Suited up and ready to go, Vanguard and Grape Juice wait in a fragile silence for Mt Lady to finish changing into her own costume. The silence is broken by the elevator's ding and the doors sliding open to reveal said Heroine. "Alright you two, let's go!" Both heroes in training rush in, one standing on either side of her before the elevator closes and descends. "Stand proud, you're about to take your first steps into heroism." She says as the elevator comes to a stop. The elevator opens and the three step out into the lobby, heads held high as they march with confidence towards the front door.
"Good luck on your first proper outing, boys." The receptionist calls out while waving at the trio, getting a smile and a wave back from Vanguard, and a grin and finger guns from Grape Juice.
Finally out in the wide open world, the two can't help but notice the immediate attention from the assorted people nearby. Waves from some, pointed fingers from others, whispered words between people, all from a distance, however. "Well, Grape Juice, Vanguard, we've got a long patrol ahead of us, so let's get marching." Yu declares before starting to walk, the two following right behind her.
Street by street, block by block, the trio walk and walk and walk nearly without stop, and about two and a half hours later, Mt Lady finally raises a hand and calls for them to stop. "Time for a lunch break, there's a couple good places nearby, and I can answer any questions you have."
"Oh thank thick thighs," Grape Juice says with a groan, "I don't think I've walked that long in forever, and you guy's legs are longer so I have to walk harder to keep up."
Leading them both to a little diner, Mt Lady can't help but chuckle as the two almost collapse into the seats. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Lunch is on me, but that doesn't mean go crazy."
"We're only going at walking speed, imagine how crazy patrols are for like, All Might or Mirko." Izuku comments as he grabs a menu. "We covered about 15km so far, while those two can cover entire prefectures on a good day."
A groan comes from Mineta as he sinks into the seat, "Yeah, and they're crazy fast. I'm gonna get a nice agency in a good neighborhood, and make my patrols there. If they need me further out, I'll drive." Taking a menu for himself, he scans it quickly before saying, "If I'm not back in time to order, get me a beef udon bowl, please." Hopping down from the seat, Mineta lets out a pained groan as his legs protest the shock before half walking, half waddling over to the washroom.
"So, how're you holding up, Izuku?" Yu asks, leaning forward on the table, chin resting on her hands. "Halfway done your first big patrol, is it everything you dreamed about?"
Setting the menu aside, he nods while stretching, "It's certainly rough, but I can handle it." Leaning forwards, he mimics her pose before adding, "I know they're usually boring, but I almost wish something will happen. Just a little crime to stop, something to give us a real first taste of Heroics."
Unnoticed by the two, a discrete camera clicks away, capturing the moment as its owner's stakeout pays off. With their other hand, notes fill a notebook, capturing the scene, their words and anything the camera won't catch. A delivered meal puts a brief pause on the peeping, but once the waiter is out of the way, the camera resumes its duty. With the third wheel gone, the lovebird duo seem to relax, their smiles becoming more natural as the photographer's own grin grows.
"Still, it's our first patrol together, even if Mineta is here too. It's special, and that's enough." Izuku finishes and Yu nods, but their conversation is put on hold as a waiter arrives to take their orders.
Mineta returns barely a moment later, still a little wobbly legged, but looking far more relaxed. Clambering back up into the seat and glancing between the two, he asks, "I take it the waiter just took our orders?" and getting a 'Yep' in reply, he switches topics. "Cool. I feel like I have to ask, when do we stop and do autographs and stuff with fans? We've passed more than a few groups, given all the guys waving at you and snapping pictures, but we've just kept going."
"That's a very good question," Yu replies as she crosses her arms and leans back, "Put simply, I want this first patrol to give you two a control patrol, if that makes sense. Letting you experience how much your average hero can cover in a normal patrol, how much walking it is and all that. That way, when we do tomorrow's patrol, and we stop to interact with fans and such, you'll be able to see how different things go."
"That's good. I was getting worried that heroes couldn't interact with fans while on patrol, and had to wait for a villain attack to schmooze."
She can't help but laugh, giving the table a light smack in her humors, "I know that feeling, heck, I'm pretty sure I asked my teachers the same question when I was in school." Taking a second to subdue her laughter, she sits up a little straighter before continuing. "You can stop to chat with fans whenever during a patrol, but most teachers generally advise not doing it more than once or twice in a normal patrol. As you said though, after a villain attack has been fully resolved is often the best time to do fan stuff during a patrol. Not only is everything winding down from a tense moment, but villain attacks always seem to draw a crowd, so you'll often have new potential fans in the crowd too." Pausing a moment, she hardens her expression, leaning forward just a bit and fixing both boys, Mineta in particular with a stare. "But just because you're talking with fans doesn't mean you can let your guard down. It's all too easy for a criminal to hide in a crowd of fans to get close to a hero to attack them. I know from personal experience."
Izuku shudders as the memory crawls back up, and even Mineta gives a subdued nod. The heavy silence lingers briefly, before she sits back and stretches up, letting out a brief moan before settling back. "Still, just because it can happen doesn't mean you have to treat your fans like they're villains in disguise. Just keep your wits about you and you'll do fine." Glancing over towards the front of the building, she adds, "Speaking of fans..."
The two turn to look with her past a blue skinned lady a couple tables over who seems to be almost face first in her bowl to see several people outside the window, professional cameras pointed in at them. "We don't have to worry about them coming in, but once we're done, they'll be troublesome."
"Are they here for us?" Mineta asks with hopeful notes filling his tone, "We are from U.A. after all."
"Probably, but not in the way you think, I'd wager. Unless you made it to the top three in the sports festival or some other important thing across the various schools, most first years don't tend to catch or hold much attention." With a groan born of experience, she brushes one of her curls aside, "Even when you go pro, unless you're sticking out, most tend to just fade into local hero status. No, I'd bet my boots that they're probably more interested in the attack on U.A. or All Might teaching."
At the word attack, Mineta suddenly tenses, before shaking his head clear, "That, right... Do we have to talk to them?" A hand pats his shoulder, and he looks to see Izuku being the source of the gesture.
"Not if you don't want to." Yu replies while giving him a soft smile, "First, you're underage, so without a parent or guardian's permission, they can't, and yes, I count as a guardian for the internship, in case you do want to talk to them. We were also told by U.A. to chase off anyone trying to push you guys about the attack, so you don't have to worry. After all, I emam/em the Mineyama Hero Mount Lady, I'll keep you safe."
The conversation is brought to a halt as the waiter returns with their food, a trio of bowls laid out before them, filling the table with a thick and delicious aroma. All three of them clap their hands together and declare "Itadakimasu" before digging in. Good food and time to rest does wonders for the two boys, the soreness of the morning march fading away as they eat.
The meal passes in relative silence, and almost as one, the three finish, setting their chopsticks across the top of their bowls with quiet clacks. Rising from her seat, Mt Lady looks down at her interns and sets her hands on her hips. "Well, Grape Juice, Vanguard, ready to get back on patrol?"
"Yes Ma'am," Is Vanguard's snap reply, shooting to his feet and saluting, though with a sweet smile gracing his face.
Grape Juice stands as well with a reply of, "As ready as I'll ever be. Hopefully my legs will hold out."
Mt Lady spins on her heel and marches up to the front to pay, and then with that settled she marches straight out the front doors. Cameras and Microphones immediately lunge forward, but an outstretched hand puts a stop to them early. "Now, if you all have some questions for me, ask away, but my interns have declined to speak, so you know the rules, and I'd rather not have to show them how to arrest a pushy reporter. Understand?" Punctuating her final words with a slight tilt of the head and an almost feral grin, the entire crowd takes a reflexive step back. "Good."
A few of the braver ones stick around to ask a few questions about her thoughts on the internships and sports festival after the U.S.J. attack, while others slink away with their tails between their legs. It takes a good ten minutes or so before those who stayed are satisfied and leave as well, letting the Heroine give her two Interns a grin and twin peace signs before starting their patrol again. Much like the first half, it goes without incident, though Grape Juice begins flagging near the end, so she opts to cut the patrol short by a couple blocks.
"Well, that wasn't bad at all," Yu says with a clap as they enter the lobby, "Patrols are pretty demanding, and you both made it through. Nice job!"
Mineta flops to the ground, rolls onto his back and raises a weak thumbs up as he groans lightly, while Izuku just nods and gives her a smile.
"You can take a quick break here if you need it, Mineta, or we can head up to the showers..." Mineta is up before she can finish her sentence, already stumbling towards the elevator with a gleam in his eyes.
A short ride later, and he performs a repeat of his earlier performance, this time on the notably more comfortable sparring mats. "You two can go first," He says, waving a hand at them, "I don't trust my legs to stay standing in a shower yet."
"Well then, you're up, Izuku." Yu says, giving Izuku a slap on the back to usher him towards the changing room. While Izuku showers, she takes a seat, the room fading into relative quiet aside from sporadic groans and moans from Mineta as he lays there. It's only about ten minutes before Izuku comes out, smelling like peaches and looking like a snack, but even so, Mineta waves for her to go first. She looks to Izuku and shrugs before taking him up to the agency proper, making sure to steal a kiss before heading back down and into the changing room.
As piece after piece of his plan falls into place, Mineta rubs his hands together, ignoring the aches in his legs. "Just a couple minutes now..." He cackles to himself before pulling out his phone to check the camera and charge. Green lights down the list bring a smile to his face, and he slides it back for plausible deniability before getting to his feet. Each step is measured, quiet and slightly achy as he crosses the gym, coming to a silent stop at the changing room door. His touch is soft as can be as he takes the handle, but attempting the slightest turn smashes his plan into smithereens. Fighting down a disappointed shout, he instead slinks back to one of the benches to sit down, quietly cursing fate and door locks.
A loud klaxon blares from Mt Lady's chest, Vanguard and Grape Juice jumping in surprise while her hand reaches into her vest pocket to grab her phone. Even without unlocking it, the screen displays a map and a message and after scanning both, she shoves it back in. "We've got a robbery in progress nearby, boys, and we're gonna have to get there fast. Keep up if you can." With that, she bolts down the road, her two interns taking off after her only a moment later.
With nearby still being several blocks away, the robbery is in full swing as she arrives to find shattered windows and scattered flames as a crowd lingers near a phone store. "Out of the way, please, Heroine coming through!" Mt Lady says, pushing through the crowd, Vanguard and Grape Juice following her path.
"Aha-ha It's the oversized bimbo herself, I planned on it being you!" The villain declares with a laugh, pausing his looting to turn to her. Snapping his fingers, a small fireball appears in his palm, "I knew you'd be patrolling nearby, and I know all your weaknesses. There's nothing you can do to stop me!" Tossing the fireball in her direction, it bursts like a firework as she dodges aside, sending little sparklers out to splash against anything nearby.
"Vanguard, lend me your shield, then run crowd control," Mt Lady yells to her interns, "Grape Juice, you have my permission to quirk up the other exits." A second fireball shoots towards her, forcing her to duck, and leaving it to hit Vanguard's shield as he moves up. The pass off is clumsy as she can't take her eyes off the villain, but with the heavy shield in hand she moves in. "You wanna fight, sparky, let's fight."
His bag of loot is tossed aside, more than a few of the onlookers wincing at the sound of dozens of phones crashing into the ground while two new fireballs are snapped into existence. "That little chunk of scrap isn't gonna stop my flames. Eat this!" Both fireballs are launched with a sweep of his arms, each aimed just to the side of Mt Lady, where they'll detonate and burn all within their radius. The attacks fly true, and detonate exactly where he planned, only for the flames to wash over the shield harmlessly as Mt Lady strides forward, the shield held behind her.
A hastily snapped fireball fumbles to the floor as Mt Lady swings the shield around and forces the villain to dive aside or get clobbered, and for just a moment, Izuku's eyes are torn from the fight. The little sphere of fire rolls along the ground like a childs toy till the villain gets his feet under him and snaps two new fireballs into existence, the stray ball unceremoniously vanishing without so much as a puff of smoke.
"Mt Lady, he can only have two fireballs at a time, and I don't think they blow up till he wants them to!" Vanguard calls out as his attention snaps back to the fight.
"Shut up brat!" The villain verballs snaps, before snapping a fireball in Vanguard's direction that bounces off the glass window between them. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Mt Lady throws out a right hook, catching him in the jaw and sending him staggering back. "Oh that's it, I was just gonna humiliate you a little before, but no-oof!" The wind is knocked from him by the shield coming in low and plowing into his gut, cutting his threat short.
"I think he has to designate a location where they'll blow up when he launches them too, so if they don't get there, they're just flaming balls!" Vanguard calls out his new observations.
"Is that so?" Mt Lady says with a grin before plowing the shield into the staggering villain and sending him crashing down on his butt. He forgoes trying to get up, instead opting to snap and try to throw a fireball only for it to get deflected away from its detonation zone by the shield being thrust forward. "Not so tough now," She taunts, delivering a kick to his leg to spin him followed by dropping the shield towards his face, forcing him to block it with his arms. Seizing the opening, she grabs his hand and twists, flipping him onto his stomach and trapping his arm behind his back. Intertwining her fingers with his blocks that hand's ability to snap while the other is pinned by her boot and she sits on his back before calling out, "Grape Juice, I need your quirk here!"
It takes Vanguard relaying the message, but Grape Juice hurries in and races to her side. "How should I bind him?"
"Hands need to snap for his quirk, besides that, normal stuff will work." She replies, pulling back his wrist in a clearly uncomfortable manner, "Start with his free hand, I've got this one locked down."
A bouncy looking purple ball is plucked from his head and stuck to the villain's hand before Mt Lady moves her leg, letting Grape Juice pull the villain's arm down and stick it to their side. The process repeats with his ankles being stuck together, several spots on his body stuck to the floor and then his final hand, with him cursing all the while. "I may not have done the takedown, but I feel cool, having restrained my first villain." He says with a grin, looking at Mt Lady.
"You did good, and if your teachers and mentors are doing it right, you shouldn't be directly involved in your first couple of villains." Pausing, she gives him a softer look as she stands, "The U.S.J. incident aside, of course." Turning to the doorway, she calls out, "Vanguard, do we have an ETA on the police?"
He turns to ask the crowd, but the answer he gets back is both disappointing but not entirely unexpected. "Nobody knows out here, they didn't think to call." His own disappointed sigh is obvious.
"Figures..." Keeping a foot on the villain, Mt Lady pulls out her own phone and starts fiddling through before finally getting a line to the police. "So, they'll be here in about five minutes," She says after a brief chat with the support on the other side, and until then, we have to keep an eye on this guy."
"Can't you just leave him there and handle other stuff?" Grape Juice asks, making vague gestures towards the gathered crowd "He can't use his quirk, and he's not going anywhere stuck to the ground with my quirk."
"We don't know if he has accomplices or a secret plan or anything, so until we hand him off to the police, if anything goes wrong it's on her." Vanguard replies while blocking the door, even with the danger finished.
"Correct! Our fans will just have to wait for now." Mt Lady says with a chuckle at Grape Juice's frown, "Besides, after the patrol, all three of us have more paperwork to do so be sure to enjoy the freedom while you can." The groans from both interns let her laugh despite having thrice the normal paperwork waiting for her as well.
Right on time, the Police arrive, bringing with them their quirk restraint and suppression gear. With Mt Lady moving aside, the equipment is set down and one of the cops gestures to Grape Juice, "I need your help here, mr...?"
"Grape Juice, sir," Grape Juice replies with a sloppy salute as he walks over, "Which do you need me to remove first?"
"We've got to flip him over first, so if you can free his arms without freeing his hands, that would be ideal. Nice work on the restraining, by the way, you've been taught well."
"Thank you, sir." While smiling from the praise, Grape Juice works with the officers to undo his quirk bindings and replace them with police restraints. It's a surprisingly tense operation, and he finds himself wiping stray beads of sweat from his brow as the last restraints click into place. "Is it normally this nerve wracking?" He asks as the villain is hauled away to the police van.
"Worse." The officer replies, giving him a pat on the shoulder, "Not enough heroes have capture quirks or are skilled in proper villain restraining, so more than half the time we're trying to lock up a villain who at best might be tied up with a rope or some basic cuffs." Their head slowly shakes as he looks off into the distance, eyes focused on something unseen, "It's far too common for a cop to get injured or worse from a cheap shot with a quirk by an improperly restrained villain." Returning his gaze to the Hero student, the grim stare fades into a warm smile, "But you keep doing work like that, and believe me, you'll have a lot of friends on the force."
A light blush fills Grape Juice's cheeks, which he scratches lightly with a hand in a vague attempt to hide it, "Well then I guess you can look forward to the day the Fresh Picked Hero: Grape Juice becomes a proper Pro Hero."
"I wish you the best of luck, but don't forget to work hard. And if it doesn't work out, a lot of the skills are applicable to police work too." Straightening up, the officer nods and gives Grape Juice one last pat on the shoulder, "If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to work." He turns to the staff, who are currently sorting through the sack of almost stolen goods while Grape Juice heads to the front where Mt Lady and Vanguard are with the crowd.
"Hey you two, save some fans for me!" He calls out as he pushes through the door, causing a wave of cheerful laughter to roll through the crowd.
A startled yell rips through the early morning quiet in the Agency, the sound of a door being slammed open following moments after as Mineta bursts into the main room. "What the heck, Midoriya you bastard, since when were you dating Mt Lady?!"
"Hwha?!" Izuku blurts out as he falls from the couch, hitting the floor with a thump. "Oww... What are you talking about?" A phone screen is shoved in his face, on it, an article including a picture of him and Yu from the restaurant the other day. "A big lady's little love? What?"
"According to this article, you've been dating Mt Lady for at least several weeks now, so spill it!"
"Can I see that?" He asks, before accepting the phone from Mineta.
A Big Lady's Little Love
Written by: Curious
Today, loyal readers, I bring you an interesting little discovery of mine that I've been sitting on for a little while now. If you know Heroes and Heroines like I do, you'll know of the "Big" Heroine who made her debut about a year ago, and aside from a rocky moment or two, has been working hard and climbing popularity polls. Naturally, I'm talking about the Mineyama Hero, Mount Lady. Love her, hate her or don't care, you cannot deny she hasn't made a splash on the hero scene, her armoured costume upgrade sparking a small movement of other Heroes upgrading their costumes in the wake of it saving her from a villain attack.
But that's not what you're here to read about, no. You're here to learn of her little loverboy, so let's start at the beginning.
The day of her debut, she gets a double whammy of villains, starting with an over the top takedown of a gigantification villain, but what we need to focus on is the second villain. This slimy scoundrel had kidnapped a teenager, and was causing havoc with their quirk, limiting the nearby Heroes ability to help. As all seemed lost though, a teenaged boy runs in, distracting the villain by throwing a bag of school stuff at them before trying to pull presumably their friend free. The bravery of the act inspired her to move, and she slid in, growing big and rescuing the boys while flattening the villain. Heroes win, the day is saved and all that, but more importantly, remember this boy.
A couple months later, after her costume upgrade, she's on a patrol, taking a moment to chat with fans when a wannabe hero killer creeps up and gets a sucker punch into her side with his knife type quirk. But then, from past the crowd comes a bag of stuff, distracting the villain before a familiar face rushes in and throws down the villain. Mount Lady cuffs him, but then, while waiting for the police and ambulance to arrive, the boy pulls off his shirt to help stop the bleeding. And I don't need to tell you, this boy has been working out. From the first encounter to here, he's been putting on muscle, and when the ambulance arrives, we get our hint as to why.
[(Herotube)A Hero's Reward]
Now, call me old fashioned, but unless she's aiming to be 18+ Heroine Midnight number 2, that's one hell of a kiss.
Moving on, we've got a couple fan pictures from immediately after the U.S.J. Incident (Read more Here) that show, one again, our familiar green haired gentleman with Mount Lady, this time with mentions of her knowing the family, and taking him home. Coincidence, or Cover Story, I'll leave it for you to consider.
That brings us to the big two, starting with the U.A. Sports Festival (View Shoowaysha Coverage Here). Here, we get to know our mystery boy. A support course student looking to make their mark with a bold display during the festival itself. More interesting, however, is what happened during the break, as I happened to spy a meeting between the two. Amid all the hustle and bustle, he found her, and led her off into a private part of the stadium. Friends getting away from the crowd, or lovers looking for a quiet place, well, that'll be a secret till next time.
Finally, we have two days ago(At time of publication), where while scoping out local Hero patrols for any U.A. interns, what did I find but Miss Mount Lady once again with the boy now bearing the Hero named Vanguard. And if these lunchtime photos don't speak of two people who are really comfortable with each other, their words did. "Still, it's our first patrol together. It's special, and that's enough." I wish guys were half that smooth with me sometimes, or how about her declaration, "I am the Mineyama Hero Mount Lady, I'll keep you safe." I'll admit my writing doesn't carry the same emotion, but if you were there, you could feel the love between the two. As a bonus, there was a Villain attack their very next patrol, and while he's not a hero yet, you can see their chemistry and teamwork in these shots. After a fight like that, I'd bet the Agency was bouncing with a sock on the door knob.
So it seems like Mount Lady has a Loverboy, and things have started to slip into the public eye. I wonder, will we see some proper public kisses next? Maybe a ring on that finger, or perhaps that belly will start to grow without her quirk. Ah, a forbidden romance between Heroine and a Quirkless boy with dreams of Heroism, hidden in plain sight. I don't know about you, but I'll be keeping my eye on them as things develop.
But if that all isn't enough to convince you, don't worry, I have a few aces up my sleeve that will be hitting print with my next article. Until then, stay curious.
Choking down panic, he hands the phone back before giving his best incredulous look. "Mineta, do you remember what I said when we were first coming here? I've known her for quite a while, because she's a friend of my Mom." The grape headed boy doesn't stop his suspicious stare, so Izuku fakes a sigh. "Okay, starting from the beginning, The Sludge villain. The kid they kidnapped was Bakugo Katsuki, I've known him since we were practically babies, and I just ran in to try and save him without thinking. The second time was basically the same thing. I was out shopping and Hero watching, and I came across her on patrol, saw her get attacked, and I ran in to try and help. I'm pretty sure the kiss was her playing up for the cameras and to embarass me."
Mineta recoils, disgust momentarily flickering across his face, "Getting kissed by a total babe is embarrassing to you?!"
"It's more like getting smooched by your hot aunt in public is embarrassing."
The disgust returns more firmly as he considers the thought, before fading into acknowledgement, but the suspicious stare remains, "That's all good, assuming the end half of the article isn't true."
"You were there for most of that. Yes, she drove me home after the U.S.J. because my mom worries a lot, but doesn't have a car. During the sports festival, we just moved away from the crowds for somewhere to talk without being swarmed." Getting up onto the couch again properly, he continues, "Those restaurant and villain fight pictures are only when you were in the bathroom or out of frame, and of course my first patrol was special, isn't it the same for you?"
"I... Yeah, I guess it was, I guess you're right." Shaking his head, he stuffs his phone away before giving a little bow. "Sorry I jumped to conclusions there, Midoriya."
"It's okay, Mineta, I can understand how it'd seem like that, just remember not to trust those gossip articles too much. Most of the time they're just looking to sell magazines and hook readers."
"Heh, yeah." Flopping back onto the couch as well, Mineta stretches out his arms, "A Pro Heroine dating a U.A. first year, what was I thinking? What next, All Might is dating your Mom or something. Ha ha ha."
"Oh god I would die!" Izuku exclaims before laughing along as well, letting the tension of the moment bleed out as he does.
The laughter of the two boys is interrupted by a half asleep Yu popping out of her office, one hand rubbing her eyes as she says, "Keep it down, 'Zuku or I'll drag you off to be my teddy bear." before stumbling back in and shutting the door.
Mineta stares at the re-closed door for a moment, blinks, then turns his focus back on Izuku with intense suspicion.