Chapter 7
Izuku left the Radio building for Akihabara Station in a daze. Normally, his thoughts would have been occupied with hero work or meticulously planning the rest of his day for various workouts and internet surfing for hero studies and case research, but anytime he tried, he kept landing back on one sole thought on his mind: the girl from the subway, Alyssa Blake. It was a small, fleeting thought, insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but it kept coming back. The silver, limited edition All-Might figurine in the plastic shopping bag he carried was proof of their meeting, a present and constant reminder.
He could scarcely believe it. He had encountered the same girl he had met only days ago, and what was more unbelievable was that she had remembered him as well. She had even smiled at him and had actually given him her phone number- a girl's phone number. Which shouldn't have been as monumental as he made it out to be- he had his mother and Ochako, and Hatsume's phone number because it just made common sense to have his support mechanic on speed dial -but it wasn't the same. It wasn't given out of obligation like being friends or part of a school group chat like Class A of the Hero Course did, but rather with the intent to talk more with a person, like someone who you would want to date romantically.
Realizing the implications that came with it, Izuku felt his face grow hot before reprimanding himself. Don't think like that. Men for years have fallen down the wrong path because of assumptions and misunderstandings involving girls. You're only thinking like this because of what Kaminari and Aoyama said. Alyssa wasn't really giving out her phone number in a romantic sense. She was just asking for my email so that we could talk about heroes. Yeah, that made more sense. World order restored.
But she said she was going to name her kids after me... another voice crept into his mind and his face seared vermilion at the thought. Wait, did that mean she was married? He didn't see a wedding ring. Her hand was so soft and smooth, like baby skin. She must have used a lot of moisturizers. She also had a really firm grip and a confident manner in carrying herself. He'd had some people who had approached him before claiming to be fans, and he would always feel a touch of modesty and embarrassment while feeling a sense of elation at being praised for his work, but this encounter had felt different. She had been open and unapologetic with her actions and was apparently unaffected by his hero status. In a way, it reminded him of people like Kacchan, who were unafraid of expressing their feelings. He admired her candidness which was refreshing living in a world of celebrity status.
It was also entirely possible that he had misread the whole situation and the figure was for one of her kids because they were a fan. That thought kinda depressed him a bit, but he refused to let that get him down. Alyssa was still someone who he could talk about heroes with and become friends with, and that had been the original intent behind her wanting his number. End of story. Having said that, Izuku thought back to her earlier question of a 'green bunny superhero' and ruminated over the details. It was entirely possible that there had been more heroes on the scene that he was not aware of. Working as a pro-hero full time ate up his schedule more than anything, so it was entirely possible that a new hero had entered the game without his knowledge. Ever since the meta-liberation crisis, the world had nearly been thrown into chaos while hero society tried to recover. New heroes had been popping out of the wood work in order to replenish their numbers lost to villain extremists while reformations around Quirk usage had been reexamined by the government. Quirk training had been slowly added to the education system and the hero career track, while still being only offered in high school, had after-school cram schools for middle school students to learn the fundamentals of basic Quirk use so that the exams would not be as daunting.
An abrupt nudge to Izuku's side jostled him out of his reverie as a smaller figure pushed past him. "Oh sorry!" Izuku apologized reflexively. The figure didn't look back, keeping their eyes forward as they moved unapologetically through the crowd. Having lost his train of thought, a gurgle in Izuku's stomach reminded him of why he walking back to Akihabara Station. Hungry for something particularly hot and salty, he reached into his back pocket to check if he had enough cash on him to grab a quick meal or would have to split it on a credit card; he didn't like to use the company card unless it was an emergency or for necessary office funds like support gear repairs or printer ink. However, when he reached down into his back pocket, he found that his Ground Zero wallet was gone. Distracted or not, he was positive he had slipped it back into his pocket when he had left the store. Had he dropped it somewhere?
Then the reports of petty theft and pickpockets in places like Akihabara and the hurried way someone had pushed past him floated into his mind and all was made clear. Izuku immediately searched the crowd for the person who had bumped into him and saw that the figure was now leagues ahead of him. He started walking at a quicker pace, not wanting to let the suspect know of his intent while he was gradually gaining ground, but they moved swiftly through the crowds. Once the figure made the mistake of looking over their shoulder and their eyes connected, it was all over.
Caught, the thief bolted, sprinting down the sidewalk in a mad dash before ducking around a corner that lead to a narrow alleyway. "Hey! Stop!" Izuku blurted out before he could stop himself and darted after him. The young hero kept pace, not even having to use his Quirk as the thief ran past rows of trash bags and recyclables that had been put out by the residents, stopping only to throw a few at him or kick some in his way. He jumped over and deflected the sudden obstacles with ease.
"Crap!" the thief yelped before Izuku grabbed him by the scruff of his hoodie and quickly pinned them to the wall, on him in mere seconds as he grabbed his wrist and pinned their right arm behind his back. Now that he was up-close and personal, Izuku was shocked to discover that the assailant was a young boy, no older than eleven or twelve years old. His short ash-blonde hair was matted and covered with grease while his clothes were loose and stretched out, giving himself a gaunt and ghastly appearance to his already pale complexion. After restraining him, Izuku found that holding him there was almost effortless as the kid was mostly skin and bones.
"Why are you out here picking pockets? Shouldn't you be in school?"
"Let... go!" The kid squirmed under Izuku's grip, but his hand held fast to the bony wrist. He wasn't at liberty to arrest the kid, since he hadn't abused his Quirk and wasn't a police officer, but he could at least report him to the local authorities. He was pulling out his cellphone to make the call when Izuku's vision went dark, like he had been smothered by a large blanket. He could scarcely breathe as he felt something tighten around his shoulders. Someone was holding onto him right now.
"Run, Tachi!" he heard through the muffled darkness as he struggled against the tight hold. He flipped the nimble assailant off of his shoulders and slammed them onto the ground. The accomplice didn't remain there for long as they rolled with the momentum back onto their feet, lithe and cat-like as they quickly aided the light haired boy back onto his feet. The crimson hood that had shrouded them fell from their face, revealing a teenage girl only older than the boy by a few years and inches in height. She also had little weight to her, but definitely had more muscle tone than the boy as her golden irises glared up at him. Her skin was dark and her hair an oily sheen of eggplant.
"Get out of here! I'll hold him off," she ordered, standing defensively in front of him. There were a few seconds of hesitation before the kid took off. Once he did, Deku rushed forward to jump over the girl but found that he was unable to move. A scarf made out of carbon fiber appeared out of her tattered cloak, wrapping itself around his leg and forcing him down to the ground.
"I won't let you take my brother away!" the girl said coolly as she reeled him in. The ragged cloak around her spun in an intricate dance like you would see flag performers or silk scarf dancers use in plays. Not knowing what would happen if the cloak touched him again, remembering the suffocating embrace of it, Izuku raised his hand and aimed two Delaware Smashes towards her right hand and torso. A flick of his fingers disarmed her and loosened her hold on the scarf with her other hand long enough for him to get away. Since he was using a low percentage of power and didn't have his Air Force gauntlets at his disposal, the shots were dulled somewhat in accuracy and power, which was fine by him since he didn't want to hurt the girl. However, instead of being stunned, the second shot was simply absorbed into her cloak. With a swish of her cloak, she moved forward and opened it back up again, sending the blast of air back at him along with a series of clear colored crystals and other debris. Just where was she pulling all of this from? Was this some sort of teleportation Quirk or was it something else?
Deciding to get serious, Izuku activated Blackwhip and used it to pull himself over the girl, but rather than restrain her or go after the boy like she had predicted last time, he used it to somersault over the girl and aimed another Delaware Smash from above where she was left exposed. She dodged, the attack only just managed to clip the edge of her cloak as she ducked behind a dumpster that had been overturned in the ensuing fight for cover. Like her brother, she began throwing garbage bags at him, this time going two-by-two.
Rather than push them back with kicks or punches only for them to be redirected back at him, Izuku began using repeated Smashes against them. The garbage bags exploded upon impact, scattering trash everywhere in the alley. For some reason though, whenever the trash fell on her, only some of it went inside of her garment. Perhaps she was limited in what she could take in and how much. Deciding to put that theory to the test, Izuku leapt forward and spun in the air with the intention of delivering a punch followed by a round-house kick. A powered down version of his St. Louis Smash sans iron soles smashed through the air after delivering his classic Detroit Smash, sending the toe of his shoe towards her midsection. Like he predicted, his arm passed harmlessly through her, however his leg did not as his classic red high tops were met with force, unable to penetrate the black mist of what was hidden under her coat. The girl let out a winded gasp as the force of the kick hit home and launched her into a pile of recyclables, sending metal cans and milk jugs everywhere. None of them that had fallen onto her cloak went into it, even after touching her person.
Realizing she was down for the count, Izuku let out a breathe and casually activated Blackwhip again to restrain her until he found something more suitable to tie her up with and pulled out his phone to make the call. Her strategy was solid, but she was still an amateur if she was done in from one blow; he hadn't even gone full out on her either. Why was someone like this even out on the streets anyways? Such a waste of potential. Knowing it was his civic duty to do so, his thumb hovered over the call button. He'd report the girl and then go after the boy. Without warning, a sharp pain lanced through his hand that knocked the phone right out of his hand, the one that hadn't been using Blackwhip. A four inch crystal, one similar to the ones the girl had thrown at him from her shawl, was lodged in the center of the phone screen, pinning it the asphalt road. Sparks shot out of it briefly before the screen flickered and died, along with any of his chances of calling for back up.
Standing by the overturned dumpster was the boy from earlier and in his hand a crystal dagger. The look in his amber eyes was haggard, hungry, and desperate as his hands shook to hold the crystal. Izuku's anger died almost instantly as the tear-stricken boy produced another one from his palm and held it like he was about to throw a dart.
"Stay away from her! I won't let you kill her!" Izuku's expression changed from that declaration. Some noisy shuffling behind him alerted him that the girl had woken up.
"Idiot! Why'd you come back!? I said to... get out of here!" She spat like a cornered cat, her eyes almost as fearful as they were furious. The boy shook his head and continued to stand in front of the hero, shaking in his boots as he awkwardly held out the crystal dagger in his hands.
"N-No! I won't leave you!" he stammered, tears now running down his face. "I can't lose you too!" Realizing the situation had changed and was escalating into something more dangerous and confrontational than just buying time for escape, Izuku lowered his hand calmly and, after making sure to give his opponent solid eye contact, spoke in a calm, rational voice.
"You can put down the blade, Tachi," he said, making sure to use his first name. In his experience, people, particularly unhinged ones, tended to respond better when you addressed them by name. It gave them a sense of safety and made their interactions feel more personal. "I'm not going to hurt her."
"Liar!"
"I'm not lying. I just want to talk. See?" He reeled back Blackwhip's hold on the girl until it faded away entirely and held up both of his hands. "She's fine. I'm not going to hurt either of you. I can't even call for back-up. You broke my phone, remember? I just want to talk."
Appearing way younger than he looked, he sniffled and rubbed the snot dripping from his nose with the back of his sleeve. "You promise?"
"I promise. You can even keep the dagger, if it makes you feel better." Once he was certain that neither of the two were going to bolt, Izuku felt his shoulders relax. Running his hand over his face, the smell of iron hit him as something wet ran over his cheek. He peered down at his hand to see that a small cut had opened up on his palm. Grabbing the first aid kit he had clipped to his belt, he quickly and efficiently treated the superficial wound. A loud, audible gurgle erupted in the alleyway, breaking the tension somewhat as Izuku let out an uneasy laugh.
"Alright then, who's hungry? I know I could eat after all that exercise. Fighting works up quite the appetite," he smiled amiably at the two siblings. They both shared a look that spoke volumes before staring back at him.
"You do realize that we just tried to rob you, right?" The girl's glare was full of suspicion and distrust.
"Yeah, but I figure we could at least eat first before we settled things. I know I'm pretty hungry. I was on my way to Akihabara Station for lunch when your brother bumped into me."
"...are you insane or just stupid? There's no way we'd just follow you after-" This time the gurgle that interrupted them was hers as the girl clutched her abdomen, which was still a bit tender from the fight judging from her tight expression.
"Sounds like your stomach doesn't agree with you. You know, you really shouldn't be moving around that much with those injuries. Do you want to borrow something from my first-aid pack?"
"Sh-Shut up." She turned her face towards the wall as her brother gently helped her up.
"I don't know, Amaya. Maybe we should listen to him." Finally after a few tense seconds, the girl sighed through her teeth.
"Fine. As long as you're buying."
"Sure," Izuku nodded before extending his hand out towards the boy, "although I'll need my wallet back to do that." Tachi stood there for a few seconds with an 'oh' on his lips before fumbling with his hoodie pocket with one arm before pulling the stolen wallet out of his pocket.
"Uh, right. Here you go." He tossed the wallet towards Izuku who caught it in mid-air with his uninjured hand. After a quick examination, he found that it still had everything inside of it.
"Right then. Just let me get my phone real quick and we can go." Going over to where his phone laid embedded in the concrete, he knew that there was no hope in saving it. However, in all of the chaos, he had failed to grasp the real loss that had occurred until he picked up the fragmented pieces of it. It wasn't just the chance to call for help that he had lost. He hadn't had to the chance to back-up his phone since he had charged it last night, which meant that everything that he hadn't backed up was lost forever, including new contacts. His phone was smashed to hell, and with it his chances of contacting Alyssa.
"Umm... sorry about your cellphone." Tachi spoke up after Izuku gingerly picked up his smartphone. He looked down at his reflection in the fractured screen in his hands and forced a smile, undoing the straps of the All Might phone skin case and sliding it off of the broken device before tossing the remains in the dumpster.
"It's just a phone."
Author's Note: References today include Cloak and Dagger from Marvel Comics. Visual inspiration for Amaya comes from Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII and Yoruichi Shihouin from Bleach, only with shorter hair.
Hero/Villain Profiles
Hitachi Shirogane
Alias: Kunai
Quirk: Light Distortion
Through a combination of light absorption mixed with the carbon in his body, he can produce four inch crystals from his hands. Depending on his diet, the crystals can be as strong as diamonds or weak as talc.
Name: Amaya Shirogane
Alias: Veil
Quirk: Shroud
She can store objects that pass through her in a pocket dimension only she can access. However, she is limited on the amount and size of objects, unable to store anything bigger than her, and can only transport organic matter.
