Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or MHA
Rating: T
Words: 10,348
Warnings: language; and brief mention of sexual abuse, child abuse, spousal abuse, and trafficking in reference to some of the types of victims Heroes help.
Notes: Hello good people! I have returned! Sorry that this fic has been delayed. I, ah, had a very severe mental health crisis which forced me to take time and recover. I am slowly recovering day by day, and it truly is your thoughts in your comments that give me the drive to work on this fic—even if I could only manage a sentence or two at a time.
Thanks, and enjoy the chapter.
- Rey
Chapter: 8) Gather Round the Table
Monday, April 29, 2X75
Ichigo wasn't one fidget.
But after the day he'd had so far and the meeting that was about to happen, he was spooling and unspooling the beginning of the wrappings of Zangetsu's short blade at his waist. Enough to wrap his fingers around twice. (Zangetsu unfurled it about ten minutes ago when he sensed Ichigo's growing tension.) He was hiding it in the long sleeves of his hoodie as he had his arms tucked over one another in the openings of the sleeves. Tighter than he was used to. Not as comfortable either.
Times like this, he wished for the wide sleeves of the kosode of his Shihakushō. Easier to hide his hands.
It was half past four in the afternoon, and he sat in a large meeting room in UA with Nezu, Yamada, and Aizawa. Nezu was seated in the chair of the oval conference table which allowed him to see everyone who came in. Ichigo was sitting to his right, and Aizawa and Yamada were sitting to Nezu's left across from Ichigo. With his back to a wall and view clear of the door, he was appreciative that he wasn't sitting in a vulnerable position. Back covered, eyes on the exit. Zangetsu's large blade was a reassuring presence as it rested against the wall right behind Ichigo. The short blade was secure at his waist with the bindings Zangetsu naturally made.
This was The Meeting that had been talked about since he woke up. He felt like he was back in the principal's office (how ironic that the principal of the school was sitting next to him) during a parent-teacher conference back when he had been in school. The nerves were similar enough. However, he supposed these people would be judging him for his abilities and intentions rather than his 'delinquent' hair.
Honestly, his strawberry-blonde 'orange' hair might be one of the more normal hair colors in this place.
One by one, people whom he did not recognize entered the room. A short elderly lady with a large cane in the shape of a syringe, a person wearing a spacesuit whom he recognized from the Villain attack, a dog person with a large mane wearing a muzzle (he really hoped it was more a danger thing than a kink thing even though a danger thing would have still been worrying), the giant bulk of All Might still wearing that comic book superhero-grin plastered on his face, Snipe with his cloak hanging folded over his arm, a person with a dark face in a light-colored trench coat with a menacing grin and metal tips for legs, a shorter bare-chested man with an honest-to-Kami tractor claw for a helmet, a person who looked to be a walking block of cement, a dominatrix woman with dark feathery hair, and a fanged, square-jawed man with white hair wearing a too-tight red costume whose musculature was second to All Might—a rather colorful bunch. Then again, Ichigo couldn't judge; everyone he knew was colorful.
He watched as everyone's eyes who came in immediately trained on him. That was to be expected, he guessed. He was some new person who literally came out of nowhere. Still, though, despite the unfamiliar situation and his own tension, he did not allow himself to appear weak—especially in front of a bunch of people he didn't know.
"Ahh, Aizawa-kun!" All Might's voice was loud against Ichigo's heightened senses. He disguised his wince as a yawn into his elbow, but also noticed that the dog person covering an ear at the man's voice as they all sat down. They left an empty seat to Ichigo's right between him and the spacesuit-wearing person. "Good to see you up and about!"
As the cement person was chastising All Might about his volume, Ichigo heard Yamada muttering, "And people complain about my voice." He gave Ichigo a wink.
Ichigo couldn't help his snicker, which made Yamada grin.
Aizawa sighed but Ichigo could tell a hint of a smile peeking from the edges of the bandages on his face at Yamada's comment.
"Trying out the mummy look, huh?" the white-haired, fanged man, despite the joke, looked somewhat concerned about Aizawa.
"I guess I'm trying to match your vampire look."
The dominatrix woman ignored the other people filing in to make her way over to Aizawa who did not push her away when she carefully hugged him and then Yamada. Ichigo supposed that meant they were closer to each other than some of the other people in the room. Before she took her seat next to Yamada's left, she gave Ichigo a little wave with her fingers. Ichigo was quickly getting the feeling she would be a little like Yoruichi.
Everyone took an empty seat at the large oval table. There was a seat to Ichigo's right which was left empty and the seat next to that was filled with the person wearing the space suit. To that person's right was the fanged man with white hair and next to him was the person with the dark face wearing the trench coat. Following this person's right side was the shorter man wearing the tractor claw, then the cement person, All Might who was directly opposite the table to Ichigo, then Snipe to All Might's right. The dog person was on Snipe's right, and completing the oval table was the older woman with the syringe can who was to Midnight's left. What a group of people.
Nezu cleared his throat, and although the sound was a small thing, it immediately gathered the attention of all present with no fuss. It spoke to how much these people must have respected the chimera man. "Thank you all for coming here after your busy day of teaching and helping our dear students. It has been a stressful several days, but the goal for today is to get answers and to possibly help the person who saved our students," he gestured to Ichigo.
All eyes were on him.
Take a deep breath. It's nothing different than meetings held before back in the Stronghold. Easier said than done. The concept was the same, but this time he was the subject of the meeting.
Rather than standing, he inclined his head in a polite bow. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. It's nice to meet all of you."
With his introduction done, Nezu took charge once again. He lifted a paw and gestured to the group. "As Kurosaki-san here is unfamiliar with us," Ichigo noticed there were some confused looks shared as eyes flickered from him to All Might then back to him, "please introduce yourself fully. He already knows Aizawa-kun and Yamada-kun."
The dominatrix woman was the first to volunteer. "Hello, hello there, Kurosaki-san! My name is Kayama Nemuri, the R-Rated Hero: Midnight, and I teach Modern Hero Art History."
R-Rated is right, Zangetsu sounded a little stunned. Is that allowed here? I don't give a fuck what the woman wears—more power to her—but ain't kids not supposed to be around R-rated content?
I don't think she's out here doing weird things to the students, Zan. That's probably just her get-up. Besides, she teaches art history. Kids see nude art in art history. Then, his trail of thought changed. Wait, what would be the difference between Modern Art History and Modern Hero Art History? Would she just be showing art of Heroes?
Don't look at me. You're the one who went to school.
I'm sure you were aware of some of the stuff I learned at least partially.
After a second, she asked Nezu, "Should we give details about our Quirks?"
"Right on the nose, Kayama-chan!1 Kurosaki is not familiar with our Quirks, so it's only fair."
Midnight smiled at Kurosaki as she pinched the suit she was wearing, which Ichigo just realized was almost like a second skin on her. "My Quirk is Somnambulist, which allows me to put people to sleep by producing a sleep-inducing aroma from my skin. Don't worry, though, I can control it. But, let me know if you ever want me to put you asleep," she winked at him.
"That's a very effective power, Kayama-san," Ichigo complimented her. He could think of many scenarios where a sleep aroma would have been useful in past fights. Also, having been around Yoruichi for several years had helped him become desensitized to overt female flirting.
His compliment coupled with not getting flustered by her flirting made her blink in surprise. Maybe she was used to messing with people. "I think I'm gonna like you," she smiled.
Next was the older woman next to Midnight. "It's nice to speak to you in person, young man. I'm Shuzenji Chiyo, the Youthful Heroine: Recovery Girl—"
Youthful? Both he and Zangetsu said.
"—and I am the school's nurse. My Quirk, Heal, as the name implies, allows me to help heal those who are injured. I speed up the body's natural healing process. I hope not to see you too much in my infirmary, Kurosaki-san." Although the threat was something that Ichigo could tell was very true, he could hear in her voice that she was quite caring.
A flash of Unohana came to his mind. He shivered, hoping that she wasn't as deadly as the late taichō. "Ahh," he raised his hands placatingly, "I hope that I won't have to be there too much either!"
Continuing the trend going to the left, the large dog person sitting to Recovery Girl's left introduced himself. He stared at Ichigo for a long moment before shaking his head roughly like….well, like a dog would shaking water out of his fur. It made Ichigo wonder what was up with him. Starting off with a nonaggressive growl to his voice, he said, "Name's Inui Ryō. I'm the Hunting Dog Hero: Hound Dog. My job here at UA is the guidance counselor to all these kids. Crazy pups," he shook his head as he said the last bit more to himself than to Ichigo. "My Quirk isn't as cool as Recovery Girl's here," he nudged the older woman, prompting her to giggle, "but Dog, my Quirk, gives me increased senses of smell and hearing along with some other characteristics of a dog. Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san."
Hound Dog was a lot calmer than Ichigo had originally thought he was going to be, which, on second thought, made sense considering he was the guidance counselor. "Likewise," Ichigo tipped his head. "That's amazing that you take care of all the kids in this giant-ass school. That's hard work."
Hound Dog spluttered and combed a clawed hand through the thick blonde of his mane. "Oh! Ah, well, you know…" On the other side of the table, the fanged guy with white hair snickered.2
Snipe was next to Hound Dog. "We've already met—sorry about the circumstances earlier, by the way—but to make it all formal, call me Snipe!" His blue-black braids swished a little when he bobbed his head cheerfully. Ichigo could hear a bit of an accent to his words, which made him wonder if Snipe was mixed. "My Quirk is Homing, which allows me to lock onto any target I can see within six hundred meters and make any projectile I release chase after that target. Fits me good, if I do say so myself. I also handle the gaggle of third years we got. Nice ta' officially meet you, Kurosaki-san!"
"Likewise, Snipe-san." The man seemed like a pretty easygoing person.
Next to Snipe was one of the first people Ichigo met since he was spat out of the portal warpgate thing. The ultimate comic book example himself. "Good to see you on the up and up, Kurosaki-shōnen! I—"
"Shōnen?" Ichigo couldn't help but interrupt him, raising an eyebrow. "I haven't been young in a long time," he said with more exhaustion in his voice than he wanted.
This caused some muttering from the people in the room. Hm. They began to whisper to each other before turning back to him. Great, lovely.
"And, err," All Might looked rather confused, "how old are you, then? If I may ask."
And wasn't that the question?
"Hold on."
Between fighting for the Stronghold and being captured by Him, Ichigo's sense of time had been skewed, to say the least. He had to do some quick mental math, lowering his head and brushing a finger over his knuckles to try and backtrack. This caused him to miss the worried and questioning looks that were thrown over his head. When he had checked Aizawa's phone back in the hospital, it was April. He whipped his head back up, hair flying about his face. "I'm 26."
"Geeze man, you say that ain't young?" Snipe sounded like he was wincing behind his mask. "I know most of us are about to be 30 or over, but a couple of us are well over that. Makin' a 40-year-old here feel old."3.
"Kurosaki-shonen…" All Might started before Ichigo cut him off again. He didn't mean to be rude, but if they were about to tell him things like being 'too young', he was going to snap.
"How old are you, All Might?"
"I am 55. To me, everyone seems young. Hence my habit of referring to several people by 'shonen' and 'shoujo.' Even before working at UA, I have referred to many here like that, such as Midnight-san, Aizawa-kun, Mic-kun, Thirteen-kun, and even Cementoss-san. Then I worked with them more closely and I dropped the 'shōnen' and 'shōjo.' I assure you, it is not to diminish your character." All Might gestured to Ichigo as he said, "But if you prefer, I can use 'kun' for you."
Ichigo tugged lightly on his ponytail. In lieu of crossing his arms, he returned them to hide in the sleeves of his hoodie. "To be really honest," he sighed, "I really don't care about honorifics. I've never been big on them even when people have told me that I should. At this point, as long as it isn't an insult, you can call me the Queen of England if you want."
If you're the Queen of England, what does that make me?
Why, my dear knight of course, my Moon. I wouldn't have it any other way. No horse this time.
Ichigo had to hold in a laugh of his own when he felt a wave of embarrassment, mixed with some love though, coming from Zangetsu.
He caught several people by surprise, many of them coughing to hide their reactions. Aizawa outright snorted into his capture scarf while All Might looked flabbergasted for all of three seconds before bellowing a laugh. The table shook. "I can certainly tell you are going to keep this old man on his toes! I guess I'm old-fashioned, so I will stick with an honorific for now."
"Why don't you continue your introduction, All Might-san?" Nezu smiled. "For formality's sake."
"Yes, yes! You already know me as All Might, but my name is Yagi Toshinori. Compared to my colleagues here, I'm a rather new teacher—Foundational Hero Studies. My Quirk is One For All, and it's basically a superpower Quirk. Enhanced strength and the like."
Next was the cement person. "It is nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san." He nodded, eyes seeming to be permanently closed. Like Ichimaru Gin. "My name is Ishiyama Ken, and my Hero alias is Cementoss. As my Hero name would imply, my Quirk, Cement, allows me to manipulate cement-based materials by touching them. I cannot create new cement, just manipulate what is already there."
"And the students sure keep him busy!" Midnight grinned. "How many structures of yours do you think they've destroyed over the years?"
"If I had money for each one I have had to count, I wouldn't be working as an educator to pay my bills."
This caused even Ichigo to chuckle along with the others in the room. "What do you teach?"
Cementoss' upward-pulled lips curled up at the corners into a smile. "Modern Literature! I sometimes pair up with Kayama-san to create projects for the students that do double duty to her classes and mine."
Modern literature? Ichigo's fingers drummed quickly over his wrists inside the arms of his hoodie. "Is there a library on campus?"
Cementoss seemed to perk up in excitement. "We do! Is there research that you wish to do?"
"Somewhat. I also enjoy reading if I have the time. Is it only modern literature that you have, or do you have other periods? Shakespeare? Even if it's English, I won't have a problem." When was the last time he actually was able to read a book? He couldn't remember.
As he had done with All Might, Nezu gently guided the conversation once again. "I am always interested in hearing an eager mind, Kurosaki-san, but why don't you and Cementoss-kun continue that conversation after this?" He didn't sound judgmental which helped Ichigo's momentary embarrassment. "I can only imagine how keen Cementoss-kun would be to discuss literature with you."
Ichigo apologized, but it was easily waved off. Cementoss gave him a thumbs up.
"Hello, hello!" the shorter man next to Cementoss greeted. He was bare-chested and had an actual tractor claw as a helmet on his face. Ichigo could see some reddish hair poking out from the gap in the back of the claw-helmet thing. When he waved a hand, Ichigo could also see hard, metallic claws at the tips of his fingers. Not like Ichigo's claws when he transformed, but more blunted than pointy. "I'm Majima Higari, the Excavation Hero: Power Loader! I manage the Support Course and their Development Studio."
"Development Studio?" Ichigo asked.
Power Loader grinned. "The Support Course focuses on building support items and engineering their own projects. The Development Studio is where they work. If you're ever on campus and you hear explosions coming from there, don't worry because that's normal for us."
A wan smile colored Ichigo's face. "Sounds like someone I know."
"And my Quirk is Iron Claws," he wriggled his fingers. "They're good for mining and digging. Lets me bury myself underground."
Oh, so like a giant mole, then.
Ichigo dipped his head in a polite nod. "Nice to meet you."
After him, the person with a dark face and menacing smile spoke. Paying closer attention, Ichigo realized he was wearing a black body suit. "You can call me Ectoplasm." Ichigo noticed that he seemed to have a voice modulator of some sort that gave his voice some reverb when he spoke. A little similar to his voice when he dipped into his Hollow powers or when Zangetsu spoke. "I teach Mathematics, and my Quirk, Clones, lets me create clones of myself."
Frank and to the point.
He tilted his head. "Even several of my clones had difficulty carrying those swords of yours, Kurosaki-san. Does your Quirk give you super strength?"
"I, well, I think I'll be talking about that later in the meeting?" Ichigo looked to Nezu who nodded.
"Alright, then."
The guy with fangs, white hair, and the skin-tight red suit with a deep V in the chest showing massive amounts of cleavage began to introduce himself next. "Kan Sekijiro. I'm the Blood Hero: Vlad King! Blood Control, my Quirk, does exactly what it sounds like—lets me control my own blood after it leaves my body."
Now, Ichigo wasn't a doctor, nor did he start studying medical texts in preparation for med school like Uryū had, but he was a doctor's son and did research of his own. Hearing Vlad talk about his blood quirk made all sorts of questions pop up in his brain. How was he not anemic? Did the blood return to his body? If the blood needed to return to his body, was Vlad able to purge any foreign contaminants it encountered before returning to his body? Was he susceptible to blood-borne diseases, and if such, was his blood able to spread diseases if it encountered another person? Maybe it was sterile or something due to his Quirk. Ichigo trailed the tube that connected Vlad's body to the glove on his arm.
He realized that Vlad King started speaking again, so he had to save all those thoughts for another time. "Like Eraserhead over there," he pointed a thumb to said man and then himself with a big grin, "I handle the first years, Class 1-B! If you're ever around campus, my class is something to look for."
The emphasis on 'my' was a clear indicator that there was something going on between him and his class and Aizawa and his class. If Vlad handles 1-B, then Aizawa must handle the A class. He remembered Aizawa talking about his class briefly. But he forgot a few of the details. Vlad mentioning his class made Ichigo remember a few things.
"No one likes favorites, Vlad!" Yamada leaned back in his chair. "We gotta treat all the classes equally, ya dig?" Though, leaning a bit over Aizawa to stage-whisper to Ichigo, he grinned, "But Shōta's 1-A this year isn't anything to sneeze at!"
Vlad King puffed up like he was about to say something, but the person next to him wearing the spacesuit said, "Ok! We all agree that all the students are very awesome!" The person waved their hands to settle down Vlad. "Greetings, Kurosaki-san! My name is Kurose Anan, and I'm the Space Hero: Thirteen! They/them pronouns for me, please. I tend to focus more on search and rescue, and My Quirk, Black Hole, lets me create small black holes through my fingertips." They wiggled their fingertips before pointing a single one at him. "Although I don't teach, I am part of the faculty, and I'm the one who created the USJ. You did quite a number on it."
Oh, shit. He waved his hands. "Sorry, I swear I wasn't trying to wreck your facility on purpose, Thirteen-san! I was—"
Thirteen laughed off his apology. "Nothing to worry about! In fact, I'm actually glad you wrecked the USJ since it gives me the opportunity to figure out even better ways to construct it. There is always room for improvement."
"Spoken like a scientist," Ichigo complimented.
"Why, thank you!"
That was everyone at the table sans Nezu, Aizawa, and Yamada, but they had already explained their Quirks and positions at the school to him before this meeting. Ichigo hadn't been able to ask many questions about their Quirks, but they were fascinating. A man who could negate other people's Quirks—translating that to Ichigo's world, being able to negate someone's Shikai, Bankai, Kidō, or even Resurrección was a devastating ability. (He was curious if Aizawa's Quirk would work on him.) A man who could control his voice and shatter and destroy what lay before him—considering how much reishi and reiatsu could be focused on one area of the body, imagining someone like Grimmjow (who already could yell something to death, both jokingly and literally) made Ichigo shiver. Lastly, a person like Nezu with a massive IQ and a Quirk that made his brain just keep working—well, Ichigo knew at least one person like this.
Now that all the formal introductions were done, Nezu spoke. "I am glad that you all have gotten to meet Kurosaki-san here, and the inverse equally so. I know all of you have many questions that are dying to be asked, but my hope is that we can conduct this meeting as smoothly as possible. With that said," he raised a paw towards the door, "I do have one last person I want you all to meet. Some of you may already know him."
There was a brief murmuring among a few of the people at the table. Curiously, All Might seemed to perk up as he looked towards the door. His ever-present grin seemed to shift into something more genuine. A friend of his maybe?
A man wearing a white shirt and dark green tie under a tan overcoat and black pants walked in. His dark hair was revealed as he removed his matching tan hat. "Thank you," he nodded to Nezu before doing the same to Ichigo. "Hello, all, and greetings, Kurosaki-san. I am Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa and I'll be here to assist with this meeting."
Detective, huh? That means police, right?
Yeah.
But why a police presence here?
…Maybe because of the Villains?
"Hi," he said in a neutral tone even as he was scanning over Tsukauchi. "Help out how?"
It was All Might this time who began to explain. "The detective here is a close contact of mine and as such, often helps out when the school needs an outside perspective."
Tsukauchi continued the explanation, "My Quirk, True Graph4, allows me to detect if a person is telling the truth or lying. This is standard for any type of questioning that involves a level of safety. Because this involves the Villain attack at USJ and your own involvement, I am here to better understand what happened and ensure we get a clear, truthful picture. Do you have any questions, Kurosaki-san?"
A glorified truth detector, huh? He wasn't sure how a superpower like that would work, but as long as it wasn't invasive, Ichigo didn't see a problem with him being here. He hoped the guy didn't have to attach probes or something to his head for him to use his power. There was only one scientist who he allowed to do that.
"Yeah, how invasive is your True Graph?"
Tsukauchi smiled. "Completely noninvasive. I just have to be near you for it to work."
Ah, Ichigo thought as he glanced to his side, that explains that empty chair.
He nodded, which gave Tsukauchi consent for him to slide into the chair next to him. With the table complete, the meeting began. A few screens opened up from panels in the walls, turning on. They were blank for now.
"Why don't we start with something, Kurosaki-san?" Nezu said. "Just some simple statements to demonstrate Tsukauchi-kun's Quirk so that we may have a basis established and for you to get a feel of how this will work. Do you have any questions or problems with this?"
"No, it seems pretty straightforward."
"Great!"
"But," he continued, habitually moving his arms back into his sleeves in lieu of crossing his arms over his chest, "a discussion suggests a two-way street. I'm having my answers monitored to be true or false, so I feel that it should be the same on your end, too."
Nezu nodded as did a few others at the table. Vlad King looked him over with a look that Ichigo was reading as kind of judgy.
"You can use me," Thirteen volunteered. "You said your Quirk needs proximity to work, so me sitting near you should work out well."
Tsukauchi allowed this and motioned for Thirteen to continue.
"I'll start with easy things that would be obvious if I was lying about," they said before clearing their throat. "My Hero name is Thirteen, I am wearing white, and I am sitting at this table."
As expected, Tsukauchi confirmed this as all true. "I will monitor the others in the room as well when they give an answer, Kurosaki-san. Does that even out the playing field for you?"
Ichigo nodded. Fair was fair.
"I guess to start with…" What to start with, what to start with? Simple was best, like Nezu said. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, I am 26 years old, and…" What else was basic that he could say? "I'm tired."
Next to him, Tsukauchi nodded. "All true, no lies."
Midnight offered a sunny suggestion, "I hope you're not like our resident night-owl, here," she gestured to Aizawa who rolled his eyes. "But, if you are, I know a good café that serves the most energizing coffee you could have!"
Holy shit, when was the last time he had coffee? "I might have to take you up on that offer. Thank you."
"Did you have knowledge of the Villains or the Villain attack on USJ?" All Might asked.
He shook his head. "Not at all."
"Truth."
"Are you in any way involved with them?"
"No."
"Truth."
All Might nodded, then continued. "What is it that you know about us or UA? Or even the area in general?"
Ichigo couldn't help but snort. "Honestly? Not much."
"Truth."
"Aizawa-san and Yamada-san helped me with information when I woke up in the hospital. People here have superpowers called Quirks, and this is a school to teach teenagers with powers to be Heroes and the like. And that Heroes are professionals who are trained to use their powers to help keep the law."
"Truth."
Several people at the table nodded and he could tell that they were listening intently. "Uh, I also learned that apparently, I have no idea what Musutafu is and in turn, no one has heard of Karakura-chō. Karakuro-chō was my home, but in its place is Hosu-shi."
Many around the table looked to Tsukauchi at this, who only confirmed what Ichigo said. "Truth."
"Is that all?"
"I guess?"
Tsukauchi looked at him, then to Nezu. "Half-truth."
This, Ichigo was now beginning to realize, was going to get frustrating. He wasn't lying, he just didn't know what else to say. "I'm not lying," he frowned. "What else should I say?"
"Truth."
There was a moment of silence. Then, Nezu tilted his head. "I think that should suffice for the moment. It sounds like you do not know much about us at all." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah, no. That's kinda why I'm here." Ichigo sighed, "I appreciate the help that you've given me. All this," he gestured to all the Heroes, "this is all foreign to me. The Japan I'm from doesn't have people with superpowers walking around like it's an everyday normality."
He heard a few people mumble about the 'Japan he was from' like the thought of another Japan was ludicrous. That was fair because he was in their shoes right now. Their Japan, with manga superheroes being professionals and shit, was not his Japan. His Japan had soul powers. His Japan had Hollows and Zanpakutō and Fullbringers and Shinigami and Quincy and…
Friends…family…pack…
And…
His Japan wasn't a place he could get to anymore, was it? Not unless he could make a portal. Or Garganata, and hell, he didn't even know if a Garganta or Senkaimon would even work here. Back home, the usage of Senkaimon and Gargantas had been, essentially, locked down. The Convergence caused the three realms to merge, and thus, separating the in-betweens. No one knew what would happen if they used a Senkaimon or Garganta to travel and they weren't going to risk it. If life and death were no longer separated, what did that mean for travel methods used for the previously separate realms of the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, and the Seireitei? No one even knew where friends and family went when they died anymore. They just disappeared. No one wants to risk the few people that were left disappearing trying to cross dimensional space.
After he was pushed through the portal thing, Ichigo knew Japan and pretty much the rest of his world was on the verge of full collapse because of Him. Even if there was a chance there were survivors, what did his world even look like now? Did all the black devour everything? Had everyone been consumed? How much of the sky had fallen? Was there enough food and clean water for people to survive?
Even if he could go back, was there anything to go back to? Or had his dimension, a mess of three separate realms mashed into one falling apart, crumbled into blackness?
He felt vaguely like someone made him swallow Hollow vomit.
"What is the Japan that you're from, Kurosaki-shōnen?" All Might asked. "You say that there are no people with Quirks where you're from, but you clearly have abilities of your own. And a trained fighter at that." He nodded to Nezu who pointed a little remote to some monitors that were on the wall.
With a click of a button, Ichigo saw stills of himself fly on the screens. Some were very blurry, clearly taken while he was mid-motion. Surprise made him sit up straighter. How advanced were these cameras to even catch a glimpse of him? He was one of the fastest people alive able to keep pace with the Goddess of the Flash herself. Looking at the other pictures, he saw more images of himself: him guarding an injured Aizawa, fighting against the Nomu, Zangetsu alight with reiatsu right before Ichigo launched a Getsuga Tenshō as he was protecting Midoriya midair, and more. There were also images of Ichigo being spat out of the warpgate, Zangetsu's blades near Ichigo's passed-out form, and a video of Ectoplasm and his clones struggling to get Zangetsu on the floating platform.
(That video was kinda funny.)
Damn, they caught more than I would have ever guessed. How much should I tell them…? Obviously, since this world had powers as a commonality, they should be used to some weird stuff that would have been considered crazy in his world. But with how he barely sensed reiatsu coming from anyone, tiny candleflames in each person, he doubted there were spiritual beings like Shinigami in this world.
Or, at least, none that he'd come across yet.
He would withhold talking about the Seireitei, the Gotei, or the various other groups like Arrancar, the Vizards, or the Quincy. He hadn't come across any Plus souls yet, but now that he thought about it, he'd been pretty distracted and preoccupied with 1) surviving and 2) realizing that this was a whole new world…dimension-thingy…place.
He took a deep breath to focus. "It's true that I have powers. I mean," he nodded towards the screens, "it's pretty clear as day. Where I'm from, people don't have powers like you all do here. Not like how most of the population seems to have. A few people have abilities, but we kept them hidden for the most part. Both for our safety and the safety of others."
"Truth."
He saw a few nods amongst the group before All Might spoke. "In the period that Quirks began to emerge in the population, there were those that hid their power out of fear of discrimination or worse. Quirks were feared by some, thought of as abnormal and something that should be hated." His words were measured, grim. He shook his head, "This led to much conflict between those with Quirks and those without. Now, the case is the opposite. Those without Quirks are discriminated against, I am sad to say."
"Truth."
"Well, shit," was all Ichigo could say.
Aizawa huffed in displeasure. Ichigo felt the same.
"Is this situation similar to yours?" All Might directed his question to Ichigo.
Yes and no. In the World of the Living, Ichigo was a weirdo by human standards. Even by the standards of those in any of the other spiritual dimensions, he was considered a genuine freak of nature.
Stop being a dummy, dummy. He held in a wince as he felt the mental equivalent of being slapped upside the head. Ah right, Zangetsu didn't like it when he talked about himself like that.
Fine, but Ichigo was still what they would call a 'special case.' More like a science experiment, if he were to be blunt. But he knew what All Might was trying to ask. "Not…exactly. I did face some trouble because I had powers," Byakuya and Renji coming after him for Rukia sharing her Shinigami powers, the Shinigami being wary of him because of his Hollow powers, and then the shit with Him because of his Quincy abilities, "but that wasn't the sole basis I had trouble."
Tsukauchi looked at him for a moment longer than was comfortable before announcing that Ichigo's answer was truthful.
"What else caused problems for you?" This time it was Midnight. "Some of your problems stemmed from your powers, you said. Did family or acquaintances give you grief because of them? If so, we do have groups that you can talk to or contact if you feel the need. You wouldn't be the first person we've helped that was in a rough spot because of Quirk—err—power discrimination." For someone dressed like a dominatrix, her tone was gentle and genuine, like she often had to console people in the situation she was talking about.
Which, made Ichigo want to punch the people that gave shit to others like that. It seemed like discrimination was in every world. Yeah, he had the Central 46 in mind here.
"No, no, I'm okay, I promise!" he reassured her.
"…Half-truth."
Oh, how he wanted to glare at the detective right now.
Nezu tilted his head. "Kurosaki-san…"
Ichigo sighed roughly and held up a placating hand. "Okay, so maybe I'm not totally fine at the moment, but there isn't anyone discriminating against me because of my powers."
"Truth."
Midnight looked at him for a moment longer before nodding her head, seemingly satisfied. "If it ever becomes a problem…"
"I'll be sure to let you know."
She smiled at him and left it at that. It was a short exchange, but Ichigo was glad that the students had a teacher like her. She seemed to genuinely care and want to help as much as possible.
Recovery Girl cleared her throat, which brought everyone's attention to her. "What are your powers, exactly, Kurosaki-san? As someone who works in the medical field, Quirks are intrinsically tied to health, so it would be beneficial for me to understand your powers. I helped stabilize you before they took you to the hospital for treatment, dear."
There were agreeing murmurs from the table about knowing what his powers were.
She had such grandmother energy in her caring that he had the urge to call her baa-chan. But, he didn't know her like that, didn't know how she would respond, and most importantly, she was a healer. There was a well-known divine rule that every soul in the Seireitei knew, Shinigami or not:
You did not insult the healers.
No matter if they were a healer from the Rukongai, a member of the 4th division, or even Unohana herself (especially Unohana herself), you didn't fuck with the person trying to heal you.
"Thank you very much for helping me, Recovery Girl-san. I'm more durable than the average person. Speed, strength, and agility are all advanced as you guys can see from whatever pictures and video clips you managed to take." How to explain reiatsu manipulation? Would he have to explain souls and get into what Shinigami were? He felt a pang of absence, wishing that Rukia and her shitty drawings were here. Reiatsu was energy, so maybe he could… "Uh, and I can manipulate energy."
"…Truth." Probably didn't help that Ichigo sounded more uncertain with the last answer than he wanted.
Recovery Girl, "You have needs similar to All Might, then."
"Ah yes! My Quirk enhances a bit of everything. Strength is obvious, but because I am enhanced, speed and durability are bolstered as well. Because our abilities are similar in that vein, let me know if you need anything!" All Might flashed a thumbs up to Ichigo.
"Th-Thanks."
He has so much fucking energy.
"What kind of energy can you manipulate, Kurosaki-san? Kinetic? Potential?" Thirteen drummed their fingers on the table in an excited manner. "That energy blast you sent from your sword was one of the most powerful I've seen!"
And that was one of my weakest Getsugas. He used the hand he had not tucked back into his sweater sleeve to gesture to himself. "It's a kind of energy that I can make. No one else can make that kind of energy."
"Truth."
He saw a few confused looks around the table. Ectoplasm tilted his head. "There are two main categories of energy known, kinetic and potential. All subclasses stem from those.5"
Vlad King grunted and crossed his arms. "Can you be more specific here? I haven't touched energy studies yet with my class and I'm coming up a bit foggy with it."
"Categories of kinetic energy are radiant, thermal, motion, sound, and electrical. Potential energy covers chemical energy, mechanical, nuclear, and gravitational." Ectoplasm explained. "Those with Quirks that can manipulate energy can manipulate any of these forms of energy as these are the only energies known to science. I'm a mathematician, not a scientist, but I know that it isn't possible to manipulate a form of energy that does not exist in one of these."
Tsukauchi nodded, agreeing with Ectoplasm. "Truth. And I have to say, now I'm curious, too. I've seen multitudes of different Quirks and energy manipulations, but they all fall into the categories of known physics."
The hell was he supposed to say to that? All he could do was shrug. "I don't really know how to explain it. I know—knew—others whose energy was thermal-based, for example, but I'm different from them. No one in this place would be able to manipulate the energy that we can."
"Truth."
Next to Aizawa, Yamada leaned forward on the table. "You talked a little about this back in the hospital. Your energy, I mean. What did you call it again? Ree-su? Sorry, I know you told me before, but it slipped my mind."
"Reiatsu," he corrected automatically before clicking his mouth shut, realizing the position he had just put himself in now. He was trying to avoid this by just saying energy. He couldn't be mad at Yamada, though. He had said he was going to explain reiatsu, but he was hoping he could skip over that.
"Reiatsu, yes?" Nezu sounded the word out on a careful tongue like he was feeling out new food. "Color me curious, Kurosaki-san. I have never heard of this term before. I would be more than appreciative if you could give us some clarity on what 'reiatsu' is."
Well…
Ichigo weighed his options in his mind. On one hand, he could just omit a bunch of stuff and say reiatsu is 'special energy' and it was part of dimension bullshit and leave it at that. However, he felt like that would leave more questions than answers and, knowing the infamous Kurosaki luck, would somehow, someway come back to bite him in the ass like a bad tick. He was physically and mentally tired, and if he were to be honest, he was never good at lying about the important stuff.
He didn't think anyone would experiment on him like that weirdo Kurotsuchi, but just to be sure… "Do I have a promise that if I explain this further, I won't be like, turned into a lab rat or anything will I?"
There were shocked looks and exclamations all around the table save for Nezu who just looked at him with an odd expression Ichigo could not place.
"Why would you—?"
"A lab rat?! Who would—?"
"Kurosaki, are you sure you're safe and—?"
"Is that why you have those things on your wrists?"
The last question he had not expected, which caused him to flinch. "Don't," he said sharply. One of his hands immediately flew to his waist to tangle his fingers in the wrappings of Zangetsu's short blade. Though faint, he could feel some of Zan's reiatsu trail up from the short blade through the wrappings. Zan's reiatsu had some of Ichigo's in it while Ichigo's had some of Zan's—to feel it through the wrappings negated the ache that was caused by the metal around his wrists. Behind him, Zangetsu's large blade vibrated against the wall audibly enough that it made everyone look at it.
"Don't. Please, just…don't go there."
There was a charged silence in the room for a few moments.
"Kurosaki-san," Nezu began carefully, laying a paw on Ichigo's arm, "I would never wish for any person to be unwillingly subjected to any sort of practice like that. I know of human cruelty and experimentation," the edges of his words were sharp like the teeth in his mouth, making a few teachers wince. "I wouldn't even wish it upon my enemies. I guarantee that you will not be harmed in any way while you are in the walls of UA."
"Truth," the confidence in Tsukauchi's word was resolute.
That…actually made Ichigo feel better. Nezu had talked a little about himself while they were having tea in his office, and he had explained to Ichigo a little of his past. Of how he was an animal who acquired a Quirk and had been subjected to experimentation. He relaxed a fraction, not realizing how stiff he had made himself.
Might as well bite the bullet.
"How much do you all know about souls?"
Shōta was not a man possessing a hyperactive imagination.
No, he left that to his students and, on occasion, his husband.
If someone were to tell him that he would meet someone claiming to be from a whole other Japan, who knew nothing about Quirks yet still appeared to possess more than one, he would have laughed at them then told them to see a psychiatrist and leave him alone. If the same person were to tell him that he would be sitting in a meeting to discuss said weird person beside him, he would have brought them to the psychiatrist himself being dragged by his capture scarf.
Souls.
Specifically, abilities that were powered by souls.
"So, to recap," Power Loader was resting an elbow on the table looking like it was the only thing holding up his head, "you come from a place where the majority of everything deals with souls. And that people's powers come from their souls? And that there is no way your powers could be a Quirk or Quirks?"
"For the most part, yeah."
"Truth."
Power Loader threw up his hands with a huff as he leaned his weight back against his chair.
All Might looked like he was trying to stay open-minded although the whole thing sounded like something from a supernatural book. He looked only 75 percent successful. "The other people that have this…soul power, as you say, do they also use swords to fight?" He had his eyes on Kurosaki's large sword that was leaning against the wall.
From what Shōta was told, Kurosaki fought with All Might to defeat the Nomu and save him and the students. So, All Might must have seen Kurosaki's powers and swords up close. Although Shōta was not able to fight, All Might's question still made him curious. The swords had caught his interest even when Hizashi first showed him pictures of them. Was it Kurosaki's enhanced strength that made him able to lift and swing such a large sword like that?
Even sitting on the other side of Nezu, Shōta could feel the vibrations through the floor as Kurosaki bounced his leg under the table. "Most have swords, some don't. Some had powers that were completely different than mine."
Both Shōta and Nezu took a sharp-eyed look. The usage of past tense didn't escape their attention.
"Did?" Vlad King was the one who asked the question they were all thinking.
Shōta didn't like the sad, tired look that passed over Kurosaki's face. "They're, ah, they're gone, now."
"Truth," Detective Tsukauchi said gently.
At least Vlad had the grace to look sheepish. "Ah, shit, sorry. My condolences."
Kurosaki said nothing, just nodded. Shōta had a feeling there was more behind it, but he had a stronger feeling that it was in the same vein as why Kurosaki was hesitant to talk about his scarred wrists and the metal around them.
Looking around the room, it was the more science and math-oriented people who were having a hard time with the new information. Even though those were not subjects that Shōta specialized in, he wasn't one to have his head in the clouds. He liked to look at the facts and determine a plan of action from those. So thinking about something as intangible as a soul was difficult to wrap his mind around.
Detective Tsukauchi affirmed that what Kurosaki was saying was, in fact, the truth. Coupled with the serious way Kurosaki appeared when he was speaking, it didn't seem as if he was making anything up.
"Are there any Villains—ah, excuse me—enemies that use soul power?" All Might asked but lowered his tone to ease the bluntness of Vlad's question.
The vibrations from Kurosaki's bouncing leg increased. "No."
"Lie."
"It's not—!" Kurosaki started but then exhaled sharply through his nose. The glare he directed at the Detective was rather impressive, Shōta thought. And that was coming from the master of the Intimidating Glare. "There are—were—enemies that could use reiatsu, but it shouldn't be a problem anymore."
"Alright," Detective Tsukauchi said. "Truth."
Nemuri steepled her manicured fingers to rest her chin on, tapered brows furrowed over her glasses. "Why is that?"
"That's not something I'm comfortable discussing."
Shōta, again, noticed the change of tense and wondered what kind of enemies Kurosaki had and if they were really gone. Although Tsukauchi determined it was a truth, a thread of doubt remained in Shōta. To a question like that, it was either a 'yes,' a 'no,' or an 'I don't know.' Additionally, Kurosaki's reluctance to answer was a red flag. Even though it may have been an uncomfortable question for him, it was important to know if there were enemies that they had to keep an eye out for.
"Are you a threat to the people here or the students of this institution?"
"Yes."
There was a large uproar that immediately followed, people shouting and shooting up from their seats, but Kurosaki simply crossed his arms over his chest. "I am as much of a threat as anyone with powers can be. From what I've learned from Aizawa-san and Yamada-san, they could be a threat to any one of you. Aizawa-san has told me about his tanto—he could easily turn around and stab someone if he wanted. Yamada-san could scream and blow out everyone's ears if he wanted to. All Might," he jutted his chin towards the man who had immediately stood up from his chair earlier, "has super strength. He could be dangerous if he wanted simply by squeezing someone too hard. I am dangerous by the simple nature of having abilities that can cause harm. I chose to use my powers to protect others, just as you all use yours to protect your students."
There was a long, tense pause after Kurosaki's monologue.
Detective Tsukauchi had an odd look on his face as he stared at Kurosaki. One that Shōta couldn't place. (There seemed to be a lot of that today.) "Uh, truth."
Shōta looked to his fellow educators and staff, and it was easy to see the unease amongst the lines of tense shoulders and clenched hands. He himself had not risen from his chair and had to reign in the powerful urge to flare his Quirk. Not only was he still in recovery and not supposed to use his Quirk for a little longer, but he had no guarantee that his Quirk would even work against Kurosaki. Next to him, Hizashi sighed and dragged a hand over his face after collapsing back into his chair. "Dude," he griped, "way to set us on edge over here."
Kurosaki shrugged. "Just being honest," he said like he was stating the weather.
Why do I have the feeling Kurosaki is going to be a cause for headaches in the future? If the man had been a teenager in his class, he would have labeled him a Problem Child faster than he could have slid into his sleeping bag.
Nezu tapped his paws together. "Do you wish to cause harm to others, be them student, Pro Hero, or otherwise?"
"Never," Kurosaki swore.
"Truth."
Shōta knew Nezu well enough to recognize when he was satisfied. "Well!" he said in a cheerful voice that seemed jarring so soon after a heavy question. "It seems I have all that I need to know for the moment. Do any of you have any questions you wish to ask?"
All the UA people looked at Nezu and then at each other before sitting down. They'd all been working with the chimera man for years now, save All Might, so they were used to his antics. Still, however, there was an uneasiness that lingered. Slowly, they sat back at the table.
"I do not," Cementoss said after a beat.
Shōta noticed Hound Dog staring at Kurosaki quite intently. His fur stood on end around his shoulders. There was a bit of a growl to his voice that was sharper than usual every day one, "Nothing here."
There were general murmurs of the same. No more questions.
"Neither do I," Recovery Girl said. Then she turned to Ichigo and pointed a finger at him. "You can't be giving this old woman a scare like that, young man."
Kurosaki's face colored. "A-Ah, sorry about that. I wasn't trying to do it on purpose. Like I said to Yamada-san, I was being honest."
She just pursed her lips before shaking her head.
Personally, Shōta had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but he felt most would only have answers that wouldn't really answer much. He did have one, though, that had his curiosity piqued. "I do."
Kurosaki turned to him.
"What makes your swords so special?" Even wrapped up in cloth and from the images he had seen in pictures, both blades were impressive work. Confusing in shape, but impressive. "I certainly haven't seen a make like them before, but I have a feeling that isn't the only thing that makes them special, is it?"
"Let's just say," a secretive smile made its way on Kurosaki's face, "they have a lot of meaning for me."
"Truth."
Hizashi hummed. "Aren't gonna budge on that one, huh?"
"I have to keep a little of myself private, don't you think?" What an odd way to phrase that.
"Kurosaki-san, do you have any questions for us?" Nezu prompted.
The man looked around the table, then lastly Shōta and Hizashi. At some point, he had threaded his hands back into the sleeves of his hoodie. It was an odd gesture to see on someone wearing a cheap hoodie. It was something Shōta was used to seeing in those who wore traditional clothing like during festivals or at shrines. "Yeah," Kurosaki said, voice quieter than before, "What happens to me now? I'm sure you've noticed, but other than what Yamada-san got for me earlier and the clothes I'm wearing, I don't have anything. And nothing to offer either since I don't have any money."
"There are funds that UA has to help people in need." Nezu said, "You wouldn't be the first person whom we have assisted to get back on their feet."
Kurosaki looked like he wanted to refuse but then reconsidered. "I, uh…That's kind of you, thanks. I'll pay you all back," he looked now from Nezu to both Shōta and Hizashi, "when I'm able to, I swear."
Nezu waved it off. "Nonsense. We never look for reimbursement as this is to aid others. I assure you there is no need to 'pay back' the assistance we will give you."
"It's the truth," Tsukauchi told Ichigo. His eyes were less intense than before and his expression was more relaxed. "And I'm turning off my Quirk and saying this as someone who has worked with UA on several occasions. I have personally helped several of these people myself with UA's help."
"Ah…"
"We can board you in a hotel that isn't too far from campus. How does that sound?"
Now, Kurosaki suddenly gained a very uncomfortable look.
Hm.
They had a man here with no money, no knowledge of their world save for what he'd learned recently, no familial connections, nothing to his name, and who was adamant about avoiding something clearly painful that happened to him. Even homeless people or wanderers had more than Kurosaki did.
From what he'd learned, Shōta hypothesized that a person who had nothing and who was thrown into not only a whole new place but a whole new dimension would not want to be in a place by himself. As much as Shōta preferred to lick his wounds alone, if he were to lose his comrades, his students, or shit, his Hizashi…
Well, he wouldn't be a stable person. Let alone be sane.
A buzz alerted him to a text on his phone. He glanced at it under the table, the preview on his lock screen displaying Hizashi's name and a short 'Let's volunteer.' He raised an eyebrow at his husband despite the slight ache it caused. (He needed to take some medicine.) Was Hizashi thinking what Shōta thought he was thinking?
They did say that when people were married, they started acting like each other. Maybe thinking like each other was part of that.
That, or Hizashi just knew him too well.
He cleared his throat. "I have a logical solution."
Everyone's attention swiveled to Shōta like those toys that seemed to track you in a room. Or those seagulls from that movie about the lost fish that Nemuri liked. "Kurosaki, Hizashi and myself have a spare room in our apartment. We don't live far from UA, like the hotel that was suggested, so distance will not be a problem. Additionally, we've both already spoken with you before this, and I wouldn't imagine you to be a disrespectful roommate."
"Yeah, dude!" Hizashi beamed a pretty smile. "And we have cats! I don't know if you're a cat person, but they are very sweet. Plus, purring can help you sleep, ya dig?"
From where he was sitting, Shōta was able to see Kurosaki's hand twining in the cloth wrapping from his sword. The man was quiet for a bit, visibly weight his options. He looked around the table, to Nezu, and then to Hizashi and himself. "…Alright. As long as I won't be bothering you guys."
This caused an amused look to pass on Shōta's face. "We work with Quirked teenagers. I doubt you could bother us more than our students do during school hours."
Or after, but he left that part out.
"That settles that! Kurosaki-san will stay with Aizawa-kun and Yamada-kun as UA helps him get situated. If there is nothing less to discuss, I call this meeting adjourned! For those that have no students to oversee, I wish you a good afternoon and I will see you tomorrow. Those that have after-school activities that you need to supervise, send my greetings to your students."
"And make sure they don't blow up anything," Shōta heard Vlad mutter to Thirteen.
Various goodbyes were exchanged around the table as was tired acceptance about wild students. Most of the kids didn't cause problems, but by nature of having teenagers with Quirks, there was always something happening. Everyone acknowledged Kurosaki in some way as they left, whether a simple head nod or well-wishing for his situation. Nemuri asked if she had consent to hug him, which he declined, but said he greatly appreciated her asking beforehand. A smile crossed Kurosaki's face as Nemuri instead offered a wave to which he waved back. Shōta remembered how Kurosaki had been in the hospital during his panic attack when he had been touched unexpectedly.
No matter what anyone said about Nemuri, she always had a keen eye for those in a rough situation who needed a gentle hand. Although she did not focus on rescue missions, she did assist in recovering and helping victims of sexual abuse, child abuse, spousal abuse, trafficking, and other traumatic situations. Kurosaki, from everything that Shōta had learned, had been through enough trauma to warrant understanding from her. Nemuri could always read people well.
Detective Tsukauchi bid Nezu and Kurosaki a good day as he left with All Might following behind. Before the older Hero left the room, however, he was sure to give Kurosaki a cheerful slap on the back that ended up jerking the man forward due to the force.
The guy is still recovering, have some restraint. And follow some of Nemuri's tact, jeeze.
"Haha! I look forward to seeing you again, Kurosaki-shōnen! Perhaps when you are back on your feet, I can see more of your fascinating swordwork!"
Kurosaki hid a grimace as he rolled his shoulder. "Uh, yeah, big guy. See you later."
It took only a minute or two for everyone to empty the room, leaving Nezu, Hizashi, Kurosaki, and Shōta himself. Nezu hopped from his chair and shook Kurosaki's hand with his paw. Kurosaki, like earlier in the day, had not once flinched from Nezu's touch. Shōta took that as a good sign. "I am pleased that we can offer you assistance. Any person who protects us and ours, we will offer the same. And don't worry, you are in good hands with these two." He paused at the door. "I have some paperwork to finish, so I will be in my office if you need me. Don't forget the items you left in there, by the way."
"Thank you again." The sincerity in Kurosaki's voice caused something to stir in Shōta's chest. He recognized it from many victims he had helped over the years working Underground. "I can't begin to say how much I appreciate this."
"See you, Kōchō!" Hizashi offered a two-fingered salute.
"And I am sure that I will be seeing you back in your classroom tomorrow, Aizawa-kun?" Nezu gave him a knowing look.
Shōta gave his former mentor a toothy grin. "It wouldn't be me if I didn't."
And with that, it was just the three of them.
There was silence for a few seconds.
"Soooo, how many cats do you have?"
Published: 11/9/2023
(1) With people who work with one another, I feel like most of the faculty and staff refer to each other by their names rather than their Hero titles when it's just them. Like in the teachers' lounge or something. If they were in the company of students, then they would use Hero titles. Nezu, I feel, also has a good relationship with Midnight, so she doesn't mind being called 'chan' by him. Other people would refer to her as 'san', though.
(2) According to the Relationships section of Hound Dog's fandom page, he and Vlad King appear to get on fairly well. "After Ryo has an angry fit, Sekijiro (Vlad King) approaches him and takes over for his speech, having understood what Ryo wanted to say."
(3) Snipe doesn't have an age listed under his fandom page, so I just made him 40 to round out the numbers.
(4) I went back to make sure Tsukauchi had a Quirk and he did not. However, I do rather like the fanon idea that his Quirk allows him to discern if someone is lying. For such a wild meeting like this one, I felt like it was appropriate.
5) Kinetic and Potential energies are the two main groups. There are subclasses in those two groups:
Kinetic: radiant (electromagnetic energy that travels in waves, like X-rays), thermal, motion, sound, and electrical.
Potential: chemical, mechanical (energy stored in objects by tension), nuclear, and gravitational.