AN: Enjoy!

Eight Months Later

Izuku took in a deep breath. And another. In and out. In and out. Center yourself. Calm your nerves. You can do this. Yet the tension would not leave. Nevertheless, he fought every instinct and pushed through. This was for the AMF, for the nation.

Nearby, Ochako turned with a grave expression. She nodded. "It's time Midori."

Izuku nodded and followed her.

"On tonight's show we welcome Pro Hero Uravity and AMF Captain Izuku Midoriya."

Ochako turned to the studio audience with a bright smile and a little wave, which distracted them from Izuku marching out like a windup toy. He wished a kaiju was trying to kill him right now. That would be much more pleasant than this.

Izuku slowly took a seat. How did this become his life?

After the Battle of Tokyo someone thought he'd make a good poster boy for the AMF! This led to these constant public appearances, along with trying to move him from the front. Multiple times. (Dead poster boys don't bring in recruits.)

First they wanted him to train the litany of new recruits swelling their ranks (somehow inspired by him?!), since he was one of the best maser operators. After that, they needed publicity events. Fortunately, Izuku had managed to get back into the fight several times. He was too good to leave out, and many knew it. But it was getting harder and harder every time.

Nevertheless, he had to try. Fighting Godzilla and the other kaiju was his life. It was the only dream he had left, and he refused to give it up without a fight.

Besides, when choosing between the horrors of the kaiju and televised interviews? He'd take the kaiju. Always.

Izuku was shaken from his thoughts when he noticed that the interviewer addressing him. The mortal terror returned. Should he have been listening? Who thought he'd be good on television?!

At a bar in Kyoto (near the damaged area)

"I knew this was a bad idea," said Belu-be.

"He's improved," said a less than convinced Zenichiro, now wearing a trenchcoat and button up shirt. "A little."

"Cool," Mikumo said, eyes glued to the screen.

Yui was less impressed. Meanwhile Yuu was resisting the urge to leap through the screen and strangle Midoriya to end both of their suffering.

Ochako discreetly elbowed Izuku, causing him to lie that he was glad to be here and sit down on the studio's sofa. Ochako sat next to him, where she could help him.

"It's good to have you here Midoriya, we've heard many stories about you," said the host.

"That's nice," Izuku said.

"Which stories?" Ochako said.

"Oh you know," said the host. "Tales of incredible skill and bravery, especially against monsters like Godzilla."

"Oh good. I was worried they might tell the embarrassing ones, right Midori?" said Ochako, while the audience laughed.

"I mean, I guess…" Izuku said.

Ochako smirked. "You're saying you wouldn't be against knowing about that time you pulled an all-nighter and-"

"You're right! Glad not to have the embarrassing ones!" Izuku said, prompting more laughs from the audience. "At least we're not talking about that time during Christmas when you-"

Ochako threw a vicious glare. "That. Didn't. Happen."

Many more laughs.

The host then said, "You two have said you worked together during Uravity's entire time in the AMF. How did you meet?"

"Just after basic," Izuku said.

"We were assigned to work on the same tank," Ochako said. "We spent the next four years working together, all while keeping that baby in prime condition." She put a hand to her chest, in mourning of her beloved maser.

"I'm pretty sure they kept it after Tokyo," said Izuku.

"It's not the same…"

"True, the new one doesn't quite aim as well yet. It worked alright in Kyoto last week, but I'm not quite used to it."

"Really?" said the host. "Many AMF experts said you performed exceptionally."

Izuku opened his mouth, but Ochako beat him to it. "That's because he's the best. Which means he himself and his equipment to exceptional standards."

"I wouldn't say-"

Ochako then said, "That reminds me, you should tell them about the enemy."

"Kamacarus? It's a giant mantis from the Pacific. They breed quickly but not enough to be unmanageable. They're a class 3 kaiju, meaning they are hard to put down but can be defeated by larger ones such as-"

The interviewer cut in. "As interesting as this is, I would like to focus more on you two."

"Oh, sorry," Izuku said, feeling flustered.

Ochako pat his shoulder, "That encyclopedic memory of his saved our lives several times. Just being in his squad made you know kaiju better."

"I mean, Haruo's team did well too," Izuku said. Both teams had a fairly low death rate compared to others.

"True, but Yuko said he was brilliant too." Ochako then turned to the interviewer and said, "What else did you want to know?"

"What did you feel when you were assigned to fight Godzilla?" the host said. "I've heard even many in the AMF are scared of him?"

Izuku sat straighter, "I volunteered."

"I went with him," Ochako said. "I couldn't just let him go off on his own!"

Izuku gave her a look.

"What?"

"We both know you were more than happy to sign up without me Ochako." Mainly the pay. The AMF gave excellent salaries to people likely to die quickly.

Ochako folded her arms. "Maybe a little. But still, I wasn't as eager as you! You couldn't stay out of trouble if ordered."

"Says the one who decided a house was the best exit when-."

"It was your fault we were in that situation and you know it Midori!" she said.

Izuku thought back. "Alright, maybe a little."

The interview continued. Fortunately, speaking with Ochako made Izuku able to act like a somewhat ordinary person. At the end though, he felt like curling into a ball and napping right there.

However, the moment he stepped backstage, he was greeted by a familiar voice. "Izuku!" his mom said, embracing him. "I'm so proud!"

"Hi Mom!" he said, hugging her. "Ochako deserves the credit. I wouldn't last long without her. She's great with the cameras."

"That girl is a treasure." Mom said. "But you did great."

Izuku smiled, knowing she'd still say that if he dove under the table and hid until the cameras turned off. "How is Dad?"

"He's fine. He got a raise and is even considering transferring back to Japan."

"That would make visiting us easier. On the other hand, you could also go live with him. Just until this blows over?" Izuku preferred her away from Japan, where it would be safer. Besides, being with Dad could distract her from worrying about Izuku.

"I'll be fine Izuku. You should worry about yourself." Her face fell. "You're going back soon, aren't you?"

Izuku nodded. "The others are waiting."

"Ok," Tears welled in her eyes. "How does Mitsuki do this?" she muttered. "Be saf-Be careful."

Izuku hugged her. "I will."

He bid her goodbye and walked outside, with Ochako following. "You did a good job," she said.

"Thanks to you."

"For the record, I was still nearly having heart attacks during interviews after six months, and that was for the small networks. You were on national TV. Of course you're nervous."

"Yeah. Maybe."

"You alright?"

"It's fine, it's just…" Izuku sighed. "Things are changing. Yashiro and Hayama transferred. Zeni retired. Me, Akiba, and Kisaragi are the only ones of my team left. And soon they'll be gone too. It'll be back to square one."

"Not everyone stays like you."

"I know. For now."

She put a hand to his shoulder. "Midori, you'll be fine. They need experienced maser pilots too much right now to completely bench you."

Izuku smiled. "Probably. It just…what about when they don't? I was lucky to have this. I won't be that lucky twice."

"I don't know, you could be."

Izuku paused. As he thought of something to say, his ride arrived. "Thanks Ochako. I'll see you."

Ochako gave him a reassuring smile. "Take care of yourself."

He returned the smile. "You too."

Ochako joined a group of Heroes also leaving. Izuku was off to rendezvous with the others around Lake Ikeda, where they'd been fighting Baragon. Once he was buckled in, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was asleep before the car had even hit the highway.

X popped a champagne cork. "Another deal went through. Two in fact."

"Excellent." Mifune said as he checked his papers.

"The first ships out tomorrow. The second the day after. Second was the one you vetted. They had an odd request, they wanted its activation to be tied to an ongoing signal. If that signal is not renewed within a fixed interval, well, you know the rest."

"A dead man's switch?"

"Yeah. Maybe someone planning to spite their creditors. Either way, it'll be entertaining."

"I hope it's not another MLA trap."

"If it is, we'll handle it. We have one or two little tricks for them. Don't we?"

"Indeed," Mifune said, smiling at how the last attempt went. It ended with several assassins buried under an irradiated food, while the two of them watched security footage and ate takeout.

X turned the TV to another special on the devastation they unleashed. "I never listened to music when I was a child. My old man thought it was irrational. I'm starting to disagree."

Mifune heard them report that a laboratory he'd once worked at was destroyed. He smirked. "Indeed. Now, I must get back to my work." He got up and returned to his room. There, Mifune slipped on a small fitbit device. Once it was connected to his heartbeat, he nodded. His insurance policy was prepared.

Several kilometers west of Lake Ikeda

The drone showed a massive hole in the side of a cliff. One analyst said, "Seismographs show a tremor with a moving epicenter. Looks like he's on the run."

Kenji sighed with relief. Baragon had retreated, after some heavy bombardment and even a brief pursuit underground (using a mix of D3s and some tanks outfitted with drills). However, now they were content to let him run while they followed from a distance. "Well, that takes care of one problem."

"Still kinda wish we had the Gotengo to go after him," said someone.

"The Americans are using that. Something about a population boom of Zillas on the East Coast," said another.

Kenji turned, accidentally bumping over a briefcase of notes on the psionic transmitter investigation. He put it back up and leaned it against his desk. Unfortunately, whoever hired the villains had cleaned their tracks well. Oh well, he had more urgent things to attend to.

"Should we pack up?" one analyst said to Kenji.

"Let me thing," Kenji said. Something was off. Baragon came here after suddenly changing directions, barreling toward Lake Ikeda at full speed. However, he didn't show the same single-minded obsession associated with a psionic transmitter. Something else drew him here.

Gargantua was Kenji's first guess. Baragon and those things hated each other. However, they'd received no reports in the last year. Unless one of them slipped past their radar while small-

"Uh oh," someone said.

As one, every analyst surrounded the man who said it. Those words could mean many things from an AMF analyst. They could mean Godzilla was about to nuke them all. They could mean they all had a deadline soon. They could mean he dropped a pencil.

"What's up?" Kenji said.

"A patrol found the body of a missing hiker. Take a look."

Several of the newer analysts squirmed at the sight. There were ax murderers who showed more respect. Meanwhile, the experienced analysts didn't even flinch. They knew what this was. They'd seen it many times before.

With that, they immediately looked at the rest of the reports.

"Readings indicate the caves are far too warm to be natural."

"How big is the cave system?"

"Looks like…oh shit."

Kenji looked at the image. His eyes widened slightly. Didn't explain Baragon's strange behavior, but it did explain a lot of other things.

"I'll call Izuku and tell him the bad news. There's a Meganulon hive at Lake Ikeda."

Mysteries like Baragon's behavior, and the dearth of leads on the transmitters could wait.

Shortly after the Battle of Tokyo

General Mashira paced around his office. He had to think of something. Otherwise, he'd be a scapegoat for this whole mess, and his career would be dead! If only the HPSC were alive. They'd be easy to blame. However, with their deaths, blaming them may be seen as insensitive.

Fortunately, Hanabata had agreed over the phone to meet with him. Yes, Hanabata would be an excellent fall guy. A young, influential (literally) politician who manipulated the honorable old soldier. Mashira just needed to-

Someone knocked on the door. Mashira opened it to find a young man with brown hair and angular eyes holding a package. "Delivery." Mashira took the package, signed the intake form, and bid the young man farewell.

Inside the package was a card and a cake. The card said it was from the soldiers who admired him. The cake did look quite delicious. Mashira took a bite. It was as tasty as it looked. Mashira happily indulged himself, he needed it after the last week. Quite the gift, and he had no idea who it was from.

All of a sudden, Mashira stiffened. Slowly, he rose up, opened his cabinet, and destroyed everything concerning Hanabata's dealings with him, from files to phone records. Then, Mashira wrote a note explaining his sole responsibility for the disaster at Tokyo, and looked around the room.

Several minutes later, people on the ground surrounded a car parked next to the building, frantically calling an ambulance. It had a fresh dent on its roof.

Nearby, the young man smirked at the sight, and glanced at the intake form, the name completing a pre-written statement. "Judai Mashira at 10:15 will open a new package. At 10:25 he will destroy any notes he possesses regarding the politician he conspired with to create the debacle at Tokyo. Immediately after, he will write a note taking full responsibility for the disaster, hiding the politician's involvement, and then-"

The young man chuckled to himself as he walked away. He snacked on some potato chips, thinking to himself that Re-Destro would be pleased.

Raito Yagami, quirk Death Note. He can cause the death of anyone who signs their name on a piece of paper his quirk is active on, in the manner described on the paper. However, his quirk only affects paper via his touch and has several other rules and limitations.

I don't plan on seeing more of him, but I couldn't resist using Light Yagami if only for the unique way to portray his quirk.

This is the new status quo for now. Izuku is famous and clinging to his ability to fight, Ochako is famous and using her more natural charisma to make up for Izuku's lack of it, the AMF are still looking for who built the transmitters. Meanwhile, the MLA is still looking for X and Mifune, who are selling the transmitters, but carefully.

Hope you enjoyed, reviews make me smile!