To… pretty much everyone that were stoked about Tsuyu getting an "Awakening", I cite partial inspiration to Killing Bites by Shinya Murata. Every animal has something amazing about them, it's just a matter of putting that special something into perspective. Also, having Genki one-shot Sasori from Arachnid (retconned into MHA) would've been really unsatisfying, because in the context of her own universe, she's one of the most-deadly close-range fighters in the 'verse, and giving her history with Fuji Alice/Arachnid gives her motive to join the League and helps the two IP feel more interconnected.
To LoamyCoffee, I feel like by definition, a Noumu would at baseline be a Heteromorph because of the permanent physical alterations. Remember Deadpool from that one Wolverine movie? The one that got his mouth stitched up and a whole bunch of powers crammed into him? That's basically what a Noumu is underneath the full-body black-face; a body with multiple abilities crammed into it, with the necessary surgical alterations done to facilitate the use of those abilities. In the case of the "Poison Noumu", the animalistic traits that went into it were just more-apparent if the definition for "Heteromorph" one uses is "animal-like".
As for All Might and Melissa chatting, a smidgen of that was "damage control" for the backlash I got from the end of the I-Island Arc since I went a little "high-brow" and basically had to bean everyone over the head with the point later-on, but another was to lead into the QAD getting out into the world. I'd like to think that even on-the-nose about the Bootleg Version's side-effects, I got the point across that using it on a Noumu would cause them to "burn out", hence it won't be something triggered in the High-Ends for no reason. Because remember, the Noumu aren't something you can crap out over a weekend; like in Franken Fran, a body horror manga I'm pretty fond of, we're talking Full-Body Surgical Alteration. Like what Dr. Frankenstein could've done if he weren't a college dropout; which is canon by the way!
Writing Momo having that moment with Tsuyu was also a nice snippet I was able to put in, because it's just so believable that after all the one-on-one-time she got with him, and all their little moments, that she'd want to "share the wealth" as it were. And you can bet that Genki shooting up from a High-7 up to a 10 will radically alter the paradigm of his dynamic with the opposite gender.
To The Viking Stranger and Reptil, I wasn't actively thinking of Naruto's [Sage Mode] when writing in Tsuyu's aesthetic changes when she's in "battle mode", but I can understand where you're coming from on that. You know how some animals puff themselves up as a form of "posturing"? It's kinda like that.
To superpierce, Sasori isn't an OC, she's an antagonist from Arachnid by Murata Shinya, just with a little tweaking to help her fit into My Hero Academia better. Instead of having a purely-mechanical scorpion tail like in Arachnid, in MHA, she has a Support Item that makes her tail stronger and capable of using multiple poisons.
To Raidentensho, I didn't actually plan on the original Devil Bug Hero to make an appearance at Kamino, but getting your Review got the creative juices churning, so I think you'll like where I take the end of this arc~
To kurvvylst, I am slanting things more toward a Harem, especially since this is Genki's story, not explicitly Izuku's. It's just that after his Awakening when he turned "h-o-t hot", in addition to his libido (cockroaches are prolific breeders), Genki himself will be more-open to the idea because the upgrade helped him with his underlying self-esteem issues. Basically, mix the treatment of Izuku and Hitoshi's middle school classes together, and that's what he was subjected to because his Quirk was Stigmatized and everyone was nine/tenths of a complete asshole.
To djinn (Guest), I feel like that pivotal moment with Knuckle Duster is something Stain would've readied for his to-be followers as he wrote his Manifesto. What happened to him in Naruhata was a significant turning point in his vigilante career, and that I can cite the malpractice of Heroes in Naruhata as another reason he went down the "blood-stained path", is just a little extra spice to blend MHA with Vigilantes.
To IOH (Guest), always love to hear someone read one of my longer-lasting stories all the way through, though a couple things I feel have been over-simplified on your end.
It isn't that Genki doesn't want to hug his main partner, it's more like he doesn't know how to "initiate" since his [Cockroach] Quirk has given him a negative social stigma; the positive reinforcement from his "Onee-samas" is an entirely different kettle of fish altogether, he was never going to get involved with them because it'd be crossing an ethical line. He definitely will explore his romantic options after "this", because after his Awakening, he's become his "best self", but also because the future is "unsure" but that's no excuse to put "everything" on hold like Izuku did.
As for Tsuyu's Awakening, it wasn't only "love" that triggered this change; there was the mortal danger from being captured by a Villain, the self-loathing from being used as bait, anger at their "moment" being interrupted, and a whole slew of other things. Treating love "alone" as the impetus lessens her as a character.
As for the romance angle, I didn't plan to angle for a harem from the beginning, but the story sort of "took on a life of its own" and went in a direction I didn't intend. He still feels that way for Tsuyu because his tastes are more "diversified" than his "Normie" classmates, but getting to know Mei and Momo and Toru and the others better, he doesn't want to "hurt them"; what makes it different here is that as a future Pro Hero, it's more socially-acceptable to have a polyamorous relationship because of the massive turnover rate of the occupation. At the very least, I wanted to do something other than a straight "hand wave" for the harem.
*MHA*
Fifteen minutes after the Villains had escaped, rescue workers and firefighters had arrived, with water scoopers inbound to help douse the azure blaze. Out of the 41 students in attendance, 15 were in critical condition thanks to one of the Villain's gas attack, 2 were incapacitated from the nerve agent of a powerful assassin, 11 had other injuries to varying degrees, with only 12 getting off without a scratch.
Of the Pro Heroes in attendance, one had suffered a series head injury, and the other left nothing behind but a massive bloodstain.
On the other side, four of the Villains had been arrested at the scene in various states of injury, while all others had escaped without a trace.
In summary, it was a complete loss for the Hero side…
*MHA*
"Iida… Is everyone from class okay…?" Izuku asked between the haze of mending bones, exhaustion, and painkillers as he faced the bulk of his class.
"No… Jiro and Hagakure are still unconscious from that Villain's gas," Iida began. "Yaoyorozu received a terrible head wound and has only just regained consciousness. Asui has also regained consciousness from the nerve agent she was exposed to, but is in no state to be moving around. Gokiburi… He's in far worse straits."
"How much worse?"
"The Villain that attacked him and Tsu used a nerve agent specially geared against those with bug-type Quirks," Shoto explained. "They're giving him another 'oil change' even now, but the insecticide they've found in his veins has already done a lot of damage."
"No…"
And it wasn't only Genki he was worried about.
"Kacchan… I couldn't move my body… I… I couldn't save him…!" he sobbed.
"Then let's go save him now," Kirishima insisted.
"Huh?" the bulk of those in attendance blinked.
*MHA*
Kirishima's debrief went back to the day before.
He and Shoto, on the way to see if anyone in their class had woken up yet, bore witness to All Might and the police talking to Momo when she was lucid. Awase from Class B had apparently used his Quirk to [Weld] a transceiver Momo had made with her [Creation] onto one of the Villains' bodies. The tracking device Momo made after regaining consciousness, was still tracking the signal, and she insisted they use it in their investigation. It was certainly more than they had at that exact moment.
"So you're saying that Yaoyorozu… could make another signal device for us…?" Iida said as he pulled the pieces together, his heart in turmoil before he proclaimed- "No. It is as All Might said; we ought to leave this matter to the Pros! It isn't our place to interfere!"
"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!" Kirishima raged. "BUT STILL, I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING! WHEN I HEARD…!" he raged before an orderly came by the door and shot him a withering glare. "When I heard they were after my buddy… I couldn't do anything… I didn't do anything! If I don't act now… Forget being a Hero, I'm not even a MAN!"
"OI! If you don't keep it down, I will make you!" the orderly raged.
Kirishima capitulated, if only for long-enough to shut the door.
"Kirishima, calm down. We get that you're a hothead, but-"
"I know he's right! You all are but…!" he cut off Kaminari's words. "Hey, Midoriya! He's not beyond our reach just yet!"
" . . . "
"So… what? You're gonna get a signal-tracker from Yaomomo and follow it to save Bakagou yourselves?" Mina asked incredulously.
"The Villains did say we were on their hit list, especially the one that singled out Genki, but then they took Bakugou alive. Still, we can't be sure they won't kill him later," Shoto hummed. "Kirishima and I will go."
"Youuuu… HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING!" Iida raged.
"Hey, calm down," Shoji insisted. "I get it. Kirishima's pain over not being able to do anything, and Todoroki's regrets over having Bakugou snatched away before his eyes. I regret it all too. Still, this isn't the time to let emotions get the better of us."
"Let's just leave it to All Might," Aoyama insisted, looking like he'd fired off one too many [Naval Laser]s. "Besides, we aren't allowed to fight anymore. Not now that we're back in town, Aizawa's permission has been rescinded."
"It's as Aoyama says, even though I'm hardly one to talk after having just been saved myself," Tokoyami admitted.
"Guys, I get it, we're all shocked over what happened," Ochako said somberly as she recalled how… fragile her neighbor looked as he was being air-lifted on life support. "But it doesn't matter how how-righteous you think we are. If we start another fight, if we use our Quirks to break the law… We aren't any different from the Villains that attacked us."
The line she drew in the sand raised up a tension so-thick you could cut it with a knife, and for the longest time, no-one was able to speak up. Class A shifting on their feet uncomfortably, twitting their thumbs, sweated the tension out. Before anyone had the courage to speak up…
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but it's time for Midoriya's examination," a tired-looking doctor chimed in.
"Y-Yeah, let's get going," Sero hummed. "I'm worried about the others too."
"Midoriya, I talked to Yaoyorozu yesterday," Kirishima whispered as everyone trickled out the bottleneck. "If we're going, it has to be tonight. I'm not even sure if you can move in your condition, but… You're still welcome to join us, 'cause I'm betting this is hurting you way more than the rest of us."
" . . . "
"We'll be waiting outside the hospital tonight," he said before leaving himself.
*MHA*
As it turned out, Izuku received another dose of Recovery Girl's [Heal]ing Quirk while he was sleeping. The casts on his arms were ready to come off, but the damage was catastrophic beyond words.
To make a long anatomical discussion short, if he were to receive such injuries two, maybe three more times if he were lucky, he would permanently lose the use of his arms…
The only good thing to come out of the dour examination, was the apology/thank-you letter he received from Kota.
According to the physician who had broken down his condition for him, healing began with the mind, and seeing the words put to print before him… Izuku could believe it.
Eventually, there would come a time when he'd need a "Secondary Clerical Assistant" to go through all the fan mail he was sure to get in the future, but for now, he would hold each and every scrap of gratitude close to his heart, and read with his own eyes.
*MHA*
The previous day, only Kirishima and Todoroki were able to break away from their terrified parents long-enough to visit their friends at the hospital. After things had been allowed to steep for a day, the majority of Class 1-A's parents were willing to acquiesce to the bulk of them leaving the house.
Which was why when Class 1-A arrived on the floor of the ICU where Genki was being kept, the majority were surprised to find the elevators and stairwells flanked by Sidekicks from the Kamadouma and Kabutomushi Agencies, with more littering the hallways; in fact, this was the moste sidekicks anyone in Class 1-A had seen in a single place outside an Agency.
"Oh, hey guys," Mina greeted, but with noticeably less enthusiasm.
"Hey, what's up?" Rikido offered with a wave, also subdued.
The Sidekicks of the Kamadouma Agency regarded Mina with friendly smiles, offering their condolences, and they could see that the general theme of Sidekicks from the Agency Mina interned with were fit, athletic adults who could vanish into a crowd just by removing a few pieces of their Costume, the majority looking like they could've been actors on the latest Super Sentai or Kamen Rider serialization.
Fun Fact: Some of them actually did do stunt work for TV, and some even became actors full-time while still maintaining their law enforcement credentials.
The Sidekicks of the Kabutomushi Agency simply greeted Rikido with nods of acknowledgement as they maintained their vigil. The general theme for them were gym rats and body builders, some through merit of their Quirk alone, while others were walls of muscle through hard work. Even without their costumes, they weren't the sort to vanish into a crowd; none of them were as beefy as All Might, or even Endeavor, but some of them were pretty damn close, looking awfully confined in the low-ish ceilings.
Fun Fact: Some Sidekicks of the Kabutomushi Agency actually part-timed with other Agencies for those that needed a little extra "stopping power".
"Are you here to visit Genki?" one of Kamadouma's Sidekicks inquired.
"Hm. We are," Todoroki nodded.
"Four at a time at most, then. Can't have too many crowding the hallways, but we also need to keep the line moving," the man elaborated, causing Mina and Rikido to step forward before looking awkwardly over their shoulders.
"Um… Who wants to go first?" she offered.
*MHA*
The first to visit were primarily those that had benefitted from the goodwill that Genki had extended to them prior to their Internships; Sero, who got to intern with Arachnid, Sato who got to intern with Kabutomushi, and Kaminari who got to intern with Gunvolt. Iida had also gone forward, not because of anything to do with their internships, but because he saw Genki as a rival to surpass, if not the least match, in the future.
The room itself was guarded by yet more Sidekicks standing sentinel, and any Villain who thought of assassinating a helpless Yuuei student for the street cred, would've almost immediately turned around at the sight of such an obstacle.
The wall separating the room from the hallway had a large window of thick ballistic glass so that way people could observe and not crowd the room, and while the four 1-A classmates could see that Genki didn't look too bad all things considered… he didn't look too great, either.
He was lying on a hospital bed surrounded by top-of-the-line medical equipment that wouldn't have looked out-of-place on I-Island, and given how his parents were pretty much loaded, on top of potential stipends from Yuuei, it made sense that he was receiving the best of care; especially since after Bakugou who'd been outright kidnapped, his condition was the worst off of all the training camp's casualties. There were machines monitoring his vitals, machines filling his lungs with purified air, and machines filtering his blood on an almost continuous loop. There were screens with biometrics and chemical formulae and statistics that none of them could understand, not even Iida, but it was obvious that things were looking grim; not only by the weakness of his heartbeat, but also by the expressions of who else was in the room with him.
Megumi, sitting off to the side with dried tears down her cheeks, looked completely haggard; a far cry from the enthusiastic, upbeat ball of energy they'd all met at the Sports Festival and mistook for a sister. Ares, having to stoop to fit into the room, sat hunched in a corner and remained stoic in face as he watched his child desperately cling to life; despite the lack of expression on his face, the frustration the giant of a man was feeling was palpable, rolling off of him in oppressive waves as Megumi clutched at his hand for support. Off in another corner of the room was a large pile of flower bouquets and cards, another with gift baskets, and if the four pretty girls with animal features they passed on the way in (trying way too hard to be inconspicuous) weren't already an indicator, it was fairly obvious that those leavings were a courtesy of his "Onee-samas".
"Geez, it's like the infirmary of Star Trek in there…" Kaminari shuddered, the general air serving as a real downer.
"Has anyone tried to finish the job?" Iida asked tensely, remembering a close call where one of the Villains that Tensei had put away in his first year as a Pro had tried to do just that after his fateful run-in with the Hero Killer.
If it weren't for the Sidekicks that took time off work to watch over him, that recently-released Villain might've very well succeeded…
"One did, but we broke every bone in his body," one of Kabutomushi's sidekicks hummed; not with any measure of pride or enthusiasm, but like a man who had done one thing at his job too many times for it to be even remotely interesting anymore.
"Well, technically Ares laid him out with the first punch, but the rest of us just made sure he stayed down. Guy could've been a regenerator for all we knew," another added matter-of-factly.
"Dude…" Sero shuddered.
"Makes sense," Sato huffed, the others shooting him incredulous looks before deciding to turn their attention back to the window.
"Can we… Can we go in there?" Iida asked.
"One at a time, if you would," one of Kamadouma's sidekicks advised.
*MHA*
"Hey there, Genki. How're you holding up?"
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep*
"Hah, yeah, guess that's a pretty stupid question," Sero chuckled self-deprecatingly as he stewed in the awkward air; both from all the life support equipment around him and the weight of Genki's parents nearby. "So um… Bakugou got kidnapped. Guess the Villains wanna make him into a Villain too, teh heh heh."
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep*
"Ah… Shit, tag in," the [Tape] user said as he bowed out awkwardly.
"Hey, Genki. I made you a muffin basket," Sato offered, holding aforementioned basket up. "Thought you could use a little pumpkin spice goodness when you wake up again."
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep*
"Listen, interning with Kabutomushi… It was hell, I'm not gonna lie to ya; part of me thought you sent me her way on a lark," he said scratching at his hair. "But… I'm grateful you did that for me. It was a lot of hard work, but I felt like I could become one of the greats, even if my Quirk is pretty run-of-the-mill."
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep*
"So listen… You keep on fighting this," he said putting the basket down with the others. "There's a lot of people that want to see you get better. And not just horny teenage girls, heheh…~"
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep*
" . . . Next," the sweet-toothed teen said as he quickly bowed out.
"Hey, man, glad to see you're still arm candy for teenage girls~" Kaminari grinned as he gestured to the pile of flowers and cards like Genki could see them too.
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep*
" . . . Look, man, things're getting pretty ugly right now," Kaminari said scratching furiously at his hair. "The media… They're having a field day with this. And us kids're probably gonna have to get our hands dirty if we keep getting attacked by Villains like this so, you know… Get better soon. We're all counting on you too, not just the heavy-hitters."
Too depressed by the state of his friend to say more, Iida stepped in after, the straight-laced teen bowing respectfully to Genki's parents before standing at the teen's bedside a respectful distance from his elbow, facing him directly with an erect posture.
"Gokibur-… Genki… Before you came into the Hero Course, I was the fastest student in 1-A. I don't regret losing out to you in terms of speed, I'm not nearly that petty, but… If I don't get the chance to have a proper rematch against you, I'm going to be very upset with you, so… Keep fighting this. Don't let that Scorpion Villain win, do you understand me?" Iida asked determinedly, even as he stewed in his own thoughts about what he might have to do tonight.
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep*
"And even though the idea of a harem still seems somewhat improper to me, I imagine making a number of girls romantically interested in you miserable, is hardly a better alternative, so… Give them a proper answer. Not just the girls from our class, but from Class 1-B as well. I only ask that you give due consideration before committing to such a… controversial lifestyle… even though you yourself never asked for it."
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep*
"Megumi-san, Ares-san, you have my deepest sympathies," Iida offered before stepping towards the doorway.
"Iida-kun."
"Hai?"
"That was a lovely speech, and I'm sure Genki's looking forward to a 'proper rematch' too," Megumi nodded.
" . . . Yes. Thank you," Iida nodded, bowing to them both one more time before stepping out of the room.
*MHA*
The next to visit were Mina who got to intern with Kamadouma, Ochako to support her as well as being Genki's neighbor, and Mei who arrived at the last minute; everyone else chose to wait for the next slot since they didn't know Genki as well and felt like they'd be intruding with the other three.
"Genki…" Mina gasped at the sight of him, Ochako looking like she'd spent too long in the hamster ball, while Mei looked uncharacteristically stoic. "Is he… Is he going to be okay?"
"He's receiving the best of care," one of Kamadouma's sidekicks replied.
"Kinda makes me worried what'll happen to me if I get injured that badly…" Ochako chuckled weakly, the medical equipment surrounding her neighbor a stark reminder of the socioeconomical differences separating the haves from the have nots.
Heck, just one of the life support implements looked like it was worth more than her parents' house…
"Don't worry. Yuuei students and alumnus all receive stipends to help with costs. It'd be bad for the brand if too many of them croaked because of discount doctors," Mei waved off, her crosshair-ed eyes roving over Genki's inert form.
"That doesn't make me-… Thanks for trying," the round-faced girl sighed patting the engineer's shoulder.
"Can we… Can we go in?" Mina asked nervously, twitting her fingers.
"He isn't made of glass. If you want to hold his hand, hold his hand. Just don't mess with the wiring," one of Kabutomushi's sidekicks replied.
"Alrighit… Let's let him know that we're okay!" Mina nodded as she threw open the door-
*Beep… Beep… Beeeeeee-*
-only for Genki to flatline at that exact moment. All three of their hearts seizing in their chests, the drawn-out tone made Megumi's eyes go wide before she shot over to the wall and slammed a palm on the "Call" button.
Within seconds, a doctor bulled into the room past the three girls, immediately going over to the high-end life support equipment and giving it a once-over before calling out to one of the Sidekicks in the hall. The hulking giant of a man bulking up even further when he activated his Quirk, began to do chest compressions that made the bed squeal in protest. After several long seconds of this the doctor waved the man aside before slamming his hand on a bright yellow button with a lightning bolt and shouting-
"CLEAR!"
*Thump!*
Genki's body arching as the defibrillating charge was administered across his heart, the haunting-
*-eeeeeee-*
-tone persisted, the doctor giving the Sidekick the go-ahead to resume chest compressions while he went to another console, inputting a rapid series of commands that caused the mask slinging to Genki's face to tighten with bruising force. A moment later the machine doing his breathing for him let out a different tone, the purified air giving way to the medicated variety, the tube connected to his mask filling with blue smoke.
"I'm hitting him again! CLEAR!"
*Thump*
Genki's body arcing once again before flopping inertly into the bed, Megumi let out an agonized sob as she dove into her husband's chest, Ares' teeth clenching in impotent rage as his child fought a losing battle with his own life on the line. Ochako and Mei rooted in place as despair washed over them, that discontent spreading into the hallway, as the presiding doctor and Kabutomushi's Sidekick tried to keep their charge alive, a flash of pink and fluffy hair suddenly broke the line, its sudden stop causing the bed to rattle.
"GENKI! Genki you listen to me RIGHT NOW!" Mina shouted as she jostled the bed with a knuckle-white grip. "No matter what, you absolutely ARE NOT allowed to die! You've come too far, and have way too much to live for! Too many PEOPLE to live for!"
*-eeeeeeeee-*
"Like Mei-chan who you need to teach what it really means to make babies!"
*-eeee Beep… Beeeeee-*
"And Yaomomo who's been on cloud nine since you gave her that huge confidence boost!"
*-eee Beep… Beep… Beeee-*
"Toru finally found the perfect guy that'll notice when she does something with her hair!"
*-ee Beep… Beeeee Beep… Beep…*
"Tsu-chan! You and Tsu-chan still need to work things out! You can't just leave things hanging like this!"
*-eeeee Beep… Beep… Beep…*
"And…! And…!" she stuttered as she blushed a dark fuchsia. "WHO AM I GOING TO HAVE FOR DINNER IN THE BATHROOM BECAUSE I'M TOO TIRED TO DO THOSE THREE THINGS SEPARATELY!?" she passionately demanded causing people to spit-take up and down the hall.
Mina panting heavily after that emotional eruption of volcanic proportions, as soon as her ears stopped ringing, she became aware of the fact that not only was everyone staring at her, but that Genki had also stabilized, his heart monitor letting out a steady-
*Beep… Beep… Beep…*
-that was like music to her ears.
"I'm… I'm… I have to go…"
Bolting out of the ICU and bulling her way into the nearest bathroom, moments later the pink-skinned girl let out an agonized- "IYAAAAAAH!" -as it finally hit home just what she had said right there at the end, and who had been around to hear it.
"You know…"
"ACK!" Mina cried as Megumi's voice sounded from outside the sall.
"If that boy is anything like his father… Genki-kun might be having you for dinner in the bathroom~" she continued with a grin in her voice, Mina's blush deepening even as a smile creeped up onto her face.
*MHA*
"Well…! That was… something…" Ochako said finally finding her voice, the doctor turning his attention back to the heart monitor and, after deciding there wasn't any immediate risk of a relapse, absconded alongside the Sidekick.
"Just for the record, I do know where baby-babies come from…" Mei pouted as nearby Sidekicks gave her speculatory looks.
"Um… Gokiburi-san…" Ochako said turning her attention to her neighbor's patriarch. "Mina… isn't normally like that…!"
The giant of a man sat there stoically, though his posture was far more relaxed now that his child was out of immediate danger.
"I'm just… gonna talk to my neighbor," she said tiptoeing over to Genki's bed and almost grasping the half-melted bedrail Mina had been holding. "Um… Soooo…" she hummed as she drank in the steady beat of his heart and the mechanical breathing apparatus attached to his face. "Mina sure was… vocal about things, huh?"
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…*
"Anyway… Sorry I didn't visit you sooner, but between the blood loss and my parents…" she hummed awkwardly as she rubbed at her thigh. "Um… Mei-chan was really cool! She snagged a Villain with her net gun and… Well… We kinda lost Bakugou, but I'm sure you know that already…"
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…*
"It's…. It's getting a little scarry out there, not gonna lie to ya," she said rubbing the back of her head. "So um… you know… Get well soon, okay?" she pleaded. "When we're back at the apartment, next time I'll cook you a nice dinner. Can't have you pamper me too much and give your harem the wrong idea, can we?" she asked with an awkward chuckle as the blush marks on her cheeks darkened.
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…*
"I'm uh… going to see if Mina's okay," Ochako then said as she excused herself, the normally-excitable Mei Hatsume stepping forward.
"Hey there, Genki-sama," the pinkette hummed, Ares raising a brow at the honorific, but making no further comment. "That was a close call you had there. Almost lost ya for a second."
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…*
"So yeah. Like Round Face said, my Capture Gun worked like a dream," she grinned. "I wish you could've been there to see it. I totally caught this yandere girl by surprise."
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…*
"And I do mean 'yandere girl'. She checked off… pretty much all the boxes, down to the blood fetish," she continued. "Almost lost Nevermore to those Villains, but Pewpew Le Pew put a stop to Bad Touch Man."
*Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…*
"Please wake up. I don't think I have the bandwidth to try and find another husband candidate."
*MHA*
Izuku, having a few more hours to mull things over before coming to a final decision, swung by the ICU to see his friend. The friend who had been let into the circle of trust concerning [One for All], who prior-to had admitted him into his own circle of trust about his history with the Villain Factory. And having done his own research after-the-fact, Izuku could definitely see how the "Next-Level Villains" that had plagued Naruhata, were essentially the precursors to the Noumu they all fought even now.
Lost in his own thoughts, Izuku almost didn't notice the messy head of indigo-colored hair until a set of fingers snapped in his face.
"Shinso? What're you doing here?" Izuku blinked as he got out of his own head.
"Visiting my friend," the [Brainwashing] teen replied. "Heh, but man, that guy's gonna be catnip for girls now that he looks like… well… that," he shrugged as he gestured down the hall. "Can make a guy feel self-conscious, you know?"
"Ah, yeah, I guess a little," Izuku said rubbing the back of his head. While he didn't personally think that a person's appearance had any bearing on how-amazing of a Hero they were, at the same time, having a "conventionally-attractive" facial structure certainly didn't hurt one's marketability either.
There were outliers, of course. After Genki's father made a name for himself in the live-action reboot of Terraformars, he got more media exposure with the incidents he resolved, and briefly ascended the Hero Rankings up to the vaunted No.2 slot. And the guy looked like Homo Erectus with a smile that terrified small children.
"So, you got the stomach for the horror show to come?" Shinso asked making the offer to lead.
"Ah… Well, yes. I have to face this, so I may as well do it now," the greenette nodded.
*MHA*
As Izuku followed Shinso to Genki's room, he was doing so under the assumption that facing this couldn't be any worse than the "not knowing" what had become of Kacchan.
As it turned out, however, even though he could learn for certain what had become of Genki, he still felt just as bad.
Laying there in that hospital bed, Genki looked absolutely nothing like the Hero-to-be he'd last seen at the Training Camp. Laying inert upon a large bed, electrodes hooked up to his chest, a breathing mask on his face, and a dialysis machine repeatedly filtering his blood, while he hadn't begun to waste away as far as he could tell, Genki was definitely fighting for his life in there with a weakly-rising chest and a thready pulse. And if Izuku and Shinso felt bad at the sight of him like this, his family felt worse, with plenty of misery to go around if the piles of flowers & cards and gift baskets in one corner of the room were any indicator.
"Maybe my perspective got slanted a bit watching him fold you guys in the Sports Festival," Shinso began, "but I always thought he was invincible. I mean, he has the same powers as the thing that could survive a nuclear explosion."
"Technically, cockroaches would only be able to survive the fallout, not the blast wave itself."
"Not what I meant," Shinso sighed rubbing at his hair. "The guy always looked so plain-faced, so to learn he'd trained under so-many Heroes and still had to wait until the Sports Festival to plant his flag in the Hero Course… I guess I thought after he hit his big break, that everything would just work out for him. But seeing him like this now… it reminds me how-dangerous this line of work really is."
"Are… Are you going to give up?"
"If every Hero ran away just because they wanted to give up, who would be left to fight the Villains?" Shinso huffed derisively.
Izuku opened his mouth to refute those words, to say that no Hero would ever run away from a Villain...! But no sound came out as the sleepy-eyed teen's words triggered a memory.
A memory of Heroes standing by, doing nothing, actually waiting for a Hero "with a better Quirk" to show up. How at the first sign of adversity, they became completely impotent, little different from the "powerless" civilians they were supposed to be protecting.
"Genki, oh… Genki!" a quiet voice sobbed.
"Ya-Yaoyorozu!?" Izuku sputtered as the heiress froze before the window, hands going to her mouth and tears pouring down her face.
Before he could get another word in, the raven-haired girl had run past them both and into the room, Megumi looking up to face the distraught girl as she took shaky steps into the room before falling to her knees at Genki's bedside, shoulders trembling with sobs. The infirmed teen's mother then got up from her seat and kneeled next to Momo before drawing her in for a hug, letting the girl bawl uncontrollably into her clothes.
"Wow. She really cares about him, doesn't she?" Shinso asked as he and Izuku turned away, feeling like they were intruding on a private moment.
"Y-Yeah. I think she came to care about him even before he looked like… well, that," Izuku answered.
"Well, that makes her a better sort than all the other judgmental pricks from our middle schools," Shinso huffed derisively. "And what makes it even more amazing is she's one of those rich 'Ojou-sama' types. You'd think they would be the worst of the worst, but looking at her now," he said venturing a glance over his shoulder before tearing his eyes away. "Let's hope he can diversify his tastes a little, otherwise that girl's gonna have a broken heart."
Izuku, socially inept and romantically inadequate as he was, was entirely unqualified to offer meaningful comment.
*MHA*
The next person Izuku visited was Tsuyu, and if it weren't for the girl's parents doting over her, he would've mistaken the frog-like girl for someone else; like an aunt, or maybe an older sister.
Having days ago witnessed Genki's probably literal metamorphosis into a more-impressive state, it took the greenette very little time to come to the conclusion that Tsuyu herself had experienced some form of Awakening, only instead of forming some sort of cocoon around herself like a bug and "baking" overnight, she'd simply undergone an enormous growth spurt in a single burst. Aforementioned burst is probably why his fellow greenette was hospitalized and gorging herself, both on hospital food and her family's home cooking.
Having experienced the sort of exhaustion that having one's own healing ability augmented by an external force induced, it only stood to reason that the sudden manifestation of additional bone and muscle mass had come at an intense physical cost; he suspected her body had, in response to external peril, induced a massive onset of autophagy, digesting less-important parts of itself to grow into a more combat-capable form. The energy to grow and develop had to come from somewhere, after all, and if he'd had his notebook on hand, he'd have filled entire pages with potential powers she might've developed as her Quirk's potential exploded to new heights.
As it stood, however, he did not have his notebook, so he decided to let the issue lie for a time and actually talk to the girl.
"Asui-san."
"I told you to call me 'Tsu', *kero*"
"A-Ah, right," Izuku stammered. "So um… How are you feeling?"
"Probably better than you," Tsuyu said as she threw back an entire riceball, her mother nonverbally chastising her for not chewing properly. "I heard you broke your arms again."
"W-Well to be fair, this is the first time I've broken both at the same time," he defended weakly.
"You're not really helping your case," the greenette deadpanned.
"I-I know…" Izuku said rubbing at the back of his head, Tsuyu's mother urging her husband out of the room so Tsuyu would have a moment alone with her friend. "Um, I guess you've Awakened?"
"I have. It's taking some getting-used-to," she said squinting her eyes, which did little to ease the burden of her now bar-shaped pupils. "Genki… How is he…?"
"He's… in bad shape," Izuku sighed truthfully, realizing that as soon as she could leave her bed, Tsuyu would probably find out all on her own after a trip to the ICU.
" . . . It's my fault, you know. I got paralyzed by a Villain, used as bait, and that one moment he was distracted opened him up to a near-fatal attack," she said somberly looking down at her food. Her face looked like she'd lost her appetite, yet her hands kept on shoveling down her family's home cooking.
"Tsu… We had no way of knowing the Villains would attack us at the training camp," Izuku said once he found the words. "That you were able to get back up and save the both of you… you should be proud of that."
"Maybe," Tsuyu said as she felt at her face, Izuku noticing that while the size of her hands hadn't really changed, in proportion to her new body they just looked smaller. "You think Genki will still recognize me?"
"It might take a second, but I think it'll take less time than it did for me," he admitted.
"Izuku… Does me liking Genki more after he Awakened… Does that make me a bad person?"
"I… I'm probably the last person who should be answering that."
Not because he had an equivalent experience with a member of the opposite gender, but more because, after inheriting [One for All], his sense of self-worth had gotten warped, and twisted. Melissa, Quirkless like he had been, had for a time been considered "useless" in his own mind; he had actually forgotten what it was like to be that way. Forgotten his origin. Because he like so many others, he had fallen into the same trap that was accrediting the entirety of one's self-worth to their Quirk. He, who for the longest time considered Katsuki his "friend" before learning what real, genuine friendship felt like, even if it were in a place where everyone in the class had amazing Quirks.
"Oh. I see…" she said somberly, bar-shaped pupils downcast as she ate a bit more slowly now.
" . . . Tsu!" he suddenly shouted, causing her to look up at him. "Genki… He's a really good listener. I'm sure if you just sit down with him, talk things through… that you two will be okay."
" . . . Thank you," the greenette nodded gratefully.
*MHA*
Up until the evening, Izuku visited everyone else who had been injured in the League's attack. Those who had been incapacitated by the Villain "Mustard" were largely inert, but not in any life-threatening danger. In fact, thanks to Recovery Girl, those that had been gassed were really the only ones left to visit; everyone else had either gone home, or were visiting those that were still down.
Once the sun had set, he stepped out of the hospital to find Kirishima and Todoroki waiting for him by the back entrance.
"Hey, man. Glad you could show," Kirishima nodded.
"Yeah. I had some friends to visit," Izuku nodded as he faced the two. "Is this all of us?"
"Yaoyorozu said to let her think about it," Kirishima answered.
"Well, no matter how fired up we are, we aren't going anywhere without her help, so…" Todoroki hummed awkwardly before the red-head perked up.
"Ah! She's here," Kirishima nodded as Momo stepped out with her designer dress, leggings, purse, and shoes, her sharp eyes darting to and fro. Apart from the bandage above her left eyebrow, she looked entirely pristine; a stark contrast from the sobbing wreck Izuku had borne witness to alongside Shinso. "So… Whaddya yay, Yaoyorozu?"
"I…" Momo began, her eyes downcast before Iida suddenly stepped out.
*MHA*
The confrontation to follow was a short, but undeniably ugly affair.
Because Kirishima and Momo were present, he wasn't able to say everything on his mind, but the frustration the [Engine]-legged teen felt was especially poignant for Izuku and Shoto. To make matters worse, all of Iida's points were perfectly valid, and the meeting culminated with Iida actually striking Izuku in the face in spite of his lingering injuries, snapping his head to the side in a way that made Momo wince.
Once Iida had gotten that out of his system however, like a pressure release valve being triggered, cooler heads were able to prevail shortly after.
Shoto, for his part, made it no secret that he agreed how foolhardy it would be to go in "guns blazing". Juxtaposed by the sheer weight of power his Quirk gave him, a Quirk that could stop most Villains flat, he and Kirishima stated undeniably, that the plan was to get Bakugou back without fighting; a covert operation where they wouldn't have to cross the line into outright Vigilantism. A statement that was especially-poignant because one of their teachers at Yuuei was a former Vigilante, as was the man Aizawa had called in alongside the Pussycats.
"I trust you, Todoroki, but… Worse comes to worst, I should be there as backup, which is why I'm coming too," Momo insisted.
"Yaoyorozu?!" Iida gasped incredulously.
"Yaoyorozu!" Kirishima whooped excitedly.
"No, I have a more-important job for you," Shoto cut in with a head-shake.
"Todoroki?" the heiress blinked.
"Genki needs you here," the fire/ice user said jabbing an index finger at the ground. "I'll admit, I'm not the best at reading social cues, but even I've been able to figure out that your feelings for Genki are the most-sincere out of all of his admirers."
At this, Momo could only blush scarlet, eyes unable to meet his.
"I appreciate that you want to help us out in the field, but Bakugou isn't the only one suffering. When he wakes up… If he wakes up…" he muttered sourly, "Genki's going to need a friendly face by his bedside, waiting for him. Someone that cares for him for more than his looks. I think the two of you would be really good for one another, and if you got hurt when I was in a position to stop you… I don't think I'd be a very good friend to him."
"Todoroki, I…"
"Genki is my friend too. And it'd do me a lot of good to know I have someone trustworthy watching after him while we're away."
"Trustworthy?" Izuku blinked. "What do you mean by that?"
"There's a traitor in our midst," he hissed causing their breath to collectively hitch. "That's the only explanation that makes sense," the dual Quirk user said coldly.
"Whoa whoa whoa hold on a second!" Kirishima gasped. "You can't seriously expect me to believe-"
"What other explanation makes sense?" he said shooting the red-head a withering glare, straight from the old days before his icy heart had thawed. "We were out in the woods, in the middle of nowhere; nobody knew we were there, yet the League knew exactly when and where to hit us for maximum damage. I've been reading the newspapers, and the media's been having a field day lambasting Yuuei."
"Regardless of whether there is a traitor or not…" Momo said as she held up her hand, concentrating as she made another signal tracker, with a little titanium added to the casing as a just-in-case, before presenting it to the 'Bakugou Rescue Squad'. "Bakugou is still in trouble. The coordinates point to Yokohama city in Kanagawa; specifically, Kamino Ward. The commute from Nagano is two hours by train, so if you leave right now, you should be able to arrive by 10 p.m."
"Thank you, Yaoyorozu," Kirishima said, bowing at the waist.
"Todoroki."
"Hai?"
"If I'm staying here, the least I can do for you is give you operating expenses for any unforeseeable purchases," she said pressing her palm to his hand. When she drew it away, Todoroki found a small stack of 1oz gold bars glinting up at him complete with a pair of 1oz and 99.99% Pure Gold engravings. "I wish you the best of luck."
"Ya-Ya-Ya-Yaoyoro-ro-rozu! This is way too much!" Izuku stuttered while Todoroki simply quirked a brow at it.
"Oh? Is it truly?" she blinked with an adorable tilt of her head and a hand on her cheek. "I hadn't the slightest idea."
" . . . Sometimes I forget just how rich you are," Kirishima muttered, finding the fact that she could 'crap out' that much gold with her Quirk, and not give a damn, frightening.
Then again, given what Mina said about the girl's quote/unquote "house", there was probably that much bullion in the damn couch cushions.
*MHA*
Moments after Todoroki, Kirishima, Midoriya, and Tenya had departed, Momo began to doubt whether excluding herself had been the right call.
True, Todoroki had given her an "out", had even treated it as a favor to him, and she'd given them the signal tracker and emergency funds to operate off of… but a lingering part of her wondered whether it was truly okay for her to stay back here, watching over someone with an almost sinful glut of protection while her peers risked their lives on something that could very well get them killed, if not expelled from Yuuei outright.
Right as she ventured back into the hospital, mind clouded with thoughts and practically in a daze, a familiar head of blond hair done up in twin ponytails suddenly skid to a stop in front of her.
"Momo, thank goodness you haven't left yet," Megumi panted. "Listen, I know this is a bit sudden, but can you come with me?"
"Why? What happened?" Momo asked worriedly, feeling her panic rise.
*MHA*
Being led up to the ICU where the guard around Genki's room had been intensified, the curtains on his room drawn, just as Momo was about to fear the worst, Megumi pat her arm and assured her-
"Don't worry. Genki isn't in any danger."
And it was true. While first seeing him in his weakened state had been a bit of a shock for her, Momo could tell almost immediately that Genki was improving. Not so much in the color of his face, but due to the fact that his heartbeat was stronger than it had been before, his eyes flicking under closed lids whereas before he'd been completely inert.
Once Momo let out the breath she'd been holding without even realizing, she looked up into the room to see two others in attendance. One was Recovery Girl, and the other was a police officer with the head of a ginger tabby cat. The bell around his neck was a bit of a contrast to his professional attire, but maybe it was to help children and other hostages feel at ease?
"Momo, this is Tamakawa Sansa, a police officer with extensive history regarding the Villain Factory," Megumi introduced. "He'll be acting as witness for this debrief."
"Debrief? I don't understand…"
"Sit down, dearie. This might take a while," Recovery Girl hummed as she set the TV in the room to play the news, adding a layer of white noise.
*MHA*
In the explanation to follow, Momo learned that ever since the attack on the training camp, Genki's extended family had all begun combing Japan non-stop, seeking out the latest "burner lair" of the Villain that had attacked him and Tsuyu using whatever clues they were able to recover from her person after she was apprehended.
Sasori's toxins weren't only what her own body generated, but a cocktail of other chemical additives she put in to help her assassinate those with certain Quirk archetypes. While her MO was to torture people to death and record their death throes like some kind of sociopath, even selling some of those recordings on the darknet, the bulk of her fiscal income came from assassination, and apart from Genki, only a small handful of people had been able to be saved from her sting. A sting that was especially-potent because what she had tested on Genki was a modified "Micro-Toxin" meant to circumvent conventional "poison immunity".
A few hours ago, a break in the case had allowed for Sasori's latest lab to be discovered, and after combing the place top to bottom to ensure no traps would be set off, with the help of forensics, all of Sasori's data was stripped to the last sticky note before everything was forwarded to I-Island; specifically to the Global Poison Control Center, which specialized in remedying aid to those afflicted by Quirk-related poisons, toxins, venoms, and so-on.
"Mere moments ago, we received communications from I-Island stating that they'd been able to analyze Sasori's notes in full, and with the data on Genki's biometrics, have been able to concoct an 'antivenom' that should let him recover in full," Recovery Girl summarized.
"Truly? That's wonderful!" Momo gasped, her hand going to her mouth and tears flowing freely from her eyes, a weight lifted from her shoulders at the wonderful news.
"I'm afraid it isn't all good news…" the Youthful Heroine cut in, regretting the hurt she was bringing to the young woman before her. "Excluding the fact that synthesizing this antivenom is something only I-Island has the technology to achieve and was in of itself time-intensive, even by best estimates, the time between then and delivery is in excess to twelve hours given how-far it has moved since the I-Expo."
"Not only that, but the longer Genki remains like this, the more-likely it is that this coma could become permanent, if not the likelihood that he'll suffer permanent damage hereafter," Megumi stated, something that caused Momo's visage to pale to a chalky white as the blood drained from her face.
"There is hope, however," Recovery Girl said as she drew forth a sheaf of papers and handed them to Momo. Receiving a nod, the young woman took the documents before reading through them; to anyone else, the chemical formulae would look like incomprehensible gibberish, but to one who internalized chemical and metallurgical compositions on the regular, it might as well have been a recipe for macaroons.
"Your Quirk is uniquely suited for synthesizing this antidote domestically, which in of itself would massively improve Genki's chances to making a full recovery," Megumi stated. "However, without any sort of Provisional License, even if you could synthesize the chemical perfectly, on your own, you'd be entirely prohibited from doing so."
"Which is why I will be supervising and vetting your work, while Tamakawa acts as an official witness," Recovery Girl stated as she gestured to the officer in attendance. "Since this antidote is highly experimental and you're unlicensed, we'd be stretching the laws regarding Improper Quirk Use alarmingly thin. But, given the direness of the situation as it stands now, Genki's health takes all precedence."
As Momo digested what she was being told as she leafed through the documents, something dawned on her.
If she'd left with Todoroki and the others… would she have been able to double back in time? Would the delay ultimately mean the difference between success and failure?
These thoughts ruminating in her head, when her sharp eyes rose up to meet Recovery Girl's, there was a fire in them that Megumi nodded approvingly of.
"How soon can I begin?" Momo asked as her renewed confidence swelled to its apex.
"We begin immediately," Recovery Girl said as Sansa began assembling a miniature laboratory in one corner of the room. "While it's true we're working against the clock, I insist that you take as much time as you need to familiarize yourself with the provided documents. The 'Micro-Antidote' needs to be 100% perfect, and while an improperly made dosage will do nothing at all in the best-case scenario, in the worst case…"
"Megumi, you have absolutely nothing to worry about," Momo said turning purposefully toward Genki's mother. "Why? Because I am the Everything Hero: Creati! And I am here!"
Megumi stifled a laugh at how corny that sounded, but did nothing to fight the megawatt smile pulling at her cheeks.
"Yes… Yes, you are," she beamed. "My boy is in good hands with you; both now and after~"
Momo felt a blush coming to her cheeks at those words, but buried her nose into the provided documents, her thoughts awhirl as she devoured every scrap of information before her.
'No matter what, I won't fail you!'
*MHA*
AN:
Originally, all the action in Kamino Ward was going to be in this chapter, but then the length started getting a little ridiculous, so I had to split it up a bit.
Doing so also enabled me to expand on the rest of the cast and how they coped with what was going on after the Training Camp came to an end, but I think I'm most-proud of the scene I added at the end after Shoto and company all departed for Kamino Ward.
So if you'd all tell me what you think in the Reviews column, I'd greatly appreciate it, and I'll see you all next time on Young Justice: The Hunter.
GO BEYOND!
EXCELSIOR!