They'd planned to attack the Kamacuras nest that very night. Unfortunately, a nearby typhoon changed directions and was projected to hit the island at that time, forcing them to delay their plans.

Sakaki didn't attack anyone (this time), but still looked about as cheerful as Kacchan when someone told him Shoto was the better Hero. If that wasn't bad enough, just as they were finalizing their plans, Battle Fist walked into the room with Lizardy, Chargebolt, Alien Queen, and the local Hero Splash'n Go, who'd missed the fighting while investigating with an attack on a local fishing boat the night prior (probably due to Kamacuras).

Battle Fist looked amongst them. "Excuse me. I'd like to speak to the officer in charge."

"That would be me," said Sakaki. "What do you want?"

Battle Fist nodded, then said, "We heard you're planning an attack on the mantis' nest. We wanted to offer our assistance."

"You can do that by keeping watch over the town," said Sakaki. "As you probably noticed earlier today, you're no match for the Kamacuras.

"First off, Chargebolt successfully chased off one, so he can help against those," said Battle Fist. "As for the rest of us, while we're not suited for the bigger ones, we can help you against the smaller ones. They're not much stronger than a typical Villain, and we have experience doing joint operations with the police, so we know how to cooperate."

Izuku resisted the temptation to point out that in said operations, the police rarely did any fighting and usually focused on crowd control and maintaining a perimeter, which would be very different from working with the AMF infantry trained to search and destroy.

Sakaki turned to Colonel Gondo (did he wear those sunglasses inside because he was trying to look cool, did he just like wearing them?. "Gondo? Your opinion?"

Gondo shrugged. "We should have killed most of the runts in the last battle and have plenty of ammo left over. We'll be fine."

Sakaki nodded. "Very well then." He turned to Battle Fist. "We're grateful for your offer, but the answer is no."

Battle Fist's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.

"Are you sure about that?" said Lizardy. "Most of you don't even use your quirks, so wouldn't ours be a useful boost?"

And like that, all semblance of cordiality from the assembled G-Force members vanished.

A fun fact about the AMF was that a disproportionate number of them had weak, heteromorphic, or no quirks at all. They were outcasts, people who'd come here for a place where they could be believed in, where their quirks no longer mattered.

A place where someone with no quirk like Izuku could be on par with someone like Ochako.

So, needless to say, Lizardy's remark struck a very raw nerve and, within moments, everyone in the room was giving her a death glare.

To her credit, Lizardy seemed to instantly realize she'd made a mistake saying, "Sorry about that. Forget I said anything."

"As I was saying," said Sakaki. "We are perfectly capable of handling the Kamacuras ourselves. Thank you for your offer." That last part couldn't have sounded less sincere if he'd tried.

Battle Fist held his gaze for a very long moment. "Very well." She turned to her companions. "Let's go guys." She and the others walked out.

Izuku felt his shoulders sag. Usually, Heroes sticking their noses where they don't belong was a good thing, an example of nobility and virtue, but did they really have to do that against kaiju? Izuku would vastly prefer if they left the kaiju fighting to the kaiju hunters like him. It wasn't like they ever let the AMF fight Villains after all.

As for Lizardy, logically Izuku knew he shouldn't blame her for that insensitive remark. In her experience, powered opponents were left to the Heroes and their quirks while the police acted as support. She wasn't trying to demean the AMF, she was just used to a very different sort of combat doctrine.

But that didn't change the fact that her comment burned.

After everything he'd done, everything he'd faced, Izuku had long since proven his lack of natural power did not have to mean weakness. With the right tools, training, and skills, Izuku had overcome monsters far beyond the Villains everyone said were too dangerous for him. Hearing it suggested otherwise, even accidentally, felt deeply insulting.

Izuku wondered, not for the first time, if kaiju were more well known, would someone like him still be allowed to fight? Or would others, people who didn't realize how pointless quirks were compared to the power of kaiju like Godzilla and weapons like the masers, decide it was "too dangerous" for someone like him and force him onto the sidelines?

Izuku pushed such thoughts out. It didn't matter. The Heroes weren't joining this hunt. G-Force was doing it themselves.

After the meeting concluded, Izuku changed into his casual clothes, along with the Uravity hoodie which had the phrase "Sweatshirt" written on the front. Izuku briefly wondered if Ochako had been inspired to make this particular line of sweatshirts by his shirts that said "T-shirt".

Nah. Plenty of brands declared what article of clothing they were on the front. Right?

After that, Izuku joined his maser team for a trip to the beach. They were on a visiting a beautiful island during warm weather after all, why not enjoy it while it lasts?

While there, Izuku alternating between walking in the surf and joining in his teammates antics. At one point, he distracted Akiba so Kisaragi could dunk him. Akiba never suspected a thing! Unfortunately, Hayama used the distraction to splash them all, using his minor wind quirk to bolster his attacks. They got their revenge on him soon after.

Later they wandered into town. While walking, Izuku caught sight of an old mural, depicting a familiar charcoal gray sea monster attacking the island. Izuku took a picture while grinning. "Looks like they still didn't forget you here, did they big guy?"

He was about to put his phone away when it dinged.

Ochako: About to do that charity function for kids facing quirk discrimination! Wish me luck!

Izuku smiled and typed out:

Me: Good luck Ochako. They'll love you.

"Midoriya!"

Izuku turned at the voice of his teammates.

Yashiro and Zeni walked over. Zeni said, "We just heard that they're going to be putting on an old ritual at a shrine near the beach. Thought that you might be interested in it."

"Really? Why?" said Izuku.

"It's the one they used to use hundreds of years ago to try and exorcise Godzilla," said Yashiro.

Izuku gasped. The Godzilla exorcism ritual? Izuku had read about it, even watched videos of it, but he'd never seen it in-person! Izuku heard a high-pitched squealing that it took him a few moments to realize was himself.

He was going to this ceremony. Nothing would stop him.

"Fanboy," said Hayama.

Izuku ignored him. "When is it?!"

"Half an hour."

"We're going now." Izuku said with the same level of authority he usually reserved for giving orders. The others rolled their eyes and followed.


A half hour later they were sitting together watching the ritual. It didn't disappoint.

The dancers swayed in tandem to the drums and gongs. Their moves were methodical and graceful, which combined with their ceremonial garb to give them an almost otherworldly feel.

Izuku took notes on the dance. It was almost identical to the archival videos he'd seen, with the few irregularities he did catch likely due to either the passage of time or the level of experience among the dancers.

As it continued, Izuku heard an old man behind him talking. "This was an exorcism ritual of the monster they say lived here long ago. They called it…Godzilla."

"Godzilla?" said…was that Alien Queen?

Izuku turned around and sure enough, several Heroes were watching the show behind him with an old man…and All Might. Izuku ignored the last one and focused on the others. He saw Alien Queen, Chargebolt, Tail Man, and Invisible Girl.

"The name sounds familiar," said Chargebolt. "I think I read it in some stuff from the Dawn of Quirks?"

"The legend existed on this island for centuries before that," the old man said. "It is said that in those days, when our island was still called Odo, when fishing was bad they'd send out girls as a sacrifice, to keep the monster from devouring us all. This exorcism ritual is all that's left of the old ways."

"Glad I'm visiting now and not then," said Earphone Jack.

"Yeah, he'd probably eat you in one bite!" said Chargebolt.

"Shut up," she said, elbowing him. He laughed and put his arm around her.

"It's nice your people still pass down this ritual Mr. Fujimoto," said All Might. "Tradition can be a valuable thing. It's good to keep in touch with it."

"Thank you, Yagi," said the old man.

"Why would you need the sacrifice thing if you have the exorcism dance?" said Invisible Girl.

"Because the exorcism dance has a precedent for failing," Izuku said, unable ot contain himself. "Quite spectacularly in some instances."

The old man, Mr. Fujimoto turned to Izuku an annoyed glare. "What do you know about it boy?"

"Tons!" said Izuku, the dam on his fanboy level of knowledge bursting. "This is my first time seeing it in person, but I have studied a lot about it. For instance, in 1954 this was the last of the island's Godzilla traditions and, according to reports by a reporter named Hagiwara, they performed it the very same night he came ashore!"

Mr. Fujimoto looked at him with curiosity. "You have done your research..."

Izuku nodded. "Of course!"

"How big was this monster?" said Alien Queen to Mr. Fujimoto.

"Very large," Mr. Fujimoto said. "At least the size of rather tall building," he said.

"50 meters," said Izuku, while Hayama muttered, "Feels a lot bigger sometimes."

Fujimoto stared at them before realization flashed behind his eyes, "You're all…?" He gestured at the AMF's ships anchored off the shore.

Izuku smiled and nodded. "That's right!"

Mr. Fujimotos looked amazed. "Then you've actually seen…"

"Oh yeah," said Zeni. "Izuku here more than anyone else."

Mr. Fujimoto leaned forward. "What's he like?"

"The most terrifying and magnificent thing I've ever seen," said Izuku. "The sort of thing almost no one wants to see, but no one can forget once they have…"

"I should point out Midoriya's insane," said Hayama. "Most just consider him freaking terrifying. Then again, Midoriya's not exactly wrong. Seeing him is something you never forget."

Fujimoto extended his hand. "Daisuke Fujimoto. An honor to meet you…?"

Izuku shook it. "Izuku Midoriya."

"Pleased to meet you Midoriya. Glad you could see our traditions first hand."

"Likewise."

After that, Izuku focused back on the ceremony. As it went on he continued taking notes and even took some video on his phone.

The show ended and the crowd began dispersing. Izuku got up and stretched. He was about to leave, but Chargebolt cut him off.

"Hey man, thanks for sharing that info," said Chargebolt with a friendly smile. "You really seem to know your stuff."

"Yep," said Izuku. "When it comes to Godzilla, I try to learn everything I can! It's a passion."

"Neat! Fifty meters…that's like Ghidorah tall right?"

"Ghidorah was actually closer to 100 meters," said Izuku. "Even by kaiju standards he was big."

"Cool! Denki Kaminari by the way!"

"Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you."

Nice to meet you too!," said Kaminari. "You're with those army guys right?"

"AMF actually," said Izuku. There was a difference.

"Right sorry," said Kaminari. "Good job fighting those mantises by the way. Couldn't have done it ourselves!"

"Thanks," said Izuku. "You didn't do a bad job yourself. Heard you even drove one off." Not that the AMF needed him too. "Also your colleagues were instrumental to keeping the civilian casualty rate so low. So thanks for that." And Izuku meant it. The civilian casualities would likely have been much higher without the Heroes' help.

"Thanks man! Glad to hear that! Especially since a lot of your friends felt a bit…differently."

Izuku shuffled his feet. "Yeah, sorry about that. A lot of them have…issues with Hero society. Don't get me wrong, I can understand where they're coming from, but in the end I can't help but love Heroes!"

Kaminari had a mischievous glint in his eye. "You do, do you?"

He wasn't going to try to-

"You want an autograph?"

Oh he was. "Sure!" said Izuku. "Can I have them from your friends too?" He wasn't gonna waste an opportunity like this!

"Sure!"

Kaminari took his notebook and signed it, then gave all of his friends for them to sign too. They would have passed it to All Might, but Izuku quickly said he already had his and took it back

Nearly half a dozen new autographs! Izuku basked in his victory, ignoring Kisaragi's comment on how shameless he was.

"By the way," said Kaminari, "We'd like to help you guys fight the mantises but your superiors don't like it. I don't suppose you could put in a good word for us?"

Izuku smiled, put a hand on Kaminari's shoulder, then said, "Heck no!"

Kaminari's face was priceless!

Izuku turned away, barely containing his laughter (his teammates didn't even try). This was the second time Heroes had tried that in as many months! "Nice talking with you Kaminari!" Izuku said walking away. "Thanks for the autographs!"

"You too!" said Kaminari. At least he was graceful in defeat.

"Come on!" said Alien Queen, "We gave you autographs! What about reciprocity?"

"Says the person I have it on very good authority still hasn't paid her roommate back the thirty thousand yen she borrowed!" said Izuku.

"Hey! I'll get around to that when I remember!"

They laughed even harder.

"Please tell me someone got that on camera," said Akiba.

Zeni held out his phone with a big grin. "The entire thing!"

Akiba turned to Izuku. "Midoriya, I take back every time I ever mocked you for being a fanboy behind your back!"

"Gee, than- You what?" Izuku said.

"Nothing!"

Izuku let that go, as the team walked back to camp, in high spirits the whole way.


"Aw man. I was sure that would work," said Kaminari as Jiro patted his shoulder. "Still, cool guy to talk to."

Mina scratched her head. "Yeah, but how'd he know about that money I borrowed from Ochako?"

She stared after the group.

"I uh, think you might have been talking to a stalker," said Jiro.

"Yeah…" said Mina. "After all, not many ways you can learn that sort of thing legitimately, right?"


Ochako sneezed.


"Too bad too," Mina continued. "I was gonna tell Ochako I finally found someone who likes her weird hoodies."

"You still can!" said Toru. "Just leave out the stalker bit!"

"Good idea," said Mina. She turned to their former teacher. "Hey All Might! All Might?"

All Might started at his name.

"You ok?" said Mina.

"Yes, just…distracted is all."

"We should go," said Mina. "Storm will be here soon."

All Might nodded. "Yes. You're right. Let's go."


Toshinori took one last look after the boy. For some reason, something in Toshinori had started when he saw him. He didn't know where from, but Toshinori knew he'd seen him before.

As he followed after his students, Toshinori looked up at the sky.

A storm was coming.


Wow. Easily the hardest thing about writing this story is the conflict between the Heroes and the AMF.

I want to strike that balance where the Heroes are ignorant but sympathetic (if somewhat insensitive) while the AMF are understandably bitter, but still needlessly antagonistic and defensive.

Trying to keep both (most importantly Izuku) sympathetic while still being willing to show them in the wrong is TOUGH.

Hope you enjoyed! Reviews make me smile!