HEADS UP, PEOPLE! Vigorous Vitality has new Cover Art, courtesy of Razenix-Angel on DeviantArt, with my Profile Pic by the same artist, so if you want some great stuff for your own stories, look him up, let him know how you learned about his work!
And now onto the FanMail section!
Mangahero18: Great stuff. I havent caught up with the Vigilantes Manga (or the MHA manga actually since I stopped reading near the end of the MLA vs LoV arc) but I'm super glad Koichi is making an appearance. The fact that Koichi is such a more likable and relatable character than Izuku (IMO) but gets ZERO love in the fanfiction community just goes to show you that most Fanfic writers are only surface-level fans themselves with no REAL attachment to the series. As if the endless deluge of cheap power fantasy, harem having, poorly written lemons and complete lack of proper characterization for the MAIN CHARACTER Deku let alone the side characters didn't tip me off.
Re: A little wordy, but yes, the so-so fanfics just use the main character as Power Fantasy fodder… At least when I use an OC, I'm doing something new instead of a Re-Skin. Some versions of Naruto I'd seen before I stopped reading Naruto Crossovers altogether were only Naruto 'in name, not in deed'.
I'm glad there are people out there who can appreciate characters from a spin-off, and on technical skill alone, Koichi has what it takes to be in the Top 10, if not Top 20 in the Hero Billboard Chart JP.
Something I intend to rectify in this fanfic~
OmniIBIBUltraInstinctGodzilla: The AR race is an inspired exercise no doubt.
So Mei Hatsume does like Genki Gokiburi. Tsuyu Asui has got competition to deal with.
Koichi Haimawari aka The Crawler from The Vigilants Spin-Off IS HERE! I did not expect his appearance in this AU of BNHA, but man, you did will integrating him with the knowledge you have on this character coupled with your own headcanon, of course.
Re: I mean, they do have full-blown Yu-Gi-Oh!-style hologram technology that can fit in cell phones, but I feel like AR goggles would be more cost-efficient than a bunch of hologram emitters…
NUANCE!
Well, I mean, the series is nearing its final arc, I assume, but I'm still waiting for the Naruhata Vigilantes to make an appearance in the mainstream Canon. Someone like Koichi, who can go toe-to-toe with an "Anti-Crawler" High-End Noumu with no formally-recognized education, would be a godsent in the now-lawless Japan. Hell, maybe he is doing his thing and he's just really good at staying in the background~
Loamy Coffee: This was quite a chapter~
I mean, seeing like Mei like this... It hits me right in the heart. Make her happy Genki, do it. But also loving the interactions the girls are having.
Nice seeing more tests for them and I think it's nice to see Aizawa's thoughts.
And perhaps the best part of the chapter, good ol' Crawler handing 1-A their collective butts. I'm wiping away a tear seeing how far Koichi has come. Thank you~
Re: I enjoyed giving Mei a little more nuance than being "baby-crazy", and I just really felt like given her… "talent", she'd become an outcast in middle school/junior high once she opened her mouth; regardless of aforementioned "talent". MHA might be implied to take place in the 2200s, but it's not like Humans, people, actually change all that much in that amount of time; just their stuff.
I know, right?! Ever since I learned of the spin-off, I've loved seeing the side of Hero Society that gets brushed over in the mainstream's Canon. The fact that an entire town can actually come to tolerate Vigilantism, when Police and especially Heroes are in short supply to a less-popular region, just goes to show that there's more to the MHAverse than a fantasy world of "Capes & Crusaders". And there's just so few stories on this site where Koichi takes the lead, I couldn't help but want to introduce him as a Recurring Cameo~
And yes, I do mean "recurring"~
*MHA*
"Geez, so even you couldn't catch the guy?" Sero asked as the lot of them got out of their Hero Costumes.
"Afraid not," Genki chuckled. "As soon as he started leaping tall buildings 'in a single bound', my goose was pretty much cooked."
"If the rumors are anything to go by, The Crawler slipped through the fingers of guys like Ingenium, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Eraser Head, and Endeavor before he went overseas. It's only to be expected that a first-year in the Hero Course couldn't catch him so-easily," Izuku muttered speculatively, Katsuki fuming in the corner while Todoroki was contemplative.
"So to you, Crawler-sensei is 'the friend of a friend'?" Sato questioned.
"Pretty much. Never met the guy myself, but I definitely heard the stories about him," Genki shrugged. "The guy basically saved Naruhata from being turned into a smoking crater by the 'Villain Factory', but he got the short end of the stick so the HPSC could save face."
"What do you mean?" Ojiro asked.
"Well, I mean, until the 'Villain Factory' incidents started happening, Police and even Heroes were a rare sight in Naruhata. That's why it was such a good testbed for Trigger," Genki shrugged. "Koichi spent three whole years doing his thing in Naruhata, and the only reason anyone upstairs cared enough to do anything about it, was because people started questioning whether or not more leeway should be given to Vigilantes in areas where Heroes opt not to patrol in."
"My brother had once told me about someone matching Haimawari-sensei's description, but I had no idea things were that-bad in Naruhata at the time…" Iida found himself admitting.
"Trust me, there are plenty of regions like that in Japan, and it's exactly those regions where disenfranchised wannabe Villains come from," Genki huffed giving his helmet one final polish before putting it away. "All those thugs and goons that attacked the USJ didn't materialize out of thin air. The Crime Rate in Japan might only be at 6% compared to the rest of the world's 20%, but that doesn't mean Heroes can be or are 'everywhere' all at once. There are huge swaths of this country where Heroes don't show up because there isn't anything 'worth protecting' out there that'll let you climb the Hero Billboard Chart."
"Well that's pretty depressing…" Kirishima thought.
"Yes, well, since Koichi's been called back to Japan to help us with our BOW problem, maybe now he'll finally be able to tell his story, help undo some of the damage that Stain's actions turned people's attention to," Genki hummed causing Iida to momentarily bristle. "Iida, I don't deny for a second that your brother is... was, a great Hero, but can you say with any measure of certainty that all Heroes in this country are so virtuous?"
"HEY! Why the hell're you lookin' at me?!" Bakugou demanded as the Heteromorph looked his way.
Izuku, for his part, couldn't exactly refute Genki's words either. Katsuki himself admitted to becoming the "richest, most-famous Hero of all time" as his aspiration, but had never once talked about all the people he was going to save. It was only because he was subject to the same illness domineering their super-powered society, 'Quirk Worship', that he remained so-enamored with someone whose personality was so caustically toxic.
"Fact of the matter is, if they make it more-difficult to get our Provisional Licenses in response to all the silt that Stain kicked up, I wouldn't be surprised," Genki said closing his briefcase with a conclusory *thump*, making his way out of the room.
"Gen-chan."
"Oh! Tsu-chan, what a pleasant surprise!" Genki smiled as who he found waiting for him.
"Are you doing anything after school today?"
"Not really, why?"
"Wanna hang out, kero?" she inquired, Genki's cheeks reddening as he nodded enthusiastically.
*MHA*
"Man, it's been forever since I went to karaoke!" Ochako beamed as she, Tsuyu, Genki, and Izuku all left school together.
"So~ I see you finally asked her out~" Genki grinned ribbing Izuku lightly.
"W-Well actually… Uraraka-chan asked me out-"
"Hoh~"
"N-N-Not like that!" Izuku stuttered. "Asui-"
"Hm?" the [Frog Form] girl hummed.
"I mean Tsu-chan! Tsu-chan wanted this to be a double-date, and she's staying at Uraraka's place overnight anyway, so she asked me to go with us," the greenette explained.
"That's fair. A one-on-one with someone you barely know would be pretty intimidating," Genki admitted. "If you want, you can stay the night at my place."
"I appreciate the offer, but my place isn't really all that far from the Tatooin Shopping District."
"Oh? Even if it means getting to walk to school with 'Chako-chan the next morning~?"
" . . . !"
The next moment Izuku texted furiously into his phone, Genki chuckling lightly at the sight.
"Excuse me, can I have a minute of your time?"
The four Yuuei students looking over their shoulders, saw Todoroki approaching them, a serious expression on his normally-stoic face.
"Todoroki-san?" Izuku blinked, Ochako and Tsuyu blinking curiously.
"Genki, if it's alright with you, can I have a minute of your time?"
" . . . Sure," Genki shrugged. "You three go on without me, I'll catch up in a few."
Tsuyu, Ochako, and Izuku blinked at the sudden exclusion, but simply waved as they forged on ahead, leaving the sons of the former and current No.2 Heroes to their own devices on that stretch of road.
"So, you wanted something from me?" Genki asked as Todoroki fell into a sedate pace beside him.
" . . . How much do you know about my father?" Todoroki asked after a brief silence.
"Oof, loaded question…" Genki hummed.
*MHA*
A few minutes later…
"So what were you and Todoroki talking about?" Tsuyu questioned after Genki rejoined them.
"Nothing major," Genki waved off. "Anyway, I hear you and 'Chako-chan are having yourselves a little sleepover. After Karaoke, you want a nice home-cooked meal? Izuku has an early-morning errand he needs to run, so he'll be staying with me overnight as well."
At this Izuku and Ochako's faces burned a bright red.
"I don't see why not," Tsuyu admitted. "Small world, you two being neighbors."
"Y-Yeah, it surprised me too," Ochako hummed. "But yeah, Genki-san's a really great cook! He can even make bean sprouts taste great!"
"Please, you give me too much credit," Genki chuckled. "The secret ingredient isn't anything the name brands can give you, it's just being able to innovate with the generic brands."
"But wouldn't brand names be better?" Tsuyu questioned.
As an older sibling who sometimes had to buy the groceries and feed her siblings, it was something she thought about often.
"Amazingly enough, national and local brands are actually pretty similar when it comes to quality," Genki answered. "For the more-expensive national brands, what you're really paying for is the R&D, marketing, and distribution. The generic brands are pretty much identical but without the additional overhead. It's the memories associated with the name brands that make you think they taste better."
"Hmmm…" Tsuyu hummed, tapping her finger to her chin. "I'll have to look into this. Thank you for the information."
"So, is there anything in particular you want for dinner?" Genki asked, Ochako smiling brightly as the two Heteromorphs walked a little closer together than before.
*MHA*
"Party of four, or are more arriving?" a Heteromorph resembling a mandrill questioned as the four Yuuei students entered.
"Just us," Tsuyu replied.
"If you have your student IDs, you receive a discount."
"Here!" Ochako cried snapping up her ID the moment she heard the word 'discount'.
"Wow, the soundproofing here's pretty good," Genki hummed as he waved away everyone's wallets and slid a credit card through the scanner. And he meant it; with his [Air Pressure Sensing], the sound coming from the other rooms was only a low murmur like a trickling of water, compared to the Sports Festival where all the cheering from the stands was like being inside an industrial sand blaster.
"With last year's settlement, we were able to upgrade," the mandril-like Heteromorph replied with a nod.
"Yeah, that reminds me. How does a Villain with a [Sludge] Quirk manage to burn down an entire shopping district?" Genki questioned, Izuku suddenly finding his red sneakers very interesting off to the side. "Never mind, it isn't too important. Let's go sing!"
*MHA*
A minute later, the four 1-A students were settling themselves into a cozy little booth at the far end of the hall. Since none of them were plus-sized Heteromorphs, the size of the room, seating, and ceiling were all very ordinary.
"S-So, Uraraka, what do you like to sing?" Izuku stammered.
"Death metal~" the brunette grinned crossing a pair of devil horns in front of her, the greenette's jaw dropping and the blush on his face renewing its country club membership.
"What about you? What do you sing?" Tsuyu asked her own 'date'.
"Pop, mostly."
Which to a westerner would've meant "J-Pop".
"Hm… I guess it makes sense, what with your parents running an idol agency and all," she hummed.
"Oh yeah, totally! Sometimes I can hear him in the shower, and-"
"Ochako, no-one wants to know what I sound like when I'm all wet and steamy," Genki deadpanned, causing the brunette and her 'date' to blush. " . . . That sounded less-pervy in my head."
"To be fair, I don't trust anyone without a dark side," the [Frog Form] girl hummed.
"Good to know," Genki hummed. "So… who wants to go first?"
*MHA*
Given all the Villains they'd had to fight at the USJ, and whatever Villains they'd had to go up against during the course of their Internships, the hours of Karaoke they sang were just what the 1-A students needed to let out some of the stress that'd been building up.
Ochako on her death metal was a little scary, but the face it was coming from gave it a cutesy edge to it too. Izuku sang songs popular in America, unsurprisingly those even tangentially associated with All Might during his time in the states. Genki and Tsuyu did a few duets for "J-Pop", and even though the [Frog Form] girl wasn't as-confident as Genki was, the two undeniably had a great time of it. During the breaks they took between songs, they'd have the snacks they smuggled in from the nearby 24/7 store given all the mark-ups for the same snacks at karaoke clubs, and the small chat was the sort of thing that normal teenagers their age would share.
When it came time for the second extension however, the Yuuei students decided it was time to call it a night.
"Izuku, you live nearby, right?" Genki asked as they stepped outside. "How does a 'Sludge Villain' burn down an entire shopping district?"
"Oh! Um! Well! You see! The thing is!"
*BOOOOM!*
"EEEEEK!" the greenette squealed as an explosion went off in the distance. Thinking it was Katsuki, instead of the foul-mouthed, explosive teenager he'd grown up with, what he saw instead was a portly man clad in construction-grade coveralls, a pig-themed mask, a bomb trigger in one hand, a shotgun with a drum barrel in the other, bandoleers of explosives across his chest, and at his feet were… pigs belted with dynamite…?
"Um… Is this a promotion… or something?" Ochako blinked curiously as the portly man ranted furiously in the distance.
"I think not," Tsuyu hummed, pointing at an American food market that'd just been blown to hell.
"Deny me my loan for a Pig Café, will you?!" the man in the pig-themed mask roared. "Well take this! ATTACK! In the name of Mr. PIIIIIG!"
*BOOOOM!*
"No. Definitely not," the Heteromorph confirmed as another storefront was blown to hell.
"Halt, Villain!" a bombastic voice proclaimed alongside the unmistakable fluttering of a long cape. "Nothing escapes my eyes!"
The Hero before him was one Genki didn't recognize. Clad in an unimaginative white bodysuit with brown boots and wristbands, his hands bare, wrapped around his neck was a long yellow cape, and covering the upper half of his face was a white metal bird-like helmet with binocular lenses, his red hair sticking out the back like a bird's plumage.
"Oh my gosh! It's Bird-Eye!" Izuku squealed excitedly as the bird-masked Hero appeared. "He has some of the best visual acuity of the local Heroes," he said as the man proceeded to valiantly rush Mr. PIIIIIG. "With his Quirk, it should be easy for him to pinpoint the Villain's weakness and-"
*BOOOOM!*
*SPLAT!*
A moment later, a white bird-like helmet came to a stop in front of them, steeped in viscera, its cracked binocular lenses looking up at them. Izuku, at the sight, went completely rigid with shock, his skin pale as a sheet and his face a rictus of horror.
"Well, I mean… What else do you expect when you run head-long at a man surrounded by pigs covered in dynamite?" Genki said flatly as he pulled the greenette back in, locking the door frantically and killing the lights. "Does this place have a back door?"
"Yes, right this way," the mandrill-like receptionist said leading the others to the back.
"Hold it," Genki said raising his hand, tiptoeing past the manager and peeking out the door only to snap it shut. "We've got exploding pigs out back. You have roof access?"
"For the maintenance workers, yes."
"It'll have to do," the brunette nodded.
"You have a ladder?" Izuku asked a moment later as they looked at the roof access.
"Yes, it's… in the storage shed out back…" the receptionist wilted.
"Well, fortunately for you, we have something better than a ladder," Genki hummed. "Ochako, palms up, please."
"I-I can't do that! Quirk use in public is illegal!" the other brunette squeaked.
"If she helps get us out of here, are you going to press charges?"
"Quirk use? What Quirk use? I didn't see anything like that," the receptionist hummed.
" . . . Okay, here," she said holding up the 'beans' on her fingertips, Genki dragging his palms across her own before he floated up and worked the latch, Tsuyu hopping up beside him with her shoes off. The two nodding to one another, with Tsuyu's added leverage they were able to crack the door open just enough for Genki to squeeze through. Once he gave the all-clear, he opened the hatch the rest of the way and tapped his index finger to his thumb two times, Ochako nodding and deactivating her Quirk's hold on him.
"Izuku, Ochako, check the other rooms, we don't want anyone getting left behind," Genki hummed. "Tsuyu, can you keep an eye on the main stretch with your [Camouflage] ability?"
"I can, kero~" the Heteromorph replied.
*MHA*
For what happened next, Rescue Training at Yuuei left them more than qualified; even if Ochako was reluctant to use her Quirk until she was reassured, with at least one KIA on-site, she'd be given more leeway given the tenuous circumstances.
Like clockwork, the Yuuei students quickly worked out an assembly line for the dozen-and-a-half people still in the karaoke club. Ochako would use her Quirk on a person, Izuku would push them toward the roof access, Genki and Tsuyu would pull them through by the arms, once they were clear Ochako would deactivate her Quirk, and they'd repeat the process with the next rescue in line, women and children first. With the mandrill-like receptionist the third-to-last out, all that was left was Izuku and Ochako.
"The both of you come up together, we need to get everyone moving," Genki muttered, Ochako and Izuku's faces flushing red for a moment before she took his hand while her other went to her shoulder. The tight squeeze they were forced into as Tsuyu wrangled them with her tongue had them blushing like florescent bulbs, but they were up and out with little fanfare, leaving more than a dozen people on the roof looking for guidance.
Had they not been wearing their Yuuei uniforms when this happened, there was no telling how-hard it would've been to get everyone to fall in line, or how many would've braved the streets heedless of the risk, since they all quite vocally, assumed All Might would save them. The Tatooin Shopping District had become somewhat famous, even a year later, because of All Might's weather-changing feat of power. There wasn't anything to commemorate it like a plaque or anything, but Hero worship worked with a lot less…
"Alright you three, you ferry everyone to the edge of the shopping district away from the bad guy. I have the most formally-recognized combat experience out of the lot of you, so I'll play rearguard," Genki said arming himself with a folding chair someone'd left on the roof for their smoke breaks.
The reason for the distinction was, while Class 1-A had fought Villains at the USJ, it was technically self-defense and not officially-sanctioned by any of the faculty in any declarative matter. If it came down to any of them getting in trouble, Genki who'd spent a week fighting criminals and lesser Villains without breaking "Improper Quirk Use" laws would simply get in less-trouble than the others if it came to a dust-up.
Based on the looks on their faces, they got the message even if the civies were blissfully ignorant, a couple of them asking for autographs even though a man just died.
*BOOOOM!*
"MY LEG! My leeeg…!"
Explosions and death throes, of course, had a way of straightening everyone's priorities.
"And remember, keep it down, would ya?" Genki asked as he slinked away, folding chair in hand.
With the members of 1-A spiriting away the dozen-or-so civvies as quietly as they possibly could, down in the streets, those that didn't hole up shop were fleeing through the streets with wholly *BOOOOM!* expected… consequences…
"God those people are dumb…" Genki thought as a disembodied hand landed on the lip of the roof in front of him after some moron actually ran toward the Villain, the deceased man's final selfie casting bluelight upon his face. "I mean, seriously, the guy's surrounded by pigs strapped with dynamite, yet all you can think about is Likes on social media?"
"HRAAAAAAAGH!" Mr. PIIIIIG raged furiously, blowing up more of the storefronts with seeming impunity.
"Well, at least everything isn't on fire this time..."
*Oink*Oink*Oink*
"Hm? What was that?" Mr. PIIIIIG questioned.
*Grunt*Oink*
"There's people escaping over the rooftops?"
*Hork*
"Well don't just waddle there! Stop them!" the Villain said heaving up the pig by its dynamite holster and chucking it up toward the roof of the karaoke studio.
"Shit…!" Genki swore as the pig rolled into the landing before galloping after his peers. 'Damn, his Quirk must actually strengthen the pigs he's communicating with,' the Heteromorph swore as he tightened his grip on the chair's legs, taking a deep breath. 'Those bombs are all trigger-based, so as long as I take out the Villain first…!'
Cue Kamen Rider OOOs OST – Got To Keep It Real
In an oiled blur, Genki zipped across the rooftops, folding chair in hand, before he shot toward the Villain from behind. Mr. PIIIIIG whirling around to face him, at the last moment, Genki had let loose his melee weapon of choice, the back of the chair striking the pig-like Villain in the nose and dislodging his mask halfway. The Villain's forearms going to his face to clumsily peer through the eye holes, the next moment a gray-clad knee struck him in the nose, snapping his head back.
However, this 'Pig Villain' wasn't nearly that weak. Snapping his head back down after rolling back to his feet and whipping out his shotgun, right as the hammer came down and buckshot fired Genki had already shot to the side like a blur. A glint of metal catching the Villain's eye, the next moment blood spattered the inside of his mask as Genki lashed out at the man's floating ribs with brass-clad knuckles, the Pig Villain buckling and dropping his shotgun. Shakily raising up his detonator, like a boa constrictor, Genki swirled around his opponent's body before getting him into an arm bar. Biting into the man's wrist while jerking back, the Pig Villain let out a loud *SQUEEEEEEE!* as his arm emitted a loud *POP!* at the shoulder.
Genki rolling away as the Pig Villain tried to swing his shotgun at him like a club, fired out a spray with his [Oilpiration], the charging pigs letting out squeals and grunts of their own as their little cloven hooves lost purchase. Genki zipping over to the side and disarming the bomb trigger, the next moment he dodged another hail of buckshot and strafed the Pig Villain who continued to fire, squeals of pain and explosions of bacon echoing from behind the Heteromorphs as the Pig Villain's own "minions" were caught in the crossfire, a mortified look crossing his features before he angrily whipped out a syringe from his sleeve and stabbed it into his neck.
"Trigger? Shit!" Genki swore as the man's body began to transform. Muscles bulging, cloth tearing, dislocated arm pulling itself back into place and mask falling away revealing a rapidly-mutating face covered in bristles, tusks, and a snout, the shotgun crumpled like tin in fat fingers. The Villain letting out a primal bellow and rushing Genki on all fours to gore him on his tusks, with a cry of- "Goki Slide!" -the Heteromorphs slid under the man's belly like a baseball player. A cry of- "Ball Tag!" -preceding the passing brass-clad strike to the man's genitals, the Pig Villain instinctually cupped his wounded balls mid-charge only to slamm headlong into a concrete wall at full clip with a loud *CRACK!*
END OST
"Well…" Genki hummed as he looked down at the aftermath around him. "That's probably going on my permanent record…"
*MHA*
Finding himself surrounded by police and Heroes a full ten minutes later, surrounded in turn by dynamite-strapped pigs milling about, a beat-up pig-man with his head through the wall after his Trigger wore off, and several blown-out storefronts with a bloodied folding chair off to the side, there was only one move Genki could make under the scrutiny he was receiving.
" . . . Ochako, yeah, it's me. I'm going to be getting home late tonight, so you three just start dinner without me," he said into his phone before raising his hands above his head. "Kayama-sensei, what brings you out so late?"
"I was grading papers when I heard there was a Villain nearby," Midnight replied. "Imagine my surprise when I find you here of all places."
"To be fair… Mr. Pig interrupted 'date night'," Genki replied. "Sooo… How much trouble am I in?"
"That depends. Did you use your Quirk on him?" Midnight asked as Mr. Pig was carried away on a stretcher, while animal control and the bomb squad argued who would approach the dynamite-laden pigs first.
"No. Just a folding chair, my knee, and a couple right hooks."
" . . . Well, I guess we can smooth this over since you didn't use your Mutant abilities," Midnight hummed. "Officer, I'll handle things with him from here."
*MHA*
AN:
Canonically, the events of the Vigilantes spin-off span a 3-year period within the "five year"s following All Might's "final fight" with All for One. It never specifies which of those years, but at the very least I'd imagine it would've started a year after that fight, where All Might is beginning to notice his declining time, but still has plenty of "time" to galivant around Japan doing his whole "messianic savior" thing.
Unlike Wild Tiger in Tiger & Bunny, All Might is never given any sort of timer to gauge how-long he has, meaning he has to use a lot of guesswork instead of specifics down to exacting seconds. Why is this even important? Because when you've got speed like All Might, "every second counts", and considering O'Clock's [Overclock] is a close second to [One for All] if not exceeding it, that distinction becomes very important if you work with a "hard power system"… though I guess thematically, in My Hero Academia we play fast and loose with more of a "soft power system" where Izuku just has to "punch harder" to win the day…
Anyway, just a bit of "Slice-of-Life" and a hint of foreshadowing, but I hope you like the chapter~
GO BEYOND!
EXCELSIOR!