It had been an…informative day for one Xellos Metallium. Under the guise of the notorious yakuza leader Kai Chisaki or Overhaul as he was known, Xellos had been treated with the utmost care as he was processed into the most secure prison in Japan for super villains, Tartarus. The disguised mazuku was technically still awaiting trial and according to the threat assessment of the civil authorities, "Overhaul" was considered a lesser threat than many of the prisons higher profile inhabitants.
As such, Xellos was treated with less concern than, say, One for All. Sure, his hands were bound to keep from using the quirk they thought he had but what the guards had failed to do was limit Xellos' ability to see. And see he did. People's faces, infrastructure, layouts, the subtitle interactions between co-workers. Xellos saw it all and he would use it to his advantage when the time was right. For now though, as he sat bound in a chair in the middle of his cell, the purple-haired agent of chaos bide his time. He hadn't lived for over a thousand years without learning to pass long stretches of silence after all.
Xellos knew cameras watched his every move so he was forced to hold back the smile he so desperately wanted to plaster over his features at this moment. Now, he was in the same building as the man who knew where his target was. Now, he could work his charms. Now he just needed to watch…and wait.
(X)
The supplemental classes for those who failed the second stage of the licensing exam was being held in what was just a gloried school gym. Hardly the massive, modified sports dome of the test itself. Yagi Toshinori or the once mighty All Might didn't mind the small venue though. Having spent the better part of his life under the brightest of spotlights, Yagi was more than happy to be one of only a handful of observers spread across the bleachers that served as the gym's audience seating.
The former number one hero had come to watch how Katsuki would handle the classes after his assault of Izuku and the lighters and subsequent follow up counseling session with Hitomi. What little the retired hero had seen so far had done nothing to indicate that the explosion wielder had done much in the way of soul searching. Katsuki had managed to bicker with Zelgadis at every chance. Now that the trainees were being introduced to their first real challenge, a horde of elementary school children, Yagi would be hard pressed to rate the student's reaction as anything approaching positive.
Katsuki was, of course, screaming at a couple of kids that were grabbing at his grenade-shaped gauntlets, Minoru was literally crying as several children stood over him pointing and laughing, Camie, the girl from Shiketsu was faring a bit better but was clearly overwhelmed with how many kids were flooding her with questions. Zelgadis…was frozen, with a weird look on his face that looked somewhere between extremely frustrated and haunted. Or maybe he was just constipated…it was hard to tell.
Still, as much as Yagi felt for these heroes-to-be, connecting with children is just as important as any other aspect of being a hero and Kugo Sakamata or Gang Orca was wise to choose this as their first test. Watching this particular group of children though, even after all his years, the former number one hero had to admit that these were an especially…challenging group.
"So this is where you escaped to"
Yagi knew the voice well but turned his head to see the approaching form of Jun all the same, a embarrassed smile on his face. "Yeah, you caught me, I'm sorry to have caused you any extra work, Sanada-san."
"Nothing to apologize for, All Might. Everyone's all worked up about the festival anyway. Besides, I'm here too so I'm hardly in a position to criticize." Jun answered, sitting down next to the gaunt retired hero.
"You were already subbing for Aizawa, though, weren't you? With your own kids to watch over it was selfish of me to step away." Yagi continued, his attention now entirely away from the students below.
Jun waved the other man's concerns off, his attention very much focused on the action unfolding in front of them as he replied "Like you said, I was already there doing homeroom so it made sense for me to stick around. Besides, the lighters are also focused on the festival and will be joining their classes so there isn't a whole lot for me to do this year. I…see things are off to a rough start."
Yagi jerked his head forward once more to see what Jun meant, though not much had changed aside from Minoru now up and actively running away as some kids tried to grab at his hair.
As loud and distracting as that display was though, Jun instead zeroed in on the one he considered his most troubled and yet promising student. Zelgadis was no longer in a daze since the children around him was trying to take his sword, which made it impossible to stay in wherever state of mind the chimera was in.
Yagi noticed where Jun was looking and chuckled. It wasn't a surprise that the head of the lighter program would be focused on one of his own but the look on Jun's face brought a smile to the blonde-haired skeleton of a man. "It warms my heart to see that look, Sanada-san."
Jun briefly glanced over at Yagi before returning focus on Zelgadis, though with a questioning eyebrow raised "What look? I'm not sure I follow you, All Might."
Yagi's smile twisted slightly into a smirk "Fatherly concern, Sanada-san! Your passion for your lighters is well known, it just doesn't always show on your face. Its times like these when I don't worry about you quite so much, Jun."
A frown found it's way onto the former rescue hero's features as well as a hint of embarrassed red to his cheeks as he shot back "Please, All Might! I'm not here to be made fun of, I'm here for my student."
Having had his fun, Yagi's expression turned more serious as he asked "Young Greywards…is it true what he did on the raid?"
"Jun perched his lips slightly before he answered in a low voice "…yes."
Yagi briefly shook his head in disapproval before replying "I see…I have to be honest, Sanada-san, I think Young Greywards has gotten off pretty easy, given the circumstances. You must have used every favor you have left to keep him from losing his license, or worse."
Jun kept his focus on Zelgadis, a long pause hanging between the two teachers before his response came "It's fair to say that I don't have any more levers to pull going forward. I may also now owe more than a few favors myself. Still, it was worth it."
"That's not surprising to hear you say that. Still, without you, the lighter program doesn't exist. Don't let it all come crumbling down for just one. You've put too much into this and helped some many others. You deserve better." Yagi said, concern heavy in his voice.
"You don't have to worry, All Might. I doubt I'll have anything like this happen again. At least not with the new three." Jun said confidently.
"You sure?" Yagi quickly asked earnestly.
"I am. You're new to teaching, All Might and you've never been a parent. You learn to pick up on changes, especially when you spend so much time with the same people. Before, Zelgadis only tolerated being here. To a degree that's true for all the lighters when they first arrive, and the reality of the situation hasn't settled in yet. But Zelgadis was different. He didn't just want to get home; it was like anything and everything was an obstacle to getting to his goal of being human again."
Yagi was now raptly listening to Jun, as he asked, "And now?"
"And now I think he's come to realize what he was doing. I can see a weight has been taken off his shoulders and that single-minded obsession has been replaced by remorse and shame." Jun replied.
Yagi didn't look fully convinced as he said, "Not exactly the most positive of emotions, Sanada-san."
Jun nodded, replying "It's a first step, to be sure but a necessary one. I eagerly await where he goes from here. No matter what though, I'll be there to help."
(X)
"Yeah, I see why you couldn't come to any consensus! Everyone suggested something that appealed to themselves, and you just had too many ideas. Makes me wonder how you picked your class reps."
Michiru stood, having just looked over the suggestions that 1-A had written down and brought with them from class. The rest of the class minus Minoru and Katsuki plus Emeralda were spread out across the commons of their dorm now left to look ashamed of the very election the tanuki girl speculated over.
"We actually had started to gel around the idea of doing a concert, but Kyoka shot it down!" Mina said, breaking the heavy silence that had settled in the room.
"Oh? Funny you should say that! Sanada-sensei said previous lighters use to have them!" Michiru cheerily responded.
"Really? So there is precedent for such a performance at this school? Interesting…" Tenya offered.
"Man, I don't want to do it if it's already been done…" Kyoka muttered, sitting back on the couch heavily.
"Besides, what would the rest of us even do? Sure Jiro can write and sing but not everybody can play, sing or dance." Mashirao said.
"It is a fair point. This is a class project, is it fair for some of us to linger in the darkness?" the raven-headed Fumikage added from his usual place in the corner.
"I don't know, it kind of seems like some of us like to linger in the shadows." Denki countered, getting a grumble from Fumikage in response.
"I really think whatever we do, it needs to be something that makes people smile. We've caused so much trouble for the school, I think we owe it to our classmates." Izuku firmly stated, getting nods from several around him.
"We won't be making anyone smile or anything else if we can't even settle on what we are doing." Momo said, trying to keep everyone focused.
'Wait, why would you guys be trouble for the rest of the school?" Michiru asked, clearly confused.
"Between the USJ attack and the summer camp incident, a lot of the other students feel like we've brought too much attention to the school as a whole. Not a very manly way to see it but its out there." Eijiro answered, clearly annoyed.
Michiru looked incredulous "That's so stupid. It's not like you did anything to get attacked, right? How could the other students hold that against you?"
"Its more like…because we've gone through so much as freshmen, there is a feeling that maybe we see ourselves as better than everyone else." Tsu offered.
"Yeah, a lot of the other students think we see ourselves as big shots with all this experience." said Hanta with a frown.
"Having Bakugo as a classmate doesn't exactly help that!" Toru pointed out, crossing her arms indignantly.
"We're getting off topic again." Momo again chided.
"Quite right! So…does anyone have any other ideas?" Tenya asked, glancing among the class.
As the students looked about at one another, hoping to find one among them that had a spark of an idea, the most unlikely of the group spoke up. "If there is nothing you can all do together, can you not each do a little something?"
All eyes settled on little Emeralda, who had sat herself away from the group and had appeared, up till now, to be ignoring the proceedings as she sketched away. The tan girl hadn't looked up when she spoke, which made it all the weirder as the group starred at her, only the sound of her pencil heard in the silence that followed.
Finally, Michiru spoke up "What…what do you mean by that Emmy?"
The nanomachine girl sighed and put her pencil down, and when she looked up, a big smile had been plastered on her face "I mean, Michi, that instead of one big show, why can't your show be broken into smaller parts that show off your talents? Jiro-san could still sing, and maybe Ojiro-san could do a martial arts demonstration and Sato-san could do something with baking?"
"That's…not a terrible idea, ribbit" Tsu replied.
"Yeah! I could totally do a dance routine!" Mina cheered.
"I don't know…if we each did our own thing, that would make for a long and disjoined performance, don't you think?" Momo pointed out, worry on her face.
"I'm cool playing any song that Jiro cooks up" Denki suggested, glancing at the dark-haired singer with excitement.
Kyoka nodded, returning the smile as Ochako suggested with no small measure of excitement herself "Oh, and Kasim can spar with Ojiro, that would be great!"
Emeralda looked like she was about to object when Shoto beat her to it, speaking up in his usual monotone "But not all of us have skills or interests that would translate to the stage. I doubt anyone would want to see Midoriya geek out over heroes for five minutes straight."
Izuku looked hurt at the bicolored-haired boy using him as an example but it was Hanta that offered a solution "Actually, guys, I have an idea about that. How would some of you feel about being in a sketch?"
"A what?" Shoji asked, confused.
"A comedy act!" Hanta clarified. "We were talking about how the rest of the school sees us. What if we made fun of ourselves abit? I think that might entertain and let everyone know we're not a bunch of stuck-up assholes, ya know?"
There was a chorus of murmurs among the students before Tenya spoke up again "Alright, lets take a vote! How many of you want to go with Kasim-san's idea?"
With no better ideas and the creative juices already starting to flow, everyone rose they're hands, aside from the girl would had made the suggestion herself. "Alright, its decided! Please start brainstorming and grouping up if you wish, lets have an outline by the end of the evening!"
After a round of cheers, everyone began planning in earnest, Michiru going from group to group to offer input and passing suggestions to Tenya. After awhile, the tanuki girl noticed Emeralda had finished speaking with Mashirao and wandered over. "Hey…you ok, Emmy? You didn't seem thrilled with your own idea."
The moment Emeralda noticed Michiru was there, her whole barring went from her old quiet barring to cheerful as she replied, "Hey Michi! Its not that I hate the idea. I guess…when I made it, I didn't really think I would be apart of it is all."
"Why not? I didn't just drag you along Emmy, you're apart of this too. Besides, Uraraka had a great idea for you!" Michiru countered as she sat down beside her friend.
Emeralda didn't meet Michiru's eyes as she spoke, the cheer leaving her face "I don't know about that. With this appearance, I'm afraid of the way it may look."
Michiru cocked a furry eyebrow "The way it may look? I don't understand."
The tan girl frowned as she looked down "I could tell Ojio was thinking something similar. I'm younger now…it may look like he is beating up on a kid."
"Oh" was all the tanuki girl could muster.
"I still want to help but this may not be the best way. I was going to suggest I stick to being behind the scenes since I'm not really part of the class anyway." Emeralda continued.
"NO WAY!" Michiru countered, her eyes suddenly full of passion, catching Emeralda off guard. "You deserve to be up there as much as anyone else Emmy! You have so many talents, you should get to show at least one of them off!"
The now young nanomachine girl couldn't help but smile in the face of such relentless optimism. The smile was short-lived however when the Emeralda considered something else and said, her voice questioning "Then what about Zelgadis? He wasn't here to be part of these discussions and I don't know what talent he would be able add to the show. Do you?"
Having been caught up in all the enthusiasm, Michiru had to admit that that she hadn't really given the grumpy chimera a whole lot of thought. That omission dampened her excitement, causing her to look away as she replied "I…guess I don't know either since being a sourpuss isn't usually too entertaining. We're going to find out though!"
(X)
Kugo watched on, arms crossed, his imposing figure and naturally intimating features made all the more terrifying by the scowl on his face. The villain-like hero watched the students in his care struggle to handle the literal children that had been unleased on them. In truth, the responses to the children invading the training area varied widely. Katsuki was, perhaps unsurprisingly, reacting with aggression to the sassy children nipping at his heels. It was getting to the point that the whale-like hero was considering stepping in before something bad happened.
The Shiketsu girl, Camie, was at least trying. She was trying to use her illusion quirk to entertain those around her, but the children around her looked bored or outright annoyed at the blonde's attempts to make them happy. The tiny boy with the grape-like hair had given up entirely, having built as impromptu fort out of his own hair under which he cowered as children made fun of him from outside.
Then Kugo turned his attention back to the last minute addition to the training, Zelgadis Greywards. When he had last looked, the top ten hero had seen the rock-encrusted lighter fighting to get his sword back from one little boy who had used his quirk to pull it out with his mind. Now, though, it appeared the tide had turned. Zelgadis had his sword back, held in his hands as he knelt in front of that same boy and two other children. Zelgadis appeared to be talking to them and they actually appeared to be listening.
Kugo had had his reservations about adding the blue-skinned young man to the training, especially since Zelgadis had scored so well in the licensing exam. However, he had owed a favor to Principal Nezu and didn't think one more could hurt. Watching the boy now, the dress-suited whale-man had to wonder what Zelgadis was doing here at all. Unfortunately, someone else noticed the success the chimera was having when an enraged Katsuki called out "What the hell! You get the only kids that aren't complete assholes?"
After he spoke, Katsuki darted away from the kids accosting him, firing off several explosions to keep them at bay as he stomped over to Zelgadis. The swordsmen didn't rise but he did look up to address the perturbed blonde as he said "What are you talking about, Bakugo?"
"Yeah, you jerk! Back off!" one of the children yelled before raising their foot, which then grew to triple its size and slammed down hard on Katsuki's foot.
Katsuki screamed in anger and pain as he raised his hand and pointed it at the offending child "What the hell kid, you trying to pick a fight, huh?"
"Oh, the big bad hero's going to beat up on a kid! Real noble of you! Loser!" another yelled, clearly unaware that Katsuki was in no way bluffing.
Before things could escalate further, Zelgadis stood up, putting his sword pack in its scabbard and said mater-of-factly "I was just talking to them, Bakugo. You'd be surprised how far you can get with someone, children included, if you talk to them with respect."
"Oh yeah? And what makes you such a fuckin' expert on kids anyway, Rocky?" Katsuki spat as he glared between the children and the chimera before him.
Zelgadis struggled not to roll his eyes, aware that doing so would kill any impact his words may have. Zelgadis wasn't even sure he wanted to answer at all. Given what Katsuki had done and had carried himself the whole time Zelgadis had known him, there was a strong chance he was about to waste his breath. Deciding to press on anyway, Zelgadis finally answered "I used to help out at an orphanage back home if you must know. It turns out, the more you talk down to someone, the less likely they are to listen to you. After I agreed to tell these kids about my blade, they calmed down and let me show it off. That's all there is to it."
As Zelgadis spoke, the three kids that he had with him wandered off, as had most of the other children, who seemed to be gathering around a single child. This gave the other heroes-in-training a chance to gather, coming over to Zelgadis and Katsuki Camie and Minoru arrived just as Katsuki shot back "What a load of bull! If just talkin' to these little monsters was all it took, you think that wimp of a teacher would be having so much trouble, huh?"
"He's like, got a point." The leather clade blonde said, adding "I'm usually pretty good with kids but these…I don't know, its like they were looking to pick a fight with us or something."
"Yeah, I didn't do nothin' and those little freaks just came at me and just wanted to wail on me!" Minoru whined.
Zelgadis sympathized but wasn't sure what he could say to counter the other trainees. Instead, he shrugged and said, "I don't know what to tell you guys that I haven't already said before. Children may not have as much experience or knowledge as we do but they are still people and can tell when your looking down on them. I got on their level and told them something they wanted to hear about. You guys think you can manage that?"
"What am I supposed to tell them, 'please don't stomp me to death?' Come on Greywards, you think I liked hiding like that? Chicks don't want to see men hiding from children!" Minoru countered indignantly.
"Attention losers!" came a young but commanding voice from the group of children. "Heroes are in it for themselves! You adults don't get to call yourselves heroes. That's why we're going to show the world just how selfish and weak you really are!"
As he spoke, several children parted to reveal the ringleader of the class who had spoken, his arms crossed and a defiantly smug smile on his face. The heroes-in-training watched on in dumbfounded shock at the ridiculousness of this group of second or third graders being led by a kid that sounded like the leader of some anti-hero revolutionary group.
As the ringleader gave the direction to charge at them again, including the three Zelgadis had been so amiably talking to just minutes before, Minoru turned and looked up at the chimera and asked dryly "You were saying?"
Zelgadis had his hand covering his face as he muttered "This is just…so stupid."
Meanwhile, Katsuki leaned forward, his arms back as sparks began to pop in his hands with a wild, excited look in his eyes. Focused on the incoming children, the explosive blonde declared "If these brats want a demonstration of how strong we are, they've got it!"
Instantly, Zelgadis' blade was drawn and held directly in front of Katsuki, the metal suddenly aflame. With a snarl, Katsuki glared over at the sorcerer and the two locked eyes, neither backing down. After a moment, Zelgadis spoke, his voice low and dripping with contempt "You hurt one of those children and you answer to me. Now stand aside. I'm handling this."
Before Katsuki could protest, Zelgadis had charged forward, his hands out. As he approached the stampeding kids, he called out "Lah Freeze!" which conjured a massive thin and wall-like block of ice that stopped the kids dead in their tracks.
Several of the children went to work with their quirks to try and break the barrier as soon as they reached it. Zelgadis, though, didn't give them any more time to try, digging deep to cast the largest levitation spell he had in his life, causing all twenty kids to lift off the ground and float harmlessly about fifteen feet in the air.
Amongst the cries and protests to be let down, Zelgadis cast one more spell to enhance his voice. Without the ice wall between them, the chimera's voice would be loud enough to shake the poor kids bodies. As it was, the enhancement was enough for the helpless hellions to hear the sorcerer's words clearly. Zelgadis then spoke, his voice calm with a hint of authority "Hello class. My name is Zelgadis Greywards but you can call me Magus if you want. It sounds like you don't think much of us heroes. I'm sorry to hear that. Having never met, I don't know how you could it is you could judge us worthy or not. If you think you can do better, last time I checked, charging forward and attacking someone for no reason isn't what heroes do. Villains do that. Is that what you all want to be?"
A number of the kiods called out no's while others protested that's not what they were doing, and a couple complained that they were doing what the boss told them to do. The ringleader himself remained silent however, a sour look on his face as he looked about. It seemed clear to Zelgadis that the boy was looking for a way out of their situation and he silently had to hand it to the child for being so aware at such an age. Regardless, Zelgadis had to act quickly to avoid the chance the ringleader did, in fact, find a solution.
"It sounds to me like you don't want to be villains but I'm not convinced. I can keep you all up there the rest of the day if I have to, but the choice is yours. If you want to come down and stay down, all you have to do is treat us with as much respect as we give you. Fair?" Zelgadis explained his voice taking a softer tone.
Finally, the ringleader spoke again "You'll really keep us up here?"
Zelgadis inwardly smiled, sure that he was now just one step away from calming these kids. "That's the plan. It could be worse, the blonde guy over there with the grenade gauntlets wanted to be meaner but I thought you were good kids that deserved the chance to choose for yourselves. Was I right class?"
The children all looked to their leader, waiting to hear what he decided. Indeed, all the heroes-in-training and teachers a like were now transfixed on the decision that a single small child would make. During that stretch while the decision was being made, Zelgadis motioned Katsuki, Minoru and Camie over and whispered "When I cancel my quirk, I want you three to be ready just in case they back out."
Katsuki scoffed but said nothing otherwise while Camie nodded excitedly. Minoru wasn't as sure and said with some confusion "Wait, whataya mean when you cancel your quirk? He hasn't said anything yet!"
"Fine. You have a deal." The ringleader said just then, causing Minoru's mouth to drop open in disbelief.
Zelgadis turned his attention back to the suspended children and replied evenly so as not to betray a sense of victory and embarrass the kids "I'm glad to hear it. Now, I'm going to release you all and you'll all be free to show us your quirks or ask us to demonstrate ours but I don't want to see anyone being rude or attacking and we'll do the same, ok?"
Zelgadis made sure to note that every child nodded in agreement. With that done, the sorcerer-swordsmen released his spell, allowing the class of children to gently descend back to the ground. Katsuki made quick work of the ice wall and the two sides were left with no barrier between them. Much to Zelgadis' relief, the class didn't go back on their word. Some were eager to talk to and show off in front of the heroes-in-training while a few wondered off to do their own thing.
The ringleader though, went over to a wall by himself and sat against it. Zelgadis watched him go and quickly went over to him. "Your pretty impressive. For a kid, I mean." He said, coming to lean against the same wall looking down at the ringleader.
The kid chuckled at that, a mix of mirth and bitterness. After a moment though he rose his head and looked up at Zelgadis and said "You're not so bad yourself…for an adult. Thanks for that, by the way. Our teacher is always either talking down to us or a complete pushover. You…talked to us like adults, even if you had us under control when you did. Still, if there are heroes like you out there, maybe things won't be so bad."
Zelgadis chuckled at that, prompting the child to asked with annoyance "What's so funny?"
The chimera waved the kid off, responding "It's nothing, really kid. Its just…you'll find out eventually that things are always worse and always better than you think it is."
"That doesn't make any sense, Magus."
Watching Katsuki and even Minoru now interacting with the kids on something approaching equal terms and no one looking particularly stressed, Zelgadis smiled and said wistfully "No, no it doesn't."
(X)
The Next Day
"I have a gift for you Eri-san." Emeralda offered with a smile, a medium-sized white box wrapped with a red ribbon tied in a bow up top held in her hands.
Michiru stood behind her friend, a gentle smile on her own face as the mono-horned girl's eyes lit up at the offered present. The two of them had gone out to a toy store eariler on the tanuki girl's insistence and with some gentle suggestions from Michiru, Emeralda had chosen a gift to offer Eri.
Said little girl excitedly accepted the box and wasted no time taking the ribbon off and opening the gift. Out came a stuffed animal, a bunny, that was mint green with big eyes and a happy smile. Eri's smile was almost too much for Michiru to bare as the young girl hugged the toy tightly and offered a happy "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I always wanted a bunny but…I wasn't allowed to have anything like that before."
Emeralda shuffled uncomfortably, an embarrassed blush on her face as she struggled to respond. After a moment, Michiru gently nudged the greenette who finally, nervously, replied "Your…your welcome. W…I thought you would like something cute and when I saw him, I thought you would like it. He'll…need a name."
Eri tossed the green bunny up in the air and when she caught it again, hugged it tightly once more, her red eyes shining with joy. It only took her a moment to think of a name for her new companion "Deku! This is definitely Deku!"
Michiru's smile slid to one side at the idea of Izuku having a stuffed bunny named after him. Eri had never seen the freckled boy with his full costume on, with its top that looked a bit like bunny ears since it had been ruined by the time they had showed up at the battle below the yakuza mansion. That fact just made Eri's almost instant association between the warm-hearted boy and this bunny that much funnier for the tanuki girl.
If Emeralda picked up on the same thing, she didn't show it as Eri asked her if she wanted to watch cartoons with her. At first, the nanomachine girl looked reluctant but relented and agreed before sitting down at a chair beside Eri's bed.
With that, Michiru took that as her sign to head out, saying "Ok Emmy, have fun! I'll be back in a few hours, I'm going to go and pack for my mission and talk to Zel about the festival, ok?"
Emeralda turned and offered a nod while Eri called out "OK!"
"Have fun you two, and don't forget to mention what you'll be doing at the festival Emmy!"
Without waiting for a response, Michiru left, fully aware Emeralda was shooting daggers at her back.
As the door shut behind her, Michiru heard a curt "Hey" to her side. The voice was unmistakable, the low disinterested draw of Shouta Aizawa was hard to miss, even with just a word. Michiru really did need to get moving and was more than a little annoyed when the dower underground hero pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on beside Eri's door and stepped over to her.
"Yeah, what is it Aizawa-sensei?" Michiru answered, letting her own impatience seep into her voice.
"Has Yoshimura spoken to you today?" Shouta asked, seemingly unperturbed by the otherworlder's tone.
Michiru was surprised by the question, and her response betrayed that fact as she answered "Sakon? No, not yet. Why? Is everything ok?"
"That is yet to be seen." Was all the disheveled older man said.
Michiru's annoyance returned to her voice as she finally turned to the teacher "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
The tanuki girl's raised voice brought the attention of passing nurses and Michiru immediately looked apologetic as Shouta motioned for the two of them to start walking toward the elevator.
As the two walked, Shouta spoke again "Kagemori, I've had Yoshimura as a student for almost two and a half years now. In all that time, you know how many people I've seen her be able to call her friend?"
Michiru was now very confused as she raised an eyebrow, having just pressed the down button for the elevator. "Is this a trick question, Aizawa-sensei? I don't know, Five, Ten?"
As the door opened and several doctors and nurses stepped out, the two got in the lift. Shouta pressed the button for the bottom floor and as the door shut, he said simply "Zero."
Michiru turned to look at Shouta, who remained staring forward as she said, confusion again in her voice "Zero? What do you mean, zero? How is that even possible?"
Shouta sighed before finally looking down at the shorter beastman "I'm sure you've noticed how…competitive she is. Combative even. That girl has spent her time here pushing to be the best fighter of her class. UA is a competitive school, its part of what makes it the best in Japan but she took it to another level. To the point that it was very hard for her to work with others and in the process, she pushed her classmates away. Got her booted from high profile internships and work studies as well. It's a big reason she slid from top of the class and being surpassed by the Big Three her senior year."
Michiru listened without comment, as much struck by the story being told as who was telling it. Shouta Aizawa came off as aloof at best and outright disinterested at least as often. Yet these were not the words of someone who hadn't been paying attention to their students. These were the words of someone who cared. It quickly dawned on the tanuki girl that this man was, despite all appearances, a good teacher.
That assessment continued to reinforce itself as the man in question continued to speak, "And now along comes this young woman from…very far away and manages to do what seemed impossible. When I saw Yoshimura yesterday, it was the most engaged and willing to help I had ever seen her and I believe that was in no small part because of you, Michiru."
Michiru was taken aback not just by the praise but the use of her given name by the underground hero. Still, the tanuki girl felt like Shouta was way overselling any influence she was having, saying "Aizawa-sensei, don't you think you're laying it on a little thick? Honestly, Sakon can be pretty annoying."
The gruff hero let out a soft chuckle before he countered "Oh I don't think so. It's impossible to miss your influence on your fellow lighters and don't think I haven't noticed how you've made fast friends with many in my class. What I'm saying, Kagemori, is that for someone not from around here, you have a lot of the intangibles that make a great hero. You do something so few others seem to even grasp. You raise those around you up to be better. Just thought I would mention it since I likely won't see you again for a while. Take care out there and listen to Shadow Rider, got it?"
Michiru was so stunned, she nearly let the elevator door shut on her again after Shouta had stepped out and began walking for the exit. After throwing her hand forward to cause the doors to open again, the tanuki girl dashed forward and came beside Shouta again and offered him a wide, toothy grin as she lightly elbowed him, saying "You got it, Aizawa-sensei!"
When the teacher frowned and made a disapproving grunt, Michiru's smile turned more genuine as she added "And…thank you. I don't know how long I'll be here or whether I'll make as good a hero as you suggest I could be but…it means a lot that you said that."
Shouta offered Michiru a side eye as he said "Just telling you how I see things kid. Don't disappoint me, got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
(X)
"What do you mean 'hobby or special skill', huh?" Zelgadis asked, clearly annoyed as he helped Michiru carry the clothes and supplies she had just returned with.
"Just what I mean, Zel. Don't tell me all you every did was practice your magic and sword skills as you wandered the countryside looking for a cure. Wasn't there anything you did for fun?" Michiru asked, earnestly curious.
"I learned many things in my time serving under Rezo. I researched gunpowder, taught myself astral navigation, mastered the sword, got stronger and I read. A lot." The chimera offered, his annoyance giving way as he began to take the question seriously.
Michiru offered a checky grin and said, "So what I'm hearing is you don't know how to have fun, am I right?" well aware what the chimera's response would likely be. She wasn't disappointed.
A frown graced the rock-encrusted sorcerer's face as he stopped and argued "Reading can be plenty fun, Michiru! I had other things on my mind, thank you very much. Not everyone has time in their life to pick up playing sportsball or whatever it's called."
A small, satisfied smirk played on the tanuki girl's lips, having gotten basically the exact response she wanted, insult to one of her favorite past-times notwithstanding. When Zelgadis came to walk beside her again and saw the look on Michiru's face, he nearly threw his burden in her face "Oh screw you."
"Sorry Zel, I couldn't help it. You looked to be in a better mood today so I thought it might be safe to poke you a bit. I'm not going to get my fix of your sunny personality for a while so I got a shot in." Michiru offered, a smile still on her face.
That smile was infectious, leading the swordsmen to smile himself, despite the ribbing at his expense and for a moment the two walked in silence. Eventually, Zelgadis spoke again, this time his voice even "So, what are the other students doing? Can't see myself doing anything with them but it couldn't hurt to ask."
The tanuki girl took a moment to remember everything that had been discussed so far before answering "Well, Sato will be doing a baking demonstration with Koda using animals to assist, Ojiro and Emmy will be sparring, Mina, Tsu, Uraraka and Aoyama will be doing a dance routine of some sort, Sero is writing a comedy skit for a bunch of them and Jiro will be performing a song along with Kaminari though…I'm not sure they can pull it off with just the two of them."
That last one caught Zelgadis' interest and he asked, "Will they just be singing or will they be playing instruments as well?"
Michiru briefly looked away as she thought then answered "I think they were planning to play as well. Jiro was going to write the song herself. Why?"
For a moment, the blue-skinned swordsmen looked embarrassed but seemed to overcome it and said, "I failed to mention before that I have dabbled in playing the guitar in the past."
For a moment Michiru starred at the chimera with a questioning glare and just when Zelgadis was about to drop the subject, she let loose another smile as she said, surprised "Your serious aren't you? That's actually really cool and feels completely out of left field for you Zel."
"Why? Because I come from a backwards medieval world?" the sorcerer shot back quickly, annoyance creeping into his voice again.
"No, Zel. You just went over all the other things you've picked up and now you're telling me you're a musician too. You're not that much older than me and it feels like you've lived a lifetime more than I have!" Michiru answered, impressed.
Zelgadis' anger subsided, replaced with a sort of airy feeling he had rarely felt. Though it was rare for anyone in his own world to be excellent at swordplay and sorcery, Zelgadis hadn't done it for the admiration. However, to have someone praise him for his many interests and his talent in them was rare and to hear it now felt gratifying. Inwardly, the chimera was in fact very happy to hear it but couldn't bring himself to show it, scoffing at Michiru as they entered the stairwell upstairs. "I don't know what to tell you. I stopped having a formal education after my parents died so I was free to learn what I wanted, when I wanted to. Don't sell yourself short though, Michiru, there is much more that you know and are better at than me, especially in a world so similar to your own."
As they got to the landing on the second floor, Michiru's reply was less confident than Zelgadis was expecting "We'll see about that. Where I'm going, I'll be the newcomer. I've been the one with the least experience between the three of us. Between Celty, whose been here for years and Sakon, who was born here, I'm the one out of place."
Zelgadis thought on that for a moment as Michiru stopped in front of her door and shifted the weight of her burden to one hand so she could open her door. Once done, the two stepped inside and Zelgadis said "That may be true on paper, but the gulf between my world and this one seems quite a bit wider than the one between yours and here. Besides, in the end, people are people, for better or worse. All you really need to navigate a situation is a good knowledge of people. Just pay attention, listen to the other two, and you'll be fine."
Michiru put her supplies on her bed, Zelgadis following suit before the tanuki girl turned to face her friend "Your right, Zel. I'm probably worried over nothing, you know, aside from the building-sized monster of a man we're actually trying to find. Should probably worry about him a little."
That got a chuckle out of the chimera, who offered a nod as he turned to leave. As he got to the doorway, Michiru asked, a bit of hesitation in her voice "Zel…you going to be ok?"
The chimera stopped but didn't turn to face the tanuki girl. Instead, he twisted his head to looked back over his shoulder and said "I think…I'm better than I have been since we first got dropped in this crazy place. You, though…take care of yourself. Don't make me come out after you if you get in trouble, I'm pretty sure they'd hunt me down like a dog if I did."
Michiru laughed at Zelgadis' exaggeration before she noticed he was still looking back at her, her laughter dying down and she realized something "You say that but…you would, wouldn't you? Throw it all away to save me, if you had to, wouldn't you."
On hearing the statement, Zelgadis' pensive expression widened into a warm smile, the first Michiru could remember seeing on the rock-encrusted swordsmen. All of a sudden, Zelgadis looked much younger in Michiru's eyes. Seeing him smile at her that way caused her to do the same as Zelgadis said simply "Yes, I would."
With that, Zelgadis left, shutting the door behind him, leaving Michiru with a feeling she wasn't quite sure how to put into words. It was like something was pulling at her heart and she wasn't quite sure if it was a pleasant feeling or a terrible one, like someone was letting all the air out of her.
Whatever it was, Michiru was at the very least sure that more than anything, she suddenly wanted to be done with this mission as soon as possible.
(X)
Much like Michiru and Emeralda the day before, Zelgadis found himself waiting outside of 1-A's classroom waiting for the school day to end. The chimera reasoned that he already had to wait for Minoru anyway for training so he wouldn't be put behind if he was there to meet the grape-haired creep. What Zelgadis really wanted was to talk to Kyoka and see if playing in front of other people was something he actually wanted to do.
After his talk to Michiru earlier, the chimera kept going back in his head to the zombie idol's words the day before about finding something that he enjoyed. It was obviously too early to do but Zelgadis was never one to sit on his hands want wait for the answer to come to him.
Luckily for the rock-encrusted sorcerer, Kyoka was one of the first out of the room, along with Mina and Toru. It was the ever-energetic pink girl who reacted to the broody chimera first, as she said "Weird! Two days in a row we've had lighters waiting for us. Here to see Tokoyami Greywards?"
The three girls were quite surprised, along with their classmates behind them to hear Zelgadis almost grumble "I…came to see Jiro."
Mina, never one to let a chance slip by to tease a friend, immediately wheeled on the dark-haired rocker and leaned forward, saying "OOHHHH REEAALLY! You hear that Kyoka, mister tall dark and handsome is here to see you? What about, I wonder?"
Though Kyoka blushed, it was as much out of anger from her friend's antics as anything and she quickly brushed the pink girl away, as she cooly answered Zelgadis "Oh yeah? What about? Mina better not be right or I'll slap you both."
The group had moved out into the hall to let their classmates pass by, not that many of them did. The lighter trio had, albeit briefly, been apart of their class so it was noteworthy when any of them showed up so most of 1-A stuck around as Zelgadis squirmed during the girl's spat. Hoping to defuse the situation, Zelgadis answered Kyoka, trying to muster confidence in his voice "I'm here for Mineta too. Got training after all. That being said, I…wanted to talk about the festival."
The chimera's answer seemed to satisfy Kyoka that nothing stupid or embarrassing was about to happen, appearing to let her guard down and said evenly "Yeah, what about it?"
Even though there was no aggression or malice in her words, the bluntness combined with his own nervousness drove Zelgadis to cross his arms and look away as he answered "It was something Michiru said. Something about playing a song for the festival. She said it was just you and Kaminari. So…I thought if I was going to be apart of this festival, then I'd let you know I have some experience playing myself."
Kyoka hadn't really had any expectations when this conversation started but she found herself surprised and curious as a smile played on her face and excitement danced in her eyes. "Really now? That is a surprise. What do you play?"
The rocker hero-in-training's enthusiasm was enough to dispel a great deal of Zelgadis' trepidation and he visibly relaxed. I've dabbed in several string instruments but mostly guitar. Electric was…unobtainable where I grew up though, so I've only played acoustic. I am a pretty quick learner though so if you needed an extra hand, I could help if you need it."
"Yeah, totally! We still need someone on drums but having another up front would free me up to focus more on the vocals since I noticed you didn't mention you sang." Kyoka answered, her creative blood clearly up as her usually even cadence grew more excited.
"Yeah, don't count on me to sing" came the chimera's quick response.
Kyoka laughed and said "No, its cool, I get it. Glad to have you aboard Greywards. We'll rock'em for sure!"
Zelgadis looked decidedly unsure about that declaration but nodded anyway. "Thanks for having me, I'll do the best I can."
"Its cool. Swing by after training and I'll hook you up with one of my instruments so you can practice. We'll get together on the weekend when you're not training, ok?" Kyoka suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Zelgadis replied before quickly searching around the thinning hall of students. When he found his target, he commanded "Hey, Mineta, lets get moving. Not going to get anywhere whimpering like that."
Having been found by the much taller chimera, the little pervert resided himself to his fate and followed as ordered, grumbling the whole way.
(X)
While Emeralda spent some time working with Mashirao over with 1-A for the festival, Michiru was meeting with Celty and Sakon to go over the details of the mission at the lighter dorm in the building's built-in classroom. Several photos of Gigantomachia were displayed on the screen as well as the location he had been found by Gran Torino and the police as well as the direction he went after the fight.
Celty stood at the front of the room, her helmet off, finishing the basics. "…and that's everything we know about him. Our job is to locate only, not to engage. Once found, we relay that info to the police who will send a permanent team to watch and eventually subdue him. Understood?"
Sakon, who was still getting over the fact that Celty was headless since it was her first time seeing the dulahan without her yellow cat-eared headwear, rose her hand "And remind me where the CRC comes into all of this, Shadow Rider?"
Michiru rolled her eyes at her new teammate. The tanuki girl was pretty sure her ant-like friend knew the answer to her own question but was so excited to be here and working with the underground hero that she just wanted to hear the headless woman talk.
If Celty herself was annoyed, she didn't show it, answering Sakon's question like any other "Looking for the CRC is our cover. We don't want the League of Villains to know what we're actually out here doing. That being said, if we do stumble on the hate group, we are to report that as well."
Sakon pounded two of her fists into their opposite hands, smirking as she asked "And what if they resist? Can we crack some skulls?"
The plume of mist emanating from Celty's neck seemed to flicker a bit while she considered the question. After a moment, she replied "If the situation calls for it, yes, but not if it comprises the true mission, you hear me?"
Sakon nodded empathically, followed by a "Yes, Ma'am!"
"Good" Celty said before continuing, "Now since we will be making a show of hunting the CRC it will be tricker for Yoshimura and myself since we don't appear fully human. That means you'll be taking point when questioning locals, Kagemori."
Michiru, who had been watching Sakon air punch in her excitement to beat up racists turned her head in surprise "Wait, what? Does…that that mean what I think it means?"
Celt's plume seemed to briefly form a question mark when she replied "Um…yes? I'm sorry, I thought you knew this mission would require you to look human. No one in the CRC or those harboring them is going to answer our questions if the one asking doesn't look like them."
Sakon suddenly stopped what she was doing and looking at Michiru, confusion on her face as well "Wait, does that mean you can look like a normal human, Michiru?"
Michiru slowly sank in her chair, her two teammates starring down at her and all she could think to say was "Son-of-a-"
(X)
I'm sorry we've had another chapter that mostly lacked action, talk no jutsuing a bunch of kids notwithstanding. Most of what happened here was meant to be part of last chapter as we set up for the trio doing their own thing. We will see more action next month, I assure you. I'm still working on rebalancing myself but I do feel I've gotten much closer as I only had one minor cold this month and I managed a standard length chapter. Not quite where I want to be but getting there.
Is what happened here with the kids realistic? To a degree, I say yes. I am a father myself and my job brings me into contact with children of all ages constantly, including groups of them. At the very least I feel I got closer than in canon, where the kids just run roughshot over their blubbering teacher.
Is having the class do more of a variety show instead of just a concert a good idea? Probably not, but its at least something different. At the very least it'll give other class members something more to do than be stage hands. I've really challenged myself with this and will do my best to make it worth your time as much as anything else I've produced.
Michiru is on the eve of a new adventure now with more to think about than she bargained for. Let's hope she doesn't regret deciding to leave her friends back at UA while she goes out giant hunting and racist bashing.
On a completely unrelated note, I'm a big fan of anime openings. I often force my wife to join me in quizzes on them and I have a collect of them over the years. That being said, as much as I love BNA, its opening left a lot to be desired for me. The ending is great though, both visually and vocally. However, if you want to hear a great jazzy remix of the opening, Ready To check out the video by Rush Garcia. I highly recommend it. You can find it on Youtube on his channel, the new composition is called Runaway.
Now on to the comments!
I can't believe I was lucky enough to have reviews from 3 separate people this month! Without 's traffic tracker, I no longer have any idea if anyone gives this story a second glance, except when I get a review or a fav/follow so thank you for letting me know I'm not just writing this for myself.
With so many reviews, I won't reproduce them here, especially since you can see them in the reviews section of the story so here are my responses I wrote in response to each:
Eliphas-Chaos: Hello Eliphas-Chaos, it is great to hear from you, as always. As I alluded to in my end note this last chapter, its been abit rougher this last stretch and having your reviews means a great deal to me. I know I've said I will finish this story no matter what but knowing its not just for myself, that someone else out there enjoys it I can see why writers lean so heavily on this feeling. I don't know any writers personally but from I have gathered from interviews and the like, I suspect I am not alone in feeling I did something right if Xellos' betrayal of Eri still surprises you. As for what, exactly Xellos plans to do once he gets to prison, well you'll just have to wait and see.
With Michiru out helping Celty look for Gigantomachia under the pretense of looking for the CRC, Emeralda and Zelgadis will get to be the ones having the festival experience. As for how much things change with 1-A, I don't know how you feel about spoilers so I won't said anything one way or the other. As for what class 3 did for the festival, as far as I know, it was never revealed, since Mirio was quirkless and focused on Eri at the time, it wasn't mentioned so we'll just have to see, won't we.
Your right about Sakura to a degree. She is a much more outgoing person and sees things much more positively than Zelgadis or many of the lighters, really. However, she has been in this world longer as have all other other lighters and their experiences were largely much different upon their arrival than our four recent newcomers. The sense of family is something that Jun and Hitomi try to cultivate among the group and I hope to make that clearer later as the story progresses. Zel is a brooder, to be sure, but he isn't stupid either. He's realized his desire to be human again nearly cost him his life and the life of others. Before he can move forward, he has to decide what it is he wants and he's just now starting to ask that question. All that being said, I'm very much an introvert myself as well and I would very much be turned off by someone making a similar assertion.
NightmareKnight1: Hello NightmareKnight1, I'm glad to hear from you and I can't tell you ho happy it makes me to hear you enjoy to story. Obliviously, I'm a big fan of BNA as well and felt it was criminal they only produced 12 episodes. There was so much left unexplored, both in terms of world building and characters and it kills me to have to accept that aside from a few manga chapters where Michiru stumbles into being a "relationship counselor" there isn't any more BNA media out there. I guess ultimately I should be happy though because the unresolved threads of Michiru's arc was one of main reasons I wanted her to be the head of the trio of main characters for this story. Plus none of the few BNA fics out there even touched on what I want to focus on with her so that helped as well.
I'd been keeping the other two in my pocket for some sort of crossover story for years before MHA burst onto the scene and I felt it was a perfect place for all sorts of crossover opportunities. Michiru was the missing piece I had been waiting for and really she sparked me to start plotting this out. With Zelgadis' time in the spotlight winding down for now, Michiru is going to be getting some serious focus coming up so I hope you look forward to it.
I know I've mentioned it in at least one of my author's notes but Ranma 1/2 stood for many years as one of the pillars of anime fanfiction, alongside Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z. I can remember whole sites dedicated to Ranma/Sailor Moon fics alone. In my mind, if I was doing a massive multi-universe crossover (kind of) I had to have Ranma. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough! Thank you so much for the review, again, I was glad to hear from you, it is deeply appreciated!
Endericus: Hello Endericus, your concern is appreciated and I'm trying as much as possible. I've found that sometimes I don't have as much control over how much rest I get as I want but I have definately improved parts of my routine and I'm getting closer to the balance I need. I hope you've enjoyed what I've been able to offer. I admit when I first started that I had little interest in building Bakugo's character as I loathe him in canon but I realized that creating something I wanted to see is part of why any of us do this. So expect more from him, just not as much as others in the story is all. Mineta...has so much growing up to do that I'm not sure I'm up to the task but we'll see. I do enjoy kicking him around though, I'll admit.
I'm very glad to hear you find the sessions with Hitomi interesting. I was afraid, especially when I wrote the first one, that it would be seen as some cheap trick. And though I haven't pushed the concept as far as I could, I do enjoy writing them as it allows a bit more freedom. Rest assured there will be more and later on will play a central role in the story, not to spoil anything. How soon we get there is another story. I can't tell you how often I wish I could just lock myself away for a month and write out the rest of this thing. You take care as well and thank you so much for the review. It means more to me than I cared to admit even a year ago.
Again, thank you all for your support. Knowing that I'm not on this ride alone continues to blow me away so if there is anything you want to share, please review or reach out, I'm always happy to respond. Take care out there and I'll see you next month!