As November neared its end, Luna, Diana, Selene, and Aisha stepped inside the teacher's lounge. Nico was sitting innocently between Tarot Chariot and All Might on a green sofa.
"We have an important announcement. All Might and I have decided to adopt Nico into the Yagi family." Tarot Chariot informed. "And we're going to take care of him here in UA."
"Oh, wow. That is big news." Luna smiled.
Luna walked over to Nico and placed her hands on his cheeks.
"And as your big sister, I promised to take very good care of you." Luna smiled.
"Really? Thank you." Nico smiled back.
Diana, Selene, and Aisha walked over to Nico.
"Hey, Nico." Diana said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Nico." Aisha said.
"You're so adorable." Selene said.
Nico smiled innocently.
"Your mother and I are aware that Nico can't stay at the hospital for the rest of his life. Especially now we now know that Carina and Ariella are the ones with surprising resources on creating him." All Might said to Luna.
"Plus, it will be an opportunity to help him control his Quirk." Tarot Chariot added. "We'll have the Big Three look after him whenever All Might and I have to teach our classes. Taking things step by step."
"We'll need to set up a room for him in the teachers' dorm for the time being. Feel free to stop by and visit any time." All Might said.
"We will." Selene, Diana, and Aisha nodded.
"How are the Shatrix, mom?" Luna asked Tarot Chariot.
"Morganite and I has offered them to work at any hero agency of their choice as new sidekicks. Estrella, Solaria, and Celena immediately accepted the offer, but Rhina volunteered to stay with the coven to provide information with her espionage skills." Tarot Chariot explained. "To drive off any suspicion about their absences, Rhina invents some high-tech earrings that will alter her sisters' physical appearances and voices."
"Like an illusion only for the villains to see." Selene said. "Very clever."
"I hope Rhina will be careful on her secret mission." Aisha said.
"Agreed." Tarot Chariot said with a nod. "Now, you girls head back to the dorms. I've heard from Aizawa that you have visitors arriving soon."
Later that night, all Class 1-A students began relaxing in the common area either sitting on couches or tables, or walking out of the kitchen while patiently waiting for the guests that would be arriving soon.
Tokoyami suddenly sneezed as he was entering the common area.
"Uh-oh! I hope you're not sick." Uraraka said in worry as she held a cup in her hands.
"I am quite well." Tokoyami replied. "My mucus membranes are merely doing their job."
"Uh, what?" Uraraka asked.
"Or someone's talking about you! Maybe you've got fans!" Kaminari said to Tokoyami. "Like the ones who showed for Yaoyorozu at the concert?"
"Don't you make fun of them, Kaminari." Yaoyorozu said. "I'm lucky to have them."
"Tokoyami's probably had fans for a while now. He did his work study with Hawks, so I bet he's got some street cred." Uraraka said.
"No, likely not." Tokoyami replied. "Everything moved too fast there."
"Huh?" Uraraka said.
Suddenly, a hard knock at the door caught the Class 1-A students' attention.
"Our guests have arrived. Let's welcome them!" Iida called out.
Once the door opened, the guests stepped inside and revealed themselves to be the Wild Pussycats. Instead of wearing their hero costumes, Mandalay, Ragdoll, Tiger, and Pixie-Bob are wearing their civilian attires. Standing behind them are Kota, Ophelia, Cecilia, and Bloodberry.
"Your feline fantasies are here." Mandalay spoke.
"Allow us to lend a helping paw!" Ragdoll added.
"We're champions serving up justice." Tiger professed.
"Purrfectly cute, catlike heroes!" Pixie-Bob concluded.
"We're the Wild, Wild Pussycats!" Mandalay, Ragdoll, Tiger, and Pixie-Bob declared in unison with signature poses.
"How unexpected! Glad to see you!" Iida said with a smile.
"Seems out little kitties are doing well!" Pixie-Bob said.
Mina and Hagakure ran up to Tiger, who was holding a gift box in his hands. The girls bowed their heads to thank Tiger before the hero turned his head to Katsuki and Luna.
"I couldn't protect you both back then. I apologized." Tiger apologized.
"I already forgot about that." Katsuki said quietly.
"It's alright. There's no need to apologize." Luna said with an assuring smile.
"We're all doing pretty good, right?" Jiro said.
As Jiro looked over her shoulder, Hagakure, Uraraka, and Mina praised the gift with joyful faces.
"Paw pad buns! They brought us paw pad puns!" Uraraka, Ashido, Hagakure cheered.
"Make yourself at home." Shoji offered.
"No, thank you. But we can't stay long." Mandalay said.
"We need to visit Class B, too." Tiger said.
Izuku released a wide, happy smile when he caught the sight of Kota standing right next to Mandalay. He quickly went over to Kota and shook his hand.
"Ohmigosh, Kota! I'm so happy to see you!" Izuku said with a smile. "Thank you for your heartfelt letter! I'll treasure it forever!"
"Yeah. Sure." Kota said as he looked away with a faint blush on his face.
"Do his shoes look familiar?" Mandalay smiled, turning around and pointing her finger at the door.
Izuku looked up to see what Mandalay was pointing at. It was a pair of red shoes, but it looked like the exact same shoes that he owned.
"Kota picked them out himself." Mandalay said. "He specifically asked for red."
"Ah! It's not what you think!" Kota shouted in embarrassment as he waved his arms up and down in a frantic manner.
"Awesome. We match!" Izuku beamed.
Kota stopped waving his arms and looked up at Izuku with a happy, blushing face.
Luna's eyes caught the sight of Cecilia and Bloodberry standing right next to Ragdoll. She smiled widely and quickly ran over to them.
"Bloodberry!" Luna shouted as she squeezed Bloodberry into a tight hug.
"It's been a while, Luna." Bloodberry smiled back.
Luna then looked at Cecilia and noticed that she's wearing a different dress. Cecilia wore a pink lolita dress that is tied with a pink bow at the waist, a white collar tied with a dark pink bow, white frills, and pink slipper-like shoes.
"I love your dress, Cecilia. It's so cute." Luna smiled.
"Oh, thank you, Luna." Cecilia smiled back in a shy tone. "I asked my mommy to pick this dress."
Suddenly, Aisha squealed with delight and excitement. Ophelia opened her arms wide with a smile as Aisha ran over and hugged her sister.
"I can't believe you're here!" Aisha exclaimed with joy.
"It's great to see you too, Aisha." Ophelia smiled back.
"Hey, Aisha. Do you know this woman?" Tsuyu asked.
"Oh, this is my big sister." Aisha replied.
"Hi, my name's Ophelia. It's nice to meet you all." Ophelia introduced. She turned back to Aisha. "Ragdoll was the only one who invited me to join the Pussycats in order to surprise you."
"Welcome." Ragdoll grinned.
"It's great to see you, but why are you here?" Sero asked the Pussycats as he walked up holding a plate of cups in his hands.
"Just to let you know, we're back in business." Pixie-Bob announced.
"Wait, seriously? You are?" Selene asked in shock.
"Congratulations! That's wonderful!" Yaoyorozu beamed.
"Hey, Ragdoll, are you gonna be working again?" Aisha asked with a worried frown. "Mom told me that you have been taking some time off when your Quirk got stolen."
"Still powerless!" Ragdoll said in a chipper tone. "I'll be working behind the scenes to support the other three in the field. Call me the office cat."
"We received a report from Tartarus prison recently. Thing is, they still don't know how many powers he has. He could be hiding some dangerous Quirks, which unfortunately means the smartest way to contain him is to not let him use any abilities." Pixie-Bob explained.
"Well, as long as you're happy, I'll support you all the way, Ragdoll." Aisha smiled.
"Aww, thanks, Aisha." Ragdoll beamed, embracing Aisha in a tight hug.
"So why choose this moment to go back into action?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"This will be announced later, but…it's our spot on the Japanese Hero Billboard Chart." Mandalay replied. "You see, we're ranked 411 this term."
In Japan, the Hero Billboard Chart is known as an memorable event that presented the official rankings of Pro Heroes based on the total number of incidents resolved, contribution to society, and approval rating from citizens. Only active Pro Heroes can be ranked twice a year if he or she can bring more peace, light, and happiness to their country.
"Wow, last time, you guys came in at number 32." Izuku stated.
"So, it's cause your rank went down! That makes sense!" Kirishima said.
"No, silly! Isn't it weird that we're still in the triple digits even though we haven't done any hero work?" Ragdoll questioned.
Kirishima and Izuku exchanged confused gasps.
"It's due to our approval rating." Tiger clarified. "That number gave us a boost."
"There are people waiting for us to return." Pixie Bob said.
"No way can we just stay on the sidelines!" Ragdoll added.
"So you're doing it for the public. You're so manly, Wild Wild Pussycats!" Kirishima cried.
"Cool your jet, dude." Diana said, patting her hand on her crying boyfriend's back.
"I kinda forgot they haven't announced the results for the second half of the year yet." Mina said.
"And so much has happened." Tokoyami added.
"A chart without All Might? That's so strange. I can't imagine what it will even look like." Ojiro said.
Aisha silently looked at Shoto and noticed the slightly stern look on his face, knowing that it has something to do about his dad. After the Kamino incident, All Might retired from being the number one hero since she can't fight villains anymore, which leaves Endeavor to rise in rank as the next successor as the next Symbol of Peace. Aisha heard from Shoto that Endeavor was so furious about the news that he scorched his entire training room. To him, he wants to earn the number one spot, not having the title being given to him. But also, he can no longer challenge his longtime rival for that spot anymore.
"Hey, Aisha. Mom and dad will be at the Billboard Chart tomorrow. Let's join them and then we'll hang out for lunch afterwards." Opehlia said.
"Sure. I love to." Aisha replied with a smile.
The next morning, the broadcast of the Hero Billboard Chart was finally ready to be publicized. A large crowd of chattering citizens stood outside the massive stadium as they were waiting excitedly with eagerness.
"It's the first chart since Kamino, when All Might, the Symbol of Peace, was forced into early retirement." A female reporter announced. "You can feel the excitement, folks. This is an important moment in the history of heroes."
Inside the massive stadium, it was packed with Pro Heroes and special visitors waiting in their seats for the remarkable expectation of the billboard chart. Even Aisha and Ophelia looked very excited as they sat between their parents.
"In the past, pros didn't come up on stage during the announcements. But today, we see something new." The female reporter continued. She let out a smile at the sight of the bright lights. "Here we go!"
The bright lights lit up on the stage.
"Number ten!" A short-haired female presenter announced.
A bright light gleamed to a female hero. She has chin-length blonde hair swept back with a green headband that has four large, pale purple claws covering the right side of her face. She has thin yellow, inward-tilting eyes with slit pupils and notably sharp teeth. She wore a sleeveless dark red qipao with a pale green scale trim around her shoulders, long slits on both sides and yellow claw patterns on the bottom and smaller ones around her neck, long sleeve-like white gloves that nearly reach her shoulders exposing her hands from the wrist, a black strap around her exposed left thigh, and a pair of black knee-high boots. She also wore a set of small black dragon wings overhang from the back of her head.
"Dropping down one rank from the last chart, Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu!" The female presenter proclaimed.
Ryukyu stood up from her seat and walked up to the stage as the crowd cheered excitedly.
"Honestly, I don't think I deserve to place this highly." Ryukyu said.
Sitting on his seat under a shining bright light was an elderly-looking man. He has pale orange eyes with black sclera and long white beard. He wore a full set of black Japanese armor with a red cape wrapped around his torso and a matching helmet that has one large golden yellow horn pointing upwards.
"Number nine has also slipped in rank, but he won't be defeated! Equipped Hero: Yoroi Musha!" The female presenter announced.
"Outside of the top three, numbers are meaningless." Yoroi Musha said as he stood up out of his seat. "Based simply on the tide of the times."
A washing machine stood onstage as the cheering crowd roared for him.
"Number eight! From the "Clean and Shiny" commercial, it's everyone's favorite Laundry Hero: Wash!" The female presenter announced.
The washing machine opened up the lid atop his head that revealed his two strained eyes popping out along with thick gray hose-like arms with yellow rubber gloves with green grips on the ends. He wore a pair of waterproof pants with a belt and large boots with a subtle wave pattern around.
"Wash! Wash -a-wash-a!" Wash spoke.
Kamui Woods made his way on the stage while waving his hand at the cheering crowd.
"Number seven! In a huge leap up the charts, it's Kamui Woods!" The female presenter announced.
"I'm honored." Kamui Woods said.
A well-built man appeared onstage with a tear in his eye. He has black hair combed backward with a streak of grayish-white hair running down from the center of his hairline. He wore a black shirt that appears to be stitched down the middle with a red pattern, a black and yellow spartan skirt, a green hooded cape, and a black mask over his eyes. He also has a layer of crust on the back of his right hand.
"Number six! From the orthodox school of manliness comes a regular in the top ten! Shield Hero: Crust!" The female presenter announced.
"I wish I could have seen more of All Might in action." Crust said. "Such a shame."
An athletic yet curvaceous woman appeared onstage with a smile. She has dark skin, straight white hair that used to reach down past her waist, red eyes that are tilted slightly inwards, long eyelashes, and muscular arms and legs. She wore a sleeveless white leotard with dark purple trim around her shoulders and waist, a wide yellow crescent moon design over her chest, and a single thick metal plate wrapped around her midriff. She also wore a pair of thick, white gloves on her hands with long cuffs and purple thigh-high boots with more plating around the heel and toe areas that gave an impression of rabbit feet. She also has a pair of long white rabbit ears pointing upwards with a slight crook on her head and a white round tail.
"Number five! This bunny spirit is infectious! Rabbit Hero: Mirko!" The female presenter announced.
"I heard that you formed a team. Talk about weak." Mirko said to Edgeshot.
Edgeshot appeared onstage as he upheld his ninja-like composure.
"Number four! Check out the huge increase in this mysterious ninja's resolved cases! Ninja Hero: Edgeshot!" The female presenter announced.
"Compose yourself. We're in public." Edgeshot said coldly to Mirko.
"This time, those heroes involved with the Kamino Incident have all seen their approval ratings go up." The female reported as she looked at the screen on her tablet. "Which brings us to number three."
"He's currently on hiatus, but he still ranked highly." The female presenter announced.
The screen showed random images of Best Jeanist.
"With the number one approval rating this round, it's Fiber Hero: Best Jeanist! We're all hoping for him to return as soon as possible!" The female presenter continued.
A slim-looking man appeared onstage with an aura of indifference as he placed his hands on his hips. He has ash blond feathery hair swept messily backward with some of the front tufts sticking up in arcs above his head, golden-brown eyes, and faint stubble on his chin. He wore a tan jacket with a high collar lined with white fur on the insides and cuffs of the sleeves over a black shirt with a wavy golden pattern, tan pants, and black boots. He also has a pair of yellow headphones over her ears, a rounded, yellow-tinted visor over his eyes, and a set of large, bright red feathered wings reaching over his head.
"Number two! He does things his own way, which is how he reached the charts with lightning speed! Wing Hero: Hawks!" A female presenter announced.
"I don't know about all that." Hawks said.
"Finally…" The female presenter spoke.
All the bright lights turned off on the stage. A familiar hero started marching onto the stage in the darkness. When the lights suddenly turned back on, that familiar hero revealed himself to be Endeavor. His hero costume looked upgraded. He has sharper, armor-like bracers encasing his arms along with grill handguards with holes on the back of his hands, his fingers are exposed from the base knuckles. His bodysuit now has large flaming stripes running across his torso, armored shoulder pads, and an armored belt.
"He's been the temporary number one. But…today he's officially inherited that sacred spot. After all this time…Flame Hero: Endeavor!" The female presenter announced.
Once the nine heroes were lined up onstage, the Public Safety Commission Chairwoman stood in front of a microphone in front of the live audience.
"We chose to make the charts more of an event today because we feel this time is a critical juncture for heroes." The Public Safety Commission Chairwoman said. "It's been about three months since All Might's retirement, and I know that there are some of you who feel we are still lacking an icon. But the heroes who will guide us into the future are standing before you. Let's put..."
While the chairwoman continued talking, Aisha's eyes glanced at Endeavor with a neutral face, which was something Ophelia silently took notice of.
"How about we hear a few words from everyone?" The female announcer spoke as she approached Ryukyu and held the microphone to her.
"Thank you very much. However, if it had been within my power, I would have refused this honor." Ryukyu said honestly. "Lately, we've lost too many people. There are those I should have been able to save, but did not. I'll strive to do better."
"I get your concerns! The anguish in your heart! What a burden we bear! Let's stand tall together!" Crust spoke suddenly. He moved over to Ryukyu. "You deserve this, Ryukyu! You're strong!"
"It's not your turn to speak." Ryukyu said.
The female announcer walked over to Yoroi Musha.
"The world has changed, but our objectives have not." Yoroi Musha spoke into the microphone.
"Wash!" Wash shouted.
"I'd like to honor every hero who's come before me. That's one reason I'm humbled Edgeshot, who invited me onto his team." Kamui Woods commented.
"Ohh! Why wasn't I at Kamino that fateful day?!" Crust cried regretfully with heavy tears in his eyes.
"If anyone out there scheming right now, you best be prepared for me to send you flying!" Mirko warned.
"And you, Edgeshot? You were third in the approval ratings." The female announcer said to the number four hero.
"I'm not concerned with such numbers. I am grateful for the support I received, but I don't do this for the notoriety. I believe it is my duty to bring about peace." Edgeshot said.
"Come on, guys, who wants to hear this kinda canned crap. Stain, maybe?" Hawks interrupted in annoyance.
Hawks' debated comment silenced everyone in the stadium.
"I like this guy, he's fun." Mirko noted.
"As always, you enjoy causing a commotion." Edgeshot said with narrow eyes.
"I just have a problem holding back sometimes." Hawks said. He walked over to the female announcer and took the microphone from her hand before looking back at the audience. "Okay, so. If we're taking about popularity, Best Jeanist is ranked at the top thanks to the boost that he got from being on hiatus." He then started flapping his wings and flew up into the air above the stage. "I'm the runner-up, thanks. Edgeshot is third. And Endeavor ekes in at fourth. I'll skip the rest. To be honest with you, I think the approval rating is the most important number right now. Isn't it about time the charts were overhauled? Don't you think we need to change how we do things? Our great Symbol is no more. At this 'critical juncture'? So why does it seem like everyone's playing it safe with these rehashed PR lines up here? Maybe we should stop pretending and start saying what's on our minds, huh?"
"Who does that guy think he is?" Aisha said with narrow eyes.
"For a number two hero, he's very conceited." Ophelia muttered.
"Well, that's all I've gotta say." Hawks said.
Hawks flew back down to the stage. He handed the microphone over to Endeavor.
"Now, let's hear from number one, who has a lower approval rating than I do." Hawks said.
Endeavor snatched the microphone out of Hawks' hand. He glared at Hawks, who just smiled casually at him. The crowd remained completely soundless, so they could listen to what the new number one hero had to say. Aisha crossed her arms over her chest with narrow eyes, which caught her parents and Ophelia's attention.
"Since this child decided to fan the flames, I won't say much." Endeavor spoke to the microphone. He clenched his hand into a tight fist. "So instead…just watch what I do."
The entire audience chattered in an absolute mix of shock and surprise. None of them were expecting to hear those words coming out of Endeavor's mouth. His words even surprised Aisha, Ophelia, Amazonite, and Vondergeist.
Only Hawks clapped for Endeavor's small speech.
Elsewhere, Zircon and Nightshade marched into an abandoned warehouse. They stood in front of Dr. Daku's latest invention. A tall, graceful robot that has the appearance of a beautiful young woman. She has steel gray skin, long black hair, and dark brown eyes. She wore a form-fitting black jumpsuit fitted with silver armor on the chest area, silver wrist guards on her arms, and silver thigh-high, high-heeled boots.
"Wicked robot." Nightshade commented as she placed her hands on her hips.
Zircon looked at the tablet that showed an image of Daku's face.
"If I may ask, what's the meaning of testing my very first Synthezoid?" Daku asked.
"After hearing what happened at Kamino when you captured those UA girls, I want to test your robot on them. And I've got the perfect target, too." Zircon shouted. "Aisha Rozu."
"My, what a vengeful drive you have. I'll allow it." Daku said.
"Good." Zircon said. "I'll have Nightshade take it out for a test run. I wanna see exactly what your precious toy is really made of against Amazonite's precious daughter."
With that, the Synthezoid opened her eyes that flared up in bright purplish-blue energy.
Aisha and Ophelia sat on the chairs inside a local cafe. After the Hero Billboard Chart event was concluded, they strolled through a dessert cafe in the Kyushu district. In front of them were two cheesecakes on the table. Ophelia took a small bite of her lemon raspberry cream cheesecake while Aisha took a big bite of her red velvet cake cheesecake.
"Yes! This cheesecake is divine!" Aisha said with a big smile. "I can eat here all day!"
"Ha, no one loves sweets more than my own sister." Ophelia said with a giggle. "So, how's dorm life treating you?"
"It's not bad." Aisha replied as she took another bite. "We even had a dorm room contest to see who has the best room."
"Do you win?" Ophelia asked.
"No. One of my classmates, Rikido Sato, won." Aisha said. "His dorm room was pretty normal, but the girls and I voted for him because he can bake cakes and other types of sweets for his sugar Quirk."
"For you, that's a dream come true." Ophelia said with a smirk. "Store bought sweets can get more expensive."
"Tell me about it." Aisha agreed.
After finishing their cheesecakes, Aisha and Ophelia exited the dessert cafe and started to walk down the street.
"So, where you wanna go next?" Ophelia asked Aisha.
Aisha and Ophelia suddenly found a large crowd of citizens surrounding Hawks. Some of the citizens approached the number two hero, asking him for autographs or taking selfie photos with him.
"Looks like they're congratulating Hawks for making number two on the billboard chart." Ophelia said.
"No surprise there." Aisha remarked.
"Oh, looks like Endeavor's here too." Ophelia said, turning her head to the new number one hero.
Aisha turned her head to see other civilians looking at the silent Endeavor. The new number one hero started walking over to the three boys and then offered his hand out to the pink-haired boy.
"There's no reason for you to be frightened." Endeavor said.
The pink-haired boy gasped and grasped his arm in disbelief.
"Ah, man." The pink-haired boy said.
"Huh?" Endeavor said in shock.
"Endeavor doesn't do fan service. Being mean is what makes him so cool." The pink-haired boy said in a disappointing tone as he began crying blood out of his eyes. "This is terrible! You've changed! I miss the old Endeavor!"
The pink-haired boy ran away in dissatisfaction as his two friends followed after him. That left Endeavor completely confused.
Ophelia stared at Endeavor's confusion and walked towards him, leaving Aisha to watch with slight confusion. She stood in front of the flaming hero and held his offering hand as she squeezed it with both hands.
"Well, I love the new Endeavor." Ophelia said with a soft smile. "You're gonna be a great Symbol of Peace."
Endeavor stared at Ophelia with a small gasp as her encouraging words started to feel him a little better.
"Oh…thank you." Endeavor said.
Later, Hawks invited Aisha and Ophelia to join him and Endeavor for lunch. They currently sat inside a yakitori restaurant at the top level of a building.
"Well, yeah, what did you expect?" Hawks chuckled. "It's not exactly your vibe." He reached his hand out over the food. "Hey, are you done here, cause I'll total eat the rest."
"Eat what you want, you glutton!" Endeavor said.
"I know, I'm awful, right?" Hawks said, handing two meat skewers from both hands. "But like I said, I have no self-control. Did you know I scouted your son after the sports festival? I mean, I admit I had ulterior motives. Having the son of the number two hero at my agency would pretty good." His eyes moved at Aisha, who was sitting next to him. "I also scouted you too, Aisha. Like Shoto, your Quirk is quite powerful, especially since you are Amazonite and Vondergeist's daughter." He took a bite of the meat skewer. "Oh, well. I'm glad Tsukuyomi was the one who joined me in the end. You and Shoto failed your exam. That's a pretty big mark against his brand and yours."
Aisha rolled her eyes. As her eyes glowed with a hint of annoyance, sea green energy aura started to envelop the meat skewers and exploded the meat on Hawks' faces all at once.
Endeavor let out a small smirk, but no one paid attention to him.
"There's no need for that, Aisha." Ophelia said calmly.
"I didn't say anything." Aisha said as she canceled her Quirk and took a bite out of her beef skewer.
"You're a feisty one." Hawks commented with a calm smile.
"You know a lot for someone who didn't go to U.A." Endeavor commented.
"I stay well-informed." Hawks stated.
Endeavor narrowed his eyes with an impatient growl.
"Get to the point! I didn't come all the way to Kyushu to talk about this nonsense. Tell me why I'm here." Endeavor demanded as he leaned forward on the table. "And since you brought the girls here, there's no need to speak freely in front of them."
"I'm with Endeavor. Go on. Enlighten us." Aisha added sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It's true. I only invited Endeavor for personal business. But I heard that you and your classmates fought this creature before, so I've figured you might be interested in it." Hawks replied to Aisha. He turned back to Endeavor. "But it's like I mentioned. Rumors."
"A remodeled Nomu, yes." Endeavor surmised. "Those grotesque puppets the League of Villains sends out."
"Is that monster you told me and our parents about back in USJ?" Ophelia asked Aisha.
"Yeah." Aisha replied.
"Whenever All For One was captured in Kamino, they found a few dozen of those suckers, too." Hawks explained casually. "The League has been plenty busy since then, but suspiciously no more of the creatures have appeared. We might have snagged them all, or maybe old AFO was hiding the rest somewhere else, which could mean the League is looking for them."
"Since you asked me to team up with you, I assume you have some definitive proof and not just speculation." Endeavor said.
"Nope, I sure don't. Only what I'm hearing." Hawks answered with a carefree smile.
Endeavor quickly became irritated and instantly stood up from his seat.
"Bring me the check now! We're done here!" Endeavor shouted angrily.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Aisha agreed.
"Sit back down, man. There's more to it than that. This is not the only place where Nomus have been spotted. Bet that's news for ya." Hawks said, stopping Endeavor from leaving the restaurant and halting Aisha from getting up out of her seat. "There've been reported sightings from across the country. Not so much that the media's picked up on them quite yet, but there's been plenty of neighborhood gossip about monsters. That kind of talk gets filtered down to students and spreads fast."
"What is it you know?" Ophelia asked while Endeavor turned around to face Hawks.
"The first time I heard about one, I was on a trip, talking to some locals." Hawks replied. "I looked into the case with the help of the police. A quiet investigation. I couldn't find anything, though. We came up dry. But it made me a little curious." His feathery wings spread out from his back. "So, I flew around the country. Did some digging on my own."
"That so?" Endeavor questioned curiously.
"Some details were different, but similar rumors were popping up in areas that were completely unconnected with each other." Hawks explained. "Still, there was no proof. Only talk. Now, this is just my opinion, but after the incidents at U.A., Hosu, and Kamino, everyone knows how creepy these genetically engineered beasts are and they're getting worried. I think some idiot is telling scary stories to stir up the public. Drumming up panic, and trying their best to spread it across the country."
Endeavor grunted, but he quietly continued listening to Hawks. Aisha and Ophelia exchanged quiet looks before looking back at Hawks.
"You heard that flasher. He yelled about 'metahuman liberation.' That rings a bell?" Hawks continued. "It's from that villain biography that was recently republished. Pretty popular right now. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what influenced him, actually. Those kinds of books are always gonna sell better when society is ill at ease. Fear is good for business."
"Cut the crap. I'm tired of you dancing around the point. What is it you want?" Endeavor questioned.
"For you to become a dependable leader now that you're number one." Hawks answered casually, pointing his finger up at Endeavor and then formed a thumb-up with a smile. "I want you to figure out if there's any truth to these rumors. And if not, stand proud and tell everyone there's nothing to worry about. I'm gonna keep doing my thing. I don't know if you got this from my chart speech, but basically, I see myself as your producer."
"Moron." Endeavor said.
"I just want to take it easy and have some fun." Hawks smiled. "I'd like to go on leisurely patrols, complain that nothing exciting happened, and then tuck myself into bed at night. Doesn't that sound like the perfect life? My goal is to make this a world where heroes have too much time on their hands."
"You're pretty nonchalant for a number two hero." Ophelia remarked.
Suddenly, Endeavor looked up at the window with a surprised expression. Hawks, Ophelia, and Aisha collectively turned their heads at the window. In a moment of silence, the quartet observed something approaching towards them in the sky at full speed.
"Well, that's not good." Hawks muttered.
A restaurant waitress walked over to Endeavor, Hawks, Ophelia, and Aisha with a tray of their drinks.
"Excuse me. Here are your drinks ." A waitress spoke.
"No! don't come any closer!" Hawks shouted at the waitress.
Suddenly, a large creature crashed its head through the glass window with incredible speed. Hawks immediately rushed and grabbed the waitress, who screamed in horror. Aisha's eyes expanded wide in horror as Ophelia seized her younger sister in a protective stance.
The creature revealed itself to be a High-End Nomu. Unlike the previous Nomu at USJ, it has a large, muscular build and a long neck that has several large vertebrae extending out of it. He has dark purplish-black skin and exposed muscles on his neck and shoulders. His head was cloaked in darkness by a hood of his skin that contained an exposed brain, glowing yellow eyes, and a red mouth full of long, pointed teeth.
The High-End Nomu looked up and stared at the people in the room.
"Which of you is strongest?" High-End Nomu spoke in a deep deformed voice.
"Go, Hawks! You and the girls, evacuate them!" Endeavor ordered.
"All over it." Hawks replied. "What about you?"
"It looks like they weren't rumors." Endeavor said as he readied his left fist. "This is turning out to be my lucky day. After all, I wanted to know more about these things, right?" He cocked his fist back and started charging his flames into a white-hot point on his fist. "So, Flashfire Fist… Jetburn!"
Endeavor then punched forward, sending a fiery beam straight into the High-End Nomu's chest. That attack pushed the High-End Nomu off of the window. The High-End Nomu then looked up to see Endeavor hovering above him in the air with his flame from his boots.
"Come on. I'll show you who's strongest here." Endeavor challenged.
Enjoy and review.
