Chapter 10: What Does it Mean to Be A Hero?
Tatewaki Household
One day before the U.A Entrance Exams
As the new year came and went, spring began to enter as the cold weather slowly warmed up.
In the Tatewaki household, its occupants sat around the family table, simple dishes of boiled chicken, fish, tofu, rice, and vegetables being served as they ate in silence.
Kurono and Crona both focused on their meals, the latter focused on moving the chopsticks while the other held the bowl.
"...and in other news, Endeavor Agency has been cooperating more with the rank four hero, Hawks. A rather surprising partnership." From the living room, their television was left playing the news report.
Interesting.
"What is?" Crona muttered between chewing slowly and chopsticks shaking as they focused on separating fish meat from the bone.
Hawks wasn't supposed to work with Endeavor until All Might retired. Kurono pointed out, questioning what had caused the change.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." Ayuna reprimand with a glare as she cut her tofu in half with a flick of her chopstick and easily picked it up.
"Chew your food properly too," Kurogane grunted as he refilled his bowl with more rice. "Tomorrow is an important day for you, so make sure to eat enough."
They nodded in response even as Kurono reached for their small plate with the tofu, broken and in pieces, pour it over their rice, mix it further roughly and chow down on it.
Ayuna shook her head at that and continued her meal, finishing the last of her food before moving to her soup. Taking a sip of it as she looked at both husband and son.
Smiling underneath, it felt comforting to finally get a schedule that allowed her to go home and be with her family together.
Things had been hectic ever since the success of the black blood transfusion and the creation of a prosthetic lung organ.
It was a great step for medical science but also a great fear that came with it.
"So, do you want me to send you to U.A?" She offered, putting her bowl down with its contents drained.
"It's fine, I can go by train at nine a.m. It's not that far anyway."
"But the exam starts at twelve! Why would you want to go so early?"
"Warm-up, focus, and read exam materials." Kurono pointed out before pausing for a moment and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Also...I kind of want to talk to Toga before the exam starts. Clear things up."
Ah. Ayuna's brows rose in realization, that made a lot more sense. Well, she had been in contact with Toga's mother and they too were hoping the two reconciled soon. The exams are a good chance for it.
No, wait, that's beside the matter.
"Kurono," She cleared her throat and that made them sit straighter.
"Yes?"
But how? She didn't want to restrict his life forever, Kurono was already restricted enough in his childhood. Yet fear warred against her wish, her mouth opened to utter a word, any of them to convey her concern.
In the end, she decided it's better to be as blunt as possible like her husband.
"There are villains that wish to capture you for their benefit, please, let me send you there. If only for the peace of my mind." Ayuna leaned forward, eyes pleading as she refrained from being forceful.
When Ayuna had learned that a stash of the black blood had been stolen from her hospital, she panicked and transferred herself to another hospital closer to U.A for security purposes.
Since then, Chiyo had been handling the blood collection and had obtained further help from the Hero Association, via Kurogane, in slowly quieting down the news about Kurono. It helped that Captain Celebrity's subsequent recovery took center stage.
Due to that, she was very strict on where and how long Kurono could stay outside.
"...Oh," Kurono said, head downcasted and shoulders lowered. "Okay."
"I'll drop you off early there if it helps." Ayuna reassuringly patted the sides of his arms and smiled. That got them to cheer up with a smile.
Quickly finishing their dinner, and moving to wash their plates, Kurono was about to do the same for their parents' share until Kurogane stood up, took their suit, and nodded their head towards them.
"Let your mother handle that, let's go for a brief walk." His father stated in a tone that broke no argument, something that Ayuna knew and waved him off as Kurono quickly dried his hands before he followed behind him.
Crona wondered if they did something bad though Kurono nudged the latter gently in the head.
If he wants to scold us, he'll do it privately. Not out and walking, it's probably something important.
Tentatively, Crona walked slightly behind their biological father, looking at his tall and straight back.
Despite being with him for a nearly equal amount of time in his previous life, it was still a very unfamiliar experience since he never had a father figure. Medusa hadn't bothered telling them, Crona doubted their father existed at all.
But Kurogane...wasn't bad. Sure, Kurogane looks quite unapproachable that initially, they can't deal with it.
"Ah, ! Going for a walk!?" An elder man in a truck slowed down and waved his hands towards Kurogane, a cloth tied around his head with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Yes, how's your leg?" Kurogane inquired.
"A lot better now since you stopped that villain. Can't thank you enough for that, come drop by and I'll give you a discount, haha!" He boisterously offered.
"Thank you for the offer, please drive safely." Nodding but not outright rejecting the offer, Kurogane bowed formally before moving onwards.
"Alright, see ya then!"
Crona watched the interactions as they waved back to the driver before quickly catching up to their father. The latter didn't say a single word as they made their way from the neighborhood, then to the outskirts of the city, making it feel like it's a patrol rather than what they intended to do.
Occasionally, someone from their neighborhood would greet and chat with Kurogane when they saw him. As ever, Kurogane would reciprocate politely and formally.
Kurono quietly observed him alongside Crona who's taking the lead of the body, shifting nervously and uncomfortably as the silence between them stretched on.
Where are we going? Crona wondered as his eyes glanced to the right, then the moment it came, eyes darted to the left instead.
I think he's showing us a bit of his hero work. Kurono guessed, noting that the places they've been so far had been areas that are less known since he only counted two to three heroes so far when the city center usually had four to five whenever they went.
O-Oh, are we going to go to a fight? Crona right fingers twitched as their heart rate picked up.
Nah, dad's not an idiot and he would lose his job if he did. Kurono mentally slapped them in the back of their head, translating into a literal one as their body jerked forward a bit.
"We're here." Kurogane's voice pulled them out of their mental conversation as they quickly reoriented themselves before coming to a pedestrian overpass bridge that cut across a monsoon drain, lights flickering as its glowed dimly.
For Kurono, seeing that at night back in his previous life would've made him turn right back.
Kurogane climbed the stairs steadily without any hesitation as he took the lead. Crona and Kurono quickly matched one another and ascended as well.
Then at the middle of the bridge, Kurogane stopped and faced the drain. More accurately, the waterway leads right back to the heart of the city.
Following their lead, Kurono and Crona stare in both fascination and appreciation at the sight of the bright lights illuminating the night skies from the skyscrapers and numerous buildings.
The water flowing down reflected the city image, creating an impression that it extends underground and further.
Sounds of cars traveling, honking, masses of noises that congregate one another that it becomes a constant buzz, was a huge contrast to where they were, quiet, barren, and much dimmer.
"Do you know what it means to be a hero?" Kurogane finally spoke to them, eyes turned towards their son, if they're to step into the world of heroes that this was important for them to know.
If possible, he wished that they didn't walk the same path as he did and preferred if they lived a much more peaceful or fulfilling life. Perhaps a doctor like Ayuna.
Yet, they determinedly chose the heroic path despite experiencing firsthand what a real villain's attack was.
Even he had trouble against one of those so-called manufactured villains. If neither Fatgum nor All Might hadn't arrived in time...
Taking a last deep breath, and deciding that if Kurono still wished to continue, then so be it.
"Uh...to protect others from harm, no matter what?" Crona replied unsurely and flinched when his father faced him.
"An adequate answer." Kurogane huffed before taking off the fake glasses that he wore, a much more stoic and focused look on his face. "Then do you know why I chose to be an underground hero?"
Crona tapped both of his fingers and shifted their weight to one side of their foot, muttering silently before looking up towards them. "Because it's easier to do your job?"
"That's one part of it." Kurogane gestured to his surroundings. "The other is because I do not expect a reward for doing a good deed."
That drew both of their attention, Crona perplexed by it while Kurono wondered strongly on that line of reasoning.
"Saving someone, even out of selflessness, still comes from the virtues of satisfying oneself. This is fundamentally part of human nature." Kurogane then extrapolated further.
"But doing something good and expecting a reward out of it, only sullies the act itself and turns it into profiteering."
"That's a bit much, aren't they still doing good at the end?" Kurono pointed back, feeling uncomfortable at that line of thinking.
"Can you say someone who puts profits first before doing the right thing is a hero?"
Crossing their arms, despite the growing disagreement within them, Kurono looked straight back at their father and answered."...If they helped someone, then yes."
Eyebrows narrowed at Kurono's stubborn words but Kurogane restrained himself from giving a long lecture. Perhaps he was approaching this the wrong way against Kurono's argumentative ways.
"How does a hero become a hero in the first place?"
"By taking the exams-? No, by doing the right thing no matter the odds." Kurono said before halfway interrupting himself as he placed a hand on his chin, stroking it in thought.
"Indeed, while nowadays the term 'Hero' is used more as a way to address a profession. It used to mean those that can overcome impossible challenges or one that helped others selflessly at the expense of their own."
"Hence, you should strive to be like that rather than looking for money or glory. This is the same advice that my grandfather told me."
"...Grandpa was a hero?" Tilting their head to the sides, both of them looked at one another internally.
"Well, not in a proper sense. Times back then were much different and he insisted on walking the path of a warrior and guardian of the Tatewaki style-" Kurono cleared his throat as he raised a fist to his mouth.
"He was a vigilante, wasn't he?" Kurono deadpanned at that obvious deflection as their father's face looked quite embarrassed at that revelation. Deciding not to push further, they changed the topic. They never even learn anything much about their grandfather, let alone the family legacy. "What was he like?"
"A principled man that upheld justice and was a protector of the city back before All Might's time," Kurogane stated proudly as his chest rose. "He was also the dance king for three consecutive years."
"The what now?"
"He continued doing his work until he got married and I was born." Their father continued without any heed about that trivia bomb, shoulders drooping as he kept a neutral face as his hackles rose. "However, he lost his life while pursuing a villain. My mother, well, your grandmother continued to raise me until she too passed away. Just a year before you were born."
"Oh." Kurono looked away awkwardly even as a niggling question came from Crona, the latter of whom took control as he looked back. "But...who killed him?"
Face and fist tightened as Kurogane didn't say a word, the tips of his fingers turning into a jet black color before quickly fading away.
"They never found the perpetrator." The only thing Kurogane knew was that his father's lower face had been grasped so tightly that it left a bloody imprint behind. Which was no easy feat considering that his grandfather's quirk was similar to his own.
Years since that day happened and the flame still stokes itself, crying for justice. For vengeance.
No. Despite the urge and need to do so, whatever trail there was has long gone cold and so were the clues. Most importantly, however, was his family.
"...I will admit, it terrifies me to have you meet the same fate as him." Kurogane closed his eyes before putting his fake glasses back on. "But if you're determined to walk this path. Then I shan't stop you."
"But bear this in mind, the only thing you can ultimately rely on is yourself and if you lack strength then you'll never truly be able to protect others."
That left the two of them speechless and eyes widened before bitterly reminded of their failures years ago, frowning and clenching their teeth at that reminder. Vision tunneling and even seeing red at its edges.
Kurogane felt the change in the air and placed an arm on his shoulder gently. Dispelling the tension underneath the body as muscle and blood relaxed at his touch. "That being said, if you need to seek advice, rest, or even just a moment of solitude."
"I, Kurogane Tatewaki, successor and inheritor of the Tatewaki style will always be by your side."
Kurono's mouth opened in understanding and realization of his point before nodding respectfully. A quick blink of his eyes once and a less assured but equally happy smile followed next. "Thanks...dad."
Tatewaki Household
Next morning
That's a bummer.
Kurono Tatewaki's eyes blinked slowly as he felt like a sardine in a can, his bag being placed in his lap as he was currently seated down. The faint ripples of the train felt behind him as the scenery zoomed past him.
The planned trip of going with his mother went down the drain at six in the morning.
An emergency popped up and her mother had to be recalled immediately to the hospital, leaving them no other choice to take the train as originally planned.
Kurono glanced at the clock, noted the time, closed his eyes, and focused inwards.
Well, not focus but rather, zoning himself out. His shoulders slacked and head leaned forward as it rested against his bag.
A brief moment of calm came as everything dulled into the background, mind empty of any thoughts.
Then with a sharp breath, Kurono opened his eyes and his surroundings changed.
Instead of being seated on a train, he was now standing in the middle of an oasis.
Sand that looked similar to the ones on a beach instead of a desert stretched as far as the eye can see, the sun had a grimacing face as well as having spiky edges at the sides and looking comically menacing.
To make things more confusing were the rain clouds at the distance, pouring down enough water akin to rival tropical monsoon levels, creating a white curtain that can be seen from afar.
Similar to the sun, the rain clouds possessed a grinning face over its torrential rain pouring down.
Scratching his head, Kurono had the exact smirk from seeing the rain.
" is happy today."
Turning back to the center of the oasis, Crona sat underneath a palm tree as numerous sandcastles littered around him. The former greeted him with a smile and waved towards him.
"Happy, huh? That means it's going to be a lucky day." Kurono grinned before sitting down next to them.
"Uhm." Crona agreed before they started to pile up the sand, packing and molding it into shape. The two sat together, enjoying the quiet and scenery in their mind. It was a far cry from when the void of nothingness that they started out with.
Kurono wasn't sure what started it but they managed to connect their minds through lucid dreaming. Since then, they have managed to get here via meditation or light sleep consistently.
"Ready to start?" Kurono extended his left hand outwards.
Crona quickly dusted the sand off their hand before taking a place next to him, taking a deep breath, they returned the gesture with the right and clasped it firmly.
Fingers intertwined with one another, both of them closed their eyes and focused deeply.
Find the wavelength, find the wavelength. Kurono repeated to themselves.
While it's true they didn't know the exact what or how, they realized when it started.
The Sky Egg incident.
With that knowledge and some hard navel-gazing contemplation. It narrowed down to a certain action that they did that kickstarted this mindscape of theirs.
Soul Resonance.
It was a postulation by Kurono, perhaps he was wrong but it didn't detract from how important it was to learn and master it.
What little memories he had about the series told him that it was much more than just resonating wavelengths, and while Crona wasn't fully versed in its theory, they certainly knew the practical part well enough.
So whatever Crona said to do, Kurono trusted him fully.
A slight hum was heard at the corner of his ears, prompting him to further concentrate. With this silence, they're able to perceive numerous soft sounds.
The air, rain, rustle of leaves, water from the oasis.
Then there was the steady pulse from Crona hands.
Crona mind shifted around, grasping the feeling of familiar but also opposite wavelength. It was nostalgic and comforting, to perform this again even with another different partner that wasn't a weapon nor the proper skills.
But as a Meister, they're more than capable of compensating for it.
Slowly, the hum built up between them. The air between them felt tingly at first, then slowly, it got to goose-bumps.
Their grip tightened, as the hum now felt was far more audible and growing to static discharges.
Deeper. Crona leads the way, further strengthening their resonance and their hands can feel active vibrations.
Almost! Kurono's heart beat faster, excitement built up and smiled unknowingly. It was like reaching the apex of a roller coaster, just before the fall.
Click.
Both felt like their sitting in a car, the engines revving as the vibration built up even further as the static now felt like a constant drone.
Clack.
Almost! Kurono reached further.
Cla-
No, wait, it's-! Crona panicked as their resonance became lop-sided.
The air between them shuddered before it discharged all their built-up, shoving and tearing them apart forcefully as they landed on their sides.
Kurono had his face implanted right into the sand beach with enough force that when the shape of his face was left behind.
"Ptui! Bleh, sand in my tongue!" Extricating himself upwards as he spat to the side in disgust, eyes watered and blinked rapidly.
"I'm sorry-I thought I could handle it-" Crona quickly apologized but Kurono waved it off in between his cough.
Straightening his back and rubbing his hair to shake off any remaining sand. "You did fine."
"Even so-"
"It's my bad, I got too eager."
"N-No, I don't think it's yours but mine…" Crona said with a downcast look, this was much easier with Ragnarok.
Though then again, it was easy due to him eventually simply dominating the other.
That sent a shiver down his spine, if possible, they didn't want to do the same to Kurono at all.
"Eh, come on, let's go for a little sword practice, eh?" Kurono changed the subject by getting up to his feet, raised his left arm, a quick squelch as the black blood spurted out, forming itself into the shape of a wooden sword, or bokuto.
Crona blinked owlishly, nodded, got up to his feet, raised his right arm, blood flowing and shaping itself into his Ragnarok sword.
Without any further words, the two took their stance, Kurono being the more standard kendo style as he had no prior experience in sword fighting. Two hands on the hilt, sword to the chest level, and one leg forward.
Crona however simply relaxed, a left hand grasped around the right arm as he utilized only the right arm.
Not even a moment, Kurono stepped forward and struck forward with a thrust.
Powerful and precise as it looked like his wooden sword extended itself, scattering the sand underneath his feet as it closed the distance between them in a second.
Crona didn't budge at all until the last moment by mirroring Kurono thrust, stepped forward, tilted their head, and struck him back easily.
A sharp pain lance through Kurono, his ribs, lungs, and chest giving way as the tip of Ragnarok lodged itself into his heart.
"Guh!" Kurono was unable able to gasp as air deflated from his lungs and his heart stopped beating before Crona extricated Ragnarok from him, allowing him to breathe again.
That mattered little as Kurono instinctively took a step backward, holding his annoyance in as he was already on the backfoot.
True enough, Crona pressed forward, a shower of stabs whistling past his head as Kurono dodged, blocked, or parried them.
Rapidly, they moved around as, in this mental landscape, they weren't restrained by the limitation of needing to operate together. Here, they have complete freedom over their bodies.
It also meant that Crona was able to fight without any delays or lag in his movements, the former looking completely relaxed and unpressured at all compared to Kurono who's already sweating bullets.
Sensing the encroaching defeat, Kurono risked it as he needed to overturn the situation to regain some momentum. Eyes searching desperately for an opening as he moved to shove and intercept another thrust.
Crona took a deeper step, foot-stomping forward, their entire body strengthened itself in sync before thrusting his sword mightily forward, overpowering and pushing Kurono's wooden sword.
Gotcha! Kurono finally spotted his chance as he didn't resist the thrust, no way he would have pushed away Crona thrust even with both hands.
Instead, he slid forward with his sword, twisted his body with one hand extended out to grab Crona arm, his foot hooked, and sent them hurtling forwards even more.
"Ah!" Crona eyes widened as their momentum had the world turned upside down into the oncoming ground. Their eyes barely catching a side strike readied the moment they landed.
Without thinking, Crona balled their fist and struck the ground, knuckles dug into the sand and created a solid foundation for a handstand. Pivoting the fall and allowing them to land on their feet instead of the face.
Furthermore, they swung Ragnarok in a rising motion, catching and deflecting Kurono's oncoming blow in one smooth arc.
The latter on the receiving end felt the impact rocking him to the bones and teeth, ultimately forced to disengage from it despite the chance for a counter-attack.
Both of them stared at one another, Kurono planning his moves again but Crona eyes glanced towards the sides before returning to him nonchalantly.
Then, almost contorting their body, Crona raised his weapon to the back that their head nearly looked upwards from how much they bent backward. As if the off-balance stance, numerous openings, and loss of stability weren't even considered.
It would've looked comical if not for the fact that Kurono had seen this numerous times.
Then as if a spring released from its coil, Crona blurred and their sword arced forwards like a catapult.
Ripping and shrieking in the air, Kurono reacted purely on instinct as he twisted and slid away.
Defying gravity, Crona flicked to the sides and the trajectory of the sword turned sharply with no loss of force. Following Kurono like a homing missile.
Gritting his teeth, the black blood strengthening his own body similar to Crona, he met Crona heavy blow at an angle with his own. Shrieking as sparks flew from where their blade met and grind against one another.
Once again, Kurono slid forward and this time, a fist lashed out straight for Crona's chin.
A booming crack echoed loudly as both black blood users met one another.
Clicking his tongue, Kurono quickly stepped back for some distance. His fist met resistance but not a bony one.
Blocked it, huh.
Crona pulled their left hand down back to the usual stance and tilted their head to the sides. A brief moment of thought alongside a scrunched-up look, they turned to Kurono. "Who was Japan's first hero again?"
"Astro-man," Kurono replied as he rested his wooden sword on his shoulders.
"Ah." Crona eyebrows rose in realization. "I keep forgetting that, I hope I don't during the exams. I wouldn't be able to handle it if we fail."
"Don't worry, we passed our school exams." Kurono huffed with a wave of his hands. "The one that'll really carry us is the practical exam."
"Let's get to the real thing," Kurono said as he grunted in pain, curling forwards as the skin behind his back bulged before his blood spurted out violently.
True
"Ok." Similarly, Crona back had blood rushing out but in a much more controlled and precise manner, body posture not changing at all as they stood straight as a pole. The liquid then slowly expanded outwards as it formed into a pair of black wings.
Black
With a twitch of their thoughts, it unfurled outwards and swept the air backward. Sending the less sturdy sand castles crumbling down and the palm tree leaves shook violently.
Dragon!
The two crouched downwards like a racer, and in a synchronized signal shared by them, they exploded forward, sword in hand, screaming and shouting to their hearts as they engaged in another fight.
Here, in the mental realm where the risk of losing their life was nil, where they're both truly unrestrained, it allowed the two to truly practice moves as well as keeping themselves sharp since they learned how to do this two years ago.
Their first defeat at the hands of the nomu had shown just how far they are from even being considered the top.
Most of all, however, this was the only place where they're truly free. The roaring fight was filled with nothing but glee and happiness as the two continued their sparring.
A long while passed until Kurono laid on the floor, exhausted and just having little to no energy left. Crona in the meantime was relaxing as they used a stick to draw figures in the sand.
"Damn, not even a single round," Kurono said frustratedly.
"W-well, you improved?" Crona muttered in between, feeling a little awkward since they were told not to hold back. So they didn't.
The raw sensation of sheer stubbornness, annoyance, and pride flew past them as Kurono quickly raised his head and pointed a finger back at them. "And I ain't regretting it. I just need to keep hammering until I get it, then I'll win one of you cleanly."
"Okay." Crona nodded back with a sheepish look and resisted saying that it was unlikely. "I'm sure you can deal with it."
Kurono said nothing but lazily waved back before hearing a buzzing noise at the corner of his ears. At first, he swatted his ears away, thinking it's a bug before a burst of fear came to him as he realized that it was no bug.
"Shit!" Kurono looked down at his fist quickly, gritted his teeth, and slammed the fist right into his cheeks like he was aiming to crack it open.
"Wake up!"
Kurono and Crona head jolted with a gasped breath as they returned to the waking world, eyes quickly looking upwards as they saw the train station stop.
"Fuck!" Kurono hissed as not only they overslept by fifteen minutes, they missed their stop as well. He leaped upwards from his seat and rushed out of the closing train doors before the crowd surged.
His outburst drew a few glances, one of the elderly frowned at his choice of words as Kurono furiously made his way out through the wave of people by pushing.
The moment he got out, Kurono looked at the train station number, bag swinging and skidding as they took a moment to stop. Catching their breath to calm themselves down and avoid panicking.
"Alright, it's just fifteen minutes. It's cool, we still have plenty of time." He said, from the outside, it looked like Kurono was saying it to himself but following his gaze, it was directed to the shiny reflective surface of the train station map.
I hope so, I don't want to be late. I can't handle being late. Crona's panicked tone slowly went away as the latter shifted their foot uncomfortably.
"Oh don't worry your head off, trains coming in the next five minutes. See?" Kurono straightened his clothes as he gestured to the screen. "It's all cool."
U.A Academy entrance
Alright, deep breathes, deep breathes. Ojiro flicked his tail over his shoulders, trying to calm his nerves down by taking deep breaths of air slowly.
Taking faster steps, he looked upwards to the large campus that his entire dream and aspiration sat on. Already, the huge letters of UA can be seen from afar as he approached the entrance.
His palm felt sweaty, knees bent, and stomach twisted in a knot. The contents threatened to upend itself from sheer nervousness.
Not even the national karate tournament had him feeling this nervous before.
Yet Ojiro knew this was his only moment to get into the heroic course. All for this single moment.
Steeling himself, he straightened his back and puffed his chest proudly upwards. He'll walk into the school with his head held high!
Marching towards it, numerous other students could be seen entering, some whispering and talking to one another but a large majority of them stayed at a distance or barely looked at one another.
The air was a cold refreshing spring wind but right now, it felt like a scorching summer heat from all the tension.
Ojiro tightened his face into a neutral look, knowing that everyone here was the best of their school, or confident enough to challenge the toughest heroic entrance exam.
Thousands of students from all over Japan, but only forty will be accepted.
A familiar sight at the corner of his eyes caught his attention and picked out a familiar figure leaning back against the entrance pillar, not at all bothered as she was playing with her smartphone.
Despite not seeing one another for months, Toga hasn't changed much beyond her hairstyle. Instead of the flowing hair, it was the usual two messy buns.
They had kept in contact with one another even after their argument though Ojiro can't say the same for Kurono as Toga was still insistent on the cold shoulder treatment towards him despite the numerous apologies sent.
So there he was, forced into an impromptu third-party liaison and peacemaker role. If only the other two knew of much trouble he faced...
"Afternoon." Ojiro greeted her but Toga just continued looking at her phone and fingers moving rhythmically in a set pattern.
"Afternoon." A moment passed and only then did Toga reply back and continued speaking before Ojiro could say anything else. "He hasn't replied to my message."
"Huh?"
"The last read message was nine-thirty in the morning, other messages since then had been unread," Toga muttered as she raised her finger and nibbled onto it.
"...Maybe he's late?"
"It's been three hours since then." She resisted the urge to snap at him as she irritably looked through the phone before showing the morning's news. "Even then, it shouldn't take that long."
Squinting his eyes at the news, he saw that the train was delayed for fifteen minutes due to a villain attack so there was a brief apology announced to all.
He can't be wrapped into it, right? Ojiro wondered if that's the case but it seemed the fight happened much further away so that put him at ease.
"Have you tried calling him?" He asked before Toga gave him a deadpan stare and head tilt, prompting him to wave his hand at such an obvious question.
"I'm going to go find him." Toga straightened herself before walking away
"Why don't we put in a request for a hero or police to find him first?" Ojiro stopped her quickly and offered a more sensible solution. He too had an uncomfortable premonition and all that worry had begun to build up.
But he'll be damned if he allowed Toga to pursue Kurono like a headless chicken, they don't even know where to start.
Toga calmly looked back at him with an intense stare, despite not showing any emotions, Ojiro's hands could feel the tense muscle in her arm when he stopped her.
"Here," Ojiro didn't hesitate as he pulled out his phone, opened and quickly scrolled down the list of heroes to find an appropriate one before tapping the number.
"Hello, is this Team Idaten agency? Oh, okay, yes, you see, one of my friends has gone missing for three hours now and when we called him, he didn't pick up the phone. I know it's trivial but if you-You will? You will! Alright, thank you, my name is…" Ojiro quickly listed down the details to the speaker, surprised that they considered his request.
Toga meanwhile fumed as she listened impatiently with a tapping foot but said nothing else since Ojiro was already helping her.
This morning good mood had already evaporated as she mumbled to herself, wondering just what had happened to Kurono.
She was sure that he would've been here by ten in the morning at the very least since she had timed the tracks for the past month or so.
Secretly of course.
Muttering under her breath that she should've bugged his phone or find a way to track him constantly in the future, it was unacceptable that this happened under her eyes.
Then again, it wouldn't have happened at all if she reconciled with him earlier in the first place.
She kicked herself mentally at that, fuming in her thoughts as Ojiro finished his call.
"They're looking out for him. We just need to wait for good news. I'm surprised that they just accepted it like that." Sighing in relief
"So we just wait?" Toga's displeasure was written all over her face.
"That's the only thing we can do now." Ojiro shrugged his shoulders at that before passing his phone to her. "Here, if they call back, you'll be the first to know."
Her hands outright blurred as she took the phone and kept it close to her, continuing looking through her phone as she sent another message to him.
Any harder and she'll burn a hole through it. Ojiro rolled his shoulders at it.
"Uhm, excuse me?" A nervous voice was heard at the corner of his ears, making him turn towards the source as he expected it to be Kurono.
Instead, he was met with another student with green messy hair, and freckles.
"Hey, it's been a while?" The latter answered unsurely when they made eye contact as their shoulders shrank. "I guess you don't remember…"
"Ah! "Ojiro's eyes widened as he remembered who this person was, the name was escaping his tongue at the moment. "The museum, Zuku, was it?"
"Izuku." Izuku corrected even as he beamed up with a smile and offered a handshake, one that Ojiro gladly reciprocated with a firm grasp.
"It's been a while! Are you here to take the exams too?"
"Yea, I am planning to get in, or at least, I hope." Izuku laughed nervously as he looked around, spotting Toga and waving towards her. His efforts were in vain as she was too concentrated on the phone.
"Oh, she's a little busy at the moment. You see-"
"Cheh, you extras are here too? "
A disdainful click of a tongue rang past the two, drawing Ojiro's attention and seeing another person from that incident, Katsuki Bakugou.
"Whatever." Katsuki moved past them before halting one step away from them.
"Hey, tail-guy."
"My name's Ojiro," Ojiro replied louder than needed, not too pleased at such a tone.
"Where's the pink head? I don't see him anywhere." Katsuki's eyes looked around carefully, much like a predator, spotting Toga but not the one he wanted.
"He's...late." Eyes glanced to the sides as Ojiro answered.
Though that only seemed to increase the raw hostility radiating from Katsuki, almost like he's ready to burst any moment.
"He better fucking make it." Raising a hand upwards before gripping it tightly into a fist, knuckles turning white as veins were visibly seen. "I'll fucking crush him in the entrance test!"
With a snarl, Katsuki continued tromping onwards inside of U.A grounds.
After a quiet moment and Katsuku moving far ahead, Izuku finally spoke out to Ojiro. Apologizing for his friend's behavior. "Sorry for that."
"It's alright." Waving his hands, it seems like not much had changed when they first met. "Just odd that he's asking for Kurono out of the blue."
That sent Izuku into a nervous fit as he twiddled with his fingers and looked away in discomfort.
"Well...you probably didn't know but Kacchan didn't exactly take the news well when it was reported that Kurono was the one that stopped the villain instead of him."
"Seriously? He's mad about that?" Ojiro's mouth and eyes widened in disbelief. That sounded so petty.
Izuku could only wave his hands despondently.
Though he suspected that Kacchan was mad not only because he failed to defeat a villain completely, it was the fact that Kurono managed to stand back up and continued fighting while he was unconscious.
Since then, Kacchan trained himself to the limits to the point his interaction with everyone else was frigid, him included.
After all, he knew just how much Katsuki hates losing and to someone else who's the same age as him no less.
"Ah, so that's why."
"Huh?" Izuku snapped upwards to Ojiro before realizing he must have said that part aloud during his mumbling. Feeling awkward as his bad habit arose once again when he's nervous.
"Don't worry about it." Ojiro laughed it off before looking left and right, then whispered to him quietly. "Truth is, we don't know where Kurono is."
"Eh?" Izuku's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates when he heard that.
"He's been missing for three hours since this morning. I already called for help from a hero agency and they're looking for him."
"Is it a kidnapping case?" Izuku was immediately alert at those words.
"I hope not, but let's not cause a panic. I really hope he's just lost or overslept." Ojiro rubbed the back of his head before slapping Izuku's shoulders gently. "Well, it's all up to the heroes now. Good luck with your exams, okay?"
With that, Ojiro nodded, turned around to lead Toga inside to the assembly area by the shoulder. It was nearly time for the exams to start.
Izuku looked torn as he was dropped with this news. The urgent feeling that came to him was that he shouldn't worry about it since a hero is on the case but what if he was kidnapped for real?
Fingers unconsciously went to his phone and with a startling realization, there was something he could try-
No, that would be too much to ask for. It was presumptuous and way out of line to even ask for such a thing.
But at the same time, can he stand at the side and do nothing again?
Calm down, think, assess, and act. Izuku thought as he closed his eyes and looked at the phone.
Ojiro already requested through an official channel, so why not highlight that request and offer it as a partnership help instead?
Thinking quickly, he quickly scrolled to the relevant name and was about to press it…
That was until his feet somehow tripped against each other as the sudden loss of balance sent him tumbling forward.
Author's note: Sorry for the delay.