Lighters

by Fezzgator

Out on a job for the mayor, Michiru is pulled away from her world and dumped in one that, at least on the surface, is paradise. Along with a cranky chimera who hates monsters, a girl who barely talks and a group of misfits displaced from across time and space Michiru will try to find her place. Plus crossovers with Slayers!, Xenogears, Final Fantasy 6, Escaflowne and more!

13. Chapter 13

"That's right, baby, Formidable's here and its time to get antsy!"

As the wrecking ball of an ant girl rapidly approached battle, Michiru almost screamed into the headset "Aizawa! What the hell! We're supposed to be the ones getting tested, aren't we!"

Entirely unfazed by the tanuki girl's impassioned queries, Shota calmly explained "Part of being a hero is working with other heroes that may approach the job differently. Besides, as first responders, it was your duty to report what you were encountering. If you had done so, maybe your backup would be better prepared. Now you'll have to deal with it."

"That's it!?" Zelgadis angrily cut in.

"That's it." Shota answered simply.

"You son-of-a-"

"Ending transmission"

"Why is everyone in this school an asshole?!" the chimera called out to no one in particular.

Ignoring her eternally bitter teammate for the time being, Michiru called out to her fellow morpher "Emmy! Intercept Formidable and explain in person what's going on. I get the impression she isn't going to listen over the headset."

Nodding, Emeralda turned and dashed to the far end of the roof before leaping off. Though unseen by her teammates, the greenette briefly shifted most of her body into a spherical shape and bounced on impact with the ground before returning to normal and dashing to toward the mobile disaster that was their back up.

Had she stayed a moment longer, Emeralda would have seen Michiru and Zelgadis caught off guard as the villains attacked once more.

Apparently, while the flying duo had been distracted, Tamaki and sprouted his own pair of wings, allowing him to get close enough to catch Michiru in one of his tentacles while Nejire had carried Mirio up above Zelgadis and dropped him at the unsuspecting sorcerer.

As Tamaki descended, he brought the struggling tanuki girl with him, until he managed to smash her hard into the ground. Dazed but not out, Michiru may have thought her vison had blurred from the impact because she was seeing multiples of those chibi things again heading right for her. In a moment they had piled on top of her and began pummeling her with everything they had as Tamaki let go to avoid getting entangled in the assault.

Meanwhile, Zelgadis saw the muscular blonde descending on him from on high, fist raised and had enough time to counterattack with a blast of air. Much to the chimera's surprise though, all the attack seemed to do was blow the guy's cloths clean off of him, leaving Zelgadis to exclaim "Oh what the hell is this bullsh-!" just as he was smashed hard in the face, sending him crashing to the ground himself. His assailant seemed to disappear into the ground instead of hitting it before reappearing a few feet away, completely unscathed.

Laying there, his whole body screaming in pain, Zelgadis managed to look over at Mirio, not far off and knew if he didn't do something, he was done for. With considerable effort, the blue-skinned sorcerer lifted his arms and focused to bring the spell forth. Then he pressed his hand to the ground and croaked out "Dill Brand…"

Where Mirio stood, a red circle formed around him and though the blonde looked about and was clearly aware something was happening, he just stood there. A moment later, everything in the circle exploded upward as chunks of rock, asphalt and dust flew in all directions. And though the attack's resulting shrapnel was enough to keep Nejire from approaching, when the dust cleared, the very naked Mirio was still there, though now standing in a crater several feet deep. When he realized the attack had been ineffective, Zelgadis knew he was in deep trouble. Somehow his attacks weren't touching this guy and the girl had him covered from above. There didn't seem to be a way out of this one.

Not far off, Tamaki glanced at his green-clad teammate "You've, uh, really improved your quirk, Butakusa-san."

"Hey, call me Ragweed, we're on a mission, remember!" the girl with the mass of curled dusty hair reminded her teammate, slightly annoyed. She was a second-year, sure but she wanted to prove she was good enough to hang with the Big Three and expected to be treated with respect here. Crossing her arms, she proudly added "And yes, I have! Even if one isn't very strong, my little dust-bunnies can still pack a punch in large numbers!"

The cloaked shy upperclassmen was about to reply when he saw the pile of chibi Ragweeds press outward, before exploding away as a huge ball of fur expanded outward from where Michiru had been. The mini Ragweeds disappeared in puffs of smoke from the force of the expulsion as if small fireworks had just gone off. This caused the two false villains to be on their guard when the huge fur ball dissipated back down to Michiru's normal tail. Said tanuki girl looked a bit rougher for wear, her cloths torn in places but otherwise was fine, though she looked pissed.

Tamaki didn't want to give his opponent the initiative and attacked with his tentacles, hoping to ensnare the fur-covered girl again. Instead, Michiru's arms enlarged to ridiculous proportions, massive and muscular as she grabbed both of the incoming appendages. Smirking, Michiru called out "Now its my turn!"

Tamaki's eyes went wide as Michiru pulled him to one side before yanking back and throwing him hard at the unsuspecting Nejire. The periwinkle-haired girl had just then been about to launch a knockout blow on the pinned Zelgadis when Tamaki crashed into her and the two tumbled down hard.

Seeing his teammates crash in a heap, Mirio was distracted enough to give Zelgadis the opening he needed to cast Raywing and take to the sky once more, out of the blonde's reach and free of assault from Nejire. Looking over at Michiru, Zelgadis saw she was waving him over as she said over the headset "Lets regroup! We need to hide in one of these buildings. Emmy, have you met up with Formidable yet?"

"I have. She was…disappointed when I asked her to follow me." Emeralda explained.

"That's one way of putting it, you robot! Just let me at those villains and I'll finish this fight in no time!" Sakon interjected with way too much enthusiasm.

Rolling her eyes, Michiru replied dismissively "Great, whatever, just keep heading toward that red building around the corner. Zel, can you screen us?"

"Way ahead of you Michiru!" the rock-encrusted sorcerer answered as he found what he was looking for. One more Dill Brand later and a fire hydrant on the corner of the street exploded upward, followed by a stream of water. With the right element in play, Zelgadis held out his hand and called "Dark Mist!" A thick dark fog suddenly descended on the street around the recovering false villains and the heroes made their escape.

Moments later, the four heroes found themselves in an interior, windowless room of one of the run down buildings. The first thing Sakon did when she entered the room with Emeralda was to punch Michiru and Zelgadis in the arm. Hard. "Hey, what the hell was that for!" came the tanuki girl's indignant response.

"For putting me to sleep and leaving me behind at the dojo, you jackasses!" Sakon shot back, a satisfied smirk on her face.

Rubbing her sore arm, Michiru narrowed her eyes as she complained "Why didn't you punch Emmy? Afraid she'd dodge it?"

The ant hero-in-training narrowed her multi-lensed eyes as well, about to respond when Emeralda calmly interjected "She punched me when we first crossed paths."

Nodding and looking calmer, Sakon added "Yeah, and I got one more for the purple-haired weirdo, where is he?"

Any feelings of animosity or annoyance in the air died instantly as everyone went quiet. After a moment, Sakon looked around, confused 'What? What'd I miss?"

Finally, Zelgadis answered for the group, ruefully as he said "He's gone. We tried to take on a bunch of villains in Kamino and he was killed. Happy?"

Realizing the landmine she had stepped on, Sakon looked away, regretting she had even asked. Seeing the mood everyone was in though, gloomy and unfocused, the ant girl pumped several of her fists into their opposite hand and exclaimed "So whats the plan? I'm so stoked to take on those Big Three showoffs!"

Shaking her head at the sound of Sakon's fists, Michiru forced herself back to the here and now, the fire returning to her eyes as she said "Right! So here is what I'm thinking. We need to get the hostages and take care of that bomb first, then we'll be free to really let loose on the bad guys!"

"Fair enough." Zelgadis acknowledged but added "How do we do that though. The villains gave us no clues, how are we supposed to find them?"

Crossing her arms and smirking confidently, Michiru answered "I've got a trick up my sleeve! I think I can handle it, I just need a minute to focus. As long as we're not-"

"There! There! I found them!" came the high-pitched voice of one of Ragweed's mini clones.

"-found out…Shit! I need you three to buy me some time while I find them!" the tanuki girl finished as the four of them rushed out of the building after the hair clone hoping to catch her before she revealed their location.

Luckily for the heroes, though the clone had sounded the alarm and alerted all the other clones nearby, and there were a lot of them, the villains weren't laying in ambush. It only took a few moments though before the four heroes were surrounded by an army of little Ragweeds though and the villains weren't far behind, Nejire the first to be seen flying toward them. As the horde approached to assault them, Michiru turned to Zelgadis, calling out "Zel, we need a barrier, now!"

With less time to conjure the spell, the chimeric sorcerer actually had to say the spell's name, calling out "Windy Shield!" just as the front ranks of tiny girls pounced forward. The little girls slammed into the wind barrier, each making a disturbingly cute squeaking sound as their faces impacted the barrier.

Sakon could only watch their attackers try futilely to break in for a few moments before she declared "This is stupid! If we just sit here and let them pound on us, we'll never get anything done! Let me at 'em!"

As the ant girl took a step forward, intending to charge into the mass of little girls, she was stopped by Emeralda, who held her arm in front of her. An incredulous look on her face, Sakon turned to protest but was cut off by Emeralda's authoritative "Wait. Give Michiru a chance."

Stunned by the assertiveness of the quiet girl, Sakon followed Emeralda's gaze over to their furry leader, who had morphed from a tanuki girl into a wolf girl. Her battle lust momentarily forgotten, Sakon excitedly said "I didn't know you could change your whole body! That's so cool!" entirely missing that Michiru had her eyes closed and snout angled upward and was clearly trying to concentrate.

The now wolf girl visibly struggled to focus with the distracting question, her eyelids twitching. After a few more moments of struggle, Michiru gave up and opened her eyes as she cursed "Damn it! This barrier is a double-edged sword! All the wind is making it impossible for me to get the scent!"

Looking a bit crestfallen, Zelgadis turned and despaired "Seriously? It couldn't be easy for once, could it. That means we're going to have to buy you time the old-fashioned way, aren't we?"

Looking apologetic, Michiru answered meekly "Just a few minutes, I promise."

"All right! That's all I needed to hear! I'm coming for you all!" Sakon declared, leaning forward and balling her hands into fists.

"If it makes you feel any better, Zelgadis, that blonde man approaching can phase through matter, so I doubt your barrier would have been of any use for much longer." Emeralda explained, as she, too, readied to return to the fray.

"Alright, I'll need to take on that flying woman, so its up to you two to protect Michiru!" Zelgadis explained. With nodded from Emeralda and Sakon, the sorcerer waited for a brief window in the attacks to dispel. When he saw it, Zelgadis shouted "NOW!" and when the barrier came down, he shot up into the air, right for Nejire, who was ready for him this time. The two quickly became locked in exchanging long distance blasts at each other.

Back on the ground Sakon let out a mighty yell and charged forward, punching anything and everything she could, clones disbursing into puffs of dusty hair left and right. Emeralda, for her part morphed her arms into long spears that allowed her to take out wide swaths of clones at once. It only took the greenette a few moments to clear away her side of the horde and standing beyond them was Tamaki and Mirio, a confident smile on the latter and an extremely nervous, maybe even embarrassed look on the former. Emeralda had a pretty good idea what the two were going to try and do given their quirks and she wasn't sure how long she could hold out given their restrictions on this being a mock battle. Hopefully Michiru found the hostages quickly.

Indeed Michiru was having luck. The air now cleared of the wind barrier, the moment Michiru closed her eyes and focused again, she could begin to discern the various scents around her. Once she locked on the villains, she was able to track back, just as if she was seeing where they had been and what they had done. Then, shifting back to her tanuki form, Michiru called out "I found it!"

Michiru's teammates were locked in battle however, leaving no one to acknowledge the feat. Looking about, Michiru saw that Nejire was closest to the building they needed to get to so she headed that way to help Zelgadis, opting to stay on the ground, charging in fast on cheetah legs. As the furry morpher got close, Zelgadis saw her and hoped he knew what she was going to do, senting a valley of fireballs to distract his periwinkle-haired opponent.

It worked, as the poor female member of the Big Three never saw the arms that reached around her and entangled her like rope. Desperate to escape, Nejire put more power into the vortexes keeping her aloft, trying to drag Michiru with her into the air. All this did was leave her open for Zelgadis to sweep in and deliver a hard punch to the gut, just as Ranma had done to him days earlier, knocking the wind out of Nejire.

Bringing their opponent down to the ground and again securing her with capture tape, Michiru told Zelgadis she knew where the bomb and hostages were and was heading there. With a nod, the chimera headed in the opposite direction to assist Emeralda and Sakon.

That help couldn't come soon enough.

Things hadn't gone as smoothly for the two heroes, in no small part because Sakon, eager to avenge having gone from winning the sports festival the previous year to a laughing stock now, thanks in no small part to Mirio's rise, decided she was going to take him on one on one.

Mirio gladly accepted, charging forward. As the blonde did so, Emeralda called out to her ant girl teammate to keep moving to avoid his quirk. Smirking, Sakon countered "I know all about LeMillion's quirk, ya mute! I know what I'm doing!"

Knowing apparently meant doing nothing at all. The ant girl stood there and let arguably the best student at UA take his best shot at her. As Mirio punched the ant girl in the face, hard, Sakon stood her ground, ready to counter with her own attack. She was partially successfully, able to land a hit, though Mirio started phasing as she made contact, as though he was now expecting something of the kind.

So it went as the two more or less kept repeating slight variations of this pattern, each time Sakon came out the worse of the two and whatever advantage she had from the damage Emeralda had dealt Miro earlier had rapidly been made up for.

Emeralda's struggle was of a different sort. Tamaki seemed to be refusing to attack her while she, unwilling to use lethal force, was having trouble landing a hit on him as he kept his distance with his tentacles and wings. Emeralda was sure he was stalling long enough for his fellow villain to join him. The greenette could not, for the life of her, figure out how he was able to keep up when his face was as red as it was. Surely, he was getting winded if he looked like that, right?

Zelgadis showing up broke both impasses quickly. Seeing the ant girl staggering from repeated blows to the head, the rock-encrusted sorcerer lifted the poor girl up in the air with a levitation spell before laying down a hail of fireballs down on Tamaki, who retreated down an alleyway that was immediately blocked up by a literal wall of Ragweed clones.

Guessing that Zelgadis couldn't attack without also hitting Emeralda, Mirio choose to engage her once again, keeping himself close and attacking with a flurry of feints and misdirected attacks. Emeralda, a trained martial artist and very quick, was able to avoid most of Mirio's tricks but the constant pressure was making it hard for her to focus enough to use the same trick she had used to beat him before. At least Zelgadis was wisely keeping to the sky to avoid becoming a target.

Then an explosion could be heard from the direction Michiru had headed. That fact was enough to distract Emeralda long enough for Mirio to take advantage, landing several powerful blows on the greenette. It was only when the morpher's hair suddenly shot out forming a mace of spikes around her head that Mirio pulled back as he was swinging for her face.

Before any of the heroes could truly start worrying about their leader, Michiru came sprinting up with a large metal object shaped like a rod. Breathing hard, the tanuki girl declared "I did it, I rescued the hostages!"

Confused as to how the little thing in Michiru's hands could mean the hostages were safe, Zelgadis still smirked. Now he could let loose and finish this thing. Eyeing an electric sign above a door flickering the word "BAR" with parts of the kanji missing, the chimera knew exactly what he wanted to do. Yelling, Zelgadis ordered "Emeralda, get back!"

The greenette did as she was told, bounding back behind where the chimera floated above her as Mirio kept his distance, waiting to counter whatever was coming next. The blonde was surprised when the next attack didn't come in his direction but was instead an icicle bound for the sign on the building to their sides. The impact caused sparks to fly however and with that, Zelgadis raised his hand above his head and called "ARC BRASS!"

Instantly, bolts of lightning began raining down in front of the chimera in an area that encompassed several blocks in front of him. Though Mirio could phase through lightning, he simply wasn't fast enough to do it and he, along with Tamaki and Susuki (and her clones) were left paralyzed on the ground.

Though Emeralda seemed unfazed by such a display of power, Michiru and Sakon were left speechless. It was in this moment of calm that Shota's bored sounding voice came over their headsets "Well, I guess that's it. I'm sending medbots to recover the villains. You three report to the observation room for debrief and medical attention."

Zelgadis landed next to Emeralda, a satisfied look on his face as the two nodded to each other. Though the two of them would have been quite happy to continue basking silently, Michiru came bounding up and threw herself at them and drawing them into a group hug, a giant smile on her face. "See, I told you we'd show'em!" she happily declared. Emeralda and Zelgadis, despite themselves, smiled too.

(X)

As the three made their way to the observation area via Shota's instructions, Zelgadis glanced over at Michiru, who walked between himself and Emeralda. The tanuki girl was still carrying the long metal ovoid shaped object and now that the test was over, he coul;d ask just what the hell it was "Michiru, what did you mean you saved the hostages? What is that thing?"

Beaming, Michiru held out the foot long object and explained "I meant what I said! This thing is the hostages!" Then, the fur covered girl pressed a button on the object which caused a projection of a group of people to appear in front of them. They appeared distraught and pleading before flicking out of existence again when Michiru pressed the button again.

Realizing the gist of what happened, Zelgadis clarified "So there never were real hostages? We just had to get this thing?"

Cradling the object in one hand, Michiru offered a thumbs up with the other "You got it!"

"Fascinating." The blue-skinned sorcerer relied.

After that, the group fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Zelgadis decided to give voice to another object of interest, turning to Emeralda and casually asking "So, grew back the eye?"

Continuing to look forward, the greenette simply replied "I did."

"Glad to hear it" came the chimera's nonchalant reply as he again looked forward.

Michiru, meanwhile, had kept looking between the two as they talked since she was between them and her eyes got wider with each exchange. When it became clear neither of the other two intended to say anything else on the matter, the tanuki girl couldn't contain her frustration and curiosity, calling out "Oh come on! Zel, Emmy regrows an eye and that's all you have to say!?"

Zelgadis rolled his eyes as a look of annoyance flashed on his face. "Look, someone growing back an eye after a week isn't even close to the weirdest thing I've seen. Besides, its none of my business outside the fact that now she can see better and is more capable in a fight. Is there anything else that matters here?"

After first feeling put off by the sorcerer-swordsmen's dismissal, a mischievous smile appeared on Michiru's animalistic features as she drawled out "OOHHH reeaallly Zel? That wasn't exactly the feeling I got when you saw me just after I got out of the shower…"

His face flushing, Zelgadis turned away in a huff as he stuttered out "Do, don't make it sound more scandalous than it was! You were clothed! I just was surprised to see you human, that's all!"

"But you entered after Michiru got out of the shower?" Emeralda asked, her voice nominally the same but Zelgadis couldn't help but detect a hint of malice under her monotone voice.

Looking over at his amber-eyed companion, Zelgadis saw nothing out of place on Emeralda's face but out of the corner of his eye he caught that her left hand was sliding into the shape of a hammer. With flashes of being sent into the sky by a pissed off draconic former traveling companion, Zelgadis quickly stammered out a response "I-I misheard when I asked if I could come in is all, I didn't intend on anything other than getting language help!"

"You know we can still hear you…" came the dry and disinterested voice of their proctor.

When the trio went utterly silent, Shota continued, sounding more annoyed and tired than ever "Just get over here, we've got a lot to discuss."

The rest of the walk went without another word between them.

Before long, the three stood lined up in front of Shota, Jun and Hitomi. The counselor stood by, a reassuring smile on her face while Jun was looking pretty smug behind the underground hero who decided to get right to the point "So what did you three do wrong?"

Confusion played on the three test-takers faces as each struggled to come to grips with the question. Michiru was the first to abandon that mental struggle and indignantly asked "What do you mean, did wrong? We won, didn't we? We beat the villains and saved the hostages, didn't we?"

"If it were that simple, you wouldn't need a proctor, now would you? I decide who passes and who fails, understand?" Shota snapped back, quieting the tanuki girl, who shrank back a bit at the response.

Seeing the defiant look in both Michiru and Zelgadis' eyes, Shota turned to Emeralda, who would not meet his gaze, looking disappointed more than anything "You have something to share, Kasim?" Shota asked, doing his best to pressure the young woman.

Looking at Shota but focusing below his head, Emeralda quietly replied "No, Aizawa-san, I don't."

"Exactly. Kasim, you appear to be highly competent in close combat and a quick thinker, but your communication is awful. You left yourself isolated and worse, led your teammate into a situation that you should have warned her about instead of having to throw yourself in front of a punch to protect her. Get better."

Taking a long, deep breath to calm herself, Emeralda forced herself to say simply "…yes" before looking away once more. Despite her misgivings with the man in front of her, the greenette was well aware of her shortcomings in talking to others and having it pointed out made her feel worse about it than she already did.

"Kagemori."

"Y-yes, Aizawa-san?" the tanuki girl answered almost on reflex after watching her friend get dressed down. The eraser hero didn't disappoint.

Shota continued "You took on the mantle of leader and almost immediately rushed off with no other information besides knowing your teammate may be in trouble. That could easily get you killed. Try to reestablish communication, scout first, then act."

"Aizawa-san, I know it was stup-"

"I'm not finished. You willingly gave away a captured villain instead of considering the facts in front of you. That goes for you, too, Greywards. You were lucky one of the villains even let slip there was a bomb in this scenario, you could have easily gotten the hostages killed by your ignorance. All of this without even going into your failure to report back the situation to dispatching authorities. Clearly, you three have a long way to go." Shota finally finished, pausing to let his words sink in.

The three gathered test-takers by this point were feeling as though the air had been let out of them, their previous high at having completed the mission all but crushed. Zelgadis seethed, his fists clenched as he thought of all the ways the exam wasn't fair and Emeralda continued to beat herself up at her taciturn nature. Turning to face the other two, Michiru steadied her quivering jaw, as she began to apologize "Guys, this is all my-"

"All of that being said, you three passed. Congratulations. Work on everything we talked about and you'll do fine. Make sure to see Recovery Girl before you leave. I'll see you in training. Sanada-sensei, Kanzaki-san." Then, turning, hands in his pockets, Shota just walked away.

Finally, still facing her friends, though now looking completely dumb-struck, her shoulders slumped, all Michiru could manage was "…huh?"

"He said you three passed, Michiru." Jun jovially declared. "Don't mind Aizawa-san, that's just his way. You three should be proud, you actually impressed him a little and you even beat the Big Three! I admit when I heard they were being brought in for your test, I thought you were being set up to fail."

Standing at attention, Emeralda stiffly replied "We only did what was asked of us, even if we were not perfect."

Zelgadis, who was waving a hand in front of the still stunned Michiru, added "What do you mean by Big Three? Were those four we faced special?"

It was Hitomi who answered this time "Three of them are, yes. The blue-haired girl, the cloaked young man and the enthusiastic blonde make up what is known at UA as the Big Three, widely considered the top students currently in the school."

Finally shaking free of her daze, Michiru joined in after shooting the chimera a dirty look for waving in her face "Wait, we just took on the best students at UA? But Emmy and I watched the last few sports festivals and none of them made the finals."

Motioning for the group to follow him as he turned to head for their car, Jun explained "Quite a bit can change in a year. Those three trained hard and gained mastery over their quirks. That allowed them to reach the top. The blonde, Mirio Togata especially went from a laughing stock to one of the most promising aspiring heroes we've had in a long time. Emeralda, you actually beat him! That was quite the feat!"

"I've fought god before. I will not be intimidated by a streaker." the greenette blandly replied.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Michiru ventured to ask "Emmy…was that a joke or a statement of fact?"

"...yes."

That got a smirk out of Zelgadis but no one else seemed to take the green-haired morpher's attempt at humor to be terribly successful. Clearing his threat, Jun decided to press on "To celebrate, I'm taking you all out to eat!"

"Aren't we not allowed stray off UA property?" Michiru asked, confused but still hopeful.

"Yes, we'll have to eat in the car, of course but it still counts, right?" Jun answered, doing a wonderful job of covering for the fact that he had forgotten that little detail in his exuberance.

After seeing Recovery Girl, who was on site and tending to the other combatants, the victorious trio were lead back to the car that brought them to the testing site before Jun took them to have a well-deserved meal.

(X)

The last few decades had not been kind to the Yakuza. Really, the decline had started with the advent of quirks themselves which made it harder and harder to maintain power with the nuance and unseen hand that such criminal empires required. In a world increasingly filled with bombastic powers and huge personalities, the Yakuza found themselves being squeezed out more and more. Then came All Might and his crusade to rid the country of all crime, both in the daylight and in the shadows.

There was almost nothing left of the various Yakuza families that used to litter Japan. One particular one still existed though, the Shie Hassaikai. For many years, this Yakuza group's boss had been content to bide his time. The leader preferred to do things the "right" way, acting with honor as they struggled to stay relevant with the ever-watchful eye of hero society glaring down on them.

All who followed the Shie Hassaikai boss revered him, many having been taken in when no one else would, including a young man named Kai Chisaki. Kai, a sociopathic and twisted soul, showed his appreciation by putting his boss in a coma and taking his benefactor's place as head of the family. That's what most in the group thought anyway. That's certainly what Kobe, a man in his twenties who had been in the group since his mid-teens a decade ago thought as he entered his new boss's room.

Kobe had the unfortunate job of being the bearer of bad news to the odd but very dangerous young man he now answered to. The gruff looking underling found Kai discussing something with several members of his inter circle, a group he referred to as his "Bullets" and all, like Kai himself, wore a variation on a medieval European plague mask.

Not foolish enough to disturb his leader, Kobe waited silently for Kai to notice him. Eventually the short-haired redhead did and turned to face the unremarkable grunt before him. Kai's yellow eyes had an intensity about them that seemed to bore into Kobe and the underling instinctively tensed at the gaze. This fear was at odds with the calm and collected, if muffled, voice that emanated from behind his boss's mask "Ah, Kobe, I did not mean to keep you waiting. Please, what did you learn about our next target?"

This was it. Kobe had heard what had happened to others that had displeased his new leader and the thought made the poor man's lips quiver as he summoned the courage to speak. Finally, trying, and failing to sound confident, Kobe's voice broke as he said "B-Boss…its, its too late. They've already, uh, been robbed. If we hit them now, they would have nothin'. I'm sorry boss!"

Kobe's attempt to placate the young leader of the Shie Hassaikai fell on deaf ears and the masked Kai's eyes narrowed as he calmly closed the rather lager gap between them. When the two faced each other, Kobe released the two men were about the same height and yet, he felt cowed before the intense gaze now inches from his face.

Then, in a flash, Kai's gloved hand was on his underling's head and Kobe felt it. The feeling of his entire body broken down, piece by piece until he had been completely deconstructed, cell by cell. The pain was indescribable. Yet, moments later, the grunt was standing there again, as though nothing had ever happened. Despite looking to all the world like everything was fine, Kobe trembled and the poor man fell to his knees, his body trembling at the prospect of that experience a second time. His anger satiated, Kai spoke again, just as calm as before "Now, tell me, who has stolen the money rightfully meant for us?"

Kobe couldn't bring himself to look up at his leader as he struggled to keep tears from streaming down his face. Only the promise of more pain compelled Kobe to croak out "I-it's the same guy! The one on the news! The nice guy robber!"

After grunting an acknowledgement, Kai turned to the to Bullet members who had observed the exchange from a distance. An exchange of nods was all that was needed to communicate what action needed to be taken before the leader of the Shie Hassaikai turned back to face his underling. Placing his hand on the now prostrate Kobe's head, the grunt broke down crying outright. It was unwarranted as Kai spoke "Thank you for informing me, now that we know, we can deal with the situation appropriately."

Kobe took that as his sign to leave and he stumbled to his feet, never raising his head as he turned and made his way out of the room, equal parts relieved and terrified. Kobe was more sure than ever what had happened to the old boss was no accident but he was equally sure he would keep his mouth shut about it.

(X)

Despite lunch being eaten in a car, the meal turned out to be very productive for Jun. While the group ate, the lighters mentor had managed to convince Zelgadis to see power loader about dulling his blade so he could legally use it in combat going forward. Not only that but Hitomi had got Michiru to perk up after an unusually quiet car ride for the young tanuki girl. No one was sure what had been wrong but whispered concerns had been shared early on in the meal that let the former rescue hero know something was up.

If this kept up, there might even be the possibility the three would let Hitomi actually have a sit down with each of them for a proper evaluation. For now, though, Jun let the trio know that he had got word their uniforms were ready. This news wasn't received with much excitement, but it had to be done, so off they went to the shop they had visited days earlier. Hitomi was the one to actually retrieve the uniforms, despite the owner being apprehensive about letting them go without them being tried on. With their last stop completed, the group headed back to UA's main campus.

It was during this final stretch that Jun told Michiru, Emeralda and Zelgadis that they would need to come up with hero costumes and names before the exam and he'd have a couple of experts swing by to help them. This news absolutely excited the tanuki girl, who began bouncing in her seat at the thought. Emeralda, as usual, looked fairly indifferent and Zelgadis looked absolutely mortified. When Hitomi explained the outfit could be whatever they wanted and pointed to the wild differences between All Might and their recent proctor, the chimera calmed down considerably, at least until Michiru made fun of his cross-dressing.

Once the car had calmed down from Michiru's prodding, Jun suggested that the three of them head over to the 1-A dorms and introduce themselves to their new neighbors sometime soon. Michiru showed decidedly less enthusiasm about this compared to the costumes and names but still took the lead and agreed to go before helping to secure a very reluctant agreement from Zelgadis and Emeralda.

It was just in time too, because it wasn't long at all before they arrived back at the school. With everything going on, the day had reached late afternoon when the lighter trio got out of the car. Jun and Hitomi congratulated them again before letting them know they'd have a day off before training started. With a wave from the car, Jun and Hitomi departed, leaving the three displaced souls to mingle with their new neighbors.

As the three made their way slowly to their home, Zelgadis furrowed his brow and wondered out loud "Didn't they drop us off further away from the house than was necessary? Why are we so far away?"

Looking sideways, a teasing smirk on her face, Michiru replied "What, use a little too much magic back during the test, oh powerful sorcerer? I could carry you if you want!"

The rock-encrusted chimera turned to counter, annoyance clear on his features when a new voice caught the their attention "HEY! OMG, are you three actual lighters!?"

The three watched as a teenager with pink skin and slightly darker pink hair came bounding toward them from 1-A's dorm. As the enthusiastic girl approached them, it dawned on Zelgadis they had been dumped away from the house for this exact reason. The chimera clenched his fist, knowing that despite all the progress he and Jun had made, it was clear the older man was still not above some manipulation. Something else occurred to the blue-skinned swordsmen as he turned to Emeralda "You…knew she was there, didn't you?"

Holding her usual calm visage, the greenette simply confirmed "I did, yes."

"And you didn't say anything?" Michiru added.

"You two were engaged. I didn't want to be rude." came the amber-eyed girl's response as the pink girl got close enough to talk normally.

The student's arrival cut any further discussion of the merits of communication short as the girl, dressed in a simple cream t-shirt and UA standard gym pants came to a stop in front of them at a hop and spread her arms wide as she continued from before "You are lighters, aren't you? You must be since your headed to the lighters dorm, right? I'm Mina Ashido of class 1-A, you should totally come over and say hi!"

Michiru found herself taken with Mina's positive energy and also took note of her tiny bent horns and eyes that featured black sclera and yellow irises. Glancing at Zelgadis though, the tanuki girl could tell he was overwhelmed and had pulled up his hood, despite the fact that the girl arguably looked odder than him. Emmy, as usual, seemed to be taking everything in stride. That meant it was up to her to lead, as usual. "Hello Ashido-san! I'm Michiru Kagemori and this is Zelgadis Greywards and Emeralda Kasim. Your right, we are lighters and it looks like we'll be neighbors going forward." Then glancing at her teammates, the tanuki girl decided that even if this sounded like fun, the other two were probably ready to rest "I'm sorry but we just got back from training and we're ready to clean up and rest. Maybe tomorrow?"

Crestfallen, Mina actually appeared to pout as she responded pathetically "O, oh, right, of course...I should have known people as cool as you would be out training! Sorry to have bothered you…"

The sorry sight melted Miuchiru's heart and she turned to look at the frowning Zelgadis, her eyes seemingly larger than before (and given her morphing ability, the chimera couldn't rule out the possibility that they were bigger) and with a pleading voice said "Zel, I think we should go…"

Having had enough nonsense and drama for one day, the blue-skinned sorcerer scoffed as he turned away "Tch, do what you want. The last thing I want to do today is listen to a bunch of teenagers prattle on." Then walked off without another word.

Mina tilted her head in confusion at first, thinking the taller (and handsome) boy seemed like a teenager to her but instead focused on the positive as she leaped for joy "Yay, does that mean you'll come over, Kagemori-san?"

Smiling warmly, the furry lighter replied "Oh, you can just call me Michiru and yeah, I'd love to stop by and say hi to everyone!"

Then, seeming to notice the unmoving and stoic greenette to her side now that Zelgadis was gone, Mina added with a hint of pleading still in her voice "And what about you, Kasim-san? You want to come too?"

Emeralda appeared unfazed by the pink girl's theatrics but did look to Michiru as if asking permission to join. Puzzled briefly by the look her tan-skinned friend was giving her, Michiru finally said "I think it'll be fun and I'd love for you to join us if you want, Emmy!"

Nodding, Emeralda quickly replied "Then I will do so." Before turning back to face Mina and stiffly bowing as she said "Thank you for inviting me Ashido-san. I look forward to seeing your home."

Nervously waving her hands in front of her, Mina responded to the way to formal acceptance with a quick "It, its nothing, really! Thanks for coming!"

As the three girls made their way over to the 1-A dorm, Mina moved to walk beside Michiru with Emeralda behind as they passed the large pile of moving boxes that Mina had been outside adding to when the pink girl whispered, "Is your friend always so serious?"

Stifling a chuckle, the tanuki girl answered just as softly "yeah, she is. Quiet too, but she is very nice, even if she has a hard time showing it."

That brought a smile to Mina's face and a slight skip to her step as they continued toward the brand-new building.

The new denizens of the house were spread about as some sat resting on a couch while others moved about with boxes empty or full. One thing the house was, was quiet as everyone went about their business. That was, until the door slammed open and Mina excitedly called out "HEY GUYS! LOOK WHO I FOUND!"

Everything stopped. The soft conversations on the couch, everyone walking by, they all paused at the sudden intrusion. One short guy with balls for hair outright dropped the box he was carrying as his mouth hung agape. Mina didn't seem to notice, or she didn't care as she stepped in to reveal a suddenly very sheepish looking Michiru and confused Emeralda. With everyone in the dorm's spacious common area eyeing them, Michiru raised a hand and offered a tiny wave as she said meekly "Uh…hi?"

"Woah, are those two who I think they are?" called Kyoka Jiro, a dark purple haired girl with earphone jacks dangling from her ears as she turned from her seat on the couch.

"Yep! These are two of our new lighter neighbors!" Mina explained as she grabbed Michiru's and Emeralda's hands, dragging them into the house from the doorway.

As the three came to a stop, a sweet looking girl with brown shoulder-length hair came up, smiling "Welcome! I'm Ochaco Uraraka! I remember seeing the news, you two just got here didn't you?"

Returning the smile from the round-faced girl, Michiru started to answer "Yeah, heh, its been a pretty bumpy week, but I hear-"

"Hey! I remember you two! You really took it to that weird spider thing at the mall, didn't you?" came the excited voice of Denki Kaminari as he appeared to the other side of the girls.

Before either Michiru or Emeralda could answer though, the short grape-haired Minoru Mineta, just to Denki's side spoke up, his voice dripping with perverted excitement "if your lighters, that means your far from home...does that…make you available?"

Reflectively taking a step back in disgust, Michiru bumped into Emeralda, who had narrowed her eyes dangerously at the creepy gnome of a teenager. Before the tanuki girl could get her bearings though, another question came, seemingly from nowhere "Just ignore Mineta, hes the worst! Seriously, though, did you get in trouble for using your quirks in public like that without being heroes?"

Michiru finally realized the voice was coming from what appeared to be floating cloths and that this girl, Toru Hagakure, was invisible. The two lighters were effectively surrounded, being bombarded with questions and not a moment to get in an answer in edgewise. Michiru was about give up and just puff her tail out into a huge ball to get everyone away when another, familiar and stern voice joined in from down the hall "What is the meaning of this! Some of your classmates and fellow dormmates are still unpacking! It is unbecoming to block the common area with such commotion, what is going on?!"

The assembled group around the lighters stopped their mobbing and turned to face their class rep, accompanied by the shorter, green-haired Izuku, both of which were carrying stacks of boxes. It was Mina who spoke for the group "Sorry, Ida, its just we have our first guests! This is Michiru and Emeralda from the lighters dorm next door!"

Hearing that, the two boys stopped dead in their tracks and moved their heads enough to see past their cardboard burden and realized who they were looking at, Ida exclaiming "You! What are you two doing in this honorable house!"

Looks of confusion played across the assembled 1-A students around Michiru and Emeralda before the frog-like Tsuyu Asui asked from the couch "What do you mean, Ida-kun? Do you know these two?"

Setting his boxes down and sternly walking toward the two lighters as Izuku stood still stunned to see the two, Ida clarified "I do indeed! These two were among the group of vigilantes we encountered in Kamino Ward while rescuing Bakugo-san! I would not have such reckless criminals in our vaunted home of learning!"

Bristling, her fur standing on end, Michiru stepped forward to defend herself and her friends "Hey, we weren't exactly the only ones out there, now were we, you self-righteous stick-in-the-mud!"

His posture somehow managing to stand even stiffer at the tanuki girl's words, Ida shot back "We were there to save a classmate and we didn't break the law, now did we? Can you say the same?"

Before Michiru could retort, Izuku appeared beside Tenya, placing a hand on the taller teen's shoulder "Ida, its ok. After all, you aren't exactly innocent of running out on your own to take the law into your own hands, are you?"

That seemed to take much of the steam out of the bi-speckled class rep as he turned his head to meet his friends gaze. That didn't stop Michiru from shooting back though "Hey, we know we screwed up, OK? I don't need you to tell me we were wrong…we've paid the price, so just back off!"

That caught Izuku's attention and he met the furry girl's eyes, which were now filled with determination and…loss? That was all the confirmation the freckled hero-in-training needed as he almost whispered "So its true? One of you…didn't make it make, did they?"

Several of the gathered students gasped at the question, Ochaco covering her mouth as she looked at the two lighters with concern. The truth out in the open, Emeralda hung her head, refusing to look anyone in the eye. Michiru, too, had looked away as she fought to keep the still fresh loss from overtaking her again. As the long moments dragged on though, the tanuki girl let out a long sigh and finally confirmed it "Yeah, that's right. It was Xellos, the purple-haired one. He died saving us because we were too arrogant." Then, bringing herself up to her full height she added "All we can do is try our best to try and make up for it! This school is giving us that chance and we'll do out best to become heroes, right alongside you!"

Though her head was still down, Emeralda smiled lightly before returning to her stoic self as she too stood tall. Most of the gathered 1-A students let out a cheer, but the ever-serious Tenya cut through it with a question "As Midoriya has pointed out, I am in no position to judge you but what do you mean you'll be right beside us?"

With everyone's curious eyes turning back to Michiru, the tanuki girl confidently crossed her arms and declared "That's where we just came back from! We just earned the right to take the provisional license exam as part of your class so we'll be seeing a lot of each other the next couple of weeks!"

Again an explosion of commotion seemed to engulf the two girls the moment the words left Michiru's mouth.

"Are you joining the class permanently?"

"What's your quirks?"

"Did you see All Might fight All for One in person?"

"Aren't you alittle old to be first years?"

"What's your measurements?"

The flood of questions stopped when a new arrival spoke loud enough to cut through the chatter while still sounding respectful and graceful at the same time "My goodness, what is going on out here? Todoroki and I could hear you from upstairs."

After a loud smack and a whining sound from the short grape-haired pervert, Mina ran over to the voice's owner, the tall and picturesque Momo Yaoyorozu and spoke to her out of everyone's earshot just as Momo's eyes dawned with recognition. Meanwhile, Shoto walked up to the group and greeted the two lighters with a nod before saying "I hear you saved Shadow Rider. Impressive. Also, your stunt in Kamino pissed off my old man when he heard about it."

Without another word, the scarred young man walked off like he had said nothing at all. Starring after him with a confused look on her face, Michiru muttered "Uh…thank you?"

"Ah, don't take offense, Michiru-san, that's just how Todoroki is. Actually, for someone he's barely met, that was surprisingly chatty of him." Explained Hanta Sero, a young man with black hair half way down his neck and distinct rounded elbows.

As the group began splintering and conversations started a new, Ochako noticed Emeralda had pretty much stood in the same place, looking about but not engaging anyone. Thinking about it, the gravity-defying girl couldn't recall the greenette having said anything at all. Also noting the leering the poor girl was getting from Minoru, the brunette thought she better do something. "Uh, hi, Emeralda-san. Is…everything ok? You haven't really said anything and I was wondering if anything was wrong?"

Having seen the sweet-looking girl approach out of the corner of her eye, Emeralda had turned to face Ochaco before the other girl had even started talking. When Ochaco finished talking, the greenette wasn't exactly sure what to say so that's exactly what she said "I am sorry if I worried you. I just don't know what to say to anyone. Michiru is much better at this than I am. Though…." With a quick glance in the direction of the short boy trying to hide his lecherous gaze, she added "If that one keeps looking at me, I will not hesitate to force him to stop."

As Emeralda finished speaking, her left hand shifted into a blade that she moved about menacingly to make sure the short boy saw it. Gulping, Minoru darted off to join the quieter members of 1-A on the other side of the room. His presence was not welcome as evidenced by the glare from the raven-headed Fumikage Tokoyami.

Ochaco scratched the back of her head nervously "heh heh, well, that kind of answers what your quirk is…Sorry if our class comes off as a bit much, we mean well!"

Nodding, Emeralda offered what came off as a pretty forced smile as she replied "You do not need to apologize, Uraraka-san. There is nothing wrong with you or most of your classmates. Thank you for trying to talk to me, even if I am not worth talking to."

Ochaco picked up on what she thought was a pretty self-depreciating way of putting an end to a conversation but didn't get the chance to follow up because Mina cut in to make an announcement. "Hey everyone! Since we're pretty much done moving in, we thought it would be fun to check each other's rooms to see who has the best!"

The pink girl's proclamation garnered mixed reactions, from excitement to outright dread. Izuku, who had wanted to approach the quiet Emeralda but became too nervous to do it after Ochaco beat him to it became a worried mess. Others seemed to welcome the thought, like the deprived Minoru and the sparkling Yuga Aoyama.

As the commotion died down, Mina continued "At first we thought it would just be the boys but that didn't seem very fair so we're going all in! Everyone who wants to can show off their room and to make it fair and impartial, we want our two guests to be the judges! What do you say Michiru and Emeralda!"

Michiru was stunned as the group of 1-A students cheered on the idea around her and Emeralda. On the one hand, it was great these guys were so open and welcoming, on the other, wasn't it kind of weird to have two people you just met check out your room? Looking at Emmy didn't help because the amber-eyed girl was offering neither comfort, nor concern. Someone saw the look on Michiru's face because a deep, serious voice came from the corner of the room "Do you not think it inconsiderate to ask people who have almost nothing of their own to look at and judge how well we have decorated?"

Looking over at the voice's owner, Michiru saw a guy who looked normal save for his raven-like head. Fumikage was leaning against a wall, appearing to brood and had misunderstood the concern on Michiru face but the tanuki girl was appreciative of it all the same, offering a smile. After her gesture was returned with a nod, Michiru decided she was already deep into this whole mess. "Alright, if your ok with having us, I'll do it! Emmy?"

"I will judge to the best of my ability. By what criteria am I judging?" came the greenette's resolute and far too serious answer.

An invisible arm plopped on Emeralda's shoulder as Toru's cheery voice said "By which one you like best, silly!"

The tan-skinned girl furrowed her brow as she considered this before answering with more determination "I understand. I will do my best."

To their side, Kyoka noted sarcastically "Geez, its like we got a female Todoroki over here…"

"Be nice, Jiro! Emeralda-san could just be shy!" Ochaco admonished.

"Alright everyone, lets get started! To Midoriya's room!" Mina declared as said freckled hero-in-training let out an embarrassed squeak.

So it was that one by one, the two lighters were led to each 1-A student's room who was willing. Izuku's was as much a shrine to All Might as it was a bedroom, something Michiru found off-putting and Emeralda thought illogical. Others made more sense to the greenette, such as Tenya's and Mashirao's rooms and Koji got a bonus for his cute bunny, at least from Michiru. Yuga's room was…too much and was shot down out right for being so ostentatious. This stood in stark contrast with the dark and brooding atmosphere that was Fumikage's room, which Michiru gave credit for creativity but that was about it. Eijiro's room certainly spoke to his character but was a bit too much for the two judges.

Shoto's room got high marks for how Japanese it felt to Michiru while still being practical for Emeralda. Minoru tried desperately to get everyone to check out his room but gave up when he was threatened with bodily harm. Denki's room didn't really stand out and neither did Rikido's, especially since several complained when he tried to feed the judges, thinking he was trying to bribe them. Hanta was up there as well, being pretty unique but still practical. The multi-armed Mezo had almost literally nothing in his room and even the ever-serious Emeralda thought that wasn't an efficient use of space.

The girl's side showed a bit more diversity even if there were fewer of them to start plus Tsuyu didn't want to take part, just like Katsuki didn't for the guys. That left things getting started in the rather plain room that was Ochaco's. This, compared to Kyoka's, which had far more character but Emeralda just couldn't understand why all the instruments were needed. Toru's was the pinkest of the bunch and given neither judge was partially feminine in their fashion, the invisible girl didn't leave a great impression. The same could be said for Mina's bold choices. Her room was definitely hers but it was only hers, and neither Michiru nor Emeralda could appreciate it. Finally, Momo lost major points from Michiru for how lavish the room was and from Emeralda for having a bed far too big for the room.

In the end, to the surprise of many, Hanta took home the prize, which was tentatively a home cooked meal by the lighters resident cook in Mob (pending his agreement of course). It was late and everyone involved was tired. Still Izuku had walked out with Michiru and Emeralda in hopes of taking to them, only to find Tsuyu, and the others who participated in the Kamino Ward rescue waiting. Tenya asked that the lighters take their leave as this was a private matter and the two agreed, finally heading home.

To Michiru's surprise, Zelgadis was in the common area, appearing to be reading what looked like a manga? When the two approached, the rock-encrusted chimera set the book down as if the sight was a normal one and calmly asked "How did it go? I was beginning to get worried."

At first eyeing the manga before bringing her attention to her housemate, Michiru smiled brightly "It was a lot of fun! There was some tension when we ran into the guys we saw in Kamino but after that we were judges in a room decorating contest!"

"You would of hated it" Emeralda flatly stated.

"No doubt." Zelgadis drawled.

"So, Zel, where'd you get the manga? Didn't think you'd gotten far enough to read something like that yet." Michiru asked abit coyly as if Zelgadis had been hiding it, trying to somehow embarrass him.

It didn't work. Bringing the illustrated work back up, the blue-skinned swordsmen explained "I'm not, not really, but Shinra suggested it since its not heavy on text and he had it laying around. I haven't caught everything and the story is terrible but it's a start."

Her plans foiled, the tanuki girl offered a smile instead "Well, I'm glad for you, Zel! You'll have to tell me about it tomorrow, cause its late and I'm going to bed!"

Michiru started walking to the stairs, Emeralda following as she, too, offered a "Good night." Zelgadis was left alone once again, a confused look on his face he was glad no one else was around to see.

(X)

I know I said I was going to finish this story whether anyone read it or not but somehow, I'm still surprised it'll be a whole year since I took the plunge and started this little journey. Much as I wish I could do something species for the actual anniversary, my time on a deserted island in the days leading up to it will make it very difficult. That doesn't mean I won't try though, I just can't promise anything.

What I will do for this occasion though is actually ask what you all think so far. I haven't exactly gotten a lot of feedback and I haven't asked for or expected any but I guess what I want to know is whether or not you think I'm doing a god enough job making this worth your time? Much as I want to tell this story, I want to, you know, do it well so if you feel so inclined, let me know if I could use some improvement on that front.

I also hope no one is too disappointed that I sped through the dorm rooms. Though I had planned to expand on it a bit more than this, I thought the chapter was about as long as I wanted it and I was getting the feeling it was starting to drag a bit. Anyway, at the very least, please look forward to next month, I hope to see you there! Take care and thank you for having shared this last year with me. I admit part of me thought I'd never actually bring myself to write anything like this and yet, here we are. See ya!