Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.
Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.
Quirky.
Part Two.
Midoriya Inko understood the need of her son to be a hero perfectly well.
She knew that, growing up, it had been a blow to Izuku's self-esteem to lack a Quirk. She knew that said absence of Quirk had been a long standing source of... friction between him and other boys (that Bakugo-kun had actually BRUTALIZED IZUKU MENTALLY for years sort of escaped her in full extent. She knew that Bakugo-kun was... coarse when addressing him, but a combination of Izuku not being willing to share all he had endured behind her back and traditional Japanese mentality on the issue of bullying had led her to somewhat ignoring or minimizing the issue. That, and Bakugo-kun's parents had wealth and she knew she'd never win a court showdown against them. So there was that too).
She knew that Izuku idealized All Might, but then again, who didn't? Even Bakugo-kun did, and he was... Bakugo-kun. Ah, those magazine centerfolds with All Might posing heroically, flexing all muscles, had helped Inko through many nights of loneliness...
So she was willing to give Izuku a lot of leeway when his chance to become a hero came along. When he showed up saying he'd met a guy who worked for All Might and who would train him to access UA, Inko had given said guy the benefit of doubt, despite that being the kind of bullshit every two bit pervert gave boys to take advantage of them. She'd invited Yagi Toshinori, realized that he was weak enough he couldn't even rape a squirrel, and allowed Izuku to spend a couple hours a day with him.
From what Inko understood, Yagi-san was making Izuku clean a beach. That wasn't so bad. Even if he was being duped, he'd learn a valuable life lesson from it and gain some muscle already.
And then he had shown up with those kids, saying Yagi-san had asked him to house them for a while.
It wasn't that they were leeching the Midoriyas' finances off. Every day, there was money transferred to Inko's account to pay for their expenses, which made her realize that All Might's money might actually be poured into this. But the fact remained, it was a small apartment, and there were a lot of them, and well...
There had been that time, for instance, where she had casually walked into Chisame-chan wearing a black leotard with a microskirt that didn't even cover her crotch, a domino mask, and little black bat wings on her back.
"..." Inko asked, staring at her while waiting for an answer.
Chisame-chan blushed and fidgeted. "... I'm cosplaying as Pop Step..."
"Who," Inko asked stoically, "is Pop Step, dear?"
"... a vigilante..."
"Okay..." Inko's eyes narrowed.
"I, I, I know that around these parts, being a vigilante is barely above being a villain, but that's a retired vigilante, nobody's seen her in months, and anyway, it's not like people can't cosplay as the Joker and Harley Quinn without getting in trouble, and I know that's different because the Joker and Harley Quinn aren't real, but... The costume is cute, okay? I like it!"
"It's also sexy. Cute and sexy," Inko said blandly, inwardly congratulating herself on how wonderfully patient she was being. "Very sexy, dear, especially to be worn in a small apartment around several young boys..."
Chisame blinked. "Do you think I'm sexy?"
Inko counted to ten mentally. "Any other reason beyond finding the costume cute, dear...?"
Chisame gulped. "I, I, please don't tell anyone, but it's for my webpage."
"Your webpage..."
"Y-Yeah, I had one back at home, and I've set a new one here, it doesn't harm anyone, and it's just a hobby, I've been through a lot of stress and I need-"
"Mom, I'm home!" came Izuku's voice from the front door. He had just returned from school, ready to dine before leaving for the beach. "How's everyone doing?"
Inko grabbed a table cloth and dropped it on Chisame's head, covering her all the way to the feet. "Don't worry about them, Izuku dear, I've got them covered."
"That's... very funny, Inko-san, congratulations," a humiliated Chisame said from under the cloth. "Ah ha ha, yeah, from now on I'll only do this behind locked doors..."
Izuku walked in. He looked up and down at the table cloth, then at the feet poking underneath. "Pop Step's boots. Is that you, Hasegawa-san? Are you doing that Chiu thing Negi-san told me about?"
Two large veins bulged from under the table cloth.
"NEEEEEEEEGIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Chisame roared.
"For the last time, Chisame, I had to tell him!" Negi protested, blocking her furious and constant blows with his arms. "What if he had just walked in on you ignoring everything about that!"
"You always have an excuse for everything, don't you!?" Chisame growled, unloading Tsundere Punch after Tsundere Punch on him. She was wearing a tight, black and yellow spandex top and matching shorts. Sakurako had to admit Chisame had quite the figure, despite being a shut-in. She'd seen the other girl naked several times in the baths of Mahora, but she'd never paid her much attention. "Stay still, damn you!"
"That would beat the purpose of the exercise!" Negi said, blocking every punch easily. "I'll let you land an extra punch as soon as you pass through my defenses, okay?"
"What if he did that just to provoke her into going all out on him during training?" Sakurako wondered, sitting at the sidelines with Kotaro, Chachamaru and Chamo. Toshinori was fanning himself under a beach umbrella, wheezing loudly. Izuku was dragging another haul of junk into the truck.
"You're giving him too much credit!" Kotaro gave a little grin.
Izuku moved on to take a big chug from his bottle of water. "Sir," he told Toshinori, watching as Chisame redoubled her efforts on Negi, "what if I ask Negi-san to teach me martial arts too?"
"On top of everything you're doing already?" his mentor asked him. "Normally, it'd be a great idea, but you're working yourself up enough as it is! Go overboard, and you'll end up collapsing from overexhaustion!"
"What is that?" Izuku blinked at the word in English.
"Burning yourself out from doing too much in too short a time," Yoshinori explained. "Young Hasegawa and Young Shiina have enhanced physical stats when they activate their Pactios, but that's an advantage you don't have. I told you, learn to walk before you start running. Put your body in full shape and then we'll think about martial arts."
"Maybe we can get him a Pactio from Negi-kun or Kotaro-kun!" Shiina raised her right hand. "Then he'll be as strong as us when we're on magic, won't he?"
"Geh!" Kotaro said. "I'm not kissing any guy, much less on the lips! Count me out!"
"It'll be just a short peck, Kotaro-kun," Sakurako pursed her lips towards him.
"Don't even joke about that!"
Izuku gulped. "I'm not ready to give my sacred first kiss yet, and I don't think Chamo-san would approve, either."
"Of course I wouldn't!" the ermine barked.
"But it doesn't hurt if I just teach him some basic moves, right?" Negi said, ducking as Chisame changed tactics to swing a kick at him. She was getting tired, breathing heavily now. "I'm not going to put him through the wringer, just a few minutes a day..."
Toshinori frowned, then said, "Only as long as I'm supervising, to make sure you don't overdo it."
"Word of honor!" Negi put a hand on his heart, rolling back from Chisame's attack.
"Don't make it look so easy, you're humiliating me!" Chisame whined.
"And Young Karakuri will record every minute of your activities while I'm away, to make sure you aren't disobeying," Toshinori pointed at Chachamaru.
"I already do it," the gynoid said, her eyes glowing faintly as she kept on staring at Negi.
"Don't worry, Chacha-chan isn't a shotacon because she's only two years old herself," Sakurako told Toshinori.
"Is that supposed to make me feel any better!?" Toshinori said.
Several weeks later, they sat after training hours, in Izuku's apartment. They had convinced Yagi-san to stay for a little before leaving for his home, and the man was too tired to protest too much. It surprised Negi to see how easily he grew exhausted while not in his All Might form. He only wished he could take him to a good magical doctor. Perhaps they could do something for him...
"Na na na na na na, All Might..." sang the opening theme in the television. Kotaro snickered at the quality of the animation on screen.
"Old anime were really stiff, weren't they?" he chuckled. "We've come a long way since then!"
"Hey, it's not that old! It's from only twenty years ago, and it still holds up!" Izuku scowled. "Plus it's technically not anime, it's an American and Japanese co-production."
"All Might wasn't all that well known yet," Yagi-san said nostalgically. "The budgets for superhero anime weren't that big back then. Even so, Dini and Timm more than made up for it with the inspired designs and stories."
"Oh, no doubt about that!" Izuku gushed, while the episode opened with All Might punching a guy with a pizza slice for a head. Chisame squinted at that. Good writing...? "The Alex Toth loving influence is evident in every frame!"
"Ah ha ha, I don't know that much about pre-Quirk superhero comics and animation, so that Toth name escapes me," Yagi-san admitted. "But the stories were actually better than the actual incidents All Might got into while living in America. Or so I heard," he added, sweating a little as he heard Inko humming from the kitchen. "I suppose that's unavoidable, since reality isn't scripted."
"Oh, I don't know," Kotaro said. "Not to boast, but our adventures would make for an awesome anime!"
"Manga," Chisame said, sipping her juice from a straw moodily. Negi had forbidden her and Sakurako from drinking soda and similar sugary drinks as long as they were training, and she hated it. "The manga is always better."
"It'd have too much nudity," Inko opined, coming along and starting to distribute snacks among everyone.
"Thank you, Mom," Izuku said.
"He already sneezed here, didn't he?" Yagi-san asked Inko.
Inko, Izuku, Chisame and Negi himself blushed.
Yagi-san sighed. "We need to think of a way to curb that while you're in the academy," he told Negi. "It won't do, having you strip everyone during a mission. Maybe you should wear a special mask..."
"What happened to that guy, anyway?" Kotaro pointed at All Might's juvenile onscreen sidekick. "Or is he just madeup for the show?"
"Sir Nighteye? No, he's still active as a successful independent superhero on his own," Izuku said. "He and All Might separated on good terms, no matter what the rumors may say."
Yagi-san rasped subtly to himself, yet said nothing.
"And the villains? Are American villains actually that corny?" Chisame asked. "The ones in the news look way scarier. Or did they just go grim and gritty over time?"
"The latter, to an extent," Yagi-san said, "but even then, there were real bastards around. It's just that the show only used the relatively harmless bad guys, the ones who reformed and made showbiz deals. Most of them were just attention seekers. A few even stayed on the straight lane! All Might still keeps on touch with Eartha, the Explosive Hummingbird. Great ol' gal, that Eartha."
"Some of them even played themselves in the animated series, like Roland Mc Garrison, the Mad Patissier," Izuku recalled fondly.
"Yeah, but showbiz chewed most of them out," Yagi-san said. "Roland died of a drug overdose, poor fellow."
Izuku blinked. "I thought it'd been a heart attack?"
"Never believe press releases," Yagi-san wagged a finger at him. "Unless they are All Might's, heh heh."
"Now that's a depressing turn of conversation..." Chisame said.
"I agree," Inko said, sitting down and starting to chew slowly.
"Sorry," Yagi-san said. "Not all of them ended up like that, of course. Eartha's still doing great, like I told you. Those ones were not all that bad. The real bad ones... we tried not to give them any publicity. I always thought it was wrong glorifying crime like that. Have you ever heard the story of Herostratus?"
Negi nodded. "The psychopath who burned the temple of Artemis in ancient Greece, hoping to immortalize his name."
"And the sad part is he succeeded, but at which cost? He was tortured on a rack and executed." Yagi-san pointed his finger at the children. "That's the lesson to be learned there, kids! Crime never pays! If you ever succeed in life after having been a criminal, it's not BECAUSE of it, but DESPITE of it!"
"You're barking up the wrong tree, Haruna is the one who should be hearing this," Chisame said. "Save that speech for when we find her, okay?"
As usual when reminded of his missing students, Negi folded into depression again.
"Never lose hope, Young Negi," Yagi-san said. "Our agency's still looking for clues about them every day. Why, I would go as far as to say we might be close to confirmation on one of them..."
Negi perked up. "Really!? Where!?"
Yagi-san smiled. "I'm not authorized to tell you anything yet. It might be a false lead. But there are some rumors about a peculiar enough young lady in South America..."
Several more weeks passed.
"Misorita?" the portly lady with thick brown curls framing a round face asked, appearing at the door. Literally. "You can talk with them now."
"Hmm?" the short, wiry young lady in the miniskirted nun habit tilted her head back from the autograps she was signing. "Oh, you mean... For real, this time!? Great!"
She turned back to the children surrounding her and smiled. "Sorry, amiguitos, but I've gotta run!"
"Are you gonna fight another bad guy, Hermana Misteriosa?" a dark skinned little girl asked.
"Kick 'em in the ass for me, Hermana!" another girl wagged her small fist around.
She laughed lamely, while the woman urged her with hand gestures. "Come back tomorrow, okay? I'll tell Marylin to give you extra passes so you don't have to pay again! Well, it was a pleasure! Bye!" She waved and dashed towards the door, while the children waved back at her.
She gulped while the obese lady led her down the hallway. "Why so nervous?" the woman asked her. "They're just your friends, aren't they?"
"W-Well, yeah, but it's been months, and I was starting to lose faith I'd ever see them again, and- Never mind, I'll tell 'em myself!" she decided, reaching the room covered on posters of the local Presidente. Marylin pointed towards the computer on a small desk at the other end of the room, and the girl sat there, trying to put on her best smile. "Hellooo! Negi-kun? Is that really you, Negi-kun!?"
"Misora-san...? MISORA-SAN!" the familiar face on the screen leaned closer, and actual tears started leaking from his eyes. It was him, no doubt. Even a shapeshifter couldn't be that convincingly... Negi-kun. "Oh dear God, Misora-san, thank goodness...!"
"Hey, hey, don't start weeping on a happy day, Sensei, that's bad for the luck!" Kasuga Misora tried to calm him. "Sorry about the delays, but we needed diplomatic clearance from the Presidente, you know! That... That's the way things are around here..."
Chisame's face appeared on the screen next to Negi's, slightly pushing him aside. "So that's actually you, Kasuga? I thought you'd run as fast from the explosion as possible, how comes it caught you too?"
Misora frowned. "Nice to see you too, Chisame-chan. Who else's there with you? Marylin, my manager, mentioned Chachamaru and Sakurako."
"It's only them, Chamo, and Dog Boy," Chisame said.
"Who are you calling 'Dog Boy'!?" Kotaro called from offscreen. "And then you don't want to be called 'Chi-chan'!?"
Misora whistled. "But Negi-kun's cards are fine, aren't they?"
"Yeah, so far," Chisame said. Sakurako was also trying to peek in now, pressing Negi down as if resting on his shoulders.
"Then they're fine, same thing with Cocone-chan," Misora sighed, briefly pulling her own Pactio card out and looking at it. "She's tough and resouceful! I'm sure she's taking good care of herself..."
"We were told you'd been making a name for yourself in Venezuela," Negi said, trying to stay on focus without shaking any of the girls off. "To be honest, I'm a bit shocked they let you operate as a public pro hero already..."
"Heh heh, well, yep, things here are a bit... different from how they operate in the States or Japan," Misora said. "I dropped by, I was a bit injured for several weeks, and as soon as they saw I was up and I had an useful... Quirk... they asked me to help around. I had nowhere to go, so..."
"When will you be coming?" Negi asked eagerly. "We are in touch with All Might, we can pay you a plane trip here as soon as possible!"
Misora shifted on her chair uneasily, with Marylin looking over her. "I'd love to, Negi-kun, but that takes diplomatic clearance too, you know? The relations between Venezuela and Japan aren't at their best right now, and..."
"But everyone's treating you well, right?"
"Who, the boys and girls? Of course!" Misora said smoothly. "I'm a celebrity here!" she boasted, no doubt inflating herself too much in Chisame's opinion. "I'm part of the Red Circle Revolution with El Perro, Beto Matraca, Popular Miriam, Rey Zamuro and Reina Petroleo. La Hermana Misteriosa, youngest and most promising recruit!" She grinned, with a hand on her flat chest.
"It's just stunning that you're part of a fighting team without just fleeing on them as soon as you could," Chisame said.
"Hey, I'll let you know that my peerless strategy of making villains chase me so the guys ambush them has netted dozens of villains already! How many villains have YOU caught by now?"
"We'll be enrolling into UA in a couple months, so we're working on that, Misora-san," Negi said warmly. He saw the woman who stood behind Misora tapping on her wristwatch with a finger, and he sighed. "Well, until then, we'll be in contact, won't we? It was a real relief, to see you are alright..."
"Same here, Negi-kun," Misora said sincerely. "Same here."
As the link was cut, Negi spun his chair around and drooped his shoulders. "At least she's alive and healthy, but..."
"Most heroes with powerful Quirks leave the country as soon as they can, so the local authorities are strapped for useful operatives," All Might said. "Don't lose hope, Young Negi! We'll keep on negotiating. If we can convince one of our younger pros to replace her for a time, as a goodwill ambassador, we'll have her in Japan before year's end. Of course, all of that depends on the evolution of our diplomacy."
"Who would want to go there in the first place?" Chisame asked.
"Hey, Kamui Woods has been talking about REALLY wanting to visit the Amazon jungle for a while..."
The final day had arrived.
No, not the last day of mankind where the fate of Earth would be decided by a climactic battle against all hopes. Heroes called those 'Sundays'.
Yagi Toshinori parked his truck by the entrance of the beach and unlocked its gates. Then he stood, entranced, at the sight of a completely clean area, other than the last pile of junk ready to be loaded onto the vehicle.
Izuku, shirtless and bathed on sweat, stood on top of said pile, squeezing his fists by his sides and shouting "I'M THE KING OF THE WOOOOOOORLD!"
Sakurako stood next to the pile, in her cheerleading uniform, clapping and with starry huge eyes. "Bravo, Izukun...!"
Chisame was resting on her face on a bench, groaning.
Negi stood nearby, sweatdropping, with Chamo sitting on his head. Chachamaru was sweeping the boulevard, and Kotaro smirked and waved at Toshinori.
The emaciated man sighed and walked to the pile as Izuku descended from it. "It did it, Sir! I actually did it in time!" the green haired boy crowed happily, and then he fell ahead to rest on Tashinori's chest. "I'm worthy of One for All now...!"
The hero slowly cracked a smile and rested his hand on Izuku's head. "You always were, Young Midoriya. I only needed to see proof of it. Please forgive this dumb old man."
"But Sir," Negi said. "Isn't it too late now? The entrance is this afternoon, Midoriya-san won't have any time to practice with One for All..."
"That's fine, he won't be subjected to any life or death situations on his first day," Toshinori said. "If he fails, he can train with One for All for another year, and... I'll vouch for him to get another attempt... It's not the usual procedure, but they should listen..."
"N-No... No!" Izuku tried to stand straight. "It's fine! I can do this! Katchan will be entering today, I need to prove him I can do it too!"
Kotaro and Negi traded a somewhat scrunched look.
"Paru would have a field day with this," Sakurako thought aloud.
"How about you, Young Hasegawa? Are you feeling up to the task?" Toshinori asked Chisame.
She pulled herself from the bench with a snort. "Give me a couple hours of sleep and ask again."
Toshinori looked at the hour in his phone. "There's enough time for that, I suppose."
"I can't help feeling... like I'm cheating, though," Izuku coughed. "I'm not going into it with my own Quirk... unlike Katchan..."
Kotaro and Negi traded another strange look that mixed disturbment with confusion.
"That's fine, Izukun," Sakurako said. "We're cheating by going without Quirks AND high on magic and we have no shame about it!"
"Please stop talking about magic as if it were cocaine, Sakurako," Negi requested blandly.
Toshinori grinned and bulked up into All Might. "No, no, you all deserve this, Young Shiina! You and Young Hasegawa worked out hard under Young Negi, and Young Negi and Young Kotaro had to train hard from childhood, even long before most of us pro heroes did! And Young Karakuri, uh, she worked hard to gain human feelings, I suppose, it's always an achievement when advanced AI pull past the 'Kill All Humans' stage."
Chachamaru nodded. "That is why Hakase-san and Chao-san didn't give me any limbs until I outgrew that phase, Sir."
"What," Chisame said.
All Might put a paternal hand on his protege's shoulder. "And you have proved yourself as well, Young Midoriya. Quirks don't make the hero, it's the other way around."
"Quirks unmake the hero?" Chisame snarked.
All Might squeezed a fist and sniffled loudly. "THE HEROES MAKE THE QUIRKS FROM THEIR HEARTS!" he shouted in English. Then he ripped some of the hair from his head and offered it to Izuku. "Now eat this," he told him.
Izuku blinked. "Ah?"
"You need to assimilate my DNA into you so One for All passes into you!" All Might told him. "If you eat it now, it should have been diggested by the time you get to the academy!"
Izuku grabbed the hair, looked at it for a second, and ate it.
"Is that all?" Negi asked.
"YEP!" All Might grinned, the sunlight reflecting on his teeth so much that Chisame and Sakurako shielded their eyes.
"Okay, then can you give some hair to my brother so he eats it and he becomes another All Might, can't you?" Chamo asked. "He's in way better shape than Izubro here, since he had too much of a headstart on him. So he can take it fine!"
"Are you crazy? You can't give One for All away as if it was candy!" the hero said. "It can't have more than two wielders at a time!"
"Why not?" Chamo asked.
"Because Reasons!"
"That doesn't explain anything at all!" the ermine cried.
"I could give you a detailed explanation on why, but we'd be done by tomorrow and Young Midoriya would lose his chance to enter this year and satisfy his worrying psychological reliance on the young man who made his life miserable for years," All Might said.
"Please stop talking as if I had a problem," Midoriya asked. "Because I don't."
Negi and Kotaro shared that look again.
"Will you two please stop doing that!?" Izuku said.
"Mahora is better," Chisame said.
"This one doesn't even have its own Library Island," Sakurako scoffed.
"The lack of a World Tree makes it esthetically unpleasant if compared to our alma mater," Chachamaru opined.
"What are you talking about, this is UA! Just look at all that awesomeness!" Izuku said. "It's breathtaking! How can you be so blind to it!"
Negi exhaled. "I never wanted to say this, but Merdiana is not only better than this, but it's also somewhat better than Mahora..."
"Them's fighting words, Mister Springfield!" Shiina angrily wagged a finger at him.
They stood now before the front gates of UA. They were shaped like a gigantic 'H' made of two buildings lined up at both sides of a long pathway in.
The sky was shiny, a clear blue. The clouds were harmoniously white and the breeze was gentle and yet dry. Students and would be students everywhere were walking in through said gates and chattered happily among themselves.
"Disgusting, nobody's even going on rocket powered scooters," Chisame said, oblivious to how much she had despised that months ago. "What kind of future is this?"
"This place really needs a Hakase Satomi," Sakurako nodded.
"Don't they all?" Chachamaru philosophized, walking along Chisame.
Somewhere in the Support Group Laboratories, Hatsume Mei sneezed.
She stared at the camera, smiled and waved. "Early Bird Cameo!" she said.
Then they were surprised by a loud yell from behind.
"STEP ASIDE, DEKU!"
"Yikes! K-Katchan!" Izuku yelped, leaping aside to let Bakugo Katsuki walk past him, even though there was plenty of space he could have used to go through, otherwise. The blond boy stomped with a bag slung over his shoulder, frowning and radiating menace and EDGE.
Then he stopped, blinked, and looked at Chisame with mild curiosity. "Have I seen you before?"
"I am Chisame, Izuku's cousin," she told him. All of a sudden the contents of her stomach were rebelling against her.
Bakugo blinked again, clearly not remembering. "Cousin?"
"That is, the child of your uncle or aunt," Chisame went out of her way to explain as if talking to a very slow child. "You'll see, when people aren't complete assholes their parents aren't repulsed enough to stop at having that single one child, and-"
Ignoring her altogether now, Bakugo began stomping again, heading into the majestic school. "Fuck, they are multiplying! What is this world coming to!"
And then he disappeared in the crowd.
Kotaro lifted an eyebrow. "He doesn't even have a badass scar across his face. What kind of bully is that?"
"I know, right?" Chisame said, starting to walk again. "Kakizaki makes for a meaner bully than that, at least she destroys your reputation behind your back after she's done smiling condescently at you."
"She's my friend and I love her regardless!" Sakurako proclaimed, very loudly.
A vein popped on Izuku's forehead. "I don't think you are understanding my Very Important Childhood Trauma at all!" he said, but followed them anyway.
He stopped right when he was about to step past the line separating the school grounds from the entrance, twitching.
"Now what..." Chisame said.
"Are you suffering another flashback, Midoriya-san?" Negi asked helpfully. "Breathe in and out slowly, it's what I do when I have mine..."
"It's not that," Izuku said. He lifted a foot, holding his leg in the air."It's just that... by giving this step, I am leaving my old life behind and getting into the academy of my dreams! It is the most important step I'll take in my life! I must savor the moment! I will set my foot down slowly... and become a hero through AHHH!" He stumbled and fell ahead.
But he didn't hit the ground.
Instead, a species of invisible force held him in place, then pulled him back, safely, to his feet.
"Was that... an invisible person?" Kotaro wondered.
A floating short skirt with a long sleeved navy blue blouse, a pair of matching high heeled shoes, and white gloves passed by next to them. "Hardly," a female voice said.
"Sorry, that was me!" a very cheerful girly voice said from behind them. They looked at a girl who smiled at them, around the same height as Sakurako, with short brown hair and a cute, rounded face. "I used my Quirk on you without asking first! That was rude! But you were about to plummet and break your nose in a grotesque explosion of blood against the cold pavement and none of your friends here seemed about to stop your fall!"
"..." Izuku said, his eyes expanding in vast circles. His freckles disappeared in a sea of red, and time ralentized around him. "...!"
The girl, in slow-mo, casually tossed some of her hair back, over a shoulder, with that kind of girl-next-door loveliness Izuku had only imagined from his most Guilty Pleasure readings of romantic manga ever before.
"...!" he said, and then hiccuped.
Sakurako frowned, looking back and forth between them.
"But then again, they must have been too nervous for that!" the girl said, slapping her hands together. "You're nervous too, aren't you? Of course you are, that's why you fell like that! Boy, I'm nervous too! Who wouldn't be? That's why I'm blabbering like a complete idiot at the middle of the way in while bothering everyone who has to take ways around me because I'm blocking the path! So are you, by the way, not that I have any room to criticize!"
"...?" Izuku asked.
The girl giggled bashfully, rubbing the back of her head. "Good luck with the exams! You're taking the exams, aren't you? Well, maybe not you two, you two look too young, although you might have dwarfism Quirks, you never know, not that there's anything wrong with being a dwarf! Well, bye bye!" she waved and took off into the grounds just as Negi opened his mouth to speak.
"...!" Izuku smiled goofily, waving after her. Sakurako fumed.
"Strong Makie vibes. Scary, in a way!" Chisame commented.
Sakurako pointed a finger at the back of the girl while she still could see her. "A hex on-"
Chisame grabbed her hand in a quiet way. "Shiina, no..."
"WELCOME TO MY CONCERT!" the man at the podium shouted at the top of his lungs. "EVERYONE SAY HEYYYYYY!" he added in a thundering, joyful and badly mangled English.
The students gathered all around the titanic auditorium fell into a stuned silence.
"CAN'T HEAR YOUUUUUUUUU!" the man shouted again, moving an arm in circles.
After a few moments, the young people shouted, hesitating, "HEEEEYYYYYYY..."
"YOU GOTTA DO BETTER THAN THAT!" he laughed, his extremely tall blond reverse pompadour bobbing back and forth as he moved his head. He wore yellow tinted shades and black leather, with a zipped up jacket. He looked like what happens when a DJ falls into a convention of punk bikers and then they are mobbed by rabid rockers and it all ends in sex, except that the sex wasn't sexy at all. "NO MATTER, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR! PAY ATTENTION, LISTENERS! I'M GONNA EXPLAIN THE ADMITTANCE EXAMS TO YOU! ARE YOU READYYYY!?"
"Who is this clown?" Chisame muttered under her breath. "All Might is hammy, but his head seems screwed the right way. This is just pathetic..."
"Shhhhhhh!" Izuku hushed her. Negi frowned. "That's Present Mic, the mythic Disc Jockey hero! I hear his radio show every day...!"
"What? When?" Chisame asked. "We live together and I'd never heard this loudmouth before!"
"His show is on when you do your Chiu thing, Chis-" Negi began whispering, and then had Chisame pressing her hand on his mouth.
Chisame gritted her teeth. "There are other ways to explain that, kid..."
"Shut up, Dekus! I want to hear the man!" snapped a voice from near them.
Negi and his students blinked, and craned their necks to see Bakugo sitting at the other side of Izuku, folding his arms and brooding.
"What, what are you doing here of all places!?" Chisame said, sweeping an arm to gesture at the jam packed auditorium. "Out of all seats in the house, you had to take that one!?"
"I'm starting to suspect that this obsession is a two-lane way," Sakurako mused.
"YYYYYYYEEEAAAHHHHHH!" Present Mic vocifered, making many look around for David Carusso instinctively. "ALL OF YOU LUCKY LISTENERS WILL UNDERGO A 10-MINUTE LONG BATTLE SIMULATION! YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH YOU, AS LONG AS THEY AIN'T NO LETHAL WEAPONS! AFTER CHANGING INTO YOUR BATTLE RAGS OF CHOICE, YOU'LL BE TAKEN TO A BATTLE CENTER OR ANOTHER TO ROCK ON, BABIES!"
"Taken? By whom? So we can't choose who will we go with?" Chisame whispered.
Kotaro shrugged. "Alone or working with you guys, I'm sure I can do it."
"If the staff tries to stop you from partaking, remember to show them the pass Toshinori-san gave you, Kotaro-kun," Negi told him.
"I know, Dad..."
"AT THE BATTLE CENTERS, YOU'LL FIND THREE, COUNT 'EM RIGHT, THREE KINDS OF 'VILLAINS'!" Present Mic held three fingers up. Every jumbo screen around the auditorium zoomed in on the gesture. "YOU'RE TO ELIMINATE 'EM AND YOU'LL BE GIVEN A SCORE ACCORDING TO HOW MANY YOU'VE WASTED! REMEMBER THAT SOME VILLAINS WILL GET YOU MORE POINTS THAN OTHERS! YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU SEE 'EM, YOUNG LOVERS!"
"Basically a war game, not too unlike some of the training at the Master's resort," Chachamaru said softly. "Sensei, you and Inugami-san shouldn't have any issues with it."
A very tall and strong looking young man rose to his feet several seats away from Negi's team. He had short and very well cut slick hair, with glasses, and an immaculate white suit, and a black tie."SENSEI!" he shouted, as if trying to sound as loud as Present Mic. He held a sheet of paper and pointed at it. "THE FLIERS SHOW FOUR TYPES OF VILLAIN, HOWEVER! I DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE THIS IS A PRINTING ERROR, NOT FROM JAPAN'S PREMIERE ACADEMY! ARE YOU TESTING US, THEN!?"
"OKAY, OKAY!" Present Mic replied. "THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT, NUMBER 711! GOOD EYE! IN TRUTH, THE FOURTH KIND OF VILLAIN WILL SCORE YOU NO POINTS! IT'S THERE ONLY TO BOTHER YOU ON YOUR WAY..."
"So a Deku," Bakugo snorted.
"THANK YOU! I UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY NOW, SIR!" the formal looking boy bowed deeply. "SORRY FOR INTERRUPTING YOU!" He sat back down.
"NAAAAYYYYY I SAYYYYY, YOU WERE RIGHT TO ASK!" Present Mic said. "HEROES CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED! REMEMBER, THE COURSE IS THERE TO MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT FOR YOU! YOUR JOB, YOUNG HEROES, IS TO OVERCOME IT ALL! AS THE GREAT HERO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID..."
Negi scoffed. "Bonaparte. Hero."
"Your Britishness is showing again, Sensei," Chisame snarked at him.
"TRUE HEROISM CONSISTS IN BEING SUPERIOR TO THE ILLS OF LIFE! PLUS ULTRA! BREAK A LEG, EVERYONE...!"
There was a loud snap at some other point of the audience. "OWWWWW!"
"NOT LITERALLY, NUMBER 578, YOU IDIOT!" Present Mic shouted. "FELLAS, SEND THE MEDICAL STAFF, WILL YOU...!?"
At the dressers for boys, Kotaro and Negi made small talk while changing into the jumpsuits they had brought.
"Are you nervous?" Kotaro asked.
"As if!" the dog boy said. "You?"
"I'm a little concerned about Chisame and Sakurako, but that's it," the prodigy said, attempting to stay calm under the pressure, as Evangeline had taught him. "Chachamaru is more than up to the task of acing the test easily."
He looked over at Izuku. "What about you, Midoriya-san?"
Izuku's teeth clacked together while he zipped his jumpsuit up. "E-E-Everything's great, I feel fine…!"
Kotaro slapped himself on a knee. "Aw, c'mon! You've made it so far, gonna get cold feet now!?"
"Be easy on him, it's his dream, not ours," Negi reasoned. "It's obvious that he'll feel more pressured than we do. Isn't that right, Cham—" He looked around. "Goodness. You take your eyes off him for a second!"
"Wanna go look for him?" Kotaro asked, tugging his boots on.
Negi sighed. "I'd like to, but I know what would happen. He's spying on the girls, if I go there I'll be spotted, the girls, mostly Chisame, will be furious, and then I'll sneeze. If they think he's just a normal ermine it won't be a problem."
Kotaro hummed. "Good to see you're finally wise about those things. Yeah, even if Megane and Shiina-neechan see him they won't spill the beans on him."
"Exactly!" Negi headed for the doors of the dressers. "Here, he's actually less prone to get himself in trouble than back at Mahora."
Several doors away, a tiny young man with an oversized round head and a very curiously stylized hairstyle crouched down and edged along a wall separating his own dresser from that of the girls next door. He looked carefully, feeling the wall with his fingers, a true expert. He knew that there always was a peephole somewhere in those walls. Kindred souls abounded wherever youngsters gathered to study together, and once he found such a hole, he thanked his predecessors in perversion.
He leaned in and put his eye on the hole. Most of the other boys had left already, and those still left weren't paying him any attention. He was too small and unremarkable for that, plus most people liked to keep a distance from him. Eventually he'd grown used to that, sort of. He grinned lustfully to himself, eyeing a young derriere in white panties.
"That's what I'm talking about, baby…" he whispered. And then he felt something small and furry tickling his head.
"Waaaahhhh!" the boy tumbled back, dropping sitting on the floor as a white ermine, who had been sitting on his head trying to peek in as well, fell along him, both tumbling across the floor at the feet of another aspirant, towering over them.
Scary shiny glasses shined down at them. Two strong fists rested on wide hips. The tiny boy gulped, recognizing that person. It was the stuffy sounding boy who had addressed Present Mic during that speech.
"And what do you believe you were doing looking through that wall, Mister?" he growled at him, and the smaller boy sweated bullets.
"L-Looking? Who, me?" he gasped, shaking under the shadow of that gigantic boy. At least, gigantic when compared to him. "No, you must be thinking of something else, Mister! I'm sorry, I, I was…" He grabbed the ermine, holding him before himself as a living shield. "Looking for my mischievous pet!"
The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Why did you bring a pet here?"
The tiny young man gulped, at a loss about what to say. But then he heard a very, very slight whisper, low enough the other boy could not hear it. "Luck," a male voice was saying.
"It's… for the good luck, Mister!" He shook, bowing his head. "I'm terribly sorry! I'm so attached to him, but he has a bad habit of spying on others and you know how curious animals get! Please excuse me! We didn't mean wrong!"
The other boy gave a step back. He seemed taken aback. "W-Well… You shouldn't have, but I can tell you're very nervous… an animal lover cannot be that bad, but that's still against the rules…"
"Is it? I had no idea, Sir, please don't tattle me!" the tiny boy wailed, throwing himself at his feet. "I knew I should have read the rules better first! But, but I was too busy studying other things day and night, and I have to support my ten little siblings, and and and!"
The huge boy sweatdropped, holding his hands up. "I understand! I understand! I'm not made of stone! Look… Just leave him somewhere safe and don't bring him again, okay? The battle arenas are no place for pets!"
Then he squinted at him. "Are you sure you weren't spying with him…?" He was not that sure, and he wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. He hadn't been paying attention to him before he stumbled, and misjudging others was a very unheroic thing to do.
The tiny boy paused, then crossed fingers behind his back. "Was not…!"
He frowned at him, pausing, but then looked at the clock on a wall. "No time to settle this. We'll talk later!" he promised, and headed out.
The tiny boy exhaled. He slumped ahead, sitting on the floor. Everyone else had left already.
"That was a close shave, wasn't it, Bro?" the ermine asked him.
The boy frowned at him. "You some shapeshifter?"
The ermine shook his head.
"You are… an animal with a Quirk?" the boy grew more intrigued. "Those are very scarce, wow!"
"Sort of," the ermine said. "I shouldn't have revealed myself to you, but I felt pity, that guy was going to turn you into mulch. All because of a harmless hobby! Some guys just can't understand, they are too repressed, right?"
The boy smiled. "You're right! Finally, someone who understands!"
The animal extended a tiny paw at him. "Albert Chamomile, but you can call me Chamo, Bro!"
"Mineta Minoru!" He shook the paw as best as he could. "What's a cool dude like you doing here?"
"I came to support a friend, but he'll be fine. You look like you could use some help, though."
"Can you… help with a test like the Battle Simulation?" Mineta doubted. "That guy said we couldn't bring animals…"
"As long as you keep me well hidden nobody will notice," the ermine said. "Trust me, I'm a professional trainer of heroes! I can smell danger from a mile away! Just wait until you see what my protégé is able to do!"
Mineta pondered all of that for a moment. What could he lose by trying? He smiled, picked the ermine up, and gently stuffed him down the front of his shirt. "Thanks for the kind offer, Chamo-san! Let's rock their world!"
"—and so, listen me out, this is my idea," the short girl with brown bangs obscuring her eyes was telling Kotaro, as they waited for the go signal. "A Visual Novel where a grand total of seven mages summon Heroes from the past to fight each other for the sake of an omnipotent artifact that grants wishes. I think I'll call it Tainted Moon, noko."
"Uh huh," Kotaro said, clearly uninterested. They'd separated him from Negi and the others for the exercise; so he'd be running on his own. Not on his own, actually, since he'd be running with these weirdos.
(THAT IS A GREAT IDEA, ACTUALLY) read the words on the balloon floating above the neck of the other student who stood with them at the start line. (GIVE ME A CALL IF YOU GET TO DO A MANGA ABOUT IT).
Kotaro rubbed his temples.
(SO, HOW OLD ARE YOU ANYWAY?) 'said' the boy with a word balloon for a head.
"Eh?" Kotaro blinked, looking up at him and reading the text. "Uh, I turn twelve next month…"
"Twelve? That's weird, noko," the girl said. "Why did they let you in so early?"
"Because I'm a prodigy," Kotaro smiled, pulling briefly on the front of his shirt as if he was doing so on the lapels of a fine jacket. "I've been fighting since I walked out my cradle!"
(AND WHAT IS YOUR QUIRK?)
"Wolf," Kotaro grinned, getting the claws of his left hand out, and flexing them in and out. It was the name he and Negi had agreed on for his non-existent Quirk, if anyone asked about it. Negi's was 'Magic', Chisame's was 'Hack', Sakurako's was 'Random' and Chachamaru's was 'Mecha'. Plain names but apparently the best Quirks had those.
(THAT'S COOL. WELL, GOOD LUCK, KID. WE'RE GONNA NEED IT).
"Not me," Kotaro flexed his arms. "Luck is what you need when you don't have the skills to cut it on your own."
The girl sighed. "It's not that I lack skills, noko, but they aren't the best fit for this kind of stuff, noko. It's unfair, I'm still good hero potential, but I'm not that good at running and—"
"Don't worry, Neechan," Kotaro said. "Just stick close to me and I'll help you out."
She smiled, the lower half of her face looking rather cute. He knew she was probably just manipulating him to get him to protect her, but he didn't mind, that was his duty as a gentleman, damn it!
Besides, she kinda reminded him of Nodoka-neechan. Once again, he had to wonder where she was…
Izuku breathed in and out, trembling on his feet at the middle of another startling line.
"Haaaaahh! Haaaahhhh! No Toshinori-san, no Negi-san, nobody to turn on for answers!" he said. "I'm all on my own now...! Uh, no offense, Chachamaru-san."
"Midoriya-san," the gynoid told him. She was the only one who had been assigned to make the test run with him, out of the whole group of friends. Several others wandered around them waiting for the exercise to begin and chattering among themselves. "Could I share a personal story with you? I think it fits this situation."
"Uh? Of course, Chachamaru-san," he said.
"When I first came to this wonderful life of mine," Chachamaru shared sagely, "I only did whatever Chao-san and Hakase-san told me to. Then I was handed over to Master Evangeline, and I only did what she told me to. I even hurt Negi-sensei and Asuna-san back then, something I regret dearly. Then I went back to doing what Chao-san told me for the Festival, and I also had to oppose Negi-sensei even though that wasn't what my heart wanted."
"And now?"
"Now I only do what Negi-sensei and Chisame-san tell me to. But that's not the point. The point is, you should do things on your own, not because Yagi-san or Negi-sensei tell you to. Spread your own wings and fly freely, Midoriya-san. Do things on your own. Enjoy this instead of dreading it."
"But you said-"
"I am a robot, Midoriya-san. My case is different."
Then she touched his forehead. "My sensors tell me you aren't properly hydrated for the exercise. I will go bring you a glass of water. Please don't move an inch, will you?"
"But you just told me that I shouldn't just do what I am t-"
"Just stay here, will you?" Chachamaru insisted, turning around and leaving.
Izuku sulked. At least Katchan hadn't been assigned to that course too. No, wait, that was a bad thing, wasn't it? This way he couldn't show Katchan how much he had improved, and he would keep on badmouthing him whenever they crossed paths again!
A little Negi angel showed up on Izuku's shoulder and began lecturing him on not caring so much about what Katchan thought. A little Katchan devil showed up right after and kicked the Negi away.
Izuku shook his head and, trying to clear his mind, looked at the course ahead. It was built like several blocks of urban landscape. Buildings as tall as real ones littered the ground ahead as far as he could see, and several mannequins labeled 'CIVILIAN' stood along the sidewalks. Izuku looked at the pamphlet of the rules again. As soon as they got going, they had to 'save' as many of those civilians from the enemies. That had to be easy, right? Carrying a dummy to safety was easier than carrying an actual living person. He had grown strong enough to lift huge piles of junk, so carrying several of those frail looking dummies on his shoulders should be a piece of cake.
He kept on looking around, trying to locate any other familiar faces. And then he saw her.
Slow sensuous music began sounding in Midoriya's head. The brown haired girl with the gravity powers stood with her back turned on him, her hands brought together as if she was praying or just concentrating. Izuku smiled, pastel bubbles surrounding him, and he gave a step towards h-
"Hey, you!" a very virile voice snapped behind him.
Izuku looked back over his shoulder. "Yes?"
The bespectacled young man who had spoken during Present Mic's speech huffed at him. He now wore a jumpsuit as pristine white as his formal suit. "I knew I recognized you! You were muttering and distracting others during Present Mic's highly important explanations! And now you're about to go harass that girl, aren't you? For shame! Did you get here only to have fun, or what?"
Several question marks appeared above Izuku's head. "You heard me from that distance...?"
The taller boy folded his mighty arms. "With that kind of attitude, you'll only get in the way and slash or get hurt! You should reconsider and leave before we start!"
Izuku stared blankly at him. What was up with this guy?
He began pacing before Izuku, holding a pointer finger up. "Please don't misinterpret me. I'm not bothering you for no reason, like that blond ape who sat next to you..."
Izuku growled angrily.
"But you should keep in mind that this tactical game is no game!" the other boy continued, unaware of the outburst. "This is a serious matter, probably the most serious of our lives! I simply cannot, in a good conscience, let you get distracted so easily and become a hindrance for the whole test. Easy distractions, as the old saying goes, are a fast way to... to... to...!"
Izuku blinked, seeing the weirdo's powerful jaw slack down, as his glasses fogged up. Then he saw Chachamaru approaching him with a full glass of icy water. "Sorry I took so long, Midoriya-san."
"Oh, thank you very much, Chachamaru-san," Izuku nodded and accepted the glass. He took a long drink and looked back at the still mesmerized boy. "You're still here?"
The tall boy gazed fixedly at Chachamaru, as slow sensuous music and large pastel coloured bubbles surrounded her. A random gale of wind blew, and moved her hair in a way that made her briefly look like a greek goddess being born from the foam of the sea...
Izuku frowned. "It's always sad when men act like this, isn't it?" he asked Chachamaru.
The tall boy appeared to hear that and blinked back to the real of reality, blushing. He clicked his heels together martially. "AHEM! Sorry, it appears I just suffered a mild sunstroke! Good luck in the test, Miss! Miss... Miss..."
She bowed. "Karakuri Chachamaru. Thanks and likewise, Senpai."
He bowed back so fast Izuku feared he'd snapped his back. "Thank you! Iida Tenya! You are... this young man's..."
"She is my cousin," Izuku said calmly, finishing the glass of water.
"Aahhhhh! That does explain the green hair!" Iida said, straightening back. Funny, suddenly he sounded far less stern to Izuku.
He probably was going to say something else, but then Present Mic's voice boomed all across the area.
"HEEEEEEEYYYY YOU GUYS THERE!" They all looked up. The Pro Hero stood on the rooftop of one of the nearest buildings, holding no microphones but shouting just as clearly as if he had been right next to them. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THE GAME STARTS NOW, GO! REALITY DOESN'T GIVE NO STARTING SHOTS, AND YOUR TEN MINUTES ALREADY BEGAN, PARTNERS!"
Izuku blinked, and then felt everyone else run past him, towards the buildings, and leaving him behind in a blink, Iida and Chachamaru herself included.
After a second of shock, he began running after them.
I-Island.
An artificial island built at the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. A wonder of modern technology, populated by over ten thousand scientists and a comparable amount of security, maintenance and organization staff. By all appearances, a present day paradise isolated from superpowered crime, an example to follow by the rest of the world, and the base of operations for several of the best renowned researchers on Earth.
From her office, one could get a good view of most of the island. She liked working with her vast windows open, so she could enjoy the salty breeze coming from the sea, inspiring her. The beautiful, curvaceous blonde young woman with glasses currently sat at her desk, tapping on her laptop to design a new reinforcement for the electric fences around the perimeters. Father had stressed the need to improve on the security after the... recent incident. And it looked like no improvement ever fully satisfied him, as he'd kept on asking for more since.
Of course, she didn't feel there was such a need for it, since the alleged 'intruder' had proved to be completely harmless so far. But Father liked to have all of his bases covered, and Melissa thought there was no arguing against that. Although it was a bit strange had been adamant on the need of not telling Uncle Might about it. Well, Uncle Might did have a lot on his plate every day, that couldn't be denied.
One of her assistants peeked into the office. "Miss Shield?" the man asked. "She just woke up."
Melissa blinked and stood up immediately.
Quickly, she made her way to the medical wing of the shiny, silver tower. They had kept their 'sleeping beauty' there for several months, and by now Melissa was starting to fear she'd never wake up from her coma. But, much to her confusion, when she was ushered into the room, that girl was apparently fine and even mildly spry, although a bit on the expressionless side.
The petite girl with a wide forehead looked at Melissa from where she sat on her bed, wearing only a hospital gown. "Shield-san, I assume?" she asked. "The doctors said you'd be coming. That you are... the owner of this place."
"That's my father, actually," Melissa Shield smiled, shifting to Japanese, and approaching the bed. The girl looked at her carefully, analyzing her. She had Iinchou's long, light blonde hair, with Murakami's freckles, Haruna's figure, and Makie's aura of true, sincere happiness. She liked her instantly, but she knew the necessity to stand on guard against strangers and not trust her instincts blindly. "I'm Melissa. Glad to see you recovered, just like that... Do you feel okay?"
"As if I'd just woken from a nap," the short girl told her, looking at the IV in her arm. "My legs feel a bit stiff, that's all." There was a pause. "And I really need to pee..."
Melissa laughed. "The doctors tell me you're peeing all the time."
The short girl blushed. "Sorry about that. I've always been that way..."
Melissa Shield resisted the urge to play with her hair. She was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen!
She respected the girl's wish for as much privacy as possible and stood outside while the nurses helped her urinate. Afterwards, she was ushered back in. "Thanks," the girl told her. "How long have I been..."
"We found you crashed at the beach five months ago," Melissa said. "Your legs were damaged very seriously, and you've been unconscious ever since. The fact you're so eloquent and mentally able right after waking up... I won't lie, it almost seems... a miracle. S-Sorry, I don't mean to-"
"Five months..." the sleeping beauty said in a fainted tone, as if the breath had just been knocked out of her. For a moment she stayed very still, and Melissa started worrying.
"Do you... Do you remember everything? About your life, your family and friends, the events that brought you here?" Melissa asked carefully. "It's okay if you have some amnesia, that would be a natural result of your ordeal."
There was another pause of thoughtful stupor from the girl. "Amnesia? No... I don't think so. I believe I remember everything." She looked at her hopefully. "Wasn't there anyone with me? Two other girls, a boy? Or perhaps a-"
Melissa shook her head. "Sorry, but we couldn't find anyone else near you."
She looked at her legs. "Will I ever walk again?"
"We have the best specialists, and while your state was critical, you've already improved greatly, even before waking up. After a couple months of therapy, you should be able to walk on your own. Some of our doctors even have Quirks oriented towards healing."
"Quirks?" the girl echoed as if she didn't understand the word.
Melissa's smile faltered briefly. So she did have some amnesia after all. Better not to prod her about that yet.
"I believe I had a card on me," the girl said. "A very special card, which was extremely important to me. Maybe you saw it...?"
Melissa smiled again. "Somehow, I thought it'd pay off to keep it at hand." She reached for the drawer next to the bed and pulled something out. "You mean this?" she asked, handing it to her.
"Yes... Yes, thank you very much," the sleeping beauty said, accepting it tenderly.
She looked at the card in a very long silence, and Melissa noticed her eyes had started leaking tears, even though her expression remained neutral.
Melissa looked at the card for the first time in two months. It still looked the same, sure enough. Showing the sleeping beauty, wearing the pointy hat of a witch, and holding a broom in a hand, and an open book in the other.
"I'll help you, Ayase Yue," Melissa said, finally daring to put her hand on Yue's head.
Next: Albert and Mineta. The Story of a Bromance.