AN: Hello and welcome to the "Filler Chapter". Now a few answers to questions you didn't ask.
Is this really filler: No, I am merely having a timeskip of 4 years, and wished to cover some events/interactions that occurred that couldn't get a full chapter.
This chapter could have been called "To Build a Timeskip" but I thought filler chapter sounded more fun
Why do this: I wanted to show what other characters are doing past our main boy Izuku, this was a good chance to practice writing chapters where Izuku takes more of a backseat, if he is even present at all. He is still mentioned a bit, but he isn't the main focus here.
It gives me an opportunity to establish an update on some in universe data, which I will provide below. This being: Current ages and bottles.
I wanted to try and have a bit of fun with the timeskip
Current Age Update: Before this chapter Izuku and Melissa were 14, by the end of this (start of next chapter) they will be 18
Current Bottle Update:
Organic: Pirate, Lion, Tiger, Dinosaur, Unrevealed organics from I-Island# 5&6, Hedgehog, Rabbit, Hawk
Inorganic
Smartphone, Lock, Gatling, Firetruck, F1, Engine
Comments:
sardarhassan503: I am sorry that you didn't like the chapter that much, Endeavor getting off the hook now shows his influence. One slap on TV is not enough to ruin a career, while it may have made some happy, Endeavor is still a top hero. I hope you like this next chapter and future chapters.
Light Hero Kaiser: Glad you found the chapter interesting; I hope you continue to enjoy.
Dragon and Sword Master: I've introduced our lovable ball of chaos to the almighty Rat God. *Looks at hands* What monstrosity have I unleashed
ahein9937: I had plans for time skip and hazard trigger in my routing, you'll see what I cover here. The idea you have is definitely fun; but, would give Izuku a power spike way too strong and way too early for my taste. As of now Eri is only one, her quirk hasn't manifested yet and therefore no experiments have been done yet. Glad you are enjoying the fic and I hope you continue to enjoy.
Guest: I had a timeskip planned, the name was more of a joke to myself. I hope you enjoy regardless.
Blazingen1: I responded on A03 so I'll summarize here. Hawks is a mix of "don't meet your heroes" and "professionals have standards". They definitely need a way to check for matches and I have a plan in mind. Hit the nail on the head with Endeavor and society, Hero politics are "fun" *obvious sarcasm is obvious*. Villain ideas are cool, bottle ideas are cool, thanks for the videos, glad you enjoyed the chapter. Speaking of chapter here is a new one LETS GOOOO!
CCSakuraforever: (Once again sorry if I butcher the Spanish) Me alegro de que te haya gustado el capítulo. El comunicado de prensa fue más que nada para que el HPSC anunciara su apoyo a Build para evitar que los héroes trataran de arrestarlo. Izuku y Melissa se reunieron con Nezu y discutieron algunos términos para su futura inscripción. Mucha gente quiere saber quién es Build, pero él mantiene su identidad civil como algo personal, ampliando poco a poco su círculo de conocidos. Timeskip cubrirá algunas interacciones de los personajes que habían sucedido en el pasado, sucedieron después de este último capítulo, y sucedieron durante el intervalo de cuatro años hasta UA.
(Glad you enjoyed the chapter. The press release was mostly for the HPSC to announce their support of Build in order to prevent heroes from trying to arrest him. Izuku and Melissa met with Nezu and discussed some terms for their future enrollment. A lot of people want to know who Build is, but he's keeping his civilian identity personal, gradually expanding his circle of those who know. Timeskip will cover some character interactions that had happened in the past, happened following this past chapter, and happened during the four year gap until UA.)
Thank you for reading my fic. I can't express how happy it makes me that people like my work. I hope that you continue to enjoy it. Ciao!
A Detective's Hunch
"I refuse to answer regarding my quirk…" the Kamen Rider's voice said from the TV in the corner. The news showed a press conference meant for the HPSC to give their official statement on the Kamen Rider, now known as Build. Detective Tsukauchi took one look at the screen, inhaled, then chuckled.
"Of course, you won't answer what your quirk is, you don't have one" he said to himself, he returned his gaze to the TV, staring at the multicolored, now legal, vigilante answering questions. "Still find it hard to believe, but he never lied once"
A month ago
Tsukauchi looked at the masked figure seated across from him. Tsukauchi had experienced all types of people throughout his career: criminals, scum, good natured people going down a wrong path, people who were desperate, people who were greedy, people who lived a day at a time, it was his job to get to the facts of the matter, and he would get the facts. Nobody could get a lie past him after all.
"So, Kamen Rider, what's your story"
"Huh?" he tilted his head
"Your story, everyone has one, we are waiting for officer Sansa to arrive so we can start your interrogation, so I want to get an idea of who we'll be talking to"
"Interrogation? But I haven't broken any laws, why would I be interrogated?" The rider asked
Truth
Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow "Is that right? So, you're saying that you have broken no laws during all your actions"
"Nope. Unless wearing this is a crime, but I don't think I can get arrested for my choice in fashion"
Truth
"Hmm, alright then, I'll choose to believe that. Not like you did anything major, the most exciting thing you did was on your debut anyway where we had witness testimony supporting that you fought quirkless"
"Cool, cool, how was that family by the way? I know that they said they were fine, but I still worry"
Truth
Tsukauchi let a small smile cross his face "They are safe, when they gave their testimony, the daughter couldn't stop gushing about how the 'cool hero' had saved her."
The Kamen Rider rubbed the back of his head "Aww, that's cute. I'm just glad that they are safe"
Truth
Good natured, check. "Well then, you still haven't told me about yourself"
"What's there to say" the rider shrugged "I definitely wouldn't say I'm normal"
Truth
"But that's more due to my personality than anything"
Truth
"Hmm, I don't really know what to say"
Truth
Tsukauchi chuckled "we could start with a name, or would you prefer to be called Kamen Rider"
"No names, any police investigation is a big red flag for Hero schools after all."
Truth
"Oh, so you plan to be a hero then, Rider? Is that why you go out, as a form of training? wouldn't be the first to do that."
"Oh, no, definitely not training" the Rider waved his hand "yes I plan to be a hero, but this was more of a right place, right time kind of deal"
Truth
Tsukauchi leaned forward "care to explain?"
"Nothing really to explain, when someone needs help and you can help, you should"
Truth
Tsukauchi smiled and leaned back in his seat, at that moment officer Sansa in all his cat-like glory walked in.
"Tsukauchi, sorry for the delay, filled out some paperwork regarding the rider here" he said gesturing to Build
"No worries, we can go over it after the questioning"
"Oh, so it's questioning now, not an interrogation?" the Rider chuckled
"You didn't do anything illegal, so we can't keep you here. At this point it's more of a formality"
The Rider snorted before breaking out into laughter "That is the funniest thing I've heard all day, and people say police are different from heroes"
Truth
"What do you mean by that" Sansa asked
"I mean, the job of a hero is to make people smile and feel safe. How is what you do any different?"
Truth
Sansa and Tsukauchi simply looked at each other, smiled, then looked back at the Rider.
"Alright, then let's get this started" Tsukauchi began "before we start, I need to tell you my quirk, Lie Detector. I can register any statement you say as the truth or a lie, just as protocol I am going to ask you three questions to make sure it's working, please say your name, one truth, and one lie"
"Hmm, alright, feel free to keep calling me the Kamen Rider"
Truth
"My hair color is natural"
Truth
"Hmm, one lie, oh I know" he snapped his fingers "I have a quirk"
Lie
The room went silent as the two stared at the now declared quirkless Rider
Back to the present
Tsukauchi watched the end of the interview as Build and Endeavor walked away and the cameras panned back to the reporter. Tsukauchi smiled and leaned back.
"A quirkless hero huh, looks like your dream may come true after all Toshinori"
Smack!
Shoto Todoroki, son of the Number 2 hero, Endeavor, sat wide eyed in front of his TV. He was on one of his scheduled food breaks, he watched the news so that he could see how Endeavor "handled the press like a true pro". Shoto didn't care for the reason, he would have watched anyways, after all the Kamen Rider was supposed to be there, and that alone was a reason to watch. He smiled at the slapping sound that resounded across all forms of media. His older brother, Natsuo could not stop laughing, he even made it his text alert noise. One look was all it took for Natsuo to snatch his phone and do the same for Shoto himself. A small smile crossed his face every time one of his few contacts sent a message to him.
As the press conference concluded, Shoto slurped the last of his soba and walked back to the training room, a room designed to handle numerous types of damage, still laid singed from the last time one of his siblings used the room. His eldest brother managed to burn the walls, impressing his father with the power and leaving Shoto's eyes full of wonder. However, the joy was short lived, as his oldest brother Touya, burned himself due to the intensity of his quirk: cremation. That was the last time Touya was in the training room after all "Someone who can't handle his own quirk is in too much danger of self-harm to be a hero"
Touya was lost to his own flames months later.
Shoto sighed and looked at his hands. His own quirk half-hot half-cold, a perfect combination of Endeavor's and his mother's quirks. To be able to produce ice on his right and flames from his left. Flames forced upon him by Endeavor, flames similar to those that cost his family Touya, flames that Shoto refused to use.
Launching wave after wave of ice Shoto continued to train, Fuyumi will text me when dinner is ready, I need to be able to reach number one with my ice alone, I refuse to use his flames.
Smack!
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Smack!
A man with burned skin, black hair, and staples grinned menacingly, the new text tone he'd picked up was always satisfying. He'd even thought about not incinerating the Kamen Rider should their paths ever cross. He looked at who'd texted him, it was Giran.
Giran: Got some guys who need someone to run crowd control, willing to pay a pretty penny for your services.
Dabi: Send me the location, you know where to send the money
Dabi smirked, pocketed his phone, and kept walking. It'd been irritating seeing nothing but Endeavor on the news due to All Might being out of town, but there have been some silver linings. Work is up, pay is good, and I got to see that flaming pile of trash slapped on live TV, by the Kamen Rider no less. I wonder if he'd look away while I burned that trash of a Number 2 alive? I need to at least take them out for a drink as thanks for my new text tone.
After a while Dabi arrived on site, a battle was about to break out, a gang on each side raring to go. Well, this is the place, idiots on the left, assholes on the right. Now which one is paying for my next drink?
He casually walked into the middle of both gangs and held up his hands with a palm facing each side. "Now, I'll only ask this once. Which of you idiots is Mick and which is Mack?"
The one on his left spoke first "Oi, me name's Mick, that asshole on your right is Mack, who the fuck are you?"
A devilish smirk crossed Dabi's face "Well Mick, I'm Mack's crowd control"
A burst of blue flames erupted from his left palm, incinerating Mick and anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire. Everyone else stared wide-eyed at the newcomer who had effortlessly destroyed Mick.
Dabi looked over to Mack, his smile still on his face "now, I hope you enjoyed what you paid for, don't be late on my payment" a small blue flame sitting in his hand.
Mack hurried to pull out his phone and began pushing buttons.
Smack!
Gotta go fast
Tensei Iida, pro hero Ingenium, sat across from his friend? Coworker? The vigilante who works with him sometimes, the Kamen Rider: Build, personally known as Izuku Midoriya.
"So let me get this straight" Izuku started, "your younger brother is my age"
"Yup"
"Plans to go to UA"
"Yuh-huh"
"Through your recommendations, in a race"
"Yessir"
"And you want me to beat him?"
"That's the gist of it"
"Why?"
"Are you saying it wouldn't be funny to beat someone with a speed quirk in a race"
"Don't put words in my mouth"
Tensei took a sip of his juice "glad we are on the same page, now then your payment"
"Why do you sound like you're making a shady deal"
"You don't want embarrassing stories of my younger brother?"
"Can I use them as blackmail?"
"I wouldn't give them to you for any other reason"
"You're a good friend you know that Tensei"
"Glad you agree, because the sentiment is shared, Izuku. Still can't believe you're sixteen"
"Why is that?" Izuku said taking a bite out of a sandwich
"How can you be like this" he said gesturing to all of Izuku "While Tenya, is all like this" he said making rough chops with his hands
"I'm sure he's not that bad Tensei"
"Older brother!" A tall, similarly blue haired teenager ran up to the duo sitting. "I was on a run when I saw you sitting here, I do not recognize who this young man is across from you. It is improper to keep secrets from family and I do not remember you telling us anything about anyone matching his description. I implore you to inform me of who this stranger is" he said, making numerous chops as if he was possessed by a demon.
Never mind, Tensei never lies
Across from Izuku, Tensei gave Izuku a knowing look of sympathy before he turned back to his younger brother, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Tenya, this is Izuku Midoriya, a friend of mine, I met him a few years ago, he plans to be a hero, so I give him advice sometimes and other times my sidekicks dump me on him to 'relax more'" he finished while making air quotes
Tenya gasped "How could your sidekicks just dump you into the hands of a civilian? It is very unprofessional of the-"
Tenya was silenced by a Tensei's hand "It's my fault for trying to work on my day off, plus it isn't every time, I planned to meet up with Izuku anyways because our days off had lined up today. If anything, they were keeping me on my scheduled plans"
"I see, how professional of them" he said fixing his glasses "It is imperative to properly follow through with any plans you have prepared" Tenya turned to Izuku and bowed exactly ninety degrees "I am sorry for the disrespect, had I known you were one of my brother's friends and someone who also planned to be a hero, I would have conducted myself accordingly"
Izuku held up both hands "It's okay, you can stand back up". Tenya quickly shot back up as Izuku got up from his seat. "My name is Izuku Midoriya, and in two more years I plan to attend UA to be a hero, I look forward to being your classmate" he held out his hand which Tenya firmly shook.
"Tenya Iida, younger brother of Tensei, I look forward to working with you, Midoriya." Tenya then turned to his brother "I must get back to my run. I shall see you later brother" he then ran off into the distance, out of view.
"You see what I mean?"
Izuku plopped back into his seat "He doesn't seem, alright he seems stiff. But he's not bad"
Tensei nodded "Yup, he's smart, but way too stiff, follows all the rules to the letter. I'm hoping you can help him loosen up"
"How so?"
"Simple, he works hard. So, if he has someone who he is already familiar with, that he knows is a friend of his brother. Someone who has proven to be able to beat him in his element, hopefully he will try to learn from them, and maybe they could help him loosen up some"
"You planned this, didn't you"
"The fact that I asked to go to this cafe that just so happens to be on his running route, during the time when he would be on a run is completely a coincidence"
Izuku raised an eyebrow "Whatever you say, Sonic"
Tensei let out a snort "you're still going to beat him in that race though"
"Definitely"
An Explosive Personality
The teacher spoke to his class "All right, as third year students it's time to start thinking seriously about your futures and what you want to do with your lives. I could pass out these hand-outs, but…why bother. I know you all want to go into the hero track."
All the students began excitedly using their quirks, their teacher said "Yes, yes, you all have great quirks, but using your powers at school is prohibited"
"Hey Teach, don't lump me in with these bunch of losers. They'll be lucky to end up as sidekicks to some busted B-lister"
"Think you're better than us Katsuki?"
"You guys should shut up, you're just a bunch of extras"
"Oh yeah, you want to go to UA, right Bakugo?"
The rest of the class whispered amongst themselves of the difficulty of being accepted to UA, as it had a mere 0.2% acceptance rate.
"That's why it's the only place worthy of me," Katsuki shouted as he jumped onto his desk, "I've aced all the mock tests, I'm the only one at this school who could possibly go to UA. I'll surpass All Might and become the top hero! My name will be inscribed among the list of top earners!"
"All right everyone settle down, you can discuss where you are going to go later, for now we should get class started." The teacher was met with a collected groan from the class
Katsuki Bakugo, quirk explosion, self-proclaimed future number one hero, walked down the street on his way home after school. That's right, UA is the only school good enough to teach me. So many top heroes went there after all, and what better way to get to number one than the school that has produced numerous number ones, All Might included.
Katsuki had a smirk on his face as he began monologuing "First I'll get to UA, my backstory is already set, a top hero rising from nothing, from a basic school nobody has heard of, but I'll put them on the map. After all, who wouldn't want to know who had the luxury of being my teacher"
Katsuki received a notification on his phone, he looked and saw that his normal route had a detour, apparently someone had gotten caught by a man made of sludge. Katsuki rolled his eyes. Shouldn't have gotten in the way extra. Katsuki opened up the news app to watch the villain fight as he turned around to walk home. Wonder what B-Listers they have on this, probably some lame ass extr-. Katsuki's eyes widened as he looked at the live feed, before his eyes he saw a familiar streak of blond hair rush and rescue the boy that the sludge held hostage, when the slime turned to try and stop the hero it was quickly cut off by a stream of fire shot out from a multicolored man in armor. Katsuki smiled. All Might and the Kamen Rider, I definitely need to see this. Katsuki turned back around and began running to witness the fight in person.
By the time Katsuki had arrived the fight was over, however he was lucky enough that both All Might and the Rider were still there. All Might was talking to the press while the Kamen Rider was checking over the kid that got caught by the villain. Katsuki tried to overhear what was being asked.
"-Might, is this your first team up with the Kamen Rider? What are your thoughts"
All Might let out a laugh "Now that they are no longer considered a vigilante, fantastic. They are definitely a good person to have backing you up. After all their flames are what enabled me to get the child to safety."
"Don't sell yourself short, you're the one who changed the weather All Might" the rider called from a distance
All Might simply laughed again. "True, but where would a hero be without other heroes to support them. And with future heroes like that, we seem to be in good hands"
"Mr. All Might, do you think the Kamen Rider is a hero?"
All Might revealed his trademark smile "Of course, after all it doesn't matter who you are, as long as you do what's right anyone can be a hero"
The press continued to ask a few questions, before All Might eventually jumped off, the rider was quick to spread his wings and follow. The crowd eventually dispersed, leaving Katsuki to his thoughts.
So, All Might acknowledges the Kamen Rider as strong huh. No matter, regardless of how strong they may be, they will still eventually lose to me on my path to number one. Katsuki chuckled. Good thing they are strong though, getting to number one wouldn't be any fun without any actual competition.
The Question
All Might landed on the roof of a building, not far from where he'd apprehended the Sludge Villain with the Kamen Rider's help. He exhaled. Perfect, still have just under an hour left today.
"So how much time you got, All Might" Build asked landing next to him.
All Might jumped slightly and turned to look at the Rider. Good thing I didn't deflate yet. He laughed, "what do you mean friend?"
"You've been cutting down on your hours lately, got a lady back home waiting?" Build said nudging his uninjured side
All Might laughed "No, nothing like that. Just dealing with the other side of heroics is all. Paperwork, proper rest, you know"
"Ughh, I am not looking forward to the paperwork once I get my license" Build groaned
"Nobody likes it, but it must be done."
The two shared a laugh before All Might spoke up
"Why did you want to know how much time I had?"
"OH! Right, I had a question for you, Mr. Number 1" Build said with a snap
"Ask away my friend"
"Alright, so you say anyone can be a hero, right." All Might stared at Build as he spoke "So, Mr. Number 1, can someone quirkless be a hero like you?"
All Might put a hand to his chin as he turned out, looking over the city. He inhaled and took a deep breath before answering. "Now, before you interject, listen to me fully. Can someone be a hero like me without a quirk. No. But it's not for the reason you think. The way I fight, the way I work, the things I can do are because of the hard work I put in alongside my quirk. Without it, I would be a different hero, heck I may not even be the number one." All Might paused and looked at his clenched fist. "But, if you are asking if someone quirkless can be a hero." All might turned and looked at Build his eyes unwavering "Yes. Someone quirkless can be a hero. They may need to work ten times as hard as someone with a quirk, but as long as they have the desire to help others, anyone can be a hero"
Build whistled "Man, you sure give great speeches."
"I can't take all the credit for that one, after all I've seen it happen. Someone quirkless being a hero I mean"
"Oh? Who?"
"I have a friend, a close friend. His daughter is quirkless, but she wants to be a hero. She is working hard towards her dream, using her gadgets to make up for her lack of quirk. Of course, I worry for her safety, but whenever her father talks about her, his eyes are brimming with pride. She is working towards her dream, using what skills and talents she has to be a hero in her own way. And I couldn't be more proud of her. She may not be able to be a hero like me, but she will be a hero, in her own way. And if she can do that, all that work without a quirk, then it just proves that the quirk doesn't make the hero, the hero makes the quirk. So, yes, absolutely, someone without a quirk can absolutely be a hero, and truly go PLUS ULTRA!"
Unbeknownst to All Might, Izuku simply smiled even wider under the mask
For Her Neutral Special
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Melissa quickly fired off several rounds into the target set across from her on the firing range. She turned the safety back on, spun the pistol in her hand, and holstered it.
"It may have taken a few years, but you finally have a 80% bullseye rating," Nagant said from behind her.
Melissa smiled "I have you to thank for that, after all you taught me to shoot"
"Nah, I showed you how to fire, you picked up the gun, put in the work, and now you're getting results. Honestly, I'm still surprised you came to me, with you and Izuku making your own tech and whatnot"
Melissa looked at her hands "I can't just rely on Izuku to fight, I plan to be a hero too after all. Besides, even if Izuku is Build, and I make tech, it does no good if I don't know how to use it."
"And here I thought you'd leave me after you got your, what was it, Hawk Gatlinger working. Name is kind of simple if you ask me"
"Don't look at me, Izu named it. Besides guns are efficient, the more I know the stronger I'll be"
"I'm well aware, he was pacing outside the training area thinking of names one day. Could have been worse though. Glad to know you are prioritizing efficiency over image, too many people think that using a gun to take down a villain is cowardly. Pretty naive if you ask me"
Melissa smiled and nodded "That's true. Besides, it will be my job to take down villains, I don't really care how people see me as long as I can help people."
Nagant chuckled at her students' words. "I've taught you well then, glad to know you've taken my lessons to heart. Most underground heroes will absolutely agree with that mindset as well"
"It's a good one to have, who cares about how popular you are, you should be a hero to help people. Alright, let's go for another set, can't get into UA if I'm just standing here"
"Please, you'll kill it on the obstacle course for the recommended exam, besides you don't need to win, just get top six and you'll be fine"
"I thought you don't give compliments?"
Nagant smiled "I don't, I'm speaking facts. I doubt most people can keep up with you without a quirk, besides nobody besides the idiot we call a shrub is anywhere close to being as creative as you. You earned my recommendation much like how Izuku earned Birdbrain's"
"Aww, thanks. That means a lot to me"
Nagant gestured to the targets "Alright, one more round, then we'll go do some sparring"
"Yes Ma'am" Melissa nodded and retook her firing stance. She reloaded her pistol, flicked the safety, breathed in, aimed and…
BANG!
Next episode preview:
Kirishima: Entrance Exam! Let's do this!
Mina: I am so pumped how about you guys
Melissa: Oh, we already took the exam
Mina: Huh
Izuku: Yup, we are mostly here for moral support
Kirishima: THAT'S SO MANLY MIDOBRO! THANKS!
Next time on To Build a Hero
To Build an Exam