Chapter 112

.::Glowing with Satisfaction::.

Kegawame Okina considered herself a largely average woman, if a bit tall.

Okay, she wasn't just a bit tall. She actually had a giant heteromorph-type mutation that made her a little over ten feet, or three meters, tall. For perspective, as of 2021, the average ceiling height for houses is nine feet, or about 274 centimeters... on the first/ground floor. Second stories often have a standard height of eight feet, or 243 centimeters.

Also, that applies to 2021 US. In 2021 Japan, ceilings tend to be 240 centimeters. Which is under eight feet.

So, yeah. While the advent of Quirks had increased the average ceiling height to accommodate larger people, most still didn't account for a three meter woman. As she got older and thus taller, Okina had an increasingly hard time finding places she could actually comfortably fit inside. Which sucked in winter when looking for shelter from sudden snowstorms, like right now.

Her teeth chattered as she trudged down the street, passing four stores with doors far too short to consider entering. She could tell from a glance the interiors would be too short for her to stand without having to awkwardly bend over. Majorly uncomfortable, but it was becoming more tempting to put up with it anyway. The snowfall wasn't too heavy or blizzard-like, but it had been pretty sudden, and she hadn't bothered wearing a hat and her coat's hood didn't really fit over her fox ears. Most winter coats for giant heteromorph bodies didn't account for large, pointy ears like hers.

At times like these, she really hated her genes.

As she saw a series of lights ahead, she doubled down on that thought.

Colorful flashes lit up the sidewalk ahead as someone ran towards her, each step generating another burst of color that reflected off the still-falling snow to create a sort of rainbow haze effect. A pretty sight, but also one that did not normally occur and seemed to affect too large of an area to just be light-up shoes, which could only mean it was a Quirk. And a sight which took an even more ominous edge when she noticed two dark figures pursuing them through the rainbow haze.

Okina's eyes widened as she quickly jumped out of the way with a startled yelp, narrowly avoiding the runner. And as she did, her heel happened to slide back on a patch of still-powdery snow. Within an instant she found herself falling backwards, arms flailing in desperate circles in an attempt to regain her balance before she could fall. As her body tilted back she spotted a flash of approaching lights and metal, eyes bulging even wider as she turned her head to see a car.

She barely had time to process the fact she'd fall right into its path before four hands suddenly grabbed her own flailing arms, giving a harsh yank. Just like that her body jerked forward, the momentum of her fall completely reversing and causing her to topple forward instead. She heard a rush of wind behind her as the car zoomed past, feeling it ruffle her hair and blow up her hood in the process.

One of her saviors grunted as she staggered forward and half-fell onto them, their body ultimately bracing her own torso to stop her from fully falling. The pair of hands holding her left arm released just before that, and she felt them brush against her in passing. "I'm going ahead!" someone shouted, voice slightly distorted. She twisted her head just in time to see a hooded person running off, glimpsing 1-A emblazoned on the back of their coat.

The remaining one grunted and she quickly straightened, stepping back with a small squeak. The person who'd saved her still doubled over, looking a bit sore from supporting her, but even then she could tell they were around half her height. Okina instantly flew into a frantic frenzy, worried she might have partially crushed them. "Oh my gosh—I'm so sorry—are you okay—thank you?"

The words came out breathless and awkward, and the person groaned but gave her a thumbs up. Only then did she notice they wore some sort of mechanical-looking gauntlets on their hands, along with... a single glowing green shoe? They straightened from their hunch to reveal bulky winter goggles with bright orange lenses covering the top half of their face, along with a black fabric mask with a lightning bolt over their mouth.

For a second her brain went blank, because this was obviously not a random passerby. Villain? "Always happy to help, citizen!" the person said cheerfully. Okay, not a villain. "Sorry about that, we're trying to catch this guy who's been causing trouble. His Quirk is, uh..." He turned to the side, and Okina followed his gaze and startled upon noticing several patches of sidewalk totally void of snow.

And also, the spots were glowing.

"Oh," she said faintly. "That... looks probably bad."

"Yeah, uh, don't step on it," the... hero, said? "It'll basically turn into, like, quicksand under you? So you'll sink a bit. And then it kinda makes your leg, uh, glowy." They shook their foot for emphasis, the one that had the green glow. Okina just stared.

"Is, is that safe?"

"It... hasn't exploded yet? So, probably?"

"...That seems like a worrying metric."

"Yeah." They shrugged, awkwardly rubbing the back of their neck. "I think it's just basically kinda like stepping in mud. Doesn't do anything, probably, but sticks to you. The color's even faded, so, probably not dangerous! I hope," they added under their breath, before quickly hurrying on, "A-anyways! That was really close, sorry about that!"

"I-it's, okay?" Okina replied hesitantly, glancing back at the street. As she did, it suddenly hit her how close she'd come to falling right in front of that car. Her head probably wouldn't have landed in the tires' paths, but it still would've hurt to get hit. She shivered at the thought, and quickly turned back to give a quick nod and smile. "Really, it's okay! Thanks to you I'm fine."

"Glad to hear it!" they replied with another thumbs up. "Okay, gotta get back to chasing that guy. You might want to call the police or something to report it. Later!" They gave a quick salute before running off, Okina turning to watch them leave and glimpsing another 1-A on their back. As they disappeared into the snow, the last thing she could see was their glowing green shoe. She really hoped that wasn't radioactive or anything, for their sake.

The thought had her turning to eye the other glowing patches littering the sidewalk warily. They came in every color of the rainbow, not just toxic green.

...Okay, she now had even more motivation to go indoors. She turned and trudged into the nearest shop, ducking to squeeze through the doorway. She got a few odd looks from the few customers present, which made sense given the store was full of clothing for men of more normal proportions. She offered a sheepish smile as she closed the door.

"Um, sorry, a villain just ran by and left glowing spots on the sidewalk. So if anyone needs to leave, you should probably be careful." The customers and workers nodded in understanding, returning to their business, while Okina stepped to a corner out of the way to pull out her phone.

It didn't take long to call and report the man, the operator quickly recognizing the description of the Quirk and telling her it was a serial vandalizer. Luckily it seemed the Quirk really was harmless, just annoying, and would wear off in several minutes, much to her relief. With luck it would be gone by the time the snow stopped, and then she could go home safely.

"By the way, are there any new heroes with a 1-A on their backs?" she asked, hoping that would be a good enough identifier. Apparently it was, judging by the exasperated "again" the operator muttered under his breath. She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to hear that.

"No, they're just vigilantes," he replied, and her ears perked up in surprise. "Don't worry about it, thanks for the report. I'll be sure to notify the appropriate parties."

"Okay, thank you," she said, and the call wrapped up. After that she decided to open her browser and search 'Hosu vigilantes,' just to see what would pop up. As she did, she didn't notice one customer abandon his perusal of a nearby clothing rack to saunter over until he spoke up.

"Hey, you saw the 1-A Vigilantes?" She startled at his voice and looked down to see a man with short dark brown hair and a curious expression.

"Oh, is that their name?" she asked. "I mean, they didn't say their names, but they had 1-A on their coats, so... I think so."

"Oh, cool! Which way did they go?" Surprised at the question, she glanced at the door and pointed.

"Um, that way I guess. But they're chasing a villain, and the ground is all glowy, so—"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," the man replied with an easy smile. "If it's the guy I'm thinking of, I've seen his stuff around before and know the drill. I'm just curious to see them in action is all. Thanks for the tip!" He nodded at her and walked out, leaving Okina a little flustered. Well, at least she had a name to search now, which she promptly plugged into a search on her phone.

Meanwhile outside, the man glanced at the glowing patches of concrete on the snowy sidewalk, making him give a low whistle. They were spaced widely apart, so they didn't cover the whole sidewalk, but still made it a hassle to navigate.

"Kudos to them for chasing him through that," he said to himself, stretching his arms above his head before dropping to all fours. A quick kick had him zooming off the sidewalk and onto the nearest wall, bypassing the glowing minefield to zip along the storefronts instead. He doubted he'd catch up before they beat the villain, but it'd be worth seeing if he could catch up at all.

"Oh sweet warmth and dryness, I missed you," Denki moaned as he and Jirou trudged into Hatsume's warehouse, their patrol done for the day. They had gone out almost immediately after school ended, deciding to celebrate their freedom from the brutal exams with some sweet vigilante action. It had been invigorating and exciting, just the change of pace they needed.

And it had also been very wet.

The snow had made things a bit trickier. Especially once they ran into that guy with the glowing step Quirk. The first time Denki accidentally stepped onto one of the patches and sank down had made him fall forwards, only saved from a face-full of concrete by throwing his arm out. The second and third times hadn't been much more pleasant, either.

Thank goodness Hatsume had given them new boots. She had babbled something about them being "anti-slip" with an explanation that flew over his head as usual, but they did exactly as she claimed. He didn't want to imagine how much worse it would have been without them. At one point his right foot had been tinted blue and pink after sinking into two glowing patches. At least the colors didn't seem to actually do anything, and had long since faded.

Which was good, because Hatsume immediately confronted them the second they pulled them off. "How did they do? Were my babies excellent?"

"Yeah, they worked great!" Denki said with a grin. "I never slipped on any ice or snow!"

"You kept falling into those pits though," Jirou snickered, and he scowled.

"Come on, you fell into some too!"

"Yeah, but not as much as you. By the way, you might want to check on the boots," she added to Hatsume. "The guy we were chasing had some Quirk that made the ground glow and sink down if you stepped on it. And the colors would kinda... cling to your foot, I guess?" She shrugged, twirling her earphone jack awkwardly. "The glow's already faded, and it didn't seem to have any visible effects, but better safe than sorry."

"Got it!" Hatsume said, gathering up the boots and rushing to her workbench without another word. Denki was surprised she left so fast; usually she'd demand a full report on all the other gear they'd used. She must be worried about the Quirk's effects on them.

"Well, I guess we don't need to do the report," he said awkwardly, and Jirou nodded.

"Yeah, guess not." They shrugged, and finished stripping out of their costumes before Denki headed over to the couch to flop down. As great as it was to run around on patrols and take down bad guys, they could also get pretty exhausting. He sprawled along the cushions, stretching his limbs and twisting his torso as he got comfortable.

"Move over Kaminari, I need to sit too," Jirou huffed. He sighed but sat up, frowning as she plopped onto the cushions next to him.

"Hey, I've been thinking," he said. "We've been through a lot together lately, right? So I think we're pretty close now compared to before."

Jirou hummed, glancing at him curiously. "Yeah, we are," she agreed. "Why?"

"Then why do we keep using our surnames?" Denki asked. "At this point after everything we've gone through, I feel like we're definitely on a first name basis. And I mean that with all the others, too," he added. "We all woke up here in another world, and we've been through all kinds of crazy stuff since then. If going through all this isn't enough to make us close enough for a first name basis, then I don't know what is."

He'd been thinking about it for a while now. They had all been through so much since waking up here, and even though they hadn't all been able to meet in person much, they were still going through it together. Even after they finally got home and this all became a distant memory, he didn't think they'd drift apart. Their relationships had changed forever after going through this nightmare of a situation, connecting them in a way that nothing else could.

Jirou pursed her lips as she thought it over, but then nodded. "I think you're right. And at least Denki is less of a mouthful." Denki lit up, beaming at the casual use of his name as she continued, "It'll take a while to get used to, but sure. I'm down for it."

"Sweet! Glad to hear it Ji—uh, Kyouka," he corrected himself mid-syllable, and she snorted.

"Didn't take long to mess that up, huh?" she teased, and he pouted.

"Hey, you just said it'd take a while to get used to it too!"

"Yeah, but you're the one who suggested it. I didn't expect you to flub it immediately." Jir—Kyouka snickered, and Denki scowled before she continued, "It's cool though. It's a weird change, so like I said, it'll take a while to get used to. Not the end of the world if we mess up for a while." Denki sighed and nodded, grabbing his phone off the table next to the couch.

"I'm gonna see what the others think," he said as he unlocked it and opened the group chat. His plans quickly derailed though as he saw a whole flood of messages in the group chat. While he'd expected some messages after not checking it since lunch—he hadn't even looked after school since they'd been so eager to patrol—it wasn't usually that active. "Hey Jirou, I think something happened."

His friend instantly grew serious, grabbing her own phone to check the chat while Denki began reading.

1-A_Dancing_Queen: So uh, we found out what Space has been trying to tell us about you know who

1-A_Dancing_Queen: And we can't say it online because of that security stuff Nettmegg talked about but

1-A_Dancing_Queen: It's bad

1-A_Dancing_Queen: REALLY bad

halfnhalfpeppermint: Her paranoia was justified

halfnhalfpeppermint: Space, I mean.

halfnhalfpeppermint: And I guess Nettmegg too

1-A_Dancing_Queen: Yeah, they're both right

1-A_Dancing_Queen: Deku, you gotta be SUPER careful with her

1-A_Dancing_Queen: I mean you probably already were, but MORE careful

deku_breaks_bones: What?

deku_breaks_bones: Guys that's really ominous and worrying, I think I need more details

deku_breaks_bones: Wait, does that mean Space can talk now?

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: No ;_;

1-A_Dancing_Queen: No

1-A_Dancing_Queen: we uh heard about it from Peppermint's brother

deku_breaks_bones: Wait, WHAT?

deku_breaks_bones: HOW WHAT

halfnhalfpeppermint: I got unlucky and ran into him at Nagoya

deku_breaks_bones: WHAT

halfnhalfpeppermint: and also the number two hero from home

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: As in the guy who called Yuki about his brother before I could

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: Apparently he's stationed in Nagoya, and Yuki's brother visited to ask for help again

deku_breaks_bones: I

deku_breaks_bones: I have so many questions

1-A_Dancing_Queen: We had to pull off a crazy rescue!

1-A_Dancing_Queen: We got so insanely lucky, and I can't even talk about it on here because it's all so dangerous to mention

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: We're on the train now though so we're good. We got away

1-A_Dancing_Queen: Music, thank you so much for the smoke and sticky bombs

1-A_Dancing_Queen: We couldn't have gotten away without them!

deku_breaks_bones: so

deku_breaks_bones: many

deku_breaks_bones: questions

halfnhalfpeppermint: On the bright side, he's now going to get her to release the Quirk on Space

deku_breaks_bones: Wait he is?!

deku_breaks_bones: How? Just, how did you convince him, how will he do it, how ANYTHING

halfnhalfpeppermint: But we also need to tell him everything before we make the big move

deku_breaks_bones: WHAT

deku_breaks_bones: WHY?

deku_breaks_bones: Didn't we agree it's too risky to tell anyone!? What if he tells her about that too!?

halfnhalfpeppermint: I know it's dangerous. But he's my brother, and we live together

halfnhalfpeppermint: And I can't leave him to go to the heroes. That would be unfair to the other me

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: I agree with him

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: They had this big phone call about it, and Yuki just really hit home with that

1-A_Dancing_Queen: Yeah

1-A_Dancing_Queen: I remembered back when we first met up again, and he gave this big speech about he couldn't go to the pros and must've run away for a reason

1-A_Dancing_Queen: Back then I thought it was just because he didn't know the thing about his dad, because he kept talking about him specifically

1-A_Dancing_Queen: But after today, I kinda wonder if that might have been some of the other Yuki bleeding through?

halfnhalfpeppermint: ...it might have been

halfnhalfpeppermint: Now that you mention it, I felt the same kind of panic today that I felt back then

halfnhalfpeppermint: Like once I go to the pros, I won't be able to get away this time

halfnhalfpeppermint: So I know the other me doesn't want to do that

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: O_O

1-A_Dancing_Queen: ...Okay so you didn't mention THAT part to us before, but that totally just proves our point even more

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: Agreed

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: We DEFINITELY have to tell him, for this world's Yuki

deku_breaks_bones: ...okay now I feel kinda bad for myself, because I obviously can't go back either after this

deku_breaks_bones: But I also... kinda don't?

deku_breaks_bones: Like, it's weird. I don't feel any serious guilt or anything BIG when I think about leaving

deku_breaks_bones: Like, I think I feel a little sad and guilty, but that's MY feelings, not other me?

deku_breaks_bones: I... Might even feel approval?

deku_breaks_bones: Maybe?

deku_breaks_bones: Or maybe I'm just imagining it

1-A_Dancing_Queen: Oof

1-A_Dancing_Queen: Sounds complicated

deku_breaks_bones: Yeah.

deku_breaks_bones: I guess I'll have to think on it some more

deku_breaks_bones: I think I'm gonna go do that now

1-A_SpaceRescueHero: OK. Let's stop here so the others can read and catch up

deku_breaks_bones: Yeah

"Damn, that's a lot to take in," Jirou muttered, finishing reading before Denki. He could only nod as he finished it, not sure where to even start.

"So uh, guess Dabi is gonna be let in on it, huh?" he said awkwardly. "And Aiko is... Even more dangerous than we already thought." Which was saying something, given all the warnings and the fact she terrified Aizawa-sensei.

"Really wish they could just say why," Jirou said, and grimaced before adding, "But I totally get why they don't want to take any risks. Especially after Yaomomo." Denki grimaced at the memory too. The fact someone actually did eavesdrop on them once had pretty much proven Anjou's paranoia to be fully justified.

"This really makes me worried about that Aiko lady. I wish we had, like, a picture or something, so we could know to avoid her." They only had descriptions to go on—wait. "Uh, hold on. What does she look like again?"

Jirou froze, eyes growing wide with horror. "Shit," she cursed. "I don't think Midoriya ever described her."

There was a moment of silence as they digested that. They had no idea what Aiko looked like. So if they ran into her, they would have no way of knowing it unless she gave them her name. That made this infinitely more complicated, especially for them as vigilantes.

Denki shuddered and pushed the thought out of his head, focusing on his phone instead as a notification appeared. "Oh hey, I got an email!" he announced. Jirou snorted at the very obvious attempt to change the topic.

"What a coincidence, I did too," she remarked dryly, but then frowned as she squinted at her phone. "Hold on. The sender is blank." Denki frowned, eyes reflexively flitting to the email on his own screen.

"Mine too," he realized. The subject line was there—To Kaminari Denki—but the next line, which should have the sender's name, was blank. Instead it went right to the preview of the email showing the first line of the message. And the line made him suddenly chilly, instantly opening the email.

'To The Esteemed 1-A Vigilantes,

Apologies for the sudden email and lack of formal introductions, we're just rather excited. You seem to be quite similar to us in terms of online presence, and we're looking forward to some variety from the usual run of heroes, security and other official legal authorities.

As such, we are writing to inform you that we will be performing a heist tomorrow. We will strike Mitsuru Corporation at 2:30 in the afternoon. We hope that will suit your schedule fine, since our research indicates you should be free. Apologies for the short notice. This likely goes without saying, but please refrain from informing anyone else.

We look forward to a spectacular encounter and performance!

Sincerely,

Gentle Criminal & Associates'

For a moment they just stared, dumbfounded by what they read. "Jirou," Denki said faintly. "Did you just get an email from Gentle Criminal?"

"Yeah, I did," Jirou confirmed tightly. "To my personal email."

"Me too."

For once, Denki didn't need her to explain how bad that was. Their identities had been compromised.

Suddenly, their showdown with Gentle Criminal had become even more important.

Meanwhile outside the warehouse, Haimawari Koichi casually sat on a rooftop across the street, cheek propped in his hand while he looked at it. "Huh," he said softly. He'd managed to catch up to them right after they subdued the glowing-spot guy, and ended up following them to here. He should probably report this, right?

He paused, thinking it over, and then shrugged. Nah, he wanted to talk to them first. After all, he knew where to find them now.

Fun fact: Kegawame Okina is the nameless giant blue furry woman from the manga that Izuku saves, and I am very proud of the name I came up with. The "me" come from woman. "Kegawa" is "furry". "Okina" apparently means huge and sounds like a name so yes.

The characters will switch to first-names gradually. It's so weird to write a given name outside their POV though. But more importantly: we're FINALLY getting to the Gentle Criminal confrontation! Woo!

Also, I can't make any promises about a chapter next week. During my hiatus, I played a lot of Animal Crossing and Pokémon (and I LOVE the DP remakes, they're actually challenging again)... and then got sucked back into the Naruto fandom and went on a giant fic binge for a full week. So the result: I have next chapter only partially written. I finished this one on, like, Friday or Saturday.

So, yeah. I've got a good chunk of the next one written, and already know how to start the one after that, but no promises. Might need to take another week.

Question for next time: What are some background characters that stood out to you in canon?