Chapter 33
.::Super Happy Funtime Talks::.
"Well, it's kinda nice seeing all these heroes at least."
"Y-yeah, it is." Izuku's face still felt hot with embarrassment as he and Uraraka awkwardly stood in the middle of his counterpart's bedroom. Though it technically wasn't his bedroom, he still felt oddly awkward having her there. The amount of hero merchandise definitely made it feel like his room though, giving him the weirdest sense of déjà vu and unfamiliarity.
His counterpart clearly spent a lot of time here, judging by the fact the desk had a second laptop just plastered in All Might stickers and a golden-age All Might hoodie hanging on the back of the chair. He couldn't imagine Shigaraki ever allowing either of those things to pass. Between that and everything else, it seemed like his counterpart probably used this room as a second home for all his hero merchandise that Shigaraki might not approve of.
There was an open door revealing a bathroom, and he heard Uraraka stifle a giggle as they both spied an obviously Pro Hero-themed soap container by the sink. He didn't even recognize the Pro, it must be someone specific to this world, but Izuku's face still flushed even redder as he hurriedly closed the bathroom door. In the process he spied a Selkie shower head, making him wince and grimace. He didn't go that far in their world!
When he turned around he found Uraraka staring at the bedside table, and he quickly joined her while internally cringing. He didn't even remember any of the stuff here, but he already felt some really bad second-hand embarrassment and felt a desperate need to divert her attention. "A-anyways! This is interesting, but we should..." He trailed off as he glanced at the table, freezing in place as he finally saw what held her attention.
A photograph of him and his parents sat below the Endeavor-themed lamp, a bright smile on their faces. Once again he didn't remember this picture, but it looked to be a New Year's shrine visit judging by their clothing and background. He recognized the yukata he wore as the one he'd worn when he was eight, making his breath catch.
"Oh," he said faintly. His dad couldn't always visit during New Year's, so he'd probably flown back to America not long afterwards. This was probably the last photo he'd taken with his parents in this world.
As he stared at it he noticed Uraraka fidgeting in the corner of his eye, biting her lip. "...Deku, I found an article about you running away," she said, and he winced. He hadn't looked up any articles about his parents' deaths or him running away, but he had a feeling they would harp on one particular fact. And sure enough, she confirmed it with her next words. "It said you were... It—it called you Quirkless."
Izuku bit his lip as he suppressed a reflexive wince, looking away with a tight feeling in his chest. Uraraka was one of his best friends and knew he was a relatively "late bloomer," but he'd never gone into full detail about growing up Quirkless. Thinking about those times always left a bad taste in his mouth, and he'd hoped he'd never have to address it with his friends. He had a Quirk now after all, had gotten into the school of his dreams. The days of being a Quirkless Deku was in the past.
But that didn't mean the same applied here.
"Deku," she said. "I know you said you're a late bloomer, and your Quirk came in really late, but..." She trailed off, clearly uncertain on how to phrase her question, and he could feel his heart beating faster. He could just reinforce the story. Claim his Quirk had been too strong to fully manifest until later in life when his body could withstand it—that had been the story he and All Might had devised after they'd talked to Bakugou, in case anyone else brought up his background.
But lying to Uraraka right now—even about a secret as important all One For All—it left him feeling sick. Right now, every piece of information was worth its weight in gold, and he didn't want to lie to her about anything.
"...Can we not talk about it?" he asked meekly. He hated to avoid the question, even if she hadn't asked yet, but he also didn't want to lie straight to her face. This was the only compromise he could think of.
Uraraka frowned, but to his relief nodded her head. "Okay, fine," she relented, and Izuku relaxed. "But—" Dang it, he thought she'd agreed to drop it! " —do... do you have a Quirk, here?"
The question made him pause, turning to look at her in surprise. Uraraka bit her lip as she looked away, drumming her fingers together. "It's just, I noticed earlier my Quirk's not as strong as I remember. I get nauseous way more easily, like how it was before I went to UA and started training it more, and I think... I think I have other Ochaco's Quirk, not mine. So..."
She trailed off and gave an awkward shrug, still not looking at him, and Izuku frowned. He had been trying not to think on it too hard, because he didn't know if his other self had One For All or if it just transferred with him. He still didn't know, but the possibility of it impacting other people's Quirks hadn't occurred to him. His gaze flickered to his hand, sparks flickering as he clenched it into a fist.
"I have it," he said slowly, and saw her perk up. "But... my control's not as good. My body isn't as strong either, so it can't take as much as it can back home." He lowered his hand and looked at her. "The Alliance doesn't know I have it. Shigaraki still thinks I'm Quirkless. Seiko might know," he added, grimacing at the thought that he could never tell when she might be watching, "but I don't think she'd tell anyone."
Hopefully not, but he couldn't be sure. His uncertainty must have shown on his face, because Uraraka matched his grimace with one of her own. "She's that shadow girl you mentioned, right?" she asked, and Izuku just nodded. "Why do you think she hangs out with the Alliance?"
"I really have no idea," he groaned. "I kinda wonder if she might be assigned to watch me..." He was so glad that Aiko had said Seiko wouldn't come to this apartment. He'd called out to her a couple times while talking to Uraraka, just to make sure she might not be hiding and listening in, and so far Aiko seemed to be right. He had the distinct feeling Seiko would show herself if he called her name no matter who Izuku was with, if only to see their reactions to her suddenly appearing.
He pushed the thought away for now and shook his head. "But we're getting off-topic. We need to figure out a plan." Uraraka straightened up at that, her eyes shining.
"I am totally willing to join the Villain Alliance!" she declared, a bright fire in her eyes.
"Absolutely not!" Izuku yelped, and she slumped dejectedly. "I already told you how dangerous it is—"
"Which is why I can't leave you alone there!" Uraraka cut in, and Izuku wanted to groan.
"You'll probably be locked up until they feel like they can trust you!" he countered, and that shut her up, looking almost sheepish as he continued. "They're not going to just believe some random girl wants to join out of the blue. Kacchan and Shinsou are already locked up, and we JUST convinced Shigaraki to let Kacchan walk around the base. With a bomb on his ankle," he added, his voice rising just slightly on the last part. "Do you want a bomb wrapped around your ankle?"
"...No," Uraraka mumbled, averting her gaze in embarrassment, and Izuku sighed as he felt his shoulders slump. The whole explosive anklets thing still left him wildly uneasy and worried for his friends, and he really didn't need a third friend wandering around with one too. He still had no idea how to remove the stupid things.
"You'll be more useful outside anyway," he said, and saw her perk up at that. "Right now I can't really leave unless Kurogiri warps me out, and I can't run away either, so I'm really limited on what I can do. You've got a lot more freedom with me, so you can do stuff I can't. And I never even thought to look for everyone's FacePage profiles!" he added. "You'd probably be way better at finding everyone else than I am."
"FacePage was pretty obvious though," Uraraka deflected bashfully. "And Ashido's the only one I could find. You'd probably be able to find more people if you looked hard enough."
"I don't have the time to look for people on social media though," Izuku pointed out. "I'm busy enough trying to help Kacchan and Shinsou, and figure out an escape plan. And, and now that they've captured Aizawa-sensei..." He trailed off, a cold horror washing over him once more at the thought of his teacher. Aizawa-sensei, who was now locked up in a cell so the Alliance could do who knows what with him.
"Deku, keep it together!" Uraraka scolded, startling him before his thoughts could spiral. She had that fiery look in her eyes again, grabbing his shoulders while keeping one finger lifted on each hand. "Now that you know he's there, they can't kill or hurt him! He's going to be fine!"
Izuku wasn't so sure, but when he opened his mouth to say as much something else occurred to him. "Aiko has his goggles," he remembered abruptly, and that startled her enough to accidentally let the last fingers lower onto his shoulders. They both yelped as Izuku started floating, and Uraraka squeaked as she yanked her hands away. The loss of her hands left Izuku without an anchor, now rising freely towards the ceiling.
At that moment there was a knock on the door, and they both turned to see Aiko open it and peek inside. "Hey, sorry if I'm interrupting but—" She stopped as she saw Izuku floating next to the ceiling, both teenagers looking relatively stunned as they stared at her.
For a long moment no one spoke or moved, save for Izuku who continued to rise until his back pressed against the ceiling. He couldn't tell what Aiko was thinking as she looked at him, her expression largely blank and her eyes impossible to read, but then she cocked her head to the side. "Huh," she said. "I thought you of all people would know to be careful around a five-point touch Quirk by now."
That snapped Uraraka out of her shocked stupor, and her face flared as she quickly pressed her fingers together to release her Quirk. Fortunately Izuku had floated towards the bed, and he landed on the mattress with a loud "oof." Aiko just laughed as he scrambled to get up, feeling his face flush.
"I am so sorry!" Uraraka apologized. "He said something that surprised me and my fingers slipped—"
"It's okay," Aiko cut in with a grin. "You're a kid, Quirk slips happen. And that looks like a fun one. What is it, floating? Reducing weight? Zero gravity?"
"...The last one," Uraraka confirmed, and Aiko lit up.
"Really? That is a fun one! Ah, I'm kinda jealous," she mused, a dreamy smile on her face. "I haven't been flying in years. I might want you to try it on me sometime. Just don't use it on him outside, please."
"I won't," Uraraka promised, and Aiko smiled.
"Anyways, I just wanted to let you guys know I'm back and check what you wanted for dinner. I was thinking katsudon."
"Katsudon?" Izuku repeated, perking up, and Aiko flashed him a teasing smirk.
"Don't you dare say you forgot how much you like it," she teased. "You've got a friend over for the first time in forever so we should eat something other than takeout. I'm not the best cook, but we have the stuff so I figure we might as well go all out." Izuku found himself nodding, a smile spreading across his face naturally.
"Yeah... Thanks, Aiko-nee." Once again she looked briefly surprised before beaming at him, and she darted into the room to ruffle his hair.
"You called me Aiko-nee again," she all but squealed as he squawked and ducked away, and the faux-stars in her eyes were definitely twinkling now. Her smile faded to something smaller but still warm and happy as she turned to Uraraka. "Does katsudon work for you? Any allergies I need to know about?"
"N-no thanks, I'm good with katsudon. And no allergies, either." Uraraka shook her head rapidly, and Aiko nodded as she headed to the bedroom door.
"Alright, I'm gonna get started. The ingredients are in the apartment next door, so if you want to keep talking I'll just call you over when it's done. Bye!" She gave a cheery wave before closing the door, once again leaving them in silence for a full moment. Then Uraraka whirled on Izuku, her face filled with panic.
"She has Aizawa-sensei's goggles?" she hissed, voice pitched low in a frantic whisper full of anxiety, and Izuku winced at the reminder.
"Yeah, she was wearing them around her neck the first time we met!" he confirmed with a nod, his own voice equally hushed and verging on hysterics. "I didn't notice until right before I left, but those were definitely his goggles and it's super freaky!"
"Why does she have them!? Do they know each other?"
"I don't know! I didn't want to think about it because I didn't know if they were friends or it was a trophy or she killed him or what! I didn't even know Aizawa-sensei was alive until I saw him today!" Honestly between those goggles and Mic's sign-off message for his "favorite listener," Izuku had kind of assumed the worst. Another reason to not think about it.
"Does she know he's there?" Uraraka asked frantically, and he froze.
"I don't know," he realized in horror. He hadn't mentioned which hero he'd seen while telling her about him, not wanting to risk slipping and using his name when he might not be supposed to recognize Eraserhead on sight. Now he realized that might have been for the best. If she had Aizawa's goggles, there had to be some history between them. "She didn't seem to know Kacchan was there until I told her today, so she might not pay attention to the prisoners."
"She might now though!" Uraraka pointed out, and he couldn't help it. He whimpered, making her flinch in surprise.
"L-let's just, not tell her," he decided shakily. "For... as long as we can." Uraraka just nodded, both of them stewing in silent panic at the thought of her finding out. Izuku legitimately had no idea how Aiko would react, she didn't even have a counterpart from their own world to use as a reference point. He could only hope Aizawa would be long gone before she ever found out.
That last thought made him take a deep breath, steeling his resolve. "Aizawa-sensei definitely won't be able to escape on his own," he said slowly. "Which means we have to get him out." Uraraka looked at him in surprise before her expression filled with resolve, nodding in agreement.
Looks like their escape plan just got a little more complicated.
"Do we have to go?"
"Come on Tamaki, it'll be fine! I promise!" Mirio beamed at his best friend, who had a rather large grimace on his face. "The Super Happy Funtime Supernatural ESP Investigation Department is full of nice people!"
"I can't believe you actually remember that name," Tamaki groaned, and Mirio just laughed as he turned forward, digital tablet in hand. The pair had been interns and students at Nighteye Agency for the past three years along with a few others, and had gotten to know most of the Pro Heroes there pretty well. Of course that included everyone on the General Analysis Team, even if they didn't go there that often.
Honestly, Mirio loved visiting their department. Everyone there was nice just like the rest of the agency, and Figment's Quirk made every visit full of surprises. The only real issue he could see was their taste décor. Tamaki whimpered as the double doors leading to the office space came into sight, both decorated by large eyes drawn with dripping paint, cartoon ghosts, and spray-painted summoning circles.
They really embraced the "Supernatural ESP Investigation" part of their nickname.
"Come on, it'll be fine!" Mirio said, flashing his friend a reassuring smile. "I bet we'll walk in and find cotton candy clouds!" Tamaki shot him a doubtful look, but Mirio just pushed open the double doors with a wide grin. "See—uh..."
His smile vanished as the office came into sight. Thick, pale purplish haze drifted around the space, the furniture little more than dark silhouettes. The lights had been put on their dimmest setting, only adding to the ethereal quality of the space. Behind him Mirio heard Tamaki whimper again, scooting closer to him while he just stared at the undeniably spooky area blankly.
"...Huh," Mirio said finally. "This is definitely spookier than usual."
"C-can we just come back later?" Tamaki asked shakily, but Mirio shook his head.
"Nope! We're heroes Tamaki, we can't let a little mist scare us off!" He stepped into the department, Tamaki scrambling to follow after him. Mirio had to admit the mist was a bit unsettling though, and stepping into the room only amplified the effect. Translucent figures seemed to shift in the distance, movement constant in the corners of their eyes. Usually Figment went with more fun and abstract stuff, but this seemed undeniably eerie.
"Please, Mirio?" Tamaki whined quietly, and he was tempted to agree, but they had a job to do.
"In a minute," he said, and then called, "Mail, are you here?"
At that moment the mist directly next to them warped, a black void appearing. A ghostly head covered in blood emerged, pale white-orange eyes glowing amongst the darkness. "Yesssss?" the figure asked, lips parting to reveal a ghastly smile full of gleaming white teeth, and Tamaki screamed. Even Mirio jumped back in alarm and dropped the tablet before quickly assuming a fighting stance, unintentionally activating his Quirk in his surprise and...
Making all his clothes fall off.
For a moment all was silent, everyone just staring at him. Then the newcomer burst out laughing, and Tamaki covered his face while Mirio rushed to clothe himself. "Oh my gosh, that is amazing!" Mail cackled.
"Why is your face covered in blood," Tamaki muttered behind his hands, and Mail grinned at him, his teeth still seeming to glow.
"Figment and I are trying something new. We got a tip-off about a drug trade-off tonight at midnight, and it's at a cemetery." He downright cackled, clearly amused. "If this is how you reacted, those guys are going to flip."
"Glad to hear you're having fun!" Mirio said as he pulled up his pants, and he meant it. He loved that the General Analysis Team members could balance work and fun so well, they knew how to keep their spirits up even when things were dark and grim. Figment's reports were always a blast to read. Still, Mirio had to worry about one thing. "Are you allowed to go though? You don't have a license, do you?"
"Who's gonna stop me?" Mail asked with a grin, and—well, hard to argue with that. "Anyways, you guys came here for a reason, right?"
"Yeah," Mirio confirmed, picking up the tablet. Fortunately it wasn't damaged by the drop, built from rather sturdy materials so it could hold up if ever taken to the field, and he quickly unlocked. "You know how Sir has us on recruitment duty, right?"
"Yep," Mail said with a wry smile. "Hadou dragged you to every department to introduce you as the new Heads of Recruitment." Mirio laughed at the memory while Tamaki just groaned in embarrassment. The three of them had been given the job of researching prospective recruits who could be good Pro Heroes, whether by looking at middle schools or seeing if any students showed up in news stories. "Did you find some good leads then?"
"Maybe," Mirio replied. "We found a couple vigilantes. They seem to travel around a bit and keep a low profile, but we've managed to make some connections on some cases. We even found an article about them, see!" He pulled up the article in question and turned the screen to show Mail.
Mail hummed as he studied it, lightly floating over and tilting his head. "That is certainly a lot of kanji," he said, and Mirio looked at him in confusion for a second.
"You still can't read many kanji, can you?" Tamaki asked, and oh right. Mirio honestly forgot Mail never learned to read Japanese, he was verbally fluent after all.
"I think I finally learned to read one thousand," Mail replied wryly, clearly amused by Mirio's forgetfulness. "I am finally, after sixteen years, at the level of an elementary school graduate. Though I'm pretty sure elementary school students don't know words like 'autopsy' or 'kidnapping,'" he added with an eye roll.
"Good for you!" Mirio laughed awkwardly, turning the tablet back to himself. "Well, the article doesn't really matter I guess. So they're a duo, right? No names or costumes or anything like that, but we think they've been around for a couple years now. The police sent our agency security footage from a couple of their fights, which is how we found the pattern, and we think they might be good recruits. If they're, you know, teens."
"We don't even know their Quirks though," Tamaki added while Mirio searched for the footage in question. "They seem to have really good gear, and also some training."
"So you want my opinion on them?" Mail guessed, and Mirio nodded.
"Yep! You have more experience with this stuff. We still don't know if they're actually teenagers, but we thought maybe you could tell." By that point he'd pulled up the most recent video footage, and turned the screen to show Mail.
This one showed a rather petite man walking down an empty side street, unaware of a reptilian-Quirked man hiding in an alleyway out of his line of view but in view of the camera. Once he reached that alley, the bulky man jumped out to attack him, frills expanding around his neck to fan either side of his face as a long tongue shot out. The petite man startled enough to fall backwards, and the attacker moved to pounce on him.
At that point he suddenly turned his head to the side and froze before collapsing to the ground limply. At that exact moment someone in a long, dark-colored coat with the hood up suddenly appeared in frame, having jumped from a rooftop based on the angle, and landed right on his back. The man gave a full-body flinch before going limp again, and the newcomer quickly grabbed his arms and tied his wrists with zip ties.
At the same time another figure rushed into the camera's line of view, also wearing a hooded coat, and helped the victim to his feet. The trio made their escape, and then the video cut to another camera where the victim could be seen on his phone, presumably calling police.
Mail floated ever closer to the screen as the fight played out, a critical gleam in his eye. "Can't say their age, but they're probably teens," he murmured once the fight finished. "Their style is really rough, but there's definitely experience behind it. They planned out the ambush pretty well. You were right about them being trained, too, that one landed on the guy's back at just the right point to avoid permanently injuring him. I'd say they're on par with how first-year hero students used to be."
His analysis made Mirio and Tamaki exchange wide-eyed looks. "You got all that from one fight?" Tamaki asked.
"Amajiki, I had to do this stuff for a living," Mail replied with a shrug. "Being able to pick apart opponents' skill levels at a glance was a literal life or death scenario for me." The reminder quickly sobered their moods, and it probably showed on their faces because Mail smiled. "That's all in the past though. But yeah, I'd say you're right about these two being teens."
"Any ideas on their Quirks?" Mirio asked.
"The one that jumped down definitely has some sort of physical enhancement going on, probably centered around the legs given the decision to jump down from a rooftop. The other one probably has some sort of paralysis Quirk. The guy turned his head before going all limp, so it's sight-based. Triggered by eye contact, maybe."
"That's what we thought," Mirio said, pulling up another video. This one showed a similar ambush. A purse snatcher darting down a largely empty street while his victim chased him, towards where two coated figures were walking. As they got closer he suddenly went limp, and the two lunged at him immediately. The effects of the paralysis wore off quickly and he spit some kind of acid. One of them darted to the side to dodge it, the other leaped onto the nearby wall and then used it as a springboard to dive at him and knock him down.
Mail gave a whistle of appreciation as the other one sprung forward to grab him by the hair, keeping a tight grip on it to prevent him from turning his head as the duo quickly tied his arms. "Yep, definitely some sort of training. Most people wouldn't think to immobilize the head in that situation even with the acid spit. I'd say these two were taught how to handle a lot of Quirks. You guys are right, they'd definitely be good recruits."
Mirio beamed as he listened, growing more excited. "We should pass this on to Sir right away!" he declared, and Mail smirked.
"Might want to wait until tomorrow. He's in a meeting with Lady of the Night, Centipeder and Figment about that drug bust tonight," he informed them, and Mirio quickly lost his steam. "But since you're here anyway, any chance you've got the address for those two kids in Kamino?"
"You mean the first-years who made that big splash on Friday?" Mirio asked, but he'd already turned the tablet around. "Yeah, lemme pull up their file for you real quick."
"Why do you want to know?" Tamaki asked while Mirio searched for it. "You don't usually get involved in recruiting..."
"Oracle's on guard duty, and I want to drop in on him," Mail replied. "It's been a while since I saw him." Tamaki nodded in understanding with a quiet "ah" while Mirio beamed.
"You're all really close, huh?" he asked, switching over to a map to input the address. A red line quickly appeared on the streets, connecting two locations. "Here, this is how you get their apartment building from the train station. Is that good enough?"
Mail floated over to peer at the screen over Mirio's shoulder, and quickly nodded. "Yep, that's perfect. Thanks Togata." Mirio grinned at him and nodded as he closed the map. While Mail might not be able to read most Japanese, he had a reputation for a scarily impressive memory. Most of the agency used him as a back-up record keeper, reading files to him so he could mentally store the information. It was actually faster to ask him to remember information than to search for the files in question.
"Are you going to scare him too?" Tamaki asked flatly, and Mail grinned, his teeth still seeming to glow and his face still streaked with blood. Mirio had to shudder at that, it looked really disturbing.
"Maybe. It's a brother's job to pester every sibling in equal measures, right?" He paused then, looking at Mirio before breaking into an even bigger grin before turning around. "Figment, this is genius! We're gonna give those guys heart attacks!"
"Freaking yes!" Figment cheered from somewhere they couldn't see. "We're gonna need body bags!" As Mail vanished back into the haze Mirio and Tamaki exchanged looks.
"...I think I feel bad for the villains," Mirio said.
"This is officially the scariest combo in the entire agency," Tamaki agreed solemnly, and the pair headed back to the interns' quarters. Hopefully tomorrow they'd be able to give Sir some good news, and get started on hunting down the mysterious vigilante duo. It had been a while since they got someone new, and Mirio had high hopes for them.
(Later that night, Mail's cackling could be heard all around the spooky graveyard as police carted away the crying drug dealers. The police were not happy that the men had wet themselves and now had to ride in their cruisers. Nor were they happy about the three officers who refused any patrols at the graveyard, now convinced it was genuinely haunted.)
Anyways, the Big Three live! Hooray! I just couldn't take Mirio away from Nighteye's agency, and with UA gone naturally the rest of the Big Three followed. Also, very amused that people thought Uraraka might still join the Villain Alliance. Izuku is NOT letting her anywhere near that place.
Question for next time: what Pro Hero would cause the most chaos if they randomly switched with their counterpart?