The Starting Line
Entrance Exams- 7 Months
Nine overlooked Yokohama with his white hair and beige trench coat billowing in the spring breeze. The season was half-gone and Nine could tell it wouldn't take long before the temperature started to climb. He idly considered trading in the coat for a lighter jacket before rolling his eyes at himself. No, that wouldn't do. Not when Teacher held such a commanding presence. He hadn't seen the man yet- only talked to him through the pocket radio he'd been instructed to carry- but there was a certain power to his voice that even Nine couldn't ignore. Nine valued power above almost anything else in this world.
Almost.
A roiling mass of black mist swirled behind Nine. It was an odd sight to see but he was slowly getting used to it. A figure in a rather elegant suit stepped slowly into view. The same mist trailed from his head and hands; his eyes glowing, yellow slits. Teacher had made it clear to him that his patronage was conditional. This was the condition. A getaway vehicle designated to both protect and watch him in Teacher's stead.
"Nine." The figure said as he placed a hand over his breast and gave his charge a small bow. Nine felt the scowl that seemed permanently etched into his face lessen somewhat as more people stepped out from the murky portal. A gorgeous woman with long, crimson hair and striking turquoise eyes gave Nine an almost hungry smile. She was wearing a skintight black dress that reached halfway down her thighs, purple tights, and black pumps. The next figure was a man with short gray hair and tired yellow eyes. He was covered head-to-toe in burgundy bandages- his eyes, hair, and pale hands being his only visible features- and wore black jeans and combat boots. The last of the group towered over the others, looking as if a blue-furred wolf grew an alligator tail and became bipedal.
"I assume my companions performed up to Teacher's standards, Kurogiri?" The bowing figure, Kurogiri, straightened at Nine's words and allowed the portal behind him to close.
"Exceeded, in fact." Kurogiri stated simply. Good. Nine expected no less. They would be his lieutenants when he seized control of society, after all. Nine nodded in acknowledgement and turned his stoic gaze back to the city below them.
"I take it this means we're all in, then?" The blue wolf, Chimera, said as he reached into the inside pocket of his beige trench coat to pull out a cigar. He placed it in his mouth before spitting out a small stream of fire that served to light the thing. Kurogiri turned to Chimera with the same deferential bow he'd given Nine.
"Indeed. My master's orders were to take you all to your base of operations." Kurogiri straightened once again, letting a tendril of his mist reach out between the group to form another portal. The group walked through the mist, with Kurogiri bringing up the rear, and found themselves in a derelict bar. The shelves behind the counter were stocked with half-full bottles of various liquors and there were a couple open doors that led to a kitchen and stairwell. Cobwebs filled the corners of the room and the booth seats were upholstered in cracked red leather. A small CRT television sat on a small shelf in the far corner, placed to be visible from any position in the room.
"Cozy." The woman, Slice, said in a deadpan voice. Nine couldn't care less. Teacher was a king, yes, but Nine and his companions were still his lowly knights. They'd need to prove themselves and climb the ranks. The time would come when they'd topple their "king". No one was invincible, after all.
"Better than warehouse-hopping." Chimera said with a huff.
Their bandaged friend, Mummy, slinked across the room and settled down on a barstool that looked like it could give way at any time. The wooden stool groaned at holding the weight of a person for the first time in what might have been years. Mummy didn't seem to mind. He simply leaned back- elbows on the bartop- and let out a contented sigh.
"Indeed." Kurogiri agreed with a small, polite nod. "While you all plan and carry out operations, my sole job is transportation and board. My master explicitly prohibits me from entering combat."
"Makes sense." Chimera growled as he moved to take one side of a nearby booth. He sat with his back to the wall and propped his leg up in the seat with him. "Warping Quirks are rare."
"Where do those stairs lead?" Slice asked, strutting across the room to take the barstool to Mummy's right. Nine couldn't help but watch her and think it was for his benefit.
"Living quarters." Kurogiri answered simply. "The floors above this bar have apartments. Each has the typical amenities but are not stocked with food. If you desire it, my master wouldn't mind you all cooking for yourselves. Otherwise, I will be running the kitchen during normal meal times."
"Has Teacher said anything about his promise?" Nine appreciated their new headquarters, truly he did, but there were more important things on his docket.
"Straight to the point, as always!" A voice rang out from around the room as the television in the corner turned on to reveal a smiling figure. The top half of the figure's head was shadowed but Nine would recognize that voice anywhere. Teacher's hands were steepled in front of his smiling face. Even without his eyes to lend some form of context, he was able to sense the raw malice and danger hidden behind the expression. "I'm glad you asked, Nine. The Doctor just finished preparing for the operation."
Nine allowed himself a wry smile as his gray eyes glittered in the dim light of the rundown bar. Kurogiri, at Teacher's direction, opened a portal for Nine and ushered him through. His smile faltered just a bit as Nine met Slice's gaze. He nodded to her, trying to assure her things would turn out fine, before disappearing with the portal closing behind him.
~ W-o-L ~
Explosions rang through the grounds surrounding Aldera Junior High School as Bakugo Katsuki practiced with his Quirk. He soared along the school's running track and landed just past a camera set up to record his times. This latest score read 6.43 seconds. Katsuki clicked his tongue in frustration and jogged back to the starting line. He wasn't good enough. Not yet. His mind flashed back to the day that Sludge Villain had attacked him. He'd felt so useless. He was supposed to be the best! How could his Quirk- something he'd always been told was "perfect for heroics"- be so weak?
And that green-headed nerd; Deku.
Katsuki didn't recognize the blonde that had thrown herself into the fray with that Quirkless loser, but he felt his jaw clench at the mere thought of them. He and Deku hadn't seen each other in half a decade and the bastard thought he could suddenly show back up with some bitch and treat him, Bakugo Katsuki, like some kind of damsel in distress? Even the media had seen him as a victim. They were all looking down on him and Bakugo hated it. So, he'd train his body and Quirk in earnest. Approximately seven months remained before UA's Entrance Exams. He'd be ready.
~ W-o-L ~
Izuku had been lucky with his punishment after the Sludge Villain Incident a few weeks ago. Inko saw the training regimen All Might proposed for her son- as Yagi, of course- and decided that, in and of itself, was almost punishment enough. He'd gotten off with only two weeks of grounding; during which, he'd been unable to do anything other than All Might's training and study. Akemi, however, hadn't been so fortunate. Her mom was absolutely livid and it had taken everything Akemi had to negotiate the duration of her grounding down to two months. The original time frame had been set to be after the results of the Entrance Exam came in. As it stood, Izuku could only see his best friend during school and training. Neither of them were happy about it but there wasn't much they could do. They weren't even allowed to walk home together, with Akemi's mom picking her up at the school gates every day.
"It's so boring without Akemi around." Izuku sighed to himself as he sat at the table in his workshop.
He was finally allowed back in and he'd thought the excitement might help him decide on his project for the Support Course's Entrance Exam. The whole school had pretty much the same Written Portion but the Support, Business, and Hero Courses each had unique practicals. He wouldn't need to make his project perfect but he still wanted to do more than pass. He wanted to impress Power Loader, the man that headed the Development Studio for UA's Support Course. He would no doubt be on the panel of judges for the practical. Izuku's problem was that the normal creative flow he enjoyed was drying up. The majority of his work centered on supplementing melee-oriented Quirks. Common ways to do that were gadgets- grapple guns and the like- but plenty of heroes had armor that augmented their abilities.
"Armor, huh?" Izuku scratched at the back of his head as he made his way out of the workshop. He almost hadn't registered that the sun was nearly down. His mom wasn't going to be happy if he stayed out any longer and there wasn't anything for him to do, anyway. Speaking of his mom, she opened the front door and blinked in surprise when she saw he was already headed back inside.
"Hit a wall, Izuku?" His mom asked kindly. Izuku sighed and gave her a small nod, sticking his hands into the pockets of the fire-resistant work suit he always wore in the shop. It was one of the conditions his mom had set back when he had first set out to learn all he could about Support Gear. "You usually get ideas after reading an issue or two of those comics you like. Why not take a couple days off from the shop and do some reading?"
"Yeah, that sounds good, mom." Izuku said as he followed his mom inside the house. The smells of dinner greeted him and he couldn't help but smile. Katsudon to celebrate the end of his punishment? He could never turn that down. "Mind if I eat in my room? I know you don't like it when I read at the table."
"Go ahead, sweetheart. I expect family dinners for at least a week, though." Izuku chuckled a bit and agreed before grabbing his dinner and heading to his room.
Inko sighed as she watched him go, a sad smile on her face. She could remember his first comic. He'd been six when the two of them wandered into an out-of-the-way bookstore in Tokyo. It was shortly after they'd moved to Yokohama. Izuku had managed to separate himself from his mother and wandered the store looking for anything All Might related. Of course, he didn't find anything he hadn't already owned but a certain comic sporting a red and gold suit of armor had caught his eye.
~ W-o-L ~
"You have to be joking, Yagi." Akemi said, staring at the scene in front of her. Yagi, in his hero form, was sitting atop an abandoned refrigerator. Beside her, Izuku gave her a consoling pat on the back. It wasn't helping.
"Of course I'm not, Young Valence!" All Might tossed the ends of a rope tied around the appliance to Akemi. He seriously expected her to drag this thing with him on top?! All Might let out one of his booming signature laughs as Akemi picked up the rope. "Now! Onward!"
Akemi dug her feet in the sand and pulled the fridge along as hard as she could. It took her ten minutes to move the thing half a meter. Still, that was better than when they'd first started her training. Back then she hadn't even moved it a centimeter. All Might hopped off his perch and looked at her progress happily. It was going smooth as could be. He clapped his hands, startling his students, and began directing them to different piles of garbage. The general plan was to focus more on Akemi than Izuku. He'd need to be in shape if he wanted to eventually try out for the Hero Course, yes, but he wasn't the one preparing to take on One-for-All. That was Akemi's responsibility. The girl would be the one to clean the vast majority of the beach. All Might listened to the calming sounds of the waves as the kids worked. They were coming along nicely; he'd need to readjust the 'Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan' soon.
Over the next few months, Yagi watched his students fondly as they raced old tires, microwaves, and computers up the stairs to place them in the back of his truck. Slowly, the piles of garbage that covered the beach were starting to disappear.
"Finally, a day off!" Akemi said, stretching her arms over her head as she walked. She and Izuku were wandering through a random shopping district in Tokyo. The plan was to hit up some bookstores and maybe try and find some supplies for Izuku's project. "You gonna tell me what you're working on yet?"
"Nope!" Izuku snorted at the annoyed pout Akemi gave him. "Besides, you have a beach to think about cleaning. Think you'll finish in time?"
"Don't you mean 'we'?" Akemi said, pointing an unamused finger at Izuku.
"Hmmm…" Izuku hummed as he looked to the sky in thought before turning back to Akemi with a large smile. "Nah! All Mi- Erm, Yagi- said this training is mostly for you. You do the majority of the work, anyway."
"Can't argue that." Akemi said with a sigh, stopping on the sidewalk for a second to stretch out the aches and knots in her arms and legs. "Yagi's been making things really tough, lately, so finishing shouldn't be a problem."
They continued on in silence, window shopping at various stores before coming to their first stop. It was a small bookstore that specialized in restored and reprinted pre-Quirk Literature. A big smile spread across Akemi's face as she grabbed Izuku by the wrist and all but dragged him inside. The store was a maze of shelves with a checkout counter situated on either side of the entrance. Pre-Quirk books could often be rare and valued highly, so it was probably to dissuade shoplifters. Akemi waved to the cashiers manning the registers as they made their way inside.
For the most part, things were sorted by genre followed by the author's surname. There were a few standouts here or there that were obviously from customers misplacing items. Luckily, it didn't disrupt the store's system too much and it was easy to find the relatively small section of comics this store had. The majority were of the most popular Marvel or DC characters but she could make out a graphic novel or two from franchises she'd never heard of. There was nothing for Power Rangers but Izuku managed to find issue #1 of Superior Iron Man.
Their next few stops held no finds, at all. Izuku's materials were either too expensive or he wasn't old enough to legally purchase them. The teens were satisfied with the single comic; excited about not returning empty-handed. However, instead of heading back to either teen's home, they decided to read their new comic at the beach they'd been tasked to clean.
~ W-o-L ~
"Where do you think you're going brat?!"
"How'd she even get this far?!"
"No clue. There must've been a breach in one of the compound's walls when she went out for some sun!"
"Who cares how the hell she escaped?! The boss'll have our heads if she gets away! Two of you flank her, son stay with me!"
A little girl with bluish-white hair, red eyes, and a small horn protruding from the right side of her forehead was sprinting through the streets of Musutafu. She didn't know where she was going but as long as it was away, she didn't really care. Her arms and legs flailed as she ran, wrapped in old gauze that any sane doctor would've changed weeks ago. She threw a look over her shoulder, seeing the group of pursuers split apart. They seemed as unfamiliar with wherever she'd ended up as she herself was. Maybe this was her chance! This group didn't have the things on their ears that let them talk to each other from far away. She pivoted and sprinted towards the two still behind her. The move threw them off balance, a fact she took advantage of by darting down a side street. If she was lucky, she'd just split the group in half. She had to hope that was enough, for now. The sound of her heart beat filled her ears and her lungs were burning. She had no idea how long she'd been on the run, just that the sun had been rising and now it was getting ready to start setting. In the spur of the moment, the girl took a sharp right. She'd hoped to throw off what remained of her tail but it didn't work. She heard them stop at the intersection before one yelled in her direction. It was a short delay but it bought her a few feet. She turned sharply once more, kicking up dirt as she made her way through a park path. There was no time to decide where to go next, however, as she ran straight into a teen with messy green hair. The unexpected collision knocked both her and the teen over.
"H-Hey, you okay?" A girl with spiky blonde hair asked as she knelt and looked them both over. The horned girl's breath hitched as the sounds of running grew close. She quickly rounded behind the green-haired teen and cowered behind him, clutching firmly at the back of his blazer. The green teen unbuttoned the blazer before wrapping it around the cowering girl. She felt strangely warm and safe as she looked up to see the blonde girl squaring off with her pursuers.
"Give us the brat and no one gets hurt." A burly man with red hair declared. He held up a hand and turned his fingernails into long, sharp claws. Behind him was a young man who could've been his son. Unlike the bulkier gangster, this second grunt held up hands that were coated in flames shaped into claws. The horned girl shut her eyes tight, preparing for the worst.