Chapter 11
Izuku sighed as he leaned back in the booth at Ukyo's shop. Today was the first day he had taken to helping her run the place while she was at school. He had received a rather thorough cookbook to study and read through to help him with making the traditional Japanese dish. At first Izuku was nervous, letting his mind wander about all the attention he was getting. Then he started to think of it as a way to get used to his hero work. After all, codenames and what not where optional and nine times out of ten people knew who you were outside of the mask. Plus his mask had a tendency to come off or get destroyed.
With a deep sigh, Izuku stood, dusting off the green Apron he was wearing. It had been rather funny when she had pulled it out. "You seem to like the color green." she had said simply, looking straight at his green hair. "Well, i have a green apron that i think you would like!" she said before pulling it out of the cupboard behind the counter. Tossing it at him. He went to catch it before it pelted him in the face. He smiled as the apron fell into his outstretched hand.
He smiled slightly before getting back behind the counter. As he began cleaning the grill he heard the door shift open. "Welcome to Oky…" he started to say before seeing that it was Ranma, Akane and Ukyo. "oh! Welcome back! How was school?" Izuku asked, placing his hand towel on the counter. Ukyo had a rather frustrated look on her face, along with Ranma and Akane's look of confusion.
Ukyo ignored him for a moment before stepping behind the counter and began cooking. She was lost in her art for a moment as Izuku watched. He turned his head to look at the other two to see that they were just looking at Ukyo. It took a couple of minutes before Akane finally spoke up, "Ukyo? Whats going on? Why was that girl after you?"
After placing a couple of ingredients on the dough, she finally spoke. "Tsubasa and I were in the same grade at school." she said, her voice rather flat.
"Well, what kind of grudge does he have with me?" Ranma asked, leaning upon his hand. At this moment Izuku realized that Ranma was currently in his female form. This was the first time that Izuku had to actually glimpse this form, as the last time was when the two of them had battled Happusia. His hair was a brilliant crimson, matching the chinese shirt that he was wearing, which was now tightened to fit his smaller frame. This made Izuku think, were there practical changes in this form? When Ranma had attacked him he had seemed a little faster in that form. Was it a trade off? Speed versus strength? He placed his hand upon his check and began to rhythmically tap his cheek as he began to rattle off ideas. It was hard to comprehend for the most part, as evident by Akane and Ukyo staring unblinking at Izuku. Ranma on the other hand couldn't help but snigger.
Now that Izuku was no longer in costume, the three could finally get to know the hero. This was only the second day of his prolonged vacation from hero work and they were learning plenty. One of those things that they learned was that Izuku would begin mindlessly rambling about things. They mostly left him when he got like this, after all they all had their own little quirks that made them unique, but Ranma couldn't help but find it amusing. The demon of Japan was an obsessent rambler.
After realizing the conversation had stopped, Izuku blushed before placing his hand on the back of his head. "Sorry, I keep falling into that old habit."
Ukyo shook her head, smiling. "That's fine. It's something that makes you unique in the mad house called Nerima." she said before the smile fell from her face again. "Sorry Izuku, would you mind having a seat? This is going to take a bit of explaining." he nodded before taking a seat at the bar, next to Akane. He placed his hands upon the counter top, waiting patiently for Ukyo to begin.
She sighed before explaining properly, "see, back in school, Tsubasa would give me all sorts of gifts, trinkets and knick knacks, everytime declaring love for me every time. Finally I got so fed up with it that I told Tsubasa I already had a fiance. Tsubasa… didn't take it the best…" Ukyo finished before it was suddenly interrupted as a trashcan flew into the Restaurant before shoving ranma's face into the Okonomiyaki. Acting quickly, Izuku jumped from his chair before tackling the trash can off of Ranma, before staring at where it had come from, only to hear a voice coming from within the trash can.
"Ouch…" a soft voice said, slowly raising their head out of the trash can. Izuku slowly stepped back, his eyes flicking between Ukyo, Ranma, and the newcomer. The newcomer was dressed in a school girls uniform, so Izuku had the feeling that this person was a girl, yet something seemed… off about her. He could feel One For All sparking as he kept his full cowling up to 5 percent. Just in case this stranger attacked Ranma again.
"Wow… that could have been a lot worse… thanks Izuku." Ranma said, wiping off what topping had stuck to his brief excursion with the meal. The girl straightened for a moment before standing tall.
Her face broke into a smile before rushing to the counter top, trying to hug Ukyo over it while shouting, "UKYO!" she shouted, only for Izuku to rush forward and stop her from stepping over the counter top. She glared at Izuku before swinging her fist at his face. He leaned his head back before shifting his weight and throwing her to the ground. Rather quickly, he pulled off his apron and began tying it to her hands, keeping them bound behind her back. "What do you think your doing! You… you brute!" she shouted, her voice going down in tone. Almost like…
"Wait.." Izuku began to ponder before Tsubasa ripped herself out from his grasp and ran away, crying. He was so confused he didn't even ask any questions, though he did feel bad about losing Ukyo's green apron.
Ukyo sighed again, before turning to look at everyone. "Tsubasa kept sending me love letters. It got to be too much and I sent back a breakup letter. I made sure to add Ranma's picture to it so that Tsubasa would get the hint." She placed the cooking utensils on the counter top for a moment before smiling towards Izuku. "Thanks for trying to stop Tsubasa, Izuku. I really appreciate it."
Izuku nodded before looking out the door, only to be surprised when a large Vending Machine came bursting through the wall! With Full Cowling still activated, Izuku rushed forward, stopping the runaway vending machine. keeping it in place. He held it there for a moment before drawing his fist back and forcing it through the front of it. There, standing was the strange girl who had just ran off. Her eyes were glaring daggers at him, he felt a shiver go up his spine. She jumped out from the hole he made, bouncing off of him before landing once more upon Ranma. "Who are you to stop me from seeing my dear Ukyo!" she shouted, a microphone appearing in her hand.
Izuku turned to the girl before shouting, "Smash!" he said, flicking his finger. Tsubasa got caught up in the air force before landing on the ground. Izuku clenched his fist closed, "I'm just a friend of Ukyo's." he said. Tsubasa rushed up to his face before turning to look at Ranma. Back and forth her head turned.
"Friend, hu?" Tsubasa said. Her voice was thin, full of jealousy. "You're a better looker than she is." Tsubasa said, pointing at Ranma while looking at Izuku.
Izuku felt that same shiver run up his spin. It was like danger sense was sensing something other than danger. He took a step back, trying to make some kind of distance between the two of them. Ranma's eye twitched for a moment before she stood up. However, Ranma didn't get very far as Ukyo shouted, leaping over her counter with the large spatula in her hand. "TSUBASA! YOU DESTROYED MY SHOP!" she shouted, preparing to swing the weapon down. Quickly, Akane came up behind Ukyo before opening her top, revealing her bound cleavage behind the shirt. Izuku immediately turned away, trying as hard as he could to ignore what was happening.
"See? She's a girl. A girl." Akane repeated, making sure that Tsubasa got the message.
"So?" Tsubasa said, standing up, a sneer on her face. "I knew she was a girl from the beginning."
"Right…" izuku started. "That makes sense!" he planted his fist into his hand before another shiver went up his spin, this time he knew why. "Oh… why are you wearing a dress?" he asked. Ranma and Akane both looked at him confused.
"Because I like how they feel, why does that matter?" Tsubasa said.
"It doesn't. I was just curious as to why." Izuku said, a small smile appearing on his face. The pieces were starting to fit into place. "Most boys don't dress up in girls clothes for no reason i guess. Not that there's anything wrong with that."
Both Ranma and Akane looked back at Tsubasa in shock. This person couldn't really be a boy, could they? Their facial structure, the dress, the hair! All of it pointed to a girl, instead it's just a boy crossdressing.
"Ukyo…" Akane started to ask, "what kind of school did you go to?"
"An all boys school. Sorry, have I never told you guys?" she said, slightly surprised. When both Ranma and Akane didn't answer, Izuku smiled before slowly approaching Tsubasa.
"Well, there's no need to get violent. Come on, have a seat. I'm sure we can talk this out." Izuku said. Finally a moment where Tsubasa wasn't trying to hurt someone.
He sneered before finally announcing, "Ranma Saotome! I challenge you to a battle! Tomorrow at school we shall see who is better for Ukyo!" he said before leaving the restaurant. With a sigh, Izuku walked up to the remains of the vending machine and the front doors. With a wince he began to lift the vending machine, at least that was the plan, until something fell out of it. A green apron.
"Well…" Izuku started to say. "I won't have to replace it." he said before moving the broken machine out of the building. He placed it across the road, away from Ukyo's. Once he re-entered the restaurant, he saw Ranma and Akane both staring at Ukyo.
"He's in a dress. He's trying to get together with you, and he's in a dress." Ranma was saying before he started laughing. He was laughing for a couple of minutes before Akane smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for Akane!?"
Akane was glaring at him, "you're making fun of him. And Ukyo." she added at the end. She sighed before turning to Ukyo. "What are you going to do?" she asked. Out of the three fiances that Ranma had, Ukyo was the closest she had to a friend.
Ukyo sighed before placing her spatula down. "I don't know. I keep telling him I'm not interested, yet he keeps ignoring me." she said, glaring at the hole now in her wall, only for it to fall off as Izuku walked back into the restaurant. "I just wish he would leave me alone. I already have a fiance. That's enough of a reason. Tsubasa just needs to find someone else." she sighed before leaning against the counter. "It's maddening."
"Hey ukyo…" Akane asked slowly, "which version of Ranma did you send? A girl picture or boy picture?"
Ukyo laughed before saying, "a girl picture. I had thought that Tsubasa thought I was a boy the whole time. Had i known i would have sent him the male ranma's picture. Not that it would do any 's so stubborn it's infuriating." she put her hands upon the counter, supporting her weight slightly. "I guess… that's just how it is…" Izuku frowned. She sounded so upset, but he didn't know what to do. It had only been the second day and all he wanted to do was get his suit back on and chase Tsubasa.
He looked down upon his hand for a moment before he spoke, "no matter what, Tsubasa won't get to you." he said, his voice full of resolve. "You took me in, Ukyo. so I will protect you." Ukyo smiled.
"Its not like i need the protecting, Izuku, but the thoughts are nice." she said, before she stood tall, her head held up high, "I'm not going to let this annoyance get to me!" everyone smiled, seeing Ukyo's face as it broke into a bigger grin than before.
Unbeknownst to the four in the Restaurant, Tsubasa was walking along the streets, thinking to himself. What was the best way to beat Ranma Saotome and take Ukyo from him? How would he get one over that girl!? As he walked, he was grumbling to himself, trying desperately to come up with a plan.
As Tsubasa walked, he bumped into someone, someone who stood rather tall in a Black suit. "Oh, sorry." Tsubasa said, more on auto pilot than actually feeling sorry.
"That's fine, young one. Though I must ask, what has you been so perplexed?" he asked, his voice sounded distorted, almost like Tsubasa could hear it in his head rather than physically.
Tsubasa sighed before looking this stranger up and down. Physically he didn't look all that different from a normal person, tall black suit. Though their face was being covered by some kind of large black device, shrouding their visage. Tsubasa was stunned at first, not knowing how to answer him before finally saying, "there's this girl i like. She claims she has doesn't want to be with me because she has a fiance, but i think if i remove her i can take Ukyo for my self!" Tsubasa said, his voice shaking.
The figure chuckled before his form flickered. Tsubasa flinched as he watched the Being disappear and reappear in the same spot for a couple of minutes. Finally, the figure stayed put, his form no longer disappearing. "Hum…" the figure said. "It would seem my body can not stay for longer than a few minutes at a time. So I will be brief. Would you like the power to make your dream a reality?" the man said, leaning down slightly, his hand outstretched.
Tsubasa hesitated, his hand a few inches from the strangers. The power to make his dream a reality? He didn't have to think about it long. He took the stranger's hand and a brilliant light appeared between their hands. The stranger began to laugh slightly before his form faded all together. Tsubasa was confused at first, looking down upon his hand. It was normal looking, yet he felt strange. He watched in terror at first as his hand began to slowly melt, becoming runny like a slime. Tsubasa screamed, thinking about how it looked beforehand. Almost on instinct the hand returned to normal. Tsubasa sighed slightly before he felt like the ground was a lot closer than it had been. He screamed again, watching as his form was beginning to melt away.
A/N: Now we get to the fun stuff. So, i'm pretty sure you all know who gave Tsubasa his quirk. This was an idea I had been toying with for a while and I decided I was going to do it. I have been hinting at All For One's arrival for a few chapters now, I'm finally showing his arrival. He however can not stay in this world for long. Thus, he will make new soldiers to do his bidding. Who are they, you ask? Well you will have to find out. Before anyone asks, no. Tsubasa is not dead. In fact, these first couple of chapters. the filler arch will be just some random chapters of hanging out, talking, and deciding the next course of action. Just getting a better feel of the characters and their connections and relationships. Oh ya. Remember a while back when I said this story wasn't going to be too long? Well I thought about it and decided to hell with that, i can make this as long as i want! That being said, let's get to the reviews.
Monster King: Awesome work, Now we have to see how he reacts to mineta 2.0 aka Happosai.
Kain: I can tell you this much, not well. Plus with what I have planned? It's going to be quite the show.
Djinn: Great new chapter
Kain: and thank you for the Review! It means a lot.
Chronosign: with how complicated things are getting and have been, I think an accidental kiss with Ukyo wouldn't be that surprising. Honestly if shampoo knew how to cool off and take things slow, she'd be perfect for ranma.
Kain: Really? Not that I disbelieve you (different strokes for different folks and all that). I more than likely won't add an Accidental kiss or anything, but I'm thinking of throwing Ukyo up as one of the characters in this story and actually go with an idea I've been kicking around. I'm not really a shipper on most days, but this story that I have been working out in my head feels like it's going somewhere (in fact by the time i've written this out it's already been done).