But we're just getting in the right rhythm, right Deku?" She said, dodging another tackle by a few centimeters.

"I have to take them back to U.A, and they're already tired from today's work. Don't overdo it."

Rolling her eyes, the Rabbit Hero dropped her ready stance, and so did Midoriya, who took a moment to catch his breath. One for All enhanced his stamina, but he never tried using Full Cowl for an extended period without pauses. His body felt sore from all that stress on his muscles, but it was more tolerable than before, a sign of progress.

"Alright, alright, I hear you, "Mom". Deku, let's end here today."

"Mom?!" Tatsuma exclaimed.

"Yeah, you sound like you're his mother or something. Oh, and I'll take a shower here." She said, giving a tap on Tatsuma's shoulder as she walked past the Dragon Hero.

"Thank you for training me today again, Usagiyama-san!" Midoriya came right after, stopping by Tatsuma.

"Don't mention it." Came the casual reply.

Meanwhile, Hado kept on with her giddy attitude, like when a kid is expecting on a line to ride a roller coaster.

"You did great today, Deku-kun! You're improving a lot, in my opinion."

"You think so…?" He scratched the back of his head.

"I agree, your control looks much more refined. Well, let's get you two back to U.A."

The Dragon Hero took a feel steps forward and transformed into her well-known dragon form. By now Hado and Midoriya got used to riding on Ryukyu's back going back to school. As usual, Midoriya said there was no need to, but she insisted. A part of her really liked how the two of them acted like kids during the trip. During this one, the emerald child questioned her about the investigation of the various crimes of the past weeks and the possible connection to the villain Napalm.

"So far, Centipeder didn't find anything of value. He's working with the Police too, but they don't have that many people at disposal for unclear cases like this. Apparently, they're looking into something else..."

"I see… I wish there was more we could do to help..." She could sense a feeling of disappointment in his voice.

"Don't worry, you and Nejire already did great keeping track of these cases. As I said, we're not obligated but it helps in cases like this to file in the reports. And you also fought that villain pretty well, Midoriya." She assured the green teen.

"Yeah, I saw the footage in the news. You looked really cool, Deku-kun." Hado said, effectively pushing Midoriya into his socially awkward mode. Compliments were still a difficult thing to handle for him.

"T-thanks, senpai..."

"Umu, Deku-kun, I said you could call me less formally, didn't I? We're practically partners already."

"Oh, y-yeah… Hado-san, then..."

She leaned forward and lightly pinched his cheek.

"Ne-ji-re. You already say it when we're on duty. Come on, say it~ Nejire-chan~" She insisted, poking his sides while Midoriya fought against the warmth in his face.

As the two of them argued about honorifics, Ryukyu arrived at their destination. They hopped off the Dragon Hero before she transformed back into her human form.

"Thank you again for the ride, Ryukyu-san. But… are you going back on foot?"

"Not yet, I have to talk with someone in here." She replied, walking along with them. Hado sprinted ahead, turning to wave at her mentor.

"I'll just take a shower and meet you at your dorms, okay? later, Deku-kun~ Later, Ryukyu-san~" And off went the bluenette, as enthusiastic as a kid in the amusement park. The dragon lady looked at the teen next to her with a curious face.

"Do you two have something planned?"

"Yeah, Hado-senpai… Nejire-chan wanted to help me study and catch up on a few topics."

"I see… the job at my agency isn't taking too much of your time, is it? We can reduce the number of days and–"

"No no, that's not a problem at all! It's just that, well..." He rubbed his arm and she could see a nervous smile on his face, despite Midoriya looking at the floor.

"Difficulties in class? You don't look like you would have, though."

"I usually don't. The issue is… I'm under house arrest, so I'm not going to class..." He admitted in shame.

"Oh… For how long?"

"... A month. It will be over in about a week, and I have been trying to keep track of the subjects, but I know there's a lot for me to catch up on regardless."

Tatsuma wondered what could have happened to Midoriya to warrant him such a long penalization. Sure, she knew Aizawa was strict, but the green teen didn't seem the type to misbehave like that. Unless…

"Well, it's good that Nejire is willing to help you out, even though I'm sure she has her own set of exams to worry about."

"Yeah, I told her the same, but Nejire-chan insisted on helping."

They walked together up to the main building of UA, where Tatsuma parted ways with him. As the emerald child headed back to his dorms, she watched him until she couldn't make out his figure in the dark of the night. Then she headed inside the main building. Her talk with a certain raven-haired pro hero was long overdue.

---

To no one's surprise, the moment Hado announced her presence at the 1-A dorms, she caused a big ruckus among Midoriya's classmates. Some of the boys cried in frustration as they accused the poor teen of "hogging all the fun", while the girls instantly entered in defense mode. He repeated time and time again that it was just a small study session between him and Hado-senpai, but the girls were not buying it, especially Uraraka. In their defense, they had all the reasons to be suspicious, even more considering it was the bluenette who suggested that.

A girl as popular as Hado, who was in the Big Three, just her with Midoriya in his room for an entire hour? It spelled problem with big letters to his girlfriends, and that should definitely not pass under their watch. After all, if the goal was to help him study, she could do that where everyone could see and hear. In fact, all the girls were under house arrest too, so they might as well take the opportunity too.

"Sure. More people will make it more fun~"

Well, they didn't expect that response from their blue-haired senpai. Perhaps these suspicions were unfounded… In the end, they had a great time studying together and were able to catch up on a few subjects despite the difficulty in understanding Hado's explanations. She knew the subjects alright, but her airhead nature didn't help in the way she explained things. Luckily for the girls, Midoriya seemed to be already used to that, so it was easy to "translate" her words. This was a surprisingly pleasant time they spent together.

"But I'm surprised. I didn't expect all of you guys to be struggling with the subjects, especially Yaoyorozu-chan. I thought it was just Deku-kun because of the job with Ryukyu." Hado commented.

"~sigh~ That's what happens when you're banned from class for a whole month..." Said the invisible girl, nonchalantly.

"T-Tooru-chan! Shhh," Jiro jumped to silence her friend before she spilled more beans.

"Hmm? House arrest?"

The girls exchanged worried looks. They wanted to keep it a secret as much as possible, but now it was too late. The bluenette's curiosity has been triggered. Her eyes were twinkling with excitement.

"Hmm? What?~ What?~ Did you guys get in trouble with Aizawa-sensei? It must have been something serious for you all to get a whole month!~"

The girls started to panic a little. Whoever fell under the gaze of Hado-senpai had to look elsewhere while they thought of a suitable excuse for covering this major slip from the invisible girl.

"Y-you see, Hado-senpai… we all got house arrested because… because…" Ashido was desperately trying to come up with anything that sounded at least plausible, but it had to involve them all in some way and also be worthy of the punishment. She looked left and right, seeking a streak of inspiration, perhaps. And then her yellow eyes fell upon her amphibian friend. "... Umm, T… Tsu-chan, she… ah…"

"Tsu-chan was running around in her swimsuit!" Uraraka blurted out of nowhere, startling everyone in the bedroom, but mostly the accused girl.

"K-K-K-Kero?!"

"Ah! That's it! Tsu-chan was running, erm, jumping around the pool in her swimsuit!" Ashido followed the brunette to whoever she was going to.

"Mina-chan!" Tsuyu cried. Was she really going to be the scapegoat umm– scapefrog in this mess?

"I'm so sorry, Tsu-chan!" They apologized in their heads and would make sure to verbalize it later on.

"Hmm, but it doesn't sound like something Aizawa-sensei would get mad at…" Hado looked at the two girls and Tsuyu with a suspicious look, so Jiro jumped on the train.

"A-ah, that's because… Tsu-chan was actually acting like a frog, you see… she had a, uh…"

"A fever! She spent too much time in the pool the other day and ended up catching a cold. And the fever made her act like a frog!" Yaoyorozu completed Jiro's line of thought, to which the rocker girl was very thankful.

"Oh! You can really do that, Tsu-chan?" Hado turned to the frog girl, barely keeping in place due to her excitement. Unfortunately for Tsuyu, she had no other choice than to accept this mark on her reputation.

"... Yes, ribbit…"

"Wow, I had no idea. I've heard something about Mutant Quirks related to animals, but I never thought it would be so serious, even more, because it was caused by a fever…" She seemed to be pondering over it.

"W-well, Hound Dog-sensei acts pretty feral at times, r-right, senpai?" Midoriya didn't like to throw Tsuyu under the bus, just like the other girls, but it would be best if Hado-senpai didn't know about the spicy details of his relationship with them.

"Hmm… yeah, it kinda makes sense. But Midoriya, why did you get arrested? And why did you girls get arrested?"

"A-ah… I was taking care of her and… I thought it would be a good idea if… if Tsu had some… fresh air?" Midoriya was terrible at lying.

"And then Tsu-chan started to jump around catching flies, and we had to go there to capture her, and we all ended up falling in the pool!" Hagakure put the final nail on this cover-up and Tsuyu's image.

"Wow… all that happened to you, Tsu-chan…?" The bluenette sounded really concerned.

"Well, yeah… S-sometimes I feel like… just sitting on a leaf. I wonder why, ribbit…" The poor girl did her best to act accordingly. For someone that always spoke her mind, it was quite difficult.

"There, there. No need to feel embarrassed, it is simply your nature, right?~" Hado gave Tsuyu a few head pats, reassuring the frog girl with a bright smile, like a Big Sis.

"I guess, ribbit…"

All those involved in this lie were deeply apologizing and thanking her for taking this bullet. Tsu-chan was the hero of that night.

---

Ryukyu knocked at the door and waited. Or at least she tried. Her anxiousness flowed through her body right to her foot that constantly tapped the floor. She knocked on the door again. Maybe she was already asleep, the teacher's life could be really tiring, or so she has been told. It would be pretty ironic, considering her hero name…

Tatsuma knocked on the door again, looking to the sides, as if she was doing something that might be reproved by an outside spectator. Her hand moved to hit the wooden door again but it opened right on time, followed by a very familiar, and rather tired voice.

"I heard on the first knock, geez. Who the hell it is and what do you– Ryuko?" Kayama's annoyed expression quickly turned into one of surprise. "What are you doing here at this hour? Did something happen?"

"I, uh… we have to talk." The Dragon Hero said, straight to the point.

"Uhh, okay. Wanna come in–"

"Thank you." Kayama moved the door a little more and Tatsuma was already making her way inside. Such haste made the raven-haired hero get a bad feeling about whatever was the topic of this talk.

"Tatsuma, do you have a problem? … Does it have to do with–"

"Midoriya? Yes, it is about him." The blondie answered, taking a seat on the couch. Sensing the urgency in her words and demeanor, and hearing her lover's name, Kayama picked a chair and sat in front of her surprise guest.

"What's up with him?"

There was a minute of silence between them. Despite the exchange of intense stares, deep inside Tatsuma felt uneasy and hesitant. But she absolutely had to do it. Midoriya could be at risk here.

"Kayama-san, no– Nemuri. I need you to break up with Midoriya."

Kayama blinked a few times with a blank expression.

"... Eh?!"

Even if she was tired from rating school work, Kayama was aware enough to listen clearly to what Tatsuma said, but she didn't understand at all.

"You heard me. Nemuri, please break up with Midoriya." The blondie repeated the rather intrusive request.

"And why exactly would I break up with my Honey? Actually, why are you bringing this up?"

"Look, Nemuri, due to certain circumstances I can't really tell you the reason but you have to let go of him. I bet it was fun for a while, but it is already time for you to do the right thing." She insisted, which bothered the lady in front of her.

"Do the right thing? Ryuko, unless you give me a good reason, and I mean a really good one, there's no breaking up happening, nor anything."

"Nemuri, it is for the best that you must stop dating Midoriya."

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, I'm serious! This situation is serious."

"Then at least tell me why you're asking me this nonsense."

"I can't tell!"

"Don't give me that crap, Ryuko! If you're coming all the way here to demand that I break up with the love of my life, you better have a hell of a good reason!"

Kayama was irreducible in her stance. Why did Tatsuma think this could be solved with a simple talk and her asking nicely?

"N-Nemuri, believe me when I say that I only have the best interest for Midoriya in mind."

"Well, so do I. In fact, Between the two of us, it should be obvious who cares more about him." She said, getting up from the chair with a rather displeased face. "Now, if that is all, I still have a couple of works to grade. You know where the door is, don't you?"

"Nemuri!" The dragon lady shot up, stepping in front of her friend, even though she was risking changing that status.

"~sigh~ Ryuko… I consider you a big friend, you know. That shows because I asked you to keep Izuku and me a secret, and you kept that promise."

"I did, right? You don't have any idea how much I thought about that in the following days."

"Yeah, that was a very stressful night. I think I never thanked you properly, so I'm doing it now. That said…" Kayama's annoyed face changed into one of mild anger. "I will not break up with him just because you asked. Even if you had a "good reason", which I think you don't, I wouldn't do it."

They locked gazes, just a few centimeters apart. Kayama was fairly taller than Tatsuma, so the hands on her hips and the angry face worked quite well for intimidation, even though the latter could easily turn the tables with her dragon form. However, the blondie felt something bubbling inside her, that same feeling when she was fighting that boiling blood villain, that urge to protect the young man. Right now, she had to protect him from bad influences like Rumi and, unfortunately, Nemuri too.

"You need a "good reason"? What about that obvious age gap, huh? Oh, and how about him being your student? Is that enough reason for you?"

"He doesn't mind that, and neither do I."

"Just because he doesn't mind, doesn't mean it is good for him."

"And what makes you think he can't decide what's good for him?"

"Well, he clearly doesn't know how to pick relationships…"

At that moment, Kayama closed the distance, effectively pushing Tatsuma back with her chest.

"Are you implying what I think you are…?"

She was stunned for a moment, but Tatsuma pushed back, poking the R-rated Hero and her "advantage".

"Something tells me you already figured that out. You know this is not normal, right? You know there can't possibly be a normal relationship between you and Midoriya."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"... Can't you stop being so selfish?"

"Selfish?!"

"If you cared so much about Midoriya, you would stop leading him around and let him have a normal, healthy relationship with a girl at his age. But no, you can't let go, can you?!"

"Where the hell did you get that from- ah, you know what? Yes! I can't let go of him, I don't want to. But you don't get to tell if this is okay or not, Ryuko."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, because you're not a part of his life like I am. Unless…"

"U-unless?"

Kayama folded her arms, tapping her foot on the floor and examining the Blondie in front of her as if she was trying to look into her soul. Tatsuma didn't back down, though.

"... Unless you're fancying my Honey. So, what is it?"

Tatsuma immediately went red.

"W-w-what the hell are you talking about?! I'm not into Midoriya!"

"Oh really? Why does it bother you so much then?"

"I don't need that kind of reason to be bothered…"

"Either you think I'm some kind of sexual demon luring Izuku into the path of damnation… or you're developing feelings for him and you want me out of the game. So, which one is it?"

"I don't have feelings for him, Nemuri! Go tell that to Rumi, that rabbit in heat–" Tatsuma closed her mouth shut, but she had already said too much.

"Wait… Rumi? Aren't you two in a team now?"

Well, since she already let that slip, she might as well tell the whole story.

"Exactly! At first, I was really surprised by her offering to make a temporary team. I felt glad that she was finally working with others, honestly. But then I discovered why she asked me that."

"So what you're saying is that Rumi wants to smash with my Honey?"

Tatsuma nodded.

"And… Why should I break up with him, then? I'm not following."

"You have to tell him that this is not normal. And set an example. Otherwise, he'll think it is alright to hook up with Rumi, or any other woman that wants to take advantage of him. Don't you see? You're shaping unrealistic expectations into him, Nemuri."

Kayama was mildly impressed, as Tatsuma looked and sounded completely sure of her speech. She genuinely wanted to protect the emerald child, and she appreciated that. Not only was she training him on the whole Hero thing, but she was also concerned about his well-being as a person too. Kayama knew about her liking for kids.

There was just a tiny problem in all this.

"Okay… thanks for telling me this, Ryuko." Tatsuma sighed in relief. "But I'm still not breaking up with him." Relief turned into annoyance pretty quick.

"Really? After everything I told you?"

"Yeah, I mean– come on, Ryuko. Do you really believe I would keep that relationship if he didn't want this too? Think! He's not nearly as innocent and clueless as you imagine he is. Well, definitely dense, but not dumb."

The Dragon Hero groaned in frustration.

"Once again, just because he thinks it is okay, doesn't make it okay."

"And you get to decide what is okay and what isn't?"

"Well, I'm not fucking a 16-year-old, am I?"

They fell silent again and started another staring contest, but this time Nemuri didn't look as menacing, perhaps because she didn't see Ryuko as a direct threat to her relationship with Izuku.

"Listen, he's responsible, and should know better than to let any woman take advantage of him. Izuku knows how to handle women."

"Is that so?"

"I know so. After all," A smug smile crept on her lips. "he wouldn't have a whole harem of girls crazy for him if he didn't~"

Tatsuma blinked a few times, speechless.

"A-a-a-a what now?!"

"You heard me. He's much more, umm, experienced than you think, and he is very loyal too, so I wouldn't worry about Rumi trying to hook him up." For some reason, the prideful look on Kayama's face was making Tatsuma angry. Was this really something she could brag about?

"S-so you talked him into a life of d-debauchery?!"

"No, I merely "guided" him. And don't blame me, Honey and his classmates were already getting frisky before I "joined" them."

"And not only did you allow that kind of behavior, but you also encouraged it."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I put the girls in check for a while. My poor Honey was barely keeping it together, so I had to intervene, teach them a few things about adult life~"

The Dragon Hero stared at the raven-haired woman with a look of disbelief and distaste.

"... You big whore…"

"Oi, I might take offense to that."

"Then how else should I address you, huh?"

"Hey, it was consensual. Most of it…"

"Oh my god, Nemuri– do you listen to yourself?!"

Feeling tired, Kayama ran a hand through her hair, looking at the ceiling and huffing. She should know this situation would come sooner or later. Tatsuma wasn't someone to simply ignore when something is wrong, even if it causes a major inconvenience. She sat on her bed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I know it, Ryuko, I really know. Sometimes… I do look at myself in the mirror and feel like a freak for feeling the way I feel for him. Izuku, he's… even after all that happened between us, he's still like a ray of sunshine, and he's one of my students, for crying out loud. But…" She raised her head and looked Tatsuma right in the eye. "... I cannot possibly live lying to myself about how I feel, this is not something as simple as me being horny. He's different, he means the world to me."

The dragon lady felt the weight of her friend's words. She really meant every single one of them, and it shook her until now unwavering resolve.

"I will ask you again to keep it a secret, Ryuko. Because I don't have many options, to begin with. And if you could keep an eye on Rumi for me, it would be really nice of you. And I get that you want to protect him, I want it too! But… Please, don't tell me to leave him. When… when you find someone like him in your life, then… maybe you'll see what I'm getting at here, so… please. I'm asking you as a friend."

Tatsuma came here with a plan in mind: tell Kamaya to break up with Midoriya, and then put that white-haired tanned rabbit in her place, away from the emerald teen. The first part has just failed, as she did not have the heart to keep pressing Kayama. At least with her, the dragon lady could feel somewhat at ease, knowing he was with someone responsible. Not to devalue Usagiyama, but she was way too reckless about a lot of things in her life, and even though she had more drinks than usual, Tatsuma remembered well how Rumi was ready to jump his bones that night. Damn, she had been watching the bunny girl flaunting her body in front of him for a while now, so intervention was much needed.

"~sigh~ Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut… You're crazy, do you know that?"

"Yeah, I think I'm a little crazy, alright." She answered with a sincere smile. It wasn't that often that Kayama showed her true emotions. Not that she lied to others, but she always had that confident, seductive vibe to her.

"Crazy and horny."

"Hey, I bet you would be the same if you were in my place." Kayama joked.

"D-don't even think about it! I could never see myself… doing that with him."

"How would you know? You never tried before~"

"Haha, very funny, queen of BDSM… What are you going to do about Rumi, anyway?"

"Right now? Nothing. But if she lays a hand on him with perverted intent, I'm going to yank her fluffy tail off and shove it down her throat…"

Just to be safe, Tatsuma took a step back. It could be her Quirk activating, or Kayama was releasing a powerful aura of anger and possessive jealousy.

---

"So we're going on a joint mission, Ryukyu-san?" Midoriya asked the Dragon Hero as they drove to the port district.

"Yes. It was a request from the network, so the details will be given to us on the spot." The blondie calmly explained, turning her head as she heard her rabbit teammate let out a long, annoyed groan.

"Uuuugh, why do we have to side with extras again?" Said Miruko, uncrossing and crossing her legs for the thirtieth time in five minutes. The foot resting on the car's floor tapped rapidly.

"She talks like Kacchan..."

"Because, " Ryukyu began, rolling her eyes as she had to repeat herself. Again. "The hero assistance network makes requests based on the most suitable heroes for the job."

"Couldn't you skip and get something that we could do by ourselves?"

"You can always hop off and go out and do your thing, you know..."

"Nope, I would die of boredom. Where are all those idiots who were stealing and breaking stuff lately?"

"In prison, where they should be. Are you really asking for criminals to do crimes?"

"Yeah, how am I supposed to kick their asses in jail if they don't show up? Bunch of cowards..."

"Well, considering how a lot of bad guys got arrested these weeks, I guess they would feel scared of misbehaving. As expected from Miruko, you scared them away~" Hado commented, giving the dark-skinned woman a thumbs up.

"Umu, senpai does have a point. I'm not a specialist in this but I guess you can inhibit criminal activity that way too. Like… setting up an example…?" Midoriya said, taking care not to enter another mumbling train.

"You're not wrong. It means we the heroes are doing our job right and- ah, we're here."

The black vehicle pulled and out came the hero team. They were quickly greeted by a young lady in a white and blue sailor uniform, complete with a hat. Big fins came from the sides of her head, finishing the sea theme with light blue hair.

"Thank you for coming so fast, Ryukyu-san. We're sort of in a hurry." Said Sirius, as she looked at the current team the Dragon Hero had with her: Nejire-chan, the U.A student that has been under her wings for a good while now; Miruko, a mostly unexpected partnership; and another U.A student, a freshman at it.

"Don't mention it, we're here to help. So, what is the situation?"

"Let's get aboard the Mariner, I'll explain on the way."

As they walked through the docks and into the ship named Oki Mariner, the crew of tall men quickly saluted them, and among them, Midoriya spotted a familiar figure, a fellow green-haired person.

"Tsu-chan!" He let his excitement overflow a bit, which caught the attention of the two pros next to him and Nejire's too.

"Midoriya-chan!" The frog girl looked even more excited by seeing the emerald child. "I didn't expect to see you here, ribbit~" She said as they practically ran to each other. Tsuyu had to hold back the need to hug him on the spot.

"I could say the same. I thought the school had denied your request to do your Work Study here."

"Well, yes, but Sirius-senpai made a very specific request to Principal Nezu for this mission, and in the end he allowed me to come, ribbit, ribbit~" Tsuyu lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I see you two are well acquainted already. That's good." Sirius said, breaking the two teens from their "merry reunion". It's not like they didn't see each other every day at some point, but between the Work Studies and the ban on nightly fun time, the girls had spent less time with Midoriya than they deemed necessary. Studying together was nice, but it wasn't nearly as intimate.

"Yes, we're in the same class, ribbit~"

"Cool, I can't wait to work with Tsu-chan!~" Hado butted in between the two green heads, wrapping her arms around their shoulders and pulling both into a group hug.

"Looks like the trip will get more energetic for a while." A voice came from the upper deck. "Yo, thanks for coming, Ryukyu. Come, I'll pass on the details. Men! Prepare for immediate departure!" Selkie gave the command, motioning for the heroes to follow him.

As the crew shouted in agreement and got busy with the matters of the ship, the heroes followed Selkie inside the bridge.

"I'll make it brief. We received some info about a ship transporting Quirk Enhancing Drugs. We discovered the roaming area and the route, but we found problems dealing with them the last time. Someone in the crew has a Quirk capable of generating a smokescreen that they use to evade conflict. Judging by the side of it, they must be using enhancers too. This, and the destruction of a factory recently, led me to believe their shipment is a dangerous quantity of Trigger, a drug popular for the extreme peaks of power. I believe your group has dealt with something similar, right, Ryukyu?"

"Hmm," She nodded with a serious look on her face. "Deku and I faced a villain by the name of Napalm. His usage of the drug enhancer was borderline suicidal, not to mention extremely dangerous to everyone around him," she said the last part directing a concerned gaze to the emerald teen next to her.

"Then you know what to expect. We traced the stateless ship to the Verize Islands, which is a problem on its own. Searches in that region are complicated without air support, and a bunch of smugglers with access to lots of Trigger only increases the danger. I received a notice from Fatgum, advising for extra caution because you can never know how much a Quirk can be boosted. Needless to say, stopping this cargo from leaving is the priority. We already have enough problems to deal with power-crazed gangs running around."

Everyone on the bridge nodded in agreement. The objective was set and they were on their way to deal with these smugglers. there was this minor feeling of tension in the air, mostly around the young heroes in training. It certainly wasn't the first time Midoriya and Tsuyu made something like this. In fact, they went through way more than any student should, but still, the feeling of anticipation remained. Especially for someone like Midoriya, who tended to carry the world on his shoulders.

But then he felt a real weight rest on his shoulder. Looking at it, he found a hand, following it up to meet Ryukyu's understanding and comforting smile.

"Don't worry too much, Deku. Feeling tense before the mission starts will do you no good." She said softly.

"She's right. It's normal to feel anxious about a storm, but it is better to wait until you can see it. Try relaxing with your friends at the deck, we have some time before reaching Verize." Selkie complemented Ryukyu's advice.

"I guess you are right..." Midoriya said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down and leaving the bridge. Once outside, he quickly was joined by Tsuyu, and then by Hado.

The blue-haired girl took over most of the conversation, describing with a lot of excitement how she and Deku were basically partners now in fighting crime. She also told the frog girl about her time with Ryukyu and how she would love to have Tsu-chan in the team too. For once Tsuyu felt a little overwhelmed by the information dump, and she couldn't help but glance at Midoriya on the other side of the bubbly girl. He offered a sympathetic smile. Hopefully, Tsuyu didn't let it show but the frog girl wasn't thrilled to know her man was that close with their senpai. Call it intuition, backed up by a quite long track record.

Regardless, before the end of the afternoon, they arrived at the islands. They were divided into three teams: Ryukyu and Nejire-chan would cover the area through the air, Selkie and Froppy would board the ship, Deku and Miruko would guard the ship along with Sirius and the crew. Not the best setup for the inpatient rabbit, but it would have to do.

As they expected, the enemy ship came out of hiding at the end of the afternoon, trying to go unnoticed during the night. A large smokescreen covered the area, but the same trick wouldn't work twice on the Sea Rescue Hero. Using his sonar, Selkie reported the situation to Sirius.

"Two… three… four suspects on the ship. They'll board the ship right now. Did you copy it?"

"Understood, " answered the blondie, currently in her dragon form, watching from above. "I have zero visibility at the moment."

"That won't be an issue. Captain can take care of this too." She affirmed.

Back at the water, Selkie emerged like a torpedo from the sea, landing on the deck. Froppy latched on the side of the hull and climbed her way up. The smokescreen was so dense he couldn't see a meter ahead of him, but his sonar was perfect for this type of situation. After all, if he couldn't see, chances are the enemy couldn't either.

"Oi, I think they are on the ship!"

"Where?!"

"How will I know?! I can't see shit with your smoke!"

They were clearly nervous, which wasn't a good thing. Having possession of drugs like Trigger, these criminals were much more prone to do something reckless and stupid.

"Come on, heroes! We're going to beat the shit out of you!"

"You better have the strength to back up that claim, lass." Selkie taunted him. With all that noise, those thugs were making it far too easy for his echolocation.

"You all are nothing! Not when we have a fuckton of– oof!" His words died as the air left his lungs, courtesy of a strong punch to his guts.

"You were saying?" Said the seal man, tossing him across the deck and close to Froppy.

"This is the smokescreen one. Take care of him, Froppy!"

"Aye!" Froppy swiftly landed and finished the dude by jumping and hitting him with a double kick. A lot of smoke came out, like a squid fleeing the scene with ink. The frog girl then quickly put handcuffs on the unconscious criminal.

Meanwhile, Selkie headed to the bridge, where he detected another one of the smugglers. He barged in through the steel door, shouting to the thug at the rem to give up peacefully, as per the standard procedure.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, lass."

"Hah! How about we do this my way?!" Shouted the criminal as he pulled a syringe full of a green liquid, Trigger.

Selkie reacted quicker, springing forward with a leap and hitting the smuggler with his Super Move: "Selkie Punch!", which sent the dude flying through the window and across the deck, landing with a thud. unconscious.

Meanwhile, Froppy scouted the rest of the ship, looking for the smuggled drugs, but they were nowhere to be found. She thought of looking at the internal compartments of the ship, but before she could find a hatch or a door, a sound of buzzing caught her attention. Well, it sounded like buzzing, but it also sounded like laughter and a snarl. She wasn't alone in here. Selkie did mention there were at least two more smugglers in the ship, so she braced herself for combat. Unfortunately, the smokescreen was still pretty thick and she didn't have an echolocation ability at her disposal.

BZZZZZ!

Froppy reacted on instinct, leaping over the side rail as she overshot her jump while evading the oncoming attack. Looking up at the deck, she failed to see her assailant. The buzzing mixed with snickering came again, this time clearer to the frog girl. Hopping back on the deck, she looked around carefully, trying to locate the criminal in the mist. Then, a harsh and high-pitched voice sounded in the eerie ambient.

"Sch Sch Sch Sch, look at what we have here. A little froggy trying to play the hero." The low buzzing seemed to come from multiple places, as well as the quite irritating voice.

"Great, this B-tier horror movie setup is everything I needed, ribbit." Not that she was one to fool around in service, but she couldn't help but deadpan at the typical situation she was currently in.

"Froppy, do you need backup?" Sirius asked through her commlink.

"No, not yet. I have a good feeling about this." It wasn't cockiness or overconfidence. Tsuyu had been training a lot since the last time she worked with the Oki Marine Crew. Not only that, everyone was giving their best to improve, and she couldn't let herself fall behind.

"Oh? Is this little froggy that brave? Let's see how it serves you, hero wannabe!"

And, as predictable as she suspected, the mysterious enemy attacked again. She didn't see where it came from, so she resorted to jumping up high. The attacks kept coming for a while, but it wasn't that hard to evade, since there was always a low humming before it came. Plus, whoever it was refused to shut up, which was getting on her nerves. That voice was so annoying, like a mosquito you can't swat away and keeps flying around your head.

"The smoke is too thick and I don't have sonar like Selkie. And this idiot knows where I'm, so..." She formed a plan in her head.

"Sch Sch Sch Sch! Prepare, froggy, I'm going to drain you like a Capri Sun–! Wait, where is she?" The criminal landed on the deck, but Froppy was nowhere to be found. "Did she escape? But how?"

"Thank you for being so annoyingly noisy," A voice came from behind, and before he knew it, he got a foot to the face, knocking him off the floor. "It makes it easier to find you, ribbit."

The smokescreen on the deck was finally dispersing, allowing her to see exactly who this smuggler was. Froppy couldn't help but cringe at the sight.

"Eww."

The criminal slowly sat up, rubbing his sore, long and pointy nose. His skin was of a dirty and opaque dark grey, and he had thin hairs unevenly distributed around his body. There was a second pair of limbs below his arms, thin, insectoid arms that didn't look strong at all. But the ugliest part was the head. Compound eyes instead of human ones, the aforementioned pointy nose, akin to a nail, and serrated teeth, more irregular than Kirishima's, and nowhere close in terms of hygiene. It probably wasn't the most professional thing to do, but Froppy cringed again.

"Eww, ribbit. Looks like someone took a major beating from the Ugly Stick." She said, pulling a second pair of handcuffs. Should she bring in the third, though?

However, the insectoid criminal snarled again, glaring at her as he made a buzzing sound. Short and distorted wings flapped quickly and he leaped back at a surprisingly high speed, landing on his feet.

"Grrrr, damn heroes..." He appeared to be shaking in anger. Froppy got into a fighting stance. "Damn you heroes… and… YOUR ANNOYING CUTE MUTATION QUIRKS!"

"Ribbit?!"

The unusual shout caught her off guard, but it wasn't that hard to evade the incoming attack with a simple roll to the side. The angered human-sized insect kept lunging at Froppy, quite literally foaming from the mouth.

"FUCK YOU HEROES! WITH YOUR PRECIOUS MUTANT QUIRKS! AND YOUR PRETTY CLOTHES! AND CUTE ANIMALS! TO HELL WITH YOU!"

"Ribbit! Don't be mad at me for ending on the wrong side of the gene pool!" Froppy really wanted to take this seriously, but this dude was too much of a joke. Come to think of it, everything he did up to now was to lunge at her in a straight line, only to do the same from another angle.

Plus, this level of ugliness was kinda distracting, so she had to make an effort to not gag or something. She was partially frog, yes, and at times she felt an inner impulse from deep within, telling her to aim at that fly perusing the kitchen at her home, but there was no way she would touch this dude with her tongue. Who knew what kind of pile he had landed on?

"Stay put, you stupid toad! I'm going to get you full of holes!"

"No, thank you, ribbit!" She said, jumping high and using her tongue to hold on to the wall of the bridge and reel in, sticking to it.

"Hey! Get back down here, you brat!"

"Why don't you get up here with those wings? Or are they just for show? Actually, even if that was the case, they look really ugly, ribbit."

The mosquito man was visibly shaking with anger, snarling and buzzing.

"THAT'S IT! I'M GONNA DRAIN YOU!" And with that, he crouched, taking aim and flapping those frail-looking wings incredibly fast. He jumped at Froppy like a dart. In fact, he had all four arms stretched behind him, so it was pretty much a human dart, even more with that pointy nose. She was quite surprised, to be honest.

"Huh, I didn't think it would really work."

At the last second, Froppy dropped from the wall, giving the mosquito man the displeasure of hitting it full speed, and as a result, his nose got stuck, while his entire face felt sore from the impact.

"Well, that was surprisingly easy. You're not good at this, are you? Ribbit." Her answer was a low buzzing as the mosquito man tried to break free. "Let's get this over with." She said, jumping up and holding him by his ankles, noticing the feet were equally ugly as the rest of this excuse of a smuggler.

With a strong pull, Froppy yanked him from the wall, spinning in the air and slamming him on a pile of wooden crates.

"Froppy, is everything alright?" Selkie shouted from the bridge.

"Hai! I just got the third smuggler, ribbit."

"Good job. I secured the bridge, these smugglers are not going anywhere with these drugs now-"

CLANK!

That was the sound of something mechanical moving. Selkie noticed a flashing light on the ship's control panel.

"Could it be-!" He looked ahead, trying to make things out through the dissipating smoke, and much to his anger, he saw a small hydroplane coming out of the hull of the ship. "Problems, they have a hydroplane! Sirius!"

"Sorry, Captain, we're too far blocking the ship!"

"I can't see them!" Ryukyu responded, looking at the situation from above. Unfortunately, she couldn't see much into the area yet.

"It is coming from the prow. Quick, Ryukyu!"

"I'm on it, but they're going to take off. I'm going to dive, hang in there, Nejire-chan!"

Ryukyu alerted the blunette before folding her wings and diving like a meteor. She was aiming at the general direction of the ship, slightly forward, but the smoke made it too hard to predict where the plane was. Plus, she couldn't simply crash land into it. Imagine the damages that it would cause to the environment.

As she entered the smoke cloud, Ryukyu opened her wing, flapping to reduce her speed and creating a strong gust of wind that dispersed the remaining smoke. However, she missed the plane's position by two or three hundred meters, and what was worse, it was gaining speed.

"Damn it!" She went as fast as she could, but being that large, Ryukyu couldn't accelerate that fast. "It is faster than me, I won't catch up!"

Froppy ran to the side of the ship, leaning over the rail, only to see the plane leaving the hidden dock and speeding up as the smoke got thinner.

"Ribbit! If I had checked the inside of the ship first!"

"Don't give up yet, Froppy!" A very familiar voice told her. "We won't let them escape. Right, Sirius-san?"

Back at the Oki Mariner, Sirius positioned the harpoon turret, predicting the trajectory of the plane.

"You can count on that. Now, Deku!"

On top of the harpoon, Deku held tight. "Froppy, I'm giving you a little ride."

The frog girl quickly jumped to the highest point in the ship, waiting for the signal. Sirius watched attentively as the plane had to make a U-turn if they wanted to go anywhere with the land. And then she fired.

Deku felt himself accelerate a lot in a very short time. If it wasn't for his Full Cowl, he would have let go of the harpoon. As he soared through the air, he gave the signal, releasing a black tendril from his hand. "Now!"

Froppy jumped and the tendril wrapped around her wrist, pulling her together with Deku into the air. They only had one chance to make it work, but she wasn't worried. She trusted Deku with her life, and not only because he was her boyfriend. Channeling more power to his right arm, Deku swung Froppy in a slingshot, focusing all his might into controlling the output and stretching the Black Whip as far as he could. The result: a success. The Rainy Season Hero landed on the hydroplane before it could get to full speed in the air.

The wind fought against her, but she managed to get inside, surprising the pilot that looked like a sea urchin.

"What the- How the fuck did you get here?!"

The smuggler pulled out an injection of Trigger, but Froppy reacted by shooting her tongue to yank it from his hand, but he managed to pull back, making her trip. With that opening, he injected the green liquid from the vial. It had a quick effect, as the tiny needles around his body grew more. He turned around with a menacing grin, but it suddenly turned into a pained expression. Gripping his sides, the urchin smuggler howled in pain, and as he did so, the needles shot from his body like bullets.

"That's bad!" Froppy barely dodged, ducking behind the crates of the drug on the back of the plane. Peeking from behind her cover, she realized two things. One, this thug was on the floor, passed out. Two, the plane was starting to nose dive. Running to the controls, she realized a third thing: the controls were busted, full of sharp needles. "That's really bad, ribbit!"

"Froppy, report the situation. Are you hurt?" Came Sirius from the commlink.

"I'm fine. The last smuggler passed out after injecting the drug on himself. The real problem is that the controls are kinda busted, and the plane is diving."

"Froppy, if you jump now, I can catch you." That was Ryukyu.

"But..." She looked behind her. "If all those chemicals land in the water… No, I'll try to land this thing, ribbit."

Gathering her resolve, Froppy avoided some of the needles on the floor, held the flight lever, and pulled with all her strength. She had no idea if this thing was fully dependent on hydraulics or electric systems, but she had to try. She pulled with all her strength, and the bar made a creaking noise, which she wasn't sure was a good sign. However, the plane's nose going slightly up certainly was. So she pulled even more.

"Froppy-chan, turn off the motors, we're going to catch up to you. Ryukyu said there must be some kind of lever." That was her senpai, Nejire-chan. The moment she saw Deku and Froppy flying through the air, Ryukyu resumed her chase, flapping her wings as strong and fast as she could.

"Got it!"

Glancing at the panel, she used her tongue to pull the speed lever, making the motor slow down.

"Come on, come on, come on! Slow down, you piece of junk…! Ribbit!"

The plane was pulling up, but nearly as fast enough. It was approaching the sea fast, so Froppy braced for the impact, only to feel the whole thing shake. Looking to the side, she saw a large claw sunk into the hull and huge wings wide open. Ryukyu made it in time.

"Nejire-chan!"

"On it!"

Nejire-chan jumped forward without thinking twice, floating below the hydroplane, and when they were close enough to the water she used her waves to cushion the fall and pull the nose up, along with the Dragon Hero using her mighty wings. The plane landed safely on the sea, prompting cheers in the radio channels. Inside the plane, Froppy kneeled at the door to help her senpai get up.

"Whew, that way was more intense than I expected, don't you think so, Froppy-chan?" Despite her words, Nejire seemed pretty upbeat about the whole thing.

"I have to admit I wasn't very thrilled about being flung around like a yo-yo and… Midoriya-chan!"

"It's okay, Deku is back at the Oki Mariner."

"Ah… thanks, Sirius-senpai."

"That was amazing, Tsu-chan– I mean, Froppy. Good job up in there."

"Thanks, Deku, but uh… next time I'll leave the flying around to you. I'm an amphibian, not a bird."

"Haha, yeah, next time…" Deku said, feeling relieved that Tsuyu was safe and sound after that stunt. Sure, he would never do something to endanger her, and he was aware of her strength as a hero, but Midoriya couldn't help but worry about his girlfriend. He reacted pretty well to the situation, thanks to Sirius' quick thinking, and he knew he could count on Froppy to follow this crazy plan, but there wasn't such a thing as worrying too much when it came to his loved ones.

"... Wow. I think… I just thought like Mom."

"You sure did, Izuku dear. That's so sweet of you~ ah, and your mother is equally as lovable." Sounded the voice inside his head. There was no teasing tone in her compliment. This time.

"The mission is not over yet! We still have to secure the drugs and capture the smugglers. Men, to your positions!" Sirius gave the command voice. When Selkie wasn't on the ship, she took the role of captain.

Midoriya playfully saluted from where he was standing, but he was looking forward to changing his costume or at least making them less soaked. He shook his green locks, pretty much like a cat after getting caught in the rain, and then he noticed the rabbit hero standing still on the deck, tapping her foot and scratching the back of her head.

"Umm, Miruko-san, is something wrong?" She didn't respond. "Miruko-san? Miruko-san...? Miru–"

"... Aaaaah! I can't believe this!" The boy recoiled a little at the sudden burst.

"Is… something wrong…?"

"Of course it is! Can't you see?!" The pair of shiny emerald pools told her the answer was No. "Ugh, I came all the way here and I didn't do a single thing! Not a single butt kicked!"

"Well, if you think about it, it means things went well and you didn't have to, umm, kick anyone's butt."

"I know, right?! I could have stayed on land! Kicking butts!"

"You seem… very emphatic about kicking butts, Miruko-san…"

"Well yeah, that's what I do. Butt kicking villains straight to prison, where they belong. Every minute I spend here is a minute I could be spending elsewhere. Kicking butts."

"Can we stop mentioning butts all the time?"

"Why? You don't like it?"

"I don't know if that's the professional way to address– say what?"

Did he mishear what she just said? Judging by the way she walked around him, one hand under her chin, the other on her hip, and her eyes fixed on his nether regions, he assumed that wasn't the case.

"I have to say, you do have a nice butt, Midoriya."

"I-I-I have?!" He instinctively covered his behind, feeling a faint heat come to his cheeks as the bunny girl looked at him with a curious face.

"Yeah, I can tell. You have been training your legs more as I told you, haven't you?"

"I, uh… yes. You could tell by that?"

"Yup. Training your legs the right way is very important. They're one of your strongest limbs and you have to focus on each one of the muscular groups to get the maximum potential from them. That involves the gluteus, surprisingly."

Midoriya seemed to ponder over her advice for a short while, entering into Mumbling Mode.

"... it seems to be true. I have been using my legs after all, more like an alternative to my arms, but I can probably get more from them with a focused training–"

"Damn right you can, boy! I know it's cool to give one-punch finishers like ol' All Might and Endeavor, but you can do the same with kicks! Hahahahah!" Said the loud dark-skinned lady, grabbing Midoriya by his shoulder and pulling him closer. "Besides,"

She then turned around, pushing Midoriya's head slightly down and over her shoulder so was directly looking at her behind.

"There's always the aesthetic benefits, don't you think?~"

Midoriya was speechless for a few seconds. He had to admit Miruko looked "amazing" from that angle, but he whacked his brain to banish those impure thoughts. That part of him was only to be directed at the girls he loved, and only when prompted. Aside from that, Midoriya carried on the lessons of his Mother about how to be respectful toward women. However, the strong blush in his face was par for the course, even more considering the ongoing teasing inside his head.

"See? I told you, Sexy Battle Bunny~"

"N-not now, Nana-san!"

The last days had been quite good, despite the house arrest. Since their secret was out, he got to openly spend more time with the girls, doing normal stuff, but mostly studying since they would need to make a major catch up in subjects from school. However, to be honest, he was starting to miss the "intimacy" with his ladies. It wasn't an uncontrollable urge, but let's say he got used to a certain pace, and now he was kind of missing it. Sure, the lack of sex until exhaustion was good on its own, but the lack of sex altogether was starting to get to him. Again, not enough to make him uncomfortable, but enough to make him consider Miruko's, ahem, assets.

Anyway, he broke from his inner world at the sound of loud laughter. Miruko was at it again, slapping his back with a little more strength than he judged necessary. Of course, she was teasing him.

"Hahahaha! That was a good one, you should have seen your face! But anyway," Miruko continued in a more serious tone. "You gotta use every weapon you have at your disposal. Don't forget it, Deku."

And with that last piece of advice, she left for the bridge, leaving Midoriya alone and completely oblivious to her true intentions.

"Ooh, I can't wait to have this bean sprout alone in a room with me. Then, I'll show him what else I can do with my legs~"

As the Oki Marine Crew recovered the drugs from the plane, Tatsuma, Tsuyu, and Hado came back to the ship. The Dragon hero was a little tired from all that heavy lifting and Hado spent a few of her reserves, so she was less than optimal but still very bubbly. Tsuyu was just letting the adrenaline filter out of her system. The crew captured the three smugglers and put them tied to a barrel, temporarily, but something else concerned Selkie. He looked at the pile of crates crashed to wood chips, more specifically the weird-looking shell that laid there.

"Is something wrong, captain?" Sirius asked him, and he took a while to answer.

"It was… a crew of 4 smugglers. Where's the fourth one?" As he said that, Tsuyu got up from her seat, walking next to the pro hero.

"Selkie-san, I fought the fourth one. It was a dude with some kind of mutation quirk, a mosquito, I think, ribbit. But… he couldn't have just fled the ship, his wings were not that functional."

"I can imagine, considering this." As he said that, Selkie tossed the weird gray shell on the floor, so everyone could have a good look. Most of them cringed, Tsuyu gagged, and Hado looked mixed between disgusted and curious. imagine a mosquito the size of a 16-year-old, but empty and proportionally disturbing.

"I think that person has fled the scene when we were focused on the ship. It's my fault, I got distracted for a few moments, following your situation. I saw a blur from the corner of my eye. I should have paid more attention…"

"No no, Selkie-san. I saw that guy in person and trust me, he was not capable of sustaining flight, and way uglier than this makes you think, ribbit."

"Perhaps, but maybe he supplanted that weakness with this." Selkie showed a broken injection with faint traces of the drug still on it.

"Trigger." The others said in unison.

"They were all using the enhancing drugs. These smugglers are not only transporting and selling, they're using them to weaponize themselves. At this rate, there will be an open war in the underworld, and people will get hurt. According to the navigation computer, this ship was going to another country, so we just prevented a lot of international problems."

The air felt tense. Despite the clear skies and tranquil waters, everyone felt like a storm was approaching, especially the inheritor of One for All.

. . .

. . .

Somewhere else in the city, the Hardcore Bros, as they decided to call themselves, followed their socially inept senpai and the pro hero, Fatgum, on a typical patrol, except for the late hours. He was waiting for a call to confirm something, and if that was proven to be true, he and the boys would have some heavy work to do tonight.

"So, Kirishima, I heard from Fukidashi that there will be an old school heroes event somewhere in that anime district. Don't you want to check if they got a figure of Crimson Riot or something?" Tetsutetsu told his red-haired friend with enthusiasm.

"Umm, I think I'll pass. I'm not a figure collector anyway, and I already have a poster of him, so I'm happy with that." Kirishima replied, then stuffed his chest and hit it with a fist. "I don't like to brag but it was signed personally by Crimson Riot."

"Wow, cool! Lemme see it one of those days!"

"Sure!"

"You two, I know I said to not worry too much tonight, but we're technically on patrol duty." Said the round man. He wasn't angry or anything, but these small details were part of what separated the good heroes from the great ones. Focus on the mission.

"H-hai!" Both teens answered in unison, instinctively stiffening up. Perhaps it was a lasting impression from their internship with Fourth Kind.

"~sigh~ At that hour, Nejire-chan must be coming back from her joint mission. Working with an entire crew, just thinking about it gets my stomach in knots..." Amakiji shuddered lightly. Despite his best efforts and the help from his loyal friends, it was still a struggle for him to socialize and interact with people.

"By the way, did you boys eat something before coming? I can treat you to some takoyaki. How's that?" Fatgum proposed with a wide smile, which was reciprocated by a pair of sharp tooth grins, but that would have to wait. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was the call he was expecting.

"Fat here… hmm… I see, we'll get there in five. Thanks, Centipeder-san." He finished the call and held a serious, determined look on his face. "Yosh, let's go, boys. We got ourselves a mission." The young heroes nodded, with equally serious looks.

Not far from their location, was a closed-up warehouse. According to the info Fatgum received, a trade would happen tonight between gangs, possibly involving drugs. That was more than enough reason for the hero to act. Considering the groups involved, he would need some help, and thankfully he had some serious backup with the students from U.A. Amajiki, despite his appearance, was very reliable and a capable hero, Kirishima had already proved his resilience, and Tetsutetsu didn't seem to fall behind. Fatgum was glad to have the opportunity of tutoring these boys, and he looked forward to working with them in the close future.

The plan was simple, yet efficient. Sun Eater would get to the roof and strike from there when the opportunity appeared. Fatgum would take the back door while Red Riot and Real Steel would guard the front of the warehouse, to prevent anyone from escaping. Fat has dealt with gangs from the area, and they were usually easy to deal with, due to a lack of organization. It wasn't as if they were dealing with the Shie Hassaikai again, but some level of caution was always welcome. Better safe than sorry.

Everyone was in position. Sun Eater watched from a window above, and as expected, the two gangs were meeting. He couldn't hear the conversation, but judging by the shouting and general movements, they were doing the usual banter and menacing, what these criminals would call "negotiations". He gave the signal and Fatgum prepared to crash into the party, cracking knuckles and rolling shoulders.

Fatgum kicked the door down and barged in, rushing to knock anyone that was feeling bolder than usual. The two gangs turned around in surprise. They knew they were screwed up, but before anyone could think of drawing a gun or dare fight with the hero, the sidewall of the warehouse exploded, shocking everyone, including Fatgum. However, it wasn't caused by explosives, rather, someone came right through the rather thick layer of bricks.

"Hahaha! Hey, you bunch of losers, we're here to take your drugs AND your money!" A voice came from the dust cloud.

"Hah?! What do you mean I'm not supposed to tell them? … They're going to be dead anyway… We don't have time to kill them all? But what if one of them is strong?!"

It looked like the person was talking to someone. As the dust settled, Fatgum got ready to fight. He didn't know who it was but thankfully they stated what they wanted. It wasn't unheard of rival gangs trying to steal from each other. Similarly, the gang members pulled whatever guns they had and some activated their Quirks. Somehow, the audacity of that unknown person barging in like that was enough to push back the fear of being arrested by the hero right next to them.

"But, looking at it again..." The dust settled down to reveal a tall, dark-skinned woman with long, jet-black hair, spiky and looking like a messy lion's mane. She sported a tank top and gym shorts, and she had MMA boxing gloves, all black with red linings. Her purple eyes quickly scanned the room, zeroing on the BMI Hero, prompting a wide grin to appear on her face. "I guess there's only one dude here worthy of a fight."

"Oi, Fatty!" She said, licking her lips and pointing at him. "You and me. Let's fight. Now!"

"Oh no, she's one of those types..." He felt a little less motivated to fight, but it wasn't like he had an option.

Then, something caught his attention. Right next to the tall, amazonian woman, hiding behind her leg like a shy child, was another person. Actually, she might be a child, judging from her appearance, a 14-year-old at best. She was a stark contrast from the woman challenging him, short, with a frail-looking frame, pale skin, and a generalized tired look, complete with bags under her haze, gray eyes that matched her ash-colored short hair. She was wearing a very oversized black hoodie, and there were some strange ropes tied around her waist.

This little girl that looked more like a porcelain doll tapped the amazon's leg, getting her attention. The tall, muscular woman casually kneeled to listen, rolled her eyes in annoyance, and then grabbed the girl by the hoodie, tossing her over the shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Alright, fine, let's just do this boring task as they asked…" She turned to Fatgum again, pointing a finger at him. "Sorry Fatty, we'll have to leave the fight for later on. I have to take the money and the drugs from these losers."

"Don't feel sorry, no one here is going anywhere but the prison."

The little girl sort of crawled on the shoulders of the tall woman and held on to her backs, tying the ropes on to something. It was almost as if the girl was a backpack. Then, she slapped the woman's head and said something else, much to the woman's annoyance.

"Ah, right. I'm not supposed to tell him that. Then what am I supposed to do now?" The girl pointed ahead, where the criminals were. One of them held a large bag, probably full of money. The other, from the other gang, held a box, probably with the drugs inside. "Ah, got it."

The two of them swallowed dry. They didn't want to be at the aim of someone that came through that wall like a bulldozer.

"Like hell that we would just give them to you!" One of the criminals said, pointing a gun at the woman.

"Y-yeah! Fuck off!" The others from both gangs followed suit, albeit quite shaky.

"Don't bother, you all can't handle me." She said, casually walking over to them, but Fatgum quickly got in her way.

"Like I said, no one is going anywhere with these drugs. Now!"

From above, a figure fell between the criminals, and in an instant, they were all immobilized by huge squid tentacles. The money bag and the crate were secured.

"I think I don't have to say but… Mirio insisted I have to say good one-liners…" Sun Eater murmured to himself. "The menu for today is... seafood."

The tall woman looked at the teen behind Fatgum with an unamused look.

"Eh… you don't look so strong. For real now, I have to take these things, I don't have time to fight seriously with you, so just move. I promise I'll come back to fight."

"Very polite of you, but that's not happening. Sun Eater, take these guys out, the police will arrive soon."

"Wait, I have to take these-" She moved to stop the teen as he carried everyone out but the round man blocked her way again. She scratched her head in annoyance, eventually frantically using both hands. "Aaaaah…! I don't have time to fight you, Fatty!"

"Then you can surrender peacefully. You said something about fighting seriously before, but you won't get past me if you don't go serious. I might not look tough, but I don't go down that easily." He said with confidence.

"I know, I can tell. That's why..." Her expression turned more somber. The woman reached for the girl on her back, who produced some sort of straw or tube from her oversized sleeve, which the tall woman put in her mouth. A red liquid came from it and she drank. "I didn't want to cheese like that."

Outside the warehouse, the two first-year students were on guard, waiting for anyone to try and escape. They heard a loud noise coming from inside, but nothing happened yet. Even if something had happened, Fatgum was a pro hero, and Amakiji-senpai was one of the Big Three. If there was someone who could deal with these goons, it was these two. Kirishima knew his role, to be a shield for people, and Tetsutetsu thought the same, so they were playing an important part here, no need to rush into the battle yet.

"You think they ran into too much trouble, KiriBro?"

"I don't know. I guess they would have called us if that was the case- wait, more noise..."

Exchanging looks, they agreed to enter. The hardening duo approached the garage door, activating their quirks. Real Steel broke the lock open and Red Riot got ready to open it. 3… 2… 1…

CRASH!

Before they could make their move, the door was ripped open and tossed off, pushing back both teens. Out came a tall, muscular woman whom they had never seen before, and considering the situation, it had to be a villain, right? Fatgum explained how other gangs could try to hijack this deal.

"I guess the deal is busted then. But where are Fatgum and senpai?" Kirishima said out loud, hardening his arms, ready to fight.

"I don't know but I bet whatever is inside that crate is important." Tetsutetsu focused on the crate and bag the tall woman was carrying.

Speaking of which, she seemed to notice the hardening duo, who quickly separated to block her exit paths.

"~sigh~ I don't have time for this… Listen up, you brats! I'm in a hurry now, so don't even try to get in my way!"

"Sorry, that ain't happening." Red Riot was ready to fight her. She didn't seem as strong as Rappa, but he wasn't going to risk giving the enemy a chance. "She came bursting through that door, and I'm not seeing Fatgum or Amajiki-senpai. Did she really defeat them or is she trying to escape? Whatever the case may be, I have to stop her here. Wait for her move and counter with Red Gauntlet!"

"Tch… piss off, brat."

She made her move, but contrary to what he had anticipated, this woman was much, much faster. In a second she bridged the distance between them, and swung her arm equally as fast, backhanding Red Riot through a brick wall.

"Red Riot!" Real Steel shouted, shocked with the scene he had just seen. He immediately went after the criminal, who spun on her heels with a downward punch, which he was lucky to catch at the last second. The floor below his feet cracked under the pressure as he fought back.

"Are you serious?! How strong is that woman?! With just one hand?!"

"Red Gauntlet!" Back on his feet and straight to the action, Red Riot landed a powerful punch at the woman's face, knocking her off balance for a bit.

"Bro! Are you okay? That was a serious hit."

"More or less. I hardened before being hit, but even then, man, that hit too hard!" Said the redhead, feeling his jaw hurt.

"Not bad, you two…" They immediately returned to fighting stances. "Maybe you're not just some random brats. But… I still have something else to do." The woman didn't seem phased at all by Red Riot's punch. They knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"You'll have to get through both of us first!" Said the steel hero, punching fists together.

"Oh, I sure will!"

The woman charged at them like a bull, but then tentacles wrapped around her arms, torso, and neck.

"Sun Eater!" Both teens exclaimed, relieved to see their senpai well and in action.

"Red Riot, Real Steel, get the crate! I'll hold her back as much–"

"Not you again, Tako Boy!" Grabbing the tentacles, the tall woman pulled and spun Sun Eater around. He would crash into a wall if Fatgum didn't jump in the way, cushioning the impact. His mask was ripped and his clothes pretty battered. Did she really manage to get him into this state that quick?

"Gotcha!"

Fat and Sun Eater pulled her back, with the hero-in-training using more tentacles to anchor themselves as the criminal tried to break free, and she succeeded in doing so, ripping some of the tentacles constraining her.

"I hope you like sea urchin…" The tentacles wrapped tighter around her, suddenly growing urchin spines, making it much harder and painful for her to move, but the pain didn't seem to bother her that much. If nothing, it made her even more excited.

"So you're full of tricks, huh? Alright, let me show you one too. Health Pack!"

Due to the fight, they didn't realize the little girl jumped off the tall woman's back, but there she was, hiding behind her partner as if she was a wall. The girl climbed on top of the woman, without a single care about the dangerous spines in the way, and took that red straw thing from her large sleeves again.

"Again?! Sun Eater, push her away–"

It was a little late for that. The tall woman drank that red liquid again, and in a matter of seconds, tore apart the tendrils holding her, with spines and everything. Her body was full of deep cuts from the spines, and she licked her arm with a crazed looking in her eyes. It seemed she had all the intention of fighting them now, but the little girl pulled at her leg. To the heroes' shock, the tall woman grabbed the shortie by the head with a vice grip, raising her to eye level.

"What now?!"

The girl pointed hopelessly at the hardening duo, who just got hold of the crate. The woman snarled like a beast, jumping after them and still holding the girl like a sack of potatoes. She came crashing through like a bowling ball striking the pins, and Kirishima landed on his back, still holding the crate.

"Last time I ask, boy. Pass that crate and we can fight later."

"If you want it so bad..." He said, getting up. Red Riot placed the wooden crate behind him, firmed his foot, and opened his arms. "You'll have to get through me first."

"And through me too." Said Real Steel, taking his side. With their Quirks activated, they stood like a wall in front of the criminal.

"Alright. You better not let me down, you two!" Shouted the crazy woman as she licked her bleeding arms again. Her crazed look intensified and she charged forward like a bull.

And much to her surprise, her attack met a very solid defense, slowing down to a halt as the hardening duo skidded back, heels sinking on the asphalt. Then, Red Riot and Real Steel held her arms, each one of them. From this position, they couldn't punch her, but there was another option. A double headbutt hat knocked the woman back. A mostly unusual tactic, but it seemed effective.

"Hah! Kendo always says to use my head, but I can't believe it actually worked!"

"I don't think that's what she meant, bro..."

The hardening duo fist-bumped, however, they counted victory too soon.

The woman got back on her feet again, and dashed after them, even faster than before. They barely had time to get their defenses up before being tossed to the side by a wide swing of her arm. The tall woman was breathing heavily, veins popping and with bloodshot eyes. A wide, crazy grin crossed her mouth. She walked to the crate, picking it up and turning to the heroes who were still trying to compose themselves.

"You all are pretty strong, for a bunch of heroes. I'll come back later, and then we can fight for real… So don't even think of dying to Rust, Napalm, or that geezer- ah?!" The girl on her back whispered something to her. "I can't tell them our names?! That's stupid, we'll fight later!" The girl whispered something else. "Fine… But I'll tell mine anyway! So anyway, my name is Blood Frenzy. You better remember that, heroes! We have to fight for real another time!"

And with that, she left, taking the drugs and the money. As the two young heroes got up, pushing away the debris of the wall they just went through, Fatgum and Sun Eater came to check on them.

"Real Steel, Red Riot, are you okay?" Called the round man, helping his partner to stand.

"Sorry for not helping. I wasn't expecting her to rip all my tentacles. It takes some time to recover that amount of body mass."

"It's okay, senpai. We didn't do much better either..." Said the metal teen, rubbing his head. "Oi, Kiri Bro, are you alive?"

"Ouch… that's the second wall I got through today. I hope I don't have to pay this..."

"Well, your humor is intact, which is a good sign. That said, we might have a huge problem with this crazy woman getting away with the enhancing drugs..."

The hardening duo quickly got up and bowed.

"Sorry, Fatgum! We couldn't stop her!"

"Oi oi, slow down, we got taken by surprise. Besides, she is as strong as she is crazy. Even my shock absorption was enough to cushion all the impact." He said, patting his large belly. "It can be pretty annoying but she's the type that likes to exchange punches, so there's a great chance we'll see her again, and soon. For now, let's get these gang members jailed and think of the next step."

Both teens nodded and followed the pro hero and their senpai, as the police arrived to arrest the gang members present. Before Blood Frenzy came bursting through the garage door, Amajiki managed to take them down. However, as soon as the woman drank that red thing, she blitzed through Fatgum with a flurry of punches and would have done the same to Sun Eater if the hero didn't literally get in front of her. While trying to prevent anyone from escaping, Sun Eater ended up losing the money back and crate to the villain.

"Man, I can't believe we got steamrolled like that..." Tetsutetsu said, rolling a sore shoulder.

"Yeah, she was really strong, but we'll get her next time, Tetsu Bro."

"You can count on that, bro!"

---

The dark-skinned woman scratched her head, her foot tapped the floor in annoyance. They were making her sit still again.

"Aaaah… why do we have to have this meeting right after that trip?!"

"It was an emergency call from Centipeder. We asked him to look into that strange criminal activity, remember?" Tatsuma explained to the white-haired woman once again.

"Well, why do I have to go too?" Usagiyama said, making sure her annoyance was clear.

"You're free to go at any time. Just don't bother coming back later."

"Oh, come on! Like I would let you take the lead..."

"The lead? What are you- Oh, shut up! That has nothing to do with this." The blondie refuted. Good thing Midoriya and Hado seemed so engrossed in whatever they were talking, though it looked more like the bluenette was spamming questions at the emerald teen again. The last thing she needed was to explain innuendos. Speaking of which…

"Rumi… drop that idea already." She said in a lower tone, almost a whisper.

"Tch, so you can have the way paved and free? Hell no." The rabbit hero whispered back, her eyes gleaming with the flames of competition.

"Stop it, it's sick."

"Oh please, let's not pretend we don't know what Nemuri did to him behind four walls."

"And your excuse for making the same mistakes is…?"

"Tell me you are not curious about why Nemuri decided to settle down with a 16-year-old."

"Well, I'm not. In fact, I'll make sure this madness stops..."

"Prude."

"I'm not a prude, I have common sense and decency."

"Pruuuude~"

Tatsuma could feel the muscles in her face pulling as she felt an awful need to snarl and bare her fangs at the white-haired rabbit next to her, but she decided against it. Instead, she decided to focus on her two temporary sidekicks, which brought a sense of tranquility to her. She really loved kids. Once they arrived at Nighteye Agency, the group met with a couple of familiar faces, especially for the U.A students.

"Hello, Midoriya-san. Good to see you again." Bubble Girl greeted them.

"Ah, Bubble Girl– and Kirishima-kun, and Tetsutesu-kun?!"

"Yo, Midoriya, they called you too, bro?" Kirishima seemed equally surprised.

"Tamaki, what a surprise seeing you here!~" Said the bluenette as she immediately invaded Amajiki's personal space.

"You seem a little tired, Nejire-chan." He said in a low tone, as usual.

"You noticed?~ But you don't seem that well yourself either, Tamaki. Did you eat spoiled food again? Does your tummy hurt? Want some fruit salt–"

"I'm good, just a little exhausted. I suppose you're feeling the same."

"I know you guys want to chat a little, but we are kind of in a hurry, so please follow me." Bubble Girl said, leading the group of teens and pro heroes. They met with Centipeder, who was already accompanied by Fatgum, Gang Orca, and two more students from U.A, Jiro and Shoji.

"Midori? You too?" She said, surprised to see her boyfriend here of all places. Sure, she was surprised to see the others, but in her brain, Midoriya took priority.

"It seems everyone is present now. Well then, I'll try to make it as brief as possible." The focus was all on the man with the long neck now.

"Three weeks ago, Ryukyu informed us of some unusual activity. At first, it seemed to be simple low-level criminals, and I thought that was the case too until that happened." He showed an image taken from the fight between Deku and Ruykyu against Napalm.

"Hey, you fought that dude, didn't you, Midoriya?" Tetsutesu asked him, and Midoriya nodded.

"Ahem. It wasn't clear at first, but something that the villain said during the fight caught my attention. And then I went to confirm it in the other cases. All of them followed a similar pattern of speech, which could mean–"

"It could mean that these thugs are all part of a single gang! Centipeder and I went to investigate and–" Bubble Girl stopped once she felt the man's gaze upon her. "Sorry..."

"... As she was saying, our investigation uncovered a new cell in formation. They don't seem to have any connections in the underworld, so it is completely new."

"A new emerging group… Do we know what they're after? Groups like that usually have some kind of goal, right?" Ryukyu inquired, also turning to Fatgum for possible answers.

"We can only make suppositions for now, but it seems like they're planning something quite elaborate, given the three events of today."

"Three events?"

"Yes. The smugglers your team helped to apprehend is one. Fatgum attempted to intercept a deal between gangs tonight, and lastly, " He motioned to Gang Orca.

"Earphone Jack and Tentacole might have crossed paths with members of that gang." He said, pointing to the two, who took a step forward. Midoriya immediately tensed up, fearing that Kyoka could have possibly met Napalm.

"Well, we just crossed paths. Shoji-kun and I were just scanning the area when we picked up an alarm nearby. We went there to check and found two thieves stealing an electronic's shop. We tried to fight them but it didn't go very well, and they escaped." Jiro explained.

"Could you describe them, Jiro-chan?" Bubble Girl asked.

"Hmm. They didn't look much older than us. One of them had weird gothic lolita get up, with face paint and everything, so I can't really tell how she looks. The other girl had short purple hair and… how do I put it...? She looked like a punk."

"That… wasn't the kind of description I was hoping for," Centipeder admitted.

"Sorry about that, it was dark and we didn't have much of a chance to get anything from them. Plus, the fight was pretty intense."

"What do you mean, Jiro-san?" Ryukyu asked. If these two were from the same gang as Napalm, there was a good chance they could cause as much trouble, even more to heroes like Earphone Jack and Tentacole, who were not driven to combat for starters. This time, Shoji answered.

"It wasn't anything serious, but quite terrifying. When we arrived, the shop had a broken door. We came in fast and found the culprits, but they had a hostage. It was the owner, and they somehow were controlling him like a puppet." Explained the tall teen.

"Yeah, just remembering gives me a chill. The man was asking us to stop him..." Jiro had a slightly somber look in her eyes, but she pushed these feelings aside. Now wasn't the moment.

"How did they escape?" Centipeder asked them.

"By using the hostage against us. We couldn't attack without harming him." Shoji answered.

"And what did they steal?"

"Mainly cameras and cables."

Miruko clicked her tongue. All that talk and no action was starting to really get on her nerves. "Tch, what are they planning? A movie…?"

"There's something else," Jiro said, getting everyone's attention again. "Shoji-kun pinned the shop owner down and I tried to go after them, without much success, but I got to hear some of what they were saying before they got out of my range. Apparently, they're hiding somewhere around the industrial district. They mentioned a warehouse."

"Ne, it wouldn't be far from where that crazy woman appeared, right, Kiri Bro?" Tetsutetsu nudged his red-haired partner.

"Correct. I believe these events are all correlated, and my supposition is:" Centipeder placed a paper slip on the table. It had the drawing of a drop of blood, with a jagged pattern crossing it. "a new group has formed in the underworld, composed of those low-level criminals. Until then we counted on the fact that they can't do much all by themselves, but when in numbers, they can cause more problems. I think I don't have to explain how our forces are spread thin, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Miruko decided to speak her mind.

"So it's just a bunch of losers banding together. What are we waiting for, then? Let's kick some butt."

"Information." Bubble Girl stepped in. "They might be small fish to you, Miruko-san, but they just got access to drug enhancers, and by the fight against this Napalm guy, they also have support gear. Plus, we don't know how many there are, and there are some really dangerous ones."

"Punk Rock over there said they're in the industrial district, right? Let's go there and drag them out of their holes!"

"That won't work, Miruko-san. If we show up like that, they'll just hide even more." Fatgum explained. "What do we know about them now?"

"Not much, just that they recruit some "problematic individuals", probably promising power. They seem to have a supply of Trigger and equipment to arm the small fishes. As for the ones you guys encountered, we're assuming they're all high ranks in the group."

"Do they have a name or something?" Gang Orca questioned the blue girl.

"Yes. Apparently," she said, flipping over the paper slip. "They call themselves Hemorrhage."

The image on the back of the paper instilled a certain sense of dread in everyone present. It was just a silhouette, but it had a disturbing resemblance to someone who was currently imprisoned. The hero killer, Stain.

"This doesn't look good..." Kirishima thought out loud.

"No, it doesn't. The public opinion is not the best right now, and the last thing we need is some kind of cult of personality trying to follow the steps of an avenging lunatic." Centipeder concluded. "So, since you already have some level of involvement, I'm asking for your assistance in this conjoint operation. As soon as we have more info, we'll go after them. We must be proactive in this case."

Everyone agreed without thinking twice. For the time being, Jiro and Shoji would help to locate the hideout, while the other two pro heroes would lead their respective teams when the time arrived. Team Dragon, team Shield, and Centipeder contacted the Pussycats for support, in case things went south with the number of enemies. With this meeting finished, the pros escorted the students back to U.A, since it was pretty late already. In the way, the young heroes exchanged some info about what had happened to them so far. It was during the chat that Midoriya noticed a cut on Jiro's face.

"Jiro-chan? How did that happen?" He asked while gently holding her face, getting close to her by instinct. She had to nudge him to remind him that not everyone around was aware of their situation. If only she knew…

"O-oh, that? One of the villains tossed knives at us, the punk one. Shoji-kun protected me, this is just a scratch." She said, placing a finger on top of the thin red line. It was pretty shallow, but a little more to the side and she could have lost an eye.

"I see… Thanks, Shoji-kun."

"There's no need to apologize, Midoriya. It's what we do, right?"

He knew all too well that being a hero involved a lot of risks, and at no moment Midoriya doubted her capacity, but deep down he couldn't help but worry about her safety. Was this sensation what his Mom felt whenever he was out making dangerous stuff?

On the other side, Hado bombarded Amajiki, Kirishima, and Tetsutetsu with questions about how they worked together, along with some embarrassing facts about her raven-haired friend, all in good heart, of course. As Midoriya got distracted with them, Shoji got a little closer to Jiro, one of his arms manifested a mouth and whispered to her.

"Ptss! Shouldn't you tell everyone about that other thing? Or at least Midoriya?" he noticed Jiro tensing up. "It's okay if you don't wanna talk… I am just curious."

"... I don't want to worry him. Plus, we all appeared on TV at least once. They could have learned that from the Sports Festival or something..."

She replayed that sequence in her head. Under their control, the shop owner tried to attack them, which wasn't effective but prevented them from getting to the criminals. Jiro wanted to blast them with her sound waves, but the place was too narrow for that, and she might have hit her friend and the hostage. This, of course, didn't stop the villains from attacking.

"Hey, aren't they from that school? The same school with that green-haired boy?" The gothic one said out loud. Upon hearing that, Jiro sort of froze in place for a second.

"It doesn't matter if they are or not, let's just get out, now!" Said the punk one, tossing knives at them, and they would have hit Jiro if Shoji didn't pull her back right on time.

The tall teen covered her with a couple of his arms and pinned down the hostage. Jiro noticed the cut on her cheek, realizing that minor slip could have been fatal. But, a green-haired boy… it couldn't be Izuku, right? There must be other green-haired boys in other schools. That was what she thought until she heard the punk girl say something before they escaped through the backdoor.

"So his name is Izuku, huh..."

She immediately got up and ran after them, but the hostage trashed around and held her by the ankle. It took a few seconds for her to get free, but it was all the thieves needed. Once outside, Jiro tried to locate them by listening to the vibrations of their steps through the floor, but all she could get was a general direction and the end of their talk.

It could be a coincidence. She hoped it was a coincidence, but given the situation, she thought now was not the time to worry about it, even if her heart had other plans.

---

The next few days were filled with expectations from the young heroes, in part due to this operation, but also because the house arrest was coming to an end soon, which meant a lot of catching up to. Hopefully, their independent studies would help even things out, but one could never be too sure with what Aizawa-sensei would ask from his students. Let there be known that other more, uh, harsh methods could be used, at least in his opinion.

Today wasn't one of his workdays at Ryukyu's agency, so Midoriya found himself in the common room, unusually empty and quiet for an afternoon, taking care of Eri. She was watching some children's TV show and his job was basically to explain the things that she didn't understand, which was a lot, to be honest. Nevertheless, Midoriya felt happy, for she was smiling a lot more and she looked so enthusiastic about learning new things and exploring a world that had been denied to her before. He felt grateful, and a little proud for being part of this change in her life.

Then, the door opened, and inside came the former Number One Hero.

"Ah, All Might," Midoriya said. No matter how much time has passed or the current circumstances, he was still a huge fan of the retired hero.

"Hello, Young Midoriya, and hello to you too, Little Eri." The skeletal man greeted them, and Eri responded with a bright smile and a wave, quickly focusing on her cartoons again.

Guessing it had something to do with him, Midoriya gently took Eri out of his lap and let her sit on the couch to go talk outside with All Might.

"So, how have you been doing, young man?"

"Fine, I guess. A little anxious about that situation with this new group we discovered, but generally fine."

"I heard something about that. They have assembled a good team, don't worry more than necessary." The blond man assured him, and Midoriya nodded in agreement.

"I think you came for something other than just checking on me, though."

"You would be correct." Toshinori then pulled a notebook, not too different from the many the emerald child had filled with annotations of heroes during his life. "I'm still working on it, but I found info on some of the previous inheritors of One for All." He said, handing the now surprised teen the book.

"The previous inheritors…" Midoriya repeated as he skimmed the pages.

"It's not as detailed as you would do, but it is a start, I guess. Considering you awakened the Black Whip, it is only a matter of time before the other Quirks manifest, including my sensei's." That last bit got Midoriya's attention in particular. He realized he never asked Nana about her Quirk before.

"I'm still looking into the previous inheritors, but for now, let's focus on training your other Quirks."

"Eh?! But I haven't awakened any others yet."

"Not now, but you might in the future, and I believe it will be sooner than we expect. A Quirk is an extension of you, of your body, and the more familiar you're with it, the better you can use it. So what we'll do is train your body and mind to situations where you can make use of the powers of the previous inheritors." All Might explained. Even with his frail appearance, his eyes still had that bright flame burning within. He wasn't done yet, there were things he still had to do.

"Understood. I'll do my best." Midoriya said with a new wind of confidence.

"I'm sure you will. Ah, that's right, your house arrest is close to being lifted, so also make sure to catch up on the subjects you lost."

"Hay, even though I'm not very confident about that…" This was almost a separate problem on its own.

"And uh, ahem, how are things with your, you know… Are your classmates okay?" And here comes the awkward questions.

"A-ah, yeah, we uh… We're doing fine! I'm doing fine, that is! Not that they're not, in fact, we're not doing it a lot- I-I-I mean!–"

The scrawny man couldn't help but laugh at his successor's difficulty to form sentences. While Quirkless, Toshinori considered himself good with words. He sure became popular after his debut in America, but now was not the time for that story. Regardless, hearing the laugh of his mentor did put Midoriya at ease.

"Relax, Young Midoriya, as I said, I won't judge you for that. I just wanted to know if there were any problems. However, I'll take the opportunity to remind you, there's a great weight on your shoulders as the inheritor of One for All, and great danger lies ahead. Every decision you make has to take those who you care about into consideration."

Midoriya nodded, showing his determined look and glancing at his hands. It has become an unconscious action, but it did help to remind him of his mission and worked as a way to steel his resolve. He looked at the scars on his hands and arms, a reminder that he had to be stronger and go beyond to save everyone.

"I want to tell them everything one day, All Might. But now is not the time, is it?"

"In the end, only you can decide that, Young Midoriya. Whatever decision you make, I'll be there to support you." The teacher assured his student. "Well then, I will be going now. I don't want to keep Eri away from your sight when you're looking after her."

"Hai, see you later, All Might." He said, getting back inside the dorms.

"Ah, I remembered another thing." The blond man called. "I'll have a visit from an old friend, although the stay will be too long to call it a visit."

"And who would it be?" Midoriya asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"It's my old friend Dave. You remember him, right?"

"David Shield from I-Island?!"

"That's right. And Melissa is coming with him, so I was hoping you could help her to get acclimated."

"O-oh, sure, I guess…?"

And with that the skeletal figure went on his way, leaving a slightly shocked Midoriya alone. As he went back inside, he remembered the event that unfolded during his visit to I-Island. He wondered if everything would be fine with him seeing Melissa again. Not that he had any ulterior motives or anything!

The sun was lazily going down, painting the sky with yellow and orange hues. Maybe he should make something for him and Eri to eat.

"Erm, can I make anything with apples, though–"

"Deku! Deku!" Eri called him, jumping on the couch as she waved her arms.

"Eri-chan, don't jump on the sofa, you can get hurt."

"But Deku, look! The TV." She said, pointing at the large screen. Until a few minutes ago it was on a channel with anime for kids, now it was full of static.

"Weird, I have never seen that happening for real."

The static suddenly ended, giving place to a still image, a drop colored in bright red, with a jagged pattern crossing it, on a black background.

"Are you kidding–"

The image changed to a poorly lit grey room, with a figure in the center. It sat in a large chair that looked more like a throne of metal, with many cables around it, attached to this person. If he was seeing things right, this person was connected to a scary amount of life support equipment, but that wasn't the most important. The central figure was joined by seven more, all clad in black clothes with red streaks and details. One of them, the tall, dark-skinned woman, carrying the girl in a large hoodie under her arm, like luggage. The gothic lolita and the punk rock girl, the ugly guy vaguely resembling an insect. Taking the front, a guy with spiky black hair, wearing a tattered red scarf around his neck. The sleeveless shirt exposed the tubes coming from his arms and into gauntlets that resembled tiny cannons. To his side, a more mysterious figure, wearing a similar red sash that wrapped and covered the head, neck, and shoulders, leaving only the eyes to show. This person began to speak.

"Hero. A name, a position, an ideal. In our society, we see and hear of many heroes every day, so much that… the word almost loses its meaning." He began, with a solemn tone.

"That in itself is a crime. Heroes are beacons of hope, they must bring light to others, free them of their fears, but they have fallen into the darkness. Our society based on heroes is rotten to the very core. Greed is the motivation of these fake idols, fame is what they pursue, a selfish scourge that leeches on the people they're supposed to protect… but no more." The camera zoomed out to reveal many more people around them, dozens of thugs, a good deal of them equipped with support gear.

"This rot and corruption shall stand no more. We follow the steps of the one who first saw through the lies and the smokescreen, he who took upon him the monumental mission of dethroning the illegitimate heroes, Stain." The camera zoomed out more, showing more and more people. The numbers were easily a hundred low-level criminals, all united under the same banner.

"Tonight, we continue his work. Tonight, we shall bleed out the impurities. And the next night, and the next night, and the next, until all the scourge has been expunged, all the rotten flesh has been burned. Only then our society will have a chance to heal, a society of righteous heroes and virtue. The bloodletting begins now."

As the masked man finished, the image changed to an image of Stain, taken when he was put into Tartarus. He knew that man couldn't possibly escape from there on his own, but even being strapped in a straight jacket, he still held a determined look, the face of someone who would kill to see their goals realized, and Midoriya knew from personal experience that it was a literal statement. Accompanying the quite terrifying image, someone narrated some kind of manifesto, adding to the idea that it was some kind of uprising movement. The green teen didn't have any doubts most of the criminals involved only wanted a chance to wreck stuff, but the real danger was those who committed to this crazy cause. An entire group of people willing to go as far as Stain went was a scary thought. And pretty effective, at least on Eri.

The poor girl held tight to her temporary guardian's arm. She was clearly scared, and perhaps this brought up some unpleasant memories from the past, which was all the more reason for him to go out there and stop them. His phone rang, it was a message from Ryukyu, alerting him to meet her and the others at Sir Nighteye's agency as soon as possible.

"Deku…"

He quickly kneeled and petted her head, trying to calm her down a bit.

"Don't worry, Eri-chan, I'll make sure no one gets hurt by them. It's going to be okay, alright?"

She silently nodded, with an apprehensive face still. Now, what should he do? He had to pick his hero costume, and probably meet with Nejire-senpai at the entrance. Maybe they could ask Aizawa-sensei for a ride or–

"Stainy-san…" Midoriya looked up, surprised by the sudden voice. Himiko was just standing there, watching the screen. For how long was she there? He got so focused on the TV that he didn't notice her arrival.

"Himiko… if you're thinking of going out there, you can forget-"

"Izuku." She cut him dryly, focusing intently on the screen. She didn't sound like her usual gleeful self. "You know I love guys covered in blood, right? That's why I fell in love with you. But there are other things I love. I want to have an easier life, do things I love." She then turned her head to face him. Her wide smile was nowhere to be seen, being replaced by a neutral yet unsettling expression. "These guys, they're going to make things complicated, and I don't like that. Why should I bother doing something I don't like?"

It took him a moment to regain his composure.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"They're going to cause trouble, and you and the heroes will go after them. I want to be with you, but I can't go with you. Plus, I don't want to fight this stupid cult, even if they think they're working for Stainy-san."

"… and?"

"Nothing. I just don't want you to think I'll follow them or anything. I like to see people bleed, but everyone is very stingy and wants to keep the blood inside at all times, so they hate me because of what I like. But that doesn't really matter anymore."

"And why is that?"

"Because…" Her wide-fanged grin returned, and her yellow eyes seemed to shine with excitement. "I have found something I love so much more!~" She said, giggling.

Once again, Midoriya had to take some time to process this. Had it been under other circumstances, like Himiko not being a villain and a serial killer, and her passion not being making people bleed, it would be a pretty sweet confession.

"So go get them, tiger~ I know you can beat these posers, even more with the help of your hero friends. But before you go, can I ask you something?"

He raised an eyebrow and took a step back when Himiko skipped from where she was across the common room and stopped right in front of him, leaning forward and invading his personal space.

"W-what?"

"Umm, can I have some of your blood again? Pretty please?"

"No!"

"But Izuku! It's been so long, come on, please."

"I'm not your personal blood bank!"

"It's just a little, one tiny bite and a little suck. I promise!"

"Get lost!"

Eri watched with a curious face as Himeko and Midoriya walked in circles, with the blondie clinging to his arm while the emerald child pushed her face.

"It's just a little peck, please. I have been behaving myself recently. Don't you think I deserve a treat?~"

"Are you a dog now?!"

"Hmm, no." She leaned in very close to his face. "But I would totally let you make me your bitch~"

Midoriya not only got a blush crossing his cheeks, but his mouth was also agape in an O shape. She couldn't just go around saying these things in front of Eri, so he immediately covered her mouth before she could say any more perverted things. The last thing the little girl needed was bad examples.

"Eri-chan, can you please go to your room?" Midoriya said as he held Himiko in place, who was trying to hug him.

Eri hesitated a little, but she nodded and went upstairs. As she left, he let out a relieved sigh, followed by a fierce state at the person clinging to him.

"Himiko, right now is really not the time, this is a serious matter." He said with a stern tone.

"I know, and I want you to go already so you can come back faster. But please, just one bite? I promise I won't pester you about it for the next month!"

Once again Midoriya sensed this would only drag itself if she didn't get what she wanted. He could activate the security level for being nearby and touching him, but somewhere down the line, she would try again. In fact, he was pretty sure Himiko would ask him constantly until he said yes because she was just that stubborn and annoying.

"~sigh~ I don't have time for this… make it quick–"

"Really?! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Izuku!~" She said, jumping like a hyped kid about to go on an amusement park ride.

"Don't thank me. Seriously, stop that. Now, let's get this over with, I'm sure someone will come to take care of Eri-chan…"

"You know, I could do that. It's not like I'm busy right now."

"No way in hell I'm letting you be alone with her! … Voice Command, Midoriya Izuku. Restriction zero." The collar blipped and opened, hanging a little more loosely around her neck, which felt a little sore.

"Contrary to what everyone may think, I'm not a horrible monster, Izuku dear. I actually love kids~ Oh, but not in the way I like blood~"

He stared at her in the eye for a second, as if he was trying to make her soul combust. In the end, he slowly inclined his head, exposing his neck a little.

"No no, the other side, I don't want to mark the other side of your neck. At least not now~"

Rolling his eyes, Midoriya did as she said. Himiko carefully pushed the collar of his shirt aside, to better expose his skin. Her hot breath hit his skin, but there wasn't the temperature contrast of the last time they did this. Himiko hovered her fangs above his neck, and took a bite, sinking her sharp fangs where the last bite left some very faint marks. And then he felt her sucking at his neck, followed by a weird lick over the fresh wound.

"There, it wasn't that bad, was it?" He didn't respond, only glaring daggers at her.

"Or maybe it was… well, thanks anyway, Izuku. Please lock this thing back on my neck before Aizawa-sensei arrives here or something." Midoriya didn't waste time, setting it back to level two. Due to her decent behavior, Aizawa decided to lower her restrictions to a level that wouldn't turn her into french fries if she bumped into someone or tried to hug them.

With that, Midoriya took a few steps back, while Himiko followed him with her eyes. Suddenly the entrance door swung up, and none other than the scruffy man appeared. He met eyes with Midoriya and pointed outside, from where he came.

"You. Out, now."

"Hai! Eri-chan is in her room." Midoriya rushed outside, leaving Aizawa to take care of things here.

On his way, he met with Hado-senpai. Both students made haste to get ready for action. Chances are everyone who was on the Hero Work Study would be involved. They didn't know their exact numbers, there was the chance of panic spreading on streets among civilians, due to that broadcast. Not to mention the contents of that message, a direct attack against the reputation of Pro Heroes. If they wanted to keep the public opinion positive, they would need to deal with this situation as efficiently as possible. As the night fell, Midoriya and Hado arrived at the meeting point with Ryukyu, Miruko, and the other heroes.

End of Part 1

Whew, that was actually a lot. As you can see, I'm giving some leads here and there, so by the end of this arc, we should have some fine additions to Deku's collection. insert cybernetic wheezing Not that he's trying to set up a record or anything! Well, at the (very likely) chance that this is my last update of the year, Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all of you. Thanks again for reading, and see ya later~