Hey everyone, this isn't a very long chapter, but I did enjoy writing it. Hope you guys enjoy the little interactions between the OC and MC's.
Also we introduce another MHA Fav, who will have a pretty big part in my story. :)
Chapter 11:
"So basically," Burnin' concluded, flipping her flaming hair over her shoulder. "The key to success is to tie yourself to a well-known hero. And there are plenty of options your age."
Noriko barely held back the urge to roll her eyes, speeding up when she caught sight of Endeavor's agency. The entire walk back from the hospital, the green flamed haired woman had been chatty, talking about herself mostly.
"I personally recommend the boys from UA, or girls if you're into that." The woman kept on going, despite Noriko's obvious distaste in the conversation.
Noriko silently cursed herself for engaging in the conversation with her. The topic having shifted when Burnin' asked Noriko what her hero name was. It wasn't official, but Noriko told her the one she had decided on. Unfortunately, it had led to Burnin' commenting on the fact that she had never heard of her before.
Before Noriko could tell her that she wouldn't have, considering she was just starting her hero career, the sidekick had continued talking. Burnin' had gone on to give her 'advice' on how to increase her popularity- which surprise, surprise- had nothing to do with her showcasing her quirk abilities.
"I'm not really interested." Noriko muttered when she realized that Burnin' was waiting on a response.
"Oh, you're a free spirit type, huh?" She let out an obnoxious laugh that grated on Noriko's nerves. "Even better! You'd get more recognition if you're seen with more than one."
This time Noriko did roll her eyes, resisting the urge to run the last couple feet to the door of the agency. She didn't want to hear more of this stupidity and just wanted to get inside to get her hero studies over with.
"Speaking of options." The sidekick purred suddenly, momentarily distracting her from reaching her destination.
Noriko turned to look back at her only to realize she was looking at something else. Following her gaze, she focused on the two figures that were walking towards them. Noriko felt her heartrate spike when she saw Todoroki and Bakugo in full hero gear approaching the agency from the other side of the road.
Against her will, Noriko's eyes trailed over Bakugo's hero suit, appreciating how well it fit his muscular frame. She felt her mouth water as her eyes scanned every inch of him from his black and orange combat boots to the legs of his baggy cargo pants and over the black tank top with the orange straps.
"He should be illegal." Noriko mumbled under her breath, her eyes finally reaching his scowling face.
She felt her face flush when she realized she had spoken out loud and turned to see if Burnin' had heard her. Thankfully the woman was too busy eyeing both boys hungrily. Sighing in relief, Noriko made to go inside when the woman's loud voice broke through the otherwise quiet atmosphere.
"Dynamite!" Burnin' shouted, catching both boys' attention.
In the time she had taken to admire Bakugo in his suit, Todoroki and he had already crossed the street. Now they moved until they were standing in front of them, the entrance of the agency now partially blocked by them. Noriko cursed her luck, knowing that she not been so busy drooling over the grouchy blonde, she could have been inside already.
"Burnin'." Bakugo's gruff voice greeted, and Noriko was surprised he could even speak without yelling.
"Just coming back from patrol?" Her head snapped over to the sidekick that had chatted her ear off for the past 20 minutes.
The tone of her voice sounded intimate, implying she was more than friendly with Bakugo or at least wanted to be. Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit when she saw the hungry look in the woman's eyes.
"Obviously, stupid, if I'm coming back into the agency." Even though his words were rude, his voice wasn't as harsh.
His tone wasn't sweet or soft, but it didn't hold the same bite she associated with him. Something about that little fact didn't sit well with her, but she shook it off. Not wanting to stay and witness whatever was going on between them, Noriko turned towards the main entrance.
Like hell am I about to be jealous of that Ben 10 alien knock off, Noriko thought darkly.
"Hey kid, where you going?!" Burnin's annoying voice called after to her.
"Thanks for walking me back." She called dryly over her shoulder, not turning back to look at her and ignoring her question at the same time.
"I'll walk with you." A monotone voice said.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Todoroki moving around Bakugo towards her. She raised an eyebrow curiously but didn't say anything. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and waited for him to catch up with her.
As she waited for Todoroki, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Burnin' had gotten so close to Bakugo, her arm brushed against his. Noriko's eye twitched slightly but refused to look at them directly. It was starting to bother her how much the thought of the two together irked her.
"Shall we?" She looked up into heterochronic eyes.
"That's amusing." Noriko chuckled, her head tilting to the side.
"What is?" Todoroki's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, making his already handsome features look even cuter.
"Your eyes, pretty boy." She smirked, turning to walk through the door he held open.
"What about them?"
"They're two different colors just like your hair."
"I'm sorry, I don't see how that is amusing?"
He didn't raise his voice, or really expressed any emotion really when he spoke, but he was very formal in the way he spoke. It reminded her of his father, which made her lips twitch in amusement.
"It's amusing to me. You look like you're literally split in half."
"It's part of my quirk. Half Cold, Half Hot." He explained, the confusion clearing up.
He was the opposite of Bakugo, very mellow and sweet in an innocent kind of way. It was a little surprising that he was able to be partners with Bakugo considering how temperamental the blonde was. But the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Todoroki's calm composure balanced out Bakugo's explosive nature so that they complemented each other enough to work well together.
"That's interesting, is it safe to assume the left side is your fire? It's the side that looks the most like Endeavor's."
"Yes, I'm still learning how to manage it." Noriko opened her mouth to question him about it, but was interrupted by a certain hot head.
"Oi, short stack!" She let out a sigh at the sound of Bakugo's rough angry voice.
She turned to see him stalking through the front entrance, not stopping until he was standing in the middle of the lobby with them. She raised an eyebrow at him, noting the way he scanned her from head to toe with a dark glare.
She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to talk. When he remained silent, she felt her irritation spike. "Chop, chop, I don't have all day."
"I want a rematch."
"Excuse me?"
"Are you deaf or stupid? I said I want a rematch." He growled through clenched teeth, his hands clenching into fists at his side.
"What can't handle the fact that you lost?" Noriko smirked at him, seeing the vein in his temple pop.
"I DIDN'T LOSE!" He snarled, getting in her face.
Noriko continued smirking as she lifted her chin to keep eye contact with the man towering over her. He was using his height to intimidate her, but it wouldn't work on her. She was used to people towering over her short stature, and she was more than confident in her ability to defend herself.
"You didn't win either." She taunted, leaning back on her right leg so that she could look up at him better without straining her neck.
"Why you little-!"
Noriko stumbled back when something shoved her suddenly. She probably would have fallen on her ass if it wasn't for a warm hand that caught her around the waist. Her hand grabbed onto the shirt of the person who's arm it belonged to out of instinct.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Looking up, Noriko saw Bakugo glaring at whoever was holding on to her.
"I was on my way out to get some coffee." She felt the vibration of the guy's deep and tired voice as he sighed out his response.
Part of her was curious to turn around and see who he was, but a larger part of her was pissed. It wasn't hard to figure out who had knocked her aside because her eyes fell from Bakugo to the green flames dancing around in front of him. Her eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on the sidekick trying to catch Bakugo's attention.
"Bakugo," She wined, her hands clutching his arm. "You stormed off while I was talking to you!"
"What?" Bakugo's attention shifted down to the woman in front of him. He scowled down at her but didn't push her away which pissed Noriko off even more.
"I was saying that we should go out again sometime." Burnin' traced a finger down his chest in a flirtatious way. "You know since we had so much fun last time."
"What the fuck is your problem Burnin'?" Noriko growled lowly, standing up straight and pushing away from whoever had caught her.
"You're welcome." The tired voice muttered sarcastically, but she ignored him.
"What do you want kid?" Burnin' asked looking over her shoulder annoyed at the interruption.
"Don't act stupid, you fucking old cunt." Noriko snarled, taking a step towards her, sparks popping across her arms.
"What the hell did you call me?!" Burnin' stepped forward, glaring angrily at her.
"Old age getting to you huh? Can't hear shit can you, you old bat?" Noriko sneered.
"You rude little bitch!" She reached up to grab a chuck of her hair, holding a ball of lime green fire in her hand threateningly.
Noriko's hand started glowing blue in response, molecules collecting around her to form a stream of water floating around her. Before either could start attacking the other, Todoroki and Bakugo stepped in between them.
"Cut this shit out right now!" Bakugo glared down at Noriko, who didn't take her eyes off Burnin' from the small gap between the boys.
"Endeavor will not be happy at the two of you fighting in the middle of the lobby." Todoroki's calm voice rang from behind Bakugo, his focus on his father's side kick.
"Tell that to that stupid brat! She needs to learn respect!" Burnin' screeched, her eyes blazing with anger.
"Says the old hag that shoved me out of the way because she's desperate for a guy half her age." Noriko snapped back.
"I'm not old! I'm only 26!" Somehow her screams got louder, irritating everyone present.
"Doesn't change the fact that you're a cradle robber."
"YOU STUPID BITCH!" A glowing fire ball suddenly flew towards Noriko.
Bakugo and Todoroki both moved to protect Noriko, but she was faster. The ball of fire was extinguished mid-air after hitting a small barrier of water. A second later a larger ball of water was soaring in the air towards Burnin'.
"Burnin'!" Endeavor's voice rang out through the lobby at the same time Noriko felt her quirk deactivate.
"Sir-!" Burnin's eyes were wide as she started to respond, before they glazed over their red-orange color changing to pure white.
"Who wants to explain to me what the meaning of all of this is?" A dark voice snapped, making Bakugo and Todoroki freeze in place.
Noriko turned around to face the mysterious voice, feeling weird now that she was quirk less. Standing in front of the elevators was Eraserhead, his single eye glowing red for a split second before he blinked, and it went back to obsidian black. The minute he blinked she felt the effect of his quirk fade, feeling her quirk humming throughout her body again.
"Finally." The voice from earlier muttered.
Noriko turned slightly to her left to see a purple haired boy, with a weird mask hanging off his neck along with a scarf that looked a lot like the one Eraserhead was wearing. The boy looked as tired as the pro-hero did, which was ironic.
"Well?" Eraserhead snapped, his arms moving to adjust the crutches he was using to propel him closer.
"That bitch pissed me off." Noriko spoke up, pointing over her shoulder at Burnin' with her thumb.
She watched Eraserhead with a bored expression, unafraid as a vein in his temple popped from irritation. "And that made it okay to use your quirk against her?"
"She threw a fire ball at me, what was I supposed to do? Let it hit me?" She raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms.
"Protecting yourself is one thing, attacking back is another." The pro scolded.
"In her defense, the walking fireball instigated everything when she shoved this one first. I got here just in time to catch her." The purple haired boy spoke up, shoving his hands into his pockets lazily.
"You don't have to come to my defense." Noriko muttered, turning her face away from him.
"A simple thank you would have sufficed." He muttered back with a slight glare.
"YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING PURPLE BASTARD!" Bakugo shouted, taking a step towards him.
"And you did so much." Noriko snapped back sarcastically.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
"Your stupid cougar ass girlfriend started all of this, the least you could have done is keep that bitch on a leash!"
"MY WHAT?!"
"Enough!" Eraserhead snapped, glaring at both Bakugo and Noriko before turning to look at the tired purple haired boy. "Shinso, release Burnin' then come with Miss Imai and I. Bakugo and Todoroki, I trust you will handle this situation with Endeavor once he returns."
"Yes sir." "Whatever." Both responded simultaneously.
Eraserhead moved aside, using a crutch to indicate for Noriko to walk ahead of him. She paused for a second, watching as Shinso 'released' Burnin' from whatever his quirk was. Her eyes cleared from the white color back to their natural shade, confusion filling them as she looked around.
"Imai, let's go." She turned to see Eraserhead looking at her expectantly.
She moved then, turning to walk towards him when a hand grabbed her wrist unexpectedly. She flinched, jerking her arm back but the person didn't let go, so she unintentionally let out a spark. Surprisingly, the hand still didn't let go, so she looked up into Bakugo's crimson eyes.
"My bad." She muttered, her body relaxing.
"What was that?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion that she reflected.
"Sparks, it's my quirk. I told you about it earlier."
"Not that stupid, the flinching." His voice was soft despite his words.
"You caught me off-guard stupid. You don't just go grabbing people out of nowhere."
"Listen here you-" He was cut off yet again, and Bakugo let out a growl of irritation.
He was seriously getting pissed at the constant interruptions while he tried talking to this irritating girl.
"And you had the audacity to say I'm the desperate one! Every time I look over, you're clinging onto Bakugo!"
"That's enough Burnin', you're in enough trouble as it is." Eraserhead's dark voice broke through before Noriko could respond, making the sidekick stiffen as she noticed his presence. "Imai, I hate repeating myself."
"Sorry." She responded gruffly, pulling away from Bakugo.
"Oi!" She turned her head slightly back to acknowledge him as she walked away. "Rematch, tomorrow before lunch."
"She's busy tomorrow." Eraserhead responded for her.
"I am, I have my training with Endeavor." She responded, assuming that was what Eraserhead was talking about.
"No, you will be training with me. Endeavor has some important things to attend to tomorrow." Was all he said before he stalked off – as well as he could on the crutches.
Noriko quickly followed him, curious about the sudden change in her training instructor. She caught up to him fairly easily, Shinso walking on the other side of the pro.
"What's with the sudden change?" She asked, not bothering with formalities.
"Something happened with your sister, so the top three heroes have arranged for a meeting with other heroes to go over the events." He drawled lazily.
"Is this about the bank robbery earlier and the quirk enhancers?"
"Probably, I wasn't given too many details." He muttered, his annoyance peeking through as they reached a conference room.
She didn't say anything as they entered, instead just took a seat on one side of the large table. Shinso settled in a few chairs over, slouching in his seat with his eyes dropping heavily from exhaustion.
"Have you been chosen as my mentor until after your surgeries?" She finally spoke up, cocking her head to the side as she examined the surly hero.
"I was always going to be your instructor for your hero studies courses. I'm one of the hero course teachers at UA."
"Yeah, but you're also not one of the heroes being briefed on the case tomorrow. You've been benched." Shinso choked, coughing to try and hide the laugh that had almost escaped him.
The same vein as before popped in his forehead as he leveled a glare at her and then Shinso. "Your sister, Doctor Imai, is the reason I'm back on crutches instead of my prosthetic."
"If that's the case, then there must have been a reason. Yaeko is an excellent doctor." Noriko defended quickly.
"For a villain, sure." The comment set Noriko off, sparks popping off rapidly and loudly off her exposed skin.
Shinso sat up, staring at her in wonder as her hair began to move from the disruption of the sparks flying across her face, neck, and arms. She was stunning, something he had noticed from the moment he saw her, but now with the sparks lighting up her body, she looked gorgeous.
"My sister isn't a villain. She's a goddamn hero, unlike some of you wannabes." Noriko snarled.
"She killed a hero." Eraserhead shot back, knowing he was provoking the girl into talking.
"She killed a villain." Her voice lowered dangerously, her eyes darkening from her anger.
Shinso and Eraserhead froze, the former wide eyed while the latter froze in shock. He hadn't expected that strong of a response from the young adolescent. It was natural for the girl to defend her sister, but Noriko Imai did so, so strongly that it caught him off guard.
"A villain?" Eraserhead echoed.
"Yes, a villain. That's what that man was. Not a fucking hero." She settled down in her seat.
Her temper resided as she caught the look of astonishment on their faces. She had to remind herself that the hero commission hid the details of their case from everyone, including the heroes.
"I don't understand, so why was your sister charged for first degree manslaughter for murdering a hero?" Shinso sounded confused.
"Yes, that's what the hero commission and the bastard's family wanted." She sneered bitterly.
"I can't believe the hero commission would do that to someone that was innocent." Shinso murmured.
Eraserhead was also thinking the same thing, his thoughts running a thousand miles a minute as he tried to process everything.
"Can we move on?" She suddenly asked, looking away.
Eraserhead felt disappointment rush through him, but he pushed it away. He knew it wouldn't be far to push her passed her comfort. Instead, he moved to the head of the table and pulled out a laptop and a couple textbooks.
"These are the books we will be working with." He pushed them towards her "I will be moving through the chapters at a fast pace in order to get through the material quickly. Your mid-term will be in a week and a half and whatever we cover until the day before will be on the exam. Same goes for your final which will be the day before your provision license exam."
"When will I have time to breathe?" She asked sarcastically.
"If this is too much for you tell me now. I don't want to be wasting my time on someone who won't be able to handle the pressure."
"As if you don't have more than enough time since you're not doing hero work for the foreseeable future." She muttered, straightening when he shot her a dark look. "I can handle it."
"If you need extra help, Shinso can assist with tutoring if you require it. He will also be your sparring partner during physical training." She looked over at the purple haired boy who simple looked back at her with a bored expression.
"What's your quirk? Insomnia?" She raised an eyebrow at him, resisting the urge to chuckle when he shot her a deadpan look.
"No." Was all he replied.
"Don't be such a chatter box." She muttered sarcastically.
Eraserhead told them to be quiet so he can begin the lesson. For the next 3 hours they went over a lot of material that made Noriko want to gauge her eyes out. But she didn't say anything, simply took notes in the notebook that Shinso had thrown at her when she stated she didn't have one.
The entire time Aizawa was thinking about what Noriko had confessed in her rage. He also thought back to Yaeko and the guilt he had felt earlier doubled. He would have to find a way to see her again to apologize. Until then, he would do his best with her sister, to make sure she passed her hero course studies.