The april fools day prank this year is this, yipeeeeeee
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Let's rewind a bit. We've been dealing with a high stakes, emotional exam arc that introduced, like, 50 new characters. Let's go back to a few hours before the exam, to the point where everyone was still gearing up to get on the bus.
Ochako gave Ship a farewell hug. "Oh, Ship!" Ochako groaned. "I hope that when I come back today, I'll have a license that we can both celebrate..."
"Shiiiiiip." The Galvanic Mechamorph dog cuddled up to Ochako's face.
Ochako handed Ship off to Alan, and the dog wriggled around. "I hope you don't mind watching him today," Ochako said.
"Eh, not really. I don't really gotta do much, except...well, one or two other things." Alan grinned.
"Oooh, sounds mysterious. Can I get a hint?" Ochako teased.
"Not a chance." Alan joked. "So, I just gotta feed him batteries once or twice, right?"
"Yeah. And maybe take him for a walk. He gets antsy." Ochako explained.
"Gotcha," Alan said.
"And make sure he doesn't break into any of the other rooms. We caught him in Shinsou's room a while back." Ochako warned.
"Also noted. Don't worry. When you come back today, Ship'll be fine." Alan said, as Ship slithered around his arm and to his hand. He held it up as Ship booped Ochako on the nose. She giggled.
"Well, I gotta get on the bus," Ochako said, picking up her bag. "Be good, Ship! And don't get into any mischief."
"Shiiiiiiip!" The blorpy waved as Ochako took off. Alan and Ship were left in alone in the dorms.
"So," Alan said, holding the little guy up. "What do you wanna do?" Ship poked his head in the direction of Ochako's room. He 'yawned'.
"Oh, napsies?" Alan teased. "Don't you sleep enough as is?"
Ship started to 'droop' in his hands. Alan laughed. "Okay, okay. I'll take you back to Uraraka's room."
Alan walked back to Ochako's room, and opened the door. She gave him a key, just for today. The boy set Ship down on the bed, and pet him on the head.
"I'll be back later," Alan said. "I gotta take care of some chores around the dorm. Don't tell anyone, but...we're kinda planning a dual celebration for Class 1-A and the return of-"
Alan was suddenly caught off guard by a buzz on his phone. It was a call, from Yang.
"Oh. Hold that thought, I gotta take this." Alan said, as he walked out of the room. "You just take your nap."
Ship slithered around the bed, and melted as he began to snore. Alan chuckled, before leaving the room. The second the door shut, Ship perked back up. His eye went back to a vent on one of the walls.
Ship wagged his tail, as he heard the soft barks of Yoshi from a floor up. "Ship!"
"BORF!"
"SHIP!"
"BORF!"
...okay, so not the most intellectual conversation. So, allow me to translate.
"Hey! Hey! Are you up?" Yoshi barked.
"Yeah! Mom's gone!" Ship said.
"So's my dad!" Yoshi yipped.
"So, should we take a look around? I really, really wanna take a look around the place!" Ship grinned.
"Yeah! Just come on up!" Yoshi called. Ship slithered up the wall, towards the vent.
"Okay! See you in a sec!" Ship yelled.
"Yayyy!" Yoshi said.
So, yeah. These pets were up to something. The two weeks that the students spent training? Yoshi and Ship had been 'hanging out' whenever they could. Meaning they jus barked and yipped between vents. They'd become good friends, as pets do. They liked the same noises, liked going on walks, and just loved getting headpats. The dog duo were pretty much besties because of these few connections.
And today was a 'playdate'.
Ship squeezed through the hole and laughed cheekily. "Okay! Here I am!"
Yoshi laughed and ran around and around. "Yay yay yay ya~! Ready to go on an adventure?"
"For sure!" Ship said this as he jumped on Yoshi's head.
"Okay! Just open the door. "Yoshi said.
"Onwards!" Ship said, pointing Yoshi to the door.
Yoshi rotted over to the door, and Ship morphed into a hand to open the knob. The two poked their heads out, to make sure no one was around.
"We just gotta sneak around," Ship said. "That Alan guy is around all day..."
"He seems nice! He kinda smells like cinnamon." Yoshi drooled. "I LOVE cinnamon."
"Gasp! Me too! I'd love to taste it one day." Ship said, as the duo went down the stairs.
Alan was walking around the kitchen area when the pets got downstairs. "Really? He's gonna be here by then? That's a bit earlier than I thought. Do you think we'll be able to unpack his stuff and set up the party?" He asked Yang on the phone.
Alan had his back turned when Yoshi and Ship slipped by, evading his gaze. They rushed for the door, and quietly snuck outside. The duo was greeted with the beautiful sights of the UA campus. Ship ooh'd and aah'd as he looked around.
"This place looks awesome!" Yoshi said. "I still gotta mark my territory, though. So all the OTHER dogs know I own this place."
"Mark your what?"
"Oh, it's...ah, nevermind." Yoshi said. "So! Where to first, buddy?"
Ship sniffed the air. "That purple haired guy is around here somewhere, right? Maybe we should see what he's up to."
"Yeah! He looks mean but he gives some SUPER good pets." Yoshi said. "His hands are so soft..."
"Well, come on! Let's go find purple guy!" Ship said, as the two followed his scent.
"Shinsou." Aizawa told the boy, one day, some time ago after the Sports Festival. "I'm not going to sugar coat it. If you joined Class 1-A today, you would be at the bottom."
Shinsou blinked as he put on the Binding Cloth. "Harsh."
"I mean it." Aizawa frowned. "We have an 'unspoken' rating system amongst the teachers. It sounds dumb, but it helps us track who and what we need to train for a time being."
"And what are the factors in deciding this? Don't tell me it's the robot exam all over again." Shinsou huffed.
"We have five categories." Aizawa said. "Each one ranks what we at UA consider to be the most important factors in a hero."
Quirk Stat: How useful their quirks are, how well they use them, and if they have any flaws that could stop them from being heroes.
Hero Work: This stat shows how well a character can fight and save others. Heroes with special skills or niches will be ranked higher.
Mental Skills: This includes the user's knowledge and tactics. Mental stability and resilience are also assessed.
Physical Skills: All physical abilities. This could be their strength, speed, or ability to withstand attacks.
Social Skills: This section talks about how heroes work with other people. Teamwork is just as important as fame, heroism, and fanbase.
"So? Who's at the bottom?" Shinsou asked.
"As of right now, Aoyoma. He's a good 9/25...He has a lot of power. He can break concrete from a long distance, and his armor gives him many ways to use it. But he relies too much on his gear and his drawback is easy to trigger, which really hurts the Quirk. He's having trouble, but he still has his niche. Not the best student, but not the worst either."
"So, what am I?" Shinsou asked.
"...you really wanna know?"
"Yeah. I can take some criticism."
"You're a good 7/25." Aizawa said. "You have a lot of one's all across the board, save for your mental skills. That's a 3."
Shinsou made a face. "That's great to hear..."
"Before you can consider joining the Hero Course, we want to increase your stats to...something around a good 14/25. We're not gonna jump the gun right now." Aizawa said.
"Dare I ask who's at the top?"
"...right now, no student has a perfect 25/25. Not even the champ of the Sports Festival." Aizawa said. "He's a 20/25."
"He'd go berserk if he heard that."
"Yeah. Even more reason to keep hush about it." Aizawa said. "At the top right now is Todoroki- 23/25. He's just missing some points in socialization."
"Interesting." Shinsou said. "And what about Midoriya? I fought him. If it turns out he was like a 10/25, I'd be pretty disappointed."
"He's in second." Aizawa said. "But he's still a problem child until he gets that quirk in order."
"So, that just leaves me. At the bottom." Shinsou frowned.
"I started there too, y'know. Be thankful you have someone who's here to help." Aizawa said. "I didn't even have that."
Shinsou adjusted the Binding Cloth and took a deep breath. "So, what are we waiting for?"
Shinsou grunted as he attempted to attach something with his new binding cloths. Even after two weeks, he felt like he was 'beyond' square one, maybe around 'square two' if that existed.
So, Aizawa's fighting style was a complicated jumble of impressive moves and Aizawa's quirk. Aizawa's style was mainly "confusion," which means that he probably had to come up with a bunch of random moves on the spot and throw anything out to make the opponent throw something out so that he could erase their quirks (if applicable) and counter.
For Shinsou, however, his attacks were more…on the offensive side of things. He didn't want to wait for his opponents to simply make the first move. He wanted to be the one who 'started' a fight. Shinsou was good at two things- making people talk by hitting 'those' points and misdirection. If he could combine those into his binding cloth style…
Oh! Speaking on that, Shinsou was no longer wearing a Binding Cloth around his neck. They now were wrapped around his wrists and arms- although it made him kind of look like a mummy, he was more that satisfied with the new technique. All Might was right- he was trying too hard to replicate Aizawa, so he should stick with what he knew right now.
These new binding cloths had a few improvements. More wind resistance, a slightly sticky feeling to help bind to walls, and…well, the next part was sort of in development. With those 'chains' having disappeared, Shinsou was now a decent combatant.
But he still felt like he was at the bottom.
Ship and Yoshi poked their head in, as they watched Shinsou train diligently. Ship hummed. "Looks like the purple guy's hard at work. I heard mom say that he was even more of a rookie than green guy at the start of the semester."
"Oooh. No wonder he's looked so intense. He's throwing himself into his hard work. Maybe we shouldn't bother him right now." Yoshi said.
"Yeah, we'll just shower him with love and affection later. Let's check out the lunch hall! I bet they have some yummy tech in there…" Ship said.
"Maybe they have bacon!" Yoshi grinned.
"What's bacon?" Ship asked.
"Oh, you're about to learn…" Yoshi said, as the two trotted off.
Shinsou managed to start 'swinging' around the gym, using the ceiling beams to maneuver himself around. For Sero to not ram into something as he swings, he utilized numerous parabolic arcs to move in a straight line. His upper body was in charge of direction through the different cloths he shot out, and he was able to lift effectively by pulling on the cloths. At the start of a new arc, his lower body will produce the down force required to build or maintain speed by simply pushing his legs forward.
"Imagine you're on a swing set. Without an outside force, you are still. If you stand up and walk as far back as you can while still sitting in the seat, you'll add the external force of gravity to your swing as soon as you pull your feet up." Sero explained to him. "Bam! Now you have momentum. You'll need to throw your body into it if you want to keep swinging, getting faster, and getting higher. At the back of the swing, you pull on the chains while leaning back and putting your feet forward."
Physics, Shinsou thought. I knew UA was gonna be near college level, so I devoted myself to studying stuff far above my grade level. I was top of my class in terms of grades back in the general course- I dunno how someone like Sero could run all the calculations on the fly, but…it's working.
Shinsou came to a stop when he reached the other side of the gym. Successful test run. He thought. But that's just movement. What about…combat? Or moving targets?
Shinsou lowered himself to the ground, and the bandages returned to his arms. He grimaced, before wondering if he should ask Alan to help him…
"SHINSOU!"
Speak of the devil, Alan just bolted into the gym. Shinsou blinked. "Hey."
"Shinsou! Oh, thank God! I…I need your help." Alan said, slumping over and out of breath.
Shinsou raised an eyebrow. "You good?"
"N-no. You…you gotta help me. With something big." Alan stated. "I…I lost the dog."
"...huh?" Shinsou said.
"I lost the dog," Alan repeated, "He was there one minute, I turn my back for a second, and then when I turn around, it's like he turned invisible!"
"...I'm still lost," Shinsou said, "What dog? Yours?"
"No, not mine, I don't have one! Koda's!"
"His...emotional support dog?" Shinsou asked, raising a brow.
"Yes, and now I can't find him and...gaaaah, Koda's gonna kill me! And if not him, Mina, Ochako...pretty much all the girls will! Hell, maybe even most of the guys too!" Alan panicked.
"...okay, and why should I help you, exactly?" Shinsou said. "It's your responsibility."
"I know, I know- and I take full blame." Alan said. "But...come on! They like you!"
"Wait...'they?'" Shinsou asked.
"...ok, it's not just Koda's dog I lost."
"Who else-...oh you've gotta be kidding me," Shinsou sighed, "How did you lose an alien?"
"The same way I lost an entire golden retriever! Now come on, please!" Alan begged.
"...alright," Shinsou relented, "I'll help."
Besides. Maybe I can use those guys for moving target capture. Shinsou thought.
"So, any idea where two dogs would go?" Shinsou asked.
"Yeah- first thought, the food court." Alan said.
"...that makes sense, I guess," Shinsou said, following Alan out of the training room and towards the food court.
Yoshi and Ship loved the smells inside the empty food court. It was one of those rare occasions when no one was really hungry, so the duo had an 'open grounds' to check out all the food places.
"Wow! Smells better than kibble!" Yoshi said.
"Hmmm," Ship warbled a bit, looking around at the different places, "Where's some of the good tech around here...?"
"You're dead-set on that, huh?" Yoshi asked.
"As set as you are on whatever 'bacon' is, yes," Ship nodded.
"To each their own!" Yoshi grinned, before they sniffed the air. The duo looked over to see the buffet table, and Yoshi's tail started wagging like crazy.
"I SMELL BACON!"
"Ohhhh that's bacon," Ship realized.
"Yes and it is one of the crowning achievements of humankind!"
"It's that good?"
"YES!" Yoshi raced over to the buffet table to try and get some of the bacon.
Yoshi got up on his hind legs and began eating the bacon out of the setup trays. Ship watched him gobble it down with great interest. His eye spied a lightbulb that illuminated the food. He 'licked' his chops, before oozing over to it and sucking the lightbulb out of its socket and into his belly.
"Hmm! Mom should let me eat more of these." Ship sighed.
"So is that your version of bacon?" Yoshi asked.
"Hmm...I guess it is!" Ship grinned.
However, they were both so focused on enjoying their treats that they didn't hear the sounds of shuffling objects in the back of the food court. Lunch Rush set down a newly arrived crate of ingredients for use in his next culinary masterpieces. He adjusted his hat and sighed in relief.
"Finally," Lunch Rush muttered, "That's everything. I'll need to start getting the next dishes ready, even though there's still enough outside to last another day or two." The Cook Hero walked out from the kitchen and behind the lunch counter and froze when he saw a dog and...soooomething else? He'll call it a second dog just for the sake of things. Both of them were eating some of the bacon strips that some student must've left out after forgetting about them.
"Hey!" Lunch Rush called out.
"Oh, crud! It's some...weird guy!" Ship said.
"We gotta book it, then! He's gonna put us in a cage or something!" Yoshi yiped, as he darted away. Ship held on as Lunch Rush chased after them.
"Oh no you don't!" Lunch Rush yelled, giving chase. Of course, this was a dog he was chasing, so he was a bit slower, especially since his Quirk wasn't really suited for speed. If need be, he could call up Hound Dog for some back-up, figure out where these two dogs came from. Maybe they just wandered onto campus and someone was looking for them; he just needed to catch them and look at their collars.
Yoshi zipped and zagged under tables to throw Lunch Rush off. Ship looked behind them, and got a bright idea. "Yoshi! Stop for a second! I know how to get this guy off your tail!"
"Uh, ok? How?" Yoshi asked, stopping suddenly and almost throwing Ship off of him because of the momentum.
Ship readjusted himself, and pointed himself at Lunch Rush. "Ship Works- LIGHT BRIGHT SIGHT!" Ship's head morphed into a lightbulb, and let out a burst of light. Lunch Rush was dazed by the attack, and slipped on a drink someone had spilled and didn't clean up. He fell on his back, and groaned.
"Oooh, nice!" Yoshi cheered.
"Thanks! One of my many tricks!" Ship boasted, "Now, let's go before he gets back up!"
The mischievous duo zipped away, as Lunch Rush groaned in pain.
"I should've...applied to Ketsubutsu..." He mumbled.
Lunch Rush shook his head as he got back up and pulled out his phone. He flipped through the contacts and then pressed one. The phone rang for a few minutes before he was finally answered.
"What is it, Rush? I was in the middle of a session!" the familiar growl of Hound Dog sounded on the other end of the line.
"Oh...my bad, but uh, hey, when you're done, call me back, please. I need your help with something," Lunch Rush sighed.
"You're lucky this is the only appointment I have today!"
"There's these...two dogs on campus, and...well, they gave me a run for my money. Think you can track them down and maybe take me to the pound or something?" Lunch Rush asked.
"...I'm sorry...there are dogs on campus? Rush, you know we have a strict pets policy here! But...fine, I'll help you track them down!"
"Thanks..." Lunch huffed, as he rested his head against the ground. "And also, bring an ice pack. I hurt my back..."
"Okay, will do. Do you need ibuprofen too?" Hound Dog asked.
"...maybe."
"So...remind me," Shinsou asked, "why did Uraraka pick you to watch her pet?"
"Remember, I'm the only person in the class who has a bit more alien know-how. I know what the little guy's capable of," Alan answered confidently.
"But you still let him sneak off."
"...ok, first off, not cool. Second off, I'd like to see you do better with a dog that can replicate any bit of tech it comes into contact with."
"Simple. Put him in a glass bottle, wrap it in a blanket, and put it somewhere safe. It's like a cage. He can breathe in those things, right?" Shinsou asked.
"That...sounds AWFUL." Alan frowned.
"Well, like you said, I'm not an...alien animal person. Does he still count as an animal? Isn't he the same...species as one of 10K's forms?"
"Well yeah," Alan confirmed, "but it's a lot more complicated than 'oh he's just a little dog Upgrade.' I mean that's the simple version, but still."
"...hey. If I was an alien dog who loved eating batteries, where would I go?" Shinsou asked.
"Uhh. I dunno the campus that well right now-" Alan said.
"You'd go to the one person who makes tech ALL the time." Shinsou frowned.
"The...Support...Studio," Alan realized.
"Power Loader...and Mei," Shinsou added.
"Oh. Oh god if she finds Ship!"
Mei spun a wrench in her hand like she was some sort of gunslinger before she set to work on her latest creation. She was one of the only people in the Support Studio right now, which meant unlimited access to resources. She was humming something as she worked, making sure that the bolts were tightened properly. See, the last time she tried using this baby, the bolts literally flew off as projectiles and bounced around the room for a good five minutes before they finally stopped. To say Power Loader wasn't happy with that was an understatement. This was sort of her detention...but she just preferred to call it overtime.
"Ok, now that that problem's dealt with!" Mei smirked, "Let's get the real testing started! Studio, training dummy pleeeeeeeeease!"
Part of the studio opened up, bringing up a single target dummy, strong enough to withstand a hit from even . Mei grabbed her creation and walked up to the target range. She looked over her new baby, an armored gauntlet with two sets of pistons on either side. She pushed a few buttons on the gauntlet and the pistons then shot into the gauntlet itself. Pressure began to build up inside the invention as steam shot off it. Mei reared her hand back and readied to throw a punch, but when she thrust her fist forward, the gauntlet just shot off.
Mei blinked a bit as she watched the metal fist embed itself into the studio's back wall.
"...welp. That happened. Ok, back to the drawing board!" Mei said, trying to pry the item from the wall.
Unbeknownst to her, Yoshi and Ship peeked their heads into the studio out of curiosity.
"Huh...this place is...weird, isn't it?" Yoshi asked.
"It's not weird," Ship beamed, "It's paradise."
"Ok, if you say so."
"Your dad, he's got that mask, right? The one that lets him talk really far?"
"Yeah, for his special power...even if I don't know what it is," Yoshi nodded.
"It came from here!" Ship explained.
"Ohhhhhh! Cool!"
Ship hopped off of Yoshi's head and slithered around the place. There was so much cool tech in here! It was like I-Island all over again. Or that hardware store that he snuck into when mom wasn't looking.
"Woahhh! I wonder what this thing does..." Ship said, ogling a mask with knobs on the side, some metal plates and a speaker behind those plates.
"I wonder if there's some food around here..." Yoshi grumbled. "I'm still hungry."
"Hmmm...we could double back if you'd like," Ship suggested, looking at the mask and then at a pair of bulky white boots that seemed to have jet turbines located on the heels.
"Oooh, I think I know what these are!" Ship said.
"Are those...hover boots?" Yoshi asked.
"Woah, how did you know?"
"Lucky guess." Yoshi shrugged.
"These things are AWESOME. I dunno why mom hasn't put them in her costume yet..." Ship hummed.
"Well, she just got her point and shoot thingy, right? Maybe she doesn't want to over complicate herself." Yoshi wondered. "And then there's the Omnitrix..."
"Wait...wait wait wait, I have an idea!" Ship beamed, "If mom doesn't wanna overcomplicate her suit...then maybe I could be help with that! Be her bag of tricks out in the field!"
"You can change into anything she'd need!" Yoshi realized, "That's brilliant!"
"Yeah! I could be great in the field! I took out a few villains last time!" Ship yipped.
"You're already like hero material. It'd be awesome to see you punch villains in the face." Yoshi said.
"In order to punch though...I think I'd need that," Ship motioned to the gauntlet that Mei was still trying to pry free of the wall.
"Ok, I know you were eager baby, but momma needs you to come...out the wall...so I can...fix your bugs!" Mei huffed and struggled.
"Woah, are you sure? That lady looks like she's busy with it." Yoshi said.
"Busy? Please. Mom says she blows up stuff all the time. If anything, taking it off her hands would save this place some repair money!" Ship said, slithering over.
"Cooooome ON!" Mei said, before her grip slipped and she fell backwards. She landed on her rear with a thud and groaned a bit.
"Ok...stubborn. I get it, you enjoyed flying off the handle, but that's not your design! You're supposed to be a close support item for people who need a bit more oomph! People with long-range Quirks sometimes aren't the best at close-quarters, so that's what you're for!" the over-eager engineer explained to the gauntlet itself, or else it'd sound like she's crazy.
Ship hummed. Wow...if Ochako had that, she might be unbeatable in human form. It'd totally show up that angry dude who's always yelling at the green haired guy.
"Ok...know what? You stay there," Mei told her baby, "I'm gonna go get a crowbar."
Ship watched Mei walk off, before he hopped on the table. He slithered around the device and hummed. Huh. This doesn't really look like something Mom would use...but she's gonna!
The sounds of tools clanging and being shuffled around drowned out the sound of Ship absorbing the gauntlet. Mei came back as quickly as she left, crowbar in hand.
"Ok, now, I'm gonna be as delicate as I can, but if I chip the plating, I promise I'll-!" Mei paused as she Ship finish absorbing her invention.
Ship slowly finished the assimilation as Mei watched in horror. It was the first time she HADN'T been smiling in this lab.
Ship blinked. "...hello."
"My...my baby. Did you...did you just...EAT my baby?!" Mei screamed, dropping the crowbar.
"No, I absorbed the glove!" Ship explained, but to Mei, she just heard "Ship, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!"
"YOU LITTLE PEST!" Mei yelled, pulling out a bunch of random weapons on hand. "I SPENT 50+ HOURS ON THAT THING!"
Ship yiped, before darting away from the scene.
"RUN, SHIP!" Yoshi yelled, "OVER HERE!"
"I'M TRYING!" Ship called out, dodging blasts of fire, ice, what seemed like concrete, an electric net and a...thrown hammer?! What the hell?! What invention was made just to throw hammers?!
"THAT'S A HAMMER!" Ship yelled. "SHE'S THROWING HAMMERS?!"
"YOU LITTLE PEST! I'M GONNA RIP THAT THING OUT OF YOU!" Mei yelled, pouncing at Ship.
"Quick!" Yoshi barked, letting Ship hop on before making a bolt for it. Mei growled as she grabbed and quickly put on her hover boots and a familiar bulky belt with two cylinders on the sides. She raced out of the room and activated her hover soles before firing off Wire Arrows to give her an extra boost of speed.
"GIVE ME BACK MY BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Mei yelled.
After giving it some thought, Ship decided to let her have it.
So he transformed his head into the gauntlet and pounced on her. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ship roared and he drove right into Mei's face. Mei went flying backwards, smashing into a wall.
Mei was practically embedded in the wall from the hit, her eyes swirling as bolts and screws floated around her head in a cartoonish fashion.
"Holy..." Yoshi gasped. Ship jumped back on his canine friend and morphed back to normal.
"I don't think that's gonna keep her down for good!" Ship said, "Keep running!"
"NO! WAIT!" Mei yelled, eyes suddenly crazed. "COME BACK! How did you solve my issue, you weird dog!?" Mei pryed herself out of the wall, and fell to the ground. "NOW I KINDA WANNA KEEP YOU!"
"...oh no. I think I've made a terrible mistake," Ship gasped, "Must go faster, must go faster!"
Mei began rushing towards Ship, using her eye to examine his body. "Ooooh~! Your body is made up of these nanomachine like things! Ooh, that's so cool! COME HERE!" Mei yelled.
"Nope nope nope nope nope!" Ship panicked.
"Hold on, I got this!" Yoshi said, speedily turning a corner and continuing to run.
A door slid open as Hound Dog finished up his counseling session with a student of Class 2-A, a kid who's head was like that of a rhinoceros beetle.
"Remember, take it slow. I know that low grades can seem daunting, it's a very common source of stress for students. But have the resources there to improve. Not just the faculty, but the students as well, not even just from your class either, I'm sure the others will be more than happy to help," Hound Dog explained in a much calmer voice.
"Y-yeah. Yeah, you're right Mr. Inui," the beetle-headed student agreed.
Yoshi quickly zipped past, with Ship following. Hound Dog looked confused for a second, before remembering. "THE DOGS!" He yelled, moving the kid out of the way.
"Sorry! I'll be right ba-!" he moved to give chase, but stopped right before Mei came racing past him.
"Come back here little guyyyyyyyyyy! You're gonna help momma make all KINDS of new creations!" Mei yelled.
"HATSUME?! What the-?!"
Hound Dog held his arm out, and stopped Mei in her tracks. Mei whined. "Mr. Hound Dog, PLEASE! You gotta let me go after him!"
"No! This is official teacher business. Go back to your lab!" Hound Dog scolded her.
"But sir, I-!" then she got an idea, "Sir, you need to let me help! One of them managed to grab one of my inventions before they ran off!"
A perfect plan! Now I can continue the chase! Mei smirked.
"Then it's too dangerous at this point. If that thing can STEAL tech, you aren't well equipped." Hound Dog said, shattering her dreams. Mei already had a name for it- she was gonna call it "Gizmo".
"But..but sir!"
"No buts, Hatsume!" Hound Dog barked.
Mei frowned. "Awwww...okay..."
"Seriously! What gave you the idea to take on that dog when it can absorb your tech!?" Hound Dog hissed.
"That is exactly why I needed to chase him! He already absorbed one of my support items! One that I wasn't finished with, but he seems to have fixed the issue. So I thought maybe I could-" Mei rambled a bit.
"Enough!" Hound Dog growled. "Go back to your work- and if I can retrieve your work, I will bring it back."
"...fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine." Mei whined, before stomping off.
"Day started out normal, now it's just turning weird. How did they even get this far on campus?" Hound Dog muttered to himself before marching off to try and find the dogs himself.
"Like I'd give up that easily," Mei whispered, showing she'd crossed her fingers and lied, "There's too much at stake to just let a discovery like this go. But now I'm in a race with a Pro...honestly that's a good test for some of my babies!"
Shinsou and Alan rushed over to the lab, both out of breath. Alan peeked his head in and grimaced. "Yeah, he's been in here...check out the mess."
"Are you that's not just Mei?" Shinsou asked.
"I just know he was in here." Alan said, walking inside. "Wanna know how I know?"
"How?" Shinsou frowned.
"Mei's not in here."
"...she's rarely not...ok I see your point," Shinsou said.
"Yeah. So, now we got HER probably chasing after that dog." Alan groaned. "Oh, God- Ochako's gonna kill me! And Kouda's...probably gonna just cry and that's gonna hurt me."
Shinsou rolled his eyes. Oh, God...am I gonna have to be the optimist here?
"Look, we know they're still on campus," Shinsou said, "Doubt they'd leave. As to where they'd go next..."
"If I was a dog, and I was hiding from someone chasing me...where would I go?" Alan hummed.
"I dunno. Somewhere quiet and isolated..." Shinsou shrugged. I'm more of a cat person.
"Quiet and isolated..." Alan pondered that a bit, "Wait. The library maybe?"
"The library? You think they'd just be able to waltz right in unnoticed?" Shinsou asked.
"Well, maybe. Ship could. Best lead we got right now, so..."
"We'll check it out- and if we run into Mei, we stop her." Shinsou said. "Meaning I just brainwash her and make her go away."
"...she does know how it works though," Alan said.
"No, she does-" Shinsou was about to say but then he remembered that she was in the Sports Fest too. And that means she saw the fight. Oh crap.
"...wait, does she remember names or faces?" Shinsou asked.
"I think Ochako said she didn't remember her, even though they were on the same team, so..." Alan shook his hand. "Good chance she forgot."
"Ok good. Then this should work out," Shinsou said, taking the lead and making a beeline for U.A.'s library.
The new and improved UA library was a spectacle to behold. It was a multi floored database of scholarly and popular journals, books, and reports from many different fields. If you want to know more about a subject, this is a great place to start. The UA Library was a safe place for all students to learn and grow. The Library assured that heroes are ready to be well-informed, successful critical thinkers by giving them access to university-level research databases and a full-time instruction librarian.
Talking about that instruction librarian who works full-time...
Kylie kept tapping on her computer while she waited for something to happen. The day had been long and quiet. She took the job because she figured, "Why not? I think I could use a break from the field. "
She somewhat lamented her decision.
Kylie hadn't changed much since she was a teen. She was still short, still kinda stout, still had that curly green hair and was still Filipino- the only real change was the lack of bags under her eyes, and some new spectacles.
Ship and Yoshi walked into the library once they were sure they had lost Mei and Hound Dog.
"Finally...safe," Yoshi huffed, walking over to find a place to take a rest.
"Yeah...finally," Ship agreed, practically ready to just melt and rest a bit.
Kylie looked up from her laptop and over to the door. She was now making direct eye contact with Ship and Yoshi. They had been standing there for a few moments before they finally noticed her.
"...hi." Kylie said, waving at the two.
"She's not freaking out like the others." Yoshi hummed.
Ship shrugged. "Maybe she's more used to this kind of stuff than the rest of UA."
Kylie stood up, and pat the side of her thigh. Yoshi trotted over, and sat before Kylie's feet. Her eyes were focused on Ship. "You must be that cute little Galvanic Mechamorph pet that Ruby mentioned...Ship, right?"
"Oh! You know me!" Ship said, wagging his tail. Of course, to her, Ship just said his usual.
"Heh, take that as a yes," Kylie said, petting Ship on the head.
"Wow, someone who doesn't freak out when we're around. I like her." Yoshi grinned, poking his head in to get some pets too.
"Now, I don't know you, but thankfully this library doesn't have a 'no pets' policy." Kylie said. "Just a 'no Present Mic' policy."
(It wasn't that Kylie hated him. He just was too damn loud!)
Kylie checked to see if the normal dog of the duo had a collar, a name she could call him.
"Yoshi," she read aloud when she found it. Considering Yoshi's tail was wagging happily upon hearing the name, that pretty much confirmed it.
"So we have Ship and Yoshi," Kylie said, "Why are you guys out here on your own, though?"
Ship shrugged half heartedly.
Kylie laughed. "Did you two just wanna explore? That's okay, I guess. I know the hero course kids are out and about right now, though."
"More worried about the support course, honestly," Ship sighed.
"Do you mind if we stay here for a bit?" Yoshi asked, in truth a bit of a small "boof" sound. Not a full on bark, but still.
"Hm?" Kylie said. "Do you just wanna rest here? Okay, as long as you stay quiet."
"You won't even know we're here!" Ship promised.
"Thank you so much!" Yoshi said, wagging his tail and licking Kylie's cheek in thanks.
"You're welcome, you're welcome," Kylie chuckled.
Ship and Yoshi trotted over to a spot underneath Kylie's desk, and circled around it for a second. The two plopped themselves down, and began to drift off.
"Oh, wow. Out like a light." Kylie hummed.
Mei, meanwhile, was still secretly searching for the two, using a tracker she'd managed to jury-rig out of parts in another Support Studio on campus.
"There! Now this little baby should be able to help me track that marvelous little fella!" the inventor cheered her own ingenuity, "And with luck I'll be able to find him before Hound Dog does!"
Mei made her way into the library, which Alan and Shinsou were just closing in on. "Oh, crap. She beat us to him!" Alan cursed.
"I just need her to respond to me," Shinsou said, clearing his throat, "Hey Mei?"
Mei just ignored him though, walking right into the library.
"Oh...she...zoned me out. Crap," Shinsou said, marching after her.
Mei was practically scanning every shelf in the library she could reach to try and find Ship.
"Now where could you beeeeee?" Mei pondered.
"Oh! Hi, can I help you?" Kylie asked, noticing Mei's...demeanor was very strange.
Mei ignored her, and looked right towards the desk. "There's my baby~"
Kylie raised an eyebrow. Baby? Wait, I thought Ship belonged to that Ochako girl.
Ship stirred a bit, somewhat waking up upon sensing the scanner that Mei held in her hands.
"What's...that?" Ship yawned.
"Um, miss, I'm afraid you must be mistaken," Kylie tried to cover for Ship and Yoshi.
"Ohhh, no. My baby's down there! So come to mama!" Mei grinned, almost hoping over the desk to grab the Mechamorph underneath. Kylie stopped her, and frowned.
"Miss, please." Kylie scoffed. "You're in the support course, right? Do I have to call Mrs. North and tell her you're causing problems?"
"Mrs...North..." Mei actually paled a bit at that. If there was one person who she didn't want to anger with her craziness, it was her. Power Loader was one thing, but North was something else all together.
"Uh...n-no. No need for that!" Mei panicked.
Kylie raised an eyebrow. "Your 'baby' is not here. So, turn and walk the other way. Please. And hand over that beeper. MAYBE I'll give it to you by the end of the day."
Mei looked dejected as she handed over her gear and left.
Shinsou and Alan watched Mei leave, walking past her and moving over to Kylie.
"Um...hi," Shinsou opened, "Hate to ask but, uh, you...wouldn't have happened to see two dogs run by here, would you? One's kind of...small? And green?"
Kylie looked up, and noticed Alan. "Oh! Hey, I know you."
"Mrs. Dombrowski! I almost forgot you worked here now." Alan said.
"Wait, you know her?" Shinsou asked.
"Yeah! I'm friends with Ben 10k, and we've teamed up on some stuff here and there." Kylie said. "How're you liking UA so far?"
"Pretty good so far. A little worried since..." Alan began.
"He lost the dogs of two of our classmates and we're out here looking for them," Shinsou said bluntly.
Kylie blinked, as she looked down at the ground. "...uh. I might have them."
"Huh?" Alan said.
"Yeah, they're right here!" Kylie said, allowing the boys behind her desk.
"Oh my god, you are a lifesaver," Alan said with a sigh of relief, especially when he saw that the two pets were asleep. Or half-awake in Ship's case.
"Oh, hey friend," Ship said sleepily, giving him a weak wave.
"Ship!" Alan snatched the pet up and hugged him. Alan cradled the pet in his arms and hugged him tightly, overcome with relief. "Thank God we found you. Mei was gonna go crazy if she found you."
Yoshi walked out, and stared up at Shinsou. "There you are," Shinsou said. His voice was soft, and he could see the relief on Shinsou's face.
"Awwww. He cares!" Yoshi yipped.
"He does?" Ship asked, looking over to Shinsou, "Awww, he does! It's written all over his face there!"
Shinsou rolled his eyes. "Okay. We got the dogs. Let's bring them back to the dorm, scold them and let them get back to work."
"Wait scold?" Ship repeated, "Why scold?!"
"We did sneak out..." Yoshi muttered.
"But we didn't go far!" Ship whined.
"Okay, let's take you guys back before someone notices-" Alan said, as the doors were thrown open.
"THERE'S THE PESTS!" Hound Dog yelled.
"Oh no..." Shinsou muttered.
"Hey! We're not pests!" Ship protested.
Hound Dog was fuming. "What are these pets doing on campus!? UA has rules and regulations about these sort of things!"
"Emotional support animals are allowed, aren't they?" Shinsou asked.
"OF COURSE THEY ARE!" Hound Dog yelled. "I'M TALKING ABOUT HIM!" He pointed an accusing finger at Ship.
"Me?!" Ship yelled.
"YEAH!" Hound Dog yelled. "WHERE'S HIS COLLAR!?"
"...a wha?"
"HIS COLLAR! WHERE IS IT!?" Hound Dog yelled. "HE NEEDS ONE IF HE'S ON UA PROPERTY AND BELONGS TO SOMEONE!"
Kylie quieted down the hero. "Mr. Hound Dog! Please. We are in a library."
Hound Dog restrained his snapping before it degenerated into snarling. Alan and Shinsou seemed perplexed.
"Uh, we'll talk to the owner about getting him one." Alan said.
"GOOD!" Hound Dog said. "Now, control that thing or I'll call the pound!"
Hound Dog then ran out of the library in a rage. Shinsou was confused as he watched him leave.
"I might have to put up a sign that says "No Hound Dog." Kylie scowled. "That guy is even crazier than Rath."
"How is he a guidance counselor?" Alan asked.
"HE'S WHAT!?" Ship yiped.
Shinsou stared down at his binding cloth, and back at the dogs. He grumbled, before storming off. He had wasted his time. His annoyance was palpable- frustration welled up in him as he walked away.
"Is your friend okay?" Kylie asked.
"...I dunno. But I'll check on him. Thanks for watching the dogs, Mrs. Dombrowski!" Alan said, as he ran off. Heading in the direction of his classmate, Alan couldn't help but feel a bit of concern about Shinsou's mood.
"Hey! Shinsou!" Alan called out. "Wait up!"
"Leave me alone," Shinsou growled.
"Come on, dude. We found the dogs without a hitch!" Alan said. "Sure, we did some running and-"
"I know, okay!?" Shinsou hissed, turning to face Alan. "I KNOW the dogs are fine. I thought I'd...be able to show off some skills or something. But, no. I just...stood by and did nothing."
"That's what this was about? Showing off?!" Alan asked. "What were you hoping to-"
"I dunno! Something!" Shinsou yelled. "Capturing the dogs, using my quirk to stop someone from getting the dogs before us, anything to make me feel like I'm not just taking up space!?"
Both Ship and Yoshi looked at Shinsou before turning back to each other. "From all that hard work he was doing earlier, I would've thought he'd be confident in himself..." Ship frowned.
"Yeah..." Yoshi whined.
"I'm at the BOTTOM of the class right now- I dunno who talked Eraserhead into letting me in this early, but it's just...nerve wracking! To have this feeling of knowing everyone is just so far ahead of me when I'm still scratching the surface." Shinsou vented. "And any opportunity I have to show off my skills has been squandered! Just...I want to feel like I'm here for some reason."
Alan blinked. "I dunno, man. You...kinda showed off some skills today."
"How? By running around campus and helping corral some random dogs?" Shinsou frowned.
"I mean, you've been putting in a lot of time and effort into your combat training, but have you given any thought to the other aspects of heroism?" Alan asked. "Y'know. Like intelligence, social skills, that stuff."
Shinsou paused. "...what?"
"Were you seriously not considering that? Were you gonna pool everything into physical stats and work it out from there?" Alan asked.
Shinsou looked away.
"...dude."
"Look, when the hero course is constantly getting attacked by villains-"
"Fair, but still. You can't get by on physical prowess alone." Alan said.
"...he's right," Ship agreed, "From what mom said, they need to know how to handle something called 'the press,' but it didn't sound like something she could just punch. She had to talk to it instead. And heroes need to be saving people so..."
But all that came out was "ship ship ship ship ship."
"Then...how do I catch up? How do I catch up to...all of them?" Shinsou asked.
"Just ask," Alan shrugged.
"That...that's it?"
"You forget we have people like Iida and Momo. The notes they've taken for things like that are insane."
"I don't think I need notes to succeed." Shinsou said.
"Maybe. You need...a group or something." Alan said. "I don't think those kids are gonna let you be a loner."
Shinsou thought about it, about the personalities that he shared the dorm with. All of them were so...positive, so outgoing. The more he thought it over, the more impossible it seemed to remain a "loner."
"So, consider this your 'starting point'." Alan said. "From here on out, you don't need to be alone. Maybe that's why Aizawa transferred you."
Is that actually why? Shinsou thought to himself.
"It's why MY guy wanted me to branch out. So, how about...we just help each other?" Alan asked.
Shinsou hummed in thought a bit.
"Alright...fine. It's a sound plan anyway," Shinsou admitted.
"That's the spirit. Come on- help me take these dogs back to the apartments, and I'll let you get back to your work." Alan said, as Yoshi trotted over to Shinsou and offered his head for patting. Yoshi thought he needed comfort.
At first, Shinsou didn't do anything, but he quickly came around to the idea. He gave Yoshi a few pats on the head and motioned for him to follow.
"Come on. Taking you home," Shinsou said.
"Good…now I can get back to what I needed to do." Alan huffed.
"What were you doing?" Shinsou asked.
"Ah, you know…unpacking for that Bakugou guy."
…oh yeah Bakugou's back.